#after i finished writing this i'm too afraid to put this in the one piece tag

[fandom-girls-stuff]

It's just something i think about a lot. ABO Au, O!Sanji and A!Ace see each other more than that one time in Alabasta, so eventualy they get together and bond. Then Marineford happenes, but Ace lives. On the verge of death, but survives.

While this happenes Sanji is scared, anxious, shuts himself in, he doesn't know if Ace is dead or not. When Ivankov returns, he tells Sanji his mate is alive. He feel better after that, but the anxiousness is still there. However it goes to the point he doesn't have heat during the whole timeskip.

Before Fishman Island arc Ace visits the Strawhats to see his brother and his mate. When Ace and Sanji final see each other eye to eye Sanji immediately goes into heat. Ofc it's not a normal one and it lasts for one and a half week and Sanji is not letting go of Ace until he knots a whole litter in him.

[newttxt]

hi quip! i really like your one piece comics and i am curious how you do them! i'm not good at comics and want to be better at drawing them! how do you learn how to make comics?

thank you!

uh oh... im afraid u have caught me at the perfect crossroad of "bored at work" and "unrelated task ive been meaning to do but keep putting off."

this is long. i hope you like reading (and grayscale progress pics). and of course!!! disclaimer before we begin that this is just how I, personally draw comics. there is no "right way."

quip's comic-making process!

Switching my typing to make this more legible...

My process can kinda be broken down into 6 steps:

Brainstorming

Thumbnailing

Sketching

Panels & Text

Lines

Tones/Colors

1. Brainstorming

My brain is a leaky sieve on a good day, so I sloppily jot down ideas in my phone notes the moment I have them. This helps me when it's time to draw too, because if I feel art blocked, I can look through old concepts and see what catches my interest.

Otherwise, I love drawing for other people's writing. :) And if worst comes to worst, doing manga/comic page redraws in my style teaches me new things every time.

Once I have my idea, I'll usually make a bulletpoint list of "plot points" or "story beats" I want. Then I plan the comic with this format that I've adapted from a tutorial I read once. I'm going to use my most recent comic (original comic post) as an example.

I start in the third column, writing notes of what I'd want to see in each panel. I also include the dialogue (in this case, I didn't have to write the dialogue! it's from the fanfic linked in the original comic post!). I usually write the whole name like [Luffy:], but at this point I've drawn so much of these guys, just the first letter works.

I like to handwrite these notes to get an idea for how much text I'm putting in a single panel.

After I describe all the panels, I go back and separate them into pages. I can't tell you how to know how many panels to a page. It's whatever works for you. I just kinda know about how big each panel will be, and so I can feel when I'm probably running out of space. (Also. You can change things later. I don't in this example, but I add/drop pages/panels all the time.)

2. Thumbnailing

Thumbnailing—as the name suggests—should be done tiny. Too tiny to accidentally get sucked into details.

This is about marking down blobs where items/characters go, and figuring out the paneling. I'll draw and redraw these a bunch of times too.

This is also the most time-consuming/brain-working part for me. If I were in a zine that did progress percentage, I'd try to finish thumbnailing around the 50% mark (but I'm also a moderately fast artist, so your mileage may vary).

I think the terrible quality makes them charming, actually. I really like how silly they look. :')))

I will add, when you draw your "page" rectangle, make sure it's the same proportions as your actual canvas for the final image. You want an accurate idea of how much space each panel will take up, especially if you have a lot of text.

3. Sketching

This is my most recent change to my usual workflow, and it's saving me a lot of time. I make my thumbnails a bit bigger (each one about half the size of the final canvas), and I sketch these basic body forms right over them.

It just helps give me placement for my actual lines!

I usually draw these in a paleish color so I can lower the opacity and not get distracted by them while lining. The random darker parts are to either help keep two forms separate (like when two characters have their limbs all over) or to better define sections that were too sloppy/poorly proportioned.

I also think this helps my poses stay looser, because I have more dramatic/wriggly shapes that aren't too bogged down by proportions yet.

Sidenote: I CANNOT show this here, but sometimes this is when I take videos. Of myself. I prop my phone camera up and shoot a video of me acting each panel. :/// It looks really dumb, but it also shows me fun body language ideas like hand gestures, expressions, weight distribution, etc. Just pretend you're an overdramatic cartoon character, and try not to worry about your roommates or mother walking in on you doing odd things. (You can also use the video for anatomy reference later, but I usually just capture the vibe and don't try to copy the actual video frame.)

4. Panels & Text

Oh, boy. So, the panels are usually just straight lines (though it's fun to make creative exceptions, like a round panel to mimic looking through a spyglass), but there are some fancy rules that I don't strictly adhere to.

I believe (I have no technical training in this. Take everything I say with a grain of salt) the vertical gaps (between two side-by-side panels) should all be a consistent width and the horizontal gaps (between two panels on top of each other) should be another. The vertical ones? Should be thinner? Because you want the eye to easily glide between them, whereas the horizontal gaps should be a visual barrier to keep you from jumping ahead. Just something I've vaguely noticed.

There are lots of fun "default layouts" you can look up. Or keep it a consistent grid. I think it's fun to sometimes have characters/objects sticking out of panels and overlapping others. This is just a matter of taste, creativity, and inspiration. (Read Witch Hat Atelier... It has some of my favorite paneling...)

You may also notice I have already done the speech bubbles. This is, to me, a crucial step. This helps me catch early if I don't have enough room for all the words. It also lets me plan the art in each panel with the speech bubbles in mind. There's nothing worse than working really hard on a panel, and then you realize there's no room for the bubbles.

I also try to lay them out in a way that guides the eye! Even without art, can people tell where to go next? Better yet, if I want people to look at panels out of order (aka not left to right, in my case), can I use the speech bubble path to make them? Here's just a vague example of what I mean.

As an added bonus, doing speech bubbles early also allows me to be lazy! :) Ignore the comic; I'm not supposed to post it yet oops,, There's a whole lot of drawing to do on each comic page, and I am not wasting my time on stuff that will be covered up. So yes, if I hide my bubbles, there are a lot of unfinished lines trailing off into nothing. (As a bonus, if there's a part of a character you're struggling with—and it won't look weird to do so—you can move speech bubbles to just hide the problem area yayyy)

Making the actual bubbles could be their own whole tutorial, tbh, but there are some general guidelines I use.

Zoom out when you choose your font size. You want to know how it will look to the average reader, so it isn't super teeny tiny or way too big. You generally want to keep the same text size for all your pages/bubbles.

When I draw bubbles, I try to size them about one vertical letter height (and some change) around the words [left side]. This isn't always the case though, because humorously large or funny shaped text bubbles can convey different feelings [right side].

On Procreate, I set my bubble lines to Reference and just drag-and-drop the white fill on a separate layer below the lines. (Remember to turn Reference back off again when you're done, or your fill bucket won't work right when you're drawing.)

To get the white outlines I use to keep the bubbles from cluttering up the art, I literally just Gaussian blur an all-white copy of the lines + fills... and then I copy and merge it 5 times until it's opaque enough. This is a terrible way to do it, but it works for me. :')

5. Lines

This is the part that I can't tell you how to do. I literally just. Draw right over my wacky sketched body forms. Boom. Comic drawn.

I'll make three suggestions:

Don't focus on making every panel perfect. Give a little extra love to big ones or ones you want people to linger on. Otherwise, know that people are typically speeding through the art. It's way more important to focus on storytelling than art technique. In my opinion, a good story that's told well will always be better than a beautiful one told poorly. (Some comics are beautiful AND well-written... Alas, I am just a hobbyist who needs to get the ideas out of my head at top speed.)

Put your background lines on a different layer. Put your foreground lines on a different layer too, if you have those. Basically, I try to keep the main part of each panel (usually a character or object) on my lines layer so I can erase background/foreground/etc lines to ensure clarity/focus.

You can make background lines lighter colors too. I have too many numbers sorry. (1) Background. The stuff that's farthest away. Lightest lines. Few details; more focused on shapes and the suggestion of a background (I'm not good at backgrounds). (2) Midground. Same distance away as the characters are. Lines can be black. (3) Also midground, and also the same distance away. But they're very detailed, so I lighten them so they aren't so distracting. (4) The characters. Black lines for focus. For people who haven't seen the comic, I swear they are just hugging. This is SFW. D:

6. Tones/Colors

Do not. Do NOT ask me. I don't understand colors. I hate working with them, but I try because I want to improve. I hate doing anything beyond the simplest grayscale shading. Please go elsewhere for your coloring/tone advice. This is how my color picker looks 95% of the time. I have pre-set "percentages" of black that I got by lowering the opacity of a black layer and just color picking it. I don't even know the exact percentages I used. Good luck out there. Be better than me.

7. Sharing

This is a bonus step that I didn't mention earlier, but it's actually the most important of all of them.

You need a friend. Or maybe a groupchat or discord. A family member or coworker if you're really close like that. I don't know.

Find SOMEWHERE you can spam wips and be cheered on. Drawing comics takes a while, especially if you're trying to tell longer stories than I'd dare to attempt. If I don't force someone to praise me for every line I draw, I shrivel up and die.

Also if and when you post online, add alt text. I'll admit I'm the first person to complain and drag my feet on this, and I literally use a screenreader myself when my eyes hurt (strong prescription glasses wearer). Comics should be accessible, because stories are fun and everyone should be able to enjoy them.

***

Learning???

And I guess lastly, how do you learn to make comics? Two steps: 1) read them and 2) make them. This is the tragedy of creating things.

1) Reading them: I grew up reading comic strips, western serialized comics, and webcomics. I've always loved graphic novels too. Then in late middle school, I started reading manga (Death Note and Haikyuu were my first two), and now I'm trying to read more webtoons (sorry im so slow bree)!

I also... mass-consume doujinshi, thanks to proxy mailing services and bilingual friends/Google Translate/knowing some Korean. (I have an entire bookshelf of doujin, actually,,)

The thing is, it's not usually enough to just read comics. You also need to be thinking. :/ I notice paneling, comic devices, clever comedic timing, etc. as I go. It's just a lot of studying/learning while also enjoying the story.

2) Making them: You just have to start. :( Even if you think they're "bad." My first comics were actually just drawings placed randomly all over the page, connected by speech bubbles (yay... I was already practicing how to place bubbles to lead the eye around the page...). I was going to post a pic here, but I'm a coward. Backscroll my account and you can find some older ones though.

I also know my art in general improved dramatically when I did ten comics in ten weeks for my friend's fic. Don't do this. It hurt my hands/wrists. But do practice in moderation.

***

If you actually read all that... I hope it made even a modicum of sense. And maybe it was even helpful? Just know at the end of the day, there is literally no right way to draw a comic.

And if you aren't ready to go for it yet, you can start by just adding a couple speech bubbles to your illustrations or doodles! It's a way to add storytelling and dialogue writing to things you may already be making.

Yay. I love comics. :))))

[pandora-writes-one-piece]

Lament

Source for pic

Lament

Word Count: 551

Tags: Hint at angst; Hint at Fluff;

Special Warning: English is not my first language!

Notes: I can't get this song out of my head and I can't get this scene out of my head... It's part of Kid's meet-cute story and yes, it's a spoiler, though you won't understand what you're being spoiled about. Chances are I won't even write it like this when the time comes, but I needed this out of my head!! This has helped me destress the day away... I hope you enjoy it, even though it's small and just a piece of something that's not unfinished because it isn't even started.

Masterlist

He had taken you to the overlook again, that calm spot where only you and the stars were witnesses to the ghosts that haunted you both. The silence felt heavier than during those other times, something unsaid hung in the air. Not something bad, like the anger that had been left in the past - the misunderstandings or the hurt - but something far deeper. 

“How can ye love someone like me?”

His words sounded rehearsed, like he'd been replaying them in his head over and over, too afraid to whisper them to you, too afraid to voice his inner thoughts. 

A small sigh parted your lips. You had been waiting for the literal bomb to drop, but it was more destructive than you had initially thought. 

“What do you mean, Kid?”

“Ye know what I mean!” Kid passed one hand through his fiery red hair, the heavy motorcycle creaking with effort as he leaned against it. “After everythin’ I've done, all I've put ye through, the pain I've inflicted on ye… I…”

Kid sighed heavily, a frown pulling his lips downwards. His next words were a mere whisper, thick with emotion and all that was left unsaid in between. 

“How can ye look at me and still find somethin’ worthy of bein’ loved?” 

You moved away from the edge of the overlook, the arms you had wrapped securely around your body opening up as you shed your defenses for him. His vulnerability called to yours like twin flames, burning with the same intensity. 

“I know you're not perfect–”

“Perfect?” He interrupted you with a loud bark. “I'm not even good! Let alone perfect! I'm angry, volatile, loud, and–... and a bloody coward.”

Just one step took you closer than you’d been to him in the last few weeks. Just one step turned your heart into a drum, beating wildly and fast. 

“If only you'd let me finish…” You admonished, a slight playful edge to your tone. Kid grumbled but stayed silent, so you continued with your thoughts. “You're not perfect, but I never asked for perfection. I see the way you're trying so hard to make amends.”

Kid's eyes fell on you, and his hand twitched at your proximity, though he didn't push the unsaid boundaries you’d put up since he broke you apart. He didn't even try to touch you. 

“I see the man who shows up every day; the man who slowly wins my trust back; the man who shares ghosts of the past with me, even though they take part of his soul when he's reminded of them.”

Another one of your steps brought Kid closer to touching you. His scent enveloped you and invaded your senses, making your heart clench at the distance you’d created. 

“And I see the man who cares in his own way, even though he doesn't say it, most likely never will, but he shows it with every small gesture.”

The way you smiled at him must have hit home, because Kid let out a small whine, his brows furrowing as his lip trembled. 

“So no, Kid. You're not perfect.” Lifting your arm, you let just the tips of your fingers trace his jawline, following the shiver the touch created down his neck and settling on his flesh arm. “But you're damn worth it.”

Tag list: @rosidaze @beachaddict48 @armiliadawn @jintaka-hane @sprinkklz @baby5555 @hopelesslover06 @mars-mizuko @sleepykittycx @nerium-lil @eustasscapitankid @ren-ni @jqperi @lycoriskalmia @daydreamer-in-training @iloveyoushanks @tremendoushorsepatrolgoth

[i-am-hungry-24-7]

Since you open ask box and request, can I get TF141 men (or Ghost and Gaz if you don't feel like to write all of them) reacting to cool, rarely smile, intimidating and stoic reader finally smiling for the first time. Let's say reader has soft spot for certain things (cat, dog, book, flower etc) and they immediately smile when they see them without realize it. Boys just keep falling harder for reader and decide to make it their mission to make reader smiles more often.

I guess that's all for now. Thank you

🦈

hello🦈 anon!! Sorry I wasn't sure you want me to write them separately or together, so I chose the latter lmao. Hope you will like it (or don't hate it), TYSM for the request :) I love this request so much since I'm always a fan of cool reader. tf141*GN!Reader, Reader's kinda tsundere word count: 1.9k

Every member of Task Force 141 saw you as a capable teammate, you went through thick and thin with them, and always have their back. On the field, your shooting accuracy and excellent combat skills saved you and the team many times, quickly clearing any threat so the mission wouldn’t be compromised. You have rarely been scolded by Price, and always dealt with your paperwork impeccably. The only problem was that you’re too stoic, they never saw you smile from the first day you joined the task force. More like a robot than a human, this is how others evaluated you, and you had an aura that made recruits afraid to speak to you.

You even smiled less than Ghost, at least the man still got some dry humor and bad jokes to spit out, but you rarely reacted to greetings except a nod, less to say about Soap and Gaz joking with you, they were lucky if you spared them a crook of your eyebrows to their teasing that day. but this only made your teammates curious —especially Soap — eager to know the person under the facade, even if it was just a little. Soap wrote down what he discovered from you every day in his journal, from how you always have your tea, to trivial habits like you would frown nearly imperceptibly when you see the cafeteria is out of your favorite sandwich. Soap would tell other men about what he finds about you today, and they would keep those details in mind too. Until the day, Laswell brought a big cake which she was gifted by others but she was unable to finish it herself. They saw your eyes brighten instantly, and an expectant smile blooms on your face. Your eyes stuck on the exquisite big cake in front of you, not aware of Gaz gaping at your smile like he saw the sun rise from the west today, how Price immediately stopped his hand while smoking his cigar so he could take a good look, even Ghost’s eyes were wide like full moon behind his mask. It wasn't until Soap’s yelp that dragged you out of your trance, and you turned around just to find all your teammates staring at you like you were an alien. “Any issues, MacTavish?” Confused, you asked Soap who made you stop staring at the cake. “You- You can smile?” “Did I?” “Well, let’s finish this quickly so it won’t left over to tomorrow” Price raised his hand to interrupt the talk before Soap could say other things “The fridge has no place to put this bloody huge cake.” After Price’s command, all of you walked and took a plate and fork. Price sliced a medium size for him, Ghost did the same. Soap took the knife and sliced a slightly bigger one for him and Gaz, but when he was about to cut one for you, you reached out your hand to beckon a “give me” gesture, which Soap obliged and handed over the handle to you. Only for him to see you slice 1/3 of that damn enormous cake and put it on your plate. “Wha- ye sure ye can eat all of ‘em ?!” His jaw dropped at the huge slice of cake that made the center of your paper plate sink, but only received an “huh” face from you. Well, his concern was unneeded, because you devoured the whole thing in 5 minutes, faster than everyone else, and stood up to cut another piece. “you really like cake ain’t you.” Gaz chuckled at the scene where you almost bury your face in the plate. “No.” “Then why are you smiling like a kid who sees their favorite toy?” Frowning, you touched your cheek to check, and oh shit, you truly were. “I-“ your face changed from :D to :| while you tried to find an excuse “It’s just Captain said that don’t leave the cake overnight, so I’m eating this much, not that I love cake.”

Even though your poor excuse, all of them knew their new goal now: bringing you cakes so they could see the pretty smile enthralled them. The first who brought you cake is Ghost, he saw a strawberry shortcake on his way back to the base, he didn’t think twice before he told the staff to wrap the cake for him. and he was sure his decision was right when he showed it to you, and you two sat in the common area. He drank the tea you made for him as appreciation while watching that pretty smile reappear on your face again. “Look who said they don’t love cakes, and eatin’ like a man who haven’t eaten in days now.” He lifted his mask to his nose to drink the tea, so when you shot him a glare, you could see the smirk spreading on his lips. “You bought it and I don’t want to waste it, that’s it.” you stabbed the fork on the cake. Ghost huffed out a laugh at your answer, but when you went back to swallow a full spoon of whipped cream, he took note in his mind to buy you the chocolate mousse he saw at the store next time, so the precious expression.

Gaz bought you an Earl Grey mille crepe cake a few days after, which was the flavor of your favorite tea. “It’s it good?” He gave you a toothly grin that you thought was too dazzling when the “not bad” slipped out your lips whilst you were busy finishing the cake. He sat beside you and ate the slice you cut for him, and he rambled about what happened today to entertain you. You pretended you were not interested, eyes never left the cake, but you memorized everything he said clearly.

Of course, Soap wouldn’t forget to dig into this breakthrough of yours. A big ‘they love CAKES!’ was written in his journal, with 2 circles highlighting the words. He considered you have eaten crepe cake and shortcake from Ghost and Gaz, so he got you a basque cheesecake. “What is this?” You tilted your head when you opened the take-out box. “basque cheesecake. Heard it from the medics.” Soap watched you attentively take a little bite at the cake, and he laughed when your face beamed up in a second. “Not bad?” He knew you just refused to admit you love cakes. You answered with your cheeks stuffed with cheesecake. “NAOW BAA” After he waved goodbye to you, he came back to his barrack, he opened his journal. a big ‘Basque cheesecake ✔️’ had been added under the circles.

The captain hadn’t let the chances to see your face gleam with happiness slip by too. As usual, you came to his office with a flawless report, and for some debrief about the next mission. When it was over and you were about to leave, he called your name to stop you from exiting. “Is there anything I forgot to tell you, Captain?” Your face was serious, without any improper or unprofessional, but it didn’t last long because Price took out a fresh cream Swiss roll. “You’re going to drool all over your shirt, sergeant.” He teased and received a little scowl from you, but the harmless scowl was unable to stop him from fixating on and mesmerized by the satisfied grin that lingered on your face when you made both of you some tea and started consuming the whole roll.

You got pampered by all 4 men of your team for months. Thanks to the high amount of exercise, you didn’t gain belly fat, and getting lots of cakes from them had you started gifting them things too. You got Ghost some nice whiskey when you came back from leave, which he gladly accepted and invited you to drink together. You gave Soap some snacks from your hometown and stationeries for journaling, and almost get squished into a dough by his tight embrace. Gaz got some game cards from you, and when he surprisingly asked you why you knew he wanted those games for a while, you just shrugged and walked away, there was no chance that you were gonna tell him you had been listening to him and Soap chatting about them. Price entered his office one day morning, and saw his box of favorite cigars and tea being placed on his desk. He realized it was you in the blink of an eye, only you would choose to secretly put gifts and refuse to leave a note indicating who you were. He just patted your head and thanked you when he met you in the training room.

Times flew fast when your life was occupied with missions and training (and cakes). Tonight you went out for a while to buy something for your teammates, since they still insisted on feeding you cakes frequently, recompensing them with gifts they loved had become your habit too. but when you searched from the common room to Price’s office, you couldn’t find any of them. Odd, you thought, you hadn’t heard them leaving the base too, you even searched each of their room, which still lacked their figures. Furrowing your brows, you decided to go back to your room, maybe you could give them tomorrow. What you didn’t expect was when you opened the door of your room, you were welcomed by Soap and Gaz’s exciting voice. “Happy birthday!” “Jesus… I was searching for all of you…” Your eyes rounded “Wait… It’s my birthday today?” “Don’t tell me ye didn’ remember!” Soap, who standing closest to you and with a birthday cake, shoved you playfully with his elbow. “I…” You glanced at the calendar hanging on your wall, unable to form words when you realized it really was your birthday today. “Come take a seat, love.” Price’s words help you fill the silence. You slowly closed the door behind you, and your gaze traveled from the elegant cake, the flames dancing on the candle, to your teammates — the people you trusted with your life. “A cake makes you stupid, sergeant?” You heard Ghost chuckle at your reaction, but you didn’t glower at him this time, because you felt tears welled up in your eyes, uncontrollably. “Oh no, lovie’s going ta cry!” Gaz joked at you while he led you to your seat. You blinked away tears before they could escape, and smack at Gaz’s bicep. “Shut up, Garrick.” The laughs and jokes filled your little room with joy, you sat there listening to Gaz and Soap banter with Ghost about how he was so selective about the cake so they could give you the best one, and as Ghost retorted back, a plate was handed to you. The biggest slice among others, full of whipped cream and fruits decorating it. You picked up the fork and started eating, the sweetness spread inside your mouth, with the fruit neutralizing it and taking the taste to a whole other level. “Ye always smile when ye eatin’ cakes, you know? really like cakes don’t ye?” You raised your head from the plate, and finding everyone looking at you, with such softness you questioned yourself if you were able to reciprocate, and you touched your cheeks, you could feel the corner of your lips curling upwards. but this time, you deepened your grin, warm and fascinating, before you picked up your fork again. “Maybe I do.”

[kasagia]

Bruises and scars

Pairing: Kaz Brekker x fem! tidemaker! reader Summary: Kaz Brekker believed he was too broken and bruised to ever count on you reciprocating his childish crush. You were a powerful Grisha, someone who wouldn't be content to be in a relationship with the human shell that he was. That's why he gives you the cold shoulder, that's why he avoids you like the water you wield so well, that's why he tried to drive you away after the day you confessed your feelings to him. Kaz Brekker couldn't love anyone. It would not be beneficial to either side. But Kaz Rietveld rises from the dead, reminding him of what it's like to feel unconditional, blind love. And he won't give up. Not until he gets his girl back... isn't it too late for that, though? Warning(s): Kaz and his trauma; violence; he's afraid of his feelings but loves the reader; generally Kazzle misses the reader; angst with fluff; I'm a sucker for happy endings, but the boy suffered WITHOUT HIS INVESTMENT; mentions of de@th and bl00d Word count: 7,4k

Counting days, counting days since my love up and got lost on me

"You're sending Jesper to do your dirty work for you? I didn't know you were afraid to talk to one of your own crows." you stormed into his office without even bothering to knock. Kaz swallowed. He really should have been better prepared for this conversation. After all, he knew you wouldn't give up so easily. "What is this?" you asked, slamming the wad of paper onto his desk.

"I thought you could read. This is your next job." he replied calmly, not looking up from the papers in his hand.

"In some snobbish fucking king's palace? Are you kidding me?"

"Nikolai isn't that bad. You'll see when you get there."

"And what makes you think that I will voluntarily leave Ketterdam, the club, my friends, and the Crows for two bloody years, Kaz?" for the first time since you walked into his office, he looked up from his papers, fixing you with a cool, impassive gaze.

"That I'm your boss, and you have to obey me. You needed a reminder, judging by the tone of voice you use when you speak to me."

"Was it because of what I said to you when I almost..."

"No!" he growled at you, stopping you from finishing your sentence. That day had already joined his nightmares anyway. He didn't have to constantly recall your almost-death. "It has nothing to do with it." he said, hoping that would put an end to your conversation and went back to writing down the numbers.

"Do not lie to me. I know when you do it, Kaz. You got scared because I said I love…"

"You can go and get ready, Y/N." he said without looking up from the paper he was holding. He had never felt her gaze so hot and intense on him before. They always glanced furtively at each other, discreetly indulging in the silly fantasy of loving each other.

Like they could ever afford to live a normal life. As if he could ever love you properly—the way you deserved.

You stared at him intently, trying to find any trace of emotion in him, any evidence that he didn't really want to send you away from Ketterdam, that he was only doing it because Dirtyhands was afraid of the growing feeling between you two.

"I can hold on like this, Kaz." your soft whisper cut through him, making him shiver. He could bear your screams, your anger, your madness, but the tenderness, the vulnerability you showed only around him… was much more dangerous to the cold Barrel Bastard. "I can go and return to you like nothing happened. I can stay near you and pretend I don't feel anything towards you. I can stop myself from wishing for your slightest touch. I can hide my true emotions around you and other people, just like I have done before… but please just prove to me that it's all worth it. That you can slowly take off pieces of your armour and let me see and be with the real you. Not the Brekker's mask you wore every time we were on Ketterdam's street. Not the Dirtyhands' cruel version of yourself that you created to survive in this town. Not the Bastard from the Barrel, who has so much power in his hands to take down his every enemy. Just the real you, Kaz. The genius-mind boss who cares about his people, not only the kruge. The man who loves his friends more than anything on this earth. The man who risked his own life and saved me from death's arms more times than I could count. Please… just give me this little piece of hope." he tried hard not to raise his gaze to meet your captivating, imploring irises that could touch Brekker's heart.

He knew that the moment he looked at your face, he would doom you both by giving in to this burning desire to be with you.

But he couldn't.

He had to keep you away from him.

"You must be foolish or delusional to think like that. I'm the Bastard from the Barrel. And I care about my crows, because they are good investments. Nothing more and nothing less, Y/L/N."

"Is this everything that we are? What am I to you? An investment?"

Kaz's mouth went dry as he felt the waters rising around him, when a familiar feeling of panic began to seep through his practised mask. He looked away, not wanting you to read his true emotions. Not wanting you to see how much he wanted to confess his true feelings to you.

No. You're my moon, my sun that illuminates me in my darkness. The reason why I'm even bothering to learn how to touch people without going under the water again. You give me hope and peace every time you're close to me. You're my greatest power and weakness. The only one in this bloody world who can change my plans. The only one I care about in the mornings, afternoons, nights, and midnights. I can't drink, eat, think, sleep, or work without thinking about you. You have the power over me. And that's terrified me.

He desperately wanted to give in to his desire.

But he couldn't.

He was too bruised and broken for you.

"Then I have my answer, Mr. Brekker." you broke the long, tense silence between you two. Kaz was too terrified to shift his gaze from the papers on his desk to the only woman who could easily crack the wall around his cold, almost dead heart with one of your smiles towards him. Too afraid to watch the tender expression on your face turn into a cold detachment, just like your tone of voice. "Sorry for taking up your precious time, boss. But I would rather be the foolish girl who falls in love too easily for her own good than a powerful man who doesn't want to feel anything. Nobody will sit around the table and tell a story about a man who loves only his kruge. No matter how great he was." your disappointed whisper lingered in his office long after you left.

He sat dazed in his chair until the candle stub burned out completely, leaving him alone in the darkness of his office. He stood up, lit a new candle, and watched the flame. He couldn't focus on anything other than replaying your conversation.

Rietveld's voice echoed in Brekker's head, somehow getting through his wall, mocking powerful Dirtyhands.

Coward.

And every breath that I’ve been taking since you left feels like a waste on me

"No way!" Jesper's loudspeaker scream snapped Kaz out of his thoughts. He sighed, rubbing his face with his hand, and got up from the desk.

He has done nothing since that fateful conversation. Absolutely nothing. He limited himself to staring blankly at the wall as his thoughts of Y/N effectively took complete control of him. He needed a distraction. Jesper's screams outside his office were perfect.

Without his cane, he walked to the door, eavesdropping on what was going on outside his office.

"Find another idiot to tell him. Or better yet, grab some suicide guy from the roof. If he wants to die anyway, he might as well act as a messenger for their one last time before Kaz rips their head off. SHIT!" the sharpshooter screamed in panic, nearly losing his balance as the door he was partially leaning against was opened by his rather worried boss. "Kaz, the fuck, since when are you sneaking around like that?!"

"Why exactly would I want to have ripped someone's heads off, Jesper?" he ignored his comment, eager to find out what they were hiding from him as soon as possible.

Maybe that would effectively occupy his head, so he could stop thinking about the tidemaker for a while. Unfortunately, neither of the two were in a hurry to answer his question.

"You know, there's always an occasion. Theft, insult, threat, frown, bad day, wedding, christening…" Jesper shut up, seeing that his attempts at a joke only infuriated an already irritated Kaz.

"Y/N is gone." Kaz unconsciously held his breath, feeling the whole world freeze around him for a moment, until anger and panic took hold of him.

"What? Did someone kidnap her? How did you look after her?!" he growled furiously, walking back to the office and limping towards his cane. His crows followed hesitantly, watching him struggle as he tried to put on his cloak in his haste.

"She runaway. I lost track of her around the harbour." a new revelation made Kaz freeze again. He stared blankly into the space between Jesper and Inej, turning his cane's crow head in his hand.

He should have anticipated that too. Had a backup plan. But he didn't. He's been acting strangely lately. He didn't recognize himself. But after all, that was what he had wanted all along - to stay away from Y/N. So why had her disappearance made him feel so much worse?

"Kaz? Should we send some people to…"

"No need, Inej. Go back to work. You too, Jesper." the gambler looked like he wanted to argue with him, but the Wraith, seeing their friend's strange behavior, grabbed his hand, and they obediently walked away from their boss.

Kaz leaned against the desk, dullly staring at the closed door.

It was supposed to be better that way. Neither you nor he will ever meet again. You won't exchange those longing glances again. You won't act like a couple of teenagers in love, and no one will ever attack or harm you to get to him again or to threaten him. Nobody was going to get hurt.

So why did he feel like he was going back under the water?

I’ve been holding on to hope That you’ll come back when you can find some peace Cause every word that I’ve heard spoken since you left feels like an hollow street

One week, two days, 10 hours, 34 minutes and 29 seconds. That's how long it's been since he last saw your face.

He was secretly hoping you'd come back to him and the crows. Fuck the crows, he just wanted you to walk through that damned door again and start arguing with him, shouting at him, cursing his name at all the saints you knew, so he could hear your voice again.

He missed you. More than he thought he would.

Irritatingly, everything around him reminded him of you.

Especially your empty seat during Crow's meetings. No one dared to occupy it, as if every one of the gathered was waiting for you to come through that door (or window) again with a malicious, characteristic smirk on your face, mumbling some insincere apology for being late.

It never happened. Though Inej prayed to her saints every day for your return. Just like the others. Although each of them experienced your departure differently. Jes stared often at the places you once occupied, imagining you were still there. Nina found herself often making too many waffles (of course, accidentally making exactly the few you were used to eating). Wylan often creates his bombs and other things in your favourite colours.

But Kaz probably took your absence the worst of them all.

If he had slept little before, fearing that nightmares about Jordie would haunt him, now he hardly slept at all. Because every time he closed his eyes, he saw your face. He heard your laugh. He smelled your perfume. He felt cursed. Cursed by you the moment your eyes looked at him full of sadness, anger, and disappointment... full of pain.

He thought that if you disappeared from his sight, he would forget about you and go back to normal. But your leaving only made him think of you more often and longer. He sat behind his desk for hours, staring blankly at the papers in front of him. Spread out plans, bills, and maps; it all stopped making sense to him. It stopped coming together, creating a perfect plan in his head.

All he could think about was you.

And Rietveld's voice, instead of being silenced and buried alive in his cold heart with your disappearance, only broke through his hard surface more and more often with the passing days without you by his side. And he wasn't holding back from taunting Dirtyhands at all.

The great Kaz Brekker fell victim to one of his own plans.

There must be something in the water Cause everyday it's getting colder And if only I could hold you You'd keep my head from going under

Even Ketterdam has felt your absence.

This time of year, it usually warms up enough for people to shed their heavy winter coats. However, it was the middle of spring, and a cool, icy wind still blew through the streets, bringing occasional, small snowfalls that melted on the street, creating mud.

Kaz had never despised the city he lived in more. Even it laughed in his face at his stupidity, reminding him that it was his fault that the only spark of joy and bewitchingness in this damned city had gone.

He shuddered as a child shoved past him, running happily to the ship that had come into harbour and thrown itself into its father's waiting arms. Brekker began to take rapid, panicked breaths. He closed his eyes and leaned against the wall of one of the buildings, trying to imagine something other than Jordie.

His haphephobia got worse.

Earlier, he could bear the fleeting touch of strangers, such as being brushed up against him in a crowd. It was no problem for him to touch his crows for a few minutes (especially you and your comfortable hugs, holding your hand, or just feeling your warm skin under his bare fingertips).

But now even the slightest contact with a stranger brought him immediately under the water. And the tiny touch from his crows raised the waves he had to calm in the privacy of his office.

He was rolling down. He knew it well. But he saw it as his personal punishment for hurting your feelings in a brutal way instead of gently cutting you off. Maybe then it wouldn't hurt so much.

Kaz knew he was fooling himself. He would suffer anyway. He let you go too deep under his skin, penetrate his essence, and know his soul too well to just give up on you, and forget about you.

And what terrified him most was that, given the choice, he would let you in again. Even knowing he would be devastated after letting you go.

But it was better for you. You deserved something better than this life you would live with him.

And that one thought kept him sane. That he did it for your own good, that wherever you are now, he's sure you're better off than you were in Ketterdam.

Which didn't stop him from checking every ship that came into port in the sick hope of seeing your angelic face.

He just had to get over his grief. He did the same with Jordie.

The only difference was that he didn't dream of holding his brother back in his arms like he dreamed of you.

Maybe I, maybe I’m just being blinded By the brighter side Of what we had because it’s over Well there must be something in the tide

Kaz was on your bed, reading one of your books you accidentally left behind. It was all he could do lately. He wasn't sure how long it had been since he'd left that room for anything other than food and a change of clothes. He missed you. And he had no idea what he should do.

He inhaled your faint scent on the pillows.

In some strange way (probably because of your ability to control the water), you always smelled of the sea, even when you weren't near the harbour. Kaz hated water and hated the salty sea smell that hit him whenever he passed near the harbour. It reminded him of Jordie. But inexplicably, the smell of the sea on you brought him comfort, safety... peace.

Now it was a reminder of something else—how he let you slip through his fingers. In fact, he pushed you away from himself.

He shook his head, trying not to think about you. However, the world was always against him and never made things easy for him. The fact that the dried flower had fallen out of the book onto his chest was proof of that.

With trembling hands, he set the book aside and reached for the flower, afraid he would ruin it. However, the need to see if his eyes were deceiving him was greater than the fear of spoiling such a precious thing.

He remembered that flower. He put it in your hair himself.

"Just the two of us in a field of flowers? If I didn't know you better, I'd think it was a date, boss." he rolled his eyes as you giggled at his reaction.

"Stop it. Or they'll notice us." he muttered, trying to ignore the cool wind that somehow made its way through the high grass. He wrapped his cloak around him, enviously noting that the girl next to him didn't seem to feel that cold. He internally slapped himself for wanting to share his cloak with her.

"I highly doubt they'd want to look for us in that thicket of grass. Besides, usually when a woman is giggling at a place and situation like this, stealing some noblewoman's jewels is the last thing on her mind, Kaz. The same applies to her potential partner."

"As if I heard Jesper." he sighed, focusing on the nobles in front of them. The plan was for Jesper to distract them while he and Y/N collected what they had come for. Simple and fast, if his childish desire to be paired with Y/N did not overwhelm his senses. She distracted him more than he could afford.

"You and Jes also had a secret meeting among the wildflowers? Now, I'm jealous."

"Jes?" he asked, turning his surprised gaze on her.

"Yes, do you mind?"

"You've known him for a week." he remarked dryly.

"Yes, and what?"

"It took you two months to start calling me by my first name, let alone a nickname."

"Just because you preferred to call me tidemaker instead of using my name."

"To be honest, it might have slipped my mind then." he muttered under his breath, not realising she heard him.

"You forgot my fucking name?! Kaz Brekker you are the most ignorant person I've ever seen." Kaz knew from the anger in her eyes that only his haphephobia kept him from getting his ass kicked by Y/N.

"Well, now I remember." he tried to defend himself.

"I don't care, Brekker. Now you can even call me the fucking Easter Bunny and I won't answer you anyway."

"Don't be a child, Y/N. Y/N?" Kaz sighed in frustration when he got no response from you.

He had to come up with something; he knew this name thing wouldn't be resolved until he appeased you properly. And he didn't have time to indulge in your sulks. You had to rob these people. (It's not like his heart ached when you were mad at him.)

Fortunately, out of the corner of his eye, he saw something that might help him. Your favourite flower, growing at his fingertips. He plucked a plant and put it behind your ear without thinking. You flinched at the sudden touch, staring at him in shock as the material of his gloves brushed your cheek as he pulled his hand away.

"Maybe I forgot your name then, but now I remember and know a lot more about you than just a stupid name."

"But how… how do you know I like y/f/f?" you asked in shock, never in your wildest dreams imagining that Kaz Brekker would bother with something like your favorite flower.

"You are my tidemaker. My most important investment. It's logical that I'll know you inside out."

"Should I be afraid or appreciate this unsettling but sweet effort?"

"You should know by now that nothing I do is sweet."

"Of course, big, terrible, Dirtyhands." you replied with a small smirk, similar to the one that kept Kaz from your sight.

To her, he could be more than Kaz Brekker. He could be Kaz Rietveld. And it terrified him more than the urge to reach out his hand again and fix her windblown hair.

The mastermind has been deceived by his own heart.

I’ve been told, I’ve been told to get you off my mind But I hope I never lose the bruises that you left behind Oh my Lord, oh my Lord, I need you by my side

"Zenik. Follow me." he muttered as he finally found the woman at the bar. He headed for his office without looking back, knowing full well that she would do as she was told this time.

"Yes, Kaz?"

"You are contacting Y/N." it wasn't a question. He knew it the moment Nina sent you her first letter a month ago.

He himself tried to send you his letter a week ago. It came back unopened, and the delivery man said no such person lives at this address. A lie he recognised without even knowing that Nina and you were still writing to each other.

"I am." she replied coolly. Kaz, seeing that he did not want to voluntarily cooperate, sighed and sat down in his chair. His leg was starting to hurt more and more often - another thing that went bad with you leaving.

"How is she?"

"Happy. Relatively. She is tormented by nightmares and unwanted thoughts about you." if Nina wanted to make him feel guilty, she did it brilliantly.

He already felt terrible without her judging eyes and dry answers. She must have seen the shadows under his eyes, as he did in his mirror. He had no right to pity himself. He knew it well. That's why he put up with Nina's attitude, in his stupid desire to know how you were doing.

"So… is she better off than here?"

"No. But that's not your problem anymore."

"Did she find someone?" he asked hesitantly, afraid of an affirmative answer.

"Possibly, things are evolving."

Kaz felt the world stop around him for a moment. The idea of someone else watching how you play with water and create ice sculptures, someone listening to your beautiful voice and making you laugh, someone capable of holding you and kissing you, made him sick. A sick sense of jealousy that Kaz only experienced when he saw the wealth of others.

A rash desire to come for you overtook him. He had to have you back. Before you fall in love with someone other than him.

"Do you think if we…"

"No, Kaz." Nina cut him off before he could ask a question. "You wanted to get rid of her, so hold on to your fucking decision. You hurt her, and you knew damn well you would, by ordering her to return to Ravka. Honestly, Kaz, did you think about how it would impact her? How she would feel? If you wanna break her heart again, go on. Chase her. Let's see if she forgives you also this time."

"Then what should I do?" he asked, and the desperation and hopelessness of his tone terrified both him and the woman standing in front of his desk. Nobody had ever seen him like this. Even you. And now he was ready to open up to anyone just to have you by his side again.

"Forget about her. After all, that's what you wanted, right?" he did not answer.

She was right. He wanted to get rid of you. Now he was paying the price, and he had no right to ask you to ease his pain and return to the Kettedram. Return to him. Which doesn't mean that his stupid heart will just let him forget about you. He's learned that over the months without you. And he cursed all the saints that he didn't know it until he gave you the cold shoulder.

Kaz no longer had the right to your affection. He had to accept it. He had to accept that he had given up his chance to love you. That now you had every right to go and love someone else. Even if the very idea drove him crazy and desperate.

He must have forgotten about you. For the sake of all of you.

But Nina's slamming of his office door only brought him back to his memories of you.

There must be something in the water Cause everyday it's getting colder And if only I could hold you You'd keep my head from going under

Kaz fell. He was in the most pathetic position.

He didn't care, though, as he sat like a fool on the shore of the same lake where he met you. At which he irreversibly gave you the remnants of his heart a few years ago, without even knowing it.

He told himself that Nina was right. Once he let you go, he had to persevere in that resolve. Ketterdam will only bring you pain... so why was it so hard for him to let go of his last ties to you?

"Why are you coming here with me?" your gentle voice snapped him out of his thoughts as he stared spellbound at your little water show.

"Am I bothering you?" he asked, shifting in his place on the dock as he watched you float in the lake.

He wouldn't even dip his little toe in himself, but he liked to silently watch you become one with what was dear to you. And by the way, he could admire your skills and beauty as much as he wanted. He didn't have to look for any particular excuse.

"No. It's just that I've never seen you watch your other crows train."

"They're not like you." it slipped out before he could think about it. "If anyone sees you, I better get them before they announce to the world that one of the Black General's tidemakers has taken refuge with me." your smirk dropped at the mere mention of your former life. Kaz cursed in his mind. "You are also too valuable an investment. And the rest of the crows liked you. It's a big achievement. Inej doesn't let new people in so easily... me too."

"So you like me after all, boss?" you asked with that mischievous smirk on your lips that made his heart beat like crazy. Good thing water was your specialty. At least you didn't hear his heart pounding.

"You're tolerable company, and what you can do… what you can do is amazing."

"It's just little tricks." you murmured, forming different shapes out of the water. "At the king's parties, I was quite often one of the highlights." you waved your hand, freezing the water to form an ice statue. His statue. "Not every tidemaker is strong enough to freeze water." with another wave of your hand, to his silent displeasure, you melted the ice. "Not to mention turning ice into water again. Most just stop at its liquid form and don't train any more. I like to think I'm too curious to ever stop exploring my powers."

"Or stubborn." he said with a small smirk, listening to your wonderful laugh.

He must have been cursed from the start, since fate had put someone so perfect in his path... someone he could never have. But he could have been watching you. Enjoy his eyes with your beauty and his ears with the tone of your voice.

"Sometimes that's a good trait too. You taught me that yourself."

"How convenient for you to learn from me only what you want and not what you need."

"Sometimes what we want is more important than what we need and what is more rational for us."

"What for example?"

"Love." he tried to keep a poker face, but apparently his eyes betrayed more than he would have liked, as you gave him a confused, questioning look. "What? You've never been in love?"

NO. Not until he looked into your eyes and heard you laugh. Not until he got into your first argument with you and lost with a smile on his face. Not until he first saw you use your powers to outsmart the bandits who attacked you. Not until he saw how the moonlight in Ketterdam made your eyes shine even more than usual, so that you might as well have lit up all of the city with your beauty. Not until he first heard his name come out of your mouth. No, until he foolishly began to believe in Inej's saints, when he saw how tenderly and kindly you treat the orphans in the streets of Ketterdam.

"This silence means either a very powerful heartbreak, or you really only love a kruge."

"What if I really never loved anyone? What if I don't believe in love?" he whispered, looking up at you. You sneaked up to him so that you were standing in front of him. Water trickled down your hair and along your neck to the hand you held out to him. You opened your hand, handing him a small shell.

"The world is too cruel for such beliefs, Kaz. If we don't believe in love, why should we get out of bed at all? Why do we accumulate all these riches and try to survive each day?" Kaz didn't know the answer. Not one that would allow him to avoid the uncomfortable subject of his feelings for you.

He took the shell from you and, being careful not to break it, put it in his pouch. Along with the other little things you fished out of the water.

Your eyes met. You stared into the other's eyes for a moment, lost in your own dreams, which were not too different from each other... Yet neither of you had the courage to admit them out loud and risk everything you had been so carefully building between yourselves. Even if your hearts burned for more.

So he sat with you in silence, watching you play with the water and analysing what you told him. What was the reason for his existence?

Kaz from a year ago would have answered quickly and without thinking. Revenge. But now that he was looking at you, he wasn't so sure about his answer… or at least it was closer to something much different than his desire for revenge.

Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh It's your love I'm lost in Your love I'm lost in Your love I'm lost in And I'm tired of being so exhausted

He sat behind his desk, involuntarily reminiscing about the day it all began.

The day he almost lost you. The day you almost died in his arms. The day you told him something he secretly wanted to hear but wasn't prepared for. The day he will curse forever.

This was your first assignment after returning from Ravka and the whole sun summoner thing. A childish, simple burglary. Something to warm up his crows—a return to the reality of Ketterdam without queens and kings and politics.

And so it was. You filled your pockets with valuables and were about to leave when one of the guards spotted you. They were much better armed than you (it was supposed to be a simple robbery with no witnesses and no blood spilled, so you only had daggers and knives "just in case") and strangely familiar with all the secret passages in the small mansion.

Even though you found yourself in a terrible situation, you managed to leave the property. You laid out in the finish as you and Kaz ran towards the club. One of the guards shot at you and hit you. Very accurate, almost piercing your heart with a bullet.

Kaz stared dazedly as you screamed in pain as you clutched your chest and tumbled onto the muddy, cobbled road. He reacted faster than he thought, throwing the dagger at the man who shot you and killing him instantly. Inej would have praised him for such a throw.

But that effective kill didn't matter to him now. He ran over to you in a panic and kneeled beside you, tugging at the fabric of your shirt. He hissed as he saw the blood pouring down your skin.

"Kaz..." you groaned, looking at him terrified. Kaz ripped off a piece of his shirt and wrapped it tightly around your waist, trying to stop the gushing blood. "Cold." you mumbled, shivering in his arms. Brekker didn't even notice as he placed you in his lap; he was too busy to stop the bleeding until he found bloody Zenik. Where was she when he really fucking needed her?

"Shhh…. I know. Just try to hold on a little longer, okay? Nina and Jes will be here soon." he tried to calm you down by running his hand through your sweat-soaked hair. He rocked you back and forth, not knowing who he was trying to reassure—you or himself.

"We both know they won't make it on time."

"If you're wasting your energy talking, at least say something useful instead of talking nonsense, tidemaker." he growled at you, tightening his grip on you. "You're not getting away from me that fast. I didn't invest so much in you to make you leave before…" Until I tell you how much you mean to me... "Until we fill our vault with tonnes of Kruge."

"I could have predicted that even on my deathbed you'd be talking about the fucking Kruges." you laughed, coughing up some blood, which didn't calm his already madly beating heart. Where is that damn Zenik?

"Die in my arms and I promise I'll go back to hell for you. The devil can wait for you - I signed a pact with you first." you suddenly became serious, squeezing his gloved hand tighter and staring into his eyes as if they were the only stars in your dark sky.

"Kaz… I… I have to tell you…"

"Shut up, Y/L/N. You're not dying today." he snarled a warning, squeezing you so hard that he was sure to leave bruises on your arms. Panic rose in him as he felt your body slowly go limp, your breaths becoming less and less frequent.

"Kaz… I love you." you whispered, making him freeze in a daze. You only said those words in his wildest dreams. He had secretly dreamed of it many times, but certainly not like this. Not while your soul was slowly escaping from this cruel world unworthy of you.

He doesn't remember exactly when Nina came running, or how Jesper took you out of his arms, or how he kept up with Jesper's frantic pace as he ran with you in his arms.

But he surely was shaking all the way to the Crow Club. He only breathed a few hours after Nina announced to everyone that you would live. Then he left, without even entering your room to make sure Zenik's words were true, and locked himself in his office.

Tears began to fall from his eyes as he leaned against the door.

He could have lost you. Forever. Another person close to him.

His dreams would be tormented by the sight of your bloody corpse in some dirty alley. Again, he felt like that helpless little boy who had lost his brother. He found himself with Jordie THERE again.

Kaz couldn't go through all of it again. He wouldn't get up after your death. And there was only one thing he could do...

Fuck it all.

He needed you.

He was too exhausted to pretend any longer.

He was Kaz Brekker. He didn't need a reason. But his slowly dying heart without you seemed to be enough of an excuse to see you. Even if you're going to completely break it. Even the cold Bastard from the Barrel saw it as a good deal.

"JESPER!" he shouted, jumping out of his chair with his cane in hand.

"Yes?" his friend was at his side faster than ever.

"Tell the others to pack up. We're leaving in an hour." he muttered, taking out his travel bag from the wardrobe. Even without turning around, he knew a big smile had formed on Jesper's face.

We're going to get my girl back.

"About the damn time, Kaz." he patted him on the back and ran out of his office, telling the other crows the good news.

Your love I'm lost in Your love I'm lost in Your love I'm lost in Even though I'm nothing to you now Even though I'm nothing to you now

Kaz had been afraid of a few things in his life, but walking through the threshold of your new apartment seemed to be the most terrible of all his fears.

His crows obeyed him without objection for the first time in their lives and stayed at the hotel. He came here. On trembling legs and a rapidly beating heart. With his soul on his shoulder, ready to sacrifice and do anything to get you back. And if you didn't change your mind, it would be with a mind ready to carve your image into his memory so he could enjoy seeing you one last time in his miserable life.

Before he could change his mind, he knocked on the door.

He waited patiently, hearing footsteps approaching. He held his breath as the key turned in the lock.

But you weren't the one who opened the door for him.

"What?" a well-built, dark-haired man stood in the doorway.

Kaz began to compare himself to him, concluding that, when it came to appearance, he was superior to him in everything. He didn't stand a chance against someone like that for your heart. Doubts began to flood back into him. What if Nina was right?

"Are you going to stand here for half a day or..."

"Jackson!" your voice from the depths of the apartment shook Kaz. It froze him completely, irritating the man in front of him even more. "I need your help here, you big fool. What are you doing?" a moment later, you were standing in the vestibule. Your eyes met. Kaz shivered under your gaze, cursing himself for how quickly he fell under your spell as he stood there completely dazed.

"Y/N." your name came out of his mouth reverently, like a prayer, like a song long forgotten by a wanderer. You looked exactly the same as you did a few months ago. Except for the faint shadows under his eyes, which Kaz considered his greatest enemies.

"Kaz."

"Jackson. Hello there." the man waved at him, stepping between you. Jackson looked at you, worried. Kaz felt both anger welling up in him, a feeling of envy at how close you were with this strange guy, but also relief that you had someone close to take care of you. Not that you couldn't overcome the worst hell alone. He just felt relieved that you didn't have to. "Let him in, or should I kick his ass, wave?"

Wave? Did you two have nicknames for each other?

"It's all right. You can leave us." you said as you walked past him to face Kaz. The man behind you sighed, shaking his head.

"I hope you know what you're doing."

It might as well have been directed at Kaz. For the first time in his whole new Dirtyhands' life, he didn't have a plan, an emergency exit, or another backup plan. But now he was standing in front of you, staring at you helplessly as he absorbed your form. And that damn sea smell in your hair...

"Kaz."

"Y/N." he said as he came back down to earth. He took a small, calming breath. "How are you?"

"Really? Are you here just to ask how I'm doing?" she asked incredulously, folding her arms.

Kaz wrinkled his nose at your dry, angry tone. As he could see, it would be even more difficult than he thought. He stood in front of you, twirling his cane nervously in his hands.

"I'm here for a completely different reason, but I couldn't… I couldn't not come and see you." he admitted turning his gaze back to you after lowering his head in embarrassment.

"I'm alright. My brother and I are having a great time."

"Brother?" he asked. Relief and joy washed over him. Nor could he help himself to this naive hope, which began to warm his cold heart.

"Yes... Jackson. Who did you think he was?" he did not answer. You could have guessed. He knew you saw the flicker of jealousy in his eyes after that strange man called you a wave. You were his tidemaker, his wave, his sea, and all the fucking things. For a moment, he forgot that he was the one who had deprived himself of the right to claim against you. "You saw me, you asked how I was, so you can go now. Goodbye, Kaz." you were about to close the door on him, but at the last moment he put his cane between them, preventing you from doing so. You opened your door again, giving him a questioning look.

"Come back with me." he whispered, defeated. He couldn't let you go. Not again, not after there was still the slightest chance you might still want him.

"What?" you whispered softly, pretty sure you misheard him.

"There's no other reason why I'm here... I can't eat, I can't sleep, and I can't think or function like a normal person without you next to me. I'm one step away from daydreaming about you, hallucinating, and being insane that you're still by my side, so please... I'm begging you to come back to me. I know I don't deserve you and that I hurt you. You have every right to kick me out, but please, Y/N, just come home."

"What exactly am I supposed to come back to, Kaz? A cold, surly boss who is afraid of his feelings? Who doesn't hesitate to hurt me to protect his heart?"

"I'm not... I'm not good at this. Feelings. I... I don't know what it's like to love, but I know that when I'm with you... when I'm with you, nothing else matters. Not Ketterdam, not power, not Kruge, not wealth, not profit—nothing has ever been on my pedestal. Only you. Always you. And maybe I'm terrified of it, but now I know that I'd rather fight my own demons for you than let you go. I will try my best. If you still want me." he stared at you with undisguised hope in his eyes, only now realising how close he had come to you during your conversation. He tucked a strand of hair behind your ear, cupping your cheek uncertainly. "I love you, Y/N... even if I'm nothing to you now." he murmured, risking everything and resting his forehead against yours with a sigh.

There must be something in the water Cause everyday it's getting colder And if only I could hold you You'd keep my head from going under

He inhaled your scent with his eyes closed, waiting for your move. Hope grew with him every second you continued to let him be so close to you.

"You're an idiot, Kaz Brekker." he didn't contradict or argue with you. He was a complete idiot, pushing you away and begging you to come back, all the while acting like a love-crazy fool… however, he wouldn't have it any other way if it meant you taking your place in his office again. If someday he could hold you in his arms… "You have lucky you're my idiot. With all of your bruises, scars, and everything else." you promised, hugging him tighter. You pulled away from him with serious eyes, making Kaz swallow. "But if you do that shit again, forget I'm coming back to you. Also, we need to seriously work on your communication, Brekker. Do you know how long I've had to struggle here with that other idiot who claims to be my brother?"

"I can hear all of it!" you sighed at your brother's grumbling and gave Kaz a meaningful look. Brekker smiled slightly, causing a matching goofy smirk to appear on your face.

"See? But seriously, I'm not kidding. Last chance, Kaz."

"A deal is a deal. You're never going anywhere without me again."

"A red flag!" your brother coughed from the kitchen. You rolled your eyes, grabbing the edge of Kaz's coat sleeve.

"Shut up, Jackson. I'm leaving, I'll be back in an hour! Try not to burn down the apartment, spitfire."

You didn't wait for his answer as you slammed the door behind you and stepped out with Kaz into the street. Brekker led you towards the hotel where the other crows were staying. His hand in yours, which did not escape your notice. You turned your head towards him, giving him a confused look, which made him smile slightly, shifting his gaze to the port and the sea.

At one point, he noticed that one of the waves "attacked" a trader, washing him over. He cursed so loudly that you could hear him even from this distance. Kaz shifted his gaze to you, immediately noticing the sly smirk on your face. Suddenly, the wallet fell from the sky right into your waiting hand, along with droplets of salty, cool water.

He chuckled, shaking his head in amusement as he pulled you closer to him, wrapping his arm around your shoulders. A self-satisfied smirk formed on his face after seeing your blush.

One day, he will be able to touch you without his gloves. Hold in your arms without layers of clothes on. He will do it. No matter how long it takes him to get rid of the greatest demon of his past. But something told him that you'd keep his head from going under the water again. His queen of waves. His crow. His anchor. And he will make sure that he holds you in his arms forever. 

[princesszombie05]

RED SCAR: YAN ONE PIECE X (fem) READER MODERN AU

Chapter 3: changes

(Warnings! In this chapter the self-lensionism of (y/n)) will be mentioned)

Yes, she quickly wiped her tears and waited to hear that the girls had come out, they finally did when the bell rang.

She had to hurry, she quickly arranged her makeup a little run with one of the disposable wipes in the bathroom.

She looked in the mirror with a determined look, a burning discomfort in the (e/c) irises.

She fixed her (h/c) hair and quickly returned to class, unfortunately the professor had just entered.

The man squared her from the other side to the bottom as she went to sit in her seat after almost whispering a soft "good morning" as soon as she entered.

The man must have been in his forties, with short dark brown hair and tanned skin, he wore an elegant red shirt, which exalted the complexion of his bearded mature face.

<<Apparently there is a new student>> the teacher said in a baritone voice.

(Y/n) didn't even have time to answer, that she’s been interrupted by Hancock.

<<Yes professor, she’s been here for the whole morning. She is (y/n) is the niece of Professor Silvers>> she said in a pretend kind tone, only to regain attention on her.

How self-centered- thought (y/n).

<<Very good>> he said while continuing to observe her <<I am Professor Sakazuki, but my students call me Prof. Akainu>> shifted his gaze towards the part of the class where Luffy and his friends were.

<<I teach technical drawing, how are you in this subject? >> He asked her while looking at her with a penetrating gaze.

The class was completely silent, not a fly was flying.

Yes, she clearly perceived that everyone was afraid of the man behind the chair, and (y/n) had no trouble understanding why.

<<I-I...- she looked around, everyone was watching her, her voice trembled a little, but then she composed herself- I haven't done technical drawing since middle school, prof. >>

He raised his dark eyebrow, with an unreadable expression on his face, but a strange different sparkle in his eyes.

<<Then, we'll fix it. In the meantime take out the book, page fifty-one, come on>> he dictated the orders but his dark gaze never moved from the figure of the new student.

•••••••

<<Two hours of literature followed by two hours of technical drawing are illegal, I hope they change them in the final schedule>> Usopp snorted exhausted.

<<I'm sure we started with a bang>> a girl with raven hair and bangs, Robin, replied in a calm tone.

(Y/n) put her things in order as quickly as possible.

She wanted to go home alone, even though she didn't know the way.

She couldn't stand all this anymore.

The girl suddenly accidentally elbowed the boy next to her.

Their eyes meet.

<<Excuse me, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to>> she said kindly, almost scared.

She didn't let the boy reply, and immediately threw herself out of the classroom.

She walked for a while through the corridors and arrived at the school exit, she cursed herself for not remembering the road, and then decided to wait a moment and write to her uncle to pick her up.

She was looking for courage when suddenly she hears a voice.

<<Oh hello (y/n)>>

Please, not now. I don't want to see anyone. The girl thought, looking up at the two who greeted her.

<<We wanted to ask you if you would come to eat with us, our classmate Sanji works in a restaurant! >> <<And he's doing the discount! >> Nami interrupted him with a sly smile.

<<... So we get to know the others too! >> Luffy Finished.

If there was a defect in herself that she hated terribly, in addition to her physical appearance, it was the fact that she did not know how to say no to people. She didn't know if it was out of fear of being excluded or if it was out of the uncontrollable need to please everyone.

The fact is that he was now at a noisy table full of her new classmates.

They were on the sofas of a round table. She was crushed between Luffy and his brother Sabo.

The table was full, but new people kept arriving.

Breathing was becoming difficult, anxiety was gripsing her ribs and lungs.

"You're not very talkative (y/n), it's strange for a girl as pretty as you, but on the other hand Robin is like that too" Sanji said with a small smile while his flirty look also fell on the black-haired girl, he was immediately interrupted by Usopp.

"Boys, listen to me, shy girls are the most dangerous, you never know what they think-"

"Because you've been hanging out with so many girls, right?" Nami interrupted him sneerly.

(Y/n) felt uncomfortable in this chaotic group, they were all so strange and yet so damn normal.

His gaze suddenly fell on a notebook partly to her.

"Is it yours?" she asked with a faid voice to Sabo.

The blond turned his head slightly to look at her with a look from which a slight surprise shone through.

"Huh? Oh, this one? Yes, I write quite a lot”

Without thinking about it, the girl spoke.

"I like to write too"

"Do you like to write?"

It was just a simple harmless question but in the young woman's head it had a perverse double meaning.

Did you think that someone like her couldn't have the hobby of writing because she was too stupid or superficial? Was that the impression he had of her? Or maybe it was just a random saying without any double meaning behind it?

"I...yes...I write stories, thoughts...nothing really"

She tried to look normal even if in her mind everything was in turmoil. She feels like a kind of Joker in the middle of a group of deept citizens.

<<oh...cute. I write about politics, poems and essays on politics>>

Of course. How did she figure it out before.

Vintage clothes, brown patent real leather moccasins, hair always in place.

Everything he did gave a political message, you could guess it, and you could also guess precisely his political thought.

Before (y/n) could reply, which she wouldn't have done anyway for her shyness, especially when Sabo looked at her that way, Nami spoke.

<<Robin also writes, she won a competition at school last year out of fifty-seven students who participated she came first >>

Oh.

She hated it when other people were good at what she liked and what she thought she was good at, maybe because deep down she knew she didn't excel at anything. Mediocre, this was the word that constantly followed her name.

<<cool>> she stammered slightly, scolding herself almost immediately in her mind for the fool.

To save her from embarrassment was Ace, who with a playful and mischievous tone addresses Sabo.

"You know, this made me think that Sabo likes beautiful complexed girls, well it was intuitive, and that's why he hasn't been engaged yet"

"Ace! Stop it!-“ the blond tried not to point out his embarrassment.

"Nurse syndrome, eh Sabo?" Usopp also sneaked into the conversation To sting Sabo.

(Y/n)'s gaze suddenly fell on Zoro who with his face down was eating what he had ordered in silence.

"-Why don't we talk a little about you instead, Ace? You only like good-looking girls!”

"And what's wrong? The eye wants its share!”

"And that's why you've never had a girlfriend either, or at least a serious one!" Sabo replied.

Luffy snorted.

"How bored these speeches...I want more food! Sanji, can you tell the kitchen to hurry up? It's your restaurant after all”

"They're not slaves, fool! And then for quality things it takes time. So shut up and wait!”

Luffy snorted again while the others were still fighting and I looked (y/n) and then at her plate.

"(Y/n)! You haven't eaten almost anything, wait-“

Luffy took a chicken wing from his plate and put it on hers.

"Here, eat!"

The table at that shut up and (y/n) didn't understand the reason.

Everyone seemed stunned by the situation just unfolded before their eyes.

"L-Luffy-"

"H-he-"

“HE SHARED HIS FOOD WITH SOMEONE!”

(Y/n) she was confused, she didn't understand what was so strange.

——/——/—-

Meanwhile Kidd and Killer were at the park near the school eating a pizza lying on the benches.

"By the way... have you seen the new girl? She looked like a little lamb, all scared, I don't believe it even for a second that she is related to Mr. Silvers”

Kidd didn't even look away to look at Killer.

"What's up Kidd?"

"Nothing, I was just thinking"

"I know what you're thinking, at least go to the bathroom"

"Shut up-! Not to that idiot! I've already thought about it before anyway... I was thinking that that girl has a strange aura, you can see from a mile away that she has something strange, or different if you want to be nice..."

"And that's why I find her attractive, there are few in this school, beautiful and damned, eh?"

Kidd gives him a little smile, and then says, before biting a slice of pizza: "my favorites"

"Ah, and look what I have here, Killer" says Kidd as he takes out a white briefcase from the red and crumpled backpack.

"Kidd, don't tell me that-"

"I entered the principal's office before leaving school, those were still on the desk, I had time to make a copy"

"You're such a psychopath, Kidd, you know that?" Killer said jokingly.

“So now I'll know a little more of the beautiful (y/n) (L/n)”

—-////————-

7 PM

"Hey! Coby! Bring these to Mr. Rayleigh's table”

Alvida says as she hands him some appetizers.

Coby runs and heads towards the table.

Rayleigh is not alone, she is with a young woman: beautiful, short black hair, sporty dress but still emanating an elegant air.

The table was set for three, but there were only two at the table.

-Will she be there too?- Coby thought, immediately trying to get rid of this thought.

"Hello, Sir"

The man stops the conversation with the woman to look at the boy who put the appetizers on the table in a slightly awkward way.

"Oh, hello, Coby! Do you still work today?”

"Yes, sir"

The man smiles at him before handing him a bill.

"The tip”

"B-but sir! These are too many-!”

"Don't make a fuss, Coby, you deserve it"

“T-Thank you sir!”

He left quickly and embarrassed.

Rayleigh looked at the time on his vintage watch.

"where is that girl?"

"Don't worry, he'll be out with the boys. And then remember all the things we did as young people!”

The man chuckled and then went back serious.

"You're right. It's just that she...is different, she's fragile, I don't know how to approach her, I don't know how she can react-“

"We were all like that as teenagers, Rayleigh"

"Yes, teenagers are weird, but not like that! After the death of her mother-“

He was interrupted by the woman's elbow.

(Y/n) had just entered the restaurant, and once she caught a glimpse of her uncle with a young woman she immediately thought: -this evening will be very long and embarrassing-.

——————

"Hello" said (y/n) slowly when he reached the table.

"Hi, honey! Nice to meet you, I'm Shakky!”

“Nice to meet you too, I'm (y/n)”

"Where have you been?"

"Rayleigh!" Shakky scolds him.

"What? I was just curious, your father told me that you never leave the house”

-Nothing is ever good- the girl thought.

The evening then passes quietly, between the two adults talking to each other and the girl who just listens, or rather, try to imagine herself in another much more pleasant place, like in her bed, watching some TV series.

Shakky was a nice and kind woman, even if the girl couldn't, selfishly, accept that Rayleigh had moved on to her family, which (y/n) couldn't do, she was still trapped, so messed up, so broken that no one, not even herself, cared to fix her.

He gets in the car with Rayleigh, but he doesn't turn on the car.

"You still haven't told me who you've been with”

"With the guys who came to eat pizza yesterday"

"What? Luffy and his team?”

"Yes...is it so surprising?"

There were minutes of silence, the only noise in the car was, the slightly labored breathing of the man, as if he was breathed. The girl was already starting to worry.

"I found some blades in your room…razor blades" Rayleigh suddenly blurted out without looking at her.

The girl feels her heart stop, while Rayleigh continues.

"I didn't want to touch your things but they were on the floor that I stepped on when I went to open the window in your room, because you forgot to do it before going to school..."

"I haven't done it for months!!" she almost screamed.

"You know what...I don't believe you, (y/n). Because then why those were there, huh? You moved in yesterday, damn it! And I should believe you haven't done it for months! Besides the fact that I don't seem to have improved since... I know.”

There were moments of silence between the two before the man resumed speaking.

"I'll send you to the psychologist"

"What?!"

"You heard. I know your father is convinced that you can do it alone, but I'm sure he didn't know about this detail that we absolutely can't overlook!”

The girl doesn't know whether to feel angry about what's happening or a little happy because for the first time someone notices her pain, which exists... she was almost going crazy believing that she wasn't really sick just because no one noticed it.

"I dreamed about her again last night"

Raylegh looked away from the steering wheel with an expression of empathy towards the girl and then gave a trembling sigh.

"It's normal, you're in a delicate moment, okay? I don't....I don't want you to perceive me as a villain. I just want everything to be resolved. I know a name, a friend of mine, we also call him at school to give prevention conferences on bullying or in-depth talks on affectivity and sexuality. He's a psychologist and he's also a good person, and I think he can really help you, I've already mentioned to him something about you. He’s name is Donquixote Rosinante.”

——///////————-

"Law? Are you at home?”

Rosinante, finally, after a long day of work, returned home; metaphorically, as his studio was exactly upstairs of his house, so he had never left the building of his residence.

Trafalgar Law instead was in his room, on his bed with very high music reading one of his many anatomy books, or rather, he was rereading it, as he had already read them all.

He had always been a boy prodigy, especially in theoretical subjects, but he also got by in those practices. In opposition he had never been much in social relationships, which worried Rosinante a little, who at the same time understood Law's difficulty, knowing the poor boy's background.

Even today Law, after school, quickly returned home with the bus, and then quickly made some instant noodles and started rereading all his manuals with his bitter music. A rigid and precise routine, like Law.

"Law?" Rosinante opened the door of the room from which a very loud song came loudly, probably from a semi-unknown band whose existence only Law and the band itself knew.

"Yes?" The boy replied, not taking his eyes off the book and not even turning off the music boxes.

"How was school? Have you eaten?”

"I haven't eaten yet, I was waiting for you. And when it comes to school, boring as always and some people should learn to wash themselves, or not leave the house"

The usual Law. Rosinante thought with a small involuntary smile that formed on his face.

"Come on, come to the kitchen and we'll see what to eat...ah, now that it comes to mind... Raylegh told me that his niece has just moved, he mentioned some probl-…things about her...but...but tell me...have you met her? Maybe you two could become friends, Rayleg said that she is also very introverted like you”

Law looked up at Rosinante.

"Yes, I saw her"

The shy and almost fragile girl who was sitting next to him this morning comes back to Law's mind. She seemed afraid of the world and maybe even of herself.

Sometimes with his feline and attentive gaze, he could peek at what she was doing on her notebook. In most cases she was drawing.

He remembers that he actually struck her a little, especially her skill and especially what she drew.

A bit of envy in seeing someone who knew how to excel in something in which he was mediocre, a little almost admiration for the girl's skill without even committing himself too much. And then for the subjects represented.

It actually seemed that the two had things in common, but this thought quickly came off.

——/////———

Ace was in his bed with a rubber ball in his hand that bounced off the ceiling and then promptly took it back in his hand with agility and firmness.

He was thinking, which he didn't like to do, thinking and constantly reflecting on everything made him feel paranoid. He prefers to live things to her rather than let himself be swallowed up by the thoughts of not having done it or by further anxieties that made him think of painful moments that he preferred to set aside in a hidden corner of his memory and never open it again.

However, his thoughts had stopped at the new girl. Constantly repeating in her head today's scenes with her protagonist; when she looked at him with those big and beautiful eyes, when she touched her face slightly out of shyness, when she stammered sweetly.

He never understood his ideal type of woman. Not that he had many problems about it, if he liked a girl he would take it, also because if he could afford it, he was a very attractive, athletic and nice guy, sometimes a little funny, but still charming.

To break his flow of thoughts was a notification, it was a message.

Isuka: "hey, Ace, what's up? You haven't written to me for days... I know that the situation between us is complicated, especially because of me, but I would like to try again"

Ace didn't usually have many problems, did he like a girl? And did you also want to hang out with him? It was there.

And he liked Isuka, she was a beautiful girl and had a strong temperament, but he felt that she lacked something, but he didn't give it too much weight.

He already had a bit of a reputation as someone who went with many girls, became intimate with them, and then got bored before he really started to know them. And since he had come of age, things had not been slowed down, on the contrary.

But his head was now in other lands, he was thinking that girl so shy and so cute, he was sure that inside her there was a whole world to discover, and then he already said that she was so cute? Maybe one of the most beautiful girls he has ever seen, and he likes beautiful things.

He needed to vent a little, he was already burning for this new girl he didn't even know, he needed to be satisfied and at the same time to try to forget (y/n), because starting to feel feelings scares him, he had made a promise to feel only strong emotions and satisfaction, and not to waste his life on anything else that would not satisfied him and can hurt him.

Ace: "we can see each other now if you want" he typed.

——/////————

"Sabo? Are you listening to me?”

"Oh? H-eh? Yes yes Koala, I was just finishing something”

The two were on video call studying, but Sabo was distracted by something.

"What are you writing?"

“Rearrandal thoughts”

He quickly erased what he had written, too embarrassed

-Your trembling voice gives me the instinct to protect you-

How stupid. Sabo though, while deletes the sentence.

"Hey...you know you can tell me everything, right? We grew up together”

"I know, you are my dearest friend"

"Yes, friend," Koala replied with a slight bitter tone, which Sabo didn't notice.

"I assure you, I have nothing, I'm just thinking that it's my last year and I'll have to do so many things, and I still have to choose which way to go" Sabo said a half-truth. Koala smiled sympathetically.

"Sabo, don't worry about that. There is time, then you are good at everything, I am sure that whatever you choose you will excel, because you are like that, you are even president of the institute!”

"They haven't elected me yet"

"It's almost certain that it will still be you this year. Anyway you already have a fan here!”

"Thank you Koala!"

The two remained silent for a few seconds before Sabo started talking again.

"What do you think of the new girl, (y/n)?"

Koala raised an eyebrow. Sabo didn't usually talk about girls and he certainly wasn't a gossip guy.

"There are a few rumors"

"Oh really? Like?” He asked nonchalantly.

"She had a stormy past" Koala tried to be cautious, knowing Sabo's past with his biological family.

"For example?"

"Her mother died recently, then I don't know anything else, I just know that's why she decided to move with her uncle, the only relative she has left outside the family unit"

Sabo squeezed the pen, but tried not to let any emotion show off his face.

"I'm sorry, thanks for telling me Koala"

——-/////——-

"Luffy! So when will we see each other next time?”

"At school, Hancock! Have you already forgotten?”

The boy answered the girl on the phone while he was playing video games on the couch.

"But I meant only you and me"

"Yes! Die!” Luffy screamed on television while winning.

"Luffy?"

"Oh yes, sorry Hancock, what did you say?"

"Nothing..."

Suddenly Luffy's phone started to vibrate, it was Zoro who was calling him.

"Excuse me Hancock, Zoro is calling me, see you tomorrow!"

"Wait! Luffy-"

The black-haired boy interrupted the call without even hearing the girl's protests and accepted Zoro's call.

"Hey, Zoro!"

"Hi, Luffy. Do I bother you?”

"No, don't worry"

"I wanted to ask you something" Zoro seemed very serious, but Luffy didn't notice.

"Of course! Tell me!”

"You know...the new girl"

"(Y/n)!"

"Yes, her”

"Why are you asking me about her?" Luffy asked with a slightly inquiring tone, not typical of Luffy, which Zoro did not notice on the other side of the phone.

"It seems to me...look I know it's stupid...but I think I've already seen her"

"In what sense?"

"In the sense that maybe I know her. Maybe we knew each other as children”

"Eh?!"

"We met at the park a couple of times when we were really young, then I moved shortly after you know...Kuina"

"Are you sure it's her?"

"He has the same name, the same color of hair and eyes. But I'm not sure. She didn't recognize me, so I don't know if it's her... the point is, that's…that... I wanted to ask you if you knew maybe which city she came from, if she told you something, so I could understand if it's really her"

"No, I don't know where she comes from, she's not a much talker, but I like her hair! They smell good"

Zoro raises an eyebrow, but he doesn't give it much weight. The usual Luffy, he thought.

"Okay. Can you tell me if you find out something? It's very important to me”

"Sure, but can't you ask her by yourself ?"

Zoro blushes slightly.

"I-I'll do it...but you investigate for me anyway please"

"Okay"

"Thank you, see you tomorrow, Luffy"

"See you tomorrow"

Luffy ended the call and heard someone behind him, he turned around finding Ace ready to go out, who unbeknownst to him, had listened to the whole conversation of Luffy and Zoro, and someone else had also eared everything: Sabo. That he was about to go down the stairs after the video call with Koala and seeing Ace listening to the conversation, so he did it too after hearing (y/n)’s name.

"Hi Luffy, who were you talking to?"

"Zoro"

"Ah, and of what? If I can know”

"(Y/n)"

"Hi guys, what are you doing? Ace, are you going out?” Sabo interrupted quickly coming down the stairs wanting to hear what Luffy had to say abou (y/n).

"Yes, I'm going out"

"You also put on that lousy perfume" Luffy said nauseated.

"Hey! It doesn't suck, women like it! It's a real man scent, you're still too young to understand”

"I'm only one year younger than you" replied the youngest.

"And let's hear, where are you going Ace?" Sabo asked with a sly smile.

"It's my business! Sometimes I can't stand you two," Ace said quickly as he took the keys and left the house slamming the door.

"Oh, I touched a raw nerve" Sabo sighed as he went to the kitchen to get a pack of chips.

"What did Zoro want?" The blond asked Luffy suddenly.

"He wanted to know if I knew what city (y/n) lived in before because maybe he know her, Hey, can you give me a chip?"

Sabo squeezed the bag at the news.

"Does he know her?"

"Maybe they are childhood friends, I honestly didn't understand" said Luffy with his mouth full of chips.

"I understand" said Sabo with a dark look as he stared at the void, but Luffy didn't notice too much intent on eating his chips.

—-//////——-

In the meantime Coby is arranging the table where Raylegh, (y/n) and Shakky had dinner, when he notices that on the table, on the side of (Y/n) a lip balm remained under the napkin, probably is (y/n)’s. He grabbed it quickly and put it in his pocket without anyone seeing it. He couldn't hold back a small smile on his lips.

"What do you have to smile about Coby?" His friend Helmeppo asked.

"Nothing" he answered quickly

"You're really weird. Come on, come and help me with the table 6"

———////————

Author's corner:

Hello everyone! Thanks for all the likes and for supporting my story!

The yandere tendencies of the guys start to show offs finally!

Who do you think will be the first of the guys to make a move towards (y/n)? Let me know!

[silverlining-ships]

Music comms are CLOSED!! Check out the waitlist here!!

Ok y'know what, screw it. My brain seems to require three-four pieces at one time (genuinely cannot figure out why that is), and with the fact I only have two queued up right now and the game I'm composing for doesn't need any tracks at the moment, I'm getting composer's block again. So we're OPENING my music requests!!

I'm actually stunned at how many people seemed interested in getting a piece of soundtrack music for their f/o. I'm opening it to non-mutuals, and it's totally free! If you're concerned about paying/tipping for work, I'm always happy to receive content for my selfship, but I will not accept any money, and there's no pressure to tip content anyway. Again, this is for fun!

This is how it works:

Fill out this google form with the title of your ship, some songs you like, instruments, etc etc.

You can message on Tumblr or Discord (@/slipperson on Discord) on top of submitting the form too! I'll reach out myself once I get started on your piece.

I'll sketch out a draft, which is exactly like sketching out a basic pose for art - it'll typically only use piano/minor percussion. Sometimes I'll even give a simple concept before I flesh out a draft. I'll send it to you for approval.

If changes are needed, I'll refine the draft and re-update. If not, I'll go on to fleshing out the instrumental - this means adding instruments, changing volume (for example, in my first example, I used a lot of "dynamics"/volume changes to simulate the swelling of instruments). This is like adding the flat colors in a piece of art!

I'll send it to you again - I'll make changes upon your request, but if approved, I'll finally go ahead and mix the final draft. This means putting it through an audio program (audacity if you're curious!) and polishing the sound. This is like rendering the lighting!

After it's done, I'll send it to you for once last listen. Upon approval, I'll post it to Soundcloud, link it on Tumblr, and tag you in the post!

Important bits:

No comship/proship/aged up-or-down/RPF ships. Live action characters are fine as long as it's not the actual person. Familial/platonic ships are totally okay!

If you are a minor/ageless blog, I'm willing to write a piece for familial/platonic content, but not QPR/romantic.

Downtime is 1-2 months after I first open your request. I may finish it sooner, but no later than 2 months. This is because music generally takes awhile--30 seconds of music can take me 4-5 hours to concept! I also tend to work on 3-4 pieces of music at a time.

I will give frequent updates. Don't be afraid to reach out if you're curious on the status!

My work is never cleared to be used commercially or in AI programs. We're a bunch of selfshippers on Tumblr, so I know we all hate AI, but it's worth the mention. I tend to be strict on copywrite - it'll stay under my name, all rights reserved - however, you are free to use your piece wherever you'd like as long as it's not commercial use, used in a monetized campaign/video/form of media, and not used in AI.

I may put these tracks on a streaming service at a later date - not on Spotify, as the service is TERRIBLE with allowing their work to be remixed into AI. Something like Bandcamp or Soundcloud for Artists. If you are uncomfortable with this, please let me know.

Examples:

I will have my queue/completed list on my carrd here.

Thank you so much for your interest!! I'm actually so stunned I got so much love for this, and I'm excited to celebrate your ships with you!

heart border

[dracosdarlingg]

Slytherin boys reaction to your detention with professor Umbridge

Warnings for slight torture description

Professor Umbridge made it clear that you had to raise your hand before you spoke in her class, and you kept forgetting (but only because most of your other professors didn’t care whether you raised your hand or not) after her 4th time reminding you she decided that detention is what you needed. Once it was time she asked you to write lines that stated I must raise my hand before I speak in class over 100 times with her special quill…

Draco

You couldn't get out of that classroom fast enough, the pain and humiliation you felt (for crying in front of a professor, who wasn't even sympathetic either, just claimed you deserved it!) was too overwhelming. Draco already knew something was wrong, he could always tell when you're not yourself. "What happened love?" he carefully asked. You, being too afraid of bursting into tears if you tried to speak even though silent tears rolled down your face anyway, showed Draco your hand. "Fucking Umbridge, I'm going to kill her!" Draco was so mad that she did this to you, and all he wished to do was make her pay. "Draco, please, it hurts and I'm tired" you sighed, feeling defeated. "aw love, c'mere" Draco held his arms out for you to crush into.

Mattheo

The both of you had landed yourselves in detention, Mattheo landed himself cleaning the boys lavatory as he was caught smoking by professor Flitwick. You on the other hand landed yourself in detention with the school's most feared professor. Mattheo finished first and when he walked back to the common room he was shocked to not find you there. So he decided to wait outside of the dada classroom, you walked out 10 minutes later cradling your hand and trying your best not to cry. "Why are you holding your hand like that darling?" he mused, clearly confirming that he's never had detention with Umbridge before. "My hand hurts is all, should be fine by tomorrow" you tried to brush it off but Mattheo was having none of that, he grabbed your hand and was seething. He wanted to give Umbridge a piece of his mind but you told him not to as it would only land him in trouble too. He instead opted for watching the fire and having cuddles.

Blaise

You didn't want Blaise to know, it was just a silly little wound that would heal up by tomorrow anyway. Putting some gloves on just incase he saw your hand before walking to dinner. "Why are you wearing gloves baby? it's so hot in here" Blaise claimed, a confused look on his face. Fuck, maybe this wasn't a good plan. "Oh really, I'm quite cold" you lied as best as you could, but Blaise wasn't buying it, and neither did Theodore as he chimed in too also wondering why you were wearing gloves. "Show me your hands" Blaise bluntly asked, even more concerned. "Just eat Blaise" "show me your hands now!" you sighed, you could no longer avoid it. Taking off the gloves, you showed Blaise who gasped. "Baby, why didn't you show me earlier!" he brought you into his arms, and you silently cried being suddenly so overcome with emotion. "I'll talk to Snape tomorrow."

Theodore

You rushed out of the classroom the second Umbridge said you could, wanting to get as far away from her as possible. Theodore was chatting with his friends by the fire when you basically ran into his arms sobbing. "Oh love, whats the matter?" he soothingly ran one of his hands through your hair, his friends held a concerned look. "Dude, look at her hand" Draco urged, pointing to it. So thats what Theodore did, anger flashed across his face when doing so. "Did Umbridge do this to you?" he asked once you managed to calm down. "She said I deserved it, but all I did was forget to raise my hand!" you were getting angry yourself. "No one deserves to be tortured love, please don't let her words get to you" His friends kindly left, letting you have your privacy as he cuddled you and thought of ways to fix the situation.

Lorenzo

It was late at night, mostly everyone had gone to bed, everyone except for Lorenzo. He knew you had detention and he wanted to wait up for you, unfortunately he fell asleep in front of the fire. Lorenzo awoke to the sounds of quiet sniffling, you had returned and Immediately sought comfort in your boyfriends arms. "What happened baby? can you look at me?" he cupped your face in his hands, frowning as small tears fell down your face. "Umbridge asked me to write lines..." you whispered, not trusting your voice. Lorenzo didn't need to hear anymore, the anger evident on his face. "I'm getting that bitch fired tomorrow. well technically I'll ask Snape too" this made you chuckle, and snuggle further into him, falling asleep while the burnt amber dies down.

Tom

You didn't want Tom to know, being the loose canon that he was you were unsure of Umbridges wellbeing if Tom knew. By loose canon you meant Tom would kill for you, and he has killed for you. You tried your best hide your hands, but Tom wasn't an idiot. "You had detention with Umbridge" he stated, in a rare moment when he allowed you to cuddle, figuring that it was ease you in your current state. "How?" you asked, kinda dumbfounded he already knew. "I've already had her fired, so she can't do this to you ever again" Tom explained, and you smiled. "Aw, I'd thought you may have killed her" "Oh trust me I want to, but then I would be away from the only person who makes life tolerable." "me?" "if you make me say it I won't hesitate to hex you."

[gentlemanviolet]

Hey babygirls, miss me? Huh I know..

lastnight it happened again, I saved the draft before and it's only a few words but when I finished the whole thing and then clicked "save" and posted but just to find out I only posted with a few words, so i deleted and now here I am, writing the whole thing again!

Storytime until I actually got there! Pt 5

First of all, my eng sucks cuz it's my second language

and second of all, no one is dumb or gonna confused but I wanna explain yall that I haven't fully shifted yet (i think i minishifted before but nvm) but I'm posting storytimes for fun but especially to motivate myself that's why it's "Storytime until I actually got there"

And third, there's a truama(idk if it's called trauma) i got from c.ai and chai, those robots always forgot things I've already said before and they always forgot the plots, so I started seeing real people to robots, I always worry and afraid if they forgot things I've told them before, so without knowing, I started saying things again that i've said before, so please forgive me if I repeat things i've already said in other posts

Babygirl, the storytime is here ⬇

So it was in Seoul(Korea) 2011, May 13, Saturday,(the same year but one month after the bathroom incident happened to me at Kasatela)

It was when a kpop idol(idk who and idc cuz it's a boy) rented a whole indoor water park to throw a party, the party was in the afternoon, it's from 10:00 AM to the evening, ofc idols, singers(soloists), some actresses, and some actors gonna come, in my reality, humans can't die and we age like vampires so 100 years old or 200 years old are still really young but there were only people in their 20s and 30s

As usual, we both got invited but the night before that, me and Ji hyo(Song Ji hyo, my bestie) stayed late because we were watching movies at my place (we live in the same condo building but she lives next door), and SHE mistaken the DATE of the PARTY and we were sleeping in peace, until Daesung(from BIGBANG) called my damn phone cuz we're not showing up to the party, me:"Hello?" in korean ofc (from now on, i'm not gonna say "in korean" everytime)

I was so sleepy so my voice was freaking sleepy and he was so suprised by how we forgot about the party, Daesung:"Nonna? Don't tell me that you're still sleeping" me:"I'm gonna hold your hands when I say this", Daesung:"Nonna......*a huge ass sigh* is Ji hyo noona besides you?"(korean men puts "Noona" word after a name of a woman who's older than them, that's why it's "Ji hyo noona"), me:"yes, she's sleeping besides me", Daesung:"Woke her up too", me:"no, let us sleep in peace, it's literally Saturday, we've worked the whole week so let us get rest and let us sleep in peace, you little piece of shit", Daesung:"so you both actually decided to not go to the party?"

Me:"we will, tomorrow, are you freaking nuts? The party is tomorrow", Daesung:"Then YOU tell me why I'm at that party rn and everyone is here rn?", Me:"tf? Did he changed the date or smth?" Daesung:"Noona, it's not the right time to joke", me:"bitch i'm serious, they said it's Sunday now it's Saturday which means today?", Daesung:"WHAT!?!??? NOONA, WHO TOLD YOU ITS ON SUNDAY?"

me:"Song Ji hyo.....*realized, turned to her and start yelling at her* BITCH WTF???? ARE YOU BEING FUCKING SERIOUS RN???", Ji hyo:"Oh really?? i thought they said it was on Sunday, sorry my bad", Daesung:"Okayy noona's, now get up, shower, wash your face, dress up, and just come straight to the party, I'm waiting yall, don't worry the breakfast is on me", me:"okie my little brother<3" Daesung:"Ok ok, byeee", me and Ji hyo:"BYEE"

Yes, this is our silly conversion, we get up, shower blah blah, choose the best outfits for each other, and then we went straight to the party with Ji hyo's car but I drived (it's already 11:15 AM when we get there). When we get there, our poor baby was waiting us outside, he said "Gorgeous!!!" when we saw us but we said "We're hungry" in unison when we saw him, of course he bought breakfast for us(even tho we're richer than him, but we love free food from our juniors<3)

Oh yeah, the indoor water park was HUGE, there was music playing in the background at the party,some people were riding the water slides, some were just standing and talking, but when we entered, everyone laid their eyes on us, and then Tiffany(from SNSD) came up to us and said "Unnies, why are you so late???? We were waiting for you", we explained her, and talking with her for a few minutes

Guess what? Like always, a random boy came up and starts yapping to me, and those two beaches were giggling and left me alone with him, I don't want to be rude so I have no choice but to talk with him, but LUCKLY, Jonghyun(from SHINee) and Nichkhun(from 2PM) noticed and came up to us, Jonghyun starts talking to him to distract him, Nichkhun take me somewhere safe and saved me from him (my children are the best, btw most of them are only 5 years younger than me in my reality), and two of us ride the water slides

And then my girlies popped up, my bestie, Tiffany(SNSD), Jessica(from SNSD), Yoona(SNSD), Yuri(SNSD), CL(2ne1), Minzy(2ne1), Eunjung(T-ara), Sohee(Wonder girls), Suzy (Miss A), Goo Hara(KARA) (yes i only know a few 2nd gen idols(this is not all but) and groups cuz my cr version is still 13 so, and I only know them when i start watching Running Man), and we all having fun riding the water slides, and a few seconds later, Nichkhun princess carried me and guess what happened next?

Omg this one is so freaking romantic🙈, but i'm gonna tell y'all.., he threw me down the fucking water slide<3, such a romantic moment!!, I actually thought I'm about to die and felt like i was dying while sliding down the water slide, romantic, right???

I got up as I got to the catch pool and start search for him to smack him, after a minute, I saw his back from far and i was so happy of the thought about smacking him hard in the back of his head, so I went closer and I stealthily go to him and smacked him in the back of his head and used half of my strength on it, I think it was so painful, he turned his head to me

But turns out, it's not HIM, it's another guy😭, I was so shocked, embarrassed, and felt so bad and guilty, I bowed down 90° and apologized him "IM SO SORRY I THOUGHT IT WAS SOMEONE"in korean(just reminding again), believe me, he looks cute and hot, he looked amazed and happy (he knows who I am, how wouldn't he cuz i'm well known as the most beautiful woman on earth and the most famous person so..yeah, but I don't know who he is), but WHY DOESNT HE LOOKED MAD??!! Like.... I LITERALLY SMACKED HIM HARD WITHOUT A REASON, he even smiled slightly, I apologized and ran away as far as I could

But little did I know, my ex s/o(I call him my ex s/o cuz i scripted that people in my dr are extra hot except people that hates me and people that i hate, so I just wanna fall in love randomly with someone random when I actually got there, but still, it could be him, but he actually has a crush on me), Nichkhun, Daesung, Jonghyun, most of the boys, and most of the girls, MOST OF MY CHILDREN SAW THE WHOLE THING, WHEN I GO TO THEM, THEY ALL WERE LAUGHING, GIGGLING, AND TEASING ME, but GD my ex s/o doesn't look really happy and just smiled a bit, idk why and idc(i'm just acting like idgaf, but i actually do give a fuck, I still like him, pls guys, should I keep him as my s/o again?),

I think it bcuz he's jealous of how that cute hot guy isn't mad or get annoyed but just smiled at me. OF COURSE I SWEARED AND SMACKED THAT MF NICHKHUN FOR ATTEMPTING TO KILL ME BY THREW ME DOWN THE WATER SLIDE AND PLUS THAT WATER SLIDE WAS FAST AND WILD ASF, I told my bestie abt the cute hot guy situation and she just burst out laughing, and after a few minutes, me, my bestie, and the boys and the girls ride the raft slide, my ex s/o joined

I don't want him to cuz like every other shifters, I want to avoid my own s/o, but he joined anyways and he sat facing me on the raft slide, I tried not to eye contact with him but he's literally INFRONT of me, but luckly i survied, that day me and my bestie left the party at around 5 PM

We both are so tired but we still watch some movies at her place (she lives next door, we live in the same condo building)and I just slept there

I had so much fun, I love the girls, not the boys cuz they're so annoying🙄, Just kidding! I love all my children<3

[sommerflue-22]

Childhood Crush | Muichiro Tokito

Yuichiro version

Featuring: Muichiro Tokito, Yuichiro Tokito, aged up!Muichiro

Content Warning: gn!reader, modern setting, fluff, annoying grade schooler behavior ew, but happy ending (sort of), not beta read

Word Count: 1.3k

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A/n: I just finished my thesis but I'm still waiting for feedbacks from my professor. This is a warm up piece before I get back to my other writings. Still, I hope you enjoy~

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On your fourth grade, the teacher assigned you to sit next to Yuichiro. Being Yuichiro's seatmate was alright, but sometimes he could get a little snappy. Especially when something happened to him during recess (probably couldn't make another kid the "it" while playing tag). So you let him be most of the time.

You didn't know Yuichiro had a twin brother until one day he didn't come to school because of the flu. You didn't pay him any mind but you were shocked when you saw "him" going to the restroom. You weren't exactly his close friend, so you just waited outside until "he" finished.

Afraid and in shock, you paced back and forth in front of the restroom. What if something bad happened to Yuichiro and his spirit had come to haunt you? You were so ready to run to your homeroom class if "Yuichiro" didn't come out in five minutes.

Bless your poor innocent soul because "Yuichiro" did come out. Nothing prepared him for being trapped in a kabedon position by you.

"Teacher said you're sick! Why are you here?!"

"What do you mean I'm sick--"

"I didn't see you the whole day!"

"Huh?"

"You're not a ghost, right?"

He tilted his head, "Oh, I think you're mistaken. I'm Mui. Yui's at home. He is sick."

And that was how you met Muichiro.

You learned that Muichiro was Yuichiro's younger twin brother. He's from another class, but after knowing you he often visited your class to chat with you and Yuichiro.

Unlike Yuichiro, Muichiro was friendlier. He let you braid his hair, lent you his blueberry-scented eraser, and even taught you how to draw Pikachu. Muichiro also let you call him Mui. He told you only his family and closest friends called him that, so it made you feel special.

Mui was a soft boy. You sat with him during recess and talked about random things. Cartoon, what you wanted to be when you grow up, doctor appointment, tooth fairy...

You didn't really know when did it happen the first time, but one day you looked at him and thought "Wow, Mui's really pretty."

You started braiding his long, black hair more often, told him more jokes to make him laugh, drew him a lot (and by a lot, I mean a lot) of his favorite cartoon characters. They were bad, you couldn't really tell which character you drew, but Muichiro always thanked you.

You'd like to think that maybe Muichiro did like you too. He would hold your hand when you both were running down the hallway, playing tag with the other kid. He would also give you random things he found like flowers, marbles, stickers from kids magazines.

You didn't remember every little things that happened between the two of you, but you did remember that Muichiro brightened your days and made your school years more memorable.

By the time you started the 6th grade, though, everything went downhill. A few kids noticed your little crush for Muichiro. However, as we all know, grade schoolers can be a little mean. They started to tease you. You were afraid that Muichiro would find out and stopped being your friends.

The thing was, those little rascals couldn't tell the difference between Muichiro and Yuichiro. Since the fifth grade, the twins had been put in the same homeroom class. Differentiating them became more difficult for kids who weren't their friends.

You were visiting their class one morning, looking for Muichiro. You met Yuichiro instead. You could tell it was him, because he didn't immediately talk about the latest episode of that one cartoon you liked.

"Hi, Yuichiro. Where's Mui?"

"He forgot his lunchbox so he's waiting for our mom--"

"Ew, Tokito! Stop flirting with them! It's not even the first period yet!"

You froze in your place as Yuichiro turned to the kid who jeered at you both. "What did you say?"

"Eh? Aren't you two dating?"

"(Y/N) likes you, Tokito!"

You couldn't meet Yuichiro's eyes as he stared down at you, "You like me?"

"N-no... I... It's not..."

"(Y/N)?" A hand was placed on your shoulder, "Are you okay? Yui, why are you staring at (Y/N) like that?"

You lifted your gaze and sure, Mui was back with a lunchbox on his hand. "M-Mui, I..."

"Oh, shit!" "Oi, language!" "Oh my, I think we got the wrong Tokito twin!" "Does it matter? They look the same!" "Which one do you actually like, (Y/N)?" "Yeah, which one is more handsome?" "You can tell them apart? Cool!" "Pick one, (Y/N)" "Yeah, pick one!" "Pick one! Pick one! Pick one!"

As the kids chanted, you frantically look around trying to find an escape. You were panicking, afraid, annoyed, so you couldn't think straight. You looked at Yuichiro and he looked back at you in (what you thought was) disgust. You turned to Muichiro who was just staring at you, wide eyes, lips parted like he was about to say something.

You couldn't hold it any longer so you just cried, which made a few of the kids laugh.

"(Y/N)..." Muichiro placed his hand back to your shoulder, trying to calm you down.

"Stay away, Mui!"

"But (Y/N)..."

"I said stay away!" You shoved past him and pushed the other kids out of your way as you ran out of the classroom.

Ever since that day, you stopped seeing both Muichiro and Yuichiro. Other kids still teased you but they gradually stopped because they found another target to bug. You didn't even say anything to them during the graduation ceremony, even though you could feel Muichiro's eyes on your back.

Things got better when you started middle school because you moved to another town. A start fresh, exactly what you needed. You thought you would find someone new there, but to no avail, your mind kept wandering back to a familiar pair of mint green eyes and gleeful laugh.

You gave up trying to find a lover, and sailed through high school and first two years of uni without sparing a thought for teenage romance.

That was until you found him, tracing his fingers on the spines of the library books. His hair was still as long as you could remember, the only thing different was the mint green ombre. The library was off-limit for outsiders, so he must be a student. How could you not see him before around the campus?

You realized you've stared at him for too long because the next thing you knew, he was staring back at you.

"(Y/N)?" His eyes widened.

"Uhh... hi...?" You let out a nervous laugh. "Long time no see... uh..."

His eyes softened and his lips quirked up. "It's Mui."

"Yeah... should've known it's you. Yuichiro hates me, so he wouldn't greet me like that."

"What makes you think so?"

"You know... when that happened..."

"Ah, yeah. The fuckening."

Muichiro cursing was something you did not expect, which made you snort. "The fuckening, indeed."

"Don't worry, he doesn't hate you. We were wondering, though..."

"Eh?"

"...which one of us did you fancy?"

You wanted the floor to swallow you whole right then and there. Even though it had been eight years, you couldn't help but blush. Muichiro waited patiently, holding back a giggle as he watched you struggle.

"W-well, wasn't it o-obvious..."

Muichiro tilted his head. He walked towards you and ruffled your hair. God, you didn't even notice how tall he had grown.

"If you're still up for it now... and if you're free... we can grab a coffee. My treat. I'm sure drawing each other deformed Pikachu and Princess Peach doesn't count as a date now."

You sighed, trying to control your heartbeat. Mui chuckled again and waited for your answer.

"Y-yeah, I'd love to."

"Okay." He put his arm around your shoulder and led your hyperventilating ass out of the library.

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Read the sequel to this post here

A/n: Thank you for reading until the end! This is actually longer than what I was planning, so yay :D I've been thinking about aged up!Muichiro, so cool and pretty and tall and aaaaaaa >.< Anyway lemme know if you want me to write more aged up!Mui because I love him sm T^T

[dragonaboni-blog]

Saved By… The Enemy? (The Aftermath - Part 2)

While I'm suffering from a terrible stomach ache, I decided the best way to spend my time is to write a little follow-up to this :"D

Series: Pokemon Horizons

Characters: Friede, Amethio, and Hamber (mentioned)

Warnings: Spoilers for HZ089. Mentions of injuries and… Amethio being a menace?

---

When he opened his eyes, he didn't recognize the place he was in: it seemed like some kind of extremely well-kept room, filled with so many luxuries she would only see in the most opulent mansions.

"Where am I?" was the only question that floated through his head, while he made an effort to recover some memory before being there…

The young professor groaned as he felt an intense pain in his head, Friede placed a hand on it in search of relief, instantly noticing the texture of the bandages. He raised his arm, looking at the amount of bandages wrapped around it. While his confused mind tried to understand what was happening, Friede was distracted when he heard a door open at the side of the room, and when he turned, he recognized the figure of the young teenager entering the room, closely followed by his faithful butler, who was carrying a tray full of numerous things…

In truth, this seemed increasingly strange to him.

"Amethio?"

The named man turned around, a mixture of surprise and relief in his violet eyes.

"You're awake."

"Where am I?"

"In my mansion."

Friede blinked slowly, tried to get up to take a better look at the place, and was instantly hit by painful stabs throughout his body, which led him to collapse on the bed with a dry scream, writhing in pain.

"You're too badly hurt to stand up," the young man spoke, barely showing any sympathy. "If you're afraid I've captured you to take you against Spinel, you're quite mistaken."

"What… What happened?"

Amethio approached while the butler, Hamber if he remembered correctly was his name, put down the tray and left the room. Silently, Amethio checked his bandages.

"Rakua completely fell apart. While I was escaping with my allies, we saw you fall along with your Pokémon… My companions went after Charizard and I went to your rescue, but between your strong fall, the strong winds and the fact that we were about to plummet… You…"

"I let go." Friede whispered, illuminated by a vague memory. "Yeah… I remember now… I let go because we were both going to crash."

The young man nodded, adjusting a couple of bandages while cleaning other wounds he didn't allow Friede to see.

"It took me a while to find you. Apparently, your fall wasn't smooth, but you were in one piece… I carried you to a safe place where I stabilized your injuries."

"I didn't know you had medical knowledge."

Amethio finished bandaging him, ignoring his comment.

"Your Charizard is fine, healing slowly. On the other hand, you've been unconscious for a couple of weeks, and your body is still too weak for you to go out and find your allies. As much as it bothers me, it seems you'll stay here until you recover."

"Should I be flattered or threatene-? AHG! CAREFUL!"

He complained, noticing that Amethio had put too much pressure on his bandage.

—I still despise your sense of humor, you know. —he huffed, still tightening the bandage—. "And if I were you, I'd have the common sense not to upset the person trying to heal you. Did you hear me?"

"L-Loud and clear…"

Only then did Amethio release the bandage, while Friede breathed a sigh of relief: lesson learned, he wouldn't upset him short-tempered little doctor.

"Now stop crying and stay still while I finish."

Friede nodded: although she had many questions to ask, she knew Amethio wasn't in the mood to answer a single one of them…

Perhaps it would be best to drop the subject for now, at least, until the dust settles.

[dazed-poltergeist]

The Scholar & The Assassin

Pairing: Arno Dorian x Reader

Warnings: None in particular.

Summary: Arno makes the Reader take a break for once as they prepare for an important assessment.

Add. Notes: I'm quite sure I have said this before, but I'm sorry if any of the Assassin's Creed characters I write about are out-of-character. I only have access to ACIII and ACIV: Black Flag, and honestly? I prefer playing first-hand instead of watching a playthrough on the internet. Now, watch me try to figure out the entire internal structure of Café Théâtre solely through Fandom Wiki screenshots-

>✉️<

{ Dude. I planned to write this in May/June to celebrate the end of the school year. I was like "why not?" and started writing the piece at the start of May. The problem? It's fucking August. I finished it after three fucking months. I'm afraid I finished this only because I felt obligated to. }

-Eero, August 2023

Masterlist ✧⁠*⁠。

"You have been working for quite a while. Can you take a break with me?"

Arno's spontaneous request caught you off-guard. You were a scholar preparing for the final exams created by your institution, and you now realized you had been studying in the memento gallery the whole morning.

"I probably should, I completely lost track of time." You responded to Arno, as you dipped your quill in the pot of ink sitting on your workspace. "Give me a moment to finish writing this down, I'll come with you in a bit."

"Will you? Put the quill back in the ink pot and simply go out for a bit with me." Arno insisted, but added with a chuckle: "It won't grow legs and escape while we are away."

You giggled at his remark as you got up from your desk. After a stretch, you cleaned up the quill and closed the lid of the ink pot. In the process, Arno left the gallery to get some more practical clothing for you.

As you were changing into the clothing Arno had brought you, he asked; "Do you know any places you want to pass by as we are out?" "I don't have any in mind," You told him, and added a question of your own, "You were the one who wanted to take a walk, though. Don't you have any ideas?"

"It never hurts to ask. But yes, I thought of going to the Café's rooftop, and it looks like that's where we are going." Arno stated, as the two of you began walking in the direction of the gallery's exit.

Once you had entered the balcony, you noticed that the weather had improved from the last moment you had taken a break. The Sun had come out and the winds had calmed down. Perfect weather for relaxing on the rooftop.

Arno swiftly climbed onto the roof, then turned to you and offered you his hand to help you up. You took it, and with a little struggle, you managed to get on the rooftop as well.

As the two of you moved away from the edge of the roof, you realized how much you envied Arno's skills as an assassin. Your inexperienced self was trying to keep up with him while he moved like he lived on the roofs.

Arno gestured you to sit next to him once you had made it to him. You obliged, and told him: "You need to teach me how to climb like that." "Like what?" He playfully questioned. Without a pause, you clapped back: "Like a roof hermit."

The man next to you burst into laughter at your blunt response. He took a moment to calm down, but finally he explained: "Learning to move the way I do takes years of practice. It's not something you can learn in one sitting. "

You sighed when Arno told you the truth about his skills. "At this point, I am probably too old to become an assassin," You told him. "You told me of a few assassins before. All of them were already related to the Brotherhood when they were children."

All Arno could do was agree with you. He was associated with the assassins since his childhood as well – his father was one.

Neither of you didn't want to dwell on that anymore, so you leaned against him, and began explaining the topics that you were revising before he offered to take a break.

He enjoyed listening to you talk about the things you studied, as you were passionate enough to dedicate a few years of your life to learn even more about it.

Arno realized shortly after that you were technically back in the state before the break – revising. He was sure to bring it up: "Wait a second! We are supposed to be taking a break from reviewing all that!"

[baronessblixen]

And May All Your Wishes Come True

Day three: Christmas list/wishes

I'm doing the 24 Days of X-Mas Files Challenge that msrafterdark posted!

Summary: What's Mulder's wish for Christmas? (fluff, wc: 1,395)

Tagging @today-in-fic

They are finishing up their latest case at the police station, with Scully filling out forms and both of them waiting for the social worker. Once more, the case has turned out not to be an x-files; rather than suspected werewolves, they’ve busted a cult that believed in human sacrifices to be performed at full moon. And not just any human sacrifices either.

Children.

There were so many children hidden away. Some who their parents had brought, and others who had been kidnapped. She still gets ice-cold shivers running down her spine, thinking of the small, terrified faces they’ve encountered.

Most children have been taken home to their desperate parents or to relatives. There’s only one boy left who doesn’t have anyone. And right before the Christmas holidays, too. She glances over at the boy who is sitting with Mulder and hanging on his every word. The sight causes a funny feeling in her stomach. She knows exactly what it is – and why – but she doesn’t want to admit it to herself. Even in the privacy of her own thoughts.

“Mr. Mulder,” the child says, unwrapping a piece of chocolate that Mulder must have had in his pocket. “Do you think Santa is real?”

“Oh, I know he is,” Mulder says with a smile.

“Really?” The boy scoots closer to him. “Have you seen him?”

“I have.”

Scully smiles. She just can’t help it. Despite everything, the boy trusts Mulder. He’s stuffed the chocolate into his mouth and is chewing noisily, staring at Mulder with his big brown eyes. There’s that feeling again, tugging at her insides. She tries to ignore it, but she can’t.

If she squints, she can just imagine that this child isn’t a stranger. That he isn’t someone else’s baby. With his shaggy brown hair he could be a mini Mulder. He could be Mulder’s and hers. But he isn’t. She knew that the IVF would mess with her hormones and her emotions, but she can’t let them overwhelm her. She needs to keep a professional distance. For the child’s sake and her own.

“Do you think Santa will still find me when I’m not home?” The boy’s demeanor has changed. He’s solemn now, his voice cracking with worry.

“He will, Jason,” Mulder assures him in a gentle tone. He touches Jason’s shoulder and squeezes it. “No matter where you are, Santa knows you and he will find you. Have you written a wish list for him? I’ll make sure he gets it.”

“You will?” The excitement in the boy’s voice returns. He’s almost in Mulder’s lap now, grinning up at him with so much hope and happiness that it breaks Scully’s heart.

“Of course. Santa is an old buddy of mine.”

“You’re the coolest, Mr. Mulder. But,” he trails off, a shaky sigh leaving his mouth.

“But what, Jason?”

“I didn’t write a list,” he says in a small voice. “I- we weren’t allowed to… I don’t think Santa would have come to that place.”

“Hey,” Mulder says, taking the boy under his arms and putting him in a chair. “I have an idea. Why don’t you write your Christmas list right here? There’s still some time. Let me- Scully, do you have a pen and some paper for us?” Both Mulder and Jason turn to her, wearing similar expressions. She swallows, not allowing her thoughts to go down that road again.

“Of course,” she says, finding her voice. All she has at hand is the bill from their motel. She folds it in half and hands it to Mulder who mouths a thank you. She’s just about done with filling out her form, so she gives him her pen, too.

“Here you go, Jason.”

“It won’t take long,” he says, already scribbling away. “I know exactly what I want.” Mulder and Scully exchange a look and exhausted smiles. After so many years together, she can read his face easily. She knows what he’s thinking. Her own secret thoughts that she didn’t want to admit to herself are written across Mulder’s face now.

She has to look away, afraid that if she doesn’t, she’ll start crying. They have one chance left. Just one. The IVF was a long shot to begin with but with every shot they take that doesn’t work, she just wants it more. And she wants it with Mulder. It’s not a new realization at all. After all, she asked him to be the sperm donor. But seeing him with Jason today has solidified her choice. It’s Mulder. In each and every way, it’s Mulder that she wants.

While Jason writes his Christmas list, the social worker arrives. Scully exchanges a few words with her and asks where they’re taking the boy. He has family on the other side of the country and that’s where he’ll go after the holidays.

Scully looks at him, at this boy whose tongue is peeking out while he draws a Christmas tree with presents under it on his list. He’s going to be fine. He’s going to get a home and a family who’ll love him the way he deserves.

“Jason, are you ready?” The social worker asks him.

“Just a second,” he says, turning to Mulder. “Have you written your Christmas list yet, Mr. Mulder?”

“I’m too old for Santa to visit me.” Mulder chuckles, but Jason shakes his head.

“You said you’re buddies. You have to have a wish, Mr. Mulder. I left you some space here.” The boy points at a blank space on the paper, right next to a doodle of a wrapped present. “You have to write it down,” Jason explains to him. “Or it won’t come true.”

“This is your list,” Mulder reminds him but the boy is adamant.

“What’s your biggest, greatest, bestest wish, Mr. Mulder?” Jason smiles at him, the gaps in his teeth showing.

“It’s-”

“No, you have to write it down. Right here.” The social worker chuckles and Scully can’t help but smile too.

“You’re very convincing,” Mulder says, running a hand through the boy’s hair. “I’ll write down a wish. Happy now?” Jason leans over and checks what Mulder has written. He glances at him and nods.

“You really make sure Santa gets my list?”

“I promise you, Jason.”

“And he’ll find me?”

“He’ll find you, no matter where you are.”

“Thank you, Mr. Mulder.” Jason throws himself at Mulder, who catches the boy and hugs him back. “I hope your wish comes true, too. Bye, Mr. Mulder. And bye, Agent Scully.”

“Bye, Jason,” she says, waving back at him.

“Cute kid,” Mulder says once Jason and the social worker have left. They’re finally free to go home, too.

“He really is. I hope he’ll recover from what he’s experienced.”

“He will,” Mulder says, sounding confident. “Did the social worker say where they’re taking him? I have to play Santa.” He smiles. “He wants a bike, and hm, a kitten. That one might be difficult. But he should get his bike. Don’t you think?” She nods, not trusting her words. She knows Mulder will move heaven and earth so that Jason will get his bike Christmas morning. And whatever else is on that list. Just to give the boy a reason to keep believing, to keep going. That’s her Mulder.

“What did you wish for?” she asks once they get to their car.

“Oh, you know,” he says nonchalantly. “The usual.”

“Which is what?” To her surprise, he hands her the piece of paper before he starts the car. She quickly reads through Jasons’s wishes before she stumbles upon Mulder’s familiar scrawl. Her heart constricts as she reads his words: ‘I wish that my best friend’s greatest wish comes true’.

“Mulder,” she whispers, her emotions overwhelming her.

“It’s all I want,” he says, quickly glancing over at her. He takes one hand off the wheel and grabs hers. “And not just for you, Scully. I want this for us. Spending time with Jason today, I- Christmas is the time to ask for miracles, right? Maybe we can make one. Hell, we’re due for one.” She sniffs, wiping a few tears away. “Hold on to that list. I know you’re the skeptic here, but… I want to believe. I do believe, Scully.”

“I do, too,” she admits, and Mulder squeezes her hand. And maybe, just maybe, their wish will come true.

[lizzyk137]

We're Finally Having Our Baby! - An Agent Gibbs Fanfic (Gibbs X Reader)

Description: You and Gibbs are getting closer to finally meeting your bundle of joy! What will the future hold for you and Gibbs? Warning: pure fluff, enough to make me gag and cringe (my first time actually writing fluff and not adding any drama to spice it up, so hopefully it's good)

(Part One) Want to read more, visit my Masterlist!

Looking at Gibbs putting the final touches on your crib made you realize how close you both were to having your baby with you in person.

You smiled at the thought of him cradling your newborn, showing them around the house and bringing them downstairs to show them all the tools, wood, and the little things he's made down there.

Gibbs had jumped at any chance he could get to help you get his place ready for the baby, even while he was on cases. He'd always come to check in on you after you went on maternity leave and made sure you were fine and that you didn't need anything.

It was sweet the way he was showing you that he cared and how he wanted to change how he acted for six months to you and your baby. And you were grateful that he decided to be a part of this journey with you.

When it was time for you to find out the gender of your baby, you had told the doctor no because it just didn't feel right not to find out without Gibbs present even if he wasn't going to be in the child's life. But now seeing him at appointments telling the doctor that he wants it to be a surprise and how excited he was to see who the little one was when they were born brought tears to your eyes.

"Jethro," you called out from the basement stairs top platform, "it's time for work."

He continued to sand a small piece of wood when he answered, "I'll be right there. I'm just finishing up this knob for the crib."

"Okay, but hurry up or you'll be late." You knew he still had plenty of time, but when he was in the zone, you knew that time was all but forgotten for him, so you made sure to tell him he was late so he'd get to work on time.

You smiled as you watched his face scrunch up as he concentrated, and you turned away to the kitchen to pack up a to go cup with coffee for him. You always had made a mean coffee but were too afraid to have Gibbs taste yours until you moved in and he asked if you could one morning when he was running too late to grab one at his usual coffee shop. Since then, he has been hooked on how you make it and always asks you to make him some.

"I love you." You heard him say as you felt his arms come around you and hug you from behind. He stayed like that for a few minutes, face pressed against your hair as he held you tightly.

He pulled away after a few minutes and gave you a peck on the cheek as he collected his jacket and coffee from the counter. "You are so beautiful." He whispered, causing your face to flame up.

Gibbs had been trying to tell you how he felt about you, which communication was one of the things you told him needed to change those three months ago. And since then, he's been nonstop saying whatever comes to mind. At first you were flattered but then you thought he was saying it just to say it and when you brought it up during one of your mood swings he told you everything he says out loud is what he's always felt and thought. He always thinks about how beautiful you are, and he doesn't want to stop thinking that.

You pulled him in for a front ward hug, your large belly slightly pushing you away from him. "Be safe, okay?"

He nodded in reply and gave you one last peck on the lips before he headed out the door and heard the car engine start. You cleaned up the counter where you spilled some coffee, locked the front door and went to head upstairs to put on an outfit for the day. You got to your closet and pulled out a white lace sundress that had little spaghetti straps. You slipped on some sandals and brushed your hair back when you heard the front door open.

You quietly sat your hair brush down, went over to your bedroom door, and slightly closed it. Hearing footsteps go around downstairs, you opened up your nightstand and grabbed your gun. Going into the bathroom, you hid behind the door, gun cocked and ready.

You heard footsteps headed up the stairs and heading down the hall to your room. You heard the slight creak of the door opening, and the floorboards groaned with each step as they got closer to the bathroom's door. When they were right outside of the door, you swung it open, gun aimed only to find a surprised Gibbs looking at you with his hands up.

"Jethro!" You shouted, upset that you almost shot him. "Don't scare me like that!"

He chuckled and took the gun out of your hands, setting it on the bathroom vanity. "I did call you to tell you I was coming back, but you didn't respond." Gibbs took you in his arms as you hugged him tightly, still in shock that you could have easily killed him. "I'm sorry, my love. Next time, I'll call your name as I go."

"It's okay," you whispered. "All forgiven."

Gibbs pulled away slightly and frowned when he saw a few tears leaking from your eyes. He quickly wiped them away with his thumbs as he cradled your head. "I'm okay, Y/N. You're okay. Just relax, okay?" He murmurmed as he hugged you again, stroking your hair.

You nodded and let a few more tears fall. He was always like this when you cried, a wonderful part of your mood swings. The first time he saw you cry, he paused for a second in shock since he's never seen you cry before, but he went right into comfort mode for you. Even if the tears are over something silly, he will always comfort you.

He gently picked you up to sit you on top of the vanity and rubbed the sides of your belly as he stood between your legs. "I'm now just noticing the dress, and if I wasn't super late for work, I would be taking you in the bedroom. You are just breathtaking."

You chuckled through a stuffed nose at the site Gibbs must have been seeing when he looked at you. Half brushed hair, puffy eyes from crying, tears staining your cheeks, a stuffy nose from your crying, and your swollen belly protruding from your dress while the rest of your body was swollen in areas they usually weren't. "You're funny. I'm a sight for sore eyes." You laughed, as you blew your nose.

"Nah," he shook his head, "you're just plain gorgeous." He leaned in and gave you a sweet kiss on the lips before deepening it.

You kissed him back passionate as you wrapped your arms on his shoulders, tangling on hand through his short hair while his roamed your body. He moved the hem of your dress up, exposing your lower area, as he ran his hands up and down your thighs, causing you to moan. He picked you up, never breaking the kiss, and carried you out into the bedroom.

-------------------------- ~~ ----------------------------

The elevator dinged as you walked with Gibbs hand in hand into the squad room to find Abby practically bouncing up and down at the sight of you. The rest of the team stood behind her smiling when they saw you and Gibbs get closer.

"Y/N!" Abby shouted, running to you as she crushed you into a hug as best she could. " I miss you so so much!"

"I missed you too, Abby."

"Abs, let her go before you crush her." Gibbs joked.

"Oops." Abby said as she let go and then gave you one more tiny hug before stepping back.

The rest of the team came up one by one as they gave you hugs.

You were near your due date and begged Gibbs to bring you with him to work since you were slowly going insane home alone. It was nice to finally see your friends, even though they came by often, and Abby, Ziva, and yourself went out on their days off. It was just nice to see everyone back in a familiar environment.

Gibbs sat you down in his chair, gave you a peck on the forehead, which caused Abby to coo, and left to go talk to Director Vance. You sat there rubbing your belly as you chatted away when you felt something warm trinke down your leg. You stopped what you were saying and looked in shock at the team. "I think my water just broke." You whispered.

The team looked in shock for a second before springing into action. "Palmer, go find Gibbs." Ducky said, as he took your hand in his as he helped you up.

"There's a secret go bag under Gibbs' desk," Ziva called out as she helped you into your sweater.

McGee bustled under Gibbs desk and came out with a very large diaper bag. You smiled happily at the thought of him keeping an extra bag under his desk just in case. You walked over and unzipped it and looked in at all the things he packed when you felt a sharp pain in your abdomen, causing you to cry out.

"We aren't waiting, Miss. Y/N," Ducky said as he pulled you away from the diaper bag. "We need to get you to the hospital."

He sat you down in Gibbs' chair, and Tony pushed it over to the elevator as another pain hit, causing you to cry out once again.

You saw Palmer run over as the elevator doors opened and Tony rushed you inside. "He's not up in Vance's office or in MTAC, does anyone know where he is?"

The rest of the team filled in as another more painful pain shot through your body. "No," you said as you gritted through the pain. "Just find him, or he's a dead man."

Palmer nodded as the doors closed and shouted out a good luck as you saw him run off. The team ended up using Ducky's truck since it had the lights on it and a comfortable place to lay, which was disinfected Ducky had said before placing you in.

The ride was short and comfortable but painful. You were whisked quickly into a room, while the team waited outside as they prepared you into a hospital gown and checked to see how far along you were. "Still two centimeters, so you have time. We can administer medicine to help with the pain in a bit if you want." You nodded as another pain shot through you. "Try to relax as best as you can with the pain."

The doctor left and met with a group outside the door. "Is anyone here the father?"

"No, but he should be coming soon." Tony answered.

"How far along is she?" Ducky inquired.

"Two centimeters at the moment, she can get an epidural but we have some medications to help with the pain before that. I do need someone to fill out some medical questions before we can proceed."

Ducky perked up, "I know her medical history, I can fill those out for her."

"Awesome, I'll see the rest of you and her shortly. You can go check in on her."

The team filled into the room, Abby and Ziva taking your hands as you cried out through another painful contraction.

"Where's Gibbs?" You screamed out as another one hit you harder this time, causing your torso to come forward towards your legs.

"I am right here, love." Gibbs shouted as he ran into the room. He took the hand Ziva was holding, sitting on the bed as his other hand brushed away the sweat that was gathering on your forehead. "I'm so sorry that I walked away and you couldn't find me. " He kissed your knuckles as you squeezed his hand harder through a smaller contraction.

"Don't do that ever again." You whispered as you leaned back into the bed, already tiring out from the pain.

"I won't."

"Miss Y/L/N, we can administer some medication now before the epidural of you'd like."

"Yes, please."

They administered the medication, and you laid back feeling the medicine kick in.

A few hours later, they were administering the epidural, and you were lying against Gibbs between his legs, a comfort position that you've enjoyed during your pregnancy, especially when your body ached.

"This feels so much better." You whispered as the epidural started to kick in. "Remind me why I decided to have a kid? It's so painful."

Gibbs chuckled as he massaged your shoulders. "You'll know in a little bit."

He sat up a bit and massaged your arms, chest, and legs and then rubbed your belly. "I'm going to miss this."

"Miss what? I can always give you massages."

You looked up at him, with a smile. "No, you rubbing my belly. I really liked it."

He smiled down at you and gave you a small kiss. "I guess we'll just have to make more babies then." You giggled against his lips.

-------------------------- ~~ ----------------------------

You gave a slight rub to your belly and smiled. You grabbed the pitcher of lemonade and brought it outside to the small gathering that was in your backyard.

You were holding a small party for the twins' first birthday. That's right, twins. You and Gibbs were shocked when the doctor said to continue pushing as soon as your first baby came into the world, but you were blessed with two beautiful girls - Shannon Jennifer and Francine Kelly.

Gibbs was shocked when you mentioned the names, since you didn't bring them up when you both were talking about names, but you wanted to honor those who loved and cared for Gibbs. You couldn't pick one first name, so you decided each girl would have two first names, and they could decide what they wanted to use more.

You sat the pitcher down on the table and looked around to see the twins in the sandbox as they played with Tony and McGee. You smiled as the two boys helped pack the sand into a bucket for the twins and watched them clap and squeal as Tony and McGee slid the sand out of the buckets to make a small castle.

A pair of arms circled your chest, and a small kiss was placed on your shoulder. "If everyone could gather around." Gibbs called out, and the party moved closer with Tony and McGee picking up the twins to bring them up to Gibbs and you.

"Make way for the birthday girls!" Tony called out, and the crowd chuckled.

Once the girls were brought over, you crouched down and held them as they stood up leaning against you as they took in the crowd of people around them.

"I know I'm not a man of very many words, but I've been trying so bare with me." Earnign Gibbs a few laughs. "I just want to thank everyone who's helped Y/N and myself the last year and throughout her pregnancy. It's made the transition easy, especially when Y/N went back to work. Now, I was always afraid to love someone again and to start a family, but with Y/N, it was easy. I couldn't imagine anyone more perfect for our girls than you. And I couldn't imagine anyone more perfect for me than you. You've helped me learn and grow so much since I've met you, and I couldn't imagine my life without you."

The crowded cooed, and you wiped a few happy tears from your eyes as you held your girls in your arms. Gibbs knelt down in front of you and ruffled through his pocket until he brought out a tiny velvet box, causing you to gasp as he opened it, revealing a diamond ring. "Y/N Y/L/N, will you make me the happiest man by marrying me?"

You nod vigorously as you burst out into tears as Gibbs took Francine Kelly into his arms so he could slide the ring onto your finger. The crowd around you clapped as he cupped your cheek to give you a kiss.

Abby took the girls, and you stood up and gave Gibbs a big hug. "I can't wait to be your wife." You whispered.

You squealed as Gibbs dipped you and gave you a passionate kiss on the lips. "I can't wait to call you Mrs. Gibbs."

The crowd buzzed around excitedly as he set you on your feet, and you gathered the attention back. "I wanted to do a small surprise today, but after that huge surprise, I'm unsure." You laughed. You grabbed a small wrapped box from the table behind you and handed it to Gibbs who was knelt down with the twins. "This is for you."

Gibbs looked at you curiously and then had the girls help him unwrap it. He opened the box to a small pair of baby shoes with a small card reading, 'Baby Gibbs will be meeting the world in 7 months.'

"Are you serious?" He asked, in shock.

You bounced on your toes happily. "Yes!"

He stood up smiling and picked you up, spinning you around and giving you a kiss. He held you tight and showed the crowd the box. "Baby number three!"

The crowd once again cheered, and everyone came up to you congratulating you excitedly. Once everyone was done, the party went back into full swing as everyone played with the girls.

You stood under the yard's twinkle lights while Gibbs wrapped a small sweater over your shoulders and then gathered you into his arms. "Thank you." He mumbled.

"For what?"

"For giving me a happy ending after all these years."

You gave him a kiss and then leaned back into him happily as you watched your two girls laugh and squeal with those who you called your family. Your now ringed hand covered Gibbs as he rubbed your small belly that held your new bundle of joy.

"I love you, Jethro."

"I love you too, my love."

[jazzystudios82]

Diabolik Lovers: An Angel's Embrace AU Shorts #5 - Akira ♡

DL OTP Prompt #23: Family

"Life doesn't come with a manual. It comes with a mother."

This is, once again, another entry for @yuriko-mukami's DL writing prompt. And like the others, this one may take a while to make.

WARNING: Diabolik Lovers is a series with dark themes and topics. Discretion is advised.

Content Warning: This short contains pregnancy, birth (not descriptive; off-page), mentions of a difficult birth, blood, and nightmares about death.

If you're not in the right mind set to read this, then you don't have to. Your mental health is more important.

——————————————————————————

The Sakamaki Mansion. . . .

Angelica was sitting in a comfy chair while a maid poured her a cup of tea. The pregnant woman gave the maid a soft 'thanks' as she accepted the porcelain tea cup. The tea itself had such a lovely aroma, and it made the pink haired woman smile with. It wasn't necessarily the tea itself that made her smile, it was in fact that she was finally able to have some time for herself without Karlheinz practically looming over her shoulder.

She couldn't be too annoyed with him though, as Angelica knew that her husband was concerned for both her and their baby. The unborn babe was going to be the heir to the Vampire Clan after all.

But as much as she loved seeing this from her husband, Angelica did have a limit for how much Karlheinz seemed to be smothering her when he was off duty. Again, she loved it, but she needed her space every once in a while.

As soon as she took a sip of her tea, Angelica let out a positive sigh. "Is the tea to your liking, my lady?" the maid asked. "It is. Thank you for making this for me." Angelica answered.

"It was nothing. How's the baby? Do you think that today's the day?"

Angelica looked at her pregnant belly. It had been nine months already, but so far there were no signs of the baby coming out. While Angelica had no issue with it, the baby comes whenever they want after all, Karlheinz and some of her family members were impatient. Angelica could understand them though. After all, her family was getting a new addition for them to love and spoil, and the baby was also the future ruler of the Vampire Clan.

Because of this, Angelica and her unborn baby's safety was taken extremely seriously. Karlheinz had even went as far as to hire a poison taster to check if any of Angelica's food and drinks were laced with a drug that could harm her and the baby's health, who just so happened to be the maid that was with her right now.

As soon as she finished her tea, Angelica stood up from her chair and was going to go back into the mansion for some light reading, when she felt a sharp pain in her lower abdomen.

"!"

"My lady, is something wrong?" the maid asked. "I. . . .I don't know." Angelica said. "I felt this-" The silver eyed woman nearly let out a yell when the pain became more intense, and when she felt a strange wetness between her legs, Angelica immediately knew what was going on.

"My lady? What is it?"

"I'm afraid that my water broke."

The maid's facial expression changed from one of confusion to great worry immediately.

"Shit."

.

.

.

.

Karlheinz's Office. . . .

The Vampire King let out a sigh as he finished the final piece of paperwork that was on his desk. What it was for, he had forgotten hours ago. But he didn't care about that.

All he wanted right now was to go be with Angelica and spend time with her. Especially with the baby on the way. There'd be little time he could spend with Angelica when their son arrives.

Why does he assume the baby will be a boy? Karlheinz just had a hunch that it would be, is all.

A smile appeared on Karlheinz's face when he put the last signature on the piece of paper before him. 'Finally finished.' he thought to himself. As soon as he put his fountain pen away, Christa, (who was followed by the head butler) slammed the door open, nearly startling him.

"Christa! You know that I have established rules for-"

"Karl! You have to hurry! It's Angie!" Christa exclaimed, who herself was nearly on the verge of tears. "S-She's. . . .she's-"

"What? What is it?" Karlheinz asked, his annoyance from earlier now gone. "Is she alright?" Though with the way Christa struggled to communicate while teary eyed, it was likely his annoyance could return.

"Her water broke! And now she's in labor!" Christa revealed.

"!"

"B-But something's wrong! The butler, h-he said. . . .that-" "What is it?! Spit it out!" Karlheinz almost shouted, making Christa flinch.

"W-What Lady Christa is trying to say is that Lady Angelica's labor appears to unfortunately be. . . .rather difficult for her." the butler revealed.

". . . .What?"

"We must make haste!" The butler said as he led Karlheinz and Christa out of the Vampire King's office. "The doctor and the nurses claim that she needs you right away!"

.

.

.

.

Karlheinz had been told by others that the day his son would arrive would be a joyous one. That he and Angelica, or whoever would have given birth to his heir first, would have him cry tears of joy.

That was not the case.

He paid no attention to what the doctor and nurses were saying.

He paid no attention to Cordelia and Richter's momentarily shocked faces and hushed whispers.

He paid no attention to Beatrix trying to keep her composure.

He paid no attention to how Christa was on her knees, sobbing as the maids tried to comfort her.

All that Karlheinz could focus on was what was in the blonde maid's (Angelica's taste tester) hands: the once pristine white sheets that were covered in blood.

.

.

.

.

Angelica's body felt completely weak from the ordeal she went through for what felt like hours. She so desperately wanted to hold her baby, but the doctor had the nurses take the baby away while he took care of her.

After that, she blacked out. She did hear some of the others, such as Richter and the other wives outside of the door, but what exactly they were saying was unclear to her. But it didn't matter to her. All Angelica wanted was to see her baby and introduce Karlheinz to their child.

But her attention drifted elsewhere when she heard a faint voice calling her name.

"-ca? Angelica my dear, are you awake?"

The pink haired woman slowly opened her eyes to see that it was Karlheinz, who seemed to have changed from his usual attire and into something more casual, such as a simple white shirt and black pants. In his arms was a bundled up blanket that was the color of the egg of a robin, a baby who was whimpering and making grabbing motions with his chubby hands.

"Karl. . . .is that. . . .?" Angelica asked, her voice quiet and slightly sore from the screaming from the birthing process. "It is. It's our son, Angelica. And I believe that he wants to meet his mother." Karlheinz handed their newborn son to Angelica, who gently took him in her arms.

The baby was a bit smaller than she expected, and his face was a bit red due to his intense crying that happened shortly after he was born, as he was desperately gasping for air. Though it was a bit hard for her to tell, Angelica noticed that his little wisps of hair were the same light pink color as hers.

Tears welled up in the corner of Angelica eyes as she smiled at her son. "Oh Karl, he's gorgeous!" she said softly, as their son began to calm down and stop fussing.

"Isn't he?" Karlheinz said. "Though I can't say that I'm surprised. After all, just look at his parents."

Angelica couldn't help but smile and let out a soft laugh. "Karl. . . ."

"What? I can't say something nice about our baby?"

"You can! It's just-"

The baby let out a whine, interrupting his mother.

"He's probably hungry," Karlheinz said as he got off of Angelica's bed. "I'll give you some privacy." "Karl, you don't have to go." Angelica said as she began the process of nursing her baby, which did in fact seem to be what he wanted.

"It's fine, pet." he said as he got to the door. "Besides, I think it's appropriate for you to get to spend some time with Akira."

"?" Angelica blinked in surprise. "What?"

"After all, I did everything that the doctor said that was required for a father to bond with his child. And I think that-"

"Not that." Angelica said. "Akira. . . .you gave him the name I picked." "And this is a surprise to you?" "It's just that. . . .I thought that you would have named him after you and RIchter's father."

Karlheinz looked back at his wife and gave her what was probably the softest and most genuine smile she had ever seen. "It's simple, pet. It was my favorite of the names we discussed, and I thought it was fitting for a king."

.

.

.

.

By the time Angelica and Akira slept, Karlheinz had ordered for the amount of guards protecting their bedroom to be doubled, getting new locks, hiding a weapon (a pistol) under his pillow, and the golden eyed vampire even convinced his wife to have Akira sleep in their room for the night, which didn't take much to get her to agree to.

He didn't care if it seemed excessive, he'd do anything to keep the two safe and by his side. Besides, it was perhaps the most tame thing that he's done today.

It happened when he saw Angelica's motionless body in the delivery room, and something in him snapped when he heard that the baby that Angelica oh so longed for never cried when born.

And so, he did what he had to: he reversed it all until he got the correct version of events that he wanted. Karlheinz did it up to around seventeen times until he got what he desired, a scene before him where both mother and child survived and were healthy.

A part of him even thought it was funny when the others (especially Richter and Cordelia's) had the most confused expressions on their faces when Karlheinz left his office early and attended to his wife's delivery himself instead of waiting for the doctor's arrival.

Karlheinz was immediately brought back to the present when he heard his son stirring from his sleep. He moved swiftly from his and Angelica's bed and to Akira's crib to pick up the baby.

"There there, it's ok." Karlheinz muttered, rocking Akira back and forth softly. "Normally I'd say it's unbecoming of a king to cry, but after today? I suppose it's well deserved."

——————————————————————————

Whoooooooo!!!!

It's done, the final short story for the Angel's Embrace AU for this year! Hopefully I'll be able to write for 2025. Also, sorry that this one turned out to be so dark. This is the first time that I've written something like this, and I did my best to be as respectful as possible with subject matter like this.

If there's anything that you think needs some editing, let me know.

[its-all-papaya]

excuse me for coming into your askbox and yelling but FIRST!! how GOODDAMN GOOD was the prompt fill for my ask for 13 (desperately)!??!?!?!? i wasn't expecting that AT ALL like the way you have with words!?!??! i LOVED the words in different languages that you so smoothly fit in there, how you wrote them and the way it came together was just so beautiful 🥹 i was legit crying happy tears at the end!! but SECOND now WHAT THE FUCK was that prompt fill for 48?? you BROKE ME, i don't even really understand what exactly happend in that one (pls explain in short if you'd like) but the desperation seeped through my screen and my EMOTIONS are ALL OVER THE PLACE now and i am truly moved by the piece. THANK YOU but also WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS TO ME

okay there are layers here so first:

YAY SO GLAD YOU LIKED 13!! I'm so proud of desperately, I was so scared to write lestappen bc (again) I was simply not around F1 for the majority of their development, so it feels much scarier with less to pull from in my brain. But!! I loved the way it came together, and I'm glad you enjoyed <3

okay... 48... because the world is ending. I am... SO GLAD you asked bc I've actually been dying to talk about this since I wrote it. It feels like I'm unveiling some of the mystery I purposely put into it but also I am shaking crying begging to discuss this piece so uh... under the break xoxo

The thing about that prompt is I started writing it FULLY intending for it to be about the actual end of the world. My vision was like... Charles hears the world is ending and realizes that the one thing he wants to do is confess to Max blah blah etc etc. But I started typing and I wrote that first paragraph like half out of the shower bc I was afraid I was going to forget it while I finished, then I started the second paragraph and it was truly just going to be like... scene setting ahead of Charles learning the news. I got to the part about the television always being on bc I wanted him to background overhear and passively learn the news on accident. But "There’s a trophy case next to it, dusty with neglect. The top shelf is empty. It always has been." appeared out of actual literal thin air?? and from THERE I was like. No. I have something better. SO.

48 is still about the actual end of the world if you want to read it that way. BUT. 48 is also about Charles retiring from Formula 1 without ever winning a WDC. If you would like to read it that way. If you take road number one, the news comes that the world is ending and they've got days until it does, and Max calls Charles and invites him to his place and Charles goes.

IF YOU TAKE ROAD NUMBER TWO. Loosely, Charles has a contract in hand and is making his decision but taking too long so Ferrari gives him an ultimatum or whatever. In this case, the phone call could be from team principal or whoever you please. And Charles decides on his own to go see Max about it. In both options, my working concept is Max retired out of nowhere a-la Nico Rosberg after winning his eighth WDC or whatever. And he disappeared and Charles hasn't seen him since the final race of that season ("his face looks the same as it had that day in December, glowing in the reflection of another trophy"). Also they used to fuck ("He knows Max’s voice...through the thick of a pillow, around his own wrist, shoved between his teeth"). So Charles goes to Max because he needs to decide what to do except he's kind of already decided and just like. Needs Max there while he admits it to himself. And then they have their weird little standoff and makeout and have emotional sex bc Charles is letting go of the dream he's always had and he's doing it alongside (via?) his lifelong rival, who achieved everything Charles wanted. And then left Charles alone with his desperation.

I actually don't know how lestappen reaches this itchy part of my brain, but 48 is one of my favorite things I've ever written and it came together in literally an hour and a half. "'What did it feel like?' 'Which one?'" made me cry literal physical tears writing it because Charles is just desperately grieving the dream he's had his whole life and begging Max to give him anything to know whether it's worth it to keep fighting, and Max is not flippant but so... literal? about it? Which is so Max to me. I love the way it came out SO MUCH. so much.

ANYWAY that was not short, that was long, but I'm so so glad you asked, thank you genuinely for the compliment and for giving me this opening to rant about this little bby piece that I adore so deeply.

Feel free to visit my ask box again any time, anon 🫶