#I always had missing assignments that would either not make it home or wouldn’t make it to class

[asgardtotrenzalore]

*stares at my mom not getting her two CLEARLY neurodivergent kids diagnosed when they were in school*

Not telling your kid they have a learning disability, chronic illness, mental illness etc. so they can “feel normal” actually does the opposite. They will not feel normal if they do not have the context to understand that their normal will be different from that of their peers.

[mochie85]

Blue Christmas

One-Shots Masterlist | Complete Masterlist | Secret Santa Masterlist

Summary: You ask Loki to give you something special for Christmas. A/N: This is a Secret Santa gift for @divine-knight-hand. I wanted to give you everything you requested, my love, but I already wrote something similar a while ago. For the sake of not sounding repetitive, I altered your request just a little bit. I hope you still like it. However, please check out the other story because it checks off all your points! And is Christmas-themed! Mayari: If You Let Me. Also, sorry for the cringy title. I couldn't think of anything else. Pairing: Loki x Female Reader Word Count: Over 2.7k Warnings: Explicit. Smut. P in V. Jotunn Loki (yes, cuz he's a whole warning!)

You crossed your legs as the last rays of the sun were trickling down on your body. Your book was discarded on the ground as the condensation from your Pina Colada dripped down onto the side table.

Loki had surprised you and whisked you away to the Fiji Islands for Christmas— no more crowded New York streets. No more dirty ice falling onto you from the splash of an oncoming taxicab. And certainly, no more missions and assignments till the New Year.

It had been an exhaustive nineteen-hour flight. Especially since he didn’t tell you anything he was planning. When you came home to your room earlier that day, you were greeted by Loki with two suitcases on either side of him.

“Merry Yuletide, Darling,” he said as he rolled your luggage over to you and kissed you on your lips in greeting.

“Loki- what?”

“No time to explain, we need to leave now in order to catch our flight,” he said ushering you out the door by patting you on the bum. You jumped up with giddiness, planting a lipstick-stained kiss on his cheek. He was always surprising you with little trinkets and excursions.

“Thank you, sir,” you said in a deep voice.

“Ooh, you dangerous nymph. Go on. I need my wits about me till we get on the plane. I can’t have you distracting me.”

“Then, after?” you asked luring him to a sinful promise.

“After,” he promised in the same breathy tone.

That was two days ago. Loki had kept his promise, and then some- inducting you both into the mile-high club several times over.

Now, here you were in a private villa surrounded by an infinity pool that stretched towards the Pacific, watching your godly boyfriend come out of the water. He ran his hands through his hair, combing the droplets from his tresses. Beads fell down the defined lines of his muscles causing you to heat up in the already balmy weather.

The sight of Loki, wet and in nothing but short swim trunks, was enough to make you convulse. You were sure that if Michelangelo had a model for David, it would’ve been Loki. And knowing Loki, you wouldn’t have been surprised if it was him.

He came up to you, lounging on your chair, and shook his wet hair in front of you to tease you. “St-stop!” you laughed as you playfully pushed him before you got completely wet.

“Awe, come on, Darling. I thought you liked me wet?” he charmed as he sat next to you and leaned in for a kiss.

“I have to admit, it is kind of refreshing.” You said as your hands guided themselves around his slick body. “It’s so hot here. I might need something to cool me down,” you tempted.

There was a flash of understanding in his face. Nights of hedonistic pleasure and anticipation of his moods taught you how to read him. If you weren’t so attuned to him- so zealously infatuated with him and his praise over you, you would have missed it. But you didn’t.

“What’s wrong?” you asked.

“Nothing. I just-” he paused for a second, trying to find the right words. “There was a reason why I chose Fiji.”

“You mean, the beautiful waters and sandy beaches weren’t enough of a reason?” you joked.

“It’s in the southern hemisphere. Which means that it’s summer here whilst still cold and winter back home.”

“Why would the season be an issue?”

“Contingency.”

“Contingency, for what?” you asked confused.

“It was about what you wanted for Christmas,” he answered slowly. Confusion still clouding your memory. Little bits and pieces of a long-forgotten conversation nipped at your mind as you tried to piece together what you had asked him to give you.

As if to remind you, Loki raised his hand and cupped your face. As he did so, his fingers turned a beautiful shade of blue. It was fair, yet sharp. It reminded you of the color of blue thistles on a cold afternoon.

As he touched your cheek, a shiver ran down your skin making you shudder for the first time since you arrived. Realization struck you as you remembered the conversation you two had a month ago.

“I think I know what I want for Christmas,” you lured him in. “And what is that, my Darling?” Loki said absentmindedly while looking through his mission briefing. “You." “You already have me,” he scoffed, placing a kiss on your forehead. “I meant…all of you…the other you…” you trailed silently. Loki looked at you bewildered. There were many nights he had dreamt of taking you in his other form, wondering how you would react to him. He’s postponed showing you this long because he was afraid of his feral nature. He would be at the mercy of his urges and base needs. Loki wasn’t quite sure how to ease you into that new situation. Would he be too much for you? Knowing your adventurous spirit, you wouldn’t mind having his beastly side take you. “Why, you little nymph. Now, why would you want to see that side of me, hmm?”

Excitement bubbled up inside you. “Loki, I-” you started, but he quickly put a finger to your lips to quiet you.

“I want this, Darling. And I want it with you. So, if at any point in time, you want to stop, you know our safe word.” You nodded your head enthusiastically and Loki chuckled. “But I should let you know, that…there was a reason why I’ve waited this long to show you. I become somewhat different when I change. Jotunns, in their very nature, are severe. Harsher. They have to be, to live in the climate they do, and survive.”

You sat there, fervently hanging onto every word Loki was saying. “We relied upon each other for strength, for warmth, basic needs…” Loki trailed off, tracing your lower lip with his cold finger.  “You can imagine the creativity we had in finding ways to keep our blood warm and stave off the frigid climate.” You nodded solemnly at his words as if they were gospel.

“If we do this, I need you to be in control. Do you understand me, Darling?” he asked, inching closer to you. You felt a shiver run down your body. You focused on his eyes as his lips weaved a spell for you to follow. “I won’t know how much is too much. How rough is too rough.”

Loki grabbed your hips and sat you on his lap. The sudden move made you yelp into his arms. “Sorry, my dear. You see, I’m already too excited. My body is reacting to you.” He ran his nose up and down your neck. His cold hands encircled your back, caging you on top of him. “I’ve wanted to take you like this for so long.” His hands entwined themselves with your hair and pulled as his lips met yours in a crushing kiss.

You held on tightly, with your legs wrapped around his waist, as Loki stood up and walked both of you to the edge of your bed. When he broke the kiss, you heard him moan before he continued to suck a bruise onto your neck.

You felt his body change. The hairs atop your skin began to stand as the temperature began to drop. The once-sweltering heat that prickled your skin was replaced by the cool tingles of his touch. It surrounded you and enveloped you in a cold caress. You finally understood the need for a warmer climate. With a slight force, he released you from him, falling onto the soft mattress below.

That was when you had your first glimpse of his true self. The beautiful shade of blue you had seen earlier spread throughout his body. His form was somehow sharper, more jagged. Yet still soft and giving. He had markings defined by fine lines and grooves. They traced over his muscles and sinew, highlighting the best parts of himself. You followed them with your eyes as it led your stare down to his protruding cock. Your jaw went slack as you noticed how hard he was for you already.

Loki watched you appraise him. Your wanton eyes grew darker, and your breathing got quicker. His senses picked up every reaction that your body was going through. He was prepared to confront your fear or disgust, but he couldn’t see that in your face. Instead, he saw hunger and need. He could smell your desire growing for him and it made him feral. He wrapped his hands around his shaft, stroking himself to the sight of you, ready and waiting on his bed.

Loki felt ravenous as he knelt over you on top of the sheets. He spread your legs apart, seating himself in between the warmth of your thighs. His heavy cock resting atop your wet cunt. His hands eagerly tore up your swimsuit as they explored and venerated your body. His lip’s sole mission was to mark bruises where his hands had trailed, following the chill of his touch.

“…Loki…”

“Shh, Darling. I won’t hurt you. Unless you want me to,” he winked as he nipped the underside of your breast. Too many emotions. Too many thoughts. They were swirling at the forefront of his mind wanting to be said. His desire for you was overwhelming him.

In this form, he felt more primal. His emotions were stronger and almost frightening, but all he felt was fire. Everywhere. An all-consuming heat that wouldn’t dissipate until he had claimed you. His need for you was never as aggressive as it was right now. If he wasn’t careful, he knew he could easily hurt you. He needed you to be in control.

“Don’t stop,” you begged him.

“And what would you have me do my Darling?” he breathed onto your skin. “Tell me, and I will comply.” Loki was giving you the green light. The authority to take over because he wasn’t sure if he could be gentle enough not to harm you.

Oh, but the fire. The fire inside him wouldn’t relent. “Shall I force my cock down your throat till you gag for me to stop?” he suggested with a grin. You bit your lip and moaned as the image took hold in your mind. You moved your hips involuntarily, rubbing against his hefty shaft.

“Maybe I’ll edge you for the rest of our stay. Keep you here tied to our bed, my little slave, until I’ve properly bred you.” Loki seized your lips and held you down on the bed. His cold hands capture your wrist in an icy grip.

“S’cold,” you gritted.

“You can take it. You don’t mind a little bit of frostbite. Don’t you, my love?” He ground his hips as he bit into the soft flesh of your shoulder, leaving teeth marks in their wake. You felt his hard cock rub against your sensitive nub. It elicited the most erotic noise from your lips. Loki fought to keep his composure. With every moan you made, it got harder and harder for him to control his urges.

“I thought this was supposed to be my Christmas present,” you sighed, regaining some form of authority and clarity. You intertwined your fingers with his and signaled him to turn over with your hip. You pushed his shoulders down onto the bed as you straddled his waist.

Loki looked up at you in all your glory. Your beautiful face shining down with love and adoration was enough to heal the worry and anxiety he was feeling. “I want to admire my present,” you pouted as your eyes took all of him in.

His mischievous smile broke through as he raised his arms and placed his hands behind his head. “As you wish,” he hissed as the corded muscles in his biceps swelled.

You traced his beautiful blue markings down from his arms to his pecs. “You’re beautiful,” you whispered absent-mindedly, getting lost in the exploration of his body. Loki blushed at your words. He had never heard that word describe his Jotunn form before and it ignited a warm glow inside of him. Different than the fire, but still heated.

You leaned over him as your study led you to his neck and handsome face. You traced his dark lips as he opened them. His bright ruby eyes concentrated on you. “I love my present,” you whispered before you gently kissed him. “Thank you.”

Loki deepened the kiss, his tongue invading yours, as he wrapped his arms around you once again. His cold touch left a trail of goosebumps as he squeezed and grabbed your ass. He raised you slightly with one hand. And with the other, he guided himself into your entrance. The slick of your arousal coating the tip of his hard cock. “Are you ready for me?” he grunted. You nodded your head, keeping your lips on his, not wanting to break contact.

He thrust deep into your body. His heels held on against the mattress of the bed. He held your hips stable as he continued to drive upwards slowly- savoring how snug you were around him.  Every pull of your tight pussy made him moan your name. “…yes…”  he whined.

You sat up, holding onto his shoulders for support. “I need you, Loki,” you pleaded. Your nails dug into his dark skin as your hips took over his strokes. “…deeper…faster…”

“Take me then, Darling. Use me.” He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He wanted to do this for you. To be good for you. With each push of your hips, he unraveled each time. Crowning to a tight knot in his abdomen.

You waited patiently for him to open his eyes and see the love and pride you had for him. When he did, you were met with an intense sparkle of carmine. Desire and vulnerability shone through, swirling in his gaze. His brows furrowed with pleasure as he bit his lip. “…oh, fuck…” he cried.

You moved faster. Your swollen clit rubbed against his dark curls adding to the already heightened pleasure you were building. You took his hands from your hips and guided them up your body. You placed them over your bouncing tits and he squeezed- rubbing your hardened nipple with his thumb.

“That’s my good little whore,” he gasped. “You like it rough don’t you?” You squeezed tighter around him in answer and Loki couldn’t stop the wolfish grin on his face.

He swallowed thickly watching you enjoy his touch. “Loki” you screamed. The only indication that you had reached your climax and was about to topple over. You trembled over his body screaming his name over and over as you came down from your bliss.

“Don’t stop, Darling.” He pushed harder into you. “Ride me,” he commanded. Loki watched as you clenched around his hard cock- disappearing into your wet folds. The sight was enough to make him tremble.

God, he was so much bigger in this form. You had to push hard to meet the hilt of his shaft. You raised your hips and dipped back down eliciting the deepest groan fleeing his lips. “That’s a good girl,” he whispered. “Fuckin’ good girl.” His head tilted back and the desire to claim you came back. He had to take you faster. Harder.

He dug his heels back into the mattress and slammed his hips upwards. The gasping air leaving your lungs, the wicked moans filling his ears. All of it coerced him to cum inside you- finally releasing his pent-up yearning. Loki couldn’t stop the moans or praises leaving his lips. Your name peppered in with teasing curses and praises.  “You always know how to make me feel good, don’t you, pet?” he prized as he took a deep breath to steady his exhaustion.

“Mmm, yes sir.” You kissed him ardently, taking his breath away from his already spent lungs. You trailed your kisses down to his neck and onto his panting chest. Each kiss made your lips tingle and chilly.

“We should probably get ready for dinner. What say you, my love?”

“Hmm? Maybe in a while…I’m not done playing with my Christmas gift yet.” You responded as your lips traveled further down towards his already hardening cock.

Loki smiled as he closed his eyes, savoring the feel of your warm tongue on his cool skin. “In a while,” he repeated. “Fuck…in a while.”

🏷️ @emarich7 @michelleleewise @coldnique @psychospore @lokisgoodgirl @silverfire475 @fictive-sl0th @springdandelixn @wheredafandomat @goldencherriess @peaches1958 @salempoe @thomase1 @kkdvkyya @a-witch-with-words @mischief2sarawr @sarawr-reads @vbecker10 @peachymallow @irishhappiness @cakesandtom @simplyholl @here4thefanfics @tallseaweed @holdmytesseract @immersed-in-mischief @joyful-enchantress @lokisninerealms @kikster606 @glitterylokislut @loz-3 @slytherclaw1227 @chantsdemarins @the-lady-amphitrite @eleniblue @km-ffluv @lokidokieokie @n3rdybirdee @melsunshine @gigglingtiggerv2 @lokischambermaid @cjand10 @asgards-princess-of-mischief @chrisevansmaindish ++

[kyeomofhearts]

Back For More | J.WW

+ summary: while adjusting to your new life in college, you couldn't help but attract the attention of wonwoo, someone who you happen to have a history with.

+ pairing: badboy!wonwoo x fem!reader

+ word count: 2.7k

+ content: badboy!wonwoo, college au, mature language, flirting (wonwoo is a menace), jealousy. [pls let me know if i missed anything!]

Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV

[ᝰ.ᐟ] i hope you guys enjoy this! it's most likely going to be a two-parter so definitely let me know if you want to be added to my taglist! i would greatly appreciate it if you guys reblogged (maybe with comments too ^^) since i thrive on your guys' validation :)

You were tired, very tired.

Granted, this was your own doing. Maybe if you hadn't pushed your responsibilities to the side last night you wouldn't have had to wake up so early to study for an exam, but what's done is done. This whole college thing was not going so well, to say the least. Sure, it's only the beginning of the second semester, but you already feel exhausted by all of your class workloads.

Just ten more minutes of this boring lecture and you could finally go home and crawl into bed. But… that's only if you avoid him today. Which now that you’re thinking about it, you hope he isn’t waiting for you outside, again. That would be the last thing you needed today.

With that being said, things have felt a little weird if you were being honest. Of course, this was your first year of university, so things were bound to feel new and different. But there was something, or rather someone that was making you feel strange.

Around two weeks ago you noticed that Wonwoo, an old classmate of yours, had recently started to become a bit friendly towards you. While that normally wouldn’t be considered weird, you couldn’t help but feel skeptical about his intentions. You knew the kind of people he surrounded himself with, and especially the girls he would go after; which was the exact opposite of you. So what exactly did he want from you?

What also makes this situation more odd is that you’ve basically known Wonwoo for your whole life. Of course, you don’t actually know him, you just happened to go to the same elementary, middle, and high school (which is insane if you think about it). Acquaintance is a perfect word to describe your relationship with him, nothing more nothing less. So yeah… it’s a little weird when the guy you have been around for (almost) your whole life is suddenly trying to befriend you, there definitely had to be something wrong with him.

All you knew about Wonwoo was that he was on the more reserved and quiet side; mainly keeping to himself most of the time. His group of friends was quite the opposite of him, which always made you wonder how he even became friends with them in the first place.

Seeing how the lecture was ending soon, you started to pack your stuff; you were more than ready to dash straight out of the classroom. Having finished all of your assignments for today, you had nothing left to worry about. So once the professor had made her goodbyes, you made a straight beeline to the door, nothing was going to hold you back from your long-awaited nap. Your pace was brisk, attempting to avoid the backed-up main exit, you decided to go to the opposite door. The walk back to your apartment wasn’t too bad either, most of the time you saw it as a way to daydream and listen to music. So while you scrolled through your various playlists, you happened to miss the (very obvious) figure following you.

Wonwoo called out your name a few times until it finally dawned on him that you had your headphones on. He took a few long strides to catch up to you; he was very adamant on getting your attention this morning. With ease, he quickly plucked your headphones off of your head.

“What are we listening to today?” He said while adjusting the headphones on his head. It took you a second to fully process what he was doing. You knew he was doing it to provoke you, but you were determined to not let that happen today. So to his surprise, you simply kept walking. You figured that he would continue with his antics if you gave him the reaction that he wanted so you did the opposite, you ignored him.

What shocked him the most was seeing you pull out an old pair of earbuds and plugging them into your phone. He was dumbfounded to say the least, how were you so prepared and why were you ignoring him?

And again, he quickly caught up with a few simple steps. He took your headphones off of his head and tapped them against your shoulder.

With a tired sigh, you turned around to face him but couldn’t help but admire his face. You really didn't want to lose that ‘expressionless’ look you were going for (to help you ignore him of course), but that small smile of his was enough to crack you down. It's like he knew that it was your one weakness when it came to him. This was the most annoying part of it all. Anytime he smiled or looked at you, a tiny part inside you secretly liked it, making you crave his attention at times.

Objectively speaking, Wonwoo was very handsome. That was something you could never deny, you would even go as far as to say that he was your type but you didn't particularly like the people he called his ‘friends’ so you were stuck in a weird limbo.

“Is there something on my face, birdy?”

You scoffed at the nickname. “I told you not to call me that.”

Wonwoo’s eyes were looking straight into yours, a smirk slowly creeping up to his lips. It didn't help that he was looking really good today either, his messy hair combined with the whole biker fit did wonders for your eyes. He was about to say something before you heard your ringtone go off, evidently cutting him off.

Oh.

It was Hyunwoo. That's odd... you finished your shared project with him rather early, what could he be calling you about? Either way, you answered the random call in front of a rather annoyed Wonwoo.

"Hello?"

"Heyyy yn, I was wondering if you wanted to get lunch later today?" You couldn't help but feel your eyes widen at his sudden question. Since when did he want to hang out with you? Last time you checked he had a plethora of girls that he was talking to... maybe he was interested in you? No, you shouldn't get too ahead of yourself...

"Um... let me check if I have anything to do first. Can I call you back?" You knew that you sounded nervous but how else were you supposed to feel when the cute guy from your physics class was literally asking you to eat lunch with him?

As soon as you ended the call, you felt Wonwoo's arm snake its way down to your waist. You couldn’t help but yelp at the sudden intimate contact. Chuckling at your reaction, he leaned down, closer to your ear. “Who was that?”

"No one." You stated simply, it wasn't his business anyway.

"Hm, okay," Wonwoo rested his head on your shoulder, continuing to speak lowly in your ear. "I'll remember that birdy."

Before you could even come up with something to counter him, he decided to speak up once again.

"Well, I do have something rather important to tell you." His voice was so calm and soothing, you could honestly listen to it for hours on end if you had the chance.

"What is it?" You hoped he couldn't sense your rather, embarrassing, curiosity.

"Heard you used to have a little crush on me," his voice was evidently smug, knowing that this would surely get a rise out of you.

Which it did.

Your face burned at the memories of when you used to have a crush on Wonwoo. But, that had to be in fourth grade… so how could he have known about that? Nonetheless, you scoffed at his statement, not wanting to know that you were a little embarrassed by the sudden reminder.

“Key word, had,” you rolled your eyes at him. This did make you curious though, who could have possibly told him that? So you asked him exactly that.

“How do you even know about that?” His smile never faltered even as you lightly pushed his hand away from your waist. If anything, this made him want to touch you even more.

“I have my ways,” he stated simply. Of course, he does. You hated when he would shrug things off, now this was going to bother you for the entire week!

One thing about Wonwoo was that he has always been curious about you, this interest stemming back all the way to your elementary days. This curiosity eventually intensified in junior year of high school when you began to show your blatant distaste towards him. He just had to get to know you.

He looked down at you, his face was unreadable like always. You never knew what was going on in that mind of his.

"Why are you here? Shouldn't you be hanging out with your actual friends?" Sometimes you couldn't help but blurt out your thoughts to him even if they sounded a bit rude. His face faltered for a split second, probably caught off guard by the random question. Shoot, you really didn’t mean to say that out loud. Although, it looks like Wonwoo didn’t take any offense to your sudden question. If anything, it made him... smile?

“I am hanging out with my friend,” he stopped you to face him, “which is you.” You rolled your eyes at him. That had to be the corniest thing he has ever said to you if you were being honest. You just hated that giddy feeling he would give you any time he said something remotely cheesy.

"Ugh, you're so dumb," you groaned while checking the time on your phone. It was getting close to noon and you hadn't responded to Hyunwoo's question from earlier. Maybe it was best if you didn't go... who knows what he wanted from you. If you were being completely honest, you didn't know if you had it in you to see other people at the moment, aside from Wonwoo of course.

"Have somewhere to be?" Wonwoo asked, a hint of concern peeking through his voice.

"No, thank god, but I do have a scheduled nap to get to so if you don't mind-" you were cut off by the sound of an engine revving, making your body jump at the unexpected noise. You turned to see where the source of the commotion was coming from but then realized it was coming from a group of bikers nearby; most likely Wonwoo's friends.

Or so you thought?

Wonwoo didn't seem too pleased with the group that was getting closer to where the two of you were. On the contrary, Wonwoo looked pissed. His jaw was visibly clenched, the gentle grip he had on your waist tightened, and his eyes lost that playful spark he had earlier. You couldn't help but feel guilty for thinking about how hot Wonwoo looked when he was angry. Of course, you would never want to be on the receiving end of his anger but seeing it on the sidelines was quite... interesting.

Wait. This might actually be serious, so it's best if you leave before anything crazy happens.

"I think I'm going to head out now..." you said quietly as you tried to slip away from Wonwoo's (awfully) strong grasp.

He turned to look at you, his eyes softening once they landed on your figure. Why did they have to come and bother him at this exact moment? He knew that whatever was going to happen was not going to be pretty, but he found himself reluctant to let you go.

Before truly letting you go, he quietly asked, "Are you sure? I can take you home if you want me to." As soft as his voice was, he still managed to sound composed which was comforting considering the situation.

You nodded in response, "I don't live that far from here so it's fine, thank you for the offer though." You managed to flash him a small, awkward smile before turning away from him and heading toward the direction of your apartment. You didn't know what exactly was going on between those guys and Wonwoo but it for sure wasn't friendly. Although it wasn't exactly your issue, you couldn't help but feel worried about Wonwoo, even if he was a pain in the ass sometimes.

Much to your dismay, that scheduled nap never came your way that day.

You blame Wonwoo, how were you supposed to sleep peacefully knowing he was probably getting jumped? Okay, you might be jumping to conclusions but what else were you supposed to think about when he was visibly angry at the mere sight of those guys?

Realistically speaking, it's only been two days since that whole incident happened. Granted, you haven't seen Wonwoo since then but that could mean a lot of things.

[...]

While you were in line to get a smoothie from one of the pop-up shops near the campus, you felt a sudden tap on your shoulder.

"Did my little birdy miss me?" You felt Wonwoo say right next to your ear, his breath fanning across your earlobe. It sent a wave of tingles down your spine, making you shudder in turn. Though you weren't a fan of his spontaneous appearance.

"God, you need to stop doing that! I almost slapped you I swear-" You stopped mid-way once you turned around and saw his face. He had a few cuts on his lips and eyebrows and one big bruise across his cheek. Those guys really did a number on him.

Your eyebrows furrowed in concern, "are you okay?"

He tried to wave it off but you could tell he was bothered by your question, "It's fine, really, don't worry about it." Was he insane? How were you not going to worry when he was visibly injured?

"Were these from the guys on Tuesday?" You couldn't help but ask, where else would he get these cuts and bruises if it didn't come from them?

His demeanor immediately switched and he pushed himself away from you.

"It's none of your business so stay out of it."

"Okay." That was the only thing you said before grabbing your smoothie from the worker and quickly walking away from the shop. If he wanted to be like that then so be it. You most definitely were not going to wait for him to 'open up' by all means, he could throw himself a pity party for all you care.

"Wait-" He tried reaching for your arm but you were too quick for him. Your steps were swift, helping you create a reasonable distance between you and Wonwoo. He called out your name a few times before giving up, he didn't want to gather any unwanted attention from the people nearby. Reaching your pace, Wonwoo was finally close enough to grab your wrist and make you look at him.

"Are you seriously ignoring me?" His voice was a bit jagged, no doubt coming from the unexpected cardio you made him do to catch up to you.

Unfortunately for him, you were petty. "You said it wasn't my business, so please do not talk to me because I really do not care." You brushed past him once again this time making sure he could not grab your arms or wrists.

He exhaled in annoyance, "Look I'm sorry-" Wonwoo was mid-apology before being abruptly cut off by the voice of a guy yelling your name out loud.

Speaking of the devil, what immaculate timing.

"Hey yn! Did you still want to get food after class?" Hyunwoo jogged to where you were standing but saw how Wonwoo was still trying to talk to you.

"Sorry, were you busy with him?"

You instantly responded to Hyunwoo, "No, he was just asking for directions, but yeah I'm down for food." Like before, you made your way towards Hyunwoo, making sure to bump into Wonwoo. He couldn't help but stay frozen in place as he watched you walk to class with some random guy, jealousy slowly invading his mind.

Directions? Did she really...?

As much as Wonwoo wanted to be mad at you, he really had no one to blame but himself. The whole situation with his old group of 'friends' was really getting to him so once you popped that question it just seemed to send him over the edge. He just didn't know how far you would go to express your annoyance towards him. Now all he had to do was find a way to properly apologize to you before that Hyunwoo guy got to you first.

The only thing stopping him? He didn't have your number or any of your socials...

Part Two: II

[penvisions]

by the grit of sandpaper {chapter 1}

Pairing: Jackson! Joel Miller x Patrol Partner! Reader

Chapter Summary: But what is there to miss at the end of the world? It depends on the person, but you? You would do anything for decent kitchen gadgets, something you let slip to your routine patrol partner, one Joel Miller.

Word Count: 5.2k

Warnings: canon typical violence (later chapters), canon typical language, illusions to past death, illusions to past trauma, pining, unrequited feelings, joel a little daft in this, heart of gold joel, carpenter joel, woodworking joel, artisan joel, patrol partnership, mild injuries, head injury, reader bonks her head, mild concussion, lots of feelings, slight angst, hurt and comfort, joel miller's hands need their own warning, jealousy, two (2) instances of joel miller gently touching reader, intentional flirting, unintentional flirting. fluff, this is so unbelievably soft, reader has a commonly used nickname but no assigned name

A/N: home on bed rest today after a cortisone shot and i was reading through the draft for this when the words all came together for the first installment and i'm super excited to share it with y'all ♡

ao3 link || series masterlist || main masterlist || ko-fi

Joel Miller was a quiet man, not quick to engage in conversation beyond the pleasantries of greeting someone as he crossed paths with them, or asking after the issues people bring to his attention. Not quick to divulge his personal activities or words of his past. But he was willing to help anyone who approached him, the list on the spiral notepad in his back pocket never ending. Every single pair of the man’s pants held the same distressed markings, a testament to how he never left home without it wedged into the fabric.

But you wouldn’t admit to having noticed such a small thing.

The man’s pants were none of your concern, truly. As someone who regularly patrolled with him, would wave to him throughout the town’s streets and gatherings though he would seldom return it, his attention pulled toward someone wishing to interact with him. But that didn’t mean you weren’t aware of the faded lines along the denim stretched over his backside.

Almost as if were a secret you held to yourself much like the fondness you found pulling at your lips every time you mounted your horse alongside him and left through the gates.

The man in question held out a thermos to you, steam rising from the top of it where he had left it open to breath. The early morning carrying a slight chill despite the birds chirping happily and the buds beginning to bloom along the trees around the town.

“So, I know you’re good with a shotgun,” His rich baritone washed over you, warming you faster than the coffee he had taken the time to brew and the rising sun, barely cresting over the horizon now. “But what do you like to do to fill your time?”

“Like…for fun? Or to make the day go by?” You quirked an eyebrow, looking sideways at Joel as he rode a few paces ahead, he knew the trail by heart at this point. The same one you always did this time of the month, a routine set in stone that allowed you a pocket of alone time with him outside the town’s walls.

“Either. Both.”

“Um, well it’s not so easy now, but cooking, making things for people to enjoy.” You took a tentative sip, slurping accidentally as you realized it was still a touch too hot for the sensitive skin of your lips. You sputtered, droplets of the hot liquid flecking along the saddle and back of the appaloosa’s neck. The sweet mare startled, halting in her steps. The sudden stop causing you to knock the top of the thermos to your chin, more of the hot liquid finding your lips.

“Fu- c’mon Lowry, you know I didn’t mean to get ya!” You lightly scolded, tugging on the collar of your button up to wipe at your now throbbing face. You felt heat flood you, fluttering in your stomach as you realized how embarrassing a sight you just put on for the man beside you. But he wasn’t chuckling with that deep rumble he tended to do sometimes. Instead, he was calmly urging his own steed to come to a stop.

He dismounted, coming up beside you. He had a clean kerchief in his hand that he was holding out to you. You had no idea where he pulled it from, his jacket pockets were zipped closed. At least, they looked like it as your eyes had roved over his form ahead of you. Once you wiped the coffee from your face, he was moving closer, causing your heart to flutter.

“Lemme see,” His thick fingers were brushing your bottom lip and you froze. His eyes were focused on the way they looked irritated, catching the soft morning light. You tried to hide the way your breath hitched, but you were sure it puffed against his thumb, giving your nervousness away. He had never been so forward before, only spare instances of hands and thighs brushing against each other over the months you’ve been paired with him. “Doesn’t look too bad, sweetheart.”

As quickly as he had reached out, he was moving away with a lingering brush of his hand along your chin, an unreadable expression on his face. All you could do was nod an affirmative, feeling heat bloom in your chest and the swell of your cheeks.

Lowry knickered, bobbing her head. Joel’s hand then reached out and caressed the side of her face, gentle sounds humming from his chest.

“Were you a fancy, make it from scratch kinda cook or one that threw everythin’ in a crock pot and played the waiting game?” He turned his head to the side, catching your eye. A small grin you weren’t sure how to read pulling at his plush lips. “I was pretty hopeless in the kitchen, made a lot of spaghetti and had a lot of cereal.”

“Oh, um, from scratch.” You thought back to the meals you would create, the flavor profiles you would put together. “But that’s not so bad, sometimes routine is good, I’m sure you needed the carbs and protein to do….carpentry?”  

“Contracting, actually.”

“I had a contractor scheduled to look into a re-do of my kitchen, but they never showed. It was such a letdown; he came so highly recommended. But I guess it was just too big of a project for him.”

“Nah, was probably just a matter of supply and demand.” He easily comforted you. “Kitchens are a lot of work. Especially if the design is for someone who spends a lot of time in the room. Need all kinda gadgets for that, hmm?”

“Typically, which is why it can be such a hassle nowadays. But it’s a small price to pay for being so safe in town. The loss of a good cutting board or sturdy utensils is a good trade for the life we have.”

Joel only hummed in response, and you felt like you had spoken too much. Opened up in the wrong way to the man back in front of you, his horse trotting along happily.

He didn’t ask you any more questions as the route was made and you didn’t try to bridge the gap, feeling foolish for voicing your rather naïve loss of kitchenware. You often has small conversations of a similar fashion, a simple question. Not too focused, general. Easy going subjects that allowed you glimpses of each other.

Later that night, Joel stood in the doorway of his workspace.

He had just stepped out of the shower, washing the long hours of the day from his shoulders. Ellie had left a plate of what she deemed dinner for him with a note before she had taken off for the night.

‘Gotta keep your mind sharp, old man. Here’s some dinner cause I know you didn’t stop to eat all day.’

She had even included a smiley face with downturned eyebrows, the little shit. And it made him realize he needed to set some time aside for another guitar lesson, just the two of them. A day on the porch in the warm sun while it was still the season for it. It was well into Autumn, the leaves changing into rich colors all around the town and in the forests beyond the walls.

But not seeing her didn’t feel like the worst thing because it had been a productive day. Patrol with you, then helping Tommy to work through foundation of a few new houses. The town was growing and he was glad to help, never having even dared to dream of a place such as this before he had quite literally stumbled upon it nearly a year ago.

Eyes trailing over everything he had neatly organized in the room. The different, albeit only a handful, types of wood he had accumulated with the help of the council. There was an ancient sawmill in one of the town’s buildings, used to help cut downed trees to turn them into lumber for construction. Tommy had been able to help them run diagnostics on it once he had become a part of the population, his shared past with his brother allowing for him to have the knowledge to maintenance it and get it in operating form.

He wasn’t sure what wood was typically used for kitchenware, nor was he sure he had a food safe sealant. But he was going to inspect everything in town, mind working overtime as he removed the small spiral notebook from his back pocket and began writing down his thoughts as they bubbled up.

Spatulas

Serving spoons

Rolling pins

Spoon rests

Cutting boards

Joel underlined the last one, knowing what a vision it would be to see you lovingly stood at the counter in his kitchen making a meal for a shared dinner. And excited smile on your face, explaining the details of the recipe you were working on. And he would listen to every word, even if he didn’t understand. To see the brightness of your soft smile as you shared parts of yourself with him. He rather liked that you had become his regular patrol partner, you could read the moods he felt. If he was open to conversation, if he needed little quips to keep him on his toes, if he had had a small argument or disagreement with Ellie and needed to either stew or hash it out.

You were good and he wanted to use his aching hands to not only provide for the town, but to provide for you as well.

The rest of the week passed easily, another patrol alongside Joel having occurred. But he had been rather quiet, in his head for most of the silent trip around the settlement. You hadn’t thought much of it, in your own thoughts as well. Made okay by the pair of thermoses of coffee he had brought along for you both indulge in. An easy-going rapport built up between the two of you, one where the sharing of such a commodity was matched.

Upon taking the first tentative sip, he had assured you it wasn’t as hot as last time.

The strong heat it lacked seemed to bloom across your cheeks, recalling the last time he had handed it to you. The whisper of his fingers against your lip as he inspected it for burns making it hard to look at the man watching you take a drink, ensuring that it really was cool enough to not harm you.

Smiling to yourself at the memory, you made your way through the streets and into the front of the town, toward the collection of shops with a list in your pocket. But all thoughts of productivity were halted when you spotted him.

Joel’s broad back was visible even from down the main street. Busy working on repairing a sign for one of the shops that fronted along it. The sawhorses he had propped up supported the new frame he was building according to predetermined measurements. You watched as he leaned down to read something along the wood, pencil tucked behind his ear, a tape measure carefully stretched out. His hand patted at his back pocket, the sound making heat bloom in your stomach and dive lower as suddenly as the sound.

Someone shouted his name before you could even form your lips around the sound of his name, his head lifting up and looking right past you to whoever it had been. Your half-raised hand feeling awkward, and a wave of embarrassment whooshed through you. You shoved your hand in your pocket and kept on your path, though you had no true reason to be on this side of town. The only one you had now occupied with someone else.

You didn’t dare look his way or see who it was who called to him as you crossed the street and began to inspect the fruit out on display. The first tentative crops of the season had done decently enough and then flourished. Apples aplenty. The trees so fruitful this year. Reprimanding yourself for entertaining the thought of ambling around, you decided to actually get a few errands done. You were out already, after all.

You had signed your name along the inventory and the weight of the apples you deemed worthy of being backed into a pie when a bark of laughter had you whirling around. He was working no longer, attention pulled to the woman standing closely in front of him. Joel’s hand cupped over her shoulder. His expression was so open, his eyes kind and trained on her. She reached up to brush some sawdust from his curls and you bolted.

But you hadn’t looked.

And you ran right into the end of the wooden boards Tommy had balanced on his shoulder as he walked down the street. Pain blossomed on the corner of your forehead at the contact, balance suddenly gone along with it. The canvas bag of apples flies from your grip, bouncing around the packed gravel of the street just as your body thumps to the ground.

A pair of voices pulled you back from unconsciousness. A dull ache reverberating from your temple and you groaned as you brought a hand up to gently prod at the spot. You were in your bed, a small thing to be grateful for. Not too fond of the small medical center set up in the middle of town, right off of main street. Tommy’s steps were quiet as they came down the hall, his voice preceding his entrance.

“You awake, Olive? What had you so distracted? You walked right into me.” His strong brows were furrowed, concern etched into his weather features. His curls bouncing with his steps as he came to rest on the end of your bed. He wasn’t teasing, question genuine and worry wafting from him as he reached a hand out to jostle your foot atop the covers.

“Shut up, Tommy. I was lookin’ at my feet.” You felt heat creep up your face, recalling the way you had been ogling his older brother and then gotten so worked up that the man had been touching another woman so causally. It shouldn’t have bothered you, it was really none of your business.

Sensing the serious hush of your words, Tommy regarded you with sharp eyes.

“It’s not like you to not be aware of your surroundings. Please tell me what happened?”

“Nothing happened.” You kept his gaze, eyes not giving anything away as you moved to sit up. But it was too fast a movement, the momentum of your balance thrown off as your temple throbbed. A hissed curse fell from your lips.

“…okay. Well, you’re off from patrol tomorrow, to rest that bump on your pretty little head, okay?”

“I can do patrol.” You felt panic flare hot in your chest, worried for the reason of losing your time with Joel out beyond the gates and not because the man in front of you thought your injury was serious enough to take you off of rotation.

“Honey, you smacked your head into some lumber. Don’t think you need to be on a horse right now, just take the day, okay? For me?” When you looked back up, he was making big eyes at you, knowing you couldn’t resist his kicked puppy routine.

“Tommy, do not look at me like that.”

“Can’t blame me for using it when I know it makes you crumble.” A upturn of his lips on one side allowed for a dimple to appear. Maria was a lucky woman, though you knew that for all the strength and seriousness she possessed, she was no match for the same look aimed her way.

“You’re a butt.” You huffed, crossing your arms over your chest and settling into the pillows even more.

“Yeah,” He stood from the bed and walked over place a bottle of aspirin on the small table you kept beside it. “But you like it.”

“Not when it’s aimed at me.”

The apples you had tried to get yesterday were on the counter down the hall when you finally got up from the bed. It was late, well into the night but sleep wasn’t coming easily. The echo of Joel’s easy laughter and voice from across the street as he talked with the woman in your ears.

With the warm light of your kitchen, you washed away your worries and thoughts by beginning to mix together a dough. Letting it set to rise for a bit as you washed a circular pan, cut the apples into thin slices, and prepared a mix of seasonings. Creating something with the energy flowing through you that had no other outlet.

You had just made a kettle of tea, body tired from the out-of-routine events of the last twelve hours and allowing you to sleep well past the rising of the sun. A distant thought of now being about the time you would be approaching the gates and waiting for them to allow you back in.

Curling your legs up, you had just settled into the couch with a book and your mug when a knock sounded on your front door. Startling, you felt your heart hammer harshly a few times before you stood back up and moved toward it.

You weren’t sure who you were expecting, but it certainly wasn’t Joel in his post patrol glory. His curls were windswept, some of them frizzing and creating a hallow around his head. His cheeks were a little dusty from the strong rays of the early morning sun, illuminating his golden skin in a rather eye-catching way.  

“Hey, sorry, did I wake you?” One of his hands was resting on the doorway, his jacket pulled open as it rested over his shoulders unzipped. Broad, your mind helpfully pointed out. He took up nearly the entire doorway, the sun behind him and his face lit up from the open windows of your living room. Shadows making it obvious how big of a man he was.

“Oh, um, no. I was just starting to get up and about.” You stepped out of the way, a silent invitation for him to enter your home. He had only been a handful of times before. To fetch Ellie as she waited for him to return from a later patrol, not wanting to be in the main part of his house alone. Or to help fix something that had begun to have problems. There had always been a reason and you were trying to figure out the current one. “Do you want some tea? I just made a kettle of orange spice.”

He followed you through the living room after ensuring the door was securely sealed. As he did you were made aware of the oversized cardigan you had thrown on over a camisole, sweatpants that were too big fastened around your waist.

“Missed ya on patrol this morning,” He took the offered mug, taking a tasting sip before offering you a grateful smile. You knew he wasn’t big on tea, but this one you suspected would pass the test. His voice was low, velvety smooth in that drawl of his. It warmed you up, filling your chest. And for a second, you thought he meant it. “Jesse was the replacement. That boy sure does have a mouth on him, prattled on and on about I don’t even know what.”

Only for a second, because of course he would prefer you to one of the younger members of the settlement alongside him.

“I was just feeling a little under the weather,” You averted your eyes from his, roving up and down your form at your words. A glint of something behind them you couldn’t read. He didn’t buy it, the flimsy excuse. You could tell because one of his brows arched and that damned dimple appeared in his right cheek as his lips lifted up in a teasing smirk.

“Not tryna get away from me, are ya?” That same, syrupy drawl coasted you and made your movements slow. There was an undertone of something in his words that you tried not to read too much into. He was just joking, right?

As if you could even try. He was a staple of the town, from his physical presence at every important meeting to the things he fixed. Pieces of him, of the life he had created for himself and for Ellie prominent all around.

“No, ah- ha, this is so embarrassing but,” You busied yourself with finding a small enough container to send him home with a piece of the pie sitting uncut on the table. Having been left to cool after your late night baking escapade. Setting it down beside the pan, you picked up the knife you had taken out just before Joel knocked on your door, intending to cut into it at some point during the day. “I hit my head yesterday and Tommy insisted I take the day off.”

“Are you alright?” He was stepping close, one of his hands coming up to gently brush your hair away from your face while the other took the knife from your hand and set it back on the table. Eyes searching for any sign of the injury, his lips thinning when they landed on the bruise on your temple you had tried to hide. It had mottled overnight, into a dark purple, faded around the edges of the raised bump in the middle. His thumb whispered against it, causing you to suck in a deep breath full of the smell of him. His chest was so close that it brushed against your own with it, his face was so close that you could see the individual hairs of his salt and pepper scruff, the freckles decorating his weathered skin.

Dizzying, it was so dizzying to be that close.

Your eyes fluttered closed as he was suddenly leaning in even closer. His head ducking to allow for his lips to softly brush over the bruise, not wanting to agitate it but wanting to soothe.

“There,” His breath fanned over your face, the lingering scent of coffee along with it. And then he was stepping back, his hands dropping from where they had cradled you. “All better.”

The sunlight was soft, streaming in through the kitchen window. Illuminating a rich, thick cut of mahogany. Stepping closer towards the counter, your hands twitch as if to reach and run over the expanse of the smooth wood. It was carved to be a perfect shape and size, small feet propping it up from the counter directly. Little flowers engraved in the corners and protected by a sheen of sealant. It was beautiful and you blinked quickly to stave off the tears surging at the sight.

He did it. He listened to you.

Footsteps had you turned from it, hips meeting the edge of the counter as you tried to act like you hadn’t been admiring the new addition to the home casually laid out for people to see.

Tommy had a bottle in his hands, wine he had found on a recent patrol that he thought you’d like. But as soon as he entered the room, he clocked that you had gotten up from your spot, what you were next to.

“Who knew my brother would end up making decorative pieces in the apocalypse, huh?”

“I don’t know him well enough to agree, we only patrol together.” Smooth words didn’t betray the way you pictured the man seated and concentrating on carving into the block of wood to create something so beautiful. His large hands gripping the handles of tools you couldn’t even begin to name, brushes to wipe away the shavings, to slather the sealant over it. The striking sound of sandpaper fills your senses along with the scent of freshly carved wood.

A lingering one you could often catch if Joel was close enough, of rich cedar mingled with whatever he used to wash. Culminating into how he always smelled, signature, familiar. Easy to pick out in a crowd and no it was him. Blinking, you focused back in the present, reigning in your thoughts of a man you had no business thinking after in such a manner.

He was a patrol partner. An acquaintance.

“Oh hush, Olive, you know him more than most.”

You just hummed, eyes looking everywhere but at the man across the room. He busied himself pouring a drink into two glasses. Just as you took a sip, Maria entered the room with Joel right behind her, shoulders laden down with canvas bags. Seems they had been out, and he decided to walk her home, protective even on unsure ground with the woman deep into her pregnancy.

“It really is beautiful Joel, already have a few requests for them from some people around town.” Maria joined in the conversation, noticing the way that Joel’s eyes had zoned in on the piece of wood settled atop the counter. As if he was seeing each mistake and wrong shave of the wood even from across the room. He moved to place the bags he had taken from her atop the table, nodding a greeting at you as he realized you were right beside the thing he had tried his hand at creating. Spurred on by your little tangent weeks ago.

“Not really lookin’ to make that my pastime, yours was just a trial run.” Joel shrugged the words off, the praise off, like he so often did. Even when the haphazard crew he worked with completed repairs on a building or created a new one from the ground up, it was always the same response. A brush of the direct compliment to everyone who worked on it together, even if it was his plans and his hands that had played a part in the whole thing.

“Don’t even know where you got the idea, brother, such a random thing to think to make.” Tommy moved to press his lips to Maria’s cheek in greeting before helping her to put things away.

Your eyes snapped to Joel, willing him to admit that it hadn’t been his idea, but your own. It was silly, really, to want his immediate family to know that you two had talked, shared things with each other that resulted in an item that was now a part of their life. Pointless, no real connection except for the one made up in your mind and an overinflated sense of importance. Just a throwaway comment when you recalled the difference good cooking supplies could make. He wouldn’t meet your eyes, his hands deep in his pockets and his shoulder hunched.

“Jus’ came to me, one night, is all.”

Your chest panged at his indifference; it didn’t have to mean anything. But it meant something: that he didn’t want to reveal that he had opened up to you once upon a time on patrol. That he had listened to you as you had done the same. Couldn’t let others know that he was open to genuine conversation sometimes. Or maybe just that it was with you, someone he tended to look over in the crowds of gatherings and events, more often than not You huffed around a mouthful of wine and set the still half full glass down.

“I’m shoving off, see y’all later.”

“Oh wait, I wanted to see if we could trade patrols. Kinda why I brought out the bribe of wine.” Tommy turned wide eyes to you, knowing the whole set up of his favor was being thwarted by the arrival of his wife and brother. It was easier to ask you of things alone, not that you were known to turn them down, but you preferred to stay under the radar. Avoid direct attention, direct recognition for the things you accomplished and helped with around town. For the way you always made sure the elderly got home safe after important meetings and children who got turned around were reunited with their guardians.

“….which patrol?” You tried to hide the suspicion in your voice, positive he was about to ask you to do the overnight route with Joel in his place that would happen in a few days’ time. Something you didn’t do. Ever. Overnight routes something you didn’t have the wherewithal to handle, not since you had lost your last connection to what the world had been before. It had been relatively soon after settling into Jackson when it had happened, a handful of years ago now, but Tommy nor Maria had ever even thought to ask it of you.

You supposed they figured with Joel having settled in nicely himself the past year, that it was time to consider broaching the subject.

“Teton.” Joel supplied when Tommy choked, unable to voice his request. Knowing they would all be standing there for a few moments for the younger man to find his words between your almost fearful look and the suspicious one Maria was pinning him with as she looked from you to the wine and toward to her fumbling husband.

“Oh, um, I haven’t done that one in a long while. I don’t do the overnight routes, you know that. Surely you wanna find someone who’s done it more recently? Someone who does it regularly.”

“Think-you, uh, you’re about ready.” He managed to get out, his body no longer relaxed but picking up and responding to the way you had tensed up. The way his brother had. Feeding off of each other’s energy in a way he couldn’t begin to understand, but wanting to assure you that he had confidence in your skills and knowledge. Despite the things that had occurred for you to only stick to the same routine of early morning patrols a week.

“Tommy…” You didn’t feel particularly comfortable being asked in front of Joel. You don’t think he knew, had any idea of how had lost yourself. Rumors ran rampant around the settlement, but you hoped that those surrounding you had dwindled down to nothing but recent events. You knew for a fact Marsha liked to say you put too much sugar in your pie fillings, trying to hook everyone onto them with a heavy hand. But it wasn’t your fault that her pies always got looked over when yours was set right beside hers.  

“I know you have your reservations, Olive. And I understand,” Tommy watched the stilted way you downed the rest of your wine, setting the empty glass atop the counter with careful movements. “But it would mean a lot to me if you covered this one time.”

With a sigh, you agreed.

Ignoring the weight of Joel’s curious eyes as they followed you out of the kitchen.

Thoughts a whirlwind as you tried to flee the seen without it being obvious that you wanted to be anywhere but in that kitchen with two pairs of apologetic, concerned eyes and one that held curiosity.

next chapter

dividers by the lovely @saradika-graphics and @cafekitsune

taglist: @merz-8 @morning-star-joy @joelsgreys @orcasoul @sawymredfox @sabmat @dreamingofleon @keylimebeag @pascalpvnk @picassopedro @tuquoquebrute @alejaa-a @jessthebaker @littlemisspascal @joeloverture @joelscruff @swiftispunk @tightjeansjavi @undercoverpena @idontknowyou-12345 @corazondebeskar @honeyedmiller @novas-dreamworld

[cherrycherrylady2024]

Christmas with the Grimes'

Christmas with the Grimes'

(Dilf! Rick Grimes x reader) Word count: 1,945

Warnings: 18+, descriptions of dilfs? This one is pretty tame tbh

Chapter 1: Mr. Grimes

Packing your bags for winter break, you thanked your lucky stars you had somewhere to call home for the next month and a half. There was the option of staying in the dorms but you came to terms with the fact that that would simply be too sad. Plus you certainly couldn’t go back to your parent's house, you hadn’t spoken to those two since the day you graduated high school. You were finally well and truly on your own. College was everything you had dreamed it would be. Partially thanks to Judith, your roommate, for dragging you out of the dorm that first week of school. 

You purposely picked the earliest move-in date and had already been living in the dorm for two weeks before Judith even arrived. You tried your best to spruce it up with what little decor you had and sat wringing your hands all day for this girl to appear. With random roommate assignments who knew what you’d be getting? When the door began to open with a click! of the handle, your stomach dropped to your toes, but the second Judith walked in you knew everything would be okay. She immediately ran over to you and almost knocked you over with a bear hug. She was the sunshine that brought you out of your shell, and you two were BFFs since that very day. When she invited you to stay with her family over winter break, it was nearly impossible to say no. 

~~~

“C’mon y/n we’d have so much fun! I can show you around my town, I mean what little there is to see, but still! We can go ice skating, watch movies, have snowball fights with my brother- plus my dad makes some seriously fucking good eggnog.” Judith chatted into your ear as you were finishing up your last essay for finals. You sighed and pushed away from your desk, rubbing your eyes. This paper would be the death of you, especially with Judith's distractions. “That all sounds great, really, but wouldn’t it be an imposition on you guys? I mean Christmas is kinda special and I don’t want to be intruding on your-” Judith cuts you off. “Please intrude! We do the same stuff every year, it gets sooo boring. Anyways, I’ll miss you too much, so I’m not really asking at this point.” Judith plops on her bed and opens her laptop. “This is a kidnapping now?” you ask. Judith types furiously on her computer, “For the greater good. You can’t sit here and mope for the next month and a half, that’s too depressing.” She pauses for a second, staring at her laptop screen. “Is an 8 am train too early?” 

You sigh, and lean back, stretching, mulling it over for a moment.

 “Way, way, too early,” you say.

Judith looks up at you and smiles.

~~~

So here you were, bags packed and ready to go. You two took the bus to the Amtrak station and boarded easy-peasy. “Y’know, I always thought train travel would be like Murder on the Orient Express, but this is like… shanking on the shitty express,” you remarked as you examined the stained seat, shabby carpeting, and… let’s just say, unusual fellow passengers. You quickly corrected yourself, “I mean- not to sound ungrateful or anything.” Judith rolled her eyes in agreement, “Believe me this isn’t my first choice either. It’s only a four-hour drive, if my dad would let me bring my truck up we wouldn’t have to-” she was interrupted by the train starting up. It began to slowly peel away from the station. “Here we go!” you exclaimed, surprising yourself with how oddly excited you felt. Judith yawned, shifting in her seat. “I should’ve gone with the noon train, even 10 am feels like the crack of dawn.”

20 minutes later you were bored as hell and Judith was fast asleep, snoring every once in a while. Your phone had spotty service as it was, but now going through the countryside it was virtually impossible to do anything. You occupied yourself by looking out of the window. When that got boring you too tried to close your eyes, but Judith's snores were becoming increasingly loud. You looked at her and contemplated throwing goldfish into her half-opened mouth, but decided against it. 

Studying her for a little, you concluded that she looked a lot like her dad, from the one time you met him. 

It was the day Judith moved in.

~~~

Judith pulled away from the hug, “Y/n, right? I’m Judith. It’s so nice to meet you! I like your energy already,” she held your hands as she said this. “That's so sweet of you, you too!” you responded. “And this is my– dad come on!” Judith turned to the door, ushering in her father. The man was balancing two large moving boxes, labeled aptly as Judith’s shit, which obscured his face. “Jesus Judith, what’s in here? Boulders?” He shuffled over and plopped down the two boxes on the twin bed across from yours, breathing out in a huff. “Just my rock collection.” Judith teased. Her father wiped his face and turned to you, making a clack sound in his cowboy boots, “Nice to meet ya, m’Rick” he said, extending his hand to you. 

You froze.

Damn. 

He was handsome. 

You didn’t typically use that word to describe guys. They were always “cute” or “hot,” but this wasn’t a guy: this was a man, and he was fucking handsome. His skin was a little bit bronzed from the summer sun, and you immediately found your mind wandering to where those tan lines might end. Rick's hair was dark brown, thick, and pushed back, ending in perfect curls. You were instantly enraptured by his stunningly blue eyes. How do eyes that blue even exist? Rick had a strong and direct gaze, and you got the feeling that from one look, he could know all about you. Was it crazy to say he had a sexy nose too? You had never liked facial hair until this day. This was nothing like the scraggly high school mustaches you were accustomed to. Rick had a short, slightly salt-and-pepper, beard that perfectly accentuated his high cheekbones. His voice was deep and rough, with a sexy southern drawl that you clocked immediately. He wore a plain white t-shirt which, due to the August heat, stuck to him in just the right places. 

Damn. 

The dark blue jeans fit him perfectly, paired with a black belt cluttered by loops and pouches, what for? You weren't sure. The only thing you could identify on the belt was the gun holster, and the revolver snugly clasped in it. 

You took all this in in the few seconds he had turned to you. His hand was still outstretched when you came to.

“Oh- hi Mr. Grimes, I’m y/n.” You shook his hand gently in a daze. His hands were warm, a little rough, and covered yours completely when he brought the other one on top. “Nice to meetcha y/n. And just Rick is fine.”

Rick. Rick. Rick. Rick. Rick. Rick. Rick. Rick.

You nodded your head fervently and withdrew from the handshake. You did your best to act normal but your eyes drifted straight back down his body to the revolver. Judith had already made herself busy unpacking, and didn’t even need to turn around to know what you must be wondering, “Dad I told you to leave your gun in the truck, it freaks people out.” She turned back to the both of you, holding a teddy bear, “Don’t worry y/n he’s not in the mafia or something, that’d be way too cool for him.” Rick shook his head with a smile, his hand on his hip, “How do ya know I’m not?” Judith moved swiftly past him, grabbing something from his belt. “Hey!” Rick laughed. She tossed it to you and upon catching it, you turned it over in your hands. It was a shiny gold sheriff's deputy badge. 

Officer Rick Grimes.

Damn.

You chuckled lightly and handed it back to him, your fingers brushing his, as Judith entered the bathroom with a box labeled shower shit. “Don’t let your mob buddies see that badge,” you teased. Rick smiled (Damn.) and put it back in his belt pocket, “Thanks for the tip.” 

Judith emerged from the bathroom, “Dinner?”

The dinner was unfortunately quick, mostly Judith talked and you listened. Rick chimed in now and again but it was more for you two roommates to get to know each other. You couldn't help but sneak a few glances at Rick throughout the dinner. You watched as his muscles flexed in his forearms, studied when he’d crack a smile, and nearly swooned when he leaned back and swept a hand through his hair, his arm outstretched on the booth behind Judith.

It was like he was magnetic. Every time you looked away you felt a calling for more. You shook the feeling as best you could and focused on Judith. You found out she had a younger brother, Carl, who was a bit of a troublemaker. Through mouthfuls of pasta, Judith put it bluntly that their mom had passed away years ago. "I'm sorry to hear that," you responded. You glanced at Rick for a reaction, finding nothing. You told Judith about your family, sugar-coating some of the details as you swirled your pasta around, not making eye contact. She seemed to catch on fast and didn’t pry. You already liked that about her.

After paying for dinner, and you thanking him profusely, Rick escorted the two of you back to your dorm building. He gave Judith a bear hug goodbye, “I wish I could stay longer sweetheart but I gotta get up early in the mornin’.” He looked over to you and winked “Mafia stuff.” You smiled (oh my god) back as Judith pulled away. “It’s alright, I’ll see ya at parent's weekend pops!” She kissed him quickly on the cheek and headed towards the stairwell to the dorms. Rick chuckled, then shrugged his shoulders and looked to you, “She’s keepin' it all inside.” He said, patting his heart. You laughed, “I’m sure.” Judith yelled to you from the door, “C’mon y/n we gotta lot of catchin’ up to do!” You turned back to Rick, “Thank you so much again for dinner. It was nice meeting you, Mr. Grimes.” He clasped a hand down on your shoulder (fuck). “No problem, you girls be good now, ya hear?” He leaned down closer to you, whispering, “Don’t let her drive you crazy”. You titter nervously, a little overzealous, as he pulls away. Oh my god Oh my god Oh my god.

You could smell his cologne. Or maybe it was just him. A rich, woodsy, musk that you wanted to stuff your face into.

“I heard that Dad!” Rick spun on his heel and began walking away, his hands in his deputy jacket pockets. “Goodnight girls.” You watched him walk away for a moment, then followed after Judith.

~~~

That was nearly 5 months ago, and the last time you’d seen Rick Grimes. You didn’t have a crush per se, I mean, he was a grown man and you were….…well, technically of age, but it would be weird, right? Right??

I mean maybe it's not so bad if- NO. You need to snap out of it. You hadn’t even thought about him (much) the whole semester, but the notion of seeing him again gave you butterflies that you desperately tried to squash. He is your best friend's dad for god's sake. Not that anything would ever happen, but there was no reason to make things weird for yourself in your own mind. He’s Judith's dad, and he just so happens to be good-looking, nothing more nothing less.

Well- really good-looking. And funny too. Very charming. But nonetheless your best friend's dad! 

A dilf and your best friend's dad. 

This was going to be a long winter break.

***

notes: ahhhhhhh! ok so this is my first fic ever and I already have a few more chapters written and planned so lmk what you think! All comments, reposts, etc. are very much appreciated <3 stay tuned for more!

[ayyy-pee]

𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 3: 𝑳𝒊𝒇𝒆 𝑮𝒐𝒆𝒔 𝑶𝒏

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Pairing: Choso x f! Reader

Summary: Things take a turn.

Chapter Warnings: Angst...

WC: 6.6k

Choso Art By:NC9__

**While not all chapters contain adult content, the themes of this story are targeted towards adults, so minors DNI please.

No one warned you just how difficult university would be.

Your first semester of college has been kicking your ass in all honesty. Between your art projects, extracurriculars and trying to maintain some semblance of a social life, you’re completely burnt out. It was quite the adjustment from high school where teachers stayed on you about your school work and assignments. You'd learned very quickly that now, one was responsible for you but you.

At 19, it was a true test of your maturity. And you were failing that test quite miserably.

“I have one last project due and then I’ll finally be able to breathe. This professor has been up my ass all semester. I can’t wait for winter break and to be done with his class.” You set your bags down on your desk before you adjust your cell phone between your cheek and shoulder. “Sorry to rant. How are you all doing?”

A deep voice rumbles on the other end of the line with a laugh that makes your cheeks warm every time you hear it.

“Hey, it’s no problem. I’m just happy to hear from you. At least you’re letting me know what to realistically expect when I start school next year.” You hear shifting on the other side and you know he’s getting comfortable, probably in bed. “Yuji’s good. He’s also getting ready for winter break so he’ll be home most of the time. Eso’s been struggling with algebra, but Kechizu is surprisingly good at it. He’s been helping him study and–”

You listen closely, hanging on every word falling from your friend’s lips as he catches you up on his brother’s lives. It’s been a few months since you’ve spoken to Choso over the phone. While you’d keep in touch after the summer months until you were back on the beach, you’ve both been busy with your new normal. You haven’t seen Choso either, your first year of college being surprisingly more difficult than you’d expected so you opted for summer classes in hopes to maintain your GPA instead of taking your annual trip with your parents.

It was the first time since you were 9 that you hadn’t gone back to the beach. Your parents reluctantly returned without you your first summer in university, only after you had pushed them to enjoy a romantic vacation together for once. You remember the pictures you’d received from your mother the night they got into town. She was quick to spam you with pictures of your little pink haired friend who had grown even taller since the last time you’d seen him. She’d also sent a photo of all four of the brothers sitting at your dinner table, just as they always did on your first night in town since you were all kids.

It was reminiscent of all the summers you’d spent together growing up, except there was a noticeable gap where you’d usually be sitting, right between Choso and Yuji. As your eyes roamed over every detail, every way the boys had grown and changed, you couldn’t help the pang of disappointment you felt from missing out on this. You wanted to see them, hug them, be with them and enjoy your summer together. But you couldn’t. And it hurt more than you wanted to admit.

It hurt that you wouldn’t spend days and nights at the beach. You wouldn’t be taking Yuji all over the town with you and spoiling him rotten like you always have. You wouldn’t be climbing out of your bedroom window to sneak out to parties. You wouldn’t be working the summer at Panda’s, closing shop and sitting at the shoreline to watch the sunsets with Choso.

Choso…

Your eyes were locked on the tall figure in the photo and you found yourself pinching your thumb and index finger together, pressing them to your phone screen before expanding and zooming in on the picture. He was wearing his signature tiny smile that he reserved only for you and your family. Those same pigtails that have sat atop his head since he was 10 years old were still there, but that baby face was long gone. He was all chiseled jawline and sharp cheekbones now, even more handsome than when you saw him last summer, if possible, and your heart fluttered at the thought. 

You stared at those dark eyes that had peered into yours that cool summer night last year as he leaned closer, those soft lips that pressed against your mouth as you exchanged your first kisses with each other. Those lips…they consumed your thoughts. Those lips that uttered those three words that still kept you up at night as they echoed through your mind:

“Just one more.”

Heat rushed to your cheeks, to the tips of your ears and you could hear the blood rushing through your body as the memories played clearly through your mind.

The slight tilt of Choso’s head as he deepened the kiss just barely. The way you gasped when his tongue gently ran along the seam of your lip. How he sighed, low and deep when he heard the little sounds you were making and all because of him.

Neither you nor Choso have spoken about your first kiss since it happened. He’d walked you home from the beach that night, hugged you tight one last time and then you spent the remainder of the night clutching at your chest, desperately willing your heart to calm down.

“You still there?” Choso’s voice pulls you from your trip down memory lane and you clear your throat to buy yourself time to gather your thoughts.

“Yeah, sorry. I’m just…I’m sad. I’m glad everyone’s doing well, but I almost feel like I missed a part of that because I didn’t go back to the beach for the summer.” You fall back onto your bed with a groan. “I miss you.”

The words fall from your lips easily, though your eyes widen when you realize what you’ve said. While you had never been one to sugarcoat your words with Choso, you couldn’t help but feel as though those simple words held more weight since the kiss.

Choso doesn’t seem to be having the same thoughts, because he quickly replies with an, “I miss you, too.”

And just like that, the conversation picks right back up.

It’s easy with Choso. It’s always easy. You sometimes forget just how easy it is.

- - - - - - - -

That breather you thought you’d be getting for winter break? Yeah, that didn’t happen.

Could it be because your first year of college hadn’t gone according to plan which resulted in you ending the year with a lower than desired grade point average? Who could say? That wasn’t important anyway. The important thing was that you’d opted to take Winter classes as well. Because your life wasn’t already hell Monday through Friday during the spring and fall semesters. Not to mention the summer classes you’d taken earlier in the year that had kept you from being able to tag along on your annual beach trip.

College was turning out to be more of a drag than anything. Luckily, you had made plenty of friends here that made the fact you were missing out on these things a lot more bearable.

It was during the Winter semester that you’d met Iori Utahime, a beautiful young woman with a curious scar across her face that somehow only added to her stunning looks. The two of you had quickly hit it off, both wanting to take your studies seriously and needing someone to hold the other accountable for reaching their goal. Utahime wanted to pursue a career in music and while your majors differed, you were still artists just the same. 

Your similarities didn’t end there either. You shared core classes and unfortunately also shared struggling GPAs, which only brought you closer to each other. So when you found yourselves paired up for a project for one of your Winter courses, you soon found yourselves together more often than not.

And she’d introduced you to more friends as time went on.

There was Satoru. Satoru was goofy. That was the best way to describe him. He never took anything seriously, because everything was easy for him. Seriously. He was a genius who never needed to study because he just knew he’d ace his exams. Because of this, he was all about enjoying the college experience.

You could catch Satoru at every party, the center of attention everywhere he went. He was Mr. Popular. There was no one on campus who did not know who Satoru Gojo was. Almost every student on campus either wanted him or wanted to be him. And although you didn't share the same desires as them, you could see the appeal. 

Satoru was tall. Way too tall. And had the strangest hair color you’d ever seen– stark white and so messy. He claimed it was natural, though you had your doubts. In a way, his hair reminded you oddly of Choso, if only because you could only think about how it was the total opposite of your friends. And his eyes…they also reminded you of Choso. Because they were as blue as the ocean you’d sat in front of many times with him. As blue as the waters that had brought you to Choso in the first place. 

But that was where the similarities ended. Satoru was carefree, going with the flow whenever he could. He never planned for anything, he just let things happen. And he bugged Utahime in a way you couldn’t understand. It’s not really like he had to do much in the first place to get under her skin. All he needed to do was breathe within the same vicinity as Utahime and she was going ballistic. And Satoru seemed to love that.

There was Suguru, Satoru’s best friend. Or more? You could never quite tell with those two. He also reminded you of Choso in a way. Not physically, but general demeanor. Suguru was quieter, more observant than Satoru. He was thoughtful and kind, not abrasive at all; soft spoken in a way that made you feel as though he truly cared for you. And you liked that about him.

When out, you’d often find yourself next to Suguru. His presence was warm and comforting, almost familiar. You felt safe and protected with him and you knew that if Suguru was with you, you could just count on him to look out for you. You’d grown close fairly quickly and had established a friendship outside of your immediate friend group. You spent a lot of time together, but there was never any connection between you two aside from friendship.

And then there was the last of your group – Shoko. Clearly there was something going on between her and Utahime. But if you asked either of them, they'd quickly deny it. None of you were dumb, even with your low GPAs. The stolen glances, the touches they thought you all didn’t notice, the way one always ended up leaving exactly three minutes before the other decided to call it a night.

You found it very amusing, the way they thought none of you knew what was going on.

Their situation made you think more about Choso and how he –

Wait.

Why were you thinking about Choso so much? Why did everything suddenly remind you of him? You couldn’t think about any of your new friends without comparing them to Choso. Even after all this time.

After your last summer vacation, Choso had spent a good amount of time on your mind. But it’s been almost two years now. A second summer vacation was coming up and you were once again abandoning plans to go to the beach with your family and opting to take more summer courses to boost your GPA.

And it wasn’t as though you’d spoken to Choso much, either. Between your studies and his own life happenings, there wasn’t much time to chat. You carve out time when you can and appreciate the usual nightcap you both share every so often. But you're busy with your studies and Choso…well…

When your second year of college began, that was also when Choso had broken the sad news to you that college would be put on hold for him indefinitely.

“It’s my dad,” he’d told you. “Fucker just up and left and we haven’t heard from him since. Not that I should be surprised. I guess I'm only shocked it took him so long.”

You could hear the words come through gritted teeth, how he’d tried to hide the venom that dripped from each syllable. He was beyond pissed. You knew Choso better than you knew any other friend. There was no better way to get on his bad side than to mess with his beloved siblings. 

But you knew more than anything that Choso was disappointed, crestfallen even.

For Choso, getting out of that small beach town and getting an education was his path to a better life for himself and for his brothers. His father taking that from him felt like the ultimate betrayal. What could you even say to lift his spirits at that point?

“I'm so sorry, Cho. Fuck, I'm sorry.” 

It didn't feel like enough.

You checked in with him when you could. And he checked in with you when he could, but he was busy working. He’d accepted a full time position as a manager at Panda’s and had even told you a spot would be there for when you returned the next summer.

But it looked like someone else would have to fill the position this year.

You missed your vacations back to your second home. You missed the warmth of the sand beneath your feet and the smell of the salty ocean air as you all spent your days at the beach. You missed scooping ice cream at Panda’s and doodling the horizon in your sketchbook from your spot behind the counter when work was slow. You missed sneaking out to bonfires and having Choso toss you his sweater the moment you landed in his arms in nothing but the shorts and bikini tops he so hated.

You missed Choso.

That last night at the beach revealed to you for the first time that you may have feelings for your best friend that are more than just friendship. Freshly 18 year old you with almost no prior dating history hardly knew what those feelings meant. But almost 20 year old you, well it's been loud and clear for some time that this has slowly become more than some childish crush. 

You like Choso. 

The whispered call of your name pulls you from your spiraling thoughts and you look up to find Satoru’s bright eyes staring questioningly at you from across the table. You’d all met up in the library to study for your exam coming up at the end of the week. Of course he was checking in because you’d zoned out in the middle of your cram session to daydream about your long distance crush.

Except, that wasn’t why Satoru was checking in at all.

It’s only when Satoru waves his hand next to him that you see another tall figure standing beside the table. Your eyes roam up his form until they land on his face. And it surprises you when you feel your heart kickstart and begin racing.

Because you thought only Choso could get that reaction from you. 

“This is Kaito,” Satoru introduces him and Kaito smiles, eyes locked on yours and you think you can hear your heart pounding in your chest.

Kaito is tall, slender, but not in the way Satoru is. If anything, you’d say he has the same body type as Suguru. He’s lean. You can tell from the way his clothes accentuate his form that he’s fit.  And he’s got the most beautiful smile, teeth so brilliantly white that you’re nervous to see how brightly they shine in the sun. Gorgeous emerald green eyes sit beneath long black lashes and wow, he is really fucking good looking.

He politely introduces himself, running his hand through a messy black wolfcut as he takes the seat right beside you after Suguru heads to his next class. 

You all resume studying shortly after Satoru’s friend’s arrival. Kaito seems to fit right in, quickly becoming friendly with the rest of the group and you. But you soon notice that Kaito has taken quite a liking to you.

Again, 20 year old you is not as clueless as you used to be and the attention he focuses on you is giving you an insane amount of butterflies.

You catch his little glimpses at you from the corner of your eye, the way he’s quick to lean over and help you resolve an equation you were stuck on, the way he never breaks eye contact with you when you’re speaking with him. Like every word that leaves your mouth is the most important thing he’s ever heard.

“So yeah, that’s why hot cheetos are like the best chip there are.” You finish your rant, beaming because you finally got to tell someone your true feelings about this.

“Absolutely…fascinating…” Utahime comments sarcastically. She’d stopped listening to your rambling ages ago, nose buried in her textbook.

Shoko and Satoru had left to get refreshments so unfortunately for them, they'd missed the entire thing.

But Kaito, you’ve got his full attention. “No, really. It’s truly fascinating. I’d love to hear more.”

His grin has your tummy squeezing, that sweet tickle returning and you find yourself smiling right back despite your little epiphany about your feelings regarding your childhood friend just moments before Kaito showed up.

“Yeah?”

“Definitely.”

A loud slurping can be heard from across the table, effectively popping the little bubble that you and Kaito had suddenly found yourselves in. On the other side of the table sits Satoru, back from his trip to the cafe, guzzling a sweet juice while he watches you and Kaito talk over the rim of his glasses. Next to him, Utahime’s face is twisted into a look of pure hatred and disgust. Satoru ignores it.

“Y’all should go out,” Satoru suggests casually, like he’s talking about something as unimportant as the weather. “Talk about animal crackers or whatever the hell.”

Shoko snorts as she discreetly slides a snack over to Utahime while no one is looking. Except everyone sees it anyway because these two are so fucking obvious.

“Yeah, go out,” Shoko also chimes in. “Think you two would make a great couple.”

Your face ignites with heat, the sudden idea making you want to kick Satoru and Shoko under the table.

But Kaito smirks, eyes holding your gaze like they have been this entire time and he says, “I’d like that. Can I?”

You glance at Utahime who stares at you in surprise. 

“Um…can you what?” You question, trying to buy yourself time to think.

“Can I take you out? Like, on a date.” His response is quick. It’s so easy for him. He just spits it out and says what he wants. And you’re sitting here still freaking out just over Satoru’s suggestion.

“I…”

“If I bring hot cheetos with me, would that make it more tempting?” He’s so charming, and cute, and sweet and–

Ugh, what reason do you have to say no to him?

The sudden vision of pigtails flashes through your mind. And suddenly, the excitement you were feeling seems to fall away. And Kaito seems to sense it, because his grin falters a little, becoming just a small smile on his lips and he simply nods and gives you a “sure” when you ask him, “Can I get back to you?”

- - - - - - - -

“I met someone today,” you speak quietly into the phone, lying in bed after leaving your study date with your friends. You’re nervous. Probably because you’re testing the waters here. Probably because your walk back to your dorm after Kaito had asked you out was eye opening. 

Can you really open yourself to date someone else seriously when your thoughts are plagued by another man? Can you open yourself to the possibility of being with someone else when the person you want to be with is hundreds of miles away, in some little beach town?

Because that's what you've come to realize. You want to be with Choso. 

You just need to know if he feels the same way you do. You have an idea of how Choso feels about you based on the last time you’d seen each other. But that doesn’t make you feel any less like digging a hole in the ground and burying yourself in embarrassment thinking about bringing any of this up. 

“Oh yeah? Another new friend?” Choso asks distantly. He’s currently at Panda’s closing shop, so he’s got you on speaker while he completes his nightly tasks. You were happy (maybe too happy) when he'd answered your call tonight. 

“Sort of a friend, sure…He’s nice…”

You’re hoping he’ll take the hint quickly here.

But when Choso just gives you an absentminded “that’s cool”, you know you’ve only got half of his attention. And you want all of it.

“Yeah. His name is Kaito. Really nice guy.” And it’s true. You think Kaito is nice, but you think Choso is nicer. That's not to say you're not into Kaito either. You’d be lying if you said you weren’t interested in him. But you’d also be lying if you said you weren’t interested in Choso as well. Maybe more than you are Kaito. Because for you, you’re pretty sure it will always be Choso. Even though you've never had anyone else, you know you don't need to. It's Choso for you.

That is why your thoughts have been consumed with him. This revelation has been so freeing.

You just need to know if he feels the same. 

“Glad you’re meeting new people.”

He’s still distracted, the sounds of him pushing the chairs around the store’s lobby echoing through the phone. You didn’t want to have to show your hand so quickly, but you’re tired from a long day of studying and tired from years of beating around the bush. It’s been over a decade of your feelings slowly building for Choso and now your heart is ready to burst. You have no choice but to push this conversation along a little faster.

“Yeah, his name is Kaito. He asked me out on a date actually.”

And finally, you get an actual reaction from Choso. Not a grunt, not a hum in reply or some offhand comment. Instead, you hear him shuffling around, then the sound of tapping on his phone, likely taking you off of the speaker. His voice comes through, crisp and clear now.

“Sorry,” he apologizes through quick breaths. “What was that?”

“I said Kaito asked me out on a date…this weekend.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yep,” you reply cheerily, hopefully driving the knife a little deeper. Immature, sure, but at this point you’d do anything to get Choso a little closer to saying whether or not he has any feelings for you, if he wants you in the same way you want him. “Probably dinner at his place. Maybe a movie. Not sure yet.”

Choso hums quietly. “And you like this guy…that you just met…today…Kaito…” He says his name like he’s testing it on his tongue.

“He’s really nice.”

“As you’ve said.”

You’re about taken aback by the sudden bite in Choso’s tone, but you ignore his snarkiness. “I don't know how I feel about him yet.”

“Clearly you like him enough to be telling me about him.”

More bite behind his words. Still, you push forward. “I mean, is that bad?” You adjust the phone, moving it to your other ear as you get comfortable beneath your blankets. “You’re my friend, right?”

“Sure, but we don’t talk about stuff like this.”

And he had a point. Even during your summers entertaining Mahito, Choso never wanted to hear about any conversations you had with him. And it’s not like you had that many interactions with him anyway since Choso seemed to always be there whenever the silver haired boy was near you. And you had friends back home to talk about your school girl crushes that never resulted in anything with. 

Aside from your first encounter with Mahito, Choso had also never discussed whether or not you were ever interested in anyone romantically and you had never thought to ask him either. Granted, you only saw each other over the summers and during the year, school kept you both so busy, you couldn’t worry about dating. Your parents were never against it and you'd gone to a movie or two with people who had asked you out, but it was never serious. You didn't care enough to commit to anyone, too focused on trying to get into a good school.

In the summers, the last thing on your mind was asking Choso if he had feelings for anyone else. Most of the time he was with you, anyway. And when he wasn't, he was with his brothers. 

You'd never given thought to Choso…desiring anyone.

Suddenly, the thought of Choso with someone else makes your stomach churn, has your head spinning. Choso in someone else’s arms, hugging someone else, kissing someone else’s lips.

Oh, it has your blood boiling in a way you’ve never experienced before and you try not to sound too petulant when you finally mutter, “Yeah, but I want to talk to you about it now.”

“But why?” He sounds thoroughly confused. You try not to sigh into the receiver. 

“Choso…we’ve literally kissed before, but talking about crushes is where you draw the line?”

It’s the first time either of you have ever mentioned the kiss, now a memory that continues to plague your thoughts and your dreams. 

“Even weirder reason to talk to me about this,” you hear him mumble on the other end.

“How? We’re adults! We can talk about things like that. Besides…” you fiddle with your blanket, worrying your bottom lip between your teeth nervously. “It’s really not weird at all…unless the kiss meant something…more to you?”

You’re met with silence. A long stretch of silence that has you fidgeting anxiously. You almost want to laugh, say “I’m just kidding!” and hang up. But then Choso surprises you. He speaks so quietly, you almost don’t hear it over the thundering of your own heart.

“Did it mean something to you?”

Of course it did. What a stupid question. That silly little first kiss and those lips of Choso’s have been eating away at your brain for almost two years. Saying it meant something to you felt like the understatement of the century. You want to scream out loud that that kiss meant everything to you and you’re sorry it took you so long to stop being an idiot and realize that yes, the kiss was more than that. It opened the door for you to realize exactly how you felt about Choso. 

But even so, you still answer with a very quiet “yes”.

And because it’s Choso, who has never lied to you a day in his life, he responds without hesitation. “Me too.”

Finally! The confirmation you were waiting for! The kiss meant something to Choso, too. You weren’t crazy!

“I’ve been thinking about it since it happened. A lot,” Choso confesses.

“Me too. Probably way too much.”

Choso chuckles, which makes you laugh in turn. It’s the answer you wanted to hear from him, but now that that’s out there and your heart is calming down just a bit, it gives your brain enough time to catch up. And now, you’re a little confused.

“Wait. Why’d you tell me I should go out with Kaito?” You laugh again; half from nerves, half from feeling so silly that you used the guy as bait instead of just outright asking Choso how he felt.

The silence has suddenly returned and any semblance of humor seconds ago has now vanished. Now, you feel nervous again. Like your gut is telling you to end this call immediately. This is the calm before the storm and that knife you were twisting into Choso’s back to try and urge an honest response from him soon finds its way into yours when Choso says, “Because you should.”

The knife twists.

“You like him, don’t you? Go on a date with him.”

“Ha ha.” It’s all you can think to say, because it’s keeping the pain at bay for just a second longer. Only a second longer.

“I’m being serious.”

Another twist. And the sting begins to settle in.

“Choso…”

He says your name back to you. “Do you like him?”

“I like you.” It’s the first time you’ve openly admitted it to him. A few seconds pass by with no response, so you keep talking, if only to fill the silence. “Obviously you feel the same way or that kiss wouldn’t be on your mind two years later, right?”

Choso sighs softly. How can he be so calm and collected when you’re sitting here just now realizing that you’re shaking, nearly vibrating out of your skin.

“I like you, too,” he finally admits. “Have for a long time. Couldn’t tell you when it started, but it’s been for as long as I can remember. So yeah, I feel the same.”

“Okay…” You should feel calmer now, confident in the fact that your feelings for each other are out in the open. But that sharp sting of rejection is slowly starting to build, the knife in your back ready to bury itself deeper. “But?”

“Hmm?”

“I know you. There’s a but coming…isn’t there?”

Another bout of silence and you’re starting to lose your mind having to sit through it. This is not how you expected this conversation to go. And you blame yourself for the way it feels like your heart is going to beat straight through your ribcage and fall flat to the floor.

“But I can’t do anything about these…feelings.” He spits the last word out like it’s bitter. “There’s no future where we could ever be together.”

The knife sinks in.

“Why not?”

“Because–”

“And don’t give me some bullshit reason, either.” You cut him off. Because you don’t want excuses. You want honesty, like Choso has always given you.

“What’s a bullshit reason to you?” His tone is snippy again.

What is a bullshit reason? You don’t know. All you know is that you have feelings for this man who once pulled you from certain death over a decade ago. And he has feelings for you, too! He just told you so! You want to be with him, but he doesn’t seem to want to be with you even if he hasn’t said so yet.

Ironically, all this makes you feel like you’re drowning all over again, struggling to pull your head above the water but going nowhere. It's Choso holding you under instead of pulling you out this time.

“...I don’t know,” you finally answer.

“I do,” Choso responds tersely. “I can give you a reason. Hell, I can give you two, three, maybe even four reasons why we can’t be together.”

“Cho–”

“But I don’t need all of those reasons. I only need one – I’m no good for you.”

You roll your eyes. “Choso, you’ve been my best friend practically my whole life. I cannot think of a single person better for me than you.”

He sighs your name, calling for your attention, but you keep going. “And you know me better than anyone else. I know you better than anyone else–”

Choso says your name again, a little harsher this time. You keep on.

“Besides, you said yourself how that kiss stays on your mind. It’s always on my mind too and we can–”

“Stop!” Choso’s harsh voice cuts through your droning. This time, you can’t ignore the snippiness. Never, in all the time that you’ve known Choso, has he raised his voice at you. At least, not in anger or annoyance. Maybe when you were kids, because kids yell. Kids are loud and bossy and Choso was both of those things as a kid. He was always yelling. But he had never yelled at you the way he just had.

You’re so shocked, your mind so suddenly frazzled, that you can’t bring yourself to respond.

“Why are you insisting on this?” Choso sighs, trying to calm himself, but his voice is still coming out a lot rougher than it ever has in your direction. And it’s hurting you in ways you hadn’t known possible, your little heart beginning to crack within your chest.

“I...I just thought –”

“Thought what, exactly?” Choso asks, a dry chuckle following. “Thought that we’d confess that we have feelings for each other and then we-we’d talk about our futures, make plans to be together forever and ever and then sail off into the sunset?”

“I mean–”

“No.”

That’s all he says.

“No?” You’ll need more than that.

“No. There will be no talking about futures together, making plans, sailing off into the sunset…none of it.”

Those little cracks in your heart start to spread, slowly chipping away. That sharp knife you were twisting into Choso’s back is now lodged deep into your own and it’s fucking killing you slowly.

“I don’t–” Your voice is quivering now and you have to take a deep inhale to steady yourself. “I don’t understand. If I have feelings for you, and you have feelings for me…you said the kiss meant more to you!”

“And I meant that.”

“Then why?! Why are you doing this? Is this because of Kaito?”

“Yes!”

“ I–I barely know him! I only brought him up being childish. I was hoping you would realize you had feelings for me. That’s it! I want to be with you!”

“But you should be with someone like him.” Choso’s voice is quiet now, the harshness of it finally gone. “It wouldn't have mattered if it was Kaito or Utahime or whats the other guy? Suguru? I can’t give you what he– what anyone who isn’t me can.”

Now you’re lost. “What?”

“I can’t be what you need me to be. I can’t be the boyfriend you need, the support you’d need if I were to become your boyfriend…”

It’s embarrassing how quickly you feel the tears brimming along your waterline. How your heart shatters into pieces as he lists off the reasons he isn’t good enough for you.

“Look at my fucked up life. No mother, a deadbeat piece of shit for a father, three brothers that I’m solely responsible for and have been for practically my entire life…” He says your name, like a plea, begging for you to listen to him. Like you should take his word for it and simply accept it.

But you won’t accept it.

“I know all of that, Choso. I know you and what you’ve been through – what you’re going through – better than anyone else. And I still want you.”

Now you say his name like a plea, begging for him to hear you and your words. You don’t care about his struggles, about how he’s had to keep his family together his entire life, forced to grow up too quickly and become the glue that holds everything together. You were there for all of that up until recently. And even through it all, you always found your way back to Choso. That won’t change now.

The quiet drags on, just dead air hanging between you two and when he finally speaks, he surprises you. “And I want you, too.” He tells you, lifting your spirits ever so slightly.

Then just as quickly, he breaks you. Again.

“But I’m doing you a favor, so please. Just go date whoever you want, whoever’s good to you.”

“Choso–” Your voice breaks, your lip trembling as you try to fight the sob threatening to crawl up your throat.

“Please.” You hear the way Choso’s voice cracks in a similar manner. Like he has a sob to match your own trying to escape as well. “You…God, you’ve got your whole life ahead of you. Don’t waste it on someone like me. You have everything going for you. I have nothing going for me. Just some loser working a deadend job in the same deadend town I’ve always been in and will probably always be in. And I refuse to drag you down with me. I’m looking out for you…Like I’ve always tried to do.”

Your protector.

Even when you don’t want him to be. Even when you wish he wouldn’t be. Even when it hurts you.

“It’s not that I don’t want to be with you,” Choso tells you. “I do. Fuck, believe me when I say that. I would love nothing more than that because I've wanted it for so long…but you deserve so much more than this.”

“You are not a loser, Choso. Just…stop. I think we can–”

“I have to go,” He interrupts. “Need to finish this stuff up and head home. Yuuji has a project due tomorrow that I need to help with.” He’s quiet again, but you can just make out the sound of him sniffling, choking down that same sob before he says, “I’ll talk to you later.”

Choso ends the call abruptly, before you can even say goodbye, and the shakiness of his voice stays with you for the rest of the night. Even as you shower, numb to the excruciating heat of the water. As you brush your teeth and crawl beneath your sheets where you finally allow your heart to fully crumple. Even then, you hear the clear tremble of Choso’s words.

It hurts. This is a pain you don’t have any experience with. You don't know what to do with it. This is a pain you’d hoped you would never have to feel. And you never expected your best friend to be the one to cause it.

But you’re hopeful that you two will be able to patch things up. That you two will be able to go back to normal, even if things are awkward for a bit. Because you don’t want to lose Choso. He’s your very best friend, long distance or not. He means way too much to you for your crush to get in the way. You just hope you haven’t ruined things between you two.

Besides, he did say he would talk to you later. You take solace in that, finally letting sleep take over even as your tears still fall.

If only you’d have known that when you opened your eyes the next morning and opened your phone to send an apology text to Choso, that your text would fail to go through. 

If only you’d known that you would go to check Choso’s social media pages only to see blank screens because he’d apparently blocked you. You'd search through every account he has on every social media platform and find yourself no longer able to see any of his information.

“I refuse to drag you down with me.” Those words play on a loop in your mind.

He really meant it.

[euphemiaamillais]

being ‘roommates’ with snowjanus headcanons

cw: 18+//mentions of sex//mentions of violence//throuple goals <3//college au

you guys met at uni at a freshers party and they thought you were hot, but they didn’t want to seem too forward by hitting on you so you guys all became good friends

they had put out an ad for a roommate (living off campus was expensive) and you were looking for any excuse not to live in a tiny dorm

they were sad to find out that you had a boyfriend, because they both wanted you so bad

for a while they had a competition between the two of them to see which one of them could hold your attention for the longest time

they almost had a falling out with one another over both being interested in you

however, they reconciled the day that you found out your boyfriend was cheating on you and you let both of them have you

after that, threesomes became a regular occurrence

whether or not you were at a party, or lounging around at home, you always ended up coming one way or another when you were with the two of them

sejanus liked to treat you like his girlfriend, so he’d always bring you flowers or buy you expensive things if you pointed them out at the shops. being rich, he was able to spoil you

coryo thought it was a little much, considering you’d all established that it was a friends with benefits situation

not that any of you were sleeping with anyone else, you didn’t think you’d ever want to either seeing as you were so well satisfied by your boys

people would whisper at uni, finding it a little weird that you were so touchy with the both of them, but you didn’t care, you had them

coryo’s favourite thing was going down on each other at the same time—while you took his cock in your mouth, he’d sloppily eat your pussy

he loved the way you moaned against his cock as he made you cum, licking up your sweet juices

sejanus preferred to eat you out from behind as you tried to do your assignments, not giving up until he’d made you cum at least twice, in spite of your protests that you really needed to get your work done

sometimes the two of them would touch each other, and when you caught them you’d sit and watch, touching yourself to remind them that they were leaving you out, and it was awfully cruel to not let them have you

at parties you’d often sneak away and fuck each other in spare bedrooms, and on one occasion when you came out you saw their friend festus standing there

needless to say, he’d ended up with a black eye from coryo when he’d asked when it would be ‘his turn’ to have you, considering you let yourself be ‘shared around’ by coryo and sej

sometimes in classes you shared together, you’d tease them by rubbing your hand over their crotch, of course you were never daring enough to actually give them a handjob

but one day they decide to give you a bit of payback, and they both tease your cunt with their fingers, one of them rubbing at your clit while the other fingered you. you had to bury your head behind a textbook to avoid anyone seeing the way you were trying desperately not to cry out as they made you cum

you loved teasing them by sending pictures of yourself whether in lingerie that you’d picked out, or of you fucking yourself with your fingers

sometimes you’d even let them film you while you were fucking, your face buried into the mattress as they ploughed both your holes

your favourite video was of you sucking coryo’s dick, which you’d sent to sej one day when he was home visiting his parents. you were gagging around his cock as he thrust into you, while coryo teased you about how hard sej would be when he watched the video

the same time sej is away, you and coryo call him and he jerks off while coryo talks him through what he’s doing to you; ‘she’s so fucking tight sej, you wouldn’t believe how she looks right now, all fucked out and dumb on my cock.’ or ‘i filled her ass just for you sej, she kept complaining how much she missed having us both so i just couldn’t help myself’

making them go shopping with you and getting them to come in the changing rooms to ‘help you’ zip up your dress. needless to say, that usually ends with one of their cocks buried inside of you while you try to keep quiet

you also like trying on expensive lingerie and showing them, watching as they try their hardest to not get a boner in the middle of the shop

when you get home, they both decide to spend the entire evening seeing how far they can edge you, considering you decided to tease them so much while you were out. you end up begging, tears spilling down your cheeks as you clench around nothing—eventually, they let you finish, but only after a few hours of torturous fingering

you three would often play games with one another, for example you and sejanus might make coryo watch you two fuck, but refuse to let him touch himself, and see how he squirms and weeps, begging to wrap his hand around his cock

other times, coryo would get you to sit on sej’s cock but not move an inch, grinning at the sight of his friend trying his hardest not to thrust into you

you were very lucky, having two hot guys willing to do anything for you, and you were never short of satisfied, the boys making sure that you came at least once a day

and you wouldn’t have it any other way

[siriuslychessi]

For the @jilychallenge a bit late since this was for July.

Partners: @tedwardremus and @thecasualauthor

AO3 | FF

Summer trip to (uninhabited, remote, idyllic holiday) island but by accident A & B are left behind alone (or they miss the boat back to main land or a shipwreck (boat wreck??) happens

James Potter could never stay still, it was a blessing and a curse. He could be bored to death in a class and he would always be restless somehow. He would either bounce his leg, write on the corner of his books and parchments, or play with a stolen Snitch when professors were not looking. 

It wasn’t James’ fault that he was so full of energy, he did try to stay still, he did try to seem like he was paying attention, but in reality he was bored in many of them. Having eidetic memory and an abundance of energy really played against him. 

However, when it came to classes outdoors James became much more serene. He loved Care of Magical creatures, going to the grounds exploring, or how he needed to get his hands dirty with Herboly, but what had gotten his attention lately was Astronomy. 

Professor Pruitt had a hands-on approach to teaching, he rarely liked the Tower for his teachings and was always testing their knowledge in the field (near the Forbidden Forest), which James was always excited for. And even if at first he took the class for an easy O, now it had become one of his favourite ones. 

For his 6th year students, Professor Pruitt had a surprise; they would travel to the coast to be able to watch a comet that passed near earth every 60 years, and this time around it would be visible in the southern part of the country. 

It meant a trip with the Astronomy class for two nights, maybe if the weather would allow it they might be able to enjoy a bit of the beach before returning to classes and tests, and all the things they needed to overcome before the end of the school year. One last trip of fun before going back to the responsibility of the upcoming reality that awaited them back home. 

James and his friends were beyond excited. Even if Sirius already knew the sky like the back of his hand, Remus was so determined to get as many O’s as possible that he learned everything he could from the book the Professor used for class. Peter was something to admire, he might not know every star, but knew every constellation name and their stories, and how they related to magical events. It was a thing of wonder.

All they could do was plan for the trip and hope that the usual group of bigoted students wouldn’t make things worse. 

Once they finally arrived at the Isles of Scilly the weather was amazing, it screamed to ditch the group and just got to the beach, however Professor Pruitt had other plans. 

“Before I lose you lads to the island, I must remind you that this is not a leisure trip, we are here with a purpose, and thus I must give you these.” The older man handled everyone a parchment with a copy of the assignment, “The comet will be visible around 4am, so we must get there before that and settle, some muggle bystanders might be around, so please refrain from using magic.” he explained, as he finished handling the paper, “You have been randomly paired, no you can not swap, and I expect a full report by the end of this trip. That is all.” 

James was sure that whomever he would be paired with it wouldn’t be too terrible. 

As he scanned the paper he heard a familiar voice exclaim: “Potter?!”

Lily had read the list of things they needed to measure and how to better calculate the trajectory of the comet to get accurate readings and optimal experience. She knew that celestial events affected living beings and that might affect the ingredients and steps in potion making, so she was taking this class fairly seriously, as she wanted to pursue a career in Potions. 

Everything seemed in order, instructions were straight forward, and she could actually picture herself relaxing before going to the top of the nearby mountain for a better view.

That was until she saw the name of the person she was paired with: James Potter.

The gods did not smile upon her, Lily had had a weird relationship with the fellow Gryffindor, they weren’t on bad terms at the moment, but she felt that they were not exactly friends. And in spite of him being a great student, and probably a great teammate, she just remembered how he could not stay put for more than 5 minutes. Which might infuriate her at the end of a long evening. 

After she, unintentionally, said his last name out loud, everyone in their group turned to her. The tone of her skin matching the one of her hair. 

“All right, Evans?” she heard James Potter asked.

Lily blushed harder. 

“Yes, just didn’t expect us to be paired.” she admitted, putting the parchment inside her back. 

James seemed like he was mulling over something, was she really that loud? Was her tone that annoyed? She didn’t want to go back to the awkward phase they were in after 5th year, once was enough. They have so many friends in common she did not want to go back to weather talk. 

“I thought somehow you would charm the papers to be with Sirius, we all know you two can not be apart.” she tried joking, making some eyes roll. 

“He knows he can’t have me forever, Red.” Sirius chipped in, “I should find McKinnon to sort the schedules.” he explained, patting James' shoulder, who looked disheartened, he was not looking at Lily, nor at Sirius leave. James was just nodding to his friend’s statement.

One by one they all went to their partners trying to come up with a plan where they could all enjoy and do the assignment. Leaving James and Lily alone to speak. 

James ran his hand through his hair, messing it more than it already was. Something she had noticed increased near herself. 

Did she make him nervous?

“We should also try to schedule our times.” she offered, hoping that it would be an olive branch more than anything. 

Every interaction with James and Lily seemed weird, they were not on bad terms, they were amicable towards each other, but it seemed that as much as they both changed (individually and as friends) things weren’t smooth. James was always afraid of saying the wrong thing, and Lily always believed she was too hard on her fellow classmate, when lately she could see more of his point than she cared to admit. 

After a lot of fidgeting from James, not knowing what to do with his pent up energy. And Lily’s rambling and blushing, they decided that they would each pack a bag with different things, a thermos of warm tea, and met in front of the hotel at 3am when the classroom decided to leave with the Professor. 

Both of them tried to enjoy their day with their friends and did a bit of exploring around, enjoying the different view from Scotland and Hogwarts grounds. And one would say that they would be exhausted after a day at the beach where they did anything but lay down and sunbathe. 

However, James’ restless energy was too much to be contained. He did try to get a few hours of sleep, tossed and turned in bed as his mind went over the things in his bag, making a mental list trying to not forget anything, if he did he was sure that the awkwardness between him and Lily would be more palpable. But in spite of double checking that everything was correct, he could not find rest. 

Checking the watch on his nightstand he saw that it was around 2am. He still had one hour to meet with Lily, and the rest of the class, and judging by how awake he really was it would be almost impossible to fall asleep.

Suddenly an idea formed, it wasn’t a particularly bold one, but it was better than staying in bed looking at the ceiling.

Gathering his things, leaving a note in the nightstand and trying not to wake his best mate sleeping in the bed next to his, he climbed down the room to the front of the little hotel and to the street. 

The night was chillier than he expected, the day was so warm that he forgot that they were still in the United Kingdom and not some tropical place. It was good that he decided to bring a jumper. 

During the day James and his friends went exploring around, they found the place where Professor Pruitt had decided to take his students to see the comet. It was a nice mountain that overviewed the island. He figured that he had enough time to go up there, set the equipment in the best spot; gain some points with Lily, and go back before they needed to meet. 

Some people might think he was crazy and he would be beyond exhausted when he would get back with the group. Hindering the project in the process. But James knew that it was the opposite, he would be the right kind of tired, where he would be useful instead of trying to stay still and failing in the process. 

That’s how his journey started, with a positive attitude and considering if he should get snacks after he got back. 

The moon was half full, making it ideal to see the sky but also to not trip over the walk, and the path to the viewing spot wasn’t steep, with a good pace anyone could make it up and back. 

Due to the hour James imagined the path to be deserted, he figured he could transform into Prongs once he was more hidden by the surrounding trees, enjoying the freedom of running around a new landscape. It would be a great way to go and come back, doing even better time; not wanting to be late in case Lily decided to be there earlier than what they had agreed upon. 

Closing his eyes he focused on the familiar shapes of Prongs; the long legs, the white fur, the itchy antlers that were about to shade. Everything to evoke the perfect transformation. 

Feeling the familiar pull in his gut he let every other thought out from his head…

“What are you doing here?” a familiar voice asked.

Of all the times that James expected to hear Lily Evans’ voice, in the middle of a transformation was not one of them. He knew things could go wrong if he did not focus and he tried his best to stop the spell as it were. It seemed that his body listened better than his brain.

“I couldn’t sleep.” he admitted, turning to look at her. 

Lily’s cheeks were sunkissed, James could see that she had spent a day at the beach. She would probably have a few more freckles after the trip. James found himself thinking. 

“So you decided to sneak out and go for a walk,” it wasn’t accusatory, it was matter-of-fact.

“If I stay in, I'll start waking everyone up, figured it would be best if I did something useful with my energy.” he shrugged, readjusting one of the straps of his backpack. 

“Seems we were both thinking the same thing.” 

Lily smiled at James, and it seemed all of the tension and worry from earlier had vanished; his shoulders relaxed, and he found himself smiling back at her. Maybe this wouldn’t be a disastrous pairing after all.

“Where were you planning on going?” Lily asked.

James blushed, he really didn’t want to be seen as the dork that wanted to be prepared, but it was true that was what he was thinking. “I thought maybe I could go and grab us a good spot to watch the comet.” he admitted, hoping she wouldn’t think he was the biggest dork in history. 

“Oh,” she sounded surprised, James was not sure how he felt about that. 

“That sounds like a great idea.” Lily added, as she was wondering why she didn’t think of that herself. She just wanted to get rid of some energy before the class gathered. 

They started walking in silence uphill, there was nothing much to distract them from the awkwardness. It was not that they didn’t have anything in common, just that Lily believed that everything she said sounded like a scolding, when she didn’t mean to. And James believed every word he uttered around Lily (unsupervised) was terrible or misconstructed. 

His body reacted oddly to that silence. He needed to say something, do something, other than just walk straight in that slow pace, so instead of following the boring old path he decided that he should skip along the logs that delimited the path from the woods. 

Lily looked at James as he balanced on each log precariously. “Don’t you ever do something normal?” she asked, genuinely curious, he never seemed to just follow a straight path or instructions, there was always a work around. Something that the other people would not do or think about. 

“What do you mean?” he asked, still walking, feeling his anxiety lower when he had to focus on balance.

Lily chuckled. He looked a bit childish, but in the best way, she didn’t remember the last time she played at anything like that. She had too many responsibilities and expectations in her to let go. 

“You never do what’s expected, if you go on a path instead of going through the designated area for walking you go on the sidelines. If a professor asks you for an assignment you always ask a million questions on the importance of said work, like you never do just what is expected of you, you are always too curious to just follow what has already been set up. It’s a bit unnerving.” She admitted, making James’ heart sink a little. “It is also refreshing.” she admitted finally, not really looking at him, she believed that even with the darkness of the night he would still see her blush.

James chuckled at her words, “Why don’t you try it?” he offered, “Who is to say that you are not supposed to walk on these if you want a less taciturn experience?” he continued, “There are a few things that can only be looked from one point of view, my parents taught me that, they always taught me to ask a lot of questions.” he admitted “Besides, if you don’t come up here, you wouldn’t notice there is a stream below that looks gorgeous under the dim moonlight.” 

Lily was surprised by that, it seemed great to ask a lot of questions when facing things that seemed a bit unfair and out of touch, but some things were too straight forward for you to be questioning them. However, at James’ mention of a different view she now was eager to see what was to look at things under his perspective. 

She climbed on the log as he did, looking at the creek below them, and as James said it was gorgeous, like something unperturbed by the humans that passed through that path every day. It made Lily wonder what else James saw that the rest of them did not. 

The walk got easier from them, at least in terms of conversation. It got easier to understand each other after that, setting aside past prejudices and trying to see things from each other’s perspective. 

Lily learned that James’ parents asked him as many questions as he asked everyone else, trying to have an open and interesting relationship with his son. James learned that Lily put a lot of other people’s expectations on her shoulder trying to be the perfect friend, sister and daughter, and understood a bit better why she always seemed to be so stern even when in reality she was funny and witty, and as curious as James.

They continued to chat amicably, conversation grew easily the more time it passed. James was glad for it, and Lily seemed to be relaxing a bit more now that there was nothing more than a walk. 

At some point Lily got distracted, she was not sure how he lost her footing, if it was a tricky log, slippery, or her body was too tired and she did not realise it. But all in all she knew she was falling to the creek and she could just hear herself scream and trying to hold on to something to stop it. 

“Lily!” James was heard yelling after her. And then she felt something warm and soft around her, making her fall soft as she rolled downhill. James had stopped it. 

“Are you okay?” Lily heard James ask, and she took account of her body. She was a bit sore, and she knew she would hurt more later on, but it all seemed okay at the moment. 

“Yes, I think so. Just a bit wet.” she admitted, as she knew they got to the creek by unconventional ways, all she wanted to do was get up and dry herself, get back to the path so they could get to see the comet. However, life had other plans.

As soon as Lily put weight on her foot, a searing pain went up her leg, making her scream at the top of her lungs and falling back down on her bum. 

James hurried to duck next to her and looked all over to see any injuries, “Where?” he was frantic as he saw the colour drained from Lily’s face. 

“Foot.” was all she could muster, as she breathed the pain away. Slowly managing to get the unbearable pain to a low throb.

“Okay, it’s going to be okay,” he moved his hand, a little wince as he pulled his wand and showed it was broken in half. “Fuck.” he muttered. Lily’s eyes went as wide as they could. 

“Oh no, James your wand, I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay.” He was panting as her, maybe he hit something as well, they took a pretty nasty fall, but he seemed okay in spite of not having his wand. “Maybe we can use yours? I know a few casting spells to keep that not moving until we get back.” he explained, but as Lily went to retrieve her wand she felt nothing in her pocket. 

“I think it might have fallen.” she said quietly, hating that she hadn’t learned yet how to accio it back, she had been trying but there was so much on her plate at the moment. 

“We can come back with light and try to find it. But first we need to get out of here.” He took off his backpack, wincing again, making Lily worry.

“Are you okay yourself?” Lily asked worriedly. 

“Brill, just sore.” he lied, but Lily did not have to know that on top of her nasty sprain, he had sprained his wrist as well. He could endure, he had had worse with Quidditch matches and Snape’s & Co. hexes. “You do know how to fall.” he tried teasing her worries away, instructing her to put the backpack herself. “You’ll carry it, I’ll carry you.” 

Instructions were easy enough, Lily just had to lay off her foot, and James was already turning around so Lily could climb onto his back, arms around his neck, legs around his waist. Making Lily feel a bit embarrassed. 

“Isn’t it too heavy? You could go up and get someone.” she offered, worried that he was doing too much. 

“I won’t leave you here all alone in the middle of the night.” James was not taking no for an answer, he was just waiting for Lily to feel secure to start climbing the steep hill himself. 

Lily could hear the grunts from pain and effort coming out of James, she was not sure why he was going above and beyond for someone that he wasn’t as close with, even though she was grateful that he didn’t leave her in the middle of nowhere with a swollen ankle. 

It took longer than if he had gone alone to climb back to the path. They almost slipped back a couple of times but James managed to get them up safely. 

“We are closer to the viewing point than the hotel.” he explained as he sat Lily on one of the logs for a moment while his breath evened out. “We should wait there for the others, not sure if they’ll take this path or the one that goes around the beach.” he said, looking down the path hoping to see or hear something, but he didn’t.

When he turned around he could see Lily was still a little pale and shivering from the soreness and dampness of her clothes. “Here,” he said, offering his jacket.

The redhead looked at him and shook her head, “You’ll need it, the temperature is lowering.”

James chuckled, a bit uneven, “I’m carrying you around, I’m actually a bit hot.” he admitted looking her in the eyes, something he didn’t dare to do often. “Take the jacket, Evans, I’ll be warm enough I didn’t fall in the water.” 

Lily didn’t need too much persuasion, soon she was putting the jacket and getting the backpack on once more, before they parted towards the comet viewing place. 

It didn’t take long for them to reach a spot. It was exactly what was marked on the map the Professor gave them. 

James had prepared some blankets for them to sit on, he put one below them so they would not sit on the cold hard floor, and grabbed the second one to replace his jacket. Noticing Lily still shivering he sat behind her, allowing her back to be up to his chest. 

“What are you doing?” she asked, not putting too much of a fight, she was exhausted, in pain but she needed to admit that James’ warmer body behind hers felt nice. Even if the position was a little odd for two friends to be in. 

“Relax, we just have one blanket left, and your back is all wet. Don’t want you to catch a cold, but don’t want to catch my death either.” he mumbled behind her, reaching out for his bag, wincing a bit as he got a hold of it. 

“You got yourself hurt too, why didn’t you say anything?” she said holding his hand, examining his wrist, that looked swollen from a sprain and the effort to carry her. 

James blushed knowing exactly why he didn’t say anything, she would argue with him that they could both wait by the creek, but that would mean she would be colder and it would be almost impossible for them to be seen by the others. She would insist that they should both rest, or that he would go without her, and he would not have that. 

“I’m used to it, I get injured in Quidditch all the time. Don’t worry about it.”

“Of course I worry! I care about you, you bloody idiot, we could have come up with a different plan!” she could not believe he had been that careless, he could endanger his Quidditch career because of it. It wasn’t like they were in mortal peril, they could wait for morning, their grades were not that important, his well being was more important than that.

“You were going to suggest to leave you there, or to wait there while you get even wetter, colder and with less and less chance of us getting found by the group. And I was not going to risk you for a sprain that I’m sure Sirius will heal as soon as he gets here." There was no discussion to be had, she was not going to convince him to have left her behind, no amount of Quidditch and future prospects he had, a human life was more important. 

Lily tried to argue as she saw him taking a thermos out of the bag, she helped him with it since she knew he would be hurting even if he did not show it. “I still deserved to be told, I’m not a damsel in distress, I can think for myself, even come up with something other than staying behind. I don’t appreciate not having a say.” She opened the thermos and poured what seemed to be hot tea. 

James felt embarrassed, of course she should have had a say in all, but he was thinking on his feet more than dismissing her ideas. “Drink, it’ll do you good.” he added softly. 

“It’ll do you good as well, you must also be cold.” She gave him the cup and waited for him to drink to pour herself a cup. 

After they drank the tea they just stay there, next to each other, keeping the warmth of their bodies by proximity and hoping that sooner rather than later they would be found. 

After a while Lily murmured “Thanks,” back to James, “for not leaving me behind.” she added, for good measure, to which he replied “No need.”

Their bodies’ tiredness won over after they made themselves as comfortable as possible, and soon enough slumber took over, each other enjoying the safe company of the other. That is how the class found them: sound asleep, dirty, and hugging each other.

[marie-swriting]

You Would Both Be Okay - TASM!Peter Parker

Marvel Masterlist

Summary : You're having a bad day, thankfully your boyfriend knows what to do to help you.

Warnings : neurodivergent!reader, panic attack, school pressure, hurt/comfort, maybe some grammatical mistakes as English is not my first language, tell me if you see some or if I missed any warnings.

A/N : This was requested by my talented best friend @kaeinherworld I'm very honoured that she wanted me to write an one shot for her so, Kae, I hope you'll like it as much as I liked the Stefan Salvatore one shot you wrote for me years ago (and unlike you, I won't delete it!) ❤️

Word count : 2.2k

French version

Prompt : "Person A is having a panic attack and they desperately try to hide it, but Person B sees right through them and knows the right thing to do to calm A down." from this prompt list made by @creativepromptsforwriting

Song inspiration : Love The Hell Out Of You by Lewis Capaldi

Too much. If someone had asked you to define that day, you’d have answered it was too much. Too much stress. Too much noise. Too many people. Too much of everything. 

As soon as you had woken up, you had felt this day wouldn’t be the best and the following hours had confirmed it. University was particularly exhausting. The end of the semester was quickly getting closer and the pile of assignments to hand back and study to do was growing at the same rhythm. Your focus and motivation were struggling more and more to stay by your side. You were only waiting for spring break to - finally - breathe and isolate yourself.

On top of the pressure from University, you hadn’t seen Peter the whole day. Even if you didn’t have the same classes, you would always find a way to meet for lunch or at least ten minutes during the afternoon. Unfortunately, Friday was your busiest day and it was impossible for you two to see each other on campus, therefore, you were even more edgy. Sure, you’d spend the night at his place for your weekly viewing of Star Trek but you wanted to be in his arms as fast as possible. 

As soon as your teacher finished his lesson - not without adding an umpteenth assignment, you packed your things. Despite the knot still present in your stomach, you could take air into your lungs a bit more easily at last. However, you were waiting to set your eyes on your boyfriend to take a real breath.

Upon arriving home, your parents didn't take the time to greet you or ask you how your day went, they rushed to make a snarky comment about your school grades without even knowing what they were talking about. Your anxiety was slowly turning into frustration and you did everything in your power to not say a word, you were holding on the last bit of calmness you still had. Without glancing at them, you went to your room and closed the door without wasting a second before laying on your bed. 

You had less than an hour before Peter was over with his classes. You took advantage of that time to get away from the stressful atmosphere. Your noise cancelling earphones in your ears, you took the book on your nightstand, Lord Of The Rings - you couldn’t say how many times you had read it. What was supposed to give you some sense of comfort got you more frustrated. Your mind was too overworked to focus on your reading and the way you had been around too much stimulus didn’t help either. Annoyed, you closed your book ten minutes later and waited for Peter impatiently.

Relief could be read on your face when you heard Peter knocking on your door. Unintentionally, you glanced at the window. It wasn’t rare for Peter to come see you before or after his night patrols and as he had to be discreet, he’d come through the window.

After putting your earphones and your book in your bag, you took it in your hands and met Peter at the entrance. He kissed you for the first time since the night before. The kiss was quick but full of love. He took your bag and put it on his shoulder whilst you took his hand in yours. Following this contact, your shoulders relaxed a bit.

On the way home, Peter was the one speaking, telling you all about his day. Normally, you would have answered him with passion and would have told him about every single thought running through your mind but being too tired, you preferred to stay silent. Peter, always being the caring boyfriend and knowing you since childhood, noticed your mutism instantly yet, he didn’t comment on it. With a simple look, he understood you had had a long day. While he kept talking, he paid attention to your gesture, being ready to react if you needed anything.

The trip to Peter’s seemed longer than usual, you couldn’t see the end of it. You held yourself back from sighing several times in the subway.

Once you were at his place, you went to the kitchen where you swiftly greeted Aunt May who had to leave for work. When you were alone, Peter took two glasses and a bottle of soda whilst you took some popcorn for your night. 

In his room, Peter gave you one of his tee shirts that you put on fastly, wanting to smell his scent on you. His tee shirt looked more like a dress but you didn’t mind it. Peter changed into more comfortable clothes as well. 

Once you were on Peter’s bed, you laid on your left side, putting your head on your boyfriend’s chest while the computer was on his legs and the bowl of popcorn between you two. During the first minutes of Star Trek Into Darkness, you were able to focus then you thought about University, in spite of yourself.

The thought had just crossed your mind for a second, nonetheless it was enough to distract you. Mentally, you made a list of everything you had to do. The more you were thinking, the more you were aware of the work you still had left. Feeling your hands starting to shake, you knew the panic attack was around the corner. You tried to take deep breaths discreetly, hoping to not catch Peter’s attention - his spideysense could betray you at any given moment. When your heart began racing as well, you knew it was too late. Hiding your jerky breaths as best as you could, you tried getting out of the bed normally with teary eyes. You didn’t have the time to move a leg that Peter was already facing you, he was on his guard. Bluntly, he put the computer and the bowl of popcorn on the floor and helped you to sit on the bed correctly. You brought your hand on your chest, the pain becoming stronger and at the same time, your tears were running down your cheeks.

Peter was looking at you without touching you, afraid it would make the situation worse - he knew you weren’t fond of physical touch so he was always making sure he was respecting your boundaries, especially in those kinds of situations. Rapidly, he hid his panic, you needed to see him calm.

“Hey, it’s gonna be okay.” Peter assured you. “Can I take your hand to put it on my heart ?”

You nodded with difficulty as an answer. Delicately, he took the hand that was on your thigh in his. His grip on your hand was light, giving you the chance to take it out if you changed your mind. He put your hand on his heart and he gave you a reassuring look before adding : 

“Alright. We’re gonna breathe together slowly. It’s okay. It’s gonna be okay, Y/N.” he repeated. “You’re safe. Take a deep breath through the nose and exhale through the mouth.” Peter told you, doing it with you. “Look at our hands.”

At his sentence, you did what he told you. As you kept looking at the fixed point, you felt Peter’s calm heartbeat through your hand and it helped you to feel more shielded. You were still struggling to breathe but after the fifth inspiration, your heart and your tears began to calm down.

“It’s okay. You’re okay.” Peter whispered. 

A few minutes later and thanks to Peter’s help, you were respiring normally again. He stopped talking, allowing you to pull yourself together at your own pace. You kept your eyes on both of your hands for a few more seconds, enjoying the calm. Peter’s eyes didn’t leave your figure, making sure the panic attack wasn’t coming back. 

When you got a hold of yourself, you stopped looking at your hands whilst a feeling of shame went through your body. You avoided Peter’s gaze and you wiped your wet cheeks with your free hand. It wasn’t the first time Peter witnessed one of your panic attacks however, you didn’t like being that vulnerable in front of him. You took your hand from his chest and started playing with your fingers. You didn’t dare to break the silence first and Peter understood it clearly.

“Do you want to talk about it ?”

“There’s not a lot to say.” you stated with a deeper voice than usual as you were tired.

“You hadn’t had a panic attack in a long time.” Peter noticed.

“Well, the end of the semester doesn’t really help not to be anxious.”

“There’s something else.”

Hearing his sentence, you couldn’t help but be a bit annoyed. He knew you like the back of his hand. Despite your efforts, you couldn’t hide anything from him so you sigh before admitting reluctantly : 

“It just wasn’t a great day. It’s nothing. I’m fine.” you brushed it off, forcing yourself to look at him for a second.

“You know you can tell me everything. You also know I don’t mind listening to you and helping you.” he reminded you softly.

“I know.”

“I mean it, Y/N. You've always helped me, especially after I became Spiderman so it’s only fair I return the favour.”

“I just don’t want to be a burden for you.” you confessed with difficulty.

“You are not a burden and you never will be. I will do everything for you. You’ve helped me and you’ve loved me so much so just know, I will always love the hell out of you.”

Not knowing what to answer, you leaned in and pressed your lips on his. You kissed gently, enjoying each other’s presence. With that kiss, you wanted to show him all your love and gratitude. He knew what to say to make you feel better and you knew he was sincere in his words. Peter would have brought you Heavens if that was what you had needed. He would have taken all the pain you were going through if he could have and he still would have smiled at you while doing so. He would have done everything that was possible and impossible for you and you would always be grateful for it.

Peter let you take control of the kiss, allowing you to break it whenever you wanted to. When you did it, you looked at Peter tenderly whilst he was smiling at you with the same softness.

“We can talk about it later, if you prefer.” he said, knowing you needed time. “Do you need anything ?”

“I’d like it if you grabbed my noise cancelling earphones for me and if we stayed in bed for a few moments.” you answered slowly.

Peter took what you needed in your bag and handed you your earphones. You put them in your ears, the silence comforting you a bit more while Peter was laying back down on the bed. You didn’t fully bring yourself closer to him, still needing some space but you took his right hand and played with his fingers. You let go of a sigh whilst Peter was watching you, still on his toes just in case.

You stayed in the same position until the sun left the sky. At one point, you even closed your eyes without sleeping. Once you felt a bit better, you took your earphones off and opened your eyes. Peter gave you a light smile and you did the same to him before he spoke.

“You want some tea ? I’ve got everything for your favourite tea.”

“What did I do to deserve you ?” you rhetorically asked, your smile growing bigger and your eyes full of love.

“You punched Josh Stewart when we were six because he had thrown my stuff on the floor.” he answered, making you laugh, the memory of your first meeting playing in your head. “So, tea ?”

“I’d like one.”

“I’ll be right back.”

After kissing you on your forehead, Peter left his bedroom. A few minutes later, he came back with a mug in his hands. He gave it to you while you sat up, resting your back against the wall. You took a big sip, enjoying the taste of black tea with lime, orange and spice. You kept the mug in your hands and Peter grabbed the book in your bag. He didn’t need to ask you to know you had brought one with you, you always had a book on you, no matter what. Peter laughed lightly when he noticed you were rereading Lord Of The Rings. He got on the bed, sitting next to you. While he was opening the book, you snuggled into him. Peter put his right arm around your shoulders, drawing you closer to him. You took another sip of your tea and Peter started reading where you had stopped.

As you were listening to Peter reading, you couldn’t help but feel grateful to have him in your life. He knew exactly what to do and say to help you feel better. You couldn’t have dreamed of a better boyfriend. You knew there would always be moments where you wouldn’t be okay like that day, just like Peter would have his bad days, but as long as you were together, you would both be okay.

Marvel Masterlist

{This is my side blog so I'll be answering comments under the username @marie-sworld}

[idlerin]

A TINY DOSAGE OF YOUR LOVE

celebrity!akaashi keiji x f!reader

part 1 | part 2 | part 3

the ikarus incident (band au)

+ word count: 1.8k

content — established relationship, domestic fluff, hidden relationship, best friend’s brother, FLUFFY FLUFF

your best friend's older brother and the lead vocalist of one of the biggest bands in the world, akaashi keiji (who you also happen to be dating)

AKAASHI KEIJI was someone who was unreachable, you’ve always thought so, despite him being in reality a few feet away, usually. You would try to catch a glimpse of him at the side of your eye whenever your best friend, his sister, would invite you over at their house after school to either just hang around or do assignments, during which he would sometimes help the both of you with something difficult to comprehend. You would always heat up whenever he would hover behind you, carefully explaining to you how this and that work, giving you a subtle smile whenever you answered correctly.

He easily became your first crush.

Yes, first, as you’ve always rejected the idea of liking another person because of childish pride, but then you found yourself looking for him when you knew he was near, smiling when he smiled, always wanting for him to talk to you, and making excuses to watch his band practice. Crushing on him was inevitable.

You’ve always thought it wouldn’t be anything other than just you being someone who had a childish crush on him and him who would always just see you as his little sister’s best friend.

Until it wasn’t just that. Your feelings for him became deeper. Late nights thinking about him became late nights talking with him.

Until your glimpses weren’t one-sided anymore and you weren’t the only one feeling this way.

Until one normal day, he was holding your hand in his, gripping it firmly but not tightly, his adam's apple bobbing– it was the first time you saw the composed and stern Akaashi Keiji nervous. As the words you’ve daydreamed of him to say ever since you were that young girl that had that childish crush on him, fall from his lips, “I like you, [name].”

Of course, at first you couldn’t believe he was actually saying that, it was unreal because you’ve liked this boy for years and here he was saying he liked you back! At this time he was already garnering a pretty large fanbase and you were just– there, you were his supporter from day one and you wouldn’t have minded staying like that. But you loved him, and it was difficult to not listen to what your heart wants.

A soft caress on your cheek awoke you from your deep sleep. The lights made you struggle to focus your eyes as you tried to recall what and where you were. Then your eyes catch onto the figure sitting next to your body on the bed— wait no, not a bed, a couch.

“I’m sorry for waking you,” he says, eyes not leaving your face as if trying to memorize your features, “It’s late,” he says, moving his hand to run over your face to make your eyes close, “Go back to sleep.”

You remove his hand on your face once you’ve registered that he was actually here, “Keiji!”

He wasn’t prepared when you tackled him into a hug but reflexively placed his arms around you, one at the back of your head and the other wrapped around your waist, “I’m home.”

You were waiting for him on the couch, he texted earlier that day saying he was flying back. Out of excitement because you were going to see your boyfriend again after so long! (Really it’s only been a week), you spent the whole afternoon preparing a meal for him for when his plane lands in the evening but his flight got delayed so you ended up putting the food in the fridge, but you didn’t want to miss greeting him the moment he walks in your apartment.

“How was everything?” you ask, burying your head on his chest.

“It went well, everyone was accommodating,” he replies, head resting on top of yours, “I missed you a lot.”

Your cheeks get warm, even after all these years you still blushed at his show of affection. Everything he does makes you feel so warm and fuzzy, and you think that could never change.

“Did you stop by your place first?” you ask, looking up at him with your arms still clinging onto him.

“No, I went straight here,” he responds, the hand on your nape leaving to brush a strand of your hair away from your face.

“What? You should’ve rested first,” you say even though inside you were glad he actually went straight to you first.

“How was I supposed to rest? You’re here,” he smiles, leaning down to give you a quick peck on your lips. You don’t know if he was flustering you on purpose or what, either way, it was working.

“Have you eaten yet? I’m going to heat up the food so you can eat,” you attempt to move away from him.

“Later,” he hugged you impossibly tighter, restricting you from any movement, you smiled, it looked like he didn't really want to let you go and that he's forgotten it's probably the middle of the night.

“How did you manage to sneak away?” you ask instead, letting him treat you like a stuffed toy he couldn't bare without, lazily tracing circles on his back.

"It was easy, since everyone couldn't wait to get to their respective homes, they didn't even care much about where I'm going to," he chuckles, "I think Sakusa noticed though."

"He's always been the observative one," you commend, Akaashi hums in agreement, "Also, Kaiya wanted me to remind you to not forget visiting them too," your best friend was just here yesterday to watch a movie and eat your food, since it was her day off, "Don't forget bringing the things she asked for, she said," you laugh.

"When have I ever forgotten? I'll tell her to wait, the next two days are for you and me," Akaashi smiles, cupping your cheek to kiss you on the forehead, then your nose, then your lips again.

"Do you not have anything scheduled?" you ask, eyes glowing.

"The next month is going to be busier than ever so I'm going to spend as much time with you as I can, my love," He rests his forehead against yours.

"And let's start that by getting a meal?" you say.

He suddenly changes positions, now standing over you, you were about to ask if his hunger was now catching up with him when he crouches and carries you bridal style. You let out a squeal and cling onto his shirt, he was going to give you a heart attack!

"I do miss your cooking," he comments while carrying you, striding into the kitchen and in front of the fridge, you open it and reach inside then signal for him to go to the microwave.

"So when are you going to let me walk on my own?" you ask playfully as he puts you down on a chair at the dining table.

You watch as Akaashi sets the plates and glasses on the table, already knowing where each was stored. Once the food is heated, he places it on each of your plates respectively before sitting down next to you. You thought he was done but then he pulls your chair closer to his.

You smile and start eating, occasionally using your spoon to feed him too when he stops in between eating to say something to you, and since you knew of this eating habit of his, you would remind him to continue eating with it. You were worried he wasn't eating much and was too focused on work.

Waking up next to Akaashi feels like a dream.

You admit to staring at his face a little too long when you wake up earlier than him. If you could call waking up at noon 'early', the both of you did sleep quite late.

His eyes flutter open, "Good morning, love," he says in his morning voice, smiling idly.

"Good morning," you say back, "Should we start our day?"

"Hm," he hums, "We should go out today, let's go sightseeing, what do you think?" he asks while reaching for your hand to enclose in his.

You close your eyes and smile, pretending to think about it. Your facade was short lived though when you felt his soft lips pressed on your forehead, his mumble of a, "Please?"

"I'd love to," you agree, as if you weren't already thinking about what to wear. All too fast in rising and going on your way to the bathroom.

It's been a while since the two of you have gone on an actual date. When you hang out these days (whenever he's actually free), it's with his family since they take you along on their trips, they treat you as family as well because you spent more than half of your childhood with them. But none of them know that Akaashi and you were in a relationship other than Kaiya. Akaashi and you have decided to keep it a secret for now (mostly on your part), 'for now' being 3 whole years now, it's mostly the public's reaction you're worried about.

You would never risk his career.

When the two of you were getting ready, you put on a dress you thought looked really pretty on you, spinning and smiling at Akaashi, "How do I look?"

He takes a good look at you with his half buttoned shirt on and wet hair, "You look gorgeous." you could say the same to him.

You couldn't resist it and stepped closer to him, buttoning his shirt for him, something about this simple action felt nice. You were smiling and humming a tune of the recent song stuck in your head— which coincidentally was one of his songs. He didn't fail to notice.

"I'm glad you liked the song," he comments, talking about his band's recent release you were humming.

"You know I love your voice," you say, patting his chest once you were done buttoning it. Reminiscing the days where you would shyly ask him to sing for you, with his old acoustic guitar you remembered asking him to teach you to play.

"Oh I almost forgot about this," you say when you spot your cap, it was to be less noticeable. Before you could reach for it though, Akaashi blocks it with his hand.

"How about we go out today without any disguises?" he suggests, you contemplate about it, you've gotten used to playing disguise with him whenever you go out in public with the risk of being seen by the paparazzi. You've never gotten caught, but then that's because Akaashi was very careful and calculated.

"But if we get seen.."

"It's a secluded place, you don't have to worry about anything," he reassures you. Part of why the both of you hide your relationship is because you were a little intimidated by the public, you don't know how Akaashi does it, you wouldn't be able to handle having little to no privacy.

There goes the butterflies again.

"Okay.. I just want to be with you," you say in a whisper, he hears it though, ending up with his ears all reddened. You liked to see that you weren't the only one who still gets flustered because of the other.

You cherish these moments the most, it doesn't matter where you were, as long as you were with him.

a/n — writing this while wearing my akaashi jersey BWJSJAJA i love this man sm

[notsominx]

☆𝒥𝑒𝒶𝓁𝑜𝓊𝓈𝒯𝓎𝓅𝑒?☆

ღ Jealous Beelzebub x Hopeless Fem Reader

ღ Summary: Once Beel brings up the idea of reader becoming a cheerleader to support his football games; he starts to notice a teammate taking a liking to her. As much as he doesn't want to admit it, he's jealous.

ღ TW: Sex with plot, size difference, jealous smut, semi-public

.。･:*:･.。･:*:･.。･:*:･.。･:*:･.。･:*:･.。･:*:･.。･:*:･.。･:*:･.。･:*:･.。･:*

You didn't understand football at all but very supportive, Beel wanted your support during games. So he practically begged you to become a cheerleader, not like you could say 'no' to him, you obliged. At least Asmo was a cheerleader too. Currently in your room trying on the uniform, You actually like it on you. The way it hugs your frame and the shortness of it makes you look fit.

"Bub! Look!" You rush to Beelzebub's room, showing off that you made the squad. He smiles upon seeing you, faintly blushing. He compliments you and expresses his gratitude of your support. The way he sheepishly smiles, adoring the way you look makes you feel prideful.

The practice wasn't all too peazy squeezy. You were assigned to be a flyer. Being tossed in the air makes you so nauseous being in mid-air. There were a couple of times that you fell hard on the mats. It was like you were either flying or falling. Yet although with your fails, the team and the coach were super nice and caring for each other. What makes it even better is that you and Asmo would go out for ice cream and treats after practice.

One afternoon practicing a routine out in the blazing sun, the football team was running laps around the track. It was the same day that the cheerleader was going to practice in the field. You were setting up the mats, waiting for the rest of the squad to get dressed. You didn't notice Beel and Ryan (one of his teammates) eyeing you. Ryan was probably staring too much because he ended up falling face into the concrete. You notice this and try to hold in your laughter. Ryan looks so embarrassed as the football coach yells at him to get back on his feet. Later during practice, you were flying in the air again. Only for Asmo to miss his queue to catch you, making you fall face into the mat. You look flustered from the pain and embarrassment, only to see Ryan holding back his laughter. Touché.

Just when practice ends. You wait by the boys' locker room for both Asmo and Beel to go home. You were still a bit upset about the failed stunt, but it's not too much of a big deal.

The door opens to only reveal Ryan. Upon seeing each other, the both of you turn away, laughing aloud. “You took quite a fall. I thought cheerleading was supposed to be easy.” Ryan speaks, clearing his throat. “Yeah me too. Maybe I’m not meant to fly.” You respond with a smile.

The conversation continues on with Ryan asking for your name and devilgram, which you gave to him easily. He was really nice to talk to and it seems like he likes to talk to you as well. Soon, Beel and Asmo come out of the locker room.

When Beel saw you with his teammate, he didn’t think too much of it. He likes for all his friends to get along. So he invited Ryan to tag along while you all went out for pizza. At the pizzeria, Ryan wouldn’t stop talking to you, not that you mind. He had pretty interesting tales to tell.

For the next week, after practice, Ryan would invite you to hangout. And everyday he texted you. The whole house of Lamentation knew about this. It’s become increasingly obvious to the brothers, except to you, that Beel doesn’t like this.

Belphie would make comments to you like: “Does Beel know that you were out with Ryan?” Or “Why don’t you hang out with Beel instead?” These comments were always heavy in your mind, because you don’t see a problem with going out with Ryan. Apart from that, you would always try to make some time with Beel, but he just seems so distracted by something else.

Beel hates that you're always with Ryan. It’s weird to him because he wants all of his friends to get along. But Ryan just takes too much of your time. Even on some occasions when it’s just Beel and you, he still can’t get it out of his mind. It's just that he likes spending his time with you…but it’s becoming more of an issue when it feels like you would rather be with someone else.

Tonight is the first game that you'll be cheering at. All hyped that you couldn't wait. 30 minutes before the game, you were sitting out on the bleachers with Ryan. You were on your ramble about a new hyper-fixation. Beel was watching you guys as he ran around the track to warm up. He grinds his teeth, not understanding why you're talking to Ryan. He likes Ryan, that's his friend. But he also likes you.

He likes you a lot. It had to be a moment of realization that he was jealous. The bitter anger that sits with him every time he sees Ryan. He knows that Ryan is a good guy, but not for you.

The game was long, and you were sweaty as you did at least 5 routines already. Luckily everyone is in queue today. Each time you were in the air spinning, you landed back down into Asmo's arms. Finally halftime, you went off to get water but were stopped in the middle of the school's hallway. It was just Beel, yet he looks upset.

"What's with the frown? Aren't you guys winning?" The last time you checked the scoreboard, RAD was winning. Beel takes a deep breath if felt like his words are stuck in his throat. You walk up to him, placing your hand on his forehead, checking for a fever. He wasn't feverish, but he felt like it. He leans forward towards you, taking your hand away from him. His other hand snakes around your waist, picking you up slightly off the ground.

It took several seconds for you to register that he was kissing you, forcefully. Although you didn't mind. Beel pins you towards a nearby wall as you hold your arms around him. The empty hallway is filled with the sound of you both kissing. It makes you flustered, knowing that you are still in public. His body felt tense and huge up against you. Like his whole body just engulfed you.

As you were lost in his warmth, Beel was lost in his mind. He wants to mark you in a way that Ryan would know that you're off limits. Yet there's only 9 minutes left of halftime. If he took all of you at the moment, you wouldn't be able to cheer. Yet the way the plush of your ass is making him want you more. He settles for giving you a hickey. His lips trail from yours down to your jawline then to the neck. As much as he wasn't to savor this, he couldn't. He was quick to bite down and suck hard, which leaves you gasping from the pain.

As he continued to mark you, he wasn't just satisfied. The hickeys were noticeable marks for Ryan, but what about you? He wants you to know that he wants you. His hands lift up your legs off the ground, warping them around his waist. You were getting as needy as him, grinding your hips against his hardened tent. He moans a bit into your ear, it was just hard for him to not take you. "Bub?" You stroke his hair a little, Beel doesn't answer. He quickly tugs your shorts and panties aside. The cool air hits your womanhood, making you whimper a little. You knew how wet you were.

It was one finger at first, then two, then three. Beel scissors three of his thick fingers into you. Going too fast that you didn't have a chance to think. He likes the way your small cunt tries to suck his fingers in. The game speakers plays, yet that doesn't stop him. He went faster, searching for your G-spot. Your simulated pussy clamps around his fingers, and his thumb circles your clit trying to make you loosen up. You just couldn't. The way his big fingers curls into your walls makes you squirms. “B-bub…we have to go.” You mumble.

“Not yet.” He says, determined to make you cum before going back. His fingers starts to hammer into you, finally finding your G-spot. He fingers this spot repeatedly until your eyes tears up. His fingers were just too big, it makes you wonder how big was his dick.

After your orgasm, you both waited a minute before going back out. Your legs feel like it might give out but you still had to cheer. Neither coaches weren’t happy that you both showed up five minutes late. Beel had to sit out for the rest of the game, while you still had to be sent up into the air.

Ryan does notice your hickeys after the game. So does everyone else. Beel admires his handy work and couldn’t wait to give you much more.

[yuriko-mukami]

I miss Mukami found family headcanons! Can you share more? 👀

The Extended Mukami Family Headcanons Part 3: The New Year’s Eve

This ask was answered together with @ruki-mukami-dl, @seaoflove07, @eri-talks, @mermaid--bride and @nalia-tsukino. We decided to make this New Year's Eve themed since it's that time of the year.

Before the New Year’s Eve

Christine will tell all the girls: “We are going shopping to buy our New Year’s Outfits.” 

Other girls aren’t that eager to go shopping but agree anyway. However, Kazemi isn’t very excited about the new year since she never really cared about holidays apart from Christmas.

Kou joins the girls. Ruki allows Yuriko to go with the others but even though Kou’s with them, he will tell a familiar to keep an eye on Yuriko’s wellbeing.

On New Year’s Eve Christine will wake up early to bake different kinds of cookies for everyone. Azusa will join like she always does. Christine will make sure he won't add any spice or chili powder to the cookie batter. 

Christine will ask Brother Ruki if he needs help with anything. Ruki will assign her some tasks but wants to take care of most of the cooking himself.

Yuriko would want to help out arranging the party, but this year she isn’t allowed to do that. Ruki tells her to take it easy after the shopping trip and gather some energy.

The Family Party

Maria and Laito come to visit the family party since Maria is close to the other girls. She is very excited about the New Year. Especially about the fireworks. It's her favorite time of the year. The end of a cycle and the start of a new one. So she's going to put more effort into celebrating it than any other holiday apart from her birthday.

Nalia and Yuuto were invited, too, but since they had their twins just before this year’s party, they are staying at home and having their own family time.

Christine will be wearing an Elegant Sparkly dress with a nice pair of high heels.

Eri does not care about dressing fancy, socializing, and partying. The smaller the group and the more familiar she is with them the better. 

Kazemi chooses to wear white and the same goes for Maria. But Maria considered wearing black too.

Yuriko wears her blue winter dress for the evening. She didn’t want to waste money on a new dress this time since there are so many other things Ruki and she will need to buy soon.

Christine and Kou will pull everyone to the dance floor. Saying no is not an option. 

Yuriko and Ruki dance happily together, but only the slow songs. Ruki makes sure Yuriko’s feet don’t get too tired. 

Eri and Yuma sneak out of the dancefloor as soon as possible.

Kazemi will be happy to be there with everyone and might even be a little more affectionate to Kou than she usually is. But just a little bit though since he likes to test her patience.

Midnight & Fireworks

Christine loves watching the Fireworks but will take Azusa elsewhere to watch them together. She loves the family but will want to have a special moment alone with Azusa when the fireworks are going on.

Ruki will take Yuriko to the balcony of the manor when it’s time for the fireworks. He will make sure she stays warm and comfortable. After the fireworks, the couple slip onto the third floor and cuddle in the bed until Yuriko falls asleep.

For Eri, fireworks are pretty, and she enjoys seeing different colors and patterns. However, since fireworks are loud, she would rather watch them from afar. So, she also sneaks out with Yuma in a secluded part of the yard. She wouldn’t mind getting a midnight kiss from Yuma. After that, the couple sneak into Yuma’s room, where Eri will either do her own things (draw, games, etc.) or go to sleep if the socializing exhausted her. Or snuggle with Yuma if possible.

Laito is also eager to have some special time with Maria. And he will make sure they find a place for that.

Kou is disappointed that everyone else disappears when the fireworks start, but Kazemi doesn’t mind that much. And after all, they both have sweet moments at midnight, too.

[ravendruid]

Be In My Eyes - Chapter 25

You can read the previous chapters here or on AO3. This chapter was inspired by this drabble. If you've read it before, I took the liberty to change things around. I hope you have as much fun reading this chapter as I had writing it. Summary: Keyleth steals clothes, Vax is too stunned to speak, everyone sees the tension between Keyleth and Vax.

Keyleth was so exhausted after a day of classes that had run later than usual thanks to a stupid group project her teacher had assigned, that by the time she got home, everyone in apartment 7B was either already asleep or out partying. She considered going to bed right away without eating dinner but her stomach growled loudly to remind her she hadn’t had anything to eat in almost eight hours, so Keyleth ignored the scream of her muscles as she crossed the kitchen to reach the fridge. According to the calendar on the door, it had been Vax’s turn to make dinner, and if Keyleth knew him well enough, he would have left her serving in a tupperware for her to heat when she got home. Seeing that she was the only vegetarian in the apartment, Keyleth often had to make her own meals on the side whenever it was other people’s turn to cook, but Vax—so kind and caring—always made sure to cook something different for Keyleth so she wouldn’t have to. It never failed to warm her heart to see Vax set a plate in front of her at dinner, not because he made the effort to use different proteins for her—sometimes even going as far as making a full meal for Keyleth—but because Vax went above and beyond to look up vegetarian recipes, seasoning techniques to make the food taste better, and, above all, Vax always cooked without Keyleth asking him to, and most of the time without her knowing (as if Keyleth needed any more reasons to fall for Vax). Just as Keyleth expected, there was a glass container with a post-it note on the lid waiting for her, which she promptly read: Missed you at dinner. I really loved this recipe, let me know what you think. – Vax <3

Waiting for the food to heat was torture, but Vax’s handwriting on the post-it note was worth coming home late. It meant more to Keyleth than just dinner, and she knew it meant just as much to Vax. “Why is he so perfect?” Keyleth mumbled, walking into the laundry room where she dumped her sodden socks in her hamper. She hated doing laundry this late, especially when she was so tired, but she really needed the pair of pants she had bought at lunch the day before. The party at Glorious was the next night, and Keyleth was excited to see her roommates’ reactions—a certain someone in particular—when they saw what she was wearing (although Keyleth still hadn’t figured out how she was going to steal her victim’s clothes). 

The answer came to Keyleth unexpectedly when she was about to switch her laundry. Someone had forgotten to empty the dryer, and just her luck, from the looks of it, it was the person she needed to forget their clothes the most. Keyleth did what any good roommate would do and carefully folded her roommate’s clothes and set them on top of the dryer before she put her clothes in the dryer. What if one of her roommate’s t-shirts accidentally found itself mingled with Keyleth’s clothes? She hadn’t seen it bunched up in the corner of the dryer when she added her clothes, and she especially didn’t notice it the next morning, until she was folding and putting away everything. Only one thing left to steal. Keyleth chuckled. 

It was hard to keep it a surprise once the girls started getting ready, but the good part about finally being able to share the name Keyleth had picked was that Vex could finally help her with the make-up and hair, and Vex even stole the last piece of the puzzle for Keyleth. They had about five minutes left until everyone was meeting in the living room to reveal their outfits, and Vex was finishing the last touches on Keyleth’s eyeliner. A glance at the mirror in the bathroom made Keyleth arch an eyebrow impressed. It wasn’t a look she ever thought she would see on her, but Keyleth had to admit she looked good in it.

Pike and Vex were the first out of the bedroom, followed by Grog and Scanlan, and then Percy and Vax. Keyleth heard her friends laugh in the living room although she wasn’t able to discern what they were saying. She was too busy panicking in the bathroom, pacing back and forth, and reminding herself to breathe. It’s going to be fine. She reassured herself. What if they hate it? What if he hates it? Keyleth stopped, looking at her reflection. Her face was pale with fear, her freckles more prominent than usual, and her hands were shaking slightly. They are your friends, she reminded herself. They will not make fun of you for trying out something new. Besides, it’s a costume party, not you trying to find a new style or a new personality. Keyleth knew she was right. Logically speaking, it wasn’t her tonight, so her friends would not be making fun of her. Keyleth took a long breath in, paused, and then released it. With a last glance at the mirror, she exited the bathroom and the bedroom, nervously rubbing at her hands. 

—

Keyleth hadn’t emerged from her bedroom yet and Vax was increasingly nervous with every minute that passed. With everyone else in the living room, it was plainly obvious who Keyleth was going to be dressed up as, but not even the irony of the situation was enough to ease his mind.

Vex’ahlia looked incredibly funny in a yellow crop top, sweatpants and fun buns. Between her legs where she sat on the couch, was a canvas tote bag with painting supplies and a fake stethoscope peeking out from the opening. From all the people she could have picked, Pike was an incredible opposite. Sitting next to Vex was the disciple of the Everlight herself, wearing khaki pants, a white buttoned shirt and a dark blue blazer that looked far too large on her, but the funniest thing about Pike’s impersonation of Percival was the plastic toy glasses that had clearly been hand-painted gold. Vax couldn’t tell which of his male roommates looked the funniest, though. Percy, who dressed in gray sweatpants (that had Vex’ahlia gasp and give the man a hungry look), a tank top, and was carrying a backpack and a soccer ball under his arm; Grog in a flashy purple buttoned-up shirt (that he purposely left unbuttoned until halfway down his torso) with matching purple pants and Scanlan’s beret; or the theater major himself, who was wearing a skimpy black skirt, fishnet stockings, one of Vex’s very revealing tank tops, and, to top off the look, a dark-brown haired wig that he wove into a really bad braid. The only thing right about Scanlan’s look was the faithful make-up. Thinking about it, as Vax gave everyone a second look, if anyone were to win a prize, it would certainly be Scanlan.

When Vax picked the slip of paper a couple days ago, he never imagined he would have to sneak into the girls’ bedroom to rummage through Keyleth’s closet in search of something he could wear. He tried to avoid buying clothes unnecessarily since he and Vex’ahlia didn’t have much money to spare, but thankfully for Vax, Keyleth was pretty lithe like him. He had chuckled at the array of colors in her wardrobe—of course, it would look like a unicorn threw up in there. Keyleth wouldn’t be his brilliant, happy ray of sunshine otherwise—but Vax settled for something dark that he felt still defined Keyleth perfectly. Vax picked a dark green sweater with a large sunflower embroidered in the center and an orange butterfly next to it, and a pair of light jeans with hand-painted daisies along the legs (something else that Vax noticed about Keyleth’s wardrobe was that most of her clothes were altered). He braided two pieces of hair at each side of his head and met them at the back, fastened by a green bow that he had seen Keyleth wear before, and Vex’ahlia helped him curl his hair like Keyleth’s. Vax hoped that he looked enough like her that everyone would give him a break for keeping his boots since he couldn’t fit in Keyleth’s canvas sneakers and couldn’t afford to buy himself a pair. 

Vex’s reaction to his final look had been unexpected. Vax thought his twin would tease him endlessly for pulling a paper with Keyleth’s name, but instead, she merely shook her head in amusement and muttered something about fate and soulmates. It never occurred to Vax that his sister believed in such things, but then again, he also never thought she was going to get involved with someone like Percival after everything their mother went through with their father. Everyone else’s reaction, however, had been as he expected. Scanlan mentioned how weird it was to see Vax wearing clothes that weren’t black, and Grog had pointed out that he needed to eat more protein and work out more because he fit Keyleth’s clothes too well. As for Pike, she had been the nicest one, merely complimenting him for a job well done. From everyone so far, Vax had been the one who wore the most pieces of clothing of their pick.

“Should someone go check on Keyleth?” Vax asked when Keyleth didn’t show up ten minutes after the scheduled time—if Vax knew her well, Keyleth was probably freaking out in the bedroom—but just as soon as Vax spoke, the bedroom door opened and Keyleth turned the corner. Vax was glad he was sitting down because he would have probably fallen on his ass otherwise.

For what Vax assumed was the first time in Keyleth’s life, she didn’t have a single piece of color on her. While it looked strange, it was also incredibly sexy, especially because Keyleth was wearing Vax’s favorite t-shirt (so that’s where it went!) underneath his leather jacket—certainly stolen by Vex’ahlia—a pair of black pants and Vex’s boots that were a cheap replica of his. Keyleth’s nails were painted black, her make-up was a perfect imitation of Vax’s eyeliner, and her hair had been straightened and was tied back in a half-up style like Vax always did. Keyleth looked beautiful in black—but then again, she would look beautiful in a potato sack— but she was also visibly nervous.

“Sorry I made you all wait,” Keyleth apologized, rubbing her hands in front of her in what Vax knew well as being a gesture of anxiety. Keyleth’s eyes shifted to him and she took a step back, aghast. Vax grinned at her and extended an inviting hand that Keyleth took hesitantly, he then pulled her to his side and wrapped his arm around her waist. Vax was perfectly aware that they had five pairs of eyes on him and Keyleth, but he didn’t care about them. All Vax cared about was the pair of bright, stunned green eyes and the smile on Keyleth’s face once she realized they were dressed up as each other.

“Let’s go before you two start making out,” Vex’ahlia rolled her eyes and grabbed the tote bag at her feet. Everyone else followed suit out of the apartment, leaving Vax and Keyleth still standing close to each other for a moment. 

“We should go,” Keyleth mumbled after the last person left, closing the door behind them. 

“You look…” Vax placed both hands on her waist and pushed her away softly to look at her again from head to toe. “Absolutely stunning, Keyleth.”

Keyleth’s cheeks bloomed pink. She looked him up and down, taking notice of everything, then back to his eyes and said, “You don’t look too bad either, Vax’ildan. Green looks great on you.”

“Not as good as you in black, Kiki. Damn,” Vax bit his lip. Keyleth squealed and hid her face in her hands but Vax pulled them away, leaned in to kiss her cheek, and whispered, “You look so hot. Gods be damned.”

Keyleth giggled. Vax had expected her to pull away and hide herself in a shell of bashfulness but she hadn’t done anything to show him she was embarrassed, quite the opposite. Keyleth was staring at him differently, almost as if she was hungry for something she had never had before. Vax didn’t want to assume she wanted him the same way he wanted her, lest he make a fool of himself, so he ignored the urge to lock the apartment door, kiss her, and take her to his bedroom. No, if Keyleth wanted him that way, he would wait until she made a move. He would wait his entire life for her.

“We should go,” Keyleth finally broke away from him, although she clasped her hand in his and pulled Vax behind her. The others were already waiting for them at the atrium, and even though most of them pretended not to notice Vax and Keyleth holding hands, Vex’ahlia didn’t seem to care about hiding it, not with the wink she gave them before she turned around and grabbed Percy’s arm as they all strode out of the building.

But as soon as Vax and Keyleth stepped into the cold autumn air of Emon, Vax felt a weird weight on his chest like something bad was going to happen. Worst of all, he had left his knife behind, safely stored in his nightstand drawer. Shit. Maybe it was just anxiety from going out for the first time in a while. Maybe it was because Keyleth was holding his hand tightly like he was her lifeline. Vax tried to ignore the heaviness of his chest and focus on the warmth and softness of Keyleth’s hand in his and the way she had looked at him before. Relax.Everything will be alright. Nothing bad will happen tonight.

[sincerelyaudri]

Kanon is a shit sleeper.

Inui first thought it when the man had bulldozed his way into Audrey’s bed and knocked out in five minutes with the stench of brandy on his breath (she had pushed for the guest room, but an offhand comment about seeing just how hard Kaji could bite had her relenting to keep the peace), and he thought it again when he got an elbow to a kidney just as the sun had begun to rise.

He’s been awake ever since, Audrey to his left and still, somehow, sleeping, and Kanon sprawled out on the floor below thanks to Inui’s short fuse when it came to his comfort, and Audrey was, through no effort on her part, his comfort.

It was the reason he had been distancing himself as of late, burying himself in work that loved him more than he it; runways, photo shoots, brand deals, talk shows, interviews. It was tiring, and there more days than not where he found himself succumbing to exhaustion midway through the day, only to be up that same night and repeating it all over again.

He rarely had a moment to stop and think, which was welcomed since his thoughts were always centered around her. What’s she doing right now? Has she eaten or did she skip another meal in lieu of catching up on assignments? How were her classes going? Her shop? Her life? Her love life? Was she happy? Was she lonely? Does she miss him? Does she think about him like he does her?

It was tiring.

It was dangerous.

Audrey drove him to places that he hadn’t been since his youth - since he had gone “Hollywood”, as she so often teased. She made him regress to old, nasty ways of thinking whenever he scrolled past a picture of her with another man. I could get rid of him easily, he always thought without fail. He had acquaintances that would be more than happy to get rid of the mess—or he could do it himself if he was offended enough, if they had touched something that he deemed as his and his alone.

But he can’t think like that, not anymore, and he certainly can’t act on it. He had left that behavior behind when he left Bonten behind, when he had decided to give something different a try. Modeling hadn’t been the first thing on his mind, racing had been on it a few times, but then she had held his face in hands that felt like something adjacent to heaven and sung him praises that went straight to his head. She had gifted the world with him -she was his creator, in a way- and doomed it all in one breath.

Audrey stirs in her sleep from beside him but doesn’t wake, and Inui lets his gaze fall on her. She’s lying on her side as she faces him, and he softly exhales through his nose, eyes greedily taking in the face he’s been longing to see ever since he parted from it. He reaches out to touch her, to make sure that he’s not passed out in his own bed and in his own home instead of hers. It wouldn’t be the first time.

Skin meets skin and he blinks, thumb stroking at the curve of her cheek, and he’s nearly dozing back off until a glint on the nightstand catches his eye. His hand leaves her face to instead brace beside her head on the bed, and he leans over to get a better look, a muscle in his jaw ticking as he does.

It’s a men’s watch, cheap, by his standards anyways, and a bit too bulky for his liking.

Inui tries to reel himself in.

It’s none of his business. They’re not together. She can do what she pleases. Hell, it could be Kaji’s, or even Baji’s. He has no place to feel as annoyed as he does, as pissed as he does, as jealous, as possessive.

Inui fails to reel himself in.

“Audrey,” his voice is soft as he calls her, a stark contrast to the feelings twisting in his gut. “Baby, wake up.” He curls a hand on her waist, the shirt she had gone to sleep in having ridden up. His nose pushes into her cheek as he places a kiss on her jaw. “C’mon, honey, get up.” She flips to her back, and he adjusts himself so he’s hovering, hands adjusting her so her thighs are on either side of him.

“I need to ask you something.”

Dreams don't come to Audrey easily. When they do, they're often in the form of nightmares.

After running around for the entire day in stilettos and a pearl drape dress, she'd assumed her mind would be too tired to overwork itself. By the time she came home her shoes lay in Seishu's hands, head piece twirled around Kanon's fingers, jewelry decorating her descent from the doorway to her bedroom. Slumber beckoned her with grace, encouraged her clothes to the floor, and by the time she'd curled into the first shirt she could put her hands on and padded to her bed, it didn't matter what went on around her. Head met pillow and darkness greeted her with a kiss.

She thought that was it.

Instead, her mind took her to different places. At first she sat on the pier near her home, bare feet grazing the dark waters. Behind her stood a presence familiar - one she, at one point, considered home. Tears rolled off her bottom lashes, their voice carried through the salted wind, bitter to the taste as was their tone.

"I need to ask you something."

The memory fades and reformulates into another. She's stood in a kitchen, one hand precariously curved around a knife's handle, the other attempting to hold a pepper straight. There's someone else whose joined her, a blur of porcelain skin and dark hair when she looks up briefly. She's called for their attention, and presumably, they answered.

Something bitter churns in her gut. "I need to ask you something."

The dream shifts. This time, she's on a boat. In the distance she can see her house. It's ransacked, windows smashed open, curtains drifting outside in the cold air. A storm rolls off of the horizon, dark waters thrashing deep, crests of waves foaming white at their tops. The boat she's on creaks with their weight, soft palms dragging against cold wooden hull. Her cheek is hot, something pours out against it warm and wet. Her eyes look up in horror but she doesn't see a face - not one she recognizes, anyway.

The figure stands over her foreign. Dressed in black, save a white shirt rolled up to their elbows. The moonlight passes through the clouds for a moment, enough to dimly illuminate a chain around his neck. There's a pendant at the end.

There's also a gun in their hand. A gun freshly fired. The bullet is tunneled into Audrey's thigh.

She's too stunned to cry when they finally start to speak. Her throat runs dry.

"I need to ask you something."

The blur of daytime tells Audrey moments later that she's no longer on that boat. It's grounding - there's the gentle squawk of seagulls in the distance and a soft crash of accompanying waves that she's grown accustomed to. She's reminded that she's home, lashes fluttering when she blinks rapidly, heartbeat elevated into her throat. She rarely wakes up startled anymore, these dreams so frequent they rarely scare her. Rather they exhaust her, characterized by puffy dark bags and the absence of light in coffee brown eyes.

Seishu stares back at her. It takes her a moment to find her tongue, but she's happy peace comes along with it. He's familiar, unlike the last presence in her dream, though Seishu's presence is accompanied with his own aches.

She blinks wetly and hums soft. "Sei? What's the matter? Is everything okay?"

[project-v175]

Out On A Limb

Brutal fighting. That's what the wizarding world had succumbed to. Violence. All her life, she had only known the peace of magic. That changed when she became an apprentice at the ministry. She wanted to be an auror. She wanted to restore peace. He who shall not be named had ruined everything for her, and it needed to be set right. Nothing felt normal for her.. not until him. Chapter 16: Months

Venus sat in her room. She was no longer in the House of Black. Her home had been cleaned up rather nicely. The workers who came to her aid even offered to help her finish renovations. The house was finally livable, physically. Mentally, she couldn’t stand the place. The walls were always too close. When she stepped outside, the world spread out so far she couldn’t find the oxygen in the air. Being in the water wasn’t helpful either. The darkness made her shudder, cold water only worsened her mood. When summer came, there was minimal relief. Warmth flooded her home for the first time in months. The warmth never lasted long. She fled her home during the nights, using the time to hunt down Deatheaters who had escaped the wizarding war. 

Each mission was the same. Intel. Hunt. Fight. Prison. Repetition became a two-faced friend. There was a comfort in the motions, one that let her know she had made it yet another day without dying. No matter what injuries she gained. No matter how many times she had to go to St. Mungo’s because her mermaid body couldn’t heal the way a wizard’s body would. Venus had earned a massive collection of scars. A couple burns, over a dozen cuts, and a handful of bruises remained on her skin at all times. Anytime she thought she was finally able to wear a dress again without looking as if someone had gotten up close and person with her, she was thrown across a room or grabbed harshly enough to leave a mark. The pain was welcomed on most days. It made her feel something. Something other than numbness. Something. Pain reminded her she was alive, and that was what mattered. For the most part. She was alive. If you could call the gaunt, pale creature she had become alive. Venus avoided the Ministry of Magic building like the bubonic plague. Seeing Alastor was painful enough. Seeing the guilt in his eyes.. The guilt he had since that night. Since he had left her to her own devices. He wouldn’t even answer the letters she sent him. She had went to St. Mungo’s a few days after Alastor left. Creech had done a good enough job at making sure she didn’t die, but the concussion still needed checked out. A clean bill of health sent her right to work. No congratulations. No mentor to hand her the first mission. Straight to work. A file in her mailbox was the first indication that she was meant to move on. Not that she was capable. Every night was miserable. She missed those breakfast conversations. The quick banters and brief glances. Her life had grown so.. Dull. Alastor was all she could think about anymore. She saw him in the hall occasionally. Even got stuck in an elevator with him once. He wouldn’t spare her a glance. The one thing she craved from him, his acknowledgement, had been denied. So she kept to work.

One particular morning, she stared at her empty mailbox. Untouched for three weeks. That’s how long it had been. Was there no more work? Was the work too difficult? Was she.. Loosing her job? She couldn’t have been. The door opened and she turned, meeting one of her coworkers with a practiced smile. 

“Question. Have you seen anything in my mailbox?” Venus pointed to her mailbox. Her coworker cocked their head. They took their own mail, sorting through a stack of paperwork, mail, and other papers. “Yeah. I was in here yesterday. There was a folder in there. Did you not get it last night?” Venus stood, wide-eyed for a minute. “A folder? Like an assignment? No, I haven’t seen anything for three weeks.” Her coworker shrugged and left. Someone had her work.  She spent the next week coming in early in the morning. Even right as the mailroom opened, her mailbox remained empty. So they were coming in late at night. Wrong. The later she stayed, the less she saw, and the less sleep she had to function from. Money was still coming in regularly. It was like whoever had her work was giving her the money for the missions they were completing. She stepped foot into the mailroom one more time. She waited for hours for anything to slide in, to appear out of thin air. Then something did. A small brown owl fluttered up to the mailbox and tossed in an envelope. On it, was Venus’s full name. The writing was messy and scribbled in a hurry. She opened the envelope, pulling out the wrinkled, stained sheet of paper. The only words written were “House of Black. Sunset.” 

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Author's Note

Hi everyone! I know it's been a LONG TIME. Like. A long. long time. Uhh- quick update. I had a lot of physical therapy that took a ton of class time and my writing time. My back and hips are better now, but still not fully functioning bc my nerves were 100% fucked. I'm back though! Out of high school, working my big girl job, and getting ready for university. I have a lot my time now and two chapters written in advance. I've got them scheduled to come out next week.

V-175, signing off.

[xoxochb]

May I request a Luke Castellan x Aphrodite! reader. The reader was with Luke, Annabeth, Grover, and Thalia before they arrived at camp. Since they’ve arrived, Luke and the reader haven’t spoken much. When they’re sent on a quest together, Luke and the reader begin to talk again.

⋆·˚ ༘ * now pretty baby I’m running back home to you

warnings: this is a little lengthy, theres angst at the beginning, but there is a happy ending!

pairing: luke castellan x daughter of aphrodite

you remember the first day you got to camp, it was rough, confusing, and overwhelming, and on top of all that- one of your best friends got turned into a tree

but now it’s been four months since then, and you were one of the lucky demigods that had gotten claimed within a month by aphrodite, goddess of love and beauty. It wasn’t all that bad being here, but the worst part was that you haven’t spoken to luke since you got here

he was your best friend, yes, but with getting settled into camp, and now that he’s a counselor of his cabin, there’s no time to talk, and even if you did talk it was awkward, just simple a simple ‘hi’ or ‘how are you’

you don’t really know what made you guys stop talking in the first place, because when you first got to camp there was no camp duties to attend to yet, so you had plenty of free time, but things were weird between you two

it wasn’t you who drifted away from him, it was the other way around, and you didn’t understand why he did it. you recall countless times trying to ask him why he wouldn’t even care to look you in the eyes, but he would ignore or dodge the question every time

the first time you talked to him after three months was when you got assigned a quest by your mothe. you were asked to bring her back a stolen seashell, one that was very sacred to her.

you were instructed to bring at least one person on the quest with you, and you had no clue who you were even going to bring, you didn’t have much friends since you were still new, and you’re only friends were either too young, a literal tree, or was ignoring you

but alas, you caught luke by the lake one night skipping rocks on the water

now’s the perfect time, talk to him!

at first you seemed confident about this, but the closer you got, the faster your heart started beating

oh my gods, seriously? he’s your best friend!!

“are you going to sit or are you going to continue staring at me?”

you jump at his words, “I’m sorry I- uhm, can I sit?”

“I just told you” his eyes meet yours for the first time in months

“can we talk?” you take a seat ok the grass beside him

“that’s what we’re doing right now isn’t it?”

sarcastic as always

you roll your eyes, “I suppose” you take a deep breath before your next words “I got assigned a quest”

“I heard” he hands you a rock, and you take it

“yeah, well, chiron said I can’t go alone, said j have to take someone with me” you skip the rock on the water

“and you want me to go with you?”

he knows you too well

“yes, but if you don’t want to that’s fine, it’s just that I don’t really have anyone else to go with me and you were- are my best friend”

you’re a helpless mess

“of course I’ll go”

“luke- if you don’t want to go I won’t be insulted, I could just find someone else, I’ll work something-”

he cuts you off, “you haven’t changed” he laughs

“Is that supposed to be a bad thing?” you stand up, thinking he’s making fun of you

he quickly stands up beside you, “no it’s a good thing, a really good thing, I’m glad you’re not like all the other stupid aphrodite kids”

“those are my siblings” you cross your arms, but in truth you can’t be mad at him, you could never be mad at him

“I know you don’t like some of them”

why does he have to know you so well?!

“only some” you look down at your feet, fighting the smile making its way to your face

you don’t understand how you went to long without him, this is the happiest you’ve been in months

“I don’t know if I can say this, but I really miss you” he looks at you with those wounded puppy eyes

“I really miss you too” you grin widely, what’s the point in fighting it anymore?

- 🏹 -

the quest was going okay until you got ambushed by a hoard of monsters, and you almost died

and you like to think that you survived because of love and happiness (you made a mental note to never tell your mother about this, you hated when she was right)

you remember that night under the tree, luke held your helpless body in his arms, your stomach bleeding out, a concussed head and broken ankle, you didn’t think you would survive, you were fully convinced these would be your last moments, but as you laid there, eyes on the stars and the feeling of luke’s arms holding on to you so gently, you thought you could have died happy if your last moments were with him

the bad part about your non-death was that you were injured and luke was crying. you never saw him cry, in all the years you knew him he never shed a tear in front of you

but here he sits, sobbing like a baby, begging you not to die, and seeing him so heartbroken over you healed you in a way, not because he was sad, of course not, but because he didn’t want you to die, because between sobs he mumbled a simple ‘I love you’ which was only three words, but meant so much to you

you also recall a week later when you were sitting in the infirmary, healing under the powers of the apollo cabin, luke not once leaving your side

you asked him, “why wouldn’t you talk to me?”

and you didn’t need to specify because he knew what you were talking about, because he knew you

“I was scared” he does anything but look at you, but you know by the way he grips onto your hand so tightly that it means nothing bad, “I was scared of losing you. after thalia, I was worried that you would get taken away from me the same way she did, and the fear of you being gone forever kept me up every night- it still does, but I thought that if I just stopped talking to you, then if I lost you it wouldn’t hurt as much as it would if we were close”

oh

you thought your wounds hurt- they did, very much so, but his words felt like a stab to the heart

“why didn’t you just talk to me? luke- I’m your best friend, you can tell me this stuff, I’ll never judge you for it, I swear it on the river styx” you squeeze his hand, something simple, but it always calmed him

“I thought that when you got claimed by aphrodite you would think I’m just some stupid boy you used to know, because gods, you’re gorgeous, I should have known she was your mother, but I didn’t think you’d want to be around me because I’m just me”

every word hurts, you wish he wouldn’t speak so poorly about himself

“I love you”

It’s three words, three simple words, but it means so much to luke, more than anything, and when he hears them, small tears start falling down his face

“oh luke” you sit up, and as much as it hurts, it doesn’t matter to you, because what matters most is the boy on your side

you cup his face in your hands and kiss each cheek were the tears had fell “please don’t cry, I don’t like seeing you cry”

“I love you too” he pulls you in for a gentle hug, nuzzling his face into your shoulder, taking in your scent, “I don’t want to lose you”

“you won’t lose me, I promise”

he tightens his grip on you, yet still careful of your fragile state

and you stay like that for maybe five minutes? you lost track of time, you knew it was best for him to let his tears out then keep them in, and once he’s calm he pulls away, eyes permanently glued to you

“I’m sorry” he wipes his tears

“you didn’t do anything wrong” you frown

“I feel guilty for ignoring you all those months”

“luke, it’s fine, we’re okay, aren’t we?” you cup his face again, and he leans into your palms

“y/n?” he mutters

“yes?” oh you’re soft voice, he wants to melt

“can I kiss you?” he smiles for the first time in two weeks

you can’t help but smile, seeing him happy makes you incredibly happy, and without saying anything you pull his lips to yours for a gentle, but passionate kiss