#and then opens the handkerchief and realizes she can’t cross the wall

[cina-buni]

Hawks x fem!reader

♡WORDS♡ 2k

♡TAGS♡ bird traits galore, frenemies to lovers, Hawks acts kinda like an a-hole, strong language, mention of injuries, reader is very sassy, mentions of medicine, female-presenting reader, fab reader

♡SUMMARY♡ during a long shift at a hospital, you're dragged into the same room as a certain well-known pro. after a conversation that leaves you exhausted and wishing to never see the number 3 pro again, you discover you've become pro-hero Hawks' number 1 nurse.

♡A/N♡Hello!! My name is Buni and this is my first fic in a min so if there are any mistakes, feel free to let me know! Kindly please, I'm easily hurt 🥺 Anyway! This entire fic is 100% @/andypantsx3 fault! Blame her for the bird shenanigans! And maybe go to her blog and read all of her amazing fics 👉👈

Downed Bird 1

From what you could see of the handkerchief he was coughing into, he was faking it. Usually, you wouldn’t think that. Every case is different and deserves to be treated as a serious issue until proven otherwise, that's what your mentor would say. Except for this case, this case had been proven otherwise five check-ups ago.

“I’m serious Doc, it’s my chest! It hurts, I can’t sleep at night because,” He broke off the sentence with another convenient cough into his handkerchief, nothing but spit flying into the fabric, “Of the coughing. Can’t you give me something? Anything to ease the coughing?” he looked at you with tears in his eyes, making you almost believe his story. Almost.

“Mr. Seiichi, you realize this is the third time you've come into the hospital this month, correct? And that this is the sixth time you’ve come within two months. Last week you were complaining about your back hurting, the one before that it was your bladder giving you issues. You can see how this might come across, can’t you?” A sigh escaped your lips despite your struggle to be professional before you added on, “Also please refrain from calling me ‘Doc’. I am not a doctor Mr. Seiichi, I am a nurse.” His leg twitched as if he was concentrating on not bouncing it, an issue you’ve found he did when he was very nervous. The clock on the wall behind Mr. Seiichi had shown it was six o’clock, an hour past the time you were supposed to get off. Despite yourself, it had only helped to sour your mood. You leaned back into the counter behind you and crossed your arms, staring pointedly at the man in front of you who was suddenly cleared of the coughing he had been doing since you walked into the room. The door to the room creaked open, making Mr. Seiichi turn his head towards it, and- very convincingly- he let out another bout of coughs into his handkerchief. You forced yourself not to roll your eyes as looked toward the man in the doorway. A small, burly man walked into the room, fixing his tie on the way in. He looked from you to Mr. Seiichi to you again before he cleared his throat.

“Mr. Seiichi! How may we help you today? Your back still bothering you?” Dr. Fumio gave the man a bright smile and jumped on top of the medical examination chair. He struggled to move it towards Mr. Seiichi before you walked over and pushed him. He turned back and gave you a pitying smile, “You may be excused, Miss. There's another patient in room 312 that needs your attention.” You fought the urge to pout and stamp your feet as you looked at Dr. Fumio with exhaustion. “This is the last one before you’re free to go, promise. This patient specifically requested you.” He hastily added on. Requested you? You were a nurse, not a doctor. Was that even allowed? Dr. Fumio’s smile was terse, letting you know that he was serious. Inhaling a huge breath, you straighten up your back and smile at the doctor the best you could, which probably came off as more of a grimace than a smile. 

“I would prefer it if she stayed here if you don’t mind.” You and the doctor looked at Mr. Seiichi before he was able to stammer through the rest. “Mr. Seiichi,” Dr. Fumio looked tired of him already, “She has other patients to attend to. I am already here so she has done the extent of her job. Now, what seems to be today’s issue?” The doctor waved his hand behind him, signaling that you were free to leave. Mr. Seiichi stammered after you as you walked through the door, finally free of him. You had almost sighed in relief before you remembered there was one more patient before you were free. With shoulders slumped, you made your way to the elevator to go to room 312. A press of the button with the writing ‘Top Floor’ and you were off to another patient. This one, you hoped, at least had a reason for coming beside to bother you. You finally allowed yourself to roll your eyes. Did Mr. Seiichi think it was funny to come into the hospital to bother the nurses who were busy trying to help actually sick patients? The high-pitched robotic voice announced that you were on the top floor before opening up the doors to chaos. 

Nurses were rushing to surround one of the doctors. You slowly made your way to the circle, looking at the other nurses with confusion. Several different variations of ‘doctor can I help’ hit your ears all at once, confusing you further. You recognized some of the nurses, realizing that they were all scheduled to get off around this time. Why would they want to help with a patient if they were to leave soon? The doctor made eye contact with you and- before you could ask what was going on- ushered you to follow him. He quickly walked towards the hallway, leaving you and the nurses behind. You hurried past the crowd of pouting nurses, struggling to catch up to the doctor. Reaching room 312 was pushed into the back of your mind now as you hurried behind the doctor. You hoped there wasn’t an emergency. Flashes of one of your kids from U.A. being in critical condition made your feet pick up speed until you were almost sprinting alongside the doctor. 

The doctor had stopped outside one of the rooms, the number 312 flashing at you in the white light the LEDs above you gave off. Oh god, it made so much sense now. The reason someone had requested you specifically. It was one of the U.A. kids in there. Hurt from a fight with a villain. Oh, how you hoped they weren’t critically injured. You knew better than to think that though, the top floor was reserved for the injuries heroes endured during their work- as a way to make it hard for the press to reach them. As the doctor opened the door, you mentally prepared yourself for what you were about to see. You recounted each of the kids' quirks and how that might affect the damage done to them. The doctor rushed inside, you following in right behind him to help the kid, prepared to do whatever you could to help. The door was barely shut before the doctor was already babbling to the person in the room.

“Hello Sir, this is the nurse you requested. This isn’t protocol but we can look past it this once for your sake. Are you sure you want her to do your check-up though? We have plenty of other doctors who would be thrilled to help someone like you,” the doctor wrung his hands together as he watched the man in front of him. Relief and irritation rushed into your veins all at once seeing that it wasn't one of the kids. Instead, the one who stood in front of you was no other than the third pro-hero in the country- Hawks. The nurses and the rush all made sense now. What didn’t make sense was why he was here. He seemed completely healthy. Cocky smirk and all.

“No need to be so formal, Doc. I’m sure she has this all under control, or Tokoyami wouldn’t have talked so highly of her.” He winked at you, a sly grin on his face as he leaned back against the examination bed. He waved the doctor away, looking at you fully. Just when you thought the doctor would protest more, he turned away and rushed back out the door. You crossed your arms in front of you, already tired of the notoriously playboy hero.

“What seems to be the issue, Sir?” You looked him up and down trying to find what could warrant the hero to visit the hospital. He moved his body, turning this way and that so you could see better, like a proud peacock. You noticed he wasn’t wearing the ugly orange khaki jacket he usually wore, but outside of that, he looked completely normal. When he had fully turned around, was when you saw what the issue was. Small, thin shards littered his wings and back, making you wonder how he was able to joke with the shards lodged so deep inside his back. You walked closer to him trying to see what was making the wounds. It looked like- “Its tiny quills.” He interrupted your thoughts, causing you to look up at him to where he was staring at you from around his shoulder. You raised your eyebrow, waiting for him to continue. “Had a nasty encounter with a villain with a porcupine-like quirk. My jacket was laid on one of the civilians around me and, unfortunately, the spandex I wear is mostly meant for looks unlike my jacket so I took the brunt of the quills to the back,” He said it as if it were a normal afternoon. For him, you supposed, it was. This would take a while to get out with the use of tweezers. 

“Alright. Well, lay down on your front please, I’m going to remove them all,” You stood and waved your hand towards the examination bed he was currently leaning on as you moved to the cabinets. The clock above the cabinets revealed it to be 6:30. You should've left an hour and 30 minutes ago. With how this whole porcupine quill incident, you wouldn't be leaving until at least eight. Unless, of course, you chose not to use tweezers. You turned back toward the winged man that was now laying on the bed with his head turned to stare at you curiously. Gathering up the courage- and a pair of clothing scissors- you walked back to him.

“Ok, to access the damage I’m going to have to cut away at your shirt. May I ask you to move your wings up a little to reach the sides?” Your hand made an ‘up’ motion as you spoke. He grinned wide in a way that you knew would have you regretting this entire encounter later on in the night and moved his wings up as you asked. “If you wanted me naked all you had to do was ask, y’know. No need to cut away at my clothes,” You looked at him incredulously before you could school your expression into professionalism. You now knew why the other pro-heroes had a distaste for him. You ignored him as he laughed at your expression, and began to cut away at the stretched rubber-like fabric. Once the fabric that was in your way was cut from the rest, you pulled it from his back, careful when removing it from his wings. A sharp inhale was heard from the hero as the fabric tugged some of the loose quills free. An apology was at the tip of your tongue before he raised a hand.

“I’m alright, Dove. Just get it over with. I can handle you,” The obvious innuendo was not lost on you, and the urge to strike him where all the quills were lodged itched at your palm. You rolled your eyes, pulling the rest of the fabric from his back quick enough to dislodge more. He groaned, his wings doing a small flap. “My name is not ‘dove’, sir, and you most definitely can’t handle me if you can’t handle a few needles in your back,” you threw the fabric into the hazard trash to be properly disposed of, walking towards the end of the bed to observe the extent of the damage. 

“You wound me, Dove. You would kick an already downed bird? Shameful and after all the nice things Tokoyami said about you too,” He dared to ‘tsk’ at you afterward, shaking his head against his arms. You raised your hands into the air, letting your sleeves roll down towards your elbows. You sighed focusing on the air around you two, sensing the water particles in the air. You waved your hands in the air slowly, pulling at them, beckoning them to form into small droplets in the air before forming into a large, glowing bubble of water. You carefully laid the bubble onto Hawks' back, hearing his chirp of surprise, before flattening it along his back and wings. The water shone an iridescent blue, reminding you of the beaches where the sea glowed. In slow waves, the water moved along his back, picking up quills and healing the wounds left behind. Once you could see that there were no more quills inside his back nor his wings, you pulled the water up and above a small bin, where the quills then dropped out. You pushed your hands away from each other and the water dissipated back into the air.

You looked back towards where Hawks was still laying to discover he had sat up to watch you. He looked around his shoulder at his back and his wings did a stretch in the room. With a roll of his shoulders, he stood up, letting what was leftover from his shirt fall to the white tile. He walked past you to the mirror inside the bathroom, turning around so he can see his back. He seemed honestly impressed. It made a small bout of pride spread through your chest. 

“Impressive work, Dove. You usually heal people with that quirk of yours, or am I a special guy?” Immediately the pride turned into annoyance. He faced the mirror and watched your reflection with a mischievous smile. You let out a sigh. “I don’t usually use it, but I was supposed to be gone around,” You glanced at the clock, “Two hours ago. I’d prefer to get home sooner rather than later.” He was still staring at you through the mirror, that same smile causing something to flutter in your stomach. “If we’re done here, Sir, as I said before, I would like to get home.” He turned towards you, leaning against the sink with his arms across his chest. He eyed you, looking at you like he was contemplating something. A smile graced his features again and he strode towards you. 

“You have a sweetheart at home waiting for you or something? Don't wanna entertain a pro, Dove?” He stood in front of you, arms still crossed with an eyebrow raised. He looked a lot like the cat that ate the canary. You scoffed, rolling your eyes and placing a hand on your hip. “For your information, who is or isn’t waiting for me is none of your business,” You smiled sarcastically, “And I have other things to do besides entertaining some pretty boy hero.” You had forgone any and all professionalism at this point. You noticed his wings do a little ‘puff’ as if something was caught in between the feathers. You stared at his wings confused before Hawks cleared his throat. You looked back up to him. “So you think I’m pretty? How flattering, Dove. And here I was thinking you might dislike me or something.” He grinned, leaning away from you to look down at you. You snorted, “Sure you’re pretty. With those bright red wings and the pro-hero body, I’m not the only one who thinks you’re pretty. Too bad your mouth ruins it all or you’d be quite the catch.” 

The tips of his ears turned pink and his grin crumbled a little. The aforementioned wings on his back struck out suddenly, showing their full glory to you. Your eyes widened in surprise, admiring the beautiful crimson feathers on full display. As quickly as they appeared, though, they disappeared- shrinking quickly behind his back. He glared back at them as if they had a mind of their own and he was scolding them for doing something bad. He looked back to you quickly, the pink flowing down to his cheeks. He stepped around you, to the window, before opening it up and sticking a leg out. He looked back to you, “You’re dismissed, Dove. You may go home and enjoy the rest of your evening.” He winked at you, the pink gone. 

“Oh, how generous of you, Sir. I didn’t know you signed my checks.” You huffed, “Leave before I stick all those quills back into your wings and leave you to the nurses.” You waved your hand towards the bin of quills. He leaned his head back and let out a bellowing laugh, clearly amused by the nurse-turned-villain act you were pulling. He looked at you again with a little heat in his eyes as he spoke, “Tokoyami was right. Next time I get an ouchie while out in the field, I know just the pretty bird to come flying to. See you soon, Dove.” He put two fingers to his forehead in a mock salute before leaning out of the window fully and letting his body fall. You stared at where he once was on the window sill, before groaning and placing your face into your hands. For the first time ever- and, by how Mr. Aizawa acts, not the last- you thought about physically harming one of your students.

[orbitvenus]

LIPSTICK

synopsis. you kiss them with lipstick on

genre. fluff, hcs, and scenarios

characters. Fukunaga Shohei, Kenma Kozume

pairings. Fukunaga x fem!reader, Kenma x fem!reader

notes. grammar errors, swearing and set in high school. I'm finally back at writing again <3 I also think this came out much cringier than I expected

FUKUNAGA

you have been waiting to try on a smudge-proof lipstick that you finally got your hands-on

you weren't able to wear them earlier without being reprimanded by teachers, now the classes have ended you can finally use it

you applied the product to your lips and want to test it

Shohei enters your classroom before he goes to practice and an idea suddenly comes to your head

"Sho-chan~"

You approached him and began to cling yourself to him. He caught you as you tried to press kisses on his face. You can't tell me he won't giggle like a schoolgirl. Your kisses tickled him that's why.

He wonders what has gotten into you. He let you continue kissing him just because he loves receiving your kisses. He still hasn't noticed the lipstick on your lips.

You stopped kissing and pulled back to see whether the lipstick is truly smudge-proof. It's definitely a scam seeing the kiss marks all over his face. You tried to contain your laugh with the way he blinks confused, unaware of the lip marks on his face.

Your hand reached out to get the open package of wipes from the table to clean the marks on his face but now he's the one attacking you with kisses which prevents you from getting a piece and led to you dodging him.

"I- wait-"

he pulls back with a tiny pout and a "why?"

You finally got a piece of wipes and grabbed his face with your hand while the other cleans the marks. He was staring at you doing your thing the whole time you were trying to erase the lip stains on his face while you were internally panicking. He finally saw your smudged lips and realized what you are up to.

"Your lips look nice."

"Thank you, but you got some on your face because of me."

"It's okay."

Your attempt to wipe the lipstick off was futile when you saw that you left a stain. You are sure as hell that you were scammed. Silently cursing when you realized he is going to be late for practice. So you decided to grab him by his hand and your stuff while you drag him to the gym trying to clean his face.

He actually does not mind having your lip marks on his face though it will definitely cause an uproar when his team sees it. But for now, he's alright with you multitasking.

You two finally reached the front of the gym and, yet you still haven't fully erased the stains on his cheeks. So you stood there holding his face wiping every mark while the Nekoma volleyball team gawks at the two of you. You did not realize they were watching you and your boyfriend until Kuroo makes his presence known.

"Sho-chan bear with me for a little more-"

"Oho what's going on here 'Sho-chan'?"

That is when you got startled. The wiping on his face stopped, and both of you stared back at the black-haired captain. Shohei's face is still indifferent and even sends a small wave towards his teammates. On the other hand, you have a horrified look as if you saw a ghost plus the smudge on your lips.

Everyone is in shock that one of their own teammates has a s/o. You are fully aware that this is the first time you have met the team, and it's not helping much to your embarrassment. Your boyfriend looked funny with the lipstick marks all over his face and earned a few giggles from the team.

Your panic finally took over you. You quickly handed the pack of wipes to your boyfriend and pecked one last kiss on his cheek before fleeing.

"ImsosorryImgonnacomeovertoyourhouselaterIgottagobye—"

that was the last thing you said while speeding off to somewhere. After you left the team, specifically Lev, Yamamoto, Inuoka, Kuroo, and even Yaku began talking simultaneously. Everyone could not believe what they just witnessed can't deny that it was pretty entertaining.

"HOW COME YOU GOT A GIRLFRIEND BEFORE ME??!?"

"woaahHH SENPAI'S GIRLFRIEND! WHAT'S HER NAME—owW YAKU-SAN!!"

"YOU'RE SO LOUD— Anyway what's her name?

"She's so pretty senpai!"

The gym is now much louder than before.

"Say Sho-kun..."

Everyone stops and looks at Kuroo smirking mischievously.

"Why do you have so many kisses all over your face?"

Chaos presumes, and the teasing went 10× worse. Unknown to the rest of the group you still have not left yet and are currently crouching behind a wall. You heard everything, and the embarrassment makes you feel light-headed while tucking your head in your arms.

KENMA

you were looking for something inside your bag when you saw the lipstick your mom gave you as a gift

realizing you still haven't used it and you decided to give it a try

Kenma laid his head in your lap and snuggled into you

you pressed kisses into his cheeks completely forgetting you were wearing a lipstick

Oh shit

The damage was done when you finished showering him with kisses. Your eyes widened and sweatdropped wondering how your boyfriend would react.

You grabbed your handkerchief and quickly tried to erase the lipstick on your lips. The boy in your lap was disturbed by your sudden movement and sent you a glare.

"What are you doing?"

"Uhhh...nothing?"

You tried to hide your mouth however he grabbed your hand and saw what you were trying to hide.

"You look like the Joker."

"I- Kenma D:<."

"Kenma-san! Practice is starting! oH..."

Lev stopped in his tracks when you and Kenma turned to look at him. Yamamoto walked over to Lev when he saw where he was looking.

"When did you learn how to be so sly Kenma?"

Yamamoto asks, and your boyfriend looks at you confused while you just give him a sheepish smile and a mirror. His eyes widened when he saw the marks on his face.

"Y-n chan you can continue being lovey-dovey later please lend us Kenma."

a booming voice made you and Kenma flinch. That voice turned out to be Kuroo. Kenma gave Kuroo a murderous glare while you tried wiping his cheeks with the handkerchief in your hand.

"What's going on here?"

Kuroo has now approached the two of you. Standing with his arms crossed. Upon closer observation, Kuroo saw what seems to be the problem of why they can’t start yet. He made teasing remarks, and your boyfriend returned them with a groan while he let you continue cleaning off the lipstick.

You erased the marks on his face but they still left the stain. You offered to erase them. Kenma insists that he will be practicing now. apologizing to him, he told you that it is okay seeing how you pouted at him. he made his way to the court but before that—

"You already look pretty without lipstick on by the way."

His teammates kept teasing him. He won't deny having your mark on his cheek makes him feel giddy but he didn't have to tell that.

note: this came out rushed and I think I made Kenma ooc my brain is 😩 anyways I hope you still enjoy this <3

LIKES AND REBLOGS ARE APPRECIATED

content by @dreamingkita pls do not repost or plagiarize or else I will hunt you

[lepusrufus]

Double edged scalpel ch. 3

Ch.1   Ch.2

Summary: "it matches your eyes"

----

Cleaning Cassandra’s study became routine. Once a week, her chores were swapped for a two way -for now- trip to the dungeons. Despite every other maid looking at her with utter pity in their eyes, the redhead was not really complaining. She would take Cassandra’s mock autopsies and weird collection of specimens over dusting an ancient opera hall any day. It gave her an odd sense of nostalgia, almost as if she was back with her classmates studying forensic pathology and a friend threatening to throw a severed hand at her. 

She also got to see glimpses of Cassandra. Not that they talked, oh no, the brunette would simply observe her and come up with the occasional task to get a raise out of Nicole and, when it failed to do so, she would grumpily go back to whatever she was doing prior. Her study, however, was an open book. While cleaning the shelves by the desk, Nicole took her time to read the title on each and every worn spine of her books. A lot of them more or less outdated medical books, some relatively modern looking textbooks, even an occasional novel tucked in between its more science oriented siblings. The adjacent wall was full of what looked like hand drawn diagrams, messy notes pinned by tape or even sticky notes. Nicole even noticed a family photo taped to that same wall. It was black and white, with the castle’s courtyard in the background, the three sisters standing in front of their mother.

Cassandra was sitting in her chair, occupying herself with her sickle when all of a sudden she stilled. She pulled out her pocket watch, softly cursed under her breath and pushed herself out of the chair. She was about to exit the room when she probably realized that Nicole was not supposed to be there by herself. 

“Ugh...Follow me. I can’t leave you here alone and I need to get something.”

With the mop abandoned by a wall, Nicole followed the brunette’s hurried steps through the main hallways of the castle, occasionally crossing paths with another staff member. It took no more than five minutes to get to their destination. Bela and Daniela could be heard from inside a room near the castle’s main entrance when Cassandra pushed open its ornate door and stepped inside. Nicole took two steps behind her when a familiar voice called out.

“Ah, Nicole darling! I see you’ve settled in,” Duke said in his usual cheerful tone. 

It did little to stop her stomach from sinking a little when three sets of golden eyes snapped in her direction. He either didn’t notice or didn’t care when he went on. “I hope my favorite clients here are treating you well.” Oh god please shut up. “Lady Cassandra! Your package is also here.” 

She wordlessly took a wrapped box from him and, with a thanks, went out the door. Not wanting to fall behind, Nicole gave Duke a small wave and a smile before turning around to follow. She had to almost jog to keep up with her long strides. Damn you short legs. 

“How on earth do you know him?” Cassandra’s question was accompanied by narrowed eyes.

Was there any point in lying? Lady Dimitrescu already knew so her ever so nice middle daughter could always find out too. 

“He’s the one that brought me here.”

“From the village?”

Nicole rubbed her temples. “From a hotel bar in the nearest big city.” She was beyond done with this conversation. 

Cassandra stopped in her tracks, grabbing the other girl's shoulders when she almost crashed into her. Was that a genuine trace of concern in her eyes?

“You mean you’re not from here? Does mother know?”

Nicole nodded, but before she had time to add anything else, another voice called out for the brunette from behind the pair. It was Bela, the sound of heels on the marble floors echoing around them as she approached. 

“Cassandra, dinner is in two hours.” 

“And?”

“And you said you would take care of the meat. Did you?” 

The blonde scoffed at her sister’s widened eyes, then hooked a finger around the chain connected to Cassandra’s watch and clicked her tongue when she saw the time.

“If you insist on carrying this around at all times, you could at least start making use of it. You have around twenty minutes.” Her voice was icy cold, as opposed to Cassandra’s stammered reply.

“Wait, can you stall the cook for a bit, there’s no way I can do two bodies in twenty minutes!”

“Sorry Cassandra, that’s out of my hands.” And with that, the blonde turned on her heels and left the two of them at the entrance of the dungeons, Cassandra damn near seething.

The two wasted no time in hastily descending the stony dungeon steps, Nicole going back to the study while Cassandra went towards the cells. After no more than two minutes, she came in and haphazardly threw a body on each table. 

The most logical thing to do would be to go about her chores and not risk attracting the brunette's wrath upon herself. But logic was out the window the moment she stepped foot into the Duke's caravan to come to this place. Besides, staying on Cassandra's good side was far better than mopping the floor in hopes she wouldn't snap one day and throw her in one of the moldy cells. 

"Would you like some help with those?" Nicole asked tentatively. 

"Can you help?" Cassandra didn't even look in her direction, only throwing a hand in the air and taking out what looked like freezer safe bags from a cupboard. 

"...Yeah." 

Golden eyes turned to her and the brunette stilled for a second. Skepticism and confusion both obvious on her face at the idea of this small meek maid offering to help out in chopping up a human body. She realized however that the alternative wasn't much better so with a raised eyebrow she put a scalpel and a pair of gloves on the table closest to Nicole. 

"Suit yourself. And don't make a mess." Oh you're to talk. 

Now, admittedly, performing an autopsy wasn't exactly the same as straight up butchering a human body for consumption. How different would it be though? The organs just needed to be separated and the limbs cut. She tried not to look at the face while making the first incision. 

---

It took 17 minutes for both of them to finish. All the bits and pieces were separated and secured in bags just in time for a knock on the door. Cassandra threw her gloves in the sink and went to open it, letting an older woman only vaguely familiar to Nicole inside. 

"Lady Cassandra, I didn't know you had help," she raised an eyebrow at the redhead awkwardly standing by the table she had worked at, scalpel still in hand. 

Cassandra only grimaced and with mock cheerfulness in her voice said, "Surprise." 

The older woman, presumably the cook, motioned for the maids that came with her to take the bags and, with a slight bow of the head to Cassandra, they were gone, only the bloody mess on the tables left behind. The brunette let a sigh escape past her lips and turned to Nicole. Her yellow gaze examined the now bloody uniform for a moment. 

"A shame this got dirty," she said, approaching the redhead. 

Tiredness and holding her tongue never mixed well within Nicole, so at the obviously fake apologetic tone she allowed an edge of snark into her reply. 

"Oh don't worry, the maids are all quite good at washing out blood stains. It's part of the job requirements." 

Cassandra just chuckled and rolled her eyes at the sass. 

"Just ask the head chambermaid for a replacement. This is seriously ruined," she said toying with the hem of Nicole's white blouse, now soaked in crimson. "Your face however, we can still salvage that." 

Nicole furrowed her brows and brought a hand to her cheek, cursing herself under her breath upon realizing that she was still wearing the bloody gloves and had just smeared even more on her face. She took them off and threw them on a cleaner spot on the table to be retrieved later. Meanwhile, the brunette moved to the sink and returned shortly with a damp handkerchief. 

She grabbed Nicole's chin between two slender fingers and tilted her head upward. Nicole could feel the metal of the table's edge against her lower back when she instinctively tried taking a step back. She had no way of escaping. Not that escaping even as much as grazed the surface of her mind when she locked eyes with Cassandra, an uncharacteristic sort of softness in her gaze. She took her sweet time passing the damp fabric over the blood stained skin. Then, after she seemed content with her handywork, she dragged her fingers over Nicole's cheek in a caress that sent a small shiver down the redhead's spine. 

"There. Good as new," the brunette hummed. 

It was a complete lie and they both knew it. The blush now present on Nicole's cheeks was probably just as bad as the crimson stains she was sporting mere moments ago, she was quite sure of that. By some mercy of the crow woman these people worshipped though, Cassandra didn't acknowledge it and simply moved back to her desk, leaving Nicole frozen in place.

After a few seconds of silence, Cassandra chuckled and, without turning from whatever she was scribbling in a notebook, said:

"Those tables won't clean themselves darling." 

Oh shut the fuck up. 

---

Most staff members preferred to spend their free time in the gardens, be it the inner courtyard or the fenced in garden at the back of the estate. Nicole was no exception to that. When she had time, she liked to grab a hot cup of tea and sit down in this small nook of the garden where a small, almost knee high bench was overshadowed by large rose bushes. Nobody else seemed to come there if the old cracked wood of the small seat was anything to go by, except maybe the gardener for occasional maintenance but she was nowhere to be seen most times. 

The quiet was interrupted by a distant set of heavy steps. Steps that Nicole ignored. She wasn't in any off limits area and this was her day off. She wasn't doing anything wrong and, therefore, had no reason to believe whoever was walking around was there for her. Until the steps became louder and the sound of heels clear on the stony path. 

"There you are," Cassandra's voice almost made Nicole spit out the tea she was currently drinking. 

The brunette laughed at that, in an oddly good mood and stopped to stand in front of the redhead. Cassandra's "good mood" made Nicole highly suspicious given past experience. She set her cup down and, with a cough to clear out her offended airways, stood and addressed the brunette. 

"To what do I owe the pleasure, my lady?" Aside from having my one free day interrupted. Again.

She saw Cassandra pout for a brief moment but it was quickly replaced by her ever so characteristic smirk. A smirk that Nicole would never admit was awfully attractive paired with the sharp features of her face. At least not out loud. 

"I have wonderful news for you," she said, tilting Nicole's head up with a hand, thumb distractingly close to her lips. "Cynthia, our cook, said she really appreciated the way you sectioned that body last week. So mother decided to give you a ...promotion so to speak." 

Nicole had yet to decide whether this was indeed wonderful news or not, but the part of her brain that was seeking some kind of thrill made that decision for her when Cassandra leaned in close to her ear, lips tantalizingly close to the skin. 

"Congratulations, from now on you're only working with me in the dungeons." 

Cassandra didn't want to kill her did she? She did say that Nicole was intriguing to her and therefore the redhead was somewhat safe from ending up on one of the autopsy tables herself. At least that's what she told that part of her mind still somewhat concerned about self preservation that was screaming at how risky her next move was. 

She gingerly placed her hands on the brunette's hips, tilting her head in a way not unlike Cassandra did mere moments ago. 

"Does that mean I get to teach you proper autopsy technique?" 

Thankfully that got a chuckle out of her, moving back just enough to be able to look into Nicole's green eyes. "Assuming you manage to keep your tongue long enough." 

She couldn't do much more than let out a soft laugh at the absurdity of her situation. There she was, in the garden of a castle in the middle of nowhere with the Lady's sadistic daughter mere inches from her. She decided that at that point in her life if she was going to die, she may as well go out in style, and what on earth could top falling for one of the most dangerous women in a village full of horrors. She shifted her hand slightly, bumping into the handle of the sickle strapped to Cassandra's waist. 

"May I?" She said barely above a whisper, fingers wrapping loosely around the weapon. 

Cassandra gave her an incredulous look, trying to understand what on earth she could want with the weapon. She was aware she couldn't hurt her right?

A small shrug was all the permission Nicole needed. She undid the leather strap that kept the sickle in place and moved back only a bit. Enough to step on the small bench and lift herself. She felt Cassandra's hands placed on her waist for support, almost mimicking the gentleness of Nicole's touch from earlier, when she raised herself on her tiptoes. She took hold of one of the roses above them -a yellow one- and with a quick swipe she cut the stem. The brunette watched her take her sweet time scraping off any thorns before her hood was taken off and that same rose was now placed in her dark wavy hair, right above her left ear. 

"Mm… it matches your eyes. And necklace," Nicole added, bending down to return the sickle to its rightful place. 

Cassandra crashed their lips the next second, her hands pulling Nicole closer from where they were placed on her hips. After a second of shocked stillness, the kiss was returned, their lips tentatively sliding against each other. "Tentatively" didn't last long however, as Cassandra pushed forward, pressing the her against the stone wall behind them eliciting a small moan from Nicole, who's hand ended up tangled in black locks. She tugged on them slightly once she finally needed to breathe and Cassandra pulled back only a bit. She let their foreheads rest against each other and felt Nicole's soft laugh on her lips. 

"Do you even need to breathe?"

"No," the brunette answered simply. 

Nicole blinked in confusion, not expecting her half joke to turn out truthful but before she could speak, Cassandra took a hand off her waist and pulled something out of a pocket. 

"Here," she pushed a familiar looking object into the redhead's hands. 

"Y...Your key to the dungeons?" She was still trying to get her thoughts organized into some sort of coherence when Cassandra rolled her eyes. 

"It's a copy. So I don't have to escort you every time you come down there, which," she added with a gloved finger brushing against her lower lip, "is gonna be more frequent now." 

Nicole nodded, not really trusting her words. She didn't need any though, as Cassandra simply pushed herself off the wall and turned on her heels to leave. 

"See you tomorrow at dawn." 

And with a smirk, she broke into a swarm of flies and disappeared down the stony path.

[inhuman-obey-me]

Melody of Revenge

Word Count: 2.4k Description: Everyone knows not to mess with Lucifer Morningstar. Some, however, make the mistake of going after his family instead. Part of the A Demon's Nature series. Lucifer was next, and this ended up getting really long, so uh ... yeah. Can be found on AO3 here. content warning: torture, so much torture, blood, body horror/mutilation

Fear and intimidation. Lucifer knew how to use both effectively, striking terror into any and all who looked upon him. The Avatar of Pride rarely had to remind others of just who he was, but every now and then, someone decided to step out of line. It couldn’t be helped -- imbeciles could be found wherever beating hearts or souls resided.

Tonight, however, he was dealing with a very particular kind of imbecile. One that had crossed a line so gravely that he had planned an entire torture routine in his mind as he made his way through the halls of the Demon Lord’s Castle. Flames of anger licked his insides as he made his way to the dungeons, but he had to keep his rage under control. Lucifer always had to be in control, every action and word deliberate and planned. He didn’t have a choice to be anything less.

“Barbatos.” He greeted the loyal butler and friend, who stood at the entrance of a particular hall of cells.

“Greetings, Lucifer.” The usual polite smile alighted his lips, though a knowing look gleamed in his eyes. “Are you sure you want to handle this one?”

“Absolutely.” He responds firmly, immediately. Barbatos usually had the pleasure of torturing those who crossed the Devildom, and he took great delight in it -- far more than even Lucifer would. After all, Lucifer found torture and punishment as a means to an end, a form of discipline.

Barbatos simply did it for fun.

“Then by all means,” the royal servant bowed slightly, gesturing with one arm towards the dark hall. “She’s all yours.” With that, he left the dungeons, having a great many other tasks to attend to for the day -- though couldn’t help leaving with a melodic, “Have fun.”

A small smirk tugged at the corner of Lucifer’s lips. Oh, he planned to make this a very enjoyable time indeed. Taking a deep breath -- making sure that he was in control -- he dropped his glamour to reveal more of his demon form and walked forward to unlock one of the metal cell doors. It creaked open, allowing for the sounds of muffled screams to leave the dark room.

“Hello, Abyzou.”

The protests suddenly stopped, a chill seeming to settle in the air. Lucifer slowly lit the torches along the dungeon’s walls, bathing the room in a hellish orange light. There, in the middle of the cell, sat the traitor, bound and gagged. Her serpentine eyes looked up at Lucifer with a mix of fear and anger, but she otherwise remained silent and still.

“What’s wrong? Suddenly decided it was a good time to be quiet?” His voice is calm. Too calm. He eases his long coat off of his shoulders, hanging it on a hook by the door. Gloved hands begin to roll up his sleeves as he turns to look at the other demon again, a sigh leaving him. He stepped forward, and with a yank removed the gag from her mouth. “Is that better?”

Abyzou coughed, spitting to the side as she flexed her jaw after it being bound for so long. He allowed her to adjust -- he was a demon of patience, after all.

“Lucifer … “ She begins with his name, spoken with a certain kind of reverence. “I didn’t realize you would be visiting me here.”

“You didn’t?” The surprise in his voice is almost genuine. “Strange, I figured you would have been expecting me any day now, considering the reason you’re here in the first place.”

Her eyes widened for a moment before she directed her gaze elsewhere, not wanting to look upon the greater demon. There was a hint of shame in her expression, but it gave way to a twisted smile as she shook her head. “I see . . .”

“Do you?” He speaks sharply, his hatred for her beginning to show. He grabbed her jaw with one hand, forcing her to look up at him. “Do you see, Abyzou? Or are you still trying to play innocent?”

She hissed as his fingertips pressed into her skin, the red leather of his gloves saving her from the wrath of his claws -- for now. She stared into those magnetic ruby eyes and all the power they held, all of the destruction they could unleash, all of the pain they could bring.

“But was I wrong?” Abyzou knew her end was imminent, especially if the Avatar of Pride himself had requested to punish her personally. So what was the use in being anything but honest? “Was I truly wrong, Lord Lucifer?” The reverence once held in her voice was gone, replaced with mockery. She shifted in her bonds, leaning into the hand that held her jaw. “You know that the Devildom is stronger and better than the other realms, and yet we’re forced to grovel to the likes of angels!” Stretching out her neck, she continued with a jeer. “Or do you and your brothers miss having those white wings and halos for yourselves that much?”

Lucifer roughly pushed her face away from him, hand releasing her jaw. He took a step back, eyes full of cold fury still focused on the other demon. His gaze then swept the cell, taking note of the various torture instruments on display -- but grinned when he saw that Barbatos made sure to include the absolute essential. A vinyl player, the perfect record already in place to set the mood. He set it up to play, allowing the first notes to spill into the air before resuming his interrogation.

“So, you thought yourself better than the others who had agreed to His Royal Highness’ vision?” Lucifer begins to tug at the seam of one of his gloves, steadily peeling it off his hand. “Of course, we knew that plenty of the nobles had their concerns, and many voiced them, yourself included.” He sets the removed glove to the side, now beginning to take off the other. “And yet, you still decided that you would try and work against us behind the scenes,” The second glove joins its pair. “And, what I’m really trying to understand -- truly, I am -- is why you thought it would be a good idea to try and undermine the Seven Lords?”

Abyzou shifted in place, her earlier burst of bravado dwindling, and goosebumps rose along her skin as she listened to the music he decided to play. It was common knowledge to never get on Lucifer’s bad side, but she had taken the risk -- and now she would be answering for it. She lowered her head, staring at the cold stone floor, suddenly finding the way the orange light from the flames bounced and shimmered of great interest. “I . . . “ She started, trying to choose her next words carefully. “I wasn’t trying to undermine you or your brothers. I was doing what I thought would be best … including for you all! Can’t you see that I was trying to protect you, protect us?”

A piercing, incredulous laugh left Lucifer’s lips, his deep voice sending chills down Abyzou’s spine. He picked up the spool of twisted rope and approached her once more, the steady clack clack from his shoes’ heels echoing throughout the cell, mingling with the slowly increasing crescendo.

“Aby, Aby, Aby . . .” Lucifer clicked his tongue before he roughly collected a fistful of her long raven locks, eliciting a sharp cry as her head was wrenched back to look up at him. “That was your first mistake.”

The Avatar of Pride was nothing short of an expert when it came to stringing others up from the ceiling, though in this particular case, he wanted to make sure it hurt. The imprisoned demon thrashed and squirmed, but he was able to lift and tie her up with ease, making sure that the rough jute cut into her scaly skin just short of making her bleed -- for now. He tied the rope up to her waist, then put each wrist in a metal clasp that was chained to the floor, stretching out her arms to either side.

“You thought you needed to protect us? A sweet gesture,” He derided her, a claw coming up to slowly trace from her chin down through her cheek, drawing blood as it broke skin. “And an absolute lie. Your little act had every intention to put my brothers at risk, in harm’s way … “ A second claw followed the first, creating a ribbon of shredded skin. Abyzou hissed at the pain, biting back anything else in an effort to save some sense of dignity. “ … and you had the audacity to think you’d get away with it. Truly incredible.” The faux amazement in his tone felt like thorns in her ears, and she squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting to look into his face.

“What’s the matter, Abyzou? Shouldn’t you be used to being in this kind of position, or at least … something not too far from it?” Lucifer smirked, delighted to see her eyes shoot back open, bright yellow irises staring at him in disbelief. “If I remember correctly … Solomon had you tied up in front of his temple, and by your hair, at that.”

That riled her up. Forked tongue lashed out to flick at his face, a series of curses leaving her lips soon after. Fangs bared, she hissed, “Don’t you dare bring up that bastard! To think that I wasn’t allowed to lay a hand on him the moment he stepped into our realm. He deserves to have his neck twisted, but you … !”

“But I . . ?” Lucifer took out a handkerchief from his back pocket, nonchalantly wiping away at where her tongue and spit landed on his visage. “Please, do go on.”

“You … you, all of you, let him in with open arms! Even after knowing everything he’s done, how he’s treated our own kind! I don’t care if you say he’s changed, HE NEEDS TO BE TORN LIMB FROM LIMB!” She screamed, thrashing about in her binds, chains rattling as she struggled.

“Temper, temper, Aby.” Oh, that sadistic, pointed grin. A wave of euphoria washed over him, seeing her like this. “You have no room to talk, considering what you’ve done.” He watched as the blood from her face dropped and dripped to the floor, a hum leaving his lips.

“Perhaps you need some more reminding of just how badly you fucked up this time.” He raised a hand, chanting a curse that caused a swirl of glowing energy to encircle both of her hands. It weaved through her clenched fists, forcing them open, and wrapped like binding around each finger. She cried out in pain as she felt the magical binding began to gradually crush her fingers, cutting off circulation knuckle by knuckle.

“You tried to have some of my brothers poisoned,” All five claws of one hand pierced the skin of her upper arm, retracted, pierced again a bit lower, and repeated -- gradually making way down her entire arm. More and more blood began to drip, the usual greenish hue of her scaly skin now awash in dark red. “You tried to gather enough support to attack them, because you were too much of a coward to come face any of us yourself. Though, it’s laughable that you thought you could do damage to us in the first place.”

“I … I’m sorry!” She knew any apologies here were useless, but the pain that she now felt at every point in her body was becoming too agonizing to ignore. “I felt like I was left with no choice!” She felt her vision get hazy, the smell of her blood and the sharp strikes of pain -- from the rope, from his claws, from the curse -- overwhelming her senses. And that damned music, it was driving her insane.

“No choice?” Lucifer scoffed, his claws now repeating the treatment on her other arm. “Abyzou, you did have a choice.” His brows furrowed, wings stretching out as he brought his face close to her upside-down one. “You just chose the wrong one.”

Tears stung her eyes, the magic binding on her hands crushing her fingers until there would be nothing left. She could hear her blood drip in puddles on the floor, and yet the bleeding wasn’t enough for her life to end anytime soon.

“Please … please, Lord Lucifer … just finish me already.” She begged, though deep down she knew her cries for mercy would be futile.

Lucifer’s usual stoic expression settled on his features. He watched her for a moment, then turned around and walked to the table by the door where he had laid his gloves. A cloth was folded neatly next to them, which he took to wipe the blood off of his hands, murmuring a spell to help fully rid his skin of any that remained. Then, he pulled his gloves back on, tugging on the seams to make sure that they were on properly, fingers flexing in the red leather.

“I’m sure that’s what you would like, Abyzou.” His voice is eerily low, his back still turned to the demoness. She could hear him setting something up, but was unable to make out what it was.

Then he started humming, a haunting sound added to the sharp strings and bellowing percussion.

He dragged the table closer to her suspended body, stepping aside to show what was left on it.

She nearly choked. There, next to the record player, was another similar device -- but this one wasn’t for playing.

“However, I have no intention of giving you a quick end. You’ll remain here, like this, until every last drop of blood leaves your body, and your hands are thoroughly crushed, and those ropes cut through you. But, you won’t be completely alone.”

He gingerly raises the needle, setting it onto the record at the correct position. Resuming his humming, he hit the Record button, and the disc began to spin, the needle etching everything it heard into the vinyl. “We’ll have a lovely keepsake to remember you by. Ah, and don’t worry … this is all using magic, so it will document everything up until your last breath.”

Abyzou tried to thrash about with what strength she had left, but in the end only caused herself pain, the chains shackled to her wrists ringing and clanging.

“Farewell, Abyzou.”

With that, Lucifer left the cell, the large metal door shutting to a close behind him. He made his way back through the dungeon halls, a smirk on his lips as he heard a loud, wailing shriek in the distance.

[shivada-jade]

magical mischief (2)

hogwarts!au

character(s): diluc ➡ mentions: kaeya, sucrose, childe, venti, baal, diona warning(s): swearing <3

notes: it was supposed to be diluc, zhongli, and thoma but diluc's unexpectedly got longer than i hoped oOPS so i made a separate one for zhongli and thoma

part 1: kaeya, childe, albedo

gryffindor!

diluc

everyone knows of the gryffindor prefect. some people would mistake him as ravenclaw for being so studious; some people would mistake him for slytherin for being so closed off. in his first year of hogwarts, people often mistook him as hufflepuff for being friendly, overly polite, and outgoing. the hufflepuff mistake changed when he turned sixteen.

no one knows what happened to his sudden change of personality. no one but kaeya and a strange, childhood, ravenclaw friend that works with another even stranger ravenclaw.

sucrose pushes her glasses up, watching you create another explosion in her room.

you cough, wiping off the ashes from your face. the black smudges on your face don't go away. sucrose hands you a handkerchief and you gratefully accept it, finally getting the grime off.

"project sixty-two oh-eight is unsuccessful." the mint haired girl notes in a journal. "moving on to..."

you tilt your head, giving her a nod to go on but she stares at the space behind you. you turn and see kaeya, cracking open the door with a quiet knock. you frown, his uncharacteristic actions feel so weird. he usually just blasts open the door with a flick of his wand and sashays inside.

"kaeya?" you ask after apologizing to sucrose for interrupting her. "what's up?"

the slytherin clears his throat, opening the door more widely. "may i have a moment of your time? preferably not here, though."

he's so... formal. unlike himself.

you wave goodbye to sucrose and promise her to do another experiment next time then direct your attention back to the boy in front of you. "sure, outside?"

he nods. with a swish of his robes, he walks out. you note his posture is so unlike him. his strides are more rigid, less carefree. it's like a comparison from a beauty model to an uptight CEO.

he leads you right in a place where you can see the black lake. it's awfully farther than you expected. you thought he was going to lead to to the court yard, or at least the slytherin common room.

"kaeya, you're not acting like yourself." you comment.

"haha!" an airy laugh escapes from someone. you jolt, surprised from the unexpected guest. you feel two hands clamp your shoulders. "you're absolutely right, my dear."

you knit your brows, walking away from kaeya and... diluc. you slap a hand over your mouth. "wait, diluc- did you just laugh?!" did he just call you 'my dear' with a peppy tone

kaeya grumbles in displeasure. his arms cross while his brother leans on him with a carefree attitude.

you make an 'o' shape with your lips, piecing the clues together. "oh.. oh." you try to remain stoic and serious about the situation, seeing how uncomfy kaeya- no- how uncomfy diluc is.

you gasp out laughing, clutching your stomach. you crouch on the ground unable to control your laughs and look up to the brothers with tears in your eyes, "oh- please! you've switched bodies! how?!"

no wonder the slytherin had been acting all curt and polite. diluc in kaeya's body pinches the bridge of his nose. "the new first year did this," he starts to explain. "took one look at me and said, 'i will destroy the wine industry!' i don't even know how the kid knows of my family's business in the muggle world."

"placed a spell on us with weird words while having a quidditch practice match," kaeya finishes. "but really, who doesn't know of the winery? even the purest of purebloods know of it."

kaeya (still in diluc's body) looks at the red portion of his robes with a scrunched up nose. you're unable to tell if he hates how the robe feels on him. or if he hates wearing gryffindor's colours.

you hum, scratching your head. "you want me to undo the spell, right?"

"if it isn't a problem," diluc presses his lips together. with one glance at your unsure face, his shoulders droop. "you don't know how, do you..."

you smile sympathetically. "i'll try my best to undo it, but just in case, we need to find that first year, to the source itself"

kaeya raises his arms behind his now red hair, "great! it feels so weird to be seeing with both my eyes. or well, with both diluc eyes. the kid's name is diona. she's also in slytherin like me. diluc will lead you to her."

"what? why me," diluc asks.

"because you're the one who looks like me, duh! i cant go in the slytherin common room if i look like gryffindor prefect. just bring [y/n] with you. childe can also help-"

diluc glowers, "you still hang around that scum?"

"you still keep that vase?" kaeya throws sweet poison to diluc.

you chuckle nervously when you see them bring their wands out. "so, diona? let's find her."

kaeya raises a brow, and smirks. "toodles~! i dont want to spend another minute in this grump's body. that donna girl keeps trying to give me a pie- i dont want seven different pies." he wriggles his fingers to show his goodbye.

you shiver. it's so weird to see diluc- when you know diluc isn't actually diluc in his body. but his face keeps smiling and showing emotions with kaeya's soul inside. it's weird to not see only little quirks of his mouth or his typical sighs.

but really though, you could stare at kaeya's new face. it's strange seeing diluc with a scheming face: the one kaeya typically wears

"please at least try to not get into any trouble..." diluc purses his lips. "i'll try to act like you- you try to act like me."

you stare at diluc with owlish eyes. diluc? acting like kaeya?

it seems kaeya has the same reaction, because he freezes. luckily for him, he's quick witted, "oh? act like you?" he musters the grouchiest face and crosses his arms. "hello, i am diluc ragnvindr. i am a grouchy gryffindor. i hate kaeya. i hate lots of slytherins, especially the beautiful, gorgeous asshole named kaeya," he praises himself.

diluc fights the urge to throw him into the black lake. you laugh, dragging diluc away and leading him to where the slytherin common room is.

"i've only been here once, but i am acquainted with childe, so he can show us around." you bump his side playfully and stand outside the slytherin common room.

"CHILDE." you yell with your hands amplifying the noise.

"WHADDUP SHAWTY," you hear a shout from behind you.

you nod to diluc, encouraging him to somehow find a way to get the slytherin password from childe. you know he hates him, but you want to see dilucs words come true. you want to see how he acts as kaeya.

he lets out a shaky sigh and smiles so casually. the smile is so pretty, it hurts. it's a shame he doesn't do that with his own face.

childe beams seeing the two of you, "hey comrades! what are you all standing around for?" he prods around, eying diluc then snaps his fingers as if realizing something.

you wait a bit for diluc to say something, or act more, but it seems he's done his acting gig and goes straight to the point. "what's the password?"

you deadpan. childe's gonna question him now and he'd have to say he's actually dilu-

"yeah sure no problem! it's 'reckoning'"

diluc says the word to a blank wall and enters through the door. you squint your eyes and make a face at childe. "you're up to something, i know."

he shrugs and pushes you in after diluc. "tell diona i said hi."

...

you sit at the lounge, waiting for diluc to show up with diona. your brows crease, because diluc is right. childe knows something others don't. you don't recall telling childe you were trying to find diona.

you doubletake, seeing a hufflepuff drinking an absurd amount of butterbeer from who knows where. they hang their arms around a slender, purple haired slytherin who tries to push him off with disgust.

what is venti doing hanging out with the slytherin queen. he'll die-

"venti," you hiss, reaching out to try and let him live a bit longer.

he hiccups and waves you over. he 'whispers' to the slytherin next to him. oh he's in trouble now. "psst, baal. is that the one all the slytherins are talking about?" his whispers are shouts at this point.

the slytherins at the lounge freeze, hoping you havent caught on yet.

baal hits venti's head with a hand, "shut up. you're ruining the plan."

you snort seeing venti spill his drink on his clothes.

"but baal," venti downs what's left in his mug. "if that grumpy gryffindor wont confess to [y/n] then how on earth is the plan even going to work? he barely even talks to [y/n] these days because hee likes [y/n] too much." he says as if you're not in the room. he continues babbling even after baal kicks his shins, "kaeya's plan won't work if diona-"

oh shit so it's kaeya's plan and every slytherin is on it

baal drags venti out of the common room and throws him out and all the other slytherins hastily leave to their own rooms.

diluc coughs from behind you, now transformed to his normal self and with who you assume is diona. pink peppers his face while he tried to cover his face with his fiery hair. "um, i found diona. she swapped me back."

diona sticks her tongue out. "that ugly kaeya made a deal with me on something and i had to oblige! it's honestly so pathetic how you can't confess so deal or no deal: i had to do it, but the uglier bard ruined the whole plan so i turned you back."

diluc dusts imaginary dust off his cloak and grasps your hands. he looks down to his feet, still unsure of whether to do this or not. "well, you heard it all. it's a shame it couldn't be from me but-" he rambles. with other's he's confident, but with you he's a mess. "i hope you can accept my feelings. if not i understand, i'll go on with my day and you'll never have to see me."

he holds his breath, silently quivering with the lack of response you give. a hand lifts his chin up and he stares at your eyes, nervous.

you didn't say anything, but you smile and give his the warmest hug.

he knows the answer now.

he wraps his arms back, silently thanking kaeya for his idiotic plan. it's stupid, but it worked in the end.

BONUS!:

"KAEYA I WILL FUCKING MURDER YOU AND YOUR FRIENDS"

kaeya swirls a gold goblet with sparkling grape juice inside. he wolfishly grins and holds his cup up with a hand. "a toast for master diluc! for finally confessing, if people can even call it that."

he lowers it, placing it on his lips but never drinking it. he grins under the cup seeing diluc's wand in his hand flaming red.

"it's not even my fault." kaeya starts to explain his bullshit to diluc, "you can blame yourself. honestly, it gets tiring seeing you pine for so long and avoiding them like you weren't childhood friends with them."

the tips of diluc's ears turn red, not wanting to agree with his brother, but it was true. he was hopeless in the romantic department by himself. he can reject thousands and millions of people. he can have who ever he wants, but you aren't "whoever." you're the most special someone to him and that made him scared.

kaeya hands his drink to diluc, "do i get a thank you?"

diluc scoffs, yet accepts the drink. "thank you," he quietly mutters.

part 3: thoma, zhongli

[sweetsbfreex]

you’re amazing, don’t worry

A few days before you were laying in bed. Harry laid on his back, while you were on your side, his arm wrapped around your shoulder and your head on his chest. Watching the television displayed on the wall. 

“Can we talk about something before we both doze off?” he asked quietly, his arm going lazily up and down your arm. 

“Sure” you replied sitting up, crossing your legs. While Harry also sat up, pausing the tv too. 

“I know we’ve talked about it a few times, but I think we should go public” he said quickly, which is something when you’re speaking about Harry.

“You- you wanna go public, like let everyone know we’re dating?”

“Yeah I mean, you know the movie premiere is this weekend and I really want to walk the red carpet with you by me” he stated, reaching for your hand in the midst of it. 

“H-”

“I know, I know baby, but I think this could be the perfect time. We can get it over with” he said shuffling closer “I could finally show my girl off to everyone hm?” placing his palm on your cheek, thumb grazing the apex of your cheek. 

You loved Harry; you really did. He is your person, but you just weren’t sure about this. Having to put up with your social anxiety, big events, crowded places, and new people just weren’t your thing. You remember the first time you had met the band, a fidgeting mess, was all you were. 

The door opened to his studio, a smiling, giddy Harry on the other side. You however, were the complete opposite. Your stomach was a mess and your fingers wouldn’t stop fidgeting with the rings on your fingers or the necklace around your neck.

Harry could see from the doorway, pulling you into a bone crushing hug (letting the door close behind him) filled with love, whispering into your ears words to affirm you. “Hi, you’re amazing, don't worry,” he said kissing, your lips.

You smiled up at him showing your thanks, clasping your hands together “Thank you...Oh also can you let the lady in the front office know I said good morning back, my voice just wouldn’t project,” you whispered the last part, earning a chuckle from Harry. 

“Yes I'll do it, you about ready to meet everyone” he asked, looking down at you, concern displayed on his face from the way his eyebrows furrowed together. 

“Can we just stand out here for a bit” you asked. 

“Of course, just let me know when you’re ready. I promise they're not as bad as I make them seem” he says grinning, as he brings his hands put to clasp your face, setting kisses to your forehead. 

When you were finally ready, Harry opened the door, your hand holding onto his tightly, as you trailed behind him. 

‘Am I walking funnily? No you’re fine just don't trip or anything’ you tell yourself, breathing a deep breath in holding it and letting it go. 

“Lads this is y/n!” he pronounced elatedly, stepping to the side so you would be in view, looking down at you tranquil. You could see, looking back a thin briefly the crinkles around his eyes were striking and his dimples deep. 

“baby, this is Mitch, Sarah, you already know Jeff, Ny Oh, Adam, and Charlotte”. You knew Mitch was a man of not many words, so you weren’t too worried about conversing with him.

‘don't sound stupid, don't sound stupid, don't sound...’

A variety of heys were thrown at you from everybody in, you squeaked out a hi hoping everyone had heard and a wave. 

Harry had then pulled you both to sit down in one of the free spaces of the couches resting against the walls of the studio. 

“So y/n, H says your interning at Pinterest, that’s really cool” Sarah says

“Oh yea..Uh, I just look at a bunch of numbers and statistics, nothing too fun” you say, your voice wavering. But inside you could swear your heart was doing cartwheels when you had realized Harry talks about you to his friends. 

“I don't think it’s boring, she’s brilliant, she looks at all these gigantic numbers and comes up with these summaries, it’s amazing” Harry parades, wrapping his arm around your torso.

“Thank you H” you murmur, your cheeks heating up. 

As the time continued before you had to go. There was a lot of Harry intervening because you weren’t really sure what to ask or say, too on the fence of not embarrassing yourself in front of his friends, but luckily as time went on things had gotten better, to the point you didn’t break down before hanging out with any of them. 

“But all those people bub and the cameras, I don’t know, my anxie-”

“I know I can’t control it, but I’ll be there with you the whole time. You don’t even have to tell me your answer right now, whenever you’re ready okay?”

“Yea, thank you” you say. Getting up to stand on your knees, pulling Harry into a hug. A breath of relief coursing all over you. 

“You don’t have to thank me, petal, just want you comfortable”

                                                          -

Now here you were getting ready for the event, sporting a beautiful black dress that had an ascending slit running up the side of the dress. 

“You look beautiful, angel” harry gushed walking over to you, taking your hand as he guided you to do a quick twirl “very easy on the eyes” using that same hand to stop your twirl and instead pull you into him, stationing his second on the curve of your ass. 

“Are you sure if you’re having any doubts it’s ok” he repeated for the umpteenth time. You don’t mean to sound the way you do, you were grateful of course for how caring and understanding he is.

But ever since you had told him yes, he’d check every day till now, just to see if you were sure, reassuring you that he wouldn't be mad if you change your mind, etc. 

“Harry-”

“I know I know, but I also know that you don’t like thinking that you're disappointing me”

“I hate you,” you mumble, bringing your forehead to rest against his shoulder, hating and loving the fact that he knew you so well, you could barely hide anything if you wanted to, but he couldn’t either. 

“Mhm” he hummed, grinning down at your distraught stance.

You brought your head from his shoulder, smiling up at him for reassurance “I promise I'm fine, it’s okay”

                                                           -

This was not okay, you should’ve listened to Harry.

Now in the limo, on the way to the event, it was you, Harry, the band, Jeff, and his girlfriend–Glenne. 

Your foot tapped arrhythmic, both hands tightly clasped around one of Harry’s. It felt like you were going down a really really really high rollercoaster, with how your stomach was twisted a never-ending knot of wires. 

fuck, did it really hurt. 

“Love are you sure you’re okay?” 

“mhm” you responded, nodding quickly letting go of the tense hold you had on Harry’s hand. 

Conversation was flying around you, but you couldn't find yourself to join in with how into your head you were. Thought after thought flying high and low, some doubtful, some embarrassing, and some down right annoying. But you couldn’t help it. What if you had something in your teeth, or you stood awkward, or you trip just walking down the carpet (over nothing which would be even worse). 

God, you were a mess. And the intense analyzing look Harry was giving you was not helping. 

“Okay we’re here guys!” Jeff let out, clapping his hands together a singular time, while everyone else let out their excitement. 

‘When did the car stop?!’

Jeff was the first to get out, everyone else following suit until you were the only one. Looking up from your seat near the door, Harry stood outside, hand reaching out towards you. 

“You ready love?”

You could feel your throat clogging up from those words, the wires in your stomach only getting tighter by the second and in seconds your trembling hands were reaching up to wipe the tears running down your cheeks. Staring at all the interviewers with mics standing to the side of the carpet, the barricade holding back fans, and all the other people strutting their way down the carpet you weren’t sure you could handle all the eyes that would possibly be on you. 

“I- I don't think I can do it, I'm sorry H, 

I thought I could. I can't. I'm so sorry” you rambled, sniffling time to time. Finally looking up into Harry’s sad eyes, you also caught the glance of everyone else who looked at you with solace. 

“shh shh,” he started, passing through the door again to sit adjacent to you, quickly clasping your face in his, using his thumbs to brush away the never-ending tears. 

Your makeup was ruined, nose a debacle, as you tried bringing yourself together, but that didn't seem to work as you only began to hyperventilate. 

“Oh y/n” he said, bringing your head to lay on his chest, grabbing the handkerchief to wipe away at your runny nose. “Mate we’re gonna head out, Jeff let whoever needs to know it was an emergency or something, please,” he asked Jeff, awaiting his response until he could finally close the door which he did quickly.

“No no Harry you can't miss this, please I’ll just go home, it’s fine”

“it’s not fine, I'd have to be out of my mind to leave you like this, petal, it’s okay I'm not mad I promise” he reassured. 

On the way to his place the tears never stopped, thinking of how you had not only embarrassed yourself, but Harry too. 

“I'm sorry I'm really sorry H,” you cried into his chest, even his expensive suit you were messing up, this night could only get better. Only getting a hush and words of reassurance from Harry. 

                                                           -

You were laying on his bed, phone in hand as you scrolled through twitter. You knew this would happen, but you were just hoping by some miracle it wouldn't have, that maybe you’d finally reign control. Harry was in the closet putting on his sweats, and also fetching your makeup remover and clothes for the night. 

Harry Styles Ditched his OWN Premiere?!

What Happened to Harry Styles Tonight?

And last, but not least 

Harry Styles and Mystery Girl!, A picture of you and Harry in the limo, thankfully your face covered as it was pulled into Harry’s chest protectively. And another exactly like it, only difference is Harry’s distraught face was shown looking up at Jeff’s. 

“You shouldn’t be reading that rubbish,” his deep voice takes you by surprise, looking up as he stood in front of you. Your clothes in one hand and cotton pads and your make up remover in another. 

“I know” you mumble. “I couldn’t help myself”

“Do you want to get dressed, and we talk afterwards”

“Yeah” you say grasping the pile of clothes from his palm. Setting them on the bed as you stripped and changed there. Once you were done, you climbed on the bed sitting across from Harry who had just finished dabbing some of the liquid into two cotton pads, handing you the other one. 

You started removing the mascara and eye shadow, since they were sensitive, while Harry began wiping down your cheek.

“I'm sorry I embarrassed you, H”

He stopped his actions, dropping his hand away from your face. His eyebrows brought together and his mouth a line of what you could describe as disgust, but not likely, and one lip tucked up. 

“Why would you say something like that?” he asks, he grabs both your hands guiding you to sit on his lap. Your legs straddling his waist, wrapping both your arms over his neck. He sighed into your neck, bringing one hand to stroke the back of your head. “You didn’t embarrass me, baby, you reacted. You can’t help it, and I would never hold that against you, Yea?”

You nodded meekly in response. 

“I’m proud that you even tried to begin with, I’m sorry too, I shouldn’t have forced you to go.” he says.

“Thank you... And it isn’t your fault, you didn’t force me to go. Just...I don’t know. All those people H, what if someone figures out it’s me. Now everyone will see me crying like a baby, it’s even worse that your friends saw me like that.” you sniffle. 

“I know I can’t magically fix this, but I promise you don’t even have to worry about them. They understand and won’t bring it up” he says trying to reassure you. 

“And if the public figures out it’s me, that’s a terrible first expression” you chuckle lowly.

Harry let’s a small laugh come out in return, grasping your face to pull you closer. “We’ll get to it, if it happens...how about after we get ready for bed, we go drive around a bit. Would that help a little?” he asks, eyes overflowing in empathy. 

“Yes please. Thank you again. I love you” you answer sniffling a small smile upon your face.

“I love you so much more”, he says bringing you in for a cuddle.

“We’re not starting this again” you grumble into his chest, receiving a giggle from him.

-

if you enjoyed pls don’t forget to reblog or give feedback if ur up to it <3

[bestiesenpai]

firsts with fushiguro megumi

Sushiguro is here lads! To do what? Simp! How much? Badly! When? Now! Femme pronouns purely so I can use the term ‘big sis’

TW: blood(but it’s very brief), drinking too

First meeting

When Fushiguro came to Tokyo Tech, he knew there’d be other students there, older than him and his same age

He went into the school with no particular intention of dating any of his classmates, or really dating anyone to be honest

But then, why does he find a third year so cute? He wasn’t here for any of that, it wasn’t Rupauls best friend race!

He hasn’t even said a word to you and you’re already capturing his heart, and really all you’re doing is talking to Inumaki and the other second years, laughing with them and just hanging out before any lessons start

He doesn’t realize he’s scowling and glaring right at you in his attempts to figure out his feelings until you come up to him with an annoyed look on your face

“Hey, any reason you’re fucking staring at me like that?” You spit, one hand on your hip and the other pointing at him.

“What?” He says it harder than he wants to, his brows raising up slightly. He was staring at you? You seemed mad too, what was he supposed to do? 

“Sorry.” The answer must not have been good enough for you because you let out a grunt.

“That’s all you have to say, you little creep?”

“(Y/N), don’t get so worked up.” Maki tries to calm you down, but you push her away.

“No, I wanna know why he was staring at me like that. Do you have a problem with me, first year? We’ve never even met before, so what’s your deal?”

Shit. Shit this was really bad and only getting worse.

“I-I didn’t mean to.”

“Well you did, so explain yourself.” You reply immediately, scaring him more. Crossing your arms over your chest, you cock your head to the side. “Well? You gonna answer or what?”

How was he supposed to explain that he was looking at you because he thought you were pretty and he wanted to talk to you but he was too nervous?

“I uh-” Clearing his throat, Megumi’s eyes bounced to his upperclassmen. None of them were trying to calm you down anymore and they actually seemed a little scared themselves.

“Speak up.” Snapping your fingers at him, you got closer, almost bursting Megumi’s personal bubble.

“You’re pretty.” He squeaks out, flinching at the way you raise your eyebrow. “Woah!” With one sweep of your legs he’s sent tumbling to the ground and onto his back.

“Fuck off and stay away from me, you weirdo.” Stepping on his stomach, you walk on top of him and out of sight to the dorms. Megumi lays there, staring at the sky in silence with his hands clutching his abdomen.

“Sorry about (Y/N), she can be a little testy.” He’s being helped up by Panda, with Inumaki standing just off to the side.

“(Y/N).” He says your name quietly, looking at the place you’d just disappeared to. Royally fucking up your first meeting, he’d have to fix your relationship with him sooner rather than later.

First hangout

After that fateful day, Fushiguro doesn’t see much of you because, you’re actively avoiding him

And when he does see you, you always make the comment that your day just got ten times worse from just having him in your vicinity

It hurt to have you say those things, especially because Fushiguros crush on you hadn’t diminished at all

He saw the way you were with others and it made him yearn to be a part of that

He’s also gotten his ass beat a few more times for somehow always being caught staring at you and Gojo laughs every time, even video taped it to laugh at later

The only time you actually hang around him - and not of your own accord - is before the goodwill event with Kyoto. Since you’re not allowed to participate, you’ve been tasked with helping him train

And it’s not going very well...could this even be considered a hangout?

“That makes five, shitty-guro.” It’s the fifth time you’ve knocked him into the dirt with just your fists. It’s in Megumi's mouth, the taste of the dirt, and he feels its grit between his teeth. His arms shake hard as he forces himself up to all fours and then to his feet.

“O-one more time.” There’s a cut above his eye that’s started to trickle blood into his line of sight and he hastily wipes it off. Fighting you reminds him of his fight with Todo, how overwhelming it was to be on the receiving end of the onslaught of attacks.

“Really? You must have a fucking pain kink or something, sicko.” Spitting on the ground, you roll your neck and take your stance, fists in front of you and feet spread apart. “But let’s see what you got.”

Megumi doesn’t think when he comes after you this time. Before, he’d tried to make calculated moves that would all just end in his defeat. You were either too quick for him to execute them or you’d already thought two steps ahead and dodged.

As your fist just barely misses breaking his nose, Megumi does manage to tackle you onto the ground. There’s a brief tumble and he can’t exactly make odds or ends of the world, but he rolls you on the ground and manages to pin your arms and legs to your side.

“Ha...I did it.” It’s all he can think to say, stupidity flashing across his brain at how dumb he sounds. You wiggle underneath him, quickly giving up and settling onto the dirt.

“Okay so hit me.”

“What?”

“Hit me you fucking moron, you’ve barely landed any punches on me this whole time.” Rolling your eyes, you turn your face to the side and squeeze your eyes shut. “Go ahead.” Picking up his fist, Megumi looks at it and at you. It’s true, he’d barely striked you, only landing a few punches by lucky chance.

“I-I can’t.” At least not like this. Although he wasn’t one to believe in pulling punches or going easy during training, he didn’t want to hurt you like that, particularly with you down like this.

“Well I can.”

“Huh?” It happened again, a move he wasn’t prepared for. Arching your back hard, your leg swings up, pushing him up your body but also nailing him in the back of the head with your foot. He lurches forward, part of his leg hitting you in the face.

He’s face down ass up in the air, once again tasting the dirt underneath him. You don’t miss the opportunity to kick him in the ass and make his face drag across the dirt before falling over completely.

“What the hell…” Looking up at the sky in wonder, his face stings from being rubbed so hard, and he sits up slowly. His vision is swimming, but he can see you holding your nose and tilting your head back, blood dripping on your hands.

“You couldn’t punch me in the face, but at least you managed to do some damage.” Your voice is funny with your nose blocked. Scrambling to his feet, Megumi pulls out a handkerchief he has and holds it out to you.

“Here, use this.” You squint at him, eyeing him up with scrutiny. Taking the cloth from him, you lower your head a little and take your hand away. Megumi watches the cloth quickly become crimson, soaked with your blood.

“Thanks shitty-guro.” Turning your back on him, you shrug your shoulder and begin to walk away. “Don’t expect this back, I don’t want you harvesting my DNA to make some weird sex doll clone.” Your words make him chuckle despite the harsh tone you gave them. Megumi stays where he is for a little bit to collect himself before taking a break himself, watching you laugh at seeing Nobara swung around by Panda.

First confession

Fushiguro Megumi had to be completely psycho, because after that training day his mind runs even more rampant with thoughts of you

You stop avoiding him as much now, you still don’t speak directly to him most of the time but if you have to you take the seat next to him if it’s the only one available

But Megumi doesn’t get to fantasize about you as much anymore since you’ve gone ahead and graduated and left him behind(how rude)

Now that he’s in his third year, he’s better at controlling his emotions and whatnot

So when you come around to the school to chat with Gojo or he sees you on missions, he doesn’t stare like he used to and he can have a barely decent conversation with you

And for some increasingly annoying reason, you and Itadori have taken a great liking to each other

It’s like a sibling relationship, Itadori looks at you with sparkling eyes and calls you ‘big sis (Y/N)’, the two of you text each other quite frequently and you’re always willing to put an arm around his shoulder when the two of you are hanging out

“You what?” Megumi stops dead in his tracks in the dorm building hall, utterly stunned by what Itadori just said.

“Hm, you didn’t hear me? I said I have a crush on big sis (Y/N), I want to confess to her.” Itadori says it so plainly that it sounds simple enough. And it really is, he knows Itadori won’t beat around the bush with this, and that’s what makes it that much worse.

“You can’t.” Megumi says before he can help himself.

“Why not?” Now Itadori is looking at him in confusion.

“Be-because I-” It’s too embarrassing to admit outloud. He hasn’t told anyone about his crush on you, it was a secret he’d take to the grave. But that doesn’t mean other people didn’t take notice, he could tell people knew(everyone knew) but they never brought it up.

“Don’t tell me you like big sis too!” With a gasp, Itadori narrows his eyes at Megumi. With a burning face, Megumi nods yes, shame washing over him. “You can’t, she doesn’t even like you.”

“I know!” Throwing his head back, Megumi slams his forehead into the nearest wall and groans loudly. “Believe me, I know.”

“Seriously, this is what you called me here for, Kugisaki?” A fit of giggles erupts behind him and Megumi whips his head to the side, mouth wide open in shock at seeing you and Nobara behind him, a disgusted look on your face while Nobara is laughing.

“Mhmm!” She’s busy trying to hold her laughter in and failing at it.

“Big sis!” Itadori waltzes right up to you and hugs you, receiving a few firm pats on the back. “I don’t really like you like that, Nobara just wanted to see if Fushiguro would admit to his crush on you or not.”

“Don’t worry, I caught on.” Ruffling his hair, you release him from the hug. Sauntering up to Megumi, you flick him in the forehead. “I always knew you were a freak, a little pain freak.” Flicking him again, you sigh and take a step back. “Well since I’m here let’s watch a movie or something, give ol’ shitty-guro a break for once, looks like he needs one.”

“Awesome!” Itadori is already rushing to prepare his room for guests.

“Big sis, will you order takeout from that one place?” Nobara asks, grabbing your hand excitedly.

“Geez, you guys are gonna bleed me dry!” You gripe, and then a sick smile crosses your face. “Good thing I kept Gojos credit card info from the last time he made me order food.”

“Woo!” Bouncing on her heels, Nobara is already rattling off the things she wants to order.

“Let’s go shitty-guro.” Catching him by the collar, you drag him down the hall and to Itadori’s room.

First date

After accidentally confessing, Fushiguro actually feels better now that you know

You don’t immediately start to treat him differently, but the edge in your voice when you speak to him is softer now, less defensive than it used to be

And he was finally able to explain that all those years ago, he had been staring at you because he really did think you were pretty

There’s no time that you hang out together just the two of you, Itadori and Nobara are always around chirping about ‘big sis (Y/N)’ and hanging around

It’s only when there’s an ‘accidental’ mixup in schedules and the both of you end up together at korean bbq, conveniently with Itadori and Nobara both not answering their phones

“Do those idiots really think I don’t know what they’re doing?” You huff across the table, arms crossed and eyes scanning the room. Leaning back in your chair, you can see Megumi pointedly avoiding looking at you.

“We can go if you want.” He says, eyes still trained on the barbecue in the middle of the table. You sigh heavily and Megumi closes his eyes, ready for you to leave almost immediately.

“Nah it’s whatever, we’re here now might as well make the most of it.” Picking up a menu, you point at him with it. “Order whatever you want, big sis (Y/N) will pay for it.”

“Y-you’re not my big sis.” Megumi mumbles as he picks up his menu, instantly regretting what he said.

“No? Then what am I to you?” Your smirk tells him all he needs to know. You want to hear him say it again, confess his feelings and blush like an idiot. And with the way his cheeks were currently burning, you were already halfway there.

“You know what I mean.”

“Hm? I don’t think I do.” Now planting your elbows on the table, you grinned like a fool. “What are you saying, shitty-guro? Do you want me to be more than that?” If you weren’t in public, Megumi would have yelled from embarrassment. But he didn’t get the chance to do anything, as there were two guys approaching your table.

“Can I help you?” Your smile instantly dropped, expression turning as cold as ice as you glared at the two of them. They looked closer to your age, maybe a few years older, with more muscles than Megumi could ever hope to pack onto his lean frame.

“We saw you from our table and were wondering if you wanted to join us? We got plenty of booze and food.” Their attempts at picking you up were laughable, and you did just that, letting out a snort and waving them away.

“Not interested.” Flipping a page on your menu, you go to point at something and talk to Megumi when one of them puts a hand on your shoulder.

“C’mon, ditch your little brother and co- fuck!” Snatching their hand off you, you nearly broke their fingers with how hard you bent them backwards.

“Listen you fucking creeps.” Standing up, you twisted the arm of the man that had touched you. “I’m just trying to enjoy this dumb little date, eat some dumb food and then go the fuck home.”

“Okay! Okay!” He sobbed. The whole restaurant was looking at you now, shock written all over their faces.

“It better be okay, because I won’t hesitate to break your fucking kneecaps if you so much as look at either of us.” Pushing the man away, you let out a huff of air and sat back down.

“So…” Megumi muttered as the two men scrambled away.

“What? Don’t tell me you think I went too far, you know I don’t care.”

“No, it’s not that. It’s just…” Wringing his fingers together, Megumi looked at you with a shy grin. “You said we’re on a date?” Your brows shot up in surprise, nearly disappearing into your hairline. That’s right, you’d called it a date. He could see you working over the words you wanted to say, and chuckled when you dropped your head in shame.

“Yeah, maybe I’ve come to like you too. It helps that you stopped being a damn creep and grew up.” Covering your face with your hand, you laughed bashfully. “Yeah, shitty-guro, I got a bit of a crush on you too.” Laughing again, you raised your head and were met with his pink tinged cheeks and shocked mouth.

“Really?” He wasn’t easily stupefied, but hearing you confess to liking him was something he never thought would happen. He didn’t even think you considered him a friend, let alone a love interest.

“Yup.” Taking a drink of your water, you calmed your racing heart. Megumi copied your actions, mouth suddenly feeling dry. “I guess I should stop calling you shitty-guro, huh? Megumi?”

“Ach-” He was instantly choking on his water, spitting some of it out onto the table and his lap as he forced his head down. Nearly falling from his chair, his whole face was scarlet and he felt lightheaded. You’d always referred to him by that mean nickname or just his plain last name. Hearing you say his first name made him panic.

“Jeez maybe I won’t say it if this’ll be your reaction every time.” You teased, throwing napkins at him. While he was busy cleaning up, you ordered for the two of you and handed the menus away.

“No! No, you can keep saying it, I was just surprised.” Coughing out the last remnants of water, Megumi straightened up and wiped the tears from his eyes.

“Alright, Megumi.” Saying his name a little sweeter just to tease him, you thanked the waiter when they brought a couple bottles of soju to the table. “Let’s have fun on this date.”

First kiss

Megumi was sure he had alcohol poisoning that night after getting back to the dorms

Who knew one person could drink so much? He also quickly learned that his tolerance for alcohol was quite low, given the many times he threw up in an alleyway while waiting for Ijichi to come and get him

He didn’t need to worry about you stumbling home, by the time he had left you were already climbing into a cab

The next day, he had the worst - and his first - hangover and was incapacitated the whole day, unable to move unless it was to throw up or drag himself to the bathroom

Nobara and Itadori had to make sure he wasn’t actually dead most of the time

When you texted him and asked if he wanted to join a karaoke session with Itadori and Nobara, he almost said no, remembering how your last hangout ended

But he said yes, not wanting to pass on the opportunity, especially considering that you messaged him first

“Woo, big sis!” Nobara cheers as you and Itadori scream some dumb song you barely know the words to, hanging off each other like drunken fools. And you are, or at least Itadori is. You’d supplied the alcohol, the same as the one you’d drank with Megumi earlier, and it was clear to see that it had an effect on everyone around.

“God I’m so bad at singing!” You laugh loudly and breathlessly once the song is over, collapsing right next to Megumi on the couch. Your head had landed near his and he could feel the heat radiating from your cheeks; you weren’t outright drunk, but definitely tipsy.

“Itadori, we’re doing this song!” Nobara hops up, taking the microphone you’d left on the table and standing with Itadori near the TV screen.

“Megumi, drink up.” Flicking the cup in his hand, you take note that it’s still nearly as full as when you first mixed it for him.

“No thanks, I don’t think I can drink after last time.” You laugh at him, a heavy hand landing on his shoulder at his serious tone.

“Really, I scarred you that badly?” Your forehead lands on your hand and Megumi can feel you shaking with every drunken laugh that you let out. He nods, not that you’re paying attention to see. Carefully, he puts the cup down on the table so you don’t accidentally spill it.

“I thought I was going to die.” He says, and it makes you laugh even harder. Trying to sit up properly, your body feels heavier than before and you don’t nearly use enough strength, and you end up falling onto him. “Oh!” Megumi quickly wraps his arms around you to keep you from rolling off the couch, and part of your leg is on top of his.

“Sorry gumi, guess I’m a little drunker than I thought!” That nickname was new, making Megumi’s face flush with painful heat.

“I-it’s okay.” Curtly nodding, he tries to avoid how close your faces actually are to each other. You’re close enough that he could kiss you without moving too much, your breath fanning across his lips and your forehead nearly bumping into his, your head bobbing as you try to keep yourself upright.

“Gumi, we should kiss right now.” Your statement makes a strangled noise come out of his throat, and Megumi takes a quick look at the other two in the room. They’re busy singing and trying to outdo each other on high notes.

“I-”

“Do you want to?” Planting a firm hand into the couch cushions, you push away from him slightly. “It’s okay if you don’t, I won’t pressure you.” You’re already moving away without giving him time to decide.

“I do!” He nearly shouts, slapping a hand on your shoulder to stop you from moving.

“We can wait, it’s fine.” Nodding to yourself, neither you nor Megumi are ready for his next move. Without thinking, he pushes his lips onto yours, tasting the alcohol still fresh on your tongue. He’s clumsy for his first time, unsure of what to do but closing his eyes all the same.

Your hand comes up to rest on his thigh, pushing yourself closer to him. Your mouth opens slightly, tongue coming out to brush his lips and he opens immediately. He can really taste the alcohol now, feeling like he was getting drunk just from the kiss.

“Woo! Big sis (Y/N)! Big sis (Y/N)!” Nobara and Itadori have stopped singing and are now cheering for you as you make out with their best friend and classmate. Letting them go on for a few more seconds, you pull away laughing.

“Will you two shut up?! You’re killing the mood!”

“We are the mood!” Itadori counters, and he dodges the TV remote you throw at him.

“Yeah, this is a big accomplishment!” Nobara grins. The two of them are swaying on their feet, obviously heavily intoxicated and loving every minute of it.

“God.” Slapping your forehead, you turn back to Megumi. “This is the last time I’m giving you guys liquor.”

[stiltonbasket]

idk If you are still accepting prompts for the soulmate au or not but if you are, can we see WWX comforting LWJ after finding out LWJ has also lost his soulmate please >_<

(P.S it's such an interesting concept!!!)

Lan Zhan was wearing mourning robes.

Lan Zhan came to Yiling in the plainest, roughest robes Wei Ying had ever seen touch his jade-white skin, and the only ornament on his body was the Lan passage token hanging at his waist.

Even the spired silver headpiece was gone, leaving Lan Zhan’s forehead ribbon to hold his hair by itself.

Although he still can’t quite fathom why, Wei Wuxian was so startled at the sight of his friend’s somber face that he hid behind Jiang Cheng when Lan Zhan tried to make him come back to Gusu for punishment, which resulted in Lan Zhan trying to lure him out again like a frightened animal and then holding his hand all the way back to the Jiang camp.

(Wei Wuxian isn’t going to think about that, though. His crush on Lan Zhan doesn’t mean anything, because his sworn zhiji--the one who knows him, even if his dead soulmate never got the chance to--has a fated sweetheart of his own.)

But the question of Lan Zhan’s mourning garments remained unsolved, and it takes a good four days for Wei Wuxian to figure it out by observing the strange new kindness all the other Lan disciples seem to be treating him with.

His uncle must have been killed, he realizes, after they travel from Jiangling to Qinghe and reconvene with the rest of their allies. Lan Qiren’s golden core was bound to the wards around Lotus Pier, so if Wen Xu tore it down...

Or else Lan Xichen was the one who was dead, which would be objectively worse. But Lan Xichen turns out to be very much alive when Wei Wuxian walks into Nie-zongzhu’s meeting room, and his robes are the pale blue of an early summer morning, just as they were in Gusu; so Wei Wuxian is forced to admit defeat, and sulk at Jiang Cheng’s side until his Shijie pulls him aside later that day to give him a laden dinner tray.

“Shijie, I can’t eat all this!” he laughs, smiling at the pot of pork-rib soup (with mushrooms instead of lotus roots, since mushrooms are the vegetable of choice in the Unclean Realm) and a bowl of steaming greens, which looks very much like something they might have had in Gusu--but better-tasting, of course, because Jiang Yanli had cooked it instead of the Lan kitchen staff.

“It’s not just for you, A-Xian,” she scolds. “Lan-er-gongzi hasn’t been eating much lately, and Zewu-jun asked me to send you to cheer him up a little. Will you go?”

Wei Wuxian’s heart begins aching again at the memory of Lan Zhan dressed in mourning white, but he only nods and lets Yanli plant a kiss on his cheek before wandering away to the guest house where Lan Zhan and Lan Xichen are quartered--close by Nie Mingjue’s quarters, since Zewu-jun has his own set of rooms there, but elected to remain with his brother instead to help him through his grief.

After he passes through the little rock garden in the courtyard, Wei Wuxian hears the soft notes of Lan Zhan’s guqin on the other side of the wall--playing what sounds like Inquiry, the spirit-questioning music--but then the qin goes silent, right before the door slides open to reveal a tall figure in silver and blue standing behind it.

“Young Master Wei,” Lan Xichen greets him, stepping back to let Wei Wuxian in and slipping out into the garden after he crosses the threshold. “How kind of you to visit! Wangji, look who’s come to see you!”

Lan Zhan looks up from his qin with black-rimmed eyes and inclines his head. “Wei Ying.”

What made you like this, Lan Zhan? Wei Wuxian thinks desperately, sliding gracefully to his knees at Lan Xichen’s writing desk to lay out the dinner dishes. Who’s been taken from you, sweetheart? It’s not Lan-xiansheng, and not your brother, so who?

“You’re in luck tonight, Lan Zhan!” he chirps instead, filling a bowl with Yanli’s steaming soup and trying not to sigh in relief when Lan Zhan comes over to sit beside him. “Shijie sent you her famous soup, so you’d better not hurt her feelings by not eating enough, all right?”

“Many thanks to Jiang-guniang,” his friend says quietly, serving himself some of the greens. “And to you, Wei Ying.”

“Eat a little more,” Wei Wuxian urges, as Lan Zhan starts picking at the greens like a small, exhausted bird picking at a heap of grain. “You can’t keep your strength up like this, ah? Here, open your mouth, and I’ll feed you.”

He doesn’t have the slightest idea what possessed him to make such an offer--or what possessed Lan Zhan, that he would take it--but Lan Zhan parts his lips obediently, and Wei Wuxian slips a spoonful of soup between them and watches in perfect contentment as he swallows the rich broth down. “That’s better,” he coaxes, filling the bowl to its rim again and passing Lan Zhan the rice. “We’re fighting, you know, and you can’t do that without food no matter how strong your cultivation is.”

But then he freezes with the rice paddle in his hands and blinks, because Lan Zhan is holding his chopsticks up in front of his mouth in turn.

“...Lan Zhan?”

“Eat the greens,” Lan Zhan tells him, and refuses to move until Wei Wuxian snatches the clump of water spinach with his teeth and chews it into mush. “You must keep your strength up, too.”

Lan Zhan’s ears are burning red, and Wei Wuxian’s heart skips another beat as he takes the game a step further, leaning across the table with his own teacup so that his friend can drink from it. “Then--then, Lan Zhan, you have to drink the tea! Go on!”

They finish the rest of the meal this way, feeding each other and smiling behind their chopsticks when someone gets flustered and turns away--but they always turn back to each other again, and again, until the pots of soup and rice and spinach are sparkling clean.

“There,” Wei Wuxian whispers, when Lan Zhan takes a clean silk handkerchief from his sleeve and offers it to him across his upturned palms. “Don’t you feel much better now?”

“Much better,” Lan Zhan whispers back, his cheeks flushing like new spring flowers as Wei Wuxian gets back to his feet. “Thank you, Wei Ying.”

[sevlgi]

would it be so bad

requested: yes

group: twice

pairing: tzuyu x fem!reader

genre: fluff, angst

contents: hogwarts!au, quidditch player!tzuyu, rivals!au. [23/33]

warnings: none

synopsis: You’ve never exactly been the bright kind, at least not when it comes to love. Would it be so bad to realize your feelings for your partner in crime, though?

a/n: i decided to make the reader’s house ambiguous lol but i hope you enjoy! (also i realize that this isn’t british english, please excuse my idiot american english). i was originally gonna post this tomorrow in time for “cry for me”, but i realized that i should be respectful to jonghyun, and i will not be posting tomorrow ❤

word count: 5.3k

“Tzuyu Chou and Y/N Y/L/N. Why is it that whenever something happens, it is always you two?”

The Slytherin standing beside you in McGonagall’s office stood as impassive as ever, no emotion to be found in her blank expression or her perfect posture. Perhaps that was a thing that Snape taught to his favorite students-- the ability to wipe any guilt or liability off your face in an instant, to stay steadfast in any situation.

Or maybe that was just Tzuyu’s own charm, you noted as you swayed back and forth on the balls of your feet, turning slightly so that you could view her side profile in your peripheral vision. Merlin’s balls, she’s gorgeous, you sighed to yourself, unable to take your eyes off the girl who had been your rival since before birth.

Instantly, you regretted it. “Y/L/N! Have something to say to Ms. Chou?” the professor snapped, the book she threw to the desk making a sharp cracking noise as you faced her again with your fingers knotted behind your back.

“No, ma’am,” you answered, moving your hand to zip your lips shut. Despite McGonagall’s exasperated sigh, a smile quirked at the corner of her lips; she’d always been kinder than she expressed on the outside, and that seemed to be no exception when it came to you.

“You do realize that you can’t get away with decimating the Quidditch pitch, do you?” The witch sat sternly at her desk, a quill scribbling on parchment of its own accord beside her. “It’ll cost thousands of Galleons to repair, and it may not even be possible to do so before the season begins. The two of you collapsed it!”

Tzuyu spoke for the first time since being called into the Headmaster’s office, her eyes still trained on the wall next to McGonagall’s head. “If I may. I believe I did more damage.”

“That is not a thing to be proud of!” Standing, the woman clenched her fists tightly and you smiled at the affect the two of you were able to have on her. No one had seemed to infuriate her quite so much since James Potter; even the Weasley twins were overshadowed as soon as you and Tzuyu sat on the Sorting Hat’s stool. “I realize that you may think you’re carrying on your families’ legacies, or that you’re gaining fame for your antics, but you will not pass your 6th year if you keep this up. I will make sure of it personally.”

“Understood, Headmaster,” you bowed. Your voice was still noticeably singsong-y, and McGonagall bristled at the tone, but she said nothing as Tzuyu followed your lead in dipping her head. “Won’t happen again.”

Had it been any of the other teachers, you were sure that you wouldn’t have been allowed to leave without a year’s detention, but the Headmaster merely pursed her lips and waved her office door open. “Very well. I expect to see you in Transfiguration tomorrow and not caving in the North Tower.”

And as soon as the (not-so) imposing wooden doors slammed shut behind the two of you, Tzuyu raised an eyebrow. “Did you mean it when you said it wouldn’t happen again?”

“Of course not,” you grinned in response, relaxing into a comfortable slouch again. “I just meant we wouldn’t collapse the Quidditch Pitch again. It’s too boring to do the same thing twice.”

She scoffed and followed as you swayed down the hallway, her voice a bit too quiet to echo off the stone walls like yours did. “Of course. And what exactly do you have next, Y/L/N? You won’t be able to one-up my Hogsmeade stunt, I’ll have you know. My parents taught me well.”

“Your parents were nowhere close to mine,” you sniffed, stopping to wave at Fred Weasley’s portrait on the wall. He wasn’t inside, of course, probably off to bother someone, but you liked seeing the heaps of unused pranks piled underneath the frame as offerings. “Which means that you’ll never get on my level either.”

Tzuyu easily caught up to you with her long legs, the slightly-too-short Slytherin robe swishing about her ankles. But no matter how much she annoyed you, the wintery sunlight shined brilliantly on the planes of her face, pooling in the dark color of her eyes. There was that kind of beauty to her that instantly told you she was a Slytherin, a kind of untouchable coldness that didn’t match the warmth hidden inside her heart. “Tell that to the amount of detention I’ve been forced to do,” she protested. “I had hours last week, while you--”

“Never seen a Slytherin so eager to serve detention.” Fred had returned, leaning on an empty portrait’s wall with a familiar smirk on his face. “Y/L/N, Tzuyu. Any mischief to let me in on?”

“McGonagall nabbed us for wrecking the Quidditch Pitch,” Tzuyu rushed to explain before you, a hint of pride sparking in her eyes when she beat you to the punch. “It’s collapsed. And all my doing.”

“Your-” You shoved her, hands colliding with her arm slightly harder than you meant to. But you didn’t bother to apologize, declaring, “I’ll have you know that I did more. I collapsed two of the bleachers, for Merlin’s sake!”

Fred watched the exchange with amusement, egging you on when Tzuyu glared at you. “Go on, pick a fight. You’re right outside old Flitwick’s classroom, though. I’m sure he won’t be too happy for the resident couple of troublemakers to interrupt lecturing first years on Charms.”

“We aren’t a couple,” Tzuyu blurted, stepping back from where she’d been inches away from your throat with her wand. You stared at her in confusion; when had Fred mentioned the two of you to be dating? “Just-- I don’t even like her.”

There was an all-knowing smile on the portrait’s face that you didn’t like, an expression that must’ve been passed on to his nephews as well judging by how often you saw it. “I know. Didn’t even mention that, really.”

“Yeah, Tzuyu, the hell?” When she avoided your gaze, you sighed and grabbed her arm, ignoring how she attempted to pull away at first. “Well, good seeing you, Fred. I’ll let you know how the next attempt goes.”

“Good luck!” he called out as you left. “She’s a stubborn one.”

You stopped at one of the arches leading out to the courtyard, your back to the students idly roaming. Tzuyu still avoided your gaze, crossing her arms and running her thumb over the engravings on her wand. “Hey. What was that about, Chou?”

She hesitated to answer even with her lips parted, and the bell that rang loudly in your ears served as her excuse. “Well, you heard it. Time for potions, don’t want to fail out.”

She walked off, ignoring the group of 4th year boys staring at her with parchment scrolls crumpled in their hands. But your brow was knitted as you stared at her retreating silhouette, and at the way that she walked too fast to notice Dahyun and Chaeyoung raising their hands to wave at her. “Since when have you cared about that?”

Mina and Chaeyoung were disgustingly adorable at the dining table, but you were grateful enough for their company that you didn’t really care. “Maybe we should get Tzuyu’s ears checked,” Mina chuckled as she took a bite of the cake that her girlfriend fed her. “It’s not unlike Fred to say those things, but it is unlike her to take it so seriously.”

“Right? I didn’t think he was insinuating us to be a couple at all,” you frowned, digging into the treacle tart that you’d been picking at for the past hour. To be honest, you weren’t all that hungry, your mind only fixated on your friend/rival. “Do you think something else is going on?”

Chaeyoung shrugged, lips jutting out in a pout as she thought. “If it was anyone else, I’d think she was shaken up from being lectured by McGonagall. But it’s you two, so I doubt it. Double Troublemakers, aren’t you?”

“Double Troublemakers,” you snickered. “Jeongyeon really didn’t know what she was doing, coming up with that name first year.”

Jeongyeon herself, passing by on Nayeon’s arm, shouted out in protest and threw a balled-up handkerchief at your head. “Watch out, Y/N, I’m not scared of you and your pranks.”

“You should be,” you shouted back, incinerating the ball with a simple spell. “Tzuyu’s not going to protect you from me!”

“Hey, hey, speaking of Tzuyu, shouldn’t you be helping her with a potion right now?” Mina mentioned, tapping your arm. “I think you promised to help her at half past seven, and it’s already eight.”

Your eyes widened to the size of a house elf’s, and you scrambled up. “Oh, bloody hell. Thanks for the reminder, she’s going to be pissed.”

Chaeyoung commented offhandedly, “I don’t think she’ll be too pissed off at you.” But you didn’t pay too much mind, rushing out into the icy hallway and leaving your half-finished dessert behind with your friends. You cursed yourself for not bringing your scarf to dinner as you rushed to the Potions wing; for whatever reason, Snape insisted on charming that specific tower to be at the level of the Arctic Ocean. Tzuyu never seemed to mind, but it wasn’t comfortable when you only had your house robes to protect you from the chill.

The door banged into the stone wall unflatteringly, but the Slytherin girl didn’t even bother to look up from her cauldron. “Tzuyu, I’m so sorry--”

“It’s fine, Y/N,” she sighed, flashing you a quick smile as she snapped her book shut. “Just gave me some more time to memorize the potion.”

As you rounded the corner of the huge table, you peered at the array of ingredients laid out. Potions had never been your strong suit-- you’d usually been too busy pranking Jihyo than listening-- and you had no clue what you were supposed to be making whatsoever. “Uh. How am I supposed to help you if I don’t have a recipe?”

Tzuyu raised her eyebrow slightly at you, tying her hair up loosely and motioning for you to do the same as she lit a flame under the cauldron. “Just do what I tell you. It’s not difficult. Besides, I’m going to be working with Dahyun on this, I need to practice how to give directions.”

“Are you jabbing at my Potions skills, Chou?” you rolled your eyes, taking off your cloak. Despite the chill of the potions wing, the other girl had evidently cast a spell that made it boiling hot in the classroom, leaving you in a normal sweater embroidered with the crest of your house.

She didn’t answer, handing you a plant to cut open inside. “By the way. You aren’t wearing any perfume, are you?” Tzuyu asked suddenly, avoiding your gaze as she ground pearl dust even finer in a stone mortar. “It distracts me, don’t look at me like that.”

“You being close enough to smell my perfume is out of the ordinary,” you snorted in response, sprinkling the peppermint into the boiling water. “But no. I’m not wearing any.”

The thing about working with Tzuyu was that everything usually ended up in silence. Not uncomfortable silence, but the kind that made you focus on the way that the candles cast a warm light onto the wooden tables, and the kind that made you notice the smell of the opened potion books. As the girl stirred in more and more ingredients, though, and as colored steam rose from the cauldron, the musty scent of parchment and tinny metal was replaced with--

A clatter sounded as Tzuyu shoved the cauldron over, the potion fizzing when it met the table. You could only stare as your hard work spilled out of the pewter cauldron rolling on the table, but the other girl spoke before you. “O-oh. I’m sorry, I think you should go. I can clean this up myself.”

“I... are you sure? I can help,” you offered, reaching for your robes nonetheless.

“I’m fine. Go.” Her voice was strange, like she wanted to say something to you but was holding it in, but you didn’t comment on it. Despite everything the two of you had been through together, you realized that you didn’t really have a right to ask more out of the girl; you didn’t know her outside of bickering, after all.

When you closed the classroom door softly behind you, though, you realized that you could still smell the potion’s aftermath in a cloud around you. Kerosene, like the kind you used to blow up the stadium a week ago, bitter chocolate, and the faintest hint of the house elves’ kitchen when you snuck in to steal Tzuyu’s favorite bread.

It was the kind of familiar that made you miss it while it was still here, like a ghost that you couldn’t grasp and hold close to your heart in the way that you desperately wished you could. And it made you stare at the closed door of the classroom, listen closer to the sound of Tzuyu mopping up the spilled potion by hand even though she didn’t have to.

It was weird, that’s what it was.

Momo and Nayeon clutched onto each other as you shined the light of your wand into the dark. Tzuyu was just behind you with her own wand held overhead; you were pretty sure that you could see Sana clutching onto the Slytherin’s arm and cowering behind the tallest girl of the group. “Are... are you sure that this is a good idea?” Jihyo asked, her voice uncharacteristically small.

“Ah, come on. It’s one of the Marauders’ abandoned tunnels, who knows what we could find?” you persuaded, turning back to grin at them. When no one reciprocated, you switched to a pout instead. “Rude.”

“We’ll split like this.” Tzuyu waved her wand between the eight remaining girls, parting them like the red sea into two groups. “Nayeon and Momo, you split, you’re too scared to be in one group together. Y/N and I will go together.”

Dahyun wiggled her eyebrows at that. “Ooh. Together, huh? Just the two of you?”

Even in the darkness of the tunnel, you could see Tzuyu’s cheeks flush brightly. She stabbed her wand in front of her in an attempt to shine the light away from her face, muttering out, “Let’s go.”

You waved goodbye at your friends, being tugged forward by the Slytherin girl and nearly tripping over the tree roots winding through the tunnel. “H-hey, why’re you walking so fast? Trying to kill me, Chou?”

“If I killed you, there wouldn’t be any fun in prank wars.” She glanced back at you, eyes straying to the map that you had clutched in your hand. “Where’d you get that, by the way?”

“Fred,” you answered, waving the scroll around. It was stained, of course, with the pumpkin juice that Sana had spilled on you that morning, and with the ink that you had smeared when copying down the Weasley’s overly complicated instructions. “He said that something in here’s going to help us with whatever we plan to do next.”

Tzuyu frowned at you slightly, still pushing aside cobwebs and vines to forge further down the tunnel. “Did you tell him about the rig we’re going to set up for McGonagall?”

You shrugged and peered down at a cockroach skittering over the dirty ground. “Of course not. Fred may be a legend, but legends don’t get treated any differently when it comes to knowledge about Double Trouble’s plans.”

“I hate that name.” Tzuyu stepped through another archway into a tiny cave, a rough stone throne with a button on the armchair the only thing inside. She flicked her eyes over, nodding her head at the chair. “This it?”

You lunged forward, pressing down on the button before you could have any regrets. “Only one way to know.”

And-- nothing happened whatsoever. Your partner in crime stood there with crossed arms, the backs of her calves almost hitting the stone of the throne. “What’s supposed to happ--”

A strong gust of wind, stronger than anything you’d ever felt before, punched all the breath out of you and sent you flying, the force of your body knocking Tzuyu onto the chair. To prevent injury, your hands flew out in front of you and pressed into the crumbly dirt wall on either side of Tzuyu’s head, your knees probably bruising with how hard they hit the stone.

When you opened your eyes, previously squeezed shut, you found yourself sitting on the lap of the Slytherin girl, her hands hovering on either side of your waist and your foreheads almost pressed together. She looked somewhat shocked, eyes wide and her breath shivering on your lips.

Before you could apologize and scramble off, though, you were interrupted by someone coughing at the entrance. “Dahyun’s right, apparently.”

You leaped off of Tzuyu’s lap faster than you could’ve thought possible, heat burning at your ears when you found Jeongyeon and Nayeon smirking at the entrance at the cave. “S-so. Uh. You found anything?” you questioned, attempting not to look directly at either of them.

“Nah,” Jeongyeon answered after a pause, apparently feeling merciful. “I think Fred was messing with you.”

“Damn,” you breathed out, adjusting the collar of your sweater to be perfectly straight. All of a sudden, it was too warm underground, and the heavy robe you wore was pulling you down into the ground. Maybe that last part was wishful thinking. “Let’s go, then. I’ll go get Momo’s group,” you volunteered, brushing past your friends into the tunnels again.

Tzuyu didn’t follow, thankfully, because you didn’t need anything else confusing your senses with the smell of kerosene, chocolate, and sourdough bread wafting past your nose already.

“GO MOMO!”

You cheered louder than anyone else in the bleachers, maybe except for Jihyo, who was practically hanging off the railing as she waved a banner for your Hufflepuff friends.

Chaeyoung laughed, her nose bright red in the winter chill. Sana and Momo waved at you and all her friends as they strolled out with the rest of her team, hands gloved and what seemed to be 3 scarves wrapped around both of their necks. But you were holding in the loudest cheer of all for when the Slytherin team descended to the pitch, and you raised your voice even more when Tzuyu appeared with her broom in her hand.

Unlike Jihyo, she looked nervous, face drawn tight as she stopped with the rest of her team on the grass. She only wore her usual green robes, wisps of caramel brown hair fluttering about her face, but she was more stunning than anyone else in the entirety of Hogwarts. “CHOU TZUYU, YOU KICK THEIR ASSES!”

She looked up in surprise at your shout, a small smile coming onto her face when she spotted you clustered among your friends, all dressed in contrasting house colors but cheering for the same people. You only waved harder when she stared at you, almost hitting Jihyo in the face when you swung both arms in opposite directions.

And when the game started, it was just as chaotic as it ever was to be sitting on the bleachers. Jihyo, who played for Gryffindor, and Chaeyoung for the Ravenclaw team, were thankfully undivided this time, merely screaming their friends’ names instead of houses. Usually, you were next to someone much quieter in their support, a certain Slytherin who was dominating the field instead.

“And Tzuyu scores! Brilliant Chaser, this one, and gorgeous, too, if Y/L/N would just take the hint!” Felix shouted out at the announcer’s podium, his usually growling voice higher pitched to be heard over the crowd’s shouts.

No one seemed to hear him, not even your friends as they thrusted the Slytherin banner up in the air and whooped. You and Tzuyu both stopped in your tracks, staring blankly at the tiny blonde dot that was Lee Felix. For the Chaser, though, it turned out to be much more dangerous, as a Bludger hit by a Hufflepuff Beater slammed into her right below her right arm.

Everything went silent, a dolphin-like tone ringing in your ears as you watched Tzuyu plummet down to the ground. With the way her hair streamed in the wind, you’d think she was floating, but you were cruelly brought back to reality when she hit the ground like a bag of loose bones, a sharp whistle from Madam Hooch making time move normally again.

“Tzuyu,” you gasped, stumbling back into Dahyun, who didn’t complain. “Tz--”

“Three fractured ribs, along with a completely shattered wrist. Can someone tell me what she was looking at?”

Your nails tightened on the skin of your palms as you stared at the wrinkled bedsheet underneath Tzuyu’s good hand, your foot tapping relentlessly against the tile of the hospital wing. Perhaps Jihyo and Mina, talking quietly with Madam Pomfrey, didn’t think you could hear them talk, but every word of theirs echoed unfortunately loudly in the otherwise empty wing. You couldn’t bring yourself to look at Tzuyu, or at the violent purple bruises all along her right side, or at her frail and newly healed wrist cradled to her chest as she slept.

“I’m sorry, Madam Pomfrey. Sana... Sana and I asked Felix to say it as a joke, we didn’t think that Tzuyu would be so surprised,” Jihyo sighed. “And we didn’t think that Steelman would take advantage and hit her so hard.”

Pomfrey was quiet for a second, and the jagged tip of your nails nearly ripped your skin as you waited for one of them to speak. “I see. Well, I do believe you had good intentions, all of you. I will be speaking with Ms. Steelman about her actions, but Quidditch is tough sometimes. Please, refrain from asking Mr. Lee to play such jokes from  now on.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Mina joined you first, her hand a comforting weight on your shoulder. “Don’t blame yourself, Y/N.”

“Who said I was blaming myself?” you laughed listlessly, shaking your head. “Who am I kidding? I am blaming myself. Because it’s my fault. It isn’t Felix’s for playing an innocent joke, and it isn’t Jihyo and Sana’s--”

Jihyo shook her head as she knelt near you, her head obstructing the view of Tzuyu’s sleep-peaceful expression. “Y/N, please. You couldn’t have gotten there on time. It’s none of our faults, okay? Besides, we shouldn’t... we shouldn’t have rushed you on this.”

“What?” you blinked up at your friends. “Rushed me?”

They exchanged looks, Mina closing her mouth when the Gryffindor girl shook her head in warning. “I think it’s best for you to find it out on your own time. Because you will,” Jihyo smiled. “I have faith in you, Y/N. Now, don’t stay here too late, Pomfrey will take care of Tzuyu just fine.”

“Seriously,” Mina warned as she retreated, the sympathy in her eyes the last thing that you wanted to see. “Sleep early!”

You raised a hand in farewell, sighing and leaning back in your chair once they were gone. Your friends meant well, of course, and you genuinely didn’t blame anyone for the incident, but you couldn’t help but think about what you could’ve done to save Tzuyu. There must’ve been some spell, some prank mechanism that would’ve done something...

And just like that, hours passed. The sky had begun to turn back to cloudy blue-grey from the black of the night by the time you found your head drooping onto your arms; you had draped one of the blankets that Pomfrey left behind over your own shoulders, your hair loose and splaying out at the foot of the bed when your friend woke up. “Y/N?”

Blinking blearily, you found Tzuyu staring blankly at you. “Why’re you still here? It’s almost dawn.”

There should have only been one answer at the tip of your tongue-- “I was worried” or “I couldn’t leave you alone” or something normal-- but instead, you found answers to questions that you didn’t remember asking just begging to be let out.

Because the potion that you had made all those weeks ago was Amortentia, and it smelled like the kerosene that you used in so many prank wars with Tzuyu, and the bitter chocolate she tried to convince you to like. It smelled like the bread that you stole from the house elves to cheer her up, and it smelled like the vanilla hand lotion that you bought for her on Valentine’s day in 3rd year.

And she asked you whether you were wearing perfume because she wanted to know if Amortentia smelled like you for her, and Tzuyu must’ve knocked the cauldron over because it did. Because--

“You love me.”

You didn’t expect the jolt that shook the entire hospital bed, the Slytherin girl jerking back like you had burned her with your words. “I... what?” Her eyes darted back and forth as she bit down on her lip, almost scrambling back as your eyes began to shine with a revelation that turned your entire world upside down. “Y/N, what’re you talking about?”

Her fists were ice cold in your hands, her expression unrelenting as you attempted to persuade her to admit the truth that should’ve made sense all along. “Your Amortentia smelled like me, didn’t it? Because mine smelled like kerosene, and... and bread, and everything you like. And you reacted so intensely when Fred called us a couple because you like me,” you breathed with the biggest grin of your life on your face. “No, because you love me.”

Tzuyu shook her head and snatched her hands out of your grasp, clutching the bedsheets closer to her chest as if that would protect her from you or something. “You aren’t making sense right now, Y/N. I.. I want you to leave. Before you confuse me further.”

You stared at her for a good twenty seconds, at the girl who was avoiding your eyes like you had told her you’d murdered her mother. “Wh-what?”

“I want you to leave.” The Chaser’s voice sounded steady, but it wasn’t confident in the way that you knew it to be. There was something lying underneath that made her voice that of a stranger to you, and you obeyed it as you stood. 

“Okay.”

Not another word slipped from your lips as you made your way out of the Hospital Wing, standing on the balcony of a silent castle with blankets still wrapped around your shoulders.

That definitely wasn’t how you expected anything to go.

For nearly a week, you spent your free blocks alone, poring mindlessly over all your books by the Great Lake. Nothing you read actually stuck in your mind, though, the words floating before your eyes in hurricanes of black ink. No matter how much Chaeyoung or Momo attempted to convince you, you wouldn’t go back to the hospital wing; instead, you asked Mina for updates, probably the only one of your friends who you knew wouldn’t pressure you to talk to Tzuyu.

Groaning, you collapsed down onto the grass, flicking your quill away from you. It wasn’t fun devising pranks and coming up with plans to rig the Headmaster’s office without her, and there was no real lure in winning when there was no one to win against. Instead of thinking about the water that you wanted to splatter down on McGonagall, you could only think about how to apologize to your friend, how to take back a truth that you weren’t sure you could forget yourself.

But with the way that she responded, could it mean that you were right? Was it possible that Tzuyu really loved you, and you... you really loved her back?

“Y/N?”

Your head jerked to look at the source of your voice, a crack sounding when you turned too fast. “Ow,” you mumbled, raising your hand up to cup the back of your neck. However, you were completely fixated on the slightly paler-looking girl, standing just a few feet away from you. “Uh. Hey?”

“Hey,” she smiled. So she’s not angry. Tzuyu wasn’t wearing her characteristic expensive robes for once, dressed instead in a pretty skirt that was too cold for the lakeside and a black coat slung over her shoulders. “You didn’t come to visit me.”

Shrugging, you reached over and cleared your books away for her to sit. “I figured you wouldn’t want me to.”

“Why wouldn’t I?” she frowned, plopping down beside you and crossing her legs. “You’re my friend.”

“Friend, huh?” You chuckled listlessly, leaning back with your arms supporting you. The surface of the Great Lake rippled softly, and you wondered whether there really was a squid inside that could drag you away from the awkwardness sitting between the two of you. “That’s it?”

Tzuyu laid her hand over yours, her skin cold from the spring weather. She almost looked like she pitied you even though she was the one fresh out of the hospital wing, and you hated that expression on her. “What do you mean? Should there be something else?”

If you were slightly less impulsive, you wouldn’t be scrambling to your feet, crossing you arms to stare in disbelief at the beautiful girl sitting cross-legged mere feet away from the Whomping Willow. “Are you serious? Tzuyu, are you just going to ignore everything we-- everything I said that night?”

She stood as well, her hands still reaching out for yours and her eyebrows furrowed. “Y/N, I wasn’t going to ignore it, I just don’t know how to talk about it. That.”

You scoffed, jerking away from her grasp. Some part of you thanked Merlin that you were alone, because you didn’t know if you wanted your friends witnessing anything that you knew was about to go down. “That. Answer me something, Chou. Would it be so bad to be with me? To admit that... that you love me. And I love you back?”

Tzuyu froze, her hands faltering in midair. “You love me back?”

“Of course I do!” And suddenly, you were rushing forward to meet her again, eyes pleading for her to understand how genuine you were being. “I meant it when I said so, and Amortentia doesn’t lie. Tell me, what did your potion smell like?”

She stammered out, “B- burning books. From the time we set the library on fire, and the stupid perfume you wear. Ink, because you refuse to use the pens that Jeongyeon bought you, and--”

You still paused a second before connecting your lips, giving Tzuyu time to back out, but she might’ve moved even faster than you so that her hands were wrapped around your waist. She tasted like chocolate and bread, too, and you smiled into the kiss when you realized that she probably stole from the kitchen before coming to find you.

The long, winding roots of some tree tripped you over, your back colliding with the grassy ground with a loud thump, but you didn’t care as the Slytherin girl landed right on top of you. “To-- to answer your question. It wouldn’t be bad at all, to be with you,” Tzuyu laughed breathily, her smile so much brighter than you ever remembered it to be. “I love you, Y/N.”

And instead of responding, you pulled her in again, lips moving against hers for maybe a minute before you were surprised by a bug that Tzuyu held up against your face. “Chou Tzuyu, you devil!”

[collecting-stories]

High - JJ (Outer Banks)

Request: First of all, I’m a big fan of your writing :)) do you write imagines based off of songs? If yes, maybe one based on High by 5 Seconds of Summer? With JJ from outer banks

A/N: So this is basically broken up into like different moments in the relationship between the reader and JJ. 

\\\

Scarlett was droning on about something that Kelce had said to her as you stood by the drinks counter, waiting for the smoothies she had ordered. The spinach and mango, so she said, was amazing for complexion. While she talked your eyes scanned the lobby of the country club. You had a decent view of the dining room from where you were and you caught a glimpse of blond passing the doors just as you looked over.  

“So I told him it’s over with us.”  

“Yeah, I don’t blame you.” You replied, mindlessly, as you waited for the doors to the kitchen to open again.

“Sarah wants to go to Chapel Hill tomorrow but like, I don’t know, I just don’t think my head is in doing a day out. Like I just need to focus on putting myself back out there.”  

“Yeah...you should.”  

The kitchen doors opened and you smiled as you saw JJ walk out, server’s outfit on and carrying basin for the dishes under one arm. You pulled your phone out of your pocket and opened a text to him.  

-I can see you-

-stalker. do I look hot?- He replied.  

-I couldn’t tell-

JJ left the basin on an empty table and walked over to the dining room doors, looking across the lobby to see you at the juice counter. You smiled and winked at him before texting again.

-Oh yeah, super hot-

-God you’re so obsessed with me-

You bit your lip to stop from laughing and drawing Scarlett’s attention away from telling the girl behind the juice counter about her breakup.  

-It’s cause you’re so hot-

-you must feel so lucky I’m your boyfriend-

“What do you think?” Scarlett asked, turning to you.

“What?” You looked over at her, realizing too late that you had zoned out of the conversation for too long. You had no idea what she was asking.  

“I swear to god. First I can’t rely on Kelce and now you’re off in la la land fucking texting when I’m trying to talk to you. My therapist said that people just keep letting me down and it’s so true.”

“I’m sorry Scarlett, I’m not trying to ‘let you down’. Look, lets go do yoga okay? You’ll feel better. It’s bikram, we can sweat out all our problems.” You promised, grabbing your smoothie.

“Fine.” Scarlett nodded, grabbing her own smoothie and looking across the lobby. JJ was still in the doorway of the dining room, watching the both of you, and she frowned. “Ugh, I can’t stand these losers they employ.”

“What?” You looked over at JJ. He smiled and then disappeared back into the dining room.  

“Gross.” Scarlett muttered, linking her arm with yours and leading you away.  

-

“Come here,” JJ held his hand out for you as the boat slowed to a stop. You grasped his hand in yours and stepped off the dock, boarding the HMS Pogue. When you were safely on board he yanked on your hand to pull you against him, smiling when you gripped his shirt to keep yourself upright. “Hey.”

“Hi.” You barely got out a greeting as he leaned down and kissed you. It was still off-season, a little colder than usual, and JJ had his grey sweatshirt on. You were particularly fond of the sweatshirt, as stupid as it sounded. It was warm and soft and smelled like the flavored vape he was smoking. “I brought you present,” you said, once he had pulled away.

“Is the present alcohol?” He asked, smiling when you pulled away to grab the cooler and blanket that were still on the dock. “Oh my god, have I ever told you how perfect you are?”

“You are so full of shit Jay.” You laughed.

“So where are you right now?” He joked. Your mom had been urging you to date someone for almost a year now, talking about how your friends all seemed to be getting together and didn’t you want to have someone in your life like that. She didn’t know that you had been dating. You and JJ had been together for almost as long as she had been pestering you.  

Your friends didn’t know either. They had no idea that every time you blew off plans or disappeared for afternoons at a time you were meeting up with JJ. If they knew, if your parents knew, you’d probably be locked in your room, Rapunzel style. Being a kook meant that your parents had a lot of expectations for you and none of them involved you running around the outer banks with a boy like JJ.  

It didn’t matter that you were 100% positive that you loved him or that you had been thinking more and more about the future. All that would matter if your parents or your friends knew was that you were dating a Pogue. And, maybe worse than that, a Maybank.

“Oh, I’m at a campus visitation day in Chapel Hill. Checking out the college, you know.” You replied, sitting down on the bench while JJ guided the boat away from the dock.  

“How’s it looking?”

“The guys are way hotter than I thought they’d be.” You teased, smiling when he looked back at you.  

JJ’s friends knew about you. Countless days had been spent with Kiara and the guys at the Chateau or out on the marsh. They were all infinitely cooler than your own friends and you loved hanging out with them. You would trade being a kook for being a pogue in an instant if it meant never having to go to a stupid house party or listen to Topper’s bullshit ever again. You would have traded anything in the world for the chance to spend all day on the marsh with JJ.  

-

Midsummers was filled with stuffy old rich people and their families and, though you fell under that category, you were bored out of your mind. You’d topped off every drink at your parents’ table as they chatted mindlessly about OBX and weather and business. Your options for the evening were slim. Hang at the table and listen to the most boring conversations known to man or venture out to find Scarlett and Topper and Kelce. The party was in full swing and the air outside, even after the sun had set, was warm. You felt like your dress was sticking to you.  

“Mom, I’ll be right back.”  

“Sure hon.” Your mother waved you off as you headed inside the country club. At least it was air conditioned inside.  

You turned the corner by the stairs, heading for the locker room when some grabbed you. An arm around your waist and a hand pressed to your mouth. You almost screamed but the familiar sensation of cold metal mixed with warm skin told you exactly who the hand covering your mouth belonged to.  

JJ.  

He pulled you into the coat room, finally letting you go to switch on the light.  

“You gave me a heart attack. What the fuck?” You laughed, smacking his arm.  

“Sorry babe, you look fucking hot by the way.”  

“You’re so romantic.” You rolled your eyes at him but leaned in, kissing him anyway. You’d spent all day yesterday with your mom in Chapel Hill and all day today ‘preparing’ for midsummers. This was the first time in over 48 hours that you had seen JJ.  

As he kissed you back his hands went to your waist. He guided you back against the wall, laughing when you got ambushed by unnecessary coats. “Fuck.”  

“Come here.” He switched places with you and sat down on the ground, tugging on your hand to get you on the floor with him. You bunched the long skirt of your dress up to your thighs as you sat on his lap, knees scrapping against the scratchy fabric of the carpet. You were dead if you got caught and he was definitely fired.  

When he leaned in you put a hand on his chest to stop him, “Oh, by the way, I'm not doing it on the floor of the coat room.”  

“But this is so romantic.” He joked, kissing you.

“JJ, I’m serious.”

“Chill,” he held your face in his hands, meeting your eyes, “I just wanna mack on my super hot girlfriend.”

“God you have such a way with words.” You teased.  

“I missed you.”

“Missed you too.”

You kissed him, hands unbuttoning his vest and shirt despite what you had said. John B always joked that the two of you were all over each other and it was probably true. Whenever you were around JJ you just wanted to be as close to him as possible. You felt him suck in his stomach at the sensation of your hands running across his skin. You shifted, kissing his neck with the sole intention of getting him back for the hickey you had almost been grounded over.  

JJ leaned his head back against the wall, giving you more access. His hands found the zipper to your dress and you shrugging out of the top half of your off the shoulder lavender gown. You kissed your way up his throat to his chin and then all the sudden your mother’s voice could be heard right outside the coat room, calling your name, and JJ shot up, smacking his head against the bridge of your nose and sending you back on your ass.

“Oh my god!” you practically whined, holding your nose with one hand as you tried to fix your dress with the other.  

“Oh shit, shit, shit, shit. I’m so sorry.” JJ whispered, grabbing his bowtie and holding it out for you to use as a handkerchief so no blood would get on your dress. “Are you okay?”

“Help me with my dress?” You begged.  

JJ helped you stand up and then proceeded to fix your dress for you, straightening it out and helping you slip your arms in so he could zip it back up. The whole time he apologized profusely. Outside the door your mother called your name again.  

You walked over to the door, peeking out. She’d wandered far enough down the hall that you could sneak out. “Mom,” you called once you came out of the coat room. JJ stayed back, fixing his shirt and vest.

“Oh my god, honey, what happened to you?”  

“I was in the locker room and I banged my face on the door.” You lied, JJ’s bowtie still pressed to your nose.  

Your mom gaped at you until she caught sight of JJ over your shoulder. “You!” She called and he stopped dead in his tracks.  

“Uh, yeah?”

“Take my daughter to get cleaned up please.” She instructed, “go with him okay sweetie.”

“Okay.” You turned to look at JJ and smiled as you followed him to the kitchen.  

“Come right back out when you’re done!” Your mother called after you.  

-

The first time you had ever crossed paths with JJ he was just some kid from the cut. You had texted a friend about where to get the best weed and they had offered to give you their dealer’s number. You’d been surprised when the dealer turned out to be the same age as you. Cute, blond, tall, so high. You had seen JJ around before, his face was pretty familiar, but you didn’t really know him at all. And he might’ve remained just some kid from the cut if you hadn’t asked him to hang out that first day.  

“Hey, uh...I’ve never actually smoked before.” You admitted, playing with the blunt that he’d sold you.  

“It’s not hard.” He shrugged.

Your parents were out for the day and you were sitting on the dock with JJ. He’d come over on the HMS Pogue on his way to meet up with John B and Pope. You had looked nervous, standing on the dock waiting for him to show up. The first thing you’d said when he pulled up was that you. had never done a ‘drug deal’ before. He’d almost laughed out loud.  

“I just, my friends kinda ditched me for the afternoon cause my mom said I can’t go to Chapel Hill and I don’t want to seem super lame, like smoking by myself.” You explained. How sad would you be sitting around and smoking a blunt all alone while your friends went shopping.  

“Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone.”

“I mean...do you wanna hang out?”

“You wanna hang out with me?” JJ asked, even the haze of his high couldn’t convince him that was a normal request.  

“Yeah?” You shrugged. You’d never hung out with anyone from the cut before but you were bored and, if you were going to start ‘slumming it’ as Topper said, you might as well start with JJ.  

“Yeah okay, but I’m not giving you a discount.”  

“I don’t want a discount!” You laughed.  

-

The boneyard was crowded. Kooks, Tourons, Pogues. Everyone was there for a beginning of the summer party. You had donated the keg money after JJ spent his portion of the cost on weed. Kiara had almost lost it on him when you offered to give them the full amount. Still, you didn’t get to show up with them to the beach or even hang out with them. You were standing around with Kelce and Scarlett as they tried to draw everyone into their argument about who was ‘over’ who. You scanned the party, sipping on your beer as you looked for your boyfriend.

“Hey,”  

You looked back as someone pressed a hand against your back. Rafe.  

“Hey Rafe.” You side stepped out his touch.  

“What’s up, I haven’t seen you around much this summer.” He said, catching your friends’ attention.

“I think she’s got a secret boyfriend.” Scarlett piped up, “she’s always texting and canceling on plans. Took me weeks to get her to go to yoga with me.”

“I’ve been busy.” You replied. Across the way you saw JJ and John B getting beers. You watched your boyfriend adjust his red cap as he looked around. You could only hope he was looking for you.  

“Too busy to hang?” Rafe draped an arm around your shoulders and tried to draw you into his side.

“Obviously if you haven’t seen me around.” You replied, pulling away again. “I need a refill.”

“I’ll come with you.”  

You rolled your eyes as you walked down toward the keg, Rafe following on your heels. If there was anything that you hated about parties it was Rafe Cameron hanging around you. Kiara nodded to you as you approached them, tossing your old cup into the makeshift trash can she had set up to recycle.  

“Hey,” JJ smiled when he saw you.

“Hey, can I grab a beer?”  

“I’ll get one too man,” Rafe announced, his arm around your shoulders again.  

You pulled away once more, “seriously Rafe, get off.”

“Chill out.” He reached out for you, trying to grab your arm.  

JJ shoved him away, “she told you get off her man.”  

You shook your head at him, urging him silently to let it go. He knew that Rafe always bothered you because you’d told him about it countless times. But you didn’t want any trouble tonight. It was supposed to be a chill kegger and you had every intention of sneaking off early with JJ, which wouldn’t happen if he got into it with Rafe now.  

“Stay out of it Pogue.” Rafe tried to look intimidating, stepping up to get in JJ’s face.

“Guys, Rafe, come on.” You pulled on his arm and nodded back toward your group, waiting and watching to see if they needed to intervene.  

Just as Rafe turned to leave JJ spit a mouthful of beer at him, coating you too, and everything went to chaos. Rafe swung at him and JJ tackled him to the ground, throwing punches. John B pushed Kiara and Pope out of the way as Kelce, Topper, Scarlett, and Sarah ran over to see what was happening. As Rafe got his footing again people started to gather around in a circle.  

“JJ!” You shouted as Rafe punched him.  

“Come on,” John B grabbed your arm, pulling you toward him, “stay out of the way.”

“You filthy fucking Pogue.” Rafe shouted, “I’m gonna kill you.”

“Dude, come on, it’s not worth it.” Topper urged, trying to grab Rafe’s arm.

“Fucking try you pussy.” JJ was quick to bait Rafe, dodging a punch and then getting him with a right hook in the stomach.  

With Rafe on the ground John and Pope grabbed JJ, dragging him away from the fight as Topper helped Rafe to his feet. Kiara looked over at you when Scarlett called for you to follow them back to their side of the boneyard. You looked back to where John B was pulling JJ along the beach.  

“Where are you going?” Scarlett called when you took off in JJ’s direction.  

You ignored her, running over and stepping in their path, hands immediately going to JJ’s face. You brushed hair away from his eyes as he looked away from you.  

“I don’t wanna hear it.” He said.

“Too bad.”  

JJ pulled away and crossed his arms over his chest, looking down at the ground before he met your eyes. “I don’t need you to bitch me out, those guys are assholes, I’m sorry you’re friends with them but I’m not going act like they aren’t all dicks.”  

“I’m not gonna bitch you out.” You said.  

“What?”

“I’m not gonna bitch you out. Rafe’s a dick.”

“Then what do you want?” He asked, scuffing his foot in the sand.

You shrugged, “to make sure my boyfriend is okay? To tell him I love him.”

JJ bit his lip, smiling at you. Maybe it was the alcohol or the adrenaline from the fight but you thought that his eyes looked a little glassy as he looked at you. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.”  

“I love you too.” He reached out for you, pulling you close so that he could kiss you. He stopped just short, resting his forehead against yours, “you sure, cause I’m about to mack on you in front of everyone.”

“I was so hoping you would.”

-

Oh my god my Tumblr is literally so Outer Banks heavy right now and I don't even care. 

Starting a taglist for my Outer Banks stuff:

taglist: @poguesrforlife

[luna-spacedoodles]

Spoiler: Rules Were Broken

A Dream Smp x Ever After High AU

Word count: 1,599

Chapter 1 A Royal Tale

Tommy hauled his wagon full of luggage up to the school as Tubbo

walked alongside him with his hands in his pockets.

Tommy grunted to a stop, “Dude why, why can’t you like, help me? Where even is your stuff?”

“All in here, boss man.” Tubbo tipped his comically tiny top hat and Tommy heard a small quack come from inside.

“I- okay can you help me then please?” Tubbo grabbed the handle alongside him and they pulled it together all the way to their dorm.

Tommy bust open the doors and threw a suitcase on his bed quickly following it and flopping in defeat. Tubbo didn’t even make it to his bed before Tommy heard a thud behind him. He didn’t know how long they’d stayed like that until he heard Tubbo placing down his things. Tommy lifted his head to see all his furniture was already there, that was one thing he didn’t have to set up at least.

Tommy opened up his suitcase and started messily throwing the clothes inside to his right, not all of them made it on the bed. Most of them fell onto the floor or got caught on the banister.

“Oh stop dude you’re making a mess.” Tubbo told him after he got a face full of shirt.

“Shut up man, you’re wrong you’re so wrong, I’m being so neat and tidy and shit!” Tommy retaliated only to throw another shirt.

“You literally just missed the bed so far.” Tubbo let out a small laugh at the end and kicked some shorts off his hammock.

Tommy groaned and went to pick up his failed attempts, “Well don’t just sit there if you’re going to groan about it, come help me man!”

“You don’t need my help, you're just shit. Besides I already finished setting up my stuff so that just makes you look even more shit at this.”

“But that’s not fair you got here earlier than me! And it’s not even true, there’s still a whole other half of the room and you’ve just invaded into my space!”

Just as he finished the two boys heard the door open and someone step inside, they both turned to look at someone Tommy had never seen before. He was quite tall and looked funny, his skin was black and white split down the middle of his face, same with his hair but flipped around. He had wide open red and green eyes that seemed fake, like they were made of glass, open far too wide and he didn’t seem to ever blink, yet it seemed the boy was doing everything he could to avoid making eye contact with either of them. Maybe that was a good thing, they didn’t seem like eyes that’d be pleasant to stare at. He had tall horns atop his head and two tails as well, one black and the other white.

“What the fuck??” Tommy shouted raspily in confusion over the unexpected guest.

“Uhm, hi.” The boy managed to spit out as he tightened his grip on his luggage.

“I think you have the wrong room.” Tommy crossed his arms and lent against the bed, he slipped a bit trying to balance himself.

“No he’s got the right room.” Tubbo butted in, he adjusted himself to sit on the edge of the hammock so his feet dangled over the floor.

“What?” The boy and Tommy asked in unison.

“Yeah, something about a student miscalculation or whatever, not enough dorms so we all have to share.”

Tommy looked at the new guy, this wasn’t what he wanted or planned for but there wasn’t much he could do about it.

—

Tommy woke up to a sudden heavy weight on his stomach. Tommy lifted his head and rubbed his eyes to see a blond raccoon with a red handkerchief tied around its neck laid out flat on his stomach, it’s little arms and legs stretched out.

“Oh, hello!” Tommy cooed at the raccoon, giving it some scratches and pats as it chuckled and rolled around in delight. He looked out the window, it was still dark out but he could spot the sun’s light barely reaching over the horizon. Tommy wondered if it was too early to sneak out his dorm and go walk in the forest before breakfast, wasn’t much to do and he didn’t really feel like going back to sleep so taking a quick walk wouldn’t be that bad.

He got dressed and slipped on a white cloak and a small brown backpack as well. Tommy quietly snuck out the window and climbed down the vines on the side of the wall, before he could lift his head up the raccoon had already jumped and landed flat on his face.

“Clementine, I told you to wait.” Tommy groaned muffled under Clementine, she only replied with some chittering that sounded close to laughter as Tommy pulled her off his face. He looked at her and couldn’t bring himself to scold her anymore than that, how could he stay mad at that face. He let her scuttle over him and sit in the open backpack as they walked off into the forest.

On their walk they saw many different creatures and plants, they even stopped by the pond on their way back. By the time they’d gotten back into the dorm the sun was rising and Tommy’s pockets were full of small flowers, pebbles and anything else he could fit inside, even Clementine had a large hoard of berries she’d picked for her breakfast.

Before Ranboo or Tubbo had the chance to wake up Tommy and Clementine were already out the door and on their way to the castleteria, leaving the cloak and bag stuffed back inside the wardrobe. Dashing down the stairs and through the halls he skidded to a stop in front of the castleteria doors, rocking and bouncing back and forth waiting for the doors to open. A bell chimed, the doors opened and Tommy ran up to get his breakfast.

The lunch lady gave him a stack of pancakes with a side of eggs and sausage, he ran off with his tray and sped towards a lone table tucked in a corner. Despite running here full of energy he ate surprisingly slow, Clementine stuffed her face into her berry pile next to him. Students soon flooded into the castleteria including Tubbo and their new roommate, they walked up the stairs to his table and sat down with him.

“Hey Tommy!” Tubbo set down his tray and immediately started eating.

“Hi Tubbo,” Tommy looked up from his food and started at Ranboo, “…Hi Ranboo…”

“Hi.” The boy replied awkwardly, he didn’t seem like he wanted to make any conversation but Tommy didn’t want to talk to him anyway.

Clementine stopped her feasting and hissed in at Ranboo, running onto Tommy’s back and peaking at the stranger over his shoulder. Or maybe it was the gross looking fish soup she was eyeing, Ranboo slid the small bowl over as an offering and Clementine jumped for it, adding it to her stash. Tommy made a funny look at the soup before he went back to his own breakfast.

“ATTENTION STUDENTS!” The castleteria fell silent as everyone turned to look at Headmaster Grimm standing on the balcony, “As Legacy Day is coming very soon, today we’ll be practicing for it! During one of your classes you’ll be led out to practice pledging to follow your destiny and signing the Storybook of Legends! Thank you for your time, please continue your breakfast.”

—

Tommy walked out with the rest of the class to the stage, the place was white and regal, two large staircases either side of the stage and a pedestal at the front. They all lined up in alphabetical order of their last name and took turns practicing.

“Next!” Grimm called Ranboo up. Tommy watched him take the key and walk up to the pedestal.

“Uhm. I, Ranboo Queen, pledge to follow my destiny to be the next Evil… Queen? King?” Ranboo turned to look at Grimm, “Did I do that right?”

“It’s uh, it’ll do.” Grimm replied, taking back the key.

Tommy zoned out for a bit — That was Ranboo Queen? That’s the guy that was gonna poison him? He’d heard lots of mean things about how his destiny goes. He stared at the ground reconsidering how he felt about this guy.

“Next!” Grimm yelled, Tommy looked up and realized he was calling him up. He walked up to him and silently took the key.

“I! Uhm..” Tommy turned around to Grimm, “I have a question?”

“Yes?” Grimm sighed.

“It’s just, what if I don’t want to follow my destiny? Like, what if I want to do my own thing?” Everyone gasped loudly, Grimm looked shocked and angry, he strode over to him and Tommy backed up against the pedestal.

“Now listen here, if you don’t sign that book, your story will go poof. You will go poof.” Grimm stepped back and Tommy inhaled deeply only now realizing he’d been holding his breath, “Now I recommend we move on and continue.”

Tommy turned around and looked out on the crowd, everyone was staring at him judgingly, he looked down at the key in his hand. He threw it harshly onto the ground and started running as fast as he could from there, Clementine jumped off a chair she’d been watching from and scampered after him. Tommy grabbed his cloak from the dorm and ran into a place he knew no one would find him.

[getyouasenju]

Dearly Beloved

We gather here..

Warnings: Profanity, Angst

Word Count: 3k

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I smiled at myself in the mirror. wow. I looked gorgeous, I had to admit it. I wasn't the most confident woman in the world, but even I had to give myself props. Ino was a truly miracle maker with that makeup brush of hers. I calmly brush my fingers across my face as I admired the woman standing before me. Running my hands down my sides, I feel the lace and beading of my beautiful white dress. It was perfect, I was perfect- not a hair out of place. The dress, the hair and the makeup were to die for. Reaching out, I grabbed the beautiful earrings to complete my look. Glancing at the clock on the wall in front of me, I start to worry. When would Ino be back with my bouquet? As if my mind were being read, the door clicked out. I smiled widely to myself in the mirror. I knew she would come through! "How do I look?" I start to speak as I turn around to greet my maid of honor, and my breath caught in my throat.

"You look stunning."

I backed up and placed my hand on the wall for support. This was not ino. I furrowed my brow and looked at the man standing before me. "W-what are you doing in here!" I half shouted at the man, "You shouldn't be here." I finish. My eyes run over his body, analyzing him. He was dressed up, grey turtleneck, black suit, a handkerchief neatly folded within, and his regular pony tail. He almost looked ready for the wedding. Except for the fact that he wasn't invited. We stood in silence for a moment before he fully stepped in and closed the door.

Now I was pissed. "Hey! You open that door right now Shikamaru Nara!" I shriek at him, but he still stays silent as he looks over my body. I was getting frustrated as the time went by, what the hell did he want? Pushing off the wall, I crossed my arms over my chest and sneered at him. "How did you even get in here?" He shrugs his shoulders and gave me a short reply, "Doesn't take a genius to figure out." I scoffed at the cocky man. How could he be making comments like that in a this like this? In a place like this?

"Well, what do you want? I have somewhere to be- obviously." I tried keeping my resolve even though my entire body was humming with anxiety from his presence. He sighed, wiping his hands down his handsome face. "I can't let you do this." he finally pushes out. So that's what this is about. I laugh at him, he has officially lost his god damn mind.

"Let me? You can't let me do this, huh?" I shake my head, insulted that he would even think he could make any kind of demand to me. Maybe once upon a time, long, long ago- but not now. "and why is that Shikamaru? Because you love me so much right?" I finish. If he thought he could just waltz in here on my wedding day like this... and where was ino with my flowers god damn it! "If you're done making an ass out of both of us, then I think it's time for your grand exit. If you leave right now, I'll forget you ever showed your face here." I try to bargain with the pony tailed man, waving my hand in his face as I turned back to the mirror and primping myself.

He stuck his hands in his pockets and he took a couple of steps towards me, but I held up my hand in the mirror. "That's close enough, Nara." I commanded. "J-just what are you trying to pull here!" I nervously let out, keeping my head down and my expression out of his view. Taking his hands out his pockets, he quickly stepped forward ignoring my warning and placed his hands on my waist. Oh absolutely not!

With a quick spin I smack his hands off of me “Keep your hands to yourself!” I growl out, balling my fist up and shaking it in his face. Jamming my finger into his chest I straighten up and look him in the eyes, “You had your chance. You made it clear that you and I want different things ....or maybe you just didn’t want them with me.” I whispered that last part. What ever his situation was, I didn’t want to hear it at the moment. I just wanted to walk down the aisle, say my vows, eat my wedding cake and go on a much needed vacation. What I didn’t need was a wedding crasher.

He looked stunned. “So that’s what you think? That I don’t love you? That I don’t want to be with you? Look at me (Y/N), I’m here! Isn’t that enough?” I look up to him confused at his outburst.  I scoffed again “Okay, so what now? Are you going to marry me yourself now Shikamaru?- Oh wait!” I suck in a gust of air, placing my finger on my chin as I fake being in deep thought, “You don’t want to marry me! There, case closed, are you ready to leave my presence yet?” I was becoming impatient, we’ve already had this conversation before and I wasn’t about to repeat it.

Closing his eyes and letting his shoulders drop slightly, he opens his mouth to respond “There’s more to life than marriage, (Y/N).” My eyes widened as I paused. Suddenly I let out a loud bitter laugh as I stepped closer to him. “More to life than...” I couldn’t contain myself, next thing I knew- I was beating my hands on his chest yelling at him. How could he make comments to me like that? “How dare you! How fucking dare you say that to me!” I shout in between my assault. “You were with Temari a year! one single fucking year before you proposed to her! I gave you three years of my life and got nothing!” I screamed. 

Glaring at me Shikamaru snatches my hands in his own. “Yeah, and look were that proposal got us? Do you see her anywhere?” he hissed out at me. Snatching my hands back sneering at him I bark out a reply. “Why must I pay the price for her fucking mistakes! You’re a fucking genius yet you can’t separate her and I.” Leaning forward and pointing my finger in his face once again I continued. “Now where have your actions gotten you, huh? You’re crashing your ex girlfriend’s wedding when It should be you waiting at that altar for me!” Wait, that’s not what I meant to say! “Oh yeah? and you think you’ve got it all figured out, right? You can’t separate love from marriage!” He challenges back at me. Oh you little.. “If you loved me, you would marry me Shikamaru, It’s not that hard.” He was the one sneering at me this time around. “And when you pull your head out of your ass, you’d realize a title doesn’t mean shit.” he hisses out at me. “Yeah, well it means a lot to me..” I quietly reply. My chest was heaving at this point. Who the hell does he think he was? “More than what we have?” He asked me. “Had” I corrected him sighing.

“Temari and I were fine before I proposed, everything was perfect and that stupid fucking proposal ruined everything! I don’t want that to happen to us- It complicates everything!” I was baffled that he was still mentioning her to me. “Oh because everything is so peachy between us right now? I’m standing in a fucking wedding dress aisle ready- for another man!” I screech out. He groans loudly “Yeah because you’re so blinded by your want to be connected with your parents that you’re too blind to see we already have what they did and we don’t need to get married to prove it!” He was breathing hard by this point.

“Am I not good enough to be your wife? Is that what you came here to do? Rub it in my face that I’ll never be enough for you Shikamaru?” He steps extremely close to my face “That’s the entire point. I’m trying to tell you that being together is enough, you’re enough for me. Always have been, always will be.” It felt like my heart was touching the back of my chest. “But it’s not enough for me Shikamaru.”

Our heads snapped to the door as it popped open. “I got the flowers (Y/N)! Aren’t they just beau-” Ino stops mid sentence as her eyes land on the scene before her. The two ex lovers standing awfully too close. “Oh.. Shikamaru, what are you doing here?” Taking in his dressed up appearance she continues, “Have you come to attend the ceremony?” She asked him genuinely confused. I snorted wiping my nose. I hadn’t noticed I’d been crying until now. My makeup! leave it to him to ruin things! Ino takes notice of my ruined face and quickly placed the flowers down. “Shikamaru, I think you should go find a seat now. I need to fix her makeup. Shoo!” She dismisses him as she moves to fix my ruined face. He hesitates, looking at my face while I avoid his gaze before he slowly makes his escape.

Sitting down, Ino gets to work on me. The once light and joyful mood was now dark and gloomy. Ino steps back and stares at my face. “Is it that bad?” I joke with her. She shakes her head and I was puzzled, what? “He loves you a lot, ya know.” I deadpanned “Well I sure hope he does cause the wedding is in like forty minutes.” Ino sighs and puts the makeup brush down, gently grabbing my hand. “Not him, but I think you know this.” I grimaced “Not you too. I just can’t catch a break today, geez.” Rolling my eyes I pulled my hand back gently.

“He’s just.. I think he’s just scared.” She continues. “Ino... you know how much marriage means to me. He knows that too.” I sigh and wrap my arms around myself. It was true, marriage meant so much to me. My parents were married for twenty one years before they died in the war. I wanted what they had so bad. I promised myself I would have that. “I know, I know. You want a love like them, something strong, But let me ask you. You might get the marriage you want today, but will you get the love you deserve tomorrow?” My heart sank. Omoi was a nice man, I met him through Chōji when he and Karui started dating, they were siblings. He was strong he treated me well, he was respectful and he wanted to marry me. It seemed like a dream.

“He was so distraught when Temari broke the engagement, but then he fell for you. I was so sure you two would make it.” I looked up form my hands to the blonde as she spoke. “I know he doesn’t do things by the book, he was never one to pay attention in school.” We both giggle at her remark. “But I know he loves you more than anything in the entire world. Omoi is great- don’t get me wrong, but If you’re just marrying him because he wants to marry you, then I don’t think you two would be anything like your parents, (Y/N).” I was confused and a little upset at her comment, I went to speak but she went on.

“Your parents married for love, true love. Not saying you don’t love Omoi, but not the way you love Shikamaru.” She was right, I was still in love with the idiot. He words resonated with me.. I wanted what my parents had- love. They had a genuine love for each other, I don’t think a marriage defined that. I was basing my happiness off of title, not the work that goes into it. My face started to heat up as I stared back at ino, realization coming to my mind. I wanted to be with Shikamaru, ring or not, but I was terrified. My anxiety started to creep into my chest, everyone was waiting for me to walk down the aisle and I couldn’t. And I had already sent Shikamaru away.

The door opened again revealing my other three bridesmaids, Hinata, Sakura and Tenten. Turning my head to look at them, one glance and they already knew. “She isn’t doing it is she?” Sakura asked with an... excited tone? “Well, good cause this dress is killing me!” Tenten says with a smile. “(Y/N), are you okay?” Hinata asked with concern, but I could see her grinning. I go to answer when Sakura yells out, “Pay up Ino!” What the-. “No fair! I was sure she’d figure it out by last week! You only won because you two days were closer!” Looking back and forth between the two I spoke up “You two bet on my marriage?” I face palmed as they laughed nervously. “Who else was in on this!” I asked loudly. Sakura spoke up counting on her fingers “Well you see, there was me, Ino, Tenten, Naruto, Kiba, Shino, Sai-” I held my hand up, “Yep, that’s enough information for me.” Hinata speaks up “Sorry (Y/N), we just knew you two would end up together!”

Ino grabs my shoulder smiling widely, “Don’t sweat it girl! We got the wedding covered!” The others chiming in with their sounds of agreement. I facepalmed once again. Oh I’m sure they did...

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I nervously fidgeted with my fingers as I waited at the door. The white dress was long gone and was replaced with my usual favorite hoodie. I sigh as I go to tap my knuckles on the door once again when it suddenly opened revealing the disheveled man.

“Hi” I nervously breath out. He looked at me confusion, quickly glancing down at the watch on his wrist. “Shouldn’t you be saying your vowels right now?” He slowly asks me. Okay, I guess it was my turn to be the one intruding, but my words were failing me as we just sat there staring at each other. Breaking eye contact and looking down, I sighed. “I couldn’t do it.”

I got no response from him, I deserved it I guess. Maybe I should just give it up and go home. Laying face down in my bed for a year in shame seemed just about right at the moment. I hear foot steps and look up to see that he’s stepped aside to let me in. I hesitantly step inside the house, It looked almost identical to what it was a year and a half ago. Hearing the click of the door I turned to look at him. I was nervous.

“Why didn’t you marry him (Y/N). Isn’t that all you’ve ever wanted?” He asks me while leaning against the door. I pondered his question for a minute before responding. “I wanted what my parents had.” He shakes his head at me, crossing his arms and taking a rather defensive stance. “Yeah, I get it. You want marriage and my love isn’t enough for you. I got an ear full of your troublesome speech today.” He snaps at me. I cautiously took a step near him, testing the waters.

“I thought I was doing the right thing.” I made eye contact with him. “I grew up hearing my mother and my father address each other as husband and wife... watching how in love they were.” I shrugged my shoulders. “When they died I wanted to keep their love going, I felt like a strong marriage would be the way to honor them, to honor what they wanted for me, what they represented.” I let out a breath. “Back there I told you that you couldn’t separate Temari and I- How I shouldn’t have to pay the price for her actions.” I shook my head at myself. “....When I’m the one who couldn’t make the separation between my parents and us.” He looked surprised.

“Shikamaru, you were right. The marriage- the title, didn’t make them into the couple I idolized. It was the love for each other that made them so strong, that made them bring me into the world.” I step even closer to him as I continue. “I don’t want a marriage if I can’t have what we had, it’s more than enough for me.” He was quiet.

“Have” he replies soon. What? I was confused what does that even mean. “Shikamaru, I don’t underst-” He swiftly cuts me off. “Have, you said what we had. We still have it.” My eyes widened as he closed the gap and embraced me, wrapping his arms around me, and dropping his lips to mine. Pulling back he grabs my chin with one hand and wipes my eyes with the other. There I go crying again. “This whole day has been a drag. I thought you were going to be a married to another man by the end of it, how troublesome.” He groans at me, but I was too starstruck to care, I had my love back.

“Don’t ever leave me again.” He sighed burying his face into my neck. “Well I did walk out of a wedding for you so...” I could feel his low laugh in my neck. snuggling into him I smiled brightly. Pulling back and looking up at him I grinned. “But I can’t let you take the blame for all of this.” I was taken back by his sudden outburst. “(Y/N), I want to marry you.” I was shocked, we went through all of this for him to want to marry me now? “What do you mean?” The words slip quietly out of my mouth.

“I can’t let what happened between Temari and I control my relationship with you. Maybe It didn’t work out with her because I was always meant to be with you.” He says confidently. I was overwhelmed... He wanted to marry me. “Are you just saying this because you’re afraid of losing me? I already told you I’m here for good.” I hesitantly replied. Stroking my face he leans closers to me “Am I sure I want the girl I love to share my name? For sure. I want everyone to know you’re a Nara. I want our family to have the same name.” I could feel the blood rushing to my face and he chuckled at my expression. “H-hey! Don’t think you’re getting off the hook so easily!” I say as I wave my finger in his face. He was puzzled as he furrowed his brows at me, “huh?”

“If we’re gonna do this.. then you still owe me a real proposal, Idiot!”

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Damn I might as well be a Shikamaru account to be honest. Gonna have to start rolling out the tobirama fics soon!

Masterlist

Until Next Time! xxo (▰∀◕)ﾉ

[taehyungs-perm]

midnight love - ch.2

midnight love collab w @jimins-filter

jimin x reader; superhero au; childhood best friends to lovers au; ceo, billionaire philanthropist, playboy!jimin

genre: angst; lowkey funny; eventual smut 

summary: playboy park jimin comes back to seoul city after disappearing for six years; too much has changed, especially you. living out your nights as nyx, seoul city’s dark knight, is a secret you’ve kept for as long as jimin’s disappeared. but what happens when a new hero named eros comes into town just as park jimin shows up at your front door...

teaser 

chapter 1

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 2 Sixty-six, sixty-seven, sixty-eight, Jimin counted in his mind, pulling himself up to the bar. His muscles tightened with every pull and he let out a groan as he finally finished his last rep. He wiped the sweat off his brow, panting as he dropped from the pull up bar. Grabbing the towel hanging from the hook, he wiped the dripping sweat off of his body as he made his way to the bench to retrieve his water bottle. Distantly he heard the doors of the gym open with an unmistakable creak, but he paid no mind as he chugged the water, appreciating the cool liquid against his throat.

“Long time no see,” he heard a familiar deep voice echo through the room.

Jimin quickly whirred around to see who entered the gym. It was Kim Taehyung, his childhood best friend and most trusted advisor (and on most occasions, his drinking buddy). Jimin immediately broke into a smile, his eyes squinting, at the familiar sight of Tae’s curls and his expensive fashion taste. He ran to his friend, ready to engulf him in a koala hug.

“Taehyung!” Jimin embraced his friend, feeling the most happy he’s been in the while.

“Jimin, this is Gucci! Take a shower first,” Tae said, attempting to push Jimin away, laughing all at the same time. He ruffled Jimin’s soft black hair affectionately. “I see you’ve grown a little.” 

“Shut up. I could still beat up your ass.” Jimin jokes, batting Tae’s hand away.

“No doubt,” Tae said, inspecting Jimin’s abs with a raised eyebrow. “Wherever you’ve disappeared to in the last six years has prepared you for an apocalypse.”

“On a serious note, thank you Taehyung. For taking care of Park Enterprises while I was away.”

“Of course man. Park Enterprises is everything to me, to you, to your family. I would do everything in my power to keep it going.”

“I can’t tell you how much I appreciate that.”

“But I suspect you didn’t call me here just to say thanks.” Taehyung said, sliding his hands into the pockets of his brown trousers.

“Well I was hoping to see you at my party a few days before, but…” Jimin trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Not all of us can be playboys, Park. Some of us got jobs. Some of us have to do your job.” Taehyung smirked.

“I’m turning over a new leaf, Taehyung.”

“Good one,” Taehyung laughed.

“I’m being serious. I need your help.” Jimin said solemnly.

“What sort of help?”

“You still design suits?”

“Of course. The other day I designed a 3 piece velvet suit complete with a waistcoat—”

Jimin chuckled nervously, “I’m not talking about that kind of suit.”

Taehyung wrinkled his eyebrows in confusion, “Jimin, what exactly are you planning?”

“Seoul needs my help.”

“Your help? As Park Jimin, CEO of Park Enterprises?”

“No, Seoul needs my help as someone else.”

Taehyung sat down on the workout bench slowly, trying to piece together the full meaning of what Jimin wanted, “You’re not a vigilante.”

“I could be. And I don’t want to think of myself as some lawless criminal.”

“But that’s exactly what you would be Jimin! You’re not seriously thinking about putting on some jumpsuit and beating up random people!”

“I’m not going to be beating up random people. I’m taking care of the people of Seoul. That’s what Nyx is doing and the city loves her!”

“One vigilante is enough. Seoul doesn’t need someone else running against the law.”

Jimn paused, “I just...think this city needs some help.”

“What? You don’t think Nyx is doing enough?”

“I think Nyx is one person against an entire corrupt city. She needs help.”

“What if she doesn’t want it?”

“It doesn't matter what she wants. It’s about what the city needs.” 

“From whom does she need help from exactly?”

“Eros.”

“Eros? As in the god of love?” Taehyung questioned, cracking a smile.

“Shut up man. The dude’s a beast with his arrows and shit.”

“I assume this is what you’re training for? What you have been training for?”

Jimin crossed his arms and nodded, “It wasn’t my intention at first I guess. But once I left Seoul I realized what a mess it was, how it was infested to the brim with criminals and dangers. I want to save Seoul. I want to be a hero but I don’t want anyone I love to get hurt so I have to keep my identity a secret.”

Taehyung went silent for a few minutes before breaking the silence, “Told ______ about your little plan?”

“Fuck no. She would lose her mind. I just got on her good side, I’m not about to mess it all up.”

“How did you manage to get on her good side already? Last time I talked to her she was pissed as hell at you.”

Jimin smirked, “Guess it was that classic Park charm.”

“You do know she has a boyfriend?” Taehyung looked at Jimin with apprehension.

“I know.” was all Jimin said. He didn’t want to add the tiny, embarrassing detail that she told him when he was about to kiss her. 

“That’s rough buddy.” 

“Have you met the guy?” Jimin asked with a jealous tone.

Taehyung nodded, “He’s really cool. And he’s really good for ______.”

“Is that your not-so-subtle way of telling me to fuck off?”

“I’m just saying man, you’ve been gone a long time. People change. ______’s changed. You had your chance back in college, but you were too busy caring about your fuckboy reputation. Just be her friend, it’s what she really needs and it's what you really need.”

“I hate when you're right.”

Taehyung stood up and patted Jimin’s arm comfortingly, “So, tell me a little about what kind of suit you’re looking for.”

Jimin smiled then led Taehyung over to his workshop desk with various blueprints, “I need something functional yet fast. I need to be protected but be able to move quickly. Something made out of carbon fiber?”

Taehyung scanned the blueprints, different designs of suits that were in shades of black and red. Taehyung rubbed his chin in thought, “When do you need this by?”

“This weekend?” Jimin asked hopefully.

“I can make that work, but you gotta do something for me in return.”

“What is it? I'll do anything.”

“You gotta show up at your fucking job.” Taehyung said smiling as he rolled up the blueprint, tucking them at his side.

“Taehyung, thank you. I mean it.” Jimin said, earnestly.

Taehyung winked at him as he opened the gym doors and left. 

True to his word, Jimin showed up to work bright and early. As he walked into Park Enterprises, he swore he saw a few of the employees fall out of their chair at the sight of him alive and well. That, and the fact that he showed up to work for once. He opened the door to his office and saw that it remained relatively untouched. One wall was taken up with floor-to-ceiling windows while another was decorated with an array of sleek black cabinets.Jimin made his way to the big, glass desk in the middle of the room and logged onto his computer (he couldn't believe his account hadn’t been deleted after all these years). It had been far too long. He didn’t even know where to start but he decided maybe going through his overflowing inbox was a beginning. After staring at his computer screen for what felt like hours, Jimin’s attention was caught by the sound of his office door opening. He was completely shocked at the figure in his doorway. 

“Yoongi-ssi?” Jimin quickly bowed, remembering his formalities and the respect he had for his mentor. He was after all the one who had taken Jimin under his wing and trained him, taught him what real fear was.  Jimin was taken aback at Yoongi’s appearance; he had only seen Yoongi wearing the traditional hanbok yet here he was in a full beige three piece suit, handkerchief and all. 

Yoongi walked over cooly with his hands in his pocket, a clear demeanor of confidence, “Nice office you got here Jimin. I see why you left.”

A spark of nervousness flew through Jimin’s body, “I wasn’t aware you were stopping by or that you were even in the city,” he replied levelly.

Yoongi slowly sat in Jimin’s chair, crossing his legs, “I just came to see the city you’ve talked so much about. I wanted to see how you are doing. Adjusting well, I presume?” His voice had a tone of sarcasm layered underneath it, but that was typical of Yoongi.

Jimin decided to play along with his game, his steely gaze locked on to Yoongi,  “Yes, I’ve missed my city and my home. It’s good to be back.”

“I hope you haven’t returned to old habits.” Yoongi looked at Jimin with a glint in his eyes, a sly smile playing on his lips. 

Under normal circumstances, Jimin would’ve buckled under Yoongi’s intense stare. But he’d spent the better part of the last six years under Yoongi’s guidance, and he was well trained from not shying away from his old mentor.“Of course not Yoongi-ssi.” Jimin replied coolly.

“Lying is not tolerable in our mantra, if you recall.” Yoongi said sternly.

Jimin’s face flared in embarrassment, “I’m sorry, Yoongi-ssi. I wouldn’t count it as old habits to be honest. One night of fun is hardly an indicator of me going back to the old days.”

“I guess. So, with the knowledge and training you’ve been given, what exactly is your plan?”

Jimin’s entire body went stiff. As much as he respected his mentor, there was something off about his behavior: the way that he just suddenly appeared in Seoul, in Jimin’s office. Yoongi had always been a bit standoffish but never cold towards his mentees; something strange was going on. Jimin needed to figure out why Yoongi was really in Seoul

.Ignoring Yoongi’s question, Jimin cleared his throat, “Yoongi-ssi, what are you really doing here in Seoul?”

Yoongi smirked at his pupil’s clear avoidance of his own question, “Nothing really, some sightseeing, some investing. There is some great property here in Seoul.”

Jimin egged him on further, “Are you thinking about purchasing an apartment or..”

“Perhaps. Maybe some buildings as well. I’ll have to do some more research.”

Jimin narrowed his eyebrows, confused. Yoongi had never expressed any interest in buying property in Seoul before, not once in the six years Jimin knew him. 

“Why?” Jimin asked lightly, trying not to tip Yoongi off of his suspicions.

Yoongi picked up a pen laying on Jimin’s desk. He twirled it around in his fingers and spoke nonchalantly, “Just diversifying my income.”

Suddenly Yoongi’s phone started to ring. Yoongi pulled his phone out of his inside coat pocket and stood up, “I have to take this. But it was nice seeing you Jimin. I hope we can sit down and have a proper chat later.” 

Jimin bowed again at his mentor as Yoongi left his office. The moment the door closed, Jimin sat down and exhaled a deep breath. What was Yoongi-ssi doing here? Why is he investing property in Seoul?

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

When Jimin returned to his empty apartment that night, the last thing he wanted to do was be alone. For a moment, he thought about calling ______. But after his last encounter with you, he thought it best to give you space. Instead, he dialed Namjoon to tell him to come over (and to bring food as well).

When the elevator doors clicked open, Jimin saw Namjoon stride over to him, holding a bag full of Korean takeout. Namjoon was wearing his regular attire: an oversized jacket with a cap nestled on his soft brown hair. He smiled as he saw Jimin, a deep dimple forming on both cheeks.

“How was the first day of work?” Namjoon said, plopping down on the couch across from Jimin.

“Sucked ass. I have literally no idea what I’m doing. How the fuck have you and Taehyung been doing this for six years?” Jimin said, laying his head back on the couch. 

“I ask myself that question everyday,” Namjoon laughed as he began taking out plastic containers of food.

Namjoon handed a pair of chopsticks to Jimin and pushed a container towards him, “Eat. You’ve had a long day.”

Jimin smiled at his friend and began to eat the bowl of japchae in front of him, “Have you talked to Taehyung?”

Namjoon nodded, “I think he’s honestly trying to wrap his head around it still but he’s working on your suit and it’s coming along pretty well.”

“You’ve seen it?”

“Just the rough model of it but it looks great so far.”

“I can’t believe that he agreed to it.” Jimin said, shaking his head in disbelief. 

“I can’t believe you convinced me.” Namjoon added, taking a bite of rice.

“Honestly I thought you were going to be way harder to get on my side.”

“I mean as much as I hate the idea of you going out and doing vigilante shit, you’re right. This city needs all the help it can get and Nyx can’t do it alone.”

“Speaking of Nyx, who is she?”

“No one knows.”

“You’re telling me no one knows anything about her? She’s been active almost six years and no one has found out anything about her?”

“She keeps a low profile. The only thing I could tell you, which really isn’t a secret, is that she works with SCPD.”

Jimin leaned forward, interested, “Who does she work with specifically? She can’t be coordinating with the entire police force.” 

“I believe she works with Detective Jin. But I’m not 100% sure. I can do some research on it and let you know.”

“Thanks man. Another weird thing happened today, Yoongi-ssi came by my office.”

“Your mentor from that weird ninja group?” Namjoon’s voice had a tone of clear sarcasm.

Jimin corrected him, “The League of Shadows, but yes.”

“Why?”

“That’s my question too. He said some bullshit about buying property or something, but I don’t believe him. Hey, could you do me a favor and look into which properties he’s bought or is going to purchase?”

Namjoon nodded, “You think he’s up to something?”

“I’m not sure yet but something weird is definitely going on.”

“I'll look into it and the Nyx stuff. You got the computers set up in the basement, right?”

Jimin nodded, “I’ll text you the passcode but it's on B4 in Park Enterprises.”

“I don’t trust him,” Namjoon said, rubbing his chin in thought.

“Yoongi-ssi?” Jimin asked, confused. 

Namjoon nodded, “That entire League of Shadows business is just so….suspicious.”

“I mean, it is called the League of Shadows for a reason. We work in the shadows.” Jimin chuckled.

“I don’t ask you too many questions about your time away Jimin, but you’ve changed. A lot”

“Is that a bad thing?”

“I haven’t decided yet. But I just know the old Jimin wouldn’t have turned his back on his friends for six years.”

“I told you Namjoon, I couldn’t call anyone.”

“But why? You’ve never told me why. ‘Couldn’t’ implies it was out of your control. So doesn’t it make you question why you couldn’t call anyone?”

“It’s for protection.”

“Who’s? Yours? Mine? The League’s?” Namjoon said, a bit annoyed.

Jimin went silent. He hadn’t really questioned who’s protection his silence was for. Yoongi-ssi made it clear from the moment Jimin stepped into the dojo that there were two rules: obey the mantra and swear to secrecy. But why? Did the League have something to hide? Did Yoongi have something to hide?

Namjoon flipped on the news as Jimin simmered in his thoughts. The headlines blared ‘JUST IN: BANK ROBBERY AT SEOUL UNITED’. Jimin and Namjoon exchanged weary glances, worry sinking into their stomachs.

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

You pushed through the revolving doors of her parents’ building. You hated going here, you could almost taste the despair in the air. Too many memories of missing out on hangouts with friends, missing recitals and performances all because your parents were too busy to take you. Good thing you weren’t here to see them. You saw them exclusively on Sundays; you couldn’t handle anymore than that. You tried to get past the front desk but of course you heard the familiar shriek, “Ms. ______, welcome!”

You gripped your leather messenger bag tightly, trying to control your anger, “Hello”

“Are you here to see your parents? I’m afraid they are both in meetings curr-”

You cut off the secretary, “I’m not here to see them. Just here to meet a friend.”

“Oh, alright. Have a nice day then.”

“Thank you. Also, please don’t tell my parents that I was here. I wouldn’t want to bother them with this.”

The secretary nodded and you quickly walked to the elevators, hitting the down arrow a couple of times impatiently. The elevator doors opened with a ding and you hopped in, pressing the B8 button. After a few seconds and a feeling of weightlessness, the doors re-opened and you stepped out, heading down the same path you had been going down for the past six years.

You walked up to the familiar cubicle and saw a figure with unmistakable tousled black hair focused on the computer screen in front of him, his tattooed hands flying across the keyboard . When you peered a little closer to see what he was working on, it became evident he was fully immersed in a PVP video game. You sneaked up behind him, getting as close as you could without alerting him.

“Hey Jungkook,” you whispered, giving him a little push.

Jungkook immediately jolted in his seat, clutching his shirt where his heart would be. “Never do that again, you scared me!”

He swiveled around to face you, while you were silently laughing at his reaction. He clearly didn’t expect your presence.

“You’re here! I didn’t know you were coming,” Jungkook pushed up his glasses that had been knocked awry by his jump and adjusted his tie nervously. You couldn't help but smile at his shy behavior.

“What’d you expect?” you chuckled, you would be lying if you said you didn’t have a soft spot for Jungkook. “I texted you this morning that I would swing by lunch to see if the tr-”

Jungkook nodded excitedly, “Yes, yes of course. I have it ready.” He pulled open his desk drawer and handed you a handheld remote. 

He pointed to the disc, “This is the tracker. First thing,  just pick up one stack of bills, scan it using this remote and a digital marker will be recorded. Once you are trying to actually track the bills, just click the button on the remote. It will connect to the maps on your phone via bluetooth and allow you to track where the money is physically going.”

You turned over the small remote in your hand, analyzing the careful craftsmanship, “This is amazing Jungkook. You’re a genius.”

A light blush bloomed over Jungkook’s cheeks, “Oh, really it’s nothing. I just was messing around with some stuff and it ended up coming together well.”

“Thank you so much,” you smiled, ruffling his already messy hair.

Jungkook nodded, “Just be careful out there.”

You winked at him, “Nyx always is.”

With that, you raced to your car, driving to your apartment as fast as possible. You needed to get the tracker on the bills before anything else happened. After a quick change into your Nyx outfit and grabbing your motorbike, you were on your way to Seoul United.You found Detective Jin’s team surrounding the bank. After speaking with the officer in charge, you were able to get access to the vault and place the necessary tracker. You zoomed back to your apartment, trying to get out of there as quick as possible. Nyx worked in the nighttime; daytime excursions were a risk to your identity. In the evening, you tried to focus on the case files pulled up on your laptop, but an unmistakable feeling of anxiety was creeping up your neck, like something horrible was just about to happen. Then, as if right on cue, your phone pinged with a text from Detective Kim. 

DK: Seoul United has just been robbed. 

You: What? When?

DK: 5 mins ago

You: I’ll be right over

You threw on your Nyx outfit and raced on your bike over to Seoul United Bank. Already there were police cars and news vans surrounding the area. It was hard to see anything past the blue and red sirens and the constant flashes of the journalists’ cameras. You managed to make your way into the bank, finding Detective Kim standing in the entryway. He was talking with someone on his team, his hands on his hips, clearly exasperated. You cleared your throat and Detective Kim turned around.

“Nyx,” he said, seeing your arrival. You simply gave him a two-fingered salute, before following him into the empty bank vault. It was a big, metallic thing with a complicated lock pad on the front. Although the inside of the vault was void of the thousands stacks of cash, there were stray dollar bills littering the floor.

You looked up at Detective Kim, annoyed, “I thought you had your team here.”

He signed, rubbing his forehead, “I did. They were here all night.”

“Then, how did this happen?” you asked suspiciously.

“I don’t know.” He paused then spoke slowly, “I wasn’t here. It was just my team.”

You pursed your lips, thinking about the situation. You stood up, scanning the empty vault, before looking directly at Detective Kim’s eye “Whoever robbed this bank was tipped off. You have a mole in your team.”

“Excuse me?” Detective Kim’s jaw dropped.

“This wasn’t a coincidence Detective. Whoever robbed this bank knew about our plan. There is no way this should have happened if your team was actually prepared. Either your team is incompetent or there’s a mole.” 

“There has to be another explanation.”

“I suggest you thoroughly re-evaluate your team.” you looked at him levelly.

Jin hesitated for a moment, “Fine.”

“There’s only two major banks left in Seoul.” you said, walking around the vault to see if there were any clues left behind.

“Seoul Credit Union and Republic of Korea Trust Corporation.” Jin said, flipping through his notepad.

You said nothing in response, but kept walking back to the end of the vault where a glint of red caught your eye. You moved closer and found a card stuck between one of the tables and the wall. You pulled it and recognized it immediately; it was the card you found in the folder Detective Kim gave you a few nights ago. The blood-red smile stared back at you in mockery.

You turned to show Detective Kim the card, “Same card,”

Detective Kim nodded in agreement, taking the card from your gloved hand and studying it. “It appears so. I guess this means the robberies are done by the same team.”

“Any leads with the ink?” you asked, remembering the conversation you had with Detective Kim that one night regarding the ink of the smiley face on the card. 

“Nothing of interest came up,” Detective Kim said, shrugging, not exactly meeting your eye.“

What’s your plan?”

“Same thing I guess. But with a smaller team.”

You nodded, picking up one of the stray dollar bills scattered on the floor.

Jin looked at you, “What’s your plan?”

“Unlike you, I was prepared.” Pulling out the tracker Jungkook made for you out of your pocket, you scanned the dollar bill with the tracker. After a few seconds, your phone began to beep. Immediately, a maps app pulled up with the word “TRACKING” flashing. After a moment, the location popped up: 14-5, Donam 1-dong, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul.

“I put a tracker on the bills earlier today.” you showed your phone to Jin, “This is where the money is currently.”

“Nyx…”

“I’m not going to do anything. Just a reconnaissance mission. Observe and I’ll tell you what I find.”

Jin sighed a breath of relief, “I’ll keep you posted on my side as well.”

You nodded, and quickly left the bank, heading to the location on your phone. 

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

Jimin walked into the basement of Park Enterprises, his steps echoing through the concrete room. He felt a sense of nostalgia walking through these halls. Back when Namjoon, Y/N, and Jimin were younger they would run around here, playing hide-and-seek and tag, while his father would work diligently upstairs. Now, Jimin walked down these halls with a different purpose, while his father laid six feet under, never to breathe again.

Jimin slowed his pace when he came near a metallic door and entered the passcode in the keypad to the side. The door opened with a defined clang and he saw Namjoon clicking away on a keyboard in front of several computer screens. The screens were filled with an array of statistics, new articles, and property reports.

“What’s up?” Jimin asked, leaning on the headrest of Namjoon’s chair. 

“So I was doing some research into what we spoke about the other day,” Namjoon started, clicking away from an article.

“Did you find anything about Nyx?” Jimin asked excitedly.

Namjoon slowly turned his head, looking at Jimin above his shoulder, “Um, no. I was thinking the Yoongi stuff was more important.”

“Right,” Jimin said, trying to hide his disappointment.

“Anyways, I got ahold of some of the listings Yoongi is looking into, but he’s actually only bought one apartment building so far.”

“Where?”

“It’s actually not too far from here.”

“I can go check it out tonight. See if there’s anything weird about the building, or inside of it.”

“Did Taehyung finish your suit?” Jimin nodded, walking to the end of the room where a black panel lay embedded in the wall. Jimin pressed his hand against the scanner to unlock the panel. It moved to the side, revealing a sleek, black suit with red accents made of carbon fiber. Next to the suit, was a titanium black bow and arrow encased in a clear case.

Jimin stripped of his clothes and stepped into the suit. It fit seamlessly, providing him with protection as well as the ability to move around stealthily. He pushed the eye mask against his face and threw his hood over, casting a dark shadow over his face.

“Address?” Jimin called out as he put on the quiver and adjusted the strap so that it lay comfortably on his body.

“14-5, Donam 1-dong, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul,” Namjoon said reading off the computer screen.

Jimin nodded, punching the address into his phone. He bid Namjoon a goodbye before exiting the building and heading to the garage. He summoned his car to him by pressing a button on his keys. The car came to him in a flash, a sleek black car with the state-of-the-art weapons attached to it and a computer interface at his disposal. Not to mention, the seat heaters feel amazing. Jimin hopped in the car, determined to solve this mystery and figure out what Yoongi was up to.

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

After 15 minutes of driving, you finally arrived at your location. It was a tall, red brick building that was supposedly an apartment complex, according to Google. You stashed your bike a block away from the building, hiding it in an alleyway. There was a fire escape leading to the roof of the apartment building, perfect for preliminary surveillance. You made your way to the roof of the building and perched on a ledge, scanning the terrain. You could hear drunken shouts and laughter from below, but you didn’t see anyone entering or exiting the building.

On the roof itself, there were a few camp chairs with old glass bottles and plastic cups littering the floor. There was also a door which you presumed led inside of the building as well as a water tower a few feet from you. You were a bit frustrated by the lack of places to hide on the roof, but you’ve dealt with worse.

You studied the layout of the building. It would be useless to walk through each floor in hopes of accidentally stumbling upon a room full of bank vault cash. You racked your brain for a better solution before deciding you should call your team to help you locate the most probable floor that the cash could be on.

“Hey,” you said, pressing the button on your earpiece to talk.

Jungkook excitedly answered, “______! I mean, Nyx!”

“What’s up?” Sana asked, much more calmly.

“I’m at the address. Pretty sure it’s an apartment building, judging by the layout, but I have no idea where the money could be. Maybe there’s some sort of hidden room or basement where all this money could be stored. Can you guys pull up the specs of the building?”

“You got it,” Sana said, clicking away on her keyboard.

You waited patiently for a moment before you heard something, a light clank sound. You immediately ducked behind the water tower, highly alert. You could feel your heart beating very fast. Could it be the person behind the blood-red smiley face card?

“Someone’s here,” you whispered softly into your earpiece.

“Who?” Jungkook and Sana asked.

“Not sure.”

“Be careful,” Sana cautioned.

You turned off your earpiece so you could hear what the intruder was doing. You heard soft footsteps crunching on the gravel. You tried to peer around the water tower to see but it was pitch black, too difficult to make out clear movement. You saw a figure moving, you squinted trying to see better. You almost felt scared for a second. You shook yourself out of it. C'mon you’re Nyx. You’ve faced off the mob for crying out loud. Whoever it is, whatever it is, you can handle it

You gripped your pronged knife, unsheathing it, getting in battle stance. You peered once more to see any movement, trying to get the upper hand on whoever this mysterious person was. Part of you thought it might be a random civilian, just wandering off but your instincts told you otherwise. Based on the movements of this mystery person, the soft footsteps and indiscernible breathing, this was clearly someone who knew what they were doing.  You looked over, trying to see any motion in the darkness but when you squinted, you couldn't see anything. You sighed turning your head back around to find an arrow pointed right at your forehead. 

Your eyes immediately went to the beholder of the arrow. A man, you guessed, his face was covered by a large hood but you could make out that he was wearing an eye mask. Another vigilante? Another villain? Was he the one behind the bank robberies?

He was good, good enough to sneak up on you. You forced yourself to calm down, and you gripped your knives tighter trying to formulate a plan. Fighting him straight up wasn’t the smartest move, not yet. You needed some answers first. Keep him busy while he’s talking then attack. Distraction was always the best mode of offense.  

“Who are you?” you asked, not taking your eyes off of the man and the arrow pointed at you.

 “So curious,” he murmured, titling his head to the side. His grip on the bow never wavered.

If anything his answer made you more furious rather than the fact that he was holding a literal arrow to your face. Stay calm Nyx. 

“New in town?” you said, mind racing.

“Not really.” His voice was soft and melodic, almost like he was teasing you. “I’ve never seen you before.” you strengthened your stance, preparing to attack.

“Maybe you have. Maybe you’re just not observant enough.” He said with a chuckle. Then for a moment, his bow wavered. Bingo. You immediately launched a kick at his arm, momentarily surprising him, causing him to drop both his bow and arrow. You twisted his arm so that it was no longer directed towards you, switching places and forcing him against the water tower as you pushed one of your knives against his throat. The man’s adam’s apple bobbed as he gulped at the prospect of getting his throat slashed at any moment.

It was now your turn to torment him.

“Relax cupid I won’t hurt you. Yet.” Your eyes narrowed. “Now tell me, who are you?”

“Now where’s the fun in that?” He smirked. With his free hand, the man turned away your knife holding hand and swiftly kicked your feet out from under you. But you’ve had years of experience and saw this coming. At the last minute, you rolled over so that he was now trapped under you. You had your knees planted on either side of his narrow waist with one arm pinning down his hands. Your knife had clattered away during this, so you decided to press your forearm against his throat.

The man chuckled, sending shivers up your spine, “Usually the girl knows my name before she’s on top of me,”

You pressed your forearm down even harder, “You’re quite obnoxious, you know that?”

“I think you mean charming,” he choked out, struggling to breathe.

“Let me clear something up for you. I have Detective Kim Seokjin on speed dial. It would be so easy for me to simply tie you up and hand you to the Seoul City Police. But perhaps, if you cooperated and gave me some information, we could work something out.” You had no intentions of making a deal with this possible criminal but this was a tactic that always worked in the past. 

“Eros,” he gasped out. “My name’s Eros.”

Intrigued at this outburst, you lessened the pressure against his throat. Funny. A name of a greek god. Like yours. 

“Eros,” you repeated. “The Greek god of love. What an odd name for a villain.”

“Vigilante,” he corrected. You could see his eyes more clearly now, a dangerous obsidian color. 

“Vigilante, is that right?” you mused,  “Sounds like some bullshit a lowlife criminal would say.”

“I’m being serious. But of course that would mean you would have to trust me.” His voice became low and sultry. There was something familiar about him, about his voice, his mannerisms but you couldn't place it. 

“Fine. Be honest. Why are you here?” 

“I’m following a lead.”

“From who? About what?”

“C’mon darling. Do you really think I would give up all my information to someone I don’t even know?”

“I guess you’ll just have to trust me.” you said repeating his own words back to him.

“Maybe we can start by you getting off of me. Don’t get me wrong darling, I would love for this to continue, just under different circumstances maybe.” He whispered, sending shivers up your spine.

Immediately your face flushed. You quickly got up and offered a hand to Eros. He stood up and grabbed his bow and arrow that had clattered away during your fight, walking to the ledge.

“I’m here because I have suspicions about someone I don’t trust. He owns this building, recently purchased and I want to know why. But I’m guessing since you're here too, you have a lead you're following.” He turns to face you, “which makes me think , maybe we are on the same side.”

“Maybe, but I still have no idea who you are. I can’t blindly trust you.” 

“Nyx, if I wanted to take you down, I would have already. Now why don’t you tell me what you’re doing here.”

He had a point, you thought. He was strong, you had felt his rock hard abs and strong muscles when you were on top of him (you were only noting it just in case you had to take him head on, no other reason of course). Eros could definitely put up a good fight; he could possibly take you down. Right now, your instincts were to trust him, see what information he had, and possibly work together. 

You sighed, “I’m here because of a lead Detective Kim gave me.”

You saw his lips turn into a smirk, “Close with Detective Kim?” 

You continued on, rolling your eyes at his unprofessional banter,“Anyways, I’m following a lead from the robberies.”

“The bank robberies?”

You nodded, “There was a connection between all of the recent bank robberies. I found this card at two of the robberies” 

You handed him the card that had the smiley face drawn on it with the blood-like ink. The very one that had plagued your dreams and brought upon many sleepless nights. Whoever was behind the bank robberies were obviously very confident that they would get away with it, especially since they left behind a mark of theirs. Now you just had to find out who.

You studied Eros’s expression carefully when you handed him the card and you saw his eyes widen at the sight of the card, a flash of recognition. “I’ve seen this symbol before, I just can’t remember where,”

You eyed him uneasily. Was he just lying to you or was he being serious? Regardless, Eros knew something about the bank robberies, which was suspicious on some level. 

Eros caught your gaze and spoke in an easy tone, “I promise I’ll look into this and remember where I saw this.”You nodded, feeling a wave of security and gratefulness rush over you. The nagging voice in the back of your head was getting harder to ignore though: Why were you already so trusting of this man you have never met before? 

Eros chuckled softly, “Guess I’m gonna need your phone number.”

You paused for a moment, once again ignoring his overly flirty comments before remembering. You pulled out a burner phone lodged in one of your pant pockets. You had used it in a prior mission and forgot to give it back to Jungkook. You tossed the phone to Eros who caught it with ease. 

“You call me. No need to exchange numbers.”

“You’re killing me, darling.” Eros said, safely storing the phone away. 

You ignored him and continued with what you knew about the bank robberies, “I placed a tracker on the bills and I tracked it to this apartment.”

 “The money is here?”

“Who owns this building?”

“My mentor...” Eros said hesitantly.

“Your mentor?” 

“Yeah. But why would the money come here? Unless he knows about it?”

“Do you think he could be behind the robberies?”

Eros shook his head, “I highly doubt it. He was always preaching about not getting attached to the material world.”

“Here’s the plan, granted you don’t try to surprise attack me in the middle of it. I’ll pull up the specs of the building and we can see what’s here and what’s not.”

Eros nodded, “We should split up, cover more ground.”

“No way. I don’t trust you. What if you find the money and take it all?”

“I mean I wouldn’t, but if you really just wanted to spend some more time with me, then all you had to do was ask, darling.” Eros said, smirking at you. 

“Just keep your eyes peeled,” You said, shaking your head and scoffing. 

You pulled up your phone and found a message from Jungkook, an attachment for the blueprints of the building. You clicked on the attachment and glanced through the drawings. 

“Okay, so it looks like there are apartments on every floor except the basement and the 8th floor.” You announced. “Although I’m not sure why the 8th floor doesn’t have any apartments.”

“Let’s head there first then.” Eros said hurriedly. 

You swiftly picked the lock on the door on the roof and headed down the dimly lit metal staircase. The chipping paint on the wall stated “18th Floor.” It was going to be a bit of a walk; the elevators were too much of a risk for civilians to encounter you. Eros tried to make conversation asking about your past endeavors but you were in no mood to be friendly with someone you didn’t know. Once you reached the 8th floor and opened the door, you found yourself in a completely empty room. You unsheathed your knife while Eros steadied his bow as you both scanned the room, looking for potential threats. 

“Nothing,” Eros said with a tone of disappointment. 

“Why would this room be empty?” you said, utterly confused. 

“Well, my mentor just bought this building so maybe he has plans for this room. I dunno, this is all very weird. We should hurry up to the basement though. We don’t wanna get caught.”

You nodded in agreement and went back into the stairwell with Eros following behind. It didn’t take long to reach the basement but once you both were battle ready, you slowly opened the door to the basement. Your eyes widened in shock. The basement had been transformed into some underground factory, machinery everywhere, metal tables, and boxes piled high. 

“What the fuck?” Eros muttered under his breath as he gripped his bow tighter. 

You walked around analyzing what was laid out in front of you. You headed to the pile of boxes stacked on the furthest wall. You sliced open the box that was about your eye level using your pronged knife. Purple powder started to spill out of the box and you could see some clear plastic peeking through. Confused and curious, you cut through the tape of the box to properly examine its contents.

“Holy shit.” you whispered, your voice echoing through the room. 

Eros jogged over to where you were, “What? What happened?”

He peered over your shoulder and inhaled sharply. Laid right in front of you was a box with packets of packaged purple powder. You looked around the room again, seeing the machinery and tools in a new light. This building was holding an illegal drug factory. 

author’s note: the long awaited ch 2!! it took awhile bc of school, exams, and also thinking through the plot. anyways hope you all enjoy and lmk if u would like to be added to the tag list :)

[youreacowgirllikeme]

Coffee to go

Pairing: Chris Cuomo x female Reader

Warning: Swearing, Smut (only read this if you’re 18+ pls), NSFW, not edited

Note: Alright, this is my first attempt at smut so be nice pls (also I’m not a native speaker, so sorry for my grammar)

The cold November wind blows right into your face as you walk (actually, it was more of a jog) through the streets of Washington DC.

“You will reach your destination in 200 meters“ the computer voice from google maps tells you through your headphones. You break into a run, clutching your hot coffee cup tightly to prevent it from spilling over.

“Shit, don’t let me be late on my very first day of work“ you whisper to yourself, as you finally reach the huge glass doors of the CNN headquarters.

“My name is Y/N Y/L/N“ you tell the security guard at the entrance, showing your ID„ I’m the new intern in the politics department.“

„First Elevator on the right, then all the way up to the 10th floor.“

You pass the security check and mumble a quick “Thank you!” to the guard as you make your way over to the elevator. You have 3 minutes left.

“This is my dream job, this is my dream job. It’s finally happening.“ you repeat to yourself, alone in the cabin.

You still can’t believe that you were granted the prestigious position as an intern for the DC politics department at CNN. You graduated with a degree in journalism from Oxford, UK this summer, but with the current political climate and the presidential election coming up, you felt like DC was the place to be at the moment. When you saw there was an internship at CNN advertised, you didn’t hesitate and applied. And all the hard work you put into getting excellent grades and doing tons of extracurricular work payed off, because here you were, on your first day of work.

You try to calm your fluttering nerves one last time with deep breaths and a sip of your still fairly hot coffee.

As the mechanical voice announces the elevators arrival on the 10th floor, you practically storm out of the doors...and run straight into a wall.

“Oh Fuck!“ a deep voice exclaimes, and as you take a step back you see that the wall you ran into was, in fact, a man. A very tall, broad and handsome looking man...with your hot coffee spilled all over his white dress shirt and a furious look on his face.

“Oh God, I’m so sorry, Sir!“ you cry out, praying for the ground to swallow you up. What a perfect first impression. You reach in your pocket to grab a handkerchief, but he dismisses you bluntly with a wave of his hand.

„Just watch where you going next time.“

Giving you one last sharp glare, he walks away, disappearing into a door further down the hallway.

Still mortified, you throw your now empty coffee cup onto the nearest bin and hurry to the room you were told to go in your admission email. It’s a tiny office, where a moddle-aged woman sits on a desk loaded with paperwork.

“Good Morning Ma’am, I’m Y/N Y/L/N, the new politics intern, starting today.“ you tell her, hoping that your face isn’t beet red anymore and your jacket is free of coffee stains. The woman glances up from her computer screen and gives you a quick look over.

“About time. Welcome to CNN, I’m Susan, your supervisor.“

She rummages trough a desk drawer.

"Here is your company ID, a key to the break room, you already sent us your signed contract, didn’t you?“ she asks in a monotoneus voice.

"Yes, thank you so much.“ you say, taking the offered items. "Is there already a list of what my tasks here are going to be?“

"Yes, with the election coverage starting tomorrow, there is still a lot of preparation to do. You’ve been assigned to run errands for our anchor team today, and I guess also for the rest of the week. Paperwork, coffee, stuff like that, just be at their back and call. We expect it to be a tight race, and we need to cover it 24 hours a day. So be prepared to spend most of your time here.”

"There’s a locker in the break room, put your stuff there. The copy room is next door, make 3 copies of those papers and bring them to Chris Cuomo, he’s our lead anchor for the election coverage. His office is the last door down the hall on the right. And hurry, we don’t have a lot of time and he’s not exactly a patient man.” She starts typing something on her phone, obviously dismissing you.

You rush to the break room, hastily throw your bag and jacket in the last free locker, checking your appearance one last time in the mirror (face still a bit red, but no coffee stains, thank god) and go on to make those copies next door. You let your mind wander while the copier does it’s job.

Chris Cuomo. You know he hosts a well known daily prime time show on CNN, but you’ve never seen it as it airs in the middle of the night in the UK. You’re actually suprised they chose him for the job of the election lead anchor, considering he was originally based in the New York Office of CNN. You try to remember what he looked like, but you have no idea. And no time to google him.

So you just grab the stack of papers and bolt down the hallway to the door Susan described. There’s a provisional sign on the door, bearing the name “Christopher C. Cuomo”.

You knock three times and hear a loud "Come in“ from the other side of the door. You enter...and stop instantly, eyes going wide.

Standing in front of you is the guy from the elevator. The hot one. The one who’s dress shirt you ruined with your beverage.

Said dress shirt lies on the floor in a crumpled heap. The man, obviously Chris Cuomo himself, is wearing only a white undershirt, apparently in the middle of changing clothes . His huge, muscled arms are on full display. And he’s looking directly at you, one eyebrow arched.

“Can I help you?” he asks with a hint of annoyance in his deep voice.

You realize you are staring, and quickly try to compose yourself.

“Uhm, yes, I’m so sorry to bother you, Mr Cuomo, I’m Y/N, the new intern. I’m here to deliver those papers from Susan’s office . I’ve been assigned to assist you today...Sir” you add hastily.

“Assist me, huh? I hope this doesn’t involve any more coffee. I only have so many white shirts.”

“I’m so sorry again for that, Mr. Cuomo.”

“Don’t worry, kid” he says, now giving you a closer look. His eyes are a perfect shade of blue-green. The heat started creeping back in your face under his scrutizing gaze.

“You’re a Brit, aren’t you?”

You just give a quick nod, not trusting your ability to speak properly. He comes a step closer, arms crossed in front of his broad chest.

“Have a good start then, Y/N” he says, voice dropping a bit, still holding intense eye contact.

You feel your heart rate going through the roof and pray that he won’t detect it. This mans presence was really intense and brought all kind of distracting thoughts to your mind.

Your "Thank you so much, Sir” comes out way less confident than you intended to, and you basically flee through the office door you hadn’t even bothered to close when you entered.

“Wow!” you think to yourself, “It’s the first day, and you already made a fool of yourself and now have a giant crush on the lead anchor, who’s at least in his 40s. Good job.”

This was going to be interesting.

(Next Day, afternoon)

“Don’t stare, don’t stare.”

You chant your mantra in your head for what felt like the hundredth time this day.

The last 24 hours have been the most exciting, stressful and demanding ones of your entire life. You currently run on what feel like 5 liters of coffee, some energy bars and a two hour nap you managed to catch on the couch in the break room, the circumstances leaving you with a constant feeling of giddy exhaustion.

But no matter how much your eyes were burning, you couldn’t take them off Chris Cuomos hands. Those big, strong hands with thick fingers, holding manuscripts, fixing his tie or just opening a bottle of water. You try your best not to think about how those hands would feel like on your bare skin, grabbing your hair, pushing your tights apart. The burning feeling between your legs intensifies as you feel yourself starting to get wet.

Chris is wearing a black suit today and looks so unbelievably good that you want to cry. His confident, almost dominant demeanor in front of the cameras, combined with his sharp witted comments on the latest news only fuel your growing attraction to him.

Youre standing in the corner of the studio, holding a stack of papers and a clipboard with the latest numbers of some irrelevant county in Alabama that you need to hand over to the anchor desk.

The cameras move over to Phil on the magic wall. Chris uses the quick moment out of frame to stretch his arms above his head, his shoulder muscles clearly visible even through the suit jacket. You’re staring again. And he’s looking directly at you with a knowing smirk.

He caught you.

You feel your face flushing again and you quickly begin to shuffle through the papers in your hand in a poor attempt to appear busy.

“Thank you Phil, we’re taking a quick break now, stay with us.” Chris’ voice sounds through the studio. As soon as you made sure that the cameras are turned off, you hurry over to the anchor desk, putting down the fresh manuscripts with the latest numbers and restock the water bottles, all while trying your best to avoid Chris, still mortified that he caught you checking him out.

The commercial break only lasts about five minutes, so you quickly make your way to the studios supply cupboard to fetch some new water bottles. They were on the top shelf, just barely out of reach for you. You were already standing on your tiptoes, but no chance.

“Need any help with that?” a deep voice suddenly says right behind you. You startle, loosing your balance and fall right into the hard chest of Chris Cuomo. Strong arms sneak around you, steadying you. In that moment you become aware of the heat radiating from his huge form, his delicious smell of aftershave and coffee filling your senses.

Your pulse is like a hammer in your chest as he lets go of you, giving you the opportunity to turn around and face him.

“We really can’t have any normal interactions, Y/N?” he asks, studying you, again with that intense gaze and a little smirk.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry, Mr. Cuomo, I don’t know what’s up with me, I’m usually not that clumsy. Must be the lack of sleep.“ you ramble and try to return his stare, forcing your voice to sound steady and confident, something you weren’t feeling at all.

“Don’t worry, I don’t mind you falling into me at all.” He comes closer, his huge form filling out most of the tiny storage room. You take a small step back and feel the shelf behind you. You look to the floor, absolutely overwhelmed with the situation (and without a doubt, with a beet red face again) One of Chris‘ giant hands reaches out and turns your chin up to meet his eyes. His touch burns and tingles on your skin.

“I would appreciate it if you would look at me when I’m talking to you.“ he says in a intense and stern tone that sends a hot throb to your center and makes you take a sharp breath. You feel your nipples hardening under your blouse, wetness gathering in your pussy.

„Yes, of course, please forgive me, Sir.“ You look up to meet his eyes.

His pupils are dark and dilated as he lets out a deep, shuddering breath. The tension between you is almost palpable.

„Come to my office after the shift is over. Alone.“ he says and storms out of the storage room, leaving you behind in a horny, confused mess, waterbottles totally forgotten.

The next few hours are agonizing. Not only is the election a really tight race, your nerves are in a total frenzy because of what happened in the storage room. You keep replaying the interaction in your head and try your best to not stare over to where Chris was sitting, failing miserably every time. One time, your eyes meet his, but he just arches his eyebrows and looks back onto his laptop screen.

The dominance with which he had talked to you stood in a total contrast to the gentle touch of his fingers on your face. You are confused, and more turned on than you have ever been by anyone else.

You want to kiss him, want his hands all over your body, touching your naked skin, claiming you. Why does he want you to come tonhis office? The uncertainty was driving you crazy.

Time was creeping at such a slow pace, but finally the day shift is over. You ask an extremely tired looking Susan for a break which she begrudgingly grants you.

After quickly freshening up, you make your way through the empty hallway to Chris office, heart almost jumping out of your chest. What the hell was going to happen?

Straightening your blouse one last time, you knock on the door, waiting for the allowance to enter.

”Here goes nothing.”

Chris sits behind his desk, both suit jacket and tie hanging over the chair.He’s looking at you, as if he’s expecting you to make a move.

There was a prominent vein in his temple that became more noticeable the longer you stood there, failing to get a word out, hands trembling at your sides.

His shirt sleeves were turned up, and the view of his defined forearms sends a throb of want directly to your core. Finally, Chris breaks the silence and adresses you.

“Y/N, why are you here?”

His arms are crossed in front of his chest, accentuating his biceps. You just stand there, unable to move a single muscle.

He gets up from behind his desk and makes his way over to where you are, stopping directly behind you. A shiver goes down your spine because of the close proximity.

His next words are spoken with his lips so close to your ear that you can feel his hot breath against your cheek, his deep voice making the hair on your arms stand up.

“I asked you a question, little one. Answer me.”

You gathered every ounce of courage you had.

“I want you to touch me.”

He doesn’t move.

“Please, Sir.”

Suddenly, two strong hands grab your shoulders and spin you around.You stare directly into Chris’ face, his dark pupils are blown, there is a look of unhinged lust on his face.

A second later, his lips come crashing down on yours. The kiss isn’t gentle, all tongue and teeth and passion, making your head spin and your knees weak.

One of Chris hands sneaks around your back and grabs your ass, giving it a rough squeeze. You moan loudly as he holds you even closer, his hard bulge pressing against your abdomen. His big, hot body pushes you back against his desk and he effortlessly lifts you to sit on top of it.

Chris takes a step back, his large hands sprawled on your tights. You can feel the heat of his skin all the way through your trousers, the need to have him is so strong that you feel like your whole body is on fire.

“Do you have any idea what you do to me, little one?” He says in low, throaty voice, holding your tights in a hard, almost bruising grip. “Staring at me, biting those pretty lips, undressing me with your eyes, making me hard every time. You’re just begging for it, aren’t you?”

He kisses you again, and starts to trail hot, wet kisses down your neck. You can’t focus, your hands clutching at his back, little gasps of pleasure coming out of your mouth.

“Yes, please, I need you” you exclaim, admitting what’s on your mind since the moment you saw him wearing that undershirt. His hands leave your tights and start opening the zipper of your trousers, pulling them down your legs in one smooth motion.

His hands are now roaming up and down your bare legs, slowly coming closer to the pool of heat and want between them.

“Oh my God, please touch me.” you beg, longing to finally feel his fingers on your aching pussy.

One of his large hands leaves your leg and gives you a hard smack on your ass, the pain causing you to utter a sharp cry and sending a pulse of heat straight between your legs.

“Ah, be polite, little one. Use your words and ask me properly for what you want.” Your face is burning, why was hearing this so incredibly hot?

“Please touch my pussy and fuck me, Sir, I need your cock.”

You can’t believe the words coming out of your mouth. But this was an exceptional situation, and right now you’d say anything if it would result in Chris cock buried inside you.

He smiles a devious grin. “I wanted to do this since the moment you stepped into my office yesterday. Take off your panties, now.” he commands, giving you another slap on your ass.

While you’re hurrying to get rid of your underwear, he starts unbuckling his belt, opens his fly and takes out his cock. It’s long and hard, already leaking precum. You were in for a treat. He pulls a condom package out of his pocket and rolls the rubber over his length.

“Turn around and bend over” he said, you quickly obey and a moment later you feel one of his thick fingers parting your wet folds and entering you, while another finger rubs your aching clit. A needy whine breaks out of your mouth and you throw your head back in pleasure .“God, you’re already so wet for me, little one.” Chris groans, adding another finger.

You almost can’t take it anymore, feeling like you might go insane if he doesn’t fuck you right now.

“I need you in me, Sir, please” You’re begging now, totally beyond caring.

Chris removes his fingers, lines up his huge cock at your opening and starts slowly pushing in, inch by inch.He groans, grabbing your hips, and once he’s fully settled in your tight heat he starts a brutal, deep pace.

You let out a hiss as he stretches you and hold onto the desk, trying not fall over with the force of his powerful thrusts. The pleasure is overwhelming, his large cock filling you perfectly over and over again, a bruising grip on your hips, his deep voice groaning dirty things into your ear. You’re ability to form coherent sentences is long gone, only moans and short breaths are coming out of your mouth.

Behind you, Chris is breathing heavily as one of his hands reaches around you to rub your clit.

“Fuck, You feel so good baby, so fucking tight around my cock.” he swears as his thrusts are starting to become faster and more erratic.

His rubbing on your clit intensifies, and you can feel your climax approaching.

“Come for me baby, come on my cock.“ Chris leans forward, biting the tender the spot where your shoulder meets your neck.

Pleasure and pain surge through you as you hit your peak, Chris‘ name on your lips. You feel his body going stiff behind you, his grip on your hips tighening almost painfully as he finds his release with you.

For a while, the mix of both your ragged breaths is the only sound in the office, then Chris carefully pulls out, the sudden feeling of emptiness making you whimper.

Strong arms embrace you, and you hear a small chuckle as a kiss is being pressed to your neck.

But the gravity of what you’ve just done still hits you like a punch to the gut and you whirl around, eyes wide with shock, head still spinning from the intensity of your orgasm.

“Oh, oh no” you mutter to yourself, breathing heavily as you see your crumpled trousers and panties lying on the office floor along with several papers who fell from the desk during your activities. What did you do?

“Hey, hey, little one, calm down.” Chris says, sensing your anxiety right away. He cups your jaw and leans down to press a gentle kiss to your trembling lips. Your worry eases a bit as you kiss him back.

“How about you lie down on my couch and I go and get us snacks and something to drink. Maybe even some coffee?” he asks after pressing a final kiss to your head.

You manage a shaky nod and a small smile, looking up at Chris’ handsome face.

He flashes you a toothy grin, forehead still shining with a thin layer of sweat, his hair tousled.

He looks breathtaking.

“You’re staring again, Y/N.”

“I know.”

[vennilavee]

the soul of a flame - ch 2

ignite

the soul of a flame masterlist

pairing: levi x reader of color

summary: levi sees you a few more times at the silver sapphire, where you’re in your element.

warnings: alcohol, cursing

word count: ~4000

a/n: mostly a filler chapter to establish characters and the setting. also i might be adding several chapters in between, after further outlining LOL. enjoy! plz reblog and leave a comment if you liked this 

***

You were definitely not expecting the bar to be this busy tonight. Neither you nor Misaki had known that the Survey Corps were about to go on a big expedition, which explained why anyone with a green cape who was old enough to drink was in your bar.

The expedition was in a few days, far enough in the future where it didn’t feel like it was looming just yet. The grim truth is that you’d see fewer and fewer of those green capes every time they’d come back. You wonder what exactly happens on those expeditions, but it can’t be anything good. You have a soft spot for them- they’ve treated you kindly for the most part. 

It’s those damn MP’s that grate on your last nerve. The number of times that some of them, especially the older ones, have barged into your bar. Demanding free alcohol as some kind of payment for “protecting” the citizens of Wall Rose.

The number of times you’ve forced them out. It’s one too many.

You’re working up a sweat as you try to keep up with everyone at the bar. There’s dirt on your navy blue blouse and it’s bothering you every time you glance down but you haven’t had a chance to rub it away. You’re also certain that there is dirt on your face as well but you pay no mind to it. There’s no time, after all. Not when there’s dozens of soldiers who are desperate for a drink and a good time.

You fleetingly wonder if you’ll see any familiar faces. You’ve met some members of Squad Mike, Squad Levi and Squad Hange at least once. You’re the most acquainted with Squad Levi. You’ve even met some members of the Garrison regiment, including Hannes and Rico Brzenska, who reminds you somewhat of someone you once knew a long time ago.

Your thoughts flutter to Levi. You’ve seen him two or three times so far, and you would be lying if you said you didn’t enjoy his company. As rare as it was that he came by. He’s so easy to tease, and sometimes he gives it right back to you. That makes you smile when it happens.

Drinks are flowing, your arms beginning to get tired from the tumblers of ale and mixed drinks you’ve been refilling over the last hour. It’s bustling and noisy, just how you like it. Misaki’s in the same boat as you, carrying two trays filled with snacks and drinks.

Squad Levi is at their usual corner of the bar, but Levi isn’t with them. You wonder if he’ll show up later, but your thoughts are pulled away from the grumpy Captain when Squad Mike saunters into your bar with Mike himself leading the charge. The tall man sticks out from the rest as he generously sniffs around the bar. You’ve heard from Oluo that the man has a few interesting habits.

They look incredibly happy for a team about to embark on a potentially fatal mission. You suppose this is the territory that comes with being in the Survey Corps.

And where is their Commander? Erwin Smith. It’s been years, over a decade since you had last seen his piercing, blue eyes. You doubt he remembers you. It’s a memory even you have to reach into the depths of your mind for. 

But still. If anyone should have a drink tonight, it’s him.

You manage to sneak in a shot or two to steel your own nerves when you see Erwin walk in with Levi right next to him. You meet Levi’s eyes and wave at him.

“Commander Erwin,” You nod, “Honored to meet you, sir.”

He’s as intimidating and commanding of respect now as he was back then. You watch his face for a flash of recognition but there is none. Seemingly.

You offer both him and Levi a drink and excuse yourself to help Misaki out with the new orders that have come through. 

You’ve slowly come to realize that the Survey Corps really knows how to drink. When you deliver a drink to Erwin and his table members, you wryly tell him that the Survey Corps budget must be bursting at the seams. If they’ve got enough money to splurge on alcohol like this.

“We only splurge like this once in a while. When we know that many of us won’t be returning,” He replies and you nearly shrivel up from his icy gaze.

You can’t help but feel like you’ve been scolded like a schoolchild. You leave them to their devices, deciding to work on the growing pile of dirty dishes in the back. The flow of orders has slowed down and you’re hoping you can keep up with the cleaning.

“Loosen up, Erwin,” Levi says easily, after a sip of his whiskey, “Maybe that stick up your ass will loosen up, too.”

Erwin rolls his eyes at his Captain and takes a drink of his earthwater. It had been the recommendation of Hange, Moblit and even Levi himself.

He’s pleasantly surprised. 

Levi leans back in his chair, crossing his arms across his chest. He watches you and Misaki flit around quickly between tables, almost like a dance. You both work together synchronously to fulfill orders and even have the time for small talk with the patrons of the bar. His gaze is unwavering, maybe even harsh. He sees a few specks of dust on your cheeks and your forehead. 

It bothers him more than it should. 

The next time you circle back to their table, he can’t help himself-

“Oi. You’ve got some dirt on your face,” Levi points out, looking up at you from his seat.

Your cheeks heat up and you haphazardly rub your face. In an attempt to clean your face, you end up smudging the dirt around even more and Levi shakes his head. At this angle, Levi can see a stain at the collar of your navy shirt.

How annoying. 

You walk away from them after taking their orders and Levi watches you head to the back supply room. Levi waits a few beats before following you inside.

You nearly let out a screech when you come face to face with him. He moves so quietly and he raises an eyebrow at your jumpiness. 

“You made the dirt worse,” Levi says plainly, pointing to your cheeks.

The bar is filled with people, noise bouncing and echoing off of the walls. You can hear the bustle even in the supply closet. Your cheeks are hot again, your throat dry and you grip the box in your hands tightly. The chatter of conversation is somehow drowned out by the intensity of Levi’s silver eyes. 

“So you followed me in here?” You joke nervously.

“It’s bothering me,” Levi murmurs and steps closer to you. 

He’s only a breath away from you, and the quip that was on the tip of your tongue dies on your lips. Your dark eyes are wide, and god, has it always been this hot in here?

“You mind?” Levi asks quietly, taking a handkerchief out of his pocket. 

He knows how this looks. But you shake your head immediately, words seemingly stolen from your throat. Levi presses his clean handkerchief to your cheek, rubbing gently against your heated skin. And then your forehead, and above your eyebrow. He sees your scars once more, just above your eyebrow and his eyes flicker to the one below your clavicle.

Levi pulls his hand away and you wonder if he can hear the sound of blood rushing to your ears. The lamp behind Levi somehow both illuminates and casts shadows on his striking features, his eyes melting silver into yours.

He tucks the handkerchief in his pocket and notices your eyes flicker to his lips. Then back to his eyes. 

But he takes a step back and has a hand on the doorknob.

“Your collar is stained, too,” Levi mutters.

With that, as if he hadn’t almost touched your face with his bare hands, he exits the supply closet and heads back to his table. Levi downs his drink quickly and tells everyone at his table that he’ll be leaving. And that they should do the same.

It takes you a few minutes to regain your composure.

***

Levi is alone tonight. It’s the first time he’s heading to the Silver Sapphire without his squad. It’s eerie, he decides, kicking a stray rock out of his path. It’s quiet, and yet he can hear the muffled sounds of conversation in the night. A light breeze dances through his hair and he looks up, seeing that the moon is nowhere in sight.

He stands outside of your bar and leans on his cane, hesitating for a moment but ultimately making the decision to pull the door open and go inside. There are a few people scattered across the bar, some in quiet conversation with each other and others sitting in silence. He recognizes a few faces from the arrival parade from earlier this morning. Perhaps they are drinking their sorrows away. 

Perhaps he should, too.

Levi doesn’t see you at first glance. He sees a tall woman behind the bar, with long, dark hair, sharp features and piercing, green eyes. She makes her way over to him with a notepad and a pen in hand.

“I’m Misaki. Can I get you something to eat or drink?”

“Just an earthwater.”

And she’s gone as quickly as she came.

Levi allows his eyes to wander, subtly searching for where you might be. He sees you emerge from the backdoor, your arms filled with new glasses and tumblers. You carry them with ease, without a worry of shattering even a single one.

He leans back in his seat, peeling his green Survey Corps trench coat off. He folds it and places it on his lap as he murmurs a soft thanks to Misaki when she brings him a full glass of earthwater.

It’s as bitter and sweet as he remembers it, and he downs the glass in less than a minute. Levi passes a glance at the other end of the bar, the end that he knew Oluo and Petra liked to sit at. They said it gave them the best view of the main street and that it was quieter on this side of the bar, where they could hear each other speak.

Well. They were dead now. The thought makes Levi want another drink. How annoying.

As if reading his mind Misaki comes by once more, asking him if he’d like another drink. He nods, and Misaki is sure to add a little more alcohol in his earthwater. He looks like he needs it.

A flash of Petra’s bloody face lights up in his mind. Then, a flash of her father telling him that she’d chosen to dedicate her life to him. 

Another long gulp.

Then, a flash of Eld’s fiancée. Pleading, needing to know where Eld was. And then her bright eyes flooded with tears, asking if he had died valiantly.

And the truth was, even if Levi himself wasn’t present… He is certain that he did.

Another even longer gulp. The alcohol burns in the best way. He isn’t one to do this, to lament over fallen soldiers much less, lament over fallen soldiers over alcohol.

But it feels different this time. It’s his team.

Levi doesn’t realize how tightly he’s gripping the glass in his hands, and he doesn’t flinch as he finishes off the rest of it.

***

Your curiosity is piqued when you see Captain Levi sitting alone at the bar of the bar, clutching his drink like his life depends on it. You see a cane poking out from the bottom of the table. Is he injured? You wonder where his team and his friends are. Then you recall that there was an expedition recently.

You swallow dryly. Had his team perished outside the walls? An unwelcome pit of dread buries itself in your belly. You cast a wary look at Levi, wondering if he’s planning on drinking himself to oblivion like so many of his fellow soldiers do after a loss.

Though, he doesn’t seem the type to do so.

You wonder if you’ll ever see Petra or Oluo ever again, though you feel as though you have the answer already. A familiar sort of melancholy settles in your bones, one that you’re all too familiar with. One that you’re certain Levi is familiar with, as well. Busying yourself with restocking and attending to other customers, you can’t help but glance at him every so often. He’s staring into nothingness, his gaze shifting from the floor, to the other side of the bar, to his glass, and finally you.

You hadn’t been expecting that, but you hold his steely, grey gaze. It’s empty and stern, making you want to look away. But you don’t. You hold your ground and watch as he brings his glass to his lips and takes a hearty sip.

You wonder if he’s thinking of that moment in the supply closet. And yet, it seems so trivial now. You’d be lying if you said you didn’t think of that moment often.

You’re pulled away from his enthralling gaze by Misaki, asking you to remind her where the new washcloths you had ordered were. You tease her before telling her that they’re in the supply closet, next to the plates.

You’re unable to stop yourself from glancing over at Captain Levi once more.

***

It’s getting late, and Levi is the last one in your bar. You don’t want to usher him out. It’s clear that he’d come here as a last reprieve. Trying to catch a memory of his team from… before.

You’ve already told Misaki that she can go home. She casts a look at Levi but nods, gathering her things and leaving.

You pour a steaming cup of tea for yourself, and for Levi. Probably not a great idea, considering the time it is. But you do so anyway, and sit across from Levi at his table.

He doesn’t react, only casting you a look of acknowledgement. But he continues to gaze at you, in his piercing way. Your hair is pulled away from your face, he notes. Your gaze is just as piercing as his and he finds himself unable to pull away from your dark eyes. The shadows illuminate the highest points of your cheeks, especially when your lips pull apart and you offer him a smile.

“You can kick me out. Don’t have to give me special treatment just because I’m Captain Levi,” Levi drawls.

“You’re not my Captain,” You raise an eyebrow, “Besides, I’m not giving you special treatment because you’re Captain Levi. I’m giving you special treatment because I think you need it.”

“Here,” You slide his cup of tea to him, “It’s on the house.”

“You give everyone drinks on the house this often, or is it just me?” 

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” You grin and Levi catches a flash of your pearly, white teeth. 

He scoffs.

“Doesn’t seem like a lucrative business practice,” Levi mutters.

“Well, The Silver Sapphire’s still standing, isn’t it?” You ask dryly, “It’s not bad for business when those fuckin’ MPs and Garrison soldiers tell their friends that the pretty girl with the bar gives out free drinks once in a while.”

“Those fuckin’ MPs,” Levi rolls his eyes, “Shit for brains.”

To his surprise, you laugh, “Yeah. We’ve got a history. Me and the MPs ”

Levi looks at you with the same bored look and says nothing. But he wonders what that means.

“You usually don’t come here alone. In fact, none of you do. You come as friends. It’s why I like the Survey Corps so much more than them,” You say, crossing your arms across your chest. Levi catches a glint of the gold necklace around your neck and narrows his eyes. It has a gold pendant, with a pale green stone embedded in it.

There’s no way that a bar owner could have a jewel that intricate and rare. There’s a story there, he’s sure of it. You clutch the pendant as if it’s a reflex, or a nervous habit.

“My team’s dead. Died during the last expedition,” Levi says bluntly after a few minutes, not missing the way your eyes fill with sorrow and how your smile falls.

“I’m sorry, Levi. I’d heard it was a tough one,” You say softly, “Cheers to them. May their souls rest in peace.”

You raise your glass and he does as well, the clink of the cups echoing in the silent bar.

“They were good. Had good hearts,” You murmur, “I didn’t know them very long but I knew that much.”

“Yes, they were. They died with no regrets. As good people. Good soldiers.”

“And you? Do you have any regrets, Captain Levi?” You ask boldly, watching him through your eyelashes as you take another sip. The tea warms you from the inside out, and you hope Levi is enjoying it as well. But you can’t tell, his face as impassive as ever. 

“Only fools have regrets,” Levi says easily, “Nobody is sure of anything in life. We shouldn’t waste our limited time on thoughts of what could have been done.”

And yet, his thoughts flutter to Isabel and Farlan, before reeling himself back into your thoughtful eyes.

“I suppose,” You murmur, “People can waste their lives dwelling over the things they regret doing. Or not doing. But I guess… there’s no wrong or right choice. We have to feel what we need to feel in order to move on.”

You have a faraway look in your eyes, and it’s mirrored in Levi’s own eyes. You tug the sleeves of your loose shirt past your knuckles, seemingly sinking into your memories. Levi thinks that this has become a habit. Of seeing you up close like this. There is a deep scar along the hollow of your shoulder to your clavicle, and he sees the shallow one on your forehead. The one he had noticed the first time he had come to your bar.

Despite the gold on your neck, the rings on your fingers, the silk of your clothing… You weren’t born to it. You probably crawled your way through, as evidenced by the scars. He idly wonders if there are more.

You rub the back of your neck before downing the rest of your tea.

“Tea’s not half bad,” Levi says, and you know that’s the most you’ll get out of him. You also know it’s the end of your night with him.

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” You scoff.

Levi stands from his seat, shaking his trench coat of any dirt before fastening it over his shoulders. Before he can fix his collar, you step forward and fix it for him. Your fingers are light over the nape of his neck, eyes never leaving his. Dark brown mixes with gunmetal grey, and for a moment you’re transfixed by the way the moonlight strikes his eyes. Making them look like a molten silver.

“I’ll see you soon, Captain,” You say softly as you walk him to the front door.

“Thought you said I wasn’t your Captain,” Levi drawls, amusement outlined in the upturn of his lips.

You laugh, “I’ll see you soon, Levi.”

***

The next time Levi comes by, a few weeks has gone by. In that time, Stohess District had become a titan battlefield resulting in many civilian casualties. You’re wise enough, and selfish enough, to acknowledge that that could have been Trost. Again.

You’re glad that your entire livelihood is on the edge of Trost District, bordering the next town. It had been mainly avoided during the Battle for Trost, save for minor property damages. But still. It’s never a good sign when there are these many civilian casualties.

You wonder what the hell is going on with the Survey Corps, the Garrison and the MPs. Are you all just fodder for their grand plans?

What a life worth living, in these three walls.

It’s one of the few times that Levi comes by when the sun is still in the sky. He seems to only visit at night. Probably because that’s when it’s easiest for him to leave the Survey Corps headquarters. That’s probably when he has the most free time.

It’s a breathtaking sight, seeing the sunlight against his dark hair. You wonder if he even knows that there’s a halo of light on top of his silky hair.

You suppress a shudder. He’s ethereal, everyone in your bar turns to look at him in awe and curiosity. His white sleeves are rolled up to his elbows and the top two buttons of his shirt are open. You swallow, trying to lubricate your dry throat. And yet he’s walking towards you as if he was created on the same plane of existence as you. Levi’s face is stoic, betraying no emotion as he leans an elbow against the bar. 

“Haven’t seen you this early in the day before. Almost didn’t recognize you,” You joke and he rolls his grey eyes. When they catch in the dimming sunlight, they almost look blue.

“Don’t get used to it.”

“No need to be mean,” You scoff, “Want a drink? You look like you could use it.”

Levi doesn’t reply, only offering you a grimace.

“I’m here because Erwin’s asked a favor of you,” Levi says in his usual bored drawl, “He wants you to be our supplier for alcohol. For any and all pre-expedition send offs.”

Despite Erwin sending his soldiers to their deaths as often as he did, Levi considers it a small reprieve that they are happy for at least a night before.

“Tell your Commander that nothing I do is for free or out of the kindness of my delicate heart,” You say, leaning against the bar. You’re close enough to him that you can see amusement in his eyes even as he narrows them at you.

“Delicate heart?” Levi scoffs, “Yeah, right.”

“Tell your Commander to stop by again, huh? I’m sure he could use a drink. Especially after dealing with you all the time,” You tease. You can’t help but want to prod him, to see if he remembered you from all those years ago. You highly doubted it. 

Something flickers across his face and you’re almost worried for a second that you’ve offended him. But then you see the small upturn of his lips and your heart nearly bursts in your chest.

“I could say the same. About him and Four Eyes,” Levi rolls his eyes, “And about you.”

“Me? I am a delight to be around,” You say easily and wink at him.

“Is this how you are with all your bar patrons?”

“And how am I, Levi?”

“Insufferable,” Levi says without batting an eyelash and you push his drink towards him.

“Only with you, honey,” You wink at him again and step away from the bar to tend to your other patrons, “Only with you.”

You cast a look at him from over his shoulder, only to find him already looking at you with sharp eyes. 

The evening crowd begins to filter into the bar and you’re unable to stray from your bar patrons. Levi wonders how that smile of yours, as genuine as it is, can remain painted on your face for as long as it has. Your eyes shine with mirth, and you greet your patrons as if they are all long lost friends of yours.

Levi finishes the remainder of his drink before fastening his coat and taking his cane. He winces as he stands to his feet, his leg not quite healed yet. He leaves without saying goodbye, and asks himself when he allowed you and your bright smiles to burrow in his mind. Your flirty words and teasing are annoying to say the least. And yet...

Truth be told, he didn’t really fight this feeling from twining itself inside of him to begin with. And that’s not something he’ll lie to himself about.

[wlw-lovestruck-fiction]

HC or fic for MC or Ruelle trying to comfort Piama who is upset about something?

The sound of muffled sobbing became clearer and clearer as Ruelle made her way down the empty hallways of Attadellys. She knew that cry, she had heard it all too often, from whiney contempt to heartbreaking grief, she had heard the cries of dear Piama on almost every level. Moving through the shadows with ease, Ruelle, finally finding the location of the sound, found herself outside of the kitchens - not that she was entirely surprised, Piama was known to visit the kitchens late into the midnight hours - Ruelle softly knocked before slowly opening the door. Piama's sharp blue eyes, red and bloodshot, like a storm during a late summer’s sunset, immediately shot over to Ruelle as she stepped inside.

"Oh, it's just you." Piama said with a sniffle.

"Well hello to you, too." Ruelle replied with a dry smile.

"Just leave me alone, Ruelle! If you can't-!"

"Woah.. calm down there, Princess." She kept her tone level as she made sure to keep eye contact with the small woman, who currently looked the smallest Ruelle had ever seen her. "Do you wish to talk about it?"

Piama scoffed, shaking her head in a manner that told Ruelle she wouldn't understand. Taking a bite out the pastry she was currently working on, a fresh set of tears started to roll down Piama's cheeks. Her usually warm skin flushed deep from crying. Ruelle slowly made her way through the large kitchen area, and over to wear Piama was sitting crossed legged on the floor - a plate of fresh fruit tarts on her lap.

"Aunt Vo..." She takes in a steadying breath before continuing. "She wants to start setting up meetings with suitors.. all of these sons and daughters of Spring, all coming within the next fortnight. She doesn't even care if I like any of them!"

"Good Ol' Aunt Vo. Always doing things the right way." Ruelle replied sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

"And do you know, she's trying to get me banned from the kitchens!? Banned, Ruelle!" She screams her name almost frantically as if the small time of solace and comfort that she allowed herself within these walls meant everything. The few moments late into the night - where she sat to herself, surrounded by the smells that comforted her the most, and just let herself be. No Aunt Vo, no royal title, just.. Piama.

"But, why -"

"Because she says I'm too fat! That no one other a drunk commoner will want me!" Piama stares at the half eaten fruit tart in her hand and sighs - placing it on the ground next to her before shaking her head. "M-maybe she's right."

"The day Vo is right about anything is the day I lay down my daggers, and take up singing." Ruelle replies dryly, getting a small laugh out of Piama.

"Now that is something I would pay to see. I bet you have a lovely singing voice, Ruelle."

"Heh.. wouldn't you like to know?" Ruelle replied with a smirk. Piama laughed a little more as she took the corner of the sleeve of her dress and dabbed her eyes.

"Ah - wait.. here." Ruelle withdrew a small emerald cloth from the inside of her cloak and handed it to the Spring Princess, who smiled fondly at her as she took it.

"Thank you, Ruelle."

Ruelle stood there for a minute, watching the small Princess wipe away the tears from her flushed face with her handkerchief. Her usually perfect hair - slightly askew - shimmered in the warm lighting from the wood stoves. Her blue eyes - a rare steel grey against their bloodshot backgrounds. Even the flowers that so flawlessly adorned her skin seemed a bit more ashen against the beautifully warm tone of it. Realizing she was staring, Ruelle quickly averted her eyes, clearing her throat before she spoke.

"You know... you don't have to marry any one of those suitors that your Aunt picks out for you, Piama." Ruelle's voice was firm as she locked her amber eyes onto storm cloud blue ones. "You deserve the right to marry whomever you choose. Whomever you... love."

"You say that like it's so easy. Like I can just pick whomever I like, and just.. marry them!" Piama replies with a laugh so laced with melancholy it made Ruelle's heart lurch.

"You.. you can."

"And what if that person doesn't choose me back? What if sh-.. what if they don't love me back!?" Ruelle could see the tears starting to well up in Piama's eyes again and she quickly kneeled down to face her dead on.

"Listen to me, Piama of Spring - and I'll deny that I ever said this - but you, are incredible. Any person would be lucky to have you." She says firmly, gently wiping a lone tear that fell down Piama's face.

"Th-thank you... for saying that, Ruelle" Piama averted her eyes slightly as a deep blush began to spread out across her skin.

"Of course." Ruelle replied with a nod, quickly rising back to her feet. "Ah, would you like me to escort you back to your room?"

"N-no. That's alright. Thank you, Ruelle. I think I'm going to sit here for a little while longer" Piama said giving Ruelle a grateful smile.

"As you wish." She gave the Spring Princess a small nod before making her way out the door. The smell of fresh pastries followed her down the dark hallway while all she could think about, was how beautiful Piama had looked.