#If you follow me you should know what you’ve signed up for c’mon now

[c-t-r-l14]

A RETROSPECTIVE, A REFLECTION, AND YES, ANOTHER DAMN ALEX RANT.

What I find the most amusing is the fact that Saku likes my rants about Alex.

At this point, I wouldn’t be surprised if ya’ll know me as, “That One Girl Who Despises Alex”, because I write about how mad he makes me, and have MULTIPLE RANTS about how much I dislike him and his gaslighting, excuse-making, manipulative, no-backbone having, crybaby bitch ass.

Like—I be jumping Alex, reading his ass for filth, and be downright destroying him and Saku reads it and is like “Lmao, good stuff”, and LIKES THE DAMN RANTS.

It’s really crazy because at first, I was really scared about posting my first ever rant about him, because before people saw just how immature Alex was being in the breakup audio, a lot of people were jumping listener in the comments and talking about how it was their fault that this happened in the first place. Now, listener is definitely NOT a saint, at all. Even though I sympathize with them, what they did was wrong—point BLANK. But the way their relationship ended wasn’t entirely their fault.

I remember reading the comments and there were some people who said, “Ugh, if listener just didn’t say anything at all, this would’ve never happened”, but that shit confuses me so much?? I do agree that they should’ve been more careful about their approach when it comes to confrontation, but if THIS is the way Alex reacts when Listener looses their cool and does something in the heat of the moment, who is to say that it wouldn’t happen at all? He was so damn quick to end a four year relationship over a mistake. He never put in any work to see why listener acted out that day. He never once tried to talk to them, he acknowledged the fact that they don’t usually act like this, made up stupidly flimsy excuses on why the relationship would supposedly would not work, said some out of pocket shit about them not being the right partner for a long distance relationship, AND THEN PROCEEDED TO GASLIGHT THEM into thinking that THEY were the crazy one for reacting to what he just said, tried to manipulate them into thinking that the reason why their relationship ended was all their fault, and tried to act like HE was the mature one by making the decision to end it in the first place—-

And you’re telling me you saw ALL OF THIS UNFOLD, and your first thought was, “Oh yeah, all of this is definitely listener’s fault. They had it coming, lmao. Good luck to Alex in the States.”

OH H E L L NO.

If he had been so quick to end his relationship of F O U R Y E A R S in a heartbeat over something he K N E W to be an out of character mistake, then what on God’s green Earth would make ya’ll think that he’d stick around had listener stayed silent???? Listener will make mistakes, and there will come a time when their emotions will get the best of them (as it does with all of us), and you guys really believe that Alex’s fickle, emotional whiplash having, “this would be good for us, we both wouldn’t be tied down anymore 🥺” headass would still stay then???

Because, HE W O U L D N ‘ T.

He saw the opportunity to leave, and he took it. He already had his mind made from the jump when he told his mother and father, his friends, his acquaintances, his ancestors—and the ENTIRE W O R L D that he was taking that NYC job and his partner was last to know. Listener—-his own goddamn partner—-was the only person he needed to get rid of. They were his “burden” to bear, and he wanted to rid himself of it. And he didn’t want to seem like the bad guy, so he made excuses to make the break up easier on himself, pushed the blame away from him, and cried like the little baby back bitch he is in order to make it seem like this was such a hard decision to come to. He disregarded listener’s feelings, disregarded them as a whole, disrespected them, and left them with (probably) more trauma then what they started with.

I am sick and tired of seeing people blame the listener for everything that happened. They did not deserve the way they were broken up with at all. Alex isn’t a victim. He never was—and he stopped being the “mature one” (if you can even call it that) the moment those dumbass excuses came out of his slimy mouth.

For the people who were saying, “Alex deserves better than listener! I hope he finds a new partner.” Ya’ll need to realize that if this is how he acts when listener makes a mistake, he will do the absolute same thing with his future partners. He will give up the entire relationship and make an exit plan as soon as they do something even a little bit out of character. People who fold that easily and refuse to put effort in their relationship will NEVER KEEP IT. He will end up being single, and I know he’s the type of person who will never consider himself as a factor as to why his relationships all end in faliure because he has such a victim complex.

This man deserves absolutley nothing, ya’ll! NOTHING!

And I hope that one day, he realizes what he did was wrong, and apologizes to them. I will literally not be able to die peacefully if this doesn’t happen.

The craziest thing is that back in the olden days (four months ago), I would’ve been so scared to publish this whole rant, ya’ll. 😭 My dislike for Alex has been a hyper-fixation that held me in a massive chokehold—and I was honestly scared I was going to get hated on for not liking him (as well as my reasons for disliking him in the first place). But in the most strange turn of events, a lot of people share the same disdain I have for him too, and the comments on that break-up audio is now more critical toward Alex than it is toward listener, and these were both really big shocks to me. I’m really happy that a lot of people enjoy my rants, and even more happier (and surprised) to see Saku HIMSELF like my rant posts too.

Like literally ya’ll, I couldn’t believe my eyes. The love ya’ll leave for these rants are the reasons why I feel more and more confident to make them in the first place, and I appreciate it all very much.

So, here’s to next year, and to all the rants I’ll make in the future! And I hope we’ll all have a great year!

(Except for you, Alex. I hope your credit card declines when you try to pay for that $2.90 train fare and nobody opens the emergency door for you).

[wild-jackalope]

summary :: Yuji decides to take his friends lack of sex life into his own hands (quite literally).

warning :: Normal AU, Yuji is extremely forward (highkey yandere), fingering, hand job, public sex, jealousy, also fighting.

note :: collage/univeristy AU. Reader and Yuji are in their second years of studying. This took way longer than what I thought it would.

“Who’re you texting?” Yuji asked.

“Nobody.” You giggled.

“C’mon, tell me.”

“This guy.” You grinned, tapping away at your phone. “He’s taking me out tonight.”

“Oh yeah, where’s he taking you?” Yuji asked, hands hidden deep in his pockets, peaking over your shoulder at the phone in your hands.

“Stop looking Yuji.” You twisted your body away from him, but he followed you.

“Come on, I should know where you’re going. What if this guy is a total jerk?”

“He won’t be,” You sigh, shaking your head. “He might even be the one.” You simply state. Though, ‘the one to take you to bed’ might’ve been a better description.

“You seriously think that?” Yuji’s tone goes limp, but his face still hangs a smile.

“You know that fancy place next to KFC? On the main road?” He nodded. “We’re going to be eating there.”

“That’s crazy, ‘cause I’m going to that KFC with Choso tonight.” He turned from your gaze. A telltale sign of fibbing that caused you to lift your brow.

“That so?” You asked, elbowing his side. He shrugged then nodded, his lips threatening to grin. “I can take care of myself, you know.” You added.

“You think so?” He jested, however the comment struck a heart string.

“Yes. Don’t you?” You carefully questioned.

He choked on your serious tone. “I, I guess. Well, maybe? You’re not super strong.”

“But I’m not a baby. I’m not helpless.”

He seemed to find that implication funny, because he laughed. “Is that why you call me when you’re scared to walk home in the dark?”

“Yuji that’s— that’s different. I’ve been talking to this guy, I know him.”

Seemingly confused by how this conversation lead to you being offended but not willing to back down he commented again. “Then why have I never heard about him?”

“You’ve never heard of him because I don’t like telling you about this stuff.” You added, softer, retracting your lips into a thin line when you saw how it made Yuji’s eyes narrow.

“Why not?” He asked, now taking offence himself.

“Because you mess things up for me.” You broke contact with his eyes, darting down to his shoes. “I don’t like being upset with you, Itadori, let’s just pretend I didn’t say anything.”

“Don’t call me by my last name.” He stated. You hiccuped at his harshness. "I just don't want you to waste your time on trash men."

Yuji had, without a doubt, been a stain on your dating life and by proxy, your sex life. Most commonly, he’d stall you to make you unfashionably late to a date. Other times he’d ask you to cancel them and spend time with him instead. Most recently he’d made the impression that you two were already a couple to a boy that pucked up the courage to tell you, you were cute.

It felt like you were being suffocated by his attention, and starved of other men’s.

“I need to leave soon, Yuji, let’s finish hanging out and not let this ruin our fun.”

Despite his unusual clinginess, you hated to fight with him.

“You know Itadori has the hots for you, right?” Nobara grimaced.

You laughed. “Don’t be stupid. He’s literally my bestie.”

“Just because you feel that way, doesn’t mean he does.” She warned. "Don't you see the way he clings to you? The way he hates when you hang around me or Megumi?"

"I guess. He's just like that though."

"He's like that for you, girl."

"But I feel that way about him, too. I don't love it when he spends all his time with his brother, or watching movies. I prefer when we hang out." Nobara stared at you with narrow eyes and an expression that could only be described as her trying to figure out if you were dumb, or just blissfully ignorant. Or both. "When you're super close with someone, that's just the way it is."

"Sure, girl. Sure."

To say Yuji was your friend would be an understatement. Best friend wasn’t quite right either. If there was another a higher title, it would belong to him. He was the first to call when you had some tea to spill, first to text when you didn’t know what to wear out, your go to man in an emergency.

To Yuji, the term best friend didn’t even come close to describing how he felt about you. You were his everything.

Later in the day, his phone pinged, you'd posted something. It was an image of you in a glimmering dress on your Instagram story. The hem ended just above your knees, and clung to your body like wet fabric.

The sight was utterly cloying, though his heart squeezed painfully to know you were dressed that way for a man he didn’t even know. He screenshotted the image, adding it to his photos.

What Yuji hadn't thought to consider, was the lace set hiding beneath the dress. You were hoping for the best. That was all.

Upon arriving to your date, you were greeted with an aloof ‘hello’, a small peak into how the rest of your date would continue.

Yuji hadn’t managed to convince his brother to join in stalking your date. Suggesting that he leave you to your date and that he shouldn’t get involved in your love life, citing that it’ll messy your friendship.

He promptly ignored Choso’s advice.

So, Yuji sat next door to your restaurant chewing on some hot chips with an unimpressed look on his face. He opened his photos, gazing at you in your dress. He swallowed thickly, forcing his phone down. He just wanted to be sure you were okay. That was it. He wouldn't get in the way. He'd rather see you with someone else, than be mad at him.

His churning gut seemed to disagree with that thought, though.

After being seated at a booth, you smiled kindly at your date. “How was your day?”

“Fine.” He answered curtly. You grimaced. Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to suggest a last minute date to a guy you’d only been texting for a day (yes, you'd lied to Yuji about know him). But God you just wanted to get laid.

“What did you get up to?”

“Nothing much.”

This was going nowhere.

It had taken an hour before you’d finally given up on making conversation. You ate, spent some minutes in the bathroom to kill time, paid and left. How embarrassing, you'd come all this way and put so much effort into how you looked only to be blown off. It made you wish you'd been kinder to Yuji.

You picked up your phone, and sent a text to him.

‘Hey, did you end up eating next door? I’m finished with my date.’

‘I did yeah. How’d it go?’ He responded.

‘Average.’

Yuji’s chest filled. He'd been blessed with a second chance and now was his moment to swoop in and cheer you up.

You sat outside, the night air whipping at your exposed skin. You hadn’t prepared for the cold. A cardigan would’ve ruined your look, after all. You assured yourself before leaving that you’d be in a warm restaurant for half the night, then be spending the rest in his or your bed. There was no need to layer up.

Yuji spotted you, calling your name before taking a seat on the bench you sat at. “Hey, how’d you go?” He beamed. His brightness felt like a layer of warmth around your skin.

“Hey Yuji.” You sighed, finding his smile contagiously reaching your lips.

“Where’s the guy? Didn’t he wait for you?” He looked over the streets, glazing over the lack of strangers around.

“Nope.”

“What an asshole.” He pat your knee, leaving his hand there as a supportive contact.

"You can say it now." You murmured into the palm of your hands.

"Say what?"

"I told you so."

He chuckled, throwing an arm around your shoulder. “Don’t let it get you down. Yeah? His loss.”

“I know. I know.” You nodded, tiredly. “He’s not worth my time. I just- ugh.” You rubbed your eyes tiredly, not caring to maintain your eye makeup any longer.

“You’re really upset, aren’t you?” He asked, the hand resting on your knee clenched.

“Not for the reason you think, Yuji…” You shamefully murmured.

“So he wasn’t the one?”

“Of course not. I just… wanted to be with someone tonight.” You exhaled, letting the confession rise off your chest.

“You can be with me.” He added, a cheerful sombreness to his tone. “We’ll hang out.”

“Not like that, Yuji.” You cleared your throat. “I- uh. Never mind.”

“What?” He pressed, searching for the confession in your eyes. The hand cradling your knee edged inward to the softer side of your thigh, the movement went unnoticed by you.

“I’m- well.” You exhaled. The two of you were best friends, you could be honest with him. “I’m horny, Yuji. I haven't been able to get laid in forever because- well.” You reframed, now wasn’t the time to bring up an old argument. “I wanted to fool around with this guy.” You finished.

“We can do that too.” He cut, quickly. His hand fell further, you noticed only because it made you burn.

“What?” You shifted, but his hand still remained.

“That guy wouldn’t have gotten the job done. He was probably a loser.”

“Yuji- what did you just say?”

“If you just want to feel good, I can help.” Again his hand inched inward, now flirting with the hem of your dress. Your legs flinched open, the quick reflex tightened Yuji’s chest and his pants.

“Itadori…” You warned, though it passed your lips as a weak willed relent.

“Don’t call me by my last name.” He’d come so close now, breath patting your nape.

"We're in public." You huffed, eyeing his thick, tanned hand. His fingers cratered against your skin, kneading the flesh with a stunted hunger. He was attempting to be smooth, but he'd yearned for this too long.

"Nobody is around. Its dark. You said you're horny, didn't you? I can help. Let me help." He trailed further.

Yuji made contact to your clothed sex. His pinky finger pressed into you cautiously. You’d immediately lost all reserve. Your pussy grabbed at your brain, shoving away the regretful thoughts and forcing your legs to open wider.

With nothing but your body’s reaction to guide him, Yuji’s fingers began to rub up and down your cunt outline, focusing on the bump that was your clit.

“How does that feel?” He asked quietly.

“Weird.” You uttered, grasping at your own thighs, struggling to keep your legs open to him.

“Why?” He leaned closer.

“You’re my friend, Yuji.” You looked anywhere but at the boy.

“Why should that matter?”

You fumbled an answer. “Because friends don’t do this.”

“Some do.”

“But not us…” You drawled.

Yuji ignored you and nosed your cheek, closing in on your lips. By this point, he leaned so close that you had no room to back away.

His tongue licked your bottom lip and you grunted at the thought of it being further south. He swallowed the sound, having his free hand cradle your neck and pull you into him.

With a shameless passion, Yuji overran your mouth. His hand stunted at your pussy, his thoughts wrongly focused on your locked lips. You whined and he devoured that sound from you too.

“Yuji,” You pushed against his hard chest.

“Sorry.” He licked his lips, wiping away your shared saliva that lingered on the back of his sleeve. He gazed at the area covered by your dress. “Can I see?” He asked. Unsureness flashed in your gaze. "Please?"

You’d become completely obsequious to his advances. “Just for a second.” Anything to get him to start palming you again.

Yuji leaned, pulling up your dress and revealing the sight he’d only dreamed of. He moaned. You gaped, now keenly aware of your surroundings.

“Fuckin’ hot.” He murmured. The words made you gush.

Now his eyes couldn’t be ripped from your underwear, mentally taking screenshots to save for himself. He’d never need to watch porn again.

Another thought crossed his mind and his brow furrowed. He sat up, coming dangerously close to your face.

“You were going to let another guy see you like this?” His palm pressed hard against your clit. You twitched.

“You’re acting like I cheated on you, Yuji…” You wearily commented.

Shit, he’d almost ruined it.

He kissed your neck, running his tongue cross your pulse. It hadn’t completely distract you from his possessive question. “Maybe we should stop.” You whispered.

emphatically, his hand pushed past the fabric of your underwear. His index and middle finger parted around your clit, drawing this thick fingers down with your nerve bundle sandwiched between.

“Yuji!” You breathed, hands shooting to grasp his forearm.

“Shouldn’t say things if you don’t want them.” He murmured. His fingers dove to your entrance, pulling slick up and around your clit, rubbing the juices into your skin. “You want this, don’t you? Want me?”

You avoided the answer and his hand halted.

“Say you want me.” He uttered coolly.

Your hips stuttered, but Yuji didn’t budge. Holding you at orgasmic gunpoint, your lips parted. “I want you, Yuji.”

He continued with a new found passion, drawing his fingers up and down your clit with a kind pace, no longer tantalising you.

His lips pressed against your jaw and cheek until they found your mouth. He tongued you once more, loving the way you opened yourself to him and how he utterly devoured you. You couldn’t keep up with his passion.

Your legs clamped, but he pulled you open again with one hand, continuing to slide between your clit and eating the moans it ripped from you.

The orgasm hit you quickly, faltering fast through your legs and feet. You groaned into Yuji’s mouth, body going limp. His hand quickened, adding pressure to your suddenly raw clit. Your hips retracted.

“I came! I came.” You broke, tapping on his forearm. He halted, wide eyes gazing at your post-orgasm state. He wished he could’ve recorded every second of him making you cum.

You pushed against his forearm and, regretfully, he pulled his hand away from your sex. You watched with wide eyes as he brought his pruned fingers to his mouth and licked at the slick covering them.

You were too staggered to utter a word.

“Do you feel better now?” He asked.

“I, uhm, yeah.” You nodded, staring at the ground with glazed eyes. You'd just cum on the hand of your closest friend.

“Good.” He added.

“Yeah.”

Awkward tension stabbed at the both of you. As if knowing your thoughts would start to circle around regret, Yuji continued to speak. “I’ll drive you back to my dorm, we can hang out now that you're done with your date.”

“Okay, yeah. Sure.” You spoke breathlessly.

The ride home was ear ringingly silent.

Yuji couldn't find an excuse to talk and you were too booked out with the thoughts racing your mind to respond with anything but a 'mhm.'

Nobara was right. Yuji wasn't the type to help a friend get off just because, right? He must've liked you or at the very least lusted after you. Were you okay with either of those options?

Inside his dorm room, you planted yourself on his floor, mind still wrecked. He eased next to you, finding the words to break the glass-like silence.

Worry creased his face. He came onto you too soon, too fast. "Do you want to pl-"

"So do you like me?" You asked, eyes wide with tension.

"Yeah." He grinned shyly. "Wasn't that obvious?"

Yes. It was. It fucking was. You were just as blind as a deaf bat with cataracts.

"Do you... like me too?"

"I, I don't know." You threw your head back and grunted. "Shit."

"Don't stress, it's fine."

"Not really." You couldn't stop thinking about the fact he made you cum less than an hour ago and you didn't know if you liked him? You loved him, sure, but did you love him? He was handsome, funny, good with hands apparently. "How long?" You asked.

"A while." He scratched the back of his neck. "A long while, actually."

You were surely going to hell. Here your friend was, spilling his heart out to you and all you could think about was having his hands touch more of you. You couldn't help but eye his crotch, was he still hard from before? You couldn't tell.

"What are you thinking about?" He asked. Your eyes darted to his face.

"Well," You fiddled with your index finger. "You never got off, so I feel bad."

His cheeks flushed. "Me? No, that's fine. We should talk. Don't worry about that."

"Okay," Your hand slipped to his hip, resting on his side. "Keep talking, then." Hell for sure.

"Well I, uh, I always thought you were pretty," Your fingers skimmed over the elastic of his pants. "And hot." He added, eyes lidding.

"Does anyone else know?" You asked.

"Probably." He sucked in through his teeth as your hand began to retreat. "I mean, Fushiguro is pretty perceptive. I think Choso knows too."

You traced his v-line with your fingernail. He'd already gone hard.

"kugisaki, probably. Are you-?"

"Just keep talking. I'm listening."

"I… I realised maybe a year ago." You slipped a finger under his pants. "You started dating. I hated it. I thought I'd get over it but-" You raked through his pubes, inching closer to his shaft. He exhaled steadily. "I heard you started having sex. I tried to butt in whenever I could after that."

"Jealous." You stated, finally sliding over his dick.

"Big time." He attempted to steady himself again, hands clenching into white fists. "Was it good with them? The sex?"

"Don't ask stupid questions, Yuji."

"Fuck. Sorry." He exhaled. "We got super close, I just, needed more of you."

You gripped him and he rutted into your hand.

"Love you a lot." He huffed. You gripped him harder. "F-Fuck."

He fucked your hand carefully. Scared that if he did it too fast or hard, you'd let go and leave him. You joined in the motion, spreading the pre from his head over his shaft and pumping him.

He'd gone wordless, mouth hanging open whilst uttering gasping grunts. His eyes rolled to you, deep brown's watching you.

"Stop staring..." You muffled, hand covering your face.

"You're so beautiful." He grunts. "Kiss me."

You do, and just like before he pashes you with greedy intent. You pull away before he can kiss you too deeply, he follows you, grunting against your parting lips.

"Feel good?" You ask.

"Feels amazing, baby. A little faster, please." He bucks his hips again until you comply, stroking him quicker. "Perfect, that's perfect." His grunts become breathy, turning into weak moans.

You've never seen Yuji like this before, the only comparison being him puffed after working out too hard. But this, you've never seen. You loved every twitch of his body and every noise spurting from his mouth.

You rubbed your index finger over his head and his hand grabbed at your thigh, squeezing you hard. "Fuck." He cursed.

Tortuously, you began to focus on rubbing up and down his tip. His breaths became rapid, chest rising and falling ridiculously fast.

"Fuck baby, don't stop."

You mewled at pain his tight grip caused you and his dick twitched. You leaned against his shoulder pressing your face to his neck. "Love you, Yuji."

Those words sent him over the edge. He cursed again, louder than before and you knew by the way he squeezed your thigh it would bruise tomorrow. You felt hot spurts of semen leak onto your fingers as you let him fuck your hand until his orgasm passed and his loud curses settled into fucked out whimpers. He'd gone limp now, panting.

You let go of him, causing Yuji to utter another weak groan. Pulling your hand out, you gazed at his cum coating your skin.

He watched you bring it up to your mouth and lick some with the end of your tongue. He was suddenly hard all over again. He grunted at the arousal.

Salty, you thought.

"Let's date." He stated, still breathy. You opened your mouth to speak but he continued. "I don't have to be your boyfriend, not yet. We'll just go out. On dates."

"Yuji,"

"You could stay over more often, we could watch movies, cuddle." His eyes slipped over your cum covered hand. "We could do this more. You don't have to love me right away, but at least give us a shot. I-"

"Yuji, shush," You sighed, grinning. You laid against the floor, somewhat breathless yourself. "Let's date." You nodded.

He pumped a fist in the air, quietly uttering a victory. You laughed. "You're going to wish you fell for me sooner, I promise. You'll see what a good boyfriend I can be."

"So you are my boyfriend now?" You jested, raising a suspicious look at him.

"I will be." He stated. "You'll see."

[cntrlnoah]

Photoism

Summary: Rafe’s shy girl wants to take photobooth pictures with him on a date.

Pairing: Rafe x shy!fem!reader

Warning: food mentions, kissing, Rafe being a tease, nicknames (sweet cheeks, princess), Rafe flipping off the camera

A/N: sorry it took so long. got really busy with work. hope you enjoy! (^з^)-☆ idk if all of y’all know photo booths work cause each one of different so I took inspo from the photo booth in my Koreatown and how it works 🤍🤍🤍

Little dates with Rafe are common. Whether it was getting boba from the newest tea shop to something a bizarre as paint ball. Rafe loved surprising you with cute little dates.

Today was no different as he took you out on a trip to Koreatown. He wanted to try the new fried chicken place people were raving about. It was in this food gallery like place. Full of cute decor and soft kpop songs playing on the radio.

On the corner of your eyes you spot a couple leaving the photo booth giggling as they hold a photostrip each. Something in you made you want to do it with Rafe but you were too shy to ask. As you both finish eating the fried chicken, Rafe made mental note on how your eyes lingered back to the photo booth.

As the two of you are nearly about to leave you finally gained the confidence to ask him to take some pictures.

“Hey Rafe…can we take some photo booth pictures be for we go?” you said very timidly. “It’s…just I’ve been eyeing the photobooth recently—” but before you can finish to it ramble explaining why you wanted to Rafe kissed you to shut you up.

“You know you don’t need to explain sweet cheeks. I’ve seen you eyeing that machine for a while. If it makes you happy I’m willing to do so” he says. As he says that your cheeks go red over the nickname and the kiss.

“Come on princess don’t go all shy on me now? We still have pictures to take” he says feigning concern but the smirk plastered on his face gave his real reaction away. As he says this you start to drag him into the photo booth.

Inside the photo booth was a screen which displayed a start button. As you click the button, the screen turns into the styles of photos you can get from 2 2x6 photo strips with 4 frames for $5 or 2 4x6 sheets with 6 frames for $8. You choose the option for $5 and the screen tells you to insert a $5 bill in the slot under the screen to begin. Rafe hands you a $5 bill from his Hermes wallet for you. As the machine takes the bill the screen mirrors the you and Rafe, letting you see what the poses would look like. You guys had 8 takes for poses and 15 seconds to do them.

The first pose you wanted to do was a cute one so you put your hands in the shape of a heart to you cheek, Rafe on the other hand flipped of the camera but before you could react the camera shuttered and you’ve used up one of the frames.

The next pose was you doing the same pose but Rafe this time following in suit.

After that, y’all did peace signs with both of your hands.

Each frame was different from silly to cute and much more.

For the last one, Rafe wanted to do something. He pretended to do another pose but right before the counter reached 0 he grabbed your chin and leaned you in for a big kiss. After pulling away from the kiss your face turned bright red.

“Rafe!” you whined. “What? Don’t tell me you didn’t like it princess. Come on let’s choose the frames before the timer runs out love” he states.

After he said that you both looked at the screen and looked over the poses you want. You choose the peace sign one first. Rafe says, “ we should do this one. I look bad ass.” He points to the one where he flips off the camera. “But it so vulgar”, you said. Rafe chuckles as he heard you say that. “C’mon princess, I’ll let you pick the next one okay?” Rafe says. You nod as you pick the one where you both did the hearts.

The last photo was the one you had struggle with. Do you choose the silly one with both of you sticking out your tongue or the cute one where you both did animal ears? Rafe then butts in, “We should do the last one where we kissed.” You looked at the last one and blush.

“But it’s so unexpected I don’t look ready” you said. Rafe just smirks, “You’re not supposed to look ready. That’s why it’s good. Plus the kiss was pretty nice.” “No it wasn’t” you said blushing like crazy. Rafe looks you up and down, “Don’t lie to me princess. I like it so I’m choosing it” he says clicking on the photo.

After that you got to choose the frame, you went with the pastel pink and blue ombré frame. You both waited for the photos to print and got out of the booth enjoying the rest of the day around town.

[loveinhawkins]

The RV careens out of the trailer park and hits the open road with what pretty much amounts to ‘all speed, no grace.’ The turn Steve makes is, quite frankly, abysmal; he’s sure that if his driving instructor could see him now, the poor man would be weeping in distress.

Yet his passengers erupt into cheers as they pass the Leaving Hawkins sign, like he’s pulled some kind of James Bond move.

And, for all his insistence on being the absolute antithesis to so-called ‘jock culture’, Eddie rushes over to the driver’s seat, starts squeezing Steve’s shoulder with decidedly jock-like exuberance.

“Holy shit, holy shit, that was so fucking cool, Harrington.”

Oh, he’s definitely broken through the depression stage of the ‘finding out there’s an alternate dimension in Hawkins’ journey—landing firmly in the fuck it, might as well have some fun stage.

Steve could tell they’d reached that point even before the goddamn ‘big boy’ comment, when Eddie had taken one look at the Michael Myers mask, looked Max dead in the eye and said, “This is gonna be. So fuckin’ stupid. Let’s do it.”

Steve goes through a few seconds more of having his shoulder pummelled before saying, “Dude, you’re doing a shitty job at being undercover, stay down.”

“Like, do you have any idea,” Eddie says breathily, as if Steve hasn’t spoken, “just how perfect that was? That was, God, a childhood dream fully—”

“You dreamed of stealing an RV?” Steve says dubiously.

“Not in such crude literal terms, no. C’mon, Harrington, you must’ve had an imagination once—”

“Hey!”

“—didn’t you ever dream of, like, daring escapes, pulling the sword outta the stone, all that shit?”

Steve thinks about it. “I mean,” he says, “when I was a kid, I just kinda… climbed trees and stuff.”

Eddie sighs as if he can’t decide whether Steve’s done something especially annoying or endearing. “Of course you did.”

They reach a stop sign and Eddie finally flops into the passenger seat, facing Steve like he’s sitting side saddle on a horse.

“So,” Steve says, “I take a right after this, yeah?”

“Mm-hmm, well remembered, Mr Getaway Driver.”

Steve scoffs, glances over—finds Eddie framing him with his index finger and thumb, like a director trying to capture the perfect shot.

“James Dean,” Eddie says authoritatively, dropping his hands.

“What?”

“Was tryin’ to figure it out, your whole look, you know? Very Rebel Without a Cause.”

“Okay,” Steve says, “but I have a cause, we all do.”

Eddie just blinks at him, and Steve chuckles.

“You, idiot.”

“Oh.”

Steve has a moment to appreciate the way Eddie’s eyes go all soft and maybe just a little shiny, before he has to set off again. He takes the right turning.

“We should watch it,” Eddie says eventually. “Hell, I’ll take any movie. Just gimme, like, two hours of not having to think.”

“Tell me about it.”

Steve’s sure he’ll never complain about double VHS tapes ever again. Then a thought occurs to him.

“Shit.” He calls to the back. “Rob?”

“Yeah?”

“Y’know when we left Family Video, did we even lock up?”

“Yes,” Robin says followed immediately by, “No?”

Steve snorts. “God, we’re so fired.”

He hears Robin making her way up to the front, then Eddie saying, “Oof, Buckley, that was right in the ribs.”

“Why the sudden concern about our jobs, dingus?”

“I’m not concerned, I just got reminded of—Eddie was mentioning—”

“—Rebel Without a Cause,” Eddie finishes.

“Oh, Steve, I know you’ve seen it, I put it on last week!”

“Uh, maybe I was preoccupied doing, I dunno, my job.”

“It’s the one with—”

“James Dean,” Eddie cuts in.

“Yeah, I gathered, thanks,” Steve says sarcastically, but he can’t help smiling as he does so.

“—and it’s, you know,” Robin goes on, “troubled kid moves to a new town, and—”

“Aw,” Steve says, “you think I’m troubled, Munson?”

“It’s all in the eyes, Harrington. Such depths.”

“Right?” Robin says, and she’s laughing, tongue-in-cheek, “I’ve always said so.”

“You ever considered wearing a leather jacket?”

Steve laughs, too. “Tell ya what, Eddie, why don’t I just wear all your clothes?”

“Well, we know denim suits you.”

“If only you saw his last car-stealing outfit, Eddie.”

Steve sighs. “Robin, shut it.”

“Excuse me,” Eddie says, “d’you have form, Harrington? Grand theft auto form?”

“Literally once. Crazy circumstances.” Rest in peace, Todfather. “It was a Cadillac.”

“A Cadillac.” Eddie sighs dreamily. “Do you have any photos?”

“Uh, no, I was kinda busy.”

“I shall mourn the loss.”

“Take the next left here,” Nancy calls, which Steve is grateful for—the directions had gone completely out of his head.

“Wheeler, come up to the front,” Eddie says, “it’s a party.”

She must do, because her voice sounds much closer when she says, “Shit, I think I forgot to lock up, too.”

“Don’t worry,” Steve says, “no-one’s gonna ransack The Weekly Streak.”

Another stop sign—Steve looks over, smirks at how Eddie has ended up squished between Nancy and Robin, all of them sharing the one seat.

“They better not.” To Eddie, Nancy adds, “I think I gave your uncle the impression that I’m doing a big piece on you. Like, testimonials for an innocent man, stuff like that.”

For a flicker of a second, Eddie looks nauseated at the thought—Steve spots the shift, the decision to make a joke about it.

“Well, Wheeler, you better make me sound good.”

“Oh, I was going more for journalistic integrity.”

“Hey.”

Steve hears a couple of thumps behind him; without even glancing in the mirror, he says, “Sit your asses down, shitheads, don’t make me turn this thing around.”

“Don’t make me turn this thing around!” Lucas parrots.

Max scoffs playfully: “Nineteen going on forty.”

“Eddie was standing before!” Erica points out.

Steve rolls his eyes. “Yeah, well, Eddie’s a law unto himself. Look, just sit down and, like, make a list or something, I’ll stop off for food after we’ve—”

Dustin laughs. “You really are forty.”

“Uh-huh, one more wisecrack and you’re not getting any chocolate pudding.”

Steve’s hamming it up, he knows he is—smiles to himself as he hears a quartet of giggles.

“Can you believe they used to think I was cool?” he says.

“I dunno, Harrington,” Eddie says warmly, “at least one of them doth protest too much.”

Nancy stands in search of a pen, Robin following, insisting to Dustin that, “We’re getting one of those camp stoves, if I don’t eat something hot soon, I’m gonna die.”

“Yeah,” Steve says. Maybe it’s because they’ll soon be arriving at The War Zone; his levity slips just a little when he says, “It’s probably, like, a proximity thing. Henderson’ll have a scientific term for it.”

Eddie chuckles. “What, the Steve Harrington effect?”

Steve shrugs. “You get too close, the shine wears off eventually.”

He doesn’t realise until he’s said it that the joking, perhaps, has stopped somewhere along the way.

“Huh,” Eddie says. “I’m no scientist, but that doesn’t sound like the Steve Harrington effect to me.”

“No?” Steve says.

He can see the parking lot in the distance, and he gestures for Eddie to duck.

“Nope,” Eddie says. Steve can hear him moving, crouching to hide behind the driver’s seat.

He parks and everyone’s abruptly all business, deciding who’s staying in the RV, who’s going into The War Zone.

Steve hates it, has a sudden intense longing to keep talking about movies, to just be stupid.

And maybe Eddie can tell, because just before Steve heads out, he catches his eye, smiles.

“Hey, don’t worry, Harrington,” he says with a tiny, fleeting wink. “You’re still my leading man.”

[samthestrangerthingsfan]

Pairing: Eddie Munson x Reader

Summary: established relationship, Eddie is an emotionally constipated lil guy who's scared of his own feelings, adorable nervous energy, so much fluff its gross

AN: BRUV i wrote this in about a half hour ago and now its up and i BARELY edited this so please be gentle! I love you guys, have the best weekend!

I can’t fucking say it.

Eddie has been pacing back and forth in his room for the past 45 fucking minutes.

He’s tried saying it looking in the mirror, looking at his feet, hell, he even tried staring out the fucking window.

Nothing.

He can think it—that’s the easy part. Those three little words play in his head like a god damned broken record.

When he’s not around you, he’s thinking it. When he’s just left you, or on his way to you, he can feel it on the tip of his tongue.

Oh, but when he’s with you? It’s like a big flashing neon fucking sign buzzing in his brain:

EDDIE MUNSON LOVES HIS GIRL.

It should be easy, no? To look you into your dreamy eyes and tell you.

Let’s try this again.

Eddie bounced back and forth on each foot, shaking the nerves from his hands. “C’mon, Munson. Don’t be a chicken shit…”

He let out a few quick breaths. “Okay, okay…”

Eddie’s brain is screaming at him. Telling him to say the fucking words he’s been thinking and feeling for the past 4 months.

Really the past 3 years he’s knowns you, but that’s neither here nor there.

He feels out of breath just sitting on the edge of his bed with his head in his hands.

“I can’t fucking say it, holy hell.” Eddie scrubs his face, feeling like a complete coward.

Always running from what scares him.

He heard the door of the trailer open, and the familiar chime of your keychain follow.

“Eds? I’m back! and I got you a surprise!”

Whatever nerves he was feeling vanished. You’re the most calming presence Eddie’s ever met. Like…a warm blanket. A cup of tea on a rainy day. Lover's lake, right as the sun was starting to rise.

Magical. Healing. Golden.

You were everything to him, and he couldn’t even fucking tell you.

“Babe?” You called again, looking for him.

“Y-Yeah! Yeah, in here, sweetheart.” He stands quickly. Drying his sweaty palms on his pants.

You round the corner into his room, and Eddie swears you get more beautiful every time he sees you. You smile at him, “Hey, handsome.”

“There’s my pretty girl.” He says without a second thought. “You and Buckley have fun at the mall?”

Eddie pulls you into him completely, and you melt. He’s so sturdy and strong but so, so gentle with you. You inhale him, he inhales you.

Home.

“I did, Robin keeps me from flying too close to the sun,” you laugh. “I did, however, get you a little something.”

Eddie pulls back, looking at you. “What? Why?”

You’re beaming up at him, “‘Cause I love you, ya silly goose.” You bend down, and grab the bag at your feet. “Here, opening it!”

Eddie doesn’t even have time to process how easily you’d say it.

You’ve never once pressured him—never made a big thing about saying it. It came with no strings when you said it the first time.

You’d spent the day with him, doing nothing particularly important. These were Eddie’s favorite. It’s just him and his girl, no sharing you with Robin or Dustin or any of those other gremlins.

You had an early shift the next day, so you kissed him goodbye, and grabbed your bag. Eddie kissed you once for every step you took toward the door.

“Baby, nooooo,” he whined. “I’ll let you sleep, sweetheart. No funny business, scouts honor.”

You laughed, “Oh, you were Boy Scout?”

Eddie shifted his feet, “I could’ve been.”

You kissed him deeply at the front door, “I’ll be back before you know it."

“Fine, fine,” he said dramatically. “I’ll just be here…alone…wallowing in my sorrows.” Eddie flopped back and fell backwards over the couch.

Your giggle echoed off the walls of the trailer. “I love you! I’ll see you in the morning!”

The door shut behind you, and Eddie shot up like a rocket, and stiff as a board.

You love him.

You said you loved him.

And he didn’t say it back.

It’s haunted him since.

Eddie took the bag from your hands, and pulled you gently to follow him. You sat down together on the edge of his bed.

You spoke to him as he opened it, “Okay, if you don’t like them, just be nice because it took me 40 minutes to decide between two sets and this one spoke to me and I wanted—“

“Honey, honey.” Eddie chuckled. “Take a breath. Whatever it is, it’s perfect." He tapped your nose gently, "‘Cause it’s from you.”

Eddie unwrapped the tissue paper, revealing a black acrylic case. He removed the lid, and his jaw nearly hit the floor.

“Holy shit, baby.”

Inside the case, was a brand new set of black onyx and ruby red DND dice.

“You like ‘em? Robin almost left me in the store because I just couldn’t decide—“

Eddie put the dice down quickly, grabbed your cheek, and kissed you tenderly.

He brought his other hand to your face as well, cupping it gently as his mouth moved over yours

When he was done with your mouth, Eddie kissed your nose, your cheeks, your eyes, your chin, any part of you he deemed not smothered in affection enough.

His lips had barely left your skin before he spoke, “I love you. God, I love you so much, sweetheart.”

Your smile—it could light up the whole town.

“Y-Yeah?” You asked hopefully, “You do?”

Eddie nodded, his hair tickling you cheeks. “I really, really do, baby. I love you. Thank you for thinking of me. For taking the time to do something that I never woulda done for myself. Thank you for just…” Eddie sighed, kissing your forehead. “Just for being mine. Christ, I’m so lucky.”

It wasn't about the gift.

Eddie had it all when he had you, and now he's going to make sure you know it.

[alloftheimagines]

joel miller | don't let me drown

masterlist | taglist | ko-fi

words: 2.4k

warnings: drowning, hurt/comfort, angst, lil bit of nude cuddling for warmth reasons but nothing steamy, strong language, inspired by ep six but i changed it up so the bridge is unsteady for the purposes of *drama*. hint towards age-gap with reader in their thirties. they/them pronouns. no y/n.

synopsis: in which the reader falls into the river of death, and it's joel's job to save you and find shelter. featuring ellie. not requested!

You used to think snow was pretty. Magical, even. Now, you only think it’s a bitch to travel through, especially on foot with the harsh mountain winds blowing off the river.

Of course, you can’t complain because the fourteen-year-old and fifty-six-year-old aren’t, and you’re probably supposed to be fitter than the two of them put together. But inside… fuck. You’re exhausted, freezing, and desperate to get to your next destination so you can sleep on something other than ice and mud. 

When the bridge comes into view, relief washes through you. If you can get away from the open water, maybe the winds won’t be so biting and you’ll finally be able to feel your cheeks again. You puff out a visible breath and glance at Joel, who is both pale and rosy-cheeked from the cold. Ellie follows behind, watchful as ever. You can’t imagine what it must be like for her, trekking so far from where she began. Seeing so much. It’s been rough on all of you, but you’ve made it through together. Whatever comes next should be a breeze. 

“Keep a lookout,” Joel warns, poising his handgun and nodding at you to do the same. You’ve been warned that nothing good can be found by the river, and it’s left an unsettling silence between you since you started your journey. 

You dip your head, preparing your own gun as Ellie does the same. But if anything is here, you don’t see it — not on this side of the bridge or the other. It’s a rickety old thing, but if it gets you across… it’ll do. 

“C’mon,” he grunts. The bridge creaks beneath your feet, and you follow Joel’s footsteps to avoid any weak spots. Until gunshots sound somewhere in the distance. You all jump, but it’s you who loses your footing as a chunk of rotten wood disappears beneath your feet. Before you can find something to grab onto, you’re falling, screaming, clutching thin air. Joel yells your name with a fear you haven’t heard in a while, but his voice is lost as the rushing water swallows you up.

Freezing. So cold it makes you burn. The river turns your world grey and endless, as though you’re floating in a void. You thrash, trying to kick up to the surface, but the shock is jolting through you, making you numb, and you can’t remember how to use your limbs.

You cough and gulp down an unbearable amount of water, and that’s when you know. There’s no air, no way of making your lungs work. They just keep burning, squeezing for something that no longer exists. Your vision goes blurry and then disappears completely. 

***

Joel watches it in slow motion. The splintering bridge. The fall. The ripple in the river as it chews you up and doesn’t spit you out. He doesn’t realise he’s screaming your name, doesn’t realise he’s even running, until he reaches the other side of the bridge. 

“Stay there!” he orders Ellie with a warning finger, fear ricocheting through his voice, through the trees. You’re gone is all he can think. You’re gone, and he can’t fucking do this without you. 

His knees ache as he half-sprints, half-slips down the embankment, kicking snow into the river. After shucking off his shotgun and placing it down, he takes off his jacket in a moment of clarity, knowing you’re going to need something warm. And then he’s plunging into the river, cursing at its low temperature. His teeth chatter as he shouts your name, searching for any sign in the steadily flowing water. But there’s nothing. He dives under when he gets closer to the bridge, skin becoming ice as he searches the murky depths. 

He has to come up for air twice before he finds you sinking to the riverbed. He’s never moved so fast, snatching you up in both arms and pulling you to the surface. You’re deadweight in his arms, and panic lances through him when he finds you’re eyes closed. 

He calls your name again, urgency sharpening his words as he pulls you to the embankment. Despite his orders, Ellie waits there, eyes wide and afraid. He doesn’t have time to scold her. He’s too busy carrying you out, water pooling at his feet as he staggers to solid ground and lays you down. 

“Baby?” He shakes you, droplets falling from his face and onto yours as he kneels over you. “Come on. Come on, baby.” 

He presses an ear to your chest: finds no sign of breathing. 

“Shit.” He begins compressions then, counting to thirty before giving you mouth to mouth. Your lips are ice cold, and so are his, his knuckles reddening as he presses the heel of his hand down again and again and again. “Come on. Come on. Breathe.”

“Joel,” Ellie whispers, terror in her voice. 

He squeezes his eyes closed, unable to face what it means. What might be happening. He isn’t losing you today. Not any day. “Come on. Come back to me. Come back to me, darlin’.”

Your breath gutters, and instinct has him rolling you onto your side as you cough up more water than any person should be able to. 

“Fuck,” he’s saying, rubbing warmth into your shoulders. “Ellie, grab my coat.”

She does, and he wraps it around your quivering body before pulling you close. “I got you,” he’s whispering. “I got you, darlin’. I'm here." 

More coughs leave you, and he brushes your hair off your forehead to look for any sign of injury. Your lips are blue, and it terrifies him. Cold water shock can kill, and the way you went under… Shit, it’s a miracle you’re here, upright. 

You’re shivering so violently that he knows the worst isn’t over. Hypothermia. Pneumonia. Those are just some of the things he’ll have to watch for. He can’t take you anywhere like this, can’t protect Ellie or you, but you can’t stay here either. You need to warm up. You both do. 

“We need to find shelter. Somewhere to light a fire and get warm.” 

“I saw some rock overhangs deeper in the woods,” Ellie said. 

“Can you grab the bags?”

“Yeah.” She slips a backpack on each shoulder and then props Joel’s shotgun under her arm. Not ideal, but he can’t think about that now either. Not when you’re barely opening your eyes. 

He breathes your name and then: “Can you hear me, sweetheart?”

A faint nod. 

“Good. That's good. We're gonna get you warm.” He pulls you into his chest, hooking an arm under your knee and the other around your back. You sink into his warmth, but you’re so limp that it terrifies him as he carries you up the embankment, following Ellie’s lead. 

Sure enough, she guides you both to a deep overhang beneath snow-topped crags, and he dips his head to fit in the low space. He places you against the wall, already unravelling the bed rolls.

“Get a fire going,” he says. He’s certain that he had a few matches left last time he checked, and Ellie rifles through his bag before producing them. With shaky hands, she gathers a pile of sticks and surrounds them by rocks just like he taught her before lighting the match and letting it spread. 

The twigs are damp and produce a lot of smoke, but sure enough, an amber glow lights the dark shelter a moment later.

“That’s it. Good,” he whispers. 

Ellie glances at your hunched form warily. You’re so pale, so cold you’re practically convulsing. “Are they gonna be okay?”

“Have to be,” Joel mutters. He slips off your sopping wet coat and sweater, and Ellie turns away as he gets rid of the rest. 

“You still with me?” he asks you.

You hum in response, folding into yourself in your nudity. 

“Here.” Covering her eyes, Ellie hands him a spare long-sleeved shirt and a pair of sweats from her own pack, luckily from Bill’s stash of adult clothes. 

“Thanks,” he replies, urging your arms up so he can slip on the shirt. It’s an uncomfortable ordeal with your clammy skin, but he needs you warm. Now. Even when you groan, skin no doubt stinging painfully. “I know. I know. I’m sorry.”

He has to pull you up for the sweatpants, and then he’s rolling thick thermal socks onto your feet and tucking you into blankets and bedrolls. “How’s that? Feel warmer?”

You shake your head, and he helps you shuffle closer to the fire. 

“Now?”

A nod that has him relieved. He can’t help but place a kiss on your damp forehead, realising too late that he’s cold and shivering too. He only has another flannel in his backpack, though, and he can survive until he’s at least gotten you warm. Protecting you from his damp clothes using the bedroll, he wraps his arms around you to keep in the heat. 

“Gave me a damn heart attack,” he mumbles into your hair, squeezing his eyes closed to chase away the darkness creeping in. The thought of losing you. All the other scenarios where you didn’t end up here with him after the fall. He should have been smarter. Shouldn’t have taken you across that damn bridge.

The ghost of a smile crosses your flame-lit face. “Sorry." And then: "You’re… cold too,” you rasp between shivers. “Get in here.” 

He glances at Ellie. No way in hell is he going to strip off with her here. As though understanding, she raises her brows and shifts away. “I’m going to go find out if bears really do shit in the woods.”

“Don’t go away,” he orders. “Just… give us a couple minutes.”

“Yes, sir.” She disappears, and her crunching footfalls outside keep his concern at bay. 

His concern for her, at least. Your face still lacks colour, your breaths sounding watery and wrong even now. He grinds his teeth, reluctant to pull away from you for even a minute. But if he dries off, he can give you his body heat, so he quickly tears off his clothes and replaces them with the one dry shirt he owns. He doesn’t bother buttoning it up, instead crawling into the bedroll with you and enveloping you in an unyielding hold. You lean against him, eyelids drooping but shivers finally beginning to ease. 

He begins to warm up after a few minutes and can only hope you are too. When he notices your eyes closed, he stiffens. “You still with me, darlin?”

“Think so,” you murmur, your cool hands travelling across his bare chest. He tries not to flinch as he directs them up to his chest. His mouth. He kisses your knuckles before cupping his own hands around yours and blowing. Then, he rubs, generating friction. 

“Keep talking to me,” he pleads.

“‘Bout what?”

“Anything.” Anything, as long as you don’t leave me. As long as you stay. “What was your favourite book growing up?”

You were barely fifteen when the pandemic hit all those years ago, but you smile as you remember that old bookshelf your dad put together full of worn paperbacks. “You don’t read, Joel. You wouldn’t know even if I told you.”

“So tell me about it.” He’s still using his hands, pushing feeling back into your body bit by bit. 

“I’m okay,” you whisper finally. “I’m okay, Joel. I’m gonna be okay.”

“I know that.” But he won’t stop, won’t give up, even when your cheeks turn pink once more. God, he’s missed the way you glow like that, the way it looks brighter in the snow. 

You take a ragged breath. “I liked Gulliver’s Travels.”

“Yeah? Who’s that by?”

“Joel…” Your eyes flutter shut. “Please. I’m tired. I’m warm. I’m okay.”

But he can’t trust it after he’s just put breath back into your lungs; can’t trust it to stay there. He holds you tighter, placing a gentle, terrified kiss into your hair, even if he’ll never admit that he is terrified. That he can’t breathe if you’re not breathing. He realised that the moment he jumped into the river without caring if it got him killed too. 

You’re all he has to hold onto, and he could never let you drown.

“I just need… I need you to keep talking to me for a little longer, baby. Just until I know you’re okay,” he says.

“Okay.” So you tell him about your favourite book, drifting in and out of the conversation. Soon, you stop shivering against him and the bedroll warms with two sets of body heat, just as he’d hoped. The fire keeps up until Ellie finally comes back to refuel it with more sticks, offering Joel a smirk that he returns with a gentle glare. You barely seem to notice, still muttering. 

“Sounds like a great story,” he says finally. “I think Sarah had that one.”

“Yeah.” You smile, cheeks swelling this time as you nestle into his chest. But then you cough, and he frowns. God, is this what it’s gonna be like now? One cough’ll leave him frozen with fear?

“I can read you guys a great book!” Ellie volunteers, and of course pulls out her pages of puns. 

Joel groans. You chuckle, and his heart warms at the sound. 

“Tell me the one with the penguins again,” you ask.

Ellie grins and flips through the pages, and you get a million more cheesy puns that make you laugh until you can no longer hold your head up. You’re certain Joel’s bare chest ripples with stifled amusement at some points. 

“Joel?” you ask as Ellie turns the page. 

“Yeah.”

“I’m so tired.”

Another wave of dread. He masks it clearly, examining your features. You look and feel warm, and you sound like you. If you need the rest, he can’t keep asking you not to take it for his own selfish reasons. For his own pathetic fear.

Finally, he surrenders. “Okay, darlin’. Get some sleep. We all need it.”

“Night,” Ellie says, getting comfortable in her sleeping bag.

Your eyes shut instantly and don’t open again, but your chest rises and falls smoothly against your interlocked hands. He listens to it as the shelter quietens, the fire getting lower. He listens all night just to make sure you’re still breathing. When light returns the next morning, he finds Ellie has done just the same, wide awake and unwilling to tear her gaze away from the two of you. 

“They’re okay, right?” she asks. 

Joel can only hope that it’s the truth when he says, “Yeah. They’re okay.”

“Good.” She nestles into her makeshift pillow — her backpack. “You’re a real grouch when they’re not around.”

He rolls his eyes, tempted to point out that he is always a grouch, though Ellie’s right. He needs you. He will always need you. 

And god, he hopes he never comes close to losing you like that again.

[skzooweemama]

can i request something like the skz members worst spots and being able to overpower them in a tk fight or smth?

idk i thought it might be cute but you don’t have to write it if you don’t want!

love this idea!! thanks for requesting it :)

i'm doing my best to get things out in a timely manner! i'm sorry for these long wait times in between requests being answered. i just started college and i don't have as much time right now :(

also i did not proofread this whoops

i hope you enjoy!!

~~~

Bang Chan:

big ol leader channie is definitely not without his weaknesses

his insanely ticklish sides is one of them 

c’mon, at this point we all know that’s his worst spot 

whenever the members touch/poke him there, he practically ascends 

the funny thing about chan is that he won’t try to hide that he’s ticklish

like of course he’s not going around announcing it, and if you ask he’ll say no and try to redirect the conversation

 but if you bother to fact check by poking at his sides, he’s gonna start giggling immediately 

now, as we’ve seen before, chan tends to get goofy and start tickle fights

but fear not! overpowering him is actually pretty easy

as soon as you dig your fingers into his sides, you’ve won 

"Babyyyy~ you're cuteeee!" Chan cooed, poking at your shoulder. You were wearing a cute hairband to keep your hair out of your eyes, and apparently that was just too much for your loving boyfriend. He appeared at your side as soon as you sat down on the couch and began to bug you.

"Channie, it's just a hairband! Stop poking me!" You exclaimed, fighting back a smile. Chan saw you beginning to smile and started humming, now aiming his pokes for your belly.

"You smiling for me? Hm?" He asked in his annoying baby voice, the well-aimed pokes making you squirm and giggle. "What? Does it tickle? Should I stop?"

"Yehes! Leheave me alohone!" You choked out, pushing at his hands. Chan took this as a sign to begin torturing you more, and you just about had enough. The next time he reached forward to poke you, you shot a hand straight to his side, squeezing at the muscle you found there.

"AHH!" Chan screamed, immediately going to protect his ticklish sides. Unfortunately for him, you weren't going anywhere. You used your bodyweight to push him down onto the couch and sat on top of him, massaging deep circles into his flesh. Chan lost it, squeezing his eyes shut and throwing his head back as he shrieked with laughter. "NAHAHA!! I'M SOHORRY!! I'M SORRY!!"

"Yeah? You're sorry? What if I don't forgive you?" You asked, giggling at his cute reactions while you evil fingers worked the muscles in his sides. "Maybe I should just tickle you forever?"

Chan let out another scream at that, shaking his head back and forth wildly. "NOHOHO!! NO MOHOHOREE!!"

You just snickered to yourself and kept up your tickle attack until you felt Chan had fully learned his lesson. Plus, you also just really liked his laughter.

Lee Know:

minho can be kind of a wild card

he is really good at stopping himself from laughing when he feels ticklish

however he does have one spot that is guaranteed to break him faster than all the others

his thighs

that's right

especially his inner thigh, right where all his muscle is?

immediate death

he'll try not to laugh, ever the stubborn bunny that you know and love

but he will not last long and soon enough his witch cackle will burst forth

just watch out, he squirms really bad when he's tickled there <3

"Min! Enough! You know I'm ticklish!" You exclaimed, batting at the hand that was currently tracing patterns on your sides. Minho couldn't help but smile his devious little bunny smile at you, and that's when you knew your lazy morning in bed was about to come to an end. "Don't you daAHH!" You couldn't even get your threat out before Minho was digging his thumbs into your sides and you were screaming.

You tried to roll away to no avail. Those evil fingers just followed you. For a moment, you almost thought about giving up and letting Minho have his way with you. But then... then you got a genius idea. Instead of rolling away, you rolled towards Minho on the bed.

"Oh? Coming back for more?" He asked, continuing to tickle at your sides. You were giggling like mad, but you mustered up your best glare before you reached down and dug your fingers into his thighs.

Minho's face went red almost immediately and he began to shake, turning to hide his face in the sheets of the bed. Since he wasn’t as focused on you now, you wiggled away from his tickling fingers and dove beneath the sheets, aiming to get him back for being such a brat. You koala hugged his kicking legs, effectively immobilizing them, and began to really attack the sensitive inner part of his thigh.

“AHH!! NAHAHAA!! Nononono!!!” Minho whined, throwing his head back as the giggles and laughter escaped him. He was squeezing his legs together tightly and pushing at your shoulder, but you were on him like glue. You didn’t have much room to wiggle your fingers as they were being crushed by his thighs, but it seems like the mere presence of them was enough to drive your boyfriend crazy.

“You did this to yourself! You started it!” You told him, giggling to yourself. You had half a mind to blow a raspberry into his hip, but at the rate his was bucking and twisting, you worried about the safety of your jaw if you did.

Minho was almost to tears with how hard he was laughing. It had been awhile since you had gotten him this good, and something told you he was not going to let you get away with it either. Might as well enjoy it while it lasts, right?

“ENOHOHOUGH!! Pleaseeee!!”

“Are you sorry for ruining my morning?” You asked, voice muffled from under the sheets. Minho shrieked out a “Yes!” and you decided that was good enough for you to stop and drown him in kisses instead.

Changbin:

bin is just goofy and that's that

both of you make each other laugh constantly and definitely know each other's tickle spots

his worst spot is his pecs/upper ribs fs

i mean, we've seen all of the members poke/scratch at that spot at least once

and each time, binnie loses it

he's laughing immediately whether you knead, poke, or just wiggle your fingers in the vicinity of the muscle there

his smile and giggles are heart meltingly adorable

frankly you should always be tickling him, it's a crime not to

when it comes to tickle fights, you both are equally as likely to start it

but if you can get at his pecs, you're more likely to win :0

"Oh my gosh! Babe, you're so big now!" Changbin cooed, kneading your right bicep teasingly as you bit your lip to hide your smile.

Your growing muscles have been Changbin's favorite topic of conversation for about a month now. Ever since he'd finally gotten you to join him at the gym, your boyfriend was constantly praising you and feeling your developing biceps at every chance he got. Which, of course, was very sweet and absolutely would be fine... if he didn't also take it as a chance to tickle the snot out of you as well.

Because now his fingers were in your armpit and you were about to scream.

"B-Bin! Enough! Stohop!" You protested, pulling at your arm that was currently being held hostage. Changbin just giggled, scratching at your sensitive skin until you were shrieking and whining at him.

Desperate times call for desperate measures. You went to push at his chest, digging into the side of his pec when you did so. Changbin froze, completely caught off-guard by the counter attack. Even though you were still giggling, a mean glint appeared in your eyes and you tore your arm away, now using both hands to torture his ribs and pecs. Changbin broke into belly laughs immediately, collapsing to the floor in a fit of ticklishness.

You followed him down, seating yourself right on top of him. Changbin pushed at you desperately, but you were an immovable object set on destroying him. Your nails scratched at the sides of his chest, which made him squirm and giggle.

"Plehehease!! Enohohough!!" He whined, eyes squeezed shut and head thrown back as he swatted at you.

"You didn't stop when I told you to! This is your punishment!" You insisted, driving your point home by massaging ticklish circles on the area where his underarm met his chest. Changbin squealed and suddenly the belly laughs were back in full force.

"NAHAHA!! IHIH'M SOHORRY!!"

"Are you really?"

Changbin only nodded his head "yes" as his laughter fell silent, cheeks bright red and wet with tears of mirth. You deliberated to yourself for a moment before you let him be. After he caught his breath, the pout was inevitable, as was the demand that you owed him kisses.

Lucky for him, you were all too happy to oblige.

Hyunjin:

hyunjin is kind of one giant tickle spot 

he is so. fun. to mess with 

but even he has his worst spots 

and when i say bad, i mean BAD

with some spots, like his neck and legs, he can handle being poked there for a bit without reacting even if it does tickle

however… his sides are another story

as seungmin has demonstrated on many different occasions, even a poke there has him reeling 

especially that one spot that he pokes!! y’all know the one 

you can bet your booty that he’s gonna do his scream cackle and then do anything he can to get away from you 

be ready to FIGHT FOR YOUR RIGHT TO WRECK HIM 

“Yah! Hyunjin! Leave me alone!” You exclaim, getting up to move away from your clingy boyfriend for the millionth time. “It’s hot, I don’t wanna cuddle right now.” 

Hyunjin pouts dramatically and starts to whine, “Why don’t you love me?!” You roll your eyes and settle into your new spot on the exact opposite end of your small picnic blanket. 

“You know I do, it’s just hot and I hate when I get too sweaty- hey! Stay away!” Too late, Hyunjin had already crawled towards you and buried his face in your tummy, arms hugging around your waist. 

“Don‘t leave meeee!” He whined out, and the vibrations of his voice being muffled by your tummy had you freaking out. You pushed at his shoulders, desperate to get him away from your abdomen without alerting him as to the reason. Hyunjin seemingly took great offense to this, and he suddenly was burying his face further into your belly and groaning loudly. This time, you couldn’t help but let out a ticklish squeal, smacking your boyfriend’s back to get him off of you.

“Hyun! Nohoho!” You giggled, almost feeling the mischievous smile spread across Hyunjin’s face against your stomach. Before you knew it, there were fingers digging into your sides and raspberries being blown through the thin fabric of your sundress. You gasped out a laugh at the sudden sensation and reflexively grabbed for him to try to push him off. 

It’s never a good idea to start a tickle fight when you’re the more ticklish party, take it from Hyunjin. 

As soon as your fingers brushed along his side as you grasped for him, he let out a dramatic scream and immediately tried to run. Of course, he didn’t make it far. You caught him around the waist before he could sneak away and gave him a little taste of his own medicine. 

"NAHAHA!! NONONO!!" Hyunjin cried out, splayed beneath you on the blanket as he writhed in ticklish agony. It was too bad he was so ticklish, truthfully all you were doing was tasering his sides a bit. He kicked and swatted at you, but you had come accustom to dodging these kind of attacks. You wrecked him a lot at home.

By the time you let him have a breather, Hyunjin was a blushing mess and the sun had dropped below the horizon. The two of you had also drawn quite a few looks, so you decided your picnic was probably over for the night. Besides, Hyunjin was pouting again and you felt like he was due for some pampering at home.

Han:

han starts all this shit

he deserves whatever you wanna do to him in response tbh

he tickles you to win video games, he tickles you when he wants something, he tickles you when he's bored

and the fact is HE IS MORE TICKLISH THAN YOU

wreck him.

tbh for han i feel like a lot of places are bad, but-

i stand firm in my belief that his knees are the worst

i mean, we all saw him in that one tickle challenge? yeah <3

so you best grab those knees and get him back

he usually only smiles at first, trying his best to hold in his giggles, before he breaks

then belly laughs are super common with him, if he's laughing, he's LAUGHING

he's cute, i love him

“Babyyyy~ where areeee you?” Han singsonged, walking into the living room.

Your heart was practically beating out of your chest from anticipation as you hid, shaking a bit from the adrenaline. Han was in one of his moods, the ones where he decides to be a tickle monster for no other reason than because he wants to mess with you. Sometimes it felt like you were dating a child instead of a 23 year old man.

Your knees began to ache from crouching behind the couch, and slowly you got more and more fed up with this little game. Han was closer now, and something told you he’d find you momentarily. Instead of sitting and waiting for him to get the upper hand once he found you, you waited until his back was turned before popping up from your hiding spot and jumping on him.

Han cried out in surprise, before chuckling. "Oh you're a sneak." He teased, trying to reach around to grab at your sides. You moved away from his hands and ignored the butterflies in your tummy at his words.

You leaned forward until you were right beside his ear and whispered, "Of course, baby. Did I surprise you?" Han laughed again at your words, opening his mouth to tease you again. You didn't let him do that, obviously, because you were already tackling him into the couch. "I think you've been kind of bad tonight, Ji."

"Have I?" He asked, shifting so he was staring up at you, his hands once again looking to tickle you. You hummed in response, and without anymore warning, you reaching down to squeeze knees. "Wah! Baby, baby, waitttt!" He whined, biting back his giggles with a silly smile plastered on his face.

You cooed at him with fake sympathy in your voice, but still ran your fingers through the underside of his knees. Han squealed at this, covering his blushing face with one hand while his other pushed at you desperately.

"Does that tickle, Hannie?" You ask, breath ghosting over his bare legs as you combined your squeezing and scratching on both of his knees.

"Nahaha- AHH! Nohoho!! Gah!" He giggled and whined, kicking at you gently. You smiled, pressing a kiss to his hip and giving him a break. Han glared at you, but still pulled you towards him so he could give you some kisses of his own.

Felix:

felix is really your sweetheart

he's always thoughtful and kind and he makes you wanna eat him

and you instigate most of these tickle fights soooo...

you kinda found out quick where his worst spot was

lower belly, full stop.

he's wayyy too sensitive there

i feel like the members don't tickle felix as much, but as his partner, you definitely do

he never really tries to tickle you first unless it's an accident or he's feeling extra playful, so it's not much of a struggle to overpower him

even if he does start it, as soon as you dig your fingers into his belly, he's completely incapacitated

his laugh can sound a couple different ways, but usually it's kind of that croaking, deep laugh that he does

he looks so cute and his laughter sounds so menacing, it's just a funny visual

psa: he will start crying if he's tickled too much, just a warning

“Gah! Felix!” You cry out as you’re suddenly pounced on. It seemed you would not be getting in a nap today. Felix huffed out a small laugh, wrapping his arms around your waist and nuzzling into the crook of your neck. “What are you doing?” You whine, begrudgingly hugging your cute boyfriend back.

“Bored.” Is all the answer you got before he’s nuzzling into your more aggressively, the feeling of his hair on your neck making you giggle and shy away.

“Well do you really have to bug me? Your hair tickles.” You asked with a small laugh, and Felix only hummed in response while continuing his nuzzling. "Hehey! Knohock it off!" You exclaimed.

"Knock it off~," He said in childish voice, clearly mocking you.

You rolled your eyes, scoffing playfully at his silly behavior.

"Alright, that's it." You slipped your hands between the two of you and dug you fingers into Felix's belly, vibrating into the muscle you found there.

"AHH!" Felix cried out, immediately trying to roll off of you. You wrapped your legs around his so he couldn't and kept up your torture. "AHAHA!! NOHOHO!! SO MEHEHEANN!!" Felix shrieked with laughter, clearly too ticklish for his own good.

"I'm mean? Should I show you how mean I can be?" You asked, a teasing tone in your voice. Felix squeaked at your threat and shook his head, already pleading for mercy. "Alright, alright, I'm done." You conceded, opting instead to hug him close.

Felix whined and hugged you back, returning to his nuzzling once again. It still tickled, but you couldn't bring yourself to stop him so you just kissed the side of his head instead.

Seungmin:

seungmin is another one of those that you need to keep an eye on

he's sneaky and mean

tickle the snot out of him honestly

his worst spot is his hips

you are grateful for this fact, because when he's being a little shit he's SO easy to humble

a squeeze to his hips has him tripping over himself honestly

i like to imagine in that one vlive where chan was tackling him off camera that he was just going to town on his hips

he deserves it!!

not as easy to overpower because he's just kind of tall and long, but if he's weakened for some reason (ex. sleepy) you have a better chance of teaching him a lesson

massaging circles right on his hip bones with your thumbs sends him into orbit, just letting yk

be prepared for the seungmin™️ laugh, it's so cute and so him <33

"You're so mean! I was almohost aslehehep!" You whined, squirming around in Seungmin's lap as he traced ticklish shapes into your belly. You had been hoping for a nap, but apparently that was too much to ask for.

"I can't help myself, you're just so easy!" Seungmin snickered, his voice right in your ear from where he was spooning you on your couch. You whined and squirmed some more, before you ended up moving around so much that you fell off the couch.

"Ow!" You exclaimed, having hit your elbow on the ground on the way down. Seungmin began to laugh at you and went to help you up off the ground. You pouted at him and swatted him away, instead pushing him back into the couch and digging your hands into his hips.

"AHH!" Seungmin howled, laughter immediately bubbling up from his chest. "NAHAA!! Nohot theheheree!!" His laughter mixed into his words seamlessly, and you almost wondered if he should never not be laughing like this.

"Not here?" You asked, changing from rough tickles to lighter scratching and smiling when his giggles jumped an octave. "Is it bad?"

"Yehehes! AHH! Ihihit's bahad!! Noho mohohore!" Seungmin was whining and pulling at your hands, clearly feeling too lazy to properly fight back. You cooed at him for a second, but eventually let him go.

"Scoot over, I'm big spoon this time. You can't be trusted." You told him, and Seungmin agreed without any argument, clearly too tired to fight you anymore. Small miracles.

I.N:

listen to me, i love jeongin with all my heart and i would die for him

anyway

he's stupid ticklish (as we know) and you can bet your booty that his worst spot is his sides

there's something with skz and sides man, idk

tbh his worst spot isn't much worse than any other spot, but for the sake of this we're just gonna focus on his sides

he doesn't really like to risk being wrecked by tickling you first, so he won't try anything unless he's feeling particularly brave

so overpowering him isn't a question a lot of the time

he kind of just turns to putty as soon as you start teasing him

i mean, he does tend to run away or try to escape, so i guess you overpower him that way?

pin him down, pin him down!

his laughter is squeaky and adorable, but he dolphin screams sometimes too

will give no warning beforehand, rip your ears

"Innie! Fight me!" You exclaimed, jumping onto your boyfriend's back where he's laying on your bed. He let out a loud "oof" when you landed and groaned, burying his head in one of the pillows near him. "Hey! I said fight me!"

Jeongin groaned yet again, turning his head to the side so he could glance up at you. "You're so annoying." He said, completely deadpan.

You gasped dramatically. "How dare you! I'm annoying? I'll show you annoying!"

He seemed to realize what you were up to before you did anything. "Yah, baby, dohOHN'T-," You cut him off with his own giggles when you started to squeeze at his sides. Jeongin buried his head in the pillow once again, body shaking with barely concealed laughter as you tortured his poor sides.

"Innie, why are you hiding? Don't hide from me!" You insisted, tweaking an extra sensitive spot on his left side that had him throwing his head back and letting out a scream of ticklish agony.

"AHH!! NOHOHO!! Staha- stAHAP!!" Jeongin's ears and neck were completely red as he begged for mercy. That's always how you knew you were getting him good.

"Should I stop? Do you deserve that?"

"Yehe-," You tweaked that spot again. "YAH! YEHES! ENOHOHOUGH!!" His laughter was getting breathy, and you knew it was probably time to let him go. You rolled off of him and Jeongin curled up into a ball on the bed beside you, lost in a fit of residual giggles.

"That was... heh... so unnecessary..." He panted, and you reached over to rub his hair comfortingly.

"Yeah it was, I just can't help it sometimes..." You explained, which had Jeongin glaring at you playfully. "C'mere!" You wrestled him into a hug which had him complaining yet again, but deep down, you knew he secretly loved it.

[mikqls0n]

Please|| Jace Herondale x reader

Summary: you’ve been teasing jace all day until he can’t take it anymore

Warnings: smut

“Love, please!” You we’re teasing jace the whole day, starting this morning when you both woke up and gave jace head but then pulled away right when he was about to cum and just continued with the day.

Then at lunch when you ran your hand over jace's visible bulge and pushed your hand into his pants teasing the tip of his cock with your tumb- as you again pulled away when you felt that he was close.

Now, late afternoon jace has been following you through the whole institute, begging for you touch as you would just ignore him and he slowly gave up the hope that he would get to cum today as you just laughed to yourself- knowing the power you had over this desperate man.

———

When jace stopped following you around, you decided to go shower before you went to bed.

You took of your clothes before you stepped into the shower and turned on the water, waiting for it to become warm.

You closed your eyes as you felt the warm water running down your body.

When you were wet enough you turned around to grab the shampoo bottle as you felt a pair of arms wrapping around your waist, pulling your back against a chest.

“Jace…” you tried not to let out a moan as you felt his hard cock pressed against your ass.

“Why are you doing this to me y/n” you turned to face him as you pressed your lips against his and put one hand up to his neck,pulling him closer, as the other one slowly slides down his chest to his hard length, wrapping your hands around it as you slowly pump his cock, as jace moans into the kiss when you felt him thrusting into your hand.

“That’s right, fuck my hand baby. C’mon tell me what you want, you’ll get it”his head felt down onto your shoulder as he uncontrollably moans into your ear- struggling to speak.

“I wanna feel you… please..” he whispers as the pleasure became a little too much when he felt your tumb on the tip- just like you did at lunch

“You are feeling me”you said as your pace quickens and you felt him getting closer again.

“Wann-wanna feel your mouth around me, please angel…”you heard him whine as he bucks his hips into your hand again when he felt you pulling away from him as he signed before his head was thrown back.

It wasn’t long until you pushed jace on the wall, bringing his attention back to you as you dropped on your knees, becoming on eye level with his cock as your hands wrapped around him again when you took the tip into your mouth, running your tongue over it as jace’s head was thrown back and he had a strong grip on your hair.

You slowly took all of him into your mouth- licking up his length,until you felt him on the back of your throat.

“Fuck, just like that..” you began to suck on his cock as you thrust him in and out of your throat-pumping the rest that didn’t fit in your mouth with your hand.

You hear jace letting out moans which are followed with your name- telling you how good you’re taking him.

“Don’t stop angel, please”you feel him twitch inside you as you feel his cum spilling out of him, down your throat as you swallowed it all.

After jace stopped filling your mouth you get up on your feet as you pulled him into a kiss- giving him a taste of himself.

“Thank you”he mumbled against your lips.

“We should get out of the shower” you said as jace grabbed towels for you both before walking back to you room.

[arachnixe]

Her Triumphant Return

(Part 10 of The New Goddess - Previous: Surrender)

The king’s palace leaves much to be desired. The moment I step foot inside, the first thing I notice is how poorly lit it is compared to mine. Dim and drab and dull, this is what passes for opulence, I guess, anywhere that lacks the benefit of Goddess’s touch.

And that’s why we’re here, isn’t it? We will fix this world.

Velle stands at my side, dressed for the occasion to resemble the sorceress she once was. Not that it took any prodding, really. Given the choice, she gravitates toward her old fashion sense on her own.

I’m sad that I had to fudge the truth a bit, but if a small lie can prevent those awful headaches of hers, I can accept the burden. She believes Goddess has enveloped her in a glamour, making everyone misremember her as the evil sorceress that I, the king’s daughter, quested to stop with the aid of my faithful and loyal friend, Knight Jackdaw.

Of course the truth is that, of the three of us, Velle is the only one anyone perceives accurately.

We kneel before the king’s throne as he offers his formal greeting.

“At last, my daughter returns. Our kingdom’s beloved princess…” his words trail off, momentarily lost within the glamour, knowing he is expected to recognize me but struggling to conjure a name.

“That’s right. I, Princess Canina Rosadeus Lillian Ruten, have returned with good news for the kingdom. Jackdaw and I have captured the Sorceress Velle and stripped her of her magic.” The amulet hanging around my neck bears Her symbol—the eye in the linked rings—and it sparkles as it exerts its influence. It exactly matches those worn by Velle and Jackie, each kissed with holy blessings.

“Princess Canina, yes.” The amulet does what it’s meant to, asserting our modified history in the king’s memories. “Though I forbade you from leaving the palace on this quest, I cannot deny your courage, and I choose to celebrate your accomplishments rather than dole out punishment.”

The king casts his eyes on Velle, and his expression darkens. “You, however. Velle. Enemy of the royal family. Enemy of all Rutennia. I never wished to see your face again.” My woman remains kneeling with her eyes meekly averted, as she knows she must. “That my daughter wishes to keep you as a trophy, I accept only because I know you must find that more humiliating than prison and therefore a better punishment than execution. However, if I see any sign of you resisting your place beneath my daughter, or your magic returning to you, my lenience will end and you will be put down like a dog. Is this understood?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. I hear you, and I vow to obey Her Highness in all things.”

The king responds with a snort. “Acceptable. I do not know how you’ve done it, Canina, but Velle does appear more docile than I’ve ever known her to be.”

“I would be happy to share the story of how we found and won the blessings of the Living Goddess, father. With Her, taming Velle is the least of what we can accomplish. I believe She will help us heal the scars of the rebellion and bring about a new era of prosperity.”

“A living goddess, you say. Well, I grant that you have earned the right to try to sell me on this idea. Not now, however. You should rest, and I have more important matters to attend to. We will speak more at a later date.”

Velle handles her role as my prisoner with skill and grace, meekly following me as the royal servants guide us to the princess’s chambers. Jackie’s uncharacteristic silence through our little performance has me worried, though. When we arrive, I dismiss the servants so that we can have our privacy.

“Hey.” I knock on its armor. “How are you holding up?”

“Who, me? Just fine. Better than fine! I am going to kill everyone in this palace and then myself if I don’t get out of this cage immediately, but other than that, this is basically a vacation for me.”

“Aw, no… I was afraid of that.” I move swiftly to attack the straps and start peeling the armor away. “C’mon, Velle, help me out here.”

She has far less experience with armor than I do, but an extra pair of hands is always welcome for a task like this. I’m just glad that I’m better at handling more of my own memories these days, so we can make this process as quick as possible.

Soon my dear friend is once again able to stretch all its limbs. It blinks open its six other eyes and yawns wide with its whole mouth. “Okay, whew, crisis averted. I’ll probably only kill one or two of the lords or ladies and maybe the king if I’m still hungry afterward.”

I put on my “oh no you don’t” face, raising my eyebrows and tightening my mouth into a thin line.

“Okay! Okay! The king lives.”

“Thank you.”

Velle chimes in. “My dear, as satisfying as it may be, picking off high profile members of the court shortly after we arrive seems like a good way to complicate things unnecessarily.”

Jackie groans in dismay, but she’s right of course. “Yeah, maybe stick to eating people who won’t be missed. Or, you know, regular food… Don’t give me that look, Jay-jay! You won’t have to spend all your time cramped in that armor. You can make some sacrifices like the rest of us.” Still I have such trouble saying no when it looks at me with those big sad eyes. “But… I guess on days like today when you do have to stuff yourself into that thing, you can have one or two people.”

Jackie beams in happiness. “Alright, I’ll take that and run with it before you have a chance to change your mind. Bye-bye!”

In a flash, it skitters out the window. I lean outside to shout after my favorite monster, “remember, nobody important!”

“I’m sure it’ll behave, Nina.” Velle rubs my back in soothing circles. “That thing loves you almost half as much as I do.”

I turn and plant a kiss on her beautiful face. “And that’s almost half as much as I love Nina. I’m sure you’re right as always.”

---

The wardrobe disappoints, even by the standards I thought I lowered enough. Such a meager selection of dresses, all dreadfully tasteful and conservative. If I have to be stuck in such stuffy clothes for too long, the Jackie strategy of murdering everyone will start to sound a little too appealing.

The servants, too. They are well dressed, I suppose, in clothes fine enough to be pleasant on the eyes without overshadowing the wardrobe of the princess, but none of this matches the pure elegance of the maid uniforms of my palace. Did Goddess invent those Herself? I should give thanks for that as well. These here are all so very disappointing.

I kiss my amulet and put my hand on the little statue on my makeshift bedroom altar. “Goddess, give me strength to spread Your message.”

Our first challenge is convincing “father” to grant my Velle a little more autonomy. She can’t accomplish much if she is expected to remain within my sight at all times, after all. It’s just a matter of proving how well-trained she is, and it turns out to be quite persuasive when I have her demonstrate how good she is at tea time in front of the king and his inner circle. My Velle finishes the whole pot by herself and gives the audience a smile and a pretty curtsy while they stare in aghast horror.

“Have you ever seen someone so well domesticated? Are any of your servants so loyal?”

Even the king acknowledges that this Velle has become someone else entirely and agrees “on a provisional basis” to allow her the same autonomy as other servants of the house. I maintain enough self control to wait until we’re alone before tongue-fucking the taste out of her mouth.

---

“Father” is insufferable. Despite what he said at my arrival, he refuses to listen to my proselytizing. He is unmoved by my tales of Her miracles, even when She is the reason Velle listens to me at all. My demands to build an official shrine within the palace are ignored. The only topic he wants to speak to me about is arranging a political marriage and producing a proper heir.

I am grateful to Velle for her tireless work among the servants. Increasingly I see them bearing hand-crafted symbols of the eye-in-linked-rings, flashing the icon where I can see it and giving me a conspiratorial nod as they pass by. I hear their murmurs, thanking “High Priestess Velle of the Living Goddess” and referring to me with awe as “The Chosen.”

Occasionally someone within the palace proves themselves overly hostile about the idea of worshipping Goddess, and Velle carves up a “Jackie treat” for our monster to enjoy. She seems so proud of herself too for bringing a meal it genuinely enjoys. Ah, I never thought I’d see the day that the two of them would get along so well!

It takes time, but we continue making progress sending our invisible tendrils through the royal palace. However obstinate the king proves to be, not all the noble houses are as unreasonable as he is. Plenty of people are desperate for something to believe in, and the idea of a Living Goddess in the world appeals to many. I seek the ear of the nobles, who are often surprised to discover that Goddess has many adherents among their servants already, and this news bolsters their resolve to spread the faith.

I only permit members of the faith to serve me, and I reward those who are most willing to demonstrate their loyalty by giving them the most coveted positions close to me. One earns her place by organizing other servants to build a shrine in secret, against the king’s explicit orders. Another earns a place when they nearly die stopping a knight from reporting the illicit shrine. A third is honored for poisoning her lord after learning he planned to lead a campaign against our “cult.”

The first time I visit the palace’s secret shrine, the beauty brings me to tears. Truly it is no less fine than the one at home, after all, how can a place of worship crafted by loving hands not be perfect just the way it is? I grant a small gathering of faithful the blessing of watching me invoke Goddess for the miracle of bestowing the shrine with a statue in Her likeness. It is a flawless reproduction of the one I know, and the congregation buzzes with excitement that their faith is so rewarded.

Our influence grows by the day, and soon even Jackie is welcomed in its true form by those initiated into the deepest mysteries of our faith.

“Be not afraid,” High Priestess Velle assures them. “This blessed creature is a servant of the Living Goddess and will protect you from retribution for acts carried out in Her name. Go forth and spread the truth of Her divinity, and you will come to no harm.”

---

Something has gone very wrong.

“I don’t understand. Did we anger the Living Goddess? What does this mean?”

I stare in horror at the statue of Goddess, at a loss for words. Grotesque fleshy vines coil all around it, sinking tendrils inside and pulsing horribly. I’ve never seen anything like this before. Goddess didn’t tell me anything. I do my best to compose myself so I don’t scare anyone.

“Fetch me the High Priestess and the Angel if you see it. We must commune with Her together.”

I pray for an answer and hear nothing. I pray for a miracle to stop this, and there is no response. I feel like the floor has suddenly vanished from under my feet, sending me into free fall. Goddess? Where are you?

I’ve never been so scared.

Velle and Jackie arrive hand-in-hand and stop dead in their tracks behind me.

“What the f—“

“She is sick.”

All eyes turn to Velle, the only one who seems to have any idea what’s happening, and we wait for her to continue.

She exhales. “I had a feeling. Jay, you… see Her when you die, yes? What do you remember?”

“Tears,” Jackie shakes its head. “Something about abyssal tears? The Goddess was seeking the power of another dead god.”

My Velle’s mouth moves, voicelessly repeating “dead god” in confusion. I wish she had her memories back already; we could really use a sorceress right about now. Goddess just didn’t think Velle was ready yet.

“Give me the 30-second summary. Quickly.”

I see it in her eyes, headache blooming from merely mentioning dead gods in front of her. If she’s willing to try enduring the pain for Goddess, I should do my part. “Goddess ascended from mortality by claiming the blood of a dead god. Since then, She’s been consuming other dead gods too.”

A scream rips through Velle’s throat as she drops to her knees. Through gritted teeth she hisses “keep going!”

“This is number four,” Jackie adds. “Last time She struggled to digest it. I thought She’d evolved beyond having that problem again, but…”

“She didn’t.” Velle gasps. “It’s too much for Her, isn’t it?”

Goddess never told me She struggled to digest the last one. Nothing is supposed to be too much for Her. This is too much to bear. Goddess! You have to stop!

“I need to touch the statue.”

Jackie cradles her in four arms and brings my dear Velle within arm’s reach of our blighted idol. She reaches out and grabs hold of one of the pulsing vine-things, her face contorted with agony while she pushes herself onward.

“What do you feel?”

“I don’t… know…”

“Can we do anything?”

“I don’t know!“

With that strangled cry on her lips, Velle passes out.

---

“Did you know that the king worships one of the old gods?”

My Velle is still asleep, her dreams apparently troubled, tossing and turning while I sit at her side and hold her hand. I look up at the messenger with tired eyes. “Where did you hear this?”

He hands me a package. “Stolen from his private library. There’s some letters in there, correspondence with some old god cultists, and, uh… references to a secret passage down in the royal catacombs.”

I sigh. “Is this relevant right now?”

The man fidgets, suddenly nervous about failing Goddess’s Chosen. “I just thought you might like some insight into why he resists the Living Goddess. Also…” his words pick up speed with embarrassment, “I dunno. The boy who stole it, his name is Caleb by the way, good kid, really pious, please don’t get mad at him, he said it was divine inspiration that told him you needed it, and I didn’t know what to say to that, I mean, I don’t hear voices or nothin’, but I definitely don’t wanna get in the way of that divine godly stuff, so I said I’d deliver it to you, and maybe you could decide if that relic is important or not, and if it’s not then you can blame me, but don’t blame the kid, he’s just doin’ his best, and…”

Without warning, Velle jerks upright as if awakened by the man’s words. “A relic? Give me those.”

The poor guy flicks his eyes back and forth between the two of us, and with a nod I invite him to hand the package to Velle. He does and promptly flees the room in reverse, bowing to us the whole time.

“Are you sure you’re okay looking at that stuff? I’m worried about you getting another of those headaches.”

“Hm? It’s fine, don’t worry.” Velle ignores my concern, pouring over the contents of the package like a woman possessed, a look in her eyes I don’t recognize as she mutters to herself the whole time. Looking up at me with an unsettling expression, she barks, “paper, ink, quickly!”

I get her to a desk with the writing implements she demands, and soon she’s scribbling notes furiously. “No time, there’s no time. Not a chance in hell he won’t notice this missing. If we’re lucky, he’s occupied, and maybe we can beat him there.” I don’t know if she’s speaking to me or to herself, but I stay out of her way until she finishes, snatching up her notes and bolting to the door.

I follow her down through the passageways of the palace. I have not learned so much of the lower levels as she seems to have, but as I follow her I feel a sinking feeling in my gut telling me this isn’t my Velle any longer.

By torchlight we make our way through the royal catacombs dug beneath all other levels of the palace. The woman who looks so much like mine finds a hidden switch and reveals a path still deeper. We descend a staircase that looks far less worn than its age would suggest, and before long we arrive at a room illuminated by its own unnatural emerald light.

The king is already there.

“I don’t know how you contrived this scheme, Velle, but you truly had me fooled. I always thought your ego precluded debasing yourself for the sake of even a plan like this.” He turns to face us, and I see the same emerald glow in his eyes. “And my false daughter. Now I have the vision to pierce through your glamour. Tell me, what happened to Natalia and that boy Wolfgang? What is your plan for them?”

“Every scheme and every Plan I ever made has crumbled into dust, Alexander. I’m playing it by ear now.” Velle’s voice is as cold as it was during that fateful confrontation so long ago. It makes me shiver. “Wolfgang is dead. Natalia is dying, and one way or another both you and your kingdom will not be far behind.”

“No bitch like you is going to end my line.” The king bares his teeth in a snarl. “You have no idea the power that lurks down here. The ancient signet ring of Lord Turasz, God of the Waking Nightmare, rests in this very tomb.”

He gestures behind him at a skeletal hand bearing a shining emerald ring. “It is heresy to access its power, but once you tripped Lange’s wards on that book, well, better me than you, I think.”

“Velle,” I’m at a complete loss. Everything is going wrong. “What are you—?”

“Learning from past mistakes,” she says, holding out her hand.

Without transition, the signet ring rests in her palm.

[scaryscarecrows]

“--laughing?”

“--ne’s toxin neutralized it, but I want to be sure. I’m not risking a second Joker running around Gotham.”

“Sure we don’t need to check the brain? Like rabies?”

“We’ll see.” There’s the sound of someone tapping on glass. “I know you’re awake in there.”

That’s Jason’s voice, and Bruce feels cold. Crane’s toxin wasn’t enough. It was enough to hold this at bay, then, nothing more.

“You’re sure he’s awake, boss?” A new voice. Tired, smoker’s rasp. Not-Jason barks a laugh.

“Oh, yes.” More tapping. “The least you could do is look at me.”

The cowl is still on. He’s on the floor, but the cowl is still on. Where is he?

He can hear water outside, smell that odd clean scent of overly-filtered air, and taste the staleness of having been drugged. None of these things are useful to know.

“Did you two fail vocabulary tests as kids?” a new voice demands. “Stay down, I said. Those injuries are pretty nasty, I said. What about either of those things did you not understand?”

“I–”

“Have roughly the intelligence of a microwave, I know, now sit. Down.”

There’s two sets of heavy, shuffling steps followed by squeak-squeak and flop-thud. Bruce risks cracking his eyes open, just a tad, to try and see the goings-on.

Jason–Not-Jason?--is in a wheelchair. He knee’s in a brace and he’s wearing soft, loose clothing that doesn’t hide the shape of bandages around his torso. His companion, a blond man Bruce has seen a few times throughout Halloween, is in a desk chair, arm in a sling. Both of them are looking away from a third man that Bruce doesn’t recognize, a tall, dark-haired one looming over them.

“You fuck up that knee or rip any of those stitches and I’ll gut you,” he’s snarling. “And you! You’ve gotten maybe half the sleep you should and if I catch you trying to ‘start PT early’, I’ll cut the damn thing off, because clearly you’ve lost that privilege. Clear?”

“Aww, c’mon–”

“I’m fine, I’ve had worse–”

“Clear?”

They fall silent and finally mutter, “Clear.”

“Thank you,” the doctor says serenely. “Tests are still going, is why I came looking for you. Computer says another six hours, easy.”

“Mm.” Not-Jason drops his head back to look at the ceiling. “No early signs of anything?”

“Not yet. So go back to bed, someone will tell you if things get interesting.”

Not-Jason clearly pretends he didn’t hear that in favor of looking back at Bruce.

“How long were you hiding it?”

Bruce is silent. It’s the only way to come out of the hallucinations eventually, is to not play into them. But this isn’t the usual. In the past, when it’s been Jason, he’s been either hurt and begging for help, or furious. This one is…clinical.

No, no, he’s angry: when Bruce doesn’t answer, he shoves himself out of the wheelchair, dodges what Bruce guesses is the doctor, and stalks over to lean against the glass.

“I know you’re awake, asshole. Answer me: how long were you hiding it?”

Joker’s not here yet. All this is oddly linear, actually. Very immersive. It would be fascinating if it weren’t so dangerous. He takes a quick peek at his hands. Still Batman’s gauntlets, not Joker’s gloves. Good.

He looks back up at Not-Jason and just…looks. Not-Jason looks tired, so very tired, and what would have been injuries from Deathstroke are prominent, but apart from that, he looks…better than he did in Joker’s tape. His breathing’s steadier and he doesn’t have his eyes glazed over from pain and drugs and fear.

He’s still angry, though: when Bruce doesn’t answer, he slams his hand against the glass with a resounding wham!

“Want me to call Trent?” the blond asks. Not-Jason turns away with a sneer and doesn’t shake the doctor off when the man steps over to grab his arm.

“No. I don’t want anyone going in there until those tests come back.”

“That include you?”

Not-Jason sinks back into the wheelchair.

“Yes.”

“Good. Let’s go, assholes, visiting hours are over–stay down, you’re getting a ride.”

“I want a ride,” the blond gripes.

“Too bad. Get moving.”

Bruce watches them leave and hopes the hallucination will be over now.

[overboss-sid]

Friends Like These

“I gotta stop by the agency before we head out,” Sid stated as she made her way through the bustling Diamond City market. The cool evening air carried the smell of noodles and the sounds of shop owners loudly peddling their wares to her nose and ears. It was...oddly comforting.

“Agency? Why?” MacCready had stopped to check out some new weapons Arturo had on display. He rushed to catch up to her, narrowly avoiding a collision with a guard who was eyeing him warily. 

“I need to check in on a friend.” Sid didn’t even bother to look back to see if MacCready was following her or not. She wound her way through the back alleys until she came to a stop beneath the glowing neon sign of the detective agency. 

Sid snorted. “More like the only detective.” She headed towards the door. “You can wait out here if you want. Or not. Whatever.” She opened the door and slipped inside. MacCready hesitated, then followed her.

“Valentine’s Detective Agency, huh? I’ve heard of the guy. Seen him in Goodneighbor a few times. Best detective in the ‘Wealth, apparently,” said MacCready, his face awash in the soft red light. 

The place was more of a mess than usual. Files were stacked everywhere, scattered across every surface. There were two people digging through a file cabinet at the back of the room, both so engrossed in their task that they hadn’t noticed the two of them enter. 

“Man, I leave for a few days and everything goes to shit,” Sid declared loudly, the corner of her mouth pulled up in a smirk. The two people turned abruptly at the sound of her voice.

“Sid! You’re back!” Ellie squealed, running over and throwing her arms around her. Sid awkwardly returned the hug. She wasn’t really the hugging type, but she liked Ellie, so she put up with it. 

“Well, look who finally decided to show up. ‘I’ll check in regularly,’ my ass.” His voice was stern, but there was a smile playing on the detective’s lips.

“Nice to see you too, Nick.”

His face became serious. “You’ve been gone for over a week, Sidney. We weren’t sure what had happened to you. We were worried.” 

“C’mon, Nicky, you know I can take care of myself.” Sid shuffled her feet and avoided the synth’s piercing yellow eyes like a child being scolded. “Was I really gone for that long?” She glanced over at Ellie, who nodded. “Huh, my bad. I was following a new lead. Time sure flies when you’re trying to break into the secret underground facility that kidnapped your son.”

“Wait, what?!” MacCready stood in the doorway, looking at her incredulously. She had honestly forgotten that he was there. 

“Oh, yeah. Nick, Ellie, this is MacCready. MacCready, Nick Valentine and Ellie Perkins.” Nick tipped his hat and Ellie waved. MacCready nodded at them in acknowledgement, his glance lingering momentarily on Nick’s mechanical features, and then returned his gaze to Sid. 

“Kidnapped your son? Secret underground facility? You haven’t mentioned any of that to me before.”

“Listen, Mac, it’s a long story.” 

“Well, I wanna hear it. I told you my story. It’s only fair.”

Sid looked at Nick, who gave her a nod of encouragement. She sighed.

“Okay, okay. But first, I’m gonna need a drink.” 

“We can head over to the Dugout Inn. Vadim will be glad that his favorite customer has returned," Nick suggested, grabbing his coat.

“Sounds good to me. Ellie, you coming?” 

“I don’t know…” The secretary looked around at the mess of files. “I should really try to clean some of this up.”

“Oh, c’mon. You deserve a break, slaving away for this old synth like you do.” Ellie laughed and Nick rolled his eyes.

“Well…alright. But I can’t stay long.”

“Alrighty then. Let’s go.”

                              —————

“So now I have to try and scrounge up these parts so that we can build this Signal Interceptor thing to get me inside the Institute.” 

“Shi- I mean, dang. That’s…nuts.” MacCready took a swig of his beer. The four of them were sitting at a table in a dark corner of the Dugout Inn, quietly discussing the horror of Sid’s not-so-distant past while the other patrons drank and made merry around them. 

“So, now you know my story.” Sid sat back and contemplated MacCready, trying to gage his reaction. They sat there in silence for a moment before MacCready spoke.

“So what parts do we need to find for that teleporter thingy?”

Sid blinked in surprise. “What?”

“The parts. What are they? And any ideas where we can find them?”

“Mac, that’s not part of our deal. I hired you to help me with a different job, something a lot more small-time and a helluva lot less dangerous. You don’t need to worry about helping me with this. You’d be risking your neck, making yourself a target for the Institute.”

MacCready leaned in towards her, a look of determination in his eyes. “Listen, Sid, it’s the least I can do. I know you've already got friends helping you with this…” He gestured to Nick and Ellie. “But I owe you one. You helped me get a cure for my son, so I’m going to help you find yours. No matter the risk.” 

“Mac, I…thank you.”

“Welcome aboard, MacCready.” Nick extended his good hand. MacCready hesitated, then reached out and shook it. “Good friends are hard to find these days. And we’re gonna need all the help we can get.”

“I’ll drink to that.” MacCready raised his bottle, and Sid and Ellie raised theirs to meet it. “To good friends!” 

Sid smiled. “To good friends.” 

       —————

“You holding up okay?” 

Sid blinked. She hadn't realized she'd been silently staring into the dregs of her drink for who knows how long. She looked up at Nick, who was now standing in front of her, concern in his eyes.

“I’m fine.”

“Hm. I don’t think we have the same understanding of that word.” Nick sat down next to her. They had moved from their table to a couch in the middle of the room, a lot closer to the bar. Sid watched as a rather intoxicated MacCready traded stories with Hawthorne, his hands animatedly illustrating everything he said. Ellie had left a while ago, vaguely mentioning that she had something to do. When Sid tried to get more info out of her she just blushed and babbled something Sid didn't quite catch before ducking out the door. The place had cleared out a bit since then, with most of the remaining patrons crowding the bar, leaving her and Nick alone on the ratty couch.

“Really, Nick. I’m fine. It’s everyone else I’m worried about. All the people I’m dragging into this. Into my mess.” Sid finished off what was left of her drink in one big gulp. 

“Last time I checked, you didn’t drag anybody into this. We volunteered.”

“Still. What am I going to do if you get hurt? Or Ellie or MacCready? Or even Deacon?” Sid stared at the floor. “…I don’t want to lose anyone else.”

“Sidney.” Nick put a comforting arm around her shoulders. “We knew what we were getting into. Is there a chance one of us might get hurt? Well, yeah. That’s a no-brainer when going up against the big bad that is the Institute. But it’s a risk we’re willing to take. There’s no way in hell we’re gonna let you do this alone.” 

“Nothing I can say will change your mind, will it.” It wasn’t a question. She knew what Nick was going to say before he said it.

“Absolutely not. And I’m sure everyone else would agree with me.” He squeezed her shoulder. “We’re going to get you your son back.” 

Sid sighed and leaned in closer to Nick. “I don’t know what the hell I did to deserve all these friends who are willing to put up with my shit.”

“Pffft.”

“I don’t think you realize just how much good you’ve done, Sid.”

“I’m serious. You’ve helped a lot of people since you left that vault, despite everything you were going through.”

“So what? I mean, it's a difficult existence these days, living in the remnants of what was. People are just trying to survive. If I have the chance to make things easier for them, to keep them from suffering the way I have, why wouldn’t I help? It doesn’t cost me anything. I have nothing left to lose. Or, well…I didn’t, anyway.” She looked into Nick’s neon eyes for the first time that night. “That’s changed now.” 

Nick held Sid’s gaze for a moment until a sudden rush of awkwardness came over her and she quickly looked away. Her eyes fell on MacCready, who appeared to be telling Vadim his favorite, and often over-exaggerated, story of the time he took down a deathclaw.

“I should talk to Yefim and see if there are any rooms available. There’s no way we’re leaving the city anymore tonight.” She stood up a little too fast and wobbled a bit before she felt a hand on her back, steadying her. 

“Or you could stay at the agency. Save you some caps.” Nick made sure she wasn’t going to fall over before removing his hand. 

“And where would Mac sleep? I am NOT sharing a bed with him. He snores.”

Nick chuckled. “He can sleep in Ellie’s bed. She won’t be needing it.”

Sid raised an eyebrow in confusion. 

“She’s been spending the nights with her new beau.”

“I KNEW IT!” Several people at the bar turned at Sid’s shout. “I knew that was why she left early! Who is it? Do I know him?”

“Probably not. He manages the greenhouse.”

“Huh. Good guy?”

“Seems like it. But I’m keeping an eye on him.”

“Of course you are,” Sid laughed as they walked over to the bar. She tapped MacCready on the shoulder. 

“Sid! Hey! Good timing.” MacCready put his hand on her shoulder. “Vadim here doesn’t believe me about the deathclaw.”

“Good. He shouldn’t.” Sid counted out some caps and dropped them on the bar. “Pretty sure I took down the deathclaw while you hid in a tree.”

“I’m a sniper! I was getting a good vantage point! And I definitely got the kill shot.” 

“Whatever you say, buddy.” She made a show of rolling her eyes, earning a chuckle from Vadim. “Let’s go. We’re heading out.”

“Alright.” MacCready threw back the last of his beer and hopped off the barstool he had been sitting on, teetering a bit. “Lead the way, boss.”

Sid winked at Vadim and the three of them left the building. A hush had fallen over the city. Most of the shops were closed for the night, and most of the city's residents had retired to their homes after the long day's work. The three companions stood out front of the Dugout Inn, reveling in the newfound peace and quiet for a moment.

“Shall we?” Nick broke the silence, offering Sid his arm. She looked at him in amusement before taking it. 

“Always the gentleman.”

Arm in arm, they made their way back to the agency, MacCready trailing behind them.

  —————

“In we go.” Nick held the door of the agency open and ushered Sid and MacCready inside. 

“We staying here tonight?” MacCready asked as he stumbled through the doorway. 

“Yep. You get the bed upstairs, I’ll take the one down here.”

MacCready looked at the two beds, then at Sid, and then at Nick. His eyes narrowed. “And what about him?” 

“Don’t you worry about me, kid.” Nick couldn’t help but smile at the suspicious look on MacCready’s face. 

“He’s a synth, Mac. He doesn’t sleep.”

MacCready looked skeptically from Sid to Nick once more and then shrugged.

“Okay, guess I’ll hit the hay then.” He headed up the rickety stairs, turning around about halfway up. “If you two could, you know, keep it down, that would be much appreciated.”

Sid grabbed a pencil off a nearby dresser and threw it at him. He tried to dodge it and nearly fell off the stairs. 

“Alright, alright, I’m going!” He scurried up the last few steps and disappeared. Sid laughed and glanced at Nick, who was shaking his head.

“Oh come on, Nick. He’s lucky I threw a pencil and not my knife.”

“Well, I suppose he would have gotten the point either way.” They looked at each other and burst out laughing. Sid leaned against a desk to steady herself. Her fingertips brushed one of the many files scattered about. One word on the paper caught her eye, and she carefully lifted the file and brought it closer to the light. 

“Shaun…” She whispered the word, as if simply speaking his name could summon her son from the depths of the Institute. She scanned the rest of the file, reading each of Nick’s scribbled notes about herself and her lost child. 

“Hey, we’ll find him, Sid. I promise.” Nick placed a hand on her arm. Embarrassed, Sid quickly wiped away the tears that had sprung to her eyes. Damn alcohol had made her weepy. 

“I know we will.” She looked up into Nick's eyes for a moment before dropping her gaze to the floor. “But what if…what if we find him and he doesn’t recognize me? He was so young when he was taken from the vault…from me.” She stifled a sob. Keep it together, Sid. She was not about to let herself break down like that. Not in front of Nick.

“Hey, now, don’t worry about that. He will recognize you. Kids have that instinct.” Nick leaned against the desk next to her. “If nothing else, he’ll know your voice. I’ve seen it before.”

Sid sniffed and tried to stealthily wipe away another rogue tear. They sat in silence for a while, broken only by the occasional sniffle from Sid and the muffled snores from MacCready. 

Suddenly Nick stood up and walked across the room. A radio sat atop one of the many file cabinets. Nick fiddled with it for a moment, and soon the room was filled with music. He turned it down so that it played softly in the background and walked back over to where Sid was slumped against the desk.

“Nick, what on earth are you doing?” 

He offered her his good hand. “You need a distraction.”

She stared at his hand and then up at his face, bemused. “Nick, that’s not-”

“Trust me.”

She hesitated for only a moment before sighing and taking his hand. “End of the World” by Skeeter Davis started to play over the radio, slow and sweet. Sid placed the hand that wasn’t holding Nick’s on his shoulder, and he placed his on her waist. They began to sway slowly to the rhythm of the music. She followed his lead, and soon they were waltzing around the room, avoiding the stacks of files as best they could. 

To her surprise, the distraction worked. It reminded her of how Nate used to try to put a smile on her face when she was having a bad day by twirling her around their kitchen back in the day. He had always been there to support her, to pick her up if she fell. To hold her when she needed to be held, despite her objections. And then suddenly he was gone. 

But being here now, with Nick, it felt like maybe he wasn’t gone. Not completely. Some piece of him was still here, with her. And he wouldn’t want her to give up, just like Nick didn’t want her to give up. Nick believed in her just like Nate would have. She felt her drive return, that determination to find her son no matter what. Somehow, she knew that everything would work out. 

She leaned her head against Nick’s shoulder. “Thank you, Nick. For everything.”

He smiled. “Anytime, doll.”

The music stopped and Travis’ voice came over the radio, stuttering his way through an advertisement for Moe Cronin’s Swatters. Nick and Sid stood in the center of the room, each a bit reluctant to let the other go. The spell was broken when Sid let out a massive yawn. Nick chuckled.

“Time for the human to go to bed.”

He reluctantly stepped away from her and went to turn off the radio. When he turned back around, Sid was attempting to stifle another yawn and failing. 

“Bedtime, sleepyhead.”

“Yeah, yeah, I heard you the first time.” She started to make her way to the back bedroom, but paused for a moment. She turned and walked back up to Nick, giving him a quick peck on the cheek.  

“Goodnight, Nick.”

“Goodnight, Sid.”

He watched as she crossed the room and disappeared around the corner into the bedroom. Once she was out of sight, he sank down into his desk chair. He carefully touched his cheek where she had kissed him and sighed. 

You’re getting yourself in too deep with this one, Valentine, he thought as he cast one last look in the direction of the bedroom. He set to work going over his case notes, the feeling of her lips still lingering on his synthetic flesh.

[world-of-aus]

Along Came You - 4

Pairing: Mechanic!bucky x Reader

Warnings: angst, fluff, protective!Bucky

Author’s Note: Finally coming back to this one, and hopefully seeing this one to the end! As of now I'm not sure how many chapters this is going to be, so for its word count and chapter count its a TBD. Happy Readings Buns.

“How’s y/n been, has she mentioned anything new to you since her last doctor’s appointment?”

Bucky looks up from the sugar packet he’s pouring into the mug in front of him, hand reaching for the spoon that lays off to the side. “You haven’t spoken with her?” Sam shrugs nodding his head as he brings his own mug up to his lips, “I’ve talked to her yeah, but I’m sure there are things I don’t know that you do.” Bucky chuckles bringing the mug up to his lips, he takes a sip of the warm drink before placing it back down. “You work with her Wilson; you probably know more than I do seeing as you get to see her every day, y’all share the same office area.”

“You know I go to work to work right?”

“Is that what you’re doing, funny the group chat says otherwise,” Bucky jokes, dodging the straws skin that gets thrown his way. “You know what I mean tinman, she’s your best friend and you’ve been by her side more than any of us have been since before this all started.”

“I don’t know what you want me to say Sam,” Bucky answers as he reaches for his mug, “aside from the two doctors' visits I've gone to with her after finding out the gender y/n hasn’t mentioned much else when I stop by afterwork to check in on her, she tells me about her day, what she’s planning for the next and that’s about it, and I won’t push to get anything she’s not ready to share out of her.”

“So, she hasn’t mentioned anything about Steve or the divorce?”

The mug freezes midair, Bucky’s gaze intense as he looks at his friend, “alright Wilson,” he murmurs as he places the mug down, “what do you know?” Bucky can see his friend struggling whether he should share the information but catches the moment Sam folds. “Alright look you can’t tell y/n I told you anything, I mean it Barnes,” he warns, “let her come to you, we’ve told her enough times already, but you need to let her come to you, you understand?”

Bucky’s jaw tenses, “c’mon Barnes,” Sam warns again, “I'm being forreal here man, I need you to promise me you won’t tell her anything.” The brunette’s head tilts in annoyance, “I just told you I don’t force y/n to tell me anything she isn’t ready to – of course I’m not going to force anything out of her, she has enough on her plate already Wilson.”

Sam sighs but leans on the table, voice dropping as he speaks, “The divorce went through already, its finalized.” “Since when,” Bucky questions, “y/n never mentioned anything to me about it.” Sam rubs at his chin, “apparently, she wasn’t ready for any of us to know, it’s been weeks now and she barely mentioned it to us this past week.”

Bucky can understand why you’d keep the finalization a secret, you didn’t want anyone’s sympathy, didn’t want those worried eyes following you around. “Well I’m sure she’ll tell me when she’s ready Sam, even though it's going on months the wounds of Steve’s deceit, the affair, its all still fresh, she has a lot on her plate, and I’m sure she has her reason for not telling me.”

Sam nods watching as his friend reaches for his mug again, this time letting his lips touch the rim before he’s speaking, “but that’s not all.” Bucky raises a brow, “what do you mean that’s not all?”

“When Steve filed for divorce, he or rather Peggy wanted the house it was the only other request aside from her signing.” Bucky’s blood runs cold, “wanted the house, wasn’t the affair, the divorce, the broken family for a new family enough for him, for them?” Bucky watches his friend shake his head, “we’re not sure what Steve was thinking when he asked for it, y/n couldn’t even begin to explain why he might want the house if he’s already moved into her place, I told her I don’t think he’d go that far.”

Bucky’s phone ringing on the table brings there conversation to a halt, your name flashing across the screen. His brows furrow as he reaches for it sliding the green button as he brings it up to his ear. “Hello,” he questions, “I’m grabbing breakfast right now,” he answers, “but I can squeeze you in during lunch, is everything alright sweetheart?”

Sam watches the situation playout, Bucky bidding you a goodbye as he hangs up placing the phone back in its previous spot, “so,” he questions, “what did y/n want?”

“She wanted to talk,” he breathes as he leans back in the seat.

“Was she okay, did she mention about what?”

Bucky’s shakes his head jaw clenched as he reaches for his wallet, “something tells me Steve did go that far.”

You hadn’t known who to turn to as you looked down at the filed paper in front of you, though your friends had told you time and time again since you found out about the papers who you should turn too.

“Y/n it’s not a sign of weakness to reach out to a friend, you can’t go through this alone if something like this is actually being pursued.”

“He wouldn’t do this Sammy, he already took everything from me, there’s nothing more he could take, he’s happy now, he wouldn’t do this. He’ll probably change it last minute, I don’t need to bother Bucky about this, he’s already doing so much he doesn’t need me to bother him with this.”

“Well let’s say he does decide to leave this on there, he would be sweeping the rug out from under your feet, you’ve barely got your bearings to go through something like this if he does decide to serve this.”

“He won’t Sammy, he would never stoop this low – he just won’t.”

But he had, he did.  

You had found the papers on your office desk this morning, the proposal typed out and waiting for your signature, his already present next to it. You had wanted to be angry, storm out of the office and go damn the man you once called your husband to hell, but you had felt instant grief the longer you looked at the papers; the ones that began to blur with your unshed tears. How you wanted to believe this was all just a nightmare, but no matter how hard you pinched yourself it wasn’t one you woke from.  

You don’t know how you found your chair, your body falling into it as you continued to look at those papers. A shaky breath left your lips as you reached into your coat to pull your phone from the pocket, dialing his number was second nature. You didn’t have to wait long before his voice met your ear, and despite your finest attempts to keep it together, your lip wobbled with unshed tears as you tried to find your voice.

That had been minutes ago, and you wondered then if he would actually come, he had already done so much, its like you had told them time and time again he didn’t need you bothering him with this.  

You’re about to reach for your discarded phone to call Bucky back and tell him you’d be alright till lunch rolled around but a commotion on the other side of your door has you pushing from your seat, the chair rolling backwards into the wall with a soft thud. You can hear Sam’s voice raised as he asks your ex-husband to move aside, and you had never moved across a room quicker than you did than as you reached your hand out to the door.

You don’t hesitate in your next step as you pull the door wide open, eyes finding ocean grey’s, “Bucky,” you breathe, and it’s enough to break the trance of the two men blocking your way. You never thought one day you’d hate the gaze of the next person who falls into your line of sight, “you called him?”

“I don’t see how any of that is your concern Rogers, this isn’t even your floor, did you need something?”

You regret asking the second the look of sheepishness crosses his features, “right,” you breathe willing the tears at bay, because you’d be damned if you let Steve Rogers see just how broken you were, “the papers are on my desk, signed,” you add. You tear your watery gaze away from the man in question to find Sam’s, “Wilson I'll be taking the rest of the day to attend to some important matters, my phone will be off for the rest of the afternoon, do you think you could bring me my things this evening?”

Sam doesn’t hesitate to answer taking note of your need run, “Of course y/n, I'll drop them off at Buck’s before heading home tonight.” You’re giving a stiff nod before you attempt to move around your ex-husband though you don’t get far as his hand closes around your arm. You’re pulling away angrily your form crashing into Bucky’s as he reaches for you, “don’t you dare Steve,” you growl, “don’t you dare touch me; you’ve lost your right!”

“Y/n,” he tries but you won’t hear of it, “you’ve got what you wanted, Roger’s is it not enough what more do you want, what more could you possibly take from me!”  

“I want to talk.”

You scoff, praying silently that the tears don’t fall, “you lost that chance the day you walked out the door and I stood there begging for you to come back - I don’t want to talk to you anymore, I’m done.” Steve looks between you and Bucky anger flashing in his eyes, “my best friend y/n, really?”

His accusation is the dropped pin hitting the floor as you all but fly forward to get your hand across his face. Bucky following as he gets his arms around your middle pulling you back, Sam sliding between you and your ex-husband as a barrier between the two of you. “How dare you Steve Rogers, you have some damn nerve accusing me of such a thing” you screech as you finally let the tears fall, “my world revolved around you, I lived and breathed you at one point in life. Is the guilt of what you’ve done that heavy,” you question through your tears, “Is the guilt of what you’ve done so much that you dare to turn and point the blame, point the blame to the woman you promised to love, and your best friend?" Steve's jaw is clenched, as he looks at the two of you, “not everyone can move on as quickly as you did,” you add.  

“Are you sure you haven’t moved on,” he dares to spit.

“So what if I did, at least it would be with him, a man who’s show me more love than you ever could in our years together, a man who’s so far never shown me without a doubt that he cares.”

There’s a fire In Steve’s eyes as his gaze goes from you to the brunette behind you, “yet he wasn’t the one you got with, it was me.”

“And how I wish it hadn’t been,” your voice wavered.

Your words shatter the tension as the blonde’s demeanor falls, Sam turning to Bucky, “get her out of here Buck, take her home.” Bucky didn’t need to be told twice as he guides the two of you back, his form covering yours as you follow his steps towards the elevator.

The two of you move into the box, his hold on you firm as the doors slip shut, it’s quiet except for the quiet clicks of the descending floors. “Are you okay,” Bucky questions after a beat, he waits watching as your head tilts up, your eyes glossed over in tears.  

“I hate him Bucky, I hate him so much,” you say as your lip quivers, a new wave of tears filling your eyes. Bucky pulls you into his arms, head going over yours as your sobs fill the elevator, “he took everything from me, and I just let him.”

“You didn’t just let him,” Bucky offers, “he didn’t deserve anymore of your time, he didn’t deserve anymore of your fight.”

You bury your face deeper into the coat of his jacket, “he took the house buck, I have nothing left.”

Bucky squeezes you tighter, “he didn’t take everything, you have me.”

[yuesya]

but I raise you this: shiki goes to canon-verse except in canon verse shiki died in the car accident/never woke up from her coma. so it’s even more heartbreaking and confusing for nanami when he sees this girl calling him “kento-oji”

also the way her instinct is to get mad and kill whoever’s trying to kill nanami first and ask questions later? I love platonic relationships

also it’d be super fun if clan influence + shiki’s technique means she’ll wear like kanzashi or hair pins (but also I kinda get the vibe shiki’ll get a kick out of doing what’s not traditional)

+ gojo & shiki this chapter! I think gojo’s characterisation is so interesting; like yeah, he had some interest in her eyes but not just her eyes. he legitimately cares for her, maybe bec of she was nanami’s niece but now it’s because she’s his cousin too. yes gojo get yourself a clan friend/cousin.

(also side headcanon: gojo tries to get shiki to wear glasses like his but she refuses point blank)

this fics so good, going to go reread while waiting for the next update!

Hi anon and thank you for reading! Glad you're enjoying the fic thus far. :D

Also, since I got derailed a little bit with the AU you raised:

.

“So that’s the girl, hmm?”

Nanami Kento makes a noncommittal sound of assent in his throat. Beside him, Gojo laughs, airy and cheerful. Nanami only wishes that he could have half the other sorcerer’s ease in this current situation –but it’s a futile wish. All it takes is a single look, and already he can feel something tighten uncomfortably in his throat. Not painfully, but… uncomfortable.

Gojo cranes his neck and hums interestedly. “She really exorcised one of the Special Grades on her own?”

“You’ve read the reports,” Nanami responds levelly. Hesitates, then cannot help but ask- “… Is it really her?”

Gojo lets out a small huff of amusement. 

“You should know that better than me, Nanami,” he says lightly, though not entirely without sympathy. “But if you’re asking me if she’s fully human –yes. I don’t see any signs of cursed possession on her. She’s human, and she should fully be in her right mind.”

Nanami exhales slowly. 

Kento-ojichan, the familiar stranger had called him. But that was impossible. Nanami’s young niece had died in a car accident with her parents all those years ago. Nanami was the one who had to make the funeral arrangements! It was utterly impossible, and yet… 

“She looks like my sister,” Nanami finds himself murmuring. “… Except for the hair. Her hair color completely baffled me and my sister in the beginning, until my brother-in-law told us to blame his family’s genes.”

Gojo makes an affronted sound. Nanami ignores him.

The children sitting on the grass look up, and catch sight of them behind the window. Itadori brightens, jumping to his feet and waving exuberantly upwards. Yoshino is slower to follow. Quiet personality aside, he’s still recovering from the Satozakura incident, mentally and physically alike. 

The white-haired girl beside him pauses and gives him a hand as he stumbles. Yoshino mouths something to her, probably a ‘thank you,’ and follows Itadori’s lead in looking upwards as he stands and turns.

Yoshino’s entire right arm is missing.

‘Shiki’ had been the one to cut it off. 

… And in doing so, she’d saved the boy’s life.

“C’mon,” Gojo claps him on the shoulder, breaking him out of his thoughts. “Let’s go down and get the kids! I, for one, would be very interested in meeting your not-dead niece and finding out how she’s… y’know. Not dead. Bet you’ve got a lot that you’d like to ask her too, yeah?”

[because-of-a-friend]

Enemies to Lovers!Jeonghan

MASTERLIST

One day I will come up with titles for my works lol. 

Hi Hannah!!!! Thanks for requesting! I loved doing this one! I went ahead and went with Jeonghan cuz I feel like he fits this trope best! Sorry you had to wait so long, this particular fic got deleted like... three times so it was a struggle lol. I hope it’s what you were looking for!

I hope this is a good one, I’m realizing I get real insecure about my writing anytime I’m not doing a bulletpoint or reaction fic, so I don’t feel great about this time. Also I only started recently putting actual detail into my kiss scenes and idk how I’m doing with those???? Like do they seem ok??? Also I feel like I make it so obvious that I am such a sucker for SVT having cute nicknames for siblings, friends, partners, etc in fics lol. Anyways...

Also, I really said: Jeonghan... but in different types of lighting

Remember I don’t own the gif! Link to OP is right there if you want to go give the creator some love!!!

Word Count: 5.2k

Warnings: Mentions eating, reader is using female pronouns (I will keep things gn unless you request differently), I think that’s it, pls let me know if I missed any

You’re not sure exactly how it happened. It was probably just an instance of getting off on the wrong foot, that led to more awkward interactions, giving both of you the wrong impression of each other. You knew this, you could rationalize it all. You were well aware that all it would take was one “I think we might have the wrong idea of each other” conversation and it would all be over. You could easily fix it all, but…

But his stupid smug face. The sarcastic jokes. The never-ending pranks that were not as funny as he thought they were. His ridiculous arrogance. His overall unapologetic nature towards all of it.

You couldn’t help but hate Yoon Jeonghan.

*****

“I don’t know, Wonnie…” you say uneasily over the phone. In previous years, you’d go over to the dorm without hesitation. You loved spending time with your brother and many of the other boys. But ever since you had officially met and begun interacting with Jeonghan…

“C’mon, [Y/N]! I bought that new game you were talking about! We can play it together on my gaming system!” Wonwoo began to persuade. You knew you’d give in; you always did. Your brother was far too sweet a person and far too comforting a presence to reject. The question was how long did you want to argue with him about going to the dorm.

You sighed, accepting defeat early to save time, “I’ll head over there in a bit.”

Wonwoo gives a small cry of victory, “Ok, I’ll have Gyu make extra ramen.” Wonwoo abruptly hangs up the phone right after, leaving you in silence to groan in regret of your decision.

You immediately straighten yourself out, though, trying to put yourself in a mindset of determination. What were you thinking? Just because you and that asshole didn’t get along meant you couldn’t go see your own twin brother without feeling uncomfortable? Screw that! If he wanted to keep the peace then he was going to have to start watching where he stepped around you. 

*****

You knocked loud and clear on the door of their dorm, knowing that with thirteen people living inside, it was usually too noisy for them to hear someone signal their arrival. To your relief, Seungcheol opened the door just moments after you knocked and greeted you with a warm smile followed by a hand sneaking into your hair to ruffle it, “Hey there, kiddo! How’s it hanging?”

“Just fine,” you tilt your head down slightly in his direction as you pass him to enter the dorm. “How are things here?” As soon as you ask, your ears are met with the noise of someone dropping something in the kitchen, followed by Seungkwan crying in alarm.

“Same as always, I supposed,” Seungcheol sighs, but his smile doesn’t fade. “I think Mingyu and Wonwoo are already in the computer room, if you want to go ahead and see them!”

“Ok, thanks Cheol!” you call as you both rush off in different directions, him towards the kitchen and you towards the small room that would provide you solace from the possibility of having to see Yoon Jeonghan.

You were determined not to let things go how they usually did: you with your mouth clamped shut as Jeonghan spoke whatever teasing words he had saved up for you, and the most you can do to fight back is by rolling your eyes and finding any way to get away from him.

This time, you would still avoid contact with him, but if it happened, you’d speak your mind and not care what he thought, since that’s how he treated you.

But there was no sign of him or anyone else as you walked to the computer room. You could hear Mingyu and Wonwoo yelling and cheering at the game long before you opened the door. It was pitch black inside, the piercing light of the screen making you squint your eyes.

The two men inside both turn immediately to check who offended their dark space with the soft, yellow light from the hallway.

“Oh [Y/N], you came!” Mingyu beams up at you. You nod, matching his bright expression.

“How’s the game?” you ask simply, looking up to your brother.

“We like it so far,” Wonwoo’s smile is wide, he always gets excited about new games, whether they’re good or not. He leans over to grab a can of some sort of energy drink before gulping it down. “We left some ramen for you over there on the table. Eat first, then I’ll let you have a turn.”

You roll your eyes, though Wonwoo was only mere minutes older than you, he found those moments to be enough leverage to order you around and act like you should be dependent on his care. There were times when he even referred to himself as “oppa” to you and insisted that you do the same.

Most of the time you let it slide, especially when you weren’t in the mood to argue. However, there were times when you’d pull out the “We’re the same age,” “Even if you’re older, I’m smarter,” or “Don’t boss me around when I’m more mature than you” cards at the drop of a hat.

“Can you at least turn on the LEDs while I eat?” you ask, tip-toeing in the darkness towards the table at the back end of the room. You hear a click before a soft blue glow fills the room, finally giving you a clear view of your path. You pull the bowl of ramen towards you as you sit and resist the urge to comment on how little they left you. The dorm was filled with food anyways, you could find more later if you got hungry again.

Wonwoo and Mingyu begin to eagerly tell you what they like about the game as you eat. You listen happily, feeling safe in the presence of your brother and friend.

Then of course…

“Hey you two, Cheol wanted me to remind you that we have to get up early tomorrow,” you can’t help the sour expression that comes over your face as Jeonghan enters the room to speak to Wonwoo and Mingyu. “Oh, hey there cutie, I didn’t know you were here!” His smirk makes you sick.

“Don’t call me that,” you say bitterly into the nearly empty bowl.

Wonwoo looks nervously between you and his bandmate, well aware of the dislike you have for him. He’s grateful that you’ve always kept it so civil, but still feels bothered by the unrest between you.

Jeonghan lets out a little giggle in response, and Wonwoo feels a tug in the pit of his stomach, he wishes Jeonghan wouldn’t be so hard on you sometimes. He knows his hyung doesn’t mean anything by it, but you…

You feel your heart sink as Jeonghan steps fully into the room, striding to sit across from you at the table. You can only stare in wonder at his audacity as he slides the bowl towards himself and finishes off the ramen in one bite.

“I was eating that,” you try to keep your tone measured, attempting to keep within the balance of standing up for yourself but not starting any drama that would affect the boys.

“Go make more if you’re hungry, then,” Jeonghan says casually, making your anger positively flare.

You don’t even give your brother the chance to mediate, jumping up from your place and leaving the room, wanting to be anywhere but around that prick.

*****

“You’re leaving already?” Mingyu pouts at you.

“Gyu, I’ve been here for hours,” you laugh, stretching out your fingers as they start to prick from pain of slamming into a keyboard for so long. You had returned to the computer room but only after Jeonghan left. Part of you had wished you had done more to confront him; another part was glad you didn’t start a fight and put Wonwoo in an awkward position. “Besides all of you, as well as me have to get up early tomorrow, it’s already late. I need to get back home.”

“You can stay here,” Wonwoo was quick to offer.

You shook your head at him, “Then I’ll just have to get up even earlier, I’ll go back to my place.” Wonwoo nods almost reluctantly, standing to walk you out.

All of you run into Joshua on your way to the front door, he turns out to be the only one smart enough to ask how you got there.

“Oh, I took the bus,” you say slowly, knowing this is about to cause issues.

“Well, the last one would have already stopped running by now,” Mingyu says looking at the time on his phone.

“I’ll give you a ride,” Josh offers immediately.

You bring your hands up to shake them back and forth, “No, no, I can find a way home, you all need to go to bed.”

“[Y/N],” Wonwoo speaks up immediately in that stern voice you hate but also can’t help but listen to, “let Josh take you home. It’s either that or you stay here, I won’t have you walking around alone at night.” Wonwoo waits a moment to gauge your expression. He finally nods affirmatively, before speaking directly to Joshua, “Take her home, please.”

Joshua nods before walking off to grab his keys. You and Wonwoo send Mingyu off to bed. Once you’re alone, your brother pulls you in for a tight hug. “Do you want me to say something to him?” he asks lowly.

You shake your head, “I don’t want to cause any problems with you guys.” You sit in silence for a moment. “Come and stay over with me sometime, I miss our sleepovers.”

Joshua comes back and Wonwoo pulls away, “Thanks, hyung. Please get her home safe.” For the second time that night, your hair gets ruffled before your brother disappears to go off to bed.

The ride home with Joshua is comfortable. He speaks kindly to you and makes you smile.

You begin to wonder how amongst all these angels, there exists a person like Yoon Jeonghan.

*****

Wonwoo used the new game as leverage to guilt you into coming over quite often in the following weeks. You hadn’t realized how much you had limited your time at the dorm until you started going consistently once more. It was nice being able to spend time with the boys again. You hated that Jeonghan had become such an unbearable presence that it affected your relationship with the rest of your friends.

But ever since you had started to stand your ground and talk back, he had finally begun to avoid you. You supposed it was only fun for him when you sat there and took it.

It didn’t stop the two of you from bickering when you saw each other, but now both of you preferred to avoid each other instead of Jeonghan seeking you out to tease you.

The following weeks of visiting were fairly comfortable. Whenever Jeonghan wasn’t around, you got to spend plenty of time with the other boys and your brother. Plus, the new video game was even better than expected.

Jeonghan’s presence slowly became uncomfortable in a different way.

Instead of being smug and overbearing, he became strangely quiet around you. His facial expressions became more serious as he sent genuine glares your way before letting out bitter remarks and going on his way.

It made you even angrier.

Who the hell was he to torture you all this time and then act like a kicked puppy when you finally fought back???

Your anger and his bitterness slowly escalated the tension between you two. Although they were happening less frequently, the arguments between you became more serious and almost hurtful.

Whatever, you told yourself, he could do as he pleased, you wouldn’t let it affect you anymore.

*****

You stared down at your phone screen. Why? Why did it have to be here, while you were at the dorm?

The call was only five minutes. They didn’t even do it in person. Of course, they had warned that because of hard times, there’d be lay-offs soon. But they couldn’t even do it in person? And all you got was a simple “Sorry, come collect your things on Monday”??? You were a hard worker, passionate about the job, more efficient than most of your coworkers and this is how they treated you???

A part of you could’ve guessed, many of the employees your age had gotten in because of nepotism. But you didn’t want to believe that they’d just brush off all your years of hard work just to avoid stepping on the toes of higher-ups who had relative connections hired at the company.

You squatted against the wall of the hallway, still too in shock to move.

So, you simply sat in silence, for what seemed like forever.

“You good?” you had never felt worse than the exact moment his voice reached your ears.

“Go away,” you said sternly, knowing you’d be crying soon.

“Geez, forgive me for asking,” Jeonghan responds before turning to walk away. He stops abruptly after you sniffle. “So, you’re not ok?”

“No offense, Jeonghan,” you say hating the way your voice is shaking, “but you are the last person I want to speak to right now.”

There’s a heavy silence for a long moment. You silently pray that he’ll just leave. “Do you want me to get your brother?” he asks lightly.

You shake your head, “No, I don’t want to ruin the mood. I’m going to go home, just tell him I had a stomach ache.” You push yourself up and begin to walk briskly towards the door.

To your surprise, Jeonghan reaches out to stop you. You stare at his hand wrapped around your arm and wonder if you’ve ever even allowed him to touch you before. “It’s already late, let me give you a ride.”

You pull his hand off of you, “No, thanks.” You grab your coat and start to dig around in your purse to make sure you have all of your belongings.

“[Y/N],” Jeonghan’s voice rings clear in your head despite your brain feeling fuzzy. You don’t want to look at him. Who is this person that’s showing concern and speaking kindly? You don’t like it. It feels fake. It feels like a predator playing with a wounded prey. You’re just waiting for him to laugh or make a remark or do anything to make you feel worse than you already do.

But Jeonghan simply grabs the keys laying on the front table, grabs your arm once more, and leads you out to the car.

*****

The ride is suffocatingly silent. You wished he’d at least turn on some music to cover up the sound of your crying, but you remained in the quiet. You rolled down your window and stuck your head out, letting the warm night air and sound of wind comfort you. Since you were turned away from him completely, you didn’t see Jeonghan glancing over at you throughout the drive.

You couldn’t have left that car faster when you finally pulled up to your apartment.

To your dismay, Jeonghan also gets out, apparently intent on walking you up.

“You don’t have to-” you start but abruptly stop when he gives you a look telling you an emotion you don’t quite understand.

Jeonghan finally speaks when you’re riding the elevator up to your floor, “I don’t really mean it, you know.”

“Mean what?” you say weakly, starting to feel the exhaustion from crying so much.

“When I talk to you like that… I mean when I’m… rude,” he trails off, running a hand through his hair. “Usually it’s just teasing, but obviously I went too far with you. And I didn’t realize it until you started showing how upsetting it was for you. I should’ve known before that, though.”

“You seemed ruder after I started talking back,” you say, confused.  

“I was just being petty and defensive. I kept telling myself things like: It’s her fault, isn’t it? She should have made it more clear from the beginning that it was upsetting her. How was I supposed to know? But that was just me being immature, I should’ve just talked to you.”

“Is that an… apology, Yoon Jeonghan?” you ask, letting yourself be a little smug.

For the first time, you get a genuine smile out of him, “Maybe.”

There’s more silence for a second.

“It’s a two-way road, though,” you say finally.

“What do you mean?” he asks.

“I mean, I could have also come and talked to you instead of letting things escalate,” you say. “I played some part in all of this… unpleasantness. You can’t entirely blame yourself.”

Jeonghan smiles again, reaching out to ruffle your hair the way Seungcheol always did. Then he takes a dramatic deep breath and rolls his shoulders, “There! That feels better, doesn’t it? We can finally be friends!”

You roll your eyes in a playful manner, but you feel it too, a weight has been lifted.

*****

Wonwoo showed up at your door in the middle of the night that night. You took one look at his frantic face and groaned, “I told Jeonghan I would tell you myself.”

“You should have told me immediately!” your brother pouts as he passes you to walk into your apartment.

“I didn’t want to worry you so late, especially when all of you were having a good time. I was going to tell you tomorrow,” you close the door behind him. You watch as he turns on the TV and starts picking through your pantry. “Hmmm, yes it seems quite clear that you came here out of concern for me,” you can’t help but use a sarcastic tone.

Wonwoo sends a glare your way as he grabs snacks and settles on the couch. You sit next to him, grabbing your fair share of the food. You try to keep your attention on the show, but the feeling of Wonwoo staring straight at you is distracting.

“I’m fine, you don’t have to worry,” you sigh.

“Really? Because Jeonghan described you as an emotional wreck,” your brother scoffs.

“I was just shocked and upset. I’ll be ok. I have a good resume, I can find a new job,” you insist.

“I keep telling you, you don’t have to work-”

“I don’t care how much you make,” you interrupt. “I’m not going to depend on you. It’ll just make trouble for both of us.”

“Will you at least let me help out if there’s any problems before you find a new job?” Wonwoo kicks at your leg.

“Like I would even tell you if I was having trouble,” you return his kick.

“You just can’t help but be difficult,” your brother complains quietly.

You let the sound of the show take over the room for a few minutes. “I do have good news,” you finally speak up, wanting to give your brother some peace of mind about something. “Me and Jeonghan made up. We figured it out.”

Wonwoo bolts upright with a grin on his face, “Really??? It’s really all good now?”

“100%,” you say, unable to stop yourself from pinching your brother’s cheeks, finding his excited expression cute.

“Let’s celebrate soon then! We can have a big gaming party with all of the boys!” You agree to your brother’s proposal. You feel content in this moment, knowing you’ll wake up in the morning in an uncomfortable position, immediately kick at his legs and tell him to get his stinky feet away from you.

*****

Your time at the dorm increases with the weight of you and Jeonghan’s rivalry being gone. You’re enjoying getting to know him as a friend instead of constantly walking on eggshells around him. Going to visit the boys is once again a happy and comfortable experience.

You hadn’t realized how much Jeonghan had affected you until you two had worked things out. The world felt light again and you could breathe, no longer in constant worry of possibly ruining things between your brother and his bandmates.

You hoped things would remain without complications for a long time.

*****

“Seungkwan, you should come with us!” you begged. “The carnival only comes once a year; you can’t miss it!”

“But it’s so crowded and there are screaming kids everywhere,” Seungkwan complains.

“Oh, whatever,” Soonyoung interjects. “You love it every time we go.”

Seungkwan gives Soonyoung a look that has you laughing through your mouthful of ramen. “Oh, shoot,” you say feeling liquid start to dribble down your chin. “Can I get a napkin?”

“Here’s one,” you hear Jeonghan’s voice as he enters the room. You reach out to grab the napkin as Seungkwan and Soonyoung continue bickering. But instead of handing it to you, Jeonghan extends his hand not holding the napkin towards you. His fingers come to lightly touch your chin and turn you towards him. Jeonghan wipes your face with the napkin himself, taking the time to make sure it’s really all clean. “All better,” he smiles at you, running his thumb across your chin to check its cleanliness one last time.

As Jeonghan walks away, you turn to see if Seungkwan or Soonyoung saw what had happened. They were still arguing, though. The boys showing you physical touch or affection wasn’t really all that uncommon. But for some reason, the way Jeonghan had grabbed your chin just now… Why was your heart beating so hard?

*****

You couldn’t stop yourself from dragging Wonwoo all over the carnival. It was nice to get out in this environment, the lights, the laughter, the food, the games, the rides. You wanted to do everything, but not before you looked at all there was and took in the spectacle.

You could hear all the boys laughing excitedly behind you, you knew they’d want to try everything as well. You shook your head at Seungkwan’s bright expression, you couldn’t wait to play the ‘I told you so’ card later.

The night was a blur. All of you ran from games to rides to snacks and then all over again.

You couldn’t help but stop completely in your tracks as you passed a booth with a giant stuffie of your favorite animal as a prize. Your fascination with the plushie doesn’t go unnoticed.

“You want me to win it for you?” Jeonghan’s voice is suddenly speaking right into your ear. You jump after realizing he was right behind you. You grip your cotton candy a bit tighter and shyly nod. The way Jeonghan grins at you fills you with warmth.

You watch him walk over to the booth. His light hair and pink shirt were illuminated by the soft glow of the surrounding lights. Jeonghan takes his wallet out and hands some bills to the vendor. You step up closer to stand next to him as he plays the game. He laughs as he chats back and forth with the vendor. You watch in awe as Jeonghan clears the game, no problem.

“Anything from the top shelf!” the vendor exclaims happily.

“That one please,” Jeonghan points right at the stuffie you had been staring at.

“It’ll be a wonderful memory for your girlfriend,” the vendor smiles as he hands the prize directly to you.

“Oh, I’m-”

“Of course!” Jeonghan interrupts you almost instantly, wrapping an arm around your shoulders and starting to pull you away from the game. “We’ll cherish it for a long time! Thanks for the game!” The vendor waves kindly as you two walk away. After a moment, Jeonghan pulls his arm off of you, “Sorry, sometimes it’s just easier to agree than explain, you know?” You nod in agreement. “Wait a second,” he stops you by putting his hands on your shoulders and standing in front of you. Before you can ask what’s wrong, his hand comes up towards your face as it had earlier that day. He quickly swipes his thumb across your lips before pulling to back to show you remnants of your cotton candy. “Do you always eat this messily?” he grins and then, to your surprise, puts his thumb in his mouth to clean it off.

You stand there, frozen, unable to really comprehend what just happened as Jeonghan walks away towards the other boys.

“For the second time today?” Soonyoung is suddenly standing next to you.

“So you did see what happened earlier!” you exclaimed, hitting his arm lightly. “It was weird, right?!”

“Can’t tell yet,” Soonyoung replies cocking his head to the side and putting his hands in his pocket. “Sometimes Jeonghan is just sort of naturally flirtatious. But I’m not sure about you. I figured since you two didn’t get along at first, it’d take him awhile to warm up to you at that level. He seemed to get comfortable with you quite quickly.” Soonyoung turns and shrugs at you after his words.

“You’re no help at all,” you say emotionlessly. There’s a pause before both you and Soonyoung slowly look at each other and laugh at your quip.

You decide to brush off your new concerns about Jeonghan and enjoy this night with the boys. The vendor was right, it was a good memory, and you’re sure it’d last you for your whole lifetime.

*****

You hate yourself a bit for it, but you once again seem to be avoiding Jeonghan. He had made you so nervous that day, and the way your heart pounded… You didn’t want to get sucked into having a silly crush on him if he wasn’t actually trying to flirt with you.

No, from now on, interactions with Jeonghan would be friendly but short and appropriate.

You were stupid to think he wouldn’t notice.

It wasn’t long before there came a night when Jeonghan insisted that he be the one to give you a ride home. You couldn’t help the way your nerves spiked at his determination to be the one to take you. You knew he most likely wanted to talk to you about your sudden distance from him.

The ride itself was nice, Jeonghan rolled the windows down for you, remembering that you enjoyed the warm night air of summer. You talked comfortably with one another. Jeonghan was always able to make you smile so easily.

You couldn’t stop yourself from staring at him. He was just wearing a t-shirt and sweats but… His blonde hair being illuminated in the moonlight as he ran his hands through it and his bright smile as he laughed...

He really was beautiful.

Once again, Jeonghan came with you to walk you to your door. And once again, he finally spoke up in the elevator, “You’ve been avoiding me, sweetheart.” Your heart drops to your stomach at the nickname. “Is everything ok? Did I do something to make you mad again?”

You quickly shake your head and pull your hands up to shake them as well, “No! Not at all!”

“You sure?” he insists.

“Yoon Jeonghan, you really don’t think I’d tell you if you did?” you say.

He giggles, “Yeah, that’s true. You’d let me know the moment I messed up, wouldn’t you?” The elevator dings and opens up to your floor. You and Jeonghan step out together. “Is everything else ok, then? You don’t start avoiding people for no reason.”

You nod as casually as possible, “Everything is great.” Your tone isn’t convincing and Jeonghan nudges you. “I guess, I just got… nervous? I mean one moment we were like enemies and then the next we were suddenly really… close, and-”

“I made you uncomfortable?” Jeonghan’s voice is slightly panicked.

“No, you did nothing wrong! It’s all on me, I just got caught up in my emotions and-” you stop abruptly when you realize what you were about to do.

Jeonghan nods quietly as if to say he understands, but what it is he understands, you’re not sure. “Is it ok for us to remain close, or do you want me to back off?”

“I don’t want any more distance between us, but…” you trail off.

“But, what?” he prompts you again.

“I don’t want to get the wrong idea about anything…” you say, finally reaching your door.

Jeonghan watches as you slowly unlock your door and push it open, “You haven’t gotten the wrong idea about anything.” He avoids eye contact when you look up at him.

You’re shocked by his forwardness. But once he voices his thoughts out loud, you once again feel the feeling of a weight being lifted.

Jeonghan gestures for you to step inside, catching your arm once you fully pass him. He pulls you back to him, close enough for him to lean in and leave a quick kiss on your cheek, “Night, babe, I’ll see you later.”

You stand there, completely still, staring at your door that had shut closed in front of you. You can feel heat rise from the tip of your toes all the way up to your ears. You finally let yourself fall into a squatting position, covering your face with your hands, and letting out a squeal.

*****

Jeonghan invites you to meet up outside of the dorm. It’s a cute little coffee shop at a quiet part of the city. You’re already sitting when he walks in. Maybe one day, you won’t be completely caught off guard by his beauty… but today is not that day.

His whole person is bathed in the glow of the early morning light as he approaches you, the softest, most genuine smile gracing his face.

“No, don’t get up,” he says when you try to leave your chair, “I need to go off and order anyways.” Jeonghan leans down to kiss your forehead firmly. “I just wanted to come say hi first,” he whispers, holding your face close to his.

Your first date sets a wonderful precedent to the rest of your relationship. Jeonghan gets your heart racing with flirty comments and sweet touches. But he also makes you feel calm and content, easily keeping a smile on your face. You just feel… good throughout it all.

You insist on walking him back to the dorm, since they had schedules that day.

“So, we’ll be doing this again?” Jeonghan asks hopefully, as you reach the front door.

“Definitely,” you nod enthusiastically up at him, wondering how you had ever managed to despise the man that made you feel so whole and happy.

Jeonghan looks utterly happy and a tiny bit nervous as he stares down at you. His hand reaches up to brush back your hair before settling firmly against your face. Jeonghan looks at you so fondly as he leans in. His lips connect to yours… so softly… so sweetly. You can feel his nose nudge against your face to push it into a preferred position. He pulls back slightly after every little kiss to let out laughter so sweet, it sounds like it should be coming from the mouth of an angel. But he’s never far away for long, reconnecting to you quickly every time. You let him take the lead, allowing his lips to take care of yours, giving them the sweetest kind of attention. He pulls back for a moment longer to nuzzle his nose against yours, an action that has you gripping his shirt to keep him close. His hands keep themselves entertained by running across your face or through your hair.

He’s going back in to kiss you once again when he front door of the dorm opens, leaving you caught in the act. Wonwoo stares at you two for a long moment before making a single comment that causes you and Jeonghan to laugh.

“You know, when I said I wanted you two to have a better relationship, this isn’t exactly what I meant.”

[mvttsvn]

Good Little, Liar

Literal sadist😳Toji Fushiguro x bratty fem!reader

warnings: 18+ smut, ABSOLUTE FILTH,  cussing, reader is a masochist, dacryphilia, manhandling, choking, pain kink, daddy kink, impact play, degrading pet names “whore, slut”, use of “princess”, Toji threatens to kill you like once👩🏻‍🦯, no prep, mentions of blood, stomach bulge, size kink, mind break, dumbification, no aftercare :/, angsty at the end.

authors note: 2k words, UNEDITED holy fuck this was supposed to be a short drabble but I got carried away. this is completely self indulgent, it so nasty literally how did I even think of this??? I cannot get this shitty ass dad out of my head... literally just ib this one pic🤒

You convinced him alright. Convinced him so much that he whole heartedly believed he picked up and took home a totally different person tonight. You and Toji and been together a couple of times prior, nothing too serious, went out for a drink, maybe kissed, probably rode him in his backseat. Each and every time you put on your good girl façade, always so sweet, and submissive. Following his each every command. Taking exactly what he gives and thanking him for it every time.

He thought you were sent from the gods, how could he have found someone like you, who fit just perfect under his thumb, so willing to do anything just for his attention. Yet here you were, same pretty little girl, same pretty little face, telling him “no” ???.

You were straddling his lap, on his rough leather couch, the tv lowly played a old movie which by now has left both of your minds. The dim light from the kitchen buzzing due to the bulbs starting to burn out, which completely unfazed Toji, but left you slightly annoyed.

“No?” He scoffed.

You adjusted your hands to fit onto his built shoulders had his began gripping you hips tighter and tighter.

“Nope, I don’t want my jaw to hurt in the morning” you gave him a coy smile, while tilting your head down to stare at him through your lashes.

His right hand came up and  roughly gripping your jaw. “Does it look like I fucking care?” He practically growled in your face. In all honesty he was more confused than pissed, of course he was going to immediately put you in your place, but you had him genuinely concerned, we’re you always like this? Did he do something wrong?? You tried to shake you head but due to his grip you could only move so far.

“Now, on. your. knees.” He released his grip only for his hand to move to the back of you neck waiting for you to comply. You slowly leaned in kissing the scar on his lip to kiss down to his jaw then leaning back up to whisper two little words that could make or break your night, probably both.

“Make me”

the millisecond your breathy whisper hit his ear it was over, you were done for. Say goodbye to you legs you’re probably never walking again.

The force in which he pulled you hair made you shriek. He stood up tossing you over his shoulder furiously stomping into the bedroom. He threw you onto his mattress, you couldn’t help but giggle, this is exactly what you wanted it only added to his rage. He threw off his shirt, then gripped your ankles pulling you to the edge of the bed. He was immediately on top of you, his knees digging into your calves holding down your legs, has one hand gripped both of your wrists and the other tightly around your throat. You were already breathing hard due to anticipation but now he practically had you life in his hands.

“What the fuck did you do with my good little girl hmm?” His voice darkened by lust.

“I don’t know who your talking about” you laughed again, his grip tightening around your throat.

Before you could make another comment his knee was pushed up between your thighs has the hand holding your wrist bunched your shirt up exposing your bra. He ripped the right strap off  making you choke out a gasp, then he slid the rest of garment out from under you to throw it across the room. Toji mouth immediately on your breast teasing you to no avail.

“M..m..more” you choked out, you were in no right to be making demands but you really wanted to see how angry you could make him. His only reply was catching you nipple on a canine and biting down hard. You almost screamed, you thought he probably wanted to see you bleed.

He continued his teasing, you wanted to keep this game up for longer but your vision was starting to get hazy from the lack of oxygen. You started pawing at his shoulders, while wrapping you legs around his waist, quietly pleading, “I’m.. I’m sorry... T...oji..I’m...” the hand on your throat let go to harshly slap your thigh making you yelp in pain once again.

“That’s not my name. C’mon what is it?”... you met his harsh gaze, maybe just a little longer... “Toj-“ he slapped you across the face. You didn’t make a single sound but the tears pricking your eyes said enough. Lucky for you, Toji’s into that.

He met your lips in a sloppy kiss shoving his tongue down your throat. You tapped his collar bone silently signaling you needed to breathe, once he moved away he removed his pants and helped you wiggled out of yours.

“Who knew you’re such a fucking brat” he slapped your thigh again watching you squirm. His hand hovered over your already drenched cunt, as he starred right into your eyes. The flush on your chest started moving to you face. Why were suddenly getting all worked up now??

“Are you gonna give in already?, gonna be my good little whore again?”, you wanted to answer no again because he looked so hot when he was angry. The words got caught in your throat and all you could do was nod.

He lightly slapped your clit “Hmm need to hear it little girl, tell me who owns you?”

“you do....daddy” you admitted, you tilted your down, you couldn’t meet his eyes.

His calloused palm came up and caressed your jaw leaning in closer. “Are you sorry? Tell daddy your sorry for being such a brat.” He mocked making a fake pout. “M’sorry daddy, j..just wanted to make you angry.”

“I know you did princess...” He reeled his hand back to full on slap your cunt, squirming up the bed you let out a pathetic whine.

He slapped three, four more times now, and the tears started running down your face. He moved to tuck his face in the nape of your neck, leaving deep red bruises as he moved down your torso.

The muscles in his back rippled as he held himself up but the palms of his hands. God he looked so..big... not sure if he would ever explicitly admit the he liked how he overpowered you in almost every single way...but you liked it too.

There was no way you could’ve played you act for any longer, he would’ve choked you out. And would’ve done it with ease since his hand was bigger than your actual face. You knew how dangerous this was, yet still tilled wanted to play fire, but alas here you were once again, bowing to his every command.

“D..d..ddaddy..p..please..”

“Aw there she is” he lifted his face from you chest giving you one of his sickening grins. “I thought he wanted to play the little bitchy brat huh? What happened?” His voice dripping with mockery.

“N..need..you”

“How princess, you know daddy can’t help if you don-“

“please, PLEASE! need daddy’s cock! ….” you were getting impatient now, was this the most he was going to? you expected at lea-.

The scream ripped from you chest was silenced by the strong hand around your throat in a death like grip. He shoved his whole cock inside your tight little cunt, there was no prep not even when you were on the couch, he didn’t he stuff his fingers in your little cunt to stretch you out. You knew he was big, since the time he shoved his entire cock down your throat but feeling it twitch inside you making you feel like your being absolutely split open on Toji’s cock.

He gave a deep throaty chuckle, you knew how much he was enjoying this. New tears pricked from your eyes, wetting your cheeks, he moved his free hand pinching your clit between his fore finger and thumb, watching your eyes roll to the back of your head. The hand on your throat gripped your hair moving so his face was flushed with yours, spatting in your ear, “You don’t cum until I say, understand?” All you could do was whine in response.

“I give you rules for a reason break them and I’ll kill you where you lay.” A threat, empty of not, it had you clenching hard around his dick. You glanced down to where you were connect, to be met with a indescribable bulge in your lower stomach.

Dear god, bless your poor cervix, he hasn’t even started moving yet  and you could feel the intrusion all the same. He started rocking his hips slight against yours, at least he was giving you sometime to adjust, all while staring two lust filled hole into your head as you writhed and whimpered underneath him. He pulled his hips back to pull out but when he’s met with the slightest sign of blood mixed with the milky white arousal coating his dick, he could’ve came right there.

He gripped your hips sinking right back into you making you scream once again. “DA-DADDY..fuck..shit..” the tears running down you face only egged him on.

“So god damn tight, maybe I should never prep you again, if you’re gonna feel like this every time” he groaned. “Such dirty little words, I would’ve punished you if you didn’t already dig yourself a grave”.

The pained moans falling from your lips were music to ears. Profanities fell from his as he continued a rough pace, your tits bouncing with every thrust. He had fucked you completely and utterly dumb, no coherent thought where making their way to you consciousness. Only daddy, Toji, and cock.

You have gotten numb to the pain but right now you were putting all you effort into not focusing on the way his dick was bruising you cervix, trying so hard not to come just from the way his pelvic bone catches your clit. You didn’t realize he was speaking to you till he lightly slapped your cheek. “Aw look at you, you’ve gone all stupid. Too bad, if you played nice I would’ve let you cum by now.” The malice in his voice made you clench around his cock, squeezing more of your arousal on his thighs. “ at least you’re taking me so well.” His breath hitched as his thrust stared getting sloppy.

“Holy fuck, keep squeezing just like that-“ you saw his abs clench, “remember you don’t cum till I say” his eyes flicked right back into yours you nodded, more like messily rolled your head around. “Holy fuck princess...” he was practically already using your cunt like a toy. With a last few harsh thrust he filled you cunt to the brim with hot, thick cum.

The groans falling from his mouth sounded almost angelic. All you could let out was a low whine met with heavy breathing. The sweat dripping down his toned chest shone from the dim light of the lamp on the corner the side table. He pulled out watching his cum drip out of you down to your asshole and onto his dark sheets.

Your body laid motionless barely opening your eyes to see him move away from edge and walk to his discarded pants. Your brain couldn’t even process this as you licked you’re tongue to wet your now dry lips.

Then it dawned that he didn’t let you cum... that fucker. You couldn’t do a single thing about it.

Because here you were unsatisfied, speechless, practically crippled, staring blankly at the ceiling. As he sat and lit a cigarette on the opposite end of the bed.

Notes: I am so sorry. There’s just something about Toji Fushiguro that I just forget how to function correctly. Um I hope you enjoyed! And that I didn’t rot ur brain too much<3

ps: ppp..ppart 2??? fluff???😏

[todoscript]

SEQUEL TO  “don’t forget it”

SYNOPSIS: One week after accidentally blowing you off on your date, Bakugou Katsuki seeks your forgiveness.

pairing: bakugou katsuki x fem!reader

genre: fluff, very little angst

word count: 5.4k+

warnings: none really accept maybe a character sustaining an injury

author’s note: hellooooo this is a very very very late part 2 of my don’t forget it drabble that many people asked for! i hope this lived up to your expectations and was worth the wait!

Since the events that led you to leave Bakugou’s room in a fit of bitterness after attempting to penetrate that thick head of his, he hadn’t been able to speak to you for a week.

It goes without saying he did his best to chase you down the hallway from his room and toward the elevator the moment he realized his faults. But at the stink eye you shot him through the minimizing slit of the elevator doors sliding into place, he knew he had no right to reconcile with you after pulling a stunt like that. Nor did he think you’d want to spare him any more words to begin with. It was clear you were done arguing with him.

“C’mon man, it’s probably best to let her cool down before you try to make up with her,” was the advice Kirishima offered when Bakugou returned to his room, disgruntled as he heavily fell back into his seat next to the desk. He did the bare minimum to acknowledge his friend’s words with a grunt before resuming tutoring the redhead, his method of teaching suddenly harsher than how it began thanks to his soured mood. He lapsed the day away by pounding Kirishima with problems upon problems against that hard noggin of his, both literally and figuratively.

At the very least, Kirishima earned himself a passing grade on their exam as a result of his hard work and their rigorous tutoring sessions. But what followed Bakugou’s and your relationship was still undetermined.

Days later and you were relentless in giving him the cold shoulder.

Bakugou was met with nothing but empty glances and blatant disinterest whenever he crossed your path. It felt like the wall you slotted between him grew another layer at each encounter, your defenses so impenetrable, it could give Kirishima’s quirk a run for its money. He couldn’t so much as utter a word in your direction without you effectively dodging every possible interaction in favor of joining another conversation nearby.

At first, Bakugou shrugged it off, calling your “childish attitude” unwarranted for something he thought was incredibly trivial. In his eyes, it was just an ordinary date at some run-of-the-mill restaurant he just happened to suggest to you because he took a liking to their spicy food. Not like it was some fancy dinner reservation serving caviar on dry toast beside a pretty, city night skyline. To him, it was nothing special.

However, as the week continued to roll by, it became clear to him how much he hurt you due to his selfishness. In a hangout with the Bakusquad, he learned that you apparently told Mina, along with the rest of the girls, everything during one of your girls’ nights. Which included the events prior to your heated argument in Bakugou’s dorm. And Mina, being just as peeved as you were at how Bakugou stood you up that day, had to let the blond know of the damage he’d done.

.

.

“I swear, Bakugou Katsuki, I know you can be an asshole sometimes—”

“Make that all the time,” Sero quietly adds in the middle of Mina’s rant while he lounges backward on Kaminari’s bed. If it wasn’t for his current dilemma, Bakugou would have elbowed him in the back of the head.

“—but this is crossing the line!” she finishes. Her arms are thrown exaggeratedly over her chest. The amber surrounded by the black scleras of her eyes points a beady look at the ash-blond crisscrossed on the floor between Kirishima and Kaminari.

“Poor girl sat there for hours waiting for you, only to find out she got blown off because you couldn’t even properly check your reminders!” She paces back and forth in the room, feet excessively stepping across the floor as she’s engulfed by the emotions she feels for her friend. “What’s worse? She comes back and finds out you’ve been doing your own thing with Kirishima the whole time!”

“Hey! It’s not like we were playing around! We were actually having a very serious study grind, thank you very much,” the redhead immediately clarifies. Though his explanation doesn’t alleviate Bakugou’s case in the slightest, who pounds his palms against the surface of the table they’ve gathered around.

“Look. I fucking get it, Ashido. I screwed up, okay?! Now what the fuck do you want me to do about it?!” he exclaims, anger overpowering his voice, but it does little to deter Mina.

“Fix it, obviously!” she quips back with equal fierceness, leaning in eye level with Bakugou.

“And how do you propose I do that, Raccoon Eyes? Hah?” Repositioning his elbow to rest on the table, he leans his cheek against his hand. “Y/n won’t even let me within five fucking feet in front of her and you still expect me ‘fix this’?”

Despite the situation weighing heavily on his shoulders, no immediate answer is bestowed upon him. That is, except the obnoxiously loud crinkle of a chip bag popping open next to Bakugou that cleaves into the scene like a record scratch. As if unable to read the mood in his own room, Kaminari fishes a chip to throw in his mouth, stirring the awkward silence into tension.

“Wow, Bakugou. I know you’re bad with girls and all, but you really messed up this time,” he remarks. His voice is slightly muffled as he munches his chips, continuing to wrinkle the bag for more. It incites a vein to swell on Bakugou’s forehead. He amasses all the willpower within him not to blast the bag of chips to ash, and the boy alongside it.

“If you dunce faces are just gonna sit here and throw salt in my wound then I’m outta here.”

“No, wait!” Kirishima catches Bakugou’s wrist before he fully lifts himself off the floor. “Come on, Bakugou, I’m sure we can think of something! We just need to put our heads together! Right, guys?” he assures. Finding it hard to deny his friend’s hardened conviction, Bakugou gives Kirishima the benefit of the doubt, albeit with slumped shoulders and a tentative raise of his brow as he slowly sits back down.

“Right! Everyone, let’s get some brainstorming done!” Mina yells encouragingly.

The atmosphere of Kaminari’s room is consumed by moderately thoughtful silence for the next ensuing minutes. A few hums pass, followed by an exchange of contemplative looks as four of the five rack their heads together to uncover a solution. The one in need of help only hunches in his seat, waiting with mild disinterest.

“Oh hey, don’t we have hero training with All Might tomorrow?” Sero is the first to comment, scooting to the edge of the blond’s bed.

“Yeah. So?”

“He said we were going to work on group exercises this time around. You know, teamwork and stuff,” he explains further.

At that, Mina snaps her fingers, the work of a brilliant idea flickering in her head. “Sero, that’s it! Tomorrow, during training, we’ll just form a group together with Y/n! After all, she’ll have to talk to Bakugou if you two are on the same team!” She claps her hands in front of her, her enthusiasm rippling through her body and shown energetically with each raise of her voice. “Then, while the rest of us ‘split up’ to cover more ground, that will be your chance to make everything better with Y/n! It’s genius!”

“You missed one fucking crucial detail, Pinky,” Bakugou gruffs. “That will only work if Y/n doesn’t join another group. The moment she sees I’m on yours, she’s not even going to hesitate making a u-turn.”

“Worry not~ I’ll just text all the girls except Y/n about the plan later and ask them to help sort everyone out!” She solves the problem with relative ease—quick as a click of her phone lighting up and finger sliding open to her messages.

“Uh, another thing though.” Kirishima raises his hand to spare his concern. “All Might says we’ll be splitting into groups of five at most, but there’s already five of us here.”

There’s a brief moment of deadpanning until Mina speaks casually. “Oh, that’s right. Kaminari. Take one for the team and make sure to join another group, ‘kay?” She settles without batting a lash.

Kaminari almost chokes on a mouthful of chips. “H-Huh?! What?! Why me?!!” he sputters.

“Because you’ve been eating chips this entire time and haven’t contributed to anything.”

“Hey, I offered the room, didn’t I?!” He tries justifying but is inevitably rejected by Mina’s wagging finger.

“Ah-ah, no complaints! Besides, it’s only one day of training. If we want this dilemma between Bakugou and Y/n fixed then we all have to play our part, got it?” Mina finalizes with a firm point of her finger nearly grazing the tip of the blond’s nose as he leans back to avoid it, eyebrows scrunched in discontent at the role he’s been reduced to.

“Alllllright!” Kirishima springs from his seat with outstretched arms and tightened fists. “Operation: Get Y/n to Forgive Explosion Boy is underway!”

“Dude, that’s a terrible name!” Sero laughs but rises from the bed to join the redhead’s cheer alongside Mina, the group already in high spirits.

Despite rolling his eyes at their swell of confidence, Bakugou does not object to the state of things. As crazy as it sounds, one could almost decipher the cusp of a grin pulling the seams of his lips as a possible sign he’s actually all for this extravagant little plan. Quite a first for Bakugou, but then again, there’s not much else he can do in this situation except rely on his pack of chumps.

Meanwhile, Kaminari grumbles something beneath the salty grit between his teeth.

“Alright, can you all get out of my room now?”

.

.

The scowl etched on your face carries a strong air of disdain that dampens the mood around your teammates considerably. Well, no one should be surprised. With Bakugou standing across from you, staring into the void of your expression, it’s to be expected that you wouldn’t be happy with this outcome.

No, “unhappy” doesn’t quite do your circumstance justice. You are beyond livid.

You feel your eyebrow twitch as you try quivering your lips to form a tinge of a smile. Unfortunately, all that quickly falls apart when you suddenly recall the disaster of last week, triggered by an accidental glance at Bakugou’s mug.

Trying to simmer down, you release a mental sigh amidst the turmoil boiling inside you.

Okay, maybe you’re over-exaggerating. Maybe you’re still just a bit too bitter for your own good and letting your emotions get to you. But in a class of twenty or some students, how did you end up in a group with the one person you were actively trying to avoid?

The moment All Might gave everyone the go-ahead to form their teams for today’s training exercise, you swiftly made a beeline toward two particular star students. Midoriya and Todoroki.

It was simple really. Your experiences throughout the school year told you Bakugou planned on staying away from his rivals when it came to teamwork, regardless of whether you’re there or not. He’s a competitive ass whose goal is to beat anyone he deems a threat in his climb to be the number one hero. It’s only logical you partner with people he adamantly dislikes to evade him.

Yet it seems fate has other plans for you today. By the time you found yourself pacing over to the two students you had in mind, they’d already gone and picked their own group members, forming teams before you could even ask.

Your nose wrinkles like you’ve taken a whiff of something rancid. Or, to be more specific, something fishy. Hooking an arm around Mina’s elbow, you drag the pink-haired girl off to a corner somewhere while tilting your head back at the three other boys.

“Ex. Cuse. Us.” Your words sound as stiff as cardboard. It comes out in practically a hiss when your eyes cross Bakugou. Once you’re positive you’re out of earshot, you whip your head at Mina.

“Mina, what the hell? When you dragged me over here to form a group with you you didn’t tell me he’d be there,” you groan. Childish and petty as you may sound, you just couldn’t fathom the idea of confronting the boy so soon.

Mina holds her hands out, ready to rationalize the whole ordeal. “C’mon Y/n, this is actually an advantage for us! With us four plus you on our team, we’re sure to knock the rest of the other guys out during training today! I mean we showed pretty good teamwork together at the sports festival, didn’t we?”

Steadying your gaze, you hold a finger below your chin as you slowly buy into the explanation. The reasoning is there. It’s hard to argue against a case like that, fully aware that being on the same team as explosion boy will easily snag good results for you and your party. ‘Cause as much of an arrogant jerk as he is, you have to admit Bakugou Katsuki knows his way around hero action like the back of his grenade gauntlets.

“Besides it’s not like you could avoid him for the entire school year. I mean, you two are in the same class. It was only a matter of time before you had to—”

“I know, Mina,” you interject, not wanting the rest of her sentence about the inevitable fall to your ear. “I just… Agh, you know what I mean!” You ruffle your hands through your hair in confliction, unsure how to piece your thoughts together.

Tilting your head over Mina’s shoulder, you sneak a glimpse at Bakugou, watching him as he’s cast to the side with the others. He’s fending himself from Kirishima and Sero’s combined jokes, that usual look on his face sending glares at the two and yelling something you could almost pick up on if you honed your ears a bit more. Surprisingly, when his eyes meet yours for a split second, he stands there looking nonchalant again. Both of you immediately avert your gazes.

Mina pats your shoulder, bringing you back to the conversation at hand. “I know, I know, but after this, I’m sure you can go back to ignoring his ass. After all, it’s just one training exercise, right?” she says. As her words deliver some relief to your ill-timed situation, you give in with a sigh.

Unbeknownst to you, turning your back to Mina and striding toward the rest of your teammates again, you miss the small glint in her yellow eyes, along with the subtle gestures she aims at the three boys, waving her pointed thumbs over your head secretively.

“So I take it you’re on the team with us, Y/n?” Sero asks when the two of you return. You nod in reply and the boy flashes his pearly whites in a wide grin that Kirishima mirrors. He nudges Bakugou at his sides which you subtly catch in the far corner of your eye.

You raise a brow suspiciously at their fidgeting, wondering why having you on their team warrants such enthusiasm, but you’re thankful for their energy at least. Someone has to lift the atmosphere for this not to be a complete drag and Bakugou surely isn’t going to be the mood maker of the group.

The blond scoffs. “Yeah, well, if you dumbasses are going to form a team with me, you’ll follow under my leadership, got it?”

The three readily agree. Though you roll your eyes, you don’t challenge his position, considering no one else is that much up to the task as he is. You’ll simply have to deal with the fact that you’re forced to tread through the day under his leadership. So with no objections, the five of you walk back to the class, gathering around the entrance of today’s battlefield.

Jumping into the activity, All Might goes about explaining today’s lesson to the four sets of teams—consisting of a group exercise to heighten teamwork. The name of the game? Capture the flag.

In short, each team will be split off into different sections of the labyrinth where their assigned flag is stationed. The objective is to not only protect your flag from being stolen but also try and steal an opposing team’s flag from their base and escort it safely to your home field. Nice and simple.

Not long after All Might’s explanation, the gate to the training grounds opens and you all scatter off into your teams, navigating through the twists of the maze to locate your flags. Once your group situated themselves onto your home base, you assemble in a huddle to devise a strategy before the game starts.

“So what’s the plan?” Kirishima asks, eyes darting around his teammates until they rest on Bakugou—the team leader. The ash-blond crosses his arms, a confident sneer plastered on his face as he’s already thought of his plan of action the moment All Might announced the mission.

“Easy. I’m going straight to the front-lines to swipe one of those dumbasses’ flags. You lot are gonna stay here and guard ours until I come back.” He delivers the strategy in a matter-of-fact tone that you quickly don’t take a liking to. Your fist curls in irritation.

“What kind of a plan is that?” you question audaciously, your voice louder than you intended. “So you’re just going to do all the work while we sit around and wait for you?”

Bakugou grits his teeth, leaning further into the huddle to direct his senseless logic. “Look, it’s the fastest and most surefire way to snag our victory without sacrificing anyone,” he says. Playing over his words again, he finds it surprising he even chooses to offer his reasoning. Because if it were anyone other than you he was arguing with, he’s certain he’d leave it at that.

Knowing the current tension between you was a result of his misjudgment, it feels only right for Bakugou to make an effort in communication. He ignores the antsy expressions belonging to the others who signal from behind you to follow along with their original plan.

You don’t seem to catch the hint, nor do you buy into his ridiculous strategy. “Oh, so you’re that confident you won’t get taken out by the other team then?” you quip. As a result, Bakugou’s brows tighten at your noncompliance.

“I know how to take care of myself. You of all people should realize by now that no other nerd in this whole damn class can outmatch me.”

“And what about an ambush? How do you know they simply won’t anticipate your strategy and see you coming?” You fire another counterargument and the boy purses his lips, beginning to find this quarrel spiraling into a headache rather than a step in the direction of reconciliation.

While Sero and Kirishima stand there, shifting their heads back and forth throughout the fiery exchange, Mina speedily reacts. The gears of that cunning mind of hers click into place again.

“You know what, Y/n’s right. Why don’t you two go together then?” she proposes boldly. Her suggestion catches you by complete surprise. You veer in her direction with an incredulous look blown in your eyes.

Before you can open your mouth to protest, the two boys standing beside her immediately back her up.

“Hm, Mina has a point. The chances of you falling into a trap wouldn’t be much if you two work together,” Sero remarks.

Kirishima follows, “Yeah, you guys can watch each other’s backs while going to collect the flag! It’s safer to go in a pair than by yourselves I’d say.”

The three seem adamant about the idea, sharing equally content expressions, and with all that said, you find it hard to dig yourself out of this situation. In a way, you practically volunteered yourself after questioning Bakugou’s plan and doubting his abilities. The group only feels it’s right you come along as his support since you clearly must be worried about his well-being.

Pushing your objections down your throat, you reluctantly agree to tag along with the blond. What you find exceptionally shocking is how Bakugou doesn’t oppose these new conditions. Given his hard-headed temperament, you thought he would’ve scoffed and turned his back at being paired without notice, but no such things were happening here.

...Odd.

“Tch, whatever. Let’s get going then,” is all he gives, starting in the direction into the urban area of the training course.

You trail behind him. “Coming, Boom-Boy…” you mutter the last bit but don’t suppress the urge to let your words be known. Bakugou turns his head and gives you a look akin to an uptight six-year-old you just offended at your local playground. You shrug in response, a corner of your lip pinched upward. He doesn’t pick a fight over the nickname, but his eyebrows remain fiercely slanted, and coupled with his heavy steps and the excessive swinging of his gauntlet-clad arms, it tells you of his emotional constipation plain as day.

.

.

The journey toward the other teams’ flags is cloaked in strained silence and the physical gap between you two does not encourage any of you to speak up. At this point, both of your levels of annoyance for each other have mellowed out. Now it just feels... awkward—strange. You don’t see his expression, nor does he see yours. It feels like you’re being left in the dark, having only the back of Bakugou’s head to stare at the entirety of the way, and though you supposedly have his back, Bakugou feels precarious in this state as he trudges along at the front, not daring to turn his head to cross your eyes.

The ambiance is reminiscent of the ancient Greek legend of Orpheus and Eurydice. Where Bakugou walks through the depths of the underworld, seeking you out in hopes you’d join his side once again. If he turns around now and spills his thoughts to you too soon, he fears that your forgiveness would be whisked away, thoroughly beyond his reach, and replaced with your promises of retribution.

That was the eloquent version of the situation anyway. To put it bluntly, Bakugou was just impatient as hell to say something to you. The silence suffocates him to the point where the words are nearly about to be squeezed out of his throat, but he bites his lip to snuff out the urges.

The more he keeps them in, the more fidgety he becomes, hands itchy and mouth trembling with grit between his teeth. The idea of not letting his voice be heard was something Bakugou detested. Mainly because it was already such a challenge to even keep his mouth shut, given his fiery attitude and lack of patience.

Man, what the hell am I hesitating for? he asks himself, that outspoken side of him spurring him on.

Ah, screw the uncertainty, he thinks. If he doesn’t say anything now, then he won’t get to say anything ever.

Bakugou stops in his tracks, turning his head. Here goes nothing,

“Hey, Y/n, I–”

“Katsuki–”

Words collide into each other, jumbled and incoherent, which take you two by surprise as you meet each other’s furrowed gazes. It’s quiet as you both piece your way through this, eyes trained like you haven’t seen each other in months when the reality is that a week of bitterness has somehow made you act like strangers. The bewildered look crossing his features is foreign to you; you’ve never quite seen Bakugou as taken aback as he is now.

“You first,” you grant before Bakugou could mix up your words again. Even being given permission, the blond still isn’t sure what to say, his thoughts lost on him the moment his voice clashed with yours. He takes a deep breath, calming his senses and steadying his mind for what he wants to convey.

“Look, Y/n, I don’t know how to put this as nicely as I can,” he begins, tone consistent yet wary, assessing your expression, “but I know I fucked up and I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have left you there all by yourself. I shouldn’t… have blown you off like that and forgotten about you.” He delivers this bluntly—honestly—as open as a boy of his nature can muster with arms spread out, willingly exposing him to his faults and your reprisals.

Looking at you, he finds your eyes are cast to the floor, assuming to be reflecting on his words carefully. After some deliberation, you come across the vermillion in his eyes.

“Frankly, I haven’t entirely forgiven you just yet. But I will say that despite how I’ve been acting, I’m not as mad at you as you think,” is what you give, and Bakugou would be lying to himself if he didn’t achieve relief at your statement. He mentally releases a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding throughout the exchange. However, you aren’t done yet.

“I just want you to understand what moments like those mean to me. It’s during that time where I can share my feelings and learn more about you—understand who you are,” you say. Bakugou latches onto every word. “And it goes both ways, you know. It’s hard to want to stay in a relationship with someone who doesn’t make an effort to make time for you.” It’s obvious you aim that comment at him as Bakugou’s eyes soften slightly hearing it. His calloused, glove-clad hands wrap into his palms. Man, he really was a jerk.

“Still… I know you’re making an effort to be sincere and that you’re genuinely sorry for what happened, especially considering how the others seem to have set this whole conversation up, right?” Bakugou winces over the Bakusquad’s ploy coming to light and makes a note not to follow along next time unless those dummies can scrape up a more elaborate plan.

Despite that, he presses on, “So, what does this mean?” A smile settles on the curve of your lips, sensing his impatience as his voice hastens you along.

“Well…” you begin, speech drawn out in anticipation as you step toward him to where Bakugou follows your movements. That is until he catches a few shadowy figures shifting around atop the small building behind you. Before you can open your mouth to continue, his instincts flare to life.

“Hey, look out!” he exclaims, already acting on his warnings by lunging forward to push you out of the way. Your breaths draw back into your lungs, your body thrust abruptly into the opposite direction. Landing on your butt, you wince at both the shock and the pain, but your whines desist when you witness Bakugou taking a force to the head as a result of coming to your aid.

“Katsuki!” you yell, immediately getting off the ground to rush to his side, but he can’t find it in himself to respond. Afflicted with a substantial blow to the crown of his head, his whole being throbs and his vision spins.

Fuck, is Y/n, okay? is the first thing on his mind, ignoring the liquid trickling down his forehead. His question is answered upon turning his head to meet your anxious expression—your eyes wide and lips quivering as they move to say words he can’t exactly make out beneath the pounding sensations consuming his mind. As he feels a set of arms wrap around him, he tries discerning his surroundings to form a reply, but can only capture bits and pieces.

“—tsuki! ...old… n!”

“...god—! I’m so dead!”

A sputter of words tangling together is the last he hears before his vision fades to black.

.

.

The next time Bakugou awakes, his eyes slowly sever open to come face-to-face with a blurry white ceiling. The lights assault his vision as his senses take time to adjust, unraveling the environment to realize he’s laying on a bed—a hospital bed to be precise.

He attempts lifting himself but is met with retaliation in the form of his pulsating head which he immediately flinches at. His hand goes to rub his scalp to soothe the ache and he finds bandages wrapped tightly around him. “What the hell happened?” The last he remembers is traversing the urban area with you for the capture the flag mission before finally confronting the subject that had been plaguing your minds for a week now. After that, he caught sight of some object descending toward you and before he had even realized it, his feet had moved on their own. Next thing he knows, he’s waking up in the nurse’s office with a headache from hell.

Wait, what about you? Were you okay? Surely, he had to have pushed you out of the way in time, right?

His head moves quicker than it should’ve, revealing the other hospital bed in the room to be unoccupied, vacant. He sighs and his relief is further bolstered by the door to the nurse’s room opening to unveil you unharmed with only your heavy look of concern troubling him.

“Katsuki, oh thank god, you’re okay!” you say, quickly pacing over to his side with a glass of water in hand. You leave it at his bedside, sitting before him. Gauging your appearance up and down, Bakugou tries making out even the smallest details.

“You aren’t hurt?”

You’re appalled he would ask this despite clearly being the one patched up in a hospital bed right now, and likely sporting some serious head trauma.

“Of course I am, you’re the one that lunged forward to protect me,” you tell him. Bakugou looks down at his lap, figuring that was what happened, but hearing it from you comforted him more than he thought. However, his comfort is wretched from him by the intense pressure persisting in his skull. Seeing him in pain, you urge him to lay down and rest.

“How the hell did I end up here anyway?”

You fidget with your fingers, hesitating on answering. At that, the blond lifts a brow, suspicious.

“Mineta… accidentally dropped a rock on your head.”

“...You gotta be joking, right?”

Bakugou leers hard, finding the reason he was out of commission to be a damn pebble hitting his head a detriment to his pride. And because of Mineta of all fucking people. Still, if he hadn’t acted as quickly as he did, you would’ve been the one to meet his fate instead, and he weighed this outcome to better than the former.

Then you explain how the teachers had temporarily intervened to bring his unconscious body to the nurse’s, where the old lady went about tending to his injury. Said she did her job and all he needed was to rest and let her quirk take fuller effect within that time.

“So did we win the game?” He switches the topic to today’s mission of capture the flag that was cut short on his end.

You shake your head, but at least grant him the benefit of knowing Mineta’s team ended up placing last. At that, his eyelids shut and he crosses his arms behind his bandaged head. “Yeah, well, it wasn’t my intention to win anyway.”

You give him a look. “...Liar.”

Bakugou cracks an eye open at you. “Hah? What do you mean I’m a fucking liar?”

“I know you, Katsuki. I dated you, after all. And the Katsuki that I dated is an arrogant, competitive jerk who thinks of being the best above all else.” Bakugou scrunches his nose, wondering what you’re implying through your... overly frank descriptions. “Still… he’s sweet and caring at times… and reliable when he needs to be,” you continue, tone softening that draws Bakugou in, “And the kind of guy I want to give a second chance to.”

Absorbing your words, Bakugou blinks. “S-Seriously?” He doesn’t mean to stutter, but the offer catches him off-guard. He replays what you just said. That’s what he heard, right? A second chance?

You giggle at how uncharacteristically astonished he sounds. “Yes, seriously.”

“Does that mean you forgive me for what happened last week?”

You hum between pursed lips in playful contemplation. “Well, maybe you can redeem yourself by going on another date with me then?”

Hearing your proposal, a wide grin arcs his lips, edging into a smirk.

“That’s it? Well, I can definitely fucking do that,” he states, confidence rejuvenating his body at the new, hopeful chance before him.

“Oh, just one more thing though,” you suddenly add.

“What?”

“We are not going to that Chinese Restaurant again.”