#and it feels like double the effort to do it here too afterwards even in a limited fashion

[kayleigh-83]

Menzies Compound part one!

[cybertronian-reader-imagines]

How about someone who was recently turned into a Cybertronian and Team Prime tended to and comforted them? They have a lot of adjusting to do! 👀

TW: A bit of implied disassociation because, holy shit, suddenly you're a giant metal robot and that's kinda hard to wrap your newly non-organic brain around.

((Knock Out is here because there is not enough Autobot!Knock Out and I love him.))

Team Prime comforting Reader, who just got turned into a Cybertronian, would include...

Optimus reassures you from the first moment that you have a safe home with Team Prime, should you choose to stay with them. Of course, you do. He makes sure you have the time and space to adjust and be comfortable with your new body before jumping into anything. He's just there if you need him, which some days is more helpful than everyone's else's efforts to offer unsolicited advice right off the bat.

Bumblebee helps you adjust to having wheels by challenging you to races that double as training whenever possible. He is almost certainly going easy on you, but nobody ever tells you as much.

Bulkhead is the first to realize that maybe you just really need a damn hug right now, if only because he's not very good with words. He hugs you and reassured you that it will be okay, and you're amazed how warm and fuzzy you feel afterwards, even though you're fairly sure your new body doesn't actually feel such minute temperature changes.

Ratchet tries to be "comforting" by explaining how your new body works... in detail that goes way, WAY over your head. But eventually, you get him talking about Cybertron's history and culture, and realize that your two species aren't all that different after all, which helps more than an anatomy lesson ever could.

Smokescreen is quick to remind you that you don't have to go back to your boring human school/job/house/whatever. Depending on how much you liked/disliked your old life, this is either incredibly helpful or incredibly irritating. If you get upset with him though, he's quick to apologize, and it's hard not to be comforted by that well-meaning smile and a servo patting your shoulder.

Arcee might somehow be even more protective of you than she is of the humans - she knows what happens when bots overestimate how much they can handle, and she figures that's really easy to do when you go from being a tiny, fragile human to a giant robot. Sometimes it's hard to hear her remind you that you're still mortal, but she means well. "Okay Mom, I get it."

Wheeljack, like Bulkhead, isn't very good with words, but he's also not very good with affection. What he can do, however, is listen. He's there the first time you get frustrated with the rest of the Team - not because they truly did anything wrong, but because being cramped into a tiny base with people you've just met will irritate anyone - and he never breathes a word of what you vented to the others. The Wreckers had their spats too - he knows you'll all be cool at the end of the day.

Oh Primus help Ultra Magnus he doesn't have a comforting servo in his body, but at least he's honest about that. In fact, he's the best bot to go to when you're ready to have things less sugarcoated.

Knock Out doesn't understand what the fuss is about - why would anyone ever want to be a squishy, gross organic when they could be Cybertronian? Humans couldn't turn into cars, for one, and couldn't be polished. He gives you a fresh coat of paint and polish and tells you how much better you look now - it does help, in a way. Being able to pick out new paint makes you feel a little more like your new body is really your body.

But honestly? Your biggest comfort might just be Jack, Miko, and Raf, if only because they will remind you any time you so much as frown just how cool being a giant robot is. And then you remember, yeah, it is pretty cool, actually.

[odessastone]

NEW LIFEWEAVER AND SYMMETRA LORE BITS FROM "REBUILDING RUINS"

So I got my copy of Heroes Ascendant today and THERE WERE SO MANY GOOD LITTLE MOMENTS IN THIS STORY I MUST gush I MUST

So here are some new bits of Symmetra and Lifeweaver lore that we got! I bolded my personal favorite ones. 😚

(spoilers!)

Satya and Niran "grew up together" as friends, so they were friends in childhood too, not just at a teen or university age.

Apparently when Satya would get overstimulated and need recovery time, Niran would keep people away from their room and tell them she was sick so she didn't have to face anyone 😭

He also used to hang out and watch her practice her dancing for hours on end, without ever getting tired of it.

Satya considered (possibly still considers) Niran her closest friend.

Niran is late to everything (CALLED this one). He's even late for their meeting LOL

"He looked good. Satya almost wished he didn't." Bits like this are going to feed my Symweaver ass for YEARS

Satya is (still) extremely hurt by Niran leaving all those years ago, and perceives it as him having left her, not just Vishkar. She still misses him dearly, even though they've been apart for eleven years.

Speaking of which, being apart for eleven years means Niran was twenty when he left the Academy. For all you fellow fic authors out there 😊

Satya's autism is stated, full-out, no dancing around it or talking about being on "the spectrum". They flat out say "her autism" in a sentence. Cool!

One of Niran's first questions upon reconnecting with Satya is if Vishkar is mistreating her, if she needs help. Of course she denies this, but...

Niran can read Satya's emotions without her saying them, and even while thinking she's hiding them 😭 Several times throughout the story she's surprised because he cuts right through her stoic bullshit and gets right to how she feels about something.

The Architech Academy was really overwhelming for Satya, and it sounds like they made no effort to accommodate her needs. Unsurprising, considering they didn't accommodate Niran's, either.

Vishkar fiercely discouraged her from stimming, instilling in her a fear of looking "immature, or distracted, or rude, or strange".

She gave a speech at graduation, then had to spend a full week in bed afterward to recover from all the stress. And there was no Niran to guard her by then ☹

Even now, she finds many things about Vishkar overstimulating and uncomfortable, such as her uniform's fabric, and her living quarters.

Satya called Niran "Bua" way back when, possibly the first person to use the nickname for him. Partway through the story the narration (from Satya's POV) actually switches to calling him that, which is cute.

The Arcology seems to have uh, basically no real protection against attacks... Null Sector just shows up on a train and starts blasting lol. This is something I address in my fic The Light You Deserve, so it was kinda funny to see that I was right in predicting that.

She feels comfortable enough around Niran by the end to stim around him without realizing it (apparently she taps her fingers together and twirls her hands in circles, I guess kind of like flapping). She immediately stops and is embarrassed when he points it out, but Niran encourages her instead. She then uncertainly stims in front of him, growing more relaxed and confident as she lets herself do so (this had to be my favorite part of the story).

Toward the end they double down on Satya's belief that she can change Vishkar from the inside (girl....) but then at the VERY end, Niran suggests she look more into the founder of Vishkar and his ideals, and then says that "The Arcology will be delighted to have you". SHE MIGHT DEFECT TO THE ARCOLOGY IN CANON AND BE WITH NIRAN HHHHH AAAA sorry this was supposed to be an unbiased list I'm cool I'm cool

AAAAAA I'M NOT COOL I LOVE THEM SO MUCH

THIS WAS EVERYTHING I COULD HAVE WANTED IN A STORY BETWEEN THEM okay minus the random Null Sector attack tbh that was weird

Anyway the very last line says that Satya now has "whenever she needed it, a friend to return to". So they're definitely gonna interact more going forward!!

[amourtoken]

Slut thoughts slut thoughts slut thoughts goddddddd

More toxic mentor Ruffilo x apprentice reader thoughts? This one's a little shorter but I'm planning to add to it as more thoughts appear.

*NSFW below the cut, MDNI*

cw: Age gaps (legal, but possibly controversial? They're mentioned.), toxic Nicky, branding, exhibitionism, glove kink ig, he's a dick, raw sex (wrap it up bitch), oral (m receiving), love/hate (it's rlly love/love but shhhh that's a secret), Noah is here! (Nick is a cunt), degradation, dacryphilia, pining

♡ Nicholas loves that he's got a few years on you, it really accentuates the whole mentor/apprentice relationship and he always pulls the "I'm older than you so I know what's good for you" card when you whine about things

♡ now that you've apprenticed under him a few months and he's got you melded into the perfect little cock sleeve, he's gotten a bit sloppy. Leaving hickeys just above where your shirt could cover and being just a little too touchy around the other shop guys.

♡ this normally wouldn't cause issues around anyone else however need I remind you your literal father is his boss and would skin him if he found out he so much as laid a finger on you in his dreams. That being said, Nicky didn't double check the schedule before deciding he was gonna have you on your knees. Who walks in unannounced? His boss.

♡ Luckily Nicholas' desk faced in such a way you couldn't see anything underneath unless you were literally in his chair, which spared you for the moment. To keep you quiet he used the hand buried in your hair to push your head entirely down between his legs, his cock filling your throat and making your eyes water pathetically. At this point he wasn't even truly doing it to keep you quiet or keep you hidden, he was doing it for his own enjoyment. Once his painfully long conversation ended and the room was clear, he pulled you off his cock and laughed at how messy you looked. (Asshole!!!! I fucking need to fuck him so bad hate him!!!)

♡ he made you get a tattoo of his initials after your "6 month anniversary" of being his apprentice. He said he wanted to brand you so everyone knows who trained you so well (this mf is not talking abt the tattooing I promise lmao). So now you have a pretty "NR" on your hip bone just barely low enough to be covered up by your clothing. He gets achingly hard whenever he remembers it's there.

♡ he claims you get on his nerves and swears up and down that he's definitely fucking other people cause he could "never date a random college airhead" (he's not, it's a lie, don't believe him lol) when he's talking to the other guys at the shop but if any of them so much as look at you in passing he has to actively restrain himself from jumping down their throat.

♡ speaking of this possessiveness, Nicholas ended up staying late at the shop one evening conveniently at the same time the new piercer Noah was there. Noah thought you were fucking gorgeous and had full intentions on asking if you had any plans this weekend so that you two could maybe hang out, unfortunately this plan was canceled cause Nicholas had you laid back on his tattoo chair split on his cock. He knew you two weren't alone, and made zero effort to keep you quiet, in fact he was encouraging the noise.

"Louder, can't fuckin' hear you- tell me how good this dick makes you feel"

"Bet I've ruined you for everybody else."

"Awe, are you crying? So fuckin' needy you're really crying for some cock?"

♡ afterwards he walked past Noah like literally nothing had happened even though minutes before he had you making sounds anyone else would've called 911 over. Safe to say poor thing didn't get his date.

♡ Nicholas loves playing with you while he's wearing his black latex gloves, he thinks you look pretty when his gloved fingers are forced down your throat and he's basically trained you to find them arousing cause he does it so often. He'll squish your cheeks in one hand before telling you to open your mouth so you can suck his fingers like you would his dick. (He literally stares at you like you hung the moon during this but God forbid he says he CARES ABOUT YOU)

[devvelle]

You can't help but laugh when Idia greets you at his door wrapped in as many blankets as his body strength can support.

He squints his eyes at you, your figure illuminated by blue lights lining the hallways of his dorm. Although dim, it’s definitely more brightness than he can handle and he tugs you inside before even saying hello. Sure enough, the moment he closes the door you're shrouded in darkness; the curtains are shut tight and the only light comes from a small, cinnamon-scented candle he's burning. A bit of light emanates from his pc, but for once, most of his setup is off. The theme playing from the hand-held console in his grasp fills the silence between you.

Idia looks miserable, sniffling and staring at you tiredly.

"You doing okay?" Breaking the silence, you step closer to pat at his mess of hair. He attempts to reply but is instantly overcome with a fit of coughs that has him doubling over. Rushing closer, you rub your hand over his back.

All he can do is groan in pain.

With a pitying sigh you push him toward his bed, narrowly avoiding piles of clothes barely visible in the darkness. He places his trust in you to guide him, plopping down heavily on the creaky mattress at your cue. When you sit beside him, he leans his weight against you.

“You're gonna get sick,” he croaks.

You comb through his hair with your fingers. "Doesn't really seem like you care."

He snorts, but makes no effort to peel away from you. "Everything hurts," he grumbles, snuggling into your side in search of comfort. "I feel like I was hit by a bus, and all the lights were giving me a headache. I couldn't even sleep."

"Well that’s a lesson in limiting your screen time," you muse, and you know him well enough to predict the roll of his eyes.

The lull in conversation after your comment reminds you that you had a purpose for coming here. You grab at the satchel you had brought along with you, retrieving a warm container and a sports drink for him.

"You think you can eat this? It’s not much. Ortho's really worried about you, too, so we need you healthy."

The sudden soft tone you take catches him off guard. Idia still isn't used to being cared for by anyone other than his brother, but he blames the heat of his face on his illness. After a moment he accepts your gifts with shaky hands, taking one last deep breath before sitting up to eat.

You stay at his side until he finishes, soothing him with your touch through several coughing fits and his annoyed rambles. When you ask to stay the night afterward, he's thankful you saved him the embarrassment of having to beg you to do so himself. You suggest he try to sleep again, and he eagerly abandons every distraction for the warmth of your body and his bedsheets. He lays on your chest; conversation flows between you for only a few minutes before his responses become meaningless murmurs muffled by the fabric of your shirt. Your fingers trace hearts along his back until his breathing evens out.

In the safety of Idia’s room, the scent of cinnamon and the warmth you share with him are a comfort you wouldn’t trade for anything.

[borathae]

↳ Index [Chapter 33 - Avenir]

• Avenir (French, future)

Warnings: Yoongs & OC are the only couple ever, he tells her about the vampirism cure, they have a really deep & honest conversation afterwards, Jimin is a sweetie in this chapter

Wordcount: 7.6k

a/n: fjadsfjasjfas 

“___ I have to talk to you.” 

“Oh no. Oh god, what happened?”

“Hm?”

“You, you addressed me by name and told me that you need to talk. That’s basically double bad.”

“No, I actually need to talk to you.”

“Okay?”

“Just”, he intertwines his fingers with yours, “come with me please.”

“Yoongi, you’re scaring me. Did I do something?”

“No love, you didn’t. I did.”

“You did?”

Yoongi nods his head, closing the door to the secret study behind him. It is located upstairs behind a bookshelf and up until recently, you had no idea that it even existed. You only found out about it because you caught Taehyung and Yoongi disappearing inside it and you followed them. They stared at you as if you were a ghost and then babbled all about how it was too dangerous for you to be here.

“What are we doing here? I thought I wasn’t allowed in here because of the curses and stuff.”

“I lied. Partially. I was keeping something from you. You still shouldn’t touch anything.”

“Okay, sounds very confusing”, you murmur, studying his face.

“Just-”, he stops talking and sits down in front of the desk, pulling you on top of his lap instead.

“Oh? That’s comfortable”, you say, rubbing his shoulder softly. You are sitting on him sideways, feeling very safe that way.

“Mhm”, he agrees but looks anxious.

“What’s the matter, love? What’s so secretive that you couldn’t tell me until now?” you ask him, caressing his cheek. 

He leans into the touch, placing his hands on your hips safely. 

“I have to tell you something, which I kept from you. I, I thought that it would be best if I did, but I need your advice.”

“Okay, talk to me.”

“___, I found a cure for vampirism.”

Yoongi almost tears up when your touch stops and soon retreats. So you are disappointed in him. He fucked it up. He is so sure of it.

“You found a cure for vampirism?” you make sure with your eyes widened in bafflement.

He nods his head.

“When? How? Where?”

“Back at Meredith’s place. She had one of Nilrem’s spell books and on its last page it contained a spell for removing vampirism from a person.”

“Nilrem? Isn’t he your former teacher? The one who created the curse in the first place?”

“Yes. I think he wanted to reverse it and I think that is why he created the spell.”

“Well, that is phew”, you breathe out loudly, “a lot to take in. Why did you keep it from me? You know that you could have told me.”

“Because I was scared.”

“Scared? Scared of what?”

“Of your reaction.”

“Really? But it’s awesome news. We could use it on Namjoon and render him useless. It’s great news.”

“Yes”, he whispers in awe, “yes, this is exactly what I was thinking as well…wait, you aren’t against it?”

“Why should I be? I think it’s a great idea. Who knows, maybe Namjoon manages to escape his prison and then all the effort would have been for nothing. We can’t kill him either, so stealing his powers is the best solution. He’ll be rendered harmless and even if he escapes, he won’t be able to do much damage.” 

“Yes, this is exactly what I was thinking. I- holy shit.”

“What?” you laugh softly.

“You actually understand. I, I was so scared that you wouldn’t and that you’d call me cruel for even thinking that.”

You smile, finally cupping his cheek again, “No. You doofus, next time tell me immediately instead of boggling your little mind with what I could think”, you tell him, caressing his temple, “we’re a team, remember?”

“Yes, I. Fuck, I’m not used to it”, he confesses, “I’m sorry, I should have told you sooner. I know I should stop being such a brooding loner, but I’m just not used to…having…someone to share stuff like this with.”

“It’s okay. I think the brooding loner vibe is kinda hot.”

Yoongi scoffs and chuckles, cocking his right eyebrow up.

“Hot?” he says.

You turn on his lap, now facing him completely with your legs tangling on each side of his hips. You hook your arms behind his head.

“Mhm-hm yeah, hot. Makes me wanna push your buttons until you break and show me where you like it”, you say in a raspy voice, dancing your fingers up and down his neck all whilst giving him a seductive little smirk.

He tilts his head back slightly, revealing his neck to your eyes.

So pretty and pale and so empty. You move closer, dragging your tongue up his neck before placing a needy kiss to his jawline. His breath hitches in his throat, his thighs press together instantly.

“Like this”, you breathe.

“Mhhm”, he hums, nodding his head in understanding.

“And like this. Do you like that?” you coo, kissing your way up to his ear.

“Yeah”, he sighs, letting his head tilt back as his eyes fall closed. He exhales shakily as your lips dance over his ear, making the softest of sounds when you bite down gently. 

He visibly shivers, rubbing his thighs together for just a second. 

“Princess…” his voice is breathy.

“Yes love? Do you like it? Mhm?” you ask him, trailing your kisses down to his neck. Just slightly behind his ear, right where he shivers the most as a result. 

“There is more”, he gets out.

“Yeah? Show me”, you encourage him, giving his thighs a little grind.

His hands touch your hips, holding them safely.

“I meant the spell”, he says, lifting his head with a heavy heart. He almost whines when your lips leave his neck, giving your hips a soft squeeze of desperation. 

Your eyes lock. 

“As much as I would love to let you push my buttons, I have to tell you more.”

“Yes okay, tell me.”

“Okay so, uhm”, he lowers his gaze even before he starts talking, “I could…I uhm….if it works on Namjoon and doesn’t kill him, I could use it…on…myself.”

You don’t say anything. You don’t even make a sound. And Yoongi feels like throwing up, which is quite ironic given how his vampire body can’t throw up, but in this moment he feels sick in anxiety. 

He lifts his gaze shyly, meeting your shocked eyes. 

“Please say something”, he whispers, making himself smaller.

“Why would you use it on yourself?”

“I, I don’t know.”

“You can’t”, you press out with a trembling lower lip. 

“Don’t cry please”, he begs, reaching out to caress your lip.

You move away, wrapping your fingers around his wrists.

“Yoongi, what the hell? Why would you even consider this?”

“I don’t know, I just…I’m sorry, please forget it.”

“No. No, I can’t. Not when you tell me something like that.”

Yoongi looks to the side. 

“Yoongi”, you shake his wrists softly, “my love, talk to me.”

“I just. I just thought that maybe we could have it.”

“Have what?”

“The thing we had in my memories”, he says, locking his gaze on yours. His eyes are slightly glassy. 

“The thing we had?”

“When I had a pulse and we kissed that, that deeply because we knew that our days were numbered and we shared one lifetime. Just one lifetime together. You and I.”

“Oh Yoongi”, you whisper, cupping his face.

He closes his eyes, leans into your touch before he turns his head and nuzzles his nose into your palm. A soft kiss follows, tender and filled with love.

“I understand what you mean. It must be exhausting to have so many lifetimes behind you and to never find peace.”

Yoongi squeezes his eyes shut, whimpering softly. 

“But Yoongi, don’t you want to spend a little more time with me?”

At that he opens his eyes, looking at you with held breath.

“I want to know how it is to be a vampire”, you confess, “I want to be like you and live longer than humans and, and when that day comes, I want to know that I will have you by my side until forever.”

“Why would you give up your life? I don’t understand why you would want to live longer than you need to.”

“Because I just…growing old is scary. We’ll live with the knowledge that one day we won’t see each other anymore. What if you take the cure and then you’ll die before me? Then I’d be heartbroken.”

He lets out a quick laugh, “and I should accept when you die before me?”

You shake your head, “that’s why I’ll turn into a vampire when the time is right, so you won’t lose me and I can keep this sexy body.”

Yoongi tries and fails not to laugh. 

“You’re always sexy. I’d want you even if we’re both old and grey.”

You snicker, squishing his cheeks softly.

“I know. I’d want you too”, you say. You begin combing your fingers through his hair, painting tranquillity on his features.

“But no more talk about giving up your powers. At least not until we captured Namjoon. You need to keep your powers to fight him and keep us safe. Yeah?” you make sure. 

“Yeah I guess…” Yoongi murmurs and lowers his head.

“Tell me. What’s still on your mind?”

“I just want to”, he pulls you closer so he could hide his face in your chest, “I want to know that I have an option. Not being able to die no matter what you try, sounds like a dream at first, but when you”, his voice begins trembling, “when you lose everyone you love over and over again until loss becomes a fucking routine and when you see people finally finding peace through death over and over again while you have to get through everything even if it hurts so much you don’t want to go on anymore, you realise that not being able to die is a curse.”

“I understand”, your voice carries immense comfort for him, “I really understand why you feel that way. And I get it. Even if I became a vampire and most death becomes harmless to me, I could still end it by ripping my heart out. So in a way I still have a safe switch, but you don’t.”

“Yeah.”

“So I understand why you’re so happy about this supposed cure and I’m really happy for you too because I want you to have the option to find peace”, you speak with unconditional love in your voice, caressing his cheek and temple the entire time, “I know how much you had to suffer in the past and I really don’t want you to think that I want to take this chance at peace from you, but Yoongi let’s not use it so hastily.”

You tilt his head up.

“We don’t know what it does. Maybe it kills you instantly or maybe it kills you painfully. Or maybe you don’t die, but live your life in pain. Maybe your life catches up on you and you die in a few days, you know like in the movies when an old witch gets defeated and then becomes a million years old.”

He scoffs, “I don’t think that this would happen.”

“But if it does? Then you’d be a wrinkly old witch before turning into dust and I don’t want this fate for you.”

He chuckles, rolling his eyes at you fondly. You giggle, giving his nose a soft tap.

“So let’s use it on Namjoon first and see how and if it works. And if it does and it is safe, then we can keep it in the back of our heads for darker days.”

You wipe the tears from his lashes.

“I’m not asking you to give it up. Hell, I’m happy for you that you finally found something that could finally bring you peace, but Yoongi I refuse to believe that living with me doesn’t bring you peace.”

“It does”, he says without hesitation.

“See?” you smile, “your life isn’t as dark and lonely anymore as it once was. You have me now and you know damn well, that I want to work my ass off to make living worthwhile for you.”

“You do”, no hesitation, “you make it worthwhile.”

“Well, that’s good to hear”, you caress his cheek with so much tenderness that Yoongi does everything in his power not to close his eyes. He can’t. Not yet. Not when looking into your love-filled, beautiful eyes brings him so much reassurance that whatever he may say, he can count on you. 

“Please don’t work so much for me”, he whispers.

“What do you mean?”

“You shouldn’t work for me. So much. Don’t do it. I don’t want to be of so much work.”

“Who says that I don’t love doing it? Yoongi it’s not work, I love showing you nice things. It’s not exhausting and you’re not exhausting.”

“But what if you. What if you grow tired of it? Or, or me? Then we’ll have eternity hating each other.”

“Well, do you want to hate me at some point?”

“No”, he says immediately, shaking his head, “I could never hate you. I don’t want to.”

“Then rest assured that I feel the same.”

He flusters, looking to the side.

“I won’t ever grow tired of you, my love”, you say softly, tracing the slope of his nose and forehead, “I told you, you are the most exciting person in my life. And I mean it, you’re the best thing that ever happened to me.”

“You too”, he presses out. He cups your face and pulls you close so your foreheads rest against each other, “you’re the best goddamn fucking thing.”

You chuckle at his harsh way of saying it, melting on the spot.

“You’re so cute. I’m so happy that I am. Yoongi give me a kiss.”

He leans in without hesitation, kissing you softly. His thumb is caressing your cheek as he does while your own is touching his temple.

Yoongi breaks the kiss after a moment, rubbing his nose against yours.

“I’m sorry”, he whispers.

“For what?”

“For bringing all of this up. I’m so unfair for burdening you with my shit.”

“It’s only a burden if it was forced upon me. My love, I choose to carry your worries. You don’t burden me.”

“Ah god”, he presses out, squeezing your head, “god, fuck”, he grunts then whimpers softly, “why are you so good?”

“At what?”

“At functioning?”

“I don’t think I’m that good, I just try to live.”

“I can’t do it. Any of it. I can’t be emotional or honest. It’s, it’s so hard.”

“Yoongi, you’ve been sharing your feelings with me for the last twenty minutes. You’re better at it than you may think.”

His breathing slows down, his hands finally stop squeezing your head. 

You chuckle softly and tilt your head to kiss his forehead. The breath Yoongi lets out sounds as if he just shed a million pounds of trouble with it.

“I don’t want to die”, he confesses.

“Mhm”, you kiss his forehead a second time.

“I really don’t want to die. Not when I have you. And, and I want to enjoy life with you.”

You smile, kissing his forehead a third time.

“Me too Yoongi.”

“But I just…I want to know that if I wanted to, I could…die. That’s all I wanted for three millennia. To know that I can also end.”

“I understand, this is totally valid and you are allowed to know that. This is why we will test it out on Namjoon first and then watch what it does. And if it is safe?” you tilt his head up, “well, then you can finally rest assured that shall the day ever come where you don’t want to anymore, you can finally close your eyes for good, but for now”, you reach for his eyes.

Yoongi closes them and sighs when you run your thumbs over his lids softly.

“For now I want to look at those pretty eyes for a long, long time.”

Yoongi opens his eyes, blushing slightly.

“You’re so cheesy”, he mumbles.

“I know”, you snicker.

Yoongi lets a pretty smile wash over his face. He places his hands on your waist, caressing you softly.

“Thank you”, he says, “you always know what to say.”

“Of course”, you assure him, pinching his rosy cheek, “we’re a team.”

“Yeah, we’re a team”, he says, smiling brighter.

He sighs in relief and drops his head against your chest.

“Fuck, I’m so exhausted now”, he confesses and chuckles, “talking about your feelings is tiring.”

You laugh, ruffling his hair, “yeah right? But you did it and that’s great. I’m proud of you, Yoongi Boongie.”

“Mhm”, he nuzzles, “princess, god I wanna sleep”, he laughs, “can I nap just like this?”

“But that’s uncomfortable. Let’s go somewhere we can lie down.”

“But walking”, he whines, making you laugh. 

“Fine, you doofus then let’s nap on this terrible chair”, you say, snickering.

Yoongi lifts his head because he wants to see your smile. He beams up at you so much that his eyes turn into pretty, little crescent moons.

You reach out with your tender hands and cup his face, caressing his cheeks as the sound of your sweet giggle makes Yoongi fall even more for you.

“Why are you laughing?” he asks, hoping that the answer is a good one.

“No reason, I’m just happy”, you answer him, painting the goofiest grin on his pretty face.

“Me too”, he says, rubbing your back, “give me a kiss, my princess.”

You giggle and give him a big smooch. You pull back, let him chase you and smooch him again, basking in the lazy yet oh so happy chuckles and the soft sighs of approval he lets out. One more time because it is so much fun.

“Stop pulling away”, Yoongi complains in a whine.

“I’m not, just try harder”, you tease him.

Yoongi pulls you closer rather roughly, making you squeak and laugh.

“Don’t make me actually try”, he warns.

“Or what?”

“I’ll kiss you until you’re sick of it.”

“Oh no, that sounds terrible. How could you?” you gasp dramatically.

Yoongi smiles lazily, hooking his fingers behind your neck.

“Com’ere”, he whispers, “lemme kiss.”

You let him pull you closer, sighing happily when your lips finally touch.

“Ahem.”

Yoongi breaks the kiss. You both look to your side where someone so loudly cleared their throat.

Hoseok is gawking at you with big eyes.

“We uh..got news of…okay very off topic, but that’s how you guys are in private?”

“What do you want Hoseok?” Yoongi says, having his public voice back on.

“You guys are disgusting in private. Eww you are so whipped”, Hoseok teases, pointing his finger at you as he laughs loudly.

“Are you twelve?” Yoongi hisses with his cheeks burning up in embarrassment.

Hoseok snickers, “sorry, sorry I just had to say something. Goddamn, I won’t forget that ever again. You guys chasing each other like two love drunk idiots.”

“Hobi come on, get to the point”, you say with fondness in your voice.

“Ah yeah the point”, Hoseok stops laughing, wiping imaginary tears from his eyes, “the point is that you guys are two nerds. Hah!”

You can’t help but snicker. You must give it to him. He is a complete idiot.

“Hoseok”, Yoongi grumbles, “get to the point.”

“Okay, okay yeah sorry I just had to make one more joke”, he says and straightens his back, “I feel awful for being the reason for breaking up you guys’ cute yet very major nerd moment date, but we got a call from Fredrick.”

“What does he want?”

“His informants heard rumours of Namjoon not far from here. It’s just an hour drive and if we drive now, we could surprise him.”

You and Yoongi exchange a look.

“Holy fuck, that’s great news”, you say.

“It’s incredible news”, Yoongi stands up with you in his arms, sitting you down on the table, “I have to go.”

“I know, I’ll prepare the ingredients for the, you know, spell in case you’re successful.”

“Understood. Don’t touch anything you don’t know the purpose of, it could be dangerous.”

“I won’t. Good luck, love.”

He nods his head and breaks away from you.

“Let’s go”, he says to Hoseok and places his hand on his upper back in a brotherly tap.

“I really hope that we’re successful. Honestly I miss knowing that I can have a chill day without Namjoon appearing outta nowhere”, Hoseok says, opening the door for Yoongi.

The latter turns in the doorway, locking eyes with you. You give him a reassuring smile.

“Hyung? Are you not coming?” Hoseok asks him when he doesn’t budge.

Within a second Yoongi is by your side again.

“What-”, you can’t finish your question when Yoongi cups your face and pulls you into a deep kiss. The kind of kiss that steals your breath away and which leaves you dizzy once he pulls back.

“I love you”, Yoongi whispers, gazing at you as if it was the last time he will ever lay eyes upon you.

“I…love you too”, you breathe, feeling oh so flabbergasted.

And with that Yoongi finally breaks away and hurries outside. He gives you one last look over his shoulder and disappears.

With your heart racing in your chest, you look at Hoseok for just a second. He is grinning.

“Nerds”, he says, closing the door afterwards.

So now you are alone. You touch your lips. They still tingle from Yoongi’s kiss. Next your cheeks, which he held oh so safely. His touch still lingers on your skin like a warm reminder of good moments.

“Well damn”, you murmur, touching your chest where your heart is racing unbearably, “you’ve really got it bad, don’t you ___?”

“What are you doing?”

It has been around twenty minutes since the others left and you are still hunching over the book, looking at pictures because you realised that you can’t read the language it is written in. You lift your head upon hearing someone call out for you.

Jimin is standing in the doorway, wearing a full set of clothes for once. His hair is down, making his face appear younger and his cheeks softer. He does that often these days. Show himself in cozy attire. Good. You hope that he can only have comfortable days from now on.

“I could ask you the same thing. Shouldn’t you be with the others?”

“No, I’m not risking anything. You will not see this handsome face”, he points at his own face, “anywhere near Namjoon until the day he is behind bars and I can throw rotten eggs at him.”

You snort, “sounds like a good plan, do tell me when you plan on doing it, I’ll join you.”

“Will do”, he says, studying you from head to toe afterwards, “what are you seriously doing though? Isn’t that Yoongi’s spell book?”

“Yeah, I realised that I can’t read it, so now I’m looking at pictures.”

“Hm.”

Jimin pushes himself off the doorway and struts to you. He sits down on the desk, looking into the book.

“Huh”, he says.

“What is it? Can you read it?”

“Would you look at that? This is beyond interesting”, he murmurs as his eyes dance over the letters.

“What is it?”

“I have no fucking clue what that says”, Jimin says and snickers.

“Idiot”, you hiss, hitting his knee softly, “I thought that you could read it.”

“Nah honey”, he says, leaning back on his hands, “I may be old, but that language has more than two millennia on me, I have no idea what it says. The pictures look pretty though.”

You roll your eyes, “very helpful.”

He shrugs his shoulders and gives you a boyish grin.

“So what are you going to do now? Look at pictures all night long?” he asks.

“Yeah? Maybe I can find something that will help us.”

“I doubt it.”

“Thanks?”

“Not your brain, just that this book is any useful.”

“Thanks again? Did you just admit that I’m intelligent?”

“I never claimed the opposite. You have brain, which kinda annoyed me back in the day.”

You scoff, “well, thank you.”

He rolls his eyes, “you are welcome. Don’t act too flattered though.”

“I wouldn’t dare.”

He scoffs then chuckles, looking at you with a sort of friendliness in his gaze. He jumps off the table, strutting to the bookshelves behind you. You turn with the chair, watching him.

“There’s so many books I have no interest in ever reading here”, he murmurs.

“Do you not like reading?”

“Not really? It was always kind of pointless to me.”

“Well, then you haven’t found the right books yet.”

“Really?” he asks and snorts.

“Mh-hm”, you nod your head, “reading is fun. You can broaden your knowledge on stuff, lose yourself in different worlds or find similarities to your own life in sentences or characters.”

“Yeah, I see it, but I don’t need it. Sorry, hun.”

“Fine, whatever. I’m telling you, there will come a day where you will find joy in it.”

“Oh, I do find joy in it.”

“Really?”

“Yup. Back in the day, I loved reading Tae’s plays. He always has the most thrilling ideas.”

“Plays, you say? How come he never talks about his plays?”

“I think Namjoon forced him to give it up. He doesn’t talk about it, not even to me, but Namjoon has a liking for ruining people’s hobbies.”

“Well, that’s just terrible.”

“Yeah, he’s an asshole.”

“Did he ruin something for you too?”

“Other than my entire life? Sure, there’s lots of stuff he ruined for me.”

“Do you want to share them with me?”

“Ew”, he scrunches his nose up, “ew, why do you care for that? What are you doing?”

“Tzt”, you roll your eyes, “idiot, am I not allowed to ask my friend what his hobbies are?”

“Eww, I’m your friend?”

“Well now you aren’t anymore, you weirdo.”

Jimin touches the side of his neck, averting his gaze to the shelf in shyness. You click your tongue, turning with your chair afterwards.

You managed to flip two pages of Yoongi’s spell book when Jimin speaks again.

“Taehyung and I wrote a ballet once.”

You lift your head, listening to him with your back turned to him. You feel that if you looked at him, he would retreat back into his shell again.

“It was the best story he ever thought of and he wanted me to be the danseur noble. So I created the dance while he thought of the story and then together we worked on the music.”

You have to smile. It is rather sweet to imagine the both of them creating melodies together.

“It took us three years to finish, but then…”, Jimin becomes quieter in his speech, “…Namjoon interrupted our casting. He killed everyone in the room and broke my legs before he shattered Taehyung’s hands. He told us to remember our places and then afterwards Tae and I stopped wanting to perform the ballet.”

“Well fuck”, you press out, “I should have expected such an outcome and yet each time you tell me what this fucker did, I am surprised.” You turn with your chair. “I’m sorry Jimin, that must have been awful.”

“I was used to it, I guess”, he looks to the side in embarrassment, “at least I tell myself that. It makes it easier.”

“I can imagine.”

He takes a deep breath, releasing it in a chuckle afterwards.

“What are you doing to me? Are you some sort of witch? Why do you always make me open up about my feelings when we’re talking?”

“I don’t know. Maybe I just seem trustworthy”, you joke, making him laugh.

“Yeah maybe.”

He steps closer and for a moment you think that he might reach out and pat your shoulder. But he doesn’t, instead he turns his back to you.

“Either way, I’m leaving you to your stuff”, he says, leaving the secret study in quick steps.

Except that he doesn’t really. Just ten minutes later and he is back with tea and biscuits.

“You’re back already?” you ask him.

“I just figured that, I don’t know, you always drink when you’re like reading and stuff. I don’t know”, he places the tray on the table next to you, “here.”

There is one cup on the tray. You never realised that Jimin watched you read or that he watched you long enough to realise that you always drink tea when you do.

“Thank you, Jimin wow. That’s so nice of you.”

“Yes, I know”, he says, shimmying from one foot to the other. It seems that he is waiting for something.

“Why don’t you grab that chair over there and join me for a cup? Maybe we could look for clues together.”

“Sure, if you want to”, he tries to sound nonchalant, but it’s not really helping when he pulls out a cup from the pocket of his hoodie as if he was just waiting for you to invite him. He places it on the tray without making eye contact, then hurries to grab the chair by the window.

He places it next to you, sitting down with one foot standing on the chair and the other resting on the pillowy seat. You prepare a cup for the both of you.

“Do you want some cream in yours?” you ask him.

“Yes, that’d be nice. Thanks.”

He drinks it without looking at you, setting it down. He clears his throat.

“Good. I made it just right.”

“You really did. It’s very rich in flavour”, you say, turning your attention back to the book.

Jimin watches you for a moment, fumbling with the biscuit in his hand. It is covering his fingers in crumbs and the greasy residue of butter.

“Are you educated in witchcraft?” he asks.

“Me? No, I have no idea. You?”

“Just the basics. I picked up a few things when I was living with the witches in Paris.”

“I see. Well, then you know more than me. Although, I do know many spells that could kill you guys.”

“Why?” he gasps.

“I learned them back when we started hunting Namjoon. I thought that they might come in handy.”

“Sounds logical. You creep.”

“Hey”, you nudge his leg, “be careful I could just snap my finger and turn you into a frog.”

He snorts, “sure, I’d like to see you try. You’re human remember?”

“I know. Boring, am I right?”

“I think it’s kinda cool. I always wanted to be human.”

“That seems to be a shared topic tonight”, you mumble.

“What?”

“Nothing, I was just mumbling nonsense”, you dismiss him, drinking some tea, “but enough about that. We have spells to find.”

“What are we looking for anyways?”

“I don’t know, something that could stop Namjoon.”

“Ripping off his head will stop him for a while. Easy.”

You chuckle, “sure. If we can get close enough to him to do that.”

“Yoongi will. He’s stronger than Namjoon.”

“Really?”

“Well, at least a little. That’s what he told me. It’s because he’s a Gluttonous Ripper and Namjoon’s just a Glutton. And I think he was also like the first ever vampire so he’s older too. You know. The strength adds up. Yoongi’s like unstoppable basically.”

“It makes sense. Maybe that’s why Namjoon hasn’t tried to attack us yet. Or why he never tried to actively eliminate Yoongi.”

“That, but also Namjoon is hated way more than Yoongi and barely has people helping him. Yoongi would just have to snap his fingers and people would want to help. Namjoon not so much. Even if the old grumps likes to pretend that everyone hates him just as much, they really don’t.”

“You think so?”

“Of course I do. The community knows what he did for us. As do the witches and werewolves. They’re not blind to all the sacrifices he made. Trust me, I talk to a lot people. Why do you think I’m still alive?”

“Thea?”

“Yeah, besides her. It’s because I always pulled the I’m friends with Min Yoongi card when I got myself into trouble.”

“You’re such a sneaky bastard”, you say, stifling a laugh.

“A sneaky bastard, who knew how to survive”, he says with a lifted finger.

“True that, I can’t deny it.”

Jimin smiles and you retort it.

The air feels comfortable between you and him. It’s a nice feeling to experience.

“Now, let’s actually get this started”, he says and stands up. He places his hand on your shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze, “I’ll check the shelves.”

“Good idea. I’ll check the rest of the book.”

You spent the next hour in silence. It is a comfortable silence. It is the kind of silence, you thought to never be able to share with Jimin. You like that you can however. It is better to spend time with him that way, instead of always wanting to rip each others’ heads off.

The both of you finish the tea in the time of silence. You get another cup and more biscuits as well. He thanks you for it and then returns to rummaging around the piles of books.

The can has been significantly emptied when Jimin officially returns to the table, placing a book on top of it. He sits down again, reaching for his cup of tea.

“What’s that?” you ask him.

“A spellbook, it’s in Latin”, he says, crossing his legs nonchalantly, “maybe you could like it.”

“That’s a good find. Thank you, Jimin.”

“Sure, no biggie.”

He watches you for a moment, finding it peculiar that you furrow your brows when you concentrate. He isn’t judging it, he just finds it funny because it makes you look angry at the book. He eats one of the biscuits and sips on his tea.

“Anything interesting yet?” he asks.

“No, just Latin I’m too dumb to understand”, you murmur, reaching for your cup without looking.

Jimin pushes it to you so you wouldn’t miss it, handing you a piece of biscuit seconds later. You accept it absentmindedly, dunking it into your tea and forgetting it right there.

“Geez, take the cookie out, you’re drowning it”, Jimin says, pulling your hand away.

“Huh? Oh dear, I totally didn’t notice that.”

“I couldn’t tell at all. Ew, soggy biscuit.”

“It’s good stuff, don’t judge it”, you say, eating it most deliciously.

“If you say so”, he murmurs, scrunching his nose up.

“You go look for another book, instead of judging me.”

“I’m not judging you, on the contrary.”

You turn with your chair.

“Really? What’s that supposed to mean.”

He shrugs his shoulders nonchalantly.

“Nothing really. Do you think the others have reached Namjoon by now?”

You check your watch.

“It’s been more than hour. They should have arrived by now. Let’s hope that they’re okay.”

“They’re definitely fine. They all know how to fight and they have Yoongi.”

“Yeah, I guess. I’m still really worried.”

“Why?”

“What if someone gets hurt?”

“Then they’ll heal. Don’t worry.”

You sigh in defeat, “I guess. Gosh, I always get so worried when they leave to fight. I should stop that, it’s not like they can get hurt. And Yoongi will keep them safe.”

Jimin nods his head, giving you a reassuring smile.

“Exactly, he’ll keep them safe.”

He stands up again and returns to the bookshelf. He wouldn’t tell you, but he enjoys today’s evening. Your scent doesn’t annoy him anymore and your heartbeat doesn’t make him angry anymore. As a matter of fact, he finds the sounds of it rather relaxing. Just as he finds the sounds of you flipping the pages or setting your cup of tea down relaxing.

He also wouldn’t tell you that ever since he swore to be better for Tae, he turned his emotions back on. Because admitting that would mean that he would also have to admit that you were right. Feeling is nice if you are surrounded by good people. It is just incredibly hard to accept that he was indeed surrounded by good people these days. The thought of Namjoon still lingers in the back of his mind and sometimes he catches himself in the act of being rude to someone without even wanting to.

He tries very hard not to this evening, because you have been so nice to him. You let him hang out with Taehyung and you show no signs of disgust over their bond. You talk to him nicely even after all the awful shit he pulled with you. And you called him your friend.

Jimin sneaks a glance at you. You have one leg pulled on the chair, hunching terribly.

He smiles.

You are the second person after Taehyung to call him a friend. It feels nice to be called a friend for once. Enemy sounds so familiar, but leaves a bitter taste in his mouth. Friend sounds unfamiliar, but leaves sweetness behind. He likes it a lot and he hopes that he can hear it a lot from now on, because he wants to be friends with you and the others.

“Jimin, look.”

“Yeah? Found something?”

He takes the space behind you, placing both of his hands on your shoulders. It makes you sneak a glance up at him because of the unfamiliarity of it. He doesn’t seem to notice, looking at the book. So you don’t call him out on it, turning your attention to the book instead.

“It’s a spell about magical barriers. It says you need sorbus aucuparia to keep mythical creatures out.”

“Okay? And now for dummies please.”

“Mountain ash. It says that you have to grind up the bark of it and then sprinkle it on your threshold whilst repeating these words.”

“Sounds a little like nonsense to me. I never heard of mountain ash being able to stop us.”

“I mean, in theory every good piece of wood is able to stop you.”

“I didn’t mean it like that, good god”, he says and squeezes your shoulders.

You snicker.

“Tzt, just keep looking”, he says, abandoning your shoulders for the sake of finding something interesting.

The second can of tea gets emptied by you and him. The plate of biscuits soon is empty as well. Jimin finds two more books, which you now read on the sofa in the sitting room next to the kitchen. The one with the red satin sofas and huge marble statues of Alpha in each corner of the room. Taehyung made them over the span of ten years. Namjoon’s statue was covered by a heavy piece of fabric these days. Jimin reads too, resting on the sofa with his legs dangling over the headrest and his head almost falling off the edge.

Every now and then, the sounds of pages flipping cuts through the silence.

“Urgh boring”, Jimin breaks said silence with a loud groan.

“What?” you ask, lowering your book.

“Reading is so boring. Can’t we do something else?”

“What do you have in mind?”

“Just anything other than reading. Let’s watch a movie.”

“Sure, with what television?”

Jimin drops his head over the edge of the sofa, scanning his eyes over the upside down room.

“Urgh, uncool. Why do we not own a TV? What’s wrong with us? We have to buy one soon, it’s ridiculous. We’re living as if we’re still in 1834. Urgh, I’m so bored”, he whines with a huge pout on his lips.

“Just read your book”, you say with amusement lacing your voice.

Jimin lifts his head and drops it on the sofa in a weird angle.

“Let’s go to the movies together.”

“Now?”

“Yeah, duh.”

“What if the others come back in the meantime?”

“We’ll just leave a note or something.”

“I don’t know.”

“Come on ___, don’t be so boring.”

“I don’t know”, you whine, “I kind of want to be here when they return so we can make sure that they’re all okay.”

“They’re going to be fine. They have Yoongi, remember?”

You roll your eyes, “you can’t convince me that easily.”

“Urgh ___”, Jimin whines, “come on, let’s go to the movies.”

“Let’s just wait for a little, maybe they’ll come back soon.”

“___!” someone screams your name.

“See? As I told you.”

Jimin rolls his eyes, “fine, you win this round.”

“___!” Jungkook is screaming.

“I’m here!” you call out, hurrying out of the sitting room.  

“___!” his voice is breaking at the end.

“Kook! I’m here!” you tell him, making it easier for him to find you by running to where he calls out from.

You collide with him on the hallway.

“___”, he presses out with tears streaming down his face.

“Jungkook holy fuck, what’s wrong?”

“___ we captured Namjoon.”

“What? You captured him? Holy shit, Jungkook this is awesome”, you laugh, falling around his neck.

Jungkook sobs, squeezing you so tightly that you can barely breathe.

“Kook, careful your strength”, you warn him in a chuckle.

“___ I’m sorry”, he chokes out.

“Hey, it’s okay. We’re all happy here. So where is he? Where are the others?”

“Oh god”, Jungkook presses out and sobs loudly next to you.

“Gosh Kook, stop crying you’ll make me cry too”, you say, wrapping your arm around his waist.

That is when it happens. Namjoon sets foot into the estate, guided by Hoseok and Seokjin and with the Unbreakable Shackles around his wrists. The guys are covered in the remnants of the fight, carrying a grim expression on their face. Namjoon lifts his head and locks eyes with you and Jimin. His lips curl into a menacing smile.

He laughs.

He laughs loudly and happily and as if he won.

“What the fuck?” you say, eyeing him with shock.

“Fuck yes. I knew you fucking pigs weren’t dead”, Namjoon says and laughs louder, throwing his head back, “oh life’s fucking great. I’m going to rip you to shreds, Park Jimin.”

Jimin is hiding behind you and Jungkook, entire body trembling in fear. He is even grabbing a piece of your jumper, twisting it with shaking fingers.

“Stop hiding, little piglet. Oh, I’m going to fucking hurt you”, he growls.

Jimin whimpers, squeezing his eyes shut.

“Shut up, you cunt”, you spit, making yourself bigger in front of him. Namjoon’s black eyes flit to you.

He growls demonically, “come here little one, if you’re brave enough. Nobody’s going to protect you now”, he challenges you, snapping at you with bared fangs.

“What the hell is his problem?” you murmur, cocking your eyebrow up in judgement.

“___, I’m so sorry”, Jungkook presses out, whimpering painfully.

It only makes Namjoon laugh harder.

“Shut the fuck up”, Hoseok hisses, pushing Namjoon roughly “fuck, you’re giving me a headache.”

They pass by you. Namjoon rips himself free of Hoseok’s grasp, jumping at you instantly. Not that he can actually reach you, Seokjin catches him by his hair before he can, tugging him back roughly. But Namjoon fights him, he fights him to the point that all the tugging on his hair contorts his face into a grimace of distorted sanity. He is dripping black saliva from his sharp fangs, staring at you with obsidian eyes.

“You lost”, he growls and laughs, “you fucking lost.”

“Tzt”, you scoff, “says the one who is currently rendered useless. Look around you Namjoon, you are the one who lost.”

“Hah!” Namjoon exclaims loudly and laughs.

The sound of it twists your stomach in disgusted fear.

“Shut up”, Seokjin hisses, finally managing to tug him away, “walk. Asshole.”

“I may be useless right now!” Namjoon screams, “but you are the one who lost everything! I fucking won!”

“He’s crazy”, you murmur, turning to Jungkook, “what’s wrong? Why are you crying?”

“___ he-”, Jungkook whimpers, “cursed wood.”

“What?”

“He keeps healing and, and not healing. And- oh god.”

“What do you mean?”

Taehyung and Emma stumble into the estate and in their middle Yoongi is fighting and writhing in their arms. His skin is grey and in his mouth a cloth is stuck so he wouldn’t bite his own teeth out.

“Yoongi?” you gasp, running to his side, “holy fuck, what happened?”

“___, he had cursed wood. Namjoon he, he knew that we were coming. He, he had cursed wood grinded up and hit Yoongi with it. And, and he i-inhaled it an-and it’s, it’s- oh god”, Jungkook can’t finish his sentence as sobs rip through him.

“What?”

“Argh!” Yoongi screams up and fights himself free from Taehyung’ and Emma’s grasps. He falls to the ground, convulsing painfully. The cloth falls out of his mouth.

Yoongi screams. He screams like you have never heard a man scream before. Black blood gushes from his mouth and nose, muffling his screams all while he is choking on them.

“Yoongi?” you press out, “holy fuck, what is happening? Yoongi?”

The blood is streaming out of his eyes as well, turning his vision dark. His screams become muffled by the blood, his fingers reach for you.

“Oh god, it’s okay. Hey, it’s okay. I’m here”, you promise him and hold his hand.

Yoongi shatters it. He didn’t want it to happen, but he is in too much pain to have control. It hurts like you have never ached before and yet you can’t let go. You squeeze him right back, crying under the pain and the worry.

“Make it stop”, he begs and coughs for air, “it hurts, please”, he begs, convulsing again and again and again until the convulsing stops.

His hands stops squeezing you, his body stops twitching.

“Yoongi?”

You touch his face.

“Yoongi? Hey, Yoongi?”

You shake him.

“Yoongi?”

You shake him again.

“My love?”

The panic twists your stomach.

“Yoongi, wake up please. Please wake up.”

His hand slips out of your grasp.

“Yoongi! Please wake up! Yoongi! Please! Why aren’t you waking up?! Yoongi!”

[hwnglx]

Could you do how skz diffuse and handle anger/jealousy?

stray kids when jealous

based on tarot. i do not know these idols personally. energies are always changing. what i say is NOT straight fact. pls take it with a grain of salt!

chan scorpio venus

knofc, 6ofc+8ofsw, queofc, queofsw, kingofp

chan will be petty. although he'll probably cover it up by playing the mature and bigger person who's in control of his emotions, and definitely not like openly showing it to you, that bitter feeling will stay stuck within him and really mess with him. he'll have a hard time processing it, and be lowkey scared he'll make his disapproval obvious. i can just imagine him remembering it for forever and being all salty about it for way too long afterwards. holding on to that grudge, but acting like he moved on. if you make chan jealous, it'll probably always somehow bite you in the butt at some later point lmao.

i got the knight of cups as the first card, so chan will absolutely turn on his charm to make sure to "win you back", and let everyone know you're his. he can get surprisingly but very possessive, so he'll do everything in his power to make sure you only have eyes for him. make sure you don't even think about making him jealous ever again. don't let the double libra deceive you because chan can get real intense when it comes to relationships, he doesn't play.

lee know scorpio venus

kingofsw, 10ofsw, aceofp, tower, highpr

oh, lee know will give you the cold shoulder for sure. jealousy will hit him like a train, like.. this man is a scorpio stellium. he gets jealous. and kinda revengeful, especially if he can tell that you're doing it on purpose (which you can not hide from him, he'll just exactly know). so he'll make sure to basically pay you back by behaving in a cold and distant manner and pretty much push you away. he'll know exactly what he's doing. his insides will go wild, but on the outside he'll keep very calm.

although he'd probably sell a kidney before admitting his jealousy, you'll definitely know he's upset by how he just gets real frosty and stiff, unemotional. doesn't engage with you a lot, doesn't react to your texts, avoids eye contact. his face will grow stonecold.

changbin virgo venus

4ofsw, hierophrx, 6ofc+2ofc, 2ofw, 8ofp

changbin will immediately reflect back on himself. like "did i not do enough for them? did i not make them happy enough?" he'll be overly conscious about how he expresses his jealousy and refrain from doing anything impulsive in the moment. expect him to probably be pokerfaced and stare first while trying to process his emotions and plan his next move. soo much overthinking here. he'll also feel kinda betrayed, since he values loyalty so much. "you exactly know i wouldn't ever do that to you" type of thing.

in his mind, he'll probably ponder a lot over what he needs to change in your relationship or himself, in order to prevent it from happening again. he believes that if you were feeling happy and nurtured in your connection, you wouldn't do anything to make him jealous in the first place. notice how all i talk about is his thoughts, but not much action? he'll just be in his head a lot. probably put in twice the effort afterwards to make sure you truly enjoy being with him, his competitive side will definitely come out. he can make you so much happier than them, and best believe he'll prove it to you.

hyunjin pisces venus

world, aceofprx+moon, magic&5ofw, devil

jealousy is a huge deal to hyunjin. he can get very jealous, possessive and spiteful. he'll immediately feel extremely insecure, doubt himself a lot. he won't like that side of him at all, so he'll really struggle and simply refrain from expressing his true emotions, since it can be such a confusing and overwhelming feeling for him. he won't enjoy this uncomfortable feeling of laying his soul bare to you, and making himself vulnerable. since he was hurt enough already.

however, he'll also put on this smug mask and play games with you. do things he knows will make you jealous, openly flirt with other people. he'll put extra effort into seducing or impressing you right in front of your eyes, so you remember who you fell for in the first place and regret making him feel that way. i get this huge desire to pay and hurt you back, and a tendency to lose himself in that selfish state. (mans has a pisces stellium with an aries mars 😮‍💨) he'll cope with his pain by making you feel just as awful. definitely not his best self when he's jealous lol.

jisung libra venus

8ofsw, 7ofsw, 9ofw, 10ofp+judg&devil

jealousy doesn't seem to be a very familiar and enjoyable emotion to jisung. so once it gets to him, he gets very insecure, overwhelmed and uncomfortable. starts questioning himself like.. "why would i feel like this?". it makes him feel powerless, and he's type to really hate the feeling of losing control of himself. he also the tendency to just in general avoid and be scared of any type of negative emotion, so he'll probably just make an effort to suppress his jealousy, by at least not making it obvious in his face. he'll try very hard to look away, move on and not dive too deep into that feeling.

i think his insecurity stands in the way of him openly and "confidently" expressing and showcasing his jealousy, so you probably won't even notice it. he'll probably try and do something more enjoyable and pleasant with you in order to distract himself, feel better again and get over it.

felix libra venus

aceofsw, 4ofp, devil+star, temp

felix will immediately overthink and get stuck in his head. more than anything, he'll get afraid of losing you to someone "better", he'll be afraid of you losing interest in him. similarly to jisung, he isn't necessarily the clingiest boyfriend. but as soon as it gets to his self worth, jealousy can really hurt him. this sudden sense of possessiveness can be surprising for himself even, since jealousy will quickly transform him from this chill and easygoing lover to someone pretty anxious and tense.

he will hate feeling that way, and be afraid of recklessly lashing out or acting out impulsively and make things worse. the entire thing will make him very uncomfortable, which is why he'll put a lot of effort into balancing out the emotion. he doesn't enjoy confrontation, so he'll probably just try to calm down by himself and not talk to you about the matter at all.

seungmin virgo venus

justice, kingofp, 6ofsw, knofc

seungmin is probably the one who will deal with it the most gracefully. he seems very mature when it comes to relationships, so he'll approach his feelings of jealousy in a more levelheaded and rational manner. he isn't the type to get all insecure and doubtful, he seems to trust his partners a lot.

however, if you manage to make him jealous, he'll most likely take a step back from you in order to process the emotion by himself. really think through the course of the relationship and reflect, wonder if he did anything to cause it. it's likely during that time he'll probably be rather unemotional and unresponsive. this is however, because he'll just be very aware and super conscious of how he behaves around you and what he says. he puts a lot of importance into fairness in romantic connections, so he won't blame you for anything impulsively, and make sure he's being a good and considerate boyfriend by equally looking back on himself.

jeongin aries venus

8ofw, kingofsw, 6ofw, highpr&aceofc, 7ofw

jeongin will be very direct in telling you for sure. he'll immediately communicate how he didn't like that you went out with that one friend, and probably be pretty bold in his way of expressing it. also not really consider your side of the story much. so even if you try to mend his jealousy, he'll stand by his point, in a "no, you just shouldn't have gone out with him and you know it." type of way.

it'll likely (look like it's) resolved once you just talk it out. however, he seems to be the type to hold grudges even if he makes it look like he's over it. he has his mars in scorpio, so he can get pretty deceiving and manipulative sometimes. he'll make you believe everything's fine, but in the back of his mind he'll still feel a certain way about that friend and slap that situation in your face once you two fight again. scream "you remember when you did x to me?" to your face, although you had gone on for like two hours trying to settle that issue out.

[mrsalwayswrite]

What Words Can't Say - Chapter 2

A/N: Here we finally meet more of the 100th!

Warnings: not much

Words: 2800

Series Masterlist // Next chapter

June 1943

Abby absent-mindedly listened as Ken talked with the two local boys that had become regular visitors to the ground crew. Unlike some of the other men, she liked the energy and joy they brought with them - always asking questions and telling various stories. It was a bright spot in the bleak days. 

The boys stood off to the side, as Ken repaired a carburetor, avidly watching and asking questions as if they were to be tested afterwards. She paused to watch her cousin, how he interacted and gave the boys all the attention he could while focusing on his work. Instead of wearing his usual leather tool belt around his waist, he let the older of the two boys wear it. So when he needed a new tool, he would ask for it, teaching them about the various tools but also letting them feel involved in a safe way. 

A pang of sadness hit her as she watched. In reality, her cousin was only about ten years older than these kids. In a perfect world, he should be transitioning out of his own boyhood, just stepping into the shallow waters of adulthood. Instead he had to leave behind any childishness and become a responsible, mature man much too young. At the young age of nineteen and the chief flight mechanic was an astounding feat, yet he thrived and almost immediately earned the respect of those around him. He had always been good with his hands, even back home on the farm. Any machine seemed to whisper to him, and with only a look, he knew how to fix it. Somehow that ability followed him to England and the forts whispered their own problems, knowing he could hear them. 

Thorpe Abbotts was lucky to have him and thankfully the Brass knew it. 

With a smile, she turned back to her own task. She stood in front of Wild Cargo, going down the checklist and ticking off everything she had checked so far. While it was not wholly necessary for her to double check what the others had done, she felt better doing it. It might be a little thing, but she liked feeling like she did everything possible to make sure those forts under her care were ready to fly without issue. She hated when they had to turn around mid-flight due to mechanical issues. 

A nearby commotion had her swiveling her head to the side to see Major Egan along with two other pilots walking up to Ken. From what she could hear, it sounded like Egan was introducing Ken to his men. A wise decision. Some pilots overlooked the ground crew, dismissing them, since they never engaged with the enemy directly, while most appreciated the ground crew's efforts. From the start, the new Major Egan had been one of the latter, making sure to introduce himself to everyone and talk up his own Bomb Group. It was not uncommon anymore for Major Egan to randomly show up on the hardstands in the quiet times, with a bottle of stolen whiskey (although he never admitted he took it from the Officer's Club) and would share it with whoever was interested. 

And then the 100th Bomb Group arrived with the subtlety of fireworks on the Fourth of July.

Over the past week, since their arrival, Thorpe Abbotts had been in an uproar. The replacements were young and wild with energy, ready to test their skills and finally get up in the air. The place felt like an overturned ant hill. A couple of practice runs had happened but mostly the men were waiting…and bored pilots always caused trouble. Thankfully the Majors seemed to have a leash on the potential chaos and most of it only leaked out in silly games and wild nights of dancing and drinking in the Officer's Club. 

The women of the airbase certainly appreciated the fresh meat of the replacements. It was all they could talk about back in the hut. Abby never involved herself in those conversations. She was here to work, not flirt with pilots. And most certainly, not grow any attachments to any of them. She pitied the women who did, the few who claimed they were in love. It was one thing to have a fling with a handsome soldier but another to talk of more. She had witnessed too many of the nurses with broken hearts when those men never returned from a mission. 

“AND THAT OVER THERE IS SLUGGER!” 

Abby glanced over at the call of her nickname from the loudmouth Major Egan. She waved her hand casually, an acknowledgement of sorts before focusing back on her checklist. 

Footsteps on the hardstand had her glancing up again, a jolt of surprise that it was one of the new guys approaching. The first thought that crossed her mind was that he was too pretty for a pilot. The messy blond hair with that thick strand over his forehead, just begging for fingers to run through it. Those brilliant blue eyes that were intense yet reserved. He had a boyishness about his look but it only enhanced his attractiveness instead of making him seem young. Plus with a figure that was lean and muscular, he looked like he spent days on the dance floor. 

Oh, the ladies were going to love him. 

“How's she looking, ma'am?”

The raspy drawl that emerged from this new major was unexpected, and so was the tingle it shot down her spine. She swallowed thickly and shoved the feeling away. She could acknowledge he was a pretty flyboy but that was as far as it allowed to go. 

She followed the major's gaze towards the fort above them. “She's doing good. Just doing the final check. The only thing I noticed was the fuel pressure gauge was off but I adjusted it. She should be good to go for your next mission.”

Not removing his gaze from Wild Cargo, he smiled. “Yeah, not sure those mechanics in Greenland paid much attention to the details. They wanted us out of there.”

“Can't imagine why.”

Now his gaze slid over to her, that easy smile still in place. “Thank you for fixing her up.”

Abby immediately went to dismiss the thanks like her usual response but something about this pilot in front of her, the genuineness of his statement and the sincerity in his eyes made her swallow her typical response. 

“You're welcome. Try to keep her in one piece for me.”

The man chuckled, shoving his hands in his flight jacket. “I'll try my best, ma'am.”

They shared a smile, their gazes connecting for several moments, as if magnetized and unable to draw away. She could feel a blush stain her cheeks, most likely making her few freckles stand out on her skin. The corners of his smile relaxed, his blue eyes softened with each passing moment, transforming from a gaze that pierced in intensity to a gentle warmth. Staring at him, she wondered if this is how flowers felt as they turned their faces towards the sun on a cool day. 

“BUCKKKK!” 

Their gazes unlatched at the shout, her's dropping to the ground. She blinked furiously, wondering what just happened, but unable to deny the butterflies fluttering in her belly. After a deep breath, she looked back up only to meet his again, a sheepish smile adorning his handsome face as he scratched the back of his neck. 

She wondered if he gave good hugs, he looked like he did. 

Nope. She was not going to think like that. 

Their attention diverted to Major Egan and the other unknown man as they approached. Egan casually tossed his arm over the blond's shoulder, pulling him close in a smooth action that appeared almost practiced with the ease used. 

“So, Buck, you've met Slugger, huh?” Egan said, that permanent smirk on his face as he glanced between his friend and the sole female mechanic. 

The man -Buck- rolled his eyes. “Not formally.”

“Alright, alright, let me introduce you.” Egan waved his arm like some conductor, his excitement bubbling over. “Gentlemen, this is Slugger, Kenny's cousin. Slugger, this handsome fella here is Buck Cleven,” he announced as he roughly smacked the chest of the man under his arm, “and that one is Curt Biddick.” He finished, gesturing to the man on his other side. 

“Hey! Why is he a ‘handsome fella’ and I'm just ‘Curt’?” The New York accent was thick as the slightly shorter man spoke but the teasing was obvious as he shoved Egan. “I'm just as handsome!”

“Look at this face!” Egan squeezed Cleven's cheeks. “He could make angels cry with how pretty he is.”

“Uh huh, sure. See if I'm nice to you again.”

“Ah, don't be like that, Curt. You know you're still my favorite little spoon.”

“We both know I'm the big spoon! You gotta stop lying to everyone about that.” 

Abby was enjoying the teasing far more than she probably should have. It was obvious the closeness and friendship between the three men. 

“So why do they call you ‘Slugger’? Are you into baseball?” Biddick asked, turning the group's attention back to her. 

“Oh no!” Egan spoke before Abby could. “This little lady right here, as I heard it, well some RAF shithead was bothering her. She was working on something and he wouldn't take the hint she wasn't interested, right? Well, apparently he tried to touch her or something and she whipped around and knocked him in the family jewels with the wrench she was holding. Now…after that, the poor guy is bent over, puking his guts out, but instead of taking pity on the poor bastard, she drops the wrench and gives him an uppercut to the jaw that knocks him flat on his back and unconscious. Medics have to come get his ass.” Egan winked at her. “That's why she's called ‘Slugger’. At least that's the story I heard.”

“That really what happened?” Biddick demanded, clearly reassessing her after hearing his friend's story. 

She shrugged. It was not one of her proudest moments and she hated how quickly the story circulated around the small airbase. At least it did keep any other pilots from attempting the same action. “He shouldn't have grabbed my ass.”

“She bunks with the nurses.” Egan stated, followed by a wicked smirk crossing his face. “Speaking of which…”

“No, Major Egan, I'm not getting Charlotte's undergarments for you.”

“What?” Biddick sputtered. 

With a long-suffering sigh, Cleven stared up at the sky as if petitioning for patience. 

Egan pointed a finger at her. “First, call me ‘Bucky’. Secondly, that was ONE time and I lost a bet because of you!” 

“You want her drawers, you get them yourself.” She muttered. 

“I'm trying…she isn't having it.” 

“Sounds like a smart girl.”

“You wound me, sweetheart.” Egan mock clutched at his heart with a wide-eyed innocence that no one believed. 

Biddick laughed. “I think she's got you figured out, Bucky.”

“Hey! What's this? Tease Bucky day or something?” Egan unwound himself from his friend and pushed Biddick.  

“That would be everyday.” Cleven drawled, shooting Abby a wink. 

“Oh I see, come here–” Egan threw a mock punch at the blond, who easily sidestepped and responded with his own swing. Soon enough they were grappling, taunting one another and laughing, right there on the hardstand.  

“Are they always like this?” Abby asked Biddick who was heckling from the sidelines. 

“You get used to it.”

She shook her head and stepped away, resuming her task. If the men wanted to act like schoolboys, she was not going to stop them but she was not about to waste her day on them either. After this checklist, she had two other forts to look over before sundown. She hated working in the dark. 

“See ya, Slugger!” 

Abby looked over from staring at engine number four, having heard Biddick's call. With a smile, she lazily waved to the three men who seemed to finally be leaving. Her hazel eyes caught the blues of Cleven, holding for a moment longer than they should have. His eyes crinkled as he smiled at her before turning and following his friends. 

Quickly she spun back around, turning her face upward to the engines, willing the butterflies to fade in her stomach. She did not have time for flyboys. She was only here to fix their forts and send them off to fight the Nazis…

…But that boy was just too damn pretty. 

*****

Two days later, the boys of the 100th Bomb Group had their first mission flying over Germany. 

Abby stood to the side, watching the men load up in the various forts. The ground crew and herself had done everything possible to make sure the forts were working perfectly, the bombs were loaded, bullets for the gunners and enough fuel for their flight to the target and the return. 

Now it was up to the pilots to see it through. 

As she surveyed the hardstands, tugging on her faithful necklace to keep her hands busy, it took all of her meager energy left to suppress the yawn crawling up her throat. The past twenty-four hours were a whirlwind of chaos in making sure all the forts were ready. Mindful of the oil streaked across her hands from preparing the landing gears, she carefully tried to rub the encroaching sleep from her eyes. 

When she opened her eyes, she rapidly blinked at the scene unfolding in front of her, certain some oil had managed to get into her eyes and now she was hallucinating. That was the only explanation for Major Cleven to be walking in her direction. 

As the men unloaded off the trucks, she noticed him and his crew heading to Wild Cargo. They dropped their bags by the wheels, a few standing around waiting while others walked over to neighboring hardstands to shoot the shit until it was time to load up. 

The blond Major looked handsome in his service cap and flight jacket, a true pilot in every sense of the word, with hands tucked in his jacket pockets and a confidence in his stride. 

Abby had no idea why he would be approaching her. She most likely appeared a mess, with bags under her eyes and grease on her face from where she could feel it having hardened on her cheek but she did not have time to clean it up yet. Her coveralls were filthy, her hair was sweat-matted, but thankfully still tucked in its bun and under her red handkerchief. 

He stopped a pace away from her and nodded towards the fort he would be flying today. “How's she looking, ma'am?” 

Wariness disappated like smoke and was replaced by amusement as the memory of their first conversation came to mind. She tried to act serious but her smile peeked through the edges, betraying her humor. “She's looking good. Do try to keep her that way, please?”

“I'll do my best.” He smiled in return. 

A hushed silence fell between them, almost drowning out the cacophony of chaos around them. She was unsure why he was still standing there near her, his gaze having slid over to a group of men chatting under one of the forts. Truly, she had no understanding why he approached her in the first place. She was not someone important, just a simple mechanic. 

Finally, she spoke, unable to stand the confusing silence. “Good luck, sir.” 

“Thank you, ma'am.” Cleven nodded then turned on his heel and headed towards Wild Cargo, tossing his bag inside before slipping in himself and disappearing. 

At the first sound of engines starting up, Abigail moved off the tarmac and to the side greens, standing with the other ground crew. Ken was further down, leaning against a jeep and tapping his fingers repetitively against his thigh. A truly disconcerting image. If her cousin was nervous about something, it was not a minor thing. She made a mental note to talk to him once the forts disappeared and everyone headed out. 

Tension hung over the airfield like an oppressive fog as one by one the forts took to the sky and onward to their target. The unspoken question of how many would return salted the lips of all watching but no one dared acknowledge it. Not yet. 

With the last fort disappearing from sight, the bystanders began to finally move. 

The female mechanic started to move towards Ken but the sight of Major Egan made her pause. Everyone else had left the observation deck at the Tower except for him. His hands gripped the railing and his gaze continued to be locked on where his men had just vanished. She was too far away to discern his expression but she wondered if he told his men what it's like up there or kept silent. 

Sticking her hands in the pockets of her coveralls, she turned and headed towards her cousin. Either way, they would know what it is really like up there after today. 

Tag List: @beebeechaos

[fatuismooches]

I DON'T REMEMBER IF I REPLIED OR NOT BUT HERES A REPLY ANW OMG U BREAK MY HEART SO WELL AAASHHA sorry if I've already said smth so this makes it a double reply ANW dottore angst gets me so hard but I don't hate myself that much so an accompanyinh fluff I'd like to add is like imagine reader is reallyyyy good at chess cus they're established as smart by being in the akademiya and now since you can't rlly do anth all day you challenge the clones to chess often so anw one day dot is just coming as you win a game against one of the clones for the third time in a row and you challenge him to a game and he's so convinced he'll win he deliberates going easy on you and- wait what the fuck why are you so good

also you are quickly becoming my fav creator to interact wit :( 💗

- 🌕

I HAD THE BIGGEST SMILE READING THIS IT'S SO CUTE- I NEED TO WRITE A LIL SOMETHING YOU'RE SO BIG BRAINED...!

Since your illness prevented you from training your body more than you like, you made your best effort to train your mind instead. You deemed your mind as very important, as the loneliness of it all often weighed down on you more than you liked. So you made sure to keep yourself occupied as much as you could, to try and prevent any negative thoughts from creeping up. And well, you found it to be quite rewarding. There was one time when the clones were struggling with an experiment for quite a while and were reluctant to inform Prime. So you asked them to let you take a look at the notes and everything along those lines. Admittedly, it reminded you of when you researched with your lover back at the Akademiya, so you accidentally got too into it, scribbling all of your thoughts and a possible answer to the problems. The clones were rather shocked when you turned out to be right.

But your favorite activity by far was chess. The brain teaser was highly favored by those at the Akademiya, and for good reason too. It was a great way to challenge yourself and get your mind working, and the best part? You could sit down comfortably and only move your hand, and enjoy the rather handsome view of a segment's face laced with confusion.

The clones were almost always happy to indulge your wishes, sometimes even fighting over who got to fulfill them. So after you absentmindedly mentioned wanting to play chess, the next day the game was set up in the lab, ready for use. Needless to say, you were quite elated. You had itched for the chance to play again. And of course, your only opponents were the multitude of your lovely segments.

The segments do love you. It is only natural that their creator’s love for you extends to them as well. So they gladly play along with your little game of chess, but they won’t do it too seriously; after all they wouldn’t want to hurt- wait, how did you already beat him?! For all of their wisdom and knowledge, they are baffled when they are taken out that quickly.

It eventually gets to the point where you have a little group of clones watching you battle another. It’s quite endearing to see them hover over you like that, trying to guess what move you’ll play next. But the true fun comes when Zandik appears. There are times where sometimes you do not see him for a few days, but that’s alright. The time spent afterwards always feels the best, and this is one such time. He is unaware of the little show you’ve been putting on, so you gleefully invite him to play you in a game of chess.

He accepts of course. Admittedly, it had been a while since he played, having only laid eyes on the chessboard in which the Gnoses were pieces. And of course, he has the same mentality as his clones - he’ll go easy on his darling, you’re his after all. He knows his genius is incomparable so- wait… you beat him? Since when did you become so good? You must tell him all the details now, he wants to know your thought process and the strategy’s name and how the other matches went and-

You shut him up with a kiss and invite him for some more chess games in your shared bedroom.

[snz-eriya]

Lotus Trouble (s/cara snzfic, oneshot)

this!! was not as long as I hoped it would be, but here we are :’) this is for the lovely @snzzone for the g/enshin snz server’s annual snalentines! I hope you like this goofy little thing I wrote up for you! ;w;

Scara was annoyed. Incredibly annoyed.

Why the famed God of Wisdom, the Great Dendro Archon couldn’t just get her own herbs was beyond him… but he owed her, so there he was, searching out in the wild like some kind of servant. There by choice, but he was allowed to complain as much as he wanted to.

He didn’t even know why Nahida needed herbs in the first place, too preoccupied with his internalized anger to bother listening to her unnecessary explanations. 

He got the general gist of it, though. Find Kalpalata Lotuses, they’ll be all over the cliff sides pretty much anywhere in Sumeru, as long as he didn’t stay into the desert. It was a little vague instruction-wise, but that meant he was able to wander around a bit, without being restricted at all. He’d been restricted enough in his lifetime.

…Perhaps Nahida was aware of that.

Whatever. Like it mattered to him.

He recognized the area he was in as somewhere nearby Vimara Village, seeing the beginnings of a dock in the distance. He decided he would rather not interact with people if he didn’t need to, and looked up to the cliffs at his side.

As expected, there was a good amount of Kalpalata Lotuses growing from between the subtle cracks in the rock. At least it wouldn’t take him forever.

He wandered over to the stone wall, tipping his head back far enough that his hat was at risk of falling off. He reached up a hand to keep it secure, then allowed the winds to begin carrying him upwards.

He continued ascending until he had reached a patch of lotuses, and remained hovering there while he carefully picked them from their stonebound roots.

Or, picked one. Because the first one he plucked caused his hand to yank back a bit with the effort, and a puff of golden dust to cloud around his head.

“Wh- what the fuck?” He wondered aloud, waving his other hand to try and dispel the powder from his sight. It didn’t do much to help, uselessly small as his hand was. “Fucking annoyi- hih…”

What the fuck? He wondered internally, this time. What was this… strange sensation in his nose? Why did it feel like it was burning? And why… was his chest… sh- shaking…

On instinct, he pinched his nostrils shut tight, hoping that would stop the burning, tickly feeling from spreading even further.

“ih’GNtch!”

Unfortunately, he let out a strangled noise instead. His head pounded painfully afterwards, like a hammer was being knocked around in his skull. The worst part, though, was that the tickle didn’t dissipate. If nothing else, it only worsened.

“Wh- huh… what’s going o- hh- on…?” He asked, though no one was around to answer him. His chest was spasming again, expanding until his eyes fell shut, brimming with tears. He tried to fight against the urge, holding his nose with a free hand once more, to see if it would somehow produce a different result.

“Hih… hh- huh… ngh- hhih!”

No dice. His breath kept trembling, shaking his small form until–

“IH’gnXT! heh- eH’GNcht! hIH’KGnt!”

His head hit the cliffside as he doubled over with effort behind the suppression, knocking him off balance from where he carefully floated in the air. He recognized the feeling of falling backwards, lotuses still in hand, before he used his vision to gently set himself onto the ground. Instead of, y’know, dying.

He opened his eyes, blearily as though he’d been asleep for a hundred years. He stared down at the lotuses he still held, miraculously managing to not drop them with that whole… fiasco. 

Well, whatever. He got the stupid lotuses. Now just to bring them back to Nahida.

—---------------

“Thank you, Scara,” Nahida told him with a kind smile, examining the lotuses with a watchful eye.

“You don’t have to thank me,” he replied, unable to make his tone as harsh as he wanted it to be. “I’m just doing my job as the God of Wisdom’s assistant.”

“And you’re appreciated for it.” Nahida stood up, the flowers held tightly in her arms as she looked back up at Scara. “Especially since you seem to react so poorly to them.”

Scara’s eyes lidded. “Come again?”

“You’re allergic, aren’t you?”

He scoffed. “No, of course not.”

Nahida’s eyes angled a bit, obviously in disbelief. Without another word, she took a single step closer, the lotuses outstretched towards him.

Scara took a step back on instinct, a hand raising up to his face to stop that strange sensation from earlier. “What are you- yo- hah…!”

Nahida smiled again. “You can’t hide these things from the God of Wisdom.”

If his eyes were still open, he would have been glaring daggers. Unfortunately, the itch had become so unbearable that he couldn’t even force his eyes open anymore. His chest trembled, breath hitching until the inevitable release–

“heh’IKGh! KN’ghu! heh- hh- hEH’KGhshu!”

The last one refused to be suppressed, even with his nose shut tightly in his hands. As the tickle abated for a minute, he took the opportunity to properly glare at Nahida. “Fine… I’m allergic. Happy now?”

Nahida shook her head, a disgusting amount of sympathy in her eyes that made him want to punch a wall. “I wouldn’t say that. But I would be happy if you took some time to rest up?” She offered, making the lotuses vanish from her hands, effectively taking the allergen away from him.

Scara scowled, wanting to argue in some way… but he felt like shit. Those small little buds did a number on him, for some reason. “...Fine, if you insist,” he agreed, but made sure he sounded as grumpy as possible while doing so.

The archon smiled back at him. “Good. I hope you rest well.”

“Yeah, yeah…” Scara absently replied, already turning around to return to his quarters. He heard Nahida giggling a bit behind him, and though he hated the idea of his plight amusing her… it wasn’t like he could stay mad for long.

He doubted she would, but if she happened to forget for some reason… he supposed he wouldn’t mind going out of his way to get more. Maybe.

Even if it made him suffer a bit.

[dark9896]

Interrogation [Everyone x Reader]

Requested by Anonymous 💬

The effort of knocking the target out left you feeling a little more bitter than normal. Though making sure everything was taken care of afterward would be a bit of a problem. You just weren't sure if it would be needed... yet.

"Let's just grab him and go." You didn't bother offering to pick up the man, "If I stand next to this gluten-free salad any longer, then I'm gonna start losing brain cells."

Klaus didn't hesitate, carefully lifting the enemy. Though Steven and K.K. were arguing about where to take them. As much as Klaus wanted to stop the fighting, it was you who had a plan.

"I know a place." You spoke up from where Leo and Zapp were arguing again, "It isn't that far either."

Chain landed on Zapp's shoulder, forcing him to fall over, "Good to know. But where specifically?"

"Couple blocks." You shrugged, "Not too far."

You had never shown anyone this apartment. It was for emergencies only. At least the cover stories were airtight. Not a single person in the nearby area could get hurt by this. And not a single one would question the number of people entering the apartment. Even if one looked like they just came from fight club.

~~~~~

Everyone looked around the simple apartment. Scented candles, soft tones, and not a single hidden compartment for weapons. No one expected this to be your apartment. Not even your lover knew about this place. And they were deeply concerned about just... why you had this and never told them at all.

Though, you didn't have the time to explain before your information target woke up. His wrists tied down to a chair, not allowing any kind of movement despite how much he tried.

"Oi!" He yelled, "Do whatever you want to me! You sprung a wild trap! My boss will find me and then this place will--!"

You couldn't take all these cliche statements. Slapping the man against the protests of Klaus and forcing him, almost forcing them all, to face what was going on.

"I rented this place on a shell corporation. My mail goes to another apartment building." You sneered down, "My neighbors think my name is Karume. My coworkers think my name is [Full Name]."

"[Name]," Klaus didn't know how to feel about this. Yes, everyone had their secrets, but a whole double life? "What of your neighbors? They could become accidental victims of this..."

No one knew what to say or think, not really. But the look on your face seemed to suggest you knew what you were doing. And it was true, here you typically acted like a meek, shy person. And in a building of tough strongmen, that meant you were perfectly safe.

Though you knew if you didn't explain something to Klaus and Steven at the very least then things could come crashing down. And so Steven and K.K. took over interrogation while Zapp dug around for some kind of booze.

Joke was on him though, you didn't even keep wine coolers here.

Once out of earshot, you turned to Klaus. He was clearly worried about you. Learning you had this place at all was quite a shock. It wasn't quite a betrayal, but it was something he didn't like to think about.

"[Name], What is this place for?" His hands were wringing themselves, "Your neighbors could be in serious trouble with all of us being here. Not to mention the tracking chip Leonardo confirmed to be in his neck."

"Easy big guy." You patted his arm, "This place is so far removed from Libra that it might as well be wrapped in a conspiracy, deep fried in a cover-up, and smothered in one of those tacky barbeque sauces that no one likes."

Klaus blinked a few times, visibly confused.

"It means that, at most, they'll find us." You sighed, "But they'll think we took pity on him and just wanted to help a poor man off his feet."

Klaus turned, that made sense on some level. He wanted to believe you, but something in the back of his mind just wouldn't rest. Though, the situation currently playing out was mostly to blame as Klaus could see the benefits of having something like this as a back up plan.

It wasn't long before Zapp caught ahold of your shoulders, "Alright Steven 2.0, I'll bite. Where do you keep the good drinks?"

"I don't keep alcohol here."

"Hanh!?" Zapp pushed off you, "What do you mean you don't keep alcohol here? What kind of hideout doesn't have booze?"

"The kind meant to keep a low profile, sparky."

Zapp rolled his eyes, "So why on Earth even have it?"

"Just in case." You sighed, "Ya know, when sh^t hits the fan."

"Bah!"

Zapp walked off as quickly as he showed up, waving you off like your place should meet his requirements. Not that anyone else was making any fuss over what was and wasn't around.

Though a loud smack from the living room caught your attention. Just barely having missed running right into Klaus on your way back into the room, you saw K.K. being physically held back by Steven and Zed, one arm raised over her head and both feet kicking wildly.

"K.K.! Relax! He's out cold." Steven gasped, "Why is this harder than the fight with the guy!"

You and Chain couldn't help but snicker at them. Though it would be far more difficult to get information when he wasn't awake. Unless Leo did a little snooping with his eyes.

Not that he could really pinpoint the information needed. Meaning the best you could do was prep a pot of coffee and hope for him to re-awaken soon. Though Steven cornered you quickly.

"[Name], I'm no stranger to keeping secrets." He leaned against the counter, "But none of us even knew you had a place like this."

"It's all legal if that's what you're asking." You folded your arms, "I wouldn't bring any of you here if it wasn't."

Steven nodded, setting his cup on the counter, "Why would you bother keeping this place like this? Other than situations like this."

"Sometimes I just need a place to exist, ya know? No expectations or anything." You sighed, "Sometimes that's here, sometimes that's my place. Just depends on me."

Steven nodded, "Yeah. I understand what you mean. Just a little worried about why."

You nodded. After having spent most of the day placating everyone, assuring them this was perfectly okay. Sadly Leo and Zed weren't convinced as easily as Klaus or Steven. But at least Chain wasn't trying to ask a million questions.

K.K. however, was not going to let that slide.

"Explain this now!" She had you trapped in a corner, "And none of that running around you normally do [Name]."

You sighed, "It's just a little backup plan for stuff like this. Nothing more."

It felt like K.K. was trying to stare into your soul. One eye against two as she kept backing you into the corner.

"I swear," You couldn't do more than raise your hands in surrender, "It's just a hideaway home. Only meant to wait in the wings for things like this."

The soft moan from K.K. as she tried getting more out of you was tense. You weren't sure why she was directing this toward you and not the target, because this kind of interrogation would probably make the guy crack in three seconds.

[artemistorm]

Eyyy headache buddies! 🤝 I have no idea what you are doing so far for headaches but here is what I do for mine:

Be super gentle with yourself and baby yourself. Keep the lights off and blinds closed even if you think you can handle light. Don't put any extra stress on your body if at all possible. Don't do mental work like homework, don't do physical work like tidying the house.

Eat regular meals. Drink lots of liquids. Get tired of water? Have hot chocolate! Or juice. Or tea or coffee. Or soda. Drink way more than you think you need. Maybe you don't notice a difference today, but maybe it'll help you feel a lot better tomorrow.

Keep the windows closed and heat on, even at night. Try to keep your environment's atmosphere steady and unvariable as possible.

Sleep a lot. Take naps. Avoid interrupted sleep and waking to an alarm. Have someone in the house feed your pets breakfast in the morning so you don't have to get up too early.

Double up on painkillers using 2 different kinds. You can take extra strength Tylenol and Ibuprofen (with a snack so it's easier on your stomach). But BE CAREFUL. Don't Double up tylenol + tylenol or Aspirin + Ibuprofen or something. Research your options.

Very hot showers help for me and can lower/rid headache pain for up to 2 hours afterward.

Put mint essential oil or vicks vaporub on your forehead/temple. Works for me better than painkillers. But it's a short fix, for like 20 minutes, and then you have to wipe it off and reapply it.

If you've had a migraine for 2 weeks, consider going paleo, at least for a week or two. Strict paleo diets are used to treat other neurological conditions like epilepsy. There is evidence to suggest that migraines--also a neurological condition--can be relieved/prevented by paleo diets too.

Take allergy medicine + nasal rinse religiously for a few weeks. Sometimes my headaches are caused by sinus issues and when I take good care of those, the headaches go away and stay away.

My top tip is this: combo attacks! If I wake up with a headache, I will immediately drink a cup of water, take painkillers, and take a shower and that really helps reduce pain until the painkillers kick in and get me through getting ready for the day. Or put vicks vaporub on your forehead and then go lay down to take a nap. Or eat a meal and drink a ton of liquids and veg out in the dark listening to low-effort podcasts. When you combine as many things as you can, they add up and compound and work better together than separately.

Hope this helps.

I think my two week long headache is starting to get to me. Anyone have headache advice?

[adoringhaikyuu]

they reject you and regret it afterwards

CHARACTERS: kuroo + iwaizumi + osamu + (gn!reader)

REQUEST: pspspsps i hope its okay if i drop my request here since i saw that yours are open :D can you maybe do how kuroo, iwaizumi and osamu rejects reader confession ( they are best friend ) because they have feelings for another person but later they regret it when they moved on? i love it when the boys realize it later how much the reader means to them but y/n took the chance to move on and have a sexy glow up ✋😩 yessss i wanna see them suffer at the end >:) • by anonymous

WARNINGS: dumb boys hurting your feelings and you hurting them right back :/

NOTES: i feel like i’m not too good at writing angst lol but i made these blurbs instead of hcs! 

kuroo let you down easy, not wanting to hurt your feelings––to be honest he did feel something for you, but he wasn’t sure if it was what you wanted it to be. he felt more certain of the feelings he had for someone else. someone you slowly watched him admire from afar until he worked up the courage to start joking with them, then offering to buy them lunch and so on. 

you still remember the awkward smile he gave you when you confessed to him, the smile that absolutely broke you because it showed you how much he didn’t want you the way you wanted him. not enough to give up his efforts with someone else. “i’m flattered y/n, but i’m sorry i just––you know i have a date this week...” 

you’d looked down immediately, unable to look him in the eyes longer and swallowed back the lump in your throat that was aching to come up in a sob. “yeah yeah, i’m sorry i just––let’s forget this ever happened, yeah?”

you gave him your most convincing smile and he agreed, wanting everything to be normal between the two of you.

but it wasn’t until he’d gone on a few dates with them to realize that it didn’t feel right. it didn’t feel familiar, the way he thought it would. it wasn’t the same comfort he felt in your presence. when they texted him, he didn’t feel the same burst of happiness he felt when you messaged him. he tried to wait it out, to see if things would change, but they didn’t. they just weren’t you.

it’d been a few weeks since you’d confessed and gotten rejected, but you decided to move on instead of dwelling on his unrequited feelings––it wouldn’t do you any good to wallow and weep over your best friend. you wanted him to be happy, and you deserved to be too. so you knocked yourself out of that sad headspace and changed yourself up a bit. you started to value yourself better than you did before, you dressed the way you wanted to but were always afraid of doing and everything about you just brightened up. and other people noticed as well. 

kuroo had kind of been too preoccupied to notice, if he was being honest. he didn’t realize what he had in front of him until he practically sprinted over to your place to surprise you and be honest about his feelings. you opened the door, already dressed up and kuroo took a step back, eyes widening as they took you in. did you always look this breathtaking?

“wow...”

you smiled gratefully, straightening out your clothes. “thanks, that’s what i was going for.” you walked back into your apartment to get your shoes, “not that i mind but what are you doing here?” 

he blinked out of his trance and stepped in, closing the door behind him. “oh i just––i brought us some food.” he raised the bag he was holding even though you weren’t facing him. “i was kinda hoping we could spend some time together...” he scratched the back of his head, “maybe talk about a few things...” he trailed off when something clicked in his head as he watched you slip your shoes on. “wait why are you all dressed up?” 

you turned and looked at him apologetically, “oh...i’m sorry kuroo,” you paused, “i actually have somewhere to be. can i take a raincheck?”

he opened his mouth for a few seconds as he watched you, but no sound came out. “oh um...well could i just––wait here? until you get back?” 

you looked to the side awkwardly bringing one hand up to hold your other arm. “it’s just that...i might not be alone when i come back.”

as soon as you uttered those words, he could feel his heartbeat falter in his chest, a faint ringing noise in his ears. 

“...a date?” 

you nodded with a smile and though it’s selfish, he felt a part of him dim on the inside when he noticed how excited you were. he didn’t really have a right to stop you now did he, not when you chose his happiness over your own what felt like way long ago. so he wouldn’t.

he nodded as well, “oh” he forced a smile onto his face and stepped back towards the door, “that’s exciting. i’m happy for you, really.” he turned the door knob, “i’ll catch up with you some other time then, yeah? you’ll tell me how it went.” he looked at you one last time, his gaze wavering under the undeterred happiness radiating from you.

when he finally stepped out and closed your door, all the emotions hit him at once. he didn’t know what hurt the most, the fact that he was too late, or the fact that you didn’t stop him, didn’t notice the pleading look in his eyes as he silently begged you to stay with him. 

iwaizumi froze when you told him how you felt. it was the smallest reaction you’d ever seen from him before, the calmest––yet it did anything but soothe you. you could see the hesitation in his eyes, the uncertainty of what to say next in the way his mouth opened but produced no sound. you already knew what he was going to say.

he will admit, seeing the tears in your eyes that you barely managed to blink back when he rejected you did strike a blow to his heart. but he just couldn’t tell you what you wanted to hear, he wouldn’t lie to you. “i––i’m sorry y/n i just...don’t feel the same.” 

his eyes were apologetic, almost pitiful as he watched you take a step back, “right, right. that’s––that’s okay.” you tried to smile but it felt more like a grimace. “i just didn’t want to keep it to myself, that’s all. i’m sure i’ll get over it soon.” he nodded but wasn’t sure what else to say. so he didn’t say anything. 

things were a little awkward for a couple weeks between the two of you, but you didn’t want to lose your friendship, so you eventually moved on. 

it wasn’t until one day you were at the café you always went to together that you noticed him taking longer than usual to bring back your drinks. you looked over to see him chatting with the barista, both of them with nervous smiles on their faces. he came back a few minutes later with a note in his pocket that you assumed was the barista’s number and a blush on his cheeks. he placed your drink in front of you, eyes looking down, and didn’t mention anything, probably since he didn’t want to rub it in, so you didn’t bring it up either. 

but you did wonder if they were the reason he didn’t feel the same for you––you wondered if they weren’t in the picture, if he would have fallen for you instead. 

he didn’t want to hide anything from you, so he told you when he had a date coming up. you wished him luck and told him you hoped he’d have a good time and that was that. 

they ended up dating but you didn’t mind. he seemed happy and you truly did want the best for him. you started focusing on yourself and eventually found a boyfriend, one who appreciated you and loved you and you couldn’t ask for more. 

iwaizumi was happy for you as well, but he couldn’t ignore this piercing feeling he felt when he first heard the news, then when he would see you two together, on your double dates, at parties, anywhere, really. something just ticked him off. he knew he didn’t have a right to feel this way, but he couldn’t help it, couldn’t make sense of it. he couldn’t even figure out what it meant. 

only once he realized the ache he felt in his chest when you smiled at your boyfriend the way you used to smile at him, the pull at his heart when you kissed his cheek, completely enamored. only then did he realize that he was jealous, that he’d made a mistake, that he’d lost the one chance he had of being with his soulmate. 

osamu had just gotten his new restaurant, he was achieving his goals, living his life without fear, and you took inspiration from that. you decided to be upfront about your brewing feelings and ask him out just as he put the finishing touches in the establishment.

he was wiping down the counter as you sat at the bar, swallowing your nerves as you watched him. “hey samu?”

he hummed and glanced up at you for a second before looking back to what he was doing. 

you took a deep breath, “would you maybe...want to go out to eat tomorrow?” 

he didn’t look up, but his brows furrowed, “yeah? why are you even asking?” 

you paused, of course he wouldn’t realize what you meant, you guys ate together all the time. you blinked a few times before clearing your throat, “um i just––i meant as a...date?” 

this time, he paused, well more like froze. he kept his eyes on the counter, his face blank, but you could tell he was internally processing everything. did he hear you right? “what?” 

you considered taking it back, but you had a feeling he did hear you, he just wasn’t sure how to respond. “um...i asked if you wanna go on a date? with me...”

he nodded and straightened up, “right.” he brought a hand up to scratch the back of his head, finally looking at you and the look in his eyes was enough to make your wavering confidence crumble. “i sort of have my eye on someone else right now...” you nodded, trying not to let the tears form in your eyes. he went on, “my new neighbor needed to borrow something and we got to talking...was thinking of asking them out, actually.” that was the final twist of the knife. 

“oh...” your voice was small ”thats––that’s great!” you smiled but kept your eyes cast down, “forget what i asked i just...wanted to see what you’d say haha,” you tried to play it off as a joke, “i got you!” 

he stared at you silently for a few seconds, clearly contemplating whether or not he believed you, but in the end, he let it go. 

you never brought up that night ever again, but you thought about it constantly. it haunted you, in a way. of course the one time you’re finally able to speak up about your feelings, it backfired. 

you were in a very upsetting and self deprecating headspace for a while, wondering if this was your sign to never make the first move, if you were the problem. it took you a little while to snap out of it, but once you did, you realized your worth and stopped looking at the world through a grey lens––you felt like you’d bloomed as a person. 

things didn’t go very far with osamu and his neighbor, but you didn’t take that as an opportunity to try again with him, you didn’t want to wait around for him, even though you thought about it for a second at first––you learned to respect yourself more. 

meanwhile, your best friend was beside himself, going through the process of reflection and realization. it’s not that he was desperate after a failed relationship, it’s more so that he suddenly realized he had someone perfect right by him all these years––it only made sense. but he was too stupid to realize that, to realize that he cared about you as more than a friend. he had foolishly mistaken his feelings for you as caring for a friend––you two had been inseparable since you were kids, he couldn’t even notice when his feelings shifted from caring for a friend to loving his best friend. 

he decided to talk to you about it, it’d only been a few months since you’d joked? about going on a date with him, but part of him felt confident that you might have meant it for real. he was sure you’d be open to it still. he called you during his break at work and found himself smiling as soon as he heard your voice. 

“hey samu what’s up?” 

he started to answer, but he trailed off when he heard you laughing at an unfamiliar voice in the background. “hey...just wanted to talk. what are you uh up to?” 

he heard you shush whoever was with you. “nothing much.” he heard you sit down.” i can’t stay for long but what did you want to talk about? i’m all ears.”

he was going to brush it off, maybe it was just a friend, but when he heard a faint ‘babe’ and what sounded like a small kiss on the other end, that was all he needed to confirm his suspicions. “yeah i just...i’ll actually call you back later, okay?”

you paused on the other end, most likely confused, but you let him go nonetheless. 

osamu sat there in his office at the back of his restaurant, surrounded by silence, complete disbelief and an indescribable ache running through his body. was he really too late? 

[wind-becomes-lightning]

Forest Picnic

Happy Birthday Kakashi, you old hag! I love you very much in many aspects and as such, you get some fluff for the day. There will be enough angst other days :D

Team 7 Gen fic.

no warnings, just fluff and family feels.

3520 words.

Ao3 Link [x]

for @kakashiweek Day 5: Kakashi's Birthday.

The clock was ticking steadily forward, indicating the never ending stream of time. Kakashi watched with one of his eyes open lazily. He was laying on his side, the blanket pulled high over his nose. He had gone to bed hours ago, but then found no sleep. There was this part of him that knew he’d not have any sleep that night, he never did, not this specific one, but he had hoped it anyway.

Slowly, as if time was hesitating just as much as Kakashi was, the number 59 bled over into a double 00 and with it the little date at the bottom exchanged the 4 with a 5. The 15th of September. It was now officially his birthday. 

He groaned.

It was not like Kakashi hated birthdays. He didn’t generally hate the concept of the event. He loved seeing friends get excited about presents he had bought them, he loved the food (if not the cakes) and the good company and the general cheerfulness. He liked the idea that there were humans out there that loved being alive so much that they celebrated it. He loved celebrating it with them.

But for himself? As a child of course he had loved the day, mid september, leaves slowly turning yellow and red with autumn coming in, when his father had given him a new special sword, or kunai or shuriken or taken him out for a special day somewhere. Back when he was still the innocent child he could now only see in pictures. That was before his father had died.

Afterwards, especially after Obito’s and Rin’s death, Kakashi had only used his birthday as a moment to remind himself of the years he was spending alive when he should be dead. Each one marked twelve more months of him surviving when he shouldn’t have survived. And while, eventually, with help of Tenzo and Gai, Asuma and others, he had started at least tolerating his birthday again, he still didn’t like it.

In some ways, it made it even worse, the well meaning friends around him. They were so hellbent on making his birthday a success lately, that Kakashi just wanted to hide from them almost as much as he wanted to hide from the day itself. He loved them, of course, for their best efforts, but he sometimes felt uncomfortable with all their forced cheer.

Now that he was Hokage, he could only imagine it would get even worse. More people that wanted to spend the day with him, force their excitement on him, buy him sweets and try to make him smile inorganically. Too much for him. He liked the solitude, not complete solitude of course, some people were allowed in his vicinity even if he wanted to be alone. Tenzo, Gai, his students. Not many others.

So he turned away from watching the clock mercilessly forward. The first minutes of his 33rd life year had come and gone without being remarkable. Now that the day was here it should be easy to find sleep, he thought and pulled the blanket even higher over his face. If he could just sleep through this entire day, he would, but unfortunately there was work to be done in the morning.

***

Of course, he overslept. No, Kakashi had not fallen asleep right after he had decided to listen to his ticking alarm clock, instead, he had lain awake and thought of the last year of his life that had just passed by. How he had just turned 31 right before the war, Obito’s reappearance and demise, the threat of Kaguya that nobody had seen coming, his new Hokage duties and everything. It was a lot, really. A year of his life that felt like it had been at least five.

So he had missed his alarm and woken up late. This wasn’t a tragedy in itself, as Kakashi was often late and didn’t regard it necessary to start meetings on time if there were other things to do. The council knew this, they had known it when they made him Hokage, but Shikamaru, who now served as Kakashi’s closest advisor, hated it. 

The alarm clock now placed next to his bed was therefore a gift from him for Kakashi’s official Hokage ceremony day. “Try to be more on time, Lord Sixth,” he had said sarcastically. Kakashi had stopped himself from commenting sarcastically back on how many of the “private strategy sessions” the boy needed to have weekly with the ambassador of Suna. They were just kids after all, no matter how much responsibility was given to him.

Kakashi put on his new, black outfit that still needed some getting used to after the years of blues and greens and made his way out the door. He didn’t particularly hurry now either. His first appointment was a council meeting with the elders of the village and there really wasn’t anything in this world that could be more boring, so missing part of that didn’t seem too bad.

Was he being watched by the people on the streets? Kakashi felt half paranoid walking the streets, half expecting someone to run up to him and congratulating him on his birthday. He felt like all eyes were on him, but each time he turned, nobody was actually looking. 

The hokage tower was almost empty when Kakashi arrived. Only the distant sound of low mumbling told him that behind the closed doors people were actually working. Nobody was out in the hallways though and so Kakashi made his way to his office.

He had half expected Gai to show up while he was out. Jumping out of a bush or from a rooftop to give his greetings to Kakashi on his special day. But then he reminded himself that Gai, while still very agile despite everything, was in a wheelchair now and not able to jump from rooftops anymore. Something else Kakashi still needed to get used to. Still, it was odd that Gai hadn’t found a way to meet him outside if he knew that Kakashi was going to be busy for the entire day afterwards.

When he opened the door to his office, Shikamaru wasn’t there. It was rare that Kakashi came late and his assistant wasn’t already there waiting impatiently, but today it at least seemed to make a little sense. Shikamaru had probably gone ahead to the elder meeting without him, maybe to apologise for the fact that the Hokage himself was late again. There was no card or cake or flowers on his table. Kakashi sighed with a little relief. Maybe people had just forgotten his birthday. He certainly didn’t mind.

He was halfway into turning around to leave for the meeting when someone behind him threw a blindfold over his eyes. Unprecedented times of peace had made Kakashi a little careless and now he was facing the consequences of that. His hand tensed in the direction of his weapon pouch but then a voice spoke into his ear.

“Don’t resist, Kakashi-sensei, or there will be severe consequences.” Naruto, Kakashi thought, in a very non-menacing menace voice. 

Kakashi straightened his shoulders, but Naruto held him steady. When his students had grown up to be so strong and tall was beyond him, but apparently he could not defend himself against them anymore. “What are you doing, Naruto? Let me go.”

Naruto laughed. “Just come with me quietly, sensei, and nobody will get hurt.” Kakashi laughed too. Naruto really needed to work on his threatening voice if he wanted to be Hokage himself someday.

“Fine,” Kakashi resigned. Naruto pulled him by the arm backwards and Kakashi stumbled with him. The blindfold really was laid tightly around his eyes and he couldn’t see a thing. He expected at any moment to fall over his feet and break a leg or anything.

Soon they were out in the hallways. Kakashi knew by the distant mumbling. “Are you aware that I should be in a meeting?” Kakashi tried. “Shikamaru won’t be happy if I don’t turn up.”

Naruto blew air out from his nose: “Who cares.” 

Who did indeed. No place Naruto could take him was worse than a two hour meeting with the elders of this village and their outdated views. In many ways, Naruto was doing him a favour. Kakashi relaxed.

He didn’t say anything from then on and just let Naruto lead the way. Kakashi suspected this was some sort of punishment his students had thought up, a prank, possibly to demask him. Sasuke had been released from prison not so long ago and was about to leave for his travels and so they wanted to make one last hurrah to annoy their old teacher before they all embarked into adulthood. At least that seemed entirely plausible for them.

Eventually he could smell trees. He was pretty sure they’d left through the back gate of the village as Kakashi had briefly caught the scent of the sweet pan bakery that was not far from it to the left. On the way Naruto sometimes said “Oh no, this is fine” and “Don’t worry he has agreed to come with me” presumably to get people to stop staring. Naruto was now this village’s hero, so he could have told them anything and they’d probably believed him.

“Almost there,” Naruto said and Kakashi could hear his grin without seeing it. Mentally he wondered if there was a replacement mask in his top pocket, like it so often was, or if he had forgotten it. He tapped his finger at the right place and felt the fabric underneath. Very good, he thought, he might need it after all.

Finally Naruto forced Kakashi to a stop. He fiddled on the blindfold behind his back. Kakashi could clearly hear grass shuffling and felt people breathing. His theory that Team 7 was going to try to unmask him one last time before leaving on their own adventures, seemed very high.

“Ta-da!” Naruto said and dropped the blindfold.

Kakashi had been right in thinking that this was a Team 7 idea. Certainly, the entire group was assembled right in front of him. Even Sasuke was there, though he leaned against a tree a little apart from the rest. He had also been right that they had kidnapped him to bring him to the forest. Just that the cause apparently was not to unmask him as a prank, but for his birthday.

There was a table, flat and dark wood, that could only have been made by Tenzo’s hand. Placed on it were several cups with a little sake, most of them had passed that point of being 18 now, and a surprising amount of rice balls. One of them even had a little candle stuck inside. This was the oddest combination of things he had ever seen. Kakashi frowned in confusion.

“See, Naruto, I told you senpai would not like being dragged out here,” Tenzo said with an eye roll. “If we had invited him it would have been much easier to get him here and it would have looked less violent.”

Naruto waved the concern away with one flick of his hand: “Nonsense, Kakashi-sensei is just overwhelmed. Sometimes he can’t say what is on his mind right.” 

With that, surprisingly, Naruto was entirely correct. Kakashi and Tenzo exchanged a look that indicated that Tenzo, too, knew that.

“Anyway,” Sakura stepped forward and moved Naruto out of the way with her flat hand. “This was Naruto’s idea. We didn’t all agree to it, really. I did tell him the idea wasn’t funny.” Kakashi raised his brow a little. There was a smirk in the left side of her mouth indicating that she did, in fact, think it was a funny idea. “Happy Birthday, Sensei.” She smiled.

They all joined in wishing Kakashi a happy birthday. He was a little embarrassed going around and getting a hug from all of them, even Sai and Tenzo and was a little relieved when Sasuke only offered his hand. It was easier than being hugged so tightly he could feel his bones crushing when Naruto hugged him.

“Did you tell Shikamaru I would be here? Or did you just kidnapped me,” Kakashi asked as they were all sitting down around the table. There were exactly 32 rice cakes on the table, each with a little candle in it. It looked goofy, but Kakashi appreciated that they weren’t forcing him to eat a cake just for the occasion.

Sai put on a smile: “He was told, otherwise I’m sure he would have figured it out on his own. He knows that Naruto doesn’t have the ball capacity to kidnap the hokage.”

“Hey!” said Naruto from the other end of the table.

Tenzo, who sat at Kakashi’s right, tapped with his fingers onto the plate in front of him. “LIke I said before, I told them to just invite you properly out here. Give you the option to move your meeting instead of missing it completely, but Naruto thought this was better and nobody had the strength to convince him otherwise.”

Naruto smiled wide as if he was proud of that fact. Kakashi nodded appreciatively at him: “I didn’t really want to see the old hags anyway, to be honest, so this is perfect. I also have an excuse later.” He chuckled a little thinking of how he would later point fingers to Naruto and say it was all his fault.

“Well, sensei, this is your … cake… because we know how much you hate sweet things,” Sakura gestured down the rice cakes. Last year they had tried to give him a little pastry, nothing too big, but Kakashi had ended up giving half to Naruto and half to Gai and not eating any of it. His sensitive tongue couldn’t deal with sweet things that well.

The solution they had come up with this year was unorthodox, but fun and Kakashi couldn’t help but feel proud of the entire team together. Not only had they managed to organise this without his knowledge, they had also all assembled together to spend the afternoon with him. There was really nothing better for him to do on his birthday.

“It looks delicious,” he said with a smile aimed at Sakura. “There are so many of them though, so you will have to help me eat them.” With a wave of his hand he invited the others to join in the feast. 

For a while they just ate and Kakashi listened to their conversations. Naruto was mostly complaining that a birthday was not complete without cake and that this stuff just didn’t fit, to which Sakura wasn’t tired to remind him that Kakashi liked “this stuff”. Sai talked to the ever so quiet Sasuke and informed him about the months that followed the war, the time he had spent in prison, and how the village had developed since then. Though Sasuke remained wordless, Kakashi couldn’t shake the feeling that he was listening intently anyway. Tenzo ate as quietly, listening to the kids talk as much as Kakashi was.

Eventually, most of the food had been consumed. Naruto hoarded the rest of it, because while he had been complaining relentlessly, he had still enjoyed eating it all. Tenzo brought out a sake bottle from somewhere and offered it. Kakashi usually didn’t drink much alcohol, not always at least, but today, in this company, it seemed to be necessary.

They lifted their cups together, ready to put them together and then drink. Kakashi looked into the round of people.

Sakura spoke first, “To Kakashi-sensei, the teacher who taught me how to use chakra effectively enough to become the doctor I am today. Who never stopped believing that I could be exactly as useful as my teammates in many ways. Who I also wish wouldn’t be such a pervert in public all the time.”

Kakashi laughed and went: “I’m not apologising for my icha book. But thank you.” He wanted to lift his cup higher and finally drink it, but then the next person spoke.

“To kakashi-sensei,” it was Sai, “Who believed I was a trustful person, when I didn’t know if I was or not. Though you had never taught me, you entrusted me with the important sealing part in the war. Now, as hokage, you trust me enough to lead the investigations into the foundation. I’m really grateful for your continued trust. “

Sai had said the word trust so often that Kakashi’s head spun a little, but he nodded in thanks. The boy smiled and it was a genuine one, which was always so wonderful to see. In many ways Sai reminded Kakashi of a younger version of Tenzo.

“Thank you,” Kakashi said, “to all of y-”

“Happy birthday, senpai,” Tenzo now lifted his cup. Kakashi looked at him and wondered if they had arranged for this to happen. He opened his mouth to ask the question, but Tenzo was faster. “Meeting you changed my life, you might not like to hear that, but it is true. You saved me, took me in, taught me to be your equal. I’m proud to call you my friend and even prouder to be called your friend.”

Kakashi wasn’t good with praise like that being handed to him, especially not from someone like Tenzo, who was generally more drawn back when it came to his emotions. The men nodded at each other and Kakashi held Tenzo’s gaze for just a moment longer, before looking back to his students.

Only Sasuke and Naruto hadn’t said anything yet. Kakashi waited if the round continued or if he was finally set free. 

“Kakashi-sensei, is a weird old dude most of the time,” Naruto said suddenly, “When I was younger he’d break into my house and make me throw away old milk, which I thought was odd.” Kakashi laughed, of course he thought it was odd that someone was trying to take care of him. “But Kakashi-sensei is truly one of the coolest people I’ve ever met too. He is so skilled and smart and now he is hokage, so of course he is the strongest too! I admire Kakashi-sensei and am glad he has looked after Team 7 so well. Happy Birthday old man.” 

He then added like a mumble: “Can't even imagine being 32, can people even get so old?” which earned him a kick in the shins from Sakura.

“Thank you, Naruto, I don’t think I am much stronger than you are though, Sasuke and you have long since surpassed me. All of you have, in fact.” Kakashi looked from one of the kids to the next and recalled how young they had been back when he had met them first. “I’m happy I had an impact on all of you, thank you for-

“I-” 

Everybody’s head snapped back to Sasuke, who had been completely silent the entire afternoon so far. Maybe that was why he had spoken so loud, because he had been worried his voice would drown in those of the others. Kakashi certainly hadn’t expected him to say something. Their eyes crossed.

“Kakashi,” Sasuke tried again and Kakashi noticed again that he had dropped the habit of adding “sensei” to the end of it. “Th-Thank you for never losing your faith in me.”

They looked at each other for a moment. Kakashi knew that was all Sasuke wanted to say. “I did lose my faith a little at some point,” Kakashi felt the need to clarify. Sasuke just shook his head a little and then looked away.

Sakura, clearly uncomfortable with how silent it had gotten, lifted her cup: “Happy Birthday to Kakashi-sensei” and the others followed again. Finally they got to actually drink the beverage.

Kakashi felt a little warm on the inside, the overwhelming urge to pull all of them in the bone crushing hug that he had wanted to reject earlier on. How had he gotten so lucky with such talented and wonderful teammates? How could he have ever gotten as far as he did without them? He was grateful for every moment he got to spend with them together. See them argue and laugh and bicker, what could be better than that?

In the end, this was what he had always wanted for a day like this. A simple picknick in the forest with all the people he cared for in his company. Kakashi put his head on his flat hand and zoned out a little. He still wasn’t entirely used to having both his eyes back.

“I have to warn you though, senpai,” Tenzo was leaning over to him, “Gai-san has told us he will come by later too, for a, and I quote, “Friendly birthday rival battle”. I can only imagine what he means with that.”

He laughed, and Tenzo’s eyes lit up. It was rare that Kakashi laughed as loud and carefree as he did now. He couldn’t help it, he felt lighter and happier than he had all his life.

“Well, I look forward to that then,” Kakashi said with a wink.

[morgana-ren]

"One thing is for certain: This man is into some filthy things."

OK you won't take criticism on that but could you perhaps expand on that? Just a little? I need to know your hc for what Astarion is in too. For science and legal reasons

Ooh, oh yeah, I can do that. But I have to impress upon you-- also for science and legal reasons-- that these are just my headcanons.

I think one thing is for certain here: Control. 

For well over a century, Astarion was kept in bondage. He had no control over his own bodily autonomy, what he ate, how he was allowed to act, etc. Now, for some folks, this might develop an incredible sense of empathy and compassion, but for others, it seemingly stokes the fires of sadism. He is, first and foremost, a survivor, out for himself and his own well-being, and shows an almost callous lack of any sort of sympathetic response. 

I can see him easily going mad with power-- or more specifically, the very same power he just narrowly escaped from. 

After all, his whole dream is essentially to become Cazador. The most powerful vampire lord in the realms, with total control over anything and everything he deems his. 

He’s got hundreds of years of frustration to work out, and hundreds of years of hedonistic fantasy to act on. 

First on the list? Knifeplay. 

Something about being carved into against his will definitely fucked with his psyche. Would he ever allow himself to go through it again? Absolutely not. But would he subject his love interest to it? Oh, definitely. Though rather than carving silly little poems in Infernal, he’s more likely to outright carve his name in elaborate calligraphy so that neither they nor anyone else can ignore the fact that they belong to him and him alone. It’s a lovely addition to your pretty skin and naturally strikes fear into anyone who might think to look too long at you otherwise when you have the name of a rightfully feared vampire lord scrawled on you possessively.

He’s also likely to use it as a punishment or something to instill fear if he’s feeling particularly sadistic. Been mouthing off or being particularly disobedient to your lord? He’s got that knife out quick as a whip, flashing it in your face and sighing the question “Oh, darling, when ever will you learn?” 

Secondly? Bloodplay. Obviously. 

He’s a vampire, and you double as a plaything as well as a walking capri-sun. They say ‘don’t play with your food’ but he can’t think of much he’d rather do than that. Bleeding his precious little pet and playing in the plasma, tracing little patterns on it and then licking it off. Biting your neck, your tits, the soft inner flesh of your thigh, and just letting it run before finally lapping it off. Perhaps if he sees fit to turn you (not all the way, mind you, not until you’re fully accepting of the situation) he’ll even let you have a little. 

Impact play/bruising/choking

What can he say? He likes to see the fruits of his efforts. It’s a reminder that he’s bigger and stronger than you are, and just how badly he can hurt you if you choose to disobey him or struggle more than is fun for him-- or just because he feels like it. Normally he’d find outright slapping you a little crass, but something in the hurt, teary face you make when his palm collides on your tender little cheek gets him throbbing. His fingers flexing and furling on your throat, only allowed to breathe when he deems it necessary is a lovely reminder who’s in control, and the way your eyes bug when he squeezes just a little too hard is positively adorable. 

Breeding

Odd for the undead, yes? Not entirely. He wants his own coven, and what better to instill unfailing loyalty than to have his blood running through their veins? That’s just the practical side of it. There’s also the matter of how hard the thought of breeding you makes him. Filling your tight little cunt over and over and over as much as he likes, rubbing your lower stomach afterward and telling you how powerful your children will be. The brood of a vampire lord. Taking you in the mating press and giggling at the way your muscles quiver and shake beneath him, making you beg for him to cum inside of you. He thinks, between the two of you, that you’ll have gorgeous children with your eyes and his fangs. 

[mc-lukanette]

Hear me out... Scarlet Lady AU, but it’s Lukanette

(takes place after “Captain Hardrock”)

Luka hunched over his guitar, only for another sting of pain to hit his back. He groaned, straightening up instead, but that somehow made the soreness even worse. Juleka chuckled at him from her place on her bed, having long since given up on moving her muscles at all and preferring to laze around.

He shot her a glare, but didn't comment so as to not encourage her. As he'd predicted, they were indeed sore from trying to stop the Liberty yesterday, his arms wordlessly complaining whenever he tried to do anything with them. He didn't regret it, but it'd also made making new songs a hassle, worsened by the fact that he'd very much gotten inspiration courtesy of Marinette.

After trying to ignore the soreness for around ten minutes, he heard a set of footsteps from above deck, from someone who was clearly heading down below. He knew they couldn't have been his mother - the signature "clack" of her boots sounded much different - but it also seemed somewhat familiar.

He realized it a bit too late, just in time for Marinette to get downstairs and pop her head into the room. "Hi!"

He sucked in a breath as subtly as possible, maintaining his poker face as he replied, "Hey."

"Hey," Juleka greeted, rotating her arm just enough to wave and clearly not wanting to put in more effort than that. She didn't even turn her head.

Luka chuckled. "Jule's busy today if you needed her for something."

"Shut up," she hissed. "It was your idea."

"Huh?" Marinette asked, looking back and forth between the two. "Oh! No, I was here to see Luka, actually—not that I'm not happy to see you too, Juleka! Just..." She grinned sheepishly and rubbed the back of her head.

Marinette was there... to see him? Not his sister?

Luka glanced down, confirming that he was still wearing pants and therefore this wasn't a dream about to go horribly wrong.

Juleka's eyes flicked over to the two of them, her head having to actually move to do so. She squinted, like she was analyzing something, then groaned and slammed her hands down on the bed. She pushed herself up, clearly ignoring the way her body protested, then began her walk across the room.

Just before she reached the doorway, she leaned back to make eye contact with Marinette, warning her, "Careful with him. He's creaking like the floorboards."

Luka shot Juleka a glare, but she'd already zipped out of the room before he could blindly grab his pillow to throw at her.

For being so sore, you sure got away quickly, he thought, very much aware that she left because him being mushy with Marinette (also known as "normal and understandable because look at her") was "gross."

Marinette's eyes followed Juleka until the retreating footsteps could be heard moving up deck, then turned back to Luka. "Creaking?"

"Ah—" Well, there went any hope of avoiding that topic. "We used Chat's baton yesterday to stall the ship, but it was hard even with all seven of us. We're all still a little sore from it."

She furrowed a brow, like something had confused her, but then shook her head and replied, "Oh, that really does sound tough! I'm sorry I couldn't be there!"

"It's okay." He smiled reassuringly, remembering what he'd been told before. "You were the one who got Marigold there. She saved us."

Her cheeks turned pink and he vaguely wondered if it was obvious how cute he thought - knew - she was. She ducked her head, then did a small wiggle of her hips before abruptly looking back up at him. "Um—! That's actually what I came to talk you about? I mean—not Marigold—or her saving you—or me and Marigold—but—"

Luka snorted, lightly patting the spot on his bed next to him instead of replying. The familiar gesture caught her attention, her voice trailing off as she slowly made her way over to sit next to him. She toyed with her fringe, seeming to get her words in order, then turned to look at him.

"I never got to thank you," she said. When he tilted his head in confusion, she clarified, "I wouldn't have been able to call Marigold if you hadn't saved me."

He smiled warmly at her. "It was nothing, Marinette."

"No, really, you thought so quick!" she insisted, leaning towards him with her hands flat on the mattress to support herself. "And you stayed behind too to make sure Captain Hardrock was fooled! That was brave of you."

He leaned away, face flushing red as he tried to control the stupid grin on his face. "Thanks. You were really brave too, finding a way out to get Marigold's attention."

He didn't tell her that he purposefully didn't hide with her because the sound of his heartbeat would've given their hiding spot away.

Marinette beamed at him, but seemed to realize how close she'd been leaning and pulled back with a sheepish grin. Luka returned to his original position too, but flinched when his spine rejected the movement with a spike of pain. He let out a mix of a groan and a sigh, Marinette's brows raising in concern.

"I could give you a massage...?"

The headstock of Luka's guitar hit the bed as he jerked his head up, the instrument in his lap forgotten as he stared ahead at Marinette, eyes wide. She was looking back at him with a blank expression, like she hadn't fully realized what she'd said.

Then, it hit her, and he swore he saw her pigtails bounce up in shock as her face shifted to realization.

"I-I just—I mean—!" She flailed her arms at him. "See, my papa always does it for my maman and—when you groaned like that it reminded me of it—so—"

The fact that she'd compared his bones to those of an aging adult went ignored in favor of noticing that she hadn't even tried to take the offer back. His heart pounded like the inside of his body was a brand new drumset, and he could only utter a weak, "Okay," in reply.

She'd still been rambling at the time, but somehow his voice managed to break through. She paused mid-sentence, her mouth still open as she processed his answer. "...Really?"

He merely nodded, not trusting his voice to avoid cracking if he tried to respond.

"Oh. Um, alright, oh..." she mumbled to herself, clearly having not expected to get this far.

Luka felt the bed shift underneath him as Marinette maneuvered herself behind him, at which point it really hit him that she was seriously about to massage him. He leaned forward, mentally preparing himself, though was quickly reminded of the guitar still resting in his lap. He pulled it off and set it where Marinette had originally been sitting, resting his hands in front of himself afterward.

The silence dragged for a moment, and he could sense Marinette's eyes on him, as if she were debating with herself on how to go about massaging him. He opened his mouth to give her an out, but all manner of coherent speech left him as her hands pressed into his back, thin fingers sliding along his shoulders and squeezing. He sucked in a breath, oxygen having a hard time getting into a body already stuffed full of feelings.

It was heaven, and added several sheets worth of music that he desperately needed to write.

"I-is this alright?" she asked. "Am I doing well?"

He tried to reply, but all that left his mouth was a sound that was both inhuman and embarrassing. Pressing one hand into the mattress, he covered his mouth with the other, his face turning red as he briefly debated on living in the drawer underneath his bed in lieu of having a hole to crawl into.

He changed his mind. It was hell. She was doing amazing but that was the problem and it was hell.

Marinette giggled, the sound he made apparently being answer enough for her as she continued massaging him. Her embarrassment had left by that point and he couldn't help being jealous of it, as his own had doubled.

After a few seconds had passed, Marinette spoke up again, "So, ah..."

He wasn't sure if she genuinely had a question or was trying to spare him, but he'd take it either way. "Mm?"

"I was wondering. Since Jagged's your favorite singer, what do you think of XY?"

He let out another sound, less involuntary than the last at least, though it was still too high-pitched to make anyone believe that he wasn't affected by Marinette's motions. He cleared his throat, making sure he sounded as normal as possible before answering, "The flaws in his music stick out like his hair."

The hands on his back froze, Marinette snickering and then full-on laughing. "Oh, you think so too?"

He grinned like the fool he was, tempted to look back at her but feeling like it'd be rude. "Yeah. I can't stand his music."

"Me neither. It's so... bland and uninspired."

The mental image of them drop-kicking XY into the Seine together entered his mind, a blissful sigh escaping him just in time for Marinette to restart her massage.

"You're really passionate about music," she observed, almost sounding as if she'd been talking to herself. "It almost makes me wish I played an instrument."

"I can give you lessons," he blurted out, then immediately backpedaled with an, "if you want, anyway."

Her tone lightened. "Thanks. I might have to take you up on that. Just... not when I'm so busy."

He shrugged his shoulders, both of which already felt infinitely better under her touch. He could tell she wasn't lying, so he wasn't offended by the hesitance.

As her hands trailed down his back and he tried not to look as if every touch was sending his heart on tour, she hummed thoughtfully, like her body was there but her mind was elsewhere.

"...Hey," she called. He waited, knowing that there was something else, and she continued, "Have you ever... been stuck between songs?"

"Stuck between songs?" he echoed, trying to piece together what she meant.

"Yeah, like—" She made an unsure sound - unfortunately not an embarrassing one like his when she pressed into his lower back - then clarified, "—maybe there are a few songs you like, and it's hard picking your favorite? Or you have some songs you want to write, but don't know which one to go with?"

He got the distinct feeling that she wasn't talking about music, but it was adorable how she worded it in a way relating to his specialty so he could help her. He mulled over the question seriously, the most difficult task just being drawing enough focus away from her movements so he could answer her.

"A few times," he replied. "It all comes down to feeling then. My favorite song or the one I want to write could just be which one I'm curious about."

"What do you mean?"

"Well—" He blushed faintly, completely unaware that his metaphors were syncing with hers. "—a song that I want to know more about; to listen to over and over until I know it intro to outro. A song that makes me want to keep writing." He glanced over his shoulder at her, hoping the eye contact might help carry the meaning along. "I think those are the best kinds."

Her brows were furrowed in thought, as if he'd given her a hard equation that she was struggling to solve. He faced forward again to hide his smile when he noticed the spark of recognition in her eyes, like the metaphor had stuck and he'd actually helped her.

"I think I get it," she confirmed, the massage briefly stopping as she made idle circles on his back; still equally as distracting if he were honest. Even though he couldn't see her face, he could hear the smile in her voice as she said, "I like this one."

"What one?" he asked obliviously, though she didn't answer the question and pressed into his back again, making him squeak and forget his curiosity altogether.

The conversation ended there, lulling into something peaceful and comfortable. Luka actually found himself relaxing without much embarrassment, though there was still some pink to his face from his newfound crush giving him a massage. He just hoped he could make it through the rest of their time together without her realizing what a mess he was.

Then, as if something had occurred to her, Marinette noted casually, "Oh, I should do your arms next."

Luka's face burned. This girl was going to kill him.