#OH I AM FEELING SOME KIND OF WAY ABOUT THIS
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"I don't understand. Why isn't he getting up?"
"Wh- you killed him!"
"Don't be silly, death isn't real."
"You cast Finger of Death!"
"I cast Lightning Bolt too; they name spells after fake shit all the time."
"Lightning is real too!!"
"Oh come on. Next you'll be telling me color is a thing."
"...have you ever actually been outside this cavern?"
"What's a cavern?"
"It's where we are right now!"
"Odd name for it, but yes, of course I have. Been this way, that way, through there is a lovely group of giant spiders..."
"We, ah. Might have killed those on our way here."
"Don't be silly, death isn't real."
"...right. Where do you think we came from?"
"Eh, somewhere. Weird shit shows up all the time."
"I-"
"Oh! Your friend there startled me and it totally slipped my mind; would you care for some tea? I don't drink it myself, but I keep some on hand for guests."
"...okay, listen. These are the Caverns of Chaos. Everything in here is self-replenishing. The prevailing theory was that they existed to protect a central chamber. We've spent weeks down here slogging through unimaginable horrors to make it there and you're going to, what, play dumb?"
"Okay now you're just being rude. I am not dumb! There might not be much to do around here, but I do my best to keep my mind sharp. I'd like to see you figure out as much as I have about the ever-shifting layout of the world!"
"We did! That's how we got here! Have you never tried scrying the outside?"
"Scrying spells are some sort of prank, best I can tell; they never seem to do anything except give me a headache."
"Cast one up."
"I don't really want to give myself a-"
"Just do it! At least 2000 meters."
"Alright, but I don't see...what..."
"..."
"...colors?"
"Yeah, the whole dungeon is monochrome for some reason, we think-"
"Lightning?"
"Well, if there's a storm, I suppose-"
"Death?"
"...death?"
"There's...more like your friend."
"What do you mean-"
"Why aren't they moving?"
"I don't-"
"I'm moving. I can move. See? They look like me. Why aren't they moving?"
"They're- there are skeletons? We just came from-"
"Am I going to stop moving?"
"No, you-"
"Why isn't your friend moving?"
"..."
"...he's...'dead'. Isn't he. I 'killed' him."
"...listen, just calm down, we can-"
"Oh, yes, of course! I could never figure out what these spells for making 'un-dead' were for, but they must be for fixing this! I'll just-"
"NO!"
"But he's-"
"We're handling it!"
"No you're not! Whatever you're doing, it's not working."
"How can you-"
"You're trying to draw power from something that's not there. I've done it a few times, don't feel bad, it's a common mistake."
"I'm drawing power from my goddess! There's no way she's..."
"What is a goddess? Is it that little symbol you're carrying around? It doesn't seem to have any power in it."
"...it...why can't I feel her?"
"Just let me do it, I can-"
"We're not letting you turn Steve into some kind of undead abomination!"
"Wh- but he wasn't dead before!"
"He was alive, you stupid thing!"
"Right, not dead. Un-dead. I'll just make him un-dead again and then we can..."
"Why has she forsaken me?"
"We can..."
"Why won't she answer??"
"Color...lightning...death..."
audible weeping
"They're like me...why aren't they moving?"
"It's probably just the Caves messing with the divine connection, we should-"
"Should I not be moving?"
extended wailing
"Is un-dead not like 'alive'?"
"Listen, I know we didn't have this problem before, but-"
"Is there something wrong with being un-dead?"
"OF COURSE THERE IS, YOU STUPID UNDEAD THING! STEVE IS DEAD, THE GODDESS WON'T LISTEN TO ME, AND YOU'RE JUST...just..."
"...just what?"
"..."
"What am I?"
"..."
"WHAT AM I???"
the cavern shakes
"Listen, just calm down, we'll-"
"Why is he dead? Why are they all dead?"
"All wh-"
"The ones you made me scry on!"
"Oh my god, we forgot about-"
"Why aren't they moving??"
"We don't know! What else did you see?"
"Colors, lightning, death..."
"What else??"
"Colors, lightning, death..."
the lich collapses into a fetal position, rocking back and forth
"Listen, this is important, you need to-"
someone attempts to shake the lich. A sudden pulse of darkness slams them into the opposite wall.
"Colors, lightning, death..."
"Just calm down, we can-"
"GODDESS? WHERE ARE YOU??"
"Colors, lightning, death..."
the party leader buries her face in her hands. The healer weeps and wails. The lich, seemingly catatonic, continues mumbling to himself. This goes on for a while.
"..."
"Right. Okay. That's enough of this. We're taking Steve's body and leaving. We wouldn't have a chance against a lich in this state anyway. Keep trying to revive him as we go, we'll-"
"...lich?"
"Yes, yes, you don't know anything about anything, it's very funny, har har, we're done here. Go back to giving yourself headaches or whatever it is you do all day."
"I'm coming with you."
"...what?"
"You know what I am. You know about places that aren't 'caverns'. You know about colors, lightning, and death. I need to come with you."
"No offence, buddy, but you don't exactly seem like adventuring material."
"Please! Don't you need to find out why all those people are...'dead'? I can speak with dead, I guess, if it's a real thing."
"..."
"We are not taking this THING that killed Steve with us!"
"...we probably are going to need help with whatever is going on up there."
"He might be lying!"
the party leader gestures at the utterly guileless lich. The healer turns away.
"...fine."
"Thank you."
"Just...keep him away from me."
The party improvises a stretcher as the lich gathers up his meager possessions. A thick silence reigns as the group shuffles out the only exit, the lich awkwardly following at a distance.
"Wait, I forgot my maps-"
"We'll be fine. Just stay back there, okay? You've caused enough trouble for one day."
Nodding hesitantly, the lich steps over the threshold, leaving his cavern for the last time.
It turns out that the lich the adventurers had been hired to slay had never actually killed anyone before until the impulsive paladin of the group swung first. Now, as the healer tries to revive them, the rest have to calm the ancient undead mage down from what is undeniably a panic attack.
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Hi! Thank you so much for your beautiful work!! I hope it’s okay to make a silly little request
So I’m in my 20s (late 20s I might add) but I’ve never ever even kissed anyone yet and I kinda really want to so… Would you consider writing modern au!Viktor with a virgin!f!reader? Something about a first kiss or maybe having sex for the first time or first relationship..? Anything first in general 👉👈
Anon, I am beating my chest that it took so long and hope that you will get a notification that it is published (I sometimes don't when I ask anon questions). I was a late bloomer myself and it has some massive advantages. Though I hope you get to kiss someone nice soon!
First Rites
viktorxfemale!virgin!reader mature, kissing and making out :)
author’s note: Nothing smart to say here, really, other than I will probably write a part two of this :') @rennethen beta read!
word count: 1,8K
—
Your eyes sweep over Jayce’s tongue on Mel’s before you catch yourself staring. And even that doesn’t stop you. You analyse the movement of their hands, the way Jayce’s hips press into Mel’s, memorising all the smacking sounds they try to muffle into gentle giggles, hoping that you and Viktor are doing a decent job of not looking. When in reality, it’s the exact opposite.
It always goes the same way: the clack of heels echoing through the corridor outside the lab already has Jayce perking up. He grunts, clears his throat, and gets up slowly to avoid raised eyebrows and Viktor stating the obvious, like, “I guess this means you’re off for the day?”
Then, Jayce gives an apologetic smile and strolls toward the door, opening it before Mel can even knock. He exchanges a shy, stupid, cheek-reddened “Hi” for her sultry, thick “Hi yourself.” Their greetings die somewhere in their mouths when their lips meet in a first hello kiss. That one doesn’t last very long—soon, it shifts into an I missed you kiss. That lingers before melting into an I want you kiss or an I’d rather eat you than dinner kiss. And those are your favourites.
Even when you try very hard not to imagine what kind of kiss might follow that, you can’t help yourself. You end up blushed and flustered, your mind spinning with curiosity.
So you stare—impolitely, some might say—but for you, it’s research. You study and memorise, committing their courtship to memory so you can replay the scene later, your fingers wandering over your own lips as you imagine what it would be like. To have someone’s lips on yours, someone’s tongue in your mouth. It doesn’t sound all that appealing or hygienic, but it looks fantastic. It makes you feel a very much welcomed weirdness in your chest and belly, and having nothing else to supplement those feelings with, you just outright stare.
“It’s quite rude, if you ask me,” Viktor’s voice cuts through your thoughts just as Mel lets out a small, startled sound at Jayce’s hand cradling the back of her neck.
“Uh, I know. They should take it somewhere else, really,” you whisper back, but your tone is far from condemning. You say it absentmindedly, your eyes still glued to their mouths, chin propped on your hand, your scribbling abandoned the moment Jayce stood up.
“I meant your intense staring. But yes, such activities should be performed outside of work areas,” Viktor mumbles, not looking up from his notes.
Your blush deepens into an intense red hue as you finally look away and cover your face with your hand.
“Oh, I um… I didn’t mean to, it’s just—”
“All right, we’re off! Don’t work too hard while I’m gone!” Jayce’s beaming laughter cuts you off. Before you or Viktor can reply with a snarky comment, he sweeps Mel by the waist, and they disappear into the hallway. The sound of Mel’s giggle and the uneven click of her heels on the stone floors make you wonder if Jayce is kissing her neck or pressing her against a wall.
“It’s just?” Viktor insists, finally looking at you, his face forming an unamused expression.
“Nothing. It’s just nothing,” you respond quickly, picking up your pen with a shaky hand. You force yourself back to scribbling, even though your handwriting comes out ragged, suffering from both the excitement and the fear of Viktor’s prying eyes. But you do it anyway, desperate for any kind of shield.
“It does not look like nothing,” Viktor pushes, rotating in his chair to face you fully. You deepen your hunch, almost pressing your nose into the paper. How mortifying.
“I understand the concept of unrequited attraction, but you should really do yourself a favour and quit this self-flagellating practice of ogling every time Mel picks him up. It doesn’t lead to anything beneficial and impacts your focus,” Viktor drones, his nasal tone close to scolding.
You feel so scrutinised that you don’t even bother to correct his misunderstanding of your habit. You just sigh and continue your fake note taking.
“Trust me, I would know,” Viktor adds.
That catches your attention. How would he know anything about what you’re going through?
“Whatever do you mean by that?” you ask, keeping your face turned toward your notes, though your eyes wander to glance at him. He looks… unhappy? Mildly irritated? Annoyed at your lack of shame and focus?
“I am merely stating that lusting after someone out of reach is, at best, futile and, at worst, a path to ruin. For your own good, I would refrain from such practices,” Viktor says quietly.
You blink a few times as the words settle in your mind. He thinks I’m in love with Jayce? Lusting after him? It’s almost funny when you think that what you’ve been doing is in fact, just lusting.
“I can assure you, I am not attracted to Jayce. Or Mel, for that matter. I just—”
“Oh?” Viktor’s head snaps up so fast it surprises even him. He internally scolds himself for the involuntary reaction, but the undeniable punch of hope makes him lose control of his body for a moment. His pupils are wide, his brows lifted all the way to his forehead. “You’re not?”
“Uh, no,” you sigh, finally turning to face him properly. Your head dips as embarrassment weighs you down, but maybe admitting it will make it easier to carry. “I’m just… collecting research. For whenever I’ll have the opportunity. If ever. I mean, it’s not like I’ve ever—”
“What?” Viktor’s voice comes out too sharp. Shit. He scowls at himself—internally, of course—for how poorly he masked his shock. Way to be sensitive.
You wince, sinking deeper into yourself.
“Oh. Forgive me. I didn’t mean to… offend you,” he says carefully, trying not to sound too excited. His hand hovers over your knee while he calculates whether it would be proper to comfort you with a gentle touch. If you would like that. If you would like him to touch you.
But before he can decide, you turn back to your side of the desk, avoiding his gaze. “I’m not that easy to offend. It’s just not something I’m comfortable with. I’m a bit… too old for that, you know.”
And as if having a mild upper hand in this situation pumps Viktor with extra courage, he twists your chair back and rolls it close to his, until the sides of your thighs touch. “I didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable, then. I actually mean for the opposite of that,” he breathes and allows himself to glance over your lips, briefly. But you notice.
“Viktor?” you whisper, feeling an invisible force pulling you closer to his face. His arm extends over your legs, gripping the edge of your seat, and you feel the mild heat radiating off his body. You can smell his scent lingering in the space between you as you indulge in small glances at his eyes and lips.
“If you allow me, I could provide you with… some hands-on experience. Unless, of course, I am not��”
“Yes,” you answer quickly, and Viktor exhales into a relieved smile. He mumbles an “okay,” as if bracing himself, and closes the little distance left between you. His mouth presses against yours almost innocently as he takes your upper lip between his. His lips are soft and warm. It’s a long, lingering peck that has your eyes fluttering shut and a pool of heat blooming in your belly. You find yourself leaning into the kiss, your hips on the edge of the chair, to the point that your chests almost press against each other.
When he disconnects from you, it’s only to breathe against your mouth, “Is this alright?”
“Yes,” you say shakily, your lips brushing his. You open your eyes only to see a pretty pink blush splattered across his cheeks and ears. A smile tugs at the corner of his mouth when he asks, “Would you like me to continue?”
“Please, continue,” you exhale, and something glints in Viktor’s eyes. Emboldened by your enthusiasm, he slides the hand gripping the stool to the back of your seat, pulling you closer until you can almost feel the flutter of his heart against yours as your chests meet. His other hand cradles the back of your neck, and oh, it’s the same gesture Jayce granted Mel that you’ve longed for so dearly, and you feel your skin prickling under Viktor’s touch.
His mouth is back on yours, this time the press is firmer, as he parts your lips with his tongue and—oh. Just oh, as your eyebrows knit together and the warmest of feelings floods your chest, making your hands jolt out to fist his vest, and you sigh the sweetest of sounds into his mouth. And he doesn’t stop there—the hand from the chair slides up your side, rests on your ribcage, fingers digging in when he—oh—also makes a sound. The hottest of sounds, a honey-dripping moan that makes you bite his lower lip, craving to eat him up with a long spoon.
And when he loses himself a bit—grunts and sighs into you, his hands wandering to rest at the base of your spine and cradle your cheek in a firm grip—you don’t even know how it happens, but you slide your hips to straddle his and press yourself down on him. To your delight, he has many more of those pretty sounds, some even forming something close to your name, making you melt into his arms.
When he pulls away, it’s only for an inch. “Oh, my,” Viktor mutters, rubbing his face against yours and kissing your neck. You like that too, but you already miss his hot tongue in your mouth. “A natural talent, I see,” he chuckles, and you blush even more at the thought of what he would say if he knew how much practice you’ve done on the crook of your fist alone in your room.
He looks up at you, all flustered and pretty, swiping his thumb across your glistening lip. He doesn’t know what’s come over him when he says, “If you wish to explore this further, I can offer my… expertise.” What he wants to say is that he’s been thinking about this too many times to count, leaving him flustered and pretty countless times before, but he doesn’t want to scare you away. So he just keeps looking at you expectantly, willing his mouth to shut.
“I would like that,” you mutter shyly, noticing how Viktor’s chest sags with relief. To think that he was there, willing and within your reach all this time makes you feel silly for all those times you stared at Jayce and Mel longingly. And you’re convinced you’ll continue to watch them—not with longing, but with anticipation for when they finally stroll off to their date, so you can sink your lips onto Viktor’s.
#viktor arcane#viktor x reader#viktor fanfic#viktor x f!reader#arcane#arcane fanfic#my writing#ao3#ao3 fanfic#viktor x oc#viktor nation#viktor fluff#viktor x reader fluff#requests#viktor x female reader
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could u maybe do like mutual virginity loss with player 125? like both of them r so shy and awkward,, i think it would be adorable.,.
So Anxious (Park Min-su/Player 125 X F! Reader SMUT)
warning: smut, no way | not proofread | lowercase intended | sub x sub | virginity loss | riding | this is my interpretation of this character, please be respectful even if my opinions of the character differ from your own
character: park min-su (player 125)
A/N: decided to make this one an out of the games kinda post! i absolutely adore the idea of the reader being just as shy and nervous about the whole ordeal as min-su, thank you for the cute request! hope you enjoy :)
MDNI! 18+ content beneath the cut, reader’s discretion is advised
➤ since you were both serious about having you first be with someone special, you guys definitely tried to talk it out beforehand. but you both ended up becoming too flustered to really continue.
“how are we gonna be able to do it if we can’t even talk about it?”
“i don’t know…i still want to though..”
➤ when you guys eventually decided to get to it, you initiated the kiss but pulled away almost immediately, covering your face sheepishly.
“sorry! am i moving too fast?”
“n-not at all!” (he was definitely blushing himself, conflicted whether or not to hide the tent in his pants considering what you two were trying to do here)
➤ at first, you guys tried making out in the typical position— you being underneath him. but, you could tell min-su wasn’t exactly confident like this, so you guys switched up to where you would be straddling him. this drove him nuts of course
➤ once you guys got into the groove of things, your nerves began to calm. sure you were both shaking, but it had a bit more to do with the sheer anticipation now coursing through your bodies each time your lips met. it wasn’t made any better when min-su eventually snuck his hands up your shirt, caressing your bare back with his cold palms. the noise you made startled him, which you felt bad for
“oh, i’m sorry.. was that too much?”
“no! no, your hands are just c-cold.. that’s all..”
“ah, did you want me to stop or-“
you shake your head “feels nice, don’t stop on my account.”
➤ you’re unsure if you should at first, but you start to grind on him, drawing a unexpected moan from beneath the kiss you were currently sharing. you broke the kiss as you started to subconsciously grind harder, avoiding eye contact out of embarrassment at the expression that must have been painting your face just then. you could tell min-su was repressing his voice just as much as you were your own— you were both positively petrified to make any sound at all, in fact. but, some stifled moans made their way past as he shifted his grasp from your back to your hips.
➤ when you guys actually ended up having sex, it was a swift matter for both parties. i mean, let’s be real here. you were both completely inexperienced virgins, you couldn’t be surprised that you guys both wound up cumming fast. however swift it may have been, you enjoyed it nonetheless. he wasn’t too big, so it didn’t hurt too badly, but it was enough to make you feel better than your fingers ever could.
➤ oh yeah, and you guys could forget about masking those moans of yours any longer. the moment you sank down onto his dick, min-su was a goner. you had never heard him make such a sound in all your life, and you even asked him if he was alright initially. sure, you may not have been so vocal at first contact, but as soon as you started moving that completely turned on its head.
➤ after the fact, you both just kind of laid there next to one another. silent. come on, you had just changed the trajectory of your friendship forever, that was a lot to process. after a moment though, you both found that neither of you could wipe those stupid grins off your faces. you had just changed the entire path of your friendship, forever. and you were both okay with that
AAAA thank you so much for this adorable request! i absolutely loved writing some soft smut, however short it may have been :) thanks for reading again, and i’ll see you on the next one!
as always, any advice/constructive criticism on how to improve my writing is appreciated and requested! have a fantastic day/night lovelies 💋💋
tags: @gongyoosgf @strangelife122 @agorsnotworld @luvlyfandoms @putrescentpoet
#squid game 2#squid game#fanfiction#squid game smut#squid game x reader#x reader fanfiction#imagines#player 125 x reader#min su x reader#player 125#x reader smut
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This honestly might be a downer or stupid, but I just got fired and I am having a really hard time. I just want to bury my head in Stan's chest and sob. I was wondering if you could write how the Stan and Ford might react to the reader being suddenly fired and maybe how they'd comfort them? I'm also really excited for the next chapter of your fic!
✧˚⋆ Stan & Ford supporting you when you need it most ⋆。♡˚
oh sweetheart, im so sorry ur going through this, holy shit. just the moment i received this ask, i knew i had to write smth when ill get free time today, because i feel so sorry for you. i hope these two old men gave u even a tiny bit of comfort, please be kind to urself right now, youre gonna get through this, i promise. sending u all my love !! stay strong please 🫂🫂
STANLEY
![Tumblr media](https://64.media.tumblr.com/6fac9d256e77a3492987419e31bb2ecd/3196edffa70db260-f8/s540x810/3176347ca1a699d791caf89810fd4f235fc6f72b.jpg)
the thing about Stan is that he gets it. he gets the feeling of being chewed up and spat out, of having doors slam in your face, of working your ass off and still being told you’re not enough. he gets the quiet humiliation, the bitterness in the back of your throat, the way your hands shake when you try to act like it doesn’t matterm
you don’t even remember how you got here. your feet must’ve carried you through the streets, past strangers whose lives weren’t just ruined, past cars honking, past buildings that still stood while the whole world inside you had collapsed.
“hey, hey. what the hell, sweetheart, breathe, alright? you’re okay, you’re right here.” his rough but worried voice reaches you when you slam mystery shack's door open, standing in the doorway with shaking hands, red-eyed.
“i got fired, Stan. j-just gone, outta nowhere. i don’t know what to do, Stan, im so lost.” your throat burns
before you can say anything else, he's opening his arms. “c'mere.” and you don't even hesitate as you crash into him like a wave, burying your face in his chest. and he holds you, one big arm wrapping around your back, the other hand coming up to cradle the back of your head
“there we go. you don’t gotta keep it all in, sweetheart.” the words hit you harder than you expect. you're so used to holding it together, to swallowing everything down, to being strong. and Stan, who’s built himself up from nothing, who’s taken every punch life threw at him and still kept standing, he’s telling you it’s okay to break.
so you do. you bury your face in his chest and cry until you’re dizzy, until your breath stutters and shakes, until all the anger and hurt and fear bleed out of you. Stanley doesn’t rush you or tell you to stop. “let it out, sweetie, s’gonna be okay.” he holds you close tightly because he’s spent his whole life holding people who needed it more than he did.
“it’s not fair,” you gasp, clutching on his clothes.
“no, it ain’t.”
“i worked so hard.”
“i know.”
“i feel like—like nothing i do is enough—”
Stan tightens his hold, pressing his chin to the top of your head. “hey. you listen to me.” his voice turns serious. “some suit in an office makin’ a crap decision got nothing to do with who you are. they're dumb. absolute morons for lettin’ you go. betcha the whole place is gonna fall apart without you because you were the best thing about that shithole. if they couldn’t see that, then screw ‘em. they lost you. not the other way around.”
you shake your head, clenching your fists. “but—“
“no buts,” he growls and then, softer: “you're not trash just ‘cause some idiots don’t know how to treat their workers. you're not worthless just ‘cause some suits decided you were expendable. you are not nothing.”
Stan pulls back to tip your chin up, making sure you’re listening. his thumb wipes a tear off your cheek. “i mean, you still got me, sweetheart. ain’t no job in the world that could change that.” he smiles genuinely at you.
you close your eyes, giving him a tiny sad smile back. you let yourself breathe, let yourself believe it, hiding your face in his chest again. Stan's grip stays strong and unshaking, shielding you from the whole world as you cry until you’re too tired, so all what you do is sob into his chest. you’re just leaning into him, exhausted, letting him hold you up.
Stan sighs, resting his cheek against your hair. “ya ever heard the story of the biggest screw-up in New Jersey?”
you sniffle. “what?”
”lemme tell ya, kid grows up in a house that don’t want him. gets kicked out. loses every job he ever had. ends up in a broken-down shack in the middle of nowhere. total loser.”
you shift against him. “Stan—“
“but he keeps goin’. and somehow, somehow, that dumbass loser ends up with people who love him. ends up holdin’ someone who needs it. ends up tellin’ the best damn person he’s ever met that they’re gonna be okay.”
he lets you lean into him again, lets you breathe him in, lets you stay as long as you need. tells you stories about all the bosses he’s scammed just to make you laugh.
at some point, when the tears have slowed and the weight in your chest isn’t crushing anymore, Stan ruffles your hair and leans back, arms crossed.
“y’know, i could use an extra set of hands around the shack.“
you blink up at him, sniffing. “what? you. . .you want me to work here?”
“yeah, id rather have someone i actually like workin’ here instead of hiring some random kid who’s just gonna rob me blind.” his usual gruff tone is back, but his gaze is what speaks louder, soft and certain, making it obvious that you belong here.
you open your mouth, but he cuts in, pointing a finger at you. “and before ya say some crap about not bein’ good enough or whatever, shut up. i’m the boss, i decide who’s good enough, and i say it’s you.”
you let out a shaky laugh, wiping your nose. “wow, such a heartfelt offer.”
he smirks. “hey, that’s as heartfelt as it gets, sweetheart. but seriously. think about it, okay? i got a spot for ya.” Stanley is not just offering a job for you, he’s offering a place, a place where you’re wanted, where you’re needed, where you don’t have to prove yourself to anyone.
you take a deep breath, feeling lighter for the first time all day. “yeah. yeah, i’ll think about it.”
“good,” Stan smiles and ruffles your hair again. “now, wanna eat somethin’? watch a dumb movie? beat me at cards? or you want me to egg their car?” about the last thing, he's joking, probably. but if you say yes, you know he’ll do it.
STANFORD
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Ford finds you sitting at the kitchen table, arms crossed on the surface, face buried in them. you haven’t moved and spoken in a while, just sat there, motionless, like a puppet with the strings cut.
he clears his throat, stepping closer. “i, ah. noticed you didn’t come in for dinner.”
you don’t respond. his brows knit together, concern creasing his forehead. he takes the seat across from you, folding his hands on the table. “would you like to talk about it?”
for a moment, nothing. then, muffled: “i got fired.” slips from your mouth. so that's what happened. Ford doesn’t say oh. doesn’t say im sorry. doesn’t say what happened? he understands you because Ford Pines knows what it is to be discarded. he knows what it is to dedicate yourself to something, only to be told you are wrong. to be shoved out, unmoored, drifting in the space between who you thought you were and who they’ve decided you are now.
he knows what it is to look down at his hands and wonder if they are still meant to build something. after being betrayed.
he frowns thoughtfully. “that was. . . rather sudden, wasn’t it?”
you nod weakly. Ford exhales through his nose, gaze sharpening, analyzing. you. your sadness. the whole situation.
“it must feel unfair.“ he doesn’t just acknowledge the loss, but the injustice of it. and it makes your throat close up.
you lift your head slightly, looking at his face. “it- it is. i tried so hard. i put so much effort into that stupid job, and now it’s just—just gone.”
Ford hums. “tell me something.” he leans forward, putting elbows on the table. “do you think your value was in the work you did?”
you blink at him, but he doesn't even let you answer. “because if that were the case, then the moment you lost that job, you would have lost all worth as a person. but that’s not true, is it?” his voice is always so calm, full of absolute certainty.
you shake your head slowly, unsurely and Ford nods, satisfied. then, after a brief pause, he stands. “wait here” you don’t have the energy to question him. you just sit, staring blankly at the tabletop, until he returns a moment later with a notebook and pen.
he places them in front of you.
you glance up, confused. “what’s this for?”
Ford takes his seat again, tapping a finger against the cover. “do me a favor, darling. write down five things about yourself that have nothing to do with your job.”
your face looks tired and skeptical. you stare at the paper. “Ford, i—“
“anything,” he says softly, smiling at you. “everything. what you love. what you’re good at. what excites you, what makes you feel something. what matters to you.”
your fingers tighten around the pen. at first, you don’t know where to start. but Ford doesn’t rush you, just patiently sits beside you.
so you write. you write about the things that make you you. and at first, it feels stupid and awkward. it starts small, your favorite books, your favorite songs, the way you love thunderstorms, the way you always make extra coffee just in case someone else wants some.
but then it gets bigger. the things you’ve created. the things you’ve learned. the times you were kind when no one was looking. the people who love you, who see you. the way you keep going, even when it’s hard
Ford watches as you write, nodding approvingly at each entry.
“now tell me: did losing your job take any of that away?”
you stare at the words. the little pieces of yourself you hadn’t even thought about in the wake of everything. softly, you shake your head
Ford’s expression gentles. “then you’re still you. and you’re still worth just as much as you were yesterday. because no job, no institution, no single event defines you.” you swallow hard. Fords voice drops lower. “you are more than what you do, more than what you produce, more than what some company decides you’re worth. you are your thoughts. your curiosity. your kindness.” he gestures to the list. “you are all of this and nothing can take that from you.”
your breath wobbles. Ford’s gaze softens further. “come here, sweetheart.“ you hesitate but only for a second, then stand and he meets you halfway, arms wrapping around you. and Ford isn’t Stanley, isn’t someone used to giving big, open, thoughtless affection. but what he lacks in ease, he makes up for in intent.
because he means this. his big hand moves up and down your back slowly. “you’re not alone in this,” he murmurs into your hair. “we’ll figure something out. and until then. . . you are still extraordinary.“ his voice is so certain, and suddenly you don’t feel quite as lost.
“th-thank you” you bury your face in his sweater, hands gripping his sleeves
“and don’t let anyone ever tell you you aren’t smart or brave or worthy enough.”
you stay there a while. until Ford gives your shoulder one last squeeze and pulls back, adjusting his glasses. “now. i assume you haven’t eaten?”
you smile at him, shaking your head. “no, wasn't in the mood.“
“come, sweetheart, let’s fix that.”
#gravity falls#gravity falls x reader#gravity falls x you#x reader#ford pines x reader#stanford pines#stan pines x reader#grunkle stan#stanley pines x you#stanley pines x reader#stanford pines x you#stanford pines x reader#stan pines smut#ford pines smut#stanley pines#stanford pines headcanons#gravity falls fanfiction#stan pines x you#ford pines x you
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Yan-Poll #31
[Continuation of Poll #24]
"I'm home!"
Your captor's voice sounded unusually chipper after a long day at work. Taking a sip from your cup of tea, you barely hummed in acknowledgment, despite knowing that the peace and quiet you had enjoyed reading your book would be over now. Now, it was time for the usual song and dance, where they'd do their best to make you show them any kind of affection and attention while you simply tried to ignore them without pushing your luck.
The shuffling in the hallway went on for a while as they took off their coat, but instead of coming to see you right away, you heard their footsteps reach an abrupt stop—and you could guess why. You had left everything like it was before for them to find. The computer on standby, the lights in your captor's office out, and the door slightly ajar. It was only a question of who-staged-it-better, and whose suspicions would be confirmed in the end.
"Have you been to my office?" they asked, standing in the doorway to the living room. You barely looked up from your book despite already having lost the sentences you read last and just pretending to be busy.
"Hm? Oh, I saw you left the door open, but I thought you just forgot to lock it, so I left it that way."
Feeling their body move behind you, you tried your best to stay nonchalant and uninterested. However, the tension affected you, causing your pulse to rise and your body to cramp up. You took another sip of your cup, watching their expressionless face in the reflection of your drink. Your captor's weight leaned onto the backrest, shifting you slightly backward, but even so, you pretended not to care. Not even their hand brushing through your hair, playing with the ends, and rubbing them between their fingers made you falter.
"So you didn't go in?"
"Nope," you replied, popping the p deliberately. "What's for dinner?"
"Weren't you curious at all?"
"Should I? I thought it was an office. The last thing I want to waste time on is papers and documents. How about we order some of those fried vegetables we had last week? I am craving the garlic dip they came with."
"If I go up to the computer, I won't find any signs of you tampering with it?"
Taking a deep breath, you let it out slowly, trying to sound annoyed and disappointed in your captor that he'd keep accusing you. The truth was, you needed a few extra seconds to think carefully about what you were about to say. Because you had gone there. You unlocked the computer, even though you decided not to continue using it at the last second, and locked it again immediately.
Technically, there should be no evidence that you were on it. Unless your captor burst out his detective set to find your fingerprints, they wouldn't know you touched the PC. You only barely listened when they told you about their job. Still, you knew they didn't work in a tech-savvy field. You doubted they had much experience with which they could detect you logging in and out of their computer very quickly.
Still, telling the truth before they found out what you did could grant you some mercy... or it would result in punishment regardless of whether they found out or not. But not telling them, only to fall for the trap, seemed just as dangerous. You contemplated, seconds passing by. There was not much you could do other than decide right there and then.
(Reasoning and discussions welcome! ♥)
#yan-poll#yandere talk#yandere#yandere x reader#yandere x darling#yandere x you#yandere tw#yandere fanfiction#yandere scenarios#yandere headcanons#yandere drabbles#yandere oneshot#yandere stories#yandere writing#yandere imagines
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the concept of intentional boredom/tedium in video games is very much a "your mileage may vary" kind of thing and i go back and forth about it in different situations. where does it work? where does it feel earned/worth the mental toll? why am i gonna play a game that is trying to make me miserable?
i can understand this not being the case for everyone (ymmv, after all) but for ISaT i was so fucking fully on board with the repetitive tedium of it all. rubbing my grubby little hands together and going yesssss, yesssssss, make my immersive gameplay experience directly emulate the exact frustrations and anxieties and mind-numbing breakdowns of the player character. remind me, at every turn, the toll this would take on the person living it. make me live their inner monologue before it's ever verbalized on screen.
how strong you feel, compared to the party you're inevitably leaving behind, how weak they seem now. how annoying it is to cut down these same enemies again and again, always pointlessly getting in your way (oh, how convenient that Siffrin feels the same way so intensely that you can get an item that lets him scare them off by sheer force of will before they attack you!). since when was the King's battle--so terrifying, so impossible before--so easy? can't this go faster? you've heard this all before.
let me skip ahead, loop around, treat my character my body Siffrin as disposable, take the fast and easy way to reach the next goal when you're on the verge of an exciting breakthrough, this loop doesn't matter anyway. but ohh, this next loop might be The One, better do this one right and follow the script to perfection. make all the jokes and say all the right things to get the lovely bonding dialogue so you can carry the Best Version of Everyone through to the end. that'll give you the Good Ending, right? can't hurt to try, right? you don't really believe it but this time will fix everything, right?
how generous and wonderful to have so many shortcuts at hand! dissociating zoning out to skip repetitive dialogue, splitting your head open on a rock slipping on a banana peel in the town to loop right to the floor you need, suuuuurely all of this stuff is purely for the Player's Convenience and won't have any psychological impact on our dear protagonist such that it gets slammed back into the player's face as a stomach-dropping reminder that someone's moment-to-moment experience in this time loop still matters, still carries over, still gets riddled with scars even if they can't be seen!
i've played & watched enough games that trivialize/hand-wave game mechanics that it's pretty easy to detach myself from the minutiae of video game decision-making. "this input gets the Good Response" -> "i will continue doing this input." "this option will be more efficient" -> "might as well save some time then." but this game would not let me stop thinking about consequence.
picking Siffrin's favorite food makes them happy! :) it's also the option that makes Bonnie the happiest! yay! -> i keep picking their favorite food -> Siffrin gradually grows sick of something that once brought him joy -> oh. right. that...makes sense, huh.
okay i asked the King what i needed, mann there won't be any tears after the fight is over so i'll have to do the whole ending scene again and that takes a while and i reeeeally wanna talk to Loop, maybe i'll just lose on purpose this time -> OH. RIGHT. THIS IS MAYBE THE MOST PAINFUL WAY FOR SIFFRIN TO DIE BOTH PHYSICALLY AND EMOTIONALLY HUH. -> never gonna do that again actually!!!!! the ending isn't that long!!!!
banana peel time! we've got places to be and mysteries to solve! -> (you're a living comedy sketch.) (you wonder if you'll ever be able to smell bananas again without wanting to vomit.) -> i'm sorry i'm sorry i'm sorry i'm sorry
it's always cute to see Isabeau's reactions! pick the options that make him blush :3 -> (disgusting. manipulative. it's no wonder he thinks he likes you, you made him feel that way.) -> i'm sorry i'm sorry i'm sorry siffrin NO he liked you before any of this happened please don't think of yourself that way--
maybe it won't hit the same for every player (what game can expect to do that?) but holy fuck it hit for me. the way the mechanics let you fall into familiar gamey rhythms but constantly, constantly remind you that this is Siffrin's life you're playing with. the way you end up perfectly in step in the worst ways. muscle memory and habit built up so well that you both stumble when something changes. devastating and delicious
#isat#mypost#long post#isat spoilers#in stars and time#in stars and time spoilers#cw sui mention#cw sh mention#love when a game is a story that could never be told as anything but a game without losing something of its impact#when it makes the player complicit in its story through their choices whether they mean to cause harm or not#putting my head in my hands.
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Little Miss Sunshine 1
Warnings: non/dubcon, stalking, and other dark elements. My username actually says you never asked for any of this.
My warnings are not exhaustive but be aware this is a dark fic and may include potentially triggering topics. Please use your common sense when consuming content. I am not responsible for your decisions.
Characters: Nick Fowler
This AU is called Watcher Anonymous and will include different series for different characters. This is our introduction to Nick and Cloudy.
Summary: a bored man needs a new light in his life.
As usual, I would appreciate any and all feedback. I’m happy to once more go on this adventure with all of you! Thank you in advance for your comments and for reblogging ❤️
Nick's eyes stray across the street. He's distracted. He shouldn't be with the tall beauty across from him and her sparkling sapphire eyes. She's stunning to look at but he has to admit her conversation is as dull as the tablecloth. He tries not to let it show. He nods and mutters something about the earrings she keeps bobbling her head to show off.
He swallows a yawn. It's a nice restaurant, the food's always good, and yet he feels so nonplussed by it all. He lives the high life. A nice house, beautiful women, an exciting job. None of it hits anymore. It's all so boring.
Even when he's away on some mission, he doesn't feel much. It's all just so ordinary to him. He does his job and he does it well.
His eyes wander again. He's hungry. That's it. They ordered fifteen minutes ago and the wait is making him restless.
He tilts his head as he watches the girl in her hot pink jacket. He's never seen denim that shade before. Her faded jeans are tattered around the ankles and she wears a pair of heavy boots that were likely once a shade of rose but now no more than a dingy grey. She stands on the curb, watching and waiting down the road. The bus comes this way. The patio looks out on a busy street but today, the lively traffic only feels like a nuisance.
She raises her chin to see over the cars. She perks up then unhooks her large knapsack and brings it around the front. She shoves her arm inside and searches inside as she looks down. She rips her hand out and several items go flying over the pavement. She bends to pick them up as the bus nears the stop. Despite her efforts, she's too slow. The driver doesn't see her and drives past.
She stands, clutching a transparent pouch and her pass, her heavy bag weighing down her other arm. She waves helplessly and tries to chase the bus down. It doesn't heed to her nor does the cyclist heading in her direction. She barely avoids the collision and her foot slips off the curb. She lands in a heap between two bumpers.
He frowns as he watches her. He twitches, ready to get up and jump over the little fence onto the sidewalk. Pedestrians pass her by without a single look. Kelly says his name and he looks at her with a 'huh'.
"Pathetic, isn't she?" She looks across the street and snickers.
He shrugs, "seems like she's having a bad day."
"She's an idiot." She insists.
He grimaces and leans back. "You think so?"
"Sure, I mean. Look at that colour. It's not good on her complexion and she's got that bag overloaded. Can hardly blame anyone but herself--"
"She seems busy. On her way somewhere."
"Oh, I'm sure," she snorts and rolls her eyes. "She really looks like the popular type."
"You know what, I'm not too hungry anymore," he says.
"What?" She scoffs.
"Yeah, waiting kinda turned my appetite." He takes out his wallet and counts the bills. He folds them and lays them on the table. "It's on me. You can give mine to a friend or take it for yourself."
He stands and grabs his jacket from the back of the chair. She gapes at him.
"This isn't about that weirdo across the street?"
He sighs, "no, you're just kind of... not interesting."
He tweaks a brow and turns on his heel.
"Nick," she squeals after him. He doesn't stop.
He struts down the street and crosses at the lights. It's only then he glances back. She's making a scene, crying at the table. He can't remember why he asked her to come to lunch. She has nice legs but she just laid there when they hooked up last week. It was just another thing that had grown stale on him.
He makes his way along the other side. He keeps his distance until Kelly storms off, engrossed in her phone as she angrily texts whatever enabler responds first. He nears the girl in the pink coat. She sits on the curb. She's deflated. Her bag is in her lap as her legs are loosely crossed as they hang off the edge.
Kelly isn't wrong, just not in the way she said it. The girl isn't pathetic or stupid, just a bit down on her luck. He feels a pluck in his chest, the most he's felt in a long time. He's always been the person where everything just sort of goes his way. This doesn't seem to be very different. After all, life brought this curious figure into his life for some reason, right?
He passes her and takes out his phone, using the front-facing camera to get a look at her as he does. She's young. Judging by the keychain on her bag, she's attending the local college. Makes sense. She probably doesn't need a man his age circling her.
He crosses the street again. He looks at her and a wrapper bounces off her head. She looks back at the litterer as they don't even notice their offense. She huffs and gets up. She checks her phone. She grabs the wrapper and puts it in a trash can nearby.. She drops her shoulders and sets off down the pavement. She might be down but she hasn't given up.
Neither has he. Not yet. He thought he was done, that he had everything, but he's so wrong. He just wasn't looking in the right places; at the right people.
#nick fowler#dark nick fowler#dark!nick fowler#nick fowler x reader#the 355#little miss sunshine#series#watchers anonymous#drabble
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CODA IM SCREAMING INTO MY FIST
lucky for me - laufey || do u really? - lyn lapid, ft. ruth b. || would you be so kind - dodie
some lines that got me weak in the knees:
“Come on,” he insists, his eyes still intensely trained on yours. “I… it was always yours.”
FUCK. the pause after i and the correct to it IM FUCKIGN SCREAMIFNGGG CODDAAAA YOU WRITING GENIUS
“야, 나 좀 보고 말해봐, 음? [Hey, can’t you look at me and talk, hmm?]”
oh i’m weak for him. my stomach is flipping. it’s the way im biting my lip nervously in my work office rn
He frowns. “What did I do? Please, tell me. I’m sorry, whatever it is, I can fix it, I promise.” He looks at you so earnestly, your heart sinks.
oh… begging hannie….. oh…………..
“하니, [Hannie],” you breathe shallowly, still feeling an immense pressure in your chest. “Look at me.” When he doesn’t open his eyes, you swallow roughly. “하니, [Hannie], please?”
bio lecture starts in roughly 15 minutes. I am going to be thinking about this my entire bio lecture. FUCK
His pupils are so dilated, his eyes look almost black. His breathing has slowed down compared to earlier, but his fists are still clenched, like he’s holding something back.
my live reaction:
![Tumblr media](https://64.media.tumblr.com/537dc75ba58a733a048518aa0099f733/1a95ec5b65489a07-8e/s540x810/2ba524e9bc15cef0ac26af964975452ee102d830.jpg)
TLDR:
coda i love ur work sm. thank you for another gem
night d(r)ive | yjh
Pairing: Yoon Jeonghan x GN!Reader
Synopsis: Jeonghan is the kind of guy who would drive 40 minutes out of his way just to pick you up, but also wouldn’t yield the last ramen at the local convenience store to you. He’s also the kind of guy people are quick to fall for, only to get crushed by his indifference for dating. As a close friend of the most sought-after man on campus, you’d like to think that you know Jeonghan well enough to predict his thoughts on romance and his territoriality over ramen. (Spoiler: You don't.)
Content: Angst, Fluff, Comfort | Friends to Lovers | College AU
Tags: short hair jeonghan, extreme pining, liking ramen as a plot device, crying, being losers for each other, insecure reader, lots of konglish w/ translations, overly indulgent kissing, no "y/n,” this is for everyone who voted jeonghan in the poll <3
Word Count: 5.8K
Masterlist
You‘d like to think that you know Yoon Jeonghan well. Surely, you do! Over the years, you‘ve come across—and committed to memory—dozens, if not hundreds, of his little oddities. You’ve witnessed his personality change with the length of his hair, and learned the hard way that cheating at card games is like second nature to him. At this point, you can recite more information about his pet rock than ramen, which is somewhat terrifying if you dwell on it for too long, considering that ramen is your favorite food.
But despite Jeonghan’s chaotic personality, you also know that he’s incredibly smart, having sat next to him in countless college lectures and trivia events.
Honestly, it can’t possibly be a stretch to say that you know the man too well, can't it? And at times, it feels a bit unfair that you can only reply, “oh, I know him,” when people fleetingly mention him in conversation. It hurts that you can’t clarify that you know him—that you can’t ramble on about how he made the stupidest joke to make you laugh when you were upset about your most recent midterm, or handmade you the sweetest present for your birthday, or let you choose your favorite film for movie night for the third time in a row—because no one wants to nor needs to hear about it.
But, unfortunately, that’s all you can think about these days.
Because, unfortunately, Yoon Jeonghan is simultaneously the funniest, weirdest, kindest, and most devastatingly handsome man you’ve ever met.
Yoon Jeonghan is the kind of guy who would drive 40 minutes out of his way just to pick you up, but also wouldn’t yield the last ramen at the local convenience store to you. Though he gives into his internal demands for petty possessiveness quite often, he cares deeply for his friends.
He’s also the kind of guy people are quick to fall for, only to get crushed by his nonchalant but somewhat firm indifference for dating. You’ve witnessed him casually turn down far too many objectively gorgeous and incredibly intelligent people, which has convinced you that his standards are impossibly high. And if you were honest with yourself, based on the people he’d already rejected, it would be laughable for you to even think about confessing to him.
And so, as a close friend of the most sought-after man on campus, you’d like to think you know Jeonghan well enough to predict his thoughts on romance and his territoriality over ramen.
In fact, you’re sure about the ramen issue, because you’re witnessing it happen right now.
You’re staring at his smirking face in the instant food aisle of the convenience store, both of you gripping the last Neoguri cup like it’s a trophy.
“You gotta learn patience,” Jeonghan tuts, his lips upturned infuriatingly at one corner.
“No, you should learn patience. 손 빼, [Take your hand off,]” you demand, grasping the cup tighter.
“싫은데? [Don’t wanna,]” he says in a sing-song voice, raising his chin in defiance.
The ramen cup creaks slightly under the pressure of your combined grip, and a terrible thought forms in your head. Your hand is sandwiched between his hand and the cup, making you feel the heat radiating from his body. It’s something you’re afraid you could get used to.
You narrow your eyes, targeting his ridiculous, perfect lazy smile. “Take it off while I’m being nice.”
“Nah,” he replies immediately, smiling wider, his tongue sliding to the right.
Your heart lurches at the sight.
“치사하게 진짜 이럴 거야? [You’re so petty, are you really going to be like this?]” You chew on your bottom lip, eyes flitting between his face and his hand.
Jeonghan tilts his head slightly, his dark eyes sharp and steady on yours. He’s not really looking at the ramen anymore, and the intensity of his gaze makes your cheeks feel like they’re on fire.
“내가 여기서 이 옷을 입고 있는데, [I’m wearing these clothes here,]” he says, using his free hand to pinch the fabric of the expensive suit he always wears at his internship. “굳이 라면 하나 때문에 나랑 싸운다고? 그냥 빨리 가자, 음? [You’re really gonna fight with me over just one ramen cup? Let’s just go now, hmm?]”
You press your lips together and jut your chin in defiance.
He sighs dramatically, shaking his head. His shaggy, dark hair flows with it, and you can’t help but think that he looks princely like this, standing in the middle of this convenience store with his stupidly gorgeous face, and that dumb suit and tie.
“양보해. [Give it up.] I’ll give you whatever you want,” he says, his voice dipping lower. It feels less like an offer and more like a taunt, a challenge. His tone sends a small shiver through you, and for a second, you’re not sure if he’s teasing or serious.
You have to take a slow, deep breath to calm yourself down before even considering what to say next. You’re grateful for the ride (and his company), of course, but that doesn’t mean he can steal your rightful claim under your nose, in the same casual manner he has when letting one of his fans down.
You’ve always given into him. Because he means everything to you, of course.
But you’ve had enough of letting him have his way so easily, not with your precious ramen at risk.
You boldly step closer to him, cutting the distance between the two of you in half. You’re close enough to see your reflection in his eyes, now.
“I’m not letting go, 하니 [Hannie].” You firmly shake your head. You wouldn’t let him win this time. “I don’t want anything but this,” you add, stubbornly.
Tugging hard, you try to pull the cup toward you, but it frustratingly remains stuck on the shelf between the two of you. Looking back up, you see that he isn’t even straining to keep the ramen in place! You frown, wondering when your best friend got so strong.
He leans in just a fraction closer. “Keep trying,” he murmurs, and he’s so close that you can feel his warm breath tickling your face.
The world narrows to Jeonghan, and the faint scent of the cologne he only wears on weekends. It’s dizzying.
“야아아! [Hey!] I was here first!” you weakly defend, voice embarrassingly squeaky.
And then Jeonghan does something that completely short-circuits your brain.
His free hand lifts and brushes your hair away to your back, before resting on the divot between your neck and collarbone, where his thumb caresses the side of your neck. Feather-light, his touch is gentle, and his fingers are impossibly warm, a stark contrast to this slightly chilly convenience store. You just about choke on your surprise, your heart kicking into overdrive at the sheer intimacy of the gesture.
God, how is it that you never get a rest day with Jeonghan? How is it that he’s always flirting, always disregarding the boundaries of platonic and romantic love, always making you confused? And how is it that you just let it happen, that you just take whatever affection he gives you? How is it that you’re drawn into his dangerous touch like a moth to a flame? Except that analogy doesn’t really work, because at least moths don’t know that they’re in danger when they reach fire—you know what you’re getting into, and you know all too well that Jeonghan will never be yours.
“Please?” he whispers.
Your breath hitches, suddenly aware that even for your overly-touchy friend, this level of skinship is extreme.
Does he know? Has he found out that you’re in love with him, that you’ve been keeping this ungodly secret from him for far too long? Does he know that every time he lets someone down, that every time he complains to you about people confessing and crying over him, you give him superficial laughs as you swallow your own feelings?
Does he know that you feel like sinking into the ground every time he entertains a random girl flirting with him, and that every time he crosses boundaries with you, it hammers in the fact that he thinks you’re a joke?
Does he know that you’ve spent over a year trying to convince yourself that you don’t have feelings for him, only to fail miserably, because there is no such thing as cutting Yoon Jeonghan out of your life, because he makes you feel so, so alive?
He must know. He must be making fun of you, now.
Your eyes widen, frantically searching his face for an ounce of malice. And you expect to see the look he always has when shredding the hearts of the brave people who confess to him, the face he makes when he casually tells someone that he doesn’t feel the same way. You expect to see an almost-cruel, blank stare paired with apologetic lips pressed together.
You expect him to crush your heart.
But instead, he’s staring at you with a gaze so, so, very soft, you wonder if you’ve hallucinated it. Shining eyes, raised eyebrows, mouth parted—he looks devastatingly beautiful.
You can’t even bring yourself to blink, afraid that it might disappear before you can commit it to memory.
Technically, he’s looked like this before—you’ve seen it a handful of times on movie nights when you leaned against his shoulder, sleepily rambling about the bad decisions the main character had made. You’ve always figured that it was just the face he made when he was running on eight percent battery, tired and only half-registering the words coming out of your mouth.
But now, seeing this version of Jeonghan out of its usual context, your heart stops.
Your grip slackens.
In an instant, Jeonghan takes advantage of your daze. He snatches the ramen, links his arm through yours, and drags you to the counter. Your feet stumble, but his hold on you is firm, keeping you stable throughout the entire sudden exchange. He sets a bill on the counter, and then you’re being ushered out of the convenience store.
The freezing cold bites at your cheeks as you stand in a haze of confusion by the passenger seat of Jeonghan’s car, unable to do anything but just watch as he starts the engine and unlocks the door. He stares at you through the window, waiting.
If you could move a muscle on your face, you’d furrow your brows, wondering what he’s waiting for. But you’re still frozen, and before you can really think about it, Jeonghan gets tired of waiting.
He gets out of the car and walks over to you, squeezing your shoulders as he shifts you a little to the left. Withdrawing one of his hands from your shoulders, he opens the door, and then maneuvers you inside, using the same hand to cover the top frame of the door. You bump your forehead slightly against it, and he buckles you into the passenger seat—all without a word.
When you blink owlishly at him, he just ruffles your hair and shuts the door carefully, then walks over to the driver’s side.
Dazed, you literally have nothing to say.
When Jeonghan gets back into the car, he looks over at you with an unreadable gaze, then reaches his hand over the console to you, this time holding an object out. Your eyes flicker downward, then shoot up at him immediately.
The ramen?
You squint at his outstretched hand, eyebrows furrowed in disbelief.
Jeonghan never yields.
“Take it,” he says simply, airily, as if his giving up was obvious all along.
You hesitate, finger lightly tracing the top of the cup.
“Come on,” he insists, his eyes still intensely trained on yours. “I… it was always yours.”
Your fingers close over the cup, brushing his hand. He exhales softly, the corners of his lips twitching.
Averting your eyes from him and his strange actions, you drop the ramen in your lap, then settle for staring outside the window at the night sky, finding it unbearable to look at him. Drumming your fingers against the border of the window, you get lost in thought. You’re not sure you can handle it if Jeonghan tries to flirt with you again. Every time he does it, it just hammers in the crushing idea that you’re nothing but a friend to him. That you’re just someone to practice on while he waits for the goddess of his dreams to appear, or something.
And then a strange thought occurs to you. A silly thought, really. When Jeonghan said that the ramen was always yours, he didn’t use the “ih” sound that the word “it” has. No, he used the pronoun “I” first, before correcting himself. A faint, pitiful smile makes its way to your lips as your heart pangs.
Just what would you give to hear him say “I was always yours” someday?
Oh, maybe everything.
────୨ৎ────
The gentle hum of the car engine fills the silence from the lack of conversation between the two of you. The moon and the stars are beautiful tonight, and you’re content with staring at them instead of the man driving the car. You prop your head up with your elbow against the window, closing your eyes with every lull of the engine. If Jeonghan ever looked over at you at a red light, you wouldn’t know, preoccupied with pretending to be asleep.
When you feel the car come to a complete stop, you’re still feigning sleep, but you can’t help but furrow your eyebrows slightly. Surely, 40 minutes haven’t already passed? It seems way too soon. Had you actually dozed off at some point between staring out the window and faking sleep?
You peek one eye open, only to startle at Jeonghan’s gaze trained on you already, immediately opening the other. He seems completely at ease, with one hand gripping the steering wheel and the other resting on the gear shift. He stretches his fingers, accentuating the veins on his forearms, and you have to avert your eyes for a moment.
“잘 잤니? [Sleep well?]” he asks casually.
You look back at him, and see a strand of his dark hair fall into his eyes. Fingers twitching, you fight the urge to brush it behind his ear.
You answer him with a nod and flush, wondering if he could tell you were acting the entire time. Hands itching for something to do, you fiddle with your seatbelt.
“야, 나 좀 보고 말해봐, 음? [Hey, can’t you look at me and talk, hmm?]”
You glance at Jeonghan out of the corner of your eye, then shy away again. He looks too good right now, too much like a doting boyfriend. You pick at a loose thread from the bottom hem of your shirt.
“자꾸 나를 안 보니까 섭섭하네. [You keep not looking at me, I’m sad.]”
You faintly laugh. In all your years of knowing the man, you’ve yet to see Yoon Jeonghan truly sad. He’s always, always composed. He never says anything without thinking about it first, and he doesn’t have to lift a single finger that he doesn’t want to, because he knows that people will jump just to fall at his feet. It’s funny that Jeonghan now just assumes that with a few pretty words, he’ll get his way.
But your resentment is growing. It started with the ramen, and built up with how he won at the end of the fight. And it peaked when he gloated under the guise of kindly yielding the cup to you, leaving you stranded in your confusion, leaving you to sort out your racing mind and heart. What’s worse is, he has a history of doing this to you. But you never learn. Because he also has a history of giving the best, warmest, longest hugs. And he tells you all the time that he wants to be with you forever, that even when you’re 80 and wrinkly, he’ll come over every day to sing duets using your karaoke machine. And he has a bad habit of staring into your eyes with so much adoration, that you mistake it for real love.
He has a history of making you think that his flirting might actually mean something real to him. But he never confesses any feelings, because they don’t exist, and you feel the pain of being used as romantic practice all the same.
You’ve tried to convince yourself to just accept his affections as platonic love, but it has become increasingly more difficult to ignore it. How can you, when you get a rush of serotonin from seeing how bright his smile is when he whispers an inside joke to you in the middle of your fatally boring math discussion? How can you, when Jeonghan insists on picking you up from work even though it’s a waste of time and gas for him to make the far drive here and back? Your heart has grown to accommodate, and even expect, the constant fluttering it feels in his presence.
So, to be exact, it’s not that you feel resentment toward him—it’s resentment for your lack of a backbone when it comes to all things Yoon Jeonghan. It happens all the time; you get mad at him, and the consequences last for all of five seconds before your will caves.
“근대, 안 섭섭하잖아, [You’re not sad, though],” you softly say, eyes now tracing the glow of the crescent moon.
Jeonghan shifts in his seat, questioning your words. ”What? Why would you say that?”
“아니야, [No,] forget it.” You sigh, eyes falling to your hands again. Picking at a hangnail, you inhale deeply.
“Why wouldn’t I be sad? I love talking to you.” He removes his hands from the wheel and gear shift, then reaches out for yours.
You flinch, and he freezes.
“Hey, did I… do something wrong?” His voice shakes, suddenly sounding strained. It’s the complete opposite of how he was just three seconds ago.
You swallow thickly. No, he didn’t do anything wrong. “아니, [No,] it’s my fault.”
He frowns. “What did I do? Please, tell me. I’m sorry, whatever it is, I can fix it, I promise.” He looks at you so earnestly, your heart sinks.
“그건 불가능해, 정한아. [That’s not possible, Jeonghan.]” The words come out slowly and breathily, as if it’s taken you half of your life force to say them. You stare out the window again, this time at the stars, and add, “We should really get back, now. Why’d you stop here, anyway?”
“I figured you didn’t eat yet,” he says carefully. “I thought you’d want to get Thai. When you’re hangry, you yell at the TV more, and I get complaints from my neighbors.”
You blink, turning your attention down to the stores lining the street rather than the night sky. Jeonghan really had driven to your favorite Thai restaurant. “Oh. I didn’t know I did that, sorry.”
“It’s okay,” he replies softly. “I never liked my neighbors anyway.”
Your eyes close, remembering when one of your classmates, who happened to be his neighbor, confessed to him. He had vented to you about friends needing to understand when not to cross lines. The memory makes you smile weakly again, acknowledging how strong you’ve been for managing not to confess so far.
Jeonghan continues, “But hey, your neighbors don’t like me, either. Remember when they banged on your door because we were singing too loud?”
You laugh this time, and it’s fleeting but it’s not forced. “언제 쯤 얘기야? [How long ago was that?] That was like two years ago.”
Jeonghan smiles. “You were wearing those teddy bear pajama pants, and I had my Cookie Monster pants on. They were like 70, and told us to stop being childish and grow up.”
“Maybe they had a point,” you say with a sigh, running a hand through your hair. “I didn’t know that you paid attention to those things,” you add offhandedly.
“Pay attention to what?”
“You know, just… the stuff I wear, the random shit I do,” you say, picking at your split ends.
Jeonghan’s wide eyes narrow, and you feel too hot under his intense gaze.
“Why wouldn’t I?” he asks, voice deep and tinged with something you can’t quite put a finger on. The question feels strangely charged. With what, you don’t know.
You gnaw on your lip.
“Answer me. Why shouldn’t I?”
“I don’t know,” you shrug, feeling put on the spot. “I’m just your friend. Shouldn’t you be spending your energy remembering weird stuff about a girlfriend? Like a serious romantic partner, or something?”
Jeonghan groans, running a hand through his hair, before it comes down on the console with a light thud. Your eyes widen at his unexpected physical display of emotion, taking in his clenched fists and heaving chest.
“하니? [Hannie?]” you say softly, concerned. He doesn’t normally resort to physical exertions when frustrated, probably because he doesn’t get frustrated very often at all.
Your hand reaches out to his right bicep, where you rub the muscle soothingly.
“Now you’re calling me 하니 [Hannie] again,” he says with a marginally more relieved, deep sigh.
You furrow your brows. “What?”
“Now you’re calling me 하니 [Hannie] again,” he repeats. “Please, don’t call me 정한 [Jeonghan]. Only 하니 [Hannie].”
“Okay?” you say tentatively, unsure where this is going.
“You know I love you, right?” he says suddenly, staring at his hands.
You blink rapidly. “Of course. I love you, too.” He’s your best friend, but you’re probably not his best friend.
Jeonghan jolts, looking at you directly in the eyes now. “You know I love you more, right?”
He looks a bit crazed like this, his frantic chocolate brown eyes searching deeply for something in your face. At a loss for words, you gape your mouth at him like a fish out of water.
“I’m not sure that’s possible,” you manage to say. “I bet I love you a lot more.”
The statement is accompanied by a rather self-deprecating laugh from you, the kind that digs deep into your heart even as you try your best to seem casual.
“No, no,” he says, reaching with his left hand to grasp the hand you’ve been patting his right bicep with. This time, you don’t pull away. “You don’t get it. I love you.”
What?
Your heartbeat begins to beat so loudly that the sound of it pumping overwhelms your thoughts. Your chest tightens, and you’re half-sure that you just hallucinated it.
“뭐라고? [What did you just say?]”
“사랑한다고, [That I love you,]” he chokes out, his voice thick with the one emotion you’ve been dreaming of him reciprocating.
You gasp.
“Please,” he whispers. “Please don’t be mad at me.”
Oh.
Crestfallen, your heart drops. You pull your hand away from him.
This must be his new way to get you to relieve your “anger.” He doesn’t actually love you romantically, he just wants you to go back to acting like you normally do. He’ll never feel the same way that you do, in the crushing way that drives you insane every day, in the way that—
“설마, 나 지금 무시하는 거야? [No way, are you ignoring me right now?]” Jeonghan’s wounded gaze strikes you like lightning. “아니면, 나 못 믿는거야? [Or, are you not believing me?]”
You open your mouth, but nothing comes out.
Is this real? A dream, maybe? The real Jeonghan would never say this. He would never, ever entertain the idea that you could ever be more than—
“내가 사랑한다고 했는데, 왜 아무 말이 없어? [I just said I love you, why won’t you say anything?]” Jeonghan’s voice quakes, and you’re taken aback by his pained, strained eyebrows and glittering eyes.
Jeonghan’s eyes well with tears. He swallows thickly, “나… 아니야? [Am I… not it for you?]”
Your breath catches. He’s crying. Yoon Jeonghan—Yoon Jeonghan is crying? You’ve never even seen him sad, let alone crying. He’s always been untouchable, effortless in the way he teases and flirts with you, so sure of himself. So nonchalant and casual with his affection, that you’d always thought he never truly meant anything by it. But here he is, raw and vulnerable in front of you, holding his heart out with both hands—eyes rimmed red, voice breaking, mouth trembling. All because of you?
He really means it, huh? The realization slams into you so hard you feel like you can’t breathe, let alone speak, your chest constricting like you’re having a heart attack. All those lingering touches, all these years. The way he’s always made you the center of his jokes, how he has the softest shifts in his voice when someone mentions your name—it wasn’t all a game to him? It was never just practice for someone else, for someone better?
It was love?
God, you had been so overwhelmed with self doubt and insecurity that you’d convinced yourself that you had no chance, all while he was giving you clues through his proud affections, every day.
The man in question looks at you like you’ve just shattered his fragile heart, tears fully trailing down to his chin, now.
Feeling like your entire body has been engulfed in flames, you reach a trembling hand out past the gear shift. It trembles despite yourself as your arm extends to caress his cheek, where you carefully rub his tears away.
Jeonghan shudders when your hand touches him, and he shuts his eyes. More tears fall.
“하니, [Hannie],” you breathe shallowly, still feeling an immense pressure in your chest. “Look at me.” When he doesn’t open his eyes, you swallow roughly. “하니, [Hannie], please?”
Stubbornly, Jeonghan keeps his eyes closed, and you shakily sigh. You want to tell him—no, you need to tell him that you love him with every fiber of your being, but you need to see his eyes to register whether he understands you. He needs to open those beautiful, brown eyes of his.
You’ve never told him that you love him in Korean before. Something about it always felt too intimate, while “I love you” in English felt less charged. But you think he needs to hear it now.
Withdrawing your hand from his cheek, you unbuckle your seatbelt at last. Finally freed, you shift your legs until you're sitting on the back of your calves, facing the stunning, devastated man in the driver’s seat.
“하니야, [Hannie],” you say softly, his name a prayer on your lips, your face coming near his.
You raise your hands up to tenderly brush the tears away from the soft tissue right under his eyes. Trembling, your right hand brushes a strand of hair out of his face, then rests on the back of his neck.
Heart threatening to jump out of your chest, you hesitantly move closer, and closer, until your lips gently meet his forehead in a kiss so light, you foolishly wonder if he even feels your lips there at all.
“하니야, 사랑해. [Hannie, I love you.]”
Jeonghan stills immediately. You can feel his hot breath catch against your neck, and you feel a shiver come down your spine.
“I don’t want anyone else. Just you,” you say choppily, each word spilling out before you can think about what you really just said.
When you retreat an inch or two back from his forehead, you can see that he has finally opened his eyes.
“You mean it?” he asks, voice high-pitched in disbelief.
Not trusting your voice, you nod three times.
“Say it again,” he begs, his red-rimmed eyes downturned.
“사랑해, 하니야 [I love you, Hannie]. I tried so hard not to. 내 마음을 접고 다른 사람을 바라보고 싶었어. 싶었는데… [I wanted to let go of my feelings for you and search for someone else. That’s what I wanted, but…]”
Jeonghan inhales sharply. Distressed, his Adam's apple bobs up and down. Your heart aches at the sight of him so exposed, and your thumb moves to rub soothing circles by his collarbone.
You assure him, “근데 그게 진짜 그냥 안 된거야. 도저히 너를 포기할 수 없었어. [But that really just didn’t work. There was no way I could bring myself to give you up.]”
Your fingers close to his neck, you feel Jeonghan’s pulse racing. Trying to help his heart settle down, you press another light kiss to his forehead, cradling the back of his head with your other hand. His breath shudders against your cheek.
“마음이 하니한테 만 끌리니까, 뭐… 포기하려고 노력을 했는데 소용이 없었어. [My heart was only drawn to you, Hannie, and well… no matter how hard I tried to give you up, it was no use.]”
Jeonghan blinks up at you with watery eyes.
“You’re it for me, 하니 [Hannie]. Okay?” Sheepish, you feel a bit embarrassed at having been so honest.
Now that you’ve bared your heart and soul to him, you take the opportunity to really look at him, since you were distracted with telling your part for the past few minutes—and, oh.
His pupils are so dilated, his eyes look almost black. His breathing has slowed down compared to earlier, but his fists are still clenched, like he’s holding something back.
In a low voice, so deep that it wouldn’t have been audible if you weren’t practically pressed against him, Jeonghan finally responds to your confession.
“You love me,” he says hesitantly, like he’s asking to confirm.
The corners up your lip turn up, and he grins. “You love me,” he says again, only louder this time, and then he’s leaning forward into you.
His hands find you first, clinging to your neck and waist sweetly yet firmly, like he’s afraid to let you go now that he finally has you.
When his lips meet yours, you melt into the kiss. His lips are warm, softer than you expected, moving against yours with an aching tenderness. Your fingers curl into the fabric of his shirt as his hands tighten around your waist, pulling you in like he’s afraid you’ll slip away.
He tilts his head slightly, deepening the kiss, and a shiver runs down your spine when his thumb brushes along the curve of your jaw. The touch is so careful, so reverent, like he’s memorizing every part of you.
Then, he pulls back just an inch—just enough for his breath to fan across your lips, his forehead resting against yours. His eyes, dark and unreadable, search yours as if needing confirmation.
"You love me? 진심이지? [You’re serious, right?]" His voice is barely above a whisper.
Your chest tightens at the sheer vulnerability in his expression. You cup his cheek, brushing your thumb against his damp skin, and nod. "사랑해, 하니야. [I love you, Hannie.] 진짜, [Really,] I always have."
A sound escapes him—somewhere between a laugh and a sigh of relief—before he leans in again, kissing you with more urgency this time. His hands tangle into your hair, fingers curling at the nape of your neck as he presses you impossibly closer. The kiss is deeper now, more certain. He parts his lips slightly, and you do the same, the heat between you growing into something undeniable.
Your hands wander—one slipping into his hair, the other trailing down his shoulder. He shudders under your touch, and you feel the tension slowly unraveling from his body, like he’s finally letting himself believe this is real.
When you finally part for air, he lets out a shaky laugh, thumb ghosting over your kiss-swollen lips. "You have no idea how long I’ve waited for this," he murmurs, his voice husky.
Your heart swells at the confession. "Actually, I think I do," you whisper back before pulling him into another kiss, this time knowing—without a doubt—that neither of you are going anywhere.
────୨ৎ────
“하니, [Hannie,]” you say, leaning against him on the sofa in your apartment, drawing random shapes on his chest with your right hand. “We should go on a drive again.”
“Mm, a drive?” he says, distracted by his fascination with observing your left hand, holding it like a precious gem.
“Yeah, 바��� 좀 새자 [let’s get some air]. A night drive.”
His hands stall, lips curling up at the corners. “Oh, a night drive, huh? 역사적인 거네. [How historic.]”
You bury your face in his chest. “Mmh,” you say to his shirt.
“You know, you said 사랑해 [I love you] to me for the first time on a night drive,” he says casually. His hands let go of your left hand, then make their way to your head, patting your hair gently.
You prop your chin up on his stomach, expecting to see Jeonghan’s pure smile. But instead, he’s smirking at you.
“You wanted me so bad.” He sighs dramatically. “What else could I do, but accept your love?”
You can’t help but smile. “I think you’re misremembering things a little, 하니 [Hannie].”
“Oh, am I?” he gasps, wide-eyed and open-mouthed.
If he were anyone else, he’d look stupid feigning ignorance. Fortunately for you, though, he isn’t anyone else—he’s the love of your life, and he makes everything look good.
“Ugh,” you say, eyes shining. “You look dumb, stop it.”
“You love it,” he says cheekily, arms falling from your head to wrap around you in a big hug.
“Mmfph,” you say in response, relishing in the warmth radiating from his body.
“Not denying it, I see,” he says. “Overwhelmed by your love for me, you dove at my poor, innocent self in the car, kissing me all over!”
“Pfft,” you laugh. “No, that was you!”
“No,” Jeonghan pouts.
“I happen to remember a little crybaby confessing first,” you say with an upside down smile, hugging him tighter.
Jeonghan’s eyes look up at the ceiling. “무슨 말인지… [I don’t know what you’re talking about…]”
“야아! [Hey!]” your hand slaps his chest lightly. “나 좀 봐봐, 음? [Look at me, hmm?]”
“싫은데? [Don’t wanna,]” he says, pouting.
“사랑해도 안 볼 거야? 섭섭하네… [Even if I love you, you won’t look at me? I’m sad…]” you huff, burying your face into the sofa pillows instead of Jeonghan’s chest. “하니가 안 사랑해주면 난 갈 거야. [If you don’t love me I’m gonna leave.]”
Jeonghan laughs, “가긴 어딜가, 여기 너네 집이잖아. [Leave? What do you mean, leave? This is your house.]”
Jeonghan hugs you tighter, then suddenly sits up, taking you with him.
“사랑해, [I love you,]” he says earnestly, staring deeply into your eyes, as if he wants to dive into the depths of your iris. Your name leaves his lips fervently, like a prayer.
“사랑해, 하니야, [I love you, Hannie,]” you say back, and you mean it.
Because Yoon Jeonghan is simultaneously the funniest, weirdest, kindest, most devastatingly handsome man you’ve ever met. And he’s yours.
Masterlist
Author's Note: here’s a big literary hug <3
Disclaimer: nothing i write is representative of how svt acts off camera, take their names as stand-ins for oc's!!
Taglist: @syluslittlecrows - @junplusone - @fragmentof-indifference - @junniesoleilkth - @woncheecks - @peachypie97 - @viciousdarlings - @11zzyy
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Perfect Fit - Kenan Yıldız x Stylist!Reader
summary: Being Kenan’s stylist was supposed to be about clothes. Not lame excuses to spend time, lingering touches, and the slow realization that you might be in over your head (8.5k words)
content: slow burn, grumpy x sunshine, Stylist!Reader, inspired by the movie two weeks notice
an: guess who got dumped just days before valentines :') we move tho! something not f1 today guys (whaaaat??!!) I am watching a lot of football during break and I adore this guy!! next fics will be F1 again dw! wishing you all an amazing day <3
----------------------------------------------
The first time I meet Kenan Yıldız, he is exactly fourteen minutes late and precisely ten times cockier than necessary.
I check my watch as he strolls into the private suite at the Juventus training center, hands in his pockets, grinning like he’s just won the lottery. Which, in fairness, he kind of has—football stardom, magazine covers, and a jawline that probably has its own fan club.
Still, none of that excuses his chronic inability to tell time.
I exhale, tapping my nails against the table as he finally, finally stops in front of me. “You’re late.”
Then, he shrugs. “You’re early.”
I stare at him. “That’s literally not how time works.”
He grins, like he’s enjoying himself far too much already. “It’s how my time works.”
He flops onto the couch. Flops. Like an overgrown puppy who has never had to experience the burden of professionalism.
“You hired me for a reason,” I remind him, keeping my tone even. “Which means you show up on time, listen to my advice, and do not, under any circumstances, make my job harder than it already is.”
Kenan, to absolutely no one’s surprise, looks thoroughly unbothered.
“You say that like I don’t have incredible fashion sense.”
I stare at him. “You showed up wearing Nike slides with socks.”
“They’re comfortable.”
“You are a multi-millionaire professional footballer. You can afford comfortable shoes that do not look like you are a high school boy.”
Kenan grins, stretching out on the couch, taking up an absurd amount of space, and watching me like this is the best entertainment he’s had all week. “Hit me with it, boss.”
Boss. The word drips with teasing.
I inhale deeply. Count to three. Do not strangle the athlete.
Instead, I pull out my laptop and spin it towards him, revealing a carefully curated mood board. “We start here. You have the Ballon d’Or ceremony in two weeks, and I am legally obligated to prevent you from showing up in anything offensive to the general public.”
Kenan leans forward, eyes flicking between the images—navy suits, sleek black tuxedos, a deep burgundy number that would look absurdly good on him if he had an ounce of taste.
Then he leans back, eyebrows raised.
“No way.”
I narrow my eyes. “No way what?”
“No way I’m wearing this.” He points at the burgundy suit, horrified. “Do I look like a retired jazz musician?”
I pinch the bridge of my nose. “It’s Dolce & Gabbana, Kenan.”
“It’s ridiculous.”
“You wear Juventus kits half the week.”
“That’s different.”
“It’s literally not.”
Kenan grins. “You’re very passionate about this.”
“Yes,” I deadpan. “That’s how jobs work.”
Kenan laughs, full and unbothered. “Alright, alright, keep your cool, boss. Let’s try some things on.”
…
It turns out styling Kenan Yıldız is a full-contact sport. And by that, I mean he is actively working against me.
“Oh, no, absolutely not.” I gesture at him to take the blazer off. “That’s too tight on the shoulders.”
Kenan spreads his arms dramatically. “I feel fine.”
“That’s because you have the self-awareness of a brick.”
He gasps. “Wow.”
“Take it off.”
“You just want to see me shirtless.”
I blink. “Kenan, I have dressed men for a living. If I were that easily impressed, I’d be unemployed.”
He grins, amused, but thankfully, doesn’t push it. Instead, he shrugs out of the blazer.
I am a professional. And, professionally speaking, I do not notice how broad his shoulders actually are. Definitely not.
Nope.
Instead, I grab the next suit. “Here. Try this one.”
Dark navy, sleek lapels, crisp white shirt. It’s tailored enough to emphasize sharp angles, long lines.
It works.
I tell myself that my job is to make sure my clients look good.
That’s why I’m staring. Obviously.
Kenan catches my expression in the mirror and raises an eyebrow. “That’s a very serious face. What’s the verdict?”
I keep my voice even. “This one’s better.”
“Better?” He turns slightly, inspecting himself. “Or do I look outrageously handsome, and you just don’t want to admit it?”
I give him a look. “I’ll let the press decide.”
Kenan laughs. “Fair enough. You like navy on me though, don’t you? Be honest you were staring quite a bit.”
I blink, caught of guard.
“I was just checking for tailoring issues.” I mumble, feeling a bit embarrassed.
He just snickers and turns around again, adjusting his jacket in the mirror. “So, are you this fun with all your clients?”
I glance up. “No. Usually they listen to me.”
He smirks. “And yet you seem to be having such a great time.”
I scoff, shoving fabric swatches into my bag. “Delusional.”
He tilts his head. “No, I’m just observant.”
I refuse to give him the satisfaction of a reaction. “Try not to get this suit dirty before the event, yeah?”
“I’ll do my best,” he says solemnly, then grins. “No promises, though.”
…
I am at my desk, minding my own business, deeply focused on fabric selections for the newest Juventus-Loro Piana collaboration. Something elegant. Something refined. Something that perfectly walks the line between classic and modern.
What I am not focused on is preparing for the door to slam open so violently it rattles the frame, as if the person behind it has never once encountered the concept of knocking.
Kenan strides in like he owns the place, Juventus training kit clinging to him, a towel slung casually over his shoulder, water still dripping from his hair in rivulets. He looks like he just stepped out of an expensive body wash commercial, the kind that would sell you on the idea that showering is some profound, life-altering experience.
Except Kenan isn’t selling anything.
He is, however, still wet.
Like, actively damp.
I stare at him for a second too long before recoiling in exaggerated horror. “Did you swim here?”
Kenan stops in his tracks, blinking at me like I’m the one who doesn’t make sense.
“Shower,” he says simply, as though that explains everything.
“Yes, I can see that,” I reply, narrowing my eyes at the small puddle forming beneath his slides.
Kenan just grins, completely unbothered. “Then why’d you ask?”
I exhale sharply, dragging my hand down my face. “Kenan.”
“Yeah?”
“What do you want?”
Instead of answering, he plops into the chair across from me, stretching out like this is his personal lounge. His long legs sprawl out casually, his damp towel draped haphazardly over one arm, and he’s grinning like he’s having the best day of his life.
“Need your opinion,” he says, completely unprompted.
I narrow my eyes suspiciously. “On what?”
Kenan gestures at himself with both hands, like he’s presenting a revolutionary new look. “My outfit.”
I blink.
Slowly.
Kenan, unfazed, leans back in the chair and shrugs. “Thinking of heading out later. Need to know if I should change.”
I stare at him.
I glance at his slides. At the clingy, sweat-soaked training kit. At the water dripping from his hair and pooling on my floor.
Then I stare at him again.
“Kenan,” I say finally, my tone flat.
“Yeah?”
“You are in a training kit.”
“So?”
“So unless your plans involve breaking into a 24-hour gym, yes, you should change.”
Kenan nods slowly, like I’ve just delivered some groundbreaking revelation. “Interesting. Interesting.”
I lean forward, folding my hands on the desk, fixing him with a hard stare. “Kenan?”
“Yeah?”
“Get out.”
Kenan grins, his expression one of pure mischief.
And, predictably, he doesn’t move.
Instead, he leans forward slightly, resting his elbows on his knees. “You know, you really should work on your people skills. Very unprofessional of you to kick out your favorite client.”
“You’re not my favorite client,” I deadpan.
He gasps, clutching his chest like I’ve mortally wounded him. “Wow. That’s harsh.”
I let out a long, pointed sigh, pushing my chair back and standing up. “Fine. You want help? Here’s my professional advice: go home, shower—again, because apparently one wasn’t enough—and wear literally anything that doesn’t have a Juventus logo on it.”
Kenan hums thoughtfully, as if he’s actually considering it. “What about the slides? Keep them or lose them?”
“Kenan.”
“Yeah?”
“Get. Out.”
He doesn’t.
Of course, he doesn’t.
Instead, he leans back even further, crossing one leg over the other, completely ignoring the fact that he’s dripping water all over my floor.
“You’re fun when you’re mad, you know that?”
I glare at him.
Kenan just laughs, completely unfazed.
And, annoyingly, he still doesn’t leave.
…
It’s late afternoon, and I am in the middle of an important call with a brand executive—the kind of person whose voice alone makes you sit up straighter, whose Italian accent makes everything sound elegant, even words like inventory management—when the door to my office swings open without warning.
I don’t need to look up. I already know.
I take a slow, measured breath. “Kenan, if you interrupt me right now, I swear to god—”
I do, in fact, look up.
And there he is.
Standing in my doorway like he belongs there.
Kenan is dressed in what I can only describe as his most unserious outfit yet—an oversized hoodie, the hood pulled up like he’s in witness protection, sweatpants that are definitely not his size, and a smoothie in hand.
I watch as he makes his way to my couch, sits down, stretches out like he owns the place, and waits.
I press my lips together. I will not engage.
The executive is explaining the finer details of their new suiting collection, using phrases like textural fluidity and contemporary tailoring, and I desperately want to focus.
Kenan, unfortunately, does not care about my professional aspirations.
First, he sighs. Loudly.
I ignore him.
Then, he tilts his head at me, blinking slowly, as if I’m some sort of unusual species he’s studying.
I continue nodding along to my call, even as he leans forward slightly, resting his chin on his fist, elbow perched on the armrest like he’s the star of some old painting.
But when he starts slurping his smoothy—slowly, loudly, dramatically—I finally give in.
I mute my call, turn slightly in my chair, and narrow my eyes at him.
Kenan, completely unbothered, lifts his eyebrows.
I keep my voice even. “Kenan. Why are you here?”
He clears his throat, sitting up slightly. “I have a question.”
I exhale. “A question.”
“Yeah.”
I brace myself. “And what, exactly, could not wait until after I finished a conversation with one of the most prestigious fashion houses in the world?”
Kenan gestures loosely at himself. “Hoodie. Thoughts?”
I blink. “Your thoughts… on your own hoodie?”
Kenan nods. “Yeah. Should I add a jacket?”
I stare at him.
Then, after a long pause, I lean forward slightly, resting my elbows on my desk.
“You interrupted a meeting with Loro Piana.”
Kenan nods. “Correct.”
“To ask me if you should add a jacket.”
Another nod.
I inhale. Exhale.
I fold my hands together and say, very calmly, “Kenan, get out.”
He grins, standing up. “So… no jacket?”
“Switch to jeans, there is a suede bomber on the rack in the corner over there, leave me alone now please.”
Kenan chuckles, strolling out of my office, swiftly grabbing the jacket.
…
I should have known something was up the moment Kenan knocked.
Because Kenan never knocks.
The second I look up from my laptop, the door swings open, and there he is, grinning like a man who has just thought of something ridiculous and is about to make it my problem.
“You busy?”
I don’t even bother looking up from my screen. “Extremely.”
“Perfect,” he says, stepping fully into my office. “Be ready in an hour.”
I pause. That gets my attention.
“For what?” I ask warily.
Kenan leans against my desk, arms crossed in a way that suggests he thinks he looks effortlessly cool when, in reality, he looks like he’s about to present a terrible business proposal.
“Boat day.”
I blink. “Boat day?”
“Yeah.”
“No.”
Kenan tilts his head, like my answer has personally offended him.
“No?”
“That’s correct.”
He exhales dramatically, rubbing a hand over his jaw. “Alright, fine. I wasn’t gonna say anything, but I actually need you there.”
I narrow my eyes. “Why?”
Kenan straightens up slightly, looking me dead in the eye. “Fashion crisis.”
I fold my arms. “You’re lying.”
He gestures at himself. “Am I?”
“Yes.”
Kenan sighs. “I just—look, things could go terribly wrong today. What if I make a bad fashion choice? What if my trunks clash with the boat? What if someone wears the same ones as me?”
I raise a skeptical eyebrow. “That’s your concern? Not drowning?”
Kenan waves a hand. “I’m an athlete, I’ll survive.” Then, after a beat, he gives me a winning smile. “Come on, boss. I need you.”
I roll my eyes, already sensing that I am going to lose this battle.
…
It takes me approximately four minutes from the moment I step onto the yacht to realize that Kenan has played me.
This is not, as he vaguely implied, a casual little boat trip.
This is a full-scale Juventus squad takeover.
The kind where music blares so loud you feel it in your chest, where food and drinks are scattered across tables in laughably excessive amounts, and where half the team has already started throwing themselves off the side of the boat like unsupervised toddlers.
I stop at the edge of the deck, blinking at the chaos in front of me, unsure of where to even begin processing this. Then, slowly, I turn to Kenan.
Then back to the scene.
Then back to Kenan.
He grins like he’s just done something spectacularly clever.
“See? Fun.”
I adjust my sunglasses and stare at him. “Why am I here?”
Kenan tilts his head, like he’s genuinely considering the question. “Moral support.”
“Moral support for what, exactly?”
He gestures vaguely to the entire scene, his hand making a lazy arc in the air. “For me.”
I exhale sharply, crossing my arms. “You’re not in distress.”
“I could be,” he counters, deadpan.
“You’re not.”
Kenan doesn’t respond. Instead, he reaches behind his back and pulls out two pairs of swim trunks like he’s unveiling some great treasure. One red. One yellow.
I blink. “What is that?”
“My dilemma.”
I stare at him.
Kenan holds up both options, one in each hand, like he’s presenting me with the most critical decision of his life. “Red or yellow?”
“You dragged me onto a boat so I could pick your swimsuit color?”
Kenan nods solemnly.
I sigh, pressing my fingers to my temples. “Red.”
“Why?”
“Because it’ll make you look more tan.”
He squints slightly, like he’s trying to figure out if I’m messing with him. “Are you sure?”
“Yes, Kenan, I’m sure. It’s literally basic color theory. Unless you’d prefer to look pale?”
Kenan hums thoughtfully, flipping the yellow ones over his shoulder like they no longer exist and holding up the red. “You heard her. Red it is.”
I exhale, already exhausted, and mutter under my breath, “This day is going to be a lot.”
I make my first mistake when Kenan pulls his shirt over his head, preparing to jump into the water.
I look.
Not on purpose, obviously. It just… happens.
My gaze moves before I can stop it, taking in the casual ease of his movements, the way the sunlight glints off his skin, the way his back muscles shift with every motion. It’s objectively unfair. And now I am suffering.
I force myself to look at literally anything else—the horizon, the food table, the possibility of throwing myself into the ocean just to escape this sudden, deeply annoying awareness of him.
Kenan, naturally, remains completely oblivious to my internal crisis.
“You coming in?” he calls over his shoulder as he steps toward the edge of the yacht.
“I just got here,” I reply, arms crossed.
“So?”
“So, I’m taking my time.”
Kenan narrows his eyes slightly, like he’s just detected a challenge. I don’t like that look.
“I can teach you how to dive,” he offers, his voice infuriatingly casual.
“I know how to dive,” I shoot back.
He raises an eyebrow. “You sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure.”
Kenan hums, clearly unconvinced. “Let’s see it, then.”
“I don’t perform on command,” I say, my tone firm.
“You’re scared.”
“Oh my god, I am not—”
“Prove it.”
I don’t think. I just move.
Bending my knees, I inhale sharply and push off, cutting cleanly into the water.
I surface just as Kenan jumps in after me, slicing through the water effortlessly.
That’s when I make my second mistake.
I look at him.
Really look.
Sunlight glints off the water as it drips from his hair, slicked back from his face. His jawline is sharp, his grin smug and easy, and there’s something about the way he moves—like he’s completely at home here, like he’s built for this—that makes me forget how to form coherent thoughts.
And then, worse—he looks back.
Bright eyes meet mine, amused and knowing, like he’s caught me staring. Which, to be clear, I was absolutely not doing. At all. Ever.
I clear my throat, shifting slightly, desperate for neutral territory. “You’re showing off,” I accuse, my voice sharper than I intended.
Kenan’s mouth tugs into a half-smirk. “And?”
“And it’s annoying.”
He grins wider, water dripping from his chin. “You sound jealous.”
“I sound rational,” I retort, shoving water in his direction.
Kenan laughs, tilting his head back, and then—without warning—he reaches forward.
His thumb brushes a stray drop of water from my cheek, a quick, thoughtless movement that shouldn’t mean anything.
And yet—it does.
The air shifts, subtle but impossible to ignore.
His fingers hover for just a second too long, his eyes catching mine and holding. There’s something unreadable in his expression, something curious, like he’s just noticed something for the first time.
And for a moment, I can’t breathe.
Then—just as quickly—he pulls back.
The moment disappears.
And we both pretend it didn’t happen.
…
It starts, as all bad ideas do, with Kenan appearing uninvited.
I am seated at my desk, entirely minding my own business, when a shadow falls over my workspace.
Before I can look up, Kenan drops into the chair across from me with the weight of a man who has just made a major decision and is about to make it my problem.
“Help me shop,” he declares, like we were in the middle of a conversation I have no memory of participating in.
I blink. Slowly.
Kenan does not blink back.
I cross my arms. “You? Shopping?”
He spreads his arms. “What, you think I just live off free team merch?”
“Yes,” I say, without hesitation.
Kenan grins. “Okay, fair. But I still need new stuff.”
I narrow my eyes. “New stuff?”
“For events,” he clarifies, shifting comfortably in his seat like he’s already convinced me. “You’re always telling me I should take my styling more seriously, so—” he gestures at himself—“here I am. Taking it seriously.”
I study him carefully, sensing an ulterior motive.
“So let me get this straight,” I say, resting my elbows on the desk. “You want me to drop everything and go shopping with you?”
“Yes.��
“Right now?”
Kenan nods.
I exhale, setting my tablet down slowly, deliberately. “Do you know how many emails I have left to answer today?”
“No,” he says. Then, before I can continue, he leans forward, pressing both hands together in a mock-pleading gesture. “Come on, boss. Think of it as a mission. A challenge. Your most difficult client yet.”
I raise an eyebrow. “That is not the selling point you think it is.”
Kenan tilts his head slightly, like he’s about to switch tactics.
And then, with devastating precision, he delivers the final blow:
“I’ll buy you coffee.”
My resolve shatters instantly.
I exhale. “Fine.”
Kenan lights up immediately. “That’s what I like to hear.”
…
Shopping with Kenan is like shopping with a toddler who has recently discovered his own free will.
At first, it’s fine. Normal. Civilized. He listens to my advice, nods along as I explain the importance of quality tailoring, even picks up a few decent items.
And then.
It starts.
“What about this?” he asks, holding up a horrific orange camoflage tracksuit.
I stare at it. Then at him.
“No.”
Kenan shrugs, completely unbothered. “I like it.”
I exhale slowly. “You are not wearing that in public.”
He grins. “You’re just mad because you know I’d pull it off.”
“You would not.”
“Would too.”
I rub my temples. “Put it back.”
Kenan sighs, begrudgingly returning it to the rack. But exactly two minutes later, he reverts to chaos.
First, a leopard-print jacket.
I shake my head.
Then, a graphic T-shirt that says ‘Big Dog Energy.’
I physically take it out of his hands and put it back myself.
“This is important,” I say, placing two actual, stylish options in his arms. “We need pieces that are versatile, that fit your personal aesthetic while maintaining an effortless, tailored look.”
Kenan blinks. “That’s some José Mourinho level strategizing. All of that for a pair of pants and a shirt?”
“Yes, because I actually know what I’m doing,” I say, nudging him toward the fitting room. “Now go try these on before I start dressing you like an old Italian lady.”
Kenan grins. “That’s a threat?”
“You’re seconds away from pleated skirts.”
He laughs, but goes inside anyway.
…
I believe the mission is complete.
But then—as we leave the last store, arms full of shopping bags, Kenan suddenly groans and rolls his shoulders like he’s just carried the weight of the world on his back.
“Ugh,” he says. “I need a break.”
I sigh. “Kenan, we’ve been shopping for three hours.”
“Exactly,” he says, slinging an arm around my shoulders like this has been an equal burden for both of us. “Which is why we deserve a reward.”
I eye him suspiciously. “What kind of reward?”
Kenan does not answer.
Instead, he steers me toward a side street, moving with the confidence of a man who has already decided my fate.
“Kenan,” I say, realizing too late where we’re headed.
No.
Not a spa.
A very fancy spa.
I stop walking immediately.
Kenan, noticing too late, is forced to halt as well.
I stare at him. “No.”
Kenan grins. “Yes.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“Kenan—”
He tilts his head. “You work too much. You stress too much. You never take a break.”
“I just spent the entire afternoon shopping with you,” I argue.
Kenan ignores this. “This is what you need.”
I narrow my eyes. “And your solution is to physically drag me into a spa?”
Kenan does not hesitate. “Yes.”
I exhale. “Why do I feel like you’ve planned this?”
Kenan grins wider. “Because I have.”
And then—before I can protest further—he opens the door and gently shoves me inside.
…
I don't know what kind of witchcraft these spa people are practicing, but I have fully given in to it.
There is something profoundly humiliating about the fact that Kenan Yıldız, of all people, was right.
Because I am relaxed.
Painfully, dangerously relaxed.
I sink deeper into the plush, warm surface of the massage table, the scent of lavender and eucalyptus thick in the air, the slow, expert pressure of hands kneading away every last drop of tension from my body.
It is impossibly good.
The kind of indulgence I would normally refuse, the kind of experience I would dismiss as unnecessary.
Except it is so necessary.
It’s so good that I don’t even care that Kenan is lying just inches away, stretched out on his own table, probably smug as hell about the fact that he successfully dragged me here.
I can hear him shift slightly, adjusting his arms at his sides. The sound is quiet, unremarkable.
And then—
The groan.
Deep. Low. Involuntary.
I don’t move, don’t react, but I feel it like a full-body event.
Like an alarm going off in my brain, interrupting my hard-won serenity, making my pulse hitch slightly before I force it back down.
No.
Absolutely not.
I refuse to acknowledge it, to let my mind go anywhere near the path it’s suddenly threatening to take.
I focus instead on the weight of the warm towel on my back, my grocery list, the weather forecast, the to-do list I abandoned the moment Kenan dragged me here.
But then—another groan.
Softer this time, barely more than a sigh, a quiet, unfiltered reaction to the way the masseuse’s hands dig into his shoulders.
My fingers twitch against the plush surface beneath me.
I press my cheek harder into the cushion, jaw tightening, every last bit of professionalism I possess clinging on for dear life.
This is not happening.
I am not hyperaware of him.
I am not wondering what it would sound like if—
No.
I take a slow, measured breath, force my mind onto something else, anything else.
But then—as if on cue, as if this is a test of my sanity—Kenan exhales, his voice slow and drawn out, heavy with satisfaction.
“Oh, yeah,” he murmurs lazily. “This was a great idea.”
I crack one eye open, glancing sideways at him. “You’re not supposed to talk.”
Kenan doesn’t even turn his head, just smirks faintly. “Why not?”
“Because it ruins the experience,” I mutter, shifting slightly, trying to reclaim the blissful silence I had finally achieved.
Kenan hums in agreement, but then, after a beat—
“You’re enjoying it, though.”
I don’t answer.
He turns his head slightly, grinning. “You are.”
“No, I’m not.”
Kenan tilts his head, studying me with too much amusement. “Liar.”
I close my eyes, exhaling slowly.
I am not doing this with him.
Not here.
Not while I am too blissed out to argue properly.
“Kenan.”
“Yes?”
“Shut up.”
He laughs under his breath, but mercifully, he drops it.
And for the next few minutes, there is nothing but silence.
I let myself relax again, let my mind drift, surrendering to the warmth of the table, the slow, steady pressure of the massage, the weightlessness of being taken care of for once.
It is perfect.
Which is why, of course, Kenan has to ruin it.
I am still lingering in my post-massage haze when we are ushered into the next part of our spa treatment.
There is a moment of disorientation as I wrap myself in a ridiculously plush robe, knotting it at the waist, letting the softness of the fabric lull me even deeper into a state of near-delirious comfort.
Kenan, meanwhile, has fully leaned into his new life as a luxury spa enthusiast.
He is walking like a man who has just come into a great inheritance, arms swinging loosely at his sides, his robe slightly untied, his expression one of supreme satisfaction.
He glances at me as we walk down the softly lit hallway.
“You’re glowing,” he says smugly.
“I hate you,” I reply, but it’s missing any real venom.
Kenan smirks. “You love me.”
I scoff, tightening my robe for emphasis.
He bumps his shoulder into mine as we turn the corner. “Admit it,” he presses. “You liked it.”
I lift my chin. “I tolerated it.”
“Mmm.” He tilts his head as if considering. “So if I suggested we make this a weekly thing—”
“I would have you arrested.”
Kenan laughs, clearly pleased with himself.
We round the corner, stepping into the next treatment room, where trays of neatly arranged skincare products are waiting for us.
The spa attendant walks us through the benefits of the clay mask, explaining its detoxifying properties, the natural minerals, the way it will leave our skin glowing.
I nod along, listening attentively, taking this seriously.
Kenan, on the other hand, is poking at the clay like it’s some kind of foreign substance.
He leans in slightly, lowering his voice. “So, are we supposed to eat this, or…?”
I snap my head toward him. “I swear to god.”
Kenan grins, pleased that he has successfully annoyed me.
And then—before I can react—he swipes a streak of clay onto my cheek.
I gasp, scandalized.
“You did not just—”
Kenan leans back, looking entirely too proud of himself.
“Look at that,” he muses. “You’re already looking better.”
I narrow my eyes.
“Kenan.”
“Yes?”
“You have five seconds to run.”
He laughs, but it’s cut short the moment I dip my fingers into the clay and smear a thick, deliberate streak down the bridge of his nose.
He blinks.
I smirk. “Oops.”
And then—it’s war.
Kenan lunges, trying to grab my wrist, but I twist away, swiping another streak across his jaw.
He retaliates immediately, dragging a line of clay across my forehead, laughing as I gasp in horror.
“You’re gonna regret that,” I warn, dipping both hands into the mask.
Kenan dodges backward, but not fast enough.
I manage to smear clay across his entire cheek before he grabs my wrist, successfully pinning my arm down as he smears another layer across my temple.
We are laughing too loudly, bumping into the skincare table, earning scandalized looks from the spa attendants, who are clearly regretting ever letting us in.
By the time we finally call a truce, Kenan has clay all over his jawline, a streak across his eyebrow, and possibly some in his hair.
I am in no better shape.
We catch our breath, grinning like idiots.
Kenan leans back, tilting his head as he studies my face.
“You know,” he says, smirking faintly, “I think this is your best look yet.”
I scoff, wiping some of the mask off my cheek. “You mean, this is your best look yet.”
Kenan shrugs. “Well, yeah. Obviously.”
I laugh, rolling my eyes, and for a moment—just a moment—it’s too easy.
Too comfortable.
Like we aren’t just stylist and client. Like maybe, just maybe, we’re something else.
But then—the spa attendant clears her throat loudly.
Kenan and I snap back to reality.
Right. This was meant to be innocent.
…
I should be curled up under a blanket, wrapped in the soft glow of my laptop screen, watching Hugh Grant fumble his way into Julia Roberts’ heart while I eat my weight in popcorn.
Instead, I am sitting at a table at one of the most prestigious football award shows in the world, fixing Kenan Yıldız’s tie for the third time.
“Seriously?” I mutter, tugging at the silk knot as he sits there grinning, far too amused by my growing frustration. “How do you keep messing this up?”
Kenan shrugs, as casually as if he’s discussing the weather. “Maybe it’s cursed.”
“Or maybe,” I counter, tugging harder than necessary, “you have the attention span of a goldfish.”
“That’s a possibility, too.”
I inhale, forcing myself to focus on the task at hand. Not the fact that his tie is somehow always crooked, not the fact that he smells unfairly nice—woodsy and fresh, like expensive cologne and soap. Not the fact that his tux fits like it was made for him, which, technically, it was.
I tighten the knot, fingers brushing against the cool silk of his collar. Then I step back, ignoring the way his eyes follow me.
“There,” I say, smoothing down the lapels of his jacket. “That should hold.”
Kenan reaches up, tugging at the knot experimentally.
And then—he tilts his head. “It’s a little tight.”
I stare at him. Consider violence.
“Oh my god, Kenan.”
He tries not to laugh. “I think I might be suffocating.”
I exhale through my nose, stepping forward again and loosening it just a fraction. “You are a professional athlete. I think you’ll survive a slightly snug tie.”
“You’re very aggressive about this,” he muses.
“I’m aggressive about my work.”
“Hm.” He smirks. “You sure it’s not just me?”
I pull the tie one last time—just a little too tight for good measure.
Kenan coughs. “Okay. Point taken.”
I take my seat beside him, crossing my arms. “You never actually explained why you brought me here.”
Kenan leans back, stretching lazily. “Because what if I had a wardrobe malfunction? Imagine the headlines. ‘Rising Juventus Star Exposes Entire Ballon D’Or Ceremony Thanks to Fashion Mishap.’”
I give him a look. “Right, because that’s such a likely scenario.”
“You never know,” he says, completely serious. “Zippers are tricky.”
I stare at him. “Kenan, you’re wearing a bow tie and a tuxedo.”
“Still, anything could happen.”
I sigh, rubbing my temples. “You actually called me here because you thought you’d have a fashion emergency?”
Kenan tilts his head, amused, but not exactly denying it.
I exhale, shaking my head. “I canceled movie night for this.”
Kenan straightens slightly. “Movie night?”
“Yes, Kenan. That thing normal people do when they are not being dragged to last-minute award shows for ‘fashion emergencies.’”
His eyes spark with something I can’t quite place—amusement, maybe curiosity. “What movie?”
I wave him off. “Doesn’t matter.”
“It does, though.” He nudges my foot under the table, and I kick him back. “Tell me.”
I glance at him, half annoyed, half entertained. “Fine. Notting Hill.”
Kenan’s expression shifts, like I’ve just presented him with something fascinating.
“Hugh Grant?” he asks, suppressing a grin.
I sigh. “Yes, Hugh Grant.”
Kenan hums, clearly holding back laughter. “Are you a rom-com girl?”
I cross my arms. “I am a human being with emotions, Kenan. Of course, I watch rom-coms.”
“Didn’t peg you for the ‘charming British man falls in love with beautiful woman’ type.”
“I think you’re forgetting Julia Roberts is the one falling in love with him.”
Kenan nods, pretending to consider this. “So you like the whole reluctant, ‘I shouldn’t like you but I do’ thing?”
I narrow my eyes. “Why are we discussing this?”
He smirks. “Just gathering intel, boss.”
I blink at him. “For what?”
But before he can answer, a reporter materializes at the side of the table, microphone in hand, already launching into questions about Kenan’s season.
Kenan shifts gears effortlessly, offering charming but nonchalant answers, throwing in just enough personality to keep the conversation light. He’s confident, comfortable, every bit the rising star.
And then—the reporter turns to me.
“And you are his date?”
Before I can answer, Kenan speaks first.
“Best company I could ask for,” he says smoothly, flashing an easy smile.
The reporter nods, clearly filing that information away. Then, she tilts her head.
“Well, you two make a lovely couple.”
Silence.
For exactly three seconds.
I glance at Kenan, fully expecting him to jump in—to laugh, to correct her, to make a joke.
But he doesn’t.
Instead, he just… smirks. A knowing, slow, absolutely infuriating smirk.
I blink at him. Excuse me?
The reporter, seemingly satisfied, quickly thanks Kenan before shifting her attention back to the main stage, preparing for the next segment.
Kenan glances at me, clearly entertained.
“What?” he asks innocently.
“You didn’t correct her,” I say, narrowing my eyes.
He shrugs, reaching for his drink. “Didn’t seem important.”
I stare. “Oh, so that’s how we’re playing this?”
Kenan takes a sip, smiling against the rim of his glass.
And I know, with absolute certainty, that I will be thinking about this later.
…
The event wraps up hours later, and the energy that had been buzzing through the ballroom—the flashing cameras, the hum of conversation, the champagne-fueled laughter—fizzles out the second the car door shuts behind us.
It’s just me and Kenan now, wrapped in the quiet hum of the city, the streets blurred by the tinted windows.
He exhales, rolling his shoulders slightly as he settles into the seat beside me. His bow tie is undone, the silk hanging loosely around his neck, and his jacket is draped lazily over one shoulder. The perfectly put-together image from earlier is gone, replaced by something more undone.
I glance at him. “So? First big award show. Thoughts?”
Kenan stretches his legs out slightly, his head tilting against the seat as he flicks his gaze toward the window. “Not bad. Bit long, though.”
I huff a quiet laugh. “Yeah, sorry. No halftime break in real life.”
He turns his head toward me, grinning faintly, his voice lower now, softer. “Yeah, what’s up with that?”
I shake my head, looking away, watching the neon lights streak past outside. The movement of the car feels almost hypnotic, like we’re floating through the city instead of driving through it.
Another beat of silence.
Not an uncomfortable one. Just something quieter.
Kenan shifts beside me, stretching out his legs slightly, adjusting his posture in that effortless, lazy way he always does. And then—his hand settles on my knee.
Not a quick touch. Not accidental.
Just there.
Steady. Warm. Like he isn’t even thinking about it.
Like it’s completely normal.
My breath hitches—just slightly, barely noticeable—but I feel it.
I should move. He should move. One of us should acknowledge it. But neither of us do.
The space between us feels different now. Closer, somehow. Heavier.
The car hums softly beneath us, the muted sound of the tires against pavement filling the space where words should go.
And then, without thinking, I glance at him again.
And find him already looking.
It’s not like before.
Not teasing. Not playful. Something I don’t have the words for.
His gaze lingers, just for a second too long. Not in the usual way—not like when he smirks at me before making some sarcastic remark, not like when he’s enjoying winding me up.
This is different.
I feel it in the way my pulse kicks up, in the way my breath catches just slightly. It’s not dramatic. Not obvious.
But it’s there.
And I don’t know what to do with it.
So, I look away.
…
You’re coming to dinner with me.”
I glance up from where I’m sprawled dramatically across the couch in the fitting room, my limbs heavy with exhaustion after a long day of fighting Kenan’s terrible fashion instincts.
“No, I’m not.”
Kenan doesn’t even hesitate. “Yes, you are.”
I let my head fall back, groaning. “Kenan, I’ve been stuffing you into suits for six hours. I have blisters. My soul has left my body. I am going home.”
Kenan, completely unbothered, grabs my bag and slings it over his shoulder.
“No, you’re coming to dinner,” he corrects, grinning at me like this is already a settled matter. “Because we’ve been locked in here all day, and you need to eat before you start resenting me.”
I lift my head just enough to narrow my eyes at him. “I already resent you.”
Kenan just laughs. “See? I was right.”
I sigh, dragging my hands down my face. “Kenan, I look like I’ve been wrestling with a dozen overpriced jackets all day.”
“So?”
“So, I’m going home.”
“You’re coming to dinner.”
I give him a long, tired stare.
“Kenan—”
“It’s literally just food,” he interrupts, voice easy, persuasive, the way it always is when he knows he’s going to win. “Don’t overthink it.”
I exhale, already feeling myself caving.
It’s just food. It’s just dinner. That’s what I keep telling myself, over and over again, trying to push away the small, creeping realization that it doesn’t really feel like just dinner. I know what just dinner feels like, and this is not it.
We talk the entire time, without effort, without having to think about it, the conversation flowing so naturally that I don’t realize how much time is passing. He makes a comment about something, I fire back, he laughs, I roll my eyes, and somehow, we’re still going, as if we could sit here for hours and not run out of things to say.
And the way he looks at me—really looks at me—makes it even harder to pretend this is nothing. There’s no teasing smirk, no sarcastic remark waiting to be delivered. He just listens, like he actually cares about what I have to say, like he’s interested in the conversation itself, not just waiting for his turn to speak. Every time I laugh, I see it—the way his mouth tugs slightly at the corner, the way his expression softens in this way that makes something in my stomach tighten a little too much.
I tell myself I’m imagining it.
I pretend not to notice.
I am so careful not to acknowledge it.
So careful.
Until—
Kenan shifts, leaning forward slightly, resting his elbow against the table, his movements easy and unhurried. He’s still talking, still completely comfortable, still looking at me in a way that makes my skin feel warmer than it should. His hand moves as if it’s just part of the conversation, as if it’s the most natural thing in the world, and suddenly, before I can even process it—his fingers brush against my skin.
He tucks a strand of hair behind my ear.
I still.
It’s nothing. It should be nothing. A casual, thoughtless movement, something people do all the time without thinking. But I feel it anyway. The way his fingertips graze just barely against my skin, the way my breath catches before I can stop it, the way my pulse stumbles slightly out of rhythm.
I don’t move.
And when I finally bring myself to look at him, he’s already watching me.
There’s no teasing smile this time, no expectation that I’ll roll my eyes or tell him to stop being annoying. His gaze lingers, not in the way it usually does when he’s winding me up, but in a way that makes me acutely aware of how close we are, how low the lighting is, how long we’ve been sitting here.
And then, just as casually as anything else, like he’s just stating a fact, he says—
“You look nice tonight.”
I blink.
Kenan doesn’t laugh it off or turn it into a joke. He doesn’t make a stupid comment to lighten the mood.
He just says it.
And suddenly, I feel the shift. The weight of the moment. The way this night has felt different from the start, how I’ve been trying so hard to ignore it, to brush past it, to keep everything as normal as possible.
I clear my throat, shifting slightly in my seat, leaning back just enough to regain whatever little distance is left between us. “That’s suspiciously polite of you.”
Kenan grins, but there’s something different underneath it this time. Softer. Quieter.
“I can be polite,” he says.
I raise an eyebrow. “Since when?”
Kenan laughs, shaking his head, as if this conversation hasn’t just tipped over into something else entirely. “Shut up.”
…
I tell myself I’m imagining it.
That nothing has changed.
That Kenan has always been like this—touchy, flirty, full of too much energy and no sense of personal space.
But lately, it’s harder to believe that.
Because now, when he leans in, he doesn’t just lean in—he gets close.
Close enough that I feel the warmth of him, the barest brush of his breath against my skin when he murmurs something in my ear, his voice lower than necessary.
Close enough that I catch myself not moving away.
Like right now.
I’m adjusting the sleeve of his suit, focused, professional, completely in control, when I feel him shift.
A slow, deliberate movement.
And then—his hand finds my waist.
Not a full touch. Just fingertips grazing over the rim of my blouse, barely there, like he’s testing the waters.
My breath catches, but I don’t react.
I won’t react.
Instead, I clear my throat and step back just slightly, putting enough space between us to make it look intentional.
“Keep your arm straight,” I say, like my voice isn’t thinner than it should be, like I don’t notice the way his fingers hesitate before falling away.
Kenan hums, amused.
“You’re being very serious right now,” he murmurs.
I glance up at him. “Because I am serious. This suit costs more than your car.”
Kenan tilts his head slightly, smirking. “That’s a bold assumption.”
I arch an eyebrow. “Kenan, I know what you drive.”
He grins, unbothered. “Fair enough.”
I turn my attention back to the sleeve, carefully adjusting the buttons at the cuff. But then—he shifts again.
His hand finds my wrist this time.
His thumb, brushing just slightly against my skin. Warm. Steady. Completely unnecessary.
And then—his voice. Low. Playful. Right against my ear.
“I like when you fuss over me like this,” he murmurs.
My stomach tightens.
I exhale sharply, yanking my hand away, because this is ridiculous.
“Don’t flatter yourself,” I say, turning away before I can see his reaction.
Kenan laughs—quiet, smug, entirely too entertained.
It’s not just this moment.
It’s all the moments.
A collection of small, seemingly insignificant things that, when pieced together, paint a picture I refuse to acknowledge.
The way he stands closer than necessary. The way he touches me more now—fingers grazing my wrist when I pass him something, the press of his palm against my back when he moves past me, the way his knee stays against mine when we sit side by side.
It’s slowly driving me crazy.
…
I should have gone home.
We both should have.
It’s late, the Juventus complex is quiet except for the soft hum of the overhead light, casting a warm glow over the table where fabric swatches are still scattered from earlier. We finished hours ago, but neither of us has moved to leave. I tell myself it’s because I’m still organizing things, tidying up, making sure everything is in order, but that’s a lie. I just don’t want to be the first one to go.
Kenan is behind me, leaning against the edge of the table, watching me work like he’s waiting for something. He hasn’t said anything in a while, which is how I know he’s about to start trouble. Kenan is always at his most dangerous when he’s quiet.
Then, right on cue, his voice comes, easy and amused.
“You realize the fabric will still be there in the morning, right?”
I don’t turn around. “You realize you’re still here too, right?”
“That’s different,” he says, like that’s the most obvious thing in the world.
I finally glance at him over my shoulder. “Oh? How exactly?”
He grins. “You’re working. I’m just here for moral support.”
I roll my eyes and turn back to the table, stacking the fabric samples in an even pile. “How noble of you.”
“Right? You should really be thanking me.”
“For what, standing there and doing absolutely nothing?”
“For the company.” His tone is light, teasing, but there’s something else there too, something I don’t want to examine too closely.
I let out an exaggerated sigh. “Kenan, you do realize I spend half my life in fittings with you, right? I get more than enough of your company.”
“And yet, you’re still here.”
I pause.
It’s too small a sentence to mean anything.
Except it does.
I shake my head and focus on my work, pretending like he hasn’t just called me out in the most subtle way possible. “Well, someone has to make sure you don’t embarrass yourself in public.”
He hums, stepping closer, just enough that I feel it. “And here I thought it was because you liked dressing me.”
I scoff, ignoring the sudden warmth creeping up my neck. “I dress a lot of people.”
“Yeah, but I’m your favorite.”
The worst part is—he’s not even asking.
He says it like it’s a fact, like it’s already been decided, like he’s just been waiting for me to admit it.
I huff out a laugh, reaching for another swatch, doing everything I can to keep my voice steady. “I promise you, I don’t have favorites.”
Kenan tuts under his breath, stepping even closer, leaning just slightly toward me. “That’s funny, because I’m pretty sure I overheard you telling someone last week that navy brings out my eyes. If I didn’t know better, I’d say you’ve been paying extra attention to me.”
I exhale sharply, shaking my head. “It’s literally my job to pay attention to you.”
“So you admit it.”
I freeze for half a second too long, and that’s all he needs.
Kenan laughs under his breath, like he’s caught me in something.
“That’s not what I meant,” I say quickly, but it’s useless.
He’s already too entertained.
Then, before I can even attempt to redirect the conversation, he moves.
A casual shift, nothing obvious, nothing dramatic, but suddenly his hand is resting lightly on my waist.
It’s not a tight grip, not a bold gesture—just a small, steadying touch, like it’s the most natural thing in the world.
It’s not.
But I don’t move.
His fingers flex slightly, a slow press of warmth through the fabric of my blouse, and I hate the way my pulse jumps in response.
I force a dry laugh, ignoring the way the air suddenly feels heavier between us. “Don’t.”
Kenan hums thoughtfully. “You keep saying that.”
“Because it’s weird.”
“I don’t think it’s weird,” he muses, his thumb brushing absently over the fabric. “I think you’re just trying really hard not to like it.”
The absolute audacity.
I let out a sharp breath, pulling back just enough to glare up at him. “I’m not trying anything.”
His mouth tugs into a smirk, slow and knowing. “No?”
Before I can come up with a response, before I can convince myself that I actually have one, he tilts his head slightly, studying me, watching me squirm, knowing exactly what he’s doing.
His eyes flick down to my lips—barely noticeable, but I catch it.
I catch it, and my brain goes completely blank.
And I know.
I know exactly what’s about to happen, I know that I should stop this before it goes any further, before he gets any more of an ego boost than he already has, before I give him one more reason to look at me like he knows something I don’t.
But I don’t stop it.
And maybe—that’s all he was waiting for.
Because then, he kisses me.
It’s not rushed, not hesitant, just easy. Like he knew exactly how this was going to play out before I even figured it out myself. Like he’s been waiting for me to catch up.
And, somehow, before I can even stop to think about it, I’m kissing him back.
His hands move to my jaw, fingers sliding into my hair, firm but not demanding, like he’s daring me to stop him.
But I don’t.
Because I don’t want to.
Because of course this was going to happen.
Because Kenan has been pushing me toward this moment for weeks, maybe longer, and I let him, and now I don’t want to stop.
I don’t even notice that my hands have fisted into his shirt, pulling him in, until I feel him grin against my lips.
He pulls back just slightly, just enough that we’re still close, still breathing the same air, still feeling the warmth of it.
His eyes flick between mine, slow and deliberate, and when he finally speaks, his voice is quieter than before, smug but softer.
“Finally.”
I should argue.
But instead, I just kiss him again.
#kenan yıldız#kenan yildiz#kenan yildiz x reader#kenan yıldız oneshot#kenan yıldız x reader#kenan yıldız fanfic#kenan yildiz oneshot
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ok since caleb is back i NEEDDDD to see him and zayne interact and they have like a rivalry since they’re all childhood friends in case infold doesn’t give it to me idk how it would work tho but i trust you
Fire and Ice
Author's note: I really almost went a very dark romance direction with this, but it would've needed to be multiple parts and Caleb would've been like a villain, so I did my best to condense it into a single chapter uwu plus, this is my first LADS fic, so I am really getting a feel for the characterization and what kind of storylines I want to write after so long of not writing fics.
Contains: College AU! Zayne x MC/YN x Caleb love triangle (except MC doesn't really like Caleb back) where Zayne ultimately wins over MC teehee, shameless cameos of the other boys because I can, and several time skips because yeah <3
Warnings: cursing I guess? and Caleb being kind of a creep lol but we all know he is one canonically anyway, and also this wasn't proofread because who has time for that
Word Count: 3,743
Class started at 9:00 today just like it did every other day. Today though, you were late. And of course, it was an exam day.
You jumped out of bed as soon as you realized it was 8:41. Could you get ready and make it across campus in 20 minutes?
Only one way to find out.
Had you looked at your phone, you would've realized that a certain someone had been trying to message you. But he was unable to since your phone was on DND. You were too busy throwing on clothes and making yourself look presentable to think about anything else, anyway.
Once you had an outfit on and had somewhat cleaned yourself up, you glanced at the clock on the wall.
8:53...shit.
On a good day, it took about 10 minutes to walk to this class. Today, you would have to run there in 7. If only you hadn't skipped running the mile for gym...
You grabbed your bag, keys, and phone (that you still hadn't looked at) before running out the door.
However, something very sturdy and tall stopped you halfway down the hallway.
"Oof," you grunted as you came into contact with this tall, sturdy thing.
Turns out, it was a person. The person who had been trying to text you all morning.
"Caleb! What the hell?"
You looked up at him in frustration.
"I'm trying to get to class! The one you should be in too? We have an exam!"
Caleb, who still hadn't actually spoken, only laughed as he pulled his phone out of his pocket. He clicked a few things on the screen before turning it towards you.
It showed an email from your professor to your class, letting you all know that he was sick and that both class and the exam was cancelled.
It took you a few seconds to decide if you were happy or upset about the situation. Ultimately, you decided you were happy.
"If your phone hadn't been on 'Ignore Caleb Mode,' this could've been avoided," he chuckled out, putting his own phone back in his pocket.
You finally got yours out and noticed that you had, in fact, missed three texts and four calls from Caleb.
The most recent one though, wasn't from Caleb. It was from Zayne. Just reading his name on your phone made your heart skip a beat.
"You wanna go get breakfast or something?" Caleb asked, snapping you away from your Zayne-themed thoughts.
Your eyes met his excited ones, but it only took him a second to realize what your answer would be.
"Come onnnn," he groaned, tilting his head back dramatically. "Your next class isn't until 12 and mine is at 12:30. You got some big plans or something?"
You hesitated. You weren't sure how much you should tell Caleb. He could be a bit funny about things sometimes.
"I...I told Zayne I would meet him for coffee after our class. Which has now been cancelled, so he texted me asking if I wanted to meet him earlier instead."
Caleb grew silent, whatever was left of his initial hopeful expression now nonexistent.
"Oh...I see. Forgot he was in our class too."
"Caleb, come on. How about I have dinner with you to make up for it? Whatever happened with you two anyway? We all used to be great friends."
He scoffed, shoving his hands in his pockets and kicking at the floor halfheartedly.
"Don't worry about it. Go have fun, I won't get in the way."
With that, Caleb walked away.
~
You sighed as you swirled the last bit of your now cold coffee around the bottom of the mug.
"And so then he just walked away," you said quietly, still not sure what you did to deserve that from Caleb.
You looked up at the dark-haired man in front of you.
Zayne hadn't said much yet, he was just listening to you go on and on. But this really wasn't out of the ordinary for you two.
"Never mind that! Tell me about your day so far Zayne. I have really been yapping since we sat down."
Zayne lifted the corner of his mouth in a small smile, breathing slightly through his nose before raising his mug to his lips for a drink, and then setting it back down.
"I wouldn't call it yapping. I enjoy listening to you speak, and it sounds like you had an eventful day right from the start."
Your face burned slightly from Zayne's words, and you prayed he didn't notice.
"But my day before now really only consisted of some early morning studying, if you really wanted to know."
You chuckled a bit and raised your eyebrow playfully at Zayne.
"Future Dr. Zayne needs to study? We should all feel a little better about ourselves then!"
Zayne shook his head at your comment, in the way he always does when he thinks something is funny but doesn't want to show it and give you the satisfaction.
"Everyone would benefit from studying. Some of us...more than others," he said so only you could hear, glancing at the farthest corner of the cafe.
You followed his gaze and saw what he was looking at.
At the table in the corner was the well-known quiet kid, Xavier. His head was down on the top of the table in its usual position, and even from where you were sitting you could hear his signature snores.
What was really funny though, was not Xavier, but something else.
There were three people sitting across from him at another table with their phones out, taking pictures of him sleeping. Their stifled laughs and giggles were infectious, and you realized it was the class clown group of Sylus and his two sidekicks, Luke and Kieran. They truly were always getting into trouble or causing it.
You snorted and quickly covered your mouth and nose with both hands, hoping no one heard it. But of course Zayne did, and even he had to laugh quietly.
After the moment passed and it got quiet again, you decided to ask Zayne the real question that had been on your mind. The same one you asked Caleb a couple of hours ago.
"So... what did happen between you two? There must have been something."
Zayne stared into his dry coffee mug, pushing his glasses up slightly with the tip of his index finger.
"I'm not sure what you're referring to, (Y/N)."
"You know what I'm talking about. Caleb? The three of us used to have so much fun together as kids. Then when we started college together, everything got so tense a few weeks into the first semester."
"There are some things that you don't know, and it would be better if it remained that way. At least...for now."
You knew not to push Zayne. And you did trust him, so you decided to leave it alone for the moment.
Hopefully you would get to the bottom of it, sooner or later.
~
The two of you had stayed at the cafe much longer than you meant to. So you decided to go through the to-go lunch line before Zayne walked you to your next class.
You wondered if Zayne knew how you felt at times like these. Of course he was smart, but was he able to tell how you truly felt about him? What would he think? What would he say, if he knew? There's no way he would feel the same, so would he at least still want to be your friend?
Stupid.
Once Zayne had gotten his food as well, he turned towards you but stopped before he moved any closer.
"(Y/N), don't move."
You clicked your tongue in fake annoyance and put your hands on your hips, putting all your weight onto one side as you glared at Zayne.
"Why? Is there a big spider on me or something?"
"Yes."
"What?"
You immediately froze, your bag of food falling to the ground with a slight plop noise. Then you screamed and flailed your hands around, trying to brush off whatever spawn of Satan was on you.
In the commotion, you lost your balance, and fell backwards, colliding with another person. Whoever it was broke your fall, at least.
"Ouch, my hand!" the person whined underneath you.
As quickly as you could, you got up onto your feet and saw a big brown spider on the floor, scurrying away from the scene.
Huh, so Zayne really was telling the truth.
Snapping back to reality, you bent down with your hand outstretched to help the purple haired boy up.
"I am so sorry. It's Rafayel, right? Is your hand okay?"
Rafayel groaned and rubbed his right hand with his left before making eye contact with you.
"No thanks to you. I need my hands for painting, you know."
Rafayel bent over to pick up his bookbag that had fallen down, and then shot you another look.
"But I suppose that spider was a fearsome creature. You're forgiven."
Before you could apologize again, he turned on his heel and marched away.
Blinking rapidly, you stood up straight and scanned the cafeteria. As you made eye contact with people, they looked away away in a hurry. All except Zayne, who stood holding your forgotten bag of food.
"Shut up, Zayne."
"But I didn't say anything."
~
Classes were now over for the day, and you thought it was strange that you hadn't seen Caleb anymore. Usually, he was waiting outside your classrooms whenever he could, almost like he had your schedule memorized and watched you from a distance somehow. To be honest, you wouldn't put it past him. He had always been super protective of you, which you appreciated. But sometimes, it could be a bit much. Especially as you have gotten older, and are starting to feel differently and do more things on your own.
Did Caleb...like you? Is that why he has been like that? Or was he just being the best friend he could be for you?
Nah, no way he liked you. You guys were just really good friends, and had been for years. That was enough for you.
Zayne, on the other hand, often had your emotions and thoughts in a knot. You couldn't put your finger on when exactly, but you had fallen for him as more than just a friend, and you thought about him often.
Would his lips be as cold as his hands usually were?
You shook your head, trying to shake the thought itself from your brain. No sense in getting too deep. Zayne was here for school and to become a doctor. And he could have anyone he wanted, so why on Earth would that person be you?
You decided to take a walk before it got too dark. After all, it would be nice to be by yourself for a bit since the day had been so chaotic so far.
Glancing out the window of your room, you tried to plan the route you would walk. But when you did, you noticed someone duck behind the bushes nearby.
What the hell?
Now curious about who was watching you in your own room, you decided to go around the back of your dorm building to try and catch whoever it was.
Once you were outside, you crouched a bit and tried to come around the corner of the building as quietly as possible. You took each step with a sense of purpose, willing the person to still be there. The bushes were now only a few steps away.
In a flash, you lunged, separating the bushes with your hands to find out who the creep was. But there was no one there.
Defeated, you plopped down onto the grass, trying to decide if you even wanted to go for a walk anymore.
"Whatcha doing down there on the ground?" a familiar voice behind you asked.
"Caleb!"
You stood up excitedly and clasped your hands together.
Caleb bent down to your eye-level and smiled, his usual sparkle back in his gaze.
"Were you lookin' for something?"
You shook your head, looking back over at the disheveled bush.
"No, it was really weird. I thought someone was watching me from the bushes right there. It's right underneath my window. I was gonna punch them in the mouth!"
Caleb coughed.
"Yeah, that is really weird. Anyway, wanna grab dinner soon? You offered, after all."
"Oh, sure! It's gonna get dark soon anyway, so no time for a walk after all."
You walked with Caleb to the cafeteria in silence. Usually the two of you would be talking about random things, whether that be you trying to decide on a major or Caleb's newest model airplane he built. But today, it was nothing. And you didn't really like that.
"Caleb, do you care about me?"
Your sudden question startled him, the silence around you quickly dissipating. But he didn't miss a beat.
"Well, of course I do. It's about time you noticed! But why are you asking?"
"Because I feel like you're hiding something from me. And so is Zayne, and it really bothers me. Today was especially bothersome."
Caleb sighed, opening the door to the cafeteria for you.
"You really wanna know?"
"Yes! I miss the two of you getting along. We had some great times."
Caleb grabbed two empty lunch trays and handed you one. You mumbled a quick thanks as you watched his conflicted facial expression manifest.
"We just had a fight, okay? That's all. Sometimes that happens and people aren't friends anymore."
You weren't satisfied. You knew there was more to it after the way he reacted earlier when you told him you were meeting Zayne for coffee.
"You're still leaving something out."
"What, you wanna know what we fought about?"
"Yes! Maybe I can help."
Caleb shook his head, reaching for a serving spoon to get some rice.
"Hmm, I don't think so, (Y/N). Not this time. This isn't like when we argued over the last Popsicle in Grandma's freezer."
"Oh, come on. I'm not a little girl anymore. You don't have to hide things from me."
He gripped the next serving spoon tightly, causing the food on it to wobble slightly.
"I know you aren't a little girl anymore, and that's part of the problem. You don't need me as much anymore."
"Caleb," you groaned, "You know I still want you around, no matter what. I love you, you know?"
Caleb's head seemed to be on a swivel, as fast as he turned towards you.
"You do?"
"Well yeah! You're my best friend."
Caleb's face fell slowly, starting with his eyebrows and ending with his lips.
"Yeah, best friends love each other, I guess..."
You followed him out of line to the closest table where he flopped onto one of the seats.
"I don't understand, Caleb. You don't want me to love you?"
"He does, but not in the way you are referring to, (Y/N)," a male voice said from behind where you were sitting. A voice you knew very well.
"Zayne?" you gasped. "How did you know I was here?"
You turned away from Caleb to look at him fully. He wasn't wearing his glasses, and the expression on his face was completely unreadable.
"This is usually the time you eat dinner, and I was hoping I would find you here. I did some thinking after our conversation earlier and wanted to talk to you."
A sudden loud noise caused you to jump. Looking towards the sound, you saw Caleb's tight fist against the table, surrounded by stray grains of rice.
"You've got a lot of nerve comin' up to our table right now, Zayne."
"I suppose I have just as much nerve as someone who enjoys stalking women due to their own insecurities."
Caleb stood up from the table, attracting the eyes of other students sitting down for dinner.
"Um, guys. Maybe we should all go talk outside?"
You felt something cold against your hand, and then another on your cheek.
They were snowflakes from Zayne's Evol, melting against the heat of your flushed skin.
You quickly glanced at Zayne, who was completely focused on Caleb. He hadn't even realized that he was causing them to appear in his emotional state.
A few of them stuck to your eyelashes, but you quickly blinked them away, risking a look at Caleb.
He was just as focused on Zayne, his jaw set in place and his hands now gripping the edge of the table with white knuckles.
"I think that's a great idea," Caleb spat, still not breaking eye contact with Zayne.
Without another word, he stomped towards the door, bumping Zayne's shoulder on the way by.
Though you hadn't moved, you felt out of breath as you finally met Zayne's eyes.
He was stoic, the anger he felt inside radiating off of him like a heatwave.
"Sorry about the snow," he said quietly.
You shook your head.
"What is going on? This is the first time the two of you have interacted in a long time, and it's already going to shit."
"He wants you all to himself, (Y/N). And that is just something I cannot abide."
"He what? Zayne, what-."
Before you could finish, he left to walk outside as well, taking the remaining snowflakes with him.
You ignored the onlookers and the mess left on your table before following after them.
Once you had them in your sights, you realized Caleb was getting in Zayne's face, challenging him to make a move.
Your walk turned into a run so you could catch up to them in the clearing that they were in behind the cafeteria. It seemed that they were in the middle of a new argument.
"...doesn't know what she wants. How would you know, nerd?"
"You aren't right for her, and you act strangely when it comes to her. What would any sane person think?"
Caleb was getting loud, but Zayne was speaking in his usual measured tone.
"What is going on?"
The boys froze, seeing that you had followed them outside. Caleb started to back away, and Zayne cleared his throat, moving to push up his glasses before realizing they weren't there.
"Explain yourselves. Now."
They didn't start talking right away. Instead, they took a step farther away from each other and stood silently.
"I mean it. You two are acting so damn weird. I don't deserve this."
Zayne sighed.
"She's right, Caleb."
Caleb crossed his arms.
"Yeah, I know."
Zayne started speaking first.
"When we first came here, Caleb and I had a conversation. About you."
You didn't say anything, in fear of causing them to change their minds about telling you.
"(Y/N), I was going to let you know that...that I felt a different way about you now than you might've expected. And I told Zayne about it, thinking he would support me."
"Except I found out about the...peculiar ways he chooses to look out for you and protect you. And I let him know that I strongly disapprove of his intentions."
Caleb glared at Zayne once more, and you shushed him when you saw that he was opening his mouth to fuss at Zayne.
"You follow me around to classes and stuff right? I figured. And I'm now guessing that was you in the bushes earlier?"
Zayne raised an eyebrow.
"I don't need you to watch over me like a hawk, Caleb. I am a grown up, a grown woman. And I can take care of myself."
His head lowered slightly, a hand meeting his neck to rub it awkwardly.
"I know it comes from an honest place in your heart, but I need you to stop. And..."
You hesitantly reached out to touch his arm.
"I'm sorry, but you're like my brother. I love you...in that way. Do you still want to be around me?"
Caleb sighed, laying a hand over top of yours.
"You can't get rid of me that easily. I will always be around. In whatever way you want, pipsqueak." Caleb flashed you a sad smile.
You let out a nervous chuckle, glad to see that he took it at least somewhat well. Never in your life would you have expected Caleb to have a crush on you. But you knew you didn't want to lose him, no matter what.
"Zayne..." Caleb said, turning away from you and letting his hand fall away, "I'm sorry, man."
"It's alright. I look forward to moving past this with you."
Caleb nodded without speaking, and then he walked away. You decided you wouldn't call out for him since he seemed like he needed some time alone.
That just left you with Zayne and the awkward space between you.
"Zayne..." you began.
"Yes?"
"Can I ask you something now?"
A glimmer of hope could be felt, deep within the pit of your stomach. You couldn't stop thinking about something Zayne had said a few moments ago, and though this might not be the best time, you figured it was as good a time as any. If Caleb could do it, so could you.
"Anything. And for what it's worth, I am sorry too. Our behavior was inexcusable."
"What exactly did you mean earlier? When you said he wanted me all to himself? I thought you were upset with him because he chose to look out for me in unique ways."
The edges of Zayne's ears turned red, and he placed a hand against his chin, refusing to look directly at you.
"Were you...jealous, too?"
Zayne remained still and quiet, not sure what to say next.
"Because I really like you. I have for a long time. And no, I know what you're thinking...I am not just saying that because of what happened tonight. Actually it kind of inspired me to tell you."
Something suddenly caused your eye to water. You rubbed it hurriedly, then pulled your hand away to see a trail of moisture run down your thumb. But not long passed before you figured out what it was, a white speck falling in front of your field of vision giving it away as it landed on your outstretched hand.
"I wouldn't call it jealousy but..."
You shivered slightly as the snowflakes turned into a small flurry.
"I knew he wasn't right for you. And...one can have hopes."
~
#love and deepspace#lads#lnds#zayne x reader#caleb#sylus#rafayel#xavier#zayne#mc#y/n#reader insert#x reader#lads x reader#luke#kieran#caleb x reader#caleb x mc#zayne x mc
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Our Family Part 3
Part 1 https://www.tumblr.com/insomniadreamzz/772098495309070336/ok-ok-ok-following-the-pregnancy-storyline-lets
Part 2 https://www.tumblr.com/insomniadreamzz/773579527173668864/hey-im-absolutely-obsessed-with-your-series-about
G!P Jinx x Fem!Reader
In this part I am gonna add two requests I got. First is morning wood with G!P Jinx and second request is Vi meeting her niece.
Mentions of smut, fluff, G!P
![Tumblr media](https://64.media.tumblr.com/a1051c887ecf67fe34acda892ba6b9c6/967bd2b43f6933ec-be/s540x810/4317587645fc59cfcd6f87ba63a2f38345ac8113.jpg)
You woke up the next morning in the arms of your lover, still sleepy as you nuzzled closer into her chest. Last night was amazing and you still couldn’t believe how lucky you were. Jinx probably thinking the same as her arms tightened around you, pulling you closer into her embrace. „Good morning my love.“ You heard her mumble as she nuzzled into your hair, loving her sleepy voice. It really was attractive.
„Good Morning Jinx.“ You said but still you didn’t make a move to get up, you even got more closer, feeling her bulge press against you which made you chuckle. „I guess your friend down there says good morning too huh?“ You teased, making her grumble in a sleepy way as she turned on her back. „Yeah…that’s called morning wood if you didn’t know that by now.“ Jinx said and you chuckled even more. Of course you knew what it was and that it was normal. „It will go away don’t worry.“ She added, still having her eyes closed but you couldn’t help but feel turned on by the view of it poking against the bed sheets. You were still naked since last night after you both just fell asleep after you shared some intimacy with each other.
You couldn’t help but reach down for her cock, grabbing it and moving your hand gently up and down, stroking her cock. „Mhhn…what are you doing?“ She asked, still sleepy, not sure how to react yet. Of course she loved your touch but she wasn’t prepared to wake up like that. „I am helping you getting rid of it. What else?“ You giggled, removing the bed sheets to have a better look and you loved it so much.
The little sleepy moans and messy hair, it just had a special effect on you, feeling your crotch tingle. „Ughh…baby…“ She whined and all you could do was smirk, biting down on your lower lip before adjusting yourself on top of her. „It’s okay, just relax my love.“ You whispered close to her ear, making shivers go down her spine, both of you moaning as you let her slip in. There was nothing better than starting the day with slow, sleepy morning sex, moving your hips as you rode her. Your lips found hers, kissing each other deeply, Jinx’s hands grabbing your hips, helping you with your movements.
It didn’t take long for both of you to reach your orgasm since you were very sensitive this morning, you felt your whole body shiver as her warm cum filled you up, clenching around her cock. Soft moaning escaping your lips in between soft kisses. „I love you…“ You mumbled against her lips, making Jinx smile into the kiss. „I love you too.“
// later that day //
„Why are you dragging me to your hideout? Is that another kind of your pranks? I really don’t have time for that shit I hope you know that?“ Vi groaned as she followed Jinx, still not trusting her fully after everything that happened in the past, knowing her sister loved to make ‚explosive‘ jokes. Little did Vi know, this time she had a beautiful surprise for her.
„I told you before you will see what I have to show you I won’t tell you.“ Jinx said as she ignored Vi and kept on walking happily, they both being interrupted by Isha greeting Vi with a little hug as she rushed to her, hugging her leg.
„Oh hey Isha.“ Vi greeted the little one with a smile. Their relationship got better by time. Isha slowly learned by time that she should not be scared of Vi and since you and Jinx adopted her, Vi became like a aunt figure to the girl. That Vi actually had a non adopted niece, was the surprise Jinx wanted to show her. The pink haired woman noticed that Isha was excited but she let Jinx show her the little surprise and kept herself quiet in the background.
You were sitting in the couch in Jinx’s hideout, having your baby in your arms which was peacefully asleep, snapping your head up when you heard their voices, chuckling to yourself as you heard them argue again. „Some things never change…“ You mumble to yourself. The second Vi saw you, she froze in place, her gaze immediately fixed on the little, fragile thing in your arms. „Is that…yours?“ She spoke softly and Jinx gave her the widest smile possible, nodding proudly. „Yep! I made that with my girlfriend. That’s your niece!“ She cheered happily, being her usual quirky self, the total opposite of Vi.
„You can come closer, I am sure we don’t bite.“ You mentioned as you smiled happily, Vi approaching you slowly until she stood right in front of you. „Woah I-…I didn’t know…how did you both do that? I mean-…didn’t you need help?“ Vi clearly felt bad for not being there for Jinx and you during all of that, first the pregnancy then birth. She felt guilty for being busy all the time up in Piltover with Caitlyn and not noticing what was going in down here in Zaun.
„Oh come on sis! It’s okay we know you were busy and had a lot of things to do up there. Me and my girlfriend made it without help. I mean-…okay Singed helped with the birth part but yea.“ The blue haired woman said before pushing Vi closer to you and made her sit on the couch next to you. „Jinx is right. There is nothing to feel guilty about. We both know about your responsibilities up there and that you want to be there for Caitlyn. Jinx would do the same for me.“ You mentioned with a soft smile, there was no hate in this moment, only peace.
„So? You wanna hold little Powder?“ You asked, Vi glancing up at you before looking at the baby again. „P-Powder?“ She asked with a little shaky voice, Jinx immediately nodding. „Yea! We decided to name her Powder. So we finally connect the name with something beautiful…especially me.“ Jinx’s voice got lower mid sentence, clearly feeling emotional about that.
„I mean…sure I want to hold her. If I am allowed to…“ Vi felt emotional as well, she didn’t expect this at all, to see her little niece, to even have a niece. Of course she had Isha which was like a niece to her already but this was something else. It was her sisters real own child.
You shifted a little bit closer before carefully handing Vi the baby and the moment she held Powder, the always tough looking woman shed tears of happiness. „Hello my beautiful little niece…“ She whispered, admiring her like she never saw something so beautiful before. Jinx sat down next to you with Isha crawling up into her lap. The picture all of you created was beautiful, the whole family was there now.
You felt your girlfriends arm wrap around your waist, all of your eyes focused on the baby as you smiled like crazy.
„You better take good care of your little sis Isha.“ Vi said with a chuckle, her heart breaking at some point when she remembered what she did to Jinx when they were younger. „Always stay with your sis and never let her down.“ She mentioned, more tears running down her cheeks. „And you little Pow…thank you for being here. For making this family whole. I promise I will be a good auntie for you and Caitlyn too.“ She continued, making your eyes water as well.
„Vi…it’s okay please don’t feel guilty anymore for what once had been.“ Jinx broke her silence as she stood up, Isha already gone into her playing corner, drawing something on a piece of paper. „We all do mistakes in our life, purposely or not. Things like that happen, I learned that we can all be better. Thanks to my girlfriend, I learned that I can be good as well and not only causing chaos.“ Jinx looked at you for a second as she mentioned you before walking towards her sister, wrapping her arms around Vi‘s neck to hug her, you watching the scene with a happy smile, wiping your happy tears away.
„We can still be a happy little family can we?“ You mentioned, Vi and Jinx nodding in response.
Your emotional little moment got interrupted by Isha rushing towards you again, showing her drawing of Vi, Jinx, Powder, you and herself on it and a lot of hearts on it, making all of you chuckle and appreciating the little girls work.
No matter if Piltover or Zaun. The conflicts between those two nations have come to an end after everything that happened in the past. Sometimes you and Jinx visited Vi and Caitlyn up in Piltover and sometimes they visited you in Zaun. And the most beautiful part for you was seeing how Jinx’s personality had changed. Of course she had her moments but most of the time she was calmer when she was around you or the kids. You noticed she discovered happiness for the first time in so long and finally arrived where she always wanted to be. In a life where she didn’t have to suffer.
…
(Little fluff bonus)
Little footsteps echoed through the room, you and Jinx being all cuddled up in bed, barely noticing what was about come next. Isha and Powder crawled up into your bed and each of them hugged you both, making you wake up with a little soft groan, followed by chuckles.
„Ah there they are, little shark attack huh?“ Jinx mumbled with a little laugh, opening her eyes to see how both of your little ones had joined you. Powder could already crawl and with Isha‘s help it wasn’t hard for her to get up here in bed as well.
„Ugh yea this will continue for a long while I guess.“ You chuckle as well, especially when you opened your eyes to look at sleepy Jinx having Powders little hands squishing her cheeks, you couldn’t hold your laughter back at the cute and funny sight.
„What’s so funny?“ Jinx said, sticking her tongue out at you. „Nothing. I think she likes squishing you though.“ You replied with a laugh before Isha did the same to you which made both of you laugh in the end.
Both of you suddenly froze in place as Powder fumbled with Jinx‘s open long hair and tried to say something. Everything went silent and you finally heard it. She said mama, she literally called Jinx mama and you couldn’t help but cry in happiness. „Yes Pow I am your mama.“ Jinx smiled widely, hugging the little one and placing kisses on her cheek. „And I love you so so much.“ She continued, you having Isha cuddled up into your side, she fell asleep again since it was early in the morning. You sniffed softly, watching the cute scene before you. „That’s her first word…I am so happy. Yes we are your mamas.“ You mentioned.
Both of you were so happy, no one of you could describe it into words.
#fanfiction#female reader#x reader#x fem!reader#short imagine#lgbtq#arcane#arcane fanfic#jinx#jinx x fem!reader#jinx x reader#jinx fanfic#jinx smut#jinx arcane#vi and jinx#jinx and isha#isha arcane#vi arcane#fanfic#g!p
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Hi. I have seen a nerdjo fanart and went a little insane.
I specifically saw this art--
![Tumblr media](https://64.media.tumblr.com/6640a871b2e52413269dddbeb02d5899/b33a26a846a89e47-59/s540x810/b66a834d425f29f0eda8e8be8bd017bbcdd954e7.jpg)
and like LJKHFGLKJSHLDFKhGKLSD i know its satosugu or some kind of self insert bUT HEAR ME OUT OKAY--
the thought of a nerdjo nanago where GOJO is the straightlaced person in the relationship while NANAMI is the "bad influence" rough and tough bad guy iS SO GOOD TO MEEEEEEE
BECAUSE LIKE--
we all collectively hc nanami as being some kind of emo punk in hs or at the very least got into some bullshit during his uni/college years when he got out of juju tech and this is just its Natural Conclusion OKAY-- IM NOT INSANE BUT I WILL ADMIT THAT I AM GOING FERAL
Because like-- imagine a college au where gojo and nanami are assigned to be each others tutors in their respective fields (gojo with physics and nanami in economics). Gojo is painting this picture of a mean, money focused economics student that would rather look at the stock market than entertain theoretical physics, a subject that wont really affect his life before meeting him
But then they actually meet each other for their study session for the first time and oh god gojos never felt this gay before-- other than the time that gojo discovered he was gay, dear LORD he didnt feel that bad before KJLGSDGDL
Because while yeah, nanami did show up rockin the stereotypical hoity toity econ student fit-- glasses, collared shirt, watch, shined shoes-- he didnt expect him to be built like a brick shithouse, okay. And even as he fell back on his tried and true method of getting back into focus (which is breaking things down using physics to figure out how they interact with the world), even that failed because he started wondering about the physics of fabrics and how they didnt rip yet from such huge rippling muscles
He does manage to get through the tutoring lesson safely and, thank god it was the physics lesson first because if he had to sit there listening to nanamis voice talk about literally anything for extended periods of time, he may turn into a puddle. As gojo packs up, both his materials and his thoughts that are steering WILDLY into inappropriate territory, he resigns himself into being the fushiguros babysitter for the next 3 weeks because cleaning up baby diapers are the fastest way to get rid of a boner and he cant be popping those everytime hes around nanami
So imagine gojos surprise when nanami hesitates a bit before he leaves. "Are you busy tonight?" "...what?" "Are you busy tonight." "Uhm..."
Is this it? Is his 1 to 2 hour long crush discovered? Is nanami actually straight, found out his gayness, and decided to destroy him????
"...I noticed you didn't have anything down on your planner. A friend of mine got sick, so now im kind of going alone to this concert." "...Oh! Aren't you gonna--" "Sell the ticket? No, its... not really a concert, its an underground diy venue. its more live music in a bar, than an actual concert you buy tickets to. you get to find a lot of small starting artists. its pretty good." "...so youre saying is, there's no ticket to sell?"
gojo's breath hitches, as his deep chuckle graces his ears. "yeah, no tickets." his face is warm, and he has no idea if it shows. nanamis eyes tear themselves away from wherever they roamed and met his again. "you wanna come?" "y-yeah! yeah sure, im down."
he really fumbled the delivery on that one, but thank god nanami seems to like clumsy people because that just widened the small smile on his face. "that's good. see you 8 down at the lawsons?" "8 at the lawsons, yeah sure okay--" a nod, a grin, and he walks off.
Triple Threat Tokyo Groupchat
Sight Impediment: @/Dr. House Kinnie @/The Ball Vorer help what should i wear to an underground bar Dr. House Kinnie: wtf happened on that tutoring session gay boi The Ball Vorer: what else dude, he was being gay Sight Impediment: YOU GUYS ARENT HELPING
#i went. so feral.#i mean you can probably tell with how i just. made a damn drabble in the post JKLFKGBshfNDGhNSLDg#LOOK MAN IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE SHORT AND ENDED WITH NANAMI DEVOURING GOJO OKAY#INSTEAD IT TURNED INTO THIS#I AM BLAMING MY FEVER#I ACTUALLY CANT TELL IF ITS JUST A FEVER OR IF ITS A FLUE#EITHERWAY I AM BLAMING THIS DISEASE FOR IT LKGVBnLSDFKjhGBLKSDFg#jjk#jujutsu kaisen#wynn talks#nanami kento#gojo satoru#nanago#gojo x nanami#nanami kento x gojo satoru#nanami x gojo#jjk headcanons#also this is actually really good set up for shit so feel free to use it as one of#wynn's story ideas
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It's been a bit since I've interacted with octopath so my stuff on these ships may be a little rusty but I'll argue for them anyway.
Castitio (Castti x Partitio)
Before the game even came out, I thought they'd be a silly couple. Lady who doesn't remember and guy bursting at the seems with kindness. I think they're got a neat dynamic, with Castti teasing him a bit but they get along and are friends. Some post canon hcs I have are that Partitio would help Castti set up an organization that produces medicine and teaches about it cause he loves her and he's got the funding anyway. Also I do think being exposed to the poison rain twice did stuff to Castti so I like to hc she's disabled post canon, being a wheelchair user due to muscle weakness, having very little lung capacity and CPTSD. Also not a disability but she has eczema-like purple splotches on her body. Sorry I needed an excuse to quickly mention my disabled Castti headcanons. While they're engaged, Partitio and Floyd work on completely renovating a house to accommodate all of Castti's needs, so like low counters she can reach while on her wheelchair, only one floor, wide doorways, blackout curtains so she can sleep during the day, etc. Castti keeps insisting that she doesn't need that much help and that she's navigating normal houses just fine but then she'd see all the accommodations in their new house and bawl for hours. She'd work less and take it easy post canon. Listen I just think they'd be a really cute couple. Castti patches up your broken arm then her husband comes in and starts cracking jokes and talking about affordable public transportation. I feel like I'm also forgetting a lot of stuff but oh well. I've got a few fics for them posted on ao3, account name: BigOrangeOnion
Ophikari (Ophilia x Hikari) (I also call them The Radiance (hollow knight reference and it makes sense for an au))
OKAY SO this ship started out as an au when the ot1 travelers were added to ot2 for that update last year. Basically, post canon, Hikari visits the arena whenever he's in Montwise. This time, he goes and there's some omega powerful warriors fighting ruthlessly and with no concern for themselves. He realizes it's because they've got some kinda of curse, similar to him with the shadow (I THINK that's what it was called).
So Hikari starts working on figuring out how to free them because their current existence seems miserable. The first he manages to free is Ophilia, by using light magic near her. The light magic makes her briefly remember who she was but it's enough for her to snap out of the mind control that she's been put under. She talks to Hikari and explains that her and her friends were mind controlled by a very weak but not quite dead Galdera, in attempts to conquer and gain more power so he could heal himself faster. So the two of them start working on freeing the other travelers together.
Along the way, they ofc fall in love. I don't remember an awful lot about them unfortunately but I implore anyone reading this to write stuff for them :]
Here's a little drawing I did of them together. I'd include Castitio drawings if I had any but I am not big on drawing ship art unfortunately.
![Tumblr media](https://64.media.tumblr.com/124dc73cebed6c71dcf0c4c72dd21dd9/458a5f9e9098db99-6b/s540x810/6229d0252cc109a1c23fcbad85a6386c1836353c.jpg)
H'aanit x Cyrus x Castti (in a QPR!!! :3)
So this is probably the one I've explored the least purely because I never really shared it with anyone. I keep it to myself because of the amount of hyper specific and sad headcanons. But basically it was an au where I'd just mix and match travelers n stuff. Like just putting different travelers in different continents with weird team compositions cause I'm a big fan of aus and crossovers.
One of the ones I liked the most is where Castti leaves Solistia by herself to explore post canon because she's not very close with the other travelers and self isolates a little. This au starts out kinda sad cause of the focus on my hcs for various characters' mental illnesses. H'aanit is initially traveling alone but Castti joins her and they're a relatively quiet but very effective and productive duo. Later, Cyrus, Olberic, Primrose and Ophilia join. They all have their problems to work through and get through them together.
Castti has to deal with self worth and realizing that she's more than just the team healer.
H'aanit has always had anxiety around losing Z'aanta, which is really bad throughout the entire story so Castti often ends up calming her down during panic attacks and they get really close because of the mutual trust there.
Idk exactly how to describe Cyrus' problems but he's really jumpy and nervous and a little bit angry all the time because of being accused of, y' know, sleeping with a student. Yeah no I never understood why Cyrus wasn't that angry about it, even when I first played the game at age 10.
I think Cyrus is just dealing with the new found rage he constantly has. He had anger management issues as a kid but worked through them and they're just now coming back cause he's been thrown out of his home and people he used to be friends with think the worst of him and he's got no one but this new friend group he hardly knows. You get it.
The story is the three of them (and Olberic, Ophilia and Prim, but this post is about ships so I'll talk about them another time) as they deal with their mental health issues. Through helping each other with these very personal problems, they become very close and eventually decide to be in a qpr together. I think they'd just live relatively quiet lives in S'warkii cause Cyrus is too upset to return to Atlasdam and Castti isn't too keen on going back to Solistia after falling head over heels in love with two people in Osterra.
I don't remember way too much for this au unfortunately. I think they should all cuddle and finally get a good night's sleep for once cause no way a single one of those bitches sleeps well with the crap they see and have experienced.
Sorry I wrote so much. Here is a little drawing based on an Olberic chapter 2 travel banter and the most important H'aanit fact.
I miss octopath yapping with people so uh yknow what! We’re gonna play a game!!
Explain in the notes what y’all’s favorite ships are and why you like them!!!
Only rules are
1) do not explain why everyone should think your ship is canon, as that is not the point of this post 2) do not put any other ships down bc that is also not the point of this post 3) ALL games are included (yes including cotc) 4) ANY SHIPS ARE ALLOWED!!! GO NUTS!!!!
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Heyy. Valentine's prompt #5 please. Eddie Diaz comes back to see reader girlfriend being flirted with.
prompt; #5 when character A goes to the bathroom someone tries to flirt with reader and character A comes back and is fuming.
content warning: men, misogyny and derogatory remarks.
prompt list
eddie wasn’t a jealous person, not whilst in his relationship anyway, he was confident that he was wanted, of-course the worry of cheating is normal in any kind of relationship.
but he never really got jealous, especially not of sweaty men in restaurants trying to pick up very clearly taken women on valentine’s day of all days.
his fists clenched watching as you reeled back from the man, who continued to push in your boundaries, he was angry, fuming even, at this guy for making you so uncomfortable.
sauntering his way over he slides himself into the booth meant for two, swiftly placing his arm over your shoulder, giving the man a glare.
“oh shit sorry man!” the drunken man slurred at eddie, giving him a wink. “didn’t know she was taken, keep her on a tight leash that one, she’s a looker.”
eddie could feel his blood boiling hearing how the man spoke about you, the way you self consciously covered up your chest with your black cardigan, gripping his hand for comfort.
running his hand across your knuckles he rolls his eyes when the man leaves, turning to look at you, pressing a kiss to the corner of your mouth, a gentle gesture. “are you alright? i shouldn’t have left you alone so long, wanna leave?”
you nod quickly, thankful, not feeling too good about staying here knowing that the man was still in the building, “let’s go to my place, light some candles, order a chinese, pop open some wine?” he wiggles his eyebrows suggestively.
you let out a chuckle, shaking your head “that does sound lovely, and so much cheaper, the drinks here cost more than my purse.”
eddie chuckled, grabbing your hand, helping you out of the booth, on the way out though, the man is stood outside smoking a cigarette, smirking.
“oh don’t tell me you’re leaving because of me, man, if you’re insecure and can’t handle all of that, please, hand her over to me, i’ll show her what a real man can do.” he taunted, coughing a little from the cigarette.
you scrunch up your nose in disgust, as does eddie, who was seeing red, before you can even blink, eddie has the drunk slammed into the wall, a violent look on his eye.
“you pathetic piece of shit.” eddie snarled out at the man. “hitting on women who are young, taken, making disgusting remarks, you’re on your own on valentine’s day, you couldn’t be of any use to her, you wouldn’t know what to do with a woman if there was one begging you to touch her.”
the man whimpered shaking his head. “i’m so sorry man, it was just a joke, let me go!”
eddie loosened his grip, before slamming him back into the wall again. “apologise to her.” eddie demanded, the drunk looked over your boyfriends shoulder at your slightly stunned face, whimpering out an apology, “please, i’m sorry, forgive me, i’m disgusting ill admit it. i— i’m sorry.”
eddie seems satisfied and lets him go, before he can say anything the drunken man is scurrying off, nearly stumbling into oncoming traffic, you shove your hands in your pockets as eddie approached.
“i’m sorry about that, i couldn’t let him think he was winning.” eddie sighed, grabbing your hands. “you still on for our candlelit dinner with wine and chinese food?”
your lips twitch and you nod. “of-course i am, silly.” you lean up and kiss his cheek softly, running your hand through his hair. “that was really hot.”
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You're too good for him
warnings: smut ofc!, oral!f!receiving, cheating, and slight virginity loss.
Criticism is appreciated! I would love to know how I can improve on my writing.
Stu Macher x fem!reader
A/N: Wrote this because I'm so excited for Stu's return and I'm also working a pt 2 to one of my Scream fics.
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Written: February 5th, 2025- February 9th, 2025
Published: February 9th, 2025
Summary: Randy isn't being all that loyal to you..but Stu helps you get over it.
wc: 2,000
“Oh come on! What’s it gonna take for you to sleep with me one time?!” Stu teasingly asked. We were currently at his house, he threw a party for whatever reason, and the music was so loud. “Stu..we talked about this, I am in a very committed and serious relationship with Randy.” I explained as he rolled his eyes at my statement.
“So? He doesn’t have to know.” Stu shrugged. I sighed before responding to his stupid statement. “Like I’ve said before, I am not going to-“ Before I could finish, Stu cut me off. “He doesn’t even like you. He’s using you to get close to Sid.”
My heart dropped..what does he mean? Is Stu joking? If so it’s not funny. “Don’t joke like that, it’s not funny.” I stated. My face was getting hot, I hoped what Stu was saying was some kind of sick joke..but deep down, some part of it feels true. I felt Stu place his arm around me and shift me in the direction of Sidney and Randy laughing with each other and getting all touchy. Randy has never looked at me with that much love before.
“That’s the guy you’re staying loyal for.” He said with a hint of sadness in his voice. It was becoming too much, the air was becoming stuffy, the room was becoming cramped, and tears were flowing down my face. I hurried and ran upstairs to an empty bedroom, slammed the door shut, and placed my face into the pillows.
Why does this always happen to me? No one ever really likes me, they always like Sid. I know I sound like a jealous and bitter friend, but it’s not fair. For once, I would love it if a boy actually liked me for me but instead they always go for her.
Maybe I should talk to Sid? What if it’s only a one sided thing? Randy likes her but she doesn’t feel the same way about him? Besides, Sidney is dating Billy so I’m sure she doesn’t feel that way about Randy…I hope. I was still deep in my thoughts until I heard the bedroom door open. It was Stu, he walked in and closed the door behind him. I sniffled and hurriedly wiped my tears.
“I hope you took what I said seriously.” He said before sitting down on the bed. “Uhm- I did, and I decided that I needed to have a talk with Sidney because maybe she doesn’t like Randy in that way and it’s just all one sided and-“ I was rambling on and on as I felt my tears run down my cheeks again. I bursted into tears, I broke down in front of Stu as he held me in his arms.
“You’re too good for that bozo anyways.” Stu said with head laid on top of mines. It was hard to focus on what he was saying because of his cologne. One thing about Stu is that he always smelled so damn good, after years of our friendship I’ve never been this up close to him. He smelled of some type of wood rainforest musk.
“Maybe it’s a good thing he’s going after Sid…you need a real man, unlike that pussy.” He scoffed as I sat up out of his arms. I softly chuckled at him before speaking up. “Stu you’re not that much of a man either.” He playfully pointed at him self in shock. “Me?!” “Yes you!” I giggled. Stu’s face now had a soft smile on his face as he scooted closer to me.
My breath hitched as his thumb stroked my cheek. “You could do so much better.” He sincerely said as he looked into my eyes. I always forget how beautiful his bright, piercing blue eyes are. I was so lost in his eyes that I didn’t notice him leaning into me until our lips collided. His lips were soft and plump, his mouth tasted like beer.
I grabbed his neck and deepened the kiss as he did the same. The kiss was hungry and passionate, nothing I’ve felt with Randy. “Let me show you what a real man is.” Stu lowly said as he pulled away from the kiss and softly pushed me on the bed. It took me a while to realize that this was his bed. His bedroom.
I was now laid on my back as he slowly sucked on my neck. Soft moans fell from my mouth as I felt him cheesing against my neck. “You like that?” His voice was so seductive and low, it made me so wet. “Mhhm” I hummed as I closed my eyes. He moved away from my neck and was now in between my legs.
He rubbed my inner thighs softly before asking me a question. “You’re one of the most innocent girls I know, so I know you haven’t done anything-“ I cocked my brow at him. “How do you know I haven’t done anything?” I asked as he gave me a look. “Okay-fine. You’re right, only thing I’ve ever done was kiss..” I was a bit embarrassed. Stu is more experienced than me and I’ve only ever kissed. I guess he could tell from the frown on my face.
“Hey, don’t worry. I won’t be rough.” He said with his charming smile. He gave me one last kiss on my lips before unbuttoning my jeans shorts and pulling them all the way off. I was nervous, my whole body became hot, and my heart was pounding. No one has ever seen me like this before.
Stu gripped my inner thighs and started rubbing my clit through my lace panties. “Ouuu!” I moaned as my eyes rolled to the back of my head. I’ve never felt this type of pleasure before. “Let me hear those pretty moans, baby. I want everyone to know who’s making you feel this way.” He smirked. He started spreading my folds through the panties and sliding his thumb up and down on my slit.
“Fuck!” I said to myself. I then felt him sliding my panties off my legs, he thought I wouldn’t notice but I saw him place my panties in his pocket. Pervert. “Your legs are so smooth and soft..and they smell good” Stu said with his hands gliding up and down on my legs. I’m so glad I shaved last night. He placed soft kisses on my inner thighs, kissing everywhere but the part I need him most.
“Stop teasing me!” I pouted. My pussy was practically throbbing and desperate for him and he’s over here playing. “Someone’s a bit demanding..” he sassily said. I rolled my eyes at his remark and his mouth was now hovering over my core. I could feel his breath on me, I was craving him, I need him. I had enough of the teasing and finally shoved his mouth onto my core.
“YESS!” I shouted as he started sucking on my clit. It felt so fucking good, his mouth was so warm and wet. My whole body jolted when his mouth connected with my clit. I tried to close my legs around his head but he grabbed them and opened them back up as I started to whine. “Don’t start bitchin now, princess, you wanted this.” He cockily said. “I knoww but it feels too good!” I practically shouted as he started poking started thrusting his tongue in and out of my pussy.
I forgot how long his tongue is but damn it sure does feel good. “You taste so good!” He said into my core as he dove deeper and was now slurping my juices. “Yeah?” I teasingly asked. Eating healthy actually paid off. “Tastes so sweet like fruit.” He moaned. I placed one leg on his shoulder as I pushed his head deeper into me.
Stu flicked his tongue back and forth as my breathing started to pick up and a tight feeling appeared in my stomach. “S-Stu-I think I’m close.” I stuttered. “Squirt on my face-I wanna taste all of those sweet juices.” He demanded.
He was now sucking on my clit basically trying to get every drop of juice out. I gripped the sheets tightly as the coil in my stomach had snapped and my pussy was spraying Stu in my juices as he was rubbing my clit as fast as he can. He let his tongue get covered in my juices, his face was glistening.
My voice was cracked after the loud scream I had let out. I fell back into the pillows as Stu now laid on top of me. “I gotta eat you out more often.” He said with his infamous smirk. I playfully rolled my eyes before responding. “You’re so nasty!” I giggled. “Kiss me, you gotta see how good you taste.” He said as immediately placed his lips on mine. My eyes widened, he in fact did not lie.
“Now common, let’s go back downstairs and enjoy the party.” He smiled before kissing me one last time. I sat up and watched Stu fix himself in the mirror before speaking up. “Can I have my panties back?” I asked with a raised brow as he shook his head. “Nah, you can get them the next time I eat you out.” He confidently said while fixing his hair. “Whatever.” I mumbled to myself before sliding my jean shorts back on.
Stu and I went back downstairs and saw Sidney sitting in Randy’s lap. I frowned a bit at the interaction, Stu noticed this and placed his arm around my waist. “Ignore those fuckers. Like I said, you’re too good for him.” I’ve never seen Stu more serious.
I nodded my head as Billy popped out of the corner and scared the living shit out of me. “Gosh, Billy! What happened to saying hello?” I complained. He studied me and Stu for a second and pointed at us. “She finally let you hit?” Billy smirked as I pinched his nipple. “Ounch!” He cried as Stu laughed at the both of us. “You’re talking about me like I’m not even here!” I stressed.
“So you two didn’t fuck? There’s just this glow to you that I’ve never seen you had-“ I cut him off before he could finish his sentence. “Shut the hell up.” I said as I rolled my eyes. “I ate her out. Should’ve heard her, she was screaming and everything.” Stu laughed as they dapped each other up.
“Stu!” I whispered yelled as he laughed. He gripped my ass I took me into a kiss, it felt right, I didn’t even try to back away from it. He pulled away from the kiss and spoke up. “I’m sure you wouldn’t mind Billy joining us?” He lowly said in my ear. I looked over at Billy as he was now standing in front of me too. “I’m sure the princess doesn’t mind, doesn’t she?” He asked, referring to me.
“Not at all.” I breathlessly said. As I was about to walk up the stairs with the both of them, Randy came running over. Stu and Billy both rolled their eyes at him. “Where are you guys going?l” he asked, you could tell he was a bit nervous and slightly worried. “We gotta handle something, won’t be done until about an hour, two tops.” Billy smirked as I tried to hold in my laugh.
Before he could say anything else, Billy and Stu practically dragged me up the stairs and that’s when Randy caught on. We hurried up to Stu’s room and locked the door. Randy was banging on and apologizing.
I was too busy sitting in between the boys and kissing them both at the same time. Randy could hear my moans from out the door. He know figured out that I must I’ve saw Sid sitting on his lap.
He couldn’t do anything but sit outside the door and listen.
That should be him. Not Billy or Stu he thought to himself.
#scream#stu macher#stu macher x reader#stu macher scream#ghostface smut#ghostface#scream 1996#billy loomis#skeet ulrich#billyloomissmut#stu macher smut#matthew lillard#matthewlillardsmut
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Dear Hazbin Hotel Fandom (with special note for reader insert fic writers at bottom)
Been thinking about Hazbin and like, economy, and infrastructure, and fucking culture in hell. And I like to imagine that earth is like, modern age if not a bit further into the future, and Hell is just so far behind
And I see most writers attribute this to old powers that be more or less forcing people to adhere to their affections, but I feel like it's so much more complex than that.
Like if there's any kind of infrastructure in place, like say, oh IDK utilities, that infrastructure in modern times relies very heavily on established modern infrastructure built before it, and a certain degree of cultural niceties to leave it alone, as well as all the means in terms of sourcing labor, resources, and cold hard cash for its construction and continued upkeep.
Which is near impossible in a place like hell. A place where at least once a year, the ritual killing of the masses leads to huge turf wars set to destroy said infrastructure. In such a every man for himself society, who's making sure these roads aren't full of potholes and the lights stay on?
Which leads to a very easy answer, Overlords. This is why Overlords own millions of souls. It's the expected currency for stability. Overlords oversee a certain degree of infrastructure, normalization of life. Depending on your deal, Overlords might guarantee a base degree of normalcy in exchange for souls. Like you might get better rental opportunities in areas where the buildings aren't likely to be torn down regularly. You get running water and electricity, books and other entertainment, access to better food, security during large scale danger events (including the exterminations) ect. And refusing to sell your soul could severely limit opportunities. Imagine if everyone is born into poverty, and you are only allowed the chance to access middle class jobs, houses, ect if you cut off a finger. Everyone does it, you aren't using it anyways, and your life gets significantly easier if you do....
But yeah I think people who write for the fandom are seriously understating the actual affects the lack of a central government probably has on the different areas of the city, and what it actually means to be an Overlord, and why things work the way they do.
Like I am 1000% sure there's no mail in hell. Like mailmen and carriers and an organization system. Unless an Overlord was particularly invested in it... No I think for a very long time long distance communication took place through hired help. People specifically paid for or in one's employ to carry personal missives on an immediate basis as needed. Delivery men. This is why Vox's electronics are such a hit. It provides a degree of luxury unknown to the masses before this; or known of and since lost and have nostalgia for.
I also firmly believe that this is still how Overlords and influentials communicate. Vox's infrastructure is convenient, but it would require seceeding a degree of independence powerful people can't afford to give up. You can order one of your souls to take a message and others to protect them, but to use a phone is to put your communication network in the hands of someone else, and a potential enemy at that.
Lack of infrastructure aside, I also don't want to understate the effects of only a certain percentage of the populace being present has. 100% of the people dropping into hell can know what a blender is, but if not a single souls who drops down knows how one works, then hell just straight up doesn't have blenders. Which is another factor into a lot of the lingering old timey feel of Hell. Technology has to be invented on earth, then become popularized enough that the knowledge of its creation beats out the numbers dropping into hell and it can be made. Not to mention someone has to be interested enough to let it be made in the first place. This is why some Overlords center around such singular niches. They were passionate enough to teach themselves in life the knowledge needed to build that particular luxury from scratch. Even if it had been decades since development in earth, the knowledge just doesn't migrate well.
I also imagine this having a huge impact on the entertainment industry. Lots of writers go on about old songs but not one has the guts to claim an artists is in hell and still making their art in hell
Can you imagine the cutthroat industry developed around having to claw your way up through hundreds of years of new music and nostalgia when your own fan base is still mostly on earth and the other artists have had centuries or decades to establish themselves?
Which brings me to my last and most important point..... Shoes. Well, shoes and clothing, and mass production.
It just ain't fucking happening in Hell.
One, in sure the Pride ring is getting some of their commerce from other rings. I'm talking consumables. Textiles and food. This is also a city spanning millions of people, and what hydroponics isn't used to grow pot is probably being sponsored by Overlords to grow produce for their souls. Which means some production but not nearly enough to feed the city. Which means food probably looks like a large majority of people eating hell based produce from outside the ring, with dedicated smuggling rings (like what we see with IMP, travelers who bring earth commerce home, I'm guessing Lust ring Incu/Sucubi looking for side gigs) bringing back seeds, cuttings, and cultural touchstones like movies, books, and music to be mass copied and distributed. Those living in certain areas or with the right amount of cash can pay for produce grown from that smuggled earth produce.
Meat is predominantly hell born in nature, probably produced from Wrath, and Sloth's oceans, with an uncomfortably large supplemental of cannibalistic meat being corpses harvested by street folk and sold to butchers for cheap, cooked and sold Sweeney Todd style. I do think Cannibalism is far more widespread and normalized than most are comfortable thinking, for practical reasons. There are just so many dedicated cannibals in the colony alone...look, there is neither space for cows nor a means to get them down there.
In any case, clothing.
This is a huge pet peeve for me in fics because I don't think anyone really thinks this one through, the sheer volume of the fashion industry in its infrastructure and how much of that Hell is lacking
Not to even mention that everyone is hell is shaped weird. Head to toe. Weird bodies all the time. Everywhere.
I just don't think mass produced clothing is a thing. Or at least nearly a refined as earth. Off the rack shit is probably very plain, and very vaguely shaped. Lots of missing sleeves, wide arm holes, drawstrings and buttons. The bare minimum. The cloth equivalent of fig leaves. Pride based clothing outlets, if there is any mass production, probably base their shapes a lot of Imps and Hellhounds and mostly humanoid with four limb, just to have a consistent customer base and hope they get lucky with hellborn. You probably have to pay to have a pattern made for your body and then have basic shit seen up from there or learn to do it yourself. Lots of people earning side cash sewing garbage clothes for cheap. Dudes with a bunch of ink and a screen printing custom graphic tees from their apartment making bank.
And don't even get me started on shoes. Most people have hooves or paws, and if they don't have that, there's a sizable chance they won't even have feet. There just isn't mass produced shoes. There physically can't be. There is no consistency in size. It is literally not possible.
All to say, sewing is probably a pretty valuable skill to have. Tailors and cobblers are probably both valued jobs and incredibly necessary. It's also probably pretty damn expensive. Which is actually why we don't see a lot of shoes, and why some folks are strange about clothes. It's just not practical anymore. And it's wildly expensive. Why go through the bother of getting a tailor or cobbler to make time and then get charged through the nose for something that might get destroyed or stolen soon anyways?
Which brings me to my special comment
Dear Reader insert writers. Specifically the Reader/Alastor crew, but this is pretty blanket
Unless your OC, or the clothing, is a very specific shape, Angel is not loaning your OC nothing in terms of textiles. Think real hard about whether your OC's feet will fit into one of his custom made boots... Really think about it. The love is there, but it's Hell. Let your OC struggle with everything. They can't get housing because everywhere outside an Overlord's domain is full and they can't rent without trading their soul to an overlord. They have trouble finding non human meat or palatable produce or even coffee. Their clothes are coming apart at the seams and laundry mats don't exist. Its hell, it's hard, and it's not made for them. If Angel ends them anything, it's gonna fit like a nightmare or be secondhand from another hooker and look like it. And it's going to be expensive AF
This is especially for you Alastor shippers. Textiles work a lot closer to how it functioned in his time than ours. In fact it probably functions closer to Rosie's time than his. And something I need you to remember is courting etiquette. Because I often see this overlooked. The best example I have for this is the song "baby it's cold outside", which viewed through the modern lense sounds like a creepy preamble to that poor woman being accosted, but in the lense of the time period it was written, is seen a feminine strong song, a woman using the tools available of her time to openly flirt and accept an offer to stay overnight. And while most people remember that Al comes from a time where gifting is used to show affection, I don't think they remember why that is. Like yes, there can be, and probably should be, a certain degree of possessiveness involved, given where we are and who we are talking about. But we must remember that this was a time period before women could divorce their husbands in the US. These gifts had social meaning. Women couldn't own property, were discouraged from jobs after settling down, and just didn't have the means to care for themselves. Expensive clothing and jewels were a statement. It told the community that the husband could, and did, provide for his wife financially. It gave the woman tangible items that, if properly cared for, would provide her with capital enough that should her husband die before her, he could be her only husband, that she wouldn't be forced to remarry. It a statement of of societal expectation, but also of how much he cared for her well being. And this is an aspect I see missing from Alastor's commentary. Yes there is a magical aspect of protection often employed, but he doesn't lavish his beau with Fur coats and hand crafted hats with obnoxiously bejeweled pins and easily displayed but hard to care for items that are as much a declaration of love in value as they are in attention. The closest I've ever seen is the fics by corruptedteacups, in which the flapper set gifted to the MC is described just as much in its beauty as the sheer quality of the fabric and beading involved. It feels substantial and expensive.
Just a small fandom peeve of mine, but some desperately needed context and depth I hope people think on.
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