#I almost forgot cause I was doing this post mid class
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toxinoire · 12 days ago
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Basically MovieMusical!Glinda during No One Mourns The Wicked
Glinda, trying her best to get the fuck out of here: 🎶She diiiieeeeddd aaaallooooonneee🎶
Munchkins with the sorry excuse of an Elphaba wood statue: Hey! Hey Glinda! 😃
Glinda: 🎶She dieeeddd al-🎶 AH WHAT THE FU- *clears throat to sunshine voice* Uhhh what is that?
Munchkin 1: It's the Wicked Witch Of The West! 😃
Munchkin 2: We want to really celebrate that she's gone! 😃
Glinda, internally: They did my girl dirty what the fuck
Glinda: ...I see...
Munchkin 3: So we were hoping you can burn this! 😃
Glinda:
Glinda:
Glinda: You want me to what now?
Munchkin 1, handing Glinda the torch: Yeah! Cause you're good! And goodness knows no one mourns the wicked! 😃
Glinda, holding the torch:
Glinda, internally: Oh I'm going to hell.
Glinda: *voice crack* Of course.
Glinda, internally: This is an abomination of a statue so it isn't so insane for me to burn their very wrong horrid perception of Elphie but fuck I feel like burning myself with it.
Glinda, internally while tossing the torch: Fuck fuck fuck fuck
Munchkins: 🎶NO ONE MOURNS THE WICKED-🎶
Glinda, who literally just wanted to go the fuck home and cry in the darkest, farthest corner of her room for at least two hours:
Glinda: Ahhh I hate myself.
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ktheist · 4 years ago
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girls like you [don’t] run ‘round with guys like me | m
Tumblr media
characters. popular!reader x shy!jimin
genre. college au. rich kids au. fwb au. eventual ceo au. eventual racer au.
words. 4k
warnings. 18+
note. this is a repost. tumblr messed up my exposure last time. this fic didn’t show up in search and it’s probably a third post of mine that ends up like this. this one probably won’t either but posting bc someone might see it and like it.
x
It’s easy to tell when Park Jimin is in love.
Unlike Kim Seokjin, his eccentric, dad joke-loving friend, Jimin would only wear the pastel pink when he’s feeling giggly and shy and mushy inside.
The source of said feelings being either the barista he goes to get his daily dose of coffee from, or the girl at the library he studies at during finals or well, right now it’s the girl he’s fucking almost every day of the week - you.
“What are you doing?” Seokjin looks at him like he just dumped a spoonful of salt in a broth that needs a little, teensy bit of sugar.
Or his face seems to say that as he goes on, “she’s a mean girl. She’s mean.”
Jimin isn’t sure if Seokjin’s aware that he’s just repeated the same thing twice.
“She calls you Chim!” The older man reiterates.
“Yeah, it’s…” Jimin trails off, the heartwarming image of you cuddling into him after yet another mindblowing sex, flashing at the back of his mind, “...her pet name for me.”
“Sounds to me like she can’t remember your actual name,” Min Yoongi interjects from the couch he’s claimed for himself ever since they got to their usual hangout.
It’s a penthouse Jimin’s parents bought him on his 18th birthday. Him and the boys would hang around there after they’re done with classes or just need a place to crash whenever they have problems with their girlfriends or boyfriends or parents or any sort of problem that renders their usual room not sleepable.
“I think we can just agree we have different wants,” Jeongguk - or the sanest of them all, as Jimin likes to call him - chirps in, taking a bite of the apple he got from the fridge.
“Exactly,” Jimin throws his hands up as if freed from his elder friends’ judge-filled eyes. The vibration of his phone in his lap gives him even more comfort to know that he finally has an excuse to slip away - he checks his phone, your name flashing in the bubble that says ‘hey, wyd?’
“I have to go, it’s ___.”
A series of groans and hollers equally erupts from the men in the room at the realization of what Jimin’s ‘having to go’ means.
And so it goes. Jimin finds himself under your blanket that smells like fresh laundry - it’s a nude green color compared to the pleated black and white from last time. Your head is on his chest and he’s caressing your hair like it’s the softest thing he’s ever laid his hands on.
Besides your boobs, that is.
“I was thinking… since we have Monday off… maybe we could-”
It’s the way you push yourself off him, eyes that are onto him gazing straight into his soul, “oh shoot, Monday’s a public holiday. I totally forgot! I have to meet my parents. My dad’s been nagging me to come back since I skipped Christmas and New Year.”
And there goes his chance to ask you out on a date.
“Oh yeah, what were you saying about Monday?”
Jimin wears the biggest fake smile he can muster, “just that… me and the boys are gonna hang out and we’re bringing our girlfriends and boyfriends and uh- doesn’t have to be someone you’re exclusively seeing,” he almost chokes at the almost-admittance that he has the fattest crush on you and wants to make it official by inviting you to a couple’s-only hang out, “but like, I don’t think I’m going, it’s boring anyway.”
He waves his hand dismissively, trying to play it cool.
You make a cooing sound, eyebrows knitting together as your lips pout cutely before a playful smile blooms on your face, “I know what you’re trying to say.”
“You do?” Jimin thinks he heard his heart dropping to his stomach.
“Yeah, you’re single and all the boys have someone special they’re gonna bring… it’s gonna be awkward as hell because they’re gonna act different because they’re around their special someone so you thought if I was there, it’d be more fun because at least you have a friend with you that’s not gonna act fake the whole time there but I can’t go so you decided you’re not going too like a minute ago.”
Silence lulls in after your analogy that you sound so sure of when, in fact, he has a whole list of things he’d do on the date which he may or may not have gone over a hundred times in his head.
Doesn’t matter now, since that date is a no-go.
He’s going to delete that list off his phone once he gets to his place and drink himself silly until he wipes it out of his mind.
“Yeah,” Jimin says a moment later, “yeah… I mean, girls in love are cute but boys in love are just… annoying.”
The week flies by without Jimin ever mentioning Monday and you’ve showed him the clothes you’re going to wear to visit your parents because apparently-
“It’s lunch at some five star Michelin restaurant and I think they’re gonna tell me they’re getting a divorce,” your voice drifts into the room from the open, walk-in closet.
“If they’re not in some long, dreadful battle on who gets the holiday house with the pool and the dogs - how do I look?” You step out, in a frilly creme sweater with a black ribbon tied around the collar of your white undershirt with a black pleated skirt that stops mid-thighs, just inches from your black stockings.
A glaring contrast to your collection of washed out skinny jeans, plain t-shirts and sneakers.
“You… look…” Jimin knows he should stop openly ogling at your never-before-seen drip but there’s just something about the creme colored sweater.
“Like a good girl?” You offer with a smile Jimin couldn’t quite put a name to. Somehow he notices a trace of sadness in your eyes, but you disappear into the closet too soon.
“I’ll think about what to wear the morning I need to wear it,” you’re in the middle of pulling off the sweater when Jimin comes up behind you, kissing your neck and grabbing your boobs like they’re his.
The sound of your giggle is music to his ears.
That is, until his boner brushes against your butt and you gasp, “Chim! We just did it.”
“I know but you look so cute in that sweater.” He sounds exactly like Jeongguk. Like a fuckboy.
Like one of the boys you got tired of before you finally noticed him, the quiet, shy guy who’s friends with the outgoing, baby-faced Jeon Jeongguk whom - Jimin hates to admit it but he thinks about this every once so often and gets jealous all on his own - you’ve humped and dumped.
How you and Jeongguk still manage to stay friends and tease each other about the other’s choice of partners, Jimin doesn’t know.
It’s like a twin calling the other ugly.
He wonders if you and him will still stay friends after…
Jimin pushes the thought out of his mind. It’s not hard to forget everything when he’s with you - when he’s kissing you on the mouth like you’re the only girl he’ll want to spend the rest of his college life with and maybe his old days with together too.
“Chim, I can’t get my shirt creased,” you say but you’re already dripping wet and laying down in said shirt that’s half ridden up from him sucking and biting on your nipples.
He stopped you when you tried to take off your clothes.
“I’ll wash it and iron it for you,” he negotiates just as he rolls the condom over his length.
The sound of your giggle makes his heart skip a beat. Or maybe that’s the libido?
Either way, your mouth clamps shut when he pulls you down against him by the dip of your waist.
A different kind of hymn leaves your lips as Jimin throws his head back, relishing in the feeling of you around him.
When Monday rolls around, Jimin’s lying on the bean bag with his two legs sprawled over the floor. The boys are all out with either their significant others, working part-time or at a party.
The worn out baseball Jimin’s been tossing in the air and catching with one hand finally hits him square in the face when he hears the doorbell, signaling the presence of someone at the door and that someone being none of the boys because they would just punch in the code and strut in like they own the place.
Jimin thought maybe it’s Yoongi - the guy couldn’t even remember what he had for dinner and actually forgot the passcode to his own rental room once.
So he didn’t think to check who it was.
When your bright smile and slightly puffy eyes flash in front of him, Jimin thinks his soul just yeeted itself out of his body.
“Hey!” You sing song, holding up two plastic bags of beers and snacks.
It takes a moment for him to snap out of his stupor and grab them from your hands and then stepping aside to let you in.
“Is… everyone late or am I just early?” You sound increasingly confused as you step further into the center of the room, standing right next to the bean bag he was laying in just a moment ago.
“Oh-” he says once before he opens his mouth the second time, ready to spurt out another lie, “oh yeah… we decided not to ‘cause why hang out in a group when you can hang out with your significant other… you know, just the two of you… doing what couples do…”
“Huh,” you say, nodding though not quite believing him but you being you, easily lets it slide, plopping on the bean bag and grabbing the closest thing to you which is the ball that hit Jimin in the face - he’s sure he has a circular mark smack dab in the area on the top of his nose bridge, in between his eyes.
The dress you end up wearing is creme colored and riding up your thighs - Jimin swallows thickly and give extra attention to the bottle opener.
“So… how did lunch go?” He pops two beers open and hands one to you, taking a seat on Yoongi’s favorite couch and admiring how your dress is taking the shape of your body as gravity pulls it down.
“Oh, you know, everyone was being fake and acting like the perfect role in the family,” you put the beer down a few inches above your head so as to not tip it over with the ball you’re waving around but not throwing in the air like Jimin did.
“Sounds suffocating,” Jimin repeats a similar answer he gives whenever you use that dismissive tone while talking about your family.
“...are you okay?” Then he asks - and he’s genuinely asking - about your state of mind while casually downing the beer and feeling the bitterness lessen with every gulp.
The silence that lapses in between you is familiar.
“If I say no, can I get a hug?” It’s the look in your eyes, glimmering like the lake he used to go to in summer.
“Always,” he sets his beer down on the table next to the couch and goes over to you, standing on his knees before bending down and engulfing you in his arm.
You’ve always had a knack for picking yourself up.
When he sees you the next time, which is on instagram and a post of you having lunch with your friends, Jimin could hardly believe that’s the girl who asked him for a hug as if she’s afraid she’ll be putting him in an uncomfortable spot by asking for too much.
But there’s something…
Like an invisible wall made of ice that he can’t thaw through nor can he climb over to get to the other side where you are. Where you keep the people you love the closest. Closer than he’ll ever be.
Jeon Jeongguk is one of them.
In the picture of five people huddled close to fit in the frame, Jeongguk has his arm over you with a peace sign while you lean your head on his neck but not actually resting on it - like it’s an unconscious action you’d do because you’ve done that plenty of times.
Is it when you two were together?
Everyone he knows, knows that you and Jeongguk used to be more than just friends at some point.
Sometimes he still hears people talking about you two in passing.
‘Did ___ and Jeongguk get back together? I saw in Jeongguk’s snapstory - they were in a club or something.’
‘No way. There goes my chance of getting close with Jeongguk.’
‘Girl, with ___ hanging around him 24/7, do you think he’d look at girls like us?’
‘A girl can dream though.’
Jimin wanted to open his mouth and tell them they deserve way better than Jeon Jeongguk - though they’re not prettier than you.
He thinks you’re the loveliest girl on planet earth and if there was another life form on another planet, he’s almost a hundred percent sure you’d still be prettiest being in the universe with your obsession for skinny jeans and the way you’d unconsciously pout when he talks about how things weren’t going his way that day as if you would’ve exchanged your abundance of luck with his shitty one just because you’ve got that big of a heart and how you’d be walking with your friends, laughing and giggling and when you see him, you’d wave at him like you’re good friends.
Second only to Jeongguk and your friend group that you’re always hanging out with.
“Oh, ___? We were childhood friends.”
“Hmm… Gguk and I became friends because our parents are friends.”
The two of them say at different times and settings when Jimin asked, trying to play it cool. Like he isn’t just brimming with jealousy. Like he’s not half-way to losing his mind because the girl of his dreams just went to a retreat with his friend-of-a-friend-turned-actual-friend together when everyone else in the group who was excitedly planning for the trip - couldn’t make it.
The rooms at the inn weren’t even pre-booked. It was owned by Jeongguk’s family and they didn’t deposit any money for the trip for them to rationalize going on that trip anyway despite everyone else not being to go.
“The trip? It was fun, if you want we can go together next time.”
Jimin isn’t sure if you even mean that when he asked how the trip went after you’re glistening with the glow of after sex and scrolling through instagram, liking posts of everyone you know.
But then three months later, on your break, Jimin is hit with a ‘keep your schedule free next week for a whole week!!!’
Then he finds himself at a five star hotel by the beach with the most breathtaking view of the sea.
It wasn’t the inn owned by the Jeon’s but Jimin liked the fact that you brought him to a place - and he hopes his assumptions are true - your friends have never been before. Especially Jeongguk.
“Woah, this place is better than I thought,” a king sized bed lies directly across from the balcony where you’re standing, hair flying behind your back as the seaside breeze blows into the room.
“We can watch the sun rise and set from our bed,” Jimin comments for the sake of saying something.
He’s not sure what this means. He’s not sure if he should be having a boner at the thought of the two of you being together for a whole week without any other person getting in the way. He’s not sure if his heart should be thumping this fast.
For the first time since he’s known you, Park Jimin is the most unsure he’s ever been.
“You know what I wanna watch?” Your hands slip in his as you stand between him  and the open balcony door, “you under me, biting your lips because you’re still shy about the sound you make.”
So when you tug him back into the bedroom just minutes after checking in, naturally, Park Jimin follows like he’s been bewitched by your ungodly beauty.
Once the one week of nothing but heavenly morning wishes and passionate night kisses - oh, there was more than just kissing but Jimin remembers how your lips meld so perfectly together with his the most - Jimin is sure.
‘Something definitely changed.’
He thinks maybe it’s not impossible to dream of a future with you even after college.
“Jimin I-... I’m not at a point in life to be thinking about relationships,” you say, hand gripping your arm, head lowered as if your whole body is saying sorry.
“O-oh,” is all he says, he hearts his heart breaking and his chest caving.
All of a sudden, the lights in Gangnam city doesn’t seem so bright anymore.
You both live your last year pretending like the other doesn’t exist. He doesn’t look at you when he passes you and neither did you. Only talks to Jeongguk even though you’re right next to the aforementioned man - granted you were talking with your other friends like you didn’t even notice him there.
But Jimin’s never felt so invisible in his life than he does now.
Then, graduation rolls around and he thinks finally, he won’t have to walk through the hallway and pretend like he didn’t see you. Don't have to keep a five feet distance whenever you meet up for a group project.
Park Jimin doesn’t need to see your pretty face and starry eyes anymore.
“Jimin… do you have a minute?”
Or so he thought.
“So… congrats on surviving college,” you make small talk while standing just ten feet away from the boys whom he’s sure are speculating on what you’re talking about.
Jimin never got to prove to his friends that you’re not the mean, name-forgetting girl they all thought.
Jeongguk knows you’re not. He’s always backing Jimin up when Jimin’s debunking their passing accusations about you.
“Sometimes things just don’t work out between two people but doesn’t mean one of them is the bad guy.” Jeongguk's words put an end to their debate of whether Jimin deserved better than you or not.
For someone young, Jeongguk spoke his mind decidedly.
Jimin felt ashamed that he’d ever been jealous of Jeongguk’s relationship with you.
“I just… didn’t wanna leave things on a bad note. I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings when I said no but I really like spending time with you - whether it’s sex or just staying over and cuddling for hours… I like it all.” You say the word sex and cuddle like they’re used interchangeably and Jimin thinks his heart just fluttered.
And you’d said it in public where your everyone can see or possibly pick up on what you were saying, at that.
Well, one thing’s for sure, you’ve got bigger balls than he does.
“My feelings are the same as six months ago and call me crazy but I don’t think you dislike me either.” He finally says and it feels like a deadweight has been lifted off his shoulders.
There comes that pout, as if something is bothering you and you always ever pout like that when that something concerns him.
“You kidding me? I can never dislike you.”
The Jimin from six months ago would have stared at you with disbelief and a dust of pink on his cheeks. But the Jimin he is now simply smiles, heart thumping in his chest. He nods.
“Thanks for telling me that,” and Jimin knows that’s the closest to an ‘I like you’ he can get with the girl who builds an ice fortress around her heart.
A whole year passes by and Jimin finds himself in different shades of grey every day, working at his dad’s company and attending dinner meetings. Life comes to a standstill while time passes him by.
“So, like, you have a sports car, right? Why don’t you come over to the race circuit after dinner? Everyone’s gonna be there.”
Jeongguk tells him over the phone.
And by ‘everyone’ he means the sons and daughters in the corporate world. It’s networking at its finest.
When he’s there, three cars are already racing in the circuit. The smell of burnt rubber and the sound of tires screeching against asphalt isn’t exactly his favorite but they have cheap booze instead of fine wine and he knows the people here are in for the same thing as he is.
An escape.
Away from the grandeur of fine wine and dinner dresses and the elders breathing down their necks and having to act like the next heir to the legacy they were born to carry.
“That Chevrolet over there,” Jeongguk comes, hand on Jimin’s back as his other one that’s holding a bottle of beer points at a red car that looks like a racing fireball, “everyone’s betting on that one tonight.”
Jimin doesn’t know there’s a bet.
“I’ll skip the bet this time ‘round. Haven’t seen the driver yet,” he shrugs dismissively.
Even in stock investment, he’d learned to study the market first before placing his best bet.
Jeongguk leaves his side when his friends - he’s got new ones now - beckons him over. At the same time, the Chevrolet passes the finish line seconds before the Ford Mustang and McLaren 720s, making it the winner of the night.
The driver seems like a show off with the way the car rolls up to the audience, the sound of its engines revving into the night being met with cheers of half-drunk young adults.
Arrogance is a man’s downfall.
Jimin’s about to turn around and head for the exit when the door of the car gets pushed open. The driver steps out, decked in black and red leather jeans and jackets that seem to match the car.
But it’s the smooth, silken hair that cascades past the helmet that catches his eyes.
Park Jimin’s seen many arrogant men in his life but he’s only ever seen one woman with balls and looks good wearing them.
“___! ___! ___!” The crowd starts cheering as you pull off the helmet, holding it underneath your arm and waist.
Your eyes are as brilliant as the night sky full of stars. They’re tinged with shock and then recognition. And finally, you smile that gorgeous smile that gets you misunderstood often as a woman who doesn’t need anything or anyone but uses them as they come.
But Park Jimin knows better than anyone, how wholeheartedly happy that smile looks when you see him.
Like meeting a good friend after a long time.
Seven months down the road, Jimin finds himself with just a blanket draped over his waist while you’re taking a shower in his bathroom to get ready to head to Hong Kong for a business trip.
He hears the sound of the shower head being turned off. The tapping of your foot around his bedroom as you pick up your clothes that are strewn all over the floor.
Then the bed dips ever so gently under your weight as you climb over to him, the fresh scent of shower get filling his senses.  Lips press a deep, lingering kiss on his. As if you don’t want to go to a place where he won’t be.
A few socials and midnight races after his first meeting with you after a long time, you asked him if he’s seeing someone.
“If I say yes, what will you do?” It’s playful at first, because Jimin didn’t want to get himself hurt the second time.
But it’s the way you tilted your head, a finger tapping on your chin as you pondered on his words, “that’s a problem because I don’t want to be that girl that steals another girl’s man,” then you looked at him like you know he’s the one you want to wake up to every morning and the last face you see when you sleep at night and if you can’t have that. then-
“Can you be mine… just for tonight?”
“I don’t think I can.” The crestfallen expression you wear makes his own heart break, even if it’s just for a split second-
“Because I’m not seeing anyone but I’m in that point in life where I want a serious relationship or nothing at all.”
But what he doesn’t tell you is how he doesn’t want a relationship if it’s not with the girl who still haunts his dreams even after all this time.
Just like how you’d turned him down because you weren’t looking to be in a relationship before, you’d courted Jimin like you’d want to spend your whole life with him now.
Flowers got sent to his office everyday until it smells nothing short of floral. You’d be there, waving at him like he’s your savior in that dreadful social you were both attending. Every week, you’d plan dinner dates under the guise of catching up.
Before you race, you’d look over to where he’s standing, as if saying ‘this one’s for you’ before slipping into your car and coming out first every single time.
As if you were making up for every month of the year that you’d let life pass you by.
Now you’ve won a total of 36 races since he met you and the metal band you gifted him on the night of your 12th win feels warm against his skin. As if it’s absorbed all the love and adoration you poured into it.
And you’re wearing that ring he got you on your birthday on your finger that’s resting on his chest where his heart is as he kisses you back just as reluctant to let you leave.
But Park Jimin knows wherever you are, wherever you will be - you will always find your way back to each other.
Back home.
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whaleofatjme1920 · 3 years ago
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Dealing With People Who Don't Care (Ticci Toby X F!Reader)
Dealing With People Who Don't Care
[Ticci Toby X F!Reader]
[Warnings: slight language and calls to violence? Bullying, slight yandere behavior]
[AN: Requested from ѕρσσку яανισlι on Quotev! Idk if I'm ready to tell y'all that this was basically my first quarter of college.]
College wasn’t supposed to be like this, at least, that’s what you keep telling yourself. When you graduated from high school, you were told that petty drama and catty people were going to fade away because that was high school and this is college. Something new, something for young adults, and something you’d been looking forward to for far, far too long.
Truth be told, in high school, you didn’t really have any problems. You mostly got along with the people you did talk to and aside from a few arcs which you lovingly call ‘character development’, you generally kept your head down and to yourself which allowed you to stay off some of the cruller people’s radars. You were liked when it was necessary but ultimately stuck to yourself.
How did it all go so wrong?
When you first came in on orientation day, you’d met up with a group of girls and bonded on the train ride back to campus. There was a group chat made and you were a ready part of it. You felt nicely about your entire situation because these were nice girls, and they treated you like you held the sun and rose the moon. Is that what positive friendship was like?
For the first few weeks, everything with them was a bliss. Unfortunately, you were the only person from that group in your specific branch and major. This meant that you often spent most of your daylight hours alone or with yourself entirely. The other girls all had majors that were almost word for word the same, and that meant that they spent a lot of time together. Slowly, that had been growing closer and closer to each other and leaving you out.
It came in small doses at first, and you had chalked it up to your nature being so different from theirs. They were much more extroverted than you ever could have been. They were fire, and you were ice. But that did not mean that you were boring, or any less interesting, you were just quieter, preferring to take this just as softly. Wandering around the city with maybe one or two people, talking about the things that matter as opposed to getting wasted in a crowded apartment with fifty people who don’t even care about your wellbeing.
That’s what was different about you than them.
“Hey ladies,” you smile widely as you take your tray of food from the cafeteria to the table where all the girls sat. You notice that they’re all engrossed in conversation but quickly turn to greet you with smiles and waves.
“Hi, Reader! How has your day been?” Maria greets, her fingers gently tugging through her blonde hair. “Me and Georgina were just talking about you.”
Georgina nods and pats the seat next to her for you to sit down. “Yeah, what have you been up to?”
You take a seat next to the redhead and sip from your drink. “It was alright. With midterms coming up though… Little stressed,” you admit as the two girls sitting around you frown in response. “Lots of essays, some minor discussion posts, a group project but we’re just starting it early because it counts for like, 20 percent of our grade and is part of our final,” you say as you stab into your food.
“Oh? A group project?” Georgina asks with a raise of her eyebrow.
You nod. “It’s actually more like a partner project. I’m paired with this guy named Toby? But like, I haven’t seen him yet - he doesn’t show up to class,” you sigh.
“Maybe try emailing the professor,” Maria suggests. “But I’m sure you’ll do just fine,” she hums with a small smile, her hand reaching over and gripping yours warmly.
From there, the conversation that follows has you drifting away. By now, a third girl has joined the conversation and her name is Helena. Helena is also in the same class as you with the group project, but she isn’t as close to you as Georgina and Maria are. She greets you just as warmly but she turns the conversation in a direction you weren’t expecting.
Laughter rings out from the table.
“And that guy from last night?” Georgina giggles.
“He was insane!” Maria adds. “You have to come inside!” She mockingly says before bursting into another fit of giggles.
“And he dressed so weirdly,” Helena continues. “Ratty as all hell jacket and then followed us into the theatre? Asked to show us magic tricks-” she’s not even able to finish her words because she’s laughing much too hard.
You tilt your head slightly. “What happened last night?” You ask.
The girls pause for a moment. “Don’t worry about it,” Georgina says as she swats off your question. “You weren’t there.”
“This was last night?” You ask again.
They nod.
“Yeah, wasn’t anything special,” Maria attempts to shrug off before those three continue with their conversation and inside jokes.
You eat in silence, every now and then smiling and offering forced laughter as you think about what you did last night. You weren’t doing anything, in fact, your roommate went out on a date with her boyfriend and left you in the dorm all along. So, you finished your work a little early and started on some other things, then watched Netflix and fell asleep before midnight. You were free the entire night.
And they didn’t even think to invite you.
From there, you started to notice all the times they forgot about you and excluded you. It carried on in the sloughed off invites, the ‘sorry we can’t meet up for dinner,’ and generally just avoiding you. They had jokes they couldn’t share with you, and you were at their side, they acted like you weren’t even there until it faded into nothing.
Reader: Are you guys doing anything tonight?
Maria is typing…
Maria: no not tonight :(
Reader: oh okay! But if any of you want to come to Target with me or something..? Maria: sorry, I’m busy!
Georgina is typing…
Helena is typing…
After that, they’d left you on read, not even bothering to answer you. Later that night on snapchat, you saw the three of them wandering the city without you, laughing and having a good time.
Instead of talking to them right away, you focused on your classes and your work. And that meant finally tagging down toby.
You’d managed to finally get him in your sight after emailing your professor who struck some type of fear into him. You were able to meet him face to face at a little cafe somewhere off campus.
“Over h-here,” he calls out from near the window of the cafe, waving you towards the back.
You flash him a quick smile and let it fall before finally taking a seat across from him. You’re slightly surprised to see that there’s a cup of hot chocolate and a chocolate chip muffin is there waiting for you. “Oh, uh, thank you,” you say as you get comfortable.
“It’s n-nothing,” he says with a small smile. “I-I’m sorry for k-keeping you w-w-waiting all t-this time,” he continues in an apologetic tone. “T-Things with my f-family aren’t e-easy right n-now.”
Not wanting to push him, you nod and smile reassuringly. “It’s okay,” you relent. “So, this project..?”
“It’ll b-be a breeze,” he replies. “D-Don’t worry about i-it, yeah?” He picks up his own cup of hot chocolate to fight off the child of mid autumn and nods to you, his dark eyes scanning over your form. “I w-wanna know j-just who I’m w-working with.” He smirks slightly, the corners of his mouth pulling up like a know-it-all cat.
You look into your cup of hot chocolate and shrug. “Nothing too interesting,” you attempt to slide off.
Toby rolls his eyes. “Calling b-bull,” he snorts. “You l-look stressed. W-What’s on your m-m-mind?”
You sigh deeply and relax your body as you think back to the situation with those girls. “It’s nothing.”
Toby hums once more but does not push you. Deep down though, he knows something is wrong.
And that’s how it carries on. You and Toby meet every so often to work on your presentation and your paper together and your so called friends continually leave you in the dust. Before you know it, you’re spending more and more time with Toby than anyone else, and because of that, you don’t feel nearly as alone as you used to.
From Toby’s perspective, he would never tell you what he thought when he first saw you walk through those doors of the cafe to finally meet him in person.
When he first got that email in regards to him not showing up and worrying you, he’d rolled his eyes and pretended it didn’t matter. It was whatever, who cares? Apparently you. With a slight gripe in the back of his head, he looked you up on social media with the help of a friend named Ben and found all that he needed to know just by looking at your profile. He was almost ashamed to admit how enraptured with you he had become. That’s why he was so adamant you met him at a cafe, where he could spend time with just you.
When he saw you walking through the doors, his eyes scanned over every inch of you. You had a slight bounce in your walk despite it being so chilly.
He wondered if you wanted to be warmed up.
You looked so soft in his eyes, so sweet and so alluring. Just your looks alone was all he needed as water for a growing obsession.
Toby is addictive by nature. Seeing you was what allowed that addiction to take off. When he heard your voice? He felt like he was high.
He knew something was wrong with you when you sighed like that. It was a loaded sigh. Of course, after the two of you parted ways for the night and on good terms, he immediately dug into the lives of your so-called ‘friends.’ Let’s just say that damn near instantly, he did not like them.
Maria, a nursing major. He considered her an air head that wouldn’t get anywhere with substance, and saw that she was much more of a party girl than anything else.
Georgina, another nursing major. Also considered her a lost cause.
Helena, a medical assistant major. Toby considered her the worst one, but it didn’t come at first. He found that girl was vile in every sense. The things he’s overhead her saying about other people? Terrible. The things he’s overhead her saying about you? Absolutely unacceptable.
He noticed her whispers that cut like thorns wrapping around you from the shadows as he sat in class near her, but never next to her. He listened to the filth that poured from her mouth and was able to pick up the conversations from her phone like it was nothing.
And all of that? It lit a fire in him, a fire that would eventually burn her down and scorch her until she was nothing but ashes.
You’re about to head to class and present your final project with Toby. You look like a mess, and it’s not just from the lack of sleep because of your other class’s finals, but because you are absolutely emotionally drained and have nothing left to give. You’d finally formally broken up from those girls, but it did not come without tears.
Reader: hey guys, it’s been a little while, but I just wanted to get some things off of my chest before I call it. First and foremost, I want to thank you for the time we did spend together, but I don’t feel safe or happy anymore. These past few weeks have been nothing but straight ice and being left out and I’m just… I’m tired, for a lack of better words. I know that you don’t really want me around anymore, so I thought I’d just nip this one in the bud before it got out of hand or anything like that. I just - whatever, I’m sorry for whatever I’ve done to offend you.
Georgina is typing…
Georgina: Honestly don’t take this the wrong way but you legitimately brought this all onto yourself.
Georgina: you don’t really talk to us the way that we talk to each other
Reader: but you literally never gave me a chance???
Maria: shes right tho,,,,, like, you just always kept to yourself. You didnt really give us anything to go off of
Georgina: right??? And it’s not like she’d actually do any of the things we wanted to do either
Reader: I’m sorry but like, I offered for you guys to come do some things with me and I even asked for you to tell me when you guys were making plans - I would have gone out
Helena: does it even matter now though? You brought literally all of this onto yourself there’s no use for you to just beg us for you to come back lol. Just stop while you’re ahead
Helena: you were never really there to begin with tbh you just kinda existed
Maria: exactly that! Like im glad we’re getting stuff off our chest because omg did you get on my nerves. Always quiet and just watching??? Never saying anything??
Georgina: RIGHT It was like a literal ghost in the room LMFAO
Reader: are you fucking serious right now?
Reader: you’re going to act like this?
Maria: you brought it on yourself
Helena: it was bound to happen
Reader: I cannot believe you guys are acting like such assholes right now
Maria: you did it first though?????
Helena: ^^^^
Georgina: ^^^^
From there, the conversation had delved into them throwing all of their problems onto you. It honestly felt like projecting, but you had a class to go to and project to present and no time to cry.
You wiped your tears, got ready for the day and headed out to your building from out of your dorm. Soon, you would be on break and away from this place that’s driving you up a wall.
You walked across campus and plastered a faint smile on your face as you continued to move through the nippy air. You enjoyed seeing the leaves as they danced on the flowing air and eventually kissed the sidewalk. You could smell pumpkin spice and the remnants of November. What a beautiful season.
Waiting for you outside of Wendell’s Hall was Toby, hands in his pockets as he leaned up against the wall just beside the door.
“Were you waiting for me?” You ask with a small smile.
“Maybe,” he hums with a small smirk. “C-C’mon, it’s a little c-chilly out here,” he says as he gently shuffles you inside after opening the door for you. He watches you carefully as you walk through the halls and find the elevator to get to the sixth floor.
As the two of you wait for the doors to open, Toby checks you over.
“What?” You say with a small chuckle.
“J-Just checking,” Toby hums. “A-Are you okay?” He asks as the doors open. He nods for you to go in first, and then follows in directly after. He watches your finger press the button for six.
“Why?”
“You s-seem a l-little tense,” he says as he looks over you again, his eyes narrowing in on yours. “I-Is it the p-presentation?”
You hold your hand out and make a ‘so-so’ motion. “I guess,” you reply, attempting to shove off anything that might make you cry again. Your eyes are a little dark, and your skin is still soft from the saline, raw from you rubbing those pearls of water with your sleeves repeatedly.
“You w-wanna talk a-about it l-later?” He asks softly, his hand resting warmly on your shoulder as he brings you into his side.
You look up at him and smile. “We’ll see.”
When the doors open, you and Toby quickly make it to your class and are pleased to see there’s spots open and the two of you can sit together. Toby is quick to snag the seats for the both of you and his warm expression falls when he sees Helena waltzing into the room.
Helena sits a little ways from where you and Toby sit before she wiggles her fingers at you like a nonverbal smile before actually turning her lips up in a fake saccharine smile.
You shift uncomfortably and instead focus on your presentation. You feel a little nervous, mostly because Helena is here and this is also a big chunk of your grade. You’re academically passing with flying colors, but a hiccup like this could spell something bad. You breathe out deeply when you feel Toby’s hand resting on your shoulder, grounding you.
“We g-g-got this,” he says with a small smile, squeezing you lightly. “You w-wwanna get it out of the w-w-ay?”
“No,” you reply suddenly. “I just want to see how this goes.”
Toby nods and turns his attention to the other students that continue to walk through the door. “A-Anything for y-y-you,” he says softly.
You barely hear it, but you smile all the same.
Presentations pass in a pretty boring manner. Your professor seems pleased with everyone that presents, and she offers praise and saves the criticism for emails, but so far, it seems like everyone is doing well! You’re almost fully calm by the time you raise your hand to present but when Helena and her partner begin snickering, your heart sinks to your knees.
“Alright, you two are good to go,” your professor says with a warm, reassuring smile on her face after she pulls up your project on the overhead projector. “Giving the remote to Miss Reader, whenever you two are ready.” She holds the remote out to you and then whispers ‘you’re gonna do great’ before taking her seat in the front row.
You silently thank her for her reassurance and then turn your attention to Toby, who begins the presentation.
You make sure to speak clearly and concisely as you present your project, paying close attention to detail and everything that was outlined on the rubric. You watch your professor’s expression light up brighter and brighter as you carry on with your half of the presentation. It seems that she’s really pleased with the both of you, but especially you!
Your big hiccup comes when the questions part of your presentation comes up.
See, prior to this, the questions portion had been empty and pretty dead. But of course, because Helena is here, she’s dead set on making you flop.
When she starts firing questions, you and Toby answer them to the best of your abilities. Admittedly, you are more than mentally dead at this point. With every question that Helena digs into you, you feel your brain cells dying off at an even faster rate. The lights of the projector bore into you and make you dizzy. You’re just… exhausted.
Helena finally poses a question that makes your face heat up. “So?” She taunts, her eyes looking at you innocently. “I just wanna know,” she continues, her eyes flashing.
You should be able to answer this. It’s so simple and right there in your bank of knowledge you just can’t open the vault.
“Miss Reader..?” Your professor quietly asks, pulling you from your thoughts. “Are you able to-” You shake your head, feeling numb and cold all at the same time. “I’m sorry, no,” you whisper. It was one of the first things you learned in the class and one of the most important.
Your professor nods and mouths, ‘don’t worry,’ before turning to the rest of her class. “Alright then, you two are dismissed. Give them a round of applause for their work.”
The applause surrounds you but you do not feel it, and when you move back to your seat, you can’t help but feel embarrassed. The looks that you get from those around you are of pity and ‘she hasn’t learned anything this quarter, has she?’ It makes your face burn with embarrassment and you feel so unnaturally warm because of it. A rush of emotions comes over you when you see Helena’s shifty glances and hear her insipid giggles and you hurriedly get your things together and bolt out of the classroom.
Toby shoots up when you rush out and he’s not able to catch you. Instead, he sits in for the rest of the class to give you some space and anything else the professor may say. His glare is turned on Helena. When she flashes him that same sickly sweet, mocking smile, he sees red.
Class ends shortly after that, the professor clearly uncomfortable with whatever just happened with Helena and Toby is keeping his ire hidden until what comes after he deals with you. He’s got a few choice things in mind he’d like to do to Helena, mostly spinal disfigurement and popping bones from their joints and scattering them across the country, but he knows he has to play this as slimy as she did. He’s already conjuring up ways to academically cripple her.
Toby pushes those thoughts to the side before he makes his way to your dorm. He’s nodding to the guy at the front desk and running up the stairs to find you faster than his thoughts can even gather. He just wants to make sure you’re okay.
He walks through the hall of your floor before going over the room numbers. He’s only been in your dorm once - the two of you tend to spend time with each other outside of the campus. Twenty four hour McDonalds, out and about in the city, public parks, the two of you just like wandering. When he sees the numbers of your dorm, he internally sighs and knocks. “H-Hey, Reader? Y-You in t-t-there?” He asks as he knocks again.
From inside, you shuffle underneath your sheets. He’s here? You don’t answer.
“I j-just want to make s-sure you’re alright,” he continues in a soft voice. “If you n-need space though, I c-c-can go-” he barely makes the motion to move when you open the door just a crack.
You look up at Toby with dark, puffy eyes. You can’t bring yourself to say anything, but he can see that you’ve been through hell and back emotionally. You look like a mess, in less graceful words.
“Oh g-gods,” he murmurs as you push open the door just a bit more. “R-Reader,” he says softly as he takes you into his arms, his shoe gently pushing the door closed as you wrap your arms around his waist, taking in the scent of graphite and sandalwood as you sob into his chest. “What h-happened, s-sweetheart?” He asks softly as he rocks the two of you back and forth.
You continue to cry into his chest and grip onto the back of his hoodie as he gently maneuvers you to the side of your bed to let your tired body rest. “S-She’s so mean!” You cry as you continue to squeeze your eyes shut, still gripping Toby like he’s the only thing grounding you.
“What h-have they d-d-done to you?” He inquires in a tone just a little louder than a whisper. Internally, he knows he’ll make all three of those demons suffer and leave the school, by any means necessary. He just wants to hear it from you to know how hard he needs to fuck up their lives. Judging by this interaction alone? It’s monumental.
You then go into a painful detailing of everything those girls have ever made you feel, at one point even bringing up the chats you have saved on your phone. Your breathing begins to even, but Toby’s vision grows redder and redder.
He listens to everything you say as you recount your pain to him and he grits his teeth. Especially those chats - those are unforgivable.
You’re exhausted by the time you finally finish telling him everything they’ve made you feel and the things they’ve done to make you feel this way. You finish it with just a few more words. “They make me feel so small,” you admit through sniffles and broken breaths. “They just - they made me feel so left out and so insignificant,” you admit, still wiping away tears.
Toby holds you tighter before one of his hands reaches up to cup your cheek. “N-No! You’re n-not insignificant, you’re e-everything and m-more,” he begins to ramble. “Y-You’re s-s-so smart and p-put together and o-on top of i-it,” he continues, his thumb wiping away your residual tears.
“You’re just saying that-”
“I w-would never,” he cuts you off in a tone that’s more serious than he intended. “I m-mean everything I s-s-say and those g-girls suck. They d-don’t hold a candle to you,” he says as he cups your face.
“Toby…”
Toby hushes you by pressing a soft, almost scared he might spook you kiss to your lips as if he’s testing the waters. When you make no motion to fight him, he presses just a little more fervently before pulling away, leaving you with stars in your eyes. “I’ll handle e-e-everything, okay?” He promises softly, watching as the stars fade to exhaustion. “G-Get some r-r-rest,” he coos.
You allow him to lay you down as he moves the blankets to cover you before he gets up to turn off the lights. “You’re going to handle it?” You whisper as you allow sleep to veil over your body.
“Y-Yes, I’ll handle e-e-everything,” he promises again, flicking the lights off.
Toby fumbles through the dark for just a moment before slipping back into bed with you, allowing you to wrap around him like an octopus. He cradles you in his arms, his lips pressing to your forehead. “Sleepy t-time,” he mumbles as you cuddle into his chest.
You smile softly and feel your body go light, only anchored by Toby’s warm embrace.
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yourmcu · 4 years ago
Text
Forgotten [DISCONTINUED]
Pairings: Tony Stark x daughter!reader, Peter Parker x Stark!reader (platonic)
Request: 
Hello i love your story could you do angsty tony x daughter reader. Wherein the reader has a twin brother and Tony and the avengers prefer the twin brother and becaus of that, the reader became rebel and badass. She always getting trouble and almost drop out student. The avengers and her father were seem disappointed and dont know what to do. Not until the reader involve into car accident and she's critical injured. The reader also slipped to coma. Everyone is devastated about the reader conditione. And they realized that the reader only rebel because she wants to get attention from them. It depends to you what the end come, I just want a full angst this week and I hope you dont mind my English. Anyway I hope your alright.
Word count: 1,627
A/n: (to anon: I’d like to apologize for not finishing this) I don’t think I have any intention to anymore tbh so- I’m just posting this for fun now lmaolmao
hella big update: the continued version is here!
Warnings: bad angst and writing hee hee. no I’m serious this is bad
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gif not mine! credits to the owner^^
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Being a genius/billionaire/superhero’s kid doesn’t always sound nice like it usually does.
You were one of the Stark twins, the other half being your brother, Ethan.
The both of you showed signs that you inherited the commonly known Stark trait (intelligence) at a young age. But Tony mostly focused on his son, showing him all his inventions and gadgets, teaching him everything he knew while you on the other hand, were being babysat by Happy or Pepper, sometimes Rhodey.
You tried so hard to get your father’s attention but he always had his excuses:
“I don’t have time for that.”
“I’m busy with Ethan right now.”
“Maybe later.”
At first you didn’t mind if your brother got all the praise and attention. It wasn’t until your mid-teens that you really started to feel left out and ignored.
You were left to frown when the other Avengers never found anything interesting about you, just like Tony did. They all liked Ethan better. The topic of him being the next Iron Man when Tony retires is getting exhausting.
There was this one time when Tony announced that they were all going out to dinner since Ethan got, yet again, a full set of A’s on his report card.
“Did you get my card?” You tapped on Tony’s shoulder lightly.
He gave you a side glance, “ah shoot, I forgot. I’ll go get it tomorrow.” Then returned his attention to your brother.
But he ended up forgetting again the next day and you had to convince your teacher to give it to you instead. Your marks had A’s, but littered with B’s as well, of course that was no match for your brother’s perfect marks.
And that sort of scenario wasn’t just a one time thing, Tony forgets to pick up your report card every. single. time. The messed up part was you and Ethan literally attended the same school, he was just in a more advanced class than you.
As time passed, Tony went from ignoring you to getting annoyed and pissed at you for everything you did. In his eyes, you were always in the wrong. And the reason? You didn’t know.
“Dad? Can I borrow Bruce for a minute?” You knocked on the glass door of his lab to get him to look up.
He didn’t, but responded, “kinda busy with him right now.”
You looked at your fractured arm, regretting your decisions. “W-well, Ethan was training with Nat, and... and he wanted to try the new moves he learned on me. He went a little hard and - I think my arm’s broken, I just wanted Bruce to check it out-”
“Goddammit!” He shouted after you heard a glass shatter. Bruce covered his face with palms, muttering an ‘oh no’.
Tony glared at you, striding to where you were standing. All that was left for you to do was to brace yourself for what was about to come. “See, this is why we never let you do anything with the team,” he spat. “That right there?”-he pointed to your arm-“that’s on you. Things go wrong because you’re in the way!”
“I’m... I’m sorry-”
“Just get out of here.”
Your arm remained untreated after that.
Then Peter Parker came into the picture. Friendly guy, he was actually nice to you. Him and Ethan got along right away when Tony first recruited him. The fact that he treated Peter better than you made you even more miserable. It made you think he never wanted a daughter in the first place.
You first met Peter when he accidentally entered your room without warning, thinking it was the bathroom. Cliche, but that’s what happened.
“It’s on the first door to your other left,” you stated.
“Yeah, yeah okay, thanks,” he turned around to leave but stopped to look at you again. “I’m Peter Parker, by the way.”
“Y/N Stark.”
Peter’s eyes lit up at your last name. “I... I didn’t know Mr. Stark had a daughter - no offense! It’s just-”
You sighed and waved him off. He didn’t even notice the similarities you had with your twin. “It’s fine. I get that a lot.”
After many events of being, to be blunt, treated like shit, you finally had enough. You neglected your studies, only went to school when you felt like it (which was rare). No one cared your grades anyway, so what’s the point? You became a whole new person, you surrounded yourself with the wrong sort of people, causing you to dabble into smoking and alcohol.
Since you were always in trouble, you could recite Cap’s detention speech at school by heart now.
The principal of your school wanted to see Tony to talk about your behavior. Normally he’d make an excuse not to go if it wasn’t that important but he got flooded with messages from the school, so he couldn’t say no.
You had your legs crossed, sitting across from Tony who had his eyebrows furrowed as he listened to the principal. For some reason you didn’t feel nervous. “Y/N barely attends her classes. I’ve seen every attendance. Are you aware of this, Mr. Stark?”
Tony only maintained his usual relaxed posture and avoided your gaze.
“Some students have also seen her smoke in school grounds. We gave her a few weeks suspension for it, but it doesn’t look like she’s learned her lesson.” They pulled out a couple boxes of cigarettes from the desk drawer. “We found these in her locker.”
“You went into my locker?” You shot up from your seat. “You can’t just do that!”
Tony cleared his throat and got up, gripping your wrist. “I’ll take it from here - will that be all?”
On the way out he doesn’t say a word to you, only that his grip on your wrist got tight as you near the car.
“So,” he started the car. His voice was calm, but it screamed that you were in deep trouble. “What do you have to say for yourself?”
You sighed and slouched in the passenger’s seat, crossing your arms. “I’m... sorry you had to know...?”
“Yeah, I’m just gonna be honest with you here,” Tony still doesn’t look at you. “When I found out I had two kids, I got worried about Ethan.”
You let out a snort. Of course he would.
“I didn’t want him ending up like me. But surprise surprise, my daughter did instead.”
“I’m not ‘ending up’ like you, Dad-”
“Then what do you call - this,” he referred to you. “What, you’re just gonna waste your life, drop out of school? You’re a fucking mess, Y/N, and here I thought I raised you right. Sometimes I think: why can’t you just be like your brother?” He had a hard grip on the steering wheel as he drove, the way he spoke affected the speed of the car greatly.
You opened your mouth to speak but you couldn’t fine the exact words you wanted to say. “I... well, I’m sorry I’m not a goody two shoes like him!”
“That’s not what I-”
“Please, that’s exactly what you meant.”
He scoffed, shaking his head. “Look, I’m grounding you until you pull yourself together, understand?” And he did. He gave new orders to Friday when the both of you got home. You weren’t allowed to leave the compound without Tony’s permission.
Were you giving up that easily? Of course not.
You were on your laptop for the rest of the day, hacking into Friday’s system, the security to the elevator and the entrance. That night, your executed your plan and everything went smoothly.
“This is why you never underestimate me,” you sighed, deactivating the hack once you were out of the building. 
Your friend who was picking you up was already waiting a few blocks away from the compound. “I hope you’re cool with me staying over for a couple days.”
“If a bunch of Avengers come and destroy my place to look for you, I’m not going to be friends with you anymore.”
You laughed at out, “oh trust me, they don’t care.”
----
The next day no one noticed your absence, nobody did for another two days. Tony just assumed you were mad about your punishment, so he didn’t think of it much.
Not until Peter came to the compound on the third day, wanting to hang out with you.
“Whatcha got there, Pete?” Ethan asked.
“Star Wars movies. I wanna watch them with Y/N - she could use some company, don’t you think?”
The older Stark twin shrugged, “yeah, I guess she could.”
Peter then headed to the elevator and stopped at the floor where your room was. He knocked on your door and waited a bit, after a few minutes of silence he knocked again, still nothing.
“Y/N? Is it okay if I come in?” He called out. No response. He hesitated a bit, for all he knew you were probably changing or something, or you could be in danger. He went to open the door anyway. “I’m coming in, I’ll close my eyes just to be-”
To Peter’s surprise, your room was empty.
----
You were at a 711 parking lot, waiting for your friends who were buying supplies for a house party. You gave them your wallet, not really caring about anything anymore. Your phone was starting to pile up with messages and missed calls from Tony, Edward and Peter, occasionally from the others as you scrolled pass more.
Without thinking you threw your phone to the ground, cracking the screen, breaking it completely. They’d be able to track you through it now that they know you ran away. You really had no intention of coming back. You weren’t wanted, what’s the point of going back?
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bunnysuit-femboy · 4 years ago
Text
The Worst Wingman - Dust and a Goddess
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(Chapter 1 / 3)
Jean x Reader
Word Count: 5.3k
Warnings: mentions of homophobia
Summary:  Jean knew you better than anybody else, so why was he so good at picking the worst people on the planet for you to go on dates with. You were persistent to find a boyfriend this year and you thought Jean could help you find the perfect man, but apparently he loves to watch you suffer. If only you knew the perfect man for you was the one setting you up on all of these dates.
Notes: I posted this on my Ao3 first, but I thought I’d post it here too. So, please enjoy!
First Saturday
Another Saturday night meant another shitty date with another uninteresting and weird guy. You knew Jean hand-picked these dates that he sent you off with, but it seemed he didn’t know you or them at all. Every single date was just another bust, undeniably and irrefutably.
And, this date was just another on the already long list of bad dates.
“So,” Your date said with a smile, “You’re good friends with him, aren’t you?”
You nodded with the wine glass close to your lips. He had asked you the same question nearly fifteen times in the last fifteen minutes. It was as if he couldn’t believe it himself. As if he were surprised, or maybe even a little bit jealous.
“Yeah,” You said with a fake smile, “We’re in the same friend group. I met him freshman year, when I became close friends with Mikasa and she introduced us-”
“How is he?”
“Huh?”
The redhead smiled wide, “How is Eren? What’s he like as a friend?”
You raised your eyebrows and placed your glass back on the table, “Eren?”
The redhead nodded excitedly. He was nearly on the edge of his seat, leaning towards you like a child about to hear a war story from his grandfather. It was odd that the boy had gotten caught on the idea of Eren being friends with you when you had just explained how Jean was the one who set you up on the date.
“Eren is- um,” You looked around the small restaurant, trying to find inspiration for a way out of this conversation from the other diners, “He’s cool.”
The boy is physically upset about your discretion, “And?”
“And,” You involuntarily continued, “He’s- uh, he’s very nice. He-uh he helps me with my homework, and helps me study quite a bit.”
It was all a lie, but only partially. Sure, somebody in the friend group was really nice and helped you with homework and helped you study, but it wasn’t Eren. It was Armin who was the nice one, but you didn’t know Eren well enough not to switch the two names when talking with the boy in front of you.
“That’s awesome,” The redhead said with an admirational sigh, “I bet he’s super helpful. He’s definitely the type to not give up until you know everything, for sure.”
“Oh.” You grinned at your empty dinner plate. “For sure. He’s the best. He’s super dedicated, and he always makes the harder information easier for me to understand. He’ll word it in ways that he knows I’m more comfortable with.”
“I’ll have to join you two, sometime.”
You looked at the boy with furrowed eyebrows, “You want to join me and Eren while we study?”
Boy, is he going to be upset when he finds out Eren is actually an adorable blonde boy with big ocean eyes who’s not nearly as blatantly mean. Also, it’s a bit strange the redhead wants to go on a study date with you and somebody else. Isn’t he at this date for you? But, all he’s asked you about all night is Eren.
“Of course,” The boy said with a smile, “I would just love to see him again.”
You giggled lightly to yourself, “Do you want me to get his number for you?”
Though the comment was purely a joke, the boy didn’t flinch nor smile. He just stared at you with a look of defeat in his eyes and he almost looked angry. His eyes never left your face, his mind not finding an ounce of humor in your question.
His reaction caused your smile to quickly falter, “Do you actually have a crush on him?”
The redhead rose from his seat, “I have to use the bathroom.”
You furrowed your eyebrows, “Right now?”
“Yes,” The boy’s voice came out harsh, “Right now.”
“Oh, okay.” You watched as the boy walked off towards the bathroom. And, once he was out of earshot, you pulled your phone from your purse sitting on the back of the chair and phoned Jean.
The phone only rang once before the call was picked up. He spoke a half-assed greeting above the sound of yelling in the background. You knew he was with Connie and Sasha tonight and you knew they were playing video games from the noise coming from behind his voice.
“Don’t hey me,” You spat angrily through the phone, “This guy is insane, Jean, he’s fucking weird.”
Jean was now laughing, “How is he weird?”
“He keeps asking about Eren.” You took a quick peek at the male’s bathroom door. “He offered to go on a study date with me-”
“That’s nice of him.”
“-And Eren.”
“Oh,” Jean said, “That’s weird. Eren doesn’t even study with you, he’d have to be smarter than you to be of any help.”
“I may have lied to him.” You took a quick swig of wine from the glass and then turned back to the bathroom doors.
“Aw,” Jean said with a smirk, “Poor Floch.”
“Floch,” You said excitedly, nearly knocking the discarded fork from your plate, “That’s his name! I forgot it about two hours ago, but didn’t have the heart to ask him.”
Jean was uncontrollably laughing on the other side of the phone. It wasn’t like these types of calls were foriegn to him. You normally called Jean in the middle of a crisis, and most of your crises these days happened mid-date when the boy did something weird and left to go to the bathroom.
“You’re a horrible date,” Jean said between his giggles.
“It’s not a normal name.” You held the wine glass to your lips. “I wouldn’t have forgotten his name if it were Brian or Nick. It’s his mom’s fault I forgot his name.”
Jean smiled into the phone, “Now, you’re blaming his mom for your ignorance, how cruel.”
You couldn’t help but grin as well, “Also, I think he has a thing for Eren.”
“Really?” Jean takes a moment to remember something. “That actually makes a lot of sense. I met him through Eren because they were in the same chemistry class last semester. He seemed reluctant to go on the date with you until Eren told him he should, then he was all for it. I thought it was weird, but not weird enough to be concerning.”
“It’s not weird nor concerning,” You said sweetly, “He just has a crush and he doesn’t know how to deal with it, it’s endearing.”
“He’s actively homophobic.”
“What?” You peek at the bathrooms and notice nothing has changed. “You set me on a date with an active homophobe?”
Jean shrugged, “I didn’t think about it.”
You shook your head angrily, “After this date, I am coming straight to your apartment and I am giving you a piece of my mind, Jean Kirstein.”
“Oh no,” Jean said with a smile, “I’m really scared, she used my last name.”
“You should be really scared. I’m bringing my baseball bat and everything.”
You took another peek at the bathroom and then checked the timer on the call. Seven minutes and fourteen seconds was how long you had been on the phone with Jean and how long Floch had been in the bathroom. Sure, it could be reasonable, but you still got a weird feeling from the whole thing.
“‘You okay?” Jean asked endearingly once the silence between you two had settled.
“He’s coming back,” You lied, “I gotta’ go.”
“Okay, just-”
The call ended quickly with one press of your finger. You put your phone back in your purse and let the bag fall to the side of the chair. You looked around the beautiful restaurant and tapped your fingers impatiently against the clothed table.
You leaned to your side in order to get closer to the couple beside you. At the table sat two people: one with long brown hair and wide glasses dressed in a tux and the other with short dirty blonde hair also dressed in a tux.
“Hi,” You said to the brown haired person to your immediate right, “Could I ask a favor of either of you? It’ll only take a minute, I swear.”
The brown haired person smiled widely, “Of course!”
“My date, a redhead, went to the bathroom nearly twenty minutes ago, and I can’t go into the boy’s bathroom-”
“You want me to go?” The brown haired person’s eyes lit up with excitement. “I can go see if he’s still in there, or if he’s sick, or if he’s dead - God forbid, but how interesting, right?”
You nodded with a smile, “Yes, thank you, please. I’m sure he’s not dead, but I’m just worried.”
“Don’t worry until I come back with news.” The brown haired person stood up and left, heading towards the bathroom.
You watched the nice brown haired person go off towards the restrooms. You watched them weave around tables, even stopping now and then to peek over diners’ shoulders, looking at what they had decided to eat for the night. They were strange, but in an endearing way - something you weren’t entirely used to seeing on these dates.
“You know,” The blonde guy spoke up suddenly, snapping you back to reality, “They’ve done that a few times on our dates before, as well.”
“Hm?” You turned to the brown haired person’s date.
The blonde guy smiled, “My date, they get interested in something in the bathroom and don’t bother coming back out for half an hour. The first time is scary, but you’ll get used to their curious mind.”
You grinned weakly at the nice man, “Yeah, I have a feeling there won’t be anything to get used to because there won’t be another date.”
The blonde boy furrowed his eyebrows, “Oh?”
“He wasn’t the best date I’ve been on, nor the best person I’ve been on a date with.” You turned towards the bathroom in time to catch the blonde man’s date making their way back across the restaurant with a frown. “In fact, he’s the first date to ever crawl out of a bathroom window to get away from me.”
“I’m sure that’s not what happened,” The blonde man said with a worried glance at his date. You weren’t sure how you knew it, but you were entirely sure of the redhead’s escape.
“He’s gone, dear.” The brown haired person placed a gentle hand on your shoulder as they sat back in their seat. “The window was pried open, I assume he crawled out of it.”
You nodded with a fake smile, “Thank you, for checking. I can pay-”
You reached for your purse, but the brown haired person shook their head, “No, no. Don’t even try to pay me. In fact, let us pay for your meals, it’s the least we can do.”
You shook your head quickly, “No, I can pay for them, but thank you.”
“No, he left you high and dry and-”
“You’ve already done enough for me tonight.”
“-You don’t deserve to pay for a meal you didn’t even enjoy.”
While the brown haired person was distracting you with a back and forth battle of who would pay for what, the blonde man waved down a passing waiter. He mumbled something to the waiter, pointing at your table over his shoulder. The blonde man pushed a small plastic card into the waiter’s hand. The waiter nodded pityingly, running off quickly towards the hostess’s table at the entrance.
“No,” You said with another shake of your head, “You don’t have to pay for a taxi, I don’t need one-”
But, you did need one considering Floch was your ride here.
“No,” The brown haired person continued, “Let me pay for your wine. In fact, have our wine. It’s the least we can do.”
“No, I don’t need more wine-”
The waiter was back and the blonde man finally spoke up over the argument between you and his date. He held two slips of paper in his hand and looked at you both with a small smile.
“Hange,” He said to make his date stop debating with you, “It’s okay, she doesn’t need your insurance card. And, ma’am, don’t worry about the bill, it’s already been paid for, and you don’t owe me anything in return. I’ve been in your shoes before, and I wish somebody would have done this for me.”
“Sir,” You said quickly, “It’s really not that big of a deal-”
“Not anymore,” The blonde man said with a smile, “Next time you come to this restaurant, just bring somebody you trust. I promise, not everybody is as awful as that boy.”
You bit your lip to keep the newly created tears from falling. You couldn’t help the overload of emotions happening in your throat and eyes. You didn’t normally cry so easily in front of strangers, but these strangers were overly generous. And suddenly, you were remembering the last ten dates that all ended just as horribly. It seemed like nothing was working out in your favor anymore.
“Thank you,” You said with a large smile contradictory to the tears that now fell down your cheeks, “I-I don’t know where to find those not awful people, but I really hope I will someday.”
“Oh no!” Hange said as they quickly wrapped you in a tight hug. “Moblit, look, you broke her.”
Moblit giggled with a shake of his head, “I’m sorry I broke you, dear.”
You shook your head into Hange’s shoulder, accidentally wiping the tears on the shoulder of their black tux. You couldn’t express to Moblit how badly you wanted to find not awful people, and how badly you wanted a date that didn’t end horribly. It was just more complicated than that, and it seemed awful people were the only ones Jean could offer you dates with and the only ones he thought deserved dates with you. So, what did that say about how he viewed you as a person?
You spent a few minutes crying into Hange’s shoulder, mumbling incoherently about boys and school and your pot-smoking next door neighbors who are way too loud when they have sex. They listened to your tangent intently, nodding along, as if they could understand any of your words.
Once you had wiped the tears from your face and thanked the couple profusely some more, you made your way from the restaurant. You knew you could call a taxi to Jean’s apartment, but the weather was nice and his apartment wasn’t too far away. So, walking seemed like a convenient money-saving way of getting the whole date out of your mind.
You walked down the street of town, but once you got to campus, you slid the heels from your feet and into your hands. You walked across campus with your shoes balancing on your fingers like the morning after a horrible one-night stand.
Eventually you made it to Jean’s apartment building and found your way to his front door within a few minutes. You knocked on the wood with your heel and weren’t too surprised when the door opened almost immediately. Jean stood in the doorway, still shouting at the other two over his shoulder.
“Hey,” Jean said once he finally turned his attention to you, “How was the-” You swung the heel swiftly into his stomach, earning a surprised grunt from the boy.
“Don’t mention this date ever again.” You said the threatening words with a glint of anger to your voice, but your face was pressed into a sweet smile.
Jean nodded slowly, “Will you at least tell us what happened?”
You sighed, “Later, I’ll tell you, but I know Connie will bully me for it.”
Jean nodded some more, “Later?”
“The least you can do is let me stay the night.” You raised your eyebrows at the boy. “Since you made me go on the worst date of my life with a homophobic jerk.”
“Okay,” Jean said with a grin, “But only because you’re practically begging for me.”
You swung the heel into his stomach a second time, but he grabbed it before it could give any damage. You both looked intently at each other, your eyes glaring annoyedly and his eyes admiring the sight in front of him. This was exactly what you expected from him, this is exactly how he acts after these dates. He’s always the one to pick up and put back the broken pieces once the doll breaks, even if he’s the reason the doll fell in the first place.
Once you walked into the apartment, you left your shoes and purse by the door, right beside Jean’s shoes. You waved a quick hello to Connie and Sasha - who were too distracted shooting zombies to see you - as you walked past them in the living room and found your way straight to Jean’s room. You knew the apartment like the back of your hand, you had been here a million times.
You walked across the small room to your drawer that Jean keeps all of your clothes in for when you stay. You pulled it open and picked out a pair of cheetah print pajama shorts and an old t-shirt from an now irrelevant ex boyfriend. You threw the clothes on his bed, getting ready to change just when the door suddenly opened.
You turned to the door with tired eyes and furrowed eyebrows as Jean joined you in the room. He leaned against the now closed door, physically keeping the others from joining as well. He crossed his arms against his chest, taking in the sight of him - you in your satin black dress you wore on nearly every date.
“So,” Jean said finally, “What happened?”
You sighed, “He crawled through a window.”
Jean’s eyebrows furrowed, “He crawled through a window?”
“Yes, when he went to the bathroom and I called you. He crawled through a window to get away from me.” You looked anywhere around the room but the boy. “What’s wrong with me?”
“Hey,” Jean moved from the door, coming across the room to you, “Nothing’s wrong with you. Something’s wrong with him.” Jean held you at arm’s length, his hands on your shoulders. “Not only did he leave you, but he has a crush on Eren of all people. I’ve seen birds at the park who are more attractive than he is.”
You grinned sadly, “I bet people don’t crawl through windows to get away from Eren on dates.”
Jean ran his hand down the side of your head, “Eren doesn’t give them the chance, I don’t think he’s ever been on a date.”
“But, people would go on one with him.” You finally looked up at the boy in front of you, trying to keep the tears from spilling the second time today. “He’s not undateable. I’m undateable. I’ve scared guys away every Saturday night for the last two months.”
“You’re not undateable,” Jean said sternly, “You just haven’t found the right one. And, you won’t find the right one if you don’t keep going on these dates. Every horrible date means you’re one more Saturday closer to your soulmate.”
“And, what if I don’t have a soulmate? What if I’m damned to die alone?”
“Then, I’ll die with you.” Jean brought you in for a tight hug, your face snuggling into his firm chest. Jean whispered his words, mostly to himself, “I’d give up 200 soulmates if it only meant I could die with you.”
You closed your eyes against the soft fabric of Jean’s shirt. It was hard to trust his words when there seemed to be so many contradicting factors. Maybe tonight was a total bust, but next Saturday was a new day. You could try again next Saturday, and the Saturday after that, and the Saturday after that. And, every Saturday for the rest of your life until you found your soulmate, even if that seemed like a pointless mission.
You’d do it for both you and Jean, it was the least you could do.
First Sunday
You woke up in Jean’s bed with his body close to yours. It was a standard cuddling position for your friendship: face-to-face, his arms wrapped around your side, your arms cradled against your chest, and your legs intertwined. Despite the normalcy associated with the position, you still woke up with a dorky smile and butterflies floating around your stomach when you saw him sleeping in front of you.
Today was no exception.
You grinned ear to ear as you watched the peaceful rise and fall of Jean’s tanned chest under the thin fabric of his white t-shirt. You watched as his lips parted against the pressure of the pillow under his cheek, a small stream of spit rolling from the corner of his mouth and onto the fabric of the pillowcase below. Every Saturday night ended with tears and regrets, but every Sunday morning began with sweet dreams and a special sleepy boy.
You turned away from Jean, reaching for your phone on the nightstand. The only way to successfully grab the phone was to also pull yourself from Jean’s grasp and from between his legs. It was a horrible price to be paid, but it had to be paid nonetheless.
You checked your lock screen, reading over playful messages from your roommate asking about how good Floch was in bed - assuming you had stayed at his house since you hadn’t come home. And, a few confused messages from Eren asking you who Floch was, why he was texting him, and how he was connected to you.
You locked the phone and turned back to Jean. You were expecting the boy to still be napping peacefully, but he instead stared sleepily at you. Your face had been in a grimace from the mentions of your date last night, but Jean’s honey brown eyes quickly dissipated any negative feelings.
“Good morning,” You whispered, “Did you sleep well?”
“Good morning,” Jean said as he shifted his head and wiped the spit from the corner of his mouth. He was hoping you hadn’t noticed the wetness and that you weren’t questioning the wiping motion he made at his cheek. “And I-”
You smiled, “From the drool spot on the pillowcase, I’ll have to assume you slept well.”
Jean’s cheeks turned rosy, you could see the physical embarrassment on his face. He wasn’t the type to accept humiliation so easily, he was always one to fight back. Just his humiliation isn’t enough, if he’s going down, he’s taking as many people he can take with him. So, you weren’t sure why you were surprised when he swiftly sat up, grabbed the pillow, and attempted to shove the wet spot into your face.
You yelped, rolled, and sprung from the bed only a second before the pillow could land on your cheek, right where it was heading. You were up on your feet quicker than you ever thought you could be, your body still feeling the aftereffects of sleep. You looked down at the boy in front of you, the pillow still tightly gripped in his hands and a mischievous smile smacked across his face.
“You little bastard,” You said with a shocked smile.
Jean smiled back, “I’m actually quite big.” The words were meant as a joke about his body’s size, but both of your dirty minds immediately jumped to the size of something else on his body. “In more ways than one.”
You shouted at the boy between the giggles escaping from your throat, “Jean! Seriously!”
Jean shrugged, laughing along at his own joke, “I’m sorry, I had to!”
“You didn’t have to do shit!” You made your way to the bedroom door. “I’m going home!”
“One bad joke and now you’re leaving.” Jean leaped from the bed, following you to the door. “At least let me make you breakfast first.”
You turned to him with an intrigued glint in your eyes, “Will you make me waffles?”
“Sure,” Jean said as he playfully shoved your shoulder, “I’ll make you waffles.”
“With chocolate chips?” He walked in front of you, leaving the room with you following behind him like a child.
“Yes, I can add chocolate chips.” Jean tried to hide the grin spreading across his cheeks. “Do you want bacon and sausage as well?”
“Shut up,” You said from behind his back, “You know that I don’t.”
His voice sounded sweet, “Yeah, I do know.”
You stood against the counter, only a foot away from where he stirred the waffle mix. You watched as he eyed the waffle box intently, then poured the four other ingredients into the bowl after the dry mix. He looked a bit confused as he moved the spoon around the bowl, as if he was deathly afraid of missing something but not wanting to give the impression that he’d be stupid enough to miss something.
You knew where the coffee was kept and how to work his coffee machine and while you waited for it to brew, you watched Jean with a weak smile across your face. He could feel your eyes on him. Jean tried to ignore the weight of your eyes, not wanting his cheeks to go red though his chest was already inflating from the action.
Jean spared a glance in your direction, only a few seconds before the coffee finished brewing with a loud splash. For those few seconds when both of your eyes were held on each other, time seemed to slow. You could read the admirational glint in his brown eyes and he could read the appreciative glint in your eyes. Before the moment could go much further, you turned away and grabbed the coffee pot and mugs.
You not only knew which coffee beans Jean preferred, but you also knew how he liked his coffee. You poured a little bit of his roommate’s creamer into his mug, and then the tiniest bit of sugar as well. After the coffee was finished, you handed him the mug with a quick smile.
Waffles eventually found themselves on plates and forks eventually found themselves in between fingers. You both ate breakfast against the kitchen counter, Jean leaning down farther than you had to. You moved your fork against the softness of the slightly underdone waffles - he didn’t know just how much batter was supposed to go into the waffle maker at once.
Jean suddenly spoke up by your side, “Are you free this Saturday?”
You turned to the boy, “I normally am. Who’s next?”
“I have a friend on the football team.” Jean ignored your initial grimace to the statement. “He’s nice and desperate, the way you like ‘em.”
You turned back to your waffle with a small pout, “Maybe I should give guys a break for a little.” Jean raised an eyebrow at you. “I’ll just become a nun and write off men altogether.”
“You can’t do that!”
Your head snapped back to Jean, “I can’t?”
“No,” Jean said, “You can’t.”
“And, why can’t I?”
“You just can’t.”
A thick silence had settled in the room, the only sound being the scraping of forks against the porcelain plates. You wondered why Jean was against you becoming a nun. You assumed it was because he was the type to fight persistently, so possibly the idea of giving up on something indefinitely was foreign and upsetting to him. You knew he indirectly reflected onto other people, yourself included.
After a few more moments of silence, Jean started walking away. You watched him as he moved across the living room, heading straight towards his bedroom. Right before the boy could get to the door, he turned to you with a single raised eyebrow and a cocky grin.
“Hey,” Jean said from across the room, “Do you wanna go to the bathroom before I do?”
You looked around the kitchen with a confused look on your face, as if the apartment could give you any clue as to what he was implying with his words. You didn’t have to use the bathroom, nor did you ever insinuate within the last twenty minutes that you did.
You tilted your head curiously, “Why would I need to go to the bathroom before you?”
Jean smiled at the idea of his next words, already proud of himself, “Just to make sure I can’t crawl out through the window.”
Jean laughed as you pretended to throw your fork across the spacious apartment. He was proud of his joke, and you had to admit that you weren’t as upset as you should have been. Last night, the idea of your date crawling through a window in order to get away from you was the worst thing that had ever happened. But with Jean, it was just a funny memory.
Jean came back to the kitchen after a few moments, still giggling lightly about his joke he made nearly two whole minutes ago. You ignored his cockiness by trying to fight the smile forming on your face.
Jean leaned towards you, wrapping a muscled arm around your shoulders. Being pressed against his body in this way made you now realize how he smelled. He smelled of a rich cologne of rose and mahogany. You hadn’t noticed the cologne before he left for the bathroom, but it could have very well slipped past you.
Jean spoke from above you, “I’m glad you aren’t still upset about last night.”
“I never said that.” You looked up at the boy, his arm still around you. “But, I am starting to see the humor in the situation.”
“Good,” Jean said with a smile, “It’s not nearly as bad as that guy who asked if his mom could join you for the date.”
You cringed at the thought, “And, I said yes.”
“And, the one who asked for a vial of your blood.”
You shrugged at the taller boy, “At least he asked, there was the one guy who stole my hair scrunchie without asking first. I think he used it so he could clone me.”
“Yeah.” Jean quickly remembered another awful date. “And, the one who gave you a yarn doll of yourself as a first date gift.”
You smiled widely, “I’m nearly a hundred percent sure that it was actually a Voodoo doll. I’m glad I accepted it before I told him no to a second date.”
Jean grinned down at you, only an inch or two from your face. It was hard not to smile when looking at the boy. He was beautiful and reminded you of an ancient sun god. From his tanned skin, to his lively brown eyes, and his deeply inviting smile. It was hard to look at Jean and not feel your heart skip a beat, especially when you were so close to him.
“They’re all funny stories now,” Jean said, “So, that’s good.”
You moved deeper into his arm, “Funny stories that I don’t need.”
“But, funny stories nonetheless.”
“Yeah,” You mumbled sarcastically, “Thanks to you.”
“Hey!” Jean was pulling you into a quick bear hug as you laughed against his chest. “I try to find the University’s best guys for you! They are truly the school’s finest.”
“Then, why do they all suck?”
He didn’t answer your question because he wasn’t sure he knew why. He didn’t know why he threw these horrible guys onto you, under the impression of them being good matches. But, in his defense, it was hard to find somebody of your quality.
You were a goddess amongst mortals and these men could never be enough for you. And, if these men were mortals compared to you, then Jean felt he wasn’t even a mortal. He was the dirt hiding in the crevices of somebody’s shoe, he was the dust somebody breathed in before they yawned. Jean felt he could never equal up to you, but maybe these other guys could get close. And, maybe - just maybe - if he helps you get a boyfriend, then he wouldn’t think about you being a goddess so much.
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firelxdykatara · 4 years ago
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Hi, heavensweetheart in an ask mentioned you’ve written meta on adults writing about teen sex and told me I should ask you about it. I was wondering if you could give your thoughts on this in the context of ATLA, in fanfic and the Suki and Sokka tent scene. Some teens are having a meltdown over that scene saying it’s immoral for 16 y/o to have sex and imply that and I’m so confused. When did teens suddenly become allergic to sex? It wasn’t like that when I was one not long ago?
I’ll probably have follow up questions, but I’ll save those for now. Unless you say you don’t wanna talk on that anymore, which I totally respect. I’m just so confused as to why teens now are rioting against the Sokka and Suki scene, and even the *slight* implication that Zuko and Mai had sex too. They sound like church moms rather than teens and that’s jarring shift in culture in just a few years
I COMPLETELY understand teens wanting to avoid sex and stuff in their own lives or the media they choose to consume on personal levels but don’t know why they’re waging war against it
they’re complaining about that scene now too???? idk why i’m so surprised, considering everything else i’ve seen ppl getting up in arms about in the fandom it was only a matter of time, but jfc
listen, here’s an inconvenient factoid that fans--adult and minor alike--need to bear in mind before they go off half-cocked: underage teens have sex. it’s not like there’s some magical switch that gets flipped the instant someone turns 18 that unlocks their Raging Hormones where before they were Completely Sexless Beings. that’s not how it works. (i’m not bringing asexuality into this because ace ppl can have sex and even decent sex drives, libido and sexuality are not the same thing, and sexual awakenings can happen at just about any age post-puberty.) furthermore, coming-of-age tales (which often involve blossoming sexuality, as that is frequently a part of such narratives) are always going to be published and written by adults.
adults are, by and large, the ones with the resources and time to create finished and polished pieces of fiction and pitch them and get them into publishing houses and sold. teenagers who manage this are the exception to the rule, and the only one i can think of off the top of my head (christopher paolini, who started writing eragon when he was fifteen) was still an adult (at 19) by the time he actually managed to get published. adults are also, sorry to say, going to have a better understanding and perspective on what it was like to be a teenager--because they not only lived through it, but they have distance and a better ability to look at it objectively than someone still in the throes of massive hormonal changes and struggling through high school.
this doesn’t always work to our advantage--’adults forgot what it was like to be kids’ is a major theme in a lot of media for a reason--and sometimes it’s depressingly obvious just when any given author actually experienced being a teenager, because regardless of the setting their characters and plot points and tropes are incredibly dated--but it does typically mean that when an adult author is writing about teenagers having sex, or experiencing a sexual awakening, having a first love and everything that comes with that as a teenager, they aren’t acting like some voyeur watching teens gettin’ it on from the outside, but rather drawing on their own lived and remembered experiences and using those to inform their writing. (or experiences they wish they could have hand, like many queer authors who weren’t able to safely come out as teens and so get to experience being a kid and being able to be queer through their own writing in a way that was denied them in their own lives.)
i’ve done ‘first kiss’ and ‘first time’ type stories, now, as i am, as an adult, and i was never thinking about it as some outside observer perving on teenage characters--i was remembering what it was like when i was that age, and channeling that into my writing. no one is obligated to read or enjoy the things i write, of course, but trying to tell me that i’m not allowed to write about the things i felt as a teenager, just because i’m an adult now? that’s a quick way to get told in no uncertain terms to fuck off.
now, that being said, it’s absolutely flat ridiculous to me that people are complaining about the idea that suki and sokka were having sex, when they were child soldiers in a goddamn war. why is it more acceptable that they were preparing to fight and possibly die in a fierce battle, but gods fucking forbid they be implied to have a sexual relationship with each other before-hand? why is it more acceptable that children fight and die and kill (and yes, the gaang had a bodycount to their names, even aang), but the idea that mid- and older teens having sex is so taboo? nothing was even shown! it was all but spelled out, but in that scene we didn’t even see them kiss, it just immediately cut away after sokka called suki back to his tent!
what this tells me is that people are having a meltdown over the mere suggestion that these fifteen and sixteen-year-olds were sexually active, and considering that by the time i graduated high school (over a decade ago) i knew five girls personally who’d gotten pregnant and either dropped out or been homeschooled for a few months to have their kids before coming back to finish out their classes, i’m having trouble with this idea that even thinking of the fact that teenagers have sex should be so virulently anathema.
teens have sex with each other. sometimes teens get pregnant. sometimes these things find their way into YA fiction, and that is a genre that is almost 100% written by adults. (i’m sure some started writing as teens and maybe even got their early fiction reworked and polished, but the vast vast majority are at least adults, if not totally out of their teens, by the time they are officially published.) sometimes these things find their way even into narratives aimed at a younger audience, because there are always going to be elements that children won’t understand but the adults watching will get a kick out of--think of all the jokes in Shrek that you didn’t understand if you saw it for the first time as a kid, which seem even more hilarious once you’re an adult and have context for them.
no seven-year-old kid is gonna look at the scene of zuko walking in on sokka and the latter inhaling a rose he was holding between his lips as he waited for suki and think ‘OMG HE WAS EXPECTING HIS GIRLFRIEND AND THEY WERE GONNA HAVE SEX’--not unless something else was going on in that household, and at that point its not the show’s fault by any metric. but adults or even older teens are probably gonna get a chuckle, understanding the wink and the nudge that younger kids won’t get cause they don’t have context for that kind of romantic/sexual coding. and that’s ok!!!! the fact that people won’t get it unless they already have context for that sort of behavior is exactly why it works as a subtle joke!
and, again, the fact that a kid was killed on-screen and the fact that the main characters are all effectively child soldiers in a war, and these are somehow not topics that are too mature for the audience at which the show is aimed, but implications (which the target audience won’t understand, but older people who enjoy the show will) that teenagers are having sex is somehow beyond the pale???? (sure sokka might die tomorrow, but at least he wasn’t having -gasp- SEX before he did!!!!! that’s how they sound and it’s fucking ridiculous)
i genuinely do not understand that attitude, and i don’t think i ever will.
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silvia7272 · 5 years ago
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ML Salt Songfic ~ 1 Good For You
I actually forgot about this, but I think I can put it out now considering you’ve all read about/seen my OC Rosina, if you haven’t it’s on my page. Anyway, I hope you enjoy and like the song.
Also, this is an AU of my AU? I guess that’s what I’m calling it yeah. So, it’s not canon and it never was going to be canon, when I heard this song it just inspired me to write this and I could’ve done it without my OC, but I wanted to include her. Well anyway, I hope you like it.
Word Count: 2553
Tags: @queenmj10, @fangirl39, @animegirlweeb, @northernbluetongue, @daminett4life, @raisuke06, @indecisive-mess-named-me, @luleck​, @themamaravenclaw, @emmathedestroyer, (I know you wanted it) if you wish to be tagged all you have to do is say. Sorry, it’s different but this was the reason I started posting in the first place.
***
Akuma Alert! Akuma Alert!
The alarms were blaring in the park, and yet no one could move from their place.
Because the Akuma was right in front of them.
It was Marinette, she had been Akumatized. But it seemed somewhat unusual, she didn’t look any different, but they had seen the purple mist cover her, maybe she was like Chameleon?
So then why did it feel like it had changed?
Adrien couldn’t tell, and he needed to transform into Chat Noir, but he couldn’t just leave his friends to deal with the Akuma alone? Right?
Lila didn’t think that, she tried to make her escape, but a musical note blocked her way. She really was Akumatized!
Her face was contorted with pain as the pink mask covered her face, she was trying to break free!
“C’mon Marinette, you can do it,” He shouted, He tried to reach out, but someone pulled him back.
“Are you crazy, she’s been Akumatized she’ll hurt you, it’s what she’s always done to us. She’s already gotten her other friends hurt because of that transformation!?” Lila spoke, gripping his arm like a lifeline. But it was true, Rosina, Kagami, Chloé and Luka all tried to reach out to her mid-transformation, but they all fell to the ground and no one was brave enough to check on them.
“Shut up!” It was the first time Marinette had spoken since she had been Akumatized, tears were raining down her face, but the blond couldn’t tell if she was talking to the class or Hawkmoth.
“Just shut up, stop lying already, just stop hurting me” She had to be talking about Hawkmoth, she must still be fighting it.
But not everyone thought that.
“Come on Marinette, for once just admit you were wrong already. It’s getting really tiring.” Alya rolled her eyes while reciting how that was the only reason, she got Akumatized in the first place, the piece of paper she was holding had been a music draft of Lila’s that she was going to throw away in the first place.
Everyone knew Marinette didn’t write songs, she only made clothes and baked treats, that the class wasn’t provided with the past few days, and Adrien did think it was strange that she had a music draft, she probably found it and would’ve returned it to its rightful owner.
Why was she so upset about it anyway?
But she stopped, she lifted her head up, her face full of shock.
“You… Really still think I’m lying?” She sounded so disheartened, and Adrien would’ve sent her a ‘don’t rock the boat anymore’ look but she didn’t even spare him a glance.
Weren’t they friends?
“Of course, Lila’s so talented at making song lyrics so she had someone write them down for her. And now you’re holding onto a draft claiming it to be your own, that’s pathetic, even for someone like Chloé never mind you. Just stop being so pathetic and admit it. You’re jealous of Lila and everything she could do for us while you did nothing but whine like a child!” Adrien thought that the last line was a bit overkill, but he wasn’t about to say anything.
But all of that struggling, all of that resistance had completely vanished from Marinette. Why had she given up? Why hadn’t she continued fighting?
“I’ll show you my Melody” It was a whisper that only Adrien was able to pick up. Melody? What did she mean by that?
But he didn’t have time to think of that before everything in his vision turned white. He couldn’t feel his body. He couldn’t move… He couldn’t…
***
“Adrien? Yo Adrien, wake up man” He groaned as he opened his eyes.
“Nino? Is everyone alright? Where are we? What happened? Where’s Marinette?” Nino put his hands up startled.
“Whoa easy there one at a time dude. Anyway, yeah, we’re fine, we don’t know it looks like a white void, Marinette happened and we don’t know”
He couldn’t believe it. When he took in the view, it was devoid of life, it was devoid of colour.
It was just white all around him, he didn’t understand it. It reminded him of Pixelator.
“Oh Adrien I’m so scared, what are we going to do?” He couldn’t shake her arm off so had to relent, everyone around him tried to console the girl.
“Stick together, there should be an exit around here, but I’ll post it on the Ladyblog, that way Ladybug and Chat Noir will come.” He sighed, knowing that his Lady would be all alone for this one.
“Hey, my phones not working!” The others then tried to get their phones. No result.
“Oh no we’re trapped in here and no one is going to save us! What do we do!?” Everyone was panicking, but what could he do, if Chat Noir were to show up now, they would all get suspicious.
Nathaniel wasn’t doing great either. But he stepped back and heard a crunch.
“Huh?” He looked down and found a note.
“What’s that?” Max noticed the discovery and went over to Nath to see what it was.
“It says [The Song Of Truth Is Your Only Escape In This Labyrinth] What does that mean?”
“And why is it on a music sheet?” A simple question they all couldn’t process.
♫I’ll never know why I ever wanted to restore my friendship with you!?♫ The voice seemed to come from nowhere and everywhere at the same time. But he knew who it was.
“Marinette stop this please, we can get through this together” He shouted, he had to get her to stop being so angry.
♫Silence. I am Marilody, Marinette is no more. And you will all be punished for your lies and harassment towards your students! My friends!♫ It was there that she revealed herself.
If it wasn’t for her hair and dress, she would’ve been camouflaged with the background. But she didn’t look like a regular Akuma, no.
Her skin was pure white, along with the white flowing dress she wore. It was embroidered with musical notes, similar doodles he had seen previously on her sketchbook. It was shoulderless with the same pattern, and her hair was the same colour but in a small ponytail to the side. Her eyes were hidden by a giant accessory in the shape of a musical note resembling a hat.
If Ladybug didn’t already occupy his heart, Adrien might be thinking Marinette was more than a friend.
“Marinette please, you’re stronger than this! Don’t let Hawkmoth-”
♫Hawkmoth isn’t controlling me! The one who made me become Marilody is myself. And I will show you the truth of what I can and have done for you selfish people, my Melody will be performed before you and you will see the truth!♫
They heard the sound of a guitar being played. And notes in the air with a red dot flowing through it.
“What’s going on?” Rose and Juleka huddled together along with Ivan, Mylène, Nino and Alya scared. He was scared. He had the power to protect them but couldn’t use it. You could sense the irony looming over the boy’s head.
♫So you found a place where the grass is greener And you jumped the fence to the other side♫
The class was treated to a front-row seat of a scene that had just happened mere moments ago. When they were at the park.
Just what was Marinette’s power?
♫Is it good? Are they giving you a world I could never provide?♫
The scene cut to Lila being crowded around by everyone while Marinette was alone.
But she was still smiling. Even if it seemed fake.
♫Well I hope you’re proud of your big decision Yeah, I hope it’s all that you want and more♫
They saw the past of when Marinette was always handing out free pastries to them, wearing that happy and bright smile on her face, they had forgotten what it had looked like.
Because it was never directed towards them anymore.
They had forgotten.
Everything she had done for them.
♫Now you’re free, from the agonizing life you were living before~♫
Then it changed to everyone leaving her for Lila, she was telling a tale of her time in Achu, Rose couldn’t stop gushing about Prince Ali. He thought the lies wouldn’t hurt anyone.
♫And you say what you need to say So that you get to walk away It would kill you to have to stay trapped when you’ve got something new♫
They couldn’t move.
♫Well I’m sorry you had it rough And I’m sorry I’m not enough♫
Everything single thing Marinette had done for them had flashed in front of them.
♫Thank God ‘they rescued’ you♫
But then Lila appeared, and everything she said was almost out of a fairy-tale, it was amazing, they wanted to hear more. They needed to hear more of her adventures.
♫So you got what you always wanted? So you got your dream come true? Good for you Good for you, you, you!♫
They were addictive. They couldn’t get enough.
♫Got a taste of a life so perfect So you did what you had to do Good for you Good for you!♫
Marinette had vanished from view but the scenes were still playing. The blond needed to find a way to free himself. He needed to get Plagg to cause a mini-explosion, to cause a distraction maybe. Anything! But he couldn’t get to him in time. Because he saw someone who he hadn’t seen since at the park.
“Rosina?” They all turned their heads to their new red-haired friend. But Adrien was able to notice, the Cat Miraculous had certain side effects he was giddy to have but that’s not the point. Instead of a black pupil, it was a musical note.
“She’s under Marinette’s control” They all gasped, horrified at what had happened to their friend. They believed her being near Marinette was bad, never mind this!
♪Does it cross your mind to be slightly sorry?♪ 
She really was under her spell! Adrien desperately wanted to shake her awake and free her, but now his arms couldn’t move.
♬Do you even care that you might be wrong?♬ 
Kagami!? Oh god, his two friends were under Marinette’s friends. He watched as they circled each and every one of his friends.
♬Was it fun?♬ 
They flinched.
♪Well, I hope you had a blast while you dragged me along~♪ 
They started to walk away when there was a whine from Lila, they were still able to turn their heads and saw Chloé, she kept prodding Lila as she cried, he wasn’t able to tell if they were even fake tears anymore.
♩And you say what you need to say! And you play who you need to play! And if somebody’s in your way! Crush them and leave them behind!♩
Even if they wanted to help Lila they couldn’t. Their legs wouldn’t let them. It was like they were in quicksand, only they weren’t sinking into the ground, they were sinking into their sorrow and sadness they were feeling. If Marinette wasn’t already Akumatized Hawkmoth would be having a field day.
♮Well I guess if I’m not of use Go ahead, you can cut me loose♮
And then they saw it.
A scene that shocked them.
♮Go ahead now, I won’t mind♮
If her power was to sing the truth.
And all of the scenes had been of the truth.
They felt sick to their stomach.
Then the scene of Lila cornering Marinette in the bathroom must’ve been true as well.
If Lila had been so kind to everyone why were the words [Soon you won’t have any friends left at all. Trust me. You will lose your friends and wind up all alone] written underneath, they couldn’t think anymore, just look.
♫I’ll shut my mouth and I’ll let you go Is that good for you? Would that be good for you, you, you?♫
Some couldn’t believe, they kept screaming how it had to be wrong, how it might just be Marinette’s doing. But the more it came on, the more they started to believe.
♭I’ll just sit back while you run the show Is that good for you? Would that be good for you, you, you?♭
Just like how they should’ve believed Marinette, and they had only just realised their mistake.
♯All I need is some time to think♯ Max. He never needed time to think, he was the smartest one in the class.
♭(I’ll shut my mouth and I’ll let you go)♭
♯But the boat is about to sink♯ Rose. Wasn’t she meant to be the kindest one out of everyone? Why didn’t she give Marinette a chance?
♭(Is that good for you?)♭
♯Can’t erase what I wrote in ink♯ Alix. She had written some things on her desk once… Twice… She had lost count.
♭(Would that be good for you, you, you?)♭
♯Tell me how could I change the story?♯ Lila. She had been caught, and she needed to spin her story. Fast!
♯All the words that I can’t take back♯ Alya. All those mean comments claiming Marinette was a bully. She was the bully. Weren’t they friends? Besties? She didn’t deserve to be called anything like that.
♭(I’ll just sit back while you run the show)♭
♯Like a train coming off the track♯ Kim. He wanted this pain to end, he should’ve trusted her, she had been the one to console everyone before an Akuma had gotten to them. And they treat her like this?
♭(Is that good for you?)♭
♯‘Cause the rails and my bones all crack♯ Nino. They had been childhood friends! How could he think she was lying!?
♭(For You!)♭
♯I’ve got to find a way to♯
♯Stop it, stop it! Just let me out!♯ Adrien. If only she had told him Lila had threatened her, if only he had done more, taking more of the brunt, if only- no he had to stop, he had to accept it was all his fault. He could’ve stopped it, but he was afraid he’d never get to see his friends again. He had to accept that he had hurt Marinette so much she had been Akumatized. He had to accept that- maybe he couldn’t save her, after all, you could never really trust someone who had betrayed you… Right?
♭So you got what you always wanted So you got your dream come true Good for you Good for you, you, you♭
They were sorry.
But images of Marinette gone from their life terrified them.
♭Got a taste of a life so perfect Now you say that you’re someone new Good for you Good for you Good for you Good! For! You!♭
But what would it matter? She probably would never want to speak to them ever again.
♭So you got what you always wanted!♭
What had they done?
They had seen the truth.
All of it.
But they didn’t have time to dwell on that, because as they continued to watch the scenes in front of them, they couldn’t help but feel slightly tired. Only a bit… Maybe if they had a small nap it would… Help.
♫The truth will come out… There will be no more lies for anyone… Anymore♫
***
End. I changed a word for Lila because I thought it would fit better. They, in the song, are Lila and a bit of Adrien. Originally, I wasn’t going to make a two-parter, however, if anyone has an idea I could use, and then a song as well, I will consider continuing this to become a two-shot. Or even if someone wants to continue this? Feel free to do so, just tag me, please.
Well, I hope you enjoyed it and I hope you have a nice day.
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Edit 1: This is how Marilody looks like, I thought she’d look a bit more fashionable since you know, Marinette. and since she has more control hawkmoth didn't design her.
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fu-cough · 3 years ago
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I posted 5,823 times in 2021
1660 posts created (29%)
4163 posts reblogged (71%)
For every post I created, I reblogged 2.5 posts.
I added 2,655 tags in 2021
#ml spoilers - 1327 posts
#miraculous ladybug - 340 posts
#rant - 286 posts
#brooklyn nine nine - 146 posts
#ml - 133 posts
#ml fandom salt - 113 posts
#adrien agreste - 101 posts
#ml s4 - 89 posts
#the good doctor - 63 posts
#guiltrip - 57 posts
Longest Tag: 116 characters
#i'm just so frustrated about how they basically said og cinderella was weak because she didn't speak out for herself
My Top Posts in 2021
#5
Cat Noir's hatred in Dark Cupid (after he was affected by the bow) was a reflection of his love for Ladybug. And he very much loathed her.
175 notes • Posted 2021-02-10 02:52:37 GMT
#4
So Marinette's having a breakdown from all the pressure while Adrien's having an identity crisis. They're fine. This is fine. We're fine.
178 notes • Posted 2021-04-21 05:33:56 GMT
#3
Final reaction:
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I saw that, Chat.
You CANNOT tell me him heing sidelined is intentional after THIS face.
Clearly, the, "I need you," phrase that has been keeping him going is... not quite true anymore.
Because Rena Rouge is there (again, not complaining. Please don't take this the wrong way), and Ladybug also needs her. Except she knows all the secrets.
And he's the one being left behind.
It's like having to stay behind two of your friends because all three of you don't fit in the hallway.
Also note that he's that one friend no one really knows about, but they become friends because they're friends with his friend (quoted from unknown, I forgot). This was proven in Felix where the class almost immediately believed Felix's video because, "we've only known him since we came back from summer break,"
Chloe is also pushing him away too. Notice that the Ladynoir entrance cinema scene in Gang of Secrets kind of parallels with the Chloe and Adrien entrance cinema scene in Queen Banana?
The most important thing he can contribute is support. But if people won't let him do that, he's.. just nothing. Just a plastic bag flying mid-air.
And with Nathalie being the only one really taking care of him before (quoted from Adrien's Double Life) now being sick, I wanna cry.
He's that lonely now.
Anyhow, if HE'S the secret villain this entire time, I will riot and cause chaos.
188 notes • Posted 2021-05-30 19:11:20 GMT
#2
S4 Ending Cards so far:
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I'm erasing myself from the narrative..
233 notes • Posted 2021-05-26 14:23:22 GMT
#1
Let's Talk: Adrien's Advice In Chameleon
So apparently people use Adrien's advice in Chameleon to salt on him?? *Inhales* BOI-
You have to understand that Adrien didn't know Lila threatened Marinette, making him think she's just another bully on the block who demands attention and gets it by lying.
His tip was:
"Do you really think exposing her would make things better?"
NO. It'll only make things worse and that's been proven in Volpina.
"If you humiliate her, she'll just be hurt more,"
YES. From Adrien's point of view, Lila started hating on Ladybug becuase she humiliated her in front of her crush. Hurting her more will just give her motivation to be more evil.
"Making a bad guy suffer has never turned them into a good guy,"
MOST DEFINITELY YES. And this quote, ladies and gentlemen, made me love Adrien even more (don't even bring up arresting criminals here as making them suffer, that's their PUNISHMENT).
Adrien is definitely the most mature character when it comes to dealing with bad people (he seriously LIVES WITH TWO). Exposing Lila under the circumstances in Chameleon will just backfire to Marinette.
Lila needs to LEARN. And by learn, it doesn't mean exposing, it means that she has to watch her lies unravel to chaos and discover ALL BY HERSELF that this is all her fault. NOT because Adrien and Marinette exposed her; that cancels the "learning" part and she will definitely just be motivated more, like I said.
Plus, Adrien already put Lila back to her place when she goes too far (Onichan, Ladybug), so just MOVE THE HECK ON??
435 notes • Posted 2021-01-25 11:32:20 GMT
Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →
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muffinlance · 5 years ago
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Do u like any atla ships in particular? like zukka?
I greatly prefer Gen and friendship over ships, especially with the ages of the characters--there is no reason for these Actual Babies™ to be getting into lifelong commitments, that isn't how romance works.
But one quickly runs out of Gen options, so I read all ships equally searching for plot gems. And I do mean all ships, they are all equally (un)appealing to my ace brain and therefore I skim over The Sex and look for plot potential.
Gonna just talk about Zuko ships 'cause y'all know where my heart is. My ship impressions, in order of increasing rarity:
Zutara -- a solid default ship. Pairs with any plotline. Wide range of writers. Come for the initial enemies-to-lovers drama, stay for the complementary and mutually supportive relationship. Can get troublesome in some of the written-before-Zuko's-personality-became-clear fics, and/or some capture fics. Special mention to Enslaved for being a Zuko gets captured fic, and a ridiculously good exploration of a realistic Water Tribe culture to boot.
Zukka -- smaller selection, double the fluff, and with an abundance of Ba Sing Se teashop AUs. That is not a complaint, that is my happy place. Stories tend to have greater baseline humor, and get more quickly to the Awkward Turtleduck center of their Zuko-pop. This is the Good Feels ship.
Jetko -- WHO LIKES DRAMA BOYS. (...I like drama boys.) Almost always Ba Sing Se fics, for obvious reasons. I like that writers generally treat this as exactly as unhealthy as it is, and usually then focus on growing both boys to better mindsets. This is the only ship where the writers might have one or the other of the boys Dump His Ass by the end, which actually makes it one of the most age-realistic relationships.
Maiko -- Is generally set post-season-three, which is a class of fics I generally don't read due to personal preferences (I really like mid-show drama, I make no apologies). AKA I have so little impression of this ship I almost forgot to include it. Don't hate it, but don't seek it out.
Toko -- I associate this ship largely with unfinished dead fics and the need to make it about romance rather than friendship at the last minute. Embers turning into Toko in, like, the last chapter was my first intro to the ship, and the trend of "let's have them be awesome buddies for many chapters (but they're totally gonna Do It when they're older) seems to persist across many fics. I continue to be unimpressed by people assuming romance adds more to a story than a solid friendship, but that's more a societal complaint than the fault of this ship.
Aang/Zuko, whatever the ship name is -- Generally integrates the relationship more than Toko, at least, but is mostly just a plotless smut tag, so I mostly just avoid.
Suki/Zuko -- these have real potential, such great personalities, but I don't see many finished works with it.
Yue/Zuko -- it breaks my heart that these are almost all dead fics 'cause they are rare but some are really good.
Jeeko -- given the character ages I keep not wanting to like these, but the writing community is small and ridiculously talented. Much higher average quality than other ships. Looking at you Nele and Dracze. Even the quickie fics have some manner of plot and touching character insights layered in. Did I set out to find a Drunken Wizard Jee Accidentally Summons Incubus Fire Demon Zuko Instead of More Liquor AU? No. Do I wish it was a full fic rather than a one shot? Yes.
Zucest -- Is usually just solid smut, as the ship name itself makes no illusions of, aka at best a skim read for plot from me. Lower average writing quality than other ships, again probably due to the small amount of writers.
Hakoda/Zuko -- Dammit Dracze.
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bugmomwrites · 5 years ago
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Astragalus Tea & Soft Company (Juzo Honenuki x Reader)
Astragalus flower meaning: You soften my pain
Thank you for 100 followers and counting!
FUN FACT: This was actually for the Bnharem server collab, and the prompt was Flowers. I was hella late for this one due to things that popped up BUT my friend’s awesome stories are linked below, so check them out too!
https://jojosmilktea.tumblr.com/post/618831496637300737/this-is-a-sfw-choose-your-own-collaboration-by-the
I ended up whipping something together like a day before the deadline and almost having it done- and then I forgot my family came up to visit. My state has eased up guidelines a bit, and since I haven't seen them since my grandma’s funeral at the end of last year, I wanted to spend some time with them before they go home. As a result I kind of didn't have the time to polish it and post on schedule. Better late than never? Anyway here's some food for you Honenuki stans cause my boi needs more love. Takes place in their third and final year- their long history of friendship is important and comes up.
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Rating: Teen and up
Words: 7.7k
Warnings: Language, vomit (brief scene), nudity (nothing happens but still)
After sharing classes for God knows how long, Juzo Honenuki could confidently say he knew just about all of your little idiosyncrasies and habits. You were one of his closest friends after all, even having gone to the same middle school. You both got in on recommendation, and the two of you were now in your third year of UA. He knew you liked to watch older memes from years ago, still quoting Vines as far back as 2013. He knew you’d flap your hands a bit whenever you got excited or nervous. Lastly, he knew you well enough to know you didn’t just get sick out of nowhere- it had to be a result of your poor sleeping habits as of late, ultimately catching up to you and taking a toll on your well being.
The other night he could hear you shuffling in your room across the hall until about 4:30 in the morning, and upon seeing your current state he mentally kicked himself for not nipping it in the bud weeks ago.
How you managed to retain the energy to function in class every day was a mystery in and of itself, but you for one thought you were doing an ​awesome​ job at balancing late night productivity with biological needs. Honenuki just so happened to live in the dorm room right across from you, often bearing witness to your bizarre nightly routines first hand. It never bothered him too much; he knew academics were tough and sometimes people needed a bit more time to study or indulge in their hobbies. So for a while, he thought nothing of the shuffling noises, or the light coming from under the crack of your door at some unholy hour. If he held his breath he could even make out some soft curse words uttered by you among other various sounds. 
He knew you were up to ​something,​ but as much as he wanted to check in on you, there was a strictly enforced curfew, and it wouldn’t look too good if someone caught him sneaking in and out of his friend’s room in the middle of the night; nevermind that you were a girl. He resorted to just shooting a quick text, hoping you’d take a hint and maybe get some shut eye. His phone pinged not a minute later, and he shook his head in disappointment at the notification.
Read: 3:36am
By week two he began to notice you lagging behind in sparring, and even stopped to ask you about it- something that took you a bit by surprise considering his normally competitive streak- but you had dodged the question completely, dismissing his concerns and attempting to get back to the match at hand. He didn’t want to press, but if you said you were fine- so be it, he wasn’t one to hold back. He trained with you for about twenty or so more minutes before he noticed your reaction time slowing down exponentially, and even swaying side to side towards the end. You hunched over and rubbed your temples in pain, and in a moment he found himself cradling your head towards him, even softening the gym floor a bit in case you teetered off to the ground. He could see the bags under your eyes, so after scooping you up completely, he went off to Recovery Girl.
Said nurse confirmed that your tiredness was, in fact, a result of the all nighters Honenuki would catch you pulling multiple times per week.
“You should listen to your boyfriend! He only wants you to be healthy,” said Shuzenji.
Of course you only heard bits and pieces, already dozing off on the cot. He cleared his throat, teeth clacking when your head fell onto his shoulder. If he was already tense before, he was a full-blown statue by now, and the poor boy prayed he didn’t look like a tomato. He went to correct the nurse, talking carefully so as not to disturb you.
“We’re actually just friends, ma’am. I just happened to know about it because my dorm is right across from hers, and I can see when the lights are on under the d-” She cut him off, whacking him in the shin with her cane.
You tumbled onto the cot, somehow managing not to wake up from the impact. Honenuki could only sit there slack jawed as the older woman continued her tirade.
“You’re still close to her! Don’t be afraid to nag a little bit. But hopefully this should be a lesson. I’ll write you a pass.” And so, Honenuki took one last glance to where you lay curled up and at peace for the first time in a while, and saved that memory to his brain when Shuzenji offered the scribbly post it note to the blushing boy. He nodded in thanks, and briskly made his way out.
“Please get some rest, I hate seeing you like this.”
~~~
Did you learn your lesson that day? Apparently not. He still told you now and then to go to bed at a reasonable hour, and as much as you appreciated the care from the boy you loved, his warnings fell on deaf ears. This pattern persisted for a while, where you’d wake up exhausted and have him lecture you, only for you to ignore his advice. Rinse and repeat. You knew he meant well, but after one particularly bad day you couldn’t help but snap at him. Honenuki still remembered it vividly, seeing most of it firsthand in your shared class:
Another Monday morning. You were tired, and that was an objective fact. You already knew it was your fault, but you were so far gone that you couldn’t just go to bed early one night and hope it would undo all the self-inflicted psychological damage. You had already formed a habit, and it was something that could only be fixed over a period of time, little by little.
That day was particularly rough- Vlad kicked off the morning by giving the whole class a pop quiz, which you were sure you bombed horribly. Afterwards, you weren’t alert enough during training, which gave Tsuburaba an opening to catch you off guard and knock you to the ground ass first. It was a short fight, and he wouldn’t stop bragging to his friends about his quick victory.
“That’s a victory royale, bitches! Three years of UA and I finally beat (l/n)!”
To add an insult to injury, he was doing Fortnite dances (in mid 2020, no less), while whooping and hollering. You wanted to be happy for him, maybe even congratulate him on a good fight, but he was too damn obnoxious and by that point you just wanted the class to be over. The bastard didn’t even help you up, so you could only glare at him from your place on the floor. On the way back from the USJ, you got stuck on the bus seat between Monoma and Kamakiri, the former screaming from his own seat behind you to pick a fight with the hotheaded boy two rows up.
“Listen man, I’m just saying, if I wanted a teammate with the same abilities and none of the death threats I got from you on a daily basis, I’d tape a couple of knives to a Roomba and let it loose on class A.”
Kamakiri, however, was having none of it, so the next time Monoma leaned over your backrest to yell in his ear he was greeted with a swift punch in the throat. It sent him tumbling backwards and he released your backrest, but not before Kamakiri’s quirk accidentally left a clean gash on your forehead as you tried to duck down from the crossfire.
The howling laughter and “oh shit! Monoma’s fucking dead you guys!” from Setsuna did nothing to ease your headache, and as much as you wanted to give the two boys a piece of your mind, you didn’t particularly have a death wish. So you opted to seethe quietly, applying pressure to the wound until you could patch yourself up at the clinic.
When you arrived, the nurse was on lunch break, so you had to haul ass all the way back to the Class B dorms in the rain, do a walk of shame through the common room where many of your peers congregated at that time, and pray that you could find some sort of first aid kit in the bathroom. As expected you were bombarded with questions, but you dismissed them quickly, making your way over to the ladies room.
One alcohol wipe and a few butterfly sutures later, you tried to sneak back to your room for some sort of respite from what ended up being a trainwreck of a morning. You were almost in the clear when you bumped into someone you really, really didn’t want to deal with. Juzo. Normally, you’d be relieved to see him, possibly even thrilled. Alas, you just wanted to be left alone with your thoughts, at least for the time being. But in a matter of seconds he was all over you, much to your chagrin- especially since you were already on the verge of tears.
“Are you okay? What happened? Maybe you should go get some rest.”
“I’m fine, Juzo, it’s nothing. Just tired.” He frowned, having been here before one too many times with you. You looked like you would break down any second, and when that happened, he didn’t want you to feel alone. He loved you more than life itself, but if he couldn’t even be there to pick you up when you fell, what kind of friend would he be? Certainly not your best one, that was for sure. He figured he should tread carefully, knowing how much you hated crying in front of others. With a sigh he reached out, hesitantly running his thumb along the underside of your cut.
“Have you tried going to bed at a decent hour? I know I sound like a broken record, but-” Having enough, you slapped his hand away out of reflex, your teary (e/c) eyes now burning with rage at his words. Gentle, well-meaning words you’ve grown accustomed to hearing for the past few weeks being the final thing pushing you over the edge.
“I said I’m fine Honenuki! My sleep habits are my business, so why don’t you leave me alone. Don’t you have anything better to do?!” You did a full 180, lashing out and raising your voice loud enough it would traumatize even Present Mic. You were a ticking time bomb from the moment you woke up that day, and Honenuki was the poor soul that just happened to cut the wrong wire.
Honenuki visibly flinched at the use of his surname. Coming from anyone else, it was just a friendly acquaintance giving him a warm greeting, or making small talk. Coming from you, however, it felt...cold. Unfamiliar. You had been calling him Juzo since you both were fifteen, forging a camaraderie after the summer camp incident and growing closer ever since. He could only blink in shock at your outburst, unable to find anything to say as his mouth went dry. You stormed off, slamming the door to your room and shaking the floor beneath him, leaving him standing there with mixed signals and a heavy heart.
Still, he knew it was only a matter of time before you’d be paying the consequence, so he really shouldn’t have been so surprised when he got a message from you less than a week later. The news came to him just before he arrived to his first class of the day, and upon reading your text, he mentally facepalmed at your stupidity. Your bad sleeping choices- coupled with the freezing rain from that fateful day- had finally caught up to you, knocking you out with a nasty bug. It was the first time you had reached out to him since then, and even if he didn’t take anything too personally, it was a little odd for you to ignore him and follow up out of the blue without closure.
(Y/N) 8:30am: Can you please tell Vlad I can’t make it to class today? I feel like utter garbage. You'll never guess why ;-;
Juzo 8:33am: Ugh! I knew it! >HHHH<
(Y/N) 8:35am: In all fairness, maybe it’s just from the rain and not my piss poor bedtime routine...?
Juzo 8:36am: Stay put. I’ll be over after class.
(Y/N) 8:38am: Cool beans. Btw I already took some nasty ass cough medicine so please don’t make me take another dose for a few hours.
Juzo 8:39am: Fine. You better take it without any arguments when it’s time.
-and with that he clicked his phone off, waiting anxiously for the bell to ring. He took an extra set of notes for you, because you had insisted ‘that’s what friends do’, and he needed to keep his mind busy. The next class was English with Present Mic, and he thanked whatever deity out there that he was bilingual. Popping in and letting him know the circumstances wouldn’t cause any harm, and he was sure Mic would be willing to get another copy of the notes.
9:30am couldn’t arrive soon enough, but as soon as Vlad dismissed the class, Honenuki made a beeline for the English classroom. He was making great time, and was sure he’d be the first one there. At least until he found himself barreling into the back of a familiar leather coat. He almost got knocked back from the sheer force and he quickly apologized, bowing his head when a loud voice stopped him in amusement.
“Woah, slow down there speed racer! Just try to be careful next time”, Present Mic laughed, and Honenuki looked up in relief to find his teacher on his way to the same destination.
“Mic-sensei! Perfect timing, I actually wanted to ask a favor. You know (y/n), my best friend? She’s sick in bed right now, so I was wondering if I could get an extra copy of the notes to bring to her? I’d write them myself but my hand is a bit cramped from doing two sets last class.” His teeth clacked nervously, hoping that he didn’t seem too desperate, especially since it could be misconstrued as something more.
Mic raised an eyebrow, and hummed in thought briefly. “Ah, young love. You’re my top student in that class so I’ll do you one better! Next period is lunch, so I’ll give you a copy real quick since the teacher’s lounge is right here. I’ll even let you leave a half hour early IF you promise to help me organize the new textbooks when the order ships on Thursday afternoon.”
Honenuki was thrilled, and nodded his head in agreement. A half hour later a hall pass was placed on the desk along with a photocopied set of notes, and he thanked Mic again, nodding gratefully before hurrying off to the dorms.
Honenuki rushed over to your bedside with a thermometer and a hot cup of tea, and you wanted nothing more than to apologize for giving him grief the last time you saw him when he was only looking out for your well being. You opened your mouth to speak.
“Juzo, I’m s-” You got cut off by a coughing fit, and he found himself rubbing comforting circles on your back before a mug was held out to you, almost like a peace offering. His eyes were soft and caring, and he muttered out encouraging words until you calmed down enough to notice what he had brought over for you.
“Don’t worry about it, we’re good. I brought you some astragalus tea. Yaoyorozu from class A said it was really good for pain relief and sickness. Shiozaki happened to have some fresh herbs growing too for brewing.” You accepted the cup gratefully, shaky hands attempting to take a tentative sip before you sneezed, spilling the hot beverage on your lap and wincing at the pain.
Honenuki panicked, fumbling for the cup and placing it on the nightstand beside you. While you knew Honenuki would never yell at you, you knew there was a pretty high chance he would at least give you a piece of his mind or even an ‘​I told you so’​. He was normally pretty laid back, so to see him so visibly worried was...jarring, to say the least. It probably didn’t help that you got teary eyed from the scalding hot beverage, and as much as you wanted to cry because of how much pain you were in, you didn’t want to deal with another post-sob migraine or stuff your nose up even more.
“I thought I told you not to stay up so late.”
There it is, ​you thought. Honenuki had told you time and time again that pulling all nighters would lower your immune system, making you more susceptible to viral infections that you may have otherwise been able to prevent with some proper rest. It was Friday morning too, and you woefully remembered that you’d have to cancel your plans for a girls’ sleepover in the dorms later that evening.
“What was so important that you had to sacrifice your hours anyway?” He chastised you gently, careful not to raise his voice too much as he put a hand to your forehead.
You sighed at your friend, leaning into his touch. His hand retracted much too quickly for your liking, and you had to take a second to compose yourself and provide a response.
“Video games...?”, you grinned sheepishly. You didn’t want to elaborate any more, hoping he would buy it.
Honenuki almost rolled his eyes at that. He knew you typically played online with a team, more specifically Awase, Tsuburaba, and Tetsutetsu. He also knew Awase had mentioned offhand yesterday that you hadn’t been on the raid team for almost a full week, and ‘​was wondering where the hell you disappeared to’​ . It’s not like you played a million other games either- you only got into it because they needed a full team of four once while Rin was away visiting his family.
“Try again, (y/n). I know you don’t dabble in much else besides Minecraft.” Defeated, you sat up, covered in sweat as your clothes felt like a layer of plastic wrap.
He began to absentmindedly rub your back, a habit which you normally found endearing, now serving as major comfort. His massages were hands down the best, and you often wondered if his quirk had anything to do with it.
“I’ll tell you all about it when I’m better, but everything hurts right now.” Honenuki nodded in understanding, and you both sat in silence for a few.
“I’m going to check your temperature. Is that okay?”, he looked at you with concern.
You hummed in agreement, and the next moment the cold metal was placed against your forehead, rolling down to your temples. You wished it was any other circumstance besides this one where his face would be close to you, because ​holy shit, he was so cute when he was focused​. If you weren’t sick as a dog you may have even had the courage to lean forward and kiss him on the teeth, but that may have just been your fever induced delirium. It beeped after about ten seconds, and he showed you the flashing 38.9°C on the little screen. From your perspective, you wondered how much of that was actually from the sickness, and how much of it was from nerves. He ruffled your hair before speaking again.
“Tell you what- go in and shower okay? You’ll feel leagues better, it’ll loosen your sinuses a little bit, plus you still have tea on your lap.” His teeth clacked as he chuckled good-naturedly.
You grumbled at the realization, and rolled out of bed to clean yourself up a bit. You left a big patch of sweat on your sheets, so Honenuki offered to run them to the laundry room and see if he could find some cough medicine in the meantime. You thanked him, your voice still raspy and gave him an affectionate headbutt before you left.
After you disappeared down the hallway with a towel, he got to work for a few minutes when his phone buzzed. Kurorio’s picture popped up on the caller ID, and Juzo unlocked his phone to accept the call.
“Heard your girlfriend’s not feeling too well?” inquired Kurorio.
“Kuro, hey man! Um, (y/n) and I are still just friends. Would be cool though.” Honenuki slapped a hand over his mouth at his wording, hoping that Kurorio would buy it (he did not).
“I’m just taking care of her for the time being, taking her temp, washing the sheets, you know?”. Kurorio hummed suspiciously, but changed the subject.
Honenuki pulled up the topsheet with both hands while balancing the phone between his shoulder and ear as he bantered back and forth with one of his classmates. Kurorio was cracking jokes about how much dogs in general look like their owners. Especially their homeroom teacher, Vlad King and his English bulldog.
“It's the underbite! I know the former doesn’t have the floppy jowls, but I just can’t get over the underbite!” he had said, as Honenuki was quick to mention the square shoulders probably didn’t help much either. The two of them broke into a fit of laughter as Honenuki bunched up the sheets and pillowcases into the comforter like a knapsack, about to make his way downstairs when something wooden was peeking out from between the top sheet and fitted one.
It was a simple embroidery hoop with some aida cloth stretched over it, and various colors of thread knotted and going every which way. He flipped it over cautiously, ​YOU SOFTEN MY HEART ​was stitched in neatly inside a simple little border of what looked like Astragalus blossoms, and a small tapestry needle dangled below the messier side of the work. 
Honenuki was intrigued- he never knew you could cross stitch! Of course it was nowhere near completion, but the black outline you started with was kind of a dead giveaway. It was like you blocked everything out first and built a foundation before finishing the more complex portions. It had to be planned out, the craftsmanship was too deliberate, too precise to just be done one stitch at a time while still maintaining consistent proportions. It was definitely a bit of an odd phase to copy onto what would likely be a keepsake, and he puzzled over the reasoning behind it when a wrinkled piece of graph paper under the bed caught his eye.
He smoothed out the pattern you had drafted so carefully, and he was thoroughly impressed at the detail in the work. But everything seemed to click in his brain when at the very top of the sketched out pattern were the words ​Birthday Gift: 06/20. That, and the post-it note on the side that said ​It’s for Juzo you lovesick bitch so make sure you practice, practice, practice!
Was that why you were up so much? Were you learning a brand new skill this far in advance to make something for ​him?​ His birthday wasn’t even for another month, but when it came to art projects, you were always planning and organizing to create the best results. He decided to set the pieces on your desk and went back to stripping the last of your bedsheets to take down to the laundry room. It would be a while before they were dry and clean enough to put back, so if you finished up before then, he figured he could just grab a couple blankets from his own bed right across the hallway.
“Huh, that’s really pretty”, he muttered absentmindedly.
Kurorio’s interest was piqued, and before either of them knew it, the conversation went back to (y/n) as Honenuki continued to tidy up for about ten more minutes.
“Yeah, I brought her tea, and sent her in to shower. She should be fine in a couple of da-“ THUD​. Seeing as how you two were the only ones in the dorms, the noise was no doubt from you. Honenuki paled, but tried to stay composed even though his mind was racing.
“You were saying?”, Kurorio was snickering on the other line, not even trying to hide his amusement.
He knew his friend had a growing crush on you, and as much as he wanted to tease him about it he knew Honenuki was stressed enough already.
“I’ll call you back.”
And with that Honenuki found himself clicking the “end call” button and booking it towards the bathroom down the empty halls of the dorms. He tried not to seem too worried, praying you just dropped a bottle or something. Still, when you were in such a state he couldn’t help the looming sense of dread that you had gotten hurt somehow.
“(Y/N)? Everything okay there?”
Silence.
He knocked again, only to be met with a pained groan from the other side. Common sense was thrown out the window as he turned the knob and found you sprawled out on the floor, face down, a little wet, but thankfully still fully clothed with the shower running. He wasn’t sure if he should be relieved or just confused, and if it weren’t for your labored breathing the whole thing would very much look like a crime scene.
He kneeled down to your level. “What are you even doing? I thought you were going to shower”, he asked softly as he tried to flip you on your side.
You blinked slowly, assuming fetal position as you responded.
“Water hot. Floor cold.” Just as you went to press your burning cheek back against the tile, a pair of arms scooped you up.
He didn’t even have time to be embarrassed as he set you on the countertop by the sink and helped you peel off your now soaked top, tossing it to the side. He took the hand towel hanging up next to you, folding it lengthwise and ran it under some cold water before holding it up to your forehead. Your normally healthy (h/c) hair was matted and smelled of sweat, and it looked like a real bitch to comb through. You seemed to realize just how much of a mess you were, and couldn’t help but feel tears of humiliation bubbling up. This didn’t go unnoticed by him though, and his brows pinched together in concern. Before he could ask what was the matter, you sighed ruefully.
“I’m sorry you have to deal with me like this”, you muttered.
God, you couldn’t even look him in the eye. The man you’ve admired since day one was seeing you at rock bottom, and the shame was almost too much to bear. Honenuki, being the saint he was, just rubbed your back soothingly and told you not to worry. Still, there was a growing dread in the pit of your stomach, and you wondered why he was pitying you. Could things get any worse?
Indeed they could. Before you could stop yourself, the little bit of tea, as well as the crackers that you had consumed earlier somehow found its way back ​up ​and all over the front of not just you, but your best friend and longtime crush as well. There wasn’t a whole lot in your stomach, but the amount of it wasn’t what worried you- it was that you did it in the first place.
You started crying all over again, apologies spilling out of your mouth as you hyperventilated. This was it, there was no way he’d want anything to do with you now. He’d probably be too disgusted to keep helping you, and as soon as everyone got back to the dorms, word would get out, and you wouldn’t be able to do a thing about it. His stunned silence only made you more anxious, and you prepared for the worst when he took off his tee shirt and started wiping you off as best as he could. He put the soiled shirt into the corner before grabbing the wet towel and wiping off more of it, cleaning up the mess. Finally, he looked down at you, and squeezed your shoulder affectionately.
“It was an accident, (y/n) it’s fine. I’ll be right back”.
Now it was your turn to be stunned as you sat dumbly on the countertop for a minute until he reappeared with lysol wipes, a new towel, a jar of Eucalyptus mint soap scrub, and a fluffy bathrobe.
He turned on one of the showers, waiting for it to be a good temperature before turning back to you. “Go ahead and get in the shower. I’ll clean up.”
You didn’t have the energy to object as you shuffled over to the stall, peeling all your clothes off and getting in, albeit sitting on the floor- you didn’t want to risk falling over again. After a few minutes, you could feel your sinuses clearing a little bit. Enough for you to talk a sentence or two at least. After the events that transpired, you found some solace knowing that your best friend must ​really ​care about you to stick around and help you during a time like this. You remembered how he’d blush whenever someone asked if you were dating. You had nothing else to lose at this point, so your feverish brain made a bold decision and you stuck your head out to find him still waiting outside.
“I’m not gonna let you sit covered in vomit. And I know you’re too stubborn to leave my side to go wash up somewhere else, so get in here.”
Honenuki was at a loss for words. Was it really fair to you? You were the one inviting him in. But then again, you did have a point- he really did plan to wait it out. He’d do it a hundred times for your sake. Would it be weird? It wasn’t like you were toddlers anymore, whose mothers wanted to get a cute picture in a bubble bath- you guys were in your final year of high school, and if the note he found in your room was any kind of proof, you were just as in love with him as he was you...but there was no one else in the dorms, and the opportunity was practically handed to him on a silver platter. You were just a sick friend in need of help, right? Except you saw him as something more than that, he wasn’t stupid. And while in any other case an invitation to share a shower would be implying some sort of ulterior motive, he knew you well enough to know that you were genuinely looking to help him. Just with the added bonus of seeing a different side of you.
So he took off his shorts, opting to leave his boxers on just in case. He was silently grateful that the water was a colder temperature to ease not just your fever, but his racing thoughts as well. Keeping them on probably wouldn’t do too much to hide his arousal if they were going to get soaking wet anyway and just cling to him as a result, but at least this way he could keep it hidden from plain sight. He opened up the jar and passed it to you, which you gratefully accepted, but not before taking a deep whiff of the soothing scent. He sat behind you criss-cross applesauce, and gently took the plastic comb from you as you kept trying to yank it through your hair.
“Allow me”, he said, squeezing some shampoo out and lathering it on your head. Occasionally, the foam would fall onto your body and you’d have to flick it away with wet hands. These motions only made it that much more difficult for Honenuki to keep his eyes off your supple, soft curves. The slope of your back to your ass looked almost too inviting with the white suds cascading down in rivulets. He groaned inaudibly when you wiped a particularly large cluster of bubbles from off your chest, trying not to stare for too long.
He coughed, grabbing your attention. “Can you lean back more?”.
You tilted your head back, sighing in content as he massaged your scalp, taking great care to not get soap in your eyes. He reached for the shower head when you stopped him. You lathered up some shampoo and repeated the process on him, making sure to spike his hair up as high as you could. Then you did the same for yourself before you both turned to each other, and broke down into a fit of much needed giggles at how ridiculous you both looked. Maybe laughter really was the best medicine.
He rinsed your hair off and proceeded with the conditioner, combing it through one section at a time. It was one thing to absentmindedly play with the ends of it whenever the two of you were hanging out in close proximity, but to go through it so thoroughly and gently was surprisingly intimate, especially given your current scenario. Honenuki and you have been close for years now, maybe not quite since diapers but long enough for you to realize that he had already seen most (if not all) sides of you- and likewise, you of him. The man had somehow managed to stick by you through your awkward middle school years, to the rough days of early highschool and hero training, and even now when you were suffering the consequence of going against his advice.
You thought you were only crushing on him before, but after having him see you so vulnerable and ​still s​ tand by you, you realized the idea of spending the rest of your life with him sounded even more appealing than before, if that was possible. You, (y/n) (l/n), were in love with your best friend Juzo Honenuki, and after the events that transpired this morning, you were okay with that.
“So that’s what you use to get your hair to smell like (f/f)...” his thoughts were accidentally voiced out loud, breaking you out of your reverie. You nodded slowly, and the soft clack of his teeth was heard behind you. “It’s nice. I like it!”, he said more confidently this time before he picked up the bottle to read it.
“Thanks, you want some?”, you questioned hoarsely, but since your voice was still sore it was very difficult to be heard over the running water.
You didn’t get a response, either because you weren’t loud enough, or he was too absorbed in the words printed neatly on the bottle.
“Juzo?” He hummed in response, which you took as a yes.
If he let you use that fancy ass scrub for your illness, you figured the least you could do was share your leave-in treatment. Sharing is caring.
“Here, let me” You attempted to rotate yourself to face him so you could condition his hair too.
He glanced back up from the directions on the back, and you thought his eyes were going to pop out of his head. Dropping the comb he stammered, trying to maintain eye contact and not look down. He gulped, and all the words he had on the top of his tongue vanished when you plucked the comb from the wet shower floor and placed it on your thigh. You tried to reach a bit to get the conditioner bottle from him. This was a leave in conditioner, so your own (h/l) hair was still plastered down until it “set” for seven minutes. The excess dripped from the ends, down your back and shoulders, giving your body a light sheen. Your bare chest slid against his arm, and the bottle fell with a harsh clatter. He averted his eyes to look anywhere but at you, but it was kinda difficult when you were-
A. Naked
B. Feverish and flushed
C. Half straddling him
D. Covered in copious amounts of wet foam.
“Are you sure? I’m the one that’s supposed to be taking care of you, not the other way around,” Your breasts were inches from his face, and Hoenuki swore he could feel his soul leaving his body when he finally had enough, frantically shoving the bottle in your hands.
“Juzo, you’ve helped me so much already, and it’s not even eleven am yet.” And with that he promptly shut his mouth and let you get to work on returning the favor. You squeezed out some onto your hands before rubbing them together. “Turn around and tip your head back- you’re taller than me and I can’t see.”
He normally loved massages (especially if they came from you after a long day of training), and how quickly your skillful hands would put him at ease, but he knew you weren’t really feeling your best today. He didn’t want to push you too far, but the sentiment was still appreciated nonetheless. You obviously couldn’t go for as long or apply as much pressure before your arms got tired and you started to ache a little, but you didn’t mind brushing his long, sandy blond locks. He was still grateful for the little bit that you were able to do, and you wondered how the universe could bless you with someone this sweet.
After seven minutes passed, Honenuki stood up and grabbed the shower head above you and rinsed out your hair, being extra careful to make sure each section was covered, and out of your face with a wide tooth comb in the other hand. You were still seated, and this gave him a bird’s eye view of not just your backside, but your front as well. He swore to himself he was only in to help you out, but ​fuck​, if you weren’t contagious he’d seriously consider taking you right then and there. You peered up at him through wet lashes, and to make matters worse you were nearly eye level with his straining erection. He was almost certain you noticed, but knowing you, you were too kind to comment on it. 
Eager to get out before things went south, or- god forbid- he did something impulsive he’d possibly regret, he quickly repeated the process on himself. After you were both rinsed, he switched the lever to “off” and turned to look down at you.
“I’m going to help you stand up, okay?”, his voice was calm, but assertive as he pulled back the curtains and stepped backwards out of the shower. Still seated, you spun around, and moved to push yourself up. You were halfway there when he threw a towel around your back and put his arms under yours. You suddenly felt more self conscious than ever, and as much as you wanted to drool over how toned he had gotten from years in the hero program, you couldn’t help but feel a lingering sense of inadequacy at your own figure. You trembled slightly, fever chills slowly coming back now that the water was off, and your legs shaking like a baby deer.
“Juzo careful, I’m gonna sli-”
Before you could finish your sentence, you slipped on the shower floor and went tumbling forwards. Yet instead of meeting a face full of tile for the second time in the hour, you found yourself leaning into Honenuki’s protective embrace. Your breasts were pressed up against his torso, and you both found yourselves relishing the feeling of fitting together just right.
“You feel more refreshed?” He asked as he wrapped the rest of the thick towel around you.
You nodded, genuinely relieved that you were no longer covered in sweat, vomit, or tears. And you smelled damn good to boot. You still felt sick, but now at least you could heal comfortably.
~ ~ ~
“Your sheets aren’t ready yet, so you can sleep here for a little while.”
You were being carried into his dorm, wearing his fluffy robe that he had lent you after you had freshened up. He was originally just going to lend you some blankets, but he figured you’d be more comfortable in a made bed- that, and he could keep an eye on you. He went to set you down, but instead of letting go, you held onto him tighter. Honenuki glanced down at you, nuzzling into him for comfort and sighing softly. You were still a little bit warm, and your voice was raspy, but you seemed much better than you were just a short while ago. Now that you were showered and medicated (not to mention under the care of someone who’s presence just generally put you at ease no matter what), you felt like you could get better fairly quickly.
You didn’t know what you’d do without Honenuki at your side, and found yourself mumbling “please don’t go yet” when he tried to tuck you in.
Your request caught his attention, and he checked again for confirmation that he heard you correctly.
“You...want me to stay?”, Honenuki asked you curiously, a rosy hue growing on his face. The only response he got was an exhausted hum of approval, and a small nod.
“Am I some sort of alternative medicine? Can’t get enough of me?”, he joked, and he couldn’t help but chuckle at how adorably clingy you were when you were sleepy.
You were too sick to get flustered at his comment, and even if he did call you out on blushing, at least you could use your fever as an excuse.
“Alright, let me get something lighter. I know that robe is comfy, but you’ll bake yourself alive in it.” Reluctantly, you let go so he could go to his dresser drawer and find you some makeshift pajamas.
“I’m a hot snack, sorry. I gotta be wrapped up and baking”, you croaked out, smiling weakly.
It hurt like a bitch, but seeing the amused shake of his head and smiling eyes at your stupid joke was well worth it in your opinion.
He tossed a tee shirt and some boxers in your direction, and you sat up to slip the robe off. Almost immediately he whipped his head away from you so fast, you thought he’d get whiplash. It was rather cute, actually- he had already seen you naked not even ten minutes ago, and had known you for about a third of his life- but the way he cleared his throat and mumbled out a soft apology was one of the sweetest things you’ve seen from him. Your robe hit the ground and you slipped on the shirt first, before you moved to tug up the boxer shorts. Making sure everything was in place, you turned to your best friend. He still had his back to you, but you could see the very tips of his ears flushed scarlet.
Seeing him so flustered was still a relatively new sight to you, but adorable nonetheless. You took a couple seconds after you were dressed to just appreciate the sight before you, committing it to your memory. Honenuki sensed the silence that settled around the room, no longer hearing the shuffling of fabric behind him and cleared his throat before he spoke up.
“You’re all set then?”, for someone who was normally composed you noticed Honenuki’s voice was uncharacteristically shaky, and he still refused to look at you as he had a hand blocking his peripheral line of sight. He was such a gentleman- you almost felt bad for flustering him so much.
“Yeah, thank you Juzo. I don’t have a bra or underwear, but if I’m being honest I think this is more comfortable.” You wanted to slap yourself for oversharing- while this fever was making coherent thoughts and common sense a bit more difficult, you couldn’t help but inwardly cringe at your lack of a filter.
Still, he plopped himself into bed behind you, pulling you into his chest and massaging your back. Your sinuses were still a bit clogged even after the shower, but his hands worked wonders when it came to easing your pain, and it didn’t take long for you to fall into a light slumber. You sighed contentedly, closing your eyes.
He could only hope that after you were fully healed, he’d be able to fully confess his feelings for you, and after how you two interacted that morning, he realized his friends insisting that you felt the same for him might not be so crazy after all. But for now, he just wanted to enjoy this moment, as friends, because your friendship was more than enough for him if it meant he could have moments like these. The day he confessed would come eventually, right? You guys were definitely more than friends, it just wasn’t official yet. ​Someday​, he thought wistfully. ​Someda-
“Thanks for softening my pain, Juzo. I love you.”
‘​...!”​
His eyes shot open at that, and he briefly wondered if he heard you correctly. ​Of course she meant you, idiot. Who else would she be talking to? H​ e wanted to twirl you around the room with a resounding ​I love you too! I always have!,​ he wanted to scream it from the top of the rooftops, and celebrate once and for all, but just as quickly as you had uttered the words, you fell asleep in his arms, and he was certain you could hear his racing heart through his chest. It wasn’t from nervousness however- it was the sheer joy, the anticipation of when he could finally ask you to be not just his best friend but his ​girlf​ riend, from relief of knowing you would say yes.
He now had verbal confirmation that you felt the same. The ball was in his court now, and as soon as you got better, he was going to make up for so much lost time. Even though you couldn’t hear him, he pressed his teeth gently to your forehead and held you closer, drawing heart shapes on your back.
“I love you too, (y/n).”
~ ~ ~
Thank you so much for reading this labor of love! I’d love to hear your feedback, and I’m always open to new ideas <3
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charlonely · 4 years ago
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Blow My Load
Adrien had woken up today early on accident. He decided that since he woke up early, he could try and get to school early. Recently there had been an increase in night Akumas causing Adrien to wake up late. Adrien finished his mourning routine and walked into the limo.
Halfway through the car drive, Adrien’s phone rang. He did not think anything of it, and he stared at the scenery outside the car. By the time Adrien arrived at school he almost forgot about his phone. He decided when he sat in his seat, he would check it.
When Adrien sat in his seat, he took his phone out to check his phone. His face grew slightly hot when he saw what it was. The Ladybug smut fic he had been reading for weeks had finally updated. Ladybug_Lover_#1 was a legendary writer. He had been waiting for this for a long time. He wanted to squeal. Adrien scanned the room and saw no one else in the room. If no one came yet it wouldn’t be bad to read a little.
Adrien began reading the first chapter. The chapter became heated quickly. If Adrien’s face wasn’t red before it definitely was now. He started getting entranced with the story. His body was slacked he forgot he was reading in the class.
“’ His lips were fighting hers for dominance.’“ Nino snorted.
“’ Who will win this passionate fight?’” Nino made a dramatic pause “’ Only time will tell.’”
“Stop reading it, Nino!” Adrien shrieked.
“What’s wrong dude? I want to see more of it. Unless…” Nino fake gasped. “It’s something inappropriate but my Adrien Agreste would never read that.”
“Nino. Why did you look at my screen?” Adrien looked mortified.
“Dude you looked super suspicious. I didn’t think you were into that stuff.” Nino sat next Adrien.
“Dude” Nino leaned closer to Adrien and whispered. “Do you read Ladybug hentai?”
“I would never read ladybug hentai!” Adrien stammered.
“And that 180k word smut fanfic is way better.” Nino replied
“I didn’t read it!” Adrien was digging a deeper hole for himself.
“What other blond do I know who would do this?”
They both paused and looked at each other.
“Chloe” They both replied in unison.
They both laughed together.
“I don’t mind what you’re doing dude.” Nino said after calming down his laughter. “It’s not that bad.”
“Really?” Adrien asked.
“Well, It is a little weird.” Nino scratched his neck. “But you’re my bro as long as it makes you happy I’m happy to”
“Bro”
“Bro”
They both went in for a bro hug.
“Nino!” Alya hollered.
Alya walked in on them mid hug.
“I’m sorry if I ruined your moment.” Alya laughed. “But you weren’t in front of the school.”
“I’m sorry Alya I forgot.” Nino looked apologetically.
“It’s fine put my stuff on my desk.” Alya threw her bag.
After Nino caught it Alya abruptly left the room. Alya’s phone rang. Nino and Adrien both took at the notification.
“I LOVE YOU LADYBUG_LOVER_#1. THIS CHAPTER WAS AMAZING!”
Both Nino and Adrien gaped at each other in shock. Alya was Ladybug_Lover_#1!
This is my first post on tumbler and i’m not sure if i’m even doing it right. I`ve been wanting to post my fics on here for a while.
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mechanicalinertia · 4 years ago
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What’s next for Divine Patronage?
So my Ranma / Ah My Goddess! / other miscellaneous anime that take place in 1990′s Tokyo fanfic has become more popular than anything else I’ve ever written. I may have classes but this is my designated ‘leisure activity’ now for sure.
Anyway, I have a rough idea for this initial ‘arc’, and how it’ll end. Fine. Whatever. More importantly, though, I have continuing ideas about how to cross over more and more mid-90′s anime and other things into this mishmash where Urd and Ranma have to ‘problem-solve’ things. Christ I wrote like 9 possible arc setups last night; it’ll take me years to make good on them if I do at all.
That’s why I’m a-posting brief summaries of them here, so if I give up on these people can just steal em’.
1. CRIMES OF THE MISHIMA GROUP AGAINST GOOD TASTE
Sayoko Mishima and her zaibatsu god-nap Keiichi and in doing so royally piss off Belldandy. Urd has to snatch the poor kid, who is now a minor god, out from Sayoko’s clutches before Belldandy just loses it and nukes earth in silent rage. Ranma can’t beat the compound alone, though, so Urd turns to Akiko Natsume - the actual head of Mishima - and her all purpose combat android for some help. Unfortunately, the android has a cat brain. Cue Ranma struggling to confront his fears to save the world.
Crossover with: All Purpose Cultural Catgirl Nuku Nuku, a medium-obscure OVA from the 90′s starring Megumi Hayashibara as the wacky cat-bot-girl with Saeko Shimazu (Kodachi’s voice among others) as Akiko. Good fun.
2. FATE / STRANGE; DAYS
Remember Lind, the Valkyrie from the Angel Eater Arc of AMG? Well, she back. She intervened in Fate / Zero’s Holy Grail War (assumed to take place around 1994) and contracted w/ Kiritsugu the way Urd did with Ranma. Now Kiri may have lost all his lady companions, but he gets Illya back from Germany and is raising her alongside Shirou with the help of Illya’s wacky maids. Maybe lil’ Rin and Sakura are involved, too, I dunno.
Anyway, Lind considers the Sailor Senshi a threat to the divine order (they do appear to predate human civilization) - especially since Saturn’s Glaive of Silence is believed to be the Norse Gungnir, Spear of Destiny, Odin’s superweapon that could (even in the OG myths) rewrite reality itself to render enemies nonexistent.
So Lind gets Kiritsugu, Arturia Saber, and Prisma Illya to go to Tokyo and track down Sailor Saturn with Ranma’s help. Then they end up teleporting to the distant past of the Silver Milennium, back when the Senshi’s magic rendered the other planets of the Solar System inhabitable. Cue a string of John Carter references.
Crossover with: Fate / Zero, Fate Kaleid Liner Prisma Illya. Might even separate the Fate story from the whole Saturn / Gungnir subplot - they’re just hunting Kirei and Gil, then. Sure. Fine.
3. THE FUTURE IS HERE AND IT SUCKS
Skuld time travels into the future, only to find that almost every single timeline ends with humanity being wiped out before the 22nd century - perhaps by SM’s Great Freeze, perhaps by other factors. Unfortunately, she forgot to close her possible-future-timeline portals properly, which leads to various cyberpunk futures bouncing off one another for supremacy in 1996.
(Look I wanted to just fuckin do BGC or GITS crossover. Couldn’t decide. Why not both?)
Crossover with: BGC 2032 (Or my 2069 rebot), Ghost in the Shell, Silent Mobius (maybe)
4. GAMES OF THE GODS
The obligatory ‘gang plays an RPG’ sitcom episode, only a) it’s Cyberpunk 2020 because I’ve read that system’s books, and b) the goddesses all bring their boytoys along to be sucked into the game world as their player characters. (Urd gets Ranma, Bell gets Keiichi, Skuld is the GM, Peorth gets Ryoga, Lind gets Kiritsugu) (I guess I better do an arc where Peorth patronizes Ryoga to screw with Urd...)
5. GUNS, BOMBS, ROCK N’ ROLL
Ranma gets dragged along by Urd for a vacation, theoretically to LA. But then after getting bored of the Obligatory Beach Episode, Urd rediscovers that she has a daughter in Chicago - Rally Vincent. She and Ranma rush off to screw up the events of the manga and protect her daughter from the brainwashing of a lesbian rapist crime lord. (I wish I was making that last bit up). Maybe Priss of BGC tags along to really hammer in the WACKY KENICHI SONODA CROSSOVER thing?
Crossover with: Gunsmith Cats, Riding Bean, maybe BGC
6. HEISEI BLOSSOMS BLOOMING
The Japanese government decides to reactivate the Teikoku Kagekidan project, this time using idoru as the mecha pilots instead of the Takarazura Revue thing they had going on in the 20′s. The K-on girls audition, the Love Live girls audition, someone in the Ranma cast or something tries out as well. Mecha are now nuclear-powered instead of steam-powered (whatever that means)
Crossover with: Original Sakura Wars franchise, Tite Kubo iteration non-involved. maybe K-on and Love Live
7. RANMA’S LUDICROUS EXCURSION: STAR-DIAMOND DUST IS UNCRUSADERABLE
Ranma gets a stand. Urd thinks it’s like her angel. Yare yare daze.
Crossover with: What do you think, genius?
8. ETERNAL SUMMER
Ranma gets trapped in a temporal anomaly centered around Tomobiki Town. Now it’s August 1982, Ataru and Lum are about to get married, and unless he can stop the total breakdown of the pocket reality within the seven days before the time loop resets he’ll become part of it forever. Trippy New Wave Existentialist Bullshit - Screwball Comedy meets Body Horror. Also see: Higurashi.
Crossover with: Urusei Yatsura
9. TRICOWBOYOUTLAW BEBOPGUNSTAR: EFF YOU, SPACE COWBOY
A valiant attempt to crossover all three of the late 90′s ‘Cowboy shonen’ anime of the time in one universe. A shared universe? Nah. We’re probably just gonna transplant all the characters into 90′s Tokyo again and watch the body count pile up.
Crossover with: Cowboy Bebop, Outlaw Star, Trigun. Oh, and maybe one of those ‘robo-maid’ shows from the aughties (Hand Maid May, Mahoromatic, Steel Angel Kurimi), just to fuck with everyone.
10. COPS AND ROBOTS
Ranma gets in trouble with the police for sneaking onto the Babylon Project, forced into community service, and then ends up blackmailed into the long-running grudgematch between the SV2 Labor Squad and the Tokyo Highway Patrol.
Crossover with: You’re Under Arrest, Patlabor (original OVA mostly)
11. SUPERIOR AUTOMATRONIC DISPUTE RESOLUTION: GO NAGAI EAT YOUR HEART OUT
Skuld gets in a fight with some deities from some rival pantheons, and as a proper grudgematch resolution they all resolve to build Giant Robots and then Battle Royale them. Ranma has to pilot one.
Crossover with: NOTHING.
12. THE HOUND OF ULSTER BARKS AT MIDNIGHT
Cu Chullain, husbando of Ex-Valkyrie and turncoat Irish goddess Scathach, teams up with Ranma in Dublin to stop IRA extremists from resurrecting the Tuatha De Dannan, specifically the Morrigan. A teenage Bazett (from Fate) shows up and gets all fangirly.
13. TALES FROM THE OOPS
An abandoned particle accelerator built in the 80′s near Stockholm may or may not cause Ragnarok. Ranma and some edgy Swedish Teenagers have to deal with 90′s recession bullshit and clean the place out
Crossover with: Tales from the Loop, Things From the Flood
That’s about it, honestly. I have other things I’d like to crossover with, tbh, mostly mecha stuff. Among them:
- Cannon God Exaxxion
- Eva
- Gundam UC
- Muv-Luv
-Negmia / another Ken Akumatsu trashpile (and I mean that in the best possible way)
Shit this is fun. Imma make another one of these posts with even more ludicrious crossovers later. Peace out.
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the-only-straight-fander · 4 years ago
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Volleyball AU
A super niche fanfiction about the sides on a volleyball team. What can I say, I’m a sucker for Sanders sides and volleyball.
[excerpt from the latest edition of the Daily Post newspaper] 
And in other news, the star setter of the Oakheights High School men's volleyball team has signed with Long Beach State. Drew Amsterdam is the projected favorite for the next year of college volleyball thanks to both his remarkably clean hands and his devilish good looks. He leaves behind him in Oakheights a sea of equally disappointed and admiring faces. Without his astounding assists, it is rumored that Oakheights may drop as low as class 3A or 2A within the following years without their key setter. However, despite his acceptance to Long Beach, it is rumored that Amsterdam may not be the main setter quite yet… (more on page three).
[end excerpt]
Roman le Roi lets out a contemptuous snort as he disdainfully throws the newspaper back down onto the floor by his feet. Not looking up from wrapping his foot, Remy asks passively from his seat on the floor, "Was I right, or was I right?" 
Letting out an obnoxious sigh that whooshes his wavy chestnut hair out of his face, Roman mutters unwillingly, "You were right."
Still not looking up, Remy reaches his hand out in a "give me” gesture. Roman makes a face at the hand, but moves to his bag after Remy snaps once. He carefully counts out five dollars and sets it in the waiting hand. It's out of sight in an instant. Thus further shamed, Roman expels another heavy breath and leans his head in his hands. At this moment, Emile prances in, his usual floaty, dreamy self. "It's finally time for volleyball! I'm so excited to see everyone! I haven't played in so long!" he sing-songs as he skips further into the still mostly deserted locker room. The bubbly smile on his face becomes slightly more wry when he catches sight of Roman. "Ohhhh. You saw the article didn't you?"
Roman gives a muffled grunt of affirmation.
"He paid me already, too," Remy adds in, finally looking up as he leans back on his arms, pushing his sunglasses up to wink at the newcomer. "Long time no see, babes."
Emile gives a soft giggle. "Already winning money off the young ones I see. You really shouldn't do that you know; it's not fair: they don't know any better."
Remy snorts, but is still smiling sweetly. "Then they should learn. And who better to learn from than yours truly." Saying this, he promptly lies down, replacing the ever present sunglasses.
Emile shakes his head fondly and steps over his splayed form with practiced ease.
Emile takes several minutes to pull on his knee pads and is tying his shoes before he is struck by a thought. Confused by the silence, he directs a question at Roman. "Hey, where's your brother? I haven't heard any screaming, so he can't be here right now."
The pitiable Roman lets out another groan and seems to melt even further. "He's currently grounded. No volleyball allowed."
Making a sympathetic face, Emile goes over and pats him on the shoulder. "Maybe he'll learn his lesson."
"HA. NO. He has been a terror! He's cooped up with no way to let off steam other than pester and torture and harass me! I'm in hell! I can't wait until school starts and I only have to see him a few times a day!"
A soft chuckle comes from the floor, and Roman finally lifts his head in order to glare at the offender. As though sensing the dirty look, Remy offers a middle finger, but quickly lowers it at the displeased noise that comes from Emile. 
The three wait in the locker room for roughly ten more minutes, and in that time are joined by several other returning players. Finally, Remy sits up and removes his sunglasses. He stretches and yawns. Grabbing his water bottle, he stands, placing his hands on his hips. "Alright ladies, let's go get down to business." 
"To defeat, the Huns!" chimes in Emile excitedly. "Sure," follows Remy's reply. It comes across cool and monotone, but the smile on his face speaks of barely contained excitement.
On the way out of the locker room, Roman looks all around him and counts heads. "Five, six, and Remus is missing, seven. Someone isn't here." Remy spins around and, walking backwards, takes a glance at the faces before whirling back to face forward and offering his findings. "Patton isn't here." 
Roman freezes mid-step. Whirling around to check for himself and finding Remy to be right, he shouts in alarm: "Where is he?! He's our libero! We're doomed for sure without him!"
Pulling a face at the volume, Remy takes a gulp from his water bottle before saying, "Chill. It's the first summer practice. He could be busy or, more likely, late. Fashionably late entrances are his specialty after all."
Somewhat mollified, Roman nods, but his brow is still furrowed. Seeing his distress, Zay -- another sophomore -- claps him on the back. "It'll be ok dude. This year will be great, you'll see." But no one was so sure about that. 
Patton did show up -- to Roman's immense relief, but late. He does indeed give a grand entrance, although not on purpose. While the others are in the middle of warming up, the gym doors suddenly slam open, hitting the walls behind them with a crash. In flies their libero -- Patton Clover -- glasses askew and hair mussed. “I’m so sorry I’m late I forgot we had practice and then I went the wrong way and then I got caught at three stop lights in a row and-” 
“It’s ok Pat,” reassures Coach Sanders, trying to hold back his laughter at the unnecessarily flustered boy.
“Oh. Ok.” The freckled boy gives a sheepish little smile. “I am sorry though, and-” Whatever Patton had planned on saying is cut off as he is tackled to the ground by a blur.
“Patton! I’ve missed you so much! We were worried you weren’t coming!” says the blur -- who is one desperate Roman le Roi.
“You mean you were worried,” Remy shouts over his shoulder wryly.
With a pout, Roman stands and helps his friend up. “Fine. Yes. I was worried. But, I’m not anymore, because now,” Roman announces dramatically, spreading one arm wide with the other wrapped around Patton’s shoulders, “practice can truly begin.”
The first practice was, as foretold by both Remy and the newspaper, a travesty. 
Roman's passing was rusty, Emile was nervous to be head setter for the first time, Remy moved as though sleepwalking, Patton's glasses prescription wasn't up to date so he could barely see, Zay kept blocking wrong, Lee couldn't seem to hit it in, and the others were just brought down by everyone else: all in all, a colossal mess. So much so that Coach Sanders called it early. As everyone gathered into the huddle, he pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to decide what to say. 
Settling for the truth, Thomas Sanders runs a hand through his hair. “Alright guys, we obviously have a lot of work to do. But, this doesn’t mean we’re doomed. You’re all somewhat out of practice and we’ve lost several core players, with very few incoming freshmen to replace them and bolster our numbers. All this simply means that you’ll all have to fight harder than ever this year. We have a legacy to uphold, and I know you’re capable of not only meeting these expectations, but exceeding them. That said, I’m going to let you go now, but come ready tomorrow. I’ll send out a school-wide email and see if there are any fresh players we could snag.”
The pattern of depressing practices continues. However, they do improve slowly. But, there are so many hiccups that the improvement is hard to notice. Having graduated their best middle and head setter, there are gaps to fill. The decision is made to place Roman in the middle. This doesn’t work well due to Roman’s lack of experience in said position. Used to playing outside, Roman has created a certain approach and swing to maximize his power. However, he has less room to build up speed while in the middle, and his arm swing constantly ends with him in the net -- an automatic loss of the point. He stays, day after day, and practices quicks with Emile, but he misses almost every single time. After the third day of staying late, he lands for the sixth time, the ball falling to his left, untouched. “Arghhhhh!” he yells, fluffing his hair vigorously with his hands in frustration. After his outburst, he stands staring at his hands before clenching them into fists and turning to Emile desperately. 
“Can we take a break? Set me a 4? Just once? Please?” The hint of hopelessness and pleading in his voice cause Emile to give his consent (ever the bleeding heart). Roman sets up and tosses the ball to Emile. As it leaves the setter’s hands, he begins the approach. He flows smoothly, leaps, snaps his arm, and BANG. The ball collides with the ground with incredible force in front of the ten foot line. Rising from the crouched position where he landed, Roman rolls his shoulders and shoots Emile a smile.
“That’s the stuff.” The sheer volume of the ball hitting the floor caught the attention of most people in the gym. Thomas, not for the first time, wonders whether he made the right decision placing Roman in the middle. The new assistant coach -- Joan, a friend of Thomas’ -- has never seen Roman hit, really hit, and is standing, open-mouthed. They turn to Thomas, dumbfounded.
“You’re telling me that’s how he normally hits? And you moved him to the MIDDLE? You’re giving that up!?”
Thomas sighs again, watching as Roman hits a vicious cut shot to the outside on the opposite side of the net. “He’s a superb blocker and could be an incredible weapon in the middle if he could just figure it out. I’m hoping time and practice will bring out his potential.” 
But it doesn’t get better. After innumerable failed attempts at hitting middle quicks, the pair begin to practice twos. These Roman can actually hit, but not with the incredible power and accuracy that he is capable of on the outside. In addition, his pride suffers a serious blow. As one who rarely gives up, the shift to twos feels to Roman like he’s admitting defeat. Consequently, the normally upbeat player can never bring himself to be as encouraging as usual, which is unfortunate, as he’s usually the one that brings the hype.
Everyone has a brief glimmer of hope upon the return of Roman’s twin brother -- Remus. During the third week of practice, he rolls in an hour late and walks onto the court in a pair of tattered sneakers and jeans. When asked where his shoes and knee pads are, he replies with a shrug. He takes his outside position and is his usual powerhouse hitter self, but having lost his usual back row counter part, he is forced to rotate to the back row and pass. This… is not good. At all. During the first drill in which he is rotated to the back, the whole team holds its breath, and winces collectively as the first ball ricochets wildly off his arms. 
See, Remus is… interesting. Roman would call him a “menace” and a “terror,” which honestly may not be far off. He’s known for his explosive and unpredictable temper. Thus, after the first failure, the majority of the team exchanges glances as Remus lets out an angry, animalistic growl, and settles into a crouch once again. The second time, Remus doesn’t even try to pass it; he attempts to hit the serve back over. He makes contact, but it sails clear out of bounds and smacks into the wall with a loud thud. This show of aggression prompts Roman to begin yelling: “What was that? It was coming right to you! If you’d just stood there with your arms together you would have passed it!” 
“At least I can touch the ball, middle hitter,” retorts Remus. 
“At least people can stand to have me around!”
“Oh please, your pretentious attitude pisses everyone off.”
“I don’t disgust everyone who knows me!”
Remus gives a malicious sneer. “They just lack taste and imagination. Or they’re cowards.” Here he gives a fake gasp, as though he realizes something, and points at Roman. “Like you! You’re afraid of failing! So now you hit easy balls because you’re scared!”
This time, Roman is the one who growls and advances angrily toward his brother. “I am not! You’re just jealous you can’t hit as well as I can.”
An ugly look crosses Remus’ face; he starts toward Roman. “Whatever will father think when he sees your failure, I wonder,” he spits. They both approach each other quickly and meet in the middle, Roman throwing the first punch at Remus’ lopsided grin. They each get in a few more blows before Remus is grabbed by Thomas and Emile and Roman by Remy and Patton. Remus offers a bloody smile and spits a glob of blood onto the floor before snapping his teeth in Roman’s direction while giggling. “Your punches are weak too! You must really be letting yourself go!”
Unsurprisingly, fights are not uncommon between the twins. Or rather, fights between Remus and anyone are common. He’s taken to tripping other players or purposefully running into and knocking over or elbowing anyone he blocks with. Even in the back row he's like a juggernaut, bowling over everyone in his path. He tends to ignore people calling the ball and just goes after it himself. He made several other freshman quit last year due to his aggression. This is partially why Thomas put Roman in the middle: he isn’t afraid to block with his brother and will give as good as he gets. If the pair come away from practice with matching black eyes and bloody noses and a multitude of new bruises, this comes as a surprise to none. 
True to his word, Thomas sends out a notice a few weeks later that volleyball practice has begun and that anyone interested is welcome. Due to his effort, several new faces appear in the gym. Two are freshman and one is a new sophomore. The freshman are Declan Edge (who simply goes by D) and Alex Taylor. Alex shows up first by joining in on a practice. Declan’s debut is slightly more dramatic. The same day that Roman is hitting on the outside after practice in order to relax, in walks D, quiet as can be. He eyes Roman’s hit with a gleam in his eye. Roman’s next swing never hits the floor. The ball flies perfectly to the setter spot from where D is crouched on the floor, arms still together and face perfectly impassive. He straightens up and fixes his shirt in the silence that follows his feat. “Nice hit,” he offers and walks out of the gym. Everyone left in the gym stands stock still. Remy -- who is lounging on the bleachers -- eventually breaks the silence. "Who the fuck was that and what do I have to do to get him on the team?"
Apparently that sentiment is shared by Emile, because the next day the senior arrives with the incredibly short freshman in tow. "Ow, geez, don't yank my arm off, muscles," intones the new boy sarcastically, rolling his mismatched eyes as Emile drags him forcibly through the door, hand gripping the younger’s arm tightly. From outside the gym a yell is heard from Remus: "Feel free to yank me anytime Pixie!" A growl is heard and a loud thunk quickly follows. A pouting Remus walks in, rubbing his head, Remy close on his heels, one hand in the pocket of his black jacket and the other nonchalantly holding his ever present water bottle, his face impassive.
Remus' spite is quickly forgotten as he catches sight of the newcomer. "Holy shit!" he yells, pointing, "It looks like you have-" 
This time every one can watch Remy smack him on the back of his head. "Don't scare off the new recruit, asshole," Remy chides.
"My name is Declan, but everyone calls me D. And none of you look that scary to be honest." To back up his statement, D puts his hands on his hips and surveys the gym, examining all its occupants. He nods once after he's scanned the whole room and then points to Remy. "He's the scariest one here, but everyone knows he's too lazy to do anything." Remus puffs himself up to respond, but is forestalled by Coach Thomas walking up to D. Instead, he fixes an icy glare on his back. Most of the team is worried for the newbie.
Turns out, D passing Roman's spike from the outside was no fluke; he's just that good. All through the next week, the shortest boy rapidly makes a spot for himself on the team. To everyone's relief, it is decided that he'll play back row for Remus. Patton is afraid that D might take his spot for a while, but apparently he has issues with passing soft balls, whereas Patton is steady and consistent both when people bring the heat and when they barely touch it.
Now, the final newcomer -- the only one who is not a freshman -- was something of a mystery. An incoming sophomore, Logan Decker misses the first few practices and shows up only a few days after D has officially joined. The first anyone sees of him is at the beginning of practice when they all notice him sitting on the bleachers speaking to Thomas. 
“He’s so tall!” mutters Patton to Roman. The latter snorts. “Yeah, well, so am I.”
“What do you think he plays, babe?” mumbles Remy to Emile as he helps him stretch his arm. Emile shoots a thoughtful glance to the bleachers and hums softly. 
“Well, he looks like he’s got some height so maybe something in the front row? If I had to guess I’d say middle, but I’m not sure.” Dropping his voice to a whisper he continues, “He looks kinda scary, doncha think?”
Remy shrugs. “He ain’t got nothin on Remus. Or me for that matter. But don’t worry honey,” he says cheerfully, releasing Emile’s arm only to pull him in for a side hug, “I’ll protect you from the new string bean!” 
“My hero!” the other giggles happily, any worry forgotten.
Similar conversations are being held all over the gym up until coach Thomas calls them over. They all dutifully jog over, somewhat faster than normal due to their curiosity. 
“Guys,” their coach pronounces, “this is Logan. He transferred recently and wants to join up so you’ll have to show him how we do things around here. Logan-” here he turns to the boy who is still sitting down on the bleachers and gestures for him to stand up- “that’s Roman, Remus, D…” The only one who actually manages to respond when their name is called is Emile, as the remainder of the boys are all too busy staring. At Thomas’ gesture, Logan had indeed stood up… and up… and up. Playing volleyball, the boys had come in contact with a multitude of players of varying heights, more often on the higher end of the spectrum. However, they were unprepared for this much height. After Thomas finishes introducing the team, he claps his hands and smiles at them all. “So, any questions?”
D’s hand shoots into the air. “Yes?” replies Thomas patiently.
“How tall-” 
“Exactly how fucking tall are you ya damn tree?” Remus interrupts, weaseling his way past his brother who had valiantly attempted to keep him quiet for the majority of the introductions. Remus then shoves his way into the newcomer’s personal space, leaving literally no room between their chests as he stands on his tiptoes and measures the top of his head against the other’s face. Obviously disgruntled at the proximity, Logan quickly takes several steps back, Remus following delightedly. “I would guess six foot five. Am I close?” he purrs into Logan’s carefully blank face.
“Extremely,” the other says dryly, shoving the shorter (still tall but it’s all relative) man away. Logan adjusts his glasses as he answers the question: “I’m actually six foot six.”
Remy lets out a low whistle and D snorts. “You’re actually over a foot taller than me. That is so excessive.”
Logan glares down at the other player. “I can’t control my height, you imbecile.”
D snorts again. “You might not want to be tossing around insults so soon. You’re not even officially on the team yet.”
“That is where you’re wrong,” Logan replies, somewhat smugly, adjusting his glasses. “Coach Thomas just accepted me onto your team. And let me just say-” Here, he pauses and takes a moment to look around at the circle of faces staring at him. “I haven’t decided whether or not it’s nice to meet any of you yet.” With that somewhat cold greeting, the newest member of the team hefts his bag up onto his shoulder, and makes his way to the locker room, the others staring after him. 
“Well, that was rude,” Roman states with a sniff, before turning back to practice. One by one the others begin to drift back to warmups, leaving only Remus staring excitedly after their new recruit. He finally turns away, giggling to himself. “This should be fuuun,” he singsongs to himself as he turns away. He’s quickly distracted after seeing an opportunity to body slam his brother midair.
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escapingpost · 5 years ago
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The Heartbreak Club (Chapter 4)
Chapter 4: Non-antagonistic Antagonist
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previous: chapter 3
The antagonist is just as important to the story as the main lead characters. Not only do they add suspense and an opposing force, they can make or break the story. Sometimes, their mistakes cause a ripple effect to every other character in the story. When you take out the antagonist, what happens to the plot?
More importantly, when the motivation is gone and the secrets are forgotten, what is their end goal?
In the end, you were barely able to convince Seungwoo not to walk you back to the dorms. You dig through your memory to remember the next plot point in the drama:
Devoured by pride from the night of the gathering, Kim Hana, the real one, decides her first phase of creating chaos. Unfortunately, blinded by her rage, she seeks out the wrong person.
Kim Wooseok.
With a sculptured face and eyes like a deer, Kim Wooseok was type of character that attracted with just one minute on screen. He has only had eyes for one girl ever since he met her. Kim Wooseok was the second male lead that would pin for the girl until the very end. In “The Heartbreak Club”, the difference in the main lead and the second lead was not timing. The Wooseok on the inside was different from what you saw on the outside.
You enter the office for your major and sign in to see a counselor to help with your current situation. You are in deep thought of how to tell them you needed to leave the major you were currently in until you feel a light push on your forehead.
“You’ll get wrinkles faster if you always look like your in pain.” Wooseok took a seat next to you and comfortably stretched out his legs.
You look at him in surprised and hold your forehead, “Oh, I was just thinking about something.”
“I’m assuming you got home safely yesterday?” Wooseok asks.
You nod.
Wooseok looks down at you, “Why are you here?”
You shake your head, “I want to change my major.”
Wooseok has a small look of surprise for a few seconds and slowly nods. He glances at you, “Can I ask you why?”
“I want to go for something that I can enjoy. I’m just not cut out for engineering.”
Wooseok mockingly laughs, “Are you being modest or just fishing for compliments? You’re one of the best students in your year.”
And again, you are reminded that you were still Kim Hana. “I might be, but I don’t want to do it anymore.”
Wooseok looks down at his lap and then back at you, “Where do you want to change to?”
“When I lived in the hospital, all I did was sketch for a hobby. I want” You pause your sentence and come to a realization.
“You lived at the hospital?” The features on Woosek’s face gets softer as if he was releasing all tension in his expression. 
“It wasn’t for very long.” You quickly answer. “Why are you here, Wooseok-sunbae?”
“For personal reasons." Wooseok answers. His stare lingers on you for a few more seconds until he looks down at his phone.
Talking to a counselor about changing your major with grades like Hana’s was an interesting conversation, but in the end, you could not change your major mid-semester. You agree to stick out in the major, but will comeback towards the end of the semester to change it.
Just like that, a normal week passed. That is, if normal was being completely lost in class and facing an identity crisis.
You slowly change Hana’s dull room into something more lively. Her bare beige walls now had fairy lights illuminating the darkness of the night. You also bought a medium-sized pin board to post up pictures. So far, you only had one picture of a cat that hung around your dorm’s building.
The gray bed sheets and comforters were now changed into a lilac purple, your favorite color. The color gave you a feeling of assurance and warmth.
Throughout the week you noticed Hana’s source of finances came from a joint bank account with her father. Feeling uncomfortable in using her father’s money, you started looking for a part time job.
Speaking of her father, you remember his supporting role in the drama. He was what you would call “a fool for his daughter”. He was Hana’s pillar, her weakness. It seemed like every time she talked to her father, her words were rough, but was filled worry.
He had only sent you one text message ever since you became Kim Hana.
To which, you did not reply to him. You felt uncomfortable fooling Hana’s father. But that same night he sent the message, you turned off your fairy lights in your room and let the moonlight become your source of light. He reminded you of your real mother. And you wished you treated her just a little better.
“Do you want to check it out? Its free.”
You turn around to the source of the angelic and cheerful voice. A petite girl stood behind you carrying a huge canvas. 
Her crescent shaped eyes when she smiled finally revealed who she was, Kim Chaewon. 
This was the thing about “The Heartbreak Club”. It was not only the main lead’s story, but the college life of several students. Kim Chaewon was a supporting female character. She had befriended Kim Minju because birds of the same feather flock together. Automatically, she was the spunky small bean who would go on to cheer for Minju’s plight for Han Seungwoo. Naturally, Kim Chaewon was pulled in her own small love triangle with two other male supporting leads.
When you did not answer, she smiled, “Don’t just stand outside, the fourth years made some really great pieces for this exhibit.”
Walking down the campus, you had found yourself going inside the Art’s Building for the first time.
You slowly nod, “Do you need some help?”
Chaewon shakes her head, “I look scrawny, but the canvas isn’t that heavy.” she giggles.
“Hey, small fry!” A male voice calls out.
You turn your attention to the person running over, ‘Seungyoun?’
“Hana? What are you doing here?” Seungyoun stands next to Chaewon, grabbing the canvas from her.
“She came to see the exhibit, right?” Chaewon gives you a cheeky smile and locks arms with you, pulling you through the doors of the exhibition room.
As soon as your enter, your mouth gapes open at all of the paintings fitted into the room. Your eyes light up at all the wonderful colors and unique art expressions.
Chaewon has a proud smile on her face and grabs the canvas from Seungyoun, “I’ll be right back.”
You slowly make your way to a particular painting. It was a watercolor painting of a bouquet of lilacs. You stare at the painting and a memory of your mother placing lilacs on your bed side table flashes through your mind.
Aren’t these great?
I guess.
This girl, you’re never going to see the brighter things in life if you choose to gray scale your vision.
I like them a lot. Thank you.
You close your eyes and almost hear your mom say your real name.
You turn your body away from Seungyoun when you feel a drop fall down your cheek, “Wow, these paintings are great.”
However, Seungyoun’s already seen the lone tear that escaped.
Cho Seungyoun was probably one of the very few characters with a more normal backstory. Wearing a heart on his sleeve, he is set to pursue his dream to become a music producer. However, he did not expect it when he slowly became interested in a small girl that was always carrying too much art supplies and that his music take form in the shape of his newly found interest, Kim Chaewon.
“Are you crying?” Just like the straight-forward character that he was, he does not miss a beat to ask you.
“I think its just the fresh paint fumes.” you quickly wipe the tear and sniffle.
“Right.”
“I have to go.” You give him a weak wave and start to leave.
“Hey! Come back again.” Chaewon says from across the room.
You look at Seungyoun, then at Chaewon and nod.
Everything was catching up with you at a fast pace. You wonder what happened to your old life. If this was your second chance, then does this mean you do not exist in your past life?
All the questions floating in your head frustrated you, but you kept calm. Other than completing your bucket list, was this going to last forever? You were in someone else’s life, living their reality.
Another part perplexed you. You knew the background stories of all, if not most, of all the people around you. Were they actually part of your reality?
Deep inside, you were just a weak and sick ridden person with little to no knowledge of life outside your hospital bedroom.
But, little did you know, the story that you once knew was slowly changing its course.
A month passes by as if nothing happened. You were still having trouble in your computer classes, while you were barely surviving general education classes. You got a part time job near your school at a cafe.
You also kept your distance from all the characters you knew about. Yohan was the hardest to keep away from because of his interest toward Kim Hana, but you successfully avoided him. It was the best for them to follow the path they were destined to follow.
Syntax error
You let out deep sigh and lightly slam your fingers on the keyboard. You see a shadow creeping up behind you and you jump in surprise.
Hangyul looked at the screen on your computer and scrolled through the code using the keyboard. “You forgot to define this. It won’t work if you randomly insert it with no formula or integer.”
Opposite of Cho Seungyoun, Lee Hangyul was a student of secrets. Not much was known other than the fact that he was adopted. He was just Cho Seungyoun’s best friend. The love triangle between Seungyoun, Chaewon, and Hangyul was an obvious endgame. If Kim Wooseok’s pain did not cause second male lead syndrome, Lee Hangyul’s did. 
You watch him type something and successfully run the program. “Thanks.”
Hangyul takes the computer next to you and leans on the table of the computer, “Don’t take this to offense, but are you sick?”
Wary of his suspicion, you give him a confused expression, “What are you talking about?”
“That day of our midterm, I carried you to the health office.”
You point at him, “It was you?”
“After that happened, you changed.” Hangyul says quietly. “I was just gonna ignore it because we’re not close or anything.”
You wait for him to continue.
“But, I can’t.”
“Why not?”
Hangyul pauses, “Because a situation changed.”
The Heartbreak Club Episode 7
“I don’t need this from you, Hana.” Wooseok got up from the chair.
“You like Kim Minju. I know you do.” Hana slowly makes her way closer to him. “I’m just saying we should work together.”
Wooseok scoffed, “You’re a real work of art, you know that?”
“What are you guys doing here?” Seungyoun’s raises his eyebrows.
“We’re on a date.” Hana states. She looks at the petite girl next to Seungyoun.
Chaewon slowly raises her hand, “Hey, I’m Chaewon.”
Seungyoun looks at Wooseok in confusion.
“Lets go, Hana.” Wooseok grabs Hana’s wrist and pulls her out of the exhibit room.
“Chaewon is one of Minju’s closest friends. It won’t be long until she tells her.” Hana tells Wooseok as he pulls her farther from the building.
Wooseok finally stops in his tracks, “So?”
“I’ve known Minju for years and she won’t stand anyone else getting attention other than her.”
Wooseok shakes his head, “That’s what you think.”
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whumphoarder · 6 years ago
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It’s My Party and I’ll Bite If I Want To
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Summary: Peter grows venomous fangs on his sixteenth birthday and wrecks havoc at the Avengers compound. Tony’s pretty chill, all things considered.
Word count: 2,144
Genre: Crack, humor, whump
A/N: We all deal with our post-Endgame stress in different ways. Crackfic writing is mine.
Link to read on Ao3
Ned enters the lunch room, grinning broadly. “Hey man, happy birthday! What do you—” He suddenly cuts himself off, frowning at Peter’s mouth. “Dude. What’s up with your teeth?”
Peter rubs a hand awkwardly at the back of his neck. “Yeah, I dunno… just kinda woke up like this,” he admits. He runs his tongue over the sharp edges of his newly elongated canines. They had certainly been a shock to see in the bathroom mirror that morning. “Maybe it’s like, well, you know how you get your twelve-year-old molars?”
“Yeah.”
“Maybe they’re like that,” Peter concludes.
Ned squints at him. “Except you’re not twelve. And those aren’t molars.”
Peter shrugs, but he’s feeling rather defensive. “Same concept, probably. I don’t know, I’m not a doctor.”
Ned huffs out a quick laugh. “Sure you didn’t get bitten by any bats recently? Any cravings to drink human blood?”
Sudden anger flashes in Peter and his eyes narrow. “Shut up, Ned!” he snaps. “I’m not a fucking vampire!”
“Whoa! Hey, calm down,” Ned says holding his hands up in surrender. “I was just joking,”
The rage dies down almost as quickly as it cropped up. “Yeah, yeah, I knew that,” Peter mutters as he opens his lunch bag. “Sorry.”
As Peter pulls out a bright red apple from his bag and takes a bite, Ned opts to just change the subject. “So, got any plans for this weekend?” he asks. “Going out with May to celebrate or anything?”
Peter feels his body flush as anger flashes back to him. He slams the apple down onto the table. “What do you mean ‘going out with May’?” he demands. “Are you saying my only date could ever be my aunt?!”
Ned blinks at him. “That’s… not what I said at all,” he says slowly. “You okay man?”
“Yeah, sorry…” Peter says as the heat flushes away. “I’m just, kinda stressed I guess? Homework or, uh, something.”
“Uh huh,” Ned says, sounding unconvinced. “Sure.” His gaze falls to Peter’s apple. “Whoa,” he mutters.
Peter glances down and suddenly realizes that right around his bite mark, the apple is now shriveling up into a dark green decaying mess. “Huh,” he remarks. “That’s… That’s weird.”
X
“Hello, is this Mr. Stark?” the voice on the other end of the line asks.
“It is,” Tony confirms. A sense of dread is already filling him. A call to his personal cell from an unknown number never means good things. “And who is this?”
“This is Sharon Byron. I’m the assistant principal from Midtown School of Science and Technology,” the caller identifies. “We have you listed as the secondary emergency contact for Peter Parker. Is this correct?”
“That’s correct,” Tony says, his heart rate quickening. “What’s going on?”
“Well, he’s been causing a bit of a scene today,” she says briskly. “He’s gotten in multiple verbal altercations, both with students and staff members, as well as nearly biting a boy in his gym class. The school security officer and two teachers actually had to escort him out of the locker room."
“Peter? ” Tony questions, flabbergasted. He’s already texting Happy to bring the car around—thankfully he’s in the city today rather than upstate. “We’re talking about Peter Parker, right?”
“Yes sir,” Ms. Byron says. “He’s not making much sense either. The school nurse has been attempting to get a read on his temperature, but every time she approaches him with a thermometer, he tries to bite her.”
“Peter Parker is doing this?” Tony asks one last time. Then, before she can answer, he shakes his head to clear his thoughts. “Never mind, know what? It’s fine. On my way. ETA forty minutes.”
He hangs up the phone.
X
“No! I don’t want to leave!” Peter snaps at his mentor, who is standing in the doorway of the principal’s office, looking flummoxed. The kid bounces up and down slightly on the cushioned office seat. “This is a really comfy chair!”
“Peter, something is clearly off with you today,” Tony tries to reason with him. “I just want to get you checked out, and maybe—”
“No!” Peter cries, leaping to his feet, suddenly alive with white-hot fury. He charges Tony, whose eyes widen as he steps backward. “I don’t want to go! I don’t wan—” He stops mid-sentence as the feeling suddenly dissipates. It’s replaced by embarrassment. “Oh. Sorry,” he mumbles. “That was weird.”
“Little bit,” Tony huffs. He lowers his hand, which Peter suddenly registers has been hovering over the armor housing unit on his chest. “You feeling okay, kiddo?”
“Yeah, uh, actually it’s been a little weird all day,” Peter admits, rubbing at the back of his neck. “One second I’m fine, and the next I just wanna tear everyone to pieces, you know?”
Tony scoffs. “Sure, kid. It’s called a board meeting.”
X
Two hours later, Peter is at the compound, leaning back against a chair in Bruce’s lab as the doctor peers into his open mouth.
“So they just appeared this morning?” Bruce asks, poking at the canines with a gloved finger.
“Yeah, ‘retty ‘uch,” Peter mumbles in reply, mouth still open. “Think they’re ‘oisonous or somethin’.”
Bruce adjusts his glasses as he leans in closer. “Venomous,” he corrects absently.
Peter frowns. “Huh?”
“Your teeth would be venomous, not poisonous.”
Anger flashes through Peter again and he snaps at Bruce, who yelps and only barely manages to pull back his hand before Peter bites off the doctor’s finger. “Are you saying I’m stupid?!” Peter demands.
Bruce is taken aback. “Um… no? Of course not. It’s a common mistake, I just thought you’d want to know so that—”
“Don’t take it personally,” Tony remarks without glancing up. He’s been so quiet that Peter nearly forgot he was there, leaning against the wall on the other side of the room and tapping something into his phone. “He’s been doing that all day. The two-hour drive back to the compound was a doozy.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?!” Peter exclaims, turning on Tony now.
“Well,” Tony says casually, “when you threatened that pigeon after he took a crap on the car windshield by screaming that next time you see him or any of his ‘idiot feathered friends’, you’d use instant kill mode, that seemed a little extreme is all I’m saying.”
The fury engulfs Peter and suddenly he can’t take it anymore. He jumps out of his seat and starts charging towards his mentor.
“Peter!” Bruce exclaims, jumping forward to grab his shoulder. Peter only whips around, rage in his eyes. Without a second’s hesitation, he sinks his fangs into the doctor’s forearm.
Bruce’s eyes go wide before he collapses to the ground in a heap.
X
“I’m fine, Tony,” Bruce insists calmly from his position on the floor. He’s lying flat on his back, his body eerily still. “This really could be worse.”
“You literally haven’t moved a muscle from the neck down in thirty minutes,” Tony argues, lowering himself down to sit on the floor beside the (hopefully) temporarily paralyzed doctor. “How is this in any way fine?”
“I think it’s starting to wear off,” Bruce says. “Look. I’m wiggling my fingers right now.”
Tony’s gaze falls to Bruce’s hand, which is not moving in the slightest. “Nope.”
“Oh.” Bruce sighs. “Well, on the bright side, the paralytic toxin in Peter’s fangs doesn’t seem to be affecting any respiratory processes or major organ functionality. All things considered, I think we lucked out.”
“Uh huh, sure, Bruce.” He glances back over his shoulder to where the kid is currently sitting on the couch in the corner of the lab, staring at the Magic Bullet blender infomercial playing on the TV with a dazed look in his eyes. “So, what’s our game plan?”
“Well, I’ve had some time to think while I’ve been down here,” Bruce begins, “and I’m pretty sure the aggression is related to the fangs.”
“No shit,” Tony scoffs.
“Logically then, the solution would be removing the fangs,” the doctor goes on.
Tony raises an eyebrow at him. “And how exactly do you suggest I do that?”
Bruce hums thoughtfully. “Yeah… that’s the part I’m still working on…”
X
“I AM NOT GOING TO THE DENTIST!”
“Which way are we going with him again?” Steve asks. The super soldier is holding onto Peter’s left arm while Tony—fully encased in his armor—holds onto the right. The two are currently escorting the struggling teenager down the hallway, Clint and Sam flanking them as back up.
“Medbay,” Tony replies wearily. “I’ve got an oral surgeon coming in from SHIELD. Should be here in thirty minutes or so.”
Peter swings his legs, kicking wildly. “HE’S NOT PULLING MY FUCKING TEETH!”
Steve tuts. “Peter,” he begins. “There’s no call for that. We’re all just trying to help you here, and that’s why—”
Before anyone can react, Peter whips his head to the side and bites Captain Fucking Righteous around the wrist. With a cry of surprise, the soldier plummets to the ground in a tangle of twitching limbs.
“Move in, move in!” Sam shouts as he and Clint instantly converge on Peter, who thrashes sideways and clamps his teeth down on Clint’s bare bicep.
“Shit,” Clint manages to mutter as he collapses down beside Steve.
“I told you he was biting, Legolas!” Tony snaps. “Why the fuck did you wear a sleeveless shirt?!”
Having landed face down, Clint’s reply is muffled. ‘’Cus ‘s m’ thing…” he mumbles into the ground.
“Peter, c’mon,” Sam pleads, trying to manhandle the snapping kid away from the two men on the ground while Tony struggles to get a grip on Peter’s thrashing feet. “Let’s just calm down and have a chat about this…”
“I DON’T WANT TO CHAT!” Peter shouts. “LET ME GO!”
In one violent twist, the enraged teen sinks his teeth into the side of Sam’s neck.
“Mother fuc—” Sam yelps before dropping to the ground, causing Tony to lose his grip on Peter’s leg. The kid instantly takes advantage of this by leaping onto the wall, sticking, and scurrying up to the ceiling to camp out in the corner, hissing threateningly at his mentor.
“Oh, you are so grounded, kid!” Tony hollers.
X
“You know, this is actually kinda nice,” Steve remarks from the ground.
“I know, right?” Sam agrees. He’s lying face up on the floor about five feet away from the soldier. “You’d think paralysis would be unnerving but it’s actually weirdly relaxing.”
Clint hums thoughtfully. “Like floating,” he agrees. Tony had taken pity on the archer and flipped him to his back just before racing down the hall after the hissing spider child.
They lay there for a few more minutes, the sounds of firing repulsors, thwipping webs, and muffled crashing issuing from several rooms away.
“You know what’s really bugging me though?” Clint asks.
“What?” Steve questions.
“The fourteenth ceiling tile from the left is crooked.”
“I noticed that too!” Sam exclaims.
There’s another loud crash followed by Tony’s scream of “DO NOT BITE THE DENTIST!”
The three men lie in silence for another moment.
“... Also my nose itches,” Clint complains.
X
“Where’s the kid at now, FRI?” Tony asks wearily. He’s lying on the ground in the common area kitchen, internally kicking himself for lowering his faceplate to try to talk Peter down. Who’d have thought the kid would go for the nose?
“Peter has locked himself in your lab,” the AI reports. “Agent Romanoff is currently crawling through the air vents with a tranquilizer dart gun in an attempt to get a clear shot at Peter.”
“Wonderful,” Tony mutters sarcastically. “Keep me posted.”
From under the table, he hears the paralyzed SHIELD dentist groan something about his back and how he should have retired last year because he’s definitely getting too old for this shit. Happy’s still grumbling curses from his position on the floor just in front of the dishwasher.
A moment later the AI reports, “Agent Romanoff has just dropped into the lab and fired at the target. Peter is temporarily incapacitated.”
Tony breathes out a sigh of relief. “Oh thank god.”
“Unfortunately,” FRIDAY goes on, “Peter has managed to bite her ankle in the process. She is now incapacitated as well.”
Tony lets out a groan. “I am definitely returning this kid’s birthday presents now...”
X
When Peter finally wakes from his drug-induced sleep several hours later, he finds himself reclined in a chair in Tony’s lab. He sits up with a frown and spits out two wads of bloody cotton gauze into his open palm.
Pepper is standing on the other end of the room, pliers in one hand and a small glass jar containing two sharp teeth in the other. “Welcome back,” she greets.
“Miss ‘otts?” he mumbles. “Wha’ ‘appened?”
Pepper huffs out a quick laugh. “Nothing we couldn’t handle,” she assures. “Happy birthday, Peter.”
Fic Masterlist
For more crack-ish irondad/Avengers shenanigans, try New Year’s Regrets or Avengers Vandal
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watchmegetobsessed · 6 years ago
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Best friends - Shawn Mendes
i know yall are waiting for boundaries, butttt until i manage to put the next part together here is a cute fluff
You eye yourself in the mirror that takes up an entire wall in the elevator, and you notice how worried you look. Once you relax your forehead those small wrinkles soon make their way back to your face no matter how hard you focus to look calm. You hold the grocery bag to your chest tight as the elevator dings every time it passes a floor. Your teeth sink into your bottom lip, but when you realize you are doing it you quickly straighten your features. You don’t want to show up with a bleeding mouth to your best friend’s house for the first time after an entire year.
Shawn has been on tour in the past seven month, he had a lot of other gigs before that and you were also busy with school, then work, and a few months ago you were still dating a guy from literature class making him your priority which now seems like bullshit. The guy was a loser and you can’t believe you wasted so much time. Shawn wanted to fly you out once to one of his US concerts but you canceled on it for the guy. How ridiculous.
You’re not sure about the sudden nervousness. He is still the guy you were best friends with ten years ago, he is just taller, more handsome and oh, also a huge popstar now. But still the nicest guy you’ve ever known and despite the lack of contact between the two of you lately you are sure everything will be just like in the good old days. Except that you are hiding a huge secret from him now. The big fat crush you realized you have on him.
Your breakup urged you to realize why all your past relationships ended up dead if you don’t count your poor choice of men into it. You had some pretty promising sparks through the years, but somehow nothing seemed to be good enough for you, and the realization hit you harder than you were expecting. No one was good enough because no one was Shawn. Neither of those men were the guy you grew up with and relied on every time you needed a shoulder to cry on. Neither of them were your best friend you call immediately when something amazing or horrible happens, you didn’t stay up all night FaceTiming each other just because he watched a horror movie and it upset him so much he needed you to talk him into sleep. The history you shared with Shawn beats every other attempt any men have ever taken and there is nothing you can do about it.
The elevator doors slide open pulling you out of your nostalgia about what it was like when you were younger and Shawn was just an ordinary guy, when there weren’t screaming girls in his life, following him everywhere he went.
You pace down the hallway to his front door and push the doorbell with your nose having both your hands occupied with the bag. You sigh looking around in the hallway as you wait for him to open the door. The next door is pretty far from here, so the apartments must be big around here, your place is probably like Harry Potters room under the stairs compared to these homes here. Seven years ago you would have never thought this is where you’d be meeting Shawn.
The door flings open and a tall figure appears in front of you, a more mature and even more handsome version of the Shawn you last seen a year ago on the porch of your parent’s house when he came to have dinner with you and your family before flying to New York the next day. Back then you both though you’d see each other in only a couple of weeks, but the weeks turned into months and then a year.
His look dark in the lighting, a warm chocolate tone, and the shine in them breaks you into a smile, just as he grins at you happily as well.
“Y/N! Hey! Let me help you with that.” His hands reach for the bag and you hand it to him mumbling a silent thank you. The bag is filled with all the ingredients you need to make tiramisu, some snacks and a few beers you knew he would very much appreciate. Cooking together has always been your thing, Shawn has always been in charge of the actual food while the dessert was your field and you knew he is dying for your tiramisu so there was no doubt what you’d be making when the two of you made the plan to finally meet a few weeks ago.
You follow him in, eyeing around curiously as this is your first time in his new place. He bought it months ago, but you never had the chance to see it in real life, only on photos.
“Do you want a tour?” he asks glancing back at you as he sets the bag down on the kitchen island.
“Would love that,” you nod your head grinning.
You follow him around as he is talking about his home in a very MTV Cribs way, but you’re enjoying it a lot, mostly because it shows that one year didn’t change a thing on his amazing personality.
“Pretty nice view,” you compliment standing in front of the window from where you can see the CN Tower in its tall glory.
“That’s one of the reasons I bought the place. I love just… sitting here in the evening, play the guitar and watch the lights.”
You can see his reflection in the glass of the window and his dreamy look over the city makes your stomach flip. Then he looks at you and the dreaminess is replaced with a boyish smile.
“So, how about we start cooking? I’m actually very hungry.”
“Okay, let’s go.”
While both of you work on your own part of the dinner he keeps asking you questions about everything, he is hungry to know all the things you didn’t have the chance to tell him over the phone. So you talk about school, about the classes you had, and then your new job comes up. He seems genuinely happy listening to you talk about your very normal, uneventful life while you know he has way more interesting stories up in his sleeves, but still, he just wants to listen to you.
Then you take the questioning in your hands, he tells stories about tour, about his friends and colleagues, about the wild and unbelievable life he has been living, and you can’t help but wonder how you are still in his life. Your way of living is nothing like his and it makes you feel insecure for a moment, but then a question of his diverts your attention.
“And how is the guy from literature? I’m sorry, I forgot his name,” he lets out an awkward chuckle and only then do you realize you never told him about the breakup.
“Cody and I broke up around September,” you state matter-of-factly causing him to put the knife down from his hand and turn to you.
“Really? You never told me. What happened?”
You shrug your shoulders. It was never a big deal, Cody was only interesting until the two of you had common things to talk about, but that was only literature. After two months, you quickly realized you are just too different and ended it in the fourth month already feeling like you gave too much of your time for him.
“It didn’t work out. Don’t worry, it was peaceful.” You give him a reassuring smile so he knows it wasn’t a trauma you went through alone. He nods his head taking in all the new information before turning back to the food.
He doesn’t bring Cody up again and you’re happy it’s kind of out of the way. You soon start talking about old things, stories that happened in high school when he was still a full-time student. His phone chimes into the conversation at one point, he washes his hand and grabs it from the counter. You look at him just in time to see him roll his eyes at the screen.
“What is it?” you ask as you finish up the last layer of the tiramisu.
“It’s just Andrew, he wants me to post a story, because I’ve been too inactive lately,” he explains as his fingers are tapping rapidly on the screen.
“What should you post?” you ask putting the box into the fridge so it can chill until the end of dinner.
His mouth opens, but then he stops and his eyes flicker up on you. You don’t understand what this means, but the sinister grin on his face already tells you it’s going to be wild.
“Do you remember the lift we used to do all the time in your backyard?”
“Oh my God, Shawn, no! We are not doing that again and definitely won’t record it.” You protest immediately. He steps closer putting his hands together as if he is praying to you and he is even pouting his lips at you.
“Please, let’s just do a try, it’d be funny. If we succeed, it will look cool and if not, people will laugh at least.”
“No! We haven’t done that in years and I know you are muscly, but I’m not sure you can lift me up,” you say avoiding his eyes, but then suddenly he pick you up and spins you around to show you, he is very much capable of lifting you up.
“See? I’m good. Come on, just give it a try.”
As much as you want to say no to him, you just can’t. So soon you two are in his living room with the furniture pushed out of the way and his phone set up, ready to record. You’re shivering nervously as you watch him press record and then he takes his place.
“Okay, Just trust me, I’ll catch you, promise,” he encourages you holding his hands out, ready for the jump.
The move was just a silly something you two came up with one summer. You have to run towards him, then stamp right before him, he catches you mid-jump with his arms wrapped around your thighs, and then you bend over his shoulder, he squats down and you basically swing over, your hands on the floor at first, then come up to standing at the end. Facing him you are not even sure you are able to swing over like that, you haven’t tried it in a long time.
“Y/N, come on! Trust me, it’ll be good,” he nags you clapping his hands together. You take a deep breath and start running.
It all goes smooth until you jump and he catches. None of you could keep balance suddenly, a high-pitched shriek escapes your throat as you start falling forward and Shawn’s feet slide on the hardwood floor. You both end up on the floor, you almost smash your face to the ground, but catch yourself just in time.
You both lie on the floor laughing uncontrollably as you try to untangle from each other.
“See, I told you!” You scold him laughing, wiping some tears away from your eyes.
“I’m sorry! Are you okay though?” he asks checking out if you have broken anything, but you are fine.
He ends the video and you watch it back. It’s even funnier on tape and you end up allowing him to post the part where you jump and then collapse to the floor. He doesn’t tag you in the video though, this is something you’ve agreed on before. You definitely don’t want all his fans to stalk your profile, even though they still can find you if they want.
In half an hour food is ready, Shawn made roasted chicken with grilled veggies and some fries. You set the table nice and just keep on talking while eating. You don’t seem to run out of things to say, something always comes up and it’s relaxing to know nothing has changed.
You eat the dessert sitting on the kitchen floor, another thing you two used to do a lot. Karen was very strict about sweets so whenever you were over at their place you’d sneak into the kitchen and sit on the floor, so Karen wouldn’t see you in there eating cake.
“Oh my God, this is so good,” he growls in satisfaction, his mouth full of tiramisu, you giggle to yourself.
“I’m the master of tiramisu,” you proudly say scooping some into your mouth and tasting the sweet cream.
“You definitely are, you could enslave me with this.”
You start laughing at the depth he just went into to compliment your work, and before you could think about it, something just slips your mouth.
“Yeah, I’m that good. I don’t even understand why you’re not dating me.”
You scoff lightly, but then you freeze mid movement, just like him, as you realize what you just said. The mood immediately changes and panic is creeping up on your neck, making your whole head feel numb.
You quickly think of something to say that can save the situation, and you end up just changing the subject.
“So, when are you leaving next time?” you ask the only thing you know will distract him from your previous comment. His leaving is a touchy subject, he has told you how guilty he feels for the one year hiatus, because after all, he was the one who left for months, and though you tried to convince him it’s totally alright, you understand it and that’s his job, he is just too stubborn to believe you.
“Um, I have to go to LA in a week, but I’m coming back at the end of the month.”
That means he will spend two weeks away from Toronto, away from you. That’s bearable.
You feel like he forgot about what you said earlier, so you also stop thinking about it. It was just a stupid slip of your mouth and you’re sure he didn’t really think it over.
You help him clean up in the kitchen and by the time you are done it’s almost midnight. You have to drive home, so you think it’s better to leave.
“I’m so happy we got to do this, just like we used to,” he smiles at you as he is walking you out. “We should do something next week before I fly out.
“Sure, I don’t really have plans, so… just hit me up,” you chuckle as you step out into the hallway.
“Will do. Take care and text me when you got home, okay?”
“Okay.”
You hug him shortly before heading to the elevator. It feels like everything weights on you at once when you think you are alone. You feel happy and loved for the way you two could be around each other just like in the old times, but then you think about that stupid you made on him dating you and you are positive you are a real idiot. You are very much lost in your own thoughts when you hear him call out for you.
Turning around you see him barefoot out in the hallway and you give him a puzzled look.
“Shawn, what are you-“
“I was thinking about what you said all night,” he says licking his lips and you hold your breath for a while as you stare at him and wait for him to continue. “I really don’t know why I haven’t dated you yet.”
Your eyes widen as you try to process what he is saying. He scratches the back of his neck as he is trying to find the words.
“Look, tell me if this is not a good time, or if you don’t feel the same way, but… this one year I’ve been missing you like crazy and I realized I want more than just be best friends with you. If you are in, I thought maybe… maybe we could like, go on a date or something.”
He is nervously fumbling with the hem of his shirt and staring at you he is waiting for your answer. You struggle to find your voice, but then you finally build up the courage to answer him.
“I-I would l-love that,” you mumble still unsure if this is really happening or not. His eyes light up hearing your words.
“Great! Good, um… how about, going out tomorrow? I can pick you up at seven.”
“Sure, it’s… it’s fine for me,” you say nervously tugging your hair behind your ears.
“Then… see you tomorrow,” he smiles at you and leaning down he presses a soft, tender kiss on your kiss.
You say goodbye, he disappears in his place and you take the elevator down. Turning to the mirror what you see is so much more different from what you saw when you were arriving. The beaming grin on your face is just endless, your heart is beating fast and your palms are sweaty and you are sure you’ve never been happier in your entire life.
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