#ahhh maybe it’s because i haven’t seen him in a while but these days i feel how pretty he is even more than usual

[jentlemahae]

[starsinthesky5]

wanna get out of here? | joe burrow x reader

description: an impromptu getaway is exactly what you and joe needed

a/n: ahhh my second fic!! all the love on my first one gave me the motivation to go and write another one :) i hope you all like this one!

warnings: smut (hope it’s not too bad since it’s my first time writing it LOL), language

word count: 6 k

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Wednesday 

The sounds of hammering rain and thunder were all you could focus on as you were sitting on the couch, curled up in a blanket trying to finish an overly complex project for work. You had been trying to finish the final section for the past week but you simply could not get rid of the restless feeling that had engulfed you over the past few days. 

Joe, on the other hand, was sitting right next to you. He was staring at the TV which had on some random rerun episode of The Office. Normally, he’d be laughing along to the show no matter how many times he had seen the episode, but today he was quiet & agitated. He had been overwhelmed this past month with intense rehab for his wrist injury; on top of which he had his off-season workouts every day which had also been incredibly vigorous. He was mentally and physically burnt out and needed something to take his mind off of everything. He noticed that you also had been swamped with work which caused you to be on edge the whole week, preventing you two from having any real 1 on 1 time like you usually do, and he wasn’t having it. 

You were typing away on your computer, another idea that would probably lead to nothing, before you heard the TV turn off. 

You turned your head to Joe and saw his blank face. “Everything Okay?” you questioned while reaching for his hand. 

“Wanna get out of here?” he asked while interlocking your hands, still looking expressionless. 

“Joey there is literally a monsoon happening outside right now,” you deadpanned as you squeezed his hand. 

“Not out there. I mean do you wanna get out of Ohio?”.

“Who are you and what have you done with my fiancee,” you laughed. 

“What?” he asked, looking quizzical as if he had no idea why you said that.

“You, the same man that never leaves his house unless it’s business or football related. And sometimes due to a forced social activity, or occasionally to have fun, wants to leave Ohio? You’re practically a turtle that stays in its shell all day,” you say before going back to your work project. 

Joe is slightly taken aback by what you said. Deep down he knows you aren’t wrong, he doesn’t go out very often, which made what he said next even more necessary. 

“Let’s go to the Bahamas this weekend. I can call up Ted and get a jet here and we can leave Friday morning. I’m thinking we stay at a lowkey house on a private beach for maybe 4 days,” he says.

You think he’s just messing with you but when you look over at him, he looks serious. 

“Where is this coming from?” you say with worry in your voice. In the 5 years, you and Joe have been together, he’d never sprung an idea of a vacation on you by himself, it was always mutual. And you’d never left the States before either. You close your computer and turn to face him. 

“I’m just so fucking tired,” he says with a sigh. “These past few weeks have been really intense and I just need a break.” 

Your face drops as he continues. He’d been under so much pressure lately with OTA’s slowly approaching and training amping up; plus all the background noise. He’d start throwing in the next month or so and deep down he was nervous. He didn’t know how it was going to go and if all this rehab was even worth it if he was never going to be able to get back to where he was. 

“And you’ve been stressed out all week because of work and it feels like we haven’t had just ‘us’ time,” he adds. 

Joe was right. He’d be gone all day with either rehab or workouts and the only time you two would get together would be dinner. And by dinner, you’d be too exhausted to do anything but eat and rush off to bed. 

You spend a few moments contemplating his offer. It would be nice to get away for a few days and you both needed the change of environment badly. 

“Okay, let’s do it," you say with a smile as you pull him in for a hug. 

“But just so you know, since we’d be leaving in 2 days, I’m going to be an absolute nightmare when it comes to packing,” you say before planting a kiss on his cheek. 

“Oh, I'm well aware. You only get 2 days to stress about packing and not a whole week like usual,” he laughs. 

Thursday Evening 

You both spent the majority of the day planning your impromptu vacation. You found the perfect beach house on the other side of Nassau, away from the main part of the island. It was hidden by palm trees and had a private beach which made it easy to unwind without any prying eyes. You would spend the week there and pick out a few activities nearby to occupy your time. You also chose a few places to eat although you both decided to cook at home for the majority of your stay. 

Currently, you were sitting on your closet floor attempting to pack your suitcase but were majorly failing. Packing was never your strong suit, especially if you had to pack the day before a trip. The closet looked like a war zone, things were everywhere. 

“This is the wrong time to not be able to find anything,” you say to yourself while getting up once again to hunt for missing items. 

Joe walked into the closet and saw you frantically pacing back and forth looking for something. 

“Babe, are you Okay?” He asked while sitting down on the stool. 

“Have you seen my new white bikini? Or my sunglasses? Or my tank tops?” You asked, aggravated that you couldn’t find your stuff.

“I literally cannot find anything,” You added before giving Joe a look. He knew that look all too well, you were 1 misplaced item away from having a full breakdown. 

He got up from the stool and walked over to where you were, put his hands on your shoulders, and said “Y/N you could wear a potato sack and still look amazing. Stop stressing about it, this vacation is supposed to get rid of the stress. Not add onto it,”

You let out a deep breath and say “You’re right. It’s just us anyway. I’ll just pack some nice dresses and stuff whatever in the suitcase,” 

“The fewer clothes the better,” Joe smirks and says before leaning in and planting a kiss on your lips. 

“You’re insatiable,” you say against his lips. 

After you finish packing your suitcase, you get ready for bed since you have a fairly early flight. It took Joe about 15 minutes to pack his things, which came as no surprise since he is the biggest outfit repeater you know. You’re just about ready to doze off before you feel Joe’s hand creep up your leg and squeeze your thigh.

“Mmm Joe not right now,” you say half asleeply. “Go to bed,”

“Not that,” he states. “I can’t fall asleep,” he mumbles. 

You let out a sigh before turning to face him. No way you’re getting any sleep now. “What’s wrong,” you say as you move his messy curls out of his eyes. 

“I don’t know, I just can’t fall asleep,” he says. 

You knew Joe too well to know when something was bothering him. His confession earlier was only the tip of the iceberg. Something was bugging him and you needed him to talk to you.

“What’s going on in that brain of yours,” you say as you play with his curls. 

He stayed silent for a few heartbeats, not knowing if he should unload his heavy thoughts on you right before a vacation. But he knew that it was just you. You’d always listen to whatever he had to say, no matter the time or place. 

“Just everything.” He says, meeting your eyes. “Rehab has been going great and training has been too, and I should be happy about that but I just can’t get rid of that feeling,”

“What feeling?” You question.

“Feeling like I won’t be good enough. I know what people are saying; overpaid, overrated, no rings, injury-prone. And they aren’t wrong. I don’t have anything to back up why people think I’m a top 3 quarterback,” 

Your heart breaks as he continues to talk. The fact that Joe feels like he isn’t good enough is mind-boggling to you. He’s one of the best damn players you’ve ever seen and you wish you could do something to get rid of his doubts, but you knew that that was something he had to do on his own. 

“But you do have things to back it up. You had one of the greatest college football seasons ever. Winning the Natty and the Heisman was only the start of your legacy. You were drafted by an organization that was in desperate need of saving and you made an impact that not many could have done,” you say as you see a small smile on his face.

“You had a shitty rookie season with tearing basically everything in your knee, but you worked hard and came back better than ever fucking before. You went on and led the team to their first playoff win in 30 years and went to the fucking Super Bowl in your first full season,” you add.

“Yeah, you didn’t win. But you put the entire league on notice and showed them who the hell you are. And then you did it again next year even though you didn’t go all the way. This past year was rough and didn’t go the way anyone would have expected, but this is part of what makes you, you.” you say with a smile as he stares deeply into your eyes. 

“You thrive when there’s adversity. It makes you work harder for what you want and it always pays off one way or another. You always come out better and stronger. You are a great quarterback and are absolutely more than good enough. You’re going to have your moment soon, and I know it,” you conclude. 

Joe stares into your eyes for a few more heartbeats. You knew exactly what to say to bring him back down from whatever cloud he was stuck on and he was so thankful for you. 

“I love you,” he said as he pulled you onto his lap, pressing kisses all over your face. 

“I love you more, always,” you laugh as he kisses the hell out of you. 

You two spent the rest of the night in each other's embrace. You finally felt at peace once you heard Joe’s soft snores fill the room and finally got some sleep.

Friday

You both got up pretty early for your flight, taking a quick shower before packing the car and heading to the airport. After boarding the plane you both took off your shoes, pulled out your fav blanket, and got comfy. 

“Are you excited?” Joe beams.

“Excited is an understatement, Burrow,” you smirk. “Getting you out of Ohio might be my favorite part,”. 

“I’m so looking forward to getting some sun and swimming in that big pool,” he says, referring to the massive pool that’s a part of the house you rented.  

“It’s like you’re a whole new person,” you smile while leaning your head on his shoulder. He smiles and kisses your forehead before pulling out his laptop to turn on a movie. 

“Oooo what are we gonna watch?” you excitedly question. 

“I was thinking of either ‘Grown-Ups’ or ‘21 Jump Street’,” he responds.

“Hmm, let’s do Jump Street, it’s been a while since we watched that,” you say. 

You spent the rest of the flight watching movies, playing a few card games, and eventually taking a small nap before the plane landed. 

A few hours later

After the plane landed, you both drove to your house for the week and it was like something out of a fairytale. The house overlooked the beach and the crystal blue water. Lush green palm trees surrounding the house provided ample privacy, especially for the large open pool in the backyard. You two settled into the house before changing into your swimsuits for a nice afternoon dip in the pool. You did end up finding your new white bikini, which was perfect for the occasion. 

Joe walked out of the bathroom and saw you brushing your hair in the mirror. His eyes trailed down to your bare legs, up to your perfect ass, then to your toned stomach, and straight to your chest. You looked so sexy and he was in heaven. He walked up to you and hugged you from behind, his warmth causing you to melt into his arms. 

Your eyes met his in the mirror, “Like what you see, Burrow?” you teased. 

“Absolutely,” he chuckled as he swayed you two back and forth, pressing a kiss on the back of your shoulder while sliding his hand down to your ass. Joe was grinning like a love-struck fool as he watched you close your eyes and melt into his embrace. He was making you feel more relaxed than you’d ever been before and you both were loving it. 

You both ventured out to the pool and sat down on the pool chairs, hoping to get a quick tanning sesh in before a swim. A few minutes in, Joe found himself staring at the pool when he got an idea. 

“I’m gonna jump into the pool,” he casually said.

You quickly turned your head to him and said, “Are you crazy, the water will get everywhere,” You gasped.

“It’s just us though, nobody around to complain. Besides, I can’t do it in the pool at home since we spent way too much money on redoing the backyard. At least here there isn’t any vegetable garden at risk of being destroyed,” he smirked before quickly running back to the patio door and launching himself into the pool, not giving you a moment to lecture him. 

The water did in fact get everywhere but it was worth it when you saw Joe come up from the water. He shook his head back and forth to get the water out of his hair before he took his hand and attempted to slick it back. Your eyes navigated to his muscular chest which had stray water droplets sliding down his abdomen, back into the water. God, he looked so hot like this. 

“Like what you see, Burrow,” he teased as he noticed your expression. 

“Yes, in fact I do. Very much actually,” you say while getting off the chair. “And I’m not a ‘Burrow’ yet, still gotta wait a few months before that,” you say as you make your way into the pool. 

“Well, you’re practically already my wifey sooo,” he trails off before swimming over to the steps and helping you into the pool. 

You giggle at his words. He couldn’t wait to marry you and he never failed to make it known. 

You immediately latch onto him when you're in the pool. This was pretty normal for you both. You’d always use him as a floatie and make him do all the work while you just lay on him and relaxed. 

A few moments later you release yourself from his embrace, making him slightly confused at the sudden loss of contact. 

“Y/N come back,” he whines out.

“Someone’s clingy today,” you say while playfully rolling your eyes and swimming away from him. 

He stared at you for a few moments, a sad look on his face while you continued to swim around and away from him. You felt bad that you’d left him hanging but you were having too much fun teasing him. 

“Come and catch me shiesty,” you yelled. He hated it when you called him that. That nickname was only for football-related individuals to use and he thought it was a little cringe whenever you would use it. Not in a bad way, it’s just he preferred you calling him other names that football-related people can’t use. You knew how he felt about it but you also knew that this would for sure set him off. 

“Oh you’re done for,” he playfully growled before swimming after you. The pool was massive so you had just enough space to get away from him. 

You two were swimming circles around each other, occasionally splashing water into each other's faces in hopes of catching each other off guard. Your arms began to get tired of swimming around so you stopped by the ledge to take a breather while Joe was settled on the other side of the pool. 

Before you knew it, Joe had swum over to you and pulled you back into his arms. 

“Got you,” you whispered against your ear. 

“I guess you did,” you whispered back. 

“You look absolutely gorgeous by the way,” he said looking down into your eyes. “I love this bikini on you,” 

You blushed at his sweet comments. He never failed to tell you how pretty you looked. 

“Ya know, I look even better with it off,” you tease. 

Joe’s face dropped immediately when you said that. He’d been horny since he saw you in that bikini but had to compose himself since you both were looking forward to swimming in the pool. But now that you’d gotten your swim time in, nothing was stopping him. 

He slowly pressed you against the wall of the pool and kissed his way up your neck right up to your sweet spot. 

“Joe,” you moaned out. 

“What baby?” He asked, knowing exactly what you wanted.

“I need you,” you whined.

He looked at you momentarily before lifting you out of the pool and rushing you inside to the large bedroom. You let out a squeal as he pushed you back onto the bed. Joe climbed over you and situated his body in between your thighs, capturing your lips in a passionate kiss. You stayed kissing each other for a few minutes before you felt something hard poke at your stomach.

“Getting eager now aren’t we,” you tease. 

“Please, I’ve been waiting to get you in this bed since I saw you in this bikini,” he grinned. 

“Then I suggest you do something about it,” you replied.

Joe smiled and started to untie the strands of your bikini top before tossing it to the side. He kissed his way down to your perfect breasts, swirling his lips around your sensitive bud which caused you to let out a breathy moan.

“Joe,” you moaned out while shoving your hands in his hair. 

He spent a few moments sucking on your breasts before he continued his way down. He pressed a few sloppy kisses on your stomach before eventually making his way down to where you needed him the most. He slowly peeled off your bottoms which was driving you insane.

“Joe please,” you whined out.

“Patience is key, baby,” he teased. 

He threw your bottoms to the side as he made his way back up to your heat. “You’re so wet,” he says while ghosting his fingers over your folds.

“Joe I swear to god-,” You suddenly felt his warm tongue lapping at your folds which caused you to let out another moan, “Ohh Fuck”. 

He buried his warm tongue inside your core as he continued to eat you out like a starved man. He moved one of his hands up to cup your breast as the other was firmly on your thigh. Joe moved up and started to rhythmically suck on your clit which made you see stars; something which he made you see often. “Joey, fuck don’t stop,” you said breathlessly.

“You like that?” he chuckled against your core, sending vibrations throughout your body. Those 3 words always managed to get you more horny than you already were. "Yeah," you whispered.

He went back to lapping at your folds as he used his thumb to rub your clit. The combination of his mouth and fingers was sending you over the edge. You started to arch your back which caused you to lift your hips slightly but Joe pushed them back down as he continued to send you into a frenzy. You fisted your hands into his hair and started to pull on the loose curls which caused Joe to let out a soft moan against you. 

“Joe I’m so close,” you whispered as you pushed his head closer to your core. You felt a familiar warmth in your belly as you were moaning Joe’s name out (which was driving him insane). Joe thrusted one of his fingers into you, causing the imaginary rubber band in your lower belly to snap; feeling a familiar gush of liquid pool below you. You were overcome with a feeling of pure pleasure and satisfaction as he cleaned up your mess with his skillful mouth. He pressed delicate kisses on the insides of your thighs before moving back up and pushing his lips against yours again. 

“You’re so hot,” he said in between kisses. 

You felt a blush creep up on your face. “I’m flattered Mr. Burrow, but have you seen yourself”. 

“Shut up,” he chuckled before going back to kissing you. You stopped kissing him after a few moments and said “Joe, I need you inside me.”

“Your wish is my command babe,” he replied as he pulled down his swim trunks and threw them to the side. His cock was rock hard and the sight of it had you sizzling with anticipation. 

Your core was slick with your arousal which made it easy for him to push his dick into you. The tip slowly teasing your folds before he buries himself inside of you, causing you to let out a loud moan. You will never get tired of the feeling of him inside you. 

He started slowly thrusting into you which made you wrap your legs around him, wanting him deeper asap. 

“Joe, Fuck,” you moaned out. “Faster baby,”. 

He began snapping his hips against you, faster & harder than before. “God, you feel so good Y/N,” he moaned out. You brought him in for another kiss, this time quick, messy, and sloppy. He continued thrusting into you and you bucked your hips each time to match his movements. The sound of your arousal and skin-hitting skin filled the room as you two were caught up in the euphoria that was happening between you. 

Joe buried his face into your neck, sucking on your sweet spot, as your hands found themselves in his hair again. You were on Cloud 9 right now and it was all because of him.

“Joe, don’t stop. Shit, you feel too good,” you moaned. You felt him move deeper inside of you as he repeatedly hit your cervix. 

He continued to pound into you, making you feel like nothing else mattered but this moment. You both felt your arousal building up, begging to be released. 

“Fuck Y/N, I’m close,” he panted as he slowed down.

“Me too,” you whimpered. 

He picked up the pace of his thrusts once again, this time moving one of his hands down to your heat, toying with your clit. “Fuck,” you moaned out for what seemed like the hundredth time. “I’m gonna cum,” you whimpered. You felt your walls clench around him, signaling you were almost there. Joe felt you clench around him and pinched your clit which set off your orgasm. Your chest heaved up and down as you whimpered out his name while seeing stars again. He continued to thrust into you, chasing his pleasure. 

“Y/N,” Joe moaned out. You knew he was close by the way his thrusts started to become sporadic. 

“Come on baby,” you encouraged while pulling at his hair and kissing his neck. 

After a few rough thrusts, Joe let out a loud moan as you felt hot spurts of his cum fill you up. He collapsed on top of you as you both panted, needing a moment to recover after the workout you two just had. You moved one of your hands to his back, softly sliding it up and down to help him relax.

“I love you,” he softly said as he kissed your cheek, making you smile. 

“I love you more,” you whisper in his ear as he buries his face into your neck again. 

The next day 

The next morning was pretty chill for you both. You had breakfast at the local beachside cafe, stuffing your faces with delicious fresh fruit from the island before embarking on a pleasant morning walk on the beach. 

“This is nice,” Joe says as you both walk hand in hand alongside the water, a content look on his face.

You look up at him and smile, “Very nice,” you giggle. “Although, I don’t know how you’re not uncomfortable with walking on the beach in shoes,” you question while looking at your bare feet and then his shoes. 

“You never know when a crab might come up and pinch your toes,” he says with a straight face. 

“Righhhht,” you say while relishing the feeling of sand between your toes. 

“So, what should we do today? We pretty much have the whole day since we’re cooking at home tonight,” he says while squeezing your hand. 

“Hmmm,” you wonder for a second. “We could go out on one of the boats?” you carefully question while looking up at your fiancee. 

Joe did not like going on boats. He hated the idea of being out on the open water with no way of getting back to shore other than using the boat. He always questioned what you would do if the boat broke down or even started sinking. You always told him the sinking part was highly unlikely, but you blamed yourself for that worry because you’ve made him watch Titanic with you one too many times. He also didn’t like how you couldn’t see what was in the water. But lucky for you, the water in the Bahamas was crystal clear. 

He stayed silent for a few moments, making you a little sad since you wanted to experience something new with him. 

“Let’s do it,” he says while flashing you a smile. 

You looked up at him, a little surprised. “Really?” you beam. 

“Yes, now let’s go before I change my mind,” he says before stopping to pick you up. He doesn’t give you a moment to respond because he throws you over his shoulders causing you to let out a squeal. He leads you both back to the house so you can get freshened up.

You both got changed into your swimsuits before walking over to the docks and renting a boat for the day. You weren’t sure how you managed to get Joe to go on the boat, but you certainly were not complaining. 

The driver had taken the boat not too far from shore, which kept Joe’s mind at ease. You swam in the water for a little bit and enjoyed a few drinks. 

“Mmm, this like the best Mai Tai I’ve ever had,” you say while taking another sip. Joe was currently in the water in front of you, while you were seated on the steps of the boat, legs partially in the water. 

“Come in the water,” Joe says while splashing some water onto you. 

“Mmm, I think I’m good up here,” you tease while placing your drink to the side.

Joe swam closer to you and said “Nope.”

You were confused at what he meant but then you felt his wet hand wrap around your wrist. 

“Joe, don’t even think about it,” you playfully growled, knowing exactly what he was about to do. He didn’t listen and pulled you into the water, causing a big splash. You came back up to the surface with a frown.

“Someone’s mad,” Joe laughs. You swim over to him while he is fully anticipating an ass-kicking but is pleasantly surprised when you wrap your arms around his neck and kiss his cheek.

You laugh and say, “If this is mad, let me be mad more often,”.

A few hours pass and you both are sitting on the boat in the net seating area that was right above the water. Joe had put on one of his many bucket hats and shades and was laid flat against the net, soaking in the golden sun. You were applying another layer of sunscreen before noticing his chest turning red. You knew he’d be a pain in the ass if he got sunburnt so you took the bottle and moved closer to him. 

You squeezed out a dab of sunscreen and started applying it to his chest. He flinched at the sudden contact before realizing it was just you. 

You felt him flinch and laughed, “Daydreaming, Burrow?”. 

“Maybe,” he smiles while taking off his shades. He looks down and sees you applying sunscreen on him, “Oh, thanks,” he says while meeting your eyes. 

You let out a playful sigh and say, “What would you do without me,”.

“For real,” he says. “I’d be walking around like a tomato,” he laughs. 

After applying the rest of the sunscreen, you lay back against the net and Joe lifts one of his arms, motioning for you to curl up next to him. He rests his hand on the small of your back while you tangle your legs with his. 

You lay there briefly, soaking up the perfect scene before breaking the silence. “Are you enjoying this? I know boats aren’t really your thing and I hope I didn’t force you into this,” you softly say. 

“Of course, I’m enjoying this. I will admit, I was a little nervy when getting on but you’re here with me so I’m fine. Besides, If the boat breaks down at least we’d be stranded together,” he jokes. 

“I guess that’s true. Better than being stranded with a bunch of randos too. I’m glad we could get a boat just for the two of us,” you reply. 

“Yup. This isn’t as bad as I thought. I can see everything below us too so no risk of a random shark popping out,” he deadpans.

“Like that would actually happen,” you say while softly hitting his chest.

“You never know,” he says while shaking your shoulder in an attempt to scare you.

You spent a few minutes messing around with each other before the driver came out to tell you that you were heading back to the island. You both got up and sat on the bench, your back pressed into Joe’s chest and stared out into the open waters, taking in the view before it was time to go back. You were mindlessly sliding your hand along Joe’s leg while he had his arms around your waist, gently squeezing your soft skin. Everything about this moment was peaceful. Joe felt at ease for the first time in a long time and he had his favorite person to thank for it. 

Once you got back to the house, you both took a nice shared shower before starting your dinner prep. Before arriving at the house yesterday, you had stopped at the local market to pick up some groceries. 

“So, what are we making tonight,” Joe asked as he sat down on one of the barstools. 

“I was thinking of shrimp-avocado tostadas and some of that wine we picked up yesterday?”

“Sounds delicious,” he said while rubbing his belly.

You let Joe fry the tortillas and make the avocado mixture while you cooked the shrimp and assembled the tostadas. While you were assembling the dish, Joe found a few candles in the cabinet and got an idea. He went outside to the backyard and set up the candles on one of the patio tables, setting the scene for a nice sunset dinner. He picked out a few flowers from the front of the house and put them in a vase to use as a centerpiece. He then poured the wine into 2 glasses, setting one on each side. 

You had finished plating the tostadas and didn’t see Joe anywhere. “Joe? Where are you,” you yelled out.

“Out here! Bring the plates outside,” he yelled back. 

You were a little confused but went along with it. You walked outside with your dinner and saw Joe setting the table and your heart melted. 

“Joe, this is so romantic,” you cooed while putting the plates on the table. 

He gave you a warm smile before pulling out one of the chairs for you to sit in. You sat down as he settled into the chair across from you. You both devoured the tostadas while making small talk about your plans for tomorrow. After you finished eating, Joe took the plates and set them inside; he suggested you both finish up your wine on the daybed since you would get a comfier view of the sky. 

Later that night, per your suggestion, you and Joe were sitting in the bathtub surrounded by bubbles and a few candles. You felt so relaxed even though you’d only been here for 2 days, and it was all because of Joe.

“I’m glad we finally get to have ‘us’ time,” Joe says while rubbing your thigh under the water. “I missed just being able to sit with you and do nothing. This past month felt so repetitive, I feel like we barely saw each other,” 

“Me too. We needed this,” you said as you pressed yourself into his chest a little more. Your back was to his chest and both your legs were tangled under the water. This was your favorite position; the warmth radiating off of his body felt like a big hug. 

“Thank you for doing this by the way,” you add.

“Doing what?” He questioned.

“This trip. I needed it more than I thought I did. Getting away from home and the change of environment was much needed. I think if I stayed in Ohio for another day I might have spontaneously exploded,” you joked, causing him to let out a soft chuckle. 

“Anytime,” he replied while kissing the nape of your neck.

“Do you feel better?” You asked. “I hope you were able to get your mind off of things. Your stuff was a lot heavier than mine,”

He lets out a content sigh and says, “Actually, yeah I do feel better. I think I just needed to get out of the chaos and get out of my head. This trip has helped me decompress and realize that not everything has to be so stuffy all the time,” Joe says. 

“Exactly,” you chirp as you lean your head back to place a kiss on his neck.

“I can’t do anything about what people are saying, they’ll always talk. But what I can do is work hard to get back to where I’m supposed to be. And I won’t be able to get there if I’m constantly pressuring myself,” he says. “Letting loose and having fun is a part of that journey. I need that balance,” he adds.

“And this is a great start,” you say while smiling up at Joe

“Yes it is,” Joe says while pressing another kiss to your forehead. 

You both had spent the rest of the night talking about the rest of your exciting activities planned for the final 2 days of the trip. You even talked about a few fun things you could do around Cincinnati when you get back home so that you could keep the work-life balance that you both so desperately needed. 

“This impromptu vacation might have been the best idea you’ve had so far,” you tell Joe as you both are about to fall asleep. 

“We should get away more often,” Joe grins.

--The End--

[throneofsapphics]

Hiii you’re such an amazing writer i really love your content and writing!! you’re so good😩🤍🤍

I especially liked the rowaelin x reader, with reader getting nip piercings, could i please request a similar one where it’s feysand x reader, and reader and feyre get matching nip piercings, and rhys sees them. and reader also suggests they all should get matching tattoos, maybe nyx’s name or the date they all mated😭🥺

matching 

Feysand x Reader

Summary: Feyre and reader get piercings. 

Warnings: nudity, piercings, not proofread

A/N: ahhh you’re so sweet! thank you and thank you for the request!

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Feyre’s voice was barely above a whisper as you led her through the streets. 

“You don’t have to,” you assured her. She caught a stray thought of yours - about getting your nipples pierced, and insisted she go with you. It did take some convincing for her not to go straight to Rhys - who would’ve shot the idea down immediately. First, she insisted on going with you, then on getting her own done as well. 

Still, you’d wanted them for a while. You had other piercings - a few in your ears, one on your nose, but nothing below the shoulders. You wouldn’t say it’s an impulsive decision. It was going to be, until Feyre found out about it and made you wait a week. At that point, you were getting them done out of pure stubbornness. 

Feyre still looked hesitant as you approached the shop. You stopped a few feet away from the entrance, out of sight from the windows. “Feyre,” you said quietly. “I won’t judge you if you decide not to.” 

She rolled her shoulders back, determination crossing her features. “I’m doing it.” 

It surprised you, but she did end up getting them done, alongside you. Although she may have broken a few fingers in your hand during the entire thing. It’s helpful that the piercer was a friend of yours, and remained completely professional the entire time. Although she did send you a sly smirk at the end of it, as Feyre was looking in the mirror, slipping her top back on. You shot a warning glare her way, and she held both hands up, as if to say ‘I’ll keep the secret.’ 

-

“How was your day?” Rhys asked, leaning back in his seat. His arm was draped around Feyre’s shoulders, and you sat opposite of them, curled up in your favorite armchair with a book. 

“You’ve asked us already,” you peered over the top. You and Feyre hadn’t told him yet, purposefully because you knew it would drive him crazy trying to figure out the change, and you liked to play games once in a while. Again, Feyre was hesitant about the situation but you convinced her to play along. 

“And I haven’t gotten the answer I want.” He said mildly. Your lips curved into a small smile, one you knew would irritate him, and you returned back to your book. 

Feyre let out an exaggerated sigh. “Take your top off, y/n.” 

You slammed your book shut, your eyes widening. She had one elegant brow raised, just tell him already. 

Why don’t you take yours off? You hedged. 

Rhys snapped his fingers and a wave of cold air hit you - stinging the small wounds. You yelped, trying to cover yourself but he’d already seen it. 

His eyes seemed to dance as he stood, moving so he stood right in front of your chair. You didn’t fight him as he peeled his arms away from your chest, spotting the two metal bars running through your nipples. 

“Isn’t this a pleasant surprise,” he ran his finger along one, barely ghosting your breast, and turned to Feyre. “I assume she roped you into this?” 

“I spent the morning trying to convince her not to.” You protested. 

“Liar,” he purred, not even looking at you, but his hand stroked your shoulder. 

“I wanted to,” Feyre admitted with a shrug. “She kept asking me if I was certain.” 

Feyre lifted her shirt to show hers, just for a few seconds before lowering it. Meanwhile, your shirt had disappeared to Gods-know-where, and you fought the urge to roll your eyes in annoyance, snatching a blanket from the back of the armchair and wrapping yourself in it. 

“Why don’t you get yours done?” You poked Rhys in the shoulder. He hadn’t move from in front of you, but his eyes were fixed on Feyre - them having some sort of conversation. Probably double checking you didn’t pressure her into it. 

“Absolutely not,” he answered automatically. 

“But we’d all match.” You teased him, pinching this time to get his attention. 

He turned to you with an exasperated look, “No.” 

“What about tattoos?” He still looked wary, but cocked his head and indicated for you to continue. “Of our mating date, maybe. Somewhere discreet.” Some anxiety hit you, maybe you’d suggested something a bit too permanent, or too intense …

“I like that idea,” Feyre’s voice cut off your mental spiral. You could see Rhys debating it, turning the idea over in his mind, but if both you and Feyre wanted to do it, chances are he’d give in.

[keirawantstocry]

hiiiiiiii im baaaackkkkk 💋anon. school was kicking my ass there for a bit, but now im freeeeeee (for a little bit, ignore the tests i have in 2 weeks-)

soooo, as backgroud this is a req I just Found in my notes, its a little older? like, in and around when he stole etoiles identity- I was (and still am-) very much a shapeshifter tubbo truther so uh, enjoy? idk [:

sooooóoooooo shapeshifter tubbo hangs around fit and pac as like, just random animals or like, a handful of animals that fit and pac just get used to having around so he'll just be chillin on like, their head or shoulders or backpacks or following them around. Though neither fit nor pac actually Know tubbo can do this. At some point someone points it out (maybe one of the demons or someone who just Know that stuff) (or keeping in mind current stuff, maybe when hes possessed someone lets it slip) and then tubbo like, runs away and tries to hide but they Find Him because they Know Him and ahhh i want cute misunderstandings, thats my whole agenda.

Hope youre having a good day, many kisses for you <3

heyyyy. i hope that if you already had your test it went well <3 kissing you mwah mwah

Pac loved animals. It wasn't strange to have some hanging around his house. It wasn't strange for him to wake up in the morning and find birds on his windowsill. It wasn't strange to fall asleep with nighttime creatures gathered around, croaking their song to him. 

When Sunny had first seen the animals gathering around, their eyes had lit up. 

“You're like a Disney Princess!” she signed in excitement. 

Pac laughed lightly and grinned at her, rubbing her head gently. “I am! Just like you too.” 

They had stared up at him with wide eyes. “Me?” 

Pac had nodded. “You're a princess.” 

“I'M A PRINCESS! PAI PAI PAI! Where is he?” she asked, blinking her large brown eyes. “I need to tell him I'm a princess!” 

Back then Pac would have never said he had a favorite of the animals that hung around. But now he had to admit he had a certain affinity for one in particular which had begun to hang around both him and Fit. It was strange at first to see a mooshroom of all animals hanging out but they got used to it. Pac enjoyed staring into its big eyes while stroking its soft nose. It was easily one of the most gentle creatures Pac had ever met, the biggest blue green eyes with such long lashes. 

“It won't bite,” Pac cooed as he grabbed Fit by the hand and gently laid it on the mooshroom's nose. 

Fit gasped in surprise, bringing his other hand up to stroke the animal's nose. “It's so soft!” 

Pac grinned. “I know. He's grown attached to me I think. He's always around.” 

“Don't you have your own family?” Fit asked in the voice he used to talk to the children on the island. Pac couldn't help but smile lovingly at him as the mooshroom butted its head a bit aggressively against Fit's hands. 

They both laughed, Pac collapsing against the animal's side, threading his fingers in its fur. “Don't be silly, Fitchie. I'm his family. And now you are too.” 

Fit paused. “I wouldn't have said it's possible but I swear that thing just gave me a smug look.” 

Pac burst out laughing. “Don't be ridiculous. It's an animal Fit. It can't understand us.”

Fit squinted at the animal at question, a strange sort of staring contest going on between them. “Okay,” Fit finally sighed. “You're probably right.” 

“Of course I am,” Pac teased. “Always am.” 

Pac didn’t think strangely of it. Not until Sunny posed a strange question. 

“Why does my Pai follow you around everywhere?” they asked, a quizzical expression on her tiny face. 

Pac froze and tilted his head at her in confusion. “What do you mean, anjinho?” 

She blinked up at him with wide brown eyes. “My Pai follows you around.” 

Pac laughed lightly, in the back of his throat. “I haven’t seen him doing that.” 

“Oh!” Sunny’s eyes lit up like stars. “Because he’s in disguise!” She dropped her hands quickly and shoved them behind her back like other children would throw a hand over their mouth. “I wasn’t supposed to tell you that,” they signed nervously. 

“Oh?” Pac asked curiously as the puzzle pieces began to fall together in his mind. “Sunny, sweetie, is Tubbo the mooshroom that's been following me around for the past few weeks?” 

Sunny stared up at him silently. They raised one hand to her lips and dragged her pinched fingers along them in a mimicry of a zipper. They dropped the imaginary key and smiled at him. 

Pac patted her on the head before pulling out his communicator to message Fit. “Okay, Sunny, I won't tell him that you told me.” 

-

Fit was strangely furious. 

“Tubbo!” he called in that booming voice across the land of Fobo. “You wanna fucking explain this?” 

Tubbo peeked out from behind the door, his eyebrows pressed down hard against each other. “What are you yelling about bro?” 

Fit stared him down as he stormed up to the door, sticking his foot in between the door and frame to stop Tubbo from being able to close it. “Wanna tell me why you've been following Pac around?” 

Tubbo stared at him. “What are you talking about?” 

“The mooshroom,” Fit said flatly. 

Tubbo stared for a moment longer before bolting. 

“Hey!” Fit shouted, shoving the door open to chase him down. Pac followed on his heels, still trying to process what exactly Fit was upset about. 

Before Pac knew it, Fit had Tubbo by the shirt, both hands curled tight into the fabric as he shoved him up against the wall. 

“Hey!” Pac tried to shove in between them, his own hands trying to pry Fit's off of Tubbo. “Calma! Calma!” 

Fit relented, releasing Tubbo while they both scowled at each other. 

“Deep breaths,” Pac said. “Talk this out like civil adults.” 

“Yeah, asshole,” Tubbo spat, rubbing his collarbone. 

Fit let out a deep sigh, relaxing ever so slightly. “Okay. I'm sorry for freaking out on you Tubbo.” 

Tubbo stared at him until Pac cleared his throat. 

“Oh! Um, I'm sorry for stalking Pac. But I mean technically I wasn't stalking him, he just didn't know it was me.” 

“Why have you been doing that?” Pac asked curiously. 

Tubbo's expression shifted to one of nervous energy as he squirmed in place. “Can't a guy just do a little shape shifting?” 

“We didn't even know you could shape shift,” Fit butted in. 

Tubbo crossed his arms unceremoniously. “What? So I have to tell you about every true fact about me?” 

Fit rolled his eyes. “Okay, sure, whatever. You don’t have to tell us everything but you THINK that it would be beneficial for us to know that you’re a fucking shapeshifter?”

Tubbo groaned, clearly frustrated. “Well, sorry if I don’t understand why that’s a fucking issue.” 

“Calma,” Pac said again before Fit could snap. Fit shut his mouth firmly, curling his lips into his mouth. “Tubbo…” Pac said slowly. “Can you just try and explain why you’ve been doing this?” 

Tubbo sighed. Pac’s voice always seemed to soothe him which sent a warm zing through Pac’s body. He brushed away that thought, focusing on what Tubbo was saying. 

“I just… just wanted to spend time with you.” 

“With me?” Pac asked. The warmth in his gut spread, it felt like something safe and good. 

Tubbo nodded. 

Fit scoffed. “Tubbo, listen. You can just say that! I know you’re emotionally stunted and have got some fucking abandonment issues of some sort but I’m telling you right now, you can talk to us. We want to hang out with you. We want to fucking…” he trailed off and reached out to gently put his hands on where he had grabbed Tubbo earlier. Tubbo’s body visibly relaxed and Pac couldn’t help but smile. 

“We are,” Pac said softly. “We love hanging out with you!” 

Tubbo twisted his mouth in frustration. 

“I know, I know,” Fit said before Tubbo could protest. “You don’t believe us or you don’t want to believe us or something. But listen to me. Right now. Can you do that?” 

Tubbo nodded. “Yes,” he said softly. 

“We love you.” Fit laughed. “So can you get that in your thick skull? Please?” 

Tubbo seemed frozen in place, completely stunned. He opened his mouth before closing it again, glancing between Fit and Pac, reading the emotions in their eyes, in every line of their face. 

“Yeah.” He gulped. “I can do that.” 

[dark-frosted-heart]

Roger Barel Main Route - Blind Love Chapter 21 His POV

As usual, can’t guarantee 100% accuracy on this. I’m doing this for archiving purposes and you can probably find a better translation out there.

Those days when I was so consumed by despair that I couldn’t get up were engraved deep into my memory.

We were just one step away from refining an antidote. 

Roger: …Ah, this isn’t it. It’s incompatible.

Kate: …What’s wrong with it?

Roger: The doctors and the Privy Council used my formulation documents. If they followed it, then we should be able to make an antidote. Doesn’t seem to be the case though.

Kate: …Maybe there’s something not in your documents that they included.

Roger: Yeah, that’s what I’m thinking…Did they combine my research with “someone else’s”?

(But that’s just speculation. If we could solve this just by guessing, we wouldn’t be having problems)

Roger: Hmm, I don’t know! Alright, let’s take a break, Kate.

Kate: Hehe, I agree!

--

I looked up at the sky for the first time in days and saw the full moon shining as bright as daylight.

Kate: Wow, it’s so bright out. And we haven’t had such a big meal in days!

The food laid out on the table was all prepared by me. Rather than delicate meals, they were manly.

But I can definitely guarantee the taste and high calories that was great for a tired body.

Roger: Eat your heart out.

Kate: Okay, thank you for the meal…! Mmm, it’s delicious! I don’t know what seasonings you used, but the unique taste is really addicting!

(Haha, you look sooo cute)

Roger: The stew’s really tasty too. It’s a Barel family favorite.

Kate: You’re pretty good at cooking meals for Ale, so were you in charge of cooking back at home?

Roger: Something like that. I took up cooking so that I could eat what I wanted. As you know, food’s necessary when fighting against despair.

While Kate smiled as if she was remembering a past conversation, the unforgettable memories of my “days in despair” resurfaced.

~~ Flashback ~~

Alec had died in front of me and when I next came to, a storm of despair was waiting for me.

Roger’s father: Enough. That’s…enough, Roger. Forget everything about Alec and what you've seen.

—That’s what my old man told me, but I couldn’t forget.

On the side of the room, I sat in despair as I fought the never-ending flood of noise thanks to my abnormal hearing.

Naturally I had no appetite, and I knew that my arms and legs were getting thinner.

When I finally grew used to my abnormal hearing, I rushed out of the house and into the conservatory.

All the books and research materials in the conservatory were gone, as if confiscated by the police. But Alec had left me a letter.

After reading the letter, I resolved to rise back up from the depths of despair.

The first thing I did when I returned home was to devour a pile of food like a dog.

As I ate, tears spilled down from my eyes and wouldn’t stop.

Roger: …Ahhh, why…does it taste so good?

~~ End flashback ~~

(At the time, I lived without any hope and my body screamed at me to fight against despair)

Roger: Eat whatever you want, as much as you want. Human brains should be releasing happy hormones.

Kate: Oh, so it’s my brain doing that? I thought I was happy because I was full.

Roger: There’s also a thing called the satiety center...Oh, Jude. Want some?

Jude looked irritated when I called out to him as he came into the room.

Jude: Some strange people actin’ so carefree while eatin’. I don’t want this souvenir, so here.

He tossed a stack of papers onto the table.

Kate: …What is this?

Jude: That guy will know.

Roger: This is…

Kate: Research Material on the Cursed. Researcher, Alexander Taylor.

Alexander Taylor was my late friend who made me despair but also scooped me out of it.

Whether this chance encounter was for better or worse—that’s something I still need to find out.

Next

[starsofmilos]

The Villain and the Vigilante

Synopsis: Enemies to lovers. That's it.

Ahhh hello everybody! I've been really missing writing and came up with this piece in my head for a while so I finally put it on paper. I hope yall like it.

Masterlist

Warnings: cursing, mentions of sex, small amount of smut, violence, kidnapping, mentions of trauma,

“You know we’re probably gonna die here right?”

“We won’t.” Adrian muttered out fiddling with the ties around his wrist.

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because I still haven’t caught you so I refuse to die before I do that. I still have to finish getting rid of all the criminals in Evergreen. I still have shit to do so I’m not dying here and I’d be a terrible hero or Vigilante to let you die here too.”

You chuckled giving him a small look. “Aren’t you trying to kill me anyways too?”

“I was never trying to kill you. Just catch you. Yeah you’re a villain but even I knew you were just misguided. I just hated how cocky you were but if this experience has taught me anything. It’s that you’re not that bad and from what I’ve seen..it’s understandable why you’re the way you are.”

“I was just doing what you do.”

“I know but breaking way more laws. Maybe when you get out we could team up again.”

“Teaming up is what got us in this mess Adrian.”

“Don’t say my name and no it’s not. Your stupid past did.”

You flinched at his words mustering a glare. “Fuck you. I didn’t ask for this okay? Why does it matter anyways? We’re both gonna die.”

“We’re not.”

“Fine you may not die but I know I will. They only wanted me anyways.”

“Not true. Took us both for a reason and you won’t. I’m not letting you.”

“And why is that?”

“You know why.”

“Say it. Out loud Vigilante.”

Adrian glared you down shaking his head as he huffed fiddling with the ties again.

“Say it!”

“Fuck off.” You bit your lip growing frustrated as you looked away. Adrian sighed seeing the small amount of fear and despair in your eyes.

“Because a small part of me cares about you okay? I care about you and I…” Adrian struggled for a moment before shaking his head.

“Pussy.”

“I love you.” Adrian bit out after you insulted him. “I love you so I’m gonna get us out of this so I can hate fuck you then treat you like a fucking princess so neither of us can die.”

You looked at him in shock by his words not expecting him to say that.

“Okay…we’ll get out of here.”

Adrian smirked a bit before struggling with his ties. “Yes we will.”

“I still can’t believe we ended up in this mess.”

*Three days ago..*

It was always a chase between Adrian and you. It was kinda ironic if you were gonna be truthful about it.

You both had the same beliefs but you took things to the more extreme. Adrian was kinda jealous of how cool you were.

Also in all the time he had been trying to catch you to in his own words, ‘bring you to Justice,’ it never really worked out for him.

You’d always manage to escape and you had a fun time making fun of him for it too. Today was no exception.

“Aww poor Vigilante! What you can’t keep up!” You mockingly pouted at him as Adrian glared behind his visor.

“Oh fuck off. You know what you did back there was fucked up. You set a building on fire!”

“Correction I set an animal testing building on fire and released all the animals first.”

“You could’ve just killed the people who were doing the testing! You have to be stopped!”

“If I killed just the people it wouldn’t send a message. Someone would just go to replace them. Setting there lab on fire now that will say something.”

“So arson?”

“Yes arson. It’s quite funny how you argue with me when I just do what you do. Fight for Justice.”

“You break the law.”

“So do you when you kill people!” You groaned out walking away. Adrian sighed before beginning to chase after you.

Thus your annual chase began.

You laughed as Adrian chased you through the alleyways. Jumping through an open window on a nearby building. You gasped as you were yanked back into a pair of big strong arms.

"Got you..Try getting out of my grip now!" Adrian cheered as you squirmed in his arms. "Always gonna catch you dummy." He whispered in your ear.

A small shiver went down your back from how he pressed himself against your back making sure you didn't move.

"And I'm always gonna escape!" You raised your leg back using it as a distraction to lift your arm elbowing his rib.

"Fuck! I swear I'm gonna fucking catch you!" Adrian yelled out wheezing as you moved running away.

"In your dreams Adrian!"

"Stop using my real fucking name!"

The funny thing was Adrian and you had been old acquaintances. You met through work. Both of you worked at Fennel Fields before you quit.

The first time you met Vigilante it had been quite obvious to you who it was.

Adrian Chase, the cute dorky guy, the one you had a crush on for the longest. He was the reason you stood at the job as long as you did.

He was also the reason you got fired though. The manger had insulted him and you couldn't hold back from physically and verbally tearing into him.

"BYE ADRIAN!!" You laughed running away. Adrian growled angrily feeling himself grow heated a bit seeing your laugh.

He admired your form as you ran from him. Sighing to himself, he let you go for now. It totally wasn’t cause he wanted to see you again.

The next day, Adrian got up with a sigh feeling his ribs throb in slight pain. He got dressed heading out.

Adrian was ready to go in to meet the team and complain about you again. Even if you were pretty and had a pretty laugh and pretty hair...

"You guys can't imagine the shit she put me through last night-"

"I know it's unbelievable huh?" Adrian stopped dead in his tracks hearing your voice. You gave him a sheep smile as his snapped towards you.

"What the actual fuck is she doing here?!" He growled out reaching for his gun.

"I told you guys he wouldn't be happy." You mumbled out raising your hands in surrender as he glared you down. He threw his mask off looking to Emilia for answers.

"Chase before you decide to say anything-" You tried to calm him quieting once you saw his glare. Man did he hate you.

Adrian felt himself tense up seeing the small look in your eyes. He totally didn't think about seeing you with the same look pinned underneath him crying out as he thrusted-

"You shut up." He bit out sitting down. Emilia sighed.

"Okay so some explaining Vigilante. Obviously you know who she is and she knows who you are. We've recruited her for the next mission. Waller's orders." Harcourt gave him a small smile as Adrian sighed pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Look I know you don't wanna work with me, but I agreed to help. This mission interested me especially because.." You grew quiet again growing nervous.

"I'll tell him. This is hilarious." Christopher laughed sitting down. "She's working directly with you as your partner."

Adrian's head snapped up as he scoffed shaking his head. "No. No fucking way. I come in here all the time to complain about her and you guys want me to work with her!"

"Yes they do. You're being a bit of an ass. I don't wanna work with you any less, but I'm not throwing a tantrum about it!"

"Oh fuck off!"

"Fuck you Adrian!"

"I said fuck off not fuck you! And don't say my fucking name!"

"Same difference you big baby! And why?! I know who you are any way! Don't want me call out for you Adrian!"

"I'm not a fucking baby! If anyone is a baby here it's you! You're the one who always doing illegal shit!" Adrian clenched his fist trying not to think about you saying his name.

"Funny coming from the guy who's wanted for mass murder!" You sat up getting bit closer to his face.

"Okay enough!!" Emilia called out sighing. "Stop already jesus christ this is gonna be hard. Look it's only for four days so bare with her and you stop pushing his buttons! She stays with you. You're the only one I trust to make sure she doesn't go out of control."

You groaned at her words. "I agreed to work with all of you first of all so why don't I get to be alone?"

"After that arson stunt you pulled, you stay with Adrian." You nodded sighing as Adrian sighed as well.

It how you ended up at his place later that night.

*Currently

"I still don't understand how this happened." Adrian muttered out as you struggled in your ties.

"I wish I could tell you..."

"Well why don't you?...I wanna know why you froze back there."

"I didn't freeze-"

"Yes you did. The second you saw the old man, its what caused you to freeze." You stood quiet ignoring him.

"Hey..I just wanna help..please.."

"You know you're one of the only people I trust Adrian..I don't wanna talk about it.."

"Y/N..."

"He's someone who scares me..It’s why he wants to kill me..He's the only one who scares me.."

"Did he hurt you?.." You stood quiet again struggling your ties. "Did he hurt you?" Adrian called out a bit louder this time.

"Yes..yes he did.." Adrian went quiet nodding.

"Okay...then we're getting out of here..and I'm killing him."

"Adrian-"

"No ifs ands or buts...I am fucking killing him especially for the mark he left on you today."

*Three days ago..*

You were forced to spend the night with Adrian. You smiled as he walked into the living room. It wouldn't hurt to try to be friendly.

You grew a bit heated admiring his shirtless form stopping once he looked towards you.

"Couch okay?...I know you're stuck here but I could give you my bed if you want.."

"Couch is fine. I got it. Thanks.."

Adrian hummed as he made some tea. "Sorry I don't wanna go to your place."

"Yeah..it's okay..I wouldn't have minded though..also I promise now that I know where you live I won't be going to bother you as much." You got up stretching stopping once you saw the bruise on his ribs.

You must’ve left that on him from the other night. You didn’t think it was that hard of a hit. He didn’t say anything-

“You better not. Last I need is my sworn rival popping up out of nowhere.” He teased a bit pouring himself and you a mug.

“Oh chamomile tea..my favorite..and yeah not like I wanna see you anyway.” You bit back gratefully accepting the mug.

“I remember your favorite from when we worked together at the restaurant. You’d come into work everyday with a foam cup of this shit. Tried it and found out I liked it too. I like it like this though. Not ungodly sweet with honey like you.”

You glared at him sipping the tea. “Mock my tastes why don’t you! The tea like this is good I just like you know flavor?”

“Sure sure if that’s what you call it sweetheart.” Adrian sighed finishing his mug giving you a sarcastic grin.

“God you’re an ass.” You set your mug down walking away. You had no idea this was Adrian trying to be nice. He remembered after all this time your favorite..

“Only towards you.”

“Is that supposed to make me feel special?” You huffed getting settled on the couch.

“Depends how you take it.” He shrugged sitting across from you. “Now we’re gonna talk about the case real quick. How are you involved in it? Sounds like a normal butterfly mission to me.”

“It’s not..” You mumbled out fiddling with your hands. “And I’m not at liberty to say.”

“Why not? I feel like I have a right to know.” Adrian raised an eyebrow.

“You don’t have to know why I’m involved just know I’m helping you guys.”

“Okay fine. I think it would be crucial to know though.”

“Jesus Christ do you ever stop pushing?” You bit out. You didn’t wanna talk about it. You didn’t want him to know.

“I’m just trying to know why I’m stuck with you!?”

“Fuck off. Right now Adrian.”

“Why should I?” You glared sitting up.

“I mean it back off. I’m not going to tell you. All you need to know is that I’m helping and that’s it.”

“Fine be that way. Here I was trying to be nice.”

“Be nice? You were being a complete ass. God I can’t wait till this is over and I go back to running away from you.”

“Me too! I can’t wait to have ugly filth out of my house!” Adrian yelled out storming away. You groaned angrily covering yourself.

*Currently*

“Do you really think I’m ugly?..” Adrian stopped fiddling with his ties at your question.

“I literally just admitted that I love you.”

“That’s not the same thing. You can still love something and it could be ugly. Three nights ago you said you wanted ugly filth out of your apartment. I know you meant me so do you really think I’m ugly?..”

“God you’re so stupid..no Y/N I don’t. You drive me fucking insane. In the little things you do. To be quite frank you’re one of the most beautiful things I’d ever seen..now help me think of a way out of here. I meant it. We’re getting out so I can hate fuck you and love you till the day I die.”

*Two days ago*

The next morning, you ignored Adrian as he awoke going into the kitchen. He took a small glance part of him feeling a small bit of guilt for the way he yelled at you the night before.

“You want pancakes?” He asked thinking that maybe this would be a good chance to reconcile.

“Fuck your pancakes mrs buttersworth stupid looking bitch.” He thought wrong.

“How is that even an insult?!”

“It’s an insult to me you dick.”

He groaned. “Fuck you. I was trying to be nice and apologize but god I can’t wait now till you’re fucking gone.”

“Neither can I! None of this matters. I’ll be back for the mission tonight.” You grabbed your keys and bag about to walk out. Only to be stopped by Adrian stopping you.

“I can’t let you do that. Harcourt said you were under my care. That’s why you spent the night here.”

“Oh yeah and you think you could keep me from running out of here. You wouldn’t be able to catch me. You never can.” You taunted him shoving him to the side.

Adrian sighed gripping your waist to pull you back locking the door.

“You know you’re technically keeping me here against my will. That’s a crime Vigilante.”

“My direct orders were to keep you here. Look…you want me to apologize fine I will. I’m sorry that you’re being such a big crybaby-“

“Fuck you! Fuck you! What the fuck is your problem with me!? You’re always tearing into me!!”

“So are you!! Just this morning you yelled some stupid bullshit!” Adrian sighed again as you grew angrier.

What was his problem with you? You thought he would’ve loved working with you. You weren’t even sure how you guys got this way.

“I know you hate my guts! That’s fine! I tried to be nice and work with you but you’re such a dick! I even said yesterday when they assigned us that I know you don’t wanna work with me but let’s try to get along!!”

“How can I when you’re just so!!”

“What!? What am I!?”

“You’re infuriating! You do what you want! You don’t follow the law! And you don’t have any morals!”

“I do! Why do you think I only go after bad people!?”

Adrian stood silent trying so hard not to kiss you. He wanted to tell you the real reason why he hated you.

It was cause of the way you made him feel. He’s loved you since you both met at Fennel Fields when you worked there.

He didn’t want to risk you being hurt it’s why he was always chasing you. He wanted you so badly. But with the way you were glaring at him he didn’t think that would happen anytime soon.

“I know you only go after bad people. I know you do-“

“Then what is your honest problem with me! What is it!?”

“God would you just shut up for one minute!!” He sighed out gripping his face. “Okay look..I don’t hate you..I honestly don’t even know how we got to this point..let’s let it go..okay?..I’m sorry alright..while you have to stay here we should try..you were right..let’s try to get along for two more days.”

You stood silent. It freaked out Adrian. He was ready to do whatever it took. He didn’t mean to make you so worked up. He could’ve been nicer.

“Fine.” You finally spoke out. “Fine..but I really do need to go somewhere may I please go?”

“I still can’t let you. Harcourt said for us to stay put until the mission.”

“Dude you don’t get it. I really do have somewhere to be. Please Adrian.”

“I’ll go with you then.”

“That’s not necessary-“

“It is to me.” He spoke out grabbing his sweater. You sighed sliding your shoes on glaring at him a bit.

"No it's not..I said I'd stay but that doesn't mean I will listen to you! I have a life outside of doing what I do."

"And you think I don't!" Adrian snapped at you. "Look I'm honestly sorry for how mean I have been but Harcourt really wanted me and you to be together at all times. You can go but I am going with you. Don't argue."

"Fine you win. You can come but no questions. Not one."

"Deal..you won't even know I'm there." Adrian agreed following you out. He was almost like a shadow. The car ride was silent the whole way through.

"Hospital? You're not hurt?.." Adrian looked you over just in case. Had you been hiding an injury from him?

You couldn't be hurt-

"No. I'm fine. I just have something to do and didn't I say no questions." Adrian raised his hands in defense.

"Fuck me for being worried."

"You have no reason to be. I'm not hurt." You reassured him not really knowing why you were. Adrian didn't really care...right?

He nodded following you out the car. You walked to the front office. The nurse smiled seeing you.

"Y/N nice to see you today darling. I see you brought a friend this time."

She knew you by name? Adrian was confused as he stood beside you.

"I guess you could say that." She smiled handing you both visitor passes.

"Alright then can I get your friends name?"

"Adrian. He's just gonna stand outside."

"Okay but you know he'll still need a visitor pass." You nodded as she handed one to you and Adrian.

"Go on ahead through."

Adrian was silent as he followed you. The visitor pass he was given had your last name on it. What was going on?..

"Okay just wait here outside please." You sighed pleading with Adrian. "I know you said we can't separate but please stay right out here I'm not gonna go anywhere just give me twenty minutes."

"Uh yeah yeah..go ahead I'll wait here." Adrian didn't argue with you. It kinda surprised you but he seemed to be understanding. It's like he could tell you weren't lying.

You smiled walking inside. Sighing a bit, you shut the door seeing her laying in bed.

"Hey Olive.."

Adrian glanced at his watch it had been about twenty minutes since you had gone in. He was growing worried.

"Oh my god your visitor pass! You must be here with Y/N!" Adrian glanced up seeing an older nurse. "Are you her boyfriend? A lot of us nurses here have been pushing her to ask out this guy she keeps talking to Olive about."

"Uh..I'm sorry but I'm not-"

"Adrian right? She complains about you to Olive! I'm so glad you're here come on in!"

Adrian tried to stop her but he was dragged into the room. You sat there wide eyed as Adrian awkwardly stood in front of you. The nurse smiled at you.

"You should've let your friend in sweetie! I just came to check on Olive and saw him outside."

You scoffed a bit as Adrian looked anywhere besides you. "I see you're still reading to Olive that's good okay I'll leave you three be now."

The nurse smiled walking out. Adrian rubbed the back of his neck as he took a small glance at you.

"Well since you're here. Have a seat." You placed a marker in the book putting it to the side. "This is Olive, Olive this is Adrian. One I told you about."

Adrian glanced at the unconscious women in the bed. "Who is she?.."

"Sorry should've mentioned it. This is my sister. She's been in a coma now for three years."

"Three years?..that's when you quit-"

"At fennel fields. Yes. You probably would've loved Olive. She was an activist like me."

Adrian connected the dots quickly. Why you became a bit bitter and got extreme and why you disappeared off the grid.

"So how did this happen to her?"

"She was brutally attacked. Messed up her head so now she's in a coma. I do have the option to pull the plug but I don't have the heart to do it to be quite frank with you."

Adrian nodded staring at you then the book in your lap. "Sorry. I visit her everyday for at least an hour. I read her favorite series. Percy Jackson.."

"I love the Percy Jackson series."

"So did she and I..She...She was super cool Adrian.." Adrian nodded as you fiddled with your hands.

"Okay...I know you said no questions but I have a lot of questions."

"I understand that so go ahead ask away." You fiddled with the book as he spoke.

"How did she end up like this?"

"My sister was a activist. She had made a lot of enemies in her job. People hated her. She did things the right away. Not like you or me who kill. She took them to court and made sure to find everything she could so they were locked away for life..."

Adrian listened intently. He was so surprised by all of this. He had no idea that you even had a family. The way you made it sound back then was that there was no one.

"Why didn't you ever-"

"Mention her? She asked me not too. Said she didn't want the groups or people she went after to target me..Funny if she could see me now-"

"She'd be proud. You're doing what she fought for. You may be extreme but they're paying for what they've done. Now who exactly did that to her?"

"A bad group. I don't know who they were but they were more dangerous than any other group she went after. I told her to be careful but...they found me..kept me and tortured me for three days to get her to stop and because it was me she did. And then she..I think you could figure out the rest."

Adrian nodded, "So they hurt you?.." He clenched his fist silently swearing he'd find these bastards.

"Yes..and they did this to her..made me watch.." You grew a bit teary eyed looking away to blink it gone.

"I see..and you never found them."

"No..I couldn't...this is why I left though and became well as you call me..a villain...a bad person."

"You're not."

"What?.."

"Had I known..I wouldn't have-"

"Don't take back your words now Adrian. It's fine..I know why you said what you said." Adrian felt guilt rise in his throat. It burned.

"We should head back now.."

"Okay.."

*Currently*

"Adrian I want out..I'm scared.."

"I know I know..just calm down okay. I already promised we're getting out of here."

"You don't get it..They made me watch them hurt her and now they're probably gonna hurt you and I can't-"

"Neither can I. I will do anything to make sure you are safe and sound and believe me I get it. They hurt Olive and you don't wanna watch me get hurt and I don't want you to get hurt either."

You sighed growing a bit anxious. "Please baby...calm down..It's gonna be okay..I promise sweetheart.."

"You've never called me sweet names like that before."

"I should've sooner..I promise baby..we're gonna get out of here."

Adrian reassured you. "I'm just waiting for the opportunity. Can you tell me why you froze now? Any bit of information will help."

You grunted glaring at him a bit. "Cause I got scared! It was them..the ones who..I got scared once I saw that stupid ugly face that tortured me.. and Olive-"

"I didn't know that was them..Now I know why you got scared...but with me here you've got nothing to be scared of. Nothing. I'm not letting anything bad happen to you. So the next time you see him don't freeze...I'm gonna be right there."

Adrian sighed as you sniffled. He wanted nothing more than to comfort you, but right now he couldn't.

"I'm right here okay..just calm down.."

*One Day Ago*

Things between Adrian and you had gotten better. They weren't good, but they also weren't bad.

He stopped being so snappy at you. He seemed different. It was almost like he cared. You didn’t know how to feel about it.

You sighed as you struggled to get comfy on the couch. Adrian walked out seeing you groan.

“You good?” He laughed a bit getting a glass of water.

“I miss my bed..I wanna go home..” You sighed out. Adrian felt bad seeing you pout a bit.

“Hey it’s only two more days and you go home and we never bother each other again.”

You laughed a bit nodding. “Until our next chase.”

“Until our next chase.” He agreed with you. He walked to you. “Do you want my bed for tonight?”

“No no! I’m okay. Just complaining to complain. You get some rest.” You tried to reassure him. Adrian took a close look at your face. You tended as he leaned in.

“You have bags under your eyes. You haven’t been sleeping good.” He whispered out. You froze feeling his breath fan against your lips.

“I’m good.” You finally managed to get out trying to reassure him once more. Adrian shook his head.

“Nope not buying it. Come on. Go to my bed.”

“Adrian I can’t take your bed-“

“You can and you will. Now go.” You sighed shaking your head turning over.

“I’m fine.” Adrian grew frustrated shaking his head as he laughed.

“Fine you wanna do this the hard way!” You gasped as you were lifted off the couch. He threw you over his shoulder as you fought against him.

“Chase! If you don’t let me go right now!!”

“You’re getting rest cause you need it!!” He snapped as he tossed you on his bed. You grew flustered sitting up to glare at him.

“Adrian Chase!!” He smiled as you yelled walking out towards the couch. You ran out racing to the couch. Adrian stopped you as you both wrestled.

“Im trying to be nice!!”

“Screw your being nice!!” You snapped yelping as he picked you up again holding you back.

“Screw you for not accepting my niceness!!” He threw you back to his bed. He huffed walking out. You grabbed him shoving him down on his bed.

“Stay!” He grabbed your arm pulling you down with him. You tensed as you landed on top of him. He flipped you both over pinning you to the bed.

“No! You!” He growled out. You wanted to kiss him. He looked so beautiful as he panted on top of you.

You smirked. “Fine both!” You wrapped your legs keeping him locked against you. “We’ll share the bed!”

Adrian groaned too tired to fight you. “Fine!” He snapped out laying next to you. You scoffed turning so your back was to him.

“You suck.” You sighed.

“You swallow.” Adrian also sighed. You scoffed turning to face him.

“How would you know?” Adrian smirked now.

“Cause spitters are quitters and in the time I’ve known you Y/N you’re no quitter.” He mockingly smiled pulling you close. You struggled a bit before laying against him.

“I hate you.”

“Yup ditto now get some sleep.” He sighed out. You grumbled before shutting your eyes.

Adrian admired your sleeping form. “Why can’t you be like this all the time?” He moved some of your hair out of your face pulling you in closer.

You leaned into his touch in your sleep. He smiled before falling asleep as well.

The night went great until around three am. You awoke with a start. Someone had been banging on the door.

You sat up shaking Adrian awake. “Adrian! Adrian!” He opened his eyes jumping as he heard the knocking too.

“My guns are under the bed.” He got up quickly with you. You grabbed one of his pistols loading it. He looked hearing the front door being kicked in. “Hide!”

You nodded following his lead. You hid in his closet as he moved behind the door. A man walked into the room.

Adrian kicked him down quietly taking him out. You came out of the closet following him down the hallway.

There were several men. “Where’s the fucking girl!?” One of them yelled out. That voice..

It sounded familiar?

“Boss we’re looking! Our intel said she was staying in this home with the Vigilante!” Another man yelled out. Adrian glanced at you.

They were looking for you.

The man groaned. Adrian decided to make his presence known shooting a man down. You gripped the gun popping up with him.

“I’m right here asshole so stop destroying his apartment!” You snapped out. Adrian stood by you cautiously.

The man who spoke first smirked looking at you. “Wonderful..it’s so good to see you again.”

Adrian tilted his head confused. He tensed up seeing you begin to shake. “You still with me?” Adrian whispered out to you.

The man smiled pulling his gun out. “Get the girl.” Adrian seemed confused before feeling a presence behind him. He didn’t notice one of the men.

“Shit!” He cursed. You stood frozen. It was like you were stuck. The man walked to you taking the gun as he caressed your cheek.

“Y/N!!” Adrian yelled out for you struggling against the two men holding him. “Don’t touch her you son of a bitch!!”

Adrian’s yell seemed to break you out of your trance. Tears were running down your cheeks. “Adrian!!” You yelled out before gasping as you were pistol whipped leaving you unconscious.

The man smiled picking you up. “Take him too. She seems to care about him.” Adrian was hit in the back of the head knocking him out.

*Two Hours Later*

Adrian awoke with a gasp as water was thrown on his face. His suit was sitting inches away from him. He struggled before realizing he was tied up.

“Well well well..so you’re the infamous Vigilante I’ve heard so much about.” Adrian glared at the man pulling at his restraints again.

“No use. You won’t be getting out. Don’t worry though I have plans for you and the girl.”

“Good luck with that. The girl is tougher than me. She’ll get out. She’s probably managed to leave by now! I know for a fact she wouldn’t stay for me!” Adrian glared as the man laughed.

He tensed up hearing your yell. His eyes widened in shock as you cried out loudly in pain. Adrian looked at the man before growing angry.

“What the fuck are you doing to her!!??” He roared out pulling more at his restraints. The man smirked as you cried out again.

“Stop! Stop! Stop hurting her!” Adrian yelled out. He growled as he tried to pull free.

The man walked towards Adrian pulling his head by his hair. “And who are you to give me orders Vigilante? Besides weren’t you the one always trying to capture her-“

“Fuck you!! You know nothing! Now stop hurting her! Stop!”

“Why should I? Give me one good reason to stop?” The man laughed dropping Adrian’s head. “She’ll be joining you soon.”

“Don’t hurt her! Stop! You can hurt me instead!” Adrian yelled out. The man looked at Adrian in surprise.

“Really you would endure that torture for her?” The man scoffed not taking Adrian seriously. Adrian glared at him.

“You have no idea the lengths I would go too for her.” He snapped out. “Now stop hurting her!”

The man smirked. “Bring the girl in!!” He yelled out. Two men came in. They threw you harshly on the floor. You were twitching as you laid on the floor shackled up.

Adrian glared at the men before softening his gaze towards you. “Y/N hold on for me okay!”

You whimpered as you were kicked again. “DON’T FUCKING TOUCH HER!!!” Adrian roared out. The men all laughed before walking out.

*Currently*

“It seems hopeless..” You mumbled out. Adrian sighed at your words.

“It’s not. We’re getting out now. I wanted to give you time to rest. Do you think you could reach the shoe of my suit on the floor over there?”

You winced sitting up gripping your side. Adrian gave you a reassuring look. “I know I know..it hurts. Just keep moving for me. Please Y/N.” You nodded crawling to his shoes.

“Okay bottom of my right shoes is a fake. If you pull it off I have a knife in there. Can you get it?”

“Yes. I can do this.” You mumbled out.

“Yes you can. Come on now honey.” You grabbed the knife crawling to him. You winced again stopping for a moment before forcing yourself to move.

Adrian smiled widely as you managed to cut one of his hands free. He took the knife undoing the rest of his ties. You fell to the floor before him.

“I got you..” He caressed your head grabbing his suit. He found his lock picking set undoing your shackles. You winced loudly as he helped you up cradling you. “Here sit.” He put you in the chair getting his suit on.

“Wear my helmet. I wanna protect your head.” You shook trying to fight him. “No arguments. Okay?”

He put his helmet on your head before picking you up again. “Just hold onto me.”

Adrian ran out cradling your body close. He cursed hearing some of the men yell at him. He bursted into a random room. He placed you gently down.

“Don’t move.” He caressed your arm. He gripped his knife hiding behind the door. The men ran in yelling as Adrian grabbed one of them from behind slicing his throat open.

He stole that man’s gun shooting down the other man. He took that man’s gun too. He put them in his suit running to you again.

“You okay?” He whispered out.

“Yes..” You softly replied as he lifted you again. “Just keep with me okay?” You nodded at his words. His helmet felt nice. It smelled like him.

“That throat cut was sloppy.”

“Oh shut up.” Adrian huffed a laugh running with you. He held you close shooting at more men. He stopped seeing the boss down the hall.

“What the fuck!!” He yelled out pulling out his own gun. Adrian kissed the helmet that you wore gripping you tightly.

“Don’t be scared. I’m right here.” He reassure you. You nodded as he set you down making you stand behind him.

“Hello you piece of shit.” Adrian yelled out. The man looked in shock.

“How the-“ The boss cried out as Adrian shot his hand.

“That’s for laying a fucking finger on my girl!” The boss looked at Adrian in shock trying to shoot his gun. You stole one of Adrian’s guns shooting his arm before he could fire.

“Don’t hurt him!!” You snapped out before wincing in pain. Adrian approached the man. He punched him harshly. You stood back watching Adrian wreak havoc.

The man who haunted your dreams. The man who hurt your sister in front of you. The man who said he’d always find you to finish the job…

Was now crying from pain as Adrian relentlessly beat him.

The man choked a bit gasping as Adrian began to strangle him. “You piece of shit! Motherfucker! Scaring and hurting her! Making her freeze!! You’re nothing! Your garbage!” Adrian yelled out before finally snapping the man’s neck. He panted heavily standing up to spit on the man.

You dropped the gun limping towards Adrian. You crashed into his arms as he turned to face you. He caught you.

“Hey no!” He tried stopping you as you removed the helmet.

“Fuck you Chase!” You yelled out dropping the helmet. “He was my kill! My kill! You had no right to take that from me-“

Adrian groaned out leaning down and kissing you deeply. You gasped in shock. He gripped your waist tightly pulling back to pant.

“Do you ever shut up?” He teased. Before you could protest he kissed you again.

“He hurt you. He made you cry. You never deserve to cry. You hear me? I will burn down any mother fucker who makes a single tear fall from your beautiful eyes.” Adrian rasped out.

You stared in shock. He picked his helmet back up. “I’m not apologizing for killing him. And I know by the look on your face. You’re glad I did.” He placed his helmet back on you again.

You stood quiet as he picked you up. You gripped him tightly as he walked out still holding you. The team had made it right as you both walked out.

“You’re late than ever.” Adrian yelled out. He got into the van. He basically glared whenever any of them tried to touch you.

“Chase don’t you want her wounds checked out!” Emilia yelled out in frustration. “I do! But I want her checked out in private! Not in front of everyone here!” He snapped out.

You stayed silent resting your head on his chest. His helmet sat beside you both.

He kept you close whispering soft reassurances. “You’re gonna be okay. You’re gonna go home.”

You looked up at him. “I don’t wanna go anywhere where you aren’t.” His eyes widened in shock at your words.

“I always loved our chases cause I got to see you. Please don’t leave me..” You whispered out.

“I won’t. I’ll follow you so long as you have me.” He reassured you gripping you.

“I love you..”

“Same..” He mumbled out laughing as you glared at him.

“Don’t be a dick.”

“I’m kidding..I love you too.” He kissed you lightly. You both turned hearing Chris laugh out.

“I fucking told you Adebayo!!”

“Fuck man!!” She cursed handing Chris twenty bucks.

Adrian and you chuckled as you both sat in silence. Neither of you were truly bad people after all.

[tojikai]

I gotta say, it was lovely to see Satoru reflecting on how much of a piece of shit he was to Y/N. I’m currently drinking a cup full of his tears 🤭

It’s incredibly frustrating that it took him seeing her with Toji, a man that’s treating her right and how she deserves for him to realize how badly he messed up. Seeing these little snippets of how he had done the things to Y/N with Naomi as they’re happening to him with Toji… IT DOESNT FEEL GOOD DOES IT SATORU.

We haven’t seen much of Naomi but her actually referring to herself as Mama when it came to Yui? WHEW. It was one thing for Yui to do it on her own but for Naomi to encourage it had me so annoyed 😭 Luckily Satoru nipped that in the bud. I’m trying really hard to not think poorly of her because maybe she’s just bad at understanding coparenting and Satoru has shown Naomi that he puts her above whatever Y/N wants/thinks so she’s used to that. At the same time I feel like it’s basic empathy to get both parents permission before doing huge things like that… IDK I flip flop between both. What I do know is that it’s Satoru’s responsibility as he’s the father and he needs to advocate for the mother of his child even if his girlfriend doesn’t like it. Also that little dig Toji made (accidentally) that made about disrespecting her parents made her leave 🤭 I got a kick out of that.

But now that Satoru has admitted he’s still in love with Y/N I think he needs to break up with her. It’s unfair of him to lead someone on like that when he’s in love with someone else. Even if he’s not going to try and get back with Y/N, it’s just a terrible thing to do to someone.

Toji and Megumi oh my god they’re so CUTE. I want so much happiness for them 😭 Yui and Megumi being thick as thieves UGH i’m so happy that they’re all happy and if they’re endgame I wish them all the love and happiness oh my god.

Throughout all this, is it bad that I kind of still want them (Satoru and Y/N) to end up together? I know they’re toxic, I know Toji is absolutely lovely but if Satoru works on himself and actively works for Y/N’s forgiveness I’d love to see them happy 😭 sometimes it does take seeing what you’ve missed out to put your ass into gear and fix what’s wrong.

I wonder who he called at the end, I think it’s either Toji or Naomi… and I wonder if either person would tell Y/N or Satoru about the call. Or just stay silent and pretend it didn’t happen to keep things as they are. AHHH THE DRAMA! There’s so much I wanna say but I can’t remember it all so I’ll leave it here!

Kai you absolutely ate this chapter and I thank you so so much for the update. I’m super excited to read the rest! Do you have an estimate for how many chapters you think Sundered is going to be?

Thank you SO much for sharing your work and I hope you have an amazing weekend 🫶🏽 much love!

satoru's indifference regarding Yui calling naomi mama led her to think that it's fine. and the fact that it was never addressed/got avoided in those few weeks gave her the impression that yn sees no problem w it :(( and yeppp, satoru still having feelings for yn while with naomi, i could say it's inevitable, considering how rash and quickly he moved to naomi. it's truly sad :(( as for the call AAAAA we'll know ;> anw thankss so much for this, i enjoyed reading it <33 have a nice day !!

[jeonqkooks]

Jeeen baby if you need a shield from weird people I'll take care of it 🥹🫶💗🙏

Did you see new suchwita ep dropped? 🥳🙌

Ahhh look, it feels a bit funny since I kinda made my peace with the whole album thing. As long as he's happy with his decisions at the end of the day there's that. I've been thinking about how we can't always know everything that goes on behing the doors right? Idk if you've seen bang pd's interview a few days ago, he mentioned how, at the begining of the year jk wasn't even sure he wanted to release an album (and if I remember he even told us himself in a live that he's not sure about his plans but he'll just follow his intuition) Maybe he thought we would be disappointed if he didn't. Now if you think about it, this second chapter for bts feels sooo rushed in a way and we know why, but you know... I'm trying to imagine that things wouldn't have been so chaotic if it wasn't for m.s. and everything, they would've had way more time for this. But there's really no point.

BUT AGAIN, we all know how jk specifically mentioned in so many interviews over the past few years that he's working on his mixtape (Stay was supposed to be in his mixtape, so was Your eyes tell) and I BET there were some other masterpieces there and it really got me thinking why would he change his mind all of a sudden. Maybe pressure, maybe he didn't think they were good enough and wasn't that confident. We'll never know I guess.

I support him though, he's working hard and who knows, there might be songs in there that I'll like. Still, I cannot lie and say I don't feel a little sad that we're never going to hear some song that HE made (as imperfect as he probably thought they are). This isn't me (or some fans) damanding something, just that little feeling of "what could've been if.." . To me, the songs written/ produced by them weight wayyy more than any other songs out there. Oh well 😬 there's always a next time.

Okayyy rant over. Now I'll just keep an eye out for anyone who wanna bother you 😝🫡 while I watch suchwita ofc!! Take care and keep warm, it's so cold these days! *channeling my inner jimin*

- 🎃

aw pumpkinnnnnnn 😭

yeah i’ve also kinda made peace with the fact that this won’t be an album for me. i’ve mentioned this before and i still stand by it, that it feels like there’s this certain pressure for everyone to release something before enl*sting 😔

you’re right, i’m sure there are other songs that we haven’t heard that were supposed to be for his mixtape. i mourn the loss of them too, just like i did with tae when layover came out. i don’t think being bummed about the old songs means you’re demanding. you’re sad because you know you would’ve liked them, and that’s a completely normal thing to feel. and yes i agree, songs made by them will always feel more personal and have more heart. i’ve already started manifesting for jjk2 lol 😂

(and tbh, i take everything a celebrity says with a grain of salt - even bts - so there are always things that i’m skeptical about)

yessss suchwita 😭 i forgot about it ngl bc it’s been like over a month since the last ep hahaha. but oh lord when i finally watch it it’s gonna be tough since it’s the first ep released after he left 😭😭😭

and YES IT IS COLD WHAT THE HELL. it’s like 10 degrees where i am and it’s only october??? the leaves haven’t even turned yellow but i’m already freezing my ass off. i have a feeling this winter will kill me

[tottymatsuno]

Hi! I just wanted to let you know that I haven’t been able to stop thinking about that poem post you made a while back. All of them are so so accurate and really show that you have an amazing grasp of the characters. Ik this is a totty based account, but I especially loved the connection between karamatsu and “getting ready to say I love you to my dad, it rains”.

Never have I ever considered it to be a karamatsu poem but once you put them together I can’t unsee it. Karamatsus inability to truly communicate and connect with his brothers because of the way he insulates himself in his own world (and in turn how his brothers perceive him because of that) is so tragic. I feel the poem especially captures his relationship with todomatsu and ichimatsu, because at the very least he’s sometimes able to be more honest in front of choromatsu and osomatsu, but iro and zaimoku are so distant they barely know how to communicate with each other in any meaningful way.

Like “our relationship is not new or clean. i killed a plant once because i didn't give it enough water”??? I’m in tears you’re so smart for this. karamatsu loves his brothers and has emotions he wants to express to them, but he can’t get the words out in a way that would truly reach them. So he ends up not even telling them in the first place. It’s just easier that way and no one gets hurt. Anyways, your post was so witty and smart and I wanted to let you know that it scratched my karamatsu analysis itch for days. Thanks!

Ahhh thank you! Initially I bought Citizen Illegal because of that poem, I'd seen it out of it's original context with the lines:

i killed a plant once because i gave

it too much water. lord, I worry

that love is violence

And was actually disappointed because I thought it was about romantic love at first. I had read the entire book, really enthralled with the casual style of the poetry, and the cadence, and when I got to that one, I thought: ah. That's not what I imagined.

And then it kinda sat for a while in my head. With a lot of songs or poems, I don't initially like them until they get stuck in my head, and this is one of those cases.

I assigned it to Karamatsu though, because I was thinking how would Karamatsu express his loneliness? And it immediately came to mind - that he wouldn't. Unlike the other poems I didn't sit down and reread it because I had associated it with Karamatsu so heavily that I felt like it was unnecessary.

Tbh associating it with the brothers is a genius read of it too! I read it straight, and thinking of Dobusu and his Dad, with Dobusu being the flower he over and under watered, but changing the association to his brothers is amazing. You can tell which relationships were over watered (jyushi, oso, and choro) and which ones under watered (ichi & todo)

So after I made that post I went and finally reread it bc I thought, hm. What if I were just overconfident and wrong? I feel like that one, to the young who want to die, and my cat is sad are the strongest and most obvious to be about the characters.

But i remember the associations:

Karamatsu would say I love you very easily to the people it doesn't matter to. So i actually when reading it pictured the scene in perfect clarity.

It's father's day, so Karamatsu struts and says I love you Dad to Ichimatsu, to Jyushimatsu, to Todomatsu.

A garden Matsuyo may keep.

There's a silent tension between him and Matsuzou who just sits, drinking beer. Of course the couch that they have is in their room, so maybe their dad is having a rough day and is in their room with an unsaid expection.

Karamatsu would probably bow to the couch, and think the words. Since there's no one else to perform for, he'd be very timid about it. It's more serious than usual, and there's am immense amount of pressure since he's the only one who showed up.

I think Karamatsu would follow him from their room, copying his movements. To the kitchen where he's given another beer, then to the living room where he'll sit and watch TV with his Dad. Still unable to speak because he hasn't been spoken to yet.

And he's expecting something, literally anything. The mood is significantly more strained than it was earlier in the day when his brothers are around, and maybe Karamatsu feels guilty that he has no gifts, and only has a confession. He says I love you without any of the flamboyancy he imagined, and it feels almost wrong.

Then he just sits for the rest of the evening, with their dad, alone and without speaking.

Thats how I pictured it y'know. Somber. Mutually disappointing. If this were a skit, Karamatsu would probably have thought something to ease the tensions, or it couldve ended like well, yeah.

[parkersroses]

stupid boy. | harry styles.

summary: Harry comes to his senses and realises it's been you all this time. a continuation of stupid girl.

wc: 4.1k

warning(s): minor angst and some fluff!

a/n: (disclaimer: gif belongs to @oneandonlycheshirecat​) ahhh i hope you guys like this as much as the first part! do lmk what you think of it, reblog (!!) & comment, let's talk about it! here's my ko-fi if you consider donating and supporting me more. all my love to you all <3

Harry finds himself staring down at his black coffee, watching it swirl as he stirs his spoon around. The spoon makes clinking sounds as it moves against the rim of the cup and he hears it scraping against the bottom of it.

It’s generally calm in the coffee shop he’s in. The baristas are bustling around behind the counter and sounds of the coffee machines being used are elicited. He hears the sound of the register as the customers pay and the cashier thanking them, proceeding to greet the next customer. People are sat in their own spaces, minding their own things like gossip or struggling to finish up an assignment.

Harry sat in a booth next to the glass window of the shop. He finds himself not paying that much attention to the world around him, instead just staring out through the window he sits next to. His mind is a blur and he sort of forgets why he was out in the first place.

He gently sips on his hot black coffee. The warm bitter taste sitting on his taste buds. You once told him what a monster he was when he told you it’s the only way to drink coffee. You disagree because you couldn’t handle the taste, opting for steamed milk in your coffee. He smiles at the memory of the little things you both would disagree on.

He hasn’t seen you or spoken to you in a while. In fact, he doesn’t know if he should. He doesn’t know if you would want to see him or talk to him. He wonders what are you doing at the moment.

He’s been thinking about everything that has happened between the two of you since that night. How he believes it may have been his fault that the friendship is possibly ruined.

What is he supposed to say anyway? What should he say? He’s never realised how his own best friend was in love with him. He realises now of how stupid and selfish he was to not even consider her feelings when he first suggested they would start fake dating.

He convinces himself that he is still hopelessly in love with Amber. Well, at least he thinks he is. He’s not even sure of his own feelings anymore.

At first, he was so sure about his feelings for Amber. He thought of the plan going so well, convincing everyone including her that you both are in love, that maybe some jealousy might spark from her and tell him ‘Hey, I still love you too.’ Then, that night happened and everything about winning Amber back went out of the window.

He thinks about you a lot and sometimes wonders if you do the same. And he misses you. He really misses you.

He misses the way you tease him for even the smallest things. He misses talking to you about writing music because you are usually his confidant who always motivated him to write what he likes. He misses your laughter and how you throw your head back like a little kid, how you’d even apologise for having an ugly laugh when he always thought it was adorable.

Yeah, he misses you a lot. He asks himself whether she feels the same. Whether she too is somehow feeling alone, not knowing if the other wants anything to do with you or even speak to you at all. He hopes that you don’t think it’s all your fault.

After all, he was the selfish, blind and stupid one.

“Harry,” a soft-spoken voice pulls him out of his thoughts. He looks up and smiles at the person he’s been meaning to talk to. Maybe she could somehow help him figure out his feelings.

“Amber, hi.” He stands from his seat, giving her a small hug. He gestures to her the seat in front of him and she gladly sits. It doesn’t seem as awkward as he expected.

“Quite surprised you wanted to meet, actually,” she confesses to him, chuckling a bit. He rubs the back of his head in a nervous manner. A waiter comes by to take her order and she politely asks for a latte.

Funny, you like lattes. No wonder you got along with her, he guesses.

“Yeah. I’m sorry for calling you out of the blue like this,” he apologises. She waves her hand in front of him, telling him it’s all good. “It’s fine. It’s great seeing you again,” she tells him.

“So, how’ve you been since I last saw you?” He enquires.

“Oh, I’ve been alright. Work has been good. Nothing major goes on, unlike you, superstar,” she jokes and they both laugh at this. “That’s great to hear. I’m really happy for you.” She smiles to thank him and the waiter comes back again with her drink.

He is itching to ask her this and hopes it doesn’t come out as too forward or invasive. “Um, what about your friend? The one you brought with you the other week we met?” He asks, his head is slightly tilted down as if he’s scared to make eye contact with her after that question.

“Oh, yeah! He’s great! He really enjoyed meeting you guys, by the way!” Her face lights up when she talks about him and it doesn’t go unnoticed by Harry. “Never asked this then, but how did you guys meet?” He curiously asks.

Her face blushes at this. “Um, we met at work actually. Met him on my first day and taught me some things here and there about the place. We have become quite close since then.” She tells him, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. “We, uh, have been on a couple dates. So yeah, that’s something that’s been going on.”

Naturally, Harry would ultimately feel jealous that the girl he still loves has her eye and heart on another man. But it doesn’t feel that way. He didn’t feel jealousy running through his veins at this. He didn’t feel sadness at the fact that she’s probably moved on.

“That’s great, Am. M’happy for you,” he tells her. And he genuinely means it now.

She thanks him and sips on her drink. “What about you and Y/N? How’s the love life going on with you two?” She teases, wiggling her eyebrows at him. He lets out a sad laugh at this. “Yeah, um. Not that great at the moment.”

“Oh?” She frowns at this.

“We, um, I guess we sort of broke up.” He says unsurely.

“You guess?”

He sighs. “We had an argument over something. We both got upset. Haven’t seen or even talked to her for a while now.”

His gaze is averted down at the table where his black coffee is at. It seems that even talking about brings feelings of guilt filling up his body.

“I’m sorry about that, Harry.” Amber looks at him, seeing how small and sad he looks. It’s clear for her to see how he regrets the argument.

“I just don’t know what to say to make things better. Feel like I might say something wrong again.” He sighs, feeling frustrated with himself.

Amber thinks for a moment on how to help him. “Well, what do you feel right now?”

Harry’s eyebrows furrow for a second. “I’m upset. Upset that I haven’t spoken to her. Upset that I don’t know what she’s feeling right now or how she's doing. Upset that everything is my fault. I don’t know how to help or fix us.” He breathes out.

“And you haven’t reached out to her yet?”

He shakes his head, almost feeling ashamed that he hasn’t. “No. Don’t know what I’d say if she would listen to me.”

Frustration is building up and his emotions are going haywire. He’s mad at how he’s ruined things with his best friend and how his own selfishness was the root of it.

Amber is quiet for a moment. She feels sad for him that he’s feeling this way. She thinks of how much he really cares for you, loves you even. And that he’ll do anything to fix whatever that’s left between you two. But one thing she knows about Harry is that he doesn’t give up easily on the people he really loves.

“Well, do you love her?” She asks. Harry lifts his head up so fast at the question.

“What?”

“Harry, do you love her?”

Harry has to pause and think. Of course, he loves you. You’re his best friend, his confidant for nearly everything he does.

He loves you even though you drink your tea with milk sometimes. He loves you even when you buy books despite not yet finishing the ones you have on your shelf. He loves you even when you sometimes put him before you for everything.

He loves your laughter. He loves holding your hand because of how warm and comforting it is. He loves holding you because you tend to hold him tighter, especially when he’s had a bad day and confided in you when he and Amber broke up. He loves calling you cute pet names because he enjoys seeing your cheeks heat up in embarrassment but he does it anyway as it just seems so natural to do it. And you’re beautiful. So, so beautiful. 

He thinks about the way you are and how you’ve always been the one person that always supported him. He loves you in many ways he could possibly think of. And it’s just like that, he realises he was never still in love with Amber. Even during the times where he’d want her to look at you two when you fake-dated. Even after that night, he always thought of you and never once tried to plan to pursue Amber. He never cared about that anymore. All he thought about is you. You. You. You.

He always wanted to see you, smiling and laughing. He always so naturally called you ‘baby’ and ‘love’.

He had you all this time.

He’s in love with you.

He gasps as he realises this. Amber is still staring at him, waiting for his answer. “I do,” he finally speaks. And she smiles at his answer.

“I do love her.” He says it confidently and surely.

She nods, and it’s written all over his face that he’s in love with her. “Then, you should tell her that. Swallow up your pride. Apologise. Chase after her.”

Harry swallows the lump in his throat. She grabs his hand from across the table. He used to think that sparks would fly when he’s with her. But he doesn’t feel like that with her anymore. He just wants you and only you. That is, if you’ll have him.

“Harry,” she starts. “I know she loves you too. She’ll forgive you if you talk it out.” And he believes it.

Without a moment to waste, he gets up from his table. He apologises profusely but thanks her and tells her he’ll pay for the drinks, in which she tells him not to worry so much.

As he rushes out the door, Amber watches him and smiles to herself. She hopes for the best for the two of you. Even from the look on his face, she knew.

It’s always been you.

—

Knocks on your door pull you out from your thoughts. The last couple of days had your emotions going on a rollercoaster ride. You figured it was easier to just sit and journal anything and everything your mind has to say.

To your knowledge, you weren’t really expecting anyone. Unless, it’s a package of something you might have impulsively purchased the other day to cope with your loneliness and sadness.

You often wonder whether you have ruined your friendship with Harry. You miss him, you always do. You still love him even though he can be clueless at times. But you guess that’s what makes Harry, Harry.

You wonder whether he feels the same.

You’ve been plucking up the courage to call him and ask how he's been doing, failing miserably at the thought that he might not want to talk about it. God, you really need to come through if he’s not going to, you think.

You wait for a moment to see if the knocks would continue, and they don't at first. You shrug at yourself and focus back on the journal entry you’re writing on before a couple more knocks come in.

You sigh, throwing your head back as your moment of peace is ruined. You stand and make your way to the door, not bothering to clean yourself up, though you thought you look pretty decent. Dark sweatpants and a slightly oversized graphic tee.

Yeah, not bad for someone who’s been moping about her best friend who she’s in love with and possibly ruined it.

The person is still knocking on your door and you’re getting slightly irritated. You unlock the door and open it, ready to tell the person off when you stop before the words could come out.

“Harry?”

He stands there, dressed in a vintage tee and a pair of jeans. The shirt looks a bit small on him which makes it hug his chest and biceps. His tattoos are on display as they’re scattered all over his skin. You still think he looks good and attractive. Why the hell are you so whipped for this man?

He has a bag in his hands and you notice it’s food from the Mexican restaurant you love going to together. He even has a small bouquet of your favourite flowers. His face has a small yet nervous smile etched on it. If you weren’t having such a tough exterior put up, you think you might’ve cried. Not yet, though.

“Hi,” he says. And you realise how much you miss hearing his voice in person.

“Hey.” You stare at him for a moment before realising he was probably waiting to come in.

“Please! Come in!” You politely usher him in as you open your door wider for him. He thanks you as he walks in, not forgetting to talk off his shoes by the door, arranging them neatly next to your shoes like he always does.

He looks around your place, fidgeting on his feet like it’s the first time he’s been in here. You clear your throat to catch his attention. “Um, I brought food.” He lifts the bag in front of you and you chuckle. “I can see that,” you tell him as you take the bag from his hands. Harry follows behind you as you go to set the bag on your kitchen counter.

You turn around to look around to look at him, your eyes falling on the flowers he has. “Oh, uh, for you.” He thrusts them into your hand and you smile at the gesture. “Thanks,” you say softly as you breathe in the floral scent. You turn to your kitchen to find an empty vase to put the flowers in.

He scratches the back of his head in a nervous manner. “Um, I’m sorry for just showing up like this. I just wanted to see you. And I thought we could have some lunch together so I brought food too.”

You nod at his words. He’s still fidgeting in his place, looking nervous and almost shaking. “Harry, just relax. It’s just me,” you comfort him as you lay a hand on his arm gently. He nods and lets out a breath. “Sorry, um, I was nervous that you might not want to see me again.”

You frown at this. “Harry, I’ll always want to see you,” you tell him. “Yeah, I just thought, after that night, I might’ve ruined things between us,” he breathes out.

The corner of your lips lift up slightly at the man in front of you. Your eyes avert to the floor beneath. “If it’s anything, I thought I might’ve ruined things between us.” He frowns at this.

“Hey.” He’s itching to grab your hand, wanting to feel the warmth of your touch, but he doesn’t want to scare you off. “You definitely didn’t do anything other than being honest. I promise.”

You sigh at him. “Harry, we don’t have to talk about it. We can just pretend everything is fine.”

“No!”

His sudden tone takes you by surprise and you raise an eyebrow. He almost cowers back after realising this. “I’m sorry. Shouldn't have yelled like that.” He takes in a breath. “I just feel like I should say something. I mean, I've been thinking a lot about what I was going to say when I came over, so,” he trails off, looking at you still. He takes a moment to realise how pretty and beautiful you are. He doesn’t know why it took him so long to realise how in love he is with her.

“Okay.” You tell him and you almost get deja vu from the time you agree to fake-date him.

He lets out a big breath. “Okay, uh,” he exhales. “I just want to say I’m sorry first. For not really considering how you might feel when we did what we did. I should’ve made sure you were actually okay with it. I wish I knew how you actually felt about it.”

“Harry, you couldn’t have known how I felt because I never told you anything,” you tell him. “And, it’s fine. Really. I agreed to it, anyway.”

Harry nods, but his lips are in a straight line. He expects you to tell him how upset you were, but you don’t. You’re selfless enough to put his own feelings before yours when you agree to his plan. He kicks himself internally because of it.

You sense that he’s having a battle in his mind over this, so you take his hand in yours in hopes to somewhat ease what he’s feeling. He’s shocked to say the least when you do this but he instantly tightens his grip. And God, he misses holding your hand.

You clear your throat a bit. “Um, that was the first thing you wanted to say. What is the second?” You softly question him.

“Um,” he pauses. He’s looking at you and he can’t stop looking at you. He thinks carefully on his next words, not wanting to lose you if he says what he wants to.

“I’m in love with you,” he finally blurts out. He feels a slight relief in his chest after saying that.

But it’s almost like the world froze and it has become eerily quiet as he waits for your reaction. He’s starting to think that he broke you because you're staring at him in shock. He’s starting to sweat a bit because you haven't said a word.

He opens his mouth to say something, but your free hand goes up to touch his face.

“Wha-,” He’s confused as you pat around his face, concern and slight shock still etched on your face. “I’m making sure you’re not sick or burning up,” you say to him.

“What? I’m not sick!” He grabs her hand, making her pause her actions.

“Well, you’re sweating!”

“Because I’m nervous around you and you haven’t said anything!”

“You just said you’re in love with me! Sorry if I am shocked that the man I’m in love with just confessed his love to me and that I think he’s joking!” you whine at your defense.

Harry pauses for a moment before chuckling at her. He doesn’t realise how much he misses the playful banter you both have. “You silly, stupid girl,” he says, holding both of your hands. “I’m not joking. I am really, truly, stupidly, in love with you, lovie.”

There he goes, calling you pet names that might make you melt.

“You are?” You ask softly, almost not believing the words that are coming out of his mouth.

“I am.”

“You’re not just saying this, right? I’m serious, you’re playing around with me, I will-”

“I’m serious!” He throws his hand up in defense. “I promise. I, uh, thought long and hard about it. Realised how much I missed you and how I hated being away from you. Realised how much I love and care about you more than I should and I wish I realised what I felt sooner. Every day and night since the last time we saw each other, all I could think about is you and how you were feeling. Been thinking about what I wanted to say or how I wanted to apologise. And there was never a second where you weren’t constantly on my mind."

You smile at his long confession and stifle a small laugh. “You really are something else, Styles.” You tell him. “Hated being away from you too. I felt the same way, wondering how or where you’ve been. Wondering if I still had my best friend and if he still wanted me around.”

“You know I’ll always want you around.” He tells you.

“Well, I hate you for taking so long to tell me that.” You grin at him sarcastically.

“No, you don’t. You love me,” he teases you. You groan at him.

“Don’t push it.”

You both giggle at each other, feeling as though the air is clearing between you. His smile falters a bit as he studies your face. “I’m sorry for taking so long.” He holds your hand and loves the familiar warmth it gives him.

“You’re here now. That’s all that matters.” You look at your joint hands together, loving how right it feels.

“I love you,” he tells you, gazing at you lovingly. You bring a hand up to his face and caress his cheek. He sighs at the feeling, leaning into your touch as his eyes close. “I love you, too.”

You notice his eyes averting back and forth between your eyes and lips. “Are you gonna kiss me?” You say playfully. He smirks at this. “Yeah, I am. If you’ll let me.”

“Harry, if you don’t kiss me right now, I’ll-,” You’re immediately cut off as Harry grabs your face in his large hands, pressing his lips onto yours. And it feels like, finally. You sigh into the kiss, tasting the sweetness of his lips on yours. His lips feel soft like you’ve always (embarrassingly) imagined it’d be. You let out a tiny whimper as you feel his tongue enter your mouth. You gasp at this and grip on his shirt, as if telling him to not move away from you.

He moans as he pulls away, lifting your chin up. He looks at you so in awe and in love, it sends my heart bursting with so many emotions. He leans in again to kiss you, making it longer like he’s memorising the way your lips taste.

You both pull away again to catch your breath. Harry sneaks in another peck which makes you giggle and smile. You gaze on him, eyes lingering on his swollen and extra pink lips after your kiss and it makes your heart fill with pride knowing it’s because of you. His green eyes seem to sparkle more now that you think about it.

Harry lets out a chuckle, leaning his forehead on yours. You are both smiling like idiots in love. You wrap your arms around his neck and he pulls you in by your waist. You both sway a bit in your place, the feeling of love and adoration for each other lingering on.

A rumbling noise pulls you both out of the moment. He pulls away and laughs. “Was that you?” You whine in embarrassment as you bury your head in his chest. “I’m hungry and you brought food here. I’m sorry,” you mumble onto his shirt.

“Mmm, guess we should eat then, right lovie?” He says, looking down at your figure. You hum in reply as you look up at him. “Will you stay the night?”

He grins and his heart melts at the small request. “I’ll stay as long as you’ll want me to, baby.”

“I’ll always want you,” you feel your face warm up as you say this but it’s true. He kisses your forehead and your eyes close at the feeling of his lips on yours.

You both grin stupidly at each other before he leans in again to kiss you. You’re quick to react as you pull him closer. Harry takes you by surprise as he suddenly lifts you off your feet, spinning you around as you kiss. You squeal and laugh at this, it makes Harry smile as he sees you throw your head laughing. He trails his lips down to your jaw and neck, kissing lightly on it.

There’s nothing he’d ever exchange this moment for. Your laughter and the kisses you share whilst being so madly and stupidly in love.

And it just finally feels right with you and him.

[theminecraftbox]

This is a submission

My interpretation of c!Punz in the evil Showing Off AU, dubiously accurate. 

Situation: It’s been a few days since the visit. Quackity has come every day. Dream hates talking about the torture + neither prisoner knows how they're going to get out + Punz might be next on Quackity’s list. They try to act calm and be the "comic relief", but he’s not good at talking under pressure. Plus, both of them are terrified, so most attempts at conversation fall flat and Punz often ends up in the silent, indifferent persona he adopts as a merc.

They try to intervene in Dream's torture one too many times (he's been just trying to talk Q out of it, because you have to walk on eggshells around the armed guy torturing your friend), maybe by finally getting physical and shoving him away/wrestling the weapon from Q's hand. They're still physically fit enough to succeed, but Quackity turns another weapon on Punz and he's forced to defend himself. Quackity gets Sam to bring him back over the lava, either because Punz has been sufficiently cowed or because he's hastily retreating.

The next day Quackity returns with armor, and tells Dream that he's feeling generous today and he gets a break! Then he produces a chain and now's when you insert a quip about the chain around Punz's neck, and how would they like to try out a different one every once in a while? Punz is restrained after a struggle and tortured while Dream has an internal panic attack about The Plan and possibly the revive book if Punz knows what's in it. The specifics I’ll leave up to you because I’m not the c!Dream expert.

I think Punz would have reservations about showing weakness during the torture (e.g. screaming, begging, crying) because his pride, dammit, but Quackity’s had a while to build up the skill of inflicting maximum pain and he’s very pissed about yesterday so they end up caving.

He probably doesn’t give up information though. Dream’s in the same cell, watching and depending on them to not make the past months’ effort worthless. They can’t betray Dream for real. If Dream could stand this, so can he.

We haven’t seen c!Punz’s trauma before. He’s mostly seen in other people’s streams, so we don’t really know what their reactions are. My best guess according to canon is just… vanish for a while, and come back same as ever. So I’m going to continue with this assumption.

There’s nowhere to vanish to and do whatever it is Punz does with their trauma. After Quackity leaves, they act the same as always, trying to brush off what just happened, pretending it looked worse than it was, because pride. Once again, what Dream does is up to you. Over the days/weeks (depending on how often he’s tortured), they get quieter, shut down more, stop laughing and making jokes. Maybe he stops eating, walking around, and taking care of himself. The cell sees hours of stretched-out silence. Neither prisoner knows how, or has the energy, to talk to each other like they used to. 

After the escape, they can’t return to their tower, someone’s going to find him in there. They don’t return to the prison with Dream, but probably just disappears into the wilderness somewhere. Nobody sees him for months, save Dream, but their interactions are few, far between, and much more professional/awkward than before.

Damn this is long.

////////

ahhh love it. I can’t stop thinking about Evil Showing Off AU.

I agree with you that Punz probably uses a sort of blank affect to cope—he’s an experienced actor at this point, even in stressful situations. And strangely, being around Dream and knowing Dream is counting on him to stay unbroken helps a lot in that regard. I think Punz would be able to keep himself together like that for a good while.

[levisgirll]

Hi! Can you do a headcanon of Levi being jealous/posessive when someone tries to flirt with his crush?

𝐦𝐲 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐰𝐧 (𝐋𝐞𝐯𝐢 𝐀𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐱 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫)

text: Hello anon! Thank you so much for the request🥺 Of course I can! and I hope you like what I wrote💞 (also I’m sorry this took some time! this week and last week was just so stressful ahhh) incoming some cute jelly levi boi, I also realized now we need more of this- ALSO will be using this fact stated by Isayama about levi getting jealous which is he wouldn’t get jealous over his lover because he would trust them, although if he were to be jealous he’d stay low about it then by time explode. in this case it would be his crush and not lover as requested! (incoming some real cute fluff and levi being a cutie who is a bit jealous <3)

synopsis: Levi Ackerman isn’t the one who would get easily affected by others, he wouldn’t care most of the time what people would do and say to him. But....he has a crush on y/n for the longest time now and it seems his feelings is growing too with time. He notices some scouts trying to tease and flirt with his crush, he starts to feel something about it and pushes the thought away, but the feeling is still present. One day, something happens and he can’t take it anymore and becomes a bit possessive and clingy towards y/n!

fluff, aot world, headcanon fanfic ♡ —

You let out a long sigh as you were heading back to the survey crops headquarters from your training. Today was a really busy and stressful day as you had to train a lot and also manage to keep up with everyone.

You joined not long ago and you still were trying to fit in, learn new skills from others, and kept on training to catch up with others. Many saw you as a really hard worker.

But, you recently been getting some help and advice from Captain Levi! The strongest solider that everyone talks about and with that, you both got close and Levi seemed to like your attitude, and would usually ask you for your opinion on things.

Everyone was quite shocked how Levi seem to show a little bit of interest in you and even spoke to you. Y/N was different, unique more like it and how they never gave up and still kept on going amazed Levi. He was a bit worried about you though cause you could be reckless, but he had your back always watching without you even noticing. Later then, he realized after sorting out this emotions and feelings he had....he actually had a crush on you instead!

It was a fact that Y/N was quite attractive and good looking, everyone had eyes on Y/N and Levi would sometimes be quite annoyed and pissed about how some guys who seemed to have bad intentions always trying to get a chance to talk to you and get you alone but Y/N would usually avoid them and leave the scene before it happens.

You were just such a likeable person though! Who wouldn't like you? and many tried to make a move on you but you made the scouts that you were hard to read. But instead for one guy.

A scout was keeping his eyes on you for a while, and with his friends telling him that 'he would never get a chance with y/n' made him take the bet and go for it.

"Hey there! I see you training hard? My name is Roy, nice to meet you" He said with a big smile and gave you a little wave while coming up to you. You were setting up your ODM gear and glance at him. "Oh, I see it's Y/N." You said normally, but you weren't going to lie, the guy did look kind of cute but you had a gut feeling something was up.

"Of course, you are the great Y/N everyone talks about." He said with a smirk, "You look so much prettier." You were taken aback by the comment and thanked him, it was not everyday you would hear this comment and someone saying that bluntly.

"Haha, you don't have to be shy! It's the truth so own it. Anyways, I'll see you later yeah? Bye!" He shouted out and ran back to his friends, and you stood there quite shy.

You did not notice that Levi was actually standing near the entrance of the headquarters and watched the whole thing. You could tell by his gaze towards Roy he was...glaring at him? "Tch." He scoffed and walked away from the training area, looking rather pissed but you managed to go over to him and caught up with Levi. There your bright energy opened up, and you gave Levi a bright big smile that you would only usually do for him. "Hi Captain Levi! How was your weekend? I haven't seen you for a while." Y/N said in a cheerful tone, they looked rather happy to see Levi and that made him relax and warmed his heart since his crush has always greeted him this way. "Hey Y/N, it was alright I guess. And Oi, didn't I tell you to just call me Levi? Drop the captain, don't wanna hear that from you." He said and crossing his arms and looking slightly away to hide his faint little blush on his cheeks.

He observed you for a while, and he realized that you were the only one who would talk to Levi like this and he was the only man you ever showed your cute and gentle side to! And the same goes to him, you were the only one who he showed his soft and nice side by his small actions and words. So, he felt really lucky and somehow was assured and felt trusted that you might not be interested in anyone else, and maybe....just maybe he had a chance!

"My bad, Levi" Y/N said after a small giggle which was one of his favorite sounds, hearing his crush laugh a little was one of the main things he wanted to achieve. "I'm going to do hand-to-hand combat training later. Could you perhaps train m-" Before Y/N was going to finish talking, Levi cut them off and said "Yea sure, don't ask me and just tell me what it is and I'll help you train."

Levi didn't notice, but he was becoming rather tender and considerate only to Y/N these days which not only shocked them but also made them happy. "Thanks Levi, you are the best! I'll see you later!" Y/N waved at Levi with a joyful expression and ran off. After that small interaction and chat, it seemed like all Levi's worries and stress was relieved and he gave a small smile. Not only that, but also another feeling he had earlier was gone, but he couldn't figure just what was that feeling from earlier?

Later on, training for hand to hand combat has started and you were there, ready and waiting for none other than Levi to show up. But, someone else showed up instead of him. "So we meet again, Y/N." You turned around and it was Roy, he looked rather excited and he was checking you up with a gaze that made you slightly uncomfortable. "Um...yea cause we still have training?" You gave him a confused look and raised your eyebrow at him 'Just what does this guy want...' you wondered.

"You aren't pair up with anyone, so let's train together!" He said cheerfully and was in his fighting stance, all ready without you even having the time to respond to his offer.

"W-Wait...I'm waiting for Levi to train me!" You finally said in a stuttering tone. "Levi? Ha....since when did you start calling him that? Anyways, I don't see him? So, train with me instead sweetheart." He gave you a flirtatious smile, and you sighed and brought out the wooden dagger which you took your stance and took charge at him. He somehow let you take the hit and you looked up at him "Wow, you are good!". He was not taking you seriously, and was playing around with you, teasing you more like it. While you were training with Roy, without any warning he made you trip and you fell on the ground which you felt your knee starting to hurt. "Oh no. Are you okay?" Roy said and bent down, to check your knee. You felt it was done on purpose just to get you off guard, and so he can get closer to you.

With your surprise, he brought his hand out and pushed your hair back and behind your ear and then touched your cheek which made your eyes wide "No one should be allowed to look that good. How do you do it?"

"Huh...what do you mean?" Y/N said, all confused and tried to get up but Roy's grip made you not get up so easily. "Say, tell me how are you still Single?"

Before you could respond, someone quickly grabbed Roy by his wrist and pulled him up quickly. "You....The fuck do you think you are doing?" It was....Levi! He gave a death glare to Roy who now seemed to have been displeased. "I'm helping them up...What do you think you are doing holding me like this?"

"Did I ask you a question? It a command, answer it. What. Were. you trying to do." Levi said now in a very serious tone that gave off a scary vibe and everyone had stopped their training and were all frightened. Levi was not dumb, he clearly knew what Roy was up to, seductively flirting with you which he ignored before he knew you would not respond to it but.... he then purposely made you trip which he noticed and was not able to hold it in any longer.

"Do you want me to fucking break your leg to answer me?" Levi was being impatient and without any hesitation and not giving Roy any time to respond, he knee kicked him right up his chin and that made him fall down on his knees and covered his nose which was now bleeding. "You little shit, and you dare even question me after disrespecting Y/N? You have a death wish for sure."

Levi was about to kick him when Y/N quickly held on his arm and pulled Levi a bit back, holding on to his arm. "Stop! That's enough Levi. Don't bother with him, I'm fine now!" Y/N said, trying to calm Levi down and reassure him.

He stayed silent, and looked back at Roy, deciding on what to do. "Hm...Alright. I'm only stopping cause of Y/N." Levi took Y/N's hand which shocked everyone in the training area, including Roy and Levi turned around while saying in a cold tone. "Roy, you have cleaning duty for all the toilets at the HQ for a month and it better be fucking clean or I will make you redo it. You are nothing but a piece of trash so be useful and clean them."

Levi still, holding your hand tightly, pulled you and you both were walking away from the training area, away from everyone else. Y/N was blushing now and was looking at Levi's back head where they clearly saw his neat underhair cut. 'Levi why did he do this....' You wondered and Levi then stopped walking when you both reached near the stable. "Are you...hurt?" He said, turning around to look at you with a slight worried expression. "N-No, and thanks for back there." Y/N said, blushing even harder and looked down. "But, why..." They finally said looking directly at his grey eyes which soften, this was a question that kept killing Y/N's curiosity.

He stayed quiet, and looked away from your gaze. He seemed to refuse to respond. 'Wait....don't tell me!' Y/N then jolted their head up which caught Levi by surprise (worried if they noticed-) and they immediately said in a hyper tone.

Y/N: "Oh Levi....were you-"

Levi: "No."

Y/N: "You sure? Cause I swear you-"

"Shut it. I was just being annoyed by him, alright?" He would say and ruffle your hair gently. He wanted to hold you, hug you. You were just too adorable to him! But he knew he couldn't do any of that.

"Weird...I don't recall saying anything about that. But you just proved to me you were actually jealous!" Y/N said, and let out a happy and cheerful laugh. He would not admit it, but he felt embarrassed right now.

"Tch, brat are you gonna actually keep saying it now?" He said with a slight blush and turned around, "Well...Not till you be honest with yourself." Y/N told Levi in a shy tone, and still with a smile that was too big it hurted their cheeks, they were just too happy to see Levi like this!

You weren't going to lie, but seeing Levi jealous really made you feel something and so did he!

He took your hand gently and caressed your hand with his thumb. "If you want to know....come to my office?" Levi, was now a blushing mess, he was being nervous but he knew that at some point he had to let his feeling out because it was not an easy one to handle despite him being emotional he was able to control that but this was a special case and today proved that to him. He had to let you know.

You both went to Levi's office, and he pulled you closer and looked at your eyes which was filled with lust and love just for you "Please....Could I?" Levi said softly which had a little bit of nervous and tense tone. You then realized and confirmed, you both did actually shared the same feelings and behind closed doors while the evening was approaching you both slowly started to kiss each other even though you both were new to this sort of thing you took it slowly, and kept trying it again and again, till you both got the hang of it. Levi did that just to show that he wanted to make you his starting tonight and not having anyone else flirt with you anymore and that that he was capable of being romantic to u too! You never saw him this clingy, it was super cute.

With your reassurance and talk with Levi, your words would comfort him and calm him down and he then started to trust you even more which he was since the beginning but now that he got your approval he never felt such a lucky man.

Now, no scout with bad intentions ever dared to come up to you and Levi does not take it lightly next time if he even sees someone checking you up, or making you uncomfortable. With this, he promised to protect you from any harm and swore to that, he wanted to be your protector.

So poor them who ever tried to flirt with you and poor Roy stuck with a broken nose and having cleaning toilets duty!

But thanks to Roy, Levi finally was able to explain and show/say his true feelings to Y/N and now he can keep Y/N close to him only and cherish and protect them without any hesitation. He truly did value and care for Y/N.

This was actually so fun to write up ahhh and I find Levi acting sort of like this when he explodes at the person trying to flirt with his crush and the one responsible making him jealous! (I don’t think he would explode or lash out on his crush/lover, he is too mature for a situation where someone flirts with them, he would lash out on whoever is hitting on them instead of his lover ofc) I hope you enjoyed this anon and sorry this was late but hope you enjoyed it and if you did or anyone else please leave a like or a reblog!🥺 ♡♡♡

[ffeynn]

hiya fey =] !! i love your blog a lot , do you mind writing xiao, tetora nagumo, and riddle rosehearts in love with a gn reader?? tysm - you’re doing wonderful and i hope your blog takes off !!!

「 is this how it feels, being in love: xiao, tetora and riddle 」

a/n: heyy!! ahhh yes thanku! and really! thanku again for your words! i think i messed up tetora's one,,, but i hope you enjoy it - even if it's a bit!!

pairing: xiao, nagumo tetora, riddle rosehearts x reader (seperates)

↬ xiao in love huh. he won’t take it well at first, constantly denying the fact that his heart flutters upon your arrival at wengshui inn, the fact that he was glaring at any person a bit too close to you out of jealousy, the fact that he smiled every time he looked at the embroidery you did for him.

☆ he heard your usual footsteps going up the stairs, the adeptus can’t help waiting for your figure to come up to him with a warm smile and a cheerful, “xiao!”

ah, there it is, the name he came to love whenever he heard it in your voice. your voice who has never ran out of patience with his behavior and somehow managed to rinse away any of his present worries. look at that smile you flashed at him, one he has seen all too many times yet the more he sees it, the more xiao craves for it. the yaksha can feel his lips tugging by a bit.

↬ xiao doesn’t know what came to him when he heard you were sick and before he knew it, he was already in front of your house. why’s he even visiting you - xiao has no reason to. but well here the yaksha was, worried sick about you.

☆ he expects for the worse, xiao does when he heard the news of you being sick. when he found out that it's just a normal fever, he felt relief. out of all emotion, xiao was relieved.

he might be protective but now that you're sick, he's more protective. what do you mean you need to go out? you don’t. he’ll get some herbs after his fight against the abyss mage for you. “you’re still sick, don’t move much.”

↬ xiao knows he’s in love with you. but what good will it do to him when you obviously will leave him just like the others do. this love probably won’t even be mutual, you must have someone more deserving of your love and time.

☆ or maybe that’s all only in his mind. the sight of you timidly trying to not avoid his eyes, your face growing deeper shades of red each seconds, your earnest voice confessing your deep feelings of love for him.

he knows you’re sincere, it’s a genuine love. one you have for him and one he has for you. it’s alright to be in love, he won’t trade it with anything nor will he avoid it any longer. if you’re the one he’s with, xiao will be more than glad to be in love.

↬ is he in love? tetora wonders if what he’s feeling toward you is love. yes he did have some fleeting crushes but that only extends to like. not love. though the way he feels around you, the subtle changes in his action around you, it feels so much like love.

☆ tetora was already by your classroom’s door after his class ended early. he was a bit embarrassed at the wondering, teasing stares he received. that all doesn't matter when you joyfully made your way toward him.

“ah tetora, thank you for waiting for me.” you said while dragging him away from the door since people were walking out. “it’s okay! i don’t mind waiting for you.” he ignores the fast beating of his heart when you hold his hand in yours.

↬ he’ll always help you (if he doesn't have something important going on)! tetora is a man, he’s a hero and he’s a person that’ll help you carry boxes down the stairs despite his arms almost giving up.

☆ “this.. no, no, i’m fine you don’t need to help.” or so he said. but thankfully, tetora successfully carried the heavy boxes downstairs. while it may not be so helpful for his practice later — wait it does — most definitely worth it.

you were worried about him, you were in a quick laughter at his stubbornness, you were smiling at him. it made him warm, tetora loves the way you made him feels. and when you cheer him on for his practice later, tetora had an inkling that today he’ll do much more better than before. and yes, he did.

↬ did something happen to you today? he noticed you look a bit down today. tetora will do anything just to see you happy again, you brighten up his day and he wants to do the same to you.

☆ how about cooking your favourite food? that’ll at least cheer you up a bit.. right? as much as he wants to cook for you all by his own, tetora knows it's better if he asks someone else to help. happened so his taishou was free! asking help from kuro about cooking is a splendid choice.

now, now. look at the outcome! with your favourite food neatly packed in a lunch box, tetora nervously, excitedly went to you. various kind of what ifs appearing in his mind. yet when he saw your face brightening up when you saw his figure walking up to you. wait. he still haven't give you his surprise food to you.. why are you already happy..

“tetora!” ah that doesn't matter, what matter is your smile who looks so lovely to him was now here again. and knowing it’s because of him, tetora loves it much more.

↬ just the thought of being in love with you flustered him. the poor boy probably doesn’t know what to name this feeling of his at first. riddle didn't have time to experience romance all his life, just studies and obeying his mother. but at nrc, his mother won't be there to monitor all his actions, he gains the littlest bit of freedom.

☆ riddle was acting suspicious yet the dorm leader himself didn't notice it. except it's ace and deuce, you got caught in trouble a lot of time with them. so when riddle seemed to be more lent toward you, softer.. something was up. what kind of riddle scolds a troublemaker with a smile on his face and with a tone so worried? a riddle who caught feelings.

“right, didn’t you say you want help for next week’s exam?” and just like that, he invited you out on a study date. the two other students almost gasped, even grim noticed the difference in riddle. the said male didn’t thought of it as a date at first but after ace pointed it out, his face grew red. cherry red.

↬ once he realized his feelings for you, riddle will be conscious of the occasional actions. like the hands bumping when they get a bit too close with each other, those times he fixed your tie neatly.

☆ he invited you on an evening tea time and you were surprised when you found out the only one there was him. “oh, you're finally here.” riddle went up to you and like a gentleman he is, the dorm leader pulled out your seat for you. thanking him, you complimented riddle - he looks slightly different today tho you don't know what it is but it's there.

riddle did dressed up today, just a slight change. he used a perfume which smell you said you like, his hair looking more slick and that's all. his dormmates who knows about this were too persistent to help riddle levels up his appearance, in the end he only agreed to two things. but when you took notice of the subtle changes and complimented him, maybe he will undo his unique magic on the poor dormmates.

↬ riddle gives you roses, freshly from heartslabyul's garden.

☆ he will uses his magic to pluck a few bloomed roses, get rid of the thorns and prettily wrapped it up into a bouquet. riddle gave you the bouquet once after the end of your usual tea time. it was so sudden, you were surprised by his abrupt romantic gesture.

despite of that, you love it. the expression you hold tell him you love it. and there isn't any rules telling them that plucking roses is forbidden so perhaps he might just try to be better at making bouquet. teas too, you said you love his teas and riddle - he was so happy (that he blushed!).

[il-ballo-della-vita-maneskin]

Ethan Torchio x intimidating reader

request:

Would you be comfortable with doing a matchup with the members or a headcanon where Ethan or Damiano have an intimidating, serious, no bs boyfriend that is absolutely adorable and teeth rotting caring with them only?

Btw, match up is coming, I’m sorry I’m so slow! If you would also like a match up with someone from the band just send me a bit about yourself and I’ll try to write it soon<3

Anyway, thank you for requesting, I hope you will like this

warnings: this is Ethan x male!reader, but as I was writing this in second person point of view and didn’t use male nouns to describe the reader, I think anyone can read it (though, I did have a male reader in mind while writing this)

~

- alright, we all know Ethan is a cutie pie (again, fight me)

- so, the only way i can imagine this is as in sunshine and grumpy trope and i hate everyone but you trope

- people would definitely be like

- how tf are you dating?

- he would tell them that you’re actually the most caring person he has ever seen

- and he wouldn’t give a damn if they believe him or not

- he also doesn’t give a damn that people think you have no fun together with him coming of as shy and you as serious

- cuz it’s completely not true

- slow dancing when you are alone in your aparmtent (this idea suddenly appeared in my head and needed to be included)

- his arms on your waist and yours around his neck (or other way around, however you want)

- then you pull him closer, he smiles at you and your heart is about to burst becasue you love him so much

- and maybe you have scared off multiple people today just by glaring at them

- and maybe you haven’t smiled for the whole day

- but now you do

- so you tell him how much you love him

- and when his smile grows wider, you wonder how come you don’t jump around from happiness all the time just cuz he is in your life

- but you know he loves you just the way you are

- and wouldn’t change your way of being

- he lowkey loves that you are all intimidating

- Ethan wants to say something?

- well, everyone better listen when you’re around

- lord, imagine him start to talk and then no one listens and you are like

- my boyfriend is talking (in low, indifferent voice, that sound a little bit like you’re growling at them)

- and then everyone shuts up

- that’s actually so cute

- and as much as you try to keep up with your reputation, there is no way your face doesn’t soften a little when you look at him

- are all the other members of his band, that are also your friends, teasing you mercilessly because of that? maybe

- though, despite that, not even them would believe how adorable you two are when you are alone

- spending time in your apartment would probably only consist of you two watching old movies, cooking together, drinking tea on the balcony while the sun sets behind hills and purple skying gets darker, spending hours in bed after you wake up

- having deep, meaningful conversations, but also lightheared and funny ones

- and holding each other’s hand all the time

- but imagine you are sitting in the restaurant and holding hands under the table cuz neither of you is into pda🥺

- if you are into pda tho, you would just hold each other’s hands for everyone to see

- cuz you’re though and serious, but also Ethan’s your boyfriend so everyone needs to see it

- bonus, inspired by the picture:

- Ethan and you were going out and while walking to the cafe you were supposed to meet, he saw a little flower shop

- he went inside and his eyes immediately caught on bouquet or roses

- and he just needed to buy them for you

- when you meet up he gives you the bouquet and you thank him, but when you leave cafe, you pull him into a sidestreet, press his back onto a wall and whisper

- thank you, my love (or if you want to be smoother grazie, amore mio)

- and then you kiss him

- and he kisses you

- and you could stay like that forever, kissing and happy at the streets of Rome

Oof, this is my first request, hope I did it justice. Anyway, tell me what you think and yeah, that’s all.

Love, Ri✨

P.S. Streets of Rome with Ethan, ahhh😭

[kageprountranslated]

Memorizing English Vocabulary with MEKAKUSHIDAN (High School Version) short story: Prologue

Prologue: A Certain Summer’s Day’s Events

Only the rattling and clacking sounds from the keyboard resonate around the room.

Occasionally cicada cries from outside can be heard leaking through the windows that are cracked open. There is nothing to be said except that it’s hot and humid on this day, the kind of day that is best for a shut-in.

Ahh, what a peaceful day. Such an ordinary everyday life, and I’m unbearably happy….

When I clear my throat the corners of my mouth unexpectedly rise, as I pick up the dark soda that drips with condensation from the temperature change in the room. The moment I pour it down my throat… Suddenly, “yaa.” The act of terrorism began.

“Master! It seems like today there’s a firework show at 6:00 PM! Can we see it from your dirty room?”

As that familiar voice began, every open browser (of course including the DAW* I was composing on) was forcefully closed, replaced by countless pop-ups. “Special summer date spot,” “Top 3 fireworks displays recommended for men,” “Hole-in-the-wall place! Superb view fireworks spot, word-of-mouth and comment board,” ''Summary of summer situations to seduce women,” etc. ....

(*Digital Audio Workstation, software used for producing music)

Ahh, my everyday life was now always like this suddenly.

A passionate reply I was writing that easily exceeded 20 lines, the song I was creating that was in the middle of the programming phase….

Ene’s eyes blinked in unison, ignoring the shock that caused my eyes to open so wide that the whites were fully visible. She single-mindedly chattered on, her teeth never appearing to touch, as she ignored me.

“I feel like I haven’t seen fireworks in quite a while! But isn’t summer for fireworks nonetheless!? Don’t you agree, Master?”

“Master, did you know this? Because fireworks use metal’s reaction to flame, it seems the color is different depending on the chemicals the gunpowder is made of!”

“When Master goes to a fireworks display with a woman, do you say disgusting things like, ‘together our flame reaction will scatter red sparks….’? Ahhh oops! Master doesn’t have a woman to go with him in the first place. Sorry!”

“Hah…. There is no beautiful teen girl who would go to a fireworks show with you. Master, what a pity…. No. Master is too pathetic!”

“Hey, why did you phrase it like that…? Did you say ‘pity’ just now!?”

Despite choosing to completely ignore her, she always persists. And each time I can’t just sit by without comment she reacts in the same familiar way, delivering her hateful comebacks with extreme speed. Seeing me fall for her bait, Ene has a triumphant look on her face.

“That’s right, but you’re having a fit and reading too much into this ‘pity’ thing. You’ve been a little too self-conscious lately, right?”

“Hey, aren’t you calling me pitiful? When you say it like that it’s so excessively intentional and malicious that I can clearly see what you’re trying to say!! I thought it was abnormally quiet today, but you were just busy, completely absorbed in researching this firework thing!”

“Oh that Master of mine, maybe you kinda missed me~? ‘Eneeee…. I’m lonely…. Heyyyy.’ If you begged me like that I’d have come around to hate on you sooner. No, I’d have rushed to my Master without a second thought!!”

“Now you think I’d ask you to harass me!? I know you’re aware of what’s going on! For the time being I can’t see the fireworks. Stop harassing me right now.”

“Master’s a hell of a listener! Stingy! Nitwit! Shut-in. If we’re this close, shouldn't you at least watch to make sure the fireworks’ gunpowder doesn’t hit your house and start a fire?”

“What kind of accident would that be!? It isn’t gunpowder that falls down, it's just sparks!! We’ll be fine, so just get my data back quickly. Did you even keep a backup anyway? Come on, really, I’m sick of being harassed by you and your impulsive whims! If you think it’s too terribly quiet you can study English vocabulary.”

“You’re such a rude virgin to get so fed up with me! You’re an extreme Masochist, Master, don’t you have pride in the level of my harassment it takes to make you happy-cry?”

“It’s not fun! It’s definitely not fun! You should be able to generally understand the junior high school level since you’ve been swept off to school before!? It’s such a penance, a penance!!”

“Wha-wha-what the hell is that…!? It was a crystal of love and tears withdrawn from Ene-chan’s special database….! If you treat me coldly like that, I’ll be sharp!”

Ene puffed out her cheeks as she said this. But her plan was to begin to travel into the smartphone that was placed beside the computer mouse.

“Ohh, try being sharp with me! I’m being smoked by you! I’m being smoked for the whole day’s worth of effort! I don’t have anything to lose anymore! I don’t know what is stored and where because yesterday the folder names I put my whole soul into organizing were all changed!”

“Is Master’s life lived completely on this screen!? What a flimsy life…. If that’s so, then why not use this PC anymore? You don’t use it, right?”

“No, sorry, that’s a lie. I use it. Because I use it…. aaaAAAAA!??!?!!”

At that moment, the PC screen went pitch black, a cold box sitting in the center saying, “Please input the password.” All I feel is déjà vu. This is obviously the work of Ene.

“Stop it! Pretty please just stop doing this….!”

“Buh!! Ahaha! Ma-Master, ‘pretty please,’ you say….!! Bufufu!!”

“This isn’t a laughing matter! Quickly return the screen back to its original state!! Ohh this is the worst…. I want to die….”

From the shock of being taken hostage, I involuntarily relaxed all of the muscles in my body. For a while I had been leaning my body forward in my chair.

“Well well, Master. Doesn’t the good, super pretty virgin girl, Ene-chan have a backup? I’ll put it back perfectly normal later.”

“Truthfully!? That’s really true!? Ahh, what a relief…. You also have a human heart…. Thank you Gods and Buddhas!”

I felt my tight throat become lighter, while my mood did as well. But as soon as she saw me not restraining my delight, Ene made a facial expression like she was holding back an ill comment.

“Wait a little, Master. Wouldn’t it be too good if I returned it all for free? This morning I wasn’t able to get you to be worried about me at all. Reeeaaaallllllly. I was about to die in that spare time. So won’t you have to pay for it exactly!?”

“Ohh…. I’ll do anything…. I’ll do anything!”

Ene raised a finger on the screen to wipe the tears that had accumulated in the corners of her eyes.

“Then Master, start by connecting the earphones to this smartphone please.”

“....Huh? Ohh, oh.”

While being overwhelmed with her sudden demands, I grabbed the smartphone and put on the white earphones.

“Like this?”

“Yes!”

Yayy! However, I was starting to feel anxiety from the tension as Ene raised an arm in reply.

“Now Master, you will study all of the English vocabulary high school students learn! I even made it more difficult than before! Because you're a masochistic Master, it’s a present that will delight you! Oh, of course, please memorize it all by 6:00 PM when the fireworks start!! Even if my Master isn’t finished, I’ll ask him to just point the smartphone at the window for me!!”

So that’s what Ene says, and it’s not like I’m familiar with what appears on the screen, the spellings and meanings of English words…. When I scrolled to the end, the number of words to learn was…. -what?- 1200….

“As you progress in studying I’ll give you password hints! Come on now, let’s keep up the good work! A man doesn’t go back on his word, right Master?”

Ene said this with a dazzling smile on her face as she played the clip of me sounding so close to death, “Ohh…. I’ll do anything…. I’ll do anything!”

Prologue | Side Story 1 | Side Story 2 | Side Story 3 | Epilogue

[demonslayedher]

"Grandpa Kokushibo" AU

This started as a simple little joke in those Muichiro doodles. And then it was just supposed to be a simple little drabble. A simple little Crack Fic. But next thing you know...

------

“You… you are my descendent…”

“…huh…”

Six flaring eyes loomed over Tokito, the two in the middle etched with writing. Upper Moon… One…

“Those eyes…”

Having been so locked on the demon’s eyes, he didn’t realize at first that it was talking about his own. “…huh…?”

“…They’re red… a sign… a Kakushaku-no-Ko… you have… potential…”

“……huh…..”

“Become… a demon…”

“…huh………. Huh!?”

With little recourse to convince the demon to leave like he might attempt with a bear or a boar, Tokito brought the demon home. “Sweetheart? I, uh… a relative of mine is visiting.”

His wife, whose complexion was lovely even without the luxuries of make-up, smiled up sweetly from where she knelt, with their two young sons asleep on the futon before her. “You still have family? What happy news---”

The demon, Kokushibo, bowed lowly so that he could fit inside the door. “Good evening,” he said.

“…G…Good evening,” she gawked, her soft green eyes wide and locked. “A… a pleasure to meet you.”

“The pleasure… is mine.”

“Uh, so, it seems this is my great-grandfather of sorts. A great many ‘greats.’ A few centuries’ worth of ‘greats.’ What a coincidence that we’ve just run into each other.”

“It’s no… coincidence. I have… always been searching… for Sun Breath users…”

Tokito smiled with his face like puddy. “Sun Breath? What’s that?”

“…to kill them…”

Tokito and his wife shared a “ghh!!” as their throats tightened.

“I did not expect… to find the remains of the Tsugikuni Clan… out here… in this… dump…”

“I, uh, I sort of recall that name being way back in the family. But on the wrong side of the war, you know? We haven’t been a warrior clan since the start of Edo times.”

“A pity… but… no matter… you will have… a greater master to serve…”

“Um! Uh! Would you like to meet your grandsons?”

“Honey, what are you—”

Six eyes widened. “Grandsons?”

“I have twin boys! I’m busy raising them, I don’t have any time for swordsmanship, haha! All I know how to do is swing an ax.”

“Heirs… are important… they’ll do no good… as children… You,” he looked to Tokito’s wife, whose eyes were swirling trying to follow his gaze. “You do it. You raise them. I’ll… train my descendent…”

“Train…?”

“You may have… the ability… to attain the Breath… of the Sun…”

“D---di---di—didn’t you say you were going to kill S-S-Sun Breath users?”

“Why would I… kill my descendent…?”

Tokito was doing his best, but he was hitting his limits for how many more surprises he could take that evening. “Listen, I… I only want what’s best for my family. I want to watch my sons grow up, and teach them how to live a simple life out here in nature. Ancestor or not, we want nothing to do with demons.”

“My dear,” his wife said, some surprised admiration in her tone.

“I have to ask you to leave.”

“I cannot.”

“You will take ‘no’ for an answer!”

“I cannot,” Kokushibo stressed. “The sun is rising. Sunlight… will kill me…”

“…ah… oh. That’s a problem.”

“I’ll remain… here…”

“I’m sorry, I can’t have you do that. You’re a demon, and—”

“Defy me… and I will kill your family.”

“---GHH!” the Tokito couple swallowed harder.

----- The boys woke up to find a demon quietly sitting cross-legged in the corner. Yuichiro cried, Muichiro stared. Tokito didn’t want to scare them, however rightfully they should be, so he smiled and introduced the demon as their grandfather. Kokushibo politely bowed his head. The boys were quickly accepting. In his heart, Tokito cried and begged the forgiveness of his religious parents for not teaching them a proper distaste for evil.

In a battle of will, Tokito would be easily outmatched. But for however many years Kokushibo had on him, he didn’t seem like a quick thinker. Tokito might be able to beat him in a battle of wits. He had an ability that was sure to ward Kokushibo off, if only he could wield it with the right timing.

“If you leave me no choice, Grandfather, then I guess I must learn this Sun Breathing swordsmanship you keep talking about! Maybe you’re right, maybe I do have potential! I’d like to think all my practice cutting down trees makes me adept with a blade,” he smiled, his hands proudly at his hips. “Will you take a look this evening?”

“Yes… I eagerly await… seeing your potential… my descendent…”

Tokito grinned. He couldn’t wait either. In the meantime, Yuichiro and Muichiro spent the daylight hours at either side of the unusual houseguest.

“Grandpa, you have flames on your face. Do those hurt?”

“They do not…”

“You have as many eyes as a bug. Why do you have so many eyes?”

“Because… I am… a demon…”

“It looks gross. With all those eyes, can’t you see it looks gross?”

“I can see… a great many things…”

“Why are there eyes on your sword? Can your sword see?”

“My sword is made with… my blood… its eyes… are my eyes…”

“Is your sword a bug?”

“What’s its name?”

“Kyokokukamusari.”

“Kyokko…”

“Kyokyaku…”

“Kyokyakoku…”

“Kyokukuka…”

“Your tongues… are young.”

When evening fell, Tokito put his plan into action. It took no special effort on his part, all he had to do was trust himself.

“Yahh! Yaahh!” he yelled as he swung his ax. “Yaah! Yar! Yagh! Yuh!! Ya—AHHH!” he spun around and fell down, nearly lopping off his own arm. Perfect!

All of Kokushibo’s eyes, even the ones down his sword were blazing on him, and he waited for Kokushibo’s reaction. There was no fooling those eyes, which made Tokito’s plan all the better.

That demon would know!

“You are very…”

“Yes?”

“Clumsy.”

Precisely! This would chase that pesky demon off, wouldn’t it?

“I can see… it will take… many years… to train you…”

…no.

-----

The centuries had made Kokushibo resilient to setback, and time flowed at a different pace for him. “Become a demon now… and you will have… all the time you need… to attain… Sun Breathing…”

“Now, now wait!” Tokito waved his arms. He had taken the full next day to get his wits rounded back up, while Kokushibo resided indoors again patiently allowing the curious bos to poke the eyes of his sword, proving to them he was too powerful to be harmed by their tiny fingers. Yuichiro contemplated poking Kokushibo in one of the eyes on his face, but he hesitated when all six were focused on him, and he cried and buried his face behind his hands. “Wait. Wait. You can wait, can’t you?”

“Wait… for what?”

“If it’s inevitable that I have to become a demon, can’t you wait for me to be a human longer?”

“What good is there… in being human?”

“I want to watch my boys grow up!”

“I am a demon… I see them… perfectly fine.”

“Well, I mean, but, no, I mean, like, out there, having a normal family life with them. Working in the mountains, coming home, making food.”

“A human body… is weak… and will starve… without food… A waste… of time… to constantly…. work… for… Your body… will grow old… and frail… Become a demon… and these concerns… will vanish…”

“You—you make a compelling argument, Grandfather. But being human is good too!”

“How… is being human… better… than being… a demon?”

“I, well… is… isn’t it weird to learn Sun Breathing if I can’t see the sun?”

The demon’s eyes, every last one of them, went wide. Tokito had him! “You’re… right…” he said, stunned.

“Haha, oh, Grandfather! It’s been so long since you’ve seen it that you must had forgotten about it! All the creatures of this world are meant to be touched by the sun’s rays, it’s the natural way of things. It’s a blessing.”

“Sun Breathing… may require… practice… under the sun…”

“Haha, it may take a while, but I guess I’ll have to do my best on my own.”

“I will… train you… at night… and by day… you will train… under the sun…”

-----

The arrangement seemed to be working a while. Whether Tokito trained during the day or not (he did not), his progress was slow. His wife had come to get accustomed to the situation, knowing she had to make the best of it until the demon hopefully got bored and left. Having the boys so entertained during the day helped her get a lot of extra work done around the house.

“Grandfather,” she addressed him. “We got a great catch for dinner tonight, look at the size of this fish! What part of the fish is your favorite? I’ll serve that part for you.”

“Demons… do not eat… fish…”

“Oh, how rude of us. What would better suit your tastes?”

“Demons… do not consume… human food… we would… vomit it…”

“Ahhh… oh. Well, we can’t have that.”

“Grandpa. Grandpa,” Muichiro tugged at his hakama. “Then what do demons eat?”

“Humans.”

Muichiro stared, and after what felt like a long time in human experience, his face flushed and his eyes welled with tears. Yuichiro pinched his cheek. “Don’t cry, stupid. He’s only teasing you.”

“…oh,” Muichiro, red-faced and cheek still stretched smiled with relief.

Their mother, meanwhile, was blanched white, the fish still flopping around in her stiff hands.

--

“You’re not… making much… progress… could it be… you’re not… practicing… in daylight…?”

“Ah, ahhhh, yes, I’m afraid not,” Tokito sweated profusely. “That… that’s just part of being human. There’s so much work to do all day and then I have to sleep through so much of the night. I may never learn swordsmanship at this rate, hahaha!”

“Then hurry… and become a dem—”

“S-Sure must had been nice to be in a samurai clan back in your day, huh? Servants to do all the tedious chores and stuff so you could focus and train! May, maybe it’d be nice to hear some stories about when you were growing up! The boys would love to know their family history too, I’m sure!”

“…what chores…?”

“Oh, haha, oh, Grandfather! Did you not even know what chores were? What a charmed life—”

“What chores?” he stressed.

“Uhh---well---chopping trees, mostly.”

“Your ax… hand it to me…”

“Uhh… yes, sir.”

“I will chop your trees… so you… may advance… in your training…”

“Ye… yes, sir.”

-----

They had an excess of very high-quality wood on a regular basis. It sold so well on Tokito’s occasional trips into town that he found himself with more money than he ever had in his life. “Use it… to buy food…” Kokushibo instructed him. “Nourish your family… with it… buy warmer clothes… save your labor…”

Tokito had been raised being told that demons were evil, but he began to question that. They were all part of a world beyond humans, populated by Buddhas and Tengu and foxes, who was to say that their nature was entirely evil?

All at once, one night after months of the demon’s constant presence, he disappeared. Tokito and his wife cried with relief, and Tokito vowed to use the gifts the supernatural ancestor bestowed on them to raise his family well, and to never forget humility in the face of things outside their human experience.

But then he came back the following night.

“G-Grandfather,” he trembled. “Y-y-you’re back.”

“I went out… to feed. Now… continue… your practice…”

Inside, his wife cried on behalf of them both, for Tokito was too scared to anything but obey.

-----

Two years went by. With no choice, Tokito could not help that his swordsmanship improved. “Hhm,” Kokushibo nodded with approval. “Soon… I shall… find you a sword… no longer… a wooden one…”

“Aw, you don’t need to trouble yourself, Grandfather!”

“It is… no trouble… to steal one…”

“Well, what I mean is, I’m still so clumsy! Hahaha! Sure would be a waste of effort to kill myself by accident, wouldn’t it?”

“Hmm… you are right…”

“Hahaha!”

“I will… make you a demon first…”

“No! No, wait! I’ll keep practicing, I’ll keep practicing! Let’s hold off on a real sword until I’m ready!”

“You are… delaying… the inevitable…”

“And you are exceedingly patient, Grandfather!”

“That person… is not… so patient… he watches… and tells me… to hurry… and be done… with you…”

“Ghh!” he gulped as he went pale. He should never had forgotten his humility facing that which was outside human experience.

“Gra-a-a-a-nd-paaaa!” came a voice at the door of the hut. “Come fold origami with us!”

“I would… rather play Go…” the demon answered as he turned around and answered the summons.

“Go is boring!”

“You will… appreciate it when you are older…”

His wits. Tokito had to keep thinking with his wits.

-----

Another year went by. Kokushibo remained outwardly patient, but once again made mention of ‘that person.’

“He has… more tasks for me… than to be here… tonight… I will grant you his blood…”

“Wait! Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait!” Tokito raised his voice at him. This was it. He had to enact his next plan. “What are all these ‘tasks’ anyway? You still take plenty of time away to be a hitman, what else could he possibly have you do?”

Kokushibo answered very simply. “Look for… the blue… spider lily.”

“Ha! Spider lilies aren’t blue, everyone knows that,” sneered Yuichiro.

“The spider lilies are all dead,” said Muichiro. “It’s winter.”

If Kokushibo had twelve eyebrows, he would had raised them in their direction. “I… see… winter… of course… they must… be seasonal…”

“Are you senile, Grandpa? Of course they’re seasonal. They only grow in autumn.”

“You see big patches of them all of a sudden!”

“Autumn… of course… how could I… had forgotten…”

“That’s to be expected, don’t be so hard on yourself, Grandfather,” Tokito’s wife sweetly smiled to him. “They’re a daytime flower, it must be so long since you’ve seen them.”

“Daytime… yes… of course… they’re under… the sun… no wonder… it’s been… impossible… for demons… for a thousand… years… that person’s… blood… is swelling… within me… with… frustration…”

With the rising tenseness in Kokushibo’s voice, Tokito’s muscle sprung with their own tension. “N-no wonder! How sad! How sad that demons can’t go under the sun! I hope I never—”

“That person… will give you… more time. For you… must search… in the daytime…”

“Ghh…” he swallowed. “Y… yes, sir.”

“That’s stupid,” said Yuichiro. “You’re not going to find any in winter.”

“Yes… it’s stupid. You will… search next autumn… and train… until then… and…”

“……….and……….?”

“Play… Go… with me. These rascals… have no… appreciation for… Go…”

“It’s boring, Grandpa!”

“I’m trying, I can’t remember all the rules!”

“Let’s play Shogi instead!”

“Fine… lay the board… let’s play Shogi…”

-----

Two more years passed. Tokito had reprieve from his training during the autumns to search for the blue spider lilies, and one untimely fall in those searches gave him a much longer reprieve from training. His leg was badly broken, and he spent most of the winter bedridden.

“Haha… I’m still so clumsy…” he laughed, covering up that he also wanted to cry.

“And now we have to do all your work,” grumbled Yuichiro.

“Are you still in pain, Dear?”

“A… a lot, yes…”

“Become… a demon…”

“N-no! I’m still so clumsy, I haven’t mastered any of the Sun Breath yet!”

“I don’t want Daddy to get hurt anymore,” Muichiro said with tear-stained eyes. “Next autumn, I’ll go look for the flowers instead.”

“Ghh!” Tokito and his wife looked to him, helpless to tell their son to stop.

“Very good… a good child…” Kokushibo patted his head. “You will… be useful… to that person… too…”

It had to stop. Tokito needed to hurry and eliminate this demon, for the sake of his family.

-----

The following autumn, his leg still bothered him. On most days it was fine, but when it rained or when he climbed too stiff of an incline, the pain kept coming back. He could not use it as any excuse to skip his training, though, for Kokushibo would use that as an excuse to rip him from his humanity.

He kept up the training, as well as ventured out through the mountains to search, and ventured down the mountain periodically to sell the wood that Kokushibo cut. On one of those trips into town, he overheard the gossip.

“I heard it was demons.”

He froze to the spot and listened. He knew it wasn’t Kokushibo, for he was careful not to cause any incidents that would inconvenience the Tokito family—a strange thing that Tokito was sorry for being grateful for. But, perhaps if an incident had occurred closer to them, he’d have heard the following gossip sooner.

“The Demon Slayers are sure to catch it.”

“Demon Slayers?”

“Swordsmen with the sun in their blades, they fight with Breaths to take those monsters down.”

Breaths! Like Sun Breathing!

“Um!” he butted in. “How can I find these Demon Slayers?”

“How? We don’t know. Do you have a demon on your hands, Tokito?”

“…Ghh!... N… No…” he bit his lip and rolled his eyes back to avoid looking at them as he lied.

Maybe there was someone out there who could help him. But how would he find them without raising Kokushibo’s suspicion? The stress made it hard for him to sleep and gave him headaches. His could not risk any talk of this at home, but his sweet wife could see how it pained him, and she whispered with a light cough to let her and the boys take care of searching for the blue spider lilies.

-----

His wife fell ill. A common thing, for humans.

“I’m sorry, Grandfather. For now while I’m still human, I still have human responsibilities to my family. I need to find medicine for her. I’ll be back after I go fetch a herb that will help.”

“You know not where… to find… the blue spider lily… but know… the location… of… a little… herb…?”

“Yes. I’ll be right back.”

“It’s… raining…”

“I know exactly where it is.”

“Where… is it…”

“It grows on the side of a cliff near here.”

“You… know… of plants… on a cliff… but not… the blue… spider lilies…? You… wreak… of… a liar…”

Tokito ran cold.

“And… to think… someone… as… clumsy… as you… would… try… in this… weather…? You…”

This was not the time for everything to crash and fail. His wife’s lungs were in a bad state, if Kokushibo were to do something to him now—

“…are… more… idiotic than I thought… stay here… my… stupid descendent. No wonder… you take… so long to progress…”

The demon very soon returned, unbothered by how his clothes and hair left dripping wet pools throughout their home. He did not know which herb it was so he had cleaned the cliffs of them, allowing Tokito to sort through and pick out the ones that would help. Tokito made them into a medicine to treat his wife, and while it eased her coughing over the following day, she was still in a worrisome state. Kokushibo rolled all six eyes before leaving again that night, returning very close to dawn with his hands full of medicines. “Something… in these… ought to do it…”

It took a little careful trial and error, but a few of them turned out to be very effective, and she soon made a complete recovery.

And now, Tokito had a debt to pay.

-----

He made progress in Sun Breathing. Something was breaking through, making sense in his muscles. Kokushibo watched all the more silently with each night. They both had the sense that there was a change coming soon. Tokito was on the last of his wits.

The time Kokushibo spent around his sons, influencing them… it likewise had to end.

“Grandfather,” he asked, his forehead against his thumbs. “Where do we go once I can no longer be in the sun?”

“You can reside here… as long as that person… allows you to… you want… to watch over your sons… do you not…?”

“I don’t know that much about demons. But if I become one, they’ll be in danger, won’t they?”

“…I will make certain… no harm… will come to your family…”

Tokito closed his eyes with a sigh. “Thank you.”

“Of the two of them… Muichiro… may also… be of use… to that person…”

“Ghh!” his whole chest tightened as much as his throat.

He had let this go on too long. How could he find them? How could he find the Demon Slayers? How could he do without ‘that person’ knowing?

----- The sun! Whatever action he took, it had to be under the protection of the sun!

“Tokito, good to see you!”

“It’s been months!”

“You had us worried.”

And humans! There was a strength in humans he couldn’t forget, and must always find himself humbled by. Anything he could ever accomplish on his own was so small, but with the help of more people! “Thank you for keeping us in mind! My wife fell ill a while, but she’s recovered now.”

“Psst. Are you still, you know?”

“You know?” another one asked, biting her lip and rolling her eyes back a second. “You know?”

“Ah… ah!! Yes!”

“Not to worry, lad,” an old man patted his shoulder. “Your family’s fallen on hard times, and that’s a shame. We’ve spread word of your family, and it’ll reach the right ears soon.” With a grin, the old lady next to him pointed to a crow flying overhead.

“Ahhh!” his eyes watered, and he bowed so low his face nearly hit his knees. “Thank you so much!”

“Hold your head up, young man. Do your roots proud!”

Yes. Even if his roots were Kokushibo, he could not allow himself to lose his humanity. There was still hope!

-----

Tokito had to protect his family. This Breath had a power, a power strong enough to make ‘that person’ want to rid the world of anyone who could use it. Maybe it was ungrateful to hone it as a gift to his eventual rescuers, a weapon that they might use.

A weapon they might use against Kokushibo, the ancestor who had spent years teaching it to him.

After a long day of training in the rays of the sun and well into the night, Tokito returned to his home, already dark inside. Muichiro and Yuichiro were wrapped up in their futon and using Kokushibo’s knees for pillows. All six of his eyes opened slowly, focused solely on Tokito. “You’ve… grown much stronger… it’s time soon… for a sword…”

-----

A knock came at the door. “That’s odd,” his wife blinked her big green eyes to it. They were not used to visitors.

“I’ll get it!!” Tokito shouted with a smile and bounded over to it. Their cry for help had been answered! It had to be buff, strong swordsmen, ready to rescue them and eliminate the demon—

He pulled wide the door, and against the light, there was the silhouette of two small children, and a demure lady in a traveling kimono.

No, this was wrong. Something was wrong. There was something special about these people, but they were not the Demon Slayers he waited for. As his breath tightened, the woman searched his face with growing concern. One of the children at her side looked inside the house, starting first on the woman with the big green eyes, and then the two identical children with long hair, staring back at the door while their Go board was illuminated by the outside light, and then to the dark corner of the house, where a demon sat and stared back.

“Ubu… ya… shi… ki?”

-----

(((And then, the author who only wanted to write a short crack fic, put the fic away, scared by the evil she had unleashed.)))