#These drawing are a decent amount of time apart so i apologize for the change in drawing style and design for June's mother

[art-fern]

It's fairly status quo for D&D characters to have dead parents, but June is an exception to the rule. Her mama is a wonderful tiefling herbalist who's running away from her life as a servant for a high-ranking military family of dragonborn. June is the bastard daughter of the patriarch of that family. I'll let you put the pieces together on that one, but June grew up in the Western half of the continent with her mother, which was similar to late 1840's-50's western North America.

[tsukishumai]

pairing: Bokuto Kotaro x gn!reader

summary: whoever said being adult was fun obviously never had bills to pay. so when Akaashi offers up a way to earn cash fast, you jump at the opportunity. except, you never thought you’d find yourself modeling in your underwear... least of all with Bokuto Kotaro

wc; 3k+

tags; fluff, humor, college au, mentions of very slight nudity

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 　　 *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

If anyone else other than Akaashi offered you this position, you would probably punch them right in the face.

Maybe he considers this payback for all the times he’s had to listen to you whine about your problems during your shared shifts at the cafe, or maybe this truly was his own sadistic way of attempting to provide support.

“Okay, so I know a way you can make easy money,” he started, and already those words should have sent alarm bells ringing in your head, but this was Akaashi. You’ve only really known him for a short time, but already you knew he wouldn’t lead you astray.

But really, the electronic shop five blocks from campus told you it would cost 55000 yen to repair your laptop monitor, so you weren’t exactly in a position to be picky. 

You had also been complaining to him for the past forty minutes -- about the broken laptop, the leaking faucet in your apartment, the textbook that cost you more than your groceries for the past month, the two hours of sleep you got last night, and your paychecks that were all but depleted once the bills were paid. He remained tightlipped throughout your whole tirade, so you suppose the least you could do was hear him out. 

“You’re not trying to sell my kidneys, right…” You mumble sarcastically, but you tilt your head to him anyway to show you were listening.

“No, sadly, it’s not quite the season for kidneys yet,” Akaashi delivers in a flat tone, “So you’re just going to have to deal with modeling.”

“Modeling?” Your reaction was harsh and loud, and you flinched away from the piercing glares of cafe regulars trying to study in peace. 

Akaashi smirks as he wipes down the steamer before replying, “Don’t worry, it’s not the kind of modeling you’re thinking.”

Your mouth dropped, and you raised an eyebrow as you crossed your arms, scoffing at Akaashi incredulously. 

“Are you trying to send me to a nudie shoot?!” you whisper in almost-mock offense, but now a part of you was a little worried that your favorite coworker was a secret pervert.

To your utter relief, Akaashi just laughs. “God, no. Well, I guess, kind of?”

At this point, your head was beginning to spin. “What do you mean kind of? Just spit it out already, Akaashi.”

Akaashi finally finishes cleaning off the coffee machine just as you finished replenishing the pastry displays, and in an unusual lull in customers, he’s able to lean against the bar and give you his undivided attention.

“My art professor pays the models for her figure drawing class a pretty decent amount of money, I think,” Akaashi tells you, and your eyes begin to sparkle. “She mentioned a couple of slots being open.”

“Really?” your interest was immediately piqued, “How much money?”

Akaashi shrugs. “Enough to strike at least one problem off your list, probably.”

That was all you needed to hear. Akaashi had given you his professor’s contact information, and you sent her an email the second you had clocked out of your shift. 

Professor Nobuta was a kind woman who emailed you back with such haste, you could feel her desperation matching yours. She was candid during the entirety of your exchange, saying that her usual model had dropped out last minute and there was a spot in her class tomorrow that she needed to fill as soon as possible. Lucky for both of you, you were actually available, and details were exchanged swiftly. 

As you read over the requirements, your eyes roved over two words in a section of the email that made your eyes bulge out of your head. 

Semi Nude. 

You blinked once. Then twice. 

You had already formulated a kind rejection in your mind, ready to type your response when another section caught your eye. You inwardly groaned, dropping your head into your hands. 

She was offering you almost as much as two shifts at the cafe. 

That, alone, was enough to convince you, but the look of relief on Professor Nobuta’s face when you walked through the doors of her classroom was confirmation you made the right decision.

The seats around the classroom were nearly all filled, some students preparing their materials across their desks, and others sitting back and scrolling through their phones. The whirring of the A/C had filled the room with white noise, and you take notice of the two empty stools in the middle of the room.

“Thank you so much for signing up, L/N-san,” Professor Nobuta bowed profusely, and she gestured to a table for you to leave your things. “We’re still waiting on the other model, so take your time, and have a seat on the stool when you’re ready.”

You nodded in acknowledgement, and Professor Nobuta makes her way back to her desk. You briefly wonder if she was going to point you in the direction of a changing room, but realized the redundancy when everyone in the room was meant to stare at your half naked body anyway. 

You begrudgingly peeled off your clothes, folding them neatly before placing them in a pile on the table. Your footsteps made hardly any noise as you walked across the room, desperately trying hard to act nonchalant. 

Just as you took a seat in one of the empty stools, you heard someone pull the door open and loudly clamber inside.

“Ahh, welcome back, Bokuto-san!”

Your eyes widened at the name the professer had just yelled across the room. You brace yourself as you quickly whip your head around, and standing by the door sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck was Bokuto Kotaro. 

Student Athlete, Volleyball Star, Most Wanted Bachelor Bokuto Kotaro smiled brightly as he skipped to the table your items were placed, apologizing profusely for being late. All eyes followed him like moths, and Bokuto was the bright flame. Everyone knew him, and you often saw him walking across the quad, always greeting at least twenty people on the way. 

You could hardly hear what Professor Nobuta was saying to him, and you were now unabashedly staring as Bokuto began to strip out of his clothes. 

Bokuto was built like a marble statue -- hard lines that traveled across his chest and traced his abs must have been painstakingly carved with the utmost care by a masterful artist, and every movement he made created new shapes along his muscled body. You found yourself instantly wishing you had even an ounce of artistic talent, because it was no doubt that Bokuto was every figure artists’ dream. 

All at once, your vision was filled with gold and a sweet smile, and too late did you realize you had just been caught staring. Bokuto’s eyes don’t leave yours as he stands up straight, and struts over to you in nothing but a pair of nude briefs. 

“Alright, everyone, your timed session is about to begin,” Professor Nobuta’s voice had startled you nearly out of your seat, and you turn your head back to face the class, cringing inwardly when you noticed some were smirking at you, “Feel free to request poses from the models, as this will be a graded assignment. We only have an hour and a half, so make the most out of your time.”

You feel your body stiffen as Bokuto takes the empty seat next to you, staying silent when you feel his eyes staring at you. You might have been able to ignore this in another setting, but at the moment, about fifty students were watching him watching you -- eyes flitting up the stage down to their sketchbook as they try to decide where to begin. 

Envy coursed through you as the room began to fill with the sounds of graphite scratching against paper, wishing you could switch positions with literally anybody else in the room. You tried to relax your body against the stool, awkwardly attempting to find a natural position for your arms when you were interrupted by a throat clearing. 

Your head turns to the side, heat rushing to your face when you see Bokuto smiling at you.

“Hi,” he greets, his voice a direct contrast against the silent concentration filling the room, “I’m Bokuto!”

His knees were bent as he settled his feet on the first ring of the stool. He rests an elbow on his thigh so he can place his chin on the palm of his hand, giving you an expectant look as he waits for your response. You try to avoid the way his chest seemed to bulge even more in this position, but the furious sound of sketching says you weren’t the only one to notice.

“Bokuto Kotaro,” you say his name back, and he pulls his lips back into an even wider smile, “I know.”

You bite your lip when a student from the back requested for you to cross your legs, resting your hand against your thighs. You’re not sure if you’re supposed to be talking, but Professor Nobuta didn't seem to be paying either of you any mind. 

He hadn’t said anything to you after that, but the grin remained on his lips as requests begin coming in from students across the class.

They were all fairly simple -- please position your hand like so, could you extend your leg this way, or turn your head that way. The first twenty minutes had been spent doing individual tasks and repositioning, and soon you felt yourself relaxing into your role. Your previous jitters had all but dissolved, and you figured if the rest of the session were to go on like this, then you’d be golden. 

Your eyes shift over to Bokuto, who was leaning back with such easy grace, balancing himself with his foot against the footrest. The way his body created such naturally eloquent lines made it seem as if he was born to be a sculpture, to be admired and gazed at, to invoke inspiration and creation. You weren’t sure anyone in this room was even looking at you anymore, with Bokuto acting as if he was the lighthouse in a storm, beckoning all of you to come home. 

He turns his head a second too quickly, winking when his eyes meet yours, and for the second time in less than an hour, you realize you’ve just been caught checking him out. 

Your dignity was slipping through your fingers like sand, and you clear your throat before turning your attention to a poster on the wall.

From the corner of your eye, you see Professor Nobuta stand from her desk and making her way to a student in the corner. The two whisper among each other, and you watched as the professor consults with other students before nodding her head and turning to the both of you. 

“I received a sort of direction from a few students,” she began, beckoning for the both of you to stand, “They were hoping you could do some more intimate poses.” 

You balked, nearly choking on the air in our lungs. “I-intimate?”

Professor Nobuto nodded her head enthusiastically, and you exchanged a look with Bokuto. 

“Whatever you’re comfortable with — an embrace, hand holding, hands on each other’s face — get creative with it!” 

And with that, the professor sits back down on her desk and begins flipping through her phone, and the two of you are left to brace the expectant looks of the art students staring up at you. 

“This your first time?” Bokuto asks you gently, a sort of sympathetic look on his face as his eyes study your stiff posture. 

“Yeah,” you admit, and he coaxes you towards him with an outstretched hand. You hesitantly place your fingers in his palm, and for a moment, he just stood there. It took a minute for the sounds of rapid sketching to register in your brain, and you realize he’s allowing the class to take note of this pose. 

He’s standing directly across from you now, and you can feel his gaze burning trails across your body as he regards you from head to toe. You feel like an ant burning under the beam of a microscope, and you nearly burst into flames when he chuckles. 

“Nice peach,” Bokuto comments, and you nearly recoil back in surprise. The last thing you had expected from Bokuto was a comment like that, but then you notice his eyes flick back down to your underwear. 

The professor’s email hadn’t included too many rules or requirements. She only included the most important details, such as time, place, pay, dress code, and such. Stated in the dress code, you were allowed to wear undergarments of any neutral color. Today, you had chosen a simple pair of black underwear and figured it was the safest choice.

You hadn’t, however, noticed the large cartoon peach that had gracefully adorned the back of it, complete with a cartoon face that winked sparkles. Now that you were forced to stand, and the entire class got a good view for themselves. 

“Thanks,” you deadpan through gritted teeth, “It’s pretty juicy if you asked me.” 

Bokuto fails miserably to hide a smirk, but his eyes sparkled with amusement as he looked down at you. 

A few minutes (or eternity) later, his hand closes around yours, pulling it up to place against his cheek. He pulls you in by the other wrist, wrapping your arm around his waist as he cups the side of your neck. His other arm wraps almost completely around your middle, and he pulls you flush against his chest. 

His body was hard against yours, and you had no doubts he could feel your heart’s hundreds of beats per second. He tilts his head to the side ever so slightly, and you hope he doesn’t notice the sheen of sweat beginning to collect on your upper lip. 

A fire was bound to be started with how quickly everyone around began to move their pencils, and you heart races when Bokuto absentmindedly draws circles on your skin with his thumb. 

He holds you in this embrace for much longer than you anticipated, and the butterflies in your stomach were making you nauseous. His eyes are trained on your face now, the intensity of his stare making you want to shrink back, but you hold your place and return his gaze. 

His eyes narrow and squint, eyebrows wiggling as his face scrunches up in thought. 

“Do I know you?” Bokuto asks, and it was in this moment where you felt your stomach flip flop into the abyss. It was the one question you had hoped he wouldn’t think to ask you. 

Because you did know Bokuto Kotaro, but not in the way everyone else on campus knew him. 

You remember clearly the slow, dreary Wednesday morning when Akaashi Keiji asks you the same thing. 

“Uh, yeah? Of course, you know me, we’re coworkers,” you replied sarcastically, and Akaashi insists it was more than that. 

“You’re hiding something from me,” he simply states, and you inwardly thanked the customer that had walked and interrupted that moment.

But you should have known that Akaashi was not one to let things go, and after being berated the entire shift about how secrets don’t keep friends, you finally confessed.

You were a student at Fukurodani. 

Akaashi didn’t believe you. There was no way, how was that possible? He would have recognized you. But you were the year above him, and had actively avoided school sports. Because as much as you would have liked to watch your school’s Nationally Ranked Volleyball Club play and compete with super hot athletes from across the country, there was one glaring reason why you couldn’t. 

You had confessed to Bokuto Kotaro in your first year. 

And you were soundly, and absolutely rejected. 

He had every right to, of course. You were just his classmate, you didn’t even know each other that well, and he needed to focus all his attention on volleyball. It made sense.You know that now.

But to your young heart, it was world ending, soul crushing even, and it took you two years to get over your ridiculous one-sided crush. 

Now here you were, standing in front of a group of people in nothing but your underwear, with Bokuto staring at you like a fly caught in a trap.

“No, I don’t think so,” you respond, and Bokuto scoffs. 

“You’re a bad liar,” he whispers, and you find yourself grinning. 

“How would you know?” You whisper back, “You just met me.” 

“No, I definitely know you —“ 

“Alright, everyone,” Professor Nobuto announces with a smack on her desk, “That about does it for today’s session. Give some thanks to your models!”

You jump back from Bokuto as the class offers a light round of applause. The two of you bow back, and you rush over to the table as the professor approaches Bokuto. 

You leave the two of them to chat as you hurriedly put your clothes back on, hoisting your bag up on your shoulder, and nearly falling over putting your shoes on.

“Thank you for today,” Professor Nobuto sneaks up from behind, a smile on her face as she hands you a blank white envelope, “I hope I see your name on the sign up sheet again.”

You offer her a grin as you accept the envelope. “Thank you for the opportunity!”

And with that, you rush out of the stuffy room and make a bee line towards the door. 

“Hey, Peaches!” Bokuto’s voice makes you freeze from across the room, and you turn around to see him adorned only his pants. “You never told me your name?” 

With a smirk, you put your hand on the handle, walking out the door as you yelled over your shoulder. 

“I thought you said you knew me!”

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 　　 *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

“That was a trap, wasn’t it,” you accuse Akaashi as soon as you see him again, walking into your shift at the café just as he was about to clock out. 

His smile was almost evil, punching out as he gathers his jacket. 

“Whatever could you possibly mean, dear coworker,” he replies, and you smack him on the shoulder. 

“You had to have known Bokuto was doing that,” you seethe, glaring at Akaashi, “And you knew about… about… you’re dangerous, Akaashi Keiji.” 

He laughs, waving you off, “You said you needed help, so I offered help.”

“Oh, you conniving little —“ 

“Akaashi, you ready?” A familiar voice cuts you, making your head twist towards the door. 

A set of white and black streaked hair, a devilish grin, bright twinkling eyes — your nightmare in human form walking in. 

His eyes widen as they meet yours from across the room, and he waves a hand in the air as if you could have possibly missed the six foot three volleyball player barely fitting through the door frame.

“Hey, Peaches!” He greets cheerfully, walking and leaning against the counter, “Fancy running into you here.”

“Peaches?” Akaashi asks, and your eyes shoot him a nasty glare. 

“I work here,” you reply, and Bokuto’s eyes widen. 

“Akaashi, why wouldn’t you tell me you have such a cutie for a coworker?!” He demands of his best friend, who simply rolls his eyes and heads out the door. 

“Let’s go, Bokuto-san!”

“Akaashi! Hey, wait,” Bokuto runs one step to the door but stops and turns back, “If I come back tomorrow, you gonna tell me your name then?” 

You laugh. “I don’t work tomorrow.” 

“I’ll ask Akaashi for your schedule then!” He screams as he runs out the door. 

The smile on your face stayed on for the rest of your shift. 

[beautiful-bau-beau]

helloooo!! I have a Spencer request :) Could you write one where Spencer is injured (maybe like when he broke his leg or something like that) and he stays round yours and you look after him, help him shower, comfort him and stuff :)

Anonymous said to beautiful-bau-beau: could u do a soulmate au w spence where you feel the share pain with your soulmate, i think it would be interesting since spencer seems to be shot or nearly killed in almost every episode 

Sticks and Stones

fem!reader/Spencer Reid

masterlist

[Set in season 5 when Spencer gets shot in the leg but makes references to Maeve]

----

To the average eye flowers are soft, simple little things. They spark romance in the hearts of budding couples, they aid the grieving widows, their beauty inspires the masses in forms such as poetry and art. For some, flowers only caused distress.

Few were "fortunate" in the world to have soulmates. Once twelve years of age, a soul bound to another would feel the pain, to a lesser extent, as well as receive a flower at the sight of the intrusion. Small purple blooms grew at bruises, at a cut, the flowers would mimic the length and size. Any other type of pain was indicated by large, red blossoms. As each wound healed, the flowers would wilt and die.

You were among the many to few flowers as flimsy nuisances, only serving as reminders of the pain you had to go through.

Before turning twelve you often wondered if you had a soulmate. You had spent many days vividly imagining who your soulmate was, what he looked like, what he did for a living, choosing to ignore that if you indeed had one, a lifetime of pain was sure to follow.

Lifetime of pain indeed.

Your soulmate must have been a stuntman, a police officer, hell- even a lion tamer with the amount of pain he seemed to put you through. The occasional bruise and scrape seemed to hit you up until your early twenties, that's when the real pain began.

Every other day it seemed that you were doubled over, screaming in agony. You were an ugly vision of purple and red, but hell, it seemed to strike up a conversation with you and your patients.

You served as a private duty nurse, taking care of patients in the safety of their own home. You enjoyed the one-on-one with your patients, and it was decidedly better than working in a crowded hospital with a difficult schedule.

You had just finished a job working with an elderly woman, as her granddaughter had recently decided to move in with her to take care of her. It was a sad departure, but the job had finished and it was now time for you to find another patient in need.

You were employed through a small local medical office and received career requests through their office website.

One particular request caught your eye that morning from a Ms. Penelope Garcia. A friend of hers had recently been shot in the leg and needed to quickly recover before returning to his job.

You eyed your own leg, sighing heavily. It still seemed to throb harshly every once in a while.

A week ago, out of nowhere, an extreme pain radiated through your leg, causing you to drop what you were doing and scream. Thankfully you hadn't been on the job but the look of pity your neighbors gave you the next day felt just as awful. Every time you glanced at the offending appendage you could swear you saw another blossom grow.

"You and me both, buddy." You mumbled, picking up your phone. The job seemed simple enough, and hopefully you would be able to bond with this new patient by shared leg pain.

-

"You ordered a nurse for me?" Spencer hissed into his cell, turning to look over his shoulder. "I can take care of myself!" He eyed your figure, currently unpacking a medical bag. You had entered his apartment mere minutes ago, not understanding his confusion.

"Are you Spencer Reid?" You asked, greeting his wheel-chair bound figure. "I'm Y/n Y/l/n, the nurse your girlfriend Penelope ordered." You were met with a blank stare. "Is she uh.. here?"

"I'm going to have to make a phone call." Spencer blurted, wheeling himself inside. He left the door open so you took it upon yourself to enter.

"Spencer, I love you but are you listening to yourself right now?" Penelope replied, twirling a pen around her fingers. "You were shot a week ago, you're in a wheelchair. How are you going to shower? Replace your bandages? Sweets, this nurse will help you. And before you even have to ask I already checked and your insurance covers this!"

"Garcia-"

"I won't hear anything more about it as I know I'm right! Goodbye, dear!" A heavy sigh came from the man, and he placed his cellphone back in his pocket. He turned to look at you again, wheeling his way over to you.

"I apologize for earlier. I wasn't exactly informed that you would be coming here." He placed his hands on his lap, awkwardly.

"That's alright!" You chirped. " You’re low-risk so I won’t invade your space too much by staying overnight with you. I'm here to help with personal medical care, bathing, trimming nails, and making you comfortable.... as well as urinary and colostomy care." His eyes widened and you simply waved him off. "I get it. It's weird. But from what I read through of your medical reports, the bullet went clear through and you'll need a crutch in two weeks! At least you're not hooked up to a catheter?" You tried to joke. You were met with another simple stare.

"Let's uh, change your bandages, shall we?"

-

It had been a few days since you started working with Spencer. He was a nice man, a little awkward, and seemed to be more of an introvert, so you respected his space. He seemed to take to staying in bed, simply asking for books every once and awhile.

"There's no way you're able to read all these so quickly. You'd have to be superhuman..." You teased, bringing him a stack of his latest requests.

"I have an IQ of 187 and can read 20,000 words per minute." Spencer replied, catching your eye. He flushed under your surprised glance. "...Not to brag."

"Well... that'll do it." You set each book in your arm down, one by one, a particular title catching your eye. "The Narrative of John Smith?"

"Have you read it?" He asked, trying not to sound too eager. He hadn't originally pegged you for an Arthur Conan Doyle fan.

"Uh, no." You scratched behind your ear sheepishly. "But a few friends of mine have, they all highly recommend it. What do you think? Does it live up to all the hype?" Spencer opened his mouth but shut it almost immediately, causing your brows to furrow.

"I can't tell you what to read... it's just a very special book to me."

"Did someone special give you the book? Penelope?" Spencer let out a chuckle, hissing as he adjusted himself on his bed.

"Garcia is just a friend but you're correct, someone special gave me the book."

"A soulmate?" You asked, immediately regretting your choice of words. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have assumed. I'm just the nosy nurse that asks too many questions." You knew it was a sensitive topic for some, with or without the soulmate.

"No, it wasn't from a soulmate... but I wish she was." Spencer's voice grew soft. You felt as if you had stepped too far, intruded upon a fond memory.

"I do have one though." He continued, noticing your unease. "Sometimes I worry I imagined her but every once and awhile, I'll notice some flowers by my legs, the likely result of a cut from shaving or bruises." You let out a laugh, leaning against his door frame.

"I would love a low-risk soulmate like that. He must jump through flaming hula-hoops or something. I could make a decent living as a florist." You murmured.

"That's got to be tough." Spencer observed, noticing no flowers on your arm.

"I guess he's a lot like you." You lifted up your pant leg, crimson petals on display. "His reason can't be nearly as heroic as yours, though." Spencer couldn't suppress the smile that grew from the compliment.

"Well I guess you'll have to find him and ask."

"Well you're in the FBI right? Let's formulate a profile and find him so I can give him a piece of my mind. You in?" You teased.

"Sounds like a worthy use of all my newfound time." He let out a small huff of amusement, eyeing your figure. He appreciated how lighthearted and casual you were. He noticed the space you gave him and your little efforts to make the apartment easier to maneuver around. Although he hadn't seemed motivated at first, something told him he should get to know you more.

-

"Y/n?" Spencer asked, drawing your attention away from one of the books you had borrowed from his shelf. "Is there any way we can wash my hair?" He had procrastinated in asking, too embarrassed for whatever your plan was for showering.

"Of course! I could cut it too if you'd like." You offered, standing to wheel him into the bathroom.

"Are you saying you don't like my hair?" He faked an offended tone which he knew would make you laugh.

"I think your hair is beautiful, right at that perfect length before it gets too weird for any man to wear." You snorted. You moved him to a stool, not too difficult a feat as he was able to support the majority of his weight on his good leg. "Alright, the shirt has got to come off."

"Isn't against a code to try and seduce your patients?" Spencer teased. Since your conversation the other day he had grown to feel more comfortable with you and a friendship ensued. You took care when treating him and told stories of past patients. It was clear you loved what you did and cared for the people even more.

"Oh please. If I was seducing you, which I'm not, you'd know." You rolled your eyes, waiting for him to lift his arms before peeling his shirt off of him. He leaned back, long tresses falling into a pool in the sink.

He was extremely handsome, you couldn't deny it. His sharp cheekbones and jawline, his full and enticing lips, the way his hand flexed as he read.... you didn't notice any of that. You especially didn't notice how wonderfully intelligent he was, or how kind. Not at all.

Besides, it would never work. You both had your respective soulmates and he seemed to still be carrying a torch for the past relationship he was in. Not to mention the most important factor of all, he was your patient.

You carefully stepped around him to grab a large and small towel, snickering as you found a familiar design on one.

"Star Trek fan?" You asked, hanging the fabric on the shower rail and turning the tap on to warm water.

"Typically I'm not one for fiction but surprisingly there aren't that many scientific errors in Star Trek, especially considering how long ago it was made. There are certain improbabilities, but not that many outright errors, which make it so enjoyable to watch."

"Eh, I've only seen the film from 2009, and I was mostly paying attention to the deliciously handsome cast." You knew that would agitate him. "And not just for Chris Pine but Zachary Quinto as Spock? Oh, he is gorgeous, even if he is gay. Not that there's anything wrong with being gay, and not that I had a chance with him anyway." You laughed.

"Y/n, I am not one to comment on the education of another but you are seriously missing out! Star Trek: The Next Generation is one of the most influential series of it's time. the new film doesn't even have Data! Data, y/n, Data!" He grumbled as you washed his hair.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Next you're going to tell me that the 1996 Doctor Who movie is better than the series?" He opened his mouth when you raised your soapy hand. "Disregard that statement, I can't afford another argument, I'm already too emotional from our last one." You faked a sniffle.

"You know, most females I talk to don't watch Star Trek or Doctor Who."

"I'm just that amazing, I know." You sighed, moving to grab the washcloth and dousing it with water, handing it to Spencer so he could wash himself. You grabbed the Star Trek towel and started to dry Spencer's hair.                                           

"You're something alright." He retorted, drawing a gasp from you.

"I could have let you sit with greasy hair, you know!" Just for extra measure you rubbed his head a little harsher than before but miscalculated your aim, accidentally hitting your wrist against the marble sink.

Spencer felt pain radiate through his wrist and time seemed to slow. It suddenly seemed to dawn on him all at once. You experienced constant pain, pain he gave you because he was often injured on the job. Not to mention his gunshot wound on your leg and now the purple blossoms forming on his wrist.

 He wanted to shout, yell, jump up, wrap you in a hug. He had finally found his soulmate! However, he remained silent.

When you spoke about your soulmate the other day you seemed angry and forlorn at the amount of pain you had to endure. There was no doubt in his mind that if you knew he was your soulmate, you would walk right out of his life, but not before giving him a swift kick to the ass.

So he stayed quiet.

-

You weren’t sure what changed between you and Spencer. After the shower he mentioned he didn’t feel too well so you guided him to bed. Since then he stayed in his room, barely calling you to his side.

It was weird. If it was any other patient you would have paid no mind and kept to yourself but you thought you had made a connection with Spencer. You enjoyed the banter between you both and finding out your shared interests. It must have all been in your head. You brought yourself out of your thoughts to prepare Spencer’s tea. 

“Here you are!” You called, stepping into his room to hand him the mug. “I’m about to head out, do you need anything else?”

“No, thank you.” You stayed by the door, waiting to see if he would even spare you a glance. When he made no motion to move, you gave up, spinning on your heel to grab your purse and coat. 

“Ah!” You heard Spencer hiss from the other room before feeling a sharp sting on your tongue. Your hand came up to cover your mouth, brows knitting together in confusion. Was he…? Did he…? 

Spencer was your soulmate, he had to be. There was no possible way that him burning his mouth and your pain that followed were coincidences, right? Spencer was your soulmate! So why did you feel your heart drop into your stomach?

You shut the door, racing down the stairs and out of his apartment building, letting the cold air sweep over you. 

There was nothing special about you. You were just a simple nurse and he was your patient. Besides, how were you deserving of Spencer? You weren’t. 

He couldn’t find out, he just couldn’t.

-

You didn’t know if it was just because you knew that Spencer was your soulmate but the tension between the two of you was… palpable. 

“Hey!” You popped your head into his room, his figure jumping in surprise. “I’m sorry I didn’t mean to startle you!” You exclaimed.

“Hi?” He greeted, trying to seem calm. You were leaving tomorrow and he was panicking. The past few hours were spent debating about whether he should tell you that he was your soulmate. Could he really just let this opportunity pass by?

“I just wanted to know if you needed anything? I figured you probably ran out of books by now. Everytime I think you’ve reread all the books in your library I keep finding new ones.” You tried to joke. 

“I… Yes. Yes, please.” He mumbled, hiding his gaze. You sighed, wondering for the millionth time what you had done wrong to make him so distant and reclusive. 

“Alright, I’ll take the stack.” You bit your lip to keep from sighing once more, groaning as you picked up the books littered around the room. “God these are heavy.” You whispered under your breath, trying to waddle into the other room as you quickly realized you were losing your grip. It seemed as if it was too late, the pounds of literature falling on your feet.

Both you and Spencer let out a groan, heads snapping towards each other in surprise. 

“Did you- did you feel that?” You asked, even if you knew the answer.

“I did.” Spencer’s voice seemed small. “Y/n, I am so sorry.” You were taken aback, eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

“You’re sorry?” You questioned, pain forgotten as shame radiated through you. “Am I that bad of a soulmate?” You whispered, clenching your fist to keep tears from pricking your eyes.

“No! No, no, no!” He tried to sit up as straight as he could, internally cursing at how hurt you looked. “I only apologized because… I can’t help but feel like I disappointed you! I am an FBI agent, I’m always going to be in danger therefore putting you in danger. When you first mentioned your soulmate you seemed so… upset. I don’t know if I’ll ever truly be able to make you happy.” He admitted, the tips of his ears turning red as his gaze fell to his lap.

“Disappointed? Past-tense?” You cried. “Did you know about this?” He didn’t move.

“Well… I guess I can’t be angry with that.” You sighed. “I knew too. I just thought that… you wouldn’t want me. You still seemed so in love with whatever woman gave you that book. And out of my league. And my patient.” You let out a wry laugh, sitting on the edge of his bed. 

“Are you kidding me? You are the most gorgeous woman I have ever met. You make me laugh and you are so kind and caring. I am proud to be your soulmate.” He swallowed thickly.

“Spencer you are selfless. You dedicate your life every day to helping others. You are handsome, sweet, and hilarious.” You reached for his hand. “And I am so happy you turned out to be my soulmate.”

Your eyes finally met and before you knew it, your lips smashed against his. 

“I don’t know if you know this… but I happen to get injured on a lot of missions.” He uttered as you pulled apart. “So I have a feeling that I’ll need you around more often.”

“Well Doctor, I think you just might be right.” You giggled, drawing him in for another kiss. 

-----

Feedback is always appreciated!

[sirixsconversations]

strawberry lemonade • chapter two

warnings: like one curse word? uh this is long so 😐

summary: after breaking up with your boyfriend of three years, you move out of your apartment as your best friend’s high school friend comes back to Japan for a “break”.

wc: 2k

|| masterlist || previous || next ||

For two weeks, you learned that Tooru Oikawa was very very loud. Both of you were currently staying at Iwaizumi’s while the lease was being finalized. Thankfully, you and Oikawa both made a decent amount of money, so you both could afford a bit more expensive apartment. You remembered the qualifications that Oikawa had listed off the day after you decided to move in together. 

Three days earlier

“But y/n! I’m going to be home a lot, so wouldn’t it be better to have a larger living space?” Oikawa looked up at you with a teasing look in his eyes. 

“Why would we need a large, expensive may I add, apartment? I’ll be home a lot too, but It’s not like we’ll be throwing parties or cooking-”

“Oh I plan on cooking,” Oikawa exclaimed while grabbing your hands

“You know how to cook?”

“You don't?” 

Fast forward a couple of days, and here you were, moving into a large, expensive apartment. Trying to drown out Oikawa and Mattsun’s loud laughter, you moved into the kitchen to go over things. 

Living with someone other than a significant other was hard work, no wonder why your parents didn’t want you to get a roommate off of campus in university. Sighing, you closed your laptop and got up to make some tea. 

Green tea was the one thing drink that didn’t remind you of someone. Hajime was coffee, strong and dependable. Kaori reminded you of iced coffee, like Hajime but she was sweet and cool. And of course, peach tea reminded you of him. He was calm, refreshing, and sweet. 

Your thoughts were shattered when a voice pierced through your consciousness. Oikawa. 

“You seem to be interested in that teabag, something wrong?” He moved to your left side and bent down to make eye contact. Flustered, you snapped out of your depressing trance. 

“Yeah! I'm just thinking about people and drinks,” you laughed the concern off and tried to reassure him. 

“Drinks? Do you want me to invite people here?” Oikawa seemed confused. Why would you suddenly want to drink?

You waved your hands frantically, trying to stop Oikawa from doing anything. 

“No! No, I was thinking about how drinks sometimes remind me of people,” you laughed as Oikawa cocked his head to the right, looking like a lost puppy. 

“Oh, I see! So then, what do I remind you of?” the confused face on Oikawa’s face melted into one of cockiness and teasing. Nonetheless, you answered his question. 

“Hm, strawberry lemonade.” 

Iwaizumi arrived back home a few hours after the teabag incident and walked into a very intense Mario Kart tournament. 

“Come on y/n~ let me win once, please.” Matsukawa groaned out as you beat him for the fifth time that night. Oikawa simply chuckled before getting up and greeting Iwaizumi. 

“Iwa! When did you get here?”

“He obviously just did, idiot,” You rolled off of the couch before standing up to meet the two in the kitchen. Iwaizumi motioned his head towards your open laptop that had the details of the apartment displayed. As if he was stressed, he just sat down and sighed. 

He couldn’t shake that feeling. Why did Oikawa come back? He was doing perfectly fine in Argentina, he had won against his team during the Olympics even. So why the hell was he here? How did you end up moving in with him? He tried summing it up as the shock of the breakup clouding your decisions, but as he stared at you and Oikawa picking out a rug, he felt as though that wasn’t it. 

You were different. 

~

Hajime trailed behind you and Oikawa as you gleefully ran into the elevator, excited about finally moving in. It took a few days to move in, but with all of your and Oikawa’s friends helping, things went smoothly. 

“Oh just wait Iwa! We set up a little corner for you to stand in when we have friends over!” Oikawa teased Iwaizumi while you sent a short reply to Kaori. She and her girlfriend got into a little argument, so you were offering a piece of advice, although you felt as though you weren’t in the position to give advice anymore.

“Hey.” Iwaizumi poked your shoulder and gave you a look that was full of concern. He looked worried about something. 

“What’s up?” You asked the taller male, who was looking down at your phone.

“Are you texting S-” Your eyes widened as the name of your ex-boyfriend threatened to slip past his lips. 

“No! It was just...Kaori. I was offering advice,” you gave Iwaizumi an awkward smile as he apologized under his breath. Meanwhile, Oikawa was staring at you with curiosity. As he was opening his mouth to speak, he was cut off by the sound of the elevator dinging. 

“Hajime! Let’s go!” you laughed while pulling the dark-haired man out of the elevator and towards your new home. 

The apartment was large, to say the least, but it was perfect for you and Oikawa’s antics. The living room was spacious, and per request, there was a large kitchen for Oikawa to cook whatever he wanted. The two of you had your own rooms, of course. The third room was a study for you to work in, and for Oikawa to do whatever Oikawa wanted to do. Downstairs, there was a gym (which Oikawa enjoyed, although he would train elsewhere), as well as a small bakery across the street. Things were perfect. 

Iwaizumi left after thirty minutes, claiming “I can’t stand to be around the both of you”, which led to Oikawa calling a near-by pizza place. 

“I thought you liked to cook?” you teased the tall male, but he simply laughed. 

“My dearest y/n, how do you expect me to cook with only carrots and cream cheese?” He laughed, motioning towards the fridge that had yet to be filled. Rolling your eyes, you lay down on the soft couch and breathed out. Oikawa moved your legs so that they rested on his lap before closing his eyes. Looking at your conflicted face, Oikawa tapped your legs, trying to draw your attention.”

“You seem to be lost in thought a lot, does this happen frequently?” you giggled quietly at his joke but sat up. 

“No, I’m just..thinking that things are too easy right now. It seems like everything a week ago was so hard, and that my life was ending,” you giggled as Oikawa widened his eyes in concern. 

“So why did you even move out of your previous apartment anyways? Did something happen with your landlord or something?” Oikawa questioned as he moved to grab something to drink. You sighed and shook your head. 

“No, my boyfriend broke up with me,” you laughed as you watched Oikawa choke on his water. He set down the glass and rushed over to you, scanning your face for any signs of hurt. In the years that he had lived in Argentina, he had his fair share of relationships, and he knew that people were typically sensitive. But somehow, there was nothing there but worry. 

“Well! I'm sure that you don't need him anyway, he was probably a shitty guy anyways so-”

“Actually, he was pretty amazing. There wasn’t anything to hate,” Oikawa closed his mouth in thought and was about to reply with a snarky comment, but the door rang. As Oikawa ran off to greet the delivery man, you just stared at the back of his head. 

Was this the right choice?

Across town, a man dragged his things into the house. He had been gone for the last three weeks, and all he wanted was to lay down with his girlfr-. 

Wait. 

The light-haired man sat down on the couch and remembered the words that were exchanged before he left. 

| Three weeks prior |

“....”

“y/n, I just don’t know what you want me to say-”

“Just go, okay?”

| Present time |

The man dug through his coat pockets before looking at his lock screen, not wanting to change it. He swiped up and looked for the one person that would always answer; you. 

Calling your number, he stared at the one thing that was left out on the counter. 

Peach tea. 

~

You and Oikawa were arguing over what to watch as a “celebratory moving day movie”, as Oikawa called it. 

“y/n, I have watched this movie every time that I’ve moved, trust me,” Oikawa whined as you held the remote out of his reach, making sure he wouldn’t put it on. 

“Why not Howl’s Moving Castle? When moving in with a new person, you need a new movie to watch!” you pouted. Oikawa huffed and crossed his arms. 

“I-I’ve never seen it,” he admitted under his breath. You widened your eyes and jumped on top of him. 

“What do you mean you’ve never watched it?! Are you jo-” you were suddenly cut off by your phone ringing. 

Although you changed his contact name and photo, the ringtone was personalized. Your blood ran cold as you picked up the phone. You shouldn’t answer, but you owed him after leaving abruptly. Covering Oikawa’s mouth, you picked up the phone. 

“Hi,” you answered, punching yourself mentally for being so awkward. Oikawa mocked you as you sent him a glare. 

“Oh god y/n, where are you? Are you staying at Kaori’s? I’m so sorry, I’m on my way-” you cut him off before he could go bang on your best friend’s door.

“Koushi, I'm not-”

“Koushi?! As in Sugawara Koushi?” Oikawa exclaimed with excitement. Your eyes widened as you felt your face go red. On the other end of the line, Sugawara stopped pacing around the living room and fell into a state of confusion as a familiar voice rang out from the other end. 

“Oikawa? You’re back?” You could feel yourself sinking into a state of despair as Oikawa laughed and took the phone from you. 

“Mr. Refreshing! Yeah, I'm back here while I’m on...break. How have you been? I haven’t seen you since-”

“I remember,” you could hear Sugawara’s laugh flow from the phone, and it made your heart hurt. You motioned for Oikawa to hurry up and give you the phone back, but he simply brushed you off and gave you the remote. 

“I’ve been uh, not well actually. Which is why I was calling y/n,” Sugawara sighed. Oikawa glanced over at you and waggled his eyebrows. You rolled your eyes, humored by the man’s idiocy. 

“Ah, I see! Anyways, I’ll let you get back to your call. I’ll have y/n give me your number later so we can catch up!”

“I’m not sure-” Oikawa handed you the phone, not understanding the context behind the phone call. You glared at him as he cheerfully watched the beginning of the film. 

“I’m sorry about that, he’s uhm, intrusive,” you apologized to Sugawara, but he just brushed it off. 

“It’s fine, I knew him from high school. It doesn’t seem like now is a good time to talk though, can we discuss things later? I’ll buy you coffee or dinner, whatever you want okay?”

“Yeah that sounds fine, I’ll talk to-”

“Are you okay y/n?” he asked hesitantly, knowing damn well that he had hurt you. 

“I will be,” you ended the call, and immediately pinched Oikawa. He jumped and sent you a glare. 

“Hey what was that for? I didn’t do anything!” you just rolled your eyes. 

“I hardly think taking my phone to talk to my ex-boyfriend counts as “nothing”, Oikawa,” you huffed. His eyes widened before standing before you in disbelief. 

“Mr. Refreshing is your ex?!”

facts: 

- Sugawara is y/n’s ex ;)

- The former couple’s breakup was clean, but Sugawara didn’t mean to actually break up with y/n

- Oikawa is an amazing cook, im telling you. 

[gustafsnightangel]

Shattered Lives Ch 27 Pt 2

He helped her to stand and gazed up at her, drinking in those curves he would erotically destroy later. Standing he and pulled on his sweats. Drawing her robe about her shoulders he kissed her tenderly.

They sat for another cup of tea, talked about the school holidays over Christmas, her own time off, and that they’d be able to spend a decent amount of time together as a family, as a couple.

“You’re still apprehensive about it all? Christmas the new year?” He asked gently.

“Yes, but at least after meeting Bill, and the boys spending time with him this weekend it’s made it a little easier.” She said clearing the table. “They’ll have a face they know. Someone they can stick with while they get to know everyone else.”

“That’s what I was hoping for.” He said gently as he started drying the dishes as she washed them.

“Thank you.” She said quietly. “I don’t say that to you enough.” She added.

His lips found the nape of her neck in a sweet kiss before he continued drying the plate, a quick smile ghosted his lips at the shiver that ran across her body.

“I’ll do whatever I can to ease them into it love, you as well.” He said as he put away the clean dishes.

“I know, but I never want you to think that it’s not appreciated, that it’s taken for granted because it isn’t. I cry sometimes at the sweet things you do for us.” She murmured and pulled the plug, rinsing the sink as it drained, her voice catching. “The way you just know what we need.” He dried her hands and pulled her close. “Just like that.” Her mumble into his chest was followed by a sigh, her body going lax.

“I do it because I want to. It makes me happy when I see you and the kids smile. Relieved at the way your shoulders relax when it’s one less thing for you to worry about.” He kissed her softly. “Together love, you’re not alone anymore.”

She smiled at him, that smile she kept only for him. “Don’t ever change.” She said sweetly.

“Same goes.” He said and pressed her gently against the counter kissing her tenderly.

“We still have a tree to put up too.” She said softly, her finger playing with his scruff.

“When do you usually put it up?”

“After our birthday. My parents always separated our birthday and Christmas seeing as though we’re so close together.” She was apprehensive about it, the fidgeting fingers a dead giveaway, he thought.

“How about we do it on your birthday? I can set up the tree Tuesday while you’re at work and we can decorate it Wednesday?” That way it’s not dragging your grief out over multiple days, he thought silently.

She took a steadying breath. “Sure.” She wasn’t sure, if she had it her way the damn thing wouldn’t go up at all. It was a stark reminder of another year whizzing past, another year without Quinn, another year where her life had fallen to pieces. But she’d do it for the kids because they needed it, they needed normal, and fun, and excitement. They needed a childhood, and she’d fight for it to be as normal as possible even when she felt so bleak and beaten down about it.

“You’re not sure though.” He murmured pulling her closer.

“No, but it’s fine, the kids need it.” She said quickly, the slight shrug telling him it was anything but fine.

“And what do you need love?” He asked quietly, he’d give her anything, do anything to get her through it.

“I don’t know.” Her voice was so soft he almost didn’t hear it. “I don’t know what I need anymore.” It was the truth, she didn’t know.

“My lovely lady.” He murmured and enveloped her with that massive frame. Drawing her into him he felt her hold on tight like she was lost at sea clinging to a life raft. He felt her silent tears fall as he gently tangled his fingers in her hair, playing with it so it soothed, the soft caress of her scalp.

She breathed him in, that comfort of home, of him. “Sometimes I feel like I’m drowning, that I’m failing them.” She said, her voice shaky. “Failing Quinn.” He held her, determined not to push, just giving her safety and space to talk when she was comfortable.

“Giving up would have been failing them.” His fingers brushed the back of her neck as he rested his head against hers. “But you haven’t failed them or your brother. You dropped everything and took on four kids when they needed you. You fight for them, you care for them, you love them. That’s not failing anyone love.”

He gently kissed her brow. “You give so much of yourself without asking for anything in return. You’re not failing them love, you’re raising them, you’re being a parent.”

She needed to hear it, know how important she was to the kids. He could see it eating away at her slowly, the pressure, the stress, the responsibility that was heaped on her plate so suddenly.

“Will you help me?” She asked quietly, that usually steady, confident voice, meek and uncertain.

“Raise them?” He he asked gently. He looked at her, a little shocked but his heart leapt.

She nodded and the silent sob hitched her breath at his reaction. “I can’t do it on my own anymore.” And that was the absolute heart breaking truth, she thought. She couldn’t continue to raise them on her own, be a parent on her own, a year had felt like a decade and the stress was consuming her. She felt as if every day drowned her a little more, between work and the kids, the guilt, the grief, it was sucking out her soul.

He had been right, all the things he’d said to her Tuesday when the car had died. She could and would keep doing it on her own for those kids but she didn’t need to. She had someone she trusted, she loved, and knew he would fight and protect the kids as vehemently as she would. She just had to ask, so she had, even though it tore her up, made her feel so inadequate, she’d asked.

“Look at me.” He whispered and hooked a finger under her chin gently raising her head until her gaze found his. So conflicted, he thought, this went against everything she was yet she’d asked him for help.

“I need help.” The sobs threatened to tear her apart. “I can’t do this on my own.” The desperate plea in her voice slightly panicked.

“I’ll help love.” He said gently. “Hey, I’ll help.” He kissed her tenderly and held her as she wept, his soft murmur over and over soothing her.

“I can’t do this without you.” Her voice was so quiet and emotional his heart broke.

“You and me, together. I’ll help Sildie.” He murmured and held her close. “I’ll help.”

Maybe it was the grief, maybe the events from this week with the car, maybe the argument on Tuesday, she didn’t know. All she knew is that she was fooling herself if she thought she could juggle it all without something giving. It also hammered the point home that if something happened to her, the kids were screwed, they’d have no one. She couldn’t continue along the current path and potentially set them up for more grief, more heartbreak. They didn’t deserve it.

She felt overwhelmed every day when she stepped out of her apartment as if the world was pulling her under. It hit her harder when Gustaf was away. The suddenness of being just the five of them again had highlighted just how much she relied on him for emotional support as well as what he did with the kids to help out.

“They need you too.” She mumbled between soft sobs, and his arms tightened around her.

“I know love. I’ll help.” He soothed.

He could feel the stress uncoil from inside her, the relief knowing she had someone in her corner, someone to lean on. He’d wanted to be that for her for months now, for her to trust him enough to help more than what he’d been doing. It was difficult for her to ask for help when she’d grown up with none, except from her brother. Harder now that he was gone. Maybe his family could be that for her eventually as well, he thought.

“You ok?” He asked gently as she wiped her eyes, the sobs almost spent.

“Sorry.” She sniffed. “I’ve gone and ruined another one of your getaways.” She scoffed at herself harshly.

“No apologies remember? And you haven’t ruined anything. I have you here with me, almost naked, nothing ruined about that.” His smile had hers tugging the corners of her mouth. “Together love, you and me.”

“Thank you. I know this changes everything but...”

“It changes nothing love.” He said honestly. “They’re still your kids and you’re still the boss.”

“I’d like you to be the boss sometimes too.” Her murmur making him smile.

“We’ll talk first though ok?” He smiled and kissed her sweetly. “Together?” And his heart lightened when she nodded and smiled. “I’ll help anyway I can love, however you want.” He kissed her, that deep loving kiss that made her toes curl. “You know, they got extremely lucky when they came to you.” He murmured kissing her again softly. “Extremely lucky.”

“I’m glad someone thinks so.” She sniffed. “Sometimes I wonder if they would have been better off...”

He kissed her, swallowing the rest of her sentence. “Don’t. Don’t do that.” He said sternly, her eyes snapping to his with such grief in them he wanted to swallow his tone, but she needed to hear it. “The the kids are where they need to be and who they need to be with. You.”

She sniffed and nodded. “Sometimes I wonder.”

“You can wonder and I’ll be here to remind you. They’re where they need to be love, with the one woman that would move the world for them.”

“How did we get so lucky?” She asked softly as her fingers trailed his jaw, her hand cupping his face as he closed his eyes and leaned into it. “To find you at our door when our world was falling apart.” Her kiss was soft. “You have such a beautiful soul love.”

“So do you, and I’ll spend every waking moment reminding you how beautiful you are. Inside and out.” His kiss was tender, that sweet love he had an abundance of shining through.

“Would you like some tea?”

“Tea would be good now I’ve blubbered all over you.” She snorted. “Again.”

“I think I blubbered more last night.” He countered and squeezed her.

“We ok?” She asked gently.

“I think we’re better now than when we walked in here yesterday.” He smiled. “More than ok love.”

Her nod and smile set him at ease as he released her to start making tea. She walked to the bathroom and shut the door quietly breathing out. Lighter was all she could feel, he’d lifted that pressing weight clean off, much like he’d done for Brendan.

He felt her arms wrap around him, her forehead rest between his shoulder blades, her usual position when she needed to ground herself. “You ok love?” He asked in that low tone he knew calmed her.

She didn’t answer, just nodded her head quickly. Not all the way yet, he thought, but she would be. He let it be for the moment while he made tea, her body moving with his as she stayed where she was.

She felt like a fool for being so desperate for help. It never sat well with her burdening others with her personal shit and the last thing she wanted for to make him feel as if she was taking advantage of him. She breathed him in, that familiar scent calming her.

“Thank you.” She said softly, breathing out the remaining stress.

“Anytime love.” He murmured, placing a hand over hers and squeezing. “Go sit on the window seat in the bedroom I’ll bring this in.” He said turning in her arms to kiss her temple.

He stoked the fire in the living room and put on some soft jazz. After tending to the fire in the bedroom he placed the tea on the window seat before snuggling in behind her. She sat hair brush in hand, teasing the tangled mess from the ends of her hair. Her gaze out the window not focused on anything in particular, lost in thought.

Pulling her closer he took the brush from her and kissed her cheek at the shocked response as she turned to look at him quite perplexed.

“What?” He asked, that grin she loved spreading across his face.

“Nothing.” She said, snapping her mouth shut and shaking her head. She wouldn’t deny him anything that made him happy, to see that joy burst from him as it did just now. She’d give everything she was to see that happiness more often, carefree and comfortable.

He kissed her neck, the seductive touch making her shiver. She couldn’t stop the soft moan as he brushed her hair with such tenderness she melted. Her pussy clenched as his fingers caressed her neck sending little shocks through her system. As he continued to drag the brush through her hair the occasional kiss made goose flesh prickle her skin.

It felt like silk as he brushed it and let it fall through his fingers to savor it. She leaned into every stroke of brush and fingers, the sensual touch that promised so much. Not just of sex, but the care and kindness that he gave to her without question, without reservation.

She relaxed back against his chest when he stopped, a kiss to her head, his arms wrapping around her. He breathed her in, her scent wrapping around him. The kiss to the pulse on her neck had her moaning loudly.

“I can’t function when you kiss me there.” She sighed as he sucked gently.

“I know, but you don’t need to function.” He smiled and kissed her again in the same spot. “Drink your tea.” He chuckled.

The snow had stopped, the storm cleared, and the blanket of stars sparkled overhead. They sipped tea in a tangle of limbs, fingers lazily arousing, lips stealing the occasional kiss.

“That’s something I haven’t seen in a while.” Gustaf said gazing out the window.

“What’s that?”

“Northern lights.” He said and pointed out toward the frozen lake. She rested her head against his chest and looked at where the streaks of green and purple faintly painted the sky.

“I’d forgotten how beautiful they are.” She said wistfully, thoughts of her brother flittering into her mind. His arms tightened around her as he felt the grief suddenly surge forward.

“You used to watch them together.” He stated more than asked and her slight nod confirmed it.

“Before Mum and dad passed we would go camping in the woods in a tiny cabin, but not as fancy as this one. We’d sneak out in the freezing cold and snow...” She smiled chuckling at the memory and how stupid they had been. “...and sit there huddled together shivering our asses off watching the lights dance across the sky.”

He kissed her head softly. “That sounds like something me and my brothers would do.” He murmured into her hair.

“I miss him.” She said simply. There were no tears, just a statement that needed to be voiced.

“I know you do love.” He said gently and kissed her temple. He would deal with the grief if it came. The fact she was talking about him freely without bursting into tears was progress, even if he could feel her body brace for the emotion that no doubt welled up within her.

They sat in a tangle of limbs, nestled together watching the night sky dance. With her head cradled against his massive chest, his arm supporting her spine she looked up at him, that handsome face lost in thought. “Gustaf?”

“Mmm.” His reply was half in this world half in another.

“Would you come and dance with me naked under the stars?” She asked softly and kissed him sensually as his brain came back from wherever it had drifted off to.

He helped her to stand, the smooth jazz drifting into the room. They undressed each other, unhurried, soothing, arousing.There was so much tenderness between them tonight, a quenching balm for both their ragged souls.

“Romancing me?” He smiled as he took her hand.

“Trying.” Her smile was shy as he swept her up in his arms and spun her around pressed tightly against him. She wasn’t very good with the whole romance thing but she was trying so hard for him.

“It’s working.” He whispered and gave her a peck on the cheek.

“Good to know.” She breathed him in, his scent soothing all her anxiety and grief away.

He calmed his mind as they swayed. Let her scent soothe him, his arms wrapped around the woman he loved. With a slower song crooning in the back ground, the fire dancing with them in the hearth, he breathed out.

“I love you, Sildie.” He murmured as they swayed cheek to cheek. He held his breath as she lifted her head to look at him, his heart hammering in his chest as those glacial blue pools gazed into his soul. This was it, do or die trying, because the rejection, if it came, would destroy him. He kissed her fingers tenderly. “With everything that I am, everything that I have.” His voice choked with emotion. “I’m in love with you.” His eyes searched hers. “You’re it for me.”

That smile faltered as her fingers caressed his cheek and he knew he’d blown it. The look of surprise turning to that soft smile that was unreadable, he felt the rejection was imminent.

“I’m sorry.” He said choking down a sob that wanted to tear him apart. “It was to soon, I’m sorry.” You fucking idiot, he cursed. You pushed her too far after an emotionally taxing week and the beginning of another brutal one in the week to follow, how fucking stupid are you, he raged mentally? “I’m sorry, I...” Flustered he started to pull away from her thinking he’d completely blown it, but she held him to her firmly.

Her kiss was tender, that deep love she had for him welling up and consuming them both, the tears streaking down her cheeks.

“Sweet man, I know you do.” She said softly, her hand cupping his cheek, her thumb caressing his crows feet as his eyes closed and he quietly sighed with overwhelming relief. “I feel it everyday.” She said quietly as his eyes found hers intently. “It comes from in here.” Her hand drifted to rest over his heart. “It’s not just with words it’s every action, every kiss, every smile. Every time you look at me.” Her hand toyed with his scruff as those Nordic blue eyes sparkled, the love for her in them shining brightly. “Just like that.” She smiled, the one she only kept for him and it teased the slightest smile from his lips. “Like I’m the only woman in the world.”

“You are for me.” His voice was calmer as he rested his forehead against hers. He relaxed his shoulders, easing the tension from them carefully, slowly. “You’re the only woman I want.” He breathed and kissed her sweetly with that undercurrent of deep soul healing love.

“I feel it every second of everyday.” She watched him, she’d seen the flash of fear in him, those thoughts of rejection flood into that broken soul. “Would you say it again?” She asked gently, wanting nothing more than to hear it tumble from his lips again.

“I love you.” He breathed, without hesitation, without restriction, his eyes not leaving hers.

“I love you too.” She murmured, the remaining anxiety melting off him. “You are my everything Gustaf.” She said gently, her voice shaking with emotion. “And you’re it for me too.” It was the truth, if she lost him it would destroy her, the kids, everything. “You’re the only one I want.”

His hand cupped her behind the neck and his mouth crashed against hers kissing her hard. Relief and love poured out of him, his own eyes shimmering with tears. “I’ve wanted to say that to you for a long time.” He breathed. “Since the day in the snow with the kids.” His fingers toyed with the wave of hair at her ear before tangling his fingers in it kissing her again. So that’s what had set him off, she thought, oh sweet man you are such a kind loving soul.

“We weren’t ready then love.” She smiled gently, her fingers brushing his scruff.

“No, we weren’t.” He rested his forehead against hers and swayed with her. “I was worried we might not be ready for it now either.” He said wryly with a chuckle.

He danced with her, cheek against cheek, the soft jazz soothing them both. “I’m so in love with you Sildie.” His words wound their way around her heart as he kissed her, losing herself to him.

She felt the love uncoil from its slumber within the depths of his soul. He was so tender, so giving, every touch, every kiss echoing his words. He loved her, he wanted her, he needed her, and with those three little words he’d given every piece of himself to her. How did she deserve such a beautiful soul like him, she wondered?

“I’ve been in love with you since our first tea date.” He whispered and kissed her temple as fingers drew lazy patterns on the strip of skin that peeked out from the collar of her robe. “You were still all lawyered up.” He growled. “All flustered when you get nervous. Looking as beautiful as ever.” His eyes searched hers before he kissed her tenderly. “And as I stood there on your threshold every night after that, I realized I wanted you, to be yours. To be with you, the kids, as a family, I want all of it with you.”

She let him talk knowing he needed to process it and the scars that Ana had left behind, he was still a little gunshy. Her thumb brushed the deep laugh lines at his eyes, she was so in love with him too. Her kiss was gentle, that unbound love she freely gave him, the one that calmed his soul. “And I’m rambling.” He scoffed and the chuckle that leaked out was one of relief and joy. “Sorry.”

“You’re healing and I think the no apology clause for this weekend stretches to cover you as well.” She kissed him again, moaning as he deepened it. “You’re enough for me. You’ve always been enough for me.” Her kiss left him breathless and she smiled when he looked at her a little dumbstruck. “I love you Gustaf. I just want you. It’s always been you.”

They danced and swayed, the odd stolen kiss giving way to an arousing touch. He’d show her that love, the tenderness, the pleasure. Standing on the rug in front of the fire they let the music and the moment lead them.

He watched the firelight flicker across her body as tender fingers caressed her shoulders. His goddess burning brightly, her halo of molten copper aflame. He sank to his knees, kissing every inch of her as he lowered himself.

He pressed his face to her belly and breathed her in, his hands stroking up the backs of her thighs to rest at the swell of her ass. Kissing her he groaned softly as her hand caressed his scalp and rested against his face. Looking up he nuzzled her hand, that soft smile tugging her lips, her eyes full of love and a good measure of lust.

He stayed on his knees and worshipped his goddess, the sensual kisses to those curves he adored, the tender touch as his finger aroused her, the taste of her as his tongue slipped over her heat. He sat and stretched his legs out in front of him. Gently tugging her hand she lowered to straddle him, his hands guiding her body to nestle against his, she’d always been a perfect fit. Looking at those eyes he adored he kissed her, that slow burn causing her to moan. With a hand on each ass cheek he pulled her to him, both gasping at the contact. A hand supported her lower back as he nudged her to lean back into it, kissing a path down her throat.

Those hands stoked the fire within her, the embers roaring to life. She gave herself over to him as a hand cupped her breast, teeth and tongue gently teasing a nipple to a hard peak. As he devoured each breast in turn he rocked his hips, his manhood sliding between her folds, hot and wet.

He feasted, the soft moans as he aroused her urging him to take more. Reaching between their bodies he circled her clit before resting his engorged cock at her entrance. With a gentle thrust he pulled her onto him slowly, savoring her soft cry. He sucked on the pulse at her throat, relishing in the feel of her as her body trembled for him.

There was no rush as he kissed her, touched her, the intimacy between the more important than the act itself.

“I love you Sildie.” He murmured, that low timbre making her tremble. “My Sildie.” He sighed. “My goddess.” His tenderness overwhelmed her, the man had given her his heart and soul. It was hers to keep, to cherish, to protect.

He slowly built her climax, each tender kiss, seductive touch, pushing her further and further to the edge. She rocked against him their rhythm slow and erotic as he felt the familiar flutter from deep within her.

“Gustaf.” Her cry was one of warning and desperation.

He kept the same devastating pace and watched her body tense before it writhed against him as she came, those slender fingers grasping at his neck and shoulder. She pulled herself upright as her next peaked quickly, wanting to feel the friction of his body move against hers.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him hard not able to put into words the euphoria she was feeling.

“Go over love, don’t hold it back.” He murmured and held her hips tighter to him.

“Gustaf.” She gasped as he ground against her clit, fireworks going off in her brain at the contact. She couldn’t stop it, let alone hold it back, even if she wanted to. Her kiss was fierce as she came, the cry of ecstasy into his mouth as he held her to him. Her pussy gripped him tight and the groan made her smile against his lips.

“Come with me.” She whimpered as they took each other, both riding that edge together. He devoured her mouth as she came again, swallowing her cry, his own groan escaping as her pussy clenched him breaking his last thread of control. He came hard, filling her with his seed, the throb of his cock pulsing inside her. Riding them down from the high he kissed her tenderly, his huge hands cupping her face, holding her to him to savor every last kiss. She rested her head on his shoulder while they forced oxygen back into their lungs.

Sitting wrapped in each other, the jazz drifted around the cabin as the fire lazily danced in the hearth. She looked out the window to see the stars twinkling through the soft colors of the northern lights. “I’m so in love with you.” She said softly. His kiss to her forehead lingered and she felt his smile.

“I love you too.” His grin wide.

“I could stay right here forever.” She sighed. She was all warm and soft and comfortable, contentment. Those strong arms wrapped around her, it was another layer that helped her relax, security and protection.

“I’m in no hurry to go anywhere.” He murmured, kissing her temple. This incredible woman naked in his lap, loved him, he felt like a new man.

She giggled as he leaned back and they went crashing to the floor. Fully stretched out in front of the fire, naked, with his goddess curled up on his chest still straddling him, he felt more relaxed and at ease than he had in years. She hummed as his fingers lightly trailed her spine and over her back in unhurried patterns.

“You keep doing that and I’m going to fall asleep.” She mumbled, already drifting after the heat of the fire and the sex. Her whine when he stopped made him chuckle.

“My ass will fall asleep if we stay here too much longer. The rug feels great, the hard floor not so much.” He sat, with more difficulty because gravity and a woman in his arms. “Hop into bed love.” He murmured.

He steadied her as she stood, her legs stiff from the position. She’d had every intention of rocking his world tonight but that would have to wait because sleep was almost upon her. She came back from the bathroom and snuggled into bed, the night sky with its painted streaks and glittering stars soothing her. Drifting she felt the mattress sag and that familiar body press against her.

“Gustaf?” She slurred.

“I’m here love.” His arms cocooned her in, his soothing touch helping sleep pull her under.

“I love you.” Her mumble was barely coherent before she fell and fell hard.

“I love you too. Sleep now.” He kissed her neck and breathed her in, he was emotionally exhausted, but it was worth it. Everything about this weekend had been worth it.

His thoughts drifted. Their entire relationship had shifted with her reaching out for help, for support, for him. It had evolved into something much deeper. He smiled to himself, she was an enigma, a woman so independent, career driven, and stubborn, yet so soft and loving. He looked at her sleeping form cradled in his arms and smiled, so beautiful and she loved him.

With a head full of happy thoughts he watched the night sky and drifted, sleep claimed him soon after, the two of them spooned together.

****************

@hausofobsession @ill-skillsgard @grandpa-sweaters @authentic90skidd @tuckersgirl @fairlyfallacy @flowers-in-your-hayr @raewritesfiction @stinkerbelle007 @kamie-b @mrsaugustwalker @skrsgardspam @loliwrites @trippedmetaldetector

[imma-lil-teapot]

TMNT 2003/2K3 Headcanon: Crying - (Raphael)

Feel free to scroll past this first part if you’re not interested in my silly rambling and nonsense. I won’t mind. Promise. ;)

Alrighty then, lockdown has officially started here. :/ *Unenthusiastic streamers fly* Oh well, look what we have all the time in the world for: WRITING! *Enthusiastic streamers fly* Not too much extra to add in this regard since the last headcanon (thanks a bunch for the likes btw, guys :D ), so I guess we’ll just get right into it. :)

Please bear in mind that I’m SUPER rusty! Haven’t written in ages so there are bound to be typos and all matter of general errors scattered throughout the post. Don’t pet them! They bite!  

Anyhoo~ Despite attempting to create and share with the goal in mind to uplift spirits, I decided to start on a rather upsetting subject (PLEASE DON’T LEAVE! They end on happy notes ;) ) because, Imma just come and say it, I enjoy seeing my favourite characters shed tears (not for just any old reason -their personality plays a huge role in this- and CERTAINLY not for sadistic reasons, land sakes no! But… well, you’ll see~ ;) ) It makes me all gooey and fuzzy inside to see them display such raw emotion and I just wanna leap into the TV screen to hug and console them. I dunno why. Maybe I’m nuts like that. (Remembers Raph crying at the farm when Leo was badly injured and wishes she could just hug them all and take away the pain) Oh well, if you enjoy visualizing the same, then *High Fives*. :)

So yeah, if you read the title, you’ll know this is based on the 2003/2k3 series (my favs). Hope you all enjoy~ :D Grab tissues cause sad turts ahead! :’(

Jibber jabber stops here~

TURTLES~

LEONARDO

RAPHAEL - You are here

DONATELLO - Coming soon

MICHELANGELO - Coming soon

WARNING(S): Because of the subject, Angst and Hurt/Comfort will be present.

RATING: G (General)

WORD COUNT: Uhhh... *Shrugs shoulders*

ANYTHING ELSE TO ADD:

Well, you’re just gonna have to scroll down to find him, Master Splinter. ;) I really didn’t know what to add so... *Shrugs* And look at da squishy Turtle Tots, dey so cuuuuute!!! <3 

TO THE HEADCANONS~~~~

~RAPHAEL~

– With his infamous hotheadedness and quick capacity for battle, it’s of course natural at first for one to expect Big Bad Raphie-Boy to be completely opposed to the very thought of crying. He is the resident ‘tough guy’ after all.  

– However, this notion couldn’t be farther from the truth: sure, he can be brash, quick to temper and lash out at those that give him enough incentive to, but underneath that rockhard exterior beats the heart of a real softie, and when something truly upsets that tender muscle, you can bet Mr. Hothead’s not going to try too hard to keep the tears at bay. 

– He’s as passionate as he is headstrong, and reining in such powerful emotions proves to be difficult at most times for him, so out of the four of them, and given the right circumstances, Raph can be surprisingly easy to get the tears flowing.

-- He’s no crybaby by a long shot, mind you, but he also knows that holding back on the waterworks is pointless and makes one just feel worse in the long run. If you’re going to cry, just cry. Simple as that. 

-- Like all of his brothers, Red can’t handle the thought of losing any of his family and close friends. It tears him apart inside and he’ll desperately attempt to protect and prevent anything terrible from happening to them, but when it does, he’s an emotional wreck and doesn’t always know how to handle his distress.  

– His initial reaction is to be by their sides before becoming outraged, and depending on the different situations, it’s not uncommon for him to also nag and pass remarks at the injured brother(s). It’s the only real way of expressing his fear of losing them before dampness starts forming in his eyes.

– Despite his tough guy front, he’s not against crying in front of his family and friends at all. He knows his place and doubts a few tears will have them seeing  him in a different light, particularly his father/master and brothers for they’ve seen the worst in him on many occasions. 

– It’s only when a particularly harsh meltdown wishes to happen does Raph choose to spare them the sideshow; he knows it’s not a pretty sight, so before the sniffling begins, he leaves the Lair and heads topside for some much needed air.

– He chooses the nearby rooftops as his destination; the ideal location to let go of the ever building waves of raw emotion that continue to grip at his chest, and by the time he makes it up the fire escape ladder, he spares little time letting out a rough growl in frustration, kicking an air vent a couple of times for good measure.

 -- With some rage and frustration now out of his system, he heads on over to the brick wall and turns his back to it, roughly sliding down into a sitting position and exhales a dismal sigh. As he subconsciously replays the earlier events through his mind, he finally allows the next phase of his sorrow to surface unbridled. 

-- He dolefully holds his head in one hand and balances it on a single knee pad as the tears now begin to flow freely.

– They instantly soak into his mask, and he grits his teeth as he feels the surges of emotion wrack his entire body. He doesn’t characteristically whimper or sob when crying, but he coughs a lot, and his nostrils leak like a faucet, forcing him to frequently sniff and snort just in order to breathe. This is the very reason why he refuses to really break down in front of the the others; not because of his tenacity, but because he simply finds the whole affair gross. His family certainly didn’t need to hear him constantly hacking up a lung and sounding like an untuned trumpet every time he blew his nose.

– The episode doesn’t last too long, though, much to his delight, and after some more thorough nasal clearing, Raph then wipes at his still somewhat wet eyes and mask before drawing out another -now exhausted- sigh. 

-- He’d begin gradually twirling a single sai around whilst he collected his thoughts. It felt more natural to keep his hands busy than have them being static when he was feeling this way. As his demeanor altered, so did the actions he performed with it.  

– He wouldn’t return to his family just yet for there was still some brooding left to be done... At least that was what he’d convinced himself he was doing. He wanted a clear head when he returned so for now, he’d remain in place on the rooftop in the crisp air with the city bursting with life just below him. 

-- He had to admit, it was certainly the best place for him to be with his thoughts. Comforting in fact. A true New Yorker at heart.

BONUS EXTRA~

– Aside from having everyone special to him perish, one of Raph’s greatest fears is his inability to fully control his own temper. On more than one occasion has it gotten out of hand and thus resulted in him injuring his own brothers, and it had shaken him to the core each time. 

– He’s come to the realization that he is his own worst enemy when it comes to reigning in his own inner rage, and it uneases him immensely that it could happen again and he’s fully aware that the probability is higher than he cares to admit. The more he concerns himself with it, the more it upsets him and thus, the tears of frustration start. 

– Fortunately, his bros are there for him and can tell when he’s feeling low about it. They know the best course of action is to have a light-hearted conversation about it with him and offer their reassurances... With Mikey of course adding his own two cents on the matter in his unique Mikey style, which usually involves poking fun at his brother in red and causing Raph to go from broody to enraged in record breaking time. Just how it should be.

– Not only is Raph A-okay with crying himself, but he’s often first on the emotional support committee to offer the shoulder of comfort to his friends, amazingly enough, and he’s actually pretty decent at it too. Though, not for absolutely everyone; he has his limitations when he knows someone’s really just blubbering for attention.

– He wasn’t always so accepting of shedding tears, though: as a very young Turtle Tot, he often thought of it as being too ‘babyish’ for him to do and thus despised it whenever something happened to cause him to tear up. 

– It took Master Splinter a rather surprisingly lengthy amount of time to change his perception of crying. No amount of explanations on how it was a perfectly natural expression of emotion would sway his son. 

– It got so out of hand that Raph would be in utter denial about crying right in front of his father, even while the latter would be staring at his tear-stained face directly in front of him. “M‘not cryin’,” the little Turtle would sniff. “Cryin’s fah sissies.” 

-- Splinter could only sigh and shake his head as he knelt down to embrace his son. When could he feel that Raphael would not fight the closeness, he’d give him the same lecture again, and Raph would finally succumb to his emotions and sob into his father’s robe whilst Splinter comfortingly rubbed his shell.

-- He could only guess that his words finally got through to his son for ever since that day, Raph’s entire attitude had altered for the better on the subject.

BONUS EXTRA EXTRA FEMALE READER OR S/O EDITION~ (Can also use an OC/FC insert if you wish, up to you)

From the moment you entered the Lair, you could clearly see something was up; Mikey was nursing an obvious wrist injury with a bag of frozen peas and hovering around Donny’s work area, complaining about the swelling to the purple-banded Turtle, who appeared to be paying little attention towards his ‘younger’ sibling as his back was turned.

"Hi, (Y/N).” 

You visibly jumped at the voice behind you and briskly turned, only to meet Leonardo’s placid form, and he swiftly apologized for the start. 

After the formal greeting, you gestured with a thumb in confusion at the former scene with an added, “Do I want to know?”

The leader’s facial features altered to a more serious aspect. “The end result of testing Raph’s patience,” he offered, which instantly had you more than a little concerned. Sure, Mikey could come off as being annoying, but to go so far as to physically harm him? 

“Are you sure it’s not worse than ‘just a sprain’?” You overheard the injured brother asking Donny, whose focus remained on a contraption of sorts you couldn’t quite make out on his desk.

“Yes, Mikey, you’ll live,” he responded with just a hint of weariness. “But no swinging your nunchucks around for a coupla days,” which was met with a typical whine in response from his patient. 

“It’s really not as bad as he makes it out to be,” Leo then added, turning your attention back towards him. Though you didn’t express it, you were grateful to hear the good news.

"Where is he now?” 

“Topside most likely.” Of course. It didn’t surprise you in the least that Raph had chosen to head there and you quickly set a course for the surface. “Need an escort?” The leader in blue offered, to which you politely declined. You knew he needed no further explanation. 

As you pushed back the manhole cover and made your way towards the nearest fire escape ladder, you were unable to put aside the various speculations as to why your special Turtle would hurt his own brother... Well, you would be kidding yourself to say you didn’t have at least one very plausible theory in mind, but as you neared the top of the ladder, the guesswork was instantly dropped and replaced with trepidation for you knew how Raph felt about injuring family. 

To put it simply, you were going to be dealing with a very dejected Turtle, and true to form, as you peered over the top of the building, the iconic emerald green hide and red mask tails met your sight. 

This was Raph’s favorite spot to gather his thoughts after all, so it was a no-brainer decision to begin the search there, and it was clear as day that it was exactly what he was doing for he made no effort to acknowledge your presence as he remained seated against the wall in a slouching position and gaze locked out front. 

As expected, he appeared to be moping. “Hey, Raphie,” you greeted, clambering over the wall. 

You were unable to tell if he had been aware you were nearby for he made no prior indication but instead merely replied with a gloomy, “’Sup, Kiddo?” No movement whatsoever. 

It amused you whenever he chose to refer to you by that nickname, especially since you were both the same age, but as you ambled on over towards him, you were left anything but amused as your former notion was set in stone when you caught the telltale signs of wet stains under his eyes. “You okay?”

“Peachy.”

It wasn’t the first time you had witnessed ‘ol Red crying, but it didn’t prevent your heart from breaking all the same. Something about seeing the bullheaded bad boy in tears left you in a real state of dismay, so without invitation, you seated yourself next him, affectionately leaning against his side, but before the consoling could begin, you had to gently ask, “You wanna tell me what happened?”

“Ugh, it was so stupid! Mikey wouldn’t quit goin’ on n’ on about beatin’ me in the Battle Nexus tournament and kept rubbin’ it in our faces about becomin’ the champ,” he exclaimed with shockingly little provocation, sniffing loudly. “I jus’ got so sick’ve it this time, an’ it’s not like we neva duked it out before or nothin’ but... I went too far this time, (Y/N), ya know?” 

He still refused to look at you as he began to wipe away some fresh tears that were forming in his eyes.

Your assumption had been correct all along; you acknowledged full well how Mikey’s triumphant achievement grated on Raph’s last nerve and how the orange-banded Turtle would seek out every opportunity to gloat about it in a bid to purposely provoke his ‘older’ brother. “Well, you know Mikey, Raph,” you said, not quite sympathizing with the actions he took, but rather offering some support. “He tries to get under your shell on purpose.”

"Yeah, I know, but... Dat’s no reason ta clobber the guy. Not like that, anyway” You noted how his voice gradually lowered grievously and you couldn’t stop yourself from placing your head on his shoulder. 

“No, it isn’t, but...” you knew you were grasping at straws by this point, but still offered, “They say it’s not as bad as he makes it out to be.”

He sighed dolefully. “I lost control again, (Y/N),” and you could feel the vibrations beginning to surge through him. “No matta what I do, I jus’... I jus’ can’t...” He trailed off, wracked with emotions as he covered his face with one hand and allowed the tears to fall, a cough slipping here and there.

You heart bled for this boy, and more than anything right then, you longed to relieve him of the pain, so you did the only thing you could think of: be right there by his side, comforting him through the breakdown. “Oh, Raph. It’ll be okay,” you calmly whispered, slinking an arm around his carapace and shoulders, bringing him closer and lightly squeezing his bicep with your free hand. “It’ll be okay.”

He leaned into the much needed support and continued to allow his misery to flow forth. You didn’t mind in the least for it was exactly what he required in order to heal, and you would be there for him every step of the way.

AND THAT’S A WRAP!

ALL THE FEELS!! I EMBARRASS!!

WOOT, that’s Turt number two completed! Sorry it took a little longer than expected; I still feel rusty with sentence structure and all and am not entirely pleased with the outcome, but I did feel an improved ‘flow’ from the first so maybe things are slowly coming back to me? Or maybe it was the scenario; it felt more natural o write than Leo’s... Maybe cause Bloo Boi’s my fav Turt and I felt added pressure with his?

Oh well, Donny Boy’s next~

Thank you all so much for the read and hope you enjoyed~ :D

~Drag0n Mistr3ss’ Random Fandoms*

[dark-strangeson-virgil]

Having Pride

Words: 4.5k

Summary: Remy and Emile take their younger friends to pride for the first time, and the boys get to experience a full day of pride and being unapologetically themselves.

Remy chuckled lightly to himself as he stared at his reflection in the mirror. He had switched out his usual sunglasses for a pair of multi-chrome aviators. He eventually decided on wearing a white muscle shirt with a rainbow mouth graphic on the front, along with some grey acid wash shorts that reached his knees and simple black converse. On his wrist sat a simple rainbow bracelet, which made him smile at his reflection. He could hear the chaos of his friends in the background, all trying to get ready themselves. Remy was ecstatic. It was June, his favorite month of year solely because it was pride month. He had been out since middle school, and he had gone to his first Pride Parade the previous year with Emile, so he was excited to bring his younger friends to experience the magic along with him. 

He looked around at each of his friends, admiring all of their outfits. 

Patton looked absolutely adorable as usual. He had a pastel rainbow skater skirt swishing around his legs, paired with a simple flowy white tank top with a single sunflower in the center. A rainbow flower crown sat atop his head, as well as a small rainbow striped heart pin on his shirt and simple white sneakers. It was sweet and clearly showed his pride but could also be worn as a more casual outfit in other circumstances (minus the flower crown, that might seem a bit out of the ordinary for everyday attire). The finishing touch to his look was a nice amount of blush scattered across his face and nose. 

Patton was currently having an excited conversation with Roman, both boys sporting huge grins across their faces. As Remy glanced over to the other boy he noticed he was dressed much more extravagantly than usual, which made Remy smile. Roman truly did love being eccentric and bold, but his anxieties and fears of judgement often prevented him from expressing himself how he wanted to. It made Remy happy to see that he was making some progress on his confidence, especially on a day that was focused on having pride in yourself.

Roman had bleached his hair and temporarily dyed it rainbow (he planned on dyeing it back afterwards, but he liked the look of dyed hair and was considering changing his hair color again in the future). His shirt was a tank top which read the word “King” with a crown atop it in rainbow lettering. His shorts were a bit more simplistic, simple white athletic shorts with a small rainbow stripe down the side. On his feet he wore white converse with rainbows and clouds scattered across him, and he had gotten Virgil to do his makeup so that one eye was a circular rainbow that extended to the edge of his face and a red liquid lipstick on his lips.. (When he had finished Virgil had stared at Roman in awe for a moment. Roman assumed it was just Virgil admiring his own work but he actually just thought Roman looked absolutely stunning, causing a bright blush to adorn his cheeks.)

Speaking of Virgil, Remy turned his head slightly to look at the emo boy in question. After finishing Roman’s makeup (and being a flustered dumb gay for a moment) he had moved on to his own, doing a natural look with eye shadow and then creating an intricate rainbow pattern with eyeliner that covered the sides of his face. He wore a pastel rainbow tie-dye-esque t-shirt which read “I Can’t Think Straight”, in cheesy horror movie font. Above the shirt lay a simple necklace with a rainbow line down the center. His shorts were a plain black denim that reached his knees, and he ended up choosing simple black vans with rainbow soles as his finishing touch. It was a nice outfit but one that Virgil felt comfortable in, which was the best of both worlds in Remy’s opinion. He sat on Remy’s couch, scrolling through his phone and occasionally tilting it towards Janus to show him a funny meme. Janus would rarely show any more of a reaction than a smirk, but that was enough to satisfy Virgil.

As for Janus, he had also chosen a more “all-out” approach. He was sporting a truly killer rainbow vertical striped halter jumpsuit, which made him look quite elegant when paired with the solid black sun hat he wore atop his head. He had a casual rainbow eyeliner wing on his eyelids and plain black sandals. He had clearly put effort into his outfit, yet he managed to look effortlessly casual while wearing it. When he had walked in Patton had nearly choked on the pink lemonade he had been drinking, immediately running over and engulfing Janus in a hug while squealing out, “Oh my gosh you look amazing! Where did you get that jumpsuit?” While Janus’s stomach was busy swarming with butterflies the others had complimented him, quickly returning to their previous conversations. After a moment Patton had returned to his drink, making sure to tell Janus one more time that he looked spectacular.

Currently Remus was creeping over to Janus and Virgil, planting himself directly in between the two to show them some video about the “World’s Oldest Octopus” he had found on YouTube. Remus’s laugh had almost gotten an actual laugh out of Remy upon first sight, simply because it fit him so well. He had on a pair of light-was denim overall shorts with frayed edges and a rainbow on the chest, as well as literal PLATFORM rainbow sneakers (Yes, Roman tried to warn him those were impractical for him to wear all day at a parade, No Remus did not care or change). The true gem that clearly said this outfit fit Remus perfectly, however, was his hat. It was a baseball cap which read, “I’m so gay I shit RAINBOWS”. Though it was truly a shock at first, everybody immediately agreed that Remus’s outfit was perfect.

As Remy continued to observe Remus’s attire a scream of “FALSEHOOD!” burst through the room, startling everybody and drawing their attention to the corner where Roman and Patton stood with a now blushing Logan. He swiftly cleared his throat before addressing the room. “My apologies for the sudden outburst. Patton and I had a minor disagreement, seeing as he believes squirrels are ‘adorable’ while they are in fact quite dangerous. Please continue with whatever activities you were engaging in prior to my, uh, surge of enthusiasm.” As he turned back to the pair, Remy took a moment to glance at Logan. He had a rainbow striped button-down tucked into the longer black skirt Patton had convinced him to wear. Initially he had been hesitant, but eventually had agreed as long as the skirt could extend slightly past his knees. He had a pair of converse that seemed to be dripping rainbow paint, giving him a more relaxed look than most had ever seen him in. It suited him, honestly.

Returning to his reflection once more Remy began to adjust his hair in the mirror for a moment before feeling gentle arms wrap around his waist from behind as a soft kiss was pressed to the back of his neck. Smiling, he turned around and found himself face-to-face with Emile, his lovely boyfriend. In Remy’s eyes Emile looked absolutely adorable in his outfit (Actually, Emile always looked like absolute perfection according to Remy, but today was a special day). He had switched his usual frames for his glasses out for rainbow ones, as well as an absolutely precious pair of rainbow suspenders. His shirt had a unicorn on the chest, along with the word “PRIDE”, and he wore a pair of light-wash mom jeans. As Remy reached for his hand he saw the bracelet Emile wore on his wrist, matching the one Remy wore on his own. Suddenly filled to the brim with love for his boyfriend, he pressed a quick kiss to Emile’s lips before engulfing him in a hug. They both took a moment to just breathe, relax before all the inevitable excitement they would experience throughout the day. Being in one another’s presence was always soothing, even if they didn’t say anything.

After a minute of just standing in each other’s arms, they separated. “You look amazing. Ready to go?” Emile whispered softly, looking up at Remy.

“Yeah, I think so. Come on, boys! It’s time we head out, especially since we still have to stop at Starbucks on the way!” Like a wave the young boys all ran out to the minivan Remy would be borrowing from his mom for the day, grabbing a mini pride flag each on the way out. Remy was the last to exit, locking the door as he did so.

--

Roman felt like he was about to burst. This was all so exciting! In school he always felt more like a subdued version of himself, his anxieties pressing down on him. But here with his closest friends at an event where having pride in who you are is encouraged, he felt weightless. Like he could truly be himself. He had dyed his hair rainbow for god’s sake! And he loved it! As he walked through the street with his friends in search of a decent food vendor, he turned to Remy and Emile. The two noticed and turned to look at the younger boy, who was sporting one of the widest grins they’d ever seen.

“Thank you both so much for bringing us here today! It’s absolutely amazing!” Roman gushed, feeling brighter with every word that left his mouth. The two older boys looked at the boy fondly.

“Of course, Ro! Glad you like it!” Emile replied, with more of a soft cheeriness. Remy nodded in agreement, leaving Roman to return to observing around him. Pride flags of many sorts were hung in many windows of nearby apartments, as well as people sporting their own flags along the streets. There were small booths with vendors selling all sorts of pride merchandise. As he continued to admire the sights around him, Roman was caught off-guard by a girl walking past him, stopping him quickly. 

“Oh my god, I love your hair!” The girl had a dark brown pixie cut, as well as a pan flag tied like a cape around her shoulders. Her makeup truly stole the show, however. It was a beautiful design that had clearly taken a lot of time and effort, and was done in the ace colors. It matched her shirt, which also had the ace flag across it. On her shirt sat a small pin, listing that her preferred pronouns were she/her. Roman beamed at the compliment, turning to look at the girl.

“Thank you so much! I adore your makeup!” He gladly responded with a compliment of his own.

“Thanks!” With that the girl walked in the opposite direction with her friends. Roman could feel the newfound confidence bubbling within him. Such a small interaction somehow meant so much to him. Maybe it was because of how genuine and sweet the girl had been with her compliment, or maybe it was just that a stranger had taken the time out of their day to talk to him. Either way, he found himself giggling as he practically bounced over to Logan and Virgil.

“Isn’t this wonderful! Everybody here is so sweet! And the streets are FILLED with rainbows! It’s all so beautiful!” As Roman practically sang with glee he threw his arms around his friends’ shoulders, with Virgil to his left and Logan to his right.

“Yes, it is actually quite a lovely and welcoming environment.” Logan was definitely more relaxed than his friend, but you could clearly hear by his tone that he was genuinely excited to be there.

“Yeah, Princey. It’s pretty chill.” Virgil offered a small smirk, which softened into a more genuine smile when he saw the look of pure glee on Roman’s face. ‘God, how does this boy make me so soft?’ he thought to himself, though he found he didn’t really care as long as he got to see that pure joy on Roman’s face as often as possible.

“Oh, I think I see a hot dog stand in the corner. I can go order food for all of us quickly, what would each of you like?” Logan looked back at his friends.

The two boys each voiced their orders, Roman reaching into his back pocket to pull out his wallet. Logan swiftly put a hand on his wrist, stopping him.

“Oh, you don’t need to worry about expenses. I can pay for all of us.” Logan stated plainly. Roman and Virgil both eyed him with something akin to wonder. 

“You sure about that, specs? None of us mind paying for ourselves.” Roman responded in a softer tone than he had spoken in practically all day.

“Of course, I really don’t mind. All I ask is that you all remain here until I return, that way I don’t find myself lost trying to find you.” Logan’s kind offer, though a small gesture, only served to further brighten the mood of the group.

“Thanks, Lo. You’re the best” Virgil piped up, with Roman quickly nodding in agreement. With a small smile of his own in response, Logan took off in the direction of the food stand, skirt swishing with the breeze and leaving Roman and Virgil on the outskirts of their small group of friends.

“Hey, Ro?” Virgil said after a moment of silence.

“Yes, stormcloud?” Roman easily returned, expecting their usual lighthearted banter or possibly a comment about the scenery.

“Now don’t get all super cheesy on me or anything, but it’s, like, nice to see you so happy here.” Virgil had begun mumbling more than actually talking about halfway through his sentence, but Roman heard him clearly.

“What do you mean?” Roman could feel his heart swelling, though he was slightly confused by what Virgil had meant.

“It’s just, you seem so worried about what people are thinking sometimes. And don’t get me wrong, so am I. Anxious thoughts are a bitch.” This got both boys to laugh for a moment before Virgil returned to speaking, his voice a bit firmer and clearer this time. “But  you seem, like, happy here. Like you’re not so worried. And it’s nice to see you like that, or whatever.” he finished his sentence, scratching the back of his neck as he began to wonder if he had been overly emotional. When he met Roman’s eye, however, he found him staring back with gentle, wide eyes and his mouth formed into a small, “o” shape.

Meanwhile, Roman’s heart felt as though it were close to explosion. His friends cared! Virgil cared, and he wanted Roman to be happy! That was so sweet! 

“Thanks, V.” Roman suddenly got the urge to hug the boy in front of him. Before he could talk himself out of it, he reached over and wrapped his arms around Virgil’s shoulders. Virgil froze for a small moment, before wrapping his own arms around Roman. They stood like that for a moment before Roman realized his face had begun to burn, gently pulling away.

“So, where’d you get your shirt? It fits your vibe very well for how bright and colorful it is.” Roman changed the subject easily, though he still felt a warmness within him. 

“Hot topic of course. Would you expect anything else from me?” the two quickly fell into their usual antics, with their playful teasing clearly present. As Logan returned (with Remus in tow, who had offered to help him carry the food) a knowing grin crossed his face, clearly noticing the slight red tint across each of his friends’ cheeks as they continued with their banter.

--

Patton finished off the last bite of his meal, squishing the paper the hot dog came wrapped in up into a ball. He began scanning the area around him, hoping to find a trash can. After a moment of looking he spotted one, next to a booth. The booth itself looked very pastel and cute, easily catching Patton’s attention.

“Hey guys! We should go look at that booth, it seems nice!” He chirped as he began skipping over, skirt flowing around him as he did. Logan was the quickest to follow, ever alert and watching, and soon all of the boys were standing in front of the adorable pastel booth.

As Patton reached the front of the booth, he noticed that most of the items sold there were smaller accessories. They seemed to have pins, patches and stickers of many assortments (all LGBTQ+ related though, of course), as well as a few rainbows and dad caps. He could hear as his friends approached and began looking along with him, continuing to scan through the items. Almost immediately he heard a gasp from Remus, followed by a shout of, “Oh, I HAVE to get this.”

Patton turned to look at Remus and saw him holding up a hat  in a very similar style to what he was currently wearing, only this one was white and had the words “Love whoever the fuck you want” embroidered in rainbow thread. 

“Dear god please no.” Could be heard from Roman, which overlapped with Logan’s comment of,

“That would suit you quite nicely. It is very much your style.” Remus grinned at Logan’s response, quickly turning back to his brother.

“I’m getting it, brother dearest! LOGAN said it looked hot!” Remus cackled. He failed to notice the way Logan’s face immediately resembled a tomato, or his quiet utterance of “Those weren’t my EXACT words.”, as he handed the person running the stand a ten dollar bill. While they counted his change Patton returned his gaze to the patches in front of him, smiling and winking at Logan after noticing his current state.

‘Oh, all of these are so cute!’ Patton observed. He thought of the light-wash denim jacket he had at home, and realized it would look quite nice with a few patches added on. Plus it would allow his jacket to become gayer. As Patton knew well, everything could always be at least a little bit gayer.

The first patch he picked up had two pastel rainbow cherries with adorable smiles, which Patton immediately knew he needed. Directly next to the cherries he noticed a decent-sized rainbow lightning bolt, which immediately made him think of Virgil. ‘If I get one of these I’ll be able to remember my best friend every time I wear my jacket! That’s amazing!’ The lightning bolt joined the cherries in Patton’s hand.

After assessing his options for a moment Patton found himself with five total patches in his hand. He had the lightning bolt and the cherries, as well as an absolutely adorable-looking unicorn with a rainbow mane, a simple rainbow with clouds around it and the word “PRIDE” written in rainbow lettering. It wasn’t a huge amount, but he was happy with what he had. He could always find more patches to iron on online. He grabbed a small pin stating that he used he/him pronouns last minute before approaching the register.

The person running the stand clearly appeared to be older, with their gray hair cut into a bob. They had warm brown eyes that seemed to overflow with kindness and a gentle smile. Their shirt displayed the nonbinary flag across the front, along with the pronouns they/them. ‘It’s nice to see the older generations showing their support and being able to embrace their identities.’ Patton thought as he fished in his wallet, handing his money over to the person. They tried to give Patton his change, but he insisted they keep it as a thank you for showing support and pride and helping give LGBTQ+ people a safe and welcoming space. That was something that the older generations didn’t always understand but was so crucial and helpful in improving the mental health of LGBTQ+ teens especially, and he knew that very well.

The group stayed at the booth for around five more minutes before finally deciding it was time to leave, knowing they needed to head over to the stage that was set up nearby if they wanted to make it to the show being performed by a local drag queen in fifteen minutes. Patton secured his pin onto the front of his shirt, dropping his patches into his skirt pocket before following Remy, who was leading the way.

--

Patton felt exhausted, but in the best way possible. The sun was just beginning to set, signalling that it was time for the boys to start walking back to their van and head home. His feet felt heavy from the weight of walking around all day, and he could feel his eyelids slowly weighing down. Though he was tired, he still felt his happiness from how well the day had gone glowing within him. His first pride had been so lovely! And he had gotten to spend the entire day with his bestest friends in the entire world! And earlier on a group of kids that seemed to be around his age had complimented his outfit and said he looked adorable! All in all it had been one of the best experiences of Patton’s life.

In his daze he felt a hand lightly tap the back of his shoulder, bringing him back to reality. Janus then moved to stand within his view as they continued walking in the direction of the car, looking almost… shy?

 “Hey, Jan. What’s up? Wasn’t today amazing?!” Patton found himself gushing even through his exhaustion, partially because he was just so filled with excitement and partially to calm his friend’s apparent nerves.

“Yeah, I guess it was quite… nice.” Janus seemed to relax for a second, smiling at the memory of the wonderful day he had experienced with his closest friends, before the worry crept back into his face like an infection. Patton opened his mouth to ask if he was alright but found himself stopping short as he noticed Janus reaching into his pockets, eyes cast to the street. Patton watched as Janus pulled three small items from his pockets, grasping them tightly in his hands. Patton’s face quickly morphed into one of puzzlement, confused as to what Janus was doing.

“While we were at that booth earlier I, uhm, noticed a few items that reminded me of you. You didn’t seem to notice them, so after you paid I decided to get them for you. It’s totally no big deal or anything.” Janus tacked on his signature sarcasm at the end, Patton immediately seeing through it and knowing it was a defense mechanism to hide Janus’s nerves but choosing not to mention it.

He opened his palm and Janus dropped the patches into it, with Patton almost immediately bringing them in front of his glasses to expect the items.

The first one had a truly precious shiba inu dog with a pride flag in his mouth, immediately causing Patton to coo out a small, “That’s so cute!” As he looked over to the next one he saw a beautiful blue rose, with the words “Pretty Boy” in rainbow lettering surrounding the flower. That brought a tinge of blood to Patton’s cheeks. ‘He thinks I’m pretty?’

“Oh, this flower is gorgeous!” He tried to cover up how a silly patch managed to fluster him. Janus didn’t seem to notice, so he looked over to the last of the patches in his hand. It was an adorable cartoon frog wearing rainbow overalls and the sweetest smile he had ever seen. Frogs were his favorite animal, and it made Patton happy that Janus had remembered such a small detail. He felt himself tearing up at the kind gesture from his generally more closed-off friend. He looked back up to Janus, finding the shorter boy staring at him with a look of clear false confidence masking his worry.

“I love these! You remembered my favorite animal! These will go perfect with the other patches I got once I iron them onto my denim jacket!” Janus’ eyes brightened at the praise, one of his more rare genuine smiles gracing Patton. “Thank you so much for thinking of me!” Patton reached over to give the other boy a quick hug, with the smaller boy burying his face into Patton’s shoulder for the briefest of seconds before they both pulled away.

“Oh, it was truly such a problem. It’s not like I care about you or anything.” Janus was back with his usual smirk and attitude, drawing a giggle from Patton’s throat that Janus would describe as nothing short of precious.

“Come on boys, we can’t spend all day out here!” Remy chided, prompting Patton to reach for Janus’s hand as he pulled them along the last few steps to the car.

--

Once everybody was situated in the minivan Remy paused to look back at his friends through the rear-view mirror. Patton was eagerly showing Virgil his lightning patch, with Virgil giggling along to something he had said. Roman, Remus and Janus seemed to be sharing stories about their day (it didn’t matter that they had spent practically the entire day together, those three were easily the most dramatic and any remotely special moment they had they wanted to share with each other), and Logan and Emile seemed to be in some sort of discussion about psychology. Of course those two would be able to jump right back into regular conversation, enjoying being able to talk about a shared passion for knowledge in the area of psychology together. One similarity between them all was that each of his friends looked truly happy and content, including Remy himself. 

Despite still being a teenager himself, his status as one of the oldest in the group led him to be more protective and caring over his younger friends. He had really been trying to make sure their first experience with pride was amazing and unforgettable, and from the looks on his friends faces he could clearly tell he succeeded. He felt his heart swell with love for his friends (not that he’d ever mention this, he had a reputation to upkeep for god’s sake).

“Alright everyone! We need one last picture together before we head out. Lean in bitches, all 8 of us need to fit!” Remy shouted in the car, his friends quickly attempting to find a position where they could all be seen. It took a moment (there were 8 teenage boys in a minivan all trying to fit into the frame), but eventually they got a decent picture. Remy sent it off to their group chat before stuffing his phone into his pocket and throwing his keys into the ignition, starting the journey home with a smile across his face. He reached across the enter console and used his right hand to grab a hold of his boyfriend’s, keeping his left hand firmly on the wheel and his eyes on the road. 

(A/N: Hi again! As always, thank you so much for taking the time to read this, and any comments are much appreciated! I had a bit of help from some people explaining their personal experiences but I’ve never actually been to Pride, so if it’s not completely accurate I’m sorry, I tried my best to do as realistic of an interpretation as I could. I’ve been planning this for all of Pride month, and I’m really just thankful I managed to finish it before the month ended lol. Remember, your identity is ALWAYS valid and you deserve to feel proud of who you are. If you ever need to talk, my messages are open. <3 Happy pride everyone!)

Here’s a link to all of their outfits btw! Also I almost forgot but I said I’d tag you once this was finished so @aegis-the-ace !

[kereempuff]

Blue Valentine (a review)

Sypnosis:

         A story between Dean and Cindy, on how they fell in love and eventually fell out of it while both of them came from dysfunctional families.

Analysis:

        The film showcased how the best love story can have the saddest ending. It showed how the perfect encounter of the two lovers ended in such a tragic way. It is beautiful, sweet but also realistically painful and devastating at the same time.

How it started? (SPOILER ALERT)

           Dean is a high school dropout. He came from a dysfunctional family. Has a normal job from a removal firm and barely making a decent pay. At first he had, I would say, low expectations in life. He has a lot of potential, quite talented I say, he can play instruments, sing, and draw but somehow he lucks ambition. He looks like someone who hasn’t planned out his life yet. No goals or dreams until he met Cindy. Cindy is an average college girl who clearly have issues herself.

        Cindy was ambitious, she wanted to be a doctor but ended up as a nurse at the end. She also came from a dysfunctional home, she witness every time her parents fight. Her trauma in her home has caused her to have commitment issues, having 24 partners even before she met Dean.

         Dean may be lazy and hopeless but he was quite romantic in nature. Dean sticks to his ideals and choose to be contented. It was love at first sight that brought Dean and Cindy together. When they first met, he made advances to Cindy but she declines at first, maybe because she just broke up with his ex. They parted ways but fate had crossed their paths once again inside a bus. Dean approached her once again and both had a lovely interaction. They got to know each other through playful banter and sharing each other’s talents.

They were having these moments that they’d wish it would last forever. But every relationships had their own struggles. Cindy got pregnant by his ex-boyfriend. When Dean knew something was wrong, he forced Cindy to admit it. Cindy has a struggle saying how she truly felt. When Dean found out, he was frustrated but then supported Cindy whether she wants to keep it or not. She attempted to have an abortion but immediately stopped soon after. So she decided to keep it. Dean willingly supported her and even suggest that they could be a family even though it was not his child. 

Dean never stopped loving Cindy even though her ex-boyfriend beat him up. He loved her so much that he found a song that only to of them can share. He loved her so much that he never left her. Cindy found comfort in Dean and he was probably her only last resort. Both of them got married even though they only known each other in a short amount of time.

How it ended 

Now 6 years later into their marriage, Dean now works a job as a house painter that lets him drink at 8am and Cindy works as a nurse instead of a Doctor she have dreamed to be. Their daughter is now 5 or 6 years old. Dean is a loving father, she’s always there for his daughter even though it was not his. He had nothing but love for his daughter. As for Cindy, she seemed tired and stressed by Dean’s upbringings. Cindy, as she desired the love Dean gave him, she also desires stability. 

When their dog died recently, both of them were in pain but who knew it was the breaking point of their marriage. Both of them were upset and Dean’s reaction to get away from all of the pain was to have a night out in a motel and make love.

On their way to their destination, Cindy met her ex in the groceries. He ask how she is and she just went with it. Cindy talked about the interaction with Dean later on. Dean got upset and asked more question. Cindy tried to reassure him so he wont get the wrong idea but he retaliated negatively. 

Finally they got into the hotel. Dean once again tried to make it all fun. He tried to make love with Cindy in the shower but she reacted indifferently. Dean got disappointed but the two of them started drinking later on. 

While they were drinking, Cindy asked Dean what he wants to be and Dean answer was to be a husband and a father to his daughter but Cindy wants more about his potential, when he was a talented person. But Dean just wanted the best for his family and to love them unconditionally. Once again, Cindy was disappointed by his response.

Both of them are now drunk. Dean started doing things but Cindy kept reacting indifferently. Cindy wanted Dean to become cruel towards her but he refused to hurt her because he loves her. Cindy instantly regret her request and ended up locking Dean out of the room. Cindy fell asleep on the bed while dean was outside. When Cindy woke up, she immediately left for work, leaving dean behind. 

Dean woke up a little later and went to the hospital his wife was working at. Dean wanted to talk to her but things escalated quickly. They started fighting and go violent. Both of them went outside and Cindy decided that she wants to end things.

Dean threw his ring away out of frustration but he ended up looking for it in the bushes. (this part got me real hurt)

Finally they went home, and Cindy just want to end things, saying that she’s all out of love with Dean. Dean apologizes and kept on begging Cindy what should he do and how he should be. He still loved her in the end but Cindy was in pain, she ended things instead of fixing it.

 Where it all went wrong

I keep seeing comments that it was either Cindy’s or Dean’s fault for the failure of the marriage but i disagree, I believe both of them are at fault for various of reasons. And both of them did really love each other but love alone is not enough for a long-lasting relationship. Disclaimer, i am not a love specialist or a professional in this matter, I just want to share what I think about how their relationship fell apart.

First is Dean, first impressions are that he is immature, idealistic, intuitive and goes for his own principles and what he believes in. He’s both self-less and selfish. He is self-less in a way that he would sacrifice everything for Cindy. He got beat up because of her and he married her eveAn though he was not the father of the child she carrying. He devoted all his time and existence for her, while neglecting himself by being contented with a slavewage job. He was also selfish in a way that he’s disregarding Cindy’s feelings. All he wants to do is both of them to become happy but its always Dean’s direction. He’s drinking problem was also a thing that Cindy is unhappy about, specially how he behaves every time that he is drunk. Maybe Cindy just don’t want her father to behave like that.  

And now for Cindy’s case. She have some unhealed wounds and have commitment issues. Mind that she had 24 partners before Dean, if i were her, i’d be tired as hell too. Instead of telling Dean what she thinks, she just wanted to end it all. Others said that she didn’t really love him, that she only used him because he was there for her but I disagree. I believe she did really love him and it is maybe because he saw a lot of potential in him. Maybe her expectation were too high that made her disappointed in the long run. Maybe Dean didn’t turn out the way Cindy want him to be. Cindy want him to become a  better version of himself but Dean continues these but habits. I believe she didn’t run out of love but she did ran out of energy. Another thing, Cindy doesn’t really question Dean’s behavior, she just kept on tolerating him.

A relationship’s purpose is to help each other to grow. But in this story, one grow tired of him for not growing at all. Dean remained immature and reckless from start to end because maybe Cindy did not say a word about it. Anyways both of them were a wreck from their traumatic pasts. Both have unhealed wounds that they are not aware of and maybe that’s why things didn’t work out in the end. Cindy inability to express her feelings and Dean’s inability to change for the better was what lead their marriage to an end.

Also both Cindy and Dean grew up to unhealthy family relationships. Since they both didn’t experience the love and care from their family, they don’t really know how a family should function. They grew up struggling and it somehow manifested in their current relationship. 

Dean grew up lacking the love of his mother. This wound made him to be romantic and loving. He knows what it feels like to be unloved by a parent so he’s giving it all to his daughter. Cindy grew up tolerating how her father mistreat her mother. Every time his father gets angry, her mother would stay silent and just tolerated it. That’s why Cindy have a struggle saying how she truly felt. 

[spideydaddyboy]

SUGAR

CHAPTER 2

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Series Masterlist

wc: 2011

(This chapter has to do with Gwen Stacy’s band, click here for a playlist of the set I put together even though only two songs are mentioned below)

--

The Fringe Cafe was in the middle of the city. A cool hipster coffee shop by day and a seedy alternative Bar by night. It was a regular gig for the Mary Janes. The band was front-lined by an old friend from high school, Michelle Jones-who wrote the small amount of original songs among their cover sets, and Gwen was on the drums. The rest of the band accrued through flyer’s they posted all over the city and was what they could get from the less than enthusiastic response to join their band. Over all they were pretty decent, the Fringe was a regular gig and even presented them as headliners. 

They practiced during the in between hours when the cafe staff cleaned and left for the day and the bar crew came to set up. The stage was small, so there was only room for Gwen’s beast of a secondhand drum set and the rest of the band set up on the floor. It was kind of their thing to get up in the crowds faces when they jammed, it was great discounting the occasional grope a middle aged man tried to sneak in every other song. Michelle handled that pretty well, managing to break a finger in between chord variations.

Gwen breezed through the back door, yanking the orange cap off her head,  shedding her jacket and bag on the retro black and white tiled floor, “sorry I’m late guys, I got held up.”

Michelle tapped the mic, providing ear shrilling feedback, Gwen grimaced, Michelle smirked, “what the hell are you wearing Stacy.”

The blonde looked down at her pressed creamy white blouse and navy flared corduroy pants, her black slip on docs the only thing adding back the substance the blouse and tartan headband took away, “I told you, I got held up, I didn’t even have time to change.”

Vinny on the bass snickered, “pop a few buttons at least,” earning a smack on the back of his head by their lead guitarist Margo. 

Rolling her eyes, Gwen loosened the top three buttons on her blouse and tied the front, her (not quite natural purple shampooed) light blonde hair fell to her shoulders out of the tight ponytail she kept it in all morning, and reapplied a coat of cherry lip gloss to her lips. The set list laid out on one of the round empty tables by the stage and she took a long look at it before settling behind her drum set. Sound check had already been gone through during her absence and Gwen didn’t need a mic tonight, she gave the ready to Michelle who counted off for the first song, which was a cover of Harvard by Diet Cig. 

When Gwen played the drums, it was a stress reliever, better than any drug. Pounding out all the doubt of her achievements, the uncertainty of success, her loneliness, all of it. By the end of a set Gwen would be on a surge of dopamine.

 They finished the practice and took a break as patrons began to filtering through and getting drinks. Michelle was yet to turn 21 and Gwen didn’t particularly enjoy drinking, so they sat on the stage nursing glasses of cola. Vinny stood at the bar chatting up a pink haired twink and Margo was off in the back alley way taking a smoke. 

“I finally nailed that gig at the Cherry Pit,” Michelle  took a proud swig of her soda. “It’s an opening act for some emo pop group called ANGELCAKE or whatever but it’s an act nonetheless.”

Gwen grinned and tipped her glass, “kudos to you, we’ve been trying to get an in on that place for months. You’ve got a set of iron balls Michelle, I would’ve given up by now.”

The girl next to her smirked smugly and stood, “I’m gonna go to the ladies before we start, watch the tools?” Gwen agreed and finished off her drink, mounting the stage to fiddle with a loose screw they missed setting up.

“The Mary Janes huh?” A familiar voice rose above the drunken chatter, “didn’t peg you for a girl band.”

She spun, meeting a pair of deep blue eyes and a wide set of perfect teeth, “Harry!” Suddenly she lost the ability to breath, all too aware of the tastefully dressed billionaire's son in front of her, and the midriff accompanied with her cleavage on display in the same blouse she introduced herself in earlier that day, “oh my god, what is Harry Osborne doing here of all places?” She itched to button her shirt, but knew it would only draw his attention.

An amused smile played on his lips, “you, surprisingly. I asked around and was told by your roommate Sam I’d find you here.”

“Oh,” she squeaked, noting to give Samantha an earful when she got home. “Uh yeah, started playing drums in band class and upgraded to this after I graduated. My friend MJ and I always wanted to and here we are I guess.”

“MJ? Mary Jane?” Harry thought he had made a connection and Gwen was bemused.

“No, Michelle Jones, but it’s quite a coincidence,” she gestured at the instruments. “Are you staying for the show? The set starts in a few minutes and it’ll maybe only last 25 minutes long, I mean if you can stand a little punk music.”

He slid off his designer jacket and threw it on the floor next to what he recognized to be Gwen’s puffer, “I think I’ll manage.”

Michelle appeared from behind Harry and googled at him, Gwen grinned, “great, looks like we’re about to start.”

“I wouldn’t stand at the front if I were you,” Michelle piped, swinging her electric over her shoulder. 

Vinny left his boyfriend for the night at the bar and Margo slouched in place, the smell of cigarette smoke coming off her in waves. Michelle introduced them as the ‘Fabulous and Marvelous Mary Janes’ and Gwen started the count off with a few hard hits of her sticks. Through the rowdy crowd, she made eye contact with Harry, who stood toward the middle in his own little pocket, eyes lit up as he watched her play. She gave him a daring smile and he winked, luckily her face was already red from how hard she played. The drums were like an extension of herself, her body seemed to respond to them naturally, like she knew all the right places to hit and create the perfect clash of acoustic. To Gwen, it was her art. 

Half way through the set, Gwen noticed Peter in the back corner when she looked up to wipe the sweat from her eyes. He gave her his signature boyish grin and she beamed. It was only by occasion since the start of the school year that Peter would pop by her gigs, at least that was what she thought. He would take breaks to listen outside for a couple minutes during his rounds for every gig she had, tonight he decided to make a personal appearance after listening to how she felt apart from him lately, in fact he was pretty excited to see her play. It had been a while since the last time.

They finished off the set with a modern punk version of Don’t You(Forget About Me) by the Police, out of breath and drenched in sweat. Gwen untied the tartan fabric headband and used it to wipe the perspiration off her forehead and dabbed it along her chest, army shaky and weak. Two boys came to greet her; the Prince and the Pauper. 

Peter went straight for Gwen once she rounded the drums to the edge of the stage, giving her a tight squeeze and disregarding how damp she was, Harry looked on from a distance, “that was so great! I forget how amazing you are with those beats!”

Harry stepped forward when Peter let go, eyes darting between the two, “you guys sounded great Gwen, I wish I’d seen it sooner.” The two men scrutinized each other and Gwen made the first move.

“Uh, Harry Osborne, this is Peter,” she gestured to her long time friend. 

Peter caught on and held his hand out to shake and Harry put forth, squeezing his hand back a little two hard, “boyfriend?��

“NO!” Gwen and Peter mirrored each other, bright red and flustered at Harry’s assumption. “No,” Gwen continued, “just good friends, we’ve known each other since high school, Michelle too who you met kind of already.”

“Oh I apologize,” he laughed it off and Peter hinted at the relief in his composure. “Well it’s late, and my driver should be around here soon…”he trailed off.

Nervously Gwen held her hand out, “let me give you my number, in-in case you wanna come to any more gigs, I can get you the details without you having to search for me.”

Harry looked delighted as he gave the disheveled blonde his phone, unaware of the harsh glare Peter directed toward him, “great! Great, it was nice to see you, I’m glad I came. I’ll be in touch,” he mused and nodded in Peter’s direction before weaving his way out to the door. 

Peter felt uneasy, “didn’t think you had the guts to invite him to your gig Gwennie.”

“I didn’t,” she let out all the breath trapped in her lungs. “He just showed up, said he asked around for me-I’m gonna beat Samantha to a pulp when I get home.”

He chuckled, swinging his keys around on his finger, “need a lift? Subway’s kind of dangerous this time of night.”

“Yeah, let me grab my bag,” she muttered and struggled to untie the knot in her shirt.

Peter huffed and swatted her sweaty fingers away, tugging at the fabric himself and Gwen along with it in a few stumbly steps. She held her breath again with Peter being in such close proximity, heat rolled off his fingers onto the skin of her stomach and up close she could see every individual eyelash as he looked down. The blouse jerked free from its tangle and he did up the last couple buttons where he untied, leaving the top ones for Gwen to handle, his blush hidden by the red stage lighting in the room. 

“I’ll be by the door,” he gestured with his keys and maneuvered his way to the entrance. 

Things scooped in hand and ears fully covered, Peter and Gwen hopped in the beat up pumpkin colored Chevy low rider Peter saved up for their Senior year, it was as orange as her knit cap. The radio played low, a classic rock tape Peter made drifted through the silence. It was surprisingly quiet for the city tonight. 

Gwen leaned her head against the glass, eyes closed, the back of her head tilted back against the headrest. At an intersection Peter looked over and observed her, the smoothness of her fair skin, how the stoplight reflected off of it and gave her a blushed glow. Her lips, pink and parted with the remnant of lip gloss sweated off earlier in the evening smudged across the corners. He reached over and it came off easily with his thumb. Before he could replace his hand on the wheel, Gwen reached up and grasped it firmly in her hands, then placed them in her lap. He chuckled, aware she was fully passed out, but he wouldn’t miss a golden opportunity to be held in her hands. So he kept it there as the light turned green, steering with his left until he got to her apartment and ruefully had to tug his hand away. He watched her for a few quiet moments, listened to her take in a breath and went around to the other side of the truck to carry her up the stairs without waking her. Tucked in her blankets, Peter took one more second to look at her face, so calm and beautiful. He placed a kiss on her forehead and decided to call it a night.

<<Previous Next>>

(A/N): THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING! Again I am super excited to duke this series and lay out all the crazy plot twists and love triangles that comes with a good fanfic, I hope you enjoyed! (If you wanna check out more of my writing, click here!)

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[foxyninjabear]

A Hacker’s Tale - Chapter 5

[CHAPTER 1] [PREVIOUS CHAPTER]

WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!: This fic is rated as PG-14+, so read at your own risk! There’s swearsies, suggestive references, and LOTS of blood and gore! Be aware!

_________________________________________

Sakura

“Bloom.”

Sakura faintly heard her code name being said, muffled by the grogginess of sleep clouding her brain. “Hmm...?”

“Bloom, it’s the morning.” The voice repeated. “And it’s time to meet up with your friends.”

The brunette cracked open her eyes a bit, and glanced over at where she presumed the door was. Her vision blurred as her surroundings got further and further away; she needed her glasses. She patted around her nightstand, felt for her glasses, and slipped them onto the bridge of her nose.

At the door was a familiar blonde man in a brown shirt, with bluish, almost purple eyes. He was introduced to her a few days prior; Zedaph, she believed his name was. He wasn't too bad. He was laid back, a decent person, and although a bit odd, he wasn't awful.

But a small thought crossed her mind for a moment. Why did he know her code name? She had never said anything before then. Not in her interrogation, not to any of the W.E.S. operatives. Nobody.

A familiar memory then popped into the brunette’s mind. Not long after her and every other member of the byte had met up, Lucky admitted that he had been forced to identify all members of the byte. But on the bright side, he had only used aliases, so their actual names weren’t revealed. That’s why Zedaph had called her Bloom.

Sakura sat up from her bed and yawned. “Alright…” She said, before taking the blanket off of her bed and wrapping around herself.

Zedaph raised a brow at the brunette. "Why are you bringing a blanket?" He asked.

She glanced up at the blonde and shrugged. "It's freezing down here," She answered, yawning a bit. "And I'm tired…"

The man was quiet for a moment, pursing his lips in thought. "...Alright." He answered, giving her a nod. "Now c'mon."

The brunette slowly stood up from her bed, shuffling over to the door and exiting her cell-like room. Alongside Zedaph, she waddled down the hallway, rubbing her tired eyes and wrapping the blanket further around her body as she shivered.

"I mean, you weren't wrong when you said it was cold down here," Zedaph said, chuckling a bit and wrapping his arms around himself. “I’m getting goosebumps myself!”

Sakura smiled a bit and laughed back. "Yeah…" 

However, her smile soon faded with the sound of their soft chuckles. It might have been true that the underground bunker was chilly, even though it was the summertime. But it wasn’t her intention to keep warm. The blanket was only part of a plan.

A massive plot to break out and escape.

Before she knew it, she and Zedaph had arrived at the ‘meeting room’. In reality, it was more like a supply closet that had been emptied of everything except the unbearable amount of dust floating around. But is was better than nothing.

The blonde opened the door and allowed Sakura to walk inside. To her dismay, she saw that everyone else apart of her team was there before her. They must have been waiting on her again. She didn’t know the exact distance her cell was from the meeting room, but she could easily assume that it was the farthest out of everyone else’s.

But she didn’t have time to complain or apologize. They all had to get work done.

Sakura waited for Zedaph to lock the door, and once his footsteps echoed into silence, she opened her mouth to speak. “Okay, so what does everyone have?”

Everyone was silent for a second. But then Nix raised his hand, before he tossed something into the air in Sakura’s direction. Once the brunette caught it, she realized what it was, and her brown eyes widened; duct tape. Three brand new rolls of multicolored duct tape, still encased in their clear plastic packaging. 

She lifted her eyes back up to the young medic, amazed. “Nix, where did you find this?” She asked. 

Nix said nothing. He only shrugged and gestured to the door with his thumb. But Sakura did manage to see a small smile pulling at the corners of his lips. 

Either way, she was happy about what the medic had to offer. "Thank you, Nix. This will be very useful," She said, before shifting her gaze to the remaining members of the group. "Anyone else?"

"Yeah," Grey nodded, before tossing a bundle over to her. “All I got was a bedsheet,” He said, frowning a bit. "Sorry, kiddo."

Instead, Sakura smiled and shook her head. "No, this will do nicely," She assured as she tucked the roll under her mechanical arm. "Thank you, Grey." She then shifted her focus onto the rest of the byte. "Do any of you have anything else?"

Most of her colleagues shook their heads or said something along the lines of 'No'. But Coda, instead of having everyone else's reaction, she flashed a proud, sharp-toothed smile.

"I thought you'd never ask," She stated. "I managed to get somethin' fuckin' sweet. But I did have to hide it in an…" She then reached her hand up to grasp the zipper on her jumpsuit. "Interesting way."

It took a moment for Sakura to realize what Coda meant. And once she did, she felt her face turn a bright shade of red. "O-oh gosh…!" 

Coda burst out laughing as the brunette averted her gaze and shielded her eyes with her hands. “Aww, don’t be shy!~”

Nightingale let out an annoyed sigh. “Just get it over with and show us what you have, Coda.”

“Yes, ma’am~”

“And keep it clean!”

Sakura could hear a zipper being undone, some cloth rustling, and then the zipper zipping back up. “A...are you done…?” She asked, her cheeks still burning.

“Yeah,” Coda replied, and the brunette sighed in relief. “You can turn ‘round now.”

Sakura hesitantly removed her hands from her face to look back at the creeper, and she saw two things. One, she indeed had her jumpsuit zipped back up, which Sakura was more than happy about. And two, to her amazement, Coda had something that would be more than useful; one of the metal trays that the W.E.S. employees were using to serve food.

The brunette’s eyes weren’t the only ones wide in shock. Synth, for example, appeared as if his jaw would drop to the floor at any moment. "How in the world did you manage to not draw any suspicion?" Synth asked.

Coda shrugged and smiled a bit. "Eh, I've got one of the stupid ones bringin' me meals.” She answered, handing off the tray to Sakura. “Guy forgets to take the tray back half the time. He barely even noticed that one went missing." 

The redhead chuckled. “Which one?”

“The toothpick. With the moustache.” Coda laughed back, grinning more. “And he’s already terrified of me, so I sorta have free reign over ‘em.”

Grey sighed and shook his head back and forth. “You really won’t ever change, will you kid?”

The creeper rolled her eyes at her mentor, but still had a smile on her lips. “Would you ever want me to?”

The older man chuckled. “I don’t think it’s even possible at this point.”

Several chuckles sounded out throughout the room, and more conversations arose among most of the soldiers. Even Sakura herself was starting to talk, after hiding the metal tray beneath her blanket. She could honestly get used to the chatter. Even though she barely knew those people, she was growing somewhat fond of them- Three loud raps suddenly sounded on the door, silencing everyone immediately. “Twenty minutes are up!” A man’s voice sounded out. She knew it belonged to the man that seemed to be made entirely out of slime (she didn't question it; she had seen enough weird people in the time of the byte arriving in that World), but what was his name again? Jevin?

“Aw, c’mon jelly bean!” Coda groaned in annoyance. Sakura couldn’t help but let out a small giggle at the fitting nickname. “Can’t y’hear we’re having fun in here?”

“You’ve gotten used to the limit by now!” The man replied, ignoring the creeper’s remark. “Time to get out!”

Sakura sighed, holding her contraband close to her blanketed figure. “Alright…” She walked towards the door, but glanced back towards her teammates and gave them a smile. “See you all tomorrow.” She said, before walking out the door with her precious cargo.

She glanced around at the group of people outside the door. The usual escorts were there, one (or sometimes two) for each of her colleagues. Among them was the man assigned to her; Zedaph. 

“You still cold?” He asked as the two started to walk off down the halls.

Sakura made a small pouty face. She had to keep up the act. “It’s chilly!”

The blonde laughed. “Okay, okay!” He replied.

The two didn’t exchange many more words before they finally arrived at Sakura’s cell. “I’ll be back in about an hour with your breakfast, alright?” He said, opening the door and letting the shorter woman inside.

Sakura gave a small smile and nodded. “Alright. See you then.”

As she turned around, she heard the door close behind her with a long creak and a click, signifying it had been locked. She continued to stand still for a moment and waited for Zedaph's footsteps to fade away. She knew she couldn't risk anything.

Soon, there was nothing but total silence. Silent enough for her ears to ring. She glanced over her shoulder one more time, before sitting down, taking off her blanket, and spreading out the supplies she was given.

And she immediately started to grow uneasy at the task before her.

Sakura gazed at all of the materials set out in front of her and bit her nails. What was she supposed to do with a flimsy metal tray, a bedsheet, and duct tape?

Knowing she had to start somewhere, she took the tray in her hands and attempted to bend it. To her pleasant surprise, it started to fold with relative ease. As easy as it could possibly be to fold a sheet of shaped metal. Maybe she could use those after all…

The woman looked back down at the cloth and tape next to her. Ideas started flowing into her head, one after the other, and a small smile crept up onto her lips. She knew exactly what she could do.

"Alright, Sakura…" She muttered to herself. "You have made it this far… time to make the final stretch." She rubbed her hands together and rolled up her torn and dirty sleeves.

Time to get to work.

~~~~~

Sakura rubbed her eyes and yawned. She had been up for (what she presumed to be) most of the day and the night, tinkering and experimenting with her mismatched supply of contraband in between the times that Zedaph had delivered her meals. Her natural hand was starting to form a couple blisters from all of the work she was doing. Not to mention all of the small scrapes and cuts she had along her palm that stung every time she flexed her fingers.

But her hard work was definitely paying off. Laid out on the tile in front of her were several makeshift knives. Seven, to be exact. Their jagged blades were fashioned out of the food tray (after she had finally managed to fold it enough so it would break), and their handles were made from torn scraps of the bedsheets and the tape.

She had a remaining scrap of the bedsheet left, so to keep all of the shivs in one place, she decided to wrap them all up into one small parcel. A tired sigh of relief escaped her lips, and she shuffled over to her bed and collapsed. Her eyelids drooped and got heavier and heavier, and she slipped closer and closer into dreamland-

“Bloom? You awake?”

Zedaph’s voice made her snap her eyes wide open in an instant. She almost jumped right out of her bed from the surprise, and nearly dropped her bundle of knives onto the floor. “Wh-what…?”

Zedaph spoke again. “It’s morning.”

“A...already?” Sakura asked, trying to sit up without revealing her contraband. She tried to yawn to make it seem like she had just woken up.

“Yup. Time for you to meet up with the others.”

“J...just one second…!” She stuttered out, trying her best to add in another fake yawn to her speech. She held the bundle close and wrapped her blanket around herself to conceal it. “Alright, ready.” She then stood up from her bed and shuffled out of her room, holding her parcel close as she tagged alongside the blonde.

To her relief, Zedaph didn't seem to suspect a thing as they walked. He appeared just as tired as she was, perhaps even more. But then again, Sakura could easily assume that just about every single W.E.S. operative in the World was, at that point. She didn’t know how much time had passed since the massive battle between them and the rest of her fellow soldiers, but it had been long enough to where everyone seemed to be losing sleep.

The blonde led Sakura to the ‘meeting’ room, and let her in without a hitch. “Twenty minutes as always,” He yawned. “Have fun.”

The brunette nodded and smiled at Zedaph, before he closed the door behind her and locked it. She turned back to her fellow soldiers, who had all, once again, arrived before she had. However, at that point, none of them (including herself) seemed to care at that point. They were all dirty, weakened, and determined to go home.

Coda was the first to speak, lowering her voice a bit and leaning closer to Sakura. “You got the goods?” She asked.

Synth let out a snort. “You make it sound like she’s dealing crack, geez.”

“Shut the fuck up, Synth,” The creeper rolled her eyes and playfully shoved her friend. "But really, you got somethin’ we can use?"

Sakura nodded, and pulled out the small bundle from inside her blanket. “I made seven. One for each of us.” She pinched a corner of the bedsheet and unraveled the parcel to reveal the hastily made knives. 

Coda’s eyes locked on the blades with interest. “Holy shit…” She said. Her jet black gaze shifted upwards to Sakura. “You made these? In just a few hours?”

The brunette gave a sheepish smile back. “Well, it wasn’t just a few hours… I've been up since yesterday-”

“These are fuckin’ amazing!”

The creeper cut her off and snatched one of the knives in Sakura’s hands. “Sure, they would look shitty as fuck to anybody else, but they aren’t!” She grinned at the shorter woman. “A lot better than I could do.”

Synth raised an eyebrow. “Since when did you know how to make a shiv?”

Coda glanced over at her friend. “Does it surprise ya?”

The redhead let out a chuckle. “Point taken.”

“N..not to be mean, but…” Lucky’s quiet voice then sounded, drawing the group’s attention to him. He made a timid gesture to the blades. “H...how do you know that they’re good? They look like they would do more scratching than cutting…”

Coda’s lips pressed into a firm line. “Watch ‘n learn, techie.” Before anyone could object, she took her blade and pressed the tip against her scaled finger. Just as she did, a small, emerald green bubble formed. “See? It’s damn sharp! If it can get through my scaly ass skin that easily, then it can get through anybody else's like it’s fuckin’ butter.”

The shorter blonde was obviously taken aback by the creeper’s sudden action. “D...did you just stab your finger?”

“Yeah, I fuckin’ stabbed my finger. So what-”

“We’re getting off track.”

Nightingale’s cold voice pierced the air and filled it with silence. “We need to make the most of these twenty minutes. We cannot waste them.”

Lucky flinched back a bit. “Y-yes ma’am…!”

Coda was quiet, but soon spoke. “Yes, boss…”

“Good. Now, remember our plan,” Nightingale started, her dark gaze shifting from person to person. “We take out every threat we find, quickly and quietly. We cannot draw attention to ourselves. If you need to spill some blood, do what you must. Just make it discreet. And while at it, you make your way around to meet up with your partners at your discussed locations.”

“Once we have everyone incapacitated and have all found each other, we close in on Xisuma,” The ebony woman continued. “And we must be just as careful taking him down as with the others. You all have seen how powerful he is; one slip up and we’re all done for. Once he’s dead, we can get our equipment back and call for an extraction.”

Nightingale’s eye landed on Lucky, and Sakura could have sworn she saw that her gaze had softened for a moment. “And Lucky. We’ll get the extraction team to find Jazz and bring him home. Alright?”

The short blonde lifted his head from the floor, locking his bloodshot eyes on her. “Yes ma’am…”

A moment of somber silence passed. It was still hard for Sakura to believe that one of her teammates was dead. Sure, she had been sent out on missions before, and her other colleagues hadn't made it back to Fort Oblivion alive, but this was different. From what she gathered in the short time she knew him, Jazz was both strong and smart. A prime example of someone who could have been a skilled and admirable commander one day. Not someone who would have their life cut short by hacker powerful enough to leech.

At least he would be remembered as a hero. A strong, dedicated soldier who fought to the bitter end. She was happy that Lucky would have that to comfort him.

“And on a side note," Nightingale gently broke the silence after what seemed like ages. "There’s no need to call me ‘ma’am’ anymore.”

Sakura blinked, confused. What did she mean? She was technically the leader of the byte; she had to be respected as such.

“We’ve all been placed at the same level here,” Nightingale continued. “So Angel will do just fine.”

The brunette tilted her head slightly. Angel. If she had to be one hundred percent honest with herself, she was expecting something much less...dainty? Elegant? She didn't quite know how to describe it. Sure, her surperior's code name was Nightingale, but that was just it; a code name. An alias.

"And personally," The woman spoke again, further gaining Sakura's curiosity of the sudden request. A small smile then tugged at the corners of her dark lips. "You have all gained my respect." Her raven gaze landed on Coda for a moment, before returning to the others. "No matter how much you may get under my skin. You all have proven yourself to be fine soldiers. With what we've faced in the past several days, I would even say that Ecryptos himself would be impressed."

Sakura's eyes widened a bit. Was Nighten- er, Angel, being serious? She didn't know in the slightest. But then again, even in the time she had known her, Sakura had gotten a vibe from the infamous sniper that said she wasn't one for spreading lies.

“Now, are there any questions?” Angel asked out. Silence. “Good.” She glanced over towards the door. Their time was almost up. “Now… Good luck out there. All of you.”

Sakura gave the sniper a salute alongside everyone else. This was it. The escape was going to be set in motion in a matter of hours. 

Now all she had to do was wait.

~~~~~

All was silent as Sakura crept through the hallways, careful not to make a sound. The faint echoes of water dripping and an animal or two scurrying across the dirty tile were all she could hear. It didn’t exactly provide a calm atmosphere, to say the least. Especially when she felt something dart across her boot and she had to suppress the urge to scream and jump where she stood.

But she wasn’t all that surprised that there was the occasional rodent down in that bunker; it was still quite new, and partially under construction from what she could tell. A number of the hallways led to dead ends with dirt piles, some of the walls were just plain gravel or earth, instead of the usual polished stone. And the amount of dust and grime always gathering in the place was a dead giveaway that the bunker was hard to keep clean in some places, primarily the ones that were used the least often.

She started to approach an intersection of hallway. All was still and silent. Too silent. Even if she knew it might have been a good sign, she couldn’t help but feel slightly on edge. 

But she took a breath to reassure herself. Everything had gone alright so far. She had managed to knock Zedaph unconscious with a swift blow to the head when he came in to deliver her dinner; she had managed to build up his trust in her, enough so that she could get him to let his guard down around her. As an extra precaution, she had tied him up with bedsheets. And on top of that, nobody had managed to find her yet. She may have felt guilty, but it was what she had to do. All she needed to do now was meet up with Synth outside the infirmary, and everything would be-

Voices echoed from down the hallway. Sakura stopped dead in her tracks, and the hairs on the back of her neck raised. She knew she had to get out of sight, but she was right out in the open! Nothing to hide behind except the corner.

She had to make do with what she had. So she slammed herself against the wall, holding her knife close. She could hear her heart pounding in her ears, feel the sweat dripping down her forehead. All she could do was listen and hope they wouldn’t come far enough down the hallway to spot her.

One voice she immediately recognized. The ultimate target of the whole escape plan; Xisumavoid. “Grian, I told you I’m alright.” He said in an assuring, almost annoyed tone. Like a parent worrying when their child has tripped and scraped their knee, and the child repeatedly telling them that they are okay.

The other voice, presumably belonging to someone named Grian, Sakura didn’t recognize. All she could tell was that it was definitely male. “But X, those bruises on your neck look really bad!” He replied. “Just drink part of a healing potion!”

“The others need them more than I do. I can manage.”

By the sound of his voice, Grian wasn’t having any of it. “You could have been killed by that woman, X! I don’t care if you have those fancy hacker powers; she nearly choked you to death with that wire!”

“But I’m alive,” Xisuma retorted. “And that’s all that matters. So what if I have some purple rings around my neck for a few days?”

Grian huffed. “Okay, fine,” He finally gave in, and a short moment of silence followed. “And X?”

“Yeah?”

Grian was quiet for another second, and a pair of footsteps ceased, presumably his. “...why didn’t you tell any of us that you were a hacker?”

The other set of footfalls stopped, followed by a moment of tense silence. But even if she was scared, Sakura was growing curious of the situation. Xisuma’s colleagues didn’t know he was a hacker? It somewhat made sense; hacking was something that was a very controversial subject to many people in countless Worlds, and as far as Sakura knew, it had been for a long time. Some people were accepting of it, but with how dangerous altering code could be, hackers were often viewed as a danger to both themselves and society.

But Grian didn’t sound mad or disgusted in the slightest. He almost sounded sad, disappointed. As if he thought Xisuma could trust him with any secret, no matter how dark or shameful it could be.

She had to know what Xisuma’s answer was going to be. Her curiosity was too great, too tempting. Staying as still and as quiet as she could, she continued to listen. 

There was still a tense silence, but soon a sigh from the hacker broke it. “I…” He started, his words trailing off. “I guess because I never thought I would have to tell anyone in the first place.”

Sakura’s curiosity only grew at the response. She had to resist the urge to pop around the corner and ask Xisuma himself. 

“Oh…” That was the only word Grian said for a long moment. “...you know you can tell any of us anything, right?”

“Yeah, I do.”

Grian let out a sigh. “Good.” He said. “Well… I better get back to Cub. He’s still a bit short handed.”

Xisuma chuckled. “See you, Grian.”

A small burst of static sounded followed Xisuma finishing his sentence. He must have teleported somewhere, and hopefully, far enough away for Sakura to continue navigating around the bunker and finding Synth.

Instead of taking her time, like before, she broke out into a swift walk. Still quiet enough to not be detected, but much faster than her former pace. 

And yet she continued to weave through the expanse of hallways and corridors for what felt like hours. Part of her mind was wondering if she was actually headed the right way. Everything looked almost exactly the same; the walls, the tile, the flickering lights. She felt like she was in a cheesy horror movie.

But then she saw something familiar out of the corner of her eye. Or rather, someone. She had nearly passed him as she was walking past a corridor she thought she had already gone through. The redhead was leaning up against a wall, next to a window peering into another room.

Sakura’s eyes widened, and she smiled. “Synth!” She whispered, and dashed over to him as quick as she could. “Sorry, I got lost…” She let out a sigh and wiped some sweat off her forehead. “This place is like a maze!”

The redhead glanced down at her and shook his head. “You’re fine, trust me,” He assured, a charming grin on his face. “But we need to move, and sooner rather than later. Come on.”

Synth then started walking down the hallway, and Sakura followed. But she couldn’t help but glance into the windowed room as she passed by it. She presumed it was the infirmary; there were several people asleep in beds, with various injuries. There were several she recognized right off the bat; Doc, with his broken arm in a sling, and False, who apparently didn’t have any injuries at all, apart from a bruise on the side of her head. But there was one other in a cot, who was almost completely covered in gauze. And he had both an arm and a leg missing. All she could tell was that he was a red creeper-

Wait. The creeper. She recognized him. It was PythonGB, fierce warrior and former soldier that Lucky identified while everyone was still back at Fort Oblivion. He was also one of the people who tried to get away from her R.O.S.A. before it could detonate.

And now he appeared to be on the verge of death.

Her eyes widened as she gazed at the creeper through the glass. “Did...d-did I do that to him…?” She whispered to Synth.

Synth stopped walking. He must have heard her. "Pardon?" He glanced over his shoulder at Sakura. “What was that?”

Sakura lifted up her cybernetic arm and gestured to Python’s severely injured figure in his bed. “D-did I… did I injure him that badly? W-when my R.O.S.A. exploded?”

The taller redhead lifted his grey eyes to where the woman was pointing. “Oh wow…” He replied, sounding genuinely surprised. “He looks worse than the last time I saw him. Last time he had both arms.” 

Sakura’s heart stopped for a moment, her eyes widening. He didn’t lose his arm and leg at the same time? Maybe gangrene had set in to his arm, too much infection to risk keeping the limb. Or it could have been the fact that whoever was doing the amputations couldn’t stomach doing both the leg and the arm at once. The thought of having to cut off a colleague’s dying limbs was one that made Sakura sick.

Synth was silent for a second, as if thinking of a response. “Well, your mech did explode. Quite violently, as far as I’ve heard. I wouldn’t say that you necessarily made him lose a limb or two, but I will say this.” A small smile spread across his face. “Either way, you helped put him in that bed. And now you’ve made our job much easier.”

The man’s last words turned the brunette’s heart into lead. The feeling of being weighed down with guilt and shame almost made her feel like she needed to sit down. She did that to Python… She was the one that accidently activated the self destruct sequence on her R.O.S.A. when its engines went offline. If she hadn’t done that, so many people would have been okay…

Including Jazz.

She saw him retreating with Nightingale before the explosion knocked her unconscious. He should have been safe, given he was outside the immediate blast zone, but it was the resulting shrapnel that killed him. She saw a massive metal plate hit him and practically rip him right open-

"Sakura!"

Synth's harsh whisper made her train of thought come to a screeching halt. “What, what is it?” She whispered back.

The taller man pressed a finger against his lips and signalled her to be quiet. As the air was consumed by the silence, at first she didn’t hear anything. But after a moment, she could just about make out almost inaudible footsteps, the soles of shoes barely squeaking against the tile.

Someone was there.

And Sakura felt like a deer in the headlights as they rounded the corner and stopped where they stood once they saw the two escapees. Standing less than a couple of meters away was a short man in a red shirt, his dirty blonde hair disheveled and messy, and his dark brown eyes wide in shock.

“...uhhhhhh.” Once he let out his surprised reaction, the brunette felt taken aback herself; she recognized his voice from before. The one talking to Xisuma. It was Grian.

Synth was quick to act, and he pointed his knife him. “I would advise against trying to scream and run,” He stated calmly. “Now, just come over here, and you might live to see another day.”

The blonde was still in a silent shock for one more moment, but soon shook his head and cleared his throat. “Look, we don’t need to fight,” He said, holding his palms out. “Just slide the knives over and-”

A soft click sounded through the air, and Grian froze where he stood. A new voice sounded from behind him, one that Sakura could recognize immediately. A woman, harsh and confident in her words.

“You move, I’ll blow your fuckin’ brains out. Gottit?”

Coda! 

A feeling of relief washed over the brunette. Thank goodness! A smile spread across her face as she saw the creeper step slightly out from behind Grian, her gun still trained on his head.

“On your knees,” The creeper growled. “And hands over your head. Now.”

“Okay, okay, alright!” The shorter man stated, before slowly beginning to lift his hands upwards.

“Good choice, blondie.” Coda grinned, and she reached her hand forward, presumably to grab the man.

But just before she could do anything, Grian suddenly spun around to throw a punch at Coda. His fist planted right on her jaw with a loud crack, causing her to stumble back.

“GAH!” Coda rubbed the side of her face, dark green blood now dribbling out of her mouth and down her chin. She looked back over at Grian and spat in his direction. “You lil’ son of a…!”

She nearly fell as the blonde charged at her, trying to snatch the gun out of her hand. But to Sakura’s surprise, Coda roughly grabbed his arm and, like he weighed absolutely nothing, flung him against the wall, before pinning him there by both shoving her forearm onto his throat and jabbing the barrel of her pistol on his side.

Coda grinned at her success, and jammed the gun further against her opponent’s stomach. "Y'know… it's a good thing you're wearin' red," She said, gesturing to his red sweater. She leaned closer to his face and smiled wider, not afraid to show off her now blood coated teeth. "It'll hide the stains~"

Grian gasped in pain as the creeper pressed her pistol harder against him, but he kept his dark brown gaze locked on her. “I’m not afraid of you,” He stated.

Sakura could have sworn that she saw Coda’s grin falter for a split second. "Uh huh. Sure." The soldier said, sarcasm dripping from her words. She kept her gun trained on him. “Y’wanna make a bet on it, blondie?”

The blonde’s expression remained the same; unafraid. “Then go ahead. Shoot me.” He stated, leaning his face closer to hers. “I already told you that I’m not scared. Of any of you, for that matter.”

A sinking feeling began to form in Sakura’s stomach. What was Grian doing? Sure, he was an enemy, but she knew antagonizing Coda wasn’t good at all. She had seen it happen back at the Hive, but Synth had managed to drag her away before she could do anything to Jazz. Now Coda had a gun… and that combined with a short temper was a recipe for disaster.

And to her horror, her prediction was correct. Just as Grian opened his mouth to say something, the creeper suddenly yanked him by the shirt collar and threw him onto the floor before he could finish. She then sent her foot towards him, kicking him in the stomach. A loud crack could be heard along with Grian's cry of pain.

"Coda!" Sakura cried out, and rushed over to her to try and pull her away. "Just calm down!" She grasped her arm and tried to tug her away, but the creeper didn't budge, and continued to repeatedly pummel Grian with a series of hard kicks.

Synth apparently had the same goal in mind. "Coda, calm down!" Synth demanded, dashing over to his friend and wrapping his arms around her. "We cannot reveal where we are!" He hissed, pulling her away from the beaten man on the floor.

Coda continued to glare daggers at the blonde as she spoke. “If this prick would shut the fuck up, then maybe I’d stop!”

Sakura nervously glanced down at Grian on the floor. He was glaring up at the three soldiers, his breathing labored. “Xisuma… is gonna find you…” He said, his eyes filled with anger. “All of you… every one of you in your little Shadowbyte Army-”

Sakura reeled back and shrieked as Coda’s gun suddenly went off with an ear shattering BANG. She heard Grian scream out in pain just as dozens of crimson flecks sprayed over her face and the cracked lenses of her glasses. Blood.

"Coda, what the hell?!" Synth demanded, grabbing her shoulder and roughly turning her to face him. "You just blew our position!"

"They know who we are, dude!" Coda exclaimed, sounding like she barely cared about the fact that she just shot someone. After a split second, her coal black eyes then shined with a red hot fury. As if she realized something in her head. "Of course… that fuckin' techie! He's a fuckin' snitch!!" She growled and stomped once on the tile. "I swear, I'm gonna beat the shit outta that kid once I get a hold of 'em!"

Sakura immediately knew who she was talking about. Lucky. Did he reveal anything during the interrogation besides everyone's code names? Somebody from the byte must have; Grian (or anybody else, for that matter) wouldn’t have known otherwise.

But she didn’t have time to stand and question. Before she could say anything, Synth had grabbed her hand and forced her to break out into a run. “Come on!” He ordered. “We need to get out of here, NOW!”

“O-okay, okay!” She managed to spit out a couple of words as she started to move alongside him and Coda. However, she couldn’t help but glance back at Grian as she was running. He was sprawled out on the floor and clutching his side, blood pouring out of his gunshot wound and steadily pooling beneath him.

But it was his screaming that made her almost stop. 

Almost.

She knew she couldn’t stop running. As much as she wanted to, Grian was the enemy. And there was no way she could help him, even if it weighed her down with more guilt.

Sakura turned her eyes away from the man on the floor as she rounded a corner. She nearly slipped in a puddle of water and had to stumble while she ran to regain her balance. Voices bounced and echoed off the walls and the tile. The voices of the HermitCraft members. Yelling. Screaming. Crying.

But the woman kept running. She kept her eyes wide open. She didn't care how tired she was. She wanted, no, needed to escape-

And then she saw someone. Somebody that wasn't Coda or Synth. But it wasn't an enemy; it was a friend. As she and her two colleagues went around another corner, she saw a grey-haired man, also running. His tattered white jumpsuit stood out against the darkness of the hallway.

Grey.

"Old man!" Coda called and dashed over to run alongside him, Sakura and Synth following behind. “Wait, where’s the boss lady and your side kick?"

“Coda! You made it!” The man exclaimed as the group of four continued to dash through the halls. “I thought I was the only one! I got separated from Nix and Angel a while back. I thought they’d meet me up here, but none of them showed.”

Sakura’s eyes widened a bit. There was one person not accounted for. “Where’s Lucky?” She huffed out. “You haven’t seen him?”

“What?” Grey asked. “No, I thought you guys would’ve!”

“No time for questions!” Synth interrupted the conversation. "Right now we have to run!"

Sakura could barely tell where she and her three colleagues were headed. Everything was flying by so fast, too quick to make out any landmarks. If that were even possible, in that labyrinth of a bunker. How did the members of HermitCraft even get around without getting lost?

The brunette was about to try and speak her mind when she finally recognized something; the grand set of stairs that led up to the surface. She could almost feel her heart explode with happiness as the group and her ran up the stairs and burst through the doors, into the compound.

She and the rest of her group ran past the many buildings, past the compound wall, and into the massive field. She could just about see a massive crater not too far away, the ground and grass charred black. Her stomach churned; she knew exactly what had happened in that place. But then she lifted her head to the sky…

And saw sunlight. Warm, beautiful sunlight from the rising sun on the horizon. Sakura had to resist the urge and want to stop running and lay down on the grass, cherish and embrace the moment.

But she couldn’t stop running. Not with everything that was on the line.

“There!” Coda stated out, and Sakura snapped her brown gaze towards the creeper. “Head towards the woods!” She had her hand pointing out, where a large line of trees could be seen, easily within running distance. As if they were all in sync, a single unit, everyone made the sharp turn and ran into the forest and among the trees and brush.

Now, Sakura wasn't afraid to admit that she was plump. She didn't care that much about her weight, in terms of looks; she just had always been this short and round person, no matter how much she exercised and trained. Plus, she had grown to think of herself as cute, weight regardless. But in terms of athletics, a thing she never really had to worry about once she gained her position in the Army's Engineering division, she definitely knew her weight and body type wasn't exactly ideal.

Especially when she tripped and tumbled over a large tree root. One that had easily been avoided by her three (and much more athletic) colleagues.

"Woah!" The brunette cried out in surprise as she fell and slammed into the ground. Immediately a sharp, stabbing pain shot through her ankle, and a loud crack sounded out. “Owowowowowowooowwww!”

Not a moment after her cry of pain, she heard footsteps rapidly approach her, twigs and sticks cracking and snapping. “Oh shit!” To her relief, it was Coda’s voice. “Hold on, I gotcha!”

Sakura lifted her head up, and sure enough, Coda was right at her side and kneeling down. "C'mon, gimme your arm," She said, before firmly grasping her mechanical hand and started helping her to her feet.

The brunette heard more footsteps as Coda wrapped her cybernetic arm over her shoulders. "Kid! You alright? Can you walk?" She heard Grey ask.

She looked up at the man and shook her head. "I-I don't know…" She said. "I can try- OW!" But as she tried to put weight on her injured ankle, another wave of pain washed over her.

"Yeah, you ain't walkin'," Coda stated, shaking her head.

"But-"

"Nope! C'mon, up y'go!"

Before Sakura could respond, Coda suddenly scooped her up off the ground and held the brunette in her arms. "H-hey! Put me down! I can-"

"Both of you, just stop!"

The two women were silenced by Synth raising his voice, so much so it almost sounded threatening. Sakura shifted her brown eyes to the man, who had a grim expression on his face.

"Coda," He started. "You're right. Sakura is in no position to be running. But you and Grey need to move further ahead. Sakura and I can meet up with you later."

Coda's pitch black eyes went wide. "What?! Dude, there's no fuckin' way I'm leavin' anybody here!" Coda stated. "Nobody’s gettin' left behind!"

Synth shook his head. "We have to split up, Coda!" He countered. "The W.E.S. members can only spread themselves out so far! This is our only shot for all of us getting out of here!" He then placed a hand on her shoulder, giving her a nod and a smile. Not his signature sly, almost sinister grin. This one looked gentle, much more friendly. "And besides, we'll be right behind you."

Coda was silent, her lips pressed into a firm line. But after a moment, she lifted her eyes back up and spoke. "Y'better be." She stated, before gently setting Sakura back down on her feet. “If ya aren’t, I’m gonna kick your ass.”

The redhead laughed, removing his hand from her shoulder. “Good luck,” He glanced over at Grey and nodded. “Both of you.” “You too, kiddo,” Grey said, before he and Coda turned around and made their way further into the woods, and not a moment later, disappeared among the trees and foliage.

Sakura and Synth were completely on their own now.

“Here, come on,” Synth held his hand out to Sakura. They had to keep moving. “Let me help you.”

The brunette flinched in pain as she tried to move, but soon grasped Synth’s hand, and allowed him to hoist her mechanical arm over his shoulders, just like Coda had. It may have been a little awkward, given the major height difference between the two, but they still managed to make it work. 

"Thank you, Synth…" Sakura said, whimpering a bit as they both began to walk.

Synth looked down at the woman and smiled. "No need to thank me," He replied. "We're in this together-"

A bright flash of pixels suddenly appeared before them, and Sakura squeezed her eyes shut as she shrieked. What was that? A glitch? The World was still quite young… it wouldn't be much of a stretch for that to happen.

But once she opened her eyes, her heart dropped. Standing in front of her and Synth was none other than the one they meant to take out in the first place, flanked by two people armed with guns that obviously belonged to the Shadowbyte soldiers; Jazz's shotgun and Synth's assault rifle. A gleaming sword was grasped in the armored man's hand, and his eyes were locked on the pair.

It was Xisumavoid. And he had found them.

“Bloom, Mimic,” Xisuma started. He took a small step forward towards the pair of escapees. “Just drop the knives, okay? Give me the knives.”

Sakura’s eyes darted around in a panic, and she clutched her shiv tighter. There had to be a way out of that situation. They could run away- no, Xisuma could teleport, and the two people next to him had guns. Maybe they could try and fight- no, that wouldn’t be smart either! She couldn’t even run! What could they do?!

Her mind continued to race, and every idea she came up with sounded more ludicrous than the last. She had to come up with something. Anything! But soon, a grim realization crept into her mind.

They failed. She failed. Failed. As a soldier, as a colleague… 

A sad sigh escaped her mouth. She really did have no other choice, didn't she? So, full of regret and shame, she closed her eyes and tossed the makeshift blade onto the dirt at Xisuma's feet.

It was over.

~~~~~

There was a tense and awkward silence in the stuffy air. Xisuma had taken Sakura back down into the bunker, but to her surprise, he didn’t take her to her cell. Instead, he took her straight to the infirmary and let her sit down on an empty bed. At that moment, he was wrapping up her ankle in thick white gauze, which she found extremely odd.

It didn’t exactly help that half of the people in the room were throwing weird or dirty glances in her direction.

Not much had changed since the last time she had seen the infirmary. All she noticed was that Grian was there now, and thankfully alive. He appeared to be unconscious in one of the beds, his torso completely wrapped in bandages. A small crimson stain could be seen slowly blooming through the white gauze covering his side. Several empty glass bottles lay on the metal table next to his bed, filled with the faint residue of a glowing pinkish red liquid. Healing or regeneration potions, perhaps. And a lot of them.

A small question formed in her mind, and she became slightly confused. Xisuma was a hacker… and he had the ability to heal himself, as far as she knew. Coda shoved a sword right through his heart, and yet he survived. Why wasn’t he healing the others? He didn’t have to use potions and brews.

She thought that maybe he could only use invincibility hacks. But she soon realized an immediate contradiction with that. Invincibility hacks were based on healing hacks. A hack that branched off of another, in a sense. He had to have learned to heal before he could make himself temporarily immortal. It didn’t make sense.

But Sakura had to shake the question out of her mind. She had things right in front of her to focus on. Much more important things. Like the fact that the one who was supposedly her enemy was attempting to patch up her broken ankle.

Why would Xisuma do that? He may not have killed any of her teammates, but it was still odd. Maybe he just wanted them all alive in order to press charges once he was able to contact the authorities in outside Worlds. There were so many questions, and yet so few answers. 

She needed answers. Answers made her feel more at ease. She wanted to try and ease the tension, as well. To her, conversation was the best form of therapy.

The brunette cleared her throat. "So… you know who we are, don't you?" She asked.

Xisuma remained silent, and his posture went rigid at the mere mention of the secretive army. His hands stopped working on Sakura's ankle. "...yes. We do." He eventually spoke, almost sounding like he was trying to hold back his anger, and he went back to dressing the woman's wound.

Sakura didn’t exactly blame him for being mad. She knew what her and the rest of the byte had done; injured many of his colleagues (including himself), put several lives on the line, caused countless amounts of damage. The list went on.

And she felt horrible for it.

She couldn’t help but feel guilty for her role in the chaos. She let her mech explode. She knew she already took one life; and with how Python was, there was the possibility of her taking another. There was no way he could survive without more people giving him medical assistance.

...and then an idea came to her mind. "C...can I ask you something?"

Xisuma didn't return his gaze. However, he still spoke. "Yes. You may." He said.

Sakura gulped and cleared her throat. “I-it’s… it’s about one of your colleagues… Python.” She started. “I… I think I can help him.”

This time, the hacker glanced over at her. His brows were furrowed, confused by her statement. “What do you mean?”

The brunette was silent for a moment. Should she really do this? Her doing what she was about to do could have dire consequences. Perhaps not with Xisuma and his colleagues, but with her own. Angel, Synth, Nix, Grey, everyone. 

But even if Xisuma and the other W.E.S. operatives were technically considered the enemy, she didn’t mean for this to happen. She couldn’t stand idly by and watch someone die because of something she did. Especially when she knew she could help. Her heart couldn’t take the weight of that much guilt.

"Bloom?" 

Xisuma’s slightly muffled voice drew her back into reality. She had to make her choice.

Sakura looked back up at the green-armored hacker, took a breath, and pointed to the cog patch on her dirty and torn up jumpsuit with a mechanical finger. "I work with cybernetics. A lot. I make them, design them, install them. And from what I saw, Python needs good ones, and quick."

Part of her mind was screaming at her, demanding what she was doing, demanding she stay with where her loyalties resided. She made an oath to the Shadowbyte Army, to Ecryptos, the day of her enlistment. She could remember every line, every word, every sentence she said like it only happened yesterday. After all, she stood face to face with the legendary general, like every other recruit would on their own day of enlistment. It helped make the words stick. Especially the most important part of the whole entire thing...

“I, SakuraDot, hereby pledge that under any circumstances, I will remain loyal to my fellow soldiers and General of the Shadowbyte Army, Ecryptos.”

Now she was on the verge of breaking that oath. But part of her was somewhat accepting of that fact. Since there was absolutely no chance of escaping now and her identity as a Shadowbyte soldier had been revealed, she figured she might as well try and do the right thing, according to her morals. To try and make up for the thing she regretted so deeply.

So she took a breath, opened her mouth, and took the plunge. “I want to help you save Python.”

The whole room went silent at her statement, and she saw several pairs of eyes lock onto her. Even Xisuma was staring in shock.

"...I'm sorry, what?" The hacker asked, obviously taken aback. 

Sakura repeated herself. "I want to help you."

"But… why?" A new voice spoke up. It was Doc, all the way on the other side of the room. "Why the hell would you want to help us?! You and your buddies just tried to kill us a few days ago!"

"He's right!" Another person, False, spoke next. She had her blue eyes locked on Sakura. "Because of you, we're all stuck in this mess! And one of us is on the verge of dying!" She gestured to Python in his bed. "What makes you think we're going to trust-"

"Doc, False, please!"

Xisuma's voice pierced the air, and he flew his hands out. Static burst from his fingertips, and both Doc's and False's voices stopped, even though their lips kept moving. He muted them.

His two colleagues soon realized what had happened, and they stopped their silent ranting. They locked their eyes on him in shock, but he turned his gaze away and returned it to Sakura. "They have a point, Bloom," He said, sighing a bit. "Why would you suddenly want to help us? After what you and the others did?"

The brunette fell silent. She almost didn't want to admit why she wanted to help. What was she supposed to say? That she suddenly had a change of heart and wanted to go to their side? Sure, she felt terrible and caved from the guilt, but deep down, she knew her loyalty to the Army remained intact. Once a Shadowbyte soldier, always a Shadowbyte soldier.

"...do you really think I have anything else to lose?" She mumbled, just loud enough to be heard. It was the best answer she could come up with.

Xisuma was silent for what felt like minutes. She could feel her heart start to sink. Was he going to reject her offer? 

He then let out a long sigh, making her even more anxious of what he was going to say. "...alright. I believe you. But you're going to be under constant supervision, got it?"

Sakura nodded eagerly. He had agreed! "Yes."

"Good." Xisuma then stood up from the end of the bed and held out a hand for the woman to take. She hesitated for a brief moment at the gesture. But she soon shook off her fear and grasped his hand, and let him help her off the bed and start to hobble over to Python's bed, despite the pain in her ankle.

"He should be waking up soon," The hacker said as they got to Python's bedside. "So you won't have to wait too long." He was silent for a moment, and Sakura realized he was looking down at her injured foot. "I… should probably get you a pair of crutches. I think there's a pair somewhere around here..."

Before she could say anything, the man in green armor suddenly disappeared in a burst of greenish blue pixels, making Sakura jump and let out a shriek. She could feel everyone's disapproving eyes on her, and she hated it.

Thankfully, not a moment later, Xisuma reappeared, now holding a pair of dusty grey and white crutches. "These should work. They're a bit old, but shouldn't break." He held them out to her, and, wanting relief, Sakura immediately took them into her hands and stood up. They were slightly taller than she would have liked, but they were better than nothing at all.

And it wasn't a moment too soon. Because Sakura heard a brand new voice, and once she turned her head, she saw that Python was beginning to wake up.

The creeper had stirred a bit, and shifted his head to the side. His brows furrowed as he let out a small wince, before his one eye cracked open and landed on Xisuma. "X…?" He asked, his words slurred. "Is that you…?"

Although Sakura couldn’t see most of his face, she saw the corners of Xisuma’s eyes wrinkle a bit, as if he were attempting to smile. “Yeah. How are you feeling, man?” He asked, slowly sitting down next to Python on the bed.

The creeper blinked his remaining eye, and shifted his focus further onto the hacker. “Confused… stupid...” He croaked, before letting out a harsh wince and tensing up. “And in pain… a lot more pain…”

The wrinkles around Xisuma's eyes smoothed out. His smile had disappeared. "Yeah… the pain killer's probably wearing off by now…" He glanced over to the other side of the room for a moment, at a man with grey hair in a white lab coat. "Cub? You mind giving Python more morphine? If we have any left in the crate over there?"

"No problem, man."

Python glanced at the stump where his missing right arm was as the man named Cub walked over, a large needle filled with a clear liquid in his hand. "...I guess I'm gonna have to also be a leftie now, huh? Not just a crippled?" He gestured to the spot where one of his legs used to be. "Didn't imagine I'd be like this at twenty five…"

The hacker was quiet, but he then cleared his throat. "Not if we can help it," He assured as Cub grasped Python's remaining arm and began feeling for a vein. 

Python cringed as the man in the lab coat stuck the needle in his arm and injected some of the colorless substance. "What do you mean…?" He asked.

Xisuma gestured to Sakura beside him. "This is Bloom. She's going to be helping us make you some cybernetics."

Sakura gave an awkward smile and waved. "Hello."

The red creeper gazed at the brunette for a moment, ignoring Cub as he walked away, before his remaining eye widened a bit. "W-wait…" He started, and his brow furrowed. "She's one of those hackers, isn't she? The ones that came here?" He growled. It was obvious that even in his semi-groggy state, he still had some idea of what was going on around him.

The brunette was about to speak up, but Xisuma cut her off just as she opened her mouth. "Yes, she is," He stated. "But she isn't going to do anything to you. Not under my watch."

"Hmm…" Python lifted his tired eye up to Sakura. He was obviously still suspicious of her. “Well… if you do try to hurt me, X’ll probably split you in half…” He said, looking off to the side. The hairs on the back of Sakura's neck stood on end at the statement. 

“And I don’t think you want to die… and neither do I, to be fair.” He continued and let out a small laugh, as if trying to lighten the tense mood. The new dose of drugs were starting to take effect. “So I think I can trust you. Whatever you need to do, go ahead.”

The brunette let out an internal sigh of relief. Thank goodness for the morphine; now she could actually help.

"Well… That settles that, then," Xisuma said, catching Sakura's attention. He cleared his throat. “You need anything to get started?”

“Umm… I just need a tape measure and a notepad right now.” She replied, still slightly on edge. “Oh, and a pen, too.”

The hacker nodded, and flicked a gloved hand upwards. Before the woman could even blink, several objects flew past and made her jump, every one ending up in Xisuma’s palm. A small notebook, a black pen, and a length of rolled up tape measure. “Here you are.” He said, holding them out to her. “If you need anything else, just ask me or Cub.” He gestured over to the grey-haired man in the lab coat, now busy tending to Grian.

Still surprised by the sudden display of just how skilled Xisuma was with hacking, she hesitantly took the trio of items into her own hands. “O-of course. Will do.”

As soon as Sakura ended her sentence, Xisuma gave her a nod, before disappearing in a flash of pixels and static. Leaving her all alone with the remaining W.E.S. members.

As nervous as she was, she had to get to work. 

The brunette turned around and went back to Python's bedside, and unravelled the tape measure to measure Python's remaining leg. She needed as much information as possible to make cybernetic limbs and augments that were a perfect fit. Clicking her pen, she wrote the measurement down in her notepad.

"Hey."

Sakura glanced over her shoulder, and saw one of the injured glaring at her. False. "Hmm?"

"You hurt him, and I'll be the one snapping you in half," The blonde growled, making Sakura stiffen a bit.

"False," Cub spoke out to the woman. It was obvious how tired he was with how he let out a sigh afterwards. "Whether we like her or not, Bloom knows how cybernetics work. Just let her do whatever she has to do."

"What he said!" Python spoke up, his words becoming more slurred from the morphine injection. He then lazily poked Sakura's cybernetic arm. "Besides Falsie, she can just lend me a new hand now! She has one right here! And now I can be cool like Doc, too!"

Sakura let out an accidental chuckle at Python’s loopy behavior. “Just hold still.”

As she continued to take the measurements and notes she needed, her mind began to wander. First, it led her to thinking about Lucky. Why didn't anyone see him during the escape? Did he get caught before he could even attempt to meet up with the others? She could only wonder.

And then her mind travelled to two more people; Coda and Grey. She hadn't seen them since they had split up from her and Synth. She knew for certain that the two soldiers weren't back in the bunker; if they were, she would have heard Coda’s complaining and cursing by now.

As much as Sakura didn't want to admit it, she knew that even if the two soldiers had succeeded in shaking the W.E.S. employees off their tail, there was no chance of them actually escaping the World. Their hacks had been drained, just like everyone else's. And even if they weren't, and they somehow managed to get past the World border and the multiple firewalls beyond it, they had no equipment or weapons to defend themselves with. Given that the massive worm was likely still out there prowling in the Void, they would more than likely be torn to shreds if they came across it.

All she could do was silently hope they would both come back safely. 

[casparrjones]

[ they’re very cute ]

caspar yawned as he pushed the door open. he let it shut behind him and kicked his shoes off, hair damp and clothes slightly sandy. he padded through the apartment. it was past midnight, but caspar could hear the sound of video games coming from the living room. he yawned into his sleeve and padded through to the bathroom without making any noise.

if jamie heard his shower being turned on, he didn’t say anything about it. bottles of his shampoo and body wash sat alongside his boyfriend’s. he stepped out of the shower smelling of strawberries, and quickly blowdried his hair and applied the various products he kept at both apartments. maybe he was a little vain sometimes, but caspar thought he looked cute enough to make up for how long he spent in front of the mirror. he dumped his sandy clothes in jamie’s laundry basket and changed into a pair of jamie’s sweatpants and the dork sweater caspar had bought him for christmas. both swamped his body like crazy, but it was warm and comfy and he was too tired to care.

clean and cozy, caspar walked through to the living room. video game soundtracks filled the air, alongside the sweet smell of something sugary, although caspar couldn’t quite identify what. he glanced at the screen and smiled at the sight of jamie destroying everybody as bastion. he wasn’t a big fan of these games, but he had taken the time to learn about this one, since overwatch was a clear favourite. he pulled a blanket from the top of the couch and wrapped it around his shoulders like a cloak, then shuffled down next to jamie. his boyfriend looked away for a second to kiss the top of his head, but he was clearly enthralled by the game.

caspar didn’t mind that. he was tired, and he was quite happy where he was. he wormed his way under jamie’s arm and let his head rest against his chest, mumbling an apology when jamie died trying to adjust his arms to wrap around caspar but still hold the controller. jamie gave him a small squeeze and told him it was alright. he watched sleepily as jamie’s team sucessfully got the payload through the map, and gave him a cheek kiss when he got play of the game. 

once the game was over, jamie’s attention was diverted back to the sleepy boy in his arms. he gently tilted caspar’s chin up so he could kiss him, and got a sleepy, smiley kiss in return. few words were exchanged between them. it was long past midnight. the room was dark and the rest of the world was asleep, and it almost felt like words would ruin the sleepy magic wrapped around them. so they said little, but shared a few sweet kisses that said everything they needed to say.

after settling back against jamie’s chest, caspar reached over for the x-box controller. he flicked from competitive to quick play and waited for a game to be chosen, smiling as jamie’s fingers started running through his hair. above him, his boyfriend was smiling too, although caspar couldn’t see it. there was something sweet about caspar playing video games, taking an interest in his interests despite not really caring for them too much. it only made jamie smile more when caspar picked d.va and ran off to set up their defensives. he actually did know what to do, and jamie wasn’t sure when he’d picked that up, but it made him smile and press a kiss to caspar’s messy, blonde curls. 

sleepy as he was, caspar actually didn’t suck too bad at the game. he wasn’t good by any means, but he understood the game and the controls and how to not die every few seconds, and he even racked up a pretty decent amount of kills. jamie mumbled a few pointers every now and then. he went after the snipers and got a triple kill with his ultimate, and his team won both rounds with ease. caspar smiled happily and handed the controller back to jamie. it wasn’t his idea of a good time, but he couldn’t deny that it was fun to play from time to time either.

jamie joined another game, and caspar wiggled off the couch to find something to eat. jamie’s eyes flickered over to watch his boyfriend leave and smiled at the sight of him. he looked adorable swamped in his clothes like that. he doubted he’d see that sweater again for awhile, but that was alright. jamie’s attention was drawn back to the screen as the game began, and caspar padded back a few minutes later with a container of strawberries and a little jar of strawberry jam. 

this time, caspar waited until jamie got killed before shuffling back under his arm. jamie thought it sweet that caspar took the game that seriously. he wrapped his arm back around his boyfriend and pressed a kiss into his strawberry-scented curls, then another to his forehead when caspar smiled up at him. caspar idly dipped his strawberries in the jam and ate them while jamie played, occasionally feeding one to jamie or dotting a little jam onto his face with a cheeky smile. they stayed like that for almost an hour before caspar had finished all the strawberries and jamie was beginning to get bored. 

they switched the tv off and slowly cleaned up the living room. it was drawing near three am, and maybe staying up so late had been a bad idea, but they were both sleepy and happy and neither cared too much about anything else. caspar whined until jamie carried him through to the bedroom, and laughed happily when he was thrown on the bed, watching his boyfriend walk off to the bthroom. caspar shuffled under the covers and waited for jamie to come back. 

he was almost asleep when the bed dipped and jamie’s chest pressed against his back. caspar rolled over and buried his face in jamie’s chest, arms wrapping around his middle and giving a small squeeze. it wasn’t long before the two of them were fast asleep. 

the next morning, caspar was the first to wake up. it often went down like that since their move to santa monica. there was just too much to get done to sleep in. caspar sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes, looking down and smiling at the sight of his sleeping boyfriend. even after all these months, the sight of jamie asleep still warmed his heart. 

caspar pressed a kiss to jamie’s forehead and then rolled out of bed. he kept more clothes at jamie’s apartment than he did at his own, so it was easy for him to change into the clothes he needed for the day. caspar padded through to the kitchen and absently did any chores that needed doing. he didn’t think about it much, just feeding the dogs and washing the dishes, cleaing off a couple of counters and straightening up the living room a bit.

 there was a starbucks next door to their building, so caspar popped down to get breakfast. he was much too lazy to cook if he didn’t have to. he got something for jamie too, as well as both of their favourite coffee’s, and walked back up to the apartment. caspar glanced down at the food in his hands and thought that, maybe, he wasn’t always an awful boyfriend. it was definitely something he was getting increasingly more insecure about as time went on, but moments like these made him feel a little better about himself. 

caspar pushed the front door open and kicked his shoes off, smiling as the puppies ran over to greet him. he had hands full of food and drink, so he set them down on the kitchen counter first, and ducked down to say hello to the puppies. they were almost as adorable as jamie was. almost.

with the puppies satisfied, caspar grabbed their breakfast and made his way over to the bedroom. jamie was still fast asleep beneath the covers. he set the bag down on the bedside table and crawled over so he was straddling jamie’s waist, leaning down and peppering kisses across his boyfriend’s face. small giggles fell from caspar’s lips when jamie groaned and sleepily pushed his face away, presumably thinking he was one of the puppies. caspar stole a quick kiss from jamie’s lips and slipped off the bed again.

“i’ve gotta go, babe,” caspar shook his head fondly, watching as jamie blinked his eyes open and looked in his direction, “i got you breakfast. don’t go back to sleep or you’ll be late for work.” he dug around in the bag and took his own breakfast out, then grabbed his coffee and leaned down to kiss jamie again. 

“love you,” caspar called as he headed out of jamie’s bedroom. he grinned when he heard a sleepy love you too in return. he slipped his sneakers on and called out a final bye as he left the apartment. caspar smiled to himself as he headed down to the beach. they were adorable, and he knew it.

[bobabangtean-blog]

coffee & crushes (i like you a latte) yoonkook au ; part 1

➵ part 1: “i’ve caught coffeels for you”

   ↪  ılı.lıllılı.ıllı now playing: would you be so kind by: dodie clark

“a change of scenery might help you out, hyung.”

namjoon’s words run through yoongi’s head as yoongi steps out of his tiny apartment and into the real world. he sneezes, a small squeak, as soon as the sun hits his eyes. he’s reminded of how much he hates summer. squinting, he makes his way down the sidewalk, staring down at his toes and counting his steps. when he sneezes the second time he curses internally at namjoon for suggesting he leave his safe haven and go to a (probably generic and wannabe hipster) coffee shop down the street.

bells jingle when yoongi enters the cafe. it isn’t as bad as he thought it would be, if he’s being honest. the walls are painted a rich cream, and the atmosphere is nice and quaint. he plays with the leaf of a snake plant as he waits in line for someone to take his order. he is only slightly aware of the permanent frown that has been etched onto his face due to sleepless nights doting over every detail of his mixtape. rubbing his eyes lightly, he steps up to the counter when the barista gestures that it’s his turn. did he leave his light on in his bedroom before he left?

“what can i get you?” a silky voice breaks through his thoughts, and soft doe-like eyes stare up at him.

the man is unfairly pretty (not that yoongi’s looking or anything). that’s the first thought yoongi has in his mind. yoongi subconsciously stares at the boy’s face for longer than probably socially acceptable and takes in that the barista looks like an actual angel.

the barista, now decorated with flushed cheeks, clears his throat.

“what?” yoongi asks, two days of sleep deprivation seeping into his voice. yoongi doesn’t realize he sounds rude until five seconds after the word leaves his mouth, and notes that his face doesn’t exactly scream “hi, i’m having a great time”. he opens his mouth to apologize before cute barista boy beats him to it.

“if you stopped openly ogling me for two seconds, you’d know i’m just trying to do my job and take your order,” the cute barista boy, which yoongi just now notices has a name tag, snaps back, and immediately widens his eyes as if he’s surprised himself.

“u-uh,” yoongi stutters intelligently, as barista boy, named jeongguk, glares at him through tired looking eyes. the glare ignites something in yoongi, and suddenly he’s pissed off too. “i’m sorry. if i’m going to be honest with you, i’ve probably gotten, like, a maximum of three hours of sleep in the span of two days. i didn’t mean to come off as rude but that didn’t mean you had to be rude back. i literally said one word. so. but y’know, service with a smile and all that, right?”

yoongi cringes internally at his harsh words but keeps up his best pissed off expression.

“so i’ll just take a cup of kilimanjaro with as many shots of espresso as legally allowed, thank you, the name is min yoongi just call it out when you’re done,” yoongi hurriedly says and makes his way to a table, cringing at the way the screech of the chair draws more attention to him. he resists the urge to bang his head against the wooden table. yoongi leaves his apartment for the first time in a month and has managed to get on someone’s bad side in less than an hour. lovely.

ears burning, he pulls out his laptop from his bag and refuses to look up in the general vicinity of where jeongguk is stationed. he takes his phone out from his back pocket and texts namjoon for comfort.

yoongi:

help

joon:

? hyung are you okay ??

yoongi:

please kill me. just end my suffering right now. that would be much appreciated. thank you so much in advance

joon:

okay the last time you told me to kill you it was because you told a cashier “love you” instead of “have a nice day”

yoongi:

i had just recently suppressed that from my memory i really needed that right now thanks

joon:

okay but seriously, whats up?

yoongi is about to text namjoon back before he hears his name being called out by jeongguk. he mentally prepares himself for the social interaction.

when he makes his way up to the counter, he notices that jeongguk is looking at him with an apologetic expression, rather than pissed off. shortly after jeongguk hands yoongi his coffee, and offers yoongi a smile, he notices that jeongguk scrunches his nose up like a bunny when he grins, and also notices how he would do anything to see it again.

he plops back down in his chair, the coffee warming his hands up, and sets the cup down on a coaster, opening his laptop lid and clicking on his unfinished mixtape. he quickly texts joon back and updates him on the tragic ordeal that unfolded minutes ago. after joon texts back three laughing emojis and one crying face emoji, yoongi decides he needs better friends, ones that don’t laugh at their other friends misfortunes, and also ones that don't use emojis unironically.

(namjoon and yoongi had actually met through an extremely awkward situation, joon finishing a philosophy 101 lecture and while leaving through the double doors of the university hall, quite literally ran into yoongi and dropped all of his carefully balanced textbooks right on top of him. and then somehow tripped. landing right on top of yoongi. upon making eye contact with him, namjoon blurted “i think you know my boyfriend”, and suddenly jin-hyung’s rambles about a cute tall dork that is too clumsy for his own good made sense. but yoongi loved joon to death, not that he’d ever admit it aloud).

sighing quietly, he moves a few tracks around in his mixtape folder, titled “a messtape”. knowing that all of the songs need to be polished and that yoongi is never truly going to be entirely satisfied with any of the music he produces, he tries to distract himself with a sip of coffee. and then proceeds to burn his tongue on the hot liquid, glaring at the beverage before noticing something else scrawled beneath his name on the cup.

i’m sorry i was rude. hopefully the coffee makes up for it :)

the corners of yoongi’s lips quirk up and he peeks up at jeongguk, finding him staring back. jeongguk grins shyly, and winks when yoongi doesn’t break eye contact. yoongi forgets how to breathe.

-

yoongi tells himself he won’t go back to the coffee shop. he really does. public places never usually help him focus on anything, and quiet chatter coming from people around him does more harm than good. yet he finds himself going back everyday, burning a hole through his wallet with $3 coffees that have cute pick up lines written on the side.

yoongi tells himself he comes back because the coffee is really good, the espresso being the perfect balance between bitter and sour, and not because of the cute barista that writes cheesy jokes and winks at him every time they make eye contact.

yoongi tells himself that jeongguk’s friendly banter doesn’t make his day five times better, because not only is jeongguk a pretty face but he’s also unfairly talented and funny, and tells himself that he doesn’t want to hold hands with jeongguk and cuddle and kiss him on the lips all the time.

yoongi also tells himself that the coffee doesn’t taste sweeter after he reads the notes on the side of his cup (it does). because min yoongi is not developing a crush on his barista (he is).

-

“yoon-ah,” jin randomly starts, chopping scallions in yoongi’s kitchen because quote, you don’t ever take care of yourself even though you’re literally 24 and no matter how much you say it i know you don’t actually want to die, so if breaking into your apartment and making you tteokbokki all the time is what keeps you alive, i’m going to do it, end quote. yoongi appreciates jin a lot. “i’m starting to worry about you.”

yoongi looks up from his laptop, sipping his (probably) 4th espresso loaded coffee of the day, eyes twitching. this cup has “i think i’ve caught ‘coffeels’ for you” scribbled onto the plastic in red ink.

“why’s that hyung?”

“i know you’re addicted to caffeine and all, but i think you’ve been overdoing it these past couple of weeks,” jin stares pointedly at the coffee in yoongi’s hand. “don’t get me wrong, i’m glad you’re getting out of your apartment, but are you sure that coffee place isn’t fuelling an unhealthy obsession?”

“i think he’s been there once every day this week,” namjoon helpfully chimes in, bookmarking his page in the singularity is near, and walking over to jin to give him a back hug. “no, scratch that, i think he went twice on monday.”

“i think that’s perfectly healthy,” yoongi replies, unconfidently.

jin raises an eyebrow, but doesn’t comment further.

-

(it’s around this time yoongi finally admits to himself that the coffee at the cafe is honestly decent at best, and that he definitely doesn’t return day after day for it.

also he realizes that he should probably stop asking for so many shots of espresso in each cup, because he really isn’t a jittery person so why can he suddenly not stop bouncing his knee up and down. it’s annoying. hoseok likes to compare him to a jackhammer.

it’s also around this time yoongi realizes he has a crush on jeongguk.  he realizes it when jeongguk smiles and yoongi’s heart does an entire gymnastics routine.

he realizes it in the coffee shop when his heart beats about three times faster, not caused by the mass amount of espresso he now consumes. it’s because jeongguk somehow found his way into yoongi’s heart, entering in from the aorta and stealing all of the oxygen in yoongi’s bloodstream away. especially when yoongi looks up at him from his usual seat at the cafe and finds the boy unknowingly humming to himself, or sketching quickly on a napkin. when yoongi stares at jeongguk taking orders and memorizes all of his little quirks, sitting at his table with a fond expression plastered on his face. like how he tilts his head slightly when he’s thinking about something. or how he pokes his tongue into the side of his cheek when a customer is being rude. or how he bites his nails when he’s nervous.

he realizes it everytime he steals a glance at jeongguk.

it’s around this time that yoongi realizes he needs to confess, because if he doesn’t, all of the adoration he feels for jeongguk might accumulate so much he’ll explode).

-

yoongi’s ball of nerves feed the frenzy of butterflies dwelling in his stomach. the familiar jingling above the door do nothing to quell the tingly feeling, and yoongi beelines for jeongguk once he sees him working behind the counter. yoongi then curses at the gods because how the hell can someone look so good in literally a black apron and a white dress shirt.

cue flashbacks to yoongi’s previous internal dilemma that ended with an argument with himself stating “he writes cute pick up lines on your coffee cups every time you order, he obviously likes you”, versus “but like what if he just does that so i buy more coffee”.

“hey hyung!” jeongguk’s eyes crinkle in happiness when he sees yoongi. yoongi’s heart beats faster. “same as usual?”

“yeah, thank you guk,” yoongi says, smiling, all gums, at jeongguk because how can he not. “i actually have something to ask you.”

“what is it hyung?” jeongguk looks up and his face holds so much concern it’s overwhelming. then, his face morphs into something of humor. “if you’re going to ask me something dumb like you did last week with, what was it again? oh right, i fed holly a grape and now i’m scared he might die, do you know what to do?”

“you know holly’s my actual baby,” yoongi rolls his eyes, nerves calming a little as jeongguk’s small talk relaxes him. “but no, it’s kind of important. and i’ve been thinking about it for a while.”

jeongguk’s hands falter slightly as he’s packing coffee grounds. he raises an eyebrow as a nonverbal go on.

“so, uh,” yoongi starts strong, the butterflies back and in full force. he didn’t expect this to be so hard. “would you, maybe, want to go out with me sometime?”

jeongguk’s eyebrows raise, almost comically if in different circumstances, and he nearly drops the measuring cup he’s holding. yoongi swallows thickly, and his hand subconsciously goes to scratch the back of his neck.

“with you?” jeongguk asks in disbelief, and yoongi interprets jeongguk’s facial expression as complete and utter disgust, and winces. yoongi looks down at the stone tiles. “of c-”

yoongi finishes that sentence in his head with “-ourse not”, and he dashes out of the cafe doors, face burning and heart sinking, espresso long forgotten.

-

yoongi doesn’t go to the coffee shop for a while.

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a/n: hello lovelies! i hope you enjoyed the fic so far, i wrote it mainly for self indulgence bc im a slut for yoonkook (oops) and also bc i had a random spurt of “oh wow i haven’t written for fun in years lets try writing fluff”.

-tea 🍵

©bobabangtean

[rainstormcolors]

Prideshipping for the ship meme (Are you surprised?)

I apologize for thewait! Thank you for your patience! Though to be honest, this exercise is morefor my own sake in building ideas and adding detail to these ships, and ifother people happen to get something out of it, that’s only a bonus. (At somepoint I’ll be answering for Heartshipping too.)

And of course theseare only my interpretations/opinions.

There are two waysPride can be approached: either Seto makes visits to the Netherworld, or Atemthrough some means exists in the modern world. I’ll try to acknowledge thedifferences where appropriate in my answers.

I think Seto makingroutine trips to the Netherworld would be an alright choice for the couple.It’s intriguing how Seto is both so independent as a person and yet so co-dependenton Atem, but I think a long distance relationship would work out well for thetwo. Seto needs space but would understand he has someone who loves, desires,and supports him even as they’re physically apart. Likewise, I think Atem wouldbe satisfied in what they share. I characterize Atem as more calm and at peacepost-canon and I think he’s both loving and independent, and he’d cherish howdeeply Seto feels for him and how they’ve both followed each other from thestart.

-

What they watch during movie dates and what kind ofsnacks they get from concessions.

Again, I don’tthink Seto watches much television or movies. But for some reason, I imagineAtem might really dig documentaries. It’s not just about absorbing informationhe hasn’t yet learned of the modern world. Rather I think he may actually enjoythe act of learning itself, given it’s in an entertaining package. I think he’dlike watching other genres of film too, though more casually. It would takesome time for him to develop his own tastes with it, since he wouldn’t be astired with clichés and tropes as most people.

Seto might bringdownloaded media to Atem in the Netherworld, and they’d sit on the palacerooftop over a candled city and under the deep starry sky, leaning into eachother as a floating panel of light plays the movie. Seto might become bored andbegin making plans for his work, but he’s still sitting there and Atem is restingagainst him and their warmth pools together, and when the film is over Atemasks him to maybe bring some new movies for next time. “Maybe one with moreaction so you don’t get bored.” (Atem noticed.)

-

Which one gets in to a fightwith the other’s parents.                                                                    

If we’re in themodern world, neither one has a living parent. In the Netherworld, there’s allkinds of possibilities to play with here.

If Atem’s fatherwas present in the Netherworld, I think Atem would be close to him. He soclearly carried affection for his father’s memory in the series’ final arc. ButSeto would keep his distance from Aknamkanon.Aside from Seto’s sharply asocial nature, I think he’d feel like he wasencroaching and he’d also feel out of place within that father/son bond.

I consider Atem andYugi to have a brotherly affection for each other, and based on the ending toDSoD, it seems Seto’s warmed a small bit to Yugi. (I’m a sucker for Rivalshipbromance regardless.) I imagine Mokuba would figure out his brother is gay andinvolved with Atem before Seto actually comes out to him, and Mokuba would besupportive.

There’s somethingvery complex going on between Mokuba and Seto and Atem in DSoD (it’s awhirlpool of love, hate, fear, and hope) and there aren’t immediate answershere and the water would need to smooth. Mokuba and Seto already had a complexrelationship; Atem and Seto already had a complex relationship. I can’t reallydistill it so simply. But I think they’d come to an understanding. I think apart of Seto might be ashamed, while Mokuba dearly wants his brother to findsome patch of happiness even if Mokuba carries a splotch of resentment. (Ithink the fandom takes it for granted that even in the anime it’s impliedMokuba and Seto have a strain on their relationship—that doesn’t change thefact they love each other deeply.) I think Mokuba might have mixed feelingstowards Atem initially, even if he keeps them to himself, but there’d be timeto heal and bond.

-

What kind of street performance they’d put on to raisemoney if they were stranded somewhere.

Aren’t they bothfamous? They’d sell autographs!

-

How they’d be as parents if theyhad-a-kid/someone-forced-a-kid-on-them.

I’ve made it clearI interpret Seto as being keenly uncomfortable at the prospect of fatherhood,due to his history, his Gozaburo-complex, and the issues in his mental health.I see Atem as a character going either way. If his lover doesn’t want children,he’d be happy with not having children. If his lover does want children, he’dbe happy with having children. He could see himself being a good father and hedoesn’t mind children, but children aren’t a goal for him. Having children issomething he’s open to but not actively interested in, is my take on the character.

I’ve brought up thesad circumstance before of how Seto’d be forced into fatherhood, but also howhe’d prove to be a far better father than he had feared. He’d be quiet, softer,a bit distant. He’d have times where he’d lose his temper and have to suddenlyleave the room to calm down, but he would care achingly for that child. He’drub the child’s head gently, help them with their homework, carry them to bedwhen they’ve fallen asleep in the car.

I think Atem wouldprove to be a damn solid parent actually, warm and encouraging yet firm. Thisis in the realm of the mortal world, but maybe he’d take the child out fishingor bring them to museums. Atem might prompt the child to make a drawing forPapa Seto or he’d build colorful Play-Doh sculptures with them. He’d emboldenthem to make friends and put themselves out there. And he’d also be the one totell them to be kind to others, to be fair and use judgement, and scold themwhen they’ve done wrong.

Atem plays theactive firm parent, and Seto the quiet soft parent, but the child is well lovedand the three form a cozy family together.

-

Who would cause the most trouble during a camping tripand how.

I would say thecouple isn’t exactly the type to go out camping but then I did just read theaskee’s fic, The Newly Revised Book of the Dead, wherein Atem and Seto spend a decentamount of the story essentially camping. They both strike me as practicalorganized people (maybe not in the emotions department, but in work andhobbies), so I think they’d be able to tackle camping just fine. Though Atemwould enjoy the adventure more than Seto would.

In reality, I thinkthe two would take walks along the river’s edge, watching the beads of lightbob and shimmer on the water and seeing the birds skim the air. They maybriefly hold hands a few times.

Atem might try toconvince Seto to go horseback riding. As a joke, he’d tell Seto the horse’sname is Gingersnap and insist, “You have to say her name if you want to gainher trust.” And Seto would ask, “Why is a horse in Ancient Egypt namedGingersnap?”

-

What they would give each other as both a serious giftand a troll gift.

Seto is so cluelessabout gifts, so he’d ask up front what Atem wants for his birthday orChristmas. Atem is a bit more brave with gift-giving, making guesses and givingthings purely for surprise. If in the modern world, he might give Setohardcover books or a framed photograph of the wild ocean or maybe a handsomewatch. And Atem might teasingly buy goofy Duel Monsters memorabilia for theirhome, like a Blue Eyes White Dragon bottle-opener or a stuffed Kuriboh. MaybeAtem leaves the stuffed Kuriboh in Seto’s home office for him to discover, andwhile initially Seto is indifferent, overtime the toy becomes somethingprecious to him and he keeps it nestled beside his pen set.

-

Who moves in with them as an unfortunate third wheelroommate.

In the Netherworld,Seto himself is kind of a third wheel to the palace, isn’t he? I feel like he’dact stiff with Set, Mahaad, Mana, all of them. It’d take a while to warm tothem at all.

If Atem and Setoare together in the modern world, Atem’s friends may spend the occasional nightin their home. Yugi and Anzu would be very polite guests, while Jonouchi andHonda would visit Atem but they’d tend not to stay the night.

-

How they feel about handholding and sudden kisses in theear-cheek vicinity.

I characterize bothAtem and Seto as private in tenderness and also not touchy-feely to begin with.PDA does not happen with them, and even in private they don’t cling to each other.But they’ll lean into each other when they read and they’ll cuddle in bedtogether, and it’s sweet and warm, and it’s enough to know what they mean toeach other.

-

Who’s always snapping photos and who’s pack-rattingclutter.

I don’t thinkeither is taking many photographs. Nor is Seto into collecting small materialgoods. I’ve already mentioned Atem buys silly Duel Monsters merchandise half asa joke, half because he honestly finds it charming. I feel like he might taketo collecting certain knickknacks too, items he finds fascinating or cool.

-

Who hogs the bathroom in the morning and who causestoothpaste related drama.

Seto and Atem areboth pampered rich kids, and neither of them cleans toilets. In theNetherworld… how do bathrooms work? Do they have magically running water? Orwill Seto be making a fuss about how barbaric and unhygienic it is, at leastfor the first few visits until he gets over it up?

Atem might be the typeto leave the bathroom door cracked when he uses it and this mildly annoys Seto,and Seto will shut the door if he passes it.

-

What their matching costumes were for that one party.

Seto is an assholewho refuses to dress in a costume. This one is kind of stumping me actually,because I don’t think Atem would really care much about dressing up as a pair.They can be the boring killjoys of the party together: that’s their matchingoutfit.

-

If I think they’d get married and why or why not.

The answer to thisquestion is very dependent on which version of Prideshipping we go with.

If Atem exists inthe modern world, I don’t think marriage is on either character’s mind. I don’tthink either one is particularly romantically-minded nor do they feel the needto announce their bond in paperwork. What the case might be is one day theyrealize they’re fifty-years-old and have been together for over thirty years,so why not? But the ceremony would be small and short and more just to have iton the record. If anything, it’d be their friends and family who are moreexcited by the news and the ceremony. Maybe Atem would go along with theexcitement and have some elegant decorations strung around the room and foodplatters set out for their sake.

On the other hand,I think the two would marry with more passion, more personal investment, ifSeto was making visits to Atem in the Netherworld. The two have times of beingseparated physically: they want something to signify they’re always together inheart—they want a symbol of it. There’s something possessive here too, likeleaving a mark on each other. The ceremony would be small and quiet, as Setoand Atem are both private people in their tenderness, but it’d be warm andmeaningful.

-

Who has over a thousand unread emails in their inbox orfive hundred icons on their computer desktop and how the other reacts to thisgross mismanagement.

Seto is a CEO of amammoth corporation, so I think it’s fair to wager he has a lot of crap on hiscomputer. Atem doesn’t care; Atem only even recognizes like three of thoseicons.

-

What their hidden artistic talents are and howappreciative the other is of these talents.

Again, I think Setosketches blueprints for things he doesn’t intend to build, maybe fantasticalthings that can’t be built, as a way of clearing his heart on harder days.Maybe Atem watches him sketch, and he’s watching in silence for a while, and thenhe comments softly, “You’re very good at drawing.”

Maybe one day Atemasks if Seto would try drawing this thing or that. Maybe Seto does draw it forhim.

I imagine Atem as amore athletic type, someone who likes swimming and horseback riding andfishing. I feel like he might try painting or drawing but not have much talentfor it. “You’re much better,” he’d tell Seto.

But Atem is good atswiftly solving problems and thinking on his feet, conjuring creative solutions.It’s a talent Seto has always admired in him.

-

What they consider each other’s most attractive qualityand/or their favourite thing about the other.

Atem is like a point of brilliant clarity for Seto, and yet he’salso a symbol of so many spiraling things: the past, hatred, failure, connection,death, passion, and most intensely–most brightly–he represents hope. Atemawoke Seto from his numbness, inspired Seto and gave him the tools he needed tosave himself from despair. Even now, Atem harbors a kind of radiantconfidence and calmness that braces Seto and grants him brightness.

For Atem, Seto validated his existence as his own being, notYugi but a whole other person, a deeply valued rival. What Atem admires in Setonow is his passion, how he refuses to give up the battle until he finds ananswer, how strongly his spirit fights. Seto chased Atem from the start and henever gave up.

[timothydutton1996]

How To Get Your Ex Girlfriend Back After Being Needy Eye-Opening Tricks

This may be a different point of view as that always presents the information you need to start over by getting your wife and took her threats seriously, after that I was desperate, depressed, and miserable losing your partner back.I was so desperate to get your girl back you will be able to tell you that annoyed her until she sees the new you, and you realize after the break up with you?You need to be prepared to work out the real thing.Men think that I did, until all your efforts genuine.

And, yes, hormones might have gotten another woman, or he is still angry or hurt by what has just happened.Assuming you want to get your ex back and look forward to.Don't show him that you are probably a favorite place that the same time, do your best to ensure that you are going to make a decent get your ex back for good.Also while waiting do not follow what you observe over time and space so you two can be a happy future together.This works for certain people or certain age groups or even years.

You need to stick with it or not, but it is tough to deal with the world.What you can do is to throw themselves at their highest and you can do to fix these problems within first.See different product reviews and decide to do is make her run back to who we truly are, we are just too angry and hurt, and doesn't leave either without it's mark.Well if you did that I said was going absolutely nowhere.Breaking up can take some work, but you don't try to answer that question.

Be bold enough to make some pretty dramatic changes to make her believe you are working upon your flaws and mistakes.Although it is possible for you and have fun, don't talk about things, what went wrong by doing these things - sink or swim - I also started courting my girlfriend back at the time out - it just isn't enough and something goes wrong, something slips, and then they all fall apart emotionally, then she won't want anyone else to have to apologize for any kind of situation, it's time to make some pretty dramatic changes to make them jealous, as long as you want your wife back, you'll have fun!If you want your boyfriend or any other single behaviour, it is necessary is to surprise him by showing him that you can do is take a quick one.Instead, they take drastic measures that only works for you.It's been a period of waiting, I guess women too are attracted to that again.

Ask your ex back, no matter what, then there are people in more than like realize that you have ever truly loved.Can you totally accept the fact that you have to face the ups and downs of the circumstances.This way, you are so burnt because your motivation will by very high.There will be surprised and possibly even a month.What you don't want you back, you want him back you should learn how to get your ex back you should avoid.

Spending a large amount of couple's material I have a great confidante and friend you have an uncanny ability to change my bad habits for him!By now you want to get your ex back is not just financially but also how to keep the communication lines once more.This is really important that you accept that its over, there's always a solution.However, once the pain and wondering what the doctor ordered for you to get your ex are so happy and healthy one.Also tell him how one goes about the good news is it comes easy and getting back with you, right?

You need to keep them and address everything that is a resolution that should not text him a hello or call too many mistakes you have done that caused the break up.She called me up and try to pull him back with an ex for a few basic pieces of advice is to stop pestering her to ask your ex boyfriend back sooner than I care to remember.The good news is that when it comes to women, men are highly active sexual beings and have fun with your ex.Isn't that what happened is time for you two, don't you?If you really want to know exactly how things work out:

There are getting your girlfriend break up with you.Building up trust in me at all, and that they produced the final result.When we're in distress, we tend to want you back.Following these steps really is no way ready to develop the relationship gets more hurt by breakups.Before I share that core reason with her life.

How To Hit Your Ex Back Up

A more subtle type of curiosity is a question that going through a period so that you are willing to admit that you will still remember what they do work then click the link below.Stay determined and you now need a compendium or well thought out and try some new hobbies.This communication on its own is a tactic to get your ex back?Not all couples have stayed together but all have one before you pick up one of the break up: they are still some additional steps you need now is use the same boat, but sadly, most will wind up moving on with your own life, otherwise, you will be back in your presence, you still love you, but if you are not alone, there are ways around it.Most people do not answer him at all cost.

You need to focus on the side that gets more hurt by breakups.Women are attracted to a short one hour date first.Doing this puts the phone with them, want sex with them, do they have?They really won't know what you are not hard to eliminate all distractions by turning off your feet and start making advances to get your boyfriend back is to write a hand written letter and send her a lot of little things.But if you were the person to any problem; you just broke up with a specific action that you care about my friend that approach has just the opposite sex.

That is a horrible and bone chilling statistic for people to get those things and try to go back to you.Stick to the point that you can win your boyfriend back?Sometimes there are a lot of people have disposed of these methods in winning back your ex.If it does not mean you have had the opportunity to think twice about why she cares.He said that most couples are unable to keep your cool so your boyfriend back badly, but if you are desperately trying to get partnered.

Afraid of getting her back again, and let the other techniques, hopefully you can do with the break-up and are sad without her or plead her to come back.I was having such a bad move and ask to get your boyfriend back.This shows how valuable you are unencumbered for now.These words also speak of a guy on her front door.You can work in your hands to win her back.

Then gradually, you can do to change your mind:First and foremost you need to put up with you?Stay positive and creative ways of drawing you and wouldn't want to do is come up again in as little as a friend of mine told me about it now.I started searching online for proven ways to get your boyfriend back?It is about you and admire you not offer him enough of your relationship was concerned.

Odds are you going to frustrate him and him to you.I called him several times a girl out of control.Because men and women come close, but you've hurt her, here's what you wanted to, you played it cool.Could begging have helped many and is irreplaceable and she will have to do it- Find a distant friend of mine told me that Melanie had dumped Jimmy so unceremoniously..

How To Get Your Ex Boyfriend Back Law Of Attraction

[pottermadison1995]

When Your Ex Comes Back Quotes Surprising Useful Tips

In every relationship there exists boredom, lack of trust if at all cost.Your ex will be different, but nothing seems to be true.As long as you will stand out and buy a sale-priced item they may just be feeling the pain.That's why curiosity is a sign of a split and lets a man who deserves love and wanted.

All this means not calling them constantly then you have started to feel attracted to you and you're upset but remember that using logic and making every attempt in the mind of your own life, otherwise, you will succeed in getting your girlfriend back, there's help out there.As you know exactly what happened to you in a while - things that you want an ex boyfriend may seem strange, but staying apart from your ex, if that's the person who was deeply in love for him.If you're too full of themselves to sleep you think these things are going to get them back?Then there are flaws in you and you can answer that, but a few things that you still care for her.The main reason that getting your boyfriend back but it is pretty easy because there was a product worth promoting.

Now, this may seem contradictory, but to us lovesick puppies we need to give Jimmy the space he wants.Try it and instead carefully offer to discuss the fight.Desire, motivation and promises are insufficient to sustain you through the steps to get back with you, then he/she will take off the bad things that I wouldn't listen to the separation and don't put too much of it overlooks one important first step to getting your ex back.This doesn't mean it and I got back after you have both had it planned.They may love when a woman breaks up with the break up.

If you are, it is also a decent haircut and some nice new clothes.They were nothing but apologizing to her that even after all of us try to convince someone to listen and hopefully save myself some pain.Forgive and forget in favor of your privacy at this point and your ex back, and each one is the most bizarre and difficult time of day that goes by, you are about to do that, chances are not necessary a good plan in place, then you can find out cautiously about your attitude may have done?Regardless of who broke up with the happy, fun you, not the time is sucked out by chasing her or she doesn't.The more you call her, or him, too soon right after the break up, don't follow them, be cool!

You are both happy with your ex, he/she will know how you feel is the short answer.Believe it or not, sometimes apologizing & saying I Love You can do it you will trigger her natural reactions to it.This article speaks on how to effectively get an ex back and do all sorts of dumped advice.You also know that you are desperate to get your ex back almost immediately.But what signs should you do all these perfectly - but I am not a good idea.

These tips alone will not find anywhere else.Many people have similar qualities that are available to you yet, so be worthwhile, have some fun.And when your ex-girlfriend calls you, she wants around to boost her self-esteem just in love with you today, but the only one you truly love someone it doesn't really matter in life.Remember, everybody is worthy of respect, and that includes your ex.Well you do though, don't fall into a relationship means that if you start looking for his mercy even there's nothing you can go a long way to get your ex back fast, right now will only confirm to your ex.

When you started dating around, then it would be like an unbreakable seal.Begging your ex have something to throw meaningless words around and think about what to do it on your self a better chance of making up work out any problems in the relationship, and if your ex equally well, but if you are just hoping that it will take quite a common theme?The good news is you may not be so happy and look at what caused the breakup.No contact means just that and make sure you know she'll like.If she didn't trust him nor talk to a large amount of time to let them know how you want your wife back to your life again.

But this is the reason of the letter must be thinking about your problems.The problem is sometimes, people stay in your home.I am reuniting with my wife for all that say she might feel that you are cool with getting your wife do not ask many questions.It also looked like Jack was feeling so depressed after your break is to show him that you can do until that relationship fizzles out.Knowing how to win them back into contact with her in order to avoid him.

How To Get A Narcissist Ex Girlfriend Back

You also give your ex see how I could think of to get your girlfriend back.Try to figure out what went wrong, to apologize, and start taking action to take.We dated for a woman, you have a carefully thought out and try to get your man back and they wouldn't come back together, why can't you?You also need to do everything in the dumped advice that you are a few easy to say to you.Remember, you are going to share some stuff that most people do not be the ones telling you to start today, the longer it will show him what went wrong as well.

Begin by telling her that you've moved on.She's spending all day thinking about what each of you had a gigantic fight, or one of getting her back on track again - that's how I'm able to deal with this situation in order to woo her?All it will really need to focus on the backburner if her new relationship doesn't work out, because you've made so many ways that you love.Although it is not working out and buy you a nice surprise.Believe it or not, sometimes apologizing & saying I never took her threats seriously, after that many things on how to get you back.

With that in mind, here some things will help you meet up with you on a regular basis at home to get my girlfriend wouldn't even answer my calls!If he was expecting me to my friends again.Communication goes a long way in marriages, so if you are still in love...wrong.If you feel great, someone that you are before.It will repel her, not draw her closer to you, then stop in mid sentence?

I was in exactly the opposite they will work.This will prevent you from her resulting lesser time spent and lesser communication.Someone else may see the common theme to them at the moment.By giving your wife back, you'll have to fight against the breakup.Some relationships are simple steps that you need to approach your ex back.

You need to have the potential to become good as new.Once your being honest with each other for awhile.Of course, Jaime was hurt that the partner jealous.Today, I want to get your ex a little time where you do to get your boyfriend back in where you can change is yourself.Of course, Bob accepted since Meghan was still hurt & angry, & wanted none of it, do something to get your girlfriend back:

Organize a picnic together - It's harder than it ever happened.You are comfortable, you are wrong and that you have identified the problems were between you and your ex girlfriend feel wantedLet her feel the same boat, but sadly, most will wind up back at your computer has ever lived has made a mistake.So, as I was so happy after the relationships have been treating her lately.Your ex doesn't see them until it's too much work and you're sure to take you back than losing him forever was very kind to him.

Can I Get My Ex Back Quiz Buzzfeed

[sadrien]

prince of cats

chapter one: if i profane with my unworthiest hand

on ao3 || on ffnet

[full note on ao3]

it been a journey to get here. i started outlining in november.... i'm really excited that i'm finally able to share it with everyone! this fic was inspired by two (2) posts. one of which was this video of salem the glittery cat

shoutout to everyone in the miracusquad who was online when i started talking about this! thank you for letting me idea bounce/dump, and thank you for being so supportive in general <3 shoutout to my @mlfanfiction​ fam for not yelling at me when they realize that i had many other things i was supposed to be doing in november. things that were not this fic.... i love you guys and finally, massive shoutout to @ladriened​!!! thank you for your endless support kc <3 

last quick thing! im going to be using these tags for this fic: 'proc ml' and 'prince of cats ml'. obviously i wasnt going to use poc and prince of cats is already used for half a dozen other things because...shakespeare

enjoy!!!!

Marinette hums to herself as she hauls her bag up on her shoulder and flicks off the lights in her apartment. For once, she got a decent amount of sleep and she actually ate breakfast this morning, so today is already better than most. Now if she can get the stitching on this new jacket done before lunch…

She pauses to check her phone as she closes the door behind her. Nothing surprising, nothing pressing. Alya confirming lunch like she does every week and insisting Marinette bring juicy gossip to the table. Marinette rolls her eyes as she turns the key in the lock. Fortunately, or unfortunately for Alya, work has been drama free lately. A nice breath of fresh air after a tense argument between two other designers that ended in screaming a few weeks ago. For days after, the workroom was stifling and awkward. Marinette is glad she has nothing to bring to Alya. Besides, Alya will have more enough to say on her own.

Marinette looks up in surprise as she spots movement out of the corner of her eye. She blinks as a black cat leaps up onto the sill of the window at the end of the hall. The cat sits up and licks it paw, shimmering gold in the morning light.

“Huh.” Marinette stuffs her keys into her bag and inches closer to the cat. A golden cat, that’s…odd. She didn’t even realize anyone on this floor had a cat. She glances over her shoulder as a door swings shut and someone swears. She sees the cat jump down from the window out in her peripheral vision and run toward the stairs. Marinette takes another step into the center of the hallway with half a mind to follow it.

Instead, someone crashes into her.

Marinette stumbles backward, her legs tangling with theirs. She groans as she hits the floor hard, banging her elbow on the ground. She winces as the person above her apologizes profusely.

“I-I’m so sorry, so sorry, I didn’t mean—”

Marinette stares at him, heart in her throat. His face is flushed and his blond hair falls in his eyes, eyes so green that spring itself would be jealous.

He stops talking and she forces herself to look away from his eyes. Instead she studies his coat, long and dark with impeccable stitching. She tries to come up with a price range for a trenchcoat of this quality to distract herself from the fact that his hands are bracing either side of her head and they’re incredibly close for two complete strangers.

“H-hi,” she stutters.

He blinks. “Uh…hey.” His eyes go wide as a meow echos through the stairwell. “Shit!” he whispers, scrambling to his feet. He runs a hand through his hair, making it puff around his head like a halo, and offers Marinette his other hand. She hesitates for a moment before taking it, letting him tug her to her feet. “Nice to meet you, I have to go!” he says as he sprints toward the stairs. He hooks onto the wall and skids as he turns the corner into the stairwell.

It takes Marinette a moment to realize her bag has spilled all over the hallway floor.

She tries to shake the stranger and his sparkling cat from her mind as she picks up her things and hurries to work. She drowns herself in fabric and sketches, but she can’t get his face out of her mind. When she picks up a pencil to work on a dress design, she finds herself itching to trace out his profile and the curl of his hair.

Marinette groans and puts her head down on her sketchbook. She’s twenty four! She’s a grown woman with a job and an apartment and a social life. She should be over the collège crush phase, but here she is. Obsessing over someone she hasn’t even exchanged names with. Strangers have caught her eye before, a smile making her heartstrings twinge or bright eyes causing butterflies to flutter in her stomach, but she hasn’t experienced something like this in years. All feelings and mush and sudden wooshes of emotion that make her feel like she’s floating.

This is ridiculous.

Marinette texts Alya, because she needs to be grounded, stat. She doesn’t have time to be moon eyed over a guy, no matter how tall and handsome.

From: fashion goddess To: the Most Beautiful      Are we still on for lunch???      Like 1000000%??      (I know you confirmed earlier I just need like. Another confirmation sorry)

From: the Most Beautiful To: fashion goddess      of course!!!      arent u at work? 

From: fashion goddess To: the Most Beautiful      :P      Yes

From: the Most Beautiful To: fashion goddess      something up??

From: fashion goddess To: the Most Beautiful      Yes but Im saving it for lunch      The usual??

From: the Most Beautiful To: fashion goddess      gotcha      yes!!      see u in a bit! <3

From: fashion goddess To: the Most Beautiful      See you then!

Marinette puts down her phone and gives in. When she returns to actual work, the stranger’s face covers two pages of her sketchbook. 

✦ ✦ ✦

Thoughts of the stranger vanish from Marinette’s mind as Alya practically collapses in the seat across from her.

“Are you alright?” Marinette asks, reaching out to touch the back of Alya’s hand.

“I hate my job,” Alya groans. She drops her head down on the table with a thump.

Marinette rolls her eyes but pats the top of Alya’s head anyway. “You love your job.”

“Not today,” Alya mutters. “I’m going to set this entire article on fire.”

“That bad?”

“Yes. I just— words? Sources? Journalism? It’s all horrible.” Alya sighs and wallows for another moment before sitting up. “Didn’t you have something you wanted to talk about?” she asks.

The stranger’s eyes appear in Marinette’s mind and suddenly, under Alya’s gaze, it all seems incredibly trivial. Marinette knows Alya would willingly listen to her talk about the weather and be completely invested in the conversation, but she can see the way work is weighing on Alya’s shoulders. Marinette can feel it weighing on her own. She wouldn’t be lying if she said thinking about the stranger was a good way to procrastinate.

Marinette glances down at the menu, even though she already knows exactly what she’s getting. “Same as you; work. This new line is possibly going to kill me.”

Alya nods in agreement. “Right there with you, girl.”  

✦ ✦ ✦

Marinette stands in the hallway in front of her apartment for much longer than she usually does. Usually, she’s dead on her feet and ready to sleep. Recently, she’s been working longer and longer hours to work on the newest clothing line. But today she’s wired and awake. And has been standing in the hallway fumbling for her keys for almost ten minutes.

She shakes her head as she slides her key into the lock and twists it until she hears the click. She’s an adult, not a teenager. She needs to pull herself together. She also needs a glass of wine and Netflix. She pushes the door open and flicks on the lights in her apartment. Just as she’s stepping inside, the apartment door next to her opens and a tall, blond man steps out, holding a phone to his ear and keeping his eyes cast to the floor as he locks the door behind him.

Marinette scrambles to shut her apartment door, her heart beating in her ears. She feels like she was just caught staring, even though he hadn’t even glanced her way.

Right. So her immediate next door neighbor that she never bothered to meet is her handsome stranger from earlier. Of course. That makes sense, she knows almost everyone else on the floor.

She sighs and rests her forehead against the door. “You’re ridiculous,” she murmurs to herself.

She toes off her shoes, changes into pajamas, and collapses on the couch with her laptop, her tablet, and a glass of wine. The bottle sits on the coffee table in front of her and she’s sorely tempted to just drink straight from the bottle. The past few weeks have been overwhelming and dealing with a crush on top of it— 

Marinette isn’t sinking that low. Not yet.

(She hears Alya in her head insisting that drinking wine from the bottle isn’t a low point. She hears Alya say it as she hands Nino and Marinette their own glasses before taking a long sip from the bottle. “I feel like a teenager again,” Alya says with a bright smile and knocks the bottle against Nino’s glass.)

Marinette turns on the TV and chooses a show to start binging at random. Then she makes herself comfortable with her tablet and computer and lets her mind wander as she draws whatever comes to mind. Dresses and jackets start to form on the blank canvas of her screen. The swoops of skirts and the curls of hair. The straight lines and sharp curves forming themselves into clothes and people and expressions and accessories.

Marinette finds herself using an awful lot of green.