#Usually I just go 'ah I guess I don't have muse' and feel fine

[nightmarecountry-a]

ah apparently this is the kind of day where I write one (1) reply and fatigue grabs me by the throat

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

Code of Conduct 2

Warnings: this fic will include elements, some dark, such as cheating, noncon/dubcon, and other untagged triggers. Please take this into account before proceeding. It is up to curate your online consumption safely.

Summary: your boss has a difficult time keeping his personal life from bleeding into his work. 

Characters: Steve Rogers, this reader is known as Rosie.

Author’s Note: Please feel free to leave some feedback, reblog, and jump into my asks. I’m always happy to discuss with you and riff on idea. As always, you are cherished and adored! Stay safe, be kind, and treat yourself💜

💼Part of the Bad Bosses AU💼

"This is a nice place," you look around a the brunch bistro and rub your arm. The upscale venue isn't your usual joint. You're a grab and go girly aside from your girls' nights. 

"Peggy likes it," Mr. Rogers spreads his shoulders wide as he peruses the menu in his hand, dwarfing the patio style chair, "I'm more of a pub food guy but guess it's a bit early for that." 

"Oh, well, thanks for bringing me," you smile, "I... I don't eat out a lot." 

“No?” He wonders, “guess it’s no fun eating alone,” he chuckles and tilts his head, “kinda why I asked you to come.” 

“Uh, yeah, I don’t mind so much but I’m a homebody. I like to sit at home with Mitzy and knit.” 

“Mitzy?” He narrows his eyes, “so not a husband, a girlfriend. 

You chortle, “my cat.” 

“Oh,” his cheeks tinge a little pink, “right, the picture on your desk.” 

“Yeah, her,” you smile broadly, “she usually steals my yarn though so I don’t get much done.” 

“That’s cute. Peggy doesn’t like pets,” he sits back and puts down the menu. “I cat sat for Bucky for a week back when we were engaged...” 

“Mr. Barnes has a kitty?” 

“Don’t let his hard exterior fool you, he’s not as bad as he looks,” he scoffs. “So...” he slaps his chest and drags his hand down to his stomach, “getting peckish? Whatcha thinking of getting?” 

“Hmm,” you lean forward and browse the offerings, “maybe the beet salad.” 

“Beets?” He makes a face. 

“Uh, yeah, my mom always used to have beets. I dunno.” 

“Oh yeah, you’re close with your mom.” 

“Was,” you keep your eyes on the menu, “she... passed.” 

“Uh, wow, I’m sorry. I...” 

“It’s fine. Oh, reminds me, I sent your mom her flowers for the month. Lilies.” 

“Ah, thanks. Yeah, I should call her,” he says, “but lately, I just haven’t had a chance. Every time I do, it’s just another argument with Peg--” 

He stops himself as the server returns. Your chest pangs in sympathy. Peggy hadn’t sounded happier earlier. You wonder why. Marital stuff. You’re not so sure you ever want to find out. 

“Do we know what we want?” The pretty redhead smiles. 

“Ladies first,” Mr. Rogers gestures to you. 

“Oh, sure, um, could I get the beet salad?” You say. She scribbles on her pad and looks at Mr. Rogers. 

“Ah, sure, I’ll get the roast beef with the caesar salad, dressing on the side please,” he smiles and offers his menu, “oh, and a refill on the coffee.” 

“Sure thing,” she takes both menus and heads off.  

You turn your attention to the window and look at the flower boxes just on the other side. Your eyes wander up to a passerby walking a tiny white dog and you grin. You continue to watch the world pass by, a serene glaze rolling over your vision. 

As the waitress returns with the carafe to fill Mr. Roger’s cup, you sit up and blink away your haze. He smirks over the rim of his cup and sips. You give a guilty shrug. 

“Sorry.” 

“No, it was... it’s fine. You looked... peaceful,” he says, “what are you thinking about?” 

“Nothing, really, croissants.” 

“Croissants?” He muses as he places his mug on the table. 

“Yeah, for next weeks meeting. Croissants or scones.” 

“Both?” He suggests. 

“That works,” you agree. 

“Hm, you look like that, thinking of work?” 

“I was thinking but not,” you say.  

“Right,” he nods and looks down glumly. “Wish I could get my mind to stop.” 

“Mm, I guess... I guess you’d have a lot to think about.” 

“Well, I can’t complain, you take care of most of it,” he runs his fingertips along the cup handle, “you really do just make everything easier. I never have to worry about you, Rosie.” 

“It’s my job,” you trill. 

“And you do it well and with a smile on your face. Some days... that smile keeps me sane,” he says. 

It’s your turn to blush. He can be so cheesy. You’re quiet, not sure what to say. You should thank him, maybe? 

“Well, what about a gift basket?” You cheep. 

“Huh?” Confusion lines his forehead. 

“Oh, my, sorry, I was thinking out loud,” you giggle and sit forward, “for Mrs. Rogers? She seems stressed, you too. You could send her a surprise and maybe... maybe take her somewhere nice. Not a restaurant, too busy but—but--” you keep yourself from rambling and press your fingers to your lips as you cup your chin. “Sorry.” 

“No, no, I like it. A gift basket, yeah, chocolates?” 

“She likes vanilla lattes so maybe a gift card too? She can treat herself.” 

“How do you know that?” He asks. 

“She always sends me for one when she comes in,” you shrug, “I’m more into the cinnamon dolce myself.” 

“Cinnamon, hmm, me too,” he agrees. “Where we you thinking I should take her?” 

“Oh, now I think of it, it might be expensive,” you cringe and drop your hand to the table. 

“She’s my wife, I shouldn’t worry about the money,” he says, “so?” 

“I’ve never been but um, like, a spa? Or maybe a massage place? A couples’ massage? Get the tension out?” 

“Mhmm,” he nods and his eyes narrow, “that isn’t a bad idea.” 

You grin and twiddle your fingers restlessly. Now that you can smell the kitchen, you are pretty hungry. You jitter your leg under the table as Mr. Rogers toys with his tie. 

“Too bad,” he says, “any man would be lucky to call you their wife. Maybe one day, huh?” 

[kleinstar]

☎👋😍✔️👂

RELATIONSHIPBUILDING (NOT ACCEPTING)

☎ for your muse’s info in my muses phone (name, ringtone, picture, last text received/sent).

Name: Quincy!!! (maybe he adds a heart or five later hehe) Picture: a picture of quincy napping he snapped one this one time - he'd change it sometimes but its usually him napping regardless, topper is there too Last text sent: [txt] ate this today let's go together next time (text seen ) [txt] im bringing these to topper today ok? *picture of treats* (text seen) [txt] *another very mundane text about something (text seen) ....AND SO ON IT GOES LIKE THAT FOR A LONG TIME maybe some noes or yesses here and there, cut by calls etc. Eiden's actually pretty fine with left on read when it comes to Quincy really, if he sees it that means he's probably read it unless its incomprehensible wall of text or something lmao

👋for three things that describe our muses relationship. i struggle(d) with this one for no reason aaaa itd be cool to do more abstract stuff but im so bad at that

long naps after busy day

nights under starry skies before fire

scent of home

Send 😍 for my muse to tell yours three things they love about them.

" Hehe, ehehe.... Just three things? That's funny! I can say more but I don't know if I feel like counting! "

" I mean saying looks is like almost cheating, too easy but I mean have you seen him --- whaa ? You haven't huh? But also like there's that whole gap with how he looks or even acts sometimes and then how he actually is! I mean nobody's perfect so there's some truth to that too but he really is actually really gentle, attentive, kind and reliable... All of that! He's also really skilled in practical stuff and you know survival skills and all of that and he always teaches me even when I'm not doing so good!! With him being like that he's really good with kids and of course with animals it's like some snow white stuff if snow white was a hot guy? "

" And uh... how do I say? You know since I'm like ... kind of busybody I keep sometimes taking up a liiiiiiittle too much stuff - I mean not as much as I used to, I've become a little better at taking care of myself - but that guy reaaaaally makes sure I relax right? I'm sure it's on purpose sometimes but sometimes it's probably all unwittingly too.... I don't know if I noticed it myself.... "

" --- ah but that should be all in past tense okay? But I guess he still is all that so maybe not? Hehe. Anyway that's why I'm here so hehe - will you pretty please throw me something a little stronger than that? Something sweet though, I don't like bitter stuff ok? " this is probably eiden @ bartender already just a little bit tipsy, before quincy was eventually called to pick up hehe

✔️ for a daydream my muse has had about/involving yours.

He can see the water pooling down from the hose, pressing down the dirty blond hair continuing to broad frame wetting his shirt. His shirt would be all white for this, revealing all so easily... The way the fabric would stick to his skin, complimenting the shape of his muscles. As the hose would be pulled off he'd sigh all worn out but content in the fight for summer heat.. He'd brush his weathered fingers through the wet hair and maybe pull the t-shirt's hem up just a little ... Through the shirt you'd be able to see the pecs and the pink hue visible through.

Then he'd look at him and approach --

" Wait Quincy nooo... We're in public surrounded by all these people-- "

" ..... I'm leaving you here. "

It wakes Eiden up and quick he runs to Quincy, explaining himself in rapid fire pace that Quincy doesn't really seem to bother in deciphering.

Behind the two is left the ad looking for participants for an event in the summer. In big clear letters reads WET T-SHIRT CONTEST.

Send 👂 to overhear my muse talking about yours.

" Oh it was really cute - since he's so big kids would climb over him and all, and he'd sigh but then end up taking them around like it's nothing and -- "

" ---Quincy! When did you appear there? I was just bragging for you! "

[emmetrain]

Falling: What does your muse think about falling in love or commitment? 

Change: What was a turning point in your muse’s life?

Disease: What does your muse do on a sick day?

Number 13: Does your muse believe any superstitions? 

Noise: Name one sound your muse finds absolutely unbearable.

Fear-Themed Headcanon Questions

Falling: What does your muse think about falling in love or commitment? 

Answered before, so I get to pick songs from my Emmet playlist >:D Emmet falling in love summarized (he probably would sing this if the Battle Subway was a musical, Abel and Alex are not safe from being pulled in for the song);;

When He Sees Me

I stick with real things Usually facts and figures When information's in its place I minimize the guessing game Guess what? (What?)

I don't like guessing games Or when I feel things Before I know the feelings How am I supposed to operate If I'm just tossed around by fate? Like on an unexpected date?

Is what if when he sees me, what if he doesn't like it? What if he runs the other way and I can't hide from it? (Ah) What happens then? (Ah) If when he knows me, he's only disappointed? What if I give myself away, to only get it given back? (Ah) I couldn't live with that (how do you live with that?)

So, I'm just fine, inside my shell-shaped mind This way I get the best view So that when he sees me, I want him too

But still I can't help from hoping (in hope for love?) To find someone to talk to Who likes the way I am Someone who when he sees me Wants to again

Also, on Emmet falling in love, I offer this song as well;;

The Manic- Amarente

There's a pain I'll carry with me Through the days I will dream Of losing you And losing me I'm not the man that you will need I've let you down entirely You're better off You're better off I'll let you go You're better off Kick me out and let me go You don't need me, I'm an angry soul Shut me out and lock the door You don't need me

Overall, Emmet wants the romance, but is deadly afraid of commitment and love before making sure the other person is enthusiastic + right person. If he believes the other person would be happier with someone else (verrry healthy thinking he does on behalf of his crush), he will put some distance and bury his feelings definitely.

Change: What was a turning point in your muse’s life?

For our main verse, of course it is Ingo's disappearance. Emmet's optimism and naivety took a big hit when it happened, and his self-worth took a nosedive. Emmet before this, in Twin Trouble verse, is a happier, more naive and positive person. A lot more cocky and reaching for the stars.

For his backstory, it is the day Emmet realized Ingo was the victim of their parents as much as Emmet was. Before that realization, Emmet took Ingo as the golden child of the family and had resentment building up for his twin.

Disease: What does your muse do on a sick day?

:) There is no sick days. None. (You can imagine Emmet forcefully dragged by Ingo from collar at this point.)

Emmet is a troublesome patient; his denial can frustrate anyone. It does not matter how severe his condition is, Emmet will NOT be derailed. Which means even if someone managed to make him rest, Emmet will be grumbling and frustrated, trying to argue with the person that he is fine. Can he go now? x10

However, if the sickness is very very insignificant, Emmet will still be “spoiled-rotten baby brother” who will demand all of Ingo’s attention, whining and grumbling.

If you hear Emmet talking about how sick he is? He is healthy with a mild headache and just in for the attention. If you hear nothing and he is uncharacteristically silent? Rush him to hospital, he is dying.

Number 13: Does your muse believe any superstitions? 

Emmet's long hair is due to his superstition :) He likes having long hair, but wanted a change and cut it short to match with Ingo. The disappearance took place shortly after, and Emmet trying to make sense of this situation, decided he had "cut Ingo's life short and brought misfortune" by cutting his long hair.

He is not going to cut his hair until he gets his brother home, safe and sound. And even after that, his fear stays.

Noise: Name one sound your muse finds absolutely unbearable.

Crying. Especially children crying.

It brings back terrible memories, and he will be, for the rest of the day, completely on edge/more flighty. He will absolutely rush to help and/or cheer the little one up with little stickers and stuff. But he cannot stop his old wounds from being opened.

[k-dokja]

resolve (your relationship's problems before going on) TV | 1/2

You've spent much of your afterschool hours and weekends at cram school as of late.

If you have to mention any upside of this place, it's that many of the students around you share your grievance about the packed study schedule. Even if you know you won't keep in touch with many of them once university comes around, their comradery during these trying times is precious anyway.

Although, if you have to point out the best things about them, it's their complete ignorance about your boyfriend. You love Taehoon, you do. But, your friends at school have used him as ammo to tease you one too many times for you to feel comfortable bringing him up with any stranger. Never mind that his reputation has a habit of painting the wrong image about him.

You won't deny he is a thug. (Was. Is. One of the two.) You won't deny that he used to bully people either. (One would argue he never stopped.) Yet, he has proven to be capable of changes in these recent months. You, as a girlfriend, cannot be prouder of him, but even then, you do not want to reveal who you are dating.

You have been surrounded by rich, pampered children for long enough to know they will become gossipmongers at any given chance. It will be a cold day in hell before you willingly feed them with anything to latch on to.

You won't hide the truth when confronted, of course. However, lying by omission has always been the gentler and preferable crime. Though, in any case, Taehoon has long lost his desire to have a channel, which makes you worry less about his publicity. Long as this continues for the rest of the school year, you don't have anything to worry about.

"Hey, are you okay?"

Drearily, you glance up to meet the worried eyes of a classmate at cram school. You fail to put a name to their face at the immediate moment, but from what you remember about your previous interactions with them, they've always been nice.

Relaxed because of that reminder, you fix on a smile, the mask of politeness, "I'm fine, just a bit stressed about the upcoming exam, you know?"

They smile in return, far more genuine than you, "I can understand, I have been studying forever and it doesn't get any better."

"Yeah? Do you know which school you're taking the exam for?" Even if your mind is plagued with other matters to worry about, you take them up on their conversation. "I'm still thinking about my options, it'd be nice to hear another perspective."

That is a lie, but you succeed in goading them to talk about their problems instead of yours. You make a noncommittal hum, once again lost to your inner musing while they go on about their studying plan. Every now and then, you make a well-placed noise of agreement and smile at the correct part.

However, your mind strays towards Taehoon again. You haven't seen him much since the new school year begins. Since your teachers get even stricter with the final year, you haven't gotten many chances to talk with him either. You should send him a text message soon...

"Oh, what about you? What are your options?"

When the direction of the discussion comes back to you, you pretend to think it over when in reality, you're only trying to remember the question. "The usual, you know, SNU, SKKU, I'm also looking at Yonsei's clinical medicine options."

"Ah, there's a few others in our class who are also—"

Your attention strays again. However, this time, it is not where you predicted. You glance towards another desk in front of you. A few students, male and female, hunch over the phone of another female student. It is not unintentional that you look that way. Indeed, there's a reason for everything, and this is yours.

"Seriously? Han Gyeoul is back again?"

"I heard this has an affiliation with Yoo Hobin company."

"Yeah? No wonder why they have this many views already."

To that interruption, even your companion gets distracted. "Hm, those fighting channels are really popular nowadays. I guess it's not a surprise our classmates get into it, too."

You smile at the mention of your friends. Despite not having a lot of chances to catch up with them, you're glad to hear that they're doing well. "Yeah, it's—"

"Gyah ♥ It's Seong Taehoon!"

"Oh my god, Taehoon is on this new channel!"

"Seriously?! What's the name of it?!"

"Resolve TV!"

The.

Wut.

You move before you even think, sticking your head into the crowd of students gathering in front of you. Thankfully for the excitement of others, your own flabbergasted attitude doesn't draw any suspicion.

One look at the screen of the other student's phone, your fear is confirmed true. None other than the aforementioned Seong Taehoon appears. In fact, from the look of it, he has somehow collected the money from the thugs shown in the streaming.

You run a hand through your hair, plopping back down to your seat. Belatedly, your companion reminds you of their presence. "You're interested in that guy?"

"Huh, what?"

They smile awkwardly, a bit bashful, "Seong Taehoon?"

Well, it is apparent that not everyone missed out on how you reacted. "Ah, well," you mirror their expression, "I thought they mentioned somebody I know."

That is not a lie. However, you are under no obligation to explain the entirety of it, in spite of what their urging eyes tell you. To escape from the situation, you pull out your phone and shoot a quick message to Taehoon.

[ Resolve TV ??? ]

[ Seong Taehoon ??? Explain ??? ]

No answer comes. It is expected, he's currently on the live stream after all. Before you have a chance to hold any grievance over him, your teacher enters the room and effectively settles down any commotion ongoing, whether it comes from the stream or otherwise.

You sigh, putting the problem out of your head. Whatever this is, it can wait. For the moment, you have physics to review.

[mxvladdy]

THE WAY YOU FILLED YOUR FIRST REQUEST SHOOK ME?!?!?!? YOU BLESSED US!? Would you mind also imagining how Mammon, Luci and Belphie would feel with a MC who's guarded with themselves and their feelings to avoid hurt, so they try to keep these brothers at a friendly arm's length as they don't believe the brothers don't really care about them? It would make me so happy, thank you so much!

EEEEK! Sorry for the wait. It took forever and a day to get enough time to seat uninterrupted and then try to edit ;.;

I hope you like it! Apologies if I didn’t get the prompt just right!

Mammon

He didn’t hide his disdain for his human protection duty when you first met. The fact that you kept him at an arm's length was a devil’s blessing. Good! He is a busy demon after all, he doesn’t have time for some human. At first.

Then he caught the feels and it’s all downhill for him at his ‘cool devil’ act. Not that you ever NOTICED.

He tries to flirt with you. Before you, he thought he was good at it too.

He’s never had someone so civil with his advances. You smile and laugh politely at whatever complement he throws at you. You might even give him a few back in a teasing, but clearly friendly manner.

You stress it heavily whenever he comes on too heavy with his advances. You stamp down whatever feelings he evokes and try to keep your line clean and precise in the shifting sand of your relationship.

He takes you out one evening after school, determined to get an actual answer from you over some made up snack he lied about. You don’t think anything of it, happy for an excuse to hang out. You walk and talk, not taking notice of his steadily reddening face as he keeps making swipes at your hand each time it brushes his.

You make an off-handed (get it) remark about the closeness and offer to walk behind this was bothering him.

He is miffed and throws out all semblance of “coolness”. Just flat out confess. Face flaming hot from embarrassment and sweaty palms now shoved into his jacket.

It was a blink and you’d miss it kind of moment. Mammon’s cheeks start to heat gradually. A staunch look of panic growing behind his eyes.

The words just slip off his tongue. His lips forming a sentence you were dreading. You didn’t quite catch it all; his declaration lost in the wind of the open market. You try to catch his gaze, to make him repeat himself clearly, for what purpose you didn’t know. You don't particularly want to hear it again, yet it would give you time to compose some kind of response.

He refuses to look at you. No matter which way you bob and weave beneath him, he dances around you. His face always looking in the opposite direction of yours. His gaze permanently pointing at his feet. The uneven cobblestone beneath his scuffed boots was suddenly very interesting it seemed. "I'm sorry? I didn't catch that." You ask once more, grabbing on to the crook of his elbow.

He buries himself deeper into the flipped collar of his coat and whispers it again. "I-I like ya, ok? Like like like ya know?" He stumbles over his thoughts.

Now how in the hells were you supposed to dodge this? It had been easier to evade his blatant affections when even he wasn't admitting to them. "No, you don't." You step away with a dry chuckle. "Don't be silly." You back away shaking your head in denial. You were sure Mammon could feel your heart rate picking up. You need some space, more space than the street could give you. Somewhere away from your tall, sweet, white-haired problem.

"Oi!" He makes a grab for you as you turn to flee. He spins you around leaning down to meet with you face to face. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"We are friends Mammon," You try to wiggle out of his strong, yet gentle grip. "You're just mixing up the feelings." Bullshit. With him touching you, your joint pack acted like an amplifier. You very much felt what he thought of you. The yearning from his newfound mental clarity mixes with the panic of your rejection. It makes a bittersweet taste bloom in your mouth, so hopefully yet reserved.

He was not so lucky. Your feelings felt like ash on his tongue, a sour tang of fear and self-doubt building on his sense. You were afraid of the inevitable, or what you presumed to be the inevitable.

  You were supposed to be friends then disappear forever once the school year was up. Him, down here, and you back to being just another nameless soul in the human realm. No need to get the storyline all tangled. "Hey-hey," Mammon speaks in a rush. "It ain't like that, really." He coos shuffling you closer till you are wrapped tightly in his soft leather jacket. He pours more of himself into the pack, opening himself up in ways he never thought capable of from his demonic form.

"I'm stupid." You speak into his chest. The warm reassurance of his unspoken pledge soothing you. It lessens the tight feeling of uncertainty that you had grown accustomed to.

"Ah- now, ain't that supposed to be my job?" The taste in his mouth dissipates slightly as you let out an indignant huff. He flinches as you poke his side hard between his rib cage.

"Told you to stop talking down on yourself Mammon."

The demon hums noncommittally keeping you close. He rocks you both from side to side, oblivious to the throngs of other pedestrians forced to walk around you two. "Guess I forgot. Maybe you could remind me? O-on a date?"

He smiles down at the little sliver of your face and eyes peeking up from the darkness of his jacket. He could damn near feel the smile trying to break from your forced scowl. "Just one?"

"Heh- don't bet on it."

Lucifer

Welcome to the ultimate game of pleasantry chicken. The two of you know this dance by heart, but your footwork isn't synching up.

Lucifer is trying to keep this whole debacle as professional as possible. You are an esteemed guest and pact holder for all of his brothers and himself. This should be business as usual. He totally has his emotions and growing frustration at your lack of interest in him in check.

Yup. He's fine. He's great; glad you two have such an unspoken understanding of your standing in his company and in the house. The same book, same chapter, same bloody page.

You are a good friend. Just. A. Very. Good. Friend.

He breaks first. Not that he will admit it. But the weekly coffee breaks become a bi-daily thing as he tries to court you. He draws these evenings out now. Have you finished your schoolwork? No, allow me to tutor you. Perhaps you would like to listen to this new vinyl with me tonight? It is a complete demon rendition of Wagner's Die Meistersinger. A classic, you’ll love it.

You take it all in stride. Thanking him innocently enough and going along with it. You buffer every little turn of phrase and slightly off-color hint of what he wanted from you with grace. So tactfully done he begins to doubt himself. You couldn’t be misconstruing his intentions right? He hasn’t doubted himself like this in a long time.

Diavolo catches on quickly to the kicked puppy look Lucifer tots around in your presence. He’ll tease, but try to help. He’s a decent wingman truth be told. “How has Lucifer been treating you? I haven’t seen him this happy in ages. He is a great friend to have, yes?” Kinda backfires when you agree that he is indeed a good friend. Oops.

He’ll crack one night over a glass (or bottle) of something strong he pulled from his study. You had slipped into his room unannounced asking for a quiet place to read before bed.  The interruption to his musings leads to him running his mouth and pile driving his pride into the ground.

He can’t say no to you anymore. He really should. You were hell bent on keeping him at an arm's length, so he should too. Lucifer watches you like a hawk from behind his desk. His ungloved fingers swirling the dregs of his drink. The cognac inside of it looking up at him, his scowl reflecting in the rich red liquor. Don’t judge me. He scoffs at himself, was he that far gone that he was arguing with his glassware? Should have switched to the bottle hours ago.

“Luci?” You say again waving a hand in his face. “You forget to sleep again this week?” Your smile was warm, a little twinkle in your eye drawing a heat to his collar that had nothing to do with the spirits. You sit on the edge of his desk in your sleepwear. The baggy shirt and sweats reeked of his brothers.

“No.” He lies pushing his desk chair away. “Did you need something?”

You shrug hopping off the desk. “Not really. Wasn’t feeling movie night. You ok if I hang out here? It’s nice and quiet.” You slink off to the couch in front of the fire before he could answer.

“You could not do this in your room?” Lucifer snips. He tosses back the rest of his drink and rises to his feet. He grimaces at the burn spreading across his throat. “I’m sure it is quiet in there too.” He catches your eyes looking over the back of the lounge. While everything lower than the bridge of your nose was blocked by the black velvet he could feel the frown growing on your face.

“Well, yes. But I still want some friendly company. Just not rowdy company, I thought you wouldn’t mind...”  

Devils. There was that word again. "You assume to know me?" He cannot hide the venom lacing his words. The liquor had dulled his senses enough that he could not hide his rancor.

“I’m-” You leave the chair coming around it to give him your full attention. This wasn’t like him. Not anymore at least. But you were used to the odd mood swings that plagued your companions. "I don’t assume anything about you Luci. But if you want to talk-"

“I don’t want to have some idle friendly chit chat.” He could feel the tantrum coming. “Have I not proven myself capable of-” His jaw snaps shut with an audible click that echoes across the spacious chamber.

“Of?”

A noticeable blush grows on his pale cheeks. “More.” He sighs deeply, he feels light-headed at the admission. Whether it was from the drinks or from going against his nature and swallowing his pride he couldn’t tell. “Am I not enough to be more than a friend to you?”

That takes you by surprise. You had speculated that he harbored feelings for you. Diavolo all but cementing the idea in your mind. But, this was Lucifer. It felt like just yesterday you were at each other's throats, before he recognized you as something other than a threat to his family. You wanted to respect that little bit of trust he had given you. “It’s not like I never thought about it.”

“But?” He perks up slightly hearing the unspoken word in your inflection. He could see your apprehension yet there was a shimmer of something else underneath. Something he could work with.

“I was- I am scared.”

“Finally, a reasonable response from being around demons.” Lucifer snorts.

“Hey! You know that’s not what I mean.”

“No, I don’t. Explain it to me.” He invades your space waiting to see what you would do. Run or stay. He would have his answer either way. You don’t move, instead, you wrap your arms around yourself. Guarding yourself yet standing firm. One of the many reasons why he admired you.

“I feel like we just became friends. I didn’t think you felt the same and I didn’t want to mess this all up.” You confess. “I just thought it would be easier this way.”

Lucifer absorbs your words quietly, nodding at the logic behind them. “Messes are not something I generally like true, but," He reaches for you, careful of your defensive stature to lead you back to the couch. “If you are willing to iron out the bumps with me I’d like to see what we can make of it.”

If it meant he could have you he would take as much time as you needed.

Belphegor

It takes him the longest to notice that you were trying to keep him at arm's length emotionally. It was hard for him to see at first since you still readily accepted his invitations to snuggle and hang out.

He thought he was very blatant with his desire for you and your affections. The head pats and evening is the planetarium or his attic.

The fact that he had apologized for that little murder mishap. He thought that was a big bright neon sign. Yet you always seemed to try to invite someone else along to chill or leave quickly after an hour or so. As much as he loved his twin and tolerated his other brothers he was trying to get you ALONE.

He starts trying to see you outside the house now too. Lunch in the cafeteria? Pffft. You are going to eat and nap with him in the courtyard. After School activities? Could you help him with some council stuff instead?

Yes, he will go out of his way to do work if you are involved.

You are still too closed off though. You act around him like you do around any of the other brothers and it drives him crazy. You are just so friendly and cordial with everyone. How come he is the only one that becomes a flushing mess now?

He becomes your second shadow, almost as bad as Mammon. You start to get an inkling of his intentions when he starts wanting to sleep in your bedroom at night instead of his or the attic. You let him but offer up the couch or split the bed with a pillow.

He snoops when he gets desperate. Did you like someone else? Was that why you were constantly acting like his advances were just him being overly friendly? He doesn’t find anything, you act like this around everyone else too.

He gives up. Stops interacting with you entirely. He is 99% sure he can sleep through the next century without being bothered. Maybe he’ll get over you by then.

“Belphie? You up here?” The demon in question opens a bleary eye to his locked door. He should stay quiet, leave you hanging. Give himself some vindictive pleasure in snubbing you.

“Hai~” He rises from his nest of blankets and pillows. “Hold on.” Unlocking the door he opens it ajar. You smile around the large stack of books and binders in your arms. “What is that?” Please don’t say homework.

“Work you’ve missed sulking up here.” You confirm his worst fear. “Satan and I thought we would spot you a bit though.” Belphegor watches you struggle for a second to pull a folded piece of paper out from the middle of the stack. “We got most of the answers done for you. Now you just have to fill the worksheets in with your handwriting.” You wave the paper expectantly.

Hearing his brother’s name makes him sour immediately. How long had you been hanging out with him now? “Thanks, leave them at the door then.” He goes to shut the door and return to his dreamless slumber but it’s blocked by your foot.

“Ouch.” You wince hopping back on one foot.

“Idiot! Are you hurt?” He wrenches the door open crouching down to take a look at your sock-covered foot.

“Nothing I can’t walk off. Though my arms are getting sore- weak human muscles an’ all.” You hint wiggling the stack in your arms. He takes the work this time, still eyeing your foot. “Relax, I’ve stubbed my toe with more force than that before.” You whisk by him, using his brief moment of distraction to slip by.

“Did I invite you in?” Belphegor eyes you with a frown. He kicks his door close and dumps the pile of papers on his already over-encumbered desk. Hmm. How many days had he missed?

You ignore him plopping down on the still warm sheets. “Nope!” You pop the ‘p’ with a grin. “But that has never stopped you from sneaking into my room. So fair trade all around.” You pat at the bed, clearing inviting him to join you. “Come on. I’ll help you finish that work then we can chill.”

Oh, now you want to hang out. He felt a rush of bitterness wash over him.  “Don’t you have something better to do?” If this keeps up he’ll need another nap, alone preferably. “Doesn’t Asmo need a shopping buddy or something?”

“What’s gotten you all worked up?” You frown, hurt by his accusatory tone.

Belphie shoots you a wounded look. "We never hang out anymore." He sulks. "Alone, I mean. I'm tired of you always inviting Beel or someone else with us."

He glances over to you idly thumbing at one of the books on his desk. It's frustrating. This game of touch and go he accidentally got himself into. Ugh- why did this have to be so hard. "I want to spend more time with you. Just us, so why are you always avoiding that?" 

"I.” You look down at your feet dangling off the side of his mattress. “I’m sorry you feel that way. I just felt like- like things were going off the rails between us.” You weren't oblivious to his advances.

He cocks his head in confusion. "Mmm? What are you afraid of?" You read a flicker in his eyes, a haunting memory of cruel fingers around your neck darken his gaze. "Ah-"

"No! No that's not it!" You panic waving your hands up. Of course, he would immediately go to that. "I'm just worried. I know you like me, and-just what if things don't work out? What if you realize what a mistake this could be?"

Your admission gives him pause. So you knew this whole time? Not surprising; he wouldn't fall for someone stupid. "So, are you admitting to liking me back?" He feels giddy when you nod, covering your heating face with your hands. " Well then, what’s the problem? It’s not a mistake if we both are making it.” He grins slyly. “How can it not work out if the feelings are mutual.”

“But what if you are mistaken?” He wraps you up into his arms, flopping you both over onto his messy bed. He takes one of your hands and places it on the top of his head all while burying his nose in your neck.

“Please,” He yawns, feeling his body grow heavy. “I don’t waste my energy on ‘mistakes’.”

[ssamie]

ten. love is war!

oikawa tooru x fem langa!reader

(hq x sk8 the infinity)

warnings: spelling mistakes, swearing, 2k+ words, u have langa’s blue hair sorry

gen masterlist.                  "snow" masterlist

oikawa grumbled under his breath as he walked alongside of y/n. normally, he would be more than happy to be hanging with her so casually. but that certainly wasn't the case at the moment, seeing as, not only is iwaizumi with them, but also the five other friends of hers

"hey hey, where are we going exactly?" oikawa whispered to her

y/n peered back at him and smiled "well, we're just going wherever. it's been pretty long since i last saw my friends, after all" she said "but you can stay behind if you don't wanna come with oikawa-san" she said with furrowed brows as she took notice of his grumbling

oikawa took one quick glance at reki and grumbled even more as he shook his head "no, im coming with!" he huffed 

y/n nodded and chuckled sheepishly "okay, oikawa-san.. tell me if you need anything" she said 

"hey, actually.. am i even allowed to be here?" oikawa asked with a look of dread as he looks around them 

joe, cherry, miya, reki, and shadow were casually chatting along and yet he felt a little left out. 

"of course, oikawa-san" y/n reassured him with a smile "why? do you feel awkward?" she asked him. she then averted his eyes towards iwaizumi and mused "even iwaizumi-san is getting along with them quite well" she said 

oikawa sweat dropped and followed her line of sight "that's cus he's bonding with joe over some weird crossfit stuff!" he exclaimed. oikawa sighed and stared longingly at his best friend "even miya likes him" he playfully cried "all that kid does is bully me and call me a slime" he sulked 

y/n sweat dropped and chuckled at his antics. "well then, you can stick with me if you want" she mused. "i won't let you feel left out, oikawa-san" she chuckled "since you did the same for me when i fist joined the team, remember?" she smiled 

oikawa stared up at her with comical tears flowing down his cheeks and beamed "thank you! you're the best, y/n-chan!!" oikawa cheered 

y/n laughed as the brunette hugged her arm and leaned down to rest his head on her shoulder. "you look silly oikawa-san, please stand straight" she sweat dropped as she struggled to walk with his towering form clinging onto her 

oikawa laughed and did as he was told, though still keeping their arms locked together. "dont be like that, y/n-chan~" oikawa cooed "y know you love me" he grinned cockily 

y/n chuckled and sighed "sure, oikawa-san. whatever you say" she said 

from behind them, reki watched with a smile as she and oikawa goofed around. he's always happy to see her so lively and becoming close with new people, after all. 

"well..??" miya mused as he gestured to the two with an expectant look 

"well what?" reki tilted his head in confusion 

miya rolled his eyes and pulled him down to his height to whisper "aren't you gonna do something?" he asked 

reki furrowed his brows and let out a sheepish laugh "what do you mean?" he asked "what do i need to do?" 

miya sighed in exasperation "you're so stupid. no wonder you can't go up from your position as a slime" he said 

reki huffed and ruffled his hair, making miya groan in annoyance "don't call me stupid! also, what're you even on about?" he said

"what're you gonna do if she suddenly gets together with him?" miya asked him 

reki blinked in response and let out a nervous laugh "what..? what kinda question is that?" he mused 

"and what kind of answer is that?" miya spat out in annoyance "you know what? whatever" he said "just don't blame anyone but yourself if y/n suddenly finds a new best friend and gets a boyfriend that isn't you" miya sneered 

reki frowned and hit him in the head, making miya whimper "shut up! she won't do that" reki said with a meek laugh 

reki peered up at her, watching as she listened to oikawa with a weary look on her face as he rants to her about something stupid with his usual charming but cocky grin. 

"she won't do that." he muttered to himself. "she promised."

soon, all of them had arrived at some random restaurant since y/n and reki had been complaining about food for about an hour straight, and frankly, cherry has had enough. 

"y know, you probably should've declined adam's beef" reki mused. y/n raised a brow and looked at him in confusion "what? why?" she asked "i won either way.." 

reki sighed and turned to look at her "well yeah, but adam's totally nuts! and didn't you promise you won't skate with him anymore?" y/n gulped and looked away from him "i did promise that didn't i.." she mumbled 

"well, it's whatever." she waved it off "it already happened. besides, im totally fine!" she grinned 

reki watched as she went to grab some of the food, only for her to wince as her wounded hand grazed the hot bowl. "ow" she winced under her breath as she cradled her hand 

reki sweat dropped and laughed at her "see? what'd i tell you" he mused as he went to grab her hand "here, let me see—" 

he couldn't seem to finish his sentence since he was beaten to it by oikawa's interjection. "tsk tsk, y/n-chan you gotta be careful you know?" oikawa playfully scolded her as he grabbed her hand and gently massaged her palm to try and ease the pain down 

y/n huffed and nodded along as she let's oikawa hold her hand for a while longer "sorry, oikawa-san" she muttered as oikawa playfully pokes her cheek to annoy her 

"hm." reki pursed his lips as he let out a low hum, watching the scene play out with partial confusion and annoyance 

"haha! be careful next time!" reki exclaimed with a grin as he ruffles her hair and pulled her closer to him, making oikawa loose his grasp on her. "yeah sorry" she grinned sheepishly as she looks up at reki with reddening cheeks 

reki side eyes oikawa and sends him a smile, to which the brunette responded to with an irked and painfully forced smile in return 

"haha, well then.." oikawa mused "here you go, y/n-chan" he said as he held a sushi before her with his chopsticks "you should let me feed you since your hand's pretty messed up" oikawa suggested with a smile 

y/n looked up at the brunette and then down at the sushi and eagerly nodded. "okay!" she said as she went to chomp on the sushi, only to be met with nothing. 

"eh?" she mumbled in confusion as she stares at the chopsticks which were now empty 

"actually, i'll do that!" reki interjected with a sweet smile as he snatches the sushi from his chopsticks with his own "here, y/n! say 'ahh!' " reki cooed as he held it to her with his hand cupping the underside from crumbs 

"oh.. um.. okay?" she muttered in confusion as she turned to face reki with her cheeks slowly heating up "a-ahh" she smiled nervously as she went to eat the sushi, only for it to be snatched away once again 

"my my, reki-kun~" oikawa cooed with an irked smile "you shouldn't pass around people's food" he said "now it's all mushy and gross" oikawa stiffly laughed as he put away the sushi and reached for a new one 

reki took a deep breath and sent him an equally irked smile as well. "ah is that so?" he chuckled "my bad.." 

"have this instead then, y/n" reki said as he reached for a dumpling and held it to her mouth 

"have this instead, y/n-chan~" oikawa cooed as he held the sushi to her mouth as well 

"oh..okay.." y/n sweat dropped as she looked at the two boys beside her with a look of dread. "actually, maybe i'll just finish my drink for now—" 

"ha, see! she didn't want the sushi anyways! haha what a shame!" reki cooed as he taunted oikawa 

"well apparently, she's also not in a dumpling mood, is she, reki-kun?" oikawa cooed back through gritted teeth 

as the two boys telepathically argue, y/n sat quietly as her stomach grumbled, wanting nothing more than to eat at the moment. 

"geez. those two slimes really are a good-for-nothing" miya said with a sigh. he then turned to y/n with a smug cat-like grin and held his chopsticks out for her 

"guess i'll have to feed you instead" he cooed with an evil laugh  

y/n beamed and happily munched on the food, "thank you, miya" she said with a smile as she lets miya feed her the meal 

miya chuckled and sent the two boys a smug smirk. reki and oikawa deadpans at him and huffed. "did he just." oikawa muttered "yeah he did." reki replied

"just how long is this gonna go on for?" shadow sighed as he watched oikawa and reki subtly shove each other by masking it with friendly smiles and conversations

"dunno, but im enjoying this!!" miya exclaimed as he happily let's y/n feed him as well

shadow deadpanned as he watched the boy purr and roll around like an over joyed cat. 

"well of course you are" he sweat dropped

"man, just how long til we get there?" reki groaned out as he shuffles around in his seat

"but it's so boring! why can't we just skate there" reki huffed as he reluctantly planted himself still in his seat

"you're not a child. stop acting like one or im kicking you out of this car" cherry said in annoyance

"because it's too far and everyone here will pass out from the heat" cherry responded with a sigh "also.. if its so hot.." he trailed off. "then why are you two cuddling as if its the peak of winter?!" he exclaimed as he gestured to y/n and reki, who was pressed against each other as they both practically melt into a puddle

"because reki said he missed me" y/n replied "so i wanted to comfort him"

cherry peered down at her with a grimace as he took note of her sweat drenched face, and her meek smile "you're sweating all over the seats. that's disgusting." cherry deadpanned

"but i don't want reki to be sad" she reasoned

"he looks perfectly fine to me" cherry shook his head in exasperation "and you." he averted his eyes towards miya "what are you doing?"

miya looked back at him and grinned sheepishly "we're bonding, don't you see?" he cooed with a playful scoff

"bonding?! who the hell said that?! get off me!" oikawa exclaimed as he tried to pluck miya off of his lap 

"we're bonding!" miya hissed at him "it just so happened that theres an ac directly above you, so this position is necessary" he said 

"piss off, catboy" oikawa playfully scowled at him "if it's so hot then take off that damn cat hoodie you have on!" 

"no way!" miya exclaimed as he tried to pry away oikawa's hands, thus causing more chaos within the car 

"hey stop moving around!!" shadow scolded them  from the driver's seat "and you two love birds! stop sweating on my seats!" 

"we're not sweating on them!" reki exclaimed 

"its practically river back there, shut up redhead!" 

cherry had a look of dread on his face as he managed to just sit and endure the whole thing. though that was soon ruined as he turned to look at joe and iwaizumi, only to find them arm wrestling like a bunch of crazy gym freaks. 

"arm wrestling? really?" cherry scoffed in disbelief "in the middle of a car ride? in a moving vehicle?" 

"dont worry kaoru!" joe mused "im totally beating this kid" 

"yeah right" iwaizumi grinned as he slammed joe's arm down with a look of triumph 

"what the?!" joe spluttered "no way! kaoru! he cheated i swear!" he exclaimed 

"i don't care" cherry grumbled back "hey, step on the gas and just take us there for christ's sake" he said to shadow with a weary sigh 

"geez, no need to tell me twice" shadow replied 

"WOAH!" reki and y/n cheered as they looked around the empty skatepark "SO COOL!" they exclaimed as they ran around the open space 

"how'd you find this, oikawa-san?" she asked the brunette with sparkling eyes "i didnt think miyagi even had skateparks!" 

reki perked up and faced him "girls? do you have a girlfriend already or something?" he asked the brunette 

"oh? you like it here huh?" oikawa mused "then let's go again sometime" he suggested "also, one of the girls at school told me about it" he said 

"i don't" oikawa replied with furrowed brows "why?" 

"no reason" reki cooed as he have oikawa a friendly pat on the back "just thought it'd be weird to be so close to y/n if you have a girlfriend" 

"but you don't so it's fine.. totally fine.." 

"oikawa-san is very popular at school so he has a lot of fangirls." y/n explained as she skates past them

"popular?!" reki exclaimed in surprise "you're popular, oikawa-san?!" 

"huh? so what if i am?!" oikawa huffed in response "and why are you so surprised?!" he narrowed his eyes at the redhead. "well i didnt think you would be famous like that" reki said with a laugh "well i guess it makes sense since you're an athlete and all" 

oikawa sweat dropped and peered down at him "i can't tell if you're mocking me or if you're being genuine" he said 

reki smiled at him and sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck "im being genuine" he said "its cool that you're a big shot athlete already at your age. you're probably really talented too" reki said "you're pretty admirable, oikawa-san . i can see why y/n enjoys being with you" reki let out a soft chuckle 

oikawa's eyes softened at his words and awkwardly shuffled in his place. "you're pretty cool too, reki-kun" oikawa admitted with a sigh 

"im kinda jealous of you, actually. you don't even have to try and yet.." oikawa trailed off as he watched y/n look at reki with love filled eyes from afar. 

reki looked at him and tilted his head in confusion. "yet what..?" he asked 

oikawa shook his head and waved it off "nothing, nothing. nevermind" he chuckled "just go skate or something" he said "i'm staying here" 

reki grinned and playfully slapped his back. "don't be like that!" he laughed "you're the one who brought us here, so you gotta join in on the fun!" reki beamed as he dragged oikawa over to the rest of the group 

"oh? have you two finally made up?" cherry mused as he watched reki drag oikawa around, while the brunette complains about the wind ruining his hair. 

"made up? but we never fought" reki mused as he got in his skateboard 

"you say that as if we didn't have to sit through your passive aggressive exchange during lunch" shadow sweatdropped 

"eh? what'd you mean?" reki cooed "your memory's going stale, old man shadow!" 

"im only twenty four!" shadow yelled back 

"over already?!" reki whined as they reluctantly followed them to the car 

"well, its already dark" iwaizumi said as he stretched his arms over his head. "and we've been here for hours"

"hes just sad cus he hasn't skated in forever" miya sneered as he skated past them and placed his board into the trunk 

"fine" reki sighed in reply. "hey, was it fun?" he asked oikawa, making the brunette shrug. "it was fun, yeah.. though falling on my ass wasn't exactly the greatest" oikawa replied 

"exactly! let's just stay here for a while!" reki pouted. "we can skate again tomorrow, reki" y/n said with a smile as she patted his back reassuringly 

"don't worry, oikawa-san! you were actually pretty good!" y/n complimented him with a grin 

"yeah yeah, you flatter me too much!" oikawa chuckled as he nudged her playfully with his shoulder 

"anyways, im pretty tired." she yawned. "i think i'll just sleep on the way home" she said as she entered the car and sat down on the leather seats 

"..." 

oikawa and reki side eyed each other, shuffling on their spots as they send each other one last 'friendly' smile before sprinting towards the car, trying to claim the seat next to her. 

"what the hell" iwaizumi deadpanned as he watched them push and shove each other as they fought for the seat beside her "i thought they made up already" iwaizumi sighed 

"and are they really that dumb to not realize she's sitting in the middle." miya chimed in as he peered at the two with a grimace 

"you can sit on both sides, slimes!" miya yelled at them 

"oh right" they both muttered in realisation as they quietly take their seat on either side of her. 

"ehem." reki fake coughed. "y/n!!" he cooed at her with a beaming smile 

y/n looked over at him with tired eyes and smiled back "yes reki?" she asked as her cheeks gradually heat up

"if you ever wanna sleep, you can use me as a pillow" reki suggested with a grin as he patted his shoulder 

"me too! but im probably more comfortable since reki-kun here would probably poke your eye out with his spiky ass hair" oikawa cooed with a sweet smile 

y/n spluttered as she looked back at oikawa with a look of disbelief "what? his.. his hair?" she muttered 

"awh! but oikawa-san, you might suffocate her with the amount of hairspray you have on to keep your hair in place!" reki cooed back with a giggle 

y/n sweat dropped and nervously looked at the two boys as they continue to smile and beam at each other despite their awfully insulting words. "i see.." y/n nervously chuckled. "well, i appreciate it" she said 

"no problem!" they beamed at her

"its been half an hour." miya commented 

"yeah." iwaizumi nodded along "what's gonna happen next? i think i know." 

miya hummed and side eyed them. "y/n's asleep." he muttered in a deeper 'narrator' type voice 

"i see." iwaizumi nodded 

oikawa hummed to himself as he slyly watched her head slowly starting to fall and instinctively lean against somewhere. "wow. this ride's pretty long" oikawa mused 

"her head is falling." miya said. "i see." iwaizumi replied.

"mhm." reki nodded 

a soft sigh could be heard as y/n's head slowly falls towards reki's direction, causing a smug smirk to form on his lips 

"the slime won." miya clapped quietly, with iwaizumi sulking for his friend 

oikawa gritted his teeth as a vein popped out of his temple out of frustration. he swiftly grabbed her head and dropped it down to his own shoulder, waking her in the process from the sudden pull 

"what the..?" y/n mumbled as he looked up at oikawa in confusion 

"nevermind! the other slime won by force!" miya commented as he glared at oikawa while iwaizumi smiled proudly 

"what're you doing?!" reki exclaimed as he grabbed her head and forcefully rested it on his shoulder instead 

"im letting her get comfortable, that's all" oikawa mused as he placed her head back onto him 

"reki?! oikawa-san?! what are you guys doing?! " she frantically asked as she felt her head being shook around, and her neck coming close to snapping 

"shh! sleep!" oikawa shushed her as he held her close and gently ran his fingers through her hair. "i- why are you guys pulling on me?!" she shrieked out 

"okay that's enough." cherry sighed as he turned around to hit both boys on their head with his fan "let the girl rest. and stop fighting." he sighed "just sleep altogether or something"

"how?!" 

in the end, oikawa and reki ended up resting their head on her shoulder while iwaizumi rests peacefully beside them. miya, however, was sprawled out on top of them with his head on y/n's lap and iwaizumi holding his legs down to keep him from slipping 

all in all, it was a cute sight, and whether they admit it or not, joe, cherry, and shadow definitely took loads of pictures. 

"geez." joe sighed 

"these kids are making me feel old" he mused "when was the last time we were like this, kaoru?" he asked as he gestured to their sleeping figures. 

"since never." cherry deadpanned "not once did we ever do that" he said, making joe sweat drop 

"sheesh, atleast play along or something" 

sorry for the spelling /grammar mistakes if there are any :>

idk if this is good i'm so sorry 💀 

[worldsover]

Dal Segno ft. Chuu

length ✦ 3570

genres ✧ music making; oral fixation; facefuck; subby!Chuu

✦✧✦✧✦✧

Composition is only fifty percent of the process, you've heard, but it's closer to ten for you. For the importance of a solid melody and chord progression with the right instruments and singer, a song becomes less than the sum of its parts with bad mixing because all that effort goes to waste when you can’t hear something, or when something is too loud, or when a certain je ne sais quoi is wrong. But you do know. You don't have to be a chef to be a food critic but it certainly helps. Avoid muddling the lows as it waters down the soup. Carve space in the highs to prevent too much salt from killing the taste buds. Have at most five sounds at a time or else the flavors clash. Focus on these basic techniques to guide you as repetition wears down your mind. Funny. Repetition legitimizes especially in music yet here you are fatigued by repetition as though you weren't down four cups of black coffee. Repetition legitimizes. “From the sign,” the translation reads. Notation, simply instructing a musician to return to a certain point in a piece. You recognize it as an intro song you wrote years ago.

Glass and foam separate the undersized room. Cheap ramen and dampness in the hot air contribute to the odor. You would keep the fan on, if it were worth the extra time filtering out faint noise from recordings. The only scent that keeps you sane is a slight strawberry flavor lingering in the room. Jiwoo. Your muse. A large clock holds both of its hands near one with the lack of natural light muddling whether it’s AM or PM. Studios were always underground man-caves whether they were discount rooms or the signature workspace of the biggest producers. Here you are in the former. Look down at the Macbook and all the wires, sliders, and knobs. Deep breath. “Take 63,” you say into the cheap control room microphone.

“Not good enough.”

“Again.”

“One more.”

Look up. Jiwoo sucks on a grape lollipop. You stare. Watching her fixated on getting all flavor out of the purple sweet derails your flow state. See, work had a rhythm. Listen, volume up, hotkey to copy this clip, volume down. The obvious innuendo sends you offbeat. That perky butt bending over to get a notebook filled with lyrics entrenches the folds of your brain. She didn’t have to wear that skirt. You’ve seen that skirt already and you wish she weren’t wearing it. Oh, you really wish she weren’t wearing that skirt. Guilt sets in. You’re a trusted coworker, she, a naive girl. It takes a while to find your groove again. Your stare has yet to cease until she finally returns the eye contact with candy still in mouth. Her pink tongue laps to secure all the sugar and red pillows engulf the ever-shrinking circle. Pop. Anyone else and it would be calculated action.

“Oppa." Her voice resounds in your monitor headphones. "I don’t know if these harmonies really make sense. Why did you write the second voice to cross down below the main line? Plus it goes so low."

“To be fair, you wrote both of those melodies and you said you wanted them in the same song. Tell me anywhere else they’d work.”

“Ugh, let’s figure this out later. Next song.“

Dozens of takes later and Jiwoo’s frustration causes her to make mistakes. Sometimes she even tries to start singing with the sucker in her mouth. For the character she plays, you know she’s a professional and that she can be better. Yet hours later, she still could not get the vocal runs right. Incomplete songs bloat your project folder: "Jiwoo - Mania", "Jiwoo - Look Closer", "Jiwoo - Untitled Idea 21". Just a small side project that the company approved during another ample period of break time between comebacks. That’s why the director didn’t even let you use the company’s facilities, instead opting to rent out this cheap closet of a studio. At least no one would be mad about the amount of time you spent recording together.

You shift seats from the leather office chair to the white lovechair, the only two pieces of furniture that fit comfortably in the room. Jiwoo follows suit and leaves the recording booth, really more of a phone booth in square footage, while she huffs and puffs on her candy.

“I’m tired, oppa,” she says.

“Me too, Jiwoo. May I remind you that I’m not getting paid extra for this. Are you gonna focus or what?” your voice just a few cents down, just a bit harsher.

“I, I’m sorry.” A lick anyway. Her meek tone disappears, “Ya! You know how good your royalties are gonna be. Sole producer and all that. Plus, here you are still doing all this work for me." Why were you working so hard on this? "You know, if you just taught me how to use Ableton-”

“Then I’d be out of a job.”

Jiwoo frowns, “Wow, selfish much? You could’ve joined me as a trainee.”

“Nah, no way. Fish dance better.”

“Shut up, oppa. You would’ve easily made it with your, um, musical talent.” She clamps down on the lollipop with her mouth.

“You good? What was that?”

“Let’s," she stands promptly, "get back to recording.”

Crack. Jiwoo bites down on the lollipop and throws the stick in the trash. In ten minutes, she nails the verse she spent hours trying to get right. It'd be really nice to know what catalyzed that rally. You'd ask but driving Jiwoo back to her dorm is quiet as usual.

✦✧✦✧✦✧

Make a good impression on someone, anyone, on your first day as a mixing engineer. That’s why you returned to the Blockberry Creative building with an extra bar of Melona in hand. A simple bribery. Light beamed down between two skyscrapers on a short girl with long hair and strands of bangs adorning her forehead. She stood outside the lobby, introducing herself to every passerby. You had to pinch her cheeks, the intrusive thought screamed.

She scurried up to you. “Hi! I’m Kim Jiwoo and I’m going to become an idol!”

Ah, a trainee. You already knew she was destined to become one. Well, not literally, you weren’t in charge of that. But her overflowing charm was impossible to ignore. You had to tease her though, “Are you sure?”

“Hey! What would you know about that, mister?” she said.

You bit down on your mango. “Mister? First of all, I’m only a high school senior,” her lips rounded in surprise, “And second, I’m your new audio guy, and I know for a fact they’re debuting you girls in order of talent.”

“Woooow. Well, I’ll have you know, I have a great voice!” She certainly spoke lyrically.  “Wait a minute, I didn’t know they hired people that young.” You pointed at her. “Okay, I’m in high school too. But that’s different, idols start this age.”

“I guess. I’ve been making music ever since I was a kid, and they liked what I had,” you said and Jiwoo nodded in understanding.

She fluttered her eyebrows. “Sooo, is that mango ice cream for me? Oppa?” A little surprised she already called you that, but it sounded right.

“No, I have this unopened strawberry-” Jiwoo snatched the half-eaten cold treat from your hand, and started licking it. Trouble she would be.

You spent many recording sessions together, alone after all the other members left. She cozied up to you because her little musical snippets had to become full-fledged tracks and you helped her out every time.

Something changed over the years however. Your interactions became colder. It felt like you were the only one who she would respond to in a deeper voice. Jiwoo wouldn't pepper you with silly acts or mess around. Maybe she took you more seriously which is how you managed to make more songs together regardless. Then, you stood idly by and watched her debut. Who didn't love her? But when she was with you, you missed the playfulness, the ice cream and her riffing over your playful guitar strums. It turned less of a hobby and more of a job though you never regretted any second with Jiwoo regardless.

Under the Earth's largest natural satellite, you shared a simple meal in black bean noodles. She was still in her hippie outfit from the comeback, and you handed her your jacket since it was cold. You realized, there was something else there that you were too inexperienced to notice. Your bodies' radiation replace the chill in the air, a bubble with just the two of you eating on the grass in a park near your dorm. A cliche slurping on one noodle and Jiwoo pulled away. In embarrassment, like a damn anime character, she hiccuped. Good thing you didn't close your eyes when you leaned in.

“Wanna make an album together?” Jiwoo says.

“Sure.”

You threw away the noodles’ package and escorted her home. That was all you expected anyway. Fine.

✦✧✦✧✦✧

“That’s enough!”

Three goddamn weeks. It's been three goddamn weeks and you've barely made any progress.

Barge into the booth, slam the door shut and raise your tone, just below a shout, “I've had it up to here! You know how many of my songs have been mashed together in some unholy quest for your perfection? Just one unknown something is missing and either you start complaining or we move on to the next."

She backs up from the mic to the insulated wall but you continue, paying no heed to her, as you spout your piece to the artificially cold air, "You know how much time I’ve spent outside working on these songs? These are songs I’ve saved up over years. And you trash them like they’re nothing. How do you even manage to record LOONA tracks?”

Regret sinks in. This was your passion project as much as hers. Was it frustration from the recordings? Weeks of the same routine and it took until now for you to give in to your temper.

"It wouldn't even be that bad! If you could just one time, you could be cute or cheerful again with me, or,” Fuck. So stupid. You don’t have to take your friendships for granted like this. You’re lucky enough she treats you as much. “Hold on. Wait, I'm-"

Examine her face. It’s not sour and she hasn’t stormed out or even slapped you.

“No, no. You don’t have to say it. I’m. I’m sorry oppa.” She looks down. “I'm the one messing up after all." Her heartbeat a harsh snare drum. "And you. You're. Different. Looking at you always made me feel some, something funny. Not funny but? Ugh. I wish I could explain it.”

You hold in your confusion.

She blabbers on, “Like, are. Are you mad? I promise you, I,” A nervous breath, ”I like you. Okay?"

Your confusion grows like the length of your silence.

"I’m just acting how I really am with you. Do you want to maybe, I don't know, like," her voice decrescendos, "Um. Punish me?”

Your heart, your brain are deprived of blood as it all rushes down. Did you hear that right? Not an apology, not retribution, but a call to punishment? Misinterpreting her, the consequences would be dire but that damned demure tone for such an erotic request. Was Jiwoo the exact type of slut constructed in your mind? The one that made you feel sinful for even imagining. No, no, there's no way.

Too late. Jiwoo must have noticed the absurd bulge now. It had to be these Adidas pants today. Fuck it. Life can’t be lived fully without risk. Hopefully, the same switch turned in her mind. You remove all ire from your face and say in earnest, “Do you like games?"

She lights up a little. You sigh relieved.

"Let’s try…”, you say, ”Strip recording.” She lights up a little more, so you go on, ”If I mess up anything, the mix, the composition, the arrangement, I’ll take off a piece of clothing. Your choice. And every time you mess up-”

Jiwoo unbuttons her denim shorts and brings them down her tight legs.

“D- did I say now?”

However, with her resolve steeled, she continues pulling them. "So what? I did mess up, right?" she says coquettish. Deliberate the turn she makes when she bows down to remove the shorts from her legs, Jiwoo reveals a hint of her innie pussy on that same little ass that ran through your mind earlier. A small trace of her thighs glistens, the only thing reflecting the single lightbulb’s glow in the microphone’s abode. She turns back to face you. "Please. Punish me."

Step closer until Jiwoo backs up to the soundproofing. She’s an eighth note away from your face, flashing her beady eyes and a coy smile, ”Where's your underwear?" A little drop spills out onto the floor, "And why are you so wet, Jiwoo-ah?”

Red on her cheeks, like she only now realized her dishevelment in front of you. “You just… Something about you snapping at me. I don’t get it either. I knew you'd do it, some day, I wanted you to," she mumbles in her best efforts to answer you.

“Have you ever worn underwear to the recordings?”

Those efforts continue to fail.

"Oh, Kim Jiwoo. What do I do with you?" One of your hands grabs her cheek. The other crawls down her back to grab her cheek.

“Oppa… Do I have to say it?”

“I want to hear every." Smack. "Word." Smack. She slips a moan.

“Can you," she says, "can you use my mouth?”

You disguise your long pause as thought, teasing the bare skin of her ass with your exploratory fingers to bide time, but it's an expression of your shock. The interruption helps you come up with a more suitable punishment however.

“How about this then. Every time you mess up, you have to give me a blowjob. Call?”

“Call!” Once more, unprompted, she kneels down in front of you and claws away your track pants. You roll with the punches.

"Oppaa," with an pronounced pop and in a sing-songy rhythm, "I've always wanted to know, if your dick-" It certainly didn't need Jiwoo's dainty hands pulling on your boxers, as it would've sprang out on its own with how like diamond your cock is getting.

"Fuuuck," the first profanity you ever hear her utter, she lilts. "Please. Oppa. Fuck my face?"

After all she said, she could still surprise you. Bring your hips forward and just as you would've her pussy, tease Jiwoo’s lips with the head of your dick. She parts them open, starved, anxious.

Hold her by the chin. "Wait."

She freezes at the command. Again, like foreplay, rub her lips with that head making them turn redder and more plump. You sweep aside her bangs to see her begging eyes. More importantly, slide your dick up to her nude forehead to slap as a first act of retribution. “A-ah!” Jiwoo stutters as you slap her face with your manhood again and again. Bring your cock back down and she's already a mess without you even having entered her mouth. A little drool from her shut lips gently massages your balls while a bit of precum drools from your slit to meet those lips.

Jiwoo mumbles as best as she can with you holding her jaw shut and your dick on her lips, "Please. Please. Shove your dick in me. I need you in my mouth."

You squint your rough eyes to command her.

Muffled still, "Oppa. Please. I. I need to taste you. You just, you're so thick and you're so long and cock is perfect and please I just-"  Loosen the grip on her chin to let her envelop the entire tip with her warm lips. "Mmmmm..." the moan resonates a saw wave and your stern resolve fades away on your first entrance into her face but it returns as her teeth rub against you. She quickly readjusts her jaw but it takes multiple attempts of you pulling out and her sucking you back until only silken lips hold your cock's head. Finally. A focused glint in her eyes. She endeavours to keep your tip in her mouth as long as possible.

You were mad at her earlier, weren't you?

Recall this anger and press yourself into her with all your hips' strength, working against the force of her lip's airtight suction. Saliva leaks to betray the seal. Jiwoo's prying tongue explores the underside of your cock but you reach an impasse while she's not even halfway down the shaft. You shove your dick deeper but to no avail and tears roll down her eyes joining the fluids coating her lips. Thus you exit back out. And back in you go to repeat and repeat and slowly increase your rate, becoming rough sex with her diligent mouth. All the positions you’ve imagined fucking her little pussy, you picture using her throat instead. Even in this compact studio, the couch, chair and desk would provide ample support for you to use her in many ways. The dirty thoughts inspire your speed right now. She slurps and gulps at every quick plunge but you realize her moans and rumbles aren't just incoherent reactions. You decelerate.

“Ah, ahhh, ahhhhhh… Ah’ve ahways- Hmph.” She slurs as she tries her hardest to communicate while her airway is blocked.

She slides up your cock to catch some air, “Thought about it- Mmm.”

“Your dick in my mouth and it’s just so pew, fect- Ahhh.” Jiwoo's lips let go gently then her tongue sticks out to lick up your cock and she shows off a trail of spit leading to your tip. A less patient man would’ve jerked himself off right there to grant her eyes and open mouth's unison request to feed on your cum.

Instead you retort, “You think you’ve earned it? Not even halfway down. Going nowhere, just like our recording sessions, huh?”

“Shut up!”

“Oof.” You’re already weak in the knees so Jiwoo's one handed shove sends your tailbone to the floor. Since you’re still dazed by her confounding strength, she takes initiative and kowtows her head into your lap to crawl down your cock with her tiny lips. Fondling your balls, Jiwoo starts from the furthest point she could muster on your shaft up to your cock head. Her tongue follows back and she starts playing under your tip to swirl that tongue around the most sensitive parts until it explores your slit. You buckle and groan. Jiwoo sucks and spits and sucks while she circles only the most minimal twisting motion of her lips on your head. This is the Jiwoo you know. Relentless. Only now your load is her magnus opus.

Her right hand strays downwards and her face on your dick blocks a full view but you can tell that hand is working as intensely as her mouth. As she strokes herself with more vigor, she starts humming a satisfied melody on your tip. In kind, your subtle grunts turn into full-bodied moans. You're a single measure away from your coda so you reach down and pull her off your cock by grabbing her neck.

You glare into her. “Desperate little girl, aren't you?”

Her breath is stilted and she's nearly shaking. “Please…” she sobs, ”You, you want it as bad as I do right?” Of course. “Won't you just cum for me?” Not now. Not when you have putty in your hands.

“You're making a mess. You can't take me all the way down. And I see that it’s not just your saliva coating the floor.” Point to the spot where she kneels, her drool joins a stain growing ever larger with a strand of juice from her pussy flowing as you continue to berate her. Then you point to her hand. Ha. “Were you playing with yourself using my pencil?”

“No… Wait!”

You back off. “Your top’s a mess too. Anyone can tell I just fucked your face.” You take off your black hoodie and give it to her. “I’ll see you tomorrow for our next session.”

“Wait, we didn’t book tomorrow, did we? Also, you can’t just leave me like this! Oppa!”

"I said, I'll see you tomorrow. I have to go,“ you remind her, ”Ha Rin’s picking you up. And give me back that pencil.”

She hands it to you, unable to meet your eyes despite hers lusting over your cock. You'll definitely use the alluring musk on it for later to save you from your self-induced blue balls. Exit the booth. Of course she barely waits to use your hoodie the same way since she doesn’t notice you lingering in the room. Instead of hiding the grey long sleeve that soaks her neck, your used sweatshirt covers Jiwoo’s face as her fingers make the mess on the floor larger.

✦✧✦✧✦✧

AFF, AO3

Swear to god I’m not just writing the cutest idols to write for. I mean maybe I am but also this answer from @nsfwtwicecatcher​ and all the subsequent pictures that I found of Chuu pouting inspired me. Also, this was a longer piece but I kept spinning my tires on it and decided to split it up, so look out for more.

✦✧✦✧✦✧

Fermata, the aforementioned sequel

[dreamiesdotcom]

you've been fooled! | p.js

Summary: There's something about coffee, breathless moments, and watching memories of the many April 1st you've shared that makes it so hard to resist.

Word Count: 2.1k

You've always been fine with being alone. Being alone afforded you silence, and that's all that you need to have the illusion of peace of mind. That's why months before entering this school, you considered it your mission to not get too much attention on you — if possible, none at all.

Only that it fails the moment you step in, an angel-faced boy asking you if God sent you to this school to guide him.

'No, my parents are the one who sent me here and it's so that I can get an education, not babysit kids.' You politely said, and now you can't even count how many people keep on praising you for doing that! How rare is it to see someone tell others to leave them alone? You swore that one more person trying to talk to you when you're trying to have a sandwich and you're —

"New kid?" a voice rings from behind you, and you turn your head back a little so you could see who's speaking. He grimaces a bit. "Oh, Y/N from the rival school, huh. I've heard fun things about you."

...perfect. Now, you can forget your mission and die.

Your day instantly glooms, and you turn back to your meal. All your plans of starting fresh has just been washed away, and you take an angry bite off your sandwich before someone completely ruins lunch for you.

"If it's about that video, leave me alone."

Silence.

"Donghyuck! Oh God, I'm so sorry..." suddenly comes another boy, slightly panting as he pats the mean one's shoulder a little too harshly. His eye-smile makes it a little better.

"Hyuck's not trying to be mean, he just speaks like that. 'm so sorry!!!"

You squint at him, skeptical.

"Oh, I meant when you told Jaemin to back off when he tried to flirt with you on the hallways." Ah, that. What a fresh start, huh?

Said Donghyuck scratches his nape, looking sheepish as he takes the seat beside you. "Did I sound like I was picking a fight again?"

You chuckle to yourself. That probably explains the cut on his lips pretty well.

"Yeah, you kinda did. Sorry, bro, but I would've slapped you."

"What a way to spend your first day, then." He rolls his eyes, motions for his friends to move tables, who does with little hesitation, "Welcome to this hell hole! It's not the best, but it's as good as Satan's den could be."

You laugh, but you quickly notice curious stares directed at you. The person in front of you smiles shyly and looks away when you meet gazes, and honestly, you don't know how you went from there to a year later, Park Jisung shamelessly holding out a drink at your direction.

"Just drink it, it's iced chocolate! I made it myself!"

"That's nice, Sung... but I only drink coffee." you warily smile, "I don't like sweet things."

The sly smirk Renjun sends you from the other side of the table only encourages your little act, and it takes you all the self-control you could muster to not crack up then and there. Of course, you know what day it is. Of course, you're not gonna fall for his antics, nor the kicked-puppy expression he wears as he insists, "Liar! You live for sweets!"

But, you must admit that it did make you waver.

"No? I like strongly flavored stuff, Sungie," you point out with a grimace. Just for show, you point to Jaemin's cup beside you. "Like this: Nana's coffee, really bitter and strong. This is what I like."

Chenle holds in his laughter. "Since you made it yourself, why don't you just drink it?"

Jisung's eyes widen, "What? No!"

"Drink, Sungie!" comes in chants, alongside multiple repeated versions of 'Jisung! Jisung!' seems to hit something much like his pride, and he lifts it with an expression not suitable for the situation; he looked way too afraid of the chocolate drink. Everyone's holding in their giggles as they watch Jisung grimace and take a gulp out of the cup, trying to play cool even though he chokes not even moments later. Your smile widens.

The salt must be a nice twist.

What a classic, huh? Donghyuck grins, Cheshire and smug, and then he claps.

"Happy April Fool's day, everyone! Park Jisung has fooled himself!"

###

No way in the world are the only words circulating in your head as you pace around, and it's not at all helping. You heave a big sigh only to hiss at him, "What do you mean 'no pranks this year'?"

He shrugs and flops down his bed, "You know we're running out of ideas since Christmas."

"Oh," you widen your eyes, dropping down next to him with your palms covering your face in disappointment. You peek through your fingers, "This is bad."

The plastic stars you've plastered on his ceiling together with Renjun look sickly green at the moment and everything feels out of place. After all, what is April 1st without pranks? What's gonna happen now? You thrash around the bed. You muffle a scream and just hope that he'd open his mouth and come up with something.

"Hey, what about we go on a date as a prank?"

And as usual, his mouth is better off closed.

"Is this your way of flirting, or is this your way of asking me out?"

Jisung makes a confused sound, "What? It's gonna make them freak out, what do you mean?"

"Are you acting out on your feelings or do you actually think that's a good idea?" you take your hands off your face, sitting up and then shrugging at him, "Lines blurred."

"Err. Could be a prank, I guess..." he follows suit, sitting cross-legged in front of you. He smiles, "Unless... you want it to be a real date?'

"Dude, I don't know. When did you get this confidence? Years ago you were stuttering around me." You huff, not knowing where this conversation is going, but a flush creeps on your cheeks. You look down on your fingers as you mumble out the next words, "But if it is... well, sure. I'll go on a real date with you."

You didn't know what falling in love felt like, but in the middle of his room, something felt way too raw and surreal. What is it that says so much about him? Is it the plastic stars? The globe laying on his desk? The map taped at the side of the room? The way dull blue paints his walls, or the way constellations speckle his eyes? Maybe it's the yellow hoodie he's wearing? You don't know which, but right now, something feels strange — something in the scent of cinnamon and cocoa and shades of yellows and blues just feels unabashedly Jisung, and somehow, you just thought that it must be like this.

It should be legal to feel this good.

"Ha! You're kissing, aren't you— oh..."

You both startle to look at where the door swings open, everyone in your friend group standing behind an accusing Jaemin, each one of them looking at him with the eyes of murder. You crack up a laugh, falling over the bed laughing; alone is slightly less entertaining of a thought when you have friends.

"Aish, Na Jaemin —" Jisung groans, standing up while clapping at the older. "Happy April Fool's,  you've fooled yourself."

###

Knees pressed together, head down low, eyes closed, mind empty. Anguished and cold.

"But I've tried my best...." you dejectedly whisper, holding the paper in your hands that said 'Second' in silver delicate swirls. You look up to her with hopeful eyes, "All I need is a chance, mom. You see, Renjun's really good at that subject, he could help me—"

"Those friends again! 'You see', this is why you didn't make it as top of your class!"

"It's... it's one subject, mom. If I try harder, I can —"  you scramble to explain, chasing after her as she moves up the stairs. "You're... mom, you're not taking me away, aren't you?"

The despair in your tone doesn't even shake her. "One day. Go have your fun, and then we'll leave. I'll ask your brother to focus on you more."

"Mom, no! We said that if I study well here, I won't have to leave!"  you reason out. "I really like it here, and I have important people here, and I'm trying hard. We agreed that I'd get to stay if I don't cause trouble, and mom— mom, no, listen!"

"That's my choice. It's for the betterment of your academics—"

"But what about the betterment of my life? What about my choice, mom?"  you hate the way you feel so weak and your voice cracks, but through the blur of fears and your unshed tears, you croak out, "What about me?"

Anguished and cold. So cold, freezing. So loved and all on your own.

"Last time you made a choice, you shamed yourself and this family. You don't deserve your freedom, Y/N." She grimaces. The memory fills your gut with guilt, "And look at you, answering back at your own mother! It's those friends, isn't? They've ruined you more than you've already ruined yourself!"

Quickly enough, the remorse is gone and anger floods you. How dare she?! You look up to her in disbelief, "This is about you ruining my trust, mother. Not them."

"The boy, then." she muses, and it's where you decide that there's no changing her mind. "Love, Y/N, will get you nowhere at the moment."

But it's what kept me alive until now.

You inhale sharply at your thoughts. How does one make forever out of a day?

Maybe you can walk every street, every corner. That date you and Jisung never got to go to, you could do that too because heaven knows how much you wanted that. Maybe you can go take them anywhere, somewhere, and waste away. Maybe you could fall asleep staring at the stars, sharing your dreams, and maybe, just maybe, time wouldn't matter. Better yet, maybe you can change your mother's mind.

Maybe if you just try again, this time much fiercer although you've always been the fiercest, it might be possi—it's impossible. You realize it's impossible as you look out the car windows, watching the city change landscapes in blurs.

Maybe it's really just a different kind of heartbreak to be doing all that you could and still not get the results you wanted. More than it proved that now is not your time again, it also made you feel like a failure. Like you're lacking, insufficient. Never enough.

But you really, really thought you could stay. You hoped.

"Happy April Fool's..." you whispered to no one but yourself, meeting your mother's gaze as she smiles at you through the rearview mirror. You lean your head to the glass, eyes closed and mumbling under your breath, smiling on your own, "I've fooled myself."

And just like that, you were alone again.

###

"Good Morning, may I take your order?"

You press your lips in a thin line as you hear the muffled voice, phone in between your shoulders and ear as you search for your pouch somewhere around your bag. Hurriedly, you muster up your words, "Oh, yes, good Morning too! Just one Iced Americano, please—"

That voice... who?

Looking up, your heartbeat halts, and you try not to look so stunned, something you miserably failed. At least, that's what you read in his amused expression. You stay in silence as you wait for him to finish up your drink, carefully pushing your card towards him as you take your drink from his hold.

"I... I see you're still helping Yongie, huh?" you smile softly, hesitant. "Thank you, Jisung."

Flashbacks, sweet smiles, children at play every day of the year no matter how old — free. When was the last time you've missed such freedom?

He returns the favor, that saccharine expression, and you drag yourself out of the place before you decide to do something stupid. Why is it so easy to see the past years when you're watching it flash by through his eyes?

Standing outside the Cafe wistfully, you look at your cup, tracing over his messy handwriting of your name, basking on the nostalgia of seeing the same hastily written letters that somewhere in time occupied most of your cards, notebooks, and journals. A fond chuckle leaves your lips as you read the post-it note attached.

Happy April Fool's day!

I thought I'd give you hell once you come back for leaving, but well, Park Jisung's fooled himself, huh? My number's still the same. Let's talk sometime soon.

I missed you.

[ahhhhhhdonna]

Summary: I really just wanted to write Jaskier getting locked up in a pillory!  Like this one:

And then this Yen and Jaskier fic just happened.(Warning for swearing, if that’s not your jam.)  Is there more to this? I don’t know.  For now, though, this:

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

High heeled shoes walked into his line of vision; beautiful, impeccable, without a single speck of road mud on them.  The hemline of a black dress in some expensive fabric.  Silk, maybe.  Or satin? Organza... If that was a fabric.  Didn't really matter, he thought miserably. What mattered was the insidious owner of said shoes and fancy dress was standing close enough he could feel the chill of her shadow and smell her perfume.

Somewhere above him, she laughed. Not a demure lady-like chuckle either, oh no, a real belly laugh.  Downright rude, if you asked him. He straightened up, as much as he could straighten while being locked rather piteously in a pillory.  

“You know, I was beginning to think this day couldn't get any better,” Jaskier said, amicably, “and yet...ahh, here you are.”

“Oh, Jaskier,” she said, with that tell-tale edge of sarcastic delight. It felt on his ear like a finger-nail catching in a pill on a silk coat.  “How did you get yourself into this little predicament?  Did you get caught fucking the alderman's wife this time?  Or, oh dear... did she catch you with the alderman? I know you aren't terribly...discerning when it comes to your pitiful little conquests.”

Jaskier's mouth opened with a huff before he snapped it closed, unsure which bit was more offensive.  

“I...I'm- I am discerning,” he managed, “and for your information, Yennefer, none of my...my conquests- as you so charmingly put it- would consider the encounter pitiful in the slightest....not that you will ever know...you...you could be the last woman alive, and I promise I would rather put my-”

“If your usual debauchery didn't land you here,” Yennefer cut him off, the smile still in her voice, “then what else would warrant such a public shaming? Was it your big mouth?”

He sniffed and went silent, fuming. He heard her long lacquered nails ticking on the wooden slat above his head.  One lovely shoe tapped impatiently.

“Well,” she said, after it was clear Jaskier wasn't going to be forthcoming, “whatever it was you did, I'm sure the punishment is well deserved... However, I do find it hard to believe Geralt would have allowed them to put you in the stocks.  He has a soft spot for your antics, no matter how stupid.  So, where is our witcher?”

Oh, wouldn't you like to know, Jaskier immediately thought but didn't say. Regardless of what Yennefer thought, he wasn't that stupid.

“Our witcher is not here,” Jaskier ground out, instead.  “He's on a hunt.  He picked up a contract here.  Actually, he's...well, he's... he’s missing.”

The tapping of nails stilled.  

“Oh, it's not like you're going to help,” Jaskier spat, “so why even bother?  Why don't you just portal off somewhere else and leave me alone?”

“Jaskier.” Her voice was quieter but impossibly more dangerous. “Geralt is missing?”

“He's...more late, really,” Jaskier said.  “He was due back three days ago.  I tried to tell the good alderman that monster hunting is not an exact art,  but...it was quite a well-paying contract, and Geralt was given half up front...and the alderman thinks Geralt has just taken off with the gold.  So--”

He waggled his hands in the holes beside his head.

“--they decided that since they can't punish Geralt for the alleged thievery, why not punish his faithful companion instead?  They locked me up this morning and I'm to be kept to the pillory until Geralt eventually returns or... or they tire of all of this, or I die, I guess.  I don't know.  On orders of the alderman.”

He swallowed.

“I'm rather...worried about Geralt, actually.  He's fine, I'm sure, he's always fine but it's not like him to-”

“-He'll return,” Yennefer said, decisively.  “In the mean time, I could free you but far be it from me to interfere with local politics...  I think it would be rather more interesting to see this sort itself out, don't you?”

“I knew it,” Jaskier muttered.  “I knew it!  Why did I even bother?..”

“I’d best be going,” she said, and he could hear her infuriating smile again, “Lovely chat, dear. But It does looks like it might rain.”

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

Yennefer listened to the rain pounding on the inn roof that night as she sat by the fire and drank mulled wine.  She tried to think of Jaskier and glean some satisfaction for his suffering but now, as the wind howled a bit in the rafters and the night's chill crept in, she frowned into the depths of her cup.

He was only human, after all.  A weak, stupid, annoying human, to be sure, who prattled on and on and wrote nasty songs about her and pretended they weren't about her when they clearly were. But...Three days late, he'd said. And Jaskier-for all his glaring and numerous faults- did harbor a deep and unyielding love for their witcher.  Her witcher, she thought, unbidden, and drank.

It had been a surprise when she had come into this blighted town and saw the familiar bard clamped into the stocks in the town square.  Another strange coincidence. Since their fateful and brief meeting in Rinde, she had run into Geralt on two separate occasions and now this... She had only come here to provide a service, a round of cures and magical remedies, to fill her purse for another dose of that probably useless fertility treatment with the cost of it ever increasing.  It was better to keep moving to different towns, she found, some were more friendly to magic than others. 

A town that treated friends of witchers so poorly might not have a high appreciation of mages either.  Best to move on, she decided.  In the morning then.

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

The next morning, Yennefer cursed herself as her legs led her back to the town square, her velvet cloak enchanted to keep her dry as the rain continued pouring down and the mud pooled around her boots.

Jaskier was soaked to the bone and looking twice as pitiful as ever, bent as he was and trembling with cold.  When she approached, he contorted his neck to do his best to look at her, squinting and sniffling.  He looked as pale and red-eyed as a wet white rabbit.  

“Yennefer...I, uh, to... to what do I owe this... odious pleasure?”

Ah, he had been crying then.  It wasn't just the rain.  She bit back the worst of her responses- a decided act of charity, if there ever was one- and went straight to the point.

“What was he hunting then, bard?”

Jaskier blinked at her with swollen eyes. He certainly seemed no longer up to their usual verbal sparring and she was glad to not waste time.

“The alderman didn't know what it was, just that it smelled terrible and was killing villagers who wandered too far into the woods.  Geralt thought it was a rotfiend.  Should just take a day, he said, maybe two if it was hiding...”

“And it's been five,” Yennefer mused. Yes, Geralt should have been able to handle a single rotfiend in a leisurely afternoon.  And while the man could certainly be accused of moving on without saying good-bye, he would have at least returned for the payment.  Priorities, she thought, wryly.

“Nearly six,” Jaskier said and then his teeth chattered loudly enough that Yennefer could hear it over the din of the rain, like a tin cup full of dice. He once again tried to look at her, lifting his head an uncomfortable angle.  

“...Are you going to go looking for him?  Please.  Please, please tell me you're going to go looking for him. Please. If he's hurt, only you can...If anyone can find him, it's you, Yen, it’s you....”

“I'll look for him,” Yennefer said and watched the bard sag against the restraints with relief.  

“Thank you,” he murmured, in a voice soft enough that she was sure she wasn't meant to hear it.  She was sure he expected her to leave him there and, oh gods, did she want to.  Especially after his last ballad about the 'violet eyed siren of Vengerberg, with generous bust, who eats men's hearts for sport and lust'--  Ugh!  He deserved to stay here in the stocks, all ruined silk and wet lace and aching back! It might humble him and he certainly needed some humbling for all his lyric writing to the contrary.

But... Geralt would not forgive her easily if she left his companion to starve or freeze in the stocks and, fuck, if the thought of his disapproval didn't strike an irritating chord inside her. And if she was somewhat swayed by the bard's sudden spell of repentant gratitude, well...he'd never have to know it.  Bound and begging was surprisingly a good look for him, she thought.  And she was feeling absurdly generous this morning, so...

Yennefer made a little gesture and the thick padlock on the pillory unlocked itself and fell to the ground with a thud.  Jaskier startled and gaped at the fallen lock.

“You...you just...?”

“Come on, then, and don't make me regret it, Jaskier,” she said, in a tone she hoped implied that she already did.  “Lead the way.”

[tinycamembert]

gonna post this on ao3 later i need sleeb now tho

bellanthia fic, self-indulgent descriptions of bella in a suit, cyanthia is a disaster

sry if there’s typos im TIRED but i needed to finish this

"So black tie means... black tie required, yeah? Not optional or anything?"

Cyanthia stares. She's not sure how much clearer it could get.

"That is correct," she says, taking in her captain's befuddled expression. "I am assuming this Ambrosia Co. gala was not as formal in the past?"

Bella shakes her head no, scrunching up her nose as she glares at the invitation, as if her scathing look could bend the letters on the page to her will. "I don't have anything black tie. I just have, like, a nice jacket."

"Well, we'll just have to get you something more formal, then!" Arnick pipes up, looking pleased at this turn of events. Cyanthia knows full well that Arnick doesn't need any more suits to add to his already plentiful collection (because really, it is a collection at this point), but the next best thing to buying a new suit for himself is helping his captain buy a new one. 

"Ugh," Bella says, and throws the gala invitation back down on the table with a slap. "D'you reckon if I wore a sports bra underneath, would anyone notice?"

"Probably not," Cyanthia says delicately. Bella shrugs, as if this small victory was enough.

"Alright," she says. "Guess we're going shopping, then."

--- Despite admitting that a shopping trip was necessary, Bella drags her feet somewhat the whole way, lingering behind Arnick and Tetrox as they pore over various outfits and ties and shoes and the like. Cyanthia drops back.

"What is on your mind?" Cyanthia asks. Bella sighs, putting her hands deep in the pockets of her hoodie.

"I dunno. I just always feel weird trying on fancy shit. So uncomfortable. I feel like it's not me, I guess?"

"Well, I suppose it is not as comfortable as a big sweatshirt," Cyanthia muses, "But there are other benefits, the way I see it. I always feel more confident when I am wearing something nice, or an outfit that I am proud of."

"I suppose so," Bella mutters, still protesting. "This outfit is nice!" She kicks a leg out, showing off the fabric of her pants. "These are nice leggings. They're made out of a good sturdy fabric, and they're purple."

Cyanthia can't help but laugh. "Yes, for workout clothes, they look very high quality. Maybe you can get some new leggings here too, while we are at it."

"Maybe something like this?" Arnick asks the group, turning back towards Bella and Cyanthia. He's holding up a very standard, but good looking, three-piece black suit.

Bella grimaces. "Is the vest necessary?"

"Yes."

"If you say so," Bella smiles wryly. "You're the expert here, Nicky."

"The vest is necessary if you wanna look super hot," Tetrox says to Bella with a razor-sharp, mischevious grin. "Trust me on this one, sugar."

Cyanthia rolls her eyes. Bella cackles. "Alright, alright! Hold onto your pants. I'm gonna try it."

"Let's find her some shoes!" Tetrox says, beckoning Cyanthia over while Bella and Arnick discuss sizing. 

"Oh—alright," Cyanthia says, looking back towards her two other teammates. Not that she's being selfish, but she'd like very much (okay, probably too much) to see what Bella looks like in the suit. 

Tetrox gives Cyanthia a gentle nudge, reading her look. "Don't worry! We'll get back in time to see her try it on."

"Ugh," Cyanthia says. "I don't want to talk about it."

"You know," Tetrox says as the two of them pore over dress shoes, "Bella told me people bring dates to this kinda thing."

Cyanthia sighs, a sharp sound escaping her lips. "I said I don't—wait, she said that to you? You were talking about dates?"

"A little," Tetrox giggles. "I mean, Nicky's going with me, right, so it just seems natural for you two to pair up. It wouldn't have to be weird at all. You could bring it up just like that. But yes, she did talk to me about dates."

Cyanthia turns over a pair of shoes with a tapered toe and a sleek gold accent around the tip, and decides she'll bring these back for Bella. "Did she say anything else?"

"Nope!" Tetrox says. "She, ah, well, it seemed maybe like a bit of a delicate subject, y'know, that she's going alone this year. I'm sure you could just ask her if you wanted to go as friends..." she trails off, looking at you pointedly.

"I'm sure I could," you sigh, the two of you heading back over to the fitting area. "But that is not what I want."

"Well, yeah, that's just what you say when you ask her," Tetrox snickers. "You go as friends, and then you leave as more than friends—"

"Oh, enough!" you snap. Your face is definitely burning red as you return to where Arnick and Bella are, where Arnick is browsing ties and Bella is sitting, looking somewhat disgruntled, in a very, very, very nice suit.

"You look hot as fuck!" Tetrox shrieks. Arnick shushes her indignantly from his spot over by the accessories. Bella smiles at the compliment, looking sheepish. Cyanthia wants to die. 

"Oh, nice shoes," Arnick says to Cyanthia, looking over at what she brought. "Sir, do you like those?"

"Oh, yeah," Bella says, looking grateful that the subject has changed from how she looks in the suit to literally anything else. "Those are super cool. Thanks, Cy."

Cyanthia is frozen to the spot, unable to respond at the moment, but thankfully Bella just takes them from her and begins to lace them up. She watches the way the dark fabric pulls taut against the muscles in Bella's shoulders, and the way it rides up her thighs just ever so slightly, and—

A nudge from Tetrox snaps Cyanthia out of her reverie. "What?" she snaps. Her heart is beating a million miles per hour.

"She asked you!" Tetrox says. "Not me!"

Cyanthia realizes Bella has asked her a question.

"Um—sorry, what did you say?" She asks, feeling stupid. Did she really not hear her at all?

"The shoes," Bella says. "You like 'em?"

"Oh—uh—yes," Cyanthia manages. 

"Wicked," Bella says, looking relieved. "Guess it's not so bad for one night."

Bella heads over to a full-length mirror to observe the outfit all put together, and Cyanthia gravitates towards her. Behind them, Tetrox is forcing Arnick to try on bowties with horrific gaudy patterns and blocking his attempts to escape. 

"Those two," Bella grins, looking over her shoulder at their antics. Cyanthia can practically hear Tetrox's voice in her head, urging her to ask Bella now.

Bella rocks back and forth on her heels, looking at the suit and the shoes and the tie on her, lips pursed. "What do you think?" She asks, looking Cyanthia's way. 

"Oh, uh." Cyanthia is taken aback. "I—well—you look great. I mean, the suit looks great. On you. That is." 

"Thanks," Bella says, while Cyanthia's brain feels like it's on fire. "I guess if you and Nicky and Tetrox all like it, then it's okay, right?"

"Of course," Cyanthia says, taken aback. "I—to be honest, I am surprised you feel like you need to ask us."

"This just isn't what I'm used to, I suppose," Bella says. "You guys look all dressed up most of the time to me, but when it's me wearing this kinda stuff—," she shrugs. "It's just hard for me to tell if I'm doing it right, y'know?"

"You are definitely doing it right," Cyanthia manages, and Bella visibly relaxes as she says that, giving her a grateful smile. 

Ask her, she pleads with herself. Ask her now.

"So, um—" Cyanthia starts, and Bella focuses her amber gaze on her, all six feet of her in the clean lines of the dark suit, and she panics a little.

"I—well, Tetrox said people usually take dates? To the gala? And if you weren't going with anyone, I was thinking we could go. Together." Well, if all else fails, blame Tetrox, she thinks. Cyanthia tries her best to maintain eye contact, to be sincere. 

Bella smiles. "Yeah, of course! That would be great, Cy."

"Okay, great. Perfect." Cyanthia smiles, maybe a little too big, a little too happy, but she doesn't care. And as she and Bella make their way back over to Arnick and Tetrox, Cyanthia realizes she forgot to say 'as friends', but she's perfectly fine to keep it just the way she said it.

[kokichi-and-co-imagine-blog]

Lucky you Mod Kiri, finishing the semester on the 10th. I have at least a month more. Anyway, now that you're offering... can we have some more Naegiri? Don't know what to request exactly (other than even more PMD AU) but I know I'll love it regardless if you're writing it. Although if I had to think of something specific... I don't know, maybe Makoto trying to surprise Kyoko with a gift or something?

You always like to feed my obsession with these two, don’t you? Not that I’m going to complain about it. And you know I’d always be willing to continue the PMD AU.

The opportunity this request presented however, was too good to pass up on.

She recognized the look on his face from the moment he walked in to her office. The sheepish, slightly nervous smile, the hand scratching at his cheek, the apologetic gleam in his eye. All of it.

She knew exactly what it meant.

“Hey, Kyouko,” he greeted. He moved to the side where she sat and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, which she gave a small smile at. “So… I think I need your help wi-“

“What did you lose this time?” She interrupted, still looking down at what she was writing.

“H-hey!” He sputtered. “What makes you think-! I mean… why is that your first guess?”

“Because the last three times you’ve come here with those exact words was because you’d lost something and wanted help finding the object in question,” She reminded him, tone remaining flat.

“T-true, I’ll give you that.” He said, scratching at his cheek again. “B-but it’s not like that’s the only reason I’d ever ask for your help with something. It could be about something else.”

“True. It very well could,” she conceded. Then, she finally glanced over at him. “So?”

“‘So?’” he echoed. “So what?”

She turned her head fully to better look at him. “Why do you need my help this time? If it’s not for locating something you misplaced, then what is it?”

He opened his mouth as if to say something, but nothing came out.

“…”

“…”

“…Ok fine, yes I lost something.” He finally admitted, his face turning a bright shade of red. The urge to laugh at the downright adorable look on his face was too great, and she let out a chuckle at his embarrassed expression. “Kyouko…” He let out a whine and dropped his gaze to his shoes, shuffling a bit on his feet.

“Makoto, you know I don’t mind helping you when this happens. I just would’ve thought that you wouldn’t get so embarrassed about asking by this point with how often it happens is all,” she reassured him.

“I know, I know…” he muttered, still staring holes into the floor.

She shook her head at him, suppressing another laugh. She then stood up from her desk and started to move toward the door.

“Your office, I presume?”

“…Yeah,”

“And what exactly am I looking for this time?” She looked back at him as she opened the door and stepped out.

He let out an ‘ah’ sound and practically ran to catch up with her as she held open the door.  “Ah, thanks Kyouko!” He quickly fell in line walking next to her. “And as for what it is it’s… kinda hard to describe it? It’s kind of a small, dark… thing?” He frowned, trying to use his hands to draw out the shape. When that failed, he let them drop to his sides and gave her an apologetic look. “Sorry, I know that’s really vague. B-but! I think you’d recognize it when you see it at least!”

“Hm…” she hummed. They fell into silence after that, he only sounds between them being their quiet footsteps. It was a nice change of pace from the chaotic noise usually heard within the hallways. With school having finished for the day hours ago, she and Makoto were the only ones still here.

Still, she couldn’t enjoy the quiet too much; her mind was already racing with thoughts from what he’d mentioned. A hand came to her chin as she went over his descriptions again. Something small, dark, and easily recognizable to her… not exactly much to go on. And very bizarre to hear from him.

It was strange he was so unspecific about it, he was normally a lot better with giving her details than that. She gave him another quick side glance to see him fidgeting with his fingers as they walked, his gaze pointed squarely in front of them, almost as if to avoid her own. He was still this wound up about it? She could understand him feeling a little guilty about asking her for her help in this again—that was normal for him—but this was excessive even for his standards.

Did this have to do with the item in question? But what could he have lost that would make him this anxious? She couldn’t think of anything he had that he could have lost that would make him this frazzled—unless of course, he was nervous because it was something she didn’t know about. But he hated hiding things from her, and he was terrible at it to boot, so what-

“You know, I still find it weird walking in these hallways after all this time,” his voice suddenly cut through her musing. “It looks so different now but… I still can’t shake off how familiar it feels. The good and bad.”

Deciding to put her other thoughts on the backburner, she gave a nod. “I understand. I feel the same some days.” She let her hand run along the wall as they turned the corner, closing her eyes for a moment.

Though the structure of the school had remained the same, much of the school, if not all of it had been completely redone. Even in spite of that, there were some days where it was difficult not to get lost in the memories from their lives in these wall, both before and after the Tragedy. Some days, the sickly smell of death that she knew had long gone lingered just a little too strongly on the walls.

“…We’ve been through a lot in these hallways, haven’t we? In this school.”

It wasn’t a question. “We have.”

“…Do you ever regret it?”

“Regret what?”

“I mean, ever coming to Hope’s Peak in the first place,” he motioned around them. “So much happened because of this place and… sometimes I just wonder about it, y’know?” He gave a shrug as he met her eyes again. “Was just curious if you ever did too.”

She had given the idea a passing thought or two over the years, but…

“I prefer not to dwell on the what-could-have-beens,” she answered, running a hand through her hair. She tucked a few loose strands behind her ear. “There’s no way to make them real by this point. I think it’s best to move forward without lamenting about regrets.”

Makoto let out a soft laugh. “I thought you’d say something like that. It’s just like you to think practically about it.”

“Hm, and what about you then?” She asked. He drummed his fingers n his thigh for a moment, seeming to be collecting his thoughts.

“I… do think about regrets I have sometimes. Most of all about how I wish I’d never dragged my family into any of what we went through; they didn’t deserve that, any of them. And sometimes I think about those kind of regrets a lot. But…” His face hardened with resolve, and he looked back at her with a brilliant smile. “Then I think of the good that came from me going to Hope’s Peak. All the friends I made, the memories with them that I’ll always cherish. About all the good I get to do now, even if I wish the situation as a whole was better. And, most importantly… I know that if I never went to Hope’s Peak, I never would have gotten to meet you. And I could never regret getting to do that.” He reached down for one of her gloved hands, intertwining their fingers together. “I’d go through it all again if I had to just to do that again

Almost immediately she felt her face warm at that. She ran her free hand through her hair again as she looked toward the window to attempt to avoid his eyes. She could practical feel the grin he was wearing. “Of course you’d answer in such a sentimental way. You’re just as much of an open hearted optimist as always I see.” She said, though she was well aware the words were undercut by the twitch of her lips. His grip on her hand tightened in a light squeeze which she soon returned.

He laughed. “What else would you expect from me? It’s what I do best, isn’t it?”

“It certainly is a part of your charm. How else would you have managed to convince to most reclusive person in our class to warm up to you without it?” She folded her arms across her chest and smirked at him. He gave a sheepish expression and rubbed at the back of his head.

They stopped in front of the door to his office. He reluctantly retracted his hand from hers, then rushed forward to open the door for the both of them, letting her enter first. She acknowledged it with a nod, then set to work analyzing his office for anything out of place or off. She moved toward the side to get a better overall view of the room. Her hand went to her chin as she took in the details.

Makoto trailed behind her, not unlike how he would when they were trapped here all those years ago. “I’d say it makes us quite the pairing then, wouldn’t you? The difference between our personalities?” He offered. “I think it balances us out pretty well, me being the optimistic one who believes in people and you being the more reality, logic based one.”

“Is that how he sees us?” She silently wondered. She couldn’t say it was inaccurate, he certainly helped be able to believe in people, even if only a fraction more. Instead of verbalizing that, she nodded, still scanning over the room. “I suppose it does, yes.”

…Over there. A shadow caught her eye near the window. On his desk, partially obscured by a stack of papers that he probably needed to sign and his computer monitor, there was something there. She hadn’t seen it when they walked because of the angle, but from here it was quite clear, and it seemed to match what little descriptives he’d given.

“Odd though. He would’ve been able to see it sitting there,” she noted. There would have been nothing blocking his view of it from behind the desk. Unless he was just that unobservant.

…Which to be fair, he certainly had his moments.

She once again decided not to voice that thought and instead started to walk toward his desk.

He stayed where he was standing by the door. “I think it’s part what’s made us such an effective team over the years with all that we’ve done. From before the Tragedy, to the killing school life, to our work with the Future Foundation and the Neo World Program, and to now with restarting Hope’s Peak.” He continued, a few nerves creeping into his voice, but otherwise remaining strong. “A-and I hope that it will continue to be that way, don’t you? For a long time?”

“Yes, of course I do,” she answered carefully, giving a quick glance behind her at him. This seemed like a strange time to be bringing this up. She stopped right at the edge of his desk and started moving some papers out if the way to get a better look.

“A-ah, that’s great! I hope so too. But uh… if you don’t mind me asking… how long do you consider a ‘long time’?”

“What do you-“ The question died in her throat when her eyes finally fell onto the object she’d been looking for. She felt her breath hitch.

It was a box. A small, darkly colored box, that she most certainly recognized the most common use for.

She struggled to retain her normal composure as the implications of what was happening hit her full force. “He couldn’t be… he’s not…. this isn’t…!” Her thoughts trailed off until they were nothing more than jumbled static in her head. This couldn’t be what she thought it was. This couldn’t be the reason for his nerves, no!

Her other hand started to move shakily toward the box before she was aware of what she was doing. She had to know. She could be jumping to conclusion. It could be something else entirely. With trembling fingers she grabbed hold of the box, then opened it up.

She almost dropped it.

It was a ring.

“…because I was kinda thinking that long time could mean… permanently,” Makoto finished. She turned to look at him, but found him much lower than she normally had to look. He was on one knee. Her normal, cool and controller mask shattered completely. A hand shot to her mouth to keep the gasp from getting out. Something pricked at the corner of her eyes.

“Kyouko… I know I kinda already said this but… you’ve been such an important part of my life through everything we’ve seen; I don’t think I’d still be here if not for all that you’ve done for me. We’ve stood together through so much and I know we’ll continue to for the years to come. You’re just so incredible and amazing and I just… I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I hate to reuse your own words but…” He took in a deep breath, shoulder heaving, before flashing another pure, genuine smile at her. “Will you always stay by my side?”

Kyouko Kirigiri knew many things about herself. She was not often one to enjoy being surprised. Or to allow herself to show much emotion, let alone tears. Or to find herself at a loss for words.

And yet, as she stood in front of the man who, as he’d stated in his own words, she’d been through so much with together, she found all three occuring. A smile that she could not fight off, nor wanted to, worked its way onto her face from behind her glove. Tears began to fall from her eyes as she rapidly nodded her head, too overwhelmed with emotion to trust her voice to work.

Makoto let out a joyful laugh and rose up from where he’d been kneeling, wobbling a bit as tears began to fall from his own eyes. He practically tackled her as he enveloped her into a tight embrace. She practically collapsed into his arms, head resting on his shoulder.

He leaned closer to her ear. “I’m so glad to hear you say that, you have no idea.” They pulled away from the hug and looked at one another.

She let out a shuddering breath to collect herself. “Did you anticipate I’d reject it?” she asked with an amused, still slightly watery smile.

“N-no, not necessarily but… I did worry about how I was gonna say it all. I may or may have not rehearsed that a lot… And maybe kinda still went off script on a lot of it…” He scratched the back of his head with a sheepish look. “…I sounded like a total dork while saying all that, didn’t I?”

“Yes, yes you did,” she laughed. She took hold of his face and pointed it towards her. He gave her a shy smile before she bent down to kiss him. He took hold of one of her hands and threaded their fingers together.

He was a complete and utter dork, but she wouldn’t have him any other way. 

And she couldn’t wait to see what the future had in store for them next.

[thetravellingvagrant]

Day 10- Lviv: In Which I Befriend A Scrotum

Today was my last day in Ukraine. By some miracle during my time here, I had managed to not get mowed down by Russian machine gun fire, though, it hadn't escaped my notice, I had also managed to not do a great many other things that I had actually wanted to, either. Today, I planned to remedy that. I roused myself from bed uncharacteristically early and- for once- being that I felt ruinously befuckled in neither my mind or guts, saw myself leaving my rubbish little apartment on the less pleasant side of noon. My first stop of the day was Lviv's natural history museum- there having been a conspicuous and gaping absence of nightmare fuel on this trip, thus far.

After a not insubstantial amount of difficulty finding the place, I was eventually waved inside by a stern man, paid my entrance fee of 20 hryvnia  (not a lot of money...) to an equally stern woman and was finally ready to bust the natural history seal of this trip wide open. I was genuinely excited; an emotion I thought I would never feel again after Belarus.

...I shouldn't have been, though. I think this was, by really quite some distance, the worst natural history museum I have ever been to in my life. It was comprised of just three living-room sized halls, sparsely decorated with not-very-many-at-all stuffed animals, jars of pickled fish and just the worst, most poorly written, poorly spelled, frankly vapid signage imaginable.

Fucking try.

still though, the big mantis was cool

Pictured: large boi

and there were some incredibly pleasing examples of bad taxidermy on show

Hwellp. I guess God’s dead, or whatever.

and so, despite paying one full hryvnia for each minute I had spent there, (again, not a lot of money), I still left the museum having enjoyed it thoroughly for what it was- i.e. total garbage. Oh well, on to my next destination: an internet cafe, to print my bus ticket for tomorrow.

The cafe, situated not far from the museum was an odd place; looking like and indeed actually being situated in someone's apartment, as it was. I stood outside for some minutes, wondering whether or not I should actually go in, as the last thing I wanted to do was accidentally just walk into some guys house and demand he print things for me, though eventually the little switch in my brain that makes me go “fuck it” flipped and I stepped inside to, thankfully, the right place.

Once in, the printing process was fast, painless and cheap. I was charged a single hryvnia (approximately 2.5p) and left triumphant, ticket in hand, five minutes later.  The entire experience being so streamlined, coupled with the...diminutive nature of the museum had meant that I had, at this point, chewed through two of my four plans for the day in under an hour and for under one pound.

I decided that, given the unexpected glut of free time I had found myself with, it may be prudent to spend some of it scoping out my bus stop for tomorrow. My ticket, rather unhelpfully, read simply “near pizzeria napoletana” and given that this was the single most expensive item I had bought during my time, here and that my bus was due to depart at seven in the morning, with no opportunity to catch another one until mid-afternoon the same day, I was- I feel- understandably anxious enough to make sure that I would be at least standing in vaguely the right place when it arrived.

The stance was some distance away from any of my intended stops for the day, though the walk to it would take me through another lovely (lvivly?) park, or two, at the very least, so I pushed on, regardless. It was in one of these Lvivly parks, that I was stopped by two young men; Max and...Dimitri, I think? They were students, or very pleasant scam artists selling greetings cards to generate money for some student initiative to raise the quality of living for young people in the city or something. Or just drugs. Either way, we became embroiled in conversation. We talked about the usual sort of things you'd imagine- where I was from, what I was doing in Lviv, why, god, why did you come here now? Doodoodoodoodoo and all that. It wasn't until they found out that I was from the UK, though that things got awkward.

“Ah, then you must be excited for Brexit” Max said, beaming.

I exhaled loudly through my nose and shot him a look as if to say “don't go there, girlfriend”, except whiter and less sassy than that.

“Oh?” he said, a quizzical look playing across his face “you don't like Brexit?”

I told him that I thought it was an undemocratic omnishambles of the highest order.

“Huh...” he mused. “I thought all British people were really into the idea.”

and there it was. The single most embarrassing moment of the trip, so far. Worse than forgetting to sign my passport or nearly shitting myself while skidding around ice; this was the moment at which my face was reddest (fortunately, it being so fucking cold, it was already a bit red and you couldn't tell). I politely informed Max that not everyone in the UK endorsed Brexit and in fact in Scotland, the vast majority of people opposed it and then, out of shame more than anything else, bought one of his stupid fucking greetings cards and bid him a good day. Enjoy the drugs. Bastard.

My search for the bus stop went poorly. I arrived at the compound and found...several pizzerias. None of which were named Napoletana. I walked around for a while, hoping to stumble upon a clue as to where buses might actually stop in this god-forsaken place, but found nothing. Being without phone internet due to the ludicrous price of data on Vodafone, when travelling outside of standard touristy countries, there was little I could do except leave and hope that the Google gods would answer my concerns, later.

My last stop of the day (the penultimate one, The Scientists' House- a big fancy house where all scientists used to live- being such a non event that it wasn't even really worth mentioning. I couldn't find it and gave up, basically.) was Lviv's only and indeed my very first visit to a cat-cafe. I took my seat in a small booth in the corner and before my face could even unfreeze enough to order food, I was set upon by a very lovely and seemingly also very, very old sphinx cat, whom I immediately named Ballbag Snugginz, owing to his affectionate nature and also because he looked like a scrotum. Ballbag hopped onto my table (perhaps slightly unsanitary, though I'll forgive it...), took one look at the scarf I had laid across my lap and said to himself “I'm 'avin' that, I am”. He made a bee-line for my groin and after some very awkward kneading, wound himself into a little fleshy coil

and fell soundly asleep. Looks like I was here for the long haul.

Gross.

I ordered some food (Salmon and spinach strudel; amazing) and a pot of tea (ginger and mint; fine) and merrily munched through it, Ballbag still softly purring in my lap, which is now the best sentence in this blog and pretty much always will be. Ordering salmon in a cat cafe was a good call, I think. While I was strictly forbidden from feeding any of feline residents, the stench of the fish nonetheless bought them to me, albeit in each case incredibly briefly once they realised I wasn't for sharing, in droves.

By the time I had scraped the last of my strudel from the plate and gulped down the final drops of tea, Lord Snugginz had, if anything, only entrenched himself further into my groin in an even tighter coil and was now lightly snore-purring. I ordered a chocolate lava cake so as to not need to get up and go, right away.

The cake, as with pretty much everything else about this cafe was excellent but all too soon, it was gone and so too, did I need to be. I lifted Ballbag away from me and plopped him down on the seat adjacent to myself. I'll be honest, it didn't feel very nice, neither emotionally, nor physically. If you've ever seen the music video for Aphex Twin's song “Rubber Johnny”- moving Ballbag Snugginz was the tactile version of that. Absolutely manky.

Not in the slightest happy with that arrangement at all, Ballbag very angrily clambered back on top of me and with a look, as if to say “oh no you betta don't” except whiter and less sassy than that and went back to sleep. For fucks sake, Ballbag.

I decided to awkwardly put my coat, scarf and gloves on around him, much to the amusement of the staff, before moving him off for the final time and quickly darting away, as he sat, bleary eyed and grumpy, wondering what the fuck had just happened. I ended up leaving the cafe something like a 75% tip, as first, it was very nice, second, I hoped it would all go to B. Snugginz and third, I just had so much Ukrainian cash left that I didn't even really know what to do with it.

Despite it being crazy cold and also very late- my experience in the cat cafe, all told, lasting...several hours more than I intended- I decided to hop back to that god-awful supermarket for what I hoped would be the last time, to chew through some of my cash. I reasoned that I could save myself some Zloty by buying ingredients for tomorrow's dinner here, in advance.

Let me tell you, I went mental; I bought enough food for three dinners; the most expensive sausage I could find, a huge block of cheese, crisps, wafers, the whole nine yards and was still somehow left with the equivalent of £9 in local currency, which I was just, at this point, unable to spend. I returned home to bibble, clean and get some sleep, atop my hoard of remaining hyryvnia, like some kind of tiny, very shit dragon. Tomorrow: Poland. Again.

[noblehcart]

because i was bored and hyped at the same time. drabble @walkingshcdow

"You are such a city boy, Luka!"

"All'm saying is I would've packed more water if I had known it was going to be like this!"

The Ivanovs could only share a knowing grin at each other listening to the sound of their friends snarking behind them. They knew the Scottish trails and hikes like the back of their hand having spent nearly every summer there growing up. For once they decided to invite friends to come visit for a spell at their Uncle's house for a few weeks.

"You're both military and are somehow whining. I don't know how it is you managed to serve your countries." Liesel teased glancing back at them as they lugged packs up the craggy rocks littered amongst the landscape of green.

"Hey I served in the middle east, not in mountain ranges!" Was the barked response from Ruslan as he tried to catch up to the easy stride of the siblings with Luka lagging behind.

"I didn't actually see active combat! And I'm better in different climates. Give me winter and I promise you-"

A loud scoff sounded from the eldest of the group. "Excuses from the both of you." Stefan shifted the weight of his pack rolling blue eyes at their companions. It was ironic how at ease the two British-Russians felt with Scotland now. It was almost home.

"We should give them a break, Stefan. Its getting darker." Although last they had checked it was only mid afternoon though there was a darkness starting to creep over the surroundings like a storm. She stopped to shrug off her backpack, giving her shoulders a rest and waited for Stefan to stop walking forwards realizing that the group had stopped now. The other two young men were sighing in relief to take off the weight of their backpacks and drop onto the ground for a few brief moments of respite.

Liesel nudged her backpack over to Luka. "I haven't finished my water yet. You can have what's left."

"Thank you." Was the breathless response before the sound of the zipper sounded as he dug in.

"Does the weather usually turn like this?" Ruslan asked staring out at the wall of darkness slowly crawling in. Boots crunched softly against the rocks as Stefan returned back to the group, still holding onto his backpack.

"No. Not typically." Breath was blown out mingling with his words as Stefan felt the slightest chilling prickle of wind. Giggling laughter echoed faintly around them as the wind tousled Liesel's hair, tickling her cheeks and whispering softly against the curve of her ear. Their Uncle hated whenever the wind would pick up suddenly to whistle around them like a bad omen, but she always loved the freedom in it. Like the land itself was trying to whisper a secret to those who listened.

She'd later wish she had listened closer as the playful gale turned icy and sharp cutting across her skin smartly. Staggering back she glanced around half expecting something to happen. Something should've happened she was sure, but nothing had happened.

A warning was the instinctive feeling. "We should head back." Was the careful musings before looking to her brother already knowing what he'd say.

"We're almost at the end of the trail." Stefan argued still taking in the dark clouds and their surroundings. "We'll make it before the rains come in. Sasha said that the back of the trail is just a few kilometers from Castle Erskine. He's said the owner is friendly and my guess is that they would probably let us take shelter while the storm passes. There's a bus stop near it that we can take home from there."

"Stefan, I don't think-"

"We'll be fine, Liese. Its all downhill from here, right?" Ruslan chirped swinging his pack over his shoulder once more as Luka worked on gathering his own and Liesel's. She looked to the three men already heading off further down into the graying trail. A glance over her shoulder as the cutting wind blew past and she hurried off after them trying to take her backpack from Luka who waved her off with a smile before looking ahead.

"Weird fog. That wasn't there a minute ago was it?" He asked as Liesel fell into step with him, carefully taking in the strange climate change.

She hesitated a moment before the words were slowly spoken aloud. "That's not a fog....its a....mist."

"Well- into the mists we go."

[ssamie]

five. “team manager”

kozume kenma x fem dazai!reader

(bsd x haikyuu)

tw: mentions of suicide

masterlist.      suicide freak!

"this is the girl from yesterday" kuroo muttered 

it's been a day since the shrooms incident, and it's safe to say she's left a very weird first impression on the boys 

"hi~" she cooed with a wave 

today, she was looking more presentable. wearing the nekoma girl's uniform, with bandages framing her body, all except for her hands and face.  "i couldn't shake her off" kenma said with a sigh as he tried to wiggle his arm free from her grasp 

she simply chuckled and hugged his arm even tighter.  "sorry for the rather strange interaction we had yesterday" she apologised with a sheepish grin  "there was a small flaw in my plan, which led to that.." 

kenma rolled his eyes at her words.  he was the one that had to make sure she didn't accidentally jump off a cliff in her state yesterday.  he had to get her calmed down, and ended up calling a man called kunikida for help since he was in her emergency contacts. 

"what's your name?" kuroo asks with an amused grin 

"l/n y/n. nice to meet ya" she answered 

"so l/n-chan~" kuroo mused "anything we can help you with?" 

"i wanna be team manager!" she exclaimed with a dumb smile on her face 

some boys perked up at the mention of a manager, some pondered over it, while kenma simply let out a loud groan. 

"hah? you? manager?" kenma scoffed and pulled out his PSP  "you'll just try to kill yourself with the nets or something" he muttered with a huff

"eh? do you really have no trust in me kenma?" she sulked  "i mean, i probably would but still!" she huffed 

nekomata stepped forward and smiled at her "why would you like to be our manager, l/n?" he asked. she blinked and pondered over it for a while "hmm, volleyball is something i wanna try i guess." she said 

"but i don't really wanna play. i'd rather manage from the sidelines" she hummed  "so it would be a pleasure to work with you all" she said with a sly smile

she then looked at nekomata and tilted her head to the side, sending him a close eyed smile and holding her hand out for him to shake. 

"if you'll have me, of course" she added in a polite and soothing tone 

nekomata studied her, then her hand, as well as the bandages that ended just a little bit past her wrist. the old man chuckled and shook her hand. "well then, welcome to the team" he said with a laugh 

she smirked and nodded.  "glad to be here" 

"have i ever told you how incredibly intricate looking your fingers are?" she asked out of the blue.  kenma glanced at her as he drinks from his bottle, brows furrowing from her rather strange observation. 

"um, no?" he answered hesitantly 

she simply hummed and studied them even further, making him gulp. kenma looked at his hands, feeling slightly anxious. he then shoved them in the side of his shorts. 

"stop looking at them. it makes me nervous" kenma complained sheepishly 

she chuckled and pulled his hands out of his makeshift pockets. "dont be" she cooed with a smile "you hands are so.. delicate, so soft" 

kenma blushed as she started tracing circles over his palms, whispering sweet words and nothings as she does so. 

"so.." she trailed off, looking at him through lidded eyes, a flirty smirk etching itself on her lips. "s-so..?" he questioned 

"would you strangle me with these fragile, delicate fingers?" 

"ha? 😃" 

kenma stared at her while she stared back. she simply smiled at him as she continued to draw shapes on his palm.  "what the hell are you talking about?" kenma deadpanned 

"I CAN'T TAKE THIS!!" taketora shrieked. they all looked over to him as kenma raised a brow "can't take what?" he asked 

taketora ignored him and sprinted straight to y/n "l-l/n-chan! why him?!" he shrieked  "why not me?! i can give you my love!" taketora cried "let me love you!" 

she simply stared at him as she drops kenma's hands on his lap. "love..me?" she questioned with a blank smile 

taketora rushed over to her and showed her his hands "i have hands and fingers too!" he exclaimed  "i can-" 

"i don't think she meant she wants kenma to choke her during sex, yamamoto" kuroo intervened 

"yeah. she wants me to kill her." kenma bluntly spat out 

"hai!" she exclaimed "but either one is fine." 

kenma's brows shot up as he snapped his attention towards her. "huh??"

"hm? is there a problem, kenma-kun?" she chuckled “yes. there's a problem, and it's a big one." kenma said "im not gonna choke you during se-" 

"l/n!" nekomata called out, effectively cutting off kenma 

the (h/c) haired girl perked up and walked over to the man "yes?" she asked "so? did you jot down anything while watching?" nekomata asked. the older man patted the spot next to him on the bench, urging her to sit next to him. she hummed and pulled out a notebook. 

"well, may i just say" she started "these boys are very impressive." 

"i don't usually have the motivation to do these type of things but i wrote down everything i've observed" she said "i do hope it's enough" she chuckled as she sat down next to nekomata 

"well then, let's see it" nekomata said as he ushered the boys over to them. "well then, these are my observations, as well as teeny tiny little advices" she says

she handed kuroo the notebook. the captain skimmed through the pages with a look of interest. "okay let's- eh?" kuroo sweat dropped "this is never-ending, l/n-chan" he chuckled 

kuroo flipped through the whole notebook, laughing as he saw each page filled from front to back. "that's a crap ton of info!" taketora exclaimed 

"how'd you even get all of that over a silly practice game" yaku asked, a look of amusement and curiosity lacing his features. 

she shrugged nonchalantly and fiddled with her hair "dunno" she cooed "i guess it comes naturally" she said "i have a job quite similar, so breaking down your attacks and the way you move or play is quite easy" 

nekomata hummed in delight "ah, so we're you a manger before as well, or..?" he asked 

"nope! i'm a detective!" she grinned 

the team stared at her and smiled, same as you would when a child says something crazy or stupid. she immediately snapped her head towards kenma, smiling excitedly as she awaits his reaction 

"are you impressed? will you go on a double suicide with me now?" she asked with a grin. kenma stared at her, unmoving, as he looked her up and down. 

"no." he answered 

she immediately deflated and sulked beside nekomata. "i-i see." she sniffled "i understand" 

"that's nice, l/n-chan!" yaku exclaimed, obviously unconvinced that she was a detective "really nice. it's good to have dreams!" he said as he patted the girl's back

she blinked as she looked down on him. "eh? no, i mean like im actually a detective" 

"i mean i get that you don't think so" she laughed "i may not look much, but im an operative of the armed detective agency" she said.  her playful smile dropped, and was replaced by a stoic look as she showed them a badge 

"eh? seriously?! that's so cool!" lev says as he excitedly jumps up and down 

"heh. right?" she grinned as the other boys starts freaking out 

kenma simply narrows his eyes and clicks his tounge in distaste. "so what about it, kenma-kun? won't it be cool to die with someone like that?" she asks cheekily 

"no" 

"but-" 

"no" 

"fine" 

"no- oh." 

"you'll fit right in, l/n" nekomata said with a laugh. he waved then goodbye before stepping away. kuroo approached them, fanning himself with the notebook as he slung his arm around her shoulders 

"so, l/n.." kuroo said "whyre you so obsessed with having a double suicide with our kenma?" he asked.  kenma sighed and pitched his nose bridge with dread "please don't ask that. she'll-" 

"oh my! i thought you'd never ask!" she said dramatically as she waved her arms about

"committing suicide alone?" she started "oh my, that's so passe kuroo-san!" 

"i've come to realise, that if i were to die.. i will die alongside a beautiful man or woman!" her eyes sparkled as she gawked over kenma, who was looking very unamused at the moment. 

"and i found the most beautiful boy there is! what else could be better than this?" she exclaimed with teary eyes 

"ah, double suicide.. what a sweet ring it has!" she exclaimed "in comparison, it feels so empty to bid this world farewell all by my lonesome self!" she hugged kenma and nuzzled her cheek into his pudding-like hair. 

kenma merely froze as he felt his arms and body get squeezed by her. she was surprisingly strong and had a vice grip on him. "please let me go." kenma muttered 

"no" 

the boys watched the whole withing with varying reactions. most of them were worried for her mental state and well-being, while the others were amused. the 'others', being lev. it still kinda hadn't hit him that she was a suicidal psycho. 

"hmm, you're right, l/n-senpai! it'll be sad to die alone" lev agreed with a thoughtful hum 

"see! he sees the problem with it!" she said 

yaku immediately intervened by kicking lev in the back of his knees, making him fall forward. he also snatched kenma away, making her whine. "give him back!" she yelled. “take me away" kenma said 

yaku huffed and lightly flicked her in the forehead. "the real problem here is the fact that you wanna commit suicide!" he exclaimed 

"double suicide" she corrected. 

"that's not any better!" 

[ssamie]

eight. i’m calling the police

oikawa tooru x fem langa!reader

(hq x sk8 the infinity)

warnings: spelling mistakes, swearing, 2k+ words, adam, u have langa’s blue hair sorry 

gen masterlist.            “snow” masterlist.

"we're sorry!" the three boys exclaimed

"why are you sorry?" she asked in confusion as she stared down at them with furrowed brows "it wasn't your faults, oikawa-san, matsukawa-kun and hanamaki-kun." she reassured them "and you've been apologising the whole day.. its not like you need to anyways" 

"no, we still feel guilty" hanamaki chuckled "since it was our idea in the first place"

"well i was the one who skated so its fine. you don't need to apologise" she smiled at them

"but you're so sad!" oikawa groaned out dramatically "you look so heartbroken!" 

"im really not" she sweatdropped

"will you forgive us if we kneel down?" they asked "we already are, just in case!" y/n sweat dropped as she peered down at their grovelling forms and shook her head. "please don't kneel for me" she said

"its fine. i think i'll manage a few days without it" she said

"so why's your eyes all puffy?" iwaizumi deadpanned

"i cried" she replied with a straight face

"i see." iwaizumi hummed.

"hey, y/n-senpai!" kindaichi called out from the gym. "i think this is yours!" she looked up at him with a look of confusion ran over to where he stood. "what is it?" she asked 

"its your skateboard." kindaichi replied "it's in the gym for some reason" he said. y/n's eyes sparkled as she picked it up and hugged it to her chest. "wow! did you get it back?" she asked him 

"ah no.. it was just there when we entered the gym. kunimi found it" he said as he pointed towards kunimi who was too busy looking at his phone 

"thank you!" she beamed at them 

"no problem. maybe the teacher decided to give it back" he said 

she grinned and happily inspected it for damage just in case. though her smile quickly fell as her eyes trained themselves on a card plastered across the snow monster design's face. she plucked it off and wearily read over the neat letters written in gold ink. 

"you'll need this for later.. " she read with furrowed brows

she flipped the card over and paled as she saw the name that was signed. "love, adam" she shuddered 

"who's adam?" oikawa asked as he peered over her shoulder to read the card 

"um. he's-" she was cut off by the gym lights suddenly shutting off, causing her to jump in surprise. "what happened?" she asked oikawa, who shrugged in response and held her closer to him 

"my eve~" a voice cooed, accompanied by what seems like a sigh of delight and pleasure

she shivered and subconsciously backed up into oikawa's chest as she recognized the voice. "hey, what's wrong? you know that creep?" oikawa asked with a frown 

"its adam." she said 

everyone watched in confusion as the mysterious man entered the gym in an unnecessarily dramatic way. a red carpet rolled from the outside until the spot where y/n stood, and the gym lights turned on but were dimmed. 

"i hope you like my little gift" adam cooed as he skated towards her with a grin "you'll need i for what i have in store, as stated in my letter" he said 

y/n didn't answer but simply looked at him with a grimace, silently praying to whatever god out there that he just trips and dies or something. 

"though i have another gift for you, SNOW" he cooed as he came to a halt before her. adam grinned as he pulled out a huge bouquet of roses "these flowers are red, which symbolise one thing.." he said

"passionate love" adam cooed as he held it before her, making the petals fly around and making her hair sway. 

oikawa blinked once, and twice. he looked at the masked man in both fear and ick. just who the hell as he, anyways? "hey-what the?! aren't you like thirty?!" oikawa accidentally blurted out as he pulled y/n away 

adam simply ignored the brunette and kept his eyes trained on the girl. he waited patiently for her to accept the flowers. 

y/n pursed her lips and reluctantly took it from him. "thanks." she said. 

"you're accepting that??" oikawa groaned out as he looked at her in dread and confusion. 

she shrugged and gently placed the bouquet on a random bench. "adam--" she cut herself off with a squeak as she felt his hands gently grip her waist and pull her closer 

"come to this location i picked out." he whispered into her ear as he handed her another card. y/n stiffly nodded and quickly snatched the card from him, wanting nothing more than to get out of that situation.

"amazing!" adam exclaimed as he, finally, pulled away from her. "you never fail to entertain me, SNOW." he grinned "i knew coming here will be worth my while" he chuckled. 

"ah. right.." she muttered as she looked at him weirdly "wait, did you follow me?" she asked with a raised brow as the realisation finally dawned upon her. 

"other factors do not matter, my eve" adam mused as he took her hand in his and grabbed her hip with his other. "meet me later and let us dance like old times, okay?" he cooed with a smirk 

she looked away in discomfort and reluctantly nodded her head. "right.." she mumbled 

the boys, who were standing right there to witness the whole thing, looked at each other with a look that embodied the term 'what the fuck' and mentally agreed to step up and help her. 

"excuse me." iwaizumi cleared his throat, making adam side eye him with a look of disinterest 

"who are you and what are you doing with y/n?" he asked as he placed his hand on y/n's shoulder to try and pull her free from his grasp. "let go" oikawa said with a scowl as he pried adam's hands off her

"who are these nuisances, my eve?" adam asked her as he completely ignored their presence. "i thought i've already gotten rid of that redhead, and yet new names will be added into the list" adam hummed with a smile 

y/n gulped as she took note of the faint hostility behind his tone. "they're my friends." she said as she backed away from him and into oikawa’s arms once again 

"i'll meet you for a beef later but that's all" she said as she turned away from him "after that, please leave, adam." she requested with a sigh as she picked up the bouquet and her bag 

she gathered the boys and pushed them all out of the gym, quickly ushering them to run off along with her. she looked back one last time, only to be met with adam's eyes which seemed to be comically glowing red under his mask, paired with a grin 

she gulped and set him a curt nod. "bye" she said 

"goodbye, my eve" adam cooed as he watched her run off to the boys 

"hey hey! what the hell was that?!" oikawa exclaimed as he hugged y/n tightly in his arms "that creepy mask man came out of nowhere!" he said "and why'd he start touching you?" 

"yeah, who was that?" iwaizumi asked her

"his name is adam, or atleast that's what we call him" she replied "he's just like that, don't mind him" 

"uh no, i think i'm gonna mind him, thanks very much" oikawa scoffed "what did you mean when you asked if he followed you?" he asked with furrowed brows 

"oh.. well there's no other way he would've known i was here" she replied as she leaned back against his chest 

"also, oikawa-san.." she trailed off

"yeah?" he hummed 

"why are you still holding me?" 

oikawa blinked and slowly retracted his arms with a hint of reluctance. "haha, sorry" he chuckled 

"why does he call you eve?" matsukawa sweat dropped. "it has something to do with his name. adam, and eve.. like lovers" she answered with a look of distaste 

"..." 

iwaizumi let out a sigh before pulling out his phone and dialling a number. "im calling the police." he said 

"ah, don't do that" she waved her hands dismissively "i don't think that'll do much anyways" 

"well, he's clearly sick in the head so maybe they'll take him somewhere else other than jail" matsukawa mused. "ya know.." hanamaki chimed in "like the psych ward or something" 

"well when you put it like that.." y/n sweat dropped 

oikawa had a frown on his lips as they chatted. he wasn't joining in like he usually would, and was simply thinking to himself. y/n side eyed him and nudged him with her shoulder. "would you like to have dinner together, oikawa-san?" she asked him 

oikawa's eyes widened as his head instantly snapped over to hers "what?!" he spluttered "did you just ask me out?" 

"... i asked if you wanted to have dinner" she said 

oikawa bit back his tongue as he yearned to say 'that's the same thing!' but fought against it. "ah, sure!" he agreed with a grin. she smiled back and nodded. "great. i needed to stop thinking about adam" she said 

"also, will you guys come with me later?" she asked them 

the boys raised laughed and immediately nodded. "well, i was going to tell you not to go but.. i guess it'll be fine with us there" iwaizumi said. "yeah. if that dude does something sketchy, i'll seriously call 911" hanamaki laughed 

"oh, you can't." she said. "or else you and i will get involved. the skating i do isnt really appreciated by legal forces." she chuckled nervously 

"what?" 

"its kind of illegal." 

"...y/n.." iwaizumi trailed off with a sigh. 

"no way?! cool!" oikawa exclaimed as he gave her a high five. "it is, isn't it?!" she grinned as she and oikawa laughed together 

"jesus christ." iwaizumi deadpanned 

"that dinner was great!" she grinned as she sent oikawa a thumbs up 

"ah you're right.." he agreed with a meek laugh. "though it would've been better without them." he muttered as he sent the iwaizumi, maki, and mattsun a glare 

"oh cmon captain!" hanamaki mused "you love us!" he laughed. "no i don't" oikawa huffed and crossed his arms. 

"well, i love you guys" y/n interjected with an innocent smile

oikawa jumped and hastily waved his arms about. "no! no you don't!" he exclaimed. "why.. why not?" she sweat dropped 

"that should be saved for a special someone!" he said "cough. me. cough." 

"you're right!" y/n beamed with a grin "like reki!" 

oikawa dramatically sulked, kicking rocks by his feet and muttering under his breath as a gloomy aura surrounds him. "reki this reki that. why is it always reki? hmp" he muttered bitterly to himself 

iwaizumi sweat dropped and simply dragged him along "shut up, shittykawa. this is just getting sad" he said. "also, y/n where exactly are we going?" iwaizumi asked her as he looked around the dark and unsettling part of the woods they have entered 

"adam said he set up a course for us tonight" she answered with a shrug as she pushed her way through random bushes "it has to be hidden but we're very close, don't worry." she reassured 

"that's the problem. we're close." iwaizumi sighed. "just so you know, im still against this whole thing" 

"don't worry iwaizumi-san! it'll be fun!" y/n said with a grin as she pushed through one last bush, revealing a bright light from behind. 

"ah, there she is!"

y/n covered her eyes as a bright light shone against her "my eve!" adam announced followed by multiple cheers and shouts

"what the hell..?" matsukawa muttered as he looked around the abandoned looking part of the forest which was littered with skaters cheering and watching. "what the hell is this place?" she muttered as she recognised a few faces from S "is this S..?"

"my eve" adam cooed as he skated towards her "do you like it?"

"i've gathered everyone here to see you skate!" he exclaimed "everyone has missed you. but not as much as me" adam grinned as he tucked a single rose between her ear, making her shudder and warily poke at the flower.

"is reki here?" she asked with widened eyes as she looked around for a certain redhead

"that boy is not needed, is he not?" adam rebutted with a scowl "so there was no need to invite him."

her face fell at the statement and peered up at him with a frown. "don't say that about him.." she muttered

adam hummed and lit up a cigarette. "if emotions could be seen by the eye, what shapes would they be?" he mused

y/n brows furrowed as he listened to him. "i believe it will be a spring. and that spring will have different amounts of water depending on the occasion." he said "my spring is currently completely dry. because i don't have even one millimeter of interest in that.. reki..." he said with a grimace 

"but you.." adam trailed off as he threw the cigar away. 

he skated towards her and grinned, encaging her in a bubble her as he skates around her. "good.. you're good.." he said with a sigh of pleasure 

"it flows out... it gushes out!" adam exclaimed 

"that's right. the prize of this bet shall be you!" he announced as he gripped her waist and pulled her closer to him so their chest were touching "and what shall you ask for if you win, little y/n?" adam cooed as he tilted his head with a grin 

y/n sheepishly looked away from him and muttered. "if i win.. you have to go back and leave me alone.." she said 

adam's smile momentarily fell. he then grinned and nodded along. "what a cruel request" he mused "but if that is what you want then so be it.." he chuckled 

"but that just means i have to win no matter what, right?" 

y/n looked at him with dread. she didn't answer but simply turned away from him and faced the boys. "hey, i think we should leave" oikawa suggested with a nervous laugh "that guy is crazy!" 

"and what's with this place? i thought for sure he'd just bring you to a skatepark or something" he said as he eyes the various skaters who were chatting along 

"you'll see oikawa-san." 

everyone watched in anticipation as the lights blink one by one, a buzzing sound acting as a count down for them. as the last ringing of the buzzer filled the air, both adam and y/n skated off.

"holy shit" matsukawa cursed in surprise

they had done so in immense speed and force, that they'd even left some skid marks and a trail of dust and rubble behind

"yeah! go SNOW!" "im betting on you, SNOW!!" "SNOW you better win!"

oikawa watched with widened eyes as the crowd around them cheered and hollered, shouting her alias along with some encouragement. "snow?" oikawa hummed in confusion "is that like a nickname or something?" he muttered

"yes. we like to keep our personal lives apart from our skating activities." a guy chimed in "and that includes our given names, so we make up aliases or nicknames, as you said."

oikawa looked up at the man with a mask and nervously chuckled "i see." he said "what's your name then, sir?" he asked, only to quickly correct himself "or ma'am? uh-"

"cherry." he answered

cherry looked oikawa up and down and brought his eyes up to the screen displaying y/n and adam. "also im a guy." he said with a sigh. "ah right, sorry" oikawa chuckled

"its the hair isn't it?" a new voice cooed followed by a laugh 

oikawa watched as cherry sighed and irritably glare at the green haired guy that skated towards them. 

"sup kid" joe greeted with a nod "i heard you came with our rookie over there" he mused as he stared up at the girl through the screen. "im joe. im a friend of hers" he said with a grin as he held his hand out for him to shake. "cherry here is too" 

"oikawa tooru" oikawa said as he accepted the hand shake "im also her friend" he smiled at them 

"stop talking and watch. she brought you here so you better make the most of it" cherry interrupted their conversation 

"right.." oikawa nodded 

"YEAH GO SNOW!" "she's speeding up!" "ADAM's totally catching up though!" 

oikawa's eyes glistened in wonder and amazement as he watched her sharply turn a corner and flip her board around, using the edge to balance herself from the steep curve of the concrete. 

"its here!" adam exclaimed in delight 

y/n turned back with a cautious gaze as she watched in partial dread and confusion as adam does some type of dance as he skates. though she wouldn't lie, it was kid of impressive for him to keep his balance. but still.. 

" here, here! right in my heart!" adam exclaimed with a light squeal, continuing to dance and spin around, only making her dread what was to come next even more. 

"now, little y/n.." adam cooed as he suddenly appeared behind her to grab her waist and drag her closer to him, causing their boards to bump. 

"dance with me!" he said with a grin as he took her hand and maneuvered their way through the curves and turns of the course 

"what the..?! that's dangerous! shouldnt this be against the rules or something?!" oikawa exclaimed as he watched the scene play out in fear 

"no. there are no rules when it comes to S." cherry explained. "it may be dangerous but, the moment she agreed to the beef was her brushing off the consequences she may face." 

oikawa gulped and look back up, watching on distaste as adam spreads her feet to make her lose her balance 

iwaizumi, matsukawa and hanamaki's expressions were just about the same. they didn't really know what they were expecting when she brought them here but it surely wasn't this. 

adam chuckled as he pushed her, making her stumble and almost fall off, only for him to catch her by the small of her back and dipping her as if it was a dance. 

"okay, this is going too far.." iwaizumi muttered as they watched her expression through the screen 

y/n gritted her teeth as she glared up at him, only for adam to smile at her in amusement. 

"y/n.." oikawa muttered with a frown as he felt the worry build up inside of him 

"we're approaching a big corner now!" adam taunted her. he intertwined their hands and grinned mischievously as he lifted her up and started spinning her around. "here we go!" he exclaimed with a laugh

it was a total contrast to her screams of pure dread and adrenaline, tightly gripping his hands so she wouldn't fall and injure herself 

"this is so fun, SNOW!" adam cooed as she finally was able to place her feet back on her board, although they were still spinning 

everyone watched as the camera zoomed in on them, showing her widened eyes and gritted teeth as she stared up at adam, who was smiling tauntingly at her. "oh? is something the matter?" adam cooed "please don't tell me youre scared." 

it seems everyone, including adam was pleasnatly surprised as a small but noticeable smirk carved itself onto her lips. maybe it was adrenaline, but it seemed like it was out of enjoyment as well. after all, it's been a while since she's skated properly against someone. 

y/n grinned as she narrower the space between them, pushing herself against him as she took turn to maneuver them against the turn 

"she narrowed the turn radius to speed up" joe said as he stared up at the screen with a proud and amused smile "still the same as always" 

the boys looked at him and gulped. they had no idea what was happening whatsoever, except for the fact that she can literally die or injure herself with one wrong move. 

"love-love-love-lovely!" adam exclaimed with a laugh "wonderful!". y/n panted as she pulled away and finally managed to get a grip of her board once again 

"he's gonna do the love hug" a new voice filled the air 

the boys whipped their heads around to see a redhead rushing towards the scene with two other guys, one younger. 

"love hug..?" oikawa tilted his head in confusion as he peered down at the vaguely familiar redhead. though his attention was averted back to the screen as the atmosphere seemed to have grown heavier 

adam was grinning as he spun back around, spreading his arms as he looked at her through his mask. "come here.. into my arms!" adam cooed "love hug!" 

"Y/N!!" reki exclaimed as he shifted anticipatingly in his place, dropping his own board in the process 

as comical as it was, she somehow managed to hear his scream. maybe it was because everyone else was quiet due to suspense. but reki's voice echoed throughout the cleared out forest loud enough for her to hear. 

"reki..?" y/n spluttered as she immediately jumped over adam, performing what looks to be a snowboarding trick. she stayed in the air for longer as she eyed the area she planned to land. 

"YEAH! GO SNOW!" cheers erupted among the audience, filling the tense air with noise yet again. 

"she did it!" reki grinned as he watched her through the screen 

"reki?" oikawa mumbled with widened eyes as he looked at the redhead with a new sense of intimidation and wariness. though his eyes were quickly averted back to the scene before him. as unexpected as it was, he'd still rather focus on y/n skating rather than some kid he didn't know. 

"adam's not having it." cherry sighed as he watch adam try to keep up with her speed but struggle due to the advantage she had received

"she's gonna win!" reki grinned as he watched the two skate in anticipation

and just as he had predicted, loud screeching of her board's tires were heard as she passed over the finish line. "ah-ah shit!-" she cursed as she lost her balance and toppled over, causing her to wince in pain 

"ouch.." she sighed as she sat up on the ground, rubbing her head and checking her board for damage since the course was rockier than usual 

"y/n-chan!" oikawa exclaimed as he, along with the three boys rushed over to her, given that the finish line was a few yards away from them. "oikawa-san!" she faced him with a grin as she opened her arms for him to drop into "i won!" she said

"i know! you were so cool!" oikawa gushed as he stared up at her in admiration

"ehem." iwaizumi cleared his throat

"oh right." oikawa muttered. "but that was really dangerous!" he scolded her, a total contrast to his reaction before. "are you injured? your hand is probably wounded with how much you skidded it against the rocks!"

she smiled sheepishly and shook her head "im fine, oikawa-san" she reassured him "my hands and feet are kind of sore but it's alright"

"also.. was reki here? i heard him" she asked as she looked around the place, trying to find the redhead 

"i've lost" adam said as he stopped before her 

"you.. you do remember what my request was right?" she asked him with a wary gaze. "of course, my eve" adam mused. "i'm not very happy with it, as you may know" 

she looked down at her shoes and gave him a quick bow "sorry." she said "but a bet is a bet. and i won." y/n looked up at him and sent him a faint ghost of a smile. "it was fun skating with you, adam. but you have to distance yourself from me.." 

adam gazed at her with pursed lips, not looking too amused about the situation, but nodded nonetheless. "im glad i've left you satisfied, my eve" he cooed as he took her hand in his and placed a quick peck onto her knuckles 

the boys around her sweat dropped as they witnessed the strange and awfully uncomfortable interaction. "right well.." iwaizumi cleared his throat as he hesitantly pushed them apart. "we'll be going now." he said "this place is dangerous and you shouldn't really be making her participate in reckless things like this. do better sir." 

y/n smiled at him and chuckled as he dragged her away along with the others, more that eager to leave that place. 

"you're never skating ever again." iwaizumi said to break the silence 

"what?! no way!" she whined "didn't you see that iwaizumi-san? it was so fun!" 

"that guy was a creep and you were on the verge of dying." 

"well.. it was fun though" she huffed as she realised she couldn't even disagree with his statement 

"well, i think it looked fun" oikawa whispered to her with a cheeky wink, making her chuckle and suppress a smile 

"anyways.." she started as they had finally reached the exit of the forest. "i asked you before but.. was reki there? i heard him" she said 

"reki? well..." oikawa hesitated as he nervously looks around the place. "was he there, oikawa-san?" she asked him with an innocent smile 

"he-" 

"Y/N I FOUND YOU!!" 

i just used the whole beef langa had w adam on ep.5 here lol </3

sorry for the spelling /grammar mistakes if there are any :>