#I consider this a confession and not a response even though it mentions other confessions

[bloodweavefangnatic]

Wyll’s remarks about Astarion, such as his comment about Astarion having nice hair, come off as more platonic or neutral. While Wyll might acknowledge Astarion’s attractiveness, something the vampire doesn’t already know 😂, there’s no indication that these comments carry the same kind of sexual tension or romantic interest that Astarion expresses toward Wyll. These remarks are more likely to be seen as lighthearted compliments, something that could be said by a friend or acquaintance rather than an indication of deeper romantic feelings.

Astarion, on the other hand, makes several flirtatious comments toward Wyll, hinting at a potential romantic or sexual attraction. He openly mentions that Wyll would have been his type before he became a vampire, — which is kind of sad because I think Wyll would have loved him more as a human than a vampire and I feel like that’s a little racist because canonically (not talking about playing Wyll’s origin run, if you want to romance Astarion go for your life) but I don’t think he’d want to do anything with him because of what his kind does and the fact that he’s a monster hunter but then again this is just my theory/HC I don’t know it for a fact but I know the attraction is definitely one-side either way it’s looked at — and there are moments where Astarion expresses clear desire or admiration for Wyll’s physical appearance. This interaction is much more overt and can be interpreted as a romantic or sexual interest. (Like the question is does he just want to bed Wyll as one night stand or does he genuinely have deep-rooted feelings for him?)

Even if Wyll did harbor feelings for Astarion, it raises the question: why was he so consistently harsh toward him throughout Acts 1 and 2? Wyll’s behavior towards him only starts to shift in Act 3, after Astarion kills Cazador and chooses to remain a spawn (which is actually understandable even because I don’t exactly like Ascended Astarion either, so kudos to Wyll 😂) However, this shift doesn’t come across as a true companionship or genuine change of heart—it feels more like a reward or acknowledgment of Astarion’s “good behavior.” (Pretty much similar as to how Mizora treats Wyll with the ‘reward method’ like a dog)

By waiting until after Astarion has undergone intense personal growth to offer any kind of warmth — which is kind of manipulative on the warlock’s part — Wyll’s change in attitude feels less like a romantic development and more like belated approval.

This shift misses the mark if the intent was to create a compelling connection between them. Instead of building a relationship over time, it feels as if Wyll’s attitude change only emerges in response to Astarion’s actions, which doesn’t have the depth or complexity expected in a confession of feelings.

Self note: Don’t get me started on the whole “well it could be an enemies to lovers thing”. Yeah, you could be right but that’s what happened between Lae’zel & Shadowheart as well as Karlach & Wyll but at least they made a truce in Act 1

Wyll repeatedly “teases” (I wouldn’t even call it that considering his tone is not animated ) Astarion about his “dietary life” even though he explicitly explains to the player/leader of the group — very early on after being found out about his true nature — “I hunt deer, boar, or kobolds whatever I can get. I’m just a little slow right now” which, now that I think about it, I honestly I feel like that’s the only part Wyll heard: ‘I’m a little slow’ it would explain why he acts this way towards Astarion either that or he’s internally panicking (not for himself) but people around him because there is a “slow” vampire who hasn’t fed yet, but is too weak to go after any animal. Thats not the worst part, Wyll, who is only a short distance from Astarion’s tent — one tent away — perhaps chose to ignored his explanation, most likely not wanting to hear to excuses or manipulation (in Wyll’s eyes) because to him a bloodthirsty vampire is a bloodthirsty vampire; self control or not it didn’t matter to him

Another thing is when Astarion mentions that he’s feeling hungry, a day or so later, Wyll instantly remarks that he should settle for “vagrant chicken,” straight off the bat and absolutely no tactfulness, as if unaware or indifferent to Astarion’s efforts to avoid feeding on innocents. This could have been especially harsh for Astarion — considering how much he resents being told what to do— a reminder of his time under Cazador’s control, particularly when he had no choice having to obey his commands (lest he gets punished for not doing so 🥺)

The dynamic becomes even more complicated when the player (save for playing as Karlach) goes up to Astarion, telling him: “You can feed on me.”. Every time it comes up, Wyll doesn’t protest or intervene, despite his earlier jabs about the vampire’s source of ‘food’. There’s no protective or disapproving response from him; instead, he stands by and allows it to happen. This feels less like a typical “enemies-to-lovers” banter and more like an ongoing pattern of unnecessary antagonism. It, to me, actually felt more like a “the ruler can do whatever they want and the person won’t interfere” thing, which isn’t far fetched to being a leader of the companions

Conclusion:

It’s important to note that Baldur’s Gate 3 is a game driven by player choice, meaning there is no definitive “canon” relationship between characters. Since each player can make different decisions and pursue different companions, any pairing, such as “Wyllstarion,” is subjective and depends on the individual player’s choices. The game doesn’t establish any specific romantic relationships as official canon, as characters do not form relationships with one another outside of the player’s actions. This flexibility allows players to experience a variety of possible relationships, and no particular outcome is considered the game’s “canon.”.

That’s like me saying “Starlach and Bloodweave are definitely canon,” but someone else might argue, “No way, it’s all about Shadowarrior — Shadowheart and Lae’zel” or “Fieryblade, Wyll x Karlach, is definitely the better option” etc. Everyone has their own interpretation of what feels right or “canon” to them. There’s no one-size-fits-all answer because the game lets you build your own story, and what feels like a natural pairing for one person might not for someone else.

More evidence that Wyll and Astarion are basically canon :p But no Wyll, no Asty kisses for you >:c Not this time.

[star-trek-fandom-confessions]

#381

"I really want a new Star Trek show that's completely unrelated to anything. I liked that LWD seemed unconnected even as it made mention to other things naturally, but as they go, they keep pulling in other shows and characters. The confessions about DISCO (294 and 283) are so valid because Discovery would have been so better completely disconnected from Spock and even Pike. Yes, I like SNW, but I want something new like how the shows from the 89s - 00s were all new groups. Maybe something between ENT and DISCO where Archer's history and Kirk, Pike, and Michael aren't on the radar yet. There's nearly 100 years between the two to cover. Or even between Picard and the 32nd Century, which has even more time to cover. Not everything needs to tie so tightly to everything else."

[rolanpilled]

Facts about Rolan you might have missed, while you were busy saving the world

Spoilers for Baldur’s Gate 3 below!

Here’s a collection of some Rolan facts you may have missed during your playthrough. (These are all from memory, so I will edit this later with sources and exact quotes.)

He is not related by blood to Cal and Lia - You can find this information by speaking with his corpse. All three of them consider each other family, but Rolan seems to hold some insecurities about his position with his siblings. In the same conversation, he mentions having “no one” when asked if he has family and that he identifies as “Rolan, just Rolan” - potentially implying that he’s been abandoned or rejected by his blood family, if they’re alive.

Cal considers Rolan an older brother - If Rolan dies during his rescue attempt in Act 2, Cal confesses that Rolan is his “older brother” and “the person he looks up to the most”.

Rolan loves organizing things - He has overhead dialogue with his siblings where he jokes about wanting an organized, color-coded sock drawer.

You can try to convince Rolan to leave his siblings behind at the grove - Try to convince him to leave Lia behind, and he will admit she’s a pain sometimes, but he could never leave her, not even for his prestigious apprenticeship.

Rolan’s diary changes depending on if his siblings live or die - Self-explanatory. He obviously becomes much more depressed and angry if you fail to save his siblings.

Rolan and his siblings have known each other since Cal was at least eight - They have overhead dialogue where Cal mentions that, when he was eight, Rolan once conjured a cat for him, only for him to find out it was made of fire.

It’s implied that Rolan, Cal, and Lia share a mother figure - If Lia dies, Cal has dialogue with Rolan about throwing a party in memorial for her, “like [they] did for mum”.

Rolan, Cal, and Lia have unique dialogue depending on which of them die - This is self-explanatory, but you can see most of the scenes here. He also appears to have unique dialogue coded in act 3 depending on if he’s angry with you or not (if you disrespected Cal and Lia’s memories by calling them Carl and Liam), but I haven’t been able to trigger it yet.

https://twitter.com/gimblebock/status/1705080072489574619?s=46&t=ZnMav_9KejiNOZkZPad0Mg

Lorroakan hates to admit it, but Rolan is more powerful than him - Speak with Lorroakan’s corpse after killing him and having Rolan side with you. He will begrudgingly admit that his apprentice is more powerful than him. Side note, it can be implied that Lorroakan never calls Rolan by his name, as he defaults to “tiefling” or “boy” in their few interactions.

If Rolan has a high enough initiative in the Lorroakan fight, he will use Thunderwave to shove Lorroakan off the tower. Peak revenge.

Some of Rolan’s spells have his name in front of them (Rolan’s Thunderwave, Rolan’s Mage Armor) - Some people have headcannoned this as meaning he had to learn magic by himself, therefore being a Sorcerer. Considering his clothes are a unique color combination for the Sorcerer robes, it raises more than a few questions

Rolan always carries Lorroakan’s letter on him - This one always makes me so sad, pointed out by @sadwizardlover. Throughout the game, the one thing Rolan always carries on his person is the written response from Lorroakan to his letter, posted below.

Lorroakan also beats Rolan up😭 He'll only admit this if Lorroakan's dead though

That’s all! If anyone has any more to add to this list, shoot me an ask✨💞

[lit3rallyll0yd]

dating the ninja: series (headcanons) | lloyd garmadon , jay walker x reader<3 ⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝♡

a/n: theres a word limit, and i dont have enough space to add all the ninjas in one whole post, so we're doing this in parts of two. hence; series! part one will be lloyd and jay :) also this is mostly my old writing, words may not be spelled correctly.

warnings: none really, more like i cant remember lol

just enjoy (╥﹏╥)

 · It took him so long to consider liking you. He's been through so much, especially after Harumi, he's scared to fall in love again. 

 · But he's been with you, even before Harumi and he knows you're not a bad person. He just has some trust issues her's trying t deal with. 

 · Harumi kinda broke him :/

 · After considering his crush on you, it was Jay and Kai's mission to make him confess to you. Nya was with you on the other end. You told her you liked Lloyd for while and she had the biggest, dorkiest smile on her face as she squealed and hugged you. 

 · When Jay confessed to her, she was speechless, she can only imagine the pain you feel not being able to tell the person you liked them. 

 · Confessing to you was the hardest thing he's ever had to do. He would stammer on his words, make weird Lloyd noises like groans or whines when he messed up on a simple sentence, and his face would be as red as a tomato. 

 · You felt stunned when Lloyd stood in front of you waiting for a response. You would say nothing but give him a hug and said 'I love you too, Lloyd.' and he had tears of joy falling from his eyes.

 · Nya, Kai, and Jay would be in the back hiding, spying on the too. When they say them hug and kiss each other on the lips, Jay jumped out a screamed "LET'S GOO!!" 

 · Durning the relationship, Lloyd would be the sweetest boyfriend even though he has no clue what he's doing. He wants to give you the world, but has no idea how to do that. 

 · He's also not the best with PDA. He's never received much as a kid, so he gets a bit jumpy when someone hugs him by surprise or when he holds someone for a certain amount of time.

 · Comic store dates>>>

 · He has no idea how to plan a date, so he normally asks if you want to go to the comic book store with him and you'll go from there.

 · One time a date ended with you both getting ice cream and taking a walk around the beach docks. Wanting to take a peaceful selfie of you and him and a sudden seagull came and snatched his ice cream right out of his cone, hitting him in the face.

 · You now have a photo of a burry Lloyd losing a fight to a seagull while your in the back scared but laughing at the same time. 

 · You taught Lloyd how to ride a bike. When he was still younger you noticed how little he knew about riding a bike, so when he grew you were able to show him and he got a little bit embarrassed when the guys found out.

 · When you both sleep, Lloyd's normally the first to wake up but he's  g r u m p y !!! 

 · He wakes up because of training and because of that he's kinda forgotten how to sleep in in the mornings. Hence why's he's so tired in the mornings and sometimes afternoons? 

 · He's also nervous to cuddle you while you sleep, but it's cute when they guys catch him snuggling into him like a cat in the mornings. He tends to cuddle into you during your and his sleep, it's so cute to catch. 

 · Did I mention he's a cat person? Lol

 · Run your fingers through his hair, tell him he's worth it, just make him feel proud of himself and he'll be wrapped around your finger just like that.

 · He's willing to do anything for you, do the same for him!

 · Non-stop kisses. Whenever he sees you you better be ready to be bombarded by kisses to the lips, cheeks, nose, and even forehead from the Lightning Ninja!

 · He likes to sneak up behind you and give you surprise kisses on the cheek. He loves seeing the way you jump forward when he scares you and when he sees that blush that forms on your face? He's gonna 'awe' at it and poke your cheek.

 · He was the first one to confess to you. It was actually not planned out even though he did plan it out with the help from Kai and Cole, but of course, it backfired during a 'date' Kai and Cole made up for the two of you.

 · He ended up blurbing it out all in one breath-

  · "Y/NITHINKYOURTHEMOSTAMAZINGPERSONINTHEWORLDANDIDONTKNOWWHATIWOULDOIFINNEVERMETYOU!YOURTHEBESTPERSONIHAVEEVERMETANDIWANTEDTOTELLYOUILOVEDYOUFORSOLONGBUTIDIDN'TKNOWIFYOUFELTTHESAMEFORME!SOIUNDERSTANDIFYOU-"

 · You shut him by placing a gentle kiss on his lips, pulling away, and giving him the sweetest of smiles. "I love you too, JJ." 

 · The amount of confidence he's got now because of that moment>>

 · Kai got a bit jealous when he was told Jay was able to get himself a lover before him, and Jay took advantage of that always giving you a quick kiss on the lips when Kai walks by, wrapping an arm around your waist during movie night and seeing the angry look Kai gave him. 

 · Jay never felt more pleased- PFT

 · Kai soon found Skylor and his jealousy was soon gone. 

· Dates happen more often than you think. He takes you to the movies, gets some food, but he's sometimes broke and only has enough for take-out and you both sit in your room in your apartment and watch some Netflix. 

 · You both like to help PIXAL repair some of the vehicles. The Bounty is the main vehicle you repair. The Super Sonic Radar is also one of them and Jay adores the time you both have while PIXAL'S basically third-wheeling. 

 · If you go to school, Jay loves to walk with you. He'll offer to carry your bags, books, heck he even offered to carry you! 

 · When you make it to school, Jay acts like it's the last time he'll ever see you again.

 · 'Do you haaave to go? I'll be alone allll day without your cuddles." 

 · He gave you the cutest of puppy dog eyes, but you tried to endure it and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, "I'll be back later, Jay. Don't get your bolts in a knot!"

 · You came back and he tackles you, every daywhen you come home it's adorable.

 · His favorite place to kiss you has got to be your nose. The way it scrunches up is so cute he can kiss it all day. His hands are on your cheeks, but they're sometimes also in your hair or hands. 

 · He's a cuddle bug, if you haven't already known, he can hug you all day and he will! One morning he refused to remove himself from your touch, so he rolled onto your back and you struggled to stand up...but once you did you basically gave him a piggyback ride until it was time to train. 

 · For breakfast he just chewed on a piece of buttered toast and Zane was not pleased. He told Jay to eat a proper breakfast but Jay was too into the toast and your warm touch to listen to the Nindroid. 

 · Speaking of mornings, Jay takes up almost the entire bed it's so hard to share one with him, but you're able to somehow get some room, but his hand is smacking you in the face and his legs are tangled with yours. Thank god you are used to it.

 · When he wakes up there's drool on the sheets but he just wipes it down with his hands and turns back onto his back where he accidentally pushes you off the bed now he's awake when he hears a loud thud and you standing up with a scream causing him to scream.

 · You rarely cuddle in the morning because one Jay pushed you out of bed and two you're both wide awake. 

 · He uses such dorky nicknames like, what??

 · " Hey Cutie Patootie!  "Snuggle Muffin"   

       ( or if your a boy )

 · "Mister Man"  "Baby Boy"

 · He's cringe but that's okay 

[flamingpudding]

Part 4 of Ghost Kid in Gotham

<<1 Previous Next

How to catch a baby brother

Richard 'Dick' Greyson had a problem. It wasn't a nuclear level of problem but it also wasn't a paper cut level of problem either. Because apparently he had a baby brother no one in their family but Damien knew about. Granted Damien had confessed that said baby brother was dead and had supposedly died eight years ago.

The explanation that Talia had apparently pulled another Jason was not helpful at all. According to Damien, in response to Tims findings, there was no other way for the twin to be alive other than Talia having preserved his body and then decided after eight years to drop it into the pits. Well lets just say his opinion on that woman if it was already down in the depth it certainly was now.

Which, considering the glowing Lazarus green eyes, could mean that there was now an eight years old child running loose in the Bat Cave with Pit Madness. Not just a simple feral eight years old that looked like perfect B adoption material and so happened to be blood related.

"Guys we need a plan. We can't just let our little teethling run loose."

"Richard, do not refer to my brother as little teethling." Dick only grinned. "Well the little biter needs a nickname and until I find something else fitting its teethling. Or do you have a better suggestion?"

Sweet little Baby Bird was now glowering at him. Oh protective were we, his little brothers definitely were the cutest. He was definitely going to tease sweet little Dami about this later once the first phase of new little brother crisis was over. For now they had to find the little guy first. The Cave wasn't exactly childproof.

"Let's use Jason as bait." Tim suddenly suggested causing the second oldest to grimace. "The little guy apparently likes biting him. We could use that as an advantage."

"Absolutely fucking not." Little Wing disagreed and Dick chuckled in good humor.

"Aw come on Little Wing, this is your chance to make a bond with our new baby before any of us can."

"For once I agree with Todd. Absolutely not, who knows where he has been. I will not have my brother become sick from biting him." He would have cooed at this, if Jason's face change from surprise at the agreement to a purely offended scowl wasn't so funny.

"Okay no biting bait. But we gotta draw out the little guy and calm his Pit Rage." If that feralness the kid displayed had even anything to do with Pit Rage.Considering the glowing eyes though he would think so. Dick eyed Jasons for a moment, he didn't seem to be affected at all nor had he said anything about the Pit being upset or feeling anything strange. So maybe the little guy wasn't suffering to an extrem from it? But he had apparently been brought back by a Lazarus Pit, so the likelihood with their experiences so far was slim.

"Well we gotta find a way to secure the little guy before B comes back or Alfie finds out." Jason mentioned still scowling at Damien. "By the way, I want to be here when you guys tell B about this. I wanna see his face and make fucking sure the little biter won't be turned into another kid soldier."

"Jason." He scowled, this was definitely not the right time for that sort of discussion but he had a point, they needed to find little… what had Damien said his name was? Wait did Damien even tell them the little guy's name? They all had just been using nicknames so far.

"Dami, what's the little teethling's name again?"

"I haven't told you yet." Ah okay so he didn't have a hole in his memory. "It's Danyal, but when we were younger he didn't like the way grandfather and our teachers called his name and insisted on being called informally as Danny."

"Okay right, so we better find little Danny and get everyone together to introduce-"

"Might I ask who this 'little Danny' is, Master Dick?"

He did not scream. But his heart rate shot up with Alfred just appearing behind him like that. Really sometimes Alfred could be as bad as Cass in the ways of sneaking up on people without them knowing.

"Alfred, hey hi what are you doing down here?" He was not nervous, no he wasn't. The way the butler narrowed his eyes at him did definitely not scare him at all, nope.

"I was informed that all of you returned uninjured." Though his eyes narrowed at Jason's hand that got cut earlier and his brother instantly tried to hide it behind his back when he noticed Alfreds eyes on him. "But the four of you, despite having returned to the Cave, have not come up yet. So I was merely checking on you, to make sure nothing was wrong after all."

He gulped. Really there was no way of ever hiding anything from Alfred.

"Jason brought a child to the Cave that we found out is Damien's twin that had died eight years ago but was brought back to life and is now feral and hiding somewhere in the cave."

At least it was Timber that blurred out everything they knew so far.

"His name is Danyal." Baby Bird added and the four of them waited for Alfred's reaction.

"I see. I will go prepare one of the rooms then and inform Master Bruce to return sooner from his meeting with the Justice League then. As well as prepare for a family dinner as soon as possible, I assume. Will my help be needed in finding young Master Danyal?"

"No worries Alfie, I think I have an idea on how to draw out the little shiiii-biter. You made cookies, right?" Jason at the last minute corrected his words because of the look and Dick couldn't help but snicker.

"I indeed did. If my help is not required then I will be on my way."

Giving them all one last look over, the Butler smiled before he turned to leave. Dick, Tim and Jason let out a sigh in relief once Alfred had left again to which Damien only eyed them strangely.

A little while later Jason went to get the cookies and came back with the plate and staring at a green post-it note. "Since when does Alfie stick green post-it notes with cryptic shit on plates?"

"What?" His brother only shrugged offering the note to him. Tim was looking over his shoulder at it and the two stared at the strange writing.

"I think Cass or Steph might be pulling a prank on us? These look just like random squiggles."

"Let's leave this for later and look for the little teethling." He passed the note to Tim, noticing the curiosity in his eyes. Oh boy, he probably should make sure his little brother gets some sleep instead of trying to encrypt whatever was written on that little note all night.

"Now everyone lets take a cookie, resist eating it and go hunt down our little teethling."

Damien narrowed his eyes on him. "I told you to stop calling Danyal that." The little baby bird still took a cookie though and marched away into the bat cave. They had separated wandering through the Bat Cave trying to cover as much ground as possible and by this point Dick was ready to call for Cass to join them, maybe even wake up Duke just so they would finally find the little kid.

That was until a familiar yowl of pain resounded in the Cave. The direction made Dicks stomach sink once he remembered just what was in the Cave in this direction. "Jason!"

Once he arrived there he feared for the worst. Jason avoided the area, because B had placed their Lazarus Pit there and his brother had often said that it was one of the reasons he didn't like coming to the Cave that much anymore let alone into this area of the Cave. To hear his brothers shout of pain from that area couldn't mean anything good.

Well that was until he got to the scene. Dick didn't know how long he stood there frozen but at some point he knew he took out his phone to take some photos of what was happening. Tim was already laughing and Dick was pretty sure that Babs was most likely recording this with one of the many cameras B had in the Cave.

Jason lay with his back on the ground, with one hand his brother was still holding the cookie waving it desperately before Danny's face who was biting down on the other arm sitting on the downed vigilante's chest. Little hands gripping onto the arm in an attempt to make sure no one was taking his chewtoy away from him. Meanwhile Damien was trying to lift the little biter off Jason by holding him with his hands under the kids armpits.

"You little shit! FUCK! Come on, here is the cookie! Take the fucking cookie! OUCH FUCKING HELL! How is he resisting Alfies cookies!"

"Danyal, No! You do not know where Todd was or how dirty he is. Let go of his arm this instant. We do not want you to get sick!"

"Hey!"

This was gold, Dick decided, and would go straight to the black mail as well as family memories folder.

[momodita]

snapshots. [—suo hayato]

TAGS / WARNINGS: male reader but no pronouns are       used and can be read as gender neutral, implied       jealousy, really just fluff, aged-up to third years,       flower language, reader's a little oblivious WC: 1,000 NOTE: no one look at me. this guy's ruined my life

✗ MINORS / AGELESS / BLANK BLOGS WILL BE BLOCKED.

“What’s this? A confession?”

Your whole body flinches, curling in on itself.

Suo watches on—his smile is neat. Polite. Hands clasped behind his back, the neck of a barley tea bottle perched between his fingers as he stands above you.

The others are mingling over rice balls: Sakura is eating Suo’s portion—you watched the latter hand it off before he’d even finished with the first one.

The back of your neck is hot, Suo’s gaze is heavy on the crown of your head: an itch blooming there. You resist the instinct to scratch.

“D-don’t be stupid,” you splutter. It’s always felt a little precarious to be crouched low in his line of vision—but it’ll be like losing if you stand; your feet remain anchored to the pavement. “These are a ‘thank you’ for helping at Yamato-san’s shop. Her daughter was in the area.”

Suo’s eye drops to the flowers—yellow camellias, she’d told you, looking awfully uncomfortable with the whole exchange—and though his expression doesn’t budge, disbelief is obvious in his light-hearted hum.

“Is that so? You seem plenty embarrassed, though.”

“Shut up.”

He’s watching in your periphery as you lift the bottle to inspect it. The blossoms are undeniably beautiful: pale yellow petals arranged symmetrically with pristine coloring. Himari had scurried off before you could learn what they meant, leaving you dumbfounded on the sidewalk.

“Thinking about your response?” Suo asks.

Your eyebrows scrunch. “I already thanked her.”

He’s amused: his little chuckle coaxes a flat slant of your mouth. “You’re a funny one. But that’s not quite what I meant,” he explains. “Are you going to give her a flower in return?”

You frown. He’s been like this since year one—giving you half of what you need to understand his point. “It hadn’t really occurred to me. I wouldn’t wanna… I dunno—is it that important? She seemed kinda uncomfortable.”

Suo considers you, silent. Then, his smile softens, a teasing intonation in his voice when he speaks.

“If this were my confession, I’d be heartbroken, hearing you talk like that.”

“I already told you, it’s not a confession!”

“Yamato-san has been friendly to us Furin students for years.” His stare sends a shiver crawling along your arms. “And you’ve known her daughter for quite a while.”

“I’ve only been helping them since last summer,” you grumble. “She’s never mentioned liking me before. I thought she was scared of me; she rarely talks when I’m there.”

Suo tuts. “You’ve got to consider her feelings. I’m sure she’s just shy. But look—Haruka-kun’s been bright red ever since she called out to you. His radar’s as impressive as ever.”

“He hasn’t learned to turn that off yet?” you grumble. Sakura is too far away to hear, busy scarfing down rice balls, but his narrowed glare hits you anyway, cheeks still red.

Relenting, you groan. “Fine, then—tell me; what do these things mean?”

Suo’s chin tilts as his gaze slides over you.

“…Longing. They symbolize longing.”

Your jaw goes slack. “They’re… what?”

“It’s quite the bold choice—she probably didn’t feel comfortable explaining with all of us here,” Suo suggests, attention turned up toward the sky, now. Looking at nothing, you suppose. “Though it probably doesn’t take much guessing to realize that.”

“…Are you calling me an idiot?”

“Not at all,” he replies lightly. “She must have thought hard about which flowers to give you.”

It’s your turn to laugh. “Are you serious? These are just… It’s just a coincidence. She said her mother would’ve delivered them but she’s busy managing the shop right now.”

“Oh, I doubt that’s the case,” Suo muses. His words have you pausing—the tone of them sitting strangely in your chest. “She’s been raised with flower language, I’m sure her mother would’ve chosen a different kind for simple gratitude.”

You can’t help but stare. His voice is light enough—teasing. But you know Suo’s expressions: even the ones he’s not aware of. His words are never wasted.

“But that’s alright,” he continues, pulling out another smile for you. Oddly stiff for how peaceful the day’s been. The plastic bottle crackles lightly as you roll it between your palms. Light catches on the beads of his earrings, illuminates his fringe. “It just means you’ll be responsive to a more direct confession.”

You scoff. “Yeah, I’ll let you know if that ever—”

“I love you.”

Your fingers crush the plastic so hard water comes spouting out between the gaps in the stems. It spills over your hand and down your wrist, narrowly avoids your knees as you gasp and leap up, pressing your back against the warm concrete.

“What the—what the hell—!” you swear, holding out the bottle as water dribbles to the pavement below. “Wh-what’re you—you—!”

“Something like that, am I right?” Suo’s face is alight with mirth. You scowl, skin hot: tempted to swing a foot out towards him despite knowing he’d dodge.

“Enough outta you,” you huff, flicking water from your fingertips. Suo offers you his handkerchief. “If you want entertainment, go try that on Sakura.”

“It would be such a hassle—I don’t want to get punched,” he lilts, looking entirely too pleased. You attempt to fold the handkerchief before returning it.

For all his growth, Sakura refuses to look at you; his cheeks colored a warm pink as your group sets back for the school. Suo walks beside you, placid and quiet.

Curiosity gnaws as you throw a glance his way. “Y’know, Suo, Himari-san’s a nice girl. And her mother likes giving out snacks. You’d probably get some flowers if you lent them a hand.” In fact, you bet he would get dozens of them without even needing to lift a pretty finger.

He merely hums.

“What’s with the interrogation, anyways?” you ask, nudging a light elbow into his side with a shit-eating grin. “Jealous?”

Suo’s eye catches the bouquet. Then lifts to meet your gaze.

He smiles. Tilts his head. “Maybe I am.”

[dollsque]

❤️‍🔥 ❝ Don’t You See The Way He Looks At You? ❞

❥ Word Count: 1.8k

❥ Short Summary: Peter B. Parker (Earth-616) talks you into confessing to Hobie and reassures you that he loves you back.

❥ Notes: Fluff, Y/N used sparingly, no mention of gender, one-shot, sfw

❥ Masterlist Here <3

🏹 ˚₊ · »-♡→ YOU WERE SITTING AT one of the lunch tables in the Spider Society and eating a Miguel O’Hara burger when you heard a familiar laugh in the distance. Your friend, Hobie Brown, was standing further down with his best friends Pavitr and Gwen. Your stare lingered at him, as usual.

You had been itching to confess to him. You guys had been friends ever since you guys joined the Spider Society, which had been a very long time ago. You two were inseparable, and you guys managed to create so much chemistry that anyone would’ve believed that you two were friends even before you joined the Spider Society—if that was possible.

You were snapped out of your thoughts by someone familiar sitting next to you, and that was Peter from Earth-616. He gave you a warm smile in acknowledgment, and Mayday cooed at the sight of you finally noticing them.

“Hello, Mayday,” you smiled, letting her small hand wrap around your finger. “Hey, Peter.”

“Hey. I noticed you were a little out of it. Something happen?” He questioned. He and you both know why you were out of it; he just wanted you to admit it. It was only a matter of time before one of you said something to him, and it would’ve most likely been you instead of Hobie.

“Yes, it’s about Hobie,” you answered to his nonverbal question. Peter could only hum softly in response. He seemed to be pondering about something; possibly the right way to go about this.

“Well,” he began, “what’s stopping you?”

“What?”

“Don’t play dumb with me. I’m getting old; I’ve seen it all,” Peter chuckled softly with some sort of glint in his eyes.

“You’re just turning 40. You’re middle-aged.”

“Some people consider that old.” Peter shrugged.

“You’re taking that in stride. Usually, people would interpret it as having a ‘midlife crisis’.” You pointed out with a playful smirk.

“I got a loving wife and an adorable baby. I don’t think life could be any better,” Peter smiled proudly as he patted Mayday’s head which earned a giggle out of her. “Back on topic, though. You can’t distract me.”

You sighed and scratched your nail softly against the table’s surface. “I don’t know. I just…can’t.”

“You can’t? Or you’re scared?” Peter questioned, propping his head up with his elbow on the table.

“Both, I suppose.” His silence and the curiosity in his eyes signaled for you to go on.

“He had always called me his best friend, and vice versa. Hell, he even told others that we were merely platonic; that’s all. Why would I risk breaking our bond over something so silly? Why should I confess when I know he doesn’t like me back?” You frowned as you picked up a fry, mindlessly stirring the tip of it around in the poured ketchup on your plate.

“Because you don’t,” Peter answered simply. When you raised an eyebrow at him in confusion and even a bit of surprise, he continued.

“Have you seen the way he looks at you, Y/N?” Peter questioned rhetorically. “I do,” he continued.

“Actions may speak louder than words, but eyes show more than actions. There’s just this love and passion—this fiery passion in his eyes when he looks at you. He looks at you like you’re one of the most precious people in his life. He looks at you like he’d protect you from the world, even though he knows you can fend for yourself. The way he looks at you? That’s love.” He paused, looking at the hope, yet doubt, in your eyes.

“I used to look at M.J. the same way when I fell in love with her. I still do,” he chuckled warmly at the thought, softly combing his little girl’s hair with his fingers. “I would know.”

Hobie looks past Gwen and Pavitr for a second and spots you. He didn't even seem to notice Peter yet and gave you a warm smile with this soft look in his eyes; he even turned pink for a moment with a subtle pink heart that you managed to notice.

It was gone as quickly as it appeared, though.

After you smiled back, he averted his eyes back to his friends.

That small moment between you two was when you finally saw a glimpse of what Peter was talking about.

“You see that?” Peter asked.

You nod.

“Besides that warm, loving smile and the fact that he literally turned a cute shade of pink with a pink, paper, heart floating around him for a split second, you can see the softness in his eyes. The way he looks at you is surreal, and yet you’re so worried about the wrong things that you can’t see the right ones.”

You considered his words, slightly frowning while looking down at the table. Maybe he was right.

“However, he shares the same fear as you. I could see it in his eyes sometimes. He loves you, but he’s scared of the fact he loves you, just like you’re scared of the fact that you love him.” His words caused you to look up at him.

“I’m telling you, kid, you two are just two lovers who are scared of breaking the bond that you so desperately hold onto because you think that it’s all that’s going to be as close to a relationship as it gets, but you guys could be so much more. That boy loves you, and I can tell that you love him back just as much.”

“However, I can’t make you confess to him. The rest is up to you. I’m just an old, 40-year-old, mentor.” He smirked, taking a mischievous sip of his soda.

Peter was right; one of you had to make a move, and it definitely wouldn’t be Peter. It was down to you and Hobie, and you decided that it would be you who would make the move.

🏹 ˚₊ · »-♡→ YOU’RE ALREADY STARTING TO rethink your decisions as you walked side-by-side with your best friend, your arms bumping each other’s every once in a while. You guys talked and talked for a while, and eventually you guys perched yourselves off an empty platform that was higher up and more isolated from other Spider Society members.

You two were sitting in comfortable silence, not talking to each other much and just existing in each other’s proximity as he strung his electric guitar and as you watched all the other Spider-People do their own things or chatter with others below. You slightly gripped the edge, preparing to confess—preparing for the worst.

“Hobie?”

“Hmm?” Your nervous tone caught his attention, and he tilted his head up slightly as he continued looking at the strings he strung.

God, how do you say this without it being so damn obvious? With all the overthinking you did, you would’ve thought you were heavily prepared for this, but apparently not.

“I’m really thankful for you, and thankful that you’ve been my friend for so long—”

“Bloody hell, are you about to go on a suicide mission that Miguel assigned to you or somethin’?”

“What—no!” You replied, feigning a frown and playfully smacking him. “Let me finish, will you?”

“Alright, alright, continue.”

You looked down discreetly and saw Peter looking up at you two with a bright, encouraging smile and two thumbs up. Mayday struggled to mimic his hand gesture, but she got it anyway, and you smiled down at the both of them before you continued.

“As I was saying,” you began, taking a small inhale and exhale. “I really hope this doesn’t ruin things between us, but…”

Now Hobie’s concerned. “Is something wrong?” He interrupted, once again.

“No, no. It’s just—could you please…just…”

“Right, right, sorry.” He nodded as he silently promised to keep his mouth shut until you were finally done speaking.

“We’ve been friends for a while and…”

Hobie’s heart stopped, then started thumping slightly harder.

“…I liked you for a really long time. I was really scared to tell you, because what we had was already great and so…real. I didn’t want to ruin that, and I never would have forgiven myself if I did. But…”

You smiled warmly at the thought of Peter.

“Someone encouraged me, told me that I should make a move; he told me that I shouldn’t be so afraid. So, that’s what I decided to do—tell you how I felt. It feels good to get it off my shoulders no matter what your answer is. I just wanted to let you know.

Hobie looked at you, and you saw shock. However, you saw the very same look Peter told you he saw whenever he looked at you; love. Love, and passion. You could only look at him the same way.

“I’ve waited so long for you to say that,” he began with a breathless, soft laugh. “I waited so long to be able to tell you the same thing.”

He then smirked and nudged you slightly the side of his upper half. “Thank God you said something, because I’m not sure if would’ve been able to. Thank God for the person who convinced you as well. Lord, almighty.”

“Oh, c’mon, we were having a moment,” you snorted at his antics.

“Who was our knight and shining armor, hmmm?” He questioned, still keeping that smirk on his face.

“Peter—”

“Which one?” he interrupted, causing you to give him a playful, deadpanned look.

“What? There’s hundreds of ‘em.” He shrugged.

“The one with a baby. Mayday?”

“Ah, humbling reality Spider-Man?” He questioned with feigned awe.

“Oh, shut up,” you laughed. Hobie laughed along and you two shared a laugh for a while. Hobie found himself scooting closer to you until you guys were touching. He then made a move of his own and placed his hand on top of yours.

“Well,” he began, sighing dramatically, looking off into the distance. He then looked back at you with a sincere, warm smile and the lovesick look in his eyes. He even turned pink again for a split moment, and this time there were more pink, paper, hearts floating around him. You almost wanted to touch one of them to see if they were real paper. They were gone quickly though, but not his expression.

“I like you too. Love you, even.”

You smile warmly back at him.

“I love you too.”

♡♡♡

“See? What’d I tell you?” Peter asked, looking down at Mayday, who’s in her baby carrier, with a proud smile. “Your dad’s multi-talented. He can save the city, be the best mentor, AND be an amazing wingman.”

Mayday laughed and reached her hand up so that he could give her palm a kiss, which he gladly did. “Now, how about we go for another burger? I’m pretty hungry.”

© 2024 dollsque - all rights reserved; do not copy my works, repost my content, edit my works, or translate my works on tumblr or anywhere else. it is strictly forbidden. oh, and no AI shit with my works, please.

[theguyinthemathexamples]

Opportunity Awaits None

— sahsrau/sahsr fic based on my pookie aventurine for good luck (⁠＠⁠°⁠▽⁠°⁠＠⁠)⁠ᕗ ♡

— C/W : 2.1 trailblazer quest spoilers, sillies stealing the show first, ooc pookies, VERY self indulgent, new fic style?, slight aventio/raturine??, a lil angsty in some parts?? (tell me if i missed anything 💝)

Claiming oneself to be adored by an Aeon would be a bold, and otherwise egotistical way of getting attention. But with his friend even being heard mumbling to himself for being discarded as of late, not to mention the light whispers he's been hearing lately... the Doctor might not blame Aventurine for describing himself as going nuts.

While he was investigating things about that Emanator, and a few strings pulled later... he accidentally came across a lovely piece of information that she felt her own strings being pulled long before he made his grandest performance yet in Penacony.

It was taught, then loosened, and then forcefully yanked in a never ending cycle, she said. There were long periods of time that she began to wonder whether or not this feeling finally disappeared, only to be hit by another harsh pull. As of late, however, these harsh tugs haven't been felt after she finally remembered to pen a letter to the Astral Express's Conductor that both refused their offer to arrive at the Express, as well as making someone else bite the bullet.

As for who this was was insignificant to him— he'll find it out himself eventually. But the whispers? The tugging? The feeling of being watched? That letter? Aventurine knew all too well what these meant. The Aeon of Creation's manifestations in the mortal realm.

This wasn't all new news, though, as such a phenomenon had already happened to others before. But for him to hear them? That was certainly a surprise.

To be fair, he's heard them a bit before. The whispers arrived just a bit after he stepped foot in the Planet of Festivities, and he initially mistook them for crowds outside being too loud as they were more quiet back then.

Though, these whispers have been getting louder and louder the past few days. He's almost embarrassed to confess that this was worrying him. They varied from promises vowing to make him "come home" to them, to absolute hysterical laughter akin to the Aeon of Elation's ones. Who knows what that Aeon was thinking. Not him, surely.

And a few too many deep dives into rabbit holes led him to a reasonable conclusion of that Aeon taking an interest in him. ... By the Amber Lord, no, Veritas, he swears he's not succumbing to insanity.

Aventurine had asked the Doctor about this, knowing he had a good amount of experience with this sort of thing for a good while now. Unfortunately for him all of the answers he got were "You'll know in due time." and "Perhaps if you willingly offered yourself to the Aeon maybe those whispers would disappear faster than you bothering me about them."

Rarely does he get more cryptic responses like, "A reach too far shall become an embrace at a moments notice for you, gambler," Veritas mumbles beside him, getting up not too long after saying such without so much as another word. Not before giving him water when he complained about getting too overwhelmed by them and sought someone more familiar, one who bore experience and knowledge of such things firsthand.

Sometimes, Aventurine wondered if it was all some sort of joke that even the highest of the divine beings of this universe were playing on him, but some of the voices were almost quick to reassure him. Often he heard of music playing, words he seemed to partially understand ringing in his ears as he signed one document after the other.

Maybe he'll finally get the freedom he's yearned for so long if he devoted his whole being to THEM instead of the Amber Lord. ... Maybe he'll consider such an act of heresy at a later date.

Note : Try Not To Froth At The Mouth Looking At Aventurine Challenge (IMPOSSIBLE ‼️‼️) (I BROKE MY KNEE‼️‼️‼️)

On a lighter note, tho: my interpretation will unfortunately be published later in the month and im just speedrunning this for good luck on my pookie wookie patootie gookie nookie bear aventurine pulls 🫶

Am i sane for this man? Have i been delulu about him for the past few days?? Mmm,,,, who knows :3

[letsquestjess]

Buy Me a Caf and We'll See (Wolffe x GN!Reader)

Summary: After a visit to a late night caf shop, feelings develop between you and Wolffe.

Word count: 2.4K

Warnings: Edit: Mentions of blood and injury.

-- -- -- -- --

In an effort to suppress the trapped yawn, you stretched your arms and let out a slow, lingering breath. The letters on your datapad started to blur, and you blinked a few times to regain some clarity. Had it not been for the gaggles of noisy, intoxicated citizens stumbling past the window, it would have been difficult to determine the time. One glimpse at the chronometer in the corner of the screen confirmed it was late. Frustratingly so. 

On any other night, you would have been tucked up in bed, dozing and dreaming, but tonight, you were in an all-hours cafe, surrounded by the hum of hushed conversations and the clinking of ceramic mugs, as you tackled the longest requisitions request you had ever seen. Despite General Plo’s apology for sending over such an extensive list, it did little to alleviate the growing fatigue. 

Your only saving grace was Wolffe’s presence across from you, his overworked focus fixed on the text on his datapad as he diligently documented the aftermath of the failed mission the 104th had returned from that morning. Every so often, his gaze shifted to the concrete walls and rustic photo frames exhibiting a tempting display of pastries and cake slices. One brown eye and one cybernetic swept the outdated decorations and upside down jars housing dusty bulbs. His brow creased, and he redirected his attention to you. 

If it hadn’t been for the urgent nature of the recent requisitions, he would have insisted you go home and rest. You tried to appear upbeat, but he could tell you were flagging. Your lashes fluttered at a sluggish pace, and your posture slumped. 

“I didn’t even know this place was here,” he confessed, stimulating your interest. 

Observing the tranquil cafe, you set your datapad aside for a brief respite from the neon glare. “I only found it by chance,” you replied. “I try to come here when I have some free time.”

Wolffe remained unconvinced. Although he usually steered clear of civilian areas, the rich flavours of the caf and the enticing aromas tempted him to make an exception. And there was an encouraging hush that he was thankful for as he immersed himself in the mundane task of completing his report. 

“Do we have a plan for the blaster replacement parts?” you asked after a gulp of your warm beverage. “I know Comet said that you found some, but should we keep the order pending, or would you rather I cancel it?”

“Might be best to have some spares on hand,” Wolffe suggested. “Considering what occurred yesterday…”

He didn’t need to finish his sentence; the culpability etched on his face silently completed it for him and you wished there was something you could do or say to provide some solace. “None of that was your fault, Wolffe,” you told him adamantly. “You exceeded your duty and despite an unsuccessful mission, you safely extracted all your men.”

Though he avoided contact, his brown eye twitched and his jaw clenched as your keen words sunk in.

As the earlier meeting had unfolded, your heart ached to witness the usually composed commander struggle as he reported one disaster after another. Despite the odds stacked against them, they had forged ahead and gave it their all. After learning about the events of their mission, General Plo’s only concern was their safe return, but you could see how it had troubled Wolffe. It was tough to watch him take responsibility for something beyond his control.  

You reached across the table and gently grasped his gloved hands with your bare ones. Although the motion surprised him, he didn’t recoil, lowering the datapad to give you his undivided attention. His eyes widened slightly as they wandered over your features, taking in every facet, and contour, and the subtle details he had previously overlooked. 

An uncomfortable silence drifted between the two of you, and despite your best efforts, you couldn’t find the words you had wanted to say just moments ago. In the end, you retreated from him, sheepish and defeated. 

Heat rising in his cheeks and not from the steaming caf, Wolffe took a slow sip of his drink. “I, uh… appreciate your faith in me,” he said, fidgeting with his datapad to distract from the urge to hold your hands again. 

“As a requisitions officer, I get you what you need,” you replied with a light-hearted undertone, “and that includes a little boost when you’re in a tough spot.” 

Words failed to capture the full extent of Wolffe’s appreciation, a sentiment he preferred to keep unspoken in that particular moment. Struggling to block out the feeling of your comforting touch, he scraped his nails against the side of his datapad and attempted to regain his focus. 

* * *

Cars rushed by the lofty window in a haste, engines screeching and thrusters thundering as though they were trying to race the rising sun to the horizon. At that early hour of morning, you couldn’t imagine why. The lanes were mostly empty, allowing vehicles to cruise at a leisurely speed without the fear of being late. 

But Coruscant never slowed. The capital of the galaxy hustled and hurried, bustled and buzzed, a constant hive of action. If you were being honest with yourself, you preferred the fast pace onboard the Venators. At least that rush was organised and structured. The incessant noise and commotion outside only served to annoy you, and you decidedly crossed your office and tightened the blinds to deter most of the vehicular surge while still letting in the climbing morning light. 

You had barely got comfortable in your seat when a firm knock jolted you from your work. Disregarding the need to identify the visitor, you pressed the button on your desk to unlatch the door. 

To your surprise, Wolffe walked in, helmet braced under his arm and a cardboard caf carrier in his grasp. “Apologies for disturbing you. I just came to drop this off.” He placed a cup down by your paperwork and you immediately identified the red and white logo. “I was walking by that cafe and picked up pastries for the boys and General Plo, so I thought I’d get something for you too.”

The thoughtful gift caught you off guard, but you managed to muster an affectionate smile. “Thank you, commander,” you said, mindful of keeping up the professional decorum while at work and reminding yourself to address him by his military rank. Not that anybody was around to hear you, but you were well aware of how important protocol was to Wolffe. “You have no idea how much I need this right now.” 

“Still got a lot to do?” he asked. 

“I wouldn’t if stuff stopped piling up, but we are in a war,” you shrugged, taking a mouthful of caf and savouring the warmth. “It would be strange if there wasn’t a mountain of tasks demanding attention.”

“You can say that again,” Wolffe said, a wry smile forming. “If the war ended tomorrow, I don’t know what I’d do next. I doubt any of my brothers would, either.”

Nursing the heated paper cup, the commander’s comments resonated deeply within you. You hadn’t given it much thought before, but you acknowledged the point. Prior to the outbreak of conflict, you had a life, and you hoped to have one after it, but for Wolffe and his brothers, war was all they knew. Bred for the battlefield. Raised to fight. Thrown straight into the hungry jaws of the beast. 

Guilt welled in your stomach as you observed him, so brave and valiant, putting everything on the line with no control over the situation. And there were millions of others like him, trapped in the Republic system. “When the war ends, I am sure there will be a place for you and your brothers,” you assured him. “The galaxy always needs defenders, and there are plenty of worlds willing to offer a fresh start for anyone looking to leave the army.”

Wolffe didn’t have the heart to remind you he was considered property of the Republic, a mere cog destined to live a life dictated by duty. Instead, he lowered his head and cradled the helmet wedged between his arm and his hip. 

You observed the way he paused, much like he had been doing for the past few weeks since that morning in the cafe. Every time you chatted, he retained a reserved demeanour. Although he had never been one for physical contact, he made a deliberate effort to maintain a distance from you and you wondered if you had done something wrong. 

For a moment, he lifted as though to speak, but he quickly deflated and whatever he had in mind remained unspoken. “I’ll catch up with you later at the meeting,” he said as he headed for the door. 

“Can’t exactly miss it,” you replied. “Thanks for the caf.” 

He offered you a quick nod before scooting out into the corridor, the latch clicking shut again and the room falling silent. 

You waited for a couple of extra seconds before sinking into your swivel chair. Wolffe seemed preoccupied, and it worried you. He had a knack for brushing things off, but this particular issue chipped away at him. 

The quickly escalating desires that had been building up within you were certainly not easing the situation either. He had always treated you with respect and kindness, never hesitating to include you in the squad activities and ensuring you felt valued. You worked well together, functioning as a united unit, but lately he had been attempting to reach out only to retreat at the last moment. 

Determined not to get overwhelmed by your own emotions when you had duties to attend to, you attributed his distant behaviour to the stress of his job and shuffled your chair back to the desk. That paperwork and all those requests wouldn’t resolve themselves, and you were thankful for the distraction. 

* * *

You sprinted at full speed down the corridors of the cruising Venator, the assault of adrenaline drowning out all other sounds as you fought to maintain your balance around an abrupt turn. An irregular pant pulled at your breaths, but you refused to stop. As soon as you had received the message, you were out of your seat and bolting through the ship, blundering past clones and droids with only one goal in mind: reach him. 

Bursting into the medical bay waiting room, you startled the medic on duty. After identifying the wolf sigil on your sleeve, he motioned to the door behind him. “He’s still having some scans done, but you can go in,” he said. “Wouldn’t stop muttering your name when he arrived.”

You locked eyes with the clone medic as though he was about to break into laughter and reveal a ruse, but he remained politely hushed. The news of Wolffe’s injury and stable condition consumed your thoughts, granting no chance for any other concerns. To hear he had been asking for you, it became clear why Sinker had been dispatched so urgently after the commander’s arrival. He wanted you by his side. 

Smoothing your uniform and wiping the perspiration off your brow, you entered the medical room, the sterile scent of bacta hitting your nostrils. The lights were dimmed, creating a soft glow around the equipment screens that seemed to form a halo until your eyes adjusted. At the end of the singular cot, a medi-bot hovered, emitting a wedge of blue light. 

The commander straightened up and met your worried gaze. His right side was covered with a large bandage, secured over his black under suit, and red-stained gauze spilled over the rim of a bowl on the tool tray. 

The droid completed the scans and exited, appearing content with the results. 

“You know you’re supposed to run away from the explosions?” you said in relieved jest as you perched on the narrow mattress. 

“I was caught on the edge of the blast,” Wolffe replied. “A bit of shrapnel grazed me. Nothing major.”

“Really?” you challenged, elongating the word and fidgeting in anticipation of your next words. “Because your brothers told me you were in and out of consciousness. And according to the medic, when you arrived, you were whispering my name. Kind of explains why Sinker came to fetch me so quickly.”

Wolffe’s eyes widened, his deep hazel eye dilating and the cybernetics in his other rotating. If you hadn’t spent so much time with him, you wouldn’t have noticed the subtle change, but you learned his mannerisms early on in your assignment to his squad. 

An apology or some sort of unneeded statement lingered on his lips and you silenced his doubts with a soft shush. “You don’t have to explain anything. Conserve your energy.” 

“No,” the commander said, leaving no room for negotiation on the matter. “I owe you an explanation. I’ve been distant lately and I should have just told you the truth.” He shut his eyes briefly, and when he reopened them, he focused on the medical scanner attached to his fingertip. “I was bleeding out and all I saw was you. My brothers were calling out to me to keep me awake, but I couldn’t stop thinking about the fact that I might never see you again.” 

A breath snagged, but you forced it down, mouth slightly agape and captivated by the commander’s confession. 

“My squad have talked about the civvies they’ve encountered and formed connections with, but we made a collective decision not to let any relationships form. We’re soldiers. Every time we ship out, we don’t know if we’re going to make it home. But with you, I… I want to.”

“Wolffe, what are you trying to say?” you asked, hoping for a less evasive response to confirm your interpretation of what he was struggling to communicate. 

Wolffe’s mismatched eyes shone with a love that spanned the entire galaxy, and you understood. You didn’t need him to speak it aloud. 

Reaching over the bedsheets, he gingerly entwined his fingers with yours, a faint smile growing as you tightened your grip. He handled you with the utmost care as he lifted your hand and planted pecks to your palm, sowing his affection into each crease.

While he was distracted, you inched closer and coaxed his attention, leaning in. Your nose whispered past his and you captured his waiting lips. His hands moved fast to draw you nearer with each movement of the kiss. 

“I was wondering if you would go on a date with me,” he said as you parted, sounding more nervous than you’d ever heard him. 

You toyed with a fallen curl by his temple. “That depends,” you teased. 

“On what?” he questioned. 

“Buy me a caf and we’ll see.” 

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[angel-kyo]

Pay it no mind

Part XXIV

In which reader confesses their feelings to Gojo, but it seems these are not returned (maybe?).

Warnings: reader is on the receiving end of rejection (kinda), and the fact that I'm obsessed with unrequited love is a warning itself. Drinking is mentioned, and there is a bit of cussing. I'll admit Satoru does not look good in this one, neither does reader honestly, but thanks for bearing with me.

Previous: Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V, Part VI, Part VII, Part VIII, Part IX, Part X, Part XI, Part XII, Part XIII, Part IV, Part XV, Part XVI, Part XVII, Part XVIII, Part XIX, Part XX, Part XXI, Part XXII, Part XXIII

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

Ping.

Satoru heard the notification sound from your phone, which had been left unattended on the table in the teacher’s lounge, but he did not pay attention to it.

Ping.

You had gone to the restroom, and he was watching videos on his phone. In fact, he had found a funny video to show you when you came back.

Ping.

Whoever it was probably had a lot to say though.

Ping.

Satoru took his eyes off his phone and looked at yours.

It started ringing, then stopped.

Could that be something urgent? Satoru knew how to unlock your phone; you had showed him. You could access his phone too, although none of your ever used each other’s phone without asking first, but if it was urgent, he should maybe take a look.

He grabbed it.

4 new messages. 1 missed call.

Haruki: I did not want to say anything before, but I’m sorry if I weirded you out last night when I called you. Haruki: I was emotional and talked too much. Haruki: The whole thing with my father makes me drink more than I should and do things I should probably not do, and it’s… well, you know. Haruki: But I don’t regret it at all.

Satoru thought he did not need to read that. It looked like Ikeda had some family issues he vented to you about.

However, even if he did not want to, he could almost sympathize with the guy.

“Is that my phone?” you asked, reappearing before Gojo.

He stretched his arm out so you would take the phone he was still holding. “It was ringing.”

A moment later, your words confirmed what Gojo thought. “It’s Haruki… His father has been bugging him for money, but he does not really want to see him again.”

Gojo recalled you had told him something about how complicated his relationship with his father was.

I guess it makes sense he wants a friend to call, someone who will listen to him.

Not that he could make peace with you being that friend just yet, but he knew better than to say that aloud, so he hummed in response.

“Must be tough for him.”

***

Now that he looked back on it, that had happened two weeks ago, the morning he had returned to Japan only to find out that you would be clocking in late that day.

He had wondered what your friend could have said to "weird you out". What was the thing he did not regret? Why had you left the room to give him a call after that?

Satoru had tried, really tried to live with the fact that Ikeda was your friend, a friend that might have called you being wasted out of his mind to complain about the awful father he had. That was the explanation he had given to himself.

He never imagined you would have gone out to drink with the guy, maybe even spent the night with him, and then what? Eaten breakfast at his place just before clocking in at work to greet your obliviously hopeful best friend, if he could still consider himself as such, as if nothing had happened?

To think Satoru, overworked and sleep deprived as he had been after that trip, had wanted to get back to work immediately to see you...

He felt stupid.

“Are you okay?” Satoru heard you ask hesitantly.

He took his eyes off his reflection to briefly look at you. “What are you doing here?” he asked, moving to wash his hands for the third time.

You watched him hold his hands underneath the water stream, not really moving them.

So he still does that.

When he was younger, Satoru sometimes did that as a ritual to calm himself when he felt anxious. You could not remember the last time he had done it in front of you.

“You did not come back to the table, and Shoko said you looked pale when you left.”

And I’m afraid I know why.

“If you want me to call her to check in on you, I’m sure I can convince her to come into the men’s restrooms.”

Satoru knew those words were only meant to try and walk around the elephant in the room, or should he say the elephant that was sitting back at the table?

He grabbed a paper towel. “I’m fine. You should go back.”

You were standing from a distance but still saw his jaw tighten. “Aren’t you coming back?”

“What for?” he asked, throwing the used paper sheet into the bin.

“They already served the dessert, and…”

“What am I doing here, [name]?” Satoru’s eyes connected with yours.

What do you mean? You asked to come.

That is what you were going to tell him, but he did not let you.

“Is it true?” he asked, eyebrows furrowing, the ghost of an expression he almost never showed to you. “That night you went drinking with him, where did you sleep?”

Now that was a tricky question.

“At his place, but…”

Satoru’s face contorted into a broken smile and the forced laugh that escaped his mouth echoed through the empty stalls. “Of course.”

“Let me expla-”

“And? Was the breakfast worth it?” His venomous tone was not something you were used to.

You frowned. Was he really implying that? Did he really think that was the kind of person you were?

“I get that what he said sounded weird, but that’s… I can’t believe you’re asking that.”

“I can’t believe you’re not answering,” he replied dryly.

You took a step closer. “Satoru, what do you think happened between him and me?”

“I have no fucking idea.” The sternness of his words made you take that step back. “Because you did not even mention going out with him while I was gone, let alone that you spent the night at his place. Oh, but I’m sure that whatever happened he does not regret it at all, because that’s what he told you, isn’t it?”

What was he talking about now?

“What do you mean? Why would you say…?”

“Is that my phone?”

“It was ringing.”

The realization left you stunned. “You read our conversation?”

You were not expecting that. Knowing that Satoru was nosy at times was one thing. That he had actually violated your privacy and read a conversation from your phone without telling you was another one.

“Can you believe I almost felt bad for him? But why should I? He has you to comfort him in his oh-so-many hardships. What a lucky bastard...”

“Gojo, stop right there.”

He wanted to. Satoru really wanted to stop talking now before saying anything that would hurt you both, but he did not think he could. He had held it in for too long.

“No, don't Gojo-me. You did not tell me to stop before.” His eyes were burning blue.

The blue part of a flame is the hottest spot.

You could not remember who had told you that, but for the first time, it made sense, because it felt like Satoru was burning you under his gaze.

“No, scratch that... You told me to stop once, and I was foolish enough to think you needed time, that I was rushing you, but that was not it, was it? You had already made up your mind. You just did not have the guts to tell me.”

This was a side of Satoru that you were not sure of how to handle; your arguments were never like this; they could be ugly, yes, but it was never him yelling and reproaching while looking this agitated. He usually kept his emotions in check; you just lacked the experience seeing him like this.

What was that thing Suguru said once? That those who felt deeply will love you and hate you the same? That their love and their wrath was equally dangerous, or something like that?

Satoru’s agitated breath was all you could hear for a second, but then, as if regaining strength, he continued. “Tell me, did you ever think of him when you kissed me?”

Even before he finished the question, you had started shaking your head. "Of course not! Satoru, just let me explain. It’s not what you think, and I’ve never…”

“Now you are talking!” He advanced quickly towards you. “Yes, please, [name], please do explain what’s going on.” He was not exactly yelling, but he had raised his voice again, more than in any other argument you could recall, but it suddenly dropped. “What’s this? You play house with me Monday through Friday and fuck him on the weekends?”

“We are not playing house,” You were trying to avoid shouting, but it still came out sharper than you had intended.

“But you are fucking him.”

“I’m not!” That was it, you could not avoid shouting at him anymore. “Stop, just shut up. You know it’s not like that. He’s my friend, and you…”

“Then answer me, what are we playing at? Because I’m also your friend, right?! But looks like that’s all I’ll ever be, the friend that has to sit back and watch the person he loves fall in love with someone else. What a freaking great game, but guess what? I don’t want to play anymore.”

He had it all wrong and that irked you that he did not want to listen, but at the same time, it was breaking your heart to hear him. Was that how he had felt all this time?

You tried to touch his face to wipe away the tear that was about to fall down, but he pulled back. “Don’t… Don’t touch me. Just pick. It's him or me.”

What?

One look at your expression, and Satoru understood why he had put off asking you for a definitive response for so long. Maybe, deep down, he knew you could not pick him; he was flawed, he was selfish, he was always too late.

When you were younger, you had not been able to pick his friendship over Ikeda’s. This was just the same, was it not?

No, this hurts much worse.

“Satoru, I…” you started saying, but he shook his head and interrupted you…

“You seriously can’t, can you? You know… You were right, I’m selfish” he pointed to the door, “I’m nothing like Mr. Perfection out there, with the magazine face, corporate job, and just mundane problems..."

At some point, Satoru had given in and tried to get some intel on who the great Haruki, who had had you head over heels, was, but what he had found was just an average man that was perfect in everyone's eyes. In a way, that was worse than finding dirt on him.

"He may be a fucking saint, and I’m selfish all you want, but you…” the finger that had been pointing outside was now pointing at you “You are cruel beyond repair, and I’m an idiot for falling in love with you.”

He had lowered his voice, but the atmosphere could be cut with a knife, and his words certainly sliced it through.

“I’m sorry to interrupt,” a young man, a waiter called behind you. “I’m afraid your… Umm… conversation is preventing some customers from coming in. May I ask that you continue this somewhere else?”

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

Note: No notes today, just my love.

Thanks for reading!

Next: Part XXV

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[lovelaurs]

hey could you write a mcd Zane x little sister reader who also never got attention as a kid pls 🙏

AN UNDERSTANDING | part 1

you can find part 2 here!

pairing : mcd priest zane x gn reader synopsis : you enter the church of o'khasis in search of some solace, and find yourself within the confession booth. after living a life of being the neglected youngest sibling, you vent your frustrations to the mysterious church member on duty. but as you continue talking, the advice the person gives you seems almost... personal, and a bond begins to grow. tags : past neglect mention, trauma bonding, confession (as in the booth kind), advice, verbal comfort, slight (sacrligious?) romance word count : 1.2k a/n : first off, i'd like to mention that i am jewish, so if this fic is in any way innacurate, that is why! i decided, "hey, maybe i should delve more into the concept of priest zane a bit more for sillies!". so... here we are! if there is anything offensive about this at all, please tell me and i will change it! it is not in my intent! - also, i'd like to mention that even though the request said "sister", this is in fact gender neutral, as i have stated in my rules that i will not write gendered readers! do not be upset at this.

MASTERLIST

You couldn’t help the frown on your face as you walked to the massive church ahead.

O’khasis was widely known for being the most religious village out there, so it was just your luck that you lived within the confines of the walls.

Almost as lucky as being the neglected fourth born to your family.

That was why you came here; in hopes of speaking to a member of the church to help seek out some sort of solace within your life.

As you pushed open the door to the holy building, you quickly noticed a nun nearby, packing up for the day.

“Um, excuse me, miss?” You asked as you approached the woman. She turned to look at you with curiosity. “I’m here for the confession booth. Is there any chance I could speak to someone?”

She shook her head with a sigh, as someone exited a room nearby, silently praying to themself as they weeped. “I’m afraid you just missed the cut off, hun. That was the last member for today.”

“Oh. I see…” The disappointed look on your face must have been evident considering her hurried followed up words.

“But- We open tomorrow at seven if you wish to seek an audience with one of our esteemed Higher Ups!” She gave a warm smile, hoping to cheer you up.

You nodded, beginning to turn away and go back to your lousy packed house. “Thank you, and I’m sorry for wasting your time-”

Before you could finish your farewell, the door in which the previous person had left had creaked open.

“Relax, Sister Clarice. I do not mind taking in another lost soul.” The voice had sent shivers down your spine as they spoke, and it seemed the same for Sister Clarice as well, who looked almost nervous to be referred to by the Higher Up. “Come now, do not be afraid to share your troubles with me.”

You took one look at Sister Clarice, who nodded in agreement, before you walked over to the room the confession booth was held in.

As you opened the door, you noticed the room was empty, only seeing the door to the confession booth closed as you entered.

I guess this Higher Up valued their privacy.

You slowly walked towards the confession booth as you heard a deep chuckle. “Do not worry, I don’t bite.”

Okay, well that just made you more nervous.

You gulped as you stepped into the wooden box, situating yourself in the cramped space before turning to the little hole provided.

As the wooden plank slides over, you once again heard that chilling deep voice, instead this time from the other side.

“Go on, child of Irene, what is it your mind struggles with?”

The question was so simple, and yet your response was so… complicated. What if they didn’t understand your grief, your struggles, your pain?

“It’s been a recurring thing ever since I was born.” You began. “I was born the youngest sibling, which in some families would garner me more attention… but in my family, all it garnered was neglect.”

You paused as the voice hummed, listening intently to your story.

“I’ve never been the focus of… well, anything. Even my day of birth was more-or-less about my older siblings instead.” You took a deep breath in as you recounted the day. “My parents always focused on my oldest sibling the most, working on helping them harness their craft and knowledge in order to succeed in their name-sake. But, the younger the child was, the less attention we would get. And me being the youngest? Well… I ended up forgotten by the end of the day.”

You allowed yourself to pause, hoping that maybe the church member on the other side would have something to say.

It was quiet for but a moment before the deep vibrato of their voice filled the air.

“I have actually experienced– sorry, heard such things before from others.” They cleared their throat, taking a second of pause. “It seems to be… an often occurrence in which parents would favor their eldest over their youngest.” They paused, before whispering to themself, “Even if the younger child is clearly superior to the elder.”

You couldn’t help but tilt your head at the muttering from the other booth. What did they say?

Again, they cleared their throat, before hesitating to speak.

When they did speak, it seemed to be more of a surprising response indeed.

“I do not wish to break the confidentiality that is my own life, but… I too have experienced this as well.” You raised your eyebrow at the comment. Them? A Higher Up at the Church of O’Khasis? What could they have suffered? 

“My… father tended to ignore me for many years. He always praised and pushed forward my older brother, always seemingly ignoring his other child; me.” And yet again, he began whispering to himself, “The bastard of a child, Vylad, doesn’t count… he never did.” He coughed before continuing. “It wasn’t until I took the reins of my own life into my hands that I finally felt free.”

When you entered this box, you weren’t exactly expecting advice, but more-so a verdict on if you were sinful in the way you did not completely adore your parents. The fact that you’re getting a relatable side back from whoever this was… it meant a lot. Being able to relate to someone in power felt helpful.

“I’m suggesting you work hard to pave your own destiny in life. Prove your parents wrong, and show them that they aren’t holding you back.” Their voice sounded almost softer, not the same grand deep voice you originally were greeted with. “Grow stronger and more powerful than them, so that one day you can overtake their lead.” Okay, maybe this is getting a bit too personal for them. What the hell was this going.

“So… I should carve my own path and prove myself greater than my parents ever thought?” You asked. “Precisely.”

You swallowed deeply, gripping your hands into fists. “Forgive me for saying this, but… you come from a place of wealth. That’s easier for you to say since you’re given more opportunities, even though some less than your older sibling.” You felt sweat pool at your forehead, who were you to question someone of the Church of O’Khasis within the church itself? “I am in no means able to simply make a name for myself without my family’s help…”

“Then allow me to help.” You could hear the opposite side’s door open, footsteps signaling them exiting the booth. “Come out, my dear.”

You hesitantly reached for the handle, slowly opening the wooden door. As you stepped out into the room, your eyes immediately widened as you realized to whom you have been speaking to.

Zane Ro’Meave, the Great Priest of O’Khasis.

Oh my Irene what have you done.

He approached you slowly, his hands held behind his back as he smirked, looking you up and down.

He brought his hand to his chin, seemingly pondering something. “Hm… I could see this working.”

Your nervousness grew even more so at the comment.

It wasn’t until he kneeled in front of you, taking your hand in his and kissing it that your heart started beating even more rapidly, your face flushing with color.

“How would you like a place amongst my staff?”

@lovelaurs, 2024. do not repost this work in any way!

[violetsiren90]

WIP Wednesday

Pairing: best friend's younger brother!Changbin x f!Reader

Genre: drabble; established (secret) relationship; smut and fluff w/ a smidge of angst

Summary: Three months after you show up on your best friend's doorstep to find her brother instead, Changbin thinks it's time to let Nari know that things have changed.

Content warnings (for snippet only): 18+ (minors, DNI); showering together; allusions to sex; nudity; kissing and embracing; teasing (non sexual); mentions of reader's hair being washed; some minor anxiety and worries; fluff 🥰

Word Count: TBD.

“I have a confession to make,” his voice comes from over your shoulder and the patter of water against the shower floor.

You hum in response, eyes closed as his fingers lather shampoo against your scalp, filling the humid air with the scent of lemongrass and lavender. His other arm is wrapped around your waist, pulling you close so that your bare back leans flush with his chest.

“…I told Chris.”

Your eyes open, droplets clinging to your lashes like dew.

“About us?”

His hand skims up your side and moves to cup your forehand and tilt it back as you feel the warm spray of the showerhead through your tresses. When the suds are gone he turns you around, hands on your hips. He looks like the cat who caught the canary as he nods and smirks, and you can’t help but smile yourself, even as you attempt to harness an expression of disapproval.

“How’d that happen?”

“He basically called me out on it. Said only one thing could make me so stupidly happy.”

“Mind-blowing sex?” you murmur, pressing your slick skin to his.

“You,” he corrects, his eyes glimmering as he leans down to press wet lips to yours. When he pulls away, you consider for a moment.

“You mean…he knew you liked me? Before?”

“You think my best buddy wouldn’t?”

A pang of guilt twists in your stomach at the remark. Your best friend is still very much in the dark about…well, everything where you and her brother were concerned. You chew your bottom lip as he helps you out of the shower. Absently reaching for the towel he holds out, you blink into focus as your hand clutches at air when it’s drawn back out of your reach.

“What…hey, why are you…?” you glance at Changbin, who is now holding the towel over his head, a victorious look on his features as his eyes rove your form.

“I like you naked. Five more minutes!” He whines with a chuckle as you swat his bulging pectoral and snatch the towel cradling his hips to wrap around your own damp body.

“You’re ridiculous,” you grumble with a smirk, but you adore it - how taken his is with every part of you. How he always wants to touch you, hold you, be close to you in any way he can. And how he never shies away from saying just exactly how you make him feel.

Though, you’ve noticed a shift in that particular respect over the last few weeks.

You watch him rumple the towel over his hair.

Sometimes he holds something back. You can always see it, lingering behind his eyes and at the corners of his mouth. You can feel it on the tips of his fingers and at the end of each sweet kiss. But it’s grown with time, and you feel the weight of it each time his eyes rest on you when he thinks you’re not aware.

You suppose it’s only natural that there should still be some mystery between you. Even after all the years you’ve known him, these were uncharted waters, and ones you’d strayed into more than a little clandestinely.

Keeping your relationship secret has had its benefits. It’s given you time to grow without the judgements and perceptions of others playing a part in your gentle discovery of one another. It’s also taken the pressure off of things - not having to answer questions from anyone you haven’t even had the chance to ask yourselves. And it was fucking sexy, to be honest, all the sneaking around. Inconvenient at times to be sure, but still deliciously indulgent to the rebel in you both.

But as you watch him open the mirrored cabinet to grab the toothbrush he keeps in your bathroom your heart skips a beat and you wonder if it’s time the jig is up.

You settle behind him, slipping your arms around his middle and resting the side of your head against his broad back.

“What did Chris have to say? About me and you?” you ask softly.

Changbin spits into the sink.

“He was stoked for us.”

You smile.

“He did ask if Nari knew.”

You sigh.

“I think she should by now,” he says, turning to speak over his shoulder. “I think it’s time.”

You hum into his skin.

“The longer we wait, the harder it’s going to be. A few months of privacy is alright, we’re still in the clear.”

He’s right. You know he is. You press your damp forehead into his back and sigh again.

“It’ll be fine,” he says around his toothbrush.

“She’s gonna freak,” you groan.

“She’ll get over it.”

You sincerely fucking hope so. The faucet squeaks shut and he turns, wrapping you in his big arms, to press a minty kiss to your lips.

“Stop fretting, beautiful,” his dark eyes sparkle down at you, “We’re gonna be okay. Nari too.”

Your heart melts as it settles when his mouth seeks yours again. Yeah. You could face all the troubles of the world, in fact, if you were allowed to keep holding him like this.

~To be continued~

[xxscarletxrosexx]

Spy x Family Ch. 99 Thoughts + Analyses

God, this entire chapter has been an extreme roller coaster from feeling excitement to sobbing--I'm terribly emotional when it comes to reading war stories must be from all the times I was forced to read war stories throughout my English education program to anger to resignation.

... but this is why I love Spy x Family and the brilliant storywriting of Tatsuya Endo.

Ch. 99 Spoilers ahead.

There's a level of depth and care put into these characters that make them feel so real. If you have someone who has family serving in the army or if you are someone who has read countless accounts of war, then surely you are affected emotionally by the horrors of war. In my case, war stories are what made me look at life and identify the meaning of it. Although I won't go into too much detail about my findings, I did walk away having a deeper appreciation for literature and for humanity itself, in other words, I cry easily to war stories. Hence the case of this chapter.

I was already prepared that Ch. 99 would be a devastating chapter considering that Ch. 98 ends with a cliffhanger in which the alarms go off just as Martha was going to confess her feelings for Henry, and that this 'side mission' story is expected to conclude before Ch. 100. And it truly did not disappoint.

As mentioned earlier, this chapter is a jam-packed rollercoaster ride with previous expectations motivating my excitement as well as my dread for the inevitable.

First, I'd like to address a part that excited me: parallelism.

What quickly striked me was how similar Henry was drawn to Twilight after departing his jail cell. Even the context of the chapter leading up to this physical change indicates that sacrificing oneself for the best outcome/greater good was a theme echoed by these similar character designs.

There is also a third "similar character design" which has become a popularized theory in a possible relationship between the Captain and Twilight. However, I'm starting to see that these similar drawing styles don't identify relationships, but alignment in sacrificing oneself.

I see this as an alignment amongst the three because we now have two lores that shared the impact of war and the injuries sustained, whereas the Captain/First Lieutenant has yet to have his lore addressed. We can surmise based off Twilight and Henry's background that their experiences from war is what continues to drive them in their chosen field/occupation. I'm excited for the day that we learn the Lieutenant's real name and his POV from war. It is then that we will finally get three POV's:

The West / WISE - [Redacted]/Twilight/Loid

The Neutral Civilian - Henry

The Ostanian / SSS - Lieutenant

This is the perfect time to segway to my next excitement: symbolism.

Even though the lore on the unnamed First Lieutenant/Captain has not yet been addressed, his scars tell me that he's experienced a similar outcome. Tell me, have you guys noticed that all 3 men had experienced the same injury found on the left side of his face?

When I looked into the symbolism behind it, I found that the left side of our brain is responsible for processing emotions. The injury to the left side of the face signifies an emotional trauma in which their emotional side had to be silenced. Given what we've already learned about Twilight and Henry's backstories, their personalities and thinking are often stemming from an analytical/logical approach.

Of course, old wives' tales are not always scientifically supported, so I was prompted to research more, and I stumbled across an interesting one regarding emotions found in different parts of the brain:

Since this is a theory, it should not be taken as a fact without repeated research and evidence to support the claim. I, myself, do not claim to be an expert when it comes to neurology or psychology. But this information, when taken from a creative writing/literary analytical stance, can support that the left-face injuries had essentially damaged the positive facial expressions--which can support Twilight and Henry's experience. Thus, we can also surmise that the Captain had experienced a similar fate.

Another thing that we can learn from these injuries (at the time that they were present) is that the character is currently experiencing a time of vulnerability--[Redcated] after returning from battle and Henry, who is still in mourning, is still a bit withdrawn from his students.

Another symbolism that I got excited about is the dichotomy between Henry and his father in character design.

Notice Henry's hair is straight and tied up in contrast to his father who has his hair wavy and loose. Although subtle, I found this character design beautiful for its ability to show a dichotomy in their social/political views.

Wavy hair can be perceived as something flowy, as in going with the flow. Because it isn't tied up, I see that Henry's father doesn't need to hold himself back, and is free to express himself and his views. In contrast, Henry's hair is straight and tied back. Straight hair can be perceived to support Henry's straightforward nature (which is also one of his weaknesses as well as covered in the previous chapters). When his hair is tied up, he gives an air of elegance and looks like he's got everything together. However, his hair tied back could also illustrate imprisonment of the mind, where his views cannot be vocalized at a time when tensions were high during the first war. Furthermore, his "rebellious" behavior resulted in him ultimately being tied down to what was imposed on him (marrying the person his father picked).

I love the detail in which Henry is drawn with his hair untied and unshaven. He's broken at this point, and as we all witnessed at the assembly, he loses control of himself over this grief that he's taken into custody and slandered a traitor. The next time we do see him is when his long hair is chopped off and traded for an undercut--a telltale sign that he was starting anew, and looking awfully like Twilight.

During this social climate, Henry was perceived as the 'villain' in the Henderson family due to his 'bad' behavior. But let me, just say that Endo-san loves to remind us through character design just who is the true villain. Did you notice it, too? It's the nose. Henry's father has a pointy nose, reminiscent of a witch, whereas he inherited his mother's round nose. Another small detail, but it made me laugh. This is why I love Endo-san.

Above, I have addressed what made me happy. Now, I will address what brought me to tears, that being Martha and Henry.

I mean, it's no surprise that they wouldn't have a happy ending. I was well prepared with the knowledge I know about them from present-day story that mentions of Henry's daughter, cameos of his wedding ring, and Martha working with the Blackbells, and recently reveals that she had an old crush on Henry. The absence of their love being pursued led us to believe that Martha may have had a one-sided romance. But ch. 99 confirms that Henry reciprocated his feelings for her due to yearning her letters.

It wasn't until news of Martha's life-threatening decision did it impact Henry significantly, and then his breaking point to realization that he loved her too late was when Martha showed her vulnerable side in her letter with the following:

I practically balled right here. I was teary-eyed leading up to it because war stories are always so heartbreaking, especially to those who sacrifice or don't make it home alive.

We now learn why Henry ended up marrying someone else is due to Martha's "inevitable" death--unbeknownst that her decision not to volunteer would also result in death. From what we read, Martha was too emotional to vocalize her situation clearly, and even if she did, her message would be blacked out, unfortunately. So it is evident that Martha was trapped and had no way out other than choosing to volunteer and ultimately "die" in battle.

Henry, on the other hand, could not fight the system, despite that he became a History teacher just to do that. He failed because his countrymen and the system failed him. He lost his beloved and if he were to continue holding onto his belief, he'd lose his ability to teach. Essentially, he lost the fight (to change history/improve the situation through education during that social climate), but not the war (in which there is still hope for history to change). Heny, ultimately, shared a similar fate as Martha through self sacrifice of his livelihood.

I was and still am completely discombobulated by the war and its impact on Martha and Henry that, to be honest, I completely disregarded Donovan Desmond.

I know I won't be able to capture the importance of his lines as eloquently and moving as I did with Martha and Henry, the former pair leaving a moving impact on me during this chapter, so I'd like to recommend my dear friend, @yumeka-sxf 's, analysis which covers more of Endo's brilliant story writing and character development decisions.

After rereading the chapter as well as her analysis, I agree with her point that Donovan Desmond was made to be the antagonist of the story. I believe Donovan's view of liars and holding absolutely no hope for them is a necessity for readers to continue perceiving him as a villain in the series. This is because we cannot perceive good and evil as simply black and white in the series when we have both Yor and Loid dirtying their hands in the name of protecting their countries/loved ones. We hold love for the characters in this series because of their personalities, values, and moral compasses amidst taking life after life. In their social climate they must always choose to sacrifice themselves for the greater good, which is why their tainted actions can be perceived as forgiven. Donovan Desmond, on the other hand, cannot share that 'exception' because an action/drama story needs a villain.

If you made it to the end, thank you so much for your time! I hope you enjoyed my analyses and thoughts on Ch. 99! What do you guys think about the chapter and my analyses? I'd love to hear more from you! :3

[fushipurro]

Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy

Chapter 4 - Black Star

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☆ Content: 18+ MDNI, cowboy!au, gangs, gun violence, graphic depictions of death, blood, mentions of alcohol, creampie, breeding kink, mutual masturbation, biting

☆ Word Count: 6.9k (tehe)

A lot’s changed since you were last in Manzanita Post some years ago. What was once a one stop shop for hunting supplies has evolved into several storefronts, a couple homes, a dozen tents, and even a train station to increase foot traffic.

To reach Blackwater from Valentine, you inevitably had to pass through Tall Trees. You considered ignoring the fork in the road ─ one that takes you to either the post or the plains ─ to get to Kento sooner but ended up deciding on a quick trip down memory lane instead.

And a good decision that was; one you’ll realize in due time.

The general store in town happens to be where your father had met your mother. The business belonged to her family after all; at least… it did back then.

After some time spent perusing the store, running your fingers along the dusted shelves, you leave with your satchel full, stepping out into the midday sun. The redwood trees offer plenty of shade, but not enough to cover all of the sun’s golden warmth.

There’s an acrid smell in the air as soon as you step out, one with traces of metal mixed with harsh vapors ─ blood and smoke. The man responsible is more than aware of your presence.

His familiar green eyes already locked onto your form, all in that same midnight leather outfit. He smirks when you finally catch his gaze.

“We meet again I see, and so soon too,” he purrs, a laugh rumbling from deep in his chest. “You followin’ me, sweetheart?”

You huff, almost caught off by his amusement. Satoru claimed him to be a grouch, but all you see is a flirt. “Could say the same to you, Outlaw Killer.”

“Are you making a confession? I’d remember any wanted posters with your pretty face on ‘em,” he says with full confidence. You gotta give him credit for being bold, any woman would feel red in the face hearing that.

“Then you must not have seen today’s paper,” you tease, though really, it’s just an attempt at getting on equal footing. He’s got the looks, now you just need to see the personality.

“Do they even have it up to date this far in the woods?”

“Touché, but you came here for a reason, didn’t you?” you muse, quirking a brow as you shift your balance to one foot. “If not me, then what’s the reason?”

He takes a drag of his cigarette then turns his head upwards, exhaling into the light. “I go where there’s money, simple as that.”

A reasonable answer, one you can relate to in your own journey.

“Can’t imagine there’s much of that out here for you compared to Valentine,” you remark. If he wanted a job, that’s gonna be the place.

Tall Trees has never been the most hospitable of places to settle down in. Many try, but having run-ins with bears on your way to and from the outhouse each day doesn’t make for a quality stay. Unless you’re a hunter, and a brave one at that, this is not the place for you.

“Check again, cowgirl.” The man taps the back of his hand against a sheet of paper nailed to the shop’s log exterior ─ a wanted poster. “I think I’ll do just fine out here.”

Your curiosity grows, wondering what sort of outlaw is here of all places. Posters like these are few and far throughout the years in Manzanita Post, for the same reason as the lack of housing. Stepping closer, you now realize why there’s a need for such a thing here.

The outlaw wanted ─ dead or alive ─ is none other than the man who killed your parents.

You expect murder to be reason warranting this, but instead, it’s robbery. Just robbery.

The poster lists how he and his gang have been ambushing traders in the area, holding them at gunpoint for their supplies.

Why isn’t it murder though? You can’t honestly believe everyone’s unaware or has forgotten what this man did to your family. Since coming here, you’ve already seen some remnants of your mother’s side or family friends ─ one of which is taking care of your mares at the moment. But all it took was for one rich city-slicker to get robbed before the world started causing a fuss.

How aggravating.

“Someone you know?” he asks, all signs of romantic intent faded from his expression, replaced with his own budding curiosity.

“What makes you say that?” you snap, a certain hostility lacing your tone.

“Your face,” he says, gesturing with his cigarette. He appears unbothered by your slight outburst. “Could kill a man with those looks.”

If anyone’s getting killed today, it’s going to be that man. He deserves a fate worse than sitting behind bars in a city jail. A fate you can grant him.

You don’t reply to the bounty hunter though, merely turning on your heel in the direction of your horses. Leaves and twigs snap harshly with every step taken, fueled by an ignited rage.

The cowboy snuffs his cigarette beneath his steel toe boot, deciding to follow after you. He doesn’t have to ask where you’re going; the answer is obvious, and he wants in on the fun. You’ve barely make it out onto the road west of the post before he’s already at your side atop his steed.

“Mind if I join ya?” He grins, eagerness evident in his features.

You spare him a passing glance before looking back ahead.

“Do what you want.”

And so he does.

Toji, ends up proving to be refreshing company in a forest full of distant memories, aged like the trees themselves. Along the way, he recounts many tales of his previous hunts to you, all to help lighten the mood. Some are humorous, and others downright gloating, but you appreciate the distraction, nonetheless.

One such tale is about a guy who thought the best place he could lay low from the law would be some slippery rocks besides a stream of rapids. Needless to say, when coming face to face with someone as intimidating as Toji, the guy tried to flee, only to trip and fall into the current. It would’ve been funny had it not been a bounty where the reward would only come if they were still breathing upon return.

This went on for another dozen tales, all until arriving at the edge of Aurora Basin. And unlike the trading post, the lake hasn’t changed one bit.

On the far side along the shore, the cabin you called home still rests, nearly untouched save for nature’s reclaim. The afternoon sun makes it appear glowing in a thin sheet of gold; rays of light reflecting off the surface of calm waves and glass windows. In the distance, an elk can be heard and seen calling out for its herd. A bull and some cows, a few calves mixed in.

A family.

You wonder if the wolf dubbed Lobo still prowls these grand sequoias with his own pack. They no longer have the threat of humans mingling around their watering hole to worry. Not since the day you left these woods and into the frontier.

“Anything interesting?” Toji inquires, calling you back from your youthful reverie.

You take a moment to breathe in the familiar air that tickles your lungs with frostbite, shaking your head in response to the man. “Nah… just admiring the view is all.”

He hums, and although he’s unconvinced by your answer, he doesn’t push.

The remainder of the ride through the mountain pass is quiet, leaving you to ruminate your memories a little while longer.

You’ve spent enough time out here with all of Tall Trees as your backyard of play. You practically have a name for every tree and animal you’ve come across in your youth, all of which are now just a bitter reminder of what once was. You were born into this forest; it was your whole life. But for your father, it was an escape.

The gang he ran with originally was settled in the deserts down south, but he came here in search of a different life, separate from all the needless killings and petty thievery. He found that, and everything else he dreamt about having.

His biggest mistake however was thinking he could walk away from his past like nothing ever happened and believe there would be no repercussions.

Like many others in the growing world, the gang you’re hunting followed your father north for a fresh start as well. In doing so, they made their claim through the only way they know how.

Bloodshed.

“Hold up,” Toji suddenly says, drawing your focus. You turn to him as he’s already pulled a pair of binoculars from his bag, looking intently at something in the distance. “There’s a sniper up ahead in a lookout post.” He offers you his binoculars to confirm, and sure enough, you recognize the armed outlaw.

“Looks like we’re here,” you tell him, handing him back his gear.

Toji leans forward in the saddle over crossed arms, angling his head to look at you. “What is here, exactly?”

“Cochinay ─ the hideout of our target.” You move Valentine off the trail and into the undergrowth for cover. “We should go on foot from here on out,” you add, dismounting with your Springfield rifle in hand.

Toji hitches his black stallion ─ Blackjack ─ to a tree close by. “I get it’s none of my business and all but seeing as we’re fixin’ to bust through the doors of their camp, you might want to tell me a little more on what you know.”

Sadly, he’s got a point.

Your past isn’t something you often share, especially with someone you only recently met. Satoru was an exception ─ a brief glimpse at the overall picture of your youth. But this? This is where your old self died, marking the birth of the you from today. It would be wise to at least give Toji something to work with. And so, you sigh, and begin to tell him.

“I’ve got some history with this gang,” you start, moving stealthily through the shrubbery on your approach to the camp. “My father was a longtime member, he was born into their way of living.”

“Guessin’ that’s where you got the nerve to charge into an outlaw camp twice now including this?” His words referencing Suguru and his gang. You glance back over your shoulder, seeing the knowing smirk on his face. “What, don’t look surprised,” he laughs quietly, “I wouldn’t be a very good bounty hunter if I didn’t have eyes on everything goin’ on, now would I?”

Rolling your eyes, you press on, creeping closer to your destination. A wooden wall comes into view ─ high and spiked at the top. It wouldn’t surprise you to find some carcasses staked and on display as a warning to anyone who comes too close.

“Everything I am is because of my parents, not some degenerate group whose only motivation is liquor or gold,” you scoff. “Outlaws or not, I was raised to not back down.”

“So what happened to them?” His questions stops you dead in your tracks. Toji moves to your side to get a better look at you, your head hanging low, with eyes glued to some hummingbird sage at your feet. You reach out to said petals, the violet color meshing with the shadows and fading sunlight.

“That man on the poster.” You pause, drifting your gaze from the flower to Toji as a breeze kicks up, taking some of those very petals away and into the air. “He killed them.”

“I see,” he replies, offering no consoling words after. You’re glad, because what good would they do now? It’s neither the time nor place, and the memories you have are just that.

Memories.

Nothing more, nothing less.

Life will always go on and all you can do is ride it out like a rodeo bronc, hoping that in time, everything will calm.

“You here for revenge then? I’ll warn you now, that can get pretty messy if you’re not careful.”

“Something like that, but don’t worry about me.” You end the discussion before he can say more by moving up along the wall.

He snorts though, continuing to follow. “Didn’t say I would,” Toji mumbles under his breath. Really, he doesn’t think he has to, given your headstrong attitude. So long as your arrogance doesn’t get in the way ─ you should be just fine.

You end up finding a section of the wall where the wood is rotted, or chewed away, enough so that it can be removed with ease, making for a silent entry. It’s funny how common of a theme this is becoming. Do these gangs not pay attention to their security? Even on the inside, the grass is kept tall with a plethora of barrels and wagons that are perfect to hide behind.

The camp itself is divided on the inside into multiple sections. With steep mountains resting on either side, any efforts to scale around would be futile. The only way to the heart of said mountains is through two sets of gates, the first of which has a pair of guards on sentry duty.

The only way to reach your goal is to go in guns blazing.

“Cover me while I handle the guards?” Toji requests, as if reading your mind. You respond with slight nod of your head, readying your rifle. “Best not to stray far once we make ourselves known.”

“Don’t go running in front of my sights now,” you tease, and he laughs one final time before his expression turns serious.

Toji sneaks around in front of you, inching closer to the gate. Once far enough away, you let a sigh when you know he can’t hear. It’s easy to feel safe in a camp of outlaws when your partner is coined the outlaw killer, but you can’t forget that you’re up against the man that shattered your family. One mistake, and you’ll be joining them six feet under, assuming they were ever buried to begin with.

“Howdy gentlemen.” Toji stalks up to the men seemingly without a care, tipping his hat all the while. One hand remains hooked on his belt, close to the iron at his hips.

“Who the hell are you?” one of the guards questions, not waiting for his response as his finger meets the trigger of his rifle.

Too slow. The bullet from yours whistles past Toji and into the outlaw’s skull. Their body collapsing with a heavy thump.

“Intru–“

The other guard’s cry for help is silenced midway by a blow from Toji’s revolver. Either way, there was never a need to make the announcement, not when the sound of gunfire is echoing against the canyon walls.

From there, everything quickly turns to a blur fueled by adrenaline. With a revolver in one hand, and a sawed off in the other, Toji unleashes hell upon the camp while you snipe from afar.

The gate to the second area opens, cueing the arrival of a dozen more outlaws, completely underestimating what they’re up against. Their screams are nightmarish, as if met by Death himself, dressed head to toe in black leather stained in crimson tones.

Toji’s downright sinister smile never falters while reveling in the carnage crafted by his own making. It evokes a primal feeling from within watching one man inflict such destruction upon those who upended your life.

“Move up!” he shouts to you, stepping past bodies into the next section of camp. More outlaws await, fixing to meet their final breaths with an anguishing cry.

In your haste to keep up, you fail to notice one of the cowards slipping close to the wall as you enter. They grab your ankle unexpectantly, forcing you down and into the dirt. The outlaw kicks your rifle away, pinning your body down with their knee at the small of your back.

This position makes it near impossible to fight back, and your mind starts to race with thoughts and memories, flashing before your eyes. What a pathetic way this would be to meet your demise, and at the hands of some lowlife no less. For a split second, you wonder whether you should keep squirming or let the inevitable come sooner.

You wouldn’t have to fight anymore.

You may even see your family sooner, contrary to the brave front you always have up.

No sooner do you feel their grip loosening, on top of something wet hitting your back like rainfall. A long, serrated hunting knife falls dangerously close before your face. It’s blade and handle coated in fresh blood.

“Get up!” You hear Toji’s voice shouting at you.

Using the newfound freedom, you take the bloodied handle, curling your body around before snapping your arm to the side without any hesitation, slicing the outlaw’s throat. They cry painfully before meeting their end, choking on their own blood.

Toji rushes over, pulling you up by your arm. “Why didn’t you yell for me?” he says, his voice tinged with subtle anger, like a scolding parent. Another outlaw tries to take advantage of this reprieve but is quickly met with the barrel of Toji’s shotgun point blank between their eyes.

Another one down.

“It doesn’t matter,” you claim, picking your rifle back up. He doesn’t buy it, still giving you that disapproving stare.

“Stick close, I mean it,” he warns, waving his finger at you. His tone leaves no room to argue either.

You throw your rifle over your shoulder, swapping it out for dual revolvers prime for close combat. With your backs together, the two of you shoot all who dare to come close, sometimes maneuvering your arms around the other like a ballroom dance. Bullets fly all around, making you duck and twirl, spinning as one with elaborate footing.

“Cover me, will ya?” you call out over the gunfire into Toji’s ears. He responds by picking up his pace, refusing to let any threats near while you turn to an ole reliable from out of your satchel. Dynamite.

It’s not often you get the chance to use some explosives, especially without any drawbacks. You more than happily light it up before tossing it towards the innermost gate.

The blast ruptures, collapsing the gate and one of the guard towers as well. Pieces of the fence go flying in all directions, one even impaling another outlaw in the chest before your bullet could fire.

It takes a minute before the smoke clears, finally allowing you to see into the heart of the camp ─ seeing him as you do.

The bounty’s face is twisted with displeasure, knowing full well the dire state he’s in. It’s only a matter of time before his life and all his claims are forfeit to the one he took it all away from.

You pull up your rifle once again, aiming down the sights at his sorry face. Realization dawns on him the moment he meets your eyes through the scope, and right as you fire, he bolts down into a cave.

“Shit,” you hiss, abandoning Toji’s side to take pursuit. He shouts for you again, but his voice is clouded by the bloodlust you feel with your prey before you.

This isn’t your first time up in Cochinay, so you know full well the many tunnels feeding through the mountains. While they most likely provide shelter for the gang, they also offer a means of escape if need be.

You can’t let him get away.

With that said, you know exactly which paths to take to catch up. The bastard never even bothered to learn the best route to escape you soon realize. He was far too confident that nothing could take him down.

Big mistake.

It’s ironic how he took your father from you before your very own eyes, and then your mother’s soon after. Yet now, in the face of the one who got away, all he can feel is fear.

If your father is watching past the clouds in the skies, he’d be proud to know how far you’ve come and how close you are to avenging him. He raised you to outshine him in every way, and with this ─ you’ll finally have closure.

You fire a warning shot past the outlaw’s head and into the rocky formation.

“Turn around,” you demand, your voice cold as the ice clinging to these very mountaintops.

He does so, his voice quivering as he yells, “You can’t kill me!”

You kiss your teeth. “The hell I can.”

“You ran when I gutted your parents; I’m not afraid of you!” A lie, evident in his demeanor that’s starting to crack under the pressure.

“And yet you’re doing the same,” you scoff, further adding a manic laugh ─ Sukuna’s influence, taking hold. “The difference between you and me is that I never ran because I was scared.”

“Liar,” he spits, but you ignore him to continue.

“I ran to live another day. To roam this beautiful earth doing damn well what I please because I’m free!” You pause, taking aim with your gun. “You won’t be taking anything else from me.”

“Watch me.”

He moves to draw his gun from his hip, but you’re faster. You’ve always been faster.

Click.

Widened eyes and a look of shock replaces your features. You’re out of ammo.

That moment of weakness is enough for the outlaw to fire his own round, and it hits ─ igniting your arm with fiery pain.

“Got you now, bitch!” He charges at you and grapples your waist, sending you down into the cold stone, hard. The force knocks the wind right out of you, but you can’t lose yourself now. You got lucky with his mistake, but the next will cost your life if you don’t start fighting back.

You’ve angered him with your words, and now he wants you to suffer.

He has you on the defensive against his blows, pounding at you with his fists. “I’m not afraid of you!” he shouts between his onslaught, one landing right over your injured arm, raised as a shield. “I’ve been running this gang since before you were born. I can always rebuild and conquer again!”

He poses his fist high in the air to strengthen the next blow, and in your weakening state, you’re not sure you’d be able to handle it.

“Give your father my regards,” he says with finality, only for that very hand to rupture at the sound of thunder rocking the mountain in turn. You lift your head up to see Toji ─ a rolling block rifle in his hands, giving you the opening needed to finish this once and for all.

You reach for the gun still bound to the outlaw’s holster, turning it on him. “Won’t have to… because you’ll be seeing him first,” you chuckle, pulling the trigger.

As it turns out, this revolver belonged to your father. A fitting way to take revenge.

The tunnel is painted red with your words, sealing the outlaw’s fate. His limp body falls forward overtop your own, the light gone from his eyes. Toji rushes over, easily lifting the dead weight from you.

“What did I say about sticking close?” he scolds, offering you a hand to lift you up. “Could’ve gotten yourself killed; you know that? Unbelievable.”

“You sound like my dad,” you tell him while laughing before he flicks you on the forehead.

Looking down at his future paycheck, he sighs, but then cracks a smile that shows nothing but joy.

“You did it, cowgirl. How’re ya feelin’?”

“Relieved,” you say; relief from knowing the cause for your traumatic past is lying in a pool of his own blood at your feet. “Although I did get shot,” you add. The way you say that makes it sound like it’s a daily occurrence.

He flicks you again for that.

“Come on,” he drawls with a hefty sigh. “Let’s go raid their shit so we can patch you up.”

The moon is high in the sky as you sit along the edge of a wagon, an oil lantern providing enough light for Toji to work. Thanks to the bastard’s shaky hands, the bullet missed its mark, narrowly grazing your arm instead of anything important. You’ll live, but you need a few stitches to close the wound.

“Gonna tell me now what you was going on in your head?”

“I don’t know what you mea– ow, watch it!” You wince when he tugs the thread a little too hard.

He mumbles a haphazard apology. “Don’t play dumb with me ‘cause I know you’re not. Twice today you could’ve gotten yourself killed.” He sounds annoyed telling you all this, but it’s coming a place of worry, whether you believe it or not.

“I’m not used to relying on others,” you admit after a minute of silence, taking a shot of some liquor to dull the pain in your arm and soul. As expected, this camp is riddled with various bottles and supplies ─ all free for the taking now.

“You don’t say,” he teases, and you shoot him a glare that he laughs off.

The next several minutes are spent in silence, admiring his handiwork. The needle and thread appear comically small in his hands, yet he offers a delicate touch. It’s safe to say this isn’t the first time he’s had to stitch up a wound, and you appreciate not having to do it yourself.

“For what it’s worth, I’ve learned not to rely on anyone either,” he tells you, his eyes flickering up to meet yours. The flame of the lantern burns bright in his eyes, reflecting amber tones mixed in a forest of green.

“I’m starting to get the feeling you have your own troubled past,” you muse, hissing at the final few tugs of the stitching.

“You don’t say,” he says again, that flirtatious tone from earlier returning. The gruffness of his voice ─ so close to your body ─ has your eyes fluttering back. His body being the only source of heat amidst the chilling air of the nighttime hours makes you wish to be closer, to embrace that heat.

He wraps a bandage nice and snug around your arm, dropping his hands to either side of your body, effectively caging you. You could shuffle away as there’s nothing but empty space behind you, but why leave the fire for the cold, when you instead could stoke the flames?

“Was there something else you wanted to say?” you ask in sultry tune, turning your head slightly to the side.

Toji moves closer, his eyes never leaving yours for even a second. His nose brushes against your neck, shamelessly taking in your scent. One hand moves up your arm, lingering on the side of your head, supporting its weight for better access.

“No,” he whispers against your ear, relishing in sound that involuntarily leaves your lips. So sensitive, he thinks to himself, and oh how he’s going to enjoy that soon. “There’s somethin’ I’d like to do though.”

Your hand comes up to meet his chest, bundling the fabric and urging him down to you. “Yeah?” you whisper back into his ear, smiling against his skin. “And what would that be?”

He chuckles, pulling back to see the look on your face when he tells you. You can see the desire building in his eyes, the lids half-narrowed, ready to swallow you whole into oblivion.

“You.”

You take your hand away from his chest, moving slowly down until reaching his belt, grinning all the while. “Well, aren’t you bold? I can’t say I’m not thinking the same way.”

Toji holds your wrist securely in his hand, pulling it further down his body. He pleasingly groans when you comply by palming him over his dark denim jeans. He lets go of your wrist in exchange for your head, clumping your hair together and fervently directing your lips to his.

It’s a heated exchange, but not the ravenous sort with tongue and teeth mangling together. In return, he bruises your lips with power hungry kisses ─ frenzied with passion and longing. His other hand lowers itself near the apex of your thigh, the tightness of his grip changing with the pressure of your hand against his core.

He's huge, that much is certain. What a lucky girl you are to keep finding such delectable men in only a few days time.

Finally, he lets go of your mouth, allowing you the chance to breathe in shared air. “Take it out.” His voice is deepened and straining, with a sense of underlying urgency.

While you’re messing with his belt, he looks down on with a sinful stare, treasuring the near desperation in how fast you’re trying to get to him. Your reaction to its size is priceless, a sight that never disappoints, and he’s not even fully hard yet.

“My turn,” is all he says before his hands are on you. You hope the sound of fabric ripping is all in your hand, or maybe a twig snapping in the distance (it’s not).

The two of you then share a moment of reverence for the other, tracing each other’s body and sex as if committing to memory a divine work of art.

“So pretty,” he praises, trailing a finger between your folds. “And so wet for me, too,” he sighs breathily, eyes fluttering shut when you let out another angelic sound.

You place your hand back around his cock, feeling his hip stutter in response, rutting once into your hand. Using his free hand to balance himself, Toji descends again upon your lips kissing more sloppily with the growing ecstasy. He throws his head back when you tease the spot just under the tip before throwing himself back onto you ─ swallowing up every whimper and moan when his finger finally pushes its way through.

His finger ─ thick and calloused ─ curls inwards over that sweet spongy spot, forcing your back into an arch, demanding you to ride his knuckles for more.

“Toji,” you mewl with an air of arousal peaking; a plead, for him.

He adds another finger making you gasp in response, and he uses this opportunity to dip his tongue far into your mouth. The flavor is intoxicating, an unhealthy mix of aged rum meeting his preferred brand of cigarettes ─ the ones with the series of cards to collect.

Gambling was always one of his favorite hobbies, and he’s glad to have gone all-in on you. For once, it worked in his favor, and now you’re coming undone by the very hands dealing the cards to win.

Your hands start to shake when he adds a third finger, stretching you out from the inside while rolling a thumb along your clit. Your grip around him quivers, drawing out a resounding groan. Despite how big and intimidating he is, it all ends the same when they’re wrapped around your finger. Needy, and with such pretty noises that are music to your ears.

The kiss breaks, but only enough to breathe while your tongues remain tied together for a few seconds longer. He presses his forehead to yours, pupils blown, staring right into yours. Beads of sweat fall along your cheeks, cooling your heated skin. The alcohol in your system works not only to numb any pain but also to help enrapture your body, flushing your cheeks a cardinal tone.

“You gonna cum for me, sweetheart?” he asks, curling his fingers again making your whole body twitch. His cock does the same, leaking heavily with beads of cum. You can feel his veins practically beating at the same pace of your heart.

“Fuck ─ I could ask you the same thing.”

“Go on then,” he chuckles, trying to hide how shaken up he is. You hardly need to do much of anything with your hand as he starts jerking himself on you without shame. His lips return to your ear, biting at the lobe when he whispers, “Cum for me.”

Your jaw falls slack with the euphoric feeling. Your body spasming around his fingers, clenching with no remorse for his trapped fingers. With that, Toji can’t hold himself back from letting lose onto your hand, spilling out a heavy load of white.

The stars overhead are but a blur to you now in your high, a mere backdrop to the heaven on earth feeling coursing through each of your veins.

He pulls back from your body, grinning when he hears you whining at the loss. The real show has yet to even begin, this foreplay merely the opening act for a night to remember.

You watch as he takes those same three fingers, wet with slick, and runs them each into his mouth. His eyes closing with a heavy sigh as he indulges in your taste.

“Mhmm, so sweet.” He drinks up your reddened look, another spark of arousal hitting you at the sight of his joy.

You can’t help but do the same when you notice the mess in your hand ─ raising it up so you too can partake in this flavorful exchange.

That grin on his face grows even wider than before. “Beautiful,” he praises breathlessly. “Now come here.” He beckons you by curling those same fingers that were inches inside you mere moments ago.

Effortlessly, Toji lifts you up and off the wagon, leaving behind the only source of light as he walks you to some bedrolls he laid out earlier in anticipation of spending the night.

He kisses you gently this time ─ the calm before the storm about to come. While doing so, he removes the remainder of your clothes thus freeing your chest to his eyes. You do the same for him, one button at a time until all that’s left is the statue of a god, adorned with many scars that map history across flesh.

Another moment of reverence, from one godlike figure to another.

“Turn around. On your knees.” He watches you wordlessly obey, shifting himself behind you. With two hands on either side of your hips, he raises you up into his full view. The sight of your cunt glistening with fluid is captivating, inducing a sense of frenzy.

He kisses you there first, then draws a stripe with his tongue before burying it between the velvet lining. A prelude for what’s to come, once he’s quenched his thirst. You can almost cum again just from that, but he stops just in time to keep you riled up.

“Just fuck me already, Toji,” you say, a mix of warning and urgency on your tongue.

His palm meets the globe of your ass, not enough to hurt, but enough to be known and shock your body. “And how do you ask?”

“Please?” you reply, matching his mocking tone.

“Good girl.”

Next thing you know, his tip is hot against you, rubbing loosely between your folds. You jolt when it grazes your clit, groaning with anticipation. But before you can utter another word ─ another plead ─ he bullies his way inside, stretching you more than his fingers possibly could.

A burning pain hits you from the sudden intrusion. “Fuck!”

“There, there,” he coos, one thumb over your clit. “You wanted me, so take it.”

He watches with marvel at how his cock disappears into your cunt, his whole body shuddering in reaction.

“’S too much, Toji.” Hell, he and Sukuna are in their own tier when it comes to size.

“Shh, you’re almost there, sweetheart.” He grunts feeling you tighten around him, so eager to please and be praised. “I could get used to this.”

A few moments are all you get to steady yourself before he’s moving. His hands gliding along every curve, mark, and dimple gracing your back, tracing up your spine and back around to your hips. As his pace increases, so do his sounds. Each thrust is accompanied with deep, heavy sighs and salacious groans.

“You like this, huh?” His words barely register in your ears, too drunk off the way his cock hits your cervix with each thrust. He leans down, hunching over your back while at the same time snaking an arm around to your front. “What h-hahppened to your words, sweets?” A whimper catches in his throat. “Where’s that pretty voice callin’ my name?”

“Toji!” You cry out feeling his sharp, wolfish fangs burying themselves in your neck. One hand holding you at your stomach right over where his tip reaches, and the other loosely around your throat in a show of a dominance.

“What was that?” He sneers against your ear, his breathing growing more erratic by the second. “Gotta speak up and tell me what you want.”

“I want you,” you moan, drool spilling out the sides of your mouth.

“Who?”

“Y-you ─ Toji.” Another moan, higher pitched than before.

“Again,” he growls.

“Toji, Toji, ‘Oji-ahh!”

You keel over in his hold, violently shaking as an orgasm tears through your body like lightning. Wetness gushes out from you, rolling down your thighs and onto his lap.

“So fucking good ─ shit.” His arms tighten and he leans his weight further into you, pushing your body into the bedroll with only one thought in his mind. “You gonna let me fuck a baby into you?” He moves the hand on your stomach down to your clit, inciting the bundle of nerves with rough circular motions that serve to overstimulate you. “You’d like that?”

“Yes, yes! Please!” you whine as he forces you straight into another orgasm. With how sensitive you are, all coherent thoughts are erased except for Toji, Toji, Toji. In this pursuit of pleasure, he’s all that matters.

“Good fucking girl,” he growls, his voice straining, “Now take it!”

With one final cry of his name, warmth floods your body. Your nails dig into the sheets, uncontrollably squirming in a puddle of drool, cum, and slick. For a moment, you think you may have even passed out, because next thing you know, you’re on your side still wrapped in Toji’s embrace. His cock still several inches deep, with no apparent hurry to pull out.

The two of you lay like this for some time, coming down from the high mountaintops of euphoria. Black and white spots in your vision slowly morphing back into stars and the picturesque view of the Milky Way galaxy watching over you both. No words need to be shared. This is all you desire.

You never thought that one out of blue trip to a town like Valentine could jumpstart a whole new chapter in your life, subsequently closing the pages of old, tossing it to the flames. You never outright planned on taking revenge on the man who tore apart your family, but knowing you were there to see him crumble in his final moments brings a sense of tranquility you haven’t felt for some time.

Wherever you go from here, you know that it’ll work out. The future is in your hands ─ a frontier of its own, now ready to be explored without regret.

You wake the next morning to Toji brewing a pitcher of coffee over the campfire. He hears you stirring from sleep, turning his gaze to yours with a content smile. There’s no arrogance or lustful feature ─ only a type of calm you see best at dawn.

“Mornin’, sunshine.”

“Morning,” you respond with a yawn, rubbing the sleep from your eyes. Your voice is both thick with sleep and hoarse from screaming one man’s name a dozen times over.

He chuckles amusingly, pouring you a fresh hot cup. “Sleep well?”

Well, besides the whole-body ache… “Like a baby,” you tease. It’s a miracle your stitches didn’t open up once.

You take your time to enjoy the coffee and the morning view. Dawn always looked best up in these mountains with the cascading trees and fields of sage. If you close your eyes, you can hear all the familiar calls of birds and other wildlife mingling ─ the forest teeming with life at every inch.

“When we get his body back to town, that reward money’s all yours,” he says, while standing to stretch his limbs.

You shake your head. “Don’t bother, I got my revenge. That’s all I really wanted.”

Toji can’t be too upset at your words, it’s more money for him. He was already going to happily sell whatever he could find in all these dead outlaws’ pockets for his efforts, anyways.

“Ain’t that a shame.” He places a hand on his hip, green eyes cast down at your form.

“You know, we make a good team,” he starts up again after a brief minute of silence. “You ever thought about becoming a full-time bounty hunter?”

He flashes that devious smile of his once more, his sharp canines poking through when he curls that scarred lip upwards.

“Not a bad offer,” you hum, “Especially after last night.”

It’s honestly a thought you’ve had from time to time. There are always outlaws to hunt and money to make; you’ve done it before and if yesterday proved anything, it’s that you can handle yourself even when pitted against an entire gang.

As it stands, there are several options open to you now, with many possibilities for how life will unfold from here on out.

“So what do you say, cowgirl?”

☆ Notes: I’d like to thank past me for coming up with the dad lore in earlier chapters on the spot, because I honestly didn’t expect to make it a whole theme for this chapter until I started writing it. Gonna be sad though seeing this series end soon, but I’ve got a dozen more stories I plan on writing, and I’m always open for more cowboy content in the future :)

Also, just to throw in my own little headcanon with the forehead flicking and all… you always see Megumi smacking Yuji or whoever when he’s scolding, and I like to imagine he got that from Toji or maybe even Mamaguro since Toji’s strong enough to take it (not in the domestic violence sense, but you know what I mean?)

[gunilslaugh]

Confession Letter

Oh Seungmin Summary: Not knowing how to tell Seungmin about your feelings for him, you write him a letter instead. (non-idol au) WC:563 Warning:none

photo not mine credits to owner.

Hello Seungmin,

You’re probably going to be confused and surprised once you read this letter. I’m writing this letter because I like you. It surprised me too when I realized the romantic feelings I have for you. We don’t even talk much. We hardly talk actually, yet our small interactions were enough to make me fall for you. I don’t know what to do with these feelings though. I thought about confessing to you in person, but I didn’t know how. 

“Hey Seungmin, I like you.” It would be weird to walk up to you and say that right? 

“Seungmin, I have something I want to tell you. I like you.” I can’t imagine saying that either. 

I don’t even know if you like me back. Actually I don’t even expect you to like me back. Considering the fact that I thought you used to hate me. I felt like you always tried to keep our conversations short. Like you wanted out of them as soon as possible. I thought that I was probably annoying you, so I started to avoid you. Then you got me snacks for my birthday. I was so shocked, but also really happy. Thinking back on it now. Maybe that’s when I started to fall for you.

A part of me is scared that if I give you this letter you’ll start to avoid me. I don’t want to make you uncomfortable with my feelings. It’s ok if you don’t like me back. I can’t say that your rejection wouldn’t hurt, but I’d get through it. It’s not like we see each other often anyway lol. Please don’t stop talking to me though. We can act like I never gave you this letter.

 On the chance that you do like me back then I’d be happier than the day you gave me snacks for my birthday. I feel kinda embarrassed to write this, but I do daydream about what it would be like to date you. Would you rather stay in or go out for dates? Would you take the long way home, so we could spend more time together? Would you be bold when it comes to showing affections or a bit shy? I would like to know the answers to these silly questions, but it’s up to you if I’ll ever get to know. 

I stop all this rambling now. I hope this news isn’t too shocking. If you don’t like me then never mention this letter. If you do then next time you greet me say “Hey y/n, I like you” or just tell me you like me back however you want.

Sincerely (quite nervous actually), 

y/n

“Seungmin.” You nervously called his name, fiddling with the envelope between your fingers. It wasn’t too late to back out. 

“Hey y/n what’s up?” he asked, coming closer to you. 

“Uh…here.” You stuck out the envelope to him before you could second guess yourself.

“For me? A letter?” he asked, taking the envelope from you. 

“Yeah. Anyway that’s all I just wanted to give you that, so I’ll take my leave now.” You quickly scurried away as your nerves started to get the better of you. You let out a long breath with a hand over your racing heart. You could only wait for his response now. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Hey y/n, I like you!” Seungmin shouts.

a/n: just a little something to try and get me out of my writers block

taglist: @purplelady85 @gingerjunhan @chewednails @ezlynkisses @mon2sunjinsuver @mxlly143

comment or message me to be added!

[delzinrowe]

20 Zentimeter - Takuma Ino x Reader

WORD COUNT: ~2.5K WARNINGS: Crack? Mentions of alcohol. F!Reader! SUMMARY: Foreign Reader Y/N finds a song in her native language during karaoke. (My condolences, reader is from a german speaking country.) A/N: I don't claim any responsibility. -> If you enjoy my fics, please consider buying me a ko-fi, thank you! ╰┈➤ ⋆❝masterlist❞⋆

Under any other circumstances Y/N would have dreaded going out with a bunch of people, especially so during the week when she knew it most probably involved alcohol. But there weren’t many times in which Takuma Ino joined in these nights out, and she couldn’t miss the chance to spend time with him.

You see, Y/N had a crush on Ino ever since she took the brave step of moving to Japan. Obviously, she wasn’t from this country, making it harder for her to engage with people around her age. In her own culture and language she was much more open, albeit still being an introvert most times. But with the newfound language barrier she became much more isolated, at least that’s what it felt like.

She never questioned her mysterious powers or the fact that she could see monsters, or even why her mother seemed to know about it. And she certainly never questioned why her mother seemed to know other people with the same abilities. One of which, as she was told, was the principal of a school for people like her. Long story short, her mother had transferred her to the school with principal Yaga (as she was later informed) immediately admitting her due to her family heritage, which she didn’t fully understand when it was explained to her.

None of that mattered to her anymore, it had been a few years since her transfer and it would only be a few more months until she’d officially graduate. Due to the age difference between her and the first years she couldn’t fully connect with any of them. But Nanami had often paired her up with Ino, as he figured that the two would connect more.

“Earth to Y/N. Hello?” Nobara waved a hand in front of her eyes to drag Y/N out of her daze.

“Yes, sorry. I just zoned out.” A rosy hue dusted her cheeks as she pulled on her jacked sleeve in order to avoid her gaze. 

“Hm… happens a lot when that idiot is around.” Nobara’s comment instantly fueled Y/N blush more. The first year student rolled her eyes at the older one’s obvious crush, even though she had never confirmed it properly.

“He’s not an idiot.” Y/N responded as she glanced at Ino, who was currently engaged in a seemingly deep conversation with Yuji about god knows what.

“Just tell him you like him. It’s getting annoying.” The first year secretly cheered for her female upperclass(wo)man. However, she was annoyed with Y/N for not confessing. Nobara had watched her pine for Nanami’s protege for months.

“Shut up.” With that Y/N turned around and put her hands into her jacket pockets.

The entire group consisting of all first and second year students as well as Y/N and Ino was still standing on the school grounds, discussing where to go and what to do on their fun night out.

“Let’s go karaoke!” Y/N didn’t have to look to know who it was that threw the idea into the room. There was only one person who’d always be up for karaoke, and it was unfortunately Ino. Much to her dismay, everyone seemed to agree, except for the grumble of disapproval coming from Megumi. She had to give props to Yuji and Nobara for successfully dragging him along.

Absentmindedly Y/N tagged along when the entire group made their way to a random karaoke venue somewhere in Tokyo.

With her only having learned japanese within the past few years it wasn’t easy for her to open up, and she knew that if there was alcohol involved it’d only be worse for her. At least if she slipped into her native language no one would know what kind of nonsense she’d ramble on about.

————

The hours passed, and the alcohol flowed endlessly as Ino kept ordering rounds and rounds of different types of liquor to their private room.

One by one each of them graced the group with their intoxicated and loud singing voices. A big highlight was the duet of Panda and Yuji, but Y/N’s personal favorite was Nobara dragging Maki up mid-song to turn the ballad she chose into a love song.

Each time one of them suggested for Y/N to come up and sing she shook her head. However, while the others accepted this, Ino didn’t. He was dead set on getting her to sing at least one song.

“Come on. Just one song. For me?” If his pleading voice wasn’t enough already, Ino then pulled his best puppy eyes, effectively melting Y/N’s heart like ice cream on a hot summer’s day. No doubt he knew about her crush.

“Maybe after a few more drinks…” She couldn't outright deny him anything, not when he looked at her with his big brown eyes and a pout that made her chest tighten. But her answer seemed to satisfy him at least somewhat for now since he nodded with a bright smile and turned towards the others to pick out another duet with someone.

Y/N briefly closed her eyes, damning herself for even saying maybe, knowing that Ino wouldn’t let this go, but how could she ever refuse him anything when he unknowingly already had her heart?

There was no way around it, she’d have to sing at least one song, so maybe they had something easy or something fun in their list of available songs. After downing two shots, to make up for the lack of courage, she grabbed the catalog and skipped through all available options. 

She barely acknowledged Nobara and Ino belting out the lyrics to a Spice Girl’s song when she noticed a certain title in the list of songs. There, in the middle of Tokyo in a random karaoke venue, was an old German party song that probably no one here had ever heard before. But it was one song that Y/N was very familiar with. Courtesy of her older siblings. But should she really go for this one choice? At least no one would know what she’d sing about and no one could laugh about her per se, considering they’d all just laugh about how awkward the song sounded.

It was this song or nothing. As if the title had touched something deep inside her that, something that had been resting ever since she stepped foot onto japanese grounds.

At this point she had consumed a handful of shots and drinks but it wasn’t even nearly enough to get her through this song. Luckily, it didn’t take long for Ino’s latest order of drinks to arrive, and just like that, before either of the other’s could even grab one of the cocktail bottles Y/N had already reached for it, filled her glass and downed it in one gulp.

As if that wasn’t enough, the entire group watched with wide eyes as she downed a second glass right after.

“Hey, slow down. You okay?” It was Ino from beside her who spoke up and asked her. If the alcohol hadn’t taken a speed route through her system she would have melted from his caring tone.

“I’m fine!” She slurred her words without any hesitation. It was a sight Ino had never seen before, neither had anyone else in the little group, but she seemed happy and even excited so what could go wrong?

Ino watched her reach for one of the microphones and stand up, albeit a little clumsily. If he wasn’t worried about her he would have found it adorable.

In all her drunken glory Y/N navigated her way through the song library until she found what she was looking for.

The blasting pop beats that sounded from the speakers instantly caught all attention from the group and when Y/N stumbled around the table to take the tiny stage Ino’s eyes followed her. The last thing anyone expected of the usual introvert and rather quiet girl was how she started to jump, bounce and even dance to the rhythm before singing along with the background vocals.

Everyone watched her but no one observed her as attentively as Ino did. His eyes followed her every move, seemingly out of concern but mostly because it had become a habit for him. He had very quickly developed a crush on her, which made him feel as nervous but also as giddy as a teenager. He’d never openly admit it to anyone however. Except Nanami, but only after the Grade 1 sorcerer had successfully, and in a matter of minutes, deduced that Ino seemed infatuated with her.

His racing thoughts came to an abrupt halt when Y/N started to fully get into the song and suddenly he realized that he had no idea what the hell she was singing about.

No matter how hard he tried to listen in on the words she sang, it all sounded like gibberish to him.

“Das kannst du echt vergessen, da hast du dich vermessen!” Y/N’s loud voice sounded out as she sang along to the lyrics and continued to jump around like a happy child. It was truly endearing to Ino, if he hadn’t been so damn confused by the song choice.

“20 Zentimeter, sind es jetzt nicht und nicht später. Du solltest dazu stehen, er ist leicht zu übersehen!” For some reason he seemed to be the only one, everyone else jammed to it, dancing in their seats as well as trying to sing along with the gibberish.

The feeling of being spoken to indirectly came over him more and more, considering Y/N kept glancing at him whenever she sang her stupid outlandish song. But what the hell did she try to tell him with it? It drove him crazy. All he wanted was to build a bridge to her, make a connection and get closer to her to maybe finally confess his crush to her.

“20 Zentimeter.” Y/N almost bellowed out the lyrics in her intoxicated state, and even Ino noticed that she seemed to jumble some of the words together. He blamed the alcohol and tried his best to simply focus on her and how overjoyed she seemed.

Once her song ended however, she reverted back into the quieter person. She was ready to sit back down but Megumi stood up and dragged Yuji with him, announcing to the rest of the group that all of them should get their asses home. Understandably so, since Megumi was the only one who paid attention and realized that the karaoke place would close soon. On top of that the annoyance he felt was written all over his face. 

There were no objections. In all honesty, Y/N found it quite admirable of Megumi to be so responsible. He was the youngest in the group, yet he seemed to be the most mature one. She nodded towards his words, just like the rest of them did when they gathered their things and dashed out of the building.

Just before leaving the karaoke venue Megumi purchased some bottles of water for everyone, which he now handed out to each person. Courtesy of being the least intoxicated as well as being in possession of the only brain cell in the group. 

The cool water in combination with the chilly refreshing breeze made Y/N feel a lot more sober in contrast to how tipsy she felt before. Almost naturally she fell into a pace that was just a tad bit slower than the group. She strolled a few steps behind the group, alone with her thoughts, and didn’t even notice Ino walking next to her.

“What was that song about?” His sudden words startled her and caused her heart to beat faster. A natural fight or flight reaction.

“You almost gave me a cardiac arrest.” She said as she  breathed in and out deeply to steady her racing heart. It wasn’t her intention to ignore his question, she simply didn’t pay attention to what he said when he surprised her.

“Sorry…” He chuckled innocently and continued speaking, “but that song. It’s not a language I know. What was it about?”

“Oh. Well..” She started but quickly let the word face out into nothingness. The song wasn’t very appropriate. The message and actual lyrics weren’t really bad, just the meaning of it was vulgar.

“It’s just that you kept looking at me when you sang.” Shit. How the hell was she supposed to explain the lyrics of it to him now? Why couldn’t the ground open up and swallow her hole right at this moment?

Her face heated up to the point she knew that if she was a cartoon character her features would be scarlet red. Inside her head she screamed of embarrassment. For now she was thankful that the streetlights on their way were in such poor shape. It prevented Ino from seeing her intense blush.

Minutes felt like hours for Y/N when she tried to come up with the least embarrassing explanation. No way in hell could she tell him what the song was about.

“It’s about measurements!” She blurted out, almost too quick for him to understand, but he unfortunately caught it, even if he couldn’t make any sense of her words. His face mirrored his confusion as he stared at her with furrowed brows. It was a clear WTF written all over his handsome features.

Y/N tried her hardest to keep looking ahead, to focus on walking, or literally anything else, besides her pounding heart. Her cheeks surely could heat up an entire building in the deepest winter.

So close. Almost home. Her mind was racing but the sight of her apartment complex just about a hundred meters away caused her chest to feel lighter. Subconsciously she sped up her pace a little.

“I… It’s really just a silly german song. Nothing more to it.” She murmured after another moment. For a brief second she felt somewhat bad and guilty for attempting to dismiss the entire topic like this. He was right, she did glance at him too many times during her drunken performance, but it wasn’t her fault. It was all the alcohol’s fault!

When the two of them almost reached the front door of the building she turned her face towards him, ready to bid him goodnight. Ino seemed to have other plans as he spoke up before she even had the chance.

“I’m gonna find out what it means.” His voice was dripping with confidence. Once he found something he wanted he wouldn’t let go.

“But maybe you can give me some private german lessons, how about it?” Y/N didn’t expect his flirtatious tone or the wink he sent in her direction. Momentarily she froze on the spot. Ino just chuckled when he realized that he caused her to malfunction for a hot minute.

The way her cheeks now reminded him of freshly picked strawberries only made his smile brighter. 

“Goodnight, gorgeous.” He chuckled once more. Eventually he turned around as he took some steps backwards, making his way towards his own place and leaving behind an extremely flustered Y/N with a racing heart and a bright blush.