#and i know im falling behind but i just can’t seem to catch back up

[alaskan-wallflower]

i love how i’m barely a month and a half into school and i’m already burnt out

(self harm tw in the tags)

[bigassmoonchild]

Lost

Pairing: Logan Howlett x Reader

Word Count: 1.4k

Summary: It's not the first time you've plummeted into another timeline. It is the first time in years that you've met a Deadpool still doing the anti-hero (vigilante?) thing. And unfortunately for you, you're stuck with him.

Content Tags: DEADPOOL AND WOLVERINE SPOILERS! I'm being so serious, this entire series is going to be stock-full of spoilers for that movie. Some mentions of blood, lots of cursing (as expected). No use of Y/N

A/N: I promise I'm working on stuff, work just has had me super busy the last few weeks (months if I'm being more honest) and school is coming up soon for me :(. Anyways. I wanna lick Logans abs. This is hopefully gonna be a slow burn ;)

(p.s. lmk if you wanna be added to a tag list in the future)

(p.p.s. this is mostly story building with a tad bit of plot)

(p.p.p.s. i'm trying to write in a less past tense style, forgive if that changes throughout the story, im so fuckin delirious)

It’s jarring. Every single time it happens is so jarring. It’s almost like getting whiplashed with how hard you are pulled backwards and then your stomach drops; it feels as though you’re falling. The same sensation you get right before you fall asleep, like your body can’t tell if you’re still alive.  

You’ve never been thrown so forcefully out of it. Usually you land, stumbling on your feet. This time, though, you’re thrown onto your back. Your skull cracks against the pavement underneath you and it feels like all the air has been forced out of your body.  

“Fuuuuck,�� it feels pushed out of your body, your chest heaving in short gasps. Rolling onto your side, all you can see in front of you is the street. Whatever Earth you’ve landed on, it doesn’t seem like it’s good.  

There’s blood splattered everywhere, cars and buses are on their sides or flipped over. Glass is scattered on the streets. Maybe you just arrived right after the battle of New York, maybe this world has been abandoned.  

You struggle to your feet, stumbling and catching yourself before standing fully upright. You can feel the warmth of some blood on your back before the skin reconnects, leaving behind the burn of cement rash.  

Behind you, there’s panting. It’s heavy and sounds almost wet. Turning, you look at two men who were behind you. 

“Oh, you’ve got to be fucking kidding me,”  

... 

You tried walking away. Removing yourself from the situation like the adult you were, but no. It wasn’t working. You never got more than a few feet away from the two before being teleported back within their range.  

The two men, Deadpool and the poor Wolverine stuck with him, just watched for some time. Deadpool was oddly quiet through most of it, although you can almost hear the monologue in his thoughts, his head following as you walked in different directions before snapping to where you appeared. Dogpool, the ugly thing, sat in the arms of its alternate person just panting heavily. It never stopped panting.  

You huff angrily, throwing your back against the wall right next to Wade. Crossing your arms, you look down at Mary Puppins sitting in his arms. She went cross eyed while looking up at you, staring blankly at the wall next to you and yourself.  

“Who shit in your biscuit this morning?” Wade asks you, head tilting slightly. You have to brace yourself and breathe deeply to make sure you don’t roll your eyes. You never realized how thankful you were that your home Earths Deadpool ended up in the void before you even knew what abilities you had.  

Glancing down at him with just your eyes, you find that he still hasn’t looked away. “Whoever the hell sent me here, that’s who,” you respond. There’s pain in your voice, you can hear up, but also the utter annoyance that most Deadpool's just bring. “Didn’t know the Wolverine on this world was still alive,” you nod your head towards Logan like you’re gesturing to him.  

It’s quiet. You’ve somehow silenced Wade Wilson, the merc with a mouth. You watch his chest expand in a deep inhale and it caves back in as he exhales deeply.  

“He isn’t,” and your brows furrow. Other than the TVA, you don’t know any other casual dimension jumper. Even they were a stretch, you know, they didn’t deserve to be able to do that.  Somehow, they were able to master it. You think he can see the confusion on your face as your eyes flit back and forth between them. Logan’s still eating whatever it is he had in his hand. “The TVA,” he takes a breath, and you have to interrupt. 

“Why did they bring him here?” You shake your head, brows furrowing further.  

Wade shifts his head side to side. “They didn’t bring him here, sunshine,” his voice perks up. “I did,” and he has the widest smile on his face that doesn’t quite reach his eyes.  

“I don’t,” you pause and rub your face, looking down at the ground. “I don’t even wanna know why or how,”  

“’Cause I'm Marvel Jesus,” is his quick quip back. He stands suddenly, his back popping and cracking as he stretches himself. “Alrighty, Peanut, let’s get going home,” he says to Logan (maybe it was to Mary Puppins, you’ve got no idea), and there’s a little pep in his step. “C’mon puppy!” Wade calls and you get yanked again and appear just a few feet ahead of him.  

With a roll of his eyes, Logan stands and tosses his food off to the side. “I’m going to go figure things out on my own,” he says. Turning away, you watch as Logan walks off from the two of you and you hope to whatever being is out there that you get pulled along with him, but he isn’t able to make it more than a few steps before Wade starts talking again. 

“Oh no you don’t! I’ve waited far too long for this meetup!” Wade calls out, and you see Logan stop in his tracks. His shoulders slump, almost like he’s struggling with a decision he’s about to make. “Blind Al isn’t all she’s cocained up to be, we need a third in our little house of horrors,” he snickers a little. 

You’re really hoping it doesn’t last forever, but when you finally make the trek to Wades apartment that feeling almost vanishes (almost). It’s homey, although the apartment itself is small and cramped with two people already there. You’ve met a few Als before, but only a small number of them weren’t blind. 

It was only in passing though. You could recognize that woman anywhere. Her eyes were always a striking feature, and the few who weren’t blind always carried this sort of knowledge within them as they followed you when you walked by them.  

This Al seemed sweet, although listening to Wade tell you about her was a little odd. You couldn’t fully tell if he was joking about her being able to see cocaine, but there’s been worse you’ve interacted with.  

Speaking of worse, Logan would not let you out of his sight at all thus far. You could feel his eyes boring down on your back the entire walk to the apartment, and even when you got inside and completely ignored everything Wade was saying (a lot of it was just telling you and Logan about the apartment and what to not touch, oddly enough) he would not let you leave his sight.  

Even just checking out what type of T.V this world had to offer left you with his stare. You begin to browse their small selection of DVD’s when you finally speak up. 

“Might wanna take a picture,” it was quiet, but you knew he could hear you. “It’ll last you longer,” but there was no response. Usually, it was the Bucky Barnes of the Earth that had the staring problem, it had never been the Wolverines.  

They always made their problems with you obvious. They’d never pulled this type of behavior, and it was strange. For the first time in years, you had someone act strange and you couldn’t figure out how to go about confronting it.  

“Who’re you?” Logan finally spoke up, quieting Wade in the middle of his rant.  

You swallow thickly. “I’m not the person you think I am,” and you cringe internally. It always sounded dumb when you said it, but you never knew what else to say. Who knows if there’s another you in this world, or maybe even Logans. “Whoever I am, or was, to you? That’s not who I am,” but you’d never met another one of you.  

There’s the thud of glass on wood, it's thick and there’s no way that it isn’t a beer bottle.  “I’ve never met you in my life. Have you?” Assuming he was talking to Wade, you turn as best as you can while still crouched in front of the TV to look at him.  

He’s shrugging, opening his mouth for a response before Logan beats him to it. “What the hell is it that you can do, anyways? Are you a mutant? Or just another fucked up creation by a government?” You bark a laugh.  

“I’m just one of God’s fucked up mistakes, that’s what,” and you look down with a sigh, shaking your head. “I really don’t know. My world didn’t have mutants, not like others do. It was always some botched work done by doctors in basements,” Wade looks appalled.  

His eyes find some spot on the wall, and he smiles at it. “It’s like looking into a mirror. Although a lot less ballsackey and not as interesting,” you have to shake your head.  

Logan clears his throat. “What do you mean, your world didn’t have mutants,” you smile at him.  

“My timeline doesn’t exist anymore,”  

[lelengerine]

pairing. jeno x reader

synopsis. based on this req!

genre. not so confession au, just jeno getting his world shaken hehe, reader uses she/her prns and is implied to be female, reader is DENSE and im putting that lightly... lmk if anything was missed :D

wc. 1.4k

notes. anonie i support u fully because THIS IS SOOO HIM >< highly recommend listening to crazier by le sserafim for this one! sorry it took a while TT i was trying to see if my tags would fix but sadly that isnt the case... likes and feedback are highly appreciated!

m.list

you’ve always been jeno’s constant, his best friend, the person he shares his dumbest jokes with, the person who never fails to laugh when he falls out of the race track at mario kart, the person who knows when to cheer him up without him needing to say much. there was always an ease between you that others would envy, the kind of closeness that lets you steal fries off his plate without thinking twice or crash on his couch for hours without either of you caring. 

that’s just how your friendship was.

at least, he needs to keep reminding himself that was how it was between you two because his thoughts were beginning to steer in the opposite direction. lately he had become hyper aware of your presence, noticing the way the bridge of your nose would crinkle ever so slightly when you smile, how you completely disregard his personal space to sit beside him closely, and even your reliance on him when you can’t seem to twist the lid of a particularly stubborn jar off. it was always the subtlest of things that lingered in the back of his mind, and he couldn’t pinpoint why. 

though, it seems like his friends were more than aware of the answer he was searching for from the way they were teasing him during one of your spontaneous meetups in his dorm.

you and jeno sat side by side on the couch, surrounded by the familiar chaos of his friends. chenle and jisung, as usual, had been locked in a heated game for the past hour, their playful bickering filling the room. across from you, renjun and jaemin watch the scene unfold in their usual, quiet way, content to simply observe. you’re half-tuned into whatever conversation was floating in the air, mindlessly scrolling through your phone—with the occasional nudge to jeno’s shoulder, sharing a meme or video that made you snort on the inside, the casual, easy comfort between you both flowing naturally amidst the background noise.

haechan who was lounging lazily on the opposite end of the couch, passes jeno a look—a sly, knowing smirk that immediately puts the latter on edge. there’s always a hint of mischief behind haechan’s smile, but for some reason, it felt even more suspicious today.

“so,” haechan begins, stretching the word out, eyes never leaving jeno. he leans forward slightly, as if settling in for something big. “what’s been up with you lately, man?”

jeno raises an eyebrow, confused but wary. “what are you talking about?”

“oh, you know…” haechan waves a hand in the air, his smirk widening into something too smug for comfort. “you’ve just been acting a little… different.”

“different how?” you chime in with sudden interest. “did he start doing something weird?”

“not weird, just... off.” jaemin continues the bait haechan’s laid out, the innocent smile plastered on his lips testing jeno’s patience to not go over and close his mouth shut before it starts spewing nonsense.

“off?” jisung perks up from the floor, focus starting to shift away from the large screen in the room. “what do you mean by off?”

“oh, he’s definitely been weird for weeks now,” chenle adds, jumping into the conversation with a grin, catching onto his friends’ intentions fairly quicker than others.

jeno shifts uncomfortably, feeling the weight of everyone’s eyes on him, but he doesn’t forget to shoot chenle a glare after joining the rest and their sudden urge for mischief. “i’m not weird. you guys are just being paranoid.”

“nah, you’ve definitely been jittery. more than usual.”

“yeah, i noticed it too.”

“jittery?” you ask, your confusion deepening, causing your forehead to form subtle creases. “why would he be jittery?”

before jeno can respond, chenle cheekily cuts in after pretending to ponder on his thoughts. “i don’t know, maybe something’s been distracting him.”

haechan snorts, clearly enjoying the whole spectacle a bit too much. “yeah, pretty distracted, don’t you think?”

you frown, gaze drifting towards your best friend. “is he losing sleep over video games again?”

chenle bursts into laughter, occasionally hitting jisung by the shoulder. “oh yeah, totally video games,” he teases, the sarcasm thick in his voice for anyone to pick up on. “he’s definitely been staying up all night thinking about those.”

"shut up," jeno mumbles, his ears burning as the heat creeps up his neck, trying to fend off the rising embarrassment. with every pair of eyes in the room glued to him, the pointed stares and teasing smirks are becoming impossible to ignore.

"this is so weird," you mumble, glancing between the boys. the playful tension crackles in the air, but you're completely clueless, unable to grasp what was so funny or why they were all being so persistent today.

mark, who’s been quietly observing from the kitchen, finally steps in after the conversation piques his interest. “maybe it’s a girl,” he waves the gentle suggestion in the air, and despite his tone being casual, you easily could tell he was just as in on it as the rest were.

the room falls into a brief, stunned silence. the first of the night.

you choke on your own breath, turning sharply to jeno, feeling a bit betrayed that he’d kept this from you. “jen, you have a crush and didn’t tell me anything?”

jeno’s brain goes into overdrive, panic flooding his chest from the thought of you getting the wrong idea. “no! what are you even talking about?” he sputters, flustered beyond belief. 

as if there weren’t already enough misunderstandings, haechan dramatically nods, paying no heed to jeno’s frantic denial. “oh right, he’s been losing sleep over someone. the poor guy’s probably been agonizing over it.”

jeno’s pulse races, the teasing voices of his friends blending into a chaotic blur. he couldn’t explain it, not when he doesn’t fully understand it himself, but his mind immediately thinks of you. the way his stomach twists when you’re around, how his heart picks up pace whenever you smile—that jittery feeling jaemin mentioned... it’s all starting to make sense in the worst possible way.

there’s a moment, as the others keep prodding and nudging at him, where it clicks. he’s always been comfortable around you, always enjoyed your company, but now—with their teasing pushing his thoughts into overdrive—it feels different. the way his heart seems to lurch every time your shoulder brushes his, how your laugh makes his chest bubble with a ticklish feeling he can’t explain, the way his thoughts keep drifting back to you even when you’re not around.

do i… like her?

the realization hits him like a freight train, and suddenly, all the pieces that were once scrambled come together one by one. the teasing, the jokes, the way he’s been acting lately—it all connects into one perfectly clear line. he’s fallen, and he didn’t even realize it, and now, with every single person in the room staring at him, he feels like the biggest idiot on the planet for not seeing it sooner.

“i don’t…” jeno starts, his voice low, struggling to find the right words as they stick to his throat. his gaze flickers to you, sitting there still utterly confused by the entire conversation.

“oh my god, jeno’s speechless,” jisung deadpans, eyes wide in slight surprise. “this might be the first time in history.”

“must be serious,” haechan chimes in and from what you could tell, there’s no ounce of worry in his tone. instead, the boy is grinning widely, like a cat who’s caught the canary.

jeno can’t find it in himself to respond, the load of the realization still sinking in, heavy and overwhelming. even jaemin, who’s usually more subtle, can’t help but throw in a quick, “just admit it, jeno. we all know.”

you huff, still frustrated and completely lost. “am i seriously the only one not getting what’s going on here?”

“sadly, yes.” haechan confirms with a muffled snicker from his end, leaning back into the couch, enjoying this far too much.

jeno glances at you again, feeling his chest tighten. his head is spinning, his thoughts racing. you’re oblivious to all the teasing, still in the dark about what’s really happening, and maybe that’s for the best. maybe it’s easier if you don’t know—at least, not yet.

“i… i need to get some air,” jeno announces abruptly, standing up from the couch and bolting for the door before anyone can stop him.

“...should we go after him?” you propose, biting your lip out of nervousness, not having seen jeno act this way in all the years the two of you had known each other.

“just let him be for now.” chenle pats your shoulder out of genuine consolation, “he’ll find his way back to you.”

[kayewrite]

..maybe that's why

(bsn ending #8)

jeongin x reader! i.n x fem reader!! wordcount: 2.2k

bsn alternative ending wherein jeongin doesnt want to call you 'noona' but you dont know why.

(an: last alternative ending. next to this will be the special chapter where a lot of yoou requested.)an: help! im dying! college is too hard.

an: i love jeongin!

part 1 and part 2 first

“Can you give me that spoon, please?”

Jeongin’s voice pulls you from your thoughts, and a teasing grin spreads across your face as you quickly hide the spoon behind your back. “Okay, if you call me ‘noona,’” you tease, already knowing the answer but still hoping.

He sighs, not even bothering to look up from his phone. “I won’t,” he replies, standing up to head towards the kitchen to grab a new spoon.

You shake your head with a small chuckle and place the spoon back on his plate. Was it really that hard to do?

Jeongin was just one year younger than you—a small gap, really. When you were nine, he was eight. That never felt like much of a difference. But then again, he had that same gap with Seungmin, and Seungmin got the honor of being called "hyung." So why didn’t Jeongin ever call you "noona"? The thought lingered in your mind often, and you teased him about it constantly.

But no matter how much you tried, he always brushed it off, never giving in.

You couldn’t help but wonder why he didn’t treat you like he did the others.

Everyone doted on him, hugged him, and treated him like their adorable little brother. He would roll his eyes and push them away half-heartedly, but it was clear they all adored him. And who wouldn’t? Jeongin was cute. The kind of cute that made you want to squish his cheeks and ruffle his hair.

But he never seemed to mind when you hugged him. Like now, for example.

Your arms wrapped around his waist while he sat on the couch, scrolling through his phone as if you weren't even there. He didn’t push you away, didn’t squirm or protest like he did with the others. He just let you hold him, completely at ease, even as your head rested against his shoulder.

You don't know why, but you are willing to know the answer.

You never had a younger sibling, and the thought of taking care of Jeongin stirred something in you. He was just so easy to dote on—so talented, smart, and capable. Yet, there was this small part of you that still saw him as someone you wanted to spoil.

If he were your little brother, he’d probably be the most spoiled kid in the world.

But no matter how much you treated him like a little brother, there was always that lingering question: why didn’t he call you “noona”?

“Can you tie this for me?”

His voice breaks your thoughts again, and you look up to see Jeongin standing in front of you, holding the ends of his necktie. He’s dressed for his presentation, and you don’t hesitate to set your notebook aside and move to him.

You start tying his tie carefully, focusing on the task as his eyes linger on your hands.

Maybe it’s because he’s taller than you now?

That thought crosses your mind as you glance up at him, only to meet his steady gaze. The teasing thought bubbles up again, and a mischievous grin tugs at your lips.

“You should say, ‘Please, noona,’ if you want me to finish,” you say, your hands pausing mid-tie as you look up at him playfully.

Jeongin sighs, his patience visibly wearing thin. “Just finish it, please. I’ll be late,” he says,

“Not until you call me noona,” you insist, stepping back with your hands on your waist, fully embracing the playful banter. You expect him to groan or roll his eyes, but instead, his gaze sharpens, and the room feels suddenly smaller.

His next move catches you off guard.

Without warning, Jeongin steps forward and pins you against the wall, his hands braced on either side of you. His face is close—too close—and your breath catches in your throat. For a split second, all the teasing falls away, replaced by a tension you can’t quite place.

“I. Won’t,” he says, each word slow and deliberate, his eyes locked on yours with an intensity that leaves you speechless.

You blink up at him, your brain trying to catch up to what just happened. But before you can say anything, he pulls back, adjusting his tie on his own with a swift motion. “You can stay as long as you want. Just lock the door when you leave,” he says coolly, grabbing his bag without a glance back and heading out the door.

You stand there, heart racing, still pressed against the wall, wondering what on earth just happened.

Did you push him too far? Was he mad? Or… was it something else?

Days pass, but teasing Jeongin about calling you "noona" doesn’t feel the same anymore. There’s something different now, something unspoken lingering between the two of you. You can’t quite place it, but it makes your chest feel tight, and the teasing doesn’t come as naturally as it used to.

Even now, as the others gather at your friend's hideout.. which was Jeongin’s apartment, you find yourself watching him a little too closely.

“My favorite baby is here!” Chan announces dramatically as he bursts into the room, immediately engulfing Jeongin in a hug. Jeongin struggles against him, whining, “Hyung! I’m not a baby!” but Chan only tightens his grip.

Minho, who’s busy in the kitchen, glances over with a smirk. “He’ll always be our baby,” he teases, and you can’t help but laugh, even though a small part of you feels envious. They always get to smother him in affection.

“He’s my baby,” you chime in proudly, earning a playful glare from Jeongin as he squirms under Chan’s grip.

“I’m not your baby,” Jeongin mutters, his voice slightly muffled as he tries to push Chan away.

“If he doesn’t want to be your baby, I can be,” Minho jokes, causing everyone to laugh.

“Shut up, Minho, you’re old,” you shoot back, rolling your eyes.

or maybe that’s why Jeongin doesn’t call you "noona"—because sometimes, you act like the younger one.

“I want ice cream,” you announce, pouting dramatically.

Jeongin, ever the responsible one, shoots you a disapproving look. “You haven’t even had dinner yet. You should eat something proper before you have ice cream,” he scolds, sounding more like an older brother than anything.

You sigh dramatically. “But I’m not hungry for dinner. I want ice cream,” you insist.

“Are you a baby?” he asks, laughing at your pout. But when you straighten up and fix your posture, you say, with as much dignity as you can muster, “I’m your noona.”

He smirks, clearly amused, and after a moment, he gets up to leave. “I’ll be back,” he says.

A few minutes later, he returns with a gallon of your favorite ice cream, and you light up, but before you can grab it, he holds it just out of reach.

“Eat this first,” he says, handing you a bag of fast food.

You sigh but comply, because, well, he’s Jeongin.

…maybe he doesn't want to call you noona 'cause he hates you?

"Do you hate me?" you asked one time

"Why would I?" he asked back. As far as he can remember he told you he loved you in that restaurant where you treat him.

"'Cause.. I don't know," you don't know how to explain

He ruffles your hair affectionately. “Stop overthinking. I don’t hate you.”

Or maybe he doesn’t wanna call you noona ’cause… he loves you?

That one sentence played over and over in your mind. It was the answer you’d been searching for, though you weren’t ready to admit it at the time.

After the sticky note incident and that night at Changbin’s birthday, things started to make sense. All the little moments clicked into place.

He didn’t want to call you noona because he didn't want to.

A week after Changbin’s party, you found yourself wanting to talk to someone, and Jeongin came to mind. He’d always been the one checking on you, sending you messages even when you didn’t reply. In one of them, he’d said, “If you ever need someone to talk to, just call me.”

But you hadn’t called.

Instead, you went to his apartment. You knew the passcode, as did most of the group. Still, you knocked. When no one answered, you entered, your steps careful, almost hesitant.

The silence was comforting, in a way. You sank into the soft cushions of his couch and waited, hoping the familiar space would calm the chaos in your mind.

It was getting dark when Jeongin finally came home, guitar strapped to his back. He hadn’t expected to find you here, yet there you were—curled up on his couch, looking so peaceful despite the turmoil you had been feeling.

For a moment, he just stood there, his eyes softening as he took you in. All his worries, the small frustrations, the confusion—it all faded away when he saw you like this. His heart ached in ways he couldn’t explain.

Quietly, as if afraid even the sound of his breath might wake you, he moved closer, kneeling beside the couch. His fingers hesitated before gently brushing the strands of hair away from your face, lingering in that tiny gesture, his thumb grazing your cheek.

His smile was bittersweet.

You had no idea how hard it was for him to stay in the role of the younger brother. How much he despised the label, how much he longed to break free from it. You didn’t know how many nights he lay awake, wishing he could grow up faster, become someone you’d look at differently—someone you might want to be with.

When you stirred slightly, he jerked back, standing in an instant. His heart raced as he quickly slipped into his usual facade, moving to sit on the smaller couch across from you. By the time you opened your eyes, he had an upside-down book in his hands, pretending to read.

"Oh, you’re awake?" he asked casually, as if nothing had happened, like he hadn’t just been admiring you moments ago.

You stretched, sitting up, blinking away the last remnants of sleep. "When did you get home?" you asked, your voice still soft from sleep, your lips curling into a smile.

"Not long ago." He shrugged, placing the book down carefully, his voice neutral, though his heart was anything but calm. "You should’ve called me."

"And disturb your class?" You laughed softly, shaking your head. "No way."

He wanted to tell you that it didn’t matter. That no class, no distance, nothing could stop him from coming to you if you needed him. But instead, he just smiled.

"How are you?" he asked, his gaze searching your face, seeing through the mask you always wore.

"I’m fine." The lie rolled off your tongue with practiced ease, but even you could feel how hollow it sounded.

Jeongin’s eyes lingered on you a little too long. He wanted to push, to ask why you were really here, but he didn’t want to scare you away. He knew you wouldn’t open up until you were ready.

Then, out of nowhere, you asked, "Can you call me noona?"

Jeongin blinked, caught off guard. The request was so unexpected, it almost felt like a joke. He scoffed lightly, unsure if you were teasing him or testing him.

You bit your lip, looking down as if you were afraid of his answer. "I just… I want to confirm something."

His heart sank. He didn’t want to call you that. Not now, not ever. He had spent so long trying to distance himself from that word, from the idea that you’d always see him as just your younger friend.

"Just once…" Your voice was softer this time, and it broke something inside him.

He swallowed hard, looking anywhere but at you. "Noona," he said quietly, barely able to force the word out, his voice thick with emotions he tried so hard to hide.

The silence that followed felt heavier than anything he had ever felt before. You didn’t say anything, and it scared him. He finally dared to glance at you, only to see you staring at him, your expression unreadable.

"Now I know the answer to my question," you whispered, more to yourself than to him.

Jeongin’s chest tightened. He didn’t ask what you meant, but every fiber of him was screaming for an explanation.

You let out a shaky breath, your eyes glistening as you finally looked back at him. "Noona doesn’t feel right coming from you."

He froze, the weight of your words sinking in. He knew what you meant—he could feel it in the way your voice trembled, in the way you were struggling to keep your feelings contained.

"I don’t want to be your noona."

It wasn’t just a statement. It was a confession. A quiet, undeniable truth.

You, who had once been so unsure, so careful with your feelings, were now looking at him with a clarity that left no room for doubt. You didn’t want to hide from it anymore.

And neither did he.

--

an; i saw vids of jeongin bowing on stays and it made my heart warm. jeongin was indeed raised right by his hyungs. so precious.

[bkglovergirl]

Hi there! So I was wondering if you could make a fic about bakugou x reader, where she and bakugou were childhood friends similar to him and deku, but the reader has been obvious about her crush on him, always complimenting him, telling him she likes him, even going to UA with him.

He would always straight up rejects her but lowkey likes her, (moving forward to kats arc where hes being a better person lol) the reader still makes him bentos from time to time, always follows him but it doesn't seem to 'irritate' him as much (hes just so happy with her always taking his side), patching him up ect. you get the picture

that is until a girl from class B started taking a liking to bakugou as well and theres a senario where reader gets the wrong idea and think that they're dating class B bitch who always tries to get on her nerves, but in reality bakugou straight up rejects her

reader changing bla bla bla, bakugou being like "WHYD YOU STOP BABYING ME STUPID ASS??!"

readers like "wtf?" bakugous like, "if you we have a problem talk to me, im your bf after all"

sorry if its long. i had a wonderful dream id like to relive ❤️

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ Bakugou X Reader

Childhood friends to lovers

I love the miscommunication trope, the ending is a little bit different.

Word Count: 2.3k

ೃ⁀➷

Ever since you could remember and much to Bakugou’s dismay you, Deku, and him have been childhood best friends. One thing is very well known between the trio. You have the biggest crush on Katsuki Bakugou. You make sure it’s known. The first time you realized you liked him, you told him almost right away. You both were around the age of seven and were at a playground fooling around. Neither of you guys had gotten your quirks and you “trained” at this particular playground every day whenever you could. You were running chasing the “villain” Deku around and around. Both your faces had dirt covered and you knew with how your clothes looked your mom was gonna be upset at you but who cares? You didn't.

“I’m gonna get you!”

“Nuh-uh!” Deku runs behind the slide and you follow after. 

“Boo! Huh?” He had disappeared, quickly you looked around and saw him running up onto the base of the playhouse and into one of the small tunnels that connect the two. You run after. Not paying attention you miss one of the steps on the stairs and fall. Bakugou close behind went to go catch you and it was right then and there his quirk manifested and burned your arm as he grabbed you. “Ow! Ow!” You whined looking up at Bakugou. 

“Are you okay?!” Deku comes running back down towards you both and you are slightly dazed so Bakugou asks again, “Are you okay!”

“Your quirk! Bakugou your quirk!!” 

“I KNOW STUPID BUT ARE YOU OKAY?” You and Deku both give each other a look before looking at Bakugou. 

“Yes, I’m okay!” you lied. “Bakugou, your quirk!” He smiled, and it was almost like you watched his ego form right then and there. 

‘Hell yeah, I got my quirk before you two!' He turns and puts his arm out away from you guys and gives a small blast. “Look how cool it is!” After some of the excitement dies down, you manage to beg Bakugou to give you a piggyback as he walks you home after you both drop off Deku. “I don’t see the point in this.” He adjusts you on his back a bit to make it more comfortable for himself.

“Think of this as payback.” You giggle as you hear him groan. “Hey Bakugou?”

“What.”

“I like you.”

ೃ⁀➷

Years later you guys got into UA together and lucky for you and Izuku, in the same classroom as well. Confessing to Katsuki happens at least every other week, and him rejecting you happens every time. You both have gotten into a schedule. You’d walk to school and on certain days bring him a Bento box. You’d go to class and try and do everything with him if Mr Aizawa allows it. At the end of the day, Katsuki always walks you to your dorm before walking to his. 

You knock on Katsuki's door and hear some grumbling before he answers the door, “Why can’t I get you at your dorm? Why do you always come to mine?” You shrug and hand him the Bento box you made him. “You gotta stop making these.”

“You say that, but you love it!” he rolls his eyes and takes it out of your hands. You both start walking to class together. “So I was thinking you and I could pair up because I heard Izuku and Todoroki are gonna pair up.” 

“Why do you always wanna pair up together.” “To save you from the embarrassment of not getting picked.”

“I would get picked!”

“Absolutely not.” You go to open the door to the classroom but Katsuki quickly opens it for you, you smile and walk in. 

You follow him to lunch and sit next to him. He grumbles his small complaint but quickly eats the food he complained about. He never says thank you or compliments the food, but you know he appreciates it by how empty he leaves the bento once he’s done. “It’s cold.”

“Stop complaining, maybe you should have brought your jacket.”

“Alright asshole my fault I forgot it!” The bickering goes back a forth a bit before you stand up, “Walk without me I need to talk to Denki about something.”

“Whatever.”

ೃ⁀➷

You switch the song on your phone before putting it in your skirt pocket and walk to class. You smile seeing Katsuki ahead of you and run to catch up but stop quickly. Katsuki is handing a girl his jacket and she’s smiling at him. Your heart sinks and you feel nauseous as you watch him open the door for the girl. You look at his face. ‘Is he blushing?!’ you bite the inside of your cheek and walk into the classroom. You hear Katsuki call after you but you ignore him. The small banter between you two is non-existent and the whole class quickly takes notice because you are uncomfortably quiet. The notes Katsuki passes to you go unread and you push them off your desk. Katsuki is panicking in his head, he is going through every single thing he’s done today and he can’t think of anything he has done wrong. You were fine at lunch and if anything happened you wouldn't ignore him, if anything you'd whine and complain to him about it. To Katsuki’s surprise, he’s really annoyed you aren't complaining to him. The bell rings and you quickly stuff your bag with all your things and speed walk to the door. “Hi is Katsu there?!” of course, you would run into her and Katsu?! Who the fuck does she think she is? Everyone is staring at the two of you, you step to the side to let the girl in and she runs up to Katsuki. “Katsu!” Your classmate's eyes follow the girl and look at you thinking the same exact thing you are. You shrug and walk out.

ೃ⁀➷

The next morning you walk to the classroom by yourself. Denki and Izuku come to check on you but you wave them off saying you are okay. Before they both walk away you quickly ask Denki to be partners in training. He gives a look to Izuku before agreeing. Katsuki walks in minutes later, late. He tries to talk to you but Aizawa tells him to get into his seat and he obeys. 

Training starts a couple of hours later, and just like you guessed, no one wants to partner with Katsuki. He watched as you walked over to Denki when Aizawa announced that you all should grab partners. He’s crushed but shakes it off. His pride stops him from walking up to you. Kirishima takes one for the team and partners up with Katsuki. The training goes well, and surprisingly, you and Denki are a great team.

“I think we should be a team more often, Y/N!” You smile, agreeing with him. The next set of teams that are put against each other are You and Denki vs. Kirishima and Katsuki. During the whole fucking battle you manage to avoid Katsuki, you don’t know how you manage to pull that off and neither does he because he tried so hard to come after you specifically. By the end of the battle you and Denki come out victorious and Katsuki is pissed. Katsuki rips off his gauntlet looking at you and Denki walking off together and talking.

“Denki I-”

“Kaminari.” he corrects.

“Kaminari.” You smile. “I just don’t get it. Who the fuck is that girl?! Where did she come from? I’m with Katsuki so much how did I not notice there was another girl.”

“Doesn't he reject you all the time?”

“A part of me doesn't like it’s a rejection. He likes the things I do for him, but his rejection seems like a wait, not a no.” you put your hands up to your face, “I’ve liked him since we were little. The memory of me first liking him is imprinted into my body! How do you just get over that? How do you get over Katsuki Bakugou.” Kaminari puts his hand out to stop you from walking into a wall. You look at him and his face is looking at you with confusion.

“What do you mean by imprinted?” You roll up your sleeve and show him the big scar that was left on your body. 

“This happened when his quirk first manifested. It was by accident and instead of celebrating his quirk he made sure I was okay first.”

“That doesn't sound like Bakugou.”

“I KNOW!” You rest your back against the wall, and Kaminari leans against it facing you. You don’t know how long you talked, but at some point, the talking turned into scheming. Katsuki comes walking up and the girl is right next to him talking away and honestly, he’s annoyed. It takes everything in him not to scream in her face. He sees you first. Then he sees Kaminari leaning against the wall next to you. At the same time, you see him first. Then the girl walking next to him. He takes note that he’s changed and cleaned up after training, you guys aren't even changed out of your hero outfits and are still all messy. The training ended an hour ago. He stops walking which the girl next to him takes as a green light to wrap her arms around his arm. Kaminari notices and quickly stands in front of you to block your line of view.

“Don’t look it’s only gonna hurt more.”

“Come to my dorm.”

“What?”

“Come to my dorm right now.” You grab his arm and drag him away aggressively. Kaminari has to stop himself from complaining your grip hurts.

ೃ⁀➷

Katsuki got up early enough to get to your dorm room. He knows this is the time you leave, he knows your exact schedule to the T. He knows your whole life and who you're close with so he’s honestly so fucking confused why you walk out of your dorm room and run up to Denki fucking Kaminari. On top of that, you hand him a bento box. His fucking Bento box. He’s stunned and stands there like a dumb ass watching as you walk away with him.

Class is giving him a headache. He just feels the need to take as many pain pills as he can. You and Denki have been joking around non-stop and it doesn't help that you sit in front of Katsuki and Denki sits in front of you. The class feels like forever. There is no training today so it is just class and he doesn't know how long he can just sit here and watch as you painfully ignore him. He concludes he’ll talk to you before lunch but that plan is quickly foiled as the girl from class 1B comes barging into the classroom like she owns the place and attaches herself to him. Katsuki watches as you stare a second before Kaminari puts an arm around your shoulder and walks you out of the room as quickly as he can. He makes a new plan that he’ll talk to you at lunch but that plan is also quickly ruined as the girl blocks him at his table so he can’t get up and go to you. So as your plan goes perfectly, he gets a perfect view of you and Kaminari sitting and having lunch together. He then makes plan number three, he’ll follow you around until he gets the perfect moment to yell at you. It’s perfect. He follows you to class with the annoying girl talking away. He sits in pain the whole rest of class as he watches you and Kaminari fool around the whole time.

ೃ⁀➷

“Why are you following me around.” You turn to look at him. You landed at your childhood park once you realized Katsuki was following you around. It’s cold and you hug yourself.

“So she speaks.”

“Don’t be an ass Bakugou. Why are you following me?” Katsuki’s stomach sinks. At least he knows how you feel now.

“Bakugou?! What the fuck is wrong with you?!”

“What’s wrong with me?”

‘Don’t act fucking stupid.” He takes off his jacket and gets closer to you, You take a step back. “See what I mean?! I’m trying to give you my jacket and you step away from me! What the fuck Y/N!”

“Sorry, I don’t want what another girl got.”

“What are you- oh…”

“Yeah oh! Kaminari told me I wasn't being stupid but maybe I am! Maybe I should have stopped liking you when you rejected me the first time! BUT NO!” you get closer grabbing his shirt, “You make it so fucking difficult to not be in love with you!” He stares at you and leans down, as much as you don’t want to, you push him away. “No this had gotta stop. I’m not gonna let you keep toying with me and I gotta stop being so delusional.”

“You aren't being delusional.”

“Really because that girl has gotten more attention than I have gotten from you in years. Every time I confess since we were kids you act like I didn't say anything!”

“I just wasn't ready for things to change.” you scoff at him.

“It was always going to change! Did you like dragging me along? Where did that other girl come from?” you sit down on one of the swings and kick some wood chips. Putting your hands on the chain.

“I just wanted to make sure I liked you and I wasn't just… I don't fucking know! You're the only girl who has been in my life that wasn't my mom!” you glare at him.

“Wow.”

“Listen Y/N, I know it was stupid but I just needed to know before our relationship changed and I fucked everything up.” “So what was this conclusion from your stupid fucking experiment?” Katsuki takes this as a green light to come closer to you. You don’t say anything.

“That no girl compares.”

“Wow, Romeo it took you that long?” Katsuki stands in front of you and puts his hand on top of yours. You look up at him.

“Yeah, I know.”

“I’m not confessing again.”

“I know.” He leans down and kisses you. 

[mydearlybeloathed]

𝐀 𝐂𝐀𝐌𝐏 𝐇𝐀𝐋𝐅𝐁𝐋𝐎𝐎𝐃 𝐂𝐇𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐌𝐀𝐒

𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲: you decided to create a real life frosty the snowman for estelle blofis, a regular camp visitor. it goes... unexpectedly.

𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠: jason grace x fem!boreas!reader

𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: 6k (wow)

𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭: child of boreas reader, female reader, snowmen, ethically ambiguous magic, more plot than fluff im sorry, tooth rotting fluff towards the end, daddy issues i think maybe, serious angst ngl, i will never be normal about jason grace, canon who?

𝐚/𝐧: this had no reason to be so emotionally taxing but here we are

Being the boyfriend of a Boreas kid meant two things happened every night: one, sneaking you in from your lonely cabin to his lonely cabin, and two, sleeping with nearly a hundred different blankets. 

Normally, he fell asleep easy despite the chill, but there was a lot of work waiting for him back New Rome. Jason knew this holiday at Camp Halfblood was only making that work pile up, but he tired, so he didn't care just yet. He could let the anxiety catch him after Christmas. Plus, the longer he was away from work the longer he was with you.

Jason had been away doing Roman things for at least two months, and Iris Messages and the occasional phone call weren’t cutting in anymore; despite your cold shouldered father, you were as clingy as all get out. Not that Jason minded (he was clingy too).

The next fall of New Rome University couldn't seem to get there any slower. You were both going to be there, thank the gods.

Jason started to grin at just the thought, his eyes skimming all over your peaceful face as you breathed in and out slowly. The two of you were practically buried under all the blankets, and he would have been miserably hot if it weren’t for his amazing cooler system of a girlfriend.

“You’re staring,” you suddenly sang out softly, a mischievous smirk taking your face.

Jason’s heart sped up. “I thought you were asleep.”

“Creep,” you mumbled.

He reached over to caress your cheek, tucking some stray hairs behind your ear. You leaned into his touch and twisted in the blankets, wrapping your arms around his middle and nuzzling into his chest.

He pressed a light kiss to your hairline and rested his arm on your waist. “What’s up?”

“Just thinking.”

“About?”

You blinked blearily up at him. “Christmas. I’ve been working on something.”

“Care to share?” Jason had known you long enough to know you were serious about Christmas surprises. This time of year your powers were strongest, and you always took advantage of that.

You lightly patted his chest and snuggled deeper into bed. “Mhmm. When it’s ready. Can’t let anything get out or else Mr. D will so shut it down.”

Jason was officially intrigued. “What exactly… never mind. I'd rather sleep easy.”

You leaned up to kiss his jaw. “Good choice.”

He caught your lips before you could get back to sleep, cupping you cheek in his hand and drawing you close for an everlasting moment. The thundering mosaic on the ceiling was as annoying as ever, and he swore he could feel the statue of his dad staring holes into him. 

So Jason pulled the pile of covers up to hide the two of you away, thriving off your little giggle as he pulled you in once more.

જ⁀➴

A week till Christmas, and you finally felt ready to cast the enchantment. Giddiness ran through your whole body all morning, along with some nerves, of course.

It all began when you heard Chiron reading a story to some of the littler campers. They were year rounders and were feeling homesick, whining and crying so much their counselors couldn't get anything done. So, he read to them, taking some Christmas storybook from Athena Cabin and frantically narrating the tale of Frosty the Snowman.

You’d been coming by to drop off some paperwork from your well-enough paying job in the Big House, lamenting being unable to find a suitable gift for Percy's little sister Estelle. She'd be coming to camp for the Christmas Day bonfires with her mother and father, and you had yet to find something she would like.

As you dropped off your papers you heard the older of the littles cry out that she wished it would snow in camp. Another then exclaimed he wished they had their own magic snowman.

Mr. D was in the next room over, promptly laughing and popping the kids dream bubble. You weren’t having that, not one bit. And suddenly, you had your perfect gift.

The only reasonable solution was to learn how to create a magic snowman.

(Jason would later call you crazy, which is basically a declaration of love, you think.)

You sat alone in the dim lighting of your cabin, which you shared with no one but the dust bunnies. Boreas didn’t really hoe around much, which you supposed was nice, aside from the fact that it left you no roommates. Nights used to get lonely before you and Jason started saying fuck to the rules.

Little snowflakes danced around your palms before they went spiraling into the air and exploded into dozens of flurries. Slowly, bit by bit, the snow started to pile up all around you, creating a blanket of white across the floor. You had the snow down, now, you just had to trust you had your sorcery skills down.

A knock on the cabin’s skylight startled you. 

You smiled, calling up, “What’s the password?”

“Jason has the coolest girlfriend ever?”

“Not quite.”

There was a sigh. “Shiver me timbers.”

“Access granted,” you sang in reply, an all too satisfied smirk planted on your face.

The skylight creaked open, letting in the moonlight as well as your boyfriend. He shivered instantly. No matter how high you set the thermostat, the Boreas cabin was always freezing. Not that it ever bothered you, anyway.

A snow flurry landed on his nose, sending Jason into a sneezing fit. “Still working?”

“Mhmm.” He watched as you tried and failed to hide a yawn.

A little smile sprouted on his face as he rolled his eyes. “All right. Bed time.”

You shot him a glare. “Don’t baby me.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it, but I’m afraid I can’t sleep without you,” he said softly, holding out a hand with such a pretty look in his eyes. If he kept on looking at you like that, you might as well fall in love with him already.

“Fine,” you sighed, plopping your hand into his and letting him haul you to your feet. “Only because you can’t function without me.”

You wrung your arms around his neck and flushed yourself against him, his arms tight around you and a cute blush in his cheeks. 

A light breeze kissed your cheek as he rose off the floor, keeping one arm around your waist while the other pushed open the skylight. 

“Air Jason, taking off,” you said, doing your best to mimic a pilot’s microphone and failing miserably. Jason loved it though, an airy laugh bubbling from his lips as the night air met the pair of you with no regret.

“You’re such a dork,” he muttered into your ear, eliciting a poke to the ribs from you. Jason dropped a few feet in the air and nearly sent you into cardiac arrest, a scream leaving you as your legs clambered to wrap around his waist. 

Jason was laughing for gods’ sake, shushing you as he picked up speed to reach Cabin One before the harpies caught you. “Sorry, sorry.”

In through the open window and down to the floor, the wind carried you all the way, a soft caress on your skin as if the air meant to comfort the two of you. You were going to ask him if he felt it too when a wave of exhaustion found you, and you started to lean into Jason, not letting him go even when your feet touched the ground.

He rubbed gently circles into your back, his chin coming to rest on your head, eyes closing. You were cold to touch, as always, but Jason would gladly get frostbite just to hold you forever. 

Eyes soft, you caught corners of glittery lights in your peripheral, turning to find a Christmas tree that had definitely not been there a few hours ago. A smile split onto your face as you rushed up to it, admiring the rainbow lights and mismatched ornaments. 

Jason must’ve gone through the Big House attic to find all these. You picked off an ornament of Olympus, a selfie of a smiling Apollo and a less than pleased Dionysus staring out from the little city of the gods. 

“It’s perfect,” you said, spinning back around to find Jason there. 

He had that look in his eyes. You know, the one that takes all the air out of you and leaves you craving nothing more than his very presence. “One more thing.”

You followed his gaze to the ceiling, lip slipping between your teeth to contain your smile. “Mistletoe?”

His hand came to cup your cheek, eyes dipping low. “Hey, I don’t make the rules.”

How could you argue with that? Without warning you lurched forward and sent Jason stumbling back, lips meeting his in a feverish moment.

જ⁀➴

Dawn was encroaching on the camp. 

There was barely a noise all across the Long Island Sound, aside from the sea meeting land, the ruffling of the harpies’ feathers, and the contented snores coming from each cabin. In the stables the pegasi huffed and dealt with the faux antlers stuck to their heads. Mr. D sat snoring in a rocking chair on the Big House deck. 

The tall and proud Christmas tree at the center of camp stood looming over Hestia’s fire. Her warm face could be spied through the flickering flames, if one looked close enough. Beneath the tree’s branches were boxed gifts, some from attentive godly parents, but most placed there by Chiron (he never bothered correcting the campers when they assumed Santa Claus came in the night).

Garlands and wreaths hung from every doorway. Mistletoe was easy to find from the awnings of the Aphrodite Cabin. Poinsettias bloomed over the rooftop of Demeter’s Cabin. The smell of cookies and candy canes wafted out from the camp kitchens, the dryads tossing bits of flour and sugar at each other as they prepared something special.

It was a Camp Halfblood Christmas if you’d ever seen one.

The only thing missing was snow. 

You stood on the hilltop overlooking the center of camp, embracing the December chill. The magical borders prevented outside weather from affecting the camp, but they did nothing to stop weather coming from the inside. 

Flexing your palms and shaking them out, you let out a breath that crystallized in the frigid air. The water in the air bended to your will, the clouds gathered at you command. You didn’t pretend to understand weather and the science of it all, you just knew that when the water in the clouds got cold enough…

Your concentration was unrelenting even as the first few snowflakes drifted down from above, following the current of air down the valley of camp. You would need a lot more than that. Glancing at the sun peeking up over the horizon, you pushed past your growing fatigue.

There would be snow that Christmas Day if you had anything to do about it.

જ⁀➴

Jason noticed right away that the familiar warmth of your freezing body was missing from his side. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes he rolled over and noticed that your shoes weren’t at the foot of the bed. 

The whole cabin was freezing, but without you, it was just getting on his nerves. He was ready to get up, throw on a coat, and maybe just start yelling your name to find you wherever you’d run off to.

That was when he looked out the window. Jason’s jaw slacked, his eyes pleasantly wide and bright as a laugh tore out of him. He jumped up and didn’t bother with shoes as he flung open the cabin’s door and ran into the snow.

Everywhere a white layer of snow sat heavy on benches, picnic tables, the cabins—nothing was safe from this Christmas Day miracle.

He laughed again and raked his hands through his hair. So this is what you’d been working so secretively on. Jason really should have guessed sooner. 

The sound of boots in the snow caught his attention and he glanced over to see Piper hurling a snowball at Leo’s head. Leo sputtered when the snow hit his face, a sly grin all over his face.

Piper laughed behind her hand and noticed Jason struggling to pull on sneakers in his doorway. She dodged a snowball from Leo’s warm hands and jogged toward him. Her voice was tangled with a smile. “Did you know she was planning this?”

“Nope,” he said, popping the p. All around camp kids were racing outside, slipping on the icy snow and tossing on any warm clothes they could find. You were still nowhere to be seen. “Have you seen my girlfriend?”

Piper shook her head and made to say something when a handful of snow was dumped down the back of her shirt. She gasped and whirled around, shivering despite the hot anger in her eyes, and took off after a cackling Leo without another word. 

Snickering, Jason took another look around, sighing when he couldn’t see you in the midst of excited campers. 

He turned around to go grab a jacket when a soft noise caught his attention. Some kind of grunting, followed by a startled yelp. Jason started to smile. He’d know that sound anywhere. He followed the noise around the side of his cabin, tilting his head at the sight.

You were red in the face, using all your might to roll a giant ball of snow, struggling to say the least. Estelle was standing by with rapt attention, excitement written all over her face. 

Jason went to stand beside Estelle, kneeling to be at her height. He leaned in to stage-whisper, “Do you think she needs some help?”

You looked up, stopping in the process of pushing your back against the snow, huffing and puffing through your glare. Estelle giggled. “Probably.”

He saw it in your face; you wanted to flip him off, only refraining given the current company. Estelle’s eyes gleamed up at him along with a bucktooth smile. “We’re building a snowman!”

“We?” you huffed, tucking your hair out of your face and behind your ears. “I didn’t know we were pronouncing my name as we now.”

Estelle rolled her eyes. “I’m supervising.”

“Honestly, I think ‘Stelle’s doing the heavy lifting,” Jason teased.

You sighed and turned to face your work. “That’s one layer. Jason, you do the middle.”

Still grinning, he was going to protest before doing exactly as you said, when a voice echoed across the lawn. One of the Stolls (Jason knew they were a few years apart but he still could never remember which was which) was approaching, a snowball in hand.

“Yo, Y/N!” he called. “It’s getting a little soggy over here!”

You smiled like this wasn’t the first time someone had had this complaint, wasting no time in cracking your neck and splaying out your hands.  A cold rush of wind enveloped you, a firm crease in your brows, before another wave of snow rained down from the clouds.

The Stoll brother shouted his thanks, and you meant to offer a smile when suddenly the world got tipsy, everything going black for a split second as you teetered off balance. Jason’s heart dropped and he rushed to your side, steadying you against him.

“Hey, hey, you with me?” 

You blinked blankly, though you nodded despite the greenish tint in your cheeks that was quickly fading. Still, Jason wanted nothing more than to sit you down and cast lightning upon anyone who tried to use you like a snow machine again. 

“I’m fine,” you assured him, gaining your color back. “Just a bit tired keeping all of this up.”

Estelle was attempting to finish the snowman on her own, promptly falling face first into the snow and sputtering to her feet. You giggled at her expense, not realizing you were still leaning mostly on Jason.

He wasn’t done questioning. “How long did it take to cover the whole camp?”

“Oh, uhm.” Your brows drew together, lips pursed. “A few hours. No big deal.”

You broke away from Jason and went to help Estelle roll along another giant snowball, casting Jason a reassuring smile. He let out a sigh and tried to let it go, going to help with the snowman construction.

The three of you finished the three layers of the snowman’s body, and Estelle ran off to collect the decorations and came back with a box, her brother, and her brother’s girlfriend.

Percy held Estelle on his shoulders, the box of supplies in Annabeth’s arms. You wiped your brow and smiled so brightly upon spying them that Jason nearly forgot you’d been focusing on continuing the snowfall all along, slowly draining yourself. 

Before he could call you out you sprang to your feet and went to pick the carrot out of the box. Annabeth chuckled and said, “I had to fight Blackjack for that.”

“Aww,” you hummed through a giggle. “Poor guy.”

Percy scoffed. “Please, he gets enough carrots. He could spare us at least five.”

Before you even had the chance to reply, Estelle jumped up to swipe the carrot from your hand. A response was barely on you lips when she nearly toppled the whole snowman over trying to stick the nose on its blank face.

You sighed and went to help her, scooping your hands under her arms and lifting her so she could reach its face. 

The morning went by as Piper and Leo approached the finished snowman with hot cocoa in hand. Piper sported a grin as she looked at you and said, “Mr. D is furious.”

“I hoped so,” you said. 

As Piper knelt to talk to Estelle you once again chose to ignore the weightiness in your shoulders, swallowing thickly to deal with your drying throat, and walked to the near empty box. Inside was a top hat you’d been saving for last. This was what the practice was leading up to.

“Hey, Stelle,” you called. Jason came to your shoulder, brows drawn, and you shot him a smirk. “Have Percy help you put the hat on top.”

She needed no more asking, taking her brother’s hand and dragging him to the snowman. Percy lifted her just as you had, and as Estelle rested the silk top hat on the snowman’s head, you held out a hand, worked some Boreas kid magic, and sent up a prayer to your dear old dad. A flurry of snowflakes shot out from your palm and right to the heart of the snowman.

You waited on bated breath as Estelle’s boot crunched back to the snowy ground, your gaze locked on the unmoving creature of snow. One second, then two, then three, until a minute passed. Estelle ran back to Annabeth and started ranting about something, Percy right behind her as he slung an arm around Annabeth’s shoulders. Piper and Leo engaged in another snowball fight, hot cocoa discarded on the ground.

And the snowman stood still. Your lips pursed with confusion and frustration. Jason appeared beside you again, looking from you to the snowman. “What’re we glaring at Frosty for?”

“Nothing,” you dismissed with a forced grin. You let out a sigh and intertwined your fingers with his, pressing a swift kiss to the back of his hand. “Wanna head inside? You’re shivering.”

He shook his head and slipped an arm around your waist. He was warm and soft and despite how much you loved the cold, you’d never get tired of it. But you couldn’t focus on that right now; you were too disappointed. 

That was until your boyfriend hit a full stop, his eyes slightly horrified yet also mystified. Brows pinched, you were on the verge of asking what was wrong when his hand gripped your chin. You flushed deep red at the action, another rush of warmth hitting you, but then Jason was turning your head to follow his line of sight.

A bright laugh escaped you. There, made of snow, two button eyes, and a carrot nose, was Estelle’s snowman. But now, he was living and breathing. The little twig eyebrows on him drew taut as he examined himself, looking at himself tree branch arms. 

Your friends all around you stood in shock, looking from you to your creation. You laughed again quite like a mad scientist, and dropped Jason’s hand to slowly approach the snowman.

“Hello,” you said, and he considered you with a blank button stare, the line of chocolate chips making his mouth curved down into a frown.

“What am I?” he asked you, dropping his arms to his sides. He looked very contemplative for a snowman.

“A snowman,” you answered brightly. 

The snowman hummed. His voice was soft, reminding you of the sound of crackling fire. Ironic. “I don’t think I’m meant to be alive. I feel… odd.”

Your smile started to fade, and you glanced back at your friends for help. Estelle stood awestruck, slowly stomping through the snow to stand at your side. She took your hand and looked up at the snowman with shining eyes. 

The snowman looked back at her, going quiet. “Hello.”

Estelle started to smile. “Hi. My name’s Estelle, and this is Y/N. Those are our friends.” She jabbed a thumb back at the others. “Oh, do you have a name?”

He seemed to turn thoughtful, nodding. “I believe it was Perseus.”

Estelle let out a tiny gasp. “That’s what I called you! In my head!” She turned to you in complete and utter amazement. “How did he know that?”

You could only shake you head with a smile, squeezing her hand. “I dunno. Magic?” You couldn’t help but laugh once more, casting a glance up at the sky. The wind brushed through your hair, feeling oddly like a father’s hand ruffling a daughter’s hair.

You’d never met your father, but you doubted he was a cold as the weather.

Percy, Annabeth, Leo, and Piper came to admire the snowman, introducing themselves as he assessed them one by one. Jason hooked an arm around your waist, pulling your side against his, and you practically melted onto him. Your legs felt a tad bit weak.

He pressed a lingering kiss to your temple, whispering in your ear. “You astonish me.”

A smile split onto your face as you turned to kiss his cheek. Percy started to laugh as he looked upon the snowman. “Perseus the Snowman, huh?”

Perseus was holding Estelle’s hand as she rattled on about camp and how cool her big brother was and all about the Greek gods. Perseus listened with unabashed attention, the crease in his twig brows alluding to his curiosity. 

Annabeth sidled up to you, unsure how to phrase her question. “Do you… Well, was this smart?”

You gave her an odd look. “What do you mean?”

The wise daughter of Athena settled you with her seriousness. “He’s snow… you can’t keep him that way forever.”

Her words rattled you to your core, and for once, you felt the chill of December.

Morning passed to evening, and you stayed stuck to Jason’s side more by exhaustion than by choice. Not that you minded, but the jelly feeling in your legs was less than pleasant. It took some work to ward off the curious campers from bombarding Perseus, who proved to be a rather anxious snowman. 

Christmas Day passed by answering the endless questions of a snowman, explaining everything he could ever want to know. 

Piper and Leo had gone off to lead ornament making with their respective cabins, being head counselors and all, and Percy and Annabeth went to make an obligatory holiday call to the latter’s father. Leaving only you, Jason, Estelle, and Perseus. 

The four of you were at a picnic table close to the woods, the demigods sat atop the table and the snowman rolled up to the side. 

Your energy was slowly but surely coming back to you. With the sun crossing the sky and starting to descend, the need for snow was waning. You hadn’t had a demand for a few hours, and to be honest, you were grateful. Your eyes felt droopy and your shoulders ached. You wanted to sleep, but you had one more thing to keep focused on: Perseus the Snowman. 

Jason drew gentle shapes on your hand, letting you lay your head on his lap as Estelle told the harrowing tale of how Percy defeated Clarisse La Rue in his very first game of capture the flag.

You were having trouble looking at your snowman. From what he said when Estelle let out a yawn, he knew exactly why.

“Look at that,” he said, drawing everyone’s attention. His button eyes swept across the lawn of camp, where the snow was melting into the grass under the heat of the setting sun. His eyes turned to you, then. “You’re letting it all melt.”

You sat up and crossed your legs, resting your hands in your lap. You blinked at him, a tug on your heart. “Yes.”

He could only stare back at you. “You’re keeping me, though.”

Perseus was very perceptive for a snowman. You smiled at him. “We’re not done talking to you.”

He smiled back. “That’s true. And when we’re done talking?”

Estelle was looking between all of you, a confused purse in her lips. Jason cleared his throat and asked her to get him earmuffs from his cabin. She nodded and ran off, nearly tripping over herself. You sent him a look. “You don’t own earmuffs.”

“Oops,” he murmured through a grin. Perseus was watching the pair of you almost fondly.

You turned back to him and searched for the words to say, but it was all lost on you. Jason continued to rub soothing circles into your skin. All the words you knew suddenly boiled over. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think what would happen when… You know.”

Perseus shifted around, a gentle chocolate chip smile on his face as he took in the scenery. “Don’t be sorry. I’m happy to have lived.”

“But… you’re going to die,” you couldn’t help but say, as if he needed reminding.

He didn’t. That much was clear by his smile. “Don’t be sorry,” he echoed. “I’ll be happy to die. Snowmen aren’t meant for longevity.” 

Your throat constricted. “It’s all my fault. I wasn’t thinking.” 

“You were thinking of Estelle,” he said. “I’ve made her happy. I’m perfectly fine with melting.”

You cupped a hand over your mouth and averted your eyes just as Estelle came sprinting back, chest heaving as she lamented being unable to find any earmuffs.

“It’s cool, Stelle,” Jason said, forcing a smile. 

She plopped back down and huffed, looking to Perseus, then the sunset. Perseus glittered in the light, and it took you far too long to realize it wasn’t glitter, but dew. 

Estelle, angel she is, noticed it too. “Perseus, are you melting?” Before he could even think to answer she was turning on you, a fire in her gaze. “Make him better.”

You would—gods, all of Olympus knew you would, if only you weren’t exhausted. You gaped like a fish, squeezing Jason’s hand. Perseus the Snowman shook his head. “No, there’s no need.”

He reached out a wooden arm and she gently wrapped her little fingers around the splintered edges of his crooked hand. “I don’t fear death.”

Estelle’s jaw hung slack for an everlasting moment. “Well, I do! Y/N, do it.”

Jason tensed and snapped, “Stelle, that’s not fair.”

She didn’t seem to care in the slightest. 

“Estelle,” Perseus drew her attention back to him. “You’ll make more snowmen.”

She shook her head hopelessly, eyes going glassy. “No, I won’t. I won’t ever make another snowman.”

“How sad,” said Perseus. “Never?”

Estelle wiped her nose on her sleeve and looked at the ground. “Maybe, not never.”

The snowman started to smile again. His button eyes roamed over them all, stopping on the sky, and he sighed. “What a wonderful day to be alive.”

You turned your face so no one would see you crying. Jason's hold on your hand was the only thing sobering you up enough to remain on the picnic table, watching the sunset with your snowman.

The god Astraeus painted the sky with vibrant yellows, pinks, and oranges in a sunset to rival all others. It was too beautiful. Perseus kept his blank gaze settled on it alone, his hand still in Estelle’s. You and Jason sat rigid behind them as time ticked away. 

The moon rose expectantly to take its place as the sun started to hide under the horizon. The yellows and pinks made way for the dark blue of night creeping in. Only then did Perseus shift his gaze back to Estelle. “I’m ready now.”

A crease grew in your brow when Estelle nodded, understanding what you did not, and she stood up on the table to reach over Perseus’ head. With shaky hands she reached for his hat, glancing down at him, worrying her lip between her teeth.

All Perseus did was smile. “Merry Christmas.”

The little girl took in a wavering breath. “Merry Christmas.” And she removed the hat, lifting it off his head, and in an instant all hints of emotion left the snowman. Nothing changed at all, but each of you could see it; those buttons held life behind them no longer. 

You bit down hard on your lip. “How did you know that would work?”

She shrugged, setting the hat down on the snow. “I didn’t.”

The sound of footfalls on the snow had you turning around. Chiron approached, a sorry look in his eyes, and he stopped a few feet off. “Everyone has gathered around the tree.”

You took Estelle’s hand in yours, steeling yourself and offered her a smile that she slowly returned. Jason moved to walk at your side as you followed Chiron to the center of camp. The tree lit up most of camp, stretching high and out.

Campers were singing off key here and there. A pair of girls was caught under the mistletoe, one laughing awkwardly before the moon eyed one swooped in for a gentle peck on her lips. Gifts were being exchanged. Snow balls were thrown. A snowman was being built by some younger Hermes kids too.

“Hey!” Percy called out, cheeks flushed as he sipped on his apple cider. One arm was slung around his girlfriend who was talking in low voices with Thalia. The lot of your friends were gathered around one of the many little fires scattered around the lawn.

He offered you and Jason each a blue gingerbread man, grinning ear to ear. “Mom made ‘em.”

You looked around for Mrs. Blofis and found her at a nearby table, handing out marshmallows for roasting with Mr. Blofis at her side. Mr. Blofis wasn’t doing much handing out, instead engaging in what seemed to be a deep conversation with Mr. D. The god of wine was gesturing wildly as he regaled some kind of story.

All was well. All was calm. You found it in yourself to actually smile. 

Guilt wasn’t very far, wondering truly what you had been thinking bringing a snowman to life, when a particularly harsh bout of wind blew all your hair into your face. You sputtered through a giggle and swiped your hair to the side, your voice faltering when you caught sight of a man standing on the outskirts of the bonfires and chatter.

It couldn’t be. You stepped away from Jason and the rest, approaching the stranger. He stood tall, with a suit that glittered like snow. Two purple wings arched from his shoulder blades. What could your father want with you on Christmas?

“Hi,” you said, not sure where to start.

He stirred like he was uncomfortable. “Yes, hello, daughter.”

You had the heart to grin. “Merry Christmas.”

Boreas nearly scoffed before he corrected himself with a nod. “You as well.”

The silence to follow was tense. You motioned with your hand vaguely. “Is there a reason you’re here?”

You weren’t sure how to feel about meeting your father. You’d imagined this moment countless times, but it all led up to this anticlimactic reveal that was more amusing than anything else. 

“There is,” he huffed. “I thought I would let you know your little magic act didn’t harm anything.”

“What do you mean?” you asked, heart dropping.

“I mean that the snowman is not dead,” Boreas informed you. “The snowman itself was never alive, I suppose. I’m impressed, I should say. You managed to catch a snow spirit and wrangle it into that snowman. Normally, snow spirits don’t get lives… You did a good thing, I suppose, giving that spirit one. He remembers it all. Perseus, as you called him, is living free and wild, as a snow spirit should be.”

You hadn’t realized your eyes were watering, relief coursing through you. “Oh, thank gods. I’m not murderer.”

Boreas chuckled softly. “You’re not.” He averted his eyes, raising a hand and pausing, unsure, before he settled it on your shoulder and met your eyes. “I’m… proud of you. I don’t have many children. You’re certainly one I don’t regret.”

You blinked up at him, reaching to awkwardly pat his forearm. “Thanks, Dad.”

He nodded stiffly, backed away, and with a last Merry Christmas, he vanished in a flurry of snowflakes. One landed on your nose and gave you an ever rare shiver.

Jason’s arm wrapped around you, his warmth enveloping you like a nice blanket. “You good?”

Nodding, you leaned your head on his shoulder. “Very.”

Curfew was extended that night, much to the harpies' disappointment. Treats and drinks were devoured by greedy children and finally, at the end of the night, Chiron gave the word and a stampede of kids ran to tear open the gifts they’d been eyeing for weeks. 

After the younger kids had grabbed theirs and the crowd died down, your group moved in to find the gifts with your names on them. Your dad gifted you a snowglobe of camp. You shook it up with a smile, not noticing your sweating boyfriend approach you from behind.

“Y/N?” You turned, smile widening. Jason only got more nervous. “Uhm… I…”

You set the snowglobe back in its box on the ground and stepped closer to him, taking his hands in your freezing ones. “Yeah?”

“I love you,” he blurted. “So much.”

Your grin grew painful with how big it was. “And I love you.”

Jason blushed and took a deep breath. “You’ve been with me through… everything. When I wasn’t sure who I was, when Hera manipulated me and Piper, through the war.” He was out of breath, only one thought on his mind: no words would ever be enough. “I’m so in love with you. I can’t explain how much. Just when I think about it I can’t breathe.” 

Your face had fallen into admiration. Jason’s thumb rubbed anxious lines on your knuckles. “I never want to spend a day without you. You deserve everything, and I want to give it to you.”

“Jason…” Your voice was shaky, tapering off.

“Don’t worry,” he nearly whispered, moving to cup your cheek. “I’m not asking you to marry me. Not yet.” You giggled and he swore it was better than ambrosia. “I will though. I promise I will.”

You were too busy reaching to take his face in your hands to notice when he pulled something out of his pocket. You leaned forward to kiss the very life out of him, and he would very much have let you, but he drew you back with his hold on your jaw, chuckling when you frowned.

He held up a little velvet box between your bodies. Suddenly you weren’t so interested in kissing him, swiping the box from him with greedy hands and gleaming eyes. You popped the box open, admiring the pretty silver chain laid within. “Oh, it’s beautiful.”

“Here.” Jason turned you around and offered to clip it around your neck. He didn’t waste the opportunity, peppering kisses from the skin behind your ear down to your shoulder, relishing in the little quiver you gave in response. “Merry Christmas.”

Whirling back around, you jumped him, arms flinging around his neck as you crushed your lips to his. You pulled back for barely a second to mumble “Merry Christmas” before your tongue pushed past his lips, your teeth catching his bottom lip.

“Woah! Woah! No PDA in my camp!” You groaned and ripped away from Jason, rolling your eyes as you cast Mr. D a glare over your shoulder. 

Jason wasn’t so cocky anymore, red from neck to nose. “Sorry!”

“I don’t get paid enough…”

You and your boyfriend locked eyes, breaking down into a round of laughter as the grumpy god stomped away. 

“Hey!” Piper jumped out of nowhere, Leo hot on her tail. Both were totally buzzed, and all you could do was laugh and wonder how on earth they’d snuck in alcohol. “Come sing carols, lovebirds!”

The pair of you followed the pair of them back to the little bonfire your friends had claimed. Fiddling with your necklace, you eyes scanned across them all to land on Jason, and a rush of adoration hit you like a freight train. You pecked his cheek and watched him stumble over a chuckle, returning a kiss to your hairline. 

Then, as you leaned your head on his shoulder, a snowflake crossed your eye. 

One by one, the sky became littered with flurries. Annabeth held up a hand as if to catch some. “Y/N, you’ve got to be tired by now. Take a rest.”

You shook you head slowly, confused. “This isn’t me.”

The winter wind kissed your cheek, and you were left at a loss. But Estelle—sweet Estelle, who sat between her brother and Annabeth—she knew. A little grin appeared on her face. “Goodbye, Perseus.”

[grapenamjams]

Boyfriend! Sakura Haruka removes your make up

"could you remove my makeup for me?" you say tiredly into the matress.

Sakura who entred your room behind you watching you flop onto your bed raises an eyebrow. "huh?". turning your head so he could hear, you repeast your request. "im to lazy to take off my makeup. bed to comfy. could you do it?"

Sakura's mouth tilts up at how you are simply laid out on the bed, legs hanging off the edge. "your stuff is right next to the bed.you can get it" he muses with an eye roll. Referring to the small vanity in your room.

you lift your arm pretending to reach then having it fall againt the bed with a thump, "to far” you groan “please?~" making your voice in a playful whine. which of course makes sakura flush pink at your cute voice accompanied with the fact he still seems to get flustred whenever someone says please to him. It truly is the magic word for him, not being able to say no once used on him.

He looks away from you "alright, alright you lazy head. dont get all whiny n’stuff " he huffs, feeling his face still hot grabbing the small basket of bottles products he’s seen you use before and brings it over to the bed. you roll over onto your back with a grin once you feel the bed dip with his wieght.

he will not know what products do what but will pretend like he does. You let him know that he picked out a hydrating serum and not the make up removal. "I-I knew that!" he exclaims. he will make it a challenge for himself to learn the products to prepare for next time.

he would not be delicate swiping off your make up. thinking he needed to scrub it off. "Ha-Haruka are you trying to leave me skinless?" you say between laughs. his ears redden as if on que. "im tryin to get it all off! hold still"

I think he’d question you at first why you wear make up. Simply because he knows how it feels to want to change one’s appearance to fit in. Since he has now accepted his split hair and heterochromia, not hiding behind glasses and hats anymore. So he just wants to make sure you’re doing it because you want too. And if there is an insecurity oh he’ll do his best through his blushed state to make sure you know how beautiful you are to him.

“Now you can be all lazy” Sakura places the basket back on the vanity when he’s done. You shake your head. “Can’t” he looks back at you “why?” Your eyes catch his to see his reaction. “I’m still in my work clothes” Sakura reddens once more. Oh how you love that shade of pink on him.

[clarisse0o]

Camp Wiegman-Part 39

Lucy Bronze x Ona Batlle

Alternative Universe : Military School

Words : 5k

Masterlist

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Saturday, January 16th; 1:00 PM - Lucy's Room

I've been awake for a good ten minutes, but I don't dare move. I'm so comfortably settled, but more importantly, I'm afraid of waking Lucy, who is holding me firmly against her. The only thing that could make me move is my incessant headache. And yet, I'm still lying here... I'm savoring this rare moment that I might never experience again. I take in the perfection of her face and her relaxed features, which make her look so innocent. It's as if I'm her big teddy bear. The only regret I have is not being able to admire her stunning emerald eyes. Mine start to close when I feel her stir. The last thing I want is for her to catch me watching her. Her hand, which I realize is under my t-shirt, slowly withdraws after gently caressing my spine. My body betrays me, sending a thousand shivers through me. I pretend to wake up, burrowing into her chest to hide my face. I blink my eyes before lifting my head to meet the gaze of the eyes I've longed for. Their piercing effect makes me melt even more. She immediately lets go of me, as if holding me like that would break some forbidden rule. I make sure to hide my disappointed expression.

"Good morning..."

"Hi," she replies.

"Can you free my leg, please? I’d like to get up."

I tighten my legs slightly around hers when I realize I'm actually holding her back without meaning to.

"Can’t we stay like this a little longer?" I ask, burying my face in her neck.

"No," she sighs.

"Please," I groan.

"I said no," she says firmly, pulling her foot out of my grasp with a sharp movement.

"What's wrong?" I mumble.

"The problem is you're getting used to things I don't want," she says, sitting on the edge of the bed. "I need to get up. You probably have a headache to deal with."

I groan, letting my body, which had been resting on hers, fall onto the warm mattress. My headache is far from my biggest concern at the moment. At least I got to enjoy her arms until she woke up. She gets up, leaving me behind without a hint of regret.

"You didn’t seem to mind sharing your bed last night..."

The reaction I wanted has its effect. She freezes just as she’s about to leave the room. I bite my lip to stifle a smile. I'm glad the alcohol didn't take away that memory. She seems to know exactly what I'm talking about, judging by her response.

"Sorry. It was inappropriate of me. I wouldn’t have done anything like that if I were sober."

"The easy excuse..."

"A valid excuse. I can't handle alcohol at all," she retorts.

"If you say so..." I mumble. "Good Lord, it’s one o’clock," I laugh, changing the subject.

"Really?" she says, surprised. "The last time I woke up at this hour, I was your age."

"Yep, you’re old now."

I tease her as I slide my hands under her pillow to hug it. I recognize Lucy's scent on it. It's almost a substitute for her absence. Almost.

"If you say so," she shrugs. "Are you hungry?"

"A little," I admit.

"I'll make us something and see if the girls are already awake. Don't take too long, please."

"Mm-hmm."

I bury my head in her pillow right after. My response must not have pleased her because she turns around to open the shutters. I groan as daylight floods the room. Even with gray clouds, it's hard for me to adjust to so much light all at once.

"At least now I'm sure you won't fall back asleep."

I watch her leave the room with a proud smile on her lips. I wait for the door to close before groaning into the pillow. I'll never tire of waking up next to her, but this morning feels different. She seemed to be distancing herself. I hope it was just my imagination. For now, the most important thing is that she doesn't discover my feelings for her. I risk losing her for good. A perfect woman like her could never be interested in someone like me. I'm a magnet for trouble. After a moment of reflection, I decide to get out of bed. I immediately miss the warmth, and I understand why when I see my bare thighs. Damn. This outfit shouldn’t bother me since I often sleep this way, but knowing I spent the night like this with Lucy makes my cheeks heat up.

"Damn... What kind of mess am I getting myself into again..."

I rummage through her closet to find something to cover my legs. The first thing I find is a pair of sweatpants that will do just fine. As I turn around, I stop for a moment, noticing my suitcase at the foot of the bed. I thought I had left it on the other side. I shrug and head to the living room.

"The girls aren’t awake yet?" I ask when I see Lucy alone.

"They’re already gone."

I raise an eyebrow at the sticky note she hands me. I can't believe it. They're both out in the city. My best friend, who came to spend the weekend with me, is out with a girl she’s only seen twice... I can hardly believe it.

"Nice sweatpants," she snaps me out of my thoughts.

"Oh, um... I helped myself. I didn't see my suitcase."

"No worries," she chuckles. "They suit you well. Here, I made this for you."

"Thanks."

I down the glass of orange juice in one go to swallow the pill she had prepared for me. Lucy watches me with amusement. She pours me another glass at my request before returning to the stove.

"What are you cooking?" I ask, looking over her shoulder.

"Pancakes. Can you make your hot chocolate and my coffee?"

"Sure. How do you take your coffee? Black?"

"Yeah, no sugar, no milk."

"You drink it straight? Yuck," I grimace.

"Indeed. It's better that way."

"Gross."

Lucy laughs at me. I get to work, making our hot drinks one by one.

"Luce?"

"Yeah?"

"Where's the cocoa?"

"In the cupboard," she says, pointing it out to me.

"Thanks."

I grab the box to scoop two spoonfuls of cocoa into my mug, then bring everything to the table where our plates are already set. I sit down since I have nothing else to do.

"Do you want to do something this afternoon?" she asks me.

"I don't know," I shrug. "What if the girls come back before we do?"

"I doubt it," she chuckles. "Do you want to go out?"

"For what?"

"I might have an idea," she smiles mischievously.

"Okay. It can only be good."

She joins me with a plate full of pancakes, which she sets in the middle of the table. I grab one before she even sits down.

"Are you that hungry?" she giggles.

"Don't tease me. Everyone has their own post-party effects. Mine is eating a lot. Anyway," I say, clearing my throat. "So, I was wondering if you knew that Mapi and Ingrid have been texting?"

"I found out yesterday," she shrugs. "Does it bother you?"

"No, no... Well... Never mind."

"Tell me."

"There's nothing to say... Just that it's surprising."

"I don't think so. They're made to get along."

"Hmm... Do you know if... I mean, is Ingrid a lesbian? Or maybe bi?"

« She's only had relationships with girls before," she replies simply.

I nod as I spread Nutella on my pancake. Maybe Mapi does have a chance with Ingrid after all. I hope so. She deserves to be happy, even if it means getting involved with my school instructor.

- Are you jealous that she might be seeing someone else?

I look up to see Lucy with an unusually serious expression. I shake my head. No, I don't feel jealousy. It's something else, but I can't quite put my finger on it. Mostly, I feel concerned for her. What I want more than anything is for her to find the happiness she deserves.

- No. Mapi told me she likes Ingrid. I'm just checking, that's all.

- They're both adults; they can handle their relationship, she says with a shrug.

- Did Ingrid talk to you about it too?

- Yeah, and it seems the feeling is mutual.

- Oh my God, I laugh. What is all this going to turn into?

- A total disaster.

We laugh heartily. I'm relieved to know I'm not the only one who thinks so. Maybe she planned to see Ingrid instead of coming to spend the weekend with me. I'll definitely have to ask her about that.

- Want to taste?

I look up to see her offering me her cup of coffee.

- No, thanks.

- Come on, do it for me, taste it, she insists. You promised you'd try it once. You can even add milk or sugar if you want.

- Fine. Just this once, then.

I take the cup and breathe in the scent, which isn't as unpleasant as I expected. I take a deep breath before sipping. The effect is immediate. I spit out the second sip onto the table as Lucy bursts out laughing. She immediately gets up to grab some paper towels.

- Disgusting!

- You're overreacting, she laughs.

She wipes up the mess on the table before I can help.

- Let me see.

I obey, feeling my cheeks heat up as she dabs at my chin where the coffee must have dripped. Her smile widens, clearly amused by my obvious embarrassment.

- First coffee experience: memorable, she comments. I'll make you try a different one next time.

- No thanks, I grimace. This time was already too much.

- I promise it'll be better than this one.

- We'll see.

- It's already decided. I know you'll do it.

I stick my tongue out at her in response. It's certain that I'll give in if she pushes a little, but she doesn't need to know that. She ruffles my hair and retrieves her cup, finishing it in one gulp. She heads off to dispose of the used paper towels. I finish my own cup and glance over at Lucy. She's just opened the sliding door, letting a blast of cold air into the room. I'm glad I put on sweatpants. She steps out onto the terrace for a few seconds before coming back inside. She smiles when she notices me watching her.

- Are you done?

- Um, yeah… I reply, eyeing her curiously. What are you planning to do?

- I want to clean up after last night's party. You can go take your shower.

- I'd like to help, I insist.

- It's not necessary. I'm just going to mop and everything.

- At least let me clear the table, I negotiate, already starting to do so.

She shrugs, conceding defeat. I load the dishwasher while she clears the toppings. Once everything is put away, I leave to get ready. The only hint she gave me was to dress warmly. I'm tempted to wear the sweater she lent me last time. I never bothered to return it, and she never asked for it back. After some thought, I choose one of my own, then lock myself in the bathroom to take a shower.

Saturday, January 16th; 3:00 PM - Lucy's Building.

- Where are we going? I ask impatiently, like a child.

- You'll find out soon enough. Calm down, will you? she teases.

I bite my lip to keep from smiling. The elevator doors open to the basement. She noticed I only had sneakers or city boots, so she lent me a good pair of shoes. I deduced we’ll be walking and it’ll probably be cold. I feel like a little girl waiting for a surprise. I start to head toward her car, but she stops me.

- This way, Ona.

- We're not taking the car?

- Not today. The roads are pretty clear.

I furrow my brow as I follow her to a garage. My jaw drops when she opens it. If I expected that… She wants me to get on *that*?

- What's the matter, Batlle, getting cold feet?

- Do you even have a license for this thing?!

- Do you think I keep it in my garage just for fun? she mocks. If you're scared, we can take my car.

- Is that a challenge?

- Maybe. You tell me.

Her smile makes me give in. A freaking motorcycle. If I expected that! She’s made me experience everything I’ve ever wanted to do in life so far. This surprise is definitely worth it! It’s a sporty bike, metallic blue. It’s as impressive as her car. The silver rims stand out perfectly. I love this girl. She's completely nuts! She hands me a pair of gloves, which I gratefully take. I put them on without even thinking about the helmet she's bringing over.

- Damn, I groan.

- It’s okay, I’ll help, she laughs.

Without asking, she places the helmet on my head, slowly pulling on each side. I thank her when she pushes aside a few strands of hair that decided to stay in front of my eyes.

- Lift your chin. I need to adjust the strap underneath.

I comply, letting her fasten the helmet. She closes the visor with an amused smile when I lower my head. She gears up as well before looking at me. I move my head to get used to the feel of the helmet. I feel like my head is being squeezed with this thing.

- Have you ever been on a motorcycle?

- No, but I’ve always wanted to try, I admit.

- Alright. In that case, you'll hold onto me. But make sure you stay upright. Don’t lean with me when we turn, okay?

- I get it, yeah…

- If you don’t feel comfortable, just let me know.

I nod with a smile that she returns. She rolls the bike out and closes the garage. She climbs on, leaving me stunned for a moment. She looks so badass on it. She totally has the biker look with her black outfit. She motions for me to come closer. I snap out of it and move towards her. I brace my hands on her shoulders to climb on behind her. I lift my leg, but it gets stuck on the seat because I didn’t raise it high enough.

- Great start, she giggles.

- Sorry, it’s my first time, I defend myself.

- Hold onto me, alright? she warns playfully.

I blush and manage to get on the bike on my second try. My first instinct is to hold onto her waist. She doesn’t seem to mind, as she turns the key. The bike purrs with a sound as pleasing as her Audi. She must have a passion for big cars and bikes. She starts moving the bike without warning, and I instinctively press against her, wrapping my arms around her. I hear her laugh, and the vibrations coming from her body against mine make me blush again. She stops when we reach the outside.

- Ona, you’re suffocating me.

- Sorry, I say, immediately loosening my grip.

- I’m not asking you to let go, just don’t squeeze so tight, okay? Here, give me your arms.

She grabs my wrists and wraps them around her the way they should be. She starts the bike after waiting for my go-ahead. At first, I tighten my grip, but I loosen it shortly after. I stay in that position for a while until I get used to it. I notice she’s making sure to keep a reasonable speed. Despite her instructions, I still managed to lean with her during a turn. I got scolded, which reminded me of my mistake. I never imagined it would be so hard for my brain not to follow her movements. After that incident, I made sure to be more careful. I smile stupidly as we pass all the cars stopped at a red light to reach the front. I’ve always dreamed of doing that one day, and now it’s happened. She supports us with the tips of her toes when we’re stopped. I’d like to help, but I can’t touch the ground from behind. So I leave my feet on the footrests.

- We’ve got a bit of a drive ahead. Do you mind if I take the highway to get there faster? she asks.

- No, go ahead. I trust you.

- You sure? You’re not just saying that to make me happy?

- No, no. Please, go ahead. You probably haven’t ridden in a while.

- "Yes, it's true," she admits to me. "Thank you."

I hold on to her as she takes off at full speed. I'm so surprised that I press myself against her. From her laugh, I think she did it on purpose. We stop after half an hour of driving. I'm almost certain she didn't obey the speed limit, given the number of cars we passed. My smile doesn't fade when I see where we are. She never fails to surprise me. The landscape is still magnificent. She parks her motorcycle in front of a chalet that must be a small café in the middle of a small forest. I mimic Lucy, taking off my helmet and placing my gloves between my legs.

"Wow..."

"It's beautiful, isn't it? Are you getting off?"

I listen to her as I clumsily dismount, accidentally bumping into her. She doesn't say anything, just smiles. She must have picked up on my awkwardness by now. She engages the kickstand and gets off as well. She stretches to loosen up her legs while I take in the vast forest in front of us.

"Did I drive well? You weren't too scared?"

"When can we do it again?"

She laughs, telling me that there's still the return trip. We enter the small chalet, where she seems to know the owners since she introduces me and entrusts them with our helmets. The owner wishes us a good afternoon before we step outside, where I take a deep breath of fresh air.

"So, what's next on the agenda, Commander?"

"Walking," she smiles. "Let's not waste time, I just received a message. We need to be back home by six o'clock."

"Why?"

"We need to meet up with the girls to eat in town, then we'll go to the same bar as last time with my friends. Does that work for you?"

"I don't really have a choice. You've planned everything behind my back."

I puff out my cheeks to show my displeasure. She pinches them, deflating them instantly.

"I just found out myself, so don't pout at me, okay? It's not my fault!"

"Uh-huh, sure," I say, crossing my arms nonetheless.

She surprises me by wrapping her arm around my shoulders. I relax, resting my head on her shoulder. I don't stay there long as she pulls away after kissing my forehead.

"Come on, you little grouch."

I smile softly at the unexpected gesture. I realize she's becoming more and more affectionate with me. I feel the need for more, but I doubt that's what she wants. I only realize she's moved ahead of me when she calls out to me from a distance. I quickly catch up to her, and we head into the beautiful forest stripped of its foliage. Everything is white with snow. I shove my hands into my pockets to keep them warm.

"How do you feel about joining a new class on Monday?" she starts the conversation.

"I have to admit, I haven't had a second to think about it. I'd say I'm curious and a little stressed at the same time. I'm not alone, so everything should go well."

"You don't need to worry."

We continue talking about the subject until we reach the end of the path. We've arrived at a small lake with a stone waterfall. I haven't even finished drawing the landscapes she showed me last week, and now she's already showing me new ones. Lucy suggests we walk around before heading back. It's the perfect thing to relax. We continue moving forward, taking the path on the right. The silence is peaceful, but it's pleasant. I feel good. I don't think I've ever felt this good before. I feel happy and surrounded, like never before. I doubt I'll ever experience this moment as intensely again. I turn around to see Lucy lagging behind me for the first time. She's the reason for my happiness, I know it. She's going to make me burst with a thousand feelings if she keeps acting the way she does with me. She makes me feel like a different person. It's as if I can do anything by her side. Yet, I've always been told that I'm an incapable child who will never succeed in life.

" Lucy?" I call out to her, walking backward.

"Hmm?" she responds, finally looking at me.

"Thank you for everything... Thank you for being you and for transforming me into who I am right now."

"I'm not doing anything special."

"Oh yes, you are," I chuckle. "You don't even realize it."

"Don't you want to walk normally? You're going to hurt yourself again," she teases.

"No way, look, I've got this under control!"

I try to prove it by speeding up. Lucy's amused smile warms my heart in a way I can't control. This day is just too perfect to be real. I was about to say something, but my feet decided to get tangled up.

"Be careful!" she nearly shouts.

Too late... I land on my butt. I hear Lucy's laughter ringing in my ears. I groan and look at the ground to see the damn branch responsible for my stumble. I've just made a fool of myself. I let my head drop and find myself staring into Lucy's green eyes.

"Poor fool! It's not like I didn't warn you!"

"You'll see who's the fool!"

I knock her off balance as her legs straddle mine. I pull her hands, which she instinctively put forward, and gently bring her down with me. I groan as she ends up completely on top of me, but I can't help bursting into laughter when I hear Lucy groan.

"That'll teach you to make fun of me!"

Without warning, her fingers start tickling me, inflicting a torture I hate more than anything. I beg her to stop, but she continues. She only stops when I start running out of breath.

"Apologize."

I can't say a word, mesmerized by the sight in front of me. Her smile, showing all her teeth, captivates me so much. I only realize I've placed my hands on her thighs when her smile suddenly disappears.

"Ona..."

I still can't say anything. Her tousled hair gives her an incredible charm. My heart is about to explode... But everything fades when she moves away to sit on top of me.

"Ona, we can't. I can't. You're my student."

"I'm far from being just your student..."

"I know, Ona," she sighs, running a hand through her hair.

"You feel the same way I do," I murmur in shock.

"No," she shakes her head. "There's no way our relationship can go any further than it already has. I'm risking my job and... I can't. I thought you couldn't either, with your relationship with Feli."

I laugh bitterly. She has no right to use that excuse when I was ready. She feels something too. Otherwise, she wouldn't have reacted the way she has these past few days. Her behavior has changed. She's become more attentive, worried, and... And she was jealous yesterday. She can deny it all she wants, but she was irritated that guy was checking me out.

"That's the best excuse you could come up with?" I ask coldly.

"Ona..." she sighs.

"If you didn't feel anything like you claim, you wouldn't have reacted so excessively with the salesman. You also wouldn't have let me cuddle you when we got back from the mall, or sleep with you last night, or kiss my neck. We like each other. What's wrong with that?"

"There's nothing wrong with it. I-I just can't. It's beyond my strength, and I thought it was the same for you. I've just crossed the line these past few weeks. I shouldn't have opened up to you so much. It just complicated things. I should have stayed professional until the end."

I think I would have preferred if she had no feelings rather than reject me for some unknown reason. My world of happiness just collapsed in a fraction of a second. What else was I expecting anyway? I knew she wouldn't want me. Who would, anyway? I just didn't expect it to hurt this much. It makes me realize how attached I've become to her and the extent of my feelings.

"We should head back," I murmur.

"Ona..." she says sadly.

I stop her from saying anything else by pushing her off me, a gesture that feels far too easy. She doesn't even resist. I clumsily get up, too disturbed by what just happened. I retrace our steps without bothering to wait for her or even glance at her.

Saturday, January 16th; 10:00 PM - The United.

We've been at the bar for a good hour. The same people as last time are here. I'm impressed by how Mapi has managed to fit in. She's always had an easier time with social situations than I have. Everyone's having fun around the pool table while I stay back with my glass of iced tea. Mapi and Ingrid are crushing Jenni and Mary. It seems like this afternoon strengthened their relationship, as they're now teasing each other. I glance over at the other girls who are mocking them, then end on Lucy, who has stayed at our table. It seems she's met an old acquaintance, but I doubt it's just anyone, given how the girl is eyeing her up. No one seems bothered that she's off on her own. She doesn't seem bothered by it either. The girl keeps touching her arm and laughing at whatever she's saying. I feel desperate watching them like this, boiling inside. I'm incapable of doing anything. Lucy shut me down. She doesn't want me, and she's continuing to make that clear right now. And to think I had just acknowledged my feelings for her. Maybe it's not so bad that I know now. Maybe I can pull back my feelings, but I doubt it. Not long ago, I wasn't even ready to have a new relationship, and now, it's the first time I’ve felt this much jealousy. I sigh and look away, taking a sip of my drink. The only thing left for me to do is to put up barriers. That's what I did this afternoon. We haven't spoken since our confessions. I have to suppress my emotions. It's for the best for everyone. I smile at Mapi as she approaches me with a huge grin.

- "Did you see my crushing victory?!"

- "Oh... Yeah, I saw it," I replied. "Crushing, as always!"

I try to appear normal, but given the scrutinizing look she's giving me, I guess I failed miserably. She tilts her head slightly before sighing.

- "I'm going out for a smoke. You coming with me?"

- "Uh, yeah, if you want. I thought you quit?"

- "I did, but one every now and then never hurt anyone. Come on, hermana, it'll do you good to get some fresh air."

I smile weakly as she drapes her arm over my shoulders. Unfortunately, we have to pass by our table to grab our jackets. I try not to meet the eyes of the two people there, but it's really difficult. Especially when I end up locking eyes with Lucy's furrowed brow. Or should I say, my supervisor's.

- "Where are you going?"

- "Getting some air," Mapi replies. "We'll be back."

I quickly turn on my heels to follow Mapi outside. We sit on one of the benches against the bar's facade. I fix my gaze on a spot on the road where a few cars are passing while Mapi lights her cigarette. I catch a glimpse of the smoke escaping her mouth before she offers me the cigarette. I hesitate for a moment. I used to smoke, but I quit at the same time as I stopped doing drugs. She rolls her eyes and insists, bringing the cigarette directly to my lips.

- "Tonight you can. I think you need it."

The temptation is too strong. I take the cigarette between my fingers and take a deep drag, closing my eyes. It's like riding a bike, you never forget. I exhale the smoke, savoring it as much as possible. When I open my eyes, I see my best friend smiling broadly. I take another drag before handing it back to her and resting my head on her shoulder.

- "Is it Lucy?" she asks, getting straight to the point. "I noticed you haven't spoken since you got here."

- "She shut me down, Maps. She figured out how I felt, and she shut me down."

- "Oh..."

- "I felt ready, damn it. Why does she feel the need to ruin everything?"

- "Do you think she feels the same?"

- "I thought so, but with her rejection, I don't know anymore. Why would she want me anyway? I'm just a troubled girl. I've never understood why she was so interested in me. Maybe it's just because I remind her of her ex, and she thought she could save me, unlike her."

- "Her ex?" she frowns.

I sigh heavily, taking another drag from the cigarette she offers me again. I haven't talked about this story to Mapi or anyone else, for that matter. Lucy's past is none of their business, but now that I remember, it's totally understandable.

- "Forget it," I mumble. "I just don't know what to believe anymore..."

- "What are you going to do...?"

- "Pull away, I guess."

- "Ona..."

- "What?" I reply coldly. "What else do you want me to do? Huh?! She doesn't want me. I'm not going to force her! One thing is for sure, I'm not going to feel bad for nothing."

- "Fight for her... I'm sure she's worth it. She cares about you, it's obvious. You finally admitted you like her, and I've never seen you so attached to someone. When you used to go back to Barcelona, you barely talked to me about the friends you made here. You talked about her..."

- "No, that's out of the question. If she wanted me, she wouldn't have shut me down the first time. It was too good to be true anyway. I trusted the wrong person again. The only thing to do to minimize the damage is to pull away before I get too hurt."

- "You're so stubborn..." she sighs. "There has to be an explanation for all this."

- "There isn't always, Mapi. Even if there is one, I don't want to know it."

I take the cigarette from her again. The nicotine's calming effect settles into my system. I had forgotten how good it could feel. I frown when the cigarette is abruptly taken away before I can take a second drag.

- "Hey, what are you doing?"

My first reflex is to look at Mapi, but I quickly realize it's not her. I look up to see Lucy standing in front of us, with a stern look that would have definitely affected me in other circumstances.

- "Give it back."

- "No way."

- "What does it matter to you if I smoke?" I growl. "Give me back that cigarette!"

- "I said no."

She's daring me to take it back, but I'm not going to play her game over a stupid cigarette. I hold her gaze for a moment before closing my eyes and shaking my head. So she doesn't want me, but she keeps bothering me about what I do. It doesn't make any sense. I stand up and deliberately bump her shoulder as I head back into the bar. Her sigh behind me doesn't stop me. I'm going to handle this my way, whether she likes it or not. She's not going to be pleased with how I change my behavior towards her. I drop my jacket at the table and join Lucy's friends who are still gathered around the pool table. They invite me right away to start a new game, which I accept without hesitation. I team up with Aitana against Jenni and Ingrid. I don't know if it's a fair match, but Aitana seems confident. We start the game as Mapi and Lucy return. I ignore them and focus only on the game we've started. Time flies by with one, two, then a third game to break the tie. I try to laugh at Aitana's jokes, but I admit I'm forcing it a bit. She tried to get closer to help me with my shots. I wasn't thrilled by the contact at first, but I eventually let her do it. It's finally midnight when Lucy suggests we head home. She invited Ingrid to stay over again. This doesn't sit well with me, as I imagine she'll be sleeping with Mapi. Mapi also abandons me for the ride home. She whispered that I should take the opportunity to talk to Lucy, advice I didn't follow. Our drive back was silent. Lucy tried to start a conversation once or twice, but I didn't respond. We arrive at her apartment in a tense atmosphere. The girls quickly retreat to their room, sensing the tension between us. I sigh in frustration, fully understanding what Mapi is trying to do. She wants me to change my mind, but it's not going to happen!

- "Do you have a blanket?" I finally ask.

- "A blanket?" Lucy repeats, puzzled. "Why?"

- "I'm sleeping on the couch."

- "Ona..." she tries, tilting her head slightly.

- "Yes or no?" I question her more coldly. "Either way, I'm staying here."

She looks at me for a moment before sighing. No, sweetheart, I'm not changing my mind. I watch as she lifts the couch cushion to pull out a duvet and two pillows. She hands them to me while I turn the couch into a bed. Well, at least I won't have to worry about a bad night's sleep.

- "Thank you."

- "Good night..."

She murmurs the words so softly I barely hear them before she disappears down the hallway. She returns a moment later with my pajamas. I head to the bathroom to change and brush my teeth before returning to the living room. I close the doors behind me for some privacy and make sure the curtains are drawn so I can sleep in tomorrow morning. Once I'm ready, I place both pillows on one side and wrap myself in the thick duvet with a sigh of relief. It's definitely not as good as being in Lucy's arms, but I'll have to get used to it.

Sunday, January 17th; 2:50 AM - Lucy's Living Room.

I clutch the duvet as tightly as I can to muffle my sobs. I try to calm down, but it's no use. At least I haven't been loud enough to wake up the whole apartment. No one has come to check on me, even though I've been like this for about ten minutes. I don't even dare get up to grab a tissue or a glass of water. I'm too afraid of waking someone. I freeze and hold my breath when I hear the double doors open. I slowly lower my head, clutching the duvet as tightly as possible to make it look like I'm still asleep.

- "I know you're not asleep."

I tense up at the sound of Lucy's voice. She slips under the blanket I haven't let go of. I try to push myself further against the backrest when I feel her behind me. I don't want to feel her against me, but her arm pulls me back while taking hold of my hand. I instinctively pull it away.

- "Take it."

I bite my lip, opening my eyes to see she's brought me a pack of tissues. I take it timidly, thanking her in a voice even I can barely hear. I immediately use a tissue. Meanwhile, she firmly keeps her arm wrapped around my waist. I'd be lying if I said it didn't have an effect on me... I hate her so much for making me feel this way.

- "This is the last time we're sleeping together," I murmur.

- "Go back to sleep," she whispers in response.

She won't be able to change my mind on this. I fully intend to keep this promise. I'll even go to Jaha and ask to move back into my dorm on Monday if I have to. In the meantime, I take advantage of her arms and warmth one last time to calm down from the nightmare. My breathing returns to a regular rhythm, and fatigue finally gets the better of me.

[loveharlow]

SOMEBODY'S WATCHIN' ME

PAIRING‧₊˚ Ghostface!JJ Maybank x Fem!Reader

SYNOPSIS‧₊˚  [1.4k] Waiting around for your boyfriend to show up for movie night, you get an unexpected call

WARNING(S)‧₊˚  swearing, mild violence, betrayal, mild sexual references, i've never written ghostface!jj and im not too well versed in the ghostface franchise myself so let me know what you think

*based on thriller (mj) and somebody's watching me (rockwell)

A/N‧₊˚ part of my angstober event!

˗ˏˋ jj masterlist ˎˊ˗

YOU WERE POURING THE LAST OF THE POPCORN INTO THE BOWL, KERNELS CLANKING AGAINST THE DISH. It was halloween, your favorite time of year, and also the night of your annual movie marathon with your boyfriend, JJ. He was running a little behind, per usual.

You had the first movie all queued up, your halloween themed blanket draped across the sofa while you poured up the drinks and dished the snacks in the kitchen. Your parents were gone for the night and the pogues had opted themselves out, wanting to give you and JJ space as a couple. 

You were walking carefully towards the living room, balancing the bowl and cans of soda in your hands when the house phone rang. You rolled your eyes, assuming it was your overbearing parents who wanted to make sure you were alright in the house alone. Carefully placing the items on the coffee table, you made your way over to the half-wall that separated the kitchen and living area, answering the ringing device.

“Hello?”

“Home all alone?” A robotic yet deep voice reverberated on the other end. You rolled your eyes, automatically assuming it was just your goof of a father who loved a cheesy halloween prank.

“Ha ha, dad. I’m not a kid anymore, y'know. You can’t trick me,” You stated nonchalantly, expecting to hear his defeated old-man laughter on the other side. “I will admit, your ghostface voice has gotten better.” You joked, trotting back into the living room, tossing a warm, popcorn kernel into your mouth.

“How’d you know I had a daddy kink?” You paused, face falling from its humorous demeanor in the slightest of motions. With the out-of-character and inappropriate joke, you quickly came to the realization that whoever was on the other end of the phone wasn’t your father.

“Who the hell is this?”

“What? You've never seen a scary movie before?”

“I've seen enough to know that this joke is overplayed. So, whoever you are, go back to jerking off in your mom’s basement-”

“What about your basement?” The unknown individual cut you off. Now your face was pulled tight, an expression of anger as you shifted from holding the phone between your cheek and shoulder to pressing into your ear with your hand, eyes fleeting to the open windows, which were closed but all the blinds were wide open.

The way your eyes scanned the open space made it seem like the room spun around you, eyes squinting as you tried to look through every window at once, only catching glances of children trick or treating.

Just then, you heard something clatter — like a broom hitting the floor. And you could’ve sworn it came from downstairs.

Fight-or-Flight kicking in, you didn’t bother to investigate and instead bolted up the stairs in hopes of reaching your room. When you made it to the top of the staircase, however, you saw a tall shadow pass by, silhouette plastered on the wall as light shone through the windows upstairs, stopping you in your tracks so fast you nearly stumbled backwards.

Your eyes went wide, a deep gasp leaving your lips as you made a sharp turn right back down the stairs, backing yourself into the closest corner.

“Show’s over, if this is Pope or John B, you know JJ's gonna kill you-” You breathed, voice trembling but anger still evident. “This isn’t funny.”

“I’m not holding this knife to make you laugh, sweetheart.”

You could feel your heartbeat just a little faster at his statement. “I’ll call the cops.”

“You can’t do that without hanging up and trust me, you don’t want to hang up.”

Your eyes were darting all over the first floor of your home, hands subconsciously grasping at the wall you had your back pressed against, undoubtedly leaving marks in your wake. You couldn’t help but wonder where the hell JJ was, praying for him to burst through the door at any moment.

The door. The damn door. You realized you were right next to the front door. So, why the hell were you still in the house? 

One last glance at the top of the staircase had you throwing all caution to the wind, hand gripping and twisting the knob only to find that the door wouldn’t budge. You'd unlocked it, the direction the keyhole assuring you of that. You tugged and pulled and yanked, all to no avail. How did you manage to get locked inside of your own house?

“It’s scary being alone with a killer, isn’t it?” A voice whispered right next to your unoccupied ear, your heart practically jumping out of your chest when you realized the voice was clear and less eerie and automated, and also...no longer coming from the phone.

Your head snapped to the side, coming face to face a beat up ghostface mask, the phone in your hand clattering to the floor as you just narrowly dodged his arm when he slung it towards your head, ducking under the attack and nearly tripping over your feet as you made a b-line for your kitchen.

You ruined the house in your trail — throwing chairs, stools, and end tables behind you in desperate attempts to slow him down. 

You didn’t even realize you were screaming as you ran. 

You yelped as you hit your foot on the leg of a display in the hall, slipping and sliding on the hardwood as you never slowed in your pace.

You spotted your fathers work study door open, feet carrying you faster, ignoring the aching pain in your foot, as you made the room your destination. Making it into the space, you turned around to slam and lock the door, not missing the glance you caught of the man running after you. You felt his body collide with the other side of the wood as soon as you had it shut and latched, presumably throwing himself against it and you held it shut even though it was locked.

Your breaths were shaky and quivering, tears flying down your cheeks. After a few seconds, the thudding on the other side stopped. But you weren’t dumb enough to open the door again. The only thing on your mind was getting out of this god forsaken house. 

Spotting the one window in your father’s office, you looked down at the doorknob to ensure it was still locked before bolting over to the opening, prying the glass up and climbing out. Stepping out, one foot at a time, you looked to your left and right once you were completely outside of the window. The night air was humid and chilly, leaving you feeling damp and cold in nothing but a tank-top and pajama pants.

If you could make it to your neighbor’s house, you could call your parents. You just prayed to whatever higher power there was that they were home, better yet awake, considering their old age. 

You wasted little time in pondering however, sock-clad feet running through your yard in the direction of your neighbor's house that was a straight-shot across the street. Your feet had just hit the curb when you felt an arm engulf your frame from behind, the person’s other hand covering your mouth, muffling your screams as they dragged you right back behind the house, out of sight of any passersby that may have seen you.

Even with the hand over your mouth, you continued to kick and flail within their grip, managing to headbutt them in the jaw and drop you to the grass. The unexpected drop left you face down on the damp grass, scrambling to stand up and get away only for your ankles to be grabbed as they pulled you back.

When the aggressor managed to flip your relentless figure on your back, you were met with the sight of the mask once again as the man stood over you. You were lying on your back between his legs before he kneeled, practically straddling you.

Only then did you realize your hands were free, eyes fleeting between your hands and the mask before you were reaching up, basically palming the object and tearing it off, revealing a head full of blonde hair and a crooked, sadistic smile.

You weren’t even sure what your expression looked like.

“JJ?” You mumbled, letting the mask fall to the grass beside you. You could feel your entire body shaking. You didn’t know how to feel — Should you be relieved? Was this just a joke he took too far? Should you be terrified?

You normally would never assume JJ would hurt you but considering the fact that he’d just chased you through your entire house burned that argument to ashes. It didn’t help that he had this look in his eyes as he stared down at you — one you could only describe as unhinged.

You barely registered his next movements, as swift as they were — the way he pulled a decent sized knife from his sleeve in the blink of an eye. He twirled the object as the moonlight bounced off of the surface of it, you could see little spots littered across it. Little spots that almost looked like dried blood. He examined it, licking his bottom lip.

“You like it?” He spoke admiringly, watching the weapon glisten as if it were just a sight to see while you were laid petrified underneath him. You felt like you had just met a whole new person.

You still laid frozen still when he brought the object down to press it lightly against your throat, just enough for you to feel the coolness of it and how sharp it was. His dark gaze left the object to meet your wide eyes.

“It’s almost as pretty as you.”

General taglist; @livlaughquinn 

JJ Maybank Taglist; @ronnieissupermegafoxyawesomehot @maybankslover 

Event Taglist; @timmytime17

feedback is appreciated! thanks for reading.

©loveharlow

[exhosionn]

i’ve been here for a while and i still don’t know how to use this app anyways i need somewhere to post all my really random sampard headcannons so here we are honestly it’s really just random bullet points i’ve compiled and also most of this was written at 2am so there might be some spelling mistakes.. probably one other thing to mention, im not a lore reader,, i’ve been trying to recently because i find it really interesting but any details i’ve missed is bc i haven’t read it all yet 💔💔

gepard although hes not too great at taking plants (hes def trying tho) id like to think in his spare time he has like a book on floriography and goes to flower shops to buy sampo flowers with specific meanings?(like he goes to a flower shop and requests very specific types of flower arrangements)

sampo knows a LOT of things about belebog that no one else does some kind of like historical knowledge however i think the reason why sampo wont actually KNOw any floropgraphy is because with all his vast knowledge from across the universe as a masked fool, why would he bother to know something as ‘mundane’ as the meaning behind flowers.

to link to that, i think with sampos big world he sorrta gets dragged down to belebog in like a nice way and through gepard learns that the small things in life ACTUALLY matter or they noow matter. so for example these flowers he gets he never knows the meaning of them, def gets flustered by gepard initiating anything at all lmao.

i think sampo would ask around the underworld such as natasha, seele, even hook tbh about the meaning behind these flowers usually getting information from natasha. BUT he doesnt just outright ask he would like slip it into conversation because hes sly like that. Natasha very obviously catches on quite early on and although shes not as knowledgeable with the meanings she still retains enough information for sampo to start relying on her to help decode gepards bouquet.

one way or another serval catches wind of this (through natasha) and i think thats how she connects the dots

sampo most definitely leaves back notes with kisses on them on gepards windowsill (gep leaves his windows unlocked always.)

i can also imagine sampo to ‘retaliate’ somehow finding some extinct belobog flower and gifting it to geppie being all like ‘i bet ya can’t find the meaning behind this one’ lolll

gepard is a gay in denial in the sense that hes never had a crush on a woman but he sees madam poisson and he has a MASSIVE crush on her. everytime serval asks him if hes gay he brings up his ‘past’ crush on madam poisson.

gepard the 'nuh-uh' vs serval the 'yuh-huh’

serval has gepard as "gay man sighted in belobog" in her phone - sampard nation gave me these last two

serval and natasha they totally hang out at natasha’s clinic occasionally idk why i just see it

sampo kisses the scars on geps body

gep is taller w shoes one but actually shorter than sampo usually but no one believes sampo when he says thisn bc no one sees gep without his boots off.

sampo could be having the most absolute worst day and see gepard and feel beter same works for gepard except he doesnt realise it as much because gepard is more like ‘huh my headache clears from seeing sampo yeah he just uh annoys me so much that i think my heacache is clearing hahahaha’

soarkle and sampo sibling dynamic seems really funny but at times i also dont see it if we apply the whole sampo might be an emanator theory idk i think its silly at times but sometime it doesnt make sense….

on the other hand although it doesnt logically work sampo and seele sibling dynamic i actually really like it like a lot

i feel like gepard wears grampa pajamas?

although gepard def gets flustered by sampos flirting all the time, the one who actually initiated anything i believe would be gepard (ill go more into why i think so at a later date)

both of them are really light sleepers and have trouble sleeping all the time

also gep likes to hold onto sampo a lot when they fall asleep cuz he get scared that sampo might just leave randomly

i love these two sosososo much im going insane i need more headcannons to fill the brainrot

[player1064]

gary goes into business instead of broadcasting post-retirement. carra still goes into puditry. they don't know each other/end up as friends.

they both end up on the same season of I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here and fall in love. this is highly apparent to the entire audience.

I've not done a request fic in like two months bc I've been so zoomed in on the beville fic but I wanted to write something quick and silly and yes this request has been sitting in my inbox for more than THREE months but dont worry i did not forget about it I haven't forgotten about ANY of u.

and this really is quick and silly it is Mostly dialogue bc idk how else to convey the Vibes of im a celebrity but I had soooooo much fun with this dkjfgdfjsgkk...

---

 “I’m Gary Neville, I’m a businessman but I’m probably best known for my football career, playing 602 games for Manchester United and earning 85 caps for England.”

“What am I doing in the jungle? Mid-life crisis, I suppose.”

“I’m no stranger to public humiliation – just look at my coachin’ career! My only worry is the food – I do love a dairy milk, to be fair.”

*

“I’m Jamie Carragher, and I’m best known as a football pundit with Sky – am I allowed to say other broadcaster’s names on here? – and for winning the Champions’ league with Liverpool.”

“I’ve always said the jungle is the only reality show I’d consider doin’, so I guess it’s time to put me money where me mouth is.”

“Scared? Eh, no, I don’t think there’s many challenges I wouldn’t do. You don’t get to where I’ve got without that drive to win.”

*

Jamie walks into camp, takes one look at the group of people stood in front of him, and almost considers walking straight back out. Would that work, saying the catch-phrase outside of one of the challenges? ‘I’m a celebrity, get me away from Gary fucking Neville?’

“Jesus Christ,” Gary mutters. “Don’t you ‘ave some children to spit at or somethin’?”

“Don’t you ‘ave a football team to coach – oh no, sorry, they both fired you.”

“How the fuck are they lettin’ you take three weeks off in the middle of season? What’re people gonna do when they want to listen to two hours of Scouse gibberish?”

The rest of the campers watch on, no longer even attempting to come and introduce themselves to Jamie.

“And how’s your club gonna manage without yous, eh? What if they need someone to fire another manager?”

*

“Yeah, I uh… is it mean to say I hope one of them gets voted off soon? Don’t get me wrong, they’re both perfectly nice guys, but…”

[yelling heard from outside the hut]

“…Yeah.”

*

The first pairs challenge, shockingly, goes off without a hitch.

This is not a surprise because the challenge was particularly difficult – it’s early days, they’re still easing everyone in – but because of who the public had voted to complete it. Because the public is the public, and they’re nothing if not predictable.

“All twelve stars! I’m pretty pleased w’that, you know.”

“Typical fucking Neville, taking the credit for his partner’s hard work.”

 “Oh, I’m sorry, I don’t seem to recall you crawling about in the mud to get the –”

“—I was the one doin’ all the heavy lifting!”

“Of course you were doin’ the heavy lifting, look at the fuckin’ size of you!”

“Ugh.”

Jamie storms off camera and back into camp, leaving behind a bewildered looking Gary.

“He’s a bit of a diva, in’t he?”

*

“The first few days? Erm, it’s been goin’ alright, I think. I’ve been told I’m not always the easiest person to get on with, so it’s a pleasant relief that the others seem to – I mean, obviously not all of the others, but – but he’s –”

*

“Oh, I’m loving camp. Missing the gym a bit –” for emphasis, Jamie slaps his bicep – “but the food’s not as bad as I were expectin’, and the banter is sound – we’re all great friends already –”

“—well, no, but you can’t count him. He’s so weird, ‘ave you seen him? Like a little robot, doin’ everything exactly the same every day.”

*

“Another pairs challenge…”

“I don’t get why people keep voting for us to do these trials. You’re useless at ‘em anyway, do they want to see us starve?”

“Maybe I’d be able to get more done if you didn’t always insist on bossing me around, James. Can barely hear myself think over that Scouse screech of yours, it’s a wonder me eardrums haven’t burst yet.”

“It’s a wonder nobody’s killed themselves in the boredom of having to listen to you drone on and on all day. Did I actually hear you talkin’ about the stock market the other day?”

“The stock exchange, oh my god. It’s my hotel, which you’d know if you took part in any conversation that’s not about you.”

*

“I can’t believe they let you have that.”

Jamie looks with pride down at the football he’d chosen as his luxury item, then drops it and kicks it towards Gary’s head. It’s wide by about a metre.

“Oi! If you were a half decent footballer that could’ve actually hurt me, you twat.”

“’least mine can benefit everyone in camp, what even is yours?”

“Fidget toy, innit. My niece got me into them, gives me something to do with my hands.”

“You’re a strange little man, you know that right?”

Gary, who’s still positioned closest to the football, picks it up and lobs it into the trees surrounding camp.

*

“Come have a kickabout with me?”

Gary looks around but there’s nobody else sat nearby. “Me?”

“No, Cristiano Ronaldo. Of course you, who else would I be askin’?”

“Literally anyone else here?”

“It’s not as fun when you’re better than everyone else –”

“—ah, so you admit I’m a better footballer than you!”

“That’s not what I said!”

*

“What are you actually doin’ in here? ‘cause no offence, Gary, but you don’t really seem the reality show type.”

“Dunno. Was having a rough week when the email came through, thought it might be nice to get away from everythin’ for a bit.”

“’and you, Jameh?’” Jamie says in a squeaky parody of a Manc accent. “Oh, thanks fer askin’, Gaz. I was worried I was goin’ soft, now that I’ve been retired for so long. Wanted to prove to myself I can still be a winner.”

“Still? When were you ever a winner before?”

“I’ve won a Champions’ League, I’ll have you know!”

“I’ve won two!”

“Have you fuck.”

*

“Who’s your letter from, then? Missus?”

“No, my brother,” Gary says absently, then he looks up from his letter with a frown. “I don’t have a missus, what’re you on about?”

“Don’t you? I could’ve sworn, in Baden Baden with the WAGs –”

“You’re basing your knowledge of my relationship status on a tournament we played in more than fifteen years ago?”

“You realise you’re literally wearing a wedding ring.”

“And you’re not. Any other observations you’d like to make? Sky is blue, maybe?”

“Normally people wear wedding rings to show they’re married.”

“Maybe some people wear them to avoid annoying questions. Anyway, Philip says that I’m coming across very well so far and that ITV has received hundreds of complaints from people who can’t understand your accent.”

“He did not fucking write that, give it here –”

*

“Am I getting along better with Jamie? I dunno, I never had a problem with him to be fair, it’s him that’s always –”

*

“Friends? With Gary? Behave. Have we managed to go a single day so far without him shoutin’ at me for somethin’ I did, or somethin’ I didn’t do right, or for – for breathing in the wrong direction. Christ, I’ve never met anyone this fussy. He’s too easy to wind up.”

*

“He must be doin’ it on purpose, surely nobody is that thick – I mean, is it so hard to stack a couple of dishes when you’ve finished washing them?”

“Well, no, yeah, he did stack them, but did you see – they were all out of order, there’s no stability – they’re certain to all fall and break in the night thanks to him.”

*

All the effort that goes into the Dingo Dollars task and all the camp has to show for it is a single square of chocolate each. Gary nibbles carefully at his, trying to preserve it for as long as possible.

Jamie gets up and goes to sit beside him.

“Here.”

“Wha?”

“Here, I don’t like sweets.”

“You don’t – what kind of a psychopath don’t like sweets?”

“Will you just take the bloody chocolate before I change my mind.”

*

“You’re limping. Why are you limping?”

“Done my ankle in the last trial.”

“Trust you to get injured doin’ a trial. What’d you do, you slip or somethin’?”

“Why don’t you ask your mate, he’s the expert on slipping.”

“Ha ha. But really, Gary – you alright?”

“I’m fine, Carra, ‘s not even strained. Just a bit achy. Twenty years as a professional athlete will do that to you.”

“Give it here.”

“You what?”

“Give it here, I do an okay massage. Maybe that’ll stop yer whining.”

“I literally didn’t say a word until you brought it up.”

*

“I don’t know, he’s – ugh, he’s…”

“He’s not what I expected. I dunno. He’s just not what I expected.”

*

“D’you know how many times me and Gary played a full ninety together with England? One. We only ever played one full match on the same side, and it was shite.”

“It always felt like there was only room for one of us, so I just – I fucking hated him. ‘cause it wasn’t me the managers were picking, was it?”

*

“Carra?” Gary whispers

“What.”

“Carra, I can’t sleep.”

“Don’t give a fuck.”

“Jamie.”

Jamie reluctantly sits up in his camp bed, squints at Gary in the dark. “What.”

“I can’t sleep.”

“You already said that.”

“I want to go for a walk, clear my head.”

“Good for you.” Jamie lies back down and pulls his sleeping bag over his face.

“Jamie.”

“I swear to God, Gaz…”

“Yer not gonna make me go out there alone, are ya? It’s the middle of the night.”

“What are you, twelve? Fine, just give me a minute to find my shoes.”

*

“It’s very dark, isn’t it?”

“It’s the middle of the night.”

They hadn’t ended up walking very far, just to the log benches in the next clearing over before agreeing the risk of tripping over tree roots was too high and sitting down to just talk instead.

“My internal clock’s all thrown off, we’ve been here nearly two weeks and I still can’t get the hang of it. At home to be fair I’m normally in bed by ten, half ten.”

“I remember, from England. You and Phil were such geeks, weren’t you?”

“Most capped brothers in England, thank you very much.”

“D’you miss him?”

“Nah. Don’t get to see ‘im much anyway, to be fair. He’s off in America, Trace is out here, they’re both just – getting on with it, aren’t they? I prob’ly miss my house more’n anything else.”

“Your house… not your friends? Not football?”

“I like my house! It’s got everythin’ just the way I like it.”

“Alright, alright. Fine, you can miss your house.”

“Wha’d’you miss? Your kids? The missus?”

“I dunno really… kids are both all grown up now, missus went back to being a ms a long time ago.”

“Oh.”

“Is what it is. Anyway, I miss football even if you don’t, honest to God, what kind of a footballer are ya? I wish someone would slip me this week’s standings, feel like I’m going insane tryin’ to imagine all the results.”

“Should’ve said something sooner, twat. I can tell you how the league’s going.”

“You can?”

“Yes. Manchester United are on a – how many games’ve we missed now? – they’re on a three game winning streak and have shot to the top of the league.”

“Oh yeah? What about Liverpool?”

Gary tuts and shakes his head. “Relegation zone, I’m afraid.”

“We were top of the table when I came in ‘ere!”

“Well, you know what they say – anything can happen in football, can’t it?”

“You’re right, what’s that… I’m getting reports from Old Trafford that Salah’s just scored a hat-trick, Stretford end as well –”

“You twat! As if your Liverpool could win away against United, you’re dreaming!”

*

“Erm, yeah… it’s good to be going home, ‘course it is. Glad I wasn’t the first voted out, hah, I actually think I’ve done alright in ‘ere.”

“Yeah, no, it’s been a brilliant experience to be fair. I never thought I’d make such good friends – yeah, even him. I know, I’m as surprised as you are! Anyway, I’m wishin’ them all the very best of luck in the semi-finals.”

 *

“I mean, I know fourth place isn’t bad, but I do think I deserved to get to the finals. I’ve worked harder than anyone else here, so –”

“Well yeah, ‘course, it’s up to the public, so – if it’s my time then it’s my time.”

“What’ll I be doin’ when I get to the hotel? Dunno. Check my messages first, probably!”

“What, Gary? I saw ‘im yesterday, it’s not like I’m missin’ him already! Might get ‘im to buy me a pint, though, least he could do after I had to put up with him for three weeks.”

[pupkashi]

hype

kakashi doesn’t understand how genma can be so smitten with one person, until he meets said person

a/n: hi friends ! thank you sm for this request <3 im thinking of making this into a series if you guys would like that ? let me know what you all think :]

wordcount: 2,946

masterlist

“-and they changed their hair today! usually they wear it in this one certain style but today they-” kakashi zoned out again, Genma’s all too familiar musings become more and more similar everyday.

“genma do you even talk to them? seems like you just stalk them from afar” the silver haired jonin replies, genma stares at him in shock.

“pft! of course i do!” his chest is puffed out and he’s looking to the side with an angry pout, “i tell them good morning and goodbye” he mutters, kakashi shakes his head.

“i don’t see how one person that you barely even talk to can be so captivating” he mumbles, rolling his eyes as genma gasps, as if you’d insulted his entire bloodline.

“how dare you hatake! y/n is the most amazing person in this village! maybe even the world!” he’s defending you as if you were already married and a life together.

“it’s a silly crush genma! talk about them when you actually make a move” kakashi scoffs, leaving genma alone in the street as he turns to make his way to his apartment.

and so that’s how genma found himself in his current predicament, reciting the words in his brain he’d say to you when you flashed him that bright smile of yours. all he had to do was invite you to dinner! it’s not like it was a straightforward date, some of his other friends would be going. it was a good way to ease into this!

genma is staring much too hard at a tree when he hears your voice from behind him, “i think that one’s an oak tree if that’s why you’re so focused on it” you laugh, smiling when genma turns to face you.

“y/n!” he shrieks, eyes widening before clearing his throat, “good morning! i didn’t even hear you” he smiled nervously and you bump his shoulder.

“you should be glad i didn’t become a shinobi, I’d probably outrank you” your voice is teasing as you wink at him, causing genma to think he was gonna go into cardiac arrest anytime soon.

“pft, as if!” he smiled back, “hey, you busy this afternoon?” he asks, his palms sweating beyond belief as you ponder his question.

“what today friday?” your lips are in a small pout as you think before shaking your head ‘no.’

“do you wanna be?” there’s a glint in his eyes that makes you smile, “depends” you reply, his once faux cocky smirk falling off his face.

“on what?” his voice much weaker than he intended it to come out. genma can’t help but study your features, drinking in how breathtaking you look so early in the morning.

“will you be there?” the question catches him off guard, had you always been this coward with him? was he always too stupid to realize?

“I’ll be the one picking you up” he smiles, beyond ecstatic that you were actually gonna say yes.

“then I’d love to be busy tonight, what’s the occasion?” your eyes are sparkling with excitement when he looks at you, he can’t help but smile widely as he explains.

“we’re having a surprise dinner for Gai! we missed his birthday since he was out on a mission that ran long” he explained, you couldn’t help but smile warmly at genma.

“that’s really sweet of you guys” you reply, “never took you for such a sap genma” you tease, bumping you shoulder into him, smiling as he rolled his eyes, hating the fact that a prominent blush was already on his cheeks.

“yeah, yeah” he grumbled, watching the way your smile turned into a small frown, your brows furrowing.

“hey, what’s wrong?” you’re looking at him with wide worried eyes as you explain to him you have no clue what to get Gai. genma only smiles, shaking his head and reassuring you, “don’t worry, i got him something I’ll just say it’s from both of us.”

Genma can’t help but feel like a proud peacock that afternoon when he’s walking home with kakashi.

“guess who got y/n talking to them for almost an hour this morning” he’s boasting, kakashi ever as uninterested sighs.

“raido?” Genma smacks the silver head jonin upside the head before pointing at himself, the cockiest smile on his face as he shakes his head.

“this guy!” he cheers, practically running circles around his much calmer friend. “and guess who they’re coming to gai’s birthday dinner with?!” he doesn’t give kakashi the chance to speak before cheering once more, “this guy!”

“so I’ll finally meet this ever famous, impossibly perfect y/n?” kakashi asks, genma nodding.

“I’ll see you there! I’ve gotta make sure i look amazing so i can woo them tonight” already taking off in the direction of his apartment. leaving kakashi alone in peace and quiet.

so he was finally gonna get to meet you huh. after who knows how long (it’s only been a month) of genma gushing about your every little move and comment, he was finally gonna see what all the hype surrounding you was. kakashi would never admit he was looking forward to meeting you, especially after the countless times he’s told genma he didn’t care to ever meet you on their almost daily walks home together.

it’s 6:30 when you hear a knock on your door, you’re checking yourself out once more in the mirror before opening the door with a bright smile.

“hey! come in i just have to slip my shoes on real fast” you smile, motioning for genma to walk in.

“you uh- you look great y/n” his face is burning up, only getting hotter when you giggle, asking if you can hold onto his shoulder for support as you slip your shoe on.

“you clean up nicely yourself” you reply, grabbing your bag before turning the light off, genma offering you his arm as the two of you leave.

“I’m not too overdressed am i?” you ask, genma quickly shaking his head, “no of course not!” he assures you, trying his best to not outwardly freak out because you’re so close he can smell your perfume.

the two of you make small talk as you arrive at the restaurant, genma pulling a chair out for you, giving you a charming smile when you thank him.

it wasn’t long before the large table was filled up, only the birthday boy himself another seat left empty. as it turned out you and genma shared many mutual friends, smiling widely and hugging kurenai and asuma when they walked in and saw you. anko practically ran towards you, crushing you in a hug and smiling widely.

“i didn’t know you knew Gai!” she beamed, taking the seat next to you and you shook your head.

“i don’t! but i know genma and he invited me” you smile, “i hope I’m not intruding” you frown, kurenai and anko both replying with a firm ‘no!’

“oh Gai is gonna love you! he better not end up intruding on girls night!” anko frowned and you laughed, shaking your head.

“for all we know he could hate me” you reply, turning your head when you hear genma snicker.

“y/n i don’t think there’s anyone in the world who could hate you” he smiles, leaning a bit closer to you, your face heats up a bit at the proximity, laughing softly before taking a sip of water.

“where the fuck is hatake? surely he wouldn’t be late to the dinner he planned” asuma states, his brows furrowed as he looks around.

genma’s attitude changes as he replies, rolling his eyes and crossing his arms, “that man will be late to his own funeral” he snickers and you can’t help but smile a bit.

you’d seen the famous copy ninja around the village, but with such different lives you’d never actually spoken to him. it was a miracle you were even friends with the amount of shinobi that you were friends with, considering you were just a normal villager.

“I’ve never met him actually” you comment to genma, and he smiled at you reassuringly, “he seems mean but deep down he’s a real nice guy” he says, asuma quickly getting his attention as they talk about something they’d been discussing earlier.

it’s only a couple more minutes when a silver haired man walks in with Gai at his side, his sworn rival talking his ear off.

“surprise!” everyone cheers as Gai notices the group of people at the table, “happy late birthday Gai!” everyone taking their turns hugging the man and handing him a small gift.

“you guys! i cant believe this” he smiles, his eyes tearing up a bit, “this truly is was youth is all about” everyone laughs at his words, ordering food and making small talk.

kakashi notices you immediately, your smile just a soft and bright as genma had described, your hair falling perfectly and framing your face, his breath almost catches in your throat when you laugh and push a strand of hair behind your ear.

it’s the moment that genma introduces you to each other that he realizes he has a very big problem.

“this is y/n! y/n this is kakashi” he’s staring at kakashi with a shot eating grin, one that says ‘told you they were amazing’ and kakashi has to stop himself from smacking him then and there.

“it’s nice to meet you!” you hold out your hand, kakashi taking it and shaking it gently.

“likewise, I’ve heard a lot about you” he smiles, holding back his laughter when genma almost chokes on his own spit.

“all good things i hope!” you giggle, turning to genma with a soft smile, your face flushed.

“of- of course!” he smiles sheepishly, the two you turning back to your meals and continuing to converse with each other.

as everyone is leaving the restaurant kakashi is giving the group signals, one that you don’t understand and are looking to genma to explain.

“there’s a secret after party at gai’s place asuma and i planned” he whispers and you’re nodding along, a smile on your face, “you wanna come?” his cologne is wafting into your nose and you can’t help but nod.

“sure why not” you smile, blushing a bit when genma grabs your hand, pulling you alongside him to catch up with the group.

it didn’t take long for the party to start once you got to the apartment. you laughed as you watched asuma and kurenai sing a terrible duet, genma and raido both downing shots one after the other and anko trailing off for the fifth time about something she’d been wanting to tell you but couldn’t remember what it was.

you glance at the clock and realize how late it had gotten, eyes widening and apologizing to anko that you had to get home.

“oh but you only had a couple shots! you aren’t even buzzed” she slurred, frowning when you hugged her tightly.

“sorry sweets but i have work tomorrow!” you pout, smoothing her hair down before saying goodbye once again and going off to find your date.

you have to hold back laughter when you find genma almost passed out next to Gai and raido, shaking them all a bit to make sure they were still alive.

“genma? I’m gonna head home” you smile and he gets up, wobbling a bit before he throws his arms around you.

“oh don’t leave us y/n! you’re too perfect to leave” he whines, your face flushing at his words, “i can walk you home” he smiles, getting up from his chair and almost slipping, causing you to catch him and help him to the couch.

“i don’t even think you can walk right now” you laugh, bidding him goodbye and letting him know you’ll see him monday.

as you finish your last goodbye’s and wish a much too intoxicated Gai happy birthday once more, you’re heading out the door, a small smile on your face as you close it.

“genma not walking you home?” the deep voice startling you, causing you to shriek a bit, your heart pounding as your eyes land on kakashi.

“god you fucking scared me” you laugh, hand over your heart, “no he’s piss drunk right now” your head shaking.

“I’ll see you around kakashi, take care” you’re smiling at him brightly, waving goodbye. and before he can stop himself he pushes himself off the wall and catches up to you, walking at your pace.

“oh i don’t want to inconvenience you” looking at him with kind eyes, he’s shaking his head at your words.

“ ‘s not an inconvenience, just wanna make sure you get home safe is all” his words make your stomach flutter and you nod, a small ‘okay, thanks’ leaving your lips as you look away, hoping he doesn’t see the blush on your cheeks.

it’s a bit chilly as you continue walking, kakashi noticed the way you’re holding yourself tightly, and within seconds his jacket is resting atop your shoulders.

“oh I’m fine really!” already taking the jacket off, kakashi shakes his head, placing it back on you before speaking up.

“keep it on, i was getting a bit hot anyway” he smiles, you return him a brighter one, tugging his jacket tighter around you, letting yourself drown in his cologne.

“I think it was really nice that you planned the dinner for gai” you speak up after a couple seconds, fiddling with your fingers. kakashi shakes his head at your words.

“it was all of us really” he shrugs and you look at him, a smile on your face when he turns to face you, “what?” there’s a smile creeping onto his lips.

“asuma said you planned the whole thing, give yourself some credit” you nudge him softly, hoping to god it was alright and he wasn’t insanely uptight like how genma painted him out to be.

“or do you have some sort of appearance to uphold” you tease, laughing a bit when the jonin scoffs at you, looking in the opposite direction with his chin up.

“i don’t have any appearances” he denies, turning to face you when he no longer hears your footsteps next to his.

“oh please! the whole village has you painted as ‘the great copy ninja’ so mysterious and dark” your voice a bit lower, as you say his famous nickname, he’s rolling his eyes and chuckling a bit.

“maybe I’m just mysterious and dark” he shrugs, following you when you continue to walk to your apartment.

“are you?” your voice curious as you look at him, trying to read his features as best you could.

“maybe” he replies, watching the way you cross your arms and smile up at him. his hearts beating a bit faster, feeling insecure under the scrutiny of your eyes. why did he care so much?

“you aren’t” you reply, shrugging your shoulders as you both continue to walk. kakashi’s eyes go wide and his brows are furrowed, his mouth open at your statement.

“you don’t even know me! how would you know?” he’s a bit defensive as you brush his off easily, looking at him with a warm smile that has his stomach doing flips.

“please! you plan out birthday dinners for you best friend, you walk someone home you don’t know and give them your jacket, you have actual friends that care about you and love you” you list off, “and you’ve been talking to me this whole time, dark and mysterious people would just say something vague and look off into the moonlight” you giggle.

“you sure you’re not a shinobi?” the question makes you laugh, waving him off before turning into the street when your apartment is.

“thank you for walking me, i felt much safer with the dark and mysterious copy ninja as my personal guard” you smile, kakashi returns it gracefully, a deep chuckle leaving his mouth.

“it’s my job to protect this village” he says, his voice raspy as he looks up at the sky, searching for the moon.

“new moon tonight” you mumble, kakashi’s shoulders falling a bit, “guess you weren’t meant to be dark and mysterious” you laugh, kakashi laughing alongside you.

“I’ll uh- see you around?” he asks and you nod, starting to shrug his jacket off before he stops you, placing his hand on top of yours. he’s caught off guard by his own actions, clearing his throat and composing himself when he he looks into your eyes.

“you can hold onto it, don’t want you to get cold walking up the stairs” he winces a bit at his terrible choice of words but you don’t seem to care.

“ever the gentleman” you giggle, holding the jacket close to you, “goodnight kakashi” you smile, biting your lip as you turn around and head up the stairs, waving goodbye before you open the door to your apartment, letting out shrieks and giggles when you throw yourself on your bed.

he doesn’t leave until you’re closing the door behind you, a smile on his face as he walks back to gai’s apartment. he’s smiling widely and kicking a rock, a slight blush on his face as he replays the conversation the two of you had.

it’s not until he reaches the apartment and his eyes land on genma that his world is crumbling around him. he can’t like you, not when his friend had been pining after you for a month.

he tries his best to forget about you, he really does, but it seems fate had other plans when you quite literally run into him only two days later, his jacket hanging off your shoulders.

[x0x0josephinex0x0]

For the request game!

Fall With Me - The Wild Reeds

SVT

Enemies to lovers

Ahhhhhh omg ok. Since no member was specified im gonna just choose one :) Warnings: a bad kiss is discussed, also they do make out, lawyer!jeonghan and he's a menace as per usual

The annual best friends’ trip would be going much better if it weren’t for the presence of a certain attorney.

The first time you’d met Yoon Jeonghan had been during a dizzying cross-examination of your expert information in a high-profile criminal case. As a forensic speech-pattern analyst, you had taken your job as an expert witness to testify against an almost-certainly guilty extortionist very seriously, but Jeonghan had managed to twist every one of your facts to the advantage of the man, creating just enough reasonable doubt to get the man off with a slap on the wrist.

You had sworn to hate the handsome, smooth-talking defense attorney for as long as you lived -- so imagine your shock when your friend had brought him along with the group as her plus-one because her boyfriend couldn’t make it. As her cousin, and the closest male relative she had, he was more than happy to tag along, he’d said. 

And now you watch him across the room, schmoozing over your friends, unable to break it to them that he was the evil attorney that you’d complained about for weeks after the trial.

What was even worse about it was that he kept catching your eye from where he sat playing cards with your childhood friends, framed in the big windows like an angel wreathed in light, his fine features sly and knowing, more and more aggravating with every glance. You knew he remembered you by the way his eyes lit with recognition as they’d taken in all the faces in the spacious cabin. You groan internally -- this man must be your own personal demon, sent to torture you for some long-forgotten sin. And he just has to look good while doing it, doesn’t he?

“Hey, are you even listening to me?” your friend Seokmin says, suddenly.

“Oh!” you exclaim, turning back toward him with a sheepish look, but he’s grinning at you.

“You aren’t the only one staring at him,” he says. “Look at Juliette.”

Sure enough, your old college roommate is eyeing Jeonghan in interest. You know that look -- she’s going to do something she’ll probably regret later if she doesn’t get distracted soon. A part of you wonders why it always seems to be down to you to prevent disaster as you excuse yourself from Seokmin with a hurried excuse, making your way over to Juliette with a request for some snowshoeing in the newly-fallen snow outside.

But of course, the odds are not in your favor today. Jeonghan stands up, tossing in his cards after what you clock as his third poker win today. “I’d better quit while I’m ahead,” he says, and then looks up at you. “Did you say something about snowshoeing?”

Well, you can’t exactly lie to his face while all your friends are looking at you expectantly, so you give him a curt nod. “Can I come?” he asks, and there is an amused undertone to his voice that brings your already-hot temper to a boiling point.

Juliette answers first. “Of course!” she chirps, and you have no choice but to trudge into the mud room with them, your jaw set in a hard line and your eyes flashing. You suit up wordlessly while the other two make flirty conversation, somehow growing even more peeved as you listen to them. 

Finally, you’re walking out into the calm, quiet forest, the snowshoes keeping your boots from sinking into the deep layer of snow frosted over the ground. You find yourself trailing behind Jeonghan and Juliette, listening to them chatter happily together, for the entirety of the hike, only finding a brief moment of relief from the anger when you pause at an overlook. Here, white-dusted fir trees spill by the thousands down a steep incline that leads to a small valley, and the sun slowly sinking seems to light everything in a pinkish glow. It’s breathtaking. You can’t help but smile.

Except for when you turn and catch a glimpse of Jeonghan staring at you.

His expression is mirroring your own: complete awe, a dumbfounded smile, eyes wide as though afraid he won’t be able to take it all in. Except he’s not looking at the view — he’s looking at you.

Juliette notices and makes a lame excuse for why she needs to head back to the cabin, ignoring your protests and leaving you alone with Jeonghan. “You remember me, don’t you?” he asks instantly when she’s out of earshot. 

“Of course I do,” you say, bristling. “Liar.”

He chuckles, and you hate how cute he is when he’s laughing at you. “It’s actually ‘lawyer’, but that’s an easy mistake,” he says, unbothered by your venom.

“Look,” you say, trying to keep a moderate tone, “in case it wasn’t already clear, I really don’t like you.”

“Why not?” he asks innocently. “Because I’m good at my job?”

“Because you helped a guilty person escape justice!” you say loudly. A raven in a nearby tree takes off in fear.

His face seems to harden a little. “Tell me what you know about the defendant.”

This request takes you aback. “I don’t know anything about him,” you tell Jeonghan. “Other than his speech patterns and what they indicate.”

He looks at your face — seeming to debate with himself for a moment. Then he speaks. “He is the only caretaker for both his elderly mother, who is blind, and a young daughter still undergoing treatments for an aggressive cancer. The company he worked for was scamming its employees out of money, so he pulled a clever scam back and was able to make enough off of it to pay for his daughter to be treated at a top hospital and for his mother to have a seeing-eye dog. If he went to jail, where would they be?”

The information you’re receiving weighs on you heavily as you listen to him, and you feel your face burn with a guilty flush. “I had no idea.”

He nods shortly. “Not everything is as black-and-white as you think.”

He begins to walk away, back toward the cabin, and you have no choice but to follow him. As you enter the mud room again, stripping off your snow clothed and hanging them to dry, Jeonghan gives a soft chuckle. “Were you really that mad?”

“Yeah,” you admit, allowing him a small smile although your ego is still a bit bruised. “You made me sound like an idiot in court. I’m quite good at my job, you know.” You internally cringe at self. Why do you feel the need to justify yourself to him?

He nods in understanding. “I know you are. And you’re cute, too.”

This boldness shocks you into silence, and he gives a small giggle that almost undoes you.  “I wanted to talk to you after trial, but the look on your face was…”

“Radiant?” you say, recovering quickly with a raised eyebrow.

“Well, you were certainly radiating something,” he allows. “I was scared you’d bite me.”

You laugh. Time to play his game, you think. “I still haven’t ruled it out.” 

You saunter past him as his jaw drops, taking a seat beside Seokmin and letting out a deep sigh. There’s still a nagging tension in the air though, especially when Jeonghan stations himself across the room from you with his cousin and some other friends, only to meet eyes with you every few minutes with a sparkle of curiosity in his wide eyes.

As night falls, the lights dim. One by one, people start excusing themselves to go to bed, until it’s just a gaggle of you left, you and Jeonghan included. You keep expecting Jeonghan to get up and go to bed -- you noticed on the first night of the trip that he tires easily and usually is in bed earlier than the rest of your friends -- but he never does. Instead, the air gets thicker as Jeonghan moves next to you on the couch, as nonchalant as anything, and you feel your cheeks heating up. Eventually he turns to you as the others become engrossed in their own conversation.

“So, if you knew that today was the last day of your life —“

“Are you serious?” you groan. “I’m disappointed in you.”

He looks indignant and taken aback. “Well, I’m trying to get to know you,” he says defensively.

“Yeah, but you’re asking the manic-pixie-dreamboy questions,” you tell him. “Start with something normal, and then maybe I’ll tell you my hamartia or whatever.”

He bites his bottom lip. “Uh, okay. What made you want to be a speech pathologist?”

“That’s much better,” you commend him. “And I actually have a little brother who grew up with a speech impediment that made him difficult to understand, and I spent my whole childhood translating him for others. So I guess it was something I knew I could do. Plus it was interesting to know how to help similar kids.” 

Jeonghan nods. “I guess that makes sense.”

“What made you want to be a lawyer?” you shoot back.

His response is immediate. “I’m a master manipulator, and I wanted to make a lot of money. It seemed like the logical choice.”

You can’t help but laugh. “That’s the reddest red flag I’ve ever heard,” you say. “I should be running for the hills.”

“So why aren’t you?” he asks with a sly smile. 

“Must be colorblind,” you say dryly. “But it’s actually because master manipulators usually aren’t so upfront with their gifts.”

He grins. “Well, I really am good at … influencing people, to a degree. But I guess I became a criminal defense attorney to broaden my view on humanity. There are people I’ve represented in court that I would hate to be alone with, and yet somehow I’ve learned that they all have a level of humanity that would surprise most people. They weren’t all good people, but they were all still people. And I think that’s made me a better person overall.”

You grin to hide how impressed you are. “And the money is good too.”

He nods. “Well, obviously.”

This earns a giggle from you, and Jeonghan turns his body to face yours. For the next three hours, you talk about everything, even as the last of the stragglers disappear with tired farewells into their bedroom. Finally, it’s just you and Yoon Jeonghan, sitting at opposite ends of a broad brown couch, laughing about one of your awkward dating stories. 

“And after all that,” you say, wiping a tear of derision and amusement from your eye, “he has the nerve to kiss me!”

Jeonghan’s eyes go wide. “Did he ask first?” he asks. 

“Well, yeah,” you say.

“Why did you say yes?!” he groans through laughter. 

“I was so taken aback! And also, he was pretty hot,” you admit.

He looks at you skeptically. “If I asked you a question, would you answer honestly?”

“Depends on the question.”

“Give me just this one,” he pleads.

“Okay,” you say, giving in easily at the sight of his puppy eyes.

“Was he hotter than me?” he asks.

Your jaw drops. “Yoon Jeonghan.”

“You said you’d answer the question honestly,” he reminds you.

You begrudgingly consider him. “You’re hotter,” you finally answer, glad he probably can’t see you blush in this low light.

He nods, satisfied. “Okay, go on. What happened next?”

You laugh at the nonchalant way he’s handled this news. “Oh, he was a terrible kisser. All of those looks just for him to have no sensitivity at all. Jammed his tongue down my throat and everything.”

“You should’ve told him no,” he says quietly, moving almost imperceptibly closer.

“I really should’ve. Anyway, that was actually the most recent kiss I’ve had, so my experiences with kissing are all being viewed through that lens, and it’s kind of ruined for me now.” You make a face as you remember the date, and the associated kiss. By the time your shudder brings you back down to earth, Jeonghan has moved just one inch closer on the couch. You pretend not to notice.

He pins you with his gaze, though. “Are you being coy on purpose?” he asks through narrowed eyes, making another small move in your direction.

“What do you mean?” you ask him, suddenly nervous.

“We’re alone, and you openly admitted I’m hotter than the last guy you kissed --”

“After you coerced me into telling you,” you interject, amused.

“And now you’re talking about how bad he was at kissing,” Jeonghan finishes, undeterred. “Tell me what kind of conclusion I’m supposed to draw from that.” And with that, he closes the gap between you, moving so close that your thighs are touching.

You look into his eyes. This was a plot twist you didn’t see coming -- you hadn’t been able to figure out why he’d stuck around when everyone started going to bed, but his reasons for doing so were becoming more and more clear, and although you woke up this morning as his sworn enemy, you have a feeling that everything has changed.

So you stare, wanting to fall, but also wanting to stay in this moment, right here, contemplating the risk. Maybe you’ve got it wrong -- it’s certainly possible. But maybe, just maybe, you’ve run out of options for things to say, leaving just the one thought you had when he’d moved closer and asked you to tell him what to think.

“Well, you’re the lawyer,” you finally answer, barely above a soft whisper. “Figure it out.”

You catch a hint of a smile before Jeonghan’s hands are reaching up to cradle your face, bringing your lips gently, but ever so insistently, to his own. 

His lips are soft and light on your own, a massive upgrade from the clumsy kisses of whoever had come before. You can’t remember that man, nor anyone else, for that matter. You barely register the feeling of the coarse couch cushions beneath you, sinking under your combined weight as Jeonghan pulls you onto his lap to continue the kiss. The light brush of his tongue over your bottom lip has you reaching for him hungrily, pulling him closer to you so you can feel his heart beating against your own.

It takes a particularly loud squeak from the couch for the both of you to realize how loud you were being. You both freeze and look at the stairs, terrified that one of your friends has caught you, before you both realize and explode into quiet giggles, pressing your foreheads together.

“Do you want to sleep in my room tonight?” you ask him breathlessly.

“I could never fall asleep with you in the same room as me,” he replies with a wicked grin.

[sxtvrns]

unspoken

🎶 now playing: hi - laufey

P: Ryōhei Arisu x Fem!Reader

S: You couldn’t leave the poor man laying on the street. He couldn’t help falling for the girl who was always by his side.

W: aib spoilers, cursing, alludes to sexual content, beach arc, arisu a bit ooc (downbad), mentions of death, violence

N: Y/N is your first name, L/N is your last name. this has been sitting in my drafts for too long also i havent even finished the series yet i left off on s2 ep5 but i practically know the rest of the plot cuz i got fuckin spoiled… i started this like months ago now im just trying to make sense of the plot anyways hot emo gamer nerd man woopwoop sexy ahh mf i love kento yamazaki

please interact if you enjoy!

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Yuzu walks beside you with the rabbit she just hunted in a plastic bag, a confident strut in her step. “We should get your clothes washed. Then again, I don’t know if you have any other clothes to wear.” She says, noticing the stains and dirt on your attire from previous games. You point to a shopping mall down the street you just walked.

She sighs. “I guess you could loot the place. Then we can wash your clothes.” You begin to get excited until she puts a hand on your shoulder. “You’ll go by yourself, though. You know the way back by heart.” You freeze up, complying with her terms considering that she was right. It wasn’t like you needed someone to nanny you 24/7, you were just scared of the thought that something could happen while Yuzu didn’t know.

“Don’t worry, you’ll be fine. You’re strong and have the ears of a bat.” She pats your shoulder, the compliment you found strange but accepted anyways. You notice a lump of clothes and a hand on the street, noticing it’s another person after approaching closer.

You jog over to them, sitting on your knees in order to get a good look at the stranger’s face. You move his hand, his arm ending up on your legs. You end up nearly laying down with him while trying to get your head lined up with his, your fingers moving his hair out of the way to see his face more clearly.

His face and hands are tainted and covered in dirt and dust, including his clothes and shoes. His eyes are half open, yet they fully notice you when Yuzu calls your name. “Y/N! What are you doing?” She begins to walk over, prompting you to turn back to the man. You stutter out a few words when you realize he notices you there. “…you… okay?”

He’s alive, that’s for sure. You can hear his soft breathing, and his arm tensed up. “I wanna die here.” He softly speaks, the sudden request surprising you before you can say anything. Yuzu catches up, standing behind you, her shadow looming over the man. She watches you play with the man’s fingers, observing the cuts and dirt in the crevices of the skin and under his nails.

“Is he alive?” She asks. You nod, wondering what to do. You don’t want to leave him there, but you knew that Yuzu wouldn’t just let someone into your bunker unless she was the one to bring them in. This guy seemed different, though. What had he gone through in order for him to want to starve himself on the street? “We have to go. It’s gonna get dark soon.”

You let the man’s hand rest on the ground as you get up, looking behind you occasionally to see his figure slowly turn into a small speck the further you walk away. “Why’d you stop for him? You wouldn’t do that for anyone else.” She was right, but you didn’t know if she’d believe your answer. “He feels guilty.” Those were the words you were looking for.

“Even so, wouldn’t anyone be full of guilt to lay on the road like that?”

You point at him. “Wants to die.”

Yuzu just nods as her head slowly turns to face the road in front of her.

“Fine then. We’ll just leave him.” You want to protest, but can’t seem to say anything. To Yuzu, you just can’t get the words out at all. She was so strong; her presence alone intimidated you. You always watched yourself around her, considering that you had to learn from her and you didn’t want to humiliate yourself.

You’ve always had a hard time talking to people. Was it the fact you were bullied for merely speaking, raising a hand up to answer in class, to have a normal conversation with anyone? Yes. Slowly, day after day, you stopped talking. No one noticed, anyways, so it didn’t matter. You’ve been to therapy for it, but when you tried to talk, it was hard to put how you felt into words.

The sentences formed, but you couldn’t say anything out loud.

You usually spoke in smaller sentences, nothing detailed but enough for others to understand, which wasn’t useful living in a world where detail is key. If you were given the chance, you’d simply point and finish your sentence from there. Yuzu’s trying to help you through it, but she states that going out to get paper is a waste of time. She’s smart enough to put the pieces together through your phrases, figuring out why you rarely spoke.

“You’ll go out tomorrow. We’re running low on fuel for the gas stove and we need batteries. You can get anything else you need while you’re there.” She says, not really giving you much of a choice. It’ll be fine, right? Low chance of you ever running into someone while you’re… alone.

You point to your shirt with small stains on it. “New clothes.” Yuzu also looks at your shirt, sighing. “You can get new clothes, too. Speaking of which, can you also get soap?” You try to visualize what it would look like to carry all those things in your hands. “Too much. I’ll drop it.” You say, holding your arms out in front of you. “I can get you a bag.”

You hated how fragile plastic bags were, how easily they’d tear and rip, especially the handles. If something was too heavy, the pressure would go onto your fingers, and it hurts more than it looks. You shake your head no, trailing behind Yuzu. “Geez, you’re so stubborn. Might as well get a reusable bag while you’re at it.”

The list of things never ends.

“I can do… two trips.” You hold up two fingers, your friend letting out a huff. “If that’s alright with you, I suppose. Our visas are still good for a few more days, then we’ll have to play another game. So be careful tomorrow; don’t get hurt.” Yuzu warns. You nod profusely, her patting your back.

The first trip there you’d gotten the gas and batteries and a few extra flashlights just in case, snagging a reusable bag to make the trip easier. You always snagged reusable bags, but for some reason they always went missing more often than Yuzu’s plastic ones.

On the way back, when you didn’t stare at the sky or the garbage on the street, you noticed the guy still laying on the street in nearly the exact same position. You walked over carefully, kneeling down again and moving his hair out of his face. He was still breathing, but was sleeping soundly on the cement. The air that exhaled through his nose brushed against your arm, startling you a bit, but you stopped yourself from nearly flinching too hard and waking him up.

That day, you left him be.

The next day, it rained.

Your bag had a zipper, so thank god that your new clothes didn’t get soaked that day. Even with your umbrella, the wind would’ve blown the rain onto your shirts and bottoms. You nearly ran home, until the sight of the same man still laying on the street in the pouring rain stops you. It could just be the horrible conditions, or the thought of his clothes getting drenched bothering you so much, but you run over and hold the umbrella above both your heads.

Your first thought was to carry him bridal style, but then you’d have to ditch the umbrella, which you obviously weren’t gonna do. Instead, you tap his shoulder, and when he doesn’t respond, you tap his cheek. He blinks a few times, and that’s all you need to help him up and support him with his arm wrapped around your shoulder. He still slouches, head down, but as long as he didn’t fall asleep on the way there, he’d be fine.

You slide open the warehouse curtain, Yuzu gawking at the sight of you supporting another person. “Close it.” You tell her. She gets up and runs past you, you remembering you had to climb a ladder to get up. Yuzu climbs up, helping you carry him to the elevated surface, letting you set the man down on your old cardboard bed. You take off his jacket, setting it aside while you take your shirt off and dry him as best you can with it. Even while you’re doing this, he doesn’t seem to wake up. His eyes remain half open the entire time until he’s fully laid down, them closing shut.

You zip up your outer jacket, being met with Yuzu looming over you. You begin to open the bag with excitement before she drags you to the opposite side of the site. “What were you thinking? Bringing him here?”

“3 days. He slept on the street for 3 days.”

“Okay, but still. You need to be careful.”

“He was giving up. I didn’t like that.”

“So what if you didn’t like that? If he wants to die, he’ll die.”

“I’ve seen death before. He will regret it.” Your words come together slowly, yet you still feel frustrated as you couldn’t say it how you wanted to. “You’ve been like him before. You should understand.” You add, walking back to the unconscious man. You lay down beside him, staring at his face.

He’s ridden with dirt and dust, and he smelled of it too, with a hint of blood and the tiniest smidge of something botanical. His clothes were soaked and they were soaking the cardboard beneath him. There was probably still some lying around this place anyways.

The first time you saw him on the street, he looked familiar, but you couldn’t put your finger on it. Now that he’s in your base, giving you the ability to stare at him for the next 10 minutes, you realize that this was the man that saved you in his first game that he played.

Yuzu looks at you, laying on the bare concrete ground after you sacrificed your former makeshift cardboard mattress for the stranger that laid next to you. “Y/N.” You don’t move, laying still beside the man. She sees your fingers brush his hair out of his eyes, his face fully visible. “I’m sorry. Come help with dinner.” You shift, then finally get up and join her, looming over her workspace and watching her prepare rice.

“I got an extra knife for you.” She hands you a smaller knife and a cutting board, along with some vegetables that looked like they were just washed. You place them down on the cutting board, frozen and lost in space. “You don’t want him to starve, do you?” Yuzu speaks up, snapping you out of it as you begin to help.

“You were right.” She says, the lack of context clues only making you confused. “I was like him. I did nothing. I felt like dying. But I’m here now.” She suddenly stops what she’s doing, looking at you. “I’m sorry. You did something good, but I still don’t trust him.” You nod.

You understood why she was skeptical of him. Something in you just couldn’t bring yourself to leave him behind.

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“Are you really just gonna stay with him until he wakes up?”

You sat down by the man a while ago, noticing he turned and laid face up while you were making food with Yuzu. She’s currently eating at your one-person makeshift table, staring at you from there. You shrug, eating from your own smaller canister. The bowls you found came in packs of four, which was convenient if he was going to wake up and eat.

It’s nothing but the light of the lamp on the desk and the skylight above that helps you see throughout your small living space. Yuzu is about to finish her food while you sit by the stranger, getting up to put your bowl away after finishing your food.

“He’s awake.” Yuzu says, your eyes shifting to the sight of him blinking. You get a clean spoon and cup and scoop a serving into the bowl you used, pouring water into the cup. His eyes meet yours, freezing you in place for a moment before you remembered who the food in your hands was for. You set the bowl and cup down next to him before sitting down by him again. His eyes follow you the entire time.

“Why did you save me?” He asks. You say nothing but stare at him, his eyes focused on the ceiling now. “You want to live.” You reply. He merely scoffs with a sigh. “But I don’t deserve to live anymore.” Your heart aches as he begins to cry, but as he speaks, you realize you’ve been in his shoes before.

“We know how you feel.” You say, your hand tucking his hair behind his ear. “How you feel… we have felt it before.” You look over at Yuzu, and she smiles with a nod, meaning you’ve explained it better. “I saw my mom die while I lived. After that, I tried to die. I saw death for a second, but survived. Death isn’t pretty. It is darkness. It is nothing.” Yuzu stares at you with wide eyes as you try to speak. Your hand trembles and pauses while your fingers brush through his hair. “Your friends want you to live, so live. You will die sometime; a game, your visa, but don’t force it. For now, eat while you are still alive.”

He stares at you, who sits in front of him with her fingers brushing his hair. He simply lays there, staring at the bowl of food. “Y/N, just let him be. He’ll eat it when he needs to.” Yuzu says, your hand reluctantly moving away from his head. You turn off the lights before joining her in the tent, laying next to her. Meanwhile, the man lays on the cardboard, exhausted, but wondering what you meant by all that and why you played with his hair.

He distinctly remembers you, getting on your knees to check him on the road. You carried him when taking him to the warehouse, and he could’ve sworn he’s seen you in a game before. What did you mean when you said that you’ve seen death? Did you reincarnate or something?

He was too tired to think about it.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

You wake up, Yuzu not beside you and light shining through the fabric of the tent, meaning she’d gotten up earlier than you to warm up. You had less of an athletic prowess than Yuzu did, so you normally stayed behind whenever she went for her morning jog.

Leaving the tent, you first notice the empty bowl that held only a seed by the man’s head. With the sunlight shining bright through the windows, you wonder if he is awake or not. “Wake up. We’re playing today.” You say, the man lying still, nearly convincing you he was still asleep. You fill up a water bottle, waiting for him to respond but getting nothing. “Do you remember the one game?” You ask, knowing he won’t respond.

“Live or Die.” The name brings back painful memories of his friends, one of them coming out with a burnt leg. “You saved me there. I would have… died at the one door.”

“One door?”

“The door after the girl died.”

“The second one?” That’s the word you were looking for. You nod. “I didn’t wanna die then. I didn’t want anyone to end up like the high schooler.” He adds. You sit down in the same spot again. You take one of his hands, holding it, your fingers gently playing with his palm. “You saved Yuzu. She would not be alive if you did not scream.”

“Were you there?” He asks. You shake your head. “She told me.” You respond with a sigh. “I… don’t want you to die. Let us save you.” You loosen your grip nearly to the point where you let go of his hand. He slowly but surely sits up, back against the boxes. He takes a good look at you, your hair tucked behind your ears and eyes moving like they’re looking for something.

“Why do you talk like that?” His full stare intimidates you, given this is the first time you’ve ever seen his eyes when they aren’t closed or covered by his hair. You tilt your head, confused. “Your sentences seem… broken.”

You play with your fingers, staring at his hand and wish you were playing with it. “It is hard for me to talk. I was laughed at. Words are in my head… but they don’t come out.” You summarize, hoping he’d understand. He nods slightly, noticing your friend come back from who knows where. She tosses something up before climbing the ladder. “I got a tent for him. But no mattress yet. How long have you been awake? Did you stretch yet?”

You shake your head, noticing Yuzu’s eyes drifting over to the man. “Come with us?” You ask, holding your hand out for him to take. He accepts, being pulled up onto his feet. “Okay?” You check in while he nods. You offer him some water, nearly finishing your whole bottle. You take him by the wrist, descending down the ladder and pulling him with you to the gate.

“Let’s go.”

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Your fingers hold onto the sleeve of the man’s jacket gently as you walk into the highway tunnel. In his first game, he never introduced himself to you, and you never saw his name on his phone screen, though you remembered his friends constantly screaming his name after each door. He later introduced himself as ‘Arisu’, Yuzu seeming to know his name already before you did.

The walk is long to the registration, Yuzu sighting a bus heavily graffitied a bit in. Your hand grips onto his arm, Arisu noticing. “Are you okay?” He asks. “Nervous. Always nervous… for new games.” You explain, hoping he’d understand.

You had a bad habit of holding onto people before entering registration. Before you met Yuzu, everyone you accidentally latched onto cursed at you, or shook you off their arm, which was understandable. No one likes a stranger randomly holding onto their arm out of nowhere. You just hated the fact it was your first instinct. When Yuzu came along, she was the first person to listen—to understand.

But Arisu was content with it. He didn’t swat you off, or stare at you weirdly. He simply let you be, holding onto his arm like a koala hugging a branch. You worried that your grip was too tight or that he could feel you shake, but he didn’t seem to react, so those worries went away eventually. You clung onto him the moment you stepped into the bus, taking one of the phones before noticing there were three other guys seated in the back.

They’ve played their last few games together, however, one of them was visibly injured. In a world like this, injury holds you back from everything, which puts you at risk of death. You felt sympathy for the man, but also felt intimidated by him and his friends given that they were staring at the three of you intently.

Arisu picks up his phone, looking at the names of the participants, landing on yours.

L/N Y/N

“Ryō…hei?” You stutter, looking at your phone. Arisu looks down at you, a bit confused. “Y/N calls people by their first name. Sometimes.” Yuzu explains, which cleared some things up, but it didn’t help a whole bunch. “Can I call you that?” You ask. “Can you call me Ryō?” He restates your question, being followed by an eager nod from you. He simply shrugs and nods, and you’re glad he doesn’t mind.

One of the men huffs. “Your girlfriend?” He gestures to you, making you let go of Ryō’s sleeve and hide behind him. He shakes his head. “We just met today. Yesterday. A previous game.” His idiocy makes Yuzu shake her head while you try to hold in your laughs from behind. However, the man doesn’t seem all too convinced. “Whatever you say.”

The phone chime sounds, the robotic voice drawing attention to them.

Registration is now closed. The game is about to commence.

Difficulty: Four of Clubs

This was a team game. Your favourite kind.

There are a total of six participants.

Game: Distance

Rule: Endure the trial while striving for the goal within the time limit.

Clear condition: Safely attain the goal.

The game will now commence. 120 minutes remaining.

You look out the driver’s window, the tunnel seeming like it goes on forever. Your eyes are drawn to the dashboard of the bus, specifically the fuel. “It’s empty. Can’t drive.” You say. “Looks like we’ll have to run.” Yuzu says, Ryō’s eyes landing on the injured man in the back. “What about Takuma?”

You’re lost in thought for a moment, not wanting to die but also not wanting to leave the man behind. “All of you, run. I’ll stay with Takuma.” Yuzu and Ryō look at you as if you’ve said something stupid. “What? Y/N, we have to run.”

“We will try to do something. If I die, I die. I am okay with that. I don’t want to leave ‘Kuma alone. I will take care of him.” Yuzu suddenly hugs you, which catches you off guard. She pulls away, her face with a trace of disdain as she walks off, along with the two men that sat in the back. Before Ryō can leave, you grab his hand. Your thumbs rest in his palm before you warn him. “Don’t worry. We will be okay. You have to be careful.” He squeezes your hand, visibly doubtful as he walks off the bus to join the other three outside.

You watch from the window as they all run off, seemingly shrinking as they get farther away. You sit in the back, closer to the man. “Kuma? Is that your name for me?” He asks lazily, relaxing against his seat. “Yeah. Sorry.” You suddenly become timid at the sound of him laughing. “Don’t be. It’s cute.”

“Are you… giving up?” You ask, wondering how he’s so unfazed. “I am still worried. But even though we aren’t running, I feel as though we’ve already won.” He looks up at you and your solemn face. “We can’t do anything about it now, can we? I know you wanted to help me, but is there really anything we can do?”

“I don’t want to die. I know you don’t either. But I’m injured, and the only thing that can heal that is time. There isn’t enough time in this game to go away. So I understand what you’re saying. If we die, we die.” He waits for you to say something, looking at you when you stay silent. “What’s on your mind?”

“The… difficulty… is low. Why are they running so far? It shouldn’t be that far if it is only Four of Clubs.”

Kuma puts together what you’re trying to say, the look of realization on his face. “You’re right. But then, where is the goal?” You notice the graffiti reaching the bottoms of the windows, remembering how the bus was covered in it. You get up, leaving the bus, fingers brushing against the outside walls. There was nothing but casual graffiti gibberish that you never understood on the side with the door.

The other side, however, had a word written big and in blue.

GOAL

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Usagi’s water bottle empties after she offers it to the three men, who finish it in a heartbeat. She’s stopped by Arisu, who held onto her shoulder for a brief moment to get her attention. “Your friend… she confuses me. Why does she do these things?” Usagi’s automatically suspicious of Arisu, viewing his question as an insult. “What do you mean?”

“She’s very physical with my hair, my arm, my hands. No one does that to someone they just meet.” Usagi scoffs. “She cares. She’s worried about you. She’s worried about everyone. That’s why she offered to stay back with Takuma. When she held you back in the bus, she was worried about you, knowing that you’re still grieving. Y/N is a physical person in general, violent or affectionate. The only reason she kept going with it is because you hadn’t pushed her away. If you want her to stop, tell her.”

He didn’t want you to stop. Not really want, but more like he didn’t mind the gesture. He wasn’t bothered by it; really, he enjoyed it in the moment. It was comforting— something he hadn’t felt ever since his first game. Usagi laughs. “You should’ve seen her during a team game. She annihilated everybody, then went back to being all shy at the end.”

Arisu tries to imagine it, the thought of you killing people you didn’t know in order to survive. The more he tried, the more he wanted to push the thought out of his mind. The girl that gets clingy and nervous before games, the girl who convinced him to live, taking the lives of total strangers without hesitation? Honestly, he didn’t believe it. He didn’t want to believe it.

He realizes that Usagi’s already began running from the trial, forcing himself to catch up with her, along with the other two men.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

You’re pacing frantically down the walkway of the bus, forgetting that Kuma was sitting at the end of it. “L/N, what’s wrong?” His voice stops you, remembering you hadn’t told him yet. You looked like an idiot panicking over a reason he didn’t know. “The goal. We already won.”

“What?”

“They should have stayed. This is the goal. We are safe, they are not.” Kuma looks at you in disbelief, eyes wide. “Really? So… we’d survive?” You nod, looking at the graffiti on the window. “We have to do something! They’ve all ran and they need to get back here.”

You sigh, overwhelmed with emptiness. “We can’t.” You want to cry, but the tears aren’t there to flow. “What? What do you mean, we can’t?”

“They are too far. I can’t get them. Not enough time.” You say, sitting down next to him. His face is ridden with tears; he’s been crying all this time and you hadn’t noticed. You hug him, patting his head. You’re sure he’s confused as to why you’re doing this, but really it’s because you wish someone would comfort you the same way.

Suddenly, you hear footsteps, your head lifting up. “What happened?” Kuma sniffles. You get up, running to the door. “Someone is here.” You answer, him looking out the window. You step out of the bus, seeing someone running with a motorbike towards the bus. “L/N!” He calls, his messy, disheveled hair coming into a better view.

“Ryō!” You call, looking at the window where Kuma is looking out of, seeing that he noticed the bike too. Ryō runs over with the bike, both him and the hunk of metal leaning against the bus. You hug him, feeling a sense of relief that he would also survive. But then again, what about Yuzu?

“The bike,” he pants, “can fuel the bus. There’s diesel in here to fill the bus. We can drive and get Usagi and Yamane back.” You look at the bike, inspecting the shiny metal and the tank, hearing fuel sloshing around inside. You didn’t understand much about motorbikes or vehicles in general, but given that Ryō ran all the way back here with the bike convinced you that he knew what he was doing.

You explained everything to him, seeing the drive in his eyes to get Yamane and Usagi back grow in his gaze. Ryō stood behind you, Kuma in the driver’s seat. The voice on your phone reminds you, 5 minutes left. You hear a loud rumbling, telling Kuma to step on the gas. Tell is an understatement– you screamed at him.

He roughly avoided the cars on the highway street, ramming through the darker section where you see a body lay on the ground next to an animal you can’t define. As Kuma continues driving, you open the door, holding onto the bars and peeking your head out the window. You hear faint panting from a distance, the rumbling getting louder.

The sight of Yuzu running for her life from a flood of water chasing after her comes into view. You hold out your hand, screaming her name. Kuma’s foot slams on the pedal, speeding towards her. The water barely touches Yuzu’s heels as you grab her hand, pulling her into the bus and closing the door before the water could flood in.

And for a few moments, it’s dark.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

A drop of water falls on your face. Then another, then another. You think of getting up, until you noticed you were resting on Ryō’s chest.

Thank god you survived, but what is life if you woke up in the most awkward situation ever?

Yuzu laid next to you, and Kuma stayed in his own little area in the driver’s corner. You shake Yuzu, forcing her awake along with Ryō. He then proceeds to wake up Kuma, opening the door above all of you since he was the tallest one there. He struggles, but manages to climb out first, Yuzu following, then you, then all three of you making an effort to pull Kuma out of the door.

“The bus is the goal. There was no point in running.” All of you stare down at the word ‘GOAL’, painted in bright blue on the side of the bus you were standing on. Yuzu jumps down first, followed by you, Ryō, then Kuma. Ryō’s hand still clasps onto yours even after he helped you jumped down, bidding Kuma a regretful goodbye in hopes of seeing him again somehow.

Trying to be completely realistic, you’d probably never see him again, and that alone made it more sad.

He doesn’t seem to notice that he’s holding your hand, squeezing it every once in a while, specifically when you see him noticeably about to cry. “Y/N, let go of him. Unless you asked first.” Yuzu notices, making you embarrassed and pull your hand away. “I actually did it first. Sorry, Y/N, I didn’t notice. L/N. I meant L/N.” Ryō apologizes, but you shake your head, assuring him that it was okay.

Deep inside, you wished he didn’t let go.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Yuzu had gone out for the next few days— sometimes you tagged along with her if you woke up early enough that she’d already left. You both had gotten intel on something called The Beach, and were planning to pack up and leave eventually to scour. She’s been going out to gather supplies for hunting and for shelter, including refills of water.

When you woke up to see Yuzu wasn’t laying next to you, you found solace with Ryō. He continued to talk about his friends, how they’d gotten here and how he witnessed them sacrifice themselves just for him to survive, knowing that they’d have to pick someone to live. He never understood why, and that is what he explained to you.

The entire time, your head rested on this shoulder, your hand playing with his own. “There are gaps in your heart you that cannot fill. That is what I’ve learned in this world.” You pause, piecing together a sentence in your head. “There is no time for grief. There is no time for anything.” You rest your hand on top of his with a sigh. “Do not let grief affect your need to win in games. You must focus, or you will break the last promise your friends made to you.”

“Hard for you to talk, huh?” He jokes, his shoulders lifting as he laughs, relaxing after. “How come you do all this?” You look at him, confused. “Like… this,” He shakes his hand that rests underneath yours. “And this.” He lifts the shoulder where your head rests. “You’re always next to me. Girls are never this close with me.”

You scoff, laughing, your fingers brushing over the back of his hand for a moment. “I wish someone cared for me like this. After my mom died.” There’s definitely a lack of closure in that sentence, which made the air awkward. “I want to… give you what I did not have. I hope you don’t mind. I can stop if you want.”

“No, it’s okay. I really don’t mind. Thank you. It’s just… I guess I never had anyone comfort me like this either.” Comfort. That’s the word. You mutter it quietly to yourself, remembering what it meant. You hadn’t felt it in a while as well, only feeling most comfortable whenever you stayed with Yuzu. Eventually, you found comfort in Ryō as well.

You traced patterns on Ryō’s hand, sometimes even spelling out words. It became a hobby of yours, and sometimes he’d try to guess what you were writing as well. “B…” He started, feeling the letters on his hand. “E, A, C, H…” He looked up at you with wonder in his eyes, being able to see something past his dark irises. “The Beach?” He says it as if it was something glorified. You nod, him grabbing your wrists. “What is the Beach? Do you know? Have you been there?” You’re overwhelmed by the questions he asks you, trying to process all of them at once.

“No. I heard another person talk about the Beach. I told Yuzu. Then she heard someone talk about it too. We want to know what it is.” You explain. Something lights up in Ryō’s head, the idea being explained to you. “Some people I’ve seen wore wristbands. They had numbers on them.”

“Follow. We will follow them.” You add, Ryō nodding eagerly.

“We’ll start looking. For supplies, then we’ll search at night. You can convince Usagi, can’t you?” You nod, only half sure of it. You felt that Ryō had a better chance of convincing her for some odd reason. Yuzu still intimidated Ryō— you could tell. He’d always seem… nervous around her.

Your hands are clasped together, his own covering them with a soft grip. “Don’t worry. We’ll make it out. We’ll stick together.”

That was a week ago.

Meanwhile Yuzu offered to take the solo tent as you were sleeping in a park during your period of locating the Beach. Her and Ryō bickered about it until she finally won (like usual), meaning that he’d have to sleep in the same tent as you.

Beside you.

You totally weren’t freaking out over it. Why was Yuzu so persistent to sleep alone anyways?

Except Ryō offered to sleep outside, in the grass, where all the bugs flew around. You heard slaps from outside repeatedly, trying to fall asleep. The thing with heightened hearing was that you heard everything. Almost everything. You heard the bugs buzz outside, you heard the soft pants of Ryō every time he slapped himself. It didn’t take you long to be so bothered by it, nearly breaking the zipper to open the tent.

“Come inside. Stop slapping your face.” You say sternly, visibly bothered. Ryō pauses for a second, kicking his shoes off before scrambling inside and zipping the tent shut. He looks at you, laying down normally, just realizing how close the two of you would be. You look back at him taking a deep breath after simply patting the spot beside you.

He lays down slowly, holding his breath, shoulders tense and tight. “Calm down. It’s only me.” You mutter, turning towards him. Your nose nudges his upper arm, your hand resting on top of his. You can hear his heart racing, yet he still didn’t listen to you. “Ryō. You’re okay.” You reassure, hearing him exhale and feeling his shoulders relax. Your eyes flutter shut in an attempt to fall asleep. His arm didn’t move, but you felt the tips of his fingers touch yours.

Just before you drift off, you feel his hand hold onto yours, his touch soft and comforting.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

This wasn't part of the plan.

You were being restrained by two men in bathing suits, being dragged into a large room where a bunch of people were standing in a circle. You tried to flail, but their grip on you was too strong. You first catch sight of Yuzu and Ryō, who are relieved to see that you were okay. "Y/N!"

“Ah, you three must know each other.” The man in front of you says, his orange robe blocking your vision. All your cards are laid out on the table, but it’d be too risky to grab them with two people guarding them with firearms.

From what the man said, there were three rules. You must wear a swimsuit, since firearms and/or weapons could not be concealed. Enjoy your life as much as you can, whether that be through doing drugs, having sex, or drowning yourself in alcohol. Lastly, death to the traitors, meaning the three of you didn’t have a choice but to accept if you wanted to live.

“L/N, Usagi… I’m sorry… for getting you involved.”You hear Ryō whisper from behind, your head slowly dropping, body language displaying that it was okay. “Don’t apologize. We were in this together.”

Judging from the man’s laugh, who you later learned was nicknamed ‘Hatter’, you were now a part of The Beach, like little pawns designed to win games that didn’t fully guarantee the benefit of being able to leave the hellish world.

You were sent into a room with one of the executives and Yuzu, being showed an array of swimsuits; one pieces, two pieces, bikinis, swim shorts, they had all kinds. Both of you darted for the same set, long shorts and a simple bra top, but let your friend have hands on it first, finding another one, black with swirls of grey on it, the top more cropped and shorter bottoms. You look at the executive, her arms crossed and sunglasses on, seeing her nod.

Before you leave, both you and Yuzu snagged an extra garment, a jacket and a thin robe, running into Ryō by the pool. His eyes land on both of you, but he’s drawn to you in particular, the way your robe is meant to cover but doesn’t do that at all considering it’s see through. Your chest, your waist, your thighs– he was being a pervert. He snapped out of it, looking away immediately.

And you walk over all innocent, checking your wristband in sync with Usagi, your own eyes trailing over his figure. He mostly looked the same, yet he seemed more stiff than usual. People had eyes on you, everyone you looked, there were stares coming from the bar, the poolside, even the beach chairs.

Your hand naturally drifts over to Ryō’s, toying with his fingers to distract you. He must have noticed something more, instead holding your hand fully with a tight grip. He doesn’t let go of you the whole day, afraid he’d lose you in the crowds.

The only time he let go was when everyone was separated into groups for individual games. The woman who was with you in the dressing room had Ryō following her, and you couldn’t help but feel your heart crack a little. Your eyes meet for a brief moment before he leaves, and he swears he can see the light in your eyes dim for a moment.

You managed to come back alive, and so did Yuzu, yet Ryō was nowhere to be found. As you walked down the never ending halls of the large resort, she brings up a topic you haven’t discussed once in your life.

“You like him, don’t you?”

At first, you’re confused as to who him is, then remember that there was only one him in the first place.

“Ryō?”

“You’ve been close with him. Touchy.” You nod, agreeing with her points. “You’ve always been that way, but there’s something… different. Different when it comes to Arisu.”

Your head tilts slightly, wondering how that could be. “You’re comfortable with him. You don’t second guess and always go for it. I’ve seen the way your face goes red when he accepts your gesture. The way you smile when he leans closer to you to make your habits of playing with his fingers more discreet. When he smiles at you, and you’re left lovestruck with your mouth hanging open.”

“Of course I like Ryō. He is my friend.”

“Not that like…” Yuzu searches for the words in her head, trying to put them together in a way you’d understand, but deciding to be straightforward. “You like him in a way you want to kiss him.”

You heat up from that thought alone. Kissing your friend? You weren’t sure if you were blushing from the thought of you liking it or the thought that it was embarrassing. “I haven’t… kissed anyone.” Yuzu looks around, dragging you into an empty hotel room and locking the door, letting you sit on the bed.

“Have there been times where you think of… inappropriate things involving him?”

“Sex?”

“…Sure. Sex thoughts.”

You sit there for a moment, embarrassed that you have thought about such dirty things. But Yuzu was right there, waiting for an answer, and you couldn’t get out of it despite having the choice to not say anything.

“His hands.”

“What about his hands?”

The image replays in your head like a movie. “On my waist, my hips, my thighs…” You list, unable to make eye contact with your friend. “His fingers…” You look down between your legs, not wanting to go into detail. “His lips.” Your hand brushes over your chest briefly before moving it back to your side.

“Aren’t you a virgin?”

“I know things. I’ve seen things.”

“But do you like Arisu for who he is? That’s the big question. Because if you don’t, I think you’ll hurt him.”

“I’ve always liked his personality. There are… things we… keep between ourselves that others don’t know about. I really like him, I do. It feels wrong to think such… dirty things about him. I can’t help it.” Yuzu sits down next to you, feeling a dip in the mattress on your left. “I ran into Kuina while walking around the club when you two stayed by the bar. She said to live life while I still could. And she mentioned you.”

“Me?”

“Even though we’re newcomers, she noticed you and Arisu. Even she could see the tension, despite never knowing what was going on between you two.” She holds your hands gently, one hand under and the other on top. “I’m not encouraging any… sexual activities… but I think you should tell him.”

“Tell him… I like him?”

“If he says no, I’ll kill him. And you of all people should know I will take that to heart. I feel this is the only time I’ve seen you so open, especially with Arisu. If that’s what it takes to see you like that all the time, then I hope you’ll go for it.” You smile and hug her, eventually feeling her take you in her own arms. “I will run back to you if it does not go well.” You state before you pull away. Both of you leave the room together, Yuzu going on her own after spotting a girl with a bikini top and jeans from afar.

You mindlessly check downstairs, outside, the club, and eventually back into the hallways, running into Ryō by the stairs.

“Y– L/N.”

“Y/N is okay.” You assure, walking with him close enough to have your fingers brushing against each other. “How was your game?” He asked. “Good. Easy.”

“Of course it was.”

It’s silent for a moment, and you pick up on a tinge of alcohol coming from Ryō. “Did you drink?” You ask, the scent not strong but prominent. “A little bit. Hatter wanted to discus with me. I’m not drunk.” You eye him, believing he’s telling the truth after not finding anything different about his mannerisms. “I managed to get a suite.” He says.

“How?”

“I played with Ann. The executive. Then Hatter talked to me and I got the room.”

“So… you are an executive now?”

“No. Hatter said I was… beneficial.”

Ryō takes your hand, guiding you up one more flight of stairs and opening the room, revealing a large space with a cozy seating area, a large window with the curtains closed, and a massive, made bed. His jacket is hanging in the bathroom, soaked and dripping but left to dry with a towel underneath.

“What happened to your robe?” He notices, looking back at you. “Held me back. Threw it during my game.”

You look at the door. “Should we tell Yuzu this room?”

“I already did. I ran into her before I found you.” You anxiously scratch the palm of your hand, staring at his shirt. “What’s wrong? Is there something bothering you?” You shake your head, the scratching intensifying. He grabs your wrists, separating your hands. “Don’t do that. You might scratch too hard and bleed.” He notices your hands shaking, knowing if he let go that you would continue.

“What’s the matter?” He asks, his grip loosening. Your heart is pounding, unable to make eye contact with him. “I want… to tell you something.” You stutter, breath shaky. Ryō could feel the pulse point on your wrist, unclear but fast thumps against his thumb. “I like you.”

His eyes widen, and he almost lets go, but instead you grab his hand and place it against your chest, feeling your heartbeat just as fast as he did from your wrist. He was trying so hard not to stare at your tits at the same time.

“I’m scared.” You mutter, hiding your face.

“Why?”

“That you’ll hate me… since you don’t… like me back.”

“Who said I didn’t like you back?”

You look up at him for the first time since you’ve entered the room, and his look is genuine. Your hand stays on his wrist, but he moves his own hand up your neck, a sudden chill shaking your body. He tilts your head up to make up for the height, and kisses you.

He’s kissing you, and you’re kissing him.

The moment his lips are on yours, you don’t want to let go. You wanted to kiss him for as long as you could, be in his arms for as long as they could hold you. You’re both a mess of tongue and lips, and you couldn’t get enough of it. You wanted more than he could give.

You both stumble over to the bed, being the first to lay down with Ryō hovering over you. His chest presses against your tits as he leans into you, making you groan. He pulls away, a whine emitting from you, his finger barely slipping under the band of your bra, looking at you endearingly. “Can we do this? I want to make you feel good. Please.” He practically moans, and you don’t even have to think, nodding profusely.

Maybe it’s the fact you’re horny as fuck right now, as he is, but god, you wanted to see him beg for you so bad. Seeing the position he was in right now, pleading for your consent, the way his eyebrows furrowed in desperation, you wanted to be the only one that could make him do that.

And by the end of the night, you certainly did.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Clothes are strewn on the floor, the light barely shines through the crack of the curtains. There’s a naked man laying next to you in bed, snoring softly with his mouth slightly open. His hair messy and his arm under your head, he lays there peacefully, his own eyes fluttering open and squeezing shut after being hit with the light of the sun. He opens them to see you, and your glowing, post-sex face.

“Hi.” You greet, further leaning on his arm. “Hi.” He replies, hand curling around your head to tuck a strand of hair behind your ear. “You’re so pretty.” He says, fingers playing with your hair.

“You are.”

He doesn’t retaliate and simply smiles, giving you your first kiss of the day. He breaks eye contact first, lost in thought. “Does this change anything between us?” He asks, looking back at you. “I don’t want this to be a one time thing. I… that was… really nice.” He refers to the night before with a smile, unashamed.

“I want… to be more… than friends.” The words come out staggered, but he understands, his smile growing slightly. “But I don’t want this to… hold us back in games. If we lose each other, we won’t join the other. The other… must stay alive. I don’t want me or you to give up… because the other half isn’t there anymore. Can you promise that?” There’s a tinge of worry in his eyes, but it slowly changes to understanding as your hand cups his jaw. He nods. “I promise.”

You kiss him once more, bringing the two of you back onto each other again. His free hand rests on your waist, moving to your back to push you closer, then down to your ass, your leg on top of his side.

“Jesus, I thought you two were done already.”

Yuzu is staring at you from a distance by the corner of the wall, seeing one of your undergarments on the floor. “Get dressed, we need to find more intel. Y/N, you can stay with Arisu, since you’re already with him anyways.” She eyes the position you’re in right now, looking at Arisu, then at you. “I’m assuming it went well.”

You nod. “It did.”

“I knew it would. I knew he liked you anyways. I was going to come in until I heard what was going on. You left the door unlocked. Lucky you two were so loud no one dared to walk in.” She leaves the room, the two of you back to admiring each other in the glow of the covered sunlight.

“I could never hate you, by the way. I feel like you’re the reason I’m still alive right now. Everything you said stuck with me… and I guess it kept pushing me to live.”

“What if I die? Would you… still have the will to live?”

“I’d keep living if that was your last dying wish.”

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

i want to say hi to you. i have no reason to. 🎧

[m1d-45]

-Pari Anon

Okay, but, Pari!Creator being afraid of literally everyone but Xiao.

Zhongli once visited Xiao and Pari!Creator hid from both of them, worrying poor Xiao. He only finds them after Zhongli leaves.

Verr and Yanxiao only win the Pari!Creator over with good and patience, so they are the only ones that can vouch for Xiao when Zhongli looks confused.

Ganyu, as soft-spoken as she is, is still intimidating to Pari!Creator.

Venti would scare the poor thing away, scaring Xiao because he can’t find his little friend.

god that’s so…. waug

i’m just gonna swing for a moment that this is creator!pari!reader—if you specified in the past i forgot sorry—because i have this idea:

you being afraid of others (specifically of vision wielders, but people in general are strange) because you don’t want them to find out you’re an outlander or bring you to the one on the throne. in sumeru, candace had temporarily harbored you, but after mention of a bringing you to a god that you didn’t remember, you left east, for more familiar lands. the aranara also mentioned bringing you to irmunsul and collei wanted to take you to tighnari, so you flew your way over to liyue and decided to stay alone until you figured out why exactly you: 1) showed up to teyvat 2) did so in a form you didn’t even recognize??

xiao feels a strange pull and assumes it’s a monster, teleporting to where you are, but as you squeak and flap to hide behind a tree.. you’re not an enemy, are you?

he manages to coax you out, the both of you just kinda assessing each other. well, he’s looking over you, you’re trying to figure out how fast you can fly.

“you’re supposed to be in sumeru,” he decides, and you flap back because no the fungi are scary and the trees are so big and the desert’s hot and you don’t know this ‘divine one’ people keep talking about but you swear if it’s the red king—

xiao panics, unsure why he feels so bad at making you afraid. “y-you don’t have to go! if you don’t want to. i.. can find you somewhere to stay.”

ever since, most everyone you’ve run into has mentioned either this ‘divine creator’ or has thought you’re a threat (since things radiating ‘im not dangerous!’ auras are usually dangerous-), so you make the executive choice to stick by xiao and stay far, far away from everybody else.

you’re not sure why he doesn’t feel the same aura the others gawk about—to him it just registers as familiarity, because that’s what safety is to him—but he’s safe, you can trust him, and you’re not going to be stolen or grabbed or hurt if you just stick with him.

…but at night, when you wake up—evidently your new form needs less sleep—and wander onto the balcony to look at the stars, you hear verr talking to someone.

“-yaksha’s?”

“no, he doesn’t seem the type…”

xiao? why are they talking about him?

you look down, only to find them looking up at you. with a startled chirp, you fall backward off the railing, catching yourself mid-air to hide behind a potted plant.

the next day, she calls xiao about it before the two of you leave, gesturing to the balcony above where you’re waiting for him.

“do you have a bird?”

he looks up. “…no. i don’t keep pets.”

“oh… then.. why is it..?”

he shrugs. she drops it, but leaves you a small bowl of berries when she tidies up the upper balcony, politely pretending not to see you hiding behind the pot again.

yanxiao is a similar story, except when he goes to deliver xiao his tofu, you’re able to be seen just over his shoulder, batting at a small stone on his desk.

xiao takes the plate with a short “thanks” and closes the door before he can ask.

the both of them take forever to actually see you up close, only ever interacting with xiao as a proxy. it’s slow, with you always making sure they’re not planning on taking you anywhere and xiao picking up on the fact you don’t like people, and it takes a couple of months for verr to be able to carefully hold out her hand and pet over your wing.

but they don’t have visions, nor combat experience, nor do they seem to register the “aura” either (it’s because you approach slow, and they assume its either care or curiosity), and you know from lore that they’re good people.

anybody else? not a chance.

you’re in xiao’s room when there’s a knock on the door. the second xiao answers and you hear that it’s zhongli at the door, you dive under his bed, hiding against the wall.

“ganyu’s been telling me you’ve been keeping a.. pet?”

“not really, but they’re—“ xiao turns to where you just were, to the small stone you’d been hitting back in forth, now on the desk abandoned. he tries not to panic, he does, he knows you’re just shy, but he wraps up whatever zhongli wants to talk about quickly, all but slamming the door.

“friend?” he calls, moving around his room and checking wherever he can think. “he’s gone, please… please come back.”

you wriggle out from under the bed with a squeak and he picks you up quickly, relieved. he doesn’t like when you vanish like that, even if it’s temporary.

[mingkilovur]

Chapter One

(series masterlist || main masterlist) prologue

❦summary: you grew up your whole life despising dragons. they've taken everything from you, everything you once had has become nothing but a distant memory. you swore to avenge your family, the life you once knew if it's the last thing you did. but what happens when theres an obstacle in your way? when you find out nothings is as it truly seems....

❦warning/s: choking, mentions of homocide, nothing else i can think of:/ we're just getting started

❦wc:1.3k

❦taglist: @sweetirilly @lelaleleb @dear-dreamie

❦a/n:totally have to proofread this again... its 1 am and im tired but it's finally done:)

The rough feeling of stone scraping your knees and cutting into your hands was never a welcoming sensation. The climb towards this cave had to be your least favorite part about this mission, not like the others. you finally reach the mouth of the cave and let out a breath of relief, throwing your leg up into the opening. Careful not to disturb the skulls and bones littering the ground, you pad into the massive cavern smelling of hot stone and fire.

As you begin to look around, you notice that the space looks lived in with food and clothes strewn around what looks like a foyer. “What is this place?” you whisper out as you begin to walk further into the den, what looks like a long hallway stretches out in front of you jewels, weaponry, and other riches strewn about. peering down the hall, you stop when you hear a noise, the sound of a door opening causing you to pause and duck behind a wall. “Im telling you, you can’t keep staying here its too close to the village'' you hear a detached voice from the other room getting closer. You hold your breath as a man with broad shoulders walks by you, phone to his head as he runs a hand down his face. 

Before he has a chance to turn, you creep up behind him raising your hand to strike the back of his head. But it’s like he senses you, quickly spinning on his heel; one hand grabbing your wrist and the other around your throat. his eyes widen as his grip loosens and you fall to your knees, clutching your throat. “fuck dude” you wheeze out as you struggle to catch your breath, a touch of fear drifting through you at being caught off guard. He peers down at you with a look of confusion and familiarity “what are you doing here?” he asks as he hooks his arms under yours and lifts you up, checking your neck to ensure he hadn’t hurt you too badly. 

You look into his eyes, confused as to why he’s here and asking you, why you’re in this dragons nest. “Well i came to do my job, a couple villagers said they saw one of them flying around here on their way into town, so they asked me to come check it out “ you say as you continue to walk around “now what are you doing here, San” you walk into what looks like a bedroom hmm weird... “well uh… someone came to me too, so i came to check it out, but there’s no dragon here” he mutters out as he follows close behind you. “Well considering the bones and stuff laid around this place, i find that hard to believe. Unless this place just belongs to a homicide hoarder” you whisper out as you open the last door in the hallway, and what’s laid ahead of you confirms your suspicions. The walls are covered in scratch marks, as if something was clawing to get out, there are scatters of black iridescent scales around chains bolted to the ground.

 “This has to be it’s nest,i mean look at these scratches”you trail your fingers along the rough lines carved into the wood. “But then what about the uh bedroom and food and stuff” he stammers out as he glances around further studying the room “maybe the outlaws are hiding dragons, you know selling them for money or something” you whip your head around in surprise. “I didn't think of that” you whisper out as you stand to your feet pulling out your map, you like to navigate the old fashioned way, no need for phones and fancy gadgets that’s not how you were raised. “I’m gonna make a trip to hongjoongs and then yunhos” you say as you exit the room heading towards the opening of the cave “you tagging along?” you question as you glance back, noticing him lingering. “Nah im gonna scope around the area, see if i can find any signs of some outlaws” he looks around the hallway “clearly whoever stays here has some pretty sticky fingers” he observes as he picks up what looks to be a pretty expensive necklace.

“Ok catch you later” and with that, youre descending back down the caves mountain.

—

“I don’t know joong, it was odd. There were clear signs of it being a nest but it looked too human like” you ponder as you walk around the shop, dodging dried up flowers and herbs hanging from the ceiling; week old ingredients he has yet to use. The paper-like sound of herbs being ground in the mortar and pestle and added to the  bubbling cauldron, being the only response you receive from him. Which is a normal occurrence from the mage, he becomes consumed in his craft and often forgets that there is a world around him. 

Kim Hongjoong, Hala’s resident potion master and village herbalist. You’re not sure how long he’s lived here, but you know he’s been here as long, if not longer, than you. He helps the village combat illnesses and injuries of all kinds big or small, be it with potions or simply just a wave of his hand. Now as you stand here and wait for him to finish up, you wonder where his small mischievous companion is, as he’s the more talkative one of the two. “Where did yeo run off too?” you question as you place a small vial of some glowing oil back on its shelf, not too fond of knowing what side effects that has. “not sure, something about a council meeting for some festival” he murmurs as he rubs a hand against his sweaty forehead and wipes it onto a cloth, spinning around to face you. His pointed ears wiggle a little bit as he makes eye contact with you, his azure blue hair falling into his eyes as he blushes hiding his gaze from yours.

He wasn’t expecting you to be so close, not used to many humans in the shop or any in general. Hongjoong keeps to himself, he takes requests, makes the desired potion or spell, and then yeosang delivers it. Thats been the gig for as long as you can remember, but you love coming in from time to time just to catch up with him. And maybe just maybe the fuchsia flush to his cheeks or the stall in his words amuses you just a tad bit, but don’t tell him that or he’ll get even more shy. You hear the bell to his shop ring, both of your heads whipping towards the door yeosang flying in with panic and fear flashing across his face. “The village is under attack” he breathes out as he grabs the sleeve of your jacket, dragging you towards the door “quick we have to get to yunhos, we need weapons and supplies, and i need to get you to san, but of course he’s still away on his journey, but we’re under attack which really couldn’t have come at a worse time but i digress” he rushes out, wings flapping fast and mouth moving even faster.

You glance towards hongjoong, his eyes wide with concern as he watches yeosang drag you out the door. “y/n,” he whispers, “stay safe please” hands already moving towards his spell book, casting a protection spell on the village, one that has yet to fail. As you make it out of his shop, you could already smell the fire, taste the ash, flashes of a previous life on the forefront of your mind as you see houses in the distance set ablaze by the dragons in the sky. 

Out of your peripheral vision, you swear you see a black shadow peeking out against the bright blue sky. Fear rushes through you and you remember your dream, a dark dragon, with neon green eyes, and a set of talons sharp enough to leave scars.

The same scars that line your back…