#and takes like 2 hour lunches and comes in late and leaves early

[chilope]

im trying to decide how long i need to wait for my shitty coworker to do the one (1) thing i asked him to before i go absolutely sicko mode

[hellfirenacht]

Saving Throws

Fic Summary: Hellfire is your favorite place to be, but why is it so hard to show up when the sun sets at 4 pm?

Tags: Eddie Munson x Reader, Seasonal Depression, Hurt/Comfort, suicidal ideation if you squint but Reader does NOT want to die and is not actively suicidal, drug use, smoking, no use of y/n, reader is not described, assumed fem!reader, happy ending, SFW

No Beta, we live and we laugh and we love.

Word Count: 4.8k

Master List

It wasn’t even 5 pm, and it was already dark outside. You hated it. Stuck all day in school, too cold to be outside during lunch, and by the time you made it home any daylight had already faded over the horizon. On the weekends you could at least enjoy sitting by the window, taking in as much daylight as you could, and when school let out during the week, there was at least that precious 2 hours before the darkness came. 

Fridays were the hardest, even though they shouldn’t be. Fridays used to be the day you looked forward to most because that was Hellfire. It was the one day you were guaranteed to see Eddie and the rest of your friends. You hated that you were moved to a different lunch period. 

It was grey and gloomy out, the leaves on the trees that had brought you joy just a few short weeks before were now empty and dead. It was cold. There was no sunlight this Friday. 

You still sat outside, hoping that a shock of cold for a few minutes would snap you out of the fog that had been creeping in the back of your mind for the last few weeks. You knew it was coming, inevitable, but it never got easier. You wished there was something more you could do to slow it. 

October was a pleasant distraction, and usually you could combat the worst of it until January. Holidays and Hellfire were the best things to hold onto until March. 

Today wasn’t one of those days. You didn’t want to go to Hellfire, you didn’t think you’d be able to add any modifiers to your ability score. You didn’t think you could find your character voice or pick a fight with Gareth or team up with Jeff. 

In your state, you felt like you might just let the party down. Let Eddie down. 

That was the worst part. You could handle the rest of your friends being disappointed in you, but Eddie was different. If you missed Hellfire, there wasn’t any guarantee that you’d come back and have your character still be alive. Most days you loved that he was a bit ruthless and sadistic as a DM. Most days, you cackled as he threatened to off someone’s character for being late or dipping out early or missing Hellfire completely. Most days you loved him- his DM style, that is. 

Most days. 

Today wasn’t most days. 

It was now two minutes to 3:00 pm. If you hurried now, you could make it without a lecture. If you were five minutes late, you could blame it on going to the bathroom and Eddie would give you a look but wouldn’t hound you too bad. Later than that...

You had never been later than that. You had only ever been late once, and Eddie had forgiven you by giving you disadvantage on a roll that caused your character damage but ultimately didn’t kill them. 

It took you five minutes to force your body to move back inside, your whole body covered in goosebumps from the cold. You pulled your jacket back on as you trudged towards the storage room where Hellfire met every week. You walked down the stairs where Eddie was just now starting in on his opening monologue. Ever the professional, he shot you a look, but didn’t stop. 

You hated that look, you hated the idea of letting Eddie down, ever. 

The game passed by in a haze. Even Eddie’s antics and loud voice couldn’t fully keep your attention today. You felt like you spent most of the time telling yourself to focus rather than actually focusing. It was fine, Doug and Mike took charge of the dungeon and you were happy to let them have the spotlight. You hoped you looked more like you were focusing hard on the battles and strategies over spacing out. 

The relief of the meeting being over was washed away by the dark parking lot, the sun long gone despite the early hours. Everyone else was chatting excitedly about the dungeon and you trailed behind, readying yourself to say goodbye before heading to your car. 

Everyone was loitering around Eddie’s van while he pretended to be annoyed as he smoked a cigarette. You liked these moments, where everyone was together and you didn’t feel as though the pressure was weighing down on you. Outside of Hellfire, even if it was dark outside you were starting to feel a little lighter, the fog in your mind clearing just slightly. 

You took a hit off of Eddie’s cigarette. You didn’t normally smoke but the burn in your lungs at least helped you focus. You didn’t even mind it when you were teased for coughing so much. 

One by one everyone else was picked up or drifted to their own cars, leaving you and Eddie. You were about to say goodbye, when he spoke up. 

“So, where were you?” Eddie asked, dropping the cigarette and crushing it out with his boot. In the silence of the night, you could hear the slight hiss of the embers dying under his old Reeboks. 

“Huh?” you asked, head snapping up to meet his eyes. Eddie crossed his arms and leaned against the van. 

“You were late today, and I was benevolent enough to let it slide.” he said. “So, where were you?” 

You wanted to tell him that you were only a little late, but you didn’t have the energy to challenge him. Normally you enjoyed the occasional argument or play fight with Eddie but today you didn’t have the energy. That spark was as cold as the smushed cigarette. 

“I was in the bathroom. Made the mistake of eating the surprise casserole during lunch.” you shrugged. You didn’t want to lie to him. You hated lying to him. But there was no good way to explain that the reason you were late was because you had to convince yourself to go. There was no way Eddie could understand, and you didn’t have the words to make him understand. 

How the hell could you explain that the place you wanted to be most was also the place that something deep inside you couldn’t bare to face. You hadn’t done anything wrong. Your friends hadn’t done anything wrong. Eddie hadn’t done anything wrong. So why did everything have to feel so wrong? 

Eddie seemed to accept your excuse for now. He clapped you on the back, which cleared the haze in your mind for just long enough to make your heart beat faster and for a moment you could think again. 

“Don’t be late again.” he said sternly, an evil glint in his eyes that usually made you melt. “Or else.” 

“I won’t.” you said, wishing you knew if you were lying or not. 

You kept your promise through November. Sacrificing those few moments of Friday sunlight to go directly to the club room after the bell rang. You were still dragging your feet, convincing yourself that you wanted to be with your friends as your shoes squeaked on the linoleum tile.

That was the worst part, being at Hellfire did make you feel better once you were there. But getting there was harder than actually coming to school. You still weren’t fully alert during club, but at least you were there. As long as you were there then you wouldn’t be in trouble and your friends would still like you and Eddie would still want you around-

Why was he giving you that look? Eddie walked into the club and had a disapproving look on his face. Anxiety flooded your system, washing away the haze as alarm bells rang in your head. You were here, right? It was Hellfire and you were on time, early even! You were here before Eddie. You had your character sheet, you had your figurine, you weren’t sitting in his chair-

“Where’s your shirt?” Eddie asked, and you felt your face flush of all blood. Your shirt...?

To your horror, you looked down at your shirt. It was an old faded t-shirt with the logo long since gone. It was soft, and usually worn for bed- 

You hadn’t fully gotten dressed this morning. You slept in this shirt and had just thrown on a hoodie over it, not even thinking about the fact that Hellfire was today. You were out of uniform. 

Fuck. 

When you forgot your homework during class, you didn’t care if teachers gave you that disapproving look. You could block out your peers jeering at you for what you wore, they didn’t matter.

None of them mattered, but Eddie did. 

“....Fuck.” you said, mostly to yourself, staring at the offending and comfortable material. 

You expected him to lecture you, like everyone else. You braced yourself for him to tell you to leave and come back when you knew how to dress yourself again. A small part of your brain almost hoped that he would. 

Instead he just gave you that manic, evil grin that you usually loved. You knew what was going to happen for the rest of the day. 

“I hope you’re feeling lucky today, because I’m not going easy on you.” Eddie said. “In fact, I think today I might play favorites.” 

Being Eddie’s favorite in Hellfire could be a death sentence if you weren’t careful. Being his favorite meant that he was going to pay special attention to you. Eddie didn’t often play favorites, but the last time he did it ended in Doug starting a new character sheet while rolling his saving throws. He was saved by a lucky 13 roll. 

“Fuuuuuuuuck.” you said, louder to show your disdain for this turn of events. Eddie only winked at you and started setting up the table and his area. 

One by one, everyone showed up while you looked over your character sheet as if you were cramming for a test. Normally you loved any attention that Eddie gave you, but right now it felt like too much as you scrambled to try and remember what the hell was even going on in the campaign. 

You pretended to have fun, swallowing down any panic you were feeling during the game. Even though all you wanted to do was go home and sleep and cry and disappear until Spring. How were you supposed to finish the campaign like this?

Eddie was picking on you the whole game, and you wanted to be mad at him. You wanted to tell him to fuck off and leave you alone and wasn’t it good enough that you were even there? But you couldn’t, you couldn’t bring yourself to do it because he wasn’t actually mad at you. You could see it in his eyes that there was nothing malicious behind that grin. This was a punishment, yes, but he wasn’t doing this to hurt you.

A few weeks ago you would have loved this, loved being picked on by him and having his attention and investment in your character. You would have been locked in, challenging him and pushing him as much as he was pushing you, cracking jokes and batting your eyelashes at him for fun. 

You miss who you were a few weeks ago. 

You had been fighting on equal footing, but now you felt backed into a corner. With a final push, and with an assist from Jeff, you managed to get your final attack in before the battle ended. You would be worse for wear next session, but alive. 

By the time you all walked out of the school that evening, you felt extra drained. You had fun, you think. You should have had fun. Hellfire was always fun. 

Something heavy fell on your shoulders and you made a noise and swatted in front of your face as Eddie snapped his fingers and smacked your face around a little. You felt the snout of that damned pig ring poke into your cheek. 

“Hello? Anyone in there?” He asked, his arm swung around your shoulders as if it were the most casual thing in the world. The weight of his arm dragged you out of the clouds and back down to earth. 

“No one’s home.” you deadpanned, but you couldn’t stop the corners of your mouth from pulling up slightly. This was Eddie now, not the Freak, not the Dungeon Master, not the guitar lead of Corroded Coffin. No pressure. 

“Should I tape a note to your face if I want to leave a message?” he asked.

“No, I’ve seen your sticky notes, they don’t stick.” 

“That’s what happens when you drop them in slush.” Eddie shrugged. “Now, what the hell is wrong with you?”

That was a loaded question. “Alphabetically or chronologically? Actually scratch that, we don’t have time to get into that.” You laughed, hoping he’d drop it. 

You felt Eddie’s hand move around your back from one shoulder to the other. He moved in front of you to make you face him completely. His free hand rested on your other shoulder, his head tilted down slightly. His head always tilted down like that when he was being serious. Shit, he wasn’t going to drop it. 

“Is something going on?” he asked. “You were at the table but...” Eddie seemed to struggle with how to phrase it. “You’re phoning it in.” he finally settled on. 

You hated disappointing Eddie. He was one of your best friends, and you admired him so much. How were you supposed to answer him without feeling like a massive failure? 

Eddie had seen right through you, had noticed that your head and heart wasn’t in the game. Despite his looks, Eddie was always so intuitive about how people were feeling. He noticed when things were off. 

This isn’t how you wanted him to notice you. It was ironic really, ever since you joined Hellfire all you wanted was Eddie’s attention, to catch his eye. Now that you had it, you wish he’d look anywhere else. This wasn’t the you that you wanted him to see. 

“Finals.” you said, giving the canned answer that you had given to the guidance counselor early in the week. “Classes are kicking my ass and I’ve just been a bit off.” The counselor had bought it, and if Eddie didn’t you could blame stomach issues or- 

“You sure?” Eddie asked, frowning. He was still holding your shoulders. “It’s just- it’s been weeks, man. You’re barely there.” 

“There’s nothing wrong.” you tried to assure him. It was true, and that was the worst part. There was no reason why you should feel this way. Things weren’t bad at home, things were fine at school. The worst thing that’s happened in the past few weeks was today's encounter with an owlbear. “I’m just really tired lately. Stress. Can’t sleep.” 

Eddie looked at you hard for a few seconds before nodding, finding the answer satisfactory. He let go of your shoulders and you immediately missed the pressure. He opened the back of his van and dug through a small mountain of clutter and pulled out his lunchbox. 

“No, Eddie, it’s fine. I don’t have any money right now.” you said as he pulled out a small baggie. He tossed it to you anyway. 

“Pay me back later.” he said. “Ten.” 

It was a discount, he must be actually worried about you. The fog in your mind told you to take the weed and go home. To smoke and sleep and lay around for the next few days and wallow in whatever feeling this was. 

It took you longer than it should to force your lips to say “I suck at rolling.”

And that’s how the two of you ended up at the far end of Forrest Hills trailer park, away from a majority of the trailers and RVs as Eddie carefully rolled the joint. This wasn’t something that happened often, the two of you hanging out alone. The last time it happened was the start of the school year when Eddie had given you a ride home when your car had a flat. The two of you ended up spending an hour in your driveway just talking. That had cemented the crush you had been suppressing for the past eternity. You had thought that maybe he had felt that same spark you did that night, but the two of you hadn’t been alone like that since. 

Eddie took the first hit and handed the joint over to you. You held it for a moment, unsure if weed was a good idea with your already cloudy mind but you took a deep hit anyway. 

“Woah, easy.” Eddie said, taking the joint back as you coughed from the smoke. He smacked you on the back a few times before offering you a swig from a water bottle. You chugged the rest of it before your coughs subsided. “It’s just me. You don’t need to smoke like you have something to prove.”

You winced at the call out. You absolutely did take that hit to try and impress Eddie and he saw right through you. Of course he did. 

“Sorry.” you coraked out. 

Eddie just shrugged and took another hit, leaning back against the driver side seat. The mixtape he put in was louder than you would have liked, but it kept you alert. You felt at ease for the first time in a while, excited even, and that made you feel guilty. You didn’t want your brain to be dependent solely on Eddie to function. That wasn’t fair to him.

You considered asking him to take you home when he started talking again. He turned up the music just slightly, his voice a little louder as he launched into a ramble about the guitar solo. 

“Are metal songs usually this long?” you asked, leaning against the passenger side door to face him more. 

“If they’re any good, yes.” Eddie laughed, shredding on his precious imaginary air guitar. 

“It’s nice of Metallica to slow down in the middle of a song. Gives the pit a break, you know? Like, ‘Hey good work everyone! Grab some water and meet back in the pit in three minutes for the big finale!’” You laughed, taking a smaller hit from the joint. 

“If you leave the pit, it doesn’t count. I don’t care how much they slow down.” Eddie said firmly. 

“You have too many rules.” you shook your head. “Not everyone has the never ending stamina that you have.” 

“That’s why we need to work on yours.” Eddie stretched out dramatically and dropped his feet in your lap, the heels of his Reeboks digging not unpleasantly into your thighs. “You’re damn near falling asleep on me at Hellfire, how am I gonna get you in the pit at our first big gig?” 

Your stomach turned with guilt but you pushed through it. “Just toss me in from the stage and if I thrash enough I’m sure it’ll count.” 

“Come on, you know it won’t count unless you start the pit willingly. If I can’t make you feel like you want to fight with our songs then I’ve failed.” Eddie pouted. 

“You make me want to fight without your singing.” you teased, untying his shoe laces. 

“Then why didn’t you?” 

You froze, holding the broken aglet between your fingers. “Dunno what you mean.” you lied. 

“These past few weeks you’ve been hanging back during battles and have barely talked during the campaign.” Eddie said. “Do you...”

“Do I what?” You asked, rolling the aglet. 

“Do you enjoy Hellfire anymore?” he asked, his voice quiet and unsure. You felt your heart break at the question, you hated that your damn brain made him feel like this. You were fine suffering in silence, but the last thing you wanted was to drag Eddie down with you. 

“No- I mean- yes.” you stuttered out. “I do like Hellfire. I promise.” It sounded childish, and you couldn’t force your voice to sound as sincere as you wanted it. Eddie would see through the bullshit in a heartbeat. “I.. I don’t know what’s wrong.” You conceded finally. 

Eddie nudged you with his foot. “Talk to me. Normally you won’t stop talking during the campaign. Don’t clam up on me now.” 

“It just... I get like this every year around this time. The sun disappears right after class and suddenly I feel like a damn zombie. I can’t think, or do anything. I feel like I’m fighting fog. You can’t punch fog.” 

Eddie crossed his arms and nodded sagely. “That’s how fog works.” 

“Thank you, Captain Obvious.” you couldn’t help but laugh a little. “You’re oh so helpful.”

“Normally the way to get rid of fog is an assload of light. That’s your problem, huh? No light means more fog.” 

“That seems to be the case.” you agreed and turned down another hit of weed. It wasn’t helping right now anyway. 

“Should I shine one of the spotlights on you next time?” He suggested. 

“You already did that this afternoon.” you deadpanned. 

“Nah, I just made you participate. I’ll rig one of the drama spotlights to shine directly on you-”

“Giving me disadvantage on every roll because I’ll be blind.” you countered. 

“You will be, but I might have mercy on your character. No, but I was thinking more of a Care Bear stare. Blast you with light to make you give a shit again.” He crushed out the joint. 

“A Care Bear stare? Who even are you right now?” you stretched your own legs out to rest on his lap, your legs tangled together now. “You can’t even name three Care Bears!” 

“I can so! There’s Grumpy Bear and uh... Happy Bear and Brave Heart.” Eddie said smugly. 

“Wh- That last one isn’t even a bear, it’s a lion!”

Eddie threw his arms up dramatically. “Does it matter?”

“Yes! You’re a fake Care Bears fan. How are you supposed to blast me with a Care Bear stare if you can’t even name the characters? I’m embarrassed to even be here right now, Eddie.” you sighed, disappointed in him. “Poser.” 

“Poser?!” Eddie looked offended. “I can handle being called a freak, or a satanist, but poser? That’s a low blow. I’m wounded.”

“Crit hit on psychic damage.” You cackled. 

“You sound better.” Eddie said as your laughter subsided. 

“I.. feel better. Thank you.” despite the weed and the only light in the van coming from the overhead light, you did feel better. There was still a bit of fog, but the exhaustion wasn’t as bad as it had been over the last few days. 

“Are you gonna be okay for the rest of the campaign?” Eddie asked. “I’d hate to lose a party member to a monster we couldn’t see”

“You aren’t gonna lose me.” you promised. “I’ll be there and I’ll try and be perkier.”

“I don’t care about perky, I just want you to have fun.” Eddie said firmly. “If you aren’t having fun then that means I’m not doing a good job as a dungeon master. Come one, tell me what I gotta do to make it fun for you again.” 

“Kill off Blorbo.” you said. 

“Anything but that, he’s an essential NPC.” Eddie smirked. 

“He’s really not.”

“Blorbo bring joy and wonder everywhere he goes-”

“Can he go to Hell? I think they need more joy and wonder there.” That damned goblin had started as a joke and quickly turned into the most obnoxious character that would show up to cause problems when things were going too well. 

“I’ll tone him down.” Eddie promised. “The voice is straining anyway.” 

You took a deep breath and fiddled with his aglet again. “I just.. Don’t want to let you down when I can’t give my all.” You admitted, laying out your vulnerability. “I don’t care if anyone else is disappointed in me, but you and the rest of the party are different. I want to be there for you all. I want to fight the fog and show up and be a part of this adventure. I... I don’t want you to- if you give me the same look that the rest of the school gives us then that’s it. I won’t be able to face you, Eddie.”

Eddie was silent for a while as you stared at his shoes. “Look, I know I can be harsh when it comes to Hellfire.” he admitted. “I can be an asshole because it means so much to me. I know that. If my threats are making it harder for you to show up then I’m sorry. I don’t want to be so much of a dick that you run away because I’m threatening to kill off characters because of my precious dungeon master ego.”

You felt your chest tighten and you swallowed a lump in your throat. 

“I want you at Hellfire.” Eddie continued. “I love playing with you. When you and Jeff team up, I know I’m in trouble. The two of you come up with plans that, frankly, no sane dungeon master would let you roll for. But I do, because you make it fun.”

“And because you’re insane.” you laugh as you blink back a tear. 

Eddie grabbed your ankle and gave it a squeeze. “I’ll be nice to you at Hellfire. I’ll be patient. I just want you to show up and enjoy the game. Just don’t tell the others I’m giving you special treatment.”

“Not being a dick is giving me special treatment?” You gave him a small smile, a real one. “I’m honored.” 

“Yeah, well, if word gets out they'll start demanding that I be nice to them too, and I can’t have that. Not during the game anyway.” 

You felt lighter than you had in weeks. You really did feel better. It wasn’t going to be a permanent feeling, you knew that there were going to be more foggy days. Feelings like this don’t really go away until Spring, but you would prevail. You wouldn’t let Eddie down, or the rest of your party. You wouldn’t let yourself down and fall victim to an endly haze. 

“Can... we hang out like this more?” you asked. “Outside of school, I mean.” 

Because this is what you needed. It wasn’t gonna be easy, but having this time with a friend is what would get you to the end of winter. Eddie, Jeff, Doug, even Gareth and the freshmen. You had put so much pressure on Hellfire that you had forgotten that your party members were also your friends and allies. 

This didn’t have to be a solo quest. 

“Yes!” Eddie said, so quickly and forcefully it actually made you jump. “Yeah, absolutely, You should really come to the Hideout more and watch us play and after we could go get uh... questionable snacks from the gas station. Or I could sneak behind the bar and get us some beers.” 

With how enthusiastic he was, you wondered if he had also felt that spark that night at the beginning of the school year. 

It was almost 2 am when Eddie dropped you off at your place, stepping out of the car to give you a real goodbye. The rest of the night had been a whirlwind of a million topics at once, music, life, plans to hang out in the future. You felt happy. Really, genuinely happy. 

You hugged Eddie, which he seemed surprised at but he hugged you back tightly. You were squished against him, enjoying the texture of his leather jacket under your fingers. It was cold out, and you could see your breath now, but you felt a warmth in you. 

You didn’t need Eddie to be the light that kept you going, but he could help your own light stay lit. Him and the rest of your friends. Though you knew that a part of you would always burn more brightly for him, specifically. 

Eddie pulled back and dramatically bowed to you, taking your hand and kissing the back of it. It was so over the top and so Eddie. 

“Come by Gareth’s place on Sunday. We’re having rehearsals while the neighborhood is at church.” He instructed. 

“I thought Corroded Coffin had closed rehearsals?” you asked, raising an eyebrow. They were always serious about their band, they didn’t let people come and distract them. 

“Think of it as a special open casket.” Eddie said. “You don’t have to talk, we can focus on our music, and you get to spend time with us during the day.” 

It was the most thoughtful thing anyone had ever offered you. You nodded, knowing that it might be hard to get your ass out of bed but you would. For him. 

And for you.

With a final hug, Eddie saw you inside before peeling out of your driveway. You made your way to your room and looked at the photo on your nightstand of you with the Hellfire club. What you were feeling might be a solo quest, but you weren’t alone. 

For the first time in weeks, you were able to fall asleep without the weight of the fog. 

A/N: This fic was originally hurt/no comfort out of my own seasonal depression and insecurities. But what stopped it from being that was that none of you deserve to feel abandoned or like you're fighting alone. None of of who love Eddie so much deserve to be kicked out of Hellfire without a fighting chance.

Get yourself some vitamin D gummies and a SAD lamp. We're gonna get through this, guys.

Also I really need a regular Tag List so comment if you wanna be added.

[h4ndwr1tten]

𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭?

characters — nanami kento x reader

note — i'm so sorry this came out so late. if you didn't see my other posts, i mentioned that i basically rewrote this bc the original was so bad, and then i went on vacation. it's still kinda bad i'm sorry. dividers by benkeibear.

cw — not proofread (is anything i write even proofread?), established relationship, kinda ooc nanami, pregnancy, few mentions of sex, mentions of birth control, mentions of pregnancy symptoms, a lot of crying, sappy shit, angst, hurt/comfort. lmk if i missed any!

synopsis — after a hellish week caused by a misunderstanding and sickening fear, you decide you'd had enough of not speaking to your boyfriend and reveal your secret.

part 1 | part 2

for the past week, you've noticed that nanami had been taking on longer shifts than normal. in fact, it wasn't normal, because if there was one thing he absolutely hated in this world, it was working overtime. he'd leave for the school early, sometimes before you'd wake up, and come home past dinner or when you were already in bed. what was even more surprising (and hurtful) to you was that he was taking more time out of his day to put up with gojo satoru and his antics, rather than be around you.

you knew he was avoiding you. it was quite obvious, and nanami made no effort to hide it either. during the now short amounts of time he was home, he barely spoke and looked at you. this must have been what it felt like to him on that night, you realized.

you also knew that nanami would come around and talk to you. or, at least, you hoped he would. you knew him like no other—your boyfriend was a rational man who always thought things carefully and through. you convinced yourself that he was still upset and in need of space to think about that night, and maybe even what you were up to during that. maybe he was thinking of the possibility of you seeing someone else, having feelings for someone who wasn't him. by letting him ignoring you, you believed you were giving him the time and space he needed.

throughout the week, your pregnancy symptoms had become more prominent. you also found out that your birth control expired, which explained why you had gotten pregnant. you felt stupid for not checking the date. you began experiencing morning sickness, strange cravings, fatigue, even mood swings. but nanami wasn't there to see it happen. he'd already be at the school when you would be hunched over the toilet. he'd be on his lunch break while you'd be eating ice cream topped with pickles. you would be asleep half the time he was gone, which would help prevent the overthinking you faced while you were awake. you would be elated to hear him come home, but then tear up right after when you realized it would be another night without hearing his voice, without feeling his arms around you.

everyday you thought of revealing to him that you were pregnant with his child. and everyday, you thought of how he might be enraged and leave you for good. but despite the stomach churning fear you had, you were desperate to hear him speak to you. desperate to be held and kissed by him, to be looked at as if you were the most ethereal being in the world. you were desperate to hear nanami tell you he loves you, and always will.

after long thought and contemplation, debating with yourself about whether to confess or not, you came to a conclusion. you had had enough of this distance between you and the man you loved. tonight, when he came home, you were going to tell him the truth.

you were exhausted. you felt like if you blinked once, your eyes wouldn't open for another 9 hours. but you had to stay up. you were waiting on nanami to walk through the door.

and luckily for you, he did. you heard the faint click of the lock followed by soft footsteps padding into the kitchen, where you were waiting with a plate of food for him.

nanami took one brief glance at you before looking back down, not bothering to greet you. you inhaled deeply, weakly fighting back tears.

"hi, ken," you started nervously. he didn't reply, but he began to occupy himself with the mail you left out on the counter, telling you that he was listening.

"i made you food," you continued, "but it might be a little cold. i made it earlier but you didn't—"

"i already ate, thank you," nanami cut you off, not meeting your eyes.

"oh."

your heart began to beat erratically, and tears began to flood your eyes. you kept thinking to yourself that he's upset, and for all he knows you might be cheating on him. you reminded yourself why you were doing this, and that you had to push through if you wanted this misunderstanding to end.

"how was your day?" you asked shakily, opening your eyes despite the tears that were still there.

your heart sunk lower when you saw that he was making his way to the bedroom, and you swore it cracked when you hear the barely there "good" and a door shutting.

with your elbows propped on the counter and keeping your trembling frame up, you buried your face in your hands. this went much smoother in your head. you imagined nanami to have accepted the dinner you made him, take a bite of it at the least, and let you talk to him. but he was refusing to let down this cold front he kept up around you. you were beginning to have second thoughts about telling him.

but you couldn't keep hiding it, you knew that. so, wiping away any stray tears and taking a few deep breaths in, you made your way to the bedroom.

you found nanami on the bed, already dressed in his pajamas and hair free of any product. his glasses were set neatly on the nightstand and his phone was in his hand. nanami wasn't the kind of person to be addicted to his phone, and even though you've been going through it for a while now, him not paying you any mind and more attention to his phone was painful.

"ken," you muttered, trying to keep your voice steady.

without craning his neck, nanami looked up at you with his eyebrow raised. he seemed tired, exasperated, and looked as though he didn't want to talk but just wanted to get it over with.

"can we talk? please?" your voice was thick with emotion, the please coming out softer and cracking.

nanami sighed before tossing his phone onto the bed. he finally, for the first time in days, looked at you and held your gaze expectantly.

"go on."

letting out a breath you didn't know you held in, you began slowly, "i am so... so, so sorry, kento. i know i hurt you and i made you believe that i would see someone else. and i'm not, i promise you. i could never love anyone else the way i love you."

nanami's eyes softened, and you could practically feel the worries of you cheating dissipate from him.

"so what was with you night?" nanami asked, the most he's ever said to you so far.

you almost choked on a sob when you realized what you had to do next.

"o-okay, uh... while you were at work, i found something out," you basically whispered. there was no need for extra details. you were getting straight to the point.

slowly, you turned to the dresser behind you and reached for your purse. your hands shook violently as you dug inside for the piece of plastic that made your life a living hell this past week. as you clutched it tightly in your hand, knuckles whitening, you closed your eyes and tilted your head up. you couldn't control the tears any longer, and the sobs were growing harder to keep down.

"love?"

the name caused a whimper to escape you. you inhaled shakily, trying to reduce your crying before turning around with the test results hidden behind your palm. as you walked towards nanami, you felt as though this was the last time you would ever see him, speak to him, and be around him.

with a quivering hand, you hand him the test.

"i'm so, so sorry," you whisper.

nanami flipped the test over, his eyes scanning every inch of the device. it took him a few seconds to realize what it was, and by the way his eyes widened and expression contorted into one of shock, you knew he had seen the results.

and when he didn't say anything, you swore your heart had actually broken.

"i'm sorry," you repeated through a heavy sob, no longer able to keep in your cries.

you turned around, back faced to nanami as you continued to cry into your hands. the lack of response was a response in itself, you believed. you knew it was over. you knew you were going to have to pack all your things, find somewhere else to stay, and raise this child alone.

that is, until you felt a gentle hand on your waist and a quiet voice behind you say, "y/n, look at me. please."

so you did, hesitantly. you turned back around and peeled your hands away from your tear stained face, but avoided eye contact, or even looking at his face. keeping your head down, you were afraid of what you would see, or of what you would read.

then both hands came to your cheeks, cupping them carefully and tilting your head up. your eyes met his, and instead of finding the anger you were expecting, you found comfort and understanding.

"is it mine?" he asked first, likely to confirm that you hadn't been with anyone else.

"yes," you replied without hesitating. "kento, it's only ever buh—been you."

he nodded, believing you completely. he began wiping away your tears with the pads of his thumbs, even though more would fall every time he wiped at them.

"y/n, why didn't you tell me sooner?" nanami whispered. he wasn't angry with you, however. just a bit hurt and curious.

"because, kento!" your voice coming out steadier than expected. "you have your whole life planned out. you have goals and dreams and you know what you want in life. i couldn't, i can't ruin that for you."

"and i was scared, ken. i was scared that you'd get mad and leave me and that you wouldn't want anything to do with our kid. and—and maybe i'm selfish for not telling you, maybe i'm selfish for hiding something so important, so life changing, and maybe that makes me a bad girlfriend. but i couldn't let you go like that. i love you too much to do that."

nanami now had watery eyes at your confession. despite still feeling a bit upset at the fact that you had kept this from him, he fully understood and didn't hold it against you. and despite already knowing, he even felt elated to hear that you loved him so dearly.

"y/n," he sighed, "i would never, ever get mad at you for this."

you froze, sniffling and looking up at him. the curiosity in your eyes urging him to go on.

"you becoming pregnant wasn't—isn't on you. this was mostly caused by me," nanami said, hoping it would ease and erase the feeling of everything being your fault.

"but i was stupid and didn't realize my birth control was expired," you replied.

"even if, y/n. we both did this, we both had sex, we are both in this together. this is our child."

"i know that, ken," you sighed, hiccuping shortly after.

"then you do know that since this is a result of both our actions, i will be there for you, for us? there is no way in hell i would leave you for getting pregnant, i'm the one who got you pregnant in the first place. yes, this is life changing. yes, i have goals, i have plans for the future—for our future. because every time i think about it, you are there. it doesn't matter if our timing isn't right, it doesn't matter if we aren't married yet. i am extremely confident that one day, i'll put a ring on your finger and we will spend eternities together, with this child. do you understand, y/n, love?"

his ramble was so sweet and so genuine, just as all his other rambles were. no matter the situation, whether you'd be feeling insecure or you both got into an argument, nanami never failed to reassure you and make you feel better. they were waves of relief and comfort, like sudden shelter from pouring rain. like being bundled up in blankets and full of warmth after shivering for so long. like a breath of fresh, cool air after a steamy shower.

like nanami telling you that everything was alright, and no matter how tough the situation felt, he would stand by you.

"yes," you breathed, "i understand."

"good," nanami whispered back.

still holding your face in his hands, he pulled you towards him and planted a lingering kiss on your forehead, and then a peck before removing one hand from your face and down to your hip. nanami squeezed you gently and walked you both to the bed, sitting on the edge and pulling you into his lap. he slid his arm around your middle, then moved the hand still on your face to the back of your head and gently guided you to the crook of his neck. you wrapped your own arms over his shoulders and squeezed him tight, the way he was doing you. you continued to pour out whatever remaining feelings of sadness and relief, quietly sniffling and whimpering into his neck, all the while nanami would softly rub up and down your back, occasionally patting, combing his fingers through your hair and scalp, and whispering sweet nothings and reassuring affirmations into your ear. leaving sweet kisses around your face, into your hair, on your shoulder.

when your cries died down and all that was left were hiccups, you quietly muttered, "i'm sorry for doubting you and thinking you'd leave."

"shh, don't apologize," nanami assured you. "i understand. i'm sorry i thought you were seeing someone else, and i am truly sorry for giving you the cold shoulder and not talking things out with you like an adult. i was hurt and afraid to face the truth, but i realize i was wrong. do you forgive me?"

pulling away from his neck, you looked into his sincere amber eyes, cupping his cheeks. nodding, you answered, "of course."

a small smile graced his lips, followed by a gentle kiss on yours. pulling away, you tilted your head down and rested your forehead on his. both of your eyes shut, your arms squeezing each other in silent reassurance.

"i love you, y/n, and our baby, and this future we're creating together."

m. list

[k3nz1ekorn]

Jayvik actor au- "This isn't my bedroom?"

Shooting continues at the lot, production is finally ramping up and our beloved actors Vlad and Joel get to talk a bit more. Part 2 chronologically in the au.

Character cheat sheet: Vi-Viola, Cait-Cathrin, Mel-Miah, Savannah- Sevika, Sky- Skyler, Powder/Jinx-Piper, Ekko-Elijah

Disclaimer: I know nothing about professional acting or studios, lot setup, etc. I will not be looking things up while writing this so if you notice something is blatantly wrong leave a comment about it! This is purely self indulgent and fics will probably be posted out of chronological order in the timeline. (If I write enough I’ll make a timeline list of them tho)

It was obvious to anyone with eyes that Vlad had a busy schedule. Between shooting for arcane and his other projects he was on the production lot practically 24/7 this week. It was mostly other roles he’d booked that he was shooting this week since basically all of his scenes in Arcane involved Joel, who was turning out to be quite the busy man. They’d barely spoken since their first official meeting and none of it had even been to run lines! He was a bit worried about that specifically. They were both good actors, but that on screen chemistry didn’t always come naturally. It was always good to practice, he thought as he absently massaged a knot in his thigh. It was only in these early hours that he really had time to himself, time to just exist as he is, to not think about his lines or how to say them, and especially not to think about any of his co-stars. It wasn’t that he hated them, quite the opposite actually. The ones he’d met so far he gets along with very well, even joining them for lunch when his schedule allows it. They’re people he could actually see himself enjoying the company of outside of work. He makes a mental note to invite them all out for drinks this weekend, the ones that were going to be in town for it that is. The problem with his co-stars was actually a singular person, one with striking golden eyes and a face Vlad is sure was sculpted by the gods themselves with the explicit intent to taunt him. 

The brunette squeezed his eyes shut and brought his mug up off the table to take a long sip of his coffee, to distract his wandering mind. He wasn’t going to think about Joel right now. This was his me time, not fantasizing about his coworker time. He had found it too much of a hassle to make the drive back to his apartment the previous night and had opted to instead sleep in his trailer, meaning his clothing for the day were whatever he had supplied for himself when he packed the dressers before it was brought to the lot. A pair of black jeans  and a thick dark grey sweater seemed to be his best options that day, it didn’t matter too much anyways, he would be in and out of costume all day anyways, this outfit was just for his meal breaks. 

He was already showered and ready for the day, which he knew was going to be starting soon, it was already- Jesus 8AM? He had to get moving. He stood up as he chugged the rest of his half finished barely lukewarm coffee, rinsing the mug in the sink and moving to the table on the opposite side of his trailer to grab his script and water bottle before descending the steep ass ramp out of his trailer. Skyler should be here soon, he thought absently, should she not? It wasn’t like her to be late and call time was slowly approaching. He pulled his phone from his pocket as he let the door shut behind him, did she maybe text him and he just hadn’t seen it? 

Ah. He had a few missed texts it seemed.

Displayed brightly on his screen were three texts, the first from his aforementioned assistant, saying the line at their usual coffee shop had been longer than usual and she was running a bit late, delivered maybe 15 minutes ago. Second was from Viola, a picture he’d have to actually open the message to see and the words ‘did you get it yet?????????’ received about 3 minutes ago. He didn’t need to guess what she meant as yes, he had in fact gotten it. The third text is no doubt what she was referring to, and the one that had initially caught his attention. It was from an unknown number, a simple ‘this is joel we should meet to run lines over lunch,’ and he definitely wasn’t mentally scolding his clothing choice for the day. He didn’t have time to dwell on it though as he felt a hand on his shoulder and saw two coffees on a holder come into his line of vision.

“SO sorry for running late Vlad, the line was crazy, even mobile ordering ahead of time they were just slammed.” She sounded out of breath as she spoke to him, her other hand holding the coffee lowering a bit as the hand that had been on his shoulder moved to cover her chest. She looked as professional as ever in her black pantsuit and deep red button up. Her hair was up in a high puff today, a few pieces coming out to frame her face. She moved her free hand to grab her phone from her pocket to go over the itinerary she no doubt had open. “You have a few new faces for your scenes today, some old ones too I noticed! So we should probably get you there just a pinch ahead of time. Wanna head to the set now?” She finally looked up at him as she caught her breath. Vlad was already looking at her when he opened his mouth to speak. He hadn’t thought about a response yet. She’d given him plenty of time to refocus himself and yet here he was, still reeling over a text like some teenager. He raised his phone just a bit.

“Joel texted me.” The silence was deafening. Skylar blinked once. Then twice, before finally letting a smirk overtake her face.

“Oh did he? And why are you telling me this?” Truth be told he didn’t know. Most likely because he hadn’t had a coherent thought since she got there and he’d like to believe they are at least on friendly terms by now. 

“I should respond to it before we head over. It would be rude not to, no?” He turned back to his phone and unlocked it before clicking on the new number to respond, Skyler let out an amused laugh from beside him. He had to send something before he could overthink this, and fast. ‘Yes please omg’ seemed like too much, and a simple ‘Sure.’ was definitely too cold, he needed to be professional but enthusiastic about it. He settled on, ‘I’d actually been meaning to ask you the same, we will discuss further when I get to the set, yes?’ He quickly clicked out of their texts to stop himself from rereading it and opened the text from Viola instead. Texting back a quick ‘I did :3’ he looked over the photo she sent. The picture was quite cute to say the least. The camera was at a high angle, only showing her forehead and eyes at the bottom of the screen, the main focus of the photo being Cathrin and Joel a few feet away holding out their phones in front of one another. Was that a blush he saw? He quickly blinked the thought away and pocketed his phone before turning back to Skyler to let her know he was ready to go.

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Vlad had finished his second cup of coffee before they even stepped foot onto the set they’d be at for their first scene. He had to, after nearly spilling coffee on his Academy uniform earlier in the week he’d had to cut back on his on set coffee breaks. That’s actually why he was now drinking more water,.much to Skyler’s delight he may add. His cane gave gentle clicks as he moved into view of the set, a dark hallway and a door loomed in front of him, this was their scene breaking into the lab if he was not mistaken. The schedule had said all of their group scenes would be before lunch, which meant this one, the trial with the council, and the scene where they get to be hooked up to a bunch of wires. That one made him a bit uneasy if he was telling the truth, he never liked heights much, and having no experience with being hooked up like that he was unsure of how his leg would handle it. They had a fantastic team helping to make accommodations for him, but he’d had his fair share of bad experiences so it was natural to be cautious.

He was broken from his thoughts as he recognized a familiar face out of the corner of his eye. He adjusted himself to face the newcomer and gave a warm smile, “Miah! I was hoping we’d get a chance to chat before we were called to places. You look wonderful! That makeup was a great choice I must say.” His old friend only laughs in response, head tilting back in amusement before coming to embrace him in a small side hug. There was no lie, she was a vision really, in a beautiful all white dress with gold accents that perfectly matched the jewelry in her hair and makeup painting her face.

“Hey Vlad, can’t say I’ve seen the costume or makeup department make anyone look bad so far, yourself included. Did they make your moles bigger? And that vest, oh my god!” She circled him once, as if he didn’t already know how good he looked right now. “The lace up sides are a very nice touch, on both you and Mr. Torres over there.” She gestures somewhere behind him and he has to grip his cane a bit tighter to keep himself from shooting around to gawk at the new topic of their conversation. Instead he just gives a light chuckle and takes a breath to respond- “He’s on his way over.” She says glancing between him and who he can only imagine is the very man that had been capturing every other thought he’d had for the past week. His eyes crease at the corners every so slightly as he turns to look over a shoulder to greet the new addition to their conversation with a polite smile. 

“Joel, how good to see you again, have you met Miah yet? She’ll be playing Mel.” It would be rude to not introduce them, he thought, especially since they’d all be filming the next few scenes together. Joel gives him a glance and turns his attention towards Miah to extend a hand.

“Pleasure to meet you, you are Vladimir's friend?” A shiver definitely does not try to make its way down his spine upon hearing his full name, and gods does he hope he’s not blushing again. The handshake, he notes, is much slower and longer than the one he had received…he tries not to read into that. He looks up at the woman beside them as their hands part, she clasps hers together in front of herself and gives a polite nod.

“The pleasure’s all mine! I was very excited to hear I’d finally be getting a chance to work with you! And to work with Vlad again too, on the same project no less. We’ve been friends since filming that weird pumpkin themed horror movie a few years back. Have you two worked together before? Vlad didn’t mention it when we went over the cast list together.” She raised her eyebrow as she spoke, her eyes pointedly moving between the two of them, as if trying to hint at something almost. It was at that moment he realized Joel had stopped nearly directly behind him, just barely off to the side enough for them to see each other's faces actually. The cough that escapes him is definitely not nervous, just a tickle is what he tells himself as he brings his hand back down to readjust his cane. He reminds himself to ask Skyler where she’d had them put his chair.

“We haven’t. I met him filming a scene earlier in the week,” the taller man’s eyes move to Vlad again, “I’d like to have a word before we’re called to places. I’ll be in my chair.” He started to turn to leave, eyes moving back to Miah, “I look forward to working with you.” And with that he was walking away. He really didn’t like letting people respond did he? Two of their interactions now he’d ended by just walking away. With a small shake of the head he turns back to his friend, who is now trying to hide some very obvious amusement. She says her next words in a hushed tone, her wrist partially covering her mouth.

“Oh my god he’s so into you.” 

“He’s what now?”

Vlad’s jaw drops open and he gives the most incredulous look at the woman across from him. He turns away from her, only to look back at her completely aghast, “He barely looked at me when he was actively speaking to me just now. What about that indicates he’s into me? If anything I’d say he was checking you out!” He emphasizes his words with a flick of the wrist in her direction and tries to keep his voice hushed so nobody overhears their conversation. It is quite embarrassing to be having this conversation while at work actually, something he’d rather keep private.

“Are you kidding me? First of all,” she raises a finger up beside her head. Oh great, she’s making a list, “you didn’t see what his eyes were doing when your back was turned. Second,” another finger and a pointed tilt of the head, “he was staring me down. NOT the same as checking me out. Third,” hopefully the final finger in this conversation raises, “even if he had been we both know he’s nowhere near my type in men. Much too…stoic.” She finishes with a slight downward curl on her lips and a shake of the head before finally putting her hand down to cross her arms over each other. She glanced over his shoulder once more and her eyes just barely widened before she smirks, letting her eyes fall back to his once more. “You better get a move on with your conversation, your man keeps looking at us.” As she looks back again her eyes shift to a new area behind him and stop, her mouth forms a soft ‘o’ and a new look overtakes her and she seems to spot something else, something not Joel he decides. A hand is placed on his shoulder as she very quickly steps around him. Her next words come out quiet as he walks away. “Speaking of my type…I’ll see you on set.” He turns to watch her go with a mild curiosity, eyes following her direction of travel to the prosthetics tent where he could see a very muscular woman with a short ponytail getting pieces attached to her already augmented arm. He gives an impressed hum to himself and nods, he’d definitely have to invite them all out for drinks if for no other reason than to hear about how that develops.

He turns a bit more to face Joel’s direction and notices the other man’s eyes just barely darting down to the script he held in his hand. Vlad begins to make his way over when a very very small chuckle breaks through his lips, any previous tension about how the other perceived him already forgotten. Either he was trying to look nonchalant and failing miserably, or he could read upside down, seeing as that’s the way the script was being held. With a final few steps they’re next to each other and Vlad decides at the last minute he won’t mention the little continuity error in the other's facade.

“Eager to steal my attention eh? I already agreed to have lunch with you.” There’s a chuckle in the way he says it, something light. Joel lifts his eyes from the pages he’d definitely been pretending to read and gives a small hum. His unoccupied hand came up to smooth over his jaw and chin before he spoke, turning his head in his direction but still not fully looking at the man he’s addressing.

“We have a lot of scenes together. It seems our characters become…very good friends, by the end of the season. Over half of the dialogue I’ve read so far is either directed at or talking about your character in some way. We should discuss their dynamic.” With that he turns his head to rest it on his hand, and finally makes eye contact with the other. There’s no real identifiable emotion on his face aside from what seems to be sheer boredom. “I was told by my manager the production team wants them,” he raises his head to make air quotes with the hand he had been leaning on as he continues,”‘strictly platonic with no room for romantic interpretation,’ I assume you were told the same?” Vlad closes his eyes and he lets a little giggle slip at that, bringing the back of his hand up to cover it. He misses the way the other’s light up just a bit more at it.

“I was, yes, I assume you think we should take more creative liberties with it? You wouldn’t be talking to me about it otherwise, correct?” His hand comes back down to rest in his pocket, his posture relaxed, and he gives an inquisitive look. He really hopes he’s about to suggest what he thinks he is.

“Yes. Whether my character knows it or not, he will be in love with yours by the end of the season, and whether yours reciprocates or not is up to you.” He speaks with an air of certainty that leaves no room for discussion, luckily Vlad is already in agreement with him.

“He will. I’m very glad we had this chat actually, I had been planning on adding a level of…longing? I’m aware your character is romantically involved with Miah’s by the second half of the season, however I do love some good old fashioned, one sided, seemingly unrequited tension.” He lets his lip curl up into a mischievous grin as he looks down at the other. “It won’t be too obvious of course, just an underlying something or other to give a bit more depth to their relationship…though it does seem quite deep even without it. They become quite close, no? We should find some time outside of filming to talk, get into character a little as they say.” He’d already said he wanted to find ways to get to know him more, and he fully meant that shit. Whether the reasoning he was giving was the only reason was not important. Joel gives a hum of agreement and looks back down at his script, he’s silent for a second before- oh he’s blushing. He must have finally noticed his script was upside-down.

Credit where it’s due, Joel has a very good poker face aside from the light blush dusted across his cheeks. Vlad keeps his eyes on him as the other clears his throat and closes his script, looking back up as if nothing had even happened. The bell to signal a start rings and places are called, cutting the rest of their conversation short.

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“So far, so good.” He whispers, the glowstick just barely illuminating the lock enough for him to see it. Suddenly a bright light flows over them both, slightly startled he looks directly into it before bringing his hand up to try and deflect some of it. Blinking a few times to correct his eyes he hears a familiar voice in front of him.

“Hmm. Willing to risk exile for your endeavour. That’s quite the conviction.” It’s said with a hint of amusement. They’d filmed this scene a few times already and he felt his lack of lines right here kept making the whole exchange rather awkward. Time for a new strategy I guess.

“Councilor!” He hears from behind him. Quirking a brow up he barely listens to the continued flustered rambling, he feigns confusion and turns back to the keys still in the lock by his face.

“Wait a minute this isn’t my bedroom?” He mutters with mock embarrassment, “How could I have…” Their voices overlap for a second before silence engulfs them. He looks back up at the ‘Councilor’ and sees her fighting for her damn life to keep in the laugh that’s threatening to spill out. She’s come to expect this of him, he supposes, makes it easier to keep her composure. Joel seems as composed as ever, easily continuing on with his lines and it’s only a little disappointing he didn’t laugh. It’s almost too easy the way the rest of the scene flows from there, almost too easy the way Joel looks at Miah with such curiosity and wonder as she walks away with the security guard. Almost too easy how he doesn’t have to fake the way his lips pull up to his nose in distaste, or even the slightly annoyed huff he gives before turning back to the door, bending down to finish unlocking it as the director yells cut. They didn’t have to redo the scene again at least.

Authors note: This shit is 3.5k words and I edited without coffee. Thanks for the love so far! Glad to know yall are liking it. I'll definitely be branching out at some point to do more with Caitvi and Melvika. I'm not sorry about it.

[clarisse0o]

Camp Wiegman-Part 50

Lucy Bronze x Ona Batlle

Alternative Universe : Military School

Words : 6k

Masterlist

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Friday, February 12 - At Jenni’s place.

I bite my lip to stifle my smile. The image Lucy presents is funny, but I don't want to make her scowl worse. It’s the first time I’ve seen her so impatient, tapping her best friend’s car hood.

“They’re obviously late,” she grumbles.

“They’ve only been gone ten minutes. They’ll be here soon.”

“It’s not funny,” she growls. “Stop smiling like that.”

My smile fades instantly; I don’t want to annoy her any further. Our vacation isn’t starting as I had imagined. Lucy’s been grumpy since I met up with her. She had a terrible morning, having to supervise a first-year student who was punished and left out in the rain. I hope she’s tougher than me and doesn’t fall sick. She was so chilled at noon that she had to stay under the shower for over fifteen minutes to warm up. We planned to leave right after our classes to have lunch in town with Alexia and Ingrid, but we ended up grabbing a sandwich to eat at the airport because we were short on time. It was a good decision, because even though Mapi’s plane was delayed, she managed to get out before we finished eating. Miraculously, we arrived on time for the meeting we had planned with Lucy’s friends. If we hadn’t, I can’t even imagine how Lucy would have been, seeing her already so wound up now. We were supposed to leave at 2:30 PM, but Jenni supposedly lost her phone in the apartment. Seeing Lucy’s worsening state, Alexia decided to go up and help Jenni search for it. I suggested to Lucy that we step outside to get some air to calm down, but it was a bad idea once our friends waiting in the other cars started teasing us by honking.

“I’m going to kill them.”

“Hey!” I exclaimed. “Calm down.”

I was about to put my hand on her back but held back when I saw her dark eyes. The others are openly mocking us. We decided to take three cars to avoid being crammed together with our luggage. Mapi is sharing a car with Ingrid and Aitana, who’s driving. As for the second car, there’s Mary, Caroline, and Beth. As for us, we’re riding with Jenni and Alexia. Lucy draws my attention with a sigh.

“I need a hug,” she mutters.

I smile as I open my arms to her. She leans into me, resting her head on my shoulder. This time, I gently rub her back.

“Come on, relax. We’re on vacation. We’ve been looking forward to this for so long.”

The week was tough. We were distant from each other most of the time. I didn’t understand the feeling of missing her, but according to Lucy, it’s just because it’s still the early stages of our relationship. We need to find a balance, and she’s probably right. It only made me more eager to finally be on vacation.

“Hmm... You’re right. I’m sorry for being so unpleasant.”

“You’re allowed to have a bad day.”

She nods before giving me a chaste kiss. The moment doesn’t last long as she returns to nuzzle into my neck. We stay like that until our friends return. Jenni is driving, so Lucy gave up the front passenger seat to Alexia and sat in the back with me. She’s the first to get into the car when they return.

“Did you find it?” I ask Ale.

“Yeah, it’s all good. How’s Lucy doing?”

“Not great, but she’ll be fine,” I reassure her.

“I hope so.”

I nod with a small smile to reassure her. I’m not worried about it. The ride will probably calm her down. I join Lucy in the back. The first thing I notice is that she’s moved my backpack that I had placed in the middle and also took off her jacket. Seeing this, I follow suit, figuring she’s right to make herself comfortable given the long drive ahead.

“How many hours do we have left?” I ask, thinking about it.

“A little less than 6 hours, I think.” Lucy says

“Could be worse,” Jenni replies as she settles in.

She also takes off her jacket. Something tells me they’ve traveled together a lot before, and I’m not sure how to feel about that. The GPS she activates pulls me out of my thoughts as it starts speaking. We’ll be the ones leading the way thanks to it. I realize I didn’t bring my headphone, but I quickly forget this detail when I hear the music playing. Jenni left the radio on with current hits. It’ll fill the silence since Lucy doesn’t seem to want to talk.

“Can I lie down?”

I’m surprised to hear her speak. She’s pointing at my lap, and I quickly understand her intention. I’m not sure how she plans to do it, but I nod in affirmation.

“Of course,” I confirm. “Come here.”

She unbuckles the shoulder strap of her seatbelt, leaving only the lower part fastened, then takes off her shoes and leans heavily against me. We shift to find our positions, and once we do, I hold her close, intertwining our hands. My free hand gently rubs her stomach in slow circles, which seems to soothe her judging by the long sigh she lets out. This week was pretty disastrous. If we didn’t share a room, we would have barely seen each other since she was so busy. The fact that she doesn’t want any affection during the day doesn’t help either. Plus, I had to meet with Wiegman. She wanted to make sure my night troubles were improving, and she confirmed that I’d be returning to my room after the holidays. I need to make the most of Lucy during this vacation. Looking up, I catch Ale’s reflection in the sun visor. She smiles at us, making me blush. This is the first time she’ll see us interact so closely, especially as a couple. I turn away and grab my scarf to use as a pillow against the window. Lucy, already dozing off in my arms, grumbles at my fidgeting. I apologize and stop moving. My head trembles slightly against the window, but not enough to be bothersome. I finally exhale softly, closing my eyes with a small smile on my lips as the car finally starts moving.

Friday, February 12 - Hotel.

I jump slightly when a hand touches my cheek. I look around, almost bumping into Lucy, who had finally slumped over me. The car is empty except for the two of us. She gives me a reassuring smile.

“We’re here.”

“Already?”

“Yeah,” she giggles. “It’s not a myth. You really sleep like a log. I didn’t dare wake you.”

I blush at her remark. I realize I had fallen asleep again for the entire trip. I imagine she didn’t.

“I don’t want to get up,” she tells me. “You’re really comfortable.”

“It’s not surprising with all this fat,” I joke.

Lucy gently smacks my thigh with a stern look, making me yelp in surprise.

“Don’t ever say that. It’s not true.”

She grimaces as she sits up. The position must have given her cramps. She swears as she stretches and unbuckles her seatbelt. I do the same, putting on my jacket and scarf.

“Bundle up well. It’s cold outside.”

I nod, agreeing with her. From what I can see, there’s a thick layer of snow outside. As soon as the door opens, a frigid gust invades the car. To think that in Manchester, everything was starting to melt. Here we are back in the snow. I smile at Mapi, who comes to greet me as soon as I step out.

“Did you sleep through the whole trip again, sleepyhead?” she teases.

“No using that nickname, it’s mine,” grumbles Lucy as she steps out of the car too.

I stifle a laugh when I see Mapi roll her eyes nonchalantly. From the latest updates I’ve gotten, the two have been getting along better thanks to Mapi’s support for my girlfriend. This only makes me happy. I was really worried about the opposite. Luckily, Mapi doesn’t push her on the subject. I would have sided with Lucy. She doesn’t give me many nicknames, so I plan to let her have exclusivity if that’s what she wants. For the past few weeks, she’s been calling me "princess" or even "baby" or "sleepyhead." These nicknames make my heart flutter. They really make me feel like we're together. It's not easy to realize that since we maintain a teacher/student relationship at school.

"Can you help me, baby?" Lucy calls as she takes out our suitcases.

"Yep," I reply, confirming. "See you later," I say to Mapi before leaving.

I help her with the last of our things before joining our friends, who are chatting at the entrance, waiting for us. We all go inside the lobby together to escape the cold, and I must say, we make quite a group, especially with the other girls. The place looked large from the outside, and now that I'm seeing the reception area, I find it stunning. It's a mix of modern decor and a chalet style, thanks to the wooden accents. I stay aside with Alexia and Mapi while Lucy goes up to the reception with a few friends. We have five rooms in total—one for each couple, and the last two will be shared by the four single girls.

"I think the receptionist has a little crush on you," Mapi teases.

I stop my observations, realizing she's talking to me.

"Huh? No way."

"No, I think she's right. He keeps glancing at you," Ale giggles.

I roll my eyes at their teasing. He’s going to be disappointed when he sees me in Lucy's arms later. I don't really plan on hiding my relationship with her during this trip. All our friends know about us, so there's no reason to. My curiosity gets the better of me, and I feel compelled to take a quick glance at him to see what he looks like. He was indeed looking at me, but when our eyes met, he quickly looked away. He seems to be around our age, if not closer to Lucy's age. I turn back to the girls, who are talking about how great this week is going to be. They say it’s going to be awesome, and I quickly agree before Mapi nudges me.

"What?" I groan.

"You're the one she's calling 'sweetheart.'"

"What are you talking about?"

I frown, following her nod toward Lucy. She’s waiting for me a little farther away, shaking our room key.

"Oh," I say, blushing. "See you later, then."

"Yeah, sure," my best friend mocks.

I grab my suitcase and roll it over to Lucy. She tilts her head and holds out her hand when I reach her. I take it without thinking.

"Did you call me 'sweetheart'?" I ask, feeling shy.

"Hmm," she smiles. "Do I not have the right?"

"Yes, yes," I say, blushing again. "It’s just new."

"True," she laughs. "I can stop giving you nicknames if you prefer."

"Oh no, no. I like it. It was just... unexpected."

"Alright," she laughs. "I'll make sure to continue if you like it. Come on, let’s go up."

"And the others?"

"We're meeting at the restaurant at 6:30."

"Oh, okay."

I glance back at the others for a moment before following Lucy to the elevators. She calls one with a button.

"Do you know if our rooms are next to each other?"

"I don’t think so, but they’re on the same floor."

"And where are we?"

"Room 322, on the third floor."

"Cool."

We step into the elevator, letting go of each other's hands as we turn around. I catch a glimpse of the lobby, where I notice the young receptionist watching us with a new look of embarrassment when I catch him.

"The girls think the receptionist has a crush on me," I share with amusement.

"Oh really?" she smiles. "Too bad for him that you're already taken."

I smile as she pulls me close and kisses me just as the doors close. Oh yes, I’m already taken by the most wonderful person. The doors open to our floor. We easily find our room, which Lucy unlocks. She had shown me photos on the computer, but the reality is much better. It's beautiful. Like the lobby, the room has a chalet style. Everything is made of oak wood, with anthracite gray walls that contrast with the light wood beams. It’s not very big, which makes the space feel cozy. I’m thrilled to share it with Lucy for a whole week. A huge bed, which looks super comfortable, takes up the middle of the room. Opposite it, there’s a TV mounted on the wall that I can’t resist touching.

"Don’t touch everything," Lucy scolds.

"But look, it moves."

I tilt it from right to left to show my discovery, making Lucy laugh.

"I know, baby," she says, taking off her jacket and placing it on top of her suitcase.

Ignoring her, I continue exploring the room. We have a sitting area with a sofa and an armchair, and there’s even a small terrace. When I turn around, I quickly join Lucy, who is in the bathroom. It’s slightly bigger than the one Lucy has at Camp Wiegman. There are double sinks, a shower, and even a large bathtub. I can already see myself relaxing in there. Lucy��s arms wrap around me from behind. I smile as she unzips my jacket. I lean into her to make it easier.

"A whole week just for us," she murmurs.

"Yeah."

I’m living in pure bliss. I step away slightly so she can slide my jacket off my shoulders. I take off my scarf myself and take my jacket to place it with my suitcase, which I had left by the door.

"Shall we unpack?"

"If you want, but there’s only one wardrobe."

"Is that a problem?"

I bite my lip, shaking my head. Oh no, not a problem at all. It’s more like a dream come true.

"No... We can share it."

"Good," she smiles. "It’s strange, isn’t it?"

"Yeah, totally," I giggle.

It’s unconventional, just like our relationship. We’re going to experience a lot of firsts here. The first thing is unpacking our things in this wardrobe. When we’re done, we still have a little time before heading down. So I flop onto our bed, spreading out like a starfish.

"Your shoes, sweetheart."

A smile spreads across my face, now that I’ve heard it. The situation doesn’t seem to amuse Lucy as much, judging by the look she’s giving me. I feel like a little kid sometimes.

"What’s making you smile like that?"

"The nickname. My God, the effect it has on me."

She raises an eyebrow with a small amused smile as I laugh.

"That doesn’t change the fact that you need to take off your shoes."

"Say it again, and I’ll take them off."

"That’s called blackmail."

"It’s not much. It’s either that, or you take off my shoes yourself."

"Fine, but it’ll cost you."

I hold out my foot with a silly grin. She takes off one shoe, then the other, letting them drop to the floor. Hers quickly join mine before she unexpectedly lies on top of me. I groan because she wasn’t delicate at all. Luckily, my bruises don’t hurt as much anymore, or I might have screamed in pain. She giggles as she kisses my nose.

"Sorry for being grumpy earlier."

"Don’t apologize. You have the right to be. You didn’t have the best morning," I say as I gently stroke her hair.

"You’re right, but still," she mumbles before sighing contentedly against my neck. "You didn’t need to put up with it."

She kisses my jaw softly before moving down to my neck. If she plans to apologize like this every time, I’m going to tell her she can be grumpy more often. In just a few weeks, she’s already discovered that this is one of my weak spots, at least from what she’s explored. She’s gotten into the habit of inflicting this sweet torture on me whenever she gets the chance in her room. I let out a surprised gasp when I feel her teeth nibbling at my skin before she sucks it between her lips.

"What are you doing?" I panic.

"Something I’ve never done but always wanted to try..."

"You’re not serious!"

I laugh as she continues. I don’t even try to push her away. Her hair tickles the tip of my nose. I let her finish as she soothes the small bite with her tongue. She kisses it before propping herself up on her elbows to admire her work with a proud smile.

"So, are you happy now?" I chuckle.

"Not bad for a first time," she laughs. "At least the receptionist will know you’re taken."

"I think he already figured that out, you know. Is this really the first time you’ve done that?"

"Yeah," she smiles.

"And you should know this is the first time I’ve ever gotten a hickey too."

"Really?" she raises an eyebrow. "I thought Mapi would’ve done that already."

"She did... But not in visible places, you see..."

"I’d rather not know. »

I bite my lip, understanding perfectly. Maybe this isn't the best topic for us to talk about together. She captures my lips one last time before standing up.

"What are you doing?" 

"I'm going to get ready. We need to head down soon," she informs me as she heads into the bathroom.

"Oh..." I sigh. "Maybe we should've taken a vacation just for the two of us after all."

I hear her laugh from the other room, which makes me smile.

"You say that, but you'll be the first one who doesn't want to leave at the end of this week."

"You're probably right."

"I am right," she asserts. "You love spending time with your friends just as much as with me."

"It's frustrating how well you know me."

I hear her laugh again. I decide to join her, leaning against the door frame. She's just closing her makeup bag. She’s put on some lipstick and probably a touch of mascara. I blush, thinking she looks stunning.

"What are you thinking about?" she asks with a teasing smile.

"Nothing... Just that you're very beautiful."

"Thank you. You're not too bad yourself," she compliments me, smiling even more.

I clear my throat as I straighten up. I'm not used to openly expressing what I think, and even less so to accepting compliments. Lucy seems to understand this because she changes the subject.

"Should I leave you the bathroom?"

"Please."

We switch places, and she takes the opportunity to plant a kiss on my lips. She stays by the doorframe while I touch up my makeup. Suddenly, she seems deep in thought.

"What's on your mind?" I ask.

She takes a soft breath and shrugs.

"I feel a bit guilty. I compared you a lot to Kiera at the beginning."

I stop what I’m doing. It's the first time she's mentioned Kiera since the night we got together. I never pushed her because she never did it with me, but I wanted her to bring it up at least once. It’s important that we talk about it. I just didn't expect her to do it now.

"Why feel guilty? I don’t blame you. We’re somewhat alike. We were both junkies," I joke.

She shakes her head and sighs. It seems my joke didn't have the intended effect. I move closer to her and place my hand on her cheek. She lifts her head with a sad expression on her face. I begin to wonder just how much she thought we were alike. Seeing her like this tugs at my heart. The emotions she's experiencing are pure sadness. I don’t know how to react. Normally, she’s the one who reassures me.

"Exactly. I was scared when you’d go home. Kiera never wanted to stop, even after she tried to quit. She kept going back, again and again, and I was so terrified it would be the same with you."

I have tears in my eyes as she begins to cry in front of me. I've never seen her like this. She usually controls her emotions so well. Her broken voice shows me just how deeply all of this affected her. Panicking, I desperately kiss her. My gesture seems to be well received by the way she returns the kiss. I end up pressed against the furniture, and our exchange is rough. I wrap my arms around her neck to pull her closer.

"I'm so sorry," she says between sobs.

"Hey, shh," I say, wiping her tears with my thumbs. "It’s okay, alright? Please stop, or I'll start crying with you."

She chuckles, resting her forehead against mine. I realize she just needed to let it all out.

"I'm not Kiera. It’s not your fault that she didn’t want to be saved. I promise you, drugs and I are definitely over. You’re the only thing I could ever want—"

I stop, realizing what I’ve just said. Did I really just say that? Lucy laughs, making me aware of the weight of my words.

"I-I... That’s not what I meant," I stammer, blushing.

"Yes, it is what you meant," she teases.

"It’s embarrassing," I say, looking everywhere but at her, which makes her laugh.

"Baby, I’d be worried if you didn’t want me or if you were thinking about someone else... That’s not the case, right?"

"No," I chuckle. "You’re the only one."

"Hmm..." she says with a playful tone. "You’d better be."

I gasp when she tugs on my earlobe. Unintentionally, I rise onto my tiptoes. She takes advantage of it to press me harder against the furniture. She moves down to my neck, continuing her sweet torture. Damn, she’s good at this. I realize our situation when a moan escapes me.

"I— Luce... Please."

My desperate plea makes her stop immediately.

"Are you okay?"

"I... Yeah... I-I just need to finish up so we don’t end up late."

She smiles, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear.

"Sorry, I got carried away."

"Oh no, don’t worry."

"No, I’m sorry. I promised to take it slow, and I intend to keep that promise."

I sigh, nodding. She noticed my struggle, and I feel a bit guilty.

"If it’s something you want—"

"No," she shakes her head. "We don’t need to rush things. You went through a tough time, so we’ll take it slow. Anyway, we’ve only been together for two weeks. We need to get to know each other."

"You’re right."

"As always," she smiles.

She kisses me before pulling away suddenly, leaving a void I never thought I’d feel.

"Hurry up and finish. The quicker we’re downstairs, the sooner we can get back to our bed."

I smile, watching her leave. I guess that means our conversation is over. I quickly finish getting ready before joining her in the bedroom to put my shoes back on.

"Can I borrow a sweater? I’m starting to get cold."

"You didn’t bring one?"

"I’d like one of yours if you don’t mind," I say, biting my lip.

"Of course not. Help yourself," she says, nodding toward the wardrobe.

I quickly find a plain black wool cardigan that matches my sweater. Once I’m ready, we finally leave our room hand in hand. Lucy keeps the keys, and I fully intend to let her take care of that for the entire trip. I’d probably lose them. We arrive in the lobby. Lucy guides me toward the hotel restaurant with her hand on my waist. It’s the first time we can act as a couple in a week, and I plan to savor these moments.

"Have you been here before?" I ask her curiously.

"We came here last year. We liked it so much that we decided to come back."

"Did you bring someone...?"

"I was in a relationship, but no."

I don’t hide my pleasure. I’m the first person she’s brought here. I feel special. A waiter greets us upon our arrival. Lucy asks for the table that Jenni reserved for us. Once he finds it, he leads us there. Only Jenni and Alexia are already seated.

"I thought you’d be the first ones here," Jenni says. "You’re slipping, Luce," she teases.

"I have a girlfriend who’s not very punctual," she laughs.

"Hey! It wasn’t my fault this time! Besides, we’re on time, and it’s been a long time since I was last late."

"Thanks to whom?" she brags.

"I’m not going to respond to that provocation."

She chuckles as I slide onto the bench next to Alexia. Lucy takes the last available spot on the bench.

"Did you two get settled in well?" Jenni asks.

"It seems they did..." Ale hints with a smug smile.

I don't immediately understand where she's going with this until I see her staring at my neck. I blush and pull up the collar of my cardigan to hide Lucy's hickey. I regret not thinking to bring a scarf. Her smile widens, but she doesn’t say anything that might make us uncomfortable. We start chatting while waiting for the others. Lucy has decided to stick close to me tonight. Her hand rests on my thigh. I take advantage of this position by leaning into her as she talks mostly to Jenni. It’s clear they share a deep bond by the way they interact. Her friends gradually join us, bringing with them a lively atmosphere. Of course, the last ones to arrive are Mapi and Ingrid, who sit across from us.

“Now you know why I’m always late,” I say to Lucy. “Mapi’s the one who made me like this.”

“Why am I not surprised?”

“Hey, Lucy, instead of criticizing me, can we talk about how you went wild on my best friend? You're lucky she let you. I didn’t get that kind of treatment.”

I kick Mapi under the table, and she doesn’t hide her pain. I can’t believe she’s talking so openly about our relationship in front of our two girlfriends.

“Did you two date?” Aitana asks.

“Yeah, we were together, and I’m kind of annoyed to know that some people get more privileges than others!”

This time, she gets a smack on the back of the head from Ingrid.

“You're playing with fire, Girl. You’d better drop this conversation if you don’t want to sleep on the floor tonight.”

I bite my lip to suppress a smile when I see Mapi’s dismayed expression. This relationship must be quite different for her compared to her previous ones. Contrary to what I might have thought, Ingrid isn’t someone who can be easily pushed around. It’s surprising because I’ve always known Mapi as the dominant one in her relationships. That was the case with me, as she initiated everything, and I got the impression it was the same with Ana.

“Sorry, honey.”

“Hmm... Sure.”

“Hey, relax, guys,” Ale interjects. “Aren’t we here to have a good time?”

The girls across from us remain slightly tense until a waiter arrives to take our order. It’s the receptionist from this morning. He smiles at me timidly, but I don’t pay much attention.

“What are the specials again?” Ingrid asks.

“Uh, well…”

He flips through his little notebook. I deduce he’s a trainee from the way he’s handling things. He lists all the specials he’s noted down. Some of them sound pretty good.

“The first one was white wine, right?” Mapi asks.

“Yes, that’s correct,” he replies. “It’s slightly sweet, if that’s what you like.”

“Oh! That’s for us, Ona!” she exclaims, looking at me.

“Umm... Yeah.”

“That’ll be two glasses of white wine for the two of us,” Ingrid starts, pointing to Mapi and herself.

Everyone else makes their choices. The girls all opt for beers. Alexia orders the same as the girls, and then it’s our turn. I’m also tempted by the wine, but I’m not sure Lucy would appreciate me drinking alcohol.

“Scratch the glasses and bring us a bottle of white wine with five glasses,” Lucy beats me to it.

I glance at her from the corner of my eye. She smiles at me, gently stroking my hair.

“Why are you looking at me like that? Would you prefer something else?”

“Oh no, no… I’m just surprised, that’s all.”

“As Alexia said, we’re here to enjoy ourselves, right?”

“You’re right... Thank you.”

She smiles before kissing me. It’s the first time she’s kissed me in front of her friends, so it throws me off a bit. When we pull apart, the waiter has disappeared, and the others have resumed their conversation. We join in until the waiter returns with our drinks. I’m so caught up in my conversation with Ale and Mapi that I don’t notice him. But then a cold liquid splashes onto my thighs, making me jump.

“Sh-shit, shit, shit!” the waiter mutters under his breath. “I’m so sorry! It was an accident!”

“Damn it…” I sigh, standing up.

Drops are dripping onto the floor; I’m that soaked. He spilled the entire bottle on me. I’m going to smell like wine all evening because of him. Luckily, I’m not wearing anything white. Another waiter who saw the scene quickly comes over to scold the trainee, who starts to panic.

“I’m sorry, I’ll help you,” he says, stepping forward.

“I’ll take care of it,” Lucy intervenes, gently pushing him away.

I give him a sympathetic smile to reassure the trainee a little after my girlfriend’s attitude. On the other hand, I’m relieved that Lucy stepped in. It’s not like I would have been comfortable with strangers touching me. He takes a few steps back with a crestfallen look while Lucy wipes my pants with napkins.

“Please excuse him, miss. He’s new, still in training. He’ll be severely punished, I assure you.”

“It was an accident; it happens,” I say to lighten the mood.

I lower my eyes to Lucy, who sighs. Our eyes lock immediately. For a moment, I fear that grumpy Lucy is back. I run my hand through her hair at the nape of her neck to relax her. Her muscles do indeed loosen under my hand.

“You need to change. Otherwise, you’ll reek of alcohol all night.”

“Okay, I’ll go up.”

“Can we at least get the cost of a dry cleaning for her clothes?” she asks the waiter.

“Of course, and we’ll bring you a new bottle and offer a second one as compensation.”

“Good. So I suppose this young man won’t need to be fired if that’s what you were planning.”

The waiter simply nods in response to Lucy’s request. I don’t know much about the restaurant or hotel industry, but when something like this happens in movies, it’s usually the punishment that’s expected for the person. So I’m glad my girlfriend took the initiative and saved him from that. I wouldn’t have wished it on him.

“Alright,” she sighs. “Let’s go up.”

I take her hand that she offers and let her lead us out of the restaurant before she changes her mind. We head back to our room. I didn’t expect her to accompany me, but it’s nice of her. The first thing I do when the door shuts is kiss her. She growls, gently pushing me away.

“Take off your clothes before you jump on me.”

“I won’t comment on that innuendo.”

“It’s not my fault you have a dirty mind,” she challenges with a raised eyebrow.

“Sure,” I giggle, unbuttoning my jeans.

I sit down to remove them along with my shoes. I also take off Lucy’s cardigan, which got splashed.

“Can I jump on you now?”

She laughs, leaning in to kiss me again.

“You’re a hopeless case, Miss Batlle.”

“And you’re one to talk? I saw the way you looked at the waiter as we were leaving.”

“He deserved it,” she defends herself. “It’s the least after what he did to you.”

“He’s probably traumatized, poor guy.”

“Whatever. I saved his job, didn’t I? Now, hurry up and change so we can go back down.”

“Hmm... You know you don’t have to worry about him, right?” I ask as I head to our closet.

“Of course. Stop thinking I’m jealous of everyone,” she rolls her eyes, making me giggle.

I put on a new pair of jeans and end up changing into a warmer sweater to replace Lucy’s cardigan. When I’m done, I turn to see Lucy waiting for me on the bed, head tilted. She’s irresistible the way she looks at me. I’m really glad that almost all the scars Korbin gave me have disappeared. I can finally feel at least a little bit pretty for her. I join her to put on my shoes.

“Sorry about your cardigan.”

“There’s no need to apologize. We’ll just send everything to the dry cleaners.”

“Yeah. I didn’t know you were such a good negotiator.”

“Now you know,” she smiles. “Let’s head back down.”

I steal a kiss from her before we return to the restaurant. Everything has been cleaned up, and the bottles have been brought out for the girls’ enjoyment. The evening continues as usual until a discreet throat-clearing interrupts us. We all turn towards the receptionist, who looks like he’s in a state of panic.

“I-I wanted to apologize,” he starts, staring at his feet. “Th-that accident shouldn’t have happened… I didn’t mean to offend you or do my job poorly. I was clumsy a-and…”

The poor guy is scared to death. I imagine it’s his boss who sent him over.

“I-I also wanted to thank you for saving my job…”

“There’s no problem,” I reassure him warmly. “It’s already ancient history.”

“We’ll have the clothes returned to you tomorrow morning,” Lucy tells him.

“No, don’t worry about it. The housekeeper will take care of it when she cleans your room tomorrow morning. They’ve already been informed.”

He seems to relax since Lucy spoke. A friendly exchange takes place between them. He then leaves with a small smile on his face. That conversation must have reassured him. Our first evening resumes when a new waiter comes over to take our orders. I get the feeling we’ve become some sort of VIPs.

We were quickly served, and they offered us the aperitif. Conversations resumed about the activities we could do during our stay. I can tell we're going to have an amazing time with everything there is to do here. I plan to make the most of it, especially since this is our first vacation together with Lucy.

[coulsons-fullmetal-cellist]

Your Vampire: Chapter Four

I Have Confidence

(Max Phillips x f!reader)

Words: 2, 253

Summary: it’s your first day back at work, and you’re worried about bumping into your ex…

Warnings: the worst ex in the world, mild swearing, no y/n, reader has nickname Garland, references to musicals because did you read the previous chapter?

Check out masterlist here

“Garland, I am impressed by your extensive collection of adorable knitwear.”

Max was sitting on his chaise lounge in his dressing room, looking around at the open boxes with your clothes spilling out of them. He saw how much room all the boxes were taking up too much space in your bedroom, so he moved them up into his dressing room. He even showed off his vampire strength by carrying them one handed.

You were given the all-clear from your doctor, it was your first day back at work. Max could sense you were nervous as you spent nearly an hour in front of his two giant mirrors deciding what to wear.

“Garland, you’ll be fine.”

“No I won’t,” you sighed and changed cardigans again. “Everyone is going to look at me with pity.”

“Pity?”

“Yes, pity,” you changed back to the previous cardigan. “I got dumped by my fiancé. Also, I got cancer, the reason I got dumped.”

“If anyone is going to get looks it should be him as he was the prick who did the dumping.”

“Yeah, but he’s got friends in high places.”

“He also has enemies in high places,” he stopped in front of you from changing cardigans yet again. “You look like perfection, you’ll be fine.”

You nodded then looked at the time, “Oh no, I’m going to be late if I don’t leave now.”

“Um, you won’t ‘cause you’re getting a lift with me.”

“Are you sure?”

“It’s either get a lift from me or try to figure out how to get to the office from here.”

“But I already,” you started.

“Please,” he interjected. “I insist. And your doctor said to take it as easy as possible. You’ve only just had your stitches out.”

“Fine.”

“Your carriage awaits, my dear.”

You smiled, “No Gilbert and Sullivan though, it’s too early for that.”

“How about Sondheim?”

“Oh, you know I love me my Sondheim!”

*****

His car matched his house: posh with a capital P (O, S, H, if you know the song)

“So is anyone at else a vampire?” you asked him.

“You haven’t worked it out?” you shook your head. “No, I’m the only vampire in the office. We did try vampiric cooperate takeover in my previous company but that had some unexpected flaws, so we had to pull back and re-strategise. Now we only offer the chance of vampiric promotion to higher ups.”

“Vampiric promotion?”

“It’s a nicer way of saying being turned.”

“And that’s into a true vampire?”

He nodded, “We make it exclusive, like how I got turned. There’s a waiting list, only privy to the higher ups. Very few become eligible to be considered. In the past, we tried turning most people into lesser vampires but that’s where the problem in the vampiric takeover was. Now it’s all much more exclusive, secretive. NDAs have to be signed.”

“Really?”

“Can’t have everyone bragging about it.”

“Don’t want people coming at you with stakes and holy water?”

“It’s adorable seeing them try to.”

He made his way into the underground parking and went immediately to his designated spot. It certainly passed the time not having to worry if you were running late or not.

“Oh, here,” he handed you a container. “I made you lunch. Nothing fancy, just a sandwich.”

“You made me lunch?”

“Of course I did.”

You tried your hardest not to burst into tears. “No one’s ever made me lunch before. Well, my mum did when I was in school but-”

“Seriously?”

You nodded, “I was always the one making lunch for me and Jacob. But he rarely ate them as he was somehow always invited to schmoozy boozy lunches.”

“Another thing to add to the PowerPoint of why he’s a prick. I’d eat anything you gave me. Well, if I was still a human.” He held out his hand to lead the way inside. “By the way; schmoozy boozy? With floosies?”

You grinned, the joy of the old college game coming back. “Schmoozy boozy with floosies on Tuesdays,” (pronounced Tues-dees)

But this joy was short lived as Jacob walked up and shook Max’s hand, completely ignoring you. He gave him that smile when he was being deliberately friendly with.

“Oh, hey J-man,” said Max.

“It’s Jacob.”

“Yeah, whatever,” he moved so it was impossible for you to leave Jacob’s sight. “Hey, remember this wonderful woman who you dumped for getting cancer?”

“That’s not how it-”

“She’s staying with me,” he continued. “It was the right thing for me to do as her friend.” He squeezed Jacob’s hand tighter so even you could hear something crack. “Seeing as you left her to the wolves without even a stick to defend herself, you…”

“Max,” you warned him.

The look he gave Jacob would have stopped his heartbeat. Max eventually let go of his hand and patted him on the shoulder. “I’m sure you have a lot of work to do. There’s still that presentation coming up and I know you have to do the work all by yourself.”

Max let him go and he would have run off if he didn’t care too much about his appearance. His face immediately softened when he looked at you.

The office hadn’t changed much. You noticed the secretarial desk outside of Max’s office was empty as you made your way into your office. It was more a big storage room, but it was big enough to fit a desk, so you called it cozy.

You had started off as Max’s secretary. He was known to have gone through many as he was never fully happy with them and none of them could handle his particular schedule. The two of you were friends in college so people assumed there would be no issue with making you his new secretary. At least, you would last longer than a few months. But after a few months, he had quickly promoted you to his executive assistant which meant you would review all projects and proposals before handing them off to Max. Also, you no longer had to fetch refreshments for whoever felt they had entitlement to your services. Max only wanted you to work for him.

You got back into the swing of work and then finally you saw his secretary arrive. Her name was Cidnee. It was supposed to be pronounced as one named Sydney, but the spelling left with accidentally saying kidney.

You gave yourself the internal mantra of “don’t say kidney, don’t say kidney.” As you approached the secretarial desk outside of Max’s office.

“Hey, Cidnee,” you mentally high-fived yourself for saying it right. “I’ve got these reports for Mr. Phillips.”

“Can’t you give them to him?” her voice was like Lina Lamont from Singin’ in the Rain.

“Um, he’s in a meeting.”

“Is he? But he’s still in his office.”

“It’s a Zoom meeting.”

“So you can give them to him later.”

“But I have other reports to go through. Shouldn’t it be your job as secretary to give him stuff?”

“Aren’t you his secretary?”

“I’m his executive assistant.”

“Isn’t that the same thing?”

“No, I review all projects and proposals before they’re handed to Max. I’m like the boss before the boss.”

“But your title is assistant.”

“Executive assistant,” you don’t know why you were arguing with her. It was better to wait until Max was free. It was your first day back and you wanted a vacation. That gave you an idea. Going back into your office, you looked up your vacation days but found nothing. That wasn’t right so you decided to go find out.

It was once you got to the right office that you realised you’d have to face Renny. He was basically a secretary, but his title was Managerial Management. He still hadn’t realised that was a nontitle.

He looked up from his computer when he saw you, “Oh, you still have your breasts.”

Resisting the urge to slap him, you said, “I didn’t have a mastectomy.”

“Oh,” he just sat there.

“So, my vacation days seem to have gone. There must be an error.”

“No, there’s no error,” he didn’t look it up. “Your vacation days have been used up.”

“What do you mean?”

“You went over your allotted time for medical leave, so your vacation days were used instead.”

“But I put in the paperwork for extended medical leave.”

“Your circumstances didn’t meet the requirements.”

“What do you mean? Cancer meets the requirements.”

“That’s only for chemotherapy, you just had surgery.”

“That’s not fair. You got a wart removal, and you got as much time off as possible.”

He shifted uncomfortably in his chair, “It was a sensitive issue that affected my work.”

There was no point arguing with him. You were not having luck with anyone on your first day back at work.

Max sauntered into your cozy little office, “Hey, where’s what’s her name?”

“Kidney?” you asked.

“Is that what you call her?”

You realised the error and lay face down on your desk, “I mean Cidnee!”

Max had noticed your obvious deflated demeanour. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

“Well, all my vacation days are gone.”

“What?”

All you could do was shrug. This was going to be a great week note the sarcasm.

“Oh, here,” he handed you a set of keys. “Makes sense for you to have your own set of house keys.”

“Sorry, I haven’t been looking for other places, I’ve been busy with…” you gestured to yourself.

“I want you to stay.”

“You do?”

He nodded as he sauntered his way into his office.

*****

After a long week, it was Friday. The last Friday of the month was cake day. Well, technically it was a chance for all workers to co-mingle with one another in an awkwardly forced capacity. The only thing that made it bearable was the prospect of cake. Cheap alcohol was provided but that didn’t matter when there was cake. It was the only thing you were looking forward to today. One bite of a sugar, flour, butter and hopefully chocolate concoction would make you forget all the issues you faced this week.

“Store-bought cake,” Max sadly looked at the cake he was holding. “Couldn’t even splash out on bakery cake.”

“Why do you care? Do you eat food?”

“Only in social situations. Human food doesn’t exactly agree with me.”

“I can eat your piece, so you can pretend to fit in.”

“One reason to love you. As my executive assistant.”

He saw your face as you took a bite of cake. “Yeah, they should have gone for bakery cake.”

“Okay Garland. When I’m in charge, you’ll be in charge of the cake.”

“If I was in charge, I’d stop the mandatory social gathering and just hand out cake.”

The revelry was interrupted by the tapping of two empty beer glasses.

“Everyone, I would like to make an announcement” Jacob smiled a toothy grin and picked up his third beer. “I think of this company as my family,” you rolled your eyes. “And I would like to announce to my family here that this beautiful woman here,” he gestured to Cidnee who was standing next to him. “Has agreed to marry me.”

Everyone clapped as he held up her hand. On her hand was the ring that was previously on your hand. You swallowed back the cake that wanted to come up.

“And” he continued. “This family is only going to grow as Cidnee and I are having a baby.”

You quietly and promptly left the room that no one noticed.

There wasn’t anywhere for you to lie down in your small office, so you opted to just lie face down on the floor.

You heard your door open and saw the fancy shoes of Max. He had a moment of panic seeing you lying on the floor but quickly sensed that you were only dying of heartbreak.

“Are you okay Garland?”

“I hate him, I just hate him.”

“I hate him too,”

“I was hoping a chandelier would fall on his stupid head.”

“You know, I did look into having them installed in the company, but they didn’t suit the space.”

“And now they’re all in your place?”

“They definitely suit my space,” he sat down on the floor. “Well, I can tell you, that dickwad is no longer eligible to be on the vampire waiting list.”

You turned your head, “He was on waiting list?”

“He likes to think he’s on the waiting list. But officially, he’s no longer qualified as he has too many close living relatives.”

“Is that a requirement?”

“One of them. It’s how I qualified. I have no one.”

You got further off the floor, “Don’t I count?”

“Well now you do but back then,” he shrugged.

“I’m sorry I lost contact with you. It was so sudden and unexpected.”

“It was. All I had time for was punching Evan in the face.”

“Good.”

“And it wasn’t your fault.”

“Are you blaming Jacob?”

“I would blame him for everything if I could,” he let out a sigh. “Let’s get out of here. We could watch My Fair Lady and make fun of Rex Harrisons so-called singing.”

You let out a laugh, “So long as you don’t end it with that rant of yours.”

He stood up, “I stand by the fact that Eliza should have ended up with Freddy and not that Higgins twat.”

“I know, I’ve seen the PowerPoint,” he helped you up. “Twice.”

“Let’s go home.”

“There’s no place like home.”

Previous Next

Lovingly tagging @chaithetics @cevans-is-classic @galaxyedging @letsgobarbs @peepawispunk @missladym1981 @kirsteng42 @o-sacra-virgo-laudes-tibi @ericamarie093 @yorksgirl @popcornforone @allthe-ships @clowncummiess @ellenmunn @grogusmum

[jarofstyles]

Ultramarine- Indigo 7

Hello! Here is a cute part of Indigo, I'm sorry she's a slow burn but I really love them so I don't wanna rush them <3

Check out Patreon for early access to the next part and 150+ Exclusive writings

Indigo Masterlist

WC- 2.8k

Warnings- mention of trauma and bullying (brief) and sexual tension ;)

----------------

Y/N was grabbing lunch with him. 

Harry’s hand ached, the 5 hour session being particularly grueling regardless of how used his muscles were to the gun. He used arthritic cream on it and his wrist as he took a break in his office, finally checking his phone. As impressed as he was with the woman who had come and sat for 5 hours, he’d wished she wanted a break when he felt his phone buzz in his pocket. H was giddy and anxious to see what Y/N was saying- she was the only one who texted him during the day besides Niall with stupid tiktok links and his Mum sending photos of her cats. 

When he’d opened it up to see her question, he didn’t hesitate to agree. It didn’t matter if he hurt, he wanted to take any excuse he could to see her. 

Y/N; Hiiii! I know this is super last minute so do not be afraid to say no but did you want to grab lunch at around 2:30? 

H: Absolutely I do. Sorry for the late reply, I was finishing a tattoo. It isn’t too late to say yes, is it? 

Y/N: Oh, amazing :) And no, not too late. I’m kind of bored today, I finished a project and told myself I needed to relax but… I feel restless and I missed you a little bit.

Harry felt himself flush at her response, knowing if anyone saw him at this moment they wouldn't recognize him. His smile was wide and face as pink as he collected himself, grateful that he was in his own office so he could freely feel. 

H: Only a little bit? X 

Y/N: Well if I said I missed you a lot I’d be a weirdo, wouldn't I? We just saw each other. 

H: Well call me a weirdo too then, I suppose. Because I did. 

H: A lot, if you couldn’t tell. 

Y/N: You are very cute. I’ll be there in a few :) 

—-

“Yeah, it’s kinda fucked.” Harry sighed as Y/N took his hand into her own from across the little table. “Usually I love a long session but I’ve been doing them a few days in a row. S’my own fault, but I was hoping for a tap out for once.” He laughed through his nose before it turned into a groan, feeling small thumbs begin to rub over his palm. Y/N pouted ever so lightly, moving in slow circles on the skin and digging in slightly before meeting his eye. 

“You’ve got to take care of yourself.” The scold was lighthearted but he could see it on her face. She meant it. It made his chest flutter a little that she cared enough to do that. He was used to basically being on his own, mostly by choice but because it was easy for people to fake concern to get gossip- but he knew Y/N meant it. Her gentle massage on his hand, trying to ease his aching was a nice touch. Her half-drunk smoothie was in front of her, leaving her fingers cool to the touch and another nice addition to the soothing touch. “Shouldn’t wait for them to tap out. You should schedule them in smaller increments so you don’t put too much strain on your poor hands.” Y/N’s eyes met him for a moment before looking away. “They’re too pretty to be hurting.”

He had been surprised by the gall, if he was honest. Y/N had been a bit more shy when coming to this sort of thing but he was mentally preening, not able to hide the smile curling on his lips as he flexed his hand in her grasp. “Yeah? Think I’ve got pretty hands?” He hummed. “Got a bunch of calluses. Some scars. My nail polish is chipped.” Was he fishing for a compliment? A little bit. He wanted a few of them, especially when she had seemed to like his best tools. 

“Of course. Just shows you work with your hands, know how to use them.” She stated. “It’s something a lot of people don’t know how to do anymore. The scars add character, and the nail polish is cute. It can always be redone.” She flipped his hand over but continued the slight massage, looking at his long, nimble fingers stretched over her wrists. He had a few rings on them which she knew he took off while tattooing, his fabric bracelets slightly worn besides the silver cuff on the non tattooed wrist. Harry liked to decorate his body and that was obvious. He’d told her he sometimes struggled with expression verbally, so she had a hunch that he used this to express himself. “And I also love the eyeliner thing. It’s attractive too.” 

She tacked on the compliment and his smile grew into a grin, shaking his head as he squeezed over her hands with a laugh. “Laying on all the compliments today, yeah? D’want something from me?” All she had to do was ask. The shivers in his body made him more than willing to hand shit over on a silver platter. His eyeliner had been a few years ongoing, a simple charcoal pencil smudging around his eyes. Apparently it brought out the green even more and he did have a few colors. Perhaps one day Y/N would want to do it for him. 

“No, no. Just figure people don’t do it as often as they should.” She sighed, dropping one of his hands to take a sip of her smoothie. The contact felt good. Especially since he kept a grip on her hand and swiped his thumb over the back of hers, the gentleness a stark contrast to the chain around his neck, metal on his face and ink on his skin. He was the opposite of what someone would expect, and somehow that made Y/N yearn for even more of him. 

“Well.. Thanks. But I’d prefer you to be the one doing the compliments. I know you’re not full of shit.” His smirk made her scoff but she merely continued sipping before moving on. Surely many people meant the compliments they gave him but she knew that he wouldn’t believe them regardless. That was the thing about growing up with that sort of trauma. When you were bullied growing up, seen as a butt of a joke, it was harder to accept people’s genuine kindness. It saddened her immensely, but this wasn’t the place to unpack that. 

“You’d have to be dead to not see how attractive you are, H. But I don’t want to give you too much of an ego boost or you’ll leave me in the dust.” Her foot nudged him under the table. “I wanted to ask if you wanted to come over this weekend? I was thinking of trying out a few cookie recipes and I need a baking assistant- or at the very least, a taste tester.” She offered, trying to hide her nerves. They were at a weird crossroads of developing relationships. Not official, not exactly fully comfortable enough to be shooting plans the day of but still craving their company quite strongly. They weren’t seeing anyone else, at least she hoped so, but they didn’t have a label. 

“Are you kidding?” He barked out a laugh. “Of fucking course I do. Used to help my nan back in the day in the kitchen. Christmas breads and sweets galore. You’ve got an old pro on your hands.” Was he vastly overvaluing his kitchen skills? A bit. He knew his way around decently enough, but he wanted to get that smile on her face- which succeeded. 

“Oh, lovely.” She chirped. “Then yes, I’d love for you to come over. We’ll get something to eat because m’not sure either of us are going to want to be in the kitchen for more than the cookies.” He watched her nose wrinkle making his heart skip a beat. There were tiny Y/N mannerisms he wanted to get to know. This one in particular he found to be stupidly cute, each time it happened making him smile internally. 

“Mhm. I understand. We’ve got a kitchen quota we don’t want to max out.”

—

“Where do you think you’re going?” A hand on her waist stopped her from taking another step further, Y/N grinning to herself as she paused in her step. She had done it just to see what Harry would do, and so far she had been correct. Her hopes had been granted. 

“Hm? Home.” She grinned up at him, eyes not able to hide the mischief in them as she moved back towards him. “Is there a problem?”

“I think we need to establish a few things.” His voice dropped, crowding her back against her car. Y/N had started this but felt the air get sucked from her lungs as her back pressed agaisnt the cold metal of her door, eyes widening slightly as she was peering up at him with far less smugness as before. “I don’t like leaving without a proper goodbye, hm? And you know what I’m missing, yeah Darling?” of course she did. She had been aching for it just as badly, the tiny one she got in greeting not even half of the one she needed now, but she wanted to make him work for it a little bit. 

“What’s that?” She hummed, biting her lower lip to try and control the grin threatening to break out on her face. The uncontrollable urge to giggle as he seemed to clock the look on her face, shaking his head at her and clicking his tongue while tilting her head up to meet him. It was the closest she could get to a swoon, sure there were little hearts in her pupils as he tapped the bottom of her lip and tugged it from her teeth. 

Christ. 

“I think you know.” He muttered. “Cruel, cruel little angel. What d’want from me, hm? Do you want me to beg?” His eyes scanned her face. “M’not one to get on my knees for that reason, but I think I could do so for you.” 

Y/N’s knees felt weak as he pinned her with his stare, a quivering in her stomach making her blink rapidly at him. Get on his knees? She could only imagine what he did on his knees and the image of him peering up at her with his mouth tucked between her thighs and her knee over his shoulder, working to get his tongue up inside her made her feel hot all over. The mental image was precisely his goal, she found, as his grin rose back and morphed into a smirk as she barely held back a whimper when her lip was stroked by the thumb in question. She had played with the lion as a sweet little lamb, and found herself right in his jaws. 

“N-No. Don’t have to beg, but I think it would be cute.” She cursed internally at the stutter, showing her weakness front and center as his face got a bit closer to hers, nose brushing the bridge of hers before moving down to the tip. Being this close made her dizzy, the sweet spice of his cologne and the mint of his gum overwhelming her. The man trapped her against her car, getting closer than she had been to a man in public, but she was pathetic. Internally she was gagging for it, tilting her head up to try and catch his mouth-

Only for him to pull back just enough to miss. A spark in his eye made her want to stomp her foot, the man teasing her more than she had anticipated. Y/N had tried to get the upper hand but it was obvious that the more comfortable he got, the more power he would wield with her. She had been a bit of a fool for thinking that a man like him wouldn’t turn this over, but she had felt like trying her luck. 

“Cute? Think it would be cute?” He muttered under his breath. “Well, I’m glad you think so. But I know what this is, little angel. Prettiest little Sunflower, trying to tease me.” Realistically, Harry knew she hadn’t a clue about the true power she had over him, but he would let that remain a secret for a bit longer. “What I meant, by a proper goodbye… Is that I’d like to feel these pretty lips before you leave me.” There was an audible hitch in her throat, making him hold back the smile, ghosting his lips against hers. “You did something to me… m’convinced. Put a spell in your lipgloss or somethin’ like that. Made me crave it. I’m more of a gentleman these days, because the first thing I wanted to do was lick into this pretty little mouth when I saw you today. I controlled it, but I can tell it’ll be a problem later on down the line. I need something sweet to hold me over, y’feel me, doll?” He tapped her lip with his thumb, gently tugging it down before it snapped back up. 

Y/N could barely breathe. Sometimes, she found, Harry had these bursts of being pure sex appeal. It was broken up by cute, soft and shy boy, but when he got in this sort of mood she found it hard to keep her vision from swimming. A floaty feeling, making her swallow thickly and nod in a jerking motion as she tried to get up on her tiptoes to catch his lips only to be deprived again. This time she did make a noise of frustration, brows furrowing as she looked at his hooded eyes. It wasn’t fair! 

“Oh, m’sorry Sunflower. Couldn’t let you have it that easy when you were about t’leave me without a kiss. Got a mean streak in you, but I’ll take it. You’re sweet and tart, like a Cherry.” He laughed, leading her arm to loop over his neck. “If you’re good to me, I’ll be good to you. Give you what you want, maybe even more.” She was rewarded, finally, with a tiny kiss to her pout before pulling back.  “But if you want to play games… You’ve gotta remember that m’a nasty competitor.”

Y/N could believe it. Harry oozed ‘win or nothing’ energy and she had tested it now, feeling how quickly she was going to fold. That didn’t mean she wasn’t going to test this out when she had more resolve, but she had felt similarly to him the whole time. She wanted him just as badly, and playing with fire wasn’t cutting it right now. The only burn she wanted from him was a big of beard burn between her thighs. “M’sorry.” She whispered. “I’ll be sweet.” 

“I heard a silent ‘for now’ after that, but that’s good enough for me.” He rewarded her heavily. Kissing her fully, capturing her lips between his own and pulling her into him as he did so. Harry kissed just how he looked. Intense, hot. She let out a little noise feeling his tongue brush past and the cool metal of his tongue piercing hit hers. It was another reminder of how he would definitely be one to blow her mind when he got on his knees for her, because Harry didn’t seem like the type to do anything half assed. He had the ability to make her feel like she was boiling inside and the only thing that could cool her down was his touch. 

It was over too quickly, her thighs clenching together hard as she looked at him with bleary eyes. His face was self assured, a little smug and she was trying to recover. A squeeze was given to her chin, making her clear her vision as she was left a little unsatisfied. But would she ever really be truly satisfied when he took away his mouth? She could kiss him for hours and still feel like she wanted more. Their date was proof of that. 

“See? I can be sweet when you are. Rewards.” His confidence blew her away, barely able to recover when he pressed another firm kiss to her mouth without giving her time to react. “Now go on and go get some supplies for our cookies, yeah? Text me when you’re there and when you’re home safe. I’ve got another two appointments.” He wished he could cancel them and just go with her but he didn’t want the rep, and also didn’t want to cling to her. As tempting as it may be, he wanted to start this right. 

Y/N’s kiss still tingled on his lips as she drove away. He knew he was deep in the inky indigo waters of infatuation, but he didn’t think that was a bad thing. He’d learn to breathe underwater.

[videnrambles]

Older Brother Yuji

Yuuji has so much potential as an older brother, if he wasn't the youngest of the first year he'd 100% act like an older brother. I've been thinking about this for the last hour so here are some scenarios for your consideration:

The first years get back after a rough mission, emotionally and physically drained, the other two pass out in their rooms. Meanwhile Yuji goes to the kitchen and makes their favorite comfort foods. He brings it to their rooms, softly knocking, waking them up to make sure they both eat.

Yuji staying up late to prepare breakfast for them because just because school is early doesn't mean you can skip, come on guys I made your favorite.

When either one of them go on a mission without Yuji he packs them a lunch. It's usually something simple and light that he knows they'll like and won't get soggy.

Yuji helping Nobara do her hair in the morning while she eats breakfast because she woke up late and Yuji is not letting her skip a meal.

Yuji letting Nobara try different make up looks on him.

Megumi bringing Yuji a toy that the Demon dogs ripped in half and asking him to fix it

Yuji repairing their uniforms, and yeah they could just get replacements but its only a small rip and he wants to practice his sewing anyway

He would 100% learn Megumi's favorite bands just so he could talk with him about them.

Would make everyone bento boxes with food shaped like animals

Makes megumi custom plushies of his shikigami

Goes to the gym multiple times a day so that each of his younger siblings have someone to spot them

Yuji has a backpack that he brings with him whenever he leaves the campus with either of the 2, it is the equivalent of a mom friend's purse. Inside is food, medical supplies (Advil, wipes, ice packs, ect), portable phone chargers, extra water bottles, any medicine they currently need, and fake IDs.

Forces the other 2 to have movie nights with him, they pretend to hate it but secretly love it

Yuji would make a list of things that he sees the other two look at for a long time in stores and then get it for them as gifts

Yuji is the only person the other two will willingly allow surprise hugs from, if Gojo tries it he will be hit

Yuji learns to make clothing/small accessories and makes cute things for Nobara based on photos she sends him of celebs wearing overly expensive accessories

Yuji carries them to bed if they fall asleep outside their rooms.

Yuji is easily swayed by "puppy dog eyes" from the other two. The puppy dog eyes in question are actually quite terrifying and anyone else would run screaming for the hills.

Yuji is a photographer, he takes the most pictures and videos whenever he is with the others. His camera roll is full of them doing the most random things together. He also has hundreds of polaroids and those picture strips from photo booths.

Yuji often does the bulk of the chores as he has lived alone and is used to maintaining a living place. While cleaning the bathrooms and communal areas is left to staff.

I have a bunch of details and ideas for this au so I may write some more stuff later. Maybe I'll finally make a story who knows.

[vodkabodies]

Surprise?

Summary: A seemingly normal celebration trip where Harry learns that consuming alcohol isn’t the only thing that can get a girl puking.

Pairing: Harry Styles x Non-showbiz gf

WC: 2.2k

Warnings: Mentions of drinking, pregnancy, and some fluff <3

A/N: My first published work here so please be gentle. Enjoy!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Y/n didn’t know what prayer worked out of the multiple ones she consistently recited for this day to finally come into fruition. The day where Harry set aside work and exchanged his incredibly busy schedule with one where his only agenda was to unwind and bond with his family, friends, and ofcourse Y/n, his girlfriend of almost five years. Today was a couple of days before his birthday and a day before their anniversary, so it meant everything for Y/n that the love of her life gets to celebrate the way he deserves to, even for just the weekend.

They were currently staying at a resort in Big Sur, Harry’s mom and older sister, as well as a couple of their closest friends had cleared their own schedules to be able to celebrate with Harry. Y/n took pride in finding the perfect venue for this weekend getaway, and she was just as proud at the gifts she had bought for her man, a bundle of vintage vinyls she knew he’d absolutely love, and an electric guitar he’d been eyeing online for quite some time now. She intended to give him these gifts once they got back from their trip.

Anne and Gemma were picked up directly from the airport by Mitch and Sarah, with their child in a car seat who was asleep for most of the drive, while some of their other friends drove themselves to the resort. The couple on the other hand, ran a little later than intended as the night before, they did some ‘special adult activities’ that they were aware they could not do on the group trip, to keep it as wholesome as possible. Y/n woke up, bundled in sheets, beside Harry who was still deep in slumber while the clock on his bedside table read 7:15. The drive from their shared home in L.A. to Big Sur would take at least 5 hours, but traffic would surely be expected so they planned beforehand to leave as early as possible so they could arrive at the venue by noon. Thankfully, they finished packing and loading their things in the car early the day before so all they had to do was quickly get ready and make sure they didn’t forget anything.

“You made sure the oven isn’t on?” Y/n asked loudly as she bolted out the front door, “Baby, we didn’t even cook anything yesterday, the oven is off… And so are the lights in every room. We’re good to go.” Harry explains as he gets in the driver’s seat. “I’m so excited! The weather’s so nice!” Y/n exclaimed and to that Harry smiled, while pulling out their driveway. The drive went smoothly, at the three hour mark they realized that they were definitely not gonna make it on time, so Y/n  sent a text in the group chat that the group, who all surprisingly showed up on time, should eat lunch without them and that they’d just pick up some drive-thru on the way.

The clock read almost 2 p.m. when they arrived and everyone thought it was funny how it seemed like the couple planned their grand entrance by being tardy like the duo they were known to be. Always so fashionably late. Catching up was necessary and so that was what they mostly did throughout the rest of the day, besides watching a couple of movies and cooking dinner. It unexpectedly rained around dinner time so their plans of starting a bonfire that night were postponed until tomorrow evening. Everyone went to their designated rooms after they all agreed to wake up extra early for a hike, Anne and Gemma deciding not to join as their jet lag got the best of them and so they could look after the burnt out parents' baby.

After their group hike in the morning and a very filling lunch when they got back, everyone spent the rest of the afternoon swimming until the water got too cold and the sun was setting. "Thank you for convincing me, Y/n. I really needed this." Harry said as they walked back to their room to freshen up before dinner. "You're welcome, baby. You always work so hard, I'm so happy you actually agreed. I'm sure the others needed this just as much as we do." After taking a quick shower and changing to more comfortable lounge clothes, everyone headed to the dining table where comfort food was served.

“You have one year before you turn three decades old, darling.” Anne jokes and Harry shakes his head with a chuckle as they sit beside each other at the table. Harry handed Y/n the bowl of rice before replying to his mum, "Making me sound so old!" and Anne returned the same laugh. "Well, you're not necessarily a baby anymore… Might as well have a baby of your own!" Harry didn't reply but smiled at the idea. His career was doing incredibly well, he's well received by the public, he has amazing family and friends who have supported him throughout the years, and a girlfriend he never thought he'd deserve. Life was good, and a family of his own one day sounded like heaven to his ears.

Dinner went by fast as everyone devoured their meals, hungry from the activities they did all morning and afternoon. Noticing that the sky was clear tonight, they decided to finally start the bonfire and set up some chairs around it. S'mores were made and beer bottles were opened as stories were shared by everyone. Sarah accompanied their baby to their room as it was approaching bedtime. Mitch picked up the guitar he had brought with them and everybody cheered when music started echoing the open area.

Although it was a simple get together, Harry was having the time of his life… Singing, drinking, laughing until he almost fell off the foldable chair, all while being wrapped in his lover's embrace and surrounded by nature. "I can't wait to show you my gifts when we get home." Y/n whispered in his ear. "Why wait at home when you can show it to me tonight?" he playfully replied, making her erupt in giggles. "That's not what I'm talking about. I have more to give but they're at home." She says as she kisses his cheek.

Y/n was singing along until she felt something boiling at the pit of her stomach. She quickly excused herself from the circle to go to the bathroom. Could it have been something they ate? Everything served was fresh and no one seemed to have an upset stomach aside from her at that moment. Immediately heading for the bathroom door, the knob appeared to be locked from the inside. "One second!" Gemma exclaims as she turns off the sink. Once she opened the door, Y/n rushed to the toilet and puked most of dinner out. "Y/n, are you alright?" Gemma asks in worry as she rushes towards Y/n's side. She took a minute to answer as she vomited one more time, "Uh… I'm fine. Just an upset stomach, maybe." Right as she finishes her sentence, another round of puking erupted from her as Gemma held her hair up and rubbed her back soothingly. "How many have you drank so far?" She hasn't had anything to drink tonight… Come to think of it, the past few weeks she had refrained from drinking overall. No particular reason, she thought. But truly, a part of her brain was telling her she shouldn't.

"I haven't been drinking at all lately." At this, she stood up and headed over to the sink. "I've been feeling nauseous lately, but never to the point of puking. I don't know if it's something I ate today… I don't know." She adds as she rinses her mouth with water, lightheaded from the endless vomiting. Cog wheels started turning in Gemma's head as clueless Y/n explained her current situation. "Y/n I don't want to alarm you, but do you think maybe there's a chance… you might be pregnant?" She asked, trying her very best to not worry her, in case the girl didn't want to hear that right now.

It took her a minute to process what Harry's sister had said. Could she really be pregnant? If she was, that could explain everything she'd been feeling lately. Even as hectic as Harry's schedule was, they did still have some time to themselves and ‘bond’. Not as often as they would've liked but they take advantage of any time they could have together. The past couple of weeks though, Y/n had found herself becoming clingier than usual, craving his presence a little more than she already did. And she started losing a bit of appetite for food she'd normally be able to inhale when she craved it. Feelings she thought were seemingly normal, turned out to be symptoms all along. No wonder the mere smell of alcohol made her stomach turn!

She stared at herself in the mirror for a couple more seconds, then turned to look at Gemma with concern on her face, patiently waiting for Y/n to say something. "It's not impossible… I might be." Y/n finally spoke. She was genuinely shocked. Really shocked because they haven't really planned on having children any time soon. Should she tell Harry now? Or should she take a test first just in case? "Do you want me to grab a pregnancy test for you?" They were walking out of the bathroom now. "It's alright, I'll take a test the moment we get home tomorrow. I don't think I should tell Harry yet." Y/n whispers as they head back to where everybody was, following the sounds of loud singing and beautiful guitar playing. Before they could exit the door, Gemma grabbed Y/n's hands. "If you really are pregnant, I just wanna say that I'm happy Harry gets to start a family with you. I'll try to hide it from mum for now but I can already tell she'll be ecstatic!" This meant everything for Y/n. His family loved her like their own and she values them so much. After hugging, they finally arrived back at the bonfire. Fortunately, some of them were too tipsy, Harry included, to notice their absence. "Hey, baby!" Harry reached for Y/n's hand and motioned for her to sit beside him. She obliged and quickly engulfed in Harry's warm embrace. 

After another hour and a half, with Sarah joining them again once the baby fell asleep, they were bringing their chairs back inside and headed to their rooms to end the night. Harry and Y/n were laughing as Harry stumbled into their shared room after losing his balance when she opened the door. "Oi! Laughing a little too loud at a poor man falling instead of helping him up?" she giggles uncontrollably while reaching her hand out to help him.

Harry was about to kiss her after he closed the door but Y/n immediately felt the same wave in her stomach as she did earlier and bolted to the bathroom. Harry rushed behind her as he watched his girlfriend puke her guts out, head hanging above the toilet. "Are you okay, love? Had too much to drink?" he asked as he knelt down beside her. For a second she stared at the bathroom floor, not knowing if any second she'll puke again before she can get any words out. After a minute of silence she finally spoke, "Harry, I didn't drink at all tonight." She didn't want to tell him just yet, she wasn't entirely sure after all. But the way she looked at him almost begged him to read between the lines and understand the point she was trying to make. It took him a moment, still in his half drunk state. She looked into his eyes then down at her stomach, which wasn't showing, but she hoped he got the message.

"You're pregnant?" he asked in confusion, searching for answers in her eyes which were now welling up with tears. All she could do was nod as he pulled her in his arms. "I'm not entirely sure yet. But when I left to use the bathroom earlier, I ran to puke and Gemma helped me. She was the one who asked if I was possibly pregnant. I wasn't really thinking about it at all." Harry pulled away before he could reply. "We're having a baby?" he asked, more enthusiastic now. "Maybe…" she replied after rinsing her mouth. Without wasting another moment, Harry closed the gap between him and his lover as he kissed her prior worries away. She didn't want to ruin the trip by announcing this to her partner out of the blue, but it was never bad news to begin with. Once they pulled apart from each other's hungry lips, Y/n had one thing to say, "Surprise?" They both immediately laughed and hugged at her words.

They went outside again, that very same night. While the rest were fast asleep, they walked hand-in-hand talking about clearing both their schedules to book and attend an appointment for a check-up. Harry didn't think this getaway would get any better, but it just did. "Baby, I almost forgot!" Y/n alarmingly exclaimed as she looked at the time on her wrist watch. "What?!" Harry asked with concern, but she smiled at him before he could panic. "Happy Anniversary, H." she spoke, resting her hand on his cheek, pulling him into a quick peck on the lips. "Happy Anniversary, angel. I love you so much."

When they finally got home the next day, Y/n gave Harry the gifts she had bought, he adored every single one of them. And while she napped after unpacking their luggage, Harry spent the rest of the afternoon scavenging for the perfect engagement ring online.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

A/N: Thank you for reading! I would appreciate some feedback for future reference <3 More updates soon once I get the hang of this app!

Twitter: @vodkabodies

[starwarsmum]

Day 12 brings the 2nd chapter of An Evening in Metropolis! Prompt is I Accept

@maribat-calendar-events

The dance floor was crowded, but Marinette didn't mind. She was swaying closely with Jon's friend, Damian, and his taller frame was keeping those closest to them a safe distance apart. She was mildly light headed and giggly but she couldn't tell if that was from the drinks she had consumed or the Adonis who had his arms wrapped around her.

They had spent well over an hour chatting at the bar before she had asked if he wanted to dance. She knew there was a good chance he'd say no; Jon had looked worried when she was getting in Damian's face, like he was worried his friend would get angrier than he already was. So when he said yes she was absolutely thrilled and was currently trying to convince her brain not to get carried away with naming future children and pets.

“Will you be staying in Metropolis for long?” Damian murmured into her ear. 

“Just for tonight,” she admitted, leaning back slightly so he could see her pout. “And I have to be up stupidly early to get to Gotham so I can meet my uncle’s old friend.”

“You are spending some time in Gotham?” He asked, face unreadable as she nodded. 

“My uncle has an old school friend and his kid wants to commission something from me,” she continued. “It's a bit of a hassle but I'm still relying on word of mouth connections for commissions and I find it easier to design for someone if I'm in person. So I'm eating with them all tomorrow for lunch.”

“Will you stay in Gotham for long after that? Because I live in Gotham and would be more than happy to show you around,” he said, squeezing her hips gently.

The song ended and they decided to step off the dancefloor to get a drink and talk some more. She was about to take hold of his hand again when he wrapped his arm around her waist and steered her towards the bar. When they both had a new drink in hand, Marinette leaned back against the bar and looked up at him.

“I was planning to stay for a week, maybe? I don't have anywhere else to be right now and Jagged offered me to stay at his penthouse if I don't want to use a hotel,” she said at last. “But I don't want to get to his place so late tonight so Alya's letting me crash in her studio apartment. It's not ideal but I've slept worse places than my best friend's floor.”

“Tt, you could always come to Gotham tonight and stay at my father's home,” he told her, looking down at her. “There is plenty of space, and you would not be the only woman present as my favourite sister Cassandra is currently home.”

“I mean, I would love not to have to try getting up at five in the morning to catch the train. Are you sure it wouldn't be a problem for me to stay?” Marinette was excited and ignored the tiny part of her that was trying to tell her that she was rushing into things.

“You are more than welcome. The manor is slightly outside of Gotham but it will be no problem getting you to your uncle's friend for lunch. Are your belongings already at Alya's home?” 

“No, I came straight here from the plane so my suitcase is in the cloakroom,” she replied, grinning. Then a thought came to her that made her slightly less jubilant. “I'll need to tell her that I'm not staying at hers though.”

“We do not need to leave until you are ready, but does this mean you are happy to accept my invitation?” Damian's eyes were bright and intense as he stared into her own. 

“Hell yes, I accept,” she said, putting her empty glass down and taking hold of his arm to pull him back over to Alya. He gave a soft laugh as she dodged around different groups, following her with little difficulty until they reached Alya and Jon. “Als! I've managed to get a ride to Gotham tonight so you don't have to worry about getting me out of bed tomorrow morning.”

“Okay girl, you'll let me know if you need anything?” Alya said cheerfully, cheeks rosy and a drink sloshing in her hand. “And you, mister grumpy, you take care of her, understand? Cos I don't care who you are, I will find you and kick your ass if something happens to her.”

“I shall protect her with my life,” Damian said solemnly.

“Excuse me, I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself,” Marinette said in outrage. Then she seemed to calm down and smiled at Damian. “But it's kind of nice to hear someone say they want to look after me for a change. Whenever you want to get out of here I'm good to go, handsome.”

Jon watched them leave with a slightly open mouth, continuing to listen to them flirt as Damian led her out to his car. 

Part 3

[fangirlingfromdownunder]

A Sweet Mishap - Volume 2, Chapter 40

Pairing - Jensen Ackles x Reader 

A/N: I just want to start by thanking everyone for all the love on this story so far. Let me know if you want to be added to the tag list. Please read the TW below and only read on if you feel comfortable doing so.

Potential Trigger Warnings: mentions of violence, rape, therapy, depression

A Sweet Mishap Masterlist | Main Masterlist

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

It’s late in the afternoon when Jensen and I are sitting in his spacious backyard again watching the multicoloured sky darken overhead as we share a mid-afternoon snack platter. After spending an hour or so working out in his home gym while I did a session with Dr Katelyn, we spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing in the pool. Once we were well and truly wrinkled–for the second time today–we made a platter complete with fruits, cold cuts of meat, cheese, crackers and wine to share as a picnic under the trees that fill his backyard.  

“No regrets about this morning?” Jensen asks carefully.

I shake my head. “I had a session with Dr. Kate…”

“Yeah? And?”

“She said it’s all progress and it’s about knowing my limits, which I do. But I also know I can push my boundaries when I feel safe and ready.” I smile at him, “Plus, it was really nice to care for you too.”

Jensen's face breaks into a warm smile. “I appreciate that. And I appreciate you. You know, we're figuring this thing out together, Y/N. It's okay to be vulnerable and admit that this morning was...intense.”

I nod, feeling a sense of relief wash over me. “Yeah, I guess it was…intense. But it also made me realize how much I want to explore this further with you.”

He takes my hand and squeezes it gently. “Speaking of taking this further…You ready to meet my parents?”

“I-I thought that was-”

“Next week, I know. But they’re coming into Austin tomorrow for a family friend’s birthday and my mom wants me to go…and I was kinda hoping you’d come with me.”

“Oh…”

“I know it’s sudden and if it’s too much-”

“No, it’s okay. I’m just surprised is all, I thought…Can we still do the hike in the morning?”

“Of course. They won’t get in until after lunch and it’ll be too hot to stay out after that anyway.”

I nod and lean into Jensen’s side. The warmth of his body against mine is comforting, grounding me in the moment as we watch the sky shift from vibrant blue hues to dusky shades of pink and orange. A gentle breeze ruffles my hair, carrying with it the scent of chlorine from the pool and grass.

“I want to go, but I am nervous…” I say softly.

Jensen’s smile widens, his green eyes reflecting the fading light of the day. “I get it. I’m nervous too. But I trust that they’re gonna love you,” he says with certainty. “Just like I do,” he adds after a moment. He pulls me close and we enjoy the rest of the sunset in peace as we fee eachother portions from the spread beside us. As darkness settles around us, Jensen stands up and holds out a hand to help me up. “Let’s head inside”.

After spending some time prepping everything we need and getting an early night, Jensen and I are up bright and early to make the most of the cooler morning air. The sun is rising beautifully overhead as we shrug on our backpacks and hit the trail, leaving his truck in the car park. The morning air is crisp and cool against my skin, as we hit the cement trail through the tall trees, a welcome relief from the Texas heat that will soon blanket the landscape. As it’s still cool enough, we walk hand-in-hand as the path winds through the shade of trees that have to be hundreds of years old and take in the beauty of the glistening lake as it flows alongside us. Vast hues of wildflowers line the path on either side brightening the landscape. 

After half an hour or so we reach a clearing with a manmade viewing deck that overlooks the lake. We stop briefly to take it all in and rehydrate. “How're you holding up?” Jensen asks as he glances over at me, his water bottle swinging from his hand.

I put my bottle back in my bag and adjust my backpack. I smile up at him, glancing away from the breathtaking view. “Great! This sort of thing is what I miss most about Texas.”

“Me too. But Vancouver does have its perks. It’s just often too cold to do this.”

We both nod as we let the comfortable quiet settle back over us. We get back on the trail enjoying much of the same views and the comfort of nature until we get to the next rest stop. The further we walk, the higher the sun climbs in the sky as though it’s keeping pace with us and eventually we’re both sweating heavily. Jensen passes me his water bottle as he walks backwards in front of me. I shake my head but he insists, “There’s a refill spot uphead. Plus…” We follow the trail around a bend and a large swimming centre comes into view. “We can cool off and relax here for a while before heading back to the car.”

I smile and follow him through the gates. He’d told me to throw in my swimmers last night, so I had a feeling, but the spring-fed pools in front of us are not at all what I’d expected. I had thought it would be in the lake. This is better. We go our separate ways to change out of our sweaty athletic wear for a bit and into our swimmers. Once I’m done I see him sitting at a bench reapplying suncream in the shade. He’s in black and red swim shorts and shirtless. I join him and put down my backpack on the edge of the bench. He hands me the sun cream bottle and I start to apply my own. He stands up and gets my back, softly massaging the cream into my shoulders, neck and back. He then turns around and urges me to do his. It feels intimate, especially out in such a public setting. It’s not overly packed for being summer, but there are a few small groups scattered around the pool and all around sunbaking or chatting.

Once we’re satisfied, he dives into the deep end urging me to follow. I attempt my most graceful dive and then swim over to him. He places his hands on my waist and pulls me close. He pecks my nose. “This is the best summer I’ve had in years,” he says.

I nod, “Me too. So, tell me…What should I know about your parents?”

“I’ve already told you everything you need to know. You don’t need to overthink it, they’re gonna love you.”

I’m about to reply, telling him that’s easy for him to say when a young girl swims over awkwardly. I smile at her then nudge Jensen. He turns and smiles at her. I put some space between us, treading water on my own. The girl shyly says, “Hi, I’m sorry to disturb you, it’s just-My…”

“Hi, Sweetie, what’s your name?”

“Ally.”

“Hi Ally, you watch the show?”

She nods enthusiastically. “My friends and I are obsessed, I’m such a Dean-girl.”

He smiles, “I’m glad you enjoy it. Look, I’d be happy to get a photo with you when we’re done if you’re still around, but I’d appreciate if this didn’t become a big thing,” he looks over at me and winks.

“Oh, I appreciate that, and I completely understand. Is she your girlfriend?” He smiles back at her, nods but then puts his finger to his lips. She nods, “You look happy together, enjoy your day. Sorry again, for intruding.”

“Thanks.” Jensen swims over to me. “Where were we?”

“It’s out I guess…”

“Sorry.”

I shake my head and kiss his cheek. “It was inevitable. But, I’m okay, really.”

“Yeah?”

“I’m not saying I want to be on the front of magazines, but we can’t hide forever.”

“You’ve come so far, and I love it. I’m so happy for you.” He pecks my cheek. His eyes are bright and full of happiness. He looks young and youthful and full of energy. We float slightly away from each other on our backs but in the same direction, enjoying the cool water against our previously clammy skin and the contrast of the sun beating down on us. 

Eventually, we decide it’s time to get out, especially considering we still have to change, walk back to the car and still have time to get ready before meeting his parents. Once we’re both wrapped in towels the girl and a couple of her friends approach and ask if they can still get the photo. Jensen smiles politely and obliges. I offer to take it for them and then they scurry off blushing and giggling. Despite the invasion in our private moments, it does feel good to make others happy and I then understand why Jensen always makes the time.

When I emerge from the changing room Jensen is waiting by the side with a double-scoup ice cream cone. He holds it out to me, “Fancy a snack for the road?” I laugh but happily take a lick, but scrunch my nose up when I taste the mint mixed with the sweet chocolate. “You don’t like mint?” 

“It tastes like toothpaste!”

“But it has chocolate!”

“That just makes it weirder!”

He shakes his head as he laughs. “Guess you’ll have to wait till I finish the top scoop then. More for me!”

We start walking back along the trail towards the car park. Once he finishes the mint-choc ice cream he hands it over, letting me have the rest. I end up insisting on sharing though as we have to eat quickly. The harsh sun makes it melt quickly and soon both of our hands are sticky and we have to use our water bottles to clean them. The walk back to the car goes significantly quicker and his truck is within sight before we know it. The second he drives off my anxiety starts to rise as it suddenly feels real that I’m actually going to meet his parents today. He spends most of the drive reassuring me or trying to distract me with music as we sing along.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

Taglist: @stoneyggirl2 @hobby27, @n-o-p-e-never, @deansimpalababy,

@winchesterwild78, @kr804573, @chriszgirl92, @smoothdogsgirl

@speakinvain, @deans-baby-momma, @1967winchesterimpala

@lmg14, @superrey, @kamisobsessed, @ladysparkles78 , @nancymcl

[empressgeekt]

Okay so we have Branch being pregnant in TWT in the FoF Au, but what if he was pregnant during TBT? Dude’s trying to take it easy when his brother JD crashes in.

I can see Poppy either not making him go so he can rest or just body slamming anyone that tries to touch him. Doesn’t matter if it’s a brother she didn’t know about, a brother she did know about, or her sister she didn’t know about. She will body slam anyone that tries to touch him without his consent.

Well if we're going by normal timeline rules, and Branch got pregnant just after TWT, then he'd just be starting to shake the morning sickness, and beginning his nesting phase. So this whole trip he's just trying not to toss his lunch, and reorganizing the inside of Rhonda. Branch doesn't tell his brothers about the baby, and Poppy and Keith don't either on request by Branch. So the others just think he has bad motion sickness and OCD, on top of a very overprotective girlfriend and kid. They wouldn't figure it out until they get Floyd back to the village and to Dr. Plimsy who just outs Branch before dragging him off for a check up of his own.

However, if we want more drama....lets say that TWT happened 2 months then it usually does. This would put Branch late stage by the time that the wedding comes around. Once more he's carrying internally, with the egg leaning inward. The wedding is kind of a last party before they settle in for the final week or so, before the little one arrives. Then John Dory rushes in and makes things complicated. Maybe it's his hormones but Branch isn't willing to let Floyd die, and while Poppy agrees she's worried, for both Branch and their little one. Branch still doesn't tell them, he doesn't trust them with his baby. Mostly he tries to nap while John driving, and has a horrible nightmare about his water breaking when he wakes up to Rhonda flooding. He gets out of doing the practice preformance at Bruce's place, because the smell of seafood makes him want to throw up.

Bruce and John would see his scar earlier since the hustle does make him vomit and in no way was Branch puking in his mask. Bruce and John obviously want an explanation, since Branch is missing an eye, but he's real tight lipped about it, and Poppy nearly bites their heads off. Viva and Clay have similar reactions to the scar, but Branch won't elaborate.

Post argument, like leaving Rhonda and Poppy just catching up wit him, he feels the egg drop, Poppy's concerned since that's usually an early labor sign, but Branch waves her of and they continue the mission, since their aren't any contractions yet. Floyd is rescued all the same, however Branch starts getting cramps on the journey to pop village so, He's fine with John using the hustle after Floyd has a seizure. After getting Floyd checked in to the hospital, Branch would sneak away to the birthing unit, and get admitted after his water breaks. The Brother's don't notice he's gone for a couple hours, and when a nurse points them in the direction, they accidentally crash the room almost mid delivery.

[aisuigetsu]

biz trip updates

on a super rushed business trip this week but still trying to enjoy myself

5/4/25

this was essentially my only "free" day. i landed in Hong Kong super early in the morning. as soon as i got out of the airport the view was just BEAUTIFUL, so lush and green and foggy

my dumb ass brought type c to c chargers instead of type a to c chargers so i couldn't charge my phone on the flight at all, so as soon as i got to the hotel, i just sat in the lobby charging my phone for 2 hours lmao

around 8 am i was like this is probably breakfast time and i go out lookin for food but almost no stores were open... turns out they all start working at like 10 so i was just walking around aimlessly (like a tourist). the city is full of old buildings that are super close together so it's really stunning in person. did eventually find a place to eat but they served everyone a cup of tea (which i drank) but then i saw a guy sanitizing his utensils in his tea and i felt like such an amateur

i booked a one-day tour with a group from 10:30 to 4 so i went on that which was fun! during the tour at one point we got a 15-min break to walk around and take pictures and my ass dashed to this aperol spritz garden to get a drink

the tour group mostly consisted of europeans on their 3-month asia trip. we get it you have a ton of PTO 🙄 during the tour we walked past all the filipino maids on their day off. something i thought was really interesting was that they were all sitting on these pieces of cardboard with their shoes off, and their shoes were all SO clean. like brand spanking new Nikes. so like they never wear those shoes out except on their off days to hang out with the other maids ToT

at the harbor, i asked a chinese girl to take pictures for me and she was so professional giving me instructions on how to pose and where to face LOL. but i've always heard that koreans are the best at taking pics so i gotta ask some korean girls on this trip

the tour ended real abruptly w the tour guide leaving us at the other side of the harbor (we ferried there as part of the trip) and he was basically like ok guys :) you can ferry yourselves back. i headed straight for a nail tech to get my nails done for work

the place i went to was super tiny and when i went in the lady was literally on a video call, doin her own nails LOL but then i started talking to her and i was like you don't sound native...you sound fuzhounese and she w as like YEA I'M FUZHOUNESE and i'm like I'M FUZHOUNESE TOO

she told me a lot abt hk and gave me advice abt what gifts to bring to the US:

after covid, a lot of mainlanders came to hk to study/work, but they have very different spending habits. hkers tend to spend a lot on leisure while mainlanders save their money. this means they're coming to hk to make money but not spend it, which is obviously bad for the economy

hk business usually start late and end late as well. pre-covid it was like 1 am but now more like 11 pm

a couple years ago, hk implemented regulations against neon light signs citing light pollution, so now the streets don't look as lively at night as before

hkers love going to japan. most of them (who travel) will go at least once a year

Jenny Bakery is a scam (and so are all the other stores that are popular on social media

didn't really eat anything mind-blowing but that was expected cuz it was my first day and i ate w the tour group for lunch. ate my last meal at a stinky noodle place and it was so spicy even tho i asked for mild DX i had to get an herbal tea to have w my meal and this girl next to me (who ordered the same thing) was like (to cashier) "noona can i buy a pack of tissues...it's too spicy"

my hotel is super nice w a view of the harbor, but i can't post any pics until after i leave cuz i don't want any of y'all stalking me lol. i got home around 7 and napped until 11, then went back to sleep around 3. anyway slackin off at the office today until i gotta train these minions for 5 HOURS STRAIGHT

some other pics from day 1

[shujohajohaminnie]

Sooner

Pairing: Seungmin x fem!reader

Genre:Smut, Kinda Fluffy (Maybe)

Content: 18+ Minors dni 

Word Count: 2523

P.O.V: Both 1st and 2nd hope it’s not confusing 

Summary: Seungmin has a big crush on you, You have a big crush on him. Both parties unknowing. Will he tell you after seeing you half-naked? Will you tell him?

A/N: I did re-read it but I probably missed something because I’m tired. 

Afab!reader, Profanity, Slight pet name (2), Use of sir (1), Blowjob, Raw sex

“COME ON DON’T DO THIS TO ME” I whined banging the washer. It’s been three hours into my laundry day and I’ve washed zero loads. My washer would work like normal then spontaneously shut off after ten minutes. I’d unplug it from the wall hoping that it would fix the problem, only for it to run for just a couple minutes then shut off without warning. I’ve put off doing laundry for weeks solely for the reason that I knew I was going to struggle with my six-year-old washer and dryer. As much as I needed a new set they weren’t cheap and unfortunately, money didn’t fall from the sky. Fortunately for me, my second home / best friend's dorm has a perfectly good washer and dryer. I loaded my clothes into my car and made my way to Hyunjin's dorm hoping they weren’t using it. 

“Y/n?” Seungmin looked at me confused as he opened the door, “Hyunjin’s not here” He opened the door wider letting me in. I took off my shoes leaving them by the door, grabbing my slippers from my designated cubby space. “Where is he… where is everyone?” I looked around noticing the silence. “They’re recording in the studio today” “You didn’t go?” “I finished early, Chan Hyung let me come home early 'cause I had a headache, so I came and took a little nap” “Did I wake you… I’m sorry…do you want me to make you a tea, do you want me to make you lunch” “It's fine my headache it passed” “Oh that's good… I didn’t come to see Hyunjin… I came to see your washer and dryer” “My washer and dryer?” “Mine officially gave out… do you think I can borrow yours” “Uh” 

Seungmin hesitated he knew the process of you doing your laundry. You’d always ended up in only a towel as you threw the clothes you were wearing into your last load. You’d take clothes from your first load and take a shower. The reason being you wanted a clean body in clean clothes while also wanting to wash every piece of clothing you had. But what confused him every time was why didn’t you shower right after the first one came out while your other loads were going on, why did you wait until your last one? It didn’t bother Seungmin before, but lately, he’s seen you in a new light. To be completely honest he’s always had a crush on you, ever since Hyunjin introduced you as his best friend to the group he thought you were the prettiest woman he’s ever seen. But lately, his crush has only gotten worse since game night last week, when you were dared to kiss who you thought was the cutest boy in the room. Instead of going for who he thought were the more obvious choices you came straight for him placing a soft kiss on his cheek. Did you really think he was the cutest, did you feel the same way he felt for you? He couldn’t risk seeing you in just your towel and-

“Seungmin?” he was pulled away from his thoughts seeing you looking up at him with those eyes. God how he loved when you begged with your eyes, he’d make you beg for everything and anything just to see those eyes, knowing very well he’d give you whatever you wanted anyway. “You sure you’re good?” “What yeah I’m fine” “So can I use your washer and dryer or not” Say no say no “Yeah of course” Fuck. “Thanks” You smiled hurrying out the door to get your clothes before he could change his mind. 

“Thank you again for letting me wash my clothes here min, means a lot” I smiled placing my hand on his arm as I looked at him. He looked so hot in his grey sweats and black T-shirt. Even the most basic of clothes looked great on him. Truth be told I’ve had a crush on Seungmin for a long time the only reason for my silence on the topic being that I didn’t know if he felt the same. He was so hard to read at times all the time. I often found myself questioning whether he liked me despite the boys telling me he did. They could easily be messing with me, getting my hopes up to make a fool out of myself, But they could also be right. I noticed the way a blush crept on his cheeks after I kissed him at game night last week. Was it because he liked me, or because he was embarrassed in the sense that I just kissed him in front of all his closest friends. “Yeah of course… you know you’re always welcome here…we should give you a key at this point” he laughed placing his hand over mine. What is going on?

What was he doing? He panicked and did what he thought was right, placing his hand over yours. You looked so perfect and made him so nervous he suddenly felt so bold in touching you right back. “I-I’m gonna go take a shower…I’ll leave the door unlocked… just in case you need me” “I’ll keep that in mind” You spoke softly, that perfect smile he loved so much making him feel weak in the knees. You pulled away first, walking toward the laundry room just a couple of doors down from the bathroom. 

It was last load time, you carried your last load in your hands as you passed the bathroom door, the singing stopped, instead it was replaced by moans? You pressed your ear to the door hearing it clearly. Seungmin was moaning in the shower. “Fuck y/n” Were you hearing him correctly did he just moan your name? “Y/nnnnn” that was most definitely your name. You took the moment not wasting a second. You ran to the laundry room throwing the last pile of clothes in along with the one still on your body. You wrapped yourself around your towel heading straight towards him. You opened the door quietly, dropping the towel and slipping in the shower. You see him there stroking his hard cock eyes shut tight, your name still slipping past his lips. “Need help?” He jumped almost slipping on the water looking at your face… not daring to look further down. “Y-Y/n what are you doing here?” “You said to come in if I needed you… well, I need you min. I really need you” You whispered stepping closer to him with that same smile that was guaranteed to drive him insane. You could almost see it, the switch clicking in his head as he quickly grabbed your waist pinning you to the wall. “Is this what you wanted?” he whispered kissing your lips passionately. 

“Yes” I breathed out as he kissed my neck moving down to my chest. He moved a hand from my waist groping my left breast. A moan slipped out of my mouth as the realization hit me like a bus. I was really about to have sex with the man I had a monster crush on. “Are you sure?” He whispered pulling away. “No” I whined as he backed away from me. “No?” “No! I didn’t mean it like that… I want you Seungmin” He groaned getting closer to me kissing my neck once more. “C-can I uh can I” I started not knowing how to phrase the question in my head. “You wanna suck me off?” we laughed at how dirty it sounded despite the both of us being naked in a steaming hot shower. “Can I?” “Y-yeah” “Only if it’s okay with you” “If I’m okay with it… I wouldn’t pass on a blow job from a pretty girl” “You think I’m pretty?” I smiled looking at him feeling my cheeks warm up at the compliment. “I think you're more than pretty, I think you're smart, I think you’re amazing, I- I I like you” “You do?” “Mhmmm” “You have some way of showing it” I laughed kissing his neck slowly, moving lower and lower until I was face to face with his hard cock. It was definitely a shock. Despite Seungmin’s lean frame, his cock was different. He was long and girthy enough that I knew he wasn’t going to have a problem filling me up. The sight made my mouth water. My hand trembled as I slowly wrapped my palm around him. I kissed the tip before I opened my mouth taking in as much as I could, jerking off what I couldn’t. I started with a steady pace looking up to see his face shift into one of pleasure.  “You… you’re uh really good at that” He breathed out pulling my hair into a makeshift ponytail guiding me up and down his shaft. He groaned throwing his head back against the shower wall. I moaned sending vibrations through his dick. “F-f-fuck…that…I UGH I’m gonna cum” I shallowed my cheeks around him sending him over the edge. He groaned shutting his eyes violently as I felt his warm cum fill my mouth. I swallowed getting up to look at him “Y/n I-”  “I like you Seungmin” “Y-You do?” “I do” I smiled stepping closer to kiss him on the lips. “Why do you think I walk around in a towel when I’m doing laundry?” “You don’t do it in front of the others?” “Only if you’re there, Only if I know you’re watching me”. He wrapped his hand around my waist turning us around so that I was against the cold wall. One of his hands let go of me trailing down my thigh and towards my throbbing core. “Seungmin, please… I need you” “I know baby… I know” he shushed me as his fingers drew small circles on my clit. “Oh, my-” My nails dug into his arm as I felt that familiar feeling drawing close. “I’m gonna” “Cum… cum for me” He kissed me hungrily his words alone causing me to go over the edge. I felt adrenaline coursing through my veins sparks flying between us and stars surrounding us. 

He grabbed the back of my thigh guiding me to wrap my leg around his waist. “I’m gonna fuck you now” He breathed out shakily looking into my eyes. “M’kay” I nodded biting my lip in anticipation. “Use your words baby” “Yes sir”. He kissed me once more before he guided the tip of his dick at my entrance. My breath hitched as he slowly sank into me, and as expected I felt full of him as he bottomed out. I closed my eyes at the slight sting waiting patiently for it to turn into bliss. “Are you okay… do you want to stop” “N-no just give me a minute” “I should’ve stretched you out with my fingers first, I just didn’t expect for you to be this tight” he chuckled holding my hand his thumb drawing back and forth on the top of my hand in an attempt to comfort me, and it did. I slowly opened my eyes to look into his. It was always around Seungmin that I felt at ease, surrounded by peace and warmth. “You can move” I whispered letting go of his hand to bring him close hugging him. He thrusted in and out of me planting sweet kisses on my neck and chest. “Seungmin… I’m” He nodded kissing my lips, and he grabbed my other leg picking me up against the wall. Another shock from him, his strength. This new angle causing him to hit my G-spot even better than before. I placed my face in the crook of his neck moaning against his skin, my nails dragging across his back leaving behind red marks. He hissed at the feeling closing his eyes and throwing his head back. 

“I’m gonna cum” he spoke through gritted teeth, and by the way you were clenching around him you were close too. “Cum inside me” “What” “I’m on the fucking pill just cum inside me” You yelled hugging him even tighter. The room was filled with steam and your unholy pornographic moans as you both came down from your high together. He pulled out putting you down and moving the both of you under the shower head. The water washed over the other of you as you stayed in his embrace the both of you catching your breath. You pulled away to look into his eyes. Feeling yourself blushing from his gaze. “What” “Nothing” you smiled hiding your face in his chest. “Did you mean when you said you liked me” “I did” “I like you too Minnie” you laughed hugging him once more. The both of you finished your shower and walked out of the restroom hand in hand with a smile resting on both of your faces. Only to be met with the rest of the members in the living faces mixed with disgust, shock, happiness, and in Han's case wiggling eyebrows and a sly smirk. “FUCKING FINALLY” Changbin yelled walking past us to his bedroom. 

“Sooooo” Chan started his mouth forming a straight line as he looked at the both of us. “Are you guys a couple?” he asked awkwardly standing in the middle of the living room. The other members had already left to their respective rooms getting ready to go out to dinner for the night. Not without Hyunjin marching over to the both of you yelling at the top of his lungs about the fact that you used the ‘nice restroom’. Complaining how he’ll never be able to even look at that door without wanting to puke. Only to be disgusted once more when he saw a careless Changbin walk past the three of you into the restroom to shower as well.  But then there was Chan confused as ever. He had to make sure that both his friend and brother/second youngest were thinking with their heads and not just their. “Yeah” Seungmin answered his previous question holding onto your hand and flashing you his beautiful braced smile that caused you to melt almost every time. “Right?” “I mean we're working a bit backwards… he’ll still take me on a first official date… right?” “YES… yes sorry I uh-” “Well as long as you two are happy and know what you’re doing” “We do thanks Chan” “Yeah thank you old man” Seungmin smiled walking us towards his bedroom. 

Who would’ve known that your closed-off crush felt the same towards you, apparently all of your friend group. If only you would have listened sooner.

Like, comment, and repost if you liked it, The other two pieces I'm m working on should be out this week. Both being requests. Once again don't be afraid to request anything that comes to mind, and thank you to the ones that do.

Until next time. BYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

[x-just-another-fanfic-writer-x]

The Neighbour Down The Hall

Chapter 7

Pairings: Bucky Barnes x F!Reader

Summary: A night out after work leads to another unplanned stay with your tall, dark and handsome neighbour down the hall

Word count: 1.7k

AO3

Your late nights continued into the following week. You came home that Sunday from a long lunch with a few old co-workers now turned friends, the strange marijuana smell still lingering in the flat. But it also mingled with the smell of fried chicken. It was so bad that after giving Justin a quick greeting, choosing to ignore the dirt underneath his fingernails, you changed into your gym clothes and went downstairs for two hours. Partly to avoid a conversation with your boyfriend which would no doubt aggravate you, partly on the off chance you’d see Bucky, but mainly because you just wanted to be alone.

The first couple of days that week were bad enough, you were tired from staying at work late as well as continuing your early morning gym routine on top of that. You were tired of biting back scathing comments you wanted to make to Justin about why the hell you noticed a bit of soil on the floor of your literally plantless apartment. By Thursday, you felt particularly rough. You arrived back around 11pm, exhausted and coming down from a sugar rush after scoffing an entire packet of wine gums on the train home.

“Seems like this is becoming a habit,” Bucky called up from a flight of stairs below.

“I know, it's late,” you said, slowing down so he could catch up.

“Didn't you leave early this morning too?” he replied, oddly quickly by your side.

“…yeah…” you said with resignation as you opened the door to the corridor and waited for him to go first. He seemed momentarily perplexed at your action before stepping through. You walked towards your own front door, but Bucky followed. You looked up at him, now you were perplexed.

“You’re burning the candle at both ends, Jess.”

Your eyes narrowed slightly at his perception. “It's fine,” you shrugged.

Bucky pursed his lips. “Doesn’t seem fine.”

“What’s it to you anyway?” you challenged, your tiredness making you more argumentative than usual.

Bucky raised his hands in surrender. “It’s not anything to me. I’m just saying.”

“Well… I appreciate the concern but keep your sayings to yourself.”

He sighed. “Alright.”

You hovered, you wanted to talk to the man more, but weren’t sure what to actually say. You inhaled a deep breath, catching a whiff of his cologne. “I umm-” you began. Think of something you begged yourself. “Do you always wear gloves?” you blurted out, regretting the words before they even left your mouth.

“It’s cold out,” he replied nonchalantly. 

“You wear them in your apartment too,” you pointed out quietly. His expression remained neutral, his eyes boring into yours. After too long of a silence, you fished your key from your pocket.

“You should consider slowing down,” he muttered as he stalked off to his front door.

You didn’t understand what that was about, but you didn’t take his advice. 

The next day you were invited for drinks after work with your female colleagues. A rare event, one you for sure wouldn’t turn down. Drinks with Ellie, Charlotte, Lily, and Barbara (admittedly Barbara was a bit older than the rest of you) were always fun. You left most of your belongings and valuables that you didn’t want to carry around behind in the office, locked in your desk cabinet. You even left your coat. You were fully intending on coming back to pick up your stuff. You were just going for a drink, you were only going to be out 2 hours, maximum. The bar was just round the corner. Just one drink.

How that turned into a full night out you have no idea.

You stumbled out of the cab and walked haphazardly into the building lobby, too drunk to notice how cold it was. You groaned as you reached the bottom of the stairs, then stumbled up, snickering to yourself. By the time you reached the top, you were desperate to just sleep. And pee. And drink some bloody water. You stood, or rather swayed, outside your front door, fumbling for your keys.

“No no no no no,” you muttered, frantically searching your pockets. “Not again,” you groaned loudly. You could have sworn you brought them with you to the bar- then you remembered. No… you left them at work, figuring they’d be ‘safer’ locked in the cabinet than in your stupidly shallow trouser pockets.

You sighed and looked around the deserted corridor. You didn’t want to do it… You already felt guilty and awkward after the man let you stay the last time. But it was almost 3 am, and Justin was hundreds of miles away visiting friends that weekend. If Bucky saw you sitting outside the flat again, like this, he’d probably be pissed you didn't ask for help. You quietly approached his door, maybe he would be out? Maybe he wouldn’t have to know?

You knocked quietly, and within a second Bucky opened the door. His hair was slightly disheveled and he clearly needed a shave, but his blue eyes were bright. 

“Jess?” he asked quietly, taking in your appearance.

“Hey, I’m so sorry. I umm… I don’t have my key and yeah it’s a bit ridiculous, my home is right there and I can’t get… so can I…” you trailed off when in the sliver of the door crack, you spotted the legs of someone sitting on his sofa. Female legs. You looked back up to Bucky, his expression unreadable. “If now’s a bad time I can…” you pointed behind you as you began to stumble backwards, awkwardly.

“No, she was leaving,” he said, looking at you even more concerned as you wobbled on your feet.

A petite red head suddenly appeared at the door, smiling slyly as she looked up at Bucky and slipped past. Her black skin tight outfit left nothing to the imagination.

“Remember what I said. See you around Buck,” she said. Another American? She turned and looked you up and down, judgmentally, before sauntering down the hallway. Bucky let out a small sigh, then ushered you inside.

“You’re drunk,” he stated.

“How do you know?”

“You’re stumbling and I can smell it.”

“Oh,” you murmured, then tried to subtly sniff your clothes. It apparently wasn’t that subtle, as you heard Bucky snort gently. You looked up to see his eyes glinted with amusement.

“Sit down before you fall down,” he instructed, and gently put his hand on your back to guide you to the sofa. You plopped down and hiccuped. “How did you forget your keys this time?”

“I left them in the office before-” you hiccuped again “before we went out for drinks.”

“You came home without your coat in this weather?” he gently scolded.

“‘S fine,” you mumbled, waving a dismissive hand. You heard him sigh before you felt something soft being placed over your shoulders. “You own a blanket?” 

“Yeah I own a blanket.”

“Cause your flat’s like super bare,” you drunkenly pointed out. When he didn’t reply for a beat you continued. “Like- like I’d have thought you’d have more stuff by now or maybe if you don’t it means…”

“Means what?” he gently probed. You didn’t detect the shift in his tone.

“I dunno means you’re up to something shaddyyyy,” you replied in a sing-song tone.

“And why would I be up to something shady?” he asked quietly.

You shrugged. “Can I use your bathroom?” you blurted out, then without waiting for an answer you stood up, letting the blanket fall to the couch. You stumbled towards where you thought the room was.

“On the left,” Bucky called out to you as you hovered, staring into the door to his bedroom. It was somehow even more bare, yet neat. But nature called too strongly for you to look any longer, and you practically slammed the door to the bathroom shut behind you. You tried to take in details of the room there too, but your head was spinning and a headache was forming. Once you were finished, you stumbled back to the sofa, and sank unceremoniously down onto it.

“Do you smoke weed?” you asked, glancing around the flat once again.

“No,” Bucky answered, then sighed. “Why?”

You shrugged. “My boyfriend said maybe you did.”

“And where is this boyfriend of yours?”

“He’s- he’s with friends,” you mumbled, lying back against the couch.

“I see,” he replied quietly whilst you pulled the blanket around yourself again. “You really should get a spare key.”

“And who’s gonna keep it, you?” you retorted with a scoff.

“You got no one else nearby?”

You yawned. “Yeah but like the opposite side of the city.” You were finding it increasingly hard to keep your eyes open. “Do you have anyone nearby?”

“No,” he replied quietly.

“Who was that red head?” you asked as you closed your eyes.

“A passing visit.”

“Uh huh,” you drawled, not believing him. “She was pretty.”

“She is,” he agreed softly, and you opened an eyelid. He was gazing out of his window. 

“Is she from back home?”

“I don’t have a home,” he murmured. You frowned at the bluntness of the statement, wondering what it could mean.

“W-what about a family?” you whispered, and even through your drunk haze you knew you were treading on thin ice.

“No family either.”

Your frown deepened and you sat up, opening both eyes. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be,” he muttered. 

After a few beats, you spoke again. “Why did you move here?”

But abruptly, Bucky stood up. “You should get some rest,” he said quietly. 

Guilt settled uneasily in your stomach as you realised you crossed a line. You watched Bucky walk quietly away and mumbled out a ‘I'm sorry’ that you doubt he heard. His bedroom door shut softly and you groaned, hating yourself for your line of questioning as you closed your eyes. You felt dizzy again, and flopped onto your side on the sofa. You tried to think about how you could make things right, why he reacted like that, but you were too drunk still to stay awake, and before you knew it, you passed out.

Next chapter

[calxvace]

satosugu | when the sun's upset and the moon lose its light

word count: 8.1k

— just Suguru being confused because his roommate kisses him on the cheek as his ritual every time Suguru gets mad at him.

“If you use my special shampoo again, I’m gonna evict you as my roommate!”

Early in the morning and Suguru’s yell was heard very clear in their college off-campus complex. As he was preparing his things to go to his class Satoru rushed to the bathroom claiming he’s gonna shower like the flash because his class started 10 minutes ago.

Suguru and Satoru has been roommates for quite a time now starting from their freshman years which had them stuck in a lousy men’s dorm inside the campus that seemed like an abandoned zoo; stinky plus hungry predators locked inside their dorm rooms. That led them to move in a much nicer complex near the campus which is kinda famous for uni students since most of the residents consists of either rich ass college students who could afford the rent or office workers in their 30s. Ah yes, their parents backs them up with the rent of course because their monthly part time work salary is not even a fourth of it plus their parents have stuffed wallets so.

“Why didn’t you wake me up when my alarm rang?” rushing off the bathroom already dressed, soaking wet hair dripping on his shirt, Satoru immediately took his things and went outside running. Dumbass for I know you didn’t set it because you went straight for your bed. Suguru thought as he breathes heavily wrapping the sandwich he made for the two of them to eat for breakfast but Satoru was perplexed when he knew he was late so he could not see it leaving so rushed.

He got startled when the door flung open, he didn’t expect any visitors today. The door revealed Satoru rushing back to the apartment,

“Ahh! My necklace! I mean our necklace, I forgot!”

With that he meant the couple necklace he got for the two of them celebrating them moving out of the horror on campus dorms. Satoru rambled through his things on his study table and as he was wearing the necklace with a raindrop pendant, he noticed Suguru’s not wearing them.

“You never wore the necklace I got you come on it has been 2 years”

Satoru said as if he’s in the drama betrayed by the main protagonist, he walked closer to the kitchen where Suguru was packing the sandwiches,

“If you don’t stop that shitty acting, I’m going to shove this up your ass” the other said showing Satoru a clear view of his fist.

His face immediately changed to puppy eyes + tremendous amount of pout pleading for forgiveness.

“Here take the sandwich idiot” Suguru handed the sandwich to Satoru sighing, he’s defeated again, that combo always makes him back away.

As a ritual, Satoru leaned forward to kiss Suguru’s cheeks, no they aren’t couples that’s just how Satoru is and Suguru has had enough today

“Kiss me again and I’ll really fucking beat your ass” Satoru just laughed on Suguru’s statement and dashed off for his own safety.

Later that day…

Soon after the professor went out the room Shoko and Utahime ran to where Suguru was seated and invited him to eat lunch.

“No, I’m sick of third wheeling for fuck’s sake bio nerds” clutching on his bag Suguru stood up and gave the couple a look, I’m gonna go to the library nobody contact me look.

“that’s why no one is hitting on your basic ass bitch” Shoko said almost kinda stressed on his statement.

Suguru’s been single for god knows since when, no one knows if he’s just uninterested or no one is really hitting on him because he looks like he could kill you for just a second and he speaks either very cold or very blunt not giving anyone a chance to flirt with him.

“You mean except his longtime roommate but this guy is as dense as a neutron star” Utahime murmured on their way out, as usual they brushed it off and went on each of their way.

The library is usually packed during these hours so it was not a surprise to Suguru that there are no vacant seats, he instead just went to the nearest coffee shop where one of his friends works at.

“One i-” he was cut off in the middle of his order of course it was his friend they just exchanged nods and Suguru immediately handed him his card. As usual he ordered an iced brewed coffee with a lemon meringue pie.

“I did not expect you here at this time” his friend Yuki from the business department in their uni, although a senior they became friends easily because Yuki initiated a talk and turns out they clicked with their beliefs that they hate mint chocolate so a strong bond was made.

“Oh yeah I originally planned to study at the lib but it was hella packed so here I am with my lovely lemon meringue pie” Suguru responded to his friend.

“It’s lunch please eat a decent meal not just dessert” Yuki sat down in front of him as he nagged for him to eat nicely.

“you’re not my mom let me live in peace” Suguru responded taking a bite on his favorite dessert.

There were not many costumers around so Yuki decided to open a topic for a small talk,“So how’s you and Satoru?” out of nowhere Suguru shifted his facial expression to disgust.

“wdym how’s me and Satoru? motherfucker kissed me after using my special shampoo. Next time I will not give him any breakfast” the other just chuckled on the way his friend said those words

“at least you’re happy now” Yuki’s words caused the him to defend himself too fast.

“I’m not enjoying it in any form, he uses everything I own and pays me with a fucking puppy eyes and kisses me, fucking disgusting behavior I may say. Does he think he’s able to pay it with being so irritatingly touchy with me? Never. One time I’ll just literally yeet him off of our balcony and let him fly like a plastic bag drifting through the wind maybe he’ll meet katy perry” taking a sip of his cold brew after a long complain, Yuki just smiled at him and sang queen’s good old fashioned lover boy ooh love part as he got up and went back to the counter.

“Not you too dipshit” Suguru said under his breath. Not even half of his drink,

“oh ho ho you just got replaced bro” Utahime sent him a text message with a photo of Satoru giggling with someone new to Suguru’s eyes.

What’s the need to send me this it’s not like im his partner or whatever. Suguru thought as he sends another threat text to punch Utahime and her girlfriend as soon as the three of them meet.

…

Satoru went home late this day which meant no one tidied up their apartment. Suguru’s duty was cooking and laundry so basically what’s left for Satoru is groceries and cleaning. There’s food on the table as usual but it was still for two people.

“You haven’t eaten yet?” Suguru just answered with a light nod while scrolling through his phone. The golden-haired panicked guy immediately acts upon setting the table for them two, Oh shit didn’t I mention to him I’ll be eating out with a friend? Satoru silently battle with himself while placing down the plates.

“I’m sorry it’s a lil bit late to have dinner at this time, why didn’t you just eat by yourself?” He was braver this time, or so he thought. As that last word exited through his mouth Suguru threw a spoon at Satoru’s direction

“Because you’ll be all over me again whining because I did not wait for you dumbass!” Suguru said almost shouting infuriatingly at his roommate. Satoru picked up the spoon and got him new one, “what do you mean all over you? that’s just who I am Suguru.”

The table was quiet for quite a minute until Suguru spoke something but Satoru couldn’t hear it because he was too immersed on praising the food.

“that’s the problem, that’s just who you are”

When the two of them finished eating the other went straight to his room while the other washed the dishes.

“Hey a friend will be coming over next week” Satoru spoked to Suguru through the closed door. Of course, he knocked

Suguru knew it was the guy on the picture Utahime sent him, because who else? Satoru does not have a lot of friends around the campus except him.

“So what, do you want me to go home late so you guys can do domestic stuff like married couples? Yeah sure” he replied lying on his bed

“Heyy it’s not like that he’s my new friend all I’m asking is if it’s okay to you for me to invite him over? I’m being a good roommate here” Satoru waited for an answer before going to his room

Suguru just answered as he is, kinda cold and blunt, “Okay fine whatever do what you want to do im gonna be on my room the whole time.”

…

Suguru planned to not go home early today even though he only has 2 classes but the universe is playing with him because he has no one to go to. Utahime and Shoko being on a date and his other friends having classes at this specific day where Satoru’s friend is supposedly coming over.

“at least memorize the formula” Nanami came over because he needed help on their statistics worksheet and Satoru is the best at their class, explains why they are studying on the dining table at Satoru’s apartment now.

“we’ve been over this earlier how come you already forgot how to do it? Memorize it, Memorize Nanami” encircling the formula on the paper, Satoru stood up and went to his room to get his self-made flashcards.

Nanami heard beeping noises indicating someone is getting in so he went to the door to greet Satoru’s dorm mate. As soon as the apartment door opened Nanami greeted the person it revealed, “Hello, I’m Nanami third year accounting, nice to finally meet you Suguru.”

Him being courtly made Suguru jumped right when he greeted him. Suguru smiled at Nanami and accidentally said finally? So Nanami then went on explaining,

“Uhh… Satoru kinda told me your friendship throughout college so I was looking forward to meet you” Nanami said and before he could say more Satoru was already behind him ready to pull him because he might say too much.

“Okay? Nice to meet you too, Suguru bio junior” as a polite human Suguru greeted him back of course and proceeded to remove his shoes as the other two got back to studying.

Dinner is already right around the corner so Suguru went out his room to do his duty but the amazing smell of food welcomed him,

“Oh hey Suguru sorry I intruded your kitchen but this is the least I can do, come on let’s eat.” placing the dish on the center of the table, Suguru sat on the other side of the table. Thank god their dining table is for 6 people because if not someone might just eat on the floor.

The food was surprisingly delicious, Suguru didn’t expect Satoru’s friend to cook this good because he had prejudiced him to a mama’s boy who doesn’t do his chores.

When Nanami glanced to Suguru he couldn’t help to notice,

“Hmm you really don’t wear it” Satoru immediately nudged Nanami.

“Wear what?” Suguru asked taking another bite of the food. Satoru brushed it off easily by bringing out another topic. He doesn’t want to explain to Suguru that he whined to Nanami almost everything he know about Suguru.

“Did you know your friend Yuki takes the same unit as we are?”

With that they were able to converse casually. Nanami said he didn’t know Suguru is friends with Yuki and that he’s close with Choso, the boyfriend from fashion department. Their conversation just led to the conclusion that they have common friends and they should all hangout.

Once they were finished Suguru offered to wash the dishes this time since the two still needs time to study and its nearing 9 pm. Since the sink is just beside the dining table he could hear and kinda see what the two is doing and that started his irritation.

He doesn’t know why he’s feeling irritated, all he just noticed is the distance between them, or maybe the way Satoru giggles whenever Nanami got it wrong? Or rather the way his eyes sparkle at times the other gets it right. Whatever he is feeling he can’t make up a word for it although he thought of it as jealousy, it couldn’t be because he’s not anything to Satoru and he’s not entitled to feel that so maybe uneasiness when Nanami is around? He just put it at that.

A bowl accidentally slipped on Suguru’s hand so it shattered on the sink, when he picked it up, he felt a sting and let out a groaning sound so the two looked at his direction and Satoru went to him

“I told you I will be the one to wash the dishes, look at what happened. Give me your hand” his cheeks felt hot so he turned away when Satoru held his hand

Satoru went to get band aids, Nanami was just there looking at the two of them smiling so Suguru thought he’s weird but for Nanami he witnessed a crucial information for his friend.

After they settled Suguru’s cut, they got back on studying and didn’t notice how fast the time ticks

“Thank you for teaching me I really would fail this if I did it myself” Nanami said as he’s packing his bags. It’s already 11 pm so he insisted to go home.

“No problem just ask me anytime” Satoru replied as they walk outside the apartment. As soon as they got to the lobby, they saw Nanami’s boyfriend Haibara already waiting outside with his Ducati so they said their goodbyes

“Hop on” his boyfriend said as he tossed him his helmet.

“Did you meet Mr. neutron star?” Haibara asked while Nanami puts on his helmet.

“Mr. neutron star?” he asked in confusion.

“That’s what Utahime calls him” the other answered starting his motor’s engine.

Although Suguru haven’t met Haibara, Shoko tells him about Mr. Neutron star. Haibara and Shoko were high school friends so they know each other it just so happens that Shoko got in a relationship with Utahime so they know Suguru and Satoru

“Oh yeah I just witnessed something that might get Satoru energized for a month, He was blushing when Satoru held his hands although he saw me smiling when he got cut so maybe he thinks of me as weird ass intruder on their apartment” as tired as he is Nanami just leaned on Haibara and closed his eyes.

“interesting” Haibara uttered as he drove them home.

…

A week after Nanami came over, Satoru doesn’t come home so often because he became Nanami’s teacher on stats that’s what they call it, so Suguru often feels so alone these days

“Hey neutron star don’t forget we’re coming over at your place we need to finish our thesis on molecular biochemistry” Utahime tapped his shoulders reminding him before they leave the class because Suguru seemed to be not so focused today due to the things the professors on the bio department asked him to do

Having high scores on his tests is easy for Suguru so the professors often ask him to answer their prepared tests beforehand to see if it’s hard enough or so plus he checks the papers to not just for his class but for every class his prof handles. Of course, it isn’t for free, if it is then he wouldn’t accept it plus this is where he met Yuki although today, she is not around.

He finished having back aches and sore butt for sitting for so long checking papers, “Suguru could you also give this to the other departments and let their head sign on it? Thank you” Suguru just nodded of course because he can’t refuse after all he’s getting paid to be their task runner. Fortunately, he doesn’t have classes anymore today.

Their campus is wide so now not only does he pants because he’s out of breath but also, his thighs are burning from all those walking, this is where he questioned himself for not buying a motor bike while he can.

After he gave back the signed paper, he immediately went home to tidy up first before his friends comes over, of course Satoru isn’t there he’s often on Nanami’s for their study sessions.

Just minutes after, Utahime and Shoko already came into the apartment. As soon as they sat down, they started working on their paper which is due next week.

While they work of course the couple could not contain themselves for not flirting so Suguru obviously did almost 50 percent of their paper

“I cannot believe I’m third wheeling inside my house” groaned Suguru as he’s typing on his laptop.

“We’re done on our task neutron star, btw where’s Mr. sunshine” Shoko wondered as he removed himself on Utahime’s embrace facing Suguru across the table.

“I don’t know and I don’t care” coldly responding taking a sip of his water beside him, the other two exchanged looks.

“No really, where is he? We’re lacking energy here we need a boost” claimed Utahime who’s now slouching on the top of his laptop.

“he’s busy flirti- I mean studying with Nanami because his friend is dumb as fuck on stats” with furrowed eyebrows he stated his irritation which he doesn’t know too where it’s coming from.

Suguru heard giggles so he looked up with confusion, “what’s funny losers?”

“Nothing mr, neutron star we just think you’re cute when your jeal-“ Utahime was cut off by the sound of beeping on their door’s smart lock.

“Well look at that, looks like he’s back from flirting” Shoko eyed Suguru lightly teasing him.

They were right it is Satoru, He greeted them and excused himself. He said he’ll be back after showering. Meanwhile, the couple insisted for a break so they moved on the couch and turned on the PlayStation to picked sackboy

Satoru got out of the shower and joined the three, there were just 2 consoles and the couple was playing so he sat down beside Suguru who’s eyes were blinking with half closed eyes trying to resist sleep. Suguru was so tired he didn’t know what he was doing, when Satoru sat down beside him, he shifted his body completely to lean on Satoru’s shoulder,

“hmmm you smell good” Suguru murmured tiredly and closed his eyes.

Satoru as flustered as he is, wide eyes with cheeks tinted with a shade of rosy pink, lips pursed, he fixed his position to make Suguru more comfortable sleeping on his shoulder.

The girls was so immersed on playing that they didn’t notice the two fell asleep, Utahime turned around randomly and was shocked on what he saw of course because he didn’t expect neutron star to lean on Mr. sunshine

“Babe turn around real quick” Shoko did as she was told and immediately took out her phone to take a picture of sleeping Suguru leaning on newly showered Satoru while he cling on Suguru’s arm looking so like a couple.

Utahime’s instinct was to leave the two alone, her girlfriend agreed so they went on packing their things and leave as quiet as they could because they know Satoru is a light sleeper.

They left a post it note on the television,

“Look at what we sent you 😉”

Satoru woke up first, but still he waited for Suguru to wake up before moving. Not so accidentally, he peaked through the other’s shirt and saw the pendant of the necklace he bought years ago

“So, you so wear it, you just changed the chains so I won’t notice it?” Satoru pointed out and giggle at the thought of it. Suguru slightly groaned slowly opening his eyes,

“Are you awake already?” the other asked causing Suguru to realize he’s been sleeping on Satoru’s shoulder. He was super shocked and playing their position on his mind again made him freeze for a moment while blood rush up to his face that led him to cover his face,

“h-how long was I asleep on your shoulders?” he stuttered trying so hard to hide his face with his sweater paws still leaning on Satoru’s shoulder

“Not that long actually, you could sleep longer if you want to, I’ll be here with my shoulders” Satoru responded.

“Why would I sleep more when I just woke up idiot” Suguru’s blushing went up until his ears luckily Satoru can’t see them because he’ll point it out and tease Suguru about it.

They stayed like that for few more minutes until Suguru was the first one to stand up, finally calmed his aggressive gay panic. When Suguru stood up, Satoru reminded him of what just happened with one statement, “you’re cute when you lose your cool and blush I kind of want to see it again”

What was that what the fuck was that. Suguru screams internally as he walked to his room. Satoru wasn’t joking with what he said. Although he seems like it, he’s serious, he was longing for that Suguru since forever, kissing Suguru on the cheek all of a sudden is one of his attempts but the other always reacted violently.

The sticky note caught his attention so he checked what was it and immediately made it his home screen, not lock screen because he’s not that brave yet. YET

…

It’s Saturday meaning grocery time for Satoru. Suguru was supposed to ask if he can come but when he went outside his room Nanami was already waiting on their sofa, “Good morning Suguru, Satoru asked me to come with him to the supermarket I hope you don’t mind” Nanami greeted him first thing.

“Huh why would I, at least he has someone with him today” irritation is by Suguru’s side again but he managed to smile at Nanami. His phone rang before he could get a sip of his water,

“I need your intelligence on my business proposal, come over I’ll cook for you”

Yuki texted him to seek help because apparently, Suguru is good at ideas. He immediately changed his clothes and went to Yuki’s dorm

“Darling? could you open the door for Suguru? My hands are full” Yuki’s voice could be heard outside as their dorm is not sound proofed. Choso welcomed Suguru on their flat, nope this isn’t the first time Suguru’s here so the two of them knows each other.

“Oh wow even fashion students looks normal during weekends” Suguru claimed by looking at what Choso was wearing, a white tank top and summer shorts. The both of them laughed on the way to the kitchen where Yuki was cooking.

 “finally, someone more helpful” exhaled Yuki, apparently Choso’s ideas are limited to fashion only. Yuki left the beef boiling and invited Suguru over their big ass study room which half of it is full of fabric scraps and sketches and the other half is very tidy, obviously the tidy one is not Choso’s. He showed his work to Suguru and waited for what he will suggest, senior business majors are tasked to make a business proposal given a specific product and Yuki was assigned integrated pens for tablets.

After exchanging ideas, they proceeded to revise the proposal and went outside to prepare for lunch. Suguru helped arranging the table as the food is getting cooked, “Choso food is ready come out your room now!” Yuki called from the dining are, the other came jogging to the table.

Before Suguru could even take a bite on his food Choso asked him, “I heard you met Nanami? how was it” he could not resist to laugh because all he appointed Nanami was the dumb fuck on statistics, “he’s fine just dumb, decently friendly too and a good cook. I guess that’s how Satoru clicked with him so fast that he brought him home a week after they knew each other” blowing the piping hot beef stew on his spoon Suguru responded casually.

Choso and Yuki gave each other a look and just laughed it off. After they finished eating, Suguru said he needs to go home now. When he left, Choso expressed his confusion to Yuki, “Does he know Nanami has a boyfriend and he’s really just seeking help to Satoru because he might fail his statistics unit?” Yuki tugged the other on the sofa inviting him to sit on her lap so she could rest for a while hugging her boyfriend.

“I mean Nanami and Haibara is one of the hot couples on the campus, they were even featured on the daily talk on the uni’s website” He answered almost closing his eyes as he was sleepy. Choso faced Yuki giving him a peck on her forehead, “this is taking too long, why can’t one of them just confess, it’s really obvious that they like each other” the purple-haired boy complained.

“I think the both of them is already coming out of their buds, they just need a little more push” the other claimed

“Okay enough of Suguru and Satoru, Im sleepy let’s cuddle pleassseee” Yuki requested opening her arms waiting for Choso to take her arms.

 …

On Suguru’s way home, Shoko sent him a message together with a photo of Nanami and Satoru giggling on the cereal isle of the supermarket, “look at what we saw, Nanami and Satoru attracting ants?”

Shoko teases with a bit of twists in his words so Suguru knew what exactly his friend is saying, “don’t disturb me it’s a weekend for fuck’s sake” he replied as he entered the password on their apartment.

“Oh hey you’re back, could you hand me my phone I forgot I put it beside the candle on your left” Satoru asked while putting the groceries on their respective places.

As a good roommate, Suguru reached for the phone and accidentally saw Satoru’s lock screen that left him asking a question Satoru didn’t expect to come out of Suguru’s mouth,

“The two of you makes a good couple”

Satoru was very confused on what Suguru is talking about until he handed him his phone lighting up showing his lock screen, the photo him and Nanami took when they imitated the fusion scene on dragon ball so he just laughed at Suguru but before he could deny it the other fastened his phase to go to their room.

 He didn’t think it would affect Suguru like that because on the next few days Suguru became so distant to him.

…

During their break Suguru decided to go to the library in hopes to get a peaceful lunch but the couple tagged along with him so now the three of them is at the library fortunately there where seats left.

“Did you receive Yuki’s message?” Utahime asked while he brings out his things because he plans to study

“we’re all invited this Friday for a sleepover” Shoko added while munching on the jelly she stole from Utahime’s bag

“All of a sudden? who else is coming?” skimming through his notes Suguru asked hoping a specific person not to come

“They said it’s for celebrating the end of this semester. Everybody will come and oh you’ll see a new face! My best friend” Utahime nods besides Shoko who is now holding her phone. “I’m gonna get a drink watch my things” he announced to the two as they do their things.

As Suguru walked away, Utahime nudged her girlfriend, “Satoru said Suguru thinks him and Nanami is a thing since Suguru saw his lock screen”

“It was your fault because you asked me to send that picture from the supermarket idiot” the other claimed chuckling to the thought of Suguru getting the wrong ass idea. “I’m an idiot now huh you were the one who took the picture in the first-place bitch” Utahime pouted while whining to her girlfriend.

“stop pouting or I’ll French kiss you here Utahime” cupping Utahime’s cheeks, Shoko whispered on her left ear that caused a flush creeping up her cheeks. “damn why are you aggressive early in the morning miss we’re in a library reserve that in bed later” Utahime stammered.

“Well, it’s been a week I’m hungry” Shoko gave Utahime a peck on her cheek and gestured she should continue on what she’s doing.

 “Excuse me this is a library” someone murmured causing the two to glare where it came from, “Woah there lovely birds don’t throw hands here” Suguru came back with three drinks on hand and handed it to them.

After a while, some students leaves the library and new student comes, the three of them doesn’t have classes until another two hours. They are all bio majors so they have majority of their classes together.

Utahime taps the table and pointed on one of the doors on the library, “look who’s coming here” the other two looked at where Utahime pointed. It was Satoru. When Utahime waved at him, he saw the vacant seat beside Suguru so he took the chance to talk to him, Suguru is fixated on his papers so Satoru had to tap his shoulders for him to notice he took the seat beside Suguru. The other two just minded their business, or so all of them thought.

“I heard you’re getting pretty good terms with Sukuna now that he’s back from his play” Shoko blurted out which confused Utahime and Suguru but she nudged her girlfriend so Utahime knew it’s one of Shoko’s tricks

“Oh yeah right that hot senior from the engineering department? Damn nice catch Suguru” Utahime kicked Suguru under the table lightly and gave him a signal so Suguru nodded with what was said.

Satoru is visibly seen very shocked and confused. Not so coincidentally, Suguru’s phone vibrated showing Sukuna calling. Satoru just watches what Suguru does, unable to speak because he thought he’s losing his chance to clarify things with Suguru

Suguru excused himself from the library and packed his things because Sukuna asked him to meet at the cafeteria. Right when Suguru left, Satoru let out a sigh and massaged his temples

“Better act soon Satoru” Shoko gave him a push.

Friday’s gonna be fun. Shoko just smiled sheepishly and continued to scroll through her phone

…

It’s Friday so that means it is the day they are having a sleep over at Choso and Yuki’s place. Their classes are over now so both Suguru and Satoru is home preparing their things to bring later. Suguru rarely comes out of his room now so when he was sitting on the couch Satoru took the chance to finally talk to him.

“So, about you and Sukuna, any progress?” He started off asking that specific question so he knows if he still has a chance

“Why are you asking? Nosy as ever huh” the other replied while scrolling through his phone.

Satoru keeps his distance just in case, Suguru is at the couch and he’s sitting on the dining table, of course he could feel the awkwardness this never happened before and it hurts Satoru. “just curious? Afterall I’m your friend” he replied playing with the glass he’s holding

“Hmm friends” Suguru repeated. That specific word doesn’t fail to make him feel a sting when it’s pertaining to him and Satoru.

Yes, they have been friends since freshman year, they have sticked together since then, not that they were forced to because their parents knew each other, it’s their choice too. Satoru’s actions always confuses Suguru, kissing him on his cheeks when he’s angry, hugging him out of nowhere, smiling at him like he was the most precious thing to exist in the world. That’s what makes it more irritating for him because he does not know if Satoru’s like that only to him or that’s just the way he is. When Nanami came that’s when he knew he’s not special to Satoru because he saw how he acted the same way to others, well at least on Suguru’s sight.

Satoru reached for his necklace and gently fiddles it contemplating if he would still clarify everything to Suguru and finally confess or just leave it as it is giving up on his first love. In his head he could hear what Nanami told him, “If he’s really precious to you then you need to make him understand so he doesn’t hurt more”

“About me and Nanami we are-” before he could even explain Suguru stood up and said they needed to leave or else they’ll be late.

Why does he always manage to push away the conversation whenever I mention Nanami? I’m trying to clear things up Suguru. Satoru worried as he picks up his bag and followed Suguru outside

They were the first ones to arrive at the place, Yuki told them they could laze around while waiting for the others. The flat is huge compared to theirs, it has a wider living room and kitchen area plus it has a second floor, rooms are located there and the room on the first floor is their study room.

“Satoru come here on the study room for a sec” Choso stated inviting him to enter the room.

This was the first time Satoru enters the study room and he already expected it to be kind of messy as one of them is a fashion major. Choso opened one of his jewelry drawers and got something in a small box and handed it to other.

“I think it’s better if I give this back to you” Satoru’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion and as soon as he opens the box, he wondered why was it on Choso’s hand.

“Suguru donated it to me few days ago he said he doesn’t need it anymore and I could someday use it on one of my look sketches” the other explained seeing Satoru’s expression.

Satoru was angry when he heard that Suguru doesn’t need it anymore, but more importantly his heart was crying and his brain couldn’t function for a moment.

“Yuki told me the story behind that necklace so I gave it back to you, you can stay here for a moment I’ll just say an excuse. Come out whenever you’re ready” right when Choso closed the door tears welled up on his eyes.

Although he got it for the two of them to celebrate their moving out of campus dorms, it also made a special meaning for the two of them even though he thought the other wasn’t wearing it the whole time. On every moment, the necklaces were there to capture memories and for Satoru, throwing it away also means cutting ties with him and ending their friendship.

 Suguru’s pendant was a sun because it resembles Satoru and Satoru’s pendant was a crescent moon resembling Suguru. In short, when one wears it, it means that they have the other one with them whenever and wherever they go. “over a fucking misunderstanding... you avoided me for days... is this what they call heartbreak?”

Satoru silently wailed whilst clutching the necklace on his hand. He was there for almost half an hour hopefully the others won’t notice, he hoped that no one would ever notice. He’s decided to just end it right there and then so he removed his necklace as well but put it both on his side pocket as he got out of the room.

“So what do you think of my sketches? I’m sorry I haven’t been able to dust up there” Choso immediately covered for him before the others could even mention how Satoru’s eyes were kinda swelled up and his nose is pretty red.

“I didn’t know you were into fashion” Utahime said as he looked to Choso asking for anything but Choso just shrugged.

“We have allergens here do you want to take one? Choso’s been sleeping a lot so he always forgets to clean his side of that room” Yuki added to make it more believable.

The only people that they are waiting is Nanami and Haibara, they said they were running late because they had to wait for the desserts they were asked to bring since Yuki could not get them today.

Few minutes later, the two of them arrived and the whole flat was noisy because of whining and complaining of both sides, when everybody calmed down Shoko introduced Haibara.

“Hey Suguru this is Haibara the new face I was talking about!” Haibara went to where Suguru was seated and scanned him.

“okayyy? Now I see it Satoru” what he said confused Suguru and Suguru only so Haibara let out a laugh.

“Haibara, Nanami’s boyfriend” he introduced himself offering his hand for a handshake. Suguru’s eyes widen, shocked because of the statement he kinda screamed, huh?

“Oh you didn’t know I had one? Explains the cold treatment to me” Nanami laughed on the other side of the couch.

Suguru glanced to Satoru before he shook hands with Haibara, “Suguru, Satoru’s friend” he introduced back to him while taking quick glances to his roommate.

Shoko was heard expressing her shock so everyone turned to her, “you don’t have your lucky charm? That’s new” Choso slapped his face because of that, he thought he had it under control. Although he hoped the two of them could talk privately so they could reconcile again, he’s tired of their misunderstanding, everybody hated seeing the both of them not being their usual self

“it’s useless now, it’s fine it’s not like I needed it to function normally” Satoru answered while scrolling through his phone, biting his bottom lips as it quivered at what he said, it’s not what he meant but his emotions ate him up like a steak.

Suguru could not believe at what he heard, now he regrets donating the necklace to Choso. Clenching his fist, he asked Yuki if he could use the bathroom for a moment, the older led him to the bathroom right beside the laundry area.

“Everybody! get changed on your pajamas and might as well I’ll announce that we only have two extra mattresses and one vacant room with only one bed, me and Yuki will sleep in my room you guys could use his” arranging the cards and games they will use later, he announced.

It’s a Friday and the end of the semester so Haibara insisted for them to drink, everybody agreed after a few pleadings so now they are arranging the drinks after getting drinks.

“Damn who got the bad people nsfw pack you really want to get deep to everyone” Yuki exclaimed

“Nah they just badly wanna know how far you guys are on your sexual lives” Utahime pointed to Shoko who is giggling at the corner

After preparing exactly at 11:30 pm, all of them sat down on the living room, Yuki, Suguru, Haibara, Utahime sat on the couch while Nanami and Satoru sat on the floor near the table, Choso is also seated on the floor he’s just in between his girlfriend’s legs

While drinking, they played sorts of competitive card games and board games and Choso said he’ll not ask them to play while tipsy again because they were so chaotic

Having high tolerance of alcohol, Satoru is still sober or maybe because of what he’s feeling now that the alcohol is not taking effect. They were drinking vodkas and tequilas no wonder the couples are all either making out or just all over each other

“Hey stop making out, Satoru and Suguru is getting out of place” Yuki noticed that the two of them is just scrolling through their phones

Tipsy Shoko broke hers and Utahime’s make out session to collect both phones and smirked when she saw their wallpapers, “look at these two, they both have this as their home screen you guys didn’t even thank me for the photo fuckers” it was the photo Shoko took when they were over their apartment.

When he held the phones side to side to show everyone what she is talking about, the two of them were so red and wide eyed, of course they didn’t look at each other because they are embarrassed. Instead, they both drank a shot of tequila

 They didn’t think that the other liked it to so they kept it themselves. Now thoughts are coming in every direction of Suguru’s mind, he’s starting to think that maybe he was wrong that maybe he’s really special to him and those were just misunderstanding on his part. Satoru? Just staring at nothing.

“Gather around, we’re playing put a finger down, let’s refrain from playing competitive games they might be homeless if we continue that mess” everyone surrounded the table as soon as Haibara called them,

“First to run out of 5 fingers, makes out with the second loser” complains were heard because that’s not the punishment they knew playing that game.

“Suckers! then be competitive so you don’t make out with someone’s partner duh” Haibara defended his rule.

“For I know you just want to see who kisses the best out of everybody here so I guess we’re having 4 rounds” Shoko stated rolling his eyes to his best friend

“Don’t expose me dumbfuck, you’re salty because I said you don’t kiss that good than Utahime and fyi I have kissed everybody here except these 2 singles here” pointing at the two, Yuki was concerned but they were already seated in a circle ready to play.

“Nanami are you okay for Haibara being like that” Nanami claimed that he knows how his boyfriend is and he accepts that.

“I’ll go first, put a finger down if you’re not in a relationship as of the moment!” Haibara screamed enjoying the game already by himself, he planned to make Satoru and Suguru lose of course so they face each other finally, he too was tired of how the two of them is dealing with this huge misunderstanding

“Me next! Put a finger down if you’re a junior” as most of them are juniors it was the only attack Choso could think of

“Eyyy that’s not how you play! What a loser” Utahime complained

“Put your finger down first before complaining” sticking out his tongue, Choso teased the others.

“Shut up it’s my turn now!” Shoko shushed everyone looking specifically at the two who was bickering.

Ready to expose someone he smiled suspiciously, “put your finger down if you’re in love with your roommate!”

“I didn’t know you are dumb too, you just attacked yourself” Nanami pointed out laughing

Let’s not forget some of them are tipsy so they laugh at the simplest thing

“I have other intentions, Haibara please control your boyfriend” putting a finger down himself he focuses on Suguru’s hand who slowly put down a finger.

“Oh my fucking god see? Can one of you make a move so this end and we’re all happy” confused of what Shoko said, the others scanned the living room.

“I think we’re having a loser soon, Utahime your turn!” Haibara claimed.

“Yeah right, put a finger down if you own a cartier watch” he laughed as he attacked Haibara and Nanami who has a couple cartier watch

“What a loser, we have a goal here Utahime can’t you see” Haibara bent one of his fingers down whilst complaining.

They all look at Suguru anticipating his attack if either he’ll play safe or risk more, “put your finger down if you’re not a virgin behind anymore”

“Damn playing safe huh?” Haibara exclaimed with 4 fingers down

“Wait I thought it’s just Yuki receiving the donkey” wide eyed Shoko pointed at Choso’s 2 bent fingers. “Just say dick, donkey’s weird. This is a two-way relationship kids we switch sometimes” Choso claimed clinging on his partner’s arm as Yuki leans on his shoulders hiding her blushing face.

“Ok tunnels as you said, now put a finger down if you’re a science related major” giggling with his attack Shoko expressed her disfavor by throwing a throw pillow straight at Nanami’s face

Maybe it was due to her tipsiness but he didn’t want her girlfriend kissing Haibara again as it seemed on the fingers left on everyone’s hand, “I don’t want Utahime kissing your boyfriend again why didn’t you think of a better attack giant ass college student”

“Why are you so sure I’ll be kissing your girlfriend? We have Suguru with 4 fingers put down too” teasing is Haibara’s specialty and he’s now having fun seeing jealous people in front of him, jealous that their ‘partner’ is going to be kissed by him

“Yuki the decision is yours; you know what to do” giving a signal, Haibara winks across the room where Yuki is seated.

They had planned it, well at least Haibara and Choso. They planned to make one of them act, all they have to do is make one either Satoru or Suguru a loser and the other loser will be Haibara so it isn’t suspicious.

Whispering to Yuki, Choso suggested the perfect attack that can make Suguru and Haibara the losers, “put a finger down if you can drive a motorcycle”

Suguru denied that he can’t drive a motor bike at first but as soon as Utahime pulled a picture of him riding one of it he finally gave up on denying it taking glances at Satoru, he was hoping Satoru wasn’t liking this commotion and he is but he can’t do anything, he was just watching the whole situation silently while nibbling on his lip’s skin

“Oh yeah im gonna see if Mr. neutron star here is a good kisser” emphasizing every word, Haibara was waiting for any sign of Satoru acting up but he was just there watching everyone.

Shoko of course immediately sensed what everyone was trying to do, “wait this is gonna be his first kiss with a guy, my baby is growing up now” adding fuel to the fire, Satoru’s ear ringed but he was too late because Haibara was already leaning forward initiating the kiss.

Haibara knew that at that moment he was going to cup Suguru’s cheeks while he leans towards him, someone will push him away.

“I can’t take it anymore” making known his jealousy and frustration, Satoru stood up abruptly and reached for Suguru’s wrist whose hands were forming a fist and immediately pulled Suguru towards his direction. Both his hands went up to the other’s cheeks as he leaned for a kiss.

Everything happened in a flash, Suguru’s eyes widened at the moment their lips touched, not only he was holding his breath, everybody on the flat too, they finally witnessed this scene.

Satoru was about to pull out of the kiss not until Suguru kissed back, their tongues danced with each other like graceful ballerinas dancing on their first recital. It wasn’t intense instead it was so sweet and fresh, they felt they were bathing together in a pool of fresh honey with slices of all kinds of citrus fruits.

They were longing for this moment; they were glad that this is what happened. Finally, they could now feel assured that it was each other they love, it was each other that they find the need to see each morning to feel energized and function all throughout the day.

Running out of air, Satoru pulled away first holding Suguru’s shoulders as he bows down and pant also hiding his face, “You’re cute when you get serious” Suguru claimed smiling so gummily pulling Satoru in a hug.

“Bravo!” the others clapped and laughed at what they witnessed, the two blushed profusely as they tease them.

“I can’t believe I almost stole Suguru’s first guy kiss damn what you did there was so sexy” praising the taller one Haibara demanded his boyfriend to recreate the scene.

“it’s not my first kiss from a guy, Satoru stole it back when he came home drunk, he probably doesn’t remember it so he was so aggressive earlier” Suguru cleared out the claims of his first kiss from a guy.

After a lot of teasing, they were finally settled to sleep, the drinks? They didn’t finish it due to what happened and now they wanted to sleep.

Arranging the mattresses, Satoru called Suguru on the corner asking him to come, “I think you should wear this again” reaching from his pocket, Satoru showed him the necklace.

As Satoru was putting the necklace on Suguru, “so are we boyfriends now? Like officially we are dating now or...” he wondered after that sweet kiss, of course he knows Suguru enough. Satoru just wanted to hear it from him

“of course, my sunshine, I’m all yours”