#glasses make her look like a mean librarian/teacher

[dykesevika]

happy mother’s day

Men DNI

[chaepink]

good girls are bad girls (that haven't been caught) | sub!kuroo tetsurou

wc: 2k+ words | masterlist

dom!fem!reader (however it can be read as gn!reader as no body parts are mentioned), begging, crying, teasing, mean!reader, degrading, insulting, slight hair pulling, marking, slight bondage, clothed touching, praising, mention of the reader fucking/marking other people, kuroo is kinda shitty at first, theres plot and smut isn't until later down

note : this is very loosely based off of 'good girls' by 5sos and oh my god i wrote a lot. also I literally wrote this in 4 different sections and had to write in between in order to get to all 4 parts...

"Kuroo, you're failing all your classes except gym. How's that even possible?!" Kuroo shrugs nonchalantly, not paying attention at all and instead opting to look outside the window.

The teacher sighs, taking off her glasses and rubbing her temples. 5 minutes in and she is already getting a headache dealing with him.

"You're a third year already, you should be focusing on studying to get good grades in order to graduate," she says, grabbing the nearby stack of paper on her desk and organizing it. "Lucky for you, however, someone agreed to help tutor you for your main subjects."

"Yeah sure, whatever. Can I go now?" He's had plenty of tutors already and all of them quit only a few days in due to him being uncooperative whenever they tried to help him. He rather enjoys watching them give up and leave him at the library. She sighs again.

"Her name is, [name]. I think you may know her. After all, she's a third-year like you and is at the top of her class."

Kuroo snaps his attention toward his teacher. Did he hear that right?

You're gonna be his tutor? The school's well-known good girl? The girl who gets nothing but straight A's for every piece of schoolwork? Shit. Sure you may be a good tutor and all but he's heard numerous rumors of how strict you are when you're tutoring and he doesn't feel like dealing with it anytime soon.

"Ah, so you know their name at least." She can't help but smile. Finally, he gives her his attention. "They've agreed to tutor you right after school a few days a week at the back of the library-" He scoffs.

"The back of the library? Obviously, she chooses that spot. She's there every single day!"

His teacher gives him a stern look for cutting her off.

"You should be grateful. Today will be the first day she tutors you. She said she would be there on time so don't be late, I'm sure you'll do just fine."

"Yeah right," he mumbles under his breath.

"I heard that."

---

He's late by over 20 minutes, not that he really cares anyways.

As he strides into the library, he looks around and rolls his eyes. The library was practically empty with only a few students sitting at tables and the librarian quietly typing on her computer.

Out of the corner of his eye, he sees some students staring at him though not very subtlety. They're either staring due to just clearly being attracted to him or just surprised that he, the school's infamous fuckboy, was at the library. He likes to think that it's the former.

While walking to the back of the library, he notices that the number of students start to decrease. Eventually, he makes it to the very back and sees you. He sneers in disgust at all the books on the table and the open notebook in front of an unoccupied chair.

As he sits down, the chair scraps against the floor which catches your attention. With a blank face, you acknowledge him with a nod.

"My name is [name]," you say. "It's nice to meet you."

He holds back from rolling his eyes from how formal you're being.

"Yeah whatever, I already knew that. Name's Kuroo." If you're taken aback by his forwardness, you don't show it. Instead, you go to open a book that he notices is a math one and he groans.

"From what I've been told, your math grade is the lowest." Though it's on the tip of your tongue, you hold yourself from mentioning that it was the lowest grade by only a few points.

"Well then, let's begin."

---

"That's incorrect. Here, I'll show you." You write down the problem and answer it so quickly and so effortlessly that it makes Kuroo groan in frustration.

You hold back from rolling your eyes. While you knew he would be a pain in the ass to tutor, you didn't expect him to be this annoying. Every question you've asked him so far, he's got wrong. Additionally, he's barely paying attention. By now, it's past the time that you expected the session to last. You keep checking your watch and you swear time is slowing down. You wish for the library to close already.

Your irritated mood almost makes you punch him in the face but you're keeping yourself from doing that. Unfortunately.

You have to keep a good reputation, [name]. How would everyone react if they found out you punched a dude out of pure annoyance?

However, your reputation is probably the last thing you care about right now.

Wrong question after wrong question makes you even more irritated and you swear you're about to break.

"Are we done?" You shake your head. He still has yet to answer a question right.

"What? We're not? Why?" He stares at you with a confused look that infuriates you even further and you're about to answer back until he cuts you off.

"Whatever, you're going to quit just like all the other stupid tutors anyways. Besides, even if you're the school's good girl, I bet you do all sorts of stuff back here if you know what I mean-"

You abruptly grab him by his tie and force him closer to you with only a few inches between you two.

"Shut the fuck up." You snarl at him. "Holy shit are you so stupid! You can't even answer these basic math questions that even an fucking elementary student can!"

You let go of his tie and watch him back up in shock and trip over his chair, making him fall down onto the floor.

Frustrated, you're about to pack up your stuff until you see something on his pants. A bulge.

You freeze as you gape at it. Holy shit.

Kuroo follows your stare and immediately covers it, face ablaze. "S-stop looking! It's n-not what it seems like!"

As you process the situation, a devilish grin slowly makes its way onto your face. As you make your way closer to him, he backs up into the bookshelf, watching your every step. Nervousness is painted on his face. It looks rather good on him.

"Oh really? From my perspective, however," you start, bending down so that you're face to face with him and his warm face. "It looks like you're hard from me yelling at you." He feels himself getting even harder and he squeezes his eyes shut, not daring to look at you.

"You know, you're actually right." Kuroo flitches, not expecting to hear your voice so close to his ear. "Unlike what people might think, I don't read books back here all the time."

Kuroo is bright red by now, not daring to open his eyes, and instead lowers his head. He swears that if he does, he'll cum right on the spot from seeing you above him looking down with those eyes of yours.

Your warm breath fans his ear and he can't suppress the shiver that runs through his body.

"W-what do you mean?" The question comes out as a cute whisper. You smirk. "Well, who do you think gave all your friends those hickeys, hm?"

You draw back, watching him slowly open his eyes as the cogs in his head turn as he thinks. Fuck. He looks so adorable when he's confused with his eyebrows furrowed and lips forming a small pout.

That's until he realizes and you can't help but grin when it shows upon his face.

"Your friends are all rather adorable, you know? Especially Kenma. They're such good listeners when I tutor that I can't help but give them a little reward. They were even in the same exact position that you're in right now! All teary-eyed as they oh so kindly begged me to touch them."

Tears prickle Kuroo's eyes.

"Aww, are you jealous?" You feign a pout. "Why? Is it because you only want me to do this to you?"

He immediately nods his head, not caring about his reputation anymore. He just wants you to focus on him and forget his friends.

"How cute." You carefully land on your knees in front of him and untie the tie from his neck and instead use it to tie his hands behind his back. You put one of your hands on the bookshelf behind him to stable yourself.

His breath quickens when he feels your hand ghost over his chest. His senses are heightened as he patiently waits for you to do something. Anything!

"You sure you want to continue?" He nods again.

A whimper escapes him as you immediately scrunch his vest and shirt up, exposing his nipples to the cold air. He feels you place your knee between his legs and a hand on his chest.

He can't quiet his noises as you begin stimulating his whole body. A part of him tries to focus on either you teasing and touching his nipples or the knee that keeps on rubbing against his clothed dick but he can't. Only minutes in and he's already hot all over. It's clear that he's enjoying it.

"Shh, be quiet Kuroo. Don't want everyone to know that you're such a whore for me, right?"

Sobs, mewls, and whimpers leave him as he gets used like a toy for you. He doesn't care that others may hear him, he just wants you to keep going. He's so hard that it hurts.

"Look at you," you say with a sneer, "I barely touched you and you're already so hard. Are you always like this with all the other girls you've fucked? A slut?"

"S-stop it," he sobs, "I'm not h-hard- ah ah!" He gasps as your knee drives against his hard-on and your hand tweaks one of his nipples, watching as he throws his head back slightly and bites his lip to keep his noises in.

"Oh really?" You raise an eyebrow at him. "Then what's this obvious tent in your pants then, hm?" You prove your point by sharply thrusting your knee against it again, forcing another muffled whimper to escape him.

He tries hiding his face by turning it to the side but you immediately grab his chin using your free hand and force him to look at you.

"Don't," you start to say, giving him a glare. "Try covering your face. Got it?" He nods obediently and you can't help but smile.

"Good boy," you say, giving him a quick peck on the cheek. He whimpers at that.

"Oh? Who knew the school's fuckboy would love being called a good boy so much? Maybe I should call you that in front of your friends." You shrug casually. "You know, to see their reaction as your face flushes up and dick hardens. Hell, I bet you'll even like that."

He widens his eyes.

"N-no! Pleas- fuck!" He's close and you know it. Another timed squeeze of his nipple and move of your knee against his dick has him crying. It feels too good.

A tug of his hair elicits a mewl from him as he feels you bite a spot on his neck that has his eyes rolling. You continue biting and licking that spot until you're sure that it'll stay purple for a few days.

Licking your lips, you move back slightly, not enough that you have to stop your movements but enough for you to check out your work.

With his legs spread open, head thrown back, neck marked, and face flushed, Kuroo looked absolutely breathtaking.

"I-Im close!" And it looks like Kuroo is about to cum too. You take a quick glance at the clock and grin. You lean towards his ear.

"Time's up, Kuroo."

Your whisper makes him jump but right when he's about to tell you that he's going to cum, a louder voice from far away shakes him out of his headspace.

"Library closes in 5 minutes!" You stop. No no no.

Quickly standing up, you give him a slight shrug. "Guess the tutoring session is over, Kuroo."

"No! Please! D-don't go!" Ignoring his pleas and sobs, you grab your stuff and right as he thinks you're heading back to him, you only just untie his hands and nothing more.

As you're about to walk out of his sight, he sees you aim your phone at him and click the screen. After, you blow him a kiss and a wink.

"Next session is tomorrow! Don't be late!" And then you're gone, leaving Kuroo all sweating and still hard. Fuck.

Let's just say that he got to next the session rather early.

ty for reading to the end! ❤ - chaepink

╰┈➤ masterlist | rules

[greenishghostey]

Glass Gorgon

Pairing: Eddie Munson x fem!reader

Summary: Eddie made sure to only wear his glasses at home and when he was in a quiet corner of the Hawkins public library. Hellfire campaign planning called for him to be on top form; therefore, his browline glasses were a necessity. You had taken notice of Eddie's weekly library visits and his new bespectacled look. It was a good look on him.

Word Count: 3,339

Warnings: None! This is a fun little fluffy one-shot because one man wearing some reading glasses. Also, the stories of Cu Chulainn are really cool bits of folklore, here's an overview if anyone is curious!

DO NOT REPOST OR EDIT MY WORK

///

Eddie had needed to wear reading glasses since he was eight years old. After years of reading and drawing late at night, with only a shitty flashlight as a light source, his big eyes were more than a little bit messed up. 

After one too many comments from teachers about Eddie potentially being “dim” after he couldn’t read the board properly, Wayne took him for an eye test. Crappy eyesight was just another cross to bear for the Munson men, so Wayne knew he was going to be shelling out for some glasses. Eddie got to pick whichever frames he wanted, but damn, was the little boy annoyed about having to do it. He huffed and grumbled the entire trip to the opticians - so much so that Wayne bought Eddie some ice cream to cheer him up. Wayne didn’t like it when his nephew wasn’t his usual smiley little self. 

Since then, Eddie had tried out a few different styles of glasses. He tried to find a pair that didn’t make him look too dorky or take away from his metalhead exterior. Eddie had a reputation as the town freak, and as much as he disliked being labelled as that, he had to keep it up. 

Eight-year-old Eddie had thought wire-framed glasses were a good choice. But after getting that pair broken by an “accidental” football to the face, Wayne suggested a sturdier choice. Sturdier meant thicker, which meant Eddie was going to be getting more sports equipment aimed at his face. 

Bad eyesight just wasn’t metal. Eddie quickly learned that there was next to no chance of him pulling off reading glasses. They made his eyes look even bigger. Every pair did make him look like a dork. Plus, if he didn’t wear them consistently, then his eyes would only get worse. Eddie kind of hated that he had to sit in the back of every classroom to maintain his attempt at being a “cool, bad boy”. In reality, he was squinting enough to get a headache just so he could read Miss O’Donnell’s handwriting. 

Like hell was he wearing those glasses, though.

-

The Hawkins public library was always a bit of a ghost town. Eddie loved it for when he needed time away from the trailer but still needed some quiet. 

Not a lot of people knew that the fantasy section in the library was so varied. But Eddie did. He’d read almost all of the books in the section cover to cover. Wayne didn’t always have the means to get Eddie new books when he finished one, so a library card was the best option. The old librarian back then had been so excited to see such a young kid so eager to devour any book that he could. Wendy was her name. Eddie found himself missing Wendy during his library trips. 

The history section was tucked away in the back corner of the library. Far away from any prying eyes and close to a big window where the sun streamed in just right. This was the other area where Eddie could be found when he made his weekly visits. While the main American history books weren’t his speed, the range of dusty, heavy mythology anthologies that were crammed onto one shelf certainly were. Comparing mythology and fantasy books was a hobby of Eddie’s - it sparked a lot of D&D inspiration and helped him pin down the whirlwind of ideas already in his head. The day he noticed that Tolkien lifted much of his work from Irish Mythology, he almost lost his twelve-year-old mind. Wayne got his ear talked off about the stories of Cú Chulainn.

Black browline frame glasses were perched on the bridge of Eddie’s nose as he hunched over one of the three notebooks he’d brought with him. After forgetting his walkman and headphones last week - and suffering through the droning background noise of the library - he had made sure to bring at least one tape with him at all times. The first one his hand had come to was a new one he found in a bin at a music store in the next town over. The band was called Manilla Road, and they were pretty good - weird castle art as the album cover and heavy guitar solos. Eddie was easy to please. 

The weekly library visits were purely so that Eddie had time to plan for upcoming Hellfire sessions away from the distractions of his bedroom. But also so that no one would stumble upon him wearing his glasses. He wouldn’t be caught dead wearing them within a mile radius of school - his time there was bad enough, and the added taunt of having four eyes just wouldn’t be worth it. 

However, the bespectacled Eddie Munson had been seen by someone he knew somewhat. You had been working at the Hawkins library since graduating two years prior - the same year when Eddie was supposed to have paraded himself across the stage too. You had been working every time Eddie came in and took up his usual space at a desk by the history section. 

You never knew he had to wear glasses. He looked good with them. Really good.

-

Eddie had been digging the heels of his hands into his eyes for the last minute. You had been silently observing him as he appeared to be more stressed than usual. There was a Greek Mythology book open in front of him - you knew because he had been picking it up every visit for the past three weeks. Pieces of paper with numbers and drawings on them littered the desk. Pens and pencils sat beside his hand, bunched together with a rubber band. You had no idea what he was doing, it definitely wasn’t studying, but it seemed to be causing him a lot of trouble.

“Hey? You okay?” You hadn’t meant to startle him; you really hadn’t. Eddie could be jumpy and skittish at the best of times. He was often off in his own world when in the library. No one ever tried to talk to him - he even made sure to be absolutely silent so he wouldn’t risk being kicked out. 

Eddie almost jumped from his chair as he ripped his headphones off and turned to glare at whoever had scared him. The heated glower on his face faded quickly when he met your soft, concerned gaze. 

“Are you okay? You looked stressed, a little grumpy too.” You repeated, giving him a slightly awkward smile as a peace offering for spooking him. You, scaring the big scary town cult leader, no one was going to believe that story for a second. Hell, you didn’t believe it, Eddie was a little intimidating at times, but he was far from scary or capable of all the rumours that clung to him like a bad smell. 

Eddie cleared his throat and turned to you properly, “Uh yeah, ‘m fine. Just stressed, as you said.” He grumbled. So, he was grumpy about something. 

“You doing a project on mythology monsters or something?” You asked, gesturing to his book that was open to a page about Gorgons. “Didn’t think they’d cover that sort of stuff in school. Times’ve changed since I was there.” 

“God no, this isn’t for school. Nah, I should be reading up on the industrial revolution for that.” Eddie relaxed, letting his shoulders drop, and a small smile worm it's way across his face.

He remembered you from school. The two of you hadn’t really talked all that much, but when you did, you talked to him rather than at him. You didn’t speak about him in hushed whispers. Once, you had actually snapped at one of your friends, Vanessa or something, for saying “he might have rabies” when he was your chemistry lab partner. Eddie remembered you pretty well, in fact. You were the library girl now, but he knew you as that one nice girl. 

“I didn’t think you’d be coming in here to study, no offense.” You snorted.

“You been keeping tabs on me when I come in here?” Eddie asked, a mischievous lilt returned to his voice. He was genuinely curious if you had been watching him, but he also couldn’t pass up the opportunity to be slightly suggestive.

“I have, actually. You come in here and sit in the same spot. You’re the only person who even looks at these books. Colour me curious, I guess.” A similar glint could be heard in your voice. You remembered that Eddie was big on getting under the skin of others in any way he could. He didn’t always mean it in a bad way - part of you had wished a scene like this one had happened in school, maybe in the chemistry lab. 

Eddie hadn’t expected you, of all people, to match him beat for beat with the… flirting? “I, uh, I come here specifically for those books. Pretty much all of the myth and fantasy stuff. This is, like, my unofficial Hellfire planning office.” Eddie chirped, knocking his fists against the desk. Him stumbling over his words slightly didn’t go unnoticed. You had forgotten how much of a nerd he was. You were glad he hadn’t changed. 

“Ah, yeah, the D&D club. You know, a lot of middle schoolers come in here looking for those big game guidebooks.” You explained, watching Eddie’s eyes widen almost comically. The glasses made the sun bounce into his eyes quite nicely. “I know, right? You’d think their mommies and daddies would have told ‘em all about the scary Satan game.” 

Eddie surprised you when he pulled out the chair beside him with his foot, gesturing for you to join him. You couldn’t remember him being quite so open to chit-chat back in the day. Well, you also hadn’t ever mentioned D&D to him before - that probably would have helped. 

“Pull up a pew. I can tell you all about the Satan game and why I’m here.” Eddie smirked, huffing out a laugh. You also couldn’t remember him being this smooth. The addition of him looking up at you over his glasses just topped it all off. “I’m surprised you still remember Hellfire…” 

“You guys had cool club shirts, so that helped.” You grinned, sitting down beside Eddie and sneaking a peak at what he had been working on. There were three drawings of Gorgon-like women. Hissing hair and jagged teeth made them appear a lot more monsters than pretty ladies. Eddie had scribbled a note beside the drawings, “keep scary or make hot for distraction???” 

“Cool, huh?” Eddie was now the one coloured with curiosity - you were strange in the grand scheme of Hawkins. His shirts? Cool? Unheard of. “You know, I designed these bad boys myself. Jeff tried to make some creative suggestions, but he fucking sucks at art.” Eddie gloated, itching his nose under his glasses. Finally, he got to brag about the shirts. 

You noticed that he was wearing one of those Hellfire shirts. It was Wednesday, so it wasn’t a game day. Maybe the tee got him in the D&D headspace? 

“Between the little demon guy there,” you poked Eddie’s sternum. He cleared his throat and adjusted his glasses. “And the gorgons. I’d say art is very much your thing. I like that you kept the gorgons a little more monster-y like they’re supposed to be.” 

Eddie’s eyebrows had disappeared under his bangs, molasses eyes still widened. “Thought I was the only person that looked at these books?” He chuckled. Eddie knew that you must have read anything and everything, but the Greek mythology knowledge was a nice little shock to his system. 

“Ah, yeah, um - only for cataloguing a few months ago.” Eddie was sharp, sharper than anyone gave him credit for. You had started browsing the mythology books after seeing his fascination with them. It was time for a subject change before he caught on more. “Are the gorgons going in your game?”

“That’s the plan anyway.” Eddie nodded. He quickly gathered together his pages of notes in order. You were getting the campaign rundown whether you wanted it or not. 

You did. Definitely. Eddie had to push his glasses up the bridge of his nose again. It was something so mundane but endearing to see on him in particular. 

“I wanted to keep the ladies as monsters since they’ll be in a swamp forest kinda place.” Eddie gestured to a small, rough map layout of the landscape. “But, but, buuuut Gareth and Wheeler’s characters are huge virgins, so hot girls that can kill them would just be fun.” 

“How about having them look hot when you first see them, then they go full monster mode and start turning people to stone?” The thought had tumbled from your mind to your mouth before you could stop it. “Sorry. I don’t know enough about this to make any comments. Ignore me-“

“No, no. That’s good. Repeat that.” Eddie interrupted. “Wait, I need my red pen.” His hands scrambled around for the pen that was resting against your forearm. You poked his bicep with the pen, and he itched his nose again. You were comfortable with touching him, and he actually enjoyed that. Enjoyed it because it was someone good - you. 

“Okay. So, they look hot initially, but then when the guys get close enough,” Eddie slapped his hand against the desk as quietly as he could, “then bam! Hair starts hissing, and they’ve gone full creature from the Black Lagoon style!” He said, full of excitement. It had been so long since he’d been able to brainstorm ideas with anyone. 

You couldn’t hold back a giggle at how happy he was. You were talking about something so niche and more than a little odd, but that was Eddie’s thing. He never seemed like the type for small talk - he probably hated when people tried to talk about the weather. You admired that about him. His quirks and the fact that he was upfront with them. 

“I’m glad I could help with torturing your friends’ characters.” You giggled, now trying to focus your attention on a spray pencil. You weren’t sure looking at bubbly, bespectacled Eddie would be a good idea. You were still on shift, after all. 

Eddie pulled off the aforementioned glasses and rubbed at his eyes. He had been sitting at the desk for close to three hours - barely moving an inch the entire time. “Wheeler’s probably gonna bite it, to be honest. Hope you’re okay with that on your conscience.” He laughed. The laugh was soft but still a touch loud, too loud for a library, but you weren’t going to tell him that. 

“It’ll be character-building for him. A learning experience with women.”

“Hmm, kid’s got a girlfriend already, somehow. Poor little lady.” 

You continued to chat about his campaign ideas and the goings-on of your lives. The last time you had talked that much was in the chemistry lab in senior year - well, your senior year and his first attempt. 

Eddie told you about the power scaling for the gorgons and how they were going to fit into his overarching story. You listened intently, nodding enthusiastically - his words were like they were taken straight from one of the fantasy books on the shelves in the library. 

Eddie had taken to fiddling with his glasses. Rubbing at the lenses with his sleeve, spinning them in his hands. He was doing everything to avoid putting them back on, it seemed. The lenses caught the sun, and you saw they were quite smudged. 

“You can put your glasses back on, by the way.” You offered, trying to make him feel a bit less nervous about the object. Browline frames were a bit more physics nerd rather than a metalhead. Eddie hummed at your comment. He was still hesitant. Once he’d realised that he had been wearing them for so long already, he was a bit mortified. 

“Hmm, nah, I’m good. I can’t get them clean anyway, so they won’t be any help.” Eddie rambled. You weren’t going to be able to sit by and let him feel insecure about something so outside of his control. Maybe that’s why he was so worried about wearing them. He didn’t really have an option about it. 

You started digging in your large cardigan pockets for your own reading glasses case. “Well, you’re in luck because I have a wipe in here.” You pulled the small, silky plum cloth from the case, along with your round tortoiseshell glasses. Eddie had taken to looking at you like you were insane, even though all you had done was put on glasses. He blinked a few times before taking the wipe and rubbing at the lenses - making sure to get rid of all old and new smudges. 

“The glasses look good on you. Not the usual metal vibe, but you make them work with the hair and the outfit.” You were grasping at straws for how to compliment Eddie. Of course, you wanted to make him feel better, but you didn’t want to make it painfully obvious that you thought he was cute with the glasses. 

No, he was hot with the glasses. 

“You’re bad at compliments; you know that?” Eddie laughed, allowing his smirk to spread across his face once again. Much better. 

“No, I do know. But take it or leave it.” 

Eddie laughed again, his face heating up in an unfamiliar way. He placed his glasses back on. Clean lenses now let you see his eyes in all their chestnut-like glory. 

“Thanks - um, for not laughing at ‘em. I know I look ridiculous wearing these,” Eddie started fidgeting with his rings again before he rested his gaze entirely on you. “But, never thought I’d be hearing; what was it? They look good on me?” No matter how flustered he was, he wasn’t letting you off the hook with that comment. 

“I’m still on my shift. I’ll leave right now.” You threatened as a blush crawled up the column of your throat. 

“Okay, okay, that was pushing it, I know,” Eddie yielded. You swore you heard him giggle. This man was insane. 

The laughter had drawn the attention of your colleagues, Janet and Vince. Janet was winking at you like a proud aunt. Vince was glaring at you and tapping his wrist. He always was a spoilsport, but he was right. You were still on the clock. 

You had been waving both of them off when Eddie spotted them too. His smile faltered slightly, “you need to get back to work?” 

God, he made it sound so sad. The emphasis on his big, molasses eyes just made everything worse. 

“Yeah, Vince is tapping his wrist at me. I’ve got some middle school study guides that need filing by tomorrow.” You said dejectedly. The clock above the desk read 3:03, and your mood immediately picked up. A new idea had formed in your head, it was a shot in the dark, but you were feeling brave. 

“Are you still gonna be here for like another hour? I finish at 4, so I can come back,” you asked. “If you want the company, totally understand if no-“ 

“I’ll be here,” Eddie stated, nodding and nearly staring a hole through your skull. There was that blush coming back again. 

You clapped happily - god, you were going to humiliate yourself very quickly. Eddie did the nose itch again. That had now become a staple for him. It was strangely adorable on him. In reality, it was a means of fidgeting because you made him a touch nervous. Good nervous. 

Eddie had worn glasses since he was eight years old. He hated almost every second when he wore the frames. He was convinced that he made him look ridiculous, more dorky or just plain dumb. 

But the nice girl in the library, you, said he looked good. He made the glasses work for himself. Maybe they weren’t so bad. 

[titoist]

childhood memories

the librarian reads us a story about how you shouldn't feed a bear because it will come back & expect more food. i find it fairly upsetting. i want to be kind to animals. i feel sort of intensely personally upset with the librarian

i discover cracked.com & open dozens upon dozens of tabs, reading the junk food voraciously. once i see a scary picture on one & have to huddle in the corner of the couch for hours staring at the hallway so i know it's not coming out of the hallway until someone gets home. hours crying

when i'm home alone, i am always so deeply powerfully intensely petrified by the idea of going past my room. there's too many doorways. i'm afraid of mirrors. i'm petrified by the mental image of a ghoulish woman sprinting out of a doorway, towards me, screaming

i go on omegle when i'm about nine & use manycam to show people a picture of a mutilated penis. i'm sorry

i go on omegle when i'm about ten & meet someone who claims to be a girl named jade. to make a long story short, it turns into this weird... knifeplay, rape, forced sex change, roleplay, thing. where if you read the chatlog i am very obviously using the mannerisms & emoticons of a ten year old & "jade" seems unconcerned by this. i saw, said, & did a lot of gross things on the internet but this seems to come back to my memory the most often, like it's emblematic of the rest i save the chatlog. some time later, days? weeks? months? years? i don't know. i walk into the living room & glance at the laptop on the counter connecting it with the kitchen. my father has somehow discovered the chatlog & is reading through it. i don't react or say anything. i don't know how much he reads. he never says or does anything

my father is friends with a happy married couple who live in a big house. one day while visiting them i ask the husband if he wants to see something frickin' messed up!!! he watches me play happy wheels for awhile out of obligation. he just keeps going "… hhhhuh."

in second or third grade, a girl - i don't remember her name, retainers & glasses, blonde - has a crush on me. i never hear this from her personally, but she was bad at concealing her mannerisms. & after awhile, i was openly solicited by the other kids in my grade to help them torture & mock her about it. the way i understand it, she was deserving of ostracization for having a crush on an overweight child, while i had skirted by on account of never being seen as part of the ingroup in the first place. the mocking would have no stakes.

my mother works for a theatre company. this means she has to go up the stairs in that concrete behemoth & beyond the byzantine hallways to practice her roles in productions for hours at a time. she takes me along, & doesn't restrict me to the lobby or supervise me. this means i have the fantastic opportunity to run around various storage room with miscellaneous props, CDs, &, by god, puppets, for hours on end, unrestrained. i spend a lot of time there, alone, & i think it is the contributing factor in me developing a low-intensity interest in puppetry later on in life. once i start talking with one of her colleagues & spend a while parroting nationalist conspiracy theories from my father. my mother comes over eventually & he tells her i'm one of the most articulate & perceptive children he's ever met. it's absurd. i know this is absurd

once, in fifth grade english class, our teacher has us write all sorts of verbs on the whiteboard, trying to guess what a character in a story is about to do. someone intends to write "wrapped," but writes "raped." i watch the teacher notice this & quietly fix it. i saw, i knew

in my bedroom one night i realize a bunch of existential dread stuff for the first time & cry hysterically

early in fifth grade, i miss my bus stop. i tell the driver i missed my stop. an older girl comes up from the back of the bus & starts heavily involving herself in the situation really unnecessarily. then she takes a brief look at me & concludes that i'm autistic. she says her brother is autistic, so she can recognize it. she talks to me like a dumb puppy dog. i get home & tell my mother about this, then go "i'm not autistic!" while going into my room & crying

when i was around seven (?) years old, i went & looked at my birthday on wikipedia. later, i believe my father & i were talking about stuff that had happened on our birthdays in various years, & i clearly remember going up to him & saying, "Gerard died on my birthday" Gerard was a medieval Count of Auvergne who married one of the daughters of Louis the Pious, who was himself son of Charlemagne & Co-Emperor of the HRE. i expected my father to know who i was talking about because at that age i had no grasp of what bodies of knowledge i could expect to be commonplace among people. i figured that maybe everyone knew whatever was on wikipedia, generally.

[randofics]

Under Editing!!!

Jock OC x nerd/geek reader

(NOT MY ART ⬆️)

🎶 Luke Combs- she got the best of me

🎶 Jason Aldean- whose rearview

🎶 Lady A- just a kiss

You sat at the front of the class, taking notes as your teacher put them up on the smart board. Hand sore from holding your pencil so tight. Today had been a relatively slow and quiet day, at least for you anyway.

When the teacher asked you to go get a certain book from the library, you agreed without question. She handed you a note with the title and author written on it. You speedwalked down the corridor and into the open doors of the school library.

The older woman at the front counter smiled at you as you jogged over. "How can I help you, dear?" You hand her the note, and she types it into the library database. "Alright, it should be that shelf at the very back where the windows are. You see where it says historical literature?" "Yes, Ma'am."

"Ok opposite the windows. It's got a black cover."

"Thank you, Ma'am."

"If you can't find it, I'll take a look." You nod and jog to the back where she said it would be. Sunlight shines through the old off-white blinds, and you turn your back to them, looking over the historical literature books. You don't hear the footsteps coming up behind you as you focus. It's only when a male voice whispers behind you that you whip around in fright.

"Hey, little bird."

You've never been one to scream when startled, and this time was no different. You suck in a startled gasp, hitting the back of your head on one of the shelves. You grab the back of your head and hiss at the pain. "Maybe I don't have to mess with you today. It seems like you're doing a great job by yourself." You roll your eyes crossing your arms. "What do you want, Jake?"

He paused for a moment, his hand on the shelf above you moving to rub the back of his neck. He looked a tad nervous and wasn't making eye contact. "Well, believe it or not, I'm here to ask you out."

You didn't believe it. He was just too mean not only towards you but others as well. He'd poured ice water on you in lunch one time and with the other jocks pushed you into a closet only to be found when another student heard you call to them. When you finally got to class, your teacher was worried and asked where you had been. Glaring at Jake, you told her what had happened.

You weren't one to lie, especially about things like that, and almost the whole football team got detention. To say you were waiting on their revenge plot was an understatement. You were almost constantly looking over your shoulder in the halls, and at lunch, you sat close to the teachers in case anyone tried anything.

Of course, the one time you let your guard down, you'd be found by Jake. One good thing was that this was the library, and there was no tolerance for loud noises or loud talking inside. If you screamed, the librarian would run to your aid. "I don't believe you, Jake. This is probably just part of your revenge plot for getting you and the others detention. If you had just left me alone, that wouldn't have happened."

"This has nothing to do with that, I promise!" Hand on your hip, you glare up at him through your glasses. "Really? Then name a few things you like about me." Hand on the shelf again, he sighs. "Ok, well, it's cool that you know so much about animals. You're obviously smarter than me in that respect. You're also pretty, prettier than some of these rich bimbos anyway. I also like how you aren't afraid to snap back at someone when you need to."

You couldn't help the jump in your heart rate at his compliments. Was he telling the truth? It seemed like he couldn't look you in the eye, a good tell that he was. You were surprised, to say the least, so surprised that you spoke before you could register your own words.

"Ok, I believe you." He perks up. "Really!? Ehem.. I mean, uh, really? You really do?" You nod. "So does that mean you'll go with me later?"

"Sure, I don't have much to do this afternoon anyway."

"Ok, then it's a date! We can take my car after class." You nod again, and he awkwardly pats your shoulder as he leaves. You slump back against the shelf, sighing in relief, but quickly realize you still have to get that book to class. You wave over the librarian, and she helps you locate the book. Once you have it, you jog back to class.

Your teacher asked what took you so long, and you gave her the excuse that you had a hard time finding it. The rest of class was uneventful, and the bell rang, signaling the end of the day. When you walked out the front doors, you spotted Jake leaning against his cars hood on his phone. He hadn't spotted you yet, so you slinked through the crowd, trying to blend in. You didn't want to know what would happen if people saw you with him.

You got right up next to him before he realized you were there. "You're pretty sneaky, you know that?" You only mumbled out a "Maybe." He unlocked the car with a beep and ducked into the driver's seat. You followed suit, sliding into the passenger seat and shutting the door behind you.

"Were are we going?" He turns the key in the ignition, and the car rumbles to life. "I thought maybe the diner?" You nod. "As long as you pay for my milkshake." He laughs as he places his arm around the back of your seat, looking back as he reverses out of the parking spot. "I'm not kidding about that either Jake you at least owe me that."

"I was going to anyway. The guy always pays on the first date." Was this a date? Or was this his roundabout way of apologizing? Did he think he could buy your good graces? You had to be careful and not get your hopes up.

-------

At the diner, he sat across from you reading the menu. "What are you going to get?" You sigh, propping your head up with a hand. "Just a hotdog and fries along with that milkshake. He humms in acknowledgment, setting down the menu and waiving to the waitress. She takes your order and you relax in your seat to wait.

An awkward silence takes hold over the two of you, and before you can pull out your phone, he speaks up. "Hey, look, I wanted to apologize for how I've treated you. I've been a real a**hole to you for no real reason. Maybe it was because I was jealous of what you've got going for you?"

"What I've got going for me!? You've gotta be kidding me. Look at what you've accomplished! You're on our football team!"

"You're almost top of your class, y/n, and I'm just wasting time trying to get into the big leagues when I know for a fact that only like five percent get there! Meanwhile, you could have jobs practically lined up for you."

"You don't have to go to the big leagues, Jake. You could easily get a blue-collar job that pays well. That's what most people don't understand. Blue collar work is heavily relied upon for our society to even exist!"

He looked surprised, eyes wide. "Yo-you're right. I hadn't thought of it like that before. See, that's why I said you were smart!" The waitress tray in hand interrupts your conversation to lay out your food. With a bright smile, you thank her. "Let's eat!" You can't help your bright smile as you eat. Your conversation continues, and soon, you have to leave. Jake pays for the food and follows you out to his car.

"So what's your address? I'll drive you home."

"I live over by the park. I'll show you where when we get there." He nods and peals out of the parking lot.

He takes you on a few more dates through the next two weeks, and you grow to like him more each time. Letting down your walls little by little.

-------

"So, are you going to the game next week?" Your friend sitting next to you asked. "Yeah, I probably will."

"Going with that mystery boyfriend of yours?" You roll your eyes focusing on your paper.

Later that day, when you have some free time, you meet up with Jake in one of the stairwells. He seems off somehow, maybe upset about something? "Hey, you alright?" He perks up a bit at your presence, giving you a small smile. "Yeah, I'm fine. Are your classes ok?"

You give him a slightly confused look. "Yeah, as good as usual. Why?" He shrugs hands in his varsity jacket pockets. "Just curious, I guess?" You ignore the strange conversation swapping to a different topic. "My friend mentioned a game coming up next week and figured I'd go."

"Yeah, we're going against the school a county over."

"You going to practice this week?"

"Yeah, we have a couple that are pretty late, though. You can skip those cause I know you like your sleep."

"I'll at least go to the ones that aren't so late." He nods, and you still get the feeling he's glum. The alarm on your phone startles you both, and you growl in frustration. "Ugh, I've gotta go to class, Jake. You should, too." Catching him off guard, you stand on your tiptoes with a hand on his cheek and give him a peck on the other.

Wide-eyed, he watches you scamper off touching his cheek where you kissed him. A blush tinges his cheeks as the feeling of your lips linger. That was the first time you'd ever kissed him. He walked back up the steps to his next class with a smile on his face.

-------

After his late practice, he was in the locker room with his team. The boys loudly bickering in the background as he slipped on a clean t-shirt. "Hey Jake, how's it going with that nerd?"

"You've got a week till the challenge is over, man!" He didn't want to be reminded. He'd honestly started liking you and didn't want to break up your relationship. He just had to keep it quiet.

"It's going." With that, he shouldered his bag and walked out.

"What's up with him?"

"I dunno man, you think maybe he's starting to like her?"

"Could be, but I doubt it."

As he lay in bed, he couldn't stop thinking about how you'd react to the truth. He was scared you'd leave him, and you probably would, so he just couldn't let you find out.

The next day came, and you were excited for the afternoon because you had made you and Jake food for supper. One of your teachers was kind enough to let you put it in her mini fridge for the day. You were excited through all your classes and couldn't wait to go watch him practice.

When school finally let out, you made your way out to the football field. You found yourself a good vantage point from the bleachers and waived when he spotted you.

He couldn't help his smile when he saw you. Your presence gave him a boost in confidence. He pushed the tackle sled with more ferocity and juked around the cones like it was nothing. He finished the training course well before the others, so the coach let him go early.

As he left the field, you followed suit, coming up beside him as he walked back to the locker room. You stopped at the threshold knowing you weren't really supposed to go back there. "Hey, it's alright. You can come in with me. There's no one else here." Reluctantly, you follow him inside.

He grabs his bag from one of the lockers, setting it on the bench. You watch as he removes his helmet and jersey, revealing the padded plastic armor beneath. He unbuckles the two side straps, slipping the bulky plastic over his head. The white tank top beneath darkened with sweat.

He takes a fresh black t-shirt out of his bag along with his dark grey jeans, setting them down. As he removes the tank top, you can't help the dark blush forming on your face. "So what's in the bag?" You spin around facing away from him as you hold up the used grocery bag. "It-It's food I made us food." "Really? Sweet!" You feel his hand in the curve of your side as he moves behind you. Internally, you freak out thinking he's about to kiss you or whisper in your ear. Instead, he reaches past you for someone else's spray deodorant just as quickly moving back to where he was to spray himself down.

You hold the bag in front of you, turning partially around to look at him. He's just putting his shirt over his arms and head, and you take the chance to admire his physique. When he pulls the black fabric over his torso, you look away again. You push your glasses up your nose, trying to hide your blushing face from him. "Hey, keep facing that way for a minute. I've gotta put my jeans on."

You do as asked, hearing the shuffling of his clothes behind you. The tell-tale zipper sound of his jeans let's you know he's done, but you don't dare turn around. Knuckles against your lower back make you jump. He chuckles at your reaction. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." When he gets a better look at your face, he realizes how red you are.

"You're almost as red as a tomato! What's gotten you like that?" Stepping up to you, he tilts your chin up, looking into your eyes. Your free hand lightly grips his wrist, and you feel warmth spreading through your chest. A foreign pull tugs you closer, but before you move even an inch, loud voices and talking come from the hall.

"S***! Quick grab your stuff! We can go out the back!" Bag in hand, he pulls you by the arm through the locker room to the back entrance. The two of you slip out the door just as the others walk inside. He takes you to the underside of the bleachers where you breathe a sigh of relief relaxing on the concrete. You both let out a chuckle.

He takes your bag, opening it to reveal the food you made in two containers along with two drinks. "Let's eat!" He opens his container, taking a whiff of what you made. "It smells great!" You smile as he takes a bite, complementing your cooking. "If you do this after every practice you come to maybe we'll have a good chance at winning."

"You like my cooking then, huh?"

"So far, so good!" Your bright smile makes his heart beat faster, and a giddy smile of his own pulls at his lips. "Thanks for bringing this." You lean over with a hand on his cheek as you give him a peck on the other. "You're welcome, darling."

You lay back on the concrete, closing your eyes and stretching. He watches your back arch, and the pose you unknowingly make is almost exactly like one of the bikini models in his friends' magazine he'd flipped through once. A bright blush covers his face when he imagines you in that bikini. Averting his gaze, he covers his mouth.

He knows he's in deep now. Thinking about you normally during the day was one thing, but now he was fantasizing about you. "Hey, you want to come over to my place? My parents shouldn't be home for another few hours, and I could use your help with my homework?"

"Sure, I'll text my mom." You tell her that you'll be dropped off at home in a couple more hours.

-------

At his house, you follow him up to the front door. "Welcome to my home." The sweet scent of an air freshener hits you as you enter. He guides you upstairs to his room. It's nice and tidy in comparison to your slightly cluttered room. He drops his bag on the floor by the door and opens his backpack, pulling out his biology textbook. "So what part did you need help with?"

"Well, I'm sure it's right in front of me, but I can't find the answer to this question." You take the book looking over the question and scanning over the paragraphs for the answer. "Ah, right here!"

"See, I knew it was right in front of me!"

"Was that the only problem?" He nervously chuckles, rubbing the back of his neck as he closes the book. "Yeah... I just wanted to hang out a while longer." You snort at his antics. "You could've just asked." With a grin and a nod, he changes the subject.

You don't hear him walking down the hall. He steps through his open door, drying his hair with a towel. Looking over at you, completely focused on fighting a monster, he notices you're wearing his hoodie, and a small blush tinges his cheeks. You raise your hands in celebration when you beat the monster, finally noticing him standing there.

"I probably stink still, don't I?" You lean in sniffing the air. "Yeah, a little."

"Hey, if you want to play video games, I'll take a quick shower." You nod, and he sets up a game for you before walking down the hall to the bathroom. You quickly get absorbed into the game. Fighting mobs and doing a few small quests. When you start to shiver from the cool temp in the house, you look around for a blanket or something. There's a hoodie hanging on the bedframe that you quickly pull on settling back into the game.

His hair is messy and damp, and droplets of water are still clinging to his skin.

[not-that-dillinger]

Edcanons: School Ed-ition

(Or: Ed gets an Ed-ucation)

(okay I'll stop with the puns sorry!)

The muses have decided I should hyperfixate on Ed's younger years and what his experiences with school were like (Probably has to do with watching Mean Girls for the first time but who knows). So here are thoughts...

cw for bullying, drug abuse, and suicide (lmk if I need to tag anything else)...

(under the cut because of cws and also because Wall Of Text)

Elementary:

Everyone knew Ed's father was in prison when Ed was in elementary. There was no avoiding it. The other kids knew it and the Teachers knew it. This lead to a lot of bullying from the other kids.

A lot of the bullying was physical and even resulted in a broken wrist that didn't heal right, but there was at least just as much verbal abuse.

Some of the bullies would blame things (starting fights, stealing things, anything) on him, and because his father was in prison, the teachers often believed the bullies even if he denied it.

He ended up in the principal's office a lot.

Ed was the kid that was constantly reading in class, and reading books far above the level most of the other kids in his grade were reading.

Only real friend was the librarian's daughter. By second grade he usually hid in the library during recess and after class to avoid the bullies.

His vision was bad enough that he needed glasses by third grade.

Fifth grade was hell because his parents were going through divorce.

Middle School:

His father kept moving him between schools, from fifth grade through ninth.

Dillinger Sr. often had his assistant look after Ed while he was out on business for fCon.

Ed also got dragged along on his father's business trips every so often when his assistant couldn't be around to watch after Ed. Ed's classmates were jealous but Ed was always miserable on them.

The longest he stayed at a single school was a year, sometimes he got moved in the middle of the year.

The schools quickly got out of walking/bus range which meant that Dillinger Sr. had to drive him to school, which he wasn't very happy about.

This also resulted in Ed being stuck at school until 5 a lot because his father had late meetings and couldn't pick him up or get his assistant to do it.

Making true friends was very difficult for him. He had some that just wanted to hang around him because his father was rich and thought they could exploit him.

There were some toxic friendships, but at least they were 'friends', right?

Moving schools made it difficult to form any actual connections with his classmates.

The bullying only got worse, including some destroying his books, shoving him into his locker, stealing his lunch, and trying to force him to eat peanuts (peanut allergies) or bread (celiac's disease).

He almost died from the latter and his father was more annoyed at being pulled away from work and having to sit with Ed in the hospital than he was concerned for Ed's health.

The library was his safe space and he spent a lot of time there, but it only helped so much.

Despite all this Ed maintained straight A's in all of his classes.

The one time he got a B in history his father grounded him for a month.

High School:

By the time he was in high school his anxiety was so bad from all the bullying that he frequently got panic attacks.

He got sent to the nurse for one once and when he begged her not to call his father, decided he was faking it for attention.

After that he learned to tell when he was going to panic and would excuse himself to the bathroom and deal with it there.

The smaller class size of his advanced courses helped marginally with the anxiety but he still had frequent panic attacks.

Some time near the beginning of his sophomore year (after getting moved schools for the nth and final time) another kid caught him panicking in the bathroom and got the special education teacher to attempt to help him.

The special education teacher walked him to the nurse, which only made things worse when the nurse suggested calling his father.

It turned into a whole thing but eventually resulted in Ed getting accommodations to sit in the special education classroom while he worked on assignments without his father knowing about it.

The bullying did not stop.

He spent the afternoons at the school library while he waited for his father until the teacher in charge of the theatre club invited him to hang out with them while he waited.

As it turned out a good number of the kids in the theatre club were in his advanced classes.

At first he just sat in a corner and read or worked on homework, but eventually some of the others convinced him to help with the set and costumes, and help the others practice their lines.

Which is how he ended up working the lighting for one of school plays.

During the second play Ed worked the set of, one of the main kids playing the main antagonist ended up in the hospital and couldn't do their part for the show, and so the rest of the Theatre club conscripted Ed to fill in.

As it turns out, Ed was really good at it from helping everyone with their lines and memorizing all the cues while doing stage setup and lighting and everything else.

The rest of the theatre club conscript him play as the villain in the next production.

Ed is startlingly good at acting. The rest of the Theatre Club continued to conscript him to play the villains.

Joining Theatre Club and acting in the plays did WONDERS for Ed's self confidence.

He also ended up making real friends with most of the others.

This also helped with his anxiety and panic disorder to the point where it was reasonably managed.

Ed graduated top of his class but his mental health was still absolutely wrecked.

His father never learned that he did theatre.

College:

Ed had his pick of colleges and could have gone anywhere he wanted.

His father expected him to go to a prestigious school, ideally either one in California or MIT.

Ed refused to apply to any of the state schools because he knew he needed to get away from his father.

He applied to MIT and got in but ended up choosing Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh.

His father expected him to do Computer Science, and made it abundantly clear he would not pay for Ed's tuition if he did anything else.

Ed did Computer Science... but also did minors in business and theatre.

Business because his father expected him to eventually run fCon and theatre because he enjoyed it in high school.

He and his freshman roommate ended up as good friends, though his best friend was Hjørdis, Danish Navy veteran who served in Greenland.

Ed ended up adopting her child after she died.

The freedom after living with a very strict parent for so long kinda got to his head and he did a lot of reckless things.

He also did all the stereotypical bad kid things just because he knew it would piss off his dad.

This included doing drugs (heroin?) and he ended up addicted.

Addiction lead to failing classes which lead to a panic attack so bad he attempted suicide by overdose at the end of the spring semester freshman year.

He spent the summer recovering from both the addiction and suicide attempt as well as taking classes.

He stopped doing drugs cold turkey with the help of Hjørdis.

At the end of his sophomore year he had recovered in courses enough that he applied for an internship at Encom knowing the chances of getting it were slim but knowing it was a foot in the door and likely his best chance of getting away from his father.

Someone on the internship application committee saw his potential and was willing to give him a chance despite his questionable record and ties to fCon.

Ed never found out who it was but is ever grateful.

(It was very likely Alan Bradely)

The internship broke anything good about his relationship with his father (if there was anything to begin with).

he impressed the people he worked with so much they offered him the internship again summer before his senior year and then a job once he graduated.

Ed did not graduate at the top of his class because of the stuff that went on Freshman year but did graduate magna cum laude.

[moonyy-writes]

belamour ~ jean kirstein(6)

word count: 2k

a/n: hellooo i had motivation to write so here :0

previous chapter | next chapter

Elise’s fever hadn’t broke, it only intensified over the course of a few days, she skipped most of her classes and opted to stay in bed. Every so often Hitch would come by to check on her, but otherwise she was by herself.

Her consciousness faded in and out as she kept falling asleep, but it didn’t feel like sleep. It was filled with visions and memories of strange world; she felt as though she was imagining it, the voices, the people, all of them so familiar, yet so far at the same time. 

Her consciousness was groggy by the time Elise managed to fall asleep again, a shallow, empty kind of sleep but sleep nonetheless. Her head pounded as she fluttered in and out before it faded into a dream. 

She opened her eyes to find herself awakened in a modern, but older looking city. She was in a crowd of people, standing in the middle of the road.

“What is that?!” Someone shouted, “Is that a horse?”

A brunette girl spun around, her eyes going even wider. “No, that’s a cow. That has to be!”

A taller person with rectangular glasses shook their head, “I’ve heard about these, it’s a car.” They raised their hand and started waving, “Hey car!”

The Captain, one of the only strangers she recognized, rolled his eyes at their reaction, “if we don't stop them they’ll try to make that lump of iron eat a carrot.” 

Jean covered his face in embarrassment, “They’re standing out too much, let’s pretend we don’t know them.” 

Elise laughed and lightly smacked his arm. “Let them have their fun, this is new to all of us. Although one of the girls trying to feed the car a carrot would make for good teasing material.” 

~~~~

Elise was unsure the time when she woke again, feeling as though she’d been out for a lifetime. Throughout her sleep, she gained flashes of scenes that felt so real, so lifelike. She glanced at the clock, it read 5:14, the library was still open, she would have enough time to catch up on her homework in time for class in the morning. 

She stumbled her way there with her backpack full. At the sound of the bell, the librarian poked their head out from behind a bookshelf, wild eyes behind big glasses. 

They smiled widely, as they greeted Elise. “I’m Hange! If you need help finding anything, just ask.” 

Elise nodded, wincing as pain shot through her head. She found an empty table in a deserted spot in the library and tossed her stuff down and pulled out her books, attempting to go over notes. She managed to get through a few pages, struggling as the lines blurred together. She paused, rubbing her eyes with a yawn. 

“Tired?”

Elise glanced up, finding Hange standing in front of her with a small smile. “Yeah, rough night.” Elise noticed Hange had their left eye covered. 

“I see.” They gestured to the chair, “Mind if I sit?”

“Sure,” Elise shrugged.

Hange glanced at her notes that were still strewn across the table. “The renaissance era, huh?”

Elise groaned. “Yes, it’s horribly boring. But it’s my teacher’s favorite unit so we’re gonna be on it for a while.” 

“Does your teacher happen to be Mr. Smith?” Hange said with a knowing look on their face.

“Yeah, he’s a good teacher but history isn’t my cup of tea.” 

“Hm, I don’t blame you. I’m more of a science person myself.” Hange paused thinking. “In fact, I’d much rather be in a lab right now, but…life had other plans.” They gestured to their eye. “A few years ago there was a little explosion-well a big enough one to take out my eye.” They laughed quietly, “So now I’m stuck in the library. But that doesn’t mean I’ve stopped learning and researching.” 

“That’s…that’s actually a really positive way to look at it.” Elise said quietly. 

Hange shrugged, “There’s always a silver lining, this life is good and I’m grateful for a lot of things” They trailed off, stuck in their own mind. They waved away the tension. “Anyway, tell me more about you.”

The pair talked for a while, mainly about random things. What Elise is majoring in, things like that. The conversation was nice, almost natural. 

Eventually Hange glanced at their watch, “Oh shoot, sorry to cut the conversation short, but I should’ve closed about twenty minutes ago.” They stood and pushed in their chair. “Come back and chat anytime, company is always welcome.”

Elise agreed with a smile, being around Hange was comforting. Their company was calm despite being so energetic. 

The walk back to her dorm was quiet, Elise was stuck in her thoughts. So much that she didn’t notice Eren walking past her. 

“Hey, didn’t expect to see you here.” Eren gave her a small smile. 

“I could say the same about you,” she raised her eyebrow. “Do you make a habit of creepily walking around at dusk with all black on?” 

Eren laughed. “Only on tuesdays.” 

Elise shook her head with a smile. “I’m headed to get food, want to join me?”

Eren nodded his head at the invitation and began walking next to her. “I heard you weren’t feeling well, I assume you’re better now?

Elise nodded. “I don’t know what happened, maybe a 24 hour bug or something. I just didn’t feel right after that party.” 

Eren gave her a weird look. “Party? Where at?” 

“Some seniors frat house,” Elise shrugged. “Zeke or something.”

“You’re kidding,” Eren muttered, his expression becoming serious.

“What’s wrong?” 

Eren only shook his head as he pulled his phone out and began typing quickly. He managed to cover what he was writing as he turned to her again. “Did you talk to him?” 

“Uh, briefly, yes. 

“And what did you talk about?”

“Not really anything, he introduced himself and asked who I was there with.” Elise frowned. “Well, after he left that was when I started feeling strange. I still kinda do if I’m being honest.”

Eren stopped walking and stared at her. 

“What? Do I have something on my-” 

He grabbed her wrist and pulled her along, walking faster. “Come back with me, I’m stopping by Connie and Jean’s.”

“Wait, why? I don’t feel that bad anymore.” 

“Doesn’t matter,” Eren insisted. “Anything with Zeke is bad news, he’s not exactly the type of person you want to be hanging around.”

Elise huffed but stayed silent the rest of the way to the apartment. She figured there was a method to Eren’s madness.

When they got there, Eren didn’t even bother knocking. He barged in and pulled Elise right after him. 

It seemed like they were waiting for them to arrive, considering they were all crowding around the kitchen.

“Hey, Elise!” Sasha said, the first one to talk like always. “Feeling any better?”

“Kind of.” Elise shrugged. 

Sasha gave her a sweet smile before pulling her into the living room, muttering something about a new book she got. 

Eren’s face steeled, “So Zeke messed with her?”

Jean nodded. “I’m not sure what he did. Hitch called me and said she seemed to be in some sort of flashback state. Who knows what he made her see.” 

Eren grit his teeth. “That son of a bitch. You figured after that life he’d be done messing with us.” 

After a few moments of them trying to figure out what to do, Sasha came back without Elise. 

“She’s sleeping, poor thing was so worn out.” Sasha shook her head. “What’s the game plan?” 

Connie shrugged, “Haven’t come up with one.” 

Armin spoke up. “I think we should let it happen naturally, we all had to go through it. We don’t know what could happen if we interfere.”

“Armin’s right,” Mikasa agreed. “This is-was-her life."

They seemed to come to an agreement, don’t get involved unless they had to, even if they didn’t like it.

~~~~

Elise felt an elbow in her ribs, she glanced over with a scowl. “What?” 

“You’re making it too obvious,” Sasha whispered, “he’s gonna notice.” 

“Pff, he’s the most oblivious person here, next to Connie.” Elise rolled her eyes. 

Sasha shrugged, “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” 

Elise ignored her and went back to playing with her food, her head resting in her hand. She was trying to pretend Jean wasn’t blatantly fawning over Mikasa. Even after everything that went on between them that night, that wasn’t something they’d do platonically. Yet Jean never mentioned it, it was as if it never even happened.

“Look at Jean blushing!” Connie laughed, shaking her from her thoughts. “You’re in deep.”

“I am not!” Jean argued, his face reddening even more. 

Everyone at the table laughed at his flustered expression, his reactions betraying his words. Jean groaned before covering his face with his hands.

Elise rolled her eyes, wanting nothing more than to get away from their endless jokes and teasing. 

“Elise!” Marco called, “Walk with me back to the bunks.” 

Elise huffed as she passed Sasha her tray and stood. 

“What’s wrong?” Marco asked once they were far enough away from the mess hall.

“Nothing, just tired.”

Marco turned to her with a raised brow, “I’ve known you for what? 14 years? As if I wouldn’t know you’re lying.” 

Elise groaned in embarrassment. “Fine, but you can’t tell anybody this.”

Marco nodded, holding out his pinky, something they’d done ever since they were kids. 

Elise looped her pinky with his before sighing. “Don’t laugh, but I like Jean.” 

“I know.” 

“Wait, what?”

“I could tell, it’s not that obvious. At least not to Jean, but for me it is.”

“This is so embarrassing!” Elise threw her hands up.

“I’m just that good of a brother,” Marco grinned.

“Stop it,” Elise mumbled, burying her face in her hands. 

Marco’s expression became thoughtful. “You know, Jean isn’t the best at expressing his emotions. Comes off as cocky more often than not. But I think something in him likes you.” He concluded.

Elise gave him a dumb look, “Oh he defintely does, especially with the way he is always staring at Mikasa.” 

Marco shrugged, “I’m just stating what I observe.” 

Elise sighed, “I don’t know. I’m not getting my hopes up that anything will happen.” 

Marco shrugged again, “Who knows what’ll happen. I’m just saying, don’t throw it all away for no reason.

~~~~

Elise found herself wandering to the diner again, though she was alone this time. She sat at an empty booth and stared out the window. Trying to get her mind off of visions and nightmares. 

“Where’s the other three?” 

Elise jumped a little, but relaxed once she saw who had talked. Levi. “I figured I’d just come alone today.” 

Levi nodded, “Anything I can get for you?” 

Elise shook her head. “I just wanted some quiet.” 

“Well if you change your mind just holler.” He said, before turning away. 

Elise thought for a second, “Wait, Levi. Have we ever met before?” He gave her a strange look before she continued. “It’s weird I know, but I have this constant feeling that I know people I’ve only just met. I can’t figure it out and it’s driving me crazy.” 

“Well maybe you are crazy,” Levi snorted. 

“Haha, that’s funny.” Elise deadpanned. “This is serious and I don’t want to tell any of my friends because then they’re gonna worry.”

Levi sighed and sat down. “If they’re your friends they’ll care about you.”

“That’s true, but-”

“Nope, I think you should tell them. Who knows, maybe they’ve felt this way before.” Levi insisted.

Elise shook her head, “I really doubt they’ve felt like this.” 

Levi shrugged, “You’d be surprised. Just try it, it might make you feel better.” He stood from the booth, “That’s my advice to you, do what you please with it. But whatever you do, I’m sure this will all be over soon…whatever it is you’re going through.” 

Elise sighed, knowing he was right.

[ak357]

Checkmate

As Logan opened the door to his office he can't help think back on what brought them here.

-------------It was a day like any other when he met him.---------------

Logan had a routine, he woke up at precisely 7:00 and put on his glasses got dressed in a black polo shirt with a pair of jeans with a black belt and a blue tie. And went down to make breakfast and say goodbye to his mom who's going to work. After eating breakfast and cleaning up he went to the bus with his backpack. He went to sit the same seat he always sat the second last row to the left by the window. Next to him sat James reading a book about flora and fauna. And they chat idle for a bit.

When he arrived at school everything seemed normal until he went to his seat only to find a boy sitting there. "Excuse me, you appear to be sitting in my seat. "The boy turned around to look at him with his hazel and brown eyes looking at Logan. "There is no assigned seating and I quite like this one." As the teacher walks in Logan huffs and sits next to him. "Everyone I have an announcement to make we have a new student, Janus Serpentine please welcome him with the same respect you would give to your other peers, Janus you can come up here and tell a bit about yourself." Janus stood up and went to the front of the class. "Hello I just moved here from Catania, Italy. I like snakes and reading. I used to be apart of the debate club at my old school and I didn't like moving to a different country"

"Okay why don't you sit back down and we can find you someone to show you around school." Janus sat back down next to Logan. "Logan why don't you give Janus a tour of the school." Logan sighed and stood up and went to stand by the door, "are you coming?" Janus stood up to follow. Logan and Janus spent most of the tour talking about whether or not the school system is a good thing the tour lasted until lunch. Janus ended up joining Logan & James for lunch. "Who's this, Lo?", asked James. "This is Janus Serpentine he is in my homeroom, and will be in my English, geography and PE this year." James nodded. They spent the rest of the day together.

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

Logan sighed as he went to sit at his desk. He began pulling out paperwork as Thomas came in. "I brought those case files you wanted, sir" Logan looked up at Thomas. "Thank you, Thomas. Did you interview Miss Havenwoods?" Logan said while he sorted out the paper work. "Yes sir, but she refused to talk to me" Thomas said a bit ashamed. "Did she mention why?" Logan said looking back up. "Yes she said she already lost one son she didn't want to lose another." Logan's brow furrowed as he puts the paperwork down "Dammit she was our only lead to taking down the mafia" Logan groaned in frustration. "Thomas, I need some time alone to think about our next step." Thomas nodded and left through the door.

Logan stood up and went to his file cabinet and began pulling out several files. He went to sit back down and started looking through the files.

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

"School is so annoying!!!" yelled Jessica as the librarian shushed her. "Why are you complaining your always in the top 5 without trying" James said as he rolled his eyes. "Well just because I am naturally smart doesn't mean I don't have to love school!!! Janus back me up" Janus looks up from his book. "Yes of course I would love to be included in this childish debate, instead of doing this project that's worth 50% of our grade" Jessica lightly pushes Janus causing him to huff dramatically. "Since when do you care I'm pretty sure you cheated on the exam last semester." Janus playfully shoved back "Oh, how sure are you?" Jessica rolled her eyes. "Like 90% sure" Janus mockingly squinted his eyes at her. "Really how sure are you?" Jessica laughs "Okay 75%, but I know you didn't study, so you must've cheated" Janus smirked "Not in any way you can prove" Jessica shoved Janus again while he's laughing...

"Hey, Logan, you spaced out, are you okay?" Janus asked giving a gentle tap on Logan shoulder. Logan suddenly looked at Janus startled. "Yea..ye..es yes of course, just thinking." Janus hummed "About what, do tell me." Logan avoided Janus's gaze instead looking at the wall. "I'm merely thinking about the project." Janus narrowed his eyes "Well-" Whatever he was about to say got interrupted by James and Jessica bickering. As librarian came over to shush them. "So are we doing this project or not." Janus turned his attention back to James. "Yes, if the both of you can stop bickering." They spent rest of the time doing the project.

As Logan packed up his school bag, Janus suddenly grabbed his arm and dragged him out of the library and into a broom closet. "Is there a reason for you to drag me in here?" Janus rolled his eyes "You lied back there, what were you thinking?" Logan tried to look anywhere but his friends eyes. "You know we care about you, we'll always be there for you no matter what and you can tell me what's wrong I'll help even if it means thrashing the principle car" Logan snorted "What we both know he deserved it, he had no prove that Jessica cheated" Logan smiled and shook his head then looked back up towards Janus.

"I...my mother...our home was trashed..."Janus looks surprised. "And we've been starting to get death threats about money....I confronted my mom about these and she....she then admitted to borrowing money from the mob." As tears started showing in Logan's eyes. "How....how much does she owe...?"Logan shakes his head. "She still owes them 5000.She said she needed the money for grandma's surgery...I don't know what to do we don't have the money to pay it back..." Logan breathing turned rapid. "Logan look at me, everything is going to be fine, take a deep breathe for 4 seconds." Logan breathed in. "1...2...3...and 4, your doing good. Now hold for 7, and now breathe out in 8."Logan breathed out. They repeated this a few times until Logan clamed down. "Now listen everything is going to be okay. I'm going to help you with the money."

Logan shook his head. "I couldn't possibly take that much money from you...I'm not sure if we can even pay it back." Janus placed his hands on Logan shoulders. "You don't have to pay it back..." Logan looked shocked. "Bu...but...you don't have to do that.." Janus smiled "Logan you're dear friend to me and I know you can't pay for it." Logan smiled at Janus. "Thank you..."

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

The traffic light finally turned green. Logan drove his car forward and towards the first crime scene. He turned on the radio to help calm his nerves in the middle of a song a call interrupted .Logan answered the call. "Logan we've might have found a lead on who's the mafia's boss" said Thomas on the other side. Logan turned his car around to go toward his office. Thomas was already waiting in his office, when Logan enter it. "Hello sir." Logan nodded towards Thomas. "Who's the suspect?" Logan said when Thomas handed the file to him. "Janus Serpentine" Logan dropped the file in shock. "I'm sorry... I didn't think I heard you right..." Thomas looked shocked "I.. said Janus Serpentine"

Logan remembers crying in Janus bedroom. He remembers Janus voice saying "It's gonna be okay Logan... Maybe I can get my parents to take you in." He remembers looking up to Janus in a sort of disbelief mixed with suspicion. Janus nodded knowingly "Do you want to talk about it" as he wiped the tears from Logan's eyes "What should I talk about that this is probably the last time we see each other or that I have to move to a different country with an aunt that I barely know or maybe the fact my mother died" Janus hugged Logan "it's okay one day you'll figure out what to do, whether that is to avenge her or honor her wishes that'll be up to you, but until then you just need to try healing." Logan remembers that was the last time he saw Janus.

Logan didn't want to believe it, the first few weeks of investigating was a blur to him, but after the first few weeks his emotions began to clear up from anger, confusion and sadness to determination. After months of investigating more and more evidence came to light each one more incriminating than the last until finally there was enough evidence to arrest Janus Serpentine, most of which is circumstantial

It had felt like a long drive to Janus mansion. Logan never wanted to believe it but there was too much evidence supporting it. And besides looking back it made sense, after all Janus never told anyone what his parents did for a living that made that much money. It explained the strange men that visited his house and the strange look in his eyes whenever there's a mafia related death, how he had known how Logan's mother had died without being told and without it being in the papers first. Why the cop looked the other way the only time he had convinced Logan to skip a class and they went to an abandoned library that was being remodeled. "We're here!" a loud voice knocked Logan out of his thoughts.

"Thomas stay in the car if I'm not out in our agreed time call for backup" Logon told Thomas as he was getting out the car. "Shouldn't I go with you, we're not allowed to go in alone" Logan shook his head. "I'll be fine, I need to do this alone" Logan closed the door and began walking towards the mansion gates. Logan pressed the intercom's button, it buzzed and a gruff voice answered "Who's there, and could you state your business with Mr. Serpentine?" Logan responded "Could you inform him that Logan Berry is looking for him."

After a few minutes there was a buzzing noise and then the gate opened. Logan steeled himself and walked in and towards the mansion front door. It open as Logan reached for the door a tall bald muscled man in a black suit greeted him. "Follow me" the man in the black suit quickly turned around and begun walking, Logan followed him. After a while they reached a large ornate door. The man in the black suit knocked on the "he's here" he walked away as the door opened. Logan walked in and was greeted by a tall blonde man with burn marks on half of his face, his were amber and brown, he smiled to Logan. "It's been a long time we last saw each other, would you like some tea?"

"Your apart of the mafia..." Janus smiled weakly as he poured a cup of tea for Logan. "Why don't you sit down" Logan hesitantly shook his head "No I won't I am here to do my job" Janus cocked his eyebrow "Really than why did you come here without a partner or backup" Logan narrowed his eyes. "Why didn't you stop them" Janus seamed surprised by the sudden question. "I'm sorry but your mother was barely able to pay the first debt I couldn't get my parent to agree me paying off her debt a second time, besides I think they knew she couldn't pay them off, I belief that they just wanted to use her as an example." Janus said expressionless. "Why didn't you call the police" Logan said in anger. "I couldn't betray my family like that, no matter who had to get hurt."

Logan hand clenched into a fist. But he took a deep breath to calm down. "Janus you and both know you're guilty so it would be beneficiary if you'll confess and turn yourself." Janus studently angerly stood up "YOU DARE, come in my home after we haven't spoken in years and accused me on circumstantial evidence, and you and I both know you'll never find enough evidence to even get a warrant so, if you so please leave my home before I'll have your fiancé sleeping with the fishes, as they say." Logan looked shocked "How..." Janus rolled his eyes "Did you really think I wouldn't notice you poking around" Logan's face morphed into one of anger "You have no right to threaten him, or-" "Or what are you going to be doing, nothing, so I suggest you skip town before you end up just like your mother." Deep seething anger boiled in Logan's chest, so much that he pulled his pistol from his jacket and year of determination of looking for a way to bring his mother killer to justice, years of being lied to and unanswered questions, months of dead ends and false herrings and a decade of pent up emotions fueled his actions, as he aimed his gun towards Janus and then-"

"Bang"

[aezuria]

*ੈ✎ he's an all american boy!

content: american football player! jason grace x reader

╰┈▸ back cover: mortal! au; part I | part II

warnings: cursing (sorry guys), kinda random non-linear plot (but its hcs so its fine)

librarian's annotations: guys help i need a song title/lyric that fits this so it can be my title

also IM GOING FERAL I THINK THE ANGST MADE ME INSANE SO THIS IS HOW I COPE can you guys tell im projecting by the way ppl fawn over him in this

bro is actually hotshot #1

right when he walks into the school he is BOMBARDED with students like theyre papparazi

hes just

tall, handsome, buff- what more could a girl want?? (there are other criteria he meets but we'll get to that later)

the picture perfect quarterback straight from a damn movie

NOT TO MENTION HES NOT SOME COCKY JERK

at first ppl were like "omg hes so hot but im not gonna go up to him cause what if hes mean???"

and then he goes up to them and hes all shy like

"excuse me? i need to get to my locker, sorry if i interrupted your conversation." and hes scratching the back of his neck and smiling awkwardly

HEART EYES

word spreads fast in hs yall already know

so when everyone finds out hes not only tall, handsome and buff but also KIND??

head over heels

and hes not exactly oblivious to it but hes not fully aware of it either

probably like "oh yea a lot of ppl talk to me idk why tho its probably cause my friends are popular"

bby you’re the most popular out of your friends don’t even

hes such a good student too

teachers love him

hes everyones golden boy fr (especially mine teehee)

usually sits in the front of the class unless his friends make him sit with them in the back

then he pulls out his glasses that he keeps in its case, even having the lil wipe thing folded neatly

cue shocked gasps

"omg you wear glasses?"

"do you need to clean them? here have my handkerchief!" ("who even are you can't you see he has one")

"those suit you so well!"

his ears turn red at the sudden burst of attention and he laughs nervously, muttering his thanks

even the teacher wasnt mad at the disruption bc who would get mad at jason?

(he got little nudges from his friends after)

you guys know that one jock whose actually a nerd x nerd trope???

i dont even know if it exists but it sounds cute anyway

thats you and jason

he had his first conversation- if you could call it that, at the library when you guys were abt to grab the same book (ugh so cliche right)

being the gentleman he was, he let you have it

to which you tried to refute but he INSISTED

"oh, y/n it's yours. i'll just get a different one."

which got you a little intimidated bc who wouldnt be intimidated by a 6'2 jock thats the talk of the town

you thanked him profusely and scampered away

wait did he just say my name? how does he even know who i am?

that probably kept you up at night

like "oh my god did i just embarrass myself in front of THE jason grace???? did i walk away weird?"

little did you know that the jason grace was awake that same night

"did i scare her?? why did she look like that when i said her name? did my voice crack? did she think i was weird cause my hand brushed against hers? oh my god my hand brushed against hers.."

started noticing you EVERYWHERE after that

like he knew you guys were in some classes tgt

but he finds that he passes by you SO many times in the hallway

and somehow spots you at a table across the library

was that your usual spot? was this his usual spot now?

like what?? his delusional never-had-a-real-gf-because-that-one-time-he-dated-his-friend-she-turned-out-to-be-a-lesbian ass thinks its fate

very much influenced by all the books he reads (NO he does not read romance he simply finds an interesting book that HAPPENS to have romance)

(and if he did, WHAT OF IT HUH??? THEY COUNT AS BIG BOY BOOKS OKAY)

i have this headcanon that he remembers the name of everyone in his classes because he was always forgettable as a kid and no one really knew his name cause he was so quiet (or he tries really hard to remember because he has this aching feeling that in another timeline he could never remember)

so he doesnt want to make others feel that way and yea

BACK TO HOW HOT HE IS

(stealing part of this from my earlier rant)

its late, hes tired, but hes back in the library to cram for his test tomorrow

so unlike him, usually hed be on top of things, but his minds been on some... other things. persons. person.

hes still sweaty and sore from football practice, having (literally) ran straight here after changing

throws his bag down (quietly of course, he's not some brute) and takes out like three different notebooks, his worn pencil case from freshman year, and his glasses

jason slides them on, pushing it up the bridge of his nose as he gets up and searches for the textbooks he needs

he knows its more comfortable and less time-consuming to just study at home, after all he already has loaner textbooks given out at the start of the school year, but something in his heart wanted him to drag his beat ass here and work

and good thing too, because he sees a familiar hand grab a book from the other side of the bookshelf

not that he just knows what your hand looks like, that'd be weird

it reveals your beautiful eyes, ones jason would love to see closer

he smiles at you from the crack in the bookshelf, murmuring a soft "hello"

you think you just saw an angel with the way the warm light crowned his head

but when you offer to help him study??? he thinks he fell in love

you were his SAVIOR

thanked you a billion times every other sentence and fumbled over his words cause hes never talked with you for this long

his ears are bright red even though the ac in the library was always to the max

also how is he wearing just a shirt

not that you minded though, it gave you a chance to ogle at the way the fabric was fighting for its life to keep him under wraps

and daydream about fantasies that shall not be named (one involving a pink bow around his bicep)

you dont know how long you were helping and how long you spent daydreaming

you hoped you werent being too obvious (it was very, very obvious but jason was too focused to notice)

it felt like mere minutes when jason looks up, a tired but accomplished look on his face

he thanks you one last time, saying he'll make it up to you

you couldnt help but feel disappointed until the fatigue from the day hits you like a bus

he offers to take you home, saying it was too dark out, and that it wouldnt be safe

god, hes such a gentleman

you take him up on the offer as you did NOT plan on dying a virgin

walks you to your door too, can he get any better???

apparently he can because after he got his scores back for his tests, he rushes to you with a bright smile and presents them like a child with their artwork

”i got a hundred! it’s all thanks to you, you’re a really great study buddy!”

of fucking course he gives the credit to you how is he so humble??

like that was alllll him you just sat there and admired the view (so real for that)

after that he practically begs you to go to his next game, saying he'll return the favor by playing extra hard for you

(can he be extra hard for me tho)

you needed no convincing because a. hes jason grace. end of question. (and b, you know his ass would look great in his uniform GOOD GOOGLY MOOGLY)

he even said he’ll treat you if your school wins (which should be the other way around, but he again, insists)

they won, to absolutely no one’s surprise

took you to a cute lil cafe where you guys got drinks and sandwiches

then he overthinks it before bed cause he didn’t make it sound like a date but he really wanted it to be but he wasn’t sure if you felt the same and-

when you guys do start dating, everyones jealous but they cant bear to hate because you guys are just so cute together (bonus if youre short cause height difference couple !!)

he tried to keep it secret cause he didnt want to get you overwhelmed with a bunch of attention, but its obvious to everyone hes extra soft with you

he thought he was being sneaky when he slowly shifted his usual seat day by day to be closer to you so it wouldnt be obvious (spoiler: it was)

you assured him you were okay with your relationship being public if he was okay with it too

of course he is how can he NOT want you by his side forever

he sees his friends give their gfs their jersey to wear to their games and is like “i so want that” but he’s too shy to ask youu

but it’s written all over his face as you catch him staring intently at the way his friend hands over his spare jersey to his girlfriend when they think no one was looking

so, being the great girlfriend you are, took it upon yourself to ask him for it

which he gave to you a blushing, stuttering mess

the next game, he was worried

where were you? you weren’t usually this late; the game was about to start and he didn’t even get a good luck kiss yet!

he knows it’s probably nothing strange, that you’re just running late, but he can’t help but worry

the whistle blows and he sighs, getting into position, but not before sneaking one last glance at the bleachers

his sky blue eyes found you instantly, and was that-?

you were wearing his jersey, practically swimming in it as you waved your arm excitedly.

he broke into a wide smile, unfortunately hidden by his helmet, and waved back at you, forgetting all about the game for a moment until his friend whacked him upside the head

he buzzed with anticipation, wanting to just hurry and finish so he could run to you and spin you in his arms

you were his driving motive as he scored touchdown after touchdown, never letting the other team bridge the gap in their points

his team wins unsurprisingly, and the first thing he does is throw down his helmet and run to you, tackling you gently

he sweeps you off your feet and kisses you as you spin, giggles muffled by his lips

hes sweaty and sticky but you couldn’t bring yourself to care, the way his smile lights up the world is all that matters

and he knows that you’re his world, and he’d do anything to make you light up

[missrubybird]

TS4 Cottage Living Sims Part 2

Here are some more country folk to populate Henford-on-Bagley! Thank you again to the EA Game Changer Program for making this content possible! All these Sims have backstories which intertwine with each other and those of the Sims of Part 1.

Below the cut you’ll find:

Individual Download Links for the Sims

As well as a Zip File containing all the Sims

Sims’ Backstories and Traits

CC Links

All Sims have all 8 Outfits using only CL and Basegame except for those Sims with pets, those require Cats&Dogs as well, obvs..

Note: There is CC included in the Download Files, make sure to put it in your Mods Folder along with the CC linked below! ♥️

Have fun!   🐮 ♥️ 🐇 ♥️ 🐥  

CC LINKS:  Lashes // Skintone // SkinDetails // Jake’s Glasses

Credits: @cienzroza @kijiko-sims @annamsblue @pyxiidis @tamo-sim @squeamishsims @berryconfetti @vibrantpixels @vegantrait @rheallsim @simbience Thank you to @maxismatchccworld for reblogging ♥️

Note: You need the No EA Eyelashes Mod by Cienzroza for the Sims to look exactly like they do in the pictures!

➞ Cottage Living Sims Part 1

DOWNLOAD ALL SIMS HERE or individual Links below

Sim Links from Top to Bottom:

Melanie Koenig

YA // Quick Learner // Cheerful // Bookworm // Clumsy

You might think that being the local nerdy librarian and a former teacher’s pet (which her peers always resented her a bit for) means life wasn’t always easy for Melanie. Granted, she is one smart cookie but her people skills never were the best. And yet, while Melanie definitely is a bit awkward, she also has a very sunny disposition and there is very little that can dampen her spirits. She loves reading and has a huge collection of books that she adds to regularly, although the classics are her favorite. And she does prefer watching old Hollywood films on her couch with Pete her cat but every once in a blue moon when Melanie closes the library for the night, she lets Milly and Sabina drag her to the pub for a spot of karaoke.

Bella Teeluck

YA // Quick Learner // Music Lover // Childish // Neat

Bella, like Melanie, was always a good student but what Melanie lacks in people skills, Bella has in abundance. She’s especially popular with the elementary students she teaches because she starts every lesson with a song and she’s never lost the joy of playing with kids’ toys. Bella loves children and they love her because they sense that Bella is still a kid at heart. Music is very important to her and she will often get out the guitar and play pop songs while her nb kid Robin dances and sings along. And sometimes, when he has closed up the shop, Bella’s brother Jonas comes over and joins in, to the great joy of Robin, because Jonas always brings along a new children’s book.

Jake Rowland

YA // Essence of Flavor // Lazy // Bookworm // Jealous

Oh, Jake.. See, here’s the thing with Jake: Jake is majorly in love with Jonas, the local what’sitshop owner, and they have been on and off for a while but Jonas is just a bit too much of a free spirit to believe in monogamy, much to the dismay of Jake, who, let’s be honest, wants Jonas all to himself. And it could all be so perfect, because they both love to cook and they share a great passion for a good story. But Jonas can’t quite be tied down and Jake spends a lot of his time thinking of ways to convince his friend to settle down together (although Jake does like living with his sister Milly because she doesn’t mind when he slacks on his chores.. yet again). Oh, and Jake is not at all too keen on the looks that newcomer Cai is giving Jonas every time he visits the shop!

Kamilah Sabry

Adult // Domestic // Self-Assured // Ambitious // Family-Oriented

Kamilah is the proud mom of recent university graduate Cai and she’s the mayor of Henford-on-Bagley where many say she’s the best mayor the little town has ever seen. Kamilah is a power house and a doer and ‘impossible’ is not in her vocabulary! There is a lot to be done and, by golly, will it be done, if it weren’t for a certain prominent senior Henford-on-Bagley citizen, the formidable Lilly Lindgren, who seems to fancy herself a bit of a deputy mayor. The two can often be seen around town, with Lilly talking to or rather at Kamilah, giving her (unsolicited) advice and telling her how things should or shouldn’t be run and if Kamilah weren’t such a diplomat, she might just tell Lilly to shove it where the sun.. flowers don’t grow.

Prof. Saatvik Acharya

Elder // Gregarious // Cheerful // Genius // Perfectionist

Ah, yes, what would Henford-on-Bagley be without Professor Acharya, another one of the town’s staples. He still holds the occasional lecture at Britechester University but these days he prefers working in his lush garden where he cultivates the most exquisite roses, envy of many a hobby botanist around, and where he can be found playing chess and contemplating the meaning of life with Sabina or Herbert on many a lazy afternoon. Saatvik has a witty and warm sense of humor and even reclusive Delphine doesn’t mind when he comes by to chat about her roses, not only because Saatvik is so charming but also because he’s gentleman enough to leave a lady’s secrets alone. Quite unlike Lilly, who is always on everybody’s case but Saatvik and Delphine alike know well enough to hide behind their rose bushes when Lilly comes by.

Herbert Birch

YA // Muser // Gloomy // Foodie // Lactose Intolerant

Poor Herbert. Life really did a number on him when it made him lactose intolerant because, see, Herbert is a dairy farmer like his parents before him and their parents before.. you get the drift. Herbert only found out recently about his affliction but at least now he knows why he’s always been so, uhm, bloated. It’s a bit of a tragedy because Herbert loves blue cheese like no one else but he also likes writing poems ~ Herbert is a bit of a sensitive soul ~ and dreams of publishing them as none of his friends have the heart to tell him that they’re not very good. So, clueless Herbert milks his cows, composing in his mind a poem to win over Rosa, the pretty girl with the raven hair and the strawberry earrings. Maybe his friend Milly can put in a good word for him! 

Sabina Buckland

YA // Collector // Animal Enthusiast // Vegetarian // Outgoing

Sabina is a true child of nature, she lives at the edge of the forest and will often be found wandering the woods, talking to the animals and collecting what nature has to offer. You might think she’s a loner but Sabina loves people and she will always stop by the Prof’s cottage for a casual musing about the universe and how the stars are aligning that day, cheer up Herbert as he fusses over his newest tragic poem and have some coffee with Jonas who she sells the crystals and fossils to that she finds on her wanderings. Yet, for all her approachability there is something a little mysterious about Sabina and the town folk sure wonder why the mushrooms around her little house grow so abnormally large, winning the Finchwick Fair Competition five years in a row!

Note: There is CC included in the Download Files, make sure to put it in your Mods Folder along with the CC linked above!

[labarch]

Attempt at a Witch Hat Atelier timeline

We are still missing a lot of backstory for our main cast, but I thought I’d try and write a timeline based on what we know so far, and explore where their storylines might intersect.

I am pulling these numbers out of my hat for convenience sake, but here are some approximate ages for the characters: at the start of the manga, let’s say Coco, Tetia and Agott are all 12, Riche is 11, and Qifrey and Olruggio are 28.

20-23 years ago: Olruggio leaves his birth town Godley and moves to the Great Hall, maybe as young as 5 years old.

While many witches are born in the Great Hall, Olruggio comes from a town called Godley in the North. Yet he doesn’t remember Utowin, who came from the same place. We know that young witches usually start their training between the age of 7 and 10, but since witch society is awfully elitist, Olruggio would have been sent there as soon as his talent for magic became apparent.

Being ripped from his home at an extremely young age could explain his fear of being unwanted and left behind: he overworks himself as a way to feel useful and validated, is defensive about his own feelings, and he gets agitated and sometimes aggressive whenever Qifrey hides things from him.

20 years ago: arrival of Qifrey at the Great Hall at age 8. Olruggio befriends him soon afterwards. The both of them start sneaking out at night to chase Brimhats.

8 year old Qifrey was one fierce little thing, you have to give him that. His abuse at the hands of the Brimhats was brutal enough to break a grown man, but he picks himself up and goes right after them like “Alright jerks, you’ve got some explaining to do and I want my eyeball back!”.

Also it cracks me up that Olruggio was carrying this massive book in their flashback. Gotta love that his reaction to Qifrey’s “Let’s go chase some terrorists!” was “Sure, let me just pack my homework =>”.

Finally, there might be a slightly more selfish motivation for Olruggio’s fast friendship and devotion to Qifrey. Olruggio’s self-esteem lies in his ability to help people, so he would naturally be drawn to someone helpless. It’s unclear how much of Qifrey’s memory was missing: apparently he didn’t know about birthdays. How many other basic concepts was he missing? Did he know how to read? Between that, his lack of knowledge about magic and his injury, he was probably completely dependent on Olruggio at the beginning. Given Olruggio’s wish that they go back to “the good old times” when they were always together, I am wondering whether some hidden part of him misses being essential to someone. It’s well-intentioned, but not entirely healthy, especially if he is using Qifrey as a coping mechanism for his own insecurities.

14 years ago: Olruggio and Qifrey make a pledge of (betrothal) friendship, exchange tassels and attempt the Librarian test at age 14. It is their last adventure together, but Qifrey will continue his investigations on his own, to Olruggio’s disappointment and betrayal. Qifrey starts wearing his half-tinted glasses.

In the pledge flashback, they are wearing their old tassels, but they have swapped them by the time they undertake the third test. Also, when he remembers that pledge, Olruggio says that Qifrey’s investigation “should have ended at the Tower of Books”. The tower is the last likely place where Qifrey could have found answers about his past and a non-forbidden way of getting his eye back. Olruggio probably made him promise that he would stop his search afterwards.

Beldaruit says that he thought Qifrey had given up on his search after the third test, but Olruggio tells a slightly different story. Apparently he thought Qifrey “finally stopped causing trouble” after taking in apprentices, which means he was still behaving suspiciously right up until he became a teacher. Alaira also comments on Qifrey’s interest in the Brimhats in the first volume, so clearly his investigations were common knowledge among his friends, even as an adult.

Olruggio’s anger whenever the Brimhats are mentioned would then be caused not just by his own fear of forbidden magic, but by the reminder that Qifrey broke his promise to him, and refused to leave his past behind. Naturally, Olruggio doesn’t know about Qifrey’s change in circumstances: he is no longer looking to retrieve what he lost, but trying to stop an impending threat.

Qifrey’s discoveries in the Tower of Books also seem to have renewed his disgust towards his own scar: he starts wearing glasses shortly afterwards, even though his eyesight hasn’t yet started deteriorating.

14-5 years ago: in that interval, Coco’s father dies of illness. Olruggio becomes more and more famous for his magical items, and is given the title “Shining Torch” / “Master of Lights”. His glowstone paths become widely popular, and are installed around the castle near Coco’s mom. Both Qifrey and Olruggio pass the fourth test and complete their training.

At this stage, I really doubt that Qifrey intended to become a teacher. Whatever information he found at the Tower of Books convinced him he had to stop the Brimhats’ plan. He was probably planning to complete his training and then go straight on to his quest, not really expecting to return alive.

There are also hints that this was a strained period for Qifrey and Olruggio: Olruggio mentions that he would like them to confide in each other “just like old times”, which implies that they grew more distant after the Librarian test. I’m suspecting that Qifrey was trying to slowly remove himself from Olruggio’s life, hoping Olruggio would be so famous and beloved by the time they graduated that he would forget about Qifrey and barely notice his disappearance. Qifrey’s self-esteem isn’t the best y’all.

5 years ago: Coco receives the magic picture book from Iguin at age 7 at the Silver Night Festival. The Brimhats stop showing signs of activity. Qifrey takes on his first apprentice (probably Tetia, age 7). He interrupts his investigation of the Brimhats and creates the atelier. Olruggio becomes his Watchful Eye.

We don’t know exactly how old Coco was when she got her book, but her tiny chubby face makes me think she was 6-7. Alaira also tells us in the first volume that the incident with Coco’s mother is the first sign of Brimhat activity in five years. I am thinking that after Iguin gave away the book, he instructed the other Brimhats to keep a low profile until his scheme could hatch.

I also wonder whether Coco getting her book might coincide with Qifrey becoming a teacher and creating his atelier. Given that Qifrey is probably tied to Iguin’s schemes, how coincidental is it that Qifrey wandered into Coco’s village and set her fate in motion? Perhaps Iguin contrived for them to live in the same area so that they would meet eventually. Either he somehow influenced Qifrey’s choice of location for his atelier, or he selected Coco as his “child of hope” because of her relative proximity as well as her love for magic.    

7 years old is when we could expect Tetia to have passed the first test. For now we know little about her backstory, but we can guess a few things: she is enthusiastic and ambitious, but gets easily side-tracked by pet projects and struggles to stick to the curriculum. She craves positive feedback and is worried her spells and interests will be condemned as frivolous. It makes me think that she passed her first test early, but was then mistreated by her first teachers for being too childish.

We’ve seen that Qifrey has a compulsive tendency to adopt children in distress. It would fit his character if he became a teacher on impulse. Maybe he had to pass the fifth test in a rush to be allowed to keep Tetia by his side. This also brought Olruggio back into his life, as he was the only one willing to follow him away from the atelier as Watchful Eye.

The complicity between Tetia and Qifrey, and Tetia taking on the role of a big sister for both Riche and Coco, also make me think she was Qifrey’s first apprentice. Tetia is often shown teasing Qifrey, quoting both Qifrey and Olruggio, and imitating Qifrey’s teaching style: I can totally see them as a little family of three at some point in the past.  

4 years ago: Riche starts training under her brother’s master, a creepy asshole, at age 7.

We actually have a clear timestamp for that one in chapter 25, woohoo! Riche’s old teacher can eat a brick.

3-2 years ago: Qifrey and Olruggio learn about Riche’s mistreatment in her old atelier and promptly adopt her. Beldaruit takes on Ririfin as an apprentice. Qifrey’s eyesight starts deteriorating. He adds the light protection glyph to his glasses.

Before that time, Qifrey might have intended to put his quest on hold until after Tetia’s graduation, but now his impending blindness puts him on a time limit. He can’t do a lot about it however, since the Brimhats have been keeping a low profile for years and are not leaving him any clue.

It’s unclear how long Riche stayed at her old atelier, and whether she joined Qifrey before or after Agott. I’m hoping she made it out as soon as possible.

2 years ago: Agott passes the first test at age 10. She gets accused of stealing someone else’s spell, is rejected from her prestigious family’s apprenticeship, and joins Qifrey’s atelier.

Agott has been treated harshly by her family for not being enough of a genius. She mentions passing the first test at 10, the upper end of the normal age range. She was probably given a hard time for starting her apprenticeship so “late”, which explains why she is now adamant about passing the other tests as quickly as possible.

I wonder whether she felt ambivalent about joining Qifrey’s atelier at first. On the one hand, Qifrey was taught by the Sage of Education himself and is clearly very powerful. On the other hand, he has only a couple students and lives in a weird little school in the middle of nowhere, a big fall from grace compared to her prestigious upbringing. I wonder whether Qifrey went to find her after he heard she was the object of nasty rumours (he knows a thing or two about those), and Agott didn’t feel like she had other options.

0 year ago: Coco and Qifrey meet. Iguin goes “F***ing finally, I thought I’d have to watch that humdrum one-eyed twink bake potatoes for another five years. It’s dragon-slaying time now baby!!!”  

[tomtenadia]

My Thursday crush

Rowaelin month - Day 4 - Library or librarians

It was a nice spring day in Orynth and Rowan was slowly walking to work. Headphones on and a book in his hands. He had developed the skill of reading and walking to the point of perfection.

His friends made fun of him but he always replied that if it was socially acceptable for people to walk with their faces in their phones and not paying attention, then a book was surely better. And he never bumped into anyone.

He stopped at the coffee shop around the corner from his job and got his usual order, placed the thermos in the backpack and walked the last stretch.

The library was still closed and it was his job to open it. He had volunteered for the morning shifts since he was a morning person and was happy to open up.

Once he was inside he went through the motions of opening up for day and getting the library ready. Rowan switched on the public computers and then did a walkthrough to make sure everything was looking good. He found a few books abandoned in places where they did not belong and groaned. He loved his job, he loved books. 

He had a degree in library studies and once graduated he applied and got a job at Orynth main public library. The place was huge and he had grown up visit the building a lot. He had started using it thanks to his mum who had passed her love for books to him. That love never left him and growing up he realised he wanted a job where he could spend his day with books. But people? People annoyed him. The way they would just abandon books after using them, or the way they sometimes they would not respect the peace of a library. He was not a people person. 

He grunted again and placed the books back where they belonged. Then he growled savagely when he noticed one abandoned on a chair, upside down, spine broken and a dog ear on one page as bookmark. Some people deserved to have their library card cut to pieces.

At 9am on the dot he opened up and welcomed his morning regulars “Good morning mrs MacLeod.”

“Oh, good morning, Rowan darling. Is my book here?”

He smiled at the woman and went to the shelf where they kept the returns that had been booked by someone else and grabbed her book.

“Yes,” he passed it to her “it was returned yesterday and we set it aside for you.”

The woman gave him a huge smile and he finished the loan procedure “I hope you will like it. It’s a nice story.”

“I am sure I will, darling. You always recommend me good books.”

He helped her to the door and went back to work, preparing the loan requests they had got online. A wide smile spread on his face at the name he saw on the list. He was not a fan of people but there was one person whose presence he had started to enjoy deeply. She was another regular and a bookworm like him. She had told him that she had to get some of her books from the library to avoid going broke on payday. He had laughed at the joke because it was the same for him.

She was a teacher and on Thursdays she was off and would always visit the library to return a book and get a new one. They would talk about what they were reading and he discovered they had the same tastes and he had been reading a lot of her recommendations. She was just obsessed with books as he was. Rowan had started to admit to himself that he was crushing on her. She had stolen his heart when one day she came to the desk and complained, outraged, that the book she wanted to borrow had a coffee stain on a page. They had raged for ten minutes together at the animals and his heart skipped a beat. It did help as well that the woman was stunning. Her hair was a deep gorgeous blonde and she had the most incredible blue eyes with an unusual ring of gold. Yes, he was definitely a fool in love and Thursdays were his favourite day of the week. Since she started visiting he had never had another Thursday off.

***

Aelin had a bad morning already. She had gone to the gym and found it closed for some obscure reason. Then an idiot on his phone bumped into her and made her spill her coffee. She had shouted a large list of expletives at the savage and left. It was Thursday and she could not let anything ruin her favourite day of the week. She was on her way to the library to collect the book she had reserved. But if she was to be honest to herself, she was looking forward to see Rowan. The librarian had become one of his favourite people, although they only meet once a week, her time spent with him talking about books was always precious. 

It did help that the man was hot. As in so unbelievably handsome that he was so out of her league. In the months they had interacted she had developed a crush on him and not just for his unique features. He had short silver hair and the deepest pine green eyes and the days he rolled his sleeves up to his elbows she had spotted a wonderful tattoo in the old language. He had an incredible nice build and tanned skin. He was hotness incarnated. A heart attack on two legs.

Knowing her luck with men, he was happily married, although on a closer inspection she had not spotted a wedding ring. Well, probably a super hot fiancee. She definitely stood no chance with him.

But she had liked him as well because he was smart and loved books just as fiercely she did. He was always ready to suggest some new titles and all his recommendations had been spot on. She had enjoyed every single book. A part of her wished she’d have the courage to ask him out and talk about books perhaps in front of a coffee. Aelin was actually curious to discover what else he liked.

Twenty minutes later she finally reached the public library. She loved that building and her parents had nudged her towards becoming a bookworm. They would read to her and once she was able to read alone, they would gladly buy all the books she wanted. Her childhood home also had a proper library and she would spend hours in there travelling with her imagination. 

She stared at the building and finally walked in. She climbed the marble stairs and reached the adult lending library section. On the lower floor they had an area all dedicated to kids.

She opened the glass doors and her eyes went straight to the desk scanning the area for a head of silver hair. Sadness hit her when she did not see him around. It really was going to be the day from hell. She walked to the fiction section and as she turned the corner around a stack of shelves she crashed into someone. What was with her and crashing into people today?

She was about to apologise when she looked up and noticed who she had bumped into. It was Rowan. Gods, even his name was perfect. That day he was wearing a blue shirt, the sleeves rolled up to the elbows, jeans and a pair of rimless glasses. She had so many improper thoughts.

“Aelin, sorry I didn’t see you…” his voice thick with his accent from Wendlyn. 

“Hi,” she managed, trying to bring her feelings under control “I thought you were off. I came in and you were not around.” Oh she sounded like a lovestruck teenager.

“I was placing some books back on the shelves.” He indicated the pile in his arms.

Aelin spotted one of the titles “that is a great story. I read it about five times already.” Pointing to a specific title.

Rowan had a look at the book and read the blurb “I’ll set it aside.”

“You look good with glasses.” She blurted out and then blushed. She was flirting like a moron.

He gave her a smile that reached his eyes and her heart skipped a beat. Gods, the things she’d do to him…

“I have the book you reserved, by the way,” and he started walking back to the counter and she followed. 

Aelin gave him her card and he processed the loan for her “you know the drill, right?”

“I am going home and spill coffee all over it.” Had it been someone else she knew he would have been horrified but that had become their inside joke. He knew she would never do anything of the sort.

***

Rowan processed her loan and took that moment to think about a good way to ask her out for coffee although he was afraid he was going to get a crushing rejection. She was probably taken already. A woman like her was definitely not single. Plus, she was definitely out of his league. He was about to ask her but froze and decided to leave it.

“I’ll just go and have a look around.” She told him, and he knew she was trying to put some distance between them. How could he even hope she would fall for him? He was the most boring man on earth. That was what Lyria had said when she dumped him. He sighed heavily and went back to his job but his gaze followed Aelin through the bookshelves. In his head he had different conversations he wanted to try. He usually was quite good and in the past he had picked up his share of women in pubs. But with Aelin it was different. He did not want to pass as a pig. All he wanted to tell her was that he found her attractive and fascinating and take her out for a coffee. Then he had an idea.

He walked to a shelf and picked a book that he knew she’d love. He was planning on recommending it to her another time but that was now his tool for his plan.

He scribbled down a note on a post it and placed it in the book, then walked to her “I was meaning to recommend you this one. Loads of angst but it’s a great story, and the female main character is just as badass as you like it. I already checked it out for you.”

The smile she gave him left him breathless “Thank you, Rowan. That’s why you are my favourite librarian.”

Eventually she had to leave and he wished it was Thursday already.

***

It was later in the afternoon when she got home after all her errands. She took her two books from her messenger bag and flipped through the one Rowan had given her until she spotted something bright green through the pages. She reached the post it note and read it.

I think you are perfect and a very fascinating woman. I will eagerly wait for next Thursday. Hopefully you will let me take you out for a coffee. Rowan.

She squealed in delight and texted Lysandra straight away to tell her about the message Rowan had left her. Rowan, the hottest librarian in the whole of Orynth wanted to go out for coffee with her. She could not believe it was happening, and she had to wait until next Thursday. She was off on Saturday but she had no idea if Rowan worked. She could try, she was so impatient to see him again that waiting was not an option.

***

Rowan got home later that night, got changed and crashed on the sofa and noticed the book abandoned there. It was one of the many Aelin had recommended to him. It was a great story, she definitely had great taste. He grabbed the book and thought about Aelin and the message he had left her. He had been so stupid. It was not high school, they were both adults and leaving messages like a lovestruck teenager was beyond pathetic. He should have talked to her like human beings did. He ran a hand through his hair and leaned back against the sofa. He had probably blown every chance with her. Who would ever go out with a guy who couldn’t even ask a girl out?

The following Thursday

Rowan had opened the library as usual but on that day a sense of unease was making him nervous. He still could not think about the stupid move about putting a message in a book for Aelin. He was positive she was going to ignore him the next time, or stop visiting altogether.

The morning had been busy with new applicants, his usual customers and an avalanche of requests to set books aside. Panic caught him when he saw one from Aelin. Which meant she was coming in and he was not ready. What could he say to her? Sorry I am bad at talking to people so I write secret messages like a teenager? He was embarrassed and he was not ready when he spotted her golden mane of hair appear at the main entrance. He tried to hide but she had spotted him and was now walking towards him with a huge grin. His heart started racing. Was just an impression or she was more gorgeous than usual?

Rowan saw her come to the desk and diligently wait for her turn while he finished serving the three people in front of her.

“Hi stranger,” she said to him once it was her turn.

Rowan felt a savage blush rise on his face “Hi you. I assume you are here for your book.”

Aelin nodded and passed him her library card “and for a coffee date.”

Rowan froze halfway to the computer. He cleared his voice “so you saw my message.”

“And I loved the idea. It reminded me of one of the books I read recently where one of the guard is in love with the princess, they are both bookworms and leave each other messages in books because they need to keep their relationship a secret.”

Rowan smiled “You got me. I took the idea from that book.”

The smile she gave him had the power to almost knock the breath out of his lungs.

“I don’t have school on Saturday. Fancy going out for a coffee?”

Rowan nodded “do you know the coffee shop around the corner from here?”

Aelin nodded in assent “I love that place.”

“I am off this Saturday, so if you want we can go then. It would be lovely to know more about my favourite customer.”

She took a step closer to him, only the counter separating them “favourite customer, eh?”

“Well, the one who gets outraged at people mistreating books. The one who understands my pain.”

Aelin cackled and her hand brushed his when she grabbed the card he was returning to her. 

“I have only one condition.” He added softly.

“Hm?”

“You let me pay. You can scoff as many pastries as you want. It’s my treat.”

She leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek “it’s a date.”

When she pulled back she noticed his beautiful green eyes set on her. Maybe she had been too forward?

He grabbed a piece of paper and scribbled something down “my number.”

Aelin grabbed the piece of paper happily and winked at him “Now I have to go. I have loads to do.”

Rowan was sad at the idea “Of course. I will see you Saturday, then?”

“Saturday.” Her heart raced and then walked out of the library thinking that she could not wait two more days before seeing him again.

Rowan followed her with his gaze, happy that she had appreciated and understood the message idea. His hand touched the spot on the cheek that she had kissed and he was positive he was grinning like a lunatic.

They had a coffee date. He could not believe his luck.

But most of all he could not wait for Saturday.

He went to the stacks, looked for a specific book and checked it out under his name, then scribbled a message on a post it and placed it in the book and set it aside.

Ready for Aelin.

She was his Thursday crush.

[wordynerdygurl]

Hello Everyone! I've been conspiring with @sammy-jo1977 to create a new series of sorts. We want to explore all those characters that started us on our journey into Fandoms, large and small.

This series will be a place for those ladies and gents who haven't had a lot of attention recently, are old favorites or the ones you can't seem to shake. If you would like to contribute a chapter to this guide, please send me a message! We want to have a full and accurate guide, so we are hoping you'll hop in with your character of expertise!

As an example, I'm posting our first story... I'd love to get your thoughts! With Love - Your WordyNerdyGurl

In The Stacks - A Rupert Giles Story

Author’s Note:  This story is due, in large part, to my beta-bestie @sammy-jo1977 and it is part of the afore mentioned series.  This character might be off television, but his fiery spirit lives on!! As always, reblogs/ shares are encouraged as are comments and love!

Pairing:  Female Reader x Giles (Buffy The Vampire Slayer Series) Summary:  You get up to mischief with the librarian, in the stacks. Warnings:  SMUT ahead.  General Buffy knowledge might help, but is not required.  There’s a moment with a bit of blood, but hopefully nothing too triggering for anyone! I hope you enjoy!

“Mr. Giles?” “Just a moment!”  You heard the clipped British voice answer before being drowned out by the heavy thumping of falling books and the rustling sound of shifting papers hitting the floor. As you stepped further into the Sunnydale High library, you weren’t surprised to see the familiar faces of Buffy, Willow, Xander and Cordelia huddled around a small table.  The friends were practically inseparable and clearly close.  You found their kinship adorable and couldn’t help smiling at the group as you drew closer. “Hello to some of my best students!  And of course, to you Mr. Harris.  How is everyone today?”

Willow, stalwart student and overachiever, smiled broadly, “Pretty good.  I did ace my math quiz and got an A on my English paper… but, well, I only pulled a B on my Bio test and I just know that I could have done better.” Offering her friend a consoling pat to the shoulder, Buffy sighed, “It’s ok, Will.  You’ll get those cells next time!” “Tune in next week as Willow passes her AP Biology test with flying colors, on ‘As Sunnydale Turns’!” Before anyone could counter, Giles came around the corner carrying a sturdy stack of texts which he dropped onto the table as gently as the large load allowed, “As always, you four are the best assistants a librarian could ask for.” “Come on Giles!  You know I only hang out here for the beautiful ladies!” Pinching the bridge of his strong nose, Rupert Giles sighed, “I am well aware of where your interests lie, Xander.” “Please, he can hardly handle being with one beautiful girl.”  That was from Cordelia who pouted prettily, her hand mirror open as she fixed her hair. “My girlfriend, ladies and gentlemen!  Thanks for that, Cordy.” Snapping the case shut, staring down her beau, she smiled, “You’re welcome.” “Uh, Mr. Giles, if I may?”  You hated to interrupt but you had come in with a purpose and you meant to see it through. “Yes, of course, how can I help?” Shuffling your feet, a bit nervous now with the asking, you smiled shyly, “I asked at the local library but they were absolutely no help.  You see, I’m looking for a specific point of reference and I was led to believe that you could help me.” “Oh!  Is it something for our Inner Vision collage boards?  I love working on mine, only… It’s not my fault that I only see dark clouds and blood when I close my eyes.” “Well, Miss Summers, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.  And the best art challenges us to see that beauty.” “I hate to tell you what I see when I close my eyes.”  Xander retorted. “Ah, Mr. Harris, your collage certainly showcases your, ahem, cultured world view.” “Hey!  The Simpsons are fine art, ok?  Just because they don’t live in a museum doesn’t mean they aren’t culture.” Giles, unable to stand by any longer griped, “Xander, I am almost positive that cartoons do not count as culture.” You started to answer but Buffy cut you short, adding, “Don’t mind Giles.  If it doesn’t come out of some dirty, dusty old book it can’t be culture.” “It’s pop culture!  The entertainment of my generation!” It was your turn to cut in, turning to the tweed clad gentleman, “Actually, Mr. Giles, Xander has a point.  Cartoons and animation in general are all increasingly seen as valid forms of art.  No matter what your tomes might tell you.” Smirking a little, he appraised your answer before replying, “Be that as it may, Mr. Harris, the amount of television you consume is corrosive.” Raising his hands in defense, Xander’s head swiveled between the two of you as Willow chimed in, “Give it up, Xander.  You know you’ll never win and besides, I’m pretty sure that animation and art are different.  Wait.  They are, aren’t they?” “When I was in Rome last summer, the very attractive, very Italian tour guide told us that they’ve found painted graffiti on the Coliseum.  It only goes to prove that times change but people don’t.” “Cordy’s right!  About the art, not the dishy Italian.  And they didn’t paint it, they carved it.”  Bouncing her blonde hair decisively, Buffy made her declaration.   “Wouldn’t paint be easier?  I mean, who wants to carry a chisel in order to deface a wall?” “Oh!  Oh!  I know this!  The kind of paint needed to last for centuries hadn’t been invented yet!”  Willow, lifting out of her seat in the excitement of academic excellence, was giddy. “Yes, Willow, that is correct.  In fact, a lot of the graffiti is simple and very crude.  Mostly of the phallus, if memory serves.  I’m sure I can find a documented case in Agrippa if you’ll all just-” And you watched as everyone rolled their eyes as Giles trailed off, lost now in the hunt for a specific volume which could be sited, should further proof be needed. “Ew.  Pass.” “I’m with Buffy here, Giles.  Keep your Grecian graffiti out of my brain.” “I’ll stick with the Simpsons, thank you very much.” “Yes, well.  It’s not Grecian at all, is it?  It’s Roman-” Smiling broadly, Buffy hopped off the table, “Giles is right.  The Greeks were more into orgies!” “Buffy!”  Willow’s shocked response made you cover a laugh with a fake cough. “-Of course, cites are rare.  Very difficult to find documentation.”  Giles, typically, hadn’t given up the search. Cutting through the chatter, louder than it ever needed to be, the period bell sounded. "Ugh.  Gym class for me.  Why is this even a thing?" "I don't know Buffy, I thought you liked showing off in your little shorts and beating the boys at basketball." "Cordy, that's enough.  And while us boys do love looking at you, Buff... we don't love the beatings you regularly deliver." "Well, I have a free period Giles!  Do you want me to stay and -" Snapping shut the leather book he was gripping, Giles caught your eye and turned to the peppy student, "Uh, no Willow, I don't think so.  I believe I need to see what our Art Department is in need of at the moment." With a shrug, Willow began packing up her belongings as Xander slung his back back over his shoulder, "Will, you can come with me.  I'm going to find a nice little corner, under a tree, and sleep away my study hall." “But, I… I could help find the Agrippa?  Or… some other old Roman book?” Xander wrapped an arm around Willow and took Cordelia’s open hand, “But why do that when nothing calls?” "Another fine example of your scholastic aptitude, Mr. Harris", was your parting shot at the foursome as they walked out the door. "Well. Mr. Giles, now that we’re alone… Could I talk you into helping me out?" “Of course, of course.”  Pushing his glasses further up his nose, fixing his light eyes on yours, “What are we looking for?” Sighing deeply, knowing the chances were slim, “I was hoping we would find some examples of Pre-Columbian deity carvings.” Pausing, his look serious, Giles peered at you, “Interesting.  Anything in particular?” “Yes, actually.”  Again you flushed, more than a little flustered at what you were really looking for, “I’m researching fertility icons.” Raising his eyebrows, Giles started, more than a little outside of his comfort zone, but you had to give him credit.  He recovered from the shock rather quickly, “Oh… I… I see.  Well yes, I’m sure we can find… something.  If you’ll follow me, please.” “I’m right behind you.”  Biting into your bottom lip, you smiled to yourself.  Right behind Mr. Giles?  What a place to be.  Giles led the young art teacher through the deepest stacks of the library, pausing once or twice to confirm that she was keeping up with him.  He was ashamed to admit that he had lost travelers a time or two as he stalked through his overstuffed shelves, knowing instinctively where to find the book he needed most. For her, watching the tweed covered bottom of Mr. Giles was no hardship.  True, he was older and tad bit reserved in the best British way, yet she had the sneaking suspicion that underneath all the wool and starched cotton was the heart of a wild man poet. "Uh... just a bit further, I'm afraid.  Books like this, well, I keep them at a greater remove." "It makes sense.  Don't want the kiddos getting a hold of anything too tantalizing." "Of course not.  As you well know, they don't need much help in the libidinous response department." You chuckled softly, nodding as the air around you grew stuffier, "Too true!  You should see what some of them turn in and call art.  It would make a blind man blush." And at the mention of blushing, you were shocked to see a rosy hue grow on Mr. Giles' cheeks.  You liked it.  It reminded you of the high color in a Vermeer painting.  You couldn’t help the flutter in your belly at the thought, "Mr. Giles, have you ever seen a South American fertility statue?" "I can't say that I have... have... have you?"  Something about the idea of you examining an ancient artifact directly connected to sexual congress made his body stir.  "Hmm... Oh, yes.  I was able to study in Mexico for a semester.  Some of the art work is just incredible and the carvings, they're truly magnificent.  Carefully made.  Usually stone or..." swallowing hard, your throat suddenly dry, "hard wood." Breaking fast at the implication in your words, Giles froze in place which caused you to press directly against his broad, vest covered back.  You had a second to register the soft scent of his aftershave; something spicy and masculine, which made your mouth water.  Moaning quietly, you offered a weak apology, “Oh, I am so sorry, Mr. Giles.” Offering you his profile, the bookcases too cramped for him to turn around fully, you saw his sweet smile, “That’s… that’s quite alright.  In fact, we’re here.” Stepping out of the way, you pushed back against the opposite wall, the shelves digging into your spine in the confined space.  Giles bent over, giving you a great view of his backside, as he extracted a slim book from the bottommost ledge.  When he stood up, directly in front of you, the narrow, book covered alcove caused him to stumble. Giles’ chest collided with your own, forcing the air out of your lungs.  Instinctively, you lifted a leg, curling it over the swell of one trousered hip and lifting the hem of your knee length plaid kilt.  Nose to nose in a compromising position, you exhaled a shaky breath as Mr. Giles inhaled, “Close quarters around here.” Shifting under his deceptively hard figure, it was difficult to ignore all the places that were firm to the touch, especially when you could feel so much through the thin barrier of your cotton panties.  Bracing one arm on the obliging shelf biting into your shoulder, Giles pushed back a bit, lifting his weight off of you without making any other attempts to move away.  He was so close now.  Close enough to feel your fuzzy sweater and all the soft skin that trembled beneath it.  Close enough to see the pound of your pulse in your throat.  Close enough that when you licked over your bottom lip Giles could almost taste it too.  And why shouldn’t he?  “Giles?”  Your voice was whisper soft, fanning hotly over the face of your colleague. “Uh… yes?” “I’m stuck.” Blinking behind his thick lenses, it took the normally quick witted Brit a second to process your words, “You’re stuck?” Nodding slowly, your hair curling over your cheek, “My… My skirt.  It’s… uh, caught.  Caught on something behind me.” “Good heavens!  I’m so sorry, let me help you.”  Slowly, Giles lowered your bare leg to the floor, his hand lingering for a second longer than absolutely necessary.  He was still in your space.  Still incredibly close to you. You arched away from the bookcase in an attempt to free yourself with a groan that sounded heady in the stuffy stacks.  All you managed to do was force your sweater covered décolletage into Giles’ chest.  Stammering, a wave of sweat breaking over his brow, “Allow me?” The way your skirt was caught pulled the bright plaid lower on your waist than you would normally consider decent.  It meant that you had a fleshy strip of skin exposed along your tummy and Giles raised his eyebrows by means of asking permission to touch you.  “Yea, yes.  Please!” Tentatively, gently, you felt the strong fingers of Rupert Giles circle your waist and shivered at the unfamiliar familiarity of his touch.  Your chin rested on his shoulder as he worked and you couldn’t help sighing when he opened his hands and pulled you closer.  Under other circumstances you might have misunderstood the embrace but you were both professionals.  Not that you hadn’t considered the handsome book guardian a time or two before. “I… I think we’re almost there.  If you’ll just, maybe to the right?” “Um, sure.”  Following his directions you twisted in his arms, trying hard not to tear your outfit or rub against Giles.  All the close contact and talk of fertility gods had you feeling a little aroused and it wouldn’t do for your colleague to learn that fact. With a triumphant grunt, Giles set you free, only for gravity to kick back in.  The momentum created by your falling took the gentleman and the entire Grollier’s Gothic Almanac collection with you.  A cascade of papers, scrolls and dust rained down on you both. Coughing, aware that you were laying on something softer than the floor, you struggled into a sitting position, swatting away clouds of disintegrated pages, “Rupert?  Are you alright?” From beneath you a rumbling grumble that sounded like, “Yes quite… you?” was heard.  It was then that you realized exactly where you were.  Straddling your friendly neighborhood librarian, surrounded by debris, but safe, all the same. “Oh my!  I’m so-” “No, No.  Please, don’t apologize.  I’ve been meaning to reorganize this section and well, now it seems I’ve got no choice.” “You’ve got a bump.  Right here…”  Just over his right eye a small bruised egg, the color of lilacs, was starting to rise and you gingerly touched the swelling spot. “Then it will match the one on the back of my head perfectly.” “Poor Giles!  All of this injury in the name of research!” “No one ever tells you the dangers one might encounter in the library.” His dry British wit sent you both into giggles and suddenly nothing could be funnier than the moment you were in with Mr. Giles.  Looking up at you, his fingertip traced over your cheek, suddenly serious, “I’m not the only one with a war wound, it appears.” “Oh?”  Your hand covered his as you realized that you had a small cut, bleeding just a little, over the apple of your jaw.  Smoothing his thumb over your injury, Giles soothed you, saying, “Hush now, I think you’ll live.”  And you watched as Giles sucked the drop of scarlet from the pad there, his green eyes on yours, daring you.  Something about it was so… sinful.  So dark.  So alluring. Then his lips were on yours, suddenly and savagely.  Hands, firm and capable, slid under the fluff of your sweater along your spine as you tangled your own in his dark hair.  Giles, drawing you near, was satisfied only when you were splayed over him, writhing between the piles of text and stacks of piled paperbacks, as his tongue plundered your mouth. Trapped by his bent knees at your bottom, Giles helped center you over the firmness of his excitement, teasing you as you moaned, “Oh, oh Rupert!” “Call me Ripper.”  Before the word had left your throat, Giles was sloppily kissing over your neck, sucking lightly on the skin revealed by the v-neck of your top.  Sitting up quickly, you lifted the soft sweater over your head, tossing it away from you without concern.  Like one of the teenagers you might chastise, you then hugged your lover tight, gasping when you felt the nip of teeth over your bra.  “Giles… Uh, Ripper!  Please, go easy?”  With a hard grip on your upper thigh and one hand on the back of your neck, Giles held you still, smirking, “If you wanted easy you shouldn’t have come looking for fertility icons, my dear little art teacher.  And if this particular article of clothing-” He paused long enough to pinch at your hardening nipple before continuing, “-is dear to you, take it off.” Clenching your abdominals at his crass language, more turned on that you could remember, you reached behind you.  Unhooking the pretty scrap of lace and satin, you shyly covered yourself, biting into your bottom lip, “Fine… Ripper.  Should I be worried for my virtue?” “Absolutely.”  Without waiting for permission, Giles pulled your arms away, exposing your bare body to his blazing gaze, “You have nothing to hide, you know?  You are-” “Just shut up and kiss me, Ripper.”  And he did. Grinding your hips into his, it was impossible to ignore his hardening manhood, even through the fabric of his pressed trousers.  Giles cupped your bottom, under your skirt but over your panties, bouncing you in place as if he was already inside of you.  For your part, you tried to unbutton his pin striped shirt, but the force of his kisses was proving too distracting. “Oh, dear!  Poor thing been kissed senseless?”  He was teasing and cruel, but in the sexiest possible way. Red cheeked and huffing, you nodded, “Yes… let me touch you!” “Tsk… you didn’t say ‘please’.” “Please!  Please, Ripper!  Oh god, please let me!” Unseating you slightly, Giles leaned up on his elbows, cocking his head to one side as he took in the mess he had made of you, “Go ahead then.  Unzip my pants.” “What?” Removing his glasses, eyeing you darkly, “You heard me, I think.” Swallowing hard, your hands shaking with excitement, you reached for Giles’ belt.  Watching him, and only him, you slowly slide the leather from it’s buckle.  When you popped the button of his pants and let your hand drag over his hardened length, Rupert groaned and tossed his head back, “Yes.  Keep going.” Slowly, agonizingly so, you lowered the zipper as you were ordered to do, “What now, Ripper?” “Take me out.  I want you to feel what you do to me.” “I can do that.”  You played it cool, but the saucy words being said in that clipped British baritone did things to you.  They made your thighs tighten, your belly flutter and your breath catch.   Trailing a hand over Giles' barely exposed hip, you moved closer to the prize, your prize, as it pulsed with need.  Wrapping your hand around the meaty girth of Rupert's member, you couldn't help stroking the silky hot skin, so vital in your palm.  That it caused the man beneath you to moan your name only added fuel to the fire of your desire. Slick and sorely wanting, you licked your lips, ready to savor the flavor of your book stacking beau but he stopped you, saying, "Last chance to run back to the studio." "No way… Ripper."  And you felt a rough jerk as your panties were removed by force, the air cool on your overheated core.  Another kiss, full of needful things, distracted you as Giles parted your lower lips with his nimble fingers. Pumping into you, once, twice, just to ensure that you were ready, Rupert swiftly stretched your center.  With your small hand guiding his shaft, you lowered yourself onto the engorged tower of his power, crying out a ragged, "Oh God!" You thought you were capable of handling any man, but the delicious spread Giles' fine form forced you to endure was more than you expected.  Clutching at his bunched up sweater vest, your back arched tautly as Rupert dragged your hips down onto his unrelenting hardness over and over.   In your head, a rhythmic, tribal tattoo that made you think of ancient fires and curved statues took hold and you rose and fell against Giles on the beats vibrating through your brain.  He sensed it too, alternating his stroke, slowing down and speeding up in time with the thrumming pulse only the pair of you could hear.  "I want you to cum for me.  Do you understand?  Tell me you understand." "Yes!  Yes!  I'm so close, Ripper!  So close!" "Good.  That's very good."  Tingling now, your muscles tensed, ready for the release Rupert would provide.  You flung yourself onto his swollen sex without thought or reason, merely searching for the pleasure he had promised.  His thumb, so thick, so clever, pressed against your sensitive clit and your world imploded. Rupert felt it.  The moment your body and his melded together was forceful.  It tore his pleasure from his loins in grunting gasps as he experienced your ecstacy at his hands. Limp and listless, you draped your half nude body over his, dazed and drained.  Who knew screwing the librarian would feel this good?  In your post coital haze you started to laugh.  Giles, his hands roaming over the sweat soaked skin of your back, heard your chuckles and joined in.  It was another release, of sorts, and you found it almost as intimate as the act you had just committed. Folding your hands under your chin, flashing Rupert a wide smile, "Ripper, huh?" Sliding his glasses back into place and carding a hand through his hair, Giles grinned, "Oh, uh… yes.  Ripper.  My nickname in London." Toying with the collar of his shirt, "I'd love to hear about London sometime… Ripper." At the sound of that name in your voice, Rupert flexed inside of you, "Call me that again and you'll miss last period." Gasping against him, nodding weakly, "Hmm… promise?" That made him smile broadly as he handed you back your sweater, "We can't have a repeat of last week, can we?" "It wasn’t my fault you didn't hear the bell ring, Mr. Giles!" Sitting up, you fastened your bra and shrugged into your sweater before asking, "Did you have to destroy my undies?" "I'm afraid I did.  Although I told you to remove anything dear, didn't I?" "What am I gonna do for the next hour, Giles?" Pushing his glasses up, "I would advise you not to bend over." Swatting at him playfully, you used one of the sturdier shelves to stand, adjusting your skirt and fluffing your hair.  Looking around at the absolute mess created by falling books, embarrassed, you asked, "Can I help clean this up?" "No, I don't think that'll be necessary.  After all, Willow will be in-" "Along with Buffy and Xander and Cordelia.  Got it." Standing himself, Giles chuckled as he fastened his trousers and set himself to rights, "Precisely.  Now-" he bent over to retrieve a slim volume, "- The book you asked about.  Fertility iconography in Meso-American subcultures." "Thanks.  Ya know, I always enjoy coming to the library.  I'm surprised more people don't." Walking with you, his hand on your lower back, nuzzling into your neck, "I enjoy you cumming in the library." It was on the tip of your tongue to say something fresh when the overly loud bell clanged.  Lifting up on tiptoes you pressed a kiss to the goose egg over Giles' eye, saying, "I hope that makes it feel better!" Snagging you into a tight hug, Giles stared into your eyes before kissing you deeply, "That.  That makes it feel better." And then the library door swung wide on the four students who called the library a second home, "Um… are my eyes deceiving me or is Giles sporting a black eye?  I was only gone for an hour, big guy, what happened?" "If you must know, Xander, a shelf collapsed in the back.  We were fortunate enough not to be badly hurt but, there were some bumps and bruises." "A shelf!  Oh no… which one?!" Giles turned to Willow solemnly, "I'm afraid all the Grollier’s… and most of Crentist." "On it.  Come on Xander.  You can help me sort!" "Aw, gee.  That sounds like fun." As the pair trotted off, you turned to Giles, whispering low, "Dinner?  My place?  You can tell me about London, your childhood and why you love tweed." Eyeing Buffy, who was distracted and a distraught, Giles answered, "Tonight?  Um…" "He'd love to!  Say 9 o'clock?  And, he'll bring the wine."

Spinning on your heel, surprised that Buffy was your champion, you grinned, "Great!  Awesome!  I will see you then."

As you left you heard the bubbly blonde doling out instructions, "No Giles.  You can't wear that outfit to dinner!  You need to look nice.  Nicer than you do now.  Also, why is there so much dust in your hair?" If Giles answered you didn’t hear it over your big yawn.  You had a lot to do between now and 9 o’clock.  Rupert Giles was coming over for dinner and you could hardly wait.

------ Fin ------- I’m tagging my minxes, even though this is specifically NOT a Loki story.  I do want you guys to send me stories that might fall under the “Hot Characters” banner though!   Minxes:   @scrumptious-finicky-illusion​ @iamverity​ @mizfit2​ @sammy-jo1977​ @wolfsmom1​ @jessiejunebug​ @iluvsumbucky​ @unadulteratedwizardlove @procrastinatinglikeabitch @shxdowofdarkness​ @nonsensicalobsessions​ @ahintofkiwistrawberry​ @alexakeyloveloki​ @rorybutnotgilmore​ @crystalizedcaramel​ @lokislittlecorner​ @capcapcapsicle @jamielea81​ @caffiend-queen​​ @otakumultimuse-hiddlewhore​​ @jenjen8675309​​ @that-one-person​​ @roguewraith​​ @toomanystoriessolittletime​ @vodka-and-some-sass​ @just-random-obsessions​ @brokenthelovely​ @lots-of-loki​ @thefallenbibliophilequote​

[archived-kin]

you are hopelessly in love with one (1) librarian

note from kin: i’m (kinda) back baby!!!!!

i thought i’d start with something for myself to get back into the ~groove~ so i chose lisa since i love her so much

in this one you’re venti’s accompanist bard buddy and play the flute! whether or not you’re a vision-holder isn’t mentioned but i like to imagine that venti gives you an anemo vision after the two of you bond as fellow musicians (though of course you don’t know it’s him who gave you it, you basically just woke up one night after a performance and found it in your pocket)

fandom: genshin impact

character(s): gn!reader, lisa, kaeya, venti, razor

pairing(s): lisa/reader (+ some wholesome best friend venti content)

warning(s): none!

genre: fluff

“She’s so pretty,” You groan into the table. “I’m going to die.”

“You probably shouldn’t,” Kaeya replies through a mouthful of hash brown. “Your bard friends would be rather sad without their favourite Buoyant Balladeer.”

“What difference is it going to make?” You raise your head and stare at him with soulless eyes. “My life has no meaning anyway.”

“Oh, now you’re just being dramatic.” Kaeya slaps your shoulder so hard that you swear you feel your bones dislocate. “Cheer up.”

You groan, but sit up and take the hash brown he offers you anyway. “Thanks.”

“No problem,” He responds, already shoving another one into his mouth and beginning to chew.

You let out a heavy sigh and begin to nibble miserably on your own hash brown. “Sorry about all this. I probably sound like an idiot.”

“Don’t worry about it,” He reaches over and gives your hair a playful ruffle. “And you don’t sound like an idiot. Lisa’s a very beautiful lady, after all.”

You raise your head in a snap, glaring at your friend through narrow eyes. “Hey, watch it.”

“I’m uninterested, not blind. Calm down.” He flicks you in the head with a chuckle. Raising his eyes to the sky, he gives a content sigh, as if the sun that he appears to be staring directly into isn’t burning his eye. “You know, a sky like this really calls for a nice glass of dandelion wine…”

“You have beyond enough problems to deal with right now without becoming a day drinker as well,” You shoot back. “Don’t you still have a report to file about those Treasure Hoarders over in Windrise?”

“Oh, that’s taken care of,” He says dismissively, taking a sip from his cup of water. “All dealt with.”

“Careful, Mr Kaeya,” comes a familiar honey-sweet voice from somewhere behind you, and you immediately tense. “Lying is a sin.”

“Miss Lisa!” laughs your blue-haired companion as the librarian pulls up a seat at your table, leaning forward and resting her chin on a single gloved hand. It’s an innocent motion by all means, but it still makes your heart skip a beat. “So kind of you to join us. What brings you here?”

“I simply saw two familiar faces while out on a stroll,” She smiles, stealing Kaeya’s mug and taking a sip of his Wolfhook juice. “How have we all been doing?”

“I-I’m doing great,” You quickly reply as her eyes land on you, unable to form a more intelligent response under her clear green-eyed gaze.

Much better now that you’re here, you add silently as she turns her attention to Kaeya, sliding his mug back over to him with such ease that you get the impression she does this a lot.

Kaeya himself either hasn’t noticed Lisa stealing his drink or doesn’t care, since he promptly curls his fingers back around the tankard and takes a long drink without any indication that he’s noticed anything out of the norm.

“Craving some wine, but I suppose I’m fine,” He sighs, tilting his head slightly to the side and swirling the contents of his mug around. “[Name] here says I shouldn’t be drinking during daylight.”

“And [Name] is very right,” Lisa shakes her head, the little rose accessory on the end of her hat tinkling with the motion. You can’t help but silently compare the sound to the ringing of heaven’s bells. Curse your stupidly romantic heart. “You drink more than enough in the evenings.”

“Then what of you?” Kaeya counters, smirking playfully. “I know for a fact that you can drink most of Angel’s Share’s patrons under the table within a single night.”

“Perhaps so, but I spend far less nights in front of the bar than you do.”

You stare determinedly down into the bottom of your water tankard as Lisa and Kaeya continue their little back-and-forth, feeling an odd sensation tugging at the pit of your stomach. What is this? Anger? Jealousy?

Tapping your fingers agitatedly on the tabletop, you kick yourself firmly in the shin. You’re being ridiculous. Kaeya knows just how head-over-heels you are for the Witch of Purple Rose, and even if he is a sneaky little snake who swaps around the chess pieces when he thinks you’re not looking, you know that he’d never do something like… that to you. Besides, you know full well that, even if they’re close friends, they don’t harbour any romantic feelings for each other.

As the songs say, though, jealousy is a green-eyed demon that will listen to irrationality over reason any day, and so you can’t help but glare subtle holes into the side of Kaeya’s head as he continues to converse with the object of your affections as if you’re not even there.

“... I jest, I jest,” He laughs, waving his hand about as Lisa giggles into her glove. “Anyway, as I was saying to our friend here earlier - the weather’s been beautiful recently, hasn’t it?”

You raise your eyebrows at him, a signal that Kaeya clearly sees and pointedly ignores. The both of you know that the weather was far from what you had been conversing about earlier, but you’re glad that Kaeya isn’t giving you away, at the very least.

“Quite,” Lisa agrees, tossing a lock of hair out of her face in a way that knocks all the breath out of your lungs. “Pleasant weather for a stroll around Starsnatch Cliff, wouldn’t you say, [Name]?”

You jolt in your seat and heat up so abruptly that you wouldn’t be surprised if you started smoking. Kaeya sniggers not-so-subtly into his hand as you hurriedly stutter, “U-uh, yeah, totally!”

“Is that an invitation?” Kaeya raises an eyebrow with a coy smirk, and you’ve never wanted to punch him more than you do at this moment. “I’m sure [Name] would be glad to accompany you.”

“Ah, I couldn't impose myself like that,” Lisa shakes her head, and you want to cry because if only you weren’t such a coward you could tell her that she’d never be imposing on you. “Razor could do with some new scenery for his training. I might as well show him the sights.”

“How is training with your protégé going, then?” Kaeya asks. “He seems to have become quite the loyal little wolf since you first took him under your wing.”

“Oh, he’s an absolute darling,” Lisa says breezily. “He still isn’t very verbal, unfortunately, but he’s learning to communicate like a star. And he’s becoming a dab hand at using his Vision more effectively, too.”

“Sounds like you’re a wonderful teacher, then,” Kaeya compliments, then gives you a side-eyed look. “Wouldn’t you agree, [Name]?”

You nod vigorously. “Absolutely!”

“You flatter me,” Lisa sighs, “But a good teacher is nothing without a bright and willing student.”

Kaeya gives you a subtle dig in the side, and you hurriedly go to reply. “H-hey, give yourself some credit. Razor never would have been able to open up so much without you.”

“You’re too kind, darling.” She gives you a brilliant smile, and you very nearly pass out on the spot, but Kaeya helpfully keeps you conscious by stomping hard on your left foot like the little shit he is. You’ll have to get him back for that later - when your heart rate isn’t so rapid that it feels like you might just ascend to Celestia any minute now.

Lisa doesn’t stay for long after that, conversing with Kaeya for another five minutes or so while you stew in your own flustered chagrin and silently continue to freak out over just how… perfect she is. It’s honestly ridiculous. How is she even human? How are you worthy of even being in her presence?

“Well,” Kaeya says as Lisa disappears back down the street, presumably to return to her place in the office. “That went well.”

You glare at him. “You think?”

“You spoke to her, didn’t you?” He counters, grinning cheekily. “That’s a start.”

You open your mouth to give him a grumpy response, then give up and slump forward on the table again. “I hate you.”

“No, you don’t,” He hums, draining the last of his Wolfhook juice and setting the mug down with a sharp thunk. “Anyway, shouldn’t you be preparing for your performance tonight? You should probably go find your partner.”

“Our friend Kaeya is very right,” calls an all-too-familiar figure from atop a nearby roof. “You’re late.”

If it had been any other occasion, you might have jumped, but right now you’re too emotionally exhausted to do anything but let out a long, tired sigh. Ignoring Kaeya’s evil little cackle, you look up and turn to see Venti grinning down at you. “Bard.”

“Accompanist,” He imitates your monotone address, hopping down from the roof and landing softly on the pavement without so much as a click of his shoes. Flicking out his cape, he sets his hands on his hips and offers you his usual cheeky grin. “What’s got you so gloomy?”

“Nothing,” You reply, standing up and dusting off the front of your clothes. “Let’s go.”

Venti doesn’t move. He raises a single, suspiciously perfectly-shaped eyebrow, cocking his head to the side, then looks to Kaeya, who not-so-subtly mouths something at him. You pretend not to notice his obvious hand gestures in the corner of your eye.

“Ah,” Venti says suddenly, his expression taking on a mock-wise air. “Love troubles once again, I presume. Is our dear [Name] still ailed by a paralysing infatuation with one Miss Lisa?”

Kaeya claps enthusiastically, as if he isn’t the one who basically just told Venti the whole story through poorly-done charades. “Correct! I keep telling them to make a move, you know, but they’re too much of a coward.”

You aim a kick at his shin under the table that he dodges easily. “I’m not a coward! I’m just… gauging the territory.”

“You’ve been ‘gauging the territory’ for months now,” Venti whines, holding his fists in front of his chest and giving you the widest-eye look he can muster. “Come on! The eagle that never dives will never catch its prey, after all!”

“Lisa isn’t prey,” You counter. “And I’m not an eagle.”

“Hopeless is what you are,” comments Kaeya, leaning back in his chair and toying absently with a lock of his hair. “Hmmm, why don’t you write her a song? That’s your strong suit, isn’t it?”

“A song?!” You practically combust right there and then - if you’d been a Pyro Vision holder, you have no doubt that you’d have erupted into a column of flame on the spot. “No way!”

“I think that’s a splendid idea!” Venti exclaims, hopping up and down excitedly on the spot, hat threatening to fly off his head all the while. “You write the lyrics and melody, we compose the instrumental part together, and I’ll sing it for you! We’ll be an absolutely unresistable duo!”

“Easy there,” Kaeya teases, holding up a hand. “Our friend here is the one trying to win Lisa’s affections, after all.”

“Then I’ll be sure to try to direct as much of the spotlight to them as possible,” Venti replies, completely unaffected by Kaeya’s attempt to fluster him. You wish you had his coolheadedness sometimes. “C’mon, [Name], what do you say?”

“I said no!” You holler as he jumps energetically up at you like an over-excited puppy. “No way! There’s no way I’m going to just— broadcast my feelings like that!”

“You won’t be,” Kaeya explains, infuriatingly calm in the face of your explosive embarrassment. “Write the song so that only Lisa would be able to understand the true feelings behind it. It shouldn’t be difficult - you’re the master lyricist, after all.”

“Plus you have me to help as well,” Venti chimes in, holding up a single, proud finger. “The Windborne Bard himself - with me by your side, you can’t possibly fail!”

“Look—” You sink back into your seat and hunch forward, burying your face into your hands. A moment later, you raise your head again to see Venti giving you a concerned look. “I appreciate it, I really do, but… I can’t.”

“Of course you can,” Kaeya says unhelpfully, giving you a hearty slap on the back that is also unhelpful in every way. “You’ve performed all over Teyvat - this would be a small feat in comparison.”

“You aren’t helping, Master Kaeya,” Venti says, not-so-subtly elbowing Kaeya in the side. “We need to be cautious here. Like coaxing a young hatchling to fly the nest… we must take baby steps.”

“No baby steps!” You protest, leaning away as he takes a threatening step closer. “No steps at all!”

“Surely writing a subtle confessional song would be much easier than playing an intricate ballad in front of some of the most influential figures of Liyue?” Kaeya doesn’t show any signs of relenting. “Archons above, [Name], it seems that you’ve channelled all of your courage to entirely the wrong places.”

You drop your head into your hands again and glare at him through the cracks between your fingers. “Kaeya, I’d die for you any day, but for the love of the Archons, please shut up.”

He shrugs and obligingly places his finger over his lips, but you can clearly see him hiding a laugh behind it.

Venti hums, leaning over and giving your shoulder a comforting rub as you sigh miserably into your hands. “Hey, relax. I’m not going to drag you out on stage and force you to confess in song, much as I’m tempted to. If you don’t want to do it, we don’t have to.”

You ignore that middle part and choose to focus on Venti’s earnest attempt at consolation. “...thanks.”

“No need to thank me!” He winks playfully and gives your knees a firm pat. “Now come on! Confession or not, we still have a performance to practise for!”

You sigh and smile. “...sure.”

Leaving Kaeya to pay the lunch bill in retaliation for his teasing, you and Venti head off to your usual practice spot in the gardens outside the Cathedral. There’s some debate over who gets to wear the ‘Star of the Show’ Windwheel Aster pin today, but Venti relents quickly and gives you an easy win. You’re pretty sure it’s out of pity for your romantic plight, but you don’t care. The pin looks a lot nicer fastened on the lapel of your coat, anyway - the colour doesn’t match Venti’s cloak at all.

“So what’s the quota for tonight?” Venti asks, giving his lyre an absent-minded strum. “Celestial Destiny on repeat once more, I presume.”

“Shut up,” You groan, flipping open the latches of your instrument case and carefully lifting out your flute. “I’ve just been… lacking inspiration.”

“What you’ve been lacking is emotional fulfilment,” Venti sighs, reaching over and flicking you in the side of the head. “All you do is wander around Mondstadt, practise, and perform. Surely you could compose something flavourful if you had a little more excitement in your life.”

“I have excitement enough just as I am,” You bring your flute to your mouth. “Now shut up and start practising.”

Venti huffs, but begins strumming the opening chords anyway.

The two of you work your way steadily through your usual repertoire for the next hour or so. It goes smoothly as always - you’ve performed these pieces so many times that you could probably play them in your sleep - but you can’t help but feel like something is missing throughout the entire practice. Venti seems to be fully aware of it as well - rather than closing his eyes and swaying along to the music like usual, he just keeps glancing at you when he thinks you aren’t looking, wearing that frown that says ‘I know exactly what’s going on here but I don’t know if I should bring it up’.

Finally, he has enough, abruptly stopping his strumming in the middle of Early Dawn and setting his lyre down on the bench with a huff. “Alright, that’s it!”

You lower your flute and stare at him blankly as he stands and turns to glare at you, hands set firmly on his hips like a scolding parent. “You’re far too dismal! What happened to the Buoyant Balladeer? There’s no breeze in your playing at all!”

“I’m sorry if my heart is too heavy to play as light as the wind,” You retort, setting your flute back in its case. “I’m afraid I’m a little preoccupied.”

Venti looks at you with a furrowed brow as you shut the case with a harsh snap. After a moment, his voice much softer, he asks, “Are you alright?”

You hesitate for a moment. “...yes.”

He raises an eyebrow at you and doesn’t say anything else. After a pause, you groan and concede. “Alright, I’m miserable, so what? Let’s just get on with it.”

“We are most certainly not getting on with it,” He shoots back, turning to face you directly and crossing his arms stubbornly across his chest. “I can’t have my dear [Name] walking around with such a heavy heart. Come on, talk to me. What is it that weighs you down so?”

You stare at him for a long moment. He looks back at you almost unblinkingly, and try as you might to turn away and dismiss him again, there’s something about his wide green eyes that just compels you to tell the truth.

“I’m...afraid.” You say quietly. “It’s such a cliche thing to say, but I’ve really never felt this way before. I don’t… I don’t know how to deal with it.”

Venti smiles reassuringly. “There’s nothing wrong with that. First loves are always scary.”

“I understand that, but…” You bury your face in your hands and groan. “...she’s just so perfect and I’m just so me and it just feels like it’d never work out.”

“Hey, I don’t like that tone!” He scolds lightly, reaching out and flicking you in the cheek. “No talking bad about yourself. Besides, who says it’d never work out? As far as we know, your feelings are mutual.”

“I seriously doubt that,” You sigh, raising your head once again.

Venti raises an eyebrow. “Have you ever asked?”

You’re quiet for another few moments. “...no…”

“Then how do you know what her answer will be?” He asks. “Why assume that it’ll be no?”

You open your mouth to respond, but something suddenly compels you to look over to the town square. Venti goes quiet beside you as you see Lisa, standing beneath the Anemo Archon statue with Razor beside her. She seems to be explaining something to him.

Razor seems to feel your gaze almost as soon as it lands on him and his mentor. His hair bristles, and he abruptly whips around to look at you, but as soon as he sees you, he seems to relax. He lifts a gloved hand to send you a brief wave; you hesitantly return it.

He turns around and tugs on Lisa’s sleeve; she pauses and turns around to follow his pointing finger. You hold your breath as your eyes meet hers.

She raises her hand, and there’s no mistaking it - she’s smiling. An eternity seems to pass within those few seconds of eye contact, and for once your heart isn’t beating in your throat, your breaths aren’t becoming shallow and uneven, you aren’t heating up and boiling over. Instead, you feel a kind of pleasant warmth well up inside you, and you can’t help but beam and wave back.

Lisa looks at you for another moment, smiles once more, then turns around and begins walking away, gently tapping Razor’s shoulder as she goes. He glances back between you and his teacher, then turns around and follows behind her.

A long silence stretches between you and Venti.

You take a deep breath and turn to look at him, and he immediately grins. Somehow, you get the feeling that he knows what you're going to say.

“I need you to help me write a love song.”

[raeuberprinzessin]

Making Amends - History - Prompt 14, Chapter 14

@felixmonth

This is the last chapter I have already finished. I'm still writing, don't worry, but from now on, it will take longer, because I will have to write them before I can post them (obviously) XD

Summary: For Felix Month 2021 - beware, the chapters are not in chronological order^^

When Felix loses a bet with his cousin, he has to make amends with Adrien’s friends. Well, at least this provides a good excuse to spent a lot of time with Adrien’s “very good friend”, a certain designer, who may or may not be described as tolerable … or cute. This may not be so bad. Yeah, not bad at all.

AO3 | Masterlist

Prompts: First | Previous | Next

Chapters: First | Previous | Next

“I would never have thought of the library at the Louvre,” Alix admitted as they climbed the steps to the reading room. The concierge had recognised his companion immediately. It seems as if the skater was a regular visitor. Which made her statement just more confusing.

“The concierge seemed to recognise you,” he commented when she didn’t explain further. Alix just shrugged and waited for him at the top of the stairs. “Well, you have to have been here before, how could he have known who you are otherwise?” he huffed as he reached the top to stand next to her.

“I never said I haven’t been here before, duh!” The girl rolled her eyes. “My Dad and my brother both work here. And the library here is something like my secret weapon whenever I have to do a history presentation. Sure, Google is nice and stuff, but there is this adoration you get from your teacher if you have books and articles as sources and maybe a picture from a digital copy of an old manuscript if it fits. But I wouldn’t have thought we would find anything about something like fashion here.”

“Why not? There is a costume and textile collection, so there are also historians who obviously research them. And a museum as big as the Louvre has to have their own restoration workshop. The people there need to be able to look up what might be special about some textiles and fibers so they won’t accidentally destroy them further. And they might need to recreate costumes once in a while for certain exhibitions. They’d need reference material for this.” Felix stopped himself before he could continue. He was lecturing her and he was pretty sure she wouldn’t appreciate that, even though he volunteered to help her with the search for some reference pictures. “So … the reading room is up ahead?”

Alix sighed and shook her head. “I mean, yes, it is, but first we need to go in the other direction. The library might be my secret weapon, but every library has their own secret weapon as well.”

She led him the other way down the corridor into another big room. There were catalogue computers, computers to read the digital copies of historic scripts and reading devices for microfiche, as he knew thanks to his own extensive experience with libraries. In the middle of the room were some desks with reading lights. Felix assumed that this was where the historians might get to look at the original historic scripts if the digital copies weren’t enough, because on the left side of the room almost at the middle of the wall on some sort of platform or podium was an information desk with a young librarian able to oversee the room and help if needed. From there she would be in a better position to keep an eye on the invaluable treasures of the collection than her colleagues in the reading room who probably had to keep an eye on more people and had to leave to get books and magazines and whatnot from the stack-room.

Alix headed straight for the information desk, not even bothering trying to look for something on the catalogue computers first. The woman behind the desk had light brown wavy hair pulled back into a high ponytail. A pair of semi-rimless glasses sat low on the bridge of her nose. As they came closer he watched her narrow her eyes at something on one of the screens in front of her and push her glasses up her nose.

Felix felt his lips twitch. This wasn’t his first visit at a library and he didn’t need to know this woman to know this very typical behavior. It was something many librarians seemed to have and it meant: “Alright, I’m done playing around, now I’m talking business, pal!” He didn’t envy the poor soul who invoked this look.

They were still a few meters away from the desk when they crossed an invisible line or something like that, because the librarian abruptly looked up right at them. She seemed to recognise Alixe because only a short moment later her determined face was replaced by a beaming smile.

“Alix, that’s a nice surprise! How are you? I haven’t seen you in ages!” she greeted her with a hushed voice as they stopped in front of the desk. With a small gesture she let them know to sit down in the visitor chairs.

“Hi Solange, everything’s fine. What about you? Is Jalil still trying to convince you that the pyramids are ancient spaceships?” Alix asked which only ended up confusing Felix. Didn’t she tell him on the way here that her brother was a research assistant at the Louvre? How could this be the case if he believed such nonsense? The librarian, Solange Chevalier, her name tag revealed, tried to give them a smile, but she looked so helpless and frustrated, it turned out more like a grimace.

“Well, he gave up on the pyramids but now he’s trying to convince me that werewolves and dragons are real. I don’t know what happened to him. When we went to school together, he had a very rational mindset. He would never believe in a theory just because it sounded interesting. He always looked for proof for his theories. But when he started with this I … I might have been a bit harsh. Please don’t tell me he sent you to give me a message, because he’s still angry that I told him that I literally have a full library with scientific facts he should take a look at before this nonsense destroys every last brain cell he still has?”

“That’s not harsh, that actually sounds pretty tame,” Felix remarked before he could stop himself. He would have been a lot meaner if Alix’ brother had tried to bother him with that nonsense.

“Oh, this is Felix Graham de Vanily, we’re classmates. Felix, this is Solange Chevalier. She was in the same class as Jalil and came back to Paris recently to work here after she graduated … what was it again?”

“Library and information sciences” the librarian answered with an indulgent smile. Felix guessed people regularly asked that. Not because it was hard to remember, but because people didn’t bother to remember. It wasn’t as common as medicine or law and didn’t have some sort of romantically tragic connotation like any art degree. Most people wouldn’t have an idea what to visualise, so they didn’t understand it. And what they couldn’t understand, they would deem unimportant or boring. Maybe to most people it was boring, but Felix preferred pragmatic. He liked libraries, he enjoyed the vibe and all the resources they offered him at his fingertips and he knew that a good librarian was a godsend. They were like guides in a foreign country. Most of the librarians he met in his life were pragmatic and patient people and since he liked to think that he was quite the pragmatist himself, albeit not quite as patient, he felt connected to them.

Not as patient, because he once observed a librarian patiently help a not-so-old patron that this could have been excused, add an attachment to an email and send it. It took them almost twenty minutes because the patron couldn’t remember their password at first and then clicked on the wrong buttons all the time, constantly scolding themselves how stupid they were and this librarian, with the patience of an ancient and divine being, constantly tried to calm them down and assure them that they were not stupid, not everyone had to be good with technology and there were probably a ton of things they were great at and how difficult life would be if everyone was good at the same things.

He wasn’t surprised Jalil Kubdel would try to impress this woman. No one else would have the patience to put up with him. At least after everything he heard.

“Actually we’re here for research,” he tried to guide them back on topic. Interest sparked to life in the woman's eyes and she sat up a bit. “Sure, I can show you how to search in the online catalogue or I could write you a list down, if you like. Right now nobody needs my assistance, so it’s actually a good time. What do you need? Oh and you can sit down, this might take a while,” she told them and gestured to the chairs again. This time they both sat down.

“It would be awesome if you could help us. We need something on the history of fashion, especially something with pictures,” Alix explained. Mrs. Chevalier pulled up her eyebrows and gave her a deadpan look over her glasses and Felix pressed his lips together. He didn’t know if he would sigh or chuckle otherwise.

“Well, I think we might have one or two thousand titles that could be helpful, based on this alone,” she answered with barely veiled amusement. “How much time do you have?”

“So many?” Alix looked a bit pale. Felix thought she might exaggerate a bit, but not by much. On the other hand, he had a hard time estimating how many books they actually had on fashion. And that was without considering the magazines. Maybe she wasn’t actually that far off? “But it’s just fashion!”

The woman huffed a laugh and clicked something on her screen before she leaned to one side flipped a switch and the screen facing the chairs flared to life. “Remember, this is Paris and fashion is considered a form of art.” On the screen they could see an opened program in muted grey and blue colours and an almost ancient interface. It felt like some sort of relic from the early days of modern computers, when a high end computer had only a fraction of the processing power of his smartphone now. “Are you looking for a special period?”

When Alix looked at him he sighed and pulled his smartphone out to look at the messages Marinette had sent them. At 3 am last night. She was lucky it was Saturday and he hadn’t seen her yet since he accompanied Alix to the library and he didn’t want her to be able to blame him for waking her up in the morning. But she would hear his opinion about her being awake at such an ungodly hour and texting.

“Rococo dresses, Italian Renaissance, dresses again, 1920s suits and dresses,” he stopped and turned the display around and placed it on the desk, so Mrs. Chevalier could read the increasingly rambling messages herself. He would only confuse her if he read them out and she couldn’t reread them. Hell, he had to read them several times and he still wasn’t convinced he understood exactly what Marinette had been going on about. That’s why she shouldn’t text at 3 am. “The pictures are important, she needs reference pictures.”

Her eyebrows knitted together as she read the messages. After a while she gave a thoughtful hum and started to type away on her keyboard starting search after search. Sometimes she clicked at a title and seemed to look for something, but he wasn’t sure what she was looking for. Sometimes she copied a title and added it to a growing list. Finally she printed that list.

“Here, I tried to find titles with many illustrations,” she explained and gave them the piece of paper. “The easiest is probably the 1920s stuff. You should find what you need in one of the fashion magazines of that time. Alix, you know what to do, I wish you luck and hope you’ll find what your friend needs.”

They bid the librarian goodbye and went to the reading room where they gave one of the librarians there their list to get the books and magazines from the stack-room while they sat down at a desk. Alix placed a small, boldly coloured box she had pulled out of her bag when they had put them away in the middle between them. When she noticed Felix’ questioning glance she rolled her eyes and opened the box. Inside sat an assortment of laminated cards, most of them just as bright and boldly coloured as the box. “Are these … bookmarks?” he asked surprised as he took one card out and eyed it critically. It looked like a piece of graffiti. Or street art, as Alix liked to call it.

“Yeah, Marinette gave me the idea,” the skater answered. “There is only so much wall in the art room at school and I have to paint over my old works regularly. So, she suggested I could take photos of my pieces and create concept art first, like she creates her designs on paper and only sews the designs that she likes. So, I only spray the concepts that work out. And since I have all these photos and concepts, I turned them into bookmarks, so when I’m here I can mark the parts I need and then scan or copy them after that. I’m faster that way.”

Curiously Felix took a few more of the bookmarks and looked at them. It wasn’t exactly his favourite art. Actually, he detested most of the graffiti he saw in London and Paris and other cities. That was, because they usually reminded him more of vandalism than art, although he agreed with all the graffiti insulting Hawk Moth. But these weren’t that bad. They actually looked like art. There was one that stood out to him. It was mostly muted colours, greys and dull blues and greens and in between all of that a dash of bright, defiant red.

Alix noticed how long he was looking at the card. “I did that after Ladybug declared war on Hawk Moth, as he tried to sway the public's opinion against them. It didn’t work out for me. One, it’s not my usual style, two, it ignores Chat Noir’s importance.”

Felix scoffed. “Ladybug could do way better than that cat,” he muttered. He remembered pretty clearly the condescending tone of the so-called hero. He didn’t know him at all! Fine, it hadn’t been one of his best days … Sure, Marinette had punched him, but he knew that he kind of deserved that. But he did not deserve Chat Noir’s holier-than-thou attitude.

Before Alix had a chance to reply they were interrupted by the librarian coming back with a cart with the books and magazines they had on their list. They put everything on the desk and started to look for reference pictures and anything Marinette might need.

A few hours later they were finally done. Indeed, the original fashion magazines had been very helpful, but there were also several exhibition catalogues with very good illustrations and photos of the exhibits and special details.

They switched to one of the computers with a scanner, started to scan what they needed and saved the scans in the cloud their school offered. After they were done, he sent a short message to Marinette, reminding her that she shouldn’t stay up the whole night, no matter how important it was to finish the design.

Alix had already started to place everything on a cart and now that he was done with the message, Felix logged them off the computer and started to help her as he noticed something hard in one of the magazines. When he opened it, something fell out but thanks to his improved reflexes - training with Ladybug really worked miracles, although his reflexes had been good from the start - he caught the laminated card. It was the bookmark with the muted colours he had noticed earlier.

“Keep it.” Felix looked up and saw the skater smirking at him. “You like it, don’t you? I have enough and as I said, it didn’t work out for me, but if you like it, it at least makes one of us happy.”

Felix didn’t know what to say, but finally he nodded. “Thank you,” he said awkwardly. “I appreciate it.”

Alix just smiled and shrugged. Maybe she didn’t know how to act in this situation, either? She pushed the cart to the counter and waited for the librarian to confirm that everything they got was there. When they were done, they returned to the concierge where they had put their bags in a locker.

Alix bid him goodbye when they left the building. She put on her skates and raced away. Felix stayed back for a moment to place the bookmark in the book he was reading. He always had a book in his bag. You never knew when you needed to distract yourself or when you had to kill some time.

He looked down at the colourful card. It didn’t work for her, Alix had told him. He could see that. But ... well, for him it worked just fine.

With a satisfied nod and a small smile he closed the book and put it back into his bag before he started his way to the next metro station.

[mrs-dr-reid]

The Girl Behind the Desk

(A Criminal Minds Fic)

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Fem!Reader

Summary: Requested by @imagining-in-the-margins​; “Spencer goes to the same library whenever he can. In part because he likes to read the encyclopedias, but also because he’s in love with one of the girls who works there. Unfortunately, he’s also convinced she doesn’t know he exists.”

Genre: Super fluffy, doods

Warnings: Pining, I guess? (is that a thing that needs a warning? I dunno, maybe)

A/N: Okay, this was so fun to write? Oh my god. I hope you guys enjoy it!

Word Count: 1858

———————————————————————

Spencer didn’t know why he kept going there. Well, he takes that back. He kind of knows why he keeps going to a very particular library in the D.C. area: There’s a very robust collection of encyclopedias there that he can go and read whenever he has time off from the BAU. Therein lies the kicker: he’s already read the entire collection at least half a dozen times. So why does he keep going there if he’s already read the one thing there that interests him?

The answer is quite simple... the encyclopedia section is within viewing distance of the check-out desk, and whenever he goes in to read them, there’s always a beautiful young woman there with shiny Y/H/C hair and striking Y/E/C eyes checking out books, answering the questions of other library patrons, and taking the reshelving cart to some other section of the library. He’s never plucked up the courage to go over and talk to her, but he knew from overhearing the conversations she had with her coworkers that her first name was Y/N.

Spencer’s played out a thousand interactions with her in his mind, but he’s never gone over to the desk to actually play one of them out. So for the past month and a half, he’s just been sitting in the corner by himself pretending to read a book while staring at the beautiful librarian from across the room like a lovesick idiot. And he was a lovesick idiot, because he couldn’t recall a single time in his life where he was utterly captivated by a woman he’d never even spoken a word to before.

He noticed every little thing about her: the way she would smile at young children who would plunk a Magic Treehouse or Percy Jackson book on the counter and stand on their tiptoes to hand her their library card, then give them a small lollipop from the glass bowl on the desk before they left, the way she laughed when one of her coworkers told a really lame library joke, the way she could pull her hair into a neat bun while she was working without one of those hair donut things he’s seen JJ use a couple times, and the way there was always a skip in her step and a song in her head when she was pushing the reshelving cart to whatever section she needed to go to.

She never looked over at his lonely little table because she was busy focusing on the more busy sections of the library, like the magazines, the research computers, and the children’s books, so the logical half of Spencer’s brain managed to convince him that she had no idea he even existed and that he really had no business being in the building. Still, the other more fantastical half of his brain kept him rooted in his plush library chair on the very slim chance that one day she’d look over and at least give him a smile. He highly doubted that would ever happen, but a guy can hope.

—   —   —   —   —   —   —   —   —   —   —   —   —

Y/N could tell that the guy in a purple sweater vest with unruly brown hair and thoughtful brown eyes sitting at a table near the encyclopedias wasn’t really there to read all of them every time he came in, because she was pretty sure she saw him read every single one of them and put them all back in the right place in the span of a few hours the first day he came into her library.

Sometimes when she was refilling the candy bowl, she would steal a quick glance over at him and see him absentmindedly flipping through the pages of an encyclopedia she knows she’s seen him read in record breaking time with a furrowed brow, because she had to admit he was handsome in his own nerdy little way. And she’d always feel her stomach flip when he pushed his hair away from his eyes or adjusted his tie, because his hands look HUGE, even from far away, and she knows that if they ever shook hands, his would completely swallow hers.

She only knew his name because he answered his phone one time, and she heard him say, “Dr. Spencer Reid,” which made her raise her eyebrows in amazement, because he couldn’t have been much older than she was and he was a doctor. She could tell by the way he dressed that there was no way he was a medical doctor, so she assumed that he was a college professor with a proclivity for literature.

He came into her library sporadically over a month and a half period, and when he was gone for long lapses in time, Y/N assumed he was doing lectures either at the school he worked at or at nearby schools as a guest speaker. But whenever she looked over at the empty table where he usually made himself at home, she couldn’t help but miss him, which was utterly ridiculous because how could you miss someone you’ve never even spoken to? She then made a pact with herself: the next time she saw him come in, she was going to find some excuse or another to talk to him.

—   —   —   —   —   —   —   —   —   —   —   —   —

Spencer got back from a really rough case, and he figured that a trip to his favorite library might lift his spirits. He walked in through the doors, expecting it to be a normal session of “pretending to read so I can stare at the desk girl”, but he stopped dead in his tracks when he heard a voice he’d only heard from a distance say, “We just got in a couple new ones about fungi and spores, in case you wanted to look at something new.”

He turned around to see the woman he’d been admiring from afar for nearly the last two months with her award-winning smile on her face. She pointed at his table and said, “I noticed you liked hanging out by the encyclopedias, so I thought I’d let you know if I caught you before you hunkered down over there,” making him struggle to find the right words to say. He finally settled on, “Ummm, okay. Cool. Thank you for letting me know,” and smiled before starting to walk away.

Y/N knew that was her last chance, so she said, “I’m Y/N, by the way. Y/N L/N,” and held out her hand, so Spencer hesitated before grabbing it and saying, “Hi, Y/N. I’m Dr. Spencer Reid. Sorry, but, handshakes aren’t normally my thing. You see, the number of pathogens passed during a handshake is outrageous. It’s actually...,” making Y/N say, “Safer to kiss, right? I’ve dealt with my fair share of germaphobes who whip out that fact,” before shooting him a wink.

Spencer didn’t know how to react to that, but he knows for a fact he went pink in the cheeks. Y/N continued, “And I already knew your name. I heard you answer your phone once. You’ve never checked out any books, so I just thought you were too busy with teaching to remember to return them and never went over to ask you about it,” while she started grabbing new books to stamp and stack.

Spencer didn’t really know how to respond to that, but he remembered how to speak English, and he said, “You think I’m a teacher?”, so she said, “Yeah. I mean, based on the way you dress and the fact that you’re slightly too germaphobic, there’s no way you’re a medical doctor. I figured you were a college professor, more specifically in the English department. How close am I?”, while sitting down in her swivel chair.

Spencer was impressed by her profiler-level deduction, so he said, “I’d say you were 70% accurate. I’m not a medical doctor, but I do have three PhDs in Mathematics, Chemistry, and Engineering, 2 BAs in Psychology and Sociology, and I’m working on a BA in Philosophy. I am a college professor, but I teach Criminology. I’m also a Supervisory Special Agent with the Behavioral Analysis Unit of the FBI,” which made Y/N’s eyebrows fly up. She said, “Seriously?! All this time, I’ve been sneaking peeks at a super genius pretending to read an encyclopedia in the corner for the past two months?”, which made Spencer’s sly smile drop off his face.

He said, “You knew I was pretending?”, so Y/N grabbed her water bottle and said, “Yeah. You breezed through the entire collection in less than 3 hours the first day you came in, then you put every single one back in its rightful place. I even double checked after you left, and I didn’t have to swap a single book into the right place,” before taking a sip of water. Spencer said, “Well, I guess that’s what happens when you have an eidetic memory and can read 20,000 words per minute,” which nearly made Y/N choke on her water.

Spencer’s eyes widened in concern, and he said, “Oh my god, are you okay?”, but she waved him off and said, “Yeah, I’m fine. Just wasn’t expecting that,” before setting her water down. She checked her watch, then said, “Okay, my shift ends in a couple hours. And knowing you you’ll probably finish all those new encyclopedias by then, so how about when I clock out, you and I can go get coffee or something?”, which took Spencer completely by surprise. He said, “Uhhhhh, sure! Yeah, sure! That sounds great!”, his voice betraying him by cracking awkwardly.

Clearly Y/N thought it was cute, because she grabbed a pink sticky note and a clicker pen from the cup on the desk, jotted something down, then handed it to him before saying, “Be sure to think of some interesting fungus facts to tell me later, Dr. Brainiac,” winking, and heading off to reshelve some books. Spencer stood there awestruck for a solid minute before shaking himself and going to his usual spot. He finally looked down at what she had written, and he felt himself go completely red, because on the note was a series of numbers that could only be her cell phone number, an address that could only be hers, and the words “call me sometime, Boy Genius” written in a gorgeous looping scrawl.

Spencer looked up again to see her talking with one of her coworkers behind the desk, so he pulled out his phone and punched in her number before typing “Is texting okay, too?” and pressing send. He saw her pull out her phone, and she looked up and gave him a playful eye roll before typing something and putting her phone back in her pocket. His phone buzzed again, so he checked it to see that she had sent back “Of course it is, Dr. Reid ;)”, making him smile before going to grab those encyclopedias she was talking about.

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