#LIKE THERE IS NO GOD DAMN WAY THEY GET OUT OF THAT UNSCATHED... NO WAY

[sincerelymina]

be my angel

content: re4r leon x female reader. domestic fluff. making out. established relationship. angst elements. author's note: inspired by the mazzy star song! the lack of leon kennedy fluff is concerning. also first time posting on tumblr yay.

₊⊹⁀➴ ao3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/55001149

if it weren't for you, leon probably would've lost his mind a long time ago. you were so sweet, so gentle, so understanding—he sometimes questioned if he even deserved someone as unscathed as yourself. it was comforting dating a regular civilian, someone who wasn't exposed to the daily nightmares he faced in his line of work. being so blissfully ignorant to the horrors of the world was a luxury he no longer afforded, never did. 

leon hated the sad look that'd cross your perfect features as he left for one of his gruesome missions, that last goodbye kiss that had him tightly gripping the steering wheel as he pulled out of the driveway, the asphalt crackling beneath the tires. the fact that he couldn't tell you much about said missions, given their classified nature, only made him more upset—it felt like wordlessly forsaking you for one-to-two weeks at a time.

oh, but the sweet expression you'd have on your face as you twisted the metal doorknob, the way it lightened up at the mere sight of him. it had leon's chest tightening and breath hitching, wanting nothing more than to pull you into a long, hard kiss. you had him acting a fool, needless to say. 

tonight was a little different, though. the digital clock on the dashboard read 12:47 am, causing leon to scoff lightly under his breath. he disliked coming home late, knowing most likely that you were probably up, huddled on the couch with thick blankets wrapped around you, wishing it was his arms keeping you warm instead. 

leon's gaze then drifted back up towards the heavy rain thrashing vehemently against the ground, the deafening silence disrupted by the droplets pattering against the window and the swiping of the windshield wipers doing their job, giving him a clear view of the road ahead. he was still a good twenty minutes away from home, and that fact alone makes him press his foot against the gas a little harder, damning any traffic laws at the moment. 

though, crashing the car in an attempt to see you sooner was a bit counterintuitive—and he'd be seeing god, if anyone.

once leon finally pulled up to the quaint little townhouse the two of you owned together, he parked the car, pulling the keys out of the ignition and shoving them into the pocket of his black cargo pants. with a soft sigh, he quietly shut the car door, and walked up the steps to the front door. the rain had calmed down a bit, simply drizzling now. 

knock, knock, knock . his fisted hand gently rapped against the door a few times, but to leon's dismay, he still hadn't heard your footsteps leading up to him. it then hit him that it was one in the morning, and it was more than likely that you'd fallen asleep—possibly from staying up for him. a frown creased onto his lips, upset with himself for coming back so late. even if it wasn't his fault, he still felt guilty. despite how much you reassured him, leon always thought you could a whole lot better than him.

reluctantly, leon pulled his set of house keys out of his pocket, and slid the metal through the lock, opening the door with a click . inside was dark, quiet…yet peaceful. as he padded across the area, the floorboards lightly creaking beneath his feet, he took notice of how clean it was; someone had used their time wisely, he thought with a smile. well, either that, or you had just gotten so bored out of your mind waiting for him. he was well aware of how antsy you'd get on the days you knew he was coming back.

leon was also now aware of how disappointed you probably were now, seeing as he came back far later than anticipated. 

that's when his eyes land upon you, snoring away softly on the sofa, and—just like he imagined—curled up beneath a warm, knitted blanket. the open tv cast a soft glow across the tidy living room, alongside a few warm-scented candles you had lit. that, alongside the rhythmic thrumming of the rain against the windowpane, made for a very cozy atmosphere. leon took careful steps towards the couch, kneeling down in front of you. 

"i'm sorry, angel," leon mumbled, his voice soft as to not wake you up. he brushed a few stray strands of hair behind your ear, the contrasting feeling of his calloused fingers against your soft skin roused you a bit, causing you to stir in place. leon chuckled at your tired grumbles, pressing a chaste kiss against your forehead. 

the kiss is what fully wakes you up, instantly jolting upwards, sitting yourself upright. the blanket rustles around you as your sleepy eyes widen, registering the fact that your boyfriend—that you hadn't seen in two weeks—was right in front of you, giving you the softest smile. "leon?" you muttered, still in disbelief.

"go back to sleep baby, we can talk in the morning," he said, peppering gentle kisses across your face. your skin burns beneath his lips, any feelings of exhaustion slowly slipping away. if leon really wanted you to go back to sleep, he damn well knew better than to act all sappy like this.

"no, no, no," you quickly—and incoherently—mumbled, blinking a few times to adjust your eyesight, "it's okay, i'm not sleepy. i was waiting on you anyway," that's when you started to excitedly ramble, "i just…forget about me, what kept you so long?" you raised a curious eyebrow. "something bad happened?"

"nah," leon shook his head, still smiling—god, it felt so good seeing you after so long. "writing up that report took a little longer than anticipated. i'm really sorry, pretty." his smile then shifted into a frown, a soft sigh escaping from the depth of his lungs. "so sorry," he whispered as he kissed your lips for a quick second. 

the look of pure anguish contorted on his sharp features sent a pleasant shiver down your spine. despite how tired you were, seeing leon look so upset over the fact that he couldn't see you sooner made your mind dizzy with love. 

"that's okay. it happens. i understand." you replied honestly. you were aware of leon's job before getting wrapped up in a relationship with him. and you also knew just how much this man loved you, even if he couldn't see how amazing he was. flaws were human, you'd tell him. people tended to forget that—leon might be a zombie-killing machine, but deep down, he was only a man. one with feelings and emotions. 

dating leon made you feel like such a special girl. he was a closed-off, reserved man. just one quick look at him and you could tell that he most definitely could kill a man with his bare hands alone—if he wanted to, that is. he was cold, intimidating, and brutal on the field. but you didn't see that side of him. 

no, you saw a total sweetheart. in your presence, leon was a complete softie. it was actually quite adorable seeing him sleepily pouring himself a cup of coffee at the crack of dawn, dressed only in loose pajama pants, his chiseled abs put on display just for you . his blonde hair framed his face so perfectly, the soft strands falling in front of his face. despite being a total fucking unit, having biceps nearly bigger than your face, he was so gentle with you, treating you as if you were a porcelain doll. 

at least, he tried to be, but sometimes he got a little… carried away .

you were the person who got to see him leaning over the bathroom sink, holding a razor to the lower half of his face, shaving away the light stubble that had formed after neglecting the duty for a few days simply because he got too lazy. you saw him narrowing his eyes at the god awful instruction booklet that came with ikea furniture as he attempted assembling a new bookcase. you loved the way he would sometimes squint while looking at something afar, then claiming he "didn't need glasses" when you pointed it out. 

it was so raw, so real. 

leon just sighed, shaking his head in disbelief, "you do realize you are too sweet for your own good sometimes, right? you should be upset i was late, i promised i'd be home for dinner." he chuckled dryly, climbing onto the sofa and taking a seat right next to you, sitting above the comforter. 

"i dunno what i'd do without you," his gaze was trained on you, admiring how pretty you were in this state—with messy hair, half-lidded eyes, and puffy cheeks. "i love you so much." would it be too awkward to mention that he'd marry you in a heartbeat at this time of night? probably.

you can only laugh in response, trying to downplay how much his words were affecting you. "you're so corny. i love you too, lee." yeah, if he was so corny, then why was your heart beating of your chest?

leon was being dead serious, even if his execution made it seem like he was just playing around. you were his light in the darkness, his sole comfort amidst his disastrous life.

he slid his brown leather jacket off, letting it fall to the ground. your eyes fall to his arms and how yummy they look in his compression shirt. would it be weird to say you just wanted to take a bite out of them sometimes? lovingly, of course. "i missed you," leon mumbled, his own voice taking on a sleepy lilt. 

"me too." you shook your way out from beneath the thick blanket, scooting closer to your precious boyfriend. you cradle his cheeks with your hands, smiling as you stared into his icy blues. his eyes really were to die for, you could just get lost in them sometimes. he leans into your touch, eyes fluttering shut. you go in for a kiss, soft lips meshing with his chapped ones. 

the action elicits a soft, content sigh from leon, his big hands running up and down your back above your thin tank top as the two of you stayed like that for a few moments, lips moving against one another languidly. your chest presses up against his, sending a pleasant rush through leon's veins. when you two pull away for air, a bit breathless and frazzled, you can only marvel at the sight of him before you.

his lips were parted, taking slow and deliberate breaths, his pale cheeks now a little rosy, and his tired eyes now glazed with lust, drunk on your lips alone. you chuckle softly, your hands still cradling his cheeks as you brush your thumb over his bottom lip. he kisses the tip of it, allowing you to slid it between his lips for a split second. it's so awfully intimate, causing waves of satisfaction to wash over leon. 

that's when you plunge right back in, this time your tongue slipping past his lips, interlocking with his. he moans so softly, his hands roughly gripping your hips, drawing out a sigh of your own. leon mutters hoarsely, "you're too good for me, sweetheart. way too good. what did i do to deserve you?" he's still so in disbelief that a precious thing like yourself is all his .

this causes you to part again, a slight look of confusion crossing your features. "are you serious, leon? what didn't you do?" you shake your head, sighing. "you're way too hard on yourself, baby. i swear, i've never had a man that's as perfect as you before, regardless of what you might think. you deserve this. you deserve everything after what you've been through." 

you loop your arms around him tightly, hugging him as your bury your face in his chest. your thumb traces little circles on his back, as you whisper, "don't ever think you aren't enough." that was a little something you'd picked up on in the three years you'd been dating leon. he was very unsure of himself. he didn't deem himself worthy of love, no less the amount you poured out for him.

"i love you, in all your blonde glory," you chuckled, not wanting to sound too deep, even if your words carried an incredibly heavy weight.

leon couldn't help but feel a swell of emotions all at once, instinctively holding you even tighter, pulling you close and never wanting to let go of you. not even for a single second. "you're so corny," he mocked, letting out a light laugh as he pressed a kiss on top of your head. god, you fit him just like a puzzle piece.

"it's all your fault, asshole. you started it." you grin, lifting your head up from his chest, and leaning into kiss his perfect lips again. 

"hmm," leon mumbled, a low chuckle erupting from his throat, "guess that's too bad, then." 

finally, after kissing him for a good several minutes, taking labored breaths through your nose, you pulled apart, a thin trail of your mixed saliva following suit, now dripping down your chin. you chuckled, wiping it away with the back of your hand. your hips shift a bit suggestively as you climb off of his lap, causing leon to inhale sharply. 

"you need a shower. i'm going to bed." is what you say with a snicker as you turn on your heel, padding across the wooden floors to your shared bedroom. leon just scoffs, and shakes his head, watching as you stumble away from him.

"that's not fair." he grumbled to himself, his hands falling to his thighs.

he did tell you to go back to sleep earlier, though. damn it. 

[ponderingmoonlight]

Gojo going berserk after his wife got injured

Pairing: husband!Gojo x reader

Word Count: 1,5k

Warnings: slight injury, language, Gojo being really mad lol

Notes: My dearest @hitori979, this one is dedicated to you! Thank you from the bottom of my heart for supporting me since day 0, always liking and commenting my brainrot. I hope you enjoy this fanfic as a little thank you from me 🤍 How other JJK men react when (y/n) gets hurt here Choso with injured (y/n) who has blood phobia here

„Do you really have to go, babe?“, Satoru’s oh so sweet voice mumbles against your neck.

You know exactly what he’s up to. Satoru always acts this way when you’re about to leave for a mission. How much he hates to see you walk through the door. While he’s fully aware of the fact that you’re a damn strong jujutsu sorcerer, he just dislikes the thought of you getting injured on some stupid mission. If he had it his way, you would stay at home, maybe teach here and there at Jujutsu High, but that’s it.

You are way too precious to risk your life on a mission.

“You know I have to. This is my job, remember? And I have to let you go every day, knowing that you’re not even paying attention. May I remind you that I haven’t been injured for over a year?”, you softly reply.

“That’s not true, I am paying attention!”

You raise your eyebrow demandingly by the way he ignored your last question.

“At least sometimes…Come on babe, this is not fair! Just because you haven’t been injured for some time doesn’t mean you won’t get injured today! Also, I wanted to spend the day with you!”, he complains, arms wrapped around your frame so tightly that it’s getting hard to breathe.

“You always want to spend the day with me. As much as I’d love to stay here, I have to go. Megumi will assist me.”

“I should assist you…”, he mumbles.

“They wouldn’t even send me, then”, you chuckle.

“Promise that you’ll text me, I already threatened Megumi to take care of you.”

“I will, darling. Now let me go or I’ll be late.”

With one last grumble and kiss, he finally lets go of you while you smile to yourself. God, how much you adore your husband. Even though it can be quite challenging from time to time, you admire the way he cares about you.

“I love you”, you shout before you close the door behind you.

“Love you too!”

-later-

“Don’t worry, one or two hours and we’ll be done with this”, you reassure Megumi who stands beside you.

“This doesn’t look good”, he comments.

Unfortunately, he’s right. You don’t know why there are so many curses around, but an uneasy feeling spreads in your guts. This isn’t the right place for a grade 2 sorcerer, let alone a first class student. Well, maybe even you…

“Try to stay behind me. This will get ugly”, you instruct Megumi when another wave of curses appears.

“Gojo-sensei will kill me if you get injured because of me.”

You wink at him while as you unsheathe your sword.

“Who said I will?”

Without wasting another precious minute you sprint forwards, eyes darting around the area. There are so many, way too fucking many, curses around here. This isn’t normal, something is very wrong here. But you don’t have time to think about it any further – Megumi’s and your life depend on your abilities.

You fight off more than 40 curses with ease, slashing your sword over and over. Fuck, this has no end. As soon as you exorcise one curse, two more appear on your sides and try to attack you. With every passing minute it becomes clearer and clearer to you that you won’t be able to complete this mission unscathed with Megumi alone.

“Here are many curses around, I can’t explain why though. It wouldn’t hurt to send some help”, you instruct into your headphone, fully aware of the fact that your husband is able to hear your decent cry for help as well and might freak out.

Where do all of these curses come from? This is a public place, it shouldn’t be possible for them to develop here this well. Expect this aren’t traditional curses…

“I won’t lie to you: Something’s off here. I’m not entirely sure if these are normal curses. Just stand your ground, I already informed the higher ups about this”, you inform Megumi with firm voice, fighting off a curse just before it is able to scratch your face open.

They come from all directions, almost absorbing you. Desperately you fight back with all your abilities, holding onto your sword so tight that your knuckles stand out white. You have to get through all of these curses, you have to find out why they’re here and why on earth so numerous.

But you can’t. Your thoughts wander to Satoru and his words this morning. He’ll definitely go insane when he hears about this. And for a moment, a wave of relief washes over you by that thought. Because this means he’ll come here and end this madness without Megumi getting hurt.

Megumi.

You almost miss the way a curse lunges from behind towards him while he’s busy fighting off three other ones at the same time. Instinctively you sprint forwards as fast as your feet carry you, breath going sharp and fast. No way in hell this thing will hurt Megumi. Not when you’re in charge.

“Bend over!”, you scream on top of your lungs, blade already on its way to cut through that curse.

But just before you hit it, its claws find their way into your face, scratching your forehead slightly before it falls to the ground lifelessly.

You hiss, a stinging pain crawling up your skin. But when you gently scan the spot with your fingertips, only a minor stain of blood shows itself. You let out your breath, relief flooding your body. This is nothing serious, nothing to worry about.

But before you sprint back in action, a reflex holds you back.

“Don’t move an inch, Megumi”, you warn the boy next to you.

In the split of a second, a wave of hollow purple rushes past your orbs, killing every curse on its way. You let out the breath you didn’t know you were holding, heartbeat picking up in an instant. It’s him. It has to be him.

“(y/n)!”, he cries out, large frame suddenly by your side.

“What is this?”, he hisses.

Frantically, his eyes scan your forehead, widen in blank horror.

“Oh, this? Just a minor wound, nothing to worry ab-“

“Nothing to worry about!? You promised to be careful, you promised not to get hurt!”, he literally scolds you while his fingertips inspect your wound.

“Stop that”, you warn him, slapping his hand away.

“I did the best I could but they were just too many. And there are always more to come, look.”

Not even a minute later, dozens of new curses begin to flood the streets.

“We need to get back to work!”

“No”, he interrupts you roughly.

“Not you, you’ll stay here.”

You can’t believe your ears, mouth too stunned to speak for a second. He can’t be serious, right? This is your mission. You won’t give up because a small wound on your forehead that isn’t even bleeding severely.

“This is my mission, Satoru. I will help you exorcising these curses”, you state in all seriousness.

“Oh yeah? Watch me, then.”

You aren’t able to react any further. With breathtaking speed, Satoru lunges from curse to curse, ripping their heads off in the most violent way you have ever seen while all you can do is stare at him in disbelief. Of course you always knew that your husband is not to be trifled with when it comes to his precious wife, but you’ve never thought that his concern would reach as far as him going berserk because of you.

Because of a minor laceration on your forehead.

It doesn’t even take him 30 seconds to kill all the curses entirely, leaving you completely speechless and a little dizzy. When he walks towards you, a maniac smile is plastered on his blood-covered face.

“No one is hurting my wife and gets away with it. Especially not some random curse”, he announces under his breath, gaze still stone cold.

“How are you feeling, love? Is your head doing okay? Did you get injured somewhere else?”

As soon as his eyes meet yours, they are filled with nothing but concern and love, making your heart skip a beat.

“N-No…I’m fine…”, you stutter while getting lost in his bright blue orbs all over again.

His hands roam around your body gently, gaze scanning every inch of you with that worried expression plastered on his face. Moments like these show you with all urgency how much you really mean to your husband.

“I will kill every single curse walking on this earth to save you, (y/n)”, he speaks out with low voice, lips hungrily brushing over yours so strongly expressed that you feel like fainting.

“I’m sorry you were worried”, you mumble against his mouth.

“You’ll never get hurt by a curse again. I’ll make sure of that.”

[juiles]

Hiding it

Requested: yes

Summary: you’ve had adhd your whole life and have managed to keep it from your team and 2 year long girlfriends. They start to get snippy with you and when you get an injury and they find out, you snap a little.

Type: angst and fluff

Pairing: Wandanat x reader

Warnings: swearing, anger, blood, gunshot wound, fighting, yelling, argument

Important questions!!!!

Masterlist here!

Request here!

A/N: so this idea was given to me by a very lovely reader and honestly i fell in love with the idea! I have ADHD and honestly it just gave me some outlet which i needed tbh.

————————————————————

Part 2

It had taken you 18 years to officially get diagnosed with ADHD. Your parents couldn’t have cared less about your well being which is why it took so long. You had been so shamed for the way you were that when you started with the Avengers, you just decided not to tell them. You had your coping skills and your medication. You didn’t need them to think anything less about you. The only person who knew was Cho and that was because she did your prescriptions for you.

You weren’t great at making sure they were refilled and that meant you messed up. Small things that wouldn’t normally set people off however, they were so consistent that people started to notice.

You had been dating Natasha and Wanda for a few years now and had managed to avoid them finding out so far. Perhaps that’s what had gotten you into this predicament. If you had just been honest with them, they wouldn’t have been so mean to you.

——————————————————

“Really y/n?! Again?!” You flinched, hearing Natasha’s voice rise slightly as you two sat in the quinjet while Tony flew you three home. “Why can’t you just pay attention?! God damn it. You could have gotten someone killed!”

You felt like sinking into the seat and disappearing from her line of sight and not saying anything, however that made her more mad. “Really?! You’re going to ignore me?!” She stood up, her hands flying up into the air as she stomped her way into the cockpit leaving you alone to overthink what had just happened.

You had lost track of the snipper that stood on the roof of the building across from you after Tony had mentioned a helicopter near by that you ALSO needed to keep an eye on. You couldn’t keep an eye on both but felt bad so instead of mentioning it to them, you tried to do both and in the attempt, last track of both of them. Luckily, Natasha had gotten the intel quick enough that the three of you were able to get out unscathed. Now it was just having to listen to them both bitch about your mistake.

Once the quinjet landed, you slowly grabbed your things and trudged outside, hoping to have Wanda comfort you but much to your dismay, Natasha had gotten to her first and as soon as the brunette landed her eyes in you, she instantly started berating you for being so careless and “how dare you be so risqué about Nattys life!”. This wasn’t the first time they had yelled at you. Last week, after a mission, the two of them ignored you for 3 days because of an accident you had. This time, instead of taking it, you trudged your way inside and instead of turning left and entering the bedroom the three of you shared, you went up 3 more doors and opened the door on the right to reveal your bedroom.

A room you hadn’t stayed in, in years due to moving into the shared room. You closed the door and threw your duffel on your bed and with a groan, you hauled ass to the bathroom to strip out of your suit and get in the shower. The warm water felt nice against your dirty skin and you relished in it however, the feeling only lasted a moment before you heard a door open and Natasha and Wanda were barging into your room causing you to get out of the shower and change into some spare clothes.

“Seriously y/l/n. That was a really reckless mistake that could have caused a life!” Wanda ranted storming into the room as you opened the bathroom door. “What if Natasha had gotten shot?! Huh?!” The guilt that already gnawed slightly at your stomach intensified as you ducked your head squeezing your eyes shut. “I would have NEVER forgiven you if something had happened to her! Do you understand me?!” You nodded softly before Natasha grabbed the witch’s hand.

“Come on love. Let’s go have a shower hmm?” She said, loud enough for the words to sting you. “I don’t want to see her face right now.” With that the two left, slamming your bedroom door shut, causing you to jump. You stayed in your room for 2 days after that. No one except Pepper cared enough to come and check on you. The woman had been bringing you food, which you barely touched and reminded you to sleep.

On the third day, Fury came knocking and told you that you had a mission and to be in the jet in 15 minutes. You stuffed your duffel bag, threw on your suit and slipped your way to the jet, managing to avoid your angry girlfriends.

The mission, which was supposed to be an easy single person intel recon, turned into a 3 day stakeout where you ended up getting shot in the shoulder at the end right before escaping. Upon your return, you were whisked away to the medbay where Cho, Natasha and Wanda were waiting. The latter two, with angry looking faces. “Come on Y/l/n. Let’s get that stitched up hmm?” Cho said guiding you to sit down as you actively avoided the assassin and the witch standing beside you.

“Where the hell were you?! You didn’t tell anyone you were gone y/n/n! What if you died?!” Wanda said, fear and anger etched into her features.

“It was stupidly reckless y/n.” Natasha said, her face her normal calm facade.

Cho sent the two looks to shut up as she finished stitching you up. “I’m assuming since you were gone for three days that you didn’t take your meds so when you take them tomorrow, remember you’re going to have side effects okay? Also, you need to come and get a refill soon.” Cho said softly to you as she finished up the bandage.

Your eyes widened and your head whipped up to look at her before quickly stealing a glance at the two avengers frozen beside you. “M-medications?! Side effects?!” Natasha stuttered out. “What is she talking about detka?”

Chos eyes widened commically as she looked at you. “I thought they knew! I’m so sorry y/n/n!!” the doctor rushed out. You simply shook your head and muttered an assurance that it was okay before she skittered out the door. You slowly stood with a grunt and brushed past your two girlfriends with the intent to head back to your room to clean up. They followed behind you, scrambling with their words before you quickly stopped and turned on your heel with an angry look on your face.

“Shut up!” You seethed at the two who froze and stared at you wide eyed. “God for once just stop. Not that it’s any of your business but i have ADHD. A pretty severe case and Cho does my meds for me. All those “stupid little reckless mistakes” were caused by something i have NO control over. You two couldn’t have given two shits about me for the past 5 days so why the fuck would you care now?!” You felt all the anger in your body start to boil up. “FUCK!” In a state of anger, you turned around and punched a hole in the wall beside you which caused your knuckles to start bleeding however, it seemed as if you didn’t even notice as you continued to punch the wall with no thought to your safety at all.

The girls were in a state of shock for a moment before Natasha grabbed you by the shoulders and pulled you away from the wall, Wanda using her powers to hold your hands still. “Baby stop! Stop! You’re hurting yourself!” Wanda said walking towards your angry looking figure, your eyes narrowed on her as she reached her hand up and cupped your cheek which seemed to snap you back to reality. “Take a deep breath my love. Just take a moment okay?”

Your eyes filled with tears as you stared into her blue eyes then turned to face Natasha’s green ones. “I-I’m sorry… i’m sorry i’m sorry. I didn’t mean to get so angry. I c-can’t always stop it.” You muttered pulling your hands to your chest. “Without t-the meds I-I don’t have good control of my emotions… they-they feel like they’re trying to rip through my body…” Wanda merely hushed you as Natasha pulled your shaking form into her body, being extra cautious of the now open and bleeding wound on your shoulder.

“No detka. We’re sorry. Were sorry we couldn’t help you and instead just got angry with you…” Natasha murmured into your hair. “Why didn’t you say anything…?”

You merely shook your head and clutched to her shirt with your bleeding hands as your body began to rack with sobs. “Shhhh… you’re okay malyshka. Let’s go to our room hmm?” You nodded softly as the two lead you into your shared bed and settled down, with you curled up between them. You sat and cried for a while before the sobs turned u to sniffles and Wanda pulled away causing you to whimper.

“I’m just getting the first aid kit my love. We need to restitch your shoulder and bandage your hands okay? I’ll be 2 minutes.” With a kiss pressed to your forehead, the witch shot off and was back in less than a minute with a full first aid kit in hand. You were shifted to be leaning into her warm body as Natasha started cleaning you up. The three of you sat in silence as this happened until you were all bandaged up and securely back in their arms.

“I’m a burden…” You whispered softly. Wanda went to say something but got stopped by a look from Natasha. They knew you needed to get it out. “I’m a burden and weak and stupid. That’s what they called me…”

“Who detka…?”

“My parents… kids at school… teachers…. I was never good enough and when i turned 18 and finally got diagnosed with ADHD it made sense to me but i feel this gnawing shame in my stomach. A shame that was shoved in me from birth. That who I am is nothing more than a burden and no one should have to deal with me. The meds help a lot… i appear almost normal. Those times the boys have jokingly told me I’m annoying and it seems like i have a big reaction to it is because it’s my biggest fear. That my family will leave me again, that everyone i live will get bored with having to help me with everyday tasks and leave me alone again… I know i can be a lot sometimes. I know i can be stand off ish. But i’m scared. I can’t handle losing another family…” You squeezed your eyes shut, holding back the tears as you tried to wriggle out of the girls arms before the two pulled you in tighter and squeezed you, the both pressing kisses to your hair and face while whispering assurances to you.

“No baby. You are not a burden. You are not annoying. You are not too much. You are our perfect girl. We are so sorry we messed up but you need to know that you love you with everything in our hearts and we NEVER want you to be alone again or feel like you’re weak because you’re so strong.” You scoffed lightly rolling your eyes at Wanda’s words.

“You are y/n. You are so strong to be holding all of this to yourself and not be able to tell anyone else but never again okay? From now on, Wanda and I will be here for you. To support you and love you and care for you. In the ways people should have when you were little.” Natasha said, with a finality in her tone and a kiss on your head, making you believe she was telling the truth to some extent.

Of course it wasn’t perfect after that but they kept true to their word. Everyday, the would remind you of their love for you in the small things. They would make sure you had taken your pills and eaten more than an energy drink with them. They would leave kisses on your head as you walked past. They set reminders on their phones to remind you that you had a load of laundry in or that you had said you would do the dishes. Small things to remind you that they will fight by your side through it all. While they may have seemed insignificant to the others, you knew how much these small things meant and you cherished them all.

[daryl-fucking-dixon]

Vamp!Daryl moodboard because oh my god I cannot get enough of him

I’m writing something for him on my main blog, but I also wanna write something else and I also don’t wanna delete what I’m already writing (because Im punishing myself)

I did in fact end up going into detail 🌞(ifykyk)

SOMNOPHILA AND BLOODKINK WARING SOMNOPHILA AND BLOODKINK WARING SOMNOPHILA AND BLOODKINK WARING

There was no place comfier and warmer than cuddled up right in your arms, nuzzled safely against your chest where Daryl’s 30/20 hearing could peacefully listen to the clear beat of your heart. It lulled him into a deep sleep almost every night, belly full and his hunger satisfied.

But a vampire could never be too full, and Daryl Dixon never sleeps without his senses guarding at all times, so the way he jerked slightly at the first hints of blood flooding into his nostrils was inevitable.

You barely stirred, which made it easy for Daryl to slip out of the cage that was your limp arms and quietly inspect your body.

He softly and gently lifted your shirt, helping himself to an eyeful of pretty tits once he determined your torso was unscathed, placing the fabric back down over you. His eyes fluttered down to your panties, brain loading for a moment before he dipped his head down, not even having to inhale before he was hit in the face with the overwhelming smell of blood.

This absolutely horrified him. Why were you bleeding, and why were you bleeding from your cunt? His cold little heart throbbed painfully, and he wasted no time pulling off your undies, shivering at the ruined fabric. It was bad, so bad. You had somehow hurt yourself in a sensitive area and needed obvious help, but first Daryl just had to take a deep whiff of your bloody panties, biting back a guttural moan when the pure smell made him dizzy, eyes almost rolling to the back of his skull as it traveled through his veins and damn-near made him cum. Not even the most expensive cocaine could get him that high.

His mouth was watering from just that alone, trying not to wake you as he quietly gasped for air, having literally suffocated himself in your underwear. He redirected his gaze to you and felt disgusting when he could feel his cock twitch at the sight of your bloody pussy.

No. He needed to help you. You were hurt and he needed to fix it, furrowing his brows as he built up his saliva in his mouth, hoping that if he coated you in enough of it, it would heal you much quicker.

When it was pooled on his tongue, he dropped down to be face to face with your cunt and forcibly swallowed the groan that formed in his throat from the smell wafting into his nose. All five of his senses were sky-high, and your skin almost felt like butter on his fingertips as he spread your bloody lips apart, running his slick tongue from top to bottom.

Your body trembled at the cold sensation, and soft sounds spilling from your lips as you reacted to his touch in your sleep. It made Daryl feel a little guilty, but it would make him feel guiltier if he just left you like this.

There was just blood all over you, and Daryl worked his tongue fervently to clean it all up. He tried not to enjoy it too much, running the wet muscle up the crease where your thigh met your labia, stopping to suck on your clit a little, cleaning off any blood with the tip of his tongue.

He was purposely trying to produce more saliva with every lick, ensuring that wherever your wound is, it’ll be completely coated in his healing spit. He wrapped his arms around your thighs so that he could pull your lower half flush against his face, slipping his tongue into your hole and swirling it around when he could taste the blood pooling inside, this time not being able to fight back his grunt at the taste. Oddly enough, it tasted so much better coming from your pretty pussy.

“Gonna make sure ya feel better doll, gotta make sure m’gorgeous girl is alright” He mumbled out loud but more so to himself, practically nose-deep as he protectively squeezed you impossibly closely, starting to get a little tipsy from all the blood he had already consumed.

You stirred slightly, grunting and wiggling your legs a little as you could feel the sturdy muscle of Daryl’s arms around them, shortly followed by the warm sensation of his muttering and licking between your pussy lips “Mm… Dar?”

He didn’t respond, nor did he move from his position, too far gone and deep between your legs.

“Daryl.” You forced your tired voice to call a little louder, coming out as more of a moan than anything else.

This time the movements of his tongue halted as his ears and head perked up, a very unexpected sight greeting you.

His red eyes were wide as they stared at you, beard stained blood red from where it dribbled down from around his equally stained lips, smeared across the tip of his nose and most likely painting his pink tongue a matching color.

It made you throb slightly, clenching as you softly stared at him. “What’re you doing?”

“Ya started bleedin'– Still don’ know-how, but ya did, ‘nd ‘wanted ta make sure ya’ weren’t hurtin’” He shook his head as he rambled, and you raised a brow at him.

“Bleeding?” You glanced at his position between your legs, and then back to his face, easily connecting the dots with a small ‘oh’ sound. “Oh Daryl, I’m not injured, sweetheart”

He gawked, flickering from your face to your cunt. “Ye-Yer not?”

A giggle rumbled in your chest at his poor ignorance, “No silly! I’m just on my period. It’s just my body getting rid of old blood. I didn’t even know you could eat that” reaching a hand down to cup his sweet messy face, the confused look on his face adorably tugging your heartstrings. Or maybe that’s just your hormones.

“Tasted good ta’ me… old?” Daryl mumbled, brain lagging behind to catch up with the new information that he was receiving.

You nodded, blushing a little at his words. “Old blood, bacteria, all that… how long have you been eating?”

“Not long, think it jus’ started or somethin’” He eyed your pussy, licking his lips. “Can I– Can I keep goin’?”

“Kinda gross don’t you think?” You cringe slightly at the idea of eating period blood, goosebumps dotting your skin.

Daryl scoffed at you, arms pulling you close to his face again as he had full intentions of leaving his plate absolutely clean. “Gross ain’t even in ma’ damn vocabulary”

I need him SO FUCKING BADLYYYABUAINA literally all my problems in life would be completely solved if I had vamp!daryl waking me up with his tongue just because he thought me starting my period was me somehow getting an injury

VAMPIRE DARYL IS MY ROMAN EMPIRE AND I HAVE DECIDED I NOT ONLY WANNA DIE ON THIS HILL BUT I WANNA BE FUCKING BURIED IN IT. SEVEN GODDAMN FEET UNDER.

no I do not care if you dont like this or if it made you uncomfortable have you ever tried reading the warnings or do your eyes only work when you dont fucking want them too

[frankenstein-ate-my-left-shoe]

i literally have no idea what this is, or where it came from but here's a thing:

pairing: steddie | word count: 2,043 | rated: M (will be E in next part)

Eddie Munson was not Steve’s bi awakening, okay? He wasn’t.

He just happened to be standing in the middle of Family Video dressed like his bi awakening (and it didn’t help that he already had an embarrassingly huge crush on the guy).

Steve had come out of the back none the wiser to what he was about to see, glancing up from the tape he was carrying for someone who’d called earlier. His eyes met big, clunky, worn-in cowboy boots, long lean legs (and very nice ass–damn, they’ve got one of those stupid bandanas in their back pocket too) in classic Levis so tight they looked like they were painted on, the back of leather jacket (--hold on), and the back of a head of long, wild-looking, sun-kissed, yet still dark hair.

After his seconds-long oogling, Robin, who was chatting with Bon Jovi’s twin at the counter, glances behind him at Steve. 

Bon Jovi tries to turn and look back without taking himself off the counter, but when that insane hair of his gets in the way, he shoves up off the counter and spins on one heel.

“Munson? Where the hell’ve you been?” Steve thanks whatever it is up there that the surprise of seeing Eddie again temporarily suspends his frazzled ‘hothothothothot’ thoughts about his friend enough to respond normally.

“Damn, Stevie, been gone all summer and all I get is a ‘The hell’ve you been’?”

“Of course, asshole, you’ve been gone All. Summer.” Steve says, finally getting to the counter himself and dropping the tape on it. He scoops Eddie up in a tight hug, one long won from their month of recovery post-Vecna.

Everything went fine, Vecna was dead, the upside-down sealed away, but they hadn’t all left unscathed. Specifically Steve and Eddie, both of whom ended their spring break from hell nursing bat wounds, and closer than ever before. 

Then, after finally graduating, being hailed a hero for “saving” Max and Dustin from the real killer (thank you, suspicious government people), Eddie was hauled out of Hawkins by his Uncle, the former of whom got just enough time for a quick ‘Gotta go, Wayne wants me helping out at the farm this summer,’ before he was gone.

“I told you I would be, Harrington,” Eddie says once Steve sets him back down on his own two feet.

“So what happened? Where’ve you really been?”

Eddie raises a brow, “At the farm. Like I said.”

“Okay, well, excuse me for thinking it may have been the same 'farm' my parents said my childhood dog was sent off to.”

“You think my Uncle was gonna take me upstate to shoot me dead?”

“Obviously not, dumbass, but what other goddamn reason would you, Eddie Munson, have to be on a farm. Like with cows and stuff?”

“Though the sun did you some favors,” Robin cuts back in.

And isn’t that the truth. Up close now (and letting himself look), Steve could see how Eddie’s normally dark hair and pale complexion were now sun-kissed and so well be-freckled that it sent his stomach for another rollercoaster ride.

“Yeah, Munson, you planning on keeping the blond around?” Steve teases, picking up a strand of sun-lightened hair off Eddie’s shoulder and giving it a short tug.

“I don’t know, I’m not really used to how light…”

Whatever Eddie says after that is completely drowned out by ringing in Steve’s ears because Eddie stretches an arm up to paw at the top of his head and he’s wearing a crop top.

He’s wearing a goddamn crop top under his jacket, some band tee that looks like he’d hacked off himself..and are those abs?? God damn he is so fine. It’s not fucking fair. Who does he think he is running around like Steve’s own personal wet dre–

“Holy shit.”

He couldn’t help it. The words just fell out of his mouth.

“H-holy shit, you’ve got abs, Eddie!”

‘Thank you, Robin.’ Steve thinks at her absently since his brain is completely preoccupied..

“Wha–? Oh! Yeah! Check me out, huh?!” Eddie grins wide, lifting his shirt just a bit more to show off the toned expanse of stomach. 

Steve’s mouth goes bone dry.

“And that’s not all,” Eddie says. He drops his shirt and shucks the jacket off his shoulders.

His very well sculpted shoulders.

And arms.

And oh god those hands. Steve could hear the soft scrapes of rough callouses against the leather when Eddie threw the garment onto the counter beside him and his only thought was about how they might feel against his skin..

Still beaming, Eddie flexes one, then both arms, his biceps bunching under more tanned skin. “I got a lot of ‘lifting heavy things and putting them back down again’ in over the summer.” he continues, “I’m probably stronger than you now, Harrington.”

“Ha haha, right..yeah. Robin, can you excuse us for a second?”

Steve doesn’t wait for her response before he grabs Eddie around one of those absolutely delicious biceps and hauls him through the store and out the back door.

He lets a grinning Eddie go as soon as they’re through the back door, taking a couple steps away towards the woods behind their building, and trying to calm down with measured breaths.

When he does turn around, Eddie’s stood away from the door, one hip cocked out and his arms crossed across his chest.

The grin on his face has melted down into a smirk though, and the look in his eyes is less teasing and more cautious.

Steve steps back up close to the other man, and literally starts to circle him like a shark. Scanning his eyes up and down Eddie’s body as he does.

“What’s goin’ on Stevie? Looking for some style tips?” he jokes.

Steve doesn’t answer, and starts his second cycle around his friend.

“You know, maybe get rid of some of those polos?” Eddie sounds just a bit more unsure this time.

Steve’s behind Eddie’s right shoulder when he speaks again. “You think you can barge back in after all this time, looking like that,” Steve comes around to stand in front of Eddie again, “And not expect me to react?”

Eddie grins wickedly again, and steps back at the same time Steve steps forward.

“Expect me to not want to devour you whole?”

“You expect me to want that, big boy?” Eddie says as he’s pressed between Steve and the closed back door.

Steve rears back immediately, “Shit, Eddie, I’m sor–”

“‘Cause I do.” Eddie grabs hold of Steve and spins them around, pressing the younger man back against the door instead. “Ohhh boy, do I want that.”

Steve groans as Eddie slots their hips together, “You really are a big boy, aren’t you sunshine?”

“The things I’m gonna do to you..” Steve growls out, Eddie’s jaw snapping open with his words.

They’re both startled away from the back door when Robin bangs on it, “You’ve got five minutes to get back in here before I drag you back in! It’s Friday and we’re about to get busy!” she yells through the door.

He hears her converse squeak on the tile inside the door as she heads back to the front, then chances a look at Eddie.

He looks as red as Steve feels, from the bit of his face he can see from behind the hair he holds over it.

“Eddie–”

“It’s cool, Harrington,” he wheezes out a dry laugh, glancing over at him, “Better get in for the rush before Robin comes back.

He reaches for the handle again, but is stopped short by a hand on his wrist.

“Listen, Eddie.” Steve says, giving the other man’s arm a soft tug to get him to turn around. “I may have gotten a little…over enthusiastic…”

Eddie’s face scrunches up in a weird way.

“No! Not in a bad way, unless you weren’t as into it as I was–doesn’t matter! Point is, I may have gone a little crazy, but I wasn’t faking it.”

“I don’t think guys can fake it, Steve-o.” Eddie jokes softly, a small smile on his face.

Steve chuckles just as soft, “Shut up man, you know what I mean.”

“Do I?”

“I think you do.”

“I dunno Steve," Eddie shrugs sarcastically, "You’re quite an enigma.”

“Okay, fine, here’s it spelled out for you: I am super into you.” Steve puts up a finger to stop whatever it is Eddie was about to say, “Hold on– I am bisexual, have been for a while and would like to try this..with you. If you want.”

“You gotta be more specific on what ‘this’ is, sunshine.” Eddie steps close to him once again.

Steve smirks, walking Eddie backward to the door again with both hands on his waist. Once he’s got him pressed back against the warm metal, he scoops the hair away from Eddie’s ear and holds it out of the way with a hand on the back of his neck.

He leans in, whispering right into Eddie’s ear. “I want to take you apart, Eddie.”

Eddie sucks in a sharp breath and Steve can feel the man’s heart hammering against his own chest.

“I want to suck you down, eat you out, and fuck you into next Tuesday.” He states, nipping on his earlobe for good measure before pulling back. 

Steve takes in Eddie’s flushed face, his eyes blown out they’re almost completely black, his chest heaving.

“I’d also like to totally romance you and date the fuck out of you, but…” he shrugs, grinning as Eddie smacks his chest lightly with a laugh of his own.

“I’m serious though, Eddie. I want this.”

Eddie’s smile falls slightly. “You sure about the whole dating thing, Harrington? You know you can’t date me for real..like in public and shit.”

Steve shrugs, “I know, but… I don’t think I’d survive something casual with you, Eddie.”

Eddie lets out a breath like he’d been punched.

He takes back in a deep breath, then pulls Steve flush to him again.

“I think that sounds amend—-”

Eddie’s forehead smashes into Steve’s nose when Robin shoves the door open behind Eddie.

“Damn! I knew the door was a bad idea.” Steve says, his voice coming out nasally from where he’s pinching at the bridge of his nose.

“Time’s up, Dingus, get your fruity butt inside.”

Eddie chuckles after her, leading Steve inside. “You shouldn’t tip your head back, lean forward and let it drain out.”

“Ugh, you sure? I’ll get blood all over me,”

“I’m sure, sweetheart, I’ve had a few bloody noses in my time.”

“Here,” Robin says once they reach the counter.

Steve takes the offered tissues, and soaks up the small trickle of blood.

“You still wanna date me if my nose is crooked?” he asks Eddie, who’s (sadly) shrugging his coat back on.

He pretends to think for a moment. “Sorry Stevie, that’s a dealbreaker. Even if it was my forehead what done it.”

“Ugh you’re such a dweeb, I don’t know what you see in him, Steve.”

“He’s hot, okay? And he’s still hot even after he rejected me just now.” Steve states matter-of-factly while shoving a wad of tissue into the one nostril still bleeding.

“You think I’m hot?”

“Very.”

“No, you’re gross. You guys are both gross.”

“Oh Birdie, you should've heard the things he was saying to me outside; all ‘Ooh Eddie, your muscles are so big and so is your hair and also your di—’”

“OKAY! That’s enough of that!” Steve cuts him off, pushing the still grinning Eddie toward the door, then, a softer: “Yours or mine after I’m off?” once they’re at the door.

“Definitely yours, unless you want Wayne to be privy to our shenanigans.”

“Yeah, that’s a no. Also, shenanigans? Really? You’re a super dweeb.” Steve smirks, pushing his boyfr— frien— Eddie out the front door. “I’m off at four, see you at five?”

Eddie fumbles backward over the curb but manages to catch himself, “It’s a date, Steve.”

He watches Eddie climb up into his van, and follows its path down the road and out of sight with a dreamy sigh.

“You still have tissues in your nose, Dingus.”

part 2/2 here | and on AO3!

definitely inspired by this post from @sparrowtapes

[amoristt]

anon: can you write a ghost x reader fic about y/n being wrongfully accused of being a spy and she makes a run for it and ghost finds her? YESSSS . LOVE ITTTT

-as always comments/reblogs are appreciated! - wanna tip me? heres my kofi!

The Accused | Simon "Ghost" Riley/Reader

- Heavy footsteps, the air thick, the wall in front of you even thicker. Never did you think that beige wallpaper would be such an obstacle in your way as the echoing sound of footsteps gain on you. The door is shut tight, but the room is still under construction and lacks any furniture to help barricade you in. There isn't even a fucking closet for you to hide in. The only thing other than light brown plank flooring and a door with a half-painted white frame, was a window overlooking a yard.

It was roughly a five-story drop- too high to continue your run unscathed, but at this point, you've got some pretty heavy options to weigh. On one hand, potentially cut your life short, on the other, get caught and dragged out fighting.

Not that it would be much of a fight. You didn't even have time to grab your gun or knife before you made your escape.

Your heart aches. This wasn't right. While you weren't sure what dirt Shepherd had on you, what documents had been falsified as evidence of your alleged 'treason', but whatever they were they must have been pretty damn convincing to have Graves up in arms almost instantaneously. Tears bite at your eyes- had been since you first ran, but now they were heavier. Angrier. You wipe them harshly and red blotches bubble at your cheeks.

Shaking, you bring your radio to your lips. You can't hear them, but they can surely hear you, switched to a different station so you couldn't use their chatter to work around them.

"Please," you damn near sob. "Please, there's a mistake. There's been a fucking mistake, I haven't done anything. You really think I'd do this to you guys of all people?"

Grave answers your pleads like a poison, settling deep into your lungs, replacing all the air in its wake.

"Enough running. Come out and no one has to get hurt."

There was no use in arguing, you realized. They would never hear of it- not the people that truly mattered when it came to imprisonment, anyways. Even if you could convince your humble squad of your innocence, it would never hold up in the end. Besides that, by the way Graves spoke to you, the way he had looked at you, like you were a fucking bug that needed squashing, told you all you needed to know when it came to fighting against Shepherd's allegations.

You knew, ultimately, that running wasn't going to exactly help your case, but you didn't know what else to do. It felt like everyone had turned against you in a moment. You hadn't even had time to process anything. One moment you were joking with your crew, and Graves scampered off the take a rather important call.

Shepherd, was all he had said before disappearing.

And god, when he came back, red-faced and tense, the accusations poured.

Soap tried to defend you. Ghost fought to question, to figure out what the fuck was happening, but the supposed 'evidence' was apparently damning enough to convince Graves through and through that you were a spy.

A rat.

Ghost's voice, laced with desperation and confusion, when Graves began to 'explain' your betrayal haunted you. More so than the act of being accused of treason, even. You just stared at him, past that skull mask, into those familiar dark eyes. Even now, as you ran for what could possibly be your life, that half-hidden expression was all you could see.

The moment Graves brought up arresting you, and even moved to try and grab you, your brain damn near malfunctioned. Your body reacted on its own.

You fucking ran.

Though you weren't sure how someone had found you, this was the position you were in now. The curtains blew out with the breeze, soft and inviting, almost like it was beckoning your jump. They unfurl before you like great wings, and you stare down at the green grass below. You'd surely be crippled by this fall. If not that, it could very well kill you.

Your heart seizes, your lungs struggle to take in air as panic begins to sets in like vines creeping over your nerves. For a moment, you freeze. There was no other way out.

But then there's a slam on the door behind you, so great that the frame creaks and sharp chunks of wood launch off and scatter onto the floor around you. You flinch and your body once again takes priority over your mind, tossing your leg over the sill and swallowing hard. You're going to have to make the jump for it.

You heave yourself up and over, planting your feet flat on the sill, your entire body shaking with both fear of the leap and the deeper issue at present. One hand braces against the top of the window, the other covering your mouth.

Behind you, the door bursts open. Wood splints and tears as it slams into the wall.

"Enough!" A voice shouts, thick with accent and heavy breaths. "You're going to break every damn bone in your body."

You can practically feel Ghost's gun pointed straight at you. You cringe.

Would he pull the trigger?

"Might as well do it now before someone else does trying to beat a confession out of me that'll never fucking come." You didn't mean for your voice to carry so sharp, so laced with the pain and hurt of being hunted by your own friends.

By Ghost, of all people.

How could he be so fucking blind after everything you'd been through together? You wanted to reach out and smack him upside the head. You'd patched each other up more times than you could count, you trusted him with your life, he'd trusted you with his.

Or so, you had always thought.

But the way he's looking at you has to second guessing.

But, ultimately, you knew the game at play. He was a good soldier- the best. He was a former lone wolf, distrustful to his core. You'd worked so fucking hard to get close with him and now it was all crumbling down. Even if you stayed and explained yourself, there would be no point. You would be arrested, processed, thrown in jail labeled a traitor to your country and more people than not would be celebrating it. You'd never see the light of day- shackled and stuffed into a prison so far off the map that God himself would struggle to find you.

And you would be damned if you were going to just sit there and accept your fate. Even if it meant you appeared just as guilty as Shepherd had painted you. You just needed to get away for a bit, collect yourself, and have the time to figure out what the hell was going on. But it seemed that was never in the cards for you. 

The ground below looks menacing, but more forgiving than the fate that awaits you.

You can hear Ghost taking heavy steps forward, and you wonder why he hasn't just come up and ripped you from that sill already.

"Get down," He barks, and you shake at the tone, refusing to look back at him. Defiance shines through as you refuse to climb down.

"I'm not going down for something I didn't do!" Exasperated, your knuckles whitening with your iron grip. It takes what feels like eons to prepare for gravity to play its course, but in reality, it's been mere seconds. You try to force down air through the boulder in your throat.

For a moment, everything stills. You knew the outcome that was bound to come to this. You knew, deep down in your heart, that your fate was not a good one at this point. Either you die on impact, or you'd be wheeled into the interrogation room on a stretcher. That alone makes your skin crawl- interrogation. Knowing you had not a single detail to offer despite the amount of 'tactics' that would be used on you... The torture would essentially be never-ending.

You were well and truly fucked.

"I have to do this." You try to keep your voice level, but it betrays you. You hear Ghost suck in a sharp breath, the sound of his gear shifting. At this point, you don't even care if he shot you. At least you'd die with the person you loved.

"You don't." Ghost's voice is quieter, closer. Now you can really hear it- the sadness. The desolation. It wracks you to your very core.

With a hasty glance over your shoulder, you take in the sight of him. Maybe the last sight of him you'll ever get the chance to see. His looming figure stands feet away, gun still fixated on you. He looks defeated. Or, perhaps, torn. Riding that fence and teetering on the edge between believing you or hauling your ass back to Shepherd kicking and screaming.

Tears well in your eyes when realize his finger isn't even on the trigger. You nod at him sadly.

"I do."

And then, you give yourself to gravity. For a split second, you're weightless. Without much family back home, you found yourself thinking about your squad. How would Soap react? Gaz, or Price? Would they try to find your innocence, or would they take your cowardly actions at face value? Would Graves struggle with the weight of your life if he discovered his manhunt had been unwarranted?

Would Ghost be okay after firsthand witnessing such an awful, selfish act?

Would he ever forgive you?

With a sickening crack, your body slams into the brick wall of the building and you're left dangling in place. Your shoulder screams as you hang, and when you snap your attention toward the searing pain, you see two large hands grasped tight at your wrist and elbow.

"Damn it!"

Ghost's voice reaches you like a bullet had been ripped through your chest. He'd caught you, holding fast and unrelenting. You tried to fight, struggling against him, trying to reach up and pry those fingers away but they didn't budge.

It was over. You'd been caught. You were going to fucking prison and forever labeled a traitor to your country and everyone you ever knew. Everyone you ever fought with, and for, would remember you as a rat. A stain on the fabric of the U.S. Army.

"Let go!" You cry, feeling yourself reeling back into that room with Ghost's unwavering grip. "Just let go!"

Ghost grunts a sharp no before you're hauled up, into the room, and held fast by his arms caging you against him. He crushes you to himself, fingers near digging bruises into your skin and he's shaking you realize. Tears well up and flush past your waterlines, disappearing into the cloth of his gear. You haphazardly beat on his chest with a loosely formed fist.

"They're gonna fucking kill me" You sob. "It's not me, I didn't do anything."

You feel Ghost's arms leave you, and you realize now is when you'll have to surrender. You'll have to hang your head low and saunter away and into the clutches of the armies worst. You're crying into your hands now, not caring what you look like. Not caring this was the first time Ghost had ever truly seen you cry. And god, did you cry.

"Simon, please, I didn't do anything. It wasn't me!"

He's silent as he watches you fall apart right in front of him. Though he uncurls his arms from your shaking frame, he doesn't back away, looking down at you, like he's unsure of what to do. Unsure of what to believe anymore. As you press your forehead to his shoulder, your legs threaten to give out from underneath you.

"Why is this happening." Your voice escapes you as a whimper, broken up with sharp, painful breaths. "What could I have done for someone to do this to me of all people? I know I'm not a saint, but,-" Finally you look up at him, babbling. "Fuck, what do I do?"

Ghost's eyes narrow as he watches you, taking in every word. He places his hands on your shoulders, the first familiar gesture you've felt yet.

"You think you've been framed?" He asks, tone cool despite the waves of emotions in his eyes. You nod.

"That's the only explanation I can think of, but why? I would never do this to my country, my home." You flicker your eyes up to his own. "I would never do this to you."

You can see him trying to work it all out in his brain. Weighing the evidence he'd been presented with versus the fact that he fucking knew you. Knew you like the back of his hand, knew you without even having to think about it. He knew you as he knew himself, and he just knew you wouldn't do this.

"So what is it then." He starts harshly, so terribly confused it brings about anger, like he needs the answer right now because he doesn't know what to do next and time is running thin. 

Shaking your head, you shrug. "I don't know. I just-... I know that there's something going on here. Maybe by mistake, maybe intentionally, I don't know. But I didn't fucking do anything."

Ghost digests your words. You continue.

"I just need time to figure it out and I don't have it. I've got 141 and god fucking forbid, the Shadow's coming for this at this point." your face falls. "...Did anyone try to defend me after I left...?"

Ghost stiffens and swallows hard. You nod, laugh hoarsely. Of course.

"It was fast. There wasn't time to think." He offers. It made sense. You wondered what would have happened if anyone found you up here. If it had been Soap, or Gaz. Or Graves.

His eyes are softer now, his breathing leveling. Surely he's made a choice, but you aren't sure of which. You pray it's in your favor, that he realizes that this is you you're talking about. You pray he remembers all the time, the trust. As you watch him, like he's miles away from you, you can't help but notice him staring at you like you're just mere arms reach away.

Like you'd never left his arms at all, actually. Still flush against him a crying mess of pleads and hurt.

"Ghost, how copy?" Grave's voice pipes up from Ghost's radio.

You still. Ghost lingers a moment, like he doesn't want to answer, his eyes dart from his radio and then back to you, and you press your lips into a tight line.

Don't fucking answer it, your mind begs. Don't do this to me.

When Graves repeats himself, urgently this time, Ghost drags the radio begrudgingly up his clothed lips. Mouth running dry, hands shaking, you take a step back.

'Please,' You mouth. Ghost shakes his head and refuses to meet your gaze.

He was going to turn you in, after all.

He was a good soldier.

You, in that moment, recall the moments you spend side by side with this man. This scary, intimidating man, that you'd found comfort in. The person you plucked from the litter and thought to yourself, this one.

And he hadn't wanted you in. You bulldozed your way through until he found himself picking you out in crowds, remembering all those little things about you that no one else seemed to give a damn about. Waiting for you in the morning, sharing his thoughts and time.

You had always hoped, in another world, you two could enjoy life without all the pain together. A life outside of the army. 

Surely, it would have been enough.

Face downcast, you hear him take a breath to speak.

"Clear." He says. "No sign."

There was no stopping the tears that spilled down your cheeks at that moment, mouth covered to muffle yourself, crouching down as your knees shook.

"Sonofa bitch! Regroup back at point A." Graves says with a sigh.

"Copy." Ghost says quickly, shoving his radio back into his belt. He takes a knee in front of you, and his hands cup the side of your wet face. You eye him, babbling thank you over and over again, sick with fear, gratitude, and confusion. A cocktail that left an unnaturally horrendous taste on your lips. He retrieves a hand just long enough to set his knife down o the floor in front of you.

"Now you've got time." He says matter-of-factly, but you can still sense that urgency in his words. He wants you to escape. To figure this out and come back to him his friend and partner.

He takes your discarded radio and switches it to the proper channel so you could keep tabs on their whereabouts and plans. The voices of your squad chatter on the line, Soap's voice above all wondering how the fuck this was even happening. Bless his heart, he even mentioned being worried for you, which was quickly shot down by Graves reminding him of your betrayal.

As Ghost crouches before you, massive, all-powerful it seemed, you watch his eyes. He pats your cheek. His gloved finger points to the window.

"Ever try a stunt like that again, I'll kill you myself." He bites. You nod, struggling to compose yourself. He stands and your mind begs for him to stay, to be with you during this, but you know he can't.

He lingers in the doorway like he's thinking the same thing. 

"I will... Do what I can. Watch your back, soldier."

And then he's gone, and It's silent save for your harsh breaths. You shakily pull yourself up from the floor, grasping the knife he'd given you- his favorite blade entrusted to you. You'd wait for nightfall and make a run for it, find shelter day by day, and hopefully reconnect with him somewhere to go over what the hell was going on.

You prayed he'd find a way to convince them of your innocence, ask the right questions to the right people, and have more players in your court.

It would likely be your only way out of this awful nightmare.

[a-hobit]

There are not nearly enough “Izuku midoriya in denial” fics for me.

Katsuki has accepted and is trying to confess but Izuku won’t let him or constantly forces himself to only see what Katsuki says in a platonic way. Eventually Izuku is stressed and cornered. Katsuki tries confessing but Izuku childishly slams his palms over his ears — eyes squeezed shut. Katsuki is devastated and feels like Izuku must be burdened by his feelings so he just…stops trying to talk and his own eyes go cloudy while he fights back tears. Izuku can’t hear or see but somehow feels the air change around him.

He opens his eyes. He sees the person he cares most about with a hand clutched over his breaking heart and the other trying to wipe away the tears falling down his face — twisted into an expression so broken it’s something that Izuku can no longer ignore.

His own hands drop from his face to settle on quivering shoulders while he panics internally. He can feel blackwhip on the edges of his fingertips in a painful bid to be free of his iron will grasp on his own heart. It’s unceremoniously shoved back into that tight spot between his ribs that seems to ache with every uncontrolled hitch or sob in Katsuki’s breath while he tries desperately to understand what’s happened and how he can fix it unscathed.

Asking what’s wrong doesn’t seem to help and Katsuki only shakes harder and diggs deeper into his chest. His hands grow tight on the taller boys shoulders as Katsuki is able to scrape out the barest hint of his overwhelming feelings.

“Why won’t you let me? Are you angry with me now — disgusted? You let round face confess and gave her every bit of the kindness and compassion I know you have while rejecting her…don’t I deserve that too? The be able to speak and be spoken to? To love freely and hear an honest answer?”

“Will you not even look me in the eye so I can tell you the truth? That I love you?”

The thin thread of steel control that Izuku has been grasping to from that very first time he allowed himself to see, and love, and care, fully for the man in front of him snaps. Controlling that feeling has been the only way to keep blackwhip strangled and weak but the acknowledgment is paramount to the heavy door put on it with lock and key slamming open without mercy or thought.

Izuku suddenly let’s go of his companions shoulders to grasp desperately at his thin shirt — now covered in a foreboding inky blackness that seems intent on grasping something. Katsuki only has a moment of warning before he’s violently tugged straight to Izuku — their torsos knocking the air out of both of them in a rush. They’re both covered in strings of agitated looking tendrils that seem to tighten around them with every breath or unapproved move away from the other.

Izuku can feel the humiliation creep up his throat while his nose knocks into another. All he can see is twin red eyes that read to him as shocked. The blood finally reaches his face as he thrashes against the tight renforced hold that black whip — his own damn quirk!— has got them in. Quickly he ducks his head down and pulls at their restraint. He’s embarrassed and can’t choke out an apology fast enough.

“No!! I’m so sorry! I - I can’t make it stop — I don’t want you to hate me and I can’t even get control of my own quirk! God Kacchan please — !”

The tears are cold on his burning cheeks but there’s a soft hand to delicately wipe them away and gently pull Izuku’s face back into view. The other rests sweetly on his chest while Katsuki wears a unreadable look on his face. Their noses are close again and they can feel the breath the both let out unevenly.

Izuku’s eyes are wide and searching while Katsuki slides his hands over Izuku’s shoulders to clasp together around his neck. Katsuki’s head drops down in a thud against his collar bone while his own hands find themselves desperately grasping at his oldest friend’s school uniform. Not really caring about the creases he’s making his eyes squeeze out another tear or two before his head hits Katsuki’s collarbone in a mirror image.

They both take a moment to steady their breathing and hold each other like they’ve never been able to before.

Once they’ve both had their fill their heads pull up so they can meet eyes once more. Izuku feels a shutter come up his back as he croaks out a few words heavy with months of held back feeling.

“…you love me?”

Katsuki eyelids flutter and then pin Izuku with a fierce and determined expression.

“Yes. That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you before you run away or make some lame excuse or fucking — put your hands over your ears?! Like a little kid?!”

He huffs petulantly and ironically child like in his own way. Izuku’s finally able to whisper out—

“…why?”

His eyes shoot wide as they take over Izuku’s face. He’s so lost for words he almost doesn’t hear the next confession.

“You — you don’t know me at all. You don’t know how selfish I am Kacchan…you haven’t seen me without you. I…I wanted Shigaraki dead when I saw what happened…it’s too much — and black whip! Just now didn’t even listen to me at all and just — took what I wanted! I don’t want you to be chained to someone so…so not worth your time Kacchan. You don’t deserve to be chained to my mistakes…my selfishness for you.”

“You don’t need such a burden to drag you down.”

Katsuki could only stare in disbelief that someone so forgiving, so loving, so kind could treat themselves so horrifically — could talk like that about themselves. It made his stomach turn watching Izuku fold more into himself with every nasty declaration of his own worthlessness. It fills him with so much anger he can’t help the venom in his voice when he replies.

“Who the hell do you think you are telling me what I can or can’t love?! It’s not your decision to make whether or not you’re a burden to me. As if I couldn’t handle you!”

[angel-eyes05]

What's In A Name

pairing: roronoa zoro x fem!reader

summary: as a master thief, you pride yourself on never getting caught. that is until you're caught by the straw hats as you try stealing from their ship. unable to turn you in to the authorities just yet, they'll have to make due with storing you on the going merry in the meantime. but, your time in confinement has allowed you to get particularly close to a certain swordsman. how close the two of you get is to be decided though.

warnings/info: nsfw mdni, oral sex (fem receiving), alcohol consumption, drunk/tipsy sex, face riding, my own sex headcanons for zoro are VERY clear here lmao ,takes place in between jaya and skypiea (please pretend theres more time at sea in between those arcs cause this will not work otherwise OK THANKS), this is for the pre-time skip zoro girlies (he's 19 pre-time skip dont come for me), no use of y/n, the first half of this is just cute shenanigans between reader and the straw hats. its a lot of character building stuff but i like it.

word count: 6.3k

notes: HI GUYS IM BACK IVE MADE MY RETURN I FOUND SOMETHING TO WRITE ABOUT!!!! and its the longest fic ive ever written too god damn what a comeback lmao. ok so i started watching one piece and im head over heels in love with this man...but i'm only up to water 7 rn so i only know how to properly write for pre-time skip zoro so thats how this is gonna go. i was looking for zoro/one piece fics to read but theyre literally all established relationship ones which aren't my cup of tea so im doing it myself lmao. also i didnt proofread i got too lazy sorry if some stuff doesnt make sense sorry sorry sorry but im a simple lazy tired girlie lmao enjoy!!

dividers by: @cafekitsune

You didn’t know any of their names.

You had been aboard the Going Merry for about three weeks now, and you still hadn’t learned anyone’s names. Granted, your reason for being there wasn’t to make friends anyway. That wasn’t particularly easy to do, being tied up in some storage closet and all. 

Being one of the few residents who actually lived on Jaya had allowed you to pick up a skill or two when it came to stealing. Pirates with big bounties and even bigger treasures left their ships unattended at the docks, leaving you with some perfect quick heists from time to time. Some steals were easier than others. As much as you believed in your talents, most of the time your ability to get out unscathed was based purely on the luck of the draw. It wasn’t an easy life, many recent nights leaving you with more injuries than berries and gold pieces, but it was all you knew having lived here for so long. 

After having taken a break from heists for a bit, you finally laid your eyes on a ship worth stealing from. A pirate ship with a goat out in front and seemingly orange trees next to the helm. Most of the ships at the dock had been there for a while, leaving the pirates on board used to your tricks already. Being low on cash was another factor. So, after a bit of planning, you made your way onto the ship.

Earlier, you had found that one of the windows to a cabin had been left open, so you decided to make your entrance through there. You gathered your things and dove into the crystal blue water by the dock. Once you made it to the back of the ship, you took your rope, with your own handmade grappling hook at the end, and swung it to hook on the window sill. Luckily for you, it stuck the landing on the first try. You smirked to yourself and used the hook as leverage to climb up onto the ship. Unfortunately, this seemed to be the ship’s bathroom. Not super ideal. You’d have to venture more out into the ship. But with this came the risk of getting caught. Given your dire circumstances though, it was a risk you were willing to take.

With an attempt to make as little creak as possible, you slightly opened the door into the rest of the interior. Coast was clear so far. Suddenly, a shake rattled throughout the interior. You tumbled onto the floor, pushing open a door due to your unbalance. What the fuck was that, you thought to yourself. It quickly became no matter though, when you noticed the door had opened up to a room with a treasure chest tucked away in the back. Jackpot. You slyly made your way into the room and shut the door behind you. 

The room was neatly kept, with bookshelves, a couch, two sleeping hammocks, and a desk with navigation tools on it. There was even a bar. Though temptation pursued at you, you had to stay on task. While making your way over to the chest, you heard different creaks vibrating across the walls of the ship. You prayed to yourself that it was just the wood’s reaction to the waves. As you had predicted, the chest was locked, so you searched your bag for anything that could key the lock. 

Time became of the essence quickly as the thuds and creaks on the ship grew louder and louder. Finally, the lock to the chest made a perfect click, as the chest unlocked. You lifted the roof of the chest to find a sight for sore eyes: jewels and gold galore. This was it, you were set. You were so in awe with the vision before you, that you had failed to notice the woman standing behind you. The image you saw in one of the emeralds was a tall figure, with jet-black hair just below her shoulders, and dazzling blue eyes. “Looking for something?” the woman questioned, almost sarcastically. You seemed to have forgotten rule number one of thieving. Remember to lock the door behind you.

Quick on your feet, you whip around to throw a punch in her face, but her reflexes seem to be quicker than yours by the way she catches your fist. You then attempt to kick out her legs. The image you see next shakes you to your core. A hand, seeming to appear out of thin air, attaches itself to your calf. The hand then slowly raises your fear-frozen body into the air, dangling you upside down like a party toy. You attempt to throw more hits at her, all seeming to be in vain though. You kick and scream, like a child throwing a tantrum, in an attempt to get out. The woman looks out into the hallway and signals over another one of her companions. Fuck, this is turning sour fast. Before you can make out any other features of the man, besides his cartoonishly long nose, he uses his slingshot to pelt a rock towards your forehead. Your vision goes black as the rest of the pirates rush into the room.

The rough fibers of the rope tying your wrists together were the first thing you felt as you woke up. This was quickly followed by the underlying nausea from the waves rocking the boat, reminding you why you preferred to stay on land. You attempted to stand up, but your dizziness and the rope tying you to the floor weren’t letting you get very far. Suddenly, the door to whatever room you were in swung open, and the group of 7 pirates living on board entered the room. You slinked yourself along the back wall, attempting to disappear into your skin. You weren’t sure what felt worse: The fear of what they were going to do to you, or the embarrassment that you had been doing this for so long and still got caught.

Nope, definitely the embarrassment.

The man, no boy was a better word to describe him, standing in the middle of them attempted to speak to you before a woman with short orange hair cut him off. “If you think we’re gonna let you get off easily just because we’re also pirates, you’d be sorely mistaken!” she spoke, fiery anger lacing her words. The tall woman from earlier put her hand on her shoulder, calming her down, and walked out towards you. You tried to scoot away as much as you could as she crouched down to your level. 

“Listen, we want this to be over as much as you do. We would love nothing more than to get you off our ship and drop you off at the nearest island. But unfortunately for us, that would mean having to find a group of marines to hand you over to, who we aren’t the best of friends with right now. And we can’t drop you back off at Jaya since we’re too far by this point. So, for now, we’ll just have to keep you tied down here if that works out with you.” You began to speak before the woman cut you off. “You don’t have much of a choice in the matter by the way.”

She stood back up and began to exit the room, the other pirates following her except for two. The boy with the straw hat and another man, with striking green hair and three swords lying in a holster on his belt. The boy looked somberly at you as if he was against this whole idea. But the green-haired one just stared at you. As uncomfortable as it made you feel, you couldn’t help staring back into his piercingly soft eyes. “Come on, let’s go,” the green-haired man said to the boy, finally breaking eye contact and turning his back to leave. The boy followed him shortly after. As he closed the door, you had nothing left to focus on except for the itchiness of the rope, the empty stuffiness surrounding the storage room, and your worsening seasickness.

The following weeks had the same routine. Each of the pirates on board took individual shifts watching you during the day when they were just out at sea. The strange reindeer creature would watch you when they were out on islands. The first shift was taken by the tall black-haired woman. She would come in at the break of dawn to make sure you didn’t find some way to escape at night. You two would sit in silence for a little more than two hours, asking and answering some questions before switching spots with the blonde one. His company was strange, with him hitting on you at random points in your conversations, but he always brought you breakfast in the morning. As much as he made you uncomfortable sometimes, you couldn’t deny that his cooking was the best you’d had in years. He’d even let you take a hit off his cigarettes if you ever asked, so his visits had its perks. 

The next shift was taken by the orange-haired one. The first thing she would always do when walking into the room was ask you how creepy the blonde one was. The answer varied on the day. Once she warmed up to you, she would bring you tangerines from the trees out on the deck. As the days passed, she eventually explained that the treasure you attempted to steal belonged to her, which you begrudgingly apologized for. On some level, you felt bad. These seemed to be small-time pirates, just trying to get by like you were. The more you learned about each of them, the worse you felt about your actions towards them. 

Around lunchtime, the long-nosed one would bring you your meal, cooked again by the blonde man. This member would go into detail about his next invention he was working on in his workshop. You admired his passion and energy towards his craft. His rants and rambles were normally interrupted by the reindeer creature coming in for his shift, causing intense, yet entertaining, arguments to break out between the two of them. The reindeer was the sweetest of all the crew members, always checking in on your health and helping you with your seasickness. He would talk about his home and his experiences there. You developed a pity for the creature. His presence was calming, and you felt as if you could let your guard down around him. That would change as soon as the straw hat boy would come bouncing into the room, scaring both you and the animal. You would soon come to learn the energetic boy was the captain of the ship, which shocked you. But you soon came to understand why. His crew had a massive respect for him, even if he was the root of half their problems.

Being on the ship, you got extremely close to all the pirates. Even the tall woman from before seemed to respect you in some way. You enjoyed all of their company. There was something strange about them though. One morning early in your stay on the ship, you could’ve sworn you’d heard the tall woman say something to the rest of the crew. 

“Whatever you do, don’t tell her your name. Your name is your biggest secret.”

You didn’t know any of their names. You had thought you heard some of them speak it to each other in passing conversations, but not enough to remember who was who. You had bonded with them, but if someone put a gun to your head and told you to name your prison guard pirates, you’d be dead in seconds.

Except for one.

Zoro seemed to be his name. He would come in for the last shift. His presence didn’t frighten you, but it slightly intimidated you. His habit of carrying his swords everywhere he went wasn’t helping. He was silent his entire shift, normally dosing off halfway through after spending around an hour sharpening his swords You didn’t even attempt to make conversation with him. You found out his name when the captain would yell for him to get back to his sleeping quarters. “Zoro! Your shift’s done, you can sleep for real now!” he shouted across the hall the first time it happened. Zoro almost bounced up from his sleep and gave you one look before bolting out of the room to catch up to the captain. You could hear the echoes of their bickering from down the hall as you giggled to yourself. At least he didn’t seem to always be that stern.

It seemed crazy to you. His name was the only one you knew, yet you knew the least about him. He had hardly said 5 sentences to you in the three weeks you had been on the boat. His stoicism was one of the things that drew you into him though. Something about his demeanor, how intensely he would sharpen his swords, how his worries seemed to melt away the minute he escaped into a slumber, and how alive he seemed when he was with his crew. It was enticing. You wanted to know more. You attempted asking him questions about himself, but the most you would get were one to two-word answers. The most you got from him was when your seasickness finally got to you, causing you to puke up the dinner the blonde one made for you. “Woah, are you okay?” he asked concernedly, shooting up from his seat. When your only response was a cough and more puke, he ran out of the room to go get the reindeer. One thing he failed to do was close the door behind him. 

You speculated your options. You had no idea where you were. You could be out in the middle of the ocean. Or you could be right about to dock at land. If you managed to scrape yourself about the ever-loosening rope and sneak out, you’d be free. You’d never have to worry about these pirates again. 

At this point though, did you want to?

You took too long to decide, the reindeer rushing into the room with his medical kit, the blonde one short behind him. As the reindeer gave you a dose of medicine and cleaned up your mess and the blonde one held your hand and consoled you, your attention stayed by the doorframe. Zoro leaned against the wood, watching the work from afar. What shocked you most of all was his face. For a man who seemed so disinterested in you and your existence, his brows were furrowed, his cheeks had a light pink stain on them, and a slight frown invaded his face. He was concerned. Maybe even a little nervous. But why? He’d never shown any sort of emotion towards you before other than sleepiness. Once the reindeer and the blonde one left, he continued with his shift. You noticed something though. He sat closer to you than he normally did. 

You couldn’t tell, but you were blushing the rest of his shift.

Once he left, you sat in silence, thoughts racing through your mind, until you finally fell asleep.

You noticed a change in his behavior in the next few days. When you would ask him a question, he would respond now. And with more than just a “yes” or “no” too. He had more energy around you and wouldn’t spend his whole shift asleep. He would even let out a chuckle now and then. You didn’t know what you had done differently to get him like this, but you liked him like this. He was sweeter than he let on. 

Something had changed in you too though. On the occasions, you would catch yourself looking over his appearance. The more you observed, the more you realized how handsome he was. His clear, warm skin, his hypnotic eyes, his striking hair. You caught his appearance giving you butterflies when he would walk into your storage room. Your heart skipping a beat when he would give you even the smallest smile. You would stare even more when he would nap during his shift. Noticing certain things. The way his breath would hitch sometimes. How he always slept with his mouth open and would wake himself up sometimes with his dry mouth coughs. How his chest rose and fell with his soft breaths. How fighting with a sword in his mouth probably made his tongue stronger than other men you’ve met. You felt weird about it sometimes. Almost like some freakish stalker. But you would feel better about yourself whenever you would catch him staring at you out of the corner of your eye. 

As time went on, the crew began to give you some more freedom. The tall woman began leaving some of her archeology books in the storage room to keep you entertained. The orange-haired one would show you all her marked-up maps. The long-nosed one would even let you out of the rope to test his inventions from time to time. With the door locked of course. And then, the big display came. One day, during everyone’s shift, they told you their names. The blonde one was Sanji. The orange-haired one was Nami. The reindeer was Chopper. The long-nosed one was Usopp. Their captain was Luffy. And the tall woman, who initiated your imprisonment, was Robin. It was a small gesture, but it meant the world to you. With each passing shift, you grew more excited for the next. To learn the next pirate’s name, and with that, their story. Until the last shift of the day came. And you realized.

You already knew his name.

“My name’s Zoro,” he said quietly. “I know,” you replied, bluntly. 

Something felt different about this shift. You didn’t feel the same excitement you normally felt when seeing him. Without your connection to him before, his being the only name you knew, something about him just didn’t excite you as much. Now he noticed your behavior change. “You okay?” he inquired. “Mhm,” you responded in monotony. The rest of his time there was spent in silence. 

You felt bad about what you were doing. This wasn’t his fault. Yet you were acting like this. It was almost as if the two of you swapped places. He was now the one trying to dig information out of you. And you gave him nothing more than blank faces and empty words. You wished you could figure out why you were acting like this, but you had no clue.

Today though, the crew was going to take an extra step towards including you. Throughout your time on the Going Merry, you had only left your little storage room prison a few times. To go to the bathroom and visit the kitchen on special occasions. But you hadn’t seen the sun in weeks. After proving to the crew you had changed, they planned a little surprise for you.

Robin woke you up earlier than usual. “Is everything ok?” you asked, still half asleep. Robin just smiled at you. “Come on, get up.” You looked at her confused, as she walked over to your restraints, untying you from the hook keeping the rope down. She took you by your restraints and walked you out to the room. The mix of drowsiness and confusion left you slightly panicked as you realized she was walking you out to the deck. She opened the door to a still-dark morning. 

The rest of the Straw Hats were sitting out on the deck, just conversing and eating an extra early breakfast, courtesy of Sanji. They all turned to you once you and Robin walked out. “What’s going on,” you asked, still very confused. “On Thursdays, we all like to get up early and sit out and watch the sunrise. And we were talking about it, and we felt like you should join us this time,” Nami smiled. She stood up and pranced over to you, mouth slightly agape and speechless, and took you over to sit in between her and Zoro. You turned to Zoro, overwhelmed with emotions. 

It had been so long since you felt a part of a community of people. You never exactly fit in with the ruthless bands of pirates coming and going on Jaya. Finally feeling connected to people, especially after you wronged them so horribly, brought you happiness you hadn’t felt in ages. 

A singular “I-” was all you could manage to get out, a tear trickling down your cheek. “Just enjoy it. They’ll be at each other’s throats again in a minute,” he joked, getting a soft laugh out of you. He smiled gently, brushing the tear off your cheek. His finger lingered there longer than expected. You blushed. The butterflies were back and you caught yourself staring again.

“What’s that supposed to mean!” Nami interrupted. “Well, it’s true!” Zoro retorted, leaning over you to yell at Nami. The two began arguing as you noticed the sun starting to peak out over the horizon. “Shut up you two, you’re gonna make her miss it!” Usopp and Luffy yelled. They stopped bickering once they also noticed the sky begin to turn orange. 

The pinks and oranges mixed together in a beautiful watercolor painting as the sun reflected its image on the ocean. The soft waves bobbed the ship up and down in a calming hypnotic motion, almost putting you back to sleep. The beauty of it all was so serene. Against popular opinion, you always preferred sunrises to sunsets. The representation of a new day beginning. It gave you hope in your most dire situations. 

You lifted your head back to see the colors slowly spreading to the rest of the sky. Everyone to your right was in the same headspace you were like they were in some sort of trance. They were all cuddling against each other, Robin holding Chopper in her lap, Luffy and Usopp mimicking each other’s smiles, and Nami resting her head on Sanji’s shoulder. They all seemed so close to each other. Like a little family. Connected. You turned to Zoro to see if he was doing the same as the others, but all you found was his eyes softly gazing into yours, and his hand slowly inching towards yours. The minute he snapped out of it, he sharply turned his head and hand away and cleared his throat. You couldn't help but laugh at his schoolboy behavior. With your ego controlling your actions, you took his hand and slowly intertwined his fingers with yours. You could see a smile float onto his face out of the corner of your eye. You did the same.

The rest of the day was spent out on the deck. The feeling of the sun on your skin for the first time in weeks was euphoric. All you wanted to do was soak it all in. The Straw Hats must have been in a good mood today, because, with some extra convincing, you got them to finally take off your shackles. You spent most of the day sunbathing out on the deck with Nami. She had let you borrow one of your bikinis. You two were slightly different sizes though, so the suit was a little tight on you. You didn’t mind very much. You were just happy to be out of the same clothes you had worn for 3 weeks. Sanji didn’t mind either, ogling both you and Nami and basically worshipping the two of you. “It’s ok, he’ll get over it in a few hours,” Nami consoled. You circled the deck a few times to see if Zoro was anywhere in sight, but you couldn’t seem to find him. He probably went inside to nap away from the heat. Part of you wanted him to get the rest he deserved. The other really wanted him to see you in your outfit. 

The day really took a turn when Usopp brought out the liquor from the kitchen. “I was saving that asshole!” Sanji yelled. “Oh come on, this is a special occasion!” Usopp pleaded. With some more convincing, Sanji finally gave in. You and the crew got increasingly drunk throughout the evening, Zoro eventually coming out from wherever he was napping to join the party. You all had even decided to jump into the ocean and swim around for a little bit. All except for Chopper, very sober and very nervous for any incoming sea monsters. He had managed to get you all back onto the ship with some very convincing pleading.

You and Zoro caught each other catching glimpses of one another throughout the rest of the day. Zoro admiring your figure in the swimsuit, and you ogling at the way his damp shirt hugged at his muscles. One by one, as day grew into night, crew members began to pass out on the deck, deciding to sleep outside for the night. You and the other members who wanted to go back into the cabin, Zoro and Robin, made your way back down into the ship. “Make sure you tie her back up. No hard feelings but we can’t be too careful.” Even slightly tipsy, she was still her stern old self. “Yeah whatever whatever, goodnight to you too,” Zoro drunkenly pushed off. You giggled and blushed as he took your hand and led you down the stairs into the cabin. Robin sighed to herself as she watched the two of you scamper off.

You felt your heartbeat get increasingly faster as he led you to your room. For some reason, the air in the hallway got thicker as you got closer. You blamed it on your tipsiness. But your heart slowly sank as you got to the door, realizing you had to say goodbye to Zoro for the day. He opened the door and stumbled into your room, leading you in behind him. He closed the door behind him, hesitating for a moment before going to wrap the rope back around your wrists. 

He seems distressed for some reason, breathing heavily and avoiding eye contact. You look down at your hands, as he so gently maneuvers the rope around them. The butterflies begin to well up in your stomach again, the alcohol fueling their ferocity. His hands. So calloused yet so gentle. You can smell the remnants of sake exuding from Zoro’s heavy breaths. You looked back up at him. Were you two always standing this close together? You the butterflies keep rising and rising. You don’t know what to do with yourself. You’re not sure if you should run, kiss him, punch him, but you have to do something before you implode. Until. He stops.

The rope undoes itself in his hands as he freezes. His hands are shaking, his breath is heavy, and his eyes avoid yours like the plague. You were just getting antsy but Zoro seemed in distress. “Hey?” you ask, lowering your hands and dropping the rope to the floor. “Zoro?” You take your hand under his chin and lift his eyes to yours. You might throw up at any second. His eyes are so softly intense. 

He brushed his thumb against your cheek, sending chills down your spine. You both want the same thing. Both of you are just too scared to take the chance. “It’s ok. You’re okay,” you reassure him, placing your hand over his heart. His heart, which happens to be underneath his bare chest, him having taken off his wet shirt earlier. His breathing slows, and his eyes move down ever so smoothly from your eyes to your plump lips. You catch yourself doing the same to him, and you inching closer to him. “You’re fine.” Closer. “We’re gonna be…fine.” Your lips barely brush each other. The gentleness of the kiss is calming though, as you notice Zoro’s breath slowing. 

You brush again. And again. And again. Lips touching a little more with each meet. Until they fully interlock. The two of you melt into each other as Zoro wanders your back into a wall for support. Your kisses are structured, made to get the most out of each meeting. You’re both ravenous for each other, but you know if you go at each other like mad dogs, you won’t get what you want. So you both take your time getting to know the feeling of the other person’s mouth. You slip a moan out as Zoro’s tongue seeps between your lips. His kisses get slightly more sloppy as he runs his hands down your body. He feels the underneath of your breasts, the curves of your waist and hips, and finds a nice resting place under your ass. Your hands roam his cheeks and jaw, making their way to tug slightly on his moss-colored hair. 

“Needed this,” Zoro whispers in between kisses. “Needed you so badly. But I didn’t know how.” He separates his lips from yours and plants kisses and hickeys along your jaw and neck. “I was always just too nervous for some reason. You make me so nervous.” His hands find their way into your bikini bottom and fondle your asscheeks, getting a low moan out of you. The alcohol must’ve given him a confidence boost. “Good to see you found your footing now,” you whisper in his ear. He chuckles, the butterflies speeding up in your stomach. 

The two of you stay here for a little bit. Hell, you could stay like this for hours. Just soaking each other in. Feeling his warmth brought a fire into your soul. You could tell Zoro was getting a little antsy though, one of his hands moving from your back to your front, beginning to slowly circle your clit. The other hand went to your bikini, untying the back and letting it fall to the floor as his mouth moved to your breast. Waves of pleasure crashed through your body as you let him do his work. “God, you sure this is your first time?” you moaned out. He removed his mouth from your nipple to talk. “Never said it was, sweetheart. You just assumed it.” “Well from the loner vibe you got going on mixed with being on this ship 24/7, you can’t blame me for thinking that.” “Well the loner vibe worked on you, so who’s to say it hasn’t worked on others?” he smirked. You laughed to yourself as he got down on his knees.

Zoro slipped off your bikini bottom, completing the set on the floor. He kissed your v-line with the same softness he treated your lips to. He sat back on his knees for a moment to catch his breath, looking up at you, as if to ask for permission. You held your hand out to his cheek and rubbed it with your thumb. His eyes closed as he placed his hand over yours, as if you would ever take it away from him. God now this was a sight you could get used to. He was so infatuated with you it made your heart ache. He was right here at your disposal, yet you wanted more of him. So you bent down and gave him a sloppy forehead kiss. Once you were back up, he decided to go in. 

Like most things he does, he started slow and controlled. He kissed and sucked on your inner thighs. Once his hand finally left your clit, you knew he was ready. He kissed your cunt, using his tongue to lick up your wetness. You could pass out right now if you had less self-control. Whimpers and moans left your lips, your hips naturally starting to grind against his nose, relieving the ache in your clit. You let him know what felt good by the tugs and yanks you put in his hair. He was a natural. Your guess about his tongue earlier was right too. “You taste so good, just as I imagined,” Zoro breathed onto your lips. You could tell he was starting to lose his composure with the way he continued to bury his face into your pussy. Your cunt naturally tightened around his tongue as he tasted you. Your hips began to buck into his face as your grinding pace increased, the butterflies turning into a white heat you felt getting stronger and stronger. Your bud was becoming more swollen by the second. Your grip on his hair tightened to make up for your failing knees. 

You wouldn’t be able to take much more. Zoro wouldn’t either, his hand making its way into his pants to relieve his own bulge. His pace got faster to match your grinds. The smack of your lips against his tongue, mixed with both of your moans, was pornographically loud. Suddenly, the situation of Robin or another crew member hearing became an apparent one to you. That worry quickly left your mind once one of Zoro’s hands made its way to fondle your nipple. If he asked you to follow him anywhere right now, you might just do it if it meant this every other night. You felt he knew your body better than you did. “So pretty. So good for me. You make this so easy,” Zoro groaned between licks. “Zoro god fuck me please!” Your final whimper sent you over the edge as you wailed and came all over his perfect face. He licked up your juices as he finished his own job as well. Your knees finally gave out as you fell on top of him, into his arms.

He brought you down gently, straddling you on his lap as you wrapped your arms around him. He traced his cum soaked hand across your back and kissed your nape. You were more exhausted than expected, almost passing out in the crook of his neck. Even now, he was so gentle with you. “You did so good, darling,” he praised, kissing your earlobe. “Want…more…want you…inside me,” you managed to get out. He just laughed and pushed you up to look at you. “If you took me right now, I don’t think you’d wake up tomorrow morning. Look at you, you can barely keep your eyes open, sweetheart,” he teased. You pouted. “Oh, you feel that proud of yourself?” your drunkenness fueling your frustration. “No no no, sweetheart,” he chuckled. Once your frown didn’t change, he stopped laughing and pressed a kiss deep into your forehead. “I’m sorry. What I meant was, if I fucked you with everything I have left right now, which is the only way I would want to do it, this floor would leave us with sore backs for weeks.” You stayed frowning. “I want to fuck you right, the way you deserve. And I can’t do it for you right now.” You pouted more at him. He smiled up at you and leaned in closer to your ear. “If you trust me, I promise I’ll make it worth your while. You’ll be walking funny for weeks.” God, you almost came again just now. You didn’t notice how much your jaw dropped until Zoro laughed at you. You couldn’t help but laugh back in tune with his infectious laughter. 

He kissed you with a fever behind his lips, then scanned the room around the two of you. “What’s wrong?” you drowsily asked. The exhaustion from you coming, the sleepiness brought by the alcohol, and how late it was getting was starting to overpower you. Zoro didn’t respond. He just grabbed your swimsuit and helped you put it back on, tightened your legs around his hips, and hoisted you up as he stood. You decided to ask questions once you had a clearer idea of what was happening. He opened the door and walked with you down the hallway, passing the girl’s quarters and into the men’s room. He checked inside quickly before bringing you in and signaling you to bring your legs down. You confusedly followed him to his bed as he groaned, rubbed his back, and sat down on the edge of the bunk. “Wanna explain to me what you’re doing?” you asked, slightly more awake. “If you think I’m just gonna leave you to sleep alone, tied up, on that dirty floor after what we just did, then you must think I’m a really shitty guy,” Zoro quipped before getting under the covers and trying to pull you down. You put some resistance towards him though. 

“B-but Zoro, I’m not supposed to be in here.”

“I know.”

“If someone catches me in here we’re both fucked.”

“They won’t catch you.”

“How do you know that?”

“I’ll wake up before Robin starts her shift.”

“Are you sure, I mean I just don’t kn-.”

“Hey.”

You stop your nervous rabbling and look at him as he sits back up. “Do you want to go back and sleep on the cold, dirty, hard floor?” You really didn’t. “No.” “Then stay here with me.” “But what if-.” “Do you trust me?”

You sure hope you did after all of that. His kind eyes reassured you in the darkness surrounding the two of you. You took a deep breath and nodded. “Do you trust me?” he asked again. “I trust you, Zoro,” you confirmed. He smiled kindly at you. “You’re fine. We’re gonna be fine.” He steadied you by placing his hands on your hips, running his hands along your waist, and pressing his lips into your tummy. You loved the way he looked at you. Like you were his whole world. It was comforting.

He took your hand and helped you into bed. You bundled yourself under the covers and wrapped yourself around his frame. He kissed your temples one more time before slipping into sleep, his light snores hypnotizing you into a slumber of your own.

The last thing you remember before dozing off was the feeling of his hands on your waist.

Everything you wanted was right here. In front of you. Straight out of a dream. Your only fear was that it would be gone once you woke up.

a/n: THIS TOOK FOREVER GOOD LORD. anyways thanks for being here for my comeback era lol. my upload schedule is NOT going to be consistent this is just a little splurge i wanted to write lol. thank you for reading i really appreciate it (i also really appreciate engagement lol please like repost comment etc im greedy). i love one piece and i love zoro. once i meet law expect all hell to break loose im gonna write so much fanfiction about him its concerning hes so fine im so excited. anyways lol thanks love you bye.

[soobnny]

i hate that man — kim seungmin.

trope. enemies to lovers. college au. fluff. seungmin being a menace.

synopsis. the four times you think you hate seungmin, and the one time you think that might not have been true after all

word count. 5.5k words

warnings. a joke about jumping out the window, crying over a failed test exam, curse words

author’s note. inspired by that tiktok audio!! u know which one i’m talking about. credits to a dialogue i got from here (ur thoughts n feedbacks r always appreciated)

one.

Kim Seungmin is not your favorite person.

He is infuriating in the way he enjoys invading your personal space, always hovering around and blabbering his mouth nonstop every chance he gets. It doesn’t help his case (not that he wants to defend it in the first place) that he finds joy in hiding your things from you. You’d be damned if you left your notebook, even a pen, on your desk unattended. You already know the culprit is seated directly behind you, and the only thing you can do is ignore him in hopes that he returns it to you unscathed.

It’s much easier to not understand the reasons for why he annoys you. You would hate to find the truth behind his actions for the fear that he did it simply because he wanted to. This would only mean there was nothing to resolve to get him to stop.

Or worse, that he hates you. You admit with shame that you thought you’d actually get along quite well with Seungmin when you first met him. It felt like a scene straight out of a movie, playful banter and soft smiles directed to each other and the hopes of meeting each other again. It was honestly like a fairytale — until it wasn’t.

And you’ve tried before, to find out. You’ve made sufficient efforts in scouring for answers as to why he was that way with you, going as far as to asking Hwang Hyunjin (as embarrassing as that turned out to be). But, you had come out of all that empty-handed. So, you leave the unknown unknown and since then decided to just endure it. But it still has you wondering from time to time, had you burned down an orphanage in your past life to deserve this? Had you done something so sinister to be plagued by the presence of Kim Seungmin on a daily basis?

So, while you don’t necessarily hate the boy, you’d go as far as to say he was probably your least favorite person. And that notion weighs heavy considering you know resident menace Choi Beomgyu.

Still, Choi Beomgyu had nothing on Kim Seungmin so he’d have to accept being second to the last on your self-proclaimed list.

Speaking of the devil.

Seungmin parades into your classroom like he owns the place, laughing aloud side by side his friends. You simply drown out his obnoxiousness, the way you always do, though it never works considering it’s apparently his top priority to get on your nerves.

“Another Mcdonalds takeout?” He inquires, picking up the discarded paper bag on your desk to look inside. “You really should stop eating this junk so early in the morning.”

“Wow, keep saying things like that and I’ll start to believe you’re starting to care about me.” You abruptly grab the bag from his hands, moving to the back of your classroom to throw your trash properly before the professor walks in.

“Don’t be silly.” He simply laughs, taking his seat on your desk. “What do you even order?”

“Food, obviously.”

“No shit, Sherlock. What food specifically?”

“Why do you ask?”

“Can’t I ask a simple question?”

You know he won’t leave you alone if you don’t answer him. And you hate that you know that. So, with a begrudging sigh, you answer the boy. “Just nuggets and a Big Mac, now get off my desk.”

“Since you asked so nicely.” He’s being sarcastic, evident in how it’s obnoxiously dripping down his tone, but you can’t find it in you to care. As long as he’s out of your hair for a few minutes.

And you almost think the Gods have answered your prayers when you don’t come across him for the rest of the day. Something about that tells you there is a silver lining for the day, even if it is only ever a little line. You would hate to be blessed with his presence atop the Chemistry test you had at 7pm.

It’s one of the few advantages to signing up for night classes. The college halls were usually dead this hour, save for a few students on their way to the library after having their fifth cup of coffee for the day. And the lack of Kim Seungmin. It’s one sacrifice, giving up hours of your night, but honestly it really isn’t as bad as people make it out to be. Especially when your professor always ends early in consideration of those who still had to commute back home — they had to catch the last train somehow.

To replace Seungmin, you had Yang Jeongin in your class, but he usually kept to himself more. He was a lot more civilized than his friend, and you’ve been hoping this would’ve at least rubbed off on Seungmin.

“You ready for the test?” Jeongin asks after you had taken your seat next to him. The first thing you discern is the lack of textbooks and notes on his desk compared to everyone else’s pathetic attempt to review last minute. It seems he’s given up like you did.

“Absolutely the fuck not. I haven’t even eaten dinner yet so this is going to be a disaster.” You laugh, dropping your bag down on the ground just as your professor walks in. Jeongin is on his phone for the rest of the free time you have left before test papers and answer sheets were distributed.

It’s a horrible hour and a half, and the difficulty of the test makes you want to fall to your knees and weep. The lack of dinner in your stomach doesn’t exactly help your case as by the last few minutes of the test, you couldn’t care less about why you use ammonium oxalate to precipitate Calcium and Magnesium. The only thing in your head is a picture of your go-to Mcdonalds order as you pass your paper.

A jumpscare greets you on your way out in the form of Kim Seungmin who is holding a Mcdonalds paper bag in his hands, the same one you had just been daydreaming about.

“Jesus fucking Christ.” The sight of the boy spikes up your blood pressure, and you have to pause in your step to catch your breath after not having dinner, suffering through a long test, and seeing Seungmin all within the span of a few hours.

Though, what he does next surprises you.

“I ordered too much for Innie so you can have this, I guess.” He mumbles, shoving the brown paper bag in your direction. It scorches your fingers as you reached to grab it before it can fall to the ground.

It was a strange sight for Seungmin to be giving you something without asking. Strange and funny for it had occurred to you that if someone were to tell you Seungmin would be your stomach’s knight in shining armor, you wouldn’t have been able to believe yourself.

“Oh, thanks? You didn’t… poison this, did you?”

“How little do you think of me?” He simply walks away before you can reply to him again.

You scrunch your nose in confusion, leaning down to look into the contents of the Mcdonalds paper bag he had just given you.

Nuggets and a Big Mac.

Was this also Jeongin’s go-to order?

When you look back up, said boy greets you with french fries stuffed in his mouth. There’s a hint of a smirk that’s barely visible from his puffed out cheeks.

“You know, you can be really stupid.” Jeongin giggles to himself, patting down your head and messing with your hair a little before waving you goodbye. “Bye (name)!”

You simply stare at their retreating figures, head tilted as you try to drink in what Jeongin had just told you.

Stupid about what? The test?

two.

What is the connotation of a very thrilled Kim Seungmin walking into the campus library as you’re struggling with your part for your joint project?

You’re almost convinced something significant had happened for him to walk in with a shit-eating grin on his face, but you know better than that now. So, you simply ignore him, turning back to your laptop as Felix and Hyunjin greet the boy. He’s late, but knowing him, he’s probably finished his part of the project. You hate to acknowledge his competence, but you have to give credit where credit is due.

You could obviously ask for help, but you’d run through the streets naked first before ever asking the boy to help you. You refuse to be subjected to his taunting more than you already were. Besides, you don’t need help from someone like Seungmin. He’d probably be so arrogant about how you needed his help.

Rubbing your eyes for a split second, you go back to furiously typing at your laptop — so aggressively that Yeji has to pull you back for a bit in fear that you’d destroy your keyboard.

The five of you work on the project diligently, finishing the monstrosity of your synthesis paper for Life Science at almost one in the morning.

When everyone moves to leave, you stay behind, telling them you still had a few deadlines to catch up on, namely a Statistics paper and a book review for your English Literary class. While it wasn’t exactly due yet, it doesn’t hurt to start them when the pump of coffee is already in your system.

“See you guys tomorrow!” You say in a hushed tone, waving at the group before moving your attention back on your laptop.

And maybe it’s the sleep deprivation getting to you but you don’t notice Seungmin still situated at the opposite end of your table.

He doesn’t say anything either. He knows you’re running 50% coffee and 50% restlessness, so he simply sits back in his chair with a book in hand.

He could use the time to annotate anyway.

When Seungmin glances back at you thirty minutes later, he can only watch in amusement when he finds you close to passing out on the wooden table of the library. Your eyelids are starting to droop, and even though it seems you’re trying your hardest to fight it, you find that your sleeved arm is far too comfortable to refuse.

He immediately puts down his book, moving across the table to wake you up. It seems the appropriate time to tell you to go home and get some rest.

When you don’t respond to the gentle shake of your shoulder, he choose the next best thing to wake you up. With a text book in hand, he drops it on the space right beside your head, creating a loud enough sound to jolt you in your sleep.

“Come on. We’re going home. You’re a lost cause, anyway.”

“Fuck you.” You grumble sleepily, sitting up and squinting at your laptop before shutting it down so you can start packing up.

“I’m flattered, really, but no thanks.”

You scoff, and he simply smirks in response as he helps you put your things back in your bag.

“Why are you still here anyway?” It’s a question you’ve been meaning to ask him since you finally noticed him an hour back, but you chose to bite down on your tongue and stay silent instead.

He shrugs. “Had to annotate this book, and I’m already at the library so I might as well.”

“Okay, whatever.” You move to grab a pen that had fallen on the ground carelessly, and in the process, you feel your head collide with Seungmin’s hand instead of the harsher corner of the table.

You see red almost immediately. You hate to admit the small gesture has butterflies erupting in your stomach.

He doesn’t say anything as he pulls his hand back, so you don’t make a big deal out of it.

“What time is it?”

“Almost 4 in the morning.”

You hum, thinking of how you were gonna get back to your dorm. It was probably still dark outside, and you weren’t exactly willing to put yourself in danger over finishing up a few schoolworks at the library.

“You can go ahead. I’ll just text Ode to see if he’s still awake.”

“Why?” He quips, pausing to stand next to you outside the doors of the building when you stop walking.

“You’re gonna make fun of me.”

“There is a chance, yes. But I might not.” Seungmin smirks, and you roll your eyes.

“I don’t wanna walk alone in the dark.”

If Seungmin wants to laugh and poke fun, it seems he’s doing a good job at holding back. “Don’t disturb his sleep. I’ll walk you back instead.”

“Wow, you’re actually being nice to me for once.” You say jokingly.

“I won’t make a habit out of it. Besides, I was the last person seen with you and I don’t wanna be responsible if you go missing.”

There goes being nice.

This is how you end up walking home with Kim Seungmin. You don’t remember much about the walk home, just the proximity from where he’s walking next to you and the warmth radiating from him in contrast to the cold night. He has his hands in his pockets the whole way home, and it’s the little details like what seems to be the first genuine smile you see from him that you remember the most.

When you reach your dorm, he simply stares at you in a way you’re not used to before bowing and turning around his step to start walking back to his own dorm.

three.

A month later, Chan from your university’s basketball team decides to host a party at his house.

Being friends with half of his friends had its perks in that he enthusiastically invites you when you walk past him by your department’s hallways. And while you had every intent to decline his offer, Ryujin had already accepted for you and told him he’d be seeing you both there.

And by 8pm, you find yourselves inside his packed house, trying to navigate your way through drunken college kids. The entire first floor reeked of alcohol and sweat which wasn’t a great combination by all means.

The music is loud from Chan’s speakers, and you immediately want to go home and jump into the comforting sheets of your bed to sleep the night away. Ryujin doesn’t let you flee as she leads you to the kitchen where she tells you of where Chan hides his secret stash of snacks and ice cream. Another silver lining.

You spend an hour chatting and laughing on the kitchen counter with Ryujin, a spoonful of ice cream in your mouths as you make fun of multiple people’s dancing — not that any of you could do any better. Actually, scratch that, Ryujin could probably take them all on. You continuously ask if it was okay for you to be stealing these expensive tubs of ice cream and Ryujin just tells you she’s done it before, and that Bang Chan could most definitely afford some more if he wanted to. So, you continue to eat the ice cream without guilt.

Well, until Chan catches the pair of you, and you apologize profusely. He just laughs it off, looking at the two of you fondly before feigning a scolding. Turns out, he simply wanted you two to join him and his friends in a round of truth or dare upstairs.

Another thing to add and check off your non-existent bucket list. To be deemed sociable enough to be included in an exclusive circle of friend’s truth or dare despite only knowing around 4 people there. You think it might just be Ryujin’s doing, but you happily tag along to escape the mass of people downstairs.

When you make it upstairs, you’re surprised to see you know a lot more people than you thought you would. Yeji was there, seated beside who you think is Karina. Jeongin is with his friends, Seungmin included. Some of them you know, and some you just learned to be Jisung, Changbin, and Minho. The rest don’t really matter to you as you prop yourselves down in the circle.

And then a round of the game starts, and you start to question the things in this world that perplexed you. You used to think it were simple things — wet doorknobs, tuna fish, cramps, back pains. But after tonight, you might have to start modifying your own list. You can start with someone’s attempt to rap freestyle, the sight of a shirtless Han Jisung whom you’ve barely exchanged a word with but now have seen him half naked, the sudden knowledge of who was wearing a Spongebob themed underwear, someone (you believe was Minho?) roleplaying a scene from Zootopia. The list is endless.

Who knew a game of truth or dare could be this chaotic? Though, you probably should’ve known that especially being thrown into a group of such dynamic people.

Before you know it, the bottle lands on you and you’ve never wanted to wipe the smirk on Jeongin’s face so much than right now because you know he’s probably planning something that has to do with Kim Seungmin.

You think you can keep your anxiety at bay, that is until he starts whispering with Felix and Hyunjin and you swear that if someone opened the window right now, there’s a high chance you would make a run for it and jump and simply hope for the best.

“Don’t worry, it isn’t anything crazy! You can stop chewing on your nails.” You flush in embarrassment when the group laughs, and Ryujin runs a comforting hand down your back to make sure the attention isn’t too overwhelming for you.

“I dare you to hug Seungmin.”

“Excuse me?” You ask him to repeat his dare to you as if you hadn’t heard him. But you did. Loud and clear in fact.

The smirk on his face only grows. “I said, hug Seungmin.”

Okay, you know what, that should be simple. You sigh out in response before getting up from your seat to make your way towards where Seungmin’s situated, thankful he didn’t let you do anything as embarrassing as the others.

However, the closer you make towards where Seungmin is, wearing a top that accentuated his broad shoulders way too perfectly, and sporting a smug grin on his face, you start to think this might be the most difficult one of the night yet.

Seungmin stands in compliance to your dare, and you feel all eyes in the circle shift to the pair of you, as if anticipating it more than you.

His eyes survey you, as if to question if you were really gonna do it. And to egg you on further, he decides to open his arms wide which earns a few howls and whistles from the room. God, you hate him. You really really hate him.

And then you do it, just to get it over with, and Seungmin’s expression switches to a more taken back one. He didn’t expect you to actually push through with the dare. The longer the hug lasts, the more a ghost of a smile threatens to spill from his lips.

You have your arms wrapped around the entirety of his body, and his own resting just around your waist, and he’s crouched down a little so he can match your height better without you having to tiptoe so much.

When he presses you closer, the whole room erupts in cheers; vomiting air, nudging each other, and whistling.

Seungmin allows himself a quick glance at you, but there isn’t much to see when your face is pressed firmly against his chest. Perhaps to try and hide from the embarrassment of your friends shouting “get a room” even if you were just hugging.

He feels so warm in the air conditioned room, and it seems he didn’t have much to drink tonight when he smells more like fresh laundry and the perfume he always wears. This feels nice actually. But you would never tell him that. In fact, you have every intention of taking that observation to your grave.

When you finally notice the glances of friends and acquaintances alike around you, you pull back from the hug and immediately make your way back to your seat without another word.

You make a vow to yourself to get back at Jeongin for humiliating you like that — however, there’s a persistent voice in your head telling you that maybe you hadn’t minded that hug one bit the way you let on.

You ignore it.

four.

The sound of a shutter going off and a flash of light greets you immediately upon entering your classroom another month later.

It seems Seungmin’s found an upgraded way to annoy you (as if hiding your things wasn’t enough). With a new phone gifted to him on his birthday, he seems insistent on catching you when you’re unprepared. It makes you frustrated — as if he wasn’t enough of an irritant.

You should be used to Seungmin doing stupid things all the time, but even after months, you find that it really is a difficult task to endure. Why is he so intent on irritating you? You’re starting to seek for the answers you told yourself to stay unknown. How could you keep letting him be without knowing why he enjoys getting a rise out of you so much?

To add insult to injury, his loud voice greets you a good morning as he waves his phone around at you. You hope it falls and shatters.

Too far?

“What? Are you camera shy?” He smirks mischievously, turning to focus his camera back on you.

“At what point do you become mature?”

“Hm, not for a long time, I don’t think.” You have to remind yourself he’s provoking you for the sake of it, and you really shouldn’t be as affected as you feel right now. So, you breathe in sharply through your nose and just let him be.

When class ends, you’re quick to rant to Ryujin about Seungmin’s new discovery at getting a kick out of you.

“He won’t stop taking fucking pictures of me.” You mutter indignantly, putting all your frustration into your words.

“You know, they say you only take photos of things if you have love for the subject.”

“What are you trying to imply?”

“Just that there must be a reason why he’s so intent on having your face litter the memory of his new phone.” Ryujin smirks when your face starts to flush red at the realization of what she’s suggesting.

“Oh, shut up.” Your words don’t come out as intimidating as you want it to, and you spend the rest of the day thinking about it.

You confront Seungmin the next day, just so you can stop thinking about it. “Why are you taking so much photos of me?”

You’re already expecting that smirk on his face, and a feigned confusion. But, to your surprise, he looks genuinely surprised at your question. You’d go as far as saying he looked like a deer caught in headlights.

You’ve unknowingly caught his tongue, but he catches himself before you can catch on. With a half-assed smirk on his face, he says the best excuse that comes in his mind.

“Just so I have multiple material to use when I need to blackmail you.”

You’re appalled, and frustrated at yourself for thinking what Ryujin was hinting at might be true. You don’t even know why you were hoping in the first place. You don’t like the boy, right?

Your lips press into a straight line, and you swear your blood vessels might burst if you stare at him any longer so you storm back to your seat and ignore him for the rest of the day.

five.

There comes a point in the semester when all you’ll know is the quivering of your knees and the bloodshot red of your eyes from crying too much.

For you, it’s the result of a failed test score on a subject you studied really hard for.

You draw your knees up to press your face against them, finding solace in the quiet of the night outside. It’s early enough that you aren’t scared to walk home alone just yet.

You hear footsteps around you, but you simply drown them out in favor of focusing on washing out your frustration over yourself and that stupid test. Though, it proves a more difficult task when someone slides into the seat next to yours. When you look up, you see Seungmin staring at you. And he’s looking at you with an expression you don’t quite recognize, but equally don’t have the energy to try and deduce.

“Seungmin, I’m not really in the mood—“ He shuts you up with a handkerchief shoved in front of your face. “Why are you offering me a handkerchief?”

“Because you’re crying and seeing your stupid tears makes me upset. So wipe them away.” You stare at the handkerchief before studying his features for any hint of malice, but you see nothing but honest concern. You can’t help but feel a little touched at the uncharacteristic gesture.

“Thanks.” He hums, smiling gently down at you, and you think you’ve never seen him look this small before.

When you take the handkerchief from him, you make sure to return what looks like a trial of a smile amidst your scornful face and Seungmin is genuinely shocked you’d actually direct the closest thing to a smile at him — as if he had expected you to brush off his own and reject it.

When he shifts a little closer to where you’re seated, you surprisingly don’t feel repulsed at the distance and the way his shoulders brush against yours.

“Is it something you wanna talk about?”

The cold and quiet atmosphere of the night and the way Seungmin is looking down at you encourages you to speak, the way you never thought you would with the boy.

“Not really. Just… I’m so stupid for failing that test. And, and maybe if I studied harder than I would’ve at least gotten a more decent score.” You sigh, playing with the handkerchief as you look down in humiliation.

Seungmin scrunches his face. “It’s not your fault. We win some, we lose some. What matters is that we keep going despite the losses.”

He doesn’t snap back at you with a snarky remark like he usually would. Instead, he gives genuinely useful advice, and you think your ears could be deceiving you if he wasn’t seated directly next to you.

“Wow, I didn’t think you had it in you to say something like that.” You laugh a little, and you miss the way the tip of his ears heat in red at being able to solicit a laugh from you.

“You wound me.”

You don’t know what takes over you, but you find yourself leaning your head against his shoulder. For now, you’ll blame it on the exhaustion from crying so much earlier.

Your head against his body feels nice and comforting and warm against the biting air from the night, but you can feel him physically tense up at the contact and you almost pull your head back immediately if he hadn’t rested his head against yours.

The compromising position has Kim Seungmin in contemplation over something that’s been such a great concern in his life for the past few months, almost a year even. It had started when he met you, the first time he ever saw you and heard your voice, and the day he decided he’d spend every second thereafter trying to get your attention.

He mirrors the way you interact with your friends, and yet somewhere along the line, it had been misinterpreted into something it wasn’t and he had to live in pretense of irritating you when all he’s ever wanted was your attention. But, he thought, if this was the only way then he’d have to keep the facade up.

Besides, a little attention (even if it was with hatred) is better than none.

When Seungmin grows uncharacteristically quiet, you start to wonder what he could be thinking about and why there’s a small scrunch in his face as if he was deep in thought.

You never used to wonder what he could be thinking about. What’s changed?

“Seungmin?”

“Hm?”

“Why do you enjoy irritating me so much? Do you hate me?”

Seungmin peels his head from yours, staring down at you with a completely horrified look on his face. 

“Hate you?” He feels nauseous that you could even think that, and he’s shaking his head quickly, compromising feelings he’s kept hidden for quite a while now. He’s so confounded by your statement that he gets up from his seat on the bench for a second to stare at you before calming down and returning back to his spot. “I don’t hate you. I— I could never hate you.”

You look at him, and you’re surprised to see that he’s genuinely astonished and a little upset at what you had just tried to imply.

“Then why?” You swallow down a lump in your throat, asking him in the smallest voice he’s ever heard from you. This was the perfect opportunity to ask him why, being handed to you straight on your lap, so you bite the bullet and ask.

“I actually thought we’d get along quite well when we met. And then you just started to… I don’t know.” His eyes are soft as he listens to you, lips slightly parted as if trying to think of the perfect explanation to clear your misinterpretations.

When you finish, Seungmin closes his eyes to recollect his thoughts. For a second, you think he might be coming up with an excuse to save himself but the earnest way in which he looks at you the moment he opens his eyes again quiets the voice in your head.

“I just wanted your attention.” His face visibly cringes at the sudden confession. Seungmin feels like he’s floating, looking down at his physical body that’s trying to explain himself without embarrassing himself further.

“You… what?” You blink.

He sighs out, wiping the sweat that’s gathered from his palms down his pants before tilting his head back as if trying to ask strengths from the Gods so he can admit to you whatever he’s been hiding. And then, he looks back at you and he finally confesses what he’s been keeping from you for months.

“I thought that maybe if I acted the way you did with your friends then there’d be a higher chance we’d get along. But then you misinterpreted it as hatred, and I’ve had to pretend I enjoy irritating you when all I really want to do is hold your hand.”

He squeezes his eyes shut as if afraid of your response, but all you can do is stare at him with your mouth parted.

This definitely wasn’t the response you were expecting.

“But… but it really felt like you hated me. Like— when you’d make fun of me for my food choices or that time in the library when you stayed behind to taunt me for being a lost cause.”

“You have me all wrong, (Name). When I asked you what you liked, it was an excuse so I could get it for you. Do you really think I’d accidentally buy too much dinner for Jeongin, and have the excess be exactly your favorites? And… and that night at the library. I stayed behind because I know you’re afraid to walk home late. So you would be less afraid if I walked you home.”

You meet his eyes, breath catching in your throat when you gauge the level of genuineness in his eyes.

“You— You hugged me as a dare in Chan’s party and sometimes that’s all I think about.” Seungmin falls silent after that, simply letting out a breath he feels he’s been holding for too long.

“Look, you don’t have to say anything right now. I know it’s a lot to take in.” He fiddles with the ends of the sweater he’s wearing, making sure to avoid eye contact.

“Seungmin.” The simple sound of his name from your lips has him looking at you despite trying his best not to. “I don’t know what to say.”

“That’s okay. It must be a lot to take in.”

“I thought you hated me for months and now, you’re telling me the exact opposite.” Your voice gradually quiets down, and Seungmin finds comfort when you scoot in your seat closer. “I really don’t know what to say.”

“Would it hurt to start over?” You’re greeted with his softening stare, and he bites his lips in anticipation for your response.

“I think… I think I’d like that.”

Seungmin immediately smiles, the kind of smile that’s difficult to hide even in the inky night, even if he tried.

You find yourself mirroring his own smile.

The thought of finding out the truth behind Seungmin’s actions has always scared you, but now you know you should’ve never been afraid.

Somehow, things are already starting to change, with an outstretched hand in your direction. You find yourself taking it in yours with ease.

“Hi, I’m Seungmin. It’s nice to meet you.”

[penny00dreadful]

Comeuppance - Part 2 - Complete

Part 1 AO3

Dustin scoffed in offence. “I’m smarter than you, you know.”

“I know,” Eddie said through only slightly gritted teeth, “but that doesn’t mean you’re a grown up. You're sure you have all the relevant information? You know everything there is to know and there's no way this could go wrong?” 

The little shit was gonna have to learn one way or the other that he couldn't keep sticking his nose in where it didn't belong.

Teenager or not it was going too far and Eddie had fucking enough of it. These kids had spent so long crash landing in government affairs and coming out unscathed, they seemed to think they were invincible. They seemed to think that consequences didn’t exist for them. 

They seemed to think consequences couldn’t exist for them.

Well.

Time for a fucking lesson, kiddos.

Dustin looked at him like he was the biggest idiot in the world. “Of course I do.”

“Alright.” Eddie nodded, turning back to his trailer and pulling himself back up onto the roof. “If you’re sure. Now scram. I gotta get back to my sunbathing.”

He watched them all grumble, somehow believing themselves the smartest kids alive but somehow missing the barely concealed beemer, hiding behind Eddie’s van.

“Those little fuckers are getting too big for their damn boots, I swear to god.” Eddie seethed, flopping back down next to Steve who had been trying to keep his laughs silent this whole time. 

“I think they just want what’s best.” Steve smiled over at him, brushing Eddie’s bangs out of his face while Eddie huffed.

“There’s a way to go about that and when the people in question have told them repeatedly to stop meddling, it no longer becomes wanting what’s best, it becomes wanting to be right.”

“They’re young.”

“Yes, they’re young but they’re not stupid. Or ignorant. They’re young but they’re not fucking toddlers who can’t understand why mommy and daddy aren’t living together anymore. And I refuse to continue to let them act like that. It’s borderline sociopathic.”

“Okay, I think that’s going a bit far-”

“Is it? Is it, Stevie? Really?” Eddie rolled his head to the side and plucked the joint from Steve’s mouth. “They don’t care about your feelings on this matter, nor do they care about Nancy’s. You heard them, they hadn’t even considered whether she even wanted you back. Like she was just some cardboard cutout in the shape of a woman who’d go wherever they lead. Have they even met her?”

He looked back up at the bright blue sky, a few dusty clouds drifting past and took a large inhale, holding it deep into his lungs, hoping it would help to chill him out, but it was doing nothing for him. 

“And they’re walking all over you and your feelings. What you might want wasn’t considered and it doesn’t sound like it’s going to be considered. I’m just fucking sick of seeing it. It’s not happening. Not anymore. Not on my watch.”

Eddie continued to huff and puff, quite literally, in the silence that came after, glaring at the passing clouds like this was all their fault. He just couldn't believe the audacity of these kids, acting like Steve or Nancy weren't even sentient, just pieces to be moved on a chessboard.

He was still sulking and rigid and probably steaming out of his ears when he felt a hand on the side of his face. His head was tugged to the side and then Steve’s mouth was on his in a kiss so gentle and chaste and sweet, in stark contrast to how firmly Steve was now gripping the back of his head to keep him close. Every inch of tension immediately melted from his body.

“You’re so good to me.”

“I-” Eddie could only breathe out, a little dazed. “I’m really not. It’s just basic decency, to be honest.”

“Okay, then you’re basically decent to me.”

“I try my best.”

“My knight in shining armour.”

“I’m never the knight.”

“Well you are now. And you are to me. Always have been.”

Eddie blinked at him, sure that Steve could feel the thudding of his heart through his neck. Given the way he was nuzzling his nose into Eddie’s pulse and brushing his lips against his skin with small little kitten licks, he probably could.

Steve moved up, hovering right over Eddie’s ear. “And how does my knight feel about getting his dick sucked?”

“Pretty- pretty good. Yeah, pretty good.” He stuttered out, breathy and oh so eager.

“Good. But you’re gonna have to get down off this roof first.”

Eddie's descent was far less controlled this time, he nearly fell on his ass in his mad scramble to get back inside and into his bedroom, Steve following slowly with a lazy grin on his face.

Both Steve and Eddie knew that they had to strike before Dustin was able to do anything and potentially fuck everything up. 

The first person they brought in was Robin, though that was less of a calculated move and more that she could tell just by looking at Steve that something was brewing. 

He and Steve were supposed to be waiting for Nancy’s arrival at the trailer before they breathed a word but Robin had barely taken a step inside before it was all out in the open. 

So now the three of them were waiting for Nancy, Jonathan and Argyle to turn up.

The six of them had a weekly standing date on Sunday evenings to chill the fuck out and while Eddie would have preferred to smoke the fuck up, Robin hated smoking of any kind.

And the smell stuck to everything. 

So instead they usually ate the fuck up.

Argyle had taken it upon himself to be the resident weed baker of the group and he, Nancy and Jonathan usually arrived together.

It was kind of hilarious how the kids had never considered that the older teens talked regularly and therefore, that Eddie could spill their secret plan.

He was pretty sure the kids thought they all just sat at home alone, twiddling their thumbs and waiting around for the kids to call them up for the next get together or when they needed a ride.

Like they didn't have their own lives, or their own connections. 

Like they needed the kids around to even see each other casually.

It wasn’t exactly like the six of them were the best of friends and Eddie’s trailer was definitely too small to host all of them, but they made it work. 

It was the best place to meet up. Nancy, Jonathan and Argyle each lived with one of the kids in the Party. The kids called around unannounced to Steve’s house all the damn time, which was another thing Eddie needed to talk to him about. And Robin’s parents would have inevitably ended up eating some of their brownies, whether they knew what was in them or not, Eddie couldn’t say. But he didn’t want to take the risk.

The trailer was still a risk. Max and Eddie’s trailers were close enough together that she could easily see them all coming and going and she had. 

Eddie knew she had.

She’d been outside feeding the neighbours dog once when they’d all arrived. 

The rest hadn’t noticed, but Eddie had seen her look directly at them.

He’d been on edge for days afterwards, expecting to be chewed out by Dustin or Mike or any of them for ever dare thinking that they could hang out without the kids, but the bitch-fest never came.

He’d sent her a questioning look when it became clear she hadn’t said anything and she’d just glared at him, like he was being stupid to even ask if she’d spilled the ‘secret’ that shouldn’t even have to be kept a secret.

Well, okay then.

Immediate respect and trust gained there.

By the time the other three were pulling up in front of the trailer, Robin was pissed the fuck off.

Turned out, last time Dustin had tried to shove her and Steve together she’d snapped at him, bitching him out for guiltless manipulation and she had thought she had gotten through to him, considering he didn’t try again.

But now it was obvious he had just set his sights elsewhere.

Eddie had opened his front door, gesturing Nancy, Jonathan and Argyle in with a wide sweep of his arm and a smile. Nancy had barely opened her mouth to greet all of them when Robin stopped her pacing and declared to the newcomers “I’m mad!”

Nancy closed her mouth and blinked. “Okay.” She said slowly. “Who are we mad at?”

“The children.” Robin answered with a twisted up face. “Little fucking gremlins.”

Jonathan sighed, pulling six plates down from their cupboard in the kitchen where he and Argyle were dividing out a Tupperware container of brownies.

“What did they do this time?”

“They’re meddling little fucking…” Robin stood in front of Eddie’s couch, blowing a raspberry through her lips, trying to find the right words. “Meddlers.”

“Very articulate there, Birdie.” Steve smirked.

“Don’t talk to me right now, Harrington.” She pointed at him. “I’m mad on your behalf.”

“Alright, alright.” Jon walked forward with two plates, handing one off to Steve and then Robin. “Why don’t we chill out first,” he said to her, gently, “and then you can give us all the details.”

“I think we’re gonna need to work out the details before we have any of these.” Eddie said, picking up his own plate with a delicious looking brownie complete with rainbow sprinkles and settling himself on the floor against Steve’s legs, who was up on the couch.

“We can pause the brownies for a few, my dudes.” Argyle smiled, dropping to the ground, right next to Eddie. “No rush, they’ll keep.”

Nancy folded herself down into the couch on one side of Steve where Robin threw herself down on the other side, nearly taking Eddie out with her knee and accidentally driving her elbow into Steve’s side.

“I did nothing to you!” He squawked, jabbing her back.

“When do you not do something to me?” She retaliated, reaching for his hair. Steve grabbed her by the wrist and Eddie knew if he didn’t put a stop to this now, they’d never get back on track.

Between the four of them, Eddie, Nancy, Jon and Argyle had all learned the only way to break up a squabbling match between Steve and Robin was to make a sudden loud noise and the two of them would startle like cats.

At one point each of them had attempted to get in the middle instead but that only led to them getting caught in the crossfire.

He put two fingers in his mouth, pushing his tongue back and whistling so loud it set off the Murphy family’s dog outside.

Steve and Robin jumped back as if they’d been shocked but Eddie didn’t give them a chance to protest.

“Back to your original question, Jonathan.” Eddie continued on, even though he felt a short petulant little tug at one of his curls. He was pretty sure it was Steve pouting, but it could have been Robin as well, he didn’t know. He was already turned away. “They are attempting to set Steve up with someone. Again.”

Jonathan and Nancy practically rolled their eyes into the back of their heads. They’d heard it all before, they’d been there for the rants even before Eddie had joined the group. Argyle just smiled, looking between Eddie and Steve.

“That seems unnecessary. Unless you two are looking for a third to which I say more power to you, broskies. But should you be involving a child?”

“We’re not looking for a third, Argyle.” Steve’s hands were idly playing with Eddie’s hair. “The kids don’t know we’re together, remember? The children are involving themselves.”

Eddie nodded, leaning back a little against the grip and trying to get Steve to start scratching him.

“So tell the little dude you’re happy being single.”

“Tried that. Didn’t work. Henderson is convinced that everyone needs to be paired off to be happy. And there’s no convincing him otherwise once he thinks he’s right.”

“Who’s he trying to set you up with?” Nancy asked, turning to Steve.

“You, actually.”

Her eyebrows disappeared underneath her bangs. “Me?”

“Yeah,” Steve nodded. “Exactly. Says we’re perfect for each other.”

Nancy scoffed. “In what universe?”

Steve shrugged. 

“We tried that already and it didn’t work out. How is Dustin hypothesising that it will work out this time around?”

Eddie turned, throwing his arm across Steve’s thigh to lean on. “I think he’s been a bit mind melted by movies and tv shows. And I think Mrs. H reads those romance novels. I mean, the two of you are the stereotypical couple and it always works out for them, so why couldn’t it for you?”

“Oh, I don’t know?” Nancy scowled, throwing a hand up in exasperation. “Maybe because I’ve blown up the two romantic relationships I’ve had with people in this room? Because I haven’t been able to be soft since 1983? Because I don’t know who I am outside of monster hunting anymore and being single and fucking off to college is the best way to find that out?”

“And because of this one.” Steve put in, giving Eddie a light tap on the head that he frowned at.

“And because of that one.” Nancy conceded, tapping him on the head as well.

“Okay, so what are we doing about it?” Jonathan asked from Argyle’s side.

Eddie sat up a little straighter. “I have a plan.”

Steve tugged on a lock of Eddie’s hair again. “He has a plan.”

“Well, okay then." Nancy's face told him she was already taking minutes in her head. "Fill us in.”

“Telling the kids to stop isn’t working. Hasn’t been working. So we’re gonna make them stop. Act like we don’t know this is going on behind our backs. Frustrate the shit out of him when it doesn’t work and when he starts to escalate, which we know he will, then we strike. Because we don’t know exactly what he has planned yet, we can’t make any solid plans ourselves. We need to be malleable. We need to be able to change tactics for whatever they come up with.”

“So for now, what? You want us to just go along with it whenever he…” Nancy cast her eyes around, trying to think. “Whenever he locks us into a closet or something?”

“For now, yeah.” Eddie nodded. “You don’t have to act like it’s working, just pretend you don’t know what’s going on. Stay friends. It’ll piss him the fuck off. And when he starts to get more dramatic about it, then we do too.”

“And how will we find out he’s getting more drastic?”

Eddie grinned, holding up the walkie talkie. “They’re very smart kids, but they’re not very clever. They seem to think they’re the only ones who know how to use these. They conspire all the time on them.”

Steve nodded. “They switch stations.”

“They switch between the same two stations and always announce it before they do because they want to stick to ‘proper protocol.’”

“Okay but here's the thing…” Steve dug his fingers into Eddie’s hair and Eddie could tell it was a need for touch, a self soothing motion that had driven it, so he tipped his head to the side, resting his cheek on Steve’s knee and giving him more access. He could feel Steve winding his curls around his fingers, almost nervous. “I think one last opportunity for them to back off wouldn’t go amiss. Just before we start fucking with them. It would make me feel better.”

Eddie exhaled, his body slumping back into Steve’s grip. He’d love to say no. He’d love to tell Steve that there was no fucking need. The kids had opportunity after opportunity to stop. They’d been told so many times that this was none of their business and to stop sticking their nose where it didn’t belong.

But he could never say no to Steve. If it was something that would make Steve more comfortable with the whole thing, Eddie would give it to him.

“Okay. One last chance for them to back off.” He conceded. “But when they don’t listen, then we move forward.”

“You know what helps with brainstorming, my friends?” Argyle lifted his plate into the air with a giant smile on his face. “Brownies.”

Eddie was pretty sure brownies and Little Shop of Horrors wouldn’t be the big help Argyle thought it would be but he was a little too wound up at the moment and needed to relax. 

“Okay,” Eddie nodded. “Brownies. Little Shop of Horrors. Scheming.” He picked his own brownie up and took a giant bite.

Under different circumstances, trying to purposefully destroy the plans of a fifteen year old and make sure they failed would feel downright scummy. But under these circumstances it was kinda satisfying.

Dustin had decided to fuck with Eddie’s man again. After repeatedly being told to stop. So the kid dug his own grave, really. He’d been given plenty of chances. Steve had tried his best to convince the kid he was happy where he was in life and if the little defeated slump to Steve’s shoulders was anything to go by, it hadn’t worked.

So if the kid wanted to fuck with his man, he’d get fucked with in return.

Plus it wasn’t like Dustin couldn’t have figured out what the two of them were by now. They’d slipped up a few times and the kid had nearly walked in on them once or twice.

But watching Dustin get more and more irritated when Steve and Nancy only continued to be friendly together was ridiculously enjoyable. Especially as he watched Dustin practically force them together, no matter the clear signals the two were giving off that they didn’t exactly want to be stuck together, away from everyone else in the cinema.

Eddie sat next to Dustin with popcorn on his lap, giggling away as he watched Steve a few rows down, shift uncomfortably in his seat.

They’d seen this movie already. Gone on a date here only last week and Steve had told him after that he couldn’t remember a single thing about it, forever only being able to associate this movie with the feeling of Eddie’s mouth on him in the back of the dark and empty room. 

Now he practically snorted out loud, earning a glare from Dustin. He retaliated by firing another piece of popcorn at Dustin’s head and  continued to watch Steve uncross and cross his legs again while Nancy gave him a sympathetic pat on the shoulder.

“He told me ‘alcohol is a social lubricant, it shouldn’t be that hard.’” Eddie repeated, raising his voice over the din at The Hideout and making air quotes with his fingers.

Steve nodded, not really paying attention to what Eddie was saying apart from staring at his lips like he couldn’t wait to devour them, but that was to be expected.

Eddie had just come off stage after fingering and thrusting and grinding into his guitar for a full hour, Steve’s eyes glued to him the entire time while Nancy, Jonathan, Argyle and Robin all chatted amongst themselves. The four of them all knew that trying to draw Steve’s attention away when his boyfriend was playing on stage was a lost cause.

Usually Eddie and Steve hung around for a polite amount of time afterward but it was never that long. Nothing got Steve more horned up than Eddie performing on stage and if they didn’t want a quick and dirty in the bathroom or the back of Eddie’s van then they needed to get back to a bed before Steve snapped and tackled him wherever they happened to be.

Road head had happened more than once when Steve’s patience was worn particularly thin. Not that Eddie was complaining. 

Eddie always made sure to park his van in the shadows of The Hideout, never quite sure when Steve would lose the run of himself and press him into the nearest surface, the two of them thriving off the risk.

Maybe the Upside Down had fucked with them a little more than they were willing to admit.

Eddie had Steve in his lap, exactly where he needed to be. The only place he ever needed to be. Sitting in the driver's seat of his van, Steve’s hands in his hair and his tongue in his mouth, digging so deep it was like he was trying to taste his stomach acid. His body was bouncing up and down in these tiny little movements, humping himself against Eddie’s body and using him like a pillow in between his legs to chase his own pleasure and god Eddie loved it.

He loved being used by Steve, just as much as he loved taking care of him, gently whispering to him as he cried out his own release, kissing away his tears or turning him into a hazy mess by keeping him on edge for as long as he could handle it.

He loved it. He loved him and if he was good right now, Steve would give him the orgasm of his life once they got home.

Which is why the two of them groaned in frustration, breaking their kiss with great heaving breaths when the walkie crackled from the passenger seat.

“Kas, this is Dart. We are still waiting on an update. Over.”

Eddie shook his head, trying to pull Steve’s lips back to his own. “Ignore him baby, ignore him.”

Steve shook his own head leaning back a little further. “We can’t ignore him, he’ll just keep going until he’s answered.”

Eddie slumped down in his seat, well aware his over exaggerated pout was probably a little on the ridiculous side.

Steve pouted with him, a little mocking, a little mean and he gave Eddie a kiss on the top of his nose.

“Hellooo? Kas?” Dustin sing-songed. “Kas. Earth to Kas. Oooover.”

“Answer the walkie. Tell him I was too busy watching you and I’ll bend you over the bathroom sink. Right in front of the mirror, just like you wanted.”

"You mean just like you wanted."

"Yeah." Steve leaned in, practically breathing over Eddie's lips as he growled out. "Just like I wanted."

All of the air left Eddie’s lungs in one fell swoop, one big whoosh, like he’d been punched (in a good way).

He kept eye contact with Steve, completely powerless to tear his gaze away as he fumbled blindly for the walkie and brought it closer to his face.

“Kas to Dart.” Eddie responded, swallowing, trying to get his breathing back in check, Steve’s gaze burning into his own. “Plan’s a bust. Sorry.” He paused for a second, almost forgetting what the kid was waiting for. “Over.”

The answer was immediate. “A bust?! How could it have been a bust?! Did you make them sit together? Over.”

“Yeah.” Eddie nodded, still trapped in honey-brown eyes. “They sat together. Over.”

“Were they drinking? Did you make sure they were talking? Did you play, like, love songs like I told you to? Over.”

Well. 

If the way Steve had been looking at him as he played Grinder and Hell Bent For Leather, rolling his hips against his guitar and getting borderline indecent on stage was anything to go by… they were certainly a type of love song.

“Yep. Over.”

“Then what the fuck went wrong?! Over!”

Eddie shifted in his seat, trying to adjust so he was a tad more comfortable. It was a completely innocent movement, or it was supposed to be, but Steve’s eyes fluttered for just a second and his mouth pressed thin, trying to keep any noise from spilling out. 

Eddie’s lips slid up into a smirk and that was probably the reason he was so flippant with his next answers.

“Dunno, Dart. Maybe I was shredding too hard. Stevie boy couldn’t keep his eyes off me. Over.”

“Jesus Christ Kas, that’s the exact opposite of what we wanted! Over.”

“Yeah well, I gotta go. I think I can hear Stevie coming.”

He didn’t even bother to say ‘over’, but he could hear Dustin’s scream of indignation in the second before he switched the walkie off.

He tossed it into the back of the van before all but bodily throwing Steve into the passenger seat and turning the key in the engine.

“Jesus Christ, Eddie.” Steve muttered, adjusting himself until he was more comfortably sitting. “Give a guy some warning.”

“Sorry baby.” Eddie said, peeling out of the car park. “I’m needed in front of a bathroom mirror.”

“Eddie, we need you to flirt with Nancy.”

Okay.

Okay.

So not only was this kid trying to fuck with his man, now this kid was trying to manipulate his man by bringing in some competition? He was, in his own mind, trying to get Eddie to lead Nancy on? And Eddie was just supposed to be cool with that?

Because even if all of the older teens knew that Nancy wouldn’t believe a single flirtatious word that came out of Eddie’s mouth for multiple reasons, Dustin didn’t.

Dustin was willing to take the risk that Nancy might catch feelings or that Eddie might or that Steve could end up jealous and hurt or that neither Nancy or Eddie caught feelings and it was just awkward all around. Awkward and probably friendship destroying.

This was the fucking escalation he knew was coming.

No time for an older teens meeting now, Eddie would have to hope they’d just play along until he could implement as many DM skills into Dustin’s downfall as Steve would allow.

“Hey Nance.” Eddie greeted her, putting his back to Henderson and trying to ham it up as much as possible. Nancy was smart. She’d get that something was going on. “I'm glad you decided to come today. Don't know what I would've done if I had to go without seeing your pretty face for much longer."

He could feel the silence that descended over Steve and Robin but he didn’t dare turn, knowing Henderson’s eyes were tracking every micro movement. Though out of the corner of his eye he could see the amusement in Steve’s eyes as he watched his boyfriend attempt to fake-flirt with his ex-girlfriend.

Eddie grimaced a little at the bewildered look on Nancy’s face and he circled his index fingers around each other, silently telling her to go with it.

She gave him an almost imperceptible nod. Thank god for that.

“Just a pretty face?” She asked, blinking rapidly.

“Oh, of course not, Lady Wheeler. Everyone knows you’re more than just a pretty face.”

Nancy grabbed his arm, giving it a little squeeze almost as if to say well done.

“Dunno if I could say the same thing about you.”

Eddie pulled out one of his oldest flirting moves, clutching at his heart and stumbling back a few steps. “Oh! The Lady Wheeler has wounded me most grievously!”

Steve rolled his eyes so hard his whole head moved.

Eddie didn’t think Robin had blinked this whole time. Or closed her mouth.

“Oh, stop it, you.” Nancy swatted at his arm. “You’re still pretty.”

Eddie gave her a little pout. How sweet.

He could practically hear Dustin grinding his teeth behind him and he thought he could freak the kid out even more. Even if that meant breaking one of his own rules.

“Would you care to join us?” Eddie asked, sweeping his arm out towards the table where the rest of the Party who were all staring, fucking flabbergasted. 

“I’ve heard this arena of play isn’t unfamiliar to you.” He continued, lowering his voice and leaning in close to Nancy but still loud enough for everyone to hear. “I’ve even heard you used to get into costume for the kiddies. You into a bit of roleplay, Nancy?”

Steve gave Eddie a look, motioning him to dial it the fuck back. Which was definitely fair. If he had been anyone else other than Eddie at that moment Nancy would have probably kicked him in the nuts. And the glare that told him exactly that would happen if he didn’t slow down.

Steve had a little frown on his face and Eddie knew he’d be making it up to him tonight, at least until his jaw started to get really sore.

So he left her off with a wink that was directed at Steve more than her, seating himself behind his DM screen and trying not to smile at the looks all the kids were giving him.

“Did you have fun?” Steve asked him from the couch.

Eddie hung up the phone, having just spent the last twenty minutes talking to Nancy, listening to her attempt to gush about him to him, all the while making sure that Mike was in earshot.

“Mhm.” Eddie smiled, practically skipping over to Steve’s side and throwing himself down in his lap. “I’ve never been so flattered before in my life.”

Steve hummed, running his hands up Eddie’s thighs, bringing them around to tuck into his back pockets and pulling him forward until they were pressed together. “Do I not compliment you enough?”

“I don’t know.” Eddie shrugged, trying to keep his air of nonchalance as Steve began to nose up his neck. “Why don’t you remind me?”

“Why don’t you tell me what the competition is first?”

Eddie lifted his hips, just a little, to take the pressure off, to tease, even as he gripped at Steve’s shoulders and leaned back. He loved the feeling of Steve holding tight to him. Loved knowing that Steve would never let him fall, no matter how far back he went. Loved when Steve would pull him back down with an aggressive yank.

He leaned forward, coming to a stop just a hair's breadth away from Steve’s mouth.

“Operation White Picket Fence, sound off.”

Eddie slumped down in Steve’s hold.

“The timing on these fucking kids, I swear to god.”

“This is a Code Orange, I repeat this is a Code Orange. Over.”

Steve kissed his cheek with a smile. “You and Nance made that call knowing you were gonna get a reaction. What did you expect?”

Eddie shrugged. “I dunno. Ten more minutes?”

“You think we would’ve been done in ten minutes?” Steve asked with raised eyebrows.

“If we wanted to be.”

“Yeah, but did you want to be?”

“No.” Eddie sighed. “No, I didn’t want to be.”

“Okay, let’s switch to our backup channel just in case he checks in. Over.”

“See this is what I’m talking about.” Eddie reached over to grab the walkie, relishing in the feeling of Steve’s big hands keeping him steady. “These little shits think they’re the only people who could possibly be listening in. Think they’re the smartest fuckers in the world.” He turned the dial on the walkie, tuning into the kids super-secret backup channel. “This is practically how you all intercepted the Russians.”

"We'll tell Kas to stop. Maybe get him to start talking up Babysitter instead. Over."

"I don't want to see my s-Emerson get hurt over this, Bard. Besides, Kas is way better than Babysitter anyway. Over."

“Oh, now they’re worried about someone getting hurt? That’s rich.” Eddie scoffed.

“And Mike’s letting his crush on you slip again.”

“Uh, pretty sure his whole deal is because he has a crush on you, sweetheart.”

"But they're not meant to be! And Kas doesn’t even like her like that! Babysitter and Emerson are meant to be! We'll just have to regroup. Start pushing them harder or something. Over!"

“Is he fucking serious?” Eddie jumped up out of Steve’s lap and stormed over to the phone. “Fine, if the kid wants another escalation, I’ll show him a fucking escalation.”

He snatched the phone off the wall, punching in the Henderson home number. It only took a few rings before it was picked up.

“Hello?”

“Hi, Mrs. Henderson. It’s Eddie-”

“Oh hello, Eddie dear. How are you?”

Steve left the walkie on the couch, where they could still hear it in the background and made his way towards Eddie, leaning on the wall next to him.

Eddie tipped the phone away from his ear, holding it between the two of them so they both could hear.

“I’m doing just dandy, Mrs. H. Thanks for asking. Hey, is Dustin in? I gotta talk to him about some campaign notes.”

“Let me go grab him for you, he’s just in his room.”

“Thanks.”

Eddie listened as the phone was gently set down and watched Steve watch him, quirking his eyebrow in question, asking what’s the plan?

Eddie just shook his head and rolled his eyes, telling Steve without saying it out loud that he was fucking done with this shit.

“Hello?” Dustin’s voice was already half accusatory

Eddie smiled, ready to put on a whole body performance and maybe trying to piss the kid off, just a little. “Hey Dusty-Buns.”

“I told you not to call me that.”

“But it’s so fun!” Eddie was already waving his hands around. “Listen, I need to talk to you about this whole Nancy and Steve thing-”

“Good, because I need to talk to you about it too. You gotta dial it back, man.”

Eddie paused, even going so far as to put a confused look on his face. “What do you mean?”

“You’re getting in too deep with her, you’re starting to pull her attention away from Steve and that was not a part of the plan.”

“Yeah.” He sighed, chewing his lip. “I’m not sure if I can really do that…”

“Wha- why? Why, Eddie, why?!”

“I dunno, man.” Eddie shrugged, taking Steve’s hand in his and meeting his eyes. “I kinda like her.”

“No! Nonononono! You can’t like her! You’re not allowed to like her, why do you like her?!”

Not allowed?

Not allowed?

Who the fuck did this kid think he was?

“What do you mean I’m not allowed?” Eddie glared down at the phone. “And as for why, have you met her? You used to have a crush on her!”

“Yeah, when I was a child, you can’t be serious about this, Eddie.”

“I’m super serious about this, Dustin.” Eddie spat back, giving Steve’s hand a little squeeze. “I like her. I want to ask her out.”

“Jesus Christ this was not part of the plan!”

“And I didn’t want to be a part of the plan from the start!” Eddie decided to remind him because apparently the kid had forgotten. “You forced me into it! I told you it wouldn’t work.”

“It will work. It still can work! We're still doing this whether you like it or not. I’ll see you at Steve’s tomorrow. Don’t do anything stupid in the meantime!”

“Dust-!”

Eddie stared open mouthed at the phone, the sound of Dustin slamming it back down ringing through the kitchen.

“That little fucking-” he took the neck of the phone in both hands, squeezing and shaking it, “-demogorgon!”

Steve pried the receiver from his hands, placing it gently back in its cradle.

“Guys. Things just got so much worse. We need to come up with a new plan before tomorrow.”

“So,” Steve drew the word out with a hand at Eddie’s back, “clearly he’s not getting the message.” 

Eddie sighed, resting his elbow on Steve’s shoulder and rubbing his eyes. “No, he’s not getting the message.”

“Well,” Steve nodded, picking the phone back up and beginning to dial. “It seems it’s time for the final act, then.”

Robin was pacing up and down in front of Steve’s couch.

“I’m nervous!” She said, grabbing at her hair.

“Why are you nervous?” Eddie asked, tracking her with his eyes from his position across the room. Nancy was sitting beside him, barely checked in, using any spare time she had to go over her flash cards for college, even though she didn’t start for another couple of weeks. They’d asked her if she wanted to put a stop to this, give her the freedom to stress just about college, rather than college and this but she’d just glared at all of them.

“You don’t even have to do anything.” Eddie continued.

“Yeah, but I have to be here. I don’t have the acting chops for this.” She pointed at him. “You know that. You remember what happened in Much Ado.”

“That wasn’t that bad.”

“I knocked over the wall during your gulling! You were supposed to be eavesdropping while badly hidden and then boom!” She smacked her hands together. “The garden hedges suddenly collapsed because I tripped over my own feet!”

“Oh, it was fine.” Eddie waved his hand. “No one noticed.”

“Everyone noticed! And it was fine because you played it off! I wasn’t even supposed to be on stage!”

“Birdie.” Steve grabbed her by the shoulders and steered her towards the couch, pushing her down. “You’re going to be fine because you’re going to sit there and say nothing.”

Robin huffed. “It’s impossible for me to say nothing, you know that.”

“I know, that’s why I got you this.” He plucked a lollipop from the coffee table, handing it to her. “When you hear them coming, stick that in your mouth. If you start to talk it’ll remind you to not talk. Just concentrate on that.”

She stared at the lollipop then looked back at Steve. “You’re giving me a pacifier.”

“Yeah, I am.”

“You know, there’s something to be said here about a man telling a woman to sit down and shut up. I’m only giving you a pass because it’s you.” She scowled, even as she took a seat.

“Wow, thanks Rob.” Steve rolled his eyes and patted her head. “Now you just sit there and look pretty.”

She fired the lollipop at him and he caught it with a raised arm, barely even trying and Eddie wanted to climb him like a tree.

Steve threw it back and even though it landed gently in her lap, she still attempted to catch it with flailing limbs like she was trying to deflect an arrow.

"Look alive." Nancy tucked her flash cards back into her purse and glanced out the window. “Here they come.”

The kids were cycling down the road towards Steve’s house, bickering amongst themselves, slowly getting closer.

“Come on then, my sweet little sugar muffin.” Eddie said, throwing his arm over Nancy’s shoulders as she stood. “We’ll put on a performance worthy of Shakespeare.”

“Don’t call me that.”

Eddie frowned. “My spicy pepper?”

“No.”

“My little prickly pear?”

“Gun or a blunt object, take your pick.”

“Alright,” Eddie held his hands up, keeping an arm around Nancy’s neck while Robin unwrapped her lollipop and stuck it in her mouth. “I hear you, loud and clear.”

“So how do you want to start-?” Steve began to say but was cut off as everyone in the room jumped when Eddie decided to project as loudly as he could.

“We have come to inform our friends of our torrid love affair!”

Steve rolled his eyes.

“Really? Really?” He asked, raising his own voice. “That’s how you’re gonna start?”

While they weren’t arguing, it would certainly sound like it from outside.

“We cannot help it! Our passions have simply taken over us!”

Steve sighed, hands on his hips. “Okay, fine.” He muttered before getting loud again. “I can’t believe you would do this to me!”

Just in time too as the kids slammed through the front door, barging in like they owned the place.

Well shit, Eddie thought. Time for a show.

"Steve, please! I thought you'd be happy for me!" Eddie shouted back, waving his free arm around. Honestly, he’d given better performances than this and Steve was trying his best.

"Happy for you? How could I be happy for you when you're stealing Nancy away from me!"

Nancy glared at Steve from Eddie’s side and the grimace he gave in return said sorry.

“I’m sorry Steve but-”

“You’re supposed to be my friend Eddie!” 

Friend. That still ticked him. Friends didn’t have other friends tongues up their-

Nope. Stop. This was serious business. Could he not go five minutes with Steve in the same room without getting stupid horny over him?

“I am your friend! But you can’t expect me to ignore the pull of true love!”

“True love?” Nancy asked. Like she was saying Really? You’re going that far?

And well… Eddie never really knew when to stop pushing, did he?

“That’s right. True love, shnookums, my precious little rainbow cupcake.” When Eddie booped her on the nose, she dug her nails into his side hard and he had to put all his effort into not reacting.

Dustin was staring around at them like they’d all set his fucking house on fire or something.

“This is a complete betrayal! I don’t know if I can ever look at you the same way again, either of you! In fact, I don’t think I can look at you anymore at all!” 

Steve had to turn to face Robin to hide his grin from the kids and Robin just chewed on her lollipop, trying not to react.

“I don’t think there’s anything more I can say to you two. I never want to speak to you again! I never want to see you again!” Steve cried, hamming up the drama in a way Eddie knew was adopted from his own mannerisms and Jesus Christ he was so in love. “Go on, run away together and leave me behind! I wash my hands of you two.”

Eddie sighed. “That’s too bad Steve, I’m sorry this is goodbye forever, never to see each other again, never to interact or even ask the kids about one another in passing. This is truly a terrible, irreparable breaking of the Fellowship, never to be fixed!”

Okay.

Maybe they’d gone overboard on the drama a tad, but who could blame them? 

Dustin certainly looked like he was taking it all seriously, wide eyed and open mouthed as he and Nancy turned to face him.

“Eddie.” Dustin whined. “What have you done?”

Excuse me, the fuck?

“What have I done? I did nothing but follow my heart, struck down by Cupid's arrow!” Eddie sent the full force of his glare at the kid. “What have you done, Dustin? You started this.”

“This wasn’t the plan, Eddie! This wasn’t the plan!”

And now Steve was coming over, interrogating Dustin and Dustin was fucking arguing back like he wasn’t the one in the wrong, looking between all of them with something like realisation on his face. 

"Wait."

He was staring between Steve, Eddie and Nancy, finally connecting the dots.

"Personally, I think I pulled off 'straight' rather well." 

Being into girls wasn’t the issue, being exclusively into girls though? Pretending he wasn’t undressing Steve with his eyes every time he looked at him? 

That had been the real challenge. 

Steve was pouring his heart out, trying to get Dustin to understand why everything he’d done was so fucked up, but the kid was just looking for an escape route.

“Eddie?”

Like hell.

“Don’t look at me, I am not on your side here, Henderson. I told you how this would end when you first approached me and you wouldn’t listen.”

“But you were bluffing! There’s no way you could have known he wouldn’t want this! You don’t know Steve that well.”

“What happened to 'you're a friend his own age', huh? You’re still assuming you know everything without a complete picture. There’s a glaring puzzle piece you’re missing out on because, and I’m sorry I have to say this, you don’t look at things objectively like a scientist should. You let your emotions run you and again refuse to see past the end of your own nose.”

And even then, even after all of that, Dustin still wanted to demand answers out of them.

“What could I possibly be missing?” He pouted, petulant and childish.

“Oh no, you don’t get to bully that information out of us." Eddie said. "If you were meant to know, then you’d know. But you don’t get to decide what secrets people do or don’t tell you. Part of being a grown up is understanding that.”

“But why… why wouldn’t you tell me something like that?”

“This. This is why, Dustin." Steve answered, running a hand through his hair. He was getting more and more stressed by the second. While he spoke, his shoulders were becoming tenser, his face was becoming harder and Eddie knew that he was going to need a little while to recover after this. He’d be so emotionally drained and all Eddie wanted to do was scoop him up and take him away from everything, from all this.

Let him live his life outside the kids, outside Hawkins, be young again. Be carefree. 

Even after all this, explaining to Dustin why this was so fucked up, he was still trying to deflect. Bring in the other kids in a hope his consequences would be lessened.

Fat chance.

Then he had to go and make that one last comment.

“So that’s it? You’re happy being single? Really?” 

Eddie wasn’t even really feeling angry anymore. Just so incredibly disappointed. He put a steadying hand on the small of Steve’s back, out of sight and Robin’s hand came to join his not long after when Steve said “You still don’t get it.”

Dustin tried to defend himself one last time, but they were all done with him. At least for now.

While Nancy corralled the kids back outside Robin lifted her head, speaking to the two of them, the only two left in the house. 

“So that went…”

“As well as we could have hoped?” Eddie asked, taking Steve’s hand in his. 

Steve just shrugged, turning away from the two of them in the empty echoey house and silently making his way upstairs and Eddie felt his heart crack.

Steve loved those kids, so for something like this to happen, such a big fallout… it must be killing him.

And he was probably blaming himself for everything. 

“What do you think?” He asked Robin. “Give him a few minutes or wait for him to come down?”

“We’ll give him a few minutes. I’ll go up to him then.”

Eddie nodded, watching the top of the stairs like Steve was still visible, standing there. “I think I might take him away. Just for the weekend or something. Take him to Indy. Have some fun.”

“And show him that he could get away from all of this, permanently, if he wanted to?”

“Maybe.” He finally managed to tear his eyes away from the stairs and back to Robin. “You’re coming, if it ever does happen. We’ve got a spot on the floor of the van with your name on it.”

“Wow, thanks.” Robin rolled her eyes. “What if I fuck off to college?”

“We’ll fuck off to college with you.”

Robin tried to bite down on a smile, punching him in the arm as she passed.

“What a fucking sap.” She muttered, disappearing upstairs while Eddie went to the phone, ready to order his weight in pizzas.

In the following weeks, Eddie got to watch as Steve slowly began to open up to the idea that maybe he didn’t need to be one of those who was born, lived and died in this shithole of a town. 

The kids, though they had leaned on him an awful lot, mostly whenever he could do them favours, were starting to come to terms with the fact that they had legs.

Steve had refused every single request for a ride. He privately let Eddie know that of course he’d go out for them if it was an emergency but it never was. 

This was a small town and they had bikes.

They should never have been able to get away with those demands in the first place.

The first time it happened, they couldn’t believe it. They almost believed Steve had gotten into an accident rather than follow through on his refusal to come get them.

Which led to anger.

Which led to Steve freezing them out for a solid two weeks. Not talking to them. Not interacting with them at all.

Until they learned he was a human with his own feelings and not a robot they could all walk over.

They’d been getting around on their own before they met Steve and they’d be getting around on their own after. 

It didn’t take long after that for them to come back with their tails tucked between their legs.

Eddie had been having the time of his life, spoiling the shit out of his boy, taking him out to the city every chance he got and sometimes even further.

Just adventuring in the van as far as they could conceivably go before Steve had to be back at work and Eddie had to be back so Wayne didn’t lose his damn mind.

They’d gotten the travel bug and they refused to share about their adventures with the kids, no matter how much they bugged them for it.

Dustin was incredibly subdued.

It got better as time went on but it wasn’t until nearly a month later that Steve, cuddled up on Eddie’s couch, revealed that Dustin had called over earlier that day out of nowhere with a long handwritten letter that he’d been working on for a while.

The kid had read it aloud to him, having to pause multiple times to calm his tears so he could continue, but he got through it.

Steve hadn’t even bothered to hide his own tears from the kid.

It was slow going, but they were healing.

Steve had sworn that the contents of the letter were between the two of them and he’d never break that promise.

Dustin had stayed the night and things were getting better.

Eddie snuggled down, pulling Steve in tighter to his chest and couldn’t help but smile. The kids were learning to be more independent from Steve, no longer using him as a glorified taxi. 

Steve was learning to love himself more, not allowing himself to be walked all over.

And they were planning.

Planning for a future. Their future.

Away from the soul sucking presence of Hawkins and everything it had taken from them. 

Eddie couldn’t wait.

Part 1 AO3

@augustjustice @estrellami-1 @starman-jpg @hallucinatedjosten @pizazzmcjazz @hallo-spaceb0y @goodolefashionedloverboi

Big thanks as always to @hbyrde36 for her magnificent beta work and to the STWG for their motivation.

[purplink8]

I gotta admit, I kinda wish they'd shown more character development for Light in the beginning. It didn't convince me enough that "god complex" was a way with coping with the first two killings. IT CAME OUT IN FIVE DAYS. There was something else that made him like that and we never get to see it.

I don't buy it, and I honestly roll my eyes every time someone goes on and on about how Light was really such a good person and he was "traumatized" by the murders he "accidently" did, as if jumping through hoops with speculation requiring meta-analysis is necessary to properly understand him and is a more reasonable interpretation instead of just taking what he says at face value and reading what's plainly written on the damn page.

The whole process reminds me of how at the end Light, as a last ditch effort to save himself, goes on a giant multi page rant about how Kira was necessary and he was the only one who could do it, laboriously explaining his motivations....and Near very succinctly and correctly tears it down and distills the truth of it: "no, you're just a murderer."

Hm, I don't quite agree with you. I'd argue that there IS character development for Light (in the manga, at least) in the beginning as illustrated in these posts. As for "God complex" being a way to cope with his killings- I didn't say anything remotely close to that. Rather, Light copes by convincing himself that he's doing the world a favor by killing criminals and sacrificing his peace of mind imo.

The narrative Light feeds himself is that of a martyr about to die (he genuinely believes that he'd die before Ryuk's arrival) for his cause. Yet, this all changes when Ryuk comes, tells him that Light's destined to die at his hands, there's no heaven or hell, and last but not the least, that he dropped the Death Note because he was bored.

What are the things that stand out to Light? That if Ryuk decides that Light is boring, i.e., not interesting enough, he'll kill Light. Since there's no heaven or hell, Light now knows that he's got only one chance at his life, the length of which will be based on Ryuk's wishes. So he has to make the most of it.

Light starts by establishing that he is, in fact, interesting; hence, it would be a waste to kill him. He tells his story of using the Note, following the truth, except for the parts he leaves out. That, he had honestly thought he'd die for the sin of using a Death God's notebook, which is why, being an ambitious guy, he had mentally prepared himself to sacrifice his soul/life for the betterment of the world.

He fills the blanks in his motives for using the Note as in:

He was bored too (to bring forth a common ground with Ryuk),

He plans to become the God of the new world (which is infintely more entertaining than the truth (i.e., him covering up his fuck-ups (his first 2 kills) by intentionally fucking up more (killing with intent) AND him sacrificing his peace of mind and other people's life for the sake of making the world a better place).

Light starts seeing himself as an actual God (not in a religious way tho, he sees God as the position of absolute power) wayyyy after the first chapter, namely, chapter 55 of Volume 7:

So no, Light doesn't see himself as a God after just 5 days of getting the Death Note. It develops more gradually than that.

I'm honestly surprised that you don't think that accidentally killing 2 people is enough to change someone (Light) as a person. The situation is highly stressful, if not traumatic, for any individual to come out unscathed. I do personally believe Light was traumatized (anyone Not being traumatized by that would be an anomaly imo).

Light was a good person prior to finding the Note. I wouldn't exactly call him law-abiding (his hacking skills) but yeah. You can roll your eyes, I don't mind haha

The curtains were blue because of an underlying cause or not is a debate for a reason. I just find analyzing my favorite fictional characters fun and that's a hobby of mine so there you go. I will say however that if one takes Light's words at their face value, then one's understanding of Light wouldn't be very interesting (anime!Light I'm looking at you lol).

Idk I find reading what's written on the page and passively absorbing it without employing any of our critical thinking skills boring.

As for the warehouse scene, I agree with Near. Light is just a murderer. What's different from Light (a real person in that story) laying down his motivations and me (an irl person) explaining his (a fictional character's) motives is that I'm not trying to justify any of his actions. It's fun if we understand a fictional character's personality and why he behaves the way he behaves. I'm not being his apologist or anything haha

[legend-as-old-as-time]

All for the organic'd off shoot food hcs <3 i went way overboard <3 help <3

Kopaka: more curious about tastes than eager to eat, he collects them kind of like cards. Big fan of fatty meat of any kind, will devour it without even noticing. Not that big on vegetables

Pohatu: would eat cardboard if vaguely salted. Has a fondness for anything vaguely dumpling- or pie-like, and he likes offering bites to others before scarfing the whole thing down his throat

Gali: same as Pohatu, though she prefers veggies and fish and seafood and slugs and algae and bite sized fruits like grapes or berries. Shes really likes jello for some reason too

Onua: same as Pohatu and Gali but hes more of a bread and potatoes guy. Can and will carve out a pumpkin with his bare hands and eat it in one sitting if left unsupervised

Lewa: finally someone NORMAL about food!! Prefers slimy things like mushrooms and eels or juice-heavy fruit, but otherwise will try a bit of everything. Likes stuff fried or steamed

Tahu: very sensitive to consistency, too soft foods trigger his gag reflex. Likes nuts, raw veggies, insects, crayfish, lobsters, crabs, burnt stuff... Not as resistant to spices as you'd think

Jaller: the Capsaicin Conqueror, bites into ghost peppers unscathed. Soup savorer, with time will be able to whip out broths that could make Vakama Metru forgive himself

Hahli: mussels!! Oysters!! Clams!! Sea urchins!! Squids!! Octopi!! Big noodle slurper who canNOT handle sauce. She will get it Everywhere. Enjoyer of endives and hater of seasonings

Nuparu: genuinely cannot handle chewing so aside form jello everything needs to be blended into a smoothie. He slams back concoctions that would make a Makuta shiver. Taste is optional

Hewkii: could eat through the cheese caves if released within them. Hates seafood but everything else is fair game. Has tried Nuparu's horrible smoothies and survived several times

Kongu: texture is a big factor and he cant handle too slimy or too fatty things bc of this. Likes acidic or bitter flavors, sauces, dried fruit, and bugs. Refuses to eat poultry

Matoro: the concept of "doomed by the narrative" be damned my boy can hunt game and work a grill

Whenua: slurper of worms... Big fan of turnips for some reason. Its hard for him to find anything he doesnt like really

Nuju: loves poultry and butter and fish and berries and nuts... Stews... Creamy soups... God he loves eating. He could do it for hours

Vakama: vegetables and small game, cooked underground or boiled. Eats spiders by reflex for reasons you can imagine

Matau: LOVES poached eggs. Herbs n spices n fruits are his favorite. Unusual meats for him, like frogs and lizards

Nokama: will bite through any shell and bone no problem. Discovers a taste for bone marrow. Very picky with vegetables

Takanuva: if it were up to him he would eat only sweet things. lactose intolerant. Will that stop him from scarfing down gallons of cream? No babey!!!

Thank you! And thhose are neat headcanons!!

[ebonysplendor]

A Date with Death 💀💻💬

TL;DR: What's totally hot is that we are chatting with this major edge lord who is cosplaying as the Grim Reaper. What's even hotter is that this major edge lord actually is the Grim Reaper...pfft, yeah right.

Game Link: https://twoandahalfstudios.itch.io/a-date-with-death

Notable Features: Customizable MC (pronouns, appearance, name, etc.), Customizable bedroom, Internet romance, Supernatural LI Spiciness: 2/5 -- It can get a little suggestive, but nothing unholy...unfortunately T_T LI Red Flags: 0.5/5 -- The guy's trying to kill us but I mean...it's kinda his job so...? Also! This isn't even a yandere LI so, just a heads up! We're changing gears a bit

Wanna know more? I didn't see a rating on it, but I wouldn't suggest anyone under 16 play this. But if you are over 16 or simply don't give a rat's ass about my warning, I can't effectively police ya, so let's get into it!

(Unrelated, but peep the additions and new section marker...thingies. Ahhhh~! <3 Okay anyways...)

I found it. I finally found it.

I found a game that has me raving harder than Perfect Love, and those of you that read that review (or even some of my follow up posts) know how much I absolutely loved that game!

Even still, so far, Perfect Love is still my favorite visual novel with a yandere LI; in this one, the LI isn't a yandere. Admittedly, this was a totally foreign experience to me, because I honestly (and clearly) gravitate towards the yandere stories, not to mention just simply favoring and have a preference for them. Like I've mentioned in other reviews, it is just something about a man with an ungodly obsession for me that just draws me in...

Anyways, that's not featured in this game, but it was still just as good! I loved this! The story, the dialogue, the art, the little quirky features, the customization!! Gods, the customization. I loved that! The customization didn't even hugely matter, but it was just the fact that it was included and that I knew that that was what the MC looked like.

As a POC, it is so refreshing to know that my love interest "knows" that I have dark skin. Like, ahhhhh, my heart. Representation really does make a difference, even in adulthood. I love the games with the custom pronouns, or just straight gender neutral language, or even when they draw the character to be bald, grey, and faceless so it represents everyone. I honestly love it so much, and I do feel included, not gonna lie, and it's exciting that others can, too.

Anyways, I'll rant and rave and rant some more during the review. I've really gotta get into the amazingness that is this game, and I'm definitely going to keep the spoilers extremely light (like always) to ensure that you can play with a vague idea of what's going on but not knowing exactly what's going down.

So, oh my Gods, boom.

The game kicks off with a little exposition on how we're pretty much living life final destination style. Some way, some how, death seems to always linger around us, but it just never seems to connect. Just picture a situation where we 112% should've died, but we somehow come out damn-near unscathed. No injuries, no long term scaring, no broken bones, nothing. Like...we're Gucci, and just straight up living our best life.

So, we're chilling at home one day when our laptop keeps going off. Consistently and incessantly. It gets pretty annoying pretty fast, because:

Who the hell is trying to get ahold of us that damn bad?

What app do we even have on our computer that's making all of that ruckus?

So, naturally, we go investigate, and it's this weird ass messaging app on there. Never seen it before, never used it, and have no idea where it came from because we didn't download it. Delete. Immediately delete. Only issue is that, when we delete it, it comes right back, and we can't delete it anymore. Okay...what the hell?

Not having much of a choice, and just out of curiosity, we click on this app, and we just see a wall of text from what is likely either a bot or a scammer.

Having nothing better to do, we confront this scammer bot, and we go back and forth with this totally not a scammer bot...thing...for a hot second. Basically the whole of it was that this basement creep was trying to convince us that he was the Grim Reaper and that he was after our soul. No, like, no lie. I have receipts. This man deadass said that he was the Grim Reaper and that he was coming for our soul.

See? I wasn't joking.

We continue to go back and forth with this weirdo about how all of this is fake and ask him is this a cry for help, and he gets all pissy and says that we have a small and smooth brain and all of that jazz before it finally gets to a head. Mr. Edgy over here finally decides that he's had enough of our shit, and he sends us a request for a video chat. Still having nothing better to do, we enter the call, and well....

....okay, definitely not how I'd imagine some incel living in his parents' basement that reeks of constant rejection and a middle school boys' locker room to look like. He do be kinda fine. Fake as hell and a major edge lord, but kinda fine. Hella fine, actually. Deathly fine, amiright? Ha, ha....haaaaaa. Okay, moving on...

So, now that we're in this call, admittedly, we're a little taken aback because, well for one, he's actually pretty damned attractive, and for two, he is still insisting that he's the Grim Reaper. Like, yeah, okay...

It gets to a point where we finally cave and start to play along, and we're just like "Okay, if you're really the Grim Reaper, then you should have no issue with reaping my soul before the week is up right? If you can get it, you can have it. No questions asked."

Upon hearing this, he is clearly intrigued, and he arrogantly says "Lmao I only need an hour" and we're like "Lmao then why haven't you already taken it?"

Silence. Exactly what I thought, "Grimmy".

Anyways, he agrees to being "honour bound" to the bet or whatever the hell his edgy ass said. Before the bet gets solidified, though, we establish what our winnings would be should we win, and you already know that we asked for...

THAT MAN'S HAND IN MARRIAGE.

I mean, come on: his own house, stable work, hot as hell -- this man is the full package. Fuck a soul, I'm trying to fuck him.

I mean, he...didn't really, like...agree to that, so we opted for his soul instead. Fair is fair, but apparently our soul is on the line so we can't screw this up. Oh noes! The big scawy weaper is gwonna come gwet mwe! Lol.

Unless...

...this is a very real bet with very real consequences, and we made a very stupid mistake.

Where do I even begin?!

I loved this game! It made me laugh, it made me cry (not joking, it really did), it made me feel things.

Like, holy shit, I'm so used to the yandere games where you're essentially like "This man is hot, but he is fucking nuts, and I need to get away from him", that it really starstruck me when I was like "...I want to marry this man and live happily ever after". Like...there was nothing toxic this time around it and it was...huh? Kindness? Positivity? Boundaries? What is this?

It was deadass like being in a string of toxic relationships and finally finding the one. Not even just the one, but a legitimate healthy relationship. Like, I have no idea how to react to this, but it's such a fuzzy feeling. Grim literally got me over here giggling and kickin' my feet and shit.

Anyways, this visual novel was really, really good and an absolute chef's kiss. The pacing, the story, the humour, the customization, the art, the UI, the everything! Everything was so good! Like, if you couldn't tell, my favorite thing was by far the customizations. Let me show you what I mean:

Like, how cool is that? The screenshots doesn't do it full justice, but from looking at the characters that I made, you can tell that you can customize quite a bit. Granted, it doesn't play a huge role, and there's not side sprite or CGs with the character that you customized, but I still like that there was an option so that it's like "Fuck yeah, he knows I'm Black" ya know? Not to mention, you can also customize...

...your room and your household companion! You can even have a snake as your pet, if you choose to do so!

I'm sorry, I was just absolutely geeked about the customization options. Honestly, the overall art in the game was just absolutely stunning; however, I did wish that there were more CGs, but that's more of a personal thing versus a flaw of the game. I just wanted to see more of this sleek ass art, because, as I've mention, I am an absolute slut for CGs.

Anyways, much like the Perfect Love game, I could definitely ramble on and on and on and on some more about this game, but I'm going to demand -- not ask but politely, yet forcefully demand -- that you play this game and enjoy it so that you can see how edgy yet sweet this man can be. And like I said, the dialogue is so funny. Admittedly, my humour is kind've broken, so I laugh at just about anything, but I think the dialogue was legit funny this time around. And again, the way that it just switches over from being a total meme to something kind've serious to super sentimental and sweet and it's...like what? The transition was just so damned smooth. Like, the dev(s) absolutely killed that shit. No debate, and don't at me because outside opinions that oppose this idea will be ignored.

That being said, I cannot stress enough how much this game needs to be played. It's so good. It's so funny. It's so sweet. It's so sleek. It's so everything. Like, just play it. You'd be doing yourself a disservice if you didn't. Okay, okay, but that's enough gushing and rambling. Here's a link for when -- not if when, because I demanded it, remember? -- you play the game for yourself, and drop those supportive words of "This game is fire as fuck, dude" and maybe some monetary support if you can.

Anywho, I'm not the dev(s), so my transition to the end won't be as smooth, but I'm going to go ahead and end it here!

As always: Don't forget to drink water, don't be dumb, and hope to see you around~!

A Date with Death

[the-wisteria-house]

The Arrangement (Rengoku x Reader)- Chapter 2

Arranged marriage series

You and Kyojuro have a demon tailing you, but Kyojuro is unsure of its exact location or if it's even just a single demon. He can't risk your safety by prematurely attacking, so he is forced to play the waiting game. Will you make it out unscathed?

Warnings: mentions of Alcoholism,verbal abuse, arranged marriage,and cannon typical violence.

Kyojuro's always been a fighter. He's always stood up for what he believes is right, and while it's brought him great inconveniences at times, he's never once regretted staying true to himself and his mother's wishes. Even then, as he was faced with your unknown foe, the only thing that echoed in his mind was the promise he made to you, and he had every intention of fulfilling it. Even as Kyojuro made the realization that there was more than one demonic presence, his determination wasn't shaken in the slightest. Nothing was going to harm you as long as he still stood.

Kyojuro was on guard, keen senses looking for any sudden shifts in the air. Then he felt it; the figure behind you both was picking up speed, and quickly closing in on you both. The time to attack would be soon, he had to be ready, and he was. As you neared a particularly shaded part of the trail, a figure leaped out at you with an animalistic growl and unquestionable blood lust. Within seconds, Kyojuro had his sword drawn, and he was in position to strike down apone his demonic foe, though things didn't go the way he expected...

"Son of a-" you jumped in surprise as your fist made swift contact with what appeared to be a demon's nose, which released a sickening crunch. The demon hissed as it stumbled back, body colliding with a nearby tree, despratly clutching its now bloodied nose in minor horror, "Y-you bitch, how dare you!?" the demon screeched as a stream of blood escaped in between its long fingers, " I think you broke it! How the hell did such a pathetic small thing like you break my nose!!!"

'Di-did she just punch that demon in the face!?!' Kyojuros' face was stuck in a confused smile before he came to his senses and quickly leapt towards the demon. Ready to finish the job, though this attempt like the last was also interrupted by a yell.

"Rengoku-San, duck!" Kyojuro followed your instructions and narrowly missed what would have surely been a fatal blow to the back of his head.

'So I was right about there being more than one demon, but it seems they have teleportation abilities...' Kyojuro turned to face the second demon who donded a cocky grin, showing off its razor-sharp ivory fangs.

"Oooo, a slayer! This should be interesting." The first demon cackles menacingly before lunging a Kyojuro with inhumane speed. Kyojuro swiftly jumps to the right before bringing his blade down on the fowl creature's neck, severing it as if it were butter.

Kyojuros' attention then turned to the second demon, who seemed angrier at her fallen companions failer than the slayer who had debilitated him, "He was always overconfident! Damn it, why didn't he ever listen!? He's better off dead anyway!" While Kyojuro agreed that the demon was overconfident and foolishly impulsive, he was disgusted that the demons comrade would go as far as to be glade he was slain.

"He was your comrade, and you feel he's better off dead? Despicable, you demons truly have no compassion in your hearts! Even for those of your own kind!" Kyojuro readied his sword before quickly dashing forward with God like speed. You could have sworn you saw flames dance around his blade as he moved, "FIRST FORM: UNKNOWING FIRE!" You were in awn as you watched as he made a horizontal slash aimed at the demon's neck. The demon narrowly missed the powerful assault, jumping away at the last possible moment, though she didn't get away unscathed. Her arm appeared to have been severed and blood gushed from the wound. The demonic woman was less than pleased to say the least, "You damn bastard! Look what you did to my arm! How dare you?!" The blood lust was apparent in how she lunged at Rengoku. Her single arm was stretched out, and razor-sharp claws aimed for his face. Rengoku didn't seem to be phased in the slightest, you didn't know whether to be amazed or horrified at this fact, "SECOND FORM: RISING SCORCHING SUN!" But it seems you had nothing to worry for, as you saw him release an arching vertical slash upwards that decapitated the demon instantly. You found yourself utterly speechless...

"Holy shit- you're a demon slayer?" You looked as if you were a fish out of water. Everything made sense now - his broad, muscular frame, the Katana (which you had no clue how it didn't draw the attention of pedestrians), and so much more. The only thing missing was his uniform.

"Yes, I sure am! I have been for a while now!" His voice boomed out only to be interrupted by an irritated voice.

"Hey you fuckers! Can you shut up? I'm not done disintegrating yet! I don't want the last thing to hear to be you two philandering!" Your eyes go wide as you hear the voice of the woman, not even focusing on her inappropriate comment.

'What the fuuuuuu-' you take a step back, bumping into something warm and firm. That something was Rengoku, not that you cared all that much in at moment you were too busy trying to not lose your crap while listening to her severed head talking.

"Rengoku, why is she still - ya know?" You covered your fear and disgust with a calm exterior as you looked at the man behind you.

"Demons can talk until their mouths are burnt away, but there's no need to worry, she can't cause you any harm from here on, and even if she could I wouldn't allow it." Gone was the booming voice from earlier, and in its place was a calm and comforting voice. If you had any doubts earlier, they dissipated with his assurance. You couldn't help the blush that spread across your face as you looked into his beautiful tricolored eyes. You found yourself wanting to know more about mysterious man.

"We're under an hour from my family estate. If you want, we can take a break once we exit the forest?" Apone feeling his breath on your cheek you came to the realization you were still leaning against him and quickly moved away in embarrassment. Hoping to save yourself from further humiliation, you schooled your expression into one of disinterest and declined his offer, "Thank you for your consideration, but I'll be fine."

Kyojuro nodded in agreement, and so you both continued along the shaded trail. Thankfully, you didn't have any other surprise demon attacks before you made it out of the forest.

"(l/n)-san, if I may ask, how are you familiar with the Demon Slayer corps? Not many people know of its existence." Kyojuro looked at you with curious eyes, and after a moment of contemplation you decided you didn't see the harm in telling him, "My father was a slayer before his death." Kyojuro gave you a sad smile, but unlike others, there didn't seem to be pity behind it, but understandment of some kind.

"I'm sorry to hear about your father. There's always risk of not returning home in our line of work, but you never truly realize how quickly life can be taken away until you lose someone..." You looked at your hands, deliberating how to respond.

"That just makes life more sacred... the idea of growing old and dying... leaving something for the next generation, it's a beautiful thing." You say simply not turning to meet your companion's ruby and golden orbs.

'I hardly know this woman, but something about her is......different?' Kyojuro yurned to know more about you. The way you spoke...was oddly familiar. The DeJa'Vu it brought him was undeniable, but not unwelcomed. You reminded him slightly of someone, but who, he could not place....

"How long have you been in the corps? You said a while back there, right?" You question as he eagerly nodded in conformation.

"Yes, i first joined when I was 14, so almost 6 years, I'd say." He states proudly. "That's a long time for a slayer. You must have skill of the highest caliber." The man only let out a Harty laugh, "Why thank you (l/n)- San, you're too kind!" You couldn't help the smile that broke through your calm facade, and only for a moment, you both forgot you weren't just two young people conversing in the hopes of making a new friend. It was a happy moment, but as soon as it started it ended leaving a bittersweet taste in your mouth because, in the end, no matter how much you wanted to forget, you were betrothed to one another. With this thought in mind, you continued on your way to the Rengoku estate, a heavy weight wearing down apone you.

As Kyojuro promised, it wasn't too long before you reached the estate, and as you stood Infront of the proud entrance into the estate, you tried to fight the anxiousness that constricted itself around you in a vice like death grip.

"My little brother has been looking forward to your arrival! I don't think there's a thing in the estate he hasn't cleaned in preparation." Kyojuro's assurance helped cool your nerves before he pushed open the gate, revealing a young boy who bore a striking resemblance to himself. Said boy quickly set his broom aside before running to meet you both.

"Aniue, I'm glad to see you both had a safe trip! I was worried when I saw it was nearing nighfall and you still hadn't arrived." The young boy let out a sigh of relief as he neared and saw his brother was unscathed.

"Sorry for worrying you, Senjuro. There was a little hiccup on the way here, but we made it before night fall, thankfully!" The boisterous man smiled before stepping aside and jestering to you, "This is (l/n)-San! (L/n)-san, this is my little brother Senjuro, who I was telling you about."

You ignored the young boys' prominent blush at that comment and bowed politely, "It a pleasure to meet you, Rengoku-kun." Senjuro bowed in return before replying, "You can just call me Senjuro if you'd like. I don't mind!"

You smiled at the flustered boy before you, "Well then, I must insist that you call me (y/n)." The boy gave you a perplexed look before responding, "Are you sure that's alright?" You couldn't help but want to laugh at the odd look he was gave you, but fought to maintain a schooled expression, before responding, "Im sure, but of course, you don't have to if it makes you uncomfortable."

Senjuro quickly shook his head side to side, "No, no, I don't mind at all (y/n)-San! I just didn't want you to feel uncomfortable!" He reassured, as his older brother couldn't help but chuckle at the both of you, "Well, now that we have that all sorted out, why don't we all head inside?"

"That's a good idea, brother! I'll make you and (y/n) tea. You both must be tired after all that walking." With that, the three of you made your way into the estate.

"Brother, would you mind showing (y/n) San to her room while I prepare the tea?"

"I don't mind at all, follow me (l/n)- San!" Kyojuro smiled before leading you down a long corridor before stopping in front of a shoji door that had beautiful, but slightly faded Crains painted on it.

"Here's your room! Mine is right across the hall, and Senjuros is the one next to mine to the left. If you have any problems, my door is always open, and I'm sure my little brother feels the same!" You could tell his words were sincere, but that confused you... You wanted to ask why he was being so kind to you? Why wasn't he angry at you? But the words were caught in your throat, and despite every fiber of you wanting to know why he wasn't angry already, you found a different question escaping from your lips.

"Thank you for the hospitality, Rengoku-san. Are there any rules I should know about?" He blinked; expression unreadable as he seemed to contemplate something... He didn't want you to feel trapped or as if you were walking on eggshells during your time there, but he also knew it would be best to warn you of his father's ill temper. He hoped it would help prevent you from ever being on the receiving end of one of his drunken spats, or at least postpone the inevitable. 

"This isn't a rule per say, and I don't want you to be alarmed. This is just something I feel you should know; my father usually likes to nap from 12-3 pm, during that time it's best to try to stay quiet, he can get rather angry if woken up. If you end up accidently waking him up, it's best to avoid angering him any further, so I suggest just staying out of his way." concern shone in his eyes, you knew he was serious.

"Don't worry, my mother was the same way. Your father won't even know I'm here." Your understanment seemed to help calm and reassure the man.

"I'll place my bag inside. I'll join you both in a moment."

"Okay, I'll leave you to it!" Kyojuro responded as he made his way down the hall, leaving you in front of your room.

"Home sweet home." You couldn't help the dry chuckle that escaped you as you turned and slid open the door, reveling your chambers.  The room was rather spacious compared to what you were used to. The exterior wall had shoji paneling along with a sliding door which had what looked like to have once been a beautifully detailed wisteria tree painted on it, now faded due to the sands of time. As you stepped into the room and took a closer look at the mural. You couldn't help but feel saddened at the current state of the painting, but you didn't have long to dwell on the fact. You knew you could only leave the boys waiting for so long without being rude, so you sat your belongings down next to the rolled-up tatami mat in a corner, before exiting the room with one last glance at the mural. 

With Kyojuro

Kyojuro tried to hold back a sigh as he made his way down the corridor, trying to fight off his worries for the future. . . He never pictured that marriage, a family, or even a long life was in the cards for him. He still wasn't sure if it was, or even if he had a right to any one of those things.

"Aniue, you look troubled?" Kyojuro blinked, realizing he made it to the end of the hall, "What's wrong, can I help?" Senjuros' caring words and concerned frown had a soft smile gracing Kyojuro's face.

"You have no need to worry, it's nothing I can't handle. Your big brother is strong and always protects you, right?" Senjuro nodded in agreement before Kyojuro ruffled his hair and made his way around him to sit at the dinner table, missing Senjuros quite voice, "But who will protect you, big brother?" The question went unanswered as the boy's waited a few minutes for you to join them.

"Sorry it took me so long." You apologize as you entered the living space not long after Kyojuro.

"It's no worries at all (y/n)-San! Please join us." Senjuro waved you over in a friendly manor, dawning a shy smile.

"The tea smells delicious, is it Sencha?" You asked curiously as you settled next to the young boy at the chabudai (floor table) taking in the aromic smell of the familiar tea.

"It is! Brother brought it back from his last mission."  you watched as Senjuro poured the colored liquid into each of your cups.

"Would you like sugar (y/n)-San?" the boy offered politely as he lifted the lid on the sugar cube holder, ready and awaiting your response.

"Yes, one or two, please and thank you."

Once he was done serving you, he placed 4 sugar cubes into Rengoku-sans cup unprompted, having you raise your eyebrows slightly. 

"I like mine a little sweet." Kyojuro says with his usual boisterous tone before taking a large gulp and releasing a mighty "TASTY." That had Senjuro chuckling. The microscopic smile that graced your face went unnoticed as you observed the two brothers.

"I'd say that's more than a little sweet Rengoku-san." the truth behind your jest had Senjuro to laughing and his brother joining in after. 

"I suppose you're right (l/n), but can you blame me?! It tastes so much better this way!"

You shook your head exasperated, "I'm inclined to disagree. All you taste is the sugar!"

"I think that's the point (y/n)." Senjuro said with a slight snark as he tried to stifle his giggling.

"My dearest little brother! Now you're ganging up on me, too!" Kyojuro let out a dramatic sigh and looked away feigning hurt, before he found himself laughing along with his brother. 

You found yourself wished you could pause this moment, where the cruelties of the world couldn't touch you, where there was no anger, no sadness, where there was no pain... Only shared joy, between newfound friends, who in that moment forgot why they all were talking in the first place, but alas good things never seem to last long in this cruel world.  

"What the hell is all that racket!"

Hey, guys, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! It's about to get very interesting. Feel free to let me know what you guys think below! Also, I'll be creating a tag list, so just comment below that you want to be added, and I'll make sure to do so. Thanks for reading! (Edited on 8/2/23)

Last part: Chapter 1

Next part: Chapter 3

Tag list

@tengensimppp

[bunnytornado]

Between a Desk and a Hard Place Chapter 2

Cross-posted on Archive of Our Own

Chapter 1 | Chapter 3

“Either you find her, or I do. Asmodeus, this isn’t the time for games. I will not allow for a single living mortal soul to ruin my daughter’s dreams. Once you find her… kill her. Do not allow my daughter to hear of this either,” Lucifer snarled and disconnected. Within a second of hanging up, he slammed the phone down on his desk, rattling the desk and everything on it. “Imbeciles. Like my plate wasn’t already full of the fact I’m now helping Charlie run that stupid hotel. Fucking Hell, a god damn human?!” Lucifer paced in his office, his tail and horns forming and unforming as he tried to reign in his anger. “I’m surrounded by idiots.”

As he crossed back over to his desk, Lucifer plopped into his chair and shoved his face into his hands. “I don’t want to have to kill her…but if I don’t find her first…and word gets out…” The pain of his regret could be heard in his voice. “If anyone but me finds her…That means she would be in a different ring then even the Sinners. Human Souls must stay in the Pride Ring.” Lucifer was now muttering to himself as he started to open drawers and went about locating his magic mirror. Something he made after watching some human movie with his daughter when she was younger. While at the time, it was just meant to be a toy for his daughter, it had proven useful over the years.

Lucifer stood up and walked over to his giant paned window. Focusing his magic, the golden swirl of it flowed around him. Soon, it flew up into the air and then dove down into the mirror. The mirror shined bright for a second and then shimmered. Soon it showed a young woman, with blonde hair and blue-grey eyes, hiding under… a familiar looking desk. A smirk formed on Lucifer’s face as he turned to look at his desk. Who would have thought the human was closer than he could have ever dreamed.

Without a word, he walked back to his desk and placed the mirror down softly. “Mirror Mirror…On the wall…Where has that human gone?” He said mockingly, his tone full of mirth and delight. “Is she walking along the beaches of Envy? Partying with Gluttons? Or…is she,” Lucifer trailed off and within a second, he used his magic to rip the human from her hiding spot under his desk, ignoring the cry that flew from her lips. “…Amongst the Prideful,” he purred as the human now hovered in front of him.

He cupped her chin and gave a wicked grin, tilting his head. “Well now… I suppose it’s not every day I find a young soul hiding where they don’t belong. You’re a long way from home little rabbit,” Lucifer said and with a wave of his hand, she was forced to sit on his couch. “Now. Why don’t we discuss your situation?”

The human’s eyes were wide with fear, and she trembled adorably. It almost broke his resolve to play the benevolent and cruel ruler of Hell. She was a human though, he had to keep her in line somehow. Further, she had been in his office. Who knows how long she had been there or what she had found.

He snapped his fingers and summoned up a decanter and a couple of glasses with ice in them on to his desk. As he poured them both a glass of whiskey, his eyes never left hers. “So…Little Bunny. Why don’t we start with your name?”

A gulp came from the human as she shook her head. Her ample bosom rose and failed rapidly, much like one would expect that of prey once it was caught. “C-Christine,” the human, Christine, whimpered out and as Lucifer walked closer with the whiskey, pressed herself further into the couch.

“Now, now. I haven’t hurt you yet? Have I little rabbit? It’s a pleasure to meet you, Christine. Not many mortals make it into Hell alive, even fewer can traverse from one ring to another as unscathed as you,” Lucifer said and winked. “Seems divinity has smiled on you a tad?”

Placing the whiskey down on a coaster that sat upon the coffee table, Lucifer nudged it towards her. “Please feel free to indulge. It’s an old favorite of mine.” He grinned at her and tilted his head, part of him feeling remorse for the fact she cowered more. Right, he had sharp teeth. That would terrify any mortal. He supposed he did have the characteristics of a predator.

“Look. While I can not promise for the future, for now I am not going to harm you. In fact, I might even wish to assist you if we can…find some common ground,” Lucifer offered and his chair slid across the floor, powered by his magic. He sat in it and tilted his head curiously at the human.

He smiled softly as the human took a small sip of the offered whiskey. A laugh bubbled at her face as she sipped it. “Not a fan of whiskey I take it?”

“I-I normally don’t drink it straight…I’m more of a cocktail, mead, or wine kind of person,” his little rabbit said quietly. “I-It’s not bad though!”

“Would you prefer I gave you one of those instead?” When she nodded, Lucifer snapped his fingers and the whiskey glass turned into a glass of his favorite wine. “There you go. This is a Conti Grand Cru, from around…I think 1945...?”

His eyes narrowed and a purr came from him as he watched her sip it. The purr grew louder as he watched her eyes perk and a sparkle form. “Well now, that seems to be more to your liking little rabbit.”

“It is! It’s good. I never had wine like this before,” Christine admitted and sipped more. “I didn’t know wine could be good after being that old.”

“Ah but for a lot of things, age is but just another word for wisdom and experience. For good wine, it makes it better,” Lucifer said and swirled his glass of whiskey. “Now…Why don’t you start informing me of how you got to Hell. Then, tell me about your travels. Then for the finishing touch of your story…inform me of how such a sweet and innocent soul ends up under my desk. Don’t leave any details out. I want to hear everything. Then from there I can plan how to punish you and then what our next steps will be. Little Bunny, I do hope you do not tell lies or attempt to hide anything from me.”

He leaned back in his chair and watched the human wiggle in the chair and try to get comfortable. A smile split across his face as he tilted his head. She really did remind him of a little rabbit. Even if her name was Christine, from now on to him…she would be Bunny. He wondered if she tasted as rabbits did.

However now was not the time for such thoughts. Now was the time to focus on her and her story. Her own little Dante’s Inferno. However, she would not be working her way through purgatory or paradise. No, she was going to be stuck here in the inferno. Where in the fiery pit, he was unsure of. But he knew she would be residing here for the rest of her days.

Lucifer wanted to be merciful to the innocent human. But even he knew there as times that it would not do well to give any respite for a sinner. Her story, honesty, and actions would tell him the best method to handle his guest. After, he would act accordingly and treat the situation as it should be. Either way, Lucifer knew that he was in for a treat.

[ff7-has-taken-me-over]

Imagine if Soap was really flexible or just able to perform graceful gymnastics in training and in the battlefield.

Like, it's not obvious because of his build, but when he does it, it just leaves you with your mouth open for a while. Some recruit just witnessing Soap do the splits and then just unable to stop staring.

Mix this in with his simps and boom, disaster (ig).

I actually wrote a thing like this ages ago but I don’t think I ever posted it. Anyway! I didn’t realise I had this, so sorry for the late ass reply.

But I can legit see Soap doing stretches and yoga and shit in the gym (cause you can’t stay flexible if you don’t work the muscles) and everyone who comes in sees him in increasingly ridiculous poses that take a crazy amount of flexibility to pull off.

Some are amazed, others are just in awe and then there’s the handful who see it and near immediately drop dead from the images and thoughts now ravaging their minds.

Like Gaz is one of the ones that’s just pure amazed and tries to get Soap to help him out with his own flexibility. He’s not nearly as crazy with it as the Scot but he’s gotten pretty good and he can proudly say he’s used it to his advantage more than once.

Price is a mix of amazed and exasperated cause he knows for damn sure the man doesn’t need to be posed like that for stretching out his legs but it’s still interesting to see. Plus its mildly amusing when the rest of the squad come in.

Rudy blushes like ten shades of red and nearly trips on his treadmill when Soap bends perfectly in half at the waist, holding the backs of his calves for a moment before slowly standing up, smiling in what Rudy swears to the fuckin gods is smug arousal.

Alejandro nearly drops a weight on his foot when the Scot sits across from him on the ground, splits his legs wide and leans forward till his chest touches the ground, arms spread in front of him and hand coming up in a small wave as he winks.

König doesn’t even make it into the gym to witness the full glory of Soap’s flexibility I reckon. He sees the man playing limbo in the common rooms with some recruits and just about dies of heatstroke under his hood when the man makes it the lowest out of everyone.

Ghost keeps it together best (obviously) but there’s no denying the way his eyes linger and trail when Soap is doing his stretches. The Brit gets especially worked up when the Scot does the ones that require some serious strength in the core or arms. The one time Soap went from a plank into a handstand, slowly and with precision, Ghost actually whipped himself in the legs with the skipping rope he was using.

He denied it ever happening and promised bloody murder on Gaz if he ever saw the video of it anywhere other than on his phone but with the way Soap smiled at him with that shit eating little grin of his he doesn’t think he escaped fully unscathed.