#So you have to be nice to me over my decision to write an obnoxiously long post that comes to no interesting conclusion as a joke

[loveletterworm]

“Solving” the “Mystery” of “Chair”

This chair from the sweepstakes website (henceforth referred to as "Chair") has been subject to a decent amount of confusion and fairly mild amount of discussion since its introduction. Its heavily Gaster-adjacent page titles, shadow-y blob form, and random Spamton jumpscare have remained largely unexplainable considering it's only been about a week or so since this page showed up and any part of the game "Chair" appears in has not released yet and will not for at least several months.

Or has it?

Noted scholar "poop mcfarten", among a few other persons, has claimed this chair is the same one that is located in Rudy's hospital room throughout Chapters 1 and 2. This revelation would close the book on "Chair", as the most obvious solution is that this is the chair from Rudy's hospital room and he's going to die because the chair turned into Shadow Forme and attacked him at his most vulnerable moment (while he was already dying for non-chair-related reasons)

However, things are not so simple in the world of "Chair".

By using inspect element to get at its image file without accidentally saving "eyes.png" again, we can see "Chair" without its black background and at its original scale (as it is displayed larger on the website) Now it is possible to compare it directly to a rip of the chair sprite in Rudy's hospital room. (Note that the chair in Rudy's room is actually part of the same sprite as the rest of the tiles in that room and has been edited out of its surroundings here for clarity, however rest assured I am confident that I was able to tell a chair apart from the floor it was on)

Looking at these chairs side by side, a host of discrepancies arise. "Chair" is slightly larger, at a different angle, its seat is thicker suggesting possible upholstery, its legs are much darker in color in a way different lighting is unlikely to accomplish, and the most damning evidence against it being the same chair: It has those little things sticking out of the top of the back, previously largely obscured by the dark background. (I don't know what the things are actually called.) This is clearly a different chair.

It also cannot be the chair from town hall, though town hall chair makes a slightly stronger argument with its similarly thick upholstery and darker legs. It’s still missing the things on the back and is actually evidently too big to be “Chair”, the opposite of one of hospital chair’s issues, so despite its best efforts it’s out of the running.

But is “Chair”, as others have suggested, secretly notable other blue chair from a Toby Fox game Chairiel?

The answer is: Still no! There have been two Chairiels throughout history. The one in Undertale is a blue chair, however it looks even more different from “Chair” than the hospital chair does. And the chair that the Chairiel torch would be passed to in Deltarune obviously looks the least like “Chair” out of any options, not even fulfilling the basic requirements of being blue and having visible legs.

And so, as this obnoxiously long post about chairs reaches critical mass, I must conclude that “Chair” is an entirely new, unique chair that we have not been introduced to yet.

Which probably does not actually matter at all.

[hey-august]

The marine x buggy fanfic is so good I NEED a slow burn of it so bad 😭😭😭

Ahhh, thank you so much!!! All the love for that fic is sending me to the moon 😭😭🩷🩷🩷

A slow burn would be fantaaaaaastic!! My list of things to write is so long, but here are some a lot of thoughts I have about the potential for a slow burn with the characters, as well as a slow burn that occurs after the fic. (Kinda sorta NSFW-ish down below, but not detailed smut.)

If the slow burn precedes everythingggg…

More Buggy being an obnoxious chatterbox. Never shutting up, making poor jokes, roasting everyone, sometimes actually saying something useful. And Reader would find it interesting. They’d find him interesting.

Because Reader doesn’t mind so much, they’d be tasked with dealing with the prisoner more frequently. Reader would try to keep the power balance, but there would be some softening around the edges. The lines would slowly blur.

We could have cute moments where Buggy whines about missing certain luxuries and amenities. Reader listens and sometimes indulges him. Maybe it’s not exactly what Buggy wanted, but it’s something. Imagine. IMAGINE, one night Reader sneaks Buggy out of the cell and lets him sleep in a nice bed. Their bed.

Reader would hang onto every word of Buggy’s stories (some of which are tall tales), invested in the performance he puts on and enthralled by the journeys.

Some days Buggy is moody. How could he not be, having been locked up for so long? He gets snippy. His words are meaner and cut harder. Communication is hard, even for the Reader. Sometimes it blows over quickly, maybe with a joke or a step towards more “platonic” intimacy. Other times it takes longer. Reader swaps shifts and avoids Buggy.

They have their ups and downs and eventually Buggy realizes that Reader has been volunteering for shifts where they can spend time with him. This could be where they have The Big Fight. The start of the darkest part of the night. First, Buggy tries to play everything off. Maybe he’s trying to push the Reader away. He taunts and teases them about wanting to be near him. His distrust and poor self-esteem fuel the fire until he lashes out and says something that crosses the line.

While this fight is still going on, the rescue kicks off. Pirates are swarming, looking for their captain. Now. Two options… (There are others, but I like these.) - Option One: Buggy manages to get uncuffed in all the scuffling and it’s time for him to leave. But something’s not right. He feels like he’s leaving something behind. It’s a feeling he’s familiar with, due to his Devil Fruit powers. It’s not a bit of himself though, not literally. In a frenzy, he goes looking for Reader. First checking their room, then running through the ship, calling for them. When he finally finds Reader (maybe with some mildly heroic saving), he blurts out an awkward apology and nearly begs them to join him. - Option Two: Buggy is waiting in the cell, listening to the distant fighting, when the Reader shows up. They’re moving quickly, unlocking the cell, taking off his cuffs, and telling him where to go to meet up with the pirates. They’re helping him escape. Buggy goes, following their directions. But before he gets too far, he runs back to the Reader and asks them to join him.

Fight fight fight, escape, everyone is safe on the ship. Celebratory party, from which Buggy and Reader slip away for a moment of quiet. And a first kiss, under the moonlight. Then maybe a mirror of the fic that was posted… They start screwing, get interrupted and have to go back to the party, eventually leave and finish what they started.

Okay, so now let’s talk about a slow burn that happens after the fic takes place, but before the last few paragraphs. This puts us at the point where the rescue is happening and Buggy asks Reader to join him.

Reader says no. They’re not ready to commit, they just met this clown who makes stupid decisions (and has a great dick).

In the ensuing chaos, Reader does something that makes their affection for the escaping pirate obvious. Their Superior notices and has to take a stand. They harm Reader in some way, maybe a shot or something.

Buggy sees this happen and that is. not. good. Fury, rage, and flying limbs are everywhere. 

Reader passes out, missing the rest of the fight, and wakes up on Buggy’s ship. He couldn’t leave them behind. Reader feels conflicted, their choice was taken away. They know that life would have been much harder if they stayed behind and stuck with the Marines after the show of weakness towards pirates, but it’s hard to give up on everything they knew.

Now we have a strange slow burn - the two clearly have some type of feelings for each other, but neither one wants to admit it. Reader is struggling with the direction of their life. Buggy just sucks at feelings in general.

But. Hear me out. They have a “friends with benefits” relationship. Maybe sometimes they hook-up out of frustration, other times out of loneliness. The physical chemistry is there, but they ignore and avoid anything that feels romantic. So they never kiss. No lips on lips.

Because of this, these two are absolute fools when faced with anything gentle. Cuddles are awkward and short-lived. Compliments or comments about how well they get along are brushed off or turn them into blushing messes. If they do get within kissing distance - oh boy. The hesitation is there. The looks darting between eyes and mouth. Licking lips in anticipation. But nope. No kissing. Only fucking.

Maybe here there isn’t a low point. It’s solely a slow burn, increasing in butterflies and hopeful moments until they give in. And the catalyst could be anything. Absolutely anything. Maybe Buggy admits his feelings first. He could be sober or drunk. Or Reader goes first, realizing they’re actually happy. Truly happy. And when they acknowledge that they like life on the ship, they also confess liking the clown. Or maybe the Reader is tired of the games and just kisses the stupid clown without thinking. One kiss turns into another. And another. And, well you know what happens then.

Happily ever after.

[raineandsky]

#41

It was a dark and stormy night—and as cliche as that was, it really was. Rain lashed the windows like it was trying to break in. The sun was long gone, leaving the world to fend for itself against the onslaught of bad weather.

The villain had stayed back late in the hopes of waiting out the storm but they’d made that decision four hours ago and the rain had yet to let up, so with an irritable huff they threw their coat over their shoulders and prepared for the pits of wet hell that awaited outside.

What awaited, they found as they threw the door open, was much worse than that. The wet pits of hell were also out to get them, it seemed.

“Good evening, [Villain],” the superhero opened casually.

The door was already halfway to shutting on his first syllable, and it had slammed in his face with a resounding clang as he finished. He knocked, oddly polite, and got much less politely ignored by the villain, who was preoccupied with having a meltdown on the other side.

“I’m not here to fight,” he called through the thick metal separating them. “Believe me, I wouldn’t have come to the front door if I was.”

“It’s a secret lair; there aren’t any front doors,” the villain found themself spitting back, and the superhero laughed from the other side, unbothered.

“Just open the door, [Villain]. The rain’s cold.”

“You should’ve thought of that before you came somewhere that would never let you in.” The villain opened the door anyway, just a crack. The superhero really did look sodden, now that they were actually looking at him. Did he walk here?

The superhero put a hand against the door like he was simply leaning against it, but after a moment of a tedious stare-down the villain realised the door was slowly opening, pushing them back with it.

“What the h–” is all they got out before there was enough space for the superhero to squeeze through the gap, and the moment his hand left the door it slammed shut. What an obnoxious show of strength. Like hell he’s not here to fight.

“It’s about [Hero],” he opened quickly when he noticed the villain’s unease, their hand drifting to the inside of their coat. “They’ve been distracted recently.”

“Thanks for the heads up,” the villain snapped coldly. “Nice to know I can whoop their ass efficiently. You can leave now.”

The superhero pointedly ignored that, instead choosing to inspect the half-finished gadgets on a nearby table. “It’s been going on for a while. I could never figure out what it was, and they refused to tell me, but…” He paused like he’s changed his mind before nobly powering through, “heroes keep journals. Helps control the emotions that inevitably come with the job, you know?”

“And they’ve been writing their name with someone else’s in a little heart, right?” The villain snorted humouredly, but the awkward silence that followed made them think their joke was too on the nose. “Oh my god, do they actually? Like a teenager?”

“It’s not quite like that, no.” Awh, the superhero was so quick to defend his little underling. Sweet. “There’s someone who keeps coming up in their entries, though, and it seems to be one of the only positive things [Hero]’s got right now.”

“Yeah, working in the agency is depressing,” the villain said with a sage nod, as if they’d know that. “So what? Are you expecting me to go kill someone so you can save face and get your special little guy back to work?”

“No, I just… ugh!” The superhero turned to kick something over, before remembering he was in the villain’s territory. “No, no killing anyone. I need you to talk to them.”

The villain raised a disbelieving eyebrow. “… Talk to them.”

The superhero sucked in a deep breath, on the verge of frustration. “Okay, listen. They’ve been writing about you. A lot. Constantly. They write about your fights like you both went for a nice walk in the park. They’re obsessed with you, [Villain]. I need you to put them right so they can concentrate on what matters.”

The monologue was met with silence for a moment, and the villain’s gaze locked to a stubborn stain on the floor that never quite came out. “You said it was one of the only good things they have.”

“I know it seems unbelievable, but they’ve really taken to you. I don’t think–”

“You’d want to take that away from them?”

The superhero went a little quiet at that, clearly realising how terrible his phrasing was. “No, no, you misunderstood–”

“Did I? Please, explain what you mean.”

“We– they’re distracted. We just want you to correct them before they become unusable for hero work.”

“And potentially break their heart? Rip everything away from them?”

The superhero frowned, confused. “I thought you’d be more up to making everything worse, given your track record.”

“I thought you’d be more up to caring about people, given yours.” The villain stepped daringly closer. “I’ll strike a deal with you [Superhero]. I’ll let them know what the deal is–”

“Oh, thank you, you’re–”

“And I’m going to tell them I’m in love with them.”

The superhero somehow d9id a double take despite looking the villain in the eye. “You what?”

The villain only grinned. “You were right, I am up to making things worse. Now get out of my lair before I make your life even more miserable than it’s about to be.”

The superhero disappeared into the storm with a jovial goodbye to set them off. Somewhere deep down, the villain knew they shouldn’t, but they never really liked the hero that much, much less their arrogant boss. Cruelty was in their nature, anyway. It’d be worth it just to see the superhero crumble without his dear hero.

[ghoulpepperv]

I've been struggling to be motivated to do any writing or much of anything lately. I won't go deep into it, but I did this to just do some writing for fun. It's been healing. Just two little drabbles.

I apologize to those who don't want more BG3 shenanigans. This is about my Tavs, Beryl (Wood Elf Warlock Bard) and Tessa (Human Rogue Ranger), because I love them. I might keep them as just DnD characters to play in the future or give them their own unique story.

If you're a BG3 fan, I'm sorry about getting my brain babies all over everything.

It Wasn't Kindness

Beryl couldn’t even remember why she was in Baldur’s Gate to begin with. It was probably nothing more than a layover to where she actually wanted to be. It all seemed so unimportant now. Until this tadpole in her head was dealt with, she wouldn’t be able to focus on much else. Getting off the Nautiloid had been her first priority.

Gaining party members had been a side effect of her journey. The first person the Wood Elf had encountered was Lae’zel. The Githyanki was a formidable but vexatious ally. She was the right amount of unhinged, topped with a refreshing bluntness. You were never left wondering where you stood with Lae’zel. Beryl could work with that.

As they made their way off the Nautiloid, Beryl and Lae’zel came across Tessa, a human rogue, trying to pry a half-elf out of one of the pods. The woman was desperate for this help which Lae’zel was hesitant to give. Beryl nearly walked on by but something compelled her to stay. Maybe she was getting soft or just stupid. 

Once free, the half-elf would introduce herself as Shadowheart. It turned out to be for the best since she was a cleric. It always helped to have one on your team. Tessa found her own way of being annoying: she was too fucking nice. 

Beryl wrote her off as an idiot who would probably get them killed. Yet her skills would be helpful. And Beryl couldn’t turn any of them away, could she? It wasn’t out of kindness, of course. That would be silly. They all needed each other to survive this. It wasn’t deeper than that.

As they traveled forth, the group kept growing. Tessa was insistent on saving Gale of Waterdeep from the sigil. The wizard was grateful and Beryl would be remiss if she didn’t admit having a wizard around is a good idea.

Astarion was different. He had greeted Beryl with a knife to the throat. Yet she admired his moxie. The pretty face didn’t hurt either. Tessa seemed more annoyed by how easily Beryl let him join them after attacking her.

“I’ll take responsibility if he does anything untoward, don’t worry,”

“Like holding a knife to your neck?”

“Oh, would you let that go?” Beryl was tired of this conversation.

“Gods, you really can get away with anything if you have a pretty face.”

“Not that you would know anything about that.” Beryl immediately regretted the words. She sounded so much like her mother in that sentence. She sighed, prepared to swallow her pride and apologize.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that, it was a knee-jerk reaction.”

But to her surprise, Tessa was laughing.

“Your words have no sting,” Tessa said. “Just something a very hurt person says when backed into a proverbial corner.”

Beryl scowled at the accusation.

“You’re forgiven.” Tessa’s tone was obnoxiously saccharine. Beryl made a mental note to never apologize to her again.

“We need all the help we can get.” Beryl felt the need to defend her decision suddenly. “It can’t hurt having two rogues with us.”

Tessa mulled this over. “I guess, but if he kills anyone here, it’s on you. And he better not kill me. I’ll be particularly angry about it.”

Beryl nodded, accepting the terms of the agreement. This seemed to appease Tessa.

The other companions weren’t any less drama free, especially when Wyll and Karlach joined. Beryl wasn’t used to playing peacemaker, but she had managed to keep Wyll and Karlach from killing one another. Beryl was used to traveling alone. Solving other people’s quarrels was not her forte and yet here she was. Doing just that.

But she wasn’t doing this out of kindness. None of this was kindness. It was survival, just like she’d been taught. She didn’t care about any of these people.

She couldn’t care about them. It would be a weakness and weakness means death.

So no. It wasn’t kindness.

It wasn't.

Right In Front of My Party?

“It’s quite thrilling, to fight off such grim creatures as this region throws at us. Especially being at your side.”

Tessa and Gale locked eyes. He spoke to her as if she were the only person in the world. In that moment, she was at least to him. Despite the entire band of misfits standing just behind them, forced to witness this display of overt horniness.

“I once read a book that explained in some detail the effect a brush with dangers has on one’s desire for… other forms of stimulation. Have you ever read anything on that subject?”

Beryl furrowed her brow. Was he really doing this here? In front of everyone? 

The wood elf glanced around the group, searching for an ally in her confusion. Karlach watched with an adoring look on her face, like she was watching a romance novel unfold. Wyll gave a sly thumbs up to Gale to encourage him. He had been playing the role of wingman for Gale so Beryl couldn’t feign surprise at it.

Shadowheart was unmoved. Lae’zel didn’t seem as disgusted by it as Beryl thought she would be. It made some sense given how much githyanki connected love and fighting. The group had seen how true that was first hand through Shadowheart and Lae’zel’s unique romance.

Beryl believed Lae’zel felt nothing but hatred for Shadowheart, especially after catching them at each other’s throats one night. But only a few nights later, Beryl had heard sounds from Lae’zel’s tent that seemed to indicate they had more than buried the hatchet.

Beryl struggled for some kind of sex pun, but it eluded her. Lae’zel buried her hatchet in Shadowheart’s? No. No, that was bad.

Shadowheart was “the source of her bruises.” Of course, she wouldn’t mind whatever it was Gale was doing right now.

Astarion had a mischievous grin, enjoying the show. He was so adept at that act of flirting, it wasn’t a surprise he was relishing Gale’s awkwardness. It was like a wild animal studying a caged one.

 Beryl turned to Tessa. She had to be mortified––

“Read?” Tessa gave a flirtatious smirk. “I could have written the thing.”

These absolute freaks. Tessa looked ready to jump his bones.

“I believe you. You never looked so beautiful as at the end of a stirring battle, your cheeks flushed, gaze bright, muscles glistening,” he continued. “Perhaps it’s just the thrill of our near-death experience talking. But standing at your side through such darkness and disrepair, it only makes me want you more.”

Gale paused to regroup himself. “Unfortunately this is neither the time nor place to indulge such feelings. So, we must be patient and push all such thoughts aside. For now.”

Though a bit disappointed, Tessa nodded in agreement. Gale placed a hand on the small of her back to guide her to the Last Light Inn.

Beryl hated that she was happy for her two humans. She should have just been embarrassed for them, yet her brain signaled to her that this was “cute.” 

“Pity,” Astarion commented with a fanged smile. “I thought we’d be getting a show. I can’t say I wouldn’t have enjoyed it, even if it involved Gale.”

Beryl met Astarion’s eyes. He seemed to be drinking her in. Beryl couldn’t keep her grin at bay when he sent attention her way. While she knew Astarion was using her either for sex or something else, she did appreciate his boldness. He got to the point. He didn’t waste time on conversations about books and battlefields. He just asked if you wanted to have sex.

“Don’t you agree?” Astarion’s voice was dangerously low. Beryl’s eyes widened, taken aback. She nodded slowly. Oh no. Oh no, oh no. They were flirting over the idea of those two having sex on the battlefield.

Pleased by the confession, Astarion began to follow the rest of the group to the inn.

“Don’t fall behind, my sweet,” Astarion noted. “You don’t want to be caught in the shadows.”

Beryl didn’t need to be told twice. 

Gods, she was an absolute freak, too.

[stitching-in-time]

Voyager rewatch s2 ep24: Tuvix

Yet another epsiode I dreaded having to watch- what is this, the twelfth time this season? This season's batting average isn't great, to say the least. This particular episode is one I especially dislike because a lot of the fandom discourse around it is pretty obnoxious. But even before I was aware of the fandom, I didn't care for this one.

It starts out with Neelix being jerky to Tuvok on an away mission- Neelix, for some reason, can't stand that Tuvok thinks or feels differently from him, so he makes it his business to badger Tuvok into behaving how he wants him to. I know this intro was meant to set them up as being so opposite to make them being mixed up into one person cute or funny, but honestly it just makes me dislike Neelix. Tuvok wasn't being mean or rude, but Neelix would not listen to Tuvok's stated desire to focus on the mission and not talk about his feelings. Neelix never respects Tuvok's culture or personal boundaries, and it's not cute or funny, and it makes it really hard to sympathize with him. And it goes on this way for the whole series. The way Neelix treats Kes is bad enough, but he treats Tuvok badly too, so at this point I can't just wave it away as occasional bad writing- it's a consistent character trait that Neelix treats the people he loves or wants most with complete disrespect. And it does taint whatever nice moments they give his character elsewhere, for me. But Neelix isn't in this one for long, because there's a transporter accident! Whoops, Neelix and Tuvok are fused into one person! And, though it seems impossible, he's even more annoying than Neelix himself!

For starters, Tuvix looks like a creepy evil elf creature with those red contacts. Secondly, I'm scratching my head and laughing over how someone thought that if you molecularly mix clothing with an abstract print and a solid color, you get a floral print, lol. Sorry, but prints on fabric do not occur at a molecular level. It’s a cute design choice, but more suited to a magic spell than a transporter accident.

And then we get to Tuvix himself, who is so arrogant, selfish, and obnoxious that Neelix was actually preferable. And the way he went after Kes was so skeevy! Her boyfriend basically died yesterday, and Tuvix is like 'who cares, let me just pick up where Neelix left off!' even though she's clearly distressed, and he's a stranger to her. And when he’s like ‘sure I love my wife T'Pel, but I still wanna date you!' it was like eww!!! Gag!!! Tuvok would NEVER do that, EVER. Nobody who is even half Tuvok would do that, and honestly, even though Neelix can be an asshole sometimes, even he wouldn’t be THAT insensitive. Ew. And when she asked him to leave, though she's clearly uncomfortable, he's still standing there trying to convince her! And then he has the gall to go in for a kiss! Eww! I was grateful it was only a cheek kiss, but still, what a creeper!!!

The only thing I liked in this episode was Janeway and Kes having their little mother-daughter heart to heart chat, and finding out Janeway was reading Tuvok's old letters because she missed him. Brb sobbing!!

Also, does no one in Starfleet know how to cook?? Really?? All those grown ass adults couldn't handle cooking for themselves without Neelix there?? And they call millenials helpless! (Though apparently Tom and Harry knew how to cook, because they were sitting at a table already eating while everyone else was flailing around- they may be Voyager's pretty boy squad, but at least they have some life skills to fall back on lol)

I know people love to slam Janeway for ordering Tuvix to separate back into Tuvok and Neelix, but she made the best decision she could from every standpoint, given that in universe, it was a no win situation, and from a Doylist standpoint, she had no other option but to choose Tuvok and Neelix.

In universe, she had to think of her crew and their mission, and Tuvok and Neelix were more useful separately than as Tuvix. Starfleet captains order officers to their death all the time in the name of their mission. It's part of the job, and Tuvix, being half Tuvok, would have understood that. I honestly don't think Tuvix would have lacked the selflessness to choose to save Tuvok and Neelix at the expense of his own life, since neither of them would have protested sacrificing themselves to save others.

Secondly, Tuvix did have to use their bodies and minds to survive- who's to say his right to live was greater than theirs?

Thirdly, Tuvok was her best friend- who the hell isn't going to do whatever they can to get their best friend back? Tuvix himself seemed cool with killing Tuvok and Neelix to stay alive. He insisted they lived on in him, in a way, so their deaths were no big deal. If it's truly no big deal to kill them, like he says, why is it a big deal for him? Why should he have a problem living on, in a way, in them? Him making a fuss that they're killing him to bring Tuvok and Neelix back is in itself a tacit acknowledgement that he's killing them to survive- and he expects that all these people are gonna let him kill two of their friends to keep him there?? Please. If it had been Kirk having to kill some unholy combination of Spock and Chekov to get Spock back, he would have, no hesitation, and no one would blame him, or call him a murderer for separating 'Spockov' back into two people. He's a man, so people accept that men in leadership positions have to make tough choices, and can't always be nice, far more than they do for women. It's crappy to give your main character a no-win scenario that will make them look mean or callous no matter what they choose, but it's worse when it's the first female lead, who will get less leeway from viewers just by virtue of being a woman.

But fourthly, and most importantly, whatever one might consider the morally correct choice to have been, keeping Tuvix would have been a terrible story choice. I mean, Tuvix was annoying and a jerk??? Literally who would want this guy around forever??? He has all of the two characters bad qualities, and none of the good ones that make them interesting, so that honestly would have sucked to be stuck with him for how many goddamn seasons, sorry. What do the people who criticize Janeway for her decision want- should they have actually fired two actors, and written their characters out for good?? No thank you! I don’t like Tuvix, so too bad! Welcome back Tuvok and Neelix, because I like them better!! It's a show!! It’s all fiction!!! I want to spend time with the characters who are my friends on the little space ship on the tv screen, so Tuvix gets to die!! Honestly they couldn't kill him fast enough!! Sorry not sorry!!!

And at the end, the focus was on Janeway and how she had to steel herself to do this thing she found difficult and distateful, and there was no pay off of Tuvok and Neelix saying 'thanks, you made the right decision!' to soften how awful what she had to do was. We don't even know if Tuvok of Neelix remember being Tuvix, for all that! Both of them seem pretty unfazed by having been another person, 'dying' and coming back as themselves- but like, they shared a mind! Do they understand each other better now? Couldn't this have been a gateway to the both of them agreeing to have a more respectful and less adversarial relationship from now on? It should have, but it was totally glossed over and never brought up again! Why even bother to do this episode if it ended up having no effect on anyone, except to make the fandom whine about how mean Janeway is??

Tl;dr: An attempt at raising an ethical conundrum that ultimately failed, because the writers painted themselves into a corner- they created a character that had to die no matter what, so every point they tried to make was moot from the start.

[dimiclaudeblaigan]

Do you have female characters that you like or find good in FE.

For sure, I have females I like! They tend not to be my favorites in FE (or in a lot of media in general because females often don't get written with the same complexity as males not everything can be Talentless Nana), but I don't have an empty void where females in FE are concerned thankfully.

And since you asked for FE in general, I'm just gonna go for it and list who I like or find good (two different lists because they might be good characters but just not my personal preference of character).

disclaimer: most of the jugdral loc names are obnoxious so i willfully ignore them or they're just too obnoxious for me to actually remember what they are/how to spell them. i am also elderly, so i mainly use the names i am used to from a long time before jugdral loc was even remotely a thing. bear with me kiddos)

Like:

does kris count (FE12)

Ethlin/Ethlyn (FE4)

Fury/Erinys (FE4)

Mahnya (FE4)

Tiltyu/Tailtiu (FE4)

Nanna (FE4/FE5)

Leen/Lene (FE4)

Tinny (FE4)

Linda (Tinny's replacement) (FE4)

Rahna (FE4) (Levin's mom)

Ninian (FE7)

Eirika (FE8)

Tana (FE8)

Marcia (FE9/10)

does byleth technically count too doh

Annette

Dorothea (i know randomnameless is shaming me right now)

Rhea

Flayn

Hapi

Celine (when she's not talking abt fckn tea in almost all of her supports...)

Yunaka

Panette

Ivy

wait for it

wait

hold on

decision loading

fjorm from heroes is actually a nicely written female character

Good:

Sheeda/Caeda (FE1/3/11/12 lol)

Tiki (FE1/3/11/12/13 l e l)

Ayra (FE4)

Lachesis (mostly lol, like aside from ditching her family to find her son who was safe elsewhere with three, sometimes four (lol dragon dad is inconsistent) very capable people) (FE4)

Mana (Lana's replacement) (FE4)

Lakche/Larcei (FE4)

Patty (FE4)

Laylea (Leen's replacement, I'm just more bias toward Leen) (FE4)

Altenna (FE4)

Ishtar (FE4)

Hilda (in the sense of being a good actual villain who killing is very fun) (FE4)

Lilina (FE6)

Guinivere (FE6)

Lyn (FE7) (just... not to the extent intsys nuts over)

Tethys (FE8)

Ismaire (FE8) (Joshua's mom)

Mist (FE9/10)

Elincia (FE9/10)

Sanaki (FE9/10, but shows a lot more character growth in FE10)

Jill (FE9/10)

Nephenee (FE9/10, more so FE10 as a better character)

Sigrun (FE9/10)

Lissa (FE13)

Lucina (FE13) (same as Lyn lol)

Azura (FE14)

Soleil (FE14)

manuela had potential rip

Judith

Timerra

Veronica (Heroes) (just... not the older books' version)

Henriette (Heroes)

Eir (Heroes)

and after eir that was the end of even remotely decent heroes writing as i knew it

i hope heiðr turns out okay bc i kind of like her for now and she's not as bad as the rest of literally everything in that section of the story

If I didn't list someone here it doesn't mean they're a terrible character or that I despise them or anything (they're not even necessarily bad imo), but a lot of them are pretty shallow or used like a plot gimmick. ALSO, I might like them but that doesn't mean that they were written particularly well or felt standout or anything (like, I like Cordelia but I didn't list her because it's not a very strong attachment and it's a very mild like).

In some cases for "good" that aren't in like, it's more because they're not a favorite female (like Timerra, who I like enough but I had other females I enjoyed more).

edit: if you're wondering why i didn't list sov it's bc i haven't played it and gaiden's version of the characters is about as nonexistent as fe5, hence the lack of fe2 and fe5 (who weren't present in fe4 as well) characters

[garbinge]

Best Friend

Opie Winston x TellerSister!Reader

Summary: Dealing with the after math of Jax’s death. 

Warnings: Canon level mentions of death, suicide, cigarettes. Cursing. Angst. tons of angst. when you think there’s been enough angst, oh look theres more.  *All my fics are 18+. 

A/N: Me? Back from a multi month long writing hiatus with a super angsty reader insert SOA fic? Who would have thought. Not me! This is my first ever reader insert so please be kind. If you notice anything that gets too descriptive, let me know and I’ll happily edit it! Also my first time writing for SOA. As always thanks to Tay for chatting this through with me. xo Enjoy! 

Word Count: 2.3k

SOA Taglist: @drabbles-mc (Not sure how many SOA fics i’ll have in the future but happy to add anyone to any potential future fics!)

The clubhouse was packed. It was a sea of kuttes, Harleys, and people from all different charters, all different clubs, and they all came to pay their respects for the late and great Jax Teller. 

You sat inside, surrounded by people you’ve known your whole life practically, yet the disconnect you felt might as well have you surrounded by strangers. People approached you, paying their respects for the loss of your brother. And your mother. And your sister-in-law. They would have offered their condolences for your father but that was 20 years ago so it wasn’t exactly socially acceptable anymore. 

As people offered their sorrows and condolences your eyes didn’t leave the casket. It represented so much. The death of your baby brother, for one. But also it felt like the last conscious piece of you was sitting in that box with Jax. He was really the only one that got it. The life you lived, the choices you made. Perfect siblings were definitely not the way anyone would have described the two of you. You fought. You hated the decisions he made, and likely vice versa, but he was blood. Your little brother.  And now you were left with the numbness of the same cycle all again, but this time, alone. 

The service wasn’t long, it was just a few people saying a few words and the casket would be taken over to the cemetery tomorrow. You opted out of any last parting words, it definitely said a lot by saying nothing, but after 3 funerals in the past year, there wasn’t much more you had in you to say. Leaving before the post-funeral party began was a must, something about getting drunk in the place that caused the downfall of your family wasn’t exactly high on your to-do list. You grabbed a pack of cigarettes that was left unattended and snagged a lighter before quietly sneaking out without saying goodbye to anyone. 

The lit cigarette hung from your mouth as the car key sputtered in the ignition of your car, causing a couple pairs of eyes to glance over at the noise. There was no problem ignoring the glaring eyes until your eyes met his. Opie nodded to you and you fought back every instinct you initially had to flip him off and just nodded back keeping your face solemn, praying your car would start and you could just get the hell home. Just as it seemed like he was going to get up to help, the car started and as the relief filled your soul, you pressed the gas like your life depended on it. 

Home didn’t feel much like home anymore, but lately thoughts had you wondering if it ever really did. You clicked the answering machine that was blinking obnoxiously to let you know there were multiple missed calls. More condolences. One after the other. The frustration and emotion was so built up that you finally had just lost it and you threw the phone off the small entry table, pulling the cord out of the wall on its journey flying across the living room and into the wall leaving a nice mark to commemorate the moment. A scream left your mouth and just as you fell silent your cell phone began to ring. 

“You gotta be fuckin’ kidding me,” you mumbled, closing your eyes in defeat. The name was mocking you as you stared at your phone ringing. Opie Winston. But for some reason, you didn’t hesitate much. You answered it, staying silent for a minute, not really sure what to say but after a couple seconds you spoke up. 

“What’s up?” the attitude dripped off your tone. 

“Didn’t think you’d answer,” he sounded surprised. 

“Didn’t think you’d call,” the annoyance in you grew. 

“You’re my best friend, why wouldn’t I call you?” Opie responded. 

You scoffed at the use of the endearment. Best friend. Best friend? There was nothing about yours and Opie’s friendship as of lately that could be considered best. Hell, you wouldn’t even have considered it friends. Sure, you met Opie first and were even friends first. You were the reason he even knew Jax. But the minute he met Jax was the minute it all changed for you and your friendship with him, especially as you all got older. Sure, there were moments in time where the 3 of you were inseparable, throughout middle school and high school, especially. But the minute Opie joined the club with Jax it was like you were voted out of the friendship. There was apart of you that wouldn’t even have been surprised if Clay had brought it up for a vote between the boys. The club ran deeper than whatever friendship you held with your brother so it definitely would overrule your friendship with Opie.

You held on for as long as you could to the trio but eventually it was a lost cause. You and Jax made it work, with the involvement of Gemma in the club, Jax didn’t hide much from you the same way he wouldn’t with her, even despite Clay’s arguments. It’s not to say you knew all the club secrets and moves but you had the big picture shit painted for you just fine. But Opie never felt like he could be the one to be honest with you like Jax could, and that put a wedge there. You tried a lot, and just when it seemed like it had maybe turned in your favor, Opie got locked up and right then and there was when there was no coming back. There was a glimmer of hope for the friendship when Donna died, as fucked up as that sounds. But death brings family closer, right? Wrong. 

So that’s why you sat there rolling your eyes as Opie casually called you his best friend when you honestly felt like you hadn’t really known the man in years. 

“What do you want, Ope?” You asked plopping down on the couch bringing your hand to your temple to massage the headache that was forming. 

The line was silent for 30 seconds as Opie thought about what to say. 

“It was a nice service,” he said, thinking quickly off his feet. 

“It was a fucking funeral, Opie. There was nothing nice about it.” You spoke just as quickly back to him. Before he could respond you spoke again. “You realize my brother is dead right? Your best friend. He killed himself. Right into an 18 wheeler like beloved JT, and you’re calling me to tell me it was a nice service?” You scoffed before finishing your sentence, “respectfully, please just leave me alone. You had no problem ignoring me through your prison stint, you had no problem ignoring me when you came back to the club, and you had no problem ignoring me every other time I fucking needed you, so please have no problem doing it now.” 

It was definitely a build up of tension that you held against him coming out right now, mixed with the overwhelming feeling that tomorrow you had to bury your baby brother next to his deceased wife and your deceased mother and father. 

“Okay,” he said, but didn’t hang up. 

That irritated you more. “Okay?” you frowned and huffed, mocking the words out of his mouth. 

“Not sure what you want from me, Y/N.” Opie kept his voice steady. It wasn’t mean or rude, it was simply the truth. This was Opie Winston, he didn’t know what you wanted. 

You took in what he said. What did you want? 

He broke the silence, which wasn’t exactly like him, which meant he was trying. 

“You know I lost everybody too. That’s why I called you.” 

“So I’m a last resort, cool.” You weren’t sure how much more Opie was going to dig himself into this hole but at the same time you knew you were digging one also. 

“You know what I meant.” His tone was exhausted, not wanting to fight with you.

“No Opie, that’s the problem I don’t ever know what you mean. I don’t know you anymore.” 

There it was. This was either going to stop here before it got any deeper or this was going to get messy, fast. 

“I’m sorry,” he said, defeated. 

“Yea, me too.” The breath you took was deep as those three words left your mouth.

“I’m here if you want company,” Opie added, hoping to break the tension, but instead making you break. 

“I don’t want to chill and act like none of this is happening. I want to get the fuck out of here, I’m sick of Charming. This town took everything from me. Your stupid fucking club took everything from me. What am I left with? Nothing.” You began your rant which was far from over but Opie decided to speak up.

“I’m telling you I’m here for you.” There was frustration in his voice now, annoyed that everything he said was causing you to fight back.

“Why are you still here?” You asked him, seriously. The line was silent. 

“Y/N..” He eventually let out under his breath. 

You shook your head. “Save it, Opie. You didn’t call when Gemma died, you don’t need to offer me your helping hand now that Jax isn’t here. You dealt with Donna’s death just fine, you don’t need me and I don’t need you,” you shrugged as if he could see you. 

That one cut deep and like clockwork, Opie cut back deeper, “you didn’t even like Gemma.”

“I could say the same for you about Donna,” your rebuttal was quick, and just like he put a knife in you, you put one right back. It was a game now for you two, but this jab might have taken it too far. 

“I loved Donna.” 

“I did too. I was there. While you were away,” your voice cracked and trembled at the memories. “Jax didn’t visit. Jax didn’t take his paychecks and buy groceries for your kids. He didn’t check in on Donna. I did. Because you were my family, despite all the bullshit. And you know what makes me even more of a fool? I would have done it all again even if I knew that when you came home you were going to toss me to the side for my brother, for the club. Because that’s how much I cared. But time and time again you never show up for me and I’ve had it. It took for me to lose everything to realize it.” You were staring at the picture of your family. You, Gemma, JT, Jax, baby Thomas. 

“What do you want me to do?” It was a typical response from Opie, looking for direction. It caused a genuine but sad laugh to escape from your mouth. 

“You do what you do best, Ope.” You nodded your head in approval as you spoke, “wear that reaper patch with pride, every time you look at the blood that drips off the scythe, remember everyone you’ve lost. Including me. Then look around that fucking god forsaken table while you’re in church, take in those faces around you, look at that skull on your rocker and bask in it. Because they all mattered more than every single person you lost.” 

Tears fell from your eyes as you said it. It was harsh, but it was the truth. You weren’t going to hold back anymore. 

“What are you going to do?” Opie didn’t seem phased by the words, but he was also good at hiding his true emotions. 

“I’m going to pack my shit up and leave. Tonight. Because I can’t bury my baby brother. I won’t do it. I’m taking the kids and I’m leaving.” 

Opie was silent. You knew he wouldn’t tell anyone. They’d ask him and he’d lie, while you might not have known Opie anymore, you did still know him at his core. He wouldn’t rat you out. 

You nodded your head at the silence on the line, “thanks for checking in Ope, have a good life.”

And with that you hung up. It was the oddest sense of closure. It was everything you’ve ever wanted to say to him, but the numbness of everything happening made it impossible to feel completely relieved. You didn’t dwell in it too long, you got up, wiped your tears, and held yourself to your word. Beginning to pack up your necessities, you quickly sent a text to Nero that you would be at his place soon to pick up Abel and Thomas. There wasn’t much to pack, clothes, some mementos. But not much, just the photos you held dear to your heart, some jewelry Tara had given you, some things that were left behind in Gemma’s will and that was it. A new life meant a new life. Despite the hold this town had on your brother, you knew this is what he would have wanted. If you couldn’t do it for yourself you would have solace knowing you were doing it for him.

Your whole life sat packed by the door in 3 bags total. The keys swung around your fingers as you headed toward the door to go pick up the kids before you’d come back, pack the car up and go. 

Without a thought, you swung the door open and jumped back when you weren’t met with the usual open space. A 6’4” tall body stood at the door. No kutte in sight, his beanie snug on his head. He effortlessly held a backpack slung over his shoulder and a duffel bag in his left hand. 

Taking it all in, you finally felt it. Closure. 

“If you’re gonna take that shitty car on your Charming dash, I figured you were going to need a mechanic on the road with you.” Opie said, staring down at you. 

“I don’t need a mechanic,” the words would have gutted Opie if you didn’t follow them up with your next few. 

“I need my best friend.”

[drundertalescum]

The Scene With Undyne Sitting Across The Table From You: An Analysis

So Undyne lied to Papyrus. She led him on about the Guard, and she wasn’t honest with him. She didn’t actually train him. She was never going to let him in the guard.

We all know this.

I think something that people don’t think about, though, is the rest of that conversation, and Why she handled that situation the way she did. This is something I have fallen into a lot, too, because Papyrus is my favorite and I have a bad habit of focusing on him… but I think I wanna explore this from Undyne’s point of view instead.

Because it’s really interesting, isn’t it? 

Throughout the game, Undyne is otherwise portrayed as being as empathetic as she is direct. There is no problem that she can’t suplex or headbutt! She’ll eat a rock! She’ll fight the sun! But she won’t tell Papyrus she can’t let him into the guard.

A lot of the time, I think we read this conversation as being revealing of who Papyrus is. It gets used a lot as fuel to infantilize him. In fact, seeing something about that is actually why I wanted to write this. Additionally, this conversation where she reveals this is where she tells us about Asgore’s sadness, his fatherly tendencies and his strength and his nature beyond being the not-so-final boss. 

[Image Description:  Undyne is sitting across the table from you. You’re in her house. The window’s been smashed, and the table, too, with a spear sticking out of it, and she’s left some things on the stove and theres just a sword in the middle of her floor, but it’s calm for now. Various things are left on her counter. You’re both drinking tea.]

But this is Undyne’s conversation on Undyne’s hangout and this conversation is meant to make us understand Undyne. 

So, here’s my take:

I think Undyne is not good with emotions beyond the obvious, and she uses others and their experiences and emotions as examples and ways to understand and work through her own emotions and complicated, shifting thoughts. She’s not gonna tell a human kid her anxieties, because thats not the kind of person she is. She’s direct whenever she can be, but these are not matters she can be direct with. She’s a fighter, not a philosopher. 

She starts this conversation by telling you you remind her of Asgore, because...

[Image Description:  Undyne is sitting across the table from you. She’s throwing her head back laughing at you, probably obnoxiously. She says “You’re both TOTAL weenies!!!” with three exclamation points, and “total” in all caps.]

She calls Asgore a TOTAL WEENIE, then relents, and says he’s not a weenie all of the time. That’s when she tells us the story of how she tried to beat him up when she was little, to prove she was the strongest, and how that leads her to become his apprentice, and how she eventually knocked him down.

[Image Description: Undyne is sitting across the table from you. Her eyes are closed, her head is bowed. She says “I felt… bad.”]

She felt bad.

Undyne is expressing with that that she used to value strength above all else, and viewed the world through that very narrow lens. She’s surpassed Asgore, at least in one match, and that should have been a victory for her, but instead the situation lead to an emotion she hadn’t expected: She felt bad. And Asgore was so proud of her.

And then she tells us about Papyrus, and this is the same thought as the other story, because she’s expressing that the role she’s taken on as Head of the Royal Guard is her graduating to a leadership position like Asgore’s. 

[Image Description: Undyne is sitting across the table from you. She says “So I’m the one who gets to train dorks to fight!” She’s throwing her head back laughing. Not at you this time.]

She introduces Papyrus to this story then, and starts with saying she doesn’t know if she could ever let him in.

I think an important phrasing there is that she doesn’t know. This is not a solid open and shut decision. She hesitates and stumbles over this admission. She does not know if she’s going to let him in. She doesn’t think she is, but she doesn’t know. 

She’s stuck. I know you could say this is just a matter of phrasing, and might not seem significant, but the way she stumbles over explaining herself, its like she’s trying to work out right now exactly why she won’t let him in. And she’s maybe only realizing now that the answer was always going to be no.

[Image Description:  Undyne is sitting across the table from you. She says “I mean, it’s not that he’s weak.” She’s grinning... but she’s sweating it out a little.]

[Image Description: Undyne is sitting across the table from you. She says “He’s actually pretty freaking tough!” Her eyes bulge with passion!  ]

She’s quick to say its not that he’s weak, and that he’s pretty freaking tough - really strong praise from Undyne, who just called you and the King of All Monsters total weenies - and then she starts talking about how he’s too innocent and nice! And how he was supposed to capture you, but ended up being friends with you instead!!!

And… again, a lot of people are quick to read this as a flaw in Papyrus. A fully literal assessment of him by Undyne. But is it?

There is a reason she’s telling you this. 

There’s a reason she’s emphasizing this to you: Look where she is right now. 

[Image Description: Undyne is sitting across the table from you.]

She was supposed to capture you.

 But instead, she’s making friends with you.  

If this is a flaw in Papyrus, this scene is her admitting to herself and to you, that this is a flaw that exists in her too.

But also, this scene, with her stumbling over herself talking about weakness, strength, weenies, not weenies… is her also realizing, through Papyrus, through Asgore through you: 

This was never a flaw at all.

She’s different than Papyrus. She goes harder. She’s more willing to kill you. She’s more willing to push forward. But this scene is her coming to terms with a hesitation she’s been struggling with, a bad feeling when she finally makes her opponent fall, an urge she doesn’t seem to have fully thought through to teach Papyrus something else. This wasn’t a long term plan. There was no long term plan. She doesn’t know if she can ever let him in. She’s trying to delay having to make that decision, because she doesn’t fully understand the decision, or at least she didn’t until right now, sitting down across from the enemy and sharing something she’s always shared with someone she very much cares about. 

Undyne didn’t know how to deal with the fact that she might not want to go to war after all, until the very moment that became an option. It was abstract before. It was easy before. But she’s had her doubts and finally now she understands them. And she’s trying to express this to you now at the same time as she’s trying to understand it.

And now that all this is out of the way and she can stop thinking about it, she’s going to work on befriending you AS HARD AS SHE CAN!!!

[Image Description: Undyne is no longer sitting across the table from you. She has lept onto the counter behind her, and knocked everything to the floor. She’s thrown her head back and is grinning widely, challenging you to cook with her! “Fuhuhu!!! Afraid!?” she asks, and you can tell from her punctuation that she’s very excited about this. “We’re gonna be best friends!!!” ]

Anyway, I love Undyne, and I felt like this was a scene that needed more attention in her direction, because it’s not about Asgore and it’s not about Papyrus. It’s about her, our terrifying new bestie.

(also thank you @weia-yo​​ for helping me with analyzing this scene months ago. Only just now had the necessary spoons to write it up)

[btsydtrash]

Euphoric Endeavours [17]

vampire bts, poly ot7 x uni student yn

(AN: Hi, all! This story is actually already posted on AO3. I hope that you like it!)

also, i don’t have a tag list, but if you follow/put notifications, you’ll get alerted. tysm loves!

find me on twitter        word count: 2.1K

(angst / fluff / smut / yandere / gore)

Chapter 17: ‘Invigoration’

Classes start back the following week and you are glad for the change in pace. Your creative writing class got swapped out for a history module that you weren’t over the moon about taking, but still, the change felt good.

Your job at the café had been waiting for you after your sudden decision to go back home, and you were welcomed with open arms, considering the Christmas period had been a hellish experience, you took on plenty of shifts to ease your guilt and make things easier on Areum.

That all meant you hadn’t been able to see the boys at all for two weeks, despite being back in the same city. You had muted the chat, so you didn’t see when they messaged you, but sometimes you would peek in. Really, you hadn’t been avoiding them, per se, but you weren’t exactly chasing them down either, still tender from your own feelings of guilt.

But now, rather than simply being because of Mei Li’s death, you also felt guilty about how you reacted to them. And their secret.

It came to you one night, that if they really didn’t often expose their affliction to outsiders, because they feared the consequences of their vulnerability, you had proven them all right. Your reaction to their secret had been proverbial spittle in their faces, and you felt bad.

“Are you done with housekeeping, YN?” Areum asks, snapping you out of your reverie.

You look up and nod, a perfunctory smile working its way onto your face. “I can sign out now.”

“Okay, thanks. You were a real help tonight,” she says, putting a comforting hand on your shoulder. “Get home safe, okay?”

You nod, wrapping your scarf around your neck and kicking into your boots.

Pushing open the back doors to the establishment, you step out into the bitter wind and let out a low groan.

It was late, just after eleven at night, so the subway is still running. You could probably get home before midnight if you hurry, but the floors are still icy from the cold temperature, so you crunch, awkwardly, through the slush-snow-mush that coats the ground, careful of any translucent, shiny patches on the floor.

An obnoxiously loud series of beeps makes you jump out of your skin.

“Fuck!”

“You shouldn’t curse so loud, YN,” Namjoon’s pleasant tone rings from the driver’s seat. His hair is purple now, and shorter. It suits him so well, you almost drop your satchel at the sight of his honey-skin contrasting with the deep violet shade. “You look well. It’s nice to see you.”

“Mmm,” you reply, brain still catching up with your body. You know you’re just staring, dumbly, at him, and he lets out a soft chuckle, dimples appearing. That just isn’t fair.

“Do you want to get in the car and out of the cold? I can give you a ride,” he suggests, softly. There’s no compulsion in his voice, but he does seem a little uncomfortable with the idea of leaving you alone so late. “I don’t want you to think you have to – you don’t. I could get you a cab instead if you’re uncomfortable?”

“I’m not uncomfortable,” you reply, a touch too quickly. “Open the door.”

He does so, pushing it open and the heat tickles at you, invitingly. Settling into the car, you notice that the air smells strongly of vanilla – an aroma you closely associate with the tall literature major.

He doesn’t push you to talk, he just drives, taking special care of the stoplights, eyes on the road the entire way. The way he holds tension in his shoulders betrays his newly learner status as a driver.

You ask, scrambling for anything to fill the silence, “When did you pass your driving test?”

He glances at you, once the light overhead turns red. “Uhh, over the break actually. I’ve been saving for this car for a couple of months. My Mom said she’d match whatever I put up, so even though it isn’t as fancy as the others’, it’s all mine.”

He looks so proud of himself, chest puffing a little and his eyes are fucking sparkling. You can’t find it in you to laugh at him. You wouldn’t anyway. You don’t have a car, you don’t even have a license, so what right do you have to mock him?

“It’s nice,” you compliment. “Really, I’m happy for you.”

He smiles, dimples deepening before he turns his eyes to the street ahead, focused. The light changes and the silence returns.

“Did you have work?”

He nods, carefully. “I thought I’d stop by after, you know. To see if you were okay.”

“You work across town,” you remark, quirking a brow, the challenge clear in your voice.

The apples of his cheeks pink. “Yeah, I do, don’t I?”

“What time did you finish work?”

He pauses. “… Seven.”

“Namjoon!”

“I didn’t wait the whole time, I promise,” he says. “I went to dinner with a colleague, and then to the library for an hour. I just- I wanted to make sure you got home okay.”

You stare at him, the earnestness practically etched in every pane of his face, before you enquire, “And you couldn’t just call like a normal person, because…?”

“Because you wouldn’t have answered,” he replies, a touch sulkily.

You can’t say he’s wrong, because you aren’t sure if you would have answered the call, seeing his nickname flashing on your phone screen. Your panic would have probably choked you.

“You’re right,” you mumble. “Sorry.”

“Nothing to be sorry about,” he answers. “You are entitled to your space. We fucked up, big time, YN. We aren’t hiding from that.”

“You always say ‘we’,” you remark. “Why?”

He seems surprised for a second, contemplative, even. “Well, that’s because we are a ‘we’. There’s no ‘I’ in a cluster. I think of them as extensions of myself.”

“Yoongi said that you think of me as part of your coven too,” you suggest, shyly. “Is that- Is that true?”

Namjoon’s collar feels hot. He didn’t think he’d be getting into such personal matters so quickly, but he owes you an explanation. A brief one, but still – it’s there.

“Yes,” he replies, after a moment of thought. “Subconsciously, we’ve all begun to think of you as a part of our cluster.”

You bite your lip, lightly, at the confidence in his assertion.

He continues, carefully, “That’s why Hoseok brings you food, and why Jimin waits for you after class. It’s why Kookie will carry your things, and why Taehyung massages your feet without you needing to ask. Jin-hyung buys you little trinkets that he thinks you’ll like, because you’ve become a priority of his. Yoongi has one of your scarves in his room, because your scent feels comforting to him. All of us feel responsible for your well-being. It’s as natural for us as breathing.”

You chance a glance at him, and you notice that his face is just as red as yours is, maybe more so. “And you?”

He blinks, the car jerking a little in his nervousness, before he asks, shakily, “What about me?”

“What do you think of me?”

“I think you’re special, YN,” he says, after a long pause. “I think that we’re lucky to have you in our lives, and that I’m sorry we put you in a compromising position. I’m sorry you lost trust in us, and I want to somehow get us back to how it was before.”

“I don’t think that’s possible,” you reply, quietly.

His face crumples in regret, but you see him try to control it. He bites down on his bottom lip firmly, practically chewing on the skin in an attempt to keep the anguish off his face. He doesn’t want to make you feel guilty, even now, as you crush his heart in your hand.

You amend, quickly, “I just mean that because I know your secret, things have to be different, don’t they?”

He looks over at you, cautiously hopeful surprise written across his gorgeous face. “D-Do you mean that, YN?”

You let out a sigh. “I did wrong too. I didn’t listen to you, too caught up in my own… feelings that I didn’t think of how vulnerable you guys might feel. Yoongi explained that you guys are super-duper private creatures by nature. And I trampled on that, by reacting so badly.”

Namjoon shakes his head, finally pulling up outside of your apartment. “Not at all, YN. You’re human, we didn’t expect roses and a red carpet once you realised we fed on your kind.”

The visual of his words makes you cringe, and you cling to the reminder that they had said that they don’t kill humans. You remind yourself that this is Namjoon, and you’ve seen his collection of fluffy toys and the hand-knitted sweater than he wears, gifted to him for his birthday from Jimin, and the fear instantly dissolves.

“Still, I’m sorry I took your openness for granted and for ignoring you for the last few weeks. It was immature of me,” you reply, turning to face him head on. He’s already watching you, expression carefully withdrawn. “I want to try… I miss you guys so much.”

You blink back tears that sting at your eyes, and before you know it, the friendly giant has you bundled in his arms over the console. He exhales, shakily, “I’ve missed you so much, YN.”

He breathes into your hair, the hands that hold you are trembling, and you try to ignore the fact that your own are doing the same.

“Do you want to come to our apartment? The other boys would really appreciate seeing you soon,” he suggests, eager to have you back in their space that had long diffused itself of your natural scent.

“We’re already at my place,” you reply, sighing, before an idea strikes you. “How about you come up?”

Namjoon hadn’t been inside of your place yet – the only one of the seven to have never stepped foot in your place – so you are excited to take that step with him.

“If it’s okay with your housemates, sure,” he answers, unclipping his belt and turning off the engine. The two of you climb the stairs to your apartment and he hovers behind you as you struggle with your keys, palms slightly sweating with nerves.

“The place might be a bit messy, but my room’s fine,” you warn, stepping over the pile of shoes in the hallway. “I guess Young-mi or Nayeon might have some company.”

Lively chatter fills the living room, and you wince as you see Nayeon’s group of friends all turn their disinterested gazes over to you, barely acknowledging your existence.

“YN, you’re late,” Nayeon remarks, flippantly. “Sorry for the mess.”

“No worries,” you reply. “My friend and I will be in my room.”

Namjoon steps into the living room, and you see the moment where the girls all realise just who has stepped into your apartment. Not wanting to deal with the armed militia, you rush past the girls, stepping over neatly pedicured feet to get to your room, grip unyielding on Joon’s sleeve, and you slam your door shut.

“Was that Kim Namjoon?”

“How does she know him?”

“Do you think she could get me Jimin’s number? He blocked my other one…”

You close your eyes and wince at the revelry in the girl’s voice. Joon doesn’t seem to be paying attention, although you are sure he can hear every word.

“Your room is… just like I thought it’d be,” he says, fingers playing in the cotton blanket draped over your bed. He eyes your funky alarm clock in the shape of a cartoon bumblebee (a gift from your Mom), the photo-frame shaped like a book filled with one picture on each moveable page (your parents and yourself, you at your high-school graduation, a sepia picture of your parents on their wedding day, one of your childhood pet puppy, Ddeul, and the rest are empty), your giant cartoon pig plushie (from Mei Li), and your assorted posters dotted around the room.

Crossing your arms over your chest, you retort, strangely defensive, “And what does that mean?”

He glances at you, eyes glowing softly in the faint light from your bedside lamp, and he says, “It’s homely. Just like you, YN. It feels like a home.”

Namjoon ends up spending the night, taking the floor while you sleep on the bed, and you feel guilty the whole time. He’s wearing some ratty old sweats and one of your Dad’s college shirts that you had stolen to wear as pyjamas. He looks cute, in comfy clothes, even though they’re a touch too big for him.

“Your Dad must be huge,” he had murmured, somewhat frightened at the prospect. “Why are you do tiny?”

“My Mom is barely five-foot-tall,” you had replied, shoving at his shoulder. “I think I come somewhere nicely in the middle.”

That had been an hour ago. After getting yourself showered and into some PJs, you had come back to find Joon rooting through your barren shelves of books, appraising them, endearingly. Before long, the yawns set in, and you got into bed.

But, now you couldn’t really drift off.

“You can sleep here with me,” you mutter, moodily staring down at him, as if you could change his mood with your mind. “You’re being obstinate.”

“I’d rather not spend my first night in your apartment in your bed, YN,” he says, before he winks playfully. “What would the neighbours think?”

“That I was finally getting some,” you mutter, cynicism escaping before you realise he can hear you, perfectly well. “Ignore that.”

He nods, ducking his head further under the pathetic attempt of a bed you haphazardly made.

“The floor can’t be comfortable,” you murmur, staring down at the lumpy form that has taken up most of your floor space. You hadn’t realised just how long Namjoon was until you’d tried to create a makeshift bed for him.

He sighs, softly. “YN. Drop it.”

“Why?”

“I’m still a guy, you know,” he grumbles, suddenly glaring hotly up at you. “Men are dangerous to girls like you.”

“The implication that you would hurt me is laughable,” you reply, rolling your eyes so hard you almost black out. “Outside of the whole, you know, vampire thing, you’re practically a teddy bear.”

He growls something indistinguishable into your sheets before rolling onto his side, effectively ending the conversation. You don't know why he's being so grumpy with you, but you're so happy to have him back in your orbit that you don't really care. Just staring at the fluffy of purple atop his head is enough to make your stomach flutter with excited little butterflies.

“Fine, Moody,” you retort, pettily. “I’m changing your name in my phone to Namjoon No-Fun.”

Nothing.

“Not a fan? Okay, how about Joonie No-Jams?” You suggest, giggling.

He scoffs, lightly.

You tap your chin, contemplative. “Miserable Moni?”

He throws his pillow at you with frightening accuracy and growls, but there's no heat behind his words, only fond frustration, “Go to bed, YN!”

You don’t bother him for the rest of the night, but the two of you fall asleep with identical smiles on your faces, comforted by the presence of someone you cared about so much and appreciated so dearly.

- end - 

Masterlist / Chapter (1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), (8), (9), (10), (11), (12), (13), (14), (15)

[aquaticrunner]

Modern Academic Rivals to Lovers | Edmund x Reader

Request by @generalblizzarddreamer : Hey love! I don't know if you're inspired to write Narnia right now but could I have academic rivals to lovers with Edmund Pevensie? Maybe Edmund could be a law student and the reader is a journalism major? Thanks so much if you do it! | Word count: 2.9K

A/N: I did not mean for this to come out so long but I loved the idea and just kinda ran with it. I hope you like it! I had a lot of fun writing it. I’m so sorry it took so long but I’m finally out of school so I’m catching up on all my requests.

I stood up from the small desk I was sitting at in the university library and stretched my arms up above my head. I’d been sitting at this desk for at least two hours and still felt like I hadn’t made much progress on my project. I decided to go searching for some more sources and scanned the section closest to me. A book title on the top shelf caught my eye and I reached my hand up to grab it. Just as my fingers brushed the spine of the book, another hand reached over and swiped it. “Hey!” I shouted, immediately cringing at the loudness of my voice in the quiet library. I looked over at the thief who had taken my book. The guy seemed familiar like maybe we’d had a few classes together. He had dark, curly hair that had grown past his ears and an easy smile that probably made most people melt. 

“Hey yourself.” He said, chuckling as he started to walk away. I bit the side of my cheek in frustration and made the impulsive decision to follow him. “Excuse me, but I need that book.”

He stopped walking and smirked at me. Despite how attractive this boy was, it infuriated me. “Well, so do I.”

I crossed my arms over my chest. “I saw it first and there’s only one copy.”

He raised his eyebrows slightly. “You saw it first? What is this, primary school?”

“Seriously? Just give me the book.”

I could see the smile in his eyes as he just looked at me and said, “No.” Then he turned around and walked away again.

I decided not to follow him this time and walked back to my desk, fuming the whole way there. He was the most arrogant and obnoxious guy I’d ever met and I didn’t even know his name. I tried to focus on my project again but gave up after about 30 minutes. I packed up my stuff and walked back to my dorm. When I made it back, I checked the time on my phone. It was only 8:15. Too early to go to sleep. I scrolled through the contacts on my phone until I saw my best friend’s name. I pressed the call button and put the phone to my ear. She answered after the first ring and asked what was up. “Do you wanna go out?”

I woke up the next morning with a slight headache and my mouth dry. I picked up the water bottle that I keep beside my bed but it was empty. I sighed and stood up. I ventured into my small kitchen area and filled up the bottle in the sink. As I drank the water, my mind drifted back to last night. My friend, Valerie, and I had gone to a small club and stayed out till about midnight. I had pretty much gotten over my encounter with that guy at the library. I looked at the clock at the wall and cursed when I realized that it was almost 7:30. I only had 15 minutes to get ready for my morning class. I threw on some jeans and a t-shirt and brushed my teeth. I rushed out the door, barely checking to see if I had the right notebook. I walked as fast as I could to the humanities building and breathed a sigh of relief when I made it with 3 minutes to spare. I took a seat in the front row where I always did and smiled at the boy that always sits next to me. I opened my backpack and grabbed my notebook, thankful that it was the right one. I opened the notebook to a blank page and sat a pencil next to it. I was waiting for the professor to walk in when someone else caught my eye. It was the boy from the library! So we do have a class together, I thought. I waited for him to see me but his eyes stayed focused on his path and he sat down in the middle row. I turned my head quickly in case he saw me looking at him. 

The professor walked in a minute later and I tried to refocus my mind on what he was teaching. This class was already boring to me. I knew that research and writing were important, but this class felt almost too basic. As the professor talked my mind drifted to the boy sitting behind me. I wondered if he had noticed me yet, if he was as bored as I was, or if he was paying attention and didn’t notice me at all. 

“Does anyone know the answer?” I was snapped out of my thoughts when the professor addressed the class and averted my eyes, hoping he wouldn’t call on me. “Anyone at all?”

“A research question is focused, complex, and arguable.” My eyes widened when I realized it was the boy from last night.

“Yes that is correct, Mr… ?”

“Pevensie, sir. Edmund Pevensie.”

The professor nodded and went back to lecturing. My eyes stayed glued to the boy, Edmund. His eyes snapped to mine and heat immediately rushed to my cheeks and I turned back to my notebook. Now he’s going to think I’m obsessed with him.

When the professor dismissed class after what felt like forever, I threw my stuff in my bag and rushed out of my seat. I made it out the door and thought I was clear and my path was blocked. “Excuse me.” I said, trying to get past.

“Avoiding someone?” His voice burned into my soul and I jumped back.

“No. I just have somewhere to be.” My eyes drifted up his chest as I leaned up to meet his eyes.

The corner of his mouth ticked up and he narrowed his eyes at me. “Right. I’m Edmund by the way. Figured I should introduce myself after you called me a thief.”

I rolled my eyes. “You are a thief. And I heard your name. Everyone in class did.”

This time, he smiled completely. “So…?”

I looked at him, unsure of what he was wanting. “So what?”

He stared at me blankly as if he was trying to figure out if I really didn’t know or if I was messing with him. “Your name?”

“Oh. It’s Y/N.” I don’t know why it surprised me that he wanted my name. Was he trying to be friends or something?

“Well, it was nice to meet you Y/N.” And with that he turned and walked away. Why is he always doing that?

I rolled my eyes as he left and walked back to my dorm, throwing my bag down in the living room. My roommate, Elle, walked out and raised her eyebrows at me. “Someone’s in a foul mood.”

“I am not!” I shouted defensively. She just looked at me and my shoulders sagged in defeat. “Fine. I met this guy and he’s a total jerk.”

Her eyes lit up immediately. “You met a guy?”

“Seriously? That was not the important part of that sentence.”

She laughed. “Well I can’t remember the last time you said the words “met a guy.”” She said, using air quotes around my words. 

I sighed and walked into my room, looking over my schedule for the day. I had one more class and a club meeting later that day. 

“Hey would you wanna grab lunch before my next class?” I asked her, walking back into the living room.

She shrugged, “Sure. I have nothing better to do.”

We ate in the campus cafeteria and I went to my corporate communication class. Now I was on my way to one of the meeting rooms on campus for a debate club meeting. It was my first time joining a club and I was definitely nervous. 

I walked up the stairs of the building and into the room that was on the announcement. A tall girl greeted me at the door with a large smile. “Hi! Are you here to join the debate team?” Her enthusiasm was almost scary but I smiled back and nodded as she handed me an instruction packet. “Great! Feel free to sit anywhere.” I thanked her and took a seat near the middle. Normally I liked to sit in the front but I was a little too nervous tonight.

I looked around for anyone I might know and noticed a familiar boy with dark, curly hair. You have to be kidding me. Ever since our interaction at the library Edmund seemed to be everywhere I was.

He was busy talking to a group of kids at the back of the room. He caught my eye and waved at me with a smirk on his face. I clenched my jaw and turned back around, facing the front of the room.

The girl who greeted me when I walked in had now moved to stand behind a small podium. She cleared her throat to catch everyone’s attention and I sat up a little straighter in my chair. She spent the next hour describing what the debate club was like, our meeting schedule, and how often we attend competitions. “Now there is a sign-up sheet being passed around. Please write your name and phone number on the sheet.” She handed the clipboard with the sheet on it to the boy on my left and he handed it to me when he was done. I wrote what she instructed and passed it to my right, not paying attention to who was beside me. Once everyone was done she announced that the meeting was over and we would receive a message for our next meeting time. I sighed and stood following the small crowd out the door.

“Hey Y/N!” I looked to see who was calling my name and of course it was Edmund. 

I kept walking, pretending I hadn’t heard him, but he caught up to me almost immediately. “Hey, I didn’t know you were interested in debate.”

I shrugged, “Well you don’t really know that much about me at all.”

He put his hand over his heart in mock hurt. “Ouch. You wound me.”

I smiled condescendingly. “I try.”

“You don’t like me, do you?” He asked.

“I don’t have any feelings toward you.” I said in response.

“Riiight. Is this about the book?” 

I sighed. “No. I don’t care about some stupid book. Look, it's late and I have to go. Bye.”

I walked away from him and headed back to my dorm for the night, trying to concentrate on my project. 

The rest of the week went by quickly with limited interactions between Edmund and me. Finally, it was Friday and I was ready to take a break. However, before I did that I needed to buckle down and finish the project that I had been procrastinating. I packed my stuff up and drove to the library. I spent hours there and by the time I finished, it was dark outside. I packed my stuff up and stopped by the vending machine on my way out. I reached the doors and pushed, but was surprised when they didn’t open. I pushed again and started to get nervous when they still didn’t open. Maybe there’s another exit. I walked away from the doors and searched the perimeter of the library looking for another set of doors. When I didn’t find any, I walked to the center of the library where the help desk was located. “Hello?” I said, hoping someone would answer me.

I heard a voice from behind me, “Please don’t tell me we’re locked in here.” I cringed, knowing who it was going to be before I even turned around.

I slowly turned to face him. “It’s starting to look that way.”

“Do you have your phone?” He asked me.

“No. I leave it in my car when I’m studying. Don’t you have one?” I asked, crossing my arms defensively.

He waved it in front of me, looking annoyed. “It’s dead.”

I wanted to bang my head against a wall. “Great,” I said sarcastically. 

“Maybe we can use the library phone?” He suggested and I nodded, walking around to the other side of the desk.

I picked it up and attempted to dial a number. Instead of hearing the phone ringing, all I heard was constant beeping. I groaned when I read the inscription at the bottom of the phone. 

Edmund leaned over. “What is it?”

“This phone only connects to other phones in the building. No one else is going to be here at this hour.”

“Well, guess we better make ourselves comfortable.” He took a seat on one of the couches and propped his feet up on a nearby table.

I took a deep breath and sat down in a chair across from the couch. 

He stared at me from across the table and I shifted in my seat uncomfortably. “Why are you looking at me?” I finally asked.

He shrugged. “I’m trying to figure out why you don’t like me.”

“By staring at me?”

Edmund laughed and I felt the tension in my shoulders ease just a bit.

“So are you going to tell me or not?” He asked me.

I bit my lip nervously. This is going to be a long night. “I never said I didn’t like you.”

“So you’re acting like this because you do like me.”

“No!”

“So you’re rude to everyone?”

“I am not rude! I don’t dislike you. I just have no interest in talking to you.” I finally said.

“Why not? I’m hilarious.” 

I snorted in response. “I doubt that.”

“You’re judging me based on one interaction. That hardly seems fair.” He said. I looked away, not wanting to admit that he might be right.

“Well it was one rude interaction. First impressions matter.” I said in my defense.

“Okay, well I’m sorry I took the book you wanted. I needed it for a project.”

“So did I.”

He laughed, but it sounded dry. “Whatever.”

I bit my lip, guilt starting to settle in my stomach. Maybe I had judged him too harshly.

“I’m sorry too. I shouldn’t have judged you so fast. Maybe we could be friends?” I asked.

He half-smiled and I felt slightly relieved. “We can be friends.”

I smiled at him for what felt like the first time and he smiled back.

“Let’s play twenty questions.” He said, sitting up suddenly.

“What?”

“Twenty questions. I ask you a question and then you ask me one.” 

I curled my hair around my finger nervously. “I don’t know…”

“Come on, it’ll be fun. You can ask me first.”

I sighed, knowing there was nothing else to do anyway. “Fine. What’s your major?”

Edmund laughed. “Okay, starting off easy. I’m pre-law. What’s yours?”

“Journalism.” He nodded, and I sat for a moment, thinking of my next question. “What’s your family like?”

Edmund smiled and his fondness for them was written clearly all over his face. “I have two sisters and a brother. Lucy and I are the youngest and then Susan and Peter. We’re all really close. I don’t get to see them as often as I like but we text all the time.”

I smiled, surprised at such a genuine response. He cleared his throat and then asked his next question. “What’s your favorite food?”

I laughed and tried to think of a genuine answer. “Pizza. Yours?”

Edmund thought for a moment. “I love anything sweet. Why are you majoring in journalism?”

“Well… I’d like to have an impact on the world. I like discovering the truth and telling real stories. Why do you want to be a lawyer?”

“To defend those who can’t defend themselves, obviously.” He said, jokingly.

I laughed again and thought of my next question. Edmund and I spent the rest of the night talking and laughing. I had seriously misjudged him. He was actually very pleasant to be around. Eventually, we fell asleep and when the librarian woke us up the next morning I was embarrassed to find that Edmund and I had moved together in our sleep. The librarian apologized profusely for not checking before she locked up and then Edmund and I were on our way out of the library.

He walked me to my car and I grabbed his arm before he turned to leave. “Thank you.”

He looked at me curiously. “For what?”

“For making last night a little better. I don’t know what I would’ve done if I’d been locked in by myself.” In a moment of bravery, I leaned forward and hugged him.

Edmund hugged back and I could feel the warmth radiating off of him and his heart beating in his chest.

I leaned back slowly and Edmund kept his arms around me.

“Y/N…”

“Yes?”

“Can I kiss you?” He asked.

I nodded and Edmund leaned forward, immediately capturing my lips with his. The kiss was passionate and I could’ve sworn I saw literal sparks. I wasn’t sure how long it lasted but I was sure it wasn’t long enough. He leaned his forehead against mine and I smiled at the closeness.

“Do you want to go out tonight?” He asked me.

“I would love to.”

He kissed me on the cheek then began to walk back to his car. 

“Hey Edmund!” I called. He turned back to face me. “Thanks for stealing my book.” A smile broke out on his gorgeous face and I couldn’t help but smile back. “Anytime.”

[miekasa]

any spare levi headcanons tonight????? 😁😁😁😁

Sure, why not, he is the love of my life after all. These are pretty random, and fit in some sort of generalized modern boyfriend au. Hopelessly domestic, as that is the nature of nearly everything I write for Levi, anyway. Also still terribly obsessed with the idea of him with a motorcycle, so there’s that.

He owns at least six black blazers. They’re nearly identical; slight differences in texture and cut, one with lapels, one that’s boldly all leather that you swear you’ve never seen him wear. They’re kind of his go-to staple, other than a sweater.

That being said, he doesn’t exclusively wear all black. His closet leans towards more neutrals, sure, but he’s not allergic to color. You might not catch him wearing neon orange on the average day, but he’s not averse to a nice shade of green, any shade of purple that suits his mood, even a softer pink.

He has towels and rags he sets aside especially for you when he comes over. He always washes them and put them back in place when you leave so that they’re ready to go for next time.

Claims to not have any attachment to the shows/dramas you watch, but he’s totally backseat watching. Halfway into every single series, he starts sitting down when you turn it on, and scoffs at dumb decisions the characters make.

He splurged on one of those frame TVs that look like a painting when they’re idle. It was a good investment in his opinion.

He doesn’t hate Starbucks drinks—there’s worse things out there in terms of quality of tea. What he despises about the establishment is the way they call out names for you to pick up your order. He’s learned that mobile order ahead is the way to go.

Has slippers for around the house, so consequently, you have slippers for walking around his house. He keeps both pairs (and a few extra for friends and guests) tucked neatly beside the door for easy access; yours always go next to his.

Does not understand the purpose of a robe. Buy him one tho and he will suddenly find an excuse to wear it: making breakfast, lounging around watching TV, doing some light cleaning and dusting. It’s comfy, alright, he can admit that much.

The little puppy you got him that he swore he was not going to warm up to now gets the royal treatment. The best doggie goods and treats, top rated shampoos, cutest drying towels, even a miniature couch he constructed just for the pup. They’re best friends, there’s no breaking that bond now.

Speaking of the puppy, affectionately named Captain, Levi can be found walking him every day shortly after work. They have a few different routes, but they always pass by the local vendors/market, who enthusiastically anticipate their appearance every day. Some of the older ladies running stands have even taken to bringing a few treats with them for Captain—after bundling up some goods for Levi, too, of course.

Captain also has a special doggy backpack Levi uses for when he’s on his motorcycle. If you follow anybody on TikTok in his area, you’re bound to see at least one video of the pup while Levi’s out riding. He’s become viral on social media without even knowing it.

(When you show him a video someone posted of him and Captain with well over 100k likes, and a million views, he only rolled his eyes. But remembers that particularly day; remembers the folks had a kid who politely asked to pet the dog, so he let him. He also maybe asks you to send the link to him).

On the subject of the motorcycle, there was a good few weeks he wouldn’t let you on it. Always found an excuse, a smart reply that was punctuated with gentle push on your forehead and calling you too clumsy for it. Later, you found out it’s because he’d ordered you a helmet; didn’t want to risk you riding without one.

He always keeps it in the storage compartment should he make a stop to pick you up while he’s riding; and he usually wears at least two layers to have a spare to wrap you in before you get on.

When he cooks, he always makes sure there’s enough for leftovers and/or to give you some later. He also bakes frequently, and at least once a week, he stops by with some kind of treat for you—“Trying out a new recipe, let me know if you think it’s missing anything.”

On the subject of food, he won’t police what you eat to annoying extent; he knows that not everybody has the time or will to make pasta from scratch like he does. But, he will smack your wrist if you consider ordering fast food when you’re over at this place. Give him 30 minutes and a single pan, he’ll make something much better than whatever you can find on Uber Eats.

Really, though, he doesn’t mean to obnoxious about the homemade food thing, it’s more habit for him. Growing up, he had to learn to be resourceful, so buying fast-food isn’t ever at the forefront of his mind. Cooking for you also turns out to be something somewhat intimate that he enjoys, so just let him.

Once bought an Apple Watch because he liked the look of them, it wasn’t insanely expensive like other high end watches, and it could connect to his other devices, so why not? A week later he returned it, the ping of his notifications were in one too many places for his liking.

You tried to convince him to keep it—“At least for when you’re jogging! It can track your activity and calories!”—but he clicks his teeth. He’ll survive without keeping track of them.

He learned the hard way that jogging with Captain is no good. His legs are too tiny and Levi ended up carrying the puppy the entire time. Captain is more of a walk dog… or ride on the back of his bike dog.

If you changed anything in his phone settings—like the ringtone for you contact, or the sound his keyboard makes—he wouldn’t go back in and try to figure out how to reset it. Unless it was something obnoxious, like adding an autocorrect shortcut to say something lewd.

He doesn’t really listen to music when he’s just walking. When he’s on a run, that’s fine, but he somewhat prefers to just… hear the environment around him when he’s on a stroll or a break from work. The only reason he’d have headphones on in public is to take a phone call, but even then, he’d prefer to wait until he’s somewhere more private.

He likes having you over at his apartment and has contemplated asking you to move in. He doesn’t want to rush anything, though, so he’s content with your sleepovers for now. (Though he really cannot fathom that you call them “sleepovers” like you’re 14. Please).

He speaks to his mother at least once a week, and she always asks about you. Levi tells her that you’re fine, gives her small updates about you, but Kuchel really just wants to know when the wedding is. He pretends to be busy whenever she starts asking and conveniently ends the call.

Occasionally, he’ll stop by and take you out for lunch. Depends on how much time he has during the day for himself, but he always enjoys sharing a meal with you.

Whenever you’re out with your friends drinking, Levi will pick you up. Even if you already told him that you’d Uber home; as soon as you text him that you’re going to leave soon, he’s already on his way.

He makes pretty good cocktails himself. Teases you for running his alcohol supply dry when the truth is he has more of your favorites in his cabinet than his own. He secretly likes the way you flirt with him when you’re tipsy.

You don’t always cuddle on top of each other when you sleep together. You can just lay by each other and that’s enough; but sometimes, you catch Levi turning towards you in his sleep, reaching for your hand. His body seems to search for yours subconsciously, and you swear there’s a hint of a smile on his sleeping face when you put your hand within reach.

Do not try to pay for dinner when you’re out with him. He’ll pull the “I’m going to use the restroom” move and pay the bill behind your back if he needs to. Open your own doors, maybe; pull out your own chairs, sure if you want; but not this.

He flosses very diligently every night. Mostly because he fucking hates the dentist, so if he takes the extra steps and is extra careful with his teeth, he doesn’t have to go as often, right?—Wrong, it’s the one time the roles are reversed, and you and Hange have to wrestle him into the doctor’s office.

On the flip side, if there are any doctors you routinely avoid and/or forget to schedule check ups for, fear not, because Levi will do it for you. He’ll drive you there, too—the only caveat being, that he usually doesn’t tell you where you’re going until you’re almost there. You think he’s doing the mysterious man surprise date thing and then boom, he’s pulling up to the ophthalmologist. Good luck.

He’s purchased a physical, paper copy of the news on every one of your anniversaries, birthdays, and other special occasions. He keeps them all neatly tucked away in a drawer. Sometimes, he looks back on them—sees what was happening in the world around you on that day. Maybe someday he’ll cut them up and bind them together in a book for you.

He doesn’t like having headphones in when you’re home with him, and preferred if you didn’t either—unless it was for work or school. He welcomes you to use his speakers and play your music aloud; he likes listening to what you listen to. If you look closely, you can catch him humming along or tapping his foot when he really likes a song.

Saves pictures you send him in an album in his camera roll. Occasionally can be found scrolling through them—particularly if you’ve been away on a trip, or he hasn’t gotten the chance to see you because of conflicting schedules.

He takes relatively short showers and doesn’t have a strong preference for the water temperature, so he lets you shower first. Unless you want him to join you, of course.

It’s not hard to tell when Levi wants you. He becomes noticeably more touchy, even if that margin isn’t too wide by anyone else’s standards; and he rarely tries to hide it. It only happens in the privacy of your apartments; but he’ll come on to you—leaning a bit further into conversations, a hand on your knee, a kind of cloudy look in his eyes.

Sometimes he forgoes the attempts at being subtle, just kisses you out the blue, carefully backs you up against the wall, puts his hands on your hips. He can be awfully direct when given the opportunity.

[helloalycia]

teenage dirtbag [one] // wanda maximoff

summary: when you're paired with the most popular girl in your grade for Chemistry class, you definitely don't expect to start liking her like that...

warning/s: none i don't think??

author's note: okay so i have a ton of requests to work through but i got sidetracked and before i knew it, five parts of this imagine were written.

It's based off the song 'Teenage Dirtbag' and idk, i thought it was cute to write! Who doesn't love the popular girl!wanda and loner!reader concept?

Here’s a cover of the song to listen to because i really liked it and a girl sings it so it immediately made the song 10x more gay, just how i like it 🥰

masterlist | wattpad | part two | part three | part four | part five

"Are you all comfortable?"

The class stayed silent, watching our Chemistry teacher, Mr. Hale, as he looked to everyone with a raised brow.

"You all like who you're sat with?" he asked again, as if expecting an actual response from someone.

I exchanged questioning glances with my best friend, Y/BF/N, who was sat beside me. It was the first day back in Chemistry class of our final year of high school and we were just waiting to begin.

"Anyone?" he asked, looking around.

"Yeah," a few students mumbled in response so we could move on.

He clapped his hands together. "Great! Well, don't get too comfortable because I made a seating chart."

A chorus of groans erupted from the class, including from me and Y/BF/N. Every other class had successfully managed to not give us a seating chart. I'd heard that Mr. Hale was an awkward teacher who hated students (ironically), but I didn't think he'd stoop so low as to pair us with students who weren't our friends. These new seats were also our partners for the rest of the year and were non-negotiable, so any projects or work we did would have to be with our seat buddy. Fun.

Students began to shuffle to their newly-assigned seats reluctantly as Mr. Hale read out the chart. When Y/BF/N left my side, I frowned dramatically, waving goodbye to him.

"Wanda Maximoff, you're now partners with Y/N Y/L/N," said Mr. Hale, making me look up at the mention of my name.

I didn't get chance to register what he'd said as the aforementioned girl soon approached me, settling her bag on the table beside me. I looked up and saw Wanda Maximoff smiling my way before taking a seat on the stool.

Huh. Wanda Maximoff. She was one of the most popular girls in our grade. Everybody loved her, either wanting to be friends with her, be with her or be her. I'd personally never crossed paths with her apart from the few classes we shared. She seemed nice enough, but I guess I had preconceived notions of what she was like since she'd made the very poor decision to date the most obnoxious guy ever. Anyone making decisions that terrible definitely had a flaw.

She had a twin brother, Pietro, who was also in our grade and played on the football team alongside her boyfriend. Her parents were good friends with mine, through mutual friends, I think, as I recalled my mum mentioning 'Mrs. Maximoff's boy' or 'Mrs. Maximoff's girl'. And I remembered when her family moved into our town back in second grade.

Admittedly, Wanda was the star of the show back then, too. We were only kids, but child Y/N wasn't blind. She was the first girl I'd crushed on, an innocent child crush – the crush that made me realise I liked girls. Apart from that, and the fact that she had a locker behind me in the hallway, I never really thought about her.

I glanced behind me, catching Y/BF/N's gaze across the room as he sat beside some other kid. He frowned, implying he wished we were partners, and I knew just how he felt.

Once Mr. Hale finished assigning seats, he gave us five minutes to get to know our new partners as he struggled to find the powerpoint for today's class. If there was anything worse than getting assigned seats, it was ice breakers.

"Er, well, hi," Wanda greeted, turning to face me. Green eyes sparkled brightly behind a friendly smile. "I'm Wanda. But, I mean, we already know each other."

"That we do," I said with a nod, returning her smile. "How're you doing? Your summer go well?"

She ran a hand through her hair, adjusting herself so she was comfortable on her stool. And as she did, a waft of her perfume washed over me and I blinked, trying to ignore how nice it smelled. Floral. Subtle. It suited her.

"Good, yeah," she answered with a nod. "Could have gone on longer for all I care."

I chuckled. "I feel that. I'm definitely not ready to be back."

"Right?" she said with raised brows. "It's gonna take a while to get back into routine, that's for sure. But I guess I did miss seeing my friends everyday."

I hummed in agreement, eyes flickering to Mr. Hale as he attempted to tackle the oncoming stream of animations on his powerpoint. I tried not to laugh as I looked back to Wanda, who clearly noticed the same thing as me and stifled a smile.

"Have you had Mr. Hale before?" I asked, nodding his way.

She shook her head. "Nope. You?"

"Never."

"Sucks that he makes seating charts," she said with a sigh, before realising what she said and looking to me with panicked eyes. "Not that I don't like you or anything–!"

"It's fine, I get it," I cut her off with an amused smile. "I wanted to sit with my friend, too."

She breathed out quietly, a hint of relief in her eyes, and scrunched her nose with an apologetic smile. Okay, yeah, maybe that was kind of cute. Older Y/N wasn't blind either. Wanda Maximoff was beautiful, with long brunette locks and matching hazel eyes that seemed to change from blue to green to brown in a kaleidoscope of colour. A winning smile and soothing voice was enough for anyone to fall for her unintentional charm, but it was purely admiration. Everyone pretty much had a mild crush on her, you'd be stupid not to.

"If we're gonna be working together, d'you wanna get the whole awkward number exchange out the way now?" she asked, half joking, half not.

"I– er– sure," I stumbled out rather carelessly, before cringing internally. Where did that come from?

Thankfully, she didn't seem to pick up on it (or just saved me the embarrassment of acknowledging it) and was already writing her number on a slip of paper. Sliding it my way, she capped her pen and gave me her signature smile.

"Thanks," I said with a nod, accepting the paper and pocketing it. "Can't wait to start those lovely science projects we've got coming up!"

She let out a quiet laugh at my sarcasm. "It'll be fine. You're not dumb, right? So, we'll be fine."

"Can't promise you that," I joked, making her roll her eyes playfully.

"Maybe if we–"

But she was cut off when Mr. Hale spoke up loudly, interrupting everyone's conversations.

"Five minutes are up, let's begin!"

I wondered if everyone was thinking the same thing as me – that was not five minutes.

"So it begins...," I mumbled to myself, facing forward.

Wanda breathed out, a stifled laugh, probably having heard my comment, and I couldn't help but crack a smile. Maybe I judged her too harshly. She wasn't actually that bad.

—

Since being paired with Wanda, I was surprised by how much she'd made an effort to befriend me outside of class. We'd always been back to back with our lockers though not quite speaking, but since becoming Chemistry partners, she'd wish me a good morning if she caught me, or greet me briefly as we collected our books.

She didn't have to, but I could see why everybody liked her now. She was just genuinely nice. Due to circumstance, we'd become partners, but rather than leaving it at that, she made a genuine effort to befriend me. And not even just me, but also Y/BF/N, who was at the locker next to mine. He was as surprised as I was, expecting Wanda to mind her own business as we weren't exactly in the same social circles.

This was, I guess you could say, the start of our friendship. And it was a good one at that. I grew to learn how funny she was, how much she loved her brother, the passion she had for art and painting... she was a wonderful person. Which is why I didn't understand why she was with her boyfriend, Nate. He was a grade-A dick and everything Wanda wasn't. How were they a thing?

It sounds like I'm being a bitch and judgemental, but he really is the worst. The few unfortunate times I shared a class with him or caught sight of him around school, he was causing some sort of trouble with the teachers or picking on students in a way that made it seem like a joke but everybody knew it wasn't.

For example, there was a time when Wanda and I were studying for an upcoming Chemistry test we had. We decided to just help each other study since we already worked together in class, so knew we could motivate each other to actually put in the work. It was, maybe, the fourth studying session we had, and I was going over some notes when I felt her eyes watching me.

"You need a hand?" I asked, unable to take the staring any longer. I looked up at her, quirking a brow.

She seemed to fall out of her daydream and straightened up, eyes flickering to mine. "Huh?"

I gave her an awkward smile, unable to maintain her gaze. "You're staring."

She didn't seem fazed as I called her out, instead leaning back in her seat and continuing to study me curiously.

"Did you do something different with your hair?"

Subconsciously reaching for my hair, I straightened up my ponytail and shook my head. "No...?"

She chewed on her lip, saying after a pause, "You tied it up. You usually leave it out."

Did I? I wasn't sure. I just knew that her noticing something like that made me feel self conscious all of a sudden.

"It looks good," she decided, before offering up a small smile. "You should do it like that more often."

Quickly, I felt warm. Was it stuffy in here or was it just me? God, compliments already made me feel stupid. And compliments from pretty girls made me feel ten times that. It didn't help that she was watching me with an endearing expression, making me focus on my book before me.

"Thanks," I got out quickly. "I– yeah."

Her smile widened before she looked back down to her own book. Suddenly, I became acutely aware of the way her leg brushed up against mine under the table.

Thankfully, the strange fuzzy feeling following her compliment faded and we were able to get back to work without her tuning out again. As we were going over each other's practice questions, an annoying voice shouted from across the library.

"Wanda, head's up!"

"Hey, no talking in the library!" a librarian hissed at the voice.

Wanda and I looked up just in time for a football to smack me in the side of the head. I didn't even see it coming until I felt the thing slap my head, giving me an instant urge to strangle whoever threw it.

"Fuck," I cursed, holding my head and closing my eyes to breathe through the pain.

"Oh my God, are you okay?" Wanda's voice made me open my eyes and I saw her leaning forward, hand resting on my shoulder and the other on top of mine that was clutching my head.

"Been better," I admitted, trying to make light of the situation because as angry as I was at the idiot who threw it, I was also embarrassed because it hit me.

Wanda seemed concerned as she gently pulled me hand away, not letting go as she got a better look at the side of my face which I was sure was burning red. At least that's what it felt like.

"Shit, I'm so sorry."

I looked up and saw none other than Nate Green, Wanda's boyfriend, hovering and stifling a laugh as he looked at me. He had his stupid varsity jacket on and I was tempted to strangle him with it.

"I thought Wanda would catch it," he explained stupidly, before moving around the desk to collect his football.

Breathing out through gritted teeth, I pulled away from Wanda and nodded reassuringly. "I'll be fine. Just need an ice pack."

"You're such an idiot, Nate!" Wanda snapped, looking to him with a glare. "You need to watch what you're doing!"

He smiled sheepishly, making me roll my eyes and clench my jaw at the heat on the right side of my face. Fuck, that really hurt.

"What did you want?" Wanda asked him with a quirked brow. She definitely wasn't impressed. I'd hate to ever be on the wrong side of that condescending glare.

"I thought we could go out," he said like it was that simple.

"I'm studying," she quipped with crossed arms.

"I'm happy to wait," he said, toying with the ball in his hands.

Knowing I definitely didn't want that, I closed my books and said, "It's cool. You guys go. I think we're done here anyway."

Nate grinned. "See? S'all good."

Wanda ignored him and looked to me with worried eyes. "Y/N, are you sure?"

"You know your stuff," I said, referring to the work. "You'll be fine in the test. I'm sure."

I offered her a small, forced smile, before standing up to pack my bag. She did the same, beginning to pack her own things, but her eyes kept flittering towards me.

"D'you want me to go to the nurse's office with you?" she asked, shame laced in her voice.

"It's fine, I'll be fine," I said, hurrying up with my actions so I could just get out of here whilst I still had (some of) my dignity left. "See you in class tomorrow."

She nodded, sending a guilty smile my way. "See you tomorrow, Y/N."

Without giving either of them a look, I shouldered my backpack and left the library. Just another reminder of why Nate Green was literally the worst person ever.

—

Liking Wanda as more than a friend wasn't something that happened for a while if I'm being honest. I guess I started to enjoy her presence more and more the longer we spent time together.

I'd come to appreciate it whenever she'd say something completely out of the blue that made no sense whatsoever, or whenever she'd laugh at something I'd said that was arguably not funny but she didn't want to make me feel bad, or even whenever I teased her about something stupid she did, resulting in her doing that cute little nose scrunch she did. But I didn't think of it as liking her, more just a randomly-formed friendship that I was glad to have.

Maybe it was this misinterpretation that didn't make me see how I was acting around her, such as the time I was in the dinner queue at lunch when I realised she was stood behind me.

"Oh, hey, Y/N," she said when she noticed it was me in front of her. Her usual bright, friendly smile was on her lips as she looked to me. "You good?"

I nodded, returning her smile. "Yeah. Just getting some doughnuts for Y/BF/N and I. You?"

"Same," she said, before nudging the guy next to her, who I recognised as her brother. "Pietro and I thought we'd treat ourselves."

At the mention of his name, Pietro looked down to his sister before his gaze fell on me. A mischievous smile appeared on his lips as he put out his hand.

"Pietro Maximoff," he introduced. "You must be the Chemistry partner, Y/N, right?"

I raised my eyebrows with surprise as I shook his hand. "You, er, know who I am?"

He glanced at his sister with a cheeky smile. Wanda was avoiding both of our gazes, her cheeks dusting pink.

Clearly saving face for Wanda, he said, "We've been in the same grade since kids, right? 'Course I do."

Despite the truth to his words, something told me that wasn't how he knew who I was. Especially since I was sure I'd never spoken to him in my life. But, to save Wanda the embarrassment of clearly having spoken of me at home, I nodded to Pietro.

"Right," I agreed with an amused smile. "Duh."

I moved down the queue and grabbed two doughnuts from the display, putting them in two separate paper bags.

"Dibs the last one!" Pietro exclaimed as soon as I returned the clippers to the display. He reached around his sister immaturely and bagged the last doughnut.

Wanda rolled her eyes. "You know I can ask for more, right?"

Pietro grinned, eyes sparkling with mischief. "Go on then."

The two were twins, but they couldn't have been more different. I simply revelled in their interaction, finding it adorable.

Wanda did as she said, asking the dinner lady if there were any more doughnuts in the back. Unfortunately for her, those were the last for the day, making Pietro laugh as Wanda pouted.

"Sucks to be you," he teased her, as I paid for mine and Y/BF/N's doughnuts.

"I hate you," she mumbled playfully, but I saw the disappointment in her eyes as he lovingly but annoyingly waved his bag before her eyes.

Without even thinking much of it, I held out one of the bags in my hand. "Here. You can have mine."

Wanda looked to me with surprise. "Are you sure? I can live without a doughnut, if that's what you're thinking."

I chuckled, grabbing her hand and making her take it. "It's okay. I wasn't in the mood anyway."

Plus, you look better when you're smiling and not pouting, I added in my head.

She accepted the bag reluctantly. "I– thanks. At least let me pay for it–"

"It's just a doughnut, Wanda," I teased, before nodding her way. "See you later."

Leaving her and Pietro to it, I headed back to the table Y/BF/N was sat at and took a seat opposite him before giving him his doughnut.

"Sweet," he said, quickly opening the bag before realising I didn't have one. "Where's yours?"

Over his shoulder, I saw Wanda and Pietro taking a seat at their lunch table, doughnuts in hand and a heartwarming smile on Wanda's lips.

"They ran out," I answered Y/BF/N. "Wasn't in the mood anyway. Enjoy."

He shrugged before digging in. I'd like to say I didn't spare glances in Wanda's direction every now and then for the rest of the lunch hour, but I'd be lying if I did.

—

I'm in the art department. You okay to bring it here?

I read over the text Wanda sent me before shooting her an 'okay' and heading to the Art department. I'd grabbed her notebook in class earlier on, only realising as I was studying with Y/BF/N in the library and pulled out an extra one, so I was going to give it her back.

I guess, when you realise you like someone, it comes randomly, suddenly, without warning. Liking someone isn't instant, it's constant and gradual and subconscious. I guess I'd been falling for Wanda for a while, without even realising, but today was the day I acknowledged that fact.

The Art department wasn't somewhere I frequented regularly – give me a paint and brushes and I'd probably present you with a finger painting – but it was definitely worth the visit. Art pieces from current and past students were hung on the walls, a mural of the school was spray painted on another, and sculptures stood around. The whole department brought a smile to anyone's face with its bright colours and open space – I could see why Art students always hung out here, Wanda included.

Speaking of Wanda, I found her in one of the classrooms sat at a stool in front of a series of canvasses. The room had a few other Art students littered around, working on their own pieces during their lunch period, otherwise it was empty.

"Hey," I called, getting her attention as I approached her.

She followed my voice and straightened up with a cheery smile. "Y/N, hey. Thanks for coming. I'm working on my Art project, so I couldn't pull myself away."

I waved my hand dismissively, joining her side. "It's all good, don't worry." My eyes wandered to the series of canvases on easels she was working on and widened. "Holy shit, these are so good."

Three unfinished hyperrealistic portraits of people were before us, one whom I recognised as Pietro. The paintings were so detailed, despite their medium-size, and I couldn't imagine how long they must have taken.

"You think?" she asked, glancing between them. "I think I messed up the nose here." She pointed with the back end of her paintbrush to the nose of Pietro. "It's a bit bent."

I almost laughed as I looked to her with disbelief. "Are you kidding? Wanda, these are amazing. How did you even do this?"

She looked down bashfully, a nervous smile on her lips. "I don't know. It's for a project. I chose to do family portraits." She pointed to each one as she said, "My mum, my dad and my brother."

I was in awe of her talent, jaw dropped with amazement still. I always knew she was an artist, but I'd never actually seen her work. I was starting to wish I'd come here a lot sooner.

"So, you got my notebook?" she asked, pulling me back into reality.

I looked away from the paintings reluctantly before getting her notebook from my bag and holding it out for her. As she accepted it, she must have forgotten she was holding her paintbrush as the tip brushed my wrist, leaving a swipe of red there.

"Oh, my bad," she said with a laugh, before setting her notebook and brush down and grabbing a paper towel from beside her.

Wetting it with water from her bottle, she pressed it to my wrist and swiped the paint away. It was such a mundane action, but the way her fingers gently held my wrist and emanated a warmth only she seemed to carry sent shivers down my spine.

I glanced up at her, letting her do it, and noticed the swipe of paint she had across her cheek, as if she'd touched her face without realising.

Now that I paid attention, I noticed how cute she looked in her Art getup. An old, oversized shirt covered in paint was being worn to cover her clothes, sleeves loosely rolled up to her elbows. Her long hair was tied back into a ponytail, but her baby hairs framed her forehead adorably.

When her hair wasn't in her face, her eyes only seemed more intense, glistening with excitement and happiness. I almost forgot to breathe when they met mine briefly, a hint of embarrassment there from when cleaning me up. She was in her element here and it made sense to me now.

I knew I'd fallen for her.

—

"You don't get it," I was saying to Y/BF/N as we hung about the school gym, waiting for the teacher to start the lesson. "It's bad. I like her. Like, like like her."

Y/BF/N laughed, clapping me on the back with pity. "You're screwed."

I frowned. "I know."

As he stretched for class, he continued, "I mean, I get it, I do. She's super nice. Pretty. And you guys seem to get on."

I chewed on my lower lip worriedly.

He gave me a knowing look. "There's one problem though."

I groaned, running a hand down my face. "I know, I know. She's got that dick of a boyfriend."

He chuckled. "That's one way to put it."

I sighed, crossing my arms with annoyance. Since realising I liked Wanda as a little more than a friend, things weren't going well for me. Whenever we worked together, I'd forget what I was thinking because I was too busy admiring her side profile or getting lost in her eyes. If she spoke about the work, told a joke or was simply speaking her thoughts aloud, I'd focus on every little thing she was saying, knowing I could listen to her speak all day. It was bad, but thankfully I hadn't stumbled over my words or made a total fool of myself in front of her. I was determined to not let it get that far.

My eyes wandered around the gym as Y/BF/N tried to give me advice, but admittedly, his words flew in one ear and out the other when I caught sight of Wanda.

She was standing with her friends, smiling and laughing to whatever they were saying. Like everyone else in here, she was wearing her gym kit – black athletic shorts and a blue and white tee shirt, the colour of our school. It wasn't anything special, yet she made it seem that way, outdoing anyone in here. Her brown hair was tied back, the ponytail falling down her back, showing her stunning profile and making my mouth go dry.

Another clap on the back from Y/BF/N pulled me from my reverie and I looked to see he was laughing at me.

"Majorly screwed," he corrected his previous comment.

He was definitely right.

[littlemisslipbalm]

I live in the neighbourhood

When Y/N moved to Hampstead she was unaware of the implications the decision would have on the course of the rest of her life.

or

Harry is Y/N’s eccentric neighbour who sweeps her up in the whirlwind that is his life

this gif bc its maybe my favorite clip of him EVER holy fuck - this is the harry of my dreams this is the harry of i live in the neighbourhood

HEY YALL it’s been a minute and I missed yall so much and I’m just about to be on break so maybe i’ll be back to posting writing regularly but with school its so hard and I think I’ve been working on this for months so yeah <3 lol PLS PLS PLS leave me feedback and reblogs and that stuff bc otherwise my writing just feels...empty and you have no idea the smile i get when even just the tags say like “god this was everything” it can be anything honestly but it keeps my passion up. Thank you again and hope you enjoy.

Word Count: ~10k | Warnings: swearing probably? no smut (yet), rich and famous harry - mentions of Taylor Swif 

-

She considered herself an average young woman in her mid twenties. She liked screaming Taylor Swift and Megan Thee Stallion songs alone in her car and thrifting on weekends. She hated cable because of commercials and when doordash didn’t deliver all of her order. She had asthma when she worked out or the air quality was bad. She had dumb celebrity crushes that her friends and her still laughed over with every new instagram post. She had hopes and dreams she had yet to achieve and she had past trauma that many would never know about, especially at first glance.

Sure, she was successful. She would admit that. How else would she be able to afford even the modest little house she had found in Hampstead? She had studied international business in college and hopped on a plane to London the first chance she got. After a few years of a more than decent paycheck and an advantageous stimulus check from her kind parents, she was able to move out of her starter flat into the suburbs. The definitive push for the move was two-fold. Her parents wanted her to take her dog and her apartment complex was strict on no pets. Then her promotion at work - which included a pay raise - made it hard to wave off taking full ownership of her childhood ten-pound best friend.

So with life happening as it usually does, Y/N first found herself scouring Zillow, then touring homes in the area, and finally standing outside a three bedroom, two bath, two-story cream house in Hampstead. Her house.

The little moving truck she had rented sat beside her as she stared at her future. The realtor had told her they would be there in ten minutes. For the next ten minutes all Y/N had to do was keep herself from combusting, or worse, sobbing.

She felt overwhelmed already. Renting a flat in London was one way to describe herself as independent. Owning a home in Hampstead seemed like a whole new level of adulthood she wasn’t sure if she was prepared for.

After taking a few deep breaths to ground herself, Y/N walked up to the gate that kept her front yard narrowly separated from the sidewalk. She lifted one hand from beneath the box she clutched tightly to her chest to push past the iron-rod gateway. The garden was cute, a little bland, and she thought to herself that maybe she’d develop some gardening skills now that she had her own front yard. The thought made her smile a little, refraining from laughing aloud while on her lonesome, since she had never taken interest in gardening before. But this house. This house. It was a new beginning. It was a fucking unwritten journal. Blank film. Unknown territory. She could be anyone in this house.

She gently placed the cardboard box on the first step up to the front door. There was no porch, but she couldn’t complain. It was gorgeous and she was lucky to get it at the price she did. The house was cream with dark blue accents and a grey shingled roof. Lots of windows. It was classic and it was hers.

After the realtor came with her keys and made sure everything seemed alright, Y/N’s couple of friends, Amélie and Daniel, arrived with their cars filled with items she had needed picking up from various stores. They helped her move her stuff into the house. Thankfully it was already half furnished, meaning she didn’t have to go out and buy beds or couches or any of those big items that are both expensive and a hassle to deal with.

By the time the evening had rolled around, everything was in the house and it actually seemed semi put together. Y/N looked around, sweat apparent on her face and hands on her hips, proud of what she had accomplished. The nerves from earlier had been drowned by pride.

-

The next day, she woke up from her first night in the house. It felt like a dream even though she was sure she was awake.  

She had to navigate her way to the airport today to pick up her dog from his long flight and then mainly settle into the house. Her house sat on Sherwood Avenue, one of the many streets in Hampstead. It’s neighboring houses were much larger. The ones directly next to and across from her weren’t drastically bigger but what she had yet to learn was that next to the house across from her there were two houses that had been joined together by their slightly eccentric owner. A man who would be the match that ignited the flame that was the rest of her life.

This unknown fact quickly became known after Y/N’s first few weeks in her new neighbourhood. The eccentric - more so absurdly rich - neighbor who conjoined the houses was Harry Styles.

The first time they crossed paths she wasn’t even aware of it. It was the day she moved in. He had been out for his usual morning run and was rounding the corner when she had pulled up in her moving van. Once inside his home, he snoopily watched on as his neighbour began to move in. He hadn’t taken note of much about her, just that she was new and that she had a nice pair of jeans on that day.

The second time, Y/N was convinced she needed to get her eyes checked because there was no way that she had just seen Harry Styles key himself into the house across the way from her. There was no way that she had moved into the same area as him, let alone the same street. It seemed far more plausible that she needed a psych evaluation or a strong glasses prescription.

But the third instance of them crossing paths, she was proven wrong. She was on her way back from the neighbourhood park when she saw a guy jogging towards her. With a yellow beanie and a black Columbia sweatshirt paired with running shorts and shoes, he was hard to ignore running straight towards her. The iconic curls, strong jawline, and soft green eyes were dead giveaways this time. After making brief eye contact as their paths literally crossed, she felt herself make a little face of odd interest. Her head quirked and her eyes narrowed, lips pursed with slight confusion. That was definitely him.

After that, she found herself seeing Harry around the neighbourhood a relatively good amount. She’d see him at the park, at the coffee shop, on their street, and more. They didn’t speak. She really didn’t think he would want to be bothered by his neighbours and she certainly wasn’t willing to test the theory. They sometimes gave a small smile of acknowledgement but nothing really friendly. Just ‘you exist and I know that’.

-

Fridays are Y/N’s favorite day. It’s the beginning of the weekend, she never has to go into work and it’s simply a nice day. People are happier, they smile brighter and it just seems like the world is a little better than usual.

Friday was especially amazing today because her childhood best friend, Cate, was arriving at London Heathrow in the evening. Y/N had begged Cate to fly out to see the new house in person and Cate had finally found the time to run away to England for a week.

She shut her front door carefully behind her and placed her headphones in her ears. Rori, that little terrier, who had made a similar flight to see Y/N’s place not too long ago, scampered out the door with her and jumped happily at her legs as she fiddled with her phone. Her coat ruffles around her disturbed from the morning air. It’s blanket-like fabric that consisted of a deep blue backdrop with felt giraffes sewn on it, kept her warm while she walked. With her mind racing with weekend plans and ideas for her and Cate to do both in Hampstead and the city, she crossed the street like usual and began to walk with her dog to the coffee shop for her morning tea.

Unlike usual, she fumbled just as she was putting her phone in her pocket and bumped into something large and definitely not sedentary.

“I’m so sorry!” She blushed and moved backwards from the man who had just been shutting his own front gate to head somewhere.

“S’alright. No harm, no foul.” He looks down at her and her dog. Rori seems excited by the stranger and sniffs him eagerly. A single paw prodding at the man’s long leg.

She grimaces, hearing the voice and stepping back allows her to fully recognize who she had just bumped into. Her neighbour. The runner. Harry Styles.

“Sorry.” She mutters again as Rori continues to prod at Harry’s leg.

She tries to coax Rori away, but Harry simply smiles and leans down to the small dog.

“Hi there buddy,” he coos and rubs the top of the fluffy dogs head, in between his pointy ears, “What’s your name?”

“Rori.” She states easily, Harry’s eyes flickering to her smoothly. Rori makes a smile babbling noise that sounds a bit like a tiny roar - hence the name - and Harry chuckles to himself.

“He’s really adorable,” he finally says and straightens up from his admiring of the dog.

The grimace becomes more of a smile on her face and she mumbles a “Thank You”.

As her neighbour - who hasn’t introduced himself (which wasn’t necessary, but still) or bothered to ask for her introduction - seems to be about to say something new when his phone begins to vibrate obnoxiously. He twitches, his large hands immediately going to his pockets for the important device. He checks the message and looks back at her face.

“Sorry, I have to run...um,” he’s not sure what to say. He really does have to go, but he doesn’t even know his neighbour’s name. He’ll have to make sure to get it at some point in the near future. Especially now that he’s acquainted with her dog.

“No worries,” she smiles completely this time, relieved for the whole interaction to be over. She felt like she was going to explode with each passing moment. In the presence of a legendary musician, c’mon, who wouldn’t be freaking out. All she could think about was how Harry Styles now knew her dog’s name. What the fuck!

-

Upon arriving at the airport, she waited patiently for Cate to walk out of the customs area.

When she did, the two young women began jumping up and down excitedly, Y/N squealing only slightly. They hugged and began chattering intensely, catching up on lost time that generally occurs when you live an ocean apart.  

Finally, one comment rings through the constant back and forth and Cate stops.

“Wait, what did you just say,” she questions as they begin walking to catch an uber back to Hampstead.

“I think my house might be haunted?” Y/N’s voice raising because she’s unsure if that’s what Cate was talking about.

“No, no, the thing after that. I think I must’ve misheard you.”

“Harry Styles is my neighbour?” Y/N’s brows raise as she looks over at her best friend, curious to know what she will say.

“Yes! Explain. Now!”

“It’s not really a big deal. It’s a nice neighbourhood, it makes sense that celebrities of his caliber want to live there.”

“That is not explaining. You have to introduce us!”

As they climb into their uber and settle in for the short ride back to Hampstead, Y/N sighs and tells Cate everything she knows.

“We’ve only just spoken today and I’ve been here for a couple weeks. He lives across the street and down one, I guess. I just see him around, it’s not like he knows who I am. He didn’t even get my name today, just Rori’s.” She laughs lightly, still finding it funny that Harry knows her dog’s name.

Cate nods, leaning in slightly to her best friend, hardly able to contain her awestruckness from the story and baffledness at Y/N’s calmness. “So, like, when do I get to meet him?”

“Girl, I don’t fucking know. Never, if you’re going to act wild. I don’t want the neighbourhood to think I’m not chill.”

“Sometimes…” Cate starts and leans away from Y/N jokingly, “I hate you.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know.”

They both smile, bumping elbows silently. The song on the radio fading in louder as their words die out.

-

The next day, Y/N took Cate to the local park. It was expansive and connected to the football fields that local teams would play at. The park section was a luscious green that was maintained with copious amounts of watering by the township.

She and Cate settled on a patch of grass near a slender tree that would offer some shade if the sun’s rays became too harsh. The quilt they sat on was something her grandmother had made her when she was maybe 8 years old, meaning it was torn in places and completely worn in a different shade of pink than it had been initially.

They set up their picnic and played music, enjoying the sunny day. Something rare and fleeting as the fall began to creep up on Hampstead.

They eat and catch up on life for about an hour. Basking in the sunlight, Y/N had laid on her back and was staring up at the clouds passing along the sky. Cate was carefully watching their surroundings, simply taking in her friend’s new home, but possibly for another reason too.

“Hey, isn’t that…” Cate trails off, trying to subtly nod in the direction of an approaching figure.

Y/N sits up, her hands holding her up from behind her. Her hair fails in front of her shoulders slightly and it’s a little disheveled from being mused in the grass. She looks discreetly in the direction of Cate’s nodding and then looks at her friend and rolls her eyes.

“Yes, but don’t say anything, he might not even notice me and I’m certainly not calling out to him.”

‘Illicit Affairs’ by Taylor Swift is playing off her speaker and as she’s about to change it, Cate turns it up slightly. They share a glare with one another before trying to act casual again, even though both of their eyes kept flickering to the man who seemed to be continuing closer and closer to their set up.

It became clear that Harry was approaching them after all and Y/N tried to carry on an unbothered conversation with Cate, which was hard with the constant nudging of Cate’s foot on her shin.

He stops a mere foot away from their blanket, beaming at the two young women lounging on the ground. He makes an attempt at a casual wave, his large hand splaying his fingers quickly, before opening his mouth to speak.

Cate beats him to the punch. “Hello there!”

“Erm, hi!” He says nicely to her and then looks at Y/N.

“No Rori today?” He inquires.

“No,” she smiles, slightly blushing at the fact that he remembered her and her dog. “He’s napping.”

“Ah, I see,” He pauses, “I feel like I need to apologize.” He continues.

“For what?” She questions and Cate watches on anxiously, mesmerized by Harry and dying to see what happens next.

“I ran off before I could even ask for your name or introduce myself. It was terribly rude.”

“Oh,” she can’t stop smiling, “It’s nothing to apologize for, I’m sure you’re busy. Besides I had to get my day started, otherwise I would’ve been late picking her up.” She points to Cate who smiles sheepishly, still internally screaming over the fact that her friend is able to talk so easily to a celebrity.

Harry nods and looks at Cate again, “Just visiting I take it then?”

She nods quickly, words escaping her. Y/N chuckles under her breath and swoops in to save her friend any embarrassment. “Cate’s my best friend and she’s been kind enough to take time out of her extremely busy life to come look at my new house.”

He hums, still standing a respectful distance from their set-up. “Nice to meet you, Cate,” he says very kindly. Then he laughs, but in a way that is like he’s beside himself. The two women both quirk their heads at him. Y/N squints her eyes slightly, trying to understand the guy she is talking to and connecting him with the man that is all over the news all of the time for his musical genius.

“Now I know your dog and best friend’s names but still not yours. At this point, I’m begging you to tell me.”

They all laugh and Y/N feels nervous for the first time since Harry had walked up.

“You first,” she smiles slyly.

His eyes widen slightly in surprise, but then go back to normal. Harry was very smart, she likely knew his name, but one, she was trying to be funny and two, she was also trying to be courteous. He preferred to introduce himself rather than just be told who he is, even if people already knew. It allowed him to maintain some normalcy.

“‘M Harry,” He says with a smile.

“Alright.” She says and then remains quiet.

Harry’s lips quirk up in a faint smile, amused at her expression.

“I thought it was a ‘show me yours and I’ll show you mine’ type of situation or was I mistaken?” He finally asks when she remains silent still.

The two young women laugh and Y/N bites the inside of her cheek, both feeling flustered and completely in control at the same time.

“You weren’t mistaken, I was just thinking.” Then she pauses again and Cate thinks Harry is about to combust and Harry thinks he’s going to as well with all the anticipation that has been built up over his neighbor’s name, even though he was pretty sure he’d heard it in passing at one point or another but had forgotten quickly afterwards.

“It’s Y/N.”

Harry releases a facetious sigh of relief, “Oh thank god! Finally!” His words quickly turn into an infectious laugh that is paired with a shining smile and she feels like she’s swooning right then and there. The control has gone out the window and she’s taken with her neighbor. He’s wonderful in that moment and she forgets about Cate or the park or anything. It’s just Harry and how it seems like he’s smiling just for her.

“Now that I’ve gotten your name,” he smiles pointedly at her after his laughter has faded away. The smile doesn’t leave his face though, his eyes still crinkled, his dimples still showing.

She nods, encouraging him to continue. Cate feels like she’s watching a movie unfold in front of her and she wishes she could record the entire interaction.

“I can finally ask you, Y/N, where did you get that fabulous coat I saw you wearing yesterday?”

She twitches further upright, eyes bringing themselves directly inline with Harry’s gaze. “Oh,” she inhales, “The giraffe one, yeah?”

He nods.

“I got it from a Goodwill years ago. It’s some vintage company that used to only make sleepwear. I looked up the tag one time and it doesn’t exist anymore. Super cool, though. Wish I could buy more.”

“Yeah,” Harry says eagerly, even taking a step towards the women, “It was so intriguing. Maybe, if you didn’t mind of course -” he falters, losing his courage for a moment, “you could bring it over and my stylist could check it out. I would love something similar and I’m sure he could figure it out.”

She shrugs. It wasn’t crazy, especially not for Harry - she assumed. She was certain he often found things he liked but there was only one of them so he would just order his own. She couldn’t help the pride that was swelling inside her though it that moment. Harry Styles liking her jacket so much he asked where it was from and then wanting his stylist to look at it. She’d jump for joy when she was in the safety of her private home later tonight with Cate.

“One condition,” she says and Harry’s brows quirk amusedly at her.

“You are a very tit for tat person,” he muses.

“Fair’s fair,” she shrugs again and then looks around her quickly, “It’s simple so don’t get too worked up over it, buddy.”

He laughs slightly again and tries to figure out what she’s looking for. When she extends a scratched up, sticker-covered point and shoot film camera he smiles.

“Can you take a picture of Cate and I? It’s always just the two of us so we never have anyone to take pictures of us together.”

Harry grins at this and her sincere face. Cate is a little taken aback, because while it’s technically true, it’s not entirely factual. They have plenty of film pictures of them - maybe not recently though. And she wasn’t going to question Y/N right now. It seemed like she knew what she was doing.

Harry takes the camera and begins to look through the viewfinder. The women scoot closer together and Cate wraps her arm around Y/N’s shoulder. She leans in to press her cheek against her best friend. They smile up at the camera and Harry crouches slightly to get a better angle.

“Alright,” he mumbles, “Ready?...Cheese!”

Their smiles stay hung on their face as they listen for the click and when the faint sound befalls their ears, Cate laughs and Y/N pulls away. She reaches forward for the camera, her hand easily brushing Harry’s large one.

Their smiles meet each other and Cate can’t help but notice how they grow as the two of them look at one another.

“Thank you,” Y/N says sweetly and pulls back to retake her seat on the blanket.

Harry straightens up, his grin falling back into that signature smirk. “No problem.”

“So-” He begins but she cuts him off.

“Well, I’m sure I’ll see you around, yeah?”

He clears his throat, feeling thrown off. “Yeah, sure. I guess next time I see you we can talk about when a good time would be for your jacket to come over?”

His voice raises at the end of his question a little more than usual, he’s trying to get her to bite, but she doesn’t seem like someone who is easily thrown off. He is trying to read her and she’s been completely cool the entire time. It’s intriguing. Even more so than the jacket, even though he’d be lying if he said he didn’t like it, it wasn’t really his focus when he walked across the park to her and Cate.

“Yep! It was nice finally meeting you Harry.”

He feels the cue to walk off and says his farewells. As he walks off, back on course to his intended destination, his head is filled with questions. Most important of them being when he would see her again.

Cate and Y/N watch him walk towards the football fields. They see him meet with a group of men and it seems like they’re there to practice or play a game. Y/N couldn’t be sure.

“He likes you!” Cate finally bursts out.

Y/N rolls her eyes, “Stop trying to make me take the piss. That’s a fucking lie and you know it.”

“It’s not! He likes you and you obviously like him, I mean, but we been knew.”

“Having a crush on the famous Harry Styles when you’re 17 is different than me liking my neighbour Harry.”

“But you like him don’t you? He’s even better than he was when he was 19. Now he’s all grown up and established and more your style anyway.”

“Shut up! He could hear you.”

“He really couldn't, he's yards away, you’re just paranoid.” Cate continues to tease and ridicule her best friend over Harry and Y/N is just about ready to up and leave, but she also can’t help but laugh it off.

“I’m literally gonna kick you out if you keep talking,” Y/N says between laughs and the women feel like they’re back in high school losing their minds over the stupidest joke ever.

“Okay, fine. But all I have to say is I will hold this over you when you end up together.”

“Yeah, yeah. Sure, whatever. Just be prepared to wait forever because I can promise you Harry Styles and I are never ending up together.”

--

Two Weeks Later

Y/N walked to her door after hearing the doorbell ring and opened it to find her neighbour standing with his arm raised ready to knock.

“Hey, Harry,” She greeted easily, but not entirely sure why he was here.

They hadn’t really seen each other since their official meeting in the park. It hadn’t bothered her and it hadn’t really bothered Harry either. It seemed like they both had extremely busy lives that they didn’t plan on throwing out the window because they had said they would meet up at some point. She liked that.

Harry had come over because he finally had a break in his schedule and was hoping to talk about the jacket and anything else really. He was interested in getting to know her and he didn’t care to hide it.

“I was wondering if you wanted to go get a coffee or something?” He asked, leaning himself against her door frame now.

Her eyebrows raise and her eyes widen a little bit, not completely sure she heard him correctly.

“Right now?!” She asked incredulously.

She was wearing an oversized grey sweatshirt and black bike shorts that peaked out from underneath the sweatshirt hem. One of her socks was shoved around her ankle while the other was pulled up flat to touch the base of her calf. She didn’t think she was looking the most presentable at the moment. She had been basking in her day off by simply laying on the couch watching hours of Netflix.

He nods, his smile growing on his face. Her flustered expression only made him happier. She was always so nonchalant with him, he wanted to see her a little more antsy.

“Unless you’re busy,” he adds seriously, not wanting to bother her, just wanting to spend time with her.

“No, no. I’m not...I’m not busy. I just wasn’t expecting any plans where I would be required to go out in public. Let me just...um, come inside and then give me five minutes.”

“Sure,” Harry smiles again as he steps into her home.

Her smile is sheepish and much less genuine then the one Harry holds on his face as he takes in her abode. She tells him to make himself comfortable and then runs to her room to try and possibly fix her state in under five minutes.

She tears around her room, heaving off the frumpy sweatshirt and grabbing a long sleeve striped v-neck top she had hanging out half out of her hamper, a sign known to her that while it was clean enough to wear, if she happened to do laundry she should wash it. Slipping it over her head, she walks to her dresser and leans over to open the bottom drawer and unfolds a pair of dark wash oversized jeans. There’s no holes in them and she throws them on the bed so that she can slip out of her current pants. Next, onto the socks, she swaps out the current ones for a fresh black pair and finds her tortoise print boots to flick on. As she just about runs into her en suite bathroom, she zips the two boots up between steps. A quick comb through her hair, deodorant, two spritz of perfume, her eyelash curler and mascara and she’s running back to where Harry is waiting in her living room.

He blinks surprisedly at her promptness, usually giving people more time then what they say they need. She had indeed gotten ready in five minutes. He thought she looked breathtaking. And she felt like she was at a lack for breath in any case.

“It’s a bit cold out,” he glances to the window.

“Isn’t it always?” She smiles, finally catching her breath.

He chuckles and then nods, a smile appearing on his face as he feels a warmth in his chest at her wit.

“Ready?” He checks in.

She nods, grabbing a coat she kept hung by the door.

“Just the coffee shop down the way?” She inquires as they exit the house and she locks the door behind her.

Harry hums, waiting down a step for her to turn around and walk beside him. It was so strange to her, this felt all too normal with him. Like he was just a friend who had come to pick her up for coffee, her neighbor, nothing more.

“Did you hear the new season of the Crown is coming out soon?” Harry asks as they walk shoulder to shoulder (technically since her shoulder wasn’t in line with his).

“Really?” She looks at him, “I love that show!”

“Me too,” He looks at her and smiles happily.

“That’s amazing,” she breathes mostly to herself, half about the show and half about how Harry watches television and that he watches one of her favorite shows.

There’s silence. The brisk air pricking their cheeks as they walk down their street. Their puffs of breath create a slight mist of white ahead of them and then quickly dissipates.

Her eyes flit up to Harry’s chiseled jaw and face and she watches him as his eyes carefully and meaningfully take in his surroundings. Was it her turn to take a stab at conversation? It wasn’t an uncomfortable silence but she just wasn’t sure what was going on.

“You play football right?” She says finally as they turn onto the next street that would bring them closer to the café they both frequented.

She remembered seeing him there on several occasions. The tips he left were always overly generous, which she assumed you could do when you were exorbitantly rich. He always smiled when he ordered and knew the baristas by name. His order rarely differed and she hated to admit but she knew his two regulars. His actual “regular” was a 12 ounce black coffee, dark roast, no cream and no sugar. The other, his “I’ll actually have”, was a 16 ounce iced green tea, no cream and no sugar.

She couldn’t help that she was observant and that when ‘H’ was called at the bar she looked at what was pushed out, patiently waiting for him to come snatch it up with a smile and nod to the workers before he left. Sometimes he’d even smile at her over the lid of his drink as he exited the establishment. It was warm and inviting and she felt good about the twinkle in his eye that never seemed to waver no matter the day.

Now they were going there together and she’d have to pretend like she’d never noticed what he got as a drink.

He responds to her question with another glance at her and a simple “yes”. His hands shove into his pockets and one side of his pink lips quirk up. He continues, “I’m on a local team with some mates. We’re in a little competition with our league. The final match is coming up this Sunday actually...You should come.”

He says it so casually it almost doesn’t catch her off guard. Harry inviting her to his football game, maybe this was going to be her life now. Going to her neighbours football match. Going to Harry Styles’ football match.

“Sunday…” She sounds out, choosing to look out into the distance instead of at him. “What time?”

“Eight.”

“P.M. right?” She responds quickly, worried since she never wakes up that early and rarely before 10 a.m. on the weekends for that matter.

“Of course,” he chuckles.

They’ve come upon the café and he’s quick to grab the handle to open the door and let her go before him. She can’t stop the blush and smile that spread on her face as she ducks her head into the warm and cozy shop. Men had opened doors for her before and she really thought of herself as a strong woman who didn’t need a man for anything, but something about Harry’s action felt especially, and specifically, chivalrous. Why, she had no idea.

Neither of them stop to look at the menu. They were regulars and they both knew that about each other as well. He gestures for her to go first and she mutters her thanks before turning to the patiently waiting barista. She orders and is about to hand over her card when Harry suavely steps in and says, “Don’t worry about it. I invited you with me, I’ll pay.”

It was both completely unexpected and expected at the same time. Knowing she’d never win this fight, she thanked him again, glanced at the man taking her order and then stepped aside. Harry orders his own drink and then pays for both. Today he leaves double the amount he usually leaves for tip, she assumes since it’s two drinks he was paying for.

“You didn’t have to do that, you know?” She says quietly to him once they’re in a corner of the café waiting for their drinks.

He stands slightly slumped against the wall, closer to her height right now. He only shrugs, his good natured smile not once leaving his face since he entered this place.

“I wanted to,” he said simply right as the drinks were ready since it wasn’t particularly busy on this random Friday afternoon.

They glance outside and see that it’s begun to drizzle while they’ve been inside. She sighs, having hoped to walk around a little after being inside all day.

Instead, they sit at the corner table in the café, across from each other. She moves on from the paying thing, knowing it was simply how this guy probably operated most of his life.

He got a black coffee today, the cold and rain likely contributing to that choice.

As one pop song fades out, slightly under the sound of the coffee machines, she’s about to tell Harry she’s pretty sure she can make his final football match when ‘Cardigan’ fades in. It’s the second time a Taylor Swift song has been playing while she’s been in the presence of Harry and they were conversing. She tries to ignore one of her favorite songs at the moment. Harry doesn’t seem to pay much mind to it. His foot is tapping against his other, but it’s been tapping like that since they sat down.

“I think I could probably make it to your game,” she says finally after a pause and a sip of her own drink.

Harry grins at the response and launches into how great it will be if they win and how happy everyone will be. She smiles along and doesn’t notice the slight head swaying to the song that she’s begun.

“Fan of Taylor?” Harry inquires and Y/N’s face drops, eyes widening cartoonishly.

She stutters, a nervous laugh leaving her mouth before she can actually say something. How does she respond about liking Taylor Swift to a man who counts her as an ex. She’s at a loss.

“Yeah, uh,” she finally starts.

Harry watches her curiously, obviously noticing her discomfort as his question.

“I used to not really consider myself a fan. I don’t really follow her just because I don’t really follow...um...musicians,” she chokes out the last word realizing Harry fits that category. “But, after folklore, I don’t know, this album really spoke to me. I also really like Lover and...uh” she pauses again, sticking on 1989, an album she has argued with her friends about how it’s basically a tell all of the man before her and Taylor’s relationship.

He nods, hoping she’ll continue. He wanted to get to know her and he kind of liked seeing her squirm. “1989?” He finally supplies.

Her blush isn’t able to be covered this time. If her hair didn’t fall in front of her ears she was sure they’d be flushed with blood.

Then she draws out of her own self stress and looks at the smooth man before her and grows calm. He was amazing at winding her up and she didn’t want to seem like some young, impressionable fangirl to him. So, she squared her shoulders and straightened up in her chair.

“Yes, it was pop perfection as one of my college friends liked to say. I’d always listen to it at the gym.” Then she pauses, taking a measured breath, gaining her confidence back. Her eyes meet his, “Is there any songs off it that you particularly enjoy, Mr. Styles.”

He chuckles, mostly because of her emphasis on ‘Style’.

“Shake it off?” He asks.

“Oh fuck off!” She laughs and he joins in with her.

When they catch their breaths from laughing, they simultaneously take sips of their drinks and settle their eyes back on one another. Exes and songs written about oneself weren’t exactly the topics Harry had in mind for the coffee outing he had asked Y/N out on, but talks of exes had never been this funny with anyone else. He was grateful for her playfulness, her demeanor.

“Can I ask you something personal?” She asks quietly and seriously.

“I think we’re past that question, love,” he responds.

“Yeah, I guess,” she pauses and just about whispers, “Pretty much all of them are about you right?”

He shrugs again, his felt coat rustling around his seat. “We never really talked about every single song.”

She leans forward at the ‘we’ Harry is using about himself and Taylor Swift.

“But when I listen to the songs, I hear us in just about every one but a few.”

“Wow,” she breathes and sips her drink. “I don’t know what I’d do if I lived through something that intense and then someone commemorated in a masterpiece.”

“Do you have a favorite on that album?” He asks, moving on from her revelation.

“I love ‘I know places’, it has a cool sound. But I also really love ‘Wonderland’. They both have kind of dark sounds, yet it still is like what you have is so special that the bad bits are worth it. I don’t know, it just seems like a tv show. I don’t think my life could ever be that crazy or dramatic.” She doesn’t notice her use of ‘you’ because she had meant it as a form of analyzing the song theoretically as she had done hundreds of times with her friends,  but this time the ‘you’ is literally the ‘you’ the song is talking about.

“Love can turn anyone’s life chaotic.” Harry muses.

The green eye’s that flashed at Taylor throughout that album look at Y/N from across the table and she feels a flip in her stomach at his tone.

Maybe he notices her mild discomfort, maybe that’s just who he is. But after a beat, Harry’s onto the next topic on his mind. He launches into how he’s just returned from Scotland for a shoot for something so undercover he can’t even divulge to her, much to his dismay. She’s taken aback since she didn’t consider her someone Harry would divulge any of his private matters to, but it seemed like he already considered her a confidant. Just not for that. He wants it to be a surprise.

She smiles and listens attentively. She wonders as he goes on about his interesting yet absurdly lavish life whether he even knows what regular life is like anymore. Or if he’d even enjoy it if he experienced it.

Sure, coffee and football were plenty part of regular life . But the football league was something novel to Harry. He had just gotten to do it and he was thrilled by its normalcy.

She regarded him carefully, unsure what the next step was in this budding friendship. Was it dangerous to get involved with someone’s life which seemed to be filled with whirlwind rigor and constant change.

She liked her chaos, don’t get her wrong. She felt like she often was the odd one out in life. Always thinking differently than the ones around her. She often was the one to suggest spontaneous late night trips around town or exploration of an abandoned building known for spooky stories. She liked inviting friends over for themed parties for no specific occasions and she liked taking film pictures of friends like they were models even though it was only for her and her memories. She thought of herself as silly and fun, but what Harry described as his chaotic fun actually was regimented tight schedules of constant travel and work. Interesting experiences came out of that constant travel and work, but didn’t seem like something she necessarily wanted to get herself wrapped up in.

After coffee, they leave the café and it’s pouring now. Instead of going home, Harry insists on walking her to her place. She relents, realizing, once again, that Harry wasn’t someone who took ‘no’ for an answer. She then invites him in because it’s the polite thing to do. And Harry being Harry accepts.

“Want a dry sweatshirt while you wait?” She asks as she slips off her wet shoes and jacket in the entryway. Harry follows suit, his knit sweater being pelted with rain for the last eight minutes left him feeling cold and shivery.

He nods as he toes off his shoes and ventures back to the living room she had him wait in a few hours ago.

“Here,” She says as she tosses a grey sweatshirt in his direction. She believes it's her one from earlier, an innocuous pullover with ‘London’ in collegiate lettering on the front. He catches it as she rounds the corner to turn up the heater.

Her mistake was being so careless to not look at the sweatshirt before handing it over to her neighbor. Anyone else, maybe they wouldn’t have questioned it. But Harry, how could he not.

“What’s this?”

“A sweatshirt,” she doesn’t spare him a glance on the coach as she fiddles with the thermostat.

“It’s one of my sweatshirts,” Harry says and she can hear the smile on his face.

“That’s impossible, I’ve never borrowed-” Her brows had raised at what he said but now her words fall short.

He didn’t mean one of his personal sweatshirts that she possibly borrowed if they were better friends. No. He meant his merchandise.

“It was a gift,” she sighs as she turns to face him. He’s now wearing the sweatshirt proudly and grinning up at her smugly.

She rolls her eyes when he gives her a knowing smile.

“I didn’t know that it was the one I was handing you. Honest!”

“I thought you didn’t “keep up” with musicians,” Harry says playfully, his fingers making quotes appropriately.

“I don’t.” Her tone is serious as she plops on the couch beside Harry.

“I enjoy your music from time to time. Is that a crime?!” She finally exclaims when she can’t handle Harry’s knowing smirk.

“No it’s not, you could have just told me you were a fan!” She tries to stop him and protest that she wouldn’t consider herself a fan, but he continues, “I still would have wanted to have been friends.You’re one of the liveliest neighbors I’ve got. Everyone else on the street is rather dull.”

She chuckles, remembering finding out quickly that the street wasn’t a lively bunch.  

“I just wouldn’t say I’m a fan,” she presses and sits across from him.

He continues smiling like he knows the truth.

“I don’t think you’ve met an average person in awhile, Harry.” She finally says after they sat in silence for a few minutes because they were both too stubborn to be the first to talk.

“I would hardly call you average if that’s what you’re implying, Y/N.” He nods her way and he shifts on her plush couch, his legs adjusting themselves on their own accord. “And I know plenty of average people,” he adds huffily.

“I normally wouldn’t either, but compared to who you seem to surround yourself, I very much am. And that’s not meant to be a jab at anyone involved.”

His right hand sneaks up to his head to scratch at the base of a particularly perfect curl. His eyes squint a bit as his mind processes her claim.

“What are you trying to say exactly?”

“I’m just curious to see if you’d actually like me in your life. It seems like you want to be friends with me and that’s great, but realistically I don’t know how much I would fit into it.”

Harry scoffs, “That’s literally bullshit, just relax. I’m so chill you won’t even know what to do with me.”

Now it’s her turn to scoff. “Chill?!” She asks incredulously. Harry nods with a seriousness she hadn’t seen before.

“When’s the next time you’re flying off to another country for work?”

Harry pauses, “Um...the day after the final match. I’m beginning to film a movie, so I’ll be there for a month.”

“Busy bee,” she muses and they both chuckle.

There’s something about the somber look Harry is giving her. His eyes twinkled in the coffee shop and with playful winks she was excited to be in his presence. But after she mentions when his next trip is, he seems saddened. There’s skepticism behind his eyes and maybe he doesn’t like being challenged about who he is from other people, especially those who are new in his life.

But that’s who Y/N is, she’s straightforward and doesn’t lie to someone. If Harry was now her friend, she was going to tell it like it is to him. That personality trait she worried wouldn’t make her long for his world.

“So the cardigan? Do you have it here?” Harry changes the subject, clearly not wanting to actually consider a realistic friendship together instead just charging ahead with no hesitation. Whatever happened they would deal with it as it came. Maybe she should just go with the flow, let herself be swept up into his madness. Maybe it would be easier than fighting it.

“No.”

“Oh?”

“I do, I was joking. Where else would it be?” Her tone is light, trying to get back the shine she had seen Harry exhibit before it had vanished.

Maybe that was Harry’s effect on people. He was vibrant and like an Elton John song. You never wanted that shine to go away, never wanted the song to end. Never wanted him to stop shining his light on you. She felt this happening in just a few hours with him. When he was happy so was she and when he wasn’t entirely shining she wanted to do whatever she could to get it back.

A smile curls on his face and his green eyes narrow slightly. He’s trying to figure her out, know what she’s all about.

“Do you want to go and grab it?” His voice sweetening, almost like a tease. Maybe he means to bite his lip, maybe he doesn’t, but the effect on her is nonetheless earthshaking.

She pops up and smiles back, happy to have made him happy. As she walks out of the room to go get the cardigan that had started this all, her head tilts and she furrows her brow wondering why she felt such a sense of pride just for making him happy.

Would this man cause her to finally put someone else’s wishes ahead of hers?

-

“Are you on your way?”

She listens to Harry’s slightly worried voice crackle over the speaker of her phone as she shuts her door with the hand not holding her phone to her ear. His voice is raspy and muffled. She assumes it’s from the cold air of London at night and the scarf he is likely got wrapped around his neck.

“Yes! Jeez, I’m on my way. Walking over right now.”

It’s the final match for Harry’s football team and if they win the game then they get a trophy and it’s all Harry has been talking about since they got coffee and she handed over her cardigan.

Harry huffed an “alright” on the other side of the line and she called a “see you soon” before hanging up.

He was both eager for Y/N to come and possibly meet some of his teammates and a few of his close friends who he had invited and for her to arrive so that she wasn’t walking out late at night alone. He hadn’t known her for long, but he felt a certain protectiveness over her. She was relatively alone here, only two friends at work that she had mentioned and everyone else lived far away. She said she didn’t mind it, but Harry had a hard time understanding it since he surrounded himself with his friends as much as he could and was constantly either traveling or having them travel to see him.

He had even contemplated inviting her to come to Los Angeles with him for a month, but knew she would remind him of her ever important job that she couldn’t just randomly take a month off.

He’d have to ask her what exactly she did because every time he tried to remember, it always slipped his mind.

When her figure came into sight below the fluorescent lights, he breathed a sigh of relief. A grin spread on his face as she beamed at him and waved a bit. He didn’t understand how she couldn’t see how special she was. Every time he saw her he felt himself straighten up and feel a bubbling in his chest. Her smile was infectious and the way her eyes glittered when she looked away quickly and then returned eye contact made him want to stay in her presence forever.

“You made it!” Harry said and scooped her up in his arms, not realizing just how happy he was to see her, swinging her around in a half circle.

She laughs in surprise, but appreciates the warmth Harry’s hug offers her. She’s not quite sure they had ever touched each other before this moment beside shoulder brushes and hand touches. Nothing so...purposeful.

“I made it,” she confirms and pats him on his broad shoulders.

Questions in her mind raced as she questioned whether it was normal for friendships to happen like this. She knew in college friendships could happen this quickly. And that’s when it dawned on her, she really hadn’t made a new friend since college and that was why everything with Harry was so odd to her. She had forgotten what new friendship was. She needed to stop questioning everything and just live in the moment with a person she really liked being with.

Harry’s hands move from her waist and one stays to lead her forward so he can introduce her to some of his mates, as he had promised.

She felt at home in that moment. His hand on the small of her back, his heat radiating off of him and her hair swept behind her ears and her cheek pressed to his shoulder staring up at him sweetly.

She meets Charlotte, a member of Harry’s band who lives in London, her boyfriend, Mitch (who had just happened to find himself in Hampstead this weekend), Ben, and a few more people she couldn’t remember all the names of.

Harry’s team wins the game and Y/N’s not sure if she’s ever seen someone so happy to win an adult league football match. There wasn’t any official trophy except the one Harry had made himself and said he would even give to the other team if they won. It was engraved with the words “The World’s Greatest Football Team of Stars Ever. October 22, 2020”. It doesn’t even make sense but she’d been holding it for the entire night as he played.

He goes down the line of his friends who have been watching and gives them all jubilant kisses on the lips. When he reaches Y/N she holds out the trophy and he grins and gives her a kiss on the cheek. His lips are surprisingly soft and his scratchy stubble tickles her and she swiftly pulls back, a smile on her face and blush on her cheeks nonetheless.

Charlotte and Mitch share a look between the two of them and Ben’s eyes narrow slightly at the interaction. His eyes narrow just as they had when Harry had strutted over to the group with Y/N before the game. He had happily named everyone and she had shaken all of their hands with a warm smile on her lips. Ben had regarded her warily and she had shaken it off as the chill of the night air. But there it was again, not quite trusting of the neighbour girl Harry had just randomly befriended a few days ago.

The team and the friends of the team decide they deserve to celebrate this win, mostly at the request of Harry.

Y/N tries to find a time to leave, to return to her place so she can prepare for her day at work tomorrow. But no excuses will be heard from Harry and she has a hard time saying no to his sparkling eyes and gorgeous grin that she’s growing far too accustomed to.

She’s ushered down to the closest pub with the rest of them and finds herself chatting with Charlotte’s boyfriend. He’s the most...normal. She’s not sure how to explain it, but he doesn’t seem to be regarding her as different, unlike every other one of Harry’s friends. They were all perfectly nice and cordial with her, but she just felt like she wasn’t a part of their group, their world and she didn’t know how to explain it.

Charlotte and Mitch are rather nice too, but they’re more reserved with her. They’re musicians, like Harry, and they somewhat have that air of awareness around them that Harry sometimes gets. She thinks it’s from the fame, having to constantly be wary of who is around you, what everyone is doing, what is happening next. She doesn’t mind it, it’s just not something she’s used to.

She wishes she could just throw back some drinks and she could allow herself to be more...well just be more. More of a presence, more of herself, but she has a job she has to get to bright and early. Tomorrow was Monday and for her that meant work. So she sips a beer that Harry insisted be on his tab and she makes small talk with Charlotte’s boyfriend about how he’s been helping her produce her first EP. Charlotte occasionally pops in when she hears her name, but mostly is conversing with Mitch over something silly. Y/N knows because they keep laughing.  

Harry is going around to just about everyone in the party and she watches as he happily talks with every one of his friends. He’s ecstatic and she wonders if she’s ever experienced happiness like he has.

At midnight she attempts to make a French exit, as her mother always called it, and slip away with little to no farewells, but Harry spots her before she can.

“You’re leaving already?” Harry asks loudly, the euphoria of winning his silly little game and drinking a fair amount of pints has him at his peak boisterity.

“I have work tomorrow,” she says warily, slumping slightly from the weight of Harry’s arm slinging around her shoulder.

He turns serious and straightens up slightly, his green eyes looking especially dark in the pubs dim lighting as they look her dead in the eye. “Let me walk you home.”

“I can get home by myself,” she laughs, shrugging off his hold. “Plus, the host can’t leave his own celebration.” She gestures to everyone else happily celebrating on a Sunday, somehow not bothered by the beginning of the average week.

He steps closer, his brow furrowing for the first time that night. One of his large hands raises to his tousled hair and he runs it through the tresses. He even nibbles at his lower lip as he contemplates his decision. Then quickly and suddenly, he makes up his mind,

“No, I’ll escort you. Can’t have my neighbour walk home this late alone. I’ll just leave my card with Mitch. He’ll settle up the tab.” He smiles at his perfect plan and she grimaces feeling slightly embarrassed that he would leave his friends to walk her home. “Won’t you Mitch?” Harry calls as he grabs his coat from the wall next to the door. Mitch simply nods and Harry yells his farewells, Y/N waves meekly.

“That was...interesting,” she mulls over her words as they walk through the cold night air outside of the pub.

“Amazing, right?” Harry speaks over her less enthusiastic voice.

“You have a lot of friends,” she mused, trying to sound less disheartened than she had in her last statement.

Harry only hums and shivers slightly from the cold. His breath comes clearly out in puffs in the cold night air. Y/N’s is muffled by her scarf wrapped tightly up to her chin. She’s tucked his face as far into it as possible but her nose won’t stop from freezing as they walk.

Her hand goes up to it and she rests her palm to the tip of it. The motion grabs Harry’s attention and he looks directly at her curiously.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m freezing,” she muffles out, “This helps my cold nose not be so..cold.”

He chuckles and wraps his arm around her shoulder and she easily folds into him, welcoming any warmth right now.

After another moment of silence and them enjoying each other’s warmth and slight smell of whatever perfumes they had chosen earlier that night as well as beer and wood of the pub, Harry nuzzles his head above hers and then asks her something.

“Was that overwhelming for you?”

She’s quiet, thankful his eyes can’t reach hers right now. He was too powerful with those things.

“I, um, a little. I just...I just realized today that I haven’t made a new friend since college outside of work and it was overwhelming just hanging out with you. So all of your friends as well, yeah, it was a bit much for me.”

Harry looks out at the empty street ahead of them and sighs in realization. In his excitement, he hadn’t accounted how she might have felt tonight until just now. He wanted to kick himself for not thinking of her feelings, but other’s feelings slipped his mind so easily sometimes.

They round their street corner and she nuzzles back into his side.

“I’m sorry, love.” He rubs at her outer arm, “I didn’t think about it like that. I was just so excited for my plan to come together. Maybe next time, it’ll just be a couple of them rather than so many?”

“Sure,” she says quickly, wanting to make him happy, knowing how much he cared about his friends. “I feel like we need to hang out more with just you before I osmos into your friend group though if I’m being honest.”

“Well that can definitely be arranged,” he says and reluctantly lets go of her body. They’ve arrived at her door.

“I also want to see the inside of your house at some point.” She tugs at one of his hands before it can disappear into his warm coat pocket. “Houses,” she corrects.

“That can also be arranged,” Harry smiles with his lips closed. Pink lips and rosy cheeks extra bright from the cold. He plays with her fingers as the two stand close to one another, happy for the alone time and chalking the proximity up to heat sharing.

“You leave tomorrow right?” She finally asks.

His head falls and he sighs.

“Yeah…”

“It’s just a month,” she smiles, trying to stop Harry from being so dramatic. Especially when there was no logical reason for him to be so upset over not seeing his neighbour - she keeps telling herself.

“Are you sure you can’t quit your job and just fly out with me?” He pleads.

She throws her head back in laughter and shifts closer to him, her front porch light illuminating and shadowing every perfect place on Harry’s gorgeous face.

“Not even a chance.”

“That is a shame,” he takes an experimental step closer and she feels his breath fan across her cheeks at his last word.

She wrinkles his nose at the smell of his last beer, even though coming from him it was endearing.

Just as she feels him being to shift his head closer, she steps forward and gives him a tight hug.

“Goodnight Harry,” she whispers into his ear, “Safe travels.”

Then she’s stepping back and swiftly unlocking her door. She moves it slowly so as to not wake Rori and then Harry’s left alone and dumbfounded on her doorstep.

He definitely preferred being with her alone, but now he didn’t even have that chance until next month. And nonetheless she had just sidestepped his kiss with such ease he’s not even sure if he meant to kiss her. It had felt right, but why? Because it was cold and picture perfect? Or because he was enchanted by her and liked her as more than a new friend?

She slumps in her kitchen and fixes an Emergen-C to stave off the chill of the night and any germs that might have been lurking around the pub. She hopes when she walks to her bedroom she can check the front porch and see that Harry has gone home because she would hate to turn the light off on him.

How could he have expected her to kiss him just then? They’ve only just met each other a few weeks ago? And he’s Harry Styles and she just lives in the neighbourhood. What the actual fuck had happened to her life?

[procrastinatingsapphictrash]

Already dating

Word count: 1618

Genre: Probably fluff, idk really

Pairing: Natasha x gn!reader

Warnings: None (let me know if I need to add any)

Request: could you maybe write something with Natasha x male reader (if your comfortable, otherwise you can write it with female or gender neutral) where Natasha blushes when the reader compliments her in front of the team and the team immediately goes crazy and does everything in their power to get them together, only to find out they've been dating all along?

Summary: Steve and Tony (mostly Tony) lock you in an elevator to admit your feelings, not knowing you’re already together.

A/n: Thanks @mochamoff for the request, sorry it took so long to do it! I’m writing this authors note over a week before I’m posting the fic which is unusual because usually I post within twenty four hours of finishing. Anyways it feels nice to be on a break and this fic being posted means I’m officially back which I’m excited for. To be honest this fic isn’t the whole team, just Tony and Steve, but I’m pretty happy with the way it turned out so I hope you all enjoy reading!

“Next time you have to listen to me in the field Stark.” Steve says as soon as everyone is settled into their place on the jet.

“Actually I don’t, you have absolutely no power over me and as much as you want to be the leader of this team you are not so stop acting like it.” Tony snaps back.

“Someone has to step up and lead.” Steve tells him. “It’s not like you could do any better, you would probably mess things up.”

“Maybe I would, but I would do a hell of a lot better than you are doing.” Tony says. “You like to pretend you’re all high and good and above us but who made you leader? Nobody. You crave control so you took it.”

“I did what needed to be done.”

You watch them snap back and forth at one another a few more times, rolling your eyes at Natasha. She gives you a small smile to show that she’s amused and turns her attention back to your two teammates whose argument has only gotten more and more heated.

“Y/n what do you think?” Tony asks, catching you off guard.

“About what?”

“About who would be a better leader for the team.” he explains. You think for a moment and they both stand as tall as possible (in Tony’s case it isn’t tall at all) and puff out their chests. You scoff, the male ego is so big, even in men who are good and try to do the right thing.

“Neither.” you decide.

“Neither- but the team needs a leader, you have to pick someone.” Tony splutters.

“Just because I don’t think the best leader is either of you doesn’t mean I don’t think the team needs a leader.” you tell him. How one of the smartest people in the world can’t figure that out for himself is beyond you.

“So who would you choose then?” Steve asks, confused.

“Natasha obviously.” you say, smiling at her. The corners of her mouth tug up slightly and even that small movement makes you feel proud.

“No offense, but Natasha???” Tony asks, seemingly outraged. “Why?”

“Well first of all she doesn’t have a fragile male ego like you dumbasses.” you tell them. “But it’s more than just that. She’s smart, both book smart and street smart. She can hack into computers and memorize information easily and knows how to blend in, or to get people to like her. She is more rational than the both of you combined but is also good at making decisions on the fly. She is an excellent fighter and can keep track of strategies and she has connections in and out of the government, with backup plans for almost every situation. Not to mention she has an amazing heart and don’t argue like some other people on our team tend to do. And of course she’s absolutely gorgeous but that doesn’t have anything to do with it.”

You wink at her at the end of your mini speech and are surprised to find her cheeks noticeably pink. She can’t help the smile that creeps onto her face when she thinks over your words.

“Abort mission, Romanoff is blushing and smiling, I think I might be about to die.” Tony states obnoxiously.

“Shut up, you’re just annoyed that she likes me better than you.” Natasha tells him, taking a breath to (mostly) collect herself.

“You’re scary when you’re happy. I haven’t seen you like that before.” he says. “Are you in love with Y/n or something?”

“Shut up.”

Tony smirks. “Make me.”

Natasha takes one threatening step towards him and that’s all it takes for him to back away, stuttering out apologies and mumbling under his breath about how Natasha is too scary to be a team leader. Natasha’s scare tactics do seem to work though because he doesn’t speak to anybody but himself for the rest of the ride home.

As soon as the jet touches down you and Natasha exit, heading straight to the room where you are supposed to be debriefed. Steve tries to follow but Tony grabs his arm to let him know to hold back a second.

“I know I joke but I honestly think they’re in love with each other.” Tony tells him. “I didn’t see it before today but there’s no way Y/n’s speech was platonic, who memorizes lists of reasons why they like their friends, not to mention their flirty wink at the end. And then Natasha, she’s scary but she was acting weird and happy around Y/n.”

“I hate to say this but I agree with you and they would make a cute couple.” Steve says. “But we should probably catch up now.”

Tony takes Steve’s words as an opportunity to stop being serious and become obnoxious again. “Onward dear captain, lead the way fearsome leader, how ever could I-”

“Tony I’m trying to be polite but you are making it very hard.”

---

“Tony no.”

“Tony yes.”

“That is a horrible idea.”

Tony opens his mouth in outrage. “I think it’s a pretty good idea actually.”

“I won’t work.” Steve counters.

“Well I think it well and need I’m the only genius here.” he says smugly.

“You can’t force love!” Steve tells Tony, running his hand through his hair in frustration.”

“Ah, ah, ah,” Tony says, “I’m not forcing love, they are already in love. All I’m doing is giving them a little push.”

“By locking them in an elevator?” Steve asks in a deadpan voice.

“Exactly.”

“You can’t just go around locking people-” Steve starts to say but he gets cut off by Tony.

“Shhhhhhh, hi Y/n, hi Natasha.”

“Hi guys, what are you up to?” you ask, obvious to what was going on seconds before you entered the room. Natasha eyes them suspiciously because they are acting weird, holding their bodies stiffly, which means they are hiding something.

“We were just about to head down to the training room, want to come?” Tony lies smoothly while Steve shakes his head in the background.

“That sounds good,” you reply, “you want Tasha?”

“Okay.” she agrees, still eyeing both of them, Tony in particular suspiciously.

“Great!” Tony says and starts to walk towards the elevator and the rest of you follow him, Steve trying to convince himself that going along with Tony’s plan is doing no harm.

“Ladies first.” he says, stepping off to the side and giving a big flourish with his arm. It’s weird but then again Tony is always weird so you don’t think too much of it, stepping into the elevator. As soon as Natasha follows you in he orders Jarvis to close and lock the doors and to prevent the elevator from moving and then pulling up a screen so he can watch you.

“You better run when I get out of here!” Natasha yells. “You too Steve!”

“You’re going to thank me later.” Tony says. “Steve, why don’t you explain why we locked them in.”

“Um,” Steve hesitates, not knowing where to start, “well we think that you two need to talk about, um, feelings.”

“Feelings?” you ask, confused, while realization dawns over Natasha’s face.

“Um, yeah feelings.” Steve responds, feeling very awkward and hoping this works so he didn’t do all that for nothing.

“They don’t know we’re dating and they’re trying to get us together.” Natasha leans over and whispers in your ear before straightening back up and talking to Tony again. “I didn’t take you for such a romantic Stark.”

“What? I’m not- romantic me? Pepper says I’m the least romantic guy she’s ever been with.” he splutters, trying to regain his masculinity.

“And that is not a compliment.” you tell him. “But for some reason even though ‘you aren’t romantic’ you wanted to get us together.”

“Maybe I did,” he says. “but you have to admit that my plan is amazing and it's totally working.”

Natasha snorts “What part of this conversation screams working to you?”

“Well you haven’t killed Y/n yet and neither of you have denied your feelings so it’s obviously working. I expect a thank you speech dedicated to me at your wedding.” He says arrogantly.

“There will be no speech.” Natasha tells him.

“But there will be a wedding?” He asks, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively and Steve has to look away because it looks ridiculous.

“Hopefully.” you say, teasing Tony with your vagueness but also making Natasha smile as she thinks about what that might be like.

“Told you my plan would work.” Tony brags to Steve before telling Jarvis to release you from the elevator.

“Your plan sucked.” Natasha tells him. “We were already dating dumbasses.”

She grabs your hand and pulls you out of the room as Steve and Tony stare after you, shocked.

“Did you know about this?” Tony asks, looking at Steve with suspicion.

“Not at all.” Steve answers, his mouth still half open. In hindsight it should have been obvious. Of course Natasha wouldn’t want to be open about her dating life right away, she likes her secrets way too much.

---

“You owe me fifty bucks Y/n.” Natasha tells you once you’re out of earshot.

“Seriously?” you whine.

“You said they already knew but they didn't, so pay up.” She holds her hand outwards expectantly and you both laugh.

“Later.” you tell her. “There are more important things to do now.”

“Hmm, like what?” she teases gently, taking a step closer to you. Your breath catches because you still can’t believe you are dating someone this beautiful. You match her halfway and pull her into a deep kiss, only pulling back when you need to breath.

“This.”

---

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[narutogwriting]

A Misunderstanding

⋇✦ Pairing: Kiba Inuzuka x Reader

⋇✦ Genre: fluff; one shot

⋇✦ Synopsis: You and Kiba were getting close until Naruto got in the way. If you ask Kiba, Naruto ruins everything.

⋇✦ CW: none

⋇✦ Length: 3.6k+

⋇✦ Inspiration: request by @writing-x-reader

If there was one person in Konoha who could push Kiba’s buttons just right, it was Naruto. Everything about that twerp pissed Kiba off. He was loud (so was Kiba), obnoxious (so was Kiba), arrogant (again, Kiba), and everytime he opened his big mouth, Kiba wanted to pop him. Naruto had always got on Kiba’s nerves, and after their fight in the preliminaries of the chunin exam, even more so. He couldn’t believe he lost to a wimp like that!

In reality, though the two would never admit it, they were just a little bit too alike in all of the worst ways. And apparently, that drifted over to their taste in women.

“Naruto, stop!” You giggled, thrashing in his arms. Naruto had come up to you from behind, wrapping his arms around you and picking you up.

“You gotta go in sometime! I’m just helping.” Naruto teased as he attempted to drop you into the water you’d been avoiding submerging yourself in. To keep from falling in, you wrapped your arms tightly around his neck, your legs doing the same around his waist. The two of you were cracking up with laughter. Naruto was spinning around, trying to loosen his grip.

What actually ended up happening was the big idiot tripped, losing his balance and sending you both splashing into the waves. You came up spluttering, spitting out water and splashing him, all the while a big smile was on your face.

“Naruto, stop,” Kiba mocked to himself in a high pitched voice with a roll of his eyes. He crossed his arms, leaning back on his towel, unable to tear his eyes away from the sickeningly cute scene. “Give me a break.”

Akamaru gave a small bark that came out more like a high pitched whine. It was a sound that basically said: you’re a jealous baby. Kiba shot his canine companion a glare. “Yeah, what do you know? It’s not like you’ve ever had a girlfriend.” He pointed out.

“Are you seriously arguing with Akamaru about a girl?” Ino huffed as she laid her towel out next to Kiba’s. She lounged onto her stomach, resting her head on her folded arms. “Put some sunblock on my back, will you? I don’t want to burn.” Kiba rolled his eyes, but complied with his friends requested. He squirted the sunblock into his hands, rubbing it between them before massaging it into Ino’s shoulders.

She hummed happily.

“What are you over here pouting about, anyways?” Ino asked Kiba. “We’re at the beach! It’s the first time we’ve all had off in like, forever! You should be enjoying yourself. Not crying over some girl.”

Huffing, Kiba finished lathering Ino’s back before he flopped out onto his own towel. “I’m not crying over some girl!” He argued. “Naruto’s just annoying! He’s so loud; why does he want the whole beach to hear what he’s doing!?” His point was made as a high pitch scream came from the ocean. Naruto practically flew out of the water before he realized it was only seaweed that his foot had touched. He scratched the back of his head sheepishly as you tossed the offending object away.

Ino laughed, rolling to her side and propping her head up in her hand. “Give it a rest already, would ya?” She teased him. “Yeah, Naruto’s annoying, but you’re not gonna fool anyone pretending that that’s the reason you’re in such a bad mood.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Kiba muttered.

“Oh come on. You’ve been in love with her for like, ever. It’s getting embarrassing at this point.” Ino glanced over to where you and Naruto were still playing in the waves. “What’s so great about her anyways?”

Wasn’t that the question?

Kiba had had a crush on you since your academy days. You were cute, strong, and always so active. Kiba really liked that. You guys had spent a lot of time together before graduating the academy and being placed on separate teams tore you apart.

The two of you had always gotten along really well. Once you were both chunin, you got sent on plenty of missions together. It was just more alone time to get to know you better and for his little crush to turn into something more.

He’d been planning on asking you out sooner; he really was! But despite how confident, borderline cocky, Kiba pretended to be, he was actually really nervous about the whole thing.

What if you rejected him!? Not only that, but what if you rejected him and then got weird around him? Didn’t want to talk to him anymore?

So he’d decided to put it off, focus on getting to know you more and try and gage and see if maybe you felt the same way about him. There were plenty of times where he did think you returned his feelings. When you laughed a little too long at his joke or played with your hair as you talked or touched his arm while you walked by… But he knew you were just a nice, friendly person who was easy to get along with.

What if he had just misread your signals?

Kiba figured he had plenty of time; he wasn’t too stressed about it. But he should have been.

Because just like that, Naruto was home, and everything had changed. It took him off guard. He didn’t recall you and Naruto being particularly close when you were younger, but once he got home you two became almost inseparable. You were always together, always hanging out and talking with your inside jokes. And just like that, you slowly drifted from Kiba’s life. His spot was quickly filled by Naruto, and he couldn’t see a place where he fit in your life anymore.

Now, for example. How was he supposed to go out and talk to you when you were so wrapped up in Naruto? It would just be weird, like he was intruding on something.

“Worry about yourself…” Kiba finally muttered to Ino, putting his head down. This beach trip sucked.

Ino rolled her eyes, pushing herself to her feet. “Cmon,” She told Kiba, kicking his side lightly. “Get up. I’m not gonna let you just mope over here all day.

It took some poking and pushing, but finally Kiba caved, getting up to go along with whatever it was that Ino wanted him to do. And honestly? That was the best decision. She kept him busy with the rest of their friends, playing volleyball and football and swimming in the ocean. Once Kiba got swimming, it wasn’t so bad anymore. He was still bummed about you and Naruto, the only two of the group not joining in on the fun. The two of you were content to hang out on your own.

But Kiba was able to let himself get distracted and have a good time. By the time the sun was starting to go down, he was exhausted and starving, ready for the bonfire you all planned.

“Let’s go get some firewood,” Ino nudged Kiba who nodded in response. There was a beach front store not too far off that sold some. “See, now that wasn’t so bad, was it?” Ino asked as they walked. “You just need some fun and sun to make it all better.” She winked at him.

Kiba laughed, rolling his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, I give. You were right.” He admitted with reluctance. “It’s just weird, though. Are those two just so in love that they can’t even come and hang out with their friends? Like, cmon…”

Ino sighed. She guessed Kiba wasn’t completely over it, but she couldn’t help but agree. “It was really weird. Like, we were all supposed to be spending time together and hanging out, but they just stayed off in their own little world… They could’ve done that anywhere.” She shrugged.

Kiba felt validated by Ino’s agreement which made him feel a little bit better about the whole thing. “Yeah, whatever. I don’t even care anymore.” He lied as they bought firewood before heading back to the group. Ino cocked her head at him. She didn’t believe him for a second, but would let him pretend for now.

Once they returned to everyone else, the group made quick work of getting a bonfire started. The hotdogs were pulled out with the old wire coat hangers to roast them with. It was the best part of the beach trip, when everyone would wind down after a crazy, exciting day and just get to relax with one another.

There was always the inevitable pairings that happened too. There was something about the beach air that made people want to cozy up in front of the fire and share some intimate moments.

Kiba was one of them.

But looking around, you still weren’t by the campfire, a fact that caused Kiba to frown because--surprise surprise--neither was Naruto.

His mind was running wild with thoughts of what the two of you could possibly be doing.

After a short while, the two of you did appear, walking up the sand from the water. Kiba’s eyes were locked on the place where Naruto’s arm was wrapped around your waist. He narrowed his eyes. Well, in his mind, that settled it. You and Naruto were obviously together, no question. The realization hit Kiba like a blow to the stomach.

This sucked.

To make matters worse, you were heading right for him.

Naruto helped you as you lowered yourself down besides Kiba at the campfire. “I’m gonna grab us some sticks and hot dogs,” he said, leaving you and Kiba alone.

“Hey,” you smiled at Kiba. “I’ve barely seen you all day. Are you having a good time?”

Kiba glanced at you, inwardly groaning. God, why did you have to be so pretty? So sweet? His heart was fluttering just looking at you and then instantly felt like he was being snapped in two thinking about you being with Naruto.

“Yeah, just dandy.” Kiba muttered, looking back to the food on his plate and surprising you with his shortness. He never shut down conversations with you like that.

“Uh, well, what have you been doing?” You tried. Kiba only shrugged in response.

“Hanging out.” And awkward silence followed.

Ino watched the painful scene as she stood next to Sakura. “This is pathetic,” she sighed, smacking her forehead. “He’s like a hurt puppy! He needs reinforcements…” She took her own plate, walking over and plopping herself down at Kiba’s side. “Nice of you to join us,” Ino teased you, leaning over Kiba’s shoulder.

Your eyes lingered over the closeness between the two before looking away. “Yeah.” Is all you said.

Naruto came back with two hot dogs on a stick, handing one to you, oblivious to the awkward tension lingering in the air. “Here you go,” He grinned, sitting beside you. Kiba didn’t miss the way you perked up at Naruto’s presence. He rolled his eyes, turning his attention back to Ino.

The night lingered on and did his best to ignore your and Naruto’s presence you despite sitting right next to him.

Ino, in defense of Kiba, played up her platonic affection with him. She did say she’d be his reinforcements, after all. She laughed just a little louder at the jokes he told and touched his arm just slightly more than normal. While making smores, she even took the mushy marshmallow from her stick and fed it to Kiba, licking her fingers off after.

For your part, you moved in closer to Naruto, uncomfortable and burning green with envy. Couldn’t those two get a room? Did they absolutely need to do this here, in front of everyone?

And of course, what’s a bonfire without games?

“Tenten, truth or dare?”

“Truth.” “If you had to kiss one person in this group, who would it be?”

Cue the blushing and whooping as Lee nudged Neji playfully.

“I dare myself to eat all the crackers!” “Choji, that’s not how you play!”

“Ino, truth or dare?”

“Dare, obviously.”

“I dare you to go skinny dipping in the ocean!”

Ino pushed to her feet, tossing her hair over her shoulders. “No problem!” Everyone cheered, jumping up after her to walk down to the water.

Kiba watched Naruto pull you to your feet, again placing his arm around your waist. He scoffed in annoyance, stomping down to the sand and leaving you behind.

Once everyone was down there, all eyes on Ino expectantly. She stared back, eating up the attention. Her eyes scanned the group before landing on Kiba. “I need a partner, though.” She said, grabbing Kiba’s hand and pulling him with her.

Kiba grinned, shooting a glance your way. If you were with Naruto, you probably didn’t care what he did, but he wanted to make sure you were watching either way.

“Let’s do it.”

Again, everyone cheered as Kiba and Ino began to strip, tossing their clothes to the floor and taking off into the ocean. “Fuck it’s cold!” Kiba yelled as he splashed into the waves, laughing. They probably stayed inside the water for less than a minute, but when they came back out, you and Naruto were gone.

Of course.

Kiba wasn’t having too much fun after that. Everyone headed back to the bonfire. Kiba took a seat far away from you, but couldn’t help but notice the way Naruto was shooting him glares. It went that way for about another hour when night had fallen completely.

Kiba did his best to ignore Naruto, but he couldn’t do it anymore. He wanted to pound that idiot into the floor.

Finally, Kiba pushed to his feet, ignoring the looks he got from everyone else as he stomped over to where you sat with your head leaning on Naruto’s shoulder. “You got a problem?” He spat at the blonde.

Naruto glowered up at Kiba, not moving from his spot with you next to him. “Beat it, Kiba.” He snapped back. “You’re not wanted over here.” Kiba looked at you, but you had your eyes locked on the bonfire, refusing to glance in his direction. He gritted his teeth, looking back to Naruto.

“You wanna run that by me again, douchewad? Or too busy being obsessed with your little girlfriend?” Kiba didn’t mean to drag you into anything or to be a jerk to you specifically, but he was so mad. So mad from watching you cuddle up to Naruto, be all lovey dovey with him and just forget about your friendship completely! How could you do that to him?

Naruto was on his feet in a second, shoving Kiba. “You better leave her out of it,” he warned.

“Or what?”

You’d had about enough of this. You struggled to your feet, wincing slightly. “Can you knock it off!?” You snapped at Kiba, startling him with the harshness of your tone. “You’ve been a jerk all day! You don’t need to come over here and start shit!”

Kiba crossed his arms, narrowing his eyes as he looked at you. He was hurt by your words, but of course he didn’t want to show it. “You’re one to talk!”

With a frustrated yell, you surprised him by taking his hand and pulling him after you. “H-hey,” He stuttered, but you ignored him, continuing to pull him until the two of you got down to the water. “Hey, you’re limping.” He noticed suddenly.

You stopped, dropping his hand and turning to face him. “Yeah, I’m limping. I stepped on a sea urchin earlier. Naruto practically had to carry me back up to the bonfire it hurt so much.

Kiba stared at you, blinking as the realization slowly crept in. “Oh… Was that why Naruto had his arm around you earlier?” He asked, almost sheepishly.

Cocking an eyebrow, you tilted your head. “Huh? Yeah, why?” You asked, confused by his observation.

He blushed, glancing away from you over to the ocean, grateful for the dark to hide his red face. “No reason…”

With a sigh, you crossed your arms. “Kiba, what is going on with you? You’ve barely even looked my direction all day. When you do talk to me, you act like a jerk. What gives? Did I do something that upset you?”

Kiba sighed, running his hands through his hair, trying to decide what to do. Was this really a conversation he was ready to have? Probably not. But it looked like he didn’t have a choice. It was now or never.

“Look, I know I haven’t talked to you much today, but you’ve been so wrapped up with Naruto. Pretty much every day you’re wrapped up with him! We were getting so close and then the second Naruto came home, you dropped me! Whatever, I get you have a boyfriend and all, but that doesn’t mean you have to just forget about me, does it?”

He sighed, shoving his hands in the pockets of his swim trunks. There, it was out. He was beyond embarrassed by the conversation, but he said it. Now you knew.

You blinked, a little confused as you processed Kiba’s words. “Boyfriend?” You asked him. “Kiba, Naruto’s not my boyfriend.”

Looking back at you, he frowned. “Then why have you been by his side all day instead of hanging out with me?”

“You were with Ino all day!” You pointed out. “I didn’t want to go over there and ruin your good time.”

“I was only with Ino cause you were with Naruto!” Kiba countered. “All day! And you two were disappearing together, and then when he had his arm around you, well, I thought it was ‘cause you two were together! And then you were all cuddled up on him, and he was glaring at me… What was I supposed to think?!”

It was quickly becoming clear to you what had happened. You couldn’t help but snicker just a little bit, making Kiba frown even more. “What’s so damn funny!?”

Now it was your turn to blush. Cheeks red, you looked to the sand, fidgeting nervously with your hands. There was something you’d wanted to tell Kiba for a long time, but you weren’t sure if you were ready. Things had been so weird lately; the timing never seemed right. But after the mess that was today, the two of you were together, in the sand, staring at the ocean waves; it seemed like the perfect moment was now.

“Kiba, Naruto spent all day trying to make me feel better… You were so flirty with Ino, rubbing in her sunscreen; I didn’t want to see that. So when you all went off together, we stayed on our own so I wouldn’t have to see her all over you. Then she was feeding you marshmallows. You even went skinny dipping with her! Naruto’s just been a good friend today. That’s it.”

Realization was slowly dawning over Kiba. He crossed his arms, cocking an eyebrow as he stared down at you. “Really?” He muttered, a smirk slowly starting to pull it’s way over his lips. “And why do you care whether or not Ino flirts with me, huh?”

Your face went red. “Why do you care if Naruto’s my boyfriend!?” You shot back at him.

The two of you locked eyes, staring each other down and willing the other person to be the first to break. But Kiba had already been on the edge all day long, and he couldn’t hold it in any longer.

“Maybe I wanted to be your boyfriend…” He grumbled reluctantly, averting his eyes from yours.

He didn’t see it, but a grin broke out over your face. Had he really just said that? You were suddenly giddy with excitement, bouncing on your toes as you began to laugh.

“You can just say no, ya know! You don’t gotta laugh!” Kiba snapped, shooting you a glare, but you just shook your head, throwing your arms around him to hug him.

Just like Kiba, you'd been hoping for this moment for so long! Meeting Kiba in the academy had been one of your favorite parts of the whole experience; definitely the most memorable. He'd been one of the people you were most excited to see. There was a point after where you hardly saw him, but once you started going on missions together, everything changed for you.

There's something about those late night conversations when everyone is asleep that brings people closer. You get to know someone in the dark better than you ever do in the day.

But your days together weren't so bad either. It didn't take spending too much time with Kiba before you started to catch feelings. He was so funny and witty; you couldn't deny you were attracted to that couldn't-care-less attitude. He just played it so cool, and he wasn't bad on the eyes either.

You'd wanted to tell him how you felt, but you were terrified that he didn't feel the same. Now those fears were out the window

”I’m not saying no, you idiot!” You teased him, looking up at him. “I do want to be your girlfriend!”

It took a moment for the words to sink in; for Kiba to really get what you were saying. When he did, he began to smile, hugging you back. “Wait, for real?” He asked, his cheeks flushed in pleasure. He couldn’t believe this! He’d wanted to ask you out for so long… Why had he wasted so much time being scared?

Kiba pulled away from the hug just enough so he could tangle his hand in your hair as he leaned down, brushing his lips softly against yours. You weren’t having any of that, grabbing him by his shirt and pulling him into you, kissing him deeper, which Kiba of course returned without hesitation.

Kissing you was everything he ever thought it would be. Your lips were soft, moving perfectly in time with his as you pressed yourself into him. God, he’d wanted this for so long. Kiba didn’t think anything would ever come close to the feeling he got being able to hold you in his arms. He didn’t want it to ever end.

When you finally broke apart, you were both grinning.

Kiba helped you limp back up the beach to the bonfire. This time, he didn’t mind when you sat next to Naruto. He sat on the other side of you, wrapping his arm around your shoulder as you leaned against him.

“About damn time!” Naruto cried out with an exasperated sigh. “Geez you two are annoying. I thought you’d never get together!”” “I hate to agree with Naruto…” Ino sighed from across the fire. “But he’s right. Though I do take some credit for this .” She smiled at Kiba.

You both rolled your eyes, but smiled nonetheless as Kiba leaned down to kiss you again. This was a long time coming, but you were worth the wait.

[rubysunnday]

as the world caves in

A/N: ok, so this is angst heaven. Potentially a bit of ooc Kaz at the end, I tried to not make Kaz too soft but I really wanted that moment in here so, tada

warnings: reader death, drowning, grief, usual six of crows shit

request 1 @maggiescarborough: Request: Hi love 💛 I need to request these two, pretty please! 1) of the prompt list for Kaz and 3) for Jesper, platonic or romantic relationships, I don’t mind either 😊 Thank you so much, love!!

request 2 - ✨anon: Hi lottie!! Its me ✨! Could I request an angsty jesper fahey x fem!reader fic? Idk a plot but I'm a sucker for protective!jesper and maybe they could have a crush on each other already? I love your other jesper writings so so much, you write him so accurate😊 Hope this request is fine and thank you!!💓

request 3 @mysticalfuncollectorus Congratulations on the followers!! I just found your blog and you are an amazing writer!! If the requests are still open can you do sentence prompt #11 with Jesper x romantic!reader? Please and thank you!

"Jesper, there are times in my life where I seriously regret becoming friends with you."

Jesper turned around to frown at Y/N. "What, why? What've I done this time?"

Y/N raised an eyebrow at the obnoxiously bright top hat Jesper was wearing. It was a ghastly shade of orange with a bright blue ribbon wrapped around it. It was so bright it was practically glowing in the dim of Ketterdam.

"Oh, do you not like it?" Jesper asked, reaching a hand up to pat his hat affectionately.

"Well it's certainly... unique," Y/N said, struggling to find the right words. She frowned at her choice of words, questioning her decision to label the hat unique when it was probably anything but.

"I won it in a card game last week," Jesper continued, still patting the top of the hat.

"Well, that explains it," Y/N muttered to herself.

Jesper often wandered back into the Slat with random items he'd won in card games. They ranged from odd pieces of jewellery to an entire house. Y/N would never forget the face Kaz made when Jesper waltzed into his office with a baby goat under his arm, proclaiming him to be Milo II.

"Oh, look!" Jesper exclaimed, grabbing Y/N's wrist and dragging her over to a stall selling waistcoats and jackets. He picked one up and held it against his chest. "Thoughts."

Y/N opened her mouth and closed it again. The waistcoat had left her speechless. It was even more garish and obnoxious than the bloody hat.

"It's... nice," she said slowly, nodding. She glanced down at the other waistcoats on the stall, running a finger over the buttons. Typically, Jesper had ignored the more subdued, subtle colours and had gone straight for the bright green one.

As Y/N rummaged through the waistcoats on the table, Jesper let out a heavy sigh. She glanced over at him and saw him patting his pockets, sticking his hand in every single one and turning them inside out.

She turned back to the waistcoats, picking up a bright red one and examining it curiously. Jesper sighed again and Y/N had to fight the smile that was beginning to appear on her lips.

"Do you think if I keep sighing dramatically, I'll make my point?"

Y/N turned around to face him. "That you have no money? You made your point very clear, darling."

Jesper suddenly appeared at Y/N's side. He dropped his head and rested his chin on her shoulder, batting his eyelashes. "Y/N..."

"Yes?"

"I love you."

"I love you too, lovely," Y/N replied, pressing a kiss to his cheek. She glanced down at him. "I'll buy it for you if you take my door shift tonight."

"Fine."

Jesper stood up and held his hand out to Y/N. The two of them shook hands and Y/N rolled her eyes as she reached into her pocket and rummaged around for the kruge she needed.

Jesper looked over at the entrance to Fifth Harbour with a curious frown as someone yelled loudly. It wasn't unusual to have people yelling and screaming - they were usually very, very drunk and yelling just for the sake of it.

But when a breathless Matthias ran around the corner, Jesper knew that the yelling wasn't just a drunkard.

"What's wrong?" Y/N asked, turning to face Matthias as he skidded to a halt, his feet slipping on the wet cobbles.

"Dime Lions," Matthias panted, bracing himself with one hand on the wall. "They're blowing up our ships."

Their reaction was instantaneous. Matthias turned and ran back the way he came, Y/N and Jesper following right behind him.

The stallholder, who was still holding the waistcoat Y/N had just bought Jesper, stared after them, perplexed. He sighed and set the waistcoat down. He carefully folded the waistcoat, making sure the front of it was on top and put it in a brown paper bag, setting it underneath the stall.

Meanwhile, Fifth Harbour was in chaos. There was one ship one fire, dark, black smoke billowing up into the sky as orange flames licked away at the wood. People were screaming and half the Dregs were out fighting off the Dime Lions who were still loitering, desperate for a fight.

"Where's Kaz?" Y/N yelled, flinching as something exploded in the harbour, water spraying up and over the walls, soaking the three of them instantly.

"No idea!" Matthias replied, wiping his hair out of his eyes. "Nina's over there and Wylan's somewhere else -"

A loud boom came from the Dime Lions territory and it became clear, very quickly, that someone had just bombed the house the Dime Lions used as a base.

Y/N laughed, clapping her hands together in delight. "Found him!"

She looked around the carnage, searching for Nina. She found her on the dock, near to the ships that had yet to be attacked. Nina was fending for herself but Y/N could tell she was beginning to struggle.

"I'm gonna go help Nina!" Y/N yelled, tapping Matthias' arm. "You and Jesper try and keep the Dime Lions away and get someone to get Kaz and Inej!"

"What about Wylan?!" Jesper asked, snatching Y/N's wrist as she turned to go.

"Let him blow shit up!" Y/N replied, shrugging. "It's what he does best!"

She pulled her wrist from Jesper's hand and turned to go again but he grabbed her hand.

"Jes -"

"Please, be careful," Jesper said, his eyes latching on to hers. "Don't be a hero, Y/N."

Y/N smiled. "I'll never be a hero, Jesper. It's a little too late for that."

She pressed a kiss to the back of his hand and released it, turning on her heel and running down the stairs to the dock.

The wood of the dock was incredibly slippery. Y/N skidded several times as she did a half run, half walk, to where Nina was. She could see her friend beginning to struggle, her energy fading, and quickly jumped into the fray.

Y/N pulled out her revolver and fired it once, hitting a Dime Lion in the back of the head and sending him into the water. Realising someone was coming up from behind them, a few other Dime Lions turned around and began approaching her.

Y/N dodged a bullet that was fired at her and tackled the man to the ground, taking his feet out from underneath him and body-slamming him into the wood. She knocked him out with the butt of her revolver and jumped over the man's unconscious body, approaching the next one.

The next man was bigger and larger. Y/N knew speed would be her friend here. She dodged one punch, sliding to the side and spinning on her heel to shoot the man in the thigh. He yelled out in pain but stayed up, aiming another punch at Y/N's head. Y/N leant back, the man's fist hitting empty air.

Using the man's momentum against him, Y/N kicked his injured leg, forcing the man to the wet dock. Y/N spun, dodging a feeble attempt at stabbing her, and fired her gun, killing the man instantly.

Y/N had evened out the playing field a bit and Nina had found a new surge of energy at the sight of her friend and was using both her powers and her bare hands to fight off the remaining gang members.

"Look at us women kicking ass!" Nina yelled as she took down the final gang member who'd made it to their dock.

Y/N laughed as she approached her. "Honestly, we do all the hard work whilst they run around exploding things left and right."

Nina pressed a chaste kiss to Y/N's cheek as she walked past her. "Thank you for your help, angel. Where did Matthias go?"

"He was fighting the Dime Lions," Y/N replied, walking backwards towards the ship's gangway. "Wylan was blowing things up -"

Y/N wasn't entirely sure what happened. One minute she was looking at Nina and then the next she felt the ground shake and then she was being thrown backwards, a ball of heat hitting her face. She felt the jetty disappear from under her feet and felt her stomach jolt as the ground vanished.

The water was freezing.

Y/N hit the water with a painful slap, the impact sending spikes of pain through her skin - almost as if she'd been stung by stinging nettles. Her eyes opened and Y/N could just make out a bright, orange glow above the water. Bits of burnt wood and broken pieces of rope were floating around her as she sank further down.

Her mind was lagging behind and Y/N still wasn't entirely sure what was happening. She wasn't even trying to swim, everything was heavy and she could barely move for exhaustion.

Her clothes were getting heavier by the second. The skirt she was wearing pulling her down and down into the hand of death. Y/N was vaguely aware of how cold she felt.

It was reminiscent of an old Ravkan tale Nina had told them about one slow afternoon.

Y/N had been curled up in their usual booth at the Crow Club, a cup of alcohol in front of her, one foot tucked underneath her body to keep it warm. Jesper was sitting next to her, one arm around her shoulders, absent-mindedly drawing circles on her arm.

There'd been just the four of them in the room. Kaz, Inej and Wylan were off out on some important job and Kaz had left Y/N and in charge of Nina and Jesper and Matthias in charge of Y/N and the club whilst he was out.

"I was reading a book earlier -"

"Oh, I didn't know you could read," Y/N said, picking up her cup, failing to hide her smirk.

Nina glared at her and aimed a well-placed kick to Y/N's shin, causing the women to yelp. Matthias quietly chuckled into his drink, a smile appearing on his face as Nina cleared her throat.

"As I was saying, I was reading a book earlier about Ravka," Nina resumed.

"Oh, not you too," Jesper moaned. "I've had enough from Wylan about the engineering history of Ravka."

"Just, listen, will you?" Nina said, whacking him not too gently on the arm. "Anyway, within this book they bought up a few tales of people who had been forgotten by history."

"Like the planet Pluto?"

"Pluto wasn't forgotten it was declassified by the Grisha," Jesper reminded Y/N.

"Same thing, Jes. Who do you think decided to forget this person?" Y/N asked. She leant forward and rested her chin on her hand. "Go on, Nina."

"So, this person is called Tamara," Nina continued, her voice turning into storytelling mode. She used that voice when she was telling stories to the kids in Ketterdam, or when she was over dramatising how she and Matthias met.

"Tamara was in love with a prince of Ravka and was engaged to be married. But, as time goes on, the prince begins to go insane until one day, the prince kills his lover's father in a fit of hysteria. The prince yells at Tamara, claiming that he doesn't love her and never has and that it was all in her head.

"Overwhelmed with grief and pain, Tamara flees to the forest near Os Alta and hides in the trees near the river. So exhausted from her grief, she falls asleep in the trees and falls out of them and into the river."

"Well, this is going to end well, isn't it," Y/N muttered.

"Shush," Nina said. "Anyway, she falls into the river. Tamara is content to float down the river and let nature take its course. Her dress becomes heavy due to the water and it pulls her under the water. Tamara's body is found a few hours later, surrounded by flowers. These flowers, apparently, began to appear on the water shortly after Tamara drowned. The water was covered in a blanket of flowers and has been ever since that day. Allegedly."

Silence followed Nina's story.

"Well, that was cheery," Jesper muttered, stretching his legs out under the table.

Y/N had a deeply thoughtful expression on her face. "It's a tragedy but it's one of those romantic tragedies. Like Roma and Juliette."

Jesper chuckled, smiling at her. "I always knew you were a romantic, Y/N/N," he said, pressing a quick kiss to her lips.

Y/N kicked Jesper's leg but she was smiling widely. "Oh, shut up."

The comparison between Tamara and Y/N was almost laughable. Except Y/N hadn't wanted to die. She had just been in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Jesper had told her not to be a hero and she hadn't been. She had just been dealt the wrong hand.

And now she was cold and her limbs were heavy. Y/N felt like she should maybe try to fight off the cold, maybe try to swim up, but the thought faded as soon as it came as something heavy and hard hit the side of her head.

Y/N's arms limply floated out to the side as she lost consciousness and floated down and down, to the bottom. The water near the docks wasn't incredibly deep and Y/N soon reached the bottom, her unconscious body hitting the sand. A cloud of disturbed sand floated up into the water, being dispersed amongst the broken bits of the boat that had sunk down to the bottom too.

A few bubbles of air escaped her pale lips as her body settled on the sand, amongst the rocks and bits of broken ship.

A shadow loomed over Y/N's body, blocking out the dim light from the Ketterdam harbour. Y/N's body was abruptly pulled upwards, a hand grabbing onto her wrist and pulling her body close to theirs.

Matthias held Y/N tightly as he swam back up to the surface, desperately trying to go faster. He took a deep breath in as soon as he surfaced. Y/N was a dead weight in his arms and he tried to keep her head above water as he swam back to the dock.

On the single dock that was still intact, Jesper and Nina were both hanging off the edge, arms outstretched towards him.

He handed Y/N over to Jesper and he pulled her onto the jetty, Nina helping to bring her limp body onto the wood. Matthias pushed himself up out of the water, shivering in the damp night as the wind drifted across his skin.

Nina fell to her knees besides Y/N, placing a hand on her still chest. She could sense the water in her lungs and knew Y/N didn't have long before there was no chance of bringing her back. Nina brought her hands together and pushed them down onto Y/N's chest, forcing her power through Y/N's veins and to her heart.

It stayed stubbornly still.

Nina tried again, forcing all of her energy and power into Y/N's body, desperately trying to restart her heart.

Matthias had moved away to deal with whatever was left of the Dime Lion attack. Jesper was kneeling next to Y/N, clutching her limp, cold hand in hers, willing her to breathe. His eyes were red and tears were streaming down his face, dripping onto his shirt.

"Come on, Y/N, please," Jesper muttered, closing his eyes and praying to the Saints he so often doubted ever existed. "Please."

Nina paused. Her hands were still on Y/N's chest but there was nothing. No sign of life or any attempt to keep going. It was like she'd simply given up. Nina sat back on her heels, dropping her hands to her sides, tears falling down her cheeks just as the rain began to fall.

The likelihood of Y/N coming back was... well, there wasn't any chance of her coming back. The blow to her head, drowning... she'd been dead long before Matthias had dragged her back to the surface.

Jesper looked up at Nina. "No, no, Nina, why... why did you stop?"

"Jes..."

"No, she's not dead," Jesper insisted, shaking his head furiously as he gathered Y/N into his arms, cradling her limp body against his. "No, she can't be dead... she... she can't be. She can't be dead."

Nina reached out a hand and placed it on Jesper's shoulder, trying to comfort him as he cradled the limp body of his beloved. Jesper sobbed into Y/N's hair, his shoulders shaking with the force of his grief.

Every moment they'd shared. Every laugh, every smile... it was all gone. It existed no more.

There'd been a time - long before either one had confessed their feelings - that Jesper had thought Y/N had died. It was a long story involving numerous explosions and bad bits of timing, but the moment he'd seen her step through the smoke, Jesper had ran up to her and lifted her off her feet into a hug.

"Part of me wants to punch you for being reckless but the other part of me wants to hug you and never let you go," he said into her hair, holding her tightly.

Y/N laughed, clutching onto Jesper as he spun her around. "Wow, thanks. I vote for hug, by the way."

Jesper pressed a kiss to her hair, inhaling the smell of smoke and the hint of whatever shampoo she'd used last. "We can do hugs."

Now... now, Jesper would give anything to hug her one last time. To.. to get to say goodbye to his love.

Jesper hadn't moved since Matthias and Wylan had practically carried him back to the Slat. He'd been sat down at a table, handed a clean shirt and a cup of alcohol.

Three hours after Y/N had... had died, a man turned up at the door to the Slat. Matthias had gone to send him away but the man had barged past him and pressed a small, brown paper bag into Jesper's hands.

"I'm sorry for your loss," the man said quietly before shuffling out the room.

Jesper opened the bag and felt his chest constrict. Inside was the waistcoat he'd begged Y/N to buy for him. A fresh wave of tears and grief hit him and Jesper had fallen to his knees, taken out by the force of the pain.

He glanced at the brown paper bag which was sat on the chair next to him, along with the clean shirt. He couldn't bear to take the one he was wearing off. It was the last one Y/N had touched. It was the last thing she'd seen him in.

Jesper looked down at his ruined shirt, covered in water, tears and some of Y/N's blood. His eyes latched onto a strand of her hair on his blazer and his walls crumbled instantly. The tears came and they wouldn't stop. He couldn't breathe, he couldn't see, he couldn't speak.

Jesper hunched over the table, his shoulders shaking from his sobs as he gripped the cup of alcohol tightly.

The chair to his left scraped against the floor as someone sat down next to him. A leg brushed against his and a cane was set against the edge of the table.

A moment later, a hand was gently placed on his back.

Kaz Brekker clenched his jaw, the urge to run away and remove his hand almost winning. He inhaled through his nose and forced the thought away.

"I'm here, Jesper," Kaz said quietly - so quietly that Jesper almost missed it. "I'm here."

Kaz shifted slightly closer to Jesper, pressing his thigh against his and tried not to baulk at the contact. He'd done this before with Inej, he could do it with Jesper. Jesper needed him to do it.

His brother needed him.

And so, with exaggerated slowness in order to trick his brain into thinking this was fine, Kaz Brekker pulled Jesper Fahey into a hug.

"You don't have to, Kaz," Jesper said, moving against Kaz, his sobbing calming down enough to let him speak. "I don't -"

"I know, Jes." Kaz inhaled. "But when Jordie died... I wish someone had been there for me. So, I'm... I'm doing this for me and for you."

Jesper nodded and closed his eyes, dropping his head onto Kaz's shoulder, making sure not to put too much weight on it. The hug lasted just under a minute but to Jesper, it felt like so much more.

In the darkness, the two boys sat next to each other, a bottle of alcohol between them, and nothing but silence for their thoughts. Kaz knew how Jesper felt. And whilst he had to suffer through Jordie's death alone, Jesper wouldn't have to deal with Y/N's death alone.