#Then the x-ray came back with a very clear break lol

[proteusolm]

The disconnect between what family doctors tell you to visit the ER for and what the ER doctors want you there for is such a recipe for embarrassment.

[hiraethwrote]

A TICKET IN YOUR NAME

pairing : tobio kageyama x f!reader summary : the charity auction you're in charge of is closing in, and there's still a ticket reserved in his name. your executives are on your neck about wanting a clear answer if the pro player will be able to attend - with no regards for the fact that you broke up three months ago cw : pro player!kageyama, break up, post-timeskip, reader wears a dress, angst, bittersweet, heavy yearning, regret, slight profanity, lowkey self indulgent lol, no use of y/n word count : 5.8k

“Kageyama? Hey, it’s me.”

A ray of cold ran down his spine as your all too familiar voice rang in his ear, tearing painfully at his heart from the first syllable. God, how he had missed those melodic vibrations he now only heard in his dreams.

When the unknown number popped up on his phone screen, his first instinct was to let it go straight to voicemail. But for whatever reason, the voice in the back of his mind told him he should pick it up — he definitely didn’t expect to be greeted with the unforgettable tone of your voice, causing his heart to bang against its cage.

And you had called him Kageyama, instantly pulling out the amateur stitching he had applied to the tears in his heart.

It made him feel a little sick, his last name sounding foreign on your tongue. You never did that, because he hadn’t allowed it. When it came to you, he wanted to be close, intimate, especially since distance came so naturally to all of his relationships. And one thing that separated you from the rest, you called him Tobio.

Or you used to.

“I hope I’m not interrupting anything-“

“No,” he said a little too quickly. “No, you’re good.”

“I’m just gonna cut to the chase-“ the sentence came to an abrupt halt when he swore he heard you take a sharp breath, as if you had to contain deep emotions that threatened to overtake your sense of calm. “Management keep bugging me about your ticket for the charity auction.”

“Right,” he said it so quietly he wasn’t entirely sure the microphone picked it up.

“I don’t even know if you’re in town then,” lie — a complete and utter fabrication to try and convince him, but also yourself, that you weren’t still hung up on the past — like you didn’t have his schedule for the next seven months logged into your phone, knowing very well he was in fact still available that evening. “But the ticket is still reserved in your name, and I promised my executives I would provide them with a clear answer if you were attending or not.” Again you cut yourself off, a shaky breath traveling the line, something he had learned long ago was a clear indicator that you were fighting back tears. “Told them I’d have an answer by the end of the week.”

Of course he hadn’t forgotten about the auction — you had stressed about it for months even before you broke up, being in charge of putting the whole event together. The red circle in his calendar marking the date kept coming closer and closer, and he had wondered if you would reach out to ask about it — now he had his answer.

“I’m in town,” he muttered simply, closing his eyes as he just waited for your voice to return.

“Look, I don’t want to pressure you into attending or anything. If it’ll make you uncomfortable, I’m sure I’ll figure something out-“

“It won’t make me uncomfortable.” He was a little surprised by how soft his voice came out, but it was true — he would never be uncomfortable around you. “Next Saturday, right?”

“You remembered?”

“Got it circled.”

“Figured.” Silence swallowed the conversation, and it felt so unnatural. It was only with you he was able to engage in a conversation that flowed like a peaceful stream. He had been deprived of that privilege for so long, and his strangling feelings were slowly piling up inside him, weighing heavy on his heart.

He could picture you so clearly, down to the smallest detail. Right now you were probably sat behind your desk in your office, resting your forehead in the palm of your hand. And if he was still able to interpret your behaviour correctly, simply based on your tone, he suspected there were salty pools welling up in your eyes, threatening to spill over any second.

At this hour, you were probably left alone in the company building, everyone else having gone home already. And he pictured you were longing to go home too, so you could change out of the boring corporate attire he knew you hated with a fiery passion. The second you were to set foot inside your apartment, you would walk straight for your closet to put on your favourite slacks — maybe, if you hadn’t thrown them out already, you would wear his old hoodie as well. “They feel like home,” you always used to say before melting into the piece of clothing that was too big for you.

It was most likely a naive fantasy, but Tobio liked to toy with the image nonetheless.

You stole his attention from his spiralling when you sighed, shifting the entire tension of the conversation into something more serious, deprived from emotion. “Black tie event. Prepare for press, the company won’t be shy about any notable names. Pro player Kageyama Tobio is one of those names. Just let me know where you’re staying, and we’ll send a car to take you to the location.”

The business voice had taken the phone call hostage, barely recognising the voice on the other end of the line. The only time you used it for not work related occasions was when you were mad at him...

“Great, thank you.”

A beat of silence. “Again, sorry to bother you. I know it’s late.”

“It’s fine. You couldn’t… bother me.”

It felt awkward now. The ice was broken, the no-contact had failed, and now neither of you wanted to let go despite not being able to find any words to feed the conversation.

For a split second Tobio was overcome with courage, having to clear his throat before he opened his mouth, “hey, how are you-“

“I’ll see you next Saturday.” His attempt was shut down instantly, rushing to hang up after blurting out your goodbyes.

Your phone hit the desk with an obnoxious rattle before your hands came flying to cover your face, aggressive sobs tumbling past your lips.

Even though you missed him, his voice, the comfort he provided, you just did not have the strength it required to indulge in casual conversation with him. It hurt too much.

Time heals all wounds — what a load of bullshit, because here you sat, three months after the most earth shattering heartbreak you had ever experienced and it still served as an aching gash in your life.

Since that horrid night, you had delved head first into work to distract yourself as best as you could. It had been a privilege to be able to fill your time so you could ignore dealing with the issue at hand — a privilege you had taken for granted as your sobs filled the vacant space of your lonely office.

In less than two weeks, you would be forced to look him in the eyes again. You had to paint your face with a smile, smother your sorrows for the sake of the company as he was expected to stay at your side for the evening.

You weren’t sure you’d be able to pull this one ashore after all.

As promised, a fancy black car had pulled up exactly at the time you had texted him.

The entire car ride was spent in a one sided conversation, where the driver tried to initiate polite small talk only to be met with quiet sounds that barely confirmed Tobio was even listening.

He was too busy trying to plant his feet back on the ground, nerves traveling his body from head to toe. Every ten seconds he tilted his head to check his phone just in case you had sent him any further information about tonight that he needed to be aware of. He was left disappointed every time when there never appeared a notification with your name attached.

Sooner rather than later, flashing lights surrounded the car and he knew they had reached the destination.

This was a part of the job he had never gotten used to, and some part of him would probably always struggle with the attention that came with his career path.

Reluctantly stepping out of the car, he braced himself for the overwhelming noice of the press shouting to grab is attention.

It was only so much his PR training sufficed. He would wave awkwardly, try to smile and present himself as nicely as possible so his managers wouldn’t be on his neck about the bad impression he’d given off — but no amount of training was able to calm his nerves.

Only you did that.

Whenever he had to make public appearances, you were the one to help his feet back on the ground and remind him it wasn’t scary. You would lace your fingers with his, gently press your body against his side with such grace. And you would look at him, your eyes whispering quiet affirmations; you’re doing great, okay? I’m with you every step of the way.

Deprived of your safety, he was overthinking every move he did. Was it obvious how fake the small tilt of his lips were? Who was he kidding, they probably didn’t even see what was his attempt at a smile. Was the outfit okay? Had he picked out the wrong outfit, showing up underdressed to your special night? No, he had purposely chosen a safe option, one he knew you liked. Was his steps towards the entrance too slow? No wait, shit- now he was walking too fast.

He couldn’t be too sure he had been able to pull off the image his managers wanted, but he had at least gotten himself through the doors of the venue.

He had no time to react before he was approached by a neatly dressed individual with a clipboard in her hands. “Mr. Kageyama? Follow me.”

Croaking a quiet ‘okay’, Tobio didn’t know what else to do than do as she said, eventually ending up in a secluded, yet spacious hallway. There were only a few people scattered about, all seemingly rather busy.

Then his eyes landed on a familiar frame that he would recognise any time and any place, forever burned into his memory. Your bare back facing him, phone to your ear as frustration pulled your shoulders high.

Everything else seemed to disappear when he heard your voice, “no, no, it’s supposed to be four-“ you spun around, and the sentence died instantly once your eyes automatically locked with his.

He fell for the temptation, trying to be as subtle as possible as he let his eyes travel you up and down. You were breathtaking, all dolled up in a floor length, satin gown in deep maroon. There was a shy slit in your skirt, and your exposed arms were decorated with the prettiest jewlery.

But what had his breath catch in his throat was the familiar pendant resting right on the centre of your chest — the dainty necklace he recognised as his gift for you for your first anniversary.

“Mr. Kageyama, as requested,” the stranger said before hurrying away to attend other tasks.

“Just… I trust you’ll be able you fix it,” you spoke softly into the phone before hanging up, never breaking eye contact.

He swallowed the lump in his throat that had formed the moment he had seen you again, “hey.”

“Hi,” you said weakly, your nerves driving you to pull at your own fingers. The action captured his eyes which instantly had you hide your hands behind your back. You knew all too well what was running through his mind at the moment, having a nearly primal desire to interrupt it.

One could cut the tension with a knife, thick and suffocating, with so many lingering feelings resting in the prolonged eye contact.

You reached within yourself, closing your eyes for a second to force away your uneasiness. Once they opened, and met his again, all evidence of previous sentiments were gone and replaced with business. Your shoulders lowered slightly, arms moving in front of you again and your entire stance straightening with a newfound sense of confidence.

“Great! You picked a good outfit,” was the nicest compliment you were able to pay him without completely succumbing to the sadness that was walking a fine line, ready to overtake you at any second. “It’s perfect for the evening.”

He tilted his head forward bashfully to hide the small smirk of amusement that formed at his lips because he knew you were being modest in your observations. It wasn’t unintentional that he’d put on the all black, three piece suit you had helped him purchase when he was first signed.

It seemed like a lifetime ago now, but he remembered how you had gladly joined him when he was in such a desperate need for a formal wear he could pull out on special occasions. He would never forget how your lips had parted and eyes widened when he came out in that suit, unable to peer your eyes off of him. He’d watched as you had actively swallowed the lump in your throat before nodding in approval, rather enthusiastically.

“Glad to hear it,” he sighed, stuffing his hands in his pockets. “You look great, by the way. But that’s no surprise.”

For a split second your front wavered with a weak smile. You wouldn’t allow the fragility to settle — you could not afford that tonight, of all nights.

You spun on your heel, walking down the hall in the opposite direction. Tobio didn’t hesitate to follow.

“They’re opening the doors for the other guests very soon, and in roughly twenty minutes I have to go up on stage to welcome everyone. The auction will start shortly after that.” You stopped abruptly outside a huge door, nearly causing him to crash into you. Resting your hand on the handle, he watched how it clenched around the metal. “I’ll find you after. You’re technically still my da-… my plus one.”

Without sparing him another look, you simply opened the door and entered the ballroom, leaving the word ‘date’ hang unfinished in the air.

How had the two of you gotten to this point?

His future used to be so clear — he saw his entire life headed in a direction he had never dared to dream of, based on the fear of its unlikelihood. You brought safety and comfort to his life, which had grown somewhat turbulent after garnering some fame within the world of athletes — no matter how things turned out, it would be okay, because he still had you.

But now he had to control how he didn’t let his gaze linger for too long, because it could be crossing a boundary that previously didn’t exist. He had to hold his tongue so he didn’t bombard you with all the affection he still had for you, because that wasn’t his job anymore.

Slowly but surely, the ballroom started to fill up with an assortment of characters, all ready to spend their money on the extravagant auction. Tobio found himself standing awkwardly in the same spot you left him, along the outskirts of the growing crowd, feeling beyond uncomfortable.

And though he knew he should mingle, all he was able to do was let his eyes follow you when you eventually made your way onto the stage. The music came to a slow stop, the crowd calmed down and everyone’s eyes were on you.

To everyone else, you probably seemed in control of yourself, confident even — but Tobio was still able to read you like a book, rarely having seen you as nervous as right now. Your smile was bright, but very clearly forced as your eyes roamed the audience frantically.

Suddenly you looked at him, meeting his eyes that were always so soft — a feature that somehow always caught you a little by surprise. He was often so stoic, his eyebrows always just slightly tilted in a frown. But his eyes betrayed his cold exterior, conveying a tenderness you had never really seen in anyone else.

With the familiar safety of his gaze, your breathing evened out and shoulders relaxed, which he noticed. He flashed you a small smile before giving you a reassuring nod, telling you there was nothing to be scared of — because after everything, he would still catch you if you were to fall.

Exhaling deeply, you started the welcome speech, your smile now genuine. He followed every single word that fell from your lips with immense professionalism, and every once in a while when your eyes found him in order to ground yourself, his heart would skip a beat.

“Once again, thank you all for attending and I hope you all enjoy the evening.” The crowd erupted into polite applause while you walked down from the stage gracefully.

“You did great,” Tobio breathed as you had joined him again.

“Thank god,” you sighed. “That speech has kept me awake all week.”

“No, it was good. Very professional.” You turned to look at him, a beautiful smile painting your lips as old habits steered your hand for his face.

When you realised what you were about to do, your face fell, hand freezing inches before making contact with his cheek. In all the stress of being up on that stage with everyone’s eyes glued on you, you had forgotten the nerves caused by your ex boyfriend.

It had just come so naturally to you, to caress his cheek. It was a gesture you always did whenever he would come with one of his simple compliments.

“Sorry,” you whispered, quickly retracting your hand.

“No, no, it’s okay,” he stuttered sadly. Tobio had held his breath from the moment he’d noticed your hand raise from your side.

He had frozen still once he realised what was about to happen in hopes that if he didn’t move, you would continue in your trance and he’d eventually feel your flesh pressed against his face. He’d been deprived of the sensation for so long, and he was left disappointed when the feeling never arrived.

Was this how the evening was going to play out? Standing beside each other for hours in an awkward and unnatural silence, both too scared to do anything in fear of offending the other?

Tobio wanted to say something, but small talk had never been his strong suit — that was always your area of expertise, fill the void with chatter so no one was left feeling uncomfortable.

“You planning to bid on anything?” It was as if you had been able to read his mind, saving him from his ever spiralling mind.

“No, not really,” he said simply. “You?”

He turned to look at you, feeling a sense of relief as you let out a small snicker, observing how the auction was about to start.

“I may be in charge of this entire thing, but that doesn’t mean I have the money to get any of the things they’ve put up,” you sighed. “That trip to the Maldives looking really good right now, though.”

For a split second, Tobio heavily considered putting all his money on that trip for you. He imagined being able to walk beside you along the crystal blue shores of the Maldives, peace and relaxation washing over you to the point where you would finally have the time to take proper breaths.

But it was but a mere dream, only a reality in the depths of his mind where he was allowed to fantasise that you were still his.

For the next three hours, you stood side by side as you witnessed all the luxuries items being auctioned off one by one. Every once in a while you would shoot a casual comment in hopes it would lighten the looming cloud that hung over you — it remained persistent.

It didn’t go unnoticed, how the tension in your shoulders never completely evaporated. Even when your bosses came to shower you with praise for all the hard work you’d done, or when you were updated on the insane sum of money that would be donated, your shoulders remained permanently raised half an inch.

He could only suspect it was his presence that caused the strain. Maybe it had been a bad idea of him to attend.

In hindsight he could see how it was nothing short of selfish — because what other reason for attending would he have than only wanting to see you again? He didn’t serve any more purpose than decoration. His name wasn’t even among the most noticeable, so it wasn’t like he brought any more traction to the event than it already had.

Maybe it would be best if he just bolted, let you be able to enjoy what could be considered your evening. You should be proud, celebrate the success of your hard work.

As the auction had slowly evolved into a party, several pairs had decided to move along to the beautiful rhythm that filled the ballroom. Tobio would shoot shy glances towards you, spotting how you were staring longingly at the dance floor.

“You want to dance?”

“What?”

Shit — he hadn’t meant to blurt it out. He genuinely thought the question simply floated in his mind to entertain his fantasy. Seemed like his subconscious had more power than he thought when the words slipped past his lips.

And now you were stood ogling him in shock, arms wrapped around yourself as you were visibly trying to comprehend his question.

He cleared his throat, trying to find the confidence he used to have with you once upon a time. “Would you like to dance?” He asked again, voice steadier than he would have anticipated.

You swallowed the lump in your throat as you considered his request. “Okay,” you whispered, his heart skipping a beat.

This was not the time to let his confidence waver, offering his elbow like a gentleman, holding his breath as he waited for you to hook your arm with his.

Stood in the middle of the dance floor facing each other, you tried to calm your rapid breathing as you waited for him to take the lead.

With slight hesitation you placed your right hand on his shoulder. And it seemed like he picked up on the reluctance in your movements, because his right hand grabbed a hold of yours to have it stretched out — reminding you how big they were compared to yours.

But when you felt his left hand make contact with your bare back, you couldn’t help but draw a sharp breath, igniting memories you had so sorely tried to forget.

In the dead of night, when it seemed like the two of you were the only people left in the world, he would place his lips tenderly along your back, pulling soft giggles from you as his breath tickled you when it brushed against your skin.

And now his warm hand was resting within the ghost of those kisses, reminding you not only of the private and intimate moments shared together, but also just how gentle he was with you.

To say Tobio was a little rough around the edges was an understatement. He could definitely be crass, tone bordering on cruel when talking to someone, despite having no ill intentions whatsoever. His face was nearly permanently stamped with a frown, seemingly always in a bad mood to the untrained eye.

The Tobio people saw on court was also ruthless. Always giving it his all, whether if it was his calculated sets or his powerful serves — he never showed his opponents mercy.

But the second a match was over, and he was reunited with you, all edge seemed to disappear. Same strong hands that had recently performed fiercely on the court, would now cup your face with utmost care while you shied away from prying eyes.

Same tender touch was pressed lovingly against your back in this very moment — and it felt so safe. The security he always supplied in his embrace came to show so easily. Taking care of you was second nature to him, even now after everything.

“Never known you to be a dancer,” you said carefully as he started to take the lead, moving surprisingly graciously along to the music.

“I’m full of surprises,” he dared to joke with the faintest smirk.

“Never known you to be a guy of surprises either,” you quipped, having his smirk stretch a little wider.

He turned to scan the other couples, leaving you to just admire him.

He really was beautiful, and he didn’t even seem to be the slightest bit aware of the fact. When going about his day, he never brought attention to himself so it was easy to forget — until it struck you like lightning from clear skies, suddenly and all at once.

“You’ve outdone yourself tonight,” he breathed, shifting his attention back to your face. It caught you off guard, your cheeks heating up with embarrassment, scared he caught you in your admiration.

“You really think so?”

“Definitely. I’m really impressed.” Again you had his heart skip a beat, when for the first time this evening, you flashed him a wide and genuine grin.

“Thank you.”

“Then again-“ he began, a little scared to continue when you raised your eyebrows in curiosity. “You’ve always been impressive.”

Finally your stress released. Your shoulders lowered and you relaxed in his arms, a softness in your features he had been waiting to reunite with.

This was Tobio — the person you had shared countless conversations about all and nothing with, who knew you inside out. There wasn’t any reason for it to be uncomfortable. Why not make the best out of the situation?

“Volleyball’s going great, I hear,” you breathed, a newfound, though a little unsteady, contentment in your voice.

He nodded slowly, “yeah, you could say that,” a shameless smile of pride curling his lips upwards.

“Bet you can see the end of the road to being the best, now?”

“Staring to spot it,” he mused, acting a lot more humble than you were used to.

“Only Oikawa ahead of you now. Heard he’s still considered to be a remarkable setter-“

“Oh, shut up,” he said with a roll of the eyes, your words trailing into soft giggles.

“You know I’m just kidding. I’ve known you to be the best all along,” you said softly, slowly melting into his embrace more and more by the second.

And by the way he was looking at you right now, with a sense of safety that would always make you feel some sort of belonging, no matter what, you’d never be entirely lost when with Tobio.

It seemed like he felt it too. So many shared moments was coming back to him when being allowed to gaze into your eyes again, especially after all this time — he was scared he might end up spiralling if he let himself sink too deep in the familiar comfort of you.

You couldn’t help but flinch when he broke the eye contact, clearing his throat when he once again observed the surrounding crowd. “Do you think…”

“Do I think what?”

“Do you think they’ll write about this?” He scoffed, nodding in the direction of the not so subtle press who had very clearly been snapping pictures of you.

You shrugged. “I’m not worried,” you breathed, “we were never really public enough to be prolific, were we?”

The soft sound of your nervous chuckle drew his attention right back to you. He shouldn’t be too surprised that something as simple as the sound of your laugh and the twinkle in your eye could threaten to have him fall back in again — he knew he was weak. He felt it every day, with every beat of his heart, how it pulled at him to return to you.

You were dangerous that way, both to him and yourself. Your eyes would always betray you when they were staring at him, your devotion clear as day. It was always simmering just below the surface no matter how far apart you were.

“Besides, I mean, I am really just some nobody working behind the scenes in some big company. I’m no one really cares about-“

A frustrate groan shot past his teeth, spotting how his eyebrows narrowed in the angle he so often sported. “You’ve never been a nobody.” He drew a breath, a distinctly sharp one, his lips drawing in a thin line as he churned what words to say next. “You’re more than a nobody. You’re more than a somebody. You matter. You’re the only one who matters.” His voice was stern, but surprisingly calm — which only made it worse.

You couldn’t wrap your head around how he managed to serve such insanely deep and powerful declaration as it was nothing. It was like he had no idea what kind of weight his words carried, no regard for what impact it might have on you.

And there was a very simple explanation to that — because to him it was nothing. It was just the truth, which always came easy to him.

He noticed the inner corners of your eyebrows tighten, painting your face with sorrow as the corner of your lips drooped south.

“There were reasons, right? Reasons we broke up?” He asked carefully. As his volume lowered, he tilted his head forward, bringing him so painfully close.

Your sad eyes flittered between his, his crystal pools of blue that always enforced the intensity of his messages, and you began to think.

When you could feel his love still pulsating off of him, and his slightly calloused thumb sending sparks throughout your body as it subconsciously moved back and forth in soft swipes along your spine, it was hard to remember any one reason for why things ended at all.

“Yeah,” you sighed solemnly, nodding slowly, “yeah, I’m sure there was.”

The deep breath he took brushed against your face, and you had to swallow the little sob that harboured deep in your throat. “Do you miss it?”

You instantly knew what he really asked — did you miss him — the real meaning wasn’t hard to deduce, Tobio had always been horrible at hiding his real intentions.

“Sure, some days more than others,” your voice cracked slightly. It was only for a faint second, but it flashed across his face how it wasn’t necessarily the answer he wanted, a hint of anger threatening to scrunch his face. But it evaporated as quickly as it had appeared. “It’s not easy, if that’s what you’re really asking.”

“You see right through me, huh?” It sounded as he was attempting to pull the mood up, but when there was no rise in his tone nor an optimistic twitch in his expression, he failed miserably.

“Well, still know you better than I know myself.”

Silence fell between you, still letting the safety of his arms guide you along to the symphonies that filled the ballroom. You were so close to falling in, completely surrender to the serenity you knew would come over you if you just gave in.

“You know, if there was something I did, I am really sor-“

“Can we pretend?” You cut him off. “Just for tonight, can we just forget everything and pretend?”

His lips parted in surprise. Your antsy nerves creeped back into your body when he slowly pulled back, certain he would turn the request down.

And he knew he should. In a matter of seconds, the healing you’d both gone through up until this point would be undone. But he wasn’t strong enough, especially after having been at war with that antagonising devil on his shoulder all night. With your request egging it on, he was going to let it win.

“Okay,” he whispered, straightening his posture.

With the blink of an eye, you had turned it all off. A smile adorned your lips before simply inching closer to rest your cheek against his chest, reunited with the sound of his heartbeat that you were so used to falling asleep too.

Your eyes fluttered shut as you felt him rest his cheek on the crown of your head, his limbs squeezing you just a little tighter, as if it was somehow going to prevent you from slipping away when the evening came to a close.

You had expected it to pick up its pace, beat like a hummingbird — but it was steady.

Maybe his heart was finally beating steady, after stuttering in his chest for months, lost as it tried to find back to its purpose. And now it had been reunited with it, instantly recognising the euphoria and quickly settling into its supposed rhythm.

Bittersweet — that was how it felt. You were allowing yourself to completely bask in the comfort of Tobio. You hadn’t felt such contentment and rest since the split, and it felt nice to breathe calmly for once.

But he was still your ex, and it would come to an end eventually, again going your separate ways.

Those were sorrows for tomorrow.

You allowed yourself to dance with him, your tears quietly wetting the fabric of his jacket until the evening came to an end.

Looming in the shadow of the auctions success was a sight no one had expected to see.

She’s the cute face behind the whole event, having worked countless hours to pull it all together for it to turn out the way it did, and it’s safe to assume she is probably thrilled with the sum they were able to rake in for the sake of a good cause.

However, you’re probably reading her name and finding it awfully familiar — but you can’t seem to understand why; there’s no reason for you to know the name of some random employee at a big shot company. The name probably rings a bell because she is better known as the ex girlfriend of star player Kageyama Tobio, seemingly home in Japan for a visit. Was the reason for his unexpected return solely to attend the big evening of a special ex-someone?

During their time together, they rarely made headlines as they were notorious for keeping their relationship private. But once the handsome Ali Roma setter became available, people were quick to show their interest.

Though we were not lucky enough to be of attendance at the charity auction, we’ve gotten our hands on exclusive pictures from the night. Not only were they spotted together for the majority of the evening, these photos show they didn’t seem shy when sharing a rather intimate moment on the dance floor.

One can start to speculate if the corporate sweetheart has once again swooned the sought after Kageyama.

Fret not, because we got a rare statement from the woman of the hour, and she says : “I have nothing but respect and adoration for Kageyama, but-“

Tobio shut the magazine, unable to finish the article.

tags : @hiraethwa ﾉ @shouyuus (hope you dont mind i added you love)

an : dedicated to tobio nation <3 lets go with the angst, it is obvi what i love. idk if you guys picked it up, but to me it's sooooo clear where my writers block started to disappear lol comments and reblogs is much appreciated

©hiraethwrote 2024 . all rights reserved. reposting, translating and otherwise plagarisim is prohibited

[finnsbubblegum]

Will You Forgive Me? (Joel Miller x Reader)

Pairing: pre-outbreak!joel miller x f!reader

Warnings: 18+, minors dni, jealousy, possessiveness, smut, oral sex (f receiving), p in v sex, unprotected sex (wrap it up guys) (lmk if i missed any)

Summary: After a fight with Joel, you decided to go to the bar and got drunk. He got angry and apologized to you in his own way. 😏

Words count: 1.4k

A/N: Hi! I’m not a native English speaker so I’m sorry if I have grammar mistakes or the sentences come up unnatural, please be nice and I'm open for suggestions. I hope you like the smut I’m writing because I am inexperienced lol. I hope you enjoy it.

You got in your car, hesitating to drive, hoping Joel would come out and stop you. But he wasn’t there. So you drove away and went to the bar called Ray’s where you usually drank with him. You found a seat and drank a lot. You started feeling tipsy and you decided to call him.

“Hey handsome, I take it back. We’re not breaking up. Ugh. No. I’m done. I don’t care. Uhm. I. Uhm. Don’t call me. Why are you calling me?” You were drunk and you thought he called you when you were the one who called him.

“Are you drunk? Where are you?” Joel grabbed his jacket and rushed to his car, and he was getting worried.

“Why do you care? You don’t love me.” You laughed.

“Tell me right now! Where are you?” He raised his voice and started to get angry. 

“You know where, here, there, at Ra- Hey! Did you just grab my ass? Fuck you!” You hung up and confronted the drunk guy.

“Fuck!” Joel started his car and drove as fast as he could to the bar. He guessed it's Ray's since your call was cut off and it’s the only bar you’ve gone to together.

His blood was boiling as he walked in the bar and found the drunk guy was hugging you as you tried to pull away. He came to you and pushed the guy. You gasped as Joel punched the guy. 

He gave a death stare and yelled, “You stay away from my girl!”

Joel grabbed your wrist and dragged you out of the bar. His grip was very strong and it was hurting you.

You tried to release your wrist from him, “Joel, stop it, you’re hurting me, it hurts.”

He didn’t care. He kept dragging you and put you into the passenger seat of his car and slammed the door. You were scared, you have never seen him this angry before. As he got in the driver’s seat, he hit the steering wheel.

"What the fuck were you thinkin'?!" Joel clenched his jaw and stared at you.

“Oh! Now you care, huh?” You scoffed.

Joel growls. He didn’t say anything.

“My head hurts. Will you just take me to my house?” You asked Joel.

The whole way to your house was just silence. Joel parked his car into the driveway. You immediately got out of the car and stood in front of your door looking for your keys.

“Fuck! Where is it?” You were annoyed as you couldn’t find your keys.

Joel opened the door with the spare key you gave him. You rolled your eyes as you walked inside and Joel followed you. He pulled you to his chest and kissed you roughly while his foot kicked the door to close it.

“What are you doing?” You sounded irritated and pushed him.

Joel sighed, “I..Uhm..”

“Tell me you love me, Joel.”

Joel cleared his throat, not answering you.

“If you can’t say it then get out.” You were tired of him.

“I..I love you. I mean it. It’s just that..”

“Just what, Joel?” 

“I’m not good in expressin’ myself.” He let out a sigh. “I fuckin’ love you. You should know that.”

“Oh, Joel. I just needed to hear those three little words from you. I’m sorry I blew up like that.”

“No, it’s not your fault. I was wrong.” He said it softly as he walked slowly and closer to you.

Your eyes were getting teary and you looked down. Joel’s hands raised your chin to look straight into your eyes. He kissed you deep with his tongue caressing your lips then your tongue touched his. You moaned and put your arms around his neck while his hands on your hips. The two of you kept kissing as he raised your leg to his hips carrying you towards the stairs. He pressed you to the wall after walking up just a few stairs. The kissing never stopped. He held your weight with his strong hips and thighs. He slid his hand under your shirt, massaged your breast, and swallowed your moan. You felt arousal pooling between your legs. 

“Touch me, Joel.” You guided his other hand to your cunt and he palmed it with his big hands.

“Already wet for me, darlin’?” 

He kneeled and pulled your panties down. His eyes looked hungry when he saw your pussy shining with your slick. He kissed your inner thigh slowly and lovingly before he went to lick your clit. 

“Oh, Jooell.” You gasped. 

Your breathing was heavy and you pulled his hair which made him let out a moan. He kept licking and slurping you up and down. Your thigh trembled and you knew you needed him.

“Joel, bedroom, now.” 

Joel stopped to look at you. You held his hand and dragged him to your room. The kissing and touching continued as the two of you were already in your bedroom. You walked backwards and led him to your bed. You undressed yourself, naked and laid on your back. He climbed on top of you kissing your neck and his fingers played with your nipple. He was a lot bigger than you, his broad shoulder covered all of your body and you could feel his warmth wrapping you.

“Let me ride you, Joel.”

“Not tonight, baby. Let me make you feel good. Let me take care of you tonight, baby.”

You groaned as his words made you even more horny. 

“Okay, take care of me tonight, Miller. Fuck me till I can’t walk.”

“I will.” He growled as he stood up beside the bed and pulled his shirt and pants off letting his cock free. You can see a leaking pre-cum on his tip.

He climbed back on top of you, brushed his tip on your clit, covering his cock with your slick before he slowly pushed himself in your entrance. You moaned as it felt so good when he stretched you wide. He rested his hands beside your head to hold his weight and started to move slowly. He started kissing your breast and licking your nipple. He was so good that you loved him doing that to you. You shut your eyes enjoying the night and clenched your hands to his shoulder.

“Fuck! That feels so good. You’re so good, Joel.”

He didn’t answer. He rubbed your clit with his thumb and pinched your nipple with the other hand. He kept doing those moves you loved to please you. He started to think that this position was not enough for you so he shifted you to your stomach and started fucking you from behind. You moaned loudly.

“Can you move faster?” You asked Joel and his thrusts were getting faster. 

There was no other sound besides the sound of skin to skin, moans and heavy breathings. He clenched his hands on your hips. You whimpered, bit your hand as you felt you were close. 

“Joel, Joel, fuck!” It felt so good that you could only whimper and shout his name.

“Cum for me, baby.” He kept pleasing you.

You panted and felt your vision blurring. You squeezed your eyes shut, hands clenching on the sheets, and screamed his name. You felt your orgasm washed all over your body. You shivered and it felt like heaven. He has made you cum thousand times before but orgasm from makeup sex is your favorite. He let you catch your breath and came down from your orgasm as he laid down beside you. You tried to stand up to clean yourself but you couldn’t walk. Your legs were shaking. Joel really did what you told him to do. 

“You really did what I told you, huh?” You chuckled and looked at his face full of sweat.

“I told you I will do it. Fuck you till you can’t walk.” He sounded so sexy when he said that to you with his deep voice.

He got up and walked his way to the bathroom to get a towel and dampen it with water. He came to you and cleaned you up. After he cleaned you, he laid beside you again, pulled you closer to him, wrapped his arm around you, and put your head to his chest. 

“I’m sorry, baby. I love you. Will you forgive me?” He apologized to you and kissed your forehead.

“How can I not forgive you after all of this?” You laughed and kissed his chest. In fact, you have even forgotten about the fight with him. 

You thought to yourself, “Joel really knows how to apologize in his own way.”

[genshin-utopia]

xiao | memories

note | thank you for the 1000+ followers. I don't deserve it with the lack of updates and motivation. Half a year and I finally decided to write again. This is similar to the "Moments with you" headcanons I do. I hope you like this new series I will be starting with each/most/some characters. Also big thank you to @arthurhastingpoems for betaing! This was suppose to end with smut but lol what happened.

Tags: Established relationship, extremely corny/cheesy lol, hurt/comfort, a tiny bit of violence, fluff, bittersweet if you squint

You never expected to fall deep in love with the man beside you, who’s seldom rough and cold. But also, so soft towards you, as if you were something precious to him. A collection of stories shared between the two of you.

i.

It was rather unexpected when you first discovered you had a peculiar interest in Xiao’s arms or more specifically, his strength. You love how easy it was for Xiao to pick you up, as if you weighed nothing – that raw power that’s contained within. The first time you consciously discovered this fact was when you were playfully wrestling him due to playful banter.

You were both on the sofa, a soft comforter that left you unintentionally drowsy as you sink deeper into a comfortable state. On the other hand, Xiao was seated upright on the other end with a book in his hands. These were rare peaceful days that you both couldn’t afford frequently as duties kept you two occupied and most importantly, separated. As sleep started to overtake your senses, you started poking him lightly with your feet to draw his attention.

The slight twitch in response did not go unnoticed, however his gaze continued to be fixated on the literature in front of him. You, of course, did not mind as much but continued your ministrations to escape your drowsy state.

As time went by, you rose from your laying position and snuggled closer to him, laying your head softly onto his shoulders. You peered over curiously at the pages in front of you. Almost immediately, the words, “Rex Lapis,” neatly printed on the paper caught your eyes. Slightly irked at the fact that Xiao was paying more attention to Zhongli even in this situation, you started slowly tracing his arms with your fingers.

“Stop,” he commanded softly, not sparing a glance at your direction.

You ignored his words, your hands trailing further down to his chest before swiping the book from his hands quickly.

Chuckling to yourself in triumph, you edge yourself towards the other end of the couch, away from him.  However, you can’t escape from Xiao. Within seconds, your back is on the sofa with him hovering above you.

Not wanting to admit defeat, you attempted to stretch your arm, with the book in your hands, up to where Xiao couldn’t reach. That attempt was proven to be futile as his body presses you down with his larger one, ceasing all movement. You continued to squirm away from his grip until suddenly Xiao traps both your wrists above your head with one hand, the book slipping away in the process.

Xiao’s free arm cages your head, not allowing you to look away. He slowly lowers himself to your ear, whispering, “Where are you going?”

Hues of pink flushed your cheeks at his husky voice that was so close to you. Suddenly realizing the precarious position you were in, you shifted your eyes away from his gaze and onto his arms. Despite the initial embarrassment, you loved how he cages you with his arms. Ironically, you felt protected and safe.

Not liking that your gaze was averting from his, he gently lifts your chin with his free fingers, “Look at me.”

You quickly followed his command only to meet his darkening gaze. Hypnotized by his eyes, you squirmed once more but this time to get closer to the source of heat above you. “X-xiao, kiss me.”

He obliged quickly, closing the gap between you and swallowing your whimper. His tongue delves between your lips, unhurried and tender. Xiao has one hand up your shirt, stroking the soft skin of your chest as he steals your oxygen. The slow and soft touches were torturous, you started bucking your hips up impatiently. However, before you can get the friction you so desire, he anchors himself up slightly. His arms are still caging your body, but this time he leaves a small space between the both of you. A small smirk etches onto his face as he looks at your needy expression, wanting more of his touch.

You love his strength and his arms caging you.

But he loves your docile self as a result.

ii.

Xiao is very much like the element he holds.

Like the storm, the wind can be very turbulent.

Yet it can also be soft, gently caressing your cheeks as you walk.

He also has a quirk of disappearing and appearing before your eyes randomly.

Much like right now.

You are currently taking a break on the hilltop after a long commission you just finished. Your back rests on the trunk of the tree perched on top of the hill. Its leaves serve as an umbrella, shielding you from the sun's harsh rays. You close your eyes as the gentle breeze wafts through the air, enjoying a peaceful and tranquil time to yourself.

It has been several days since you’ve last seen Xiao as the both of you are quite busy, especially the latter.

At times like these where you are unoccupied with only your own thoughts accompanying you, you find yourself missing Xiao the most.

You close your eyes, his silhouette forming inside your mind as you start to reminiscence the times you’ve shared with each other.

“Xiao...” You whispered unconsciously.

For the next few seconds, only the leaves soft rustling could be heard.

Just then you sensed a presence in front of you. Your instincts kicked in and you hurriedly open your eyes and unsheathed your weapon.

However, it wasn’t a lone hilichurl in front of you like you expected, but the person you longed for the most.

You quickly sheathed back your sword and stood on your feet, a bright smile adorning your face at the sight of Xiao appearing before you. You ran to his awaiting arms, wrapping your arms around him, and leaning your head on his broad chest. He reciprocated the hug, enclosing your body with his arms. It felt like time halted for the both of you, like nothing existed except you two.

You were snapped out of your trance when you felt a slight weight behind your ears. Curiously, you withdrew from his loving arms and directed your attention to his hands.

“Crystalflies for you,” he stated as his right hand were filled with numerous crystalflies, “I caught more than I intended. I hope you don’t mind.”

Happiness surged through your body; your previous loneliness long forgotten as you took the batch of crystalflies from his hands gratefully.

A small smile carved its way to his face, his gaze softening at your ecstatic self. He combed your hair softly with his right hand, “As I thought you look very nice.”

He leaves a quick kiss to your forehead before disintegrating with the wind.

“If you wish to seek me, call out my name.”

iii.

The sharp arrow plunges into your stomach, halting your movements and loosening your grip on your sword. You felt as if your insides were ripped to shreds by a mere arrow due to your carelessness. You were fulfilling a commission which entails you emptying a hilichurl camp. What was thought to be a simple task became a nightmare as you let your guard down when reinforcements came unexpectedly. You scoffed to yourself at your idiocy for ever letting your guard down in a fight.

A sense of dread overcame your senses, your vision blurring momentarily, and you lose footing for a split second.

Flashes of images depicting your moments with Xiao crossed your mind.

You wonder how he was doing at the moment. Probably also fighting demons like he always did.

You wished to see him right now.

With that thought in mind, you gripped your sword firmly with more determination.

A blue magic circle formulates beneath your feet as you send ice shards at the hilichurl sharpshooters hidden within the trees. You ignore the sharp pain of your stomach at your sudden movement, and instead you diverted your attention at the several Mitachurls with axes surrounding you.

“Come at me you assholes.”

The area immediately became colder as shards of ice flew everywhere. Your stamina is decreasing at an alarming rate as you quickly cleared the area with your sword and magic.

You shoved your sword into the last mitachurl when you heard a distant horn in the distance, signifying to you that there were more to come.

You could no longer ignore the pain of your new wounds all over your body and kneeled slightly while clutching at your stomach.

Were you going to die?

No, you couldn’t.

Just then when all hope was lost, the clear blue sky darkens into a gray hue as the wind around you started to pick up ominously.

Could it be?

“Block it."

Reflexively, at the sound of a very familiar voice, you immediately surround yourself with thick shards of ice and braced yourself.

A turbulent force plunged down from the sky, the surrounding area immediately getting hit by explosive wind, rendering all enemies powerless and dead within seconds. The shards of ice protecting you cracked, before crumbling away. You peered up and met the eyes of Xiao, his normally impassive face deforming into one of pure anger.

“Why?” He gritted out, “Why didn’t you call for me?”

“Because I’m strong,” you managed to mutter out. As if to prove your point, you staggered to get on your feet to demonstrate you didn’t need his help despite the pain consuming your senses.

“No, you humans are weak,” he stated harshly, voice icy cold.

You shook your head, ready to retort. However, whether it was the relief of seeing Xiao again or the fact that you survived the whole ordeal, you couldn’t fight the pain of your wounds. You braced yourself for a harsh drop, but instead something soft embraced you.

You couldn’t figure out what it was before you faded into a deep slumber.

iv.

Drifting in and out of consciousness resulted in your inability to depict what was real and what was fake.

Your wounds from that day were proximately fatal and you spent the majority of the day and nights recuperating.

You would dream of getting impaled by several arrows.

Sometimes you would dream of horrific images of ways you could’ve died that day, like you are right now.

However, before the nightmare could get any further, a green butterfly would always spreads its wings, painting the canvas with new colors instead of the dreadful gray and red images.

The nightmare would disintegrate slowly into shards that would evanesce into a better scenario.

You would open your eyes only to be greeted with golden orbs who covered your vision, “Hurry and go back to sleep.”

Those nights you would dream of a green butterfly accompanying you and circumventing you with warmth.

V.

You have come to a startling conclusion that Xiao was ignoring you for weeks.

Xiao often wanders and if he wasn’t at home or wouldn’t appear out of thin air at your call, you couldn’t pinpoint where he is.

Rummaging through your head, you couldn’t come up with a decisive moment where it led to this.

Clutching onto your soft blanket, you pulled it closer to you for warmth. The spot on the bed adjacent to you felt even more emptier than before.

For weeks you endeavored to dissuade yourself from coming up with the revelation that he doesn’t want to see you. You continued your everyday obligations, diverting yourself with dispiriting thoughts that plagued your mind. Unfortunately, you were at your breaking point, the rain pitter-pattered against your windows made the atmosphere even more dejecting.

Tears formulated at the corner of your eyes and leaks reluctantly down your cheeks.

“Xiao,” you called out softly.

Just then, familiar hands caress your cheeks, wiping away the tears that eluded, “Why are you crying?”

The person you wanted to see the most was now in front of you yet simultaneously was the last person you wanted.

You chuckled monotonously, “Is this a dream?”

Xiao shook his head slightly, hands never once leaving your cheeks. Slight anger submerged within you at his nonchalant attitude as you push his hands away from you. “Why are you here?”

Silence emerged with only the sounds of the rain reverberating around the room. No one moved an inch. You were still sitting up on your bed, clutching onto the white blanket whereas Xiao was standing next to the bedside unnervingly.

You half anticipate him to disintegrate into thin air once more, but what you didn’t expect was him to sit next to you on the bed. He grasps your hands with his, holding it carefully as if you were a porcelain doll ready to shatter at any given moment.

“I don’t deserve you.”

Thousands of rebuttals were ready to be hurled at him, but you waited patiently instead for him to continue. After weeks, you were finally getting some answers.

“One day I might be contaminated with evil itself. These hands...” He trailed off, hands withdrawing from yours.

Your eyes trails from his hands to his face. The moonlight reflecting through the window, illuminates his beautiful face. Now that you gotten a closer look, you realize that he looks tired, worn down from years of torment.

The anger subsided, leaving nothing but love for the man in front of you.

You reach out for his face, lifting him out of his thoughts. Your eyes never left his, hoping to convey your adoration towards the man. You reach out for his rough hands littered with callouses that developed over the years.

You bring his hands to your cheeks, resting on them before leaving a soft kiss onto one of them. “These hands have brought so much happiness. The crystalflies you gathered that day, the soft hands that would comfort me during a nightmare...You’ve done so much.” You crawled onto his lap, resting your forehead on his, hands never once leaving his.

“No matter what, I want to be with you.” With that you closed the gap between the two of you, pressing your lips onto his. Compacted In that kiss was the sweetness of passion, thousands of loving thoughts condensed into this kiss. Your heartbeats resonated in each other’s ears, and you could only focus on how soft he felt against your mouth, how addictively he invaded all your senses. You continue to place soft kisses to convey how much you love him, before slowly, detaching yourself from his embrace and resting your forehead against his, “Even if my time is short...”

The two of you remain in the comfort of each other's arms, with only the wind reverberating against the window in this long night. Instead of an everlasting adepti and an ordinary human, it was just Xiao and you, hearts connected. The sand in the hourglass can’t be stopped until it reaches its end, but for now you will enjoy the flow with the person you love most.

[hihellogoodbyebruh]

Mother’s Day Drabbles

Pairing: Angel Reyes x Black!Reader, Miguel Galindo x Black!Reader, EZ Reyes x Black!Reader, Obispo Losa x Black!Reader

Summary: Four drabbles with my four favorite men from Mayans MC commemorating Mother’s Day with their loves.

Warning(s): Grief, loss of a child in the last drabble (sorry to my bishop girls) but the other ones are all fluffy goodness

Word count: 1,545

AN: It’s almost Father’s Day so y’know what sounds good? Reading some EXTREMELY late Mother’s Day drabbles!! lol. I haven’t posted anything in so long and these were in the drafts so here we are. Enjoy these random ideas that popped into my head. Trying to force myself to get into shorter form writing like drabbles and headcanons. As always, questions, comments, and concerns are welcomed. Happy reading! xo

Breakfast in bed - Angel (fluff)

“Daddy shhh! You gots ta be quiet.”

“Lo siento princesa.”

You fought to keep your eyes shut and not smile as they tried and failed at surprising you. You wouldn’t ruin their efforts so you just listened as they came into the bedroom and something was set on your nightstand.

It was silent for a moment before a ball of energy landed firmly on top of you, knocking the wind out of you and fully waking you up.

“Good morning mommy. I made you breakfast in bed.” Your beautiful little girl told you once she saw your eyes open.

A throat cleared and your eyes connected with your husband’s.

“Oh, Daddy helped too.” She added, getting comfortable in your lap as you sat up against your headboard and adjusted the bonnet on your head.

“Oh he did? Well thanks for helping Daddy.” You teased, as he took a seat on the bed next to you.

“Anything for you. Happy Mother’s Day.” Angel leaned in and kissed you on the lips once, twice, three times. The last peck lingered a little too long and the princess was not amused.

“Let her eat! The food is gonna get cold.” She grumbled, and you broke down in giggles. That daughter of yours was a sass machine and she stayed on her daddy’s head. He loved every bit of it.

“Okay, okay.” He relented, a grin on his face. Anything for his girls.

Coming home to a spotless clean house - Miguel (fluff)

As your driver pulled into the driveway of your large home, she sighed knowing your day had only just become. After a full day of work, she knew as soon as you stepped foot in the house you would need to pick up after the kids from their time running the nanny ragged. Then, you’d have to get dinner cooked before wrangling the kids to eat, bathe, and then sleep. No clue if you’d see your husband or if he was having a late night.

You loved your life. You loved your family. Sometimes things could just be a little tiring. But you put that smile on your face and you made your way into the house.

The quiet was the first thing to hit and surprise you. Your home was never this quiet at this time of day. You slowly walked further into the house, your nose guiding you to the kitchen where a delicious aroma caught your attention. As you rounded the corner, you were shocked to see your husband standing at the stove.

“Miguel?” You asked, confused at his presence and the state of the house. Everything was clean and put away. He was at home at a decent time and not off somewhere handling business. Something was going on.

“Hello mi amor.” He walked closer to you before grabbing your face and kissing your lips. You’d missed him today so you added a little pressure to the kiss, but it didn’t last long as there was a burning question on your mind.

“What’s going on? Where are the kids?” You asked, head swiveling, as soon as you ended the kiss, to see if you could spot them. You didn’t even notice Miguel maneuvering you onto one of the kitchen stools.

“The kids are in their rooms, dinner is cooking, the house is clean and you are going to enjoy this chardonnay I bought for you.” He handed you a glass and you took it without complaint. A sweet smile spread across your lips as you realized he did all of this for you.

“You do so many wonderful things for this family. I want you to enjoy your night to yourself. I will handle putting the children to bed and you will relax for the night. Your dinner should be done by the time I get back downstairs but in the meantime, I know you’ve been wanting to catch up on the new season of A Black Lady Sketch Show. It’s queued up in the living room.”

A kid wrangling free night? Your favorite tv show and wine? He already bought you everything you could ask for but this? This is so much better than any present he could have come up with. “How did I get so lucky?” You pondered, a dreamy smile on your face.

“I ask myself the same question every day. Happy Mother’s Day.” He replied, kissing you again before going to fulfill his promise.

Spa day for expectant mom - EZ (fluff)

Knowing what comes with being pregnant and actually experiencing the symptoms are two very different things. You don’t wanna say you underestimated things, but you were in the middle of your third trimester and you weren’t handling things very well.

“EZ!! EZEKIEL!” You hollered for him, from where you sat propped up on the couch. Your back was killing you, you couldn’t see your feet but you knew they were a hot mess, and you just generally felt uncomfortable. You knew it would all be worth it in the end, but the end was taking too damn long to get here.

Your boyfriend had been incredibly understanding of your constant mood swings. When you first told him you were pregnant, he went out and bought a bunch of pregnancy books. He was always reading one that first trimester. Angel would tease him and say he could just google everything, but EZ had always preferred having physical copies of text. He wanted to know everything you’d go through so he could help you deal with it.

You call him now and he doesn’t respond. You grow annoyed, but also slightly concerned because he never doesn’t answer you.

It took several tries but you manage to get yourself off the couch and head back towards your bedroom. When you push the door open, a wide smile breaks out on your face. The lights in the room were dimmed and your favorite candles were lit, bathing the room in a soothing scent. Songs from your ‘self care day’ playlist filled the otherwise silent air. On the bed was the biggest, fluffiest robe you’d ever seen in your life. There was also a basket filled with goodies including face masks, different color nail polish, massage oil, and your favorite snacks.

“What is all of this?” You asked your boyfriend who had almost as big a smile on his face as you did.

“You didn’t seriously think I’d just let your first Mother's Day go by with no acknowledgment, did you?”

You blinked somewhat in surprise. “I...I mean yeah I guess. My first Mother’s Day is next year. Baby Reyes isn’t even here yet.”

“So? You’re carrying our child. You gonna let me spoil you or you gonna keep making excuses why I can’t?” He asked, his eyebrow raised and a sly smirk on his face.

“Spoil away then.” You grinned, holding out a hand for him to take before pampering you for the rest of the night.

Cuddles - Bishop (angst, heed the tw up top please)

The ray from the television was the only light source illuminating the living room. You were laying on your side on the couch, eyes on the tv but not truly paying attention to it. The light from the tv reflected off the tear stains left in her cheeks.

Bishop came back from dealing with club stuff and leaned on the doorway just watching you. He knew it was a rough day for you. Everyday was hard, but today was especially hurtful. He’d be feeling the same way just next month.

He placed his kutte onto the armchair and slipped off his shoes before climbing over you. You jumped a little at his presence but he just gently nudged you up so he could squeeze between you and the back of the couch.

One arm slid under your head and the other rested on your waist as he settled in. The hand on your waist reached out and gently ran a thumb over the little face in the picture frame you held tightly in your hands.

“Our sweet boy.” He whispered, a sad smile on his face.

Your breath hitched and your shoulders began to shake as you silently cried. You missed him so much. The whole day you stayed inside hoping to avoid all the mother celebrations, but that didn’t help. The hurt ran deep and no amount of avoidance could stop it. This day was a special slap in the face and every year the last three years have been spent like this.

Bishop curled the arm under your head until his elbow laid on your clavicle. He wrapped his other arm around your waist and pulled you tight against him.

“You’ll always be his mother. That love is forever.” He softly but firmly stated before pecking your shoulder over and over.

You released a breath you didn’t realize you were holding in at the feel of him squeezing you tightly. It was comforting. He was always holding you together. He understood your pain and even though it hurt worse some days than others, you knew you had to continue on.

But for right now, you would cry in your man’s arms and hope next year went better.

[miraeluc]

you’re suffering alone

prompt: “kageyama knows you as his little ray of sunshine, but what does he do when he finds out how you really feel?”

pairing: kageyama x female! reader 

word count: 3k

warnings: MAJOR tw!!! depression, again major tw self harm, reader cries a lot when kageyama finds out, reader’s mom is dead lol i went all out 

genre: fluff, angst

you were always their little ray of sunshine

when you first joined the school a year ago and introduced yourself all excitedly

hinata ran to tanaka after that class

“we need to convince her to be our manager!!!!”

tanaka was down lol

it didn’t take long to convince you, you were looking for extracurricular activities to engage in anyway 

the conversation went a bit like this

“y/n-san! do you want to be karasuno’s volleyball team manager?”

“sure!”

“we swear it- did you just say yes?”

“...yes”

cue tanaka and hinata screaming 

after you became their manager it didn’t take you and kageyama too long to fall in love either 

he adored the good vibes you brought with in any room you stepped in and you enjoyed the calmness that came with him (except when hinata’s around to annoy him, pretty boy radiates ᵃⁿᵍʸ energy then lol)

poor boy didn’t know that what he felt towards you until he had the whole team screaming at him to ask you out 

so he did 

and so you ended up here, 10 months into dating kageyama and 12 months into being karasuno’s manager along with kiyoko and hitoka 

everyone found it a little weird that you were always the one to stay the longest out of everyone, but everyone assumed it was just because you genuinely enjoyed being there

which you did, don’t get me wrong

that just wasn’t the only reason.

no one actually knew why you had changed schools in the middle of the year

every time someone asked you pushed it off, claiming your old school just wasn’t working out and started babbling about how much you love being at this school and how glad you are to have found real friends like them

“time for a break, i brought food!!”

you held the bags of food up, getting tackled in a gross sweaty hug by nishinoya 

“it’s like you heard my stomach calling out for you, y/n!!! you’re my saviour!!!”

you immediately laughed 

“i know, noya, now get off, you’re sweaty” you cringed a little and he got off, a little offended but he quickly forgot about it and snatched the bags 

you were all sat on the ground, everyone eating quietly when hinata started complaining about his mother nagging him to focus a little more on studying 

that’s how everyone started talking about their mothers, somehow everyone having a little to complain about 

“what ‘bout you, y/n? you have nothing to remark about your mom like our little crybabies here?” daichi looked at you

everyone whined at that,, “we’re not babies!!”

you tensed up at the question before relaxing and smiling 

“nope! my mom is perfect.” you giggled

“woah, i wish!! you need to introduce me to your mom, y/n!!” 

noya was very invested in your mom being perfect, lol

you see

kageyama here is very observant, whether it be on the court or just, well, people in general

he saw you tense up for that split-second, not pressing it further 

he knows you most likely aren’t ready to talk about it 

now that he thinks about it, you never talk about your family

he’d love to know but he understands that you’ll come to him when you’re ready to tell him and he doesn’t want to make you uncomfortable by nagging you about it

“i’ll introduce you to her, noya” you giggled

his face lit up and he nodded before the topic changed again and you could now also speak to them about how annoying and hard math class is

fr tho i hate math 

after they were done eating no one could move anymore, let alone practice

hinata tried

keyword tried 

he threw up....

no one else even wanted to practice after that - opting to clean up and end practice for today instead

“kageyama, ill head out a bit early today, i’ve got some stuff to do” you said

you startled the shit out of him because he was just bringing the last volleyball to the cart

“HO- oh.” he stopped himself from screaming and turned to you 

“alright, just take care..” he mumbled, ruffling your hair which made you whine and fix it 

you hate when he does that 

he thinks your reaction is adorable

you scoffed and pulled him down to your height to plant a little kiss on his cheek 

he blushed, pda isnt for him

you loved his soft side so much 

nonetheless he smiled at you and straightened up again 

“call me if anything happens” he cleared his throat 

baby was a little awkward with stuff like this 

you didn’t mind though

you nodded and smiled “will do!”

and off you were lol 

hinata then popped up infront of kageyama 

“what’d you do to her!?!?!?! she never leaves early!!!!!!!”

kageyama pushed him away by the head 

“she just has stuff to do, shut up.”

“hey, mom..” you smiled lightly as you sat down 

“nishinoya is really looking forward to meeting you! the whole team asked about you today.. today was an ok day, i was pretty distracted all day so i didn’t have the time to feel sad again.”

...

you sighed

“but, you know, it’s been getting harder lately. it seems that getting out of bed to get to school is getting harder.. i love making everyone happy, but it’s hard being the provider and never getting something in return. sometimes, when things get hard, i just want to drop everything. i want to stop acting so bubbly and happy, but i know you wouldn’t want me to lose my smile.”

you stood up 

“i’ll get going then, i love you.”

you placed the flowers down on the grave before you, staring down at it with a sad smile before making your way home, yet again 

the next day you showed up to school as you usually did, taking your seat next to kageyama after greeting him like usual 

you were having a conversation with hinata

it was too early for kageyama to speak 

everyone was confused when you didn’t show up to practice that day

kags(｡◝‿◜｡) , 2:47pm: are you not coming to practice?

y/n, 2:49pm: no baby, i’m sorry :( i really can’t tODAY, im so upset over it 

kags(｡◝‿◜｡), 2:50pm: did something happen?

kags(｡◝‿◜｡), 2:53pm: y/n?

y/n, 3.26pm: nope, i just have some stuff to do at home  (╥﹏╥)

the next day you showed up like usual again, this time attending practice too

just like that the days seemed to go by in a blur for you 

day by day you felt yourself breaking more 

day by day the scars on your hips multiplied 

and day by day it got a little harder to make the room light up when you stepped inside 

it was after practice and it was only you, nishinoya and kageyama left 

“hey, y/n, can i finally meet your mom today??”

he was pressing around so much about it 

you smiled and shrugged,

“sure, i bet she doesn’t mind a visit”

“can i come too?” kageyama asked timidly and you nodded 

“of course.. it’s about time.” you smiled 

your eyes were a little glassy 

he frowned

nishinoya was too busy getting excited over meeting the first ever perfect mother to notice and he began dragging you out “let’s go then!”

he was pulling you to the direction of your place before you abruptly stopped

“ah-ah, i didn’t say i still live with her, did I?”

you had both boys confused now and you started walking into the right direction

you intertwined your fingers with kageyama’s

he squeezed your hand a little 

he knew you needed a little support 

only did he not expect you to lead them to the cemetery

nishinoya’s smile dropped when you actually entered the cemetery 

he saw it but he expected you to walk past 

you stopped in front of your mothers grave 

“there she is.” you let out a sigh 

kageyama felt his heart drop 

“wait, y/n, i’m so sorry for pressing this so mu-”

kageyama pulled you in a tight hug, shaking his head at the boy, who now went quiet 

he felt so horrible

you were trying so hard to hold your tears back, looking at noya

“don’t worry, you didn’t know.” 

you still smiled at him 

kageyama then spoke 

“it’s best if you go home, don’t you think?”

he didn’t even sound angry at this point 

nishinoya nodded and left 

he really felt so bad 

you couldn’t hold back and broke out in tears after

this was the first time you cried in front of your boyfriend 

he didn’t expect it to hurt this much 

hearing your little sobs break through you 

he could feel his own heart breaking as he tightened the hug 

neither of you said anything

he just let you cry into his chest 

he didn’t need to tell you he was there for you with words

he told you through gently patting your back as you cried

he told you through not judging you when you cried like this 

even when it started raining and the rain was slowly seeping through both of your clothes he didnt loosen his grip on you 

he let you finish crying 

however long it took 

and when you finally looked up at him, only the moon’s light illuminating your face, he felt his heart break, again, at the sight of your puffy eyes and red nose

he wanted to protect you from all bad things, forever.

“gosh, i’m sorry, it took me so long to stop crying..” 

he shook his head and pecked your forehead quickly “no. you didn’t.”

“..is this why you always avoided talking about your mother?”

you nodded, looking down at her grave, the flowers you placed there two days ago already droopy

you then looked up at him again 

“thank you, for.. supporting me..”

nishinoya apologised about 27 times when he saw you 

you kept reassuring him that it was alright but he felt so bad 

he felt so bad he couldn’t even properly play that day 

daichi sent him home early

“come back when you dont have two left legs!!!”

practice ended soon after that anyway 

you sat on a bench, filling out the last bits of your homework so you didnt have to do it at home, not even noticing that it was just you and kageyama left until he called out to you 

“hey, y/n, mind throwing me some balls? i’m not tired yet and i want to keep practicing”

you happily helped

you admired his determination to get better daily

it was refreshing, seeing him so passionate about volleyball 

how couldn’t you help when he asked like that

that’s how he was now practicing as you were talking 

“can you come over tonight?”

you furrowed your brows

“but it’s a school night?”

he shrugged “i don’t care. you haven’t been at my place for three entire weeks! i only see you at school, i miss you.” he was honest

he really missed you and he wanted to know what was up with your lame excuses every time he asked 

you then nodded 

“alright then, i’ll come.”

whilst he was busy drinking water you tried ‘passing’ the ball (at which you horribly failed)

“look, i’m a better setter than you!”

he chased you down lol 

you took him by surprise when he finally caught you, grabbing onto your hips, followed by a loud intake of breath and a wince from you

fuck

well

he obviously immediately let go

“y/n. what’s wrong?”

you sighed and turned towards him

“um.. i.. hit my hip earlier today..?” you trailed off and he immediately knew that you were lying 

honestly, he kind of had an idea of what it was 

he just didn’t want to think of that possibility

he might be a bit slow, but he’s not stupid 

he has a slight idea why you haven’t been coming over

he notices how the circles under your eyes have gotten darker 

he notices how you sleep in classes, which is something you never do 

and he’s so, so worried 

but he’s scared to approach you 

he’s scared to confirm his worst fears 

he shook his head at you “don’t lie.”

you sighed softly “kageyama, it’s nothing.”

you avoided his gaze and he shook his head again, now unable to hold back from speaking 

“no, y/n. you’re not okay, i know you’re not. i know that you struggle every day and i know you don’t like speaking about it, but i just can’t keep watching you suffer in silence, i do give you your space, but not when it truly concerns your well-being to the point i cant touch you or see you as often as i’d like to!” 

he stopped and took a deep breath, shaking his head 

“let’s go home first, i want to talk about this in a place i can do more for you.”

you were speechless

you never had expected him to notice anything, let alone speak up about it 

you were so lost in thought you let him drag you to his room quietly 

you snapped back to reality when he was unlocking his door, walking inside when it was open - you following 

you sat on his bed, still not knowing what to say

how the tables turn, usually its kageyama being the quiet one and you being the one to fill the silence with unnecessary babbling lol 

he looked at you, uncertainty swimming in his eyes

“can i see?”

you immediately knew what he was talking about, looking down 

you pondered over it a little before nodding

he crouched down before you, looking up at you 

“you know you can trust me, right?”

you furrowed your brows “of course”

“you don’t need to hide your feelings from me, baby, i love you through all of your emotional states, i love seeing you happy but i like comforting you when you feel sad too, you mustn’t hide your feelings.”

your eyes filled with tears at that one sentence

i love you through all of your emotional states

“thank you..” you sniffled

“i mean it. it hurts me when you hide it, it makes me feel so helpless, i don’t want to watch you crumble before my eyes, please, talk to me..”

“i just feel so hopeless, kags.. my heart feels so dull lately.”

you finally let in

“it feels like every single day repeats itself and all of my responsibilities are so hard to fulfill..it’s so hard turning up to school, bringing positive energy with me when all i feel is my sadness taking over my entire self bit by bit.”

he was listening, now sat on the floor before you, chin resting on your knee as you spoke

“but you’re not responsible for anyone’s happiness except yours. i don’t like when you prioritise others before yourself, y/n.. i don’t say it often but you’re truly so important to me and i don’t want you to lose yourself only because you try to make others happy.. it isn’t worth it, we love you for you, i can assure you, no one from our group would judge you for feeling down, we all have bad days, gosh, we all have bad weeks or even months! hiding these feelings will only worsen your pain and lead you to.. do irrational things..” he said, fingertips tracing over your hip gently

“let me see first and then we’ll talk about how we’re fixing this, ok?”

you sniffled and nodded, letting him pull the side of your pants down enough to reveal to him what he feared most 

seeing the cuts scattered on your skin broke him, truly.

he gulped and stood up, leaving to get you a pair of his shorts

“put these on, this way i can tend to them better.” he said, wanting to clean it up first before telling you his thoughts about it 

you nodded and changed into the shorts, him trying not to break down there and then as he left to get some stuff

when he came back you were patiently waiting for him and let him clean the cuts with some alcohol (not without complaining at the stings) before he bandaged them up as best as he could

he then laid down and pulled you with him, hugging you

“oh my precious y/n..” he mumbled

he was hugging your head to his chest to hide the fact that he was tearing up 

he wanted to help you so bad but he knew exactly that he couldn’t just end your suffering and it hurt him 

“but why? why do you do that to yourself?”

his voice cracked when he asked and you looked up, realisation hitting you 

you hurt him so bad by doing this.

the person you loved and cherished most 

“it felt like the only escape”

he caressed the top of your head

“pressuring you into stopping won’t help and isn’t worth it, but please, when you feel like.. doing that, call me instead. i’ll be at your place in no time and- even if you don’t want to talk i can just hug you and keep you company-”

you cut him off by pressing your lips against his

“i will, baby. i’ll call you whenever i feel down from now on”

he nodded “thank you”

he was thanking you as if he wasn’t the one helping you right now

you now hugged him back, “i’m sorry for not saying earlier..”

he hummed “lets just lay here. you’ll get better, i promise.”

he kept his promise

ever since that day, he’s been calling you morning and night, making sure you felt good waking up and going to bed 

he often called you through entire nights

he made you slowly start to understand that your purpose wasn’t to make anyone happy but yourself

he made you realise you were more than a mere person that’s always happy

and he made you understand that showing your feelings wasnt something to be embarrassed about 

(the entire team was very supportive too when they found out you were struggling! kageyama didn’t explain the details though)

so yep.

you had kageyama and a bunch of friends that were supporting you 

and for the first time, you felt hopeful for the future, your mother watching over you proudly after years of struggling and even having to move schools for a fresh start

she could now rest easily, knowing your guardian angel found his way to you and won’t ever leave you.

a/n: YALL I MADE MYSELF EMO WITH THIS ONE:( i hope you enjoyed it & please leave comments about it! 

[l4verq]

remnants (2)

ransom drysdale x reader

in which you have to protect ransom drysdale because he has the same face as steve rogers, your ex who’s gone back to peggy

pairing : ransom x reader

warnings : angst? mentions of guns

if you want to be added to the taglist, lmk in the comments💗

ʀᴇᴍɴᴀɴᴛꜱ

*not my gif*

-

ransom doesn’t remember the last time he was this dumbfounded.

his hands graze over the grainy picture of a andy barber who looks just like him.

down to the very mole on his left cheek, every feature seems to fit perfectly with his.

“we believe, these are all alternate versions of you,”sam glances at ransom, biting into a stale piece of bread, “steve, to be more precise.”

“so what? I’m a clone?” he huffs, cringing at his own words.

yoi look up from your plate and realise he’s looking at you for an answer.

“we don’t know but we do know they’re not from this timeline.” you pick at the canned beans with your fork.

you never really had an appetite on days like these.

“who? them?” he raises the stack of papers.

you nod, placing your fork down.

“thet all popped out of nowhere when everyone else came back after the blip. no one’s heard of them before.” bucky explains, picking up your fork and handing it back to you.

you grimace, glancing at the goopy mess on your plate.

“and what do you mean, timeline?” ransom questions, observing you and bucky.

you guys were close, that was evident enough from the way he’s been trying to get you to eat something.

but just how close were y-

“we don’t know.” sam gruffs, his throat parched from the dry, flaky bread.

ransom rolls his eyes, “what do you know?”

“that the only way you’re not going to end up like them is by staying with us.” bucky gestures towards the papers with his fork.

ransom slouches back in his chair, horrified at the thought of being in this dump for any longer.

he had to sleep on the couch, if you could call it one, last night and he’s pretty sure he saw some rats scurry by while washing his face earlier today.

and did he mention the clothes? he’s in a horribly mismatched shirt and sweatpants that feels like gravel on his skin.

his stomach growls but he’d rather starve than eat that soupy thing infront of him.

“it’s only for a few days, weeks at most. because of the blip, hydra’s suffered, they’re outresourced. the problem is, we are too.” you offer a sympathetic smile.

you kind of felt bad for him.

he sighs, “can we go shopping or something for clothes and food. actual edible food?”

“what can you get with,” sam dramatically digs into his pockets, pulling out a single bill, “five bucks?”

of course, he’d be stranded with three strangers, only five bucks to their names.

“aren’t the avengers supposed to be loaded?” ransom asks in disbelief.

“not everyone has a wealthy grandpa.”

-

“hey, what’s up?” sam walks in, a little too breezily.

you narrow your eyes as he awkwardly shifts around, looking for a place to sit.

the floor is covered with files and documents, you’d been rummaging around, searching for other safehouses set up by shield years ago.

“let me guess, you want to ask me how I’m doing?” you sigh, flipping over another file report from years ago.

he has a sheepish smile on his face as he picks up a file and starts flipping through.

“we’ve been at this for months now and this is the first time we’ve ever met one of them.” he trails off, hesitantly.

“and?”

he looks at you, raising his eyebrows.

you can’t bring yourself to meet his eyes cause you hate to see the pity in them. hate that he knows you’re still hurting.

“just let us know if it gets too much.” he says, softly.

the stupid lump forms in your throat again and you busy yourself, picking up another file.

you flip to the first page, instantly recognising the familiar scrawlings.

cause you were used to seeing those on little notes Steve used to leave you.

you vaguely remember this mission, it was a grueling week of staying undercover as the new siblings in town until shield gave a green light on pursuing the subjects.

you’d never laughed so hard than when your new neighbour had caught you two making out, revolted by the act of incest she thought she’d just witnessed.

a gunshot outside alerts you, breaking your thoughts.

“relax, bucky’s teaching him how to use a gun.” sam chuckles, eyes still trained on the file.

“a gun? why?”

“precautionary measures.”

you furrow your brows, “for what?”

he shuts the file, giving you a look.

you realise why.

“no, he’s not coming with us. are you crazy?” you end up yelling.

joaquin had tipped you guys off about a run-down, abandoned hydra base that would hopefully answer some questions.

and there was no way you were letting them bring Ransom there.

“listen, if we leave him here, there’s no saying what might happen so we don’t have a choice.” he sighs, trying to reason.

“well, one of us can stay here, babysit him.”

he scoffs, “really? who?”

you hate to admit it but he was right.

ransom couldn’t stay here alone and no one would agree to staying behind to miss out on the action.

“well, I’ll go help.” you grit your teeth, storming out of the room.

a second shot goes off as you push the front door, greeted by the bright rays of the sun.

bucky’s passing the gun onto ransom who looks hesitant.

you know he’s never held one by the way his hand grips around it, a little too tight.

he aims at a can placed infront shakily, his posture awkwardly stiff.

you can’t help but walk over, holding out your hand.

he hands you the gun, muzzled pointed right at his legs.

you swiftly grab it, “first thing, don’t point this thing anywhere unless you want to shoot.”

bucky cocks his head in amuse.

you always flunked on training the new recruits back in shield and yet here you were, voluntarily helping ransom.

“your right hand, grip this here,” you guide ransom’s hand along the back strap, “your left hand, under it. Support it.”

he looks over at you, seemingly for approval.

and suddenly, you can’t breathe.

the familiarity of this catching you offguard yet again.

but it had been you in ransom’s place and steve in yours.

“it’s gonna be pretty loud.” you clear your throat, fixing his stance slightly.

a hesitant pull of the trigger, completely missing the can.

he scratches his head, adorning a sheepish smile which shouldn’t feel as endearing.

“wow, you’re really bad at this.” bucky exhales, earning a side eye from you.

“can’t I just hold a pepper spray or something?”

-

your eyes fall on the bag of transceivers, that you guys’d been heavily relying on these past couple of months.

however, beyond a minute they’d track you instantly. so every call made was timed under a minute.

“you know, you can call your family if you want.” you mumble, loading the car with boxes of tech sam needs lying around or else he swears red wing will “go hungry”.

he’s sitting in the passenger seat, legs out on the ground, hands in his pockets.

you bite back a passive agressive remark about how he could be helping you right now.

“no, that’s fine.” he mutters, an unreadable expression on his face.

based on the information you’d dug up on him, you knew their family wasn’t exactly close.

but if their son was being hunted down by crazed psychos hell bent on bringing chaos to the world, they surely had the right to know.

“our phones are untraceable, it’s safe if you keep it under a minute.” you reach out to grab one.

“s’okay, they won’t care.” he gruffs, shrugging his shoulders.

you breathe out an “oh”, internally smacking yourself for insisting.

an awkward silence follows as you resume loading the last box, shutting the trunk.

“who’s ready for a roadtrip?” sam gleams, palms raised.

you wrinkle your nose at the familiar smell of kerosene.

“do you guys have to do this everytime?” you roll your eyes, backing away from the scent.

ransom’s about to ask what when the house explodes up in flames right in front of him.

“what the fuck?” he jumps out of his seat, frantic eyes racing around.

but the fire stops as soon as it began, leaving a scorched framework of bricks and rubble behind.

“can’t find anything if you have nowhere to search.” bucky rattles an empty jar labelled corrosive.

san fist bumps him, smirking.

ransom’s starting to think you might be the sanest out of the three.

and that was saying a lot.

-

a/n : 🤨🧎🏻‍♀️🏃🏻‍♀️ i need to stop cringing everytime i post smthing lol

tags : @readermia @inmate-marmalade @stephdavies95 @randomsevans @xoxabs88xox @thebadassbitchqueen @tcc-gizmachine @mypalbuck @natrushman3000

[thesightstoshowyou]

Jason Voorhees x Reader

Part 4 - End

Read Part 3 here

Warnings: Mentions of previous violence

 ~~

             Your fingers tap against the mug in your hands, nails clicking rhythmically against ceramic. You set the mug on your railing to shove your hands in your pockets. It’s colder this morning. You wear a sweater to protect yourself from the crisp breeze that rushes through the grass and trees. More and more leaves, red, gold, and orange, flutter around the clearing to gather in piles on the ground.

             Out of the corner of your eye you glance at the latest gift resting on your top step. Sticks carefully bent into a circle hold brilliant fall leaves intricately woven between the curved wood to create a wreath. You’re amazed by the skill, honestly. It’s astounding hands so adept at reaping could also create something so delicate.

             The wreath is one of many gifts you’ve received over the past month and a half. After the flowers came a bundle of fishing lures soldered together in the shape of a fish. Next was an intricate wood carving of a canoe. Then came three rocks, each with a detailed painting of a different tree adorning its surface. Each gift you have received after has been crafted with the same patience and skill as the others before them. Jason is certainly an artist.

             You close your eyes, inhaling the scent of decaying leaves and sharp, chilly air. Jason hasn’t tried to enter your home again, as far as you’re aware. You’ve made sure to be inside before sundown with your doors securely locked. Not that a door would be able to stop him, but it helps your peace of mind.

             By now, you’re fairly certain he doesn’t want to hurt you. If he had, it would have happened by now. You’re still not sure what to think of the whole situation, but if the creative gifts are anything to go by, you believe he is nursing some kind of crush.

             So…what do you do? Do you continue to do nothing, ignore it, and accept the gifts as they come? You don’t imagine this can go on forever. Eventually he will come looking for you.

             Sighing, you drain the remainder of your coffee and make your way inside to place it in the sink. You return to the porch to retrieve the wreath. Carefully, you affix it to your front door. A wry smile crosses your face. It is very pretty.

*

             The next morning you rise before the sun. You don your jeans, flannel, boots, hat, and a light jacket. Pancake fixes you with his biggest puppy dog eyes as you lock him in the house.

             “Sorry, bud. I have to do this one alone.”

             As you enter the forest, you’re struck with how still the air feels. No branches sway in the breeze, no birds sing, no squirrels skitter in the undergrowth. The only sound is the stomp of your boots on rotting foliage and the occasional rustle of a leaf parting from its tree and tumbling to the forest floor.

             Your breath curls white before you as you walk and you shrug deeper into your jacket, partly from the chill, partly from nerves. Your skin crawls, the fine hairs on your arms all standing on end. You’re being watched, you’re certain. Or hunted. In the hush of the dark it takes all the resolve you possess not to bolt like a frightened rabbit.

             Finally, the sun begins to rise. Rays of light shimmer through the trees, alighting the forest around you in spectacular hues of gold and orange. Birds wake and rustle in their nests, squawking their morning greetings. The noise is a relief. It grounds you, brings you back from the silent purgatory that is a forest at night.

             You make it to Camp Crystal Lake unscathed, save for your frayed nerves. You tell yourself there’s nothing to be afraid of. Probably.

             As you pace through camp you can find no evidence of the massacre from weeks ago. It is picturesque, leaves raining down around you, the sun glimmering off the lake, snug cabins framed by the changing trees. It would be a nice place to live. You can almost understand why Jason guards it so fiercely.

             You circle around camp, peeking through the dusty windows of the abandoned cabins as you go. You wonder where he’s been staying. Does he even need to sleep, or a roof over his head? Or does he prefer to rest outdoors, the moon and stars his only companions?

             Once you’ve searched as far as you can, you turn back. You wonder where else he could be, if not here. Should you call for him? He can’t be far. You’re certain it was Jason watching you in the woods on your way here.

             He’s not here, then suddenly he is. You freeze in your tracks when you spot him, standing intimidatingly at the edge of the lake. Your heart pounds, whacking against your ribs like it’s trying to break free. Breath trembling in your throat, you swallow.

             “Jason. Um, hi. I wanted…to…to uh, thank you for the, uh…the gifts.” You wait. He says nothing. Your panic rises, blood rushing in your ears, nervous butterflies seizing in your gut. Then, he begins to move toward you, slowly, his steps measured. He’s trying not to frighten you.

             He stops in the shade under a massive alder tree several feet away. He waits, waits for you. He’s letting you make the decision to come to him.

             Your approach is just as cautious. Each step is more difficult that the last, like your trudging through knee-deep mud. You pause, releasing a tremulous breath before stepping out of the weak sunlight to join him in the shadows.

             Jason towers over you. He stands so still you might mistake him for a statue if you hadn’t already seen him move. You can finally see the eyes behind the dingy mask; one is hazel, almost gold like the leaves of the tree above you, the other milky white. He watches you closely, intently with his good eye. The skin of his neck is a strange mottled gray. You wonder his face is the same. Is that why he wears the mask?

             Without meaning to, your eyes flick down to the unsheathed machete hanging menacingly from his belt. You suppress a shudder when you remember how it had looked that night, bathed in blood. The hand next to the handle is relaxed, limp. He doesn’t intend to use the blade.

             You meet Jason’s unblinking gaze again. He hasn’t budged, hasn’t made a sound. He waits for you to speak or make the first move.

             Slowly you reach out, hand trembling. You close the distance between you gradually, painstakingly, as though he is some wild beast that might startle. Maybe he is.

             At last, your hand rests on his chest. There’s no heartbeat, not that you expect one, but it’s still jarring. Not being able to feel the thump, thumping of a beating heart is so foreign, so wrong. Again, you wonder what he is, how he came to be. Was his desire for vengeance so strong he defied death entirely? Or is it a curse that keeps him going, forces him to become the unrelenting specter of Crystal Lake?

             You startle when he moves. He lifts his arms just as slowly as you had. Almost timidly, he places both of his gloved hands over yours, cradling your palm to his chest.

             There’s no heartbeat, but there is a person inside none the less.

The End

 ~~

Author’s Note: Thank you for reading this little story! It was a challenge for me to not write smut, so I’m pretty proud of what I’ve produced lol. I may revisit these two in the future with some drabbles here and there. Please let me know what you thought. I appreciate your interest.

[prose-for-hire]

Sunshine, lollipops and rainbows everywhere

Pairing: Spike x reader

Request: Bodyswap anon here! I appreciate you offering but you dont owe me one. Although I did have an idea that was an AU where reader runs a bakery and Spike runs an auto repair shop. I love the "grump is soft for the sunshine one" trope and just wanna see a slow burn of badboi Spike fawning over the shortie wearing bright colors that comes in with a flat tire during a downpour who isnt afraid of him in the slightest. If you like it, go for it! I just love cliches and tropes lol

Requested by: Anon - hope this is okay love 💖

You walked slowly into the seemingly deserted auto-repair shop. It smelled of oil and damp and you wondered if it was even still open for business. There were thick cobwebs in almost every corner and the lighting was only on where it was absolutely necessary. You looked around, blissfully uncaring of how badly things could go if the wrong sort of person worked there. You smiled around the place, your presence a ray of sunshine in the otherwise dull surroundings.

You had your brightest outfit on, dulled only by the flour you always managed to get everywhere on you throughout the day. You owned and almost solely ran a bakery not far from this shop. You stopped in the middle of the garage, looking around and not announcing yourself in case it startled the man bending over and tightening… or was that untightening something on an old looking car.

He paused his job, looking over at you. He took one look at you and rolled his eyes, turning away from you and pretending to be very busy. He had a pretty bad reputation around town, but everyone still went to his shop because he was good at his job.

You cleared your throat softly, maybe he just hadn’t seen you. You had a flat tire and it was late. The dark started to consume you slowly before he turned fully and stalked towards you.

 “You look lost” he said, closing the distance and looking you up and down menacingly as if you were unwelcome. Which, you were. He didn’t like being interrupted. He didn’t like people coming into his shop uninvited. He scowled, something that usually kept people away. But apparently, not you.

“No, I know where I am! I just need some help – I’ve got a flat” You said, a pleasant smile on your face as if you were oblivious to his threatening stance. He sighed, rubbing his hands on an old rag before gesturing at you to show him to your car. You basically skipped away and he followed behind.

 He just grunted when you got there, stepping around you and taking a look at the tire, which was undoubtedly flat. Like, pancake flat. You weren’t even sure how it had happened.

“Yeah, that’s a flat” he stated, looking up at you as if to ask what you expected him to do about it.

“Would you be able to fix it?” You smiled and he peered at you confused as to why you weren’t at least avoiding his eye contact out of fear or respect. 

“Yeah” he scoffed, rolling his eyes at such a stupid question.

“Oh great, that would be really nice!” You gushed, “You’re so kind, thank you!”

 He leaned over and you couldn’t help watch as he expertly changed the tire for you. You sat, trying to make conversation but he didn’t reply to anything that you said. Eventually, he finished up and you thanked him profusely.

“You’re really good at your job” You smiled, complimenting him softly. He looked taken aback, not entirely sure if you were actually making fun of him or not. He just grunted slightly in response so you decided to ask, “How much?”

“350. Flat rate” he shrugged after thinking a moment. You really were too sweet for your own good – in a way he decided to take advantage of. You were a fully grown adult, you knew the usual rate. You weren’t naïve, you were just incredibly kind.

“For one tire?!”

“Take it or leave it” He said, although he had already changed the tire for you so realistically you would have to pay it.

“Pastries!” “If you cut the act and charge me the proper rate you can have as many pastries as you like from my bakery when you come in as a thank you”

 “You own a bakery? Who are we kidding - of course you bloody do” He muttered, raising an eyebrow, “Ok, usual rate... and free pastry for the rest of my life”

“Rest of the month” you entertained his bargain.

“Year”

“You drive a hard bargain, sir!” You exclaimed, before grinning in a way that his expression definitely wasn’t matching, “I’ll see you soon!” you called, jumping into your car and speeding away with him staring after you.

Later that week, he took you up on your deal. You were behind the counter as he sauntered in, “Welcome to Angel Cake’s! It’s nice to see you again – this is my knight in shining armour from the other night!” you dropped your voice and explained to your employee. The young girl who came in on a Saturday to help out looked Spike up and down and raised an eyebrow. She hadn’t liked the sound of him – you were too friendly. Saw the good in people when from what you had explained, there didn’t seem to be any there. Spike had tried to take advantage of you.

“Right, yeah. Spike. Name’s Spike”

“I’m y/n!” You smiled, “Hey, your name doesn’t suit you much – you’re kinder than your name suggests!”

“I think the name’s about right” your co-worker Nina cut in, the younger girl not known for her tact. Spike scowled at her and turned back to you.

“I’m here for my pastry” he stated. No further niceties and no eye contact. He would insist he was trying to avoid being blinded by your colourful choice in outfit for today. You nodded and started busying yourself, choosing him one that you hoped he would enjoy. You put one in a bag and passed it over.

Your hands brushed against each other as you passed him the to-go bag. You shivered and he pulled away too quickly. He snatched the bag up and turned on his heel, stalking out of the door without so much as another word. He came back every two days or so to claim his pastry, sometimes lingering slightly but never saying anything more than which baked goods he would like.

The next two weeks went quickly and it had been really busy in your store. You noticed you hadn’t seen Spike so often – so you decided to do something about it.

“Bugger off – we’re closed” he growled, his back turned away from the door but he could hear footsteps entering. Your footsteps.

“Hey!” You called and he paused when he heard your voice. As if this would have been the only exception to his statement. That is, if he cared. Obviously.

“What do you want? I got business to be doing here, haven’t you got a rainbow you could be skipping over”

“Oh, I was just bringing you something – freshly prepared today! Uh, and you always seem so lonely working here so I thought maybe I could keep you company”

“I don’t get lonely. I like it this way” He insisted. This was a lie. He did feel lonely, some nights desperately so. He looked up at you and you gave him a small smile, a nod of understanding as you were ready to turn away. He thought about your nature slowly as you turned away. You didn’t put on an act, you genuinely felt for him. Cared to ask or swing by. So he made a decision. He opened his mouth before you left and said, “Uh, you can leave those” pointing at the box of donuts you had brought that you had lovingly prepared only moments before you drove over to his shop. He didn’t want you to stay, at least he wouldn’t admit it anyway. You nodded, placing them down and waving an enthusiastic goodbye. Pleased that he had at least taken your treats.

It was now a month later. He was working in his shop and he couldn’t stop thinking about you. His mind always turning back to you. Every waking thought, and the occasional dream too. He tried to shake himself out of it and continue working on a car.

But he couldn’t focus. He decided to have a break. He had been in several times for pastries since your first meeting, some he even paid for himself. He sat down, wiping his hands down his overalls. He grabbed at the pastry and started to bite into it.

He closed his eyes - it was just so good. It was sweet. Like you. Like heaven in his mouth. Your baking. He found himself filling his thoughts with you, often subconsciously but more recently it has been on purpose.

What were you doing? Did you ever think of him the way he thought of you? What would the bread of the day be today?

His eyes snapped open. It finally dawned on him. How he felt for you. He had been soft on you for a while now, he had just been fighting it – and for what? Oh, right. Because he couldn’t face the crippling rejection. Especially not from you. He had isolated himself on purpose after all, too used to the denial of his affections. To people in his past treating him as if he wasn’t worthy of love.

Still, he understood it now. He got it. He liked you – really liked you. And there was nothing he could do to fight it. He wanted to spend time with you. Your soft and kind nature became sweeter to him than the baked goods he loved so much. He didn’t want to be stuck, hiding in the dark anymore. He wanted to be surrounded by light. By your softness. Your bright, cheery smile. The array of dazzling colours that he had started to enjoy gazing upon the sunny tones. He decided he would have to do something about the way he felt.

So, he did. He tried at least. He stood outside having what must have been his second pack of cigarettes in the last hour. He was stood awkwardly outside your bakery chain smoking to gain enough courage to enter. Until, that is, the door opened and you popped your head out.

“Hey! Spike! Nina said you’ve been hovering by the door, trying to decide whether to come in or not for the last hour… are you okay?”

“That bitch-” he muttered under his breath, “Been worse, love. Um, h-how are you?”

“Oh I’m good thank you! I have some freshly baked bread I’d really love you to try! Come in!” You called, tugging at his sleeve slightly. His questioning you was new. He never usually asked. It excited you, but you knew better than to make a fuss over it. You wanted him comfortable after all.

He sat, eating the bread and telling you how good it was. He was almost gushing over your granary loaf and you couldn’t help but beam at him. He explained that it was by far the best bread he had ever eaten.

“Would you- did you want to-” big overexaggerated sigh with his entire body before carrying on, “Are you doing anything in your break?”

“I am now – would you like to go on a walk with me?” You asked.

You walked around the block, happily talking and encouraging him to chip in when he wanted to. You loved hearing from him. However, the heavens had opened and the rain had started to pour. You hadn’t expected this and weren’t dressed for the weather. You managed to hold a conversation and he proved himself correct with every step he took with you. He was falling for you.

“You’re, uh, shivering, love” he noted as he walked in-step beside you.

“I’m a little cold – rain can do that to you I suppose!” You grinned and he frowned ever so lightly. You said words but your mood never appeared to dip. It was as if you were his own personal sunshine, no matter what the outside world threw at you both.

He shrugged his jacket off and offered it to you, nodding his confirmation that he meant it. You smiled wide, not thinking and instead swooping in to hug him. An action that almost knocked him from his feet.

He just stood there. Still, not sure what to do. He found himself really enjoying your embrace, but he didn’t move his hands from his side. He wanted to, but he was embarrassed. What if you felt him hug back and laughed?

“Oops – sorry!” You realised you had been a little too enthusiastic with your hug. Some people don’t like hugs, you reprimanded yourself for a second, before looking back at Spike and beaming, “You want to help me bake this afternoon? Nina’s handling the front” as you shrugged his jacket around your shoulders.

“I, uh, should get back…” He offered, but his expression appeared to be in deep thought. He was conflicted. He really enjoyed your company, it appeared. But he would never agree to an afternoon of baking. He had insulted people for suggesting way less.

“Come on! You might enjoy it!” You couldn’t help but press. You really did want him there.

“Fine. But don’t be expecting it to become a regular thing… I’m just helpin’ you out seeing as you keep bangin’ on about it” he muttered, but secretly he was absolutely thrilled. He couldn’t help glancing at you every moment he felt he could get away with it as you both rounded the corner.

At the bakery, Nina rolled her eyes and scowled at Spike who stuck his two fingers up at her when your back was turned.

You started off reading the recipe, weighing up large quantities as you had a lot to bake. Spike took it surprisingly seriously. He hadn’t realised how much work went into making some of the items you sold. He would never take your pastries for granted again. He actually said this to you out loud, promising you. It made you giggle.

“I always struggle with this part” you say softly, trying to mix the large bowl of cake batter.

“Should I-?” He offered starting to roll up his sleeves and offering to take the duty over for you.

“Maybe we could try it together?” You smiled and he just nodded – in the name of helping you mix it better. Of course he would share the responsibility with you. You trusted him with it and standing that close to you would be a gift.

Usually, you might use an electric mixer. But you wanted to take it all back to basics. And perhaps, allow yourself to become a little closer with Spike. You both had a grip on the long wooden spoon and started to stir it together. He was stood behind you, but close enough for you to feel his presence. You both shared a small smile, without realising it as you watched the mixture become silky smooth.

You stumbled, not used to sharing a workspace and tipped the flour down what happened to be Spike’s front. You managed to pour flour down the front of the apron he had been wearing.

“I’m so sorry!” You said, trying to bite back a giggle.

“You’re going to be” He raised an eyebrow and took a handful of flour and threw it at you – making you squeal. This quickly descended into a flour fight that you decided had to be a draw as you were both covered. You were both laughing and you paused, savouring his smile. It was a real, genuine smile and it made you swoon.

You shared prolonged eye contact, holding your gaze through the flour that was still in the atmosphere around you. You shared another small smile before getting back to your respective tasks.

Eventually, you finished up and started to clear away as the cakes were now baking in the oven, “No way!” Nina exclaimed from the doorway. She was trying to hide her snort of laughter as she came to ask how long the next batch would take and she saw Spike crouching in front of the oven willing the cupcakes to rise through listing off a string of threats. Apparently, threatening them into it whilst he was wearing a baby pink cooking apron. You were crouched beside him, the oven gloves on in anticipation.

“Bugger off, short stack!”

“Nina, there’s a customer waiting” You said softly, giving her a look that said please let us have this. You had taken a shine to Spike. You were nice, but never this understanding with someone. You saw that he wanted to trust and share a connection. You hoped, with you. He just needed a little encouragement. Someone that cared without conditions.

When the cupcakes were finished, as you both sat eating the warm treats straight from the oven Spike had gone quiet. You were starting to worry, but your mood lightened once more when he spoke through a mouthful of cake, “Do you like spending time with me, pet?” he asked, not looking towards you.

“Of course I do!”

“Well then. I think it’s time we teach you how to change your own tire”

“You mean it!?” You cheered, smiling back at him. This was as close to a profession of fondness you would get from him. He had thawed, his temperament softening. But expressing his feelings was still hard. He nodded, offering his hand for you to take. You took it without hesitation and he moved your hand to his lips, kissing once softly. A gesture you would never have expected from him, but it made you melt. You walked towards his shop hand-in-hand, swinging his arm the entire way.

[katsuflossy]

Soulful

Pairing: Todoroki Shoto x black! reader

Warning: Swearing

Synopsis: Shoto comes back to a deserted Alliance. Ready to go to his room, he gets the most angelic soulful performance: (Y/n) singing RnB.

Song: At your best (You are Love) by Aaliyah

A/N: This was supposed for Juneteenth but this is the Juneteenth weekend so 🤷🏽‍♀️. I was just listening to the song and everything came to me lol. So please enjoy! Btw it may be rough, I haven’t edited it. 

Taglist: @sunset-novice-writer​, @goatsenpaiultimate​ (wanna be in my taglist? Just message me!💖)

Peace and quiet, this combo hardly appeared together in the Alliance building. Even in the dead of night, occasional snores, riff raffs sneaking around to get a midnight snack, and rush awakening from nightmares were the nightly language on the building. But when this opportunity arose, you couldn’t allow it to escape you like the rise of a super moon for witches to charge their crystals and water. Izuku was the last to greet you off, highly concerned about your health, and the idea of leaving alone in the big building by yourself. You fanned him further to the door, telling him not to worry about your health. Yes, you fell from 200m off of a building but you caught yourself...this time. Recovery girl only said to rest completely for three days and this was your final day before rushing back into the hero scene of UA. With a final push, you ushered him completely out of the building, reassuring him that there was no need to baby you. He finally smiled with reassurance, the soft sunset glare rested on his skin, making highlight every freckle on his glowing skin. Dark green tresses absorbed and reflected the light like a green forest. He finally turned around and ran off but not without a wave and a “Be safe!”, before joining with the rest on their trip to a minigolf center too far from the school. With a sigh, your shoulders dropped, listening into the vacuum-like dormitory, nothing but silence. At that moment you knew what you wanted to do.

It was a party, but only with one person. You ran to the kitchen, music blasting loud and proud of ravishing the cupboards of secret snacks you snuck in since your last trip to the city. It was a typical “white girl finally at home alone scenario” with the overtly loud music but in explicit rap version, breaking out in dance but instead, it’s full-on twerking and sharp bouncing. But finally, the high energy moving died down. From your room, the view of the sunset was ever magnificent once you finally let the sunlight radiate into your room. A sense of nostalgia recreated the room, transforming the scenery to an apartment’s step. The block was bumping with your older cousin’s car 90s rap and RnB while your ears pick up on the argument on if B.I.G or Tupac was better. The cool sensation of the cherry slushie in your hand felt almost too real and your heart turned from the scene. That same sensation brought you back to the present, the snowball turning into a regular bottle of cold water.

It’s okay to admit it, you are a little homesick. So what do you do? Put on some 90s music.

It’s been a while since you’ve listened to 90s RnB. The work never stops and hardly anyone here knew the songs, except for Denki of course but it was all the mainstream ones. So the solution? A 90s RnB marathon. There, the mood was set. Songs of Lauryn Hill, Jodeci, and even Sade broke you into a bunch of musical numbers as you clean your room. Just in time for Shoto to walk into the building

Everyone decided to go minigolf to celebrate the end of exams. Both Shoto and Kastuki, however, were called in by the number one hero for work-study then he left early due to Endeavor getting called in for a “top secret” meeting that would last all day. Not that Shoto wanted to be there in the first place but it was a waste of time to go into the cursed agency and not do anything productive. The Atomic Blonde fumed beside him.  

“Why the fuck we arrived only to get shoved back out of the building. You knew he would’ve done this didn’t you?” Shoto could almost see him foaming at the mouth like a rabid dog, ready to pounce on anyone in a 5ft range. 

“If I knew wouldn’t you think I would be in that meeting currently? Or I wouldn’t have come in the first place? Your lack of common sense is showing.” Bakugo teeth bared harder and his hair comically shot up higher like an intimidated cat. “Fucking IcyHot! Shut your mouth before I blast you all the way to hell!” A few grumblings carried on until they reached the Height Alliance building. Shoto knew that this evening the dorms would be empty, he was invited to play minigolf after all however Endeavor called them in and wasted his time with his friends and (Y/n).

Yes, (Y/n). Shoto has been confused about his mind constantly separate you from the rest of his friend since you entered the school. He’d stared at you for eons until nudged by Izuku slightly teasing him or Iida reprimanding him about the importance of paying attention in class. But by Gods, you’re just a sight to look at and Shoto is a perceptive tourist. That skin has an ethereal glow to it when kissed by the sun. The way your eyelashes just flutter when you blink it seems like wispy threads of the flowiest dress blowing in the wind. All the images of your face and body slide through his mind like a gallery until Katsuki broke through his trance.

“Oi! Half and Half bastard! Stop dreaming about (Y/n) and come train with me! All the shitheads left so I can finally train without distraction.” The blonde stomped off towards the training area, not waiting on Shoto’s reply. The dual-colored hair boy just sighed and entered the building knowing that he too would like to train rather than wasting time.

Now if a building was empty, would there not be any music playing? That was the thought that had crossed Shoto’s mind as he entered the dorms to put down his suitcase. It was unusual, all of 1A left the building, therefore, no music should be playing. But the melody caught the dual-haired boy off guard, trying to figure out who would leave their music on. Kaminari or Mina could be one of the suspects, maybe they’ve left their Bluetooth on connected to their portable speakers and left them? Shouto hardly knew of that type of technology, regardless, he found himself walking towards the source. His auditory senses were pleasantly confused. The reason being the music was foreign, not similar to the regular beats and melodies of the songs he hears Mina and the girls play or the “Megan” that Kaminari would put on sporadically in the main room. But it was soothing as if touching his heart, addressing his whole being. Thankfully the grand English classes his home-school teachers and the school conducted allowed him to recognize the words of the song. It was addressing him, or maybe someone named “You”. Either way, he carried on to the second floor where a familiar hallway greeted him.

With his excellent detective skills (just simply walking), he found that neither of his suspects where correct; it was actually you. For his current present, he could’ve never been so grateful to be graced by the view in front of him now. Your door was almost completely open but not completely blocking the scene in front of him.

Your entire being encompassed by the fiery sunset, setting tones to your figure, and already radiant skin. It was like watching the clouds part and enters the first celestial spirit commanding herself from the rays of the sun. And he was a repentant worshipper. Your eyelashes batted at the stuffed bear on your made bed, singing to him in the what Shouto deems angelic whispers. Your voice was soft and melismatic as you sang the chorus again.

But at your best, you are love You're a positive motivating Force within my life Should you ever feel The need to wonder why Let me know, let me know Let me know

You carried on singing, swishing your hips as you carried on cleaning your room meanwhile Shout watched from the hallway, wishing he could switch places with the now taunting bear in your dorm room. Little his knowledge, you were dedicating the song to him, the bear a symbolism of him. Your thoughts actually manifesting your crush however not in the way you had hoped. The idea of Shoto smiling as you performed your admiration and love for him was actually occurring without your awareness.

Shoto could feel his heart pumping at a higher capacity and the butterflies in his stomach fluttering in swiveling motions as you stood in the middle of the room, the amber glow cast on every inch of your dorm and on your own figure, finishing the final note with a nostalgic look towards the skies. The sunset casting the lashes on your cheekbone. His eyes widening, making sure to take in all the details of this scene, the mental photograph forever etch into his mind for the upcoming and frequent daydreaming.

As soon he made an inch to escape without being caught, the universe made other plans. His suitcase clattered against the wall he was just leaning on to watch you. Your figure jumped and ran to peer through the door, meeting a heterochromatic gaze. You paled.

“Oh my God, Shoto! I-I didn’t know you were here!” Your face heated up, his own beet red from getting caught stalking you.

“N-no.” He cleared his throat from the shock, “I’m sorry I couldn’t help to watch and listen to you sing. You have a very beautiful voice.” A small smile cast on his lips as he stared straight into your eyes. His words traveled straight to your heart.

‘Lord, if I died right now, I would die mad happy.’ Your thoughts screamed as you replied.

“T-thank you, Todoroki. I didn’t know you could’ve heard me, I thought the song was loud enough.” You peered off to the bottom of your door frame, unable to take the staring any longer.

‘Be still, my beating heart.’ Todoroki carried on with his compliment.

“I’ve never heard of this artist but your voice really sounds angelic with the song.”Your thoughts stopped in shock.

“Shoto, you’re telling me that you don’t know Aaliyah! As in ‘Try Again’ Aaliyah.” He shook his head in confusion.

“What about TLC?” Head shake.

“Mariah Carey?” Head shake.

“Destiny’s Child?!” That was his last strike before you pulled him by the wrist, your intent being to drag in in your room.

“That’s it, we are going to get you musically educated right now.” You declared as his being passed through the door frame, grateful that he gets to spend time with you alone.

You were grateful that he didn’t stalk you a few minutes before “You are Loved” came on. It would’ve been more embarrassing seeing you perform “Anxious” by Ginuwine to the stuffed bear.

[ncityislove]

Faith

➳ Pairing: Church boy!Mark x soft dom!reader (fem. reader)

➳ Genre: smut

➳ Word Count: 5.9K

Warnings: religious themes, corruption kink, rough sex, spitting, oral (male receiving), handjob, swearing, unprotected sex

A/N: this may be the filthiest thing I’ve ever written lol and don’t be afraid to leave feedback since my readers like to reblog in silence

You’ve had your eye on Mark Lee since two summers ago when you first met him at church camp. He had just moved into the city, his parents sending him off to their newly found church to make friends in an attempt to cheer up their homesick son. He did make a friend—quite a few of them actually—all of the boys who couldn't even look a girl in the eye without shifting their pants. Naturally, they all kept their distance from you and other girls and that's how they liked it. The other girls had their sights on the older guys in camp, whispering rumors of how experienced they must be and how badly they wanted their virginities taken by either of the gentlemen.

You, on the other hand, didn't partake in those conversations, zoning out almost immediately every time the conversation drifted in that direction. More often than not your mind wondered towards Mark. His nervous and awkward demeanor piqued your interest right away and you couldn't help but imagine how he'd react if you spoke to him. How he'd trip over his words and panic. Or what he would do if you kissed him—what would he do if your lips kissed him somewhere lower? You didn't know. That's how two years later, on the last day of church camp, you decided to find out.

You waited all day to get Mark by himself, his gang of friends was seemingly glued to his sides since the early hours of the morning activities. Now, finally, he was alone, fishing the coins out of his pockets to get a snack from the vending machines. You pranced up to him, an evil smile stretching across your lips.

"Hey," you leaned your arm against the glass, blocking the machine.

His eyebrows shot up, his eyes blinking rapidly at your sudden appearance.

"You're Mark right?" you asked the both of you knowing very well you already knew his name. He nodded, his eyes shining with curiosity.

You've never been this close to him before. Your eyes raked up and down his form taking in what you didn't notice before as his fingers fidgeted with his change under your unwavering gaze.

Your eyes fixated on the coins peeking through his pretty long fingers. "Do you have any more? I'm starving."

"No, sorry. I only have enough left for one thing," his lips pouted in guilt. "W-we can share if you want?"

You tilted your head, thinking about his offer. He was just as sweet as you imagined him to be. You didn't know many people who would share their only snack with a stranger.

"That's okay," you declined, smiling sweetly at him. "You wanna walk down to the docks, instead?"

"The docks?" he repeated, dumbly. The change jingled in hands loudly now as he struggled to give you a proper answer. He needed more persuading. You wanted him too badly to let him get away now.

"I wanna see the sunset one last time, ya know? We won't be able to come back next year."

It was true this was your last year being able to attend. The church stops allowing people to come once they reach a certain age and you and Mark weren't getting any younger. Honestly, though, you couldn't care less about a sunset you've seen a thousand times since you were twelve however Mark seemed to buy it.

"I guess you're right. Sure," he nervously chuckled before inserting his money into the machine.

You moved away from the glass trying to hide your giddiness as he punched a few buttons, a black metal lever catching a marshmallow treat from the top corner and releasing it for his eager hands to reach.

You sat cross-legged on the edge of the docks, facing the pink and purple sky as Mark unraveled the foil to his treat. You could smell the sickly sweet scent of marshmallows as he chomped down a large chunk of it, humming in satisfaction.

"Mark?" You called and he looked towards you, his left cheek bulging adorably.

Your eyes softened when he shoved the treat in your face, gesturing for you to take a bite. You giggled breaking a small piece off and popping it into your mouth.

"You wanna know something?"

Mark smiled, his black locks bouncing as he nodded his head.

"I've been wanting to talk to you for a long time," you admitted, your eyes meeting his as he stopped chewing.

"M-me? Really?" he stuttered, his ears turning red.

He looked cute when he was embarrassed, you thought to yourself. You wondered how far you could go before you made him uncomfortable.

"Are you a virgin, Mark?" the question flying out of your mouth without a second thought.

His eyes went wide, his hand flying to his mouth as he choked on his food. You laughed out loud as you patted his back.

Mark cleared his throat, his face beet red. "Uh-um...w-why?" he coughed again.

You shrugged, trying to seem as nonchalant as possible. "Just curious."

"Are you one? A virgin, I mean?" he asked. You could sense the hesitancy in his voice.

You shook your head, your hand landing on top of his at the same time. He tensed at the contact, his eyes still as wide as saucers.

"Are you?"

"Yes," he looked back at the sun resting above the lake, a blush creeping up the back of his neck.

You wanted nothing more than to taint every ounce of purity in his body. Your tongue darted across your lips as you took in the view his sculpted profile. The straight bridge of his nose, the slight crease in his brow as he squinted in the rays of the sun and finally the pink plush petals of his lips. He was so pretty you wanted to steal him and do everything you could imagine and more to him. You would absolutely ruin him if he'd let you.

"Don't you ever get horny?" you asked, your thumb rubbing against his wrist.

He gulped, still looking straight ahead as he nodded again. "Doesn't everyone?"

You hummed in agreement. "What do you do when that happens? Do you just ignore it?"

"No...well I try to."

"Have you ever?..." you trailed off.

He nodded again, his other hand balling into a fist in his lap, crumpling the empty foil.

"What would you say if I told you I'm horny right now?" you asked, your teeth clamping on your lower lip in anticipation.

He was looking at you now with an unreadable expression, his eyes clouded with something you couldn't recognize. You stared at each other for a beat before his eyes cowered away.

You were surprised to feel his fingers intertwining with yours after being so sure you must've scared him off. Your shoulders relaxed as you curled your fingers around his, giving his hand a squeeze. You took your free hand, tilting his face, forcing him to look at you as you closed in the space between you.

"Is this okay?" you asked, your faces so close you could feel his warm breath tickling your nose.

He opened his mouth to speak but no words came out, his lips clamping and opening over and over until you laughed, endeared by his shyness.

He tried to look away, clearly embarrassed, but you forced his chin back towards you. He opted for a nod this time, his teeth tugging harshly on his lip. You pulled at it with your thumb, watching intently as the flesh was freed from the harshness of his teeth, tracing over it with a gentleness you didn't know you possessed.

"You have such pretty lips. Like a doll," you said aloud causing Mark to groan in embarrassment.

"It's true," you insisted, your noses touching as you inched closer to him.

When you pressed your lips against his, a tremor ran through your body, the moment you've been dreaming about finally becoming reality. Mark was delicate. As far as you knew, he probably never even kissed a girl before but you were greedy. The haste in the way you moved to saddle his lap only further proved how needy you were for him. He tried to keep up with you, his tongue swirling around yours in hopes of pleasing you. He was cute. Too damn cute for his own good.

You broke away, your lungs feeling tight from not getting enough oxygen. Mark panted, his lips glossy with saliva, his big brown eyes looking at you in a way that made you want to tease him until he was whining and shivering under your touch but you suddenly realized your surroundings. A camp counselor could spot the two of at any given moment if they already haven't. The docks weren't exactly a private spot.

You stood up, holding your hand out. "Come."

Mark quickly took his trembling hand in yours, getting to his feet. You walked in silence, the only sounds that could be heard were the soft crunch of the grass under your sneakers. If Mark was having second thoughts, he didn't voice it.

The sun had set now and you had to be quick before everyone came back from evening prayer to eat dinner. You led up the steps to the girls' cabin, pausing at the door to look back at Mark, who seemed hesitant.

"Um..." he started, his gaze fixated at his feet.

"Yes, Mark?"

"Aren't we gonna miss prayer?"

"Do I make you feel like you need to pray, Mark?" you scoffed in a teasing tone.

He squeezed your hand as he ducked his head abashedly.

"I won't make you do anything you don't want to," you said, your voice serious. "Do you want to come in?"

He watched as you opened the door, releasing your hands from his. His hands dropped to his sides as you witnessed him have an internal battle with himself. You smiled triumphantly when he followed you inside.

The bunks were messy and there was stuff thrown half-hazardously around the floor as everyone was packing for their return home tomorrow. The boys' cabin was in much worse condition from what you'd seen.

Your bunk was in the back of the room on the bottom. You had Mark sit down on the edge of the bed with you, your hands already wondering up and down his jean-clad thigh.

"Are you sure you're okay with this?" you asked one last time.

"Yes," he gulped.

After getting his consent, your hands traveled from his thigh to his crotch, where he was already hard. His erection was straining against his pants so badly it must've been uncomfortable. His eyes shut tightly as you squeezed him through his jeans, a shaky sigh leaving his lips. Even though he seemed sure, you didn't plan on going too far with him—no matter how badly you wanted to.

You took your time unbuttoning his jeans, carefully watching his face for any signs of discomfort. When your hand finally wrapped around him skin-to-skin he let out the most beautiful moan you ever heard, his stomach tightening at your touch. He was big too. Bigger than you had anticipated but your gaze was fixed on his face instead. You looked at him in awe, the real thing incomparable to what you could possibly imagine in your wildest dreams. His eyes were still shut, his hot breath fanning evenly on your face.

"Sweetie, can you open your eyes?" you asked.

He shook his head, only squeezing his eyes tighter.

"Please? For me?" you said, your voice light.

He opened them slowly, his eyes finally connecting with yours and your pulse quickened. He looked breathtaking. His jaw was clenched and his eyebrows were furrowed as if he was focused on something.

"Spit," you commanded.

"Huh?" his eyes enlarged to the size of saucers.

"Spit on it," you said simply.

Mark looked grossed out but complied, nonetheless, a silver pool of liquid falling onto his reddened tip, leaving a wet trail as it traveled down his shaft. You massaged his length making sure to spread it around, causing him to gasp, bucking into your hands.

"Again," you said and he seemed much more willing this time as another pool of saliva landed on his tip, a shaky whimper emitting from him as you tugged at the base of his length. He knew what he was doing was wrong but it felt so damn good. There was time to regret it later but right now all he could think about was how much he never wanted you to stop. This was a feeling he never felt before, and dare he say it, it felt like heaven. He felt a twinge of guilt at how much he was enjoying this. He was sinning. He wasn't supposed to like it so much yet somehow the fact only turned him on further. And you. You were the embodiment of temptation. You were so beautiful, Mark couldn't say no to you even if he tried.

"How's this?" you ask just as you dig your finger into the angry head of his dick. Mark threw his head back, his nose crinkling as he moaned half from pleasure and half in pain. You soothed your finger over his slit as pre-cum came gushing from the hole. He whimpered again when you twisted your hand around him roughly, his teeth re-capturing his lower lip to muffle his sounds.

"Is it good?" you asked again. Your craving to his voice motivating your actions.

"S-so good," he replied, a shiver running through his body when you caught his eye. You pushed his legs open wider with your foot.

"Has anyone touched you like this before?" you asked, question after question spilling out of your mouth before you could stop them.

His cheeks turned rosy as he shook his head, his breath hitching in his throat when his sensitive head slid across the wet palm of your hand.

"Holy-" he started but didn't finish, catching himself before he let the word slip through his lips.

"Say it," you whispered, your teeth nipping at his jaw. "I dare you."

"H-holy...holy-"

"Say it," you urged him on, your tongue swirling over the harsh bone of his jaw.

"Shit, shit, shit," he moaned, his hand fisting around your loose t-shirt.

"Feels good, doesn't it?" you let your pace quicken as you asked him.

He groaned as his head fell onto your shoulder, shying away from your questions.

To see this side of Mark was exhilarating. He looked so guilty only having said a silly word that wasn't even that bad but still, you did pressure him into it. You kissed the top of his sweaty head tenderly, Mark's body slumping further into yours like a chain reaction. He tilted his head up, his lips begging for a kiss which you easily granted him, his whines being silenced by the clash of your lips. The kiss was sloppy and your breaths mingled with one another as you pulled away for a breath every few seconds.

You could hear the faint sound of whistles blowing in the distance. Evening prayer was over meaning the other girls were on their way back to get ready for dinner.

"Are you close?" you mumbled into his lips. Mark was far too out of it to even notice what was going on. He only chased after your lips that you had so cruelly taken away from him.

"Ah, ah, ah," you pulled away from him. "You need to answer my question, angel."

He let a wanton moan, somewhere in between you could barely understand a 'yes'.

"You have to cum, Mark," you pressed your lips to his forehead, your wrists snapping faster in contrast. "The girls will be back soon and you don't want them to see us, do you?"

Mark let out weak moan, his cock twitching in your hands. You lifted an eyebrow. Did that turn him on?

"You like the sound of that?" you asked teasingly. "Everyone seeing you like this."

The fist on your shirt only got tighter as his moans rose in pitch. "You'll be a good boy and come for me won't you?" you asked not waiting for an answer. "Cum."

His balls got tight as he twitched in your hand again, the veins on his length protruding in warning. His breath hitched in his throat before his climax rocketed through his body, his jaw hanging agape as thick white ropes of cum came spurting all over your hand like a geyser.

His body relaxed as he fell backward onto the bed, completely spent. You wiped your hands on the bedspread trying to ignore the throbbing in your core as you reached for something to clean him up as quickly as possible. The closest thing you could find was an old band t-shirt that belonged to the girl in the top bunk and you whispered an apology before using the fabric to wipe him clean and tuck his softening dick away in the confines of his jeans just as your friend, Ali waltzed in.

Mark would've shot up if he wasn't so exhausted but he couldn't feel his legs at the moment so he feigned sleep which made you roll your eyes. A few girls came in afterwards giving you odd looks as they passed by. You nudged Mark and he reluctantly sat up, his elbows holding up his upper body.

"I didn't know you guys were friends," Lizzie, the girl he slept in the bunk across from you commented.

"Really? We're pretty close. Right, Mark?" everyone turned to look at Mark, who looked like he just got caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

"Yep! Yeah, me and __ are totally close!" he blurted with a fake smile plastered on his face. You inwardly face-palmed yourself. He was a bad liar too. Great.

"I didn't see you in prayer," Lizzie mused. "Come to think of it, I didn't see Mark either."

Mark's eyes widened as he searched for an explanation.

"It's our last day and I didn't want to spend it huddled up around the campfire to say the same old prayer."

Lizzie nodded but looked unconvinced. She knew you well enough to know that wasn't the full story.

"Didn't you say you were hungry earlier?" you turned to Mark. "Let's go eat!" you yanked him up and tugged him by the arm to the door, receiving more weird looks from your bunkmates.

"They knew! It was so obvious! We shouldn't have done that—what was I thinking?" Mark blurted as soon as you were out of earshot of anyone.

"Calm down," you giggled. "Sure, it was weird to find you in the girls' cabin but no one would suspect you of doing anything."

"Why not?" Mark asked, a pout on his lips in genuine confusion. You didn't have the heart to tell him everyone thought he was a prude who couldn't hold a conversation with the opposite sex so you patted him on the head instead, telling him not to worry about it.

-

Since then, you saw Mark every Sunday morning at church but you never spoke. He always looked so antsy during those few hours, his eyes flicking away if you accidentally made eye contact. You'd try to hold in the chuckle when you saw him turn red as he faced the preacher. It was endearing how nervous he became around you and it was painfully obvious that sexual tension was still there but you decided it was a one-time thing. You'd gotten what you wanted from Mark.  

Though it didn't help how good he looked in his dressy button-ups and slacks so tight you could see the perfect shape of his ass—and if you focused hard enough, the outline of his dick. You tried not to notice but one look at the man and your mind went back to that hot afternoon at camp. It was a trap really, how he came in looking so prim and pretty. It made you want to wrinkle his freshly ironed shirt and ruffle his perfectly combed hair while you fucked him in one of the empty youth group rooms.

That was wrong. If you weren't going to hell before you certainly are now. It was a Sunday for goodness sake, you were standing in the house of God. You looked to your parents who's heads were bowed in prayer as the preacher gave his lengthy monologue on his journey to his faith. You couldn't ignore your curiosity, wanting to take the chance to sneak a peek at Mark, who evidently had the same idea because when you turned he was already looking at you. His lips formed in an 'o' shape as he held up a hand awkwardly. You waved back, a knowing smirk playing on your lips. He mouthed something to you, but you couldn't make it out so you tilted your head in confusion.

He pointed at you this time as he repeated himself and you got it.

'How have you been?'

You smiled. You doubted he had any actual interest in how you were but was just trying to be polite.

'Good.' you lifted a thumb. 'And you?'

Mark mimicked you, raising his thumb. 'Bathroom?'

Bathroom?

He tilted his head toward the door and you had to make sure you weren't going crazy. Was he asking you what you thought he was? You agreed although you were unsure exactly of what he wanted but that was something you wanted to find out. You waited a few more minutes for the prayer to end and the ushers finally re-opened the doors.

Mark whispered something to his parents before squeezing out of his row, meeting your eyes briefly before heading out the side doors. You did the same, mumbling apologies as you ducked out of the room.

Mark was leaning against the wall next to the restrooms when you emerged. He was wearing baby pink today, a color you thought suited him well.

"Hey," he said in a soft voice.

"Mark," you greeted him. "What's up?"

He clasped his hands, his teeth showing as he gave you a jittery smile. "I just...well we haven't spoken in a while."

"True," you said, your palm laying flat against the wall for support. "You just wanted to catch up?"

"Not exactly..."

"You want something from me?" you said not really asking as you closed in the large gap between each other.

Mark swallowed, clearing his throat as he gathered the courage to continue. "I just can't stop thinking about that day when you...you know."

You crossed your arms over your chest waiting for him to finish.

"Every Sunday I see you and I start to have bad thoughts. Really bad thoughts."

You understood that feeling.

He took a deep breath. "I want it to stop but I can't control it. I shouldn't be thinking about such sinful things at church."

"And what do you want me to do about it?" It wasn't as if you could undo that day. What's done is done.

"I think...I-I want to do it again," he blurted.

You couldn't say you weren't expecting this but it still surprised you to hear it. He must've been thinking about it for a long time. Mark wasn't the type to initiate these kinds of things—especially at church.

"Here?" you raised a brow.

"No!...yes?" he scratched his head, his lips pursed in deep thought.

You cupped his cheek with your hand, his eyes snapping to yours immediately. "You want me to give you a handjob in the middle of service? Is that what you're asking?"

Mark groaned, licking his lips as he nodded frantically, his eagerness causing you to giggle. The good, innocent little Christian boy you met not too long ago was long gone now. You had turned him into something else. He wasn't innocent anymore, needless to say, you wouldn't enjoy it as much as the first time.

"I'd love to give you a hand, angel, but that was a one-time thing."

Mark wilted at your words, placing his hand on top of the one cupping his face. "I-I'm so hard, please? I promise I'll make you feel good too this time," he begged, blinking those big brown eyes that held the galaxy at you.

He must've known that was your weakness. Mark caught on to more than you thought.

"Have you done that before? Made a girl feel good?"

"No...but you can teach me," he said, squeezing your hand.

You didn't have time for this. Your "bathroom break" excuse won't work if you stayed out here any longer, yet, you were crumbling towards Mark's offer. No, he wasn't as innocent as you would've liked but everything about his face screamed virgin to you. He was still pure. And desperate for you more than anything.  

You cursed, pulling Mark into the family restroom ordering him to lock the door. Mark was on you before you could blink, pinning you against the wall as his lips smashed onto yours. His kisses were gentle however, his lips still as soft and warm as you remembered. His erection pressed into your hip and you could feel just how hard he was.

Mark's head was already spinning, all the blood rushing from his head down somewhere lower. This time he didn't feel guilty about what he was about to do. He would later on but right now all he could think about was you. How he'd never seen you naked but how great he knew you looked underneath the loose yellow dress you were  sporting. How tiny and dainty your hands were but how wonderful you could make him feel when you used them. How addicting the taste of your lips were and no matter how long he kissed you it was never enough. He wanted to have you completely—to see all of you—to feel all of you.

His tongue slowly prodded into your mouth and you briefly let him take initiative as he suckled on the tip of your tongue, pulling a soft whine from you and then you felt it. Mark subtly grinding his erection on your side. He let out small pants, enjoying the rough friction as he got off on your leg.

You suddenly remembered you had a time limit, pushing his body away from yours. Mark looked like a lost puppy, a sound of disappointment leaving his lips. You pulled the collar of his shirt, switching places as you pressed his back against the door. He let out a long sigh as you raked your fingernails up his thigh, slowly, slowly tracing over his clothed cock. He was getting impatient, his desperation only growing as you teased him but he didn't dare complain.

It felt like ages until you dipped your hand into the waistband of his pants. You took him into the palm of your hand, letting your fingers trail down his length before pulling him free, his thickness standing at attention for your hungry eyes to drink up. He was so hard it looked painful, the torn expression on his face as he watched you only further led you to believe so. His juicy reddened tip was already slick with essence and the temptation to take him into your mouth was all too strong as you bent down to kitten lick him and Mark keened in surprise.

You licked along the underside of his shaft causing Mark to squirm and you had to warn him to keep still. Mark had never felt anything like this. Everything felt so new when he was with you and he loved that. Just when he thought it couldn't get any better it did.

Mark's head flung back, hitting the door with a soft thud as you wrapped your lips around him completely. He let out an airy moan, his hand finding the top of your head and clutching onto the strands. You hallowed your cheeks as you sucked, your forehead touching his stomach once you reached the base.

Mark was loud, any recollection of where he was must've escaped his mind somewhere in between now and the moment you kissed him.

You pulled off of him with a small 'pop' taking in a much needed breath. Mark's eyes were only half-open, seeming just as out of breath as you.

"Do you want to try something?" you asked, your voice coming out weaker than you intended it to.

"Anything," Mark quickly agreed.

" 'Want you to fuck my mouth."

He frowned at that. "Won't that hurt you?"

"No, baby. It won't hurt," you giggled.

He smiled weakly, as he laughed at himself ignoring the warm feeling in your stomach that arose when he made you promise it wouldn't hurt.

You opened your mouth for him as he positioned himself, hissing when you pressed your tongue against him. He pushed himself to the back of your throat, grunting as he pulled your hair taut. He was gentle at first, his hips thrusting into your mouth slowly until he got more comfortable, filling your mouth until he was balls deep. His cock was down your throat, blocking your airways but even when you felt like your lungs were gonna burst you didn't want him to stop. The thought of him spilling his warm seed down your throat made it worth it. His nose scrunching up as he felt his climax approaching was all you wanted to see. His lips plump from his teeth digging into them as he cried out for as he came was just as beautiful a sight as ever.

The warm substance trickled down your throat as he emptied his seed into you, still rutting himself into your mouth as he rode out his high.

He fell back onto the door, his grip on your hair still firm as he caught his breath. He looked down at you. Your eyes dark and mouth slick with his cum. It was the hottest thing he ever witnessed; better than anything he'd ever seen in porn.

You rose to your feet, your thighs trembling from being in a squat for so long. Mark pulled you until your foreheads were touching, his lips pecking yours softly. He cringed at the taste of himself on you.

"I wanna be inside you," he admitted, his hands locking on your waist. "Can I?"

You blinked, caught off guard by his bluntness. "You wanna lose your virginity in the bathroom of a church?" you shook your head at him with a mischievous grin. "Naughty boy."

Mark looked flushed as he watched you pull the straps of your dress down, your bra coming into view.

"You want to touch them?"

"Please," he answered, his eyes trained on the fullness of your breasts.

"You're so pathetic," you taunted. "Look at you, all worked up. I bet you've imagined this before, haven't you?"

Mark had no shame as he nodded immediately.

"Dirty little boy," you clicked your tongue as you put his palms on your chest, allowing him free reign.

"Have you touched yourself to the thought of me, angel?"

Heat rose to Mark's cheeks as he squeezed your chest, his lips moving to tell you yes. You walked backwards to the sink, hoisting yourself up and opening your legs for him as a reward for his honesty.

Mark looked lost, his soft eyes falling onto your dark ones for assistance. You tugged him toward you, telling him to take off your dark panties. His eyes flew open when he caught a glimpse of how wet you were, a clear string sticking from your heat to your panties as he pulled them down your legs. He moaned out loud as his fingers collected the substance, lewd wet noises filling the air.

"Fill me up, pretty boy," you said wrapping your legs around his waist.

Mark wrapped his sticky fingers around his length, guiding the head to your throbbing heat before pushing into you, his jaw falling slack as he let out a guttural groan. His hand came to land on the mirror behind you as his head hung low, whimpering and moaning at how tight you were. You urged him to move, tapping on his bicep but he was on the verge of cumming. He mumbled apologies as he squeezed his eyes shut, breathing heavily. You stayed like that for a while, his breath falling onto your neck, fully sheathed inside of you. You hadn't felt this full before, the burning sensation both pleasant and painful. You were dying, having him inside you without moving felt like a punishment for something you didn't do.

You accidentally clenching around him is what set him off, his hips snapping into yours. You let out a cry, pleasure shooting up your spine as he rolled his hips into yours, hitting your sweet spot. Your head lulled back, hitting the mirror every time he rutted into you, the faucet digging uncomfortably into your back. It felt like you were floating on cloud nine, your body heating up as Mark fucked you roughly.

Mark was going insane, the tightness of your core pulling him back in every time he pulled out; he was damn near drooling. He could see the bulge in your stomach as he pushed in and out of you, his brain going haywire. He was mesmerized, watching himself leave and re-enter you over and over.

"Fuckkk," he groaned, already losing himself to you.

You whined and whimpered, your nails scraping over the bare skin under his shirt hard enough to leave a mark. His pace was unforgiving, his thrusts powerful and deep. Your cries and whimpers only spur him on, somehow his cock managing to hit deeper.

"Yes, yes, oh fuck," you moaned, your eyes rolling back.

You clenched around him again, your climax jumping at you unexpectedly. The moan you let out was lengthy, your legs shaking as the world around you faded into white.

Mark shivered as he snapped his hips faster. "Oh, God."

Oh, God, indeed. He was hurdling over the edge just seconds after you, warm white cum filled you up leaving you feeling breathless. Mark pulled out of you feeling dirty but the lovely sight of his seed dribbling out of your throbbing hole was almost enough to get him hard again.

The service was surely almost over now, thoughts of your parents filled your memory as you hauled Mark's limp body off of you. You cleaned yourselves up, having to smack Mark's hand away a few times while getting dressed. Mark's hair was a mess and you didn't have a comb to fix it so you did your best to raking it with your fingers before parting ways.

You remembered what he had asked you before he left, his hand interlaced with yours, squeezing tightly as if you might try to let go.

"Can we do this again? I know you said it was a one-time thing before but..." he trailed off.

Your finger rubbed over the soft skin of his lips, pushing your thumb past his teeth and he instantly sucked on the digit, those almond eyes boring right into yours once again.

"You're so well behaved, Mark," you praised.

You looked at him from across the room, his last words ringing in your ears as he licked his lips, staring right back at you.

"You don't have to give me an answer now but promise you'll think about it? I know I will."

[stainandscribble]

Revenant (Part 3)

Pairing: Baekhyun X OC

Genre: Baekhyun Witch AU; fluff; fantasy; angst

Summary: To witches, names hold power, and Eleonora happens to have a very dangerous gift, one that can be deadly when misused- she has the ability to read names, true names that the witches and warlocks share only with people of utmost trust. It is a secret she hopes to take to her grave. Baekhyun had left his coven, and joined one with Suho’s. They too, possess unspeakable gifts. When Junmyeon warns him of his marriage, Baekhyun begins preparing, but so does Eleonora. With the veil thinning, and the darker half approaching, will their secrets stay safe? Or will the world burn?

PART 1   PART 2   PART 3   PART 4   PART 5    PART 6   PART 7

A/N: I tried making this more dramatic. I hope it worked lol. 

Word Count: 3542

It had only been days after their little date when Suho invited Eleonora’s family for dinner. He wanted to make sure that her parents were at ease with giving up their daughter. Something her father greatly appreciated from the young coven leader. 

“Welcome to our humble home.” Suho greeted them when they entered his house, which had also been serving as the coven’s administration building since their coven was a small one, and didn't need a separate administration building like Eleonora’s. 

“Not as humble as you’d like to think.” Eleonora’s mother replied, walking in front of her husband and daughter, the aura surrounding her was that of a powerful matriarch, and Suho bowed his head in respect for his elders. By his side, Winnie smiled at her friend’s parents, before being embraced by the mother and her friend. A sheepish smile formed on her lips when Eleonora’s mother looked through her, as if searching for something she didn’t like. Today, she had acted differently than usual. She had been colder, more calculating. Her gaze was piercing, and Winnie had no doubt she was searching for flaws, reasons why Eleonora would be unhappy here, among strangers. She seemed to find none, and a bright smile returned to her face when Suho resumed speaking. 

“I was hoping that we could make the necessary arrangements tonight and get to know each other better.” He explained, leading the family into the dining room, where his coven was finishing setting the table. 

“I was hoping to do the same.” Eleonora’s father said, his eyes kind and voice gentle, reminding Suho of his father. 

“Shall we?” He asked, and Suho guided them to the table, allowing his coven to sit down as well.

Eleonora’s eyes scanned the table, looking for the familiar face of her betrothed, but she found the chair empty. She turned to Suho with questioning eyes, but before she could ask where Baekhyun was, the hum of chatter was silenced by the sound of Baekhyun’s shoes against the wooden floor. 

He came in, bright and alert, and Eleonora could have sworn she saw the rays of sunlight move with him like his own personal spotlight. He sat down beside her, before turning to her parents, bowing his head lightly in greeting. 

“Why are you late?” She whispered, trying to keep a comfortable distance between them.

“I wanted to make a good impression. Did I ruin it?” He asked. The playfulness from their outing was gone, and he was serious as his eyes bounced between her and her parents. She could feel the tension in his shoulders, and she could taste the nervousness, peaking through the sweet rocky road flavour that sat on her tongue, a decadent reminder that maybe this was not an ending.

“No. You didn’t.” She reassured him, and Baekhyun smiled at her lightly, although the tension didn’t leave him. Nevertheless, he was grateful, and had even managed to send her a cheeky wink when Suho was talking with her mother.

The meal had been pleasant. Soo cooked, and Winnie had been a great hostess. Eleonora had caught herself multiple times about to slip up when talking to Winnie. They had been good friends and being from sister covens they had known each other’s names for most of their lives. It was hard to not slip up and say her name. Eleonora could taste the same struggle from Winnie. The girl knew her name too but had promised to not say it before Eleonora got married. Once Eleonora was in their small coven, she could say her name all she wanted. 

After a few exchanges of sentences, it was clear that Winnie had not told her coven, or her husband, that the two were friends. It wouldn’t hurt Eleonora too much if she simply had not told them they had been best friends, but Winnie had given no indication that the two knew each other. Instead of hurting, Eleonora had felt anger. Silent rage bubbled under her skin, but she managed to suppress the unwanted feeling.

“When do you want to start moving your things into Baek’s home?” Suho asked, and all eyes had turned to look at Eleonora. She looked him straight in the eyes, some of the anger still bubbling under the surface, leaking through her eyes, turning her tongue into a sharpened edge.

“Whenever he decided there is enough space to move them.” She tells him. The anger does not leak through too much, but the words are said with an edge, and if she could taste her own feelings, Eleonora was sure she would taste the acrid taste of anger and disappointment.  

“Alethea, how are the preparations going?” Yeol butted in, his deep voice and bright smile a contrast to Suho’s, prompting Eleonora to turn her attention away from the leader.

“It’s going well. I’m almost finished.” She gave the tall man a small smile as the taste of Baekhyun’s relief washed over her. It was refreshing, like cool lemonade. He smiled back, his smile considerably brighter, and Baekhyun smiled too, eyes glinting with glee.

“I think I have enough jam and compote to feed a small town.” Baekhyun spoke, smiling at Eleonora’s mother, who turned to her.

“It’s a good thing you like jam, honey.” She put her hand over her shoulder, and Eleonora turned to her, the same blank expression she had given Suho on her face, although this time it was void of unexpressed anger.

“I’m not a small town though.” She told her coldly, and Baekhyun thought that if she had Minseok’s power her eyes could have frozen her mother over, the same way he knew Minseok could. 

“You just eat as much as a village.” Her mother was unaffected by Eleonora’s attitude, and Baekhyun noted she looked like her resolve was ending. The calmness in her aura was almost completely gone, and he knew she was soon going to reach her breaking point.

“Mum!” The anger had bubbled over the surface and spilt out. Eleonora did not care for the Warning, or the alliance. She had listened to her mother, came here, dressed all pretty ready to impress, but that was gone now. She was angry. This was not a joke. This was not a time for her mother to joke about her, make her seem softer. She knew what her mother was doing. She was appeasing. Appeasing Suho in her place, softening the malice her daughter felt for the coven, and the situation. Eleonora had had enough, and the single word fell from her lips like a curse, silencing her mother, and the laughter of the other coven members, whether polite or genuine, all had fallen quiet.

“That’s enough honey.” Her father coaxed his wife out of her silence, easing the tension that had built up around them.

“I thought we were joking.” Her mother muttered, but one look at Eleonora had shut her up once more.

Suho cleared his throat, and the table had resumed eating the vegetable soup that had been served as the starter.

 Baekhyun watched Eleonora get pulled out of her chair by Winnie, with the excuse that she wanted to have a “girl chat”. His eyes followed the two as they disappeared from view, heading in the direction of the kitchen.  An uneasy feeling settled over his stomach, and he decided to follow them. He got up, excused himself to the bathroom, and followed the path of his betrothed.

Going down the brightly lit winding corridors, he passed various paintings Suho had in his collection and stopped just outside the kitchen entrance. He strained his ears to listen to what they were talking about, but he soon found out there was no need to strain to hear them. Winnie’s voice rang through the air clearly.

“Eleonora. What do you think you’re doing?” Winnie’s accusing tone made the hairs on the back of Baekhyun’s neck stand on edge as anger gripped his heart.

“You didn’t tell them I am your friend did you?” Eleonora asked, equally angry with her.

“I told my parents.” Eleonora told her, and Baekhyun held his breath as silence gripped the kitchen. In the stillness, he could feel Winnie’s hesitance as she gathered her words. When she spoke again, the anger was gone from her voice, and he wondered of Eleonora could taste the defeat that tinged her voice.

“It’s not like that. You are my friend.”

“I’m just worried our close relation will make Suho curious. He will ask me for your name, and I will not be able to give it to him.” She had tried to justify herself, but anger bubbled under Baekhyun’s skin at the fact she was using Junmyeon as a shield. Junmyeon wouldn’t ask, would he?

Baekhyun always thought his leader was courteous and respectful, and he didn’t believe that Junmyeon would have ever thought of asking such a thing. A name was sacred, and Junmyeon as the leader knew exactly how important it was to all witches.

“If he wants my name he can ask me. What would he need it for anyway?” Eleonora refuted, the anger in her tone more prominent than before. Baekhyun had no doubts she had felt slighted by this. The fact that Winnie knew her name but was still willing to act like this baffled him. He thought if a person knows your name they can be trusted, relied on. It seemed he was mistaken. Even without any clairvoyance, he could feel the acrid taste of broken trust coming from the kitchen.

“Our coven is small; he wants to keep everyone safe.” Winnie tried to justify herself again, but it was clear Eleonora had no patience for it.

“I am not part of this coven.” She spat. Baekhyun’s heart broke a little, a heavy feeling settling in his stomach.

“Not yet.” Winnie spoke, her voice almost patronising, as if she was explaining something to a small child. But Eleonora was not a small child, and she would not be talked down to. Anger bubbled inside Baekhyun. His attention was stolen for a moment by the flickering lights above his head, and across the hall. He hoped that the lights in the kitchen were unaffected by his outburst of power.

“If he pesters me, I will never be.” Came Eleonora’s response, and Baekhyun’s heart stopped. The idea of him not marrying her sent a wave of panic through his body. The lights flickered again, and this time Baekhyun didn’t stop them.

“It is enough he insulted me in my own coven house, I will not stand for any more of it.” Eleonora clearly felt insulted. He remembered their meeting and the certainty with which she spoke, and he remembered watching, thinking that it was almost as if she was putting Suho in his place, an outsider with a small coven, someone outside of their Circle, someone who didn’t have any authority over her. It was true he didn’t. Suho and their coven were nobodies compared to Eleonora’s coven.

“You are too proud.” Winnie tried patronising again, and again it didn’t work.

“At least I have something to be proud of.” She spat.

“What does that mean?” Winnie asked, her own anger taking the best of her.

“Were you not going to marry that Crone’s boy from the next Circle?” Eleonora asked, and it took all of Baekhyun’s willpower not to lose his balance. No one in their coven knew about this. Finding out that his leader’s wife had been meaning to marry someone else came as a surprise, although it was not unheard of or looked down upon. Whatever fate had in store for you could be altered through the power of free will. Whatever happened, you married freely, because you wanted to. But Winnie had loved Suho with such passion and loyalty it was truly surprising she had once promised herself to another. 

“You were making him jumpers before your dearest husband came along.” Now it was Eleonora’s turn to taunt, and Baekhyun could hear the glee in the edge of her voice. He was realising more and more, with every passing word, that his betrothed was even more ruthless than he initially believed, and his heart swelled.

“You know how this works. Not all witches marry the people of their warnings.”

“You were never in love with that boy.” Eleonora stated, and Baekhyun knew Winnie was at her end.

“How dare you!” She accused, and Baekhyun pressed himself closer to the doorway, to hear better.

“Didn’t you forget,” His betrothed stated, “That once a witch falls in love, the fate changes? You were never in love with that boy; hence your fate stayed the same and you married Suho.” She explained, and Baekhyun could imagine Winnie slink away in defeat. His heart went out to her. He felt that it had been too much. Eleonora had gone too far than he believed necessary.  

“You hold it against me like something shameful.” Winnie whispered, and Baekhyun could hear the defeat in her voice.

“It isn’t shameful. And it isn’t wrong to actively look for love, instead of passively waiting for it.” Eleonora spoke, as if she was wiser than Winnie, as if she knew something the other didn’t.

“But I have no shame either. I had no Warning and you acted like I was broken.” The accusatory tone did not disappear from her voice. “I wasn’t broken, I was proud.”

“Were you proud or just too full of yourself?” Winnie defended herself.

“My freedom had been taken away from me! They came to me with a Warning, and the least I can do is keep my pride.” Eleonora hissed.

“Is it because you are marrying? Or is it because you are marrying into a lesser coven?”

“I am nothing but an offer of an alliance, leaving my home to go to a stranger.”

Baekhyun’s heart rattled against his chest, knowing that Eleonora didn’t want this, never sought out a Warning; that they came to her and told her she would forge an alliance she wanted no part in, tore his heart apart. He waited, from the moment Baekhyun was given his Warning by Suho seven years ago. When Baekhyun finally found out it was time he wanted to make sure everything was perfect, make everything as painless and comfortable as he could. His sentiments were not shared.

“That’s not true.” Winnie spoke up, ready to defend her coven and her husband. “He is the right person for you.”

“You know, he is bright.” Laughter bubbled through her, spilling out as warmth into the corridor. A moment before the air was cold and still as Baekhyun’s heart shattered, now it was moving, lively.  “Shining.”

Baekhyun could hear the laughter again, and he smiled, feeling like she was in some way defending him.  The lights of the corridor shone a little brighter, and the rays of the setting sun, dark red and orange, bounced off the glass in the window with glee as Baekhyun commanded them.

“I don’t know what’s so funny Winnifred, but I certainly don’t get the joke.” Eleonora’s icy tone broke Winnie’s laughter, and the light stilled, dimming back to normal and Baekhyun let it go, dejection gripping his chest.

“Why does my name sound like a threat from your lips?” Winnie asked, and Baekhyun turned to listen more carefully.

“Do you think I never thought about threatening?” There was something unspoken in Eleonora’s words, something she didn’t dare to say out loud.

“Do you think I never wanted to just do it?” She asked, and Winnie backed away to the door, her footsteps making Baekhyun retreat slightly, the smooth texture of silky wallpaper under his fingertips was the only thing keeping Baekhyun grounded.

“Eleonora,” Winnie gasped.

“Why does my name sound like a plea?”

“Because it is.”

“I have no use in you being afraid. But know one thing.” Baekhyun could hear her come closer to the door. “I won’t hesitate next time.” The doorknob began to turn.

Baekhyun ran soundlessly through the hall back to the dining room, their footsteps muffled far behind him.  

 They sat down again, Suho’s eyes ever watchful for any slip-up. She knew they were distrustful, but she could also taste her father’s approval and her mother’s content. The anxiety and fear that her mother felt before coming here had been quenched by Suho and his coven, and most importantly by the way Baekhyun had stolen glances at her all evening, holding her hand under than table, and the way he had made sure she was always included, even when it was her father and Suho discussing things. Her father had found in endearing, but unnecessary, if Eleonora wanted to say something, she simply did, and no one’s permission was necessary, nor was anyone’s encouragement. He knew his daughter well, and he and his wife knew she would not sit still.

Throughout the rest of the dinner, Winnie’s gaze flickered to Eleonora, concern marring her eyes and creasing her brows. When it was finally time to leave. Eleonora could have sworn she let out a breath. A courteous smile spread across her face as she walked hand in hand with Suho to lead her family out.

“It was a pleasure meeting you.” Her parents shook hands with Suho and Winnie, smiling a little brighter once it was Baek’s turn to bid them farewell. Eleonora’s mother even whispered something in his ear, making him smile brightly in response, and give her a small nod. All the while, Eleonora could taste the dejection Baekhyun was masking. She could taste some disappointment and even a twinge on loneliness, all of these flavours unpleasant, all of them alarming as to what had transpired.

“I hope we settled a lot of your doubts.” Suho spoke, turning to shake her hand next, and she allowed it, being equally courteous to Winnie, as the woman gave her a tight-lipped smile.

“You have.” Eleonora’s mother nodded, taking her husband’s hand, before looking at her daughter expectantly.

“What do you think Alethea?”

“I had no doubts to begin with.” Her response was curt but polite, enough for Suho’s suspicious gaze to soften the slightest bit.

“Next time you must come to ours.” Her father invited them to dinner, and Eleonora cringed inwardly, anger bubbling at the idea of having Winnifred and Junmyeon come to her home. The rest of the coven seemed reserved but harmless, some were even excited.

Just as they were leaving, their everyone’s eyes fell to her and Baekhyun, standing a good distance apart, not saying a word. Picking up on the cue, Eleonora walked closer, getting a good taste of what Baekhyun was feeling, before realising he had probably heard her conversation with Winnie and the fact that she was reluctant up until the moment they met in person.

She leaned closer to him, close enough to whisper in his ear without anyone else hearing her.

“I don’t need you to make me happy or fulfilled.” Her breath brushed against his ear, sending a chill down his spine as her words made his heart sink.

“Can we have a moment?” He asked, eyes watching as the two pairs walked out the door to give them some privacy. He looked her straight in the eye, watching her steely gaze as it did not soften.

She resumed whispering; their bodies close enough her lips were almost brushing against his.

“You make me happy anyway.” She whispered, and Baekhyun stood there stunned, unable to speak.

“I still want to know what love tastes like.” She told him, and Baekhyun was reminded of the taste of rocky road and the image of light bouncing off of stained-glass windows in his home.

“Whatever you heard me say to Winnie,” She cut him off when he tried to speak.

“It wasn’t a lie.” She told him, putting a hand on his shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze.

“Is it bad that I want you to love me?” His voice cracked; his heart broken by her still trying to keep itself together.

“No.” She shook her head, gaze finally softening as she told him the truth. A small smile played on her lips as she tasted the want and the hope on her tongue, tasting like honey tea, like a balm for all ills.

“Will you?” Baekhyun’s eyes were still void of their mischievous twinkle, their deep brown less vibrant than before. The truth Eleonora already knew she would, the taste of rocky road mixed with the taste of hope and sorrow, and she didn’t know how to reassure him. Words could not do justice to his feelings. Not now, when she didn’t have the right words to tell him. Actions would have to do this time.

She leaned in closed, which wasn’t that close considering their proximity, and pressed her lips to his, softly, lightly, as if not to startle him. The peck had lasted only a second, but it was enough.

“What was that?” Baekhyun asked, throat thick with saliva, and chest tight with the weight of his heart.

“My first kiss.” She responded, moving away from him and walking through the door. At the threshold, she turned around, giving him one last look.

“Goodnight Baekhyun.”

[theleftpill]

Where’s the Morgue Mouse?

While reading this post, I started to mentally file through all of Molly’s scenes in Sherlock, trying to think of where the characterization of the “Morgue Mouse” sprung from.  Nothing immediately came to mind.  So I decided to attack the issue academically and explore the canon characterization of Molly Hooper, to find out exactly how much of a quivering, timid, dysfunctional person she is.  After each scene, I’ve listed a quantification of her Morgue Mouse tendencies, scoring each scene using a highly scientific and methodically researched system purely my own opinion.  The scale is:

Morgue Mouse Rating:

0 = Sherlolly-level characterization (confident, mature, straightforward)

10 = Johnlock-level characterization (non-verbal quivering mess when in any proximity to Sherlock)

So - breaking down Molly’s scenes:

A Study in Pink

Introduction

OK, when we first meet Molly she is being her adorable sweet self while describing the corpse before them with the immortal phrase: “I knew him, he was nice” with rays of sunshine blazing from her smile.

She then watches Sherlock beat the bloody crap out of the “nice” corpse with only a flinch or two, then proceeds to approach him to ask him out with this look on her face:

I mean what a shrinking violet jeez

After watching Sherlock desecrate the corpse, Molly makes a bad joke, giggles adorably, and then asks him out.  Throughout, she is speaking clearly, directly, with steadfast confidence and radiance.  She doesn’t stammer once.  (She hesitates in her answer when he asks her about the lipstick, surprised that he noticed?, but I don’t see her being weak or meek, just caught out a bit.)   Her “OK!” is still cheery yet confused, but rings out clearly.

Morgue Mouse Rating: .005

Coffee

Sherlock asks what happened to the lipstick and she gives a clear, immediate answer “It wasn’t working for me.”  No stammer, no shrinking, maintaining eye contact, although discouraged from being shot down.  Her sad little “Ok…” punch-line and exit is steady and efficient.  No mournful little glances heaving sighs or dramatic expressions.

Morgue Mouse Rating: 00

The Blind Banker

Cafeteria

Molly is surprised to see Sherlock in the cafeteria, and you can see her blush from a mile away, but she’s not panicked or cowed.  When he gives the names of the corpses he wants to see, she answers him directly.  So directly in fact, that he immediately resorts to manipulation to get what he wants.  (Now, why is that, if she’s such a meek little morgue mouse?  Could it be he’s come up against Stalwart Molly before?)  And while she’s confused and flustered by his flattery, she doesn’t fall apart from it.  She continues to make the most adorable faces eye contact with him.

Morgue Mouse Rating: 1 (for the blushing and hesitations in her responses)

The Morgue

There’s not much happening with Molly in this scene.  She simply performs her job efficiently and professionally.  No fluster or stammering.

Morgue Mouse Rating: 00

The Great Game

The Lab

Molly enters promptly at Sherlock’s exclamation and with her cheery “Any luck?” gets ready to Science alongside him.  She walks right over to him without a shred of shyness or hesitation.  She introduces Jim to Sherlock and John, watching Sherlock the entire time (waiting for the jealousy?), showing off her boyfriend.

And now here we see Molly’s core characterization reveal itself for the first time: when Sherlock humiliates her by claiming her boyfriend is gay, instead of melting down she fights back. First he insults her and she stands up to him

wow see how intimidated she is?

She’s not heartbroken; she’s not embarrassed or ashamed.  She gets angry.  She calls him out “Why do you have to spoil?” and asserts her truth “He’s not!”, and when Sherlock rips him apart she runs off – not in tears, not destroyed, but defiant and pissed-off.  She looks him dead in the eyes

I mean look at that expression dang

and Sherlock knows he’s messed up.  (He doesn’t even need John to tell him so.)  If this were S3 Molly, she’d have smacked him one.

Morgue Mouse Rating: -5

A Scandal in Belgravia

The Christmas Party

OK here we go.

That dress.  That gorgeous beautiful dress.  She’s been rejected by Sherlock numerous times (we can assume) by now and still she gets dressed to the nines in a bid to attract him.  How much guts does that take?  We’ve all done it and know how much courage that takes - or we haven’t because we don’t.  Either way, just that act alone shows tremendous bravery.  And can we talk about Loo’s fantastic acting choice in making her uncomfortable in that dress?  Fidgeting and pulling at it constantly – she doesn’t have the confidence to rock that dress, but she has the balls to wear it in front of her crush.  There is definitely some pining happening.  She stands tall, she faces him, she beams her Mega-Sunshine Rays at him –

(Lestrade lol calm down boy)

She might not be 10000% comfortable in that dress in front of Sherlock, but she does it, and in my book that takes a boatload more fortitude than rocking any outfit.

OK so then there’s small talk and bad jokes, and then.  And then Sherlock rips into her.  And how does this timid, frightened, weak little Morgue Mouse respond?  After the man she’s crushing on not only destroys her heart and intentions but also does it in front of their friends?

She looks him in the eye and says “You always say such horrible things.”

No tears.  No cowardice.  If anything, she’s kicking herself for continually putting herself in this position: “Always, always….”

And then when Sherlock (FOR THE FIRST TIME) gives her an unprompted apology, she’s stunned but is able to refrain from swooning with the vapors

And then – we finally have a stammer.  When Irene’s text moan goes off, Molly frantically denies that it’s her, assuming everyone thinks she’s gone orgasmic from Sherlock’s cheek peck (and there isn’t a soul in that room who would blame her).  She’s not stuttering because she’s a weak pushover, but because it’s a sexually awkward moment and she’s embarrassed in front of their friends.  In her stuttering, she’s again standing up for herself: “That wasn’t me!”  Then the focus moves to Irene’s present and the narrative moves on; but we have one more close-up of Molly, trembling and heartbroken from not only what just happened but the appearance of a rival.  So while many would consider that entirely understandable in the face of recent events, it could be seen as Morgue Mouse-ish.

Morgue Mouse Rating: -8 (-10 for her fortitude throughout the scene, and +2 for the pining, stammer, and trembling.)

The Morgue

Sherlock and Mycroft arrive to ID Irene’s body.  Molly has been called in to officiate.  Instead of seeming embarrassed in front of the man who’s just humiliated her, she stands tall and says cheerily (as much as possible) that it’s ok they called her in.  She stumbles over “everyone else was busy with Christmas” – a call back to the disastrous party?  Embarrassed that others have family and friends and she had no reason to beg off?

She stammers a bit when describing Irene’s face.  She’s telling a Loved One that what they’re about to see is gruesome, so it’s reasonable she would hesitate and try to find the right words to tell the viewers what they’re about to see.  She smiles nervously and has difficulty making eye contact while revealing the body; this telegraphs discomfort and unease.

Yet when Sherlock IDs her and stalks out, she doesn’t hesitate to ask of the Iceman “Who is she?” and what must have been awkward “from not her face?”  But she asks it.  Of one of the most intimidating men in Britain.  When he doesn’t answer, we get one last look at her face – stoic, quiet.  Resigned?

Morgue Mouse Rating: 2 (for the stutter and nervousness)

The Lab

Sherlock is x-raying Irene’s phone.  Molly asks if it’s a phone, then asks if he’s x-raying it (and instead of insulting her for asking the obvious he simply answers her but this isn’t that kind of meta) and asks him straight up if it’s his girlfriend’s.  That takes a bit of courage.  She’s very giggly and Radiating Sunshine throughout this scene, but doesn’t show an ounce of awkwardness or shyness.  She doesn’t cower when he says “she loves to play games” but clarifies it (and then immediately starts thinking about how she can work with that information).  I don’t see any Mouse-like behavior at all in this short scene.

Morgue Mouse Rating: 00

The Reichenbach Fall

All right kiddies buckle in.

The Hallway

Here we find out that Meek Molly Hooper dumped the world’s most dangerous criminal.  Bad-ass.  Not only that, she speaks to Sherlock directly and confidently; no shrinking violet here.

Morgue Mouse Rating: 00

The Lab

Molly starts out bumbling and fumbling while helping Sherlock; yet when he calls her John she doesn’t hesitate to correct him.

And then we have … The Conversation.

Molly asks him about his mutterings.  She doesn’t shy away from his abrasive responses, she doesn’t back down from his warning growls.  She tells him straight up that she sees him, that she knows something is going on with him.  Even in the face of his insults, she presses on and says what she wants to say.  Clearly, confidently, maintaining eye contact, without a stammer or blush in sight.  And then – “I don’t count.”

Eye contact, with the slightest smile; clear voice, succinctly said.  She understands her place in his life and does not regret it.  No cowering here.  No despair.  It’s not until she’s offering to give him “anything you need” that she starts to break down.  But it takes a lot of courage to open yourself to anyone to that extent, let alone your long-term crush.  And then when Sherlock asks what he could need from her, Molly is back to her straightforward manner, even to the extent of demanding a thank you from him.  And then offering him crisps and shutting him down “I know you don’t.”

Once again, she’s assertive and commanding with him, revealing the solid core in herself as well as in her friendship with Sherlock.

Morgue Mouse Rating: -9 (+1 for the “You can have me” moment)

And then….

What Do You Need?

Molly has two lines in this scene.  Both of them spoken strongly, clearly, never stammering, never breaking eye contact.  Both of them unconditional declarations of support, giving of herself without a single flinch.

There’s no blushing or tittering, there’s no overwhelm from Sherlock’s presence.  Her voice is quiet but strong, unshakeable in her support of Sherlock.  She’s ready to give whatever Sherlock needs without fully knowing what’s going on.  This is the core of Molly.  Fortitude, calm, support.

Morgue Mouse Rating: -20

So that’s the complete Molly scenes from series 1 and 2.  I’m not seeing much justification for fanon Molly being an incompetent, flustered, lovesick weakling.  Rather the opposite.  Maybe people confuse her giggling and cheeriness with fragility?  Maybe because she’s not rappelling down a building spraying everything with an AK-47 they consider her weak?  Maybe it’s straight-up misogyny?  Whatever it is, it’s not coming from the text of the show.  Because the early Molly is a quiet powerhouse by the end of TRF.

So on to the later seasons:

The Empty Hearse

Sherlock’s Return

A scene with no dialogue – not even a scene really, but when Molly turns around to the newly-returned Sherlock, I see no unrequited yearning, just satisfaction and anticipation of a night of hot sweaty indecency relief that his hiatus is over.  Again, direct eye contact, chin held high – I see no Morgue Mouse here.

Morgue Mouse Rating: 00

Solving Crimes

This scene is too long to break down moment by moment, but throughout Molly behaves as Sherlock’s equal.  No stammering, no pining, just quiet professionalism.  She’s comfortable enough with him that she steps up to the skeleton to conduct her own examination.  At Shilcott’s, she shuts Sherlock up with a single look.  They’re making jokes with each other and having silent conversations; they’re very comfortable with each other and displaying a very confident friendship.

Morgue Mouse Rating: 00

The Hallway

Again, they’re bantering easily and amiably.  Molly displays no awkwardness in this scene, she’s very much on equal footing with Sherlock.  Until she has to reveal the news of her fiancé.  She then gets very quiet and rambles over the details of her relationship.  She’s not embarrassed or shy so much as nervous here.  But she maintains eye contact and a relaxed posture, and when Sherlock kisses her goodbye she responds with a joke and wry look

This is a confident woman, comfortable in her relationship with this man.

Morgue Mouse Rating: 2 – to this point, truly the only time Molly rambles and stutters to any real extent

Tom

Another small scene, but once again Molly doesn’t stutter or quail, she stands proudly with her fiancé and declares (to no-one’s belief) that she’s moved on.  But she doesn’t melt into a puddle when Sherlock beams and winks at her, she simply grins at everyone and is adorable throughout.

Morgue Mouse Rating: 00

The Sign of Three

The Wedding

Many small moments throughout the wedding here; of her interactions with Sherlock the only inkling of her crush is the fantastic glower during the pictures.  Other than that she seems to be pretty preoccupied with Tom.

Sherlock’s Speech

Here she’s in full command as she tries to rally their circle to support Sherlock and help him get through something that will most certainly be difficult for him.  While she carries a brain around in a bowl and wields a bonesaw spattered with blood.  While it can be argued that she’s doing this because she still carries a torch for him, she still does it with confidence and professionalism.  No faltering or stuttering, no awkwardness; Molly appears collected and focused in every scene, which plays to me as she is simply aware of Sherlock’s comfort zone and knows this will be a struggle for him, so she (as always) wants to help.

Morgue Mouse Rating: 00

The Deduction

While Molly gazes on, Sherlock leads the guests in helping to figure out The Bloody Guardsmen.  While her expressions are certainly fond and loving, I don’t see any sort of pining, heavy sighs, or other telegraphing lovesickness throughout.  In fact, watch her faces when Lestrade is putting forth his Dwarf Theory – they’re hilarious.

Morgue Mouse Rating: 00

The Stag Night

When Sherlock asks her to help with the pub crawl, their conversation is light-hearted yet practical.  They’re enjoying each other’s company and Molly particularly is enjoying taking the piss out of Sherlock.  Their banter is comfortable and friendly; no nervousness or awkwardness – at least from Molly.

Morgue Mouse Rating: 00

Sherlock’s Departure

When Molly watches Sherlock leave the reception, she looks wistful and concerned, but not lovelorn.  After noting his exit she goes back to dancing with Tom.  Doesn’t seem too broken up about it.

Morgue Mouse Rating: 00

His Last Vow

The Lab

Molly furiously smacks the crap out of Sherlock.  Regardless of your position on what this says about Powerful Female Characters, it sure as hell isn’t weak, shy, or lovesick.

Morgue Mouse Rating: -20

The Mind Palace

Much like in The Abominable Bride, the Molly of Sherlock’s Mind Palace is whip-smart, forceful, resourceful, forthright, and strong.  We get a taste of Adorable Molly right at the start and then she’s all business.  This is particularly strong refutation of her Morgue Mouse characterization because if this is how Sherlock sees her, then this is how she behaves with him.  At this point, within canon, the Morgue Mouse is well and truly history.

Morgue Mouse Rating: -100000

Sherlock Series 4

Ok so by this point I’m running out of synonyms for strong, clear, stuttering, shy, etc etc etc.  It’s proven that by this point in the series, Molly & Sherlock’s relationship has evolved way beyond her crush into a steadfast friendship, and she is not the quivering non-functional mess that many fanfics paint her to be.  She never really was.  The exam in the ambulance, the wreck of the “I love you” phone call – she is Sherlock’s emotional equal (and oftentimes better) in every scene she’s in.  I’ve run out of ways to say the same thing over and over, so I will wrap up with this:

Molly’s characterization of the Morgue Mouse is at best an oversimplification of her early scenes, and a misunderstanding of what strength truly is.  My feeling is that because she’s a cheery person with a delight of the world, she’s seen as weak and worthless.  More intelligent people can speak to what that says about those folk’s view of women and internalized misogyny and stereotypical gender roles, but suffice it to say that that characterization of Molly is wrong.  She’s the most emotionally stable, and most grounded character in this show.  Far from being a love-crushed sniveling Morgue Mouse, our Molly is a lion. 

[prettywordsyouleft]

Accidents Happen

Summary: You had always been clumsy and now you had really done it, and broken your leg. Losing your independence was crushing you, but what you didn’t realise was how much your pain was causing Mark as well.

Characters: Mark Tuan x reader

Genre: a bit of depressive behaviour, angst, and then fluff lol

Warnings: if you’re a little squeamish over basic medical terms, or the idea of breaking a bone, don’t read this.

A/N: So this is a collaboration with my dearest friend Tiger over @thewritingtrashcan … we decided to use the same prompt but not tell each other who we’d write about or the context. This is what I came up with. It’s actually based on a lot of factual stuff from my life, I am actually this clumsy and I did shattered my leg back in university in a freak accident with my horse. I’m 90% okay now though! All the same, sometimes I feel I need to revisit this moment of darkness in my life through fiction, as an act of healing. I chose to do it with Mark because he was the first person I thought of when reading the prompt. And it worked really well with him. Funny how I’ve biased him this long and I’ve never written him before. This piece has been a little interesting to write, but I’m so glad I chose to base it off past experience.

Prompt: "You make me so mad right now, you know that?"

Word count: 3295 

To read what Tiger wrote for the same prompt, click HERE.

You groaned inwardly when you looked up at the large letters on the building in front of you, barely capturing them all before you were transferred inside. The bright lights, beeping noises and multiple voices around you were hard to register with any clarity, but that could very well be due to the heavy set of drugs the paramedic had given you on the ride in.

You sure had done a good job this time.

Your whole life you were known as the clumsy one, able to sprain your own ankle by tripping over yourself. You knew the Orthopaedics department of the local hospital inside out; you had visited it so many times over the years. The treatment R.I.C.E* was embedded in your brain, and yet despite your efforts to prevent yourself from another injury, you’d always be back. It was tiresome to be this ridiculously clumsy.  

And despite regular attempts, you had always heard the words; “it’s just a nasty sprain” whenever you were done with being prodded, x-rayed and bandaged up.

But this was different.

You knew your leg was broken as soon as you landed, falling off the back of your horse in a freak accident. You had been surprisingly calm, but your friend with you was a lost cause, more stressed than you were in that moment. You were still worried about her as they wheeled your bed towards a slot in the emergency department, a doctor soon joining the team around you.

You were scared.

With all those years of experience and always being able to leave after a couple of hours, today you knew that wouldn’t be the case. You waited for your family to turn up, knowing your friend had managed to ring your Mum in the midst of sorting an ambulance and catching the horses. Even though you were an adult, you craved her maternal smothering, to tell you it was going to be alright.

She didn’t arrive first, though the person who came rushing to your side was enough to make you burst into tears of relief. He leaned down to cradle your head in his hand and kiss your forehead gently, as if you’d break further if he wasn’t so light with his touch. His dark eyes were then scanning you all over, trying to decipher how bad this was.

“What happened?!” Mark asked finally, blinking away the tears he’d so far held back ever since he’d gotten a call from your mother telling him you’d been taken to the hospital. He’d never left work so fast in his life, uncaring of the consequences he may face later on. You were more important.

“Honey got frightened and bolted on me. I knew as soon as I fell my leg was broken, they reckon it’s a clean break too.”

“Clean how?” he wondered, swallowing back the lump in his throat. “What does that even mean?”

You didn’t get to answer, a radiologist coming for you then and taking you off to be x-rayed. Your eyes were glued to Mark’s, much like his hand was firmly in yours until he was asked to wait outside. You knew the procedure would be different this time round, unable to do anything but shake due to the shock now making it’s way through your tired body.

And finally you were taken back to your little section of the emergency department, your Mum and younger brother both standing there waiting for you.

Tears continued to fall seeing everyone that was there, and you gripped onto Mark’s hand as much as you could then, the pain picking up again.

It was going to be a much longer visit to the hospital indeed.

You had snapped both bones in your right leg which required surgery, and a mere five days later you were discharged with the expectation that you would find it easier to be at home. You lived with Mark as you were engaged, and he had managed to get time off to assist you in the transition. It was anything but easy; the cast on your leg wasn’t what you had expected to receive. Over the years people had joked about being able to write on your coloured cast one day when you actually succeeded in breaking something. Now that you had, you got a half cast instead that weighed a tonne to protect and cope with all the swelling. You couldn’t lift your leg due to the weight of it and the complete lack of strength, which meant you couldn’t move at all.

You felt entirely useless, Mark’s comfort only reaching your ears so far before you blocked it out.

And after eight weeks of this, you were depressed, especially when Mark had gone back to work after the first three. Your mother had come to look after you most days, or Mark’s parents, and whilst you were thankful, they had enabled you to feel like you couldn’t do a thing.

You had lived a very active lifestyle of studying, working and owning your horse Honey, that it was mentally far more crippling being unable to do any of those things now. The doctors had delayed your healing further, conflicting information given to you about your rehabilitation. You were stopped from even walking at one point in the journey, relying completely on your wheelchair to get about. Whenever you had imagined this scenario, you thought you’d be cute on a pair of crutches, still able to get around, and look after yourself.

You should’ve known that you do a good job at everything, even when breaking a bone.

Once given the all clear to attempt walking again a month later, you were determined to get your life back. You did everything asked of you at your rehab sessions, and soon you were able to walk with your crutches or walking frame. To you this was rewarding, no longer did you have to burden everyone around you.

To Mark however, this was far worse.

“Go sit down, I can make your toast,” he told you with a sigh, watching you struggle to balance on one leg and open the jam jar. You merely glared at the taller boy before focussing back on your task. “Y/N!”

“I want to do it, I can do it!”

“You’re shaking so much,” he complained softly, coming over to your side. You refused to give up, but inwardly you were thankful when his arms wrapped around your waist to support you. Now utilising his grip on you, you were able to relax against your fiancé and place the jam onto your toasted bread. A smile crossed your lips at your success, and you hobbled around to bury into the brunette for a moment.

“Thank you for your help.”

“You’re welcome I guess. I wish you wouldn’t be so stubborn right now whilst you’re healing though, Y/N.”

It wasn’t long until you were trying to get back some normalcy, despite everyone around you wanting you to rest. It annoyed you, knowing that you felt strength returning to your damaged leg, even though most days it still hurt a lot. You were done with sitting around wasting your life on Korean dramas and writing though. You had started studying again from home thanks to the kindness of your lecturers supplying you with all you needed, and this only fuelled your desire to improve.

You started pushing through and doing more in your day whenever Mark or your Mum wasn’t there to imprison you to your bed, and even though you were exhausted easily, it was exhilarating to feel your success when you managed to do something you had easily taken for granted in the past.

The one thing everyone refused to let you do was shower when no one was there, afraid that you would slip and hurt yourself further. You were frustrated by this notion, aware that your shower cubicle was still decked out with the chair you needed to rest on, and you had never felt that unstable in there. For weeks you slowly planned it, your stubborn nature ignoring the negatives. And finally you timed it one afternoon, knowing Mark would be back soon, wanting to prove to yourself, and him, that you could tick another thing off your list of tasks you could do again without being supervised. You craved independence. Showering alone somehow screamed that to you.

At first it was going alright, singing one of Mark’s songs to yourself as you washed your body well. You looked at your now ill-formed leg with distaste, the unsightly scar from where the metal rod that stabilised your leg had been inserted being the one thing you hated the most. You were thankful it hadn’t been any worse than it was, but seeing your leg like that was a reminder of all the months of being incapacitated.

You sighed heavily with your deep thoughts, only realising you had let go of your soap then. Looking at it on the ground of the shower, you groaned loudly for a moment, before determination kicked in. Sitting slowly on your shower seat you reached down for the soap bar, stretching your arm as far as you could whilst gripping onto the seat.

And then it all happened too fast, your leaning throwing the chair off balance and suddenly you were on the ground, screaming in pain at your leg hitting the floor heavily, and the chair toppling on top of you. To top it off, the shower continued to rain down on you, pelting you with the severe water bullets of regret. As you laid there strewn on the floor of the bathroom, you were reminded greatly of just how incapable you truly were right now. You couldn’t even get yourself up from this position.

Tears pooled from your eyes, never feeling so miserable in your life.

Mark found you as soon as he arrived home, the sound of water running being a telltale sign that you had broken your promise to him. He had rushed through the apartment, telling himself to support you even though he had feared this day happening when he wasn’t home. But what he found when he opened the door was anything but encouraging.

You were shivering on the floor of the shower, and as he reached to turn the water off, he realised it was cold. His eyes flashed with concern then, wondering how long you had been like this for. He yanked the chair off of you, his anger surging and being misplaced into the item obstructing you. And then he hoisted you up from the crumbled mess on the floor, your sobs filling his ears as he quietly wrapped your towels around you and then lifted you up into his arms.

He didn’t dare utter a word, knowing if he did; it would only crush you further. But it was hard to hold back, you had already scared him enough earlier in the year when the accident had happened. You were Mark’s world, and if he lost you, it would destroy him.

And whilst a broken leg wasn’t exactly life threatening, it had been enough to unhinge your relationship into troubled waters, Mark worrying that soon you’d leave him because of how low you were feeling. He craved for the happier times to return, but perhaps they wouldn’t, not until you were fully healed.

As he placed you down on the edge of your bed and looked you over, he sadly realised you might not want them to either.

“Don’t give me a lecture,” you managed to stutter, still shaking away. He didn’t answer, gently rubbing the towel over your body. Your hand came up and gripped his, and he stopped, your eyes hard, with a tinge of embarrassment within them. It made him close his own, unable to understand how after all these years together that you could still feel embarrassed in front of him.

And so he recomposed himself and tried to help dry off your body again, your hand preventing him again. “Stop!”

“Why!” he cried exasperatedly, staring back at you. “You’re cold; I’m trying to warm you up.”

“I’m not incapable!”

“No one said you were!”

You heaved with the exertion of your emotions, your jaw quivering. “I can dry myself; I still have hands, Mark Tuan.”

He stepped back but stared at you as you fumbled to dry yourself off. He tried to steady out his emotions. Shaking his head when he knew he couldn’t, he then turned on his heel and stepped out of the room, closing the door with a bang and then sinking to the floor on the other side as the tears fell.

He didn’t know how to help you anymore.

After drying and dressing yourself slowly, you hobbled slowly across the room, wincing with each step on your now re-injured leg. You were worried, realising in that moment that your depression had gotten so bad that you had stopped focussing on the one person who mattered the most to you.

Mark.

You had both grown up together, your families always joking that you’d end up married one day ever since you were six. It was ironic how it had played out so far, you had always loved him. As a child you wanted nothing more than to play with him, as soon as you were teenagers with a grasp on your emotions, you both explored deepening your friendship, and here you were now as adults, living together, and engaged. You had been through a lot together, both happy and hard times, and you had always thought the loss of your Father would have been the hardest thing you’d ever face at his side.

You had never realised it was the fact that you were shutting away from everyone that could hurt him the most.

Opening the door, you found the brooding brunette sitting on the floor across from your bedroom, his eyes barely lifting up to look at you long enough to make sure you were okay before dropping back down. It made you tear up, even when hurting from your actions; he always was making sure you were safe.

You hobbled over to his side and then looked around you for something to help you sit down beside him, biting your lip in frustration when nothing jumped forward to assist you.

And then his hand lifted up, more tears falling from your eyes as he wordlessly offered his help to achieve what you wanted to. Like he had been doing all this time. Once next to Mark, you instantly buried yourself into him, crying on his shoulder until you couldn’t anymore. He made no real effort to hold you, and you knew he couldn’t, not right now. All the same just knowing he let you cry on him, and cling to him was enough.

Eventually you looked up at him, realising just how exhausted he was.

“I’m sorry I’ve been so selfish and not listening to you.”

He started with a soft sigh. "You make me so mad right now, you know that?”

“Mm.”

“What am I going to do with you?” he then asked hesitantly, his hand finding yours, and his thumb was soon rubbing gentle circles over your skin. You smiled; you always liked it when he did that mindlessly.

“Well, I guess we need to find a way to compromise? I need to stop being so selfish and wanting to do it all. I just miss being me. I don’t feel like myself at all.”

Mark nodded slowly. “You are you, just a broken version. I’ll try harder to support you stretching forward to your freedom. Just, try to do more of that goal reaching when I’m around okay? I think I’m going to have a mental breakdown about leaving you alone for sometime now.”

“I’ll ask my Mum to come back so you don’t stress,” you assured, Mark looking over at you and searching your eyes to see if you meant it. You pulled a face, even though you knew he had every right to doubt you currently.

“We’re both a mess, huh? You want to do everything, and I’m tired from holding you captive in fear of losing you completely.”

You sat up, your eyes widening a little. “Where would I go?! I thought you’d leave me because I’m being so unreasonable.”

“Well, if I didn’t know how stubborn you were all this time, I would have been a blind fool.”

“I’m not that stubborn,” you retorted, shrinking back at the look Mark shot you immediately. “Okay so maybe I am. But you can be pretty controlling when you want to be too.”

“Let’s not find our faults, but look towards helping each other like we used to, okay?” You nodded slowly, wincing a little as the pain was becoming unbearable. Mark noticed. “What?”

“Do you think maybe we should go to the doctor?” you enquired quietly, diverting your eyes away from him.

Mark sighed. “Hurts, huh?”

“Accidents happen.”

“With you always,” he teased, getting to his feet and then helping you up. You instantly wrapped your arms around him then, resting your head over his chest. Mark soon enveloped you as well, and for a moment your leg was forgotten as you both made sure to let each other know just how needed you were.

And then you hissed in pain. Mark chuckled and picked you up. “Always carrying you around these days.”

“Practice for our wedding night?” you attempted, and the look he gave you then was one that you instantly imprinted into your mind, giggling a little at how the glint of life returned to his eyes. You didn’t realise it had been gone for so long, and how much you had missed it. You kissed him then, and Mark stopped moving, trying to balance you and his emotions at your sudden attack. You smiled happily when you pulled away. “Missed you.”

“Missed you more.”

“If that’s even possible, I missed you far more,” you continued and Mark rolled his eyes.

“Always a battle for who can end an argument huh? Weren’t we just angry with each other?”

“No, were we?” you feigned innocence and Mark smirked, grabbing his wallet and keys from the bench and then stepping out to lock the door.

“Maybe you’re not so broken after all.”

“Who even said I was?” you said with a laugh as he glanced down at you in his arms and then placed you in the car he had just opened.

“Life sure is interesting with you, Y/N. Can you promise me one thing?”

“Depends.”

Mark got into the car and then looked over at you, and then down at you leg. “No more breaking bones, okay?”

“I can’t make a promise to that, given how clumsy I am,” you admitted, but smiled anyway. “I hope to never do it again though, this is horrible.”

“But not the end of the earth, right?”

You shook your head, reaching over to pat his thigh lightly. “No, but it could be, if you don’t start driving soon.”

“Yes ma’am,” he said with a chuckle and soon a dramatic yelp left your mouth from the pain.

You were a funny type of person you thought in that moment. Lately you had faced so much pain and sorrow that you didn’t even know what laughter was, until you started again. Now you realised just how easy it had been to lift yourself out of your funk when you did. Accidents were always bound to happen in your life, but as long as you kept laughing and spending as much time as you could smiling at Mark, you were certain you could endure it all.

_________________

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*R.I.C.E is an at-home treatment used to recover from a sprain injury.

[neraawritesxx]

Clemency

Written for KakaSaku Month - Day 1

pairing: kakashi x sakura; implied obito x rin event prompt: summer // rainstorms additional prompt: you buy an obscene number of flowers, and i’m concerned as to why genre: romance // light angst // slice of life word count: 5,250

summary: The first time Sakura meets him, it’s a week after her roommate has died.

a/n: This is extremely late? Like days upon days late. It took me forever to finish, but I’m happy with the end result. Maybe now I can start my other prompts? Lol. Either way, I hope you all enjoy!

note: This work is unbeta’ed so any mistakes are my own.

“It’s starting to rain,” Ino murmurs nonchalantly.

Sakura gives a noncommittal grunt in response, eyes never straying from the flower arrangement in front of her. Blindly, she sifts through the pile of loose blooms that reside on the countertop next to her, choosing a long-stemmed daisy and a row of baby’s breath.

Slowly, meticulously, she snips both stems with her shears, making sure that the floras are at the right length before placing them in the vase. Sakura watches how they fall with a critical eye, moving them into more favorable positions that accentuate the piece then, repeats the processes with the remaining buds.

The flower shop is quiet for a while after that, both girls distracted by their work, the patter of rainfall echoing against the window display.

It’s Ino who eventually breaks their silence.

“I wonder if your friend is going to stop by today.”

“Don’t you have a wedding centerpiece to put together?” Sakura pointedly inquires, though there is no real hostility behind her tone.

Jade eyes shift to look at the clock hanging on the opposite wall before sliding back to the blonde.

“Besides,” Sakura adds. “Even if he were to make an appearance, I won’t be around to see him. You know what today is. I have to leave in a half hour.”

Ino perks up for a moment, eyes wide as sudden comprehension dawns. The fair-haired woman smiles, a sad, half-hearted curl of her lips that doesn’t quite reach her eyes as cobalt hues settle on the decorative bouquet Sakura is putting together.

Ino hums. “I almost forgot,” she states gently. “I should have realized when you took out all of the daisies we had in stock.”

Sakura releases a soft chuckle, turning back to her project. “It’s alright. Just come over here and help me. I don’t want to be late.”

-o-

The first time Sakura meets him, it’s a week after her roommate has died.

Ino insists that she take more time off from the shop, it’s not their busy season, and her best friend maintains that she is more than capable of covering both of their shifts. Sakura turns her down, however, preferring to hide her misery behind forced smiles and menial conversations with their customers.

It takes her mind off of it, helps her forget the pain. If only for a little while.

The rain is heavy that day, pounding unrelentingly against the sidewalk, leaving vast puddles in its wake and forcing most people indoors.

Sakura doesn’t hear him when he enters the shop. Their air conditioner is broken, and they are forced to battle the pungent, sticky haze caused by the weather by keeping the front door open. There is no breeze, but the air that does trickle into the store is cool, despite the humidity.

He slips in while she is distracted, re-reading old text messages from her dearly departed friend.

Sakura likes to think that scouring through old conversations, recounting memories, helps her cope. It’s enjoyable, for the time being, until she reaches the last messages that were sent in their chat thread.

~

Rin N. (8:24 PM): We’re leaving Obito’s in a minute.

Rin N. (8:25 PM): Promise me that you’ll at least consider going to dinner with Kakashi.

Rin N. (8:25 PM): He’s cute! I know you’ll like him.

~

Sakura H. (8:26 PM): You’re so worried about my love life! Lol. Focus on your own! 

Sakura H. (8:27 PM): But, I will think about it. Okay, Rin?

Sakura H. (8:27 PM): I’ll let you know where my head’s at after I meet him tonight.

Sakura H. (8:28 PM): What’s your ETA?

~

He clears his throat then, startling her and Sakura’s head shoots up to find him standing a few paces back from the counter. He’s tall, lanky, and has a messy mop of silver hair that sticks out at a bunch of awkward, different angles.

She can’t tell much beyond that.

There is a strip of black cloth over the left side of his face and a hospital mask of the same color covering from the middle of his nose, down. The latter doesn’t surprise her all that much. Most customers with unmanageable pollen allergies tend to cover their faces before venturing into the shop.

The other fabric, however, is somewhat daunting.

He shifts his weight from one foot to the other, not looking at her, and it takes Sakura a moment to realize that she has forgone a formal greeting, and instead, has been blatantly staring at him.

“Oh,” she says. “Excuse me. I’m so sorry. It’s just one of those days; I can’t help but find myself distracted. Welcome to Yamanaka Flowers. What can I get for you today?”

The new arrival doesn’t immediately say anything, gazing at a fixed point over Sakura’s right shoulder. Another full minute passes before he brings himself to look at her, and when he does, Sakura can’t help but flinch.

He looks…haggard.

Or, at least, that’s what she can make out from the small patch of skin available for inspection.

His lone eye is sunken in, rimmed with the purplish discoloration that comes from extensive lack of sleep. When she gives him another once over, Sakura also notes that he is wearing far too many layers for the season. Despite inclement weather, it’s still summertime in Konoha. The rain could stop in an hour, giving way to the bright, unforgiving rays of the sun. She doesn’t think someone who is dressed in a baggy, mismatching sweat suit would be comfortable when that time came around.

She doesn’t get to explore his fashion choices or how fatigued he looks any further. He decides to speak then, stating, “Hyacinths.”

His request is a raspy croak, muffled behind the material of his mask, and Sakura has no difficulty trying to make out the word.

She blinks, though, somewhat perplexed.

Was that it?

It wasn’t the first time a customer has come in with a specific request, but it was the first time Sakura has dealt with one so vague.

“Ah, okay.” She steps down from the stool she is perched upon, crossing the room towards the refrigerated display. “Um, do you have a preference for the color? Or the amount? We offer small or large bouquets. We’re actually running a sale right now. If you purchase a full bouquet, you can get another for half th–”

“A purple hyacinth,” He cuts in before she could further explain. “Just one.”

“…Just one?” She parrots, confused.

Odd request indeed.

Against her wishes, Ino’s voice pipes up in the back of Sakura’s head, babbling on about the language of flowers.

A purple hyacinth can say many things.

‘I am sorry.’

‘Please forgive me.’

‘I am filled with sorrow.’

At his curt nod, Sakura pulls her cutting sears from the pocket of her apron and snips at a particularly robust hyacinth in the middle of the display. Pulling the flower free, she sets out to intricately wrap the floret with white wrapping paper, tying everything together with a piece of violet twine.

“Here you go,” she declares, holding the bundle out across the counter.

He takes it carefully, and Sakura becomes immediately aware that he is trying to avoid touching her as he extracts it from her grip, his free hand digging into his pants pocket.

“You total is three dollars and tw–” Sakura doesn’t get to finish her statement. In the time it takes her to punch his order into the register, he has already placed a five-dollar bill on the counter and is halfway out the door.

“Hey! Wait! You’re forgetting your change!”

He either doesn’t hear her or chooses to ignore her, because he doesn’t stop, disappearing right out into the rain.

Sakura sits back with a click of her tongue, eyes flicking between the front door and the money that has been set on the counter. She tries to chalk up the oddity of the entire experience as a one-time deal, something that happens every now and again.

The whole situation doesn’t sit well with her for the rest of the shift and remains at the forefront of her mind well into the next day. When she tells Ino about it, the blonde brushes off it off, citing that he was just a loon of a customer and they were bound to get a few of those now and again.

Despite her friend trying to placate her, Sakura still couldn’t help but wonder, just what had he done to be asking for forgiveness?

-o-

Sakura doesn’t see that strange man again for another month.

It’s raining that day also, but it is more of a sun shower than actual rainfall, a quick drizzle to combat the insufferable heat.

They still haven’t gotten the air conditioner fixed, and Ino moans about how her hair is going to frizz. Sakura doesn’t mind all that much. She likes the feel of the wind when it blows through the open door; relishes in the sights, the smells, and the sounds that it brings along with it.

That day though, Sakura’s lethargic and she cannot bring herself to enjoy much of anything.

Obito visited her earlier that afternoon, Chinese takeout in tow. They talk, exchanging as many pleasantries as two people who have lost someone very dear can. She tries her best to avoid the topic altogether, but Sakura has always been curious, and her inquisitive nature has seemed to have gotten the better of her recently.

The scar covering the right half his face is a messy and daunting reminder, and Sakura can’t help but gaze at it when Obito isn’t paying attention. Or, at least, she thought he hadn’t been paying attention. He catches her staring about halfway through their meal and brushes off her hasty attempts at an apology.

He makes some ambiguous joke about how he and his roommate – a man who she has still yet to meet –  now have matching deformed faces. Something about how they can use it in the future as a pick-up line.

Sakura tries to laugh along with him, but she knows her smile is strained and Obito’s chuckles are empty and lifeless.

They still don’t address the elephant in the room, and it’s not soon after that he takes his leave, promising to visit her sometime in the upcoming week.

Sakura is alone for about an hour, trying to distract herself with tidying up around the shop. This time, she hears him when he enters, but that is only because he nearly trips over terracotta pot she has removed from the front display while cleaning.

“Oh my god!” Sakura exclaims, scrambling to her feet. She pushes the potted plant back into its rightful place, rubbing her dirty hands along her apron, while stating, “I am so sorry. Are you alright?”

He grunts his assent, righting himself, but says nothing.

When he turns to regard her, his breath leaves him in a soft ‘whoosh,’ and there is a strange straightening of his spine. He looks shocked to see her and Sakura can accurately make that deduction because, not only is his lone charcoal eye impossibly wide as he looks at her, but this time, he has foregone the mask, mouth parted in a small, stupefied ‘o.’

“Oh,” she breathes, trying not to be enticed by his strong jawline or the mole that decorates his chin. “It’s you.”

Her comment seems to snap him out of his stupor, and he collects himself, arching one dark brow in silent question. Sakura smiles despite his self-imposed muteness and walks behind the counter.

“I was wondering if you were going to come back,” she says, opening the cash register. Sakura pulls out an envelope from one of the slots in the drawer, holding it out towards him. “You forgot your change the last time you were here.”

He takes a step closer to the countertop, eye flickering between her face and the packet in her hands. The silence that envelopes the store for the next few moments is uncomfortable, and just when Sakura thinks that he isn’t going to take the proffered package, he quickly snatches it from her grasp.

“Thanks,” he mutters, and Sakura can’t help but be distracted by the movement of his mouth, by the deep tenor of his voice. “You didn’t have to do that.”

The corner of Sakura’s mouth kicks up, and she brushes off his acknowledgment with a dismissive wave of her hand. “It’s no big deal. We don’t like to overcharge our customers here and with that being said, what can I get for you today?”

His answer is immediate. “White tulips. A dozen.” He hesitates for a second, then adds, “Please.”

Sakura nods, a small smirk playing on her lips, and ventures into the back room where they kept more extensive stock of the commonly purchased flowers.  As she’s putting together the garlands per his request, Sakura can’t help but allow her mind to wander to the meaning behind the blooms he chose.

‘White tulips are used to claim worthiness,’ Ino had said. ‘Or to send a message of forgiveness. Depends on what circumstances you’re buying them for.’

When Sakura returns to the front of the shop, the odd customer is hunched down on the opposite side of the counter, staring at the rather impressive selection of Ino’s imported sword lilies.

“What are these?” he asks, fingers pressed against the glass.

“They’re called Gladiolus. They mean strength and integrity. We got the shipment in this week, just in time for the summer season.”

He nods absentmindedly while standing, reaching into his jeans to extract his wallet. “How much for one of those, along with the rest of them?”

Sakura preens, thinking about how she is going to rub it in Ino’s face that she sold one of her precious flowers before her. It takes Sakura another minute to prepare the additional bud with soft wrappings, but when she’s finished, she places it and the other bouquet on the countertop in front of him.

Quick, deft fingers punch his order into the register and Sakura chirps, “That’ll be fourteen dollars and fifty-three cents.”

Much like their first interaction, by the time the words are out of her mouth, there is money on the counter and he is already out the door.

Unlike their last meeting, however, he leaves Sakura with a twenty-dollar bill and the exotic lily he had purchased last minute.

-o-

It’s three weeks before his next visit.

It’s not raining that day, but the sky is dark with the promise of an impending storm. Sakura is out visiting Sai and Naruto on her lunch break when he comes into the store.

Not only does she get an earful about the ‘really odd, yet totally hot’ customer from Ino when she gets back, but she also finds that he left a single, pink carnation behind.

“It was weird,” Ino states while putting together a bridal shower arraignment. “He bought almost two dozen striped carnations. That caught his eye last minute, and he insisted on buying it, only to leave it here.”

Sakura can’t help but smile for the rest of the day.

-o-

The interval between that visit and his next is extremely short; only five days.

The heavens have opened; lightning streaks across the sky and thunder reverberates throughout the store, leaving Sakura to try and drown out the resonances with soft music from Ino’s stereo.

The welcoming chime of the bell above the door signals his arrival, and as Sakura looks up, she can’t help but grin.

“Long time no see,” she greets.

He’s not looking at her, but she knows he heard her. His one eye is trained on the single, bubblegum pink carnation sitting in a vase next to the register.

“Ino said you left it here,” Sakura finds herself explaining. She doesn’t really know why. “It was already cut, and I didn’t want to see it go to waste. I figured it would be a cute decoration.”

He gives a short bob of his head, and the very corner of his mouth curls up for just a moment. It’s not a smile, it’s more like a simple twitch of movement, but it’s something, and Sakura feels her heart stutter at the sight of it.

“I’m glad it made it into the right hands, then,” he starts, finally looking up at her from under a frame of dark lashes. “Anemones, please. Just two.”

Sakura puts together his order as specified, trying to blame the rising heat in her cheeks on the fact that they still have yet to get the air conditioner repaired.  She can’t help but wonder what’s hidden underneath that strip of black cloth, about what exactly his face looks like without the obscurity.

“I also don’t have your change from last time,” she calls out as she’s wrapping the flowerets in paper that’s a shade darker than her hair. “Ino mucked up the cash one day and used it to break another customer’s bigger bill.”

He shrugs, seemingly nonplussed by the news.

They finish up their transaction quickly after that. This time he gives Sakura the exact amount of money, down to the penny and offers her a small wave as he makes his way out the door.

“See you soon,” he bids in farewell and Sakura can’t help but beam and wave after him.

-o-

He has a funny definition of ‘soon’ because Sakura doesn’t see him again for another four months.

That’s not to say he doesn’t come into the store, because he does, but summer has given way to fall, and school has started again, taking up most of Sakura’s free time and leaving her with only a handful of shifts at the shop.

Ino informs her of his appearances and proceeds to make fun of Sakura as her eyes light up with the new information. He sometimes leaves her a flower, sometimes he forgets his change, and sometimes he does neither, but his visits never cease.

Sakura brushes off Ino’s teasing, citing that it is not a crush. She does not have a crush on a customer. It is intrigue. Despite his noticeably handsome looks, Sakura is more interested in the mystery behind that mask. Ino doesn’t believe her.

Sakura tries to think up different scenarios in her head, formulating a plan to ask him for his name in the least creepy way possible. Ino joins her in plotting, only because he has yet to use a credit card, and the fair-haired woman is damn curious herself. They giggle maniacally as they come up with different ideas, and for the first time in a long while, Sakura finds herself looking forward to something.

When she finally does see him again, though, Sakura is in a horrid mood and asking for his name is the furthest thing from her mind.

Obito called a few minutes prior wanting to discuss a few things about Rin. They had gotten better at talking. More specifically, they had gotten better at talking about her. Obito stopped looking like he about to burst into tears at the mention of Rin’s name, and Sakura, well, she felt a little less hollow.

The friendly formalities didn’t last long because Obito informed her that he wanted to come to the apartment and clean out some of Rin’s things; keep some for himself, put some in storage, and throw out whatever was left.

Sakura vehemently refused.

‘Damn it, Sakura! It’s been months!’ he yells in her ear. ‘I don’t know who is worse, you or Kakashi! I miss her too but clinging to all of her stuff like this is toxic. She’s gone, and as much as it kills me to say it, she is never coming back. We need to get rid of some of it. We need to move on.’

If Obito really missed Rin, he wouldn’t be throwing out her belongings. Sakura tells him as much.

That seems to do the trick because his tone is much quieter when he addresses her again.

‘We’ve been going to grief counseling, Kakashi and I. The therapist says that doing this is a step in the right direction. That things will get better. I…,’ His voice cracks on the other end of the phone. ‘I need to get better. It fucking hurts, and I’m tired of it. You and Kakashi need to stop blaming yourselves. It’s nobody's fault; it was an accident. And we all need to try and move on. I’m doing this, with or without you there.’

Because she is sick of being compared to and roped together with a man she has never met.

Because she doesn’t want to think about how that night was her idea and they would have never gotten into the car if she wasn’t so insistent on them picking her up.

Because she feels physically ill due to their discussion.

And just because she is fucking pissed off that Obito is dropping this on her out of the blue, Sakura hangs up on him.

Obito tries to call her back twice. She lets both calls ring until her voicemail kicks in. He doesn’t try to call her a third time.

Sakura doesn’t turn towards the door when she hears it open, nor does she grant the new customer any attention when she feels their presence draw near the counter.

It is one of the rare occasions that she and Ino are working the same shift, and her best friend – bless her big, goofy heart – heard the entire argument and knew that Sakura is nowhere near capable of talking to anyone at that moment. She interjects with, “Welcome to Yamanaka Flowers. What can I get for you today?”

“Sunflowers,” a very familiar voice demands.

Ino must not have been paying all that much attention to who walked in either, because there is a long, drawn-out silence followed by a sudden shift as Ino scrambles to stand from her stool.

“Hello again,” Sakura hears Ino comment. It sounds more like an excited purr. Ino is laying it on too thick, but Sakura can tell that she is just excited by the prospect of finally getting his name. “Do you want a bouquet or just a specific amount like two or three?”

“I don’t care,” he snaps impatiently. “Just…just give me whatever you can…please.”

The ‘please’ is a last-minute addition that is used to try and take the edge off of his command, but it doesn’t work. Sakura can feel Ino’s irritation from where she is sitting, and when she finally drags her eyes towards the register, the mysterious customer and Ino are glaring each other down.

His expression is thunderous, but Ino’s irritated scowl gives him a run for his money. The young Yamanaka tosses the bundle of flowers on the countertop unceremoniously, uncaring about her lack of social propriety.

He doesn’t even ask for a total, slapping money on the counter without any concern to if it is over or under the correct amount. He takes a step back, quickly glancing in Sakura’s direction before pausing. His gaze feels piercing, like it’s picking her apart from the inside out and looking into her very soul. It carries far too much weight, too much pain and anguish, and it makes Sakura want to squirm in her seat.

In a flurry of movement that neither she nor Ino could follow, he rips one of the sunflowers from its intricate packaging, tosses it onto the counter and turns to the exit, slamming the door as he leaves.

For the next twenty minutes, Sakura half-heartedly listens to Ino gripe and groan about the entire ordeal.

“What a dick,” Ino seethes. “I don’t care if he was in a bad mood, he didn’t have to be so rude about it.”

Sakura hums her agreement, staring at the sunflower in her grasp. She runs her fingers along the stem gently, plucking a single, loose petal free and twirling it between her fingers

The meaning behind them hits her suddenly, like a punch to the gut.

“Loyalty…,” she mumbles under her breath. Her visions blurs as she sighs dejectedly, “…Rin…”

Ino stops, mid-rant, casting Sakura a confused glance. The blonde’s befuddled expression doesn’t last long, her face contorting into a worried frown almost immediately.

“Forehead,” Ino starts, cautiously. “Are you alright?”

It’s only then that Sakura realizes that she’s crying.

-o-

She doesn’t see him again after that and Sakura tries not to dwell on it.

Instead, she throws herself into her work, school, and friends. Focusing all of her attention on bettering herself; on growing, on learning, and on healing. At first, she does it as more of an avoidance tactic, but after an extended visit to Rin’s grave, Sakura comes to terms with the fact that she genuinely isn’t coping as well as she thought.

Something needs to change.

She needs to change.

So, when Obito comes by her apartment later that week to clean out Rin’s things, she joins him.

They spend the better part of the next two days going through all of Rin’s stuff, laughing and crying and reminiscing as they poke and prod through different shelves, piles, and drawers.

After it’s all over, Obito hugs her; a bone-crushing embrace that expresses his sadness and relief and a whole other maelstrom of emotions that Sakura cannot bring herself to try and grasp.

“We’ll be alright,” she hums in his ear, trying to fight off the pinprick of tears in her eyes. He pulls her even closer as she repeats, “We’ll be alright.”

They would be.

-o-

“Are you sure you’re okay with us coming with you?” Naruto asks for the third time that day.

Before Sakura can soothe her friend’s fears, Sasuke answers for her, “Yes, Dobe. Stop asking. Her answer hasn’t changed in the last ten minutes, or are you hard of hearing?”

Naruto shoots Sasuke a dark look but doesn’t rise to the taunt. He instead focuses his attention on the arrangement of daisies in his hand.

“This bouquet is really pretty Sakura-chan,” he compliments with a board grin. “I’m sure Rin would love it.”

“Me too,” Sakura chirps with a smile. She skips on ahead of them, slipping through the iron gates of the cemetery with relative ease.

It’s officially been a year since Rin’s passing and, though, most days it’s still a difficult thing to think about, the wound is no longer fresh. It’s more of a dull ache rather than a festering, scalding burn and Sakura is finding it easier to address openly.

She and Obito have been in contact with one another quite frequently, but her new admission into medical school and his demanding family obligations keep them from meeting as often as they would prefer. That doesn’t stop him from checking in on her at least once a week, and it also helps that he bullied Sasuke and Naruto into looking after her. As smothering as all three of them can sometimes be, Sakura is still warmed by the gesture.

“Will you stop bouncing around?” Sasuke says. “You’re going to give me a headache.”

Sakura sticks her tongue out at him. “I’m excited,” she clarifies. “It’s been a while since I’ve been able to visit Rin. Plus, Obito said he is going to meet us there. I haven’t seen him in ages!”

“Leave her alone, Teme. We’re Sakura-chan’s guest today, so lighten up!”

Sasuke grumbles something under his breath that neither of them can catch but says nothing to refute Naruto’s reprimand.

They travel the rest of the way in companionable silence, and it’s not long before the trio is wandering down a familiar isle of gravestones. At the end of the row, standing in front of a large memorial, are two men.

Whatever Obito’s cheerful salutation is, it falls on deaf ears as Sakura attention is honed in on the male standing next to him.

He appears the same; the same hairstyle, same odd, yet seemingly comfortable fashion sense. But, he doesn’t look as tired.

He looks more firm, solid, like he dealt with whatever had been weighing him down.

He also had foregone his usual facial coverings, and for the first time since she met him all those months ago, Sakura gets a full view of his face. He is just as tragically beautiful as she expected him to be, even more so with the large scar dissecting his left eye.  

Obito catches her gaping and chuckles. “I forgot you two still haven’t met. Kakashi, this is Sakura. Sakura this is my best friend slash roomie Kakashi.”

“It’s good to see you again,” her mysterious customer – Kakashi – greets, hand extended.

Sakura smiles, enveloping his outstretched hand with her own. “Likewise.”

The three other men in the crowd blink, casting them varying speculative glances.

Their handshake extends past what could be considered socially acceptable and when he finally pulls away, Kakashi seems hesitant about letting Sakura go, fingers skimming the inside of her palm.

Sakura is sure that Sasuke catches the caress, and is almost positive that Obito does too, because both of their eyes narrow fractionally.

Naruto, ever the bravely uncloth, inquires, “Wait…You two already know each other already?”

-o-

“Did you know?” She asks him sometime later.

After their visit to Rin’s grave is concluded, Naruto suggested grabbing a bite to eat, which everyone, except for Sasuke, readily agreed to.

Kakashi turns to address her, shaking his head. “Not at first,” he says. “Obito came across a picture of you two when he was boxing up some of Rin’s stuff at our apartment. He showed me, but I didn’t put two and two together until after I came to the shop for the second time. Not many girls in Konoha have naturally pink hair.”

Sakura blushes, fingering a wayward cherry strand as she nods slowly. There’s a short pause and then she queries, “Why didn’t you say anything?”

Kakashi doesn’t answer immediately and glances away from her, choosing to instead focus his attention on Obito and Naruto, both of whom were trying to see who could finish their bowl of ramen first. Sasuke watched on with an expression of muted horror.

“I didn’t think it was proper,” Kakashi eventually comments. “I was going through some stuff. We were all going through some stuff. Given the circumstances that they were trying to get us to meet originally, it really didn’t seem right for me to push that on you suddenly.”

It was now Sakura’s turn to be quiet as she processed the new information she was given. Kakashi didn’t seem to mind her silence, focusing on finishing off his meal while she mulled over his words.

“I think you’re right,” she starts a few minutes later. “I wouldn’t have handled it well, not with everything going on since the accident.”

Sakura stops to release a deep breath before continuing. “But, I’d like to think that I’m in a better place now and that’s thanks to things I’ve learned from Obito, from Rin, from you. And I’m not…not sure how’d you feel about it, but maybe…would you maybe want to get coffee sometime?”

Before he can respond to her question, the following words are out of her mouth in a jumbled rush, “It doesn’t have to be anything like that. It just would be nice, you know? To talk and stuff…to get to know someone who was important to Rin.”

He gives her a lazy smile; it’s fuller, bigger than the one that made her heart skip a beat that day in the store.

It steals her breath away.

“I’d like that.”

[erza-is-a-crazy-fangirl]

There for you -  Nash Gold Jr x reader

For the lovely @itishebihime-samaforyou Hope you’ll like it! I wrote reader but it’s really you, the one I used as the female character :3 

"Oh no, not again.." I had no choice, running seemed like the best option at this hour. With the phone at home and my sore throat I had no chance of getting help. "When will this end?!" The more tired I was getting, the faster that creep was getting closer behind me. I was just a few blocks away from the police station, but my feet were starting to give up on me. I made a last second turn hoping to confuse the psycho, but sadly it had rained and I slipped badly and fell. The next thing I knew was that a hand was grabbing me by the collar and pushing me against a wall with full power. Shouting, he moved one of his hands over my face while his other one was clenched into a fist, pressing hard against my stomach. 

- I don't like running, and when a gentleman invites you in his home, you accept obediently!

With the limited amount of air I was able to get, I could still barely breathe, even though my head was already starting to hurt badly. 

-  I was going to be nice, but you asked for it... Be thankful to me, I will still take care of you despite the little stunt you tried to pull, and I bet you've never even been with a man before!

Laughing, he removed the hand that was pressed hard into my stomach and reached behind my back, aiming for my bra hooks. At that moment, all the power that was left in me flew away and my vision started to blur. Before I could fall on the floor the guy put his knee between my legs, still able to hold me upright. But somehow, without him noticing, right before he could grope me again, I noticed a figure behind him, which was coming closer and closer, then I heard a dull sound, after which the freak released his grip on me, causing me to lose balance and fall. I heard yelling and words, but I couldn't understand them. I was barely conscious, but I remember... one of the last tings I remember was another man getting close to me... The street light cast shadows in such way that I couldn't see a face, but there's one thing I noticed... "Hehe...Such pretty golden hair..."

When I woke up it was daytime, and I was in an unfamiliar place. A female voice reached my ears, causing me to rub my eyes in attempt to wake up completely. I tried to move and look for the voice, when I heard it again, this time understanding the words. 

- Please no sudden movements yet, you're still in bad shape.

Confused, I still tried to get up, but this time a hand stopped me. I could still my head though, and when I did my eyes landed on an unknown pretty woman. 

- Don't worry about anything, I will explain to you what happened after your fever is under control.

Fever? Oh, right... I wasn't in perfect condition even before I got abused again... My train of thought wasn't long, because I fell asleep without realizing it.

When I woke up again though, my mind felt more clear and I had no problem lifting up my torso. I was still in the unfamiliar room, but it didn't seem as if I was in danger. Soon enough the door opened, and I saw the same woman from before. She smiled and sat next to me on the bed, handing me a cup of tea and a pill. 

- Judging by your looks you're feeling better huh? This is a vitamin, so don't be afraid. I'm Irena, nice to meet you. 

“-H-hi..." Before I could say anything else the woman touched my forehead and smiled again. 

- Very good, it seems you're stable now. My man sure was worried when he brought you here, I have a girl your age and it seems he's not overprotective only of her.

Just then a young girl came in the room and laughed. 

- It makes me jealous you know.

Still confused, I managed to ask about where I was. 

- This is our place, mom is a nurse and dad is a policeman!

 Policeman? 

- When my hubby brought you you weren't even conscious dear, what happened to you was heartbreaking, thank God my darling is a man who naturally can't stand such things, he managed to help you before something worse had happened to you. You had no ID or phone on you, but he insisted that I help you out instead of someone at the hospital.

-Dad does things the quick way lol.

-And so you're at our place instead of the hospital.

" -T-thank you for your kindness... It seems your husband and father saved my life back there, and you ma'am helped me after he did."

 -It's our job to help dear, you're welcome.

 "- I don't mean to be rude or ungrateful but I think I should go now, you've helped me enough so I can't bother you anymore, besides, my family and employer still must be unaware of my location and situation."

- Don't worry about it, dad said he took care of that! The day after he brought you he went to work as usual, he had time to find you in the records and notified your family and boss.

"-Wow... I can't thank your family enough for what you did for me... a complete stranger..." Looking down, I kind of teared up, causing the girls in the room to give me a simultaneous hug.

- Don't cry dear, we're just happy we could help. This is what matters to our family, this is what we've taught Ann as well.

- Mom's right, you don't have to do anything, just be careful and take care of yourself more in the future.

"- I try... sometimes... but my family is nothing like yours..." I spent a good two hours with the mother and daughter combining their talents in reassuring, encouraging and comforting. I felt better, somehow. 

"- Again, thank you so much. I think it's time to go, but I'd like to thank my policeman hero too." 

- He somehow knew you'd want to do that, so he told us to invite you to the police station on his behalf. You could go sometime, but for now you should go home, Ann will talk to you on social media, right dear?

- Absolutely, you're a very talented writer by the way! I can say I’m a fan!

Ann turned her phone towards me, what I saw on the screen was nothing other than my blog.

"-H-how did you know it was mine???" 

Ann laughed.

- I've followed this blog for a long time, I just had to connect the dots to know it was you behind it,  dad taught me enough things about deduction~

"- Your family sure is something else..." 

The women smiled and shook my hand for goodbye. 

- Take care sweetheart, it was great meeting you!

"- Likewise ma'am. See you." I smiled and headed home, waving at the kind girls. When I got home and went through thorough interrogation, I went to my room and plopped on the bed. The fresh memories from the day started swimming in my mind. "-That man will be in trouble for sure, trying to attack a police officer after trying to molest a girl, what a psycho! I think you should file a restraining order too, just to be safe, dad can help you!" I thought about Ann's words. "She sure was something else. Smart, bold, and pretty like her mom, things I would like to be..." Ugh, no, no depressing thoughts yet, I need to call boss, take a shower, read something, get some more rest... It was already past midnight, but I couldn't fall asleep. I had too much on my mind. I thought and thought and thought... 

Ok I'm done, no sleep for me again... I reached for my phone and started reading manga. I don't know how much time passed as I didn't bother checking the clock that was literally just above the manga panels. But my peace was interrupted by a noise which came from the street, it was either someone shouting, or someone throwing stuff, it was quick so I couldn't figure out what it was.  When I looked out I saw a police car with a man leaning on it, talking on the phone. The street lights weren't that strong but just enough for me to be able to see the man's silhouette and his policeman uniform, his hair however, was a beautiful golden color... So pretty... Wait! It had to be him! A policeman with golden hair! Just like the one who saved me! Not having anything else to do I got dressed and went outside. But as soon as I stepped outside the apartment door I was grabbed forcefully and unexpectedly by something or someone. 

-Hehe, look what we've got here... You little trash sure caused me a lot of trouble... But luck seems to be on my side today! That means your luck has run out!

To my horror, I recognized the voice. It was the same as the other day, meaning I was in the same situation again... The same crazy molester had me in his grasp, not intending to let go. With his hand over my mouth I couldn't even say a thing, let alone scream for help. I connected the dots, the asshole probably escaped the police and somehow was now hiding in our building. Being unable to do anything else, I started crying. One of my hands was bent in a dangerous position, bones just waiting to snap in half. Just when desperation took over me again, I heard the sound of breaking glass, and and agonizing scream. In a few seconds my attacker was on the floor, bleeding. The automatic entryway lights, which had long gone out, turned on again after sensing the motion. 

- I've come for you.

 -Like hell I'm going to jail! I escaped you once, I'll do it again!

-I wasn't talking to you, scum. 

Still frozen, I heard a gunshot and another scream, it seems this helped me snap out of it, finally being able to turn around. Was I ready for the sight? No would be a weak word. There, in front of me, stood the most handsome, smart, strong, gentle, charming and perfect person in the whole world...

-Heh, you sure - Oh?

I didn't realize how I had fallen to my knees, mouth agape, sitting still on the floor, unable to believe my eyes. Tears were still streaming down my face, but the feelings of shock and horror were changed to pure disbelief. Whole words were unable to leave my mouth, and all I could mutter was quiet parts of words. The man in front of me squatted in front of me looking slightly confused. The processing of the information was quick but chaotic. My sobbing, which had become loud continued, and even though my tears blocked my vision partially, I could still see clearly... In one moment, not sure how exactly, but as if a cosmic ray of energy hit my body, somehow I jumped forward as if I was a spring, hugging the man in front of me. Still sobbing, my vice let out a loud sound wave, containing one name only...

Surprisingly, he didn't even try to move away from me, and being stronger than me he didn't even fall back from the impact, but instead hugged me and while standing up spun me around like in those overly dramatic movie scene clichés.

-It's okay now...

He spoke in a soft voice, stroking my hair with one hand, it's as if he was dealing with the child I felt like...

Somehow all could do was cry and hold onto him. It was as if everything had stopped. When I calmed down Nash led me out of the building for some fresh air and sat next to me. Hours passed, I'm not sure how many, all I remember was us talking, laughing, me crying again, the sun rising... the surroundings slowly becoming more and more visible. It was day. I had even forgotten about the attacker that was lying on the floor inside with a concussion and a hole in his body. All I know is that I remember him there. My everything. When I saw a hint of sadness in his eyes I knew it was time for him to go. I seemed to have understood it anyway. Not that I wanted him to go, but he had to.

-I will take care of the mess inside, but the mess inside of you you'll have to deal with on your own. Don't worry, you're never alone, me, your friends, The boss... There are many people who care about you, even if you don't always see it. And I’m there for you, ...

I couldn’t hear the rest for some reason.

“-I... “

-I know, I know.

With a kiss on the forehead and one last hug, Nash headed for the police car, carrying a grunting bloody man over his shoulder. Before driving off, Nash looked at me again and smiled.

“-Bye... “

As I was watching the car moving farther and farther, I sighed and headed towards my room again. “- Now I might need some sleep...”

When I woke up it was the next day. I was still half asleep when memories of that event hit me.

“-Oh... OH! WHAT?! “

Looking around in panic and confusion, I slapped my cheek to see if I was awake.

-ARE YOU KIDDING? IT WAS A DREAM?! I should've known...

Feeling kinda depressed, but mostly hungry, I got dressed and headed out.

“- I need to get breakfast...”

As I was nearing the front door of our apartment building I saw some brown stuff all over the floor.

“-Drunk people and their parties... Who knows what this is?...”

When I opened the door, I was greeted by police cars and spectators on the sidewalk. I went closer to see what was going on.

-...and is currently in our custody, so you have nothing to worry about. You can all return home.

The crowd started to disperse and I asked one officer about all this. But before he told me anything he turned to one of his colleagues and yelled: 

-This is the one!

Confused, I watched as a handsome golden haired policeman approached me.

- I'm glad you're alright, again! You can call me Nal, you've met my wife and daughter but not me!

“- It's you sir! It's safe to say I owe you my life! But what's going on here?...”

-Ah... You see, when I saved you from that guy I brought him to the station and locked him up for interrogation, but he escaped. Somehow we managed to find him hiding in this area and we even had to fire at him. The blood has yet to be cleaned...

“-That brown substance-!”

-Yeah, you must've seen it on your way out. We suspect he came here to finish the job. I need to inform you we might need you in court soon.

“- I see... “

A few weeks later I was getting ready to face that maniac again. Although it was bound to be safe this time, I wan't eager to go.

"I hope things work out..."

My thoughts were interrupted by mom's yelling.

-Are you ready yet? You need to go!

"You're never alone..." With a sigh I put my shoes on and opened the door, only to see my escort was a familiar golden haired policeman who had saved me more than once now. He smiled at me and said...

-I've come for you...