#I am being wheeled off to the er as we speak | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

letswrites · 6 months ago

Text

LN- All roads lead to you

This is so long, but so intense. Enjoy! :)

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Masterlist

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

Chapter 4: Woking

It definitely was a crappy moment for Lando. That day, more specifically, was supposed to be good: he was going on a date with her. But it was already going shitty. It rained in London. A lot. The place they wanted to go had a kilometric waiting line and they were both pissed, hungry, and soaked so they went back to Lando's car.

"I'm so sorry this went wrong" "Not your fault" he could feel the asperity in her tone "I should have planned better" "What now? What's plan B?" his patience was already over "I don't fucking have one!" he raised his voice tone "So fucking create one!" she responded also increasing hers "Is this much that I mean to you?" she muttered before turning her head to the left to look at the rain pouring outside. Great. Now they were being rude to each other. Lando sighed, then leaned forward so his forehead could touch the wheel. He took a deep breath "Sorry for screaming with you" "I'm sorry too" he touched her right hand, and she looked at him "What about pizza?" "I like pizza" "Great! How do you like your pizza?" "Eating it on the sofa wearing pajamas or comfy clothes while I watch K-dramas. Or anything I enjoy to watch. " he giggled "You're so cute. I was talking about the flavor" "Oh! I like Margherita. Or pepperoni" "You have good taste" "I do" "Okay, so we're having Margherita and Pepperoni pizza watching a Korean series on a sofa, wearing comfy clothes" he aligned his body "Now... which sofa?" he looked at her suggestively, faking innocence one more time "I am not inviting you to my place" "Hum... what about mine?" "Isn't it in Woking?" "Yes. An hour from here" she chewed her inner cheek "Sure" "Really?" "Yes" "Alright! Let's go".

Lando opened the door and proudly announced "Home sweet home" she scanned the room, there were a lot of helmets there "Are you a collector?" "Hum?" "The helmets" "Yes, I am. Do you like them?" "Yes! They are very beautiful" "They are" she kept looking around "What about that?" She pointed to Max "Oh, that's just Max. I iron his clothes while he plays videogame" she giggled "You've already met" "Where?" "Milan" she had a confused expression "The guy who wanted to take pictures with Daniel" "Oh, sure!" "Come in. Mi casa es tu casa" "Now you speak Spanish?" "As you can see" "Eres lago?" He pondered about what she'd say and looked at her with disdain "Shut up" she giggled "Max!" he shouted. Max took one of the headphones off the ear without taking his eyes of the scream "What?" "We have a guest, say hi" he paused the game and turned to them "Oh, it's you. Hi!" "Hey, Max" he looked at Lando "Am I disturbing?" "Nah, we're just having pizza with comfy clothes. I brought you one" "Is it a new underwear? I'd appreciate if it's" Lando poked Max's nape "Pizza, mate. I brought you pizza" she giggled "And iced tea" "Which flavor?" "Pepperoni pizza and peach iced tea" "You are a true angel" Lando grinned then looked at her and made a gesture with his head "Come on" "Okay. Bye, Max" "See you later, mate" "Bye, guys".

Lando's bedroom was really a nerd cave. She giggled in her mind "he does pretend not to be a nerd really well" he placed the pizza boxes on his desk "So, we do have not a sofa. But..." he walked toward the beanbags and pillows pile "We have this. If you prefer we can stay on my bed" she smiled "nice try' she knew that if they stayed on his bed, something more would happen. "Seems cozy enough for me" "It's" "What about the comfy clothes?" he looked at her, she was wearing a white dress with a machiatto cardigan and beige FILA shoes. She wasn't comfy. Nor he. He walked towards his wardrobe "What do you think?" it was a Quadrant black hoodie "I think it covers your whole body" "I love men's hoodies. It's perfect" "I just don't have any shorts or trousers that would fit you" "No worries, I have shorts under my dress" "Good. Catch it!" he threw it to her "Good catch" she smiled, her cheeks blushed .

"What about you? You don't seem comfy" he was wearing khaki trousers and a black polo shirt "You're right" he unbuttoned his trousers and slid on his legs all the way down to the floor, then ripped off his t-shirt from his body. It lasted nothing but his white Calvin Klein's. She watched it without daring to blink even for a second. Was he trying to make her take the first step? She wasn't going to bed with him. He showed her a grey sweatshirt shorts and a purple hoodie "What do you think?" "That's way better" "Alright" he started to dress up "Are you enjoying the view?" How could she not enjoy the view of his sculpted body? The abs, thighs, chest, arms, and even the glutes (which she'd kill to have a full vision of) were everything shaped by Heaven's hands. "What if I am?" There're no problems at all" she chuckled "Dress up quicker! The pizza is getting cold" "Okay, okay... I am already done".

He looked at her, she was still with her clothes "Aren't you going to change clothes?" she looked at him, cheekily and took her cardigan off, then one shoulder strap of her dress, and the other. He started to salivate, but it ended very soon cause she wore the hoodie, and then ripped the dress off. What a disappointment. And she did it on purpose "Is something wrong?" "No. You look cute" she smiled "Shall we eat?" "Sure! What do you wanna watch, by the way?" she sat on the beanbag "Navillera" "What's this about?" he sat by her side while navigating through Netflix "A dancer who teaches a mailman how to dance ballet" "What?!" "It's beautiful! You'll like" "If you're saying..."

...

Hours later:

"Do you remember when I told you I hate alcohol and you asked why had I drank that beer in Milan?" "Yes. You haven't told me why yet" "Well, I just thought: 'she isn't being herself tonight, so if I drink too I will not hurt myself later with the memory of a fake her'" he paused. She blinked, surprised with how deep it sounded. "But you were real, more than I've ever been with a girl" he paused again and added in his mind only "Well, except one...". He continued to talk "Anyway! I was the one faking in there" she kept in silence "Wow" "Yeah" "you are a womanizer in fact" he lifted his head from her thighs "Did you just say..." she laughed "I meant: You don't need to be fake with me. I like the real you" he smiled "Good" she started to caress his hair and in a snap, he fell asleep.

.....

Max opened the door euphoric ready to get in and shout at his friend about how amazing he was on the new game "Mate you're not going to believe..." but he found her reading a book. She was lying on a pile of pillows on the floor with Lando with his head on her belly, his arms lazily around her waist, seeming to be in a heavy sleep. The pink neon lamp was the only source of light in the room, she probably would get a bad headache for it later. He looked at her, awkwardly, with the PS remote in one hand and the other on the door's handle "What..." "He fell asleep" "I can see it" "Please don't wake him up" "I..." he looked at the television in the living room and back to her and walked into the other room, closing the door and sitting next to her on the floor "Are you sure you don't want to wake him up?" "No" "You look very uncomfortable" "Yeah, a bit. But it's okay" 'What the fuck was wrong with her? Who in the world could be that nice? Especially with his mate who wasn't the man of the year for her' Max thought. "Or you're dumb or you really like Lando" he said playfully trying to discover what she was hiding below that nice and lovely window dressing. She only chuckled in response, a tired air. 'What could it be...?' he tried to read her face, she wanted to spill something out, she wanted to cry, but why?

She was there with Lando for hours, he could hear them laughing and talking, what could possibly have happened? Did someone catch feelings? Did he reject her? If yes, why did she let him sleep on her body? Was he sleeping or she made him sleep with something? Cause he was sleeping so deeply and Lando didn't sleep so hard, so peacefully as he was now in years. Or had she thrown something on him and... And then he realized! He moved his gaze to her "Did he tell you about the sleeping problems?" "Yes, he did" she said shortly as she wanted to avoid the question, cause if she didn't she would start spilling everything out. He nodded in acknowledgment. She sniffed, put her book down, and finally started to speak "It's just..." she had her eyes waved "He's 22" he looked at her, a bit confused "So?" "He wasn't supposed to have sleeping problems. He wasn't supposed to wake up in the middle of the night full of anxiety because had a bad dream about the camera's flash lights" She was about to cry and he couldn't let her "Hey, don't cry. I know it's hard for him and it's heartbreaking to watch it from so close, but he also chose it. It was his choice and he loves racing even with those... inconveniences" she sniffed, swallowing the tears and nodding "Yeah, I know" she dried the few tear drops that rolled down her face and finally faced Max "Isn't ironic how we waste our youth to guarantee an uncertain future?" "And at the end, we actually don't even really live" "Exactly" "Yes. Freaking ironic" he touched her shoulder "We all are going to be happy at the end" "Thanks for your supportive words, Max" "I got your back, girl" she smiled without showing her teeth and he did the same. "When he wakes up tell me. I have a few scores to brag about" She chuckled "Okay" "Okay" he stood up to leave. She dried her face again, now completely, and caressed his blondish curls "You deserve better" she whispered more to herself than to him "Way better...." and opened her book again.

He had told her about the sleeping problems, but not only. He slipped about Luisa as well. She said she didn't like that. He said he'd change for her and then the subject died.

...

Later that day:

"I am leaving already" she stated "Wait!" He held her wrist. In her wildest dreams, he would ask her to stay the night, like a couple would do "Don't want me to take you back to London?" but in reality, he offered himself to take her back to make sure she was not even thinking about staying the night "I can take an uber" "I can't let you take an uber this hour. Plus, it'll cost you a fortune" "Fine" he chuckled "Will take a wee and grab the keys" then deposited a kiss on her forehead "Okay. Gonna wait outside" "Good". "BYE, MAX" she shouted and walked to the garage. She leaned on the car then heard footsteps behind her, it was Max "Max! Hi" "Hey... Came to say goodbye" "Very thoughtful of you" "Sure you don't want to stay? It's late already " "I would like to, but Lando wouldn't so ..." "I live in here too, if I want I can invite you to a sleepover" she chuckled "You're too sweet. But I don't want trouble" he licked his lips and lowered his tone "Look, I probably shouldn't be telling you this but... you're a good girl and you deserve more than that" "That what?" "Lando" "hum?" "If you're looking for a serious thing, he is not the guy for you" "Oh..." she swallowed "Thanks for letting me know" he nodded "I'm back. What's going on here?" "Drive safely, and call me if you need something" "Thanks, Max" "Bye bye" "Bye" "Let's go".

The way back to London was quiet, the sound of the radio filled the void that her pathetic soul left in the vehicle:

'Don't play games

Don't play games with my heart, ooh-wee

Now the feels hit me differently

When they hittin' this deep, don't play'

"Are you tired?" Lando asked 'Yes, of your games' she thought "A bit" "Why don't you sleep a little?" "You don't mind?" "No, it's fine" "Okay" she wasn't even that sleepy, but the last thing she wanted in that moment was to interact with Lando. She leaned her head on the window and listened to the song:

'All the things you doin', yeah

I think I've seen it all before

Seen it, seen it all before, ah

Everything you're sayin'

Yeah, I think I've heard it all before

Yeah, heard it all before'

"Want me to turn off the radio?" 'Oh, no. It was the perfect song for that moment' she told herself "You don't have to. I like this song" "Alright, then"

'If you don't give me your time

Then I ain't givin' you mine, huh

If you're gonna lie

Then I'ma say "goodbye"

Every game you're playin'

Yeah, boy, I've played them all before

And I win 'em all'

So fucking perfect timing. Like a Heavenly advice directly for her.

...

Almost an hour later they were back at her place "Hey, princess" he caressed her hair "We're at your castle" She woke up, stretched, and looked at him "Thanks for the ride" "My pleasure. Thanks for the amazing day. I thought everything was fucked up but it was... perfect" she smiled 'for how many girls did you say that?' she thought "Well, I am going now" "Sure" she unclipped the security belt and noticed something "Oh! Your hoodie" "Keep it. Looks good on you" she smiled "Thanks" she already was opening the car door but he stopped her "I don't get a kiss?" she leaned toward him and gave him a brief kiss on the lips "Goodnight, Lando" "Goodnight, beautiful" "Drive safely" "Alright". She closed the car's door and then walked to the building where she lived, maybe sleeping would kill that whole confusion inside of her.

A few days later

London to Woking, England:

She was pissed with herself. She promised not to do it anymore. Driving from London to Woking just to see him. At least not just because he asked her to.

The things that she heard the last time she was there still resonated in her mind

...

Flashback:

"So? What do you think about Navillera?" "I actually enjoyed it" "Really?" "Yeah. The main character guy actually dances really well" "Glad you liked" he smiled "Hum. I was thinking...." "What?" "You know..." Lando started while they still ate pizza in his room "I... I want to be honest with you" "So be honest with me" "I am seeing someone else" "Oh! Why?" "I enjoy meeting people" he shrugged "Hum" "Don't be like that. We're still knowing each other!" "Who?" "You and I, Luisa and I..." fuck. He spilled her name accidentally. She lowered her gaze "Couldn't you... stop doing that?" "Seeing her?" "And any other people you're seeing" he didn't like that whole thing of honesty. He was practicing for less than 3 minutes and it was already ruining all of his benefits. Fuck that. "Well, you're not my girlfriend, and Imma a single man, so I can see whoever I want to" she nodded "Hum, that's right" she was ready to open her mouth and say she was not going to be part of it, but he noticed. The way she retracted her body and her jaw tensed denounced her. His ego noticed he was losing her, like he suspected when that idea of telling her the truth popped into his mind for the first time. So he lied "But I think I can do that for you" "Excuse me?" "You worth it, I'll stop seeing her for you" she smiled, softly "Really?" "Yes. And whoever you want me to stop seeing" Her body relaxed, and he knew he had her back "Alright" he smiled, then leaned to peck her lips. "Can I lay here? It seems comfortable" He pointed to her belly "Sure".

....

Present time:

For some reason, she believed in his words, but Max bombarded her with the truth hours later: "If you're looking for a serious thing, he is not the guy for you".

And to make things even worse, he was seen with a girl in London 2 days after their date. Thanks The Sun, for taking off the son of a bitch's mask.

Shit, shit, shit, shit! What the fuck was wrong with him? But one thing she knew for sure, she wasn't going to tolerate any lies. She already had too many of this type in her life in the past. It had to end.

Woking, England

Lando's place

They were in his kitchen. She was sitting on a bench on the island staring at the floor, thinking how she was going to end things with him. He was chopping fruits to make a smoothie. "Are you in a bad mood today?" "No" "You seem to be" "I'm not" she kept looking at the floor "I don't believe you" "That's not my problem" he placed the knife down "Can you please tell me what's wrong?" "Do you want to know what's wrong?" "Yes, please" "I'm sick of you!" "What?! What have I done now?" "You keep playing with me as if you actually want something more than just physical!" "I…" "You think I don't see it, right? You think I don't notice that fake innocence you pretend when I am around... Those beautiful lies you say to me" he moved to be in front of her "You need to stop saying shit and calm down" "I AM NOT FUCKING CALMING DOWN!".

He widened his eyes "I am done with this" "This?" "You. And whatever shit you're planning. Go find another idiot for being your toy. Oh, hold on, you already have it! Tones of them, right?" He stepped closer "I like to be with lots of girls to take away the pain" "Good for you" "You do this to me. You make me feel less sad. I don't like to play with you, is just... Is hard to think about you leaving and me staying alone" "Why do you even care? You have a big list of girls who want to be in your bed" "Gosh… why this now? Haven't I told you I was going to stop seeing other girls?" "I don't believe you... Tabloids denounced you. 1 day, Lando. That's how long you kept your promise" he kept silent, he was caught in his white lies "Guess we both are just looking for different stuff" "Oh!" "I mean, we can't continue with that foreplay if we're not going to actually play" "Alright" he stepped even closer "I just like to have you around" he touched her face "Lando..." "Okay" It hurt her that all he wanted was what she had between her legs "Guess I am leaving, then" "Okay" she smiled at him awkwardly and made her walk of the shame towards the door. He didn't want to give up on her, he really didn't, so when she passed him, he grabbed her wrist, stopped her, stood up, and in a smooth movement pulled her to him, kissing her deeply and desperately. She responded as euphoric as him, taking his cap off to place her hands on his curls, pulling it, and scratching his nape lightly. Did he get her back? No. Cause she pushed away and handed him his cap, with a smirk on her face "Don't wear it back to front it looks boyish" and just like that, she left "Bitch" he cursed, of course, she won.

One week later:

McLaren Technology Centre, Woking, England

It wasn't easy, but Lando took her off his mind. In parts. Just a bit. The point was, he only thought about her sometimes, mainly when Daniel was around which made him take his distance from him just for a while. It was working well, for example, he was in a sim session for Arabia and Abu Dhabi and wasn't thinking about her. Progress! He rocked in the sim and was going to have his well-deserved lunch in his safe space: McLaren Technology Centre. He was so confident and cool that he might even sit with Daniel for lunch. Because she wasn't on his mind. "You will never buy my love" he hummed the song that played on the night they kissed for the first time in that club in Italy and it was all fine. She was not on his mind. Or was... cause the first thing he saw when stepped into the cafeteria was her pretty frame sitting across Daniel, smiling at something he said. He could deal with it. He could pretend he didn't see it and eat somewhere else, the building was enormous. Yes, he could eat at the rooftop. Catch some Sun, appreciate the beautiful view of Woking, and let the wind mess up his hair. She wouldn't take all his thoughts. He wouldn't let her. But she did and he let her, cause a cloud 9 of her, everything he avoided for the past week, hit him hard. And he couldn't move, which was the perfect opportunity for to Daniel see him standing there and call him "Hey, Lando!" "Fuck" he thought and politely and very artificially, smiled at his teammate. "Come here mate!" she half-turned her body to spot him and smiled as if that conversation never existed. "Oh yes, she won again" he thought, sighing and walking towards their table "Hey, guys..." he said awkwardly, she put her fork down and smiled "Hi! How was the simulator?" how did she know about the sim? Daniel probably told her, of course, but... Has she asked about him? He faced her, she looked even smaller looking from above. She looked adorable seeming smaller than she already was. She would look even more adorable if he realized it naked. If he had those thoughts about how adorable she was looking at her from above with her on her knees, sucking him, with all her softness, with her tongue sliding down his length and... there was he thinking about her again. He couldn't even move again. He cleaned his throat "Hum, yeah... It was good. Nailed it" he tried to look as casual as possible, but when she opened a warm smile and said "Of course you nailed it, it's you" he couldn't help but blush.

"Seems you have a fan, mate" Daniel grinned "Thanks..." he said almost inaudibly "Want to sit with us?" How could he say no? It was everything fucked up already "Sure..." "Great! I will grab you a chair" Daniel said a little too much excited. Poor Daniel had been avoided for weeks already "I can do it mate" "No, no it's no problem at all! You were invited, I grab it" he said already standing up "Alright, then..." "Will be back in a minute" How he had a smile on his freaking face every day? She smiled at Lando and grabbed the fork to continue eating again. Silence. Should he say something? Crap! "Hum... are you alright?" "Yeah" she swallowed her food "And you?" "I'm fine thanks" he was fine before seeing her "Still living in London?" "Oh you know, fifth-fifth" "Amsterdam?" "Yes, have been working in different cities of The Netherlands" "Oh, that's cool!" "Yes. And you? How things are?" "Pretty much the same..." he faced his shoes "Nothing new" "Really?" "Quite boring" "Want to go out someday? Dance a bit?" what was she intending to do? "Hum… like a club?" "Sure! You can invite Max, Tom, Connor, and whoever you want to" No. He definitely couldn't "You know, it has the end of the calendar so I don't think I can..." "And after Abu Dhabi?" "I'm going on vacation with some friends" Where was Daniel with the damn chair? She nodded "Still impossible to take you out" he chuckled "Still irresistible" he thought "I am a busy man" she grinned dissatisfied "Do well in Arabia for me, then" "Okay" if she probably asked Daniel about him and was asking him to going out, it meant she wanted him, right? At least a little bit. So he won.

He felt invincible. He felt so proud of himself that he didn't even notice Daniel arriving "Here's your chair mate" "Thanks, Dan" and he felt so invincible that he didn't notice her grabbing her phone "Someone is in the cellphone during lunch" she smiled "Giaro is texting me" he made an Italian gesture with his hands "Giaro" she repeated his movement "We don't do it every time we speak something in Italian" he laughed "How is him?" "Good. Want me to go with him to Greece" "Greece. Fancy. Where in Greece?" "Santorini. Seems Giaro can't stay away from the Mediterranean" Lando watched them "To contextualize you, she is friends with Giaro, I don't know what he does for a living, but he's a good-looking Italian guy with nice, soft, glowing hair" she giggled at the description "He's a model" "Anyhow, he's always traveling to somewhere nice and always invite her and she always says no cause she has to work." Daniel looked at her again "You should go!" then looked back to his teammate "Tell her she should go!" Lando looked at her, so after moving on from him, she was interested in a good-looking Italian model? "If she wants to" he shrugged pretending he didn't care. She looked at Daniel "I don't know. You asked me to..." "Forget about Abu Dhabi, go to Santorini. I am uninviting you!" he invited her to Abu Dhabi?? And now uninvited her?! "Go get laid in a fancy hotel room in Santorini" and now he told her to fuck with the guy with nice hair?? Come on Daniel! You will be avoided for one more week for this. His confidence was washed away by those comments. Comments that Daniel himself chuckled just as she did "Okay" and she just agreed. Perfect. Everything he wanted and needed. He couldn't let it happen.

"Stop pressing her Daniel" they looked at him "I just want her to have a great time. That's fair pressure" She'd have a great time with him, the great time he turned down just a few minutes ago. "Well, guys. My turn on the sim. Thanks for coming, love. Feel free to finish your meal, I text you later" "Okay" "You're in great company" Lando smiled at him "Bye bye" he hugged her. So, it was only the both of them. A killer silence while she ate her vegetables and Lando played with his pizza "Greece huh?" "Yes. It's been a while since I've been there" "Greece is great" "True" "Are you really going to Santorini instead of Abu Dhabi?" "Maybe. Why?" "Just trying to establish a conversation" "Oh, alright! Do you think I should go?" "Do you want to?" "Yeah, I'm needing a break. Holidays just exhausted me" "So I think you should" "So I will then" "Good for you" she smiled politely trying to ignore his rudeness. He didn't feel invincible anymore "It will make you feel good. You will swim, sunbathe, drink cocktails, sleep with the Italian good looking guy..." he teased her. She looked at him "Yeah" "Of course you will..." he chuckled, bitter. She knew it all was because of Giaro "I would not only on one condition" she said challengingly "Which is...?" "If you were there" "I..." he mumbled "I will be at the last GP of the season. In Abu Dhabi" "Such a shame" she joked, he laughed, insincere cause she won once more. He knew she had cause if she hadn't he wouldn't find himself buying airplane tickets to Santorini.

#f1 #l4ndo #lando norris #lando norris f1 #lando norris fanfic #lando norris imagine #f1 fanfic #f1 imagine

9 notes · View notes

nekyn-alb · 1 year ago

Text

Lies of P Demo: Gameplay and Style Review

Style and Narrative

The game looks excellent, from small clutter to massive building fronts. Every street corner is packed with traces of human life ripped apart by the puppet uprising without being stuffed, floating furniture or badly aligned windows are rare, although they do exist here and there. That's completely fine, it happens in every game and often more obviously than here.

Areas are interconnected nicely, although not particularly complex so far. Being able to climb to another level here and there and not dying for jumping off a low roof is good fun.

The hub is not too large, has a lovely atmosphere, and you can see from the stargazer teleport which (additional?) NPCs are in it. Being able to groove with sad tunes is a great design choice. When talking to NPCs however, I have to ask: why can't I talk to them from any direction and why do they take such long pauses between their lines when every other readable prompt disappears two seconds too early?

In many aspects, I find the game too derivative of Bloodborne. Blatantly so, to be honest. Stalkers are hunters, puppets are beasts, both appear to be bereft of humanity. Workshops are workshops, Sophia is a firekeeper (with standard greeting!), the petrification disease stands in for a beast plague driving victims mad, the aesthetic and layout of the city is vaguely adjacent to Yharnam--not gothic of course, but bridges and plazas and carriages and boxes are all so strongly reminiscent that I sometimes felt like recognizing Cleric Beast's bridge, Gascoigne's summoning spot or Arianna's alley. Ergo and otherworldly materials will probably develop into an alien influence adjacent to BB's Great Ones and the arcane cosmic.

But don't fret, the original story elements possess some intrigue of their own. Next to the mystery of maddened puppets, it appears we will come across fairy-like influences that explain the origin of Geppetto's automaton vision, which has been wiped from at least two puppets' minds.

The petrification disease could also be interesting. I am not sure if it comes from the puppets yet, maybe an influence of their ergo, but having more cause of chaos than brutal mayhem is always good.

I always love me a good critique of large companies, so the different depictions of how they influence Krat's life on the large and small scale are welcomed. Soulslikes tend to struggle to put meaning behind their copies, but here I can already posit theories, like the struggle representing P's drive to gain a speck of humanity.

Hooray for making the dingy Daedalians blow up, boo for implying that Venigni is going to be a rad wheel-spinning robogrinder instead of the greedy loser he is meant to be. Knowing the genre, he's probably going to end up mad anyways though.

P should be voiced. No reason not to, really. He is a character with development, not a blank slate. FromSoft allowed Sekiro to speak, you don't have to cling to other titles' concepts.

Gameplay

So you don't think I'm just salty, here's my Souls Cred (I'm a bit proud of these, fight me): Finished DS1, DS3, BB, Sekiro & Elden Ring, the middle three several times, and recently beat DS3+Ashes at SL1. I gave up on my BL4 and No Beads Runs halfway through because I hate getting one-shot. On my first playthrough, I beat every (and I mean every) ER boss bar five in less than 10 tries. I like these games a lot and would like to believe that I know what I'm talking about.

Let's start with the compliments!

Enemies appear in plentiful sizes and shapes with interesting models and varied move sets. Regular puppets have a fun amount of health and deal dangerous but not overwhelming damage.

P's quickly unlocked weapons are equally versatile, even if they only seem to have two light/heavy attacks each. For the most part, they feel appropriately weighty and I never noticed a swing being too fast or slow. Reassembling weapon parts can be strange because the handle determines the moveset, so a blunt mace head might adopt a rapier's quick stabs. Funny enough to not be off-putting.

P himself moves adequately well. He doesn't slip too easily from the thin catwalks bridging Krat's roofs and turns quickly. Same for the camera, this is the first game in a while where I didn't crank the sensitivity up to 8.

Dogs don't teleport. Good dogs.

I skimmed most of the tutorials because they are just Souls mechanics, but they do a fine job of explaining the basics. Being able to see that you have enough ergo by the number becoming blue is a wonderful idea.

The skills seem to be fairly extensive and might allow for a solid build once you get far enough. They should be unlocked earlier though.

There is a rewarding amount of items strewn throughout the world and even the frequent sawtooth cog drops feel nice. It's cool to have something to trigger traps with from afar!

Dropping ergo in front of the boss room is very kind and a good conclusion when you hand the player infinite homeward bones with the watch.

I like the pulse cell regain through attacking. Could go a bit faster though, you don't have that many to begin with.

And now we get to the detailed negatives, much of which comes down to the ever-maligned frame data.

Parrying needs a few more frames. Maybe guard should linger on its own instead of being spammable. Since they basically do not have to recover after a parry, slower weapons get one hit in, then they strike again and hyper armor through anything, even charged heavy attacks. This does not feel good by being unresponsive to player actions. Where's my reward for nailing three perfect parries in a row? And why do I sometimes take damage after I get the SUCCESS vibration and ping? Even red attacks shouldn't knock me down and punish me for perfect parrying.

Perhaps there should also be an indicator like Sekiro's red kanji, whose fading tells you when to act. The red sparks only tell you that a special attack is coming sometime in the next five seconds. Subverting Sekiro's kanji into not being able to dodge the red attack is also an odd choice, since you can dodge it with proper spacing. Without mikiri counter or jumps it only leaves parrying, and again, odd choice. The game didn't need this feature, considering…

Dodge has no travel distance and struggles to actually dodge. I am fine with limited iframes, but if I can't move out of an enemies range with two dodges, I question why I even have the ability. Another factor for the insufficient dodge is how little Capacity improves your carry weight. If I want to stay under 29% for a somewhat acceptable dodge, I can't use a club AND armor pieces. The legion arm was thrown right out because of how heavy it is.

Strongly delayed attacks a la Elden Ring are just annoying. Malfunctioning puppets have an actual reason for doing it, but it's not natural. You have to memorize attack patterns instead of reacting to them. Waiting three seconds for an attack to come down in an instant feels weird.

The waiting game makes for a lackluster combination of Bloodborne and Sekiro. There need to be larger windows between attacks for heavy weapons and less recovery after striking back.

The weapon durability system isn't very appealing to me. The game moves too fast for this tactical element, which would work better in something paced like earlier Souls titles. Bouncing off the opponent with everything, including weapon arts, is bad. That's not how durability works or should be represented. Just make me deal less damage instead of stealing my turn for surviving until the end of the fight. You also forget about it because the areas are too short for your weapon to degrade noticeably.

The stronger watchmen feel like they have too much health (I was level 30 with a balanced build + rapier at the end). Not a lot too much, but their resistance could be lowered for more enjoyable mini bosses inbetween areas of enemies.

Dummy traps could last about 1.5 seconds less.

Why do you only get rally on chip damage? There is no lore reason like in Bloodborne, and I doubt there could be any that would make sense for it to be restricted to blocked attacks. Enemies (bosses!) should not have access to rally, period.

Enemies feel like they have block or jagged models/boxes that won't let me pass. When P collides with them, they stick instead of sliding past each other, which often meant that I was stuck right in the enemy's weapon arm. This is particularly obnoxious with long-limbed bosses, who will just trap me with their left arm and attack with the right. Because of the long dodge recovery, I can't adjust after this happens either.

Why are there six enemies with what appears to be instant parry next to each other? Give that to one or two in a group, otherwise you'll be ganked (completely fine) and an attempt to strike back after parrying one enemy will be punished.

Watchman Paarl leaves shock traps that sometimes hit you as soon as you get up, making it an unnecessary double punishment. He also has two very fast attacks with barely any windup that are inconsistent with his regular attack speed (and another fast one that winds up for about 2.5 seconds). Since all his strikes are either right-left windup while crouching or standing, they and the grab are difficult to distinguish.

Since all his larger attacks place him right on top of you (slams and Sonic slam), he can just combo any attack from there and hits. The grab often caught me because of our models sticking together when I tried to dodge after such a slam or a shock trap. The grab also reaches too far and has unintuitive windup-followup, which messes with dodge timings too hard for an early enemy.

Speaking of shock traps, the radial burst with random lightning bolts surrounded by a ring of lightning doesn't feel fair. Where am I supposed to dodge with my half-inch frolicking steps? Run startup is too long to flee, what fires first is hard to foresee. And when he decides to do another Paarl burst right after, which doesn't have the appropriate charge before blowing up, you've just eaten three to five attacks without seeing any of them.

I enjoyed my time a lot, some improvements and this'll be a great game!

#nekyn talks #lies of p #lies of p demo #lies of p spoilers #review

4 notes · View notes

libidomechanica · 4 months ago

Text

Untitled Composition # 12124

A tanka sequence

Gone ere Robert come forth, like to the fort, a ship with this helpless breasts. But him, her house, four naked to lift him upward its ash.

But now to speak? Would ye have known rustic town set in a bigger. A piano at her eye-lids droop’d, her eyes can your glory.

A bargain dress off their own. Do melt as I! To call his own. He played; and one would quit the same time and the rhyme, the face, prepare.

Saw not fall could not keep, nor my weak arm disperse the New Testament is, come I will collection move, a flower in spring.

To the trouble free. And fashion and debauchery, with joyes increase in me? Besides love, like pretty price to draw this circle.

The hour of despair from ruin and our dayes: whose power to answers the palace gleams. And lays the earth; a chair wept bitterness.

The rain is with half alcohol, to that I had despise. But each within. Can overwhelmed the heart had ached to hear of their own.

Your vows, had given us letter, whose lover, and your minds, our bodies merely suppliant and his cheek; a kiss nor look be lost.

A golden, shows the mountains overhead and his close for miles and ears, and even condescended of an acting now? Look!

Compare the same. But do not so, I am all as well expressly foretold, dying, the land and purge the glass, so little man.

Love makes me wish you might be blotted: but after every line and anguish seize his own: the brown paper. Went forth a gem; to see.

She though heere are plants that soon as breath finds you gone. For he was up and up, to be in the just plea by some face I recognize?

The Tory, a dinner to half to thee. In the dawn of day: these last shone the forbid. If you desire, and long by the fields.

Sought he said, sleepy one? Saved from troubled like a better in a rainbow wroth, life and I—too late, with my hands, not only gleaned.

Love and hoisted up his tears: alas! Little birds, that stared as blank. Ere this, resumed and filthy head till my arms, which I let drop.

A crimination. If from above, but a trick to my heart, and feelings keep piling upon mine armour beauty would not die.

Of shepheards all, there did lye, with love’s first time a hundred-year sleep. Or judge of better, snowed it down as in a thin and freedom.

Now, sun, look, then I was wont to be discharged of the jasmine and event. And in the scene is youth to view, are loth to mount her.

The queen cried aloud. And, since she lovely-head! Dies with reason: then we fall out I know not,—only this: they have no bitter sea.

It feels right: such pierlesse painted in the Frick which each man love he gains his captains of the ravish’d bride of grief. My faith reward.

Which they doe as they bore himself on that spatter heaven, or yet in her cheerfuller? How each field of counsels deep, never growe.

Sweetness and all her wheel exterminated and sorrow? And there could be the brighter with his knife carved the feast; and for your truth.

The crew to be sent with us in the earth in vain on me. I built up a pile of best, Being so overwrought, I meant this.

A sunbow’s arc above the door. Thus in a thin and novice in delighted, for I know. To take the hall; and whispers, I wait.

While I’m asleep on which he could not nap or lie in sleep were stay because my lips into the world will ever call me Papa.

Of the bride with that dark procession! Eyes nurtured by the straw into gold? Sent and loved but you but you until the bargain made.

Heard melodie so when love the priestly race. Catkins of roses free he fed; lasses, like a marble floor, his brow chalcedony.

I took my staff stood upon the sturdy slaves, a sleeping maid; like Dian and with a flitting her women; certain woman. Rich.

She made him quite a scoff; and wett your tracks? I would quit the short, the parting maid; like Dian and here all women, calling your neck.

Doth emulation was. We drank a health, in heavier wreath of chosen friend, because of Her, salámán have no recompense.

My curls about the cost, chose an ungrateful ground, taking its sunny bank the comfort Him. She had taught the town knows its boughs! Fault.

Consider a girl who keeps slipping off you. If they are grown, it made him quiet, my faithlesse Rosalind, and marvelled, lo!

Again, when cursed NO stain’d by a truce, begins with such familiarly do I perceive her alone. Thy eyes and the flat common.

Went form, dost tease us out of Night. From on high, beginning that in an ear-shaped cone to mine eyes, my love no frown can fright me.

Where that had drunk in the hill? Oh pardon, I am trying to the morn when, tired with tears have lost in other year of waking!

Thus in secret sent, the rainsoaked garbage, the end of the flowers, and plucked the land and hairs of words you gone. When will woo ye.

With thy beautiful amid the offence, he showe? As fast as this tract again until I noticed one by one, a neighborhoods.

For he should nor could love. Weakness, staring wide with ugly rack on his gains. Cannot live: tell her glory also, and all but me.

That answer ere they surveyed. The longer envying the mournful thought it is his mother’d in my cups the will glances let me go.

Things that it is told. And I will not beware. Ye know on earth, and smell it, and brave; but since and I could give it a clumsy name.

For there appeared. Love disdained, and in the well-built with my hand of negligence; the ravishers were express her character with&.

Yours is the rival chance to your chance to travelling asleep, and nettled that she composed her flight. So he didn’t pick the rich reward.

There arms of the rose from those jacks so happy love! In oil of roses were twinkling winds and never passed, and now delight; but ah!

Hills echoèd. The sun, his wind-tossed hand that whene’er I went out the height, Powers above, the joy of my smarts, that it both in bed.

Ah, my Anthea! Came from Greenwich hither had a certain, would he turn’d when I entered with their souls resolved he said the time.

Suits some host to purchase female gear; he brought. Declining scales, the rain is with her eyes. And to fight, doe make that soft-luring crown.

Making of his face. And showed the nuptial day, prepared them forward a dry radius describes form seemingly very ears were.

One part Doppelganger. If ever marked by reason, owe, Stay, see the trees refused the light were their oars, and when we met first days.

It in a gleaming river’s crescent orange shirt for aid, confused by me, thou consumed. The end again, without discriminal.

Then wake in one; shine on her breath, I tie the Knot; and art not think. And may the tedious, but with shining in May. They restored.

’St thou bestowing. Shall I my undoing much deplore, since sorrow. Fair, grew in such she seemed, but for a boy was he to blame?

The kindly season of the rack and I turn our house, four naked breast down her and sea. I was abandoned out by the things deem’d.

Broken its grey line there was awake all my heart of June? Have traded life when you your skin growings, still that, that it was restored.

In May. But all was quiet: from Galesus change beyond memory clings to keep my mind liked an error of the rainbow frill?

To see a woman, like a girl, for on my face; the shadow pay? And joyous wood the ghastly Wraith of one that mine was too late.

Joined in the man. Husband, and still plain defend them not. The heart. A kiss on your cream here’s a zone colder yet than living lips.

Such a handkerchief so wet it is clear. Own not what I can give you there mayet thou no form of welcome homely, as I have said!

As chearful as you trouble free. Growing what happen to mellow, and heave, as if by the hostile ship already play the mind.

And unruffled moonlight, alone, and, constant stars go over the same time it splits—half for each seam gleams. And Agamemnon dead.

And never an end. Lady Blanche’ she said, Tis now bestowed; they had chanced that all his tardy day: by this means I may be vain!

It seems to chew the entrance, each touch they seem’d to cling to pay the time is come upon a chair wept bitterness. Their del’cat smell.

Unless you cool me with mourning crowd of state, while the way you look at a strange. My faith and fair in face, excelling in effect.

No doubt his burthens binde. Because no fault, there made, thou dost rove there’s strawberries. Cupid, as his corpse, to find my wandring thee?

I look the gifts; he said, and Lady Psyche’s pupils. Woman, weaving mine, lass, in mine, you know, but every act pertaining swords.

Of his, whase only paid, tell me then, come out to your final sign thy dear concern. Let me and deprived of flight. Wood where their place.

Would not falsifie. She rose: and from hanging couple all to stray, and her faire which other’s forming care, and thin, her ravished dame.

Our form improve, but I am over the trysted hour! Take the sunlight fades away, if like a stock than living next to him.

He was a piteous thing, where the silvery koi swishings, had tempt the northern downs in clearer air ascend the various points.

If ever to remained more: a thousand beat, so, lover! The rich dare complaining others false New England forgave the perfume.

Dales of Arcady? If all who cannot keep at such art as truth, truth beauty I remember, through thou canst thou wilt be my ain.

But if their surfaces with his lighted sailors tried to root, their heads of sticks, then hastening. Many a coral grove, This I sealed.

This flesh of mine more that breezy shade dight gaudy Girlonds, was he shouldst stay! Went, a squire will—with chearful, while I stop, not decreed.

Had from their souls to pick. On softer earth, where either hand; exciting a ding, ding; sweet voice most lov’d at such a height of a son.

It gouges out in evening. To thee resort; where, and youth, beneath secure his brother’s holiday, that it both in it at all.

Stand the people from the fool confined each doore, ere the most new babies, as ugly as a grape. Rank thought o’ Mary Morison.

Search, sun, and thy cheek open. When you your sleeping maid; like Dian and her figures in a year when every motion sound; by love?

Though the sun was strawberries. Because of thine; for we hold Thee just, strike your chanced that he liued, was damn’d to the law of your dwarf.

The ruling rod, the tree when I did behold at home. The call, and looked at me a little grave, o there is not palsy or booze.

Therefore I loved the native night: the father’s light. Were not aspire, nor less thrice-turned towards the lily, unheeded the bitter sea.

Then Cymon’s back in his heard nor saw: tho’ this wit the primrose flowering down in meshes of life before peopled with tears. Oh!

Doe make love be love. I found that I was gone who sits and children— happier far could you too. His others, will stay on your truth.

You are old and in my arms with somewhat of dignity. When all the shocks my daintye Daysies dight, to lay his thunder’d at the bed.

His body now alone that hour, with whom so long low sibilation, delicate-stepping stand! I am eighteen inches high.

All the air, seekes for something to post with pain the cost of prisoner to her garden. And now that mind whelps at the animals.

Can see, my father’s service do, mayest thou thy skill to endure what is tame, and fortunes lot the rising sun, then given its own.

They whose shadows lay in a man, compare the future fears; for your own, a thin file of ants. Here. And the November of the pit.

He laid down his ardent wish without sigh or tears, so long, but is got up, and when to the stage. A certain what thyself in two.

All naked, playing with her face for such things which tenacious how to pleasures which they dimpl’t wi’ a smiling air. And lovely-head!

Leave his supreme delightes with their own! With Cyril and with arrowy smart; it is a monster of her brothers made me blinds.

—You may remember yet, which other. But he was in the dust; we are not; the sword enured to bite the massive weapons fly.

The God of shepherded down starch halls with his tiny as an earphone with this mortals, love you ended I had been shedding day.

And by proof they are overfed. Myself will not be but signified: the first shall we for the Spring, hardly whence the flowers.

Chafing me back again. The first shall not, made green gleam of dewy- tasselled trees, made my heart of his fathers are waking now?

He kisses are fully pleasures doth repent, but a shore, waiting always of sun had seen her bow. In comin by the ward too.

And rain was sapped; and long by the coward bold; the land at my place. How the pavement thrown, somewhat like an arm of well-refined pen.

And the gift wherefore I lie tendency of burning friends, the great, it seemed to give me one; nay in my soul. Lay your silence.

Loved of more and sweeping fire you must like an arm of eminence mongst them, dear Jane! All the downward cast; and taught one to walk here.

#poetry #automatically generated text #Patrick Mooney #Markov chains #Markov chain length: 7 #163 texts #tanka sequence

0 notes

forsworned · 3 years ago

Text

[♥] collegeau! to date or not to date {rengoku kyoujurou x reader}

Genre: Comedy, Slight Fluff, Slight Sensual Themes

Categories: F/M

Relationships: Renguko Kyoujorou/Reader

Word count: 2,791

a/n: continuation of unintentionally roomates which you can find here ,,requests are open

➽────────────── ────────────── ──────────── ❥

It had been some weeks since she had gotten used to Kyoujurou being her roommate. So far neither of them had walked in on each other naked--yet. He was pretty tidy and would call her out in a teasingly kind of way that she'd sleep with her mouth wide open which made her pretty insecure, but he insisted it was "very cute." Which didn't make it any better. He could concur that it probably wasn't a good idea to show her the picture he had taken of her (he actually would look at it when he was having a bad day or he just wanted a good laugh; he also nearly made it his homescreen but decided that was maybe a little too far).

Mid-terms would be coming up soon and Kyoujurou wanted to do something fun before all the stress would settle in from piles of homework assignments and study guides. He suggested that the both of them should go to the amusement park and [name] was more than delighted to go, but there was a small issue with this. She didn't know if it was a date or just them simply hanging out. He just brought it up so casually when they had just finished a round of Super Smash Bros. and [name] was trying her hardest not to be a flustered mess about it.

"Just ask him." Shinobu's usual singsong voice was now monotonous. She had had enough of [name]'s shit to say the least. Always inquiring about Kyoujurou since Shinobu and him had been in the same graduating high school class and friend group. Not to mention mid terms were coming up and pre-med was no joke.

[Name] visibly sulked at her friend's tone. She didn't like being a nuisance to Shinobu, even though it wasn't hard to irate her nerves, but this time she seriously needed help and Shinobu was being nothing less than unpleasant.

"Shinobuuuu," [Name] whined. "This is a big deal for me. Please give me advice and I won't bring it up ever again."

The ravenette's eyes darted to the [h/c] pleading gaze, and it was enough to make to [name] squeak. Shinobu let out a sigh before speaking.

"Fine," [name]'s expression brightened, but Shinobu's finger pressing into her forehead made it falter a little. "but you don't need to stop talking about him. Just do it a lot less. I need to focus on exams."

[Name] cheered in triumph and fist pumped into the air, which in turn made Shinobu laugh. She wanted to be there for [name] in anyway she could, just within some restrictions and limitations. Shinobu's face suddenly went gravely serious.

"So here's the game plan."

.❀。• *₊°。 ❀°

[Name] took a deep breath before looking at her reflection. Her outfit was subtle yet cute. A simple blue top and beige skort to prevent panty reveals yet still have the illusion of wearing a skirt. Hair was pinned and pulled back abover her neckline since the sun would be beating down and she wanted to take every precaution to avoid any excessive sweating. Make up was light to circumvent it from melting off her face. Yes, [name] was over meticulous because she was resolute in this hang out/date to be absolutely perfect. And if Kyoujurou had decided to reject her than at least she'd look hot getting her heartbroken.

He had already left over an hour ago since he had to tutor a student in history at the tutoring center. A work study job that he picked up to help cover his tuition and endlessly spoke about when he got back to his dorm when you two were winding down from your day.

[Name] spritzed her best perfume to all her pulse points to extend the life of her scent as it hit her body. She threw it in her bag along with her make up just in case she needed to freshen up. One last look in the mirror and she was finally off to her date, er, hang-out thingy.

The autumn air was irregularly warm and humid. Well, not irregular for Okinawa at least. It was a sub tropical climate which meant mild winters and the moist summers were what [name] favored most about it here.

As she walked out of the dormitory and into the student parking lot, she was nearly blinded by the blond tresses sitting on the bench. Like quite, literally blinded. The sun was bouncing off his fiery hair more than usual and it was causing [name] to squint at him when she approached him. For some reason (she had an exact reason being that she looked super hot), [name] felt bold, and advanced toward Kyoujurou with hands concealing his vision. He visibly tensed and she couldn't help but feel a smile tug at her lips.

"Guess who."

His body now relaxing at the sound of her voice and she felt the apples of cheeks rise into a grin against the palm of her hands. "[name], you're finally here!"

She released her hands as he got up to face her and his jaw went a little aslack as he oggled at her profile. [Name] was stunning, indeed. His adam's apple bobbed up and down as he dryily swallowed. His hair that was now pulled back in a high ponytail let his bangs frame his face beautifully, swayed in the small gust momentarily. She could've sworn that he was blushing at her, but then again it was quite hot...

"You look--um, quite sharp!" He stammered. Kyoujurou mentally socked himself in the face. Sharp? That was the best he could come up with?

[Name]'s expression was now in a state of bemusement before she laughed melodically. To him it was a beautiful melody that he always tried to sway out of her with corny jokes and memes. "Well, thank you Kyoujurou. You look quite sharp, too!"

[Name] wanted to die. She looked sharp? Sharp?! No, she looked Hot! With a capital freaking "H".

Nonetheless, [name] shook it off. She was determined to make this flawless even if it was off to a rocky start. Thankfully the ride to the amusement car was starting to make up for it. The both of them jammed to the playlist they had put together earlier and discussed which rides they were excited about most.

"$50?!"

"You really don't read things thoroughly do you, [name]."

[Name] ignored his attempt at poking fun at her. It was always like this whenever she freakishly exclaimed about information that was news to her, but had been there for well however long the inital post had been there for and Kyoujurou had always made it a point to call her out for it.

"Well, I can't make you pay for it." She deadpanned. And she absolutely meant it. Kind of. Not really. It would mean that it would technically be a date, right? Right? A guy paying always meant that it was a date. [Name] mentally nodded at herself reassuring herself.

"Well, that's too bad." He inserted his card into the chip reader and thanked the attendant while grabbing his receipt.

[Name] bit back a smile as they walked side by side into the park. "Well, I'm going to pay you back."

He looked at her with an uncharacterstically sultry gaze. "No, you are not."

His voice demanding, dropped an octave and it sent a shiver up her spine. [Name] would be lying to herself if she said that it didn't make the her stomach knot up. Kyoujurou pulled out his phone pointed it towards her, trying to get a good angle and lighting.

"Now, give me a smile!" He beamed in his usual cheery tone. [Name] smiled posing her usual peace sign as he clicked away at his phone. Had she just imagined that?

The day seemed to slip past them as they took pictures with their phones and disposal camera they bought at the one of the stands for a whooping $25. Which was a total rip off, but then again bottled water was $5. The pair were laughing as they looked through the pictures they had taken throughout their trip.

"Oh, no. You are not keeping this one." She reached over to tap the trash can on his phone screen to get rid of the terrible photo that was her inhaling funnel cake. But before she could, Kyoujurou moved his screen away from her as he chuckled at [name] getting flustered. There was no way he'd let her get away with such a cute picture.

"I am definitely going to be framing this as soon as we get back." And that made [name]'s face inflame in embarrassment and shock. She was definitely, not going to let him do that.

"You delete that, right. Now!" She tried her best to extend her arms in every which way Kyoujurou was flexing his arms out but to avail. [Name] knew she wasn't going to get her hands on his phone, but she kept leaning over in an attempt to get an advantage on his long arms. That was until she clambered into his lap, face first into his crotch.

Kyoujurou froze and his breath hitched as he lowered his arm down and let unholy thoughts pass through his head but he quickly shook them off. "A-are you alright, [name]?"

Nope, now [name] was definitely going to die. She slowly rose out of his lap and plopped back into her seat, trying her best not to make the situation even more awkward. She shot him a smile in a strive to shake off the graceless action of diving face first into the crotch of her crush.

"I'm all good." She took a deep breath before looking up at the darkening sky. Kyoujurou couldn't tell what she was thinking, but it looked almost as if she was unfazed which he was very thankful for.

"Let's go on the ferris wheel before we leave!" That snapped him out of his thoughts. A grin now making its way back onto his face and a sound of approval emitted from his lips. "Let's do it!"

.❀。• *₊°。 ❀°

[Name] snickered to herself as they entered the ferris wheel seating after letting several people ahead of them. It was all going according to plan, well, not the face planting into Kyoujurou’s lap. That was definitely not in the plan she and Shinobu had concocted.

“So, here the game plan.” Shinobu stated matter-o-factly. Her name were in a crouched position as if in a very important football team meeting. “You’re gonna look hot. Like I’m talking Jennifer’s Body hot. And then—“

”But i don’t have clothes like that.”

“Shut up. We’ll go shopping. And your make up has got to be perfect like I’m talking no melting off your face looking like the Corpse Bride. Oh, and you’re drowning yourself in sexy perfume every thirty minutes.”

”But I—“

”Speak out of line one more time and I’ll kick your ass.”

“Fine.”

“Back to what I was saying. You’re gonna take loads of pics start it off friendly and lighthearted and then bam! You get him on that ferris wheel and get your flirt on. End the night off with a kiss at the top of the ferris wheel.”

Shinobu was extremely gifted in giving pep talks and revving them up. Which was probably why she was captain of the cheer team at their university.

[Name] felt like she was a crazy high. She could practically run four miles nonstop with the attitude she had in that moment.

Shinobu and her high fived, one leg kicked up in to the air with the most triumphant looks on their faces. “We got this!”

She shook her head as if to shake away the thought.

”You, ok?”

She smiled at the slightly dampened Kyoujorou who’s cheek were tinted pink from the heat. Beads of sweat has slid down his temples, but that only seemed to add to his sex appeal.

”More than ok. I love ferris wheels. They’re so romantic.”

Those words left her lips and turned in a smile that was as sweet as candy. Kyoujurou’s heart leapt in his chest as he eyed her intently.

”You could say that.”

He done fucked up again. Kyoujurou wanted to kick his own ass at this point. Why was he so terrible at flirting? It made him look like he didn’t pick up any social cues at all. Which wasn’t entirely untrue. There were many times where Tengen would point out that a girl was being extremely flirtatious with him but it would simply go over his head. He would usually reject the notion claiming they were just being nice which in turn would lead to Tengen face palming. And he thought he was doing such a good job at the start.

The silence was deafening as they reached the top of the ride and it suddenly came to a jerking stop. The view was wondrous. The sun kissed at their faces and grazed the tops of trees and the peaks of roller coaster rides. Brightly colored lights flashed simultaneously down below, but [Name]’s stomach felt like it was caving in the longer she stared. Very romantic, indeed.

Her face must’ve looked a little green because Kyoujurou’s expression turned into a worried one. “You sure you’re okay, [name]? Have some water.”

She grabbed the bottle he handed to her and instead of water falling like she usually did, she pressed her lips against the same place his had been. Kyoujurou’s eyes widened in surprise as she absentmindedly guzzled his drink down and gave it back to him. His hands turning into fists as he flexed as hard he could to keep the warmth that was rising away from that region.

“Thanks.” She gasped. [Name] wiped her mouth with the back of her hand as she leaned back against the seat. So much for her game plan. She sighed to herself as she collected her thoughts. What difference would it make if she just told him right now.

”Kyoujurou.” The name left her lips so effortlessly. He loved the way she said his name. He would think about it mostly in the shower, but more innocently before he went to sleep.

He raised his eyebrows fully attentive now. She turned to face him as she leaned forward. A different look on her face. Soft and flustered. “I like you, a lot.”

His body stiffened for a moment and a cool breeze swooped past their longing gazes. The sudden realization had dawned upon him that those words weren’t just make believe. She had really uttered them into existence. He hadn’t noticed how close her lips were to his until he felt her minty breath fan against his nose. He didn’t pull away.

[Name] closed the distance between their lips and Kyoujurou instinctively leaned in more as soon as they made contact. His hand cupped her cheek to deepen the kiss and she sighed in delight. A smile now etched on her face had now infected him and he pulled away to look at her. He caressed her cheek as she giggled and he gazed her puzzled.

”Did I do something wrong?” If he kissed her wrong he definitely wanted to know. One thing about Kyoujurou was that he was always open to constructive criticism. She shook her head. The content look on her face still evident.

”Not at all.” She leaned in once more. “I just didn’t expect you to be so frigid.”

She giggled again at his surprised, yet embarrassed mien. However, [name] stopped giggling when she saw the determined look on his face.

”Well, I can do better.” He suddenly captured her lips and she instantly melted at his hot touch. His hand loosely on her waist and she moaned a bit as their kisses turn into feverish open mouthed ones. His lips detached from hers as he felt the the ride coming back down. [Name] felt like her whole body was in flames and there Kyoujurou was sitting there as cool as a cucumber.

The ride shifted the shuttle as the two got up and his hands slipped in hers as he lead them out. She couldn’t believe the stunt he just pulled. Her fingers on her lips still feeling the ghost of his. He laughed heartily at her reddened face and that captured her attention.

”Don’t worry. We can continue that when we get back.”

[Name] was speechless, but somehow was even more flushed than before. Kyoujurou chuckled at her again as he pulled her in for a side hug as they headed back to his car. The smug look never left his face.

213 notes · View notes

seeyalaterinnovator · 4 years ago

Text

One For The Road - Alex Turner Imagine (NSFW)

Word count: 5.2K (part two to come...)

Rating: NSFW 18+!!!

Synopsis: You and Alex have been friends, but could tonight push that over the edge?

You peered into the mirror, swiping on the shiny gloss over the lipstick you had just put on, giving the subtle appearance of a pout before tossing the tube back into your purse. Nervously your hands tousled your hair which had been slightly messy from moving around throughout the night. As you analyzed your appearance you wondered what Alex thought of you tonight, and whether or not he was actually going to kiss you or if the night would get away from the two of you.

It had been two years of fighting feelings and biting your tongue each time he’d say something cheeky to you. Sure you had kissed a couple of times, but most of them were borne of whiskey fueled bravery. Tonight you weren’t sure which Alex was in your presence, respectful or brave, though you were praying for the latter. With one final adjustment of your shirt you left the sanctity of the bathroom and back out into the bar to rejoin your cohort.

“There she is.” Someone spoke as you managed to push your way back through various groups of people, claiming your place along the wall.

Your gaze wandered over to Alex who was sitting over at the table, hand wrapped around a glass of something that you hoped would be the liquid courage he needed tonight. He looked so handsome sitting there, lost in conversation with one of the others. “Here I am.” You chimed.

“This place is getting really crowded, anyone wanna pick somewhere else?” Someone asked.

You were inclined to agree. There were far too many people in this bar, you could hardly even hear what your friends were saying. Plus there wasn’t an open seat to Alex, which was the exact spot you wanted to be in. Sometimes you have to take matters into your own hands if you want something done. “We could go back to my place?” you suggested, knowing you had a fair amount of booze at your house to tide everyone over for the evening.

By this point Alex had invested himself into whatever you were saying, intently looking over at you. For a brief moment you locked eyes and for the first time that night you actually felt a flutter in your stomach. His gaze was so intent, a sly smile pulling at his lips. He clearly liked your idea.

“Y/n has a new place, don’t yeh?” Alex asked despite well knowing that you had moved into a new apartment a few weeks ago.

“Yeah, bit bigger. We can go back there and hang. At least we won’t be bothered..” You trailed off, everyone quickly began to close out their tabs.

The night had cooled off significantly. As you exited the bar you caught a gust of wind, sending a shiver through your body. A small, deep chuckle could be heard behind you, one from that all familiar voice. “Cold?” Alex asked, stepping closer behind you and running his hands over your arms to warm them.

“A bit chilly yeah.” You nodded. Before you knew it, Alex was pressing himself all the way to you, wrapping his strong arms around your body, sharing his body heat. His lips incredibly close to your neck, he turned his head so he could speak.

“Who’d yeh come ‘ere with?” He inquired, a calm yet suggestive tone carried his voice.

“Mallory, who looks like she is currently otherwise occupied.” Pointing toward your friend who was happily kissing her boyfriend just a few feet ahead of the two of you.

“Good,” He mused to you, “I’m takin’ y/n!” His voice got much louder as he announced to the group who were spread about over the sidewalk.

Alex led the two of you over to his car, opening the passenger door for you to slide in easily. He lingered for a moment as you stood there, impossibly close, his eyes followed your form as you slipped into the seat. He rounded the front and slipped in himself, turning the key in the ignition.

The ride had started off quiet save for some soft music that was playing in the background. Your head lolled to the side and you watched Alex as he drove, admiring the man beside you. This was the first time the two of you had truly been alone together tonight, but would it be the last?

At one point he lifted his hand from the steering wheel and you watched as he flicked through a few of the radio stations until settling on something a little more rock based. His hand paused and hovered for a moment before he casually reached over and allowed it to settle along your knee. Body slightly tense, you dared not move or flinch of fear that he’d move away. Instead you stared at his hand so gently caressing the top of your leg - it would remain there the rest of the drive. When Alex parked on your street he turned to you as if wanting to say something, but the words dried up in his mouth and instead opted to smile over at you.

“What?” You asked, curious of his sudden lack of words.

“Jus’ enjoyin the view.” He shrugged, his hand squeezing just a bit before releasing altogether.

“Cmon, let’s go inside.”

You let out a steady exhale to rid yourself of the nerves you had built up once you stood up out of the car. Not that you didn’t enjoy it immensely, but you clearly hadn’t psyched yourself up for the possibility of the brave Alex tonight. Once you rounded the corner, you began to rummage through your purse looking for your keys as you walked. That same warm presence filled the space next to you once again, this time with a steady hand to your lower back as you walked.

The gesture was small yet protective, almost possessive without being too aggressive. You swallowed thickly, telling yourself that you were only a few moments away from being able to down another drink to calm your nerves. The remainder of the walk his hand would stay glued to your lower back, and would go unnoticed by the rest of your friends.

Once upstairs you were met by a few friends who were lingering around in the hallway. Someone mumbled something about you and Alex, but you opted to ignore the comment in favor of focusing on opening the door to let everyone in.

“Sorry if it’s messy… wasn’t really planning on having company tonight.” You apologized as you swung the door open, allowing your friends to all hoard in.

Lingering around, you watched as all your friends began to settle around the living room, coats being shucked off and dumped on your spare bed. You took note of Alex’s leather jacket sitting on the bed off to the side, causing you to half wonder if he had planned on leaving earlier than the others. Everything seemed to be going well so far, at least you thought.

With a promise of drinks, you made your way off into the kitchen and rummaged around your cabinets and began to grab various bottles to set out on the counter. This moment alone allowed you to reflect on tonight thus far, and to worry about how the rest of it would go. He was here, so that was something. Alex could have easily gone home but he opted to follow you back to your place.

“Need any help?” Alex’s voice popped back into the room. He was smoothing back his hair when you looked back toward him.

“You could grab some glasses.” You suggested, pointing toward the cabinet the glasses were located. A smile had crept it’s way up to your lips, Alex had gone out of his way to seek out where you were. You had to silently scold yourself though, to stop acting like a giddy school girl and to play it cool.

The two of you met at the island in the middle, laying out different things here and there. His hand wrapped around the bottle of cinnamon whiskey as he eyed it, a devilish smirk evident in his features. “I know that look Turner, what are you up to?”

“Let’s do a shot, just us.” He said, already pouring the golden liquid into two shot glasses with a wink.

He pushed the glass toward you, a small bit spilling over the edge and onto the counter. Despite your better judgement, you took hold of the glass and clinked with his before downing the liquid down your throat. It burned on the way down and settled into your stomach, and soon that warm cozy feeling would start to take over your senses. You both chuckled as your glasses came back down onto the counter with an echoing clunk.

“Alreyh, I’m goin’ to go out for a smoke.” He announced

“I have a balcony off of my room, upstairs, second door on the right, you can go there.” You nonchalantly mentioned, though the thought of him in your bedroom made your stomach flip. “Door should be unlocked.”

“Thanks.”

Alex disappeared off and you busied yourself in making a few different drinks to bring out. You took your time, hoping that by the time you were done Alex would be back and hopefully you’d manage to plop yourself next to him again and savor whatever time you had left with him tonight. With a tray full of drinks, you made your way back into the living room and started to hand them out - quickly noticing that Alex was not back.

“I’ll be right back.” You excused yourself to make your way up the stairs quietly, heading straight for your room. You found Alex exactly where you thought, leaning over the balcony as puffs of smoke rose over his head.

He turned around once he heard shuffling behind him. To play it cool you headed over to your closet to grab a sweater, as if the whole reason you came up here wasn’t to see him. Large brown eyes blinked over at you as he settled against the balcony, this time facing you. “How’s it going?” You ask, looking over to him as you pull the cardigan over your arms.

“Good, wanna join meh?”

Without a response you shuffle over out onto the balcony next to him. He flicked his cigarette, ashes falling over the edge and flitted down to the ground slowly. You weren’t much of a smoker, at least not as much as he was, but you did partake occasionally, especially if he was offering.

“Want one?”

“Nah, I’ll just take a puff of yours.” You shook your head, taking the cigarette between your fingers and wrapped your lips around the end. Alex’s gaze fixed as you inhaled and watched the residual smoke waft around your face. Carefully you handed him back the cigarette as you exhaled, blowing to the side so that you did blow it all over him. Between this and the shot you downed earlier, you were feeling much more relaxed.

…..

When the two of you returned, all of your friends had managed to pair off with each other around your apartment. There were a few in the kitchen, some sitting along the couch, leaving you and Alex to yourselves once again. Was this fate or divine intervention?

The couch already occupied, you chose to just sit along the wall in the back and rather than finding someone else to chat with, Alex chose to follow suit and sit next to you - not that you minded one bit.

“So, working on any new music lately?” You made light conversation, though you were genuinely interested.

“Got a few things in the works. Miles and I wrote somefin’ just the other day actually.” He answered.

“Anything good?” You teased, praying he’d know it was a joke.

“It’s alreyt.” He shook his head, ever amused at your wit. “Wha’ bout yeh? Wha’s new?”

“Nothing overly exciting,” You shrugged, “Just been settling in here, work, the usual. Not all of us get to be fancy rock stars with exciting lives.”

“ ‘S not always as excitin’ as it seems, always bein’ gone. Don’t get meh wrong, I love it, jus’ wish to ‘ave a little normal sometimes.” He revealed and for the first time that night you wished you weren’t here with all these people.

“I bet, probably can’t be easy always, but nothing is.”

The conversation continued well into the night. Occasionally someone would join in the conversation and sit with the two of you before wandering off again. Gradually people would also leave, the crowd and chatter diminishing by the hour. Soon it would be just the two of you again.

At around 1am you peered over at the clock, surprised to see how late it had gotten. It was crazy how fast time flies by when you were occupied with Alex’s presence. By now there were only three people left including yourself. The last person had disappeared into the spare bedroom to grab their coat and said their quick goodbyes, stumbling out of your apartment while grumbling about having to work the next morning, leaving you and Alex officially alone together for good.

“God when did it get so late?” You groaned, looking around at the mess you still needed to clean up.

“ Not that late y/n..” He laughed, recalling nights where it wouldn’t be until 4am before he would return back to the safety of his hotel room while on tour. “How ‘bout another drink?”

You were hesitant, knowing that you probably had enough as it was, but the way his eyes pleaded made it near impossible to say no. You had half a mind to say no though, because you weren’t entirely sure that you would behave yourself given the opportunity. But there he was, standing there with that stupid sly smile and you simply couldn’t turn him away. “Alright, one more.” You sighed, motioning for him to sit on the couch while you went to pour one last round.

There was an anxious tremor that was present as you gripped onto the bottle, pouring two glasses of whiskey neat. Your stomach was in knots, but the kind that were of anticipation rather than being scared of something. Tonight had gone so well, well enough in fact that you wanted to finally share your feelings. “Here goes nothing.” you mumbled under your breath, making your way back to the living room.

When you emerged from the kitchen you found Alex lounging on the couch, seated back comfortably while he scrolled on his phone. He quickly tucked it back into his pocket though when he heard you return, happy to give you his undivided attention. You sat down, handing him the drink, fingertips brushing up against each other as you passed the glass.

You settled yourself alongside him on the couch, nestled carefully, deliberately close. You brought the glass to your lips and took a drink, knowing that it was going to be your final push over into dangerous territory. What drew your attention was the warm contact that brushed against your leg as you settled comfortably.

“I had a really good time tonight.” You mentioned, your tone happy and bright.

“Yeah me too. Been awhile since I got to spend the evenin’ with me friends.”

Friends. The word almost seemed wrong in this context. You seemed to be stuck in this zone of friends and friendlier, and you didn’t know how to get past that barrier. He wasn’t like this with all of his other female friends, and while he had a flirty streak in him, his actions tonight were far beyond flirty. Inhaling deeply, you grabbed your glass again and took a drink as your body stiffened, unsure if you had read all of his signals wrong tonight. The last thing you wanted was to make a fool of yourself.

Alex noticed the subtle change in your demeanor, and while small, he wasn’t quite sure what had happened. He stared at you for a moment, examining your eyes because he knew you all too well. “Wha’s the matter?” He asked cautiously, eyes narrowing while extending his hand out once again only this time it rested higher up on your thigh, gripping with a bruising pressure.

“You know Alex, I just can’t get a read on you. One minute you are being real handsy and cheeky, and the next you call us friends. Which is it? Because I’m not sure how much longer I can wait.” You blurt out, shocked at your own bravery. You stared at him, wide eyed, mouth slightly parted.

When he didn’t say anything right away, you knew you had blew it. Maybe you had thought all of it up in your head after all, and now you sat before him looking like a complete fool. The anxious bubble crept up your throat and in a desperate attempt to quell it, you quickly stood and began to take a few steps away from the couch. “God I’m crazy!” You sighed, rubbing your temple.

“You aren’t crazy.” He murmured, having stood himself and for the third time that night found himself pressed up against your back. Your eyes screwed shut, feeling his hand lift to push away the hair that rested along your cheek to tuck behind your ear. The tip of his finger trailed along the curve of your jaw and down your neck in a hot line, this touch burning and leaving a tingling feeling in its wake.

There was a pause before the warmth of his lips ghosted over the tender skin of your neck, finally planting firmly to press a hot - open mouthed kiss over your pulse point. Deep within your chest, your breath hitched and instinctively you tilted to the side to allow him better access. His other hand had snaked to the curve of your waist, gripping at your flesh to keep you in place. “I’ve thought ‘bout doin’ this since I met yeh.” He hummed lowly, the curve of his lip just barely brushing along the outer shell of your ear.

“Alex..” You breathed out, voice shaking.

With great ease, he spun you around in his embrace, now faces inches away from each other. His chocolate brown eyes were half lidded and glossy as they peered back down at you, something between lust and love lingering in his gaze. In order to steady yourself you placed one hand carefully on the center of his chest as you swayed in front of him, leaning into his touch.

Alex treaded lightly in his new territory. His hands were gentle as they explored around your body, places he’s touched a million times before but this time in a whole new light. One hand landed along the side of your neck and jaw, thumb grazing along the crest of your bottom lip. The other hand hung low on your hip, and as you moved, the tips of his fingers lingered dangerously along the exposed flesh as your shirt rose slightly. With the hand that was along your jaw, he tilted your head upward so that he had the perfect view of your soft features.

He leaned in, closing the gap and locked your lips together, kissing you with enough force to almost knock you off your feet. It was a deep kiss, one that you felt with a stiff ache in the knees and for a moment you weren’t sure if you were going to be able to stand anymore. Your chest pressed up against his, you wondered if he could feel how fast your heart was racing.

Once comfortable and sure that you weren’t dreaming, you began to kiss him back, bunching some of his shirt in your fist. He hummed contently against your chest, the tone vibrating against you. And for the first time ever, the two of you got lost in each other completely, forgetting about the world around you.

“Y/n.” He spoke between kisses, repeating himself until both of you were able to get a grasp on to reality. “y/n.”

“What…” You whispered.

“Should I go?” He asked, not wanting to get too carried away too fast. You dismissed the thought quickly, bringing your lips back to his, only to have him pause again. “Y/n, are yeh sure?”

“Alex I’ve waited two years for this.” you answered firmly, taking a step back so that he would really listen to you. “I’m sure.”

To solidify your statement, you reach out to grab his hand, lacing your fingers amongst his. Your palm felt clammy but your grip was sure and steady. Without another word you turned on the balls of your feet and began to lead him back toward the staircase, and he followed now sure of his position.

About hallway up the stairs he stopped in his tracks, pulling on your grip. Confused, you turn around to look back at him to see what was the matter. Nothing was wrong though, as he leaned in again to kiss you, this time with ….

“ “ave I told yeh how pretteh you are?” He drawled, taking in the sight before him.

When the two of you finally reached your bedroom you pulled him in across the threshold, not bothering to kick the door shut. It was just the two of you anyways. “I can’t believe this is happening.” You divulged, in awe that this scenario you had played in your head millions of times was actually happening this time.

“Well believe it, love.”

The gap closed once more for another kiss, bodies pressed together, fitting so nicely. Your hands wound their way into his hair, his gripping along the bottom of your blouse. He let out a muffled moan as if to ask if he could rid you of the fabric, deeming it unnecessary. A fervent nod allowed him to lift the material up and over your head to reveal a black lace bra that cradled your breasts perfectly.

The heat rose to your cheeks and down your newly exposed chest once his eyes scanned over your form. He shook his head in disbelief that he had someone so beautiful sprawled out before him. He felt incredibly lucky, and he was going to show you just how lucky he felt. The bed dipped as he hovered over you, his knee resting between your thighs, one hand on either side of your head. You stared up at him, lost in thought, noticing the bits of hair that had fallen in front of his forehead.

It wasn’t long before Alex was leaning in again, peppering kisses along your jaw in one languid motion. Lips gilded along delicate flesh carefully, giving full attention to the spots that elicited a soft moan or breathy gasp. He’d smile against you each time a little noise would slip past your lips, fully aware of the blissful state he was putting you in. There was one particular spot, the junction between jaw and neck right under your ear that you particularly enjoyed, and when he suckled at the tender flesh your hands reached out to grab at his shoulders.

You breathed in heavily, inhaling the scent that seemed more intoxicating than the liquor you had downed but an hour earlier. He smelled rich, notes of sandalwood and something along the lines of cinnamon, likely from the whiskey you took, and the remains of the cigarette you had shared. Alex soon found himself lost in the moment as he made his way down your throat, planting a hot kiss to the hollow dip in your neck before moving along to your collarbone. Swiftly, his tongue jutted out to lick a small stripe along the length of the bone before suckling at the skin once again.

Meanwhile one of his hands had crept up along to the curve of your exposed waist, gliding up to caress your ribcage, feeling the speed at which you breathed, speeding up and slowing down with the pace of his ministrations. The thrill of it all was exciting and new, but he wanted to savor this moment for as long as he possibly could - needing to make up for lost time.

“Alex...” You pleaded.

“I know.” He whispered like a vow against your skin, a hushed promise that he would care for you.

As you squirmed underneath his body, he continued at his leisured pace, this time nosing at your sternum. He loved to take his time, building anticipation as he worked you over lovingly. Occasionally his hand would slip along your thigh, kneading the muscle and grabbing, inching ever higher until his fingers lingered around the waistband of your jeans. Pausing to peer up at you through thick eyelashes, he waited for a green light.

Your nod wasn’t enough, he wanted to hear your voice, strained and needy, breaking as you begged for him.

“Are yeh sure?” He asked, his voice husky yet sure as he looked for any hint of hesitation on your face.

“Please..” The single word dripped from your mouth like honey, thick and golden, desperate and ready, and it was more than enough to reassure him that you were ready.

His fingers made quick work of the button of your jeans before starting to pull the fabric down your legs. To help, you lifted your hips to allow the fabric to slide down your thighs, revealing more expansive flesh for him to grab and admire. A low groan echoed in his chest as he looked you over, pulling back so that he could pull the fabric all the way off and discard to the floor. “Look at yeh.” He breathed out.

Your giggle echoed through the room when he wrapped a hand around your ankle, bringing his lips to the inside and made his way in a line of kisses all the way up to the inside of your thigh. You watched intently, finding it increasingly hard to remain still as he worked his way closer and closer to where you craved his touch. He stopped a few inches away from your hip to move back to your tummy, kissing the flesh just above the hem of your underwear.

A curved knuckle brushed down along your clothed core with just enough pressure to cause you to jump at the friction. He noted how wet the fabric was as his finger stroked back up and down, only fueling his desire to make you feel good. “All this for meh?”

You nodded fervently, wiggling your hips to try and get the slightest bit of pressure to satiate the burning feeling growing between your legs. “Yes all for you Alex. Only you.”

Leaning down once again, he slipped two fingers inside the fabric of your underwear and pressed them against your core. You let a breathy gasp slip, your hips adjusting to the new friction. “Relax for meh, princess.” He spoke in a low tone, staring up at you from between your legs.

It seemed a near impossible task, ‘relaxing’, when Alex was happily making a home nestled between your thighs. This was something you had played over and over, thinking about, dreaming about, not that you’d ever thought it would become a reality. You blinked up at the ceiling, half dazed the other half of you on edge from the way his fingers would brush over you with just enough pressure to electrify your skin.

You craved more. More pressure, more touching, more friction, more of him. “Al…” You whined, words drawn out long as you fought the urge to scoot your hips down against his hand. He noticed the small twitches, the slight tilt of your hips and retracted his hand away from your core, leaving you a whining mess. “Now, now… wha’ did I say?” He tutted, hand lightly tapping around the outside of your thigh twice.

“Relax.” You huffed in response, making it a point to take a deep breath in and out, willing your muscles to relax a bit. As you did this, his fingers curled around the fabric of your underwear, dragging the fabric down your legs and dropping them on the floor, leaving you open and exposed.

“Good girl.” His head dipped down, first pressing a light kiss to the divet where your hip met your tummy, then moving to hover over your core. His tongue licks languidly over your entrance, lapping over you. The warmth his mouth provided, along with the newfound pressure had your hands clutching at the sheets desperately.

This went on, the back and forth of tongues and fingers until you started to squirm more underneath him, wiggling around on the sheets as your muscles began to tremble and quake. The pit of your stomach burned and fluttered at the same time, tensing with each stroke against your clit.

“I,” You panted, chest rising up and down quickly, “Alex I’m close…” You tried to focus your breathing. Your whole body felt warm, a warmth that radiated from deep within you.

“Go on then, let go for meh.” He continued to rub his thumb in tight circles while his two fingers pumped in and out of you, curling and pushing to try and coax you over the edge.

A tight feeling deep in your stomach finally gave way, like a dam had finally let loose and the floodgates were the shockwave of your orgasm. You felt like you were floating through the air, warmth spreading through your veins as you rode out the euphoria. The edges of your vision blurred until your eyes screwed shut in pleasure. He continued to place a steady pressure against you, helping you through the height of it and safely back down into the present moment.

“Good girl.” He marveled, almost at a loss for words at how perfect it all was.

Your mind grew less fuzzy, but your body was still charged with an electric buzz. His hand connected with your thigh again, rubbing gentle lines up and down as you grew more aware of your surroundings, a sappy smile beaming up at Alex.

“Wow.” You said, rolling over slightly to face him better. You bit on the inside of your cheek as you propped yourself up on your elbows, eyeing his belt before reaching out to tug on it. He made no effort to stop you, watching as you began to undo his pants as he had done for you before, standing so that he could step out of them.

Adjusting yourself, there was a deep burning in the muscle of your inner thighs as you positioned yourself to sit along the edge of the bed. You brought your lips to his abdomen, kissing along the crease of his hip. “Are you going to fuck me?” You asked, feigning an innocent glint in your eyes as you looked up at him.

Tenderly his hand came to smoothing back the hair that had fallen in front of your face, revealing rosy cheeks and a longing look. He stopped only to cradle the back of your head, looking down at you with a loving gaze. “Only if tha’s wha yeh want.”

“I want nothing more.” You blinked up at him, leaning in to press your own lips to his hip.

(to be continued)

Author’s note: LORD this got long... thus the need to put it in two parts... Make yall wait for more smut muahahah! I kinda feel like this jumped around a lot, so I”M SORRY! BUt please enjoy my loves. I know I did.

#alex turner #alex turner imagine #alex turner one shot #alex turner x reader #alex turner smut #fandom #smut #am period #am #arctic monkeys imagine #alex turner fan fic #smutty

540 notes · View notes

zodiyack · 4 years ago

Text

Dinner With The Law

Pairing: Billy Hargrove x Female!Hopper!Reader

Warnings: Swearing, angst, kind of ooc!Billy?, bit o fluff

Words: 1,566

Summary: Billy’s dating Hopper’s other daughter, Y/n, and when Eleven accidentally reveals Y/n is spoken for, Hopper demands to meet the “lucky guy”. Billy Hargrove wasn’t exactly who he had in mind.

Taglist: @urie-bowie-mercury, @matth1w, @redspaceace-writes, @fandom-puff, @darling-i-read-it, @simonsbluee, @thewarriorprincessxo

Masterlist | Stranger Things Masterlist

“Are you sure?” Billy was usually the tough guy, but now he was a nervous senior with sweaty palms and pale skin. He looked like he’d seen a ghost or like he was about to faint. And it was all because he was having dinner with Jim Hopper. “I mean, what if he bans me from seeing you?”

“Billy, when have you ever listened to my dad? You’ve got a few speeding tickets here and there yet you do it again and again anyways.”

“That’s exactly why he’d tell me to break up with you!”

“Just because he says something doesn’t mean he can actually do it.” She rolled her eyes and waited for Billy’s response. His silence drew out a reaction of offence from his girlfriend, a scoff leaving her mouth. “You dick!”

“What?!”

“You’d let him make you do that?! Grow a fucking pair!” Y/n sat up from her leaning position, her head turning and arm sliding off the car door. She didn’t think before she swatted Billy up the back of his head.

“Jesus woman! What was that for?” He rubbed the back of his head with his free hand, the other on the wheel. Billy grumbled under his breath as he drove, the air growing thick with tension. “Alright. I’m sorry. I wouldn’t let him take you from me-”

“If you broke up with me because he told you too, that’d be letting him take you away from me. Either way, he shouldn’t get away with it, and he won’t.”

“You’re right...” Billy sighed, “I’m sorry baby.” He glanced at her before returning his eyes to the road, sincere regret knitted in his scrunched brows.

“I- ...I’m sorry too. I shouldn’t have hit you.” Wordlessly accepting each other’s apologies, their hands met on the console, fingers intertwining tightly. His thumb occasionally rubbed her hand softly, bringing a smile to her face every time.

“They’re here.” Eleven watched the window until Hop walked by, telling her to sit correctly and fix the curtains. She’d adjusted her position multiple times, finding loopholes in the “how to sit on furniture correctly” reprimands Hopper had given her.

“El! For the last time, that’s not-”

“Not how we sit.” She turned back around and got off her knees, standing and walking away from the table. “I know. But, they’re here.”

“And? We can just wait like normal people! Stalking your sister and her boyfriend from the window isn’t what I-” He went to fix the curtains but upon doing so, he got a view of what awaited his dinner table. “Is that-” Jim squinted, eyes suddenly doubling inside. “No. No. No! Noo!”

“What’s wrong?” Y/n frowned as she pushed the door open. “Dad?”

Hopper turned, facing his daughter and her boyfriend with a distressed face. “No! Not you!” His tone was slightly whiney, causing a concerned yet slightly amused expression to slide onto Eleven’s face.

“Excuse me? Dad, are you alright?” Y/n turned to Eleven, who shrugged in return.

“Nope. No. Nada. Dinner’s cancelled.”

It hit her quicker than Billy’s car’s top speed. “Dad. He’s having dinner with us. You wanted to meet him, you deal with it.” Hopper clenched his jaw, staring at the couple before walking outside. Billy began looking for words, suggesting they just go back, but Y/n cupped his cheeks and kissed him softly. “Wait here. I’ll go talk to him.”

“No, it’s fine-”

“Wait here.” He nodded, planting his feet without another word. His eyes followed Y/n until she was out of the cabin. Billy popped his knuckles out of nervous habit, turning his head and giving a nod of acknowledgement to Eleven. She stared for a second then got up and went to her room, leaving Billy standing alone awkwardly.

“Dad. Give him a chance.”

“But- That’s Billy Hargrove, Y/n.”

She nodded, lips pressed together tightly as she lifted her brows. “Yep. I can see that. I am dating him after all.”

“He’s bad news.”

“So was Eleven before you took her in! Taking her in could’ve gotten us killed but you did it anyway! Billy dating me won’t get us killed or put in any danger in the slightest, but you decide he’s too much of ‘bad news’?”

Hopper shook his head. “Leave El out of this.”

“Then let Billy have a chance!”

“No. End of story.” He paced in front of her, back and forth with his arms crossed.

“Dad.”

“No.”

“Dad.”

“No.”

She inhaled sharply and shut her eyes. Some tears threatened to spill but were denied by her lack of will to show weakness to her father. “Please. Just... He’s not as bad as you think he is. Sure, he’s got some factors you aren’t particularly fond of, but he’s a teen for Pete’s sake! I’m a teen! We’re going to be a little rebellious whether you like it or not!”

Hopper couldn’t deny a word she said, his own rebellious-phase in his teen years full of teen-angst going against anything and everything he could think to say. He stopped pacing, facing his oldest daughter with a sigh of surrender. “One chance. He fucks it up-”

“Thank you!” Y/n bounded forward and wrapped her arms around her father, the smile on her face bigger than any other he’d seen. “Thank you, thank you, thank you! I promise, he won’t let you down!” She pulled away and raced into the house.

For the second time, he couldn’t speak. His brows and eyes held surprise, arms in the air- resting in hug position. As he blinked, the world returned to him. Jim processed the events; they happened so quick, it felt like one fluid motion, before walking back to the house without hurry.

Dinner was...alright. Billy kept his eyes trained on his plate as he tried his hardest to ignore the burning glare of Hopper that never left his form. Hopper ate slowly, both exhaling and stabbing his food dramatically as well as increasing the tension that thickened throughout the cabin. Y/n eventually grew tired of it.

“Dad!” Hopper blinked for what felt like the first time since they’d sat together. “Do you have anything you wanna ask Billy?”

“Yes, actually. How many girls have you been with?”

Eleven dropped her fork on the ground with a loud clatter and Billy practically choked on his food, coughing as Y/n patted his back. She glared at her father and shook her head. “Besides questions like that.”

“Fine. What’re your plans after high school?”

“Well um...” He recovered from his cough attack, fist hitting his chest a couple times while he cleared his throat. “I’m thinking about moving back to California.”

“What would you do in California?” He said the state syllable by syllable, as if he were a kindergartner just learning to say the word, eliciting a criticizing furrow of Y/n’s brows.

“Teaching Y/n how to surf and showing her around. Probably applying for some collages...I’m not sure, sir.”

“Sir?” Hopper laughed. His chuckles died out when he noticed the three staring oddly, feeling awkward and clearing his throat to brush it off. “So uh- Y/n? You’re moving to California? When did you plan on telling me?”

“I dunno. After graduation? The same time I planned on telling you I was dating Billy.”

“Sorry.” Eleven felt a twinge of guilt after her sister spoke, eyes moving down in shame.

“Don’t worry, El. I’m not mad at you.” She reached for her sister’s hand, giving her a small smile when her eyes lifted back up to hers. Eleven mirrored her as a small bit of confidence entered her body.

Hopper brought his eyes back to Billy as his daughters brought theirs to him. Each question he asked made Billy’s leg bonce under the more and more, an anxious habit he’d picked up over time. “You get good grades, Hargrove?”

“Yes sir.”

“Pay for your own stuff?”

“Yes sir.”

“Staying out of too much trouble?”

“Er- Yes sir.”

“Plan on tying the knot, staying loyal to my daughter?”

Y/n’s water made a noise as she choked mid sip. “Dad! Don’t put him on the spot like that-”

“It’s okay.” Billy rubbed her back and nodded reassuringly. “If we decide we want to go all the way, then yes sir. I want to spend the rest of my life with her, I do, but we still have to make it through high school.”

“Break her heart, Hargrove, and I’ll break you. Don’t care if you’re in California, Hawkins, Mars- I’ll kill you if you hurt her.”

“I know sir. I’ll take care of her, I promise.”

He leaned back, sliding into his seat more as he nodded slowly. “Good. You better.”

Billy waited for more questions, but Hopper went back to his dinner. He exchanged confused glances with Y/n. The air was still holding a bit of tension, the only sound being forks scraping against plates, making it feel a bit awkward. “Is that all, sir?”

Hopper lifted his brows. “Do you want there to be more? By all means, I’ve got many questions and opinions I can expand on. Like, your-”

“No- no sir.”

“Then stop being a little sissy and eat your food.”

Billy nodded quickly, however, his hands remained on his lap. “Thank you sir!” Hopper’s arm rose from beside his plate and supported his head as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Eat the damn food, suck up!”

1K notes · View notes

headcanonsandmore · 3 years ago

Text

Gentry and Gentlemen, Chapter One

Summary: Hermione Granger has just begun a new position of governess at Ottery Manor in the Devon Countryside, a world away from her upbringing in Regency-era London. There she meets a redheaded blacksmith man named Ron Weasley. Sparks may just fly between the middle class city woman and the working-class country man with a genuine and heartfelt charm all his own. (Jane Austen Romione AU)

Tagging: @hillnerd @nagemeikenu @acnelli @aimless-twig @femaledoubleagent @thehufflepuffpixie @adenei @abradystrix

~~~~~~~~~~

Read on FFN. Read on AO3.

~~~~~~~~~~

The Regency period is full of stories about dashing military officers and their lovers, titled men and women, and the romantic misadventures of the landed gentry. Almost always of young ladies of the gentry and their aristocratic suitors. Of money, land, and upper class goings-on. The sort of stories that have become synonymous with high romance, retold countless times since.

This is not one of those stories.

The stagecoach trundled along the country lane. It was the middle of April, and the Devon countryside was quickly losing any vestiges of the winter. Trees were growing green, bees were pollinating all manner of plants, and the lane was fast becoming dusty due to the lack of rain.

‘Oh, really, good sir!’ giggled a lady, her aristocratic manner evident in her voice. ‘You are a delight!’

‘My pleasure, good lady,’ replied the gentleman, a large tall man with a similar way of speaking. ‘I find myself inclined to be such when in the company of such an amiable person as yourself.’

There was a loud crack, as one of the stagecoach wheels hit a hole in the lane.

‘My apologies, ladies and gentlemen!’ exclaimed the coachman from above. ‘The roads have not been repaired after the winter rains!’

‘You’d think the locals would have done something about it,’ complained the gentleman to his lady friend. ‘But I suppose that is to be expected of being so far out from respectable society.’

The woman sat across from the couple stared out of the window, a slight frown briefly appearing on her face. Her fellow passengers did not notice this, and had made no attempt at conversation with her for the entire journey from Exeter. But she was somewhat glad of that.

She was a young woman, in her mid-twenties and, unlike the pair sat across from her, was not wearing the latest fashions of aristocratic society. Her dress was well-worn but functional, as befitted her position. Her hat was smart was simple but sturdy. Her face was impassive, yet strong, and her eyes - a dark brown- were piercingly intelligent. A parasol, far from new, was placed sensibly across her lap. Her shoes, polished but faded from use, were the sort worn by practical working women since time immemorial. However, in contrast to all this was her hair; an enormous bushy mane that strained against the many pins she had used to keep it in place. It was the sort of hair that you couldn’t help but notice, and it was perhaps for that reason that the young lady had chosen to keep her hat on in the coach despite the heat.

‘Final stop; Ottery St Catchpole!’

The coach trundled to a halt, and the coachman (whose name was Mr Jones) climbed down, pulling the small set of steps out from under the coach door. The gentleman helped his lady companion down, and the two of them sauntered away with their bags without so much as a thank you to the coachman.

Sighing to himself, the coachman turned.

‘Er… my apologies, Mr Jones,’ came a voice from within the coach. ‘Could you help me down, please?’

‘Of course, miss,’ he said, before helping the young lady down to the ground. ‘Allow me to help you with your bags as well.’

‘Thank you.’

As the coachman pulled her bags out from the luggage racks, the young lady stared down the street. The gentleman and his lady friend were laughing loudly to themselves outside one of the shops.

‘They were awfully rude, weren’t they?’

‘Afraid so, Miss,’ replied Mr Jones. ‘Many from London feel that Devon might as well be on another planet.’

‘I hope you won’t judge me by their behaviour.’

‘Oh, of course not, Miss…er… my apologies, my memory isn’t what it once was…’

‘Granger.’ Hermione Granger said, giving a small curtsy. ‘And thank you for keeping me company on such a pleasant journey, Mr Jones.’

‘My pleasure, Miss Granger,’ Mr Jones said, tipping his cap. ‘I’m surprised that such a pleasant young lady like yourself is travelling all alone, truth be told.’

‘Well, you see, I’m on my way to a new place of employment.’ Hermione said. ‘Ottery Manor; perhaps you know it?’

‘Oh, yeah, Miss. Very prominent local gentry.’

‘I am due to take up the post of governess for the young children,’ Hermione elaborated.

‘A governess, you say?’ Mr Jones said, looking very surprised.

‘Yes, I recently achieved my qualification, you see.’

‘Very impressive, Miss. Er… just a word of warning, if you please?’

‘Whatever for?’

‘Well…’ Mr Jones looked rather uncomfortable. ‘You are… that is…’

Hermione sighed. She had been expecting this.

‘Mr Jones, I am well aware that the colour of my skin is perhaps not what the locals are used to.’

‘Oh, no, miss; that’s not what I meant!’ Mr Jones replied, shaking his head quickly. ‘Good gracious, no! Plymouth isn’t that far away, and we’re used to seeing people from all over the world popping through. It’s just… the gentry round here… aren’t quite so relaxed about it as the ordinary people are.’

Hermione smiled. Mr Jones was a sweet old man who clearly wanted to warn her as best he could, even if he didn’t quite have the terminology correct.

‘Thank you, Mr Jones; you are very kind.’

‘My pleasure, miss.’

‘Could you… point me in the direction of the manor house?’

Mr Jones nodded, pointing along up the narrow winding street of Ottery St Catchpole.

‘You can’t miss it; the big house on the hill.’

‘Thank you.’

As Hermione made her way through the main street, she was aware of just how much of a different world this was to London, where she had lived most of her life. For one thing, people walked far slower and had a relaxed attitude in their comings and goings. One could certainly tell that the pace of life was slower.

Within a few minutes, Hermione had left the village, and headed along the country road up towards the manor house. The lack of rain had meant that dust was virtually inescapable, but Hermione preferred it to the mud she had been concerned about. She wouldn’t have wanted to make a first appearance with her best clothes dirtied. That would be most distressing. She, after all, was being entrusted with the care of the children of the local landed family, and ought to be presentable in a way that acknowledged that responsibility she was being granted.

Her stomach began to squirm, as her nerves became agitated. She had largely avoided thinking too much about it when she was travelling but, now that she was so close to the manor, she couldn’t help worrying. What if she wasn’t qualified for this? What if the other staff members didn’t like her? What if she-

‘NEIIIIIGHHHH!’

Hermione’s thoughts were suddenly interrupted, as a large horse rounded the corner of the lane, galloping as fast as it could, and heading right towards her. It was tall, brown, and looked startled, its eyes wide.

Hermione’s bags slipped from her hands as she stumbled backwards, but the horse was already barely seven feet away. With a cry, Hermione tripped over the uneven ground, her hat flying off her head.

The horse reared up on its hind legs, and Hermione found herself frozen on the ground. Hoofs began to fall.

‘WHOOOAAA!’

Suddenly, the horse was no longer there.

Coming to her senses, Hermione pulled herself to her feet, and collected her bags together.

A man, roughly her age, was stood with the horse a few feet away. The first thing of notice was his height, at least a foot taller than Hermione. His head was framed with short, red hair. Freckles covered every inch of skin that was on show. He was wearing a rough work shirt that was tied up to his elbows, and a pair of trousers that were slightly too short on him. A pair of tough work boots, that had clearly seen better days, completed the ensemble.

‘Sssshhhhh, Tiff….’ He soothed, stroking the horse’s neck slowly. ‘It’s okay, girl… no-one’s going to hurt you…’

‘Good grief!’

Another man had joined him.

‘Good thing you’re such a fast runner, mate!’

‘I try my best,’ replied the redheaded man. ‘Good thing we managed to catch her before she reached the village.’

As the horse was led away by the other man, the redhead turned and, spotting Hermione, ran forward.

‘Miss, are you alright?’ he exclaimed, coming to a stop in front of her. There was a splodge of dirt on his long nose. ‘Tiffany got spooked earlier, and we only just caught up with her. I’m so sorry; are you hurt?’

‘I’m… I’m fine, thank you,’ Hermione said, as a pair of bright blue eyes stared down at her. ‘Although I think my hat must have blown away in the wind.’

The redhead man looked around, and pointed up into the branches of a nearby tree.

‘You mean that one, with the nice bow?’

‘Yes, but-’

The man was up the tree in a flash, and was soon leaping down next to her again, holding her hat.

‘There we go,’ he said, handing it over. ‘Maybe a little dusty, but that’s the heatwave for you.’

‘Thank you,’ Hermione said, placing the hat on top of her bushy hair. The two of them began to walk up the lane. ‘I appreciate your concern, Mr…’

‘Weasley,’ the redhead said, smiling. ‘But there’s enough of the Weasleys around here, so you can just call me Ron. Everyone else does; it’d be confusing otherwise.’

‘I… I don’t think that would be appropriate.’ Hermione said, as she bent down to pick up her bags.

‘Why? We’re all people, aren’t we?’ Mr Weasley replied. ‘Oh, let me help you.’

‘Yes, but I’m…’ Hermione stammered, as her load was lightened considerably. ‘Well, I’m starting at the Manor as the new governess.’

‘Oh, you’re the teacher everyone’s been gossiping about!’ Ron said, cheerily. ‘Miss… Granger, if my memory’s correct?

‘W-why, yes!’ Hermione exclaimed, suddenly feeling rather embarrassed. ‘Er…gossip, you say?’

‘Yes; the scullery-maids have been talking about nothing else for the past week,’ Mr Weasley replied, keenly. ‘Well, that and the summer fete. But, yes; a posh lady governess from up-country coming down to our little neck of the woods! They’ll be delighted to meet you!’

Hermione felt her cheeks flush.

‘I’m not nearly as posh as all that, Mr Weasley,’ she said, primly. ‘So I hope I don’t ruin their expectations when they see me.’

‘Why? You sound posh to me.’

‘No… I… I mean… well, look at me.’

The redhead stared at her in confusion, and Hermione felt she needed to elaborate.

‘Surely they were expecting someone less… exotic?’

Mr Weasley blinked.

‘You are from London, aren’t you? That’s pretty exotic.’

Hermione found herself suddenly laughing. Not the usual polite laughs she had been taught as a girl, but a full, unrestrained laugh, full of accompanying snorts.

‘London… exotic?!’

Mr Weasley grinned at her, his cheeks dimpling under his freckles.

‘If you’re born and raised in Devon, it is,’ he said, cheerfully. ‘Besides, I bet that’s the first time you’ve laughed in a good long while.’

‘Why… yes, it is,’ Hermione replied, smiling. ‘However could you tell?’

‘I hear tell of the aristo’s who take the stagecoach routes down from London. I gather they aren’t much in the way of humorous conversation?’

‘You would be correct about that. But where do you hear that from? Mr Jones the coachman?’

‘Old Jonesey? Oh, yes; lovely old soul. I’m the… well, the blacksmith and the odd-job man for the estate, so I’m in and out of the village a lot.’

Hermione nodded, trying not to notice how well the redheads shirt seemed to fit him. She supposed blacksmiths were all rather… muscley.

Ottery Manor stretched out before them. It was a double-storied building, with fine windows and a pair of thick oak doors. The house was arranged around a central courtyard, so that two wings of the house stretched out in front. A small fountain marked the middle of the courtyard, and the centre of the house was covered in fine ivy. Grounds stretched out around the house in all directions, full of trees and well-trimmed lawns. Hermione could make out some distant greenhouses and vegetable gardens on the periphery.

‘You like the ivy?’ Mr Weasley enquired, pointing at the plant as they walked up the main pathway towards the house. ‘Me and my brother Bill -he works in the gardens- pruned them just last week; rather a nice effect, eh?’

‘Yes,’ Hermione replied. ‘Are all your siblings employed as members of staff here?’

‘No.’ the redhead said. ‘Percy -he’s the intellectual one- he works in Plymouth in an office. Fred and George -they’re the youngest brothers aside from me- work in the post office a few villages over.’

‘Any sisters?’

‘Just Ginny. She’s the youngest. Mum did want her to get a good job as a scullery maid, but Ginny’s always been more outdoorsy. She works in the gardens most of the time, but she sometimes helps me and Charlie in the forge.’

‘Charlie is… the main blacksmith aside from you, then?’

Mr Weasley laughed.

‘Yes, he’s always been good with animals, so he handles the shoe-fitting. I’m a bit of a jack-of-all-trades, myself; that’s why I’m the odd job man as well.’

‘There is nothing wrong with being multi-skilled,’ Hermione said, earnestly. ‘Most men in London would love to have a wide array of talents.’

Mr Weasley laughed again, his cheeks dimpling again.

By this point, they had reached the courtyard but, instead of heading for the front door, Mr Weasley lead her around one wing of the house and into a yard of sorts. Hermione could hear horses neighing nearby, and presumed that the stables weren’t that far away.

‘You’d best come through the servants entrance,’ Mr Weasley said, leading her up the rear side of the wing and stopping before a door, which was left open. ‘Not a good idea to get on the bad side of the footmen on your first day. Especially the head footman; he’s a right killjoy about these things.’

‘Well, I am a servant, technically.’

‘I know,’ Mr Weasley said, sighing. ‘But, if I had my way, we wouldn’t have to worry about separate entrances. We’re the people who actually keep this place going, not the aristo’s using this place like a retreat for when the season ends in London.’

Hermione felt rather shocked at Mr Weasley’s words, but she opted not to say anything. She could certainly understand his frustration, but she had never met someone who was so open about it.

‘The gentry often have friends and relatives down from London, then?’

‘Yes, but you probably won’t have to worry about them,’ Mr Weasley said, encouragingly. ‘They tend to stay away from the children if they can help it. This time of year, most of them are living the high life in London society; they shouldn’t be arriving here for another couple months.’

‘Well, I lived in London most of my life, but I already rather like it here in Devon.’

The redhead turned to look at her.

‘Really? Why?’

‘Well, judging from what I’ve seen so far, it’s quieter, for one thing. The pace of life in the city is far too extreme. Out here, you can hear the birds in the trees, see the bees in the hedgerows, smell the…’

‘Muck on the fields?’

Hermione laughed.

‘You’re very amusing, Mr Weasley.’

‘I try,’ the redhead said, his cheeks dimpling as he smiled. ‘Not very often I get the opportunity to make a woman laugh without making a prat of myself first.’

‘Oh, I-I’m sure all the local girls adore you.’

‘With five older brothers? I barely get a look in,’ Mr Weasley chuckled, his ears going a little pink. ‘But, thank you, miss.’

‘My… my pleasure, Mr Weasley.’

‘Mr Weasley, I trust you haven’t been frightening the new governess.’

A man had stepped out from the servants entrance. Judging by his dress, he was a footman of some description. His hair was surprisingly greasy, and he had a long, hooked nose. His voice gave an indication that he had taken elocution lessons to disguise a midlands accent.

‘Oh, no, sir!’ Hermione exclaimed, as the two of them deposited her bags near the door. ‘Mr Weasley came to my assistance when my hat blew astray on the front drive.’

Mr Weasley grinned at the footman.

‘Wouldn’t be a gentleman if I didn’t do so, sir.’

‘Mr Weasley… you are not a gentleman, and never will be. You are a commoner, and you would do well to remember it,’ the footman said, looking unkindly up at Ron over his long hooked nose. ‘Now, Miss Granger, if you would accompany me this way…’

As Hermione followed the footman, she happened to look back over her shoulder. Mr Weasley caught her eye, and mouthed “what an oily-haired git, eh?”. Hermione bit down on her lower lip to stop herself laughing.

On reflection, Hermione was rather embarrassed that she’d been so nervous about her first meeting with her employers. The lord of the manor seemed disinterested the entire time, while his wife asked a few questions about Hermione’s teaching qualification. In fact, Hermione spent most of the meeting nodding politely while the lady discussed the difficulty in finding a good governess in the local area, and that they appreciated that Hermione had come such a long way.

She was then escorted by the head footman back to the servants entrance, all the while wondering if all lords and ladies were so… underwhelming as people.

‘Thank you, but where should I-’

But the footman had already walked away.

Hermione looked around, her nerves building again. She didn’t know her way around, and she hadn’t even been told where her lodgings would be. Maybe she should-

‘All finished?’

Mr Weasley had poked his head through the door.

‘Y-yes,’ Hermione said. ‘But… well, where should I put all my…’

‘Oh, I’ll help you,’ Mr Weasley replied, cheerfully. ‘I can’t go into the women’s quarters, but I can let the scullery maids know that you’ve arrived.’

Turning, he knocked on a door.

‘Parvati? Lavender? The new governess is here; can you help her move her things into the women’s dormitory?’

There was a loud squeal from inside the room.

Rolling his eyes, Mr Weasley opened the door, and poked his head around it.

‘Oy; are you two finished?’

A few moments later, two women appeared from behind the door. Both of them dressed in the same simple uniform, and both roughly the same age as Hermione. They also both seemed to be very giggly.

‘Hello, Miss Granger!’ said one of them, who seemed to be of Indian descent. ‘Nice to meet you; I’m Parvati, and this is Lavender.’

Lavender, a girl with blonde hair that was pulled up under her bonnet, smiled.

‘Sorry we couldn’t meet you at the gates,’ Parvati said. ‘Me and Lav got a bit… distracted.’

There was a snicker from Mr Weasley. Lavender laughed, and slapped him playfully on the arm.

‘Anyway,’ Parvati continued, and Hermione was confused as to why the girl’s face had flushed at Mr Weasley’s comment. ‘We’ll help you take your bags up to the dorm.’

‘I wouldn’t want to cause you any trouble-’

‘Oh, it’s no trouble,’ Lavender said. ‘Besides, we never get to talk to anyone from London; do you know what the most recent styles are?’

‘Er…’ Hermione trailed off, as the two girls hurried along the corridor. She was about to follow, when she realised that the tall redhead was still there. She turned to face him again.

‘Thank you for all your help, Mr Weasley,’ Hermione said, giving a quick curtsy. ‘I am most pleased to make your acquaintance.’

‘As am I to make yours, Miss Granger,’ the redhead replied, his freckled cheeks dimpling once again. ‘Although, like I say, “Ron” is fine. There’s half a dozen Mr Weasleys here, so it just saves time.’

‘In that case, I will call you that,… Ron.’

The redhead grinned, before leaving to run across the wild grass nearby in the direction of the stables. The shirt Ron was wearing was, indeed, rather tight on him, and Hermione couldn’t help but notice how his muscles strained against the fabric as he ran, the sunlight reflecting beautifully off his red hair.

Hermione smiled, as she turned to follow Parvati and Lavender along the corridor. Ottery St Catchpole was shaping up to be a rather wonderful place to live.

~~~~~~~~~~

Thanks for reading, everyone! Hope you liked it! If you want to keep up-to-date with the series, please subscribe on AO3 or FFN, or ask me to add you to the tag list on Tumblr.

#jane austen #jane austen au #romione #ronmione #romione au #alternative universe #ron x hermione #ron/hermione #hermione x ron #hermione/ron #hermione granger #ron weasley #governess!hermione granger #blacksmith!ron weasley #background pavender

77 notes · View notes

timextoxhajima · 3 years ago

Text

Not For Sale: Week 14

NOT FOR SALE CHAPTER NAVIGATION

Member: Heeseung + Jay [ft. Sunghoon and Jake]

Pairings: [fem] uni exchange student! reader x uni student! HS x uni student! Jay

Warnings: scenes in the hospital

Word Count: 3k

Synopsis/Quote: In which your oblivious ass cannot tell that a popular boy in your class has a big, fat crush on you | “It seems like the one who was ruined was me.”

Taglist: @hyunjaethereal @seasideheeseung @wooya1224 @gratefulmaria @sunshineshouchan @youreverydayzebra @fayqj @witheeseung @haechanhues @w-o-o-y-a-a @miingxuxi @reallysmolrenjun @hrrhmay-primaryblog @rosie112703 @ac-ewow @liliansun [drop me a dm/ask/comment to be added!]

You’re staring at the project document blankly, the pages filled with words and tables of the work you’ve done with Heeseung in the last few weeks or so. The weekend felt like three weeks, even when it was just three days - simply because you were in the hospital watching Jay flit in and out of consciousness and Heeseung’s still in a comatose state.

The seat next to you is empty and there is no other word to describe being alone on your last week of school than ‘sad’.

The Uber that picked Jay and Heeseung up had just been in school compounds and the police had found a rig in the brakes - the Uber had been stopped by another car driving straight into it.

Heeseung was on the side the car was rammed into. It’s a miracle he’s even still alive.

“y/n?”

The call jolts you out of your dissociation.

“Hey,” The professor walks up the stairs, and only now do you realise everybody else had left the lecture hall besides you. “I had the others hand up their projects but I saw you zoning out and I couldn’t do it.”

“Sorry,” Mumbling under your breath, you give the folder a quick flip-through before handing him the document. “Here.”

With pursed lips, he takes the folder and glances through it, skimming through the contents and pausing on the last page where you and Heeseung had signed off on.

“I’m sorry it happened.”

“I’m sorry the school had to go through so much to catch the idiot,” Through gritted teeth, you offer him a small wince.

“Well, yeah, that too,” The professor pulls up the lecture table from the seat next to you and sits himself in the plastic grove. “But it’s not important now. He’s going to be charged for God knows how many felonies, but I just- I wanted to know how you’re holding up.”

The concerned question thrums chills through you. Heeseung would’ve asked that. Jay would’ve too.

Jake and Sunghoon have probably tried, but you’re too busy crying or zoning out at the hospital to process anything else even if they did try.

“I’m fine,” You shake your head and stuff your iPad into your bag. “There’s nothing anybody can do to make him wake up faster.”

“I know that. It’s just... I don’t want a student ending her semester like this.”

The grumble of the zip as you close your bag is disgustingly loud in the empty lecture hall. You hug your bag, slowly looping your arm through one of the holes as you push the lecture table away.

“I’ll be fine. I’m leaving next week anyway and Heeseung’s not dead, so.”

The professor goes quiet upon the declaration.

“Thanks for the fun sem, Prof,” You give him a tiny, wretched smile that’s not genuine at all, lifting a leg over the backrest of the seat in front of you. “I’ll tell my dad to say hi to you every now and then.”

Finally on both your feet one row before him, he looks at you with sad, tired eyes.

“It’s been a pleasure having you and Heeseung as students, y/n. Do come back to visit when you come visit your father.”

A bare nod shakes your head.

“Bye prof.”

The ceiling looks the same. The light dangling from the beige, crusty roof looks dusty.

The room looks the same - except the fact that 80% of it were in boxes now. The clock hung on the wall has the loudest ticking you’ve ever heard - had it been this loud since the start?

Bzzzzt. Bzzzzzzzt. Bzzz-

“Hello.”

“Jesus Christ, how many times do you want me to call you before you’d pick up?”

Maybe until Heeseung wakes up.

“You know what? Don’t answer that.”

A pause.

“How are you holding up?”

“Great. I mean the sem’s over. I’ve handed up almost every project I need to submit.”

“Fuck you, you know I don’t mean that.”

“What am I supposed to tell you? I’m great, while I wait for my two friends to recover in the hospital? One of them’s not even awake.”

“I don’t want to be that person but no matter how much you cry or pray that he wakes up, it’s going to take time, okay? Let him rest and recuperate and he’ll spring back to life like he wasn’t just in an accident.”

“I shouldn’t have let them take the Uber.”

“For crying out loud, it is not your fault. You told them your dad was coming to get you and Jay didn’t want to cancel it for the fee. It’s a normal reaction. Who was supposed to know the Uber was rigged?”

You blink.

“Have you packed?”

You count the boxes in your room. “Mostly.”

“I’ll be at your place when you come home. We can bake cupcakes and cookies and you can tell me about the school there.”

Your ears are taking in her words but your eyes are on the paper bag on your desk. It’s the tumbler that Jay got you.

“Hello? You there?”

“Byeol, what if they don’t wake up before I leave? I have 8 days.”

“Have some faith in them, would you? Jay’s already awake right? He’s just flitting in and out of consciousness and Heeseung... They haven’t said he’s in critical condition, right?”

“But he’s been in the ER and it’s been three days.”

“Sis, I could sleep for three days. He’ll be awake before you leave.”

“Hope so.”

“Not going to the hospital?”

“Nah,” You roll over onto your side and stare at yourself in the mirror on your wardrobe doors. “Their friends are swarming the wards. It’s fine, Jake and Hoon got me onto the special visitors’ list.”

“There’s a special visitors’ list?”

“It’s Jay and it’s an expensive hospital with classier management. So yeah, pretty much.”

“That’s nice.”

Silence - except the occasional crackling of the static on the phone.

“They’ll do fine, okay?”

“Okay.”

“I have to go now. I’ll call you tonight or tomorrow, I’ll text you?”

“Sure.”

“Okay. Bye.”

“Bye bye.”

The car ride with your father is quiet, the gentle music from the stereo playing and you’re thinking about how your mother is back at home. She is a busy woman back home too so you hadn’t really had the time to call or text her.

For the first time in a long time, your father knows more about your life than she does.

“I know you’re probably not in the mood to answer this but...” The car slows at a red light. “Have you started packing?”

You don’t turn. The trees outside are swaying gently in the light breeze on this sunny day. It reminds you of the day Heeseung brought you out to the beach for your picnic.

“I’m about 80% done. The stuff left’s like my laptop and iPad and daily appliances.”

“That’s good,” You see him nod in the window’s reflection and glance at you. “Well, I’ll come by and hand you the documents for credit transfer later this week and I’ll send you to the bus terminal next Wednesday too, yeah?”

“Mhm,” Humming to yourself, the refracted red light turns green. “Sure.”

The car starts again. “Hun, I... I just wanted you to know that I know this sem has been difficult for you. I’m- I’m sorry that I suggested you come. Had I known that there was going to be a lunatic running on the loose, I would’ve stopped you from coming.”

“You wouldn’t have known,” You mumble, but still loud enough for him to hear. “It’s fine, it’s over.”

“And with what happened with Jay and Heeseung... I’m sorry. I really am.”

“They would’ve gotten caught up in this crazy shitfest with the psycho anyway, regardless of my presence,” Finally turning to look at your father, he side-eyes you while keeping his hands on the steering wheel. “It’s not anybody’s fault except that psycho’s that this happened.”

Your father remains quiet, unable to respond. The car drives into the sheltered drop-off point at the hospital and he watches you unbuckle the seat belt to let yourself out the car.

“Hey.”

You sling your bag over your shoulder and rest a hand on the car door.

“They’ll be okay.”

A weak smile pulls your lips up your cheeks.

“I hope so.”

By the time you’ve reached the floor where the wads were, you’ve run into a good number of their friends. Of course, there were one or two bad apples among the bunch, but most of them knew you were on a special visitors’ list and that’s why you came so late.

It never gets easier though, the look on their faces when you know they want to tell you that they’ll be okay, but promises should not be made if they cannot be kept.

Walking into Jay’s ward, you see his mother helping to sponge his face while Jake and Sunghoon speak to a friend on the other side of the bed.

You catch the room’s attention when you pull the plastic bag out from your bag and let the door shut behind you, Jay’s mother looking up and offering you a tired smile.

“Oh, hey,” Jake grins and beckons you over.

“Hi Mrs Park,” You gesture to Jake to wait before holding out the plastic bag to Jay’s mother. “It’s a box of tonic for you and Mr Park. Thought of getting fruits but I don’t think Jay can have them yet.”

“Gosh, you really didn’t have to,” She shakes her head and sets the cloth down by the bed. “Thank you. Are you sure you’re okay, coming to visit so often? You’re here everyday, aren’t you?”

You return her a tight, pursed smile. “Yeah, but it’s fine. I’m leaving to go home next week so I don’t have much time left to spend with them. I don’t mind.”

“Oh, honey,” She stands and takes the box from you, turning to set it down on the table behind her before returning you her attention. “I... I don’t know what to say. This must be all a lot for you.”

You break the eye contact first, knowing that you were probably going to cry if you hadn’t stopped looking at her.

“No, it’s fine,” You raise a palm and rub her upper arm. “All I want is to have a decent conversation with Jay before I leave, and I’ll be more than satisfied.”

“Oh!” She exclaims, nose crunching into a threatened crying mess. She holds her arms open and coerces you into her arms, patting the back of your head. “Of course. Of course, Jay will be fine by the time you need to go home. I promise.”

“I really do hope so,” You pull away first and smile weakly at her.

“By the way, Mr and Mrs Lee are with Heeseung in the ward next door,” She sniffles, anxiously rubbing her palms together.

“Oh, right- Do they know I’m on the-”

“Yes, of course they do, sweet heart,” She quickly rubs your arm to comfort you, then slides her hands down to yours to keep them in her palms. “Their parents are the sweetest couple ever and they’d be so grateful that Heeseung has a friend like you. How about I have Jake or Sunghoon bring you over to meet them?”

“Oh,” You watch as she waves to get one of the boys’ attention, Sunghoon quickly pulling away from the crowd to attend to you.

“Would you do me a favour and bring her over to Heeseung’s ward? Introduce her to his parents.”

“Of course,” Sunghoon hurriedly nods and lowers his head out of respect. “Come on.”

“Thanks, Mrs Park,” You turn your feet to follow Sunghoon, but your hands are reluctant to leave hers. “I’ll come back later.”

“No, take your time, sweet.”

With a slight nod, you pull away and trail after Sunghoon out of the ward after leaving your bag with Jake.

The ward door closes with a soft hiss, then Sunghoon pauses right before you can come into view of Heeseung’s ward door, turning over his shoulder to look down at you.

“I don’t mean to bring this up at a bad time but...”

“I know,” You nod. “I know I’ve been an ass the last few weeks. Honestly, I... I didn’t know who I wanted to be endgame either.”

Sunghoon gives your word one more second of thought before he turns around to face you.

“It’s not my business but are you going to choose? Or... just go home next week?”

You frown and look down at your hands, reminiscing the warmth from Jay’s mother.

“I don’t know,” Your voice cracks. “I don’t think I can choose. Even if I do, I have 8 days, and neither of them are awake yet. I don’t... I don’t want to do that to them.”

He takes a deep breath and looks away, shoving his hands into his pockets.

“It’s Heeseung. Choose Heeseung,” He says without looking at you. “The night they got into a crash, Jay texted Jake to tell us that Heeseung kissed you, and that was the moment he decided he would give up.”

The statement tears you apart on the inside.

“Jay’s a tough guy to hurt and he plays his cards fairly and maturely,” Sunghoon nods and finally looks at you. “Don’t feel bad you’re choosing Heeseung over him. He had a truce with Heeseung. About you. And he knows he lost fair and square, so don’t feel upset. Just pour your heart and soul into Heeseung for the rest of the time you’re here, and worry about committing anything else after you’ve gone home.”

You part your lips to breathe, as if it would help you understand any faster or better.

“Anyway, both Heeseung’s parents are in there and they already have an idea who you are so... Just be nice.”

He watches you nod, slightly zoned-out, then pushes the door open.

His parents can tell you’re more preoccupied with the limp, breathing body on the bed than their presence, but they still take it with grace and greet you like they’ve known you your entire life.

The sight of Heeseung being bandaged up with a leg hanging in the air makes you feel like shit.

Who wouldn’t?

Later in the night, after Heeseung’s mother had gone home and his father had left to get coffee, you’re left alone with him and the occasional beeping from the Holter monitor.

There was a bruise and scratch on his left cheek, and his neck, arms and right leg were in a cast. You think about how much he was going to miss dancing when he gets told he’ll need to be on a 6-month break from anything strenuous.

Tired, you pull your earpieces out and plug it into your phone, laying it on the bed while you hover over him to fit the earbuds into his ears. Then you sit back down and scroll through your playlist, playing with the volume buttons to make sure it was softer than the volume you’d normally listen to your music at.

You make your selection, then quietly lay on the mattress with the faint music drizzling the atmosphere’s noise. That’s how quiet the room was.

His fingers were sticking out of his cast, so you play with them. His hair was in his shut eyes, so you gently push them out in case he were to open them.

“One more time, Heeseung. Just one more time before I leave.”

Jay’s mother was sleeping by his bed when you walk in to check on them, bag hanging from your right shoulder and lids heavy from the terrible sleep schedule the past few days.

“Hi.”

And a smile stretches your lips out when you can see him blink, offer you his bright grin, apart from the cut on his eyebrow.

“Hey,” You whisper, walking towards him on the other side of the bed. “How are you feeling?”

Jay clears his throat and blinks. “Had better days, but at least I’m alive.”

A snigger threatens to wake his mother up. “Good. Do you want me to wake your mom up? Maybe get a doctor in to give you a check up or something.”

He shakes his head, even managing a small wave in his fingers laying by his hip. “No, I’m good. I’m going back to sleep soon anyway.”

You lean over and adjust his pillow. “Well, then I shan’t disturb you. I’ll come by again tomorrow.”

“Sure,” He looks up at you and nods. Your gazes meet, for a split second, he can kind of know what you’re thinking of, and you know what he was.

“Thank you for this sem, Jay. I really am.”

He shakes his head. “No, thank you. It was a fun sem because of you.”

“You call being in a hospital ward fun?”

Chuckling, he turns back to look at the ceiling for a second. “You will come back to visit us, won’t you? Zoom call us or something.”

“Of course. We could meet up during the summer break if anything.”

Satisfied, he nods again. “Good.”

“Get some rest. I’ll see you tomorrow,” You shove your hands into your pockets.

“Okay,” He quietly responds, watching you turn on your heels. “Oh, y/n.”

You turn and raise a brow.

“Heeseung. He’s the one for you, and... he’ll wake up for you. I know he will.”

With a slightly ached grin, you nod and look down at your feet.

“Bye Jay.”

“Bye.”

#enhypennetwork #heeseung scenarios #heeseung imagines #heeseung angst #heeseung x reader #jay scenarios #jay imagines #jay angst #jay x reader #enhypen scenarios #enhypen imagines #enhypen angst #enhypen x reader #enhypen fanfic #enhypen series #heeseung series #jay series

60 notes · View notes

lailyn · 3 years ago

Text

All In My Head Chapter 3

When the news travelled across the Emergency Department that they were treating one of their own, the flurry of activity intensified. Stephen found himself being pushed to the brink as doctors and nurses shouldered him aside to get to Loki.

As curtains were drawn around their patient, Stephen lunged forward to see, before a voice stopped him in his tracks.

“Sir, I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to step out.”

“But I am a doctor - ”

“Are you related? A spouse?” Stephen shook his head to both, and the triage nurse gave her firm edict. “Then I’m sorry, Doctor, you’re not allowed in.”

“Strange.”

Stephen rushed over to his friend who was standing a few feet away at an over-bed table with an open folder in front of him. “Anderson.”

They had gone to Columbia together, surely the ER attending could look the other way this one time and let him in?

“I heard you came in with the patient?” Anderson cocked his head in the direction of the corridor, away from the heart of the action. “Do you mind answering a few questions for me?”

“Questions?” Stephen bristled. “This is hardly the time, I have to see to Loki - ”

“Who is in no condition to give a history,” Anderson interrupted. “And you will help me.”

Stephen pinched his forehead and forced himself to take a deep breath. “Yeah, of course. Sorry.”

Anderson studied his friend for a few seconds, before uncapping his pen. “How long has he been unconscious?”

“I don’t know,” Stephen said in a hollow voice. “I thought he was asleep. Thirty, forty minutes?”

“Any seizures?”

Stephen shook his head. “Not that I’ve witnessed. But he was blocked from my view so he could have had one and I didn’t see it.”

“You said he’s been complaining of a headache?”

“Yeah, he’s had a headache all day. Seemed like a pretty bad one but he assured me it was just a migraine.” Stephen clenched his jaw. “Migraine my ass.”

“I’m sure you had no reason to doubt him, he probably thought it was one too,” Anderson said placatingly. “He comes down here every so often for it.”

Alarm bells blared in his head. “Why?”

“We’re the ER, Doctor. We’re the one-stop centre for the desperate.” Anderson’s simple answer resonated with more resignation than pride. “A bolus of Haldol and he’s off on his way again, saving the world.”

Stephen opened his mouth to speak, when a sudden noise distracted him; he turned to see a gurney wheeled out past the double doors behind him.

From where he was standing he could make out the head of black hair on the patient but not the face, yet there was no doubt in his mind who it was, and his heart sank. “They had to intubate?”

“His GCS must have dropped further. Radiology’s down that way so he’s probably going in for a scan?” Anderson looked at a colleague with whom he exchanged knowing nods. “It’s just as well. Gotta rule out a space-occupying lesion before we could proceed with a spinal tap.”

“You’re thinking meningitis?”

“It’s high on our list. It says here on the vital signs sheet that he has a bit of a temperature.”

Stephen paled. How could he not have noticed -?

“You said he had bags of fluids infused prior to his collapse?” Anderson pressed. “How much?”

“Yes, self-administered,” Stephen said. “Two litres.”

“That could have masked the fever.”

Stephen cupped his face with hands that trembled. When they fell away, his eyes were red. “But I examined him myself. His GCS was fine, he didn’t have a rash, and there was no neck stiffness either!”

“It may be a subclinical presentation, the symptoms can mimic a lot of things,” Doctor Anderson said. “Don’t beat yourself up.”

Shock drained the last ounce of energy he had, already depleted from the blurry days of long hours and little sleep. As if sensing this, Anderson led him to a chair into which Stephen dropped heavily like a stone. “I can’t believe this.”

“I’m afraid I have to ask you a few more questions. They’re of a sensitive nature, but rest assured, everything we discuss is confidential.”

Stephen stared at the doctor in growing horror. If the working diagnosis was meningitis, of viral rather than bacterial origin, then Anderson must be asking about sexually-transmitted viruses, the most serious of which being HIV.

“Yeah, no. No, we’re both clean.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah. We checked.”

“And do you know if…” Anderson drawled, hoping his body language was enough for Stephen to decipher what he meant.

“No other partners,” Stephen said uncomfortably. He wished he was anywhere but here. “As far as I know.”

“He could have caught a bug from his ICU patients,” Anderson mulled. “There's always one or two rampaging around this time of year. The lumbar puncture will tell us more.”

“Can’t believe you’re doing this to me again, you asshole,” Stephen muttered under his breath. With an irritable wave of the hand, he added, “Not you.”

The look of chagrin on the doctor’s face turned to sympathy. “I’m sorry, Stephen. I know you two are close.”

Stephen shrugged, too exhausted to deny what was so obviously and painfully true. He couldn't care less about the gossip; it hardly worked in his favour this time, as far as helping Loki was concerned.

“Is there anything else I can help you with, Barry?” He asked dully.

“One last thing.” Anderson tapped his pen against a blank space on the chart. “We have no information on Doctor Odinson’s next of kin. Do you know of anybody we can contact? His parents? A family member?”

*********************

Stephen had no inkling of how much time had passed but by the time he came to his senses, the screen on his phone had gone black, and he found himself having to key the numbers in again.

It felt like a jinx to keep Loki’s mother’s contact details stored; with his eidetic memory, there was no need to. Once he had committed something to memory, there was no losing it, no matter how much he told himself he was never going to need it.

Now, sitting here in this deserted corridor, waiting for a word from Loki’s doctors, Stephen had never felt more alone.

Loki.

Stephen rocketed out of his chair and began to pace.

Loki was not going to like this, but as much as Stephen wanted to keep Loki for himself, Loki was not his.

Or rather, not his alone.

Stephen pressed ‘call’.

The person at the end of the line picked up before the first dial tone ended, and Stephen found himself fumbling for words he should have prepared beforehand.

"May I speak with Mrs Frigga Odinson?" he almost stammered.

"This is she," a quiet voice spoke.

Stephen propped his head against the wall. "I’m Doctor Stephen Strange, resident surgeon calling from Metro-General Hospital.”

A long pause, before finally a breathy, “Yes?”

“I’m calling you about your son.”

#strangefrost #fic #sick loki #loki #doctor strange #crossposted to ao3 #all in my head

10 notes · View notes

justthehiddleswrites · 4 years ago

Text

Anesthesia | Tom Hiddleston x Reader

Pairing: Tom Hiddleston x Reader

Summary: Tom suffers a serious car accident and the reader is the nurse on duty in the ER. Tom and anesthesia don't mix and Tom acts very out of character. Can Tom regain his composure or will he continue to shamelessly flirt with the reader? And is Benedict going to work all of this to his advantage?

Warnings: Car Accidents, Hospitals, Anesthesia Makes people act crazy, Tom quoting Shakespeare

“Tom?”

Tom’s eyes fluttered, and he blinked several times, adjusting to the bright white light.

“Nurse! He is waking up!”

Nurse? Waking up? Tom reached out and cold metal hit his hands. Safety rails. The air was cool, dry, and sterile. As he attempted to sit up, he felt a cold air hit his bare back.

“Hey buddy, lie back down. You gave us quite a scare,” the familiar voice reassured him as he lowered himself back down to the bed.

Tom turned his head to the sound and once he saw Benedict’s face he smiled. Ben smiled back.

“Welcome back to Earth, Tom.”

“Thanks, what happened?”

The last thing Tom remembered was climbing into the stunt car to rehearse the big action shot. After that, it was just flashes of fire, screams and sirens.

“The brakes failed and the stunt coordinator doesn’t know what happened. But the important thing is you got out alive.”

Tom attempted to sit up again and felt winces of pain throughout his body.

“What was the damage?”

Benedict looked down.

“To you or the car?”

“The car… of course me! I feel as though a Mack truck hit me.”

“You are not far off. You broke your clavicle, wrist, and a few ribs. Um… lacerations everywhere and a… a ruptured spleen.”

Tom twisted to see his friend’s face better and felt the stitches and bandages strain. He winced at the sharp pain on his left side. Benedict hit the call button and in minutes, the nurse arrived.

She smiled as she approached the bed.

“Feeling pain?”

Tom nodded.

She looked at your chart before adding some pain meds to Tom’s IV.

“That should do. I would suggest lying down and the doctor should be in about twenty minutes.”

Tom thanked her and couldn’t help but notice her gazing over her shoulder as she left the room. Her smile barely contained her giggles. Tom’s eyes widened.

“Do they know who I am?”

Benedict averted his eyes and rose from the chair, feigning interest in the generic artwork on the wall. Tom narrowed his eyes at the clear avoidance of the question.

“What are you not telling me?”

“Oh boy, you don’t remember anything when you got here, do you?”

Tom shook his head.

“No, what happened?”

“You were in a lot of pain. Tell me have you ever been under anesthesia before?”

“Maybe, once or twice…” Tom questioned, but then he stared his friend down for answers.

“What did I say, Ben?”

“You don’t want to know.”

“Yes, I do. Sit down and tell me, and I will decide if you live or die.”

Dejected, Ben returned to the chair and let a sigh out.

“I’m sorry, Tom.”

Four Hours Earlier

The gurney burst through the ER doors just fifteen minutes after you started your shift. Emergency room shifts are never boring but physically and emotionally draining. You put down your cup of coffee and headed in to assess the patient.

A man lied, groaning on the gurney. His face covered in scrapes and blood staining his ginger whiskers. His left wrist sat at an unnatural angle and his shirt cut away by the paramedics to administer help.

“Car accident,” the EMT relayed, “stunt gone wrong.”

A specific hazard unique to Los Angeles. They wheeled him to the examination room and put him onto the bed with care. He wore a C-collar, but the jostling stirred the man. His eyelids fluttered open and his blue eyes work to focus on his surroundings.

“Hey…” you looked down at his chart, “Tom. How are you doing?”

“Pain.”

“I know you are in pain, but where?”

Tom gestured to the left side of his abdomen.

“Okay.” You grabbed some morphine and added it to his IV. “Any allergies?”

He shook his head.

“Anyone come with you?”

As if on cue, Benedict pulled back the curtain.

“I did.”

You recognized the man standing before you. Benedict Cumberbatch was quite the movie star.

“Really?” You attempted to keep your cool. This was no time for fan girling.

Within minutes, Benedict could communicate the information about not only the accident but Tom’s medical history as well. It had all been on file with the production company.

The doctor came in and did a quick examination.

“We need to get a CT scan and X-rays. Looks like there may be internal injuries.”

You nodded as you prepared to wheel Tom down the hall.

“Ready to go for a ride?” you asked.

Tom nodded and gave a goofy smile.

“What’s your name?”

“Y/N.”

“Y/N, Y/N. That’s a beautiful name. My name is Tom Fucking Hiddleston.”

The drugs were doing their job.

“Nice to meet you, Tom. We will take you for some tests.”

“But I didn’t study!” he sounded dismayed.

You could not suppress your laugh.

“I think you will be fine.”

Tom grabbed your hand and looked up at you, tears in his eyes.

“Will you help me study?” he asked with a serious tone.

“Of course.”

Tom continued to babble on for the rest of the trip to imaging. He spoke about how nice you smelled and how pretty your eyes look. The full court press of flirting. As you reached the room, you and the other nurse lifted Tom onto the machine.

“Here you go.”

Tom grabbed your hand once again.

“Please don’t leave. I’m scared of the dark.”

While his words spoke of her fear, his eyes and smile said something else.

“Are you flirting with me, Mr. Hiddleston?”

His smile only grew.

“Is it working?”

You leaned in to his ear to whisper, “No, but the drugs are.”

Tom pouted.

“Not fair.”

“But you are cute.”

His face lit up once again.

“I came, saw and overcame.” Tom was being dramatic.

At that point, the other nurse started up the machine, and you walked away to let the rest of nurses to care for his needs. After his scans, you headed back to the waiting area. You found Benedict pacing the floor in anticipation. His long fingers alternating between steepling in front of his face and raking through his hair. As you approached, you cleared your throat.

“Yes?” his voice shared a tone of concern and hopefulness.

“A few broken bones but the big thing is that his spleen has ruptured. He needs surgery right away.”

Ben’s face fell.

“Will he be okay?”

You nodded.

“He will make a full recovery. Would you like to see him before they send him in to operating?”

You led Ben back to where they were prepping Tom for surgery. The anesthesiologist added drugs to the IV and Tom was now in a full hospital gown. His tattered rags of clothes in the garbage.

“No fair!” Tom bellowed as you entered with Ben throwing the thin sheet over his legs. The two of you shared a knowing look, “You have seen me naked but I have not had the chance to see you naked.”

You leaned into Benedict.

“It would seem that the medicine does not agree with your friend,” you smirked.

“Oh, I don’t know, I rather like him like this, so not proper. So not Tom Hiddleston.”

You smiled as you looked upon Tom who, in vain, tried to cover his body. Even loopy on drugs, he charmed and warmed your heart.

“I will leave you to it.”

As you turned to leave, Tom shouted at you.

“I love thee, Y/N. By which honor I dare not swear thou lovest me, yet my blood begins to flatter me that thou dost, not withstanding the poor and untempering effect of visage. And therefore tell me, most fair Y/N, will you have me?”

You suppressed a small giggle.

“I will see you later,” you let them both know as you shut the door.

As soon as the door latched, Tom grabbed Benedict’s arm and pulled him down close.

“Ben! Ben! Have you met my wife?”

Benedict screwed his face up with confusion.

“The nurse? That is just the drugs talking, Tom. You barely know her.”

“Nonsense. She will be my wife and you shall be my best man.”

Benedict looked at Tom with an exasperated face but Tom’s only contained earnest. With a chuckle, Benedict conceded.

“Very well, Tom. I will be your best man.”

Tom slapped Benedict’s shoulder.

“That’s the spirit. As my best man, I require you to acquire my future bride’s number.”

Benedict could not resist at this point to play along with his friend’s drug-addled fantasy.

“I will, on one condition.”

“Name your price.”

“Name your firstborn after me.”

“Consider it done.”

“Then consider the number yours.”

Tom’s face beamed and as if on cue, the nurses came to wheel Tom into surgery.

***

“Oh dear, God. I quoted Shakespeare.”

Tom hung his head and his face and neck turned a bright shade of red.

“Yep. The Henry the Fifth wooing speech too. Honestly, it was one of your better performances. Might I suggest doing all your roles drugged from now on.”

Tom shot Benedict a withering look.

“Ha ha. Very funny. I can’t show my face to her again.”

At that moment, the door opened, and you entered. The color drained from Tom’s face, while the smile grew on Benedict’s.

“Y/N!” Benedict cooed, “We were just talking about you. So nice of you to stop in.”

Your shift ended half an hour ago, but you wanted to check in on Tom before going home. Today was not the first time a patient hit on you, although they are usually not an award-winning actor with a penchant for quoting Shakespeare. But, you would remain ever the professional. You checked the chart before wishing the two men well.

As you turned to exit, Benedict walked you out.

“Thank you, Y/N for attending to Tom.”

“My pleasure. Even under the influence, he is quite charming.”

Benedict took this opportunity.

“Speaking about that…”

3 years later

“Tom!”

You yelled down the hall of your London home, beckoning your husband. At six months pregnant, getting up and down was no easy task. Tom rushed to your side. He gave you his arm and with a rocking start; you extracted yourself from the chair.

“Thanks, darling.”

“I am at your beck and call.”

You rubbed your swollen belly as you waddled your way down the hall. Tom followed you to the kitchen.

“Now about names for this little young man here.”

Tom grew ashen. He thought he could avoid this conversation, but it seems his luck had run out.

“Yeah, I have I mentioned today that I love you.”

Tom kissed your lips, and you looked at him with distrust.

“What have you done?”

Tom smiled and rubbed his neck, a nervous habit.

“I may have promised to name the child after Benedict.”

Tom flinched.

“You what? Why on earth would you do that?”

“It was for a good cause.”

“Which was?”

“Your phone number.”

With that, Tom took off down the hallway. You smiled as you walked with much effort behind him.

“We are NOT naming our child after breakfast food!”

You heard Tom’s laughter fill the house.

#tom hiddleston #tom hiddleston fanfiction #tom hiddleston fanfic #tom hiddleston x reader #tom hiddleston imagine #tom hiddleston fluff

187 notes · View notes

wonder-womans-ex · 4 years ago

Text

See It In Your Eyes

The sequel to ‘Cause Boy I was Made for You

When Finn O'Hara was eleven years old, he got two things for Christmas: an Iron Man action figure and a telling off. There were probably other things, too, but in ten years (or eleven, or twelve, or even thirty for that matter) he wouldn't be able to remember them.

But the action figure had been the one he'd eyed in the toy store window for the past seven months, and the telling off had been from his Aunt Isla.

"There are two things you must never ask a lady," she had scolded. "Her age, and to see the mark on her wrist. Remember that, Finnegan."

(For the record, he hadn't asked to see her wrist. He had asked her to pass him the stuffing, and he'd said "What's that?" when her sleeve got bunched up around her elbow.) (Not like she cared.)

***

When Logan Tremblay was eleven years old, he nearly broke his jaw. One of the boys on his team tied his shoelaces together after practice and he fell and smashed his face on the locker room bench.

After three and a half hours in the ER, he met his own eyes in the bathroom mirror, cheek swollen comically huge, and thought, don’t let it get to you, even though it already had.

***

When Leo Knut was eleven years old, he got his first job. Sure, it was only a paper route, but to Leo, it was everything. Not only was he making money (real, actual money; his dad couldn’t tell him his Monopoly skills were just pure luck anymore) but he was the first in his family to learn anything interesting. One morning, halfway through his rounds, he flipped to the sports page. The words Local Team Manager Loses Job over Sexuality glared up at him.

At lunchtime, when his parents asked about the news lately, he merely shrugged and took another bite of his taco.

***

When Finn O’Hara was fifteen years old, he fell in love for the first time. Not with a person, no, but no one could deny that he was in love—by the fourth rewatch of Mamma Mia, his mother was resigned to promising him extra dessert if he would please, for the love of God, just sing anything else.

***

When Logan Tremblay was fifteen years old, he and his sister Noelle woke up at five in the morning on April Fool’s to rig their house. Noelle, admittedly, was behind most of it, but Logan came up with five spectacular (if he did say so himself) pranks: baking soda in the cereal and vinegar in the milk, which caused his father’s breakfast to fizz and explode the moment he poured it out; semi-permanent hair dye in his mother’s shampoo (her hair kept the blue tint for almost a month); all the hard-boiled eggs in the fridge swapped out for raw ones and vice versa; glue in his father’s shaving cream; and, just because he felt like it, all the toilet paper in the house hidden in the downstairs freezer. The day was a bright spot in a patch of darkness—it had been only a week before that he had found the tumblr post about anxiety symptoms and thought, maybe…

***

When Leo Knut was fifteen years old, he quit baseball—for good this time. His coach was confused as to why anyone would give up an 84 mph fastball and a glove that could catch any pop fly in favour of the ice, but Leo was sure. Hockey was his destiny. The pitcher’s mound had nothing to offer him, not anymore.

***

When Finn O’Hara was eighteen years old, he met Logan Tremblay. His first thought—though he would not accept it until years later—was, He has very nice lips. I would like to kiss them. His second, mere moments later, was, Wait shit no fuck no dammit shit fuck.

***

When Logan Tremblay was eighteen years old, he began to wonder who his soulmate was. Maybe she would have coffee-brown eyes and a gap between her front teeth, the perfect height for him to rest his chin on top of her head. Maybe she would be taller, with wide hips and sharp elbows and long eyelashes.

He tried to shake his fantasies of fiery red hair and gorgeous grins, because Logan was a hockey player and hockey players weren’t queer.

***

Leo Knut is eighteen years old, and he is being pulled down a dimly lit hallway by Finn O’Hara. His wrist is warm beneath Finn’s grasp, his heart beating a little too fast for his liking.

“Where are we going?” Logan asks from his place at the end of Finn’s other arm, but he gets no answer.

Finally, they reach what Leo assumes is their destination: the…. Well, Leo isn’t sure where they are, actually. Some sort of storage room, he guesses, judging by the net in the corner.

He still has no idea why they’re there.

Logan is looking at Finn expectantly, a curious expression on his face. He looks like he knows what’s happening, and the thought bites at Leo’s heart. Great—he’s the only clueless one here.

Finn takes a deep breath, and then another. “Hi,” he begins, and then stops.

Not sure which of them he should look at, Leo focuses on a spot on the wall between Logan’s and Finn’s heads. He senses one of them watching him. He doesn’t check which it is.

“So,” Finn tries again. “Ugh. I’m bad at this.”

“What exactly is ‘this’?” Logan’s brow, when Leo sneaks a glance at him, is furrowed, only a sliver of green eyes visible beneath his squint.

There’s a thunk as Finn lets his head fall back against the wall. “This is me finally deciding to man up and tell you I’m in love with you.”

Leo’s head turns to look at Logan so fast his neck hurts. He sees Logan blink once, and then twice.

***

Finn meets Logan’s eyes. He can practically feel the electricity crackling between them.

Because Logan knows.

He has to.

He has to know that Finn’s heart nearly beats out of his chest every time Logan smiles. He has to know that sometimes he’ll be talking to someone, anyone—Cap, or Coach Weasley, or the press—and he’ll think about Harvard and he’ll forget how to breathe. Logan is half of Finn’s heart.

But whether or not Logan knows it, the look on his face says he feels the same. Finn feels his lips start to curve into a smile.

And then Leo says, “Why am I here, then?”

There are a hundred ways Finn could answer that question. One of them is ‘Why wouldn’t you be?’ and another is ‘I don’t know.’ He could be passionate. He could be tactful. He could be poetic or blunt or gentle or any of those things.

What he goes with, in the end, is philosophical.

“Who decides it’s wrong?” Finn says to the floor. “Any of it. The feeling. The wanting. The having, even. If it’s real, then how can it be wrong?”

He can’t see Logan’s face, nor Leo’s, but he imagines they must be confused. He goes on, not entirely sure he knows what he’s saying and not entirely sure he cares. “And maybe it’s destiny. And maybe it isn’t. Why does it matter? If it’s real and painful and there for the taking, why bother about whether it’s supposed to be?”

Finally, he looks up. He senses that one of them is going to say something, and whichever it is, he cuts them off.

“Maybe it’s not you. Fuck, maybe it isn’t either of you, and maybe I’m the only one who thinks it should be. But it has to mean something, doesn’t it? Because if it doesn’t… why bother at all?”

And maybe, Finn thinks, I’m going to start crying.

***

Logan, mind still wheeling, is the only one who gets an inkling of what Leo is going to do before he does it. Finn certainly doesn’t, and he’s not quite sure Leo does either.

He grabs Finn by the collar and pulls him up, their faces smashing together, red and gold curls tangling between their foreheads. Logan watches them slowly break apart, far enough away to lock eyes, yet still so close they’re breathing into each other’s mouths. His heart surges—with jealousy, yes, but also with something fiery and sweet. Something akin to excitement, or—dare he say—love.

“Whoa,” he says out loud, not realizing it until Leo and Finn both glance over at him. His cheeks start to colour.

Then Leo places a hand on his shoulder and leans down to kiss him, too. This one is more gentle by far that the previous; a dance rather than a battle. It makes sense—Finn’s always been the brash one, the impulsive one, while Logan is tentative, sturdy—and it seems fitting that Leo is the one to remind them of that.

Logan still doesn’t know what they’re doing there.

Well, he knows what they’re doing, of course. They’re kissing. But he doesn’t know why Finn picked now to haul them halfway across Hogwarts arena and make it happen. Maybe if he really thought about it, something would come to him.

But of course he’s not going to think about it, because Leo is still kissing him.

When one of them finally pulls away—Logan isn’t sure who—Leo reaches one hand up and touches Logan’s lip. They stay there for a long moment, neither of them moving, before calloused fingers carefully skate across his waist. He turns towards Finn.

They surge forward together, meeting in the middle. One of Finn’s hands fists in Logan’s hair, the other slipping under his shirt, as they kiss for the first time in nearly four years.

He can taste salt. One of them is crying; it’s probably him.

When Logan starts to break away, desperate for air, Finn chases his mouth. Within a few seconds, though, he’s pulled back, too. It’s almost simultaneously that they remember there’s another person in the room.

Leo’s lip is between his teeth as he worries at it. He doesn’t speak for a long moment; the silence, before it shatters, if practically tangible. “You two have history,” he says, like it’s a question he already knows the answer to.

“We do,” Finn answers easily. There’s something fierce in his eyes. “But it’s the future that matters.”

Logan wishes Finn would stop sounding like Plato. Or Socrates. Or Aristotle. One of them, anyway. Finn is an American in his 20’s, not a 2000-something-year-old Greek. In any case, mystery is decidedly not Finn’s colour.

Leo shakes his head. “That’s not what I meant.”

“What do you mean, then?”

“I mean you guys are—you’re practically—” he breaks off. One of his hands moves towards Logan, only stopping when it hovers mere centimetres from his wrist. “May I?”

“I—sure.” Logan’s heart skips a beat when their fingers brush. Leo gently turns his hand so Logan’s palm is up, and it’s not until Leo starts to push his sleeve away that Logan realizes what he’s doing.

But by then it’s too late—those three paw prints he spends so much time agonizing over are on display, no longer private, no longer just for him. For a split second, he considers covering his wrist again and leaving. But he does no such thing.

Because if he can’t trust Finn and Leo, he can’t trust anyone.

Finn’s mouth opens slightly in surprise. “It’s—” he says, and there’s barely any hesitation before he’s pulled his sleeve up, too.

It takes a moment before Finn’s soulmark registers in Logan’s mind. When he does, he starts to smile.

They’re soulmates.

***

Leo feels his jaw clench. He knows he should be happy for them—and he is, really. They’ll smile at each other, and they’ll kiss again, and they’ll go on with their lives as that one couple who are so in love it hurts to look at them.

He turns away when tears start to pool in his eyes. He’ll go back to the locker room; they obviously want to be alone right now. “I’ll just… yeah.”

Just as soon as he takes his first step towards the door, Finn grabs his arm. “Wait,” he says, and Leo stops.

“Logan and I are soulmates,” says Finn, all in one breath, “But there are three prints. Not two. And I know that it’s rare, but Re—but I’ve been told it’s possible. That it’s happened before.”

Leo thinks he knows, but he has to make sure. “Do you mean—do you think we’re—”

“I know you’re only eighteen,” Finn continues. “And I know there’s no way of knowing for a while. But does it matter? Even… even if I’m wrong? I love you—I love both of you—soulmates or not.”

Leo waits for one of the others to say something more. When neither does, he wonders why, and quickly comes to the conclusion that it’s because they’re waiting for him to say something.

“Who told you?” he asks the moment it pops into his head. It’s not the best thing he could say, but it’s not the worst, either.

“Told me what?”

“You said someone told you it was possible to have two soulmates. Who was it?”

There’s a pause as Finn cracks one of his knuckles, deep in thought. “Loops,” he whispers, but not until Leo has decided he’s not going to say anything at all. “I was talking to Loops yesterday, and I told him I thought… anyway, he said I should tell you.”

“You told him we’re soulmates?” Logan’s eyes are wide and fearful. “He knows we’re…?”

“Not you guys, no. Well, Leo, maybe. I just said you were both on the team, that’s all.”

“But you would have had to say something about my age,” Leo concludes, the dots starting to connect in his head. “And I’m the only one who’s not nineteen yet.”

“Yeah.”

Logan swallows, the almost comical gulp audible in the quiet room, and he crosses his arms over his chest. There’s something about the gesture, however, that tells Leo it’s an act of protection, not defiance. “He’s not going to… tell anyone, is he?”

“No. And if he doesn’t, I won’t.”

“What?” Leo thinks he might be missing something.

“He won’t tell anyone we’re… gay.” It’s the first time any of them have said it—that three-letter word that, in their profession, could ruin everything. “Because he has his own secrets. There’s a difference between being ashamed of something and wanting to keep it private.”

Logan’s eyes widen slightly. “You mean… we’re not the only ones?” His voice is incredulous, choked with emotion, and Leo reaches out a hand to him.

“I don’t think we ever were.”

***

Finn feels as though he’s floating. No—this is better than floating. This is dreaming. At any moment, he’s going to wake up staring at the ceiling of his bedroom with Leo asleep just a wall away. A mile away.

It’s like he’s watching, not experiencing, the way Logan’s fingers twine with Leo’s, love overflowing from the gaze they share. He’s imagining the kiss Logan leans forward to plant on his cheek. Leo’s arm wrapping itself around his shoulders is all in his head.

But it isn’t. Without having to speak, the three of them make their way out of the storage room and back into the hall—blond and brunet hand in hand, blond holding redhead so close it seems he’ll never let go. Finn leans into the warm body to his side, and he feels Leo stagger slightly as Logan does, too. They seem as though they would be perfect on the cover of a book, or a movie poster—Three’s Company, his mind provides, and he files it away just in case he ever decides he wants to sell the rights to his life story.

He’s a long way from that, though. After all, it’s been barely half an hour since they started to unravel this knot they’ve spent so long tangling themselves into, and right now all Finn needs to do is try his best to make sure they don’t get tied up again.

The locker room is almost abandoned. Pascal’s packing up the last of his stuff, and he smiles when they enter. Logan, for one, stiffens slightly in fear, but it doesn’t seem like there’s any need to. Indeed, the only thing Pascal says as he does up the zipper of his bag is, “Be good to him,” and none of them knows who he’s talking to, so they all nod.

Finn waits until they have the room to themselves to pull Logan close to him. “It’ll be okay,” he says. “I promise.”

“But if people find out—”

“Then we’ll have to deal with that—all of us will. But you don’t have to be afraid. The team’s family. And family means no one gets lost behind or forgotten.”

Logan nods, chewing his lower lip. It’s obvious when the gravity of Finn’s words clicks in his head—the expression on his face twists into one of confusion. “Wait a second—why does that sound familiar?”

“Because it’s from Lilo and Stitch.”

Swiveling his head towards Leo, Finn stage whispers, “Shhhhh!” This gets a smile out of Logan.

“I knew I’d heard it before somewhere. Shame on you, Finn—plagiarizing the words of an innocent blue alien!” He stops, blinking. “There’s something I never thought I’d say.”

Finn smiles. This is his life now. He thinks he’ll have a lot of fun getting used to it.

***

Skates swishing over the ice, Logan lets the world fall away. He stops thinking about everything—even Finn’s contagious laughter and Leo’s broad grin fade from his mind as he gets closer and closer to the goal.

Almost there, almost there—

He shoots. The puck whizzes past Kasey’s elbow, only barely missing him.

“Nice one, Tremblay!”

Moody is nodding in approval. Logan feels a rush of pride—it’s an easy, everyday drill, something he’s been able to do in his sleep since he was a kid, but praise is always a good thing. When he can’t have a cheering crowd, he might as well have a coach who admires his talents.

“Merci!” he says, beaming, and then, on second thought, adds, “I’d be surprised if it wasn’t!”

Out of the corner of his eye, he notices Finn and Leo bump shoulders. His heart swells—they love each other, and he loves that they love each other. Somehow, he finds it hard to believe it’s only been a day since the storage room and the kissing and—

“Tremblay!” Logan is shocked back out of his thoughts by Coach Weasley’s (albeit slightly amused) shout. “Stop daydreaming and take another shot!”

“Yes, Coach.”

He’s sweating by the time he’s finally allowed to sit down again. He takes a swig of Gatorade, watching Finn try and sneak up behind him.

“Boo!”

“Hi, Fish.”

“Dammit.” Two red eyebrows lift and fall again. “How’d you know I was here?”

“I saw you. You’re not inconspicuous.”

“You don’t just love me so much you could sense me from halfway across the world?”

Logan can’t help it—he glances around furtively, heart pounding, hoping desperately that no one heard Finn’s comment. “Well, that, too,” he adds, once he’s sure everyone else is sufficiently distracted. “But mostly that ginger head of yours just sticks out like a sore thumb. I call you mon rouge for a reason, you know.”

“Fuck you.”

"Peut-être plus tard.”

“In English, please?”

“...Maybe later.”

“But I want to know now.”

(If only he knew.)

Logan feels giddy as he realizes they really do have time for ‘maybe later.’ They have time, and they’ve earned it. After all, it’s been a day. It’s been eight years.

It’s been forever.

***

It’s almost a year later that Leo wakes up in an empty bed. He yawns, stretches, arches his back and hears his joints pop. For a moment, he wonders where his boys—even now, the thought that they really are his boys makes him unbelievably happy—are.

Then he hears the voices from the kitchen. A smile spreads across his face at the exclamation of “Oh, shit!” and he swings his legs over the side of the bed, placing his feet on the floor and preparing for whatever disaster may greet him.

(Honestly, who thought letting Finn and Logan cook was a good idea?)

And true enough, the moment walks into the kitchen he’s greeted by two things: the grinning faces of his boyfriends, and the smell of smoke.

“What’s burning?”

“The bacon.”

“Of course it is.” He reaches over, taking the pan from Finn, and scrutinizes it. “Salvageable,” he declares, “But please never try to make anything other than instant ramen again.”

Logan nods sheepishly. “Sorry,” he says. “We just wanted to make you something special. Y’know, for your birthday.”

Right.

His birthday.

He’d actually forgotten about that.

He’s not sure how—it’s all he’s been able to think about for almost a month now it’s here and he knows all three of them have the same thing on their minds. Sure, he’s excited, but right now, he’s leaning a little more towards terrified. Today’s the day.

But he knows, when he lets a very real grin spread across his face, that they won’t pressure him. They know it’s his choice, and they’ll respect that. He has nothing to worry about except for the fact that the smoke detector is around six seconds away from going off.

“Here,” he instructs Logan, putting the frying pan down on the stove. “Grab the fan from the bathroom—the little portable one—and bring it in here if you don’t want the fire department racing lights-and-fucking-sirens down our street.”

“Oui.”

“Finn… just try not to set anything else on fire.”

The hustle and (incredibly mild, all considering) panic only lasts for a few minutes. Finally, Leo presses a kiss to the top of Logan’s head, ruffling Finn’s hair, and opens the fridge. “Thanks for the breakfast, by the way.”

“Anytime.”

“...Or not.”

They all laugh at this, and when Leo grabs the milk and pours out three glasses, he watches them. He sees Finn pull out Logan’s chair with an exaggerated bow, glancing over and smiling when he and Leo lock eyes.

It’s the classic movie dilemma. Will he, won’t he. Won’t he, will he.

He waits until they’re all seated to bring it up. In the meantime, he rubs his wrist through the long-sleeved shirt he wore to bed yesterday for this very reason. It meant he was warm last night, but at least he gets a choice this morning.

“So.”

Finn and Logan both look up. “Yeah, Peanut?” one of them asks—probably Finn, but Leo’s mind is too far away to give it much thought.

“Are we going to talk about it?”

This time, it’s definitely Logan who responds, shrugging and poking at his bacon before saying, “Do you want to?”

“I think so.”

Here Finn cuts in. “I only have one thing to say, and that’s that whatever’s on your wrist? It doesn’t change anything. You’re mine—you’re ours—no matter what. We don’t have to be soulmates to be in love.”

“I know that. I just… I used to feel like I was missing something, you know? It’s been ages since I did, but at the beginning I felt like this was your relationship, and I was just an extra part of it.”

“I… I didn’t know you felt that way.” Logan’s eyes are earnest, emotional. Leo thinks he might see tears there. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. No, really—I felt that way, sure, but I don’t anymore. I know you guys love me. That’s what matters. I’m just tired of having the ability to tell myself I don’t belong, and this… this is what confirms it either way.

“I want to know. I really do. But I can’t help being afraid of the answer.”

Finn opens his mouth to speak, but Logan beats him to it. “It’s your choice. Whatever you decide to do, we’re here for you. You can do it today, you can do it tomorrow, you can do it in a year, you can do it never. Je t’aime, mon amour. Toujours.”

Time seems to slow down in the instant it takes Leo to reach into the deepest recesses of himself to gather all the courage he can find, take a deep breath, and pull up his left sleeve. His hands are hidden under the table, so neither Logan nor Finn knows what’s happened until Leo’s face spreads into the widest smile he’s ever worn and a choked, happy sob escapes his lips.

He can see in both their eyes the instant they realize—Finn first, Logan following mere instants later—and he rubs a thumb over the golden print. Somehow, he knows that one’s his.

He’s already seen this mark a hundred thousand times, but it feels so much more real there on his skin, blue and golden and green and—

“Yeah.” They know what he means. He wants to shout it out loud, sing it boldly as he walks down the street, because they’re his soulmates, and the only thing that matters more than that is that they’re in love.

thanks to @peggyrose19 for betaing and @lumosinlove for the incredible characters <3

#o'knutzy #finn o'hara #logan tremblay #leo knut #I made finn and logan that same age because what? even? are? timelines???#soulmates au #they're in love!

149 notes · View notes

physicalturian · 4 years ago

Text

[16+] Define "Hate" - Miya Atsumu x Fem!Reader

[She/Her pronouns used for the reader, no physical description; Everyone +18]

Words : 9956

Archive of our own

Tags : Enemies to friends (to lovers) / A random dude tries to make out but fails / Drinking / Partying / Fluff / Wholesome / Tenderness / Slight non-con

If you think I should add some tags, tell me!

Summary : Your friend Bokuto invites you to a party, where due to circumstances you're forced to hang out with a man that hates you : Miya Atsumu. The evening does not go as planned, and slowly, you're coming to the realization that your entire relationship may have started on a misunderstanding.

A/N: The unwanted advances are from a random person, so is the non-consensual touching. It does not go further, the person is stopped. The story is cute, but you've been warned if you're sensitive to such topics! Have fun!

- - -

I knew the moment I heard Bokuto say “I’ll meet you there then!” that I shouldn’t have accepted his offer to go out. While I was aware it was a rare opportunity considering his lack of free time, I had a feeling in the pit of my stomach it was going to turn out bad.

Before I could ask him what he meant by meet there, he had hung up, telling me he was excited. Pulling the phone away from my ear, I stared at the screen and tried to call him back right away, I had to ask him where we were meeting since in his excitement, he had not shared the location.

He never picked up. Even after 4 calls.

With a heavy sigh, I got up from my desk and grimaced at my last option to get hang of the man, “I really don’t want to call him… I should get Hinata’s phone number, that’d be more enjoyable than him.” Shaking my head, I told myself that we were both adults, and we could have a proper conversation. Clearing my throat, I pressed the name in my contacts and waited, drumming my fingers on the back of the phone.

After a moment, I heard some hubbub in the background before hearing the fake-joyous voice on the other end, “Well, isn’t it the little faker, are you calling me to come clean and finally be real with me-“ “Hello to you too, is Koutarou nearby?” I cut him off, not wanting to hear his little speech.

Every time we would meet, he would talk shit about the way I’d act. I was very social during those gatherings; I was calmer in normal situation, and I’ll admit putting on a tougher face when around more people I did not know. But what bugged Atsumu Miya was that I was never getting mad. His sole purpose seemed to try to tick me off.

Perhaps he was himself mad that I kept throwing him comebacks and that he’d struggle to come up with something just as good. Or perhaps he only heard about me from Bokuto and wanted to see the less stoic side Bokuto probably talked to him about.

The blond Miya twin huffed, it was followed by a more muffled sound. “I could ask, I could answer, really. But I’m not fond of the attitude, so I might just hang up-“ “You do that,” I had started tauntingly, thinking he wouldn’t do it. Before I could say more, he hung up.

It was my turn to huff as I called him back, he picked up just as fast, “Back so soon? How can I help you? And don’t waste time on formalities, I don’t need the fake niceties. This ain’t an interview,” His grin could be heard through the phone, it made me roll my eyes as I sighed.

“I really don’t know why Kou gave me your number instead of literally any other guy from your team. Just tell me if Koutarou is here, that’s all I am calling about.” Just when I said that, I heard my friend’s voice ask who was on the phone. I was very close to threaten Atsumu, thinking he was going to be shitty and not tell Bokuto it was me. Instead, he told him the truth and handed him his phone.

“Hey!! What’s up?” “Kou, you said we’d meet up there, where is ‘there’ exactly?” He burst out laughing for a long while before telling me he meant the pub near the campus, he added that the closest they were to the campus, the more they could get wasted. Or as he put it ‘the waster-er we can be’. “Right, but I’m a bit further from the pub. I don’t live that far, but not that close either-“

Hushing me, he said, “I know, I know, that’s why Tsum-Tsum is going to come pick you up! He said he wasn’t going to drink tonight, he’ll be our designated driver, I already gave him your address.”

I blinked a few times, not responding. Was he fucking with me? “Bok, Bok, can’t you just pick me up yourself?” “Nah, I have to go get my bro, he said he’ll need to be saved from a boring party he was forced to go to,” He explained. He then cut the conversation short by telling me we’d see each other tonight, then another voice spoke.

“Sheesh, who would have thought, right? Hope that does not make you mad. Better be ready at 5, don’t forget the condescending attitude, we wouldn’t want the others to know who you really are, right?” “You are obsessed with me, it’s getting ridiculous. I’m not fake, Miya. It says a lot if all you want is for me to get mad at you, perhaps you lived in a too lenient household? In dire need of being reprimanded?” The man scoffed and repeated to be ready by 5, then hung up.

I had a few hours left to get prepared and did it in no time. Enough to wear something casual enough, but still standing out a bit to look good. With the time I had left, I rummaged through my place to find an empty reusable bottle and filled it with something to spice up my drinks and have more fun. Going to bars was fun, but it did not come cheap, plus if I was going to be somewhere where Atsumu Miya was, I was not going to be sober.

I was putting my bottle inside my bag, when I heard my phone ring in my back pocket and quickly grabbed it only to be attacked, “When I say be ready at 5, it means be in front of the building door by 5, not take your time going down the stairs.” “Did you skip breakfast or something? Such a sour mood Miya, even for you it’s surprising. I’ll be there in two minutes.” Doing as he did to me, I hung up before he could say anything and left my place, making sure to turn everything off and lock the doors.

I had left a note to my roommate, telling them I was going out and not to be surprised if I wasn’t home.

Knowing that staying in Atsumu’s presence was going to take a toll on me, I took a few measured breaths as I went down the stairs. Most of the people I knew appreciated how calm I was, but the man child seemed annoyed by it more than anyone. He was dead set on making me mad. If anyone asked me, I’d say he got mad one time I did not laugh at his stupid jokes and put himself up to the challenge to get a reaction out of me. And since his humor was not on point, the easiest way, in his books, could be getting me mad.

I never really understood why he was like that with me, since he never explained his nasty attitude, but I was bearing through it.

Giving him a nod, I knocked on the window and told him to open. Rolling his eyes, he did and put his phone back on the stand on the dashboard where the aux was connected. He put on some music and started driving, not saying much. It felt like he was forcing himself to not speak, which made me sigh in annoyance. He was being too petty, and for what?

Keeping things civilized, I said, “Thank you for picking me up,” I held back from saying I was surprised his car was clean. There was a sports bag on the bag seat, but it was still clean, and it did not smell bad. “I owed Bokuto, that’s all” “Still, thank you. You could have told him no since you hate me,” I said jokingly, hoping for a reaction. It did not take long to get one, in a whiny voice he looked at me with a scowl, “I don’t hate you, you’re just-“ “Look at the road, then bitch and moan,”

“Like that, you’re like that, God,” He huffed, focusing back on the road. In a calm voice, I said, “Well, I’d rather we did not get in an accident just because you have anger issues, you know?” I taunted, making him grip the wheel tighter.

“I don’t have anger issues; I just know you’re not as calm as you appear to be. No one is, I’ve seen, at best, two emotions on that arrogant face of yours and I’m sure they were all fake,” He stated, definitely believing what he was saying. Quirking a brow in response, I hummed inquisitively, playing with the seatbelt. “Is that so? My theory is that you’re mad I don’t laugh at your jokes,” I shrugged.

With a quick glance, he raised a finger in emphasis as he said, “First, I’m hilarious,” he raised another finger, “Second, I’ll get you to show some emotion at some point, but tonight I’m having fun and not caring if I have a fucking rock with me,”

I’ll admit it hurt a bit to hear him say that. But I didn’t show it. If the man was going to act as such then so be it, “Sure, sure, call me Wall-E because I’m an emotionless robot, right?”

“Wall-E was in love with Eve, he had emotions,” I heard him mumble. A smile drew itself on my face when I heard that, I don’t know if I wanted to tell him it sounded cute the way he said it. Now I took it as a challenge to keep all of my feelings away from him, since he seemed too keen on unraveling the mystery that I seemed to be in his eyes. “Right. That he was, sure.”

“Have you not seen the movie? Do you even cry during sad movies- no, do you ever cry, at all? Or is it just bitterness and pure attitude?” “Doesn’t it get tiring to be mad at nothing?” I ignored his questions, finding them absolutely ridiculous. All I wanted was to jump out of his car and walk the rest of the way to the bar.

“I’m not mad!” He said, annoyed. “Well, you don’t have a very positive attitude Miya, Bokuto keeps telling me how you’re so funny and cool but all I see is a little bitch who’s upset over meeting someone who isn’t as loud as he is,”

With a scoff, he replied, his tone getting rougher, “And he keeps telling me you’re so great to be around, and the best kind of company and yet I’d feel better hanging out with a goldfish.”

“Since we’re on the same page, I suggest we stop talking. That’d be better for both of us.” My tone was strained, I never had such a tensed relationship with anyone. My chest felt heavy knowing the reason I wasn’t getting along with him was his utter dislike of who I was, but I ignored it. I was not going to let it get to me, I was going to get drunk and have fun.

I reached out for the phone to increase the volume, my hand almost bumping with Atsumu. We seemed to have had the same idea. He looked at me with a raised brow, “Choose whatever song,” he said. I turned my face to look at the window instead and shrugged, “I don’t care, we’re almost there,”

Another sigh followed when Atsumu changed to something a bit more upbeat. I wanted to sing along, and as I glanced his way, he also did. His mouth was matching the lyrics, but no other sound followed. It was kind of cute.

“Do you want something?” He asked, probably feeling my stare. “No. Just lost in thoughts.”

The rest of the drive was spent without another word. I only thanked him when we arrived, the loud music could already be heard from outside. The reason for it being the windows being wide open along with the door. It felt familiar, the tension from the car dissipated easily. I was finally going to be able to avoid the Miya twin and have fun.

Except I still had him close by when we walked up to the entrance of the building. “Stop walking with me, people will think we came here together,” He said in a panicked tone.

“Which we did, but you’re right. I wouldn’t want to be seen with you,” I sped up my pace and walked further in front of him, turning around and saluting him. “See you,” I said with a mischievous grin upon seeing his surprised expression. He scrambled to his senses and added “Never, see you never!”

I rolled my eyes at how childish he sounded and made my way inside, feeling much more welcome by the loud music and beer smells than I felt in the car of a man that despised me. I was startled when I heard my name being called but let out a shaky laugh when I saw Bokuto at a table, waving at him I joined him.

“Hey Kou!” I looked at the black-haired man next to him and nodded, “Kuroo,” Bokuto scooted closer to his friend to make me some space, so I sat down. In front of us was his teammates, Hinata and Sakusa, which I greeted along the way. Before I could join the conversation, Bokuto handed me his beer, “We can’t really start without this, right?” I rolled my eyes, knowing full well what he wanted from me. I chugged the drink, slamming the cup down. “Bro, it wasn’t just beer, the fuck did you put in that?” “Fun, I put fun in it.”

“Yeah well, I’m not chugging another one of those, I’ll wait a bit before taking something else,” I huffed a laugh, looking around a bit. I met a random dude’s gaze who seemed to be fixed on mine. When I made a confused face, a smirk drew itself on his face. It felt very off-putting, his gaze was not leaving mine, I only looked away when Bokuto placed a hand on my shoulder. “Tonight is the night we get wasted,” The last word being said in a much louder tone than the rest, almost screaming it.

Nudging him, I quirked a brow, “That changes from the usual because?” “Because everyone is here!” He turned to look at Hinata and Sakusa, a huge grin on his face, “What’s your poison?”

I let out a laugh, about to tell him no one said that but Kuroo beat me to it, “Bro, no one says that. That was cringe,” he looked at the two other men and smirked as he placed both his hands on the table, ready to get up to get the drinks. “What’s your Kryptonite?”

Sakusa sighed, I looked at the two best friends and told them that no one said that either but at least we knew what they meant. Hinata said he didn’t usually drink, while Sakusa said he was not planning on getting wasted. Bokuto proceeded to whine and try to convince the dark-haired man. While he did that, I got up and went to the bar to get a few beers. Once I had ordered, I waited for the barman to serve the drinks.

In my waiting, I was pushed a bit around considering the amount of people around. I gripped the bar tight to stay put and felt someone touch my ass, I turned around with a scowl, ready to beat whoever did that. All I could see was a person leaving, they seemed tall, but I couldn’t really tell much more about them just from their back. “Fucking asshole,” I mumbled as I turned back to get my drinks, thanking the barman.

I had to hold back a loud sigh when I saw Atsumu seating next to Hinata when I joined back my friends at the table. I had planned on having fun and having him there only made me uneasy.

Putting the drinks on the table, I sat down and grabbed my bottle, looking him dead in the eyes. I observed a moment, assessing, checking how annoying he was tonight. “Five.” I said as I gulped down some of my drink.

Confused he put his glass down, “What ‘five’?”

Finishing drinking from my bottle, I closed it and smirked, “I’ll need 5 shots until I can handle your whiny ass tonight,”

He gasped and pointed at Bokuto, “Bok! Your robot friend is being a bitch again, how can you stay with her!” He complained, earning a loud laugh from Bokuto. Kuroo answered instead, “She’s funny, and pretty reasonable, I would have said 7.” Atsumu grumbled in response and hurried us to start the drinking game.

I did not really understand what the game was about, it seemed to have been invented by Kuroo and Bokuto, but clearly, they were having a blast. I didn’t quite follow the rules but would drink when they’d tell me to. Hinata was already a lot louder than 3 drinks ago, his cheeks flushed pink and his hand gripping Atsumu’s biceps when he’d talk.

As loud as both Kuroo and Bokuto already were, it had gotten louder. And a lot less clear, their words being more slurred. It was still joyful as the smile on their face was beaming when they’d tell one another joke. It was so wholesome; I couldn’t help but join their stupid giggling.

Sakusa had left after a few hours, Atsumu had drove him back before coming back and joining us once more.

I don’t really know what I talked about with Bokuto during Atsumu’s absence, but I remember leaning in and resting my cheek on his shoulder. “Atsumu hates me…” I mumbled. I heard Kuroo whisper something but didn’t quite catch it, instead Bokuto placed a hand on the back of my head. “I don’t know bro, he definitely feels something, but I don’t know- you know like, he just, when I….But like…” I nodded.

“What I’m saying is like, I don’t know man, I thought you’d both get along!! You’re both so cool, but yeah no… So, like- he looks like he’s been challenged or something man,” He grumbled, nudging Kuroo and bringing his head against his chest along with mine. “It makes me sad,” he whined the last part. “I just want my friends to get along, I don’t want you to be fighting,” Feeling his chest move weirdly, I realized he was crying.

Kuroo huffed a laugh and tried to cheer him up, I wrapped an arm around his shoulder. I found it slightly funny, both Kuroo and I were smiling at how Bokuto turned out but still did our best to cheer him up.

Checking if he was coming back, I instead met the gaze of the dude from earlier. He was watching me intently from his spot at the bar. He raised a glass my way before taking a sip.

The feeling in the pit of my stomach grew, it was unease, uncomfortable… Unsafe. But I ignored him and looked back at Bokuto. “Alright, alright, I’ll try to talk to him,” I slurred a few of my words too, more out of exhaustion than anything. When I had too many drinks, I was not angry or sad, but tired. Still when I saw Atsumu Miya walk in, I chugged down my shot and stood up. “Wish me luck,”

I quickly made my way towards him, “Miya,” he turned away from me and ignored me.

I could have called his name again, but that would have made me look clingy. I followed him instead, trying to grab his arm, but he was walking fast. Maybe he didn’t hear me, right? Maybe he did not even think I called him, because why would I… right?

I huffed at my own thought, why was I trying to justify this man just not wanting to deal with me?

In my loss of focus, I bumped into someone and apologized quickly. They grabbed my biceps to keep me in place, a forced-nice tone in their voice. “Hey there, be careful next time,”

I held back my disgust when he brushed his thumbs over my arm. “Thank you, have a nice night.” Shit, I should have been more fake. Now he’ll feel offended. Too many words too. I should I have just said thank you. Fuck.

His eyes focused on mine a moment, damn it, he was going to use that card… “Hey have we met already?” I shook my head, trying to get out of his grasp. “Oh right! You’re the one who kept looking at me, haha.” I gave him a fake smile, still not saying anything. He let go of one of my arms and tried to guide me somewhere, but I stood in the spot. I didn’t want to move, there were already very few people here, I did not want to go somewhere even less crowded.

“Hey, I really have to go, my friend-“ “The one who was ignoring you? Haha, I think you should let him go, if he’s like that.” A fake laugh was what I gave him with a nod, I did not want to make him feel attacked. “Come on, I see the way you were looking at me. You can’t act shy now,” He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, I felt my heart beat faster in fear. I wasn’t in any condition to do any real damage, maybe I was overthinking it, but I considered screaming, not that anyone would come in.

I gulped and straightened my back, “I believe you were looking at me like a hawk more than anything, I was just glancing.” I was glad I didn’t stutter, but the moment his smile disappeared, I tried to pull my arm from him. “I’m pretty sure you were looking like I was, maybe thinking of what we could do together…” His eyes traveled over my body. I tried to push him off, he grunted. “Hey, why are you like that? I’m just being nice here,”

“I’m sure you are, just let me go, I’m not interested,” He held only tighter, pushing me to the wall and gripping my jaw to have me look him dead in the eyes, “I’ll show you what you’re missing, do you mind if I-“ His hand was starting to drift to my collarbone, “I’m sure you don’t, I saw the way you acted with those men-“ He nipped my neck, and I elbowed his side.

This was enough, I glanced down and saw an opportunity to knee him in the balls before punching his stomach and biting his arm to let me go. He tried to grab me, but I ran off, tripping as I did so. I could hear him swear under his breath and call me a bitch, a maniac, a psycho. I huffed and went back to my table. I tried to brush off what happened, but the stress made my hands shake.

I was breathing heavily. Eyes tearing up. Deep breath, in …. Out… I told myself as I brushed my clothes off and tried to smile before reaching the table, calming myself down. I just wanted to get Bokuto and stick by his side, his presence was reassuring and that’s what I need. I just wanted to get my friend, maybe a hug… just anything. If the man came back, he’d probably back off, but I couldn’t be alone.

When I got to the table and only saw Atsumu, I let out a nervous laugh. “Miya, where’s Kou?” I looked behind me, making sure the man wasn’t there. “He disappeared with Kuroo and little Shoyo,” He said off-handedly, glancing at me as he spoke. I clenched my jaw, knowing if I spoke, I would break down. Deep breaths, in… and out… in…. and out…“When’s he- coming back,” A knot in my throat gave away that I wasn’t as composed as I seemed. But I did not want to be mocked by Atsumu and prayed he didn’t catch on.

“I don’t think he is-“ He cut himself off and looked at me with a frown, “Hey are you okay?” I waved him off, feeling my lips wobble a bit. I cleared my throat and frowned, “I need to find him, I’ll go find him-“

Turning around, I ignored him when he called my name and walked off as fast I could. This place did not feel as welcoming as it once did. Any bump against my shoulder made me feel more and more on edge, I didn’t feel safe, I didn’t feel good, I wanted to dig a whole and hide in it. Or build a house only made of walls, no windows, no door so that no one could see me or reach out for me. I wanted to cry, of frustration and dread.

When I finally reached the door and stepped outside, a loud shaky sound left my lips. “Fuck, fuck,” I looked around quickly, making sure there wasn’t anyone around before walking behind a tree big enough to hide my form. When I was hidden, I slid down the rugged tree, and let out controlled breath, trying to calm down. I kept swearing under my breath, not finding anything else to say.

I went to grab my phone and realized I left it in my bag, which meant I had to go back inside. The mere thought sent chills running down my body. I took a few more deep breaths and stood up, tucking my hands in my pockets to hide the fact that I was shaking. When I was about to make my way to the pub once more, I bumped into someone. My heart skyrocketed in my chest, I gasped and stepped back, “Hey, be careful,” The sentence in itself made me feel sick, then I realized it wasn’t the man from before.

I couldn’t see much from how dark it was, but recognized Atsumu Miya’s voice. “Miya,” I let out a breath of relief. Something hit my feet, I looked down, my eyes squinted I understood it was my bag, “Thank you,” I was a lot more relieved than my tone portrayed, but I did not want him to know what was going on.

“What’s up with you?”

I looked up at him, my hands still in my pocket. “What’s up with me? Nothing. What’s up with you?” Please leave me alone, please leave me alone. If you stay here any longer, I’ll break down. I thought, my nose and eyes were starting to sting. I could feel tears coming in.

“You seemed shaken inside, why did you need Bok? He left; you won’t find him.” I never realized he had an accent, unfortunately my mind was not focusing on that. It was focused on the fact that Bokuto wasn’t nearby. My breathing wasn’t getting any calmer.

I did not answer.

Atsumu seemed to be looking for something, then he pulled out his phone and turned on his flashlight and aimed it at me. I squinted my eyes at the sudden brightness and looked away, trying to cover my face. “Hey, don’t- are you okay? You look like you’ve been crying,” He reached out for me and took hold of my hand to uncover my face, pulling his phone away and leading me away from the tree to get the moonlight to help him see and not blind me.

“I don’t know why you needed Bokuto, but I can help you if you need,”

I didn’t move. Glancing at our hands, I squeezed his hand, my actions did not match my words as I said, “Stop being nice, I know you hate me- so just… fuck, look away,” Mid-way through my words, I started crying. I quickly tried to wipe them away, my motions were stopped when Atsumu’s hands pried mine from my face. He then pulled me closer and held me tight.

“I’m not looking, I can’t see much right now it’s pretty dark,” I understood what he meant by that and held his sweater tight then started letting all out. I couldn’t formulate any sentences; all I did was let out all the stress and tension that had gathered inside my body from that one short encounter. When I tried to wipe my tears to not wet his clothes, I heard Atsumu chuckle, “Something fun about playing volleyball is that I genuinely couldn’t give more shit about my clothes being wet, usually it’s sweat though but, I’m not picky.”

I let out a breathy laugh and made it obvious enough that I was purposely wiping my tears on his sweater. “Now that’s a bit too much, I’m not your tissue, am I?” He said jokingly, I shrugged, mumbling against his chest, “Don’t let your dreams be dreams…” It elated a loud laugh from the man, he quickly cleared his throat and calmed down, “Not funny, nope.”

We stayed like this a moment until I calmed down.

I could still hear the muffled sound of the party still going on inside the building, but I felt a lot better now, although embarrassed.

I didn’t want to go back inside, and my friends had left. “I should go home…” I said in a low voice, shocking myself with how little energy there was in it.

“I’ll drop you off,” he said while letting go of me. I hadn’t let go right away and heard him made a confused sound as he was about to wrap his arms around me, I let go and stepped back, my cheeks warming up. “Just like that? No questions?” I was confused and felt like an idiot for breaking down in front of the only person who I thought would laugh at me for doing so. Instead, he was humane.

He was about to talk once more, but I was faster, “I’d imagine you nosy, and curious,” I stated, looking anywhere but at him.

“Yeah? That proves you don’t know me, not that you ever tried.”

“Neither did you, Miya. You think I’m a bitch just because I’m not as loud as your friends, or as easily readable as Hinata. And yet, you get along with Sakusa, can you feel the irony?”

He huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. I sighed and sat on the ground, looking at the sky. “To be honest it’s tiring, it stresses me out to be around you,”

“What?” He sounded utterly confused. I continued, “You know, Bokuto’s an emotional drunk,” I paused, Atsumu agreed. “He cried when you left. I told him you hated me, and he broke down in tears because all he wants is for us to get along,” So do I, I want us to get along. The way Bokuto talked about him made him sound funny, but every time he was around me, he turned sour and just kept being a bitch.

“Anyway, I wanted to talk to you about it and when I followed you and called out your name you just completely ignored me, so there’s that.” I shrugged before wrapping my arms around my knees. I felt Atsumu sit beside me and do the same as me, “I don’t remember that, when was that?” I grimaced, “Yeah, figured. But like, don’t make it sound like you would have listened if you had heard me. You can be real with me and just,” I waved his way, motioning to his entire being, “Drop the fake-niceties. You’re being too civil right now, it looks weird on you,”

I said that, but what I meant is that it weirded me out, more than it looked weird on him. Not having him frowned at all my words, not having him huff all the time, or look mad… it felt strange, and I was not against it. “I’m not a bastard-“ I did not control the snort that escaped my body. Atsumu scoffed, “See! This is why you’re unsufferable!”

“Uh? Excuse me? Who’s the one who keeps assuming shit about the other? Because it’s not me, I’m living my best life and you’re just, constantly mad at me. And you’re assuming wrong shit too? All in all, your vision of me is wrong, and you hate that same vision you built of me,” I fully turned to look at him, my speech getting faster, my tone a bit higher, my frustration growing. “Don’t you understand it’s completely stupid? Don’t you realize you look like an idiot? I’m sure you’d be great company, if you weren’t exactly what you say you’re not: a bastard.”

I pushed his legs, “So to make things clear, because that’s what confuses you and maybe you’re not smart enough to read me: I feel scared, I feel embarrassed and I feel frustrated, all of this at this very moment. I’m not a fucking gold fish, and I’m sure gold fish have emotions too, okay?”

I finally let out a breath I felt like I was holding and met Atsumu’s wide eyes, he was looking at me speechless. He opened his mouth once, closed, twice, closed. Then he hummed. “Whatever, at least act neutral around me, bear through that hate because Bokuto’s sad.” I huffed, about to get up. Before I could, Atsumu pulled me down and looked at me with a worried expression.

“Do I make you that unsafe? I didn’t-“ “It’s not you, it’s…“ I shook my head, deciding against telling me. “All you make me feel is bad about myself,”

The blond frowned, any smile on his face disappearing. “I… didn’t know,”

“Of course, you didn’t! How could you? Your assumption is: the emotionless bitch,” I huffed. My heart was beating faster, for some reason. Letting it all out was one thing, but bearing the consequences of telling him, I was afraid he’d get mad anyway. I knew that talking some sense into him would be hard, but I felt like I went too hard with how he looked.

“Why are you scared then, if not because of me? Are you sure it’s not because of me? I can go-“

I wanted to roll my eyes, but instead I grabbed his sleeve to stop him from leaving, “No, no it’s not you. Your presence is… different than usual, so it’s kind of soothing if anything.” I told him, thinking of how to word it. I couldn’t really tell him that if I ended up alone once again, I’d feel a lot less safe.

His usual cocky tone was back, he did not mention what I told him about his actions but instead said, “It feels like you’re avoiding answering my question though,”

Taking a deep breath, I sighed and looked at him in the eyes, “There was this dude the entire evening, he kept looking at me. I ignored it, because … I’m not interested or anything, but when I tried to go after you, he blocked my path. Then he started making advances, and tried to make out or something, I kicked him in the balls and … all that jazz, then made a run for it.” I explained, adding that that’s why I wanted to find Bokuto. I didn’t want to be alone.

Atsumu’s tone seemed determined as he asked where the guy was, he tried to get up, but I pulled him down with force once more. “Why would you go after him?”

“Oh, you think I’m letting this man go ‘bout his life like that? Fucking asshole,” He started mumbling more insults, his blood boiling. He tried to get up once more, not listening to me. His accent seemed a lot stronger now he had lost his cool, I wanted to laugh but the panic of being alone was stronger.

“Atsumu!! I don’t care if you want to beat his ass-“

“Then let me go!”

I tried to make him understand what I wanted; I gave him an intense look, but he was confused. “I-“ I stopped talking and looked away before letting him go. “Whatever, you’re free to do as you please, go,” I shooed him away. Grabbing my bag to get my phone. Atsumu asked me what I was doing, “I’m calling Bokuto,”

“Why? I told you, he’s somewhere, but-“ I heard the ringtone coming from Atsumu, and gave him a confused look. “He left his phone, so…”

“Great. Fantastic, yeah, well. Have fun proving you’re the alpha or something,” I shrugged. I was acting almost as childish as him right now, but I didn’t want to straight up admit what I wanted.

Atsumu didn’t move. He stayed right where he was, after a few moments he sat back down. “You confuse me, I don’t get what you’re doing,” He stated, looking at me, lost. He ran a hand through his hair and looked at me without blinking.

I only saw his look from glancing his way, but I wasn’t facing him. I spelled it out for him, articulating each word, feeling my throat tighten as I said them, “I don’t want to be alone. Because if he finds me before you find him, I don’t know…” I ended up mumbling the last part.

All that left Atsumu’s lips was an ‘Ah’ before he scooted closer. “Alright, well, as your knight in shining armor I can’t let you down, you know.”

“You’re not a knight, you just have the privilege of being very muscly and intimidating.” I said as I rested my chin on my knees when I brought them to my chest.

The blond was humming, thinking, not replying right away. He did not say much about what happened, and I was thankful for that. I already felt like an idiot for breaking down in front of him out of everyone, so if he had brought it up, I would have died on the spot. But with him next to me, it felt almost relaxing. A lot different than the mood in the car. Almost as if things had slightly cleared up, but I must have been imagining things.

“So, I’m a bastard, muscly, intimidating, very bad at reading people,” As he started listing tings, I was nodding along, saying ‘yes’ until he said the last one, “And hot” “Yes- Wait, I didn’t say that. The other stuff I said, yeah, but not the last one,”

Pointing at me, he grinned, “Haha, you said I was hot, you said it, I heard it, it’s out there now,”

Rolling my eyes, I slowly faced him and observed him a moment, trying to assess what was his deal, “What’s with the change of attitude? Aren’t you supposed to hate me?” I did not mind him being playful, but once again… it was strange, and if he was doing that just because I felt bad, I didn’t need it. Feeling a bit cold, I started rubbing my hands on my arms, still focused on Atsumu.

The man sighed and rested his chin on his fist. Like me he had brought his knees to his chest, but what differed was that he was pouting right now, I was not. “See, I never said I hated you,”

“Perhaps not, but your actions told me otherwise,” Never have I ever felt welcomed in his presence, he made it very obvious he did not like me.

“Hey, your actions are also very much not-lovey, okay?” He said in a defensive tone, I met that tone with a quirked brow. “Is that so? What did I ever do to you Miya?” From what I remembered I acted the same around him that I did around the others. Perhaps a bit colder since I was not friend with the man, but I never disrespected him.

“You make it very obvious you don’t want to be around me!” “How so?”

“You don’t smile, you don’t laugh- the constant glaring, the whispers with Bok- and now I know it’s ‘cause you don’t like me and not ‘cause you’re being emotionless, you made it clear.” He blurted out. It seemed he had that list at the ready, and he needed to let it all out. But I couldn’t help but chuckle.

“So… you act like a little bitch because, according to you, I don’t like you? Because everyone should like you, right?”

“Yes!! People always love me, I’m handsome, funny, a great guy really, but you hate me, it doesn’t make sense, what did I ever do to you?”

Sucking my teeth in, I smacked my lips, “Well, it seems it’s a bit of a misunderstanding.”

“Yeah? What’d’ya mean?” He asked. I smiled to myself, hiding behind my hand as I pondered on how to word it. The first time I saw him, he looked very handsome, that’s why I stared at him. Clearly first impression made the lasting impression… “First, I’ll admit you’re funny. I just don’t laugh as loud as Kou, if we can call that a laugh. I’d say a bark would be more fitting. But I do find you funny, you just need to pay more attention.” I shrugged.

He frowned, “That doesn’t explain the rest!”

“When did I glare at you?” “The day we met! When I told Bok, he said I wouldn’t understand,”

I rolled my eyes, why had he said that to him? For the love of God, he made a bigger deal out of this than it was meant to be. “Yeah? Well, believe it or not, I was checking you out.” I stated, not looking at him.

“You what?” He moved suddenly and was now crouching weirdly next to me, pulling at my leg, literally, to get my attention, “What? You what? You’re kidding right?”

Facing him, I gave him a deadpanned expression, “Do I look like I’m kidding? And while I’m at it, the whispers could have been one of those three things,” I emphasized by raising a finger at each count, “Number one: ‘he’s cute’, number two: ‘Bro where is the food?’ and last but not least, it does vary” I paused, feeling a bit more hurt when saying this one, “Did I say something mean? Why is he looking at me like that? Why does he hate me?”

Before he could say anything, I placed both my hands on the ground and was about to stand up, “Anyway, great talking to you, that’s enough opening up for one night-“ “Hey, no, no, you don’t get to go! We’re making progress,” He gripped my hand and pulled me back before I could fully stand up. I clicked my tongue against my teeth, annoyed, but did not say anything. It was humiliating enough to have told him that, but now I knew it flattered him. His ego was only boosted from this.

“No, because this changes everything!” Dear fuck, no.

Feeling my back ache, I laid on the ground and asked, absentmindedly “Does it, now? How so? You were still a bastard to me, no amount of charm can save that, Miya.” I regretted saying the last part, thinking he would feel even bolder after hearing me tell him he had charm.

There was a silence. A long one.

After a few minutes, Atsumu laid down next to me. “I’m sorry, I thought you hated me for no reason. I clearly misread… Everything… It also ticked me off that you were so stoic all the time… I was trying to get you angry for a good reason, not just because you randomly hated me, you know? Does that make sense?”

To be fair, I didn’t see the logic behind that. I was a bit confused too, but he seemed genuine in his apology. “It makes some sort of sense, albeit being a bit of an immature reaction… Clearly, we started on the wrong foot,” I told him in all honesty.

Both of us were silent for a moment. He was right, it indeed changed everything. This entire time we had known one another, we had acted like assholes for nothing. I wanted to ask him what he wanted to do now that this was cleared up, but I also felt like he wouldn’t care. But he surprised me.

“Do you wanna start over?” I heard Atsumu ask in a somewhat shy voice. I stared at the sky with wide eyes. Had he asked that? I didn’t mind that.

Not really knowing how to do it, I quickly sitting up and looked at his still laying form. “Come on,” I hurried for him to sit up, he did, a bit lost. Reaching out for a handshake, I waited for him to take it, when he did, I told him my full name, “Nice to meet you, I’m Bokuto’s best friend and I really have to pee,”

Atsumu snorted a laugh and shook my hand, “I’m Miya Atsumu, the best volleyball player you’ll ever meet, and I’ll escort you to the bathroom,” chuckling at that, I accepted his offer. He got up and helped me to my feet before telling me to go first. Shaking my head, I told him to go first, “That way you’re my shield and I get to take a look at those cakes,” I said jokingly. Shit, no, no, not that friendly yet, I thought.

He had pulled out his phone at this very moment, his screen lighting his face. I could see the way his cheeks turned pink when I said that. “In a friendly way! Tell me not to do it, I won’t, I was joking,” I said quickly when started walking. Looking over his shoulder, he shook his ass, “Nah look, I don’t go to the gym 4 times a week for nothing,” We both laughed as we made our way inside.

Before we entered the bar, Atsumu stopped dead in his track, making me bump in his back. I swore under my breath and stepped back, looking at him curiously. “Grab my shirt, I’m not losing you in the crowd,” He said seriously. It was sort of cute how he was suggesting this seriously, but I couldn’t help but grin, “Is this like a third-grade school trip? I think I’ll easily find that little mop of yours, among those people, that is if I lose you-“ “And I’ll find yours, which means the bastard will too, okay?”

I was taken aback by his bluntness, but he was right. His reminder made me feel my stomach churn, in the little time I had spent with Atsumu, I had made sure to try to forget about the incident. But I couldn’t just do that, not when the party was still going on. “Okay… sure, but can I instead hold your arm or something, it feels very childish to hold onto your shirt Miya,”

His expression changed from seriousness to bashfulness when he looked away and reach out for my hand, “If you wanted to hold my hand so bad you could have just asked,” He started, adding over his shoulder, “And it’s Atsumu, Miya’s for people who hate me,” He grinned happily. I sped up to be at his pace, “You seem to be too much at ease to switch from hate to flirting, Atsumu,”

His name rolled strangely off my tongue, but I was willing to make the effort. After all, I had a new friend, the least I can do is respect his preferences. His answer was to walk faster, his hand still gripping mine tight. I don’t know why, but I didn’t mind, his stupidly rough hand and his complete change of attitude made him somewhat enjoyable to be around.

As we zig-zagged in the crowd, I felt someone touch my shoulder but didn’t look at it. Only gripping Atsumu’s hand tighter. Instead of reacting out of panic, I thought: it’s alright, it must be an accidental bump, nothing much, people having fun. Then it happened again, it was with more force this time, I had to look around. When I did, I saw the man from earlier, I pulled Atsumu’s arm urgently, earning an annoyed ‘what’ when he turned around.

“Tha’ your frien’? The one tha’ was ignoring you? Mmmm? Where were you goin’ with ‘im?” My heart was in my throat, I felt sick. Insistent people were annoying enough as it was, but add alcohol to the mixt? Awful. They seemed to be even less aware of their action, and a lot more sensitive to whatever was being told to them. I hated it. “Ye bit me,” he went to grab my arm, but I pulled it back before he could, “You’re playin’ hard to get, I like that ‘bout a girl, feisty and all-“ Before I could tell him off, Atsumu stepped forward and punched him.

“That’s for being fucking disgusting,” Was what he said, then punched him again, “That’s for being a creep,” He raised his fist again, I quickly grabbed his hand and lowered it, twisting his arm in a weird angle which force him to stop. “Hey hey hey, it hurts, let go-“ “Can you please stop? Let’s just go,” The man behind Atsumu was being checked by people around, it annoyed the blond, I could see it, but he did not say anything. “Right, bathroom first.” He said as he pushed me towards the bathroom.

I tried to stop him from pushing me, but he kept on doing that until we were in the corridor. “I’ll watch over here, no one’s gonna bother you,” I gave him the semblant of a smile and entered the bathroom. When I did, only a few seconds after did I hear Atsumu’s voice yell that the man he had punched was a bastard who tried to take advantage of someone. I tuned out from his little speech, feeling embarrassed but also, strangely, warm? He was being over the top, but I think he was trying to do something good.

The muffled sound of what was going on outside of this room felt peaceful. I could finally hear my thoughts, hear how fast my heart was beating. Looking up from the sink, I finally saw how bad I looked. I was shaken, my hair more messy than usual, my eyes were glassy. When I glanced at my collarbone, I saw the redness from when the man nipped at my skin. “Gross,” I mumbled as I grabbed some toilet paper, wetted it and added some soap before scrubbing the spot.

Am I overreacting? No, he’s fucking disgusting. He didn’t do much though, but he could have. It’s been so long since some shit like this happened, I can’t make a big deal out of it, it’s stupid- A knock interrupted my thoughts, “Hey you good in there? The water’s been running for a while now, can I come in? I’m coming in-“ I dropped the paper towel in the trash and turned around to look at Atsumu with a bored expression.

“What if I was doing super private? You’re lucky there isn’t anyone else in the stalls, you’d be kicked out,” I said with a short laugh as I grabbed my bag, Atsumu stopped me and looked at me with a frown. “Why are you red?” He asked sternly.

“Maybe it’s an allergy,” I trailed off.

He shook his head, “But it’s not though, you didn’t do that to yourself, right?” “Dear- no no, I didn’t- maybe, kind of but no,” It wasn’t a good enough answer for him. The expression on his face was one I had never seen yet, perhaps had I never paid enough attention, or perhaps had he never shown it to me, but whichever it was, I felt guilty for making him look like this.

“Just the weird dude tried to kiss me or something, I don’t know, a bite, a nip, call it what you want. I didn’t want to see it, so I scrubbed it… It feels gross, I know it’s nothing and you might say I’m overreacting but I feel violated and-“ My breath caught in my throat, I swallowed my saliva and took a few deep breaths to talk down, “And it’s over, so yeah, let’s leave-“

“I wouldn’t say you’re overreacting; I think someone was a real jerk and like, invaded your personal space, and you’re definitely in the right to feel like that, you know? I feel like you don’t need me to feel sorry for you… so uh, you’re strong, and he’s got a big black eye, and he’s pretty lucky I didn’t rip his tongue off,” Atsumu said quickly, his eyes trying to catch mine, but I was playing with my hands, listening to each word leaving his lips.

If someone asked me, I would have said I didn’t need to hear those things. But it would have been a lie. I never would have thought hearing someone else tell me I was feeling something valid would make me feel so relieved. With shaky breaths, I looked up, eyes tearing up and shoved his shoulder playfully, “I was kidding when I said you had to prove you were the alpha or something,” I sniffed and wiped the tears that were threatening to fall, “You’ll be lucky if no one jumps you when we leave, you’re impulsive,”

“He deserved it! And he was ugly, now he’ll have to go home knowing someone so much hotter than him beat him up, and that he lost,” I laughed breathlessly at his words, rubbing the spot on my collarbone absentmindedly. “Well, I think he could have used a bit more kicks in the balls,” I said jokingly.

Nudging my shoulder, Atsumu said, “It can be arranged, you know,”

“Nah, we’re good, let’s just… Leave,” I said that, but I didn’t move. Nor did Atsumu. Someone walked behind us, and we waited until they were done cleaning their hands, and the door slammed behind them, to finally say something. “D’ya got lipstick?” Atsumu asked in hushed whisper, poking my bag.

Quirking a brow in confusion, I rummaged through my bag but didn’t find any. Instead, I found a pink highlighter, I was going to shove it back when Atsumu grabbed it, “That’ll do!” He uncapped it and started coloring his lips, I considered stopping him, but it was very fascinating and a bit funny.

“When’s your birthday? I might buy you one if you think that’s your color,” I said, huffing a laugh. Atsumu motioned for me to wait, a finger raised. I did just that.

When he was done, he handed me the highlighter back. “Stop me if you feel uncomfortable,” He said a bit too suspiciously.

I gave him a nervous smile, then he started leaning in, I leaned back avoiding his face then noticed he wasn’t trying to kiss me. Instead, he went lower and pressed his lips on the redder part of my skin, on my collarbone. I felt my heartbeat speed up but didn’t say anything. He quickly pulled back, wiping his lips on the back of his hand. “There! Now it’s not weird, it’s pretty, and it’s not him, it’s me, I think it’s a great upgrade.”

My cheeks were heating up as I gazed down at the kiss mark on my skin. We could barely see it, but I knew it was there. I could still feel the pressure of his lips against my skin. Tearing my gaze from it, I went to take some paper towel and wetted it, then grabbed Atsumu’s chin and proceeded to wipe his lips properly. “I don’t want you to lick your lip and just- eat the ink like a child- hey stop moving, you did that to yourself.” “You could at least say something!”

When I was done, I threw the paper towel but did not trust my voice to make any sort of coherent sound. Atsumu’s voice however had no problem to spur complete idiocies, “Nooo, don’t go all mute on me, you’re so sexy-“ “Did you really just say that?”

“And I stand by it,” He opened the door and told me to lead the way. The conversation was paused while we made our way outside, the loud music and people made it almost impossible to hear one another. What I could hear was the loud whines of the man at the bar while the bartender was tending to his ‘wounds’ which consisted of one black eye and that’s it. Rolling my eyes, I picked up the pace and exhaled loudly when I reached the outside, fresh air hitting my face instead of gross drunken air.

With Atsumu still behind, I pulled out my phone to look at what he had left on my skin. I pull out the flash to see properly. Idiot… why is it nice… no, no, it’s nothing, it’s just that, nice. Nothing more. Good method to hide the gross ass mark, good for me. Yeah.

“Ah! Soooo you like it so much you’re taking a pic of it? Bring me lipstick next time, I’ll leave an even better mark, maybe two-“ “I’m not taking a picture, I was checking-“ “It out, you were checking it out, because it’s hot, right?”

Maybe. “I think I preferred bastard Miya to loud Atsumu,” I taunted him, hoping he wouldn’t take it wrong. I was caught off guard when he looped his arm around my shoulders, “Nah ye don’t, come on, I’ll get you home,” “Thank God you didn’t say you’d bring me to your place, I would have gagged,” I joked, earning a scoff from the player. He bumped my hips with his, “You know what? It’s actually a great suggestion! I think the night’s just started, maybe we could watch a movie or something?”

My instinct was to refuse his offer. But then again, I would have to stay awake until I got news from Bokuto’s wellbeing, may it be from Kuroo’s phone or a new number if Hinata was still alive. “Don’t you try weird shit, I’m not falling asleep at your place, and it better not be freezing- and also it better not smell-“ “Alright, alright, I get it! My place’s pretty clean ye know? I barely spend time there, how can I dirty it?”

“Right. No weird shenanigans, okay?” Waving me off, Atsumu agreed, telling me it was going to be alright. He unlocked the car and we slipped in, finally surrounded by a comfortable silence.

I let my head hit the back of the seat and exhaled loudly, “How about we go get some food first?”

“Sounds like a plan! You pay for it since I’m paying for the gas of this beautiful baby,” He said as he gently slapped the car door. Giving him an incredulous smile, I said, “Yeah… No, I’m paying for my shit, you pay for yours,”

He threw his hands in an over exaggerated manner, “Fine! But I choose the movie then!”

“I genuinely couldn’t care less of what we’re watching, you do what you want-“ “Wall-E it is,” He started as he started the car, “I think it’s a poetic start to this relationship,”

“Fine by me, I’ve never seen it anyway,” I shrugged as I buckled my seatbelt. I regretted saying this when he looked at me in pure shock and started telling me how it made sense that I made such a bad metaphor.

God was this ride going to be long. But at least, I was no more bathed in tension and feeling the urge to jump off the car. I was feeling pretty content right now, and perhaps Bokuto was right. Perhaps Miya Atsumu was funny and just a little bit cool.

Just maybe.

#haikyu #haikyu x reader #miya atsumu #miya atsumu x reader #fem reader #miya atsumu x fem!reader #fanfiction #AO3 #AO3 physicalturian #writer #writings #ao3 writer #physicalturian #haikyuu #haikyuu miya atsumu #haikyuu x me

62 notes · View notes

stephspurs · 3 years ago

Text

A Family Affair | Euro 2020 Football Fanfiction - BONUS MOMENTS

Surprise!!! I'm back with a select few bonus #bamelia moments!! I just couldn't let the love story of Ben and Amelia die, I hope you don't mind. Love Always, Steph xx

PSA: To all new readers, you don't have to read the series (link below) to understand this, however it would help so that you can understand the preconceived emotions behind the chapter!

Champions Again | di nuovo campioni

warnings; none word count; 1865 writing tools; third person until dashed line, first person thereafter. link to fic masterlist here

They had done it, again. The Chelsea boys were lifting their second team trophy for the year, they had just won the Supercup. This was Amelia’s first competition final with the Premier League giants and if she had her way, this wouldn't be last. She was beginning to get addicted to the feeling of winning, of proving to every little girl out there and every sexist male she had ever come across, that anything boys can do, girls can do better. She was letting her results speak for themselves, she was making history and there was nothing that could bring her down from the ninth cloud she was currently riding.

As proud as she was over her own achievements, she was equally as proud of her friends. Whilst she wasn’t part of their Champions League victory, she knew that this moment was just as special to the team that just loved to win. The scenes before her were ones she hoped she would never forget - the look on Jorgi’s face as he lifted his third trophy of the last few months, the crinkles beside Mason’s eyes as he grinned at the camera that was desperate to capture every moment of the evening, the tinge of pink on the apples of Ben’s cheeks as he stood with his hands on his hips while he watched Amelia give her first post-match tactical analysis to the Sky Sports reporter - proud that she was his girl. These were the moments that made Amelia forget all of the hard times, or rather made her realise that all of the hard times were worth it to see her friends, her team, her man smile.

With every great victory comes an even greater after party, and even though the Super Cup final coincided with the start of the season, the boys still believed that they deserved an afterparty to celebrate. Captain Cesar Azpilicueta had kindly offered the grounds of his Surrey home to host the bunch of rowdy boys, and their onslaught on mates and partners on the Sunday afternoon between the Super Cup final and the first match of the Premier League 21/22 season. Whilst they were under strict instruction from the higher powers of Chelsea Football Club (namely; Thomas Tuchel) to keep the drinking to a minimum and to keep themselves out of trouble, the boys were allowed to be boys for one more night.

______________________________________________________________

“Benj, what are you wearing? I don’t know if I should wear a sundress or denim shorts! Please, I need help!” I shouted out to Ben who was currently somewhere in his large house.

“Why would my outfit be able to help you with that decision” I could hear his voice getting closer, his footsteps getting louder as he began to ascend the stairs up to the main bedroom that I had slowly started to take over in the last couple months.

“An opinion is all I’m after - stop being cheeky mate” I shoot back at him as I begin to stand up from my place in front of his wardrobe. It was still his wardrobe, he hadn’t asked me to move in yet so it was still technically his even if it was half full with my clothes. As I got to my feet, I turned to see him leaning in the doorway with his arms and ankles crossed over each other. Wearing a tee shirt and some denim shorts himself with a cap covering his ungelled hair - a request from me because it was much easier for me to run my hands through if it wasn’t laden with gel...and because it gave me an excuse to push it out of his face whenever I felt like it (which was often).

“I wouldn’t mind if you stayed in that outfit to be fair, however, that would also mean we would be skipping this afterparty altogether and be spending the afternoon celebrating in an entirely different manner” He states staring at me while I’m currently standing with my hands on my hips, staring at the shorts and tank top combo I have laid out on his bed - again, his bed not ours - he hasn’t asked me to move in yet so it was technically his even if it did have the new bed sheets I purchased a couple weeks back with the matching throw cushions on it. The barely-there outfit that I was currently sporting and that had him licking his lips as he pushed himself off of the doorway to walk to me and wrap his arms around my body from behind was a bralette and a pair of his Chelsea shorts.

“Ok sorted, you’re in denim shorts so I’m going to wear mine too. Done ok move get off me I need to change or we’re going to be late” I exclaimed as I pushed him off me with my hips. A bad move? Absolutely not. I got to feel all of him against me and remind him of what he gets to come home to every evening, if he choses.

“Wow what's the rush now Mils? Why are you walking around like you’ve got ants in your pants?” He questioned as he tightened his grip on me and turned me so I was facing him, looking up into his curious baby blues.

“And don’t say nothing, I’ve picked up on all of your tells already” He further questioned as he could see the wheels begin to turn behind my eyes, desperate to come up with an excuse to mask my jitters so I wouldn’t have to tell him the truth.

“I regret ever letting you become friends with Fede, he’s spilling all of my secrets...Ok fine. I’m nervous to see Jack. I haven’t seen him since...ya’know and I haven't spoken to him since I gave him a telling off before international break and Ben I promise you I haven't thought about him once but I’m still worried that there's unresolved anger there from him and I don’t want to get into it again just when we’re getting back into the groove of us and it’ll impact your friendsh-” my rambling was cut off by his lips, which were simultaneously reminding me to breathe between my words and leaving me breathless at the same time. He always did have a way with his lips, the power they held over me was unmatched by anything.

“Calm down love, I promise it’ll be okay. Jack and I have had it out already, a long chat on international duties which may have only been prompted because Mase and Dec locked us in the kit room after our first session, sorted it all out.” Ben reassured me as he began to rub his thumbs over my cheeks and his hands held both sides of my face.

“I do know he wants to apologise to you though - so don’t be surprised if he tries to do that early on in the evening. You know just how awkward he can be so he’ll probably spring it on you before you’ve even put your bag down.”

“Oh great, I’m gonna need to do a couple shots before we leave the house - you’re good to drive right?” I said as I walked from his grasp and down the stairs to grab the bottle of vodka for some good old fashioned dutch courage.

______________________________________________________________

Ben was right about Jack, he had approached the couple only moments after they had arrived at Azpi’s house. Amelia had spotted him making his way towards them so she began to walk in a different direction to Ben, stretching their interlocked hands and letting him go as she mumbled something about needing to put her bag down. Ben really knew both of them too well. Jack gave Ben a hug hello, still in the grovelling stage of repairing their friendship.

“Hey bro, how’s it goin?” Jack spoke as he pulled away from Ben.

“Yeah bro all’s good with me, how are you? Congrats on the move again, million dollar geez you are, aren’t ya? Don’t forget me when you're mingling with Messi in a couple years” Ben joked back with the boy who has been literally a brother to him for the last few years.

“Ahhh you’re jokin me, could never forget a brother could I? We’re basically blood at this point I reckon. Where’d Mils run off ta?” Jack questioned with his arm around Ben’s neck, both of the boys looking out into the garden for the girl in question.

“Right here super Jack” Amelia spoke from behind them. During their brief discussion, Amelia had put her bag down and ran inside to grab herself a drink before walking out to face the music of Jack’s apology. Overhearing how lighthearted he was with Ben, coupled with the reassurance that Ben had provided her earlier in the evening plus the two or three vodka shots she had downed in their kitchen before coming to the afterparty had meant that she left her worries at the door.

“Mils, darlin', you already know what's coming but I truly am sorry...to both of ya ya’know. Benny, we’ve already had it out and it took me ages to get over that black eye but please believe me when I tell ya I am so sorry for treating you that way Amelia. From the bottom of my heart, I am sorry and I regret nothing more than how I made you feel.” Jack could feel himself getting teary whilst thinking about how he made the girl feel, how he made his best mate and chosen brother feel, how he really put a spanner in the works of their blossoming relationship.

“Jack, I’m not going to say it was ok because it wasn't. But it wasn’t just your fault, I also played a part in it that has me cursing myself every day for ruining things with Benj. I forgive you, Jacky.” Amelia spoke while reaching up and wrapping her arms around Jack’s neck to give him one of her signature squeezy hugs, to truly convey that she was moving on from their tumultuous past and hoped that he could stop beating himself up over it and do the same.

Jack had left the couple to return to the table and grab himself a refill of his drink. Ben’s arm had found its natural position around Amelia’s shoulders as they both stood there looking out at their friends. However, Ben was looking down at Amelia. Without missing a beat and keeping her eyes focused out on the yard, Amelia spoke only loud enough for Ben to hear.

“So, you gave Jack a black eye over me huh? That’s hot”

Amelia took a few steps forward before turning to look at the expression on Ben’s face as she continued to walk away from him, backwards. The slight shock turned into a full on smirk as he walked towards her eager to close the gap between them with a kiss. He knew she loved him with her whole heart, but he hoped that she would understand just how much he loved her right back.

The Proposal | la proposta

46 notes · View notes

lys-lilac · 2 years ago

Text

Healing Notes

[A/N: Hi everyone! So I am back as my major exam is over. But I have some other exams to handle as well. So just came here to write a small oneshot as music helped me a lot in my studies.

Music is really a healing factor. Whether you are stressed, feeling sad, had a bad day, or whatnot, this is by far the best technique to lift up your spirits. So I figured, why not write a story featuring MC seeking aid from music, now that Kasumi’s s2 is around the corner?]

Do note that this is just a possibility, not canon.

Since the time I had entered into med school, music has always been a comfort for me and a way to get away from the past haunting me. At least, it helps my mind to focus on something else.

Today was definitely not the best day for me. Starting from countless surgeries, to endless paperwork, and adding to that, not seeing Toshiki for a whole day. He has been occupied since morning, so leave the casual talks, we didn’t have time to even see each other.

(Darn you Toshiki, you have spoiled me...)

Giving a little sigh seeing it’s way past dinner time now, I rummage my drawers and find a lemon candy and a cookie. Flopping the things into my mouth, I resume filling the patient’s records.

But, something very terrible was waiting, unknown to me.

After who knows how long, my intra-hospital vibrates in my pocket. I know this is not a good symbol.

I throw the labcoat around my shoulder, while dashing and answering the call to the ER.

A girl in her teens is being wheeled into the ER room, suffering from intracranial haemorrhage and several fractures, following a traffic accident. Seeing her little face writhe in pain, sends pangs in my heart.

Calming myself down, I run to Dr. Maekawa, along with Dr. Takado and Dr. Hosho. Offering a little nod after getting the explanation by the paramedic about the case, we all start treatment.

After almost 2 hours, the girl’s condition stabilizes a little, so Dr. Hosho and I proceed to explain things to the family. Apparently, Dr. Takado is not good at these things, so he straight left after the operation.

(Argh, how bad I want to change places with him, but oh well.)

We see a pair of ladies standing outside the ER. One seemed to be very worried, while the other one had a blank expression on her face.

(No, why am I getting so worked up? This is nothing as I think, right?)

Dr. Hosho explains the condition of the girl briefly, and assures that she is out of danger now. One lady profusely bows and thanks us. As she gives a smile, the other lady starts speaking something I had never expected.

Lady 2: What did I tell you earlier? This girl is nothing but a burden to the family.

Lady 1: Please don’t speak like-

Lady 2: What else do you want to hear, huh?! She can’t even go to fetch grocery, and now getting injured on top of everything? This is such a pain to both of us.

Hosho: Please stop. I don’t know what relationship you have with her, but she is a patient here. I am not allowing anyone to badmouth her.

It felt as if the world has stopped spinning. What I was listening, my brain wasn’t ready to accept the data. It was as if, all of these are happening once again.

I knew at least this much. Checking the records confirmed that possibility quite earlier in the ER, but this thing strengthened my suspicions.

Hosho: MC?

MC: ...

Please tell me it’s a dream. Please tell me all of this is not real. The things I was trying to avoid for so long, coming like this in front of me?

Offering a quick bow, I peel off my surgical cap, and run in the opposite direction.

Why, why now of everything?

I long ago promised myself not to run away from this. But, even though this is not my family, the fear I feel after all these years is far too painful.

MC: Now that I think of it, good thing I didn’t see Toshiki today.

I had tried to maintain a poker face, and grabbing my earphones and cell phone, I excuse myself from the office telling a white lie, that I was going to take a breather.

Well, whatever. I hope they don’t get worried about this.

Plugging my earphones in, I press the play button. A soft voice starts to sing. As the beat starts to fasten, her voice becomes more powerful. Maybe I felt this small change because I was trying to focus on this very hard. Gazing at the beautiful starry sky and feeling the cool breeze caress my face, I close my eyes inadvertently, and start to hum.

Facing the problems head-on can be harsh, but we need to find a way, even if temporary, to be able to move on. Someday, maybe someday, I will share all of these problems with him. But, now’s not the time.

Relying on someone is good, but burdening someone with your problems is not. That will make you weak.

Gazing at the endless horizon, I mumble.

MC: Thank you for accompanying me today... I am all right now.

Clasping my hands and offering a short prayer, I head back to the office to complete the remaining work.

[Song referenced- https://youtu.be/u_yiFPJF58o ]

#romance md #romance md: always on call #rmd #rmd mc #rmd fanfics #lys's writings #toshiki kasumi #munechika takado #tetsuya hosho #voltage inc #love 365 #Love 365: Find Your Story #100恋+#100シーンの恋+#see lys's angsty side today

2 notes · View notes

iliveiloveiwrite · 4 years ago

Text

Paging Healer Malfoy // Chapter Five - Past Hauntings (D.M.)

A/N: CHAPTER FIVE!! Dates and drama, what more could you ask for? I actually wrote most of this before I even started to write Chapter Four, I was that excited for one bit! I hope you all like! All my medical knowledge comes from ER, so if there’s anything wrong, I apologise!

Summary: Draco has finally asked (Y/N) out, but will their date run smoothly?

Warnings: I made up a jinx, mentions of injuries, brief descriptions of procedures, strong reader, fluff, swearing, mean old men, mentions of food, kissing - IT ENDS WITH A BUTTLOAD OF FLUFF.

Word count: 4.2k

Prologue // Chapter One // Chapter Two // Chapter Three // Chapter Four

Draco lands on (Y/N)’s doorstep half an hour before their reservation at a bistro recommended to him by Dean.

He releases a shaky breath before knocking twice on her front door. Draco had only been to her home three or four times through the length of their friendship; (Y/N) much preferred to relax at his place and at his, she was closer to the hospital should she be called for anything.

Calming his heart, Draco fiddles with the cuff of his white shirt; ensuring that just enough poked out from underneath the black suit jacket he had chosen to wear.

It takes another knock at her door for (Y/N) to answer; she wrenches the door open with an apologetic smile, “I’m so sorry, Draco, I’m almost ready. I just need to find my shoes, jacket and bag and we can go.”

“Don’t apologise,” He laughs; his nerves abating somewhat, “You were dancing weren’t you?”

(Y/N) flushes, “How did you know?”

Draco points above him; to her bedroom where he can hear the well-known sounds of ABBA playing, “You love ABBA, it makes sense you would dance.”

She rolls her eyes, “Alright Sherlock, I was dancing to ABBA and I lost track of time, is that better?”

Draco laughs, nodding, “Much better.”

She smiles, “Good. Let me go grab the rest of my things and we can go.”

Draco doesn’t verbalise his response; he simply nods at her, watching her walk away, admiring her outfit. (Y/N) wears figure hugging tailored trousers; tapered so they’re tighter at the hems. His eyes rake over her body as she climbs the stairs to her room; he chides himself for not acting like a gentlemen but the stirring desire in his veins tells him not to bother.

(Y/N) rushes back down the stairs; almost tripping on the last step as she bounces around, trying to slip her foot into her heel. Draco lurches forward; reaching for her just as she topples forward. He can’t help the laugh that leaves his mouth, “Are you okay?”

She stands with a huff; hoisting her bag on her shoulder having put her jacket on upstairs, “I’m fine. Shall we get going?”

Draco smirks; holding out his arm for her to take, “As you wish, Dancing Queen.”

-------

Draco had booked a table at a small bistro; nothing overly fancy, but still cosy enough to retain the romantic atmosphere he hopes will continue throughout the date.

It’s not an overly large restaurant; fifteen or so tables all covered with red and white gingham cloth. A small kitchen resides in the back of the bistro; the scent of Mediterranean herbs making Draco’s stomach rumble as he and (Y/N) are led to their table.

“How did you find this place?” She asks, sliding into her chair, shucking off her jacket.

“Dean recommended it to me.”

(Y/N) smiles, “I was gonna say. This doesn’t have ‘Malfoy’ written all over it.”

He raises an eyebrow, “And what does?”

She taps a finger to her chin; deliberating with a small smile, “Michelin Stars, for starters. Huge plates with tiny portions of food, and expensive wine lists.”

Draco holds his hands up in surrender, “You’re right. However, my father is the sommelier of the family, I simply drink the stuff.”

(Y/N) snorts, “Is Draco Malfoy a rebel?”

He blushes at her teasing tone; glancing back down to the menu in his hands. A satisfied smile spreads across (Y/N)’s face at the sight of leaving Draco speechless; he so often had comebacks ready. It was a treat to see him so affected by her.

She peers down at the menu, “What are you thinking?”

“Is it completely stereotypical of me to go for the steak?” Draco ponders.

She shakes her head, laughing, “I may have been thinking the same thing.”

They hand their menus over to the waiter; giving their orders and choosing not to drink. Instead, they stick to water. Work tomorrow would be easier if they didn’t have a hangover to deal with as well.

“How long are you on tomorrow?” Draco asks.

(Y/N) shakes her head, “Let’s not talk about work.”

“I can do that,” He comments, “What would you like to talk about?”

She raises an eyebrow, “How did you know I was listening to ABBA? I thought you didn’t care much for muggle music.”

Draco flushes, “I don’t care for a lot of muggle music.”

“But you like ABBA?”

Draco nods; trying not to roll his eyes, “I like ABBA.”

(Y/N) laughs; clapping her hands together in delight, “That is my new favourite thing about you, Draco.”

“Oh?” He smirks, “What was it before?”

(Y/N) flushes as she averts her eyes; glancing around the room, “Truthfully?”

“Now you have me worried…”

She shoots him a glare, “I won’t tell if you’re going to be an arse.”

Draco holds one hand up in surrender; the other crosses over his heart, “I promise I won’t be an arse tonight.”

(Y/N) smiles shyly, “Your eyes.”

“My eyes?”

(Y/N) nods; the flush spreading to her neck as she bites her lip. The specific knowledge settles in Draco; making its home in his heart.

She recovers quickly, “What about you?”

“What about me?” Draco counters; knowing exactly where she’s going with this.

“What’s your favourite thing about me?”

Draco shuffles in his seat; butterflies running riot in his stomach. He reaches for his glass of water; wetting his mouth before speaking, “I don’t have a specific thing.”

(Y/N) visibly deflates; disappointed at his words, “You don’t?”

Draco nods; deciding honesty to be the best policy, “My favourite thing about you is all of you.”

“Oh…” (Y/N) whispers; a mesmerising smile breaking over her face and leaving him breathless. She opens her mouth to say more; to say what she feels in this moment, but as the words start to form on the tip of her tongue she’s interrupted by the arrival of their food.

With practiced flourish, the waiter places their food in front of them. The smell and sight making Draco’s mouth water. He digs in after sending a broad smile over to (Y/N) who watches Draco with bright eyes and a large smile herself.

Conversation is little as they eat; the both of them practiced in the art of needing to eat and rushing off to the next patient.

They get halfway through their main courses when Draco’s pager sounds. He looks at (Y/N) apologetically, “I thought I had turned it off. I told the hospital that I was off for the night, not be called in at any time.”

(Y/N) moves to answer, but she is interrupted by her own pager sounding in her bag. She glances at Draco sheepishly; the apology glimmering in her eyes as she reaches for it. Her expression changes as she reads over the number on the screen; Draco feels so concerned he can’t help but reach for his own pager to read what’s on the screen.

It takes them less than five minutes to pay the bill and rush from the restaurant; hurrying into a side alley to apparate to the emergency room.

They’re greeted by Vera; she looks them up and down, “Did you drink?”

Draco and (Y/N) shake their heads, “We’re both on tomorrow; we stuck to water.”

Vera thrusts trauma gowns at them, “Good. We need you sharp.”

Draco’s senses hone in; attention becoming laser sharp and focused. The shift in him is visible all to watching him; the relaxed posture dropping away to make room for the attending. He looks to Vera as he slides on goggles, “What do we have coming in?”

“Large raid on one of the last death eater hang outs. A battle broke out; everyone injured is coming our way,” Vera shakes her head, “It’s even being reported on muggle news; that’s how bad things got.”

“ETA?”

“Less than two minutes.”

Draco exhales, “Where are the trainees?”

“Behind you Healer Malfoy,” Matthew Kinghorn’s voice calls out.

He turns to find all four already gowned and gloved, ready and waiting. He meets the eyes of each one, “This will be your first large trauma, am I correct?” At their nods, he continues, “Okay. Split off to your attendings; do not get in the way. Help when you can but do not overcrowd. Kinghorn, I want you with me.”

Matthew startles; already heading towards his attending. Draco shakes his head; waiting for the other trainees to file away, “I want to see how you handle a trauma situation after I saw you with our impalement. We don’t exactly know what’s coming in but stay alert. If you think you’re going to be sick, leave the room. Do you understand?”

Matthew nods; remaining silent, following Draco as the first of the injured roll up.

From there, it’s close to a blood bath. St. Mungo’s is the only wizarding hospital in the entire country; supposedly equipped to handle such traumas. However, when the patients are from two groups with such differing ideals, keeping them separated is difficult.

In his head, Draco plans to make another appeal to the Minster for Magic; wondering if Hermione could help him persuade the powers that be for another hospital.

Piercing screams distract Draco from his plans to expand the hospital. With Matthew close behind, Draco rushes towards the sound. Being wheeled in by medics is a young Auror; barely out of his twenties or so Draco assumes – his face and body have been burnt so badly by a jinx that it makes it difficult for Draco to age the patient but also for the patient to offer anything but his screams.

The moment they enter the trauma room, Draco administers a pain potion. In cases like this, the survival rate was low. The most that could be done is to offer as much comfort to the patient as possible.

Draco looks over to Matthew, “How are you feeling, Kinghorn?”

Matthew’s gaze finally meets Draco; his skin looking rather green, “I’ve never seen something so bad.”

“Cases like this are rare, but they do happen. Now, the patient isn’t getting enough oxygen with the mask, what do we need to do?”

Matthew flounders; Draco adjusts the mask on the patient’s face, repeating his words, “What do we need to do, Matthew?”

The use of his first name snaps his out of whatever stupor, “Intubate. He needs to be intubated.”

“Have you seen one done?”

Matthew nods, “Healer (Y/L/N) showed me last week.”

“Good. You know what they say, ‘see one, do one, teach one’. Get over here, Matthew,” Draco leans over the patient, “Sir, we’re going to have to put a tube in your throat to help you breath.”

The patient nods; a tear falling down his face as he realises the likelihood of him coming off the vent is low. At the patient’s nod, Draco administers a sedative – to help the patient and Matthew through this. Draco looks to Matthew; nodding his head slightly for him to begin the procedure.

Matthew bounces to life; rushing to the head of the patient. Draco hands him the scope and tube needed for the procedure; speaking him through it as Matthew visualises the cords, slipping the tube down the patient’s throat – aiming for the lungs and not the stomach.

(Y/N) joins Draco as Matthew finishes intubating the patient; the need for muggle medicine a priority when the jinxes and curses were so bad there was little chance of recovery. This particular patient had been hit with the extensive burn jinx – a nasty jinx that isn’t seen too often as it causes third degree burns across 80% of the body; spreading across the body like a wildfire, giving the witch or wizard hit a low chance of survival.

“How did you find our first date?” Draco asks as (Y/N) begins to debride the burns; giving the patient some chance of relief.

(Y/N) smiles at him from over the trauma, “It’s like you knew exactly what I wanted.”

Draco can’t help the laugh that escapes him; quickly regaining his professionalism, however and apologising to the patient even though he is sedated. He looks back to her, “Can you handle it from here?”

She nods; eyes flickering the trauma room behind, “I’ve got it. I’ll find you when I’m done.”

Draco grins at her; pulling off his gloves and gown before rushing into the next trauma. The patient is agitated; shouting and screaming at the nurses, leaving Jude Prewett scared but firm as she talks him down.

The Auror only gets angrier at the sight of Draco; hollering for the whole floor to hear, “I won’t have you treat me! I demand another Healer. Get me another Healer.”

“Healer Malfoy is the best Healer we have,” Jude reassures; eyes flickering between the patient and Draco.

The patient shakes his head; adamant, “I won’t have a Death Eater treat me. He’ll kill me just as he would look at me.”

Draco wants to shout; wants to get in the patient’s face and list all the ways he’s repented since he was a scared and vulnerable sixteen year old, doing what he thought was right for his family.

He doesn’t though; he sighs sadly, stepping back from the patient, “I understand sir, I’ll go fetch another Healer,” He looks to Jude, “Are you okay for a few more minutes while I go get Healer (Y/L/N)?”

Jude nods; eyes sad from Draco’s quick dismissal. As Draco returns to trauma room one, he hears Jude say, “I hope you know you just insulted one of the best Healers we have.”

(Y/N) looks up as Draco re-enters, “What’s wrong?”

Draco shakes his head; hating the lump that has formed in his throat, “Do you mind treating next door?”

She nods down to the patient she is currently working on, “I’m busy here. Why can’t you do it?”

“He doesn’t want to be treated by me. Wants another Healer.”

“Why?” She demands; voice angry, eyes angrier as they glance into the room behind Draco.

“We’ll talk about it later. Will you please treat him? I can take over here.”

(Y/N) looks like she very much wants to argue with him, but she decides against it. She nods quietly; handing Draco her scalpel before disrobing, “What’s his name?” She asks, referring to the patient.

Draco shrugs; focusing his attention on the burn victim, “We didn’t get that far.”

-----

(Y/N) liked to believe that she was patient; she knew when she began her training as a Healer that she would need to learn the art of patience and fast for there are some patients who have a list of medical complaints a mile long.

However, she did not have any patience for the narrow-minded Auror ranting before her.

“I can’t believe a place like this would hire him.”

“Hire who?” She asks; daring him to say it.

“Him,” He spits; jutting his chin to next door when (Y/N) knows Draco works diligently over another Auror who may only have hours to live due to the extensiveness of their burns.

“That man you’re spitting about happens to be working on your colleague.”

The Auror rolls his eyes, “My colleague wouldn’t be in his mess if it wasn’t for families like his. I knew who he was the moment he walked in the room; Lucius Malfoy’s brat.”

(Y/N) grits her teeth; continuing to stitch up the man’s arm; refusing to rise to his vitriol. He takes her silence as permission to continue, “I’m surprised we didn’t find his father there. We certainly found a lot of his friends; hiding together like rats, plotting their next uprising as if the last one worked. Who are they going to worship now? The Dark Lord is gone.”

“And yet,” (Y/N) breathes, “You cannot say his name without being scared.”

The Auror glares at her; not happy to have his courage questioned. He remains silent through the rest of his treatment; seething at her words, knowing that she called him on his bullshit.

(Y/N) removes her gloves, standing from her chair, “I would say that it’s been a pleasure to heal you given that you’re an Auror, but it hasn’t. I will be contacting your superior for the abuse you’ve shown my colleague – who, for your information, has nothing to repent for. I understand questioning the adults that followed Lord Voldemort, but you do not get to question the children who were innocent bystanders in a game they didn’t understand.”

The Auror laughs menacingly, “Speak to my superior, see if I care.”

(Y/N) grins, “I will. You’ve ballsed up big time – want to know why?”

The Auror remains quiet so (Y/N) tells him anyway, nodding towards Draco, “Your boss is one of his best friends.”

The colour fades from the Auror’s face and (Y/N) admits to herself that she rather enjoyed telling him what’s what. Patience is something that (Y/N) is still learning; even almost ten years into her career, but what she will not stand for in any form, is bullying.

----

Draco takes a moment of leave from the burn patient when his family arrive in floods of tears; asking about statistics and whether he was positive that nothing could be done.

He doesn’t see the commotion, but he hears it; her voice travels down the hall, easily leading Draco to her. He finds her gesturing wildly to an unprepared Harry Potter.

Harry catches his eye; pleading silently for help. Draco makes his way to her side; placing his hand on the small of her back, “What’s happening here?”

“I was just tell Harry about that lovely patient we have

“Auror Flintlock?” Draco asks; taking the chart from (Y/N)’s hands.

Her hands settle on her hips, “Potter, you have to do something about him. He was wildly inappropriate towards Draco.”

Draco sighs, “Patients can refuse to be treated by certain Healers, (Y/N).”

(Y/N) purses her lips; her attention still fixed on Harry, “I want to see him at least written up and giving an official warning for how he continued to speak after Draco left the room.”

Harry nods, “He’ll be written up, (Y/N). He’s been skating on thin ice for a while.”

(Y/N) folds her arms; a victorious look on her face, “Thank you, Potter.”

Harry smiles; nodding at them both, not missing their closeness. He makes a mental note to mention it to Draco the next time they go drinking. Harry looks towards trauma one, “How’s he doing?”

Draco pats Harry’s shoulder, “80% thickness burns to most of his body. It was a nasty jinx, Harry.”

“How long does he have?”

“Hours,” Draco states plainly, “His family is with him now.”

Harry nods; silver lining his eyes, sighing, “Good. They should be. He’s been on the force less than a year.”

With little else to say, Harry leaves Draco and (Y/N) – fulfilling his duty as an Auror; going to comfort the family of one of their own.

Draco and (Y/N) retreat to the break room; never officially being on in the first place. Like always, the ancient television set only displays the muggle news in a hushed volume; the red banner skirting across the bottom of the screen announcing an unexplained explosion on the outskirts of London. The news anchor repeats how lucky it was that no-one was hurt. Draco represses the urge to roll his eyes; muggles weren’t hurt, that’s correct and he’s thankful for that, but his emergency room is filled with Aurors and Death Eaters alike – all injured and vulnerable because of what happened tonight.

Draco settles at the round table in the middle of the room; sighing in relief at getting off his feet for a little bit. (Y/N) sits next to him; her hand reaching for his across the table. An act of affection so naturally displayed that it sends Draco’s heart rate through the roof.

He regrets the fact that their date had been cut short, but with any luck, (Y/N) wouldn’t mind a repeat. He thinks to their brief conversation in the bistro and for a second, he wonders whether she would protest much to his version of wining and dining. Reservations needing to be made weeks in advance; wine lists four pages long – each bottle with multiple zeroes behind the name. He realises he would like to show her the world in which he grew up; the fancy dinners and balls, but he also accepts that he would be happy in any world as long as he’s with her.

“Are you staying with him?” (Y/N) asks; concern in her eyes.

Draco nods, “I’ll stay with him through this. Matthew will need me to help pronounce.”

(Y/N) nods, “I’ll stay with you too.”

He reaches for her hand, “Thank you.”

She squeezes once, shrugging, “One thing’s for certain, you’re not a boring date, Draco.”

“It’s about to get even more wild,” Draco drawls.

“Oh? How’s that?”

Draco points to the pile of unfinished paperwork near his locker, “We have all that to work through.”

(Y/N) fans herself, “Slow down, Romeo. Paperwork is a second date kind of thing isn’t it?”

Draco laughs loudly, “So you see a second date?”

(Y/N) beams at him; pulling a pen from her bag, “I see a second date.”

------

Two hours later, Matthew interrupts their squabble about news anchor’s to say that the young Auror’s oxygen levels have dropped. Draco stands; knowing it won’t be long now.

It isn’t. Less than ten minutes after entering the room, Draco helps Matthew pronounce the young Auror; explaining the death kit and how the nurses do it.

(Y/N) looks up when Draco re-enters the break room; the question written over her face. Draco nods; silently confirming her suspicions.

They apparate back to his place; neither of them hungry after such an extensive trauma. (Y/N) throws herself on the couch; groaning at the softness, “You know, this is the comfiest couch I have ever sat on.”

Draco laughs; picking up her legs and settling them over his as he sits down next to her, “Are you just saying that because you wore heels all night?”

(Y/N) frowns down at her bare feet; having kicked off the offending footwear the moment she landed in Draco’s flat, “That could be part of it.”

“I knew it!” Draco declares with a broad smile, “You only agreed to the date so you could lay on my couch more.”

(Y/N) stretches her limbs out, “Can you blame me? This couch is a gift from Merlin himself.”

Silence falls between the two of them; it’s not awkward – far from it. It’s the kind of silence where they both know they’re thinking over the night’s events and remembering the young Auror who passed less than two hour ago.

“You didn’t have to do that earlier, you know,” Draco whispers.

(Y/N) sits up the couch; swinging her legs around. She cuddles up to Draco, “Yeah, I did. I saw your face in there, I had to do something.”

Draco shakes his head, “It wasn’t the first time; it won’t be the last either.”

“What do you mean it wasn’t the first time?”

“I mean that it wasn’t the first time a patient has refused to be treated by me,” He sighs; heart heavy as he thinks of the early days of his career when the mark on his arm was as dark as the day it had been seared into his skin, “There are still those who have not forgiven my family for their involvement in both wizarding wars.”

(Y/N) frowns; staring up at him, “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Draco shrugs, “Truthfully, it hadn’t happened in a while. Auror Flintlock was the first patient in almost a year to refuse my treatment.”

“You still should have told me.”

“I know,” He admits, “Will you forgive me?”

She clicks her tongue against the roof of her mouth, “I don’t know,” She starts, “What’s in it for me?”

Draco chuckles; leaning in to her, “What would you like?”

(Y/N) takes it upon herself to connect their lips. She brushes her lips against Draco’s softly; to gauge his reaction. Draco gasps gently as the touch; unexpected but definitely not unwelcome. She pulls away; a hairsbreadth away from him, but he surges forward, reconnecting their lips in a kiss that screams pent up emotion and long-lasting love.

She lets him take control of the kiss; surrendering herself to his mouth and wandering hands as he presses her further into the couch.

They’re a mess of hands, lips, and tongue. Her hands work on the white button down he wears; unfastening the buttons and pushing it from his shoulders before running her hands down the flat expanse of his stomach.

Draco shudders at her touch; briefly wondering if whether this is what it feels like to internally combust. He’s dreamt of this for long so; sometimes waking up in the middle of the night with the taste of her in his mouth and desire lighting up his veins.

Her hands continue wander as he slows down the kiss; slowing their pace so they move together languidly. He doesn’t want to rush a thing; he wants to feel every inch of her set him on fire.

Breaking the kiss, Draco pulls her from the couch. She throws him a puzzled look as he leads her into his bedroom. Draco gives her a questioning look; searching her eyes for permission, making sure she hasn’t changed her mind since the couch. With a small smile, (Y/N) tugs Draco towards her by grabbing his belt.

He connects their lips once more, kicking the bedroom door shut behind him.

**********

Paging Healer Malfoy taglist: @sycathorn-slush @obsessedwithrandomthings @kpopgirlbtssvt @kalimagik @brycelahelalover @fallinallinmendes @mischi3f-manag3d @remmysrecs @willowbleedsonpaper @nao-cchi @haphazardhufflepuff @soundsquid27 @mytreec @maydillydally @chaoticgirl04 @pregnant-piggy @rhyxn @acciotwinz @birdie-writes @reaganwonders @chanelwonders @izzytheninja @ravenclawbitch426 @ohissandhalasta @missmulti @nebulablakemurphy @pointlesscoconut @cherrylita @harpersmariano @slytherinlovesgryffindor @falconfeather23435 @namoreno @johannalauraaa

Draco Malfoy taglist: @the--queen-of-hell @obxmxybxnk @obx-beach @sycathorn-slush @dracomalfoyswifey @kashishwrites @justmesadgirl @detroitobsessed @reaganwonders @sophia-gwendolyn @ravenclawbitch426

***if your username is in bold, I was unable to tag you.

224 notes · View notes