#also DAMN i have never had a therapist who actually gave a shit about me as a person and not just a patient before
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novadreii · 5 months ago
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Interactions that restored my faith in people and love and human connection this week:
-My therapist offering me a chunky discount because she wants me to see her every week without worrying about money. She says I am incredibly resilient and she has been where I am before. She also texted me this morning after a rough session last night telling me that she believes in me and can see my bright future even if it's hard for me to see right now.
-My brother apologizing to me this morning after he was kind of snippy at me last night because he was grumpy from work. I had been distracted and honestly just rolled my eyes at him and left him alone. Even though the original interaction wasn't a big deal, it was nice that he cared enough to smooth it over.
-There is a Buddhist temple on my street, and I was on a walk the other day and walked past one of the monks strolling in the opposite direction. We shared a nod and a smile.
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bibookmerm · 1 year ago
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getting my shit together
Ok, first of all: there are several skills I lack that it is becoming apparent I need to learn/improve.
One is driving. My wife and I are looking to get our first car. She needs it for work. She drives. Our roommate drives. But I dont. And I was just talking to my friend about how we can never get our friends together bc most of us dont drive/dont have cars. We need more gays that can drive, so I have to step up, lol.
Two. I need to feel confident hand sewing. It's not that I "cant". I know how to thread a needle and do a backstitch, running stitch, whip stitch. But I am very slow bc I havent had much practice, so it annoys me, so I avoid it. I have a dozen little fixes I could do and I should do those. People who sew regularly can do these things in like 10 seconds. I wanna be them.
Three. I need to learn to swallow pills BEFORE my top surgery in March so I dont have to be like "do u have liquid painkiller 🥺" because what if they're like "no". And also, needing an alternative is pricey. (this is something where I believe my disability comes in. Coordinating my muscles in new ways OR more quickly than usual is difficult for me. Like of course I swallow food every day, but normally I take my time chewing first, so to place something in my mouth and quickly swallow it feels daunting. That's the best way I can explain it. Just feels like a different ball game lol. My pcp gave me a trick to try, so I will try it.)
.
The other thing is, I am at a level of stress I personally find untenable. I am not wading through any major personal tragedy at this moment, so honestly I feel kinda like. Damn. Why is ~everything so hard~? Am I being dramatic? What happens when shit truly hits the fan if I am already unstable now? Well, I clearly need to put some measures in place now so I can tread water.
Such as:
Establishing a baseline level of cleanliness/clutter for the apartment. Aim for everything to be above that baseline most of the time, but understand sometimes it will sink to that level when something else must be prioritized above household chores for a minute. In its current state, I'm embarrassed to invite anyone over here. I want the baseline to be just, what I could deal with someone seeing. If I don't feel comfy having someone sit at my kitchen table or couch for an afternoon, it's too messy. I need to specifically write down the "acceptable level", get it up to that, and keep it there/above. This could also be a conversation with my wife and roommate to be clear on what everyone defines as acceptable and all work to keep it at whoever's ideal is highest.
Buying some wardrobe staples. My clothes not fitting is uncomfortable. I expect to gain more weight as I stay on T, sooo I should get some stuff that's a little loose now?
I've noticed I need more gender validation. I get misgendered constantly, working two public facing jobs, and I've started thinking some self depreciating thoughts. Maybe I need to work harder to counter these things within myself and not seek it from others, but yeah, this is one reason I need therapy. I had such a positive self image like a year ago and I'm losing it :/
Challenge my social anxiety. Another thing it's a good idea to have a therapist's guidance in. I feel so overwhelmed that I forget quality time with friends helps me recharge! I need to balance draining peopleing with healthy peopleing.
There's more, but if I can do this much, the stressors I cannot change should be easier to bear. Now to actually go set all the things in motion.
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thatonefatgumsimp · 1 year ago
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so...I may or may not have gotten bored and made a whole incorrect quote tiktok feud between my au young millenial Enji and young gen z Hizashi...
Context: the responses are them stitching back and forth and replying to each other's tiktoks
Enji: "Anyone else hate how gen z is always going around claiming things as their own like the spoiled little brats they are? Oh we invented the cha cha slide, we invented twerking, we invented the cotton eyed joe- bitch no you didn't? We created all those things, those are ours."
Hizashi: "Anyone else hate how millennials are going around trying to steal a platform that isn't theirs cuz their mommy and daddy never gave them attention?"
Enji: "See you say that, but then all of you wear those stupid-ass sunglasses, mom jeans that make you look like a middle aged mother, and a middle part that emphasizes just how little you wash your hair."
Hizashi: "Says the one who went around wearing low rise skinny jeans, thongs, and those wack-ass side parts. Like bestie, get with the vibe. That's so last decade. Also do you not see how fluffy my hair is? I literally washed it yesterday. The audacity."
Enji: "Wig. No one cares. And at least I don't blame shit personality traits on my zodiac sign."
Hizashi: "Well at least I don't blame shit personality traits on my Hogwarts house and think drinking everyday is a personality trait. Literally go to double A, boomer. Low-key."
Enji: "At least we don't romanticize revolution, burning down the government, dying in protests, killing cops, and only shave once in a century, you literal fetus."
Hizashi: "I'm sorry, I don't remember last century…tell us, grandpa, what was the first world war like? Do you still have memorabilia from then like the original black and white gameboy and first edition Pokémon red?"
Enji: "See you think you're all that and a bag of chips, but you're not. Please finish puberty before you try to sit at the adult's table, kiddo."
Hizashi: "Literally what are you even saying? Speaking gibberish animal crossing lookin ass. "wig", "all that and a bag of chips" like what does that even mean, you fuckin dinosaur?"
Enji: "Your generation acts like you know nihilism, but you've literally only lived a decade and a half. Think before you continue speaking."
Hizashi: "Sorry, you're right. I'll just shut up until I've lived a century like you. Like damn you just like complaining, huh, Karen? I suggest you take several seats. And fix your hair while you're at it."
Enji: "Well you and your entire generation can suck it. You can't tell me what to wear or how to act. I've been rocking this side part since you had Kermit on your underwear."
Hizashi: sitting in a chair in his room with his real glasses on, midway down the bridge of his nose and a pen and notepad in hand "Mmhm…and does that make you feel better and more mature that you're going online emotionally dropkicking children? Does it give BDE? Cuz I'm gonna be honest, it's giving compensation for me…would you like to talk about it?"
Enji: "Ironic that you're acting like a therapist for me when your generation is literally the most depressed generation. mockingly Would you like a cookie?"
Hizashi: "Mmmmh no thanks, my parents taught me to never take candy from strangers…they also taught me how to have basic manners unlike you apparently."
Enji: "Well at least my generation isn't the bunch of dumbasses that's trying to cancel Eminem. That's cute that you even think you can do that. He was around before any of you were even born. What? Are you just mad that he was an actual lyricist unlike your modern mumble-rappers? In fact, I think you're the one that needs to take a chill pill. He was spitting bars before you could even talk."
Hizashi: "Mmh mmh, see- that's not even what we were talking about, don't go off topic Mr. "my generation has no idea how to use emojis correctly"."
Enji: "I can't even with you, child. You're testing my patience. We invented and used emojis first. Try again, Little Tyke. And honestly? Kindly stfu. No one asked you for your opinion anyways."
Hizashi: "Woahhhh calm down, Jamal, don't pull out the 9. And patience? Honey, what patience. It's giving chronically online. Go touch grass."
Enji: "At least I'm not an idiot who calls yoga pants flared leggings."
Hizashi: "Well at least we don't pay an ungodly amount for overpriced avocado toast or call our pets fur babies, idiot. Mic. Dropped. Get dunked on, boomer."
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ittakesrain · 2 years ago
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I walked into my therapists office with puffy eyes and a swollen face— for the second time in a row. She was, well, concerned. I worry she thinks I wasn’t taking my health issues seriously. Maybe I wasn’t. In my view it’s just that nothing is ever simple or easy or goes the way it should and I’m fed up with it. Yes yes, woe is me. And like, YES give me ALL THE SYMPATHY cause this shit sucks dick. But also, I do have the awareness to know being negative isn’t going to help, and ultimately help (and feeling better at long last) is all I want.
We settled into the appointment and suddenly I had a list of things to do. Read: I was suddenly overwhelmed. Even though I knew I had to do all that nonsense regardless. I wound up asking Gail if I could call my rheumatologist during our session, which I did, and when I started babbling about how I needed an appointment soon, she swooped in and spoke… not “aggressively” by any means, but god damn she sounded like she knew what the fuck she was talking about (which she always does, she’s amazing).
Bam, I had an appointment half an hour later. It was gently suggested to me to call my mom to ask if she would accompany me to said appt. Which she did wind up doing.
Meanwhile, I’m obviously coming to terms with the fact that I need even more help than I’d previously assumed… coming to accept the fact that my issues are disabling. I’m disabled. In more ways than one, mind you, but anyway.
It hasn’t been too difficult admitting I suck at this fuckery and need my hand held through these processes. I am well aware of reality. I ask for help (though clearly not frequently enough) and receive the help without much thought. I mean, whatever. I have it harder than most fucking people why should I get more assistance.
The rheumatologist appt went well in that she took me seriously and sad the extent of the issue with her own eyeballs and acknowledged how difficult these last 3 years have been for me in terms of autoimmune issues. She said I need to see an allergist and to get a biopsy of some spots from my dermatologist, as well we get some blood work. And she gave me a steroid (alarms rang out in my skull because fun fact steroids make my lithium levels drop in ways noticeable through my moods & I’ve tested this theory more than a few times).
So I leave, get a well-deserved coffee. Check in with my therapist. She points out that I need to get blood work before going on steroids (and that I’m in charge of my own needs). So I make that appointment for an hour later (and ponder THAT concept, holy ShiT). Go straight there. In and out pretty quick. Then make a regular doctor appointment. Then text my psychiatrist about potentially upping my lithium for a bit.
I looked up what it actually means to “advocate for myself,” and tell me I’m not the only one who couldn’t conceptualize this cluster of words when said to me.
It apparently means: you’re able to recognize your worth and assume the responsibility of clearly communicating your needs, goals, and desires to others.
I’d add that it’s seeing reciprocal results. As opposed to giving your effort to no avail. From there I’d say it’s communicating the “right” way (“clearly,” I GUESs). In MY opinion communication is subjective and dynamic and personal— thus, never “wrong.”
But boyyyyy howdy it looks like in this case I’ve been doing it WRONG.
My doctors appt was fine. He was thorough and seemed confident that there’s help out there. More blood work. A referral. Blah blah.
Today I called the allergist. There was the usual bullshit. The one my doctor sent me in my does food allergies. They gave me another number. Didn’t take my shitty insurance. A few phone calls later and I found one. Perfect. I need a referral from my doctor so I call them and they can’t figure out how to refer me…??????
And here we are able square one. I called the allergist back. They took a message. So now what. I’ve hit a wall and while my mom or Gail could definitely break through it, alas I cannot.
So now I’m not only in a BIT OF A PICKLE medically… but I feel stupid. No one’s making me feel this way. Anyone who’s told me to take charge simply loves me and wants me better. I’m just… fed up with how nothing is ever simple or easy or goes the way it should.
Yes it’s okay to need help. No I’m not a burden for needing help. But when I think of little baby-teenage Laura with -so much potential- and realize she grew up into THIS CRAZY CRIPPLED MESS ..I have emotions about it. I don’t want to let myself down and quite frankly I don’t even really know the criteria for doing that. So I’m left confused.
Why doesn’t crying defeated in a corner count as advocating for myself. Why must I grovel for things to Fucking Work Out.
Anyway, it’s been many years since I’ve let myself end a written ramble negatively. Gotta wrap this shit up in a shiny bow. Fake it til you make it? Whatever lol
It’s gonna be okay. I’m quite literally surrounded by love and support. I am happy. Magic is real. The universe is expanding. Miracles happen every day.
Wow I’m finding it suspiciously easy to say positive crap, so I’m gonna end there.
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shoggoth-the-bitch · 9 months ago
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Scavengers
I have 10 episodes left, have wasted my whole day, and have work in 7 hours. Let's do this.
Who is this? What's happin-
Oh? "Private contemplation" you say? You suddenly have my full attention. Hold on, I have to check something on Ao3...
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I'm disappointed in this fandom. Oh well, let me just...
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Alright, where was I?
"The tunnels do have a tendency to echo." Oh my god! How many times did it come up do you wonder?!
Wait! They said they have a cult or something? Is this them?
"First name basis with the profits..." I'm sorry, they're profits?! That's hilarious, actually! Also, Jon being a smartass here is actually really funny to me.
They can sleep here. That would make me so happy.
Wait? Okay, I've seen some stuff for TMAGP (spoilers) and I know Celia apparently comes back in that series and she's the girl who talked to Martin in episode 100. The one with the bad ghost story and who he gave money for coffee. I'm sure it will come up later in the episode but honestly an A+ choice on the writer's part.
Oh, maybe you shouldn't tell them this part?!
Oh? They know each other? From therapy? Can't imagine she has the best mental image of Jon then?
Yeah, was wondering when the- Oh god the tape recorders refuse to be told no today... Stop acting like this is Jon's fault!
I was gonna make a quip of "Only seven people, you didn't even get one from each fear?" but apparently they lost a bunch of people and that is very sad actually.
The implication that the tape recorders seem to like Martin is interesting. It reminds me of Jon saying that the Eye is fond of him a few episodes back. I can't help but wonder if that's because the Eye finds him particularly interesting or capable or if it more because Jon loves him and thus the Eye kind of loves him too?
I'm not sure why but the concept of something eldritch and vastly beyond human comprehension being fascinated and possibly in love with a human is actually kind of scary to me in a way. Like, I made a post forever ago about fan translation of Uzumaki, where the characters said something to the effect of "It's like the Spiral is in love with you." and that had fundamentally changed the story and it perspective for me at the time. Because something that thrives on fear and chaos simply can not express love in a way that's human or even really safe to interact with. Case in point, Jon is one of the Eye's favorite humans and look at everything it's put him through so far.
This is all to say, if that is the direction that the story is going and the Eye is actually in love with Martin to come extent then all I can really think is "Oh god no."
Anyway, unpause.
Yes, thank you! Stop being blaming Jon for this shit!
A convenient fear that's a never ending supermarket? What fear would that even be? Like, I've worked in customer service so I guess that would be a constant and unending nightmare for me to have to go back to but interesting that it might have been enough of an issue for it to have it's own place at the end of the world.
Wait, yeah, where is the Admiral! He's just hanging out in a Hunt domain, I thought those were just memes! I'm actually really sad about that!
More of the tape recorders following Martin then... Okay, Melanie, you don't gotta be mean... Melanie, you were always this way...
Your therapist thinks your the chosen one. Weird...
Ah, that's cute...
"One of the profits chosen to walk the end time unscathed," and "the anti-christ's plus one." Aren't you two just a pair?
Yes, fantastic question! How?!
A Spiral maze? Of course a therapist would fear madness.
Gosh, that's awful! So they just explained the fears to these people and they took it in a religious way. Oh, I hate the thought of that actually! Like, what happens if you start to worship after the fact? Can you become a chosen of the fears after they've already won, I wonder?
Melanie, you lied to them, I'm guessing? Damn, okay. I'm guessing it gave them at least a little hope? That's good I guess? Yeah, this doesn't seem great.
Oh, Melanie, you are tragically sweet. Martin, you are also tragically sweet. I wish you both the best.
Okay, this is a hard conversion... Daisy, I miss you still. Basira too!
"Careful of Helen." She says. You don't say hon? Yeah, don't worry about that actually.
Yeah, I liked her too... Okay, Martin you can't just drop "Jon killed her" like that on someone and give literally no warning. Pace yourself bud!
I would argue that- I am very curious who Aaron is?
Uh? This person sounded a lot like Helen for a second and I almost went "Oh god no!"
Fair enough...
Hello Aaron? I don't know if I like you but okay... Sorry, hon, no gods of hope.
"What do you know about poetry?" Well he is dating a poet... "Nightmare Strider." That's a fun title-
"I do not want a poem." Damn Jon. Why is everyone in this hellscape either tragic or just mean?
Jesus Jon, you're becoming way more of a dick?
There was a lot to take in from that episode. Like, wow. Melanie and Georgie are profits, Jon is a prickly disaster, me wondering if the Eye is overly obsessed with Martin or if I'm just interpreting the series wrong, I have another new fic to read, just wow...
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lrhwy 12 reaction (not live cause i wait way too long to make this its growing cheese already)
Simon groaned and threw his hands in the air. “Jace is forcing me to join the gym. I hate the gym. Gyms should be banned, they are a crime against humanity.”
simon is SO ME i dont wanna get fit i just wanna lay down and dream about dragon magnus everyday why is that not allowed
“The trick is to not engage with Jace. Leave his messages on seen.”
my noisy ass can never im obliged to check everything
Alec left the gym and reached the loft, a little angry at everything in the world. He did not even pet the cat that was trying to reach him on the streets.
that how you know it his joker moment
He knew addiction was difficult—no, not just difficult, he knew it was earth-shattering and destructive for people who were going through it, but Alec could never get it.
well i think that the common things about addiction (and in general other tough things people go through that you have no experience of) you can only help them and be with them, the journey have to be made by them
One of them had brown hair and black eyes. He was wearing an ugly jacket with cargo pants.
#stopclotheshaming
He whispered in the man’s ears, “I don’t think she was very impressed.”
this can come up pretty flirty idk idk dont ask me idk
The woman thanked him and gave him her number, and Alec pretended to care about it.
cant believe alec gay ass willingly flirt with a woman just to get punched, nothing going on in there
“Why don’t you meet us outside, pretty boy, and we will show you who is the real man?”
pretty idiotic boy
But knowing about a problem and actually doing something about that problem were two different things.
me looking at all my abandoned wip
“I just got caught in some stupid fight. It was nothing.” Magnus knew Alec was lying, but he did not call him out on that; he just brought Alec’s hands to his mouth and kissed them softly.
this my shit right here right fucking hereeeee
the middle is just too painful i cant talk about my therapist cant talk about it my doctor advise me my superpower mutant gene wouldnt develop if i start about it so i wouldnt talk about it you gotta believe me. also the way malec stay away from each other is like me staying away from sugar near bedtime, we love each other but we will only bring misery in that time like right person wrong wrong time
Magnus, would you like to try a long-distance relationship with someone who you are not even in a relationship with?
it the start of rom-com, sometime u gotta believe
“And?” He repeated his question.
“For myself. I didn’t like how I was before, so I’m doing this for myself too.” Magnus breathed.
i love these part time idiots so much they just understand each other!
“I think more people should be allowed to be sugar babies. It’s 2022. Normalise golddigging.”
damn if only somebody write a sugar baby alec au if only hahahhahaha (pls write hello pls it too little fic for comfort i need more comfort)
They had texted here and there, but it had mostly been photos of Arrow and Chairman being whiny and sad without each other. 
even their pets are now co-dependent
Ezra was whispering something and chuckling into Alec’s ears, and it irked Magnus.
hiadt au but 10x time this energy maybe ?????????!?!!
Before anything further could happen, Alec burst into laughter. He took out a twenty-dollar bill and passed it to the woman.
part of alec's appeal is he both baby and a bitch, it science
When did Alec start doing the fist bump?
there nothing more brozone than a fist bump sit your jealous ass down
Magnus had a perfectly good shoulder for Alec to hide his face in if he wanted to, thank you very much.
what if erza shoulder are broader, what then
Magnus felt something constricting in his stomach. Like a tight knot.
magnus so hit different target exclusive i picture you with other girls in love and throw up on the street right now
Something akin to pain flashed in his eyes, and Magnus felt like he was missing something.
oh no oh NAH
He rushed back inside and came back with a weighted blanket. Magnus went behind Alec and wrapped the blanket around his shoulders.
casual domesticity why are you doing this to me you know how i feel about this
Alec shrugged. “One should know about their enemy.”
he so me coded first the virgo now the spider and the planning, i would never risk it all for anyone tho
“I loved you incredibly much. But I didn’t propose to you out of love that night. I did it out of need. Out of desperation.” Magnus said, his voice shaky. “It could have been anyone else in the world, and I would have done the same thing.”
my therapist is adding this into the reference page for analyzing me
That was 99.036% less than how much time Alec wanted to spend with Magnus.
if a man make you do math, dump his ass but i guess alec already has
Magnus took a deep breath. “These thighs are government property, you need to take better care of them.”
then dont magnus have to pay fees for touching goverment property, it good business @ alec dm me you need sugar baby coaching
He was so fucking wrong because it only felt like the Alec Lightwood-shaped hole, which was already pretty fucking big in his body, had increased exponentially.
so you filled his hole and he left an even bigger hold on you for the record i not sleep enough
“Ask me.”
Alec’s face contorted in pain. “I can't.”
it like chess game when nobody move first so the chess board just sitting there colleting dust
‘part appeal of alec is that he’s both baby and bitch’- I NEED THESE WORDS TATTOOED ON MY FOREARMS LORD PLS THANKS. Also casual domesticity when you’re not even together is the real shit sjsjs and you are welcome.
Alec flirting with Zara to get Magnus’s no + Magnus flirting with a woman at a club to get his ass beat. Magnus Bane truly out here ruining my gay little baby shhssjsj
your reactions are superior and nonsensically the funniest shit like always.
P.S. you will definitely get the hiadt x10 times this energy lmao.
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stxrvel · 2 years ago
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the 5 stages of (my) life
summary: he was everything. there was no before or after him. it was just him.
pairing: bucky barnes x f!reader
words: i think 7k?
warnings: thoughts of loneliness, depersonalisation, mention of depressive symptoms, a lot of bad words at some point, implicit descriptions of sex. i wrote this to be pure angst, idk if i got it, we'll see, you'll tell me.
note: i was watching Grey's Anatomy today and a specific episode about a couple inspired me to write this. it's too inspired by that so thank you Grey's! i don't know if i got the angst i wanted, i hope i did. i actually wrote this just with suffering on my mind. anyway, hope yall like it!! (English is not my first language so sorry for any mistakes!) also, I uploaded this at half past one in the morning so I didn't have time to edit the quotation marks, but tomorrow night I'll make the text look much nicer!
thank u for reading!
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You never thought things would go this far.
"I'm not going to stand here and watch you risk your life because you're incapable of expressing your feelings. I'm not worth being put through this."
"You're talking about my fucking life! Why do you want to take control of all the shit I do now? Fuck you."
"I can't believe how fucking insane you've become."
You never thought things would get worse like this.
"I gave up a lot of things for you and you know it!"
"You make it sound like I forced you to. I never asked you to give up your life for me!"
"Exactly, that's the damn problem! You've never asked me to do anything, you've never asked me to do anything, I've just done all this stuff on my own trying to cope with a relationship that's become… one-sided!"
You had heard for a long time how a great many people had said that their best relationships had started with a flame. You couldn't count on the fingers of your hands the number of times you've heard someone say that the best relationship is the one that is always alive, where they keep the flame burning.
But what if it's not a flame? What if it all started with a fire?
You'd heard a lot of things about love, about life, about attachment, but you'd never really experienced it, and you couldn't know how, with the lifestyle you led, your reactions would be when you finally had one. Although, honestly, you didn't expect to ever have one after so many disappointments and abandonments; however, there was one thing that was common about love, that you had heard everyone say: it comes when you least expect it.
But the moment came and, after that event, you considered that your life had only five stages. Only five truly remarkable things that had brought you to the eternal extreme of misery. There was nothing before, there was nothing after. There was only him.
1
You had seen that man, by far, about seven times in the last month. He had a stern look on his face, as if he was in a constant staring match with someone inside his head, or as if he was someone completely drained of emotion, who had lived and felt too much and was tired of it.
Or maybe he was just unfriendly.
Every time you went to therapy, within the last four weeks, you met that man.
The two of you always waited, sitting across from each other in the narrow hallway, trying fiercely to avoid each other's gazes. Or well, you tried not to meet his too much, sometimes it really felt too heavy. Then he would be called first and, more often than not, he would come striding out with his hands clasped. If his vibe was too strong for the session, your therapist never tried to point it out. When he left, the doctor would appear behind him with her typical half-smile calling you by your last name, even though you had asked her not to do so several times.
The other times, which were not so common, the man actually took the time to look serene. You even thought you saw him give you a nod in greeting once, but you couldn't be completely sure of that.
You had never spoken to each other, you were just two strangers who happened to be in the same place at the same time of day at certain times of the week. Still, sometimes, when his eyes met yours, you felt like you were looking into a mirror.
Anyway, you had never spoken to each other, until one day you decided to change that, just because what was the worst that could happen?
"After a while it feels like you have no reason to come, don't you think?"
The man turned his head, and it was the first time he saw you out of volition. His clear eyes moved in an almost imperceptible way, analysing something about you, your face, your clothes, your posture. He looked like a predator ready to strike, but he didn't count on you being a very, very chill gazelle.
"I don't know if you can relate, but it's been really hard for me to come these last few times. I think my only motivation is to come here to have a battle with you of who can go the longest without seeing the other for 30 minutes even though our feet are almost touching?"
You thought you heard a snort in response. Mmm, it wasn't much, but worse was nothing.
"You could just not come," he replied, more crudely than you expected, actually surprising you because you didn't expect him to even pay attention to you.
"Yes, I could," you agreed with him, your gaze drifting to the white tiles, "Anyway, I don't have someone who really cares that I'm okay."
You twisted your lips in a very conformist gesture, and dismissed your attempt at conversation as a failure. Indeed, what was the worst that could happen? That the man would think you were pitiful. But what does it matter? He is a stranger. He's the only person you see regularly besides your therapist. Why should you care that the conversation didn't work? You shouldn't expect the opposite. At some point he'll stop going, he can't be as bad as you. When you least expect it, it will just be you in that narrow hallway again.
"Therapy can be very counterproductive for people who are alone."
You looked up when the man spoke again. You didn't know if you were seeing wrong, but his gaze wasn't as hard as before. He seemed… sympathetic.
"If it makes you feel any better, you're not alone when we wait in this hallway."
You didn't answer him. You watched him as if he were a fly swatted on a wall. You didn't know what to say. What was that supposed to be? Words of support? From a stranger? And what was supposed to be a response to them? That man had flipped the table on you, catching you off guard, and that didn't make you feel very good.
You watched him even after a while in silence, when he had already looked away, his head was down and he had focused on other things. You didn't know what your scrutiny was about; you didn't know whether you were looking for a lie or a mockery, a truth or a ruse. You didn't even know what it was all about. But what does it matter anyway? He's a stranger. He's a stranger sharing that narrow corridor with you. A stranger. A stranger who gave you a few words of support. A stranger. It's a stranger. He is a person.
You shook your head, suddenly regaining your composure. You ran your hands over the fabric of your trousers several times, up and down, down and up. Constantly. About ten times.
You didn't know if it was just you, but you felt suddenly obfuscated in that corridor. As if the walls had invisible hands closing around your throat.
You didn't really know much. You only knew that after the doctor called the man, James, you would never again take the liberty of speaking to strangers as if they were acquaintances, especially those in therapy.
But your mind went blank when James stood up and, before he left, looked at you as if it was something he had planned to do. As if he really wanted to do it. As if he had intended to…
No.
No more.
2
It didn't work.
Of course, it goes without saying that it didn't work.
How could it work? You saw him at least twice a week. And you were weak. Too weak. Too weak. Extremely and potentially vulnerable to suddenly hitting people who gave you a little affection and understanding. You were vulnerable to hitting people. You were vulnerable to ending up in therapy. You were vulnerable.
So what didn't work? Trying to limit your conversations with James to looks. Over the next three weeks, he seemed to have made it his mission to try to keep you company. Did he have any idea how uncomfortable that was for you? But you weren't going to tell him, how could you? Apparently the man wasn't a grumpy, mean looks machine, he was definitely a person who was getting some therapy. He was a person who understood your situation because he had to go through it himself. He was a person. He was a stranger.
Mostly, at that moment, you remembered the conversation that had led you to be in that coffee shop. It was strange. You felt alien to yourself, to your surroundings, but you tried to keep your mind enlightened so you wouldn't freak out.
"You look different."
"We saw each other three days ago."
James twisted his lips. "That's no excuse for not noticing that you look different."
You took a deep breath.
"You really made it your business to talk about something every time we see each other. Did you get tired of me beating you in the staring duels?"
"I'm just trying to get you back in therapy."
"By harassing me with questions?"
"By turning me into a person who cares."
You frowned. The constant knot in your chest was starting to become more and more unbearable. You felt the food from that morning in your throat.
"You'll get the opposite."
James pursed his lips and held up his hands.
"Hey, are you doing anything on Saturday?"
That had been the first time. Yes. Completely out of the loop, somehow you'd agreed the first time. And maybe it wasn't as bad as you'd hoped. Or maybe it was. You had no idea. Just as you had no idea how you had ended up in the same situation for the fifth time.
Fifth time? My goodness.
"You're particularly quiet today," James' face suddenly materialised in front of you.
At what fucking point had he arrived?
"I'm always quiet."
"Not as quiet as today. Are you okay?"
"What are we doing?" you blurted out suddenly. You didn't even process the words in your head until you saw the man's face contort in confusion.
"What are we doing?" James repeated your question, "We're having coffee in a coffee shop."
"You're a top notch clown, you know that?"
The man let out a laugh, and you watched his shoulders move in time with his breaths.
"We're just sharing time. Don't freak out."
"Sharing time?"
"Yes, sharing time."
"I don't think I've shared time with someone in a long time."
"That's not bad. It's good to share time with yourself."
You twisted your lips. You stared at the bubbles in your coffee, still steaming on the table.
"I had to learn to share time with myself," you looked up to see him with his head cocked to one side, a gesture you had learned to associate with his absolute attention to your words. "You've shared time with yourself?"
James nodded.
"All the time, to tell you the truth. I can barely escape myself."
You smiled at him. The constant knot in his chest seemed to have subsided for now.
"I guess we both got to learn."
The man raised his glass of black coffee, tilting his head, "It's the hazards of the job."
Yes, that was definitely what it had to be about. The things that constantly occupied you outside of coffee shops and therapy. Of the things that occupied your head so that you didn't delve into your intrusive thoughts, even though sometimes they seemed to come alive and present themselves in the faces of the people you saw in your daily life.
Undoubtedly it must have been because of that night job. It wasn't a job you loved, it was a job you imposed on yourself to try to make yourself feel better at night when you were trying to sleep. It was a duty. It was a task you couldn't refuse. Too many people had already died for you to give up. You had nothing left.
Many people said it was the job of a vigilante; other people said it was the job of a criminal. In the end, what did it really matter as long as it left you with a clear conscience?
Your therapist knew, but you didn't know if James knew. If he was aware of it and preferred to overlook it to have coffee with you. Or if he knew and preferred to ignore it so as not to ruin things. Or if he knew and pretended he didn't so you wouldn't notice he was doing it all out of pity. Or if he didn't know.
Honestly, you didn't know which was worse.
Sometimes you thought things were better when you were just strangers in a narrow hallway. Sometimes you thought it would be better if you didn't have to make an emotional commitment to him, even though you knew you were already doing it; unconsciously you were doing it.
You had always believed that it was better to be alone. Not to have company. Not to share time with someone you could potentially lose. It was easier to get the job done when you got home and didn't have to answer a text or remember that there's someone waiting for you to text them that you got home safe and sound.
"Hey, don't overthink it."
James' voice broke your concentration. You focused your gaze on his face, suddenly feeling oblivious to the whole scenario.
"You don't have to give it a name, or even think about it. If you really, from the bottom of you, didn't want any kind of company, don't you think you wouldn't have come the first time I asked you?"
"Are you saying this is what I want?"
"I'm saying that you're a person who's used to being alone, but you don't have to be if you don't want to be."
"You're an enigma."
James smiled. "Thank you. I think the same about you."
But it was true what he'd said, you were thinking too much. One of the things your therapist kept telling you was to try to stop living in your head. Acknowledge your surroundings, feel every sensation and take in every possible smell.
It was difficult when the reason you wanted to be in your head all the time was the same reason that all your senses were perceiving at the same time.
But you tried. You felt the wood of the table and the warmth of the coffee cup, you took in the smell of caffeine and James's perfume, a little piney and citrusy, you savoured the coffee left in your mouth from the last time you took a sip. Slowly you tried to bring yourself back to that moment, to focus on your present and, sadly, to acknowledge that you were in a coffee shop with James Barnes.
It was something you constantly shied away from. To acknowledge that you spent time with him. With him. That he deliberately chose to spend his time with you. That you, intentionally, decided to spend your time with him. With the one who started out as a stranger. A person. A friend. A…
No.
3
It had been a while since you had decided to stop closing yourself off to all the possibilities life had to offer. Sometimes you didn't recognise how you got to that point, but other times you felt something close to pride for allowing yourself to go that far. And, really, it could have been one of the best or one of the worst decisions you had ever made in your life.
You spent weeks trying to deny James coming into your life, but the moment you opened the door to him, you had only gone up.
You didn't know you missed the company of a friend on sleepless nights and confessions. You didn't know you longed for the warmth of a lover until hours passed and you couldn't tear yourself away from each other. You didn't know you wasted time denying the feeling. You didn't know that you needed to take a few days off from the exhausting work you had set for yourself. You didn't even know that the work was exhausting.
When you were able to recognise all those things, you were also able to recognise that you had been living life on the edge. You were constantly exposed to everything before you met James. Exposed to danger, to death, to loneliness. You were living too fast because you felt you had no time, that at any moment you would run out of time and you wouldn't have done enough.
And then you finally decided to give yourself a break. From everything. Absolutely everything. Everything.
You moved in with James.
Yeah, definitely.
You took turns shopping. You took turns doing the dirty dishes. You took turns cleaning the flat. It felt like perfect harmony; like suddenly everything was in its place and it seemed like nothing could go wrong from that point on.
"Wait, wait!" you exclaimed with laughter. You moved your body off the bed, the peach-coloured sheet covering your body. You tried to stretch to reach for your mobile phone on the nightstand but James' hands around your waist prevented you from moving too much.
"You can answer that when we're done," the man purred, his hands straining, but not too hard, to pull you back onto the bed.
"Hold on a moment, James Barnes," you mumbled back, when you finally reached for the mobile phone and let out a triumphant laugh.
Vanessa Lennox, you read on the screen, as you felt James cling to your back.
"It's Vanessa," you told him as you unlocked the phone to check her messages.
"Vanessa texts you all the time."
"I know."
"All the time."
"That I know."
"These nights are supposed to be for us. She's not asking you out, is she?"
"No, no, she's…"
I'm in trouble. Can you come over?
"She's all right."
I can't, but I'll write to Tommy. He told me he was watching today, he must be near where you are.
"Are you sure?" you felt James' breath on the back of your neck, as his lips began to touch the most sensitive parts of your back.
"Yes…" you replied in a whisper. "She's going to be fine."
"Then stop turning your back on me," James spoke, his breath colliding against the small of your back. You arched unconsciously. "Look at me."
You inhaled air sharply, leaving the mobile phone locked to the side of the bed. You let James's hands guide your movements until you were trapped in his arms, his chest pressed against your back.
"You're bossy sometimes, has anyone ever told you that?"
"Only you, to be honest."
"Yeah, sure you have," you smiled incredulously.
You stirred until you could stand face to face with the man you shared a bed with every night. His light eyes quickly met yours, and his hands squeezed each side of your waist.
It was getting a little chilly. There were nights when you didn't know how you could stand to be so long without clothes under those sheets. It was easier for James, the weather didn't affect him as much as it did you at the moment. You shivered as a chill ran through your whole body, from the tips of your toes to the crown of your head. You pulled your body close to his, settling your head where his neck and shoulder met.
"Maybe the window is open," you heard him say.
"You know I always close the windows all over the flat before I go to bed."
"Okay, then we'd better figure out a way to get you warm."
As he finished speaking, the man moved, lowering himself from his position until his head was at the same level as yours. His eyes smiled at you as your teeth unconsciously flickered from the cold your body felt. His mouth also stretched into a smile, one of the many smiles you had learned to love. It was a very homely smile. The kind of smile that only you could see, that only you could see, that only you could see. It was a very domestic smile. It was the smile.
"Do you want me to get the other sheet?"
"No," you answered quickly. "I'm fine. We can proceed."
James let out a laugh. His eyes grew small from the flex of his cheeks as he laughed. You saw every flex and line of his face and it was like a balm to your mind.
It wasn't long before the man, in the midst of his smile and that feeling of ecstasy, brought his face close to yours and kissed you as if he hadn't kissed you in years.
Kissing James was like touching heaven. It was like being at peace after years of constant war. It was a great, vast, calm ocean. It was the absolute silence of tranquillity. It was like a great rest after years and years of travel. With his kisses you could begin to believe that you would never be alone again. With his kisses you didn't feel alone. With his kisses you believed it was possible to never be alone again. With his kisses you lost the fear of accepting him unconditionally in your life.
With his kisses, you lost the fear of loving him.
You loved the way he cradled the side of your face when he kissed you, every time, without fail. You loved the way he would start slow, soft, so tender, then fill you with passion and control your mouth without weariness or fatigue. You loved the way he then moved his hands all over your waist to the curve of your buttocks, as if he was admiring every millimetre of your skin through his touch. You loved the way he made love to you afterwards, sometimes so subtle and sometimes so out of control.
To have James was to have the best of everything at the same time.
"Are you getting up early tomorrow?" James asked as he pulled away from you. When you saw his eyes, his pupils were dilated and his breathing resembled yours: quickened and eager.
"No."
"Good."
He kissed you hard.
"Because you're not leaving this bed until Sunday."
4
James had begun to accept occasional missions that Fury gave him. You never agreed. No matter when or where they asked you, you would never have agreed to it. But clearly you couldn't just keep him in the flat until the idea was out of his head. You had thought about it a few times, but… no.
You tried to adjust to the fact that he wouldn't be around as much as before, but it was very difficult. It felt as if you had been given the most delicious candy in the whole world, left to treasure it, to savour it a little at a time, to get used to having it next to you, only to have it ripped away from you without warning, totally unprepared, leaving you to realise that everything was really out of your control. You didn't have the candy in your domain, you had been allowed to have the candy and then it was taken away from you.
"Try to concentrate," you heard Vanessa's voice.
You looked up to find her watching you from the roof of the building across the street. You felt a strong desire to rip the communicator from your ear and stomp it to dust with your boot. It was strange. It was a feeling of constant anger that you didn't know how to control. You were constantly angry except when James came to the flat.
"I'm focused."
"You better be," Tommy spoke up, "because my life depends on it."
"You shut your mouth and focus on not losing sight of the target."
"Vanessa, remind me why I agreed to do this."
"Because you're a great friend who supports absolutely everything we do."
Friend. At what point did you start to consider someone a friend? James was your friend. You thought you considered him that. Your partner. Your friend. James was your boyfriend.
"And you're totally unconditional to us."
A friend is unconditional. James is your friend. He's your partner. Friend. James is unconditional to you?
"I have to start working on my boundaries."
"No, our friend needs to start working on her temper. She doesn't get the required amount of sex a day and she's already starting to freak out."
You frowned.
"So you consider your friend's problems to boil down to sex alone?" you snapped at Vanessa, not avoiding the sour tone with which your words came out. You couldn't help but take it personally. Was that being an unconditional friend? Or being a friend?
"No," she replied quickly, "You know I didn't mean it that way. I was joking."
You hummed a nod, downplaying the words. Playing it all down. Because it didn't really matter, it was so silly to get angry about it. And it was very strange for you to get angry about it. You didn't even used to have relationships close enough to allow yourself to get angry about something they said about you. That was the big example of why you didn't do it.
"The target is moving. He's heading for the nest," Tommy spoke again, his serene tone bringing you back to the topic that was truly important. "Do you see him, Vanessa?"
"Got it."
"Good. Just move into the room towards… Wow, who's that? Who the hell's in there?"
"Damn," Vanessa mumbled.
"Wait a minute."
"We can't wait that long."
"I know," Tommy exclaimed, and from his exasperated tone you could imagine how he was running his hands through his hair repeatedly.
"What the hell do we do, Thomas?"
"I told you to wait!"
"We can't wait, dammit!"
"Wait."
"Thomas, I'm going to-"
"Hold on."
You peered through your binoculars. The large panes of glass surrounding the flat where the target was located didn't let you see much inside. The room the man was in was not as well lit, but you had gone in well prepared.
Finally you could see what the others were seeing. The man had entered the room he was supposed to enter, but there was another man in there with him. And, as far as you could see, they had made themselves comfortable. It didn't look like the other man was going to leave any time soon.
"Let's do it," you spoke, breaking the silence, giving voice to the only option they had that neither of the other two wanted to say.
"Are you insane?" Tommy exclaimed through his teeth.
"We don't have a choice. We declare it a red zone and end the mission."
"We don't even know who that man is," Vanessa interjected, her voice unsteady as she was unable to acknowledge that you were right, hesitating because you were running out of time.
"That's what the red zone is all about."
There was a moment of silence. You knew they were both considering it, the idea had been in their heads since the man entered the room, but their moral compass was much stronger than yours.
"He could be an innocent person," Tommy tried to justify not making that decision.
"How innocent can he be sitting there with the target?"
"And how do we know he's guilty?" Tommy exclaimed back.
"We're wasting more time discussing this," Vanessa spoke again, and you could breathe in her deep inhale before she said, "I think we should do it, Tommy."
The man cursed through his teeth.
You looked through the binoculars again, and both men were still inside the room.
You heard a beep on the communicator and then a steady static. Someone had changed the channel.
"I'm relieving myself as mission leader. You're in charge," it was Tommy.
"What?"
"I can't do this."
"Thomas…"
"I can't make this decision. Just… just do it."
You heard the beeping again and then it was Vanessa saying, "Thomas, what the hell are we going to do?"
"Vanessa, aim for the target," you ordered as you began to open the case next to you, just in case a situation like that arose.
"What?"
"This mission has been declared a red zone. We're going to proceed according to protocol."
The woman didn't speak again.
Nor did she say anything when you had climbed down from the rooftops and found yourselves in an alleyway in the middle of the buildings. You were waiting for Thomas, your guns already stowed in the van.
"He relieved himself," Vanessa spoke after a while, and though it sounded like she wanted to ask a question, it sounded like a statement.
"Yes."
Vanessa shook her head in an affirmative gesture. She didn't say anything else. She leaned against the concrete wall with a blank stare.
Your mobile phone rang inside the van.
"Is that Thomas?" your companion asked.
You moved closer to look at the device's screen.
James.
"No."
You took the mobile phone and moved away from the woman's figure, further down the alley. Your heart was racing, it was out of control. You had been waiting for that call for days. You had spent sleepless nights waiting for one measly message. You had taken hundreds of missions just so you wouldn't have to endure sleeping in a bed alone. You felt like your body had been frozen until that moment, until that call, and finally….
"James? Are you here yet?"
A woman called your name on the other end of the line.
"Bucky arrived a couple of hours ago."
Your feet stopped walking.
"And the mission went well?"
Silence.
A beeping and constant muttering was all that answered you on the line.
"Is James okay?"
"He's stable. He suffered some injuries. We lost communication with him in the last few days and we thought that…"
You couldn't quite remember when you had arrived at the old Avengers Complex. Your body moved automatically and your vision was so blurred that you had no idea how you could get through the crowd without bumping into someone. It was all very strange. You spent months convincing yourself that it would never happen again. Ever since James accepted those damn missions, you spent weeks trying to convince yourself that nothing would ever go wrong. That his kisses would always be there. His reunion kisses were the best, they were a wellspring of calm that washed away all the anxiety that consumed you alive during the days when you couldn't hear from him.
You had already made up your mind that it would never happen again. He promised you that it wouldn't happen, that you wouldn't have to relive that heartbreaking feeling one more time.
And he broke it.
You wanted to be relieved to see him. You wanted to be happy to know he was alive. Bruised, but alive. You wanted to hold him, to stay with him and never let him go again. But you just stood there in front of his stretcher. And he didn't try to make you come closer either. He saw it in your eyes, you knew it. He knew it.
Seeing him on that gurney made you angry. It aroused your anger that this man had broken the promise he sealed with so many kisses. You felt so much disappointment that your chest had become a bottomless void of a feeling of impersonality. You didn't want to be there. You didn't want to go through it. You preferred to think that you could overlook it. You should overlook it. Why didn't you overlook it? You could live in ignorance, pretend to be the perfect girlfriend. Everything could be easier for both of you, for you, if you just ignored all those feelings and took this situation as a normal person would.
But your knees gave way to your tears and crashed to the floor. From the corner of the room, you could see your body shake in uncontrollable weeping. You didn't know why it hurt so much, if he was alive. You didn't know the reason for the agonising pain, if he was there. And yet, your face contracted in incalculable pain. It was as if he had died on that stretcher. It was as if you had been called to come and acknowledge his corpse.
And you knew James knew, because he hadn't said anything since you arrived. He had done nothing but watch you.
There, from the corner of the room, you could see him crying with you.
He knew.
You knew it.
5
The mission was simple.
Infiltrate, seduce, accompany, lull, kill.
But simple doesn't always end easy.
Since James had returned to the flat, he had vowed never to go out on any mission again, under any circumstances. And, indeed, he was keeping that promise. He was spending as much time at home as before.
But you weren't.
Every time James tried to talk to you about that mission where he might have died, you went into a kind of shell where you shut yourself off from all communication and fled from that place to one where you felt more at ease. More in control.
You got so tired of running away that you decided to start investing that time in something that would actually pay off. You started accepting missions with Thomas more often than before.
You knew James was trying to understand you, he was trying as hard and as willing as he could. Sometimes you would arrive and there would be dinner for you in the fridge or in the microwave. Sometimes you'd see your clothes piled in a corner of the yard suddenly neatly folded and smelling decent. Sometimes you'd walk into the bedroom and find little presents on top of the nightstand, right next to your side of the bed.
You knew James was trying.
But you also knew he was getting tired.
Weeks passed since you first came in and he was waiting for you sitting on the couch. It was a very hectic night, with too many questions and not enough answers. Sometimes you arrived and the flat was lonely. Sometimes you arrived and there was no food. Sometimes you arrived and there was only screaming.
But it was easier that way. You'd already felt what it was like to almost lose him, you'd already experienced that overwhelming emotion that had been with you so much in the past, and you knew, beforehand, that if it happened with James, there was no way you'd get out of it alive, so it was easier this way.
So it was easier that way. He'd walk away on his own, you'd forget about him, and you wouldn't have to suffer if he ever died.
Die.
James would die one day.
But not a day when he was with you.
So yes, you did spend a lot of time away from home.
Maybe you really should have thought twice before deciding that this was the best option.
You knew you dreaded James' death, and the loneliness that followed his passing.
But you had no idea how panicked you would be at the thought of your own death, after meeting him.
Because you would forget him, and that would be fairly easy for you, but he wouldn't forget you. And he would suffer, much more than he was suffering since you didn't come home.
"What the hell happened?" you remembered hearing a voice.
You couldn't be too aware of your surroundings lately.
"It was a simple mission," you heard another male voice.
"It was supposed to go well. She was supposed to call us if things got complicated."
You remembered little of being in the hospital.
You remembered a lot of James sitting in an armchair next to your gurney.
You remembered a lot of his silence.
You also remembered when, some days, you were awakened by his cries and had to pretend to be asleep so as not to interfere with his suffering. Because, ever since that accident happened, ever since you could remember what happened after that, James had become wary of his feelings. He wasn't as expressive as he used to be. And you didn't have the slightest idea what to do.
You couldn't believe that before you could get to the point where you could tell how each other was doing just by listening to each other's breathing, and after that you couldn't even meet each other's eyes by accident.
You were two strangers again.
You were losing him. You knew it. Every day that you went without doing something, without talking to him, without showing a hint of remorse for what you'd done, was a day closer to being completely alone again.
And you didn't even show it, but it was painful. Seeing him shut down like that, seeing him lose the sparkle in his eyes when he looked at you, realising that he lost the will to try… knowing that you took away his will… it was all too much.
Really, you never thought things would get this bad.
"What are you doing?"
You didn't think they had gotten this bad, until one day you came to the flat and saw a suitcase in the room full of his clothes.
"I'm tired."
Those were the first words he'd spoken to you in days.
"And I don't have to put up with this anymore. So I'm leaving."
You knew it was going to happen, but for him to say it like that…
"You're leaving?"
James turned to look at you. His icy expression paralysed you.
"Are you still surprised?" he blurted out gruffly, and continued packing his clothes.
You just stood there in the doorframe, watching him move as fast as if he had a coal-fired engine in his chest. As if he couldn't wait for the moment when he could finally get out of there.
"Really…" he spoke suddenly, "You've really gone weeks, weeks, without speaking to me no matter how many times I've tried to talk to you, and you decide to do it now just because you're watching me leave? That's what I needed to do to get you to react?"
You didn't answer, you just watched him, your mind blank. He was angry. Irate, rather. And you knew he was absolutely right, but you couldn't do anything about it. You couldn't do anything about it because things were going your way. If James went away, if he went away hating you, he wouldn't suffer in the future when you died and you could forget him in peace. That was the best thing. The only good thing you could do for him: keep him away from you.
"Don't you think I deserve an explanation?"
Yes, you do.
"No."
"No?" he repeated incredulously. "I know I made a mistake. I made a mistake in accepting those missions. I told you, I did it countless times. And yet, all those countless times you chose to turn your back on me."
The man watched you, his eyes filled with pent-up emotions that he finally allowed to overflow.
"I tried to understand you. I really did. I gave you your space. I tried to do whatever you needed because I knew it was hard for you, but it was like… trying to water a cactus daily. Everything I did seemed to have the opposite effect."
You're right. You're absolutely right. I'm sorry, I was overcome with fear and panic. I got carried away. Please don't go.
"You didn't even give yourself a chance to listen to me. Not once. Do you have any idea how all that made me feel?"
Yes, you must have felt very lonely. Abandoned. Despised by me. It was my fault. I shouldn't have let it all go so far.
"Do you want me to call a taxi?"
Of all the things you longed to say, that was the only thing your mind allowed to come out of your mouth.
You saw him sketch the sternest look of disbelief you'd ever seen. But you also saw pain, extreme pain at the rejection of your words.
"Are you fucking kidding me? How can you be so cynical?" James exclaimed, his face contorted in anger and helplessness. You cringed a little at the shout but didn't move away from him as he came striding towards you in long strides. "Tell me, did you even care about me? At any point in this… relationship, was anything you gave me real?"
You half-opened your lips to answer, but could not formulate the sentences you knew would comfort his heart.
Yes, absolutely everything was real, all my love and suffering was real.
James walked away, and you didn't know if it was possible that his face could look even more downcast.
Your hands were shaking with helplessness. He was still there. You could still try to save him. Why didn't you? Why? Why? Why?
"How can you be so fucking expressionless? How can you not be in pain… for this? How?"
"You're going to be fine," the words escaped your mouth before your mind could process it.
The man turned to look at you.
"You really are…" he raised his hand and gripped it tightly, swallowing his words and turning back towards the wardrobe to start throwing his things into the suitcase.
Suddenly, he let out a scream. And then a cry.
"I swear, if you'd just tell me no, I'd stay."
He looked at you. His tear-filled eyes met yours and you knew that would be an image that would haunt you to death.
"I would stay… I really would, but… I still can't believe you are so foolish. The first thing you did when you left that hospital was to go back to another mission. How could you care so little about your life? How could you care any less that I care about your life?"
I care about my life even more since you're in it. Don't go.
"It's just work," is what you replied.
"No, no, no…" James hummed with laughter, but his face lacked grace. "I'm definitely not going to stand here just watching you risk your life because you're incapable of expressing your feelings. I'm not worth being put through this."
"It's my life, James."
"But you made me part of your life! I'm here! We're supposed to share our lives together. Why is it only about you now?"
"It's supposed to be my choices…"
"But why can't I be a part of them?" James exclaimed loudly. Your mind clouded over, and even though all you wanted to do was apologise from there until the end of time, you had too much pent up anger because of that very inability to say what you truly thought.
You're right, I am unable to express my feelings. I am sorry. Don't go away.
"You're talking about my fucking life! Why do you want to be in control of all the shit I do now? Fuck you!"
"I'm not trying to control anything, goddamn it! I just need to know…"
"No! You don't need to know anything. You don't need to know anything about me. We're here and you're packing your bag. You have no right to know anything."
James let out a snort.
"We're here and you still can't talk to me. I can't believe how bloody insane you've become."
"Just go."
Don't go.
"This is bullshit."
James finished throwing all of his clothes into the suitcase. You watched his every move, every flex of his body, every grimace on his face, every flick of his hair, how his fingers clutched at the things he took, how his scowl didn't lessen one bit. You watched and watched. It was all you could do.
You leaned against the doorframe and watched him take his anger and pain out on his clothes and his suitcase. It gave you a strange kind of feeling to see him like that, something that felt mildly familiar but you couldn't put a name to it. You wanted to turn things back. If you could turn back time you would, and every single thing that went wrong you would fix.
But would you really? Did the problem really go back to when things with James started to go wrong? The problem was you. You were the problem. You couldn't talk, you could only think, you could only repress, you could only suffer. Only you, you and you. Only you because you were alone, because you had always been alone and there was no reason to believe that could change. James lied to you, that was the reason he was leaving and you had no reason to stop him. He had to go. If he didn't want to go through that, he shouldn't have lied in the first place. If he didn't want to go through that, he shouldn't have asked you out in the first place. He shouldn't have met you. He shouldn't have spent time with you. You shouldn't have stopped him.
Stop him.
You should stop him.
James closed the suitcase.
"I did too much for this relationship. I gave up too much for both of us. I gave up everything I was for this relationship. I gave up too much for you and you know it!"
You narrowed your eyes and began to approach him in rapid strides. He towered over you by several inches, and there was a time when you loved that, but now you hated that he could see you that way. He had always seen you that way. So small…
"You say that as if I forced you. I never asked you to give up your life for me!"
"Exactly, that's the damn problem! You've never asked me to do anything, I've just done all this stuff on my own trying to cope with a relationship that's become… one-sided!"
You walked away.
"Just… leave now."
Please leave before I tie you to this flat and never let you leave again.
He wanted to say something else. You knew he wanted to say something else. It was obvious he hadn't said half the things he wanted to say. But he didn't.
He took his suitcase and left.
He really left.
He walked past you, not caring that the brush of his shoulder against yours almost made you fall. He passed you and walked straight to the exit, slamming the door hard on his way out.
He was gone. He was gone. He was finally gone. He was really gone.
Now you were alone. You were alone again. That's what you wanted, wasn't it? You'd done a lot of things in the last few months to make him go away, and he was finally gone… but then why weren't you satisfied?
Why did you want to run after him? Why did you want to go and kiss him? Why did you want to stop him and beg him to forgive you?
Who did he think he was to deserve that after what he had done?
But… what had he done?
No.
What had you done?
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fortuositywritings · 3 years ago
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Part 1 Wanda x Reader
Summary: You bump into Wanda Maximoff at a grocery store. Wouldn’t be a problem if either of you were anyone else but you two were no ordinary people.
You would think having the ability to take anyone’s power would be awesome. It’s not.
With a simple touch, you could take any person with special abilities’ special powers from them. You figured this out in grade school when you high-fived one of your friends for the first time. Suddenly you could see through walls. That same year, you figured out they could take those powers back. 
A few years later you found out they could only take those powers back if they wanted them. You tried giving someone their invisibility back but they would not have it. Now you are stuck with it. You are stuck with a few others too, like walking through walls and mimicking voices. Those you got from random strangers on the street. 
Obviously, you tried to give them back. You wouldn’t take what isn’t yours, but it was an impossible task. Finding a stranger you bumped into in New York is kind of hard. 
You’ve tried passing off powers to other people but it never worked. You could only return them to the person who gave them to you. To give them back, all you had to do was touch them again and they had to want the powers back. It was that simple. 
So when you bump into Wanda Maximoff at the grocery store, things get a little complicated. 
You’ve made a friend recently who turns out to be Sokovian. Seeing as his birthday is coming up, you thought it would be cool to cook him a traditional Sokovian meal. A few searches on Google and you print out a list of what you need. 
You leave to the nearest store that would have all you need. You check off your list, heading toward the aisle of spices. You finally find the one the recipe calls for and lucky for you, it’s the last one. You reach for it but you feel someone else’s hand touching yours, reaching for the same thing. 
“Oh, I’m sorry,” she says. You look at the woman who is standing really close to you for a stranger. She has intense green eyes, you notice. She pulls her hand away. 
“It’s alright,” you say. 
“Was that the last one?” she asks, awkwardly.
“It seems so,” you confirm. “But we can ask an employee if they have more somewhere?”
You flag down an employee two aisles down and ask. They shake their head and then tell you they won’t be getting more until next week. The woman with the green eyes sighs. 
“We can split it,” you suggest. “I don’t need the whole thing. At least I don’t think so? I just need it to make a Sokovian dish that calls for it. I probably won’t be using it for anything else.”
“I don’t know. Sokovian food is delicious if I may say so. You’ll get a taste and might regret sharing this with a stranger,” she teases. 
You smile and ask, “Oh, are you Sokovian?”
She nods and you add, “Well, then I insist on sharing it with you. Maybe you can actually give me a few tips on this recipe?”
“What are you making?” she asks you. You show her the recipe on your phone and she kindly shares some of her expertise which you’re grateful for. She follows you around the store making conversation as you grab the rest of what you need. Technically, you follow her around as she suggests you other stuff to add to the recipe. 
You add a mini mason jar to your cart. You both head to pay and outside pour some of the spice into your mason jar and give her the rest of the bottle. You thank her for all the help and wish her a great day. 
Wanda gets back to the tower in a positive mood. Everyone notices and asks her what happened. She replies that she just had a nice interaction with a stranger and it made her day. 
Though her day was made, the rest of her week was hell. She doesn’t know what is wrong with her. Her powers have been failing her. She doesn’t understand. At first she thinks it’s just the more difficult things she can’t do but then she notices how no one’s thoughts appear in her head. It’s quiet. She only hears her own. 
Something was definitely wrong.
You thought you were imagining things but after guessing what your friends’ were thinking for the umpteenth time, you knew you had taken someone else’s power. 
You don’t think it’s too bad at first. Only your friends’ heavy thoughts made their way into your head. Unfortunately, some of those thoughts you can never unhear again. 
The problem comes when you go to the library for the first time with this new power. The library is hell. It’s full of people who are just thinking loudly. See in public, there are people who are thinking loudly of course, but there are more people distracted and speaking without thinking, which you never thought you would be so grateful for. 
You don’t last in the library for very long. So libraries are on your list of places to avoid. Soon, movie theaters are also on that list and then so are museums. Any place where people are meant to be quiet is where it’s loudest in your head. 
You wish you knew who you touched to get these powers. You begin to think back at everyone the past few weeks that you might have had direct contact with. A hand you shook or an arm you bumped into. You’ve always been cautious about your surroundings so these things wouldn’t happen.
Everyone you greeted at your Sokovian friend’s party you’ve greeted before. No one was new there. The Sokovian at the store!
Damn it. You never got her name or anything. Maybe you’ll encounter her at the store again. The next few days, you spend hours at the same store. People begin to think you’re an employee and you almost feel like one, knowing exactly where everything is from spending so much time there. 
You’ve even made plans with one employee to go hangout. But no green eyed Sokovian makes an appearance. 
Three weeks you have this power when you find that not only can you read people’s thoughts, but you hold things without actually touching them. It happens when you drop something in the kitchen. You reach for it to catch it before it hits the floor but it’s nowhere near your grasp. However, it never hits the floor. 
You then notice a red mist-like substance coming from your hands floating in the direction of the object. You see that it’s holding it up. After that, you start practicing with random things around your apartment. You begin with lighter things, thinking you would only be able to hold weight that you could in your actual arms, but it is not so. 
You work your way up to lifting your car in the air and in that same moment you learn you could do multiple things like lifting your car and replacing the flat tire. 
Two months with these abilities and you feel you start getting the hang of it. You still can’t go to the library. You’ve tried again but the voices are too loud. You still go to the store where you met the woman that unintentionally gifted you these powers to try and return them. She seemed like a decent person and you don’t know what she used these powers for. Maybe she needs them.
You still have yet to find her. 
Wanda hasn’t been on a mission in three months. Instead, Bruce has been poking and prodding her with needles and running countless tests trying to figure out what happened with her powers. Three weeks ago she began to go to a therapist because Steve thought it might be a mental block of some sort that she had to work through.
Though therapy was doing wonders for her, they weren’t getting her anywhere near having her powers back. Bruce’s tests weren’t helpful either. She’s been stuck in the tower for three months and her days have never felt so repetitive until now- train, go to therapy, undergo tests. Rinse and repeat. 
The media had begun to notice as well. She turns to another TV channel where the news anchor asks “Where is Wanda Maximoff?” as if she’s disappeared from the face of the earth. In a way she has.
Fortunately for her, you are watching that same channel. You are cooking dinner and have the television channel on for background noise. You hear them talking about the Avengers. They’ve never been of much interest to you, although they should be seeing as though you live in the same city and something is always going down here because of that reason.
“For those who have been living under a rock,” the new anchor starts, “Wanda Maximoff is one of the newer additions to the Avengers.”
“She’s the one with the red magic, isn’t she?” the co-anchor asks. That grabs your attention. You turn to look at the screen. “That’s right. She joined about a year ago after the fall of Sokovia.”
That had to be a coincidence, right? 
“She hasn’t been reported to be on any missions the last three months,” the reporter continues. That definitely couldn’t be a coincidence, you think, counting back the time you’ve attained these powers. 
“Here is a clip of Maximoff using her magic to save diplomats at the embassy five months ago when…” You don’t hear the rest as you watch the clip play. 
It’s the green eyed Sokovian who helped you out at the market. Your suspicions about it being her who had these powers were correct. You just didn’t think you took powers from an Avenger. Someone who definitely needs these powers to do her job and save people like the clip shows. Shit.
You smell the food you’re cooking burning. 
“Shit!”
Wanda pounds her hand on the mat. Sweat clings onto her shirt. She’s tired and out of breath. 
“Again,” Nat commands. Wanda huffs and stands up, getting back into her fighting pose. She takes a swing that the Black Widow easily dodges. Not two moves later, she hits the mat again.
“Again,” Nat repeats.
“Natasha, give the kid a break,” Steve says, watching from the side. 
“It’s okay,” Wanda assures him.
Natasha explains, “If therapy and tests aren’t working, maybe self defense will.”
Steve seems doubtful but allows it. They really need Wanda to work through whatever is blocking her from using her powers. He winces seeing Wanda hit the mat.
“Again.”
“I’ve told you for the millionth time. My name is Y/N L/N and I need to speak to Wanda Maximoff. Or any of the Avengers, really. Or even one of their assistants or something. It’s vital,” you try helplessly. 
“Unless you have clearance, I can’t let you up,” the guy at the desk says to you for what feels like the hundredth time. You’ve been coming in the past few days trying to get someone to let you see Wanda. 
“Look, it’s really important. Can’t you, like, give her a message or something?” You’re desperate at this point. He laughs. 
“Ah, yes, let me just text her real quick. ‘hey Wanda. It’s that one guy you said hello to once downstairs. There’s some girl here that needs to talk to you’,” he acts out sarcastically, which you do not find amusing. 
“Listen, buddy. If you do me this favor and get your boss or whoever can give me clearance to see her, I promise she’ll be so grateful for you helping me get to her that she’ll come and thank you herself,” you vow. 
“I can’t help you, Miss. Now please go or I’ll have to call security,” he warns.
You rub your temple in frustration. “Fine. There’s no need for that...Michael,” you read his name. “I’m going.”
You turn around as if to head for the door but then do a 180 and sprint past a security guard who shouts at you to stop. You make your way for the elevators as the security guard runs after you. You press the button for the elevators but you notice they’re nowhere near the ground floor. 
The security catches up to you and in panic, you push him away with Wanda’s powers. He goes sliding across the floor and you bolt for the stairs.
You don’t even know which floor you would find Wanda in but you assume it would be somewhere up top. You begin your ascend. You reach the fourth floor and realize you should start using the StairMaster at the gym. You hear multiple security guards quickly making their way to you. You panic and walk through the wall, not knowing what was on the other side. 
You’re in some kind of engineering lab. You don’t think anyone saw you walk through the wall, so you try to act casual and stroll through the lab trying to find an exit. Then you hear someone call you. “Hey, you.”
You ignore them and act like you didn’t hear. They tell you to stop walking, loud enough that you can’t ignore it. You turn around to see a woman in a lab coat. She asks, “You’re not allowed on this floor. Who let you up here?”
“Oh, uh. Michael sent me,” you lie. “Sorry, I’m new. I must have gotten off on the wrong floor. Maybe you could help me find my way?”
“Where are you meant to be working?” she inquires and you’re stuck not knowing anything about the Stark Tower or Avengers Tower, whatever it’s called. 
“The lab,” you say. Your vague answer obviously creates another question. “What lab?”
“They haven’t told me yet? I’m not actually working in the labs. I’m doing more secretarial duties, taking notes and scheduling stuff.”
“For whom?” she asks, narrowing her eyes at you. You can feel her catching onto you and it’s the only reason why you try this.
“For the big guy, obviously,” you say and then focus really hard trying to read her mind, hoping that a name will pop up in her head. Did Bruce get an assistant? You smile. “Bruce.”
“Well then you are way off. He’s usually working on the 87th floor,” she tells you. 
“Well, thank god there’s an elevator,” you chuckle nervously, pointing behind you. “Well, I should get going before I’m any later. You turn around confidently but as you walk away she stops you once more. You think you got caught but she says, “Elevators are that way.”
She points to the opposite way you came from. You laugh to play off your mistake, “Duh. Sorry, the lab is so big. Thanks.”
You head the right way. You speed walk to the elevators and then jog when you hear a rougher voice telling you to stop. “She’s on the fourth floor.”
You assume they spoke into their walkie, and you know you don't have much time before they catch you. You think quickly. You can’t make your way to the elevator because then obviously they’ll just stop the elevators. You don’t want to walk through a wall; the dangers of that are extreme given this is Stark Tower. You could accidentally walk into an ongoing experiment. 
You had to hide. And suddenly, you had the perfect plan. 
The security guard runs to you. He thinks you’re running for the elevator but then you turn before you get there. He sees you dive behind some clunky machine, presumably to hide behind. You clearly never have won a game of hide and seek in your life, he thinks as he goes around the machine to catch you. 
He’s left utterly confused when you aren’t there. The only trace of you are your clothes down to underwear on the floor. Four other guards make it to the floor. One asks him, “Where is she?”
He doesn’t know how to answer. “She was right here. Search the floor. She’s hiding and I think she’s naked.”
They disperse taking your clothes with them. You let out a breath of relief at not getting caught but then mentally curse that they took your clothes. You still haven’t learned how to make other things invisible yet. You never really used this power. Maybe you should start practicing.
You hustle your naked ass to the elevators, feeling incredibly exposed even though you know no one can actually see you. You press the elevator button and wait impatiently. It dings and opens. 
“The elevators!” You hear one of the guards yell. Two run your way as you step into the car. You put all your energy into staying invisible. It would be really awkward if you were suddenly exposed. You hold your breath when one of them looks in the elevator. You keep yourself in the corner furthest away from them. In their eyes, there is no one in the elevator. 
“She’s not here.” They leave and the doors close. You click the button for the 87th floor.
____________________________________________________
This will probably have 3 parts. 
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apparentlyaswarmofbees · 4 years ago
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Hello I hope your doing well! I have a headcanon idea how would the brothers and previously undatebles react to a masseuse/masseur (people who give out professional massages)
Let's try this shall we~
Edit: I was informed by someone who is actually familiar with this field that the term Masseuse and Masseur can be seen as insulting in the profession, thank you for informing me again!
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The Boys and a Massage Professional/Therapist MC
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Warning: uncensored swearing, a lot of it asfkfkajshfkslajd
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Lucifer
Tense shoulders that could cut steel, harder than a fucking nokia phone from centuries to eons of stress, if I was a professional at massages I think I would be itching to grab onto those muscles of his like dough.
He will probably feel chills down his spine whenever you are around.
Won't take much convincing if the time is right to ask him to please let you release the pressure on him because dear fucking lord I wouldn't be able to just stand and watch either.
Good fucking luck in the process, when I say this man is stiff this man is STIFF.
He will be feeling so much better by the end of it there's a chance he will be slightly dazed.
Also it improved his mood which led to less harsh punishments, which now has led to more demands from others than from Lucifer himself for you to massage him.
I think you should start asking for payment at this point-
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Mammon
And talking about payment, you will definetelly need to ask it from this one because after the first time you gave it to him for free out of your own good will he started to come back for it all. the. time.
Okay, he's cute and the sounds he makes are so 👌. But damn boy this is not exactly so easy so please give something back??????
Well, you just need to say the word and he will always have something in ready to give you. A date at a place you have been wanting to go for a good while now or something you have had you eyes on for a good time.
It's a very win win kind of deal.
Though at some point when you massaged his legs he felt so light he ran faster than he could control and almost ran into a wall, actually no, he did ran into a wall there's a crack in there ouch-
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Leviathan
In which the cause of the second oldest running was probably to scape the demands for his money back from the third oldest, though Levi was definetelly too stunned by the lighting speed to react right away.
He now makes sonic jokes when refering to Mammon.
But going back to massages, this fucking snake has such a bad posture I would be in back pain just from watching him sit.
And don't expect it to be easy to fix that because everytime you touch him he just tenses up further.
I swear it would be easier to just knock him out and acupuncture him.
You will succeed at some point if you don't give up, and BOY he also makes some 👌😩 sounds.
They're a lot more dorkish and high pitched and he will definetelly not be functional by the end of it.
He will start trying to fix his posture from now on to not make your work go to waste.
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Satan
A curious cat that would just straight up ask for a session (not for free of course he already has something to give you back in ready) after witnessing the shenanigans above.
Not so stiff as Lucifer but still fucking hard, which is to be expected since he has so much rage bottled up.
Chances are he's turning into his demon form unconsciously.
It's a bit of an intimidating session not gonna lie, he is basically using it to relieve himself from part of his wrath so with every groan it feels like he's going to jump at you and rip you to shreds.
He won't of course, instead he will smile brightly by the end of the session and give you your reward for such a good job.
It's honestly worth it though you will probably be needing a massage yourself after-
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Asmodeus
And that's where pretty boy comes in! He doesn't have a professional tittle on him but he has centuries of experience so that's close right?
He will have all things ready, just say the word and he will give you the best payment for all your hard work ever: a chance to relax yourself.
And man he's good.
It's also not very tiring to massage him either, his smooth skin is addicting to touch, the atmosphere he will help set up will be perfect, and he also spills a lot of tea in between so that's a plus for entertainment.
Seriously whenever it becomes too much to be with the rest of the brothers just hit Asmo up and he's gotchu.
Private spa day comming right up.
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Beelzebub
He won't ask because it will completelly scape his mind.
He plays a lot of sports and does a lot of exercising so of course he has a lot of sore muscles.
And you can't tell me you wouldn't want to massage his belly, he's a glutton, it's literally asking for you to massage there.
Baby boy is always so gratefull, thanks to your aftercare on his legs, arms and torso, he has never felt lighter!
Which has led him to accidentally break some of the gym weights, win a sports game almost all on his own and make another restaurant suffer because he felt he could eat more than usual.
Although I would like to say you should proceed with the massages with caution, his smile is too precious to ever say no to.
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Belphegor
Easiest target ever, will probably sleep for 24 hours in one go right after.
And he won't wake up for shit.
Though once he wakes up after those 24 hours he will basically be wide awake for the next 24 hours, so honestly? This has turned out to be very useful in important ocasions.
Will often give out some whines in the middle of a session, possibly half asleep for the entire time.
I feel like he would feel quite ticklish in some places even though you wouldn't be purposelly trying to tickle him, probably.
And I know many of you love his laugh, so yeah that's a plus.
He will definetelly offer to massage you back, and yes he will be good at it, and no it's not because of experience, yes it's because he's too much of a genious and has basically learned through osmosis just from getting massages from you.
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Solomon
Let me tell ya, he's stiffer than you think.
Bad posture, centuries of responsabilities, strain from excessive use of magic and pacts and the weight of existence when you are both immortal and unable to die.
He could easily rival Lucifer and he won't even realize it.
Will definetelly agree to get a massage and will definetelly say "well I do feel a bit under the weather" and his muscles will definetelly feel a little bit more than just under the weather.
It's easier to chew on hard bread than massage Solomon.
He also offers to pay you back.
Do not agree to get a massage from him, I repeat, DO NOT.
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Simeon
If you didn't feel like touching that exposed waist of his then you're lying.
If you don't offer first, he will ask you for it at some point.
And man to have a literal angel right under you, letting out a few exhales of satisfaction and bliss with every move of your skilled hands and arms, sometimes a chuckle followed by a comment that could start a small conversation.
Smooth skin, perfectly shaped body, I don't think I would be able to get my hands off him either.
Massage his hands, from his palms to his fingertips, massage his shoulders, from his blades to his neck, thumbs pressing close to his spine.
He will gladly let you indulge yourself for as long as you wish.
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Diavolo
Another one who's stiffer than you think.
You could literally jump on his back and it would feel like pavement.
Oh and he's now definetelly addicted to massage.
Of course he will also be paying you back with whatever you wish (don't make a joke and say something like 100,000,000 grimm, he will take it seriously-).
Depending on the day he may actually fall asleep, which is very cute.
On another note tho, have you ever thought about sleeping on his back? Because I have-
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Barbatos
Good luck getting him to take off his clothes, even more good luck to catch him not being busy.
This man will gladly give out massages of his own (which could probably knock out a dragon because damn boy those hands are skilled) but will probably not be as easy to convince to get a massage.
It will take an extremelly tiring day to make him agree and it will be so worth it.
Why you ask? Because the look in his face will alway be so soft by the end of it. Pure gratefullness.
Since then he will start to actually seek you out from time to time, the little smile on his face almost looking excited.
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theladyofdeath · 3 years ago
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Tempting the Fates {Chapter 4}
Summary: It’s the final semester of Aelin Galathynius’ collegiate career and she is so beyond ready to be done. Her schedule is packed full of nursing classes and labs designed to test her knowledge and hone her skills for the real world and her “big girl” job. However, she needs one last elective to graduate, so she decides to study a subject she’s always been fascinated by: Mythology. Who would have thought that a class about gods and goddesses living complicated lives would end up complicating her own in such an unexpected way?
Word Count: 2550
Chapters will be posted every Wednesday.
Tempting the Fates Masterlist
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Apollo
– God of light, prophecy, inspiration, poetry, the sun, music and arts, medicine and healing
Aelin tried to convince herself that she got up and got ready two hours early for class because of her busy schedule. She kept telling herself it was for the meeting she had with her advisor, about a possible internship at the end of the semester.
She knew that both reasons, while extremely important, were full of shit. She knew she’d showered, blow dried and curled her hair for Rowan. It wasn’t that she was trying to impress him. She’d already done that and the chance she had to be with him had come and gone.
No, now it was about proving to him that even though this class may be a gen ed, she was taking it seriously.
Dropping the class had crossed her mind. She really didn’t need to take it, she could still find a different one to pick up. But she didn’t want to think about the sort of impression it would leave about her.
If there was anything to know about Aelin Galathynius, it was that she was not a quitter, nor did she run from her problems.
Or heartaches.
With one last look in the mirror, and a whistle from Lysandra, Aelin was out the door and hurrying across campus. She grabbed a coffee on the way, but avoided her usual place, knowing full well that Rowan enjoyed the same famous cafe that she did.
He wasn’t there yet when she got to the hall, but she took the same seat she had the class before.
She wondered if Rowan would be looking for her this time.
She quickly shook the thought away.
With her hot coffee on the corner of her fold up desk, she was pulling out her notebook and a pen, waiting anxiously for class to begin.
For him to walk through the door.
Apparently he liked to be right on the dot, though, because students continued to wander in, but he did not.
She was tapping her pen against her notebook, doing her best not to stare at the clock. She was just anxious for her day to start. It wasn’t that she wanted to see Rowan.
Professor Whitethorn, she amended in her head. She had to quit thinking of him as Rowan. She couldn’t think of him like that anymore, his body pressing into hers, lips on her neck, as he—
Shaking her head, Aelin sighed and suddenly realized that the rest of the class had hushed. She was so focused on reprimanding herself for her highly inappropriate thoughts that she hadn’t noticed him come through the door and begin setting up for class. When she dared to glance towards the front, she found his eyes on her. He quickly looked away, going back to his laptop and setting up the PowerPoint on screen.
Maybe he hadn’t been looking at her.
Maybe it had all been in her mind.
But she didn’t think it had been.
He had been watching her.
“Happy Thursday, class,” he began, as the title page of his presentation flashed onto the board. “Glad to see you all showed up again. Must mean my first class didn’t suck.” Quiet laughter thrummed through the room. Aelin couldn’t muster a laugh, though. “On Tuesday, we covered the basics. So, today… Sorry, we’re doing that again.”
More laughter, especially from the pretty, flirty girls up front.
Aelin couldn’t help but roll her eyes.
Which, when she settled her eyes back on Rowan, he definitely saw.
Come on, get your shit together, she chastised herself. With her back straightened, she gave him her full attention.
She took dutiful notes, but his slides didn’t hold much in the way of information. They were mostly headers, with a few bullet points. Most of the important information, information she knew would be critical for homework or exams, came straight from Rowan’s mouth.
It was clear that he loved mythology, that it wasn’t just a class his aunt had tossed his way and told him to figure it out. He was a trove of knowledge and she noticed he had a habit of going on slight tangents when he got going on a topic he was clearly interested in.
After a student asked him to clarify what he meant about Hercules not being Zeus’ only son, he ended up talking for nearly twenty minutes about what the beloved Disney movie had gotten wrong. Aelin had stopped taking notes and was watching him go on and on about how Hades, while god of the underworld, was not necessarily a villain. He just had a job to do. A job that had rules that must be followed, or the consequences could damn not only him, but others involved. His eyes found hers again and the amused smile on her face fell as she made the correlation between their own situation and the story.
They held each other’s gazes for far longer than was appropriate, and Rowan cleared his throat, going back to the PowerPoint, and the  predetermined lesson plans he’d made, which didn’t include children’s movie breakdowns.
She watched him.
She listened.
And she found it all fascinating. 
Rowan peeked at the clock after going on and on, and stilled, rubbing the back of his neck. “Well, I guess I’ll end there. There is an assignment due by tomorrow evening. You can find and submit it online. It’s an opinion piece. I want a little insight as to why you were so interested to take this class, or what you’ve found fascinating so far.” He sat on his desk, his legs hanging over the side, his feet nearly touching the ground as he leaned back on his palms. Aelin found it charming. “You’re going to write a short essay telling me of your favorite deity. It could be one I’ve talked about so far, or one I haven’t. It’s your choice. But, tell me why they are your favorite. Give me a little depth. And, remember, this is a college course. Grammar counts.”
The clock struck nine-thirty and everyone began packing up. Aelin had been so captivated by his voice that she had to snap herself back to reality.
She quickly packed up her bag, alongside the other students around her. She noticed then how young they all were, and she was willing to bet that she may be the only senior on the roster. As she was descending the stairs, she found Rowan’s eyes on her again, but he looked away as his attention was taken, thanks to the group of girls who’d been sitting in the front row. She heard vague questions of whether they could all write about Aphrodite, since they all related to her.
The scoff Aelin thought she’d kept to herself had apparently been out loud, since not only Rowan looked at her as she passed, but so did the three girls. With his attention on her again, she decided to give him a little wave.
“See you later, Professor Whitethorn.”
If there was some extra sway to her hips, it wasn’t on purpose.
At least that’s what she told herself.
Two and a half hours later, Aelin was starving. She’d just gotten out of an extremely complicated lab and she could barely focus over the growling of her stomach. Twice, the instructor had looked over at her, half expecting to find a dog stashed under the table she was working at.
So when the class let out, she was hurrying toward the cafeteria ready to get a salad from the salad bar and a big ass slice of pizza.
It was all about balance. 
As she was waiting in line to fill her plate with salad, she heard a voice behind her.
“Are you actually getting lettuce or just filling your plate with ham, cheese, and croutons?” 
Aelin looked over her shoulder to find Chaol, her ex, suppressing a smile.
Aelin chuckled. “If it’s the same price, you may as well pile up on the good stuff.” 
Chaol gave her a small smile. “Fair enough. It’s good to see you, Aelin. You look good.”
Things hadn’t ended the best between her and Chaol, but that had been just after freshman year. At least now when they ran into one another, they could have nice little conversations like this one.
No hard feelings.
“You too,” she said, and he did. He’d been in an accident the year before. They weren’t sure he was going to walk again. In all honesty, it was just good to see him on his feet.
“How long until your class?” He asked, sliding his tray along behind hers.
She glanced down at her watch. “About forty five minutes. You?”
“This is my long break,” he sighed. “I’ve got an hour and a half, but didn’t feel like leaving campus. Want to have lunch with me?”
“Sure.” Her smile wasn’t forced, it was easy and she was glad they could even do this, when three years again, they could barely be in the same room.
“I assume you’re getting a piece of pizza after this,” Chaol said with a smirk, nodding towards her plate. “So I’ll grab us a table while you get the rest of your lunch.”
She scoffed but nodded, and went off to get a slice of pizza. When she ordered her pizza, she also got a slice of cheesecake. It was his favorite, something she hadn’t forgotten, but it didn’t hurt that she liked it, too.
Finding him in the cafeteria, she sat down at the table across from him. “How’s Yrene doing?”
He blushed, and Aelin had to admit it was adorable. After his accident, he’d fallen for his physical therapist, and she was just as smitten with him. It must have been all the one-on-one sessions, because Chaol had never been one to let someone in. Aelin had met Yrene early in her med classes, but Yrene had specialized in PT and graduated in less than three years, taking as many classes as she could manage and even studying through the summers as well.
“It’s going good,” he said, at last. “We, uh, just moved in together, actually.”
Aelin lifted a brow. “That was fast.”
Chaol shot her a look.
Aelin laughed. “I didn’t mean it like that. I meant, good for you. I like Yrene. A lot. You two are good together.”
Chaol cleared his throat before taking a bite of his salad. “Thanks.” 
Aelin chuckled, taking a bite of her pizza.
Chaol blinked. “What?”
“You get so uncomfortable when it comes to feelings,” she said. “Always have.”
His eyes narrowed at her. “That’s not true.”
Aelin stopped mid-chew and raised a brow.
Even Chaol couldn’t help but chuckle at the expression. “Yeah, yeah. Whatever. What about you? Seeing anyone?”
Aelin hesitated, then said, “No.”
A slow grin appeared on Chaol’s mouth. “Didn’t sound so sure about what one.”
Aelin shrugged. “Better be nice or I’m not sharing this magnificent cheesecake with you.”
Holding up his hands in placation, Chaol went back to his salad. Rowan was a dangerous topic, one she wouldn’t share with anyone but Lysandra, so she summed it up quickly. “Met someone I thought I hit it off with. Turns out we didn’t work.”
He slowly nodded. Aelin knew he’d had a couple failed relationships between her and Yrene. “I get it, I’m sorry. Still sucks.”
Shrugging again, she turned to her salad. “It happens. Not a big deal. So if you’re living with Yrene, does that mean you and Dorian broke up? Or is he playing house with you, too?”
Chaol leveled her with a look. Chaol and Dorian had been best friends long before they came to the University of Orynth. They were both from Adarlan, both trying to get away from overbearing fathers, and decided college across the country was the way to do it. They’d been roommates every year and Aelin couldn’t even imagine Chaol living with anyone except Dorian. But now he was. “He moved into an apartment with Manon this semester when I moved in with Yrene.”
Aelin blinked. “Blackbeak? He moved in with Manon Blackbeak?”
Nodding, Chaol went on. “Apparently, they’ve been dating for about a year, without anyone noticing.”
Something in the way he said it told Aelin that he had noticed, but when Dorian had his mind set on something, there was no stopping him. And apparently, he’d decided to date one of the most terrifying women on campus.
Aelin’s response was eloquent. “Wow.”
Chaol grinned. “I like it when you’re caught off guard. It’s satisfying.”
With a scoffed she nudged his leg with the toe of her sneaker. “Well, I don’t. Dorian will be getting a very angry phone call this afternoon.”
“I’ll be sure to give him a warning,” Chaol promised.
Aelin chuckled, taking the last bite of her pizza. “It’s good to see you all happy, though. Really.”
Chaol’s eyes softened. “Thanks, Aelin.”
She nodded. “Even if I am terrified that Dorian will get eaten alive.”
Chaol laughed, and she had forgotten how nice Chaol’s rare, hearty laugh was.
She meant it. She was so happy for them, both of them. It was interesting how things changed over the course of a few short years.
Their conversation continued, as did the laughs, and before she knew it, Aelin glanced down at her watch. She had less than fifteen minutes to haul ass back to the nursing building for her next class. Chaol, who had much longer to sit with nothing to do, assured her that he could handle her trash and told her to get to class. With a hug, and a promise that they’d have dinner soon, all of them, even Manon, Aelin was hurrying out of the cafeteria building.
Somehow, the entire time she’d been having lunch with Chaol, she hadn’t noticed the set of pine green eyes watching her.
Rowan’s own break had been at the same time as hers, but the gen ed building was much closer than wherever she was having to run off to, so he had longer to sit and— there was no denying it— brood. They were halfway across the room, so he couldn’t hear any of their conversation. He had no clue who the tall man was she smiled at so often, but clearly they were very familiar with each other with how easily they talked. And he made her laugh. A lot.
Rowan wasn’t sure why that was what grated on his nerves the most, but it unsettled him.
Seeing Aelin with someone else, someone clearly her own age, it all unsettled him. He didn’t like it. Almost as much as her parting words in class had.
See you later, Professor Whitethorn.
It’s like she was mocking him, yet at the same time, she clearly wasn’t. She was doing exactly as he’d asked of her, seeing him as her professor, not as her boyfriend.
No, he reprimanded himself. Not boyfriend. Hookup.
They’d had sex one time, that didn’t give either of them any claim over the other. It was a hookup and nothing more. And she was his gods-damned student.
She was off limits, in every way possible.
Yet he couldn’t figure out why seeing her with someone else, someone she should clearly be interested in instead of him, had him seeing red.
151 notes · View notes
shugojima · 3 years ago
Text
𝗔𝗸𝗮𝗮𝘀𝗵𝗶 𝗞𝗲𝗶𝗷𝗶 🍋♀️
Sensual play✔︎
Very soft✔︎
Aftercare✔︎
Condom cause he smart✔︎
Praising✔︎
♡︎
You were out with your friends. Those usual party nights you spend together, searching for a boy to fill you up. Yes, that's how much of a hoe you were. You just compensated your depression with dick. Some good dick made you forget about all the problems you had so why not making this a regular?
Dancing with some halfways attractive stranger you felt yourself getting thirsty. No, I don't talk about that kind of thirsty... hoe.
Walking your way to the bar you pushed some people aside and sat down to order your drink.
"Just give me something strong, please."
This lead to nothing. Not with this guy you thought. Also he seemed to be soft asf and you needed to get destroyed so why bother?
"Wanna talk about it?"
A soft but deep voice rang in your ear when you looked to your side and saw a pretty damn attractive guy. Black hair... beautiful, tourquise eyes... glasses... Damn. You had a thing for glasses. You thought those made every man look ten times hotter.
"Oh, sorry. Akaashi." he reached for your hand and you took it.
"Y/n... What made you think I need to talk?"
Smiling a little he said
"You just ran away from a guy you wanted to sleep with for whatever reason but figured it's not worth it, so you came here and ordered a strong drink to forget whatever is on your mind. So I just guessed you'd probably need someone to talk to."
"Well shit. You got me there... what a whore, huh?"
Sipping on your drink you tried to wash away the last blowjob you gave two hours ago as he looked at you kinda worried.
"Do you do that often?"
"Huh?"
"I mean using dick to cope with something."
You looked at him raising a brow.
"What are you my therapist?"
"You're right, I shouldn't have asked that. That was rude of me."
"Well, you certainly give off therapist vibes. With that look on your face, those glasses.. also what are you doing with pen and paper in a bar? Taking notes already?"
You felt you were getting comfortable due to the alcohol. He laughed a little and said
"Valid question, I guess. I'm a manga editor. That's just my worksheet. Usually I do that at home but I felt like I needed a drink."
The way he used his words so carefully and his overall behaviour made you wonder how high his IQ is.
Certainly a smart man and to be honest, that was a rare breed around here.
The two of you kept talking for over two hours and you really had a lot of fun. It wasn't the usual shit talk, nothing too flirty more deep. You also told him that he was right and you were actually just looking for a rough fuck but gave up hope when you noticed that guy was definetely a bottom.
Also... you were a little tipsy by now...
And that's where it started.
"So you think in order to forget everything around you, it has to be extremely rough?"
You looked at him confused. Well sure it has to be?!
"Uhm... yes? I mean... I at least never really enjoyed that soft shit. It's just... ughh idk I just like it hard."
A warm smile on his face your eyes met and his gaze was so intense, it send shivers down your spine. No way you would be able to break eye contact. Wow... just... wow. You felt like he was able to read your mind, look straight through you. He definetely had something about him. Something special that made your mind go blank.
"That isn't true."
"What?"
"I said that isn't true."
Who tf does he think he is? Thinking he knows what you like or not?
Looking into your eyes, no... basically into your soul, he said
"Sensual sex is something you need the right man for. You need to connect on a high level and feel real attraction. Not just to his dick but also to his personality. If you ever come across that man... Think of my words."
You sat there, mouth slightly agape and you didn't know why but his words somehow affected you... that deep voice, the way he spoke, its was erotic. No other way to put it. So you couldn't help but eventually press your legs a little together.
Sure, he noticed your reaction. He's a smart motherfucker after all...
Slowly placing his hand on your thigh he said
"That's what I was talking about. And I only used my words." He winked at you and you were already a puddle.
Blushing hard you almost spilled your drink when he broke eye contact first.
How did he do that? How could he get such a reaction out of you just by talking to you? Not even doing dirty talk, just by stating facts.
"How... I-...how?"
"Skill." He laughed.
TIMESKIP
"Make yourself at home, love. You relax a little I'll be right back."
You nodded and got a little comfortable on his bed. Sitting there you realized you had never been so nervous before you had sex.
Something was different this time and you were sure it was a positive change.
You knew each other for only about 4 hours now and you felt like you were already close friends. It was weird and if you'd believe in such things you'd say he's your soulmate.
The way he spoke about that connection people need to have... that had to be it.
When he came back he had more comfortable clothes on and a bowl with ice cubes in his hand as he sat himself besides you, placing the bowl on the carpet.
"How do you feel?"
"Good, I guess... not that drunk anymore."
"That's great to hear." he smiled as he leaned in whispering with his dark voice
"Because I want you to be sober enough to feel everthing to the fullest. Everything of me."
Gulp
"You're so nervous again just because of my words... You probably really love dirty talk, am I right?"
Eyeing me closely he didn't need an answer tho.
"Nevermind... Your legs are pressed together just like they were two hours ago."
Blushing hard you tried to act normal and keep your composure but that was absolutely impossible when he guided you onto his lap and looked deep into your eyes, through his black framed glasses. His mouth slightly open, not even half an inch from yours.
"If I'm doing it right, you're about to feel heaven, my love."
You wanted to feel his lips on yours so bad so you leaned in but he hold you in place, his hands on both sides of your head.
"No kissing. Heavy breathing can be just as erotic."
And that it was...
You just stayed like this, breathing in and out on opposite times, basically exchanging breaths. The air around you heating up rapidly as you closed your eyes and enjoyed this intense feeling.
"Can you feel the tension?" he breathed into your mouth before kissing you so sensual yet full of lust. He slightly bit your lower lip when he slid his tongue into your warm mouth, one hand on your back, the other slowly running through your soft hair.
You felt nothing less than loved in this exact moment and you already forgot about everything that made you feel so terribly sad earlier.
Never did a kiss feel so good.
When your slick lips seperated he leaned to your ear and whispered
"I can hear your heart beating."
Wanting to get rid of his glasses you stopped him in his tracks.
"Can you... leave the.. glasses on?"
Smirking knowingly he put the glasses with his middle finger back up the bridge of his nose.
"You like that, hm?"
"Y-yes... they.. look good on you."
"Note taken."
Carefully placing you with your back on his sheets he gave you a soft kiss on your forehead before he stood up.
"What.. are you-"
"I'm sorry, love. I don't do it raw."
"Oh r-right.."
Rummaging something in his drawer he put the shiny package on his bed side table before crawling up on top of you.
Your heart was beating out of your chest and you didn't even know why. He was a stranger after all. Someone you just met and still he made the butterflies in your belly you didn't even know you had, go fucking wild.
Your hips between his legs he slowly started to unbutton his grey and blue plaid shirt when you looked away blushing.
"Hey, eyes on me." He commanded softly, continuing with the last 3 buttons.
I'm sure my eyes had hearts in it by now when I saw his ripped body. Fuck... he was so hot. Those toned abs, perfectly on display with the low light that shone on them, leaving a little shadow under every muscle.
"My god..."
"And you wanted to look away in shame."
He smiled when he threw his shirt on the soft carpet near his bed and leaned in on you.
Kissing you again he carressed your deep red cheek and whispered
"Let me show you what real sex feels like."
You got the chills when he started to trail a path of soft kisses down your neck and sucked a little on your skin every now and then. Slight gasps leaving your throat he breathed heavily against your skin.
"You're so... so sensitive to my touch... "
"Wait.." You breathed out, wanting to get rid of your shirt as well so he could kiss you further.
Quickly taking it off so he can continue making you go crazy.
Holding you in this half sitting position he asked you if he could take off your bra as well when you nodded.
Skillfully opening it with one hand while his other cupped your cheek. He didn't stop kissing you until he layed you back down and took a moment to fully capture your feautures.
"You look absolutely beautiful, Y/n."
"Thank.. you, Akash-"
"Keiji."
Leaning down on you again his soft fingertips explored your body. Carressing along your neck, your collarbones, your breasts... before he pinched your hard buds slightly. Moaning softly you closed your eyes to make the feeling even more intense.
"Do you feel comfortable, love?"
"Y-yes... nghhh.. very much so.."
A warm smile on his face he reached for the bowl with ice cubes and put one into his mouth. Playing around with it a little until it completely melted he started licking circles around your bud. His cold tongue driving you crazy when he sucked slightly.
"Nghh... K-keiji.. that feels so good.."
Feeling his smile against your skin his hand found its way down your belly... to your skirt.
Hovering above you again he kissed you once more.
"You know where else that feels amazing?"
Melting another ice cube in his mouth he lifted your hips from the sheets and slowly took of your skirt along with your soaked panties.
Going down on you his cold tongue parted your slick lips making you throw your head back and moan loudly.
"Right here."
"Fuck."
He licked slowly but greedily along your wet slit, evetually sucking on your clit before he slid a finger inside and looked up at you.
"You're soaking wet, love. I thought you can only enjoy it the hard way?"
Inserting another finger you arched your back as you grinded on his fingers. Desperate for more.
Desperate for him.
"Keiji... I- I need more..."
"Is that so?" he smiled, curving his fingers inside making you scream as he hit your sweet spot.
"M-more... please!"
Pulling out slowly he licked your juice off them
and opened his belt before he stepped out of his jeans and pulled down his boxers.
"Holy shit."
Chuckling he went "Thanks I guess?"
He reached for the shiny package on the little table and opened it with his teeth before rolling it onto his hard cock.
Can we talk about how fucking big he is? Lord help you were thinking of calling an ambulance in advance.
"You know... I don't have to be rough on you to have you drowning in pleasure. There's no need to be when you know which bottons to push and when."
He said as he pushed his glasses back up the bridge of his nose when he leaned in on you and was close to your lips again, his eyes drilling holes into yours you felt his tip at your entrance.
"Right now you're craving my cock so bad that you'd basically do everything just to feel it rubbing against your walls. And I like that a lot. Not that I'd dare taking adventage of your miserable situation."
"Put.. it in... please, Keiji! I can't anymore!"
You whined as you tried to lower yourself onto his length just for him to grab your hips and hold you in place.
"Why are you so impatient, my love?" he breathed against your lips, pushing just his tip inside.
"Nghhh fuck! Please!!! Please I need more, Keiji!!"
"Remember this moment."
One deep thrust inside you screamed in heavenly pleasure, your eyes shut close and your back arching.
"OHH MY...GOD!"
Smirking at your reaction he took your hands and intertwined your fingers, holding them down besides your head when he started moving slowly.
"To me at least... It looks like you're enjoying it a lot."
His thick cock stretching you out to the limit, low growls leaving his mouth as the sounds of his balls hitting your ass and the squelching sound of your soaked pussy filled the room.
You were in heaven.
He brought heaven to you.
An endless rush of endorphines fluted your body as he teached you his way of pleasure.
He knew exactly what he did, how to do it and when. Noticing every little reaction coming from you and knew what it meant.
This man was a drug.
And you were about to get fucking addicted.
♡︎
Guys... I had to do a cut. This is getting sooo long and I really love how it turned out.
It's so sensual and sweet my heart is a puddle.
I will upload the second part as soon as possible.
Soft Akaashi is gold
😩🛐
139 notes · View notes
liesoverthec · 3 years ago
Note
the post hasn't surfaced yet so please use this ask to talk abt the objectification of the 911 men!!
Ahh May you’re too nice but also thank you, I’m gonna 😂💛
This got. CRAZY long bc I just had a million thoughts so I’m gonna stick it under a cut.
To be honest, I think the reason they do *any* sort of objectification at all is that middle aged and older viewers are used to being able to objectify actors to a certain extent. Lord knows it happens on literally every other single piece of media, and this is a mainstream broadcast show, not an indie series or the likes, so I think they have to cater to those people as well as us, and the WAY they do it is so interesting to me bc even when they’re doing it, they use it as a way to drive home other, deeper messages.
For starters, I feel like the show OG was trying to be in the pilot and the first few episodes would have objectified the men WAY more than we see now if there hadn’t been that shift in tone - the sex addict plot could have been SO much more extended and given us a lot more opportunities to see Buck shirtless and to objectify him and his body. So I find it SO interesting that around the same time as Bobby opening up about his family and his past, we also stop w/ Buck being blatantly shirtless all the time. Narratively, it signals to me the point where the writers moved away from the the typical tv show that will treat their actors like meat, and moved more into a “female gaze” show. And then what’s really interesting to me, is that for Buck, after that, when he has sex w Taylor Kelly in s2, both times we NEVER see him undressed. The second time they don’t get very far, but he’s wearing a buttonable shirt. He absolutely could have been wearing that shirt closed, and she could have opened it, and he could have been wearing nothing underneath it, and we would have seen his chest again in a sexy scenario - but they didn’t. In fact they made the DELIBERATE choice to give him an undershirt. And of course with the first time they cut away and just left us w the understanding that sex was happening, yet again taking away an opportunity to show O.S. at least partially undressed. Which is SO different from how s1 goes about it, where we actually see Buck w his shirt open and his underwear exposed MULTIPLE times. So it’s so incredibly interesting to me that while none of the (main/regular) women’s stories are ever about sex like Buck’s is, I also think it’s REALLY interesting that the objectification of the men was, and could have been, much worse and that they didn’t have to move away from that, but they did.
But then secondly! The very last time we get into a plot that revolves around the men’s bodies specifically is in 2x01, which is SUCH an interesting plot. Surface level - it’s just about the men competing about who’s more attractive, and we get lots of muscle flexing and hot manliness to go along with it. And it is, at a surface level, incredibly shallow. But simultaneously they use it to 1. Introduce the idea that Buck wasn’t a sex addict bc he was “dealing w the stress of the job” like s1 mostly implied. It was bc he’s desperate to feel useful and wanted by someone, and at that point he really wanted that acceptance within the firehouse, rather than from other people. (Bc lbr, Abby didn’t do shit for Buck. It was Bobby, opening up and accepting the family, and specifically Buck, that gave him the connection he’d been seeking through sex.) And then 2. They also use it as an opportunity to SPECIFICALLY, IN CANON, say that it’s what you do that makes you attractive, and that makes you a hero, not how you look. Which is just!!! A crazy message!!! Especially considering they follow through on it, particularly in the areas where the women are concerned!
And in regards to 2x01, it’s soooooo fucking interesting to me that the ONLY time we really truly see Eddie shirtless, he’s actually putting clothes ON. They literally do the opposite trope of 'giving the hot male an excuse to take his shirt off'. And sure, they make it a sexy moment, but there's absolutely interesting commentary there about him actively covering himself up at the moment he is most sexualized, and it being taken as a sexy thing. Something about how you don't have to be naked to be attractive, it's about your intent in your actions, rather than your physical body. (Probably me reading too far into it, but again, they COULD have had him striping off his regular shirt, a good few seconds of him shirtless digging through a bag, and THEN the sexy slow mo pulling shirt on. At the very least, when they objectify him there, they make it MUCH shorter than they could have, which is SO DAMN INTERESTING to me).
But then finally, we still do have shirtless scenes! But the fact that it’s Chim who’s shirtless is just SO FASCINATING. Bc THE WAY THEY DO IT - they're never dunking Chim in a lake, or having something spilled on him, like other shows would do, to get his shirt clinging to him and him to whip it off in a spray of water or whatever. It's in scenes where it makes sense for him to be shirtless, and its NEVER treated like a big deal. It's just Chim, in his body, comfortably living his life. So I think the way they do it gives him more respect than other shows give their male characters, let alone their female characters 💀
And it's SO interesting to me that they use Chim (I mean, besides the fact that K.C. clearly has muscles for days and wow of course you'd use Chim). But I just think - on any other show, it would absolutely be Buck who we see casually shirtless. And that WAS almost this show, which is why we saw him shirtless at all. But failing that, it should have been Eddie. And then of course, after Eddie, it should be Bobby. I mean, plenty of other shows go for the 'sexy middle-aged white man' (cough cough LS) so Bobby would be the next logical step in the "who are we gonna make our hot man?" ladder, also - P.K. has BICEPS THAT COULD CRUSH ME so I would not blame them for making him the hot one.
But - like I said in my tags on my original post - I'm always thinking about Chim's story in 2x01 with the calendar, and feeling like he never gets to be the hero (WHICH I COULD GO ON AND ON ABOUT HOW BEING THE HERO IS EQUATED THERE TO BEING THE HOT ONE, SO LIKE, CHIM BEING SHIRTLESS, SUBTLE REINFORCEMENT OF HIM BEING A HERO!) I love that for him, being the truly hot one on the team. And then you throw in his story from 2x04, and feeling like his life wasn't going anywhere and seeing him now, comfortable in his body and his life and being happy??
I wish no one had to be objectified and shirtless but I know this is broadcast tv, and honestly, the choice for it to be Chim, with his story and his background, in itself is I think a choice that makes me happy.
Of course, the show is nowhere near perfect, and I’d argue that it’s one of the areas they fall shortest in. Buck sleeping w his therapist would never have happened for a woman on this show, and it CERTAINLY wouldn’t have been brushed off again as a joke like it was in s3. And it really bothered me in 4x07 when the lady slapped Eddie’s ass, esp since he was clearly uncomfortable with it. I’d actually really enjoy seeing them write a plot for one of the men that addresses them feeling oversexualized as firefighters, and how people seem to think they have permission since the men are all public employees, bc I think the show could do it really well, and I think it’s an area that hasn’t been addressed on other shows recently (plus lbr I know I’m biased but I think OG would do it better if it has been done…)
So idk. I don’t know if I have a solid conclusion here. The show does SUCH a good job with the women, and a solidly less good job with the men - but I also see some really interesting choices at work that I really respect.
Thanks for the opportunity May, sorry if there was no coherent thread to this. 😂🤷‍♀️
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robinrequiems · 3 years ago
Text
hey any1 want some superman jon and batman Damian hcs? too bad cause you’re getting them
• damian realized why no one wanted to be batman when he turned 18 and Bruce decided to give him batman when he was 22.
• jon realized why jon didn’t want to be superman when he also turned 18
• oh and right, by gave, I mean bruce sorta can’t be batman anymore. medical reasons…
• damian sorta uh. persuaded clark into giving jon superman.
Damian: look. I don’t wanna be worlds finest with you, old man.
Clark: im- im not old—
Damian: listen here, jon and i? we are gonna surpass you and my dad. so give it to jon and let me prove it.
Clark: this doesn’t seem like a good idea— you aren’t ready— neither is jon
Damian: wait- wait, you don’t believe in your son and i??? wow. WOOOW. okay. i see.
Clark: that’s not it!-
Damian: sure. sure. don’t worry. I see now.
Clark: wait I do!
Damian: no, no you don’t.. it’s— it’s okay, I get it, it’s me, huh?
Clark: no!
Damian: I get it
Clark: please i do! I’ll - oh my rao, you’re playing me
Damian: i am. i cant do this without jon though. please, Clark.
Clark: *sigh, how did he get manipulated by a kid he used to babysit* okay.
• okay so now jon may be a little overwhelmed because one day he’s flamebird, the next, he’s becoming superman? huH. it’s extremely uh. worrying. and really just? wow.
• does Damian feel bad? oh yeah. he does. so bad. but he really can’t do it alone. they always dreamed of being their parents. or being better than them. but they grew up and realized that they really didn’t want to be their parents.
• but here they were, getting fitted for their suits and adding their own details to it.
jon: hey, you look hot
damian: please. shut up.
• they could do this. they could do this. shoot they can’t do this.
• damians own anxiety was going 50 mph. look, okay? remember before heretic when Bruce thought that Damian would become a satanic batman and basically rain hell all over gotham? yeah. that’s what is going on in damians mind.
• he doesn’t want to be that. ( “you won’t be like that, cmon, d, we’re gonna be better.” ) and how Damian wants to believe jon so bad..
• he doesn’t want to become obsessed with Batman like his father did, he still wants to have a life. he doesn’t want to isolate himself away and adopt kids as a coping mechanism. that’s why he needs jon to be superman. jon helps him, he helps him not go off into his own little world and stay there. he believes that with Jon, he’ll be okay. he has to be. maybe he uses jon as his own coping mechanism, but that isn’t the point.
• together, they will outshine their parents. the supersons can do this. they are the next generation, and it’s not like they are alone. they have so many other people to help them. they’ll be okay.
• they have been preparing for this their whole life, but they both feel like they got it too soon. they thought they had more time. Damian does feel guilty when he hears jon talking about how stressed he is about superman and not living up to whatever the hell he has to live up to, but Damian does fear what would. or could. have happened if he didn’t have jon with him. becoming batman took a lot out of him, more than he would like to admit. he just got constant flashbacks to heretic and that whole fiasco he thought he put behind him a loong time ago.
Jon: are you sure you’re okay?
Damian: yes idiot, quit worrying.
Jon: I’ll always worry about, d.
• jon somehow becomes MORE sappier when he becomes superman.
• okay, also, funny story. ( Clark and Bruce don’t find it funny AT ALL ) superman and batman? yeah they sorta kissed after an almost alien invasion. in their suits. uh. in front of an alien who they were arresting for the green lanterns. most people believe that when people say it, it’s a lie, kidding. no they don’t. there were pictures.
bruce: you want to explain this?
damian: not really, no.
• the public knows there’s a new Batman and Superman since yk. Jon’s face is public and was seen as superboy flamebird and now superman, and batman was slightly smaller and had some different moves
• but here’s their main line up: batman ( dami wamie, obvi ), superman ( jonnyboy kent ), nobody ( maya:)) ), green lantern ( tai pham, my baby boy ), lace ( wallace west 2, he goes by lace instead of flash because i said so. ), and shazam ( billy b ).
• fun fact, they have a den mother even though they are all in their 20s. poor dinah.. yeah black canary is their den mother. ( stole it from from yj )
• dinah makes sure they get their injuries checked out, train regularly, and you know. don’t blow up a building.
• again.
• ( when damian and jon were younger, in their teen years, they stupidly accidentally blowed up a building. in their defense, the building was owned by the penguin. and there were no civilians in the area. but they also got a lot of men sent after them.. oops. )
• they are very chaotic. they are the definition of dumbass energy sometimes.
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• damian tries to keep the pda down whenever he’s batman, BUT JON DOESNT KNOW HOW TO DO THAT
• hence the amount of photos of jon hugging Damian or kissing him
• damian has never once initiated one in suits
• ( that one time jon almost died does not count )
Damian: thought you were gonna be batman.
Tim: nah, i don’t wanna be bruce. i saw what it did to dick. I would’ve became just like him.
Damian: am i like him??
Tim: god no, bruce would never kiss superman or date him or spray paint the new justice league logo— nice logo, by the way— onto villains bases
Damian: is that a good or bad thing?
Tim; good, that means you probably won’t be a total emotional stunted person using crime fighting as an outlet for unresolved childhood trauma.
Damian: you do realize why i became Robin right
Tim: .. not the point im trying to make. I mean now, brat.
• sometimes you can see some of the heroes dropping by to surprise kids, they heard that their old mentors used to go to children’s hospitals to visit sick kids, so they did that too. on a rare day where there isn’t any crime, which is really rare, they go to a school and talk if it’s a weekday, or they drop by an orphanage to hang out with kids.
• they have gotten into a lot of trouble though. they’re still learning how to work as a team. jon and damian are used to being solo and working with each other, Tai had tagged along a few times when they were younger and knows how they work, along with maya, but billy and Wallace do not.
• they often all get into arguments.
• damian lacks a filter and will criticize everyone if they mess up. and he often goes off alone or is too blunt.
• it takes a long time before they all realize that Damian is just: Damian, he doesnt mean to be mean. ( surprisingly )
• billy is used to being the big kid stuck at the kids table, it’s funny that he’s actually the second oldest when he used to be the youngest. ( lace is like.. 27? shazam is 25.. nobody 24. & the supersons 22. pulled all those ages outta my ass. you’re welcome. )
• dinah is also their therapist. poor dinah.
• like really giving pity to dinah. but dinah loves those kids, she has known some since they were kids. she used to take damian out for ice cream and train with him, and also babysit him. ( AUNT DINAH IS MY FAVORITE GOODBYE ). and she did the same with Jon.
• dinah actually does help a lot of them get over their trauma, not completely, but most have finally spoken about it. they began talking after they all got hit with fear gas.
• that was a bad night.
• they had almost disbanded before when they thought lace had died by the hands of captain cold. they had been arguing all day, and if they didn’t, they might’ve saved him:
• but turns out he wasn’t dead.
• but the argument was still there, and it was strong. it took a while for them to actually work together without dinah forcing them.
• then soon came another new member after maya left to go do some undercover mission for the justice league regarding some alien tech being distributed some place. it was a sad goodbye, but she would be back and she would have a place here.
• welcoming: yara flor. yara was a bit headstrong and wild. damian has screamed at her a lot and almost got into a fist fight with her before being dragged off by his boyfriend 💋
• but she settled in fine. minus the fact damian really wanted to shove a batarang up— anyways. she just had to learn teamwork and shit, she was used to being a solo and she was somewhat new. so they helped her out and she became a solid member of the team.
• sometimes damian and jon just go and sit on a rooftop like they did as kids togeyher. just alone with each other. thinking about how their life changed so quickly.
Damian: i thought we’d ruin our fathers’ legacies and plummet to the ground.
Jon: *he coughed* ..what?
Damian: yeah. i didn’t think we’d get this far, but here we are.
Jon: of course we got this far, and we’re gonna get further.
Damian: i know.
• oh yeah. so. superman. fucking proposed after they defeated darkseid. ( the battle was long, so many people were left injured and on the brick of death, Damian and jon had been separated when it all started. Damian had stayed on earth at first before going to apokolips. Damn he hadn’t seen it since he got resurrected.
Darkseid: oh. I remember you.
Damian: mhm?
Darkseid: ah yes, the little boy who was resurrected here.. the chaos share, your father used it on you.
Damian: i know. i remember what happened. I was there afterall.
Darkseid: I wonder if you are as smart as the original batman.
Damian: i am.
• damian was buying time. he was waiting for reinforcements, namely the people who had powers and could take him down. damian wasn’t stupid. he realized darkseid liked to talk. his friends were fighting off the female furys or whatever they were called. he just had to wait and entertain.
Darkseid: quite the ego there.
Damian: i saved the justice league when i was 13, i deserve to have an ego.
Darkseid: oh, you are by far more talkative than the original.
Damian: thanks.
Darkseid: not a compliment, you fool.
• yeah so. darkseid tried to kill damian, with a beam thing. Damian was about to flip away like the baddie he is, but. jon. went out and yk. took the hit. dumbass.
Damian: you have such a big hero complex.
Jon: wow I just saved you and that’s what you say?????
Damian: yes.
• anyways, after they defeat darkseid, jon pops out a ring from his pocket and asks damian to marry him on apokolips.
Damian: you seriously couldn’t wait til we got on earth?
Jon: dames you almost died. what if- what if something happens, I’ve been putting this off for so long. cmon please?
Damian: you’re seriously asking me to marry you here where, I’m pretty sure, a lot of shit happened to our parents here.
Jon: no time like the present.
Damian: fair. okay.
Jon: just okay???
Damian: im sorry, do you want me to cry or something?
Jon: ughh, you can be so extra and petty sometimes.
Damian: i am not being petty.
Jon: just because I ask you to marry me here you wanna be like “okay” and that’s it
Damian: you’re so dramatic. I’ll marry you. I wanna marry you. Better?
Jon: yeah:)
62 notes · View notes
fireemblems24 · 3 years ago
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Dimitri's Supports
I have waited FOREVER for this. Let's go. And I decided to put my patience to the test, saving Dedue for last.
Since it's Dimitri and I love him, and like Dedue who I also love, he's the only one unlocking all his A-Supports, I'm going to blog all my reactions to them like I did with Dedue. Part of me wishes I thought of this for the other characters, but honestly it would've taken forever lol. Plus Dimitri and Dedue get special treatment because I said so.
Raphael
Starting off with something light hearted, I hope. I do wonder if I'm going to regret not saving this one for the inevitably heavy-handed stuff coming later.
I'm seriously betting this is a support you're supposed to get in part 1 lol. Dimitri sounds young (or maybe I'm just haven't heard non-growl part 2 Dimitri enough yet?)
Dimitri's training made Raphael think he was dying lol. Dimitri's strength is really meme tier.
I need fanart of Dimitri and Chrom co-miserating their mishandled strength breaking something. And Lucina.
Lamo, Raphael has never felt a cramp before. Lucky bastard.
Raphael is a sweetie, going to apologize to his muscles. I really wish they gave him something else to talk about other than muscles and food. Not everyone needs Dimitri tier development, but I think I'd like Raphael a lot more if he just got a smidge more depth.
Got to say, it's a bit jarring to go from "moments away from a suicide charge in the rain" to "lol, Raphael, it's muscle pain." As glad as I am that I got this support, I do think some should've been locked to part 1.
And this isn't just for Dimitri's development. I also saw Marianne and Raphael's B before this support and she reverted back to her part 1 self too.
Catherine
Maybe it's just me, but he does sound a bit older.
OMG - Dimitri's back. 😭😭😭
Sorry, it didn't really hit in that first one since that seemed like a part 1 support.
Oh, cool! I was wondering if anyone would bring up Catherine returning to Faerghus. My bets is she's too loyal to Rhea. (I guessed right)
Catherine be simpin. That's ok, I get it.
So it's not because Catherine dislikes Dimitri, or that she's absolutely needed to rule House Charon, so I think Dimitri just likes her. She's cool though. I get it.
Lamo, she told him he'd better get his sleep like he's a kid.
Curious how the A+ support will play out.
Mercedes
Team Mom's support!
Oh, no, this one's taking a serious turn isn't it? But their initial supports were so light and cute.
Mercedes just told Dimitri that he's kind to a fault. Somehow I know he's going to deny that.
Annnnnd I'm right 😭😭😭He's still calling himself a killer and disgusting monster 😭😭😭
OK - so THIS seems perfectly in tone with his recent character development. But it's so sad hearing him still talk about himself that way.
Mercedes is such a therapist. I can't. She's too pure. But savage. I saw that Lorenz support.
"I am scared . . . so scared that I will forget their faces." 😭😭😭😭😭😭 Dimitri why????
Mercedes telling Dimitri to live in the present. Her supports are always so good. I legit think she's easily a top 10 favorite in this game.
Wow, Dimitri saying if someone told him that 5 years ago, he'd be different. DID NO ONE EVER GIVE HIM ANY HELP AT ALL???
I love how she's talking to him as a classmate, and equal, and not talking up to him. He's always wanted that.
Dimitri's never given his own dreams any thought 😭😭😭He really was just 100% living for other people most of the time. 😭😭😭
Awww MERCEDES, I can't. She says she just wants to keep being his friend. This is so damn sweet. And heavy. But still sweet.
It just hits super hard knowing how badly Dimitri just wanted friends in part 1. And looking back, Mercedes and Sylvain were really the only two who were pretty casual with him.
Aww, yeah, Mercedes not putting up with the bullshit, Dimitri. Telling him to quit the self-deprecation! God, I love her.
Oh, God, they both said the old FE code for "we're married" i.e. I want to "stay by your side."
Ok, @garlandgerard, I totally get why you ship this. Mercedes loves to nurture people, and Dimitri's emotionally needy, so they match pretty well. She also didn't put up with the constant self-put-downs, but stayed gentle about it. And they talked like equals too, like friends, which is what Dimitri always wanted. It's all very sweet.
Annette
Yeah, see, this one starts off with "your highness," but Mercedes it was just Dimitri. No hate for Annette. She's my girl.
These two always give me sibling vibes.
Haha, Annette "I thought I already knew you, but I'm not sure I really do." Hmmmm wonder what Dimitri did that made her think that maybe there's parts of him she didn't know. No. idea.
Hey, Annette, no one blames you for not knowing what to say to Dimitri when they reunited lol.
Annette too pure too, wanting to cheer Dimitri up with his favorite food.
Her not knowing what he likes to eat is 100% that moment when you realize you don't know someone's favorite color.
HOW can Dimitri have no strong feelings about food. I'm having pizza right now. Let me tell you, I have strong feelings about some food.
I love how easily Dimitri deflected from talking about himself lol.
Awwww, Annette wants to live with her family again. I'll make that happen, Annette. Don't worry.
Haha, they're conspiring together behind Gilbert's back.
They still have an A+ support, which is weird, because that seemed pretty well ended? Like I see why Catherine's needed more, but not this one. Still, not going to say no. I like their dynamic.
Ingrid
OCF they're training. God I love all the Faerghus childhood group though.
Oh, fuck, here comes Glenn again. My heart's not ready for this with Rodrigue dead. Poor Felix.
Ingrid being Dimitri's knight 😊😊😊 as it should be.
Haha, Dimitri asks her for an interpretation. Just make her your knight.
Glad he hasn't started saying "I'm not worthy!" Because right now it's about Ingrid's feelings.
Wow, there, Ingrid. "However you please, Your Highness." That . . . that sounds like an invitation. To "staying by your side."
Dimitri laughed. 😊😊😊
Oh, God, this is so cute. His pause asking her to support and defend him as his knight. 😊😊😊 OMG. I'm not sure that's all she had in mind though, good Sir, have you LOOKED in the mirror?
Seriously though, Ingrid's just surrounded by studs, isn't she?
Oh, God, I'm right. She didn't just mean knight. But Dimitri's too dense in that area to notice. She crushing hard. Girl, I get you.
She blushing, saying "for the Kingdom," naw, she just like him. Me too, Ingrid. Me too.
Dimitri always makes people promise not to die on him. It's so sad considering . . .
Flayn
With Flayn it's always a toss up. Sometimes things are super light hearted, and other times it's way heavy.
On a random note, does no one wonder why Flayn hasn't aged a day in 5 years?
Flayn having nightmares. Not allowed. I bet it's fucking Jeritza's fault. I'm glad you get to rip him a new one so many times in this game.
Why is Flayn apologizing?? She's never done a thing wrong in her life.
Right, Flayn's other support with Dimitri was pretty heavy. And it started so funny with him stomaching her food.
Oh, good grief, what's he apologizing for? Ok - so Dimitri did do some things wrong. But not to Flayn.
He lied. Let me guess. Her food actually sucks.
Aw, got it. He went right to the meal. Is he really going to come out and say, well it actually sucked 😂
WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK
WHAT ABOUT ALL THOSE MEALS???? AND THE TEA an embarrassing amount of tea.
Wait. He can't taste ANYTHING??? Like. How? Did he hide that????
Ok - I need to look at his team and dining dialogue.
OMG. He really never says a word about how anything tastes? He always just talks about smells????
OMG. How did I NOT NOTICE. I've taken Dimitri to dinner a million times. And tea timed him too many times to admit too.
AND I NEVER NOTICED HE NEVER ONCE SAID HOW ANYTHING TASTED. HOW.
OMG that support with Annette hits different now 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭
OMG and Dedue's support with Flayn hits different now. Since he wanted to badly to find food Dimitri loves 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭
Does Dedue know? Is that why he's so dedicated to cooking??
Can I headcannon that?
OMG, I feel so awful about that jab about pizza. Dimitri CAN'T TASTE pizza or anything 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭
Please someone tell me there isn't any more "this awful thing also happened to Dimitri and he's failed to tell you" like learning he almost fucking died at Duscur. And now this. Dimitri needs to learn how to fucking complain.
The writers are so fucking mean to Dimitri. OMG. OMG, how am I supposed to take him to dinner and tea now, knowing this?
Why does everything hit so differently now? And so many Blue Lions supports are about food - but Dimitri can't relate
😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭
This game needs to stop bullying Dimitri.
But like, God, can you imagine? Not tasting anything? I'd starve. I'd actually starve. I never really get hungry. I really would starve.
On the flip side, he's good for Flayn then, since someone can eat her cooking I guess.
"I was just saying what I thought you would want to hear . . ." Dimitri - a summary.
Naw, that's a kind lie. That kind of lie doesn't really hurt anyone.
Oh - dear God. Flayn. Stop. No sampling pungent food.
Oh, she blushing. Dimitri got her blushing
Please tell me in their paired ending Dimitri gets his taste back.
Oh, there's an A+, does he taste something. Please tell me he tastes something.
This support though. It wasn't really one on my radar but
😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭
Gilbert
Oh, man, this one right after Flayn's. God, I'm going to need the Alois one after this. Gilbert and Dimitri are two of the most somber characters in the franchise.
And I haven't forgotten that heartbreaking B support.
Haha Lambert sucked at lying too. Dimitri too pure. Weirdly, despite everything, it's still pretty true.
Oh, shit, oh shit, we're back to Dimitri's demand that Gilbert kill him. I'm betting you usually get that in part 2.
God, imagine seeing Dimitri recover only to see him beg for death again 😭😭😭😭😭😭
I need alcohol.
I need the Alois support.
OMG, shit, Dimitri. No. Don't. Stop.
Like, I know Gilbert won't really kill him, but damn. This support is heavy.
No, Dimitri, no Gilbert is not cruel for not killing you. God.
Oh, not sure about this. I get what Gilbert's going at here, but telling Dimitri that he's not allowed to die because he's got a duty is . . . I think Rodrigue's and Mercedes' live for what you want/the present is a LOT healthier.
At the same time, this is a pretty effective way to make sure Dimitri won't go and try this again, because he really takes duty seriously.
Dimitri doesn't wish to die? 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭
Oh, thank God.
"Many times I have felt that I cannot afford to die . . . But this was the first time I truly feared the prospect." 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭
"Is it really right for me to live?" Oh, dear God. I'm so soft for Dimitri. I can't.
Gilbert answered that one right. 100%.
Damn, these supports.
Alois
OK. I need this one. I really need this one.
I really hope Alois' inspiration is bad puns. I need bad puns right now.
Pretty sure this is a part 1 support though. I love how Alois, not Dimitri, is leading this. And that the person the Kingdom NEEDS is running around and getting attacked by monsters lol
Ok, bad puns. Bring them.
There we go. Thank you, thank you, Alois.
OMG no one's laughing 😂😂😂
Dimitri's laughing 😭😭😭😭😭😭
That's it. This is always getting saved for part 2. I need to hear part 2 Dimitri laugh.
I'm also so glad someone finds Alois funny. Dimitri and Petra need to start a club.
OMG I love the two other confused soldiers. I needed this 😂😂😂
Marianne
These two were so sweet in their C and B supports.
I swear I'm going to end up shipping Dimitri with everyone. Except maybe Annette, no hate, they just seem so much like brother and sister to me.
And Felix x Annette 100%
Survivor's Guilt - the pairing. Both wondering why they survived 😭😭😭
"There are so many others who are much more deserving of life . . ." - who said it? Marianne or Dimitri?
These two just understand how each other feels so well. It hits so different compared to Marianne's other romantic possible supports where they just try to make her smile.
Instead these two take comfort in finding someone who understands how they feel so well and feel relieved they can share that with someone.
Haha - "I must go on living. I cannot give in to death so readily." This coming right after his support with Gilbert. Good job, Gilbert.
They've both had it so rough 😭😭😭😭😭😭
"There is no need to force yourself to smile as your soul bleeds." Dimitri always gives such good advice that he never follows.
Aww, now at least it's getting cute instead of just heavy. Marianne laughed too 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭
Yesss, Girl, preach. I got a little sick of her other supports all being "cheer up!" Like I know it's all in good faith, but I'm so glad this chain exists. It just hits different.
Dimitri doesn't think he's strong enough to live his life. 😭😭😭 this game. I swear.
ohhhh - ohhh, Dimitri blushing now. And all she needed to say was they've been brought closer together. Congrats Marianne!
OHHHH tables have been turned. Now someone's making Dimitri promise he needs to live!
"I don't know what I'd do with myself if we lost you . . ."
"I promise to the goddess of Fodlan that I will never give you cause for despair."
OMG these two are being so sweet, I can't. 😭😭😭😊😊😊
Felix
Oh, boy, here we go. This should be . . . interesting.
Oh, we're starting off good I see. Felix telling Dimitri he needs to answer quickly or get cut in half 😔Felix. No.
Dimitri sounds so somber 😭
Dimitri admitting both are him - the vengeful "boar" and the friendly good person. And this is why I love him.
Dimitri feels the need to shoulder all the regret the dead feel, please don't. They wouldn't want that 😭😭😭😭😭
"The dead won't acknowledge your loyalty, they don't care." - Felix not wrong there.
I partly agree with the idea Dimitri is "serving his own ego" by claiming he's acting for the dead. I think it's a bit more complicated than that, but I think that's part of it.
Felix saying some good stuff here about the dead being dead and the living being living.
"If you keep stringing gravestones around your neck, you'll snap." - Felix, I don't know if you noticed but . . . uh . . . he sort of did.
Felix telling Dimitri to become a grave keeper is a bit funny. Not going to lie.
"I'm not immune to emotion you know." - just tsunderes things
Aw, Felix is upset his father died 😭😭 after all that shit-talking about Rodrigue 😭😭
Wish Felix didn't cut Dimitri off when he said "more than anyone you-" (care about other people, unless he joins CF and just kills everyone)
Oh, God, Felix is such a tsundere. "I couldn't stand the pathetic look on your face. That's all." Sure, Felix.
Kinda wish these two had an A+ though. Seems like there's more to do than the A+ with Annette and Flayn.
Really curious to see what their paired ending is like after that. Seems they're still learning to learn about each other. Well, Felix is. Dimitri didn't seem too upset lol.
Dedue
Ok guys. Here we go. I can't believe I managed to wait for this for last. Everyone hyped this one, so let's hope.
Really? We open with Dimitri having scars on his back? 😭
From 9 years ago? So scars from Duscur then?
Images of shirtless Dimitri now. though Not bad images.
He got scars protecting Dedue?
"It makes me think that is was worthwhile that someone like me survived." 😭😭😭 he's talking about protecting Dedue? 😭😭😭
😭😭😭😭😭😭😭
"But I saved someone - saved you. That and that alone has been my crutch." 😭😭😭😭😭
I always knew these two were co-dependent.
Dimitri really out here saying that saving Dedue helped him "justify" surviving. 😭😭😭😊😊😊
OMG THAT'S THEIR STORY
OMG, poor Dedue. And Dimitri 😭😭😭did he literally "take a bullet" to save Dedue 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 and still has scars? No wonder Dedue's so loyal. Some kid he didn't know did that. That's one hell of an introduction.
And picturing little Dedue just resigned and angry and waiting to die and just 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭
Oh, Dedue, you've repaid that debt ten-fold I'm sure.
Ahaha, Dimitri's doing the "you'd better accept your worth!" discussion this time lol.
Dear God these two. Now Dimitri's bringing up that Dedue busted him out of the jail.
I swear, these two have more of a plot off screen than some routes do on screen.
And now picturing Dimitri resigned and just ready to die. And then Dedue busts in. 😭😭😭
"That was nothing more than my duty as your vassal." Stop that Dedue. Dimitri doesn't want you to be his vassal. He wants more.
Holy shit.
"You are irreplaceable. Cherished." 😭😭😭😊😊😊😭😭😭😊😊😊😭😭😭😊😊😊😭😭😭😊😊😊
Not to be that person - but I tell all my "friends" that.
Yes, Dedue, stop saying insisting you're just a "vassal" - that's a worse joke than Alois' puns from earlier.
"Please . . . do not look at me that way." What way, like you're about to make Dimitri cry, or like . . .
"You promised me you would build a Kingdom that is proud to boast of Duscur blood." - shit, man, these two. I just . . .
OMG so much emotion from Dedue. The only time I ever heard that before was in VW when he learned Dimitri died. But let's not remember that right now 😭😭😭😭😭😭
Oh shit. He called him "Dimitri." 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊
And it made him blush.
OMG.
Guys, these two.
Aww, Dimitri looks so surprised. 😊😊😊😊😊😊
Oh, these two are so soft for each other. I can't. I just can't.
"To be your friend . . . is what I have always wanted." You're going to get it.
Man, I feel almost guilty S-Supporting Dimitri. He needs to pair up with Dedue pronto.
Dimitri sounds chocked up. OMG.
"So please call upon me when you walk alone at night." Ok. Dedue. Ok. Yes. Guys. This is all very straight.
I'm not saying it's - you know - cannon, but there's some big feels here.
Oh, Dimitri, stop it. You like Dedue's overprotectiveness. Don't lie.
Man, you guys were so right. Dimitri really just came out and said Dedue was "cherished" and "irreplaceable." Like, I'm not making this stuff up. And Dedue blushing hardcore just saying Dimitri's name.
They're both just so soft. I can't. I literally cannot. This support was gold. It was worth all they hype.
And learning more about how they meant. Dimitri really taking a bullet for Dedue there. I just . . .
I just want all the happiness for both of them. They're really something special towards each other. Like I legitimately think this is one of the most two-way loyal relationships in the whole franchise, and definitely the tightest bond in this game.
Like in past games you had Seth for Ephraim and Erikia and Soren for Ike and it's not like Ike, Ephraim and Erikia and etc don't care, but it wasn't the same level, you know? But this is such a two way street.
And I'm so weak for bodyguard with a crush. Like Seth/Eirika? Yes. Geoffrey/Elincia? 100%. Riza/Roy (Fullmetal Alchemist) there again. I'm sure there's more, but those are my top ones. Even Merlin/Arthur sort of counts even if Arthur doesn't know Merlin's his bodyguard lol.
I need to read fanfic for these two. I really don't want to spoil anything, but I'm dying. They're both just so sweet, and I just really love their dynamic. I really want to do a write up on it once I get to the end of the game.
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beyondspaceandstars · 3 years ago
Text
While You Sleep
Chapter 15
Relationship: Bucky Barnes x Reader Warnings: mentions of panic attack, mentions of violence Summary: Soulmate!AU - Throughout life, you’re given glimpses of your soulmate through dreams. As you sleep, memories flash in your mind showing you the life your soulmate has lived. Everyone around you raves about how their soulmate reads great books or volunteers in their spare time. But you can’t relate as your dreams end up being more like nightmares. Through initial images of death and violence, you come to learn your soulmate is the Winter Soldier.
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“Would you like to explain to me why you’re here?”
“I think you already know why I’m here.”
Your therapist eyed you annoyingly at the bitter response. After your little episode during sex, Bucky had finally put his foot down. He realized you clearly weren’t getting anywhere on your own and he wasn’t the most equipped to give you the care you needed, so he set up a therapy appointment for you. 
The therapist was under the same practice as Bucky’s own but he made it very clear you two couldn’t see the same doctor. You’d never admit it, but you were thankful for that. You couldn’t imagine sitting across from the woman who Bucky also dumped his trauma onto. 
So, that was how, after some intense back and forth with Bucky, you ended up in front of a therapist you couldn’t remember the name of. It was pathetic, really, but in your defiance, you hadn’t learned her name. As if that somehow kept you disconnected from the whole process. At best, you knew her name started with a G and that’s all you were going to go off of.
“Sure,” Dr. G shrugged and glanced at your file. “I know what happened to you but why are you here? What made you want to see someone?”
You sighed. “It was just time.”
“Why?”
You slammed your hand on the side of the couch in frustration. It had been this weird back and forth for the last ten minutes. Honestly, you were hoping you could just drain the time but this doctor wasn’t giving either of you the luxury.
“What would you like me to say, huh?” You spat out, a new kind of anger springing within you. The dam wall had broken. “Do you want to hear about how for almost my entire life I haven’t been able to escape the nightmares of my soulmate? Or about how I get one little moment of peace with him and then it all goes to absolute shit? Because that’s just how the cookie fucking crumbles, isn’t it?” You bit your lip, holding back from the sob rising in your burning throat. But you certainly weren’t done. You forced on, “Maybe you’d like to listen to me ramble on about how my own goddamn apartment feels like a prison. Or how I can’t even have sex with my soulmate because everything, every little fucking thing, reminds me of that night. And it’s not just enough to remember it, I guess. Huge shoutout to whatever kind of soulmate bond this is.” You paused. “I was barely gone for two days and somehow it hurt me, it damaged me. But, really, it shouldn’t have, right? It was nothing compared to-,” Him. His experiences. Your words got stuck as you gasped, letting the sadness roll over you. The tears were flowing freely now. 
You just didn’t understand. You didn’t understand your reaction to any of this. You were barely touched, never even experimented on yet you couldn’t seem to actually escape it. You were flinching at touches. Backing out of sex. Not to mention the images of Bucky. Real images, no longer just dreams, but almost like your memories came into play. You were forced to be stuck in a tragic playback of that time. Over and over, every night, and you were to move on? Yet how does all of this come about from being gone for a few hours? You felt there was maybe more to this all and anxiety gnawed at you about it.
Your therapist sighed and placed your file on her side table. She leaned forward, hands clasped together. “Trauma is trauma, no matter how small or insignificant your brain thinks it is.” She passed you a tissue which you accepted.
You dabbed your eyes. “It’s just not fair,” you mumbled. “I finally found him and now I fear I’m ruining it.”
“You aren’t ruining it,” the therapist insisted. “You went through something catastrophic and your mind is reacting. It’s beyond justified. Don’t you think he, out of everyone else in this world, understands that?”
You gave a pathetic shrug knowing she’s completely correct. But that wasn’t how this was supposed to work. You should’ve been his rock, right? 
“Well,” Dr. G sighed as she leaned back in her seat, “I think he understands and you have no reason to beat yourself up over it. You aren’t responsible for any of it. You’re just responsible for recovering and, sorry to say, that isn’t exactly done overnight.”
You scoffed. “Well, where does it begin?”
“Talking,” she said. “Brainstorming. Shooting the shit. Whatever you want to call it, just find a way to let it out of here.” Dr. G motioned towards her heart. You felt your own pounding.
***
Bucky was right where you had left him sitting in one of the chairs in the corner of the waiting room. He didn’t notice you at first as he was engrossed in some technology magazine. You couldn’t help but notice how interested yet relaxed he was. He really did have a bit of a nerdy side to him. 
“What’s so fascinating?” You asked, taking a seat next to him. He jumped a little at your sudden appearance. You held back a chuckle, finding it quite amusing you could surprise the ex-assassin.
Bucky looked back at the magazine and shrugged. “Some new tiny cameras this company in Europe developed. Smaller than your pinky yet has the quality of a full-fledged camera, or so they claim.”
You smiled at his light skepticism. For a man that was easily wowed by the world he sure was hesitant to indulge in it - hence the flip phone he still kept insisted on. 
With a sigh, Bucky closed the magazine and placed it back on the table. He looked towards you again and asked, “How did it go?”
Truthfully, you didn’t want to talk about it, but that also sort of beat the purpose of getting guidance from a therapist. She emphasized that communication was a major key - for both of you. You didn’t want to dismiss that advice right away but you also didn’t exactly want to make your soulmate more concerned than he already was. He had insisted on coming with you to this appointment despite being confined to the waiting room. Bucky didn’t mind, clearly overshadowed by the worry showcased on his face.
“I have to tell you a few things if you’d like to accompany me back home.”
“Home?” He frowned. “Home as in-,”
You shook your head. “My apartment.”
Wordlessly, Bucky stood and outstretched his hand towards you. You mustered up a smile the best you could, letting him guide you out of the building and onto the city sidewalk. 
For as many concerns as you had running through you, you were finding some new sense of pride walking down the street with Bucky. Your soulmate. You had felt something there beyond it all. 
How many times had you walked these streets simply letting your gaze wander about hoping to just spot him? And then you didn’t even find him in the most conventional way. 
But you had to remind yourself of that hopeful gazing you partook in for many weeks. All you had to go off of was his actions. His violent, albeit unwilling, actions. And yet, in all that, you still wanted to meet him. Wanted to hear his voice and maybe get a peek into what he may be like. You certainly got way more than you had bargained for. And you wanted to keep it. Maybe you had been forgetting that in your worries of ruining it. These worries stemmed from wanting. You just had to remind yourself. 
You two had been lost in your own worlds. You were quite surprised by how quickly you had arrived at your apartment building. Everything outside of it was the same like the world had just stood still. You dropped Bucky’s hand and began fumbling for your keys. He kept a protective arm around your waist, trying to offer some comfort for the daunting task. 
After a shaky moment, you led him inside and up the stairs where your apartment door sat, seemingly untouched. You knew that wasn’t exactly the case. Agents had been in and out of your apartment upon your disappearance, Bucky had explained, but they must’ve been stealthy ones. It looked like every other door. 
And, really, that’s all it was, you told yourself. It’s just a door. It’s a first step, your therapist had claimed, but it was also just a door. You had wrestled with yourself over this concept for a while now and here it was in front of you. 
“You don’t have to do this.” Bucky’s voice broke your concentration. “You’re more than welcome at the compound. No one would blame you if you - you wanted to stay.”
“I know,” you sighed. “Thank you but I don’t want to wallow in it.”
Bucky didn’t say anything more and just nodded his head once in understanding. Taking a deep breath, you unlocked the door and flung it open.
You didn’t know what you were expecting. Part of you was ready to be ambushed by Hydra men. Another part of you thought the place would be a wasteland. But neither of those was the case. It was just...normal. It looked exactly how you remember leaving it in all its worn-down glory. Relief washed over you. 
You walked in as you had a million times before and threw your bag on the couch. You headed straight for the kitchen, pulling a bottle of water out of the fridge. Bucky didn’t comment on anything and just took a seat on your couch, waiting.
Making your back to the couch, you offered Bucky water but he declined. Amazingly, you floated around the apartment with no worries. It felt like you never left while also felt like you were reclaiming. 
You took a seat next to Bucky, keeping some space between your bodies.
“What’s on your mind, doll?” Bucky suddenly asked. You glanced back at him nervously. If he was at all anxious, he sure wasn’t showing it. Damn that assassin mentality.
“That nightmares have come back,” you admitted. The words landed like a million little bombs around the apartment. Bucky leaned back on the couch, his eyes wide with concern. 
“What?” It was all he seemed able to manage to say. 
You shifted on the couch uncomfortably, mentally working up the courage to continue on. “It all started back up after that… that night,” you explained. “I-I was suddenly seeing you fighting those men. I was seeing pretty much into your brain, feeling all that anger and relentless rage.” You paused. “I couldn’t believe it, really. I hadn’t had a single nightmare ever since we got together and now...it’s like a million steps back and I don’t know how to fix it. The doctor suggested talking and that’s what I want, Buck. You can’t turn away. Not right now.”
Bucky wasn’t looking at you anymore, instead taking strong interest in picking at your couch cushion. He seemed quite uncomfortable, which was beyond understandable, but he also had to have heard your pleas. 
“Y-You see all that?” He finally asked, his voice just barely above a whisper. “Just on a playback loop? Despite us being connected, really connected.”
You didn’t know what to do besides nod in confirmation. Bucky let out a deep sigh.
“And this, on top of everything else, hasn’t been helping you to recover, has it?”
You shook your head. Bucky now looked like he wanted to put his fist through your door. Tears welled in his eyes. 
“Of course not,” Bucky mumbled. “I-I thought it was supposed to get better.”
“Me too,” you admitted. “I didn’t tell the therapist this but I… Well, I fear there’s something faulty with this bond.”
The thought had initially popped in your head out of nowhere. One night you were half-awake, already witnessing the shine of Bucky’s arm as his hand contracted around the goon’s throat, when you began trying to think about the good memories. The reader Bucky you got to see. How lovely that was to bring up. How the conversation that followed was refreshing, fun. You wouldn’t be able to bring anything like that up again because you lost them. It took a bit for your theory to prove certain but once it was, you realized, you were stuck. 
But you also hadn’t exactly wanted to act on this theory, figuring this could be handled on your own. Date night proved wrong. 
Bucky eyed you, curiously. “What do you mean?”
“It’s very challenging to recover from something when it’s the only thing you’re reminded of, right? Well, that’s the case, nightly. Despite how serious we are in this relationship, it’s cutting through, even though it seemed like in the beginning…” Your words trailed, a bit unsure. You changed the focus. “The memories and thoughts are still transmitted disturbing reminders. I can talk about it until I’m blue in the face, but I just don’t think that’s all there is to it. The bond isn’t letting me move on regardless of our circumstances. Everything you saw...”
Your soulmate nodded in his attempt to understand where this was going. You even had to admit, it was sounding a bit bizarre. You did think it was just trauma and in many ways, it is. It all comes back to the trauma derived from the situation but to have to relive it through your soulmate’s eyes. To have to see him personally killing someone was just… It was a whole new level of memories. You were personally attached to them. You weren’t just living through it in some fucked up metaphorical way - you actually had lived it. Besides - it shouldn’t be this way.
“You think we need to see someone about it,” Bucky concluded.
Hesitantly, you confirmed his suspicions. “Are there really doctors who study it? I've heard rumors but I’ve never seen someone.” Thinking of it now, you never knew why you didn’t. Probably because those who studied soulmate bonds were truly myths. There wasn’t exactly anything tangible to study. Who was going to waste their time?
Bucky shrugged. “I think I may know someone.”
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tobiosmilktea · 4 years ago
Text
 umpah umpah! smau
↪︎ bokuto x f!reader x iwaizumi
[021] — like a storm!
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a/n: swear my writing hasn’t been that good recently and i blame it on my lack of freetime 😔 anyway here’s 4.5k words of trashy word dump that i wrote in 2 hours ;)) also peep the tlc reference
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in theory, this picnic blanket was much too small for the likes of fitting a webtoon author, an editor, and a beefy volleyball player all at once, and yet, it still managed to fit two more to come join—tightly bunched up in the park at night as the crisp air temperature slowly drops. having a picnic at the cusp of autumn and winter was a definite mistake, but then again, perhaps they were used to it by now.
it wasn’t like the cold was bothering bokuto at this point anyway as his blood simmered with a boiling hot ichor. he had a death grip on his phone as satomi left him on read. all the volleyball player could do was roll his eyes and scoff as he taps your shoulder. akaashi, who sat on the other side of you was in the midst of speaking to you, yet was interrupted by the bright white light from the screen shone across your faces.
your eyes scanned the texts, feeling your lungs desperately yearning for air. her words suffocated you, crushing your airways as you struggled to breathe. perhaps you have forgotten how to at that very moment. they say it takes about three minutes for someone to suffocate from the lack of oxygen and if akaashi didn’t shake you, that probably would have been you. the fact that seeing that damn photo made your heart shatter more times than you could count over a course of the past few days. you couldn’t catch a fucking break, could you?
you had to look away. if you had stared at satomi in iwaizumi’s bed any longer, you would’ve screamed your head off.
“god, these cookies are so fucking good. i would literally marry these if i could,” kaori moaned into another bite of a matcha shortbread cookie. she practically threw herself over yuko’s lap as she reached in her little baggie for more. “these cookies are a godsend, (y/n), where did you get them?”
“this bakery right next to onigiri miya, apparently they make good lemon macarons as well.” you mutter. the semblance of seeing those texts was still evident upon your expression.
yuko doesn’t fail to notice the way the timbre of your voice had changed within a sudden moment. she gives you a look, “what’s wrong?” her words, careful and genuine filled you with something somber as bokuto handed his phone to her.
kaori grunts slightly as she lifts herself off of yuko, yet her body was still leaned over to skim the texts along with her.
it was a nervous habit of yours to fiddle with your fingers, picking and scratching at your chipped nail polish until it was all gone. you don’t remember when this became a habit, but you always did this whilst you waited for something you dreaded to hear the answer to. as if the nerves within you pooled into a wave, crashing back and forth like a tide until you either get dragged along with it or somehow manage to survive.
their expressions contorted into a nasty mixture of disgust and absolute horror. even kaori who has seen the despicable sweet-tongued manipulations of nicotine-stained fingers of incels had to shake her head and push the phone away.
“i never liked that girl from the start,” yuko scoffs. she hands the phone back to bokuto, watching him switch it off and dropping it onto the cushioned picnic blanket in annoyance.
“god, the amount of anger coursing through my body right now...” muttered bokuto, “i can’t believe she would do this.”
“at least she didn’t do anything to iwaizumi,” akaashi tried to reason. things were already so messed up, it was the least he could do.
kaori shakes her head, clearing her throat from the dryness of the shortbread cookie. “doesn’t matter,” her words were venomous and cutthroat, “she’s still a terrible person considering she got him drunk and made him tell her shit that wasn’t any of her business. what a fucking snake.”
you pursed your lips slightly, wanting to close your eyes and make this all disappear the moment you wake up. the chill of the night air had finally struck you. it was that sudden urge to run away as fast as possible, to escape the words you wholeheartedly wanted to leave behind continued to follow you like haunting poltergeists. and as if the tingling phrases of whispered memoirs of your mistakes weren’t enough, your own decisions whether it was right or wrong lingered back to both iwaizumi and bokuto. it’s heavy baggage you so dearly wanted to get rid of, but the solutions seemed so skewed and out of place for you to comprehend properly that even the chill in the air started to burn.
bokuto glanced at you with worry coated the emotions in his eyes. his hand reached for yours, lacing his fingers through your own as his palm—though rough and calloused—was warm against the biting cold of your hand. it comforted you more than you had expected with the way it was hidden from the others, almost melting when bokuto started to rub his thumb in little circles on the back of your hand and over your knuckles.
your hands were so soft, he had forgotten how much he liked holding them. he could memorize each and every detail just by admiring the way your hand looked so tiny next to his, yet they fit together like a glove.
you swore your heart was ready to jump out of your throat then. you weren’t sure if bokuto could even feel the way you squeezed his hand slightly as a silent answer.
“we should do something about it,” you say after a few beats of silence had passed, but it only comes out in a hushed mutter.
bokuto squeezed back, “like what?”
“i don’t really know,” you shrug while you shook your head, “just something that’ll make her learn a lesson or two.”
kaori gasps, “we should sue her!”
you and the others gave her a look.
“like seriously, sexual assault allegations are terrible especially since she’s a famous sports team’s physical therapist!”
“there probably isn’t enough evidence for that to work, kaori, considering they only made out.” yuko says matter-of-factly, “besides, suing someone is expensive and we don’t have that kind of budget right now.”
kaori braids over arms over each other in disappointment, “that’s lame.”
“yuko’s right.” you sighed, “i don’t want things to get out of hand and end up going public either. iwaizumi is already mad at the fact that i used him for a webtoon and surely being part of a lawsuit would only make it worse.”
it had come to a point that you had noticed how far everything has come. you wanted to laugh at how fast everything went downhill within a matter of months. the skeleton of your mistakes was just waiting for its last bits to fall and crush you.
there had to be a way to just make this—whatever this entire thing is to just end already.
akaashi opened his mouth to speak after keeping his thoughts to himself this entire time, “what if we just... get her fired?” he finished the last of his words in a blazing hesitance as if we would absolutely hate the idea. granted, it wasn’t much to work off of just by a simple proposal, but it had potential.
“we could, but how exactly are we going to do that?” bokuto asks curiously.
“didn’t you say that tomas recently got injured?” akaashi starts, earning a nod from bokuto to have him continue, “well if we want to be discrete as possible we could do it the old-fashioned way.”
yuko furrowed her brows as she asked, “which is?”
“if she keeps missing work or arriving late, she could potentially lose her job.”
kaori bursts out laughing, heaving a heavy snort as she mused at akaashi, “seriously? is that really our best option?”
akaashi rolled his eyes as she teases, “since you wanted to go the legal route, technically, it is.”
the girl’s laughter came to a slow cease, cocking her head in interest as she waited for one of them to elaborate.
“no yeah, there’s still a chance for this to actually work.” bokuto starts without a second thought. hell, he even forgot he was still holding your hand. “professional sports teams require their medical team to be at every game whether it’s real or just practice since the players are always at risk of getting injured. satomi’s known to be good at being there every day on time, so if yoji and their boss sees that she’s consistently missing work now for... let’s say—iwaizumi—and tomas isn’t getting treated asap, they’re allowed to replace her. and if you’re replaced, there’s basically no going back even if it is just temporary. and if that happens...” he pauses as he holds back a smirk, “she’s going to be fined legally with negligence—worst-case scenario, she’ll probably be fined for nonfeasance too.”
“whoa there, those are some big words, sir.” says kaori, “someone catch me up here?”
akaashi lets out a sigh, “nonfeasance means failure to do what’s expected.”
the sound of awe left kaori as she nods in understanding.
“is this really necessary? it seems like a lot of work just to get back at her.” yuko has always been a rational person, just like akaashi, but the only difference between them was that she liked to do things the fastest and most easy way.
“if we play our cards right, i think we could do it.” says bokuto.
“then i think we need all the help we can get if we really want this to work out.” akaashi said, craning his neck towards you to ask, “should i tell semi and suga about it?”
it’s not even a question for you to answer considering how obvious the answer was. of course, you had to tell them. they basically knew everything already, and if anything they’re the only ones who could make this plan actually work.
“i can also tell my team about it to help.” bokuto adds in, but you cut him a look, “only atsumu, sakusa, hinata, and tomas of course. i promise i’ll only tell them what they need to know. what do you think?”
“as long as satomi gets what she deserves.”
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you hated the way your thoughts were an endless motion of suffering. it had been keeping you awake all night as you tossed and turned. you couldn’t rest now as if a giant cinder block of forbidden serendipities would clash-boom-bang back onto you as it was being held by a teetering string of floss. it was bound to snap at any second. you yearned for even just a few minutes of rest as maybe these suffocating feelings would disappear once you woke up in the early morning.
it was still dark out—three a.m... maybe, but all you knew was that it was late and your flurrying thoughts were giving you so much residual energy that you needed to extrude. it wasn’t a form of adrenaline or a sugar rush, no, it was something else. your body was well beyond fatigued, but rather your mind was running like a brain on drugs.
there were so many things rushing through your head that it morphed into a jungle of tangled vines of plenty. it was a storming blizzard that couldn’t be calmed down as you finally pushed yourself off your bed, forcing your sheets off of you and sitting on the side of the matress. guilt was eating you alive, gnawing at your hollow chest as your semblance withered while the minutes passed. you just wanted for everything to just stop. please just stop.
maybe this is why you never told any of them. the stress, the consequences— you knew damn well that shit would hit the fan if you did, and yet it’s inevitable. the truth would have come out sooner or later.
ugh, why are you like this? you thought to yourself, dragging your fingers through your hair as you sighed out.
the answers were obvious, but it was the tingling of your lips that sent waves of heat to your cheeks as you recalled the kiss... the kiss! holy shit, the kiss. it hit you then when it played back in your head from a few hours ago when bokuto dropped you off at your door. something melted in bokuto’s eyes the moment you looked back at him, heat emanating from every inch of his skin as you tracked the tension in his body. he leaned over with his face just a few centimeters shy from yours and you swore he could probably hear your heart punching against your ribcage. bokuto could feel the warmth of your breath fanning against his chin and for a moment the world and all the problems in it seemed to disappear for a brief moment. before you knew it he kissed you gently as if it was his last. it certainly would be for a while, anyway.
“dammit,” you cursed in a harsh whisper, leaning over to switch on your bedside lamp in a swift flick.
you slapped your cheeks to force the thought out of your head as you made your way to your desk. you turned your desk lamp on with it’s bright yellow hue flickering slightly over your messy work area. it was scattered with paperwork and miscellaneous notes that it was surely beyond your mood to even fix-up.
usually, you tend to be pretty clean and organized with your desk space, and yet with recent events, you’ve been letting the work pile up instead. you’ve always liked the saying, this is something future (y/n) can deal with, but for once you hated yourself for it. besides, look where it got you.
a sigh escaped your lips when you plopped yourself upon your chair. your delicate fingers traced along the edges of the neatly bonded sheets of love cemetery’s storyboard. you started it earlier today with the help of the rest of the ddd team after the director of the project gave you the freedom to do so as usually, he would be in charge of making the storyboard and such. despite being rather chaotic on a daily basis, you were glad to be surrounded by people who always put a smile on your face while still getting work done. those were the best types of people to work with—friends that cared about you.
you guys managed to get the first fifteen pages done and you needed twenty completed panels in less than twenty-four hours. you were used to this type of pressure, especially while you were working on your webtoon. you were surprised how many times you sprained your hand from constantly working that the aching pain between your joints and your wrists were second nature at this point. surely, you would have carpal tunnel by now if akaashi wasn’t there to always nag you to take breaks.
with a few wrist stretches and cracks of your knuckles, you flipped to the next scene—the day you and bokuto met. your heart tugged slightly as you envisioned the scene you drew in your webtoon, slowly converting it into a movie scene in your head.
oh, how things have changed.
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your hand ached for mercy by the time seven a.m. struck. the sun had already peeked through the horizon, sending rays of sunlight through the blinds of your bedroom window as a greeting for the new morning. you had been sketching out the storyboard for five nonstop hours (give or take a few minutes in between trying not to let the different events in the story get to you).
you’ve always had a strange habit of ignoring the pain in your wrist, but now it was certainly unbearable. the lead pencil that was hot to the touch from the heat from your hand dropped onto your desk in a clatter. your eyes flicked down to your palm as you could feel the fatigue darkening your eyebags. your hands were practically alabaster from the constant pressure that it took a good moment for the circulation to run back into your hand.
you left your bedroom and made your way to your kitchenette. it was like your body was moving on its own, grabbing a mug, turning on your kettle, and tossing teaspoons of sugar in your cup for your morning tea as if you were on autopilot.
silence had surrounded you for far too long, you needed some form of sound to keep you sane from staying up all night and leaving you alone with your thoughts to just take over. sounds from the television hummed through the quaint air of your apartment in the lowest possible volume, just beneath the whistling of the tea kettle atop your stove.
you poured out the boiling hot water as your eyes followed the way the tea steeped through the liquid like a spreading storm.
the doorbell rang then, causing your head to swirl towards your door with slight confusion filling your expression. who would even come by so early in the morning?
the floorboards of your apartment creaked at your light steps as you trod towards the door, almost flinching at the cold surface of the handle as you unlocked it. you pulled the door open. there was that infamous morning chill in the autumn air that bit at your bare arms and legs. the heat from your apartment escaped at the motion as your breath hitched within your throat.
he looked out of breath and filled with fearful tension as his broad shoulders relaxed a bit at your sight. his usual soft brown locks that are always styled was tangled and woven into each other like a basket weave. hell, he looked as if he rushed immediately here the moment he woke up, all disheveled and almost desperate. poor guy didn’t even think to put on a coat before coming.
what the hell is he doing here?
“iwa—?” you attempted to say out loud in a harsh whisper that could barely leave your body in the first place. and yet, your voice disappeared into his chest as he pulls you into him, warmth engulfing you like burning ember.
you swallowed the lump forming in your throat as you froze. call it shock or just plain confusion but you couldn’t bring yourself to move your arms from the way iwaizumi’s embrace trapped them to your sides. just the plain sensation of the heat rising from his skin was enough to simmer down your awe as you finally managed to wrap your arms around him.
“i’m sorry,” he mutters into your shoulder.
you captured your bottom lip between your teeth. “i’m sorry too,” you say in the same matter, yet your voice almost sounded hoarse from the dryness in your throat. “i should’ve told you the truth.”
“and i shouldn’t have said those things that i said to you...”
a response would usually follow right after, but you couldn’t piece together the correct words and all of the nuanced phrases in your head to say into the air. your thoughts were too far cluttered and chaotic to even say anything more other than, “it’s okay.”
iwaizumi could only pull you in closer, hold you tighter, and leave his arms around you as if he feared that you would disappear out of his reach if he were to let go even in the slightest. he made the mistake of letting you go that one night many years ago and he has learned his lesson since them. he’s not going to take any more chances.
you two have been in each other’s arms for a while now, but you couldn’t find the strength in you to let go. you haven’t felt iwaizumi’s hugs in so long that perhaps you wanted to savor it a bit longer as well. like a little treat—a reward of a few minutes of peace after a thunderstorm of misunderstanding where all that’s left is the aroma of lingering petrichor of bittersweet nothings. you would like to call this a small victory, but something was off.
“iwa,” you say once you finally pulled yourself into your senses, “what’s wrong?”
“i did something bad, (y/n). i fucked up.”
you pull away from him slightly, just enough to be able to look at him in the eye but still be in the comfort of his arms. “what happened?”
“i was so fucking stupid, i shouldn’t have agreed to go with satomi.” oh, you thought as the words left his mouth. you pursed your lips together, forcing yourself to lock your gaze onto him as he spoke. “i ended up getting drunk and telling her everything that happened by accident.”
it’s okay, i already know. i already know, i already know. the words rang inside your head as you fought to say the words, but nothing was coming out. you did nothing wrong, it’s okay, it’s okay. there was so much hurt and betrayal lacing iwaizumi’s copper eyes that you feared anything you say (regardless if it was in his favor) would obliterate everything that just happened into dust. seriously, how bad would it sound telling a person that you were already aware of what they did? iwaizumi already had so many trust issues that you were treading on thin ice right now.
it really all came down to the question: do what’s right or do what’s easy?
right or easy, right or easy?
for years you have been choosing the easy route to undermine your problems. you always thought to yourself, if you had ignored the problem long enough, eventually it’ll all go away. it might have worked for the tiniest of things, but you should’ve known it would never work when you were fucking up other people’s lives from your own selfishness.
you didn’t want to be selfish anymore.
“we ended up sleeping together.”
you scrunched your brows in confusion, “what?”
did satomi lie then? did they actually sleep together?
“i-i don’t even remember how it all happened!” iwaizumi exclaimed in such urgency. he certainly didn’t want to make the gap between you two any bigger, “all i remember was that we kissed but before i knew it, i woke up to her in my bed but she was fully clothed.”
you sigh with a huff, trying to piece together the disarrayed parts together as you recalled bokuto’s words from last night, satomi doesn’t lie when it comes to sleeping around. the sentence wandering your thoughts as the boy before you continue to ramble. so maybe satomi didn’t lie after all, “listen, iwa—”
“you gotta believe me, (y/n), i didn’t mean to do it. when i said that i still love you the last time we texted i meant it—”
“haji, i said listen!” you huffed as you grabbed his arm. the sudden name change was enough to shut him up and possibly cause a surging red tint to his ears. you found it adorable, but you had to cut him some slack since you hadn’t called him that since high school. “last night i was with akaashi and bokuto.”
iwaizumi was already making a face before you could even start. “why were you with them?”
“just hear me out okay?” you pleaded.
he saw the aggression in your eyes and immediately shut up, nodding for you to continue.
“while i was with them, satomi texted us about everything that happened. she said that you guys only made out and didn’t do anything beyond that.” you explain, watching the slight relief softening his expression, “she ended up just sleeping over instead that’s why she was in your bed.”
you didn’t expect him to say anything when you finished your thought. it was a lot to sudden comprehend as you two just stood there waiting, swallowed up in your own thoughts.
“don’t blame yourself, okay?” you attempted to break the silence, “what satomi did was wrong.”
iwaizumi’s wandering gaze flickered back to you, fist curling up into a tight ball until his knuckles turned marble white. but as quickly as he felt the aching of his nail digging into his palm did he let go and let his shoulders drop. he sighs while he ran his hand through his tangled hair. he didn’t know what to say and the silence was punishing.
you parted your lips slightly as the words tickled your tongue. “this, um, might be too much to ask and you don’t have to say yes, but we need your help with something.”
“who’s we?”
“bokuto, akaashi, kaori, and the rest of my team.” you answer truthfully, “we’re trying to get satomi to face the consequences.”
iwaizumi nods, not hesitating for a second. “alright, i’ll do it.”
well that was easier than you thought.
you held back an amused laugh, hiding your smile behind your hand as you pull away from him. you made your way back to your kitchen as you had forgotten about your cup of tea from earlier.
“but...” iwaizumi trailed behind you as you sipped from your mug. “i was the one who made a move on her first.”
“oh,” you say. you definitely didn’t know about that small detail that sent ivy-like jealousy through your veins, “i mean... you were drunk so it makes sense.” you tried to justify without making your envy too obvious.
you turned away from him, fearing that he could see right through you.
“i kissed her thinking it was you,” he states.
your eyes widen then, slapping your cheeks that heated by the second. there was a grip around your swiftly beating heart, aching within your ribcage as you attempted to calm the roaring serendipities that threatened to bloom prematurely.
a composed sigh leaves you as you pull yourself together, turning back around to face iwaizumi with a meek smile. “cool,” you mused awkwardly as your brain search rapidly for a way to change the subject. iwaizumi moved closer to you, sending you into a mild panic, “have you had breakfast yet?” you asked out of the blue.
but before you could even fathom what he was doing, he cups your face between his hands and pulls you in.
your heart flutters and stops when iwaizumi pressed his lips against yours, soft and delicate as if you were the most fragile thing within his grasp. and you were. his touch against your jaw was light as it trailed down your neck. he could feel the raging ichor that soared through your veins like a wildfire while your hand that was splayed against his broad chest could feel the thumping of his heart against your own palm.
you pull away from him as he says, “no, i haven’t.” but it wasn’t to let him answer, rather, it was the thought that iwaizumi came second place again.
fun facts! —
yes. y/n did kiss both bokuto and iwaizumi within a span of a couple hours 💀 queen shit fr
after iwaizumi left, y/n immediately facetimed kaori and akaashi and told them what happened
it was definitely awkward between bokuto and iwaizumi when they saw each other, but it was harder to avoid satomi
(also by saying “iwaizumi came second place” means who was able to kiss y/n first not who won her feelings over)
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