#I was suffering all day and doubled up on the counter and then I took the second rescue dose and within half an hour it was gone like

[vaciena]

Like I know long term steroids are really bad for you and it’s bad that I’m on two versions of one daily forever now but this is the best medication I have ever taken in my life and I would take the max dose every day if I could instead of the lowest one I’m on

[yelena-bellova]

Heartfirst: A Ted Lasso Story - Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven: Movin’ On Up

Plot: Y/n receives some surprise visitors on moving day, and Richmond suffers a shocking blow to their lineup.

Word Count: 5.9k

Warnings: f!reader, language, (16+)

A/N: I really don’t know how I’m managing to crank these out so fast. Maybe shorter chapters? Anyway, this one was fun. We’re getting into the meat of the story, so hold onto your butts, and enjoy!!

(Forgive any typos, I wrote the bulk of this one at midnight 🌙)

——————

If there was a magical force at play in Richmond, it had made Y/n its latest target.

Not only had she found the perfect apartment, she’d toured it, signed the lease and booked movers in the same week. In all her post-university years, she’d never seen real estate move quicker.

Y/n wandered the flat, directing the men and whatever piece of furniture they were holding to its corresponding room.

A knock sounded from the stairs.

“Oh, the dresser can go to-“ Y/n spun around to help guide the mover she’d just seen downstairs, only to find the last person she expected.

“Hey, there, neighbor,” Ted greeted, standing at the top of the steps.

Y/n quickly plastered on her Monday-Friday grin, “Ted. What are you…how did you…?”

“Well, you said you were movin’ into your new place this weekend,” Ted hopped a step inside the apartment to let one of the movers pass by, “Took a guess that the van that came through this morning was probably yours.”

Y/n tried to laugh off the intrusion. The safety of living thirty minutes away was long gone…

“Brought you a little ‘welcome to the neighborhood’ gift,” Ted held up a little pink box and set it on Y/n’s kitchen counter. It was the same one that he dropped on Rebecca’s desk each morning.

“Thank you,” Y/n replied while pointing one of the movers in the direction of her bedroom.

Ted stuck his hands in his pockets and took a look around the living room. He let out a whistle, “I wish you’d’ve told us you were movin’ in sooner. Coaches and the boys coulda saved you some money, get you settled ourselves.”

That was exactly why she hadn’t told anyone she was moving until the day before. She knew Ted would have assembled the Greyhounds and she would have had 15+ footballers funneling in and out of her apartment, invading the little bubble she had left.

“Oh, I wasn’t gonna inconvenience you guys,” Y/n replied, watching Ted as he maneuvered around the boxes, “Especially with the match tomorrow.”

Ted made a raspberry, “Pish posh, Oshkosh. Woulda been happy to help. Hey,” Ted swirled a finger toward the ceiling, “This place got A/C?”

Y/n nodded.

“Whew,” Ted exhaled, “I gotta tell you, biggest surprise comin’ over here.”

“You get used to it,” Y/n replied, a deep double meaning to her words.

“What about you? What was the biggest shock for you, movin’ here?”

Y/n thought back to when she was eighteen, fresh out of high school and starting a brand new life in another country. Even if it had only been a few years, it felt like a decade ago.

“I don’t know,” she sighed, “Probably the difference in English. Chips versus fries, that sort of thing.”

“Man, I still slip up,” Ted said, “Took me months to get the football lingo down.”

“I still call the pitch a field sometimes,” Y/n admitted, settling on one of her barstools.

“Well, now I don’t feel so bad,” Ted chuckled as he came to sit across from Y/n, “Hey, what’s the thing you miss most from home? Just a little thing, y’know?”

Y/n sighed, thinking about the region-specific foods she couldn’t find in the international section of the market or the channels missing from her television. Truth be told, there wasn’t anything she missed so much it could be considered missing.

“I don’t know,” she shrugged, “It’s been so long since I’ve been home.”

“When was the last time you went back?” Ted asked.

“Uh…” Y/n traced back the list of holidays, “My sister’s birthday…two years ago?”

Ted whistled once more, “That’s a long time. Bet your folks miss you.”

On cue, Y/n’s muscles tensed. Her smile returned to conceal her discomfort. “My sister visits,” she said, “Every year.”

“Aw, that’s nice,” Ted cooed, “For me, it’s gotta be good barbecue. I mean, don’t get me wrong, they do food dang well over here, but I miss a good southern BBQ, y’know?”

“I actually do,” Y/n admitted with a small laugh, “4th of July’s always weird.”

Ted smacked a hand against the counter. “Thank you,” he said loudly, “Last year, we had a game. Felt like Beard and I were betrayin’ our ancestors or somethin’.”

Y/n chuckled, Ted struck her as someone who went all out for Independence Day.

“Hey, truth time,” Ted continued, the humor draining from his face, “Yea or nay on tea?”

Y/n shrugged, “I like it.”

“Dang it,” Ted bobbed his head, “Beard, you…us ex-pats keep droppin’ like flies.”

“It takes some adjusting, I’ll admit that,” Y/n raised a finger, “Not exactly a frappachino.”

“Mm-mm,” Ted shook his head, “I have tried and tried with that tree piss. Warmth ain’t goin’ anywhere north on that one.”

Y/n snorted a little, imagining what that might look like, Ted sipping on earl grey.

One of the movers asked Y/n where she wanted a bookcase and she gave him directions. For once, Ted sensed the moment.

“Well, I’ll get outta your hair,” he held up his hands and hopped off the barstool, “But I’m just down the street so you ever need anything, don’t be a stranger.”

“Good to know,” Y/n watched Ted walk away, “Ted?”

He stopped at the top of the stairs, “Hmm?”

While Ted was still a lot, after all her years spent as the foreigner, it was almost…nice to talk to someone from home. Someone she didn’t need to explain her references to or rearrange her vocabulary for.

“Thank you,” Y/n said, quickly concealing the truth of her gratitude, “For the biscuits.”

“Anytime,” Ted saluted before heading on his way.

Y/n let out a loud sigh once she was sure he was gone. She wandered back over to the counter and opened the pink box, finding the signature biscuits Rebecca raved about. Out of curiosity, she broke off a bite and ate it.

“Shit,” she mumbled, they were better than anything she’d ever found in any of London’s cafés.

Despite his line-crossing, Ted was good-natured. He had a heart of gold and tried to make sure everyone he encountered felt like they had one too. Y/n could call it tolerance or simply learning to deal with him, but deep down, Ted’s efforts were starting to poke and prod a little harder at her walls.

—————————

That evening, after the movers had finished and Y/n had gotten the basics unpacked, she started on the non-essentials. She was stacking dishes when the doorbell rang.

Y/n was perturbed as she descended her stairs, there were exactly three people who had her new address, the absolute minimum. Lisa, who handled payroll at the club, Ted, who’d stumbled upon her apartment by sheer luck, and her sister.

Looking through the peephole, Y/n sighed. She’d forgotten there was a fourth on the list.

Jamie smiled smugly as Y/n opened the door, “You went with mine.”

Y/n rolled her eyes, “I didn’t ‘go with yours.’ I was the one who found it, you just deemed it worthy.”

“And I was right,” Jamie stuck his neck out and lifted off his heels.

She’d never give him the satisfaction of knowing, but Jamie was completely right. The night of the West Ham match, the two of them had stayed at the Crown and Anchor till Mae kicked them out, pouring over each apartment until they’d eliminated 75% of the stack. The one Y/n had settled on was also the one that Jamie had decided was the best.

Jamie held up a plastic takeaway bag, “Come bearin’ sustenance.”

Not only was Y/n tired, she didn’t want to entertain anybody else from work. But, starving as she was, she was in no position to turn down free food.

“Entry permitted,” she snatched the bag from him, “Barely.”

Jamie took an exaggerated step over the seal and passed Y/n. They’d gotten to know each other better over the last few weeks, Jamie stopping Y/n anytime he saw her to ask about the apartment tours she was taking on the weekends. They’d gotten many laughs out of the stories of Y/n going against Jamie’s advice and visiting the properties that did indeed turn out to be crap.

In another world, they’d almost consider each other friends.

Upstairs, Jamie swung his arms as he took in the living room, “Not bad.”

“‘Not bad?’” Y/n turned around from where she stood in the adjoining kitchen, “You pick this place out and then it’s just ‘not bad?’”

Jamie cackled, spinning on his heel and pointing a finger at Y/n. “That’s an admission.”

Y/n internally cringed, her sharp edge was dulled by exhaustion. She could usually keep up with Jamie. “If you want any of this,” she unpacked the styrofoam container of kebabs, “You’ll stay on my good side.”

“Can’t have any,” Jamie replied, coming to lean on the bar, “Diet, ‘member?”

Y/n shook her head, popping a stray piece of chicken into her mouth. “I still don’t get why you’re doing this.”

“You know why,” Jamie crossed his arms on the counter, “Gotta get back to being the best.”

“Yeah, but is being better than Zava worth missing out on things like food and sleep?” Y/n asked. She could appreciate Jamie’s drive, but this dedication seemed overboard.

“It’ll be worth it,” Jamie stated.

Y/n decided to play the asshole, sliding across the kitchen to wave the kebab box under Jamie’s nose. She watched his willpower waver ever so fleetingly.

Jamie glared up at her, “You’re evil.”

Y/n snickered as she went back to her spot, stealing a bite before going back to unpacking. “Why are you here? Shouldn’t you be with Roy?”

“Night before a match, I’m off,” Jamie swung around the bar to the kitchen.

“So shouldn’t you be resting?” Y/n asked as she un-bubble wrapped a stack of plates.

“I will,” Jamie shrugged, bending over to peel the tape off a box.

Y/n glanced over, watching as Jamie began to unpack various glasses. He didn’t offer, he didn’t ask, just went about it as if it were his business. It was slightly intrusive…and also kind.

Jamie Tartt, Y/n had come to learn, was nothing and everything like what she’d thought he’d be. He had more depth than he let onto and he’d shown a side of it by trying to help her find a place. And though she knew the Zava battle was a personal thing for him, she also knew how much Jamie cared about his team. He wanted to be at his best for them just as much as he did for himself.

Unlike Keeley, who announced her efforts to get Y/n to crack at every turn, or Ted, who went overboard, Jamie hadn’t tried to enter into Y/n’s life. He had simply occurred.

“Do you get nervous?” Y/n asked out of pure curiosity, “Before games?”

“Not really. I mean,” Jamie answered, lining up coffee mugs in a cupboard, “Sometimes. Depends.”

Y/n stretched on her toes to put away china she never used, “On?”

“I dunno,” Jamie replied, a particular trigger or two popping up, “Lots of things.”

“So what about tomorrow?” Y/n continued.

Any slip Jamie’s mind had made was caught with quick footing. “Nah,” he said confidently, “Nah, we got that.”

“Well, good,” Y/n exhaled, setting the empty box on the floor, “It’d be nice to get a win. And hey, if it doesn’t work out and you’re forced to retire after this season, I’m sure the reality tv world is still thriving with opportunities.”

Jamie managed to grimace while smiling, “How the fuck did you find out about that?”

“You thought the PR department wouldn’t know about that?” Y/n strode past him to get another box, “I also live in England.”

“You at least vote for me?” Jamie asked, a playful lilt to his tone.

Y/n hoisted another box of kitchenware into her arms and balanced it on her knee. “Yep, you caught me,” she sarcastically grunted, “I have a weakness for crap tv featuring mediocre footballers.”

Jamie set down the mug in his hand with a particular harshness. Mediocre footballer. “Now, hang on-“ he began.

“Less talking, more working,” Y/n cut him off, she stopped to check out the cupboard he was finishing. “That’s also not where they go.”

“What?”

“The mugs,” Y/n gestured to where her coffee maker was, “Disrupts the flow if they’re all the way over there.”

Jamie rolled his eyes, only playful annoyance accompanying. “God forbid we disturb the flow,” he lamented, grabbing a mug in each hand and heading to the correct cabinet.

They unpacked in comfortable silence a minute more before Y/n decided it didn’t matter if Jamie wasn’t nervous about the match. They needed all the encouragement they could get.

“It’ll happen tomorrow,” she said, referring to their recent losses.

Regardless of whether he was hiding any feelings or if they’d pop out the moment he stepped on the pitch, Jamie stopped what he was doing to absorb the kind words. Y/n was a recent addition to his life, certainly an unexpected one, but she felt…safe. Like even if they didn’t know anything about each other past their mutual taste in real estate, he didn’t have to act so much around her.

“Thanks,” he replied, making effort to meet her eyes.

Y/n gave a small smile, “It will.”

—————————

It didn’t.

Over the next month, Richmond’s lack of luck turned to a 7-game losing streak. Some weeks were better than others, but they all ended the same way: with the Greyhounds leaving the pitch with their heads hanging in defeat.

Luckily, Y/n was kept occupied on the eighth week. Jack Danvers was coming into the office for a meeting and Keeley had asked Y/n to be there as well.

“You’re all business-y,” she’d said, “You know way more than I do, plus, Jack really likes you.”

Y/n sat on one side of Jack, with Barbara on the other, as she and Keeley recounted the conversation and clash of opinions they’d had recently.

“I completely understand where Barbara’s coming from,” Keeley said, keeping a kind tone as she turned to her CFO, “But as I was explaining to you, I’m worried that by adding more clients that could mean less attention paid to the wonderful people we already represent.”

“And then,” Barbara chuckled, though she lacked any humor, “I reminded Keeley, as you’ve said so many times, Jack, that if it does get to the point where we feel we’re spreading ourselves thinly, then we’ll hire more people,” she grinned politely at Keeley, “It’s called ‘growth.’”

Y/n and Keeley glanced over at one another fleetingly, the tension was so poorly concealed, it was getting uncomfortable.

“I’m sure you can see that as well, Y/n,” Barbara gestured towards Y/n.

“Actually, Keeley’s absolutely right, in my opinion,” Y/n answered, spotting her boss a smile, “There’s big firms, there’s small firms. Both have their allure, but I think our personability is the biggest thing we have going for us.”

“Oh,” Barbara’s grin grew scarier, “Wonderful, wonderful…”

Jack looked sweetly towards Barbara, “Okay. Let me weight in here.

“Oh, please,” Barbara obliged.

“I agree with Keeley,” Jack finished.

“Oh, that’s great,” Barbara beamed.

“Being a small boutique firm is exactly what sets you apart, like Y/n said,” Jack went on, “You want a restaurant to look successful, you take out half the tables and you have a line out the door. I say, let’s go for it.”

Keeley and Jack shared a smile.

“No, that’s wonderful. Yeah,” Barbara forced out as she rose, “And instead of salaries, we can give away the tables we threw out.”

“Don’t worry, Barbara,” Jack called, “It’ll be great.”

Barbara mumbled some dishonest agreement as she left the room, leaving it open on her way out.

Jack turned to Keeley and Y/n, “Do you ever think sunshine gets jealous of her?”

The women shared a laugh just before a knock at the door revealed Shandy. “Knock, knock.”

“Hi, babe,” Keeley greeted her friend.

“Now that your little cool girls meeting’s done,” Shandy leaned on the empty chair, very visibly unhappy, “Just wanted to share the exciting news that I’ve started an app.”

“Oh,” Keeley replied.

“It’s like Bantr, but it’s better and cooler,” Shandy’s tone was even and icy, “And actually cares about helping people have sex with celebrities.”

Y/n kept her head down, sharing an awkward glance with Jack. This was strictly Keeley’s business to handle.

“What? Shandy-“ Keeley began.

“It’s called ‘Star Fuckr,’” she announced before looking to Jack, “And yeah, we are looking for investors.”

When Jack didn’t offer to write a multi-zero check right then and there, Shandy stood tall, shot daggers at Keeley and strutted her way out of the room.

“I take it she’s still angry about the whole Bantr thing?” Jack asked.

“Oh, yes,” Keeley nodded, “Shandy does not have a good relationship with rejection, or her ex, or with her workplace, or most nouns, really.”

“‘You are so passionate, but I have to let you go,” Jack said, pulling Y/n and Keeley’s attention, “‘I’m sorry, but I know someone as brilliant as you will land on their feet.”

Keeley struggled momentarily, “What did I do?”

“No, no, no, no,” Jack reached out across the desk, “Keeley, sorry. That’s what you say when you fire Shandy.”

Y/n and Keeley both exhaled forcefully, laughing after.

“Sorry,” Jack apologized.

“No, no, it’s fine,” Y/n’s hand was pressed to her chest, “I just saw my lease flash before my eyes.”

“It’s called a compliment sandwich,” Jack explained, “You give someone bad news, but to soften the blow, you slap it between two delicious slices of compliments.”

Keeley nodded, “But I can’t fire Shandy. She’ll hate me. And she really thinks she’s killing it.”

“I am sure she does,” Jack exhaled, “The worst people often think they’re the best. My dad calls it ‘talent dysmorphia.’”

Keeley laughed while Y/n stayed silent, knowing what was coming next.

“What do you think?” Keeley turned to her hardest worker, “Do you think it’s the right decision?”

Y/n looked down at her notebook, taking a deep breath to see if it would help the force of what she wanted to say dissipate. Jack was waiting on her too, and she couldn’t lie to her or Keeley.

“I think…” she started slow before shutting her eyes and letting it fly, “Keeley, if you don’t fire her, she will literally run the company into the ground and strut over its mangled corpse.”

When she opened her eyes, Jack and Keeley were leant back an inch or two as if to avoid the splash of her opinion. Before she could try and explain it more eloquently, the two women started laughing.

“No, no,” Jack chuckled, “Don’t hold back.”

Y/n exhaled with a small smile, turning to Keeley, “I’m sorry.”

“No,” Keeley reached a hand over and poked the back of Y/n’s, “That’s why you’re my best. You don’t hold back.”

It was ironic, they both knew, considering how withdrawn Y/n kept herself. But with Keeley, it seemed to be a bit of a joke between the two of them.

“You two wanna get some lunch?” Jack asked when the giggles had died down, “My meeting just got pushed.”

“Abso-fucking-lutely,” Keeley smiled, “Yeah, my stomach started grumbling when you said ‘compliment sandwich.’”

“You guys enjoy,” Y/n rose with them and collected her purse, “I’ve gotta get back to the office.”

“Oh,” Keeley reached back over her desk and handed Y/n a sheet of paper, “Give this to Zava. A couple more people called requesting interviews.”

Y/n glanced over the list she’d originally made, it seemed like the Zava craze still hadn’t died down. In fact, the more Richmond lost, the more people wanted to hear what he had to say. “Are we sure it’s a good idea to do so many interviews on a seven-game streak?”

“That’s the thing,” Keeley grabbed her coat, “The press eat up whatever Zava says. Can’t get enough.”

Quirking an eyebrow in understanding, Y/n tucked the list in her book and tried to imagine the ridiculous headlines that would be tied to Richmond this week.

—————————

Returning to the office after having taken lunch by herself, Y/n rapped two knuckles on the open locker room door. She still knew to wait for the all-clear.

“Everybody decent?”

A chorus of various ‘yeses’ were her key in.

“Zava,” Y/n turned to the star player, “Here’s your interview schedule. The press is really eager this weekend in particular. Let me know if there’s any changes you want to make.”

Zava pressed a hand to his heart and touched Y/n’s arm with the other. “Thank you,” he said softly, before looking to his teammates, “Men.”

Taking hold of both her shoulders, Zava guided Y/n to stand in front of him. “Okay,” Y/n stuttered as she was stood in front of the entire team. Seated in the middle of the room with Isaac, Jamie matched her confused gaze.

“This is what your hearts should be seeking,” Zava began to wax his odd form of poetry, “Brains, talent, warmth-“

Y/n’s brow creased, what the fuck had she walked into?

“Outer beauty will fade,” he continued, “But a smudge like this,” Zava smiled down on Y/n, “It will last forever.”

Zava patted her shoulders once more before throwing his towel over his shoulder and exiting the room. Not only was Y/n left with every Greyhound staring at her, contemplating Zava’s words, but with his schedule still clutched in her hand.

“Can someone make sure he gets this?” Y/n asked, failing to keep her tone even.

“Oh,” Dani raised his hand and climbed over Jamie’s leg to get to Y/n, “I will.”

Y/n willingly handed it off, “Thank you, Dani.” Not caring to spend another second in the room, she turned on her heel and left. She backtracked her steps quickly, “Is a smudge a good or a bad thing?”

Colin scrunched his face up, “It’s not…not…a good thing.”

Pressing a hand to her temple, Y/n decided she didn’t need to know any more about whatever conversation she’d interrupted and left the locker room.

—————————

The Man City match came about like every other one, but the air of anticipation heightened with each week. Would this be the day Richmond finally broke their streak? Or would they take another step towards double digits?

Not more than a second after Y/n had parked in the car lot, her phone rang with a call from Higgins.

“Hi,” she answered, “What’s going on?”

“Are you here yet?” Higgins asked, his tone nervous.

Y/n shut the door to her car, striding towards the back entrance to the stadium. “I just pulled in.”

“Could you pop into the coach’s office?”

“Yeah,” Y/n hung on the syllable suspiciously, turning in the other direction and swinging the door to the office building open. “Be right there.”

Y/n took long steps down the hall, passing by the locker room and heading straight for Ted’s office.

“Hey,” she said as she entered. Coach Beard, Roy and Higgins were standing around the desk clump, huddled together in conversation. Ted was already on the pitch. “What’s wrong?”

Beard kept his hand pressed to his mouth, Roy scowled at the air.

“It seems that Zava hasn’t showed up yet,” Higgins answered, “No one knows where he is.”

Y/n’s lips parted in confusion, “He’s just…not here?”

“Apparently so.”

Setting aside her annoyance, Y/n snapped into work mode and pulled her phone from her coat pocket. “Alright,” she scanned her contacts, “Let me get on the phone with some people. See if I can track him down.”

“He’d better fucking be here,” Roy growled at no one in particular.

Y/n raised her phone to her ear and pointed to Roy and Trent’s office, the former nodding for her to take it. She started at the top of the list of Zava’s personal team he’d given to her, Keeley and Higgins. Why a fecalist needed to be considered an emergency contact, Y/n would never understand, but she’d try whoever she had to…

Except the fecalist hadn’t heard from him.

Or his agent.

Or anyone Y/n dialed.

Defeatedly, and beginning to grow anxious, Y/n rejoined Beard, Roy and Higgins. “No one knows where the fuck he is,” she answered.

“Fuck,” Roy muttered.

“We got three minutes,” Beard shrugged, “What the fuck do we do?”

“Start Colin,” Roy resolved before looking to Y/n, “If you track that prick down, I don’t care, you fucking get on the pitch and tell us.”

Y/n gave a definitive nod, “You got it.”

With not so much a plan as a temporary fix, Roy and Beard left for the locker room while Y/n and Higgins headed for the hall.

“I told everyone to call me if they hear from him,” Y/n reported as they walked.

“What could be so important to make him miss a match?” Higgins pondered as they made their way to the stadium.

“I don’t know, but so long as his wife and kids are breathing and in possession of all their limbs,” Y/n practically growled, the cheering of packed house of Greyhounds growing louder with each step, “I’ll drag him onto the field myself.”

—————————

Rebecca took to the news…as expected.

“Who the fuck does he think he is?”

Y/n sat on one side of her boss, raising two fingers of the hand rubbing at her temple, in agreement.

“So just, no one’s heard from him?” Rebecca asked.

“No one,” Higgins grimaced.

“Well,” Rebecca let her palms fall against her legs, “There goes any chance of a win.”

“Let’s pray otherwise,” Y/n scanned her phone for the fifth time since she’d sat down. It was then that she realized there was a very vocal presence missing. “Where’s Keeley?”

Snapping out of her most likely violent thoughts, Rebecca unlocked her phone and held it up to Y/n. She found a text thread from Keeley including a message that said she’d be missing the game. Below it was a picture of a baby lamb standing on the table of the KJPR conference room, surrounded by its own feces.

Three months ago, Y/n might have had a question or twelve. Now, she simply nodded and sat back in her seat. “So Shandy’s gone,” she mumbled to herself.

The game went as well as the last ones had. Colin, though talented, couldn’t rival Zava’s skill. Jamie’s extra training wasn’t the solution either, and Man City walked away with a 4-0 win against the Greyhounds.

Rebecca retired to her office while Higgins and Y/n headed to touch base with the coaches. Trent met them along the way.

“No one heard from him?” Trent asked Y/n on their way.

“Not a single text or call during the game,” Y/n scrolled her phone as they walked, an Instagram notification popping up, “Shit.”

Higgins looked over, “What?”

Y/n stopped midway to their destination, hitting play on the video.

“Hello, how are you?” Zava spoke, dressed in casual wear, “I’m just - I have to share something with you, my friends. You are not my followers. You are my believers.”

Trent and Higgins came to stand beside Y/n, expectantly waiting for an answer.

“And so it— I have to tell you,” the man paused, “Zava has played his last match. I will now dedicate all of my time and all of my energy to my family and my avocado farm.”

The rest of whatever utter nonsense Zava had to spew, Y/n didn’t listen. She was infuriated, partially because of his actions, and partially because they’d all allowed themselves to think it was ever a good idea to hire him. He’d fed the Greyhounds to the wolves with no regret and it affected all of AFC Richmond.

When the video ended, Trent, Y/n and Higgins shared a hopeless look.

“We’ve got to tell the boys,” Higgins finally spoke, shrugging slightly.

The three of them made their way down the rest of the hall where the locker room door hung open. The scene inside was dismal, each of the men sat on the benches with their heads hung.

“Hey, guys,” Higgins greeted in an attempt to stay positive, “Good effort today.”

“Mr. Higgins,” Colin spoke up from his seat, “Is it true about Zava?”

Y/n cast her gaze downwards, avoiding eye contact with any of them.

“I’m afraid so,” Higgins replied.

Dani, cradling a towel to his face, began to weep into the fabric.

“Maybe some tissues for Dani,” Higgins muttered quietly.

“Hey, hey, guys,” Sam stood with his phone in hand, “Zava just posted a video.”

“Oh gosh,” Y/n grumbled under her breath as the Greyhounds circled up. Everyone except Jamie, who remained sat on the floor.

The boys watched the video, clinging to every last word at the start, and walking away with mumbled curses and shakes of the head. Any love or respect they had for their former teammate had been lost within thirty virtual seconds.

Y/n snuck a glance over at Jamie, expecting to see him struggle to keep his joy under wraps. She couldn’t have been more wrong. Even he was in shock.

“Gentlemen,” Ted said as he entered, quickly noticing Y/n’s presence, “And lady. That was a tough one tonight. Okay? Man City has still got our number. That’s all right. We gonna get another crack at ‘em later in the season. Uh-huh,” Ted looked to Beard, “Coach? No practice tomorrow.”

Beard nodded, “That’s right.”

“Okay,” Ted looked back to the team, “Well, I’ll see y’all on Monday.”

While the rest of the team began to talk amongst themselves, Sam looked up confusedly at Ted. “Hey, hey. Hey, Coach,” he called till the manager stopped in his tracks, “What about Zava?”

Ted glanced over at Zava’s multiple lockers, his empty chair.

“He quit the team,” Sam stated, as if it unheard news.

“I mean, technically he retired from the whole sport,” Ted clarified, “Which makes it feel a little less personal, yeah? You know, like if your girlfriend runs off with some dude and it turns out they were soulmates.”

The Greyhounds replied quietly in agreement.

“But look, look, look, look,” Ted redirected their focus back, “I hear you, okay? Zava is gone. And you know what? I think it’s a good thing.”

The boys began to argue back in shock.

“Well, I do. Okay, look,” Ted spoke over his players, “Do I wanna win? Heck yeah. But I also wanna do it with folks that wanna be here. It’s not like we could handcuff him to his locker and make him love us.”

“We could have tried,” a desperate Dani replied.

As the initial surprised faded, Y/n was beginning to match Ted’s opinion. Zava may have taken them for a temporary ride to the top, but this ultimate insult had shown that his heart was next in Richmond.

“Hey, guys. Guys, look,” Ted held up a hand, “We got a good thing going here. All right?” Ted’s eyes fell to his left, meeting Jamie’s, “We didn’t need Zava. Yeah?”

No one dared disturb the silence as the truth washed over each of them, including those who weren’t players.

“Yeah,” Ted said quietly, “All we need to win are the fellas in this room, right now,” he pointed to the men on the benches, “And all you fellas need to do is believe it.”

No sooner than when Ted had uttered the last two words did the bright yellow ‘Believe’ sign hanging over his head split itself down the middle. The Greyhounds jumped to their feet and cried out to various degrees. Even Y/n gasped a little, having learned of its significance.

“It’s a sign,” Bumbercatch called out.

“That’s it,” Colin held up his hands, accepting fate, “We’re doomed.”

As the locker room grew louder, Ted held up his hands and attempted to settle things down.

“Now hold on. Hey, knock it off, okay? We’re not doomed. No one is doomed. But Bumbercatch, yes, you’re right. It is a sign. I agree, Yeah.”

Ted turned around and removed both halves of his handiwork, folding them together. “In fact this, it’s just a sign.”

Without any hesitation, Ted tore the paper into four pieces, sending the locker room into chaos again.

“All right, guys, listen to me,” Ted commanded the room, “Belief doesn’t just happen ‘cause you hang something up on a wall. All right? It comes from in here,” he touched his chest, “You know? And up here,” he touched his temple before hitting his stomach, “Down here. Only problem is, we all got so much junk floating through us, a lot of times, we end up getting in our own way.”

Y/n had yet to be present for any of Ted’s locker room speeches, as she had no reason to be. But immediately, like some spiritual presence moving through the room, she felt his words take hold of her.

“You know, crap like envy or fear, shame,” Ted continued, seemingly speaking to himself as well, “I don’t wanna mess around with that shit anymore. You know what I mean? Do you?”

He wasn’t speaking to her, but the question still penetrated Y/n all the same. She could feel a familiar ball of anxiety beginning to build in her stomach.

“No, me neither,” Ted shook his head after the boys answered back, “Hell no. Well, you know what I wanna mess around with? The belief that I matter, you know? Regardless of what I do or don’t achieve.”

One blade inserted itself into Y/n’s gut, the omnipresent pain causing her heart rate to speed up.

“Or the belief that we all deserve to be loved,” Ted went on, “Whether we’ve been hurt or maybe we’ve hurt somebody else.”

A second blade settled in Y/n’s chest, this one causing the muscles to contract. She closed her eyes in an attempt to keep the rising emotions at bay.

“Or what about the belief of hope?” Ted asked, “Yeah? That’s what I wanna mess with. Believing that things can get better. That I can get better. That we will get better.”

Better, Y/n thought on the word. Better. Did things ever get better? Or did ‘bad’ just shapeshift into something else? Did it just wait along the road in the shadows, waiting for ‘better’ to come merrily on its way?

“Oh, man,” Ted sighed, “To believe in yourself. To believe in one another. Man, that’s fundamental to being alive. And look. Yo, hey. If you can do that,” he pointed to each player in the room, “If each of your can truly do that-“

Ted made one more rip down the sign’s tatters, walking to the center of the room. “Can’t nobody rip that apart.”

As the remains of the sign slapped against the metal bench, Y/n’s anxiety reached its brim. She placed a near shaking hand on Higgins’ shoulder to signal she was leaving before slipping out the back door. Blearily, she made it down the hall and outside, the fresh air of the parking lot slamming into her.

Once in the safety of her car, she allowed herself to weep.

Zava was the furthest thing from her mind. The incoming headlines, another loss on the scoreboard…all of it. She couldn’t have cared less if she’d tried. All she could feel was the crippling ache in her chest, the sting of her tears, the overwhelming feeling that came with being utterly alone. When a person became aware of just how much bigger the world around them was and how infinitely small they really were. The pain that could be remedied with a simple hug or a comforting word.

Y/n let out a silent sob, the familiar ache of all she wanted having taken a new form, once again. It would certainly kill her to allow herself her basic needs, to walk back in and hurt with the people inside. And it would break her all the same to continue hiding.

————

Heartfirst Taglist: @lalla-04p @optimisticsandwichgladiator @makingmunson94 @taytaylala12 @storysimp @sokkigarden @lightninginab0ttle @poohkie90 @alipap3 @verra-nerevarine @shineforever19 @spaceagechimera @burnafter-reading @qardasngan @cyberpvnk-enthusiast @sogoodtoheritsvicious @buckybarnex @angelsunflxwer @blueanfield @thewildestwonderland @sablecities

[ash5monster01]

#18 #18!!

Valentines pizza mixup with Steve! 🍕

Pizza Mixup

Valentines Celebration Prompt

Pairing: Steve Harrington x FemReader

Warnings: fluff, language, no use of y/n, lots of teasing, minor minor allusions to smut.

18. A sad valentines night spent home alone requires pizza but what happens when the delivery guy mixes up your order with the guy from upstairs?

word count: 1.6k

Masterlist

Nonsense plays on the TV in front of you while you await your pizza. You had been starved, working a double shift and dealing with the constant candy heart bullshit had you in a bad mood, and gotten in the way of your lunch. The only thing you had to look forward to on this day was the perfect large pizza from the great place down the street. You couldn’t wait to eat it and watch mindless TV in your cotton pajama bottoms and black tank top. It was heaven on earth actually. The real American dream.

When the knock finally sounds at the door you’re lifting to your feet in an instant. The weight of yourself pushing down on your pink bunny slippers and lifting its ears. A gift from a friend that was supposed to be a joke but you were enamored with the silly slippers that perked up with every step you took. You’re already digging through your wallet for a twenty as you pop the door open and spot the young delivery boy holding your beloved pizza.

“That’ll be $16.75” he says, voice bored with probably one of the busiest delivery nights for him. You briefly wondered how many heart shape pizzas he’d already given out tonight.

“Keep the change” you tell him, trading the money for the box. The smell hits your nose in an instant and you can’t help the way your mouth waters as you shut the door and walk your prize possession to the kitchen counter.

Flipping the lid you’re prepared to find the perfect pizza with melty cheese and crisped pepperoni just to be met with an absolute terror. The sweetness of the pineapple hits your nose and you can’t help the scowl that crosses your face. Curse that delivery boy. If it was any other night you’d just suffer but tonight that would not do. You had been counting on that perfect pizza, anticipating it all day. Who the hell ordered a single hawaii pizza anyway?

“What a fucking joke?” you can’t help but laugh out at yourself and the irony of this situation. Maybe it was karma, punishment for cursing every cute couple you saw today. Slamming the box closed you spot the receipt taped to the top and to your surprise the delivery address is on floor above you. A sly grin crosses your face.

“Not today satan” you growl before starting towards your door with the pizza box propped in your arm. The ears on your bunny slippers frantically move up and down as you stomp to the elevator determined to get your pizza back. You find the apartment quickly, fist banging against the door as you realized your pizza could be just behind that door.

“I’m coming!” a voice calls out, muffled by the door but your arm doesn’t let up. Not even when the door is swinging open and revealing one of the most handsome men you have ever seen. What shocks you even more is how he looks you up and down, an amused look covering his face.

“Nice slippers” is the first thing he says, a smirk pulling at the corners of his lips.

“Thanks, I’m pretty sure you have my pizza” you say, head leaning forward to try and peak for it inside his apartment. His brows furrow as he looks at the pizza in your arms.

“I hate to be the one to tell you this but you’ve been holding it the whole time” he says and you roll your eyes quickly, pulling the box in front of you and opening it to show him.

“No it’s not, it’s yours. Who orders hawaiian pizza by the way?” you say, unable to hide the slight disgust in your voice.

“Oh shit, the delivery guy must’ve screwed it up. Come on in” he finally says, now moving out of the way. You cautiously step inside, taking in the apartment all together. It’s not that different from your own and you slowly follow him to the kitchen where you finally spot your pizza box on the counter.

“Made it just in time, I was about to dig in” the boy says and you discard his pizza on the counter beside it, rushing for your own and lifting the cover.

“Oh you’ve got to be kidding me” you mutter, eyes shutting and head falling with disappointment.

“Don’t tell me it’s still wrong” he says, curiously looking over your shoulder and you shake your head.

“No, it’s just in the shape of a heart” you pout and suddenly the boy beside you is laughing. You glare at him, leaning down to at least take in the scent of the pizza you had been waiting on all night.

“What? You didn’t order this to feed to your boyfriend tonight?” he asked once his laughter calmed and all you can do is sigh as you shut the pizza box.

“No I wanted a regular pizza because I’m a single girl who doesn’t give a shit that it’s Valentine’s Day” you tell him and his eyebrows raise lightly.

“Well it’s nice to meet you bunny slippers. I’m Steve, and I also don’t give a shit about Valentine’s Day” he says holding his hand out and you decide you can no longer take your annoyance out on this innocent, yet very cute man beside you.

“Nice to meet you Steve, I guess I better get going. Eat this thing till it no longer looks so cute” you say starting to slide the box of the counter but his hand quickly stops it from going any further.

“What do you say to eating it here? Since neither of us have anything better to do. Plus if we get to know each other better maybe we can start ordering one pizza for us both. Save the money” the snort that comes from your nose has him cracking a small smile even though your reaction is not one he expected.

“As long as it’s not Hawaiian I may be interested but I don’t know how much that says about me being cheap” you tell him and finally release the pizza box in defeat. After all this option was better than rotting alone on your couch watching Alf.

“I think I can deal” he says reaching into a cupboard and freeing two plates for you both. You waste no time in picking the two largest slices from the heart shaped pizza and setting them on your plate. Steve does the same, grinning at you while he does.

“You seem way too excited about this for a guy who clearly had plans to spend the evening alone” you tell him as he guides you to the couch. Steve laughs, freeing two Coke’s from the mini fridge in the living room. What a boy.

“I don’t think excited would be the right word, more like intrigued” he says now joining you on the couch. You don’t miss the way it dips from his weight and how naturally his leg crosses in front of him.

“Was this your plan all along, bribe the delivery boy to get the cute girl from downstairs into your apartment where you proceed to murder her?” and Steve can’t help but laugh from the wildness of your imagination. If he knew tonight was going to turn out like this he would’ve been a little more happy about the holiday.

“If only I was clever enough but I’m just an innocent boy who got delivered the wrong pizza tonight and is now lucky enough to share it with the cute girl from downstairs” and his words have you blushing in an instant. Pink shading from your neck all the way up to your ears and Steve can only grin as he takes a bite of his fruity pizza.

“Fine but if I suspect any foul play I’m out that door” you say with a pointed finger before finally taking that first bite of perfect pizza. Thankfully you had solved the mixup quickly and it was still warm. What surprises both you and Steve is the low moan that comes out from the flavor hitting your tastebuds.

“Maybe I really am interrupting something” Steve teases and you lightly smack his arm which makes him laugh.

“I just really love Ilio’s Pizza. Best pizza ever” you say before two more bites and Steve is grinning ear to ear as he watches you.

“Maybe you should try the Hawaiian” he suggests and the giggle that escapes your lips lifts to his ears. You’re surprised at how comfortable he has made you in just these few moments. Maybe it was how handsome he was, or the way his brown hair was swept perfectly over his head, or possibly the realization of just how lonely you were on a quiet and empty Valentines night.

“Maybe, but for now I can compromise and order half pepperoni, half hawaiian for our next one” Steve’s eyebrows raise at the sentence and you know immediately what he was thinking.

“So there will be a next one?” he curiously asks and as your eyes search his own you can’t help the soft smile that slides across your lips.

“If you find a way to call me cute again I can almost guarantee it” you tell him and he grins, hand reaching over to push some stray hair behind your ear.

“Only I could get lucky enough to have the cute downstairs neighbor come banging on my door for pizza, in a pair of pink bunny slippers” he says and this time you don’t hide the blush that crosses your cheeks.

“So, you free next weekend?”

[unmotivatedwrit3r]

One in Eleven Million (ch. 4)

damian wayne x reader x jon kent

(a/n): so...it's been a month. But in my defense, I wrote a play.

Previous chapters linked here, here, and here.

wc: ~1800

warnings: airports, consumption of food, anxiety

~

Your alarm went off at 1am and you reached blindly across the end table to silence it. The dark hotel room came back into focus and you sighed. The sky outside was dark, just like it was when you finally went to sleep two hours ago. 

A large part of you desperately wanted a shower. Between the exhaustion, time constraints, and lack of everything from personal toiletries to clean clothes, though, you resigned yourself to brushing your teeth and an attempt at finger-brushing your hair. You shoved your phone in your pocket and fumbled your way into the bathroom. 

“Already dressed,” you deadpanned in the mirror, still squinting in the bright bathroom lights, “great.” 

There wasn’t much of your usual morning routine that you could scrape together in the twenty minutes you had. You felt a little stale in clothes that had already seen two airports, two airplanes, various vehicles, and your hotel bed, but you were also running on limited sleep and even more limited options so what was there to do?

The wooden toothbrush and tiny tube of toothpaste — and you meant tiny; the thing looked like it would be more at home in an American Girl doll house than your bathroom sink — you had was hotel provided, and you washed your face with hotel face soap. It was a weird texture, but you decided it was better to feel a little bit cleaner and just deal with it for the minute you had to than feel greasy the entire rest of the day.  

By 1:23am, you were walking out of the elevator and into the hotel lobby. You recognized a family already sitting there from the shuttle last night. Did it count as last night if you’d only gotten to the hotel for two hours of sleep? 

Closer to the door, though, were the people you were looking for. A part of you wondered if the friendship — you hesitated to call it friendship but what else could it be really? — you’d built yesterday was just a fluke. There was a chance the boys didn’t show up for the shuttle you’d all planned to take. Even worse, you worried that they would be there and just ignore you. It had already been a long trip, and a larger part of you than you wanted to acknowledge was craving the security of not being on your own. 

Damian’s eyes were fixed on his phone, eyebrows furrowed. Jon looked half-asleep, leaning into Damian. You lingered awkwardly in the doorway to the lobby until Damian looked up and waved before quickly returning to his phone. Something in your chest settled. You took the seat across from them, failing to hold back a smile. 

“You awake there, Jon?” 

One of Jon’s eyelids cracked open at you before sliding shut once again. 

“No.” 

Damian’s huff of amusement took you a second to register under your own. He tucked his phone into his jeans pocket. 

“Jon’s not awake until the sun is.” An elbow tried to nudge Damian. Jon’s aim was suffering from not having his eyes open though, and he succeeded more in almost falling off of his chair than anything. 

You and Damian exchanged an amused glance. For the first time, you noticed his eyes—long eyelashes and dark brows accentuating green-blue orbs. Your breath caught. Nope, you’re not allowed to like both of them, your brain argued. You ignored it. 

The shuttle ride was as uneventful as it had been the night before. 

“Which line do we go in?” Jon asked, squinting at his boarding pass as the three of you crossed the threshold into the airport. You spared a mournful glance at the bag check counters before following the boys to escalators. It was weird to not have a suitcase with you. 

“TSA-pre.” Damian pointed at a sign denoting the airline’s quicker security status. “Father doesn’t often fly commercial but we have it on his account.” 

You double checked your boarding pass. You hadn’t anticipated the same symbol would be there, but it made your heart sink nonetheless.

“I’ll meet you at the end of security,” You stopped by the entrance to the general line. “Or at the gate?” 

“You don’t have it? The faster one?” Jon wondered.

“No,” you shrugged. “It’s an extra charge. I don't travel enough to make the price worth it.” 

“There’s no crowd in either line.” Damian nodded his head at the vacant security checkpoint. “It is before three in the morning.” 

“Yeah, we’ll go with you.” 

“You sure?” Your hands tightened around your backpack straps.

“It’ll be easier to find you if we all just go together, right?” Jon walked through first, clumsily pulling an ID from his pocket before presenting it to the airline employee. You did the same. Damian followed, and you shoved your ID back where it belonged as he passed through. 

“We have to take our shoes off in this line,” you reminded Damian. Jon had immediately followed your lead, but Damian had yet to take anything out of his bag. “And large things like laptops.” 

Jon’s sneakers joined your shoes on the belt. 

“Nice socks.” 

He looked down, confused, then back up at you. You could see a blush rising on his cheeks. One of his socks had superman logos, the other flash ones. 

“Mine don’t match either,” you offered, lifting your feet one at a time to showcase your own socks. 

“Oh hey, that’s cool,” Jon’s bright smile made the discomfort of socked feet on airport floors worth it. The tile was cold through the thin fabric. 

“Share a bin?” You asked Damian, pulling your laptop out of your bag. You tucked it inside, phone already tucked away with Jon’s in a smaller container. 

“Sure.” Damian’s computer was slick, a dark gray Wayne Tech and wrapped in a black case. Yours looked a little clunkier next to his, but it fit him, or what you knew of him. 

Damian’s socks did match, you realized as he passed through the metal detector after you.  

“Here Dami,” Jon passed over a pair of boots. Damian murmured a thank you, pulling them on untied before grabbing the rest of his belongings.  

“Those are nice,” You said, shoving your laptop back into your bag. Damian finished tying his shoes. 

“It’s a good brand.” 

“Yeah,” you swung your backpack over your shoulder. The weight was comforting where it rested against your back. “They're expensive but worth it.” 

“I’m kind of a sneakers guy.” Jon raised one hand, swinging his backpack on with the other. 

You chuckled, following as Damian started heading towards your terminal. It was still pitch black outside and the airport was almost eerie for its emptiness. The clacking of the wheels on Damian and Jon’s bags echoed in the open space. A go-cart shot by, sirens blaring. You sighed out a breath, heart racing. Right, airports are never quiet. 

When the three of you reached the gate, there was half an hour left to kill. You took a moment to curse the fluctuations in airport security wait times before moving on. Damian headed straight for a set of seats right against the wall. You and Jon followed, dropping your bag on the floor in front of you and draping your jacket over the chair. 

“I think there was a pretzel place open at the beginning of the terminal. Pretzels for breakfast anyone?” 

“Soft pretzels?” inquired Jon, all of the sudden much more awake than he was at the hotel. You figured it was at the prospect of food more than anything else. 

“Yeah those ones. I’m going. Anyone else?” 

Damian shrugged then stood, pulling up the handle of his carry-on to roll it, his jacket, and his bag as one. Jon followed Damian’s lead. His jacket stayed on. 

You picked your stuff up from where you’d just laid it out, jacket zipper dragging against the chair. 

“A group errand then,” you declared. Beside you, Jon snorted out a laugh. 

Between the early hour, you and Jon arguing over which pretzels were better, and Damain’s skepticism at their deliciousness overall, you were pretty sure that the pretzel stand employee was tired of the three of you already. Damian insisted on paying despite not wanting anything (“it’s like six dollars, I’ve got it,” you protested. “If you don’t let him, he’s just going to do it anyway,” Jon explained, “and you did save us from a 600 dollar hotel reservation last night.”), but he didn’t protest when Jon ordered an extra cup of the cinnamon nuggets in addition to the one for you. Jon’s own choice, regular nuggets with a very yellow cheese dip, was left all on its lonesome.

“There’s no way that’s real cheese,” you argued as he opened the dipping container. “You’re basically just eating chemicals.” 

Another pretzel covered nearly entirely in cheese disappeared into Jon’s mouth. He shrugged. You watched him for a moment before locking eyes with Damian. Matching grins spanned your faces.  

“With his taste in foods, he’s lucky he has such a strong digestive system,” Damian volunteered. 

You snorted, sinking down on top of the jacket you’d once again splayed across the chair as you shoved another pretzel nugget in your mouth. When you turned, the cold metal of the armrests bit into your side even through your shirt. 

Jon’s cheese dip lasted about halfway through the cup of pretzels. He looked mournfully into the container. 

“Aww man.” 

You tilted your bag towards him, rattling the nuggets inside. 

“Do you want one?” Jon stood up, shaking his head.

“I might actually just go get another-” Damian grabbed his arm and pulled him down. The seat let out a puff of air. You had to hold back a laugh at the startled expression painting Jon’s face, popping another nugget into your mouth. The cinnamon sugar was rough between your lips.

“You,” Damian said, “are not eating anything else horrible for humans.” 

His phrasing was a little weird, but you understood the sentiment. One container of processed cheese was more than enough for most people on a good day, and it was barely 3am.

“Oh, right.” Jon frowned. 

“They’re good with just salt,” you offered. “If they didn’t have the cinnamon ones, I would have gotten those. But I think there is such a thing as too much processed cheese for breakfast.”

Damian bit into another pretzel nugget. 

“The cinnamon ones are by far superior to the plain ones.” 

“Oh I agree one hundred percent, but if you don’t like them,” you nudged Jon, “the plain ones are okay too.”

Jon shrugged and popped a plain nugget in his mouth, swallowing morosely. 

“They’re dry.” 

You and Damian exchanged a look. 

“What?” Jon justified through your laughter. “They are!”

[callistothebard]

Title - Narlily

Warnings: grief, slight blood

Pairing: Narcissa x Lily

I had this idea, but it might have gotten away from me a bit. Hopefully not too OOC

word count: <1,000 not a short fic sorry

written for @sapphicmicrofics prompt "Title" and "Bleeding"

She was used to waking up alone these days. Her wife has a habit of late bar runs that turn into early morning regrets. Lily clutched the untouched bedding beside her before slipping on her night robe and heading out of the bedroom. 

She knew the routine by now. She would brew a tonic, grab the prophet and the daily mail, and wait. She’d always wait for her…

Lily froze as she heard a bang from the study room, “Cissa?” She called out. 

Nothing. Nothing but another crash.

Her heart quickened as she strained to hear. She cursed herself for leaving her wand in the bedroom drawer. A piercing wail tore through the manor, making Lily’s heart lurch.

She quickly reached the double doors and opened the study with trembling hands. “Cissa!”

Lily froze at the sight before her– countless books scattered across the floor, scores of potions, and Narcissa hunched over her desk, chanting.

“Honey?” Lily took a few steps into the room. Her hair stood on her arms as she felt faint remnants of dark magic around her. “Honey, what happened?” 

She reached out to Narcissa, who jerked away. “Leave me.”

Now that she was closer, she could see the dried streaks, the red eyes, and the pain etched on her wife’s face. It broke her. “Cissa, talk to me–”

“Either leave or help me!” Narcissa snapped, throwing the book across the room.

“I can’t help you if you don't tell me what is wrong–”

Lily stumbled as Narcissa pushed past her and haphazardly searched the bookshelves. “Useless.”

She saw her wildly flip through book after book, each seemingly upsetting Narcissa more and more. “Useless!” She screamed. “There has to be something.”

“Please, honey.” Lily tried again. She grabbed Narcissa’s hand but quickly released it when she saw the large gash etched in her pale skin. “Narcissa.” She said firmly. “What in Godric’s name…”

Narcissa shook her head, holding in tears. “I need to find it.”

Realization hit Lily as she stared into the older woman’s eyes. “I know you do. But, this…” She held up Narcissa’s bloody hand. “This isn’t the way–”

“Then what is!” She countered.

“You have to let the doctors–”

“Don’t start with that.” Narcissa went back and looked through the bookshelf.

“Cissa.” 

Nothing.

“Narcissa!”

“Gods! Why can’t I find it? We are witches, for goodness sake. I’m a Black. Of all the godforsaken spells, why can’t I find anything to help her. To…to just…to save her. Why?”

Lily watched as her wife broke down, throwing another stack of books across the room. She looked down and read the book's title.

Tenebris mortem: The Ancient Workings Dark Arts

“This isn’t the way to do this, Narcissa! You’re playing with unspeakable magic!” Lily pleaded, taking hold of the blonde. 

“Then she will die! Do you want that?” Narcissa yelled. “You stand there, calm and composed, as if her suffering means nothing to you. Do you even care about our daughter?” Narcissa took hold of Lily and pushed her against the shelf. “You’ve abandoned her.” She raises her hand, allowing Lily to see the gash clearly. It radiated dark magic. “I would give anything, absolutely anything, to spare her from this, but you'd rather bury your head and pretend that everything is going to be okay!”

“I’m trying my best–”

“And where did it get us? Where did it get our daughter? Your best? Your best got her–”

And there it was…the blame. 

Lily shook her head, not allowing the tears to fall. “You have no idea the hell I endure every single night, lying awake, afraid of losing her. I’m terrified. I’m terrified of making the wrong decision.”

“I’m…I’m sorry, Lily. I’m–”

And there goes the apologies. 

“No. You meant what you said.”

“I didn’t. Please–”

“You don’t think I blame myself? It’s my gene. It’s my blood.” Lily cursed herself as she began to cry. She jerked away as Narcissa tried to comfort her. 

She let out a long breath, trying to calm her nerves. “Your brew is ready downstairs,” she said simply. 

“Lily–” Narcissa tried.

“Don’t.” Lily moved away. “Drink your brew. Get some rest.” She said coldly. 

Lily quickly wiped her tears away, “I will not let you make my child suffer at the hands of dark magic. This,” she pointed to the book, “This comes with consequences. I'd rather hold our little girl close, cherishing every second we have left with her.”

Lily made her way to the double doors. She glanced at her wife, then left, slamming the door behind her. 

She was exhausted. She was broken. She was scared.

She was used to waking up alone.

She would get used to this, too.

[ourladyofomega]

Years ago I ended up in one of the worst points in life. I was in such a depressing place where to this day I won’t ever mention. It was in a post-economic crash job where I had almost no outs to leave and I was broke, so I had no choice but to stay. I dealt with a co-worker named Barney who at 40 stood at 6’3 and 350 lbs.; and who had a multitude of social, legal, and dependency issues. Money issues, too. Back then, many people suffered and became desperate to hang in there. I wasn’t the only one who was bound for money, but even more so was Barney.

Our co-worker Little Mikey was still in university and on his way in becoming an economist. He was the head ringleader amongst our staff who had his influential ways; a major troll who knew his power. He was less than half of Barney’s age and size; shorter than him, too. He was the type to play on people’s weaknesses and exploit them for his and his friends’ personal gain. It was only time before Little Mikey knew that Barney was desperate for money. Barney non-chalantly asked me before to give him a few dollars which I instantly refused, right after he swindled his manager out of $100 and another co-worker of low self-esteem for $500. So, Mikey had a proposition for Barney: he’d offer him some money (an undisclosed amount but it was in the low double digits) if he’d volunteer to be recorded rolling on the floor behind the counter. After a few days of negotiations, Barney took up on the offer.

A few days later, I helped out a customer across the counter (I was the only one doing so when the rest wouldn’t) when, to my left, a group of co-workers were standing there giggling with their smart phones out, getting ready for Barney’s roll. To my right…here he comes! As I handed my customer her goods, Barney comes tumbling down the filthy, unswept floor towards my way. I literally had to jump up in order not to be bowled over to let him through. The co-workers all saw this and they were all laughing their asses off.  Mikey’s plan worked! They couldn’t believe that our largest co-worker would humiliate himself for a few dollars. Did Barney wake up? Of course not. He willingly volunteered to make a fool of himself in a couple more of Mikey’s games because the rush of a good laugh and the dare for the money was what he went for.

So can you imagine the type of power crafty devious elves wield to take down ogres and giants? Think of the influential power this kid-wonder degenerate held over Barney who was desperate to make ends meet to support his vices, and also the power he had over some of his other co-workers and myself who refused to bow to him? (I never yielded to his unwarranted garbage. As a result, I received some of it from his privileged co-worker friends because I refused to play along.) Imagine the depths of depravity that some would stoop so low to devalue and embarrass themselves for so little?

There’s other times I put up with such harassment and bullshit I never asked for, and that’s not even the worst of it. I had no choice but ended up in a place I never wanted to be just to survive. I count my bells and lucky 7’s that I forever removed myself from a depressing nadir in my life and the various sludge I distanced myself from. I remind myself every day I’m at a better place where I can look back and scare myself to never return and be ashamed of myself again.

[amo616]

Painful Circumstances

It all began with a cough.

It was barely a tickle at the back of her throat, one that could go mostly ignored as Nathalie went about her daily life. She didn't think too much of it at first, believing that in a few days, it would pass. However, when it didn't and instead only got worse, she still tried to ignore it. She had been doing so well lately, only having the occasional coughing fit. She was even able to walk about the Agreste manor with relative ease, although the robotic back and leg support Gabriel gave her definitely helped with that.

But as the days turned into weeks, Nathalie couldn't ignore the cough any longer. It was persistent, wracking her body with each hacking spasm. She tried to hide it from those around her, not wanting to worry Gabriel or Adrien, but eventually, it became too much for even her to bear.

One morning, as Nathalie was eating the pancakes that Gabriel had decided to make, her coughing reached a new intensity, causing her to double over in pain. If Gabriel hadn't rushed to her side, she surely would have fallen off her stool. The weakened woman clutched the edge of the counter with one hand as she coughed into her arm. No matter how hard she tried, Nathalie felt like she couldn't catch her breath, and for a moment, she panicked. What if this was more serious than she had at first believed?

Gabriel held his assistant securely in his arms, worry etched on his face. "Nathalie, are you alright?" he asked, his voice laced with concern.

Nathalie tried several times to respond, but each time all that came out was a series of coughs. Gabriel's hands were gentle as he helped her sit on the kitchen stool again, rubbing her back softly, not sure what else he could do. He wished there was more he could come up with for her, but no matter how many doctors she saw, there was very little any of them could achieve. He knew this cough wasn't because of a cold. It was a side effect of Nathalie pushing herself so hard as Mayura with the broken peacock miraculous. If anyone was able to help her, it was him. He knew this, but he didn't even know where to begin.

Eventually, the female caught her breath and looked up at him. "I don't know what's wrong," she said, her voice hoarse from her recent coughing fit. "I thought it was just a cough, but it's been getting worse, and I don't know what else to do."

Even though Nathalie had given up helping Gabriel revive Emilie as Mayura, the peacock miraculous had taken its toll on her body. He had hoped that with time, these effects would lessen, and she would be able to go back to her regular life. But now, it seemed that hope was beginning to fade. The worried man knew that he couldn't ignore Nathalie's health any longer. He had to find a way to help her, no matter what.

Gabriel frowned as he looked at Nathalie. He couldn't stand to see her suffer anymore. He knew he couldn't let her continue like this, despite how hard she tried to hide it from him. He took a deep breath before speaking.

"Nathalie, I want you to see a doctor," he said firmly.

His assistant let out a weak sigh. "Gabriel, I've seen countless doctors already. They all say the same thing: "There's nothing they can do for me."

"We can't just give up," Gabriel said, his voice a little louder than he had meant it to come out. "There has to be something we haven't tried yet."

Nathalie didn't know how to feel. On the one hand, she knew the possible consequences of using the broken peacock miraculous, Emilie's death was enough of a reminder. Despite this, she chose to be Mayura, and she chose to push herself past her limits. On the other hand, she wanted to do what she could to live. She wanted to spend more time with Adrien, offering him the advice that a mother would usually give. She wanted to help Gabriel however she could; despite the recent strain in their relationship, she still very much cared for him. She wanted to make the grieving man see that what he was doing was wrong and that bringing Emilie back to life would only lead to destruction.

While she was considering her options, Gabriel softly placed a hand on her shoulder. "Please, Nathalie. For me."

The compassionate woman's heart softened at Gabriel's plea. She knew how much he cared for her, even if he didn't want to admit just how much, not even to himself. He showed her just how much she meant to him with his actions, and she tried to do the same. He was always by her side when she needed it, gave her things to make her life easier, and kept her on as his personal assistant even as her body became weaker. She nodded slowly.

"Okay, I'll see a doctor," Nathalie said, giving in despite knowing how futile it was.

Gabriel let out a relieved sigh, his hand squeezing her shoulder gently. "Thank you."

Nathalie managed a small smile. "I'll make an appointment as soon as I can."

The designer nodded, his expression serious. "Do you want me to go with you? I will if you need me to."

Nathalie's heart swelled at Gabriel's offer. Despite everything that had happened between them, he was still willing to support her in any way he could. She shook her head with a faint smile on her face.

"Thank you, Gabriel, but I'll be fine," she responded.

"Of course. But don't hesitate to call me if you need me," Gabriel told her, his voice still laced with concern.

"I won't," Nathalie promised, full of gratitude.

As the young woman finished her breakfast, Gabriel watched her with worry. He knew Nathalie was in pain, but he also knew how strong she was. She had always been the stronger of the two of them, no matter the hardships she faced. Despite everything, he was grateful to have her by his side, and he would do anything to make sure that she was safe, healthy, and happy.

That afternoon, Nathalie made an appointment with the doctor for the following week. As the week went on, her coughing only got worse, and it became harder to hide from Gabriel and Adrien. They both noticed the very dear woman's struggle, and Gabriel became increasingly worried about her.

Despite Nathalie's reservations about the doctor's ability to help her, she still hoped that they could find a solution to her problem. She had to try everything in her power to get better. The week seemed to drag on for Nathalie as she waited for her appointment. Every day felt like an eternity in which she tried to cope with her worsening cough. She felt like she was suffocating. Trying to distract herself with work became more and more difficult as her coughing fits became more frequent and persistent.

As the day of her appointment finally arrived, Nathalie tried to put on a brave face. She didn't want Gabriel or Adrien to worry any more than they already had.

While she rode in her employer's car to her appointment, her condition not seeming bad enough for an at-home visit, she couldn't help but feel a sense of dread. She had been to innumerable doctors in the past, and not one had been able to help her. What made this doctor any different?

After a short drive, she arrived and stepped out of the vehicle. She made her way into the doctor's office on shaky legs, and when she entered, Nathalie was greeted by a kind-looking woman. She was an older woman with short, white hair and large green eyes. She was much shorter than Nathalie, something she was grateful for. While the effects the broken peacock miraculous had on her body centered mainly around her legs and lower back, other areas of her body were in pain too, just not as much so, including her neck. The pain in her neck caused quite some difficulty looking up for extended periods of time. The short stature of the woman made it much easier for Nathalie to look her in the eye without much discomfort. The doctor's smile was warm and welcoming, and Nathalie found herself relaxing slightly.

After Nathalie checked in, the two made their way into one of the rooms, and the physician asked her to sit down. Nathalie quickly complied, sitting down on the stretcher covered with a thin layer of paper. She tried to push back the fear and doubt that were bubbling to the surface as the doctor began to ask her questions about her symptoms. Nathalie answered as best she could, but as she spoke, her coughing fits grew more intense. The elderly woman handed her a small, paper cup filled with water at one point, which the younger one drank in a single gulp.

The doctor listened carefully to her symptoms and medical history, jotting down notes as she went. When Nathalie finished, the doctor spoke.

"I would like to run a few tests," she said kindly. "Just to be thorough and make sure we haven't missed anything,"

Nathalie nodded, feeling a glimmer of hope flickering inside her. Maybe this doctor would be different; maybe she would be able to help. The practitioner led Nathalie to another room down the hall, where they ran a series of tests. Nathalie tried to remain calm, but the constant beeping of the machines and the poking and prodding of the examiner made her feel more and more anxious. After what felt like an eternity, the tests were finally complete.

The doctor looked at the unwell woman with a serious expression. "Nathalie, I'm afraid the outcomes of the tests aren't good. The results were inconclusive, but it's clear that you're very sick; we just don't know what we're dealing with."

Nathalie's heart sank. She knew it was too good to be true. She didn't know why she had ever hoped that this time it would be different. She knew the reason for her illness and knew it wasn't something science would be able to solve. Still, she had started to hope again, something she now regretted as the weight of her emotions was far more crushing than it would have been otherwise.

"But I do think there's something we can do to alleviate the pain you're experiencing," the kind physician suddenly said.

Nathalie looked up at her, afraid to hope that whatever the doctor suggested could make any difference. "What can we do?"

"I'm going to prescribe some medication. It should help with your cough and make it easier for you to breathe," the doctor informed before adding, "I'll also give you some exercises to do that will help you regain or at least increase your lung capacity. Hopefully, it's going to make a difference. It will by no means be a cure, but with some luck, it should reduce the pain you're suffering."

The assistant nodded, feeling grateful that there was something the doctor would try to do to help her. She knew deep down that there was no cure for her sickness, but if she could at the very least alleviate some symptoms, that was more than she would have dared to ask for.

As Nathalie left the doctor's office, she felt a sense of relief. She knew her condition would never fully go away, but for the first time, she felt as if there might be some hope. She thanked the physician and made her way back to Gabriel's car, feeling a bit lighter as she did.

However, the hope didn't last long. As the days wore on, Nathalie found that the medication only helped so much. Her coughing fits still came, and they were still just as intense. The exercises helped a bit as well, but they were exhausting to do, and the fatigued woman realized that she couldn't do them for very long. Eventually, she gave up on both the medication and her exercises, which only made matters worse.

Gabriel and Adrien noticed that Nathalie wasn't getting better, and they became increasingly worried about her. They tried to hide their concern, but the assistant could see it in their eyes. She felt guilty for making them worry.

The widower tried everything in his power to help her. He made numerous at-home appointments with doctors and specialists, hoping that someone would be able to help Nathalie. But every appointment left them empty-handed, with no new solutions or treatments to try.

Gabriel also began working tirelessly on new pieces of technology he hoped would be able to cure Nathalie of her illness, or if not, at least ease her pain. He made countless attempts, pushing aside other projects to fully dedicate himself to the woman, but even those proved futile.

With each passing day, Nathalie could see Gabriel becoming more exhausted, and it broke her heart. She wished she could make it all just go away, make it so that her illness wasn't causing so much pain and suffering for everyone around her.

As the months passed by, her condition worsened. She could feel her life fading, becoming weaker with each passing day. She knew her time was almost up, and she accepted her fate. She only wished that she could ease the pain and worry that she had caused Gabriel and Adrien. However, she knew that as she became weaker, the two would only become more concerned. She wasn't able to help them as much as she would’ve liked. She wasn't able to repay their kindness, and that would be her biggest regret.

One night, when Nathalie lay asleep in her bed, her door quietly creaked open. Gabriel walked silently over to her bed before kneeling beside it. She was so exhausted that she didn't wake up to the sound. He didn't want to anyway, knowing how exhausted she had to be after, yet another day filled with testing. He looked at her for a moment, taking in the peaceful expression on her sleeping face. He carefully reached out to brush a singular strand of hair away from her face. Nathalie stirred slightly but didn't wake up. Gabriel stayed there for a long time, simply watching her sleep. Her chest rose and fell slowly, and he couldn't help but feel a deep sense of sadness. He knew that despite his best efforts, he was unable to help her, and that realization weighed heavily on him.

"I'm so sorry, Nathalie," Gabriel whispered, hoping that his feelings got across despite her not being able to hear him.

"I wish I knew what to do. I want to take your pain away—the pain I caused—but I can't. No matter how hard I try, I just can't find a way to help you. I'm so sorry. I want you to know I'll always be here for you, no matter what happens, just like you've always been there for me," Gabriel said, his voice cracking.

His eyes filled with unshed tears—the ones he had been holding back for months. He wanted to be strong for Nathalie, as she was going through so much pain that the last thing she needed was to know how strongly the situation affected him.

Gabriel sat there, looking over at Nathalie as she slowly opened her eyes. He blinked away his tears, trying not to let her see them. But it was too late; she could see the sadness in his eyes as she stared back at him. Tears began to well up in her blue eyes, and Gabriel knew that she felt the same way he did.

He was overwhelmed with conflicting emotions. On one hand, he wanted to reach out and comfort her, but on the other, he felt guilty for having such strong feelings for her, considering their professional relationship. Not even to mention his recently deceased wife. Having stared at each other in silence for what seemed like an eternity, Nathalie placed a gentle hand on Gabriel's cheek and one on the back of his neck, bringing his face closer to hers until their foreheads touched. At that moment, he realized how much he cared for her, even if it had taken him so long to accept it.

But then reality crashed down around them. Nathalie was growing weaker day by day, and Gabriel had no idea what would become of her or the feelings he harbored for her. He was left feeling confused, guilty, and helpless all at once.

"It's okay," the fatigued woman cooed softly, trying to reassure her employer and close friend. "I know you've been trying your best, and I appreciate everything you've done for me. I don't blame you for any of this, so you don't need to blame yourself."

Gabriel shook his head. "I just wish there was more I could do," he confessed, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Just you being here for me—that's more than I could’ve ever asked for. You and Adrien have given me so much more than I ever deserved and have been the family I never knew I needed. Thank you for everything, truly," Nathalie said with a weak smile.

Gabriel's heart broke into a million pieces as he heard Nathalie's words. Despite doing all that he could, the remorse still hung over him like a thick fog. He was drawn to her and wanted to pull her close, but his inner voice reminded him of the consequences. His hand moved up and softly caressed her forehead as she closed her eyes and basked in the warmth of his touch.

When they parted ways, Gabriel couldn't help but linger under her beautiful gaze for a few moments. The rapid beating of his heart warned him of how quickly his feelings were escalating, and he knew he had to leave now, or it would be too late.

Gabriel stood up slowly, his fingers brushing against Nathalie's bed as he rose. He felt her soft hand rest gently on his cheek, and he hesitated, yearning to stay in the moment a while longer. His heart pounded heavily within him as he wrestled with the conflicting emotions inside of him. He wanted more than anything to remain by Nathalie's side, but he also knew that it was probably not wise. With much effort, he forced himself away from her and steeled himself to continue down his path, even though it pained him to do so. After all, he had already gone through the agony of losing the wife that he loved deeply; could he bear going through something similar again?

Nathalie smiled weakly at him. "Don't worry, Gabriel. I'll be okay," she said, her voice soft.

Nathalie's eyes closed, and Gabriel could see that she was slowly losing her battle. With a heavy heart, he kissed her forehead and turned to leave. He stood at the door for what felt like an eternity, watching her sleeping form with a mixture of emotions. On the one hand, he desperately wanted to stay and protect her from whatever fate was coming for her. On the other hand, he knew there was nothing he could do but watch as she slipped away.

Gabriel wished he could turn back time and save her. But every attempt had failed, and it all came down to his actions that had led them here. He bitterly repressed his selfishness, which had caused him to make the wrong choices, choosing power over protecting those he cared about. The thought alone made Gabriel's chest tighten with guilt and sorrow, knowing there was nothing he could do to undo any of it now.

Gabriel trudged his way to his office, desperately reaching for a distraction from the weight of his emotions surrounding Nathalie. As he walked in, he took a deep breath and tried to convince himself that it was a chance for clarity and peace.

But when he sat down at his desk, thoughts of Nathalie flooded back in. He replayed her smile, her touch, and her scent in his head, unable to shake the guilt that he had let her down. He wanted to move on but couldn't make himself turn away from the pain he was feeling.

Gabriel tried to force himself to focus on the mountains of paperwork that sat on his desk. Desperately, he flipped through the pages, trying to decipher the words and numbers, but they swam together in a jumbled mess. His mind kept drifting back to Nathalie, and with growing dread, he finally accepted that he couldn't deny his feelings for her anymore.

He angrily slammed his palms against his forehead in frustration and slumped back into his chair. He had repressed these emotions for so long, and now it seemed he was about to lose her forever. He couldn't ignore this any longer.

He knew it was wrong and that he shouldn't have these feelings for his employee, but he couldn't help it. He cared for her deeply and wanted to protect her and be there for her in any way he could. But now it was too late, and he could feel the guilt of his selfishness eating away at him.

Gabriel's gaze lingered on his computer, the haunt of so many late nights and desperate searches. He was exhausted from combing through medical papers and trying to find any cure that might help Nathalie. He knew he should just give up; after all, how many times had he taken her to the hospital? How often had he tried new medicines? But somewhere in his heart, there is still a spark of hope, no matter how slim the possibility. What if there was something out there that could make all this suffering disappear? He couldn't rest until he'd looked at every corner of the internet; otherwise, he feared, he might never forgive himself.

The weight of his failure was crushing him, and Gabriel knew he needed to do something, anything, to help Nathalie. He couldn't just sit here and wait for her to die. He had to take action, even if it was a long shot.

With a new sense of determination, Gabriel opened up the browser on his computer and began searching once more. He scoured medical journals and research studies, and he even reached out to colleagues in his field. He was desperate, and he knew time was running out.

Suddenly, an email notification popped up on Gabriel's computer screen, drawing his attention away from his thoughts of Nathalie. He clicked on the notification and saw that it was from an unknown sender. With a sense of curiosity, he opened the email and began to read.

"Dear Mr. Agreste, I have information concerning a possible cure for Nathalie's condition. Please meet me at the park at midnight tonight. Come alone."

At first, Gabriel was skeptical. It could be a trap, a ploy to get to him through Nathalie. But the possibility of a cure was too great to ignore. He knew that he had to meet with the sender of the email, no matter the risks.

The day seemed to drag on forever. Minutes felt like hours as he waited for the time that he was supposed to meet with this unknown person. Gabriel tried to keep his mind off the meeting. He worked on some designs for the next line of Gabriel brand clothing, but his focus was constantly interrupted by thoughts of Nathalie and what this possible cure could mean for her. He wasn't able to eat, his nerves twisting his stomach in knots.

Finally, evening arrived, and Gabriel found himself walking the streets of Paris towards the park where this fateful meeting was to occur. His heart was racing with anticipation and fear. He had told no one of the meeting, just as he was instructed, not even Nathalie. If this was a trap, he didn't want to give her false hope or have her worry about him.

As he arrived at the park, Gabriel scanned the area, looking for any signs of the sender, but he saw no one. He began to feel uneasy, wondering if he had been foolish to come here alone.

Suddenly, he heard footsteps behind him, and he turned to see a hooded figure approaching him, their faces obscured by the darkness.

"Mr. Agreste, or should I say, Monarch, thank you for coming," the figure said.

Gabriel felt a shiver run down his spine at the sound of their voice, but he tried to remain calm. "Who are you? What do you know about Nathalie's condition? What do you want from me?"

The figure stepped closer, and Gabriel could now see their face. It was someone he had never seen before, with a stern expression and piercing eyes.

"Now, now, there's no need to be impatient. All will be explained in due time. You wouldn't want to get on my bad side. I am someone who has information that could save Nathalie's life, after all," the figure said. "But first, you must do something for me."

Gabriel narrowed his eyes. "What do you want?”

The figure stepped even closer, their voice dropping to a whisper. "I want you to use your influence and power to help me take down a rival company. They've been encroaching on my business for too long, and I need them gone. And I'm not just talking about your power as Gabriel. You're influential by yourself, yes, but as Monarch, you're so much more. I'd like you to akumatize someone for me. If you do, Nathalie's life is as good as saved. If not..." The man's words trailed off, letting Gabriel's mind think of the worst.

Gabriel felt a sense of anger and betrayal wash over him. How could this person use Nathalie's life as a bargaining chip? He wanted to refuse this man's offer, but he knew he couldn't let his emotions get the better of him. Nathalie's life was at stake.

"I'll do it," Gabriel said, his voice low and steady. "Give me the information you have, and I'll use all of my resources to help you."

The figure nodded, pulling out a small USB drive and handing it to Gabriel. "All of the necessary information is here. Once you've done what I asked, contact me, and I'll make sure Nathalie gets the cure she needs."

With that, the figure turned and walked away, disappearing into the darkness of the park. Gabriel stood there for a moment, staring at the USB drive in his hand, feeling a sense of unease settle over him. He knew that he was doing the wrong thing and that he was making a deal with the devil, but he couldn't let Nathalie die.

He pocketed the storage device and began to make his way out of the park, feeling more alone and helpless than ever before. But he knew he had to keep going, that he had to do whatever it took to save Nathalie's life.

Gabriel lay awake in his bed, struggling to make sense of the deal he had just made. His heart was filled with dread at the thought of what he was doing, and yet his mind raced with ideas of how it could potentially save Nathalie. He felt like he had no other choice, unable to bear the thought of a future without her. Even as doubt and guilt washed over him, he persisted in reaching his goal.

The next morning, Gabriel stood in his office, his heart heavy, staring blankly at the USB drive in his hand. He knew what he had to do, and he was prepared for it. He didn't care what he needed to do so long as Nathalie got better.

He took a deep breath and plugged the USB drive into his computer, accessing the information it contained.

As he read through the details, Gabriel felt his unease grow. The rival company that the hooded figure had asked him to target was not a small business; it was one of the largest in the city. Taking them down would cause a ripple effect throughout the entire industry, leaving hundreds of people without jobs and shaking the city's economy to its core. But Gabriel had made a promise, and he couldn't break it. He knew he had to go through with it, no matter the cost.

He pulled up his computer's interface and began the process of finding the perfect person to akumatize. It had to be someone influential, someone who had a lot of power and could be easily manipulated. Gabriel scrolled through his contacts, looking for the perfect candidate.

And then he found her. An old friend from his college days who had risen to great heights in the financial world. She was the perfect candidate, and Gabriel knew exactly how to lure her in.

He reached out to her, inviting her to a fancy dinner party at his mansion. She eagerly accepted, excited to catch up with an old friend.

But Gabriel had other plans. As the night wore on, he subtly began to plant seeds of doubt and anger in her mind, manipulating her thoughts until she was consumed by a burning desire for revenge against the rival company. Gabriel felt little guilt over his actions. He knew that Nathalie's life was at stake, and he would do anything to save her. Besides, it wasn't as though he hadn't done much worse in the past.

The next day, Gabriel harnessed his old friend's emotions and turned them into a bitter akuma. His plan worked perfectly; the feelings he had planted in her just the day before had taken root and grown overnight, intensifying until she was nothing more than a vessel for his dark desires.

It was only a few minutes later that he received a call from the hooded figure, informing him that Nathalie's cure was ready. Gabriel detransformed and rushed to the location he was given, a small clinic on the outskirts of the city. He wasn't sure how the akumatization was going to play out, but he didn't care. He wasn't doing this to get his hands on Ladybug and Chat Noir's miraculous So, whether the akumatized person destroyed the city or Ladybug was able to stop them hardly mattered to him. All that mattered was that Nathalie got the cure she needed.

Gabriel arrived at the clinic with a sense of desperation gripping him tightly. He was led to a room where he met with a doctor, who handed him a vial of clear liquid. Gabriel took it from him quickly, his hands shaking as he examined it closely. Nothing mattered at this moment except for this cure. It was his last hope.

"This will cure Nathalie's condition," the doctor said. "But be warned, it's experimental. There may be side effects."

Gabriel thanked the doctor and rushed out of the hospital, taking long strides toward his mansion, eager to administer the cure to Nathalie. He felt like every second that passed without him being at her bedside was a second too long.

When he finally arrived home, he practically ran to Nathalie's room. When he opened the door, he saw Nathalie lying there on her bed. She was weak and frail and looked as if she had aged decades in a matter of weeks. Gabriel slowly walked to her bedside, not wanting to disturb or panic her. However, once he was kneeling at her side, he didn't hesitate. Gabriel drew up the clear liquid he had received from the doctor into a syringe and gently injected it into her arm.

For several moments, there was silence in the room as he waited to see if anything would happen. And then it did. Nathalie began to stir from her slumber, and slowly but surely life seeped back into her body and color returned to her cheeks.

Gabriel breathed a sigh of relief as he watched Nathalie, who was not only his secretary, his partner, and the woman he loved, but his everything, come back from the brink of death. The cure might have been dangerous but seeing Nathalie alive again made every risk worth it.

Gabriel watched with tears in his eyes, feeling a sense of relief wash over him. Natalie was going to be okay. He couldn't believe his luck. He had done the unthinkable, made a deal with the devil, and yet he had succeeded in saving Nathalie. But still, guilt gnawed at him. He had caused harm to so many innocent people, all for the sake of one person. Was it worth it?

However, as Nathalie opened her eyes, smiling when she saw him, he knew it was. He knew that he would do it all over again if he had to. Nathalie was his world, and he couldn't bear to lose her. He leaned down to her and kissed her forehead just as he had done a few days prior, feeling a sense of warmth and gratitude fill him. He knew what he had done was wrong, but at this moment, he couldn't bring himself to regret it.

"I'm so glad you're okay," he whispered, his voice thick with emotion.

Nathalie smiled weakly, her eyes still heavy with exhaustion. "Thank you, Gabriel," she murmured, her voice barely above a whisper. "I don't know what I would do without you."

Gabriel felt his heart swell with love for her. He knew that he would do anything for her, no matter the cost. At this moment, he wasn't able to stop himself as he leaned down to kiss her. He felt her lips press softly against his own. It was a moment of pure happiness, one that he knew he would cherish forever.

As they pulled away from the kiss, Gabriel felt a sense of familiarity wash over him, like he had done this all before. He shook off the feeling, chalking it up to the stress of the past few days. He was just grateful that Nathalie was safe and that they could move on with their lives.

"I... There's something I need to tell you. I've felt this way for a while now, but I've only just realized it. I love you, Nathalie," Gabriel said, his voice soft and sincere.

Nathalie's eyes widened with shock, but then a smile slowly spread across her face. "I love you too, Gabriel," she replied, her voice filled with warmth. "I always have, and I always will."

They held each other for a long moment, neither of them wanting to let go. For Gabriel, it felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He had loved Nathalie for a long time but had never dared to accept her feelings. Seeing her so close to death made him realize that he couldn't wait any longer. Life was too short, and he didn't want to waste any more time.

As they parted, Gabriel felt a sense of hope for the future. They had been through a lot, but they had come out stronger on the other side. He knew that the road ahead would be difficult, but with Nathalie by his side, he felt like he could face anything. They had their whole lives ahead of them, after all.

[blissfulalchemist]

🖊🖊🖊 + anyverse!stasia, 🖊🖊🖊+ anyverse!carly xx

I had a feeling you would inquire about them!

🖊 I don't remember if I discussed this on here at one point but the biggest flaw that Stasia has in her og universe is that she's very traditionalist when it comes to magic. She hardly every took from other regions that weren’t European or the very least Western society as she felt that she knew everything and no one else really had anything else to offer her that she didn’t already have. This even translated into how she was with her bloodline. Men were never taught magic in her family traditionally, only the oldest and youngest female, as they didn’t see men as caring enough to fully grasp magic and the heart of it as they were a line of healers. While the art was lost to many those that were her direct descendents still kept up with teaching their children and primarily their daughters....until Conner’s mom kept with her rebel aesthetic and taught him from the get go and had no other children. Not only was this male being taught their family’s traditions he also had the gall to have a warlock as a father! The last bit of rubbing salt in the wound is that Conner’s mom was named after her twin but simply said a Z is cooler than an S, but still Stasia hates it. It took her so long to find him and his mom due to the fact that they weren’t as traditional and took magic from everywhere getting creative in combining different aspects to suit their needs. So this woman would much rather see her bloodline end than have it suffer any more scandal.

Spoiler warning potential under the cut

🖊 While FF!Stasia has a power that no one has really seen in a long long time she still took the route of learning magic the hard way to supplement the natural affinity, though it still has its source as creation magics like her father and mentor. This woman though also likes to plan for various worst cases and also took lessons in the blade, it just wasn't the sword. She will have a dagger upon her for the close combat and ending lives very personally, but her weapon of choice when having to go into battle is a lance. This becomes pretty vital in the Final Days as her magic now is a high risk situation. It is in no one's best interest for her help to also make the problem worse by just a simple protective wall spell turning into the very monster you wanted to sheild away from. Yes there becomes a silent competition between her and Estinien on who's better and who ends the most monsters.

🖊 In the FF universe Stasia doesn’t actually know if she’s truly immortal or incapable of aging past a certain point and she doesn’t really want to put it to the test out of fear that she’ll die before she wants to. To combat this fear she partakes in the darker side of magic and every decade or so she sacrifices a few people to keep herself looking young and adding years to her life. In all reality she can manipulate her body to look however she wants, but she cannot transfer herself into a new one. Stasia is immortal but will age and can still be killed much easier than other Ascians. She is though able to travel between reflections without having to switch to a whole new body unlike her counter parts, a big reason as to why her father was very adament to strengthening her power before she was even double digits in age. 

🖊 In og verse Carly is about late 30′s to early 40′s when she finally kills her mother, however FF!Carly is about 15 when she commits matricide and runs away. However, given the ages of when this even occured there is a distinct difference in just how these acts looked. In the og it was much slower, much more tortureous, and you can tell she made that woman suffer every second of it, in FF it was a much more impulsive looking kill despite the planning she put into it. The dancer blades helped in making the cuts clean, but there was much more blood and a very hasty clean up/presentation of the body for others to find.

🖊 FF!Carly is a few years older than Zenos but looks younger due to the fact that she took up Stasia’s offer to give a little extra life. This is something that does surprise those that find out as many like to assume she’s younger than Zenos by about 5 years when its the oppisite. 

🖊 In the same vein as OG!Carly in that almost everyone is Jack, FF!Carly gives everyone a nickname and the farther it is from your actual name the less respect she has for you. The current list is as follows:

Thancred - Boy Toy

Urianger - Shade

Y’shtola - Miss Sassy

Alisaie - Sassy Jr.

Alphinaud - Not Sassy Jr or Shortie

Estinien - Scowly or Dragon Boy (Toy)

G’raha - Crystalline or Fluffy

Emet-Selch - Emmie

Tataru - Who? and then Secretary

[im-no-jedi]

MLWTBB: This Isn't Goodbye

Part 12 of the “My Life With The Bad Batch” series, a (mostly) canon compliant self-insert story set in “The Bad Batch”

rated: M warnings: drowning, discussions of sex, implied character death, attempted suicide, implied sex relationships: Hunter/self-insert, Omega & self-insert (adopted siblings), The Bad Batch & self-insert chapter word count: 2600+ words

✨MLWTBB masterlist✨

summary: Hannah is confronted by a long-kept secret of hers that she refuses to bring to light. and after the Bad Batch take on a mission that goes horribly wrong, Hannah experiences one of her worst fears imaginable, bringing her to a breaking point of seemingly no return. everything that she’s faced up until this point will culminate into a life-changing moment that will affect the future for her and the group of Clones that she’s adopted as her new family.

notes: this chapter is just an itty-bitty small taste of the angst that's to come 😋 despite being an introvert, I tend to suffer from separation anxiety if I'm away from people for too long. I also definitely have a "warning signal" for certain things, which doesn't help my overall anxiety LOL. should be fairly obvious at this point, but I'll get more into that further into the story 😉

A/N: this story has not been proofread by anyone other than myself. so apologies for any uncaught errors 😬

previous chapter

Chapter 3: I've Got a Bad Feeling About This

__________________________________________________________

“So!” Cid stepped further into the room, commanding the attention of everyone in it, as usual. “I know it’s been a while since I’ve sent you boys out.”

“It’s only been a week,” Echo dryly interjected.

“Your point?” Cid went up next to the counter and snapped her fingers. “Hey, droid. Make me a drink, on the double.”

“Roger, roger!” Clank replied. He immediately sat down the dirty dish he was washing and began preparing Cid’s usual drink.

Cid wasted no time gathering everyone together again, even going so far as to taunt Hunter that he could “schmooze with the bartender later”. Hannah defiantly hung back, both out of spite for Cid’s comment and the fact that her boss was about to rip her family away from her yet again. Of all the rotten times for it to happen too…

It wasn’t a huge request, but the job Cid had for the Clones would still involve them being away for a few days. Possibly more if things didn’t work out perfectly, as Tech commented. Omega chose to remain positive about it though. She specifically glanced over at her big sister as she stated that she was sure they would be fine. Hannah appreciated the positivity and gave Omega a small smile in return.

“Well, I don’t care how you get it done,” Cid said matter-of-factly. “Just do it. And no funny business!”

With that, she took the drink Clank had made for her and marched back into her office with a huff. Echo commented to the others that she seemed to be in even worse spirits than normal, if that was even possible. It actually got a good snicker out of Hannah, much to his delight.

“Guess we should just head out then,” Hunter said with a small sigh. “Don’t wanna make Cid actually hate us.”

“As if she doesn’t act like it already,” Echo dryly added.

“Cid doesn’t hate us,” Omega retorted confidently. “She’s probably just having a bad day.”

“She must have a lot of bad days then!” Wrecker exclaimed with a scoff.

Cid wasn’t the only one having a bad day. The entire time they’d been talking, Hannah had remained off to the side, lost in her thoughts. There’d been an odd twinge in the back of her mind from the moment Cid had mentioned the Clones going on their mission. It flared up even more when Tech brought up the possibility of their mission going wrong, which was common for her to feel. But this one felt different. Even after Omega’s reassurance, the feeling had remained.

It was like… like something was trying to get her attention.

It wasn’t the first time she’d gotten that feeling either. The day Roland showed up, the day they’d gone to Hosnian Prime, several times on Volruna, and that fateful day the Empire came to Astreon… even all the way back to the day her original family had left on their ill-fated journey. It was like Hannah had her own little warning signal, forewarning her of impending danger.

And the fact that it was going off again now…

Hannah’s thoughts were abruptly cut off by Hunter’s approach. “Sorry we have to leave so suddenly,” he said sympathetically. “But we won’t be gone long. I promise.”

Another twinge. Hannah shut her eyes to try and ignore it, then shook her head at Hunter. “You always say that…”

Hunter gently placed his hands on her shoulders, causing her to release a sigh. “And I mean it. Just try to keep yourself occupied while we’re gone. We’ll be back before you know it.”

The twinge was sharp enough this time that Hannah actually winced. Hunter seemed to take notice of it and rubbed her shoulders reassuringly. Her pain still lingered, but the gesture definitely helped ease her somewhat, and she gave him a half smile.

“Do we hav’ta go right now?” Wrecker asked. “I hate leavin’ Hannah while she’s not feelin’ good…”

Hannah looked over at him with a touched expression. Wrecker’s empathetic nature had always been a boon for her, especially if she was struggling to express her true feelings. Omega was the same, as shown in that moment by the little girl coming up next to Hannah with a gentle smile.

“I don’t wanna leave either,” Omega started. “But Hannah will be ok. She always is.”

For whatever the reason, Omega’s words were the only ones that didn’t set off Hannah’s “warning signal”. Maybe it was because there was some truth to her words that spoke louder than any of them realized. More often than not, Hannah was always ok, even if it didn’t feel like it. 

But that was the problem.

Was she really ok if everyone she ever cared about wasn’t ok?

“We have our orders,” Hunter stated. “We may not like it, but this is our job. And we have to do it.”

Hannah’s face quickly turned down into a scowl. There he went again, talking like a soldier. Despite all of her efforts to try and erase that mentality from him, Hunter still insisted on doing things from a military perspective. Echo was the same way, unfortunately. She’d already accepted that she would most likely have to put up with that for the rest of her life. 

But it was still annoying. 

Especially in this instance. 

And especially with her twinge flaring up again.

“Why?”

Everyone’s attention was drawn to Hannah as she spoke.

“Why do you have to do it?”

Hunter gave her a look like she was asking a ridiculous question. “What?”

Hannah’s face remained in a scowl as she continued. “You don’t have to do anything. You don’t even have to take this mission if you don’t want to. Who cares?”

Hunter continued to look at Hannah questioningly, while Echo stepped a bit closer to speak. “I don’t think you realize what you’re saying, Hannah.”

“I know exactly what I’m saying!” she responded, probably a bit harsher than intended. “I’m sick of this mentality you all have about this stuff! When are you guys gonna realize that you can make your own choices about things?”

Echo was about to speak again, but was cut off by Tech. “We are well aware of that fact. However, we also cannot ignore the fact that we must continue to do certain things in order to benefit our living status. I’m certain none of us are content in this position, but it is where we are. And we must do with what we have. As we always have.”

As usual, Tech was right, but that didn’t make the situation any better. If anything, it made Hannah more upset that her family was seemingly stuck in the position they were in. And like always, she desperately wished she could do more for them.

Maybe that’s what was upsetting her the most. She felt… useless. Helpless. Lost.

Again.

“You don’t have to like it when we leave,” Hunter said, maintaining his stoic demeanor. “But like Tech said, this is where we are. And this is what we have to do.”

Hannah took a deep breath through her nose and let it out just as harshly. “Please stop saying that. You never have to do anything, Hunter. Everything you do is by choice. And I wish you would acknowledge that for once.”

Now thoroughly done with the conversation, Hannah shoved her way past the Clones and walked over to the bar. She aggressively ripped her gloves off and tossed them onto the counter before starting to angrily clean some cups.

“Ooooooh, you know she’s upset when she starts scrubbin’ the cups,” Wrecker quietly mentioned to the others, which caused Echo to sigh.

“She’s probably just still struggling from last night,” Echo replied. “It’s understandable.”

Hannah said nothing and continued to act like she was ignoring them. But there was definitely some truth to Echo’s words. Her nightmare about losing them all had to be having some effect on her behavior. That might even be the thing that was setting off her “warning signal”.

No… no it had to be more than that. But what?

“Hannah…” Omega’s soft voice caught Hannah’s attention. She turned to see the little girl standing beside her with a sympathetic look on her face. “It’s ok that you’re upset. I… I wish we could be together all the time. I really miss you when we leave. But we always come back. Right?”

Once again, her little sister’s words struck straight to Hannah’s core. In that instance, Hannah felt herself nearly crumble to her knees from the emotional weight of it all. 

Omega’s words… they were far too similar to ones she’d heard before.

Biting her lip to hold back her emotions, Hannah’s eyes drifted down to her exposed wrists. Specifically the one that carried her deceased sister’s bracelet. The thing that had been gifted to her shortly after being reassured that her sister was going to come back.

Hannah let out a shaky sigh, then quickly wiped her hands on her pants to dry them. She held her arms out and pulled Omega into a tender hug. Her hands held Omega’s head against her chest, and the little girl nuzzled into her big sister affectionately.

“Please come back,” Hannah said, her voice trembling.

“I will,” Omega replied as she gave Hannah a squeeze. “I promise.”

A big smooch was placed on top of Omega’s head, and Hannah gave the little girl one last squeeze before letting her go. Omega looked up at Hannah with the sweetest smile ever, then ran off to rejoin her brothers.

“Good luck cleanin’ your cups,” Echo teasingly said to Hannah before heading for the exit.

“And if ya get too tired,” Wrecker added as he walked off. “Don’t forget about that clanker of yours!”

Clank gave Wrecker a salute and nod of acknowledgement. “I’ll do what my master asks of me!”

Tech turned to Clank and said, “When we return, I would like to continue my attempt at upgrading your arms with armaments.”

“You mean like the B2 units?” Clank asked. “The thing Master Gildish offered to give me?”

“Indeed. Although mine would be far superior.”

“Riiiiiiight.”

Hearing that exchange got Hannah to giggle, which she sorely needed. Tech gave her a nod of acknowledgment on the way out, and she returned it.

Only one Clone remained in the parlor. He was obviously hanging back on purpose, but Hannah couldn’t bring herself to acknowledge his presence and kept her gaze away. Several seconds of awkward silence went by before he eventually approached the counter. His mere proximity immediately set off Hannah’s twinge again.

“We could sit here and argue work ethics all day, Hannah,” Hunter said in his usual stoic way. “And I wanna respect your opinions. But we have to be realistic. And the reality is…” He briefly stopped to let out a despondent sigh, breaking his stern composure. “We can’t be together all the time.”

The weight of his words were painful as is, but the pure hurt in Hunter’s voice as he admitted it made Hannah’s entire chest ache. If she could, she would’ve wrapped her arms around him and never let him go again. She would do that for all of her Clones. 

Flashes of her nightmare began to manifest in her mind. Her inability to save them from their impending doom. Like with all Clones, it felt like a fate they could never escape from. An inevitable death that was coming for them sooner than most. And Hannah was hopeless to help them. 

A twinge stronger than before hit Hannah so hard, it made her clutch the side of her head. She tried to shake it off, but a remnant of it lingered. Her face lifted to see Hunter standing at the bottom of the stairs near the doorway, looking back at her.

“We can talk more about it when I get back,” he said. “Just… take care of yourself until then.”

Hunter had a look on his face that spoke more than his words did. He was clearly trying to be positive, but his eyes held a deep somberness behind them. Like he could tell just how much Hannah was suffering. If only he knew why…

“Don’t let him go.”

The words filled Hannah’s mind so suddenly, it took her breath away.

Was… was that her own voice saying that? Or…

“Stop him.”

Hannah’s heart started racing, and she put a hand on her chest to calm it. Hunter gave her a look of concern, clearly picking up on what she was physically feeling, but she waved him off. Hopefully he would just assume it was her fatigue and nothing more.

With a clearly downcast sigh, Hunter turned to leave. And with every step he took, Hannah’s heart rate increased. Her “warning signal” was flaring more than ever before.

This was no time to be stubborn.

Right as Hunter stepped through the door, Hannah rushed from her place towards him. She nearly stumbled up the first step, and Hunter turned just in time for her to fling her arms around his waist in a tight grip.

A wistful sigh left Hunter’s nose. “Sweetheart…” 

His hands tenderly rested on her shoulders, and she held him even tighter. Though she tried to hold back her tears, small muffled sobs still escaped from her throat as her face buried into his chest. In her mind, she kept saying over and over, “please don’t go, please don’t go”, but the words never found her lips.

For whatever reason, this parting was harder than any other she’d had with Hunter in the past. Not even the ones on Hosnian Prime and Volruna were this bad. And she didn’t even know why.

Hannah suddenly felt her face cupped by two strong hands and tilted upwards. Her partner was looking down at her with the most sympathetic expression she’d ever seen him make. His thumbs gently ran across her cheeks to wipe away the tears, and he continued to tenderly hold her face as he spoke.

“It’s gonna be ok, love. I’ll come back to you soon. I promise.”

His words melted over her, and she felt a wave of ease wash through her whole system. A slight remnant of the twinge remained, but Hannah refused to give it any more power over her. She was going to take Hunter’s words to heart and believe that everything would be ok. She had to.

Face still cupped in his hands, Hannah looked up at her love with understanding and repose. Hunter gave her a warm smile and leaned down to place a kiss on her forehead. Then she gave his waist a good squeeze before slowly easing up her grip. Hunter caught one of her hands in his and held it for only a moment. He gave her one last affectionate look, then turned and began heading up the stairwell.

Hannah thought that was the end of it.

“Make him stop.”

The voice returned to her mind and made her clench her jaw tightly.

“You have to tell him. Just tell him.”

Tell him what? About the nightmare? About the twinge? Or was it about… 

Hannah’s fists clenched as tight as her jaw, and she let out all the tension with a single exhale. She went up the rest of the way into the stairwell and called out Hunter’s name to get his attention. He had just reached the top of the stairs and turned back to look at her curiously. “Yeah?” he asked.

She tried to speak. Her mouth was open and everything. But the words failed to formulate. It was like everything she wanted to say in that moment had been locked away and couldn’t be freed.

“N-Nevermind…” Hannah awkwardly looked away and clutched her hands to her chest. In her periphery, she saw Hunter giving her another concerned look, and he sighed before finally heading out of sight.

It was done.

There was nothing more she could do.

And she only hoped that she’d not just made some kind of huge mistake…

[maximuswolf]

What is your dumbest coffee story?

What is your dumbest coffee story? I'm sitting in a car rn now thinking about how crazy my caffeine withdrawals get and reminiscing about how it all started. I was never a complex coffee drinker in high-school. I would dump about half a container of creamer and apound of sugar in one of those mega sized thermos' before putting in the coffee, filling what ever room was left. Well, I went to my first college orientation with my mom l, who has a terrible case of sleep apnea. Needless to say, I suffered after a 6 hour drive, laying in a motel room with one bed, and getting up at the crack of dawn just to go listen to faux pep school spirit lectures. This was the turning point where slight coffee enjoyment would become a crippling addiction. I never had Starbucks before, but my mom who swore she was struggling as much as I was, pointed out to me that the campus had one in the lobby. I asked her what she got and she said something along the lines of a double espresso shot. I can be a very literal person, so along with naiveté, I took this as very black and white. Splitting away from my group, went up the Starbucks counter, overwhelmed at the menu because I had no idea what a venti was? Was it Spanish? Maybe Italian? Like hell would I have known. With the confidence of a cougar in a frat house, I looked a the barista and said, "I'll just get a double espresso." That confidence was shattered when the barista looked at me with confusion and said, "Is that all?" I'm sure he knew I had no idea what I was doing but just accepted that there was a lesson to be learned here today and I was gonna learn it. They served my double especially shot and I scurried out with my teenie tiny cup. There walls were glass, so I know they watched me take a sip of my tiny cup and scrooch my face in disgust. There was never something so bitter. I believe that was the day my soul died. Or maybe I sold it to the devil. But never again could I live without atleast two shots of espresso in my coffee. Once a day. Everyday. Submitted March 25, 2023 at 09:24AM by Sucrose_Peaches https://ift.tt/NbqZlAm via /r/Coffee

[deepestcollectivekitty]

Sleep & Your Eyes

Sufficient sleep rests the body and all its eye muscles in turn, so the twitching should only be short-lived.

There are rarer eye conditions that are related to sleep loss: one of those is Anterior Ischemic Optic Neuropathy (AION). Connected with people who have sleep apnea, this continued inflammation of the eye vessels could result in vision loss in time. Those severe conditions are not likely for a lot of deficient-sleep sufferers, however don't forget that consistently puffy, dry eyes after nights of tossing and turning can indicate you require to deal with the scenario.

Awareness that there is really an issue and taking the problem seriously is a great start. Obviously there are over the counter and prescription medications that can be of great advantage for the sleep-deprived, however overuse of those can create dependencies and likewise result in a quality of sleep that isn't as rejuvenating as natural sleep.

How Lack Of Sleep Can Impact Your Vision

The first indications that your eyes are reacting to sleep deprivation can occur after your very first overly short night. Signs can appear whenever you get less than five hours of sleep, as this is the minimum quantity of time your eyes need to replenish after working all the time. You will discover that you have difficulty focusing your eyes, and in some cases, you may have double vision.

They can be unpleasant for those experiencing the continuous unexpected tics. This leads to inflammation, which feels like stinging, burning and/or grittiness.

According to the AOA, an absence of sleep can trigger you to develop eye spasms. Our eye movements are managed by a few of the most active muscles in the body and demanding excessive of them can have repercussions.

Does Lack Of Sleep Affect Vision?

Bags under the eyes can reveal up when we retain excessive fluid in the location, and there seems to be a connection in between this and sleepless nights. The AOA advises getting 7 to 9 hours of sleep per night to attempt and stave off dark circles. Our eyes can handle the periodic all-nighter, but regularly failing on sleep can have long-lasting effects.

Many individuals with signs of sleep deprivation have problem falling asleep or remaining asleep. This most definitely can tax their eyes and make theirs yes red and dry due to absence of sleep. Eye allergies: Eye allergic reactions might be misdiagnosed as absence of sleep fuzzy vision, when it might be something else.

Contact lens overwear diagnosed as an absence of sleep eye pain. A number of my patients oversleep their contact lenses and are uneasy telling me because they worry that I'll get all "judgey." I won't. Let me inform you a fast story. When I remained in my early 20s, I took a trip all over Europe and used my contacts for 45 or more days without ever taking them out.

How Lack Of Enough Sleep Affects Your Eyes

That isn't excellent, however where do our eyes fit into the equation? When we get enough sleep, it's terrific for both our general health and our eye health, and we can also improve our quality of sleep by changing what we put in front of our eyes prior to we go to bed.

With time, the less sleep we get, the more most likely we are to experience eye strain, dry eye, and even eye twitches. Fortunately is that our eyes contribute in getting more and much better sleep that will help them! No matter how tech-savvy we are, we can't alter the biology of our eyes.

You might be amazed what a difference this will make for your quality of sleep in addition to your eye health! Numerous types of contemporary contact lenses are a lot more oxygen-permeable than they used to be (indicating they permit your eyes to breathe much better), however it's still much better for your eyes to take them out overnight than leave them in.

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Ways Lack Of Sleep Can Cause Vision Problems

The spasms take place as a result of your eye not being rested enough| Understood as myokymia, the spasms take place as a result of your eye not being rested enough, and the subsequent straining to focus your vision versus the twitching the next day can make it even worse. Both take place as adverse effects when your eyes aren't oiled enough.

Most importantly, you require to guarantee that your sleeping environment is giving you the very best opportunity of good quality sleep. This includes aspects such as lighting, noise levels and temperature.

People are all various when it comes to sound levels; some like total silence, while other people prefer some background sound to help them wander off. In terms of temperature level, many people sleep best when the space is between 18-20 degrees Celsius, and getting this best ensures that you're not waking up either shivering or sweating in the early hours.

How Lack Of Sleep Affects The Eyes

The blue light emitted by digital screens causes our brains to react in the very same method they would if they saw sunlight. Basically, our brains are tricked into believing that it's daytime, and therefore do not release the chemicals we require in order to feel sleepy. Preventing screens for an hour prior to bedtime and dimming the lights around your home throughout this time period must help you feel sleepier.

Everyday life can make this challenging, with various dedications on various days, but people are animals of habit. Side impacts While it is simple to assume that the only side results on your eyes from absence of sleep are cosmetic issues, there are some more major issues to look out for. Sleep deprivation may impact your look in a few methods.

A Good Night's Sleep Is Best For Your Eye Health

Sleep deprivation is not the only cause for dark circles, lots of other things add to the issue, but getting rid of sleep deprivation can affect the general appearance of your under-eye circles. Eye convulsions are another negative effects related to absence of sleep.

Dry, scratchy and bloodshot eyes can likewise be a side result of sleep deprivation and can cause pain and irritation. If your eyes are irritated and scratchy, you may be most likely to rub them, leaving you more vulnerable to eye infections.

Instead of grabbing a set of huge sunglasses to cover your under-eye circles, attempt to fight your sleep deprivation in a much healthier method: getting more sleep at night. Concealer, sunglasses and eye drops might assist for the time being, but they don't supply a lasting outcome for your total health.

How Lack Of Sleep Can Impact Your Vision

Try to go to sleep and awaken at the exact same time every day to create a schedule that your body is used to. Examine the atmosphere in your bedroom. It is suggested to keep your room dark, cool and quiet, with light-blocking drapes and a white noise device or fan.

If you're experiencing eye inflammation, redness or swelling, promptly make a consultation with your eye physician.

It needs to be kept in mind that eye issues can likewise deprive you of sleep throughout the night. Conditions such as cataracts affect the amount of light that reaches your eyes, therefore modifying sleep patterns.

Does Lack Of Sleep Affect Vision?

Failing to sleep for adequate hours can contribute to increased pressure in the eye. This is due to the fact that the eyes do not get sufficient time to rehydrate and recover.

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Your Eyes And Sleep Deprivation

Dry eyes can likewise have opposite impacts that are a risk to the health of your eyes. For example, they can trigger blurred vision and boost light sensitivity. All these put your vision at more risk while likewise making it difficult for you to run during the day. Eye spasms are another common issue brought on by insufficient sleep.

It can also be a distraction due to the fact that it makes it tough to focus during the day. The condition is typically short-term, so you do not have to stress over the possibility of long-term damage. This does not suggest that you must not get adequate sleep. Sleeping for a minimum of five hours allows all the muscles in your body to unwind, which then assists you prevent the twitching of the eyes.

The Connection Between Vision And Sleep

It is not a visual fallacy when things get fuzzy after a night or lots of nights with little sleep. You may think that you are picturing those amusing things. Being discontented and out of sorts is simply one of the outcomes that insufficient sleep patterns can bring to you.

Sleep can be problematic for your eyes along with your look, with such evidence as red bloodshot eyes and dark circles. According to the Center for Illness Control, the CDC, lots of workers in the United States are now having less than six hours of sleep a night.

Eye Health Problems Caused By Lack Of Sleep

Lack of sleep reduces oxygen that is readily available for the eyes; this causes capillary to dilate and give the appearance of being red or bloodshot. Dark circles and bags under the eye are another outcome of lack of sleep. Retention of fluid around the eyes causes the under-eye location to appear puffy.

Sleep-deprived individuals might be discontented and appear to be somewhat off. They may likewise experience a fuzzy feeling. Learning what's causing your lack of sleep and doing something to treat it is the finest step that you can take to feel much better and prevent eye issues such as those referred to here.

A Good Night's Sleep Is Best For Your Eye Health

In today's fast paced and busy world it is extremely typical to lose out on getting sufficient relaxing sleep each night. The difficulty of stabilizing proper rest with whatever else that requires to get performed in a day can be really difficult.|The obstacle of balancing appropriate rest with whatever else that requires to get done in a day can be extremely difficult.

The Association Between Dry Eye And Sleep Quality

Have you ever had one of those mystical twitches in your eye that simply won't disappear? Those eye twitches occur when you have an uncontrolled convulsion in your eyelid. These involuntary spasms are referred to as myokymia. While eye convulsions are not unpleasant and in fact do not harm your vision, they can be really aggravating and disruptive.

Do your finest to go to bed and wake up at the same time each day, even on the weekends. Having a regular schedule will assist your body manage your sleep and your energy levels. Even a small bit of light can interfere with your sleep.

If you live someplace with a lot of outdoors sound, sleep with a fan or another source of white noise in your bed room. This can help you get to sleep and reduce interruptions so you remain asleep. Keep your room cool. For the most part, individuals sleep better if the temperature is in between 65- and 68-degrees Fahrenheit.

[cherryys]

I also think that by the end of the series, Megumi won't have a technique anymore.

I don't specifically know how, maybe it has something to do with the merger and it taking Cursed Energy, but i fully believe 10S won't exist anymore. Megumi (or Sukuna) will be the last 10 Shadows User in Jujutsu History.

Why do I think that? Simple. It's a burden.

The 10 Shadows Technique has dictated Megumi's life since before he even had it, when his father sold him to the Zenin Clan because he thought he had 'potential'. (megumi and his relationship with his potential is something i could go on about forever) Yes, Gojo saves him from the Zenin Clan, but not for free. He has to work as a jujutsu sorcerer so that the school could cover their costs. This means that ever since he was young, he was used solely for his technique. Even Gojo, who had suffered the same fate before of being defined by nothing but his technique, unknowingly inflicted it onto Megumi. (Which is also a thing I could go on about forever)

Megumi never cared about Jujutsu stuff from the start. He never wanted this technique or this life but since it belongs to Gojo anyways ('technically') he has not choice but to do it.

His technique has always been actively working against him. Unlike a technique like Limitless where you could use and train it to its full capabilities without any immediate threat to your life, Megumi has to FIGHT his shikigami just so he could be able to use them, nevermind the fact he has to figure out ways to utilize them in the best way due to its multi-faceted nature, along with actively channeling his Cursed Energy through them, not to mention the fact that The 10S technique's full potential could be reached by having an insane amount of CE, something Megumi doesn't have but something Sukuna does.

His technique has caused him nothing but suffering his entire life, moreso doubled by the fact that now Sukuna took over his body just to get his hands on it, made him mentally suffer for a month, submerged him in evil, killed his sister (the reason he'd been doing all of this for) and mentor with that damned technique.

In a way, it is the curse of the zenin clan; the burden. Which is ironic considering his name.

Not to mention the fact that the continued existence of Mahoraga could cause a lot of trouble should another person inherit the 10 Shadows, especially now that the entire world has seen Mahoraga's capabilites in full, tamed and used to its fullest. Before, it was a creature no user before had tamed. Now? It's practically a God.

Gege had already set this up by decimating the entire Zenin Clan. The only Zenins alive who might be able to give birth to children with that technique are Maki and Megumi, and I highly doubt Maki would have ANY sort of desire to have kids and to pass on the 'curse' so to speak. (Also because I personally hate the "strong woman settles down and has kids" trope so let's hope gege doesn't go that route). And Megumi would also probably have no desire to have kids either. Letting the inehrited technique that has caused so much agony and even killed The Strongest Sorcerer keep continuing itd cycle is going to make things messy. A whole lot more messy.

(I also don't think anyone but the inner circles of the Zenin and Gojo clan knew about those previous users that both died because of Mahoraga before, so I don't think anyone outside knew the 10S had the power to counter a Limitless user. Gojo is the only person in the entire series that tells Megumi that the 10S could reach those heights, so it's safe to assume no one else knew 10S was that powerful. So now that that fact is known so intimately, practically broadcasted, would make the 10S 'inflate' in the Sorcery word, so to speak.)

Megumi never had a day where he could unequivocally be free of worries— worries about money when they were left alone beforw Gojo, about his comatose sister, about his progress with his technique, about his friends (specifically nobara), about yuuji and sukuna and wanting him to live, for constant threats to his life, and i think that's so deeply tragic :( he deserves to be happy for once in his life

I hope he doesn't have to use the technique anymore after the final fight. I want him to live a free life, away from Jujutsu Sorcery.

These are my current JJK predictions. I am very confident about them

[xxsycamore]

I’m dumb, I’m sorry!!! On my Theo/Isaac request, it was meant to be with a female reader/MC. Sorry for the confusion. Thank you again!!!

catherinec35 asked: May I please request Ikemen Vampire’s Isaac and Theo for prompt # 28 (both), with dialog # 30 please? I kind of see it as the wishful thinking 3rd ending to the 12 Flavors of Love event they did forever ago, if you have trouble with a starting point. Thank you so much!!

Thank you for this wonderful idea and for providing with screenshots in your original ask! ❤ I can't tell you enough how much fun I had with this request - to the point where the pre-smut part got quite long, haha! This event really was forever ago but thank god it's available on youtube so I could refresh my memory. For those of you that aren't familiar with the event - you can still read the fic just fine <3 Thank you for requesting and I'm sorry that it took me so long to finish it! I hope you enjoy ❤

—𝘚𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘚𝘩𝘰𝘸𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯!

► SYNOPSIS:

An unfortunate turn of events sees Isaac and Theo under the influence of aphrodisiac, pining for MC. They decide to settle it with a cook off. And MC wishes they'd settle it in the most straightforward way possible, instead.

▍theo x mc x isaac

▍rating: E

▍tags: Threesome - F/M/M; Aphrodisiacs; Rivalry; Bad Cooking; Some Humor; Biting; Marking; Blood Drinking; Vampire Bites; Vaginal Fingering; Spitroasting; Blow Jobs; Vaginal Sex; Dirty Talk; Praise Kink; Kissing; Making Out; Double Penetration in One Hole; Creampie; Comeplay; Come Sharing; Come Eating; Aftercare; Post-Coital Cuddling; i'm leaving it to you to decide whether they're dating or not

▍wordcount: 2,113

▍masterlist

Written as a part of VISIONS OF TEMPTATION 2021 hosted by me here.

event masterlist

DAY 28 - Spitroasting | Double penetration + “Why don’t you two settle it with a competition and I can be the judge?”

"Oh, that's right! Why don't you two settle it with a competition and I can be the judge?"

MC's eyes dart between Isaac and Theo, a rush of hope moving through her that the idea could actually save her in this situation. The situation being, having both Isaac and Theodorus under the influence of a strong aphrodisiac that was accidentally mixed in their blanc. She's had better days.

Thank God, there are angels like Vincent around when she needs it the most. The blond easily finds a solution to keep the two occupied until the aphrodisiac wears off - by suggesting they do a cook off, to see who makes the best dessert for MC.

As soon as he sees his idea flourishing in MC's favor, Vincent gives her the thumbs-up and sees himself out of the room. MC would come to regret letting him do, or at least that's what her gut feeling is telling her.

Her gut is also telling her that at least one good thing will come out of this competition, as she feels genuine excitement to see - and taste - what they come up with.

The task at hand makes a good job of keeping them occupied and MC can have a breather, with only few occasional handsy acts that she swiftly escapes from, protesting that they'd get flour all over her. It ends with her picked up and placed by Theo on the kitchen counter so she can "observe them better" and MC comes to terms with that, just for the time being…

The truth is, she would gladly get as straightforward with this as possible. They're horny. A serious competition in this state is only going to make them suffer more. And why suffer? When they can all shake their hands and fall in bed together and-

Maybe she is horny, too.

But also, well, maybe there is some comedic value to watching them do what they do. It's not everyday that she sees these two keeping themselves busy in the kitchen. A little more, yes, a little more of that won't hurt anybody. Hopefully.

Soon enough, it becomes taste-testing time. Isaac helps her off the counter (despite her assuring him that she doesn't need help with that) and pulls out a chair for her to sit. She complies quietly, all too busy eyeing the two plates in front of her. An apple pie and a pile of fluffy pancakes, their respective makers very, very easily able to tell apart.

"What are you waiting for, Hondje? Dig in."

Theo's trademark impatience plus bossiness is watered down this time by a softer tone, alluring her to cease making him wait any longer. At her other side, however, Isaac clicks his tongue as an announcement of his own patience having just snapped, as he forks a piece of his pie and lifts it towards MC's mouth. He holds her chin in place, gently.

"H-here, let me do it for you, if you're going to make me wait any longer!"

As he catches her in a gasp, the fork easily finds its way into her mouth. There is no room for scolding, because her mouth explodes with the rich flavor of the pie. A perfect crust, a soft sweet center… no, that's not it. It's simply not sweet at all. The taste is…very interesting. Not exactly salty, not the consistency she'd expect… an enigma of an apple pie. She recalls him making strict calculations of the ingredients earlier, putting in some thermal techniques that are simply ahead of their time. Their time as in, right here, 19th century Paris, but maybe, also, ahead of the 21st century culinary as well… Poor Isaac must understand that cooking is not entirely a science.

"Ah-ah! If he can do that, so can I. Open up, Hondje."

Without having time to react to the full 180-degree turn, another fork is lifted towards her mouth, and she tries eyeing Theo angrily so he can get the hint that doing that would do him no good for the competition. How is she going to judge the two deserts justly if she has them both in her mouth at the same time? This damned aphrodisiac, she swears, it has melted their brains away.

The soft, fluffy pancake adds to the flavor in her mouth, catching her closing her eyes for a second so she can savor the taste better. Similarly to Isaac's creation, it tricks her into thinking it's good at first. It lasts even less this time. Theo's sugary delight knocks out the lack of sweetness in Isaac's pie, but it does so drastically. While chewing she throws a look at the counter. The syrup bottle is half empty and she only restocked it this morning. Of course Theo drowned the pancakes in sweetness as per his own sick preferences. She should've known…

This is getting harder and harder.

After taking two or three more torturous bites of each, on their own this time and with quick cleansings of her palate inbetween, she starts to feel like a professional degustator, all eyes on her.

It's not a matter of who is better anymore. It's a matter of who is less disastrous.

Slamming her fists on the table, she lifts her head to meet their gazes and declares…

"Both! Both are good. I can't decide. It's a tie."

Shoving her face into her hands as if to hide from their gazes, MC prays they don't start arguing again. Anything but that, please, please…

"Now what, Hondje? Do we have another competition?"

He says it sarcastically, but to both their surprise Isaac steps in, catching her wrists as to make her stop hiding her face away. MC looks into his eyes that are almost pleading for her, painfully so.

"Theo, I think it's only fair we choose the competition this time."

"Hoh? That's more like it. Are you thinking the same thing as me?"

MC gulps down, gaze shifting between the two men as they smile in unison.

"Let's see which one pleasures you better in bed."

I hope Vincent doesn't ask what happened, MC thinks as she lets herself being walked backwards into bed and then put on top of the sheets. The man above her never ceases the kiss, even for a second, as layers after layers of clothing are being peeled of her.

A second after the sound of the door locking from the inside is heard, the other man joins in bed as well.

MC manages to prop herself to a sitting position despite Isaac trying to pin her down, and in that time, Theo crawls on the bed right behind her. She can feel his naked chest as her own upper half get completely stripped, and she gasps when Theo latches his mouth into her neck. He is not breaking the skin with his fangs, not yet, but MC can hear his muted needy moans.

She reaches one hand around, to wrap around Theo and urge him further, petting his head while at it.

"C'mon Theo, what are you waiting for? Take a bite."

Mimicking his bossy tone from earlier in the kitchen, MC's cunning little smile soon disappears from her lips as Theo's fangs pierce her. Pleasure start hitting her in waves, resembling a stormy ocean akin to the one in Theo's blue eyes. It's maddening.

"Y-you too, Isaac."

Extending a hand, she welcomes in her embrace the man who stood up to get rid of his clothes more effectively. In the next second, he already nips on her neck, aiming for the opposite side of where Theo still fervently sucks.

Instead of gripping the sheets - as seeing that this doesn't provide any grounding relief for the building pleasure - MC instead takes a hand from each, nails digging in them as she guides, in an attempt to make them touch her.

They don't need another push, as one's fingers quickly find her swollen clit to rub, another's prodding at her leaking opening. They work her to a fast approaching orgasm, getting her cum all over their hands on the spot as they share and snack on her blood in the meantime.

She finds herself flipped over on her belly, trembling hands and knees supported by the two as they manhandle her in the position they desire.

Although the decision who gets her mouth and who gets her pussy isn't an easy one, Theo throws in a comment of how he prefers her mouth anyway because of how well he's trained it to take his cock. MC's cheek flush red, despite the already sinful situation she's got herself in, being exposed as his little well-trained slut is embarrassing on a whole new level…

"Oh well? You have no idea just how much MC loves when I full her up with my cum…"

If Theo's words had painted her face red, then Isaac's see her paling like a ghost. He also supports his statement by thrusting his cock to the hilt inside her in a single smooth thrust.

"Ah!"

MC falls into ecstasy and with that also inlove with how things play out. She receives Isaac's delicious hot, pulsating length inside her soon enough before she resorts to begging, and thankfully without having to step in as a mediator about who should get the honor to fuck her. First.

Theo has been waiting just for a lovely gasp like that to slip his own hardness inside her mouth. A soft moan leaves his lips, as he remembers to take it easy on her, carefully tucking all the stray strands of hair behind her ears.

"Look at my good little Knabbeltje, taking it so good from both ends. Good girl."

MC swallows hard around Theo, barely sparing a thought about whether she'd somehow gotten high on the aphrodisiac coursing in their saliva earlier on. She almost refuses to believe that it all feels so good she feels herself leaking down Isaac's cock.

"I'm close."

Hearing that Theo's reaching his limit, her automatic response is to put even more effort sucking him off, but is stopped by Isaac.

"MC, Theo, wait. We…we ended up in a tie, didn't we? I thought it's only fair that we, uh, do it both inside you. O-only if you can take it, though! I mean, if you want to!"

Theo is already chuckling at her when she looks up to meet his gaze, and she answers with the same, cock withdrawn from her mouth now. The two men carefully shift her in a way she's sandwiched between their bodies again, this time with Isaac seated behind her.

"Let me take a good look at you, Hondje. Beautiful."

Shamelessly, Theo parts her labia to reveal better the place where she and Isaac are connected, glistening with her juices. He licks his lips as if making plans for later, but before MC can ask him about it, he claims her lips in a kiss.

She feels him prodding at her soon enough, going very slow, to make sure her hole is relaxed enough to accommodate his thick girth together with Isaac's. It works out just fine in the end, with many soft words exchanged and kisses rained on her shoulders, nape, cheeks, mouth.

MC wants to get taken care of like this forever; to feel so full and content, and warm from the inside… the slide is slow, and they don't reach deep in their fight for dominance, but they gradually grow accommodated to a pace. One thrusts in, the other thrusts out. They all know it's not going to last long but god does it feel heavenly while it lasts.

Hot spurts of cum fill her up and in the symphony of groans and moans she loses track of their individual orgasms, joining them as if in order to be the pit where the euphoria melts into one.

The aftercare is a bliss.

Isaac's soft caresses combined with Theo's unending string of praises, only half of them in a language she can comprehend as she lies on the cool sheets in a puddle.

Just one sensation can get pull her out of the trance…

"T-Theo! Don't you have shame??"

Lifting her head to gaze between her legs, she sees that Theo's "cleaning" is not involving the damp cloth anymore. He swirls his tongue in the hot concoction of their shared cum with no intention of leaving until he's licked it all off.

Isaac echoes MC's words, adding that even when sobered up from the 'love potion' he is the same. Theo only scoffs, flashing a devilish grin glistening with juices.

"What? You thought I only prefer my pancakes flooded with syrup?"

Taglist: @arsnovacadenza @ale-teodora @kimi00twin @otomelady @privilegedpancake @g-kleran @thehappycat123 @pumpumnnnp @thesirenwashere @theuwuisunreal @ravenarld @kyokirigiri-22 @kimmy-banana @devonares @animeworldsposts @randomanimatedhusbandoseeker @galaxyprison @trishtori @sadshaxk @starshards26 @pro-cat-stination @acethephoenix256 @ikevamp-shrine-2 @nad-zeta @crystal13unny @keen19thcenturygoatsstudent @lordsister @ikemen-banshou @themysticalbeing @canaria-blackwell @otome-scribbles @rhodolitesrose @fun-ghoul-neela @salty-fed-up-bitch @coornn @cilokgoang​ @kpop-and-otome @queen-dahlia @kisara-16 @chaosangel767 @ikemenlibrary @queengiuliettafirstlady @aurora-morning @aquagirl1978 ​ @ikemenlover24 @violettduchess @mcofthemansion @tiny-wooden-robot @joy-the-reader @atelieredux @cilokgoang Let me know if you want to be tagged/untagged!

[adoringhaikyuu]

they reject you and regret it afterwards

CHARACTERS: kuroo + iwaizumi + osamu + (gn!reader)

REQUEST: pspspsps i hope its okay if i drop my request here since i saw that yours are open :D can you maybe do how kuroo, iwaizumi and osamu rejects reader confession ( they are best friend ) because they have feelings for another person but later they regret it when they moved on? i love it when the boys realize it later how much the reader means to them but y/n took the chance to move on and have a sexy glow up ✋😩 yessss i wanna see them suffer at the end >:) • by anonymous

WARNINGS: dumb boys hurting your feelings and you hurting them right back :/

NOTES: i feel like i’m not too good at writing angst lol but i made these blurbs instead of hcs! 

kuroo let you down easy, not wanting to hurt your feelings––to be honest he did feel something for you, but he wasn’t sure if it was what you wanted it to be. he felt more certain of the feelings he had for someone else. someone you slowly watched him admire from afar until he worked up the courage to start joking with them, then offering to buy them lunch and so on. 

you still remember the awkward smile he gave you when you confessed to him, the smile that absolutely broke you because it showed you how much he didn’t want you the way you wanted him. not enough to give up his efforts with someone else. “i’m flattered y/n, but i’m sorry i just––you know i have a date this week...” 

you’d looked down immediately, unable to look him in the eyes longer and swallowed back the lump in your throat that was aching to come up in a sob. “yeah yeah, i’m sorry i just––let’s forget this ever happened, yeah?”

you gave him your most convincing smile and he agreed, wanting everything to be normal between the two of you.

but it wasn’t until he’d gone on a few dates with them to realize that it didn’t feel right. it didn’t feel familiar, the way he thought it would. it wasn’t the same comfort he felt in your presence. when they texted him, he didn’t feel the same burst of happiness he felt when you messaged him. he tried to wait it out, to see if things would change, but they didn’t. they just weren’t you.

it’d been a few weeks since you’d confessed and gotten rejected, but you decided to move on instead of dwelling on his unrequited feelings––it wouldn’t do you any good to wallow and weep over your best friend. you wanted him to be happy, and you deserved to be too. so you knocked yourself out of that sad headspace and changed yourself up a bit. you started to value yourself better than you did before, you dressed the way you wanted to but were always afraid of doing and everything about you just brightened up. and other people noticed as well. 

kuroo had kind of been too preoccupied to notice, if he was being honest. he didn’t realize what he had in front of him until he practically sprinted over to your place to surprise you and be honest about his feelings. you opened the door, already dressed up and kuroo took a step back, eyes widening as they took you in. did you always look this breathtaking?

“wow...”

you smiled gratefully, straightening out your clothes. “thanks, that’s what i was going for.” you walked back into your apartment to get your shoes, “not that i mind but what are you doing here?” 

he blinked out of his trance and stepped in, closing the door behind him. “oh i just––i brought us some food.” he raised the bag he was holding even though you weren’t facing him. “i was kinda hoping we could spend some time together...” he scratched the back of his head, “maybe talk about a few things...” he trailed off when something clicked in his head as he watched you slip your shoes on. “wait why are you all dressed up?” 

you turned and looked at him apologetically, “oh...i’m sorry kuroo,” you paused, “i actually have somewhere to be. can i take a raincheck?”

he opened his mouth for a few seconds as he watched you, but no sound came out. “oh um...well could i just––wait here? until you get back?” 

you looked to the side awkwardly bringing one hand up to hold your other arm. “it’s just that...i might not be alone when i come back.”

as soon as you uttered those words, he could feel his heartbeat falter in his chest, a faint ringing noise in his ears. 

“...a date?” 

you nodded with a smile and though it’s selfish, he felt a part of him dim on the inside when he noticed how excited you were. he didn’t really have a right to stop you now did he, not when you chose his happiness over your own what felt like way long ago. so he wouldn’t.

he nodded as well, “oh” he forced a smile onto his face and stepped back towards the door, “that’s exciting. i’m happy for you, really.” he turned the door knob, “i’ll catch up with you some other time then, yeah? you’ll tell me how it went.” he looked at you one last time, his gaze wavering under the undeterred happiness radiating from you.

when he finally stepped out and closed your door, all the emotions hit him at once. he didn’t know what hurt the most, the fact that he was too late, or the fact that you didn’t stop him, didn’t notice the pleading look in his eyes as he silently begged you to stay with him. 

iwaizumi froze when you told him how you felt. it was the smallest reaction you’d ever seen from him before, the calmest––yet it did anything but soothe you. you could see the hesitation in his eyes, the uncertainty of what to say next in the way his mouth opened but produced no sound. you already knew what he was going to say.

he will admit, seeing the tears in your eyes that you barely managed to blink back when he rejected you did strike a blow to his heart. but he just couldn’t tell you what you wanted to hear, he wouldn’t lie to you. “i––i’m sorry y/n i just...don’t feel the same.” 

his eyes were apologetic, almost pitiful as he watched you take a step back, “right, right. that’s––that’s okay.” you tried to smile but it felt more like a grimace. “i just didn’t want to keep it to myself, that’s all. i’m sure i’ll get over it soon.” he nodded but wasn’t sure what else to say. so he didn’t say anything. 

things were a little awkward for a couple weeks between the two of you, but you didn’t want to lose your friendship, so you eventually moved on. 

it wasn’t until one day you were at the café you always went to together that you noticed him taking longer than usual to bring back your drinks. you looked over to see him chatting with the barista, both of them with nervous smiles on their faces. he came back a few minutes later with a note in his pocket that you assumed was the barista’s number and a blush on his cheeks. he placed your drink in front of you, eyes looking down, and didn’t mention anything, probably since he didn’t want to rub it in, so you didn’t bring it up either. 

but you did wonder if they were the reason he didn’t feel the same for you––you wondered if they weren’t in the picture, if he would have fallen for you instead. 

he didn’t want to hide anything from you, so he told you when he had a date coming up. you wished him luck and told him you hoped he’d have a good time and that was that. 

they ended up dating but you didn’t mind. he seemed happy and you truly did want the best for him. you started focusing on yourself and eventually found a boyfriend, one who appreciated you and loved you and you couldn’t ask for more. 

iwaizumi was happy for you as well, but he couldn’t ignore this piercing feeling he felt when he first heard the news, then when he would see you two together, on your double dates, at parties, anywhere, really. something just ticked him off. he knew he didn’t have a right to feel this way, but he couldn’t help it, couldn’t make sense of it. he couldn’t even figure out what it meant. 

only once he realized the ache he felt in his chest when you smiled at your boyfriend the way you used to smile at him, the pull at his heart when you kissed his cheek, completely enamored. only then did he realize that he was jealous, that he’d made a mistake, that he’d lost the one chance he had of being with his soulmate. 

osamu had just gotten his new restaurant, he was achieving his goals, living his life without fear, and you took inspiration from that. you decided to be upfront about your brewing feelings and ask him out just as he put the finishing touches in the establishment.

he was wiping down the counter as you sat at the bar, swallowing your nerves as you watched him. “hey samu?”

he hummed and glanced up at you for a second before looking back to what he was doing. 

you took a deep breath, “would you maybe...want to go out to eat tomorrow?” 

he didn’t look up, but his brows furrowed, “yeah? why are you even asking?” 

you paused, of course he wouldn’t realize what you meant, you guys ate together all the time. you blinked a few times before clearing your throat, “um i just––i meant as a...date?” 

this time, he paused, well more like froze. he kept his eyes on the counter, his face blank, but you could tell he was internally processing everything. did he hear you right? “what?” 

you considered taking it back, but you had a feeling he did hear you, he just wasn’t sure how to respond. “um...i asked if you wanna go on a date? with me...”

he nodded and straightened up, “right.” he brought a hand up to scratch the back of his head, finally looking at you and the look in his eyes was enough to make your wavering confidence crumble. “i sort of have my eye on someone else right now...” you nodded, trying not to let the tears form in your eyes. he went on, “my new neighbor needed to borrow something and we got to talking...was thinking of asking them out, actually.” that was the final twist of the knife. 

“oh...” your voice was small ”thats––that’s great!” you smiled but kept your eyes cast down, “forget what i asked i just...wanted to see what you’d say haha,” you tried to play it off as a joke, “i got you!” 

he stared at you silently for a few seconds, clearly contemplating whether or not he believed you, but in the end, he let it go. 

you never brought up that night ever again, but you thought about it constantly. it haunted you, in a way. of course the one time you’re finally able to speak up about your feelings, it backfired. 

you were in a very upsetting and self deprecating headspace for a while, wondering if this was your sign to never make the first move, if you were the problem. it took you a little while to snap out of it, but once you did, you realized your worth and stopped looking at the world through a grey lens––you felt like you’d bloomed as a person. 

things didn’t go very far with osamu and his neighbor, but you didn’t take that as an opportunity to try again with him, you didn’t want to wait around for him, even though you thought about it for a second at first––you learned to respect yourself more. 

meanwhile, your best friend was beside himself, going through the process of reflection and realization. it’s not that he was desperate after a failed relationship, it’s more so that he suddenly realized he had someone perfect right by him all these years––it only made sense. but he was too stupid to realize that, to realize that he cared about you as more than a friend. he had foolishly mistaken his feelings for you as caring for a friend––you two had been inseparable since you were kids, he couldn’t even notice when his feelings shifted from caring for a friend to loving his best friend. 

he decided to talk to you about it, it’d only been a few months since you’d joked? about going on a date with him, but part of him felt confident that you might have meant it for real. he was sure you’d be open to it still. he called you during his break at work and found himself smiling as soon as he heard your voice. 

“hey samu what’s up?” 

he started to answer, but he trailed off when he heard you laughing at an unfamiliar voice in the background. “hey...just wanted to talk. what are you uh up to?” 

he heard you shush whoever was with you. “nothing much.” he heard you sit down.” i can’t stay for long but what did you want to talk about? i’m all ears.”

he was going to brush it off, maybe it was just a friend, but when he heard a faint ‘babe’ and what sounded like a small kiss on the other end, that was all he needed to confirm his suspicions. “yeah i just...i’ll actually call you back later, okay?”

you paused on the other end, most likely confused, but you let him go nonetheless. 

osamu sat there in his office at the back of his restaurant, surrounded by silence, complete disbelief and an indescribable ache running through his body. was he really too late? 

[daydreaming-away-reality]

Catching Stardust

Tadashi Hamada x Reader | ☁️ + ✨ | 3.9k

Most days, like any other university student, you would wake up tired. Unfortunately for you, that was not today. You had spent the entire night working on your lab report for one of your science courses and didn’t get a wink of sleep. At least it was handed in and done with.

(You had to double check - just in case your brain decided to get desperate and help you imagine the best case scenarios. Thinking and doing were two very different things, they were hard to tell apart when you were so dead tired though.)

It was one of those days.

“Morning, Honey Lemon,” you greeted as you navigated your way into the kitchen for some caffeine. Grabbing your travel coffee tumbler, you watched your blonde roommate in her morning stretching routine.

“Good morning, (Y/N)!” Honey cheerfully replied. “How was not sleeping last night?”

You halted your movements, looking up at her with concern. “Can you tell just by looking at me?”

Honey Lemon laughed. “No, silly. GoGo came home late last night and saw you up. I heard you shuffling around earlier this morning too. No raccoon eyes, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“Thank goodness,” you said with a sigh as you continued pouring liquid energy into your tumbler. “This bio course is going to be the death of me.”

“You mean working two part time jobs will be the death of you,” GoGo corrected you as she walked out of her room. “Girl, you need time to have fun too.”

You stuck your tongue out at her. Rummaging through backpack, you noticed a missing tome of knowledge. “Has anyone seen my Medical Terms bible?”

“Coffee table.” Honey called out from the living room as she held the tree pose.

GoGo walked over to you with the heavy book in hand. You mouthed a thank you to her before taking a sip of coffee.

“(Y/N), you need to take some time to make some more friends or meet a cute boy,” Honey Lemon brought up. She exchanged a look with GoGo. “We know someone who you might like. He’s nice and funny, good looking as well.”

You gave your two roommates a sad smile. “By the time I’m ready for a relationship, a boy like that will already be snatched up by someone less stressed about their future.”

Grabbing your premade meals and a couple of snacks, you swung your backpack on.

“I work bookstore and pharmacy today, so I’ll see you both tomorrow morning. Good luck with your projects in the meantime.”

“Bye, (Y/N)!” Honey called out.

“Keep the luck, you need it more than we do,” GoGo said with salute.

Walking out of the apartment, you checked your phone for your schedule once more. Class at nine, bookstore at two and pharmacy at six. And it was already eight thirty, yay. Just your typical jam packed day, all so that you could pay off medical school tuition in the future.

Balancing everything in life was... impossible, but you were managing. 

Full course load university student, working two part time jobs, and a very minimal but still existent social life.

It wasn’t easy, but it was what you wanted. Going to med school was a necessary path to take if you wanted to help people out in your future career choice.

Just as you were arriving on campus, a voice caught your attention.

“(Y/N)…!”

You turned to see your friend Mina, another sufferer pre-med student.

“Hi Mina,” you greeted.

“Did you sleep last night?” she asked. When you shook your head, she let out a loud sigh. “Yeah, me too. Dr. Andrews is going to kill us with these lab reports and the test Thursday. I mean, I’d feel smarter if I weren’t so tired all the time.” 

You smiled. What a mood.

“Is my make up, okay?” Mina asked. “I don’t want Justin to see me at my worse - not yet.”

You glanced over Mina’s face. She had gone through the usual effort to make herself look cute. “You look fine and I’m sure Justin wouldn’t be scared off. He knows we’re med students.”

Mina made a face. “We’ve only been a dating for two months, (Y/N), two! He doesn’t know what kind of crazy we are yet. You never know when he might get skittish and ghost me.”

If you weren’t so tired, you would have laughed. 

Linking arms with Mina, you pulled her towards the classroom. 

Today was going to be just another day.

Tadashi checked over the information on his phone as he walked off campus towards the bookstore. He had been looking up information to help his robotics project and a certain book had come up in his recommendations. Deciding that the resource was worth checking out, and was worth the price, he was determined to get his hands on the book while his robot was still in the works.

Walking through the doors, he made his way to the medical section. Browsing the shelves, he kept an eye out for the particular title.

After circling the area for a while, he let out a huff. Where was this textbook?

Noticing a girl wearing a name tag, he approached her with smile.

“Hi, I was wondering if you could help me?”

She turned to him with a smile, (E/C) eyes making contact with his brown orbs.

“Of course, are you looking for something?”

Tadashi nodded, pulling out his phone and showing her the textbook information.

"Ahhh, this one. That’s a popular book with the first year pre-med student courses,” she commented. “Everyone always asks where this one is - we organize this one by title since there’s no author.”

Leading him back into the medical section, the girl stopped in an area of the bookstore that Tadashi had missed earlier. She tapped the spine of one of the books.

“This one is good resource for in depth procedural explanations,” she explained. “Not what you were looking for though...”

Scanning the shelves, the girl paused and frowned when she stopped a particular spot. 

“Is it out of stock?” she murmured, checking again. “For a textbook no one appreciates until third year, I’d be surprised if it’s sold out...” She turned back to Tadashi with an apologetic smile. “I’ll check if we have the book in stock - give me a second.”

Pulling out her phone, she typed up some information quickly. The results of her searching seemed to yield the same results.

“It looks like we’re actually out of stock for this textbook right now, although, we are restocking it,” she explained. “Would you like to request a reserve to get a copy?”

“That would be helpful, sure,” Tadashi agreed. 

“Great, let’s go fill out a form for you,” she chirped, leading him away. “Are you a med student?”

“No, I’m a robotics engineering student at SFIT,” he replied. “I’m working on something related to the medical field though.”

“Really? That’s so cool,” she exclaimed, looking genuinely interested. “It’s amazing to think how technology can incorporated into health sciences. If you don’t mind me asking, what are you working on?”

“A healthcare robot,” Tadashi explained with a fond smile. “It’s still in the works, nothing has been finished yet, I’m still working on the programming stages.”

“I think that’s incredible. I’m sure you’re capable of amazing things.”

The sincerity in her tone brought a smile to his face. For someone who didn’t know much about his project, the kind words from her were very nice.

“What about you?” Tadashi asked. “Are you a student?”

“Yeah, over at Sato Health Institute,” she responded. Sato was the top post secondary institution for health care in San Fransokyo located nearby - it even shared some programs with SFIT as Tadashi recalled. “I’m a pre-med student - if you hadn’t already guessed.”

“I might have had a feeling,” Tadashi said with a grin. “You seemed like you were familiar with things firsthand.”

The girl laughed. “Lots of firsthand experience, trust me.”

Approaching the help desk, the girl popped around to grab a paper and pen. Scrawling down information onto the page first, she then slid the paper over to Tadashi across the counter.

“Just fill out the rest of the form and the textbook should be arriving in the next three days.” 

Tadashi looked up from filling in the form, brown eyes flicking over to her name tag. “Thank you so much, (Y/N).”

“You’re welcome,” she replied. She took a sip from her coffee tumbler. Grabbing a sticky note, she offered it over to Tadashi. “If you’d like, leave your number and I’ll text you when it arrives - I’ll be working that day. I promise to use your number for professional reasons only.”

“I’d appreciate that,” Tadashi said as he wrote his number down. As he finished his form, he noticed a large medical terms textbook behind the counter on the desk next to the computer with a ton of sticky notes sticking out. “Is that yours?”

“That’s my current bible,” she affirmed with an amused tone. “Can’t survive without it.”

The two of them shared a laugh.

“Thanks again for your help.” Tadashi repeated as he returned the form.

“Just doing my job, don’t worry about it! It was great meeting you...” Her (E/C) eyes flickered down to the form and smile appeared on her face. “...Tadashi.”

As Tadashi left the bookstore, part of him was still lingering behind, thinking about (Y/N). She seemed like a nice girl and he really hoped that they might have another chance to encounter her again.

You fumbled with the door before pushing it open, popping back into the dark apartment. Hitting the light switch, you took off your shoes and checked for signs of your roommates.

Looks like Honey Lemon and GoGo were still out.

No surprise.

The three of you were always busy, whether the other two liked to admit it or not. 

Just as you were sorting things out in the kitchen and about to grab a snack, your phone buzzed.

Mina: OMG. Did you see Terry’s SNS profile update? 🤣🤣

(Y/N): What did he do this time? Do I want to know??

Mina: He put MD CANDIDATE. The AUDACITY of this man - I got a C+ working with partner project with him. My poor GPA... 😭

(Y/N): I mean...

Mina: DON’T

(Y/N): Cs get degrees 😂

Mina: RIP me. Seriously though, are you free to study for that bio test? 

(Y/N): let me grab my snack first, I’ll see you video chat

Mina: True MD candidate here

(Y/N): HA 

Letting out a sigh, you swiped a snack from the cupboard before heading back to your room. Fingers crossed you would get some sleep tonight.

“Oh, finally!”

Tadashi wiped his hands off with a rag and turned to look at Fred. Wasabi and GoGo were also looking at the beanie wearing boy, but neither of them decided to engage.

“Something up?” Tadashi asked, speaking up.

“The comic bookstore said they were out of that new series I was telling you guys about the other day,” Fred explained. “I refused to go to Richardson’s place, so apparently, they reached out to the nearby bookstore and they have a copy! I got to go pick it up.”

“The one near campus?”

“Yup.”

Tadashi paused, thinking for a moment before making his decision. 

“I’ll come with you.”

“Let’s go then, man!”

Catching up with Fred about the current condition of Baymax, the two soon arrived at the bookstore. Fred immediately beelined towards the help desk with Tadashi trailing behind him.

Just as Tadashi anticipated, a familiar face was working at the desk. This time though, (Y/N) was fairly concentrated on the stack of flashcards piled on her space next to textbooks filled with sticky notes.

“Uh, excuse me,” Fred said, practically bouncing on his toes.

That was enough to jolt her out of her studying. Shoving away her flashcards, she offered Fred a smile. “Yes?”

“I believe someone called about -”

“Oh! I know what you’re here for,” (Y/N) said, jumping up. She got up and skimmed over the bookshelf behind the counter. “Ah, here it is. Fred, right?”

At the sight of his new comic, Fred nodded happily. He quickly accepted it from you. “Is there a comic book section?”

(Y/N) nodded. “Just straight that way, it’s not a big collection, but you might find something.”

“Alright, thanks!” 

Fred turned to see Tadashi lingering around. “You coming, Tadashi?”

“There’s something I want to check out, I’ll catch up in a bit,” the black haired male responded.

As Fred disappeared, the girl turned her attention over to Tadashi. 

“I didn’t think I would see you again so soon,” she commented. “The book is not in yet, sorry.”

Tadashi smiled. “That’s fine. I see you’re here often.” 

“Yeah, when I’m not busy with classes or my other job, here I am.”

The words piqued your interest. “Other job?”

“I also work at a pharmacy,” (Y/N) explained.

“Ahh. You must be a busy person,” Tadashi said. He tilted his head towards your desk. “Studying too?”

She flushed. “Yeah. Only because today’s pretty quiet - my manager doesn’t mind as long as I’m work as I’m needed. There’s a test coming up.”

“Good luck, I think you need it.”

“I do. Thank you.”

Tadashi watched as (Y/N) moved back to sitting at the desk. As she picked up her flashcards, she looked up at Tadashi.

“How’s the healthcare robot going? Any progress in the last 24 hours?”

“Baymax finally had some supply come in for assembling,” he responded. “So, just a little bit.”

“Baymax?” she repeated confused. “Oh. Is that their name?”

Tadashi nodded.

“Baymax… I like it, sounds friendly.”

“I should probably let you get back to studying,” Tadashi commented, rubbing the back of his neck. “Sorry for bothering you.”

“Not at all, I’m happy to chat with you.”

- Wednesday. 6PM. -  

Honey: (Y/N)?

(Y/N): What’s up, Honey Lemon?

Honey: I heard the pre-med students plan on throwing a party this weekend? 

Honey: Are you going?

(Y/N): Nah, I think I have work.

GoGo: You always work.

(Y/N): Huh, I never noticed.

(Y/N): Anyways, parties are not my scene. I’d be happy spending a free evening at home instead.

GoGo: Mina says she’ll miss you.

(Y/N): She’ll have Justin, she’ll be okay

Honey: Well, if you ever decide to go, we know a boy you can take with you.

(Y/N): Thanks, but I’ll pass. 🥰

- Thursday. 5PM. -

Unknown: Hi Tadashi. The textbook you wanted finally came in! Feel free to drop by anytime to come pick it up.

Tadashi: Alright, thanks (Y/N)!

Unknown: Yep, no prob!

Tadashi: Hey, is this your personal number?

Unknown: yeah 😊

(Y/N) has been added to contacts.

Tadashi: Hope you don’t mind if I contact you like in the future. 😊

(Y/N): Oh, I wouldn’t mind at all!

“Tadashi, hi,” you greeted, waving as the boy came into your line of sight. With a baseball cap on his head today, you almost mistaken him for someone else. Pulling out the textbook, you handed it over to him. “Here you go! You weren’t the only one trying to get your hands on this textbook today.”

Tadashi peered at you curiously as he accepted the textbook. 

“You look tired,” he pointed out.

You just shrugged with a half smile. “The bio test was today - that was gruesome.”

“At least that’s done with,” he encouraged you. “Week’s almost over, too.”

“Best part is I’m off in five,” you agreed.

 You could see your words caught Tadashi’s interest. 

“Are... are you still working after?” 

Shaking your head, you leaned back against the counter. “Nope, told them I was busy today so no shifts at the pharmacy tonight.”

“Would you like to go out with me then?” Tadashi asked hopefully. “We can hit up a café and grab something to eat?”

Good thing you were leaning against the counter, because the surprise you felt would have toppled you over.

“Oh, um, sure!” you agreed, cheeks heating up a little. “I’ll meet you outside in five?”

“Sounds good.”

- Friday. 9AM. -

Tadashi: I enjoyed my time with you yesterday. 

(Y/N): I enjoyed my time too! Although the cookies there were kind of hard... 😢

Tadashi: Yeah... I find us somewhere with nice cookies next time.

(Y/N): Just a warning, next time might be a while. My schedule is usually full.

Tadashi: That’s fine!! If you ever find yourself with free time, let me know, I’d like to spend it with you.

(Y/N): 🥰

(Y/N): You’re too sweet, Tadashi. 

(Y/N): How are you single??

Tadashi: Haha, I could ask you the same thing. Probably the same reasons as you though. I’m usually too focused with what’s in front of me.

Tadashi: Hope to see you around though.

(Y/N): me too

- Some Tuesday. 8PM. -

“And your total is 18.95,” you said, pressing buttons on the register to confirm the amount. The customer tapped their card for the purchase before taking their bags. “I hope you feel better!”

“Thank you,” the customer responded as they left. 

You waited until they had gone completely before heading back to find your manager. Spotting one of older pharmacy students, you decided to talk to them instead.

“Hi,” you greeted.

“(Y/N), need any drugs?” Harper asked with a smile.

“I’ll take them all,” you joked. “Let Aria know I left if you see her for me?”

“Yeah, go. You’re free,” she ushered, waving you away.

As you pulled on your jacket and stepped out of the pharmacy, a figure caught you by surprise.

“Tadashi!��� you exclaimed. 

“Surprised?” he asked. “Thought I’d walk you home, not safe for you to walk the street alone at night.”

“I do it frequent enough,” you countered with a smile.

“Ooh, risk taker,” Tadashi said.

You laughed. “I appreciate this though, thanks.”

Tadashi nodded. As the two of you were catching up each other on what happened throughout the day, you felt Tadashi slip his hand into yours. Fingers intertwined, you could feel your heart racing.

This was something you didn’t want to let go of.

- Some Monday. 2PM. -

GoGo: Yo, Tadashi

GoGo: Fred wants to know when you’ll be back with the snacks.

Tadashi: Just stepped back on campus. 

GoGo: Took you a while.

GoGo: You seeing someone behind our back?

Tadashi: Ha. Does Baymax count?

- A couple weeks later. Friday. 10AM. -

“Someone looks cute today,” Mina commented as you sat down next to her in the lecture hall. She eyed you up and down, nodding approvingly. “Not working today?”

“Yeah,” you replied. “My rare day off besides class. Thought I’d put a little more effort in today.”

“Well, you look adorable,” Mina confirmed. She let out a sigh when she saw the professor walk in. “Let’s see if we can survive these next two hours.”

“Challenge accepted,” you said, bumping her shoulder playfully. “Although, I might lose you halfway.”

Mina gasped and smacked your arm.

You laughed as you pulled your laptop. Although the two hours went by at a decent pace, you were glad the course was three quarters way through. 

At the brutal pace your professor went, there was nothing but review for the few weeks before final exams. It was nice to know you didn’t have to teach yourself an entire unit in a week before your final.

Bidding Mina goodbye, you weaved your way out of the lecture hall and out into campus. At this point, most groups of students you saw hanging around were study groups. You would have been like them too, if you hadn’t worked so hard to make things work.

Balancing two part time jobs along with classes had you putting in so much extra effort that it usually paid off in the long run.

Yay.

Navigating your way through the streets with the GPS app open on your phone, you soon spotted the campus you were looking for.

SFIT.

(Abbreviated, because thinking through what each letter stood for was too much effort.)

Slowly wandering around as you pulled up the campus directory, your eyes glimmered when you spotted the building you were looking for. Popping inside, you clutched onto your bag, peering around curiously. There was so much science happening in this space. 

Lots of creativity too, you wondered why their tradition was to prank the art school.

Poking around, you soon realized you were lost among the many rooms and labs. Your mission was a failure. Pouting, you pulled your phone.

(Y/N): Help me, I’m lost.

Tadashi: What do you mean?

(Y/N): I wandered into the lab building and was going to surprise you with a visit, but I don’t know where to find you. 🙁

(Y/N): I didn’t think this through...

Tadashi: Awwww

Tadashi: What room number do you see? I’ll find you.

(Y/N): Lab 2B

Tadashi: omw

As you awkwardly waited for Tadashi to show up, you tried not to look suspicious. Although admittedly, you were sure you looked suspicious regardless since you were lost.

“There you are,” the soft yet deep voice greeted from behind you.

Turning around to see Tadashi, you smiled. 

“Sorry for the trouble,” you apologized. 

“Not at all.” Tadashi shook his head. He took a moment to take you in. Within his eyes, you were absolutely beautiful. He didn’t want to mess up, so he kept it to himself. He’d voice his thoughts one day. “Welcome to Nerd Lab, by the way.”

So this was where Tadashi, your roommates, and their friends all spent their long hours working.

Tadashi took your hand. “Come on, I want to show you my lab.”

Following after Tadashi, the two of you entered the elevator behind arriving on the floor of his personal lab space. He opened a door, showing you his tidy space.

“Baymax won’t be in the works for a while, but here,” he pulled out several large blueprints. The image of an almost plush like character was found in the middle. “This is going to be Baymax.”

In awe of all the labelled details and planning in place, you looked up at Tadashi.

“This is incredible,” you breathed out. “You’re incredible too.”

Tadashi dipped his head down and captured your lips for a kiss. 

Before he had the opportunity to pull back too far, you went in and gave him a quick peck as well.

Although the two of you were flushed, the loving gaze you could see in Tadashi’s eyes made you feel hopeful about this relationship.

“Can I see the medical programming?” you asked, breaking the silence.

Tadashi shyly nodded. “All the computer.” 

- Later. -

(Y/N): Do you think we should let our friends know?

Tadashi: Nah, they’ll catch on eventually.

(Y/N): But if they don’t should I just accept their blind date request?

Tadashi: WHAT?

(Y/N): 😂

(Y/N): I asked for more details one time.

(Y/N): He’s this handsome robotics engineering student, who nice and has a good sense of humor. Apparently he’s very dedicated to his work too.

Tadashi: …

Tadashi: They’ve tried to set me up with their friend as well. 

(Y/N): Hmm, maybe we were meant to be after all

Tadashi: I think so. 😀

(Y/N): 😘

[sluttbuttsstuff]

For the prompts, 49 with doppio? >:3 Idk what it is about him I just look at him and think “oh you’re NEEDY needy, huh?”. Thank you so much, you’re a really good writer! :)

No problem buddy, thanks for the request! >:3

Warnings: not sfw, dubcon/noncon, abduction, dark themes, yandere, etc.

Also, my requests are still open, if anyone else is interested!

Enjoy!

Yandere prompt with Doppio, “You want me to fuck you…? Would that make you happy? Would it make you love me?” afab reader, dub/non con

All you wanted to do now was go home. You had had a long week at work, your parents were nagging you again, and to make things worse you had a headache that would not go away. After an exhausting day that began before the sun was out, and ended after the sun had set, you certainly deserved to do nothing more than go home, eat some junk food in your comfy pjs, listen to a podcast while you took a bath and pampered yourself, and maybe jerk off before bed. Unfortunately, you had a “girls night” tonight.

Your friends (your IRL friends at least) complained that you never went out with them anymore (nevermind that whenever you suggested doing something with them, or wanted to chat or text on the phone they were busy) and had forced you to go clubbing with them to celebrate the three-day weekend ahead. You weren’t much of a drinker, and really weren’t much of a dancer, so you had been given the purses to hold while you waited for them to be ready to go home.

You wrinkled your nose in frustration, glaring into the blurry screen of your phone looking at the late time: this was unfair. You were a hard worker, kind to a fault to those around you, and you deserved better than this. Sitting in a corner of a crowded club, everyone in the place having a great time except for you, tired and alone. At least in your apartment, you chose to be there, and at least no one actively ignored you: places like this just pointed out the flaws you hated about yourself more: you were bad with people, and easy to ignore.

Once one of your “friends” stumbled over to the group’s table, you left them with everyone's purse, mumbling you were going to the bathroom (you didn’t know if she heard you and you didn’t care) and left before anyone could stop you. You stumbled your way to the restroom in heels way too high for you to walk in, trying to clean yourself up and find a quiet place to text your goodbyes so your friends wouldn’t worry about your sudden disappearance. Leaning over the sink counter, you wiped a makeup smear off the corner of your lips, noticing a second too late someone behind you.

“Hey, there’s another sink-” You began to say to the blurred figure way too close to you, before a sudden eruption of pain hit the side of your head, and you were out in a flash…

The next time you regained consciousness was several hours later, but it was still dark when you opened your eyes, trying to remember what happened and where in the world you were. The stale cigarette smell, the unreasonably cold ac, the bedsheets starched so strongly that the sheets felt like plastic- this was definitely a motel. But where, and how long had you been here? As you began to sit up, you heard a surprised, timid voice.

“Oh, thank goodness! You’re awake, I was beginning to worry about you! Hold on, don’t move so suddenly, i’ll help you sit up.

Sure enough, as you started moving, your head lit up with painful throbbing that made last night’s headache seem like nothing in comparison. You grit your teeth and clenched your eyes shut, trying not to groan in pain.

“What the hell happened to me last night?” you grunted through your teeth, rubbing your temple as gentle hands helped slowly sit you up propped against cushions.

“Haha, you had a lot of bad luck last night, running into my boss. He was waiting for...an employee in the restroom and thought you were sent after him. He’s a bit paranoid, and he may have...accidentally clobbered you.” The voice apologized, gentle as he handed you what felt like a glass of water.

You forced yourself to open your eyes; it was still dark, but you could tell it wasn’t because of the time of day but rather a lack of light and closed curtains. You looked at..you looked at the person in front of you. Like whoever had attacked you last night, they had long pink hair, braided and side parted. Their eyes were green and wide, and they looked particularly juvenile with a crop top and freckles. They were on the smaller side, perhaps even shorter than you (hard to tell from while on the bed) and their eyes were crinkled in apprehension, like he was afraid you were going to hurt him.

“Erm, don’t worry though, I talked him out of doing anything too..extreme, after all I'm his right hand man! Besides, you seem like a perfectly nice person, I'd hate to see anything bad happen to you. Sorry, I'm rambling! Umm, do you want something for your headache? You were groaning in your sleep, I'm sure it doesn’t feel so good right now-” He went on and on, pulling out some painkillers to take with your water.

After thanking him, you were about to swallow the pill before pausing, looking at the strange man who’d taken you to a remote hotel after his boss had nearly killed you. Sensing your suspicion, doppio exclaimed, “Oh, don’t worry, they’re safe, name brand painkillers! Um, hold on, lemme just-” And he made a show of popping some of the pills you were holding into his mouth and swallowing, sticking out his tongue and opening his mouth to show you he’d ingested it.

Satisfied, and more importantly in a lot of pain, you took some of the pills yourself, much to the relief of the pink haired man.

“Oh good, thank you for doing that! I was so worried watching you asleep, you’ll feel much better now! By the way, my name’s Doppio, it’s a pleasure to meet you! Oh! And I know your name’s y/n because you had your purse and ID on you! Haha, sorry for going through your purse, I was just hoping to find any info on you that might be, you know, important.” he sat on the bed, scooching closer and closer to you.

You cleared your throat, unsure of what to say, and the watchful eyes of Doppio doing nothing to make you feel better.

“Well, um, thank you, Doppio. I appreciate you, um, saving me? Sorry for any inconvenience, I'll just, um-” You try to get up to leave, only for Doppio to place a hand over your leg.

“Don’t go! What, I mean, what if you hurt yourself? You probably have a concussion, and also you haven’t had breakfast? We could eat together and-” Doppio stammered, grabbing your hand and stroking it with his sweaty, cold fingers.

You had to stop him, before things got out of hand.

“Thank you, Doppio, it really was very sweet of you to take such good care of me, but I-”

“Please! You don’t understand, I mean-” Doppio fumbled with his words, clearly trying to make you stay at all costs.

“Doppio, i can’t stay here forever, i need to go home. My friends are probably worried about me by now.” You tried to press on, you didn’t want to upset the man with a powerful boss, but you felt increasingly claustrophobic with Doppio pawing at you.

“You mean those mean girls who left you with their purses all night? Why would you care about what they-” Doppio covered his mouth with both hands quickly, realizing what he just said.

Your blood ran ice cold; how did he know so much about them? Had he been watching you before the “incident”

Using his moment of weakness, you got up from the bed and tried to reach the door; it was time for you to go home, if not call the cops.

Doppio yelped, Throwing himself in front of the door before you could make your escape.

“Please, don’t be scared y/n! I didn’t mean to upset you, I only meant that I can treat you much better than your friends can. I mean, look at how good I've been for you so far?? I didn’t make you dance with me at the club, even though I really wanted to. I didn’t just have my fun against your will in the bathroom stall like the boss told me to do.I saved you from a concussion, or worse! I got you your own hotel room for the night, and didn’t take advantage of you or touch you while you were asleep! I want our first time to be special, after all! Isn’t that what you want?” Doppio pleaded, eyes wild as he tried to smile, trying to calm you.

You were anything but calm however, this guy was clearly obsessed with you, and had been for longer than just one night. Even if at first he had merely seemed like a pathetic “nice guy” you no longer had any pity or time to give him.

“Doppio, get away from the door and let me leave, now.” you demanded in your best authoritative voice. Doppio whimpered, this wasn’t how this was supposed to go at all, you were supposed to love him!

“You can’t! Boss and I won’t let you!” He cried, covering the door with his body. With no other choice, you slid out of your shoes and charged at him full speed. You managed to give him a good blow on the head, and threw him out of the way of the door. He cried, crumpled on the ground. If not for the fact that he had kidnapped you, you might have felt bad for hurting him like this, but you had to think of yourself at this moment.

As you finally unlock and pull open the door, heading towards freedom, you hear the strangest noise behind you.

“RingRingRingRingRing!” Doppio calls after you, in an unnatural, high pitched tone. You try to ignore it, you literally don’t have time for this, but with strength he had not previously displayed, Doppio grabs one of your arms, twisting it behind your back and up to his ear, holding it like a telephone.

There’s a trickle of blood, and one of his eyes is rolled back in its socket, but he calmly says, “Hello, this is Doppio,” Into your hand, as if he was having a normal conversation on the phone.

You scream out, doubled over by the pain in your arm, Doppio silent as he “listens” to his “Phonecall” oblivious to your suffering. Where did all this power come from? He was acting like an entirely different person, and frankly scaring you. Doppio nodded, pulling your hand closer into his ear and intently listening to nothing but air before “Hanging up and pulling you back into the motel room.

He threw you on the bed ( his arms felt much stronger, and more muscular for some reason) before crawling on top of you and pinning you down. You were too stunned, and frankly too scared, to come up with any means of escape, just weakly struggling to throw him off of you to no avail.

“Doppio, please-” You whispered, eyes blurry with tears.

“I talked to the boss, and he helped me figure out what to do. He wants our relationship to succeed after all!” Doppio exclaimed, additude reverted to how he’d first spoken to you. You were confused, you’d neither seen nor heard anyone in or around the room, who was he talking to and how?

“Boss told me that people like you need some discipline in order to be obedient, or you’ll walk all over me. If I can do that, then I can make you love me, and we’ll be happy together, isn’t that what you want?” Doppio told you, stroking your cheek.

“This is not okay, Doppio!” you yell, thrashing against both arms, “Let me go or i’ll-”

...

Wait a minute, both arms?

Then how was he…?

You look over to one side in shock, only to see a floating metallic and red arm holding you down, one on either side. You screamed, overwhelmed by a stalker and strange supernatural forces you couldn’t understand.

“Oh, you can see King Crimson's arms? Interesting, perhaps because of your near death experience with Boss, you can see stands now? Although, it would be bad if you developed a stand, what to do?...” Doppio pondered to himself, speaking apparent babble.

You cried, trying to wake up from this obvious nightmare with no luck.

“Awww, hey y/n, it’s okay, i’m not gonna hurt you! Not if you be good for me and Boss.” Doppio cooed, kissing your cheeks and forehead. “I talked boss into keeping you with us- you’re always so lonely at home, and never have a good time with others, right? You don’t have to lie anymore, I've been watching you for a while. Nobody else seems to, though, they’re too self-absorbed and stupid to realize how incredible you are!” He continued, oblivious to his words not helping, but hurting you.

“You’re perfect for me and boss, we can take really good care of you. Forget this lousy motel, we have mansions and villas all over Italy that we can take holidays to. We have billions of Lira from work, you’ll never have to lift another finger and we’ll pamper you to death. And best of all? You’ll never have to see your awful friends or family again! Isn’t it awful how they treat you? We can get rid of them, so they can’t hurt you!” He finishes, grinning ear to ear, but his eyes hollow and lifeless, staring unblinkingly into yours.

This guy was sick, there was no other word to it. You might have had issues with your family, and yeah your friends could be assholes sometimes, but you didn’t want them killed! What good would that do you, or anyone for that matter?!

Doppio seemed to read your thoughts, “Look, I know it's a lot to take in at once, but trust me. Boss and I have planned this out for a while now, and we’re always going to do what’s best for us, ok? So don’t worry so much, and please stop struggling? Boss warned me if you got too unruly he’d take over and finish what he started last night.

A wave of nausea slithered through you as you remembered, thinking how close you were to dying. You gave up, lying limp on the bed, praying for this to end.

Doppio smiled again, this one almost seeming genuine, and gave you the softest kiss to your lips. It was childish, almost, and he clearly lacked experience, but he gained more confidence from your lack of struggling. With the mysterious hands holding you (stands? King crimson?) his own hands were free to touch you. He started With your cheeks, your face, your hair, your neck, stroking you with feather-light touches, his fingers tracing each curve, digit and flaw like he was trying to memorize it all.

“Finally… I finally get to touch you like this… I’ve been waiting for so long, y/n. Do you know how long I've wanted to hold you?” He whispered, wrapping his arms around your neck, cradling your cheek to his. You didn’t know, and you didn’t want to, but Doppio told you anyway.

“I’ve been watching, waiting...for so long. Following you home from work, listening into your calls, finding your online accounts. I’ve known since I first saw you that you were the one for me, and now I get to prove it to you. I get to show you all the things I've been meaning to do to you. You’ll never be lonely again, not with me around. We’ll never be lonely~”

He giggled the last part, giddy with excitement, as he slid his fingers down your ribcage, your sides, fiddling with the bottom of your shirt. You wriggled, trying to fight him off again, only to your dismay Doppio giggled even harder at your reactions-perhaps because he knew you could never overpower him.

“Ohhh~ still so shy? Don’t be so uptight, y/n, you need to live a little! I know how much you want this; you complain about it all the time on your personal blog-” You could feel the blush on your cheeks heating up your face, desperate to make him shut up, “ How you want someone to have their way with you, to make you forget everything else in life. You’re desperate for someone to truly cherish and understand you; mentally and physically. You want me to love you? You want me to fuck you…? Would that make you happy? Would it make you love me?” Doppio rambled on and on, ripping your shirt off with strength he hadn’t had before.

You yelped, goosebumps forming on your skin as Doppio cackled, rubbing his face on your stomach, and into your cleavage poking out from your bra.

“Yes, let go for me! Show me every emotion, everything you’ve been holding back from me for so long- i need it, I demand it!” He snarled, splitting your nicest bra in half, and biting down on your neck, hard.

You screamed, legs kicking uselessly as the pain blurred your mind and you were operating purely on instinct. Doppio didn’t seem bothered in the least by it, you could still feel his laughter against your sore neck, as he sucked down on it, trying to bruise and mark you. His hands couldn’t help but find their way to your breasts, toying with them and squeezing them with admittedly little expertise. But he was a quick learner, making note of each little gasp and twitch according to how he touched you, and improving his technique from there. He twisted your nipples a bit roughly, already hard from the chilly air and sensitive to touch- you couldn’t help but moan a little in satisfaction. It had been awhile.

Doppio’s moans echoed yours, as he kissed his way down the crevice of your breasts, and licked each nipple in turn. You squirmed, not in fear or anger but pleasure, angry at yourself for letting this strange man win your body over so easily. Doppio kept his eyes on you at all times, studying your face to see how you felt. He’d had to watch you for so long from so far away, alone in your bedroom, or so you thought… it was time to use the knowledge he’d gained to make your body crazy for him.

You jumped at Doppio’s hands, cupping your groin through your pants, trying not to buck into his hands . It was getting harder and harder to deny him, though, why couldn’t you just-?

Doppio pulled your pants down to your ankles, taking your panties with it. He groaned audibly at the sight- your pussy was so wet and dripping, there was still a trail connected to your underwear.

“No, don’t-” You cried, snapping your legs shut, visibly scared at what was taking place again. Doppio was losing patience, crouching down and prying your legs open,

“Stop fighting me, y/n, you clearly want this!” He cried, eye twitching in annoyance. He managed to open your legs again, and buried his face into your pussy. He moaned, licking up a wet stripe against your labia, warm and puffy and so wet for him- he knew you would be, he knew you loved him.

Tears streaked down the sides of your face, this was so much and so intense. Your thighs clamped down on Doppio’s cheeks and neck, squeezing him as hard as you could. Not hard enough, apparently, as he just started giggling again through a full mouth and busy tongue “Ssho good, y/n, why have you been hiding thissh from mee~?” he moaned, tongue circling your clit. You flung your head back into the pillow, gripping the mysterious hands that held you for any source of strength or comfort.

Watching you whimper so pitifully with his head between your legs, obviously blissed out after being so needy and alone for so long, just did things to doppio. He loved the pained, fucked out expression on your face- you couldn’t even keep your eyes open as he snuck one, two fingers into your aching pussy. You whimpered so cutely, and it was all for him and him alone. Finally~

“Y/n, please, i can only hold back for so long, let me make sure it’s not painful… be good for me, please?” Doppio begged, grinding his hips into the mattress before he could help himself. Begrudgingly, you moved your thighs back just enough for Doppio to push them away, when he got a wonderful idea. King crimson, or what Boss had lent him of his stand to use, sensed his thought, and grabbed both your hands in one arm. Doppio pushed your thighs back and up, effectively bending your knees into your chest and displaying your pussy in such a beautiful way. You cried out, surprised by the sudden movements and embarrassed by how exposed you were, but there was nothing you could do about it. Doppio was just too strong.

The other free hand floated down, spreading your lips apart to give Doppio a nice view before pummeling two of his thick, strong fingers inside of you. You screamed, crying as the fingers curled directly into your sweet spot, massaging with robotic-like precision and speed. The sounds you were making were wet, animalistic, and you were quickly brought close to the brink.

“Perfect, y/n! Just like that, let yourself go! It makes me happy to see a side of yourself you never show anyone else- and you never will to anyone but me! Remember, I'm the one making you feel this good, right y/n? You couldn’t possibly find anything half as wonderful from anyone else but me! Me, got it?!” Doppio exclaimed, his voice cracking and becoming much darker, scarier. For a second, you could swear he looked like a different person entirely, wild, angry and dangerous- but you blinked and Doppio was just as before.

Doppio licked his lips, sweating and anxious, this was good enough to make you love him, right? This was what he had to do to make you happy? Boss’s words from before appeared in his head though, and he remembered how Boss had always been right before. Doppio trusted him, and was determined to win you over. Doppio let go of one of your legs-you seemed adequately distracted and restrained to get away from him- and unzipped his fly. In truth, he would’ve preferred to get all the way naked with you for the first time, so you could see and feel the real him as well, but clearly the two of you were too desperate and impatient for him to get fully naked. This time.

You whimpered at the sound of a zipper, feeling the fingers pull out of you. You heard the crinkle of a wrapped, and the muffled groan as Doppio probably rolled a condom onto himself, but you were too afraid to look. The strong floating hand, still wet with your juices, gripped your cheek and forced you to look at Doppio, staring you down with much more restraint and calm than he had been. Doppio kissed your cheek, then your lip, and pushed his warm cock achingly slowly, gently, into your waiting pussy.

You couldn’t help yourself from moaning, grabbing at the hands that held you, thrusting yourself onto Doppio’s hard and hot cock. He bit his lip, feeling you twitch and squeeze around him; he was trying so hard to be gentle for you, why were you still making things so difficult. He chuckled to himself, and motioned for King Crimson to let you go; finally you were beginning to relax and enjoy yourself, and he wanted to enjoy every bit of it.

Without thinking, you wrapped your arms around Doppio, holding him close to you. Your mind was a mess, your body even messier, you didn’t know what to think or do about your abducter/rapist fucking you so tenderly, and you were tired of fighting. So you let him fuck you, slowly and gently and way way emotionally. Doppio wiped away new tears you hadn’t realized were there, shushing you, “It’s okay, my sweet y/n. Just relax and let me do the work. Don’t fight it any more, just let go.” He whispered, pressing kisses into your lips and cheeks far too sweetly.

So you did, you relaxed and sank into the mattress, pulling Doppio down with you. He let go of your thighs, and held you tightly to him as he fucked-no, made love to you. He gradually picked up the pace, huffing and whispering words of admiration to you about your body, or how much he adored you. You took it all limply, the fight having gone out of you and desperate for comfort. The floating arms, which you had forgotten about, reappeared and stimulated your nipples and clit, bringing you closer and closer to the edge.

Doppio sped up as well, he knew this would have to end, but he wanted to make it last as long as possible. This was your first time together, after all. He wanted to make it special. Your legs wrapped around his waist, pulling him deeper and closer into you. You could feel the spongy head of his dick rub your inside so sweetly, you were starting to get addicted to the feeling. Doppio buried his head into your neck, mumbling nonsense as he pushed in deeper and deeper, faster and faster, as his restraint gave way to passion.

“Y/n I- I don’t know how much longer I can last, but-” He kissed you, as the stroking of your clit sped up. You groaned loudly, you were so close, “Just a bit longer, please~” You begged, biting your lip. Doppio took a deep breath, steeling himself as he was determined to make you come first. He pounded into you, urging you closer and closer, four sets of hands circling your body and drawing out noises and gasps from you out of your control.

“Almost there, please, almost~!!!” You cried, throwing your head back with a final sigh as you came hard and fast, your core heating up and washing over you as Doppio helped you ride it out with clit rubs. Your walls fluttering around him, the face that you made as you came from him, for him, it was too much and he quickly filled his condom inside of you, moaning even louder than you had as he thrust without abandon into your wonderful, most precious place. He didn’t want to stop, thrusting almost to the point of overstimulation, before he had to stop, and collapsed on top of you. He cooed and kissed his praises and thanks into your shoulder and skin, before he noticed the soft sound of you snoring. Poor thing, he chuckled to himself, you’d really worked yourself up.

He reluctantly pulled out, after indulging in 5 minutes of cuddling your sleeping body and listening to your heartbeat. Doppio cleaned the two of you off, and tucked you into the covers of the motel- now would be a good time to set up moving you into your new home. After all, The whole reason you were in the motel is because the moving company Boss had hired to move your things into the main base would take several hours to complete their job, and Boss didn’t want anyone seeing you or Doppio at home. Doppio ruffled your hair as you slept, pulling out his cellphone to check in with Boss and give him the full update he’d requested.

Tonight was going to be very busy.