#I thought cups were some weird multiple of ounces

[lady-inkyrius]

It has come to my attention that when baking in America recipes will measure ingredients by volume rather than mass. Weird.

[saviorsbookcafe]

The Savior’s Book Café in Another World: Chapter 6

INDEX || PREVIOUS || NEXT

Chapter 6: A Visitor and a Change

Translated by: sydney Proofread by: Necro

The day after I gave Ill the book cover as a gift, I was waiting excitedly for him to come while at the counter, organizing coffee beans and tea leaves.

A sound rang in my head to notify me of a customer, and a smile came onto my face reflexively.

“Welcome.”

I had assumed it must be Ill, but this time the person who entered was a man I’d never seen before.

He looks around the same age as me, but he has the smile of a mischievous child on his face.

He has a very different look from Ill, but with his bright and amusing features, he looks like the popular type.

“Hey, looks like everything’s going smoothly.”

Having someone I’ve never met before speak to me as if we were close friends leaves me bewildered.

In this world, the only person I know should be Ill.

Just as I thought that, I realized that there’s one more person, although I don’t know if I should count him as a person, that I know here.

He may look different, but I remember this atmosphere.

“...God?” I asked softly, and the man looked at me, his smile growing wider.

He walked over to me with that same smile and took a seat at the counter.

“Sorry for the sudden visit. Don’t worry, it’s not like you called me, I just decided to come here, so this won’t be included in the three wishes I gave you.”

I was relieved to hear something along the lines of what I was expecting.

I was afraid I might have just called a normal person “God” otherwise.

“You’re really...God?” I asked.

“Yeah, I decided to change my form to match the humans here.”

I wasn’t sure if God could drink anything, but I offered him some coffee and he drank it normally.

His long light-colored hair was braided loosely beside his face, and his clothes were distinctly from this world, but he had an other-worldly aura that seemed like it would follow him if he walked around the town.

“Are you just checking up on me like you had said you would before?”

“Well, that too. Oh, and you don’t need to be so formal with me.”

“O-oh, okay.”

Since he didn’t seem to mind at all, I decide to talk casually, and look at his face.

He takes a sip of his coffee again before opening his mouth.

“The reason I’m here today is because it looks like we’re going to have a bit of a problem soon. It’s related to the other Savior in this country, so that’s why I came to you.”

“Other Savior? Wait, there’s another Savior in this country?”

“Huh? Did you not know?”

“Not at all.”

At my response, God’s expression changed to an indescribable, almost sorrowful expression.

“You know, you should really go outside, even just a little. Well, certainly in your situation I can understand hiding away, but still.”

I averted my gaze, unable to say anything when I know he’s right, and God continued with a wry smile.

“In this country, there’s another Savior besides you. I sent her here shortly before I sent you, but she’s living in the castle. When someone in this country mentions a Savior, they’re usually talking about her.”

“I see, is something wrong with her?”

The castle, that’s where Ill lives, isn’t it? I wondered, as God continued talking with a grave expression.

“I said it looks like there’ll be a problem soon, right? The Savior living in the castle is a young girl, announcing that she’s a Savior and refusing to learn low-level magic, let alone Great Magic, spending all her time playing around in the castle.”

“Huh, but isn’t she there as a Savior?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s...kind of amazing.”

If I were in that situation, it seems like I’d end up leaving my intentions behind, be considerate of those around me and be swept away by my surroundings to work as a Savior.

And I know that if I failed to do that, I’d hate myself.

Which is exactly why I’m hiding away in here, making sure no one knows, and so that not only do I not have to work, but I don’t have to worry about getting dragged into anything weird.

“She’s young, or perhaps ‘childish’ is a better word for her. You don’t want anyone to find out that you’re a Savior, so you’re hiding away deep in this forest. It’s almost certain that if the humans here knew, they’d throw a big festival to celebrate you and cause a big commotion. Certainly, you have no option but to hide that if you want to live normally. But like I said earlier, the other girl is loudly proclaiming that she’s a Savior, and spending her days playing around in the royal castle.”

“Wow.”

I’m the same in that I’m not cooperating as a Savior, but I certainly don’t have the courage to refuse to cooperate while announcing that I’m a Savior.

“So, is something going on with her?”

“Yeah, today I’m here with a warning, or information, something like that.”

“I think whichever one of those it is will change the meaning,” I say.

“Whichever you’d like to take it as depends on you. First, I told you that she hasn’t learned a single spell. Her wish when she came here was to be pretty, and she doesn’t have an ounce of fight in her. I’ve granted a lot of wishes, but I still don’t understand how humans think.”

“Huh....”

Excluding any case where people knew they could wish for multiple things like I did, if you could only wish for one thing and you were going somewhere dangerous, would someone actually be okay with wishing for that?

No, it’s not my business anyways.

“Separate from the fact that she hasn’t learned any magic and is only being protected there, she’s been doing whatever she wants in the castle. Not only has the Second Prince been fawning over her, but a Savior who has powerful magical abilities but hasn’t learned any spells is too much for the castle, and it’s not like they can hand her over to another country,” God continues.

I wonder if the reason Ill has been so tired is because of that Savior.

I feel a chill go down my spine.

“She was an only child born to a rich couple who had been wanting a child, so in her old world she was doted on and generally listened to her parents. That’s why she hates having to put up with anything she doesn’t like.”

“If she were rich, it seems more likely that she’d put more effort into being educated.”

“Well, that depends on the person.”

God placed his cup on the counter and sighed before smiling wryly.

He leaned his head onto his hand and looked at me with a seemingly pleasant expression, but he also seemed troubled.

“I mentioned it before, but as long as a Savior is in this world, balance will be maintained. I don’t know about those around her, but I generally don’t care how Saviors spend their time as long as this world’s balance is maintained. But she’s being far too selfish. I’ve sent plenty of Saviors to this world before, but this is the first time I’ve seen a Savior so unwilling to learn magic.”

You should have a little consideration for those around her.

Although as someone who’s also not working as a Savior, it’s not my place to say.

No, if I look at it from this God’s perspective, I’d probably end up in the ‘working’ category.

“While there is the fact that she got anything she wanted while growing up in her old world, it seems that somehow because of that, things are starting to head in a strange direction.”

“A strange direction?”

“First, there’s the fact that the Second Prince is head over heels for her, which could be either that he’s just taken with her herself, or that he’s drunk on some very strong magic. There’s never been any case of someone being drunk on magic for a Savior before, but that Prince is very susceptible. It could be that the appearance she wished for is having an effect on him similar to charm magic. It’s most likely because that Prince is approving of her that she’s being tolerated, but....”

He looks at me, and I falter slightly as I return his gaze.

“You’ve learned quite a bit of magic, haven’t you.”

“Huh? Well, it’s fun to learn something that didn’t exist in my world. That and it’s convenient.”

“All the other Saviors until now have been like that too. Whether they want to save the world, learn Great Magic, or simply because they’re interested, no matter the reason everyone’s learned at least one spell. Do you know that magic is influenced by the user’s mind?”

“Yes, I know that.”

“Frankly speaking, what I’m concerned about is this Savior losing control of her magic.”

“Losing control of her magic?”

I don’t like the sound of that.

God’s serious air and expression only encourage that feeling of dread.

“Normally, by using smaller spells like you have, you gain more control over even the Savior’s most powerful magic. Even without that, a reasonable person would try to restrain their magic. But the Savior at the castle doesn’t have the reason to control herself. If she hates something, she won’t do it no matter what the situation is. A mind like that and powerful magic she can’t control. If something happens and she loses control of herself, she’ll lose control of her magic as well. And when powerful magic goes out of control, there’s only one outcome.”

God stared straight at me, gaze unwavering, and I somehow understood what he wanted to say.

His expression didn’t budge even as my face froze.

“It’s happened once before, though it wasn’t over something as trivial as this. But the scale of damage was the same. If a Savior’s magic goes out of control, it’ll cause a catastrophe capable of blowing away an entire country.”

Unable to think of a response, God and I stared at each other.

The music that always builds the peaceful atmosphere of the café played in a space that had gone cold.

“...are you going to leave that dangerous girl here as a Savior?”

“If I could return anyone to their old world at will, I would have sent you back when you were being so difficult. In any case, right now this is all hypothetical. The only times I could retrieve a human I had sent to this world would be if that human has died or if they have caused grave harm to this world. If nothing happens, I can’t do anything.”

“I don’t know how ‘retrieving’ works, but hasn’t she caused quite enough damage to the people at the castle?”

“I told you, no matter what a Savior does here, as long as the world’s balance is maintained it doesn’t matter. But if the world were to be destroyed because of the selfishness of a Savior, then I’ll have failed to recognize what’s actually important. Let’s see, for instance, if someone powerful borrowed the power of a Savior to try to unite the world and started a war, I wouldn’t get involved. Of course, if it were at a level that the world would go to ruin, I would consider doing something. But if a Savior themself tried to bend the world to their will and destroyed it, then there is no question that I would retrieve that Savior. I can only do what I like here so far as it is relevant to me as the head of it.”

“So you’re saying you dragged us here, but you can’t give that same power to the people in this world?”

“That’s about right. It may sound cold, but I intend to grant wishes for everyone who is brought here. Along with that, Saviors here are celebrated just for existing, and while I keep watch over the Saviors that are brought here, as of now there haven’t been any Saviors who have been sorely inconvenienced in their lives either. I think it’s an extraordinary response.”

“If you would exhaust yourself granting wishes for everyone else like you did for me, then I might feel that way.”

“Yeah, that’s the first time I’ve gotten tired just from granting someone’s wishes.”

I let out a small breath at the feeling that the cold air in the café had dissipated with God’s wry smile.

Despite intending to land in a peaceful country, it seems that a Savior from the same world as mine has made this country dangerous.

Ill’s face appears in my head.

I don’t want this place to disappear.

“Can you really not retrieve her or do anything else about her?”

“Right now, there is nothing I can do. But, let’s see, if for example her magic went out of control but you were able to contain it with your barrier magic, then it would be possible for me to retrieve her without the country being destroyed. Even if the country was ultimately saved, it would mean she had still nearly destroyed it.”

Across the ocunter, God smirked.

When I first met him, I felt that he might not be a very good person, and now it certainly seems like I was right.

He seems kind but is cold, different from humans, like the kind of God you see in stories.

“So you’re telling me to stop her?”

“No, I’m not saying that. A disaster is only a possibility, but even if it happens then whatever you decide to do is your choice. This isn’t something I can force you to do.”

I was silent.

“I told you, this can be a warning or information.”

God’s eyes were completely serious.

In other words, there’s a fair chance of it happening.

After worrying for a moment, I figured that if I asked a question now, God would probably answer me.

“I wanted to ask, if two Saviors use their magic against each other, who would win?”

“Who?”

“Saviors have the most magic in this world, right? If two people with the same amount of magic, say, if that other Savior uses offensive Great Magic. If I try to defend with my Great Barrier Magic, who would win?”

“There are a lot of factors involved, so I can’t say for certain, but I think in the end both types of magic will disappear simultaneously. The offensive magic will lose it’s effect, and the barrier will also disappear.”

“In that case, then as the person who’s putting up a barrier, I have the advantage, right? The barrier will disappear, but the offensive magic I wanted to defend against will disappear too.”

“Yeah, and what’s more, if you’re up against her, then from the moment you learned to control your magic, you’ve been at an advantage. Learning magic has both increased your total magic and improved your ability to control it, so the barrier might stay up instead of disappearing. At that point, as long as it doesn’t take another hit from a Savior, the barrier will probably hold for some decades.”

“I see....”

“Like I said, whatever you decide is your choice. You should live as you like. If it goes too far, I might warn another Savior like I have with you. Well, it shouldn’t be a problem for you.”

Having said that, he finished his coffee and stood up, at the same time as the music played to alert me of a customer.

It felt a little early, but not so much that it was a surprise for Ill to arrive.

Entering the café like usual, Ill’s eyes widened at the sight of a customer besides himself.

Oh right, there haven’t ever been customers besides himself before.

Speaking of God, he looked between Ill and myself before letting out an interested, “Oh?”

Then he said to me, “I’ll be off now. Well, if you need anything then just call me. I just came to talk this time.”

“Oh, yeah. Thanks.”

God waves, saying, “See you,” as he walks towards Ill, stopping once beside him before slipping past.

I feel like I was just given some pretty dangerous information.

I hope that doesn’t turn into something troublesome.

Ill lets out a sigh, still standing in the doorway and watching God leave, and I call out to him.

“Welcome, it’s cold out, you should come inside.”

“O-oh, yeah.”

“What a surprise, huh? No one besides you has come to this café until now.”

Although I don’t know if he really counts as a visitor.

“...yeah, was he, um, someone you know?”

“Well, he helped me out before.”

Normally the conversation would end there, but the way Ill was looking at me made it seem like he was waiting for me to continue.

Wondering how to explain, I remember the backstory I had decided on before coming here.

It’s a little difficult to talk about, but if I include things about my actual past, he probably won’t question it.

“I’m...originally from a village that burned down during the war. My parents passed away early on, and I was raised by my grandparents, but they’re both gone too. They passed away when I had already begun working, and they left me quite a bit, so I didn’t have any trouble living on my own, but ultimately during the war, the village burned down and I was the only one who survived. The man who just left was the one who helped me set up this café after that.”

By the way, most of that was true.

The fact that my parents passed away when I was young, and that I was raised by my grandparents until I was of age, and that they left me an inheritance so I didn’t have much trouble, that was the past from my old world.

God is the one who gave me this café, so I didn’t say anything false there.

“I, see....”

He hangs his head from having unintentionally touched upon a difficult subject, a bit flustered.

Honestly, my grandparents passed away after I had become independent, and because of their age, they passed away peacefully, so it wasn’t much of a shock.

The atmosphere felt a little tense after explaining, so I passed him the menu to change the topic.

“It’s nothing to worry about, my life now is very full.”

He took the menu and I nudged him towards a seat, and finally I felt the atmosphere return to normal.

I still have to think about the Savior at the castle, but for now I want to focus on spending time with Ill like usual.

As of now, nothing’s actually happened.

Even Ill, who seemed a little awkward, was acting normally by the time I brought him his food.

After he had finished eating and some time had passed, it looked like he had finished his first book and was going to pick up a second one as he walked towards the bookshelf, but then was reminded of something and came towards me instead.

“Do you have a moment?”

“What is it? Did you want to eat something else?”

“No, actually, today we had some vendors at the castle. I don’t know if it’s to your liking, but you’re always taking care of me here, so could I give you this?”

As he said that, he offered me a neatly wrapped box about the size of the palm of my hand.

“Oh, you don’t have to....”

“I wanted to.”

“...then, thank you.”

I carefully take the box, and it’s light.

I like the neat wrapping, it’s a design that makes me want to hold onto it.

“Um, I’ve never given a gift to a woman before, so I hope you like it.”

My heart beats at his shy smile, and I ask if I can open it before touching the wrapping paper.

I want to see what’s inside, but it feels like more than I deserve, so I open it carefully.

After all, this is the first time I’ve ever received a gift from a man.

My history with love only extends to being swept along by the flow and dating when I was in school a little bit, and since I started working, I’ve been too busy to even think of finding a boyfriend or anything.

Not including the fact that it isn’t high on my list of priorities in the first place, as I can’t imagine giving up my time to read books to spend it with a partner instead.

No, why am I thinking about love, it’s just a present, the thought passes across my mind as I open the wrapping and the box inside it.

A simple hair-tie with a larger white flower attached to it sits inside.

This flower looks similar to a lily, but I’ve never seen it before, maybe it’s a flower from this world?

It’s not flashy, so it looks like something I can use everyday, and it’s a design that wouldn’t be strange for someone of my age to wear.

Frankly, I love it.

“Wow, it’s so cute. Can I really keep this?”

“Yeah, I’m glad you like it.”

“Yeah, I really like this kind of design. I’ll take care of it, thank you.”

I know I’m getting really excited, but I’m happy about this.

It feels really nice to have someone pick something out just for you.

Upon noticing that Ill was smiling happily in front of me, I felt strangely embarrassed.

It felt like all of the coldness in the air after that conversation with God had suddenly cleared up, and I gently clasped my hands around the hair-tie.

The next morning, not because God told me to, I decide to go look around the town, and pull out a stone I had learned about that acts as an intermediary for teleportation magic.

Apparently without this stone, I wouldn’t be able to use teleportation magic, so I summoned it yesterday with my pendant.

This pendant can summon anything and everything, but that doesn’t mean it’ll suit all my needs.

Apparently with teleportation magic, I have to use my magic to set my destination, so even if I’ve summoned the intermediary stone, I need to use my own magic to set it up.

It seems there are specific rules, so even though I was able to summon the fireplace with magic in it, I can’t do that with this.

As of now, I haven’t been particularly inconvenienced, so I don’t pay it much mind.

Looking at the map of the town, it looked like there were a few shops lined up near the entrance, so I decided to survey the situation over there briefly before coming back home, and squeezed the stone.

My destination is in the shadows of a subdued building a little distance away from the entrance to that town.

Ill will be here in the afternoon, so I should make sure to be back early.

If I see something interesting, I can always go back later.

Since I’m going out for the first time, I tie my hair with the hair-tie Ill gave me yesterday, and check that I have my wallet just in case.

The money inside it is money Ill paid me at the café, which leaves me with a strange feeling.

Not only do I have no intention of summoning money just for fun, but I also don’t have plans to go shopping much, so even though my prices are low, since Ill always comes here I have more than enough.

Despite being able to summon anything I want, summoning money seems somewhat unfair to the other people of this world, so I probably won’t do it unless I have no other choice.

When I put some magic into the stone, it glows a little, and after a momentary feeling of weightlessness, I realize I’m in the shadow of a building I don’t recognize.

I’m wearing snow boots and a cloak to keep me warm, but it’s definitely colder out here.

Even so, I’m excited upon hearing people other than Ill and myself talking for the first time in a while, and about the various things I see as I approach.

Rather than a shopping street, it’s composed of really only just a few stores, and all of them seem to be selling daily necessities.

Out of all of them, one store seems to have hand-crafted items, and I enter that store.

“Welcome.”

It’s been awhile since I’ve heard that from someone else, I think as I decide to look around for some cloth that might be good for making book covers, and go to the fabric corner to compare several different types.

Near the register, a shop clerk and a customer were talking, but perhaps because I came in, they began speaking in hushed tones.

Within their whispering, I heard the word ‘Savior,’ and I jumped.

Luckily, no one seemed to be paying attention, but it didn’t look like the conversation the two were having was a particularly good one.

I hear words like ‘at the castle,’ and I realize they must be talking about the other Savior, and haven’t found out about me.

Feeling somewhat uncomfortable, I selected a few fabrics and took them to pay and quickly left the store.

Perhaps because I had just stepped out of a store with heating magic, it felt even colder than before.

I watch where the breath from my sigh was visible in the cold air, and realize that there’s someone I recognize in that direction.

Black hair with some white snowflakes in it and a sword at his hip, from what I could hear, the tone of his low voice sounded colder than what I normally heard in the café.

It’s Ill, I realized, and my mood brightened.

I wonder if he’s doing work for the Knights right now, I think, as Ill, who was wearing a cloak to protect himself from the snow over his uniform, gave some orders to his subordinates.

This is the first time I’ve seen Ill as the Knight Captain.

His eyes, more sharply narrowed than in the café, were honestly very handsome.

I’m glad I came to the town at this time today, I think, a smile breaking out onto my face.

If something like this hadn’t happened, I probably wouldn’t have been able to see him working.

I can’t interrupt him while he’s working, so I’ll just wave to him if he notices me.

I watch him as I think that, only to see him turn as though someone behind had called to him, and I can no longer see his face.

Oh well, I think, slightly disappointed, before stiffening at the sight of the person who came running up to Ill.

...what a beautiful woman.

With skin as white as snow, and hair almost just as light.

The people in this country seem to generally have light skin, and I’m jealous.

I can’t see Ill’s face, but their conversation continues.

I only know the Ill that comes to my café.

But of course he would have plenty of other acquaintances outside of my café.

What is this...uncomfortable feeling.

I gently pull my hand to my chest.

My high spirits from earlier have dropped into this lonely feeling.

But this too is only for a moment, as the woman soon leaves Ill’s side, running back to a man in a Knight’s uniform farther away.

Next to the man is a little girl that looks just like the woman.

As she returns, they hug her happily.

No matter how you look at it, they’re clearly a family.

“I guess I was jumping to conclusions....”

I pressed my hands to my face, feeling my cheeks heat up in embarrassment.

I hear the little girl yell something, and from it I learn that the woman was greeting Ill as the Captain on her way to meet her husband who was also a Knight.

That makes me even more embarrassed with myself.

No, why did I even feel like that in the first place?

Those certainly aren’t feelings you have upon seeing a friend.

“...wait, wait a minute,” I whisper in a voice so small and pathetic it barely made a sound.

Earlier when Ill was talking to the men that I assume are his subordinates, I didn’t think anything of it.

It was only when it was a woman he was talking to that I got this lonely feeling, there’s no way not to know what this feeling is.

The only person I know in a world of people I’ve never met before.

The person I spend time together with almost every day, and share the same hobbies with to talk about.

The person who I am now giving up my reading time to dedicate it to studying magic to help, despite never wanting to give up my reading time or do anything for someone else until now.

“No way.”

After all, this kind of feeling has never happened to me before.

A worry big enough to make me forget all my other worries until now.

I’m silent for a moment, before I lightly hit my cheeks with both of my hands and sigh.

Just calm down, it won’t help to rush right now.

Once I get home and clear my head, I’ll think about it.

It’s far too early to get an answer.

I leave it at that, my heart calming down, only to see that Ill has turned around and is looking at me.

His eyes that have been on guard until now widen a bit.

Good thing he turned around after I calmed down, I think, smiling and giving him a small wave.

...I wonder if I’m smiling properly.

I watched Ill return my smile, and I mouthed, ‘See you later,’ before turning on my heel and beginning to walk towards the path that stretches out behind me.

I reached the shadow of the building where I had originally used teleportation magic to arrive.

That’s where I was intending to return to the café from.

“Tsukina.”

“Huh, Ill?”

What I hadn’t calculated for was Ill following after me.

Even so, my mind that I was able to compose fortunately didn’t fall apart.

We were a short distance away from where we were before, so I didn’t see anyone else nearby, but from what I could see of the knights in the distance, they were looking over here surprised.

“Aren’t you in the middle of work?”

“We’re patrolling the town, but right now we’re switching shifts. The next shift is running late, so we’re a little disorganized handing it over to them. I’m already on my break now though.”

“Oh, I see.”

“Are you shopping?”

“Yeah, I don’t come to town often but I happened to today. Usually I stay in the café.”

“I see, certainly with the collection of books that you have, it’s hard to want to leave.”

As Ill agreed, his gaze moved to the side of my face, and a light smile appeared on his face.

“You’re wearing it,” he says.

“Yeah, it’s easy to put on and it’s cute, so I like it. Thanks,” I say as I touch the hair-tie that he’s looking at, trying to hide my embarrassment.

If he’s going to be this happy that I’m wearing it, then I’m glad I wore it today.

“Tsukina, how did you get here? You don’t have a horse, right?”

“I used teleportation magic. Although I’m on my way out.”

I show him the intermediary stone, and after a moment of surprise, he smiled wryly with understanding.

After a moment, the atmosphere changes to a somewhat serious one.

“I think that’s fine then, but try not to take too many detours on your way back.”

“I’m planning to go straight home, but did something happen?”

In response to my question, he looks around, seemingly concerned, before leaning in a little and replying in a quiet voice.

“We haven’t told anyone, but there have been more reports of monsters showing up in places they don’t normally. It was in a place unrelated from here, but it’s certain that they’re moving differently. It’s better safe than sorry, and you don’t have any way of attacking, right? So you should probably avoid any walking around in the forest alone for now.”

At first I was flustered with Ill’s face and voice so close to me for a moment, but then I felt a cold chill in my heart at his words.

With my quiet lifestyle, it was easy to forget, but this place was still far more dangerous than my old world.

“Okay, thank you. Do you think you’ll be able to come to the café today?”

“Yeah, I’ll be there at the normal time.”

“Then I’ll be waiting. Good luck with work. You be careful too.”

“Yeah, I’ll see you after then.”

Despite being on break, Ill probably wasn’t able to go very far, but he came over to talk to me, which I thought about happily as I watched him return to the other knights.

Seeing a blond man run over to Ill and begin talking to him with so much energy, something seemed strange, but as soon as Ill showed him his watch, the energy of the other man went away and he became serious.

The two of them talked seriously, looking at their watches.

Ill said the next shift was late, so maybe that’s what they’re talking about, or maybe it’s about the monsters.

I feel a little bad for interrupting already, so this time I make sure to go into the shadows of the building and activate my teleportation magic.

Who’s that man Tsukina’s talking to?

Gently touching the gift I bought for her in my pocket, I look back at the man in the café who’s looking at me.

I had just opened the door as usual after rushing here with the gift I plan to give her in hand and leaving my horse to run around in the paddock she loves.

I had no doubts that our space in the café was filled.

Upon opening the door, two pairs of eyes looked towards me -- her and another man.

He seemed to be on his way out, having just stood up from his seat at the counter, and he told her to call him if she needs anything, before walking towards the doorway I was in.

He seems around the same age as me, until now there hasn’t been anyone else here but me.

I wonder if he’s close with her, I thought, noticing how casually Tsukina was speaking with him.

Maybe he’s actually been coming in the mornings when I’m not here.

An indescribable feeling spreads through my chest.

I only got to know her recently, of course she has a past here.

It’s obvious that there are other people she’s close with that I don’t know.

“At our age, almost everyone already has a partner,” Beork’s words echo in the back of my mind.

My mind hazy, the man moves to pass by me to exit the café.

I step to the side and as he walks past, he whispers to me quietly enough that Tsukina won’t hear.

“If you want that girl, you should make a move. I’d welcome more reasons for her to get attached to this place.”

I turned around unconsciously, only to watch him walk out without turning back.

Want?

Her?

Me?

My disorganized thoughts were quieted by her calling out to me.

I asked her if that man was an acquaintance of hers, to which the answer was a completely unexpected story of her past, which made me feel bad for asking.

I didn’t know she was an orphan.

She said there isn’t anyone left from her village, so I wonder where she met that man.

I wonder why he helped her set up this café.

It was a difficult question, so I couldn’t bring myself to ask her, ultimately leaving me with a feeling of uncertainty.

Even when I began reading my book, I wasn’t able to focus, so I read significantly less than usual.

Once I realized I hadn’t processed anything, I reread the same part, before deciding to leave it unfinished and closing my book.

I let my mind wander only for that man’s words to echo in my head.

I certainly won’t be getting anything out of reading now, I’ll need to borrow this book another day.

As I thought that, I stood up, taking the book in my hand back to the shelf.

Should I pick a different book...? Though I get the feeling I won’t be able to concentrate.

As I stood in front of the bookshelf thinking, I remembered what I had brought.

The hair-tie I had intended to give Tsukina, that until I arrived was the only thing on my mind.

I looked over to her sitting at the counter, where she was reading just like usual.

Hesitating for a minute, I took out the gift I had brought and walked over to her.

I wonder why I’m so nervous over just giving her a gift.

She asked if I wanted to order something else when I offered her the gift, and she took it uncertainly.

Watching her open it carefully, I feel more nervous than I’ve ever felt before, even at a subjugation.

I was tremendously relieved when she seemed to like it and smiled at me, saying she’d take care of it.

That was when I finally felt the usual calmness throughout my entire body.

I watched her clasp the hair-tie in her hands happily, and I was glad that I’d picked it out myself.

The next day, as we were patrolling the town, I got a less-than-pleasing report from one of my subordinates.

It was a monster sighting in an unusual location.

Maybe it was a good thing we reinforced our patrols, I thought as I waited for Beork to show up with the next shift, but even as it approached time for my unit to take a break, he hadn’t shown up.

After receiving a report that the next shift would be a little late, I decided to take my break, leaving only a few members to keep watch since I was going to stay in sight.

One of my subordinates’ wife had come up to say hello, and I greeted her before turning around to meet eyes with Tsukina, standing a short distance away and looking at me.

It surprised me, and she smiled at me and gave me a small wave.

I felt the usual tenseness from being on guard at work suddenly lighten up, and I smiled back at her.

Good thing I’m on break.

I see her mouth ‘See you later’ to me and turn to leave, and after checking if I have a little time to talk, I tell one of my subordinates nearby that I’ll be right back and I follow her.

When I call out to her, she turns back to me, surprised, and when I see her smile, I feel the same calmness, almost as if I’m in the café with her.

Along with that, she’s wearing the hair-tie I gave her yesterday in her hair.

Remembering that uneasy feeling yesterday, this happiness far exceeds that.

I didn’t realize that seeing her wear something I gave her would make me this happy, and that hearing her tell me she likes it would make me even happier.

I have to return to the castle during my break, and once I do, the Savior girl will probably be causing more trouble.

It was just as I was thinking along those lines, my stomach beginning to hurt, that it feels like I was saved by this surprise.

Even though I’m on break now, since the next shift hasn’t arrived yet, as the Captain I shouldn’t stray too far.

Tsukina tells me she’ll be waiting for me at the café and we part ways, and as I return to where I was before, I see Beork running over with a tremendous amount of energy.

It’s strange to me that my other subordinates are looking at me too, but I watch Beork stop right in front of me, out of breath as I tell him, “You didn’t have to rush like that.”

“You, you were, just, just now, with....”

Being overwhelmed by Beork’s energy as he tries to tell me something, despite being so out of breath, I remember the report I received earlier and take out my watch.

“Beork, we got a report.”

“A, a report?”

I bring up a map from the compass on the side of my watch and point at a specific place.

“A monster was spotted here.”

“Huh?”

Beork, who had been cloaked in a joking air until now immediately straightened up and looked at the location I had pointed to.

It’s a place where monsters would usually never be seen.

“A big one?”

“No, it was small. But it might be a good idea to investigate there. I’ll go to the castle to report and get permission to investigate. After my subordinates finish their break, can you take charge of them?”

“Yeah, got it. Sorry I was late. It looks like there was a small snowslide, so I got a report of that.”

“A snowslide?”

“Yeah, maybe it’s related. It was here.”

Beork uses his magic to put a marker on the map that’s up in front of us.

It’s a place that would usually never have anything like a snowslide.

“I’ll report that too,” I say.

“Yeah, thanks.”

I leave the rest to him and get on my horse, heading towards the castle.

It seems I can no longer just say I don’t want to go.

Depending on the results of the investigation, if it turns into a subjugation, I might not be able to go to Tsukina’s café for several days.

I hurried to the castle, feeling disappointed about the possibility.

Translation Notes:

“you don’t need to be so formal with me”: I made a TL note about this in chapter 4, but essentially here, Tsukina was using polite language (God was not) and he told her she doesn’t need to use polite language with him, and so she switches to casual language (this is also part of why Ill comments later that the two of them were speaking so casually and wonders if they know each other)

[violetnotez]

Izuku x reader

⤷ Genre: Fluff, Barista AU!

⤷ Word Count: 7000+

⤷ Warnings: FLUFF (and maybe some second hand embarrassment!)

⤷ Synopsis: As your getting your morning coffee fix from a new cafe, your pleasantly meet with an extremely cute barista. Too bad he heard your name wrong though.

Song Recs: ⤷Sweater Weather-The Neighbourhood ⤷I Dont Know Why-NOTD ⤷Touch and Go-Ed Sheeran

This is for the Izuku Month! PLs go and check out the awesome writers participating for this month!

Please ignore all my banners being 20 different sizes I can’t figure out which size I like best 😂

You stepped into the shop, the warm smell of spices and coffee beans filling the air. It felt so warm and cozy, the whirring of the machines going on in the background as you breathed out a deep sigh.

It was one of your first days off in what seemed like an extremely long time, so you thought it would only be fitting to do some exploring today. You had always wanted to try this coffee shop, as it was acclaimed for its signature “Hero Themed” Lattes, so of course you had to at least try one.

The line was fairly long, as any popular cafe would be in the morning, people bustling to get their caffeine fix before they did their daily routine.

You got a spot in line, opening up the cafe’s Instagram page to look at all the wonderful options. Everything looked so yummy and delicious, your mouth salivating at each picture posted. Your eyes were glued to the screen, your feet only moving once you felt the body in front of you inch forward.

It didn’t take long for a chirpy voice to call in front of you, a welcoming “Next Please!” ringing against your ear. You looked up, your mind finally deciding on what drink you wanted- until your eyes landed on quite possibly the prettiest boy you had ever seen.

His hair was unruly and curly, a mixture of greens cascading across his face. His eyes complimented his hair so well, the bright emerald orbs full of happiness and kindness. He was just adorable, his pearly white smile aimed straight at you, not a hit of worry amidst the chaos around him from the morning rush.

You gave him a meek smile, your cheeks on fire-god, how were you gonna order and not be completely flustered? This boy was literally gorgeous!

Your feet took you to the counter as you clutched your phone with shaky hands.

“Hi miss, what can I getcha?” He asked sweetly, his hands grabbing a cup. A Sharpie was posed in his fingers, waiting to start writing down exactly what you wanted to order. After being blessed with this beautiful specimen of a man in front of you, you completely forgot what you wanted to drink.

You hastily looked at the menu above your head, searching for the coffee you had planned to ask for. Nothing seemed right, and you were cursing yourself for looking so clueless. 

This poor guy was probably already super busy, and you were now holding him up!

“Having some trouble?” He asked, noticing your obvious dilemma.

“Yeah, I’m sorry,” you apologized, your lips shaped in a soft smile, “I kinda forgot what I wanted to order!”

“Oh no worries, really, I totally understand!” he grinned, “the menu is pretty big!”

“Yeah, it is!” you chuckled lightly, your cheeks feeling warm. “What do you recommend?”

The boy smiled at you, your heart swooning. God, how could he be so pretty!!

Wait-did he have freckles?!? The faint specks sparkled against his pinkish cheeks, making you fall for the boy even more. You had barely talked to this boy for 2 minutes and you were already head over heels.

He seemingly didn’t notice your heart pained crisis, his eyes bright as ever.

“Oh, everything on the menu is amazing! The Hawks latte is quite nice, it’s very light and airy-as well as the Endeavor, but it has cinnamon and gives it a pretty good kick-” he began rambling on about the drinks, his eyes brightening just talking about them. You couldn't fathom how he could talk so fast, the words melding into one as he listed off the most popular drinks.

His voice was melodic though, so soft and calming-yet so excited too. His voice could make calculus interesting to you.

“-but my personal favorite is the All Might drink,” he blushed slightly, his face clearly a little embarrassed as he relayed this information to you.

You grinned at his adorable expression, noticing the small All Might pin he had neatly stuck into the front of his apron.

“You're an All Might fan I’m assuming?” You noted, your voice amused and kind as you pointed at the enamel pin.

He touched the front of his apron, looking down as he tried to follow your line of eyesight.

“Oh-oh yeah!” He smiled brightly once he realized what you were referring to, “ever since I was a kid, he’s always been my favorite!”

He beamed at you, his voice stuttering slightly.

He was so adorable and  a nerd too? God, you could marry him on the spot. 

You grinned at him, flashing the back of your phone case and revealing the All Might pop socket in the back.

His eyes widened like saucers in shock, his smile growing even wider as he laid eyes on the fan merch.

“I might be an All Might fan myself,” you admitted, your heart thumping in your chest.

“Then you have to try the All Might latte!” He exclaimed, “If-if you want to try it of course..”

“I’m down!” You smiled brightly, watching how his face light up when you agreed as he hastily wrote down the drink order on the side of the cup.

“Can I-I get your name?” He stuttered slightly, his eyes wide and doe-like.

His hand holding the Sharpie was hovering over the cup, watching you with expectant eyes. You took a small breath, your words about to spill out of your mouth-until an extremely loud blender erupted in noise behind the counter.

“It’s y/n,” you tried to yell over the sounds, feeling a little bit of awkwardness fill your stomach as he cocked his head to the side, obviously confused.

He opened his mouth, words dribbling out but nothing being heard as the machine continued to whir on.

You internally cursed that damn thing for ruining the cute moment you had with this hot barista, your cheeks aflame as you nodded numbly to his question.

Whatever he asked couldn’t matter that much-right?

He smiled widely, accepting your answer as he hastily wrote your name on the side of the cup and told you the price of the drink. You quickly paid, your eyes drinking him in one last time-he was just so cute and adorable, you wanted to permanently get each detail of his emblazed into your memory.

He handed you your receipt and change back to you, his grin as wide as ever.

“My name is Izuku-Izuku Midoriya,” he added, his cheeks warm and his voice stuttering slightly, “just in case if you need anything else!”

You giggled softly, a little confused by his comment but nevertheless ecstatic by it.

His name! It was so unique, yet so innocent sounding and kind, you couldn’t help but feel your heart soar at the sound.

“Thank you Izuku,” you waved him politely, your heart pumping as you found an empty table to sit and wait for your drink. Your arms rested on the cool surface, the chair squeaking slightly as you shifted in a comfortable position. The machines continued to whir, the sounds of multiple conversations cascading throughout the small space. You began going through your social media, trying to suppress the wide smile that was trying to blossom over your face. You had just met the cutest guy ever- and weren't even trying! It almost felt so surreal, as if this moment was too good to be true.

“MIru!”

You began to hear his voice repeating a name, calling out for a customer to get their drink. You continued to look down at your phone, a small part of you saddened that it wasn't your name he was calling out.

“Uh-Miru?”

He continued to call out that same name, his voice getting a little louder each time. He almost sounded worried, hesitant even, as if he was confused about what was going on.

Thats weird- that person should have gotten their drink by now, you thought vaguely, noticing people were beginning to notice his voice as well.

“Wait, why are they looking at me?” you wondered, A small ounce of panic filling your stomach, making it feel heavy like lead as you finally looked around. 

A few customers were giving you strange looks, your head swiveling now to look at Izuku.

Wait- why is he looking at me? You thought in horror, your eyes meeting the kind, emerald orbs of Izuku’s. He looked relieved once you finally made eye contact with him, a bright smile blossoming under those freckled cheeks of his. He gave a tentative wave, motioning for you to come over.

Well thats weird-the name he was calling out wasnt even close to yours-

You got up anyway, unable to disobey the kind eyes of Izuku. You pushed your chair under the table, the legs squeaking against the shiny floor as you shuffled your way to the counter.

“Hi again!” he said cheerfully, his voice shy and sweet against your ears. ‘Its-Miru, right?”

Oh no-wait-

You finally put two and two together, a horrible realization bursting inside you- 

he heard your name wrong.

Oh crap, why did this have to happen to you? How did he hear get your name that bad?? 

 You finally meet a nice guy, someone actually genuine and kind, you hit off of, and bam-something comes to screw it all up.

In this case-an obnoxiously loud blender turned on at just the worst time.

You licked your lips, your mouth parting slightly to tell him, no, in fact, that was not your name-

But you looked again at that charming face of Izuku’s, his expressions glazed with innocence and nerves as he waited expectantly for your answer. The poor guy had called out this random name for a 2 whole minutes, probably feeling so idiotic as he waited for you to come and get your drink. Your cheeks burned at the thought, feeling embarrassed for both you and him. He must have felt so awkward standing there, just staring at you in confusion as he called out your “name” and you not even moving a muscle! If you told him he had gotten your name completely wrong, he would feel even worse about the whole situation, most likely feeling extremely embarrassed for something that wasnt even his fault.

You didnt want to make him feel anymore nervous or awkward than he already felt-you decided to swallow your pride, your head meekly nodding in a “Yes.”

His face immediately light up, obvious relief flooding his expression.

“Oh, thats great!” he exclaimed, a nervous chuckle spilling from his lips, “for a second there, I thought I was saying your name wrong…”

“Yeah, imagine how embarrassing that would be,” you said, your voice hesitant as you gave him a nervous smile.

Oh, if he only knew.

“I-uh-I don't when you'll be able to come back, but-but I have some pro hero collectibles I'd really like to show you-of course, only if you're interested!” the poor boy was stuttering again, his words melding into one.”IknowyourprobablyreallybusyandIdon'twanttopressureyouitsjustIvenevermetagirlwholikeheroessomuch-”

You laughed sweetly at the boy’s obvious dilemma, his speech beginning to quicken at an ungodly rate as his cheeks blossomed adorably with red.

“You're a talker, aren't ya?” you said between giggles, your hand grabbing the drink from his. Your fingers brushed against each other momentarily, your heart quickening by the sudden contact.

“Id love to see them Izuku,” you gave him a small smile, his green orbs widening slightly and then scrunch up into a bright, nervous grin  as he scratched the back of his neck.

“Can you come in on Tuesday-at 8? I know thats a little early but we aren't very busy then-”

You looked up, your teeth catching your lip as you thought over your schedule, the drink beginning to chill your palm.

“Thats sounds perfect, Ill see you on Tuesday, then,” you gave the boy a small smile, your eyes glinting mischievously, “Ill bring my signed All Might poster with me too-”

“A WHAT?!” he practically screamed those words, his voice giddy with excitement. “THE All MIght signed your-”

“Hey, Fanboy, can you please come back- we kinda need your help right now!” A girl with pink skin and piercing yellow eyes yelled over her shoulder, both her hands occupied as she swirled whip cream over two drinks at the same time. A girl with a brown bob was taking orders at warp speed, her face clearly in distress as the line somehow got longer as you two were talking.

“Oh-uh-of course Mina, Ill be right there!” he yelled back, his shyness returning as he gave you a small smile.

“Im sorry, I have to go-”

“No worries! I dont want to be taking more of your time,” you replied, a little bit of embarrassment dripping inside you as you sipped your coffee. Even though you felt guilty for talking to him for so long, you couldnt help but feel warm and fuzzy all over. He asked to to come back! This guy was so adorable you could practically scream. “Ill see you on Tuesday then?”

“Yeah-Tuesday!” he chuckled softly, “It was nice meeting up Miru.’

Oh yeah-he didnt actually know your name.

Your cheeks flushed with red , embarrassment building inside you as you remembered the miscommunication.

“Uh-uh-yeah, bye Izuku!” you hastily replied back as you walked over to the exit, making sure to keep your back to the boy as you used your shoulder to open it, a burst of chilled air hitting you.

God, your cheeks were so red- you sucked on your drink, hoping the intense coldness would cool down your face some.

It sucked that he had heard your name wrong, but the guy was too hot-you just didnt have the heart to tell him the truth then and there.

Oh well, you sighed, walking back to your car, there’s always time….

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆ ｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆ ｡･:*:･ﾟ

Next time never came.

You, of course, took Midoriya on his offer to meet up with him the next week. He had shown you pictures of his collection of hero figurines, and boy did he have a lot.

He seemed sheepish, showing you, his cheek blossoming red like a tomato, his freckles like specks of stars pecking out of a hazy sunset. He had stuttered as he held out his phone (an All Might phone case in the back of course), as he explained that he had been collecting since he was a kid.

You chuckled at his adorable demeanor- but god, he really had been collecting for years! His whole room was decked out in All mIght gear-it was quite impressive, but you had to giggle at the kid-ish nature of the room.

You, of course, had brought in the poster, which had brought tears to poor Midoriya's eyes. You would have thought he had won the lottery, his shrieks of excitement filling the empty cafe as he gushed over the signature

 It was strange to see him without a crowd of people, the stress nowhere evident in his soft complexion as he freaked out over your piece of memorabilia.

You could truly appreciate him and his beauty when he wasn’t scrambling to get orders now, his laugh bright and unapologetic, his fanboy screams squeaky yet sweet. He radiates brightness, his whole body like a ball of energy of warm sunshine.

A bright sun in the cosmos.

You were gravitated to him, unable to stop yourself to want to know more and,learn everything about him: what he liked, what he didn’t like, his favorite food, his favorite color, his aspirations in life-any and every thing that made up Izuku Midoriya you wanted to document like you were his personal biographer.

It did feel awkward that he still called you by that silly name, but you were too embarrassed at that point to even confront him about it. You had visited his shop on the same day and time for the past 2 months, pegging for the poor boy like a puppy yearning for attention. At this point, you were getting quite antsy to go out with him, but he was still so nervous around you you were afraid to screw it up.

If you told him your name was wrong, would he be too embarrassed? Would it screw up the relationship you two had created from quick interactions behind a counter? Had you catfished in some weird way by playing along with the name he had mistakenly given you?

You were overthinking it, you knew it, but you were too terrified about the possibility of losing Izuku that you sucked up your worries. You had taken the name as a nickname now, the sound coming from his lips making your ears ting red and biting your lip in embarrassment. You were dying to hear your real name play against his lips, wondering how the word would sound in his sweetly honey voice

“Here ya go, one Mirko cappuccino!” Izuku shouted sweetly, his bright teeth gleaming under the fluorescent lights and morning sun.

You smiled at the green headed boy, your hands resting on the marble. The top felt cool against your skin, the flecks of brown like confetti as it glimmered against the lights.

You watched as he shuffled from behind the counter, sliding through a small gate as he walked towards you. Your heart skipped a beat dramatically.

He rarely came out from behind the counter, but when he did, it always made your breath disappear and your eyes get wide with flusteredness. For some reason, seeing him in all his glory, from his shaggy forest hair to his well built forearms made your mouth dry as you stared into those green orbs of his.

That permanent blush still played in his cheeks, the freckles matching the glimmering countertop perfectly as he stared down at you slightly. He handed you the drink, his fingers brushing against yours gently.

You internally screamed, your heart palpitating from the feathery touch. His skin was so warm and rugged, your index brushing gently against a raised scar. You had never noticed that slight imperfection on his otherwise unblemished skin, and your mind began reeling at the possibilities to why it was there.

Just another part of Midoriya you wanted to desperately learn and selfishly document for yourself.

You wrapped your hands around the thick paper of the cup , the texture rough yet warm against your fingertips.

“Can you maybe tell me how it tastes the next time you come in?” He looked down at you with a sheepish grin, his lips plump and pink as he talked, “ I’ve never made one before and I hope I didn’t make it too strong with the cinnamon,”

You took a deep breath, trying to will yourself to calm down. You internally thanked that Izuku was pretty oblivious to any type of flirting, or he would have definitely noticed you gawking at his lips.

“Definitely!” you smiled, “I’ll think you’ll be fine though, Mirko is a pretty feisty hero. There’s not enough cinnamon in the world to match her personality,”

Izuku chuckled at your comment, his hand scratching the back of his neck. “That’s very true! She definitely is one of the more spicier drinks we have...Im still experimenting with hers to make it just right,”

You nodded with his words, taking a sip of the drink as he talked. It really was filled with spice, the slight burn of the cinnamon pleasant as it rolled down your throat.

“I’ve actually been also working on a new drink as well,”

“Oh really,” your eyes widened in curiosity, “what hero is it based off of?”

A blush creeped onto his rosy cheeks yet again, his eyes downcast as he avoided your gaze.

““It’s not a hero, actually, just-it’s-kinda- special to me-since I’ve been thinking about it for some time... if that makes sense…

“I get it,” you said, your voice reassuring, “you're just really passionate about it-Im excited to try it, anything you make is amazing!”

“Oh-oh thank you!” he chuckled at your praise, unable to stop the stutters spilling from his mouth.

“I’m-I’m not quite done with it, but next time you come… I can explain it more and let you try it if you like!”

“Of course! I’d love to,” you smiled at the greenette, blood rushing to your ears as you stared at his bright complexion.

You swallowed thickly, not sure where to look as you tried to erase the flustered expression on your face.

He was too good and pure for this world-This boy could stomp on your heart and you’d say thank you.

You shakily stepped away from him, your hands clutching the drink like an anchor as you walked yourself to the door. you waved him a small goodbye, a smile gracing your lips as your eyes drank in Izuku one last time. It was a shame you only saw him for once a week, and you made sure to burn his image into your mind to satiate you for the next few days.

“Bye ‘Zuku, Ill see you next week!”

He waved back to you, a bright grin displayed on his rosy cheeks.

“Bye!”

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆ ｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆ ｡･:*:･ﾟ

He heard the chime of the door jingle as you walked out the door, his eyes following you as you walked away from the store.

He watched you through the elongated windows of the cafe, your drink he made you in hand as he peered through the window. He did this every time you left, his neck straining as he tried to follow you, making sure you got into your car safely.

Heat rose in his cheeks, watching you walk away from him leaving a sad pit in his stomach.

He hated watching you leave, but it never stopped him from gawking at you when you go.

His breath felt tight in his chest, pure love flooding from his heart as your hair flowed delicately with your walk, his eyes trailing down to your beautiful legs-

“Hey Fanboy, you done gawking at your girlfriend,” he heard his pink skinned coworker call, her tone amused and teasing.

He jumped from where he was standing, his face erupting in red as he stumbled around his words.

“Oh-uh-hey Mina, I wasn’t doing anything I don’t know what your talking about-“

She walked around the counter, her finger pointing at him accusingly.

“Don’t lie to me mister! I know a love sick boy when I see one-and you,”

She poked her finger into his chest, her pink lemonade skin intimidatingly close to his, “are love sick.”

She threw her head back, her voice booming and bright- “You can come out Ochaco!”

The brown bob of Izuku’s other worker peaked out from the back door, her eyes wide with relief.

“Oh good! I would have felt bad if I walked in on you guys flirting-“

Izuku waved his hands frantically in front of him, his face as red as a tomato.

“We weren’t flirting I swear thatsnotwhatitwas-“

Mina laughed at the boys clear distress, her cotton candy tresses bouncing as she shook her head.

“You can’t fool us Midoriya-whenever your flustered your voice goes up like 10 octaves and you get redder than Kirishima’s hair,”

Izuku chuckled nervously as he tried to cover up his nerves as his coworker berated him. Ochaco walked over to the two, her kind aura making the air a little less thick as she looked up at Izuku with sympathy.

“It’s really sweet you like that girl so much-she seems to like you alot too,”

Mina shook her head in agreement, her canines glinting in the morning light.

“Oh definitely! Any girl that would still hang around after seeing Midoriya’s All MIght Room must be a keeper-“

“Have you gotten her number yet Midoriya?” Ochako asked, her eyes wide and curious, “Have you messaged her?”

Izuku scratched the back of his head, his eyes downcasted. He already knew the reaction he was going to get from his bubbly and sometimes feisty coworkers, and he wasn’t quite ready for their outburst.

“Oh no, well, we never exchanged numbers-“

“YOU NEVER EXCHANGED NUMBERS?!? Mina practically screamed, her yellow eyes blown huge like lemons.

“ We are in the 21st century Midoriya!” She yelled,

“Well we never quite got to-doing that-“ Izuku tried to reason, Mina clearly still flabbergasted and not impressed by his excuse

“Still-how.have.you.not. DONE THAT?!?”

Uraraka looked between the two, Mina on her tippy toes as she chewed him out, Izuku flushed with red. It was almost comical to watch, yet Uraraka felt sympathy for the poor boy who knew nothing about romance.

“Mina maybe-“ Uraraka placed a hand on the pink girl’s shoulder.

“Unbelievable!!” Mina continued, her head shaking, “I swear you live under a rock! Why haven’t you-she’s clearly into you!!”

Izuku’s eyes were like saucers, his hands shaking as he denied the girl.

“Oh no, she’s not, she can’t-were just friends, I bet she only come she only comes here for the coffee-“

Mina placed her hand on her hip, giving Ochaco a side eye look. The two girls watched the blubbering Izuku spill falsities from his lips, both quite sick of his denial

“Midoriya-,” Mina stated, her voice serious and honest, “there is no way-this girl is only ‘coming for the coffee’”

Uraraka nodded with Mina, her voice sweet like honey as she confirmed her pink friend’s words.

“You should see how she looks at you Izuku-her face lights up and her cheeks get so blushy! And whenever you talk to her her smile gets so much brighter!”

“You should see her when she looks at your behind too-“

“Mina!”

Uraraka swatted the girl playfully with her arm, earning a laugh from the pink toned girl.

“What, it’s the truth! She likes you Midoriya, she’s practically head over heels-“

Izuku listened to the two girls sheepishly, not knowing quite what to do with himself. All these weeks he had been hoping against hope you had liked him back-ever since that day he met you he felt he was destined to know you. He had never met a girl so welcoming and sweet, let alone as gorgeous as you. The fact you had accepted his quirky, nerdy side so quickly as well as were interested in his obsessions practically made his heart swoon with joy. Every week he looked forward to seeing you, counting down the minutes and seconds before he heard that welcome chime of the door announcing your arrival every Tuesday morning.

He thought about you all the time, wishing he knew what it felt like to hear your voice over the phone, to hold your hand, to see you in a pretty dress as he took you out to a nice restaurant...He was scared of rejection, and the fear you didn't like him back suffocated him, but these words from his coworkers were definitely boosting some of his confidence.

“R-really???” He stuttered, “ I-I didnt know all that…”

The two girls nodded their heads, their smiles wide as they watched their flustered coworker.

“You like her back, right?” Uraraka tilted her head, her brown strands cascading across her cheeks.

Izuku nodded his head quickly, his eyes wide and cheeks aflame.

Mina reached out, her hands latching onto Midoriya's bicep and squeezing reassuringly. “Then ask her out-Or at least get her number so the poor girl isn’t spending her money on coffee every week to just see you-“

“I-I actually was going to ask the next time she came in,”

Izuku looked to his side as the two girls gasped in awe. Uraraka let a squeal slip from her lips, her cheeks bright as ever.

“Oh Izuku that’s amazing! How were you going to ask?”

He shuffled his feet, feeling a little exposed with all the excessive attention on him. His hands began to squirm and wring together, his eyes looking to the side under his coworkers intense stares.

“Well, I-I made this new drink...and I actually made it based off of her- I’ve been writing down all the flavors she likes and doesn’t like and making a drink that’s perfect for her...,”

His coworkers were quiet-too quiet.

He looked up, a pit of fear growing in his stomach as he gazed at each of their faces, their shocked faces making him feel insecure about his plan.

“Is that-too weird??” He asked hesitantly.

The air left his chest as the two girls threw their bodies at him in a tight bear hug, their voices gushing over the boy.

“Oh Izuku that’s adorable!”

“You're such a meat head about love but thats so freaking cute!”

Ochaco and Mina were squealing, the tightness of their hug squeezing all air from his lungs. His knees locked from the sudden force, stumbling as he tried to support the two gushing girls.

“It’s was just an idea, I didn’t realize you two would like it-“ he squeaked out.

The two girls finally let go of their vice-like hug, their giggles and smiles radiating off their faces.

“We LOVE.” Mina started, her grin wide. “As women, we put our stamp of approval!”

“Really?”

“Of course! It’s honestly so adorable, I’m kinda jealous-“

As Mina was praising the blushing boy, Ochaco looked out the window, her smile slowing dropping into a tired grin.

“Uh, guys… I think we should start getting ready…”

A massive group of what seemed like 10 women in work clothing were bounding down the street, their eyes staring through the windows of the cafe as if they were already anticipating stepping inside.

Mina sighed, her face hardening as she started walking to the drink station, already prepping drink cups for the anticipated rush.

“But not as jealous as I am of that flower business that closed down last week. Get ready babes, morning rush is coming!”

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆ ｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆ ｡･:*:･ﾟ

It was finally the next week, and you were extremely excited to see Midoriya again. Even if it was only for a few minutes, just speaking to him light up your whole day and the rest of your week. 

You wished sadly you could get to see or hear from him every day, instead of every week, but you knew the boy was too nervous still to say anything about his feelings (if he did have them towards you). You were getting antsy with each passing visit to just ask him out yourself, but you were too afraid of scaring off the flustered boy. 

You weren't very keen on just letting him go though, so you decided you’d keep up this little arrangement you two had-For as long as it would take.

You opened the glass door of the cafe, a gust of cold air sweeping your lungs and the scent of coffee enveloping your nose. You took a deep breath in, willing your heart to calm down to the calming scent.

As you did every time you came, no one was inside-Midoriya really knew when the cafe was empty. You bypassed the long line, walking yourself over to the front counter.

Midoriya seemed to not have noticed your entrance, his back towards you as he hummed to the song playing softly throughout the shop. You smiled at his adorable sounds, appreciating the broadness of his back as his green tresses cascaded against his neck.

You cleared your throat slightly, smiling softly as Midoriya turned around. He jumped slightly at your sudden entrance, a soft yelp cascading out of his lips.

“Oh hey Miru!I didn’t even notice you came in!”

He chuckled as you winced slightly at the name, quickly recovering with a sheepish smile.

“Obviously” you giggled, resting your hands on the cool countertop, “ you looked like you saw a ghost!”

You gazed into his green orbs, the color sending a warm shiver along your back. They were so vibrant, so expansive, that it was like getting lost in a forest, yet you weren’t scared in the slightest. You welcomed that lost feeling, that sense of adventure to flood your systems and calm your fluttering heartbeat. 

 If you weren’t careful though, you’d get lost in those galaxies that were his eyes, forever adrift in those irises.

He smiled at you, the apples of his cheeks prominent with freckles as he gazed down at you.

“Well it’s felt so long since I last saw you!” He exclaimed, a warm hue in his cheeks.

You smiled mischievously, tilting your head at the boy. “I hardly think 5 days is a ‘long time’,”

“Well, for me it is,” Izuku stared blissfully at your face, his voice extremely soft and gentle.

Your head exploded with happy screams and alarms, feeling the heat rush to your face. He was looking at you with those doe-like eyes, like he was basking in peace with your presence next to him.God, why did he have to be so cute?

He seemed to not even notice how his comment sounded until he noticed your change in demeanor, your cheeks and ears tinged with an intense red. Once it dawned on him he had just-well-flirted with you, he became instantly flustered.

He chuckled uncontrollably, his voice going up an octave.

“I, Uh,well I mean it’s just felt like a while and I have seen you in quite a bit of time did you get a new hair cut maybe that’s what it is-“

You giggled , shaking your head. The poor boy was a stuttering mess, his tongue melding his words into one to the point you couldn’t distinguish a thing.

It always made you feel better about your flusteredness around Midoriya-no matter how nervous you felt, Midoriya always seemed to be ten times more nervous than you.

You reached across the counter, your hand tentative as your fingers laid against his.

You internally screamed in happiness-the skin feeling so comfortable and warm against your own. Your movement seemed to hush Midoriya long enough for him to stop stuttering, his Adam’s Apple bobbing as he swallowed thickly.

His cheeks were red with heat, his eyes wide as he stared at you.

“It’s fine, really,” you grinned, “5 days feels pretty long to me too.”

You let your hand rest on Midoriyas for a few more seconds, memorizing the soft texture of his skin in your own.

 It was intoxicating, he was intoxicating, and it took everything out of you to pull yourself away.

You were now outright flirting with him, even if he wasn’t intentionally flirting with you. He was fidgeting and blushing like a schoolgirl-he clearly knew you were flirting back.

 You bite your lip in fear, hoping you didn’t scare him off.

“So, Uh, you said you had a new drink?” You said awkwardly, not quite sure how to act normally after your comment, “were you able to finish it?”

Izuku perked up, a grin gracing his face as his cheeks were still on fire.

“Oh! Yeah I did actually!” He swallowed again, his hands wringing together. “Did-did you want to try it?”

“Of course!” You beamed at the boy, your heart skipping as your eyes focused on those adorable freckles. Your hand went to your wallet, already skimming for your debit card. “How much do I-“

He instantly waved his hands in front of him, stopping your search.

“Don’t worry,” he reassured your confused expression, a timid smile in his lips. “This ones on the house,”

“Oh-okay,” you thanked the boy, earning a small nod as he began to make your drink.

Whenever he made your order, he was usually so talkative, speaking about anything and everything from hero stats to college classes. Yet, for some reason the boy was extremely quiet as he crafted your drink.

It made you feel uneasy-did you scare him? You knew Izuku was pretty flustered to any type of flirting-hell, he would blush if you simply said “Good Morning.”

Maybe you make him uncomfortable? A pit grew in your stomach at the thought, not knowing quite what to do as you watched him do his work.

But he didn’t seem that on edge, right? He didn’t push your hand away, and his smiles were still genuine. Maybe he was just worried about making the drink right-

Right?

Izuku broke your train of thought as he was now standing right next to you, his chest mere inches from yours as he stared down at you with loving eyes. His hand held your drink, the coffee the color of thick honey. His fingers were fidgeting slightly, as if his nerves were taking over as he presented it to you with a sheepish grin.

You didn’t expect him to be so close, but you weren’t regretting it at all. Your heart felt tight against your chest, blood rushing to your ears as the only thing you could focus on was Midoriya’s presence so close to yours.

You cleared your throat, trying to act casual and hide your clearly obvious shock.

“For me?” You asked thickly, wincing internally at your question. 

Of course it was for you, you were the only person in this whole cafe getting coffee! 

Sometimes Midoriya could make your brain feel like mush-and you didn’t quite enjoy it.

He seemed to not notice how silly your question sounded, his head bobbing a “yes”.

“I-I hope you like it,” he smiled sweetly, handing you the drink. 

Your hands grazed yet again, your heart palpitating as you took a sip of the drink. It was cold against your dry tongue, coating it in its sugary goodness.

Your eyes were instantly went wide like saucers once the flavor enveloped your tongue-holy shit, this was good-like liquid gold.

“Oh my god, Midoriya,” you said between gulps of the amber liquid, “this is-amazing!”

He chuckled softly at your obvious praises, his hands scratching the back of his neck.

“I was hoping you’d say that….I-“ he swallowed, his face contorted in two, as if he was battling internally with something. 

You looked up, momentarily pausing your gulps as you watched the boy with concern. He took a deep breath, his face downcasted and worried as he began to speak, his voice quiet and vulnerable.

“I-I actually based it off of you, and the flavors you like. 

All these coffees are based off of heroes, people that are extremely special to my life and have been my obsession since I was a child and even now. It’s just so strange to me though, because for as long as I could remember heroes and their work were the only thing I could ever really think of. But-but there's been something that’s been taking up my thoughts, and their the only thing I can think about-I guess you could say I have a new obsession.”

You looked up at him with shocked eyes, your lips parted as you stared at him with a thumping heart.

His voice was so soft, so gentle-as if he was pouring out all his feelings in just a few breaths.

“And what's that?” You asked hesitantly, leaning into the boy as you waited for his answer. You felt your lungs taking in less air, your nerves kicking in as you searched his face.

You watched his eyes suddenly look into yours, making your heart stop and your breath hitch in your throat. You felt yourself get fully enveloped in those green orbs, the expanse of forest caught in those irises of his. 

A gulp could be heard from Izuku, his cheeks red like cherries.

“My new obsession is-is you,” he struggled with the words, his voice timid and scared.

“I love talking to you Miru, I really do-and I was wondering if maybe-we could get lunch someday?? Without coffee involved?” He chuckled a little as he tried to lighten the mood, his eyes downcasted as he avoided your gaze.

You felt like you scream-it HAPPENED??? He was finally, finally asking you out??? You felt like you could cry and laugh at the relief flooding your body, your hands itching to wrap around his neck and kiss him from giddiness.

You restrained yourself from doing that, but the huge grin enveloping your face was hard to contain.

“I’d love to Midoriya! I’m so happy you asked, Ive been wanting to go out with you for so long now-“ you giggled nervously at your confession, your hands wrapped around your drink as you cuddled it close to your chest.

Your cheeks were suddenly enveloped in red, a  realization dawning on you, 

He still didn’t know your name-well, not your real name.

“Uh-one problem though,”

Midoriya’s eyes grew wide with concern, his lashes fluttering as he blinked.

“Oh-okay…” He replied timidly, “what is it?”

You sighed, your teeth catching your bottom lip in nervousness. How could you tell him that he had been calling you the wrong name for close to 2 months now?! Embarrassment filled your stomach, your mind internally kicking you for not correcting him a long time ago.

You cleared your throat, trying to make your tone sound nonchalant.

“Well-Miru  isn’t my name. My real name is y/n”

“Wait-what?!?” Midoriya practically shrieked, his eyes wide with bewilderment. His voice went up an octave, something you noticed he did when he was completely shocked. A small chuckle escaped your lips, his face completely comical.

“Yeah, the day we met you heard my name wrong… but I was too embarrassed to say anything, so I kinda just let you keep saying it-.”

“Oh my gosh I’m so sorry y/n I didn’t realize I was being so rude if I would have known I would have never called you that I cant believe i got your name so completely wrong-“

He was freaking out, you could tell-his whole face was red, his tongue slipping and flailing over his words as he tried to apologize profusely.

Your heart went out for the poor boy, guilt filling your stomach for not telling him sooner.

“It’s fine Izuku, really! It’s my fault I didn’t say anything! Let’s just exchange numbers and forget it all happened, Kay?”

Your hand lightly went out to touch his arm, your fingers laying lightly on his shirt sleeve as you smiled at him sweetly. That seemed to calm him down, the speed of apologies finally stopping against his lips.

“Oh-okay sure!” He returned your smile, his eyes bright and loving.

 “ Ya know, I like y/n better…”

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆ ｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆ ｡･:*:･ﾟ

Bonus:

“You idiot!” Mina shrieked, her hand flailing a spoon at him like a weapon. “You got her name wrong! How do you even do that!”

Izuku stuttered, unable to figure out how to calm down the fiery girl in her angry rant.

“It-it was a mistake, it was loud and I heard it wrong-“

Mina huffed, her yellow eyes piercing as she flung the spoon around again, Midoriya dodging it as she continued to scold him.

“You are lucky- she is one of the nicest girls you will ever meet! If you did that to any girl they’d drop your ass like a dead fly!”

“Mina I-“

Mina then pointed the spoon right at his face, his eyes going cross eyed as he stared at the curve of the utensil with fear. His hands went up as against his body, his palms out in a sign of peace as Mina leaned herself aggressively towards him.

“Don’t you dare mess this up Izuku Midoriya! She is the best thing you will ever find!”

Taggings:

@weebartistinc​ @orokayagi​ @leeeah-loooser​ @bakarinnie​ 

[max-is-tired]

Misconceptions: A Show

Pairing: Intrulogical

Characters: Remus Sanders, Logan Sanders, Roman Sanders, Patton Sanders, Virgil Sanders, Deceit Sanders.

Words: 3.941

Warnings: sympathetic Deceit & Remus, swearing, some graphic talk bc it’s Remus, screaming in caps

Notes: Finally, I can post this monster of a fic -hey there, @princeyssash, guess who was your secret santa? This fic was honestly so much fun to write, I swear -I loved all of the prompts I had, but this one just called to me,,, I had to,,

Big thanks to @purp-man for betaing this fic for me and listening to my 3am rambles, and shoutout to @afulldeckofaces for helping me flesh out some plot points, like Virgil memeing his way through Roman’s plans. You’re the absolute best <33

Commission me!!  Buy me a coffee!!  My Discord server!!  AO3!!

It was a normal day in the mindscape.

Patton was humming happily in the kitchen, shuffling around with a pep in his step as he mixed the batter for some cookies. In the living room, Logan and Virgil were enjoying each other’s company while doing their own thing, may it be reading or half-slouching on the couch while scrolling aimlessly through Tumblr.

Everything was peaceful.

Until it wasn’t.

“YOU DIRTY LITTLE SEWER RAT GET BACK HERE THIS INSTANT!!”

Everyone jumped at the sudden shout, Virgil going as far as tumbling off the couch with a startled yelp. From upstairs, Remus’ unmistakable laughter bounced on the walls, followed shortly after by the twin himself bolting down the stairs with a maniacal grin on his face.

“Oh god,” Virgil groaned from the floor, pinching the bridge of his nose, “what the fuck did he do now?”

“Language, kiddo,” Patton called, emerging from the kitchen with a confused frown on his face. 

Turns out, they didn’t have to wait long for an answer.

“REMUS!!” Roman screeched, running down the stairs. He looked thoroughly pissed, eyes flashing dangerously as he glared daggers at his brother.

Virgil took one look at him, blinked, and then promptly broke down cackling.

“Stop laughing, Hot Topic!” Roman exclaimed, cheeks flushing red. Not that his blush was very noticeable, due to the various scribbles and crude drawings covering his face. “Look at what he did to my beautiful face!”

“You just don’t understand real art, brother dearest,” Remus snickered, waving the marker in his hand around.

“Oh, I’ll show you real art,” Roman muttered darkly, unsheathing his sword as he stalked down the last steps of the stairs.

At the sight of the unsheathed sword, Virgil’s eyes widened in alarm, his body tensing slightly as it became clear the situation was starting to escalate. Beside him, Logan looked at the two brothers, sighed in resignation and snapped the book in his hands shut.

“That’s quite enough, you two,” he said, staring the two brothers down with a raised eyebrow.

“Specs, he drew penises on my face! Multiple times!!”

“Which you can easily snap off with a wave of your hand,” Logan pointed out, “I do not believe there is any need for all this screaming, or for weapons to be brought into the picture.”

“Logan, you don’t understand, I gotta fight him now! For my honor!!” Roman exclaimed, waving his arms around -and therefore further proving Logan’s point by almost cutting Deceit’s head off as the side rose up to check what the commotion was about.

“Oi, watch it!” Deceit called out, ducking to avoid another accidental swipe of Roman’s sword, “who are you, Zuko?”

“If Roman’s Zuko then Logan is totally Uncle Iroh,” Virgil added, still lying on the floor.

Logan shrugged. “If we are referring to the first season of Avatar: The Last Airbender then yes, I can see the similarities.”

Roman squinted at them, finally lowering his sword. “There is an insult somewhere in that phrase. I don’t know where, but I know there is.”

“It’s because you’re a dumb-head, bro!” Remus cackled, once again calling the attention to himself.

Roman growled, looking more than ready to stalk through the room and tackle his twin to the ground, but Logan anticipated him before the situation could escalate once again.

“Remus, I believe this is quite enough,” he said, turning towards the aforementioned twin.

“Aw, but Logan, I’m just having some fun!”

Logan simply raised an eyebrow, staring him down.

“Ugh, fiiiine!” Remus finally groaned, throwing the marker somewhere behind himself, “that does not mean I’m happy about it though!”

Then, he sank out.

Peace once again established, Logan hummed and leaned back on the couch, going back to reading his book.

Or at least that was the plan.

“What the fuck just happened?” Virgil asked, staring at him in disbelief.

“Virgil, language!!”

“Sorry Padre, but I gotta agree with Cout Woelaf here,” Roman said, sword laying limp in his grip, “that was nothing less but weird.”

“I honestly do not understand where all of this apparent confusion is coming from,” Logan sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“You told Remus to stop!” Roman exclaimed, throwing his arms up, “and he listened to you!!”

“Roman, your sword!” Deceit hissed in frustration, having had to duck for the third time to avoid being cut in tiny scaley pieces. “If you don’t put it down this instant I might just try and stab you with it, do not try me.”

Roman grumbled but complied, making the sword disappear with a wave of his hand. Then, he crossed his arms, looking once again towards the logical side. “My point still stands though. Remus never listens to anyone, like, ever.”

“Yeah, I think I have to agree with them here Lo,” Patton said, still standing under the kitchen’s doorway, “that was a little weird.”

“Well, I do not know what to tell you,” Logan countered, “I asked him to stop, he complied and then sank out -it’s as simple as that.”

“If you say so,” Roman said, squinting at him in suspicion.

From the other side of the room, Deceit gave him A Look, appearing to be torn between amusement and concern. Logan subtly raised an eyebrow in response, making sure the others would not notice their silent exchange.

After all, it wasn’t like he could just tell them the truth, could he?

+++

When Logan finally sank up in his room, sometime later, he was not surprised to see a very familiar side sprawled on his bed, head hanging from the side of the mattress as he threw a tiny dagger up and down in the air.

“Lolo!!” Remus grinned, spotting him, “took you a while, I was starting to get bored!”

“I wanted to finish this novel first,” Logan said, putting the book in question back to its place in his large library, “it was rather interesting.”

“You know what would be interesting?” Remus asked, not looking away from the other as he kept playing with his dagger, “to find out what would happen if this dagger hit me in the eye!! Do you think it would reach all the way to my brain?”

“I suppose it would,” Logan hummed, sitting beside the creative side and quickly catching the dagger out of the air when Remus threw it again, “but between proving that hypothesis and spending the rest of the day with my not-injured husband, I think I prefer the second option more.”

“Oh really?” Remus grinned, sitting up -a slim silver chain fell out of his shirt with the movement, the golden ring hanging from it twinkling in the light of the room. “And tell me, how would you like to spend that time, my dear?”

Logan hummed, the light pressure of his own ring hiding under his shirt bringing a smile to his face. “Oh, I’m sure my dear husband will have some ideas of his own to share.”

“Oh, you are wicked,” Remus said, before leaning in to capture Logan’s lips in a kiss.

+++

For a while, it seemed like whatever had happened in the living room had been forgotten -the others were still confused by how easy it was for Logan to make Remus listen to him, but most of them waved it off as Logic easily overpowering Intrusive Thoughts with rationality and all that shit.

(Deceit knew better than that, but that was mostly because lying to him was next to impossible and Logan had been smart enough to let him in on their secret as soon as it had started to become a serious thing, both to help the couple lie to the other sides and to avoid him finding out on his own and potentially jeopardizing their cover.)

Point is, no one had yet discovered the real reason between the apparent chemistry between the two sides. But that didn’t mean they weren’t starting to notice things.

The first one to start suspecting something was, surprisingly enough, Virgil.

He had been sneaking to the kitchen around 3am, planning to grab a quick snack from the pantry and then tip-toe back to his own room, all the while hoping not to alert anyone of his nighttime escapade -he had already been at the receiving end of several stern talks about his fucked-up sleeping schedule and did not want to have to sit through another one, thank you very much.

What he had not been expecting, was to find himself staring at Logan’s back, the logical side looking busy filling two mugs with steaming water.

Virgil froze on his tracks, eyes wide in alarm as he tried to figure out how to sneak back out of the kitchen and up the stairs without being noticed. Unfortunately, Logan seemed to have other ideas and turned around before the anxious side could make up his mind about the next course of action.

“Uh,” Logan said, blinking in surprise, “hello, Virgil. I have to be honest, I was not expecting to meet anyone at this hour of the night.”

“Likewise, I guess,” Virgil shrugged, giving the other a tiny smile, “why are you up at this hour anyway? Weren’t you the one waxing poetry about the importance of a regular sleep schedule?”

“I got sidetracked, I guess. One late night won’t harm me in any way or form, I assure you.”

Virgil snickered. “I’m telling Patton you said that.”

“I don’t think you will,” Logan countered, calm as ever as he put down the kettle and moved to grab the two cups, “because if you do I will tell Patton about you sneaking into the kitchen at 3am with, as it appears, not a single ounce of sleep in your body.”

“... harsh, L. Real harsh.”

“Just stating facts,” Logan said, before walking out of the kitchen.

Virgil stared after him, watching the logical side leisurely cross the living room and walk up the stairs until he could not see him anymore. Then, he shrugged, quickly walking to the pantry and grabbing the snack he had come for.

He straightened up, holding triumphantly a bag of chips, only to freeze up again when a tiny detail finally struck him.

“Wait, why the fuck did he have two mugs?”, he wondered, turning back to glance at the stairs. Then, he turned towards the kitchen counter, noticing a little bag sitting just to the side of where Logan had been standing just a few seconds before.

“Kuding Tea” read the caption on the front of the bag, the inside filled with slim, dark tea nails.

Virgil frowned, rolling the name around in his head. He was sure he had heard it before, but where?

+++

The second one was Roman.

He had been strolling idly around the Imagination, humming a song under his breath as he walked along a path in the woods. Of course, his guard wasn’t completely down, not now that he was so near Remus’ side of the Imagination -while his relationship with his brother had greatly improved in the last year or so, he was still very much aware of the dangerous creatures lurking in his brother’s domain, and Roman had no desire to be caught by surprise by one of them.

Could you imagine the teasing, if Remus ever were to find out?

So yeah, he was still being very attentive to his surroundings -that’s probably half of the reason why he found himself hesitating when what sounded like distant laughter reached his ears.

Roman stilled, focusing on his surroundings. But all he could hear was silence, and after a few more seconds he was about ready to shrug it off to his imagination.

Then, the same, faint sound echoed from somewhere in the forest.

Curious, Roman started following the sound, watching his steps as his hand moved to hover over the handle of his sword -better be safe than sorry, he figured.

It didn’t take long for him to reach his destination, the forest receding just a few feet in front of him to make room for a vast, lush clearing. What he found, however, was something he could have never fathomed.

In the middle of the clearing, sitting on the grass in front of each other, were Remus and Logan, looking way too engrossed in their own conversation to notice the stunned prince staring at them from just behind a tree.

Remus seemed to be showing Logan something, looking completely enraptured by whatever Logan was saying.

The logical side was talking animatedly, waving his hands around with a grin as he occasionally gestured to something sitting between them. And Remus, well, he was staring at Logan with an expression Roman was pretty sure he’d never seen on his twin’s face.

He was looking at Logan like he was the sole holder of every secret of the universe, like he was everything he could see and hear.

He looked absolutely, utterly smitten, and Roman did not know what to do with that information.

+++

For Patton, well, it was more of a gradual realization.

He may not be the smartest in the group, but he was not by any means an idiot. He had noticed right away the potential chemistry between the two sides, the way Logan never seemed to be fazed by Remus’ shenanigans or the way Remus seemed to enjoy poking fun at the logical side.

Initially, he had not been very thrilled about it. But as time went on and they started to get closer to the dark sides, he could see how those two being friends could be highly beneficial for everyone, Remus and Logan included.

And he thought that was all it was -a blossoming friendship!

But the more time passed, the more Patton started to realize how that wasn’t exactly the case.

He didn’t know what initially tipped him off, really. Maybe it was the shared glances when one of them thought the other wasn’t looking, or the smile both of the sides seemed to fight down when in the presence of the other.

Maybe it was the subtle change in Logan’s demeanor, the way he’d grown calmer, happier, metaphorically softer around the edges ever since he and Remus had started growing closer.

Something was starting to bloom between the two sides, and Patton was not so sure it was a simple, innocent friendship anymore.

+++

Things came to a head one fateful Saturday afternoon, with Logan stuck revising schedules with Thomas and Remus doing who-knows-what in the Imagination.

The other sides were all lounging in the living room, all doing their own thing.

Then, Roman spoke up.

“Do you guys think something’s going on between Remus and Logan?”

Virgil, who was very much not expecting to hear something like that in the foreseeable future, jumped up from where he had been sprawled on the couch, headphones hanging limp from his neck as he stared wide-eyed at the creative side.

“Please tell me you’re not implying what I think you are implying.”

Roman shrugged, looking away as he scratched the base of his neck. “I don’t know what to tell you, Panic! At The Everywhere -I’m just asking.”

“If I have to be completely honest, actually,” piped up Patton from his place on the floor, stopping the episode of Parks & Rec they had been using as a background, “I have noticed some strange things too.”

“Right??” Roman exclaimed, “I saw them in the Imagination, last week, and I swear to god at one point Remus’ expression almost rivaled the way Logan usually looks at a jar of Crofters.”

“Whoa there Princey,” Virgil said, “don’t you think you’re exaggerating a little?”

“I know what I saw, J.D-lightful.”

“And I think Logan could be developing some feelings for Remus, even if he probably hasn’t quite realized it yet,” Patton added.

Virgil went to argue, but suddenly a realization struck him.

“Oh fuck,” he whispered in shock, suddenly looking like he was reevaluating everything he’d ever known.

“What?” Roman asked, confused.

“I caught Logan down in the kitchen, the other day,” Virgil explained, “he was brewing two cups of tea -which I found rather strange, really, but it was something like 3am so I didn’t question it too much. But I saw the name of the tea he brewed, and it felt familiar but I didn’t connect the dots until now.”

“Well?” Roman prompted, “We’re on the edge of our seats here, Marilyn Morose.”

“It was Kuding Tea, aka Remus’ favorite,” Virgil revealed. “He made us brew it all the time, and he was the only one able to drink that stuff because it’s one of the most bitter things you could ever try to swallow.”

Patton hummed, looking deep in thought. “Looks like those two might be closer than we thought.”

Roman grinned, something akin to mischief glinting in his eyes. “How about we help them grow just a little bit closer, uh?”

“We can discuss all of that later, Ro, but first there’s another thing we need to talk about,” Patton said, before turning to look at Virgil with a stern look on his face. “Virgil Sanders, what’s this I hear about you being up at 3am again?”

(Engrossed as they were in the new revelations, none of the sides noticed the tiny smirk stretching on Deceit’s face as he watched the scene unfold. He could have tried to stop them from trying to meddle, sure.

But where would be the fun in that?)

 +++

As it turned out, not a single one of the sides’ plans came even close to its goal.

First came Patton’s idea, which was arguably the most subtle. They set up a family dinner, pestering the two sides until they confirmed their presence at the table. Then, very last minute, everyone gave random excuses as to why they couldn’t come. Everyone was sure it would work, even if they didn’t stick around to find out -knowing Remus’s tendency to make things rather… spicy, they didn’t want to find out what would happen after the two finally confessed their feelings.

However, when, the day after, they asked Logan how the dinner had gone, the logical side simply leveled them with a confused stare.

“Since you all weren’t there we just agreed to bring the food back to our rooms and keep doing our work -I still had some possible scripts to read through so it worked just fine for me.”

So, it looked like plan A had been a failure.

Roman, in all of his finesse and “romantic prowess” (his exact words), decided to put his own plan in action -which consisted of not-so-subtly shoving the two sides in the same room and “accidentally” break the doorknob, effectively trapping them inside.

(“Wow, a true Cupido alright.”

 “Oh, shut up, you Emo Nightmare.”)

However, Roman’s incredible, astonishing, foolproof plan (again, his exact words) did not account for one specific aspect, aka Remus’ tendency of not letting puny, material things like doors keep him trapped.

In less than five minutes, the two sides were free once again, easily sidestepping what little remained of the door with Remus still holding his morning star in his hands.

And just like that, plan B joined its predecessor down the metaphorical toilet.

Last came Virgil’s plan, which was quite different from the other two’s -it was succinct, concise, and the farthest thing from subtle you could ever think of.

“Hey L,” he called one day, not even looking up from his phone, “what if you went and kissed Remus?”

Logan slowly looked up from his book. “... I apologize, what?”

Virgil shrugged, smirking. “Don’t worry, I’m just kidding. Unless…?”

Logan blinked at him, looking thoroughly confused. “Virgil, are you unwell? How many hours of rest did you get last night?”

And that’s how plan C joined its sibling down in the metaphorical sewer.

(“Your plan was a meme??”

“At least I didn’t try to cliché them into a relationship, Princey.”) 

Point is, by the end of the week the three sides had still to come up with a tactic that could actually work. So, they planned another brainstorm question in the living room.

Only, they appeared to have greatly miscalculated Remus and Logan’s whereabouts.

“Alright, you guys want to share with the class what the fuck is going on already?”

The three sides jumped in unison, whipping their heads around to stare at the two sides standing at the bottom of the stairs. Remus was leaning on the railing, looking at them expectantly, while Logan was standing just beside him with his arms crossed in front of his chest, one single eyebrow raised in a silent question.

“Uuuuuh…” Patton spoke up, looking at the other two in search of help, “language?”

“Pat, I think my language is the least of our problems now,” Remus retorted, refusing to drop the subject, “so, who wants to start talking first?”

The three sides, who looked like three deers caught in the headlights, seemed to grow more panicked by the second, searching for a possible explanation and coming up empty-handed.

“We found out you guys have a crush on each other and wanted to help you two get together!” Roman finally blurted.

“Roman!” Virgil growled, turning to glare at the creative side.

“I’m sorry!” Roman squeaked, throwing his arms up in frustration.

“You could have been a little more… tactful about it, kiddo,” Patton said, smiling nervously as they all waited with bated breath what the two’s reactions would be.

Logan and Remus blinked, dumbfounded. Then, they turned to look at each other, before Remus decided that the best course of action was, of course, to break down into hysterical giggles, compete with wheezing and tears prickling at the corners of his eyes.

As for Logan, well, he limited himself to chuckling, looking downright amused by the whole situation.

So yeah, not exactly the reactions the others were expecting.

“... what?” Virgil asked, “please tell me I’m not the only confused one right now.”

“Apologies, Virgil,” Logan said, as Remus kept merrily cackling his lungs out on the floor, “we just thought something serious was going on, since you have all been acting strangely during the last week or so. Discovering that the reason behind your strange behavior was that, well, is rather amusing.”

“Wait, is that your way of telling us you actually don’t like Remus?” Roman said.

“Actually, I do like him, in a romantic sense,” Logan chuckled, throwing a fond look at the side wheezing on the ground. “We have been engaged in a romantic relationship for a while now.”

“... I know I probably sound like a broken record but what?”

“He wants to tap this booty, Vee!” Remus cackled, “and I’m 100% down for that!”

“ By the horn of a unicorn, please spare us the details,” Roman muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“So that means you guys are already in a relationship?!” Patton exclaimed, a wide grin on his face as he clapped his hands in obvious delight, “oh my gosh, that’s so cute! I’m so happy for you guys!!”

“I don’t know if I want to be angry because you guys didn’t tell us or because my brother somehow managed to score a boyfriend before me,” Roman grumbled.

Logan and Remus shared a glance at that, mischief twinkling in both of their eyes. Then, once it appeared they were both on the same page, Remus spoke, barely stopping himself from giggling in anticipation.

“Actually we’re married, but go off I guess.”

Silence fell, seconds ticking by as the news started to sink in.

“Now hold on a second you guys aRE WHAT-”

And then, chaos.

[willddheartt]

High | Randall Carpio

Summary: The one where you're trying to forget Randall after breaking up.

Inspired by: Stay High - Tove lo

Warnings: Angst, sad, idk 

Word count: 1729

Masterlist

I eat my dinner in my bathtub, then I go to sex clubs Watchin' freaky people gettin' it on It doesn't make me nervous if anything, I'm restless Yeah, I've been around and I've seen it all

Since you left him there hasn’t been one day where you haven’t regretted it. Of course, you were still living in the university’s dorms which made things even harder. No matter what you did it seemed like wherever you went there he was, in our form or another. 

There hasn’t been one day in two months where you’d been 100% sober, it was the only way you could stop thinking about him and what you did. You knew it was a problem, but you didn’t care. It didn’t matter to you that out of all the combination of drugs you consumed at any party you could find could one day be deadly, it didn’t bother you because nothing seemed to matter anymore.

I get home, I got the munchies, binge on all my Twinkies Throw up in the tub, then I go to sleep And I drank up all my money, dazed and kinda lonely

It was a loop every night. Once you’ve run out of things to distract you through the day, start pregame drinking as you’re getting ready to go out to the clubs for the night, and lose yourself in the bodies. The odd time you’d come home with a meaningless fling, but mostly you came home alone, and once you’ve run out of things to keep you numb, fall asleep.  It felt like everything was just something to take the pain away and then give you some once it was gone, a never-ending cycle. The only constant thing was the endless pain and void you felt in your heart. It was your fault, you knew that but you made a mistake, one you cant now take back and fix.

You're gone and I gotta stay high All the time, to keep you off my mind Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh

“Alyssa, please just use that weird dust shit on me, make me forget,” You begged for the millionth time. Her answer was always the same, “No.” “Why not?” You sighed, but you knew, she’d told you every time you asked  “Because the pain and hurting will still be there, you just won’t remember the source of it.”  “Maybe that’s better," You huffed, leaning back into the couch.  “Who hurt you this bad anyway?” Alyssa asked  “Who did I hurt is the proper question,” You replied shaking your head as you brought the beer bottle up to your lips.  “Who did you hurt?” The blonde asked. She asked you every time you begged her you flick some of that magic dust on you to make you forget, but you haven’t yet told her because to you if you say it out loud and tell another person it makes it too real. “Someone who didn’t deserve me,” You replied 

Finally, the alcohol from the frat party started kicking in, and you were granted the false sense that everything was alright and nothing was going to hurt in the morning. 

High, all the time, to keep you off my mind Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh Spend my days locked in a haze, tryna forget you, babe I fall back down  Gotta stay high, all my life, to forget I'm missin' you Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh

You’d been through this loop multiple times. Feel like you’re on top of the world with some disposable guy at a party, come home, have the effects of the alcohol wear off feel everything too much, pass out. 

That’s how this was supposed to go, but tonight was different. After running into Alyssa as she was passing through the frat party, she refused to let you’re out of her sight. Even now, after she had walked you back to your dorm, she was by your side when you broke down crying and everything came pouring out.  “I fucked up big time, Alyssa.” You cried, “And I’ll never be able to fix it or make it right.”  “No, you didn’t” She was quick to comfort you, pulling you into a tight hug, “Whatever it was I’m sure there’s a way you can fix it, by regular means or magical,”  “You don’t understand,” You shook your head, “I’ll never be able to forgive myself for how I hurt Randall,” 

Alyssa froze the grip that was pulling you towards her loosened and she finally understood. You and Randall never told anyone you were together, you liked thinking your relationship was just something for you and him, enjoying the secret of it all. Nobody noticed when you were together but it became very clear that something happened after the split. 

“He probably hates me now,” You mumbled, pulling out of her hug and leaning your elbows on your knees. “I know I would,” You scoffed “He could never hate you, you know Randall,” Alyssa said, you shook your head, “Why don’t you try talking to him,” The girl suggested She knew first hand he didn’t have one negative feeling towards you. Sure Randall was going through the normal shit one would after an unexpected breakup, but he could never hate you no matter what you did. The thing he wanted the most was an explanation, why you left and did he do anything to hurt you. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt or make you uncomfortable. 

Admittedly, some nights were better than others. You could have all the fun you wanted and not think about the brunette at all. Yet others were the worst where no matter what you did or what substances you consumed, Randall was still the only person on your mind. Tonight was bordering on one of the bad ones. 

Pick up daddies at the playground, how I spend my day time Loosen up their frown, make 'em feel alive I make it fast and greasy, I'm numb and way too easy

Another night, another party, another temporary escape.  Tonight you were at the party specifically to find a fling. You thought that since drugs and alcohol weren’t doing much anymore, something more could help.  At least that was until you saw his face through the crowd. You wondered if he’d spotted you, but from how he didn’t look away, or even pretend to not be staring, you answered your own question. 

Finding a getaway in the bathroom you sighed, leaning up against the door. Tonight was supposed to be the night you finally let him go and made yourself move on, but there he was like you weren’t supposed to forget. 

Staying in my play pretend, where the fun ain't got no end Oh, can't go home alone again, need someone to numb the pain Oh, staying in my play pretend, where the fun ain't got no end Oh, can't go home alone again, need someone to numb the pain

Going about the rest of the night, dancing with a multitude of strangers yet there was still only one person occupying your thoughts. With each drink, he only became more and more prominent. The nagging inside you to go find the sweet brunette wouldn’t stop and only got louder with each new stranger.  You were getting a new drink from the kitchen, and if the timing was perfect, there he was. 

“Y/n,” Randall said while the two of you were frozen in the sight of the other.  You didn’t know what to say, you were speechless. You knew you owed him an apology, an explanation but in the moment neither of those seemed to come to you. “Randall,” You whispered, eyes immediately tearing up. Before any tears could start streaming down your cheeks, the taller boy pulled you into a tight hug, it took all you had to not completely lose it in his arms. Every ounce of concentration you had gone to trying to make the growing ball in your throat go away.

“I’m sorry,” You whispered, causing him to pull away.  “You don’t have to apologize,” Randall shook his head, “Then what can I do?”  “Come back,” He looked at you with glassy eyes, tears brimming them. 

Without putting another thought into it, as you blinked your tears away once more, you crashed your lips onto his. Your tears mixed in with the kiss but neither of you could notice, with your hands in his hair and his on your hips you pulled one another as close as you could. Pulling away you leaned your forehead against his and closed your eyes, feeling at home in his embrace. He kissed the tip of your nose, making your eyes open again. 

“What do you say we get out of here?” Randall whispered with his smirk that you haven’t seen in so long, you nodded letting him lead you out of the crowded house, you’d let him lead you anywhere without a second thought. 

You're gone and I gotta stay high All the time, to keep you off my mind Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh High, all the time, to keep you off my mind Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh Spend my days locked in a haze, tryna forget you, babe I fall back down  Gotta stay high, all my life, to forget I'm missin' you Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh

You stumbled in your dorm with Randall on your heels, kicking the door shut behind him. The moment the door slammed shut his lips were on yours, you were all over each other, barely even pulling away to breathe. Pulling away just long enough for the both of you to pull your shirts over your head and throw them somewhere in the room.  Your knees hit the edge of your bed, sending you falling backwards onto the soft mattress, pulling Randall with you. He hovered over you as your hand came up to cup his cheek, your thumb brushed over his cheekbone and he leaned into your touch. 

“I am so sorry,” You whispered  “Just don’t leave again,” Randall whispered back, you nodded and he laid down next to you.  As you pulled your duvet over the two of you Randall pulled you into his chest. This was something you missed too much. 

“I love you,” He whispered, it was just barely audible for you to hear it  You kissed his chest and smiled, “I love you too,”

[leviathanswingman]

killing me softly, chapter 7: tired, red eyes

Diavolo clicked his tongue in annoyance and moved away from Lucifer, quickly smoothing down his clothes. „Come in,“ he then said to whoever had been waiting outside.

The door opened and three of Lucifer's brothers entered the room.

„Satan, Mammon, Beel. What do you want?“ Lucifer asked, his voice raspy.

Satan walked over to the bed and mustered his older brother for a moment.

„Diavolo told us you're sick, old man.“

Of course he would've told his brothers. For a second Lucifer side-eyed Diavolo before returning his attention to his family.

„Old man? Show me at least a little bit of respect, Satan. Your little rebel act is tiring.“ He sighed before continuing. This whole situation was a pain in the ass. „But since you're already here, yes, I have indeed fallen ill.“

„Help me out here, your stubborn brother has-“ Diavolo started, but was interrupted.

„Caught a simple flu. It seems like I've overworked myself in the thralls of our party preparations and because of that, my health has suffered. There's no need for you to worry about me,“ Lucifer lied through his teeth, his expression as calm as usual.

There was no need to pull his brothers into his mess as well. This was a mess he himself had created and felt responsible for. He should be able to solve it by himself.

Additionally, his brothers were always joking about Lucifer's obvious infatuation with Lord Diavolo. If they were to find out he had caught the hanahaki disease they would immediately know who must've been the cause of it. And knowing his idiot brothers, they would certainly try to solve this problem for Lucifer, only to create even more mayhem in the process.

That was just the way they were, and Lucifer definitely didn't need all of that additional drama in his life right now.

Satan's expression turned somewhat sour as he crossed his arms and averted his eyes.

„I'm not worried about you, why should I be? By the way, you look like absolute shit.“

„Duly noted. Charming as always.“

Mammon and Beel stepped up to Lucifer's bedside as well.

„Oi Lucifer, I know ye're sick and all, but why aren't ya in your own bed? Been looking all over for ya, but ya weren't in yer own room. What the hell are ya doing in Lord Diavolo's bed?! Nevermind, back to my point. Return Goldie!!“ Mammon moaned as he grabbed Lucifer by the shoulders and shook him in desperation.

“Mammon, you shouldn't treat a sick person like that,” Beel threw in as he observed the scene.  “Lucifer, do you need anything? I could get you some cursed batwing soup. It's good for the soul.”

For a moment, Lucifer was frozen in place as his surroundings started to blur. Now it all made sense. The room had looked suspiciously familiar from the very beginning, yet he hadn't been able to figure out exactly why.

Now he had the confirmation he needed. Diavolo had brought him to his own private chambers. Lucifer's heart ached a little at the thought of Diavolo carrying him to his own chambers and putting him in his own bed of all things. He could've just called Barbatos to bring Lucifer back to his own room, yet he hadn't done that.

The vines in his lungs shifted slightly,not enough to make Lucifer choke on flowers again, but enough for him to rub his chest to alleviate the pain. He coughed once and could tell that he had coughed up yet another bloody petal. Luckily, it wasn't a full flower this time. He assumed this was a good sign. If given the choice of full on coughing up bloody flowers in front of his brothers, roses of all things, or instant death, Lucifer would choose death without hesitation. After all, he had his reputation as the strict oldest brother to uphold; the head of the family.

Slowly and carefully, he hid his fist which was closed tightly around the petal under the covers and right at this moment, Diavolo looked at him, eyebrows raised.

It was still utterly weird for Lucifer to know that Diavolo now knew of his embarrassing secret.

Lucifer slapped Mammon's hand off his shoulder and threw him a dark look. “You want your credit card back? How strange that now, you come to me. If I recollect correctly you've had plenty of opportunities to ask me before. If I didn't know any better I'd say you're trying to take advantage of a sick person. You wouldn't do that now, would you dearest baby brother?” he then said, his tone of voice malicious, yet still there was a creepy smile plastered to his face.

Mammon moved at god's speed and put a safe distance between himself and his brother. “Uh, no. No, no, no, I would never do that, hehe,” he stammered as he scratched his head in an aloof fashion.

All of a sudden, Beel started to sniff multiple times in quick succession. “Something smells weird,” he concluded. “Do you smell that?”

“No, not all of us are freaking deviants like you, Beel!”

“Rude. But I'm serious.” He sniffed again and then turned around to investigate the room. “It's weird. I definitely smell roses, but I can't see any close by.”

Lucifer froze again and quickly glanced at Diavolo, who glanced back at him in a sheepish manner.

“Well, Asmodeus was just here, maybe he's trying out some new perfume and that's what's left the scent?” Diavolo suggested.

“Weird, he normally goes for different scents. Whatever,” Beel finally concluded as he shrugged his shoulders.

Secretly, Lucifer let out a deep breath. Just as he felt safe enough to know that they had successfully mislead his brothers, thrown them off his scent, you might say, he caught Satan staring at him with wide eyes. You could practically see the wheels turning in his head as he mustered Lucifer with interest, finger tapping on his chin as he took in the data he'd just collected.

“No way,” he mumbled and Mammon and Beel both looked at Satan in confusion.

“What, no way?! Speak up ya damn bonehead!”

Satan still mustered Lucifer until his gaze slowly wandered over to Lord Diavolo. “No fucking way. You've got to be shitting me. I know we are always joking about this, but for you to actually...”

Once again, Lucifer found himself being simultaneously surprised and annoyed by his little brother's pristine deduction skills. At this point, he might even be a match to Barbatos.

“Language, Satan. If you have a problem, come and talk to me later,” he threw in in a clipped tone of voice, hoping that Satan would show him an ounce of respect for once and follow track.

Apparently, it was Lucifer's lucky day. Satan seemed to mull it over for a moment, then simply nodded and took off, waving without turning around. “Hope you die, old man!”

Before Lucifer could grab the closest object to throw against Satan's head, Diavolo put his hands on his shoulders and pressed him deeper into the bed.

“Did you forget you're supposed to rest? Don't force me to play nurse for you. This is a threat and you know I will go through with it if I have to.”

Lucifer grumbled a few inaudible words before he obeyed. He huffed once as he started to massage his left temple.

“These brats are going to kill me one day.”

“Oi!” Mammon, who was still present with Beel at his side, yelled out. “Don't treat me like a child! I'm the second oldest here!”

“I wasn't talking about you specifically, Mammon, but the fact that you do feel addressed speaks worlds and is intriguingly alarming.”

As Mammon sputtered, thinking of a smart comeback, Beel grabbed him by the arm and pulled him towards the door.

“We're leaving. Get well soon, Lucifer. I'll bring you some cursed batwing soup so you can recover as quick as possible. Lord Diavolo, please take care of my brother.”

Beel indicated a bow before he left, dragging a protesting Mammon with him.

Now that they were alone again, Lucifer's shoulders slumped and he coughed into a handkerchief Diavolo had given him as a present mere months ago. Diavolo looked at Lucifer and sighed before he let himself fall onto the bed lazily, lying vertically spread over Lucifer's legs.

“What am I gonna do with you, huh? I haven't seen you this rebellious ever since we met,” he mused. “Be glad that I always have your back. If your troublesome brothers were to figure out what you're hiding pandemonium would break loose,” he chuckled as he turned over on his stomach, resting on his elbows and drowsily cupping his cheeks with his hands as he swung his legs back and forth. “That must be one amazing person to get you to act like this. How jealous I am!” he chuckled, his gaze turning dark for a moment as he stared into the distance.

He snapped back as he realized it'd been eerily quiet for far too long.

“Lucifer?”

No answer came except for the muted sounds of someone struggling for air, inhaling deeply in rapid succession.

All this time, he had managed to hold it in. No matter how much his lungs ached and no matter how much effort it took him to swallow down the petals and swallow down the petals over and over again until it felt like they piled on and on, forming a huge pile. Now that his brothers had left, Lucifer had the right to feel free to vomit to his heart's content. Still, that did in no way mean that he wanted to. It meant the exact opposite of that, to be precise.

Of course, logically speaking, there was no use in hiding his hanahaki from the object of his affection anymore, but that didn't mean he felt neither confident nor safe enough in doing it right in front of him.

As Diavolo turned his head, he saw Lucifer desperately struggling for air, the handkerchief pressed tightly onto his mouth.

A big bud with a thick stem and sharp thorns tried to force its way up Lucifer's bronchus. He could feel the thorns ripping open tissue, slowly and painfully as Lucifer did his most to keep it in place.

Until Diavolo is gone, I must hold on until then, he tried to convince himself.

Torture wasn't something he was unfamiliar with, he was a demon after all., so he kept the handkerchief pressed tightly onto his mouth, refusing to spill over; refusing to let the truth of his affection be on display where it couldn't be denied anymore, for the whole devildom to witness.

A line of blood trickled down the corner of his mouth, leaving red spots on the otherwise pristine handkerchief.

“What are you doing?!” Diavolo shouted as he realized what Lucifer was trying to do. Upon hearing Diavolo's voice Lucifer averted his gaze and turned his head as he suddenly tumbled over.

Diavolo hurried over the bed to his side, straddling his lap as he yanked Lucifer's hands off his mouth, pinning them against the headboard.

“You and that damn pride of yours! You have to let it out,” he growled as he stared into Lucifer's eyes. “You're going to suffocate! You may be a demon but you still need air!”

For a moment Diavolo saw himself reflected in tired, red eyes as they pooled over with tears of exhaustion and Lucifer finally gave in.

He was retching heavily as the bud of a white rose fought its way out of his mouth in agonizing slowness.

Still, Lucifer kept on struggling. The stem had separated from the bud and was stuck in his throat, thick thorns lodged deeply in pink tissue, threatening to suffocate him at any moment.

In a panic, he tapped one of Diavolo's hands with the tips of his fingers. Understanding what he wanted, Diavolo immediately let go of that hand. There was no hesitation, he fully trusted Lucifer to do the right thing.

Now free again, Lucifer reached into his mouth with trembling fingers until they curled around the dislodged stem.

Gasping, he pulled out the deadly stem and a mouthful of blood quickly followed. Some of it spattered onto Diavolo's uniform, blending in with the crimson colour of his uniform. Diavolo let go of Lucifer's other hand.

Desperately, Lucifer took in deep breaths of air, his lungs aching with relief. Subconsciously, he had  gripped Diavolo's hand which had been resting on the sheets tightly as he attempted to ground himself.

A few last coughs left his mouth before he slowly sank forward until his head rested against Lord Diavolo's shoulder, admitting momentary defeat.

The room was completely silent except for Lucifer's ragged breaths. Even if he wanted to talk, he was in no place to do so at that moment. His throat felt completely shattered. His mind felt completely shattered. Of course, he felt utterly ashamed to rely on Diavolo like this, felt utterly ashamed over what had just occurred. Most of all, he was ever so tired, so for a short moment, he allowed himself to forget his pride and rest like this; leaning onto Diavolo in complete yet certainly not uncomfortable silence. In secret, as his forehead rested against Diavolo's sturdy shoulder, he breathed in the demon prince's scent.

Leather and honey with a hint of smoke. A scent that was so familiar, yet also so unknown to him.

Lucifer still hadn't let go of Diavolo's hand. He knew this would come back to bite him in the ass once it all was over, but right now he couldn't bring himself to let go. Right now, he needed Diavolo. Being alone was neither an option nor a possibility.

Diavolo squeezed Lucifer's hand in return, letting his fingers roam over his knuckles down to his fingertips, running back up to his wrist, following the traces of his veins.

For once, in this intimate embrace, Lucifer felt comforted by Diavolo's presence. Instead of the straining of his lungs, he felt a strange kind of serenity.

His breathing slowly calmed down and Diavolo slid his other hand up the back of Lucifer's neck before burying it in his hair. Slowly, he let his fingers run through the dark strands as he let himself fall forward as well and leaned against Lucifer's shoulder in return,his fingers still steadily working through Lucifer's hair.

Lucifer could feel his hot skin through the thin fabric of his sleeveless turtleneck and let out a shuddered breath.

“Lucifer,” Diavolo murmured, not lifting his head, “don't ever scare me like that again. I can't lose you, I just can't. I won't let you die just because you love someone. You're too precious. Just too precious. My beautiful Morning Star.”

Too exhausted to argue, Lucifer simply nodded, positive that Diavolo would feel the movement against his shoulder. Finding comfort in the warmth of Diavolo's body, Lucifer's eyelids slowly started to flutter as he felt the much needed heaviness of sleep take over his senses.

“I'm coming in,” Satan said way too late before he opened the door to Lord Diavolo's chambers with way too much force, hoping to get a kick out of Lucifer like that. As he took a step in and observed the scene, Satan quietly evaluated his life choices that had brought him to this moment.

He had come to confront Lucifer with the fact that he had caught hanahaki and had attempted to hide it from everything and everyone, except for perhaps Lord Diavolo. But based on the way they had acted back then with Mammon and Beel, it was quite clear that Lord Diavolo couldn't have known for far too long either.

Satan found himself slightly confused by the situation, since Lord Diavolo himself was quite obviously the cause of Lucifer's illness, so he had come to clear things up so they could make more sense in his head. The state of unnerving confusion was one of the things Satan detested the most and because of this, his urgent need to make Lucifer's life as hard as possible was overpowered by the even bigger need to unlock all of the secrets of the universe.

However, just as he took his first step into the room, he froze in place.

The back of the bed, where the pillows were still stacked up neatly against the headboard, was covered in an unholy amount of blood and in that pool of blood were lying the separated bud of a white rose and a big stem with thick thorns.

In the middle of the bed were none other than Lucifer and Lord Diavolo, both lying on their sides, apparently fast asleep. They were facing each other, Lucifer's face buried in the crook of Diavolo's neck while Diavolo's head rested softly on top of Lucifer's. Most to Satan's surprised, their hands were connected between them, elbows bent slightly to fit in the space between them.

For a moment, Satan just stared in horrid confusion.

“Good grief,” he eventually uttered as he quickly went up to the bed, disposed of the flower bud and stem, covered the blood stains and then pulled a soft blanket over Lucifer and Diavolo's sleeping forms.

Normally, if he had caught Lucifer in such an indicting situation, he would have taken photos and videos to ridicule his oh so picture perfect oldest brother, right now however, that sort of malice had left his mind.

“He's a fool after all,” he muttered as he took one last glance at his older brother and closed the door, “but if he thinks he got away scot free just like that he's completely wrong though.”

As his fingers lingered on the doorknob for a second, a small smile hushed over Satan's face. This was the first time he had ever seen his brother show this much vulnerability. Surprisingly, Satan found himself unable to hate Lucifer just this once.

Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6 , Chapter 8, Chapter 9, Chapter 10, Chapter 11, Chapter 12, Chapter 13

*nsfw chapter

taglist: @el-does-photography

[imalwaysintune]

A Birthday Miracle

“Hey do we remember 161? No direct spoilers but this story follows Tim and Sasha after they throw their little party for Jon.

Enjoy! Hit up my ask box too!

Story under cut!

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“Well, Jon, I hope you enjoyed this little rendezvous I put together. I know you like to pretend you’re a sinister old man, but I can see in your eyes you really enjoyed it,” Tim joked, with a huge smile stretching across his face.

He saw Jon’s eyes scanning the room, making sure that everyone else had left and it was just the two of them. “Yes, Tim, you’re right. It was a very nice gesture,” Jon said timidly, the ghost of a smile passing over his face. “I just can’t believe you, Martin, and Sasha would go through all this for me.”

“Aw, come on Jon. You gotta give yourself some credit. You’re pretty cool when you’re not acting like a grumpy old guy,” At this Jon actually laughed, albeit a little breathy from it’s lack of use. Tim walked over to Jon’s desk where he sat and ruffled his hair, making it go everywhere.

Jon sighed and brushed the hair way from his face. He looked like he was thinking about something before he came to a conclusion. He stood up slowly and threw his arms around Tim, patting him on the back gently. Tim didn’t have time to react to the hug before Jon was already sitting back at his desk, his head buried in the piles of paperwork on his desk.

Tim decided to leave it for now, and slipped quietly into the hallway. He about jumped out of his pants, however, when he was greeted with an unknown figure in the hallway.

“Sasha! Jesus, you nearly made me shit my pants,” Tim breathed, leaning against the wall for support much like a dame.

“It’s not my fault you don’t look where you’re going,” Sasha chastised. “Look, I’m almost finished up in storage. Do you want to go grab a drink after work?”

“Hold on, are you asking me out on a date, Sasha James?” Tim was practically beaming, and couldn’t resist throwing in a bit of flirty banter.

Sasha walked down the hallway away from Tim without saying anything, just cocking an eyebrow before turning to face away from him. Though, he could’ve sworn he heard her say, “Something like that,” before disappearing around the corner.

While Tim was driving towards the bar he was to meet Sasha at, he couldn’t shake the grin that had ingrained itself into his face. He was jamming out on the radio, smiling at other passersby, earning him many looks of bewilderment. It didn’t kill his mood though, and as he parked in the parking lot of the bar, he tried to school his face so he didn’t look like a maniac.

When he stepped inside the establishment, his eyes immediately connected to Sasha’s. Instead of booking it over to her, he remained cool and tried to channel that into his walk. It made him look like a chicken, and Sasha could barely contain her laughter by the time Tim made his way over to her.

“What in the bloody hell are you doing? You look like an idiot,” Sasha said in between laughter, momentarily snapping Tim out of his façade. He sits down at the bar next to Sasha and places his face in his hands.

“Making a fool of myself, apparently,” Tim says through his hands, muffling the sound to the point where Sasha could barely understand him. 

“Oh Tim, you don’t need to do anything special to do that,” Sasha said, taking one of Tim’s hands from his face and lacing her fingers between his. It was the most intimate thing Tim had ever felt, and he had half a sense to not fall over in his chair.

He did keep some kind of composure though, as he held Sasha’s hand at the bar. He used his thumb to stroke her knuckles, internally screaming at the physical contact.

Their conversation was light, not talking about serious things they had to deal with at work. It was nice, and they laughed and drank until they felt like they needed to go somewhere else. 

Both Tim and Sasha stumbled out of the bar tipsy, arms interlocked so they could lean on each other for support. They piled into Tim’s car and turned up the music, going nowhere fast. 

They ran out of gas just as the pair pulled up to Sasha’s house, where Tim was meant to be dropping her off. The car sputtered to a stop in front of her house, and Tim had half the urge to laugh, it was almost as if the universe was setting them up perfectly.

“Shit, Tim, why didn’t you pay attention to the gas gauge?” Sasha asked, her voice light and airy from the alcohol in her system. 

“I was too busy looking into your eyes,” Tim flirted, resting his elbow on the console and putting his chin on his hand.

“And not the road? Damn, Tim you really need to step up your game,” Sasha joked as she mirrored Tim, their faces mere inches from each other. It took every ounce of Tim’s willpower to not close the gap and connect their lips, but he was willing to wait for her.

He could wait his entire life if it meant that he could kiss her once.

Maybe that was the alcohol talking, but Tim was suddenly overcome with an intense emotion. He leaned back in his seat and spoke softly, “I’ll find some way to get home. Thank you for giving me an amazing night, Sasha, really. I’m glad I got to spend Jon’s birthday having fun even if he didn’t want it to be with him.”

“Oh, come on Tim. You can just stay at my place. I have a guest bedroom and all the coffee you could want in the morning,” Sasha said, more sober than she probably intended.

“Ah, so it took you this long to try and get in my pants Sasha? Well, your evil little devil plan won’t work on me, cause I have standards,” Tim said the last word dripping with sarcasm, but he could see the flash of hurt that passed behind her eyes.

“Oh my god, wait, Sasha I was totally kidding, I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings. You’re totally up to my standards. If anything, you’re way above my standards and I am so lucky to have someone like you like some like me-” Tim was abruptly cut off by Sasha placing a single finger over his lips.

“I know, Tim. It’s just sometimes you need to learn to shut your mouth,” Was all she said, before getting out of the car with a wink.

Tim quickly unbuckled his seat belt and quickly grabbed the keys before getting out of the car and following Sasha, spouting apologies. Sasha just ignored him, walking up to her house, heading inside and expecting him to follow.

He was like a puppy on her heels, and when they finally got inside, he threw his arms around her shoulders.

“Sashaaaaaaaaa, I’m sorry. What can I do to get you to forgive me?” Tim pleaded, “I’ll do anything?”

“Anything?” Sasha’s eyebrow cocked up in a way that went straight to Tim’s soul, not that he’d ever admit it. He gulped as Sasha disconnected his arms from around her soldiers and turned around.

“I want you to prove to me that you love me,” Sasha said coolly, putting her hands behind her back.

“I... w-what?” Tim was short circuiting, Sasha’s words running circles through his head in a way that made him feel like he was going to pass out. 

“You heard what I said. We’ve been flirting back and forth for the past few years Tim. I want to finally give you a chance to give me a straight answer. Do you love me?” Sasha’s voice was calm, much calmer than how Tim felt.

He had prepared for this moment so much. He had run through every kind of scenario where he was finally ready to confess his feelings to Sasha. But now that it was actually here, he had stage fright. He thought he would be ready, he even had a whole speech written that was buried in a journal under his mattress. What he would give to have that speech with him right now.

Suddenly something clicked in his brain, and his body took over. He hooked his right arm around the left side of her waist and pulled her into him. He took a deep breath and looked into her eyes, which were looking expectantly up at him.

He relied on his instincts finally and connected their lips, wrapping his arm tighter around her waist, sliding his other hand along her jaw to cup her face.

It felt amazing. Her lips were so soft, and the way her body fit into his made him go crazy. Sasha groaned softly and gripped Tim’s shoulders, squeezing tightly. She smiled against his lips before moving back.

“There. Was that so hard?” She said, trailing a single finger down his jawline.

The rest of that night felt like a blur to Tim. Sasha showed him to the guest bedroom, sending him off to bed with a chaste kiss on the lips. It made his heart soar, and it took him hours to calm his mind and heart down enough to actually fall asleep.

When he awoke the next morning, the smell of bacon and coffee immediately hit his nose. His mouth was watering as he hopped out of bed and opened the door into the hallway. The smell of a home cooked breakfast was even stronger out here, and he followed the fumes all the way to the kitchen.

“Aw, Tim, you look like a little lost dog. When was the last time you ate?” Sasha asked, flipping pancakes on a griddle she had on the counter.

“Hmm, I guess the cake yesterday at Jon’s party. No wonder I was so drunk with only a few drinks,” Tim walked over to the coffee maker, grabbed a mug, and filled it to the brim. “Yum, my life force.”

Sasha rolled her eyes at this and smiled, finishing up breakfast and serving the both of them. 

“Do you think Jon is going to be any less grumpy today?” Sasha joked over her breakfast and coffee, just trying to make light conversation.

“It’s Jon, that question basically answers itself,” Tim joked back, finishing up his breakfast and helping wash dishes.

At one point, Sasha had turned the spray nozzle towards him and drenched him with sink water, much to his dismay. Soon enough though, the time came when they both had to leave for work or risk using late. Almost like a miracle, Sasha had a spare gas canister in her garage that allowed them to get to a gas station.

Sasha couldn’t stop rubbing the fact that she’s saved him multiple times already in his face. But even as he was rubbing it in his face, all he could do was smile.

Arriving at work, the pair realized how weird it might look if they showed up at the same time together. They agreed that Sasha will go in first, then Tim five minutes later. 

In the end, it didn’t matter though because everyone was too busy actually doing their jobs, much to Tim and Sasha’s surprise. Trying to shed their look of shame, they headed further into the Institute towards the Archives.

When they reached the door, the pair entered without knocking, much to Jon’s surprise. He looked like he had been deep in thought, reorganizing files that were scattered all around the Archives. He looked annoyed, yet almost grateful for the human interaction.

“How ya feeling, Jon? Feelings pretty old yet?” Tim teased, going over to ruffle Jon’s hair yet again. It was soft, surprisingly, and he found he liked touching it.

“Tim, we’re literally almost the exact same age. My hair is already going gray because I have to deal with all of you interrupting my work all the time,” Jon said annoyed, yet Tim could hear the edge of love that was in there.

They all loved each other, in their own way, even if they were all too proud to admit it. They really only had each other in this place, as all the other staff were so far removed or borderline evil that they had no reason to form actual relationships with them. 

So yeah, they loved each other. Mostly.

As if on cue to bring the whole squad together, Martin opened the door gently and froze when he saw the scene in front of him. 

Jon, sat at his desk, hair all messy from Tim. That same Tim sitting on the edge of Jon’s desk, turned towards Jon and laughing at the comment he just made. And Sasha, staring at the two boys with a goofy smile on her face, as if there was nowhere else she’d rather be.

“Oh, sorry, um, was I interrupting you guys? I can come back later...” Martin said, and started to close the door to the office before he heard Tim’s voice beckoning him back into the room.

“Come on in Martin, we were just making fun of how old Jon looks,” He said, picking up a strand of Jon’s gray hair off his head.

“That is not what we were doing at all. You guys were interrupting me, and I was working,” Jon said grumpily, yet he couldn’t hide the smile that was making its way onto his face. 

These are the days that really made Tim happy. It was these kinds of days that were able to chase away the nightmares and the dark thoughts that clouded his mind. But he didn’t want to think about them right now, so he chose to throw his arm around Martin and joke with his friends until Jon kicked them out.

The rest of the day went smoothly, and Tim’s mood was carried by banter with Sasha. Not only that, but Martin and Jon were also in high spirits. Everything felt right for the first time in awhile.

When the work day was finally over, Tim headed towards Artifact Storage to ask Sasha if she wanted to retrieve her car, but was interrupted when he was pulled into one of the hall closets by a dark figure. 

The figure had thrown an arm around Tim’s neck and a hand clamped over his mouth. He was about to scream when the figure leaned next to his ear and spoke, “So Tim, you thought you could start an office romance and fail to tell me about it?”

Tim all but rolled his eyes at the voice that spoke. Elias. He shoved off the older man and looked at him with disgust. “Really Elias? You’ve resorted to kidnapping now? What I do outside of work doesn’t concern you, so I’d appreciate you staying out of my business. This is low, even for you.”

“Oh please, I only care about it when you are distracting my Archivist from doing his work. I don’t care about what you and Sasha do outside of the Archives, as long as it doesn’t interrupt anything going on inside. Am I clear?” Elias purred, getting uncomfortably close to Tim.

Tim made a split second decision, and shoved Elias hard. He stumbled back and, for the first time, he looked taken aback. Anger flashed in his eyes, and Tim decided he didn’t want to deal with the consequences he had just brought upon himself. He shoved open the door to the closet and stepped out into the hallway, closing it behind him and booking it to Storage.

He was met Sasha exiting Storage, and the two collided, knocking Sasha over. Tim reached out his hand instinctively and caught her, but the force of her falling sent Tim toppling after her. They landed hard, with Tim on top of Sasha, though he landed on his elbows to avoid crashing his entire weight into her. It hurt like hell.

Sasha stared up at him expectantly, and Tim was confused until he realized that he was still on top of her. He quickly scrambled into a sitting position beside her and hit his tailbone on the smooth concrete floor. Ouch again.

Sasha stood on her own, brushed off the dust that had accumulated on her from being around old pieces all day, and held out a hand to help Tim up. He took it, bashfully, and slowly stood till he was facing her.

“Hey there, clumsy, you gotta be more careful when you’re making your way through a spooky haunted building, or you might run into a ghost instead of the love of your life,” Sasha said with a wink, before making her way down the hallway. 

Tim quickly followed her, stumbling over his words as he offered to drive her to the bar from last night to grab her car, to which she agreed. 

They piled into Tim’s car, and drove to the bar, the tension in the car becoming so thick you could cut it with a knife. Tim wasn’t sure why conversation was suddenly so hard to make, and the silence was deafening as they pulled into the parking lot. They sat there for a few minutes, just staring anywhere but at each other.

Finally, Sasha broke the silence and turned towards Tim, looking at him for the first time in almost half an hour.

“What are we Tim? What do you want us to be?” She asked. It sounded like the words were being dragged out of her against her will, and it hurt Tim’s heart to hear her speak that way.

Tim had to think about his answer carefully, so he just took a minute staring at a treeline in the distance. “I think... I would love for us to be something, Sasha. You’re such a wonderful girl and anyone would be lucky to have you.

“In all these years that I’ve known you, you’ve always managed to blow me away. You’re sweet, you’re kind, you’re witty. You are so perfect in every way, and it took me a while to realize that. All these years we’ve played this “will they, won’t they?” game and all I wanted to do was finally be like “they will”. I’ve wanted to make you mine for awhile now, I just didn’t know how to go about it,” Tim was pouring his heart out at this point, completely relying on his feelings to get his point across.

“I want to make you happy. I want to give you a life that you can look back on and smile at when we’re old and married. I want to grow old with you. I want to build a house and a family with you, and be able to invite our friends over and have dinner and laugh about stupid shit. I want you to become my life,” Tim felt the tears building behind his eyes. This was the first time he’d cried since his brother had disappeared, and it felt refreshing. It felt right, knowing it was because of his love for Sasha.

From the looks of it, Sasha was also crying. When Tim finished his speech, he saw a single tear roll down her cheek. He brought his hand up to her face and held it, using his thumb to wipe away the tear. 

“Fuck, Tim, I didn’t know you had that little love confession rooting around in your brain,” She laughed gently, and it tugged at Tim’s heart. 

“Can I kiss you?” He asked, hoping against hope that she fully reciprocated his feelings. 

She barely had time to nod before Tim was cupping her whole face and kissing her. He reveled in how soft her lips were, and how well her face fit in his hands. Sasha’s hand circled around Tim’s right wrist and drew him ever closer.

This day just couldn’t get any better.

When they finally disconnected, Tim had the courage to ask her to come over to his place, and, to his surprise, she agreed. He quickly texted her his address and then they were on their way in their respective cars. Tim was giddy again, riding the high of kissing Sasha for the second day in a row. Usually he couldn’t even get a second date, let alone a second kiss.

Most people were turned off at the fact that he worked at the Institute, almost like they believed he was a bad luck charm. All his dates seemed to go wrong in some way, no matter how many different scenarios he tried to set up. It was always once the girl or guy found out where he worked, they seemed to almost... fear him? The dates didn’t last much longer after that. He had basically given up on dating.

Until Sasha.

When they had met at the Archives, it was an instant connection. Conversation was easy between them, and there was plenty of banter to go around between them. It gained them a lot of curious glances from other people at their work, but they knew they were just friends. Until...

Until one day in the Archives, when Sasha was sorting through the Storage to find something Tim needed for a follow up. He had just been idly watching her as she sifted through what he thought was a mess, but she claimed she had a system.

He noticed how well her eyes had matched her outfit that day. And how her lipstick made her lips look incredibly appealing. And how well her body looked in the outfit she was wearing...

And he was suddenly brought back to the moment when Sasha waved the item he needed in his face, making some joke about staring that he couldn’t quite remember. He had laughed it off as a friendly gesture. There was nothing wrong with people thinking their friends were attractive.

But it kept happening. He would notice himself zoning out and thinking about Sasha. The way she looked, the way she laughed. Also, and he would never tell this secret to anyone as long as he lived, he had had a few sex dreams about her that had caused him to wake up more confused than ever.

And here he was, in the present, having just confessed all these feelings he had been holding back for years. He felt light and airy, as if a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders. And in a way, a weight had been lifted. He no longer needed to hide his feelings from Sasha anymore. Whether she reciprocated them fully or not was a whole other story. She had barely said anything about it, just kissed him- which was more than enough, but-

Tim smacked himself in the side of the head. He shouldn’t let his thoughts get the best of him. He just needed to hear it straight from the horse’s mouth. Not that Sasha was a horse, of course-

By the time the pair arrived at Tim’s flat, he had gone through every possible scenario that was about to play out. Most of them had turned out bad, but when he tried to reason with his brain why things would end out bad, it wouldn’t give him a solid reason. He almost felt sick, but when his eyes connected with Sasha’s, all was right again.

It was almost like she could read his thoughts and school her expression to respond to his crazy mind. It was another thing he loved about her; she was always able to get him to calm down and see the bigger picture instead of focusing on all the small problems.

He didn’t realize that he had a goofy smile on his face until Sasha walked over to him and looked expectantly with her own smile on her face. He quickly set himself in motion and led her up to his flat, opening the door for her and pretending to be a chivalrous gentleman, even bowing as she passed him in the doorway. 

This earned him an eye roll from Sasha, but the smile hadn’t left her face. She truly was beautiful. As he closed the door, his other hand shot out and caught at her right wrist, spinning her into him and pinning her against the entrance hallway, careful to not knock her into any of the knick-knacks that scattered the wall. 

“Please tell me, Sasha. Tell me you love me and that you want to be with me, or tell me that you just would rather be friends. It’s killing me that you’re playing coy with me,” Tim was practically pleading with her at this point. He couldn’t take the waiting much longer or he might explode. 

“Tim, will you be my boyfriend?” Sasha asked, completely throwing off Tim’s thought process. Apparently he hadn’t thought of every situation, as he had no comeback for this question. What had just happened?

“Sasha I... O-of course I’ll be your boyfriend! Are you kidding me?” He answered, mentally kicking himself in his head for sounding so desperate and taken aback. Sasha, though, was smiling as if she’d just won the lottery.

“You’re cute when you’re flustered,” Was all she said before connecting their lips once again. This kiss was slow and almost agonizing. It’s one that spoke the unspoken word between. It was a kiss that made up for the years of stepping on eggshells around each other when it came to their romantic lives.

Tim was beginning to lose count of how many times things had just clicked for him that day. Everything about it had been perfect. Everything from breakfast with Sasha, to messing around with his friends, and now coming home and actually getting to say that he was Sasha’s boyfriend. He hoped this feeling would never go away.

They sat in Tim’s living room for hours after that, talking about all the signs that the other had missed during their time as friends. The times Sasha had intentionally worn something more revealing to work just so Tim would notice and say something- he never did. The way that Tim’s eyes would linger on Sasha’s face when she was talking about something she was passionate about- she never noticed either.

It was easy for them to laugh at each other for being so obvious, but it was just as easy to laugh at themselves for being so clueless. 

Sometime in the night- they weren’t paying attention to the clock- Tim busted out drinks and made them martinis. Just like he’d hoped, Sasha was impressed and even clapped when he presented her drink to her. When you lived alone and had nothing better to do, you learn odd hobbies just to keep yourself from going insane.

So they drank, but not enough so that they couldn’t pay their full attention to the conversation they were having. 

Tim kept commenting on how beautiful Sasha was, and each time without fail, Sasha would blush and start tripping over her words. Tim thought it was the most adorable thing ever, so of course he kept doing it. He loved the way she would smile, and her ears would flair up red along with her cheeks.

He suddenly longed to touch her soft skin, so he did. Reaching across the small space that separated them on the couch, he cupped her jaw with his left hand, and placed his drink down on the table. 

She leaned into his hand, much like a cat when you pet it. Tim’s heart swelled in his chest and he grinned as he stared into Sasha’s eyes. Her eyes flicked all over his face and he suddenly wanted to know what she was thinking.

As if on cue, she spoke as she reached up to grab Tim’s hand in her own. “You know, I don’t know if everyone in the Archives is even going to be surprised or not. I get the feeling that everyone knew we were gonna get together more than we did,” She spoke, her hand squeezing his tighter.

This made Tim chuckle as he spoke. “I think you’re right. Though, I think we might give Jon a heart attack if we tell him. He’s so invested in his work all the time that he barely pays attention to anything else anymore.

Sasha looked sad at that, sighing before speaking. “Well, guess he can find out when he gets an invitation for our wedding.”

“That’s only if you can get to the status of “engaged” with this sexy fellow,” Tim joked while puffing out his chest and putting on a “big guy” attitude, which earned him a belly laugh from Sasha. It was wonderful to hear.

Abruptly, Tim got up from the couch with bravado and walked over to his Bluetooth speaker. He connected his phone to it as Sasha stared him with a goofy grin on her face. Music began to fill the room, slow and classical.

Tim walked up to Sasha, sat on the couch and extended a hand, which she took immediately. She was swept off the couch as Tim practically yanked her up and into his arms. He was rewarded with a yelp and a look of embarrassment on her face.

“What are you-” Sasha began before Tim started to dance with her. He spun her gracefully, and held her against him as they swayed gently to the music. 

Soon she got the idea and danced skillfully with him, taking the lead sometimes, much to Tim’s surprise. He let her take the lead and laughed heavily when she dipped him. As he was staring up at her, her smile was real and chaotic, and it caused his face to mirror hers. He was so happy. 

He leaned up his body enough to kiss her once more, quickly, and was rewarded with her chasing his lips when he pulled away. 

“Ah ah ah, we can’t be too greedy, now can we?” He said before standing up fully. All of a sudden, waves of exhaustion rolled over him and all he wanted to go to bed.

He reached for one of Sasha’s wrists and held it with both hands. He looked down at the ground and his voice came out weakly. “Will you stay with me tonight?”

Sasha tilted his face up with a single finger under his chin and smiled at him gently. “Of course I will. I just might need to borrow some of your clothes because I didn’t bring my own.”

It took all of Tim’s willpower to not jump around the whole living room. Instead he just nodded and led Sasha to his bedroom, where he threw a pair of his sweatpants and an old t-shirt. She got dressed in the bathroom and when she came out, Tim was shirtless and in old basketball shorts.

Sasha walked over to him and placed both of her palms flat on his bare chest, and the feeling sent shivers up Tim’s spine.

“Thank you for today,” Was all she said before she walked over to the bed and got under the covers. Tim was stuck in place until he finally snapped out of it and also got into bed, turning off the light on the way.

And they slept, better than either of them had in a long time. When they awoke in the morning, they found themselves tangled in each other. Everything was exactly as it was supposed to be, and neither of them were inclined to change that.

The End

P.S. they lived happily ever after and married each other and nothing bad ever happened to them and they grew old together and if anyone says anything otherwise i’ll be mad >:(

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This one took me forever ahh!! I worry that it’s boring in some parts and that they aren’t exactly in character but i’m still proud! I wanted to try writing a longer one and that’s how this was born! I hope you enjoyed and don’t be afraid to hit my ask box! Also show some love to my ao3

Words: 5293

[sinner-as-saint]

Haunted.

Destroyer! Chris x Reader.

Requested by Anon. 

 Themes: SMUT, slight Non/Con elements, language, ANGST

   You heard knocking against the wooden door of your little, cozy apartment, and you knew immediately that it was him.

Chris.

 A weird, yet familiar knot formed in your gut. It wasn’t fear, it was … melancholy. You liked him.

You liked him a lot, ever since the first time you saw him – with his perfect beard, and slightly shaved head, and his tattoos and his rings; and his attitude.

Everything about him screamed danger – and it pulled you in even more.

Prior to meeting him, you had never thought that you could fall for guys like him. Guys who were so reckless yet so magnetic.

But there was something about him; something you noticed the first time you both had sex. He was scared of commitment. He was scared of getting attached.

Although he made it very clear that whatever ‘relationship’ you both had was supposed to be strictly physical – you couldn’t help but fall for him. Hard.

And it hurt. Because every time, after fucking you into oblivion countless amounts of time, he’d always make up some excuse and leave.

He never stayed, never wanted to stay. And he told you that, but you were still foolishly falling for him.

 He knocked again, and you nervously secured your fluffy dark red towel around your chest and proceeded to open the door.

You were freshly out of the shower when you heard knocking, and didn’t have time to put proper clothes on. Then again, that would’ve been useless because he would end up tearing your outfit anyway.

He did that often, and so far, Chris had ruin 5 shirts, and 7 underwear of yours.

You could say that he was a bit more rough and passionate that your regular lover.

Droplets of warm water dripped from your body and fell carelessly onto the flooring as you made your way to your front door.

You unlocked it, grabbed the cold, metal knob and opened the door to reveal a very handsome, devilishly handsome man.

Chris.

 He had a dark jacket on, and the very evident blue in his eyes made you feel a certain way. He slowly licked his lips as he eyed you up and down.

You weren’t ashamed, or shy. He had seen you naked so, so many times now. You were, however, concerned with the fact that whenever he looked at you, there was only lust in his eyes.

He said he liked you on so many occasions, but you know he never meant it. Men like him don’t fall for girls like you.

No.

Instead, they use you. And you let them, because you crave their touch.

 Without exchanging any greeting, he allowed himself in. And you obediently shifted to the side to let him in.

He walked into your living room, and dropped his duffle bag to the floor. You locked the door, sighed and walked towards him.

 “What took you so long to open the door, baby? You know I hate waiting,” he plopped on your couch and pulled you onto his lap.

 Instinctively, you straddled his thighs and let go of your hold onto the towel – allowing it to leisurely fall apart and reveal your bare body to him. The towel bunched around your waist, yet it didn’t stay put for long as Chris’ eager hands removed it and threw somewhere on the floor behind you.

He liked you better naked, which was for sure. He had mentioned it once, when he stumbled into your apartment one night; drunk and barely able to keep it together.

Your hair was slightly wet, tied up in a really messy bun. You had absolutely no makeup on, yet the remnants of your day’s mascara stained around your eyes a little bit; since you didn’t get the chance to wipe it away properly. Your skin was still damp, and you were sure that you didn’t look very appealing, but something about the way he looked at you made you feel … dangerous.

It was nice to feel sexually, undoubtedly, desired by a man of his caliber.

 “I was taking a shower, sorry,” you replied faintly.

Your hands moved upwards to cup his face. His beard felt scratchy but you liked it. His blue eyes stared up at you, twinkling in the dim light of the evening. He was beautiful.

 “Had a long day today, and I thought my favorite girl would help me unwind,” he whispered as his hands cupped your ass cheeks and pushed you further into him.

You nodded eagerly, quietly noting the hint of alcohol in his breath.

It was always like this, he’d finish his day, then hang around the pub – drink a little, flirt with the women who tried to get with him. Then, somehow, he’d find his way to your apartment – where he knew you’d welcome him with open arms no matter what.

You were someone he could rely on; something he used for his own benefit. And you never complained.

   Before you knew, you were under him on your bed. His body hovered above yours, your arms wrapped around his broad shoulders.

His lips on yours, bread scratching your skin as you relished his taste on your mouth. His mouth moved feverishly against yours – bringing you on the edge just by slipping his tongue past your lips.

 “You’re mine, babygirl. All mine,” he’d whisper as he kissed his way down your damp body. Shivers ran down your body at his words.

 He spread apart your legs with ease, and settled in between them – his face dangerously close to your dripping heat.

Without warning, his tongue slipped in between your folds and his hands locked around your thighs, refraining you from moving away from his sweet assault.

His tongue traced imaginary circles around your swollen clit and every time he did so, your body shook as moans escaped your mouth uncontrollably.

Your arousal coated his lips and dripped down his beard.

You’d moan his name, over and over again as his mouth brought you closer and closer to your release. He had a way of making you cum hard using only his mouth.

And even after you did, he wouldn’t stop. He’d only moved his mouth against your throbbing, sensitive spot even more relentlessly.

 And this could go on for quite some time.

He’d take you in every way. Had you coming all over the place; around his fingers and his thick cock multiple times.

 Then as usual, as soon as he was done, he’d leave.

He’d get dressed and leave you alone, sore and cold on your bed and he’d just walk out of the door.

 Only to come back the next day. And the next. And the next after that.

  ---

 You cried when you woke up every morning. You cried because you knew that no matter how he treated you, you’d still love him just the same. And that wasn’t healthy.

 Chris came by again, some nights later. This time, drenched by the rain that caught him.

 “I need a warm shower now. Care to join me, baby?” he asked, removing his clothes and dropping them on the floor of your bedroom.

 Resist.

 “I’m good actually, I showered like an hour ago,” you replied, avoiding his piercing blue eyes.

He narrowed his eyes at you, then proceeded to enter your bathroom anyways.

Meanwhile, you mentally prepared a speech for him. One which consisted of you telling him that you could no longer be his fuck toy. His booty call. Nothing.

Truth is, it was hurting you.

  15 minutes later, he was out of the shower with only a white towel wrapped around his lower region. It hung low on his lean waist and his muscular arms and chest were on full display. Not an ounce of shame was on his face as he walked towards you, grabbed you by the waist and dipped his head into the crook of your neck – placing innocent kisses on your skin.

His warm, wet skin pressed against your body and his body heat was all you could focus on.

 “Chris, I-,”

 He shushed you by placing the palm of his hand against your mouth. He guided you backwards until your back hit the wall, right beside the bed.

 “Something’s changed. I can feel it. What is it?” he asked, nibbling the skin under your jaw.

Your removed his hand from your mouth forcefully; an action which caught his attention. And you could tell he didn’t like it.

 “I don’t want this anymore. We- I don’t wanna be your fuck toy. You walk in here like you own the place, like you own me. Then you leave without even caring for a brief second. I’m done, now. I need something more stable, more comforting. I can’t do this anymore,” you finished and the look in his face indicated that he wasn’t loving your rebellion.

 “Is that so?” he asked, guiding his hands to grab your ass. He pressed his body into you even more, and you could feel his growing bulge. You whimpered.

 You nodded faintly. You knew he was not leaving any time soon, especially not right now. So, you braced yourself for whatever he planned for you.

 “Well you don’t get to decide when we’re done or not. You belong to me, and I will use you like I own you. Because I do,” he spoke in a sinister tone.

His words scared you, but excited you at the same time

 Without missing another seconds, he ripped your extra-large, white shirt off your body – which was the only article of clothing you were wearing at the moment.

Your now ruined, large white shirt fell to the ground soundlessly; just like your protests – unheard of.

 One of Chris’ hands wrapped around your throat, while the other one cupped your heat. Slowly, he rubbed his two fingers in between your folds, smearing the wetness around.

You whimpered; in pleasure and defeat.

He knew your body; he knew what got you going. He definitely knew how to make you surrender.

 “You don’t sound like you want me to stop, baby, do you?” he asked. Mocking you as he dragged moans after moans out of your mouth just by using his fingers.

Your moans got higher, and higher and just when you were able to let go; Chris removed his hand from your now glistening core.

Your eyes flew open as you stared at him in disbelief; lips parted as your breathing got more and more rapid.

His hand at your throat tightened just the slightest bit – showing you the degree of control he had over your body and your mind.

 You could hear your heartbeat ringing in your ear.

 “Bed. Now,” he ordered and released you.

You dragged your bare body onto your bed and waited for him. He was right behind you, watching your every movement – deciding how to punish you for even having the thought of ending what you had with him.

  He pushed you until you laid flat on the bed, he discarded the towel he had around him and climbed on top of you.

His head dipped and he took of your nipples in between his teeth, his beard brushing against your skin in the process.

Your back arched off the bed, pushing yourself further into his mouth. He hummed in appreciation and you felt his cock, stiff against your inner thigh.

He swirled his tongue over your nipple a couple of times, before releasing it and focusing on the other one.

 You were far from quiet while he was at it. Your mewls and moans encouraged him, and caused his blood to rush to his lower abdomen even faster. The lust coursed in his veins as he looked at your through his lashes; your face had a pleasurable frown upon it and your mouth was partly opened. Your hands cradled his head as he grazed your sensitive bud with his teeth.

 He lifted off of you for a brief second, asking you to turn around.

You did.

You always did whatever he asked you to.

 Your ass was in the air, and soon his hand came down to smack it. It burned.

 You felt his knuckles against your wet folds right after the spank, he dragged his hand up and down your heat lazily – making you whimper and shiver in the process.

You buried your face into the pillow as you tried not to moan out loud to give him the satisfaction he wanted.

“Mine. Fucking mine, and you dare tell me that I can’t fuck you anymore? You’re wrong baby,” he whispered as he brushed his lips up your spine, his torso pressed against your back – pushing you into the bed.

You could feel his erection against your ass.

 “Chris… please. I don’t- fuck!” you exclaimed as he suddenly lifted your hips and stroked your entrance with the tip of his cock.

The friction was causing you to lose your mind.

 “You were saying?” he mocked again, pushing his member into you inch by inch – allowing you to feel all of him.

Unable to form words, you could only moan as response.

He filled you completely, his hand slipping under you to grab your breast as he slowly started rocking in and out of you.

His cock stretched your hole – which was painful at first, but you grew accustomed to it pretty quickly like you did every time he was over.

 “Chris, I- oh fuck!” you could barely form a coherent sentence as he moved rhythmically against you; your body moving along with his as he sped up into you.

He claimed you with a hunger.

 You felt the pressure forming in between your hips soon, and you knew you wouldn’t last much longer with the pace he adopted.

 He felt it too, as your walls clenched around him perfectly.

“Come on, baby, cum for me,” he let out through a ragged breath.

You obeyed. Like you always did.

 The only difference is, usually, right after you came; he would too. But this time, he didn’t.

He kept pounding into you as you rode the waves of euphoria – moaning his name in the process.

He fucked you relentlessly.

 “Chris- I-,”

 Your words cut short as he soon dragged another orgasm out of you. Your body was shaking, writhing under him – and he liked it.

He liked the control he had over you.

 Your legs felt numb, the pressure in between your hips became unbearable as you came for the second time. Your clit throbbed.

 Chris pulled out of you, for a brief moment.

He turned you back around and slipped his member into you yet again. You held on to his strong arms for support as his kept rocking into you at a fast pace.

His thick member sank mercilessly into you; over and over again.

Your thoughts were a mess. You came so hard the second time that you were barely able to form any proper thoughts. All you could focus on was him, and what his body did to you.

 Chris mouth found your neck and he left bruises along the way; quickly finding your sweet spot and assaulting the skin.

Your nails dug into his skin, and he groaned ferociously and sped up into you even more. You were ashamed to admit that you could feel another orgasm forming.

 “Fuck, fuck, fuck!” you heard Chris curse as he felt your walls clenching around him for the third time in a row.

 Your back arched off the bed again as you came around him and a series of cuss words left your mouth. Your heart going crazy inside your chest, tears rolling down your face – you were a complete mess.

“Look at me,” he ordered, his cock still erected inside of you.

You were out of breath as you opened your eyes to stare into his blue orbs.

 His roughly grabbed your jaw and placed his mouth on yours again. Lips moving against yours sinfully, his tongue slipped inside and he toyed with yours.

He removed his mouth from yours and stared into your eyes again.

Without any word said, he started rocking into you again. Slowly, then gradually building up his pace – he moved in and out of you like he owned you.

The tears fell again, sliding down your cheeks as you shamefully felt the pressure forming yet again.

 The sound of his skin slapping against yours was all you could focus on as he fucked you into oblivion.

You needed him to stop, but you didn’t want him to at the same time.

 “Chris… please, I-“

Overstimulated, you couldn’t word your thoughts properly. Your tears flowed down your cheeks constantly, not out of physical pain but because your heart was aching.

You knew that once this was over, he would walk out of your apartment without even sparing you a second glance. He wouldn’t care.

 He didn’t love you.

He didn’t love you like you loved him.

 Finally, Chris came with a grunt; biting down at your shoulder as he did so.

 He collapsed on top of you, his body weight pressing against you. Your arms involuntarily wrapped around his shoulders as you cried. Bitterly.

Not only were you physically exhausted, but your heart was tired too.

You held on to him as you let the tears fall, and the sobs shook your worn-out body. You could hear his heavy breathing against your ear.

 “You hurt me,” you sobbed and noticed that his body tensed up. He supported himself up using his elbows – placed on either side of you.

His blue eyes stared down at you.

His cum, mixed with yours was still trickling out of you as you cried.

You were a real mess; falling apart at his hands.

 “I know. I’m sorry,” he spoke, still trying his best to catch his breath.

 Your eyelids started getting heavier with each passing second, and Chris noticed.

 “Go to sleep, baby. You need it,” he finished by placing a kiss on your forehead.

 It was an unfamiliar gesture, yet you couldn’t think upon it too much because as soon as those words left his mouth, you were already drifting away to a much needed slumber.

  ---

 Chris knew he hurt you.

He was aware that he was using you as a means for release. It was selfish of him, he knew. Yet, he couldn’t stop. He couldn’t refrain himself from wanting you – all the time.

 He got out of your bed, and got dressed. He watched you as you slept; snuggling up to your blanket. A sad smile made its way on his face.

 “I’m sorry, babygirl. But I can’t stay. I hope you understand,” he spoke to your sleeping figure.

He could see the marks he left on your skin; dark red and almost purple-ish.

They would stay, most definitely. But he wouldn’t.

 “I’m moving away for work, baby. Don’t really know when I’ll be back. Hopefully you’re still here when I do. Take care,” he approached your body, grabbed your hand and placed a kiss on your knuckles as he whispered the words against your skin.

 He stepped away from your bed, adjusted your baby blue blanket over your sleeping body so you wouldn’t get cold during the night and finally made his way out of your room.

He turned around one last time before closing the door on his way out.

Another faint, sad smile formed on his face.

 He crossed your living room, and finally walked out – of your apartment, and your life as well.

  ---

 Waking up the next morning was as heartbreaking as any other day. You sat up in the middle of your bed, looked down at your bare body and saw the marks he left on you.

Bruises along your thighs, bites along your collar bones and you were sure your neck was stained by him as well.

 You had gotten used to waking up with him being long gone. Yet, today was different.

Along with his absence, there was something else that you sensed in the air.

Maybe a sense of… finality?

 Either way, whether he came back or not – you knew memories of the time spent with him were to haunt you for a long while.

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[softguks]

Warm Hearts (Pt. 2)

a/n: hi guys, this is the highly requested part two of cold sheets. i suggest you read it first. here’s the link >> cold sheets

warnings: heavy angst, heartbreak

words: 1k (shawn mendes x reader)

synopsis: they stumbled in the dark, but will they be okay?

There’s a comforting silence that soothes her erratic and wild mind. She feels strangely tired, despite only crying and sleeping for hours upon hours upon hours. Her cup of tea has gone cold, the tea bag fully floating lifelessly in the lukewarm liquid.

She doesn’t know quite why this break-up is so hard, in fact she’s gone through multiple, and yet she knows (but refuses to believe) that it’s because she thought he was the one. She had pledged her blood, sweat, tears, soul, and heart into the relationship because she believed it would bloom. She had been so utterly and wholly in love with him, that she had seen past all the little misunderstandings, trying so damn hard to be the best, perfect girlfriend she could be.

Because just once, she wanted to be fully loved. She wanted to be fought for, to be worth loving, and she’s just too damn tired to fight anymore.

She looks terrifying. her hair in messy knots and tangled clumps, piled upon her head in what she calls a “real messy bun”, though it’s much closer to a bird’s nest. Her lips are dry and chapped, raw from all the biting with her teeth. But, oh, her eyes. Red, puffy, and swollen, burning with tears that seem to flow like rivers. They are glassy, empty pools of tiredness and brokenness that she can’t fill or fix.

Her mind is a whirl of never ending thoughts. Some come and go, some stay, and some are ones she can never fully understand. She feels like a tired soul, stripped bare of the so-called “wonders of life.”, because she doesn’t feel happy at all. She hasn’t since their break-up.

Staring glumly at the voicemail that is illuminated on her phone, she uses the sudden spurge of courage to open it and listen to it, to him, word for word before she deletes it.

Y/N,

I’m sorry. I’m really sorry. And I know this is stupid and a half-assed apology but I really don’t know what else to say. Because I’m really sorry, and I never meant to hurt you or break your heart.

It’s been a couple days since you packed up and left, I’m hoping you’ll come back to me, to us. I didn’t fight hard enough for us, but I will now. Please let me fight for us.

I just can’t imagine a life without you. I had planned to propose when I came back from tour, the ring is sitting in my suitcase, I didn’t return it in hopes that you would come back.

I miss your laugh, your smiles, and you. You were fun, and beautiful, loving, and badass. I miss our movie nights whenever you would make your corny jokes. God, I never knew how much I would miss those.

It feels weird to not have you in the house. It’s empty and cold and lonely and I regret every single time I left you here or ever made you feel alone, I’m so sorry.

Aaliyah and my parents miss you. They think of you as family, especially Aaliyah. She loves you as an older sister. I know I fucked up, but I promise that I’ll fight for us. You are worth every ounce of love that I have.

I was stupid and afraid, afraid that you would leave me for someone who was always there. I started distancing myself in hopes that it would help. I realize how dumb that is, but I swear it made sense to me. Please come back.

She lets out an involuntary cry, because she hates him, she hates herself, and she hates that he knows the perfect words to make her feel guilty.

And as much as she hates to admit it, she really has missed him. She’s missed everything about him, from his scent and his laughs, to his chocolate curls and soft, honey eyes. He’s just different, but most importantly, she hates herself for still loving him.

There’s a moment of silence that lasts for a little longer than a moment, and she looks up at the sky, silently pleading for advice. the skies are gray and cloudy, rain pattering against the damp sidewalks and roads. She presses her warm palm against the cool glass, watching the clear raindrops roll down the side of the clear surface. She’s already made up her mind, has for awhile, she’s just scared. scared to be wrong, and scared to lose him.

Hastily, she picks up her phone, not caring how pathetic or ugly she looks, she just has to see him, has to know one thing.

The call goes through and after three beeps, she can see him.

And God, does he look terrible too. His eyes are puffy and red, lips swollen and face pale. There’s a soft smile on his face though, and she can see the hope in his eyes. The hope that they’ll be okay.

“Do you still love me?”, she blurts out, breathing heavily as she mentally prepares for his reply. She’s scared that she’s wrong, and he doesn’t love her anymore, and that he’s really gone.

“Yes. A thousand times yes, of course I do, love.”

The familiar pet name stirs the butterflies in her stomach and her heart bursts with hope and love and relief.

“Are we...?”, he trails off, looking down at his socks as he nervously runs a hand though his hair, cheeks red and brows furrowed.

“Yes.”

She sees his face light up, snapping up instantly in happiness and for once she allows the laugh to escape. The bubbly and sweet sound that he’s missed so much. And as she smiles through her happy tears, she feels content, her mind finally at ease. Her eyes are bright for the first time in awhile, and that’s how he knows that they’ll be okay.

[jenanigans1207]

Touching Hearts [TodoDeku]

I'm still trying to figure out how to write the two of them. But I really enjoyed writing this so I hope it turned out well! I'm about to start an hour and a half drive home so this isn't edited but might be later! I also might rewrite this from Todoroki's POV later, too, as a character study!

Summary: And this time, when Todoroki reaches out to touch Midoriya, to brush his fingers against Midoriya’s cheek with his second hand, Midoriya reaches back. He’s not paralyzed, he’s not burning down into ash, he’s just content. Completely and wholly content. 

-- or;

The five times Todoroki touches Midoriya and the one time Midoriya touches Todoroki.

1.

The sun is high in the cloudless sky, beating down on Midoriya’s back as he runs. He used to run around the city, bobbing and weaving through the people out and about on the sidewalk, but after the League of Villains attacked UA, they were prohibited from leaving campus unsupervised. It was fine, in the grand scheme of things. It just meant that Midoriya had to make multiple laps around campus to equal the same distance which, really, was no burden at all.

Except on days like today. Because today, every time Midoriya lapped near the dorms, he was treated with the sight of Todoroki out on the front lawn, a simple t shirt with his dark jeans. Todoroki was training, too, working on more precision control of both his flames and his ice. He’d grown a lot and developed his quirk a lot and it definitely showed. It seemed like he had made progress every time Midoriya passed by and honestly, Midoriya wouldn’t put that past him. He was incredibly talented and highly skilled. If anyone could progress in literal minutes, it was Todoroki.

Midoriya tried his best to convince himself that this was the reason he stared every time he went by. He tried to tell himself it was because he was interested in Todoroki’s quirk, interested in his progression.

Which, to be fair, wasn’t strictly a lie. He was interested in Todoroki’s quirk and he loved watching his progression. It made a bud of pride bloom deep in his chest, petals fanning out and filling all the gaps. But he was also interested in Todoroki.

With the dorms coming into view again, Midoriya forced his eyes forward and steeled his will against what he knew would be waiting for him. He couldn’t keep staring. Todoroki hadn’t noticed— yet— and Midoriya wanted to keep it that way. He’d been doing a relatively good job of keeping his feelings under wraps, but this was like torture. It was like he was being tested and he was pretty certain that up until this point, he’d been failing miserably.

So, he took steady, even breaths. He focused on the feeling of One for All deep in his gut, on the way it threaded through his entire body. That was the real purpose of his running, anyways— to work on maintaining a steady and even percentage of One for All while in action. He stared steadfastly at the sidewalk in front of him as he rounded the corner and came upon the dorms again. Breathe in, breathe out. Don’t look to his right. Don’t look to his right. Don’t look—

A flash of flames drew his attention and Midoriya couldn’t stop himself from turning, looking at Todoroki as he stood in the law, left arm completely aflame. His hair billowed in the slight wind being created by his heat and there was a pleased smile on his face. If Midoriya had been harboring any hope that he’d make it by this lap without staring, it all went out the window right then and there. Because Todoroki was beautiful.

He was standing there in casual clothes, the sun bathing him in saturated rays of light that nearly made him glow like an angel, soft smile on his face. It simply wouldn’t be fair to ask Midoriya not to stare. It wouldn’t be fair to ask anyone not to stare. And so, Midoriya did. He couldn’t take his eyes off Todoroki as he continued to run, committing the sight of him to memory. He wanted to be able to replay this exact moment in his head over and over again. It wasn’t often that Midoriya got to see Todoroki smile so openly like that, especially when he was on his own, And it still wasn’t often that Midoriya got to see him use his flames.

These thoughts were swirling around in Midoriya’s head as he continued to stare. He took a few more steps before Todoroki looked up, his eyes snagging on Midoriya immediately. Their gazes locked and Todoroki’s smile didn’t falter in the slightest. In fact, he held his burning arm up a little higher to show Midoriya, the look of pride melting into every aspect of his face.

Midoriya opened his mouth to say something, to proclaim his own pride at Todoroki. He was just forming the words on the tip of his tongue and then, suddenly, he was tumbling, heading for the ground at an alarming rate.

The ground was hard and unforgiving and Midoriya could feel the wind being knocked right out of him. He slid a few feet before finally stopping, arms splayed out in front of him, cheek flat on the ground and legs in a weird tangle behind him. It took a long moment for him to pull himself back together, blinking against the bright light of the sun and trying to remember how to move his body.

A shadow appeared over him moments later. “Are you alright?”

It didn’t take more than a moment for Midoriya’s mind to come crashing back down as he registered Todoroki crouching down next to him, eyebrows knitted together in worry. “Yeah!” Midoriya rushed to say, trying to figure out his legs and push himself into a sitting position. “I’m totally fine! Just clumsy, that’s all!”

Finally his body cooperated and he was able to shove his legs underneath him, pushing himself into a half crouch so he was even with Todoroki. Todoroki didn’t back away, simply stayed in his spot and watched. And then, when Midoriya was crouching and steady, he reached a hand out to gently cup Midoriya’s chin and every single thought in Midoriya’s head left in one quick rush. He found himself utterly frozen as Todorki moved his face gently, tilting it to the side so he could inspect the cheek Midoriya had fallen onto.

“You’re cut,” He said simply, reaching his other hand out to gently press along Midoriya’s cheek.

Honestly, Midoriya couldn’t feel the cut at all. He couldn’t feel any pain from falling. The only things he could feel were the warmth that was Todoroki’s body so close to his and the absolute electricity where they were touching. Midoriya watched out of the corners of his wide eyes as Todorki leaned even closer, inspecting the cut. His fingers trailed gently down Midoriya’s cheek, along his jawline and then finally settled on his shoulder. Midoriya wasn’t sure when, but at some point he’d definitely forgotten how to breathe.

“It’s really fine!” He finally managed to squeak out when Todoroki let go of his chin. “I’ll just head inside and wash it and I’m sure it’ll be good as new.”

Todoroki seemed to consider this for a moment before nodding his head. He stood up, reaching down and snagging Midoriya’s hand, hauling him to his feet, too. Midoriya felt like his entire arm was on fire, the feeling seeping deep into his bones, settling in the depth of his gut.

“Be more careful next time,” Todoroki said, but there was no real bite to it, just a small undertone of concern.

“Right!” Midoriya agreed immediately, missing the warmth of Todoroki the moment their hands disconnected. “Thank you!”

With a smile, Midoriya headed past Todoroki and into the dorms to wash up, using every ounce of his energy to not jump out of his own skin.

--x--x--x--x

2.

Midoriya’s breathing is labored as he lands on the ground in a crouch. His legs are shaking underneath him and he knows that his body is starting to reach its limit. Starting to reach it, not at it. In the time since he inherited One for All, he’d gotten really good at reading his body and understanding how he was feeling. He was now an expert at what it meant when his legs groaned as he pushed back into standing. He could tell the difference between close, but not quite at his limit, exactly at his limit, and definitely too far past it. He’d spent a lot of time in the latter category and considered himself somewhat of an expert on that.

Currently, though, he was in the ‘close, but not quite’ category.

The rest of the class was slowly filing out of the gym, their lessons done for the day. Of course, that left the remainder of the afternoon up to them to fill how they wanted and Midoriya wanted to fill it doing exactly what he had been doing. He couldn’t push his limit further if he didn’t reach it.

“You coming, Midoriya?” Iida asked from the doorway, a sheen of sweat coating his forehead. He walked a little stiffly when he’d used his quirk too much and he was standing just as stiffly now.

“No, you guys go on ahead!” Midoriya called, pushing his hair off his forehead and wiping at his own sweat. “I’m going to stay and keep practicing for a bit longer. I’ll be back by dinner!”

With a wave, Uraraka and Iida departed, too, following the rest of the class. It was just Midoirya in the gym now. At least, that’s what Midoriya had thought.

“I’ll stay, too.” Midoriya nearly jumped as Todoroki approached his side, coming from the far side of the gym. He stopped next to Midoriya, breathing a little heavily himself.

Midoriya turned to look at him, willing his throat not to go dry. He needed to get his words out. “Are you sure? You don’t have to, I’ll be alright.”

Todoroki looked at him for a moment then, his eyes scanning Midoriya. It made Midoriya feel exposed, almost. Scrutinized. He was just about to ask what was on Todoroki’s mind when he said, “Spar with me.”

“What?”

“Spar with me,” Todoroki repeated asi if it were obvious. “It’ll help us both improve our quirks. I’ll put up walls of ice for you to break, shoot fire you have to avoid.”

Midoriya couldn’t deny that it was a good idea— a perfect way for both of them to strengthen their quirks. He also couldn’t deny that he loved the idea of spending time with Todoroki, just the two of them, out of sight of the rest of the class. Not that anything would happen— certainly not. But Midoriya’s heart jumped into his throat just at the thought.

“Okay,” He said after a moment and by god if his heart didn’t stop when Todoroki shot him an answering smile.

“Great,” Todoroki took a step back, turning to survey their surroundings.

Usually at the end of gym, their surroundings were destroyed. As Midoriya understood it, Cementoss stopped by each night to repair everything back to it’s original form, giving them all the chance to destroy it all over again. Rubble littered the ground and some of the pathways through the rock was blocked with larger chunks and boulders. It was already almost an obstacle course in this state.

“I’ll set up some walls of ice in different areas,” Todoroki began to explain, his face focused as he thought. Midoriya stayed quiet, listening to him explain his plan and watching the wheels turn in his head, When they’d first started at UA, Todoroki had been closed off and hard to read. But he’d really opened up as time went on and Midoriya found that he didn’t really struggle at all to decipher Todoroki’s expressions, to guess where his mind was going to go. It felt like an intimate sort of knowledge, though, and Midoriya had to swallow against the feelings clawing their way up his throat. “You have to destroy all of them, but I’m not going to make it easy for you. Fair?”

Todoroki turned to look expectantly at him then and Midoriya was so captured in being this close to him that he almost forgot he was supposed to reply. “R-Right! Sounds awesome!”

“Okay, close your eyes.” Todoroki said and Midoriya felt his heart stop in his chest. He couldn't stutter out a single word, couldn’t ask the question that he was wondering but it must’ve been written all over his face because Todoroki elaborated without being prompted. “You can’t see where I’m putting up the ice! That’s part of the challenge— you have to find them.”

Midoriya did as he was told, taking a deep breath and closing his eyes. He used the few moments to try and slow his heartbeat, to steady his legs underneath him. If he were going to pull out One for All, he needed to be focused. His body was close enough to his limit that he had to monitor himself carefully. He couldn’t get distracted and become reckless— that was a sure fire way to end up injured.  So, as Todoroki worked, Midoriya pulled forth One for All, spreading it out throughout his body at 20%.

His muscles screamed, already tired from what he’d put them through, but he knew he could do more. He waited until Todoroki gave him the okay and then opened his eyes, noting the first wall of ice that was only a few feet away. Todoroki had raised himself up on a platform of ice, too, giving him a better view of the entire gym and making it so he’d be able to attack Midoriya from anywhere.

There was a zing down Midoriya’s spine as he looked up at Todoroki, his fire licking at his fingertips, making his eyes dance in the light. They lock eyes and Midoriya can see the friendly challenge in his gaze. It makes his blood fizzle in his veins and just like a shot, he’s off.

He doesn’t go for the wall of ice right in front of him because that’s too easy of a target. No doubt Todoroki would be able to get him from there if he started off like that. Instead he takes off, dodging fireballs as he makes his way between two of the tallest rocks in the room. It offers him cover from the fireballs but limited view of the gym as a whole. The best way for him to locate the blocks of ice is to get high ground, but he knows he can’t do that. With Todoroki up on his own pillar of ice, Midoriya would just be a sitting duck.

He continues down the aisle between the two rocks until he comes out the other side. He can see two of the ice blocks immediately and he takes off towards one. The fireballs resume almost instantaneously and Midoriya has to use the rocks to help him bound around and dodge. Switching his trajectory midair was something Midoriya had always had a relatively strong grasp on, but it was such an integral part of his fighting style that he was happy to continue practicing it.

A fireball nearly singed off the tips of his hair as he made it to the first block, smashing through it in an instant with his shoot style. He kept going, feet barely hitting the ground before he was jumping again, heading towards the neck block. Midoriya didn’t have to look to know that Todoroki had moved— the fireballs were coming from different angles than before. Midoriya’s feet hit one of the pillars of rock in the middle of the room and he pushed off, suddenly coming face to face with a wall of fire.

Thinking quick, Midoriya kicked midair, the wind from his attack blowing a hole in the flames that he was able to sail straight through, his foot connecting with the second block of ice and shattering it instantly. Still, the wall of fire had done what Todoroki had no doubt been aiming for— it’d thrown him off balance. Midoriya stumbled as his feet hit the ground, running a few uneven steps in an attempt to get his feet back under him properly. It took hardly even a second but it was enough time to switch Todoroki to the offensive.

Suddenly, Midoriya wasn’t even looking for the next block of ice— he was just focused on avoiding attacks. He dodged and weaved, using some of the rubble when he could to throw Todoroki off or force him to pull back, sending his attack in a completely different direction.

They continued like this for some amount of time— Midoriya honestly had no idea how long. Somewhere in the middle, he’d glanced up at Todoroki and saw him grinning as he called forth his flames and the realization had hit Midoriya right then and there— they were having fun. This wasn’t a battle, this wasn’t a real fight. This was two friends training together and they were both enjoying themselves. As much as Midoriya loved the hero course, loved his classes and his classmates, he couldn’t name the last time he’d found their practicing fun.

For the longest time, it had almost been a chore. It was something he had to do, a constant pressure weighing him down and making him question his worth. It was always something he had to think about, constantly in his own head. But this, with Todoroki? He wasn’t even paying that much attention to maintaining an even balance of One for All— though a quick mental check told him that he was actually doing an exceptional job of it. Instead of focusing on any of the normal things Midoriya found himself thinking about, he found it all replaced with a rush of adrenaline through his veins and a seed of happiness planting roots into his heart.

Finally Midoriya found the last block of ice and nearly collapsed on the other side of it once he’d broken through. Todoroki came down from his ice pillar right after, his own feet hitting the ground and nearly giving out on him. Even with the few feet of distance between them, Midoriya could hear his breathing.

“That was—” Todoroki started to say.

Midoriya looked up at him, bright eyes and a wide smile, unable to contain the feelings in his heart. “Fun!” He finished for Todoroki, feeling like he was bursting at the seams with happiness. “That was so much fun.”

Todoroki took a few shaky steps until he was next to Midoriya, dropping down to sit with him on the ground. They both leaned their backs against the chunk of ice behind them, Todoroki drawing his knees up and propping his forearms over them.

“Yeah,” Todoroki agreed after a moment, the smile audible in his voice. “That really was a lot of fun.”

Silence fell around the two of them then, only broken by their ragged breathing, but it wasn’t uncomfortable in the least. If anything, it was the most comfortable Midoriya had felt in a long time. It was the first time in, maybe, ever that he’d been able to use his quirk and not worry about everyone scrutinizing him, watching and judging his every move. He didn’t feel self conscious, didn’t feel worried. He felt, for once, like he was just Midoriya.

He turned to express some semblance of this to Todoroki, though he wasn’t really sure how he’d word the idea. In the end, it didn’t matter. The moment he turned to Todoroki, only to find out that Todoroki was already looking at him, happiness in his eyes and the corners of his lips still tilted up a little, the words shriveled and died on his tongue.

As if that weren’t enough, Todoroki reached a hand up almost absently, threading it through the hair along the side of Midoriya’s head. If Midoriya didn’t know better, he would think that Todoroki was using his fire quirk because he suddenly felt like he was being burned to the ground, only to rise up from the ashes and live this moment again and again and again. Todoroki’s hand was gentle and swift as it moved through Midoriya’s hair before he pulled it back and held it out open between the two of them.

“You had ice in your hair,” He explained, glancing down to his hand.

Midoriya followed his gaze to find exactly what he’d said— little shards of ice sitting delicately in the palm of his hand. It made sense— Midoriya had crashed through nearly ten walls of ice. He probably had a lot of ice crystals littering his hero costume and tangled in his hair. Still, he couldn’t help but be a little disappointed.

“Oh,” He said after a moment, “Thanks.”

Todoroki shrugged, his gaze straying back up to Midoriya. “It was my fault they were there,” He said, but there was a look on his face that made Midoriya feel like he wanted to say more. “The least I could do was remove them,”

The silence settled for only a moment again before Todoroki finally stood up, extending a hand down to Midoriay. It reminded him instantly of the other day when Todoroki had hauled him to his feet after his epic face plant. At least today he hadn’t made a total fool of himself. He reached up and grasped the offered hand, allowing himself to be pulled up. His legs took a moment to solidify underneath him and he leaned into Todoroki’s hand in the meantime, noting the way that Todoroki didn’t even try to pull away until he was certain that Midoriya was steady,

Slowly they made their way towards the entrance of the gym, walking close enough that they bumped shoulders occasionally. By the time they exited the building, the sun was setting below the horizon, painting the sky in a beautiful array of yellows and oranges and giving the world a soft, hazy glow.

“We should do that again sometime,” Midoriya said, glancing to his left as they walked. Todoroki had his head tipped back, looking up at the sky above them. His hair fell away from his face and Midoriya was struck once again with the only word he could think of to even come close to accurately describe Todoroki: beautiful.

“Yeah,” Todoroki tipped his head to the side so he could look back at Midoriya and he looked at peace. The sky glowed behind him and Midoiya wanted nothing more than to be close to Todoroki in whatever way he could be. He knew with absolute certainty in that moment— though he’d had other moments of similar clarity— that he would do almost anything for the boy standing next to him. He’d give Todoroki the entire world if he had to because that was the least that he deserved. “I’d really like it if we did.”

They bumped shoulders again and this time it was no accident. Midoriya smiled, leaning back into Todoroki and they finished the rest of their walk to the dorms like that, connected from shoulder to elbow. 

--x--x--x--x

3.

The weekend has finally come and everyone is ready for a break. Aizawa has been running them ragged all week— extra assignments, extra time in the gym, just extra everything. Even Midoriya, who was notoriously good at studying, was having a hard time keeping up with it all. Finally, though, Friday had come and Aizawa had granted them a weekend with little assignments to spend their time on.

So, the class had decided that the first thing they were going to do to celebrate their freedom was have a movie night. Midoriya was completely down with the idea. In fact, he was really looking forward to it. His classmates had become like a second family to him— or really even extensions of his first family since all he really had was his mom. He liked spending time with them, liked laughing, joking and teasing each other. It was one of the things that made his experience at UA as amazing as it was. So he was more than happy to pile some pizza on his plate and head into the common area, plopping down on one of the couches.

They had rearranged all of the furniture so two couches and two chairs each faced the tv. From there, they’d all gone to their rooms and dragged down whatever blankets and pillows they could spare, laying them out on the ground in front of the couches for the majority of the class to lay on. Everyone was slowly settling in, Todoroki on Midoriya’s right, Iida on his left. Kirishima, Bakugo and Kaminari took the other couch, leaving Yao-momo and Uraraka to take the chairs. The rest of them were piling in on the pillows and blankets, shifting until they were comfortable.

“We’re not watching The Shining!” Bakugo was yelling from his spot on the couch, swiping for the disk Kirishima was holding in his hands.

Kirishima laughed, dodging his hand easily and leaning forward to pass it over to Jirou. “Come on, Bakugo, it was popular vote!”

Bakugo slumped back into his seat, grumbling something about how the rest of 1A had terrible movie taste and snagging a piece of pizza off of Kirishima’s plate.

“Did you vote for this?” Todoroki asked, setting his own piece of pizza down and reaching for his drink from the table to his right.

“No,” Midoriya answers, turning to smile up at him. Todoroki is warm and solid next to him, a comforting presence. “I didn’t vote at all, I don’t care what we watch.”

There was a small smile on Todoroki’s lips as he raised his glass up, murmuring, “That’s just like you.”

Midoriya was about to ask what he meant when the lights turned off suddenly, Sero shushing everyone. Jirou waited only a moment before hitting the play button and suddenly the movie came to life on the screen before them. Midoriya had seen The Shining before— Bakugo had made him watch it when they were younger in an attempt to scare him. It had worked, mostly, but it didn’t bother Midoriya any longer. He was able to comfortably relax into the couch, eating his pizza and occasionally nudging Todoroki in request of his drink. Todoroki understood every time, diligently handing his cup over and then waiting patiently for him to finish drinking so he could return it to its spot.

Whispers spread around the room and pillows were thrown— mostly by Bakugo telling everyone to shut up— and the evening dissolved into night. They watched a second movie, Jirou putting it into the dvd player before anyone had a chance to protest. Midoriya had no idea what was coming next, but he didn’t care. He hadn’t laughed this much in awhile and it felt good.

“Popcorn, anyone?” Kirishima called as the previews rolled before the second movie. He still had to dodge a pillow thrown by Bakugo.

“Yes, please!” Was the resounding response and Kirishima ducked out of the room, crossing in front of the TV briefly on his way back into the kitchen.

“Well?” Midoriya asked, turning to smile up at Todoroki. “Did you like it?”

“How do you know I’ve never seen it before?” Todoroki countered, but there was a glint in his eye that made Midoriya feel warm all the way to his core.

“We talked about it once,” Midoriya answers easily, hoping it doesn’t seem strange that he paid that close attention to the things Todoroki has told him. In truth, he tucks away everything Todoroki tells him, creating an archive of facts about him. Midoriya enjoys learning more about him and will happily and willingly listen to any story Todoroki ever wants to tell him. “I told you the story about Kacchan and how he tried to scare me with it and you mentioned that you’d never seen it.”

For a moment, Todoroki’s eyes were wide, surprised. And then he ducked his head, turning his face away. It didn’t do anything to hide the blush Midoriya could see blooming across his cheeks now that their eyes were adjusted to the dark. “Yeah,” Todoroki replied after a moment, his voice a little tight. “I did enjoy it.”

“Will you two shut up?” Bakugo leaned forward from his couch, lobbing a pillow across the short distance and pegging Midoriya in the side of the head. Midoriya caught the pillow as it fell, shooting a sheepish look over at Bakugo. If Bakugo had noticed them, surely the others had, too. Midoriay hoped he wasn’t being too obvious.

“Who keeps giving him pillows?” Todoroki mumbled and Midoriya couldn’t stop the laugh that burst forth at the comment. He felt warm all the way down to the tips of his toes. As his laugh died down, he realized— not for the first time lately— how much he simply enjoyed Todoroki’s company and how happy he was whenever they were together.

Midoriya pulled the pillow close to his chest, wrapping his arms around it and settling into the couch a little deeper. And if settling into the couch meant that ne leaned a little bit closer to Todoroki, well, there was no harm in that, right? It took a moment for Bakugo to begrudgingly settle back into his seat, but the weight on Midoriya’s shoulders didn’t lessen much once Bakugo had returned to ignoring him. Midoriya could feel Todoroki’s gaze on him, so he kept his own eyes focused on the TV as the title screen of the new movie finally flashed across. He was worried, briefly, that Todoroki would pull away. He shifted and Midoriya thought that it was happening, readying himself to pull away abruptly if he didn’t need to.

In the end, he didn’t need to. Todoroki was only shifting so he’d be able to lift his left arm up, draping it along the back of the couch. Once he’d gotten it situated along the cushions, he stopped moving and Midoriya tried to return his attention back to the movie. He couldn’t, of course. Not with Todoroki’s arm right there. Not with the fact that he felt like he was under it, almost wrapped up in it, so close.

And then, when Todoroki did shift his arm off the back of the couch and onto Midoriya’s shoulders directly, it took everything in Midoriya not to combust on the spot. He was certain his face was completely red and the rest of the room could probably hear his heart beating over the audio of the movie. He felt like his heart was running a marathon in his chest, but he loved it. He loved the weight of Todoroki’s arm, loved the way it drew him a little bit closer to Todoroki’s side. He loved every single thing about this moment and wouldn’t change a single aspect.

Not even when Kirishima finally came back, spotting the two of them from across the room. He shot Midoriya a grin and a wink as he doled out the popcorn, laughing a little as Midoriya somehow, impossibly, turned an even darker shade of red.

--x--x--x--x

4.

Somehow, and Midoriya honestly couldn’t remember how, he’d been challenged by Iida to a race. Someone somewhere along the line had raised the question of who would be faster and Iida was confident in his ability. Honestly, as it stood, Midoriya assumed Iida would win, too. But when he eventually gained control over 100% of One for All, he thought he’d at least have a chance. Still, he’d accepted the challenge and the whole class had taken to the front lawn of the school during their lunch break.

Bets were being made and people were dividing up into two groups depending on who they thought would win and Midoriya was surprised to see both Todoroki and Bakugo on his side. Kaminari was explaining the course they had selected and Jirou was waiting at the makeshift finish line, one earphone jack into the ground, ready to call the winner if it were close.

“Go easy on me,” Midoriya teased as Kaminari stepped off to the side finally.

“Hah!” Iida whacked him on the shoulder fondly, “Not a chance.”

Midoriya shook his head, equally fond, and took a few steps away to put some space between them. He swung his arms a few times at his sides to loosen up before calling forth One for All and channeling it down into his legs and feet. The familiar lines snaked their way around Midoriya’s body and a whisper went through the rest of the class at the sight. Iida was watching him, eyes intent but Midoriya just shot him a smile.

“Take your marks!” Kaminari yelled and Midoriya could immediately hear the familiar sound of the engines on Iida’s calves warming up. He dropped low, placing his hands on the ground in front of him and Iida followed suit a moment later. “On your mark, get set, GO!”

Like a shot, they were both off, darting across the line, to the sidewalk and curving around towards the finish line. They followed the path in front of them, arms pumping at their sides. For the majority of the time, they were neck in neck, right by each other’s sides. It wasn’t until Jirou and the finish line came into sight that Midoriya managed to pull slightly ahead. He crossed the finish line less than a second before Iida, but it was enough to claim him the victory.

Jirou yelled to the others about his win and his half of the crowd erupted into cheers, clapping each other on the shoulders and collecting on their bets. Midoriya doubled over, propping his hands on his knees and dropping his head low in an attempt to get his breath back.

“Great race,” Iida congratulated, and he sounded out of breath, too.

Midoriya smiled up at him, happy to see that Iida didn’t look the least bit put out by his loss. If anything, he looked more determined than ever. “Yeah,” Midoriya panted in agreement, “It really was.”

Finally, Midoriya stood back up, his breath still a little short, and fell into step next to Iida as they headed back to the rest of their class. “You really are something,” Iida said fondly. “I never get sick of seeing what you can do with your quirk.”

“Thanks,” Midoriya nudged him, “You were amazing, too. Probably just luck that I won.”

Waving off his comment with a slight roll of the eyes, Iida pressed away from Midoriya and headed back to join up with Uraraka. Todoroki came to meet Midoriya where he was, congratulating him on his win.

“You looked really cool,” Todoroki said, eyes studying Midoriya. His eyes seemed to snag at Midoriya’s neck and he reached up, almost without thinking as he continued to talk. “It was really close, but I knew you’d be able to pull it out.”

While he talked, Todoroki grabbed onto Midoriya’s tie, pulling it a little tighter and straightening it, before smoothing it down the Midoriya’s chest. His touch burned through Midoriya’s shirt but Midoriya found that he wasn’t paralyzed by it like he had been in the past. He almost wanted to say he was getting used to it— his heart giddy at the thought— but the way the butterflies were floating through every vein in his body suggested otherwise. He felt like he was trembling to his very core, but it was a nice sensation. Exhilarating.

It was a fair assumption that Midoriya’s entire outfit had gotten a little wonky when he’d raced Iida. As if reading his thoughts and answering the unspoken question, Todoroki finished settling the tie and tugged on Midoriya’s shirt a little, straightening out the collar, fingers brushing the skin of his neck as he did so. Even when he moves on, shifts his hands down to smoothing out the wrinkles in Midoirya’s shirt, he can feel where Todoroki’s fingers brushed. Every single spot he touched is completely alive, almost like his fingers are still there. Midoriya knows they aren’t, but he’s certain that the feeling of Todoroki’s touch is going to linger well into the rest of the day.

Midoriya swallows around a dry throat, hoping, desperately, that his voice comes out steadier than his heartbeat. “Thanks.”

“Come on,” Is the only response Todoroki gives. As if he doesn’t realize that he has successfully distracted Midoriya for the rest of the day. As if he doesn’t know that Midoriya is going to go back in the classroom, sit in his seat and stare blankly at his notebook, reliving this moment. Like he doesn’t realize that Midoriya is still going to be relishing the gentle touch of his concerned fingers well into the evening. “We’re about to be late for class.”

--x--x--x--x

5.

“How did you know I was out here?”

Midoriya closes the door gently behind him and crosses the roof, standing over Todoroki who is seated on a blanket at the edge, knees pulled up to his chest, arms crossed over top. “I heard you walk by my room.”

The whole truth is that Midoriya has heard him walk by his room every night for months now. He’d followed him, once, just to see where he was going. He’d contemplated joining him a number of times but always chickened out.

“I see,” Todoroki says, and he turns his gaze back towards the front of building. He’s in an oversized shirt that hangs lose on his frame and makes him look small, somehow. Like someone who needs to be protected. Midoriya knows that he doesn’t need that, not at all, he’s more than capable of taking care of himself. Still, Midoriya would like to protect him anyways.

“I can go,” Midoriya hooks a thumb over his shoulder to indicate the door he’d just come out of. “If you want.”

Instead of answering, Todoroki scoots to his left, making room for Midoriya to join him on the blanket. Taking his cue, Midoriya discards his shoes and steps carefully on, sinking down and crossing his legs, hands wrapping around his ankles to make him feel a little steadier, The blanket isn’t big and their legs and arms are both brushing, but Midoriya doesn’t mind. In fact, it’s the comfort he’s gotten with being in contact with Todoroki that spurred him to finally follow him up and onto the rooftop tonight.

They don’t talk, not at first. Instead they sit silently, staring up at the stars. There aren’t too many of them visible because UA has plenty of lights all over campus as part of their security measures and those drown out a lot of the sky. But there are a few stubborn ones, twinkling away despite that, winking down at them from above. The summer air is warm, kissing their cheeks and settling comfortably on their shoulders.

They don’t talk and Midoriya is fine like that. He thinks he could live in this peaceful moment for the rest of his life. He could sit here, pressed against Todoroki’s side and enjoying the beautiful view laid out before them for all of eternity and that would be good enough for him.

Still, he knows that Todoroki must come up here for a reason. “Something on your mind?”

At first, Midoriya thinks Todoroki isn’t going to respond. He has the right not to. There’s no reason he should feel compelled to let Midoriya into the depths of his heart, to share his personal feelings with him like that. But Todoroki does respond after a moment and it occurs to Midoriya that he was just trying to figure out how to say it. “The world,”

“The world?” Midoriya echoes, looking over at him surprised. “That’s a pretty big thing.”

“All my life,” Todoroki answers and there’s a certain heaviness to his voice. Or maybe it’s a wariness, a general wearing down. “I grew up thinking the world was one way. Hard, cold, distant, cruel, expectant. And then,” Todoroki turns, too, meeting Midoriya’s eyes, “I met you. And you showed me that the world isn’t any of those things. And I guess I’m just still trying to piece it all together.”

For nearly a year now, Midoriya had been crushing on Todoroki. So he was familiar with the butterflies, the dry throat, the trembling fingertips. But this wasn’t that. The emotion choking him up, tightening his throat and making it hard to breathe wasn’t just a simple crush. It was an overwhelming fondness for Todoroki. It was pride at the way he’d grown, at the person he was becoming. It was gratitude that Todoroki had let him get this close, had trusted him like this. Midoriya took a shaky breath in, trying to maintain any semblance of composure but he knew it wasn’t going to work.

“Todo—”

“Call me, Shoto, please.” Todoroki cut in and Midoriya was nearly certain that he was going to cry on the spot.

“Shoto,” Midoriya obliged, loving the way it tasted on his tongue. As soon as he’d said it, he wanted to say it again. “You have changed my world in so many ways, too. You’re strong, loyal, kind. I hope to be like you someday.”

There’s an open vulnerability in Todoroki’s eyes and Midoriya thinks that this is it, this is the moment he’s going to lose the battle with himself and kiss Todoroki. The faint dusting of pink on his cheeks, the way the lights from campus make his eyes glow— all of it is too much for Midoirya. Todoroki leans in slightly and Midoriya has the fleeting thought that Todoroki might beat him too it— which is okay, honestly, as long as they’re kissing— and then he drops his head down, settling it onto Midoriya’s shoulder.

It takes Midoriya a moment to recover from his shock and another moment to blink himself back to reality but when he does, he realizes that this is nice, too. Todoroki has shifted his whole body so that he’s leaning into Midoriya, threading one arm through Midoriya’s and nestling his head so that the longer strands of his hair brush just under Midoriya’s jaw line. It’s comfortable and intimate and somehow just as vulnerable as their conversation had been.

Midoriya settles his head on top of Todoroki’s, leaning back into him.

“You’re far better than I could ever be,” Todoroki whispers into the space in front of them, so quiet that the wind could whisk the words away if it wanted to, Midoriya still heard them.

“You are absolutely perfect, Shoto,” Midiroya turns his head and murmurs the words into Todoroki’s hair.

They stay that way for a long moment, Midoriya’s face buried in Todoroki’s hair and Todoroki tracing light patterns against Midoriya’s thigh with his hand. They can faintly hear the sounds of the city in front of them, but they’re faint— like a low hum, lulling them both towards sleep.

“Izuku,” Todoroki says after a moment, pausing to make sure he hasn’t crossed a line. Midoriya hums in response, pressing a little closer. “Thank you.”

There isn’t really anything Midoriya can say back to that, isn’t any way for him to properly articulate what he’s feeling. Instead he simply drops a kiss onto the top of Todoroki’s head, feeling the way his arm tightens in response and nestles back in, content to stay out all night if that’s what Todoroki wants. No punishment Aizawa gave could ever make Midoriya give up this moment.

--x--x--x--x

+1

From the night of their stargazing on, Midoriya’s crush becomes nearly unbearable. He can’t even look at Todoroki without feeling the press of his body, the softness of his hair, the quiet intimacy of his voice. He can’t do anything without wanting to relive that moment, over and over again,

It gets so bad that Midoriya does the only thing he can possibly think of doing— he goes to Kirishima for advice. Kirishima who has been making playfully suggestive faces at him ever since movie night. Kirishima who constantly catches Midoriya’s eye and then subtly nods towards Todoroki. Because Kirishima already knows and he would be more than happy to help, that much Midoriya is sure of.

So Midoriya lays it all out there. He tells him about all of the moments the two fo them have had, all of the brushes of Todoroki’s fingertips that he can still feel burned into his skin. He doesn’t tell Kirishima what Todoroki said on the rooftop, but he tells him everything else. By the time he’s done, Kirishima is grinning from ear to ear.

“Dude, he definitely likes you back!” Kirishima reaches out to grab Midoriya by the shoulders in earnest, his excitement palpable.

“You can’t possibly know that,” Midoriya replies. True, it sometimes does seem like Todoroki feels the same, but Midoriya doesn’t want to assume. And he certainly doesn’t want to do something that would mess up their friendship. It’s one of his most treasured things and he absolutely refuses to do anything that could alter or destroy what they have.

“Midoriya, come on,” Kirishima pleads, giving Midoriya a gentle shake. “He fell asleep on your shoulder! Like, I love you man and you’re a great friend but I’m not about to sleep on you. And I don’t think anyone else in our class is either.”

“It was the middle of the night and—”

“Stop making excuses and just accept what’s right in front of you,” Kirishima urges, his smile dulling down to something more moderate but still full of joy. “I get it, it’s scary to take that step forward. But trust me, he’s going to be down for it,”

Midoriya considers this for a long moment. He’s not convinced, but he’s at least partially convinced and for now that’s enough. “What am I supposed to do?”

“Just tell him,” Kirishima lets go of his shoulders, gesturing with his hands as he talks. “Just lay it all out there on the line. Tell him how you feel. And then, probably, you know, kiss and live happily ever after.”

“Kirishima!” Midoriya cries, his face instantly heating up. He ducks his head, hoping to hide his red cheeks as Kirishima laughs and claps him on the shoulder again with a few more reassuring words. When he finally lifts his gaze again, Kirisihima is looking at him with so much faith and encouragement in his expression that Midoriya knows he can do this, Even if he doesn’t know it, he can feel it in his bones. “Okay, I’m going to do it. Do you know where he is?”

“Where who is?” Todoroki approaches the two of them, eyebrows drawing together when he notices Kirishima’s expression and the way Kirishima looks ready to burst out of his own skin in excitement.

“Bye!” Kirishima cries, all but shoving Midoriya at Todoroki and slinking around the corner.

“Who were you looking for?” Todoroki asks, quizzical gaze still on the corner that Kirishima had just ducked around, clearly trying to piece things together in his mind.

In the past few months, being with and talking to Todoroki had gotten easier. But suddenly, with the knowledge that he was about to confess his feelings weighing on him, Midoriya felt like he’d forgotten every word he’d ever learned in his life. He stared wide-eyed at Todoroki for a long moment, opening his mouth to try and push words out and then getting absolutely nowhere. The seconds seemed to tick on for ages, each one somehow dragging on longer than the last and Midoriya found himself trapped. He needed to do something, that much was certain,

“Izuku?” Todoroki finally turned his attention back to Midoriya, clearly still puzzled by the entire situation. Midoriya’s stone-stiff posture and impossible silence surely aren’t helping.

A moment passes, and then another. Midoriya feels the same panic rise over him that he feels when he’s down in a fight. Move, he commands himself, move! For once, his body listens. Before he can really even think about it, he reaches out and slips a hand around the back of Todoroki’s neck, pulling him down into a kiss before either of them have a chance to do or say anything to stop it.

And then— and then he’s kissing Todoroki. Right there in the common area of the dorms. He’s kissing Todoroki and literally anyone could come around the corner or walk down the stais and see. But none of that matters when suddenly Todoroki is kissing him back, leaning in and gripping Midoriya’s shoulder with his hand. Absolutely nothing on Earth matters other than the feeling of Todoroki. A villain could attack campus right at this moment and Midoriya would die happy because he was kissing Todoroki.

Finally, a whoop that sounds suspiciously like Kirishima draws them out of the moment and they break apart all at once. The fear and panic are back instantly and Midoriya finds that suddenly his words want to work. “I’m so sorry, Shoto. I— “ Todoroki looks back at him while he talks, his lips parted in a wondrous smile and suddenly Midoriya knows that it’s going to be okay. He takes a deep breath, tries again. “I was looking for you,” He finally answers the question Todoroki had asked what feels like ages ago. “Because I wanted to tell you that I—” well, what’s the point in hesitating now? It’s not like he didn’t get the point, “I really like you. Like, a lot. And I just— I wanted you to know.”

“Is that what you were talking to Kirishima about?” Todoroki asks after a moment, his hand still firm on Midoriya’s shoulder, keeping them close.

Midoriya realizes that he hasn’t let go of the back of Todoroki’s neck, either. “Yeah. I wasn’t sure what to do because I was afraid of ruining everything.”

“Ruining everything?” Todoroki echoes, clearly surprised. “Midoriya, I couldn’t be happier about this!”

“I told you!” That same suspicious voice yells from around the corner. But, when Midoriya turns to glare, there’s nobody there. Still a quiet snickering tells him that Kirishima is listening to the entire conversation. It doesn’t bother him.

“Really?” He asks instead, turning to look back at Todoroki. “You don’t have to just say that.”

“I’m not in the habit of saying things just for the sake of it,” Todoroki murmurs, leaning down towards Midoriya again. Midoriya can’t stop himself from glancing down at his lips. “I’m thrilled because I really like you, too, Izuku. I thought I’d made that clear.”

“You did,” Midoriya breathes, feeling his lips brush Todoroki’s as he speaks. “I was just—”

But the rest of this thought and all of his worries are cut off by Todoroki’s lips on his again. And this time, when Todoroki reaches out to touch Midoriya, to brush his fingers against Midoriya’s cheek with his second hand, Midoriya reaches back. He’s not paralyzed, he’s not burning down into ash, he’s just content. Completely and wholly content.

[sope-and-shine]

Don’t Save Me, I’m Fine: Chapter 1

-> Pairings: Yoongi x OC // Hoseok x OC // OT7 x OC

-> Save Me! AU // Fluff // Angst

-> Word Count: 2.4K

-> Summary: After finally bringing all of them together and settling the loop once and for all, the boys find themselves creating a new chapter in their lives. They rekindle friendships, form new bonds, and try to start over again with the 7 of them all together again. Everything is fine until one day of fun turns into a day that just won’t seem to end. Friends need help, but what if they don’t want it?

-> -> Warning(s): Angst // Future mentions of death // Future mentions of suicide // Future mentions of blood, violence, and toxic relationships // Mild and vulgar language in future chapters // This story does continue where the Save Me webtoon left off, so there will be spoilers and our own interpretation of how things may have happened where the story doesn’t specify or how things may have progressed afterwords with our own characters. I do not recommend this story if any of these mentions could be harmful for you. I’d hate for someone to get into the story and then not finish if it becomes too much.

A/N: Has this been done for weeks and I just haven’t posted it? Yes. Am I sorry? Yes. Am I bad human?? Debatable. 

 ------

“No!” Jin sits up with a scream.

The sun on his cheek was like a slap in the face, a cold memory to accompany the nightmare he had been dragged into. Maybe it was a dream. Last night was a dream, and the boys would be over any minute now to start their day together, and they’d go to bed that night without any problems. 

“You’re fine, Jin…stop overreacting.” He tries to drown the worries racing through his mind with positive thoughts. Rational thoughts! There was no way he was going back into that hell...not again. He did what he was supposed to, and that was the end of it. Why would he need to go through it again?

Coffee.

He needed coffee.

The smell itself was enough to pull the man back to earth; to ground himself again. Just a few sips and he felt it’s comforting warmth soothe his anxiety.

Everything was fine.

“Jin!” Taehyung knocks, “Jin, open your door!”

‘Right on time,’ Jin thought, a smile on his face. He places his cup down and makes his way over to the door. This was real life, and that dream didn’t exist. His friends were real, and everything was fine. 

He was fine.

They were fine.

Everything was fine.

“Jin, we need to talk about what the hell just happened!” Yoongi yells through the wood of the door, his words dripping with fear and confusion. Jin’s hand pauses on top of the handle for a moment. Yoongi’s words...the fear...was it real? Are they in a loop? Do they remember? 

No…

There was no way they remembered if they were, it took him multiple before he could remember anything.

“Please...open the door.” Jeongguk pleads, lightly shaking the door handle.

Jin swallows. Hard. Throwing every ounce of fear he had down the drain and coming face first to three confused men. “You remember…?”

Yoongi sighs heavily in annoyance, “Yeah, and I wanna know what the hell is happening?! I thought we were done with this loop bullshit!” 

“I thought so too…” Jin doesn’t know what to think. He thought that it was over, that everything was better. But standing here now with three of his best friends, reliving another day once again, he doesn’t know what to do anymore. Do they try the day again and hope this was all a dream? But why do they all remember the same dream? Why do they all remember when it took him so many loops to discover he was even in one in the first place?!

“Are the others here yet?” Jeongguk breaks Jin out of his trance. He looks up for a moment, but returns his gaze to the ground, “No, they should be here soon though, they got here soon after you did yesterday too.”

“I think that’s them now…” Taehyung points out, directing everyone’s attention to the elevator down the hall opening to the remaining three boys pushing to get out of the elevator just like the rest of them had just done. Each one looks panicked, a look that they all have come to know all too well this morning, “It looks like they remember too…”

Jin nods in understanding, “I’ll turn on the kettle...we have a lot to talk about now.”

The silence in the room as Jin made tea was almost deafening. Nobody knew where to start, or even where to begin with the strange situation they all were in at the moment. All they knew was that something was wrong, and they needed to figure it out. The conversation wasn’t quick to start as the tea was finished either, but that was to be expected. Time loops are not an everyday occurrence. Everyone just sat in the silence of the room with the heavy air in between them. 

“So what do we do?” Namjoon asks, setting his mug down and turning to Jin for answers. Someone had to break the silence eventually, or they wouldn’t get anywhere at all. Namjoon could still remember some of the weird, rushed behavior of Jin when he was going through loops by himself, no doubt he wasn’t able to spare even one second to save the rest of them. It would only make sense that they had no time to lose either. “There’s something that we have to do, right? Where do we start?”

Jin stares into his cup of tea with an empty look of uncertainty, “Who knows…” 

“What do you mean, ‘who knows’?” Yoongi asks. 

Jin closes his eyes with a heavy sigh, “I spent days in the same loop until I finally woke up remembering, and even then I didn’t know what I was doing...”

“Do you think it’s the same situation…?” Jimin wonders allowed, staring into his own cup. He was in a bad place when Jin found him. They all were in pretty bad places when Jin found them. He was in his own loop for them because they needed each other, and the cycle started with him, “That there’s someone who needs our help?”

“Probably, but we don’t know who.” Jin answers.

“How did you find out the first time?” Jeongguk asks.

“I was driving around the city reminiscing on my own. I kept seeing you guys around, and everytime the loop reset I would always see you guys in every instance.” He explains, thinking back to his first few days of the loop and discovering the patterns. In every instance the people were consistent, “People that I knew…”

“Well, let’s see who comes to us.” Hoseok suggests. He sets his cup on the coffee table and stands up to stretch. He gives his friends a bright smile and sets a hand on his hip and the other makes a fist in the air like the main character of an anime. He looks confident, “Let’s go and figure this out!”

They all piled into Jin’s truck after Hoseok’s confidence boost. Their entire day was spent searching the city, trying to find someone who they’d need to save. Countless questions of ‘who are they?’, ‘where are they?’, and ‘what’s happening to them?’ flood through the car windows as they continue.

But the end of the night is still the same when reality crashes around them once more.

The loops only continue on, and everyday after the first is different. The second loop they entered started off just like the other; They met up, they went out, and they searched for anyone that seemed familiar to them, but nothing really stood out. Everything seemed to be slow that day, and it was clear they were getting nowhere. They needed a new form of action, and they needed it soon. With every new loop that they enter and walk through, the more helpless they become.

Jin is the most helpless out of all of them. He’s been through this before, he’s relived more days than he ever thought he would! So why couldn’t he do this? He pulls into a gas station and puts his truck in park. With a sigh of defeat, he lets himself drop his head onto the steering wheel, “I don’t get it…”

Jimin peeks into the truck window from the bed with Guk and Tae on either side of him, “What’s wrong?”

“The problem is the last time I did this you guys were practically falling into my arms!” Jin complains.

Jeongguk looks away from the others, muttering, “I wouldn’t say we were falling…”

Tae pushes Jimin and Guk out of the way and pops his head into the truck window, “What if instead of going around looking for no one, we track someone down?”

“What do you mean?” Hoseok asks.

“We’re looking for people, but we don’t know who. If we go and look for people, then we can decide if they’re it or not.” Tae shrugs. The look on his face makes it seem like this had been on his mind the whole time, but he just never said a word because it seemed too easy.

“He makes a good point,”  Namjoon says, “If we start actively looking for targets, maybe we can rule out who is important and who isn’t.”

“Who should we track down first?” Yoongi asks.

“Well, who’s important to us?” Everyone pauses at Jin’s question, trying to think of anyone significant enough to be their target. And if it was like last time, then there had to be more than one! But who in Seoul could have so much importance to their lives that they’d have to relive their days over and over until they found them.

Jimin hits the truck with enthusiasm, a huge smile on his face, “Your sister!”

Jin is taken aback, “Ara? But she’s fine.”

“Is she?” Taehyung asks, eyebrow raised in question.

Jimin hits him. “Don’t say it like that!”

Hoseok pulls his phone from the front to plug in the address to his GPS. He looks to Jin expectantly, “Where does she live, let’s go find her.” 

Jin stops to think about it. Sure, he’d seen his sister at least once since coming back, but he hadn’t actively talked to her enough to find out where exactly where she’d been staying all this time that he wasn’t in Korea, “I...don’t really know where she lives…”

The boys all have different looks on their faces. Namjoon and Taehyung really aren’t that surprised that he doesn’t know where she lives, that’s just typical Jin right there. Hoseok and Jimin are entirely unamused by this news, because how do you just talk to someone in your family and not ask for their information for later? Jeongguk was in the same boat as the two, but he wasn’t about to get kicked out of the truck for giving Jin a wrong look. Yoongi; however, was the only one willing to open his mouth, “How do you not know where your baby sister lives?”

“I just don’t, okay?!” Jin huffs, he pouts and immediately becomes defensive, “We’ve only met for coffee, that’s it. I never got the chance to invite her over for dinner, or watch a movie like old times before this happened. I didn’t expect it to.”

“Okay, okay. Calm down.” Namjoon sighs. He thinks back to their high school days and tries to think of what Ara was like in high school, just something that would help him figure out where she could possibly be in the entire city. Ara was not a party girl; not her scene at all. She wasn’t much for internet cafes either. Her philosophy, “My parents pay for it so why should I?” The only thing Ara would do without any hesitation would be shopping. “Let’s try a shop or something, she wouldn’t stay holed up all day.”

Yoongi lets out a dry laugh, knowing Ara down to the very last detail, “Yes she would.”

Despite Yoongi’s confidence in the girl staying in bed all day, the boys eventually did end up finding her after searching high and low all afternoon. They searched every street corner, every shopping district, and every market until they finally came across her at a corner store before dark. She was surrounded by bags at her feet while she fixed her purse onto her back. Behind her, Justin - her long term boyfriend - approached and started gathering them for her. She seemed a little surprised by his presence at first, turning away from them entirely and pulling a hand to her chest as a way to calm herself down. They could see Justin chuckle at her from across the street before starting a conversation they couldn’t hear. 

Jin smiles, “See, she’s fine.”

“Well, that’s great for her, but not us.” Yoongi reminds him.

Hoseok sighs and flops back into his seat, “Well, who else can we look for, it’s already 7:30!”

Namjoon pats Jin’s arm to get his attention, “Try talking to her. Maybe they just want you to interact.”

“This is ridiculous.” Despite his reluctance, Jin rolls down his car window anyways even if he wasn’t convinced, he’d have to at least humor the rest of them to take away their interests in his sister, “Ara! Justin!” The two turn their attention to him as quick as he gave his to them. He and the rest of the boys wave together before he continues on with his teasing, “You’re both shopping for groceries late!”

“All the best items are out at night nowadays!” Justin calls out. He gives Ara a wink and leaves her side to jog over to the car that held her brother and his friends. “I didn’t know you were back in town. It’s good to see you.”

“You’re taking good care of her, right?” Jin gives his sister a teasing smile as she joins them. She was his responsibility, but making her life hell would always be his favorite hobby. It was just good for her that he actually liked Justin, “I expect a lot from you with someone so special in your hands.”

“I promised, didn’t I?” He asks. In the back of the truck, Yoongi turns to Hobi with his head hidden behind Jin’s seat. He mouths ‘I promised, didn’t I?’ with a turned face, obviously not pleased to be in the presence of his love rival again.

“You two should come by my house for dinner, I’ll make whatever you want!” Jin promises with almost too much enthusiasm.

Ara instantly gets a big smile on her face, “That sounds great!”

Justin jumps in with a disappointed frown, a hand landing on Ara’s shoulder. “-But we’re pretty busy this week, so we’ll have to schedule another time. Right Jagi?” 

Ara looks at Justin in thought, but it hits after a short pause, “Yeah…” Her smile spreads across her face again and she turns to Jin, “Another time, Jin. I’ll text you when the timing is good.”

“Alright, don’t stay out too late you crazy kids!” Taehyung teases from the back, leaning on top of the truck.

Justin laughs, “We won’t!”

“See you guys...” Justin puts his arm around Ara’s cold shoulders, pulling her into him for warmth. The two of them together makes Jin happy, and he’s at ease pulling away from where he had parked on the street. But the fates have another plan for the boys when they turn at the light. 

And once again, their world shatters. 

[hoshibabes]

Camping Trip

Word Count: 2,195 Words

Pairing: Seokmin X Reader

Warnings: SMUT, unprotected sex (wrap it before you tap it), oral sex, dry humping, Its smut so like…

Summary: You and your three best friends go on a camping trip for the week. All was going okay until you had to share a tent with your best friend that you’ve been in love with for years.

Five days. That's all you had to get through. For some reason, Seokmin thought it would be a fun idea for all of your friend group to go camping together. There were four of you altogether: Jihoon, Soonyoung, Seokmin, and you. You had all been best friends for a while now. You and Seokmin met your first year of high school and immediately became best friends. You both went to the same college where you became friends with Seokmin’s roommate, Soonyoung. The last person to join your group was Jihoon. You met him doing work study together in the library. You four become unbelievably close and could always be found hanging out together. After college, you all moved within a 30-minute radius of each other.

Soonyoung was driving and Jihoon was sitting in the passenger seat. You were in the seat behind Soonyoung with Seokmin sitting next to you. You were sitting to the side with your feet propped up on Seokmin’s legs. You and Seokmin had always been close. You’ve had a crush on him as soon as you met him but you didn’t want to risk the wonderful friendship that was developing. You had become very good at pretending you didn’t have feelings for him. But occasionally he would make it very hard when he would hug you from behind and breathe against your neck or when he’d run his hands over your body. It would also make you feel a certain way down there. As you guys continue driving you notice that Seokmin has begun rubbing circles into your legs where his hands had previously been rested. Your mind kept wandering to places that it shouldn’t. Such as ‘What would it feel like if he had been rubbing circles on my spot.” Your thoughts were cut off by Soonyoung.

“We’ll be there in just a few minutes!!” He yells excitedly. You reach around the back seat to gather your things. You get out the car and help the guys unload the bags.

“Okay. We only have two tents. So, we are gonna have to pair up.” Jihoon calls out. You feel your heart beating faster. You’re praying that you can stay with anyone except Seokmin because you know it’ll be the hardest five days of your life laying right next to him in such a small space.

“I CALL JIHOON” Soonyoung screams on the top of his lungs while wrapping Jihoon in a hug.

“I guess that means you’re with me,” Seokmin says while wrapping his arm around your waist.

CRAP

Only this would happen to you honestly. Seokmin grabs your hand and drags you over to help with the tent. He finishes most of the setting up on the outside and you crawl in and finish what’s on the inside. After he finishes, he joins you inside the tent.

“This is going to be so much fun!” He smiles at you as he sits down next to you. You lay back and try to think about how you are going to get through this week. He begins poking at your thigh to get your attention.

“Did you hear me? Don’t you think this is going to be fun?” He states again but you continue to think, not really recognizing anything he says.

“Hey!” He says as he leans over you, placing his hands on their side of your shoulders. You suddenly get really flustered and your cheeks turn red. You two lock eyes for a moment. His eyes move from your eyes to your lips. You stare back at him waiting to see what he’s gonna do. He slowly moves his face lower and lower till he’s just centimeters from yours. He brings his eyes back to yours and stares at you for a long minute. You suddenly move out from under him.

“I’m sorry. We just- We can’t- I’m sorry” You mumble before stumbling out of the tent. As soon as you get out of the tent you see Jihoon walking out towards the water.

“Hey! Wait up!” You yell running towards him. “Can I talk to you about something. I feel like if I don’t talk to someone about it, its gonna eat me up.”

“Of course. What are best friends for?” He replies with a kind smile.  You always knew Jihoon was someone you could talk to about anything. He was very levelheaded and gave great advice. You both and got to the water and sat down on a small dock. You told him everything. You told him about your feelings for Seokmin but that you didn’t want to ruin the friendship you had with him.

“It sounds like you really love him”

“Oh, I do. I just don’t know what to do. Jihoon, I have no clue how I’m going to make it through this week.”

“Just try staying with him this one night. Hang out and talk like you guys usually do. If you feel like you can’t do it, then we can make up an excuse for you to switch to the other tent. But honestly, if you love him this much, you should tell him.”

“Thank you, Jihoon,” you say giving him a hug.

“You are always welcome,” he gave you a smile, “Now let’s go eat.”

You both get up and head towards the other two. Soonyoung had brought a mini grill for you guys to be able to cook on. He had already begun cooking hot dogs for you guys to eat. By the time you and Jihoon got back, the food was ready. Seokmin gave you a small, shy smile and took a seat next to you.

You had all finished eating and had been laughing and having such an amazing time. You began playing music on your phone and you all had been up dancing and singing together. The four of you used to do this all the time in college when you should’ve been doing the papers that were due the following morning. Around 2 A.M. Soonyoung had decided to call it a night. He and Jihoon went back to their tent to sleep before all the real fun started tomorrow.

“Should we go to sleep too?” Seokmin asks motioning towards the tent.

“Sure”

After you both take turns getting changed, you throw a blanket over your body and close your eyes. Hoping that you just might be able to fall asleep and forget about all the dirty thoughts running through your head as you are laying directly next to Seokmin.

After about 30 minutes, neither of you had fallen asleep. He eventually put his hand your shoulder and you shot up. You sat there staring at the exit to the tent.

“What wrong? You’ve been acting so weird since we got here” Seokmin whispers shyly.

“I’m sorry. I just. I need to tell you something.” You say as he sits up. “For the longest time, basically since we met, I have been completely in love with you. I always kept it to myself because I didn’t want to ruin anyth-“ your words got cut off as Seokmin puts his hand on your shoulder and pushes you back so you are laying down. He gets on top of you and looks down at you.

“I am so unbelievably in love with you” he whispers before pressing a kiss to your lips. His gorgeous soft lips against yours felt amazing. They felt like they had always belonged there. Like they should always be connected to yours. He brought his hand up to cup your face as he deepened the kiss and become a little more passionate. As he slowly slid his tongue into your mouth, his hand moved slowly down your body from your check, grazing over your boobs, to the hem of your shirt. He moved his hand under your shirt and just before you got to your breasts he pulled back.

“Do you want to- I mean if you don’t then please tell me.” He stutters. You smile up at him and grab the collar on his shirt to bring him back into a kiss.

“Please” you murmur against his lips. He doesn’t take any time reaching down and slipping off your shorts. He pulls you both up to a seated position and pulls you up onto his lap. You follow his lead and straddle him and wrap your arms around. You both keep making out heavily and he reaches back up your shirt to undo your bra. You slip both your top and bra off just to help him out a little bit. He follows you and takes his t-shirt off too, leaving both you in only your underwear. You both continue making out as he palms at your boobs. As his hands leave your boobs then travel to your ass where he begins slowly moving you so that you are grinding on him. You take his hint and begin grinding down harder and listen to his breathing get heavier and heavier as he becomes so unable to even think clearly.

“Fuck” he breathes heavily as he pushes you on your back. He climbs back on top of you and begins sucking your right boob while palming your left one. You moan at the way he circles his tongue around your nipple and the way he occasionally bites at it. Every ounce of worry you had before had left your body due to how amazing he was making you feel. He starts to kiss down your body until he hits your underwear. He grabs them and slides them down painstakingly slow. You let out a whimper as a plea for him to stop teasing you. As he comes back to your core, he pushes your legs apart to get an even better look at you. You felt almost shy at the way he was looking at you. He brings his lips to your thighs and kisses up them, stopping just before he gets to your folds.

“I can’t tell you how long I’ve been waiting to do this” His deep voice against you made your breath hitch and made you even wetter.

“Seokmin, please.” He finally finishes teasing you and runs his tongue along your folds. The longer he goes the deeper he gets. As he continues eating you out, he slowly inserts his fingers inside you. You let out a loud moan.

“Baby you are so wet” he smirks, looking up at you.

He goes back to eating you out while pumping his fingers in and out of you. This continues for multiple minutes as you just lay there moaning and whimpering. Your breaths get heavier and you begin seeing stars. He keeps going until you fall over the edge with pleasure.

As you lay there taking a moment to come down off your high, Seokmin cleans off his fingers and slides his boxers off.

“Are you ready for round two, darling?” he says moving back over you, pressing kisses to your lips. You nod your head. He runs his hands down your body to your thigh and puts your leg onto his shoulder in order to get into you deeper. You both continue to make out as lines himself up with you and pushes in. He goes painfully slow. So slow that you think you might sob. You reach around and grab his ass and shove him the rest of the way into you. You both moan at the same time.

“Seokmin please fuck me!”

He smiles down at you and begins pumping in and out. As he holds himself up with his left hand, he brings his other hand around to hold yours. He buries his head in your neck.

“I am so in love you. I always have and always will. I want to be with you” he coos all in between thrusts. As he comes to an end, he takes himself out of you and pumps himself with his hand twice before he finishes on your stomach.

“I’m sorry. I just didn’t know where to-“

“Baby, it’s fine. You’re ruining the moment” you giggle.

He smiles at you and cleans you off with a napkin. When he finishes, he wraps you both up in a blanket and spoons you. The last thing you feel before you fall asleep is Seokmin’s lips against your shoulder.

When you wake up the next morning Seokmin wasn’t in the tent. You put on some shorts and a tank top and walk out the tent. You see the guys sitting over by the lake and you run over to see them. As you approach they began yelling.

“OOOHHHH SEOKMIN”

“FUCK”

“OHHH”

They continue making moaning noises for the next few seconds.

“So I guess you heard?”

“Oh yeah”

[vortexofentertainment]

The Few Things - Chapter 9

I know I updated this just a few days ago, but you guys don’t mind me going ahead and adding another, right? I hope not, because this chapter just kind of happened because of the outpour of love from the last one and from the multiple notifications I’ve gotten about others liking/reblogging previous chapters. So, THANKS, YOU GUYS. It seriously means so much because I honestly never thought anyone would actually like my writing. Here’s chapter 9. I hope you guys enjoy xoxo

Chloe was nervous. She never expected Beca to shoot her down so quickly, but then again, she wasn’t really sure what to expect. Beca obviously didn’t enjoy singing in front of people, even though she was amazing at it, and Chloe just didn’t understand why she wouldn’t want to share that gift. 

The conversation had happened only a few hours ago, and Chloe was still trying to figure out a way to convince Beca to join. It had been on her mind nonstop. Well, not just that. To rephrase, Beca was on her mind nonstop. 

They had made out for hours but hadn’t talked about it. They had each said some pretty personal things since meeting one another but neither had talked about it. Chloe was a talker. She loved to talk things out. She was also a toucher. She loved to be touching whoever she was with or crushing on. It made her feel good. It was hard for her to explain to anyone who didn’t just understand. 

But Chloe knew Beca wasn’t really the touchy-feely type or the talkative type for that matter. She had figured that out so far. Although, there seemed to be something about Chloe that brought those walls down for Beca. She had opened up to her more and even let Chloe hold her hand right after they first met. What was that all about?

And they kissed. Actually kissed. Like, in a way that could have led to more, but neither wanted to push the boundaries. Chloe wanted to cross that line. She wanted to completely erase it all together and just be with Beca all the time, touching and feeling and talking and kissing. 

Her mind was in overdrive and every single thought consisted of Beca.

Except, she was totally ignoring what Beca was saying so she could think more about Beca. Which was weird, but still. Chloe had zoned out completely and Beca had absolutely noticed. 

“Dude, are you even listening?” Beca asked with a small smirk on her face. She nudged Chloe’s shoulder with her own. 

The two girls were sitting on Beca’s bed with no distance between them. Chloe had scooted over so close that the side of her body was pressed against Beca’s. She still couldn’t get over the fact that she was allowed to do this. 

Chloe looked over at the brunette and raised her eyebrows in response. No, she hadn’t been listening. She had been thinking of Beca joining the Bellas, which led to Beca singing, which led to Beca in the shower, which led to... 

“I was saying, I think we should maybe go on a proper date sometime.”

Chloe really hated that she had missed that part of the conversation because Beca looked extremely nervous and way out of her wheelhouse. She was twisting the ring around on her pointer finger which Chloe had come to notice as a sign that Beca was uncomfortable. 

So, to maybe ease the nerves, Chloe reached out and took Beca’s hand in her own. The coolness of the ring being pressed between her own fingers made a chill run down her spine. She loved feeling every little bit of Beca’s presence. 

“I would love to,” Chloe smiled. She gave Beca’s hand a squeeze. 

Beca smiled at her. It was a beautiful smile. It was genuine, Chloe could tell, and it seemed to light up Beca’s dark eyes. When she closed her lips to hide her teeth, the smile was somehow even more adorable. It was kind of like a smirk now. The one that Chloe knew would get her to do almost anything. 

Beca turned away from Chloe, looking back down at the laptop sitting in front of her. She was clicking around with her free hand now, not daring to take her other away from Chloe’s grasp.

Chloe let her head rest on Beca’s shoulder. She was watching her do something on a digital mixing board. She had one earbud in and Chloe could hear the faint sound of a beat being played. She wanted to know what Beca was doing, and how she did it, but she also didn’t want to bother her. 

“You know I wasn’t trying to be mean when I told you that a capella wasn’t my thing, right?” Beca asked out of the blue.

Chloe shifted her head so that she was looking at Beca’s profile now. Her lips were parted just slightly, and she was concentrating really hard on the screen. Chloe reached up and tilted Beca’s chin towards her so that the brunette was forced to make eye contact.

A grin spread over Chloe’s face as she took in her beauty. Beca’s eyes were serious but there was a lightness to her features. The way Beca looked at Chloe made her heart flutter a bit. She watched the dark blue eyes skim down her face to her lips, then up to her nose, and finally back to her eyes. 

“I know,” Chloe said simply. “I get it, it’s a little weird. I mean, we make music…” Chloe stopped for dramatic effect. “With our mouths.” 

“Hmm,” Beca chuckled at that. “I think I could think of some better uses for your mouth.”

Chloe’s mouth fell open. She was surprised at Beca’s forward flirtation, but she also loved it. 

“Beca Mitchell!” Chloe exclaimed as she sat up a little more. “What are you implying?” 

Beca grinned widely as she took her earbud out and pushed her laptop to the side. She moved so that she was straddling Chloe. Chloe’s breath hitched in her throat as she felt Beca settle down on her. 

“I think you know,” Beca said quietly as she brought her hands up to cup Chloe’s face. 

Before Chloe could say anything else, Beca’s lips were pressed against hers and her tongue was in her mouth. Beca was being very forward and it made Chloe tingle all over. 

She grabbed a hold of Beca’s shirt, pulling the brunette closer to her. She could feel Beca’s hips move just once, involuntarily, against hers and it definitely had Chloe on edge faster than she cared to admit. 

It took every ounce of Chloe’s self-control not to flip Beca onto her back and have her way with her. She didn’t want to move too fast. Beca had just kissed her for the first time yesterday, kissed a girl for the first time yesterday. Chloe wanted to do this right and to make sure Beca was ready.

But Beca was making it hard. The way her tongue caressed Chloe’s and the way she sighed into the kiss whenever Chloe would pull her close again… it was too much for her to comprehend. Beca had a good grip on her neck, hands on either side, gently letting her thumb slide over Chloe’s skin. 

She couldn’t take not having control anymore. Chloe quickly and expertly flipped Beca so that she was on her back. She wasn’t going to take it further, but the look on Beca’s face when she looked up at Chloe definitely made her think about it. 

She settled between Beca’s legs and dipped down to reconnect their lips. She held herself up, thankful for the extra pushups and workouts she did to make it possible so that she wouldn’t squish Beca. 

Chloe gasped when she felt Beca’s hand slip under her shirt and settle on the small of her back She only let it stop her for a second, taking a deep breath to calm herself before kissing Beca again. 

Beca’s fingernails scratched across Chloe’s skin, sending goosebumps scattering all over her body. A particularly uncomfortable warmth had settled between her legs and Chloe was dying for a just a little bit of relief.

But she wouldn’t dare do anything without talking to Beca first. That was her main priority. She would kiss Beca all day long. She would squirm and fight her urges because she hoped it would eventually all pay off. She would do nothing to make Beca uncomfortable, but when the time was right she would do everything to make Beca scream her name. 

Chloe had to push the thought from her mind. 

“Short sta- WHOAH!” Chloe heard as the door to Beca’s bedroom slammed open. 

Her initial reaction was to push off of Beca quickly, so she did. She stood beside the bed, as she took note of a blonde girl standing in the doorway. 

“AMY!” Beca yelled as the girl looked between the two of them. 

“Sorry! My bad!” the girl, apparently Australian, apologized as she backed out of the room. “I’ll just be out here!”

Chloe watched the door close as she took notice of her own state. She was breathless, and her mind was whirring, and the sight before her when she turned back around didn’t help.   

Beca laid there, propped up on her elbows with her legs slightly parted from where Chloe had vacated them, lips tented red with the kiss, and hair just a tiny bit mussed from Chloe’s actions. She was breathless, too. Her chest moved quickly as she brought her gaze back to Chloe. She had a hint of annoyance in her eyes, but Chloe was sure she saw it vanish when they locked on hers. 

Chloe wanted nothing more than to crawl back onto the bed and finish what they had started. She could see that Beca was considering it, too. The way the brunette’s eyes traveled up and down her body. Chloe was sure she wasn’t hiding her desires like she initially hoped to. 

“So, that’s Fat Amy?” Chloe asked, breaking the silence. It probably wasn’t the best thing to say or do, but the tension was thick, and she had to do something to cut it. 

Beca groaned and brought her hands up to cover her face, causing her body to fall back on the bed in annoyance. Defeat? Chloe couldn’t really tell. All she knew is that Fat Amy may have saved her from making a huge mistake before Beca was ready. 

**

Chloe left not long after that. Beca was still annoyed at the fact that Fat Amy had just barged in. Then again, she wasn’t sure what else to expect. That seemed to be a hallmark of Amy’s personality along with being completely unreliable in most situations.

“Sorry about that, short stack,” Amy said as the door closed behind Chloe. Beca turned on her heels, pressing her back to the wood. She let her head fall back with a thump.

“It’s fine,” Beca mumbled. Because truthfully, maybe it was. Things were getting hot and heavy, and she wasn’t sure she was quite ready for that. Even when her body was screaming for her to take the leap, her head was telling her to slow the fuck down.  

“So…” Amy said awkwardly. “You’re into girls now?”

“Um, yeah,” Beca answered. “It’s kind of a new thing.”

“Cool,” Amy nodded. Beca could tell she wasn’t really sure what to say. The Australian also tended to say the wrong things at the wrong time, and the fact that she was being considerate enough to hold back meant a lot to Beca. 

The silence stretched out until Beca thought maybe Amy had suffered a stroke or something. She was never quiet for that long. Ever.

“So, you’re a lesbo?”

“I’m bi, Amy,” Beca exhaled as she ran her fingers through her hair. 

“Twice the fun!” Amy exclaimed.

“Oh my God,” Beca groaned. 

“Good for you, shorty.”

“What are you doing here, Ames?” Beca asked, trying to change the subject quickly. “I thought you were in Prague.”

“I was, but I got bored, so now I’m here.” 

“What exactly do you even do?” Beca asked. 

She could never figure out that part of Amy’s life out. In college, she was normal… well… okay, normal was a stretch. She definitely wasn’t as secretive. Then, after graduation, she did some kind of sideshow called Fat Amy Winehouse. Beca didn’t think she made a lot of money off of it, but maybe she did? Because one day, she told Beca she was going to travel the world and off she went.  

Amy mumbled something under her breath quiet enough for Beca to not be able to hear it. It was the usual response Beca got. She was starting to think Amy was a part of some secret organization or something. 

“Okay, well, I have some more work to do. You know where everything is, and your room is still made up,” Beca told her. Before walking past her friend, she stopped and looked down at her. “I’ve missed you, or whatever,” she mumbled and then went back off to her room. 

**

Chloe Beale Today 11:21 PM Chloe: Is it crazy that I can’t stop thinking about you? Chloe: Because if it is, then that’s totally not what I’m doing…

Beca smiled down at her phone. Her eyes were burning from staring at her computer for hours and hours. She was just about to lay down for the night and try to sleep, but now she would have to stay up. There was no way she was going to fall asleep on a sweet, sentimental Chloe. Even if that wasn’t exactly Beca’s cup of tea.

Beca: Everyone’s a little crazy, Beale.  Beca: but I’m totally thinking of you too so we can be crazy together Chloe: :) Chloe: So this date you mentioned… 

The date. The date Beca was so nervous to ask Chloe on or even really attempt to plan. She wasn’t really good at the stuff. 

She let her hands hover over the keyboard. What was she supposed to say? She knew she wanted to take Chloe out, which as a big deal for Beca. She wasn’t exactly out yet, not to her family. Her friends knew. Well, Amy knew. Stacie and Emily still hadn’t been filled in on all the blissful details of the last two days. 

The thought of how quickly she had gone from not being sure about her sexuality to very sure was crazy. All it took was Chloe looking at her, speaking to her, kissing her… just Chloe really. She had made Beca so sure, and Beca was certain that she didn’t want to stop kissing Chloe and that it was one million times better than kissing Jesse.  

Chloe: Becs… either you’ve been typing for ten minutes or youre freaking out.

Beca smiled a bit because of course, Chloe was already starting to figure her out and she wasn’t even her girlfriend yet. Girlfriend. Holy shit. That was… wow. 

Beca dropped her phone onto the bed and got up. She needed to think. She needed to figure out what she was doing. She had just been living in the moment since that hike. She really liked Chloe. Like, way more than she already should. 

Her phone vibrated again but she didn’t want to look at it. Instead, she grabbed her headphones and put them around her neck. She plugged them into her phone, strategically avoiding the message Chloe had just sent and started to play her music. 

“Amy,” Beca called as she exited her room. Her friend was nowhere to be seen. Beca assumed she was in the guest room getting ready for bed or possibly out of the apartment completely. 

She left, put the headphones over her ears as she descended the steps and started to walk down the street. The music blaring was therapeutic. It tuned out the world around her but helped her think at the same time. She switched her phone to ‘Do Not Disturb’ and dropped it back into her pocket. She just needed music. Nothing else to distract her.

She focused on only one thing and that was Chloe. She thought about how she felt when she was around her. How she felt safe and calm in her presence, but also flustered and overwhelmed. She thought about the way Chloe kissed her tenderly, which turned into hot and heavy, which led Beca’s mind to unspeakable places. She bit her bottom lip. Beca liked that thought a lot. Enough to know that she never wanted it to stop. 

That thought scared her. The whole forever feeling she got when she was around Chloe. She had known the girl for less than a month, and she was falling head over heels. That wasn’t what Beca did. Beca was a loner. She had made it that way with only three exceptions, well now four apparently. She was turning into a softy around Chloe. The walls she spent so long building were crumbling down.

The walls she built because of her family. Beca had spent her entire life trying to make them proud and win their approval. Her dad had never supported her dream of becoming a producer, even when she landed the amazing internship that turned into a permanent position. Although she wasn’t doing exactly what she wanted to do, she was making progress. 

Her mom, however, was on Beca’s side usually. Not always, but usually. Beca was a lot like her mother. They were both more closed off and that made it hard for Beca to really know exactly what her mom was thinking. It was kind of ironic, actually. She knew she did it to everyone else around her and just how frustrating it could be, yet she continued to do it. 

Her grandmother would never understand. The woman was too set in her religious ways, which made it hard for Beca. Her grandmother, or Gramgram as Beca called her, had basically raised Beca after her parents split. She spent many nights with her, went to church with her, and learned some of life’s most basic lessons from her. Beca saw now, though, that those lessons were doused in religion. She had come to form her own opinions on how things should be handled and the way the world works. 

She kept those opinions to herself though around her family. She was already the outsider for the most part, different than everyone else. She didn’t want to add the controversial opinions she had or put forth the energy to fight the argument that would definitely follow. None of it was worth it to her. She knew she wouldn’t change their mind and it would only upset them all. 

That’s how she felt about coming out, too. She hadn’t even had time to really think about it, but she knew it was something she wanted to avoid. She lived her life quite happily without discussing her romantic life with her family. Why change that now? 

Yes, they always pressured her to find a “man that could take care of and support her” or whatever, but Beca had been working on battling that for a while. She told them any chance she could that she didn’t need a man or anyone else in her life for that matter. She was just fine on her own and would make it one way or the other. They didn’t like that very much. 

Settling down really never appealed to Beca. She saw how easily it could all fall apart, and she wanted nothing to do with that. The pain and suffering her mom went through absolutely did not appeal to her. 

That could change though. Everything else seemed to be changing. Why not that, too? 

Beca looked up from where she had been staring at her feet as they moved along the pavement. She recognized the building she was in front of. She also recognized the redhead that was coming down the front steps of the building in a hurry. 

When Chloe looked up, she almost bumped into Beca. Her eyes were wide, and she looked worried. Her hair was down, and her curls were bouncing with each step she descended. She was still in her pajamas, pink short shorts and a white tank top that made her look absolutely adorable in Beca’s opinion. The amount of skin showing was a bit distracting as well.  

Beca pushed the headphones until they were hanging around her neck. The look on Chloe’s face was a mixture of confusion, worry, and maybe just a hint of anger. Beca had a feeling she knew what about, too.

“What are you doing here?” Chloe asked as she came to an abrupt stop in front of Beca.

“I, um,” Beca looked around. She wasn’t really sure how she got here. She was just walking, not really paying attention to the turns she was taking. Her body just kind of carried her here. “I was just out for a walk.”

“I was just about to come to see you,” Chloe said quietly. “You weren’t answering my texts. I got worried that I said something wrong or–”

“You didn’t,” Beca told her. She reached out and took Chloe’s hand. God, that was the last thing she wanted Chloe to think. “I just… ugh, I don’t know how to say it.”

Beca looked down at her feet again and caught sight of her fingers intertwined with Chloe’s. The way Chloe’s thumb was gently running over hers made her happy. Happier than she had felt in a long time. Why was she so scared of that?

“You don’t want to be with me,” Chloe said sadly. 

Beca’s head snapped up and she could see the tears forming in Chloe’s eyes. 

“What? No! That’s not…” How could she possibly think that? Then again, how could she possibly not think that? Beca was such a dick. She shouldn’t have ignored her. She should have just told her how she felt. She needed to fix it. “I do. I do so much, Chlo. That’s what scares me.” Beca’s heart was pounding. 

Chloe just looked at her. Those ice blue eyes were fixed onto Beca’s. She needed more. Beca knew she was confusing. She was confusing herself.

Beca gave Chloe’s hand a squeeze and pulled her closer. She grabbed her other hand so that they were now completely facing each other. This was it. She had to tell her. They had to work this out because the thought of losing Chloe Beale was too awful. 

“Can we go up to your apartment? I don’t really want to talk out here,” Beca said.

Without hesitation, Chloe was pulling her back up the steps of her apartment building. Beca stumbled a bit to keep up, but the grip Chloe had on her hand was unwavering. 

Before she knew it, they were up the three flights of stairs and sitting on Chloe’s couch. Chloe had dropped her purse by the door and Beca was now sitting nervously in front of her. 

“Okay, so…” Beca started. 

It was best if she just didn’t think about it. Just talk. That’s what she was going to do. Maybe it would help if she closed her eyes? But that would be weird. Yeah, she would definitely keep them open. 

“My family is not at all accepting of the LGBT community. So, my whole life I’ve been brought up in the religious strict no gay policy. It was bad. It was a sin. All that shit. I mean, once I was out of the house and could actually figure things out on my own, I saw how wrong that was. I know how wrong their opinions are, and not just on that issue. Basically everything. I don’t want to get into the whole religion versus God thing, but that’s just how they are. So, the chances of me coming out to them are slim to none because I just don’t think I could handle all of that, you know? Unless I find someone that’s completely worth it. And what scares me the most is that I’m starting to maybe think that you could be? Because, like I said before, I like you a lot. Way more than I probably should. And this is all just moving so fast and my feelings are just so fucked up and I can’t… I can’t seem to really figure out what’s happening in my head. All I know is that I want to be with you because you make me happy and I’ve never had anyone make me as happy as you do and it’s all just freaking me out. Because really there’s so much that you don’t know about me, but I want you to know and I’m sure you’ll learn it all pretty quickly because–”

Beca was interrupted by a hand over her mouth. Chloe was looking at her, eyebrows raised, trying to take in all the information that had just been hurled at her. 

“Babe, you’re rambling,” Chloe said quietly and with a tiny smirk. “It’s cute when you ramble, but I’m going to need a second to just process.”

Beca nodded with Chloe’s hand still over her mouth. She watched as Chloe’s twinkling eyes studied her and her hand slowly dropped down and took its place back in Beca’s. 

“So, you want to be with me?” Chloe asked, finally breaking the silence that was slowly killing Beca. 

“Um, yes,” Beca nodded. She watched as the smile that broke across Chloe’s lips widened. It caused Beca to smirk in return. “Do you, um, do you want to be with me?” she asked nervously. 

For Chloe to be the sentimental sappy one, Beca sure felt like she was the only one that put herself out there a lot in the relationship so far. She wasn’t entirely sure how Chloe felt towards her. She had an inkling of an idea, but Beca needed it spelled out for her most of the time. 

Chloe bit her bottom lip to try and contain her smile. “Yes,” she answered. Her face grew serious. “How about, for right now, we just focus on that? We can deal with your family later, but right now… let’s just focus on us and see where it goes.”

“I’d like that,” Beca nodded. “So, does that make us, um…”

“Girlfriends?” Chloe supplied, her smile beaming. “I think it does,” she giggled.

“Good,” Beca smiled too. Her heart was ready to burst. She doesn’t remember a time she was so happy. She also doesn’t remember a time she took such a leap. She prayed it paid off. She had a feeling it would.

CONTINUE

[mystic-messenger-writing]

sorry if u've done this already but can u do an RFA react to finding out MC is suicidal/mentally ill and self harms? or at least one with saeyoung specifically! u don't have to do it if ur uncomfortable tho!!

Okay real talk time: self-harm is never the answer. I know from personal experience that purposely harming yourself doesn’t help you out in the long run. People always say that things get better and they honestly do, even if it takes some time things do get better. I’m not proud of my own self-harm scars but when I look at them, they always remind me that life truly got better. I sincerely hope that you’re doing okay anonny and if you aren’t, please don’t turn to self-harm. Even if it seems like no one in the world cares about you, remember that my and all of the Mystic Messenger characters love you and want to see you happy! Alright enough of my rambling, thank you for the request and I hope that you enjoy!! ^^

Yoosung

Yoosung watched as you sighed sadly yet again from your spot on the couch

It seemed to him that you were upset, more than usual lately and it concerned him since you were usually such a cheerful person

He tried his absolute best to get an answer out of you but you always dismissed his questions, blaming your mood on random things

When he asked you yet again what was wrong, you felt frustrated at yourself and got up to go to your bedroom

Yoosung felt defeated, you always seemed to never want to talk to him or go out with him anymore and it hurt that you never turned to him for help

As you were leaving the room, Yoosung grabbed onto your wrist accidentally pushing up your long sleeve

His eyes went wide in horror as he saw he multiple self-harm scars that littered your skin, some old and some new

At that moment, Yoosung hated himself for not noticing sooner so instead of words, he pulled you in for the tightest hug of your life

Yoosung didn’t let go for a long time, but when he did, he used a shaky hand to wipe away your tears as he gave you a sweet kiss and even sweeter words of support

“I’m so sorry that I didn’t notice your scares sooner MC. I love you so much, I don’t want you to ever feel like you’re alone okay? I’ll do absolutely anything to help you, just say the word and Superman Yoosung will be there for you!”

Zen

Zen had assumed that your real life self would be like your chatroom self, bright and bubbly but he was mistaken

You seemed to wear a fake smile, like a mask that only Zen could see and it truly broke his heart

He would try to do anything to see a real smile from you from shameless using cheesy pick-up lines to buying you your favorite flowers

But nothing seemed to work as you continued to put on a fake mask every single day, and Zen wanted a it to stop

One day when you were doing some minor cleaning, Zen tried to ask if you needed help, that his services weren’t limited to cleaning

Yet again you wore that fake smile that Zen hated, he was about to turn leave the room until he saw you push up you sleeves slightly to reveal scars

Zen had once played the role of a depressed man and knew exactly how you got those scars, they were self-inflicted

Before you knew it, Zen picked you up bridal style and carried you to the bedroom then gently removed your shirt

Without a word, Zen placed feather-light kisses to every single scar you had, murmuring words like ‘beautiful,’ ‘amazing,’ ‘wonderful,’ and ‘perfection’

His words and act of love brought tears to your eyes as he laid down next to you, making you cuddle into his chest as you listened to his loving words

“Please don’t feel like you’re less than perfect MC, you are literal perfection. I love you with every ounce of my being so please, no more hurting yourself. I promise to always be here to love and support you my princess.”

Jaehee

Jaehee had an uneasy feeling in her stomach when you refused yet again to leave the bed

You seemed to never want to leave, only for the occasional bathroom breaks and even rarer food runs

At first, Jaehee just assumed that you had a rough day and needed some rest except your routine of staying in bed all day has lasted over a week

Jaehee knew something serious must be wrong, she’d sometimes walk by and hear you softly crying

She really had no idea what to do anymore so she decided to just go for it and ask you directly what was going on

When she opened the door, Jaehee slowly sat next to your sleeping form on the bed, she was at least happy that you were sleeping instead of crying

But Jaehee noticed that you sleep shirt’s sleeve had been slightly pulled up and revealed your self-harm cuts

Jaehee let out a gasp and felt the tears forming, her bodies startled you awake

She wrapped you up in a loving hug as she continued to cry into your shoulder, saying how sorry she was and repeated how much she loved you over and over again

Jaehee let out a shaky breath as she gave you a long and loving kiss, she wanted her feelings of support and love to be shown through the kiss along with her words of support

“I should have been more here for you MC, I’m so sorry that I wasn’t. But I want you to know that you can use me as a shoulder to lean on whenever you need to. You do not have to go through this alone, please remember that I will always be here for you.”

Jumin

Jumin knew that he and the other members were excessive when it came to asking if you ate your proper meals on the messenger, but now he’s glad that they all did

You would never eat around Jumin or even when he was at work and his staff watched you push your plate away from you

Not only would you refuse to eat, Jumin noticed how sad you were through your eyes, they seemed lifeless and hollow

Jumin tried bluntly asking you about what was going on and if you needed to see a doctor or therapist but you would only shake your head and never leave the penthouse

It truly hurt Jumin’s heart to see you in such a state of despair and sorrow, he truly wanted to help you be he had no idea how

One day Jumin received a call while at work from one of his staff members that informed him you almost passed out from lack of energy and locked yourself in your bedroom

Never in his life has Jumin made Driver Kim drive, knowing that you were in pain all alone made Jumin’s heart race with regret for leaving

Jumin burst through the locked bedroom door with his desire to help you plus the door was surprisingly thin

He found you curled up in a ball and staring at some weird marks on your arm

You didn’t even bother making eye contact with Jumin as you let some tears slip past your eyes

Jumin was quickly at your side, kissing your tears away but stopped once he noticed what exactly was on your arm

Your self-harm scars were all Jumin needed to have the pieces click together for him and before either one of you knew it, Jumin started crying

Jumin took you in his arms, cradling you in his lap and he gently rocked you back and forth as he placed small kisses on your forehead, whispering his words of apologies and love

“I’m such a fool for not realizing it sooner MC and for that I apologize. You’re the strongest, funniest, most amazing person that I know that doesn’t deserve this pain. I will get you any and all the help that you need but until then, know that I will always be here for you my dear.”

Seven

Seven knew it

He was sure that you were in pain, that you felt all alone, that you thought no one was there for you

Seven understood because he felt the same whenever he left his brother and fell into his own depression

So he dawned the 707 mask and tried to do anything to help you from telling corny jokes to attacking you with tickle fights

But it seemed like nothing would improve, you would fake laugh, a sound that Seven despised more than anything, and thank Seven for his efforts

The pain of seeing you so depressed made Seven’s heart ache so he decided to put an end to your internal suffering

He came home one day, cheerily calling your name as he held some bright flowers in one hand and a new fluffy blanket for cuddles in the other

When he didn’t get a response, Seven quickly started panicking and searched the house for you, terrified as to where you were

Seven turned to the bathroom door and noticed the light was on, praying to every God known to man that you were alright in there as he busted through the door

But what he saw ripped his heart out, you were sitting on the floor with a bloody blade to your wrist

He immediately knocked the blade from your hand and crushed you with a hug, he should have known sooner about your self-harm but he didn’t and now he was paying the price

Seven didn’t saw a word as he helped clean you up and carried you to the bedroom

He made you lay down so that your ear was next to his heartbeat as he ran his slender fingers through your hair

Seven cupped your cheeks and wiped your newly formed tears away as he professed his his love and support to you

“If you ever feel sad or alone, remember that my heart, the one you’re listening to know, beats because you’re with me. I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure that you’re happy and healthy MC. I know that life can be tough but remember that I love you more than words can describe so live on MC.”

[londonmusicreview]

Live Reviews November to December 2019 London, UK

Gig List:

Youth Sector/Earhart/BEACHTAPE|Nov. 7th, 20:00|The Victoria (Dalston)

BUGS/Flöat/Watch Paint Dry|Nov. 14th, 20:00|Off The Cuff (Herne Hill)

Team Picture/Blue Bendy/deathcrash|Nov. 18th, 20:00|The Shacklewell Arms (Hackney)

San Raquel/Clarence Oddbody/Big Wednesday|Dec. 17th, 20:00|The Victoria (Dalston)

Bleach Lab/Youth Sector/Birthday Card|Dec.19th, 20:30|Notting Hill Arts Club

Reviews:

Nov. 7th, 20:00 Show at The Victoria (Dalston)

Youth Sector went on first and they were phenomenal. Let me tell you that when you show up to a free show, you never know what you're gonna get, sometimes it's terrible and sometimes you're pleasantly surprised, but NEVER have I been so blown out of the water by a band. They are comprised of three guitarists, a synth/percussionist, and drummer. All of them sing backup except for the drummer who enthusiastically mouths along with all of the songs anyway, and the lead singer/guitarist reminded me of Timothee Chalamet and Robert Sheehan. They're all charming, enthusiastic, and thoroughly entertaining to watch, but the lead singer really gives it all when performing and acts unlike anyone I've seen. They sound like The Vaccines a bit, but are entirely original and themselves. I'd consider myself to be a new lifelong fan, if they keep it up for that long. (Insta:@youthsectorband)

Earhart were tall, almost too tall for the stage. The lead singer mainly, who reminded me a little of Bono for some reason, but with a little Adam Levine thrown in for kicks. At first, I didn't like them, despite the fact that the crowd seemed to love them. I thought they were melodramatic, and too into themselves; they seemed to take themselves a bit too seriously. They grew on me towards the end; they had one or two songs that were better than the others, and that set them apart. I understood why the crowd loved them, the intensity can be contagious, but I think I'm too chill of a person to really be into that sort of musical act. It's just not my cup of tea. RIYL: Twin Atlantic (Insta:@earhartband)

BEACHTAPE came on later than expected, but the crowd was still there waiting for them. Four guys: three guitarists and a drummer, and they play enthralling surf rock to which they refer on their Instagram (@beachtape) as "slop rock". Though I am not a fan of that term, I do see where their coming from, as their composition seems sloppy, but that is the truest form of slacker pop, soft indie rock, surf wave, whatever you want to call it. It is made to sound like that on purpose. Take Mac DeMarco for instance, his music does not always sound pristine, but it's not supposed to, and that is why it's so good. Though I don't agree with how they've categorized (they also call it "junk" on their Facebook page), I do consider myself in the fan category for this band; they're great and they put on a good solid indie rock show. RIYL: Phoebe Bridgers, Turnover, Day Wave, Real Estate.

Nov. 14th, 20:00 Show at Off The Cuff (Herne Hill)

Watch Paint Dry went on first, and she was incredibly endearing. With only a simple set-up (keyboard, peddle, guitar), she was able to create an ethereal experience through which her voice rang like a bell. Modest, nervous, and excited to share her work, I think she came out the other side for the better. Even when she forgot some of the words, it only ended in a charming report with the audience, in which we didn't care about the right words being sung and some wouldn't even call it a mistake, but instead a happy accident. It sounded seemless, regardless of her admission of forgetfulness, and everything else afterwards worked especially well with the character she shared. RIYL: Jade Bird, Snail Mail (Instagram: @watchpaint_dry)

Flöat was next, and they had four members, two guitarists, one of which was the lead singer, a trumpet player, and drummer. They played fantastically well together, and had decent variation in their songs. The only things that stuck out were the lead singer, who had a spectacularly pleasant singing voice, was absolutely inaudible past the first row of people when trying to say things in a normal speaking voice in between songs. It was utterly bizarre, I've never experienced it before in my life, but maybe they just had a soft voice? I don't know, but either way, have someone else make the announcements or commentary in between songs, if no one can understand you. There was also this awkward moment when the lead singer/guitarist wanted to do a "solo" (the only word I could pick out of what they said), and the rest of band sort of just stood idly by looking slightly dejected. Overall good set though in terms of the music itself. RIYL: Birdy (Instagram: @floatbandfloat)

BUGS is a punky garage girl band who aren't afraid to crush the men that have crossed them in some way with their brutal revenge ballads. They weren't all about men, there was one in particular that inspired that statement, but all of their music was inherently feminist, which I appreciate. The only problem I had with them was this one song that calls this bully out by name, and the singer even encourages people to go find him on social media and tell him off. I understand that bullying is a real problem, I've experienced it myself, and from that experience I know for a fact that telling someone off, or exacting revenge in some way, never actually makes you feel better. It seems like a pretty unhealthy message to be sending to any audience, especially young impressionable females who might look up to you as a feminist role model and get the wrong idea about what feminism is about. Overall they were badass and rocked my socks off. RIYL: Jawbreaker Reunion, Girlpool (Instagram: @bugs_band)

Nov. 18th, 20:00 Show at The Shacklewell Arms (Hackney)

deathcrash- five members: three guitarists, a drummer, and a percussionist. Style- skater boy chic. Genre: post-rock, very droning, reminded me of TWIABPAIANLATD, but with fewer lyrics. The first song was really more of recorded spoken word over their noises. Then they had the lead singer contribute live for the rest. Clearly have an attention to detail that contradicts their slacker appearance- peddles, percussion elements, blending only achievable through a great deal of trial and error in my opinion. RIYL: TWIABPAIANLATD (Instagram: @deathcrashdeathcrash)

Blue Bendy- six of them, which is the maximum amount of musicians possible to fit on this tiny ass stage in the back of The Shack, it is not built for a huge band. Keyboardist, guitarist/keyboardist, lead singer(who sounded a bit like Morrissey)/guitarist, acoustic guitar/tambourine(sunglasses), bass, drums. Misfits for sure, they did not seem to fit as a group, and I never would've picked them out of a crowd individually to be put into one cohesive band. But they played great together, especially the tambourinist, he really added a lot to the performance, and I'd love to go see them again. RIYL: The Smiths (Instagram: @blue.bendy)

Dec. 17th, 20:00 Show at The Victoria (Dalston)  

Big Wednesday went on first, they had three guitarists, one of which was singing, and a drummer who sang as well. She was the strongest vocalist of the bunch, so when her and one of the guitarists switched so he was on drums as she sang lead, I was pleasantly surprised. They had a lot of repetition in their lyrics, but with the hearty dynamic voices it didn't seem to mattter. They finished with "The Chain" by Fleetwood Mac, and did it justice. These guys (and girl) have a lot of soul, and they spared no ounce of energy as they their mix of indie folk pop. RIYL: First Aid Kit (Instagram: @bigwednesdayband)

Clarence Oddbody were a mismatched bunch of misfits, but thoroughly talented musicians. The lead looked like your cool history teacher in his jeans, button down, wacky tie, and formal vest, but with Weird Al hair. He was shredding the guitar, and delivering a delightful mix of humor and individualistic sound. They had a bit of that feeling like they'd be the band at someone's bar-mitsva or wedding, may have been the crowd-centered humor, or the unprofessional appearance. Nonetheless they played wonderfully, delivering on a promise they didn't make, and radiating rock n' roll with a sense of humor; the drummer wore a t-shirt that said "Relax, the drummer is here". They had some 70s rock vibes mixed with the occasional jazz or new wave influence sprinkled in. RIYL: Weird Al Yankovic (Instagram: @clarenceoddbodyband)

San Raquel were my favorite of the night. I didn't realize it until the end, but I'd been standing near their lead singer the whole night. He'd been downing pint after pint, and I just thought he was a drunk audience member. Turn out he radiates talent, but seems tortured by it or maybe the lack of recognition for it? I don't think it's the latter, as he avoided all applause, and continually thrust the glory upon his band members and away from himself; at one point he called his bassist an "angel" and himself an "asshole". Despite being two sheets the wind at the start and three by the end, he put on one hell of a performance. I don't know if this is less impressive here in the UK, as there seems to be a different capacity for alcohol here, but to me it was down right inconceivable that this person was able to put on anything near to a coherent performance. He was completely at home on the stage, in a very literal sense; he wasn't wearing shoes, his shirt was half undone, and he treated the space as his own. At one point, he took the mic and loosely wrapped the cord around his shoulders so as not to trip on it as his balanced on the front lip of the stage, jumping down to bring the crowd closer, and coming down to dance with them multiple times as the show progressed. The juxtaposition of this band was stark, as the backup for this Austin Powers/Nick Cave mashup of a man were these three straight-laced guys playing with the upmost precision. You could tell that they loved him, even in his state, and I think that came down to the charisma and fawning he did over their solos. The drummer was from Clarence Oddbody, as he was wearing that same shirt, but he gelled flawlessly with this entirely different ensemble, so I think that is a true testament to his dexterity on the drums. Overall, the most entertaining performance, and the most accessible music; a funk rock extravaganza with one AND ONLY ONE cover from The Stooges. RIYL: The Stooges (Instagram: @san_raquel_)

Dec 19th, 20:30 Show at The Notting Hill Arts Club

Bleach Lab had two guitarists, a singer, and a drummer. When they started off, I immediately noticed how blended and professional the instrumentals were, maybe because the juxtaposition with the vocals was so stark. Later they announced it was their first ever live show, so that is most definitely the reason for this. The lead singer was understandably  nervous and fidgeting, but her voice sounded like a mix of Lana Del Ray and a more lo-fi Dolores O'Riordan from The Cranberries. They sure have a lot of potential, and I can’t wait to see what they do next. RIYL: The Smiths, London Grammar, Youth Lagoon. (Instagram: @bleach.lab)

Youth Sector are a great band to see live. They have this energy that starts high and stays high throughout the performance. Nick Tompkins was a little more reserved at first than the last time I'd seen them, in November, but he brought out the charismatic moves later, after his guitar stopped working. They are just purely entertaining to watch. They played the same songs, just as well as before, and I'd go to see them a third and fourth time even if they don't put out any new music. These guys are in a league of their own. RIYL: Faux Ferocious, 1,2,3, and Astro Cowboy are the closest I can come to the feeling of this band, but still sound totally different in real life.  (Instagram: @youthsectorband)

Birthday Card came on with the air of professionals or a new band on the cusp of greatness, and played a great show. There was  humor and rapport between the band-mates on guitar, keyboard, and synth, as they were sort of the three in one corner. It was obvious they liked the music they were playing. The drummer was over in his own world, playing his heart out, but for once the drums took a back seat in these tunes; a backseat to the autotune and emotion coming from the lead singer. He came out with very 90s *NSYNC  mixed with modern day E-Boy style, which immediately made me think this was going to be terrible. But it wasn't. Yes, there was  little bit of EMO in the lyrics. And Yes there was a little bit of 'f*%kboi' poser energy coming off his movements and the way he held his mic, etc. BUT LISTEN, they weren't bad, they really weren't. The autotune wasn't too overpowering, the beats were contagious and modern, and the band as a whole meshed really well; they played it cool. RIYL: BØRNS(Instagram: @birthdaycardx )

[sharigone]

Summary:  “ Her endless pools reflected the moon in the most wonderful way.  In some weird way, I felt connected to Hinata and almost protective over her.  I wanted things to go her way and I’d do my hardest to help.” College AU. Rated T, might be changed to M later.

Pairing: NaruHina

Bleachers Chapter 4: Half a World Away

To think that after last night I felt somewhat closer to Hinata was weird within itself. I felt like she was opening up more and I’m starting to see a side of her that I had no idea existed. Sure, she is still timid but I liked that about her.  Sometimes she would get so excited about something and her eyes would light up and then she’d get so embarrassed by her outburst and start fidgeting. And now I realize it’s only going to get harder to be around her knowing that my strange feelings were developing and I couldn’t ever deserve her.

When we practiced our lines, I couldn’t help but feel like there was an underlying meaning behind them.  That somehow I am enough and that I am worth waiting for but that’s just too good to be true and I had to shut it down. For my own sake. I have to keep telling myself that we are just playing a part and that she doesn’t actually feel this way. I mean why would she?

Today is the day of our audition. Miss Fuyu had it all organized and separated us by groups, Hinata and I would be the last ones to go up to audition so we would be watching everybody’s performance. The minor character auditions were up first and everybody did a decent job and then the auditions for Odysseus and Penelope were next.  We definitely had some competition, some of the people auditioning for the lead had years of experience in theatre drama. Hinata and I were amateurs compared to everyone else which made it harder for us.  We’d really have to set ourselves apart from everyone else.

“I want chemistry between my leading roles.” Miss Fuyu expressed, “This more than just a section of Homer’s story, it is one of the greatest love stories of that time. I want to feel the want and desire these characters have for each other. Great job, Miko and Ichisan. Next up, Naruto and Hinata.”

“Hey, it’ll be okay just follow my lead.” I whispered in her ear before he headed up to the stage.

“Alright, I want you two to do Act Eight, Scene Three.” Miss Fuyu put on her glasses and sat back down, “Ready when you are.”

I nodded and started walking to the edge of the stage, when Hinata looked at me confusedly, I mouthed “run to me” and she nodded.

“Penelope, Penelope--” I was interrupted when Hinata ran into my arms and I picked her up and swung her in the air.

“Is it you? Is it really you?” she cried, holding me tight to her.

“Yes, my dearest. Duties stripped us months of what is supposed to be happily ever after but here I am, yours forever.” I brought her down to her feet, burying my head into the crook of her neck, “Your scent as sweet as I remembered, your skin as soft as the day I first touched you. Tell me, Penelope. Has time changed the way you feel for me?”

I felt her skin heat up and she pulled my face up to look at her, “There was not one day, one minute, one second where my heart longed for anyone else but you. Odysseus, my sweet, there is not one soul for me in all the lands and in all the heavens except yours.”

I broke out into a smile as I looked into those pearlish eyes of her’s, wanting her to be mine even if it was for this one moment. And the way she looked back at me was too good to be true.  Everything sorta was falling into place so it couldn’t hurt to try, right? I ran my fingers through her dark locks before I lean in closer to her face.

“And scene.” Miss Fuyu interrupted us by clapping, “Beautiful, truly.”

I felt my own face heat up when I pulled away from her and I couldn’t bear to look at her at that moment. I couldn’t know if she wanted me to kiss her just as bad I wanted to. I laughed and scratched the back of my head nervously as I listened to the feedback from Miss Fuyu.

“Now that’s what I call chemistry.” she stood up from her seat, “A normal person would’ve thought that you two have been waiting for this moment. God, am I really gonna do this? To hell with it, I’m in the charge of the damned thing I’ll do whatever I want.”

“Miss Fuyu?” Hinata spoke up.

“Alright, you two will be Odysseus and Penelope. No callbacks.” she shut her book, “Practices will carry out after I finish the callbacks for the other characters and they shall be on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.”

I heard Hinata gasp and I was in awe myself. We really did it! She’s one step closer to get that scholarship.  I couldn’t help myself and I picked her up to hug her.

“It’s all thanks to you, Naruto.” she said excitedly, “All because of you.”

“We have to celebrate this!”

“We’re not going to the bar are we?” she frowned.

“Oh, no! I think we should stay away from the alcohol. I have something better in mind.” I grinned mischievously.

I wasn’t at all prepared for my ass to get completely handed to me with a racing game.  She won multiple times, ten times in a row to be exact. I was in complete shock.

“I’ll go easy on you next round.” she looked at me innocently.

“Ha ha, real funny.” I pouted.

“Aw don’t be mad! It’s just a game.” she put down the controller and crawled over to me.

Maybe I am sorta good at this acting thing. Just when she got close enough, I gave her no mercy and tickled her sides. She bursted out in laughter and I swear it was the sweetest noise I’ve ever heard from her.

“Naruto! Stop, that tickles!” she held onto my forearms and kicked her legs.

“Say that I’m the best!”

“Okay, okay!” she squeaked, “Naruto Uzumaki is the best at everything!”

I let go over and let her catch her breath but I didn’t realize how close we are to each other. There wasn’t anything stopping me now if she even had an ounce of the feelings I had. She didn’t move away or anything like that, in fact she moved closer to me. If that wasn’t a clear signal that she wanted me to do this, then I don’t what is.

My heart beat rapidly in my chest, I wanted this to be perfect for her. I thought about all those times back in school where she was there, watching me but I didn’t know why, being fine talking to everyone else but somehow at a loss for words when it came to me. How could I not see what was in front of me all along? I smiled at the thought that she didn’t just only have an ounce of feeling for me, it was more than that and I was too blind to see it before.

I cupped her cheek with my hand, admiring the gift that I never knew I needed and watched her lean to my touch. I promised myself to never let go, not now, not ever. My face neared her’s, giving her a chance to back out if she wanted to before our lips were inches apart. She still didn’t back away so I kissed her. Her lips felt like clouds and tasted like cinnamon, I never imagined that I’d ever be this way with her. I pulled away to see her reaction and was happy to see that she liked it.

“You have no idea how bad I wanted you to do that.” she sighed and placed her hand on the back of my neck.

“Really?”

She nodded and played with a few strands of my hair, “As long as I could remember, I’ve always wanted you to see me more than the smart girl.”

“I guess they call me an idiot for a reason.” I said sheepishly.

“You’re more than that, I’ve always known.”

I kissed her again, not fearing that I’d get rejected and she reciprocated. I didn’t care that the game music was playing in the background or we were sitting on my uncomfortable floor, all I wanted was her to feel that she is wanted and cherished. I could do this all day and not get tired of it. I kissed her cheeks, her nose, her eyelids, her jaw, and her mouth again. I didn’t want this memory to fade. My tongue darted at her lips, hoping for access that she granted. The small noise that came from her throat when our tongues first met made me melt.  She pulled me closer to her, my hands snaking around her waist to hold her against me as we continued to move our lips against each other’s.

I don’t know how long we’ve been like this until I heard Sasuke come into the room and groan.

“Naruto, couldn’t you put something on the door?” he threw his bag down.

Hinata let out a little gasp and quickly disentangle herself from me, hiding her face with her hands. I was at a loss for words, I mean what could I really say to help either of our cases. I just laughed nervously and stood up.

“Uh, should I take you back to your dorm room, Hinata?”

“That’s a good idea.” she gathered her things quickly before standing up.

Sasuke smirked and leaned against our wall, he was enjoying every bit of this and I was in for a tease session as soon as the guys came over later for game night. I really don’t know what to say about it to be quite honest. We were rehearsing for the big kiss scene at the end of the play? I’d be lying to them and myself if I said that. It was more than just a peck and I couldn’t hide what this meant to Hinata and me. I was in complete heaven for the last five minutes until he showed up and  that would be the only thing on my mind for the rest of the night.

“Have a good evening, Sasuke.” she bowed politely and quickly walked out the door.

“Likewise.” Sasuke’s shoulders started to shake in laughter.

“Don’t even think about it!” I pointed my finger at him before catching up with Hinata, “Sorry about him.”

“No, it isn’t his fault that he walked in on… us.” she smiled a little at the thought.

“Heh, yeah.” I felt all warm inside just thinking about it.

“It was perfect, minus the walk in.” she brought her fingers to her lips.

“I don’t think it gets better than that.”

“You liked it? You know I’ve never… y’know.”

“I know, and it is still one of the best feelings I’ve felt in a long time.”

I watched her smile and look down at her feet.

“Hinata, I’m feeling things I’ve never felt before and I don’t know what to do about it.” I pulled her aside to let other people walk, “It’s weird and exciting and scary all at the same time.”

Hinata bit her lip and she seemed to be in her thoughts as she reached out to hold my hand, “I… know how you feel and I’ve felt them a long time ago and those same feelings are beginning to resurface.”

“How long have you had feelings for me?”

“I can’t give you a definite answer, but ever since you stood up for me when we were six I’ve admired you from afar.”

“That long?”

She shrugged and nodded her head,

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

“I wasn’t brave enough and I was scared.” she looked away, biting her lip again.

There wasn’t any use of playing out the what ifs and the why nots when we are here now, living at this very moment.  I was fully aware of her affections towards me now and I accept it.

“Look at me.” she listened and looked up at me with her watery pearl eyes, “I am so sorry that I didn’t see before. I hope that I am worth all the trouble.”

“Oh, no.” she said in a hushed whisper, rubbing her thumb across the back of my hand, “You’re everything.”

I don’t know what I did to deserve a girl like Hinata but I wouldn’t dare question it ever again.

“So what do we do about this… us.” I gave her hand a squeeze and continued walking with her towards her dorm.

“We’ll take it day by day and give you time to realize what your feelings mean.” she answered.

That seemed fair.

“Day by day.” I agreed.

Soon enough, we ended up at her door and I wanted so bad to kiss her again. But she surprised me by getting on her tiptoes and kissing the corner of my lips before getting her key to unlock her door.

“I’ll see you soon.”

I smiled dreamily at her and watched her close the door behind her. This feeling I had did not relent and I happily let it take over me. I’m on the top of the world, no one can stop me. I couldn’t hide my happiness even if I wanted to.

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