#and to be clear i do not have any qualms with custom heads for player characters

[ladyinthebluebox]

wishing violent diarrhea upon every modder making those shitty small-jawed & big-eyed face mods for female characters and anyone who uses those as well.

[ushijimaenthusiast]

oiten birthday fic/date night

[ao3]

Satori is so good at reading his boyfriend that he doesn’t even open his mouth before Satori is tightening the arm around his shoulders and leaning in, whispering, “Chill, babe. It’s fine.”

Tooru’s back straightens as he gives Satori a side-eyed glare. “You don’t even know what I was going to do.”

Satori just grins, shuffling them a little further in line. “Sure I do. You were gonna talk shit.”

If possible, Tooru’s glare turns even more vicious.

“They deserve it. If I don’t say something, they’ll just think it’s okay to keep doing it.”

“But are they really worth your time? I’m not bothered by it, so you shouldn’t be.”

“But you should!” Tooru’s shout draws a few glances their way, but he’s so heated he doesn’t even notice. Satori doesn’t care. “They’re being fucking rude and should be put in their place because if not they’ll continue to do the same thing and it could be towards someone who’s not as strong as you are.”

Satori’s smile falters a little at that, unused to such a compliment, but it’s all the hesitation Tooru needs before he’s spinning around to the couple in the opposite line who’ve been giving them dirty looks since they walked in the door. Satori’s not sure if it’s because of the way they’re dressed (Satori in comfy sweats and a tattered hoodie and Tooru decked out in his tightest pants and crispest button-up), or if it’s because someone as hot as Tooru is practically clinging to someone like Satori. Either way, Satori has learned to ignore such looks, but Tooru hasn’t.

He’s not used to how judgmental and negative people can be just for how one looks. He’s never been ostracized or called dirty names for the way he dresses or for acting too weird in public. He’s always been a prim and proper sort of boy, someone who uses words to sort things out instead of hiding behind a hand. Satori doesn’t fault him for feeling protective and wanting to set things right; he just wishes it was warranted.

“It’s not like we ever even said anything,” the woman butts in, knowing Tooru is about to attack. Her voice is high and nasally, and it instantly grates on Satori’s nerves.

“You didn’t have to. Your face reads Judgmental Bitch to anyone looking at you.”

She sputters as a few chuckles rise around them. Her partner looks too stunned for words, and Satori takes that pause to tighten his grip around Tooru’s waist and draw him closer to his body, shutting him up momentarily.

“Listen,” Satori says lazily, hardly sparing them another look, “just keep your eyes on yourself and we won’t have any more problems, m’kay?” He ends it with a leer, and tugs Tooru down the line as they shuffle forwards. Some of the other customers give them appreciative glances, while others glare just as rudely as the couple. Tooru gives one more glare at the couple before huffing and facing forward, curling tighter around Satori.

Without any hassle they buy their popcorn and drinks, steering clear of the couple as they make their way to their designated theater. Tooru relaxes even further when the couple goes into a separate one.

“Happy now?” Satori asks as they enter the darkened room. Trailers haven’t started yet, so it’s eerily quiet in the wide-open space, especially since there are only two other groups in the room. They head for the back row, both happy to see it empty.

Tooru huffs, and Satori sees him shrugging. “I coulda said a few more things if you hadn’t stopped me.”

“Oh, I know,” Satori chuckles. He slides into the row first and heads towards the middle. “But then we’d probably have gotten kicked out and wouldn’t be able to see this movie we’ve both been waiting to see for ages and would have to wait until it’s available to stream or find a way to illegally download it and where’s the fun in that? Besides,” Satori kicks down his seat and plops in, draping one arm over the chair Tooru sits in, “you shouldn’t let people like them get to you. They’re a waste of everything.”

“I don’t know how you handle it,” Tooru mumbles. “It makes my skin crawl.”

Satori lowers his arm from the back of the seat to Tooru’s shoulders, drawing him closer so he can place a faint kiss at his boyfriend’s temple. “And that’s what makes you a better person than them and me.”

“Shut up,” Tooru mutters, swatting at Satori’s chest. “You know I think you’re great.”

“And that’s all that matters.”

Tooru just sighs and snuggles closer to Satori as the lights dim and the trailers start to roll.

Satori doesn’t know how he got this lucky. How someone as beautiful and loyal as Oikawa Tooru, an ex-volleyball player and all-around Good Guy, managed to fall in love with the batshit weirdness that is Tendou Satori, a college dropout and general waste of space. Even with the years between them, Satori still finds it hard to believe that Tooru loves him, that he’s willing to put time and effort into their relationship, despite the onlookers that speculate and judge whenever they’re out in public.

Like tonight. Satori knows his attire could have been less sloppy, but he likes to be comfortable when watching movies. And no matter where they go, Tooru likes to dress up for dates. Tooru doesn’t hate him for not putting more effort into his wardrobe, and that’s something Satori appreciates immensely. He also has no qualms about complimenting his boyfriend’s choice of clothes and how they make him look, since complimenting Tooru is one of his favorite things.

There’s so many things about Tooru that Satori considers his favorite that he has a little black box in pocket that’s burning a hole against his thigh. He’s carried it with him everywhere for the last year, unsure of when he wanted to pop the question or if it’s something he should even ask. He’s still not even sure if Tooru’s birthday is a good time to propose, not even sure if it’s something his boyfriend would want to happen. The subject has come up sparingly, and even though Satori wishes he could say there’s no way Tooru would reject him, this is one guess he’s loath to make.

Satori loves Tooru and would take whatever Tooru is willing to give. Marriage isn’t the end all be all of a relationship. They’ve been happy and content without this label, so there’s really no reason why Satori has to take this next step.

He doesn’t pay much attention to the movie, as his mind continues to wander towards what’s supposed to come after. He promised Tooru a movie and a surprise, and they both know Tooru doesn’t like surprises. He can’t help it when his palms start to sweat and he has to pull away from his boyfriend on more than one occasion so he can feel like he can breathe again, pointedly ignoring the tiny looks of concern Tooru throws at him each time he does it.

By the end of the movie, though, Satori can feel Tooru’s anger radiating off him. He doesn’t even wait for the lights to turn back on before he’s springing out of his chair and moving down the aisle, attempting to escape the theater quickly.

Satori can’t even run after him like he knows he should. He just sits there, ignoring the way the lights aren’t coming back on, and a post-credit scene rolls. All he can focus on is Tooru’s retreating figure and the pounding of his heart, not sure what the hell he’s supposed to do.

Eventually, he’s kicked out long after the lights have come back on and the theater attendant needs to prepare it for the next showing. Satori walks slowly towards their parked car, his heart racing a mile a minute as he sees it’s actually still parked here and not long gone.

Tooru is leaning against the passenger side door, his foot tapping wildly with his arms crossed over his chest. He catches sight of Satori approaching, but turns away and ignores him. Satori knows that’s acceptable, knowing he deserves the anger that’s brewing from his boyfriend.

He unlocks the car slowly, belatedly realizing that’s why the car and Tooru are still here because Satori had the keys, and gets in the driver’s seat. Tooru makes his entrance loud, making it clear he’s unhappy.

But Satori doesn’t start the car. He doesn’t want to fight, doesn’t want to drag this out any longer. If for some reason in his anger, or just in his heart, Tooru rejects his proposal, then Satori can hand him the keys and he’ll walk--somewhere. He’ll give Tooru the night to cool off and they could discuss things further tomorrow--

“Will you just tell me what's wrong with you already?” Tooru demands.

Satori blinks and turns to stare at Tooru. He does look angry, rightfully so, but there’s hurt there too. Confusion and worry are dancing behind it all, and Satori hates himself a little more for putting it there.

He sucks in a breath, knowing it’s now or never and not wanting to drag this out any longer. Without saying anything he reaches into his pocket and pulls out the box, offering it to Tooru.

“I was getting nervous,” Satori starts, not really liking the way Tooru’s face closed off at the sight of the box, how he’s not even breathing, it seems. “I wanted it to be perfect, to be romantic, but then I started over-thinking and now you’re pissed and it’s not really the best time or maybe even the best idea and I can see your answer already and I’m sorry, I’m sorry if this isn’t something you want. I can--I can take it back or, or something. I’ll--I’ll, I don’t know, I’ll just--”

“You’ll shut up, is what you’ll do.'' The demand is so calm it has Satori’s jaw clacking shut as he stares at Tooru. His boyfriend--maybe ex?--continues to stare at the box before slowly taking it from Satori’s still outstretched hand. He opens it slowly, stares at the ring for what feels like years, before he closes the lid and finally looks up at Satori.

There are tears in his eyes.

The information has even more panic running through Satori. He’s fucked up, he’s messed up so monumentally somehow that he knows this’ll be the death of him. He’ll remember this moment forever as the day he--

He’s being kissed. Sweetly, tenderly. Tooru has a shaking hand cupping his cheek as he tries to kiss Satori again. Maybe it takes too long for Satori’s brain to register what’s happening because then Tooru is pulling back and wiping at his eyes.

“Do you really mean this?” he whispers. He’s still holding onto the box, but all Satori can focus on are the tears building in his boyfriend’s eyes.

He nods, still too numb to speak.

And then Tooru is lurching forward, wrapping his arms around Satori’s neck in the tightest embrace they’ve probably ever shared.

“You’re a fool if you thought I’d reject you,” he whispers against Satori’s ear. He can feel tears sliding between them, but he doesn’t care. “You’re stupid, and I love you, I love you.”

“Yeah?” Satori manages to say. He pulls back from Tooru enough to look him in the eyes, despite his own vision going a little blurry.

“Of course, dummy. It’s only you.”

“Always you,” Satori mutters back, part of the saying they’ve adopted over their time together. Only you, always you. Satori always figured it’d be a limited sort of saying, and there’s still that possibility, despite a more permanent label. But he’ll take it. He’ll cherish it for as long as it lasts.

Satori pulls Tooru back in again, kissing him on the cheek before burrowing his face against the side of Tooru’s neck. He can smell his cologne, popcorn, and a little bit of sweat. He breathes in deeply, loving everything there is to love about Tooru and hoping he’ll get to love it for many more years to come.

“Happy birthday, Tooru.”

[noona-clock]

Which One? Joo Hyuk - Part 8, Final Chapter

Genre: Coffee Shop!AU

Pairing: Joo Hyuk x You

Warnings: Mild cursing

Prologue, Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, Epilogue | Words: 2,664

You were fairly sure your heart had just stopped.

Like, literally stopped. It was no longer beating because you had died of embarrassment.

“Oh my god,” you muttered after you realized it was actually you and Joo Hyuk on the Kiss Cam.

ON THE KISS CAM!

“Oh, wow,” Joo Hyuk said with a nervous chuckle.

You slumped down in your chair and hid your face with your hand, but you could see Joo Hyuk putting his own hands up and waving them slightly in front of him as if to tell the cameraman ‘nope, not today.’

A few seconds later, he murmured, “Okay, it’s gone.”

Your eyes flicked up to the screen just to be sure, and indeed, you saw another couple who had no qualms kissing each other.

“Wow, that --”

The camera cut from that couple, though, and you and Joo Hyuk came back on the screen yet again.

Cheers erupted from the audience, and you heard a group of guys in your section cry out, “Come on! Kiss!”

Traitors!

Okay, they didn’t know you and Joo Hyuk were barely dating. They didn’t know you and Joo Hyuk at all. But still. They were traitors.

You shifted uncomfortably in your seat, averting your gaze and hoping you looked as embarrassed as you felt. If the cameraman felt bad for you, maybe he would cut away quickly and move on to someone else.

Joo Hyuk, again, waved a hand and this time actually said out loud, “No, no.”

You figured your self-conscious face was no longer on the screen when you heard the crowd begin to boo. They were obviously disappointed the two of you hadn’t kissed after being shown twice now, but oh well. They could deal with it.

“All right, it’s over,” Joo Hyuk told you, though he wasn’t looking at you.

“Good grief, I don’t think I’ve ever been so embarr---”

The crowd suddenly erupted into cheers again, and they began chanting KISS KISS KISS KISS!

Oh, come on.

It couldn’t be.

But one look up at the Jumbotron confirmed your fears.

You and Joo Hyuk were up there for a third time.

“Oh, my god!” you whined in disbelief, practically doubling over as you buried your face in your hands.

You waited for Joo Hyuk to make another dispute, but instead of hearing him say anything related to the word No, you heard him mutter. “All right, come here.”

You sat up, and before you knew it, Joo Hyuk’s hands were on either side of your face.

He was leaning toward you.

And then his lips were on yours.

Unsurprisingly, the stadium filled with approving cheers, claps, and whistles. Even though probably half of the spectators were out of their seats buying food and drinks, it still felt like every single person there was watching you, applauding your kiss with Joo Hyuk.

Your first kiss with Joo Hyuk.

Hopefully not your last but definitely your first. There was no margin of error on that one.

...Oh, great. Your first kiss was in front of thousands of people. On the Kiss Cam at a sporting event.

Joo Hyuk pulled away after only a couple of seconds, but he stayed close to your face, his hands still cradling your cheeks.

“Sorry,” he whispered.

You managed to shake your head the tiniest bit, not wanting in the least to force him to take his hands away. You very much liked the warmth of his skin against your cheeks. “No, it--it’s okay,” you whispered back. “We... didn’t have much choice, it seems.”

“No, not really,” he chuckled, his breath fanning over your lips and reminding you of that ever so brief kiss.

Joo Hyuk slowly let his hands drop from your face, his fingers sliding off practically one-by-one. He leaned away from you, and a soft, nervous laugh bubbled up from your throat.

Now that the kiss was over and you were each back in your own personal spaces...

Well, you could hardly stand to look at him because you were so embarrassed.

So, after about a minute or two of just sitting there, avoiding each other’s gazes and drinking the last of your beers, you cleared your throat.

“I, uh -- I’m going to use the restroom,” you told him, barely waiting for his response before standing and heading over to the stairs.

You took this time to compose yourself and, of course, call your best friend.

“Hey, you!” Jane greeted cheerfully. “How’s it going?!”

“Well, we were on the Kiss Cam,” you told her immediately, not doing anything to hide your slight panic.

“WHAT?!”

“We didn’t do it at first, but then they came back to us -- twice. So we kissed. And now it’s really awkward.”

“Please listen to me, Y/N,” Jane pleaded. “Just tell him you feel awkward. Get it out in the open. Once you do, you can move past it or you can just both feel awkward together.”

Obviously, you didn’t want to tell him. But Jane was more experienced than you; she knew what she was talking about! And she cared about you. She would never steer you in the wrong direction willingly.

“Okay,” you breathed. “I’m going to head back, the game should be starting again soon. I’ll just tell him.”

“Good for you!”

You nodded to yourself, hoping it would help boost your confidence, and then you a murmured a ‘good-bye’ to Jane before hanging up.

The players were coming back onto the field as you jogged down the stairs to get back to your seat, and you let out a soft sigh as you plopped back down on the hard, plastic chair.

“Just in time,” Joo Hyuk grinned.

“Yep,” you replied. “Sorry, I just -- it was a little awkward after that -- you know.”

Joo Hyuk’s smile turned shy, but he nodded in agreement. “Yeah, it was. But now we can focus on the game.”

“Right, exactly!” you chuckled.

The two of you stood as the players formed their line-up on the field, and when the whistle blew to start the second half, you almost let out a very long, deep sigh of relief.

Well. You’d gotten that over with. And it had been pretty painless, too!

Thanks, Jane!

The rest of the game was uneventful comparatively. The Tigers scored two more times, so you and Joo Hyuk double-high fived two more times, and there were some pretty rough fouls, but nothing even close to the Kiss Cam Incident happened.

So, that was good!

When the final whistle blew and the horns blared to celebrate the Tigers’ win, you and Joo Hyuk cheered and clapped and were far happier and way less awkward than you had been about an hour ago.

As it is with most crowded events, pretty much everyone started leaving at the same time. You and Joo Hyuk filed out of your row and headed up the stairs with everyone else in your section, Joo Hyuk following behind you.

When you reached the main level of the stadium, the crowd got even larger, a huge mass of people moving toward the exit at the same time. You felt Joo Hyuk’s hand on your shoulder, obviously not wanting to lose you. You were extremely tempted to reach up and just take his hand...

So, you did.

You lifted your arm and put your hand over his, grasping his fingers and moving his hand from your shoulder so you could lead him back to your car.

Of course, your heart was pounding.

But he didn’t let go.

In fact, you continued to hold hands once the crowd dispersed in the parking lot. But then Joo Hyuk murmured that he was going to take off his jacket, so that was the end of it.

You almost wondered if he’d done that on purpose because holding hands had made him too uncomfortable...

Once the two of you were in the car, waiting to back out of your parking space, Joo Hyuk requested you simply take him back to The Mug.

“Ji Soo is still there, so I should probably help finish closing up,” he told you, looking at his phone screen, presumably a text message from Ji Soo.

“Oh, yeah, closing by yourself is no fun,” you remarked. You’d worked enough retail jobs to know this very well.

You managed to inch your way out of the parking lot, your conversation with Joo Hyuk shifting from the game to The Mug. You’d been wondering for a while about the origins of their cute little shop, so you finally decided to ask.

“Well,” Joo Hyuk began with a sigh. “We both grew up here, but we went to college a ways away from here, so we were there for quite a few years. We decided to open up a coffee shop because that’s just what we wanted to do. We both like coffee, I have the business brain, Ji Soo has the customer service brain -- we figured it would be perfect. We tried finding places to rent where we used to live, but there just wasn’t anything. So we both thought ‘why don’t we move back home?’. We found this space, and here we are.”

Ha! So they were new in town.

Kind of.

The point was, you’d been right about not seeing them around before. Two guys as attractive as them and a single girl like you? You would’ve known who they were, so you felt mightily vindicated to hear they had just recently moved.

“Well, I’d say you guys made the right decision. It seems like you’re doing really well,” you said, glancing over at him.

“Yeah, I think we are. We’re about to look for a part-timer, so that’s a good sign. And we’re going to pay you back for helping with our Instagram, too, don’t worry,” he assured you.

“No! Joo Hyuk, I’m serious, you don’t have to. The free drinks are more than enough. I would’ve done it for nothing.”

“Would you really have done it for nothing? Or are you just saying that to be polite?” he asked with a smirk.

“I really would have. I know stuff like that is my job, and I’m glad I do get paid, but it’s my job because it’s what I love to do.” You took a gulp before continuing on, mentally thanking Jane again for being your cheerleader. “And I like you guys. I like your shop. Any excuse to go there, I’ll take it.”

Okay, sure. It wasn’t a confession or anything, but...

“That’s good to hear,” Joo Hyuk mumbled, his grin very apparent in his voice. “You’re welcome any time.”

You pulled into The Mug’s parking lot just as you were starting to feel completely comfortable and hardly awkward at all -- of course. You and Joo Hyuk had been talking more about starting the shop, and it had turned into him telling you all these funny and embarrassing stories about being friends with Ji Soo.

It was wild how similar he was to Jane! You were pretty certain you could become really good friends with Ji Soo, especially if you and Joo Hyuk actually started dating.

“Well, here we are,” you said with a sigh as you pulled into the spot closest to the entrance. “Thanks for coming. And say ‘thank you’ to Ji Soo for covering for you.”

“I will,” Joo Hyuk chuckled. “Thanks for inviting me, I had a really good time.”

“Me, too,” you grinned.

You watched as he unbuckled his seatbelt, your heart suddenly racing because you wondered if he would lean over and kiss you.

Not only were you wondering it... you were hoping. You wanted him to.

You knew that meant you should just go ahead and do it.

But before you could say or do anything, Joo Hyuk was opening the car door and sliding out of his seat.

“Thanks again,” he said, lifting his hand in a wave as he closed the door.

You simply waved back, hoping your disappointment wasn’t showing on your face. But Joo Hyuk had already turned to head inside, so it wouldn’t even matter if it was.

You let out a sigh, and as you moved to put your car in reverse, something caught your eye.

Joo Hyuk had taken off his jacket when the two of you had been walking through the parking lot, and once he’d sat down in your car, he had put it down on the floor.

Well, he’d forgotten it.

You quickly bent to grab it, unbuckling your seatbelt and turning off your car so you could run in and give it back to him.

But as soon as you set foot outside, he was there.

He wasn’t in the shop or even on his way to the shop.

He was standing practically right in front of you.

“Oh!” you gasped, startled by his sudden appearance. “Oh, my gosh. Sorry, you -- you forgot your jacket.”

The expression on his face was quite serious, his brow furrowed earnestly as he took a few steps toward you.

“I couldn’t go inside -- I had to come back because I have to tell you something,” he said.

“...What is it?” you asked softly, your voice almost trembling.

“I like you. I’m sorry I haven’t had the nerve to say it before now, but I like you. I’ve liked you since I spilled that drink on you.”

Your heart had leaped into your throat at his words, but you still managed to smile at him and say, “I like you, too.”

This prompted Joo Hyuk to take another step toward you, and he reached out to take your hand.

“So, this was a date, right?” he asked, running his fingers over your knuckles.

You nodded.

“So... can we have a re-do on that kiss?”

“Oh, yes, definitely,” you replied with a breathy chuckle. And without missing a beat, you stood on your toes and pressed your lips to his.

Joo Hyuk let go of your hand but only so he could slide his arms around your waist, pulling you close to him. You smiled into the kiss, managing to wrap your own arms around his neck while still holding his jacket.

Speaking of...

You pulled away just slightly, letting your nose brush over his. “So, you didn’t take off your jacket as an excuse to stop holding my hand?” you whispered, smirking.

“No,” he chuckled. “I had wanted to take it off even before then because the crowd of people got too hot.”

“So you were suffering silently.”

“Yes. But no because I was holding your hand.”

A very soft laugh escaped through your lips, and you were just about to lean in for another kiss when you remembered --

“Also, I lied to you earlier,” you admitted.

“You did?” he asked, squeezing your waist. “What about?”

“Ji Soo did bug me to ask you out. And I didn’t actually have an extra ticket. I just made that up to make it easier for me to ask you.”

Joo Hyuk’s lips pulled into a grin, and he shook his head slightly. “I’m not surprised. He’s been on my case since the beginning. I knew it was only a matter of time before he moved on to you.”

“Since the beginning? What do you mean?”

“When I came back from taking you home that night, he slapped me in the back of the head for not offering to pick you up again the next morning. He’s been scolding me to be more obvious ever since,” he chuckled.

“Well, I think it’s pretty obvious now,” you replied.

“Yeah, I think so,” Joo Hyuk whispered before capturing your lips in another kiss.

Not even ten seconds later, you heard the squeak of the front door. Before you could pull away, you heard a very loud and cheerful whoop.

“Hell yeah!” Ji Soo cried, punctuating his glee with some applause. “It’s about time!”

Epilogue