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scribblingfangirl · 4 years ago

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WITH LOVE, THE GOSTS | Julie and The Phantoms - Part Three

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Author’s Note: I decided that this fic trilogy occurs a year after the season one final, making Julie and Y/N almost (or already) 17. Also… this part turned out waaay longer than expected. Which is why there is going to be a fourth part because I have one last idea but didn’t want to rush to write it. And to think this all started because of a rushed (haha) 1k Oneshot. I should really start to write more spontaneously, it seems like good things come out of it. Anyway, Enjoy! :D

word count: ~ 3.9k

summary: Even after meeting the boys they still aren’t tired of helping you out and they each have their own little ways to do it.

warnings: // (english is not my first language, not beta-read)

| PART ONE | PART TWO |

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Knowing that ghosts existed was an absurd feeling (even though you had always believed or hoped that there was more out there than just this world, especially with all those planets that had been discovered by NASA), but knowing that there were three certain ghosts that liked you enough to kindly haunt you, well… that was just plain unimaginable somehow. Yet, still less anxiety awakening than you expected.

After Julie let you meet the guys for the first time you thought you were prepared to accept that you would not be able to talk to them unless they played something (after all, you had Flynn to groan about that), but the occasional giggle from Julie and her glances into nothing still sent chills down your spine.

So you started to always look around very suspiciously whenever you were over at her house and make obscene hand movements just to be sure that the boys would move before you walked somewhere or sat down (which just earned chuckles from Flynn and annoyed sighs from Julie - “Just because you can’t see them, doesn’t mean they can’t see you. They know where you are, so please stop, or else my dad will call your parents and send you to Dr Turner as well.” The boys found it hilarious and liked to imitate you whenever they came too close to you.)

The boys also still kept doing little things for you, just not so in secret anymore (though… Reggie was never one for subtlety). Whenever you seemed to have had a bad day (or whenever they just wanted to make you smile) you knew you could count on them having something prepared for you.

You soon discovered that anything related to food (which sometimes were extremely odd and bizarre combinations) was Luke’s doing (except for pizza and meatballs, according to Julie that was always Reggie). And you knew it was Alex whenever it was something more calm and soothing, yet sometimes a little bit clumsy. And whenever it was blatantly obvious and/or slightly weird (in a good way!) it was Reggie.

Well, no. Not always in a good way. One time you came back from school and your whole room was filled with glitter and butterflies and a small note with a little ‘Sorry!’ on it was pinned to your desk - cleaning that had been a pain in the a-. But you couldn’t be angry at Reggie, even though you weren’t quite sure what his ultimate goal would have been.

Speaking of REGGIE...

All those helpful little deeds and nice gestures were always done within the limits of your house (mostly room) or Julie’s house and the studio, which is why you almost let out a loud yelp when suddenly during a math test your pen started to move on his own, filling out the empty space (because yes, you hadn’t been doing very much other than staring helplessly at the paper in front of you). Quickly you grabbed the pen as well (loosely and while trying to ignore the fact that you were practically holding hands with one of the guys) so that nobody would see a floating pen as you did a few weeks ago at Christmas.

From the corners of your eyes, you saw Julie slightly move her head towards you, as if she was listening to you - or rather someone right beside or behind you. ‘Of course. I can’t see them, so the only way to help me is by physically grabbing the pen, but Julie can hear and see them, so they (whoever this is - because let’s be honest, none of the guys really looks like a math genius) only have to tell her the corrects solutions and how to get there. My money’s on Alex.’

You were kind of shocked, and weirdly proud when Julie came up to you after class and said: “Reggie’s not so questionable after all, huh?” (Though… you should’ve guessed it, you did say subtlety wasn’t Reggie’s strong suit.) So you just giggled and shook your head while leaving some of your books in your locker (alongside the fact that Reggie was probably almost (if not!) hugging you from behind - you shuddered at that thought, it’s not like you were already awkward around living boys your age, no need to add ghosts to that list!)

A week later you and Julie entered the studio with blank faces and hanging shoulders. Julie threw a weak little wave towards the piano and sighed while you threw the blankets and snacks you were holding carelessly on the ground and let yourself fall face-first onto the couch, not being able to hide your smile anymore.

“We got our math exams back… yes the one Reggie helped us with.”

You couldn’t see what Julie was doing, but you heard her gasp and whisper “No! Reggie…” after a while. Then she was standing beside you, nudging your shoulder and willing you to sit up, but you didn’t bulge, needing a few more seconds to wipe the smile off your face again.

Faking to disgruntledly accept defeat as Julie’s nudges got stronger (the couch was really comfortable, you totally understood Luke now) you sat up and looked at Julie. “Who’s going to tell them?” you said with a heavy voice and felt how the couch dipped beside you. Raising your eyebrows you quickly glanced to the side (obviously not seeing anybody or anything) and looked back at Julie questioningly.

She nodded, telling you that it was indeed Reggie and gave you the okay to drop the bomb.

You sighed as you turned back around, facing the wall on the other side of the studio and hoped that Reggie would ignore the fact that you were probably talking to his ear or something. “So Reggie… the help you gave us on the math final? Well…,” you couldn’t keep your face straight any longer and jumped onto the couch, “WE ACED IT! I WOULD HUG YOU IF YOU WEREN’T MADE OUT OF CUTE AIR!” (Okay… maybe there was a little bit too much serotonin involved.)

Julie added smiling, “And I’m happy to announce that due to my good grades my father allowed Julie and The Phantoms to play at the upcoming Summer Music Festival!”

A guitar riff filled the studio, followed by a short drum intro and with a ‘puff!’ the boys appeared in front of you, beaming and glowing at the news. Reggie even threw a wink at you when you smiled back and said: “Thank you!”

Don't look down 'Cause we're still rising Up right now And even if we hit the ground We'll still fly Keep dreaming like we'll live forever But live it like it's now or never!

This allowed LUKE…

The music festival was an experience you would never forget. You were very happy Ray managed to persuade your parents to let you accompany Julie (sadly Flynn had no such luck). Not only did you turn 17 and the boys made sure to have the whole crowd sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to you (as soon as you were back home you would add an extra point to your to-do: ‘find out how to kill ghosts a second time’), but the boys rocked the stage and Julie stood up taller and shined brighter than ever before.

Gone (yet not forgotten) were the painful shocks and the fear of never performing again and the serenity of the guys was visible.

It was the last night of the music festival when Julie got the phone call from her father. He would come by to get her the next morning and they would drive directly to visit other family members and spend the rest of the summer holidays there.

Of course, Julie was excited to see her cousins and aunts and uncles again, but she also felt bad to leave you to drive back alone (you had come with your car jam-packed with all the necessary equipment you needed and that wasn’t provided by the festival).

“Don’t worry! It’s only a four-hour drive! I’ve got good music, podcasts and audiobooks to keep me company and back home Flynn will be waiting. It sadly looks like I’m going to survive without you.”

Early the next morning Julie and some newfound fans of Julie and The Phantoms helped you load the equipment into your car and you said goodbye to Julie. Expecting the boys to just directly puff back to Los Feliz you didn’t waste any time and entered your car, connected your phone with the stereo and started to blast your favourite Broadway musicals.

You must’ve been on the road for half an hour when suddenly the playlist stopped and ‘Wake Up’ started to play.

So wake that spirit, spirit!

Confused you scrunched up your nose and touched the touch screen displaying the music system, trying to change it back to your playlist. But instead, the music changed yet again.

(Don't stop me now) 'Cause I'm having a good time (Don't stop me now) Yes, I'm havin' a good time I don't want to stop at all

“What the hell?” you muttered, staring at your stereo for a quick second before focusing back on the road, “Why you always going crazy on me dude?”

Once again the music switched.

Why you gotta be so rude? Don't you know I'm human too?

It took you a hot minute to understand what was going on and then you couldn’t stop laughing.

Don't laugh at me, don't call me names Don't get your pleasure from my pain

“Oh, I’m sorry,” you said mockingly, looking at the empty passenger seat, guessing that that’s where your invisible friend was sitting. “Your pain? I’m not the one who is able to puff wherever and whenever their heart desires and who sneaks up on innocent people.”

Silence.

“For what it’s worth. I’m sorry. I really am. It’s not like you choose this life, you deserved better than this. But I’m really glad I was able to get to know you. I’m really thankful for the light and happiness you brought back into Julie’s life.”

Don't you worry 'bout a thing

But I'm still learnin' to

using technology

You laughed. “Impressive skills nevertheless. Knowing three fitting songs and then changing them at the right time? Let me guess, Luke? Because I don’t think all of you three would fit into my tiny car full of musical equipment.”

At first, there was no music yet again, but then the slow melody of a (for you) well-known song flooded your car. It was the one Trevor Wilson song you never understood until you met the boys, the one song that was so totally different to his usual rock sound (except for the refrains, which, as you later would find out, were parts of the original lyrics Luke wrote for his version of the song).

I sing to remember the stories that used to be But I don’t write to create what could have been And as I scream words into the darkness around me They come out like a dying whisper

The kindest thing to do is to silence them and let them die To unleash my heartfelt sorrow into the sky And diminish the will to fight That pulses like fire and screams with pain through my veins

But life’s not always beautiful, it’s rare So I’mma chase it, watch you make it

Don’t need to introduce himself You will want to know his name Pushing your foundations down He is here to stay

Don’t call him a breeze when he’s a hurricane Don’t call him a tremble when he’s an earthquake Don’t call him an inconvenience Please just say his name

Leaving lyrics in my hands That I swallow like pills Like hurtful words, they rip and claw And press painfully against my chest

But no matter how painful they are I will soak them up, thinking of our hopes and wishes And as each word pushes a new pulse through my veins I keep staring out on the grave of our shared space of mind

Life’s not always beautiful, but it’s rare So I’mma chase it, watch you make it

Don’t need to introduce himself You will want to know his name Pushing your foundations down He is here to stay

Don’t call him a spark when he’s a lightning bolt Don’t call him a flicker when he’s a raging flame Don’t you dare to underestimate him Please just say his name

But even when the word flood finally comes to an end Fidgeting hands remind me of music never played

I owe him my voice I owe him my sound

So I give him this time I give him this space To sing it out loud To let him declare And let me be proud

What’s his name? (His name is Luke!) What’s his name? (His name is Luke!) What’s his name? (His name is Luke!)

How long do we say his name? (Until we explode!)

My name is Luke! (Tell your friends!)

Tears were rolling down your cheeks, the song now more emotional than ever before. You couldn’t imagine how this song must affect Luke. Thinking that his bandmate abandoned him (which honestly… he kind of did, only mentioning him in one song, not giving any money to their parents and so on) up until he heard the song for the first time.

“Luke…”

Forget about it Let's forget about it

The ensuing silence wasn’t awkward. You hummed along to the music Luke selected, sometimes it were old classics (probably his favourites), other times it seemed to be random newer hits he probably never heard before mixed with some songs from your favourite playlists.

It was nearing midday and your stomach made itself known. As if on cue a road sign hinted at a diner just up ahead. Setting the blinker you pulled into the parking lot a few moments later.

“I hope you don’t mind. I know home’s only like an hour away, but...” you began to trail off, not knowing where to look at and your stomach finished your sentence. And before you were able to grab the door handle it sprung wide open.

“Uh, what a gentleman. Thank you very much.”

The meal was over in a flash and once more you realised how much the boys actually knew about you without having actually interacted with you (perks of seeing other people without being seen themselves?).

It’s like Luke could read your wishes just from your facial expressions. Whenever you needed salt or pepper they were right there. Whenever something was too salty or had too much pepper on your drink was being pushed closer to your side. And when you accidentally spilt something and needed more napkins they magically appeared.

When you then spotted a cute little guitar keychain that reminded you of Luke that was being sold as a souvenir at the check-out it was suddenly safely tucked into your back pocket (though that was really really risky, and while you did not condone it you couldn’t really stop a ghost).

Back in your car, you didn’t even bother to turn on the stereo, knowing that Luke would take over as soon as your hands were on the steering wheel again.

However, a glance to your right presented you with a map of your surroundings, a big x hastily drawn over the Silverwood Lake in San Bernardino, which was basically just around the corner.

“You want to go swimming? We- I just ate! And my bathing suit is somewhere under that mountain of equipment on the backseat.”

Let's just get naked, just for a laugh Let's just get naked It's a trip and a half

You laughed at that, rolling your eyes and shaking your head, before stowing the map away and turning on the car. “I guess catching Reggie in the shower isn’t enough anymore?”

Hey!

“You started making it weird buddy.”

It had started to rain when you finally pulled up in your driveway, but you couldn’t be bothered to rush inside, enjoying the feeling of the cooling wetness on your skin.

“Look at that,” you said to nobody in particular, not knowing if Luke was still around or if he puffed back to the garage, “I didn’t even need to go swimming after all.”

He was. Sitting in the passenger seat, face on his arms while he leaned on the open car window, he watched you dance in the rain with a smile on his face. He was glad he decided to stick around and keep you company on that road trip. You gave him the courage to listen to My Name Is Luke for the first time (and getting to see you smile while showing off his impressive music knowledge was a bonus too). Because without knowing, you were doing little deeds for the boys too.

And made ALEX…

Whoever wrote that “Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass. It's about learning how to dance in the rain”-quote totally forgot to mention how dangerous small summer storms can be.

Well sure, it might have been your fault for staying out for too long and deciding to let the sun that came out a little bit later dry you instead of changing into fresh and dry clothes, but whatever happened happened and you got sick. (It’s not like you had anything better to do during the last few days of your summer holidays, right?)

Flynn had been a great friend and hung out almost daily at your house, playing board games, watching movies or tv or even just discussing upcoming Julie and The Phantoms possibilities with you. But your dearest little helper had been Alex.

The blond drummer had turned into the tall brother you never had but always wanted (focus on tall because the age thing with ghosts is seriously confusing) even if he was invisible to you 100% of the time. You had the same interests and were able to bond without actually having to say any words, little gestures and reciprocations on your side were more than enough.

Julie had come up with an easy solution and had bought you some of those sound buzzers (like the ones that dogs and cats use to communicate with their owners) and recorded some simple words and phrases the boys liked to use on them. Now the boys just had to press them to be able to communicate with you without having to use pen and paper or Julie herself (sure your parents were a little bit weary and confused, but you said it was for a longer school research project and that shut them up).

Now, feeling way better than during the last few days, but still very tired, you were sitting in your bed, not really focused on the tv show (or was it a movie?) that was playing on your computer. You had been contemplating and mentally preparing yourself to get something to eat and to drink for the past 15 minutes, but the thoughts alone were exhausting and binding you to the bed. Just then a tray with a water bottle, meds and a fruit bowl floated into your room.

Suddenly wide awake and full of energy you clumsily jumped out of your bed and grabbed the tray, throwing a quick glance out of the door to see if your parents were around and slammed the door shut, wincing at the loud sound and hoping that Alex had walked out of the way (not that it would have hurt him, but you know - rude).

“Rude.”

See? He thought the same. (Julie had to specifically add this word for Alex.)

“I know, I know. I’m sorry. But I would like not to get murdered or have Sam and Dean Winchester on my back because my parents think I’m possessed and need to be exorcised.”

“Me.”

“You what?”

“Me.”

“Alex… I need more context.”

“I do. Me.”

You just blinked blankly at the sound buzzers, trying to piece together what Alex was trying to say.

“Me. Me. Me. Me. Me. Me. Me. Me. Me. Me. Me. Me. M-”

“THAT’S ENOUGH Y/N! WHATEVER THAT SCHOOL PROJECT IS, TELL IT I HEARD IT AND I DON’T CARE WHAT IT WANTS!” you heard your father's scream come muffled through the door.

The audience laughter from sitcoms filled your room and you groaned, grabbing a pillow and smashing it against your face.

Faintly you heard the telltale sound of a pen scribbling something on paper and when you peeked from behind the pillow a note was floating in the air in front of you. “You mean exorcise ME! You would be the one surviving!”

“What? Oh my god… yeah okay, YOU get exorcised… same thing. Both aren’t allowed to happen. Forgive my fever brain.”

“No.”

“Fork you, Alex.”

“No.”

“I have Carlos on speed-dial, I’m sure he already came up with other methods to get rid of ghosts other than the salt thing. He already told me that he’s sorry and that he thinks I might get haunted by you too with the amount of time I spend at their house.”

“No. Food.”

Confused at that topic change it took you a few seconds to answer. “What?” Looking around your gaze landed on the tray that you had deposited on your desk. “Oh right! Boy, I completely forgot how thirsty and hungry I am. Did I say thank you? Fang u!” you mumbled with your mouth full of fruit.

“No. Food.”

You swallowed down your food and took a big gulp of water. “Yes Alex, thank you. I am eating. You see? Here I am, here’s the food. The food is here and now whoops - ifs gan!”

You could basically feel the annoyance radiating from the ghost and weren’t really shocked when the pen started to scribble something down again.

“No! Argh!” He really wrote Argh… that dork really wrote Argh! “You can be worse than Reggie sometimes, but you do it on purpose and I’m just sorry for Reggie. A) Carlos thinks he got rid of us by making a french dip and B) You’re awfully lively for a supposedly sick person. I might need to use the buzzers more and see what other reactions I can provoke from your parents.”

Crumbling the note in your hands you thought ‘Challenge accepted’. “You know what? I think I’mma go back on Reggie’s offer and actually let him introduce me to Wilbur. He might know some stuff I could use to blackmail you. And you’re right! I feel much better, just very tired, but that’s nothing a little bit of fresh air can’t fix! Toodles!”

You left your room, leaving a flabbergasted ghost behind who had lost his snapback with the number of times he had been combing through his hair with his hands. And while angrily pressing a pink buzzer, the buzzer wasn't the only thing that screamed “WILLIAM!” after the girl. (That was another important sound Alex wanted to have recorded.)

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Taglist: @sunsetcurvej @ifilwtmfc

#jatp #julie and the phantoms #jatp x reader #julie and the phantoms x reader #luke patterson x reader #reggie peters x reader #alex mercer x reader #jatp imagine #julie and the phantoms imagine #jatp fanfiction #julie and the phantoms fanfiction #jatp one shot #jatp oneshot #julie and the phantoms oneshot #julie and the phantoms one shot #my writing #viascribbles

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fangirl--of-everything · 6 years ago

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The Mortal (Nicholas Scratch x Reader) part 1

word count: ~4500

request: Nope, just wrote it for fun. Requests are still closed.

summary: The Weird Sisters are interested in playing games with some mortals, and they coerce Nick into joining them. But the girl they have chosen for him is more charming than he expected.

warning: I think one swear word, but that’s it for this part.

A.N. The lack of Nicholas Scratch content makes me sad, so I decided to create some of my own. This is going to be a bit of a series, I have parts 2 and 3 done already, I’ll get those up soon. I hope you guys like it.

part 1, part 2, part 3

Alright, enjoy :)

The bell above the door of the bookstore jingled, and in walked four strangers dressed in all black. It was early in the morning, and the shop was almost empty except for a small number of patrons near the back. Most of them looked up to acknowledge the newcomers, except for one tucked away in the back corner of the shop.

“Why are we here Nick?” Dorcas whined, leaning against Agatha. “It’s too early.”

“No one forced you to come Dorcas.” Nick rolled his eyes. “There’s a book here that I need for a spell I’m working on. I just have to find it, and then we can head home, and you can go back to sleep.”

She pouted and pursed her lips. “I didn’t say I wanted to go to sleep. I just meant, if we’re going to be spending our weekend interacting with the morals, we should be having fun, not coming to some silly bookstore.”

“Like I said, you didn’t need to come.”

Nick tuned out the whining of the Weird Sisters and turned his attention towards the shelves, searching for the book he needed. The bookshelves were not well organized, but finally he found the spot where the book should have been. Empty.

He bit back a groan. He needed the book to finish a divining spell for an assignment due on Monday, and if he couldn’t get his hands on it, it was going to make the rest of the day far less enjoyable.

Prudence was watching him with that look he didn’t like, the one that said she was reading the room around her and scheming about how to cause some chaos within it. She saw him looking and raised an eyebrow with a smirk. “Something wrong Nicky?”

He shook his head.

“Having trouble finding the book you’re looking for?” She asked sweetly.

“Yeah, it’s not here.”

“Would you like us to help you look for it?”

He sighed and raised an eyebrow. “What do you want in exchange?”

“Well, my sisters and I were talking, and we decided since we’re here, and since it’s been so long since we’ve had any fun, we’re going to find some mortals to play with tonight. You should join us.”

“Prudence, you know I don’t do stuff like that.”

“True,” she pursed her lips innocently, tapping one dark fingernail against her chin, “but can you really afford to fail this divining assignment?”

He couldn’t. He was the top student in his grade at the academy, and he needed to maintain that grade if he wanted to keep on track and one day become a high priest, or at least a high warlock. To do that he needed the book.

“Fine. If you get it for me I’ll join you guys tonight.”

She smiled sinisterly, ran her tongue over her bottom lip, and pointed across the room. “The book is over there.”

Nick followed her finger to the back corner of the room, where a teenage girl was curled up in an armchair. She was in a knitted sweater and a long floral skirt, which she had tucked her feet up into. On the armrest was an open notebook, which she was writing in, and in her lap was an open book. The book he needed.

He sighed. “How long have you known it was there?”

Prudence shrugged innocently. “I’m sure the mortal girl won’t mind letting you borrow it. And you can invite her to join us tonight too. It will be fun.”

-----/--/-----

(Y/n) was sitting in her favourite seat in the back of the bookstore, an old book on the theory of the night sky open in front of her. She needed it to help clarify a plot point in a creative writing project she was outlining. The problem was that since the book was so old, it was extremely difficult to decipher, making it a struggle to get the information she needed.

She was so intent on trying to decipher one particular footnote that she didn’t notice someone in front of her until that person cleared their throat. She jumped, so startled that her pencil fell out of her hand, and looked up to see a dark haired boy standing in front of her, eyebrows raised at her severe reaction.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.” He picked up the pencil and handed it back to her.

“Don’t be. Thanks.” She took the pencil back. “Were you trying to get my attention for some reason?”

“Actually yes. I was wondering if I could borrow that book once you’re done with it.” He pointed to the book she had been working so hard at interpreting.

She nodded, even though she had been hoping to have access to it all day. The boy gave her a charming smile and then took a seat not far away, grabbing a book from one of the shelves and settling in to read.

(Y/n)’s relaxing Saturday of research and outlining had been ruined. She was all anxious now about not keeping the book too long since that other guy wanted it, and since she was stressed it made it harder to focus on the text and what she was trying to get from it. Within thirty minutes she was getting a headache and she was annoyed. When the boy closed his book and got up she was prepared to tell him that she had changed her mind and he couldn’t borrow the book anymore, but he walked past her and went up to the coffee bar.

He came back holding two mugs, and he put one of them down on the small table in front of her.

“Pumpkin spice tea,” he said in response to her raised eyebrows. He pointed to the other mug on the desk, which was empty. “I asked the barista what you were drinking. I figured since I’m stealing that book from you it was the least I could do to treat you to a drink.”

(Y/n)’s irritation faded, and she was left feeling stunned. She stammered a thank you, and moved to close the book and give it to him even though she wasn’t close to being done with it.

He shook his head. “No, no. Don’t rush. Take your time.”

“To be honest, I’m struggling to get through this.” She admitted. “It’ll probably be a long time before I finish with it. So if you need it you should probably just take it now.”

He crossed his arms and looked thoughtful for a second, and then he shrugged. “Why don’t I help? I’m pretty good with old books, and I’m not doing anything else. Might save us both some time.”

“Really?” Her eyebrows rose. “You want to help me do research?”

He nodded. “Is there any room for me on that couch?”

They spent the next two hours sitting side by side with the book balanced between them. It’s a little cramped on the couch, but Nick was friendly and charming and somehow it wasn’t too awkward. They ended up spending half the time just chatting idly, and she explained to him a little bit about what she was writing. She had found an old book about this crazy satanic cult in Greendale when the town was founded, and after reading it she came up with the idea for a novel that explored a society of dark witches.

When she mentioned that her research was for a spell in the book that she was trying to understand, Nick looked really impressed, but when she asked why he brushed it off.

He was right when he said he was good with old books, and he was able to decipher the book a lot more easily than she could have. He was able to figure out everything that had stumped her for the last couple of hours, and soon she was able to give him the book that he had been waiting so patiently for.

“Thank you for your help,” she said as she handed him the book. “And I’m sorry for it taking so long.”

“Not to worry.” He gave her a charming smile. “I’m sorry I have to steal the book from you. Maybe I could make it up to you?”

She raised her eyebrows.

“Some friends of mine are having a party tonight. You could come with me.”

Nick was charming. Extremely charming. And (y/n) couldn’t deny that he was attractive. But this was not the first time kids from the preppy boarding school came into Greendale, and (y/n) knew that anyone who was stupid enough to hang out with them ended up regretting it. The stories she had heard about kids who had gone out to party with them, only to wake up days later with bruises and no memory of what had happened, were more than enough of a warning.

She only felt a little bad when she turned him down. “I’m sorry, but I have plans for tonight.”

“Oh yeah? What are you up to?”

She explained that she and some friends were driving down to Sweetwater river for a party of their own, to have one last bonfire before they had to start studying for exams.

He didn’t seem to take the rejection too hard, giving her an understanding smile. “Any way you could swing by afterwards?” he asked.

She shook her head.

“Well, that’s a shame. I was looking forward to spending some more time with you. You seem cool.”

“Thanks.” She tried not to blush.

He gathered their mugs and brought them back up to the counter, and gave her a final friendly smile and a wave as he moved towards the door.

Hr stomach clenched, and she was already starting to regret the rejection. She sighed. “Wait.”

He turned to look at her, eyebrows raising. “Yeah?”

“I know you’ve got your party tonight, but if you wanted you could stop by the river for a bit. If you wanted.”

She could feel a flush rising in her face as she spoke, and she had to resist the urge to fidget nervously with the hem of her sweater.

Nick flashed her a grin and a wink. “Maybe I will.”

-----/--/-----

It was ten at night, and (y/n) and her friends had all gotten to Sweetwater river. Two of the boys had brought a bunch of wood, and (y/n) was getting the fire started, since none of the others knew how to do it. They were already drinking, and everyone was relaxing in the sand of the lakeshore, chatting before the night got too crazy.

“Hey,” her friend Dylan came and squatted next to her. “Want a beer?”

“Nope, I want a Sommersby, like I always drink when we go out. You know this dude.”

“True. How’s the fire going?”

“Good.” (Y/n) had the structure all set up, and she was now lighting the pieces of newspaper that she had tucked into the center, waiting for it to catch. “Hold my hand and pray with me.”

Dylan snorted, but he reached out and took her hand, and they both bowed their hands dramatically, waiting to see if the fire would catch. There was a faint whoosh, and then the logs caught, and darker smoke started rising.

“Yes!” They both shouted triumphantly, and the rest of the group cheered as the fire started to crackle and burn. It immediately got warmer.

(Y/n) and Dylan settled down in the sand, his arm draped around her shoulders. “So, when is the handsome boarding school boy gonna show up?”

“Nick?” (Y/n) felt her face flush, and she swatted at Dylan’s arm. “I shouldn’t have told you about that. He’s probably not going to come. We just hung out for a couple of hours at Cerberus’s, it was nothing.”

“But he invited you to a party, didn’t he? He probably thinks you’re hot.”

She rolled her eyes. “One of those crazy parties the preppies throw. Remember what happened to Dayton and Carl after they partied with some of the prep kids? Carl still has a tremor that he didn’t have before.”

Dylan rolled his eyes. “Okay yeah, they’re probably all freaks over there at that school, but still. You don’t need to date the guy, you can just hook up and have some fun before classes go to hell.”

“True, but--”

He elbowed her hard enough in the ribs to knock her sideways, forcing her to catch her weight on one of her arms. When she pushed herself back up, asking him what the fuck he was doing, he pointed to the road, where someone was walking towards them.

“Is that him?”

For a second she couldn’t tell, but then the firelight hit him, and she realized that it was. Dylan smacked her arm excitedly and practically dragged her to her feet, shoving her towards him. She swatted at his arm again, her face hot and red as she turned to Nick.

“Hey.” He smiled charmingly at the two of them.

“Hey.” (Y/n) tried to smile past the butterflies that had suddenly sprung up as soon as he flashed that dimple at her. “I wasn’t sure if you were going to show up.”

“I couldn’t stand up a pretty girl interested Sacasas’s theories on astrology and the night sky.” He winked. His attention turned to the bonfire, and the small crowd that was gathered around it. “This looks fun. What are you guys up to?”

“Getting drunk on the beach,” Dylan cut in, stepping forward and holding out a hand. “I’m Dylan by the way, nice to meet you.”

“Nicholas Scratch.” Nick smiled politely. He turned to look at (y/n), eyebrows raising. “Wanna introduce me to everyone else?”

(Y/n) nodded, and she led the way over to the campfire. She introduced all her friends and explained how they all knew each other, and then she asked Nick if he wanted a beer or anything. He said he had a family thing the next day so he wasn’t going to drink, and he had to get himself to that other party later so he had to be sober to drive. (Y/n) told him she wouldn’t drink either, in a show of solidarity.

“You don’t need to do that.” He laughed and shook his head. “I don’t want to stop you from having a good night.”

“You won’t.” She promised. “Bonfires are always fun, with or without alcohol.”

They ended up settling on the sand, chatting about nothing in particular. One of her friends started playing music through the speakers of their car, and some of them started dancing on the lakeshore. Nick raised his eyebrows at her, but she shook her head.

“I don’t dance.”

“You sure? You look like a dancer.”

She shook her head and tried to hide a smile, bumping his shoulder with hers. “You’re a bit of a flirt, aren’t you?”

“You’re just noticing now?” He raised his eyebrows in mock surprise. “I hate to tell you this, but I’ve been flirting with you all day.”

He shifted so he was facing her, and his gaze dropped down to her lips. Her stomach twisted.

“Want some food?” She asked, turning away and pushing to her feet. “I’m starving.”

“Uh, sure.”

“What do you want? A s’more? Spiderdog?”

Nick blinked at her in confusion.

“What?”

“I have no idea what either of those things are.”

“What?” Her mouth dropped open. “How do you not-- what?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. I never went camping as a kid or anything, and I come from a pretty private community. What the hell is a s’more?”

(Y/n) shook her head and tried not to smile. She offered Nick her hand. “Alright, get up. I’m going to teach you how to make the perfect s’more.”

She grabbed two sticks which some of the guys had already sharpened and cleaned, and came back with the bag of marshmallows, and two hotdogs. Nick’s eyebrows widened, and she laughed and explained that the marshmallows were for him, and the hotdogs were for spiderdogs. She handed him a stick with a marshmallow on it and told him to hold it over the fire, and then she cut each end of the hotdogs into four pieces, and put both dogs onto her stick. When she turned around to hold them over the fire too, she saw that Nick’s marshmallow was on fire and melting off of the stick.

“Oh my god!” she tried not to laugh as she pulled the stick back, blowing on the marshmallow until the fire went out.

“Why are you laughing at me?” Nick asked, but he was laughing too. “Was I not supposed to burn it?”

She shook her head, still giggling. “No, not really.”

She pulled off the burnt shell of the marshmallow and popped it into her mouth. He raised his eyebrows, but she shook her head. She was going to offer him the warm middle of the marshmallow, but she decided that he was going to have to wait. She was going to make him the perfect s’more.

Nick got tasked with cooking the hotdogs, holding them over a spot where the fire had burned down to bright red coals, under strict instructions not to let them burn or catch fire. (Y/n) got to work toasting the marshmallow, spinning it slowly as it puffed up and turned a light golden brown. She explained to him what she was doing the entire time, as if she were cooking an extremely complex recipe, and he complied by asking a series of ridiculous questions. There was a near miss where they almost lost a spider leg, but Nick acted quickly and blew it out before it got too burnt.

Once the food was done (y/n) made the s’more, making Nick close his eyes so that he didn’t see the ingredients. Once she was done she held it up to his mouth and told him to take a bite.

“What is it?” He asked.

“Just try it. Trust me.”

He nodded, and took a bite of the s’more, ending up with melted marshmallow all over his bottom lip and the graham cracker falling apart.

“What the hell is that?” he asked, laughing and struggling to hold onto the collapsing s’more.

“Do you like it?”

“Yeah, it’s really good!” He shoved the rest of it into his mouth, and licked the melted marshmallow from his fingers. He still had some at the corner of his mouth, and (y/n) wasn’t able to hold back a giggle as she pointed it out.

“Where?” his tongue flicked out along his bottom lip. “Did I get it?”

She shook her head. “No, it’s just,” she gently tapped the corner of his mouth, and his tongue swiped out again.

“How about now?”

“Nope, still there.”

“Really?” his eyebrows rose, and he leaned closer to her. “Can you get it for me?”

“Uh, yeah.” She tried not to blush, and she reached up to wipe the marshmallow away. Once she got it she pulled away, but when she looked up from his mouth she realized how close their faces were. His eyes were really dark, but this close she could see that they were actually a really deep brown, not black.

“I, uh, I think I got it.” She said softly.

His voice was rough. “You sure?” His eyes flicked down to her lips, and then back up again.

She swallowed hard. “Uh, no, actually I think there’s still some…” She closed the distance between them and caught his mouth with hers.

He slid a hand into her hair, and he parted his lips, deepening the kiss from a light peck into something more. Her stomach flipped, and she shivered as his fingers tightened on her hair. (Y/n)’s tongue flicked out across his bottom lip, and he really did taste like marshmallows and chocolate. His other hand caught her hip and tugged her closer. She gasped against his mouth. The movement caused her to knock over the other stick with the spiderdogs, and it toppled into the fire, the food catching and burning. Neither of them noticed.

When they finally broke apart they were both smiling, and Nick laughed softly. “I was hoping you would do that.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah.” He slid his nose against hers.

“In that case, why didn’t you make a move?” She bit her lip and wiggled her eyebrows.

He raised his eyebrows in mock hurt. “Oh really? Is that how it’s gonna be?”

She shrugged. “Hey dude, it’s not my fault you didn’t make the first move, I was just--”

He growled playfully and pulled her into another kiss.

-----/--/-----

‘Nicholas Scratch, what is taking you so long?’

It was past midnight, the bonfire was burned down to embers, and everyone was snuggled up in a huddle against the cold. Relaxing music was playing through the speakers of one of the cars, and everyone was just talking.

Nick was sitting in the grass, Dylan pressed against his back, and (y/n) leaning into him with her head resting on his shoulder. Her blinks were slow and drowsy, and one hand drew lazy designs on his knee.

He hadn’t planned on staying this long. He had promised the Weird Sisters that he would meet them before the witching hour, and even though he didn’t like playing games with mortals, he had made a deal with them, and so he was going to keep his word. Prudence had chosen (y/n) to be his victim, and so he set his sights on her.

He had found her cute while they talked at the bookstore, and he had been genuinely interested when she explained that she was doing research for a book that seemed to be about the Church of Night, but when she turned down his invite to the party the only reason he pushed was because he knew he was expected to bring her to the sisters’ games. He had only come to the river because he knew that he could lure her away and teleport to the woods where the sisters were waiting.

It wasn’t that she wasn’t attractive, but it wasn’t until she was teasing him about not knowing what s’mores were that he realized he actually found her quite charming. And when he kissed her his stomach twisted in a way he wasn’t used to. He figured it was because she was a mortal, and he knew it was wrong.

He kept telling himself he was going to teleport them to the woods, but somehow the night wore on, and he and (y/n) continued to talk, and it just never happened. Now she was lying against him, tilting her head up to press a soft kiss to his jaw, and all he really wanted to do was stay here.

‘Nicky, where are you?’

The Weird Sisters were telepathic, but at a distance they could only project themselves into his mind, not read his thoughts.

‘I don’t think I’ll be able to make it, sorry girls.’

‘What?’ When the girls communicated telepathically they spoke in unison, but he could hear Dorcas’s voice above the others. ‘Why?’

He reached down to catch the fingers that were tracing a pattern on his leg, and tangled his fingers with hers, pressing a kiss to (y/n)’s wrist. ‘I struck out with the mortal girl and couldn’t get my hands on the book, so I have to work overtime on this diviner spell.’

‘But Nicky,’ that was Dorcas again, her voice a low whine. ‘You promised.’

‘Sorry girls. Maybe next time.’

The whining continued, but he muttered a quick spell and bit down on the inside of his cheek so blood filled his mouth, and their voices faded. He whispered another spell to protect himself from being summoned, and then he settled back, enjoying the smell of smoke and the sound of the water behind them.

“What was that?” (Y/n) mumbled softly, shifting against his shoulder.

“Nothing. Just talking to myself.” He reached a hand up into her thick hair and dragged his nails along her scalp. She sighed happily.

“Are you gonna head out soon? For your other party?”

He shook his head.

“Really?” She sat up to look at him.

“Yeah.” He nodded with a smile, and tugged her head towards him so he could press a soft kiss to her lips. “I’m enjoying being here with you.”

She smiled sleepily and rested her head back on his shoulder.

Nick didn’t have any plans beyond tonight, and in fact he was pretty sure after this he would never see this mortal girl again. He tucked her tighter against him. If this was to be his only night with this fascinating mortal, then he was going to enjoy every minute of it.

They ended up at the lake for a few more hours before they all piled into cars and drove home. (Y/n) was one of the designated drivers since she was sober, and Nick gave her a blessing to make sure that she was able to make it back to Greendale without falling asleep at the wheel.

“Are you sure you don’t want to come with us?” She asked. “I can drop you off at your school, it’s no problem.”

“No don’t worry about it, I have a friend who’s on their way to pick me up.”

She looked like she wanted to insist, but he said his friend was already on the road. Dylan leaned heavily on the wheel, the horn violently loud in the quiet night, and shouted for her to stop flirting and hurry up.

Her face flushed, and she bit her lip with a nervous smile. “I had fun tonight.”

“Me too,” Nick said honestly. It had been a fun, normal night, hanging out with drunk normal teenagers who talked about their small mortal problems and had parties that didn’t involve summoning demons or dangerous magic. He almost wished he could do things like this more often.

She looked like she wanted to say something, but then she thought better of it, and took a step closer. She pushed up onto her tiptoes, her hands on his shoulders, and kissed him, soft and gentle. His body moved on its own, his arms wrapping around her waist, and he tugged her closer. He sighed against her mouth.

The kiss was short and sweet, and when she pulled away they were both breathless. She kissed him again, quick, and then stepped out of his arms.

“I’ll see you around Nick.” She smiled.

Nick waited until the cars were out of sight before he teleported back to the academy, his lips still tingling from that last short kiss.

#nicholas scratch #nicholas scratch imagine #nicholas scratch fanfiction #nicholas scratch x reader #the chilling adventures of sabrina #caos #caos fanfiction #caos imagine #nick scratch #nick scratch imagine #nick scratch x reader #nick scratch fanfiction #mine #writing #fanfiction #the mortal

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comicgeekscomicgeek · 4 years ago

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Their Hero Academia – Chapter 64: Final Exam part 6: Making the Grade

Presenting the next raw and unedited chapter of my on-going, next-gen, My Hero Academia fic, Their Hero Academia! Please note, this chapter may undergo more extensive editing before it gets posted to AO3/FF.net, as this one ended up a bit on the long side.

Earlier chapters can be found here

“Kocho! Were you watching the whole thing? I didn’t know you were going to be here! Does this mean you’re going to be in our class?” Ojiro wrapped her arms around Koharu and pulled her into a tight hug, which she returned. “What’d you think?”

“Maybe let her breathe, Kimmie?” Sato asked, but he was smiling. Even Koharu would admit the invisible girl’s enthusiasm was contagious.

“I was,” she told them, as she took a seat in the small auditorium she and Class 1-A had been brought to after the exam had ended, injuries had been tended to, and the Hero Course students had had a chance to shower and change. “You guys did good. I was worried for a while, but wow, you really pulled it off! Your teacher was quizzing me just about the entire time on what I’d do if I was out there with you. So, yeah, I think that’s pretty official.”

“Yeah, that sounds like him,” Sero added. He had one of those flick-combs and was trying to fix his hair. One strand was stubbornly sticking up no matter what he did. “Do you think he’s that scary naturally or does he have to work at it?”

“Bro, really?” Sato asked.

“I’m pretty sure it’s natural,” Koharu told him. “He can make you feel like he’s glaring at you even if he’s not looking at you.”

She gave a wave to Midoriya and Haimawari, who were in the front row with Tokoyami and Shinso. Twenty chairs filled the back of the room, meaning it could have fit a Hero class with room to spare or any class from any of the other courses. There was a podium at the front, and a large projection screen behind it.

As Aizawa, All Might, and Vice-Principal Midnight entered the room, Class 1-A grew silent and took their seats. Koharu folded her wings and took a seat in the second row from the back, with Ojiro, Sero, and Sato.

Behind the teachers followed the Villains from the exam. She recognized the bug-like Nauseous and the winged Raptor right off the bat, and it wasn’t hard to identify Kamuy and Shadow-Thief. Even utterly depleted of power, Kamuy still towered over most of them. The last one, a beefy man built like a sumo wrestler, with a shovel-like jaw, had to be Jawbreaker, even if he was now made of flesh instead of a conglomeration of metal, concrete, wood, and rock. All of them had changed from their costumes to comfortable clothes. Most of them looked amazingly relaxed for people who had just been fighting a bunch of students less than an hour ago. Only Shadow-Thief kept stealing furtive glances at the door.

Aizawa took the podium and held their gaze for what seemed like an uncomfortably long time. She was certain he was doing it on purpose, trying to put them on edge. She’d already gathered from his exam behavior and the discussion about the “Villains” that he liked to play mind games. “So, let’s discuss the results of your exam.”

He clicked a button on a small remote control, and the screen behind him divided into three vertical segments. The right portion contained a picture of Recovery Girl and a note that her final distance from the civilian defense shelter was two meters. Koharu had to admit, her heart had been in her chest the entire time Haimawari had been racing after her, especially as Shadow-Thief had gotten closer and closer to the end. But given that the numbers were green, she guessed they were still good.

“You were able to complete your primary objective and keep Doctor McGuffin from being moved past the 100 meter,” Aizawa went on. “Barely. Not guarding the defense shelter after you engaged with the Villains’ final assault was foolish and under other circumstances, could have been deadly not just to Doctor McGuffin, but to the others inside as well.”

Ojiro’s arm shot into the air. “No fair!” she whined. “You didn’t tell us she could just sneak inside like that!”

Aizawa narrowed his eyes. “The results would have been the same if one of the more powerful Villains had brute forced their way in. You all practically left the door open and did not only did not account for the full range of her teleportation abilities, but seemed to forget her existence entirely once you were engaged with the others. I shouldn’t have had to explain what all the Villains could and could not do to get in.”

Even Koharu had forgotten about Shadow-Thief, getting much more caught up in watching the other fights. But Aizawa was right too.

“Would have gotten away with it too,” Kamuy said to Shadow-Thief, “if you hadn’t stopped to gloat.”

“Don’t blame me,” Shadow-Thief hissed. She jerked a thumb in Aizawa’s direction. “He was the one who said we had to give them a fighting chance.”

“Still,” he went on, “you met the objective. Barely.”

The middle portion of the screen showed a tally of civilians rescued and a separate tally of failed rescues. The top number was bigger by a long shot, in the three digits, but there were numbers on the bottom too.

“In terms of civilian rescues,” Aizawa went on, “you more than surpassed the bar we set. The number of failed rescues includes a portion of the those injured in Doctor McGuffin’s abduction, but also those missed during the course of your other fights.”

He looked down. “Fortunately, no real lives were lost, as this was just an exam. But in the real world, there will come times when you’re unable to save everyone. When you have to make a split second decision between confronting the Villain or saving the civilian. When you’re too slow or not attentive enough or simply unaware there’s anyone there. It will happen and it’s more than likely at some point, you will make the wrong choice.

“So learn while you can.”

None of the others said anything at that, though many of class 1-A exchanged glances with each other. Koharu guessed that they were trying to figure out what they’d missed, what they hadn’t seen. Second guessing could make you crazy like that. Hopefully, it wouldn’t weigh on them too much.

The final screen displayed pictures of the Villains, all of them but Shadow-Thief with a red x slashed through them. “And for your third objective, you managed to defeat four of the five Villains. As valiant as your rescue of Doctor McGuffin was, Haimawari, I’m afraid it did not count as a complete take down of Shadow-Thief.”

“Still,” Shadow-Thief piped up. “Nice try, kid.”

“I’m going to be sore for days,” Jawbreaker said, speaking less gruffly now than he had during the exam. “I wasn’t expecting children to go all out like that.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I haven’t been hit like that in a while.”

“At least you got to put up a fight,” Nauseous said. “I got taken out early.”

“Wimp,” Kamuy taunted.

“Can you all not…?” Raptor said.

“Settle,” Aizawa growled. He looked over the class again. “As we told you originally, in addition to the three-tiered priorities for passing the exam, we were also scoring you individually. You’ll all receive more detailed feedback after All Might, Midnight, and I have had a chance to compile it, but for now, we’ll be providing a basic evaluation of your exam performances.”

There was a collective gulp from the class. Even Koharu felt a chill go down her spine.

***

Worried looks passed through 1-A, dreading the criticism that was surely going to come from Aizawa. Koharu had only known him a short amount of time, but already she could tell that he did not suffer fools gladly and was quick to point out any flaws he found. Judging by how fearful 1-A looked… she was going to assume it did not get any better with time.

“Aoayama,” Aizawa began. The glowing boy stiffened in his seat. “Nothing exceptional in your performance, but no glaring weaknesses either. You made decent use of your Quirk to try and counter your foes.”

“Merci,” Aoyama said, looking relieved.

It was short lived. “However,” Aizawa went on, “check the arrogance. When you were out the search and rescue teams, you lost valuable seconds arguing with your teammates. If you have something to contribute, offer it. But don’t automatically assume you know better.”

Aoyama looked down, but nodded in response.

“Funny, that’s not how I remember it when we used to team up, Eraser,” Vice-Principle Midnight said, giving him a teasing nudge with her elbow.

“I seem to recall some choice words as well,” All Might said, wearing a grin that might have best been described as “shit-eating.”

“That’s not the topic of discussion,” Aziawa said. “Moving on.”

He made a show of shuffling his papers. “Since we have two Iidas in the class,” Aizawa went on, giving Vice-Principle Midnight a significant look, “we’ll begin with Sora.

“Overall, impressive tactical thinking in the early stages and excellent teamwork throughout. When the shooting started, you did a good job taking command of the situation and put yourself at risk for your teammates. Commendable.

“But you twice allowed yourself to become distracted and vulnerable because you were worried about your boyfriend.”

“That’s when I got you,” Jawbreaker said. “And I’m not exactly easy to miss.”

Sitting next to Sora Iida, Midoriya turned a bright shade and sunk low in his seat.

“They’re dating?” All Might gasped. “Young Grandson, why did you not tell me about this?!” Koharu wouldn’t have thought it possible, but Midoriya turned even redder.

“Sorry, Grandpa Might,” he squeaked.

“Heroes in relationships are more common these days,” Midnight said. “But with a handful of exceptions like Suneater and Nejire-Chan, they typically don’t work together, for just such a reason. I’m all for young love, but do keep it in mind, children.”

At this point, Koharu was wondering how Midoriya’s chair hadn’t caught on fire. Sora Iida looked nonplussed by the whole thing, occasionally shooting curious glances Midoriya’s way.

Still, Koharu understood the flying girl’s worry. Midoriya had been knocked under a collapsing building and no one had been able to raise him. He could have been hurt or worse. That he’d just been pinned down with his patched together communicator unable to get a signal out was nothing short of a minor miracle.

“As you say,” Sora Iida said. “Thank you.”

“As for you, Tensei,” Aizawa continued, “you demonstrated overall good sense and teamwork, and a willingness to sacrifice yourself for your teammates. You kept your head about you.”

“He still went down when I got ahold of him,” Jawbreaker added. “All that speed doesn’t do anybody any good once somebody grabs you.”

Tensei nodded. “I shall endeavor to improve. Perhaps some sort of shock field through certain points on my armor…”

“It would be difficult to properly calibrate the strength of it though,” his sister said. “Especially since you could not anticipate enemy resistance in advance and under such circumstances, it would be difficult to manipulate precise controls.”

Both twins made a “Hmmm” sound and looked like they were about to burst into more discussion. Aizawa cut them off. “Moving on,” he said. “Ojiro.”

Next to her, the invisible girl stiffened and shook. On her other side, Sato took her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

“You did well,” Aizawa said. “Good use of your Quirk, good support of your classmates, and good, if unorthodox, thinking when fighting Kamuy.”

“You’re creepy, kid,” Kamuy growled.

“Continue focusing on your skills and teamwork,” Aizawa finished. “And know when to back off. Your stunt against Kamuy ultimately worked, but it also severely hampered Todoroki and Kaminari’s ability to support you. If Aoyama and Tokoyami hadn’t arrived when they had, you could have had trouble.”

“Yes, Mister Aizawa,” Ojiro replied, actually sounding serious. Koharu hadn’t known her long, but she hadn’t really expected that of her.

“See, Kimmie” Sero said, leaning forward and looking her way. “Nothing to worry about.”

“As for you, Kaminari,” Aizawa said, and Koharu looked to the back row, where the blonde was sitting next to Mineta, “while you proved effective during the majority of the fighting, with good use of your Quirk and Support gear…

He sighed wearily. “Victory dancing? Really? Never let your guard down like that.”

“I’m sorry, sir,” Kaminari replied, her Cords drooping. “In my defense, I really thought she was down.”

“That kind of overconfidence will get you killed, Sweetie,” Vice-Principal Midnight said. “As it was, it nearly cost your class their win.”

That got a gasp. And there was a lot of hurried talk and in the case of Kirishima-Bakugo, a lot of swearing. It wasn’t until Aizawa activated his Quirk that they silenced again.

“Had any of the objectives not been met,” All Might said, gravely, “we’d be having very different conversations right now. As it stands… we decided the two things canceled each other out well enough.”

“Understood,” Kaminari said, very quietly. Mineta gave her a small hug, but Kaminari pushed her away.

“It wasn’t even good dancing,” Kamuy added, which earned her a glare from a couple of the others.

It wasn’t fair, in Koharu’s opinion. But in the real world, that kind of slip up would have absolutely been fatal. And even she was boggled by Kaminari’s early declaration of victory.

“Kirishima-Bakugo,” Aizawa began, clearly eager to move on.

The muscular blonde girl sat up a little straighter in her seat. “Bring it, teach.”

“You acquitted yourself well in straight-up combat scenarios and demonstrated a measure of tactical thinking,” Aizawa went on. “But your first instincts continue to remain all out, full-frontal assaults. Those aren’t always going to work.”

“Worked well enough on this guy,” Kamuy said, giving Jawbreaker a nudge.

“Shut up,” Jawbreaker snapped back.

“Worked so far,” Kirishima-Bakugo said, flipply. “But got it. More thinky, less blasty.”

“I could have told you that,” Todoroki, who was sitting on her left, said.

“…Maybe tell me those things earlier, Iz.”

Aizawa’s attention focused next on the rock-skinned girl sitting next to Aoyama. “Koda, you made good use of your Quirk and demonstrated excellent teamwork with your classmates.”

“Thank you,” Koda said.

“Unfortunately, your combat skills are often not as aggressive as fits the situation. While I respect your desire to cause as little harm as is necessary… there are times where that’s simply not possible. Restraining your opponents won’t always work.”

“Sometimes,” Jawbreaker added, “you just have to hit someone.”

“I shall keep that in mind,” Koda replied.

“I thought you performed admirably, Mademoiselle Koda,” Aoyama said, making a dramatic flourish with his hands.

“Now, Sato,” Aizawa said, obviously determined not to get derailed.

Next to Ojiro, Sato just buried his head in his hands. “Oh no, here it comes.”

“You were one of the few to be able to properly approximate how Kamuy’s Quirk worked, and you were able to use that you your advantage, so good job there. And you had creative application of your Quirk when you faced her the second time, as well as good teamwork with Ojiro. In the future, however, you may want to put more work into combat options that don’t require the use of your Quirk.”

It took a minute for Sato to realize he wasn’t being yelled at. “He said you did good, Kenta!” Ojiro squealed. “Get your head up!”

“Th—thank you,” Sato said, nodding rapidly. “Thank you, sir.”

“Shinso,” Aizawa said, and Koharu could have sworn that there was something just a little warmer in his voice when he said the same compared to the rest. She remembered how he’d cheered for the purple-haired boy when they were watching the exam. Just what was the relationship between the two of them?

“Excellent teamwork and good use of your Quirk,” Aizawa said. “We did have some concerns you weren’t giving it your all, but you eventually corrected.”

A small smile pulled its way across Aizawa’s face. “And your… unique insights proved invaluable in supporting your team’s efforts. Good job. Work on bringing your A-Game right out of the gate though. Don’t just build up to it.”

“Got it!” Shinso bubbled, punching the air. “Give them the Smash right from the start!”

“As for you, Shoji,” Aizawa continued, looking at the tall, six-armed boy. Koharu was one hundred percent of a lesbian, but even she had to admit, Shoji was ridiculously good looking. No wonder Ojiro’s webshow—After becoming friends with her, she’d dug up a few old episodes—called him Class 1-A’s most eligible bachelor. Of course, she’d suddenly stopped doing that for some reason, but hadn’t mentioned why.

“You did well. Good fighting skills, good teamwork. Work on showing some greater initiative in planning and remember that you have options for long range attacks that don’t put you at as much risk in a physical confrontation.”

“Understood,” Shoji said with a small nod.

“Sero,” Aizawa began. The name had barely left his lips when the pink-skinned boy let out a terrified whimper and turned several shades paler. “Overall, good teamwork and good rescue work. You were especially effective against Raptor.”

“Damn tape,” the winged man growled. “Swinging me into that building hurt.”

“But watch your grandstanding. The correct response to finding out you’re fighting real Villains is not worrying about your hit count.”

Sero still hadn’t moved or reacted. It took Sato giving him a nudge. “Bro. You’re not dead.”

“I’m not?”

“You’re not. I’d tell you if you were.”

“Good.”

Once again, Aizawa looked as though he’d rather be anywhere else. He closed his eyes and appeared to be counting, judging by the slight movement of his lips. “Tokoyami.”

The glowing frog-thing, Frog-Shadow Koharu thought it was called, was sitting on Tokoyami’s shoulder. She perked up at Tokoyami’s name. “And me!” the thing declared.

Aizawa gaze briefly went to a corner of the room, where a yellow sleeping back, of all things, was sitting. He instead returned his attention to the bird-headed girl. “The first true victory went to you, so congratulations on that.”

“She got you good, bug man!” Kamuy yelled, slapping Nauseous on the back.

“Yeah, yeah,” Nauseous growled. “Rub it in, why don’t you?”

“I was planning on it.”

“As seems to be the common theme here, good use of team work and collaboration with your classmates. However… as difficult as it is to draw the line where you and Frog-Shadow end and begin, let’s focus on your own physicality and active participation in these battles. Being saved by your living Quirk is fine, but you cannot rely on that.”

“I shall keep that in mind,” Tokoyami said, giving a slight nod. “Or rather,” she added before Frog-Shadow could interrupt, “we shall.”

“Todoroki,” Aizawa went on, addressing the pale girl with the multi-colored hair. Koharu wasn’t quite sure how her ombré hair worked exactly, starting white but turning red the further out it got, but given that her own hair matched the pattern of her wings, she wasn’t sure she was in any position to question it. “Your overall performance was excellent.”

“Indeed,” All Might bellowed, interrupted him. “Young Todoroki was very much the MVP of the exam! You proved invaluable in multiple Villain confrontations!”

“I merely did what I could,” Todoroki said demurely. “I only regret that I was unable to better protect my classmates…”

“That is unfortutnate,” Aizawa said. “But sometimes inevitable. In the meantime, you demonstrated excellent use of your Quirk and good overall thinking and teamwork. Continue to work on your endurance and you’ve a bright future ahead of you.”

“Would it be possible to have that in writing?” Todoroki asked. “I would like to make sure my mother is aware of these facts.”

“Geeze, more jokes, Iz?” Kirishima-Bakugo asked. “You’re on a roll today.”

“Yes,” Todoroki said, her voice carefully neutral. “A joke.”

“You’ll receive your written evaluation later,” Aizawa reminded her. His voice turned protective. “But by all means, do invite your mother to visit if she has any… concerns.”

In the front row, Haimawari squirmed uncomfortably as Aizawa focused his attention on him. “Haimawari, your overall performance was positive. If not for your efforts, the class would have failed the primary objective. You also proved your strategic worth against Jawbreaker and your combat powers against Raptor.”

“That was your plan?” Jawbreaker asked. “Good job, kid.”

“I was supposed to give you a chance,” Shadow-Thief added, “but I didn’t expect you to catch up. You could be faster than Inegnium someday.”

Aizawa stared the lanky boy down. “You’ve raised my expectations of you, Haimawari. I’ll be looking to see you step up to leadership positions again.”

In spite of the praise, Haimawari looked a little pale. “Ah, okay, got it. Thank you, sir.”

“As for you, Midoriya,” Aizawa continued, “if you keep hitting up against a wall and keep bouncing off, what do you do?”

“If you’re this kid, you keep on doing it,” Jawbreaker said with a laugh.

“Maybe… not that?” Midoriya tried. “It’s kind of my go to move, but it really wasn’t working so well. And there wasn’t a lot of room to do some of my bouncing tricks like Gran Torino.”

“At least,” Aizawa said. “You recognize it. You’ve got a lot of power and a lot of techniques, work on developing them. We can focus on some options for when your usual strategies don’t cut it. Additionally…”

“Yes, Mister Aizawa?” Midoriya said, in response to Aizawa’s trailing off.

“In the next team exercises in class, you’re not allowed to take charge or formulate plans unless your teammates have also come up with plans. I think we’re all very aware how much of a leadership role you’ve taken. And while those skills are desirable for a Hero, we can’t have your classmates becoming complacent.”

“He is right, Young Grandson,” All Might added.

Midoriya nodded. “You’re right,” he said. “I’ll… do my best to stick to that.”

“See that you do.” Aizawa looked down at his notes on the podium, then up at the class. He looked back down again, as though he was making sure of something and made a pained expression. Finally, he looked back up.

“And Mineta,” he said. “As is becoming a pattern for you against live opponents, you demonstrated solid tactical thinking when provoking your opponents into a trap or otherwise keeping their focus on your mouth instead of what you’re doing. I would tell you to be less…” He gestured vaguely.

“Ah, you just gestured at all of me,” Mineta said.

“Exactly. I’d like you to be less you. Except that it seems to be working.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “It would be illogical not to encourage you to continue using those skills, not matter how distasteful.”

“What Eraser is saying,” Vice-Principal Midnight added, “is continue to own it, girl! If I was still active in the field, I’d snare you for a sidekick in a heartbeat.”

At that, Mineta actually blushed, something Koharu hadn’t been sure was actually possible. “Y-yes, Vice-Principal. T-thank you.” Koharu was extremely sympathetic though. The Vice-Principal’s expression was enough to set her own heart aflutter.

“Continue to work on battlefield discipline, however,” Aizawa corrected. “As useful as your… talents are, there is a time and a place.”

“Got it,” Mineta said. “Time. Place.”

“And Kocho.” It took Koharu a moment to realize Aizawa had said her name. The others of 1-A turned to look at her. “Overall, good analysis of how you’d participate against the exam Villains. Though you did forget about Shadow-Thief, just like the rest of the class, so I can’t fault you for that entirely. But good analysis overall, especially for someone not currently in the Hero Course. I’ll be expecting good things of you when you join the class for the training camp and for the next term.”

“I knew it!” Midoriya shouted.

“Way to go!” Sero said.

“Good job!” Sato added.

“You did it! You did it!” Ojiro said, practically bouncing in her seat. Cheers went up from some of the others, like Haimawari, and even those of she didn’t really know, like Shinso.

The celebratory moment was short lived. One of the Villains, Jawbreaker, spoke up. “So… that’s it then?”

Aizawa nodded. “The exam is over and the students will be returning to their dorms after this.”

“Then,” Raptor said, “I suppose we just wait for the police, then?”

All Might gave Aizawa a surprised look. “Just what did you tell them, Aizawa?”

“He said we had to beat the kids if we wanted early parole,” Shadow-Thief snapped. “I knew it. I knew I should have run when I had the chance… just taken my chances and run…”

“I can’t speak for these idiots,” Kamuy said, “but I’ll go quietly. I gave my word and I keep it.”

“What’s a few more years?” Nauseous said, shrugging.

“It was a logical ruse to get the most competitive edge out of you,” Aizawa said. “Once you’ve returned to your respective detention centers, your effects will be returned to you and your releases will be processed.

Koharu wished she could say she was surprised. Even already knowing that Aizawa had misinformed the Villains somehow, she hadn’t expected that. But given what she was learning about the man, along with the dirt that the Voice and Deku had spilled on him, she really, really wasn’t surprised.

“You bastard!” Shadow-Thief snarled, and had to be restrained by Kamuy and Jawbreaker. She probably could have escaped easily if she’d wanted to, but it seemed her heart wasn’t in it, as she let the other two push her back down. “I thought I’d lost my chance…!”

“Guess I’m going home,” Raptor said, leaning back in his chair and smiling.

“You’re definitely a bastard, Aizawa,” Jawbreaker said. “But I have to say… it worked.”

All Might just shook his head. “Dirty pool, Aizawa, dirty pool. Let me apologize on his behalf.”

Jawbreaker waved a hand in the air. “Honestly, I figured he was bullshitting us. It was the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. But I figured it was a worth a shot.”

All Might just shook his head. “One of these days, Aizawa, these “logical ruses” of yours are going to backfire…”

“Haven’t yet.”

Being in Class 1-A, Koharu thought, was definitely going to be an experience.

***

“Okay, everybody,” Midoriya began, “if I could just have your attention for a minute?”

Unfortunately, Class 1-A (and Kocho, who’d been invited to celebrate with them) were too busy celebrating their exam victory to notice. After the exam, they’d pooled their money—Izumi had offered to pay for the whole thing, but they’d insisted it come from all of them—and ordered pizzas (and shakes for Kocho), gotten the stereo going, and turned the dining area into a party spread with other snacks and sodas.

It had been close out there more than a few times, but Isamu was glad he’d been able to be a part of it. Of course, now Aizawa was expecting bigger and better things from him, on top of having already raised his profile at the Sports Festival, so that was a lot to live up to. And there was still the training camp on the horizon. They had a departure date for it, but no other details. But those were worries for another day.

He did wonder how the other Hero Courses were doing. 1-B was supposed to be taking theirs this afternoon, and 1-C in the evening. Kana had promised she’d let him know when they were done though, so he was anxiously awaiting that text. 1-B didn’t have as many “heavy hitters” in it as his class did, but they had a lot of variety and a lot of potential for teamwork if they really tried at it.

“Guys?” Midoriya tried again.

“If everyone could give us their attention for just a moment?” Tokoyami tried, with no success either.

“HEY! LISTEN!” Frog-Shadow shouted, from her perch on Tokoyami’s shoulder. And that did get everyone to shut up.

“…Thank you,” Midoriya told Frog-Shadow, before looking around at the class.

“Anytime!” Frog-Shadow said, giving him a thumbs’ up.

“As I was saying,” Midoriya continued, “everybody did great out there. There’s not a one of you I’m not proud of. Not that I was worried for a minute, but we really showed how we could come together when it really matters. So absolutely, let’s celebrate! We earned it!”

Isamu joined with his classmates in cheering, though he thought Kaminari looked like her heart wasn’t in it, despite everyone having told her that they didn’t blame her for almost causing them to fail the exam. He could see the electric girl had taken the criticism to heart and he doubted she’d do anything like that again.

He’d talk to her later if he had the opportunity. They weren’t exactly friends, but they’d gotten to be friendlier over the term, especially when he’d burned a few copies of some of his mom’s lesser known CDs for her. And they both agreed that Double Pop was a cheap rip off and not an homage, no matter how hot Mineta insisted they were.

As the cheers died down, Izumi spoke up. “I have already told my parents about our passing the exam,” she said. She sounded pretty happy, as far as he could tell. Izumi was a fairly reserved person, but even he could see the pride in her victories today. She deserved it, completely. “They send their congratulations to all of us. They have also extended an offer to the whole class—and you, Kocho—to join us at our island vacation home before the training camp.”

He knew Izumi’s family was rich. But all the same, he couldn’t help but blurt out, “You have an island vacation home?”

Kirishima-Bakugo smirked at his surprise. “They have their own island.”

That did not do anything to take down his surprise. “Of course,” he said. Visions of the costs of plane tickets and island prices and everything else immediately tampered down any enthusiasm he would have had for going. Not all Pro-Heroes were rich, of course, but with the right endorsements and even a modest amount of success, they could be very well off. That was not his family. They did well enough, of course, but he wasn’t anywhere near the same ballpark.

Really, between the Iida twins, Izumi, and Mirdoiya alone, the amount of yen in the room was staggering. It did very little to quell his feelings of inadequacy. But he could see Kocho doing a very good job of concentrating on her drink and a pang of sympathy overrode anything else.

“Of course, since it is the Yaoyorozu private jet and hotel, it is all expenses paid,” Izumi went on.

“As long as we’re back in time for the I-Island Expo,” Midoriya said. “Dad’s going to be busy, but the Aunt Meslissa and the Togata kids are all going, and I’m going with them.”

“We’re going too!” Sora Iida piped in. “Mother is presenting several new inventions and Father will be there as well, representing the family.”

Tensei Iida looked over at his boyfriend. “I will insist upon you being allowed to come,” he told Sero. “It is only fair, since my sister’s boyfriend will be there.”

“Double-date vacation with our Iida squeezes, Midoriya?” Sero said. “It’s all moving so fast! We’ll be in-laws before you know it!”

Midoriya turned red at that. “Maybe… maybe not that fast!”

“Toshi,” Sora told him, leaning in, “I think he is joking.”

“Or am I?” Sero laughed, giving himself a double thumbs’ up. Ojiro reached over and gave him a smack on the shoulder. “Ow! Go easy, Kimiko!”

“Stop making Midoriya a nervous wreck! You’ll ruin my ships!”

“You can’t call it a ship when it’s real people, Kimmie,” Sato said, looking faintly embarrassed at his friends.

“You’re going too, right, Haimawari?” Midoriya asked.

“I, ah, yeah,” Isamu said, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. He still needed to find a suit before that happened. As the first year winner of the U.A. Sports Festival, he’d gotten an all- expenses paid invitation to the Expo. It would be the furthest he’d ever been from his home in his life. Still seemed like way too much attention on him, but Hero-Society really did like to have people it could celebrate, it seemed. “Hadn’t had too much time to think about it, with the exams and everything.”

“You get a plus one, you know!” Mineta yelled. “You should totally take Kana!”

Isamu let out a squeak. “We’re really not ready for that!” he said quickly. “Really!”

“Take me then?” she asked, pouting. “Shinji’s still grounded and I’ll be so lonely…”

Nope, nope, nope, get away bad thoughts!

“We should be able to return in plenty of time,” Izumi said, answering the question and thankfully ending any conversation with Mineta.

“Are you sure it’s okay if I come?” Kocho asked. The tips of her wings flicked about as she talked. “I mean, I’ll have to ask my parents to begin with, but you all barely know me.”

Boy, did he know that feeling. It definitely summed up how he’d felt at the start of the term. But now he had good friends here, and even got along with pretty much everyone else. He still sometimes felt like an outsider, but with people who’d literally grown up together, that wasn’t completely surprising. But he definitely no longer felt like an outsider.

“You’re going to be in 1-A,” Midoriya said, smiling. “That makes you family.”

“Welcome to the crazy house,” Kirishima-Bakugo said. She made a sweeping gestured. “I’d say you get used to some of them, but, well…”

***

It’s the next morning, Saturday, and most of the class was out and about, some of the couples spending time with each other, some enjoying a day of much deserved rest after the exams. A few had even gone home already in preparation for the upcoming trip. They’d had one of the biggest tests of their lives and they’d passed.

So why couldn’t Chihiro bring herself to celebrate?

Maybe because she’d nearly ruined the whole thing. Not just for herself, but for everyone. She’d barely passed her other exams. As much as her mom often told her to “dig down deep and find the genes I gave you,” Chihiro sometimes had to admit… she just wasn’t that smart. Book learning did not come easily to her. So she’d poured everything she had into being a Hero. And with her new costume, she’d actually started finally getting good at that, overcome the limitations of her Quirk and started thinking a little bit smarter there.

And in one fleeting taste of victory, she’d done something stupid and started celebrating.

Stupid, stupid, stupid. One of the first basic rules of Heroing. Never, ever celebrate until the Villain was either unconscious or in a police car. She’d been so damn sure their combined power had been enough to put Kamuy down.

She’d been wrong.

And everyone had nearly paid for her mistake. Sure, they said they didn’t blame her. And she even believed them. Well, she believed everyone but Kirishima-Bakugo. She’d never actually said it, just grimaced and nodded along when the others said it.

It didn’t mean she didn’t blame herself.

In retrospect, being alone in the common room with her thoughts probably wasn’t the best thing right now, no matter how much she didn’t want to be around other people. Of course, if she really didn’t want to be around other people, she would have just stayed in her room. Instead, she was sitting on the couch, strumming on her ukulele. Maybe, just maybe, a little music would take her mind off of everything. She hadn’t had as much time to play as she’d like this term, but maybe she could get back to it.

She was definitely bringing it on the trip to Izumi’s island. Islands practically called for ukuleles. Also, she just liked the word ukulele. This one in particular had been a gift from her dad. It even had a small inscription. “Just write “I love you, Chihiro.’”

The doors to the outside flew open and in walked someone she really didn’t want to deal with right now: Shiro Monoma. If he said one word about anything—never mind how he’d have found out in the first place—she knew she’d throw hands and Cords. And then she’d probably get in actual trouble.

He had bolted through the doors like he’s gathered up all his courage for an important mission, but now that he was inside, he just looked a little confused. He even pulled his phone out and checked something on it—probably his text messages.

“Mika’s not here,” she told Monoma flatly. Mika had said something about how he was having a rough time lately, but honestly, he got on her last nerve often enough that she wasn’t sure she cared. “Pretty sure Koda’s upstairs though.”

How someone as nice as Koda was put up with the likes of him and Aoyama, she had no idea.

“I, ah, yes, good,” Monoma said, looking both awkward and uncomfortable under her gaze. She must have stepped up her intimidation game. Maybe she’d actually see how this played out. “I… heard you all passed the exam?”

Of course. Why did she think it was anything else? “Come to gloat?” she snapped, pointing her Cords at him. Sparks danced along their tips.

He put a hand to his chest, offended. “Gloat about what?”

“You don’t know?” She carefully set her ukulele down in its case on the table in front of her and stood up. She waved her arms through the air as she ranted, her Cords mimicking the gestures. “You’re not just bullshitting me, so you can insult me? Mock me? Mock poor stupid Kaminari who nearly danced her way into failing the exam?”

Crap. She said too much.

Monoma’s expression softened, though she could also see some kind of comprehension dawning too. “I assure you,” he said, crossing the room so he was standing across from her, “that I meant to do no such offenses. It’s not my place to do so anymore anyway. At least you’re still here. It sounds like you still deserve your spot.”

Wait, what? “The hell does that mean?” she demanded. Dammit, he needed to stop looking like a kicked puppy. It was making it incredibly hard to be mad at him!

“I’m leaving U.A.,” he told her. Chihiro’s Cords jerked up in surprise. “I’m… I’m not cut out for this. My Quirk’s not good enough. I’m not good enough. I only stayed long enough to help my class pass the exam. Which they did.”

Okay, seriously, what the hell.

“I, ah…” she began, uncertainly. “They throw real Villains at you too?”

Now it was his turn to be surprised. “…Your teacher really is insane.” She didn’t disagree. “Super-Ball got some of his Pro-Hero friends to play the part. Dirtbreaker, She-Panther, Silver Stalker, the Human Rocket, and Microwaveabelle. They’re all fairly minor and low ranked… but they gave us all a pretty good fight.”

“Betcha Shinso could have told you all about them.” She did genuinely like the little guy. Their dads were friends, so while they weren’t close, she was certainly more than used to his quirks.

“Yeah,” Monoma agreed. “He probably could have.” Chihiro recalled that his dad was friends were Shinso’s dad too. She seemed to remember the two of them had even been closer, once upon a time.

“But you’re quitting?” she asked. As much as he tried to brag or claim his class was better than theirs, she couldn’t believe it.

“My mind’s made up,” he said, quietly. “Please don’t try to talk me out of it.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” she said. “But like I said, Koda’s upstairs if that’s who you’re looking for.”

He hesitated, then looked down at her ukulele. “I didn’t know you could play,” he said.

She shrugged. “I’m not nearly as good as mom. But I do all right.” She realized he was looking at her expectantly. The curse of the musician. As soon as you admitted you could play, people wanted to hear it.

With a sigh, she picked it up and sat down, using her Cords to indicate that he could sit too if he wanted. He took up a spot on the couch opposite her. She took a moment, then launched into the cords of a positively ancient song and couldn’t help but launch into song, in English.

“I see trees of green and red roses too

I'll watch then bloom just for me and you

And I think to myself

Oh, what a wonderful world

I see skies of blue, clouds of white

The brightness of day, the dark, say goodnight

And I think to myself

Oh, what a wonderful world…”

She stopped when she realized he wasn’t just watching her, he was staring. Hard.

“What?” she asked.

“I’ve never actually seen anyone play music up close like that,” Monoma said, actually sounding impressed. “At least, not live. Video is one thing, but up close and personal… it’s actually rather breathtaking.”

Okay, Monoma was dishing out compliments instead of insulting her intelligence. This was obviously a Monoma from an alternate universe where he was nice. “Think you could copy it?” she asked. “You’d probably make a good musician that way.”

He shook his head. “I could copy the motions, but I wouldn’t have the heart for it you do. ��Or the kind of conditioning in my fingers you have. I’m honestly really impressed. You’ve got real talent.” There was an undercurrent of “and I’m jealous” to it, so she took some pity on him.

“It take some work,” she said. “But anybody really can learn. You learn the chords, you put them together, one after the other, they turn into music. Same for every song, just broken apart and put together in different ways and speeds.”

Monoma’s lips were moving, but no sound was coming out, as he seemed to be processing what she’d said. He suddenly bolted from his seat. “That’s it! Like music! Not like shots from a quiver!” His eyes were wild and Chihiro slowly and deliberately put her ukulele in its case so she could stand up.

“I’m going to tase you if you don’t start making sense!”

His expression still maniac, Monoma continued. “I could string moves together into a symphony of fighting! I’ve been treating moves like separate weapons, to be used and discarded! I can combine them!”

“Uh… good for you?” she tried. Should she be calling someone here? Was he having an aneurysm? She could probably always defibrillate him, but she was pretty sure that wasn’t the right medical procedure.

His eyes were shining and maniac still, when he focused them on her. “You’re brilliant, Kaminari! Thank you!”

In a burst of speed, he was at her side, his arms wrapped around her and holding her tightly against him. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!” His lips pressed against her cheek for a moment, a long moment, separating with a wet, smacking sound.

Reality seemed to settle back in. He stared at her, then bolted towards the door. “Thankyouagain,Ihavetowithdrawmywithdrawl,Ineedtogonow!”

Chihiro stood there for a moment longer, before she flopped back onto the couch, her legs suddenly weak. Her fingers touched her cheek where Monoma had kissed her. “What… what just happened?”

***

Mika had made herself scarce from the 1-A dorms and was hanging out with Anime in hers. As was expected, her friends’ dorm walls were completely covered in posters from various manga and anime, most of which even the biggest otaku would find obscure.

Her phone buzzed. Earlier, she’d sent a message to Shiro, telling him a “mutual acquaintance” was feeling depressed and maybe he could go by and cheer her up. He was depressed, she was depressed, it was the perfect plan.

She checked her phone.

Cute Ex: So I’m not quitting. Got a really good idea when I was at your dorm building. Had a really good conversation. …I may have kissed her. Things got happened and I got passionate.

Mika smiled. That was fast. Really fast, actually, given the parties involved. Good for Shiro and good for Akaya. Her friend needed it. And Shiro would be way better for her than Aoyama, if he ever figured out that he was clearly crushing on Akaya.

“It worked!” she told Anime.

The animated girl squeed happily. “I knew it! Just like I Set Up My Best Friends (Because I Could)!”

Cute Ex: I hope this doesn’t make things awkward.

Mika was about to respond that of course it didn’t, this was her plan all along, when she saw more dots indicating Shiro was still typing.

Cute Ex: Because now I might actually ask Kaminari out. Not just because of the kiss. But because I discovered she’s actually fascinating. I know it sounds crazy, but…

She didn’t see the rest of the text, as the phone dropped from her hands. “Anime, we’ve made a terrible mistake.”

#my hero academia #their hero academia #Koharu Kocho #isamu haimawari #chihiro kaminari #shiro monoma #mika (tha)#fan fiction #fan fic #my writing

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jawnjendes · 6 years ago

Text

it came back for more | shawn mendes

university au, shawn x goth gf

AN: let me know if i should give the goth gf a name bc like,,,,,,,,,,, idk just let me know,, also does anyone actually like this series lmao

masterlist | series playlist

"You're leaving me?" Shawn asked in mock disbelief.

I knew he was joking, but the fact that he said it as we were walking through campus, in the view of many passing students was a little embarrassing. There was just no getting used to that, like he couldn’t get used to my emotional distance sometimes. I just kept my eyes on the ground and continued walking next to him. No hand holding today. Doesn’t mean I don’t adore him any less.

"I made plans with Stella weeks ago," I told him. "We already bought tickets."

Shawn smiled, letting go of his pretend hurt. "It's cool. I understand, and I hope you have fun."

"Shit, me too. I feel like this movie is going to destroy me."

Yes, this is about the most anticipated movie of the year. Yes, I was more hyped than I have been in months. No, there will not be any spoilers.

"You're welcome to tag along," I added. "I mean, if there's still seats available at the theatre."

He shrugged off the invite, which I knew he would do. Shawn wasn't into this particular franchise, claiming he was tired of this type of movie. Can't say I blame him, plenty of people felt the same way. It was just hard to ramble at him about it because he didn't know jack shit. That was why I was going to the movie with Stella.

"I'll just stay home and watch Grey's without you." He smirked.

"First of all, that's mean and I would never do that to you. Secondly, Grey's comes back next week!"

"Oh yeah."

“Besides,” I added, “I’m gonna spend the night at your place anyway. Just like every Thursday.”

“Yeah, but instead of twenty four uninterrupted hours, we’ll get…” Shawn counted on his fingers. “...Less than that?”

We made it back to my dorm to find Stella lying facedown on the couch. Shawn and I shared a look as we entered the vicinity. Not that this wasn’t unusual, it was just hard to pinpoint her reasoning for this. I mean, I shouldn’t talk. Sometimes I lie on the floor without explanation wherever I please. Stella was used to that, but Shawn would ask if I “wanted to talk” or something.

"Did you get spoiled?" I asked her.

"No," she replied, her voice muffled by the cushions. "I'm trying to kill time. There's five hours left before the movie!"

I sighed and went to sit on her legs. "I know. I made Shawn take my phone because I don't wanna go online and see something I don't wanna see."

Stella picked her head up. "That's a good idea." She reached for her phone on the table, extending her arm towards my boyfriend. "Can you take mine too?"

Shawn chuckled, back and forth between the two of us. But he took Stella's phone. "You're both crazy."

"And what about it?" I said back. Then I reached for his hand. "Anyway, I need you to keep me busy for at least three hours." I smiled and batted my lashes in an exaggerated manner.

"Only three hours?" he replied with a cheeky grin as he took my hand and got me to my feet again.

"Ugh!" Stella interjected as she rolled off the couch. "I'm going to the library! And I'm leaving my phone so I don't go online! If I'm not back before we have to leave, just assume I killed myself because I got spoiled!"

"That's valid," I told her, "but I like you better alive."

Two of the three hours went by before Shawn practically tired himself out. He tapped out and rolled onto his back, leaving me alone with my thoughts. I couldn’t blame him for pulling out (in every aspect) because it was close to finals season. Tensions were rising, he was finally feeling the consequences of missing assignments and poor exam grades. I knew that because I was going through the same thing. The semester was going to be over in a month, then I would be going back to California.

And Shawn was coming with me… for a week.

It got awfully cramped on my single size bed by the time Shawn was out like a light, so I got up and decided to get ready. I got dressed in the appropriate attire for this movie, a black t-shirt with the franchise logo and black leggings. Then I grabbed my makeup bag and sat down on the floor in front of my mirror. Halfway through my routine, Shawn awoke with a start.

"I'm up! Let's go again!" he said, sitting up.

I looked at him through the mirror, still blending concealer under my eyes with a sponge. "You're like, twenty minutes too late, my dear. I'm already getting ready."

He rubbed his eyes and yawned, nodding in response. "Okay…"

As he lied down again, I couldn't help but smile. Shawn was really fucking cute, and he had no right to be. I don't want to sound like that girl, because I’m rarely that girl, but how was I expected to spend three whole hours away from him tonight? Thursdays were usually our night, since neither of us worked or had class after four o'clock. I mean, nothing was going to stop me from going to this movie, let alone a cute guy with curly hair and a charming smile. That doesn’t mean I wouldn’t miss him.

"You're still welcome to join us," I told him from where I was sitting.

"You really want me to go, eh?" he replied, shifting to his side so he was looking at me.

"I'm just saying, it's probably the only time you'll see me cry."

Shawn picked his head up, eyes wide. "Seriously?"

Between the two of us, he was the crier. Are we surprised at this point? I had my exceptions, like watching a new movie I was very passionate about, or when my chronic GI issues would flare up and give me a panic attack. However, I haven't gotten sick in a while, so technically only one thing was going to make me weep.

"Well," Shawn spoke after a while, "guess I'm going."

I knew I was expecting tear jerkers, but I still sported my inner and outer wings to the movie. Half of it smudged onto my eyelids and half was under my eyes. On top of that, I got a dehydration headache, because I refused to drink water during a three hour long movie. I did eat popcorn, even though it was well after the time I cut off food for the day. That sounds concerning, but it's a thing I go through. If I eat after 8PM I will spend the night barfing.

Shawn, Stella, and I left the theatre practically buzzing. The mood of the film and the other moviegoers kept our spirits high, despite the fact that Stella and I had visible mascara tracks on our faces. I cried at things you wouldn’t normally cry at in a movie, like when your favorite character breathes, or makes a dramatic entrance.

"Okay," Shawn said, "that was actually a really good movie."

"Good enough to convert into a stan?" I asked, holding his hand.

"Mm, probably not."

I quickly let go of his hand. "Fine."

Walking towards the parking lot was when I started to feel something. My abdomen felt a little sore, and it made me slow down my steps a little bit. I placed my hand on my stomach; It wasn’t excruciating, but it was noticeable.

"You okay, honey?" Shawn asked, looking at me.

I nodded quickly and got back into step with him. However, the soreness was persisting by the time we got back to my car. I unlocked the doors to let Stella and Shawn in, but I stood where I was and focused on this pain. Maybe I cried too hard at the movie. Maybe the popcorn I had was giving me a warning.

Either way, there go my late night plans.

"So, I don't think I should stay at your place tonight," I told Shawn when I got in the car.

"Aw, why?" he asked.

"My stomach is, uh, acting up a little. Not feeling too good."

"You're gonna let your stomach stop you?" Stella piped up from the backseat. She wasn't one to normally say things like that. She knew how serious I got when I got sick.

I looked at her through the rear view mirror. "You got plans tonight?"

She picked at her nails and stayed quiet for a minute. "I have a friend visiting."

"Just stay at mine anyway," Shawn said to me. "I have the tea you like, and medicine, and a shit ton of blankets to keep you cozy. I'll be there to take care of you."

"I don't know, I wouldn’t wanna put that on you."

"I really don't mind."

We’ve been together five and a half months. In those months, I have gotten flare ups a handful of times, and all of those times had to do with trying new foods that ended up disagreeing with me. Each time I was with Shawn, and I had to tell him to leave me to deal with my illness. He did so, reluctantly. He really wanted to nurse me back to health, though.

Sickness is just so ugly. I didn't want to burden him with my physically unstable ass sleeping on the bathroom floor. I didn't want him to hear me puking in his bathroom. We just got to a place where things were Love sick, not Sick sick. Everything was so soft and sweet between us. For once nothing was grey, it was soft blend of black and pink. I didn’t want to taint it with my stupid gastrointestinal crap.

On the other hand, Stella is my roommate. She offers to look after me when I get sick, to which I always say no. I know how to handle it. Still, she goes to the extent of cancelling plans and breaking dates just in case I needed help. She was my safe person when went out. She was the extrovert who wanted and deserved to have a good time.

I had to stop by campus to drop Stella off, anyway. She got out of the car, reminding me once again that she'll have somebody over very soon.

Shawn turned to me once we were alone. "Please stay with me tonight."

"I don't need you to deal with my sickness," I said firmly. "It's nothing personal-"

"Okay, stop for a second," he told me. Then he placed his hand on the shoulder of my seat. "I know you know how to handle yourself when you get sick. It's like, a plan you've had to make and adjust over time, and you know it like the back of your hand. I get that, you know how to take care of yourself. I just don't want you to do this plan alone."

"I won't be alone, I have Stella." By that I mean, she's on standby only if things go really wrong... which is never. I’m not that sick.

This time, though… I’ve only felt actual pain one time before this.

Shawn gave me a look. "She's gonna be busy tonight. She wants to be busy tonight."

We stared at each other for a while. My stomach was flipping for reasons unrelated to illness. My boyfriend had stupidly kind, gentle intentions, and stupidly pretty eyes. He also had a very comfy bed.

I sighed. "Fine."

After some tea and rest, I felt a little better. I felt good enough to hop into bed with my boyfriend for about twenty minutes. It was fine until he was on top of me...

"Fuck, I'm sorry," Shawn frantically said, moving off of me. "Oh god, I'm so sorry."

My face was scrunched with pain, and I tried to control my breathing. The soreness from earlier turned into a sharp pain in my abdomen that made me push Shawn away from me. It was kind of a mood killer to say the least, since it made him panic.

"Are you okay?" he asked, voice trembling. "How bad is it? What do you need?"

"Shh!" It wasn't intended to sound mean, but I was trying to focus on what my body was doing.

I struggled to sit up, so Shawn held my lower back to support me. He kept asking questions, but I was rapidly tuning him out. The pain didn't get any better or worse, but I was feeling something in my guts. I got up and dashed into the bathroom.

We're going to get just a little TMI. I wanted use the bathroom, but my bowels weren't having it. Then, I wanted to puke but my stomach wasn't having it. I didn't know what to do, so I just stayed on the floor in front of the toilet and let my body try to figure things out for itself.

I shouldn't have had popcorn at the movies. Sure, popcorn is light on the stomach, but Stella wanted extra butter, and I hadn’t eaten for hours. I knew what I was getting myself into, and now I was paying for it. Add popcorn to the list of foods that were now forever tainted with a bad memory.

Shawn came knocking on the door, his voice full of concern. "Honey, are you okay? Can I come in?"

I didn’t say anything but he let himself in anyway. He sat next to me on the floor, next to where I was leaning over the toilet. Delicately, he moved my hair from my face and held it back.

"I don't think I'm gonna puke," I told him, resting my forehead on the seat. My mouth was watering inexplicably, and I felt a tingle in my feet.

"Okay, then let's get you back to bed," he said gently, placing his hands on my waist to help me up.

Then, I actually puked. Yup, no more popcorn for me.

It goes without saying that I was up for most of the night. I only threw up that one time, but I felt nauseous until the sun peeked through the window. Not only that, I always got a bout of anxiety whenever things with my stomach got bad, and it intensified knowing that I wasn’t home at my dorm. I wasn’t in the comfort of my squeaky single size bed. I didn’t have my phone charging next to me here because the only other outlet was on the other side of the room. I felt so out of place and I wanted to run, but I knew I couldn’t because traveling would only upset my stomach more.

Shawn fell asleep when I reassured him that I wouldn’t spend anymore time in the bathroom. He was on his side facing me practically the whole night. When I felt okay enough to lay down, I put one of the extra pillows between us and faced away from him. He started stirring by the time I was finally sleepy.

When I woke up in the late afternoon, I was just grateful I didn’t have class on Fridays. I couldn’t get up even if I wanted to.

I rolled onto my back, only to find that I was alone. I rubbed my eyes, then quickly remembered that I fell asleep with smudged eyeliner, and I just made it worse. I sighed and looked out the window from where I lied. It had gotten cloudy throughout the day. Thank god, today was not a sunshine kinda day for me.

If only I had the energy to get off my ass and go back home where I wanted to be.

My eyes blankly stared at the ceiling. Whatever spirit I had left in me was slowly floating away. My incorporeal being was rising out of my physical being, until voices outside the bedroom caused me to come back to earth.

“Oh, let me just see her! Maybe I can help!”

A woman. I slowly moved onto my side, curling up under the blanket and trying to focus on the window. Then, I heard Shawn’s voice.

“No! Ah - I mean…” He was suddenly outside the door. “Let me see if she’s awake.”

Shit.

The door opened, but I didn’t move from my position. Shawn came up in my peripherals, and then he sat down on the empty side of the bed. His eyes met mine, and he smiled.

“Hey, you. How ya feeling?”

I blinked. “Tired… Not sick. Just tired.”

“As long as you’re not sick.” He brought a hand up to my head and stroked my hair. “Listen, my mom is here.”

“Why?” Seemingly innocent question, but it did make me feel some kinda way, and it certainly sounded like it.

“She comes every so often,” Shawn explained. “She’ll clean and do my laundry.”

Must be nice.

“I told her you were here,” he continued. “I told her you were sick, and she just wants to check on you.”

We had talked about me meeting his family. I joked about wearing a high ponytail with a pink scrunchie the way Meredith did in Grey’s Anatomy. Shawn replied by saying I’d be wearing a black scrunchie, duh. Clearly, it wasn’t supposed to be like this, the day after a particularly nasty flare up. I was severely unprepared and it was a couple of months too early. But how the hell am I supposed to turn his mother away when she was already here?

“I’ll go out there,” I told him. “Let me just wash my face first.”

Shawn looked pleasantly surprised. “Okay, great. We’ll be in the living room.” He kissed my forehead and got to his feet.

As I pushed myself out of bed, I noticed the persisting pain in my abdomen yet again. Not as bad as last night, but it was still there. I already knew how to handle this.

#shawn mendes #shawn mendes fanfic #shawn mendes imagine #shawn mendes blurb #fourtristattoosspring #shawn x goth gf #i think everything after this is gonna be posted in chronological order #no more out of order chapter updates lmfao #god i hope ppl like this series #im feeling inadequate and sensitive sry

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yoanxue · 7 years ago

Photo

Hello everyone! I recently finished high school (just about 3 weeks ago, actually) and I figured I’d make a list of things for those of you just entering, or even just looking for some advice in general. :^) Some bg info is that I went to a 4-year, public high school in California, so some of these tips may not apply, depending on where you are in the world.

- Let friendships happen. There’s no need to actively look for friends or be super against meeting new people in high school; it all happens pretty naturally. Be open minded and you’ll meet some people you never thought you’d ever know! :^)

- Join clubs that you’re interested in. If you join a boring club you have no real interest in, chances are it’ll look pretty bland on college apps (if you so choose to include it). My advice is to join a couple clubs and dedicate yourself to them so that your involvement can actually mean something. That being said, you can also try to join an academic club like NHS or CSF (California only) that will add some shine to your grades if/when you do well.

- Learn how to study. This might sound like a no-brainer, but I need to emphasize this! I truthfully never really studied(!!!) until my sophomore year of high school (same time I started my studyblr!), which is pretty crazy. Before then, I was privileged enough to pass every honors class I took with A’s, but once I got to high school, I was scrambling to get my life together simply because I didn’t know how to study. Freshman year was that sort of rude awakening that I NEEDED. I realized that life wasn’t always going to be that easy for me, so learning how to study for high school is a crucial piece of advice.

- Get a planner. Doesn’t have to be fancy. My school sells pre-made planners for $5 every year, so the initiation to become organized wasn’t that hard. But for some of you who need a little something to stay on track, get yourself a notebook where you can write down your daily assignments and USE. IT! Memory isn’t foolproof, unfortunately, so a planner can really save your life in the long run. Plus, you can chart out how long you have/need to study for your next exam.

- School food sucks. I don’t need to say this twice. Learn how to pack a lunch, buy granola bars in bulk, and carry a water bottle everywhere to save yourself from that midday hunger. A pack of chips in the vending machine isn’t worth $1, and you have more options if you shop outside of school, anyway.

- Deal with teachers. More often than none, you are going to have a teacher you won’t like. However, rather than complain about how bad they are at teaching, find a way to study yourself so that your grade can stay above water, no matter who your teacher might be. And if you find a good teacher, then great! Become friends with them. You’ll find that many teachers are really unique and willing to get to know their students on a friendly level. If you do well in their class, too, they’ll probably even be willing to write those dreaded letters of rec in your senior year!

- Don’t rush into dating. I’m sorry I just had to say: there are so many more fish in the sea that is OUTSIDE high school, so there should be no reason for you to want to rush and find a bf/gf. But if you do, then be smart about it!

- Your locker is a base. Only sometimes hungry? Got allergies? Need a makeup retouch throughout the day? Stash your PopTarts (yeah I did that; bought a few boxes and kept them there throughout the year), tissues, and cosmetics in your locker so that you can always have some backup support. Your future self will thank you.

- About standardized tests....Yeah, I know, I hate them too. You can talk to your counselor about when/if to take them when the time comes around. However, when I say that, I mean that if you plan on taking the SAT junior year, start prepping the summer after sophomore year. There is really no reason for you to start preparation in your freshman year, because chances are, you won’t understand anything yet!

- Talk to your counselor. Your counselor is there to help you decide on what classes to take or what career to pursue. It’s their job to help you! Personally, my counselor was a cranky old lady (sorry) who was often impatient, but she did still listen to what I had to say, and she helped sort out my classes. Also remember that they’re there if you need a mental health hotline, or if you just need to talk out your stress.

- Don’t procrastinate. Easy to say, much harder to do. But if you use your planner and spread out your work little by little, it’s much less painful than to do a five page essay in the wee hours of the morning it’s due. Same goes for college apps! For example, the UC essays are due at the end of November, but you should get started on them at the beginning/mid of October, because you’ll want to do a LOT of proofreading. That being said...

- Get friends and teachers to help you. Friends offer another mind, and teachers can help you with the nitty-gritty of things. Sometimes, teachers won’t have time to help your bigger assignments like essays, but you can still ask them for tips and advice here and there. Trust me, it really helps when you know what exactly you’re supposed to be doing.

- Take note of the syllabuses. It’ll save your life when the semester is coming to an end and you can check back to see what counts as an A in the class, or how much that next test/final will affect your grade. Every teacher is different, after all, so extra credit can’t save you all the time. You’ll also want to make sure you have a means to contact your teachers, whether it be e-mail or phone so you can ask them questions when school is out for the day.

- Use your summers wisely. If you can, take a preparation class for that math class you really need help in, or that writing class you know you’re going to have trouble with. The summer before junior year is a great time to take an SAT/ACT preparation class as well. If you plan on taking a subject you’re a little less knowledgeable in, previewing the subject content is also a great way to make sure you won’t regret not changing your schedule sooner.

- Accept high school for what it is. High school isn’t like the movies. It’s not drowning in drama like you think it might be, and the lockers (at least in my school) were not nearly big enough to shove a person in. Don’t be too disappointed when the school dances aren’t as glamorous as they’re made out to seem. But do enjoy yourself. You’re here for four years, so you might as well! Go out with your friends on weekends. Treat yourself to some ice cream after school on a Wednesday if you did really well on that test you were fearing. Because even though everyone says so--and it really doesn’t seem like it when you enter--high school will be done in a flash.

I could include so much more, but there really isn’t enough time. Thanks for reading, and feel free to ask me any other questions! :^)

#studyblr #study guide #high school #tips #advice #study tips #studying #studyspo #schoolblr #school #yoanxue #study

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bibbykins · 8 years ago

Text

Moonlight Reign (Ch. 1)

A/N: Okay, my first series (since Snowfall All Year is only a two parter I need to finish) I’ve been wanting to write a mafia!au for the longest time, and I am crazy late on the trend but fuck it. Hope y’all enjoy and give me some love!

Pairing: Mafia boss! Yoongi x reader (hopefully it’ll stay that way)

Word count: 2.7k

Genre: Angst, fluff, maybe some smut

Summary: Some things in this world are dangerous, and you, him, and the world you once lived in that now belongs to him are just some of many you can’t be free from, but do you even want to be?

“It’s time to go now, y/n.”

1, 2, 3, 4

“Five years after the fall of the underground power family, Moon Corporation, people still suspect an even more powerful company has taken their place since…”

1, 2, 3, 4

“The color red doesn’t suit this house well.”

1, 2, 3, 4

“The exposure beheld more answers than questions, but on the five-year anniversary of the suicidal explosion that killed the head, Mun Byungyeol and his daughter, the, as ordered to remain anonymous, green haired 13 year old. Colleagues mourn in secret and establishments fear an anniversary heist…”

1, 2, 3, 4

“Locals have several theories on the big conglomerate that now controls Seoul’s business, underground and above, with mafias and gangs running rampant, people fear the government is under their thumb as well…”

1, 2-

You inhaled deeply, as if just surfacing from the drowning body of water residing in your brain. Your fingers stilled from the tapping, a desperate attempt to make you surface, a sorry technique therapy drilled into you.

Four was too perfect of a number for such an ugly world, a world you had to feign blind to now.

Your palms retracted from their firm placement on the wall you leaned on, relaxing you. Releasing your slightly curled fingers, you stifled a laugh at the desperate attempt to grasp onto something.

Your little episode was finished as you settled your mind with the news continuing to drone on. Looking at the time, you decided it was time to get ready for your study session with Jungkook.

Jungkook was a guy in the same university as you, he was older, but you were a year ahead, so you were in the same class. He was your neighbor in this adequate apartment complex that you kept via a crappy waitressing job. He was the regular party boy always at clubs and coming home at ungodly hours of the night.

You weren’t exactly a social butterfly, so if you found one friend in Jungkook, you figured it wouldn’t be such a crime.

You faced the mirror, patting down your hair, “The green didn’t suit me well at all,” You mused, fixing your natural shade of hair, “Although the forest green was a nice shade on my skin.”

After gathering your study material, Jungkook knocked on your door and you studied like usual. He would always get distracted halfway through, though.“Why do you still have the news on?”

You looked at the TV and shrugged.

“I guess I forgot,” You spoke, “Now what did you think this-”

“Mafias and gangs…” He mused, “Aren’t they the same?”

The pencil in your hand stilled. Absolutely not. Gangs were pawns, the mafias in this world were the players. As a little girl, that was the first thing you had learned, how to play chess outside a casual park bench, how to play chess crushing people in your hands as you moved them.

“Like I care.”

“You aren’t scared of these guys at all?”

“Failing class is scary, that,” You gestured to the TV, “Is a cheap haunted house in comparison to the hell of getting a D for my semester grade.”

Jungkook stifled a laugh, “I’m thanking every divine being if I pass, but it’s worth it as opposed to only studying and working.”

You rolled your eyes, “Sorry I’m not a child of the night.” Not anymore, at least.

—-

A few days later exams went well for you, and you finished your semester and had a solid two months off. All was well and it was peaceful in the dead of night.Too bad your body rejected sleep.This week was a big week.

////

“Dad?” You whimpered as a strong hand patted your head to calm you, or soften the blow of what’s to come, “Tell me you didn’t.”

Mun Byungyeol was a rough man who took you in as a young child. His men killed your parents for revenge and a nearly-dead 3-year-old suffering from starvation and cigarette burns was found at the scene. Initially resistant to your arrival, he got right to training you to be the heiress to replace the heir he never received.

He may have been rough, but he was a caring dad, even if you had never been his priority.

Not unless you could be used as currency.

“Y/n, it’s time for us to go,” He sighed, “I let this greed consume me, and I’m afraid it’s begun eating me alive now.”

Your mind couldn’t comprehend his words. The news was drowning out the comfort he attempted to give you. “…such evidence is linking the Moon Corporation to heinous mafia activities painting them as a possible syndicate, but no arrests have been made or criminal investigation on Mun Byungyeol himself, but many workers are being targeted due to possible involvement…”

Everything was dying. All your training was never for anything but fuel for his greed. You should be angry, shocked, appalled, but you weren’t. He’s been cashing out for so long on the blood of his family and foes that you didn’t even flinch when he said it. You did, however, flinch when the whole world highlighted it.

“If I just cash out and retire, we could never live in peace,” He shook his head as he switched off the TV, “But Uncle Byungjoo has a plan that I think might just work, but you and I won’t meet for a few years-”

He was going to abandon it. Cash out one last time, and leave. You were too surprised, you had put an inkling of faith in his heart to love this empire, like a fool. Your eyes widened at the notion of him abandoning you too. All you knew was his presence. All you knew were your father figures, “But the empire-”

“We were never an empire,” His self-loathing clung to each word, “I treated this organization as a bank, a money maker, it was inevitable that the paper I cradled would catch fire.”

You didn’t scream, yell, or cry. At least you hadn’t, yet.“Then who will rule Seoul?” You wondered aloud.

“A real syndicate.”

“Who will stay with me?”

He smiled warmly at you for the third time in your life, “One day, a real human.”

////

You woke up with a start from a bang on the door, but considering the 4 am hour, you chalked it up to city noise. Five years ago today, you saw the match light. In two days, it will have been five years ago you saw the flames engulf your home, your family, and everything you were. Each year, this week was chaos for the city of Seoul. Each day was accompanied by an event that slowly grew more and more above ground. It was almost mocking the past, the surfacing of dirty secrets. Secrets the world knew, but never wanted to see, cowards.

The new syndicate at the top of the kingdom was known as Bangtan to the underground scene, but with a “Group” tacked on after the ominous name, they were also the kings of the business world. They were much better at actually hiding their identities, hence why most average people assumed there was no such syndicate anymore or that the “law” took care of it. As if the “law” wasn’t under the thumb of the kings.

The only reason you were aware of their presence was because getting out of the game was easy, but you could never fully burn the console.

Another bang on your door startled you out of your thoughts, “I knew I shouldn’t have let you go alone to the bar before such a big day- where are your keys?!”

An unfamiliar voice spoke through your door.

“Ask, y/n,” Jungkook’s slurred voice rang out in a yell as you flinched at the volume, “Y/n! I need stitches!”

This wasn’t the first time Jungkook was yelling outside your door, most likely bleeding on your doormat. You never really asked questions, you just patched him up and left him on your couch.

“Is this even your door?! Did you lead me to one of your whore’s places?!”

“Bangtan!” Jungkook chanted in response.

This made you huff as you hopped out of bed in your large t-shirt and shorts and ripped the door open. You were faced with a blonde haired man in a three-piece suit accompanied by a trashed Jungkook with a short, but deep, cut on the corner of his forehead. The blonde-haired handsome man stopped struggling with Jungkook as he looked at you with the most pristine judging face, “Look, just forget we were-”

“Y/n!” Jungkook cheered before he passed out.

“He lives next door,” You remarked flatly, “No, I’m not one of his whores, more like one of his classmates, but I’ve seen those lines get blurred with him a lot, so I understand the assumption,” You looked at his forehead again, “And he does need stitches.”

The man narrowed his eyes, “Do you usually play nurse for him?”

“Only when his blood is dripping on my doormat, for the third time this month,” You angled your head down for the man to see, “Bring him in, you aren’t the first friend of his I’ve met-”

“But-”

“Anymore blood on that mat and I’m making you pay for it, now come on,” You snapped as he walked in and sat Jungkook in a chair around your table. You shut the door as you pulled your first aid kit out, “You have to sit him on the floor or the couch.”He complied to the couch,

“Why does he-”

“When he wakes up, he attacks whoever is in front of him,” You spoke, preparing the needle and thread, “And I can’t stitch and hold him down at the table,” You explained, settling your knees to lock on both sides of Jungkook’s legs and your elbows pressing on his shoulders.

“Aren’t you scared he’ll hurt you?” The man asked as you began stitching.

You scoffed, “The only thing that scares me are failing grades.” You chuckled, “Plus Jungkook hurting me? Yeah, right. He has the fight of a peanut.”

Eventually, you just went on stitching in silence until the man broke the silence, “Who are you?” The man spoke mid-way through your stitching.

You paused for a moment, “Didn’t you hear Jungkook? I’m y/n, and who are you?”

“None of your concern,” He stated.“You’re bleeding on my hardwood floor, that has me pretty concerned.” You gestured to your hand to show him the small cut on his, “Concerned for my floor I mean.” You clarified, “The other two told me their first names at least.”

You thought back to the much pluckier and grateful Taehyung and Jimin as they smiled at you before taking Jungkook away.

He sighed, “Namjoon-”

You were tying the final knot when Jungkook snapped his eyes open. He immediately dove at you, pushing you to the floor, making the needle in your hand scratch your forearm before you threw it across the room to avoid the tempting notion of stabbing him with it. Namjoon was trying to find an opening to cut in between the struggling as Jungkook was sloppily throwing his fist down and you were moving your head to dodge each blow. Though his moves were sloppy, they were still fast, and Namjoon ended up watching in awe as you fearlessly slammed your forehead on his fresh stitches to make him stop to register the pain. You took advantage of the opening as you effortlessly pinned his arms down with your knees planted on his upper arms, “Jungkook!” You snapped as Namjoon watched his younger friend finally recognize you in his drunken haze.

“Y-Y/n?” He questioned, his tongue thick in his mouth, “You hurt my head- hey, you’re bleeding on my shirt!”

Your arm had a gash the length of a half ruler, it was shallow, but still dripping blood, but you didn’t flinch, “Wonder who made me hurt both my arm and their head, jackass,” You muttered, examining his stitches to make sure the impact didn’t affect the new suture, “And you got your blood on my doormat and my forehead, so let’s call it a draw.”

Namjoon was beginning to suspect you were more than a college student. With the sheer fearlessness and those fighting skills, you had to be something or someone who was anything but a regular student. Upon this realization, he then felt enormous regret wash over him for telling you his name. Yoongi would be livid if the empire was affected by Namjoon’s poor judgment, even in the most minuscule of ways. This string of thoughts prompted his mistake of grasping your wounded forearm to make you stand so he could properly question you. What he didn’t calculate in that movement was the fact that he grasped your fresh cut, which hurt like a bitch. This pain made you bring your other forearm to his neck, pressing firmly into his trachea as his back hit the wall with a bang, “Don’t ever manhandle a lady, Namjoon,” You seethed as you released him, “Care to explain yourself?”

Namjoon regained his composure, impressed by your reaction time and ability to weaken his pride in such a short matter of seconds, “Who are you?” His tone was rougher in comparison to when he first asked the question.

“None of your concern,” You mocked, “Now take your sloppy friend, an alcohol pad and go-”

Your anger was cut short by a cloth that smelled an awful lot like chloroform engulfing your senses and releasing you from consciousness.

#bts mafia au #bts scenario #bts imagines #bts fanfic #yoongi scenarios #yoongi imagines #yoongi mafia au #bangtan mafia au #mafia au #min yoongi #suga scenarios #suga imagines #kim namjoon #kim taehyung #kim seokjin #jung hoseok #jeon jungkook #park jimin

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i-choose-the-danger · 8 years ago

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All Work And No Play

Oh dear... this was the first fic like this ever that I wrote. ^_^ Lifelong Trekkie with an absolute soft spot for #McKirk friendship, and that goes for both TOS and new. :)

Title: All Work And No Play

Pairing: Kirk and McCoy friendship

Summary: I wrote this with the Pine/Urban pairing in mind. Kirk and McCoy have been roommates at Starfleet Academy for about a year. Leonard wants to study for his finals, but Jim wants to hang out and have fun. Jim decides to amuse himself by annoying his best friend, and Leonard teaches him what happens when you play with fire...

Leonard McCoy was in his dorm room sitting cross-legged on his bed, hunched over the PADD in his lap as he read over his notes for an upcoming final exam. Strike that, Leonard was trying to read... and failing miserably. His roommate, Jim Kirk, was making it difficult for him to concentrate. Jim was always a bundle of energy that couldn't be contained for very long and he was driving Leonard crazy to the point where the doctor was starting to wonder if it were at all possible to get his own room this late in the term.

At first, the distractions were subtle. Jim would be chewing his food open-mouthed like an animal, the crunching and slopping noises grating away at McCoy's nerves. Or Jim would be absent-mindedly tapping away in sync with a rhythm that was playing out in his head as he read through articles on his own PADD.

And then the distractions became far less subtle. There was the music, or what Jim referred to as music. Leonard thought it was just noise that had the same effect on his nerves as slamming his head into a wall. Leonard had managed to convince Jim to use headphones instead of blasting the music throughout their shared room, but the purpose of the device was lost on Jim as he sang along... loudly.

"Got arrested at the Mardi Gras for jumping on a float. My man MCA's got a beard like a billy goat. Oowah oowah is my disco call. MCA, hu-huh, I'm gettin' rope, y'all. Routines I bust, rhymes I write. And I'll be busting routines and rhymes all night..." Feeling that he was being watched, Jim stopped singing and slowly lifted his head, turning it to the right as he lowered the book he was flipping pages through. He saw Leonard staring at him with a look that could kill, one brow quirked so high that it nearly kissed his hairline. Jim pulled the small headphone bud from his right ear and tilted his head up towards McCoy. "'Sup?"

"Could you, I don't know, maybe STOP squawking so I can concentrate? I asked you to use those so that it would be quiet in here." Leonard spoke calmly, yet sternly.

"Oh. Was I... out loud? I'm sorry. I forgot you have a big exam coming up that 736353 hours of going over notes wasn't enough studying for," Jim replied, sarcasm heavy in his voice.

Jim was quickly growing restless. If only he could find a way to get Leonard to take a break. The older man had been locked away in their dorm for nearly a week straight with his nose stuck in his notes. Jim normally had no problem going out on his own or finding a woman of any species to spend the evening with, but things were different since he'd met McCoy. Kirk didn't have many people in his life he had ever considered friends, or close by any means. The connection he and McCoy had, he couldn't explain it. He just knew they were meant to be in each other's lives, for good. This was a friendship he never wanted to lose. Finals week was stressful enough on its own and Jim wanted to take their minds off things. This seemed like as good a moment as any for one of his new favorite pastimes - driving his best friend crazy.

"Hey, Bones?" Silence. He stretched out on his back across his bed and looked at his roommate. "Bones." He watched as the doctor continued to ignore him and stare intently down at his notes. "Boooooooones..." Jim's lips twitched up into a smile as he saw McCoy's brow furrow. Jim found it oddly amusing discovering new ways to drive McCoy crazy. "Bones... Bones... Bones Bones Bones Bones Bones Bo-"

"WHAT!?" Leonard yelled, shaking his PADD in his hands and now staring at Jim with fully-open eyes. His patience was thinning to the point where if it were tangible it would be completely see-through.

"Whatcha doin'?" Jim asked with a wide grin.

"Trying very hard to refrain from dosing you with a tranquilizer that could knock you on your ass for a month." Leonard pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed silently. "Can't you go harass whatever girlfriend you have this week or something and let me at least finish this chapter?"

"Tranq me?! Hah... You wouldn't." Jim narrowed his bright blue eyes.

"Try me, kid. I'd knock you out before you knew what hit ya," his roommate replied, Georgian drawl coming through ever so slightly as it tended to do when he was stressing.

Never let it be said that Jim Kirk ever backed down from a challenge.

*crumple crumple crumple* *flick*

A balled-up piece of paper hit McCoy in the back of the head. He took a deep breath, exhaled slowly through his nose and shifted his focus back to his PADD. He heard Jim chuckle.

*crumple crumple crumple* *flick*

Another scrunched ball of paper hit the side of Leonard's head, fell to his leg, and bounced and onto the floor. He clenched his jaw, exhaled again through his nose and continued reading his notes. He refused to so much as make eye contact with Jim.

*crumple crumple crumple* *flick*

A third paper ball crashed into his ear. McCoy closed his eyes and ran a hand down over his face. He tried silently counting to ten to calm himself. He was not going to let Jim get to him this time. One... Two... Three... Four... Five... Six... Se-

*crumple crumple crumple* *flick*

The fourth ball connected with Leonard's temple.

"Damn it, man. That is IT!"

In one swift move, Leonard dropped his PADD at the foot of his bed, pushed himself up and lunged directly onto Jim's bed. Jim's eyes widened in horror and he tossed his book into the air, trying to scramble into an upright position to bolt out of the way. Leonard was too quick and landed right on top of him, straddling his hips. Leonard's hands reached to either side of Kirk's head, grasping onto the pillows around it. Jim held his hands up defensively and flinched. He'd never been afraid of Leonard before, but the wild look in the man's hazel eyes had him slightly panicked.

"Why. Must. You. Keep. Bothering. Me. When. I'm trying. To study?!" McCoy accented every word by smacking Jim in either side of his head with one of the pillows. He then whacked them against both sides of Jim's head a few more times for good measure.

"Jesus, you look like a madman." Jim was smiling widely to where his eyes were squinting as he dodged the repeated hits. "You've been studying all week. It's kind of sad. I want us to hang out, have some fun, laugh a little. You owe it to yourself to let go for a while. You're stressing yourself out. Look at you, a grown man attacking a poor defenseless kid with pillows. All this studying has taken a serious toll on your sanity. Come on now, you're crushing me with your big ass. Get up." Jim pushed his palms lightly against the doctor's knees, which were locked around his hips.

"Big ass? Watch it!" Leonard poked at Jim's side as he spoke and raised an eyebrow at his best friend's reaction. Jim had responded as if he'd just been electrocuted. And did he just... squeak? Kirk would deny it til his last breath, but he definitely squeaked.

They stared at each other for a moment in silence before the corners of McCoy's mouth turned up into an evil smile. That smile completely unnerved Jim and he didn't like the idea of what was most likely going to happen next. He didn't like it at all.

"B-Bones... no. L-let go." Jim tried to slide himself out from McCoy's grip by pushing against his knees again, but his wrists were quickly grabbed and easily clenched into one of the doctor's hands. Jim shivered. "Oh God. I'm sorry. You were right. You should study. I won't bother you. I promise."

Leonard had never heard Jim beg before. He noticed Jim's breathing was now shaky and his bright eyes were as wide as saucers with what looked to be fear.

"Why Jim, I've never seen you look this shaken up before. Somethin' wrong?" he asked in mock concern, continuing to hold Jim's wrists and smile down at him.

"Wrong? Of course not." On the contrary, something was very wrong. Jim's heart was pounding so heavily that he was amazed Leonard couldn't hear it beating. Jim had also rarely seen him smile like this, and it was freaking him out. "I just realize now how important your grades are to you and I feel bad for bothering you."

"Oh like hell you do. Something tells me you're lyin' to me." McCoy leaned down so that his nose was only an inch from Kirk's own as he narrowed his eyes. "I really hate being lied to." He watched the color drain from Jim's face and felt him struggle to free himself. Jim wasn't going anywhere though. "I think... that I need to teach you a lesson."

The reaction was instantaneous. The second the fingers of Leonard's free hand latched onto Jim's ribs, the kid let out a yelp and started squirming. Jim's eyes were shut tight and his torso was jerking from side to side as he scrunched his features. His legs were kicking out as much as Leonard's weight on them would allow.

"Cut it out! Let go!" Jim was begging through gritted teeth, trying as hard as he could to keep himself from laughing. If Leonard couldn't get that reaction out of him, then he'd stop. At least Jim hoped that he would stop.

"Oh come on, Jim. Didn't you just say you wanted to laugh?" Leonard moved his fingers up Jim's side and continued spidering them along Jim's ribcage. Every poke, prod, and scratch resulted in Jim continuing to flop around like a fish out of water while small squeaks and gasps escaped him.

"Screw you!" Jim growled. His face was already blushing red from the combination of trying to hold in his laughter and the rising embarrassment he felt from his current predicament.

"Well if you're going to get nasty..." Leonard took Jim's wrists back into each hand and then pinned them both under his knees, leaving both of his own hands free. This caused Jim to struggle harder and almost succeed in bucking himself free. Almost. Leonard placed both of his hands in claw formation over Jim's ribcage and paused as Jim let out a terrified squeal. "Any last words, kid?"

"I don't suppose a heart-felt apology and an extremely desperate plea for my life would help at all." Kirk swallowed hard and tried to mentally brace himself. He was hating this. He was supposed to be good-naturedly driving McCoy crazy, not the other way around. His best friend was going to torture him. And possibly kill him, judging by the look in his eyes. This was bad. This was very very bad. Jim might have had a chance at survival if he were able to defend himself, but Leonard had him completely and securely pinned.

"Gee, I don't know. Let's hear what you've got," McCoy replied with a shrug. He quirked a brow up in anticipation of Jim's response and tilted his head slightly, pursing his lips into a knowing smirk.

"Okay... okay. I'm really really sorry that I - AHAHAHAHAHAHA! God dahahahahahamn it! No, waihaihaihait!" Kirk's apology was cut short by McCoy digging into his sides without warning. Jim could barely move pinned down as he was, but it didn't stop him from trying. Every time he attempted to talk reason with McCoy, the only sounds that left his mouth were mixtures of squeals, embarrassing giggles, and booming laughter. "Stahahap! I said I was sor-HAHAHAHAHA NO, NOT THERE! NO!" The doctor's thumbs were drilling into his hip bones and it was quickly driving him towards insanity. Jim bolted upright and tried to curl himself into a ball. "BONES! OhmyGodstopstopstopIcan'tholyshit NOHOHO!" He was ridiculously ticklish everywhere, but his hips were by far his worst spot. Jim couldn't function worth a damn if his hips were attacked. He fell back against the bed, arched his back, and tried desperately to yank his arms out from under McCoy's knees short of dislocating his shoulders from the sheer force. Jim growled through his laughter and made weak attempts to buck his roommate off of him. The more Leonard scribbled into his hips, the higher Jim's laugh sounded. "Shihihihihit. I can't! Ahahahaha! You've got to stop!"

"Good God, man. You must be the most ticklish person I've ever met." Leonard paused his assault for a moment to let Jim catch his breath. "I should just do this every time you bother me. It'd sure relieve a lot of the frustration you cause me."

"Jesus, no!" Jim spat out in between the large gulps of air he was inhaling. The thought of ever being in this position again made Jim's skin crawl. He dropped his head back against his crumpled pillows and let it fall to the side as he continued to take in air. "You can't do that. You'd kill me. And you'd be all alone and lonely."

"I'd have peace and quiet!" Leonard reached up and scratched at Jim's neck, laughing as the younger man tried to free his pinned arms to scrunch his shoulders and shield his sensitive neck. "Oh this is too good. I'm barely touching you!" Leonard reached behind himself and dug his fingers into the backsides of Jim's knees and was not disappointed in the high-pitched yelp that Jim let out. "You're right. I should have fun like this more often."

"This is NOT what I meaheheheant and you know it! Come on, you've mahahade your point!"

"All you had to do was let me study in peace. You have no one to blame but yourself." Leonard clawed his hands into the hollows of Jim's underarms and chuckled as Jim's arms clamped down with a vice-like grip. He let the tips of his fingers repeatedly graze against Jim's underarms and watched Jim continue to squirm underneath him.

"ACK! Sohohon of a bitch, come ON!" Jim begged. He wasn't sure how much more of this he could take. As a result of the constant wiggling and struggling, his thin grey t-shirt had ridden halfway up his chest and his jeans were now riding low on his hips. His entire body went rigid and he stared wide-eyed at McCoy's fingers as they landed on the bare tanned skin of his stomach.

"Nonononoletmegopleasepleaseplease," Jim rambled out. He reflexively sucked in his stomach. And then he outright shrieked as those fingers slowly dragged across his skin. Jim was in ticklish agony. At this point, Jim had been laughing so loud and long that his voice had gone hoarse. His hair was damp with sweat and matted to his forehead. His cheeks were now bright red and wet with the tears that had escaped his eyes from laughing so hard. He no longer had the strength to put up a fight. "Didn't you take an oath to - ahahaha - do no harm?" he asked through his continued attempts to squirm away from Leonard's touches.

"Your heart rate is slightly elevated but nowhere near a dangerous level. Your breathing is a little rough, but manageable. From what I see, you're in no physical pain. I think the only thing wounded is your pride, and that'll heal just fine. Besides, this is what you wanted. I've stopped studying. I'm hanging out with you. I'm having fun. We're laughing. Well, you're laughing much more than I am." McCoy could see that his best friend was almost completely tired out, which is what he was working towards. A tired-out Jim was a quiet Jim who left him alone. Reaching up to go for Jim's neck again, he pulled back his hand quickly after Jim's teeth had connected with the flesh above his knuckles. "Ow! You bit me, you little brat! Now you've done it."

"Oh shit, I didn't mean to... Oh God, DON'T!" The doctor's thumbs were drilling into Jim's hipbones again and his fingers were curled around Jim's sides, repeatedly sending ticklish shockwaves through the poor kid's body. Jim only had the strength now to weakly giggle. He desperately bucked his hips from side to side in futile attempts to dislodge himself from McCoy's grip. He'd reached his breaking point. "I GIVE! I GIVE!" At that moment, Jim felt the sensations stop and he collapsed into his mattress breathing heavily.

"Damned right, you give," Leonard told him. He released Jim's hands from under his knees and climbed off the bed, now standing over him with his arms folded. "That'll learn ya to mess with me."

Jim curled himself into a fetal position and rubbed his palms against his ribs and hips to try to rid himself of the tickly feelings that still sizzled deep within his nerves. Leonard just let out a low chuckle, shaking his head at the sight before him as he sat on the edge of his own bed.

"Oh my God," Jim choked out. He closed his eyes and crossed his arms over his face as he tried to catch his breath again. "That was the worst half hour of my life." He licked at his lips and swallowed hard. His muscles were still involuntarily twitching as he laid there. "I almost died. You almost killed me. I saw a white light."

Leonard had already situated himself comfortably back on his own bed and had gone back to reading through his notes. He looked over at Jim, who was still letting out residual giggles as he sprawled out on his bed.

"Don't be so dramatic," Leonard said as he looked back to the PADD in his lap. "It wasn't even five minutes. And you'll live... as long as you don't bother me again. The mighty Jim Kirk... begging for his life as he giggles like a toddler. Now I know how to keep you in line."

"Sleep with one eye open, old man. Payback's a bitch," Jim replied. His arms dropped down to his sides as his muscles started to relax. His eyelids fluttered shut and his breathing slowed down to a normal pace.

Leonard's body tensed up at Jim's words. The thought of Jim retaliating hadn't even crossed his mind. Leonard glanced back over at him and exhaled in relief. Jim had completely nodded out. That meant peace and quiet... for now.

#tickling #tickle fic #ticklish!Jim #Star Trek #Star Trek AOS #Starfleet Academy #McKirk

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