#at least it’s my last final week since i graduate this friday

[poisonpercy]

Thriving off of 2 hours of sleep. I am not going to miss finals week

[mysecretlittlelibrary]

So Much To Learn

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Reader

Word Count: 4.1k

Warnings: a lot, again; Sub!Spencer and kinda mean dom reader, oral (f receiving), age gap (reader is 21), hand job/teasing, honorifics & pet names, marking a lot, p in v sex, they both talking diiiiirty, minor praise, risky sex, multiple orgasms, edging, squirting- I think I got everything??

Genre: Smut kinda fluff and like minor minor angst if you squint

Summary: You don't react well when you realize someone else is giving your professor boyfriend entirely too much of their attention

A/N: technically this is a continuation of So Much To Teach but order is arbitrary lol

Part 1< >Part 3

***

The weeks after Spencer's confession in his office are- fun to say the least. Meeting in secret, teasing him in class, it's all very exciting. With finals just around the corner now though, you're not sure what it means for the two of you. Will he be interested in establishing anything solid with you once you're out of his class? Will things continue as they are? Will he toss you aside only to replace you with another student from another class next semester? The last possibility bothers you more than you'd like to admit. You'll have to find a good time to bring it up to him soon. Between preparing for final exams or papers and Spencer's near insatiable appetite for time with you there's never a moment you want to risk ruining with what will no doubt be an awkward conversation.

There's a slight knock on the door at the back of the classroom that interrupts Spencer's lecture and your wandering mind. Everyone turns to see another professor walk into the room.

"Oh shoot. I'm so sorry Spence I- I thought your class would be over by now." Professor Greene says. She has the decency to look remorseful although you've noticed her sniffing around Spencer for a little while now so you roll your eyes to yourself.

"Oh don't worry about it Professor Greene we're just wrapping up, come on in." Spencer says kindly. "Alright guys reminder, your finals are online and are due at the end of finals week- that's Friday in two weeks' time. We're not meeting on Thursday but next Tuesday for our final meeting time together I'll be having a review session. It's not mandatory but I'll be here during our class time to answer any last minute study questions you may have. I hope to see you next week but if not good luck on all your finals, if you're graduating congratulations, enjoy your holidays, and have a good day!" Spencer dismisses the class. Usually, you'd linger to drop by his office after class but with Professor Greene about to commandeer his attention, you're not sure if you should. Still, you take your time packing up your things while listening in on their conversation.

"I really am so sorry I interrupted your lecture, Spence. I just wanted to ask about the staff meeting I missed the other day." Professor Greene says.

"Oh don't worry about it, Professor Greene but I can email you my notes from the meeting real quick." Spencer says walking over to his computer.

"I've told you a thousand times Spencer call me Ellie." She says patting his shoulder. Spencer mutters something you can barely hear as you exit the classroom. You don't catch the way his eyes trail after you for a moment before he focuses back on sending this email.

"Y/n!" Matt calls pretty much as soon as you make it out of the classroom.

"Oh, hey Lewis. What's up?"

"Was wondering if you were free to meet up sometime to do some studying for the final? Ya know that way we can help each other with things that are confusing and anything we can't figure out together- we can bring up next week during the review session."

"Ya know what that's a great idea Matt. Why don't we do Thursday- since we don't have class we can just hit the library during that time." You suggest.

"Perfect. I'll meet you at the library on Thursday then." Matt smiles, rushing ahead to catch up with some friends. You make your way to Spencer's office like you do after every class although usually you walk together. Today you sit on the bench that's a few feet from his office and wait for him while reading a book.

"Sweetheart. I was wondering where you ran off to." Spencer says when he reaches his office.

"Didn't want to interrupt. She likes you, you know."

"What?" He frowns over his shoulder at you as he unlocks his office door.

"Professor Greene. She was totally flirting with you when she came in during class." You stand up and follow him into his office.

"Was she?" He hums.

"You're telling me you didn't notice?" You scoff.

"Do you want me to notice other women flirting with me?"

"I don't care, Spencer, you're not my boyfriend-"

"Hey, that's not fair." He frowns. You know it's not, Spencer told you early on the only thing stopping him from labeling your relationship was because of how risky it is to date your professor, but you're apparently facing jealousy and it's making you mean.

"I was only saying she's being really obvious. Whether you're interested or not though, is your business. I have some studying to do so I can't stick around today but I didn't want to disappear without letting you know." You say dismissively.

"Y/n," Spencer says softly.

"I'll see you next week." You tell him, turning on your heel. You need to get your feelings under control and quickly.

"I'm not interested in her. You have to know you're the only one on my mind." Spencer says before you make it out the door. You're not even sure what to say back, so you leave without a word.

You've never considered yourself a jealous or insecure person but for some reason, Professor Greene really gets under your skin when it comes to Spencer. Maybe it's because you know it would be easier for him to date her, she's close to his age and there's no taboo surrounding that pairing. That doesn't make feeling this way any less annoying. I mean- you've been ignoring her attempts at making advances at him for the past couple of months but you think the stress of exams and final papers is exacerbating a feeling you normally wouldn't even notice. Honestly, you have entirely too much else going on to be wasting time focused on staking your claim over a man that's only yours in locked offices, empty halls, and dark rooms. You don't fight over men, if Professor Greene can 'take him from you' she can absolutely have him.

By Thursday when you meet up with Matt, you've managed to knock those ugly thoughts of Spencer and Professor Greene to the back of your head, drowning yourself in studying and paper writing. You have no problems in Spencer's class, even before you were fucking him you had an A average so his final is the least of your worries but you know a review can't hurt. You spend way longer than the length of a class studying with Matt, he's a good student which appears to come with great effort on his part. He goes over things in such depth you're actually a little impressed and for a moment there you wonder what it would be like to pick the easy lover. Matt's kind, and attractive, and it would be much less complicated, no sneaking around- well maybe a bit but it would be for fun, not out of necessity. He'd walk you to class holding your hand, and kiss you on the quad, you'd probably adopt his whole friend group, they're athletes whose girlfriends always seem to be adored by all of them. It would be nice, it would be sweet. If things with Spencer do end at the end of the term you'll seriously consider falling for Matt. The version of reality where you end up with him sounds good. If only you'd realized it before Spencer caught your eye so severely. Would things be different? Would you be holding Matt's hand across the table right now? Sitting next to each other in class? Having him over to study late into the night until you'd have him just stay over because you don't want him to leave so late? It seems silly to spend so much time dwelling on a world that you gave up months ago. You blame it on the stress of the end of a semester.

When Tuesday rolls around you go to the review session knowing you don't actually have any questions but maybe someone will ask one you didn't think of that will come in handy. There are not that many people here for the review, some kids from other sections for sure, but still only maybe 20 of you in total. Spencer tries a number of times to catch your attention while he answers questions to gauge how you're feeling but you don't give anything away on your face. That is until Professor Greene walks in about halfway through the review session.

"Hi Spence! Sorry to interrupt, I know you're reviewing for finals and stuff but I ordered a sandwich for lunch and they gave me 2? I just thought I'd offer you one." She smiles as she scurries to the front of the room. Spencer catches the wry smile that just barely cracks your poker face for a moment and he's almost nervous to address Professor Greene.

"Oh- I appreciate it Professor Greene but I brought lunch, I always do. Perhaps Mike would like it if he's on campus? I know he usually buys food at the student center for lunch." He offers. Graceful rejection. Hopefully enough to keep you happy and put off his coworker at the same time. You make a point to not react outwardly but you do notice his choice to call her Professor Greene while calling another professor in the building Mike despite her giggling request last week to call her by her first name.

"Mike?" She blinks at him.

"Yeah he's- probably doing some grading in his office upstairs." Spencer smiles. "Anyone have any other questions for me?" He turns his attention back to the small group of students who mostly seem ready to leave after watching the exchange.

"The exam is a combination of multiple choice and short answer right?" A woman asks.

"Correct, just like your exams in class." He nods. "It- seems like we've covered all your questions guys so, I think it's okay for us to wrap this up a bit early yes?" Spencer asks. Professor Greene is still in the room but Spencer avoids her gaze diligently as the class murmurs affirmatives.

"Spence before you head off can I speak to you for a moment?" Professor Greene asks quietly while the rest of the room is busy packing up their things.

"Of course." He answers reluctantly. "Miss y/n, don't go far I have an assignment of yours I'd like to discuss in my office." Spencer tells you before you can even stand up.

"Sure prof." You drawl resisting the urge to roll your eyes.

"Look Spencer the sandwich was- a decoy. I mean they did give me an extra that I wanted to offer you but it was really an excuse to ask you something else." Professor Greene's tone is hushed as you and a few others are still milling about the room.

"Oh- well what is it?" Spencer asks though his gaze shifts to you every so often. You who sits so seemingly unbothered waiting for him, chewing gum, tapping away on your phone, not even looking their way although your ears are definitely paying attention.

"I'm having a little faculty get-together and I wanted to invite you personally."

"What, like going out for drinks?"

"Yeah exactly! Will you be there?"

"Uh- email me the details and I'll let you know."

"Awesome! I really hope to see you there Spence." She places her hand on his arm and he quickly walks over to his satchel to escape the touch.

"I'll- see what I can do." He mutters. "Is that all? I don't want to keep y/n waiting all afternoon."

"Y/n?" She frowns.

"My student? The only person in the room. Who I asked to wait up when I dismissed everyone?" Spencer frowns at her.

"Right! I guess I forgot. One track mind sometimes." She waves off with a giggle. How unnecessarily dismissive.

"Y/n. My office. Ready to go?" He turns his attention to you without even addressing her comment.

"Whenever you're done." You shrug.

"That would be now."

"Alright. Let's go." You stand up and exit the class before him.

"I'll see you at the gathering Spencer." Professor Greene says as he follows you out. You don't say anything as you walk down the halls with Spencer trailing behind. He thinks he handled that well but he can't tell. It's like you're being hard to read on purpose. He unlocks his office door and lets you inside before him, shutting it behind him.

"Look I-"

"I think you should go." You tell him first.

"What?"

"To her little get together. I think you should go." You shrug.

"You do?" He frowns which deepens when you nod. "Why?" He asks.

"It's good for you to socialize with your coworkers." You offer noncommittally.

"You're in a better mood about her today than you were last week." He says carefully.

"Is the door locked?" You ask him.

"What?"

"To your office. Did you lock the door?"

"Oh- yes. I always lock-"

"Yes is sufficient." You say sitting in his office chair.

"Sweetheart, talk to me, what's-" He stops when you hold up one of your hands.

"Spencer, drop to your knees." You say.

"What?" He blinks at you.

"It's a very simple instruction, I would expect a man with as many degrees as you hold would be able to understand a 4-word command."

"I understood it fine I just-"

"Then why are you still standing? If you understood it Spencer do it. I want you on your knees. Now." You cross your arms. Spencer slowly, unsurely, lowers himself to his knees, still by the door to his office. "That's better. Come over to me. And just so we're clear you'll have to crawl." Spencer bends and shuffles over to you on his hands and knees, gaze pointed at the carpet in his office. You've discussed the possibility of him giving up control a number of times but this is not how he expected today to go. When he's by your side you lift his chin up to force his eyes to yours. "Finals week starts in two days Spence, I've got three papers and two exams to think about. I don't have time to worry about if you're going to behave or not." You tell him.

"I-"

"Choose your next words very carefully baby they might just ruin your day." You warn him.

"I would never misbehave darling. My loyalties are to you." He says softly.

"Are you willing to prove that?" You ask.

"However you ask me to." He says immediately.

"I like that answer." You hum. You tug your dress over your head and drop it on his desk. "You can start by removing my panties with your teeth." You tell him. "Just your teeth. I want your hands behind your back." You add. Spencer shuffles forward and tugs at your underwear with his teeth. You move only when absolutely necessary to help but he gets them off after a few moments and holds them between his lips, looking at you for further instructions. "Good boy professor." You pull them from his mouth and drop them on the desk beside your dress. "You'll need your mouth free for this next bit." You say threading your fingers into his hair. "Your loyalties are with me you said?"

"Of course princess." Spencer's reply is breathy.

"Hm- no, not princess. Today you can call me mistress or your queen. I'll let you choose but only between those two. Anything else will get you in trouble and- today is not the day to get in trouble."

"O-okay, My Queen."

"Good. And as for proving your loyalties, you can begin with your head between my thighs, let's see how loyal you are." You spread your legs and tug at his hair still in your hand hard enough to shove his face directly into your center. Spencer is quick to react, his tongue laps up your juices as eagerly as you'd expect. He will regularly spend ages between your legs when he can just because he enjoys tasting you so much. Your back arches as he thrusts his tongue into your pussy feverishly. "Yeah, oh fuck, keep going. Show me- show me your devotion." You moan out as you grind against his mouth. Spencer groans into you as you pull at his hair. His tongue curls inside you just barely brushing against that spongy patch and you have to bite your lip to keep from squealing when he does. Spencer's nose nudges at your clit as he focuses his tongue on your inner walls until your legs stiffen around his ears. When that happens he drags his tongue up to your clit and focuses his attention there, wrapping his lips around the bundle of nerves and sucking on it while his tongue lashes it with figure 8s. You almost scream when your orgasm crashes into you, fingers tightening in his hair and your back coming off the chair as you ride the waves of your release. "Don't- don't stop Spence. Fuck- keep sucking my clit." You pant out. Your eyes squeeze shut at the almost painful stimulation, but you want a second orgasm from him before you let him up for air and you plan to get it. You swallow your whines from those first few moments of post-orgasmic overstimulation and force Spencer further into your heat, practically smooshing his face against you. Your moan when overstimulation gives way to pure pleasure again is enough to have Spencer clenching his fists as more blood rushes to his already painfully hard dick. It fills him with a new level of determination as he sharpens the movements of his tongue against you. Your second orgasm builds quickly, and within a few minutes, you're shaking again, this orgasm covering Spencer's face and even squirting onto his shirt. You pull his hair harshly enough to move him away from you as you take a few deep breaths. Spencer sits panting, covered in your juices, pupils blown so wide there's no trace of his hazel-colored irises. "Look at what a mess you are." You hum. "You look pretty like this."

"Thank you- mistress." His voice is hoarse.

"Strip and sit on the couch. You can walk this time." You tell him. He stands, though a little unsteadily, and walks over to the loveseat, taking off his shirt and then his pants before sitting down with his gaze trained on you. You take your time standing from his chair and walking over to him, detouring to grab your jacket that you'd tossed over your backpack upon entry. You won't put the dress back on for now, having totally soaked your lover you have no interest in walking out of here in a damp dress, but your leather jacket will be fine. Spencer watches you with rapt attention as you finally approach him, his dick is an angry looking red flopped against his stomach and his whole body is tense. You drag a finger across his thigh and then up the length of his dick, slowly, reveling in the way he jolts at the contact.

"P-please." He gasps out.

"Please what Spencer?" You tilt your head at him.

"I- I need you to do something my queen I can't- it hurts."

"Do something? I'm already touching you. You need more?"

"Yes mistress, please." Spencer's head is tossed back against the couch as you trace the veins along his dick lazily.

"You're a greedy thing." You hum.

"Please mistress- please my queen I need- god please sit on my dick. Need it so bad- need you. I can't- can't help it." Spencer grips the cushions beneath him tightly, desperately trying not to squirm under your touch.

"Only because you beg very cutely." You tell him swinging your leg over to straddle him. You grip the base of his dick in your hand and lower yourself onto him with a satisfied hum while he lets out a guttural sound that makes your walls clench around him.

"Oh god thank you, my queen. thank you, thank you. You feel so good." Spencer pants out. You brace yourself using his shoulders and set your rhythm, bouncing on his dick quickly.

"Spencer, you're not allowed to cum until I say so." You tell him, grabbing his face to make sure he's listening.

"O-okay mistress. Of course mistress." He nods frantically.

"Fuck Spence this is what you're good for, this is where you belong. Filling me with your pretty little cock, covered in my squirt, you're mine aren't you baby?" You huff as you ride him furiously.

"Yes my queen yes. I'm yours. Just yours. Only you get to use me, touch me, take me. Only you make me feel so good." Spencer groans. You feel his body tense up under you and slow your pace almost to a stop.

"Not yet Spence." You mutter sweetly kissing his neck. You stay there for a few moments, grinding against him as you take some time to litter his throat with hickeys of various sizes some of which are quite dark as well. Dark enough that you're sure he'll have them through finals week. When you're satisfied with the marks covering him you pick up your pace again and his small whimpers from your lips against his skin turn to full-blown moans again. "This time Spencer you can cum, but you ask first." You tell him. He nods at your instruction and while you should scold him for not using his words you'll let it slide considering how close you know he is. He barely manages a few minutes before he's stuttering out his request.

"C-can I mistress please can I cum?" He pants out frantically.

"Good boy. Yes you can." You chuckle airily at the relief on his face when you give him permission. You keep pace until heat spills into you at which point your hips slam down harder against him even when he begins hissing from overstimulation.

"M-my queen I- too sensitive w-wait."

"I said you could cum baby but I didn't say I'd be done with you. Today you're my toy and I'll use you as long as I want. So be good and let me play." You say, letting yourself relish in the feeling of filling yourself over and over, even as his release leaks out of you and makes his thighs sticky. You moan in surprise when Spencer's dick hardens again inside you. "Oh- fuck. Well aren't you just the perfect plaything- eager to keep your queen happy."

"I- I- yes mistress." He whines. You ride him for a while longer, taking all he has to give and then some. He fills you two more times before you're satisfied and you make sure you have a couple more releases of your own by the time you're climbing off of his completely spent dick. You walk carefully over to his desk and grab his pack of wet wipes before walking back over to him, cleaning up the utter mess around his thighs. If he didn't look so exhausted you'd have him clean the mess on your thighs with his tongue, but right now you think if you asked Spencer to do anything else he'd simply collapse, so you take a few wipes to clean up yourself once you're done with him.

"You were very good today Spencer. I'd say you more than proved your devotion." You tell him with a gentle kiss.

"You're mean when you're jealous." He chuckles breathlessly.

"So are you professor." You tap his nose and stand to dress yourself. You pick his clothes up from the floor and lay them on the arm of the chair for whenever he gets the energy to stand and dress himself. You find his lunch and set it out for him on the table as well while you're at it.

"Are you leaving?" He asks, barely able to focus.

"Well- I do have some studying to do. Will you be okay? Do you want me to stay?" You ask. You won't leave him if he's going to drop but you've set up food, cleaned him up, and made sure he knows he did well.

"I- I don't want Professor Greene you know." He mumbles.

"I know, that's why I think you should go to her gathering. With all those pretty marks on your neck, she'll surely get the hint." You say. You bend over and gently brush some hair from his eyes. "You make me feel so territorial." You mutter.

"I'm sorry." He pouts.

"It's not your fault, it's unavoidable but- I don't like hiding you." You say.

"I don't like hiding you either." Spencer takes your hand in his. You pause for a moment and sigh.

"Do you want me to stay with you, Spence?" You ask brushing your thumb against the back of his hand.

"Can you spare the time?" He asks.

"Sure. But at some point, we should talk about what the end of the semester means for us." You say. Spencer sits up and you sit on the couch letting him rest his head in your lap.

"When you finish all your finals I have a question for you." He slurs a bit through his declaration.

"Why not just ask me now?"

"I want your head clear." You can barely make it out, he's obviously falling asleep, your fingers against his scalp lulling him too quickly. You're still high off adrenaline now, not quite ready to sleep but you know you'll feel the effects of this later. Good thing tomorrow is study day and you can get away with not leaving your apartment.

***

A/N: I was gonna post this on Friday but I’m posting it early as a thank you for all the love on part 1 already 🖤

[tortoisebore]

more than enough (aka hey, sharpshooter sequel) sneak peek 🤲

since i'm not posting any of this until it's all written and i have absolutely no idea when that will be, i wanted to give u all the first 1,700ish words of the first chapter of part 2 to hold us all over <3

Sirius was in a surprisingly good mood. 

He really shouldn’t be, all things considered. New York was at the tail end of a sweltering heat wave, for one—hot, humid August air rippled in wavy mirages off the streets, and the tiny window unit in his apartment didn’t do shit against the evening sun, and the bridge of his nose was still pink from a particularly long afternoon walk around Central Park last weekend, but nevertheless, he was in a very, very good mood. Maybe it was good karma finally coming back around, or the universe had woken up one morning and decided it was done fucking with him. After the shit show that had been his last semester of college—the entire eight months since January, really—he figured he deserved it. 

“Iced Americano for Sirius!”

He darted through the sullen little crowd assembled around the pickup counter as the barista slid his drink forward in a plastic to-go cup. He popped on a lid and grabbed a paper straw with practiced speed, maneuvered his way back to the entrance and called out a quick “thanks” as he threw his shoulder into the door and raced off in the direction of the museum. 

After graduation, he’d wormed his way into an internship at a modest little contemporary art museum tucked away on a shady street in the West Village. The pay was shit and the busy work was worse, but he’d been offered a full time apprenticeship after the intern contract expired, and since he wasn’t exactly in a position to be turning down jobs in the industry, he’d enthusiastically accepted. It would be a great first gig, if nothing else—he’d be working under a mid-level curator, sourcing pieces, filing paperwork, and arguing with estates over pricing and displays and whose name would be biggest on the programs. It wasn’t glamorous by any means, but it was real, and it would get his foot in the door of the curation world, and that’s what mattered. 

To close out the summer, the museum had been hosting guest seminars all week for the dozen or so interns on staff. Most were at least mildly interesting, but it was Friday, and Sirius had quite magnificent plans for the weekend, so he was putting a hell of a lot of faith in this singular iced Americano to pull him through the next two hours of the last seminar.

His usual coffee shop around the corner was rarely busy, but today he’d gotten stuck behind a group of suits each ordering individual lattes and ended up cutting it a bit closer on time than he'd have liked. He skipped up the flight of stone steps at the front of the museum and checked his phone—he had four entire minutes to spare, thank god—and was just about to tuck it back away when it began vibrating in his hand.

He glanced at it again, gave a happy little hum and threw open the lobby door as he answered.

“Oh, hello.” 

Remus gave a quiet little laugh on the other line, and oh, wasn’t that the most perfect little addition to an already especially wonderful afternoon? “Oh, hi,” he echoed. “You sound chipper.”

“Why, of course I do. It’s Friday afternoon and I have an ice cold coffee in my hand, Remus. The world is blossoming before my very eyes.” 

“Wow. Good day?” 

“Very. Yours?”

“Not a single complaint.”

Sirius hummed fondly. He slowed to a stop in the hallway outside the theater room, turning towards the wall so he wouldn’t be caught grinning to himself. “Are we turning into optimists?” 

Remus tutted. “God, I really hope not.”

Sirius bit back a smile, tapped the toe of his shoe against the marble baseboards and pulled his phone away from his ear just enough to check the time. “I truly do hate to cut this short, but you’ve got about two and a half minutes before I’m supposed to be in this seminar.”

He heard shuffling on the other line, a muffled curse, and then Remus’ voice came from further away. “Shit—it’s already three?” 

“Mhm,” he hummed around his straw. “Don’t tell me you’re about to be late to class, you heathen.”

“I forgot to set an alarm,” Remus huffed. “I keep severely underestimating how much time it’s going to take me to get through these global rhetoric readings.”

Sirius grimaced. “Hey, one more week, and then it’s goodbye, global rhetoric forever.”

“If the final doesn’t kill me first.”

“You’ll do great, you big old nerd,” Sirius chided. “I’ll help you study this weekend if you want. Run some flash cards, try some interrogation-style quizzing…”

“Interrogation style?” Remus repeated amusedly, his voice closer to the phone again.

“I’m thinking a good old-fashioned flashlight to the forehead might do the trick.”

“Depending on how the review goes today, I might just take you up on that.”

Sirius glanced behind him as a couple of the other interns wandered into the theater room, checking the time again to be safe. “You’re coming to me tonight, right?” 

“Yeah, I’ll be over after class,” Remus replied. Sirius heard some shuffling, then keys jingling in the background. “That’s actually why I wanted to try and catch you before your seminar—do you have anything to make at home or do you want me to grab something on the way?”

“Oh, my hero,” Sirius gushed. “Yes, please grab something—get whatever you want. I don’t care as long as I don’t have to attempt to cook anything.”

“Hey, you did really good with dinner last week,” Remus offered kindly. “I went back for seconds, remember?”

Sirius hummed a flat note. “You’re biased, darling. Your opinion can’t be trusted.” 

“I’d tell you if it was bad.”

“I really, really don’t think you would.” 

Remus hesitated. “I mean…well. Maybe not. But I definitely wouldn’t have gone back for seconds if it was that bad.”

“Well, it’s your turn next, and I’m expecting opulence after last time, Lupin. I want nothing short of fine dining.” 

“Oh, god,” Remus tutted. “I really should have done something easy and kept your expectations low.” 

“At this rate you’ll be a full fledged chef by Christmas.”

“Well, tonight you’re getting something cheap and most likely dumped out of a paper box. No opulence allowed on a Friday.”

“Deal,” Sirius smiled. He snuck another look into the theater room, spotted a deck of slides thrown up on the projector, and sighed reluctantly. “I have to get in there in the next twenty seconds.”

“Okay,” Remus sighed back. Sirius heard a door shut and lock and imagined he was leaving his apartment for class. “I’ll text you when I leave school.”

“Can’t wait.”

“Have fun,” Remus smiled. “Love you.”

Sirius’ stomach fluttered. He couldn’t believe it was still doing that, all these months later, but it was a surprisingly frequent occurrence these days. 

“Love you, too.”

He allowed himself five seconds to goon grin down at his phone after hanging up, to admire the newest in a lovely series of photos of the two of them he’d chosen for this week’s lock screen, and then turned on his heel and slipped into the theater room just as his supervisor began introducing the guest.

His usual seat in the second-to-last row was taken, so Sirius slid into one in the back with only a half-hearted little huff. If it were last month—last week, even—he might have put up a bit more of a fuss about losing his unassigned-assigned seat to a rando from the marketing team, but not today. No; today was Friday, Remus was bringing home something greasy and delicious for dinner, and Sirius couldn’t be bothered to be anything but ecstatic for the weekend. He took several long sips of his coffee when the slides at the front of the room flipped to a rundown of the talk—digital curatorial practices in contemporary media landscapes, how very tantalizing for a Friday afternoon—and settled in with a goal to stay at least a little awake for the next two hours.

The speaker—a short, middle-aged man with a vaguely northeastern accent—took off on his introduction, and something about the monotone drone of his voice sent Sirius drifting off into his thoughts nearly instantly. He fiddled with a chip on the back of his phone case for a moment before giving in and flipping it over. The photo from the weekend before waiting on the lock screen really was particularly swoon-worthy; what had started out as a double date picnic in Central Park with James and Lily had turned into an hours-long stroll around the reservoir that left Sirius and Lily sunburnt, James with an infuriatingly perfect tan, and Remus with about a hundred more freckles than he’d started the day with. The four of them had eventually parked it beneath the shade of a line of trees, sprawling out on the thin, brightly-colored woven blankets Lily had brought and savoring the warmth of the late evening sun. Sirius had been feeling especially fond, what with the smattering of new freckles dotted along the bridge of Remus’ nose, and the golden light of the sunset was practically glowing on his skin, so he’d tossed his phone to Lily and demanded she take a new photo for his lock screen. 

The impromptu little shoot had produced several pictures that Sirius loved—one of the adorable, disgruntled scrunch of Remus’ nose as Sirius coaxed him up from his lounging on the grass, another of him carefully pulling Sirius’ sunglasses off and perching them on the top of his head, and this one, his favorite, of himself raised on his knees, pressed up against Remus’ back with his arms thrown around his shoulders, pressing a smiley kiss to his cheekbone. Sirius studied the photo and recalled the warmth of Remus’ skin, the surprised, breathy little laugh he’d let loose and the feel of his hand slipping around the back of Sirius’ neck, tugging him forward and craning his head back to press one, then two quick kisses to his lips. 

A series of bright, fluttery feelings took off on a twirl somewhere beneath his ribs, pulsed warm and sugar sweet under his skin and made him bite back a smile. Sirius took a long, contented breath in and savored it. 

Not so long ago, these quiet little moments of fondness were few and far between. However much he’d tried to convince himself otherwise at the time, Sirius had spent a good chunk of the spring with a heavy pit of anxiety in his stomach, entirely positive that his and Remus’ relationship was one more unresolved, petty fight and a couple of strained silences away from shattering for good. They’d started it off strong, but that last semester in Boston was hard in ways that neither of them were prepared for.

[3v3ry0n3z-fav3-al13n-x3]

Addressing my (already deleted) posts from recent weeks. + Other stuff

I know I keep apologizing for one thing or another, but recently I've made multiple posts that have made lot of my followers and just people who have stumbled upon them in general extremely concerned for me and people around me, and that was for a good reason. And for that I want to apologize.

I've made multiple posts talking about my thoughts and desires to physically harm and even take away lives from my classmates and the students in my school in general. I want to say that I haven't done anything nor had the actual courage to do anything like that, neither to anyone around me or myself, and that those words only came from the bottling up rage and hate I've had for years.

I've been verbally and sometimes even physically bullied pretty much since I started 1st grade of school, and it only got worse and worse each year, especially after I came out as a trans guy and got into the whole scene, emo and alternative fashion in general at around 8-9th grade. It got so bad to the point where I changed schools.

After I transitioned to the new school, it actually felt much better and more pleasant there than my old school, that was so in the beginning at least. After some time I started getting bullied again, some kids even started insulting me as Satan which didn't even happen in my old school, and even when I tried dressing more "basic" the bullying didn't stop. Not only that but my class started bothering me too. They started asking me icky and uncomfortable questions about my identity, they kept making homophobic, sexist, racist etc "jokes", one of them turned out to be a literal neo-nazi, I couldn't say a word without one of the guys making a dumb comment towards me or mocking me, and no one seemed to take me actually seriously when I was upset.

I noticed that it was starting to get worse on my new school than in my old school, because at least I felt safe in my old class, which was no longer the case in my new one.

That's when I sort of snapped, and all that bottled up rage and hate spilled out into these posts. I've felt nothing but rage these last weeks

I deleted those posts out of shame. I'm now aware I shouldn't have made these posts public, or even had those violent thoughts in the first place. I am sorry to everyone I have alarmed and concerned. Like I said, I haven't acted upon these thoughts and I never will, no one was harmed in any way.

Thankfully I've had a chance to calm down and relax, since I've gotten a whole week off school after talking to a teacher about everything that's been happening. I can finally think straight and I'm so relieved.

I'm actually done with all of our final exams and I'll be finally graduating this Friday! I honestly can't wait. After 10 years of pure hell that's been only getting worse each year, I'll hopefully be finally able to catch a break I desperately need.

After the graduation party I'll most likely reblog this with an update post, saying how the party went and all that.. and I'll also talk about my exciting plans after graduation! :3

I definitely won't miss my school years after graduating.

[djchik]

FINALLY MY TRUE YUUSONA !!! (Only sketch for now until I get my stuff together)

after 3-4 years I finally make one that mirrors me !!! (Pushes the 5 Yuusonas I made in the past four years into a closet)

!!!!!!

Meet DJ-Yuu !!!! Not her real name obviously but you only get one shot at a new life so why not make the most of it and make a silly name :p

More info on her bellow if anyone interested

Dj-Yuu is 17. She is 173cm tall (about 5’6.9)

Her homeland in earth is Palestine and Puerto Rico. She’s not half half, more of 3/4 Palestinian and 1/4 Puerto Rican. She knows a little Spanish but is well known with Arabic since that’s her mothers tongue (Spanish was her fathers language)

Birthday June 1st

When she got transported to twst she was on her way to her general Chem lecture class in college. She was walking from the college library to her class when she got…well…sent to nrc from the carriage.

Wait how is she taking college classes while 17? Well in the US they let high schoolers (sometimes middle schoolers) take college classes for free while still taking highschool classes. It’s a real juggling struggle between hs and college but dj-Yuu managed. She started taking college classes when she was 15 so for two almost three years, she got all the credits she needed and was going to graduate with her associates degree! One semester left of college then wohooo!!! Graduating with a degree before graduating from highschool!!

And yay!! One last year of highschool. Senior time and privileges let’s gooo!!! Finally Jean fridays and senior parking!!

But aw shucks. Twst world here she goes.

When she realized she has to redo all these classes again and has to be a freshman all over again she was like “aw shucks. Bruhhhh”

Then she just accepted fate cause at least she gets a redo over and this time she can put more effort in maintaining her gpa as a 4.0

She does have a bad habit of bawling her eyes out when confronted but that usually happens if she gets confronted after weeks of bottling up her feelings and problems.

Sometimes she even lashes out with lots of attitude at the wrong person/level she didn’t need to be at.

She feels guilty and apologizes while giving a homemade a gift for forgiveness.

Dj-Yuu also has bad attachment issues. The first night at ramshackle she cried because she realized she can’t live independently and that she misses her parents.

She’s just a mama and babas girl 🥲👍

Missing her parents and siblings and some family members.

She almost cried in heartslyabul (the part when Trey was showing off his unique magic) she asked if it would work with wanting foods tasting like someone’s cooking. She was going to cry while asking the question but held it in. He it caught off guard by that question but when he hit her with “pardon?” She says nevermind and chocked back her tears cause it was foolish of her to ask.

She had some moments here and there where she almost cried but held it in.

She kept it so the only one who saw and heard her cry was Grim and the ghosts of Ramshackle from her first night after the ceremony.

But then this changed when she cried infront of Kalim and Jamil at scarabia chapter. Her tasting Jamils cooking tasted similar almost replica of her mothers cookie. The fact that it was a middle eastern food made it worse for her trying to hold her emotions back. The reason is because

Jamils cooking = land of hot sands food = middle eastern food = homeland/country food = mamas cooking = miss mama and home country.

So she started crying (didn’t make much noises but she kept stuffing her mouth ) trying to feel better and finish the food quickly so she can excuse herself to the restroom.

When Jamil and Kalim told her she can eat more, they knew she felt really homesick especially when it was winterbreak and she saw everyone going home to their families.

After that day and jamils overblot, they told her that she can visit them and eat their food whenever she wants.

That’s why I’m pomefiore chapter, when Jamil made knefa, she was so excited to eat it but when Vil took it away she got so sad but Jamil reassured her. Telling her that he can give her some the next day during lunch.

DEPRESSING STUFF ASIDE AKDNDKDNDJD

She carries around a skeleton hand with her. As a Muslima, she can’t touch boys or men with Grim and the ghosts and school nurse being an exception. But being in nrc, an all boys school has her in a “bruh, even shaytan is confused” mood (guys I’m joking to hit me for this comment 🙏)So she uses the skeleton hand to sometimes hit Ace or Deuce playfully or if they wanted to lead her somewhere, they can use that as a pretend of her hand.

(help she found the hand in one of the ramshackle rooms is it real? Maybe)

She also sometimes ties a cloth around her wrist and one of the twst boys wrist incase she doesn’t have her skeletons hand with her. (If they wanted to lead her somewhere or something. Idk. She finds a way to not touch them on accident. Can’t anger Allah :(

That’s why during the Vdc camping she was like “wtf Crowley????” 💀 but powered through with it. The ghost of ramshackle and grim were guards when she needed to shower or change etc 😤

Whenever she wants to hand something to someone, she always holds the item by the edge to prevent touching their hands on accident. Or if the time is small, she would drop it into their hands. (I can draw this if anyone is confused about it^^ I tend to do this a lot too at my school when I can’t hand it to a girl to hand to the boy who the thing is supposed to go to ) :p

I think that’s all skdnsjdnsjd when I do her red properly I’ll reblog this post with it :D

Feel free to send an inbox for an questions or clarifactions!!! (Plsssss my inbox is collecting cobwebs rn)

[celestialiron]

Echoes of Courage: Chapter 1

After much consideration (asking from you guys here!) & my best friends also telling me to "stop being a little bitch & post it!" (with all of their love lol) I'm going to be updating my story here too! I posted the link to the prologue since it ties in with the story too! I'll still be posting chapters to my AO3 for my story too, it'll be paused until I catch up to both here & AO3! Finally, it's my OCs time to shine!

But without further adieu, here's chapter 1 of my story!

WARNING: Everyone in the story are all adults (unless there's a flashback then I will mention it)! As well as a lot of harsh language, suggestive themes, violent scenes, and other triggering moments that will progress throughout the story (which will also be warned beforehand). So minors & TCEST shippers, DNI. Please be respectful of not only myself & my story, but also of each other. Be kind to one another.

Summary: This is a story of love, lost, family, friends and trying to get a hold of everything being thrown at them. This will be a tale for the people involved, but with the help of loved ones and getting to trust one another, they're hoping that everything will be put to an end once and for all...

The day started like any other Friday for a senior college student: stressed and tired. Izra Montague sure knew how to handle it, especially with all the classes as a senior music student who took so many credits to graduate on time with her college friends and start up her career. ‘Oh lord, it’ll be from today, 2 weeks until graduation and I don’t even know what to do for it,’ thought Izra, arm over her eyes as she lay in her bed, mind still blown as she found out she’s able to walk and graduate on time and hadn’t even thought of anything to do for herself. The amount of graduation parties from her close college friends were able to help her decide if she even wanted one or not, but still going to theirs. Deciding to do something more productive, Izra sat up from her bed, checked the time to see if she had enough time to make something to eat before her class. The clock read 12:00pm , to which she proceeded to get something quick to eat before her class. While getting dressed, deciding to wear dark blue jeans with regular van shoes with a plain black strapped shirt, wearing a flannel over it, Izra checked her phone for any messages from school, friends, whichever she can see first. The first thing she read was from the group chat with her friends April O’Neil and the Hamato brothers. Smiling while reading the text messages, Izra groaned as the group continued to ask whether she was going to have a graduation party or not. 

LoserLeo: can you please make up your mind for once, Izz-Bizz? This will only happen once in a lifetime if we don’t celebrate your day! :( 

Don-Bot: I mean if we really want to be technical-

Razz_Mikey: yeah, what Leo said! WE’LL PLAN EVERYTHING LIKE WE DID FOR APRIL’S GRAD PARTY

April’sNews: Well, let’s double think about that now, ESPECIALLY from that grad party :o

BigBearRaphie: I agree, we don’t want a repeat of certain people getting so drunk they don’t even remember they were calling their boyfriend, RIGHT LEO?

LoserLeo: HEY, WE AGREED TO NEVER SPEAK OF THAT OR MY EX!

Laughing at the last message that was sent in the chat, Izra started typing out her response, hoping it’ll calm the fire that will be set to burn someone soon. With the last message sent, Izra left her place and went off to class.

MysteryIzzie: thank you for bringing it up, I thought I was going to be the one to do the job, but thanks Raph! xD

MysteryIzzie: BUUUUUUT I will let you guys know AT LEAST an idea soon, I promise you all that! :) I’ll talk to you guys later, gonna head to class!

Meanwhile, the four Hamato brothers were up at the lair, all sitting in the projection room trying to plan what to do for their friend. “I mean, how bad would it be if we planned something soooort of similar to what we did for April’s party?” Leo suggested, trying to at least get the ball rolling if Izra was going to be indecisive. All three brothers glared at Leo, Donnie speaking up, “out of the question! We’re not going to be dealing with any repercussions to your dum-dum exes or booty calls if you get too drunk again and start making calls!” Glaring at him, Leo tried to say something (most likely the lines of ‘ it won’t and you guys need to stop bringing it up!’ ) Mikey exclaimed, very excitedly, “WE CAN DO A HUGE GROUP PARTY!” looking over at Mikey, who suddenly brought in a white board (most likely taken from Donnie’s lab, to which he was not too happy about), and started planning out ideas. “We don’t necessarily need to do single parties for everyone, when we can just combine it for everyone to enjoy! And this will be good for Izzie to meet more people than just her college friends, April, and us!” Once finishing up what he was writing, he showed a very large timeline of various names and in the middle read * PARTY* in huge letters and circled multiple times following it. Looking at the board, Raph was the one to speak first, “well, while this is nice and all Mikey, don't you think they should all at least, I don't know, meet each other first? Like what April did before? Also, Alexis can’t come that Saturday, she starts her new job soon and always has Saturdays to work.” A little saddened by the news, Raph gave Mikey a reassuring pat on the shoulders, smiling while staying positive for him, “you know she’ll want us to have it anyways bud, besides what you got going looks great!” With a nod, they all continued on, deciding who could come and who couldn’t come.

While figuring it out, with now the help from April who came over about an hour after they were still planning it out. It seemed perfect, however a couple of them were still a bit on the defensive side on whether Izra should meet with these other people earlier or not. “I’m just saying, we all know how Val is, I think it should be a first meeting at least with her of all people!” Leo exclaimed, already knowing how one of his other best friends was going to react to meeting new people, especially those she really didn’t know. Groaning in agreement, April dejected, “hey, maybe this will be a good exercise for her too! She’s got to be better at meeting new people! ALSO CONTROL ONE OF YOUR SUPPOSED “BESTIE” THEN LEO!” “Awe Apes, no one could replace youuuu!” Leo said, trying to get April to hug him, knowing she was joking about the last bit. Rolling his eyes, Donnie brought up a good point to them all, “well, as you should know too, Kira, Ruka and Valeria are long time friends so if anyone should also be able to “handle” her, it’s the both of them too. Especially since Ruka was nice enough to agree to this idea in the first place.” Nodding their heads in agreement, Leo smirked, deciding to mess with his twin, “awe see, they’re not even together and he still chooses Kira over us,” was said while chuckling, Raph and Mikey joining him about Donnie’s very much obvious crush on Kira while April sighed, patting Donnie’s battle-shell before letting him decide if he should kill his brothers or not. “You better sleep with one eye open Nardo, I know just how to mix specific herbal flowers with tea. You can thank Kira for that too,” Donnie growled, going on the defense about Kira (absolutely trying to block out his feelings at the moment). Making Leo swallow his saliva quietly before returning to the board, “ any-who , so it looks like we got ourselves the final people who could actually make it! Now the next step: asking them if they could or not,” with that in mind, all 5 were on the mission to get everyone ready to meet each other for the first time in such a huge setting.

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

Later that day, Izra was heading out to a coffee shop before meeting up with April and the guys, needing some caffeine after the day of classes, glad it was the weekend to spend a break with friends. ‘Man, I can’t wait to hear what the guys had planned, almost had to turn off my phone so I wouldn’t get distracted in class.” Thought Izra, while waiting on her mocha frappe from the cafe she loved coming to since she started school. Thanking the cashier for the drink, she started to head out, deciding to sit at one of the tables that just sits closely by the cafe to catch up on missed messages and any assignments to work on. While mindlessly scrolling through her phone, Izra wasn’t made aware of someone looking at her, almost as if they were having whiplash at who she was. Before long, Izra heard someone call her name.

“Izra? Izra Montague?”

Stopping dead in her tracks from what she was doing on her phone, Izra froze, ‘Oh my god, is that…?’ she thought as she turned around to face who was calling to her. There stood a woman her age, about a height taller than Izra, a light caramel tan to her skin, her long brown curled hair up in a bun, wearing black leggings with gray flats and a plain grayish white shirt with a loose black cardigan to go with the outfit. Apparently, she had also ordered coffee from the same cafe, to Izra’s surprise that she didn’t even notice her there.

“Ruka? Is that really you?” Izra asked, wanting to pinch herself believing it was all a dream and she would wake up from it eventually. “Yeah, it’s really me…” Ruka answered, also seeming a bit hesitant on asking her the same question. “Am I dreaming or am I actually seeing you, Izzie?” She ended up asking, also wanting to believe that Izra was here and not stuck somewhere else and far from home. Tearfully, Izra got up from her chair, fully facing Ruka, smiling as bright as one can, “yes, I’m here… I’m the real thing, unfortunately,“ she laughed as Ruka covered her mouth from shock, tears slowly rolling down her cheeks as she smiled, running up to her long-time friend for a tight hug, as Izra gave her an equal amount of hugging too. They both stood there hugging for about 10 minutes, not wanting to let go as if either one would disappear from each other, letting people walk past them without a care in the world. Slowly they let go, very happy to have found each other again, Izra was the first to speak, “I would’ve never guessed for you to be living here ma’am! How long have you been here?! Who else is here?! Did you come here alone?! What happened-” before she could continue her questioning, Ruka stopped her before anymore was said, “I didn’t think so either, but if you have some time, we can catch up here, if you want to…” she asked hesitantly, thinking back to the old days and remembering what had happened back home. Noticing her hesitation, Izra paused, feeling a bit guilty about the things that happened back then, but she isn’t who she was back when she left home, not anymore. 

“Of course I have time! I understand why you would ask though. Natalie almost couldn’t believe it either…” she started, staying a bit quiet before continuing, “listen, I’m sorry for what I said, what I did back home. I never intended to make ANY of you feel that way or the words that were spoken that day too, I was angry at the world, mainly myself really…” Izra looked to the side, not feeling confident about looking at her best friend at the moment. “I know it doesn’t excuse what I did, but I want you to know how guilty I’ve felt ever since and I worked hard to find myself again and then-” before she can continue on with her apologies, Ruka hugged her again, squeezing tightly, giving Izra reassurance, “I know you are. I know you felt guilty about it, we wouldn’t be best friends if I didn’t know you like the back of my hand.” She said, letting go for a bit to look at Izra, already knowing her best friend has well improved since her days away from home. “I already forgave you. We ALL have.” Ruka squeezed her shoulders, once again reassuring Izra everything is okay, “let’s continue this conversation sitting, as much as standing around is nice, I’ve been walking around all day and I need a break,” she said, both woman giggling while sitting back down to where Izra had just been, finally getting a chance to talk about everything .

Once the time hit 5 in the afternoon time, both Izra and Ruka were still on the table chatting away, happy to catch up on times they’ve both missed out on. In the midst of their conversation, Izra got a text from April, giving her details about the now planned graduation party they got going for her, except now it turned into a huge one since her other friends/co-workers are also invited, apparently also graduating from school too. With a sigh, Izra put the dates on her phone, seeing multiple events coming up after graduation. “Whoa, that sigh usually means you’re nervous and stressed. What’s the problem?” Ruka asked, already sensing her friend’s stress from across the tables. Sighing again, groaning in the process, Izra explained, “so, remember how I told you I’m graduating? One of my friends and her brothers are planning this huge graduation party but it’s the same day you asked me to come over for Kira’s and Val’s graduation/ceremony party too, which even after that is when I’ll actually catch a break from everything, LITERALLY.” With that said, Izra laid her head on the table, coffee long gone and now stressing about what to do for the issues she had going on. Laughing softly, Ruka patted her head, hoping to help her friend out in any way possible, “so how about this, you asked them what time it starts and whatever time they pick, you can meet us earlier. Think that’ll be fine with them?” Sitting up, Izra looked to Ruka as if she had just grown wings and was an angel sent above, “oh my god, yes that’s genius! I’ll ask when I see them later tonight!” Getting out of the chair, she ran towards Ruka, hugging her while tearfully thanking her, “I missed you so much, no one would’ve gotten it except you. Should’ve tried to find me sooner bitch!” Ruka laughing while hugging her back. Also getting up and throwing away their empty cups, they both stood still, not wanting either one to leave back to their places. 

“So, wanna walk together until we actually have to go back to our places?” Izra shyly asked, not wanting the great time the two just shared together. Smiling softly, Ruka agreed, both continuing the conversation they had on their way back. Once reaching the subway station, Ruka finally asked what had been on her mind, almost hesitating on asking in general “so since you’ve seen Natalie, have you seen Alexis yet?” Hearing the question, it took Izra about a couple of minutes to respond, smiling softly, which surprised Ruka, “yeah, I saw her too. It was Natalie’s idea for us to meet again and oh boy did I get an earful.” Closing her eyes, remembering seeing Alexis for the first time in what felt like forever, but it had only been about two and a half years since seeing each other from home. Opening her eyes, they both went inside the subway cart, as she continued on, “it was brutal, which I understood from her point too. I let her have the moment she deserved, it wasn’t fair what I did to her too,” looking out to where each station was then down to her hands, “but in the end, she did the same thing like what you did. Forgave me.” She sighed, nervously twiddling her fingers, “forgiving me for leaving and not even letting anyone know I was okay. Though it was hard, in the end, the three of us hugged it out, while Fred was waiting for us too, giving me the biggest hug while calling me a loser in the process.” Both chuckled, Izra remembering fondly how her brother-in-law had taken upon himself, while using their cat Aria, to bicker like they used to back home.

Realizing she was almost close to her place, Ruka stood up to get ready to leave, taking Izra’s phone in the process. Confused, Izra waited until Ruka was done, realizing that she was putting her phone number in her phone. “Here, since you apparently upgraded your phone, I added mine again since I also got a new phone just recently.” Happy with the number, Izra exclaimed to Ruka, “I feel so honored. Before you forget, send me your address so I know where to go for whenever you’re not too busy with anything!” Once more, they both shared a hug, letting Ruka leave the cart to head to her house while Izra waits for the next stop to see April and the guys. Getting up, ready to leave from the next stop, she heard her phone ring, signaling a text message was sent to her. Once the subway stopped, Izra stepped off, walking towards the direction of the brother’s home, checking her phone for whoever sent her a text message. Smiling even more, realizing it was from Ruka, all the message read was:

Ruka: I’m really glad I saw you today. Something in me felt like I was going to run into someone & it turned out to be you :) I know it sounds cheesy, but I guess the spirits knew what they were doing apparently lol

Ruka: Also, I didn’t get the chance to say it when we were talking, but I’m proud of you. You look like yourself again & that’s what's most important. I know it must’ve been hard to learn to forgive yourself on your own, but as always, what happened wasn’t your fault. It wasn’t any of our faults. Everyone is going to be happy and proud of you when they see you again too sweetie! I just know it! <3

Having to stop to finish reading what she sent, Izra almost started crying right there on the spot. Wiping away the pre-tears that threaten to come out, she didn’t realize that Leo and April were on their way to get her, but stopped once they saw Izra fully stopped from walking, almost on the verge of tears. Looking at each other concerningly, having not seen her that way in a long while, walking slowly, with April speaking softly, not wanting to make matters worse, “hey, you okay? Do we have to go beat up someone? Or make a professor cry?” After that was said, Leo spoke up, “making a professor cry? I’ll go get Donnie,” turning around to make his move, before getting stopped by Izra, shaking her head smiling. “Guys, I promise you I’m okay. These are happy almost tears,” Izra said, looking at the two, happy that they were concerned about her wellbeing. 

Making the quick decision to move on before much else was said, the three started making their way over to the projection room where everyone else was. Izra spoke before the two could question her, “do you guys remembered how I mentioned my friends from home? How I thought they couldn’t ever forgive me for leaving?” Confused, but the two nodded in agreement, remembering about a year and a half ago where they had comforted her that day from her guilt and depression. Smiling, she continued, “well, after so long, I ran into one of them from the café I go to before coming over. That’s why I was running a bit late tonight,” she finished, looking down to the ground while continuing their walk over. Surprised by what she just said, Leo was surprisingly the first one to ask, “what happened? I’m going to assume you both reconnected your friendship again seeing from your reaction not 10 minutes ago,” chuckling, Izra nodded her head, looking over at the two, making them stop walking to listen to what she had to say.

“It was…… Amazing. I knew you guys were right from the start that they were going to forgive me, but hearing it today from her felt….. Wonderful. We caught up on so much, we lost track of time, which also leads me to what I need help from you both too,” Squinting his eyes and before he could get a word in, April interrupted, “oh boy, what do you need help with?” She questioned, having the feeling that Izra was going to request anything from them. Hesitantly, Izra started, “well you see, she invited me to her home the day that it’s done being renovated, just a couple of more things to be done to the house and it’ll be complete!” It then turned into rambling, “the only problem is that the day it’ll be done is the day we have my graduation party with your coworkers too and it’s going to be my old friends from home, so we were going to meet up earlier before the party time start and they’re also busy with something else too, but if there was anything else that needed to be done earlier than I’ll gladly help if you guys need me and-” before the rambling could get any worse than it already was, April stopped her, putting both her hands on both shoulders, saving the three of them time and energy from it all. 

“Girl, relax! I’m just happy you’re reuniting with your friends from home! I’m sure the rest of them will understand, well at least Donnie and Raph yes, Mikey however…” April hesitated, thinking about it clearly until Leo joined in, easing both their worries, “don’t worry about Angelo, mis amigas ,” Izra rolled her eyes at that, “I’ll sweeten the deal if it goes awol, but I’m pretty sure he’ll understand for the most part too. Just as long as you could help me with any of them too, guy or gal, y’know how I roll” Leo finished, a quick wink with a smile on his face too, evident that he too was happy for his close friend, going to be seeing her childhood friends again soon. Smiling brightly, happy for the help and support from her close friends, Izra hugged them both. Letting go afterwards, she gave Leo a good smack upside the head, exclaiming how she “was not going to set him up with any of them, no matter what he says!” 

Laughing on the way to where the rest of the Hamato family was, Izra finally felt like she could take on anything now. Especially with the return of her old friends, being with new friends, and hoping both worlds would get along just fine, maybe even be much more closer like she was with April and the brothers. ‘Oh yeah, I think it’s going to be great. I have a good feeling about this,’ thought Izra, before reaching the room to explain her situation, excited to get everyone on board.

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

(Prologue: Current: Ch.2)

[whoiskt]

Grad School Q4 - Week 1

All my classes are on Mondays and Wednesdays, so maybe I'll bring this back for Friday summaries.

Here's a Lloyd sketch that might become part of my business card. Working on that right now among many things!

I wasn't really ready to go back to school but rarely in my life have I ever felt that after summer break. This quarter is all required classes, which isn't the most fun but I'll get by okay. Plus, all the classes are pretty much back to back, which gives me such flashbacks to high school, since I'm just in the one building all day.

Anyways, I'm currently kind of nervous because to complete my MFA by the end of summer 2025, I need to go up for review this quarter. But it's required that I have taken 45 credit hours of 700 level courses. Unfortunately, 10 of my 45 credit hours are 500 level courses, so I am technically not eligible. But, since the thesis class is only taught once a year in the winter quarter, missing this milestone would mean pushing my graduation to 2026, which I cannot do, not spiritually and definitely not financially. So, I am asking for an exception to be made, and that is TBD. Because I have a lot riding on this, so I am really very nervous for the answer. We shall see.

I guess worst comes to worst I can switch to an MA. Let's be real... I am not professor material, anyways.

But to get to my week in review: My first class is a writing class. I got excited because I imagined I could do a Lloyd Void spin-off as my main project for this class, one that is geocentric in the sense it would follow my character Earth as a slice of life comedy before the events of LV. However, for this class we were sorted into short groups, and they prefered my sailors and music idea (the one I have been writing as a movie) and I might choose that. I am stuck with the ending, and maybe working that out in the class (since the class is only writing a measly 20 pages) is a fine use of my time as well.

My second class is a studio, and I am making LLOYD VOID KEY ART for the PITCH! This honestly is the most scary thing, because I have to make 9 whole completed illustrations in 10 weeks, and I think my current record for completed illustrations in 10 weeks is something like 4, with some VERY lazy bgs, which I am not allowed here, so wish me luck.

Finally, my last class is something something coloring? Honestly not fully sure but day 1 we had A LOT of hw already due for class 2. (we also had to color a page of a comic but I am not showing that here)

The artist is Lois van Baarle. THIS IS NOT MY ARTWORK I JUST COLORED IT:

Unexpectedly my prof said, "This is very well-done, perhaps even once of the best versions of this I've ever seen." I was shook. I have been studying color all year, trying to get better, but I never expected such a compliment.

I want to get better at reflective lighting still but I have definitely been feeling more confident in palette choices, at least.

Anyways, that's all for now, definitely more artwork to show you next week, bye!

[virtue-and-beneviolence]

Can you match your mutuals with CSM characters and troupes? Pretty please 🥺

Thanks for the game <3 !!! I wanna apologize upfront bc this is a very very short one. I don't remember CSM super well apparently so i apologize for how few of yall are included here. This was what I could manage after tumblr fucked up my draft and if i dont post it tonight it'll rot in my drafts forever. Idk man send me a part two and ask for a different set and we'll see what we can do (probably reusing characters tho)

@feitania and Kishibe - roommates

Kishibe doesn't need a roommate and he reminds you of that at least 12 times a week but he wouldn't dream of having you leave. He's so much more sentimental than it seems. Who would've thought that stone cold bastard had such a big soft heart? He lets you decorate any room you like for the most part and he'd be lying if he said he didn't appreciate the warmth that comes with another life in his home. You two don't need to fill all the space with chatter but after a while, you do get him to open up a bit and you learn a lot from the man's life. He learns a lot about yours too. Idk, it's just the right amount of cozy.

@the-travelling-witch X Aki - cafe au

Baker!Aki is dying for your attention after the fist time you visit his shop. It was dead on a weekday afternoon. He gave you a deal on some cookies, insisting it was the end of the day, that they'd go to waste. Since then he's tried to catch your eye and your fancy through some new desserts, pastel macarons, and cute little pastries, and delicate fruit tarts. He listens to you talk when you bring some friends to study there. He's not trying to be weird, but he hears you're not from Japan and starts making German treats he think maybe a taste of home could be nice or well he's ... he's trying okay? He thanks the gods the day you ask him why the menu always changes because you finally give him your number with a promise to teach him how to make some real bread.

@sleepy3 and Beam - childhood best friends

Yall have been inseparable for the last two decades. You spent your youth together. You shared nearly all your elementary and middle school classes together and and never struggled to make time for one another. You're the only one who can calm Beam down, you're his favorite cuddle buddy, annnnd the only reason he probably graduated because got he's adorable and all but his attention span is not it! For his part, he gives you energy and hypes you up all the time. He even hypes you up for that date he doesn't particularly like that you're going on tonight because he doesn't think the guy is good enough for you. But he's still gonna help you pick an outfit and tell you how great you look because he's honest and he cares about you and well, he trusts you to make smart decisions.

@drakenlvr X violence fiend - fake dating

He doesn't seem all that interesting at first and I don't blame you. There's not much to talk about since you finished that one project together. You know, the one you two did all the work for while your asshat classmates sat with their thumbs in their asses? All you really knew about galgali was that he was maybe a bit of a pushover sometimes but he was definitely nice. When he came up to you in the dining hall and asked for you to go to a work event with him as his partner just once god i know its weird but please- you figured, fuck it. There are worse ways to spend a Friday evening than hanging around an acquaintance and getting free food and drinks. Turns out he has a crazy history, a crazier job, and a shockingly cute streak.

@violettierre x Power - enemies to friends to business owners lmao

Look I'm not gonna get into the gory details about that relationship you just got out of, okay? It was messy and not at all your fault, but isn't it crazy how all it took was a mutual enemy (the ex in question) to become thicker than thieves with Power? I can just see you and Power skipping down the street and dancing and being chaotic. Plus there's just nothing like it when Power is soft for you. Y'all end up roommates and maybe go in halfsies on a cat cafe for the broken hearted to find their new halves.

[nathank77]

6/10/24

5 a.m

Bo4 was shit so I didn't play after dinner. Since I have to go to the dentist Tuesday and get bloodwork for my thyroid- it's going to be a 1MG day cause I want to go get bloodwork before my dentist appt at 4:30 assuming they don't cancel again.

Later today I have to schedule my mri they finally got back to me.

I didn't want to go out later today when I wake up cause I got to go to the dentist/bloodwork on Tuesday and I'm going to get a teeth sealant estimate which I hope he doesn't cancel cause I'd really like to move on getting this brown stain removed.

I also got to go out Wednesday for groceries. Technically I could do it Tuesday after my dentist appt but the chickens might be out for too long. And it's a lot to do in one day.

I still got to plan my car wash with weather but I can't do it with my dentist appt bc it's just too much, maybe this Saturday pending weather. I'm going to go grocery shopping Friday or Saturday as well so I can get chicken it's a healthy good meal and it forces me to go shopping 2 days a week bc it's technically better for me with all the vitamins and whatnot.

Anyways- I really didn't want to go out later today when I wake up cause I'm exhausted just thinking about calling for the mri. Going to do bloodwork and the dentist Tuesday and thinking about doing my car wash is too much.

Bloodwork I decided to do on Tuesday so it should have results by Thursday and I can get directed by my Dr on what I should do.

Anyways since I really didn't want to go out but my mouth is still dry and cutting out Zyrtec didn't do anything I wanted to get stuff to help so I got two products listed below. My gums always feel like shit. Maybe it's smoking-but before psychosis they didn't feel like this and it could be psychosis. Beyond that I started smoking more cigarettes like disgustingly to cope with my chronic auditory hallucination....

I got a probiotics that's been proven to help reverse and prevent gum disease. I figure it's worth a try cause I mean if it's not psychosis then my gums hate me.... if it is I mean I got a month supply to try to see if I can help my gingivitis.

The cost was a lot and I decided to do the 6 month no interest thing so I had to spend 100$ I was going to get a simple frame for my uhart degree but I deserve better so I bought what's pictured below bc I deserve it. My family is shitty for not doing it for me. I paid for that picture below from the graduation company like 40$ and I just paid for it to be printed for my plaque. So that's awesome. Now my tassle can leave beauty (My car) and can go in my plaque.

My auditory hallucination is driving me crazy. I'm freezing atm and my ac is off (I'm prob hypo...) and I can hear the birds chirping and the voice thank you Kristen for making my life a fucking shit storm. You ruined my whole quality of life. Speaking of I still haven't heard back from the board. I'm anxious about it cause what if they toss it out.... cause I'm "psychotic."

Anyways I've noticed since starting cbd at least the last couple weeks that I don't panic anymore. I haven't been having palpitations. I don't want to talk about it much cause it often makes me panic.... but yea cardiologist this month just in case. My flashbacks have been not as bad too but my money is so tight.

I'm worried about buying cbd, getting my medical card if I can manage to smoke weed again bc my vapes go bad in August (technically i could get one recreational but I'd paid more for it but it would prob last a year with how often I can smoke...) my car wash, paying for my oil change on credit, paying for the gym and my teeth sealant... I'll make it work but I'm never getting glasses with the right focal point. I'm thinking I'm going to go to 50mg of cbd cause I mean it's expensive... and I'm still hallucinating... if I start to panic again maybe I'll do 100mg but idk.

I'm also going to start 2000mg of white mulberries on the 13th cause I've been tolerating the 1500mg well but I want to give it 2 weeks in Total... idk what to do about cbd cause yea I don't have panic attacks anymore.....

As for Elise I'm still in love with her but I accept I'll never get to be with her. It hurts and I have a lot of feelings about it but i really want her to be happy and that's all that matters.

Hopefully this stuff helps and I'm excited to see my degree on the wall.

[umichenginabroad]

Week 0: Calm before Prague

Oh hi there! My name is Janice Liu. I am a junior majoring in Computer Science and this semester, I’ll be studying abroad in Prague through IFSA’s Computer Science and Tech Career Accelerator in Prague, Czech Republic program. 

These past two months have been both a blessing and a curse. Part of me was itching to get out. Most of my hometown friends had already left for their respective study abroad programs or universities, leaving me at home and alone with my poodle, Ellie.

I love Ellie, but I also missed my friends. I missed Charley’s bingo every Tuesday night and Friday night house parties. I even missed the trauma bonding of 1AM at the fish bowl debugging coding projects together. However, as the month progressed, I managed to fill this void with some new goals and hobbies. Rock climbing quickly became my first coping mechanism.

At first, it was by myself, but I eventually found a community of people who loved falling off rocks as much as I did. It was always super rewarding when I would spend 2 weeks on a climb and finally figure out the beta (climbing route) to complete the climb. I made it a goal to climb for myself at least once a week and surprisingly quickly, I was able to graduate from a V1 climb to V3 and sometimes V4, on a good day! 

I also started to read a lot more, since it made time pass by faster and it felt productive lol. My guilty pleasure is definitely sappy, teenage romance novels. Looking for Alaska by John Green was by far my favorite. Romance aside, it contained a deeper analysis on navigating life and “escaping the labyrinth” as John Green says. It was almost like my dad telling me about his experiences and life lessons but without the hours of lecturing!

Now, it’s the night before my flight. Of course, my suitcase is still half packed, but I’m trying to soak in these last few moments with my family, my dog, and my home, New York.

Saying bye is always hard but I look forward to these new adventures outside of my comfort zone. Being that Prague is such a culturally dense city, I can’t wait to learn about its story through our classes, exploring the city, eating new foods, and meeting new friends!

I’m going to leave you all here so I can continue to shove my life into two suitcases haha. See you next week in Prague!

Janice Liu

Computer Science

Tech Career Accelerator in Prague

[dawnagustd]

no rest for the wicked || jjk

➼ title: no rest for the wicked

➼ pairing: camp counselor!jungkook x camp director!female reader

➼ genre/au: angst | a little fluff | smut | suspense/thriller | light humor | camp crystal lake au | friday the 13th au | enemies to lovers | slight unrequited love | idiots to lovers

➼ summary: Camp Crystal Lake is under new management. You’ve come back to your old hometown to gather some work experience before graduation. You know the dark history surrounding these grounds, but the real challenge is going to be hot guy standing in your kitchen, the same guy that made you leave in the first place.

➼ word count: 7k

➼ warnings: strong language | bickering | mentions murder & massacres | urban legends? | pranks | mild violence(not really descriptive) | mentions death | snakes | a bunch of arguing | mentions smoking and cigarettes | mentions allergic reactions to roses | reader has tattoos | tension (sexual included) | dom!jungkook | switch!reader | choking | doggystyle | ass slapping/spanking | biting | scratching | marking | slight angry/hate sex | hair pulling | manhandling | clit play | thigh riding i guess? | protected sex | dirty talk | spitting | confessions | the ending is cute if you ask me lol | if i missed something please let me know

➼ rating: 18+

➼ a/n: hi! so I wanted to do something based on one of my favorite horror films, Friday the 13th. This story is not horror and the horror/gore listed above is only mentioned. However, I recommend googling what the movie is about before reading if you haven’t heard of it because I based my backstory off of it. This story is more suspenseful and humorous if you ask me and mainly focuses on the pairing’s relationship instead of the actual Jason Vorhees story. Anyway, I hope you like it. Also, I know this is unedited and rushed but this was a last minute idea. I’ll edit it and make it better in the future.

 masterlist |  permanent taglist 

Welcome to Camp Crystal Lake

The freshly painted sign lets you know that you’ve finally arrived at your destination. You’ve traveled over 800 miles and hiked through a slightly dense wooded area in order to reach your home for the summer. This all will be cleared by next week by the time camp officially opens for the children. For now, it’ll just be you and ten camp counselors that you’ll be supervising during your time here.

You accepted this job knowing the history of this place, and the tragedies that have occurred. But out-of-state school costs are expensive, and it’s been over 40 years since the original owners shut down the camp. After all this time, their children would like to bring innocence back to this place, and burn the horrific events that earned it the name Camp Blood.

People started calling it that in the 70s, after the grounds were terrorized by a vengeful masked murderer that sought after camp counselors he deemed unfit. The story says that it was all the wrath of a man whose son’s life was tragically lost due to the negligence of the employees.

There are some rumors that say his spirit still haunts the camp grounds every thirteenth Friday, symbolizing his son’s age at passing and the day of the week that it fell on—lurking for young adults who sneak off to fuck around in the woods instead of doing their job and monitoring the kids.

As if you weren’t already on edge walking the eerie grounds, tomorrow’s Friday and the calendar says May 13th. 

You sigh as the glimmering lake and renovated cabins come into view. At least you’ll have a proper place to lay your head tonight. Initially the property owners told you that the cabins probably wouldn’t be ready in time of your arrival, and that you’d have to set up a tent most likely. But you got a call last night saying that everything was taken care of and you could bring your things into the employee living quarters.

You find it quite easily since it’s the largest building on the property. Inside is the kitchen, two bathrooms, and bedrooms for the staff. It also houses your office, and you can’t wait to get in there and customize your space. Your hopes are to make it so comfortable and fit for you that you forget about the memories that plagued you when you passed through your old hometown earlier. Everyone should have moved on by now; it’s been three years, but to be safe you made sure your job was away from the city limits—and the people you once called friends.

Those people have been left in the past, especially him. You shiver every time you think of his name, and you quickly bury it in the back of your mind so you can forget once again. This is a step towards your future, and you plan to use these credentials on your resume. The director who brought life back to Camp Crystal Lake will open a lot of doors for you. You have all sorts of activities planned for the children. You just have to see what you’re working with first.

The hiring stage was conducted by the owners so you have no idea who will be working under you this summer. Their information is supposed to be sitting on your desk, so you’ll dive in as soon as you settle. You’re very excited to meet new people that love children as much as you do, and you’re sure whoever they’ve selected will be great employees. 

In fact, one of them is here a day early, and you’re relieved you won’t be spending the night on a deserted camp alone. The biggest smile adorned your face when you parked next to the black pick up truck in the lot, and it is still present as you step across the cabin’s threshold, positivity and optimism coursing through your veins while you look around the empty room.

“Hello! Anyone here?” you call out, but get no response. 

Shrugging, you set your bags by the door and venture further into the mostly open floor plan. There’s a hallway towards the back that leads to multiple rooms, so you opt for heading in that direction. The wooden floor creaks beneath your feet every time you take a step, and you know it’s something you’ll have to get used to. There’s also some noises coming from two doors to the right, so you shout once again to announce your presence. 

“Hey, it’s me, the new director. Are you decent?” Nervous laughter leaves your lips because you don’t want to literally catch someone with their pants down, or even worse, interrupt an active burglary or something. You can’t be certain that the car belonged to a camp counselor or ground’s keeper. “Hello?”

However, after one peek around the doorframe, you notice that there’s no intruder—just a guy jamming to music through his air pods while making himself a sandwich. You’re impressed by his moves, wishing you had half of his coordination. He seems to be around your age, but his back is facing you, and the only thing you can make out is his brown hair and muscular frame underneath his large clothing. 

Tattoos crawl up his right arm and disappear under the sleeve of his shirt. Your mind is already wondering where the trail stops. You’ve always admired body art and you even have a few tattoos yourself—but only in places that are easy to cover. Unfortunately, they aren’t really favored in your career path.

The man seems to be enjoying his alone time, but you figure you’ll at least tell him you’re here so he’s not alarmed when he eventually hears another pair of footsteps walking around.

You tap his shoulder, and try to introduce yourself one final time.

“Hey there, I’m—”

“What the fuck?! You scared the shit out of…me.”

You both stare at each other in total disbelief, but after a few seconds you realize that you aren’t dreaming, and that you’re actually standing face to face. Your shocked expressions transform into scowls of disgust. You’re the first to speak while he grabs his phone to pause his music.

“What the fuck are you doing here, Jungkook?”

Never in a million years did you think you’d use that name again. It produces bile in your throat each time you pronounce just a syllable of it. He isn’t pleased to see you either, and his scornful eyes vividly display such feelings. They burn holes into your skull, but you imagine yours hold the same impact as you glare back at him. His hair may be shorter and his skin may now be littered with tattoos and piercings but those lips, those dark eyes—they haven’t changed one bit.

“I’m working, isn’t it obvious?” he finally scoffs out, resting his weight on the counter and grabbing his sandwich. He takes a bite before pointing at you, speaking throughout random gulps to swallow down his food. “Don’t tell me they hired your prude ass to watch children.”

Your weight shifts to one leg and you fold your arms. Offended by his tasteless insult, you decide to take a jab of your own.

“Worse,” you smirk while watching him take a sip of his milk, brows lifting with curiosity over the rim of the glass. “They hired me to look after you, asshole.”

Jungkook nearly chokes on his drink. “Are you fucking serious?”

“Deadass,” you gloat.

He turns away from you and looks towards the ceiling, pinching the bridge of his nose. If you weren’t about to be under the same roof as him for three months, you’d laugh at how flustered he’s become. “This has got to be a joke man.”

“It isn’t, and if I were you I’d watch what I say to me because let's not forget who’s in charge of terminations from today forward.”

Jungkook’s arms fall to his sides when he hears those words. You find satisfaction in watching his tongue poke at his lip ring because you know you’ve struck a nerve. He turns in your direction again and he shakes his head. 

“I see you haven’t changed one bit,” he notes.

“And what do you mean by that, Jungkook?...because you haven’t changed so much yourself, you know? You’re still a jerk, and an annoying pain in my ass.” 

He starts walking towards you, and suddenly you recall the last thing he’s ever said to you. “This isn’t over, bitch. You’ll get yours.” You have no idea what those words meant, but they still give you chills—and for good reason.

You ratted him out to the principal. You had no choice; he was going to prank you again, but this time the results would have been really bad for you. For two weeks prior, you’d been receiving anonymous gifts at school. You suspected Jungkook from the moment you saw the handwriting on a note someone slipped in your locker. The admirer told you to meet them behind the gym during sixth period. Since you were a senior, fifth period was your last class. 

Imagine your surprise when you showed up early and found Jungkook standing in the meeting spot, waiting for you to arrive—a cigarette in one hand and a bundle of red roses in the other. You went directly to the principal’s office and he was escorted off campus shortly after. Jungkook was expelled only a few months before graduation and the entire school hated you for snitching, but what were you supposed to do? He was going to attack you.

“I’ll tell you what it means,” he says, stepping directly in front of you. He peers down at you through his lashes, asserting his dominance by using his larger stature. 

However, you don’t plan on backing down, no matter how much his aura intoxicates you. You focus on your anger towards him, the built up hatred you developed due to all the horrible pranks he’s orchestrated to embarrass you during high school. It’s all you need to remember what kind of jerk he is, picking on girls in front of his friends, but dodging them when he’s alone. He’s a coward, and you won’t bow down at his command.

“It means you’re still an evil ass kissing bitch, but I’m about to dry your cunt up real quick, sweetheart.” He gives you a lopsided grin before he continues. 

“You may be in charge, but this is my uncle’s property, and if anyone has to go, it’s going to be the girl who got his nephew expelled from high school. So if I were you…I’d watch what I said to me,” he chuckles coldly.

There’s a sinking feeling in your stomach following his words, but you ignore it and stand your ground. “All I did was tell the truth,” you whisper and Jungkook throws his head back in laughter.

“Are you delusional? You hearing yourself, right now?” 

He shakes his head and grabs his phone, abandoning his lunch as he prepares to leave. 

“You know what? Fuck it. Talking to you is like trying to get a brick wall to move. Just stay the hell away from me and we won’t have problems. I’ll sleep in my damn truck tonight.”

Jungkook brushes past you and exits the kitchen, leaving you alone to bask in bad memories you tried so hard to forget. You hated each other then and you hate each other now. However, the resentment comes from something much deeper than teenage rivalry. You know the tension between you is bound to come to a head at some point, and you just hope it isn’t here. 

It could ruin everything, and it’d be one more tally for Jungkook when it comes to embarrassing you. For now, you’ll try to step on egg shells when it comes to him. You’ll play nice and only communicate with him when necessary because this job is too valuable for you to lose it over someone like him. You begin cleaning up the mess he left behind with a heavy heart. “Ugh…Why me?”

May 13th, 2022

Well, it’s Friday evening and you haven’t heard a word from Jungkook since he stormed out of the cabin yesterday. He eventually came inside this morning to shower and eat, but has spent the majority of his time in his room. None of the others have arrived yet, but they aren’t on schedule until tomorrow. You still wish there was someone else here to distract you from the ominous feeling you get at night.

It’s always so quiet; even the wildlife isn’t active when the sun goes down. It’s like they know something is lurking—something dark and sinister. You didn’t get any sleep last night. You felt so isolated, so exposed in the middle of it all. If it wasn’t Jungkook invading your mind every time you close your eyes, it was the stories of this place told to you by your parents. 

All night you expected a man in a hockey mask to appear out of nowhere, and butcher you like he did previous counselors. There were some survivors, the employees who weren’t at the camp to fuck and party. You keep telling yourself that if his vengeful spirit were to return, or if someone followed in his footsteps—you’d be safe. But survivor’s guilt is real, and violence is never the answer. 

You don’t wish such a horrible death on anyone, not even Jungkook. So, of course, you were a bit worried about him being out there alone last night. Hopefully, tonight he’ll consider staying in here—for his sake and yours.

There isn’t much to do right now, so you’re lying on your bunk bed, looking through your phone. Your head lolls to the left and what you see makes your blood run cold.

“Oh my god!”

You jolt out of bed and slip on your sneakers when you see the dark colored creature slither across the floor. It retreats under the neighboring bunks and hides in the darkness, waiting for something to venture near so he can strike. You run out of your room faster than the speed of light, calling for Jungkook to come and help remove it.

“Why the fuck are you screaming?” 

His voice is rough and he’s obviously in a bad mood. You assume he was sleeping because he’s only wearing his sweats, not a shirt in sight. You almost forget the reason for calling him, but he snaps his fingers and you’re quickly brought back to reality.

You point towards your room and give him a nervous side-eye. Your voice trembles when you speak. “Under the bed. It’s a snake…a big one.”

His face shows nothing but annoyance. 

“Are you sure it isn’t just a sock?”

Your eyes expand, offended by his lack of urgency and seriousness for the matter.

“That thing moved!...Fuck it, I’m not sleeping here.” You try to leave, but his arm wraps around your waist before you can get by him. 

“Alright, just hold on. I’ll go check it out,” he sighs. 

When he withdraws you cannot ignore the way your body reacts to the loss of warmth, and you want to slap yourself for actually seeking after his touch. You’ll blame it on your lack of human interaction since you’ve been here. 

Jungkook steps into your room, but turns to you before he goes any further. “Can I use your phone? I need a flashlight.”

You nod and quickly pull it out of your cardigan’s pocket, placing it in his hand and allowing him to turn it on himself. Jungkook taps the flashlight icon on the lockscreen and approaches the center of the room. “It’s under the bed to your right. Please be careful. I don’t know what kind it is.”

He doesn’t say a word as he gets on his hands and knees, keeping a safe distance while he aims the light into the dark crevice. He squints his eyes and curses after only a few seconds of searching. 

“Oh, shit. That’s not good at all.” Jungkook gets on his feet and you immediately take notice of his flushed face. 

“Is it that bad?” you gulp, and to your worst fears Jungkook nods.

“The pupils are like diamonds; it most definitely is.”

He leaves the room, but doesn’t take his eyes off the snake’s hiding place. 

“What kind is it?”

He blows out a puff of air before he responds. His eyes are wide and in utter disbelief. “It looks like a moccasin, but I’m not a hundred percent sure. I just know it has to go.”

“Well, what do we do? I can call my dad but—”

“There’s some shit in the storage closet; I’ll get it,” he states calmly, placing your phone in your hand. “Make sure you keep an eye on the floor, and if it comes out, just stay away from it. I’ll be right back.”

Jungkook is gone before you can get a word out, leaving you alone once again. Your mind can’t help but think about what would have happened if you’d put your feet down at the wrong time. You probably wouldn’t be standing here talking about it right now. What if you were alone? Help is miles away, and by the time anyone got to you, it’d be too late. 

That’s why you requested that someone with trained medical experience be here at all times, and according to his paperwork, he should be here tomorrow morning at 8 am sharp. You’d sure appreciate it if he were here now, however. This isn’t safe by any means, and neither of you are professionally trained for this task.

“Has he moved?”

Jungkook returns with a bucket in one hand and what looks like snake tongs in the other. You make a mental note to go over the importance of safety when it comes to the local wildlife with everyone, especially the kids. A bite from a snake like this can be fatal to an adult, and a small child would have even less of a chance.

“No, it hasn’t moved. But Jungkook, I think we should call someone. This isn't safe,” you suggest.

“Your dad’s a cop. He’s never shown you how to grab a snake?”

“Yeah but…”

Jungkook laughs. “If you’re scared of snakes just say it. I’m not one to judge.”

“No! I’m just…kind of worried? Today is…you know.”

“Well, try not to be so superstitious,” he tells you before entering the room for a second time. “I’m gonna close the door so it can’t get out, okay?”

You want to protest, and your mouth opens to do just that, but he gives you a look and you instantly change your mind. “Okay.”

“See you in a bit,” he winks, shutting the bedroom door behind him.

About ten minutes later, the door opens again and Jungkook holds up the bucket in triumph. “Would you like to kiss your prince before he departs?”

You roll your eyes. 

“So what are you going to do with it now?”

He shrugs. “I guess I’ll put it on the porch. He should be fine overnight. I’ll wake up before dawn and take him on the other side of the lake where there’s more wilderness. I’ve been wanting to catch the sunrise anyway, so this works.”

“How do I know you won’t just go over there and kill it?” you jest, but Jungkook doesn’t think it’s funny. The second his expression changes, you realize that the joke should have never left your mouth. You quickly try to apologize. “Sorry, I—”

“Keep it.”

“Jungkook, I didn’t mean it like that,” you try to convince him.

“I don’t care. That’s your fucking problem; you never think before you open your damn mouth.”

You opened your mouth to apologize again, but instead you ended up giving him a piece of your mind.

“Excuse me? At least I’m not a coward. You used to be cocky when you were with your little clique. Now you can’t even look me in the eye whenever I bring up what you’ve done.”

“I’m the coward?” He shakes his head and laughs. “Then what are you?...I called you, texted you, and you ignored me. You didn’t have to accept my apology, but you could have at least listened to what I had to say after you found out why I was really waiting for you that day.”

“Jungkook, I’m not going to believe your lies. You know damn well what you were doing back there and you’re just pissed that it backfired on you.,” you argue, and Jungkook scoffs.

“You keep telling yourself that.”

“I will actually because it’s the truth.”

Jungkook prepares to walk away, but then suddenly pauses. His back is turned, so he looks at you over his shoulder. 

“You act like everything’s been all bad between us, like all I’ve done was harass you. You’ve forgotten who’s saved your ass with homework you forgot to finish or who’s given you rides home when it rained even though it was on the other side of town. I brought any of that to anyone’s attention because I didn’t do it to hold it over your head. I did it because that’s just the kind of person I am, especially for someone I care about. But if you want me to be something else…you got that.”

He starts walking down the hall without another word to you, and a part of you wants to go after him, but what he said doesn’t justify his actions. You don’t trust him, and he has himself to blame for that. So you stay silent, because if he really cared, he wouldn’t have so much animosity towards you when you did nothing wrong. It’s not your fault you couldn’t put the pieces together; you were too busy looking over your shoulder for his next prank, and even though it’s been years since he threatened you with his words—you look around every corner before you make a turn.

One thing you’ve already learned to appreciate in your short time here is the shower. The water reaches the perfect temperature, so you can’t help but stay in there a little bit longer than you should. You have to enjoy it while you can because after tonight you’ll have to share, cutting your time in the bathroom in half.

Since you’re alone in the cabin, you take your time and detangle your curls. Jungkook isn’t here so you don’t bother rushing to get your clothes on. A towel is the only thing that covers your body. Your skin is still damp and too hot to throw on a t-shirt so you opt to stay this way until you air dry and cool down.

Once you leave the bathroom, you turn off the lights and go straight to your room. You hadn’t realized you left the window open earlier, and you shiver as the gentle summer’s breeze flows through your bedroom. You throw your phone on the bed and quickly walk over to the window so you can shut it. However, a sudden uneasiness forms in your gut, an instinct you have when something just doesn’t feel right. 

You gnaw at your bottom lip trying to piece together what could be happening and eventually, you brush it off as just your paranoia getting to you. Before you close and lock your bedroom window, you glance at the moon and stars, noting how beautiful they are away from the city and how you’d like to get some pictures before you leave. But that’ll have to wait because right now all you want to do is lie down and at least try to get some sleep—if only your mind allows it. 

While pushing down the glass, you notice something out of place on the outskirts of the woods. You have a small view of the lake from where you are, and the only thing preventing you from seeing it entirely is the trees. However, there’s something blocking the small opening that allows you to see Crystal Lake from your room, or maybe…someone?

You lower your head to eliminate the glare in the window, and that’s when you see it. Barely, but you’re able to make out a white orb in the distance. 

“What the fuck is that?”

You don’t have long to figure it out either. Suddenly, the object begins to move and within seconds you realize that it definitely is a person, and they’re coming straight towards your cabin. When they’re about 30 feet away you can clearly see their dark clothing and the infamous white hockey mask the guy that committed those murders were said to have worn. Fight or flight sets in, and your first reaction is to get the hell out of there before he can catch up to you with his long strides.

You rush out of the cabin wearing nothing but a towel and Pokémon slippers—no phone, no keys, only a bit of hope that Jungkook is alive and near or at least sleeping in his truck so he can drive you both to safety. Once your feet touch the soil, you channel every ounce of determination and drive you possess. Speed will be your only asset against a figure that appears to be twice your size. But unfortunately, even all of that isn’t enough.

“Let me go!” 

A pair of arms grab you before you can even reach the path that leads to the parking lot. You kick, you thrash, and you scream like your life depends on it—because it does, and you use every tactic your father taught you to try and break free.

Your efforts pay off with an elbow to their stomach. A pained laugh escapes the person, and when you jab them again they finally agree to release you. You’re surprised at how familiar their voice sounds.

“Alright, alright. I’ll put you down, but chill. It’s just me,” he chuckles, placing your feet back on the ground. You try to make another run for it, but he grabs your hand and takes off his mask. “Don’t go running off into the woods. It’s just a joke. Calm down.” 

“Jungkook?...Wha—”

“I was just fucking with you,” he laughs, doubling over and clutching his side. “You should have seen your face. And then you really almost crushed my ribs, damn girl.”

You feel anything but amusement right now, and you head straight for the cabin to start packing your things. 

“Should’ve been your balls,” you say as you’re passing him. 

Fuck this camp. Jungkook and everyone else can have it. You knew you shouldn’t have come back here; it was very foolish of you to think you could actually be in the same space with Jungkook and his old ways wouldn’t resurface. You’ll just find another way; something else will come up. But you can’t stay here any longer, not with him.

“Hey, what are you doing?”

You kick off your slippers because they’re just slowing you down. Jungkook is on your tail and when he grabs your arm you immediately pull away. “Get away from me. I’m leaving!”

“Leaving?...What are you just gonna quit?” he quizzes. You spin around and walk up to him, fueled by nothing but rage and resentment.

“That’s what you want, right? Well, you got it. I’m out…you’ve won, Jungkook.” His smug smile fades slowly and his brows furrow as he processes your words.

“Ahh, here you go again. How does someone survive under same roof as you?...I’m nice, there’s a problem. I’m a jerk, you’re ready to leave. It makes no sense.”

“You call setting me up to be humiliated nice?”

Jungkook’s hands run over his face in frustration. “I thought we established that I was doing nothing wrong that time.”

“If you weren’t doing anything wrong…which is obviously a lie because you were smoking. Why were you the person waiting for me to turn the corner?...With roses! I’m allergic to roses. You lured me there to hurt me and humiliate me.”

“First of all, I had no idea about the roses and I tried to apologize, remember? I wasn’t trying to be mean to you. I told you I just wanted to smooth things over and—”

“Then why write them Jungkook? Why make me believe someone actually liked me?” you question, cutting him off.

Jungkook steps closer, but once again you do not back down. You don’t care about how angry he is because you’re pissed ten times more. He’s gone too far this time.

“Maybe because I was building up the courage to tell the girl I’ve liked since third grade that I liked her? Ask her to prom? Apologize for being an asshole because she didn’t deserve any of that stuff I did...I don’t know, maybe it was all of those things. I was just doing what the guys told me to do. I wanted your attention, and I was finally trying to get it the correct way,” he argues, anger radiating from his body. He stares you down with so much hatred that if you weren’t feeling the same way, you’d crumble.

“So what if I had one cigarette to calm my nerves? I was fucking shaking, and I put it out after the first hit because I didn’t like it. But the only motive I had for being back there was to get the girl I liked alone so I could apologize and ask her out, but she got me expelled before I could do that.”

His words seem genuine and sincere, but they’re driven by fury. He’s still upset with you and you cannot understand why. You didn’t know, and if you did you still wouldn’t have known how to respond. It’s his fault for traumatizing you so much that you didn’t see all the signs. You feel like shit for it, but you can’t go back and change things. You’re trying to move forward, but each time you take a step, you’re always knocked back two.

“Then you just get to move on and forget it ever happened?” he continues. Your brows furrow when you see the gloss covering his eyes. 

As if you weren’t already feeling terrible for not being able to read between the lines, Jungkook was right earlier; he helped you out just as much as he joked around. 

You didn’t even give him a chance after the day he left school, but how could you when you were dealing with the aftermath of his expulsion? “You come here with your head all high like you own the place, like you haven’t flipped my life upside down. It’s not fair.”

“Jungkook, I had to move on. You think you’re the only one who suffered? Everyone hated me for getting you kicked out of school. And don’t act so beaten down, your dad got you out of it. Or did you think I didn’t hear about that?”

Jungkook scoffs. “Yeah, because everyone knew I liked you…everyone but you. And my dad paid a load of money to make sure I could at least get into a good school. Why the hell do you think I’m here? He calls and I run, until I’m done paying him back.”

“I’m sorry, okay? I didn’t know! But what am I supposed to do about it now? I can apologize a million times, but I can’t change the past. I’m tired Jungkook, so either we end this tonight or I’m leaving because I can’t live like this. Do your worst if it makes you feel better, prank me the whole fucking summer, embarrass me in front of the kids and the staff.”

He lowers his head and shakes it as he speaks. “That’s not enough. It’s never been enough.”

“Then what is, Jungkook?...Tell me what makes it right? I’ll fix it.”

Jungkook looks at you then, softer than before, but his expression still holds a bit of frustration. 

“You just don’t get it,” he whispers.

“Then help me understand. Show me if you can’t tell me. You want revenge? Take it. Or if there’s something else you want, you can take that too. Just go for it because this may be the last chance you get.”

His fingers reach up and touch your arm, and he runs them delicately over your skin. “How do I know if what I want is something you’re offering?”

“Everything’s on the table. You have me alone until tomorrow morning. Do whatever you want, I’m all yours,” you assure.

“Anything?”

“Everything.”

“Well, come here then.” Jungkook pulls you close to his body and leans in. You expected him to kiss you, but you didn’t expect it to feel this way. His touch is more rough and aggressive than you imagined it would be since he was so timid previously. It still feels amazing despite his lack of tenderness and affection.

He grabs your face and guides you to the nearest wall, never breaking away from the heated moment you’re sharing as he does so. You can’t deny how attractive he is, and now that all of your hatred for him is being released, you can enjoy every inch of his sculpted figure.

You try to reach for his shirt, but he grabs your wrist and pins it against the wall, smiling when he hears you whine. His tongue slips into your mouth and explores as deep as its length will allow. 

“Is that all?” you ask him when your lips ultimately part for air. His eyes linger on your mouth as if he’s missing the warmth already, and you can’t stop yourself from smirking in response.

“That’s not even half of it.” Jungkook’s hand still holds onto your face and neck, but you’re too drunk off his touch to feel any discomfort. 

When he finally allows you to touch his chest and biceps, you try to coax him into spilling all of those hidden emotions buried beneath the surface; it seems to work after a moment. You purr each syllable when you speak, and Jungkook lingers onto every one of them as if they were the answer to all of his prayers. “Then what are you waiting for?...Clock’s ticking.”

“Stop talking like that.”

“Or what?...What’s going to happen if I don’t?” Your challenge makes him tighten his grip. You wince, but nothing tops the satisfaction you get from pissing him off. “What are you gonna do?”

Jungkook growls, and the sound makes you shudder. “You wouldn’t even be able to walk in the morning. Don’t ever try me like that, sweetheart.”

“Do it. I fucking dare you.”

Jungkook chuckles while kissing his way up to your ear. “You have no idea what you’re asking for.”

“Well, enlighten me–Oh fuck!” He uses his knee to force open your legs and flexes his thick thigh against your bare cunt. The contact makes you gasp out a desperate moan.

“Are you sure that’s what you want?” Jungkook’s grin widens when he feels your thighs try to rub together for more friction.

“Fuck, yes.”

He drags you across the room and he all but tosses you on the couch. 

“Strip, then turn around,” he commands.

You take off your towel and throw it at him. Jungkook twirls his finger in a circle, so you turn and bend over the sofa’s armrest. “Shit, you have tats, a nice ass, and you’re fucking soaking…the hell am I going to do with you?” he asks while leaning over you to speak into your ear.

“Hopefully, you’ll fuck me…and soon–ahh, shit.”

Jungkook slaps your ass and gives it a squeeze. You whimper under his touch, trying not to moan, but then his finger teases your entrance, and you have no choice but to let it out. 

“You’re not in the position to give me demands…not while your cunt’s trying to suck in my fingers, sweetheart. Play nice, and I’ll feed you well,” he says with a smirk. 

You groan, and he slaps your ass again; your backtalk then ceases for a while. 

Jungkook spreads your folds and spits into your entrance, chuckling when you clench in response. “The quiet ones are always freaky,” he comments.

“Shit, I need to grab a condom. I’ll be right back—”

“Here.” You reach into the couch and pull out one of the condoms you secretly stashed there. You can imagine the shock on Jungkook’s face when you reach back and hand it to him. “None of us are saints, Jungkook. Don’t think about it too much.”

And he doesn’t. He quickly pulls down his pants and rolls it on. Your anticipation heightens when you feel his blunt tip come in contact with your heat, and you turn your head to watch his face contort when he slides in. 

“Fuck,” he sighs when he finally feels your warmth molding around his length. His moaning makes butterflies erupt in the pit of your stomach, and you don’t even give him a second to get used to the snug fit. You bounce on his cock and watch as he looks on in awe, taking off his shirt and throwing somewhere across the room.

Jungkook grips your waist and takes control; you grab onto the couch when he starts fucking you back, his bottom lip tucked between his teeth as he concentrates on pleasuring you. You both set a steady pace, but you feel like he’s holding back so you purposely taunt him into giving you more. “You fuck like you’re scared or something. Afraid you’ll drown?”

He reaches forward and tugs your hair. “Nope. I was just going easy on you, but if you insist…”

You scream his name when his thrusts quicken, and he uses his grip to pull you back on his dick. He digs into you deeper and harder, and the pressure in your abdomen begins to build after a few calculated motions. Jungkook’s hand continues to come down on your ass randomly, and each blow leaves your pussy gushing with arousal. He pulls you up and holds you close to him once he’s left you behind red and sore to the touch. “You feel so fucking good. Damn, I wish you were mine,” he moans into your neck.

Your hand reaches behind you to play in his brown strands while he bites and leaves marks on your neck. “Is that what you want?”

He lifts his head and looks you in the eyes, slowing down but still digging into your cervix. 

“Damn right,” he replies, teasing your sensitive clit. “Gonna come for me?”

“Mmhm, please don’t stop doing that.” 

Your nails dig into his arm while he ruts into you. You come with his name flowing from your lips, and he follows soon after. His body trembles as he spills his seed into the condom, and he sighs when he’s finally released all the pressure he’s had inside of him.

Your body almost slumps over when he pulls out and tries to withdraw, so he’s forced to keep you close to him so you don’t hurt yourself. “Can you even walk to your bed?” he laughs, giving you a glimpse of his cute boyish smile.

“Probably not.”

He sighs and scoops you up. “Alright, let’s go to bed, lightweight.”

“Shut up,” you mumble, slapping his chest. 

He stops near the kitchen door and tosses the used condom in the trash before taking you to your room and placing you on the bed gently. “Night,” Jungkook says quickly before turning to leave.

“Wait.” You grab his hand to get his attention, and he pauses. “I don’t usually ask these questions, but…did you mean that stuff or were you just fucking around?”

“No, I wouldn’t say that unless I meant it. I still like you, but I know it’s too late,” he says before he looks at you. He stares for a few seconds and responds with an exhale. “Please don’t leave, though. I really miss you.”

You pat beside you. “Come lay with me?”

Jungkook nods and takes off his shoes before he climbs in your bed. “I only ask because…well, you know.”

“Yeah, I know. I’m sorry, for everything. Especially tonight, I never want you to see you that upset again,” he admits.

He doesn’t say anything when you touch his face and trace over his features. “Can I come with you when you take the boat out tomorrow?”

“Yeah, of course.”

You yawn, and Jungkook wraps his arms around you, caressing your sore behind to help you relax. 

“We’ll talk then, okay? It’ll be all romantic and shit,” you tell him and he only scoffs. “Seriously, it’ll be like those movies, and then we'll kiss—”

“And then we’ll try to fuck without rocking the boat too much?” he suggests. You roll your eyes and turn away from him, suppressing your giggles as best as you can. “Did I ruin it?”

“It was ruined before I started talking.”

“True.”

When it’s quiet again, your mind begins to wonder and one question resurfaces in your brain that you forgot to ask Jungkook. “Hey.”

“What’s up?”

“How did you make it to the front of the cabin so fast earlier? You were literally like 10 feet away from my bedroom and then right on me when I ran out,” you point out, making him lift his head.

“I wasn’t back there. I was getting ready to come through the front door and scare you, but you just ran out. I figured you thought you saw another snake or something.”

Your breathing pauses. “Dude, I saw you.”

“No…you didn’t see me.” 

Well, if it wasn’t him, then who? 

Your heart rate speeds up, body working in autopilot as you try to usher Jungkook out of the bed. “We gotta get out of here. We have to run, there’s—”

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding. That was my friend Tommy. Please don’t be mad at him, I begged him to help me,” he confesses and you narrow your eyes at him. “Don’t get mad, babe,” he pouts.

“Oh, I’m not going to get mad, Jungkook.” You crawl over his body, straddling him and kissing his lips before you continue. He thinks he’s off the hook, but you’re about to show him what you’re capable of. 

“...I’m going to get even.”

[jigujellee]

THROUGH WITH YU -> karina yu hates your guts and you don't really know why. | read part 2 here!

karina x reader angst word count: 3.8k warnings: there might be a swear word or two, nothing crazy

a/n: wow, another fic in less than 2 weeks? who is she? lol i'm jk but the first part to the karina enemies to lovers college au is here! there's only two parts, so hopefully, i should be able to get it out soon. don't worry, i'm also working on the requests you've all sent me so please look out for those. take care everyone, thanks for reading!

smu was home to numerous intelligent and hard working students who were slowly losing their sanity every day in order to achieve their future. if they weren’t burying their faces in their laptops or textbooks, students were drowning themselves in caffeine as they desperately try to work through the hell known as university. it’s definitely not easy for most, but then there are people like karina who make the university life look so easy.

karina yu graduated from kwangya high as valedictorian and received a full grant scholarship at smu where she is now a biomedical student with a dream to pursue a career in medicine. she also manages to maintain the top spot in the entire school while being the captain of the swim team and balances a part time job. the girl’s credentials are unmatched, you’d think she doesn’t have a social life but no. everybody and their grandmothers know exactly who karina is, and with a god given face, brain, and talent like hers, who wouldn’t be drawn to her? dubbed as the campus goddess, she captures the hearts of anyone who glances her way. karina could care less about the title though. she was nice to everyone she encountered and remained humble despite being treated like royalty at school. so when everyone’s attention is focused on something else, or rather someone else, karina suddenly becomes intrigued.

“alright class, that wraps it up for today. don’t forget, your assignments on DNA mutagenesis are due next Friday so i hope most of you have at least started on it”

as soon as the campus goddess finished typing up her last few notes, she sets a quick reminder for herself to finish the references for the assignment. karina’s work ethic was something every student dreamed to have in a perfect world, hence why it isn’t uncommon for students to ask her for help every now and then. her best friend ningning is a perfect example of these said students.

“so you’re going to help me with my assignment, right?” the blonde says, not even sparing a glance to karina as her eyes remained glued on her phone.

“ning, why do you still have to ask? i’ve been helping you with your assignments since we were in high school. but let me remind you that you’re smart enough to do it on your own. maybe if you spent less time on your phone, you would’ve gotten it done early”

“thanks for the ted talk but you know i gotta stay updated with the tea around here”

“right, so what’s new gossip girl hm?”

“well, jeno recently got injured after their last basketball game so he’s sitting out for the next few. then there’s yeji and ryujin who got into a pretty nasty fight and people are saying they still haven’t talked it out”

“isn’t it gonna be their 3 year anniversary in a few weeks? i hope they resolve things soon”

“well well well, would you look at that? seems like someone is fairly updated too” ningning chuckles and finally tears her eyes away from the phone to find karina putting her stuff away into a tote bag.

“you live and breathe tea and drama, and unfortunately, i’m the only one who has to hear all of it since i’m pretty much the only friend you have,” karina jokes.

“you make me laugh miss yu,” her best friend says dryly as rolls her eyes and continues to scroll through her phone once more. “oh, and there’s a new student coming in today. apparently they’re coming all the way from canada,” ningning turns off her phone and grabs her bag before sticking her arm out so that karina could link arms with her. the latter didn’t care much about the new transferee, not with her empty stomach practically ringing in her ears.

“yeah yeah whatever, let’s go grab lunch. i’m starving” she links her arms with ningning and the two make their way to the campus cafeteria.

they were greeted with crowds of students, which wasn’t a new sight to the two. almost all of campus knew karina ate in the cafeteria during lunch so they would always have an audience as they ate in peace. what was surprising to karina was that the students weren’t swooning over her like they usually do. instead, they were running right past her and making their way to the table where karina and ningning usually sat. confused, karina looks over at her best friend.

“why is everyone rushing to get over there? we’re not even there yet”

“you think i would know? i was beside you this entire time. but it looks like someone is sitting there already, i can’t see who it is though”

a girl in front of the two overhears their conversation before realizing who it was and immediately moves out of the way to let them pass. everyone else followed suit and the two manage to get a clear view of who was causing such a big crowd. they walk towards the table, but even as they get closer, they are unable to put a name to the face sitting in their usual spot.

as soon as they approached the unfamiliar person, ningning doesn’t hesitate to speak, “hi! i’m ningning and this is my friend karina!” the purple haired girl’s eyes widened at her friend’s sudden introduction, but not wanting to be rude, she just smiled and gave a small wave.

“hello! i’m y/n, it’s nice to meet you both” you say with a big smile plastered on your face.

“ah! you’re the new student, right? from canada?” you eagerly nod your head and continue to answer ningning’s never ending questions about your home country. meanwhile, the girl beside her stayed silent and just stared at you. you couldn’t tell what she was feeling, her face remaining stoic the entire time you were talking with her friend. you open your mouth to address her and try to include her in the conversation, but another student calls your name and invites you to eat lunch with them.

“karina and ningning usually sit here, so just sit with us for lunch” the student then whispered in your ear. you look back at the two girls and realize that they’ve been standing this entire time, so you immediately get up and allow them to sit at their respective table.

“well i’d be glad to answer your questions about canada some other time ning,” you chuckle. “i hope to see you both around more! sorry about taking your seat,” you say as your gaze lands on karina, who just quickly bows her head out of respect before taking a seat at the spot you were just in. ningning quickly hands you her phone for you to put your number in before letting you go. as you leave, you turn to take a look at the purple haired girl one more time.

you now understood why she was called the campus goddess.

-

funnily enough, the campus goddess wanted nothing to do with greek gods and goddesses, or any greek mythology in general. she hated history classes. the only reason she was taking it is because she needed an elective that wasn’t related to her major, so she chose ancient greek mythology and apparently, it was a really easy course. but even if this course was super easy, she got bored so easily. it was the only class that she rarely paid attention in and it made her want to fall asleep.

it doesn’t help that this class was a dreaded 3 hours of her professor going on and on about information that had nothing to do with what karina wanted to do with the rest of her life. oftentimes, her thoughts loved to wander off during class, and to her surprise, you are the one currently taking up space in her mind. karina couldn’t help but think about your smile, your dark brown eyes, your soft voice, the way your hair sat perfectly against-

“miss yu?” karina shakes her head and brings herself back to reality. was i really just thinking of the new student just now?

“sorry sir, what were you saying?”

“i asked which two groups fought during the battle of cynoscephalae?”

karina couldn’t bring herself to answer. she should know this, she did her readings on it so why couldn’t she remember? oh right, because some new girl was distracting her, that’s why.

“it was fought between the romans and the antigonids,” you spoke up after minutes of silence from karina. she looked back in shock, finding you three rows behind her. great, the person who’s been wrecking my train of thought is also in the same class as me.

you shoot her a wink with a smile, causing karina to immediately turn back around to the front, hoping you wouldn’t see her cheeks heating up out of embarrassment.

“that’s correct y/n, thank you. pay more attention karina, this isn’t like you”

“yes sir, it won’t happen again” karina sinks into her seat and groans internally for letting herself get distracted and embarrassing herself in front of you… and the class.

and now, she despised you for making her feel this way and decided that she wanted nothing to do with you.

so any attempt you made in trying to be her friend, whether it be buying her snacks, coffee, cup noodles, and even a whole cake, or trying to follow her on instagram and her other socials, karina shut all of it down. she couldn’t afford to be embarrassed like that anymore and she tried her best to avoid you, but she quickly learned that you were stubborn and you weren’t going to stop until you two were at least acquaintances.

“hi karina! i grabbed you a triangle kimbap and a choco pie in case you were hungry,” you hold out the snacks in front of her, hoping she’ll actually take them this time. but as usual, she just stares at them and her hands remain still by her side.

her eyes shift from your hands to your own eyes, and you could feel a bitter coldness being emitted from her dark brown orbs. “i’m going to make this very clear, y/n. i do not care who you are or where you came from, but i do not need you around me. buying me snacks is not going to get me to be friends with you, so drop the act. we are never going to be friends,” she says, words hitting you like a knife. your hands that are filled with snacks drop to your side as you watch the campus goddess walk away from you. from that moment on, you do your best to avoid her, hoping that you are finally giving her something she actually wants.

-

it’s only 9 in the morning, and karina is already having a horrible day.

“what? what do you mean i’m failing? that’s nearly impossible-”

“calm down karina, you’re not behind by much. with a little tutoring and some catch up assignments, you’ll be able to bring your grade up in no time,” her english professor says.

karina huffs in frustration. how could this happen? she swore she handed in all her essays on time and they were all done very well, so she had no idea how could she be failing the class.

“i asked the student who will tutor you to come in today so that i could introduce you two,” and as if on cue, there was a knock on the door.

“perfect timing. come in!”

karina doesn’t bother turning around to see who it was, still trying to rack her brain over how she could possibly be doing badly in english class.

“you wanted to see me professor lee?”

the purple haired girl’s eyes widened and her mouth falls slightly agape. she didn’t need to look at who it was; the voice said it all.

“thank you for coming, y/n! i wanted to introduce you to karina, have you met before?”

“yes, we share a few classes together” you say dryly.

you were aware that you had to tutor someone, but you didn’t know it’d be her. from where you were standing, you could see that she didn’t want to be in this setup either. she was avoiding your presence, putting all her attention onto the stack of papers on the professor’s desk and studying it as if it were the most intriguing thing in the world right now.

“with all due respect professor lee, i’m sure there are a number of other students who would be willing to help karina out. not to mention countless other students who speak english at a much higher level than i do, such as aeri, chaeyoung, jennie, yunjin, jisu, seungkwan.. need i list more?”

for the first time since entering the office, karina looks at you with a confused expression; she didn’t expect you to turn the opportunity down, not after all the nice things you’ve done for her just to be her friend. your focus remains on the professor as you wait for a reply, ignoring the other girl beside you who was trying to figure you out, the stack of papers on the desk now long forgotten.

“nonsense y/n, what better way to learn english than from someone who’s just transferred from canada? besides, english is your first language, correct?” you nod your head, unable to lie because the records were right there in front of the prof.

“then it’s settled! think of it as a way to get closer to one another. karina, i promise you won’t regret this and your grade will improve in no time! you two are dismissed, i’ll see you both on wednesday”

both of you bow your heads, and karina is the first one to get up and leave. you follow suit, rolling your eyes once you’re at the door because she didn’t even have the courtesy to hold it open for you. once you’re both outside of professor lee’s office, you’re about to retreat to your own dorm but karina stops you.

“hey”

you say nothing and just turn to look at her, waiting for her to continue what she wanted to say.

“2pm tomorrow at the library. don’t be late,” she says sternly.

with no ounce of emotion on your face, you turn around and leave the purple haired girl standing in front of the prof’s office.

you hoped this tutoring session will go somewhat smoothly.

-

no, it’s not going smoothly.

karina was the one who said not to be late, yet she’s the one who came almost 20 minutes late. she blamed it on ningning for asking her to accompany her while she talks to one of their other professors.

and now, karina hasn’t spoken a word to you since she got here. she didn’t bother asking for any clarification or any questions and just began working on her assignment, but you couldn’t care less. if she didn’t want to fix her grade, then so be it. you allowed yourself to enjoy this quiet time by catching up on your favourite book, but unfortunately, it doesn’t last long.

“here, check this for me”

you scan the paragraph writing assignment she had to do. with a pencil, you lightly circled her mistakes and even wrote down some comments on things that could be improved. when you hand it back to her, you watch as her eyes scan over the paper and she huffs in frustration. you continue to watch the campus goddess scribble onto her paper, erasing and rewriting things every other second. your eyes move to the paper and you notice her making the same mistake again.

“you did the same thing aga-”

“shut up, i got it” but even after she erases it, she does it again. this time, she realizes what she wrote.

“not a word, y/n”

“rina look, i just-”

“first of all, do not call me that. we’re not close, okay? and second, i don’t care that you were asked to help me. i just need to pass english and then i’m through with you,” without missing a beat, she continues writing her assignment.

you won’t lie, it hurt whenever karina dismissed you like that. you don’t even understand why she hated you so much. was it because you answered for her in class? or was it because you stole her seat on the first day? whatever it was, it still hurt. but if she was going to be like this towards you, then you figured you should be the same back.

and that’s how the rest of your tutoring sessions go. you both arrive at the library, not uttering a single word to each other. you immerse yourself in your book or in other school work, and you only say something if karina asks you. as you meet up more and more, however, you notice karina is slowly starting to ask more questions and actually initiate conversation but you always gave her a dry reply, not even bothering to look up at her as you answer. why should you? you were just here to help her.

after one of your tutoring sessions, you were walking back to your dorm when you suddenly receive a phone call. the caller ID was enough to make you decline the call, but you answer it anyway. you don’t bother saying hello, and just wait for the other party to say something.

“not even a hello? wow, who do you think you are?”

“what do you want?”

“jeez, what’s gotten into you? i just called to check up on you”

“i never asked you to check on me”

“god, you’re unbelievable. you should be thankful i’m even checking up on you even after what you did to your-”

“stop trying to act like my mother. you are not her and you will never be her, so just shut up and leave me alone,” you angrily say as you hang up, not letting her get a response in. you shove your phone back into your pocket and stormed off to your dorm, but you don’t notice the girl behind you who heard everything.

she didn’t mean to eavesdrop. if anything, she blames you for stopping in the middle of the hallway and answering the call, and even putting it on speaker phone. but she heard it either way, whether she wanted to or not. karina watched as you stomped away and she felt a heavy feeling in her chest - it was guilt. she’s been rude to you all this time when all you wanted was to be her friend. you even agreed to tutor her (though it was pretty much forced) and she was still acting like such a bitch to you. but after hearing the conversation, she couldn’t help but feel sad. she didn’t have the best relationship with her mom either, so in a way, she kind of related to you. she starts thinking that maybe you weren’t so bad after all.

-

a few more tutoring sessions and three assignments later, karina manages to get her grade back up. once she hears the good news from professor lee, she immediately goes to find you.

“y/n!”

you turn around to find an ecstatic and smiley purple haired goddess coming your way. she crashes into you and wraps her arms around you, but you just stand there and look straight ahead, leaving your arms glued to your side.

she finally lets go of you after what seemed like minutes of hugging, and she shoves a paper in front of your face.

“look! i got my grade back up, and it’s all thanks to you!”

“good. now we can go our separate ways,” you try to walk pass her, but she grabs your arm to stop you.

“wait! let me treat you to something to eat! as a thank you for helping me”

“i’ll pass,” and you try to walk by her again. she doesn’t stop you this time, but she starts following you instead.

“how about tomorrow? or next week? i’m free whenever, just let me kn-”

“what’s your deal, hm? why are you so nice to me all of a sudden? just because you got your grade up or what?”

karina’s smile fades and a nervous expression appears on her face, scared to tell you why she was acting this way. she fidgets with the paper in her hand, avoiding your gaze and biting her bottom lip.

“so what do you want?” you ask, trying to get an answer out of her.

“i..” she starts. “i overheard your phone call with your mom. i didn’t mean to, it’s just you were right there and you even put it on speaker phone so i just happened to hear everything..” you say nothing, and you wait for her to continue.

“i feel bad for how i’ve treated you all this time. the truth is, i get it. i know what you’re going through, and it’s okay to-”

“stop,” karina looks at you, and she looks scared but she’s not scared that you were angry, she knew you’re probably pissed at her. what was scaring her is the lack of emotion you were showing. she wanted you to scream at her, to cuss her out for being such a bitch, but instead you’re as calm as ever and it terrifies her to her core.

“she’s not my mother. that was my stepmom who tries way too hard to be my mother,” you say calmly. you start making your way to her, making sure that she hears what you have to say next loud and clear. once you're right in front of her, you continue.

“don’t act like you fucking know me just after hearing one phone call. if you’re being nice to me because you feel bad for me, then just save it. i don’t need your pity and i don’t need you around, got it? i’m through with you” you’re close enough to feel her breath on your lips, but you back away as soon as you’re done talking to her and you leave her in the middle of the hall with people were staring, but you didn’t care. you didn’t need karina or her pity, and the campus goddess got that message loud and clear. but it still hurt her. it hurt enough to make tears fall from her eyes, and karina rarely ever cries. she wipes away whatever tears were on her cheek and starts making her way to meet with ningning.

karina didn't want you to be through with her, but she deserved it. especially since she's the one who said it first.

[scarlettriot]

Along for the Ride PT 1

Pairing: KirishimaxF!Reader

Summary: A drunken mistake had you marking the little Plus One box to your snobby cousin's wedding. Kirishima told you not to worry, if you couldn't find a date, he'd go with you. When the wedding gets moved up, there's absolutely no time to find a date and you're now about to be traveling to America with Kirishima on a private jet no less, dreading having him meet your rude and impossibly arrogant family.

Contains: Kirishima and Reader both come from very well-off families. Plus-Sized Reader. Fluff. Hurt/Comfort.

Warnings: Kinda smutty for a minute. Minors DNI. Drunken Sex. TW: Manipulative Family Relationships. TW: Body Image Issues

A/N: This story has been rolling around in my head for a while now. I might rewrite this and repost. Or I might just post the whole thing soon. I dunno yet. It does get smuttier.

Word Count: 4,974

"What's up with Y/N?"

Eijiro stepped out of the locker room with a towel slung over his shoulder and made his way into the kitchenette where Mina was chugging a bottle of water before getting back to her patrol. His eyes were trained on their mutual friend out on the patio, pacing.

You had your phone pressed to your ear, the high neck of your hero costume unzipped to your collarbone and he noticed your gloves discarded on a chair.

"No clue." Mina shrugged. "She got back from patrol and she noticed a bunch of missed calls from her mom. She's been out there, flailing on the phone for the last fifteen minutes now."

The three of you had met in your second year at UA when you transferred into their class and were quickly accepted by their little squad of friends. You were a bit quiet at first but quickly found comfort in the group. Eijiro had grown especially close to you when you both interned with Fat Gum.

Late nights traveling on the train back to school, a few close calls while helping patrol, and days spent playing cards while you both healed up in the hospital left plenty of time for Eijiro to get to know you better than most. It was how he knew you had a pretty bad relationship with your family, why you hated returning home for the holidays almost as much as you hated any and all forms of tomatoes.

He considered going out there just to see if there was anything he could do but before he had the chance, you were sliding the glass door open. "Oh, good, you're back." He offered you a bottle of water for your throat that he assumed was sore after that argument. "I- um- can I borrow you for a second? Alone?"

Mina snorted a laugh. "If you guys wanna bang it out on the counter you can just say so. I gotta go to work anyways."

Eijiro threw the towel at her as she left the room leaving you two alone. "What's goin' on?"

You hoisted yourself up on the countertop while he leaned against the fridge. "You remember my cousin's wedding that's happening this winter?"

He nodded. He vividly remembered the both of you getting waste a few weeks ago when you were filling out the RSVP and accidentally marking 'plus one'. Then you ran around trying to find White Out but he'd told you if you didn't find a date or have a significant other by the time of the wedding, he'd just go with you.

You argued that your family was bat shit crazy, had more money than they could spend in their lifetime and because of that, they were among some of the rudest people you knew, and you didn't want Eijiro or anyone else around that.

The thing was, Eijiro already knew that and was still okay with going. He came from money too. A lot of it. His family was just more welcoming than yours, the wealth never really going to their heads. But, he reminded you that he'd ran into enough people like those in your family that he knew how to handle them. You finally agreed to let him accompany you, leaving the plus one box checked but the name line blank.

"Well, my cousin just found out that surprise, she's pregnant! And, obviously, she can't have a wedding while seven months along so they've decided to move the wedding up to this weekend."

He nearly choked on his own spit. "This weekend? As in four days from now?"

"Yup! Saturday at 4 in the evening. Oh! No one's supposed to know she's pregnant either. So, I'm just supposed to compliment her on how flattering her dress looks, how thin she is," Your hands strangled the water bottle between them, "And I have to find something flattering to my figure because my mother has seen me in my hero outfit and she's so glad I wear a mask because if anyone knew her daughter ran around looking like I do, well, it'd ruin her!"

You massaged your temples circling back to the actual point, "Anyways, I just wanted to bitch for a sec and let you know you're off the hook since four days is just a little short notice and I told her my plus one wouldn't be able to get the time off that fast."

He pushed off the fridge. "Well, wait, hang on! I'm not letting you go in alone to deal with them! Hell no! You need backup!" You looked almost taken aback by his abruptness, "Yeah. I can work this out. Is the wedding at the same place it was supposed to be or has it moved?"

"No, it's still that fancy lodge in California. I was planning on leaving Friday morning and then coming back either Sunday night or Monday morning since my mother insists I go to their brunch the following day. But, Eijiro, I already have this weekend off..."

"Denki owes me a favor or twelve. He's supposed to be off this weekend too, I'll just see if he can cover me."

"And if he can't?"

"Then..." He pressed the back of his hand to his forehead, "Y/N, am I feeling warm to you? I think I might be starting a fever!"

You folded your arms, shaking your head, "Thought you said lying isn't manly."

"Technically, correct. But, what would be real unmanly is for me to let you deal with your family's bullshit all alone." You watched him closely, "To be honest, I'm sure we could just explain you had a family thing come up and asked me to come along for moral support. I don't really think anyone would think twice about it. Hell, you took a few days off to console me when my turtle died suddenly!"

"Eiji, you refused to eat."

"And you brought me my favorite dumplings! Same thing!"

You might have shaken your head at him but your arms opened wide. The telltale sign you wanted affection. He walked forward, consuming you in a tight hug. Your arms latched around his neck, face buried in the hollow of his throat. "You're the best."

"I just do what I can."

>>><<<

You should have canceled. Instead of Eijiro faking sick to get out of work, you should have faked it with your mother so you didn't have to go in the first place. You crumpled to the floor of your bedroom in pure frustration amidst the twenty or so outfits and dozen pairs of shoes you'd thrown out of your closet trying to find something that your mother would deem appropriate.

It wasn't your fault you had a fuller figure. You worked out, ate right, not to mention your job kept you very active, and yet your, hips, ass, and breasts were by no means subtle.

Your mother had also insisted on the dress being floor-length and modern, "Do try not wearing all black. It's a wedding, not a funeral. And, get your hair looking natural, please." And, just like that, 70% of your wardrobe was out the window!

"It's open!" You called from the floor when the doorbell rang.

"You really should lock this." Mina tutted, walking through the door with a bag full of takeout.

"I do. At night."

"Honey, it's 9 PM."

"Night like bedtime."

Mina just rolled her eyes and walked into your tiny kitchen. "I see the dress hunt is going well."

"I actually figured it out!" You got off the floor, careful not to step on a heel as you made your way to the pink haired woman, "I'm just gonna go in my birthday suit. I figured, my mother made my body technically therefore she can't disapprove of it. Because, you know, she's never done anything wrong in her life!"

Your best friend snorted out a laugh and passed you the take-out container stuffed full of stir fry. "you're a wonderful person, you know that?" You loved the fact Mina didn't even have to ask what you wanted.

"If you'd just move closer to work then you could pick it up yourself and I wouldn't have to bring it to you."

"Too expensive." You declared after a mouthful. "You pay almost twice as much as I do per month and I just don't see the point. I have damn near the same amount of space you do for half the cost!"

You adored your small one-bedroom apartment. It was perfect. Right above a bakery that you visited each morning after your run and a little balcony that provided you with the most stunning view of the sunset.

"You and Kiri, I swear." Mina just shook her head and curled up with her food on the loveseat. "I thought he'd end up with the biggest house out of us all the moment we started making that real Pro money. You've seen his parent's house. It's massive! You could get lost in that place!"

Eijiro's place was barely bigger than your own. He lived in the same condo he had since you'd graduated UA, claiming it was perfect for him in each and every way. But, you knew that he donated a sizable amount of his paycheck every month to charities, the same as you. With savings to spare, neither of you saw the point in hoarding it and therefore the small condo was all he could afford with what he actually kept.

"Just don't understand how a guy that big can live in such a tiny little space. At least with you, it's you know, physically feasible."

Eijiro's bedroom was barely large enough to fit the king-sized bed the man needed to sleep comfortably and even then, his feet were dangerously close to dangling off the bed. And, as if the man's ears were burning, your cell phone went off under a pile of discarded shoes.

Shark-E: Figured out your dress situation? If not, I'm just gonna pack like ten different ties and hope for the best.

You: Yeah! I totally did! I'm just gonna wear this birthday suit I got and call it a night.

You chuckled at your own joke all over again. Watching the grey ellipses appear and then vanish, appear and vanish again. After a third time, you took pity on the man.

You: Joking, Ei. I still don't have it figured out but Mina's over so, hopefully, she can help.

Shark-E: Gonna give me a damn heart attack! Seriously, I wouldn't put it past you just to see the look on your mom's face. Tell Mina hi and good luck to you. I vote the dress from the Hero Gala two years ago.

You: Hi from Mina. Can't. Too much boobs.

Shark-E: You take that back right now! There is NEVER such a thing as too much boobs!

You chuckled to yourself, putting your phone down, and then finished off the last of your delicious dinner, thinking about the dress Eijiro mentioned.

You wondered if maybe there was a way you could make the thing work but it was so very low cut. So much tape had been used to make sure no slips happened but damn was it worth it! The beaded bodice with the sparkling long sleeves, gods, how you loved that dress.

"I'm inclined to agree with our shark boy. You're busty, who gives a damn. You looked hot as hell in that dress."

"My mother, that's who. As much as I'd like to not give a flying fuck what she thinks, for some dumb reason, I do. On top of her telling me that the amount of cleavage I would show would be vastly inappropriate for a wedding, she'd also say the way it hugs my hips makes them look too fat."

Mina rolled her eyes. "She's such a piece of work." Pushing herself up, she held her arms out to you, wiggling little pink fingers for you to take. "Come on then. Let's get you sorted."

"What about that one you wore to the charity art thingy with Kyoka last winter? The one with the silver top."

"Silver is too close to white." You called out from within your closet.

"What! Not true!"

"You know that. I know that. Every person with two brain cells knows that, which is why most of my family does not know that."

"Fine..." She whined and started sifting through the opposite end of your closet. "Oh, what about this?" Mina waved about the blue and green plaid skirt that made up your uniform from your middle school days when you lived in America. "Please try this on. I'm begging!"

You were pretty sure it wouldn't even go over your thighs anymore.

"It's got a better chance of fitting you!"

Mina threw it at you anyway. Slipping off the sweats you wore, somehow, someway, you were able to tug it on AND get it zipped, barely. It no longer covered your ass but you still enjoyed the way it swished around when you wiggled your hips.

"You could be fulfilling so many people's fantasies right now." Mina mused.

You pulled the skirt off and sweats back on, throwing the former back at her. "Yeah, you can take it and go fulfill Hanta's fantasies if you like. Not like I've got anyone to impress." You pulled down a dress you bought on sale a year ago but Mina was quick to dismiss it.

Too puffy, she said and then held up one that was from Momo. "I needed to get it shortened and I don't have time for that now."

"Wait..." She hummed and dropped the Momo dress. "I know what it should be!"

Mina hurried through the closet, grumbling about not finding it. "Just tell me which dress and I can tell you where it's at."

"It's that one you got for grad night and then you got sick and couldn't go!"

"Mina, Mina I can't wear that! That's actual vintage, not like, made-to-look-vintage!"

"But it's so elegant and has that off-the-shoulder sleeve thing. The wedding is at a damn sky lodge! It'll look so pretty in the snow! Ah! Found it!"

She yanked up the long, elegant gown from the garment bag you'd never removed it from. There wasn't a single wrinkle in the burgundy fabric. It looked just as beautiful as the day you found it in that second-hand store, on a mannequin with gaudy stage jewels that you just had to buy so the look was complete.

You ran the back of your hand over the velvety fabric, soft to the touch. "It'll be too tight now. If I was the same size I was at graduation-"

"Bullshit!" Mina cut you off with a dismissive hand, "You've got hips now. We aren't 18 anymore! It's not like it's some clubbing dress. And I bet no one would say a damn thing about your figure if they knew how easily you could crush them with those thighs!"

A smirk tugged at the corner of your lips. Without quirks, you gave every single one of your classmates a run for their money in hand to hand. Most were fairly easy to beat. You could usually take down Eijiro in about five or six minutes and Katsuki in half the time. Funny enough, it was Ochaco that gave you the hardest time.

"I'll consider it. But help me find something else just in case."

>>><<<

It was another two hours before you finally agreed on an a-line, empire waist green and gold number that had been the bridesmaid's dresses for Tetsutetsu's wedding. Mina thought they were a crime the first time they had to wear them, she had no idea what you were thinking.

That's why the moment you were preoccupied with trying to find yet another dress for the Sunday brunch, Mina pulled out her phone.

You: DO NOT, under any circumstances, allow Y/N to wear the green dress. She's bringing two because she can't decide. Red is the winner!

Jaws: Aw, come on. If she likes it, let her wear whatever she's comfortable in. She'll be under enough stress already.

You: Kirishima, it's the dress from Tetsu's wedding. The one that looks sparkly baby food.

It took him a second to respond.

Jaws: Alright. Understood. I thought you guys looked good but damn, she hated that dress.

You: We all did.

Mina looked at the message chain again and couldn't help but asked, "Are we just gonna ignore the fact that you and Eiji are flying all the way to America, last minute, to attend a wedding together, even though you're not together?"

"We've flown to the states before."

"For work!" She sat up eagerly. "This is different, Y/N! This is a date and not just a, like, casual date but a wedding date!"

You poked your head out of the closet. "No, it isn't. This is a friend helping another friend who stupidly mismarked an RSVP." You corrected very plainly but Mina wasn't one to give up so easily.

She whined, dragging out your name, "You guys have been doing this thing for ages. Why do you have to be so stubborn about it all!"

"What's that supposed to mean!"

Mina started ticking off points on her fingers. "He was the first person you opened up to at UA. You saved his life when he was busy saving Katsuki's life second year. You spent all that time interning together, became sidekicks together. Went to America together for three whole months, ALONE, and you honestly expect me to think there's nothing between the two of you!"

The truth of it all was simple really; 17 year old you had a massive crush on Eijiro Kirishima. He was sweet, always listening to you, providing comfort when you needed it, and always encouraging you to push your limits. He was bright and honest, a little slow in the head from time to time but that made him all the more endearing.

He was also head over heels in love with Katsuki Bakugo.

It was why you never made a move. Never spoke a word of the feelings you harbored. You didn't dare to cross that line with him because you couldn't ever hold a candle to the explosive man.

In the three years Eijiro and Katsuki spent together, your brain finally started registering Eijiro as just a friend, nothing more, and certainly nothing less. You thought your heart had followed suit but it was becoming more and more apparent that wasn't the case. Because the night he showed up at your door, tears in his ruby eyes, every lock you put on your heart broke open.

The same way you couldn't hold a candle to Katsuki, Eijiro couldn't hold one to Izuku. You knew exactly what he was feeling even if you never intended to tell him. Too overcome with fear. If Katsuki came back... that'd be it. Eijiro would go back and you wouldn't even blame him!

Still, the redhead consumed a decent chunk of your heart though, you couldn't deny that after the three months you spent together in America, gathering intel on a smuggling ring, living in the same apartment. The groggy, 'good mornings' when his voice was still scratchy with sleep, hair falling in his eyes. The late nights bandaging wounds and killing cheap bottles of wine while watching terrible American reality shows.

It was those bottles of wine that did you in on your second to last night in America. Supplying you with courage and draining your sense of reason, allowing you to crawl onto his lap, into his arms. You could still remember the pressure of his lips on yours, those sharp teeth gently dragging along your lower lip.

Scared hands tracing the curve of your ass before taking handfuls to squeeze. The laugh that came from you was unlike anything you heard before, something so genuine that you couldn't reproduce.

How it felt when he lifted you up and took you to his bed, laying you down taking his time removing your clothes, and watching with awe as you pulled away his own. The way he looked over top of you, his hair a curtain of red around you just before you closed your eyes, gasping while he filled you.

You also remembered the guilt that crept into your head during the wee hours of the morning, the doubt that was louder than the snores coming from behind you.

It made you slip from under his massive arm, gather up your clothes from his floor, you tucked the blanket around him, and pressed a kiss to his temple before padding out of the room.

You told yourself you'd talk to him about it if he brought it up, but he never did. Not the next morning, or night, not on the plane ride back home, nor anytime since. It was a memory you'd hold close to your heart, one you wouldn't let slip away or share.

"There's nothing there, Mina. We're just good friends is all." You lied with a smile on your face, something that had become surprisingly easy to do.

If only you knew that Mina saw right through it. That Mina already knew the truth of it all.

>>><<<

It was nearly one in the morning when your phone rang. The goofy picture of Eijiro with face half painted at a festival a few years back never failed to make you grin.

"It's a little late." You answered by way of greeting.

"Don't pretend like you were anywhere close to sleeping, you little night owl."

Chuckling at the nickname that had followed you since high school, "What's up, Eiji?"

"I was going over flights. You said in the office that you wanted to leave on Friday?"

"Yeah. I have patrol tomorrow and I didn't find any flights after 6 PM so, Friday is the earliest."

He was quiet on the other line for a moment. "Yeah, you don't have patrol tomorrow, or work at all for that matter."

You sat up a bit straighter in bed. "Um, yes I do."

"No, you don't. I called Mina, asked her if you'd mind taking that shift for you and, since she knows what's happening, she agreed the extra day for travel would do you some good. So, she's covering you tomorrow then you're off work until next Wednesday. As for me, thanks to all that overtime I put in when Denki, Kyoka, and Hitoshi got married, the three of them are splitting up my days so I have until Wednesday too."

Eijiro sounded impossibly proud on the other line, you could almost see the smirk on his face. "You've got this all planned out, don't you?"

"And a bag nearly packed. Just need you to tell me what ties to bring."

"Gold, burgundy, and black."

"Thought your mom said no black for you?"

"She said no black for the wedding. She said nothing about black at the brunch!"

You couldn't wait to put on the tea-length dress that had been a favorite for years. Satin with a lacy top and, best of all, pockets.

He let out a rumbling laugh that fell off into comfortable silence as you laid back in your bed, lights still on, the room still a mess. You tapped the speaker icon and laid the phone on the pillow right beside your head, listing to the various sounds of Eijiro moving around.

A door creaking open, a hanger clattering against another, and a zipper. "And just like that, I'm all set."

"Don't forget your passport or hero license."

"I have one in my wallet and the other in my backpack."

You swiped up on your iPad, off Netflix, and going to google, lazily searching through flights. "So, did you find any good flights since you've clearly been looking?"

Another chuckle, "Eijiro, why are you laughing?" More stifled giggles had you sitting up in bed again. "Just tell me a site you were on. They're just flights, what's so funny?"

"There isn't a site."

"You said you were checking flights."

"And I was... on my family's jet."

"Eiji! No! No, no, no! That is supposed to be for their business or hero things! My stupid cousin's wedding is neither of those things!"

"Relax, Y/N. My family has multiple and they don't have any business trips planned right now anyways. I already cleared it with my mom. Seriously, I just mention your name and she's likely to let me have it for a whole year at least. Plus Todoroki's is back up in working order so the agency is covered too."

Damn, why'd he have to be so good at planning from time to time! You'd completely forgotten about the second jet his family had. Always opting for the larger one since the few missions they needed it for required them to bring fifty or so heroes along.

"Besides, if we fly private, we can land at an airstrip closer to the venue and won't need to drive four hours on top of a ten-hour flight."

"Alright, okay, thank you but, let me take care of the rental car, please. It's the least you can let me do."

"Deal. I just have one more question for ya."

"What's that?"

"Wanna leave tonight?"

You nearly dropped your damn iPad in shock. "Eijiro! What the fuck has gotten into you! It's the middle of the night!"

"I'm excited!" He boomed, "I haven't had a vacation in months!"

"I hate to break this to you, buddy, but this isn't going to be a vacation. You really shouldn't get your hopes up. This isn't going to be a good time with laughs and fun memories... my family, they just, they aren't those kinds of people."

"But we are." He stated matter-of-factly. "If they want to have sticks up their asses then let them! We'll have a good time on our own, laugh and make fun memories! So, what do you say, Y/N? I can be at your place in fifteen. I just gotta put shoes on and grab my keys..."

"Wait, hang on. Are you forgetting that we need someone to, oh, I dunno, FLY THE PLANE! Actually, we need two someone's, can't forget about a co-pilot!"

He hummed happily and you rubbed your temples. "You, you have a pilot and a co, don't you, Eiji?"

"Mhm! There is a company we use. Two can be at the hanger in an hour and every hour after that. I just have to make the call and get the flight plan approved which will be done before I even get to your house."

There was literally no reason to say no. You had mostly everything packed, nothing you needed to get from the store, all you had to do was put on pants and pack up your hygiene bag and you were ready too. Maybe getting there quicker and getting the whole thing over with would be better than staying home dwelling on everything.

"Better put your shoes on."

The glee in his voice, that was enough to make this whole thing worth it, "I'll see you soon."

>>><<<

Eijiro reached into the backseat and plopped a bag down on your lap the very moment you were buckled in. "Had to make a pit stop." He explained.

"It's after two in the morning, where'd you have to..."

"Just open the bag and don't complain."

You found it filled to the brim with all your favorite snacks.

"I'm sure the plane will have a bunch of snacks we can raid but I know for a fact they don't have these." He held up a pack of cookies and creme flavored pocky that had been his favorite for as long as you'd known him, quickly followed by your favorite flavor too. You also found a massive bag of gummy worms and jolly ranchers.

"So, what you're telling me is our teeth are going to rot by the time we land? Not that I'm complaining."

You ripped open the bag of ranchers knowing that was what he'd go for first and sure enough his hand dove inside just as he pulled away from the curb. You could hear his dangerously sharp teeth biting through the rock candy like it was nothing while you still rolled one around your mouth.

Eijiro asked you about the resort you'd be going to, wondering if you'd been there before or what other stuff you guys could do when you weren't dealing with your family. "I figured we could fly back Monday night or Tuesday morning, you know, just play it by ear in case there was anything else we wanted to do."

More than anything, you wished you could just leech a little bit of that excitement from him. The glimpses of his smile you caught as you drove under the street lights made your heart ache.

"What?" He asked with that wide smile of his. You'd been caught staring, red-handed.

"I, uh, I just don't know what to tell you."

You could see the subtle change of his grin, watch as it softened and his hand came to rest on your thigh. "Hey, it's gonna be fine! And if we run into them while out doing stuff, you can just avoid them or hide behind me!" At least hiding behind Eijiro is an easy thing to do, damn mountain of a man.

His thumb slowly brushed back and forth. "'S gonna be okay. I'll beat 'em up if they're assholes!"

You snickered at his Katsuki impression and let the drone of the radio fill the air around you both. Enjoying the silence the rest of the way to the hanger with Eijiro's hand atop your leg.

[roscgcld]

GOJO SATORU || pretty eyes [pt.2]

anime: jujutsu kaisen 

character: gojo satoru

pronouns: she/her 

notes: high-school! gojo x underclassman! reader

the part two of ‘pretty eyes’ is here! read part one here.

“You really do have pretty eyes, senpai.”

Gojo prides himself as a man who just ‘doesn’t do relationships’. Besides the fact that there is a line of women who were just waiting to get with him, he had never really seen what an actual functioning relationship looked like. His parents had an arranged marriage to ‘keep the Gojo clan’s genes powerful’ - his father was barely around, going about his duties to the clan whilst his mother was out and about having affairs left, right and center. 

With that being said though, Gojo was a determined man. He may not know exactly what was it that draws him to a particular junior of his, but he’d be damned if he didn’t get to at least know her better. The problem? He has absolutely no clue on how to woe her. 

“Remind me again exactly what am I doing here?”

It was a Friday afternoon - and classes are always let out earlier on Friday. Usually Geto would spend the free afternoon just relaxing in his dorm after a long week of classes and missions; but before Geto can evens step one foot out of the stuffy classroom, Gojo had grabbed his arm and teleported them both out of campus. That’s how he found himself in a random café that Gojo had graciously dragged them into, narrowing his eyes over at his best friend as he raised his mug of earl grey to his lips. “If this is about copying my essay-”

“How do you ask a girl out?”

“Hah?” Geto asks with an annoyed scowl, to which Gojo just made a noise before he awkward sets his clean cake fork down; the multi-layered cookies and cream cake sat untouched before him. That alone should be concerning, since Gojo is known to have a strong affinity for sweets. “How do you ask a girl out? Like, on a date.” Gojo repeated with the utmost serious expression on his face, and for a few moments Geto just blinks at him owlishly. “Satoru, how the hell have you been asking women out before this? It’s the same damn thing.” 

“Asking a girl you actually like out and asking someone for a one night stand are two very different things.” Gojo stresses whilst Geto actually sets his mug down before him, the situation slowly dawning onto him. “You’re actually being serious right now.” He mutters whilst Gojo tossed him an annoyed look, clearly unamused by how little faith his friend has in him. “Well, first things first, you actually need to get to know them better first before you actually ask them.”

“Yeah, well - I’m trying to work on that.” Gojo grumbles out quietly as he picked his fork back up, digging into the corner of his cake with a soft frown whilst Geto leans back into his seat with a thoughtful look. “But I didn’t even notice her until recently.” He sighs softly to himself as he examined his forkful of cake, a slight pout tugging on his lips. “I am sure Ieiri might help. But knowing her, that means I’ll owe her another debt that she will use against me.”

Geto, for once, actually feels some form of sympathy for Gojo. Whilst he grew up in a functioning household with loving parents, Gojo was brought up in a lonely world, where he was treated like a prized position to be paraded about. So Geto wasn’t shocked at how unsure the usually overconfident Gojo is when it comes to something as trivial as dating. “Well...you can bring her out for coffee like you’re doing with me.” He offered, to which Gojo just made a face at his statement. “Sorry buddy, I don’t swing that way.”

“You little piece of shit.” Geto grunted with a light scowl as he kicked Gojo hard underneath the table, his annoyance growing at the familiar grin that was tugging at the corners of Gojo’s lips; and also the fact that his foot was stop by the Limitless that Gojo had activated before Geto can kick. “I mean an actual cute date dumbass - bring her café hopping about Tokyo or something. Or one of those pet cafes - people love pet cafes.” Geto said with a tired sigh, picking up his mug to take a slow sip from his warm liquid whilst Gojo actually pauses for a moment at Geto’s words. “Wait, that’s not that bad of an idea.”

Geto just rolled his eyes at that, taking soft sips from his mug whilst he watches as Gojo start googling about a few cafes that he can bring her about. “You’re welcome.” Geto said with a tired sigh as he sets his mug down, crossing his arms over his chest as he looks over at Gojo. “Now figure out a way to get to know her better and see if she’s even interested in your annoying ass.” He stated simply, to which Gojo just grins as he pointed the end of his fork as Geto, having eating that bite of cake whilst he typing away on his phone. “Who wouldn’t be interested in me?”

“Do you really want me to answer that?”

The next time he had gotten a chance to bump into her was actually by complete accident. 

Like usually, he had decided to slack off instead of doing his homework; so it was no surprise to find the young shaman cooped up in the library of the school with a variety of textbooks opened around him. To be honest, Gojo wouldn’t have done this essay if it wasn’t for the fact that it had a heavy weightage on his final grade, determining if he could graduate from high school. 

Even with that threat overhead, he decided to drag it out until the very last day to start writing it. Geto was just annoyed at him, since Gojo is actually really smart - yet he enjoys slacking off. It was infuriating, and since Gojo had already annoyed him enough with his entire ‘crush’ situation, Geto had just told him to go to the library before promptly closing the door in his face.

So there Gojo was, long limbs stretched out all over the place as he twirls his pen between his fingers. He had the most bored expression on his face as he tilted his head back with a sigh, his eyes blinking up at the wooden ceiling. If he was being honest, he had actually finished half of his essay - until he grew bored and wanted a distraction. He was about to get up to go and grab a snack from the vending machines when he heard a pair of soft footsteps and a quiet voice calling out to him.

“Oh, hello there, Gojo-senpai.”

Gojo widen his eyes in shock as he suddenly sat up straight, almost dropping the pen he was twirling between his fingers as he snapped his eyes up at the girl that had plagued his thoughts day and night. The same smile gracing her lips as she curiously walked towards the messy desk, casting a glance over the many opened books and the half-written essay before him. “Am I disturbing your research?”

“N-No.” Gojo said, cringing a little at how awkward he sounded - it was so unnatural and so unlike him, and he hopes that she didn’t notice it. Fortunately she hadn’t picked up on the awkwardness that he was basically radiating as she smiles and nods, gesturing to the free seat opposite from his with her free hand. “Do you mind if I take a seat there? I don’t really like studying alone in the library, it can get really quiet and boring.”

Numbly Gojo nodded, feeling a light blush coating his cheeks when he saw the grateful smile she tossed over at him casually as she made her way to the seat. He snapped out of it when he saw her pulling her own textbook from her bag, quickly shifting his mess into a neat pile so she has more space to work. She thanked him quietly with a smile, settling down in the free seat opposite from his as she started to flip through her book. He pretended to return to his work as well, but in reality he was watching her through his lashes, admiring how she can make something as simple as reading look graceful.

There was no way he was going to be able to do work now.

Closing his eyes a little, he reaches up to rub the bridge of his nose, this action causing his signature rounded sunglasses to fall down the bridge a little more. He was about to push them back when he felt a pair of eyes on him, causing him to look over the rim of his glasses over at the girl before him. When she was caught staring she just smiles at him, causing Gojo’s now calmed cheeks to flare up once more. “You really do have pretty eyes, senpai.” The girl stated simply, tilting her head a little as she casted him another smile. 

And once more, the simple act of a smile caused Gojo’s breath to hitch, his eyes widening even more as he watches how she just casually looked down at her textbook once more. If only she knew just how that one sentence had basically shot-circuited his brain - rendering him useless for a few seconds. Somehow though, he managed to slowly return to his senses and start on his essay, the sound of having someone else studying with him getting him into the groove of things. Without even knowing it, he wrote the last sentence of his essay; smiling victoriously as he picked the essay up and flipped through the sheets of writing. He gave them a quick scan, reading it briefly to make sure everything looks alright before he slipped his essay back into his folder.

He had started to pack his books up when he spotted the clear look of confusion that was splashed across the face of the girl opposite from him. For some reason she reminded him of a kitten, and for a brief moment he just wanted to reach over to gently squish her cheeks in his hands. Instead he gave into his smaller temptation; gently kicking her slipper clad foot with one of his own to grab her attention. “Need some help with that?”

The younger girl gave him an embarrassed smile as she nods, rubbing the back of her head softly as she glances back at her textbook. “I wouldn’t mind...it’s just - I’ve been reading over the same chapter for a few days now, but I just don’t understand anything.” She admitted with a tired sigh as she hangs her head a little, sporting what looks to be a soft pout of frustration that caused Gojo’s heart to skip a beat at how adorable she looked. Wordlessly Gojo got up, grabbing his seat from his end of the table as he made his way towards her. 

Settling down beside her, he leaned closer to scan over the page of the textbook, a memory jostling in the back of his mind at the same lesson he took back in his first year. “Oh, I remember this. I can help you if you want.”

“Really?” The younger girl said with an curious look as she glanced back at the man seated beside her, Gojo widening his eyes when he realised just how close their faces were. He can feel her soft breath against his cheek, and what smelt like mint coming from parted lips. This caused him to blush as he hid his widened eyes behind his sunglasses, wondering how the hell was she not outwardly reacting at how close their faces were. “Y-Yeah. I mean, I’ve already finished my work...I don’t mind killing some free time helping you.”

The girl gave him a grateful smile before she rubs the back of her neck gently, feeling a soft flush appearing on her cheeks that caused Gojo to stare shamelessly. “Thank you, senpai. If you need anything from me after this, don’t hesitate to ask.” She offered shyly as she glances over at Gojo, who blinked before he decided to take his opportunity. “A-Actually, there is something you can help me with.” Gojo admitted after he took a deep breath to steel his resolve, but the tone of his voice was still far too shy for how the third year.

His words caused the girl beside him to cast him a curious glance 

“Would you maybe...be interested on going on a date with me?” He asks her, biting his lip a little as he stared at her from behind his sunglasses. For a brief moment the girl just blinked at him before her face suddenly blossomed in a deep shade of red, her hands coming up to slap over her warm cheeks as she stared at him with wide eyes. “M-Me?”

A shy nod was given before Gojo awkwardly glances down at his lap as well, rubbing the back of his neck with one of his hand whilst the other rested on the desk before them; anxiously tapping against the wood. “Y-Yeah.” He mumbles in a soft voice, and for a few moments there was silence that caused Gojo’s heart to beat painfully against his chest. 

Screw whoever says that facing a Special Grade Curse would be terrifying - Gojo feels like he might just die from the anxiety of asking someone out for something as simple as a date. 

He was about to start babbling about some random reason as to why when he heard her shy answer. “I-I mean...I wouldn’t mind going out on a date with you...”

Cue short-circuited Gojo once more.

“O-Oh.” Gojo spluttered out with wide eyes, having not expected for her to agree so readily as she gave him a shy smile, her face still dusted in a light shade of red as she nodded her. Her answer caused him to smile, biting his lip a little to stop his face from splitting open in a huge grin as he tilts his head a little. “Does 5pm tomorrow sound alright for you?” He asks her quietly, to which she grins softly and nods her head, her action causing her hair to fall over her face in perfect waves; the action causing Gojo’s already poor heart to do another flip in his chest. “We can meet up at the front of the school.”

With a final nod and another shy smile shared between the two, both of them returned to the work that hand. However there was a certain atmosphere between the two; the slightly excitement that was clearly on their faces at the idea of their date tomorrow, the light bumping of shoulders as Gojo reaches over to point at something as he explained it to the girl quietly, soft comments that leads to soft giggles and the shy glances they both share. The soft smiles on their faces sealing the scene for anyone to walk past to know that there was definitely something brewing between the two 

Who knew all it took was a simple complement to land them where they are today.

© roscgcld — all rights reserved to me, rose, the author and creator of these works. do not repost/translate/claim my work as yours on any platform

[kuroos-babie]

falling in love with a single mom hcs

INCLUDES: nishinoya, tsukishima, yaku

you spent a good part of your childhood with nishinoya, chasing away the dogs that had a penchant of scaring your best friend shitless, climbing trees and playing treasure hunt

it was funny, to say the least, seeing how he grew from such a scaredy-cat to the energetic and confident noya everyone knows

throughout highschool you watched him chase girl after girl and he watched you turn down guy after guy

the dynamic you two had was that of a feral gremlin child and its chill owner holding the leash and everyone, including you two, thought you would always be together

everyday was fun with nishinoya's energy hanging around you, no doubt

but when he asked you to travel the world with him right after graduation, he was met with a hesitant refusal

"i'm planning to go to college, yuu"

"it'll be fun, y/n! like going on an adventure!!"

"visit me once in a while"

his heart clenched at the way you smiled at him with teary eyes, "i can't change your mind can i?"

with a soft shake of your head, he sighed

he leaves in three days

the first few months of him being away were filled with calls and pictures of his trips, smile seemingly wider and brighter than before and a part of you regretted not coming with him

but college starts in a week, and with that came missed calls and ignored messages

at some point, neither of you just remembered to hit the other up, caught up with the stresses of your own life and before either of you knew it, 5 years have passed

he came to visit home for the first time in years, no longer the boyish noya you knew but he still had that warm aura around him

you were the first thought to come to mind the moment he step foot in town, his whole body buzzing with excitement at the mere thought of seeing you again

so of course he went straight to your house, feet taking step after memorized step and hands clutching bags of things he got from his travels

"Y/N!!!!!", he calls out as he enters your house which was answered with a harsh shushing

turning a corner he saw you in the living room, lovely as ever-- he thought, and with a baby sleeping soundly in your arms, "the baby's sleeping, yuu"

"whose...?"

you laughed at the cracking in his voice, "mine, who else's?"

man, he looked like he was about to cry

he quietly approached you, careful as to not wake the baby

"for you", he mumbled while handing you the bag of snacks and stuff

the room was filled with silence after you hummed a short thanks

he was looking at the child's face, it looked like you, he thinks

he asked when you got married, "you didn't tell me, didn't even invite your best friend to your wedding", he whined

"i didn't, i'm not married"

his eyes were wide as they looked at you

you told him about getting pregnant shortly after college graduation and getting ditched

he thought of himself selfish as he heaved a sigh of relief

"it's fine though, my parents are helping me a lot", he notes how you looked at your baby with such fond eyes and his heart swelled, he felt like crying

you chuckled at the look on his face, "hey don't look so sorry for me, can't be happier to have her"

"what's her name?"

you looked at your daughter's face and pet at her cheek with a finger, "yui"

nishinoya couldn't hold it in anymore and so he let himself cry and pulled you close

and for the nth time since the day of your college graduation he asked you again, "come with me, y/n, let's travel the world" but you have a child "i'll stay with you here until she's old enough", he said while kissing the tears that slipped down your cheeks

"then we can all go travel the world together"

he liked working at the museum, he really does

at least that's what he tries to tell himself as he led the group of preschoolers through the sendai museum

they were cute, yeah, but also very chatty

especially this one little boy with the frog hat

"what's this called?"

"it's a fossilized remain of--"

"how about this one?"

"it's--", and before he could answer, the child was already running to the other side of the exhibit

he just sighs

the tour ended and he was getting ready for his lunch break, proceeding to the cafe by the entrance as he always does

his eyes almost caught the flurry of green that passed beside him but he chose to ignore it

but of course it wasn't long after he sat down with his order when he heard a familiar bubbly voice

"mama that's the dinosaur guy!", he heard the little boy whisper loudly, "he's so tall, like a brachiosaurus!"

he couldn't supress the chuckle at the child's remark and he turned in his seat, "so you were listening, i thought you were just bouncing all around the place"

"oh sorry, did he give you a hard time?"

your voice drew his attention and he smiled at the sight of your worried face, something that surprised even him, "not really, no"

he invited you two to sit and eat with him and he listened to your son ramble all about dinosaurs and prehistoric animals

"a smart one, i like him"

your son really liked him too and asked you to take him to the museum again and see tsukishima

and so it became a habit for you to visit the museum every friday with the little boy, waiting for the tall blonde to get off work so you three could grab something to eat

and every time he sees you in the little cafe by the entrancne with your son, tsukishima couldn't help but smile a little and pat at his chest to calm the subtle fluttering as he push the door open

it was a weird feeling he never knew would come so naturally at the mere sight of you two

he bought your son picture books and and figurines and copies of the "walking with dinosaurs" documentary

"we should watch it this weekend..." his eyebrows shot up for a moment at your meek suggestion

of course the little boy was elated, excited to have him over at your house "yes! let's go now! i wanna watch it with tsukki now!!!"

tsukishima returned his gaze on you, "if it's not too much trouble then i'd love to go now"

and so the rest of the friday night was spent on your couch with all the lights turned off and a narration of al the allosaurus' life

you looked over at the other side of the couch to see your son laying on tsukishima, eyes fluttering shut with the man passed out and lightly snoring

he must've been tired

you draped a blanket over the two of them and waited for sleep to visit you too and it soon did

morning came and you woke up to the smell of coffee

"i borrowed your coffee maker, i hope you don't mind", his voice was still low, trying not to wake the little boy

"yeah, sorry i didn't wake you up last night... you looked tired"

he chuckled as you walked over to the kitchen to take out two mugs and prepared some toast, "i don't mind, it was the best sleep i've gotten in a while. i hope it wasn't too much of a bother for you though"

you leaned on the kitchen counter as you took in his appearance; hair ruffled and eyes puffy with sleep, "i don't mind it one bit"

he huffed a laugh and looked over to the sofa where your son still laid

"he likes you a lot"

"so it seems, i hope you do too", his face was smug but you didn't miss the red that tinted his cheeks when you told him "of course i do, in fact i was thinking maybe we should do this more often"

his smirk grew, "just say you want to wake up everyday to the sight of me and leave it at that"

you rolled your eyes at his comment but smiled nonetheless, "oh shut up"

he had just come back from the nekoma volleyball team reunion, head lightly buzzing from the few bottles of alcohol kuroo forced down his throat

making his way through the carpeted hotel hall, he could barely make out the sound of little feet hurriedly padding on the floor and quiet sniffles

taking out the keycard to his room with the blissful thoughts of finally sinking into the soft mattress was interrupted by a soft bump on his thigh, a muffled thud and a small "ow..."

it took a few moments before the sight of the little boy on the hotel floor registered properly in his brain

it was well past 2 am... why the hell is there a child running around the halls

"uh... hi?"

big bright eyes looked up at him and he can't help but sigh at the sniffles increasingly growing louder

"where's your mama, little guy?", yaku crouched to the little boy's level, careful to keep his balance as the booze and exhaustion was catching up to him

however, at the mention of his mother, the little boy's eye filled up with more tears and was ready to burst anytime, "mama..."

"oh no no no no"

yaku's too tired for this

so with a sigh and a groan, he took the boy in his arms and entered his room

"let's look for her in the morning, okay? i think i still have some cookies in my room, would like some?"

the little boy nods his head, earning a relieved sigh from yaku

the rest of the night was spent with cartoons playing on the large hotel room tv, yaku leaning against the headboard with the little boy snoozing away while being tucked in his arm, cookie on his hand and crumbs all around

morning came and panic surged through your body the moment you realized your 3 year-old son was nowhere inside your hotel room

your hurried to the security desk to report and hopefully make an announcement, head reeling and aching with the sudden rush of adrenaline first thing in the morning

with your head in your hands, you let out a groan while trying not to cry at all the possibilites flashing through your mind

your wallowing was cut short with an "excuse me, i found this child last night"

turning your head back to the security desk, you see a man in his pajamas and slippers, hair ruffled from sleep and a sleepy little boy laying on his shoulder

"oh my god"

the whole conlict ended when you came up to them and introduced yourself, the little boy quickly recognizing your voice and whipped his head over to you, "mama!"

your son reached out for you and yaku couldn't help but notice how pretty your glossy eyes were despite how disheveled you looked

"mama, yakkun gave me cookies and we watched cartoons aaaaall night!"

yaku's eyes widened at the little boy's words and let out a nervous chuckle, "you make me sound so suspicious"

he turned to you and explained how your son bumped into him at 2 am and he was just too tired to bring him down to the security desk

"my tired tipsy brain thought it was a better idea to just let him sleep in my room and look for mama in the morning", he ended with the tips of his ears tinged red

you laughed at his nervousness, "well we can talk more about it over breakfast, what do you say yakkun? my treat"

with the way you were smiling at him, how could he even refuse?

the rest of the morning was spent with coffee and waffles, juice and fruits and chatter

he learned you and your son were in town for a few days, "i wanted to go see the fishies in the aquarium!", the little boy quips

with the new volleyball season just around the corner, yaku knew he'd have practices but he offered to tour you two around tokyo

he wanted to see you two again

briefly taking care of the toddler last night and having breakfast with you, he realized, were very much a welcomed change of pace in his hectic pro volleyball life

"are you my dad? mama told me daddy was working in tokyo" he remembered your son quietly mumbling last night, "i haven't seen him though, not ever"

the rest of your stay in tokyo was spent hanging out with yaku, your son growing more and more attached to him and slept over at his room every night

as promised, he took you and your son on a tokyo tour and even brought you to practice, introducing you to the national team and teaching your child receives

of course your trip eventually reached its end, promises of meeting again drowned in the little boy's tears as he tried to reach out to yaku

"we'll meet again, little guy", he says while ruffling the boy's hair, "i'll even go visit you and we'll play lots, okay?

of course he made a point of contacting you frequently, often video chatting during meal times and bedtime and a few more hours after, relishing in the time he could spend talking alone with you

"i can't wait to see you two again", he always says right after "good night"

taglist: @churochuu @bakarinnie @faithieeee @strawberriimilkshake @paulazockt @pattys-got-cakes @hidden-otaku-stuff @haikyuubabie @sachirou-senpai @your-local-abyss @stcrryskies @toosaltyforacookie @mrs-kuroojinguji @shawkneecaps @miyastrology @galacticstxrdust @wakaushi @boosyboo9206 @sugawara-sweetheart @threeconsecutivefs @chichibia @diyosku @curiouslilbeast @cowbeboppy @tsukkaria @yyvveess @kirakirasaku

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[davidpastrsnack]

it’s crazy what you’ll do for a friend - nolan patrick

a/n: here’s a friends to lovers 4+1 with our fav boy loosely inspired by daddy issues by the neighbourhood. but there’s still a splash of smut because you know me lol. hope you enjoy :)

word count: 10.5k

The first time you met Nolan you didn’t know what to think. He was polite, giving you a gentle smile and reaching out to shake your hand, but you couldn’t help but fixate on how quiet he was and his seeming lack of emotion.

Regardless of your hesitation, that was the first time of many that Nolan took care of you. 

You were new to Philadelphia, moving to continue your education and expand your horizons. You had always been one to play it safe, to stay in your comfort zone, but after having your heart broken and being unexpectedly accepted to one of the top graduate programs in your field you knew it was time to challenge yourself and leave behind everything you had ever known.

Well, almost everything, aside from Aubrey, one of your best friends since that first day of kindergarten so long ago. She worked in the city, practically begging you to join her when she found out you were considering the move. Just weeks later, the second bedroom in her apartment became yours and that’s how you met him.

~

one

It was only your third night in Philly and you were still unpacking, a glass of wine sitting on your dresser as you dug through the remaining boxes that were seemingly never-ending. It didn’t seem like this much stuff when you were packing it, but here you were overwhelmed with all of your belongings.

You were humming along to the music, taking it one box at a time as the room slowly came together when you heard a knock on your door.

“Come in,” you called, turning to face the door.

“Woah,” Aubrey muttered, “How’s it going in here?”

“I know, I know,” you laughed, “It looks bad but I’m almost there.”

She nodded, stepping into the room and sitting on your bed, “Time for a break?”

You knew what the hopeful smile on her face meant, she had plans for the two of you.

You looked at her with hesitant eyes and she chuckled, remembering how well you knew her.

“I was thinking we could go meet some of my friends?” Aubrey continued, “I’m kind of seeing this one guy and his friends are great. They’re a lot but I think you’ll love them and they’ll love you.”

“Aubrey, I-” You paused, “I really should finish up in here.”

“Come on, Y/N, we have all day tomorrow to finish and you need a break. I feel like I’ve barely even seen you and it’s been three days.”

You let out a laugh at her words, she was right. It felt like your life had been on hold for so long but now you had the opportunity to start fresh, to put yourself out there in a world that had no existing opinions of you.

“Fine,” you groaned, standing up from your spot on the hardwood, “But you have to help me find something to wear.”

“Deal!” Aubrey exclaimed, dragging you out of the room and into her own to go through her closet.

Just over an hour later, you were squeezed into a booth of the bar surrounded by men almost twice your size. Aubrey failed to mention that the guy she was seeing, but not dating as she vehemently claimed, was a Flyer and so were his friends.

You didn’t know what to expect from the group, but it didn’t take long for you to conclude that they were sweethearts, especially Travis, Aubrey’s “friend.” After introducing you to each of them, it felt like you had always been a part of the gang.

The beer and conversation were flowing, the bellowing laughs coming from the table practically feeling the air of the entire bar. You quickly fell into the banter, fitting in right away after growing up with brothers.

“There he is!” You suddenly heard Kevin shout from next to you, “Took you long enough, Patty.”

You looked up from your drink to see the man you could only assume to be Patty, his tall frame towering over you as you sat on the edge of the booth. He was dressed in all black, and his hair was long and frankly, unkempt as it curled around his ears. Even in the dim light of the bar, you could make out his light eyes, the blue piercing you as he finally met your gaze from his seat directly across from yours.

“Nolan, this is my friend Y/N,” Aubrey started, “She just moved in with me.”

Nolan reached out his hand across the table which you happily met, secretly hoping he couldn’t feel how clammy you had gotten since he walked in. He softly smiled as your hands touched, the corners of his mouth barely lifting but just enough.

“Nice to meet you,” he mumbled.

“You too,” you replied, flickering your eyes to the other end of the table before you caught yourself staring.

You were right away distracted by something Travis was chirping Claude for from this morning’s practice, but something about the man sitting just a few feet away from you was still consuming your thoughts.

You were pretty sure he had already decided that he didn’t like you. He had barely said a word aside from his initial pleasantries, but from then on it was almost like he wasn’t even acknowledging your presence. You didn’t know why you even cared, but there was something about his presence that made you on edge.

“I’m going to get another one,” you blurted out, everyone’s attention shifting to you.

“I’ll come with,” Aubrey declared.

“I’m good, stay,” you responded, giving her a knowing look. She was practically sitting in Travis’s lap, her hands wrapped around his neck while his eyes were stuck on her like she was the only one in the room. Not dating, my ass, you thought to yourself.

You slid off the cushion and headed towards the bar, the air already feeling lighter the further away from the group you got. You loved them, they were great, but it was just so much new at once. You needed a breather.

It was a packed Friday night and you knew it would be a while before you got your drink, so you sat down on the first available stool you saw. You caught the bartender's attention right away, but she was clearly swamped. You sent her a reassuring nod, telling her to take her time. She smiled right back at you, evidently grateful for your patience.

After what felt like barely a minute of waiting, you felt a body slide next to yours, the scent of cheap cologne overwhelming you as you braced yourself for what was about to happen.

“Hi there,” he spoke, leaning his weight against the bar top as he boxed you in.

“Hi,” you sighed. To put it simply, you were not in the mood.

“You got a name?”

“I do,” you chuckled in disbelief, turning your body away from his as your eyes scanned the room for anyone familiar. Which of course there wasn’t.

“A snappy one, alright,” he spoke, his hot breath fanning over your neck, “Well I’m Brett, what are you drinking?”

“Nothing,” you snapped.

“Oh c’mon, let me buy you a drink,” he continued, either not picking up on your hints or purposely ignoring them.

“I’m really all set.”

Just before he was about to open his mouth to speak once again, you felt his hand rest flat against your back, your body arching away from him immediately at the contact.

“Do not fucking touch her.”

The deep voice echoed in front of you, your vision clouded as your mind raced in a million directions.

“Listen, man, I got this.”

“No, I don’t think you do,” you heard, the vibrations of his voice running straight through your body.

Nolan.

You may have just met him, but that was a body and voice you couldn’t forget.

You had no idea what overcame you, but before you could process what you were doing you wrapped your arms around his torso. Nolan immediately reciprocated, his arm falling across your shoulders and pulling you close to his frame.  

“Just leave,” Nolan asserted, “Don’t make this more difficult than it has to be. It’s already embarrassing enough that you can’t take no for an answer.”

Your body relaxed against his, Nolan’s words calming your worst fears right away. From your vantage point, you assumed Nolan easily had at least six inches and thirty pounds on him. That seemed to be enough for him, backing away with a faulty glare and disappearing into the crowd.

“Nolan, I-” you stuttered, not knowing what to say, “Thank you,” you finally got out, your voice barely loud enough to hear over the hum of voices.

“Don’t mention it,” he muttered, his aura still cold.

You were so caught up in the shock of the moment that you hadn’t realized you were still holding each other, and right away you dropped your arm from his waist. Nolan did the same, awkwardly moving to sit on the stool next to you and flag the bartender.

You missed the warmth of his body right away, the spicy scent of his skin in stark contrast to the Axe you could only assume the other one was wearing. You swore you could still feel the ripple of his abs beneath his t-shirt on your fingertips. It was silent for a minute, both of you trying to come up with the right words.

“I really can’t thank you enough. Let me buy this round,” you pleaded, your eyes locking with his.

“Y/N,” Nolan started, your face flushing as your name fell from his lips, “I’m buying.”

You smiled up at him, nodding before looking back down in hopes of hiding the flush you felt creeping up your neck and onto your cheeks.

“Can I be honest, Nolan?” You questioned.

“Shoot.”

“Do you not like me? Did I do something? I wasn’t expecting that from you of all people-” you rambled until Nolan cut you off.

“First of all, I would have done that even if I hated you. But no, I like you, Y/N. A friend of a friend of TK’s is a friend of mine.”

You laughed at the last part before you could even process the first. Nolan’s cheeks went red, clearly embarrassed at his cliché phrasing but it didn’t matter how badly he made a fool of himself as long as you were smiling. The way your eyes scrunched and your nose turned up while you laughed was enough to make him forget the day he had.

Your laughter was interrupted by your drinks, the woman leaving you with a knowing smile before she turned away. Nolan and you both stood up ready to head back to the table before he stopped you.

“Friends?” He asked, putting his hand out in front of himself.

“Friends,” you agreed with a grin, shaking his hand before walking back to the group together.

~

two

You dreaded first days.

No matter how old you got, the anxiety of walking into an unfamiliar room full of unfamiliar faces never lessened. But you were ready, you reminded yourself, putting your head up and walking to the classroom like you had been there a hundred times before.

By the time you were walking out after the 90 minutes were up, your heart was pounding and you could feel the tears pricking the back of your eyes as you ran out of the building, not even bothering to introduce yourself to anyone.

The walk from the university back to your apartment was a blur. You couldn’t believe you had made such a poor first impression. You thought you were prepared, you had your notebook ready and all the right textbooks in order, but you somehow missed that there was an assignment due on the very first day.

As you rushed through the busy streets of the city, dodging people left and right, your mind raced back to that room.

“Ms. Y/L/N, can you please give your thoughts on the first case study?” Your professor questioned, intently watching you as your panic set in.

Your heart began to race and your palms sweat as you struggled to find the words to say that you hadn’t done the reading. This had never happened to you before, you were an A+ student for your entire life, almost unhealthily so. You couldn’t remember the last time you had missed an assignment, it just wasn’t something you did.

“Alright, then. Anyone else who actually checked the syllabus have something to say?”

Your professor's words were stuck in your head, playing over and over again when you finally reached your building. Now that you were so close to being in the comfort of your own space you could feel your wheels spinning, the stress and emotion overtaking your body.

Your hands shook as you tried to unlock the door, your body pushing through the threshold when you finally got it open.

“Aubrey?” You called as you walked through the hallway. She had known you for so long and always knew what to do to calm you down. But instead of Aubrey’s bright voice welcoming you back, you were met with silence.

“Where are you?” You muttered under your breath, your voice shaking as the tears threatened to spill over any second. As you turned the corner into the living room, you found three bodies spread across the couch, none of whom belonged to Aubrey.

“Oh,” you sputtered out, surprised to see Travis, Kevin, and Nolan watching a game.

“Y/N!” Travis called out, his infectious smile almost making your tight-lipped frown fade, “Aubrey just ran out for something but she should be back soon.”

You could feel Nolan’s gaze burning into you. You did your best to avoid his eye contact in hopes of hiding your current state from him. He had been nothing but kind to you, but you still felt so exposed standing in front of him, suddenly insecure about your outfit.

“I’m just going to go,” you whispered, pointing down the hall to your room. You felt horrible just ignoring them like that, but you knew you didn’t have it in you to keep up with them right now.

Your bag fell out of your hands almost instantly as soon as the door to your room clicked shut, the sound of your laptop hitting the hardwood floor making you cringe. You collapsed on your bed face first, the emotion you had been holding back for what felt like forever overwhelming you. Your body wracked in sobs as you replayed your embarrassment in a seemingly endless loop.

Nolan knew something was wrong the second he saw you. He may have only met you just a few days ago, but after growing up with two sisters he recognized the signs right away. He had no idea what was wrong, but he did know that you were barely holding it together.

Your head snapped up when you heard a series of soft knocks on your door, “Aubrey?” You asked, your voice rising with hope.

“No, uh, it’s Nolan.”

Your face fell when you heard his deep voice through the wood. You barely knew Nolan, he couldn’t see you like this. You paused for a moment wondering if he would just leave if you didn’t respond, but you could see his shadow through the bottom crack of your door, his feet were planted and didn’t show any signs of moving any time soon.

You silently groaned and picked yourself up, not even bothering to look in the mirror before opening the door because you knew it was not going to a pretty sight regardless. You hastily wiped underneath your eyes, the black of your mascara flaking right off your tear-stained skin. This wasn’t exactly how you wanted the new boy in your life to see you right after meeting you, but you just were friends, right?

“What, Nolan?” You sighed when you finally opened the door.

You didn’t mean to be so stark, but it just came out. His presence overwhelmed you just like it had at the bar a few nights ago. He was leaning against the door frame with his hands tucked into the pockets of his sweatpants. The backward hat resting atop his head flattered him perfectly, drawing attention to the tufts of his brown hair curling around his ears and neck.

Nolan stood up straight as soon as he saw you, his eyes softening when his suspicions were confirmed: you had been crying.

“I just wanted to check on you,” he mumbled, his eyes never leaving your own.

The tension in your shoulders released as you looked up at him. He didn’t say anything else, just tilting his head down towards you as he continued to scan your face for any signs of how you were feeling. You couldn’t pinpoint it, but there was something about Nolan that made you feel so safe, so secure, like as long as you were with him you could avoid your demons.

“I’m fine,” you murmured, your voice barely above a whisper.

“No you’re not,” Nolan rebutted, raising his eyebrows as if he was challenging you to lie to him again.

You didn’t say anything, but rather you moved your body to the side and ushered him into your room. Nolan happily obliged, awkwardly standing as he took in his surroundings. Your room was just as he expected, it was minimal, just like his. You didn’t like clutter, everything had a place. It was one way you tried to control the chaos that was your life.

“You can sit,” you spoke, breaking the silence.

Nolan nodded and sat next to you at the foot of the bed. You couldn’t help but let your eyes trail along his leg, the way his thighs stretched the fabric of his sweatpants making your cheeks flush.

“It was my first day at this new program I’m in and it didn’t go well, that’s all,” you finally sputtered out, staring down at your lap as your hands fidgeted. “I’ve never been good at first impressions,” you added, a gentle laugh escaping your lip as you thought back to your first time meeting Nolan.

“Listen, I’m sure it wasn’t that bad,” Nolan encouraged, “You seem like a pretty great person.”

You scoffed at his attempt to make you feel better, your emotions creeping their way back into your head.

“It was-” you paused, using every fiber within your being to try not to lose it in front of him, “It was bad.”

“C’mere,” Nolan whispered, turning on the bed to face you more and opening his arms, practically begging for your embrace.

You shook your head, closing your eyes as the fresh tears started burning. You were so selective in who you exposed your most vulnerable state to, and you barely knew Nolan. But despite this, you felt such an instant connection with him, and if his overt kindness was any indication, he felt the same way.

You let your final guard down, leaning back and curling into Nolan’s frame. He immediately wrapped his arms around you, holding you tight against him as one hand moved up to your head to rub soft circles into your hair.

“Go ahead and cry,” he hummed, his body gently rocking you back and forth.

You melted at his touch, your head nuzzling into the crook of his neck, the muted orange of his Flyers hoodie the last thing you saw before your eyes shut in sobs. His scent was overwhelming, the mix of his body wash and the leftover cologne lingering on his hoodie flooding your senses. You felt as if you disappeared in his grasp, like the world around you vanished and nothing else mattered.

You didn’t even know how much time had passed, but Nolan didn’t move an inch. He held you like it was the only thing he had to do all day. Once the tears stopped falling and your breathing steadied, you pulled back, instantly flooded with embarrassment.

“Wow,” you chuckled, wiping your cheeks, “I am so sorry, Nolan, I don’t know what happened I just-”

“Don’t,” he interrupted, “We’re friends, remember?” He teased, the corners of his mouth lifting in a gentle smile as he bumped your shoulder.

“Yeah,” you laughed.

“I think we were planning on grabbing some food,” Nolan mumbled, his hand scratching the back of his neck as he spoke, “If you want to come.”

“Oh, I don’t know.”

“Come on, you’re coming. If I have to put up with those two out there so do you.”

You rolled your eyes, but it was the least you could do after what he had just done for you.

“Give me five minutes to look less dead.”

Nolan smiled as you agreed, slipping out of the room so you could change and freshen up.

“What the fuck was that?” Nolan was bombarded by Kevin as he sat back down.

“Nothing,” Nolan mumbled, not in the mood to be questioned about things he didn’t even know the answer to.

“She let you go in there?” Aubrey asked, just having gotten back.

“Yes?” He responded, confused by her question.

Aubrey didn’t bother getting into it and changed the subject instead, but inside she was scheming. She knew you, how closed off you were, but here you were opening up to Nolan like you’ve known him for years. Nothing made Aubrey happier than watching this friendship bloom, and she couldn’t help but wonder if there was potential for more.

~

three

Team galas usually didn’t bother Nolan, it was part of the job, but tonight it was the last place he wanted to be. His tux felt too tight, the stuffy conversation with potential sponsors was putting him to sleep, and his date was, to be frank, insufferable.

Nolan had no problem going to an event without a plus one, he and TK were usually the two single guys spending their time causing trouble, but now that Aubrey was in the picture Kevin had decided he had seen enough. So, despite Nolan begging him to leave him alone, Kevin set him up with one of his friends from Boston.

She was just as Kevin described, beautiful and smart, but that was about all. Nolan was calm and reserved, at least until he was comfortable with someone, but she was the complete opposite. Her personality filled the entire room and although he admired her confidence, Nolan was exhausted. He felt like he couldn’t be himself, like he had to work to match her energy.

After what felt like hours of entertaining her and Kevin, Nolan made his escape to the bar. It was the first moment to himself he had, the relief immediately flooding him as he leaned against the counter. He titled his glass to the bartender, silently requesting a refill when he felt his phone buzzing in the pocket of his suit pants.

Nolan begrudgingly pulled the phone, wondering who it could possibly be. The entire team was with him and it was unlike his family to call him on a Saturday night. But when he saw your name flashing across the screen, his whole demeanor shifted.

“Nolan!” He heard you exclaim, your voice like a breath of fresh air.

“Y/N?” He questioned. You had never called him out of the blue like this before. Nolan nodded to the bartender thanking him before taking his drink and walking out to the empty hallway so he could hear you better. “Everything okay?”

It wasn’t really. You had just come back home from a date, one Aubrey practically forced you to go on. You pleaded to her that you were fine, that you weren’t ready to start dating in the city yet, but regardless, you found yourself sitting across from one of her coworkers at a restaurant downtown.

There was nothing wrong with him, he was nice, but it was evident to you before your drinks were even ordered that this wasn’t going to work. You pushed through the meal, putting on your best fake smile and pretending to laugh at his forced humor. You politely declined his offer to walk you home, instead opting to get an Uber so you could get out of your dress as soon as possible.

Now you were home, your sweats on and hair up with a glass of wine in your hand. The glass quickly turned into almost the entire bottle, drowning your sorrows of another failed date with your favorite red. That’s when you made the mistake of picking up your phone, your fingers scrolling through your contacts until you found the one name you knew would be able to distract you.

“I’m great. I mean I’m not, but it’s fine,” you rambled, your words slurred as you spoke.

For once it was you mumbling and not Nolan. He didn’t know what, but his gut was telling him that something was wrong, he could practically smell the alcohol on your tongue through the phone. After a long pause of trying to figure out what to say, his thoughts were interrupted.

“Come over?” You whispered, “I’m so sick of being alone.”

Nolan’s heart dropped at your words, his eyes blinking shut as he pondered his next move. His eyes scanned the ballroom, finally landing on his date. She was sitting at their table, Nolan’s empty seat sticking out like a sore thumb, laughing at whatever story of his college days Kevin was regurgitating. He would feel like an ass if he just left, and he would be lying if he said the prospect of an easy lay hadn’t crossed his mind tonight, but you were more important.

“Give me twenty.”

-

Since calling Nolan you had migrated from your bed to the couch, a blanket sprawled across your body while you laid horizontal. The only light in the room was from the TV as one of your comfort movies played. You were barely paying attention, instead zoning out and staring at the lit-up city around you from the window.

Your mindless thoughts were interrupted by a series of knocks on the door. You threw the blanket off of your body and stood up, slowly dragging your feet across the hardwood as you made your way. But you were nowhere near prepared for what you saw as soon as you opened the door.

Nolan towered over you in the door frame. He was wearing a suit, the soft, grey fabric clinging to his thighs and shoulders perfectly. His long hair was slicked back and tucked behind his ears. The scent of his cologne overwhelmed you instantly, the warm aroma making you want to melt into him. One hand was resting in his pant pocket, while the other was carrying a take-out bag from one of your favorite spots.

“Hi,” Nolan quietly muttered, breaking the silence.

His deep voice broke the trance you were in, and that’s when the realization hit you.

“I completely forgot you guys had that thing tonight,” you blurted, the alcohol in your bloodstream clogging your train of thought, “I am so sorry. You have to go back, I feel horrible.”

Your hands came up to your face, hiding your embarrassment. How could you forget? You spent hours this morning helping Aubrey pick out her dress.

“Y/N,” Nolan cooed, his large hands gently pulling your own off of your face, “I’m here and I’m not leaving.”

Nolan didn’t let you get another word out before he was pushing past your body. He wasn’t even enjoying himself at the event and the last thing he wanted to do was go back.

It didn’t long for the two of you to finish the food, opting to head back to the couch and ignore the many empty containers for now.

“I’m never going on a date ever again,” you slurred, “I don’t even want to look at a man ever again.”

Despite trying to be quiet, Nolan couldn’t hide his chuckle. He had heard similar frustrations from his two sisters growing up. He had been around endless assholes throughout his life, he knew how exhausting it must have been to try to find a decent one.

“Can’t blame you,” he mumbled.

Your body slumped against the back of the couch, your eyes slipping shut as the wine and food started to lull you into a sleepy haze. Nolan scanned your face, a soft smile creeping onto his face as he watched your chest gently rise and fall with each breath. Before he could catch himself, he lifted his hand and pushed back the hair that had fallen in your face, tucking it behind your ear.

In that moment Nolan knew that he was fucked.

Never before had he dropped everything for a girl as he did for you tonight. But he also had never connected with someone like he did with you. You didn’t force him to be something he wasn’t, there was no pressure to put on an act. It just felt natural with you. But your words from just a few minutes before lingered in the back of his head. You made it clear that you weren’t looking for anything right now, it only took one miserable date to remind you of that. So Nolan pulled his hand away, trying to ignore the burning of your skin against his fingertips as they trailed across your soft cheek.

You were friends. Just friends.

-

You had no idea how much time had passed, but suddenly you felt yourself stir awake, your eyes peeling open to find yourself tucked into Nolan’s side. His body was warm below yours, his arm resting across your shoulders holding you in place as you lay against his chest. From your peripheral vision, you could see his suit jacket on one of the couch cushions, the soft material of his button-down rubbing on your cheek.

You had two options. You could either acknowledge that you awkwardly fell asleep on him in your drunken state, or you could pretend that you never woke up and continue to enjoy the comfort of his embrace.

Needless to say, you chose the latter.

But you must have dozed off again because the next time you woke up you were being carried into your bedroom. Your arms were wrapped tightly across Nolan’s neck, the tips of your fingers naturally lifting to twirl the tufts of his hair.

“Shhh, I got you,” Nolan whispered as he felt you move, just before he laid you down onto your bed, “I’ll be right back.”

Nolan hastily left the room, leaving you to bask in the memory of his warmth as your head fell back against your pillow. Within just a few seconds he was back, placing a cool glass of water on your nightstand table. But almost just as fast as he came back, he was leaving again.

“Stay,” you murmured, watching him pause at the outline of your door.

“I- I got the couch.”

“Okay,” you responded, trying to hide your disappointment.

Nolan visibly cringed the second your door was closed, his head falling to his lap once he sat down. He wanted nothing more than to climb into bed with you. The thought of holding you beneath the sheets and feeling your soft skin in contrast to his rough hands made him dizzy. But the last thing he wanted to do was make you uncomfortable. You weren’t sober enough to say he could stay, and there was no chance in hell Nolan was going to risk scaring you off. So he took the couch, laying across the cushions with his eyes locked on your door until his eyelids gave in to his exhaustion. 

~

four

It was finally Friday, another week in the books. 

Your classes were taking more out of you than you had expected, the hours of reading and note-taking blending together as you finally closed your last tab. You had no plans for the night, and you honestly couldn’t be happier about it. A hot shower, takeout, and falling asleep early encompassed your perfect night recently.

Just as you were about to get in the shower, you were distracted by your phone ringing. You picked it up, surprised to see it was Kevin calling.

“Hi, Kevin,” you spoke, a slight edge to your words. You adored Kevin, he was an absolute sweetheart, but sometimes you just didn’t have the patience.

“What are you doing tonight?”

You rolled your eyes at his question, “Nothing.”

“Incorrect, you’re coming over and hanging out with me and Pat.”

“I am?” You laughed, taken aback by Kevin’s forwardness.

“Teeks and Aubrey are coming too, come on, Y/N,” he continued.

You knew you weren’t getting out of this without a real excuse, no matter how much you wanted to stay in. You hadn’t seen Nolan since the night you embarrassed yourself, the cringe of drunk dialing him after a bad date had yet to escape your memory.

“What time?”

“Uh- Let’s say 7.”

“Alright, Kev. See you later,” you hung up the phone, throwing it back on your bed before getting in the shower.

-

As you approached the boys’ apartment door, it was quieter than you expected it to be. Aubrey said she was already with Travis and would meet you there, so you were arriving alone. You assumed they would already have been there by now, but you ignored the silence and knocked on the door.

Just a few seconds later, the door swung open and you were face to face with Nolan. Your eyes widened when you saw him, his sweatpants hanging low on his hips and his bare torso staring at you. You quickly composed yourself, using every ounce of self-control within you to avoid trailing your gaze across his broad shoulders and down his chest, the curves and divots of his abs making your mouth water.

“Sorry,” Nolan mumbled, his cheeks flushing even redder than they usually were, “I thought you were Kevin, he always forgets his keys. Come in.”

You followed Nolan into the apartment, the muscles of his back rippling as his arms swung. You sat down on the couch, awkwardly waiting while he disappeared into his room. He came back just a few seconds later, his body now hidden behind a wrinkly t-shirt.

“Where is everyone?” You questioned, your body stiff as Nolan relaxed into the cushion next to you.

“Not sure,” he mumbled, the red of his cheeks lingering, “Kev said you were coming with Aubrey?”

Your face scrunched in confusion, “He told me she was coming here with Travis.”

Nolan then pulled his phone out and started typing a message to Kevin, desperate to figure out where he was. For some reason being here with you alone was making him nervous, there was an awkward energy in the air that had never been there before.

Nolan was reaching for the TV remote, about to ask you if you wanted to put something on when his phone sounded.

Kevin: You’re welcome

Now it was Nolan’s turn to furrow his eyebrows, the boy even more confused by Kevin’s message.

Kevin: We couldn’t watch you two anymore please just do something

Kevin: I’ll be out all night

Kevin: Don’t forget protection!

Of course. Of course, this little miscommunication was, in fact, a setup. But the worst part was that Nolan knew Kevin was right. No matter how hard he tried, he had been pining over you since that very first night. And now here you two were in an empty apartment with enough sexual tension to last the year.

“No one’s coming, are they?” You broke the silence, snapping Nolan out of his trance.

He threw his phone to the side as a slight smile crept across his stern face, “Nope,” he chuckled.

If you thought there was tension before, it didn’t even compare to what you felt now. Since meeting Nolan you were under the impression that your secretly harbored feelings for him were just that, a secret, but apparently, you weren’t as subtle as you thought. This had Aubrey written all over it, and you knew Travis was under her spell and would do anything to help her, and bonus points for chirping Nolan simultaneously. It was the elephant in the room, your mutual feelings still not being spoken but you both knew you had been called out by the people who knew you best.

“What are you thinking about?” Nolan whispered, the rough hum of his voice sending chills down your spine.

You couldn’t get even a single word out, your thoughts and feelings jumbling in your mind. After all this time the perfect opportunity was finally handed to you on a silver platter, but you still couldn’t do it.

Nolan could sense your hesitation, your close proximity and sweet scent clouding his consciousness.

“I’ll tell you what I’m thinking about,” he murmured, turning his body so he was facing you.

Your eyes had yet to leave your lap, your focus stuck on the rip of your jeans. You jumped when you felt his warm touch on your lower thigh, the warmth of his calloused hands making your heart rate rise even though the thick denim. His size was intoxicating and he made you feel like putty as he leaned closer to you.

“Y/N,” Nolan mumbled, his voice deeper than ever before.

You finally lifted your gaze, turning your head up to look at him. His baby blue eyes were piercing yours, the contact lighting a fire within you. Every reasonable thought in your head was telling you to pull away, to grab your bag and politely excuse yourself. You weren’t ready for a relationship, you had barely put yourself back together after your last heartbreak and Philly was supposed to be different. But as you sat here, your face just inches away from Nolan’s, you gave in to your desire.

Before you could talk yourself out of it, you connected your lips with his, immediately sighing in relief as his soft pout worked perfectly against you. You hastily swung your hips over and seated yourself on Nolan’s lap, an eager groan escaping him when your body rolled into his. His hands splayed across your hips, moving to circle your ass as he helped you grind deeper into his already hardening length.

Nolan trailed his lips down your jaw, nibbling and sucking on the plane of your neck. You knew he was leaving marks, but in the moment you couldn’t care less, the euphoria of his touch being the only comprehensive feeling.

“Please,” you whined, tightening your grip on his long locks, “Nolan.”

You couldn’t remember the last time someone had ignited you as Nolan had. He had barely even touched you and you were nearly certain you had already soaked through your panties, withering in his lap desperate for more.

“Now she has something to say,” Nolan teased, whispering into the shell of your ear. He gave you no warning before he was standing up, holding the back of your legs as you instinctually wrapped them around his waist.

Nolan gently tossed you on his bed, pausing to pull his shirt off before he was climbing on top of you. You were in a state of bliss, finally able to admire his frame shamelessly and without fear of getting caught. He continued to attack your neck, leaving mark after mark behind in his wake. You whimpered impatiently as his lips worked your sensitive skin, but Nolan was set on taking his time. He didn’t know if he would ever have you like this again and he was going to savor every second of it.

But you decided to take matters into your own hands, pushing his frame off of yours and pulling your sweater over your head. You grabbed Nolan’s face again, cupping both of his cheeks as your lips met again. He made quick work of your bra, unclasping it with ease behind your back and tossing it across the room.

“Fuck, you’re stunning,” he groaned, pausing to take you in. Your hair was splayed across the pillow, your cheeks flushed while your chest heaved up and down with heavy breathing. His praise went straight to your core, clenching around nothing as you grew more and more desperate for him.

Nolan wasted no more time, finally making his way down your torso before reaching the hem of your pants. His fingertips slowly ran beneath the fabric, stopping only to look up at you. Your eyes locked and you frantically nodded, understanding that he was waiting for your permission before continuing.

“Words, Y/N,” Nolan hummed into your thigh, his order gentle but firm.

“Yes,” you breathed out, “Fuck, yes.”

Nolan did as you said, unzipping your jeans and sliding them down your legs. He almost lost his balance on the mattress when he saw you laying before him, the pink lace resting across your hips being the only thing keeping him from you. Nolan settled himself between your legs, hooking both of them over his shoulders as his hot breath fanned over your pussy.

Nolan placed a soft kiss to your lace-covered clit, basking in your reaction as you let out an embarrassingly loud moan and your hands flew to his head, tangling in his hair. Your hips jerked up into the air, desperate for more friction. Nolan laid his thick forearm across your waist, his weight halting all of your movements and holding you at his mercy.

“Nolan, please just fuck me,” you begged, the suspense too much to handle as you felt yourself drip down the crease of your thigh.

“All in good time, baby,” he cooed, pulling your panties to the side and finally connecting with your throbbing pussy.

You cried out as his tongue flicked your clit back and forth, the pleasure only magnifying when he sucked it between his teeth. Your hands were locked with an iron grip in the roots of his hair, holding on like your life depended on it. Nolan hummed against your core as he continued to taste you, the vibrations of his voice sending shockwaves through your body.

Suddenly Nolan pulled back, but before you could protest you heard ripping. A gasp left your lips when you realized what he had done, the mangled lace of your panties now laying on his floor. You wanted to yell at him, complain that those were your favorite, but before you could get a word out he was back at work, this time fucking his tongue in and out of you.

Your head fell back against the pillow, your mouth opening in a silent scream when you felt him slide two fingers inside while his mouth circled your clit again. Nolan curled his fingers against your sweet spot and you knew you were done for, your back arching off the mattress as you combusted with your orgasm.

Nolan milked you through your high, his tongue flattening against your clit as his head shook and his fingers kept their pace. He finally slowed down as he felt you come down, pulling back to watch you shake as the last waves of pleasure rolled through your body. He slipped his fingers out of your fluttering pussy, only to bring them to his mouth and suck your juices clean.

“You’re really good at that,” you stammered, just now coming back to your senses after almost blacking out.

Nolan laughed, kissing his way back up your body until you two were face to face again. You couldn’t resist pulling him down and crashing your lips against his, moaning into his mouth as you tasted yourself on his tongue.

“I’m good at other things too,” he smirked, tucking your hair behind your ear, just as he had done last week, except this time he didn’t have to hide it. The soft action made your heart flutter, but his words made something else flutter.

“Give me your best, Patrick,” you challenged.

“Your wish is my command, baby.”

Nolan pushed off his arms and stood up, hurriedly stripping himself of his sweats and boxers in one fell swoop. A whimper escaped your lips when you heard the sound of his cock slapping against his stomach, your pupils dilated as your eyes trailed down his thighs admiring his tattoos. 

Reaching across you to get a condom from his nightstand, Nolan was surprised when you plucked it right from his hand. You tore open the foil and slowly rolled the condom onto him, a small smile spreading across your face when his hips buckled into your hand at your touch.

You may have been embarrassingly weak for him, but he was just as weak for you.

Nolan shifted on the bed so he was hovering over your body, leaning down to press a kiss to your mouth. Your lips moved in sync with one another, the pure lust filling the room dictating every movement. He felt you grow more and more impatient, your body stirring beneath his as he finally pulled away.

Taking one last look at you spread out before him, waiting for him to touch you, Nolan directed his attention back to between your legs. He locked eyes with you before collecting the salvia in his mouth, harshly spitting on your pussy. The moan you let out was only amplified when he started teasing you even more, dragging the head of his cock through your soaking folds.

“Nolan,” you whined, the last letter of his name prolonged as you begged, your entire body tensing while he tapped your already so sensitive clit.

“Shhh,” he cooed, rubbing his thumb in soothing circles against your hip, “Got to make sure you’re ready for me.”

Before you could get in another word of protest, Nolan was pushing one of your legs into your chest and sliding inside. Your mouth fell open as he slowly bottomed out, the sensation of him filling you paralyzing. A string of deep swears left his lips as he felt you already clenching around him.

After letting you adjust, Nolan started rocking his hips, quickly finding his rhythm. You didn’t have a single thought in your head, the way he hit your sweet spot inside and ground against your clit making you dizzy.

Nolan had never been in such bliss. He could never have imagined how good you would feel wrapped around him, your walls still pulsating from your first high as he slid in and out. The way your name sounded falling from his lips was pure ecstasy, his innate possessiveness in full drive. Your nails dug into his back, dragging burning lines into his skin that he knew he would be tormented about tomorrow in the locker room but it didn’t matter. Nothing mattered but the way your bodies fit together in perfect harmony right this moment.

You could feel yourself growing close within mere minutes, Nolan’s relentless thrusts giving you no mercy. He could tell you were almost there by the way you were fluttering around him, along with the mindless sounds of pleasure escaping your lips getting louder and louder.

“That’s it,” Nolan encouraged in your ear, “Cum for me, Y/N.”

Between his hot breath against your tingling skin and his plunging thrusts, Nolan had you seeing stars.

“Nolan, Nolan,” you whined.

You swore you almost blacked out, your vision going blank as he fucked you through your high. He wasn’t far behind you, the clenching of your pussy egging him on until he finally let go, his hips stuttering and groans filling the air as his head fell into the crook of your neck.

“Fuck,” Nolan sighed, letting his heart rate steady as he laid above you, resting the majority of his weight on his forearms.

“Yeah,” you responded with a breathy laugh, your mind still blank as you came down.

Nolan stayed there for a few minutes before finally sitting up, cringing as you whimpered when he pulled out. Your eyes slipped shut, but you could hear him shifting around the room. After pulling on a pair of fresh boxers and dampening a towel, Nolan gently cleaned you up, biting back a smirk each time you shivered at his touch. He disappeared again, this time returning with a shirt in hand, urging you to sit up so he could help you pull the soft fabric over your head.

You had every intention of getting dressed and leaving, but you just couldn’t find the energy to remove yourself from his warm bed. The sheets that smelled like him enveloped you, and now his t-shirt was draped over your shoulders begging you to stay. Nolan slid next to you, his body cradling yours from behind as he wrapped an arm around your waist, holding you impossibly close.

“Sleep well, Y/N,” Nolan hummed into your neck as he settled in.

“Goodnight,” you managed to get out, the shame of what you had just done starting to spiral in your head.

You made a mistake. Nolan was good, so good, and he deserved more than you could give him. Your last relationship ended in disaster, leaving you broken and abandoning the idea of finding love ever again. Regardless of what you told your friends and family, it was what drove you from home. Then came Nolan, he was the definition of kind. Even when he barely knew you he did whatever he could to protect you. That kind of guy deserves someone who’s got it together, not whatever mess you were. You couldn’t believe you let your attraction to him get the best of you, and now here you were, pressed against his sleeping frame as he held you.

Everything inside of you was telling you to leave. It was too much, the eventual pain of whatever this was ending was overwhelming. You could hear Nolan snoring behind you, the sound of his contentment almost bringing tears to your eyes. Gently lifting his arm from its spot across your waist, you slid from underneath his grasp. It was nearly impossible to find your clothes in the dark, but you managed to do so without making too much noise. Nolan didn’t even stir as you moved around him, folding the shirt he gave you and placing it on the nightstand.

Just as you reached for the door, you felt yourself pause. Don’t do it, Y/N. Don’t do it. But you couldn’t resist, slowly turning to take in what you were leaving behind.

Nolan was passed out, his body leaning towards the pillow where you once laid your head and his arm laying flat as if he was still holding you. You could make out the redness of his cheeks in the dim light, his eyelashes curling down onto his cheeks. Your heart broke as you looked at him, but you knew it was what you had to do. He deserved the world, which was much more than you were able to give him. Without giving it another second of thought, you opened the door as quietly as possible and made your escape.

~

+ one

It had been over three weeks since you last spoke to Nolan.

You couldn’t handle facing him just yet, so you did what you knew best: shutting out the people that cared about you the most. You ignored every single one of his calls and texts, eventually muting his number when it became too much. You replayed what you imagined he looked and felt like that morning, waking up to a cold, empty bed. It was heartbreaking, but you stayed firm in your decision. As long as you didn’t have to see his face you would be fine.

But of course, Aubrey had different plans for you.

Since that night, you had been more distant from her than ever before. You left the apartment early in the morning, spending your day in class and bouncing between different coffee shops while working. You kept up appearances when you returned in the evening, saying hello and asking her how her day was, but practically nothing else. You made an early exit to your room, citing homework or lack of sleep as your excuse. But she knew you better than anyone else, it was no secret something was wrong. Much to your content, you could only assume that Nolan was keeping your secret as well, knowing that if he told anyone on the team you would be getting an earful from her.

But Aubrey had decided that she was done letting you sulk about whatever it was you were so clearly upset by. The Flyers had been away for almost two weeks and tonight was their first game back home. Thanks to Travis, she had two tickets in hand ready for the two of you.

Before you had even shut the apartment door behind you after arriving home, she was jumping up to greet you.

“Hey!” Aubrey exclaimed as you walked in, “We’re going out tonight.”

You just stared at her confused, knowing damn well you had no intention of going anywhere. “Hey,” you started, “I- I don’t think so, I have a lot to do.”

“No, you don’t. Listen, I don’t know what is going on with you but I’m sick of watching you wallow in whatever it is. I’ve barely talked to you in almost a month, you’re coming with me,” Aubrey snapped. If there was one thing about having such an old friend it was that she always gave it to you straight.

“Where?” You begrudgingly inquired.

“Nope, it’s a surprise,” she answered. If her inkling was correct, whatever had you in this funk had something to do with a certain Flyers centerman and she was not risking you ditching because of it.  

“Fine,” you groaned.

It wasn’t news to you that you had been a horrible friend recently. Despite the anxiety that came with breaking your current routine, maybe a night with Aubrey was just what you needed to take your mind off everything.

-

A few hours had passed, and you were sitting in the back of an Uber watching the city pass you by. Aubrey maintained the anonymity of the destination, ignoring all of your pleas for even just a hint. But there were some things that she couldn’t control.

Your stomach dropped when you saw where the car was heading towards, the large Wells Fargo Center plastered on the side of the building cluing you in. Of course, you thought, how could you not have known. You had so strictly blocked Nolan and the entire team from your mind that didn’t think to look at their schedule, but now it all made sense.

“Aubrey, no,” you stated, your voice already shaking as you got closer and closer.

“What the hell happened?” she snapped back, finally getting confirmation that your funk was related to Nolan.

“Nothing, nothing happened. I just don’t want to go,” you rebutted, “I’m not in the mood to see everyone, okay?”

“You don’t have to, we’re sitting alone,” she responded, turning her phone on and showing you the location of the tickets. As she promised, they were nowhere near the family boxes.

You didn’t say anything else, instead choosing silence as the car pulled up to the entrance. You both thanked the driver before quickly exiting, a long, awkward silence falling over the two of you as you entered the arena.

You could do this, you told yourself while adjusting in your seat. You could sit through one game, you didn’t even have to see or talk to anyone. If it would make Aubrey happy, you could suck it up and sit down. The two of you had still barely said a word to each other since arriving, and you could see the disappointment on her face. Deciding it was time to get over it, you put your arm around Aubrey, smiling as you instantly felt her relax and place her head on your shoulder. Neither of you said anything, but after knowing each other for so long, you didn’t have to. She knew what you meant.

-

You didn’t know what to expect, but the second you saw Nolan step onto the ice you were flooded with emotion. He looked tired, like he hadn’t been sleeping much or well, and your heart dropped at the thought that you may have been the reason why. You still were firm in your decision to avoid anything serious right now, but you knew you went about it in the completely wrong way. Nolan was the closest thing you had ever met to an angel, but you treated him like a random one night stand from the bar you barely knew. The guilt had overtaken you over the past few weeks, and seeing him in the flesh wasn’t helping.

It was a relatively uneventful game, the rebuilding Red Wings visiting and not giving the Flyers much of a fight. By the third period they were up 4-0, one of which was scored by number 19 himself. As the horn sounded signaling the end of the game, Aubrey turned to you.

“I was going to go see Travis,” she hesitated, “Do you want to come? Or I can meet you right after?”

“I’ll wait for you,” you encouraged.

Aubrey thanked you, squeezing your hand before getting up and heading downstairs. Instead of going to the main concourse to wait, you stayed in your seat, waiting for the crowds to clear out before you moved. Pulling your phone out of your pocket, you started mindlessly scrolling as a distraction.

But your distraction didn’t last for long.

“What the hell are you doing here?”

Your eyes slipped shut when you heard his voice, that same voice that left you weak in the knees. You immediately felt your heart begin to race and your palms sweat. You felt caught. After taking a moment to pause, you finally mustered up the courage to look up at him.

Nolan’s eyes were focused on your own, his hair slicked back and soaking wet still with sweat. He had definitely not showered yet, between the fact that the game just ended minutes ago and his appearance. He was dressed in his undergarments and slides, clearly he wasted no time before coming up here to find you.

“How did you even know I was here?” you questioned back, already feeling yourself on the defense.

“Really?” Nolan scoffed, “Travis told me. How else would I have known? It’s not like you talk to me.” He trailed off, his words becoming quieter.

“Nolan, please,” you pleaded, “Please sit down.”

There was no doubt in your mind that it was time for you to come clean. You could see the pain in his eyes and the hurt behind his voice. He obliged, sinking to sit in the seat beside you, but he didn’t turn to face you. His coldness was evident, and you knew that you deserved nothing else.

“I’m sorry,” you began, “I’m so sorry, Nolan. I- I shouldn’t have left like that, with no explanation-”

“I thought I had you,” he interrupted, “Finally, Y/N, after all those weeks of tiptoeing around it, I thought we were done pretending.”

You could feel the tears burning behind your irises, and it was taking everything within you not to let them out. Nolan’s words broke you, even more than you were already broken.

“Nolan, I wanted- I want,” you corrected yourself, “Nothing more than to give myself to you, but I- I just can’t. I’m not ready.”

“Then why did you sleep with me?” his voice cracked, “And what does that even mean, ‘you’re not ready’?”

“I can’t let myself get hurt again, okay? I can’t do it,” you sighed, finally succumbing to your emotion, “I am so sorry for dragging you into my mess, but I can’t let myself go through that again. And you deserve so much better.”

Your head fell to your hands, hiding your face from him as you cried. Even just speaking out loud your last heartbreak made you a wreck. Deep down you knew Nolan wasn’t capable of hurting you like that, but you wouldn’t let him take care of you anymore. You couldn’t. He deserved someone who didn’t need to be taken care of.

“Y/N,” Nolan hummed, gently placing a hand on your back. He cringed when you jumped at his touch. “Y/N, look at me, please.”

You did as he asked, your red, puffy eyes lifting to meet his baby blues, putting you at ease almost right away.

“I’m not going anywhere,” Nolan murmured, “I don’t know what you think, but you’re not a burden. You’re the complete opposite and I want to show you that. If you’ll let me.” He paused, his eyes frantically scanning your face for any sign of your reaction. You were staring ahead of you, entranced with the ice below as you processed his words. Despite knowing how much it could potentially hurt, Nolan said what he thought he had to, “Even if it’s just as friends, but you can’t disappear on me again.”

You made Nolan feel at peace, like when he was with you nothing else mattered. But no matter how strong his feelings were, he cared for you enough to put them aside if that’s what it took to keep you in his life.

“I don't want to be friends,” you whispered, finally breaking the silence.

As if there was some kind of magnifying force between the two of you, your body lunged towards Nolan’s, your lips crashing together instantly. He was stunned, his body frozen in shock, but within seconds he melted against your touch with one hand on your lower back and the other tangled in your hair. It felt like time stopped in that moment, the only thing making you pull away was the lack of air.

You were both breathless, your foreheads resting against one another. Nolan took both of your hands in his, intertwining his much larger fingers with yours.

“I trust you,” you breathed out.

The grin that spread on Nolan’s face was like nothing you had ever seen before. You matched him right away, smiling as you watched the pure joy and relief wash over. The same joy and relief that you were feeling.

“Does this mean I finally get to take you out?” he asked, his deep mumble making you feel right at home again.

“Maybe,” you teased, “Only if you shower,” you added, pretending to push him off of you.

Nolan couldn’t help but fall into a fit of laughter at your subtle jab. That’s what he loved about you most, the way you could earn a smile or chuckle out of him like no one else.

He stood up from his seat, extending his hand out as he stared down at you. Without even a crumb of doubt creeping its way into your mind, you took his hand. Wrapping your arms around Nolan’s and resting your head against his shoulder, you walked out and into the hallway together.

Nolan leaned down and pressed a gentle peck to your forehead, and for the first time in longer than you could remember, you felt untouchable.

~