#him; very cheerfully: hi! (scans my card)

[ufostaysfalling]

Asking the guards for help on exam studying

Edward ✨

“Of course!” Edward shouted from inside his armor making you jump. You could barely get done asking your favor before he was eagerly agreeing. “I didn’t even finish-“ You started before Edward let out a boastful laugh. His armor reverberating with its force. “No need! I’d be honored to help you out. Just make sure to stay focused on the study guide and not my chiseled features.” He smirked, flipping up his golden visor to reveal his beaming eyes.

Though, midway through he went on an angry rant about how long the flash cards were. “Even the answers are 2 paged essays!” He complained.

Launcelot 🍄

“I’d be delighted!” He said cheerfully, dropping his scepter carelessly and immediately taking the study guide and cards from your hands. “You seem pretty damn excited just to read some questions on something you know nothing about.” You chuckled, leaning on the railing behind him. “No. Just excited to read them to you.” He smiled brightly, even though you couldn’t see, but the warmth in his voice gave away his delight.

Proceeded to struggle to read the cards due to him not being able to wear his glasses under the helmet. “I can read them if yo-“ you started, reaching your hand out to him only to have it slapped away by his metal hand. He turned away and held the card closer to his face. “I-I got it. Just gimme a sec-“.

Alexander 🍔

“-if you could help me study for an upcoming exam??” You asked gently.

…

“Alex?” You tapped his armor making him jump up and hold his green sceptor above his head to strike but soon recognizing his target “Oh! Hey bud-“ he stopped abruptly to release an aggressive yawn “-whats going on?”

“I asked if you could help me study.” You repeated, holding the papers out to him. “Ah! Uh- You sure?” He hesitantly grabbed the papers and scanned over the text. “Yeah, why wouldn’t I be sure?” You said while taking a seat on the bridge railing. “Everyone says I’m stupid. You’re better off asking Baj.” He tried to hand the papers back but you pushed them back into his arms. “You’re not stupid. And plus, I’d rather be here with you than with my table partner.”

Both of you took a break midway through to eat some snacks from his suit.

The chocolates were cold and solid and the honeybuns were warm.. Made you wonder if he had designated compartments for certain food.

Zalia 🏆

“You can’t ask anyone else? I’m on duty.” She said coldly, not moving a muscle even when speaking. “Zar, please! I trust you the most.” You pleaded, staring into the black abyss beyond her visor. Little did you know how she was slowly cracking at your puppy eyes. She sighed heavily and told you to come back when she’s off duty.

Later that night, on her way to the knights sleeping quarters, you stopped her just before she could turn the corner. She released a long sigh before closing the door behind of her and following you to the study hall.

Though, very reluctant at first, she was a big help. Super precise and strict about your answers. Yeah, it was hella annoying- but you passed your exam with flying colors.

You baked her cupcakes in baking class to thank herd to which she was once again- VERY RELUCTANT. Even though once she was alone in his room, she melted into her chair after the first bite

Vander🕷️

He stared at the papers for awhile before taking them and reading each question to himself. “Uhm.. is that a yes?” You leaned in closer, trying to peek through is eye covering. His head snapped up, handing the papers back to Y/N. “The answers are A, B, D, A, C, C, D-“

“You’re supposed to read them to me!” You explained, causing him to stop. “Ah. Apologizes for my misunderstanding.” He gently took the guides back and read the questions in his gravely voice. At some points he stopped and stared at the paper for what felt like an hour. “Is everything alright?”

“Your handwriting is very pretty.” He replied blandly before continuing with the questions like nothing.

Oliver 🌸

“-if you could help me out with it?” You asked, holding the papers and cards up into view. You could visibly see Oliver flinch at her request. “Me?” He muttered, pointing to himself with shaking hands. “I’d love to help.. you.. but d-dont you think there are better choices? Like u-uh.. tutors? Or.. Taj?”

You shook your head and smiled brightly “I want your help.”

He quietly hyped himself up as he placed his heart scepter onto the stone rail behind him. “O-Okay then..” Oliver mumbled, hesitantly taking the papers from you.

The study session went great! You learned all you needed and passed the exam perfectly. Besides telling him to speak up every now and then, Oliver was the best tutor you could ask for.

Philip⚔️

Without another word, Philip was already reading each question with a clear voice. It was like being read a bedtime story by a robot. He was so punctuated and effortlessly perfect with everything he did. Edward wishes.

“I’m sorry to say Miss Y/N but..” He gulped “You’re handwriting is difficult to read-“

He spoke as if you were gonna beat him and take his nose. “How? That’s my best work!” You stepped closer to peak at the papers.

“Maybe your just used to reading fine print. My work is authentic.” You crossed your arms and remarked with a smug face. Philip stopped and stared at your face. Playful confidence.

He was also orderly and strict, seeing you be so original made him admire you greatly. “U-Uh ahem. Back to uhm.. this.” He cleared his throat and his mind as he began to read through the papers again.

Hans ⚡️

“No.” Hans said coldly, not bothering to even look at Y/N. “Oh, come on. Nothings happened in weeks! No one would even care if you diverted your attention somewhere else for A FEW MINUTES.” She reasoned, dropping her hip and placing her hand upon it angrily. “I can assure you it’ll be more than ‘a few minutes’. Especially with you.” He insulted. Y/N gasped, gently hitting him over the head with the papers “I’m gonna fail if you dont help me!”.

“That’s my problem how?” Hans groaned, his grip on his sector tightening.

After what felt like an hour of begging, he let out a harsh sigh before snatching the papers. He rushed through each question and told you to quit bothering him. “Thanks, Hans.” You giggled, retreating to your dorm.

“Oh, Hanny~ Whatever shall I do without you~!” Nathaniel sung in his best Y/N impression. “Dont worry, sweetheart, I got this.” Alexander replied in his best Hans voice. The two laughed at Han’s growing anger before Zalia ordered them to stop.

Nathaniel 🧸

“Yes! I mean of course!” Nathaniel chirped. You smiled at this enthusiam and held out the papers for him. Nathaniel then gently pushed your hands back with his free hand “Nononoo please, meet me after school and we can study somewhere quieter.” He insisted. Skeptical, you followed his orders and went off back to the courtyard to finish up the school day. Maybe he was just buying himself time to escape- or replace himself with another student. Nathan wouldn’t do that..

Right?

That same afternoon, you waved a goodbye to Avery as you made your way down the stairs of Royal High. As you got closer to the main entrance you saw Nathaniel waiting causally. Seeing him without his armor was really a treat, especially when his dreamy eyes would be focused on souly you. Relief washed over you to see his cheery smile urging you towards him.

He took you out to drinks at Diamond Beach. His treat, thankfully. The two of you sat facing each other at a bar table and chatted the evening away. In all honesty…

Little studying got done. But having him be so forward and kind was more than enough motivation to pass that test.

Taj 📚

Before you could ever begin talking, Taj placed his sceptor on the ground and held out his hands eagerly for the study guide. You were taken aback by his excitement but you handed him the papers. Taj reader quickly through the words before already having an answer for every single one. “Ok so the variable is a lie on this equation! And to find the true ‘form’ you have to simplify and use the denominator-“ He explained rapidly before noticing your overwhelmed expression.

Taj cleared his throat and took a step back to let you calm down. “Apologizes, dear Y/N, let me try that again.”

For the next hour, he explained each question in great detail and made damn sure you understood every step. Sooner or later, you were passing that class well enough to skip a grade.

Avery 👑

“Morning Y/N! Going out for lunch?” Avery chirped as you approached the entrance. “Nope.” You replied with a turn of the head. “Need something from your car?”

“Noopeee.” You turned your head again, crinkling the paper in your hand gently to give her a slight hint. “Want to study by the dream fountain?”

“Ugh! I’m here for you, Ave!” You broke, holding out the paper. “Me?” She questioned, taking the paper and reading over the print. Her face lit up in realization but then darkened again. “I have this same study guide, Y/N..”

“You have this class? Then you can totally help me out!” You cheered before noticing her pained expression. Oh no..

Both of you spent the night in your dorm trying to figure out that the hell each question means. What does it mean by ‘Ratify the Denominator’?!??!!

Leon 🧿

“So can you help?” You asked. Leon stared at the paper and took a longggggggg sigh. He hesitantly reached out for the paper only to see the subject of the problems. “Oh hell yeah I can help you!” He gasped, immediately dragging you over to the fountain to sit and go over it. Leon wasn’t the brightest but he didn’t shine through on certain topics.

“And that’s how to destroy the maribeth of the grounding rules.” Leon huffed, finally taking a breath from all the talking he’s been doing. “I think I get it now! Thank you so much- Oh! Can you take a look at this for me? Can you help with this aswell?” You pulled another paper from your bag and handing it to his gloved hands.

Leon’s eyes scanned over the words before shoving the sheets back into your arms and scurrying back to his post.

Notes-

Ratify the Denominator is exactly how my teacher sounds to me 💀 I’m not even sure I’m doing math anymore.

[abyssal-ali]

Enchanted

A/N: Jasonette one-shot inspired by Taylor Swift's "Enchanted". Thanks to @forgottenfriends for inspiring me to adapt it to a Royal AU💜

If anyone wants to be part of a permanent or Maribat-specific tag list DM me or leave a comment. Constructive criticism or any feedback is appreciated!

~1.2k words

Marinette was tired of being at the royal family of Gotham's ball. Even the Wayne children, who usually livened up their father's dull parties, were being abnormally well-behaved.

She excused herself from the vapid conversation and found what appeared to be a good hiding spot. Escaping, she scanned the room for anyone who noticed her disappearing and accidentally locked eyes with someone. They were such a gorgeous colour; she almost wanted to talk to their owner just so she could examine them up close. A vision of a suit for next season incorporating the colour floated in front of her and she wished again to have her sketchbook. If she'd met the person before her hasty appointment as the royals' official seamstress, maybe she could have livened up this ball's outfits (her predecessor had very little vision and left to her half-finished outfits that she despaired over)...

The crowd parted and the owner of the hypnotizing eyes stepped in front of her. Marinette was torn from her half-finished design and realized she was staring, blushing profusely.

He gave a quick nod of his head. “Have we met before?” he asked charmingly. “I'm sure I would remember meeting someone with such good style as yourself before.”

“No, we haven't. I thank you for your compliment; I'm MDC.”

“Jason Todd-Wayne, at your service.” His lips just brushed the back of her hand as he bowed over it.

“Enc-delighted to make your acquaintance.”

“So, why do you look so bored?”

“Socializing with the elites is exhausting and your siblings are being remarkably polite for once.” Marinette clapped her hand over her mouth. Dang sleep deprivation. “I'm so sorry! I've just heard about previous galas and your family's antics, that wasn't meant...”

Jason laughed. “It's fine! When they're quiet like this, they're usually planning something, so keep an eye out if you want your dress to remain unscathed. Do you have a name or shall I call you M?”

“You haven't earned my name yet, monsieur, so M will have to do.”

“What does earning it involve?”

“Mmm, normally you'd have to be family or a close friend, or a loyal patron for over two years.”

“Would a waltz make us close enough friends?” He extended his hand with a flourish, which she took.

“Perhaps. No stepping on my toes, though,” she warned.

“I'll have you know I never step on people's toes unless they deserve it,” he said in mock offence as they move onto the dancefloor.

Although Marinette was a good dancer (thanks to several years of ballet when she was younger, which kept her light on her feet), she did not particularly enjoy it, but Jason was an excellent partner and kept her entertained with gossip and 'secrets' about fellow dancers and the royal family, so the time flew by faster than they did around the ballroom.

When Jason led her to the refreshments table for a cup of punch, a pretty blonde in a layered purple tulle dress approached the duo and cheerfully asked, “who's your new friend, Jay?” as she looped her arm through Jason's.

“None of your business,” he shot back.

Marinette noticed the girl tapping Jason's arm possessively. She'd given him her calling card and had considered inviting him for a free consultation (yes, she just wanted to use his eyes for her new ideas, she shamelessly admitted it, but she also wanted to spend more time with him) but now those thoughts vanished. Far be it from her to get tangled up in court relationships.

Swallowing, she excused herself and retrieved her wrap, heading out to her transportation home. She looked back once at the lights and glamour—sorry, clamour. The chandeliers had begun raining glitter and the unsuspecting crowd was soon covered in it, minus the royal family, of course, who had stepped away in time.

Replaying the evening in her mind as she was driven home, she found herself blushing as she recalled Jason's smooth lines and interested countenance. She'd thought he was flirting with her, interested in her, but obviously, the blonde had other ideas, whether Jason agreed or not. Marinette refused to be part of another love triangle, even if she'd also been the other girl in the previous one.

She stepped inside and found herself humming one of the pieces the 4-piece orchestra had played as she danced with Jason, her feet following the steps as she prepared for bed, finally. She'd moved to Gotham, been instated as the royal seamstress, gone over her predecessor's things and organized her workrooms to suit herself, gone over the royals' designs for tonight's ball (thankfully half were done and she only needed to add her signature touches and glam to the remaining four outfits), and then had to work on said clothing with her new crew of fellow textile workers.

This left very little time for sleep, and Marinette had been counting the minutes until she could politely leave her first Gotham ball for her bed. She was grateful that King Bruce has given her an invitation so she could see her designs in action and get a sense of what would be required for future events, but that was mostly overshadowed by her wish for sleep.

The clock struck two as she crawled between her sheets. Ah, blessed, comfy bed.

A knock on her door made her sit up angrily. Could she not get one peaceful, complete, uninterrupted night of sleep?!

She yanked her fluffy robe closed and flung the door open to see Jason on her step, still in his suit.

“Jason?”

He smiled, a little nervously. “Hey, M. I never got your full name; your card just has your initials and your address. Isn't that a bit backward? Anyways, you left before I could tell you I was enchanted to meet you.”

“Would you like to come in? Unless you have someone waiting for you?” Please don't.

“Nah, I don't. You're sure?”

“Of course...it was enchanting to meet you too. I wanted to tell you...”

He chuckled as he stepped in. “That was the doing of my older brother Dick and my younger brother's girlfriend, Stephanie. She's the one you met with me—she was warning me to move out of the way. I was going to sweep you off your feet and play your knight-in-not-shiny-armour, but you left. Did you read the Morse code?”

Marinette's eyes widened. “That's what that tapping was! Oh, I thought she was your girlfriend. So you're not in love with someone else, then...?”

“Nope. Were you worried?” he smirked.

“...maybe,” she drawled. “Well, you came out this late so I suppose I should reward your efforts. My name is Marinette. Marinette Dupain-Cheng.”

“Beautiful like you.”

Her cheeks flushed at the compliment. “So...this is just the first page?”

“Of our relationship? I hope it's not the end, I just got ypur name!” Jason joked. “I suppose I should leave you to your rest, mademoiselle. Enchanté.”

“Enchanté. Good night, Jason!” Marinette waved him off and went back to bed, dreaming of dancing with Jason, staring into his gorgeous eyes. He really was enchanting.

[svtskneecaps]

I FUCKING DID IT LADS

[blkfye]

gift for cheol

words: 1.1k

THE MID-DECEMBER ATMOSPHERE in seoul was crisp and chilly, yet you'd never assume so by looking at the crowds of individuals who walked confidently down the clustered streets. you and sae-byeok had been going store to store to find cheol a gift for christmas-- an idea that was yours, of course, since sae-byeok wasn't the type to be too eager for the holidays.

"let's try this shop!" you exclaimed, pulling sae-byeok in the store before she had the opportunity to protest. sae-byeok was used to this by now-- all the twisting and pulling-- but she didn't mind it at all if it meant she got to spend time with you.

this toy store was wasn't as big as the others you two had explored, but the variation of pastel colors and warm smell of cinnamon and vanilla made the establishment very homey to you. you scanned the store for anything deemed interesting while sae-byeok just followed your lead, unsure of what she was even looking for. suddenly you came to a halt, your eyes widening as your mind filled with ideas when your heart was set on one item in particular.

"oh my god," you breathed out, picking up something in front of you.

sae-byeok furrowed her eyebrows, tip-toeing just a bit so that she could look over your shoulder. "what is it?"

"a tablet!" you gleamed, turning around to show sae-byeok the device. "it's perfect for cheol! he can watch whatever he wants and can video-call us any time!"

sae-byeok grabbed the device from your hand, looking it over and reading the packaging. it did seem like a great gift, but she couldn't help to frown when she saw the price. ₩250,000. sae-byeok didn't even have half of that.

"i think it would be great for cheol," sae-byeok started. "but i don't think i can afford it."

you gave sae-byeok a reassuring smile. "it's okay! i'll pay for it. don't worry about it."

"no, no," sae-byeok protested. "i promised to go half with you."

she eyed you as you flung your hand up, in other words telling her 'talk to the hand'. "i'm not letting you talk me about of this one," you said, waving sae off as you walked to the cash register to pay.

"you have to let me pay for some of it y/n. it's unfair to you to pay for everything when cheol isn't even your brother."

you began to become a little irritated with the way sae-byeok was reacting to your offer, but you knew that she worked hard for everything she and cheol has. taking something for free without a catch was quite unusual for sae-byeok, and getting used to your willingness to give gifts would take some time. you looked at sae-byeok whose face could be read as somewhat upset, so you decided to negotiate. the last thing you wanted her to feel was guilty when this whole gift thing was your idea.

"okay how about this... i buy the tablet and you buy the accessories for it. deal?"

sae-byeok thought to herself for a moment before agreeing. it would be sort of  fair. "okay, deal."

❤︎

you and sae waited for cheol at the bench, both of you equally feeling confident that he would love his gift. sae-byeok ended up buying him a dark blue case, along with headphones to use with his tablet. you had already set everything up, and even gave him his own hotspot (which was actually just given to you for free by your college).

"cheol!" you called out once you saw the little boy appear from behind the door. he rushed over to the two of you, two pieces of paper in his hand as he smiled at you both.

"these are for you," he said cheerfully, handing you and sae your own personalized homemade christmas cards. your heart melted and the sight, and you could tell that sae-byeok was secretly gushing too.

"thank you cheol," you said, smiling at the card once more before putting it in your tote. "now are you ready for your gift?"

"you got me a gift?" he asked, taken a bit aback.

you looked at sae-byeok, who flashed a small, yet nervous smile at you. you were aware that sae-byeok's experience with the holidays as a family was very limited, but you were eager to let her experience it with you. you guys had become your own little family after all.

"yes, your sister and i got you a gift together... can you guess what it is?"

"um, a toy truck?" cheol guessed.

you shook your head. "think more... advanced."

"a for real truck?"

"no cheol," you chuckled. "think something that is legal for your age."

"okay," he said, now really thinking about what the surprise could be. "i don't know... a video game?"

you hummed, jokingly poking his chest. "are you reading my mind? you're getting warmer."

cheol sighed, his little mind still lingered with guesses but at this point his anticipation was so high he could no longer wonder what his gift was. he wanted to know now.

"i give up! what is it?"

"a... tablet!" you exclaimed enthusiastically, revealing the rectangular device to cheol. he looked at it amazed-- everything was perfect from the blue case sae-byeok bought for it, to the wallpaper set as a picture of the three of you together at an ice-cream shop, to every app you downloaded for him. he loved it so much, maybe even more than he loved you.

just kidding, but he definitily loved you and sae-byeok more after this (if that was even possible).

"thank you noona!" he almost screamed, engulfing you into a tight embrace as you just laughed at how excited he was.

despite all the christmas euphoria in the air, you couldn't help to notice that sae-byeok was awfully silent, more than what she usually was. her obligatory poker-face was spot on, so much that you couldn't tell whether she was happy to be there or if she was dreading every second of it. you nudged her gently to bring her focus back to cheol. she smiled at you slightly before clearing her throat.

"here," she said bluntly, handing cheol a pair of headphones in a box. "they are for you."

cheol smiled at his sister, acknowledging that this was a kind gesture from his her even if it didn't quite seem like it. "thank you," he mumbled with a smile. "i love you guys."

"awe! we love you too cheol!" you replied, pulling the three of you into a hug, even though sae-byeok didn't budge. still, she had the biggest smile on her face, her christmas was indeed merry since the two people most important in her life were happy. maybe gift-giving wasn't so overrated after all.

[i-am-still-bb]

Deano Bingo 2022 - General Prompts Card - Meet-cute

Anders/Mitchell, T

--

“Good morning,” Anders says cheerfully to his fish. He was naked except for his watch.

“Oh, good morning.”

“You’re still here.”

“Am I not supposed to be?” Anders’ bedfellow from the night before uncurled themselves from the dining table chair.

“I thought you’d be gone. Do you need money for a cab?” Anders replied without answering the question.

“No, I—”

“I have to get ready for work. I don’t really have time.”

They raised their eyebrow, “Really? Because—”

“I don’t have time,” Anders said firmly. He pulled a bag of fish food from the cabinet. “If you don’t need cab fare then you should go.”

They pouted and made a show of picking up all of their clothes from the apartment floor while trying to make their naked form as appealing as possible. “Fine,” they said when Anders failed to react. “Can I at least shower?”

Anders looked at his watch. “No can do. I need one.”

“We could save water and shower together?”

“I know what you’re trying to do. And no. Now, I’ve got to shower. I’ll call you later, yeah?” He did not wait for an answer before leaving them standing naked in his living room.

Showered, shaved and dressed, Anders emerged from his bedroom to find his apartment empty. As it should be. He whistled to himself while he stowed his work things in his bag.

The weather was lovely and he was in a good mood, so he decided to walk to work.

“Your usual, Anders?” The barista asks when Anders walks through the door.

“That’d be great, Sandra,” Anders replied with a grin and handed over his reusable cup.

Coffee in hand Anders left the small shop. He took a sip of the hot coffee and considered his options. He had a bit before he had to be at work. He could get there and just get a head start on things, or he could take a circuitous route through the city center that would eat up that extra time. Left or right?

Another sip. He licked his lips and savored the sweet taste of the flavored coffee.

Right; through the city center. He started walking.

He chose the route that would take him through the alleys and streets that the city had marked for street art. Some of it was commissioned by the city, like the massive one that was a black and white hidden objects piece. Anders considered it. He had located about 15 of the 21 items. He scanned the piece looking for a comb.

Other walls were reserved for local artists, while still others were up for grabs. Anyone who wanted to paint there could. There were rules and the city did monitor those spaces and covered up anything inappropriate.

Anders saw that there was a new mural, mostly words, at the end of the street.

Someone was already looking at it.

A very tall someone. Anders admired that view for a perfectly long amount of time. He stayed there until his watch alerted him that he was on the verge of being late.

As he approached the other man Anders was able to read the mural. “You are alive.” It was written in large black letters on a colorful background. Different artists had added little things around the edges, but it was the words that dominated the wall.

And Anders could see that the other man was crying.

Not sobbing. Just crying silently with tears on his cheeks.

“You alright, bro?” Anders asked.

The man quickly swiped his palms over his cheeks before turning. “Yeah. I’m good.”

Anders narrowed his eyes. “Are you sure?”

He nodded. “I just don’t, you know, feel alive sometimes,” he gestured at the mural.

“I get that. Are you sure you’re okay?” Anders asked, taking in the other man’s appearance. “You look like you could use some breakfast.”

He shrugged. “I had some on the plane.”

“That’s not food.” Anders checked his watch. Most definitely late now. But Dawn could handle this cliently with her eyes closed. She did not need him. Sometimes he wondered why he bothered showing up at all. “What do you say to breakfast? There’s a place around the corner.”

“I—”

“My treat.”

“I’m not going to say no to free food.”

“Good deal.”

“I’m Mitchell, by the way.”

“Anders.” Anders transferred his coffee cup to his other hand so he could shake Mitchell’s hand. “Nice to meet you. Where’d you fly in from?”

--

Read on Ao3

[triptuckers]

New In Town (part two) - Kaz Brekker

Request: nope Pairing: Kaz Brekker x reader Summary: you're exploring ketterdam and happen to overhear an interesting conversation Warnings:  none Word count: 2.6K A/N: ketterdam my beloved <3 <3 <3 PREVIOUS PART | NEXT PART TAG LIST (all grishaverse fics): @ayushmitadutta @mrs-brekker15@dancingwith-sunflowers @thegirlwiththeimpala @parker-natasha@story-scribbler@romanoffstarkovs @daliareads @meiitanoia @itsnotquimey @sanktaesperanza@whymyparentscheckmyphone@aleksanderwh0r3 @ilovemarvelanne1 @marlenaisnthappy @tomridlessecretvampiredemigod TAG LIST (Kaz Brekker): @mufnasa @janesofia7 @stairscortana add yourself to my tag lists here (bold means I couldn't tag you for some reason!)

You spend the first weeks wandering around the city, getting to know the streets, canals, and its secrets. Every morning you wake up early to leave the pub when the regulars aren't there yet.

You like Ketterdam in the morning. It seemed like everyone collectively decided to sleep in every day. When walking the empty streets, you feel like the city belongs to you, even though you only arrived a couple of weeks ago.

During your short stay, you couldn't help but to develop some habits and routines. Normally, you made sure no one could figure out your habits and favorite spots, but somehow you felt like nobody in Ketterdam cared enough to pay attention to an outsider like you.

Especially when said outsider definitely didn't look rich.

Your clothes had worn out, because you hadn't taken your bag with you and had spent all of your money on rent for your room. But the owner of the building had agreed to give you a job at the pub.

You made a little money on the nights you worked as a bartender. You saved part of it, and spend part of it on clothes. First was a shirt, that was slightly too big but at least it didn't have stains on it or holes in it.

Next up was a new pair of pants. You picked them out carefully, buying one with wide legs so you could easily hide your weapons. It also has a lot of pockets, which was useful as well.

You then bought a new coat. It was a long, black coat. Perfect for wrapping it tightly around you and disappearing into the shadows during the nights you were on the streets.

Your boots weren't worn out just yet, so you hadn't spend money on a new pair. You kept your old clothes at the room, in case you needed a change of clothes. Old ones were better than no clothes at all.

With every piece of clothing you bought, you felt more like you had been in Ketterdam for a long time. Part of you felt like you needed to blend in, and buying Kerch clothes was a perfect way to do so.

You wake up on a particular sunny day. At first, you're excited to spend the day walking around the city, exploring the outer edges of the city.

But your good mood soon disappears when you remember you have an extra long shift to work at the pub today.

It's not like you particularly enjoy working at the pub. Most of the guests seem to think they can do anything to you when they're drunk.

The regulars know not to mess with you, but the new customers weren't around to witness you break three fingers of a guy who put his hand on your waist.

Even though less people messed with you now, there are still some who believe they can convince you to have a drink with them. You always have to smile and politely refuse, telling them you're working.

You'd much rather work your usual jobs, but you had yet to find out how to get someone to notice you. You didn't trust the gangs - yet. Simply because you didn't know enough about them.

Sure, you had the guts to march into whatever their main building was, but if you didn't have any dirt on them, it wouldn't be very useful. Besides, you'd much rather watch them try to anxiously get you to forget the information you had gathered.

You loved to have your clients beg for their pride when they double crossed you, or hadn't paid you enough. But you didn't dare to walk into a house full of trained gang members simply because your job at the pub was dull.

It was boring, and your skills were useless, but at least you got paid. It was just enough to cover the rent of the room, but a little money is still better than none at all.

If you could just find out some more information on the different gangs, you'd be able to join one of them, using the secrets you discover as leverage.

It's not like you had always wanted to join a gang. But the streets of Ketterdam are more dangerous than the ones in Ravka or Fjerda. Being part of a gang provided protection. You knew no one would touch you if you were part of a gang. Except maybe members of rival gangs, but you could handle those.

But for now, you're stuck serving rich tourists and drunk regulars.

Though it was a boring job and nothing exciting really happened, you did learn a lot by listening to their conversations. Gang members didn't often come to the pub, but guards, merchant's servants and advisors, people of the Stadwatch and other interesting people did.

You'd already learned a great deal about them by listening to their conversations. As someone who worked at the pub, you could come closer without any of them getting suspicious.

If only some gang members came in for a drink, you'd be able to listen in on their conversations as well. But you figured they'd have their own clubs, or other pubs they like to go to.

After a quick breakfast and a morning walk in the sun, you're already back at the pub, getting ready to start your shift.

Luckily, there aren't many people in the pub this early. You spend your time washing glasses, occasionally serving people, tiding up the place.

Around noon, it starts to get busier. But that's also when more people start their shifts, so you don't have to do all of it on you own. Even though it's busier the later the hour gets, it's still boring to you.

The same people are there and they order the same drinks, making the same lame jokes, hoping to make you laugh. The best you can do is a forced smile which disappears as soon as you turn your back on them.

When your shift is almost over, you're standing behind the bar. You're cleaning the glasses people used today, trying not to zone out as you stare at the open doors on the other side of the pub.

People are laughing and talking loudly, but it all seems oddly far away from you.

Suddenly, your coworker nudges your shoulder and gestures with her head to the entrance.

'They're not regulars, are they?' she says.

You look at the people she pointed out. Two boys around your age walked in the pub. One of them is tall, curls falling down on his forehead, and there's a grin on his face.

The other one is shorter, leaning on a cane and dressed head to toe in black, as if he's going to attend a funeral. Unlike the other boy, he doesn't have a smile on his face. Instead, he walks to the nearest table and sits down, signalling to the bar.

Your coworker wants to approach them, but you're faster.

'I've got this one.' you say with a smile.

You didn't see many people like this in your pub, and your curiosity got the better of you. Besides, you hadn't seen them in the city, making you believe they are from the parts of the city you rarely go to.

And since it's not weird for a bartender to make small talk, you approach them with a smile.

'Good evening!' you say cheerfully. 'How can I help you today?'

'Hello love!' says the taller boy as he returns your smile. 'I'll have a beer.'

'Great choice.' you say.

You turn to the other one, quickly scanning him up and down and noticing he's wearing gloves. Which seems odd, since it's such a nice sunny day. But then again, there are a lot of odd people in Ketterdam.

'And what can I get you, sir?' you say.

Just as he looks at you and wants to answer you, the taller boy speaks up again.

'You don't have to call us sir, you know, we're basically the same age.' he says.

'And how would you know that?' you say.

'I'm a good gambler.' he says, leaning back in his chair.

You see how the other boy raises his eyebrows at him.

'He's not a good gambler.' he says. 'I'm good.'

'You sure you don't want anything to drink?' you say, deciding to see if you can find out more about them. 'You're in a pub after all, and we've got some good stuff.'

'I'm good.' he says again, more firmly, indicating you don't have to ask again.

'Alright then.' you say. You turn to the taller boy again. 'I'll come back shortly, with your beer.'

'Thanks.' he says with a wink.

You smile at him and walk back to the bar. You notice your coworker was a little too late to subtly look away.

'What were you talking about?' she asks.

'What they want to drink.' you simply say, reaching out to take a beer and open it.

'And?' she presses on.

'And that's it. The other one didn't want anything to drink.' you say.

'Why's he dressed like that?' she says.

You shrug. 'Tell me the answer when you ask him.' you say.

You walk back to the two and notice how they quickly cut off their conversation. With a smile, you set the beer down in front of the tall boy.

'There you go.' you say. 'Enjoy.'

He thanks you, and you turn to the dark-haired boy again.

'Are you sure I can't get you something?' you say.

He briefly shakes his head. You turn back to the taller boy again. Apparently, he's the talkative one.

'So, you're a gambler?' you say to him.

'I can't say no to a game of cards every now and then.' he says.

Before you can ask him another question, the other boy speaks up again.

'Jesper, cut the small talk.' he says.

So the taller one was called Jesper, that's at least a start.

The tall one, Jesper, looks offended. 'I can have a conversation, Kaz, relax.' he says. He turns back to you. 'You a gambler?' he says.

You shake your head. 'I never really understood it. And I haven't gotten a chance to go to one of the gambling halls yet.' you say.

'You should tag along some time, I can teach you the basics.' says Jesper.

'That would be amazing.' you say, surprised at how easy it is to get Jesper to engage in a conversation. You wonder what else you can learn about him.

Unfortunately, a large group of tourists enter the pub, loudly telling you to come and take their orders. You don't bother to hide the disgust and annoyance on your face.

'Looks like I'll have to pass. I'm working, after all.' you say. 'Let me know if I can get you guys anything else.'

'You got it.' says Jesper as you walk over to the large group of tourists.

Of all the people that stopped by for a drink, you loathed tourists the most. They always seemed to think that if they were in a different country, basic rules about human decency didn't apply.

They're loudly shouting their orders at you and as you walk back to the bar to get their drinks, you can feel their eyes on you. No doubt they were talking about you.

You bring them their drinks with a forced smile, ignoring their horrible flirting. The second you turn your back on them, you let your smile disappear. You then catch Jesper's eye, who had been looking at your encounter with the tourists.

'Tourists are all the same.' you say as you walk up to him to retrieve his empty beer glass.

'They look nice.' he tries.

'They're assholes.' you say. 'Every tourist that comes in here thinks because I'm a bartender they can shamelessly flirt with me and pull me closer. But they give excellent tips, so I can't really complain.'

'If you don't like serving them, why not get a different job?' asks Jesper.

'Because I need the money.' you say. 'Don't really have a lot of choice. Can I get you anything else?'

'Another beer, please.' he says.

'Jesper.' says the other boy.

You turn to look at him, you almost forgot he was there. Jesper had taken off his coat, but Kaz was still wearing his long black coat and gloves.

'No more drinks, I need you sober for this.' says Kaz.

'Okay, dad.' says Jesper. 'He never lets me do anything fun.' he then whispers to you, loud enough for Kaz to hear.

'I'll leave you two to it, then.' you say.

You walk away from their table to clean a table of a couple who just left the bar. Normally, you'd do a quick sweep and head back to serving customers.

But something about Jesper and Kaz has gotten your attention. Jesper seems like a cheerful, fun person to be around. Kaz, on the other hand, looks like he hasn't smiled in his entire life. You wondered why they would go to a pub together.

You take out a piece of cloth and start to slowly clean the table, but focusing on Jesper and Kaz behind you. They're talking in such hushed voices, you're having a hard time understanding them.

But you do manage to hear a few sentences of their conversation.

'We enter as guards, Nina, Matthias and Inej go in disguised as party guests.' says Kaz in a low voice.

'Why can't I be a party guest as well?' says Jesper.

'Because we can't afford you to drink and flirt, we need to to confirm that diamond necklace is the real thing.' says Kaz. 'So we move quickly and don't attract too much attention.'

'Fine.' says Jesper. 'But next time we're crashing a merchant's party, I get to be one of the party guests as well. I want to have a good time.'

You quickly straighten your back and walk past them, back to the bar. You didn't want to give them the idea you'd been listening to their conversation.

So they were planning on robbing some rich woman who owned a diamond necklace. And Jesper would be the one to confirm the diamonds are real. Only Grisha could do that. And there were more on their crew, at least three more. If you could figure out what party they had been talking about, you could try and get in as well.

As you're standing behind the bar, talking to one of your coworkers, you see Jesper and Kaz get up. While standing in the doorway, Jesper waves happily at you. Kaz is already out of the pub.

You smile and wave back at him.

If only he knew that in just a few minutes, you had discovered they'd steal a priceless necklace, and that they were gang members. Because who else would dare to steal a necklace someone would be wearing at a crowded party?

Only gangs would be bold enough to do something like that. You didn't know what gang they were part of, but that wasn't the kind of information you need to acquire. Right now, all you had to do was find out where and when the party was being held.

You could be quicker than them, and snatch the diamonds away from them. You could buy yourself a nice new set of knives, or rent a bigger room.

Either way, you were going to get a lot of money.

A/N: If you want to request something, make sure to read my house rules Here’s the list of characters I write for. Everything that I have written can be found on my masterlist. Please don’t repost my work, as I spend much time and effort on it!! Thank you for reading! Much love, Marit

[harveywritings92]

BNHA vampire soulmate scenario: When you first saw them.

 The first time you saw him, he was feeding off someone.

TWs: Blood, death stalking and attempted assault.

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

Mr. Compress: {Your Quirk: Card capture: it's similar to Mr. Compress's quirk but you can entrap people and objects in cards by manifesting these clear glass like cards that slip out from your wrist, you can use them as throwing weapons too as they're very sharp, the only drawback is that you can get severely dehydrated if you overuse it.]

You were walking home late from work just hungry and physically done! today was crap show! first you missed the train then half way to work you forgot you realized you forgot your lunch!, Your boss (who's usually pretty chill) for whatever reason decided he hated your guts today and yelled at you in front of everyone! and to rub salt on the wound you spilt hot coffee all over yourself! so now you arms and chest have burns on them that were itchy as hell! you just wanted to crawl into bed, and forget about this day. 

You decided to cut through the park when you saw a odd pair, a man in a yellow trench coat and top-hat and mask which was pushed to the side kissing a woman in sundress under a streetlight. "huh, how sweet." you sighed exasperated before continuing on you way, when you noticed foot steps coming out behind you, you cautiously reached into your coat for one of your cards... you knew it wasn't the man in the top hat as you did a quick glance over your shoulder he was still  'occupied' you could smell stale alcohol in the air remembering the beware of mugger sign at the park entrance and figured out what was going on when the person was in grabbing range.

You whirled around grabbing your would be assailants arm forcing it up and pulling him towards you, you hissed  felt a sting on your cheek as your free hand slammed your card into his chest "release!" you barked as a powerful cyclone burst from the card sending the man flying off his feet *Thank-you Anko-san* you mentally cheer happy that your friend had a wind-quirk and let you capture it's effects in a card; said card then shattered as it was a one-shot use like all your offense cards. 

The man wheezed as he was thrown to ground next to the "couple". while you took off running! not seeing Top-hat pull away from his lady friend and sniff the air. 

Atsuhiro dropped the woman he was feeding on she slid limply to the ground as he readjusted his mask and followed that delicious scent and found a bloody knife on the ground *Could it be?!* his heart was beating abnormally faster as picked it up and sniffed it he lifted his mask up and licked the blood off the knife, Atsunhiro almost felt alive again as the sweet taste of his mate's blood touch his tongue... 

He was so elated his mask was blushing! (cos anime logic!) "My Darling❣~" he purred in pure ecstasy, but soon his euphoria was cut short when he heard the man who attempted to rob you on the ground cough, the vampiric ex-magician turned in his direction, he could smell this uncultured brutes scent all over the knife mixing his mates. 

Atsuhiro's primal urges were screaming at him to kill the man for harming his mate, however the ex-showman had something else in mind... The next morning you were watching the news on your laptop seeing the mugger at the park last night had been caught, and was being charged with murder for another woman. You felt your stomach churn as the photo of the woman who you saw making out with the top-hat man flashed on screen. 

Than you felt a a chill go down your back!

You nervously looked away from your screen and scanned around the nearly empty café, there's was only you, an elderly couple wearing matching tracksuits enjoying some tea and having a conversation, a tired and obviously hungover mother and her two rowdy kids having breakfast, and lastly a man with black hair and copper eyes wearing a yellow casual suit and gray news boy cap reading a book.

You squint at the title....The magicians nephew, you frowned letting out a small hum; swearing you felt someone's eyes on you, thinking you were just paranoid from last night... you unconsciously traced the healing cut on your cheek and went back to you doing your work, not seeing the copper eyes of Atsuhiro watching you from behind his book with a knowing smirk.

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

Dabi: You were walking home drunk to hell as your friends kept you out at the bars until 3am, you decided to take a detour home to get a late night snack/early breakfast at the 7/11 a few blocks from your place, as you were walking to the store you spied what looked a couple making out against the dumpster a few feet a ways, even in your drunken state you couldn't help but scrunched up your nose the sight. "at least take her to cheap motel buddy, jeez..." you muttered the man in the black hood growled back in retort as you entered the store.

While in the shop you frowned seeing you favorite snack was out of stock. "D-dammit." you huffed and looked around before spotting the clerk who was unpacking some packs of ramen. "Hey d'ya got any f/snack left?" you asked trying to keep from slurring your words. "Yeah there should be some packs over by the-" the clerk went to point but forgot they were holding a box cutter and accidentally jabbed you in the leg just under your knee. "Oh my gosh I'm so sorry!" the clerk gasped while you tried waving them off, it was just an accident, but if it made them feel better you bought some band-aids and disinfectant along with your food the clerk felt soo bad they gave you discount and with that you walked out in to the night....

When you got out your leg was still bleeding it didn't really bother you as you too tipsy to care, besides it's just a tiny cut, as you were leaving you noticed the "couple" still going at it, however now it felt kind of off... and that's when you noticed the man in the black hood stiffen... you stomach felt like it was full of rocks as you watched him slowly turn to face you.

Dabi was busy draining this dumb bimbo who followed him out of the bar after he told her to piss off, but seeing as he hadn't fed on fresh human blood in months, (he was drinking blood-packs of pig's blood.) he decided screw it, she'll know the consequences her actions that is if he doesn't suck her dry.. "at least take her to cheap motel buddy, jeez..." a drunk woman muttered as she passed them Dabi let out a frustrated growl at that jab yet another reason he hates feeding in public, about ten minutes later the vampire's attention was suddenly pulled away from his dinner when a sweet enticing scent invaded his nose. 

Dabi's eyes snapped open his senses were on fire as his inner monster snarled *mine.....mine...* his breathing became labored as he turned away from the woman's neck; her blood dripping down his chin as he turned to look over his shoulder, saw a [y/ht-wt] woman with [y/hc] and starring at him in shock, his eyes drifted down and saw the blood dribbling down her leg, he let go of the woman he was feeding on, she let out a weak wheeze as she fell limply to the ground not that he cared, Dabi took a step towards his mate reaching out to her, only for the woman to snap out of her shock and run....

Leaving the vampire standing there in an almost trance like state, before he looked inside the store could smell faint traces of her blood in the air and saw the clerk washing the bloody box cutter; A guttural growl escaped Dabi's throat as he approached the door. 

The poor oblivious clerk didn't know what was coming as the door chimed telling them a customer had entered the store... "Welcome!" they greeted cheerfully. from an outside point of view there was hot flash of blue from inside the 7/11 followed by the store fire alarms going off.

The next morning you were hiding under your blanket hugging your knees your whole body was shaking while you were watching the news... there was a fire at the 7/11, the clerk was killed their remains were so badly burnt they were carbonized...

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

Bakugou: You had just started working for his agency as a secretary and were working on late paperwork one of your coworkers pushed on you so they could go on a date, you grumbled as you made your way to the elevator to drop the files off on Bakugou's desk, and were stunned to find the top floor was pitch black! you were trying the navigate in the darkness by feeling desk, when your hand brushed up against a pair of scissors someone left out you hissed feeling them cut your palm, you could feel the blood dripping down you hand and decided screw this! you were going to leave the papers on the desk outside of the boss's office for him to find in the morning, when you noticed the door was open a crack. 

You could hear deep breathing, a woman gasping and grunts, your cheeks felt hot as you though Bakugou was getting frisky with one of his fans. *I never took him for that sort...* you were just going to pretend you didn't hear anything and walk away, but curiosity got the best of you, and with careful steps you crept toward the door and peeked in, and felt you stomach drop when you realized what was going on was not a wham-bam thank you ma'am situation, you threw your hand over your mouth when you saw Bakugou eyes glowing red had his fangs sunk into this woman's neck draining her of blood! Scared you were about to quietly back away from the door when you saw the blond blink pull away from the unconscious woman, sniff the air and... you ran before he could even turn his in the direction of the door, and made it on to the elevator just as a shock of blond hair rounded the corner.

The next morning Bakugou was on edge as he recalled the events last night, one minute he's feeding off some pushy fan-girl and the next, his senses were taken over by this amazing smell it was so enticing he forgot about his hunger and overwhelmed by the insistent need of find it's source... as Katsuki turned his attention to the door he saw someone dash and and he gave chase just in time to get a split second glimpse of a woman with {y/hc} before the elevator doors closed.  

{later after he sent that fan home via cab) 

Bakugou inspected his office and found a blood trail leading from random sidekick's towards his office the couple hurried drops towards the elevator, he curiously swiped his finger threw the blood on the desk where the trail began, licked it a content rumble left his throat, his inner monster purred. *Mate...mine* however that euphoric feeling he felt had soon soon worn off into frustration as the next morning rolled around he had been in the agency all day, and no one who came in today had that scent on them! 

The blond was pissed and ready to rip someone's head off, when he overheard two of his employees talking. "Hey where’s Y/n? I have to thank her for staying back and doing my extra work last night." the other employee shrugged. "She said she hurt her hand last night and was staying home." Neither had noticed the explosive blond who immediately went to his office and pulled your file out for your address, and he here was standing on your front porch, sniffing the air as a cocky smirk graced Katsuki's lips breathing in that sweet scent from last night. "Found you..." he purred. 

[paper-n-ashes]

New Endeavours

Characters: Modern AU!Kylo Ren x Female Reader

Words: 2k

Warnings/Tags: Explicit (18+), Sugar daddy relationship, sexual references but no actual smut, bisexual vibes, attending a strip club.

Author’s Note: This is all because of my love, @maryforyou. An AU venture she ignited and I couldn’t let go of. Read into this however you want, I’m an open book in terms of exploring sexuality without labels. Being the first AU I’ve ever attempted, I kept this as an intro, to hopefully dive into the more explicit content I’ve been ruminating on for too long as a Part 2 (depending on how this is received).

*

“Are you sure this what you want?”

You smiled sweetly, smoothing out the creases in your dress as Kylo handed you your coat and gloves. “Like I said every day this week, I’m very sure.”

He still appeared doubtful, plush lips twisted in a disbelieving frown. “I could give you anything your heart desires for your birthday, princess,” he urged, helping you to secure the top buttons of your waistcoat, his large frame shifting close to yours. “This barely seems like enough of a gift for such a special occasion.”

Kylo was used to showering you with physical symbols of his adoration in the 18 months you had known him. The man had more money than he knew what to do with, lavishing all types of jewellery and clothing on you, some of the pieces you were certain cost more than your tiny apartment in the outskirts of the city. Every time you tried to refuse the extravagant gifts, Kylo always replied with sweetened notions of needing to worship and adore the personified goddess he saw you as. And when spoken in his infuriatingly mesmerising tenor, they would quickly conquer your resistance.

You were acutely aware of what this looked like from an outside perspective. A wealthy older man courting a young woman over 10 years his junior. Bathing her head to toe in the finest attire, parading her around in places a woman of her standing wouldn’t have been able to afford in two lifetimes.

A label came with this kind of behaviour. One you didn’t particularly like, yet was still true.

Sugar daddy.

There wasn’t a way you could deny that’s how your association with Kylo begun.

You’d heard whispers of other girls at the college you went to doing it. Offering their bodies to the affluent men of this city. At first, you’d scoffed at the idea. But when that third overdue notice of your credit card debt came, with the threat of eviction hanging over your head, you didn’t really have much choice.

A name was given to you of a bar that specialised in these kinds of meetings, completely covertly of course. And there Kylo had found you, hiding away in a secluded corner, stirring the gin and tonic in front of you with a single finger. At first, you’d assumed he was a well-dressed bartender, seemingly too young and strikingly handsome to be in need of a place like this. So you smiled sweetly and told him you weren’t quite done with your drink.

Within such an innocent interaction, Kylo knew he had to have you. And he did, 45 minutes later in the poorly lit bathroom stall, half-dressed bodies clutched together as he had you perch on the porcelain sink, fucking you with an uncharacteristically reckless abandon.

He hadn’t intended to. He hadn’t been entirely sure what he anticipated from that evening, the recommendation being given to him from a higher executive who regularly partook in the questionable operations of this establishment. Kylo meant only to scope the place out, sit for a quiet solitary drink out of the way of other patrons. There, he’d discovered you.

Shrinking into your stool, somewhat inhibited, clearly out of your element. The shy smile that spread across your face after he murmured a stiff hello ensnared him in moments, simply for how sincere it was. He wasn’t used to that.

Another thing Kylo wasn’t used to was the type of electricity that followed in your conversation. Rarely had he experienced an exchange that was so charged yet… genuine. You didn’t appear expectant, didn’t care to know how much money he made or the status of his career. You simply wanted to talk.

It was interesting how this fuelled an urge to make you speechless, to have you resorting to whines and whimpers rather than articulate your thoughts with any words. He didn’t act on them. Content to bide his time, play his cards right, set a precedence of composure and restraint in the hope of securing another meeting. You, however, had never cultivated the same type of discipline Kylo had.

After too many long minutes of flirtatious banter, you leaned forward, mouthing in a hushed tone, asking him to meet you in the women’s bathroom.

The chance encounter had bound you for longer than predicted.

Although never explicitly stated, the two of you fulfilled a portion of each other’s needs. Kylo required adequate distraction from his corporate life, someone who could slip into his erratic schedule with ease to… relieve him of mounting tension. In return, he provided you the monetary means to live in the city of your dreams without constant fear of homelessness.

In the months that passed, your arrangement turned into something stable, secure. His presence a constant in your life. While his working hours were long and finishing times unpredictable, Kylo could always count on you to be summoned to him from a single text message. Be it in the middle of the day, or the early hours of morning, you would race to a place of his choosing. Sometimes at his lush apartment, sometimes his office, and a plethora of restaurant bathrooms across the city after particularly stressful business lunches.

Initially, your involvement was kept mostly out of public view. Kylo had wanted to protect you from the judgements and negative connotations that were unavoidable in the arena of his work. Around the year mark, these reservations about being seen with you seemed to dissipate. Soon you were linked hand in hand at countless high-class dinners and charity events. A poised and elegant couple, right until the last set of eyes moved away.

This is where you had your fun.

As spectacular as Kylo was at fucking you until you saw stars, he’d surprisingly gone this long in life without venturing into more creative territory when it came to satisfaction. His version of sex was fast and hard, needing as much as you as he could get, chasing release with no frills or diversion. He’d never had the time, or the right lover, to encourage any of his deeply hidden fantasies. Until you.

You were game for anything. Sexually adventurous. Ready and willing to try all there was on offer just to elicit the highest levels of ecstasy. It was difficult not to be at the thought of Kylo’s hands, his mouth, his tongue, any part of him.

Although a little more slowly, he began to welcome new experiences, new pursuits of pleasure. Witnessing your reactions to these efforts became somewhat of an addiction for him. The way you writhed and squealed when exploring anal play for the first time. The way you surrendered and adored his verbal degradation and physical strikes. The way your body twitched and spasmed after the use of a newly obtained toy purchased with his platinum credit card.

You never pushed him, or forced him into anything he found uncomfortable in the chase of a sexual high. Communication was paramount, and boundaries were respected.

Interestingly enough, tonight was a boundary he never thought you’d cross.

“This is what I asked for, remember?” you smiled, taking the opportunity to press a gentle kiss to his nose.

Kylo’s apprehension refused to dissipate, while still clutching you closer. “It just… seems like this is something I will enjoy more than you.”

You barely withheld the urge to roll your eyes. “You’re sure about that, are you?”

His eyebrows crinkled, thinking the question over. There was the hint of a smirk that tugged the corner of his mouth, a subtle excited quiver in the breath he exhaled. “So you’re not doing this for me?”

“Not at all,” you breathed. Your palm slipped under his clean-shaven jaw, skating a thumb reassuringly over his cheek. “I’ve wanted to do this for a long time.”

“You have?”

You hummed a yes, drifting your lips intoxicatingly close to his, staring up with wide eyes.

Kylo’s mouth twisted slightly. “I wouldn’t want you to feel jealous, princess.”

“You’re only looking,” you insisted softly. “And, even if you touch a little…” You bit your lip at the thought. “Those women won’t be who gets to be taken home and fucked until it hurts.”

There was a noticeable tensing in the arms circled around you, as Kylo’s eyes began to burn with an impatient greed. “I could do that now, right against this door.”

It was difficult to deny how you’d happily allow him to make true on that statement. To slam you into the exquisitely carved oak door of his apartment and fill you to your absolute limit. However, the tantalising image of your planned evening was too consuming, heaving and tugging for you to indulge a deeply embedded desire you’d never been brave enough to pursue.

“Save it for when we get home,” you chirped, reaching for the doorhandle and dragging Kylo into the hallway.

 *

“Follow me,” the maître D instructed, her voice cheerfully welcoming. Even the sight of her silken, green dress was intimidating, the fabric glossing over her nimble shape as she guided you up the set of stairs. The lighting was low, almost too dark to see properly, Kylo’s grip strong as your steps were drowned out by the sultry music emanating behind the double doors at the apex. As they were opened to you, the hypnotic baseline ricocheted around your body.

You scanned around the large room, bold lights illuminating a risen stage with two currently unused silver poles at either corner. Plush chairs circled around, occupied by a differing array of men. Slinking between the patrons were women decorated with luxurious, high-end lingerie, each one styled and set to provoke unyielding temptation.

This was a completely new undertaking for you. Attending a strip club. Usually a male endeavour, seeking out instant gratification in the form of scantily clad bodies and paid attention. You knew this was an unusual request for a birthday outing, yet in truth there was nothing from Kylo you wanted more.

The two reasons were somewhat opposing, although they would still feed the same goal. Satisfying a craving.

One being that you had always found women to be alluring and captivating to a height you’d never really accepted, almost been afraid of. Only with time and maturity had you learned your attraction to them was a natural occurrence you were now ready to explore.

The other reason was a little more scandalous, and what you hadn’t quite articulated to Kylo yet. To have the view of his eyes roaming another woman’s almost naked body as she exposed herself to him, drove you wild. In a situation you should feel jealousy, you were only devoured by an uncontainable lust.

Occasionally your mind had forayed into imaginations where he would take another like he’d taken you countless times, able to watch his hands clawing at supple breasts, the smooth motion of his hips, how his thick cock would split a tight, dripping cunt in two. All the while he would deride and goad you, layering you with taunts, desperate to inflame your envy and ownership.

Your plan for this particular evening didn’t extend that far. You only wished to enjoy the performance of mesmeric women in their most enchanting form, observe Kylo’s undeniable arousal at the same lithe, flexible bodies, and return home to remind him that only you could ignite the billowing flames of a violent release.

Oh, but that plan crumbled when you’d each settled into your seats, just in time for the next show of seduction. A pair of glittered, platform heels slinked near to the pole closest to you, your vision roaming upwards over the statuesque figure they connected to. Delicately laced, ivory fabric shielded her most intimate portions from full view, conforming flawlessly to the curves of her figure. Somehow demure yet indecently sensual.

Lips parted, your breath hitched as the exquisite woman twirled around, her eyes trained to you as she let a wicked smile appear. You were sure this was a regular occurrence, a flirtation she expressed to all the patrons in this room. Yet, as she began to move in time with the decadent beat of the music, her eyes stayed transfixed to you marvelling stare.

In an unprecedented display of courage, you beckoned Kylo closer to you, whispering to his ear. “Her. That’s what I really want for my birthday.”

*To be continued*

Let me know if you don’t want to be tagged in future works! 

@tlcwrites @roanniom @maryforyou @mariesackler @sacklerscumrag @barbers-glimmerin-darlin @finn-ray-nal-beads @mylifeisactuallyamess @hopeamarsu @foxilayde @goddesstonythetiger @caillea @direnightshade @blackberries45 

[pi-cat000]

BNHA: Kakashi dimension hops crossover (2)

Summary: Kakashi gets dumbed into the My Hero Academia universe through random plot devise.

Characters:  Kakashi Hatake

Fandoms: My Hero Academia and Naruto

WARNINGS: Mentions of violence/injury

... PREV / NEXT

...

Life in his hospital bed passes slowly while he waits for his chakra to replenish. Always a sluggish process for Kakashi. With nothing to do, nowhere to go and a significant lack of motivation to find either, there is a lot of time to think. Too much time. With what was shaping up to be the fourth great shinobi war, there was no time for reflection or resting. To suddenly have this much downtime thrust upon him is throwing him through a loop. And he doesn’t even have his periodic trips to the memorial as a distraction. If only Sakura could see him now, resting and recuperating like a good injured shinobi.

Doctor Wada, the ever-attentive physician, returns a few more times to ask more questions and offer more reassurances. He seems set on his theory that Kakashi’s yet to be properly identified quirk was the cause of his memory problems. Kakashi runs through a sweet of memory and vision tests. A baseline for later testing when his eye is healed he is told.

“The police have a few questions regarding your situation. With your permission, they would like to conduct an interview,” says Wada on Kakashi’s third day of being officially awake, “Of course, as your doctor, I have the final say in the matter so if you would rather wait just say the word.”

Kakashi gives another bland smile, “Ah, you are too kind.” Police…as in, an authority the dealt with civilian conflict? “I think I’ll answer their questions. Wouldn’t want to stall an investigation.”

He had been wondering when or if he would be investigated. How similar would it be to Kohoha’s internal police force?

“Humph. If you think you’re ready for it.”

He maintains his smile. It was as good an opportunity as any to continue gathering information with the bonus of breaking up the monotony of waiting in a hospital bed for his injuries to heal. Doctor Wada spends the rest of the check-up muttering about pushy police officers and how underappreciated his medical opinion was.

..

The two men that come to question him are wearing matching uniforms which are very telling of the sort of organisation they belong to. White and dark blue. Not made to camouflage or reinforce. Restrictive seaming around the arms, preventing any extreme movement. Their shoes are sturdy but inflexible with heavy soles. Manurable but not designed for any excessive combat. Not a uniform you would give a force intended to physically subdue threats. Whereas Konoha’s police force was comprised mainly of genin and chunin, these men were closer to civilians in pure physical ability. Ah, but he is beginning to suspect that this was the norm here. The people here were softer in a way that was hard to define. 

Kakashi watches them approach, seated upright in his bed, hands resting loose in his lap, aiming it create an impression harmlessness. One good thing to have come from agreeing to this interview was getting his own private hospital room. Now there was no one around to raise an alarm if something went wrong and he was forced to act.

“Good morning,” The older one of the two starts, politely dipping his head, “Kakashi was it?”

“Hmm,” he smiles, “Morning.” There is a pause like they are waiting for him to give his last name. He doesn’t.  

“Well,” The man clears his throat, “I am officer Takata Toyokazu, currently in charge of investigating the circumstances surrounding the assault on your person.” An ID card, very similar to Konoha’s own ID cards is presented, “This is my partner. We’re from Hosu’s Central Police and we have a few questions if you don’t mind answering them for us.”

“Ah,” Kakashi eyes the ID, lamenting the fact that his sharingan is covered under a swatch of bandages and thus inaccessible without obvious movement, “I am afraid my memory just isn’t all there. Apologies in advance if my responses are lacking.”

He lets a little humour leak into his tone. It was time to do a little prodding and gauged how this place's ‘police’ conducted their investigations.

“Yes. We were informed about your memory problems.” The two share an obvious glance and there is a definite note of scepticism there. “Nevertheless, any information would be appreciated.”

“Of course.”  He easily agrees, shrugging, projecting an air of casual nonchalance.

Takata blinks “Right,” and Kakashi can practically see his brain stalling, “Well, you were found on the corner of First and Eleventh street in Hosu’s Central Business District. Would you say this is accurate?”

Kakashi thinks for an exaggerated moment, “I do remember a lot of people. I think someone called for help?”

“You were picked up in an ambulance yes. Do you remember what happened before that?”

“Hmm, I was attacked…there were a lot of trees.” He nods like he has just delivered a useful bit of intel.

“Trees?” Is the deadpan response.

“You know…tall plants with leaves and a….”

“We know what trees are. So, you were in a place with a lot of trees before you were in Hosu’s business district.”

“Probably.”

“A park maybe? There are a few around Hosu. Do remember anything else. Distinctive landmarks?”

“Ah,” he waits for a beat, “No.”

Kakashi is the subject of a disbelieving squint. “No names. Streets. Nearby locations?”

“Nope. All gone.” He says cheerfully and Takata’s brow twitches into an irritated frown.

“You were admitted with multiple stab wounds. Do you remember how you got them?”

He shrugs, “A knife probably.”

“Well, do you remember anything about who was holding the knife?”

“OH!” The two men startle at this sudden exclamation, “It was a man.”

There are a few seconds of silence. “What did the man look like?”

“I don’t remember that bit.”

This time he gets a very obvious frown. Apparently, realising that the current line of questioning is getting them nowhere, the officer motions to his partner and is handed a large envelope. After some shuffling around, a paper file is produced and flipped upright in Kakashi’s direction. It is a photograph of kunai, shuriken, senbon, razor wire and assortment of other weaponry he carried around on his person. He had wondered what the hospital had done with his stuff.

“These are the weapons found on your person when you were admitted to hospital. All confiscated. It’s illegal to carry these sorts of thrown weapons and knives in Japan.”

He scans the photo with interest. The image has his weaponry all laid out in neat lines.

“Really?” He is not even faking his curiosity this time. No one carried around any weapons at all? That wasn’t just a trend limited to the hospital? 

“Yes.” Comes the short response, “what were you using them for.”

“Oh, I don’t remember,” he says gleefully, “How scary.” And gets another round of scowls. After doggedly refusing to give more than vague answers and misdirection, the two increasingly frustrated men prepare to leave.

“If you do remember anything, please call.” A small paper card displaying a string of numbers is presented to him. “You’ll have to come down to the station and give an official statement once the hospital clears you as well so don’t forget. We’ll  get in contact if any arrests are made regarding the perpetrator.”

Kakashi knows enough about investigations to recognise that one, the two standing next to his bed were searching for some specific information and had found Kakashi’s responses lacking, and two, they had no idea who Kakashi was and knew even less about how he might have gotten here.

In the end, they just leave. No threats. No mind games. No attempts to arrest or move him to a secure location for further questioning. Nothing. Kakashi follows after the pair, pausing behind his door to listen to the two talk just outside his room. Officer Takata is obviously angry going of his slightly uneven breathing.

“That was a waste of time,” he grumbles.

“Do you think he was lying?”

“Oh, that smiley bastard definitely knows something more than he is letting on. Tch. Memory problems my ass…”

The is a pause before the younger man asks, “still think it’s connected to that Hero Killer sighting from a few days ago?”

“If he is telling the truth then no. The stabbing lines up with the Hero Killer’s MO but the target is all wrong. There is no Kakaski with a ‘sharingan’ quirk listed on the Registry or as any Hero, Sidekick or Hero agency employee. If he did have a run-in with the Hero Killer, it wasn’t targeted. Probably annoyed the guy into stabbing him if anything.”

There is the sound of footsteps as the two men begin to retreat down the hall.

“A dead-end then.”

“Yeah, looks like it.”

“What a shame. I thought for sure, what with the extent of the injuries, that this was a Hero Killer case. Perhaps it was another Villain? Or a vigilante maybe?”

“Who though? Hosu doesn’t have any active Vigilantes or big-name Villains. Not ones who go around stabbing people to that extent. You saw the hospital report. The man was seconds away from bleeding out and that head wound was obviously aimed at disabling his quirk.”

“Tch. Without any leads, we have nothing to go on. And if Kakashi is a Villain or criminal himself, there’s no evidence and nothing we can pin him with other than a fine for carrying banned weaponry.”

The voices grow fainter as the two walk further away from his room. They seemed suspicious but not overly concerned with Kakashi’s lies so it is not a huge surprise that nothing came of the interview. Despite their obvious irritation, their response had been ones of mild annoyance and moderate distrust. If either of them had had a kekkei genkai it hadn’t been used. Perhaps, their abilities weren’t suited to interrogation. Kakashi had been obtuse enough that surely, they would have been tempted if it were a possibility. It does conform to a general trend in which people underestimate his threat level, treating him  like a civilian. It was probably for the best.

Kakashi returns to his bed and stares at the paper card with the numbers. Obviously, they expected him to know what to do with it. Something to do with communication. Probably related to the small plastic devices nearly everyone in the building carried and spoke into on occasion. A radio of some sort. He had seen a few with numbers running across them. 

From the exchange, he has a few more points to consider and mull over. Villain. Hero. Vigilante. He knows these terms, has heard people in his ward mention them before and knows they are important in some way.

…

Having a new room meant he needed to relearn everyone’s schedules.  While doing so, he finally pinpoints why the people here feel so off. They lacked a level of…weariness…vigilance…that was both hard to describe and hard to notice until it wasn’t there anymore. Kakashi eyes the young nurse as she enters his room yawning, fixing her hair up as she walks, talking over her shoulder at someone behind her.

He had always thought the civilians of Kohoha lived free from most trouble. Not completely relaxed but still having a calm enough life. Well, calm when the village wasn’t being invaded. Now, he is revaluating that opinion.  When compared with these people, Kohoha civilians were stiff, suspicious, almost paranoid. Konoha’s people had hardiness to them, a useful trait when living in a Hidden-Village. They were especially wearily when it came to interacting with shinobi no matter how banally and harmless the shinobi acted. It was an attitude to be expected when there was a very real chance of deadly injury should the shinobi be unfriendly or unstable. A very real possibility with all the war and ever-present threat of enemy invasion and chakra monster attacks.  

Or maybe that was just his own experience as he never really interacted with many civilians and he his reputation wasn’t great.

“Hello Kakashi, how are you this evening,” The nurse greets him with a relaxed grin. He gives his bland smile and watches as she checks the various medical apparatus around Kakashi’s bed.

“I talked to the ward supervisor about your television. It should be working now.”

“Is it?”

Kakashi knows what a television is…they had a few of them in T&I, used for surveillance, and for a few more for monitoring remote training grounds like 44’s Forest of Death.

“Here is the remote. There are quite a lot of channels so now you’ll have something to keep you entertained.” He stares at the metallic rectangle object. He thinks that there might be a cultural difference between his understanding of a television and the nurse’s because watching an interrogation was never something he found particularly entertaining.

“Maybe it will help jog your memory as well.” The nurse gives him an encouraging smile before returning to her work.

Kakashi examines the object, bemused, “Ah, thank you Ms.”

“My name is Iori Ie I handle this ward on weekday evenings. I’ll be happy to answer any other questions if you have any. Anything to make this transition process easier.” She is sincere in her next assurance, “Just you wait, by the time your injuries are healed, we’ll have you right back up to speed.”

Television is…interesting and somewhat baffling. It’s not that Kakashi hasn’t seen examples of this sort of technology before now, it is just the availability and use he finds strange. Whereas a sensible village might hoard any new technology of its own use, here it is distributed and shared without limit. There was one of these things in every patent’s room! The same went for the information it communicated. Information so undervalued there was almost too much of it. Kakashi gives up trying to make sense of anything a few days into gaining access to the television and its hundreds of ‘channels,’ pumping out a constant stream of information. Some of it was obviously fictional, movies, entertainment, but most of the time it was hard to tell if what he was looking at was staged or if he was misreading a cultural difference. There were ‘channels’ devoted to daily status updates, delivering ‘news’ on everything from the weather, local politics, villain attacks, general crime and everything in between.

One thing he does confirm is that he is nowhere near any hidden villages or even on the continent, maybe not even in the correct world. This place was separate. This village or city as it was called, consisted of millions in a country of billions. There were more people in ‘Hosu’ than there were in the whole Fire Country. A logistics nightmare for sure. No wonder security was so lax around the hospital. Kakashi shakes his head and ends up switching off the television. Never would he have thought that having too much intel could be a bad thing.

“Ms Iori how would I go about getting something to read,” he asks the next day. She seems to be genuinely happy about his sudden sudden request. Kakashi hasn’t spoken or interacted much since waking, to busy trying to gauge whether the people surrounding him were threats.

He ends up with a pile of old manga volumes detailing the heroic adventures of some up and coming Hero protagonist and a stack of thin ‘magazines’ belonging to the nurse’s grown up son. The magazines are full of Hero analysis, speculation, and rumour like some sort of super detailed self-defeating bingo-book.  He just…doesn’t understand why anyone would let this sort of information circulate.

At least now he has a better idea about what a Hero and Villain was. A Hero was this word’s shinobi equivalent- if shinobi went out of their way to draw attention to themselves- acting more like a police force in that they managed threats to civilians instead of taking commissions and repelling external threats. Actually, they were nothing like Shinobi apart from their use of blood line abilities in combat. A Villain was like a missing-nin, hiding among the ridiculously large civilian population…sort of…

He needs to start working on a way home because he definitely doesn't understand this world.

...

NOTE: When Kakashi discovers the internet his brain will explode. 

PREV / NEXT

[eminems-skittles]

family game night [spencer reid x reader]

spencer reid x fem!reader warnings: mentions of alcohol word count: 2k

☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ:⠀ *⋆.*:･ﾟ .: ⋆*･ﾟ: .⋆

"Who's in for a party at Rossi's house tonight?" Y/N said, cheerfully, as she walked into the BAU office. Her bright arrival caught the attention of her teammates, all of them looking up from the mountains of paperwork they were drowning in. Spencer shot a look up to where Hotch and Rossi's offices are.

"Does Rossi already know or are we just inviting ourselves over?" Spencer asked, eyes darting around the group, before looking at his girlfriend. "You know, it's proven that if you invite yourself over to someone's house, they're more likely to unfriend you than someone who invites you over."

"Rossi can't unfriend us, we're basically his children. And he's not going to mind. Are you forgetting I'm basically his favorite daughter?" Y/N said, raising her eyebrows at Spencer. Her claim that she was Rossi's favorite 'daughter' caught a certain brunette's attention.

"Um, excuse me, but I'm Rossi's favorite daughter," Emily scoffed. "I'm down for a party if someone else buys the booze. We should have a game night or a poker night?" Emily suggested,

"Uh no, I am not going to lose anymore money to pretty boy over there," Derek chimed in, his head popping up from behind the stack of folders on his desk. "And we all know that I'm his favorite daughter. Count me in for tonight." He said before pushing out of his chair, "I'll go ask Pen if she wants to go also."

"Alright, so it's all of us for sure. Emily can you ask JJ for me? I'll go ask Hotch, and then tell Rossi," Y/N said, before skipping up the stairs to Hotch's office. Emily nodded but Y/N's back was already turned to her.

"How does she have so much energy? It's 8 in the morning," Spencer questioned, marveling at his girlfriend skipping around the office in the early hours of the morning.

"She consumes the same amount of sugar you do just without the coffee," Emily replied, going back to her paper work, with a small smile on her face.

Y/N knocked on Hotch's slightly open office door. Hotch was hunched over a file when he looked up. "Y/L/N, come in."

"Hey Hotch!" She greeted him with a beaming smile. "All of us are planning on going to Rossi's for a game night tonight. If you could, you should totally swing by!"

"Does Rossi know about it?" Hotch questioned, a smirk settling on his face.

"Why does everyone keep asking me that? Of course he doesn't know about it yet. He'd never agree before hand." Y/N said, laughing lightly.

"I'll let you know if I can. Jack might be jealous that I'm hanging out with Aunt Y/N without him," Jack and Y/N spent a lot of time together, Y/N often volunteering to babysit Jack when Hotch had to work late.

"Tell him I'll take him to the movies tomorrow," Y/N added.

"Alright, Y/L/N, I'll go. Should I bring anything?" Hotch asked, his eyes scanning the paper on his desk.

"Emily doesn't want to buy the booze, but I think Rossi might have some. If you want to, you can pick up some beer or some wine. I think I am going to bring some snacks if I can stop at the store," Y/N explained, leaning against one of the chairs that faced Hotch's desk.

"I'll pick up a few cases of beer on the way over," Hotch said, smiling at the younger girl.

"Great! I'll text you what time. See ya, Hotch!," and before Hotch could say bye to Y/N, she was out of his office, her hair just barely catching his eye, as she quickly made her way to Rossi's office.

"Knock knock," Y/N said, knocking on Rossi's open door. He was sitting behind his desk, revising a piece of paperwork.

"Who is it?" Rossi said, a singsong tone in his voice, as he looked up at the Y/H/C agent in the doorway.

"Your favorite 'child'," Y/N said, using air quotes when she said child.

"Of course. What do you want this time? A key to my house?" Rossi said, a hint of sarcasm laced in his words.

"Oh that'd be awesome! Then I wouldn't have to ask you every time I wanted to throw a party at your house. Speaking of which," Rossi groaned, "the team wants to have a get together tonight since we have no cases this weekend. Can we have it at your house?" Y/N didn't even have to ask, she knew she didn't. He always said yes even if he put up a fight about it.

"You already told them it was at my house didn't you?" Rossi questioned the younger agent. He saw her as a daughter, just as he saw all of them as his children.

"Am I really that predictable? I did," Y/N said, her face lighting up with a smile. "Everyone is in, even Hotch."

"Okay, fine. But only if you set up and clean up," Rossi negotiated.

"Will you cook or should we order in?" Y/N asked, making a list of all the things she had to do before tonight, in her head.

"I'll cook. Go get your work done," Rossi said, shooing her out of the office.

She left his office and made her way back to her desk. Y/N pulled out her phone to text the BAU group chat,"Papa Pasta's Spaghetti Children", that Rossi had said yes to the party. Everyone agreed on 6 pm, before remarking on the title of the group chat, like they always did. The conversation ended with Emily saying she was the favorite 'daughter' and no one bothering to correct her.

—TIME SKIP—

Spencer and Y/N had arrived at Rossi's house at about 5:30. They had stopped at the store on the way over to Rossi's to pick up snacks and games for the game night.

Rossi was the first to show up, given it was his house. He started cooking the pasta he was making for everyone, opening a bottle of wine for Spencer and I. JJ and Emily were the next to arrive, each greeted with a glass of wine. We gathered around the island in the kitchen, chatting about our plans for the weekend. The next people to arrive were Penelope and Derek, Penelope claiming a glass of wine while Derek waited for Hotch to arrive with the beer. Ten minutes later, Hotch was walking through the front door with a case of beer in each hand. As Rossi made dinner, Y/N took out the first game of the night, Cards Against Humanity.

"Okay, the card is 'Honey, Mommy and Daddy love you very much. But apparently Mommy loves (blank) more than she loves daddy," Spencer said, a grimace settled on his face, clearing not excited to be judging this round. Everyone slammed their cards on the table, Y/N and Penelope barely able to contain their giggles. "Alright let's see what you guys put down. 'The Kool-Aid man.' 'The invisible hand.' 'Daddy Issues.' 'Chunks of a dead prostitute'" that card earned a chorus of groans and giggles from the group. "And last but certainly not least, 'Spontaneous Human Combustion.' Alright, let me think about this for a second," Spencer said, mulling over his options a little too seriously. "I think the winner of this one is 'Chunks of a dead prostitute.'" Hotch cheered, grabbing the black card. Everyone looked at him in shock.

The game continued until dinner was fully prepared. The team gathered in Rossi's dining room, digging into the meal Rossi made. Dinner went by relatively quickly with stories and laughs being shared. When everyone was finished, they moved into the living room, settling, more like squishing, onto the couch.

"Okay children, time for the surprise game of the night," Y/N said, pushing herself off the couch where she sat next to Spencer. She pulled a game out of a bag that was on the floor.

"You got us Mario Kart?!" Penelope all but shrieked. "When did you get that?"

"I got it a few days before the last case. Rossi mentioned something about having a Wii so I thought why not get us a game for it?" Y/N answered, handing Rossi the game to put into the DVD disc holder. He popped the disc into the Wii and handed four Wii remotes to Y/N. Y/N gave a remote to Penelope, Derek, Spencer, and JJ.

"Wait, I don't know how to play." Spencer said, kind of handing the remote back to Y/N.

"Penny, can you show him how to play? Last time I played was 10 years ago," Y/N asked, going to get a round of beers for everyone from the kitchen. When she came back, Penelope was showing Spencer how to play the game. He looked like a confused puppy.

"Okay I think I'm ready to play," Spencer said, unsure if he could actually play.

Penelope got the game all set up and hit start. The room was filled with the sounds of shouting from the players and laughter and cheering from the onlookers. Penelope was in first place with JJ following in a close second. Derek wasn't that far behind JJ and Spencer could not have been any farther behind the other three. After a few minutes, everyone, except Spencer, were on their third and final lap. JJ ended up winning, with Penelope in 2nd, Derek in 3rd, and Spencer in last place. He let out a huff and threw the controller onto the ottoman in front of him.

"Aw, baby, don't pout," Y/N said, brushing a piece of his hair behind his ear.

"I'm not pouting! It's a dumb game that doesn't make any logical sense," Spencer said, leaning into Y/N, taking a sip of his beer. "Why do players get to throw turtle shells? How does that make any sense?"

"Chill out, pretty boy. You have chess and other smart people games," Derek said, slightly out of it from how much he drank.

"It's just a dumb game," Spencer mumbled under his breath, digging his head into Y/N's shoulder. She rubbed the back of his neck, sharing a look with JJ.

"Are you grumpy because you lost or grumpy because you're tired?" Y/N whispered in Spencer's ear. Whenever he drank too much, he tended to get grumpy, tired, and clingy.

"Yes," he muttered, causing Y/N to giggle. The other's had started on the next game of Mario Kart, oblivious to Spencer's current mood change.

"Alright, let's go home, babyface. I'm gonna go get my purse and tell Rossi we're leaving," Y/N said, standing up from the couch, Spencer whimpering before leaning back on the couch. "Hey Rossi, I think Spence and I are going to head out."

"I don't think that's a good idea, Y/L/N. You've both had a lot to drink tonight. Just crash in one the guest bedrooms okay? I think everyone is going to stay the night," Rossi said, turning to look at all of his shit-faced 'children.'

"If you insist. Does it matter which one?" She asked, looking over at Spencer who was almost asleep.

"Just pick one. See you both in the morning," Rossi said, walking away before adding, "And use protection."

Y/N rolled her eyes before going to get Spencer. They said their goodnights to the team before making their way to the first available bedroom. After they changed into the PJ's they brought just in case, Spencer and Y/N both climbed into the bed. It was quiet for a few minutes, the only sounds Y/N heard were the laughs from the ever so lively party.

"It's a dumb game," Spencer said before he drifted off to sleep.

Y/N kissed his cheek before whispering, "You're just a sore loser," falling asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

[fireladybuckley]

I’ve been attempting to work on writing shorter fics, as nearly everything I touch seems to end up being WAY longer than I want it to.  Not that that’s a bad thing, but writing shorter fics that are still compelling is a skill I’m very much attempting to hone.

So, without further ado... here’s a Buddie “Meet Cute”.  I may do a series of these, if my motivation keeps up. <3

Grocery Store Blunder

Buck raised an eyebrow as he glanced over the magazines beside the till he was waiting in line at, rolling his eyes at the latest over-sensationalized headlines.  As the person in front of him moved away, he set down his few items and greeted the cashier, who cheerfully asked him if he’d found everything he needed.

“Yeah, I’m good,” Buck told her with a small smile, moving towards the payment area as she rang through his items.  His eyes wandered to the customer who had just joined the line behind him and eyed him curiously;  a very attractive guy pushing a cart that contained what looked like groceries for the week, a young boy sitting in the top part of the cart and chatting loudly at him.  Buck smiled at the image of father and son, though his eyes lingered on the dad;  he was definitely good looking… so good looking that the cashier had to call to him twice before he realized he was staring.

“Oh!  Sorry,” Buck said hurriedly, feeling his cheeks warming as the cashier glanced between him and the man behind him, who was now loading his stuff up on the belt and seemed none the wiser to Buck’s attention.

“That’s okay, sir.  Your total is $11.73, will that be cash or card?”

“Card,” Buck said automatically, reaching for his wallet.  His heart dropped as he slipped his hand into his back pocket and found it empty.  Tapped his other back pocket, his side pants pockets, his coat pockets.  All empty, except for his keys and phone.   

“Oh dammit,” Buck muttered, reaching into his front right pocket, searching for cash.  Luckily there was a bill in there and a few coins, but all told he only had $10.25 on him.

“I must have forgotten my wallet.  Okay, let me see what I should put back,” Buck said, and he was so flustered he had to stare at the cashier’s screen to remember what he had even been trying to buy.   He was about to tell her to take off two of his three oranges when the man behind him suddenly spoke up.

“How much do you need?  I can get it for you,”  he offered in a friendly voice.  Buck felt himself flush even more as he looked over and met the man’s eyes, embarrassed but also flattered that he wanted to help.

“Oh, no, it’s okay, I can put back -” he began, but the man shook his head.

“Really, it’s no problem. I have a whole load of groceries, a couple of dollars isn’t going to make a difference.”

“He needs $1.48,” the cashier told the other man, who nodded and reached into his pocket, fishing out two $1 bills.

“Are you sure?” Buck asked, still feeling embarrassed as the man handed over the money and the cashier rang it in. 

“Yeah, no problem,” he said, smiling. 

“Well thank you, so much,” Buck said, beyond grateful as the cashier handed him the paper bag containing his items and his receipt, then began to ring up the man’s things.  Buck hovered awkwardly on the spot, not picking up his bag, wanting to say more but not sure what.  The young boy turned in his seat, watching him curiously, and Buck smiled at him.

“Look, let me get your number.  I want to pay you back,” Buck said, surprising even himself as the words came out of his mouth unwittingly, shifting his attention to the man.  The man’s eyebrows raised in faint surprise, his movement stilling for a moment, a box of kids’ applesauce pouches halfway to the till belt as he thought about it.

“Really man, it’s not a big deal, you don’t have to pay me back less than two dollars.”

“I insist,” Buck said stubbornly, ignoring the cashier who was smiling to herself as she glanced silently between the two of them.  Buck knew he was being a bit too forward for a simple kind gesture, and he hoped the other man would catch his drift.  The man squinted at him for a moment and then a small smile twitched at his lips as he set down the box he was holding, and he shrugged lightly.

“Alright, if it means that much to you,” he said, and as Buck pulled up the “new contact” menu on his phone, he rattled off his phone number.

“I’m Eddie, by the way,” the man said.  “And this is Christopher.”

“Hello!” said the boy, still staring curiously at him.

“Hi!” Buck smiled at Christopher.  “I’m Buck.”  He repeated Eddie’s number back to him to make sure he had it right, receiving a nod in response.

“Okay, well, I will… text you later.  I can send you an e-transfer or something,” Buck said, feeling distinctly awkward now that the conversation seemed to have reached its natural end, aware that the cashier had finished scanning and bagging all of Eddie’s things and was waiting patiently to wrap up the transaction. 

“I look forward to it,” Eddie said, his voice warm.  Buck shot him a nervous smile, waved at Christopher, and turned to walk away.

“Sir!  Your bag!” the cashier called to him, and Buck spun around, grabbing the bag off the counter and hurrying away without looking at any of them, his ears turning pink.  He was pretty sure he could hear both Eddie and the cashier chuckling a little behind him and grinned in a painful way at his own idiocy as he exited the store.  As embarrassing as it was to have forgotten his wallet, Buck couldn’t help but wonder if fate hadn’t nudged the two of them together as he mentally planned what he was going to text Eddie, feeling his stomach flutter with excited nerves.

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

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[echo-three-one]

Good Day!

As I told earlier, I finished my Soap x Reader Fic and yeah here it is.

I suck at titles and that shows.

Midnight Coffee Rush

John MacTavish x Female Reader

Warnings : Smut. Read at your own Risk or whatever.

Cross-posting to AO3 later 😳

THUD!

You softly slam your head on the desk as you stare blankly at the blinking cursor on your laptop. An article is due next week and you haven't really started on anything yet. Your editor keeps on calling you earlier today on how she can't work on last minute submissions. You assured her that yours won't need that much editing and she trusts you with that, but still, a deadlines a deadline.

Scanning your empty apartment room for ideas, you decide it's best if you take this ordeal outside and look for open places to work on. Coincidentally, the local café "John's brew" happens to open for 24 hours starting today. You feel uneasy at the name of the shop but that won't stop you from your goals today.

After a chilly midnight walk across the streets of your city, you finally make it to the shop, it looks like it can compete with the local Starbucks as its outer layout gives off the same vibe.

You push open the glass doors and the bell chimes from above you, this made the barista at the counter turn his head and greet you with a friendly smile. "Welcome to John's Brew!"

You stand just across the counter as you look up to view what the store has to offer while the barista waits patiently for your order. You order some fancy named coffee, wanting to try out why it has a star next to it's name as the barista, who now you know goes by the name "Gary" based on his name tag, explains that it's their best selling and unique blend coffee. He then passionately tells you how the coffee you chose is created by the owner of the shop and judging by the tone of his voice, he's excited for you to try it for the first time.

"Thanks Gary, here's my card." you reach out for your card and he cheerfully accepts it.

"What name should this go by, Ms. L/N?" he asks readying his marker.

"Just Y/N." you say. Gary raises his eyebrows in confusion.

"Sorry, I'm sure I heard that name somewhere." he dismisses his thoughts and writes your name on the cup.

"We'll you're a barista, I'm sure you've heard a lot of names in your line of work." you jokingly reply. It made him laugh as he gives your card back and you make your way to the corner of the room.

The music is soothing and the ambience is more than enough to keep you going, you pull out your laptop as you start typing ideas for your article.

Gary took the liberty of delivering you your drink saying "You looked very focused" and "There isn't that much customers anyway" and you smiled at the service he's done. He stays for a while insisting that he wants to witness your initial reaction as soon as you taste the coffee. So you slowly blow off the heat and took your first sip.

Your eyebrows raised and your cheeks blushed as the warm beverage tickles your tastebuds a wave of nostalgia brings shivers down your spine.

***

"So, what do you think of this?" A shirtless man with a signature mohawk and scar on his left eye approaches you just as you get up of bed. You remember smiling at the view, his deep blue eyes pierce through yours as he excitedly offers a cup of coffee he claims to mix himself.

"Mmm! This tastes, well... something even I can't describe! It's good? delicious? heavenly maybe?" You giggle as he inches closer to you crawling up the bed and reaching on your face for a kiss, blindly reaching for the cup and putting in on the bedside table.

"Not even the words from your thesaurus can't describe?" He whispers as he pulls the kiss away, eyebrows wiggling. Your heart melts at the sight of him.

"I'll tell you the perfect word when I find it." You giggle as you reach for his face and pull him to yours, as he softly crashes his body on you, rolling around the bed.

***

"Maam?" Gary taps your shoulder and you immediately flinch and turn to him.

"I'm sorry." you laugh nervously.

"It felt like you had a good time going on with that drink. We're having a contest as to which word best describes it. If you want to submit your word, I'll leave this pen and sticky note on your table." he cheerfully explains as the door chimes, making him rush back to his counter.

Shit. You thought to yourself. Of course it had to taste the same, even the name of the shop checks out. Your heart starts to thump louder and louder as you put the pieces together, you convince yourself it's just the coffee, but then again the evidences never lie. John's Brew, that exact taste, no word yet to describe it.

You flinched as you turn to the heavy door slam to your left, just by the counter. A man, walks out of it wearing a very fit long sleeve tucked into business pants, you assume it's the manager. Then again, you see him scratching his head, which happens to have a rather unique haircut. A mohawk. Holy Shit.

***

'Congratulations Ms. Y/N L/N! You have been accepted on the writer program. Please report tomorrow for your orientation.'

The text read just as you wake up. Your face lit up in excitement as you squealed like a kid. Your life would change for the better.

A very wet John MacTavish popped out of the bathroom, his face was full of worry as he quickly wrapped himself with a towel.

"What's wrong?! Something out to get ya?" He asked, a bar of soap on is arms ready to throw to the intruder.

"I just got accepted!" you squealed excitedly at him, hugged him thight not minding how wet he was. He slowly wrapped his arms around you and you felt that you're the only one excited about this news.

"Congrats. But what about your life here? What about me?" he muttered, his facial expressions dropped.

"I'm sure we'll work it out? It isn't that far, right?"

"I'm sure we'll work it out"

"Not now John, I have articles due."

"I'm too exhausted for today, John"

"I'm sorry. I fell asleep."

***

The loud growl of your stomach shocked you back to reality. Come to think of it, it's already 2 in the morning and you're almost through with your article. A muffin won't be that much of a distraction. You turn to the counter and see John catering to a lady on a bright red dress. She probably came from a club and now trying to sober up with a coffee. You pretend to type on your keyboard but secretly view the event from the corner of your eye. They are laughing and he escorted her as she is walking tipsily to the sofa. They exchange some words you barely make out and can't help but feel rage bubbling inside you. But then again, you don't have the slightest audacity to do so. You slowly ignored him while focusing on your job. You left his messages on read and calls on voicemail. You feel guilt rushing through you. Out of impulsive emotions, you quickly decide to finish the article home as you grab your laptop and coffee and rush to the exit.

"Ma'am! You left your sticky note." John's voice echoes across the shop. This made the few notable customers look at the both of us in curiosity.

You slowly turn back to him leaning on the counter, his elbows resting on the counter looking at you, he knows what he's up to. You remember telling him to stop flexing his biceps in front of you in public. It's kind of an inside joke for the two of you and he seems to remember it all too well.

"Your word. For the contest." he points out to the bulletin board of sticky notes on the other side of the hall.

"I... can't think of anything yet..." you stammer as you exit the door, walking as fast as you can away from him.

"Y/N, wait!" he quickly grabs your arm. You almost expect that he'd do this even after all those times.

"John I-" you quicky turn to him, hot tears start forming on your eyes as he pulls you close to his warm embrace.

"Yeah. You've been very busy... I know." He mutters as you sniffle on his chest, smelling his musk that never changed even after all these months.

"Congratulations on your most recent award, you know. Article of the month, and the month before that and that one time you wrote about the wildlife in Africa..." he trails off while rubbing your back as more tears fell from your eyes. He'd been watching your career grow, even after all this time. It somehow feels you don't deserve him. And you believe you really don't.

Pulling away, you looked at him with a smile.

"I'm sorry..." you croak.

"Why are you sorry, Y/N? You met someone else out there?" he asks. Then again, you both didn't really have a proper conclusion to your relationship. You initially felt like you were slowly drifting away from each other as your careers grew, but here he is, having the same sparkle in his eyes as when you last saw each other.

"No... but, it's been very long and I have been ignoring you... breaking my promi-" He suddenly pulls you close and kisses your lips, you deny him at first but you slowly grip his arms and let him have access to your mouth.

Longing is the only feeling you both feel right now as you slowly kiss back and respond to his mouth. His kiss gives you assurance that even after all this time he yearns for you to come back, his assurance that you did what you had to do to get where you are now even at the cost of completely shutting him out. But of course you weren't, you also long for him every single day, but life has to keep going, and you believed that he'd found someone else after all those times. But this moment made you feel wrong about him, and it's now your chance to get things right between the two of you.

"You know, I always assumed you're still my girlfriend." he smirks. He is true though, there was neither a formal nor informal break up effort on both sides, just indifference due to many reasons.

"Well, I assumed you looked for someone else... and I'm to shy to ask how things have been..." you croak, trying not to cry again. You realize your stupidity once more, but he wipes off your tear with his thumb and lifts your chin up to look at him.

"You still owe me a word, you know." he jokes as he walks you back to the cafe, arm wrapped around your shoulder. As soon as you both enter the door, Gary greets his boss while mopping the floor.

"You were right boss, she is pretty!" The barista smiles and gives John a thumbs up to which he replies,

"Guess I'll be back in my office doing paperwork, Gary. You take charge here okay?"

"Yes, Captain!" he jokingly salutes and continues his work.

"You done with that article?" he asks, a tone of concern in his voice.

"Almost.." you reply shyly. You still can't digest everything that happened so far, but your heart keeps on thumping and your mind's been trying to scream something to you.

"You know, I could use some company while I do some paperwork..." the trails off, the tone in his voice shifted into something you felt excited about. Something along those words mixed with that accent sends flutters across your insides.

"If you'd want me to..." you reply as he opens his office door letting you in. It was a small office a sofa just beside the door, two chairs infront of a large office desk filled with scattered papers, ledgers and journals. He quickly folds his laptop and puts it in his bag as you take off your coat, admiring the view. Plaques, certificates and awards plaster across the walls, along with pictures of his staff calendar schedules and some other things scribbled across the whiteboard. He offers his hand and you give him your coat, only to be pinned to the door.

"God, I missed you so fucking much." He breathes as you stare at his cold blue eyes blazing with desire, you know full well where this is going and you have no objections. You wished for this to happen as soon as your plane touched the city.

Unable to form any words, you quickly pucker your lips, signaling him to move closer and kiss you. Now that you're both alone, his kisses felt much more intimate, needier and his tongue explored every possible area he could. You hear the door lock itself and his hand slowly caresses your ass through the tight jeans you're wearing, pressing himself so you could feel the tension growing beneath his slacks. You slowly slide your hand through it and earned yourself a chuckle from him, as he moves his lips below your ear and around your neck, hearing each smack of his lip and sniff of his nose.

You let out a soft moan as you feel overwhelmed on what he does to your body, you couldn't focus on what's going on, your hands rubbing his hard crotch, his hands softly caressing your ass or his mouth doing wonders around your neck. He continues to do this until your pants and whines become erratic and fast and stops just at the right time for you to catch your breath.

You open your eyes to him, who seems to be enjoying your reunion, a sexy smirk across his face. You let out a smile whist still panting, and he seems to like what he sees, letting a soft chuckle.

"I remember that look on you. You're up to something.." He recalls as you push him to the sofa to his side, straddling on his crotch as you unbutton his long sleeves.

He grunts as soon as he plops on the sofa and groans as soon as you slowly wiggle your ass on top of him. You could clearly see the building frustration in his face as well as in his jeans.

You quickly undone seven buttons as he quickly tosses it somewhere and viewed his muscular physique as you sit on him. He became hairier and you find it very sexy, trailing your hand down his body, all while staring at him as seductive as you can. He smiles at the gesture as you slowly unbutton your shirt, never breaking eye contact, until he can't resist anymore and got up from the sofa. He lifts you down and you stand on the floor as he works your way to slide off your jeans. He quickly buried his face on your pussy as soon as he sees it and devours it like a hungry wolf. He never dissappoints as the feeling made you shudder, grabbing onto what's left of his hair in excitement. This goes on up until you softly pull his head out and move to unbuckle his belt, sliding his slacks all the way down as his cock springs free as soon as you take his boxers off.

You stare at him as you slowly jerk your hand around his cock, his eyes almost in a trance, as you teasingly kiss the tip, which was slowly oozing of precum. He grabs your hair and tucks it behind your ear as you slowly swallow his cock, giving him a blowjob that you've always imagined of giving him when you meet again. You're tongue slowly swirling around his length, feeling every vein and skin around it. You countinued mixing it up with your hand and mouth until he groans in anticipation and pulls you out of him.

He slowly gets up and shoves all his paperwork away from his desk and carries you to it, spreading your legs as he slowly pushes his tip on your opening.

You whimper at the first entrance, it felt different than usual, maybe because it's been quite a while since you to have done it, but that didn't stop the both of you from continuing. His eyes mesmerize you as he slowly picks up his rhythm, you can see his chest muscles bounce as he thrusts himself deep in you. He slowly rubs the upper area of your pussy as he thrusts, giving you a sensation that makes you wanna scream in pleasure. But given the circumstances, you only let out small gasps and whimpers. However, his grunts and moans are also getting louder, so you decide to let loose and follow his volume.

"Fuck." You whimper as he continues his fast pace as evidenced by the loud slapping noises. He quickly flips you to the desk and continues to fuck you from behind. Each thrust felt like the desk is inching closer to the wall, you didn't protest as you loved the sensation, how your walls clench as his warm cock slides in and out of you. You feel his motions change and you know full well what that means, you moan softly signaling him thay you're also almost there as he makes his final thrusts and shoots his warm load inside you, feeling the rush of his cum drip as he pulls his cock out.

He pulls you up and reaches for a kiss, a long yet intimate one as you both use the language of kiss to assure that you'll still be the same way no matter how distant it may be.

"See you after my shift?" he murmurs as he puts on his clothes, now all wrinkly and messy.

"Yes." you smile reaching for another kiss.

After preparing to go home, you quickly grab a pen and wrote the word you describe the drink, plaster it on the board and make your way out of the café.

[ey8508]

Words and thoughts

Rumors and Secrets: Li Zeyan (李泽言) | Victor

Li Zeyan SSR: 寸步 | 言思合缝

【Following the handwriting, he will definitely find the place to start 】

Note:

R&S for this card (CG above)

Chapter SPOILERS up to Season 2: Chapter 10-13 (read at your own risk)

Contains 5 chapters

Translation isn’t 100% accurate (or include grammar errors)

Every part for LZ’s dialogue would be in “this setting”

Do not repost to any other site (reblog is fine)

Chapter 1

Page 1

Early in the morning, president Huarui's office.

"President, this is the main agenda for today, do you think there is a need to add other arrangements?"

Looking at the president's back in front of him, Wei Qian fixed his glasses. He lowered his head and glanced at the notebook he was holding: there was a contract signing and a negotiation in the morning, two meetings in the afternoon, and a business meeting in the evening, not to mention there are many documents and reports that needed to be reviewed and signed...

The president has always handled such a busy and high-pressure work schedule in an orderly manner. It is indeed the style that the "king" he has admired since his school days can have.

Page 2

The "king" recognized by Wei Qian is now standing by the window and looking out. After listening to Wei Qian's schedule reminder, he responded with a low voice: "That's it for now."

"Understand, Mr. President" Wei Qian paused "By the way, the producer of Time Media has been in the small conference room. Do you think you should sign the contract now, or..."

The man by the window finally turned around. He looked calm, wearing a black ironed suit with white pocket squares and even his hair seemed to be rigorous and pleasant. Today's weather is very good, the sun shines brightly and glisten through his side profile.

Page 3

Turning his gaze to the door, Li Zeyan nodded imperceptibly: "Let's go."

Time Media has been in the limelight in the recent years. They had planned and produced many popular variety shows. The cooperation with Time Media this time is a rational decision made by Huarui after examining various data and estimating the return.

Page 4

In the small meeting room, the producer of Time Media held up the contract that had just been signed and the ink was not yet dry. His eyes were sewn up with satisfaction. Finally reached a substantive cooperative relationship with Huarui, and with this large capital support, he can finally flex his muscles and plan his "genius variety show".

Probably people are easy to float on happy occasions, the producer carefully put away the contract, while cheerfully and subconsciously complimenting: "If Mr. Li is free, you are welcome to come to the recording site of the program team at any time. If you can be a guest, the ratings will definitely increase!"

Li Zeyan's movements clearly paused for a moment. After a few seconds, he faintly said: "Absurd"

Page 5

But his sudden deepness and silence naturally viewed differently in the eyes of the producer. The air pressure in the conference room seemed to become invincibility colder. The producer couldn't help but regret: After all, he is the president of Huarui with a busy schedule. How could he have time to entertain the public as a variety show guest?

Just when the producer was hesitant to say something to fix the situation, Wei Qian smiled in time to clear the situation: "If you have no other questions, I will send you downstairs." Li Zeyan nodded tacitly and watched them disappear at the door of the meeting room.

Page 6

He knew that the producer had misunderstood. His momentary pause was not displeasure, but a daze caused by an unannounced impulse. As the producer's voice fell one by one, the words ‘HBS’ suddenly flashed in his mind. It seems that in another real time, someone initiated an invitation to him to be a guest on the show.

He frowned slightly, wondering where this vague feeling came from. It flashed out of thin air and there was no more information, but a seed was planted in his heart.

Chapter 2

Page 1

When Wei Qian sent the producer back, Li Zeyan was sitting sideways on the chair behind the desk. The spring sunshine fell on his shoulders and his hands were gently clasped together, not knowing what he was thinking.

When he saw Wei Qian coming in, Li Zeyan asked him in a deep voice: "Wei Qian, do you know HBS TV?"

"HBS, do you mean that TV station that has the highest ratings for variety shows in the United States for 50 consecutive years?"

Li Zeyan gave a low "Hmm", and seemed to say to himself: "In my impression, there should be no company in Lianyu City that cooperates with HBS."

Page 2

Wei Qian quickly gave an affirmative response: "You remember correctly. Although many companies have extended their arms to HBS, they have not received any response for the time being."

It is as expected. So just now...

Li Zeyan bent his elbows and raised his hands, rubbing his temples. He slept very restlessly last night, he should be fatigued.

Seeing Li Zeyan frowning and closing his eyes, Wei Qian hesitated for a moment: "Why Mr. president suddenly ask about HBS if you wants to cooperate with the other party? If necessary, I will make confirmation about it."

Page 3

"No need." Li Zeyan opened his eyes, his face has returned to calmness, and his eyes are repainted with seriousness and sharpness. "It has been half a month, how is the acquisition plan of TEC Pharmaceuticals progressing?"

"The report is on my desk, Mr. president wait a moment."

"Wait." Li Zeyan called to him, "Bring in a cup of coffee on your way back here."

Page 4

After processing the two documents, Wei Qian returned with the coffee and the rich aroma was floating in the air. Even with the mellow smell, Wei Qian began to report seriously to Li Zeyan about the progress of the acquisition of TEC Pharmaceuticals.

"Over the period of time, according to the previously formulated plan, we have carried out two negotiations with TEC Pharmaceuticals with the letter of intent for mergers and acquisitions..."

Page 5

The hydrogen-containing coffee mist rose up as Li Zeyan took a few sips from the cup of coffee while listening to Wei Qian's report. The coffee flowed into his throat, and he twisted his eyebrows slightly. It was clearly the same coffee beans. From when, he gradually felt that the taste of the coffee seemed to be something missing. Sometimes he even had an inexplicable conviction, as if it was because he was missing a person to drink coffee with him.

Li Zeyan squeezed his eyebrows a little irritably.

Page 6

At the same time, Wei Qian's report came to an end. "... TEC's company representative said that the conditions given by Huarui had not yet reached the best expectations, and also cryptically revealed that a century-old company in Europe is also approaching them. So at present, the other party's attitude is not clear, and it is in an ambiguous wait-and-see stage."

Li Zeyan spoke a long time after the voice fell, and his voice became lighter than before: "I see."

Page 7

In fact, Wei Qian had already noticed the strangeness of the president during the report. As a meticulous assistant, he couldn't help but care: "Mr. President, are you uncomfortable?"

Li Zeyan shook his head, and handed the documents that he had just processed to Wei Qian: "It's just that I didn't sleep well last night." After saying that, he glanced at his watch and said, "It's getting late, get the materials for the negotiation meeting, see you downstairs."

Chapter 3

Page 1

The time bar of a week suddenly passed by.

For a whole week, Li Zeyan has been busy with the acquisition of TEC Pharmaceuticals. With Li Zeyan's resolute and personal efforts, just now, Huarui finally succeeded in advancing its acquisition territory one step further.

In the car, Li Zeyan was looking at a work report that he had just received before getting on the car. Li Zeyan sighed softly when thinking of her bad habit of submitting something and being tired of teaching. The report was about the progress of the charity sale next month, and he quickly scanned it. He still remember last week, under his agitation, she confidently bet that she would win the support of the city government. In this report, she did it.

Page 2

Li Zeyan put down the iPad and curled his lips in relief. He remembered the bet he had made before: if she really did it, he would pick her a small gift. Of course, Li Zeyan didn't intend to break his promise. What's more, although he always commented on ‘boring and naive’ about choosing small gifts for her, he subconsciously felt that it was natural to do it.

The breeze of spring blew in from the gap of the car window. It was rare to feel the breath of spring easily. He cast his eyes out of the window casually. Suddenly, he seemed to catch a glimpse of something...

‘parking.’

Page 3

After letting Wei Qian leave first, Li Zeyan walked to the door of the store that had just been polished ​​and opened the glass door.

This is a gift shop that looks bright and exquisite, with a dazzling array of gifts and goods in an orderly manner. Li Zeyan walked around the shop carefully, and the clerk always followed him politely and kindly.

Although these gifts looked exquisite, there was nothing he would have liked at a glance.

Page 4

Just when he was a little disappointed, a humble keychain suddenly broke into his sight.

The keychain itself is not special, but the wrapping paper underneath it attracted Li Zeyan's attention. The wrapping paper painted a red telephone booth with a British atmosphere.

Perceiving Li Zeyan's pause, the clerk quickly asked: "Mister, do you like this keychain?"

Li Zeyan responded and took the keychain to look closely.

Page 5

"This is a classic British feature," the clerk smiled graciously. "It seems that your feelings for London should be unusual, right?

"...Mhm"

It seemed that the clerk had finally met a usual person and said in a low voice: "I wish I could go to London someday. I heard that there is a great Christmas atmosphere there. I don’t know if it’s true."

Page 6

In fact, in Li Zeyan’s opinion, Christmas in London is nothing more than something that people are familiar with, but it’s nothing special.

But just as he was thinking this way, a red phone booth suddenly jumped into his mind, just like what he was holding in his hand at the moment.

It was as if there was a snowy winter, he looked anxiously at the telephone booth near Big Ben, looking for the ‘her’ who held his heart.

Page 7

Li Zeyan was in a daze for a moment. The feeling of the sudden attack was so real, it made him feel completely empty, as if the snow in London had really drifted from memory to the present. Snow fell into his heart, making his heart fall and contracting in an instant.

When did he experience this memory? Who was the ‘she’ he was looking for?

He was shocked for only a few seconds, and the clerk did not care about his speechlessness but politely extended his hand: "Are you sure you want to buy this? I'll wrap it for you."

Page 8

Li Zeyan handed the keychain over. There was an unreasonable certainty in his subconscious: she would like this gift very much, because...

What is it for?

In front of the cashier, recalling his inexplicable and determined feeling just now, Li Zeyan looked at the little gift that the clerk was holding in his hand and carefully scanned the code.

Chapter 4

Page 1

The ‘Mid-Month Charity Sale Event’ finally kicked off the sale scene. The location of the opening event was set at the street park with the largest daily flow of people.

As the planner of this event, the girl came to the park early for the final inspection and preparations. Not long after, as the sponsor of the event, Li Zeyan also appeared at the Charity Sale Event and delivered an opening speech with the municipal staff.

"...Huarui is a company rooted in Lianyu City. It is the goal and code of conduct for Huarui to pay back this city that has given us warmth and support in various ways. Finally, I wish today’s charity sale a complete success, thank you."

Page 2

After a while, the charity sale officially began. The citizens who had seen the news on the internet enthusiastically gathered around the venue, and the scene was more lively than expected. As soon as Li Zeyan turned his head, he saw a proud smiling face, probably infected by her, and he also slightly raised the corners of his mouth.

Now that the activity has started smoothly and the reporter's on-site interviews are over, he intends to walk around in the park at will, and she naturally follows him. They didn't know that after turning a few paths, there is a forest with swaying branches in front of them. Accompanied by the soft sound of the rustle, the fragrance of the leaves and the smell of earth came to their face.

Page 3

It's rare to be able to walk away leisurely outside the annoyance of official business, they just stop and walked aimlessly, laughing and chatting casually.

It's strange to say that they didn't know each other for a long time, but the relationship between him and her was extraordinarily natural and comfortable from the beginning, as if they should be like this.

Sometimes he even feels unfamiliar, as if he had walked a lot with her a long time ago.

It also includes dense woods as they are now.

Page 4

The sudden phone call made her pouting. It seemed that there was something wrong with the Charity Sale Event. She patted her chest and said that she would be able to solve it, and hurried away confidently. Li Zeyan stared at her back, with a faint smile on his mouth, but somehow, he suddenly felt that the scene before him seemed familiar.

It seemed that at some time, he had also watched a slender figure from the back in the woods. And a sourness mixed with fatigue slowly condensed in his heart. In the vagueness, he vaguely felt that he seemed to have crossed thousands of mountains and rivers in confusion and anxiety, spanning an uncountable amount of time and space of light years, just to see this figure again.

Page 5

In the forest mist, he saw the back in front of him turned around, and the girl gently called out his name.

He also responded with a chuckle, and then tightened his grip on the girl's hand: "Dummy... it’s not name-calling it's confirmation."

"... Confirmation?"

But the forest mist blocked the girl's face, and he anxiously didn't know how to confirm it. At this moment, the wind in the woods suddenly blew, blowing away a corner of the mist.

There was no one in front of him.

Page 6

But when the fog disappeared, he heard a playful question. The girl asked, how did you find me afterwards?

Li Zeyan was stunned. He didn't remember what his answer was or whether he answered.

But subconsciously, a place appeared in his mind -Souvenir.

That seems to be where the answer opens.

Chapter 5

Page 1

With the ‘Closed’ sign in Souvenir, the brightly-lit dining room seemed to be empty, except for a slight noise from the kitchen.

In the spacious and clean kitchen, Li Zeyan is wearing a white apron, making pudding attentively. Pouring the boiled sugar juice into the pudding mold evenly, then pour the boiled milk on a low heat into the stirred egg mixture, stir evenly, and finally slowly pour the pudding into the pudding mold, and then put it in the baking pan.

Li Zeyan picked up the baking tray and put it into the oven. When the time and temperature were adjusted, the oven made a button sound, which was particularly clear in the quiet Souvenir. But Li Zeyan was leaning on the side of the table platform, but he was extremely calm. In Souvenir's back kitchen, he can always find the peace in that corner.

Page 2

Looking at the oven with the built-in light on, his eyes gradually moved farther and farther.

Those recent seemingly sudden and unattainable feelings are like a bunch of woolen threads scattered on the ground, but he never believes that all stories can always go to the source, and these woolen threads must be from a certain source. The person who could lead the other side along, a name had already surfaced in his heart.

Page 3

Messy thoughts thrashed in Li Zeyan's mind. For the first time, he decided to abandon the so-called rational analysis and chose to believe in his own heart. Because he later realized that in addition to the beating of the heart in his left chest, it turned out that there seemed to be inexplicable feelings and emotions.

"...ting!"

The oven makes a crisp sound, it should be the pudding. Li Zeyan stood up straight and was about to take it, but a slight footstep suddenly heard from the door. The owner of the name in his heart was walking towards him on high heels.

Page 4

She probably smelled the scent of pudding, she sniffed her nose and her eyes lit up. Holding a souvenir-like thing, she came to him in three or two steps, opened the box triumphantly, and then raised the small crystal lamp in front of him. The moment she turned the switch on the bottom, the orange starlight immediately appeared from the small crystal lamp.

Almost at the same time, a similar orange starlight was gradually awakening from his long memory. It seems that Souvenir is full of Christmas atmosphere. In the little light, a girl raises her head with a smile-

That face is so familiar.

Page 5

It turns out that the girl really exists in those vague memories that are not clear.

In the kitchen at this moment, the scent of pudding diffuses through the oven. Just as some distant but clear fragments are slowly rolling in.

Memory and reality, the past and the present, overlap closely. Li Zeyan stared at the smiling face in front of him that was dyed softer by the orange starlight.

________

[vesuvian-american-fics]

Warm Like Honey... Ch 1

Spring...

You are the ace of the Fukurodani Girls Volleyball Club, and a second year. Also, you're a foreign student having moved to Japan from America years ago when your mom remarried. You attend a celebratory dinner for making it to the Tokyo Spring Volleyball Tournament with Bokuto, Akaashi, Kuroo, and Kenma. You develop a minor crush on the short blonde, and unbeknownst to you... he likes you too. Years pass while Kenma ignores his feelings and you decide never to reveal yours in fear of losing your friendship. How will the two of you open up to one another romantically? (AO3)

Words: 4,154

“Kuro... how is it that we’re meeting Akaashi and Bokuto, but we’re here first? Usually, Akaashi makes it on time despite his handicap. (Bokuto)” Kenma asked while absentmindedly scrolling through his social media. Kuroo snorted at the remark before checking his texts for any update from Akaashi.

The four of them were meant to meet up to have dinner at this yakiniku place Bokuto found to celebrate making it to another spring volleyball tournament together. Kuroo’s brow arched in curiosity at the words on the screen of his phone.

“Looks like Bokuto’s bringing a friend? The ace from the girls' team.” He tossed his phone to the table before taking another sip of his cola. Kenma visibly curled in on himself. His shoulders slouching even further than he knew possible. His raven-haired friend chuckled at his visceral reaction.

“If I’d known he bring someone else I would have refused to come...” He mumbled his complaint. Kuroo shook his head before he replied.

“Don’t be like that, you need more friends.” He crooned, loving the way Kenma’s face twisted in disgust.

“That’s too troublesome-–” Before Kenma could continue to complain he noticed Kuroo’s demeanor shift, his eyes tracking someone from across the restaurant near the front doors.

Bokuto’s large frame shuffled through the front doors, the boys watched as Akaashi stood obediently behind his ace watching as he asked for their table. The hostess swiftly led the two boys to their booth. Kuroo noted the way a third person trailed behind them both. She looked tall, only a couple of inches shorter than Akaashi. Her hair was curlier than most, big and voluminous about her frame, but still Bokuto’s body obscured the rest of the view.

The three of them thanked the hostess for guiding them to their table before Akaashi greeted Kenma and Kuroo.

“Kuroo-san, Kozume-san. Good evening.” He said, his voice soft and straight to the point. Kenma only nodded, busying himself with his drink and avoiding eye contact. Kuroo, gave his greetings, before giving Bokuto their signature handshake.

“Bokuto! Good to see you, w-who this?” Kuroo asked, cursing the way his voice trembled. Kenma finally tore his eyes from the bubbles floating around his soda to lift them up to where you stood. Bokuto stood in the way before finally shifting to the side to give you a loud introduction.

“This!! Is L/N Y/N! The ace of the girls’ team at Fukurodani! She’s a second year!” He shouted excitedly, gaining the attention of the other patrons of the restaurant. Kenma flinched at his volume shutting his eyes before he opened them again and they fell upon your face.

You were tall, about 5’9 if he had to guess. A womanly figure with a bit of muscles on the arms, you looked strong which was how he guessed you managed to be the ace. Your lips looked soft and pillowy as they stretched into a big smile as you took Kuroo’s hand to shake. Your black hair framed your face nicely, tight curls bouncing about with your every movement. Your scent was warm, like honey and cinnamon, and that happened to be the perfect way to describe your skin tone. A warm mahogany tone, you looked smooth and bronzed in the amber lighting above the booth. You were beautiful and obviously foreign. Your American accent was endearing even though your Japanese was fluent.

Kenma’s eyes turned more cat like as his curiosity mounted, suddenly there was nothing more interesting than this new girl Bokuto was introducing. His stare was intense, only when you shyly waved at him did he finally blink.

“This is Kenma.” Kuroo stated, reclaiming his seat behind him. Kenma only nodded awkwardly, cursing his shy personality for keeping him from introducing himself.

“Hello, Kozume-san.” You greeted politely; your voice was soft but unlike any he heard before maybe it was the accent but it was smooth.

“Let’s eat!” Bokuto cut in, plopping down in his seat next to Akaashi while you took the spot on the end, right across from Kenma. Making eye contact, you blessed him with another kind smile.

“Bokkun... could you pass me a plate please.” You asked playfully, to which Bokuto confidently obliged.

Oh. So that’s it. She has a crush on Bokuto of course. Kenma chewed his cheek before taking out his phone to take his attention away from you and the way you had a nickname for Bokuto. Kuroo eyed Kenma for only a moment before light conversation overtook the table.

It wasn’t long before Kuroo was interrogating you, but you were nice so you answered his every question with ease.

“I notice an accent, L/N, where are you from?” Kuroo asked placing his chin into the palm of his hand.

“Born in America, but not too long after I was born my father passed. Years later my mom remarried to a Japanese man, so he taught us the language and after some years he wanted us to see Japan. Then we moved out here and it’s been great ever since!” You grinned cheerfully despite everything.

“Oh, I’m sorry for your loss L/N-san.” Akaashi said sincerely. Kenma took it they never asked about your past before.

“No, no! It’s fine, I love my dad and my new one! I’m very happy to be here.” You said placing some meat into the spicy broth to cook. You cleared your throat before continuing on.

“But enough about me, I want to know about you two! What positions do you play?” You quipped, eyes flipping between Kuroo and Kenma. Kenma suddenly perked up at this, surprising Kuroo the way he sat himself up straight to respond.

“I’m setter, he’s the captain.” He said, his voice sounding small and weak. His thin brows knitting together for a fraction of a second.

“Oh, just like these two that’s funny. Haha!” You giggled at the irony before leaning in pressing Kenma to speak more. His cheeks dusted a pink shade, something not unnoticed by Kuroo. Akaashi would have caught it too had Bokuto not been chatting along and he listening intently.

He stammered before he could get the words from his chest. Pitying him, Kuroo took over.

“Kenma here is super smart, the best setter I’ve met!” He gave Akaashi a sly grin as his attention was piqued.

“Kenma’s great but I like Akaashi most!!” Bokuto barked, hooking his muscular arm roughly around his friend's neck pulling him close. Akaashi choked on his onigiri under Bokuto’s grip but never fought to remove himself.

Kuroo copied Bokuto’s action, hooking his own arm around Kenma before he had time to move away. He snatched him close making Kenma flail and drop his chopsticks.

“Kuro, please don’t do that.” He groaned; a serious frown plastered on his features. You tried in vain to stifle your giggles behind your hand, turning your face away from the four to spare them. Your hair and your gold hoop earrings jumped along with each chuckle. It accented your skin perfectly, Kenma had an eye for details like this since he spent a lot of time taking in the outfits of the characters from his RPGs. His face immediately softened, a small smile etching its way across his lips as he reluctantly dragged his eyes off of you.

The three others noticed the exchange before glancing amongst each other to see if they all caught that. After that, the night drew on as usual, conversation, laughter, eating and drinking. Just a lot more fun than usual, Kenma noticed.

After a few hours of fun, you checked your phone. Right on schedule, your dad was texting about when you’ll be on the way home. You released a reluctant sigh.

“Bokkun, Akaashi. My dad’s asking for me.” You gave a sad smile to Kuroo and Kenma. Kuroo smiled back whereas Kenma actually looked sad, an evident slouch in his shoulders and downturn to his lips. You held his glance for a beat longer than what was offered to Kuroo before the five of you all stood in unison to leave, the bill having been split and paid half an hour ago.

Walking outside you stuck close to Bokuto, something Kenma wish he hadn’t noticed. You turned to smile at the two boys before pulling your coat closer around you.

“I had fun; it was nice meeting you! If ya got time at the spring tournament, come watch me play!” You cheered, waving goodbye to the Nekoma boys before turning on your heel walking in between Akaashi and Bokuto. Kenma gave a small wave in your direction before walking in the opposite direction and heading for the train station. It was a brisk night, so Kenma hoped he could blame the chilly weather for his flushed cheeks.

“You have some explaining to do my boy.” Kuroo teased playfully, leaning down into Kenma’s headspace causing his junior to scowl and move away. He pulled out his phone to play some mobile games and drown out Kuroo’s questioning.

“You look at her the way you look at Chibi-chan! You like her!” Kuroo announced with a laugh. Kenma rolled his eyes exaggeratedly.

“I don’t look at Shoyo any certain way Kuro...” He grumbled, scanning his card for the train and leaving Kuroo behind while he scrambled for his wallet. But Kuroo was right, Kenma did have a special patience and joy when around Hinata Shoyo. He was fun and exciting and Kenma couldn’t quite place why he enjoyed his presence, and paid more attention to him than he did his childhood friend Kuro.

“Well whatever, you better do something before Bokuto does! All I’m saying.” Kuroo warned, he dropped the conversation finally noting the way Kenma’s frown looked almost painful behind his scarf. Kenma dropped himself onto his seat on the train leaning up against the window to be just an inch further away from his friend's body. Kuroo finally hushed himself on the subject, instead to discuss the upcoming tournament that was a few weeks away. Kenma half-heartedly listened to what was said.

...

Lazily, Kenma dragged himself off the van. Even though the tournament was held in Tokyo, and the drive for Nekoma wasn’t even half an hour, Kenma was especially tired. Following after Kuroo to grab his bag his attention was pulled to the memorable colors, black white and gold for Fukurodani. The girls’ team wore the same uniform as the boys of course, all but the bottoms being exchanged for short spandex.

“Get your jaw off the ground.” Kuroo joked, tossing Kenma’s duffel bag haphazardly. Kenma blushed lightly before snapping at the captain.

“My mouth was closed!” He said, pulling the strap of his bad over his shoulder with a huff. His eyes scanned over your uniform, taking note of the way the muscles you grew from volleyball were complimented nicely by the clothes. He also noticed you happened to have the same type of knee guards as Bokuto. Long, coming up to consume half of your thighs, and half of your calves. Your legs were long, he noticed, a shiver crawling up his back.

Your brown skin under the morning light was lovely, the way the sun's rays absorbed into your skin. He glanced up to your face, saving the best for last, your hair was different today. It was braided up in a way he hadn’t seen before, long and pulled back into a high pony tail. He liked that you switched up your style, even if this is only the second time he’s ever seen you. Kenma would have kept staring if he hadn’t seen the way you turned to face him head on. Kenma flinched, snapping his eyes up to meet yours. Your eyes were on him already, tentatively you smiled and waved at him. Kenma raised his hand to wave back but it was awkward and shaky. Kuroo was stood next to him now, waving back at you. The two of them watched as you were scolded by your coach.

“L/N! We’re over here...”

“Sorry!’’ You squeaked snapping your neck to face them head on. Kenma couldn’t fight the small smile that sneaked onto his lips, but he quickly pulled his lips into a tight line when Kuroo bent down to stare blankly into Kenma’s eyes. He snorted lightly before patting his friend on the shoulder.

“Let’s go Kyannma!”

Your eyes shifted over to Kenma as his team walked away into the venue. Your team arrived only a few minutes before the boys from your school and your coach wanted to wait to walk in together as a statement. The captain and vice-captains would walk in the front, some type of intimidation tactic. It would have also included the Aces but, Bokuto was the ace and captain while you were the ace and vice-captain. So, it works out nice.

You stood next to your captain, Haku, who sported a short bob with pins to keep her bangs out of her face. She was tall, strong, and had great leadership skills. You admired her a lot. The same way you admired Bokuto. He was strong, fun, and although he was an unconventional leader his team was so in sync because of him. You laughed as his catchphrase spilled from the open doors of the boys’ van.

“Hey! Hey!! HEY!!!” He shouted, jumping from the van and rushing towards the back to grab his bag. You smiled and waved to Akaashi as he sauntered after Bokuto, hot on his heels. The two of them passed out all the bags before coming to greet the girls’ team properly.

“You ready Bokkun? Akaashi?” You asked your friends.

“More than ready! Right Akaashi?!”

“Of course, Bokuto-san.”

The three of you smiled amongst yourself before Haku joined and the four of you lead your teams into the venue. To your left, you glanced to Shiratorizawa, you were considering going to that school but plans changed when your mom convinced your dad to take you all to the city rather than the countryside that is Miyagi. You were glad, Ushiwaka was intimidating but you found Tendou seemed to be fun from what you saw at their games. Across from them was Aoba Johsai, their uniforms were cute and bright you thought to yourself. Their captain extremely talented, but a bit childish.

Further down the hall, there was Date Tech across from Karasuno. You knew Date Tech had a strong block; you were glad you didn’t have to go up against that yourself. You’re sure you’d quit after getting blocked by Aone one too many times. He seemed to be sizing up the ace of Karasuno, both seemed intimidating however the bun-head from the crows seemed a lot more approachable you thought.

“Bokuto-san!!!”

“My student!”

You and Haku exchanged a confused glance before looking down to the small, but pleasingly energetic ginger before you. Hinata Shoyo. You heard his name a few times back during that dinner celebration. Turns out he’s superfast and his jump can rival that of any player here. They mingled only a moment before the starting setter from Karasuno snatched the boy back to where he was meant to be. You giggled at the sight of the two bickering before Haku caught your attention.

“This way, L/N.” You nodded before turning back to Bokuto and Akaashi.

“Come watch me play when you can! A-and bring the other two.” You stammered before jogging off with your team. Akaashi nodded in agreement before glancing down the hall to where Kenma and Kuroo stood huddled with their team. He gave a small smile to no one in particular before rounding on Bokuto once more, all the teams heading into the large gym to warm up.

The girls' games were later in the day while the boys were first. You were glad both Fukurodani and Nekoma were kind of in the same area, easy to see both teams play.

You watched Bokuto and Akaashi hundreds of times, often joining the boys extra weekend practices so you could learn from the two of them. They gave you a surge of confidence, you were fidgeting in your seat anxious to get on the court and play yourself. However, today, for the first time Nekoma also had your attention.

Kenma’s movements were minimal but precise, never taking any extra step that he didn’t need to. He was refined in a way, much like Akaashi, but you think it’s more so to preserve his energy rather than solely to be precise and accurate for the ace like Akaashi. You chuckled at the idea.

You smile at how softly he’d send the ball to his hitters, even when a first year, extremely tall, couldn’t quite get the hang of things at first. You were thoroughly entertained by both games, and happy to see both win and move on to their next game after a break.

As their second games were just about to wrap up your team was pulled to start warming up. You felt giddy. Across from that gym, into a much smaller one you noticed, your team took their place and began their drills. As you waited to run up for the ball and practice your spikes you jumped in place warming up your thigh muscles for the work.

Your serves were great as usual, your arm snapping towards the ball with as much force as you could give and they always landed right where you wanted. You grinned from ear to ear, and as your game was about to start, you quickly looked around the stands. Your eyes scanned through the sea of faces before they landed on Bokuto’s unique hair, and next to him Akaashi  on one side and Kuroo on the other. And next to him... The real reason you were in high spirits. Kozume. He had his team jacket zipped all the way up to his chin, and when you two made eye contact you adored the way he tucked his mouth into the jackets collar. You gave the four of them a small wave before being forcefully tugged into a team huddle. Haku shoving your head down into the huddle to keep your attention.

Kuroo chortled at the sight while Bokuto sized up your competition. Akaashi smiled at you before speaking.

“L/N-san is a strong player but easily distracted, much like Bokuto-san.” He explained with a fond look in his eyes. Kenma watched him before sliding his feline eyes back to your huddle just as you all were breaking. Somehow, he could hear your voice outside of all others across the court. The four boys settling in as the game came to a start. Your team had the ball, and to give them a proper welcome you were up to serve.

You bounced the ball a few times before bringing it up to your forehead, eyes closing as you calmed yourself and got into the zone.

“Don’t think of anyone or anything else, just the ball and where you want it to land.” You whispered to yourself.

You gave the ball a high toss, while the other watched how it rolled in the air, Kenma focused on your approach. He perked up as he noticed you were going for a jump serve. The way you muscles rippled underneath your skin as you went for the jump, your braids floating behind you, and finally, your toned arm coming forward to smack the ball where it needed to go. Kenma knew exactly where you were sending it before you even hit, right to the middle of the back row that was foolishly unguarded. With a loud, THWAP, the ball was sent to the wooden floor right before the white line. It was in bounds and perfect.

“Yahoo!” Bokuto cheered, drawing a lot of attention. Kenma applauded your first service ace a prideful smile hidden behind his jacket’s collar. Kuroo cheered with Bokuto while Akaashi stood and clapped for you. You gave them a proud thumbs up before giving another service ace, before your planned third was finally received by the libero of the other team.

As the game continued on, your opponent's put up a good fight. However, it just wasn’t enough in comparison. Your strength, your libero’s speed, your captain’s intellect and technique. It was a losing battle from the first service ace, with the final score being 2-1. You hopped around in celebration, hugging your teammates tight before regaining your composure to shake the losing team's hand.

Kenma could get used to this sight he thought. Watching you crush volleyball players left and right. He learned from Bokuto that you wanted to go pro like him, he nodded at the information. That sounds nice for you. He wished he could learn things about you straight from your own mouth, and not from Akaashi or Bo. But it wasn’t so bad. At least he’s learning something.

He sighed to himself before the four of them stood to meet you downstairs. They found you taking a sip from your water bottle and drying your forehead of sweat with a hand towel. You sighed, nodding to a teammate as she informed you of your next match in a few hours. As she walked away your eyes caught onto a familiar blonde.

You fanned your face with your hand to further cool your skin before meeting the boys halfway.

“Hi you guys! Did you have fun watching me do my thing?” You asked cheerfully, your eyes lingering on Kenma in particular. He nodded in response, a quiet ‘mhm’ humming from his lips.

You were praised by the rest of them, a wide smile on your face as you listened to the feedback. Kenma stared intensely, his pupils dilated the way a cats would at the sight of a laser pointer. That’s the way his eyes always were when they were stuck on you.

“Bokkun, my form getting better?” You asked, suddenly sounding more serious than you were a moment ago. Just as he was about to respond, Akaashi cut in.

“Bokuto-san. I’ll go find a restaurant for dinner.” Bokuto nodded before returning his attention to you. The contents of the conversation lost in the growing crowd as Kuroo and Kenma walked with Akaashi.

...

“The whole crew made it!” Bokuto celebrated as he jumped from his seat at the table to cheer more actively, he jostled everyone's drink, Kenma sprang into action to save his phone from a splash from his cup. You chuckled at the sight before turning to Bokuto and refocusing his excitement to the fresh gyoza on his plate.

But it was true what he said, Nekoma and the boys' and girls' teams from Fukurodani made it through the first day of the tournament. You’d hope you’d all make it to the end, it seemed like a more feasible feat for the others though. You were a little insecure in your abilities, that was the main reason why you looked up to Bokuto so much. He had confidence, but he also had experience with low points as well and his team helped him bounce back from it so seamlessly. You wouldn’t show it but as happy and lighthearted you seemed on the surface, inside you were an anxious type. You loved volleyball so much, it gave you comfort but the spotlight also snuffed a bit of the warmth the game lit in your heart.

You, Kuroo, Bokuto, and Akaashi clinked your glasses against each other in cheers, while Kenma lazily held his up from his seat not going through the effort to reach towards the rest of you. He once again was sat across from you, eyes glued to his phone. Before he placed his cup back onto the table you tapped your glass on his gently, shooting him a playful wink when his eyes snapped to yours. A faint blush tinted his cheeks.

“Kozume-san? Are you happy your team won today?” You asked, kinda of expecting his lack luster response.

“I-I guess, I expected as much...” He replied sheepishly, eyes bouncing around the table, landing on everything but you. You exhaled through your nose before glancing between the screen on his phone and back up to him.

“You seem to like video games more than volleyball though.” You observed nodding toward the game flappy bird on his phone. He tilted his phone upward to obscure your view before he spoke.

“I like both.” A slight pout manifested on his features.

“Well... I brought a few of my own games in my bag if you want to play later?” You asked, looking between the other three boys as they all awaited Kenma’s response.

“Sure...”

You noticed the way his lips curled upward into the faintest of smiles before he neutralized his face once again, you smiled fondly at him before taking a sip of your drink, eyes glossing over him over the top of your glass.

“Good.”

[grayfullbustermybeloved]

@natsubeatsrock I was going through your posts from a while back and I came across this cool anti-gruvia prompt and thought I had to write it. I can’t find the post now (I accidentally closed the tab) but it was about how if Juvia played hard to get, Gray would ignore her. Anyway, here it is. 

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

Juvia didn't know what to do.

She had tried everything.

Baking treats in the shape of his face, following him around everywhere to convince him of her love- even dealing with potential love rivals!

And despite it all, she was no closer to Gray Fullbuster’s heart then the first time she had confessed her love to him. It was infuriating- no, more than that.

It was confusing.

What was she doing wrong here? What was she missing?

“Cana,” Juvia said suddenly, “What am I missing? Why is Gray-sama not moved by my love?”

Cana swore, startling loudly from where she had been reclining on her couch. She had probably been surprised by Juvia’s impulsive burst through the door, but there was no time to lose. Gray-sama was out there, attractive and single without her to scare love rivals off. This was important.

“Juvia!” Cana greeted with a slight grimace, swinging her legs around and twisting to face Juvia. Strange. She didn't seem to be that thrilled about Juvia’s presence, but Juvia was sure it was simply that she was trying to work on the best advice for Juvia.

When Juvia had first arrived at Fairy Hills, all the girls had made it abundantly clear that she could come and ask them anything.

Of course, Juvia had made quick work after this rule had been laid down, knowing the advantage many of them had with knowing Gray-sama’s likes and dislikes, and requiring some help in making up for lost time.

Cana knew this as well, but despite that, was a little slow on the uptake. The brown haired card mage frowned slightly. “You want advice on Gray? Why not go to Mira, or Lisanna, or… literally anyone else who isn't me?” 

It was a valid question. Juvia already knew the answer, of course.

“I’ve already tried!” She wailed in despair, coming in and sitting on a leg of the couch as Cana got up and hurriedly closed the door- perhaps trying to prevent watermarks from spreading around the building once more. 

“None of their advice worked! Mirajane suggested chocolate, which Juvia has already tried several times, although Gray-sama rarely accepts food from Juvia anymore-” 

“I wonder why,” Cana muttered, obviously remembering some of Juvia’s more famous failures with a love potion. Juvia carried on regardless. Now was not the time to ruminate on her failed attempts at love.

“And Lisanna suggested I knit him something personal, like a scarf, but Gray-sama lost it immediately!”

“Yeah,” Cana winced, snorting slightly. “Clothes are probably not the best way to get to Gray’s heart.”

Juvia nodded sagely. She knew all about Gray-sama’s little clothing habit. Some of his discarded shirts were hung in pride of place in her room. “So you see, you are my only hope at ever trying to find true happiness!”

Cana raised an eyebrow. “I’m sure there are plenty of other girls in Fairy Tail who have advice for you, though, apart from the Strauss siblings. So why don’t you hop on over to their rooms and leave me to drink- I mean relax in peace.”

“Ah,” Juvia said, because she had anticipated Cana saying something like that. “But you have what the others do not- you have known Gray-sama for the longest!” 

Juvia presented these words to Cana dramatically, watching her expectantly, if not a bit jealously. When she had first heard of it from Mirajane, she had immediately singled out Cana as the new number one love rival, replacing Lucy.

However, through much careful information gathering (read: stalking) Juvia had come to the unexpected but welcome conclusion that maybe, just maybe, Cana had no interest in Gray-sama romantically.

The idea was a confusing one, because Gray-sama was perfect, but Cana had proven herself to be quite content with her involvement with (and her Juvia blushed just thinking about) multiple guys. And some girls, as well.

Therefore, Juvia had done the unthinkable, and deemed her “safe”. 

“Wow,” said Cana, taken aback. “I guess, I have, huh? Damn, time flies bye. He was such a bitch when he was younger.”

Juvia ignored that comment, because she was sure Gray-sama had always been perfect, and smiled at Cana. 

“So you’ll help then?” Juvia said cheerfully, leaning in closer to the card mage and making her eyes wide. Gajeel always said that the expression made her look like a kicked puppy, and Juvia wanted to hurry this exchange along.

Cana sighed, glancing at the clock in her room sadly. Strange. Maybe she had an appointment to keep? “Aww, yeah, whatever. It’s not like I was gonna do anything important today anyway. So, what have you already tried?”

It took around two hours for Juvia to list every advance she had made on Gray-sama since she had joined Fairy Tail, which she had alphabetically categorized and listed onto a piece of paper, but Cana was an attentive listener. She had even put on dark shaded glasses to help her focus better on Juvia’s attempts for love, saying that the sun’s glare was giving her a headache. Truly, Cana was a good friend.

Just as Juvia hit the two hour mark, and the sun was getting lower in the sky (it had been early afternoon when she had come to see Cana) she finished listing everything and looked up at the dark haired girl sitting next to her, curled into the couch.

“Well!” Juvia said brightly, looking expectantly at her companion. “Do you have any ideas?” 

Strangely enough, Cana didn't respond. It took Juvia poking her several times for her to startle and take her glasses off. She must have been truly in deep thought. Juvia was shaking in excitement. 

“Right,” Cana said after she had blinked several times, running a hand through her hair. “All of that was, uh, good. But not what Gray needs, I think.”

Juvia frowned, surprised. “But I got most of the ideas from very credible sources!” She said anxiously. 

Cana picked up the list and scanned through it. “I’m pretty sure this one is the beginning of one of Lucy’s trash romance novels. You know, the ones she loves but pretends to hate at the guild?”

Juvia did in fact know, and flushed scarlet, sinking into the couch. She had been forced to look for inspiration in some unconventional places after the first couple of times of confessing her undying love to Gray-sama did not garner results.

Cana continued on without judgment, however. “You’ve tried basically everything under the sun. Bar one. ”

Juvia leaned in closer, eager to hear what she had been missing. She had a feeling, deep in her gut, that this was the moment. This was the moment that changed everything. No matter that she got that feeling everytime she started out on a new plan to woo Gray-sama.

Cana nodded, her face the picture of solemn wisdom. “You, my friend, need to play hard to get.”

“Hard to get?” Juvia questioned, puzzled. She had not heard the term before, but it sounded intriguing.

Cana did an awfully good impression of a witches laugh. “Oh, my young padawan, let the master tell you all…”

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

Juvia was slightly unsure about playing hard to get, but Cana was insistent. And persuasive. 

“This will work!” she insisted. “You’ve tried everything else, anyway!”

It was a good point, Juvia had to admit.

So Juvia nodded, and played hard to get.

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

Four months later, she was still playing hard to get.

Gray-sama would break soon, she just knew it.

[nowoyas]

Edible Arrangements Eighth Bite: New Information

First - Prev - Next  - M.list - Ao3

A/N: IT IS BIRTHDAY. IT IS IZUKU’S BIRTHDAY. BIRTH. DAY. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE SUN IN THE SKY AND THE GRASS OF THE FIELDS AND THE LOVE OF MY LIFE.

Chapter Summary: You have a lunch date with Tenya to discuss Friday’s dinner. Today is not a good day. 

Warnings: in-depth POV description of a panic attack, this whole chapter is just kinda angry, uhhh implications of mind control

Word count: 5200+

[name] to Gotta Go Fast at 10:19AM

[name]: hey, you're on campus today, right? Are you busy?

[name]: I need to talk to you about something.

Gotta Go Fast: Of course, [name]. What time works well for you?

[name]: I'm headed to the library right after my morning class. We could meet for lunch, and talk then?

Gotta Go Fast: That works great for me! Where would you like to meet?

[name]: outside the university library? We can eat at one of the tables outside. 

Gotta Go Fast: Sure thing. May I ask what this is about?

[name]: better tell you in person. It's kind of important.

Gotta Go Fast: I understand! I have something I'd like to speak with you about, as well, so this will be fairly efficient.

Forty minutes of loitering and fifty minutes of your advanced quirk theory course later, and you're off to pick up the books from the library. At first glance, the desk isn't staffed. At second glance, there's a very cute floating outfit, accompanied by some floating papers near a chair behind the desk.

"Um, excuse me?" you try, feeling a little stupid for talking to a sweater. 

"Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't see you there. What can I do for you?"

Well, you were right at guessing it was her quirk, but man, is the disembodied voice kinda freaking you out. "Sorry, I had some books on hold for [full name]?"

"Sure thing! Let me grab those for you. Can I see your student ID?"

You nod, sliding it out of your wallet as she bustles away. The girl (?) returns soon with two large, old-looking books. "Here's they are! Guide to Vampires and Tome of Blood, both listed under [full name]." You slide her your library card as she scans the books, and once she's done checking you out, you receive all three. "Doing a paper on vampires?"

"Oh, no," you shake your head. "Just personal curiosity!"

Your library card finds its way back into your wallet, the books into your bookbag, and you thank the girl and wave to her cheerfully on your way out. Mentally, you cross item one off your to-do list for the day.

Next up, confronting Tenya.

You grab a table and set your lunch on it, pulling out your notes for your next class (which is, unfortunately, philosophy) to review while you wait. Tenya finds you before you have to wait too long, and you eat together in relative silence. At the end of both of your meals, you take a deep breath to prepare yourself for the conversation ahead.

"So, Tenya."

"Yes, [name]?"

"I don't really know how to ask this, but... The thing is..." You mentally chastise yourself as you stall the question. "You're not... human, are you?"

"What?" he blinks. "I don't know what I was expecting, but it certainly wasn't—"

"Please don't avoid answering the question, Tenya. I already... Kind of figured it out. Are you a human?"

After a long moment, he sighs, face darkened at your questioning. "...not anymore. I'm... not proud to admit it, and I'd fix myself if I only could. How did you find out?"

"It was an accident," you answer. "I'm sorry. I had this old compact mirror and I heard vampires don't reflect in older mirrors so when you were talking with Izuku in the kitchen I went to test it and... neither of you reflected so I just. Kinda figured it out."

"Ah, then you likely heard my... Less-than-pleasant conversation with your "landlord". And you already knew about him. That makes what I had to say easier."

You didn't hear any of his conversation, but you're curious to see where this is going. You suppose you can further address Tenya's... humanity, or lack thereof, later. "What did you want to talk to me about, then?"

"It's about that friend of yours."

"Yeah, and?"

He inhales, exhales, meets your eyes. "I think there's something you should know about vampires."

You raise an eyebrow. "Come on, cut to the chase. What's all this actually about?"

"Have you heard of vampire's thralls?" Tenya asks, voice dropping to a hush as he leans in to speak.

You shrug. "I mean, I've heard the term before."

He takes this as his cue to explain, and explain he does. "When a vampire bites someone, if he so chooses, it's possible for him to take over the minds of the victim. Fledglings might do this on accident—when I first ended up this way, I accidentally..." Knuckles turn to white as he grips the thermos in his hands too tightly. "No, never mind. That's not important right now."

He takes a moment to compose himself. You watch him in silence.

"I've since found ways to avoid drinking directly from hosts—" He raises his thermos and swirls it as though it's a glass of wine. "—but I've heard tell of plenty who abuse their ability to completely control someone. The thralls become like mindless dolls, unable to act for themselves except when it aligns with the will of their master."

"I don't understand why you're telling me this." Your voice is cold, painfully emotionless as the lie leaves your lips. Discomfort stirs up a storm in your stomach—you know what he's implying. 

Yet another sigh escapes him. "I think you should find another person to stay with until everything's been sorted out for you."

"You... you have to be joking right now."

You know that he's not. Not once since meeting you for lunch has he told a single lie, his skin betraying no telltale glow, not even now, as he tells you to give up on the best thing that's happened to you in... Fuck, you don't know how long. That alone hurts almost more than the implication behind his statement.

He's silent. You want to vomit.

"Izuku is... important to me. I trust him."

"Don't you think it'd be prudent to be a little less trusting of everyone you meet? You've known this thing for—"

"Don't call him that." You cut him off with a warning glare.

"—for less than a month," he continues. "For all you know, he could be taking advantage of you without you even realizing—"

"Izuku wouldn't do that!" you insist. "He's not like that. He's kind. He cares about me."

"Do you have any reason to believe that he doesn't have you in his thrall right now, or are you just going off of baseless feelings?"

Whatever you were going to protest with next is lost. Words hardly make it from your brain to your throat, let alone your lips. Three false starts leads to a weak "well... I..." before Tenya speaks up again.

"If you don't have any way to prove it, not to me but to yourself, then I think it's time to be rational and accept that he's using you."

"That isn't..."

"Please, [name]. I don't want to see you hurt again."

You chew your lip, dig your nails in your arm to ground yourself. "I don't think it's fair of you to assume that Izuku is using me just because we have an arrangement and he happens to be a vampire. Everything he's done has been something we agreed on ahead of time, and not because he was... controlling me, or whatever. We agreed on everything before he ever brought his teeth near me."

"An 'arrangement'?" he asks, raising an eyebrow.

You nod quietly. "We... I was in a bad place financially. He's letting me stay in his house for as long as I want and paying all my expenses. All I have to do is let him feed once a week, and I can leave whenever I want. He's respectful, and kind, and he helps me even beyond our initial agreement and..."

"And what happens when you do decide to leave?"

"What happens if I don't?"

"[name], please. You know better than this. Compared to your past roommate experience, he's even more dangerous, and obviously so."

You flinch involuntarily at the implication. "Please don't compare this to that time I roomed with a serial killer. They're nothing alike."

"The nature of a vampire is to take. To take from you until there's nothing left. I don't want to lose my friend to that."

The more you talk, the less good you feel. Somehow, everything's turned from "confirming with your friend that you found out something completely unintended" to "Tenya is on the warpath and your sugar daddy is his target", and you're not sure what you can even do about it.

"Not only that, but simply because you don't remember him attacking you doesn't mean it hasn't happened."

"What, you think he drugged me?" you snort derisively, back on the defensive.

He pinches the bridge of his nose with a sigh. "Not quite. But he's fully capable of messing with your memories when you're enthralled."

"Should I even ask why you know that?" You nearly sneer your words, defensiveness mounting by the minute. You're not sure exactly why you're so mad, only that you really, really are.

"Because I've done it before!" He slams the thermos down on the table. (You're somewhat glad that you chose to sit at one of the metal outdoor tables, rather than one topped with glass, especially when the force of him hitting the table nearly jolts you out of your seat.) "When I was first turned. It was a complete accident, but... I wiped someone's memories. Someone close to me."

"You... what?" Nausea lurches as your heart plunges straight into your stomach. Tenya continues.

"Please don't misunderstand! I didn't realize it was something I could do. I was desperate, and drank from a friend. I... I hated myself for what I became, even more when I had to hurt a dear friend to do it. As I drank from them, I wished that they'd forget we ever met, and... When I met their eyes, they did. It's well within your 'friend's' reaches to make you forget the times he's hurt you, whether or not he intends to."

He isn't glowing. Truth. It's all true. "You think that even if he doesn't mean to, he'll still end up hurting me."

His silence speaks volumes.

"Can I ask you a question?"

Eyes, stricken with guilt from the memory he's given you, meet yours. He gives you a silent nod.

"At dinner on Friday. What, exactly, did you tell Izuku?"

Hesitation. Guilt that grows. "We simply had a small conversation."

Liar.

"Can you please not give me that shit? Come on, Tenya. You know better than to lie to me."

"I don't think you'll like the answer."

"I don't think I will either. That doesn't mean it's not one I need to hear."

"...I told your landlord that if he cared about you, he'd ask you to leave and find some other way to get his meals. That I knew what he was and exactly why we shouldn't trust you. That you've dealt with enough in the past without living with a monster."

"Oh for fuck's sake," you exhale. "So that's why he was so upset after everyone left! How much of a dick do you have to be?"

Tenya flinches as your anger mounts. "Please understand. Things are never as simple as you let your quirk convince you they are. Vampires are—"

"For fuck's sake, Tenya! Quit giving me all this lecture shit about how he's some monster that can't be trusted over something he can't help! It's not his fault any more than it is yours! Do you have any idea how often I have to reassure him that he's not taking advantage of me? Any idea how hard it is to get him to understand that I'm okay with who he is? And then you go and say something like that."

"[name]—"

"No, don't try to apologize." You shove the last of your things in your bag haphazardly. "You've done enough. If you cared about me you wouldn't be going around behind my back trying to ruin the best thing that's ever happened to me out of some false sense of concern!"

"Please, be rational. He's a—"

For a moment, you forget. "Shut up! You're a vampire, dumbass!" you snap. The legs of your chair (and those of the table) screech against the concrete as you stand abruptly, pushing the table away from you and practically shoving it into Tenya's chest. "You know what? Fuck it. Maybe I will take your advice. If vampires really can't be trusted, then clearly, I can't trust you."

Tenya doesn't have a response for you. He just... takes it. He doesn't even meet your eyes anymore.

You let out a frustrated grunt, sling your bag over your back, and give him one last glance over your shoulder. "I'm going to be late to class. Talk to me when you've gotten yourself some goddamn therapy."

~

Okay, so maybe you were too hasty in saying you'd be late to class. It's only 12:30, which means you have half an hour to loiter around before your next class. Usually, this is par for the course, given the time between your morning and afternoon classes, and yeah, that's how you designed your schedule in the first place, but right now, you need the occupation, and you don't have it. 

Your philosophy class meets in one of the newer buildings on campus. There are plenty of windows, all nearly floor-to-ceiling, with huge brick windowsills perfect for those waiting for their next class to start to sit in. The seats are uncomfortable but sunny, and frequently, you can find whatever friend groups are out and about commandeering a corner of the building all to themselves. Today is no exception.

You don't give a shit. You shove past them, move a bookbag onto the floor, and begin rifling through your bag to re-organize your things, ignoring whatever derisive looks or comments you get about how rude you're being to the sorority girls taking up as much space as they possibly can on the windowsill and pulling your headphones to block out their chatter. Organizing things lasts you all of five minutes before your abysmal luck once again rears its head. Immaculate fucking Birkenstocks enter your line of sight. Your eyes follow up their legs to meet the eyes of one unfortunately familiar face, less than a moment before he taps your shoulder.

"Don't," you hiss immediately. Seeing the look in your eyes, Neito flinches noticeably before painting his smug smile back on his face. Damn, are you really that scary when you're angry beyond belief?

...no one answer that.

Still, he takes it in stride. "Bad day?"

"Seriously. I'm not in the mood for conversation. Please just go away."

"We're waiting for the same class, dear. Should I simply not show up?"

"I dunno, maybe!" you snap. "Might be a more tolerable class that way."

"Now, I'm no expert," he says, not batting an eye at your jabbing, "but it seems like something might have happened to upset you."

You fire him a glare, yanking your bag closed. "Really? What gave you that impression? Intuition? The fact that I'm about two seconds away from ripping someone's head off or bursting into tears? Was it my pleasant, saccharine tone?" You move to stand. Ever fluent in social cues, Neito helps you to your feet. "Stop touching me."

"This wouldn't happen to be a vampire-related problem, would it?"

"God damn will you give that a rest? You asked me that last time and I still don't know any vampires." You slip your bookbag on your back, letting your lie slip out with ease. "I just got into a fight with a friend. Not like it's any of your concern." 

He hums. You really want to wipe that smug look off his face right about now. Unfortunately, you're not too keen on whatever the consequences for doing so would be, given that if you acted the way you wanted to right about now, someone (probably one of the sorority girls you snubbed when you sat down) would probably call campus police, and damn if that wouldn't just put a damper on your mood. "Ah, the man you were... speaking with during your lunch."

You pinch the bridge of your nose and wrap an arm across yourself protectively. "Look, if you're stalking me, I swear to god I will not hesitate to put you through this window right now."

"My, how... straightforward."

If only he knew you weren't lying.

"No, no, I happened to overhear you, erm, speaking with your friend before you stormed off for class. It was worrying to me for a number of reasons."

"I don't need you to worry about me," you bite back. "It's really none of your business if he was keeping shit from me or acting overbearing or being a dick about my new friends. It's not like we're friends."

Yet again, you've left another guy speechless. You're really on a roll today.

"Anyways, I've just decided that I'm not willing to put up with anyone else today, so thanks for that." You brush past him.

"Wait, but aren't you going to attend class?"

"I've instead decided I'm going to drive home and drink my problems, but thanks for your concern."

"Healthy," he comments as you walk away. "I can relate."

You ignore him, finding the nearest non-emergency exit and beginning your trek back to the parking lot. You honestly can't wait to get home and lock yourself in your room or maybe in the library and finally—

Oh goddammit.

You agreed to meet with Hitoshi about the project today.

With an aggravated noise, you produce your phone and shoot him a text.

occult weirdo to Vampire, but Annoying at 12:29PM

occult weirdo: i know we agreed to meet today but I need to reschedule.

occult weirdo: sorry to be THAT group member.

occult weirdo: i'll explain when i feel less like ultimate frisbee'ing my phone at the head of the nearest passerby.

You find your car, fling your bag and your phone into the passenger's seat, and begin the drive home.

~

Traffic sucks. Sucked. Whatever.

Of course, of all the days, there'd be a three-car pileup on your way home. Typically, you make it a point to linger on campus until a half hour or so after your last class to avoid the stream of people and traffic that usually occurs around the start of a new hour as everyone gets out of their current class. In your anger and frustration, you forgot that part.

Not only did traffic suck, but your phone was blowing up the entire damn time. Your guess is it's either Mina, having likely heard about your fight with Tenya, if not about the topic (she always seems to know before you can tell her), and wanting to know the actual details, or Hitoshi, here to annoy you with insistence on talking about the project details. Either way, you gracefully ignored it with your knuckles white on your steering wheel as you made your way home, and now, as you approach the front door, it makes itself even more obnoxious to ignore. Your ringtone blares just as you slip inside. Apparently, the universe doesn't care that you've had a shitty day.

Checking the ringtone, apparently neither does Hitoshi Shinsou.

Your arm slams into the doorknob as you bring your phone up to answer. Watch it bruise, because what else could still go wrong today? "I cannot begin to express to you how not in the mood I am right now, Hitoshi," you snap, angrily rubbing your wrist with your opposite hand.

"You weren't answering my texts. I had some ideas for the project I wanted to run by you."

"Yeah, I was fucking driving." You splay your palm over your eyes, discarding your bag and sliding to sit on the floor. "Can it wait? Please? Please, just let it wait. For the love of all that is holy just hold off on the project shit for a few hours."

"...are you okay?"

Your phone suddenly gives you the impression that it would look a lot better flying through the window.

You pointedly resist the urge to test out that theory.

The thing about being asked whether you're okay is that, at best, it's a nice reassurance that the other person cares about your well-being. If you're not okay, the result is the worst. For those times where you're barely keeping it together, being asked whether you're okay is a surefire way to turn the bottle you're neatly trying to hold all your emotions in into a nice little Molotov cocktail.

Part of you would love to tell him in a sufficiently bitchy voice that you're fine, everything is fine, or perhaps something along the lines of "I will be when you leave me the fuck alone". Another part wants nothing more than to just unload—you've had one of the worst days possible, everything's gone wrong, please fuck off because today is worse than that time you got stabbed, than losing your job suddenly for stupid fucking reasons, than—

Not that any of that matters.

A shaky breath passes your lips. 

None of those parts of you matter right now, because one shaky exhale is followed up, double in the taking, by a sharp, high-pitched intake, and you know immediately that you no longer have any control over how you respond. 

"[name]?" Hitoshi's voice filters through, but it's far away, too far away to be of any use or really pass any consequence as the hand over your eyes moves up to grab a fistful of hair and pull in a last-ditch effort to ground yourself, as though yanking a bit of your hair out is any weapon against a breakdown that's been building for the past hour and a half and has finally found a crack to break through.

Hitoshi is surely more confused now as you let the hand holding your phone drop to the floor, taking his voice away from your ear to call at you uselessly as you try to fight the hyperventilation. You leave the phone there, sliding the hand that no longer feels quite like your own just underneath the hem of your shirt to find a familiar scar. Dim hopes ask for the texture of the raised line to soothe you, but you know better than to think it'll work. Nothing ever does.

"[name]? I thought you were—"

Footsteps approach. A familiar voice, a safe one, speaks, not to you, but to someone. Your phone.

"I'm sorry, they’re going to have to call you back. They’re having a panic attack. Do you have any idea what triggered it?"

A pause.

"I see. Thanks anyways, and have a nice day."

You're dizzy. So dizzy. Your breaths are more like gasps, dangerously high pitched, too short and shallow to be of any use. Your body hardly lets any air reach your lungs before following it with another panicked inhale.

"[name]? Can you hear me?"

Might nod, might not. You try to, anyway.

"Can you try to focus on my voice? I'm going to try to help you calm down."

Another nod, another try.

"Good. I'm right here with you, okay? Izuku's right here. Is it okay if I touch you?"

You choke out something approximating a yes, fist squeezing tighter in your hair, fingernails digging in where something much sharper and much more deadly once found itself. Warm hands, rough to the touch but gentle in motion, pry your fingers away: first from your hair, then from your abdomen. Small, soothing circles are traced on the backs of your hands as he holds them away from the rest of you, away from where you can hurt yourself.

"You're doing so well, [name]. I need you to try to control your breathing before you make yourself sick. Can you do that for me?"

You're trying, you want to tell him. You're trying so hard but you can't, you can't, you can't—

"Shhhh, it's okay. I know you can. Just try to match my counting, okay?"

You don't even try to nod, but you do your damnedest to wrench a hold on your breathing. Izuku's thumbs, holding your hands just barely in your line of vision, continue to rub small circles. You latch onto the feeling as best you can.

"In, two, three, four and hold, two, three, four, five, six, seven and release, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight," he's murmuring, so soft and yet it's the only thing you can hear over the blood rushing in your ears.

It's one hell of a battle, but Izuku keeps counting, pausing on occasion to give you small words of encouragement, and you keep trying, and eventually, you're able to match your breathing to his counting with only the occasional sharp in-breath to interrupt you.

"There you go," he murmurs. The thumbs tracing the backs of your hands change to dragging slowly back and forth. "You're doing great."

When finally you manage to get through two full cycles of breath without your own body interrupting you, you meet Izuku's eyes sheepishly. You're still crying, something you hadn't even realized you'd been doing, but it's significantly better than before. 

"Feeling a bit better?" he asks tentatively.

As much as you want to keep your hands in his, you launch yourself at him, wrapping arms and legs around in a full hug as you find a place in his lap. To his credit, he's quick to steady you, barely even losing his balance as you bury your face in his neck and let yourself cry.

Izuku's hand smooths over your back, gentle as it drags circles with the clothing over your skin. The closeness brings a comfort to you, his scent likely more if not for the unfortunate fact that your nose is currently too runny to smell with. You're probably making a huge mess of his shirt, too—angel that he is, he doesn't seem to mind. He's far more concerned with calming you down as more nonsensical words meet your ears.

When finally your sobs subside into hiccups, which quickly give way to normal breathing, he tries again. "Do you want to talk about what happened?"

You nod slowly, taking a few deep breaths. "I'm a piece of shit."

You can tell he wants to contest you, but he lets you explain.

"I... I got into a fight with Tenya."

"With Tenya? What happened?"

"I... fuck, where do I even start?"

"You kind of already did," he points out softly.

You smile bitterly. "Good point. I dunno, I just... it's a lot. He wants me to find a different place to stay because he knows you're a vampire and says that makes you untrustworthy, but I'm an adult, it's my decision to make, and I want to stay here. And I think it's really hypocritical and stupid of him to say all that because he's a vampire and never told me and I found out by complete accident last week."

Were you not in his arms, you might not have noticed the small jolt as he responds (or stops himself from responding) to your words. "I’m sorry, I... don't really get how any of that makes you a bad person."

"It doesn't, but he..." A few steady breaths. You'll hold off on bringing up Tenya's claims about Izuku enthralling you for now. "When I defended you and asked him not to be rude, he said some stuff and basically confirmed that he was a total dick to you after dinner Friday, and not only that, but he threw my old roommate in my face like that was in any way my fault, and I just... he told me about some bad shit he accidentally did ages ago like that was supposed to make up for the fact that he was treating me like a child and comparing you to an actual serial killer, and I just got really mad and kind of yelled at him."

"I'm really sorry," Izuku says. "I don't know what the situation with your old roommate was, but... I'm sorry to have caused conflict between you and your friend. I know they're all really important to you."

"No, I don't blame you for this. Tenya's being ridiculous and I think he knows he's out of line..." You trail off.

"...but...?" Izuku says, catching on to your trail.

"...but that doesn't make me feel good about yelling at him or lashing out. I wish I hadn't gotten so mad so we could have had a proper conversation about it, but I'm still pretty pissed at him even after calming down and a sick part of me doesn't want to apologize for it even though I know my response was out of line. And I lashed out at a guy and skipped class, and that doesn't feel good either even if the guy hasn't exactly been someone I ever want to be around.

"Everything's just kind of built up all day and everything kept going wrong and I was so sure today was going to be good but now I've also gotta apologize to Hitoshi for all that shit that just happened and I just..." You sigh. "I just wanna go to bed and forget today even happened."

"I understand. But, y-y'know, it's still only noon."

"...and?" You lift your head from his chest curiously.

He stands suddenly, effortlessly lifting you off the ground with him and eliciting a startled shriek as you latch onto him. "I-I was about to go out grocery shopping. If you want, we could go together?" He tilts his head down at you. "It sounds like you need something to go right today, s-so I thought maybe I could at least distract you?"

A fond smile graces your lips. "Actually? That sounds fantastic."

"Great!" He gingerly sets you on your feet. 

"Can we get some shitty fast food while we're out?" you ask, pouting up at him. 

Izuku chuckles, reaching out to ruffle your hair affectionately. "If that's what you want."

You flash him an excited smile. "Great! Lemme bring my bag up to my room and fix my face and then I'm ready to go." You cough. "Uh, if you wanted to go right away? I'm obviously free the rest of the day though, so, you know..."

"That sounds perfect. I'll wait down here for you."

"Right! I'll be right back then." You scamper up the stairs with your bookbag, feeling a nervous energy buzz in your veins. 

For maybe just a moment, you linger upstairs, but you quickly realize that Izuku still has your phone from before and you don't have anything to occupy yourself with. Cold water splashed on your face and the swapping of your bookbag for a much smaller, less heavy bag leaves you no choice but to take a few deep breaths, smooth your hair down, and look forward to the rest of your day being better. 

Thanks to Izuku, you don't doubt that it will be.

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