#hope he roasts her love aura x

[escortingsouls]

closed starter // @surelevi​

Hearing her office door open, Kamelya whips her head around to see who it is. She’s silently praying it is not her ex-husband, and a wave of relief crashes over when she sees that it’s Levi. They’ve only done one session so far; she didn’t think that she’d scheduled him in for a session today. In fact, she’s sure that she kept her diary clear to dedicate a day to sorting her thoughts out. “Levi, what are you doing here? You’re not in my calendar for today,” she tells him, brow furrowing. Maybe she’s starting to lose her mind. Lack of sleep and immense stress will do that to a person eventually.

[multi-fandomsfreak]

Hello, how are you doing? I hope you are doing okay 👍

I have a silly request :D

So imagine Xenophanes and Lord X are fighting for Reader’s attention. (They’re all friends) Both Xeno and Lord X are always trying to make reader hang out with them. (With reader’s consent) They also bicker when Reader is not around but in all honesty Reader actually prefers Majin Sonic and Needlemouse’s company. (Reader is good at hiding the fact that she prefers these two.) Everyone knows that reader likes Needlemouse and Majin more (Expect Xeno and Lord X.) but she also likes Xeno and Lord X’s company. So she just decides to keep her friendship with Majin and Needlemouse a secret until one day Needlemouse accidentally reveals the secret.

Like one day reader is hanging out with both Xeno and Lord X. Needlemouse comes out of nowhere and hugs reader from behind which makes her jump slightly but reader smiles and greets her like usual but needlemouse hit her with the “Hey, bestie.” And reader just freezes and silently pleads that Xeno and Lord X. They heard.. They both very much heard.

You can decide how they both react to the news. >:)

(Please use She/Her pronouns.)

[Like always if you don’t like this request feel free to skip it.]

Xenophane and Lord X Fighting For Your Attention

Hey there thanks for the ask!

Absolutely loved this request. Love the thought of these two hedgehogs fighting for attention only to be disproven. Anyways hope you like it. ~J/Blaze

Pronouns: She/Her

Warning: ❌

Requested: Yes/No

Characters: Xenophane + Lord X + Needlemouse/Sarah + Majin

Proofread: ❌

Credits: Art by BaterkaCZJeffryCZ (For Xenophane) and Daniuxshit (For Lord X) on Deviantart + Banner by m4rxi on Pinterest

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- There wasn't a day that didn’t include Xeno and Lord X having some sort of argument usually involving you. You see they both personally believe that they deserve to bless you with their attention while giving out reasons why the other should leave you alone, all that stuff. Luckily most of these arguments weren’t around you but unfortunately the others were ‘blessed’ with being in earshot of their bickering. Honestly it kind of annoyed them the type of shit they would say just to get the other to back away from you is something. It’s a miracle that one of them hasn’t snapped and told them to shut up.

- Luckily they do manage to keep their arguments separate from you or at least to an extent. But even then sometimes they would passive aggressively roast each other and tell you why they are a better reason to be around you.

+ “Come on [Name] trust me I’ll be a much better option to be around than that crystallized idiot over there.” Lord X said towards you, placing a hand on your shoulder just to provoke a reaction out of Xeno “I thought [Name] said we could all hang out together X. No need to hog her to yourself.” Xeno retorted back “I know she did but let’s be honest she would rather be around me than with you.” Lord X said with a smirk on his face enjoying Xeno’s reaction to his comments “how would you know that? She might prefer me more.”

- That’s pretty much how their arguments go when they’re around you. Although they do keep their peace for the most part around you but at the same time don’t be surprised to expect them to throw some subtle jabs here and there. They always try to one up each other in order to make them seem better than the other.

- However, as much as you loved the both of them in your own way, to be honest you always prefer two other people in the EXE group. That being Sarah or also known as Needlemouse and Majin. Why them? you may ask? Honestly you prefer their company more. They’re more fun to be around. Majin has more of that calm aura about him, when you want to have some peace from Xeno and Lord X but want to be around someone you can go to Majin and he wouldn’t mind. As for Sarah seeing how she’s (as far as I’m aware of) is the only female exe you two can relate to some stuff. Kind of like Majin if you just want to chill you can rely on Sarah. Sometimes you two can talk about anything yet find entertainment in it, that’s how close you are with her.

- Surprisingly, despite everyone else knowing about your preference for Majin and Sarah, the only people who didn’t know were Xeno and Lord X. How they did not know was an absolute mystery to you and everyone else you're just really good at keeping secrets. You mostly kept it a secret to spare their feelings knowing them their reaction could be anything. You were already a bit on the conflicted side when it came to how Lord X might react but you had a feeling he would take it somewhat well while Xeno might exaggerate his emotions a bit.

- Speaking of their reactions as much as you would like to keep this secret, eventually the two of them would at some point find out about your favoritism with someone other than them. It happened when you were spending time with the both of them, with them throwing passive aggressive comments at each other like usual. What you didn’t know was that while you were waiting for the two of them to calm down Sarah had managed to spot you and thought ‘oh there’s [Name] let’s go speak to her’ and with another thought she immediately went up to you gave you a friendly hug and said “hey how’s my best friend doing?” She unknowingly said not knowing the current situation. At first you were about to return the favor before quickly realizing that Xenophane and Lord X were still here. You were kind of pleading to yourself that they didn’t hear but when you went to look at them their faces were all you needed to know. They did. Some point after Sarah also kind of realized that she kind of screwed you over and awkwardly chuckled to herself. Their reactions were pretty much the photo below.

- I feel like their reaction to the information they just learned would be different. For Lord X I feel like he would be kind of accepting of it after a while. Like sure he didn’t feel that upset at you he kind of wished you did tell him about it. Regardless after a bit he’s kind of over it. Still do expect him to still be a little teasing about if you like him more than Xeno.

- On the same note, Xenophane reaction? oh boy. He was definitely kind of pissed. More of a childish way though. He acts kind of offended that he’s not your favourite. Like Lord X I’d like to imagine he would’ve liked to be told about the others being your favourite. But after a bit just like Lord X he gets over it sort of. Still although they are aware of people like Sarah and Majin being your best friends do still expect them to go at each other over who you prefer.

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[lastbluetardis]

Sacred New Beginnings (17/?)

Summary: James Noble thought he traded away his chance at love and a happy-ever-after when he signed a contract with a record label that turned him into an international celebrity. But a chance meeting in a dive bar may prove him wrong.

Ten x Rose AU

This Chapter: Teen/Mature-ish, ~5200 words

AO3 || Ch1 | Ch2 | Ch3 | Ch4 | Ch5 | Ch6 | Ch7 | Ch8 | Ch9 | Ch10 | Ch11 | Ch12 | Ch13 | Ch14 | Ch15 | Ch16 |

James doesn’t bother to knock; he simply opens the front door and ushers Rose in and out of the cold. It’s beginning to rain, and a damp chill slices through him along with a gust of wind. The house smells of roasting chicken and something chocolatey. His stomach rumbles, having already digested his lunch and looking for dinner.

“It’s us!” he calls, shrugging off his coat and hanging it on the rack by the door. Rose follows suit, and stays a step behind him as footsteps approach.

“Jamie!”

His mum emerges from the kitchen, her gray-streaked brown hair pulled into a messy bun high on her head. He is glad she stayed in comfy, casual clothes as he sees Rose tugging at her shirt.

He opens his arms for his mother, bending to reach her tiny height. Her bony body fits into his, and he takes a moment to breathe in her familiar scent that makes him feel like a small child again.

He kisses her cheek and pulls back, beaming as he says, “Mum, this is Rose.”

Any trace of her nerves is hidden by the broad smile Rose flashes at them.

“It’s nice to meet you, Ms. Noble,” she says.

His mother opens her arms and envelopes Rose in a warm embrace that James is so thankful for. Everyone loves his mother, and his mother loves everyone; she has always had that aura around her that puts everyone at ease, and she’s dialed it up to the max for tonight.

“Oh, please, call me Vera,” she says, squeezing Rose. “I have heard so much about you! I’ve been hoping James would bring you ‘round. Well, I’ve mostly been hoping he would talk to you about how smitten he is, because he can be quite oblivious sometimes.”

His cheeks burn and he mutters, “Mu-uuum!”

But Rose giggles and says, “He did, don’t worry.” She then glances around and says the obligatory, “Your house is lovely!”

“Let me show you around,” he interjects, intercepting Rose from his mum.

His tour lasts all of thirty seconds—a house is a house, isn’t it?—before they’re back in the kitchen. His mum is mashing potatoes, and puts in an unfortunately pitiful pinch of salt. When he tries to add more, his mum smacks his hand.

“You can always add more salt later, but you can’t take it out again! Too much salt will give you high blood pressure.”

He relents with a sigh, then goes to the fridge to root around for something to drink. He finds a bottle of white wine and takes the liberty of opening it and pouring out healthy measures into three glasses.

“Some wine for m’lady,” he whispers into Rose’s ear, affecting the Scottish brogue she’d loved so much.

She elbows him lightly, her cheeks a lovely pink color. He sneaks in a kiss before handing a glass to his mother.

“What can I help with?” he asks.

“Everything is almost done. You could set the table, though.”

He salutes her, and dutifully gathers plates and cutlery from their appropriate cabinets and drawers.

By the time the oven dings, the mashed potatoes and green beans are steaming in their serving platters on the kitchen table. James’s mum takes the chicken out of the oven, and he winces to see absolutely no seasoning on its golden-brown skin. Rose reaches beneath the table to give his knee a quick little squeeze before she says, “That smells divine.”

His mother carves the chicken, heaping out generous portions onto everyone’s plate. James sprinkles salt and pepper on top of his chicken and mashed potatoes as he asks, “What’s new and exciting here in Flydale North?”

“You know my friend Harriet? Harriet Jones, who lives across the street?”

“Yes, I know who she is.”

“She’s been thinking of getting into Parliament. She wants to make some changes to our little constituency and doesn’t think anyone bothers to stick up for the little guy, as she puts it.”

“Oh, good for her!” James has met Harriet Jones a few times—she’s got a fierce tenacity about her, which she masks behind politeness. He smiles to himself; those politicians won’t know what hit them, if she takes office.

“And a new chap’s moved in next door.” His mum’s cheeks go uncharacteristically scarlet, piquing his interest. “I made him some biscuits to welcome him to the neighborhood, and he invited me in for tea.”

James hides his smile in a sip of wine. “Oh, that’s nice of him. What’s his name?”

“Robert,” she answers, her blush deepening. “He’s a professor at the university. He invited me ‘round for tea tomorrow, too.”

Before James can weasel any more details out of his mother, she says, “I’m not sure what he’s after. I think he knows I’m your mum… I can’t tell what his angle is yet.”

“Maybe there is no angle,” he says simply, reaching across the table to squeeze his mum’s hand. “Be careful, but don’t be a recluse, yeah?”

His mum smiles, then shifts her focus to Rose. “I’m sorry, darling, I’ve been stealing the conversation.”

“No, no, it’s fine!”

“Psssh. James tells me you’re a teacher? An English teacher?”

The conversation flows so naturally that a tension James didn’t realize was there lifts from his shoulders. He had expected his mother and Rose to get along well, but it’s going even better than he could have hoped. Rose relaxes the longer they all talk, offering up anecdotes that coincide with whatever story his mum is telling.

Even when his mother brings up slightly embarrassing childhood stories, he can’t bring himself to be too self-conscious, not when Rose is laughing and holding his hand atop the table.

“God, you should see photos of the time James thought he could give himself a haircut…”

“I once wasted loads of my mum’s make-up trying to figure out how to use it. I ended up looking like a clown!…”

“James looked so dapper in his little suit going to prom…”

“I ditched prom and went out clubbing with my mates and boyfriend…”

“He has always been so smart. You know, he won first prize in the school science fair every year…”

“I was rubbish with maths and science, and my teachers were arseholes about it. The only gave help to students who were already good at it…”

“The first ever vacation James took me on, we went to Italy. It’s such a gorgeous country…”

“I’ve never been! Been to Paris though. Once for a school trip, which didn’t end well, and another time a few years ago when my mate got married…”

On and on and on they talk, swapping stories and memories until they’re nearly crying with how hard they’re laughing. He loves how open Rose is being with his mum, and he loves that his mum isn’t being cagey with the details, as she often is, for fear of raking his name through the mud in a future magazine article. But it’s like his mum instinctively trusts Rose, as he does. Maybe it’s because he told her how he’s falling in love with her, or maybe it’s because Rose is one of those rare gems that you want to entrust with all of your secrets.

It hits him suddenly that this could be his future, sitting ‘round the kitchen table into the wee hours of the night, polishing off a bottle of wine and eating far too much chocolate cake as they laugh until their sides hurt. This can be his forever. And God, how he wants this to be his forever. He never wants to show up at his mum’s house alone, never wants to sit through a holiday dinner without Rose by his side, never wants to not be able to share his every thought and feeling with her.

His mum has excused herself to go to the loo, and so he takes the opportunity to thread his fingers through her hair to angle her face up for a kiss. She tastes like chocolate and wine, and he deepens the kiss, catching her lips over and over. She reciprocates just as enthusiastically, slinging her arms around his shoulders to keep him close.

They pop apart when they hear the toilet flush, but he doesn’t go far. Instead, he rests his forehead to hers and tries to catch his breath.

“What was that for?” she pants.

“I just… I really…” I really, really love you. I love you so much my heart is too full to contain it all. I love you too much to put into words. He swallows thickly, and presses a delicate kiss to her lips and replies, “I’m having a really great night with you. Thank you for coming.”

She beams. “I’m having a great time, too.”

They sneak in one more kiss before his mother shuffles down the hallway and begins to clear the table.

“Excuse me, I need the little boys’ room. Then Rose and I probably ought to get going. It’s late.”

“Of course you need a tinkle when it’s time to do the dishes,” his mother says with mock-sternness. “Nothing’s ever changed.”

“I haven’t the foggiest idea of what you mean,” he says sweetly, but he winks and clicks his tongue before trekking down the hall to the loo.

He makes quick work of taking care of his bladder, because regardless of what his mum says, he actually does want to help clear up from dinner. But as he makes his way to the kitchen, he hears his mum and Rose talking in hushed undertones. He frowns and slows, keeping his footsteps silent on the hardwood floor.

What on Earth are they whispering about? Is it just girl gossip? Or… is it more than that?

He knows he shouldn’t eavesdrop, but he can’t help himself, and he stays out of view in the hallway, straining his ears to listen.

“Have you been handling everything all right, Rose?” his mum asks gently. “It can be… quite the adjustment.”

“So far we haven’t been found out,” Rose says. “Apart from some blurry photographs of us and some vague articles.” They’re quiet for a heartbeat, then Rose continues, “I know we’re going to get caught one day, but I just… can’t help but cling to the stupid hope that we can keep our relationship private forever. I don’t want the world to know my name. I don’t want to be splashed across the tabloids. I don’t want people photographing me any time I’m out and about, or if we’re on a date, or…”

His stomach drops and a sour taste blooms in his mouth. Of course she wouldn’t want any of that. Hell, he doesn’t want any of that, either for himself or for her. He wants them to stay private forever, too. But he knows that’s impossible. He’ll be back in the limelight soon enough when he records and promotes his new album. He’ll go around touring, jumping from city to city faster than a blink. He’ll be away from home for months. Be away from Rose for months.

“Oh, sweetheart, I know what you mean,” his mum says. “I was scared to death of the attention when James first got famous. I was so embarrassed by the photographs they would take of me, and I dreaded saying the wrong thing. I made so many mistakes that came back to hurt him, and I was so ashamed of myself for the longest time.”

“I’m terrified of that too,” Rose admits. “It’s so overwhelming. I’ve never had to worry this much about a relationship. I never had so much to consider. Going on a date takes so much planning, and even then, I feel like I’m constantly looking over my shoulder.”

Dinner sits like a lead weight in his belly, and he’s got a dull ringing in his ears as he listens to how hard it is for anyone to be with him. Why do people do it, then? Why would Rose keep seeing him, when it causes her this much stress? Why did his mother stay when she’s got so much anxiety?

But she didn’t stay did she? She moved hours away from you to get some peace and quiet.

James squeezes his eyes shut and clenches his hands into fists, trying to ground himself in the here and now. But what good is it, when his mum’s and Rose’s voices are still coming from the kitchen, commiserating on how difficult their lives are all because of him.

He can’t bear to listen to any more of it. He’s sweating in his jumper, shaking so hard that he’s not sure how the house itself isn’t rattling around him. His blood pulses and pounds through his body, getting his muscles ready to flee fast and far away, to somewhere his presence won’t impact the lives of those he loves.

He can’t breathe, can’t think. Just needs out. Needs to get away. Needs… needs… needs…

Without realizing what he’s doing, James heads to the front door, wrenching it open and stumbling onto the porch. It’s pouring rain, and the cold, damp air hits him like a lorry, stealing the breath he doesn’t really have and sending a bone-deep shudder through him. The air burns down his lungs as he tries to take deep, measured breaths, but he exhales before he can fully finish inhaling.

He scrubs his hands through his hair, pulling at the strands and clenching his teeth against a scream. Why is he like this? Why is he so selfish in wanting to keep people around him, when the only thing he causes them is pain and fear and suffering? He never should have let his mum stay in his life. He should have packed her away, even farther than Flydale North, and told her to never contact him again. He never should have asked for Rose’s number, never should have kept seeing her, never should have let himself fall so hopelessly in love with her, never should have…

“James?”

The door opens behind him, but he’s too busy pacing and gasping for breath to properly acknowledge his mother or Rose.

“James, what are you doing out here?” his mum chides. “It’s freezing. And you haven’t even got shoes on!”

“Getting some air,” he rasps. “Needed some air.”

A familiar hand wraps around his bicep, and he glances down into warm, whiskey-colored eyes that are currently furrowed with worry. Rose touches his cheek, and he squeezes his eyes shut against the tenderness he doesn’t deserve.

She strokes his cheek again, then her touch is gone. “Vera, can we have a minute? Please?”

His mother is silent for a few seconds. “Jamie, what’s the matter? Talk to Mummy.”

He shakes his head and tries to focus on his breathing, which is quite difficult when he can barely feel his body.

“We’ll be inside in a minute,” Rose says. “Just… please let me have a moment to talk to him alone?”

His mother hesitates again, and then says, “At least let me give you your coats.”

She steps back inside, returning moments later with their coats. Rose dons hers straight away, then helps him into his. His limbs don’t feel like his own, and he can’t really tell a difference in the cold.

His mother goes back inside, leaving him and Rose alone on the porch, listening to the rain pounding around them. He expects her to talk, to demand he explain this insane behavior, but she doesn’t. She merely stands beside him, rubbing the small of his back beneath his jumper. Her hand is warm and soft, and it’s the one thing he is able to focus on. He closes his eyes and lets himself feel the weight of her palm, the fragility of her fingers, the texture of her touch, the patterns she is painting along his spine.

Slowly, his breaths come more steadily, and his head isn’t swimming anymore. The roar in his ears fades to the background.

“Are you all right?” she asks quietly.

“Not really,” he admits, staring ahead into the darkened, rain-soaked street.

“Wanna talk about it? This seems… really sudden.”

He sighs, and leans his elbows on the porch railing. Rose continues stroking his back.

“I overheard you and my mother chatting,” he confesses. “I didn’t mean to…” He shakes his head. “Well, yeah, I sort of did. My own fault. I was curious as to what you were talking about. And I just… my life destroys everyone around me. And I wish it didn’t. I wish I wasn’t so selfish to want to keep you. I wish I could let my mum live her life in peace. It feels like everyone’s lives would be so much simpler if mine didn’t exist.”

Rose’s hand stops its stroking, and he slumps into the railing, hardly able to stay on his feet. He’s so tired.

“I’m sorry you feel that way,” she murmurs, removing her hand from his back.

I’m sorry you feel that way, but it’s your own damn fault. You asked for this. You’re the one who wanted to be famous. You could’ve declined a record contract. Why are you being such a baby about this?

The words and accusations clamor around in his skull, echoes of things said by previous partners who were fed up with his childish whining, echoes of things he’s told himself whenever he has been fed up with his own childish whining.

“I wish you didn’t,” Rose continues, much to his confusion. He glances down at her, and she offers him a sad little smile. “I’m really glad you exist.”

He sighs and drops his head, staring at his clenched fists. “How can you say that? I’ve brought you nothing but heartbreak and worry, looking over your shoulder any time you want to be with me, thinking I was just using you for a fuck and a lark.”

“That’s true,” she says quietly, and his heart breaks a little to hear her confirmation. She covers his fist, giving it a squeeze. “But you’ve also brought me so much joy and so many wonderful memories. My life is richer for having known you, James. And I will never, ever regret any of it, the good or the bad.”

“How can you say that?” he repeats, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye. “How can you tell me that I’ve added any value to your life when it’s such a struggle to be with me, to know me?”

Rose hesitates for a fraction of a second, then takes a deep, measured breath. “Because I… I…” She huffs out a sigh, and kneads the heel of her hand into her forehead. She’s quiet for a few seconds, then she turns to look at him, her expression raw and more vulnerable than he’s ever seen it before. “Because I’m in love with you. And being in love with you is worth more than the inconveniences that might pop up.”

He’s too stunned, too stuck on the words I’m in love with you.

“But… why…?”

Rose cracks a grin. “Why am I in love with you? Beats me.”

A surprised laugh burbles out of him, taking some of his anxiety and self-loathing with it. She beams, and opens her arms for him. He gathers her close, clinging to her as though she might disappear, as though she’s going to fade away from him like a dream, taking those precious words with her.

“How can you love me when I make your life so difficult?” he whispers into her neck.

“Because you make me feel alive again,” she answers, feathering her fingers through his hair. “You make me feel safe, like I can tell you anything. Being with you is the most fun I’ve ever had.”

“But… your life is harder with me in it. Always watching out for the paparazzi… dealing with my mood swings… putting up with me freaking out ‘cos you took a photograph of me and I jump to the conclusion that you’re going to sell it to the media…”

“That happened once,” she drawls, flicking his ear. “You’ve gotten better about that.” She rocks them slowly from side to side and continues, “Love doesn’t always make sense, y’know. I started falling for you ages ago, back when we first met. And I knew it didn’t make sense, but I couldn’t help it. I fell so hard for you, which is why it hurt so much to think you thought we were just a bit of fun.”

James clenches his hands into jacket. “I’m so sorry.”

“I’ve already forgiven you for that, remember? When I told you we should try falling in love together… well, I was already in love with you, but I wasn’t sure I was ready for you to know. Now, though, I can’t bear the thought of you not knowing how important you are to me. It’s daft, we’ve known each other for a month, but it’s true.”

He holds her tighter. “Loving me is dangerous. The whole world will tear us apart just to know more about us. Everyone is going to follow us around to try to catch a cheeky photo. They’re going to make up stories to suit whatever article they want to sell. They’re going to tarnish your reputation.”

“I know. It’s why it took me so long to tell you I wanted to keep seeing you, after the night you came to my flat about the note I’d sent. I kept going back and forth, wondering what to do, wondering if I was making the right choice. But it’s no choice at all, is it? I’m in love with you, James Noble, and whatever consequences come with that, they’re worth it. You are worth it.”

His eyes burn, and he’s sure he’s about to burst into tears. His thoughts are a tangled, messy snarl, but the one thing that’s churning over and over and over again is…

“You love me?” His voice is weak and fragile, much like his emotional state at the moment.

“Yeah, I do,” she confirms, turning her head to the side to plant a gentle kiss to his neck.

“But I’m going to make your life so much harder than it should be.”

“I’m ready and willing to deal with it. If you’ll help me.”

He pulls his face from her shoulder, finally looking at her.

“Of course I’ll help you,” he says, reaching to cup her cheeks. “Of course I will. Because I’m in love with you too.”

The smile she gives him is the brightest he’s ever seen. “Yeah?”

He nudges the tip of his nose to hers. “Yeah. So in love.”

She giggles, and he finds himself joining in. The awful knot of hatred loosens from around him, and he basks in the joy of loving and being loved by Rose Tyler.

He bends to kiss her, softly and sweetly, as the drumming of rain patters all around them. He kisses her like they’re the only two people in the world, like they’re a pair of nobodies, living their unassuming lives in an unassuming world. He kisses her again and again, wanting to stay in this moment forever, wanting to capture this joy in a bottle, to keep it forever, to open it up whenever he needs a reminder of what happiness feels like.

“I don’t ever want to lose you,” he confesses into her lips between slow kisses.

“Neither do I. I want to be with you forever.” A rush of wind swirls around them, sending a chill through them. “But I want to be with you somewhere warmer, if it’s all the same to you.”

He pulls back with a laugh. “Let’s go back inside. But Rose…” He brushes her hair away from her face, tucking it behind her ear. “Thank you for talking with me.”

She catches his hand and kisses his palm. “Thank you for tellin’ me the truth.”

When they step back inside, his mother ambushes him.

“What’s the matter, Jamie? Did someone write something nasty about you? About Rose?”

“No, Mum.” He wraps her in a hug and says, “Just having a bad night. I heard you and Rose talking, and it made me think… I make your life too complicated, and maybe you’d be better off without me.”

“James Corin Noble, don’t you ever say something like that again,” she growls, pulling back to point a threatening finger into his chest. “You are my life’s greatest joy, and I have never ever regretted having you as my son. I have loved you from the moment I laid eyes on you, and I will love you until the day the good Lord takes my soul from this earth. So don’t you dare suggest my life would be better without you.”

He plants a kiss to her forehead. “It’s just a bit of sadness talking, is all. I’m okay now. Mostly. But Rose and I ought to head out for the night. It’s getting late.”

“Are you sure you want to drive home in this?” she asks. “It’s raining buckets, and it’s a long drive. The roads must be a mess. The guest room is always open to you and Rose.”

He nearly argues, but he can see the apprehension and worry pinching her face.

He glances down at Rose. “Is it okay if we stay the night? I’ve got clothes you can borrow.”

“’Course,” she replies.

The two of them shed their coats, and they all make their way back to the kitchen to finish cleaning up.

His mother bids them goodnight shortly thereafter. She has always been an “early to bed, early to rise” kind of woman, the habit ingrained after twenty years of menial labor jobs that started before dawn. Despite the fact that she hasn’t worked in almost six years hasn’t broken her of that schedule.

James leads Rose to the far wing of the house to the guest suite, where he always sleeps whenever he stays over. They start getting ready for bed, even though they’re not that tired yet, and James turns on the wall-mounted television for a bit of background noise. He turns the channel to some unremarkable crime drama, then folds Rose into his arms, enjoying the warmth of her body beside his.

He intends for them to just have a cuddle, but Rose seems to have other ideas when she pulls him down for a lazy, languorous kiss. He melts into her, his brain emptying of everything except for her. He can feel every inch of contact between them, can feel the hot humidity of her breaths, can feel the bite of her nails against his spine whenever he nips at her bottom lip.

He loses himself, gathering her into his arms and tucking his face into her neck to give her dozens of tiny, searing kisses. She moans, the sound vibrating through her throat and against his lips. She tangles her fingers through his hair, keeping him exactly where he is. He obliges, kissing her neck and delighting in the range of noises she lets out.

Her skin turns red and splotchy, and he hopes he hasn’t gone too far and left a stain of love bites across her neck.

“Don’t stop,” she breathes, arching her head back to showcase the addictive column of her neck. “Love it when you kiss me.”

“Not gonna stop,” he promises, but he shifts his focus to her lips instead. “I love kissing you too much to ever stop.”

He’s getting hard, but ignores it, too wrapped up in kissing her. Rose, however, notices; she palms his erection through his pants.

He bites back a groan, and wraps his fingers around her wrist, halting her. “We don’t have to, if you’re tired or not in the mood.”

“I don’t mind.” She gives him a slow squeeze that sets off sparks behind his eyes.

But he presses, “Don’t do this because you think I want to. We had a lot of sex last night. And this morning. We don’t have to do it again.”

“And what if I want to have sex with you again?” she challenges, but releases her hold on his cock. “Women can really like sex too, y’know.”

This conversation feels stupid and absurd, but now that they’ve wandered down this rabbit hole, he’s compelled to carry on.

“I know that,” he says. “It’s just, I don’t want you to feel like you have to have sex when you don’t want to.”

She’s quiet for a moment, her eyes focused on something he can’t see. Her mood has shifted, and suddenly he regrets ever saying anything. He rests his hand on her hip and gives it a soft, reassuring squeeze.

“I used to be embarrassed of how much I like sex,” she finally admits, her cheeks growing scarlet from something other than desire. “Like… I grew up hearing that boys are sex-crazed animals and as a girl, I probably wouldn’t enjoy sex, or that I shouldn’t want sex, or that it’s dirty of me to sleep around. But I loved it, once I found partners that cared about my pleasure.”

His heart cracks a little, and he’s desperate to reassure her, but he doesn’t want to talk over her and break this fragile memory she’s entrusting to him. So he merely listens, and continues to rub her hip, hoping that his presence is a comfort to her, like hers was to him earlier that night.

“My boyfriends all loved that I wanted to have sex as often as they asked for it. But part of me was so ashamed that I craved sex and intimacy as much as I did. I thought there was something wrong with me, ‘cos nobody ever tells girls that we’re allowed to like sex. Nobody tells us that it’s something that feels really great, or how emotionally satisfying it is to have sex with someone you love. It’s always about men and their urges. I used to hate myself for everything I felt.”

His heart crumples, and he shifts his hand from her hip to her back so he can pull her in for a hug. She molds herself against him, sighing into his neck as she slings her arms loosely around his middle.

“I’ve mostly gotten over those feelings,” she says. “And it’s part of why I really liked bein’ with you, when we first… y’know. You’re a bloody good shag. God, I’d never had anyone like you before. You made me feel so good and you weren’t a total arsehole.”

He stifles a laugh. “You’re welcome, I suppose?”

“My point is,” she says, pinching his waist, “I’ll tell you if I don’t want to have sex. But it’s rare that I won’t want to.”

“Noted. In that case, can I thoroughly fuck you into the mattress? Respectfully, of course.”

She bursts out laughing. “Oh, my God, you’re an idiot. Yes, please fuck me into the mattress. Disrespectfully, if you want.”

He grins, and, like the loving, doting, obliging boyfriend that he is, gets right to it.

[spicy-batman]

Tenderizing: Isshiki Satoshi

(First up is... SATOSHI ISSHIKI!!! I love this man so much it’s unbelievable. Quirky and/or badass is the key for characters to my heart, and this man was a happy surprise! Please enjoy what sped into my brain 3 hours ago)

Rating: Explicit. Kinda SMUT. A little...

Summery: Isshiki is done with your relentless teasing and decides a little punishment is in order. Exactly what you wanted~

Pairing: Satoshi Isshiki x F!Reader

Word count: 629

Warnings: Serious Isshiki. Teasing Isshiki. Spanking. No sex (yet hehehe) but implied. I’m crap at warnings so oops in advance if I missed anything-

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

*SLAP*

"One..."

*SLAP*

"Two..."

*SLAP*

"T-Three..."

Pain interwoven with pleasure coiled through the girls veins with every new impact, her only sense of grounding being the order to not stop counting them out until she reached the number 10. She knew her rear end would be stinging by the end, a sweet pinkish red blossom across her flesh that she would feel long into the night, but she knew what she was getting into from the moment she started. Had hoped for it. And was enthralled by every second of it.

Isshiki had had enough of her insistent teasing. From the dawn they woke up to, tangled together in his bed sheets, until this very moment, back in the same room at dusk. Sweet kisses that boiled before falling into nothing. Feather light touches that lingered not nearly enough to be happy about. Whispers- God the whispers... Like a fire to a covered pot of water, he was simmering because of them, and denied any release from the pressure they built up inside of him. He had somehow made it this far behind stiff chuckles and strained smiles, but she was relentless. All. Day.

One hand flicking the hair from his eyes, the other gently squeezing this thigh, and the delicate question of "Isshiki? Are you alright?" at the dinner table, was all it took for his tether to snap. Like a Butchers Knot straining at the seams of a sizzling roasted joint, he couldn’t take the heat any longer. 

So here they wound up. A punishment long overdue. One that they both seemed to be equally enjoying the longer she laid across his lap, and his hand soothed her behind between strong spanks.

"What number are we at now, dearest? Come on, don't be shy. Zenji's room is to far for anyone but me to hear your lovely voice~"

"S-Seven... Isshiki please-"

*SLAP*

"Nggh!... E-Eight..."

"Two more and we're all done. Just two more for me, can you do it Angel Cake?"

Isshiki was ready to stop when it became to much for her, his love and care easily out winning any lingering frustration should it come to that. Yet she bravely nodded her head for him, and was rewarded with a loving kiss to the crown of her head in response.

*SLAP*

"Oh shit~... Nine..."

*SLAP*

"T-Ten!... Hah..."

As expected, her rear end was as rosy as the blush across her cheeks, but neither stopped him from soothing the raw flesh in gentle circles, or stop his lips from placing sweet, praising pecks along her shoulder and the back of her neck. He had no doubt her heart was racing from the experience, as his own was, so he allowed a few moments of reprieve for them both the gather themselves, not wanting to spoil the growing anticipation of what would come next.

"Good girl~... You did beautifully... I hope you learned your lesson this time..."

"Heheh... Not likely~"

"Hmm... My tenderizing skills seem to be lacking then. Good thing I have such a responsive test subject. What do you say, my little Angel Cake? Should we test the limits of our endurance tonight?"

Her body shuddered in what he could only guess was delight at the idea, which brought a deep chuckle from his smirking mouth. With teeth grazing the shell of her ear, at the same moment his fingers slipped down her spine, and slowly down between the slick folds he felt privileged to experience the euphoric taste and feel of, Isshiki aura turned dark.

"I'd be delighted to show you the skills of the Totsuki Council of Ten, seat number 7, Satoshi Isshiki. If... You say sorry for today. And a please, since it's only polite"

"I-Isshiki... Please..."

"Hmm? I don't quite think I can hear you. What was that, My Dear?"

"Dammit Isshiki... I'M SORRY, OK?! I won't do it again! I promise! Just please... Please sho- Ooh fuck!~"

"Hahaha~ Good girl~"

(Part 2 at some point. Maybe.)

[selinakidreams]

here’s a lil something for baku (and you) to enjoy on his birthday <3 all apart of the bakugo birthday bash hosted by the lovely @jodrawssmut @phasmwrites @katsukikitten @bakugotrashpanda @lady-bakuhoe @ramen-rambles ! !! thank you guys so much for letting me be apart of this <3

pairing: (established relationship) QUIRKLESS AU kiribaku x fem! reader

word count: 3k+

warnings: alcohol consumption but sober sex, oral (f receiving), mentions of throat fucking, mentions of spit roasting, lots of mentions of spit <3 (and exactly one spit into a mouth), very light degradation, praise

a/n: this is my first time writing with three characters kdjdkdk it’s way out of my comfort zone and I only had 6 days to write it,, but I did it!! trust me I wanted to write more but I actually wanted to make it to baku’s birthday so !! don’t be mad at the endiiiiiiinnnngggg <3

The jazz wafted throughout the empty bar; your silk dress falling from the edge of your seat. It has been a slow night for the bar. You leaned your head into your hand, elbow keeping you sturdy as you swirled the drink around it’s glass cup. 

Your friend's party became a bit too feral for your taste, but you kept your word and stayed as long as you could for the sole purpose of seeing her smile, but then they showed up and you saw yourself out. 

The dim lighting made your eyes droopy with no action to keep your brain going, so you take another swig of your drink before swiveling in your chair to face the other side of the bar. 

Floor to ceiling windows greeted you, giving you the perfect overlook to the twinkling city lights below. It was incredible how your friend could afford a room in this hotel for her party. 

You noticed a movement in the corner of your eye; someone had entered the bar. 

You turn back to face all the expensive drinks displayed on the shelf, the perfect excuse to catch a quick glimpse at him. The contrast of his hair against everything else in the room almost made your eyes pop out of their sockets. 

Platinum blonde hair tufted out like an explosion, a satin red shirt that danced with the warm light of the room, black slacks and from what you could tell, some expensive ass shoes. Too dressy just to be here for some drinks.

Wanting to see more but not willing to fully stare at the man, you signed and waited until it seemed like he got settled on the bar stool before saying, “Is it your party that’s on this floor? It seems like quite the... experience.” 

Your voice came out smooth and velvety to bakugo’s ears, not that he would ever admit it. He scoffed before taking a second to look at the stranger who was daring to talk to him. His first thought settled in his mind and accepted it, almost prompting for silence- waiting to see if you would push to talk to him again.

From what you could tell, he was scanning you up and down. He opened his mouth to say something; his pink plush lips looking extremely inviting as they began to mouth something.

No sound came out for the next few seconds, showing he decided to keep his thoughts to himself. He closed his mouth and took out a phone from his pocket, the screen illuminated his face as he began typing something out. 

With this newfound light, his features became even more alluring- which couldn't be said for most people. Perfect porcelain skin, his profile pointed and devilishly handsome.

He’s well aware that he still held your attention, so when he slid his phone back in his pocket, he responded to your previous question, “yea, that’s the one. I’d rather stick it out instead of hearing them complain about me not going to my own party  for the rest of the week.”

By the end of his sentence, he had a glass of something amber in his hand that seemed to look a lot like whiskey. He didn’t spare you another glance but you could tell he expected to hear a response.

You hummed, slightly nodding your head, “The party I had to go to is upstairs and it’s… a lot. They're all just talking about expensive this and designer that and I couldn't listen to another word so I had to get out of there…” you trailed off at his silence. Noting that the conversation wasn’t going anywhere, you introduced yourself in hopes to continue interacting with him. You knew his type, and you knew in some way, he was going to surprise you. 

“Bakugo Katsuki.” He said in turn.

You slowly nodded before posing another question.

“So Bakugo, not really a party goer?” You attempt to ask, only to get a huff in return.

“not one for small talk either, i see?” You add at the end.

Another few quiet moments go by before he responds

“If I was a party goer, I’d be at my own party wouldn’t I?” He quipped back and your eyebrows shot up as you raised your hands in defense. 

“Well hey, I dunno ! For all I know you could have had a really rough night and this specific bar could be your saving grace. Could possibly use this night to drown your sorrows away behind a whole bottle of what… whiskey?” You say, ushering to his drink before turning to face your own, knowing he probably didn’t like being pegged as such.

“but you wouldn’t do that. You’re a strong man who knows what to do when things get bad, huh?” you continue, sprinkling praise to his dignity. He seemed like the type to prioritize that.

He didn’t do or say much in terms of a response but a small smile grew on your lips seeing how his body suddenly released a bit of the physical tension that was winding up.

You moved a few seats closer to him. If he didn’t like it, he hadn’t said anything. 

“So-'' Interrupted before you could continue the line of questions, Bakugo surprised you by asking, “you think you’re better than your friends? Leaving them and comin’ here to drink alone?” his voice coming out gruff and low.

“No, not one bit. I was the one who planned the whole thing for my friend, it’s just unfortunate that she had to invite all those people who aren’t all that nice to her. I can’t stand them. I’ve told them off more than I can count, but they just brush me off. A group of bullies is one thing, but a group of people who pretends to be friends with you then talks behind your back is another.`` 

Bakugo was quiet, not by astonishment or anger; he seemed to be expressionless as he piped up, “fake people are some of the uglies nobodies out there.”

You turn to look at him before sipping your drink and moving a seat closer. This time Bakugo glanced your way but continued to stay silent. 

“You ever beat someone up?” you ask, resting your chin on your palm, tilting your head towards him.

Your second surprise that night, he chuckled. It was soft, the complete opposite to the demeanor he'd been holding.

“Why? You want me to go in there and beat a few of those assholes up?” his eyes were relaxed by this point, no longer sharp and heavily guarded.

“Only because they don't believe I'm intimidating enough.”

“Maybe because you're not.”

You fake gasped, bringing your other hand up to your heart. “Excuse me sir but I'll have you know that I can be quite the fighter.”

“We’ll see about that.”

You hadn’t realized you got so close to Bakugo until you heard the footsteps nearing you both.  When a handsome voice called out bakugo’s name, you slightly jumped. Putting as much space between the two of you as possible, you looked to the source of the voice. 

Handsome would be an understatement. 

With red bangs that framed his sharp toothy smile perfectly and the rest of his hair tied back in a messy ponytail, this man looked a bit taller than Bakugo with a much warmer aura... but radiated the same type of... manliness. 

“Bakugo, I just got your text- Mina has been dragging me everywhere to make sure your party’s going well. Is this her?” the handsome man asked, a slight indistinguishable gleam flashes in his eye when he looks over to you.

“Yeah, ‘nd i wanna leave now.” he almost pouted before looking over to you. 

“You comin’?” 

Your gaze snapped between the two men, only slightly putting two and two together. 

Red hair spoke up, “He probably didn't explain it well but I'm his boyfriend, Kirishima Eijiro!” he held out his hand cheerfully, listening to your introduction. 

“Not to sound too forward or to make you uncomfortable... but do you wanna come home with us? He texted me earlier saying that there was this hottie in a silk dress and… well…” he trailed off licking his bottom lip as his wandering gaze slowly shifted hungrier, “he wasn't kidding.”

There was a lot happening at once but all that you were thinking was that these two hot men wanted you, and the happy buzz that was coursing through your system couldnt object the offer, so with a quick nod of your head, you were handed a water bottle, guided off of the stool, and into the back of the next taxi they could hail. 

The ride was filled with wandering hands and mischievous looks. Kirishima was whispering naughty promises in Bakugo’s ear that you couldn't quite hear, while your attention focused on the big palm that was making its way to the most heated part of your body. The quick inhales that the blonde took went straight to your core, making you incredibly excited for what the night had to offer. 

As soon as the door swung open, lips were on lips and clothes were coming off. The rush to get to the bedroom was heated and messy but once you all entered the room, there was an intense shift that even you couldn't predict. 

Kirishima spoke first, “So what does my birthday boy want? Does he want to fuck or be fucked?”

With a suck at his teeth, Bakugo knew if he didn’t give an answer soon he’d be met with-

“Better hurry up handsome, or I might just choose for you…” Kirishima hummed, bright crimson eyes hopping on over to meet your gaze, “better yet…”

He was by your side in mere seconds. His huge figure towering over yours, you almost flinched when his bulky fingers grazed up your arm. 

“What if you chose for him?” He purred in your ear loud enough so Bakugo’s ruby eyes found yours. Your name rolled off the red-haired man’s tongue like sweet honey, “go ahead, what do you think he would want more?”

Your gaze flickered between them, you couldn’t tell one or the other’s preferences but if they wanted to use you, they could. 

“How about… Eijiro… you could fuck my throat and Katsuki… could fuck whatever hole he wants?” You ask, the question raising an octave out of uncertainty. 

Kirishima raises an eyebrow towards the man of the hour, slightly amused and completely aroused. 

Bakugo is already smirking,“Atta girl, knows exactly what to say.” 

Kirishima starts to kiss your neck as Bakugo stands in front of you, occupying your lips for the first time that night. 

With one arm wrapped around your waist, he seemed to have rubbed on his boyfriend's bulge before reaching for the zipper of your dress. In turn, the feeling of the Eijiro’s bulge humped your back. 

Whether it was your dress hitting the floor or Katsuki’s tongue slipping in your mouth didn't matter, a sharp gasp escaped your lips, causing Kirishima to chuckle and whisper, “get on the bed, princess.” while Bakugo pulls away from you, a string of spit keeps you connected.

With your gaze lustly hazy, you dreamily make your way to the bed, but not without a little show. Before splaying yourself out on the mattress, you stretch out- almost in the child's pose of yoga except you add a deep arch in your back for the sole purpose of showing off your pretty seamless thong. 

As you reposition yourself, you glance over to the side to find that both men are now only in restricting briefs, eyes glued to your figure, both palming themselves over their boxers. 

Eyes half massed and back flat on the bed, you begin to pout, feeling almost bare without anyone’s hands on you. 

As if on cue, they began to make their way over to you, looking oh so hungry. 

You immediately sat up and swiped your tongue over your bottom lip, pulsating at the prospect of having two seemingly thick dicks at once… but they were still in their boxers. Why?

“Ya have to ask nicely in order to get a treat, you ungrateful slut.” Bakugo growled before taking your jaw in his hand, squishing your cheeks with his fingers. 

“Better yet, beg.” he said with a coldness that heated your core and had your eyes going wide.

Whimpering when he let go, you kept your innocent doe eyes as two sets of starved eyes stared down at you.

“W-wanna get fucked, please. Wanna feel both of you everywhere…” you say as you reach both hands out to palm the silhouette of their bulges. “Please…?” 

There was a “christ” that was muttered out before you were pushed back on the bed by Bakugo, then kirishima manhandled you so that your neck was supported by the edge of the bed, your head mostly hanging off.

Even in the midst of the binding tension, Kirishima didn't hesitate to instruct Bakugo to put a pillow under your hips, the blonde eagerly following through with the demand. 

“How’dyou want Katsuki to prep you, baby? He’s skillful in every sense but he really enjoys using his mouth.” 

The bed shifted and before you could string a thought together, you looked down and lost all ability to think. The sight in front of you was downright sinful. A smirk was pulling at the left corner of his lips as he sunk closer to your clothed pussy, his red gaze now a deep wicked crimson as he watched for your reaction.

You didn't have much time to analyze before a thick hand laced through your hair and ushered your view back to the red head’s now exposed cock. You gulped. 

Not incredibly long, a moderate size but with a juicy girth, Kirishima’s cock had a thick vein trailing up his underside. 

If you could make heart eyes, you're sure that you'd be doing them by now. 

Focused on paying attention to his pretty pink weeping tip, you felt your panties being pushed to the side. As tempting as it was to look down, you kept your sights set on the task at hand. Licking and kissing his cock, mixing your saliva with his precum, you earned a guttural groan from the big man above you, encouraging you to do more, please him more- until a warm muscle was met with your sopping core, causing a high gasp of a vibration to hit Kirishima’s head. 

Your mind stopped reeling for a second- it stopped doing anything to be frank. Your hips mindlessly thrust up in attempts to get more of Bakugo’s mouth. He chuckled against you in response.  

Moans bounced off the walls the deeper you guys got with each arousing movement; slurps coming from your’s and Bakugo’s mouth were the loudest noises in the room- that was until you moved down to pay the much needed attention to Kirishima’s balls. He couldn't seem to take it when you began sucking and fondling, moaning about how full he looked. He let out an obscene whine that you couldn’t believe came from him but when Bakugo pulled his lips from around your clit, you followed the noise with a similar one.

Unlike Kirishima who had stayed still, you tried to push Bakugo’s face back down out of lack of patience. Somewhere along the lines, the dominating rolls have switched, but you couldn't really find it in yourself to trace back to when that happened.

 “You really are a fighter, huh?” he chuckled out before adding, “quit whining shitty hair, you’ll get to fuck her throat once I’m done eating.” 

And with that, he dove right back in, causing you to clench around nothing yet and arch your back to get impossibly closer. In turn, your gaze caught the big desperate pleading eyes looking down at you, nearly begging you to do something... 

You were so dizzy with pleasure that you murmured  a mindless, “I didn't forget about you Eijiro.”,  before using your hands to guide his cockhead back into your mouth to coat it in your saliva then pulling off and spreading it down the rest of his length. He bit his lip and let out a cute “mmph!”, which went straight to your abused core. Wanting to hear more, you began to pump his shaft with your messy fist. 

With everything going on, you didn’t realize how built up you were. At an astounding rate, your climax crashed over you, making you shriek against Kirishima's dick as you attempted to cage Bakugo’s head in with your thighs. What pushed you even further was the death grip Katsuki had on your thighs and the sinful sounds he was making while lapping away at your juices. 

Your hands shot from Kirishima’s cock down to grip Bakugo’s hair, freeing your mouth to pant out breathy praises and a whiney “Katsuki!”.

“Fuck,” Bakugo groaned as he came up from your pelvis once you’ve relaxed, whipping your juices from off of his chin with the back of his hand. 

“Kiri, c’mere, you gotta try this,” he said before pulling his boyfriend in for a kiss over your slumped body. Watching their lips meet and seeing Kirishima’s tongue slip into his lover’s mouth sent a dull throb to your core, even moreso when Kirishima sighed into the kiss while his cock twitched upwards, close to your face. 

When they pulled away, Bakugo gave one more little peck to Kirishima before looking down at you with a mischievous grin. You mentally gather yourself and sit up, already ready to be told what to do next.

“Open up, sweet cheeks.”

You did as you were told with your tongue out on display, unintentionally closing your eyes as a sweet little “aaah” came out on instinct. 

The spit hit your tongue dead on and you had to refrain from automatically swallowing. 

A low whisper about how good you were to Katsuki pulled him out of his daze, his eyes darting away from the new wetness on your tongue. 

“Swallow, slut.” and so you did.

“You're right Kiri, she is such a good girl…  Are you ready to get fucked stupid as your prize?” was the last thing you remember before both of them did exactly that.

[lilikags]

Hellooo!!! Could I request something with male traveler?. So you’ve lived in mondstat for like 3 months and it’s taken so long for people to warm up to a stranger. But as soon as traveler comes everyone loves him and u get kinda jealous and it’s a enemy to lover imagine? Please and thank you!😭

lili | rply ; Of course! I hope you like it!

lili | notes ;  - Aether (traveler) x gn!reader  - mention of Alice (Klee’s mother)  - word count: 659

"Hey, (Y/N), have you heard about Aether?" Amber came up to you excitedly, though you had no idea why.

"No?" you looked at her, suspicion laced in your eyes. You haven't heard about anyone named Aether, not before or after you had arrived in Mondstat.

"He's a traveler, he said he's looking for his sister," Amber explained. "I wanna introduce him to you, maybe you could help search for her!"

"Oh- oh, really? Maybe not today, I'm a bit tired..." you were hesitant to accept; he seemed loved by Amber, even though they had just met. It had taken you a long time to get close to her, or anyone else for that matter. For him, it seemed like everyone loved him instantly- a kind of sorcery...

Come on! I promise you, he's really nice. I'll pay for dinner at Good Hunter tonight," Amber offered, her eyes showing that she really wanted you to go.

"Alright," you sighed. "What time?"

Well, if Amber was asking you, you couldn't refuse. After all, you'd worked hard to become friends, and you didn't want to lose that. What was meeting some guy going to do? Really, nothing. He just had everything; you were the same, yet he had all the things you didn't. Celestia must've spoiled him.

"6pm! Don't be late! I'm going to show him around the city, I'll meet you there at Good Hunters!" Amber set off with a smile.

You sighed again, waving goodbye to the outrider. There was really nothing to hate him for, but how could he be loved by everyone instantly? Because Amber brought him here with such a smile? What was so different about him that they showed such a difference in attitude? Why were you greeted with suspicion and glancing eyes, while he was greeted with kindness and warm smiles? You saw too many similarities, yet the outcome was so different... 

Later that night, you headed off to Good Hunters. You were early as usual, getting Sara first and taking a seat at one of the empty tables. 

“Oh, hey, (Y/N)! Sorry we’re late! This is Aether, he arrived earlier this morning,” Amber introduced her new friend, and you waved back, putting a fake smile on your face. 

“Hey, I’m (Y/N),” you introduced yourself, then turning to Sara to order the usual. 

“Oh, and a sticky honey roast! We can’t forget that, Aether here has to try it!” Amber added to the order, and Sara wrote that down for the kitchen. Amber never ordered that for you, when you arrived. In fact, she brought you some food from the general goods and set them in your sack before she went on her way to clear out some hilichurl camps. 

Your mouth watered as the food began to make its way to the table, and you listened as Amber rambled on about Mondstat to this strange new traveler. 

Just one look at him, and you could tell he wasn’t from around anywhere near here, maybe even anywhere on Teyvat. Perhaps he had come from somewhere else, like Alice... Was that what everyone else was thinking? No one had mentioned Alice in years though; it was unlikely they’d be thinking about her because of him. Though, somehow, those golden locks of his reminded you of Alice’s, a soft you couldn’t get in Teyvat, unless you were, perhaps, the Chief Alchemist Albedo himself. 

There was something about him that kept you locked in your thoughts, an aura which glowed calmed your mind. Perhaps it was his soft voice, his way of speaking too. 

“Uhm, is there a reason you’ve arrived in Mondstat?” You asked, taking a bite of the sticky honey roast for yourself. 

“I’m... looking for my sister,” he replied, looking down. His eyes seemed to be filled with loneliness, something you knew too well at this point.

Perhaps, just maybe, after that dinner, you seemed to understand why everyone adored him in such a way.

taglist ; @paradise-creator 

status- req open, matchup closed

[fanfic-me-up]

All The Colors We Cannot See {Bakugou x Reader}

Synopsis: He sees you in the colors that light the sky, and longs for you in the darkness that follows.

Pairing: Pro Hero! Bakugou Katsuki x fem! reader

Warnings: attempted suicide, suicidal thoughts, language

Word Count: 4k+

A/N: This took me like 9 months to complete, but it’s finally here. I didn’t completely stick to the request, but this is what came out. I still hope you like it! Banner made by my amazingly talented friend, go follow her @jm.rvice on instagram! 💖

💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥

Blood pumps to his legs. Cement pounds his feet. Bits of rubble catch in his boots. The first spark of the night shoots up- swallowed whole by the black sky. A trail of embers remains in its wake. 

Katsuki stops. And waits.

A second passes- the crowd silent in anticipation. No one can see the spark, but everyone knows it’s there… waiting…  for the right time to explode. And just when the darkness thinks it has won, an enormous burst of light blankets the sky. In that moment, it’s so bright that Katsuki can see the skyline. Like paint splattered on a blank canvas, the sky now bleeds in red, and the explosion leaves an imprint the size of a supernova long after it’s gone. 

The crowd applauds. 

A roar is ripped from Katsuki’s throat. He pounds at the brick wall again and again, despite blood trickling down his fists. He rips his cochlear and smashes it against the wall. A sick satisfaction settles within him. The ringing that greets him is like a devil sucking on the lobe, whispering tempestuous nothings into his ear. 

Katsuki continues his ascent, taking steps by three until he reaches the top. The poor door is yanked off its hinges, but it doesn’t even cross Katsuki’s mind as he’s hit by everything all at once. Smoke slithers down his throat, roasted yakitori wafts up his nose, the rhythmic booms caress his ear, and the lavender shaded sky comforts his eyes. From up here, the people below remind Katsuki of the dots he used to see after he ignited a big explosion- how the dots blur, mix, and separate in one fluid motion again and again. 

His phone ringing is a distant echo. They’re looking for him no doubt, but who the hell cares. Not like they’d find him up here. This was yours and Katsuki’s place.

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He’d blow himself up if he missed even a second. 

His lungs burned. They ached for a clean breath, yet inhaled the stench of nitroglycerin-like sweat. He could’ve just blasted himself to the top and saved himself the trouble, but fuck. That. Katsuki thrived on a challenge. He loved the rush of adrenaline more than his own mother. (He’d never tell her that- she’d kill him before he reached this goddamn roof.)

He threw himself against the door in time to see the first burst of citrine hit the sky. But he also saw you, a trespasser, standing on the ledge and looking like you were about to kill yourself. You didn’t flinch at the sonic boom (like most people) nor cringe at the heat. It was like you thought the beauty outweighed its destruction. 

All that said you were fucking stupid.

“Oi! Get down from there!” 

You were immersed in skylight, and though your back was turned, Katsuki knew you were staring up in awe; your eyes reminiscent of glassy pools reflecting red, yellow, blue and all the possibilities they create. 

“Fuckin’ hell…” Katsuki muttered. He just wanted to enjoy the show in his spot. Alone. Like he did every year. “Oi, lady! You wanna kill yourself? Do it on some other roof dammit!” 

You jumped at the blasted words, losing your balance and falling off the ledge. Katsuki expected you to scream, to gasp, to cry... anything but fucking wink on your way down like playing with death is just some fucking game. But Katsuki had no time to think before he blasted himself across the roof to grab your hand- but you didn’t need it. You threw a safety line in mid-air, hooked it to the ledge with skillful precision, and used the leverage to hurl yourself back up. You landed on the ledge like a ballerina tip-toeing on a tightrope. The sheer turn of events rendered Katsuki speechless. 

 “Phew! That was fun! Let’s do it again sometime, yeah?” You wrapped the safety chord before bouncing up to Katsuki.

The fuck?

How did you…? 

 You didn’t seem to notice Katsuki’s loss for words.

“I’ve never met someone with a quirk like yours. You could put on your very own firework show!”

You tried grabbing his hand, but Katsuki’s growl stopped you. The flickers popping in his hands were a sign to back the fuck off.

You’re scared. Good, Katsuki thought.

“Sorry, sorry, I’m a bit of a pyro.” You sheepishly smiled, twirling a pink and yellow band around your finger. (You’d later twirl your wedding ring the same way.) 

Katsuki’s growl cut in its tracks. You weren’t scared like he thought, in fact, you looked lost in his sparks- your eyes zooming back and forth, trying to catch each and every one. Katsuki killed his sparks, causing you to look up at him in disappointment.

“I can’t. Mine don’t change color,” he muttered. 

Fireworks always fascinated Katsuki. As a child, he wished his explosions could change color. He imagined people looking up in awe when his sparks rained down. They’d recognize the power and the beauty.

“Hmm…color is what makes a firework...” you trailed off.

“No shit,” Katsuki snorted. How stupid are you? 

“Hold out your hands.” 

Katsuki crossed his arms, “No.”

“Oh, c’mon! Gimme your hands!” You bounced up and down, overcome with excitement. Katsuki stepped back but immediately stopped himself because Bakugou Katsuki never backs down. 

“I’m not giving you anything, woman. You’re fuckin’ weird for jumpin’ off roofs and asking for stranger’s hands. Stay the fuck away from me. In fact, this is my fuckin’ roof. Find your own.” Katsuki looked down to see his hands popping. It must’ve happened on instinct- a defense mechanism to scare off the extras who won’t leave him the fuck alone. 

Except it didn’t work on you. You only came closer. 

“Do you want to burn in color or not?” 

Katsuki saw flashes of himself in your eyes everytime a firework went off. A hunger burned in the pit of his stomach- one he’s felt countless times during battle, but this one was different. This strange warmth made him feel like jumping off the roof himself, and if he put all his might into it, he could brush the spark of a firework from fifty feet above.

“Yes,” he said. 

“Then you’re gonna have to trust me.”

“Trust you!?” Katsuki shook his head, “I don’t even know you!”

“That’s half the fun, isn’t it?” You giggled, “Now hold still.” 

Katsuki grumbled how ridiculous this was, and that whatever you tried wouldn’t work, but you ignored him in favor of pulling his hands and laying them face up. You nodded and Katsuki sighed, activating his quirk anyway because what the hell.

You’re entranced from the moment flickers popped, one by one, in his hands. They died as quickly as they were born, but still left their mark in the air. 

Katsuki’s sparks faltered as cool fingertips brushed against his wrist. 

“It’s okay, keep going,” you encourage, and he does. 

He can’t pinpoint exactly when the change happened. Like all change, he blinked and suddenly his sparks burned in color. Angry red, rooted in tormented crimson, ravished the usual, boring, orange of his sparks. 

Katsuki laughed in disbelief because how is this real? Yellow began to flicker in and out of the red, until it finally caught like a flame and engulfed the red like a warm blanket. Pink and light green began to swirl around the yellow, and the firework show Katsuki had been looking forward to all year didn’t hold a candle to the fireworks fluttering in the palms of his hands.

Katsuki looked up at you. 

Who the fuck are you? 

You giggled at his awed expression, “Our very own firework show.”

And that’s how you spent the rest of the night. His hands in yours while he burned in color for the first time.

Katsuki later discovered you could read emotions through auras. The aura becomes visible, allowing you to color a person’s quirk.

He also discovered that you didn’t need to hold his hand for it to work.

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A round of fireworks triggers the ringing in Katsuki’s ear. He throws his head back in ecstasy and prays the sensation tickles his eardrum for a little longer- enough to shut the part of his brain that keeps remembering you. 

Katsuki pulls the pistol out. The leather grip, so slick with sweat, that Katsuki has to wipe his hand to make sure he doesn’t accidentally set off his quirk. 

He’s not an amateur. He’s held a gun before. Every pro-hero has to undergo weapons training, but he’s never used one in combat. His quirk was always more than enough. But there’s something inherently dangerous about a gun. His quirk is an extension of himself, but a gun is a separate entity altogether- and it was designed to kill. 

Growing up, adults would praise Katsuki for his quirk. They’d say, “With a quirk like that, you’re destined to become a hero!” But they were still afraid to get too close. They saw his quirk as a weapon that was designed to destroy. And soon enough, Katsuki became the embodiment of just that. But he always felt incomplete. He wanted to be a hero like All Might. One that people looked up to- in awe of their power, not in fear of it.

That’s why he loved fireworks. The only explosion that makes people stop and stare, instead of running away, in fear for their lives.

You were the first and only person to see the beauty in his quirk.

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“What’s your favorite color?” 

Such a basic question that Katsuki should already have the answer to. But color meant so much more to you. You saw the world in a way that made everyone else seem colorblind. 

You twirled that same pink and yellow band around your finger as Katsuki twirled the ring in his pocket. You leaned in closer, basking in the warmth radiating from Katsuki. He watched how your eyes never left the sky, and he was content with missing the show if it meant he can watch you instead. He caught glimpses of you only when lit by a firework. He made sure not to blink during those moments else he’d miss you. Your expressions mixed and swirled as the fireworks continued, but you never lost the primary color of mesmerization painting your face.

“Blue,” you said. Katsuki had to lean in to listen; your voice an ember in a sea of fire. “But not sky blue like on a sunny day. It’s nice, but I much prefer the darker washes of blue, deep like sapphire.”

Blue, the color of sadness. 

“Why blue?” Katsuki asked. The ring in his pocket danced between his fingers.

You turned back to the fireworks. You always made sure to think before you speak when answering a question that mattered.

“Because there’s always an interesting story behind an aura of such sorrow, more importantly, there’s always a light at the end of the tunnel.”

“So your favorite color isn’t blue, it’s yellow,” Katsuki cut in, but you shook your head.

“There’s nowhere to go but down with yellow. Yellow is the epitome of brightness and joy, and when you crash during the high, you crash hard. But when you’re drowning in deep blue, as I’ve seen many people do, you’re at the lowest of lows- you really can’t get any lower in this life. But when an aura- and I’ve only seen this once- when an aura changes from the deepest of sapphire to sunrise yellow- well it’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”

The twirling of the ring in his pocket stopped. 

“That is why I believe blue is the true color of hope,” you whispered.

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Katsuki should feel the smooth texture of leather as he grips the gun in his hand. He should feel the weight of the gun as he brings it to his temple. But he’s numb to it all. It’s like an invisible string, pulling at his muscles, directing his body how to move. His mind goes blank for the first time, and all the inner-turmoil he’s been unable to escape just straight up… stops. It’s like he’s floating in a body of water with no current. Complete and utter stillness.

It scares the fuck outta him, but it feels good. 

As he’s about to turn the safety off, his phone rings again, snapping him back to reality. Katsuki guts his phone.

“Die!” 

The phone slides down the door like a dead pidgeon. 

“God-fuckin’-damn it...” He pushes the barrel back to his temple, craving that mind-numbing stillness once more. Anything to stop the feelings that just won’t seem to go away. 

The fireworks crescendo as the show reaches its climax. The colors begin to mix and blur together so much that it becomes too convoluted to look at. An infinite regress of color swirling in Katsuki’s mind.

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

You glowed on purpose so Katsuki could find you. He spotted you from miles away, like a beacon of light in the middle of a storm. The melancholic blue of your aura contrasted against the raging reds that painted the sky.

Katsuki ran. He pushed and pushed past his limit, harder than any battle he’s fought in. He could’ve made it if he used his quirk, but he was in a crowded marketplace with too many people. He ripped off his gauntlets and threw them in a random alley. He immediately gained speed. A couple more feet and one minute left.

He should’ve saved his breath. If he did, he would’ve caught you in time. But he had to make sure you knew he was there. You looked down at the sound of your name. He could barely make out your face, but you saw him. He knew you saw him because your aura changed from that melancholic blue to sunrise yellow in an instant. Everyone around him gasped at the flood of light emanating from above. 

You were right. It was the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen.

If Katsuki produced a strong enough blast, he could make his way to the top and get you out before the bomb went off. At this point, he didn’t care who else might get hurt in the process. Next to him, Kirishima knew what Katsuki was thinking. He hardened himself to block Katsuki’s takeoff.

“Don’t do it, bro.”

“Get outta my way.”

“You can’t make it.”

“Yes I can.”

“You’ll both die.”

“SHUT THE FUCK UP” Katsuki pushed him away, and prepared to blast himself, when two other heroes stepped in to hold him down, but no one stood a chance when Katsuki goes feral. Explosions erupted, not enough to seriously hurt, but enough to get people to back the fuck off. Even Kirishima (whose quirk is to literally be a human barricade) was having trouble blocking Katsuki. One more blast was enough to send Kirishima back and Katsuki used that half a second to blast off. But suddenly he couldn’t. He tried and he tried, but his quirk refused to work. A growl escaped from low in his throat as he whipped his head around, trying to find the cause to his problem so he could decimate it. 

Target acquired. 

Katsuki was about to march right up to his high school homeroom teacher and deck him right in his fuckin’ face, but before he could, he was held down once again.

He couldn’t fight three pro-heroes off without his quirk. He couldn’t get to you without his quirk. All Katsuki could do was look up and watch you die. 

Five seconds left.

He saw it in your face. The moment you realized he wouldn’t be able to save you. The yellow of your aura growing dimmer and dimmer.

Three.

You smiled through your tears.

Two.

And winked. 

One.

Then closed your eyes as you took your last breath.

The darkness that followed was unbearable.

A cacophonous wail erupted from Katsuki’s throat- loud enough to go up against any explosion. He couldn’t help but fall to his knees, unable to hold himself up any longer. He still wasn’t able to use his quirk and that only frustrated him more. 

He’d never felt so helpless in his life.

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

He hardly uses his quirk anymore because he sees you in the sparks. He’s got no drive to be Number 1 if you’re not here to watch him do it. His will to live is gone without you and that scares the fuck outta him. He hates you for filling his head with ridiculous bullshit. He hates you for opening his mind to the possibility of love, and hope, and shit that shouldn’t matter but it fuckin’ does for some goddamn reason. He hates you. He hates you. He hates you.

That same cacophonous wail erupts from his very core. The gun falls from his hands, to the ground. It could’ve gone off at that moment and Katsuki would never know. 

His focus zeroes on his hands. How tense they get when he flexes them, how the vein protrudes from his wrist, and how his glands secrete sweat from his palms. He points them to the sky, and a familiar rush of power, that he hasn’t felt in months, surges through him. His blood boils from under his skin and he’s literally shaking from the intensity. Like a volcano spewing hot-blooded lava after an eternity of dormancy, he shoots blinding white heat into the black night.

The color from the fireworks surround his explosions as if they’re echoing his sentiment. Hot red dominates the sky- reminding Katsuki of the sky that night. This causes Katsuki to rattle off explosions quicker, setting off one after another in a staccato rhythm. The crimson sky ravishes all other color. 

If only he saved his breath. If only he’d taken off his gauntlets sooner. If only he ran a little faster. If only he blasted himself a second earlier. If only he didn’t stay back at work that day. If only he turned right instead of left at that goddamn intersection. If only he picked up the ingredients for your favorite meal the day before so he could go straight home. If only he didn’t have to drive back to the market because he fuckin’ forgot the milk again. If only he decided it was still worth it to pick you up from work early like he planned. If only he cared more about your anniversary than about cracking Top 10. If only he went to more of your art shows instead of taking extra patrols. If only he went on that trip to New York with you instead of cancelling last minute because the agency needed him. If only he realized that you meant more to him than being Number 1 before it was too late.

Little by little the crimson wash is buried by the black night and Katsuki’s eyes hurt just staring into the black abyss. It’s suffocating him, weighing his chest down and making it hard to breathe. It’s enough to drop him to his knees, just like he did that night.

You and Katsuki had long talks about your future plans. How you fit into his life, and how he fit into yours. When you’d be able to properly settle down and have kids. You accepted that the first couple years into his career would be the toughest on your marriage. Katsuki would spend more time at the agency than at home with you. Relationships with pro-heroes were like that. But you respected his ambitions. You understood the amount of time that was required to fulfill those ambitions. You never held it over him, never guilted him into spending more time with you, and never made him choose between you or his career. You loved him enough to share him with the rest of the world. You were never each other’s other halves. Instead, you co-existed as separate individuals who made the best team Katsuki’s ever been a part of. 

Yellow begins to flicker in and out, but it’s muted behind the black veil of regret. The more Katsuki thinks of your empathy and your love, the stronger the yellow becomes. It finally brightens the black sky, to the point that Katsuki almost has to cover his eyes because it’s like looking into the sun in the middle of the day. 

And that’s when it clicks.

He’s burning in color.

You must be conducting this masterpiece from above, using the sky as your canvas and coloring the emotions coming from within him.

He kills his explosions as quickly as he fired them. The fireworks come to an end at the same time. The crowd’s cheers is a fly on the wall to Katsuki.

He falls back, lying flat on the ground and looking up at the sky still shaded in yellow. His chest heaves as he tries to get his breathing back to normal, and the sloppy mixture of sweat and tears continue to slide down his face. The cool breeze is a blessing against the nape of his neck.

He struggles to hold his hands up, they shake as he brings them up to his face. He reignites his quirk with the last bit of strength. The sparks lack their usual vigor as they flutter lazily in his palms. They remind him of fireflies swirling in a jar. For once, the orange doesn’t piss him off. 

Has anyone else seen his quirk like this? When he’s not trying to intimidate or take down a villain? The only person he could think of was you. Maybe his quirk wouldn’t be seen as a weapon, maybe he wouldn’t be seen as a villain, if the world saw what he’s seeing right now.

Katsuki sits in this revelation, and the calm that washes over him is nothing like the numbness from before. He’s far from being okay, and he still longs for you in these moments, but Katsuki has a hunch that if you were here right now - holding his hands in yours- his sparks would be burning in your favorite color. And he’s okay with that.

“That is why I believe blue is the true color of hope.”

Katsuki’s phone goes off even in its broken state. His eyes dart between the phone and the gun. He groans as he gets up. His limbs, heavy, after exerting himself. He picks up his phone.

“Hey. Yeah, man, I’m fine, don’t worry about it.” 

Katsuki’s about to hang up when he takes a look at the gun. A reminder of what he was about to do. A decision he could never come back from.

 If things turned out different, he would not be here right now.  

Just the thought is enough to make Katsuki slide down the wall. He takes a deep breath- his heart beating rapidly at what he’s about to admit aloud for the first time.

“Actually, I’m not okay. I need you to come get me.”

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The Plus Ultra Chronicle

Musutafu Tower Attack: 06/18/2020

WHEN HOPE PREVAILS:

A DAY OF REMEMBRANCE

By: Yamamoto Ichika

06/18/2021

Today marks the one year anniversary of the 2020 Musutafu Tower Attack. Hundreds gathered this morning in remembrance of the lives lost that night. Several people who’ve lost loved ones in the attack have already come forward with statements.

Of those people, Number 7 Hero, Dynamight, has chosen to sit down with The Plus Ultra Chronicle for an all-exclusive interview. His late wife, Bakugou Y/N, was among the citizens that were held hostage that night. After taking a year sabbatical, he has decided to return to the field of pro-hero work. Here is a snippet of that interview; you can find the full interview here. 

“Thank you, Dynamight, for sitting down with us. It is truly an honor. The people want to know- what are your thoughts on what occurred that night? Can you take us through what happened?”

“It was hard on us all. Whether you were at home watching on a screen or out there in person. All of us heroes felt like sh*t- unable to do anything. It’s even worse when you had a personal attachment to a victim like I did.”

“It must’ve been difficult as a hero- having to make quick decisions that forced you to separate your personal life from the objectivity of the situation.”

“If I’m being honest, I couldn’t, and it took a toll on me.”

“Is that why you took the sabbatical?”

“Yes. I constantly questioned the validity of my title. Whether or not I deserved to be called a ‘hero’ if I couldn’t save the one person I vowed to always protect.”

“You’ll be returning to the field next month, and with a new addition to your hero costume. An amulet of what looks to be a blue-colored spark attached to the left side of your chest. It stands out against the black, orange, and green of your costume. What is the meaning of this?” 

“When I was at my lowest, my failures were all I could see. But someone once told me that you can’t get any lower when you’re at that point. The only real change you can make is to acknowledge and move forward.” 

“A symbol of hope is definitely something we all need right now. What made you decide to finally give an official statement?”

“It is my responsibility to protect the citizens of Japan so this never happens again. But I also think it is important for people to see the shortcomings of the heroes they look up to. We’re human too. We f*ck up. I used to think that made someone weak. Now, I see it as part of the journey. The testament of a true hero.”

[mediocre--writing]

The Drooping Red Silvias on the Dining Room Table

Tom Riddle X fem!Hufflepuff!Reader

Summary: “Love could be remembered forever and it could be dwelled on for decades, but it didn’t last forever. Nothing did. Not a truly happy smile. Not the Red Silvias on the dining room table. Not even love.”

Word Count: 4544

Warnings: like two bad words, SUPER ANGSTY

“Pathetic, isn’t it?” A teasing voice questioned from behind Tom’s left shoulder.

“What is it now?” He heard a light giggle as he felt her get closer to him, her aura contrasting his in every way.

Where he was harsh, sharp angles, she was kind and bright, in every way possible. And it beat just about every brain in Hogwarts how the two ended up together at all.

“How much you mope around school scowling at people when you could just come find me and we could have a grand ol’ time!”

And so it was, the grin that was hardest to suppress made its way across his dull face, one only the girl next to him could elicit from him. He enjoyed it, no matter how much he protested her jokes and immature behavior, it brought out the child in him that he was never allowed to show.

“Should you be any more childish, they might have to hold you back this year, L/n,”

Matching smirks graced their faces as they made eye contact in the busy hallway on their way to dinner, in which she would ditch her rightful place at the Hufflepuff table and sit with Tom at the Slytherin table, a good bit away from any other students in the house.

“They would never, I’m far too loved in this school for anyone to wish me a disadvantage!” She said, mocking an offended tone and placing a dramatic hand on her chest.

“Think what you will, but you are one of the most adorably immature people I've had the chance to meet,”

“Oh, Tommy, that’s just pessimistic, be a bit happier, will you? We’ve got, like, a month left of school and I’d like to be happy for the time being, if you can manage that?”

They sat at the end of the Slytherin table, close to the door, and far from other students. They both began to place food onto their plates in mass amounts, the Hufflepuff being more than distraught at the idea of having to lose Hogwarts’ meals after graduation.

The brunet smiled at the bubbly girl in front of him, her eyes glimmering from the reflection of candles in the hall. There was nobody he admired more, from her personality to her obsession with Herbology to the way she read, all curled up on an uncomfortable library chair, and he especially adored the way she kept him connected to the person he always strived to be, even if he didn’t notice himself drifting, she always did.

“I think I can manage that,” He said softly, looking down to add more roast to his dinner plate. “For you, I think I can manage anything,” 

“Pathetic, isn’t it?” A teasing voice questioned from behind Tom’s left shoulder.

“What is it now?” He questioned the ghost that haunted him to this day.

“Well, the fact that you’re trying so hard, for one,” Her mocking voice chuckled as her semi-transparent form drifted to face him.

The man-- if you could call him that-- groaned at her insistence on bothering him.

“I also think that you’re doing far to much to not die, that you’re gonna end up getting killed and only end up living to, like, 80, at the most,”

“If you could be quiet for a moment then maybe I would be able to focus and then I won’t get killed!” He snapped, agitated at the nuisance around him, slamming his hand onto the table that had plans spilled across it.

“Too bad you can’t kill a ghost, huh?” She quirked her head to show a false sympathy for the man, “Though, you already did kill me, so…”

“Shut up!” He tried to command with a strong voice, but it came out quieter than he wanted it to, guilt overtaking what was left of his emotions.

She let out a loud sigh as she crossed her arms over her chest, rolling her eyes, “No need to be so dramatic, Tommy,”

“Why don’t you just go to wherever it is you go when you’re not bothering me,” He sneered at the ghost of a girl who used to be everything to him, but was now diminished to absolutely nothing.

“Alright,” She said, backing up to disappear and reappear somewhere else, “Catch you later, Tommy!”

He let out a final groan after she disappeared, getting back to what he was doing before.

Meanwhile, at Hogwarts, the ghost was wandering around, talking to other ghosts, sometimes waving to younger students, and just milling around with nothing to do.

“Excuse me,” she heard a timid voice call from around her. “Ma’am, excuse me,”

“Are you talking to me?” She asked, raising an eyebrow at the brunet boy below her who nodded at her question. “What is it you need, darling?”

“Do you know other.... uhhhhh,” He paused his question, eyes darting around as if to escape the prevalent tension, “Other people, who have… gone from the world?”

“Why do you ask, and what is your name, darling?” The Hufflepuff asked tenderly.

“I’m Neville,” The boy spoke as his cheeks flushed pink, his grip tightening around his satchel, “And I was reading about how some ghosts have contact with those who are passed through, and others can’t and I just wondered if there were any ghosts at Hogwarts who could--”

“Neville, darling,” He was pulled from his rambling and fidgety monologue, “I’m very sorry, but I’ve not been able to contact those who have passed, but I may know who you are referring to, given I have been around Hogwarts for quite a while,”

“Well, my parents…”

“What’s your last name?”

“L-Longbottom, ma’am,” the boy stuttered out quietly.

“Your parents, they’re Frank and Alice, correct?” She tilted her head as she lowered her body from floating feet above the floor to be closer to the ground so as to not be intimidating to the shy boy, who looked more like his father than he probably knew.

“Yes, you knew them?” Neville had a spark of hope lit in his eyes, it was apparent in the way he straightened his posture and could look her in the eyes.

“Yes, I also knew your grandmother, Agusta, while I was at Hogwarts, is she still as intimidating as she once was?” Neville nodded with a small smile, “Well, Alice was one of the first friends I made while wandering Hogwarts. Kindest women I’ve ever met, by a long shot. I didn’t know Frank too well, however, but Alice worked him into just about every conversation she could, she loved that boy,”

“Do you have any stories?” Neville asked, taking a seat on a bench on the side of the hallway, “If you don’t mind, that is?”

“Of course I don’t mind!”

She spent until curfew talking about Alice and Frank, stories of their dates and their friends and how goofy and awkward and wonderful they both were. Neville had never felt so close to his parents, he could almost cry.

Y/n loved talking about her friends, though she was never truly a friend, but she liked feeling close to people and helping them along in the world.

She’d seen people she was once close to go down a path that only resulted in destruction, and she wanted to prevent as many people from doing that as she could. It hurt everyone when someone hurt themselves.

After Neville had gone to bed, she had begun wandering the halls once again, watching paintings move and random cats and owls move around outside on the grounds.

She could never get tired of the castle, especially not the grounds, which, no matter the weather, always seemed to be green and full of life. She loved the edge of the forest, right before it got too dense but where you could still be surrounded by trees.

“Tommy!” She squealed, feeling the blood run to her head as she was hung over his shoulder. “Tom! Thomas!”

He was giggling right along with her, running across the lawn, over to the forest where nobody went, enjoying the warm, sunny, spring day that seemed rare this time of year.

He finally allowed the girl’s feet to touch the ground, but kept her wrapped in his arms holding their chests together, fast breathing causing them to touch every breath or so.

“Was that necessary, love? You could’ve just asked to walk over here calmly,” She smirked, watching as his cheeks lost some of their pink tint as he calmed his breathing.

“Yes, but aren’t you always the one telling me that life should be fun, not mundane, like I, apparently, always am?” Tom teased the girl, poking one of her cheeks as she leant against a tree, staring into his eyes.

He pushed a strand of hair behind her ear, where a small white flower already was, probably from the bouquet that he’d given her just a few days ago. The bouquet had been mostly white flowers, along with a few yellow ones, and he’d said the white flowers were as perfect and pure as she was, along with the yellow sunflowers that he’d put in, comparing them to her bright smile.

“You’re not mundane,” She smirked, poking his cheek as well, to prove a point, but let her hand rest against his jaw, “maybe a little dull sometimes, but --”

His lips touched hers tenderly and with love as he smiled into the kiss they shared, in the forest, away from prying eyes and lurkers.

She gasped a bit from the surprise of her sentence ending so abruptly, but sunk into the kiss after a moment, still holding his cheek in her palm as his hands wrapped around her waist, curling her into his chest.

This was a routine for them, hiding from the eyes that seemed to follow them everywhere and share tender moments that neither would forget in years to come.

Sometimes, the moments they shared, weren’t just kissing, they would sit in the back corner of the library, far from the librarian’s prying eyes, and would read old children’s tales to one another.

(She swore that his voice was made for reading, and the way his chest felt when she rested on his lap was perfect for casual reading days.)

Other days, they would do homework. More like Tom would try and work and she would talk his ear off until he threatened her to do her work. Though the threats were harmless, (ex: no cuddles or kisses until Monday) though, he wasn’t good at keeping them anyway. She was too perfect to just ignore for the sake of lousy school work.

They enjoyed their time together, no matter what they did, it was always precious time if it was spent with the other.

“Ms. L/n!”

She jumped from her daydream as she noticed the man standing at the end of the hallway.

“Professor Dumbledore, how are you tonight?”

“I’m fine,” He smiled kindly from underneath his half moon spectacles, eyes glimmering even in the darkest corner of the castle. “You know what’s been brewing outside these walls. I’m here to ask something from you, once again. Would you be willing to aid me and my friends as you did many years ago, should the time come to do so?”

She stared off, quietly wishing she didn’t have to. “Of course, Professor,”

“My thanks means nothing in comparison to the help you will give us, Ms. L/n,”

The man nodded once more and walked to the end of the hallway, turning left as he disappeared out of sight.

Though it meant close to nothing, she couldn’t help but feel guilty.

How could she have gotten into Hufflepuff, the house of the loyal, if she were betraying the one person who ever treated her with more than a fake smile and courteous conversation.

Her Tommy, who had once been a kind soul who only wanted to feel the love he had been deprived of in his first life. The happiness that had been brutally ripped away from him any moment he got too comfortable.

It was the right thing, going against Lord Voldemort, but there was still a part of her that wanted to help Tom Riddle on the right path when there was so much persuading him from straying to the wrong path.

The person she knew was, well, a person at heart. He may not have shown it often, but he wanted what people were given freely. He hated having to ask or dream of what others were given daily.

For what should give a person a reason to treat a child as less than loved?

“Y/n I’ve been looking for you everywhere, do you know wh--” He paused halfway through the two shelves that hid the table and chairs that they would go on study dates to.

It was the perfect spot, a small window that showed the hilly landscape outside and allowed just enough light that it gave the spot a romantic feel without being too dark or light. There was a small table and two plush chairs, which was just enough for the two. It was the perfect spot, apart from right now, where there was Y/n, tears pouring down her cheeks as she tried to mop them up with the end of her sweater sleeves.

He walked up to her, slightly shaking, body, crouched down a bit, and opened his arms, to which she wrapped her sweater-covered hands around him and connected her hands around his neck, pulling him partially down to her chair.

He adjusted them bit by bit until he was in the chair and she was laying across his lap and chest, her cheek nestled into the side of his neck, his light gray sweater getting slightly damp from her tears.

She began to stop crying, embracing the earthy, yet clean smell he had, along with his fingertips running up and down her spine in an effort to bring comfort to the girl. She shivered every once and a while, in which he would respond by snuggling her deeper into his warm body.

They remained quiet for a while, even after she stopped crying and was breathing normally, just enjoying the embrace, and the calm atmosphere that came with it.

“Wanna tell me what’s got you spooked, darling?” He asked in a whisper, scared to break the comfort with too loud a voice.

She shook her head in the crook of his neck, nustling her nose deeper into his sweater, which was softer than anything she’d ever felt. ‘I’ll have to steal that later,’ she thought.

“That’s alright,” He reassured, “It wasn’t somebody, was it? Or were you overwhelmed, darling?”

She smiled into his shoulder, murmuring “Overwhelmed,” as she closed her eyes once again, feeling more tired than ever.

He had to know that it wasn’t someone who made her upset, and knew that more often than not, it was just a mix of school and general teenage angst, which he knew that better than anyone.

He felt her warm breath on his neck, feeling her yawn as she readjusted her head again, “Tired, darling?” to which he got no reply other than her arms squeezing around his torso a bit tighter than they had been.

He chuckled to himself, smiling at the girl who, in his eyes, at least, couldn’t be more perfect.

During the last war, Y/n had been in the same predicament.

She wanted to do the right thing for a majority of people, but she also felt as if she was going against her loyalty for not defending Tom, though he was barely even who he used to be at that point.

She had advantages for either side, mostly the Order of the Phoenix, because she understood how The Dark Lord’s mind worked and you couldn’t exactly hold a ghost back from a room or hear what she wanted, given you couldn’t exactly stop her from just floating through the wall.

She knew it was the right thing.

She wasn’t a complete idiot, she knew basic right from wrong, though it didn’t erase guilt.

Nothing erased guilt.

That went both ways.

Tom still felt a tremendous amount of guilt when it came to his lost love.

She had never given up on him, not a single time between their years at Hogwarts and the years beyond when they had been trying to understand how their life worked without people telling them how to act. Without set rules to follow.

They’d never strayed from one another, always been loyal and adamant about their trust in one another.

She never doubted him, and that was the worst part. She didn’t see him as a god or supernatural being, and he supposed it was nice to be admired for being a person rather than for actions that could be twisted back and forth.

He didn’t have the best conscious, given it was switching between what he wanted and what he needed, and she was something he needed, but he prioritized his wants over her. His views on blood status had clouded his judgement and, in turn, lost him everything he’d ever wanted and everything he’d needed.

“Stop acting like a fucking twat for once in your life, Thomas!” She screamed as she found, yet another, suspicious book sitting on his desk.

This time it was a book called Horcruxes: How to Make and Destroy the Key to Eternal Life.

“What is that supposed to mean?!” He was agitated, he was close to pulling out his own hair in pure agitation, “I was reading a book and now you’re being all pissy for no reason!”

“Oh, so you can read?” She asked, hands on her hips like a scolding mother, “Then what was the title of your little book, Tom?”

He was silent, looking around the room rather than in her eyes. He’d been caught but he was far too stubborn to admit that he was at fault for the argument.

“Tom,”

“If you’re so mad then just get out!”

“I’m not mad at you, I just want to know what’s going through your head because from what I’m looking at, it’s not a good situation. And you know, good and well, that I will believe what you tell me, but if you keep lying then I really will ‘get out,’”

She set the book down on the desk as she watched his body language, surveying his eyes flickering around the room and his fingers loosening and tightening his tie again and again.

“Tommy,”

“I don’t want to lose you, ever, and I’m trying to figure out a way that we never have to be without the other.” She opened her mouth to question him further but he began rambling, “I want to be with you forever and I don’t want us to be apart because I know we’ve been together for a long time, but I can’t bear the thought of, one day, not having you with me. It’s something I can’t afford to lose because of some stupid mistake or-or,”

“Tommy,” She put her hand over his, which was on the arm of his chair, “Life is about losing things and gaining things. We can’t cheat nature just because we want to be loved for longer or because of pure selfishness. I don’t exactly want to live without you, either, but I know that you’re always going to love me and I know that I will always love you, no matter what you think, so just calm down for a few moments and enjoy life while you still get to,”

That night had changed everything.

Had the conversation been had earlier, maybe the first two Horcruxes wouldn’t have been made. He rethought everything after that, finding his humanity that he’d been repressing for months, all for her.

It was never that easy, though. He had already made the Horcruxes, and he vowed he would stop now.

And he did. For almost a year, he made no more moves to further his progression of splitting his soul into seven pieces. He found happiness, he kept her love for him in a pocket right over his heart, where he also kept the small flowers she would pick him out of the garden, and he still felt like a person.

A person who, though he was now beginning to regret it, had an army of loyal, blood supremacists behind him. He had made them promises that he was now beginning to question.

It was a beautiful morning.

A blue sky, blooming flowers, and the smell of rain that was sure to fall later in the day. But now, Tom was reading in his study, watching his wonderful darling tend to her garden, she was fascinated with nature, what it meant and how it grew so freely.

She would ramble about why she had certain bouquets into the dining room table, about what they meant, and how her smile was only brighter when she was talking about him.

(“These are daisies and morning glories. The daisies mean hope and the morning glories mean care and affection. I noticed you were moping earlier and wanted you to feel happier.”)

(“These are violets and asters-- they look pretty together, no?” “Of course they do, darling,” “The violets are for loyalty and the asters are for love, because that’s how I feel for you,”)

(“All yellow tulips, darling?” “I read somewhere that they represent the sunshine in your loved one’s smile, and you just light up my world,” “Oh, how cheesy, darling,”)

That morning, she’d put in a large bouquet of Red Salvias, which bounced well off the crisp white tablecloth underneath.

“And what of those flowers, darling?” Tom had asked once he came into the room to find her in her gardening clothes, dirty and grimy but still looking absolutely stunning while she arranged the red flowers.

“They’re Red Salvias, they represent a forever love,” She’d sent a cheeky smile towards him at the last part of the sentence, to which he walked towards her, grinning, and wrapping his arms around her from behind.

“Then we shall put them everywhere, darling,” He whispered softly into her ear.

Her smile was one that could not be broken. When she was around those she loved, nothing could dull her happiness and affection towards them.

Tom never wanted her smile to fade, not because of him and certainly not because of anyone else.

A knock was heard from the front door, harsher than the old neighbor lady, who would bring them sweets occasionally, would knock.

Tom looked back to her, then walked to the door, coming to see Abraxas Malfoy, one of his friends from school, though they weren’t necessarily friends, given their heritage.

“Abraxas, how nice to see you,” Tom said curtly, confused as to why the man was there, given he hadn’t spoken to any of them recently.

Little did Tom know that they had been meeting one another recently. All his followers met to discuss their leader’s change in attitude, which led to the answer for his rejection of ideals.

Quite the understandable distraction, they had agreed, but unnecessary all the same.

As Tom was tensely chatting with Abraxas Malfoy, another, undetected Death Eater had walked to the back door, sending a silent petrification charm at Y/n, catching her before she hit the ground.

Unable to speak or move, her eyes widened and looked to Tom worriedly as she was aggressively moved and bound, hands together and a strange man’s hand around her neck, squeezing hardly, but not too tight that she was losing oxygen.

After a few more moments, Abraxas noticed that the girl had been restrained and nodded for Tom to turn, to which he immediately pulled out his wand to the platinum blond, threatening him, but it was evident that nobody was there to hurt him.

There were two more masked Death Eaters in the garden, watching from outside, threateningly, as Abraxas smiled and Tom tried not to act rashly as Y/n tried not to allow tears to slip from her eyes.

“All we want is our old leader back, Tom,” Abraxas said from behind his right shoulder.  “It’s a pretty easy decision to make, if you ask me, we’ll spare the girl, if you come back to us, as you should,”

Tom’s wand, for the first time in his life, was trembling in his tight grip.

It didn’t feel right, the deal, and he knew that if he followed what he really, truly wanted, she wouldn’t live to continue his ideal life with him. But if he chose the path he was avoiding, would he lose her anyway, would she stay if he was a murderer?

She, though bound and being choked, didn’t feel as though she should be nervous, this was her Tommy, the Tommy who would read her children’s stories because it made her smile. The Tommy who would poke at her cheeks when she was trying to be mad at him.

Even if he chose, whatever it was, with these people, she knew that he would always be Tommy to her.

Her Tommy.

And as he made a decision, a stupid one on his part, he knew that it was his last act of true defiance and bravery.

He shot a spell at the man choking her, but was immediately pulled back down by Abraxas as he watched her fall over to the floor, unable to catch herself due to her bound hands.

“You have made a mistake, Tom, and we don’t tolerate mistakes here, now do we?”

There was one last look of vulnerability in Tom’s eyes as he watched a spell hit Y/n.

That last look of vulnerability lasted until his final death.

He watched as her, once tense, body went limp from the use of the Unforgivable Curse.

He’d done it to people before. He’d felt no remorse on the other end of it. He’d almost enjoyed the feeling of power that came with using the Unforgivables.

Not anymore. He didn’t like the other side. He didn’t like feeling this. The pain. The knowledge that if he’d just done what he should have a long time ago, he’d have her there. With him.

Abraxas allowed him to stand up, and he did, slowly, and tried to not look into her cold, dead eyes that still dripped with unfinished tears, and clothes still dirty from the gardening she’d done earlier that day.

He’d looked to the dining room table, at the Red Silivas that she’d just finished arranging only minutes ago.

The flowers that represented a love that spanned forever.

Little did those flowers know that forever only lasted until the love was broken in half and ripped to shreds. There was no love that lasted forever.

As the flowers would begin to droop with days to come and nobody to care for them, Tom’s once shining love would begin drooping with them.

Love could be remembered forever and it could be dwelled on for decades, but it didn’t last forever.

Nothing did.

Not a truly happy smile.

Not the Red Silvias on the dining room table.

Not even love.

[threeletterslife]

Resonance

→ summary: your college art final prompt is so unbelievably broad that you might just flunk it because you have no idea what you’re gonna draw. luckily, there’s a cute guy who’s totally into you that might just help you out. even better: he’s a merman.

→ pairing/rating: taehyung x reader | PG-13

→ genre: 80% crack, 20% fluff | mermaid!au & bullet point fic

→ warnings: profanity

→ wordcount: 9.4k

cr.

well

this is just

great

you are a creative person

you are a creative person

you ARE a creative person

ok maybe if you keep saying that in your head, it’ll come true

but fat chance

because you're still drawing a blank

your university professor JUST released the art final prompt

and it is the most broadest and vaguest prompt you've seen in your whole entire nineteen years of life

it sucks!!

like what the fuck?

how are you supposed to draw something that "calls to you"

what's that supposed to mean???

your best friend yoongi tries to help you interpret the wack prompt

but you really shouldn’t be trusting a guy who uses art sketchbooks as scratch paper to solve batshit crazy math problems for fun

it’s a no brainer that yoongi’s a no-nonsense chemical engineering major

in conclusion, he wouldn’t know aRT

not like you do anyways

he can barely draw a stickman. and he even has shitty handwriting (that’s so barely legible that he always gets called back after finals to translate his writing for the prof)

enough roasting your best friend though

especially when he’s actually trying to lend you a hand

“what calls to you…” yoongi trails off thoughtfully

he lets out a snort

“ha!” he says triumphantly. “y/n, i got it!”

“really?!”

“just draw a phone with your mother coming out of it!”

you frown. “i don’t get it”

yoongi sighs, shaking his head disdainfully

“because your mother literally calls you on the phone, y/n”

“i hate you”

yoongi is no help

“prof would flunk me if i turned a drawing like that in”

yoongi snorts. “or she’ll give you extra points for thinking literally. artists these days are so into thinking outside of the box. maybe you’ll be unique for being literal”

god no

being literal won’t fly with your professor

she’s the fucking queen of abstract art

if you hand her a painting of your mother coming out of a fucking phone, she might just burn the piece in front of your face

besides, you can’t draw something that doesn’t stir some sort of inspiration in you

no offense to your mother (but she’s also a no-nonsense physician)

yoongi’s just back at it again with his nonsensical advice

you’d expect better from the dude who does math for fun

“you know what?” you huff. “i can’t trust a guy who uses a freaking sketchbook to solve advanced calculus problems”

yoongi grins. “just tryna help, y/n”

“my god”

“wanna help me since i helped you?” yoongi teases

he holds up a stack of paper riddled with numbers with one too many digits and foreign symbols from the greek alphabet

ew

you feel like you’re gonna puke

“aaaaand goodbye!” you say, standing up from your seat at the campus cafe. “i’m gonna go to the beach!”

“right now??”

“yeah why not?” you laugh, shrugging. “i need some inspiration!”

“but then i’m gonna look like a loner sitting here all by myself,” yoongi pouts

“then come with me, duh”

yoongi gives you a look of repulsion

“i hate the beach,” he grumbles

“fine,” you snort. “just call hoseok or something. i don’t know. but i’m leaving! bYe!!”

you can hear yoongi cursing at you under his breath and you laugh

he’s got such a mouth of a sailor that he honestly belongs on the beach—if not, the ocean

you pay his cursing no mind as you rush out the cafe and across the school campus

the literal reason you chose to attend this university was its close proximity to the beach

you’ve always been drawn to the waters

yoongi, on the other hand, only came here because of a scholarship

smart bastard

but he’s a good friend

it’s kinda sad you’re always hanging on the beach alone though

you don’t particularly fit in with the rowdy party crowds on the sand

and you don’t go there to flaunt your summer body in a bikini

you just go for

~inspiration~

by the time you reach the beach, it’s nearly empty

when it’s nearing finals, no one dares to step foot on the warm sand because once you go in, there’s no way in hell you’re going back

some students learn the hard way

and then end up flunking their finals

it’s you

you’re ‘some students’

(to be fair, that was freshman year and you’re a sophomore now, so you won’t make the same mistake again!!)

okay… maybe

you’re on the beach and it’s nearing finals so maybe you haven’t learned your lesson

but in your defense, you’re only here for

~inspiration~

the salty ocean breeze caressing your face

the smell of open waters

the brisk air

you would live on the beach if you could

there’s a small little rocky ledge at the far side of the beach that serves as your little private area you’ve been using since you got here

no one ever comes this far

so you just claimed the rocky ledge as yours

it’s where there are cute little crabs roaming about

where the bright orange starfish and sea anemones attach themselves to the rocks in the shallow tide pool and (maybe) watch you watch them

(you don’t exactly have extensive knowledge about ocean life lol)

omg there was even this one time when you saw a fish in the tide pool

granted, it was dEaD so you had to make yoongi carry it in a plastic bag and give it a proper burial ceremony

anywho

you love sea animals and plants!!

for a brief second as you crawl onto the rocky ledge you contemplate if you should draw a fucking fish for your art final

technically, it calls to you… right?

the late afternoon sun warms up your cheeks and you sigh, out, leaning back to admire the waves of the ocean lapping at the wet sand on the beach

if you just lie like this, basking in the sun… you’ll come up with an idea… right?

two hours later, you’re still stumped

“well, fuck,” you curse

the tide’s starting to come in and your feet are already underwater

it looks like you should just go back to your dorm at this point

you’ll find your ~inspiration~ tomorrow

you sigh

why can’t you think of a cool idea for fuck’s sake

what calls to me??

the only thing you can think of is a flobbering fish and your mom coming out of a phone (a tribute to yoongi)

you end up accidentally staying until the moon’s high in the sky

the waters have turned into a black oblivion and the tide’s so high, you have to shift up the rock to avoid making it look like you wet your pants

if you were a werewolf, you could draw the moon

because haha, get it? the moon calls to them!

but unfortunately, you are not a werewolf

“this sucks,” you huff

usually, you’re quick to come up with good ideas and it’s frustrating that for finals you can’t do the same

right when things actually matter

you look down from the sky to stare at your feet

maybe you’ll just stay here until you can come up with an idea

you aren’t gonna give up so soon

besides, the quiet sound of the undulating waves is so soothing

you stay a little longer, gazing at the twinkling stars and daydreaming of simpler times when your art teachers would tell you exactly what to draw without giving you vague-ass prompts to interpret

that’s when something catches your eye in the dark waters

illuminated by the starlight… you see… a…

HUMAN???

“hey!” you shriek

okay now you’re 1000% sure there’s someone in the ocean right now

they have a head of bright turquoise hair and pale but toned arms

yet the person has their back turned to you so you can’t quite see their face (though you assume they’re attractive just based on the back of their head)

“hey!” you shout again

come to think of it,,,

are they skinny dipping in the fucking ocean???

freshmen these days!! they’re nuts!

“you’re gonna die of hypothermia!” you yell. “or a shark’s gonna bite your limbs off!”

slowly

very slowly

the kid turns around

and you nearly choke on your breath

because he is beautiful

not in a conventional tiktok boy way but in a mysterious manner

his alabaster skin glows in the starlight

his turquoise-colored hair is styled perfectly on his head, just swept gracefully across his forehead

his deep sea-green eyes sparkle as he cocks his head and stares at you

oh god

he’s definitely shirtless

“h-hey!” you call again, hoping you don’t sound desperate. “what are you doing??”

the boy doesn’t answer though

he just stares at you curiously, eyes glancing back and forth at your bare legs and your shocked face

normally, you’d be creeped out if a random guy decided to check out your legs, but for some reason, the boy doesn’t stare at you like he’s a predator

he just looks… curious

you gasp when he suddenly disappears underwater

“hey!!” you shriek

damn. maybe he just wanted to be alone

no biggie

you’ll just sit on the rock or something until he decides to talk?

or you can be like any other sane person and just go back to your dorm

a sudden splash of water jumps you out of your thoughts

you nearly fall back when the strange boy stares up at you from the ledge of the rock

he’s still submerged under the water up to his shoulders, but he leans against the rock and smiles at you

it’s as if he’s saying ‘hey, loud person, who won’t shut up. how are you today? nice to meet you’

at least you think that’s what he’s trying to convey to you

“hi?” you say, raising your eyebrows. “isn’t the water cold?”

the boy shrugs his shoulders then shakes his head

he seems friendly enough that you decide to continue talking to him

he has a strange alluring aura that makes you want to get to know him

before you know it, you’re scooting closer to the stranger

he doesn’t flinch when you’re close enough to touch his strangely dry head of beautiful hair

“woah,” you deadpan. “how’s your hair dry?”

the boy shrugs again, smiling mischievously

can he even talk??

or maybe he’s just being polite and he wants you to leave

maybe he’s naked?? and he actually is a skinny dipper

and he wants you to get the hell away from him so he can get into his clothes??

“do you want me to leave…?” you ask cautiously

the boy shakes his head

ookkayyy…

“oh… it’s just that you’re not talking to me so i just thought…” you trail off, uncertain

the boy laughs and it’s the only kind of sound you’ve heard from him since you first saw him in the waters a few minutes ago

and his laugh is just like the rest of him—beautiful

the boy touches his throat with one hand and shakes his head

you frown

what?

the boy repeats the motion again and again until it finally clicks in your head

oh!!!!

“wait, you can’t speak?” you say. “i’m sorry… i didn’t know!”

the boy smiles as if saying ‘it’s all right. you’re fine’

“i haven’t seen you around campus…” you start. “do you live around here?”

the boy shakes his head

“you just like late-night swims, huh?” you giggle. “i’d swim too but something about swimming in the ocean at night is super scary for me”

the boy laughs good-heartily. he points at you curiously, then gestures at the surroundings

“oh, why am i here?” you say

the boy nods his head

“i’m just trying to get inspiration,” you say. “i’m an artist”

the boy smiles widely. he raises his eyebrows and points at you

“yes, really!” you laugh. “wanna sit on the rock with me?” you say, patting the spot next to you. “you don’t have to be stuck in the ocean to talk to me”

the boy hesitates

he looks at you through his beautiful eyes and parts his pink lips

it’s as if he’s asking, ‘can i really sit next to you?’

“i don’t bite!” you laugh. “at least, the last time i checked”

the boy giggles

he reaches out and lightly touches your hand

you’re shocked when you realize his hands aren’t wet from the water

come to think of it, you are covered in more water droplets than the boy

well

something is a bit fishy around here

you slowly look up at the boy’s face

he shrugs but a mischievous, all-knowing smile plays on his lips

“what are you, a mermaid?” you snort

the boy looks offended, placing a hand against his chest and letting out a silent scoff

“sorry. i meant merman,” you roll your eyes. “better?”

you were only half-joking

but when the boy waves what looks like a fucking tail towards you, you nearly fall back

“WAIT!” you shriek

that better be a fucking costume

the boy laughs and he swims a bit away from the rock, only to do a backflip

that’s when you see that this boy is not really a boy

he’s a mythical mermaid???

with a sparkling turquoise tail and everything?? (on a side note, you have to appreciate the way it matches his hair)

okay

well

deep breath in

deep breath out

you were never one to say that mermaids existed

but you weren’t one to say that they didn’t exist either

okay

so

either you’re still dreaming or you just kinda befriended a mermaid—er, merman

“please tell me this is real!” you squeal, scooting closer to the waters so that your knees are submerged

when you were a kid and adults asked you what you wanted to be when you grew up, you said a mermaid

as you grew older, society drilled in your head that mermaids only existed in disneyland

so that was that

until now, of course

the boy pops up from the ocean again and he hoists himself up on the rock right next to you

he’s shirtless as mermen go, but that’s the least of your interests now

his tail comes up with him and he gestures towards it, allowing you to touch the shiny scales

“it’s beautiful!” you breathe, running your hands over the surprisingly silky tail. “i better not be dreaming right now”

the boy laughs. he points at your legs curiously in response as if to say, ‘i better not be dreaming too’

“you’ve never met a human??”

the boy shakes his head. he looks at you like you’re the most special person on the planet. and it makes sense too because you’re the only human he’s probably communicated with in his life

“wow… i guess there’s a first time for everything…”

the boy nods enthusiastically

“are you even allowed to approach people?”

the boy grins as if to say, ‘mAyBe’

“poseidon or some dude with a trident’s not gonna zap me with lightning for talking to you right??”

just a safety precaution!!

the boy laughs boisterously, head thrown back and eyes squinted

“well… i guess not,” you smile

you’ve never really been friends with someone… not human…

if yoongi heard you talking about this merman, he might call the psych ward on you

or you’re just batshit crazy and you’ve been imagining this in your head

the boy points at you politely, cocking his head

“my name?”

he nods vigorously

“i’m y/n!” you tell him

‘y/n…’ he mouths with his lips but you can’t hear it

“what’s your name?”

the boy presses his lips together, then as if a light bulb went off in his head, he grins

he mouths his name to you, lips pursing and parting with exaggerated movements

you squint

“daeyoung??” you guess

the boy snorts, shaking his head

he mouths his name again but this time with more emphasis in the beginning

“ohhhh! i got it!” you say excitedly. “taeyoung!”

the merman holds up a number one and nods but shakes his head when he holds up two fingers

“the second part’s wrong??”

he nods

“uhhhhhh, tae… young… young… something that rhymes with young…”

“oh!!” you shriek, “TAEHYUNG!!”

the merman claps his hands together gleefully

“am i good or what??”

taehyung pats you on the back as if to congratulate you for figuring out his name

“thanks,” you grin. “hey do you come here often? you know, on this rocky ledge”

‘yup,’ taehyung mouths. ‘i’ve seen you before,’ he mouths slowly so you can understand him

“woah. you watched me?”

taehyung bashfully looks away

“it’s okay! it’s okay!” you say. “i just hope i wasn’t doing anything embarrassing… like picking my nose or something. i’m always alone here”

taehyung grins, wiggling his eyebrows. it’s as if he’s saying that yes, he did see you picking your nose that one time

“well it’s a human thing,” you argue. “you wouldn’t understand!”

taehyung giggles. ‘sure, sure,’ he seems like he’s saying

you huff. “in my defense, i didn’t know anyone was watching!”

taehyung gives you a look as if telling you that was the lamest excuse ever

“whatever, tae,” you scoff. “i’m just flattered that you thought i looked interesting in the first place”

the merman grins wildly, making it quite obvious he likes the new nickname you had given him. he shrugs his shoulders and pokes your arm playfully. ‘friend!’ he mouths enthusiastically

“you wanna be my friend?”

taehyung rapidly nods his head

“hmmMm…” you pretend to think. “i’m a bit swamped with friends at the moment…” you fib. in reality, you only have like two best friends (yoongi and yoongi’s bestie, hoseok). but it doesn’t hurt to lie a little to tease tae

the merman’s lips pull down in a slight frown

but you snort and slap his bare shoulder

“kidding!” you giggle. “why would i say no to being your friend?”

taehyung rolls his eyes but he grins happily. he looks at you expectantly, almost as if he’s asking when he can see you next time

damn

you’re starting to get the hang of reading taehyung’s expressions

“when can you see me next time?” you ask

taehyung nods

“well… finals are coming up… i reckon you don’t have mermaid school or whatever?”

taehyung shakes his head, grinning. ‘no school!’

“lucky,” you sigh. “but fuck finals!” you pump your fist in the air. “i’ll see you tomorrow!”

‘same time?’ taehyung inquires

“sure!”

the two of you shake hands to seal the deal

you would’ve spent hours on end talking to taehyung but he’s the one who points to the direction of the beach and mouths ‘you should sleep’

“i don’t need sleep!” you declare but unfortunately, that follows with an embarrassing yawn

taehyung gives you the look

“okay… maybe i do need sleep…”

taehyung giggles. he pushes your shoulder slightly, nudging you away from him

“and i can visit you tomorrow…” you reason

taehyung nods

“so maybe i should get sleep”

‘that’s it!” the merman laughs

so you say your lasting goodbyes and watch as taehyung dives away from the rock

when he’s gone, shining tail and all, you’re left dazed and confused

maybe you’ve been hallucinating???

welp

if you were hallucinating, you’ll figure it out tomorrow when a cute merman doesn’t come to meet you at night

for now, you just need sleep to digest everything that had just happened

okay

so

you just woke up

and now you’re more unsure than ever that this… taehyung exists

what if you were so stressed out yesterday

that you were literally… seeings things

yoongi keeps asking you if you’re okay because you spaced out TEN times in ONE conversation

you keep trying to convince him that you’re fine

but yoongi knows you so well that he knows you’re definitely NOT fine

“i’m just tired!!” you tell your best friend

yoongi sCOFFS “so am i but you don’t see me spacing out like i saw a unicorn last night”

eRrrr…

how do you tell yoongi that technically you did see something like a unicorn last night???

well

you won’t

because yoongi is a no-nonsense-old-fashioned-traditional-by-the-textbook-chemical-engineering-loving-student

he would never believe you

“wEll i’m sensitive!” you protest, crossing yours arms. “plus i’m still stressed about my art final”

“i thought you went to the beach to get inspiration!” yoongi points out

“errrrr…” you scratch your head. “i got distracted”

yoongi sighs. “aRt mAjOrs”

“excuse me, how dAre you???”

but yoongi just laughs it off, patting you on the back before announcing that he had to go study for his finals

you should be studying for your other finals too

but you end up doodling all over your notes

doodles of tAeHyuNg

every ten minutes, you force yourself to sTOP doodling to actually read your notes

but it never works

by night time, you’ve gotten nowhere

oh well

now you can go meet taehyung!!

if he exists…

what if your brain was actually playing games on you??

regardless, you swallow all sense of doubt and march out to the ocean

the beach is completely empty and you make use of the privacy, skipping along the sand and towards the rocky ledge

and sure enough, there’s no one there

hMph

okay

maybe taehyung’s late

no, wait you’re early

so you’re gonna wait for the merman

and if he doesn’t come in… ten minutes, you’ll just leave and deem yourself absolutely bonkers

waiting is really boring

you keep thinking at least five minutes passed every time you look at your phone for the time

but, in reality, it’s always been less than forty seconds

you go back and forth between looking at the time to looking at the dark waters

FOR FIVE WHOLE MINUTES

you’re starting to get ANTSY

and doubt starts to settle in

if yoongi knew what you were doing right now, he’d laugh at you

oh god…

should you just… leave?

THAT’S when you see a familiar bob of turquoise hair in the waters

you let out a little shriek, scooting closer to the edge of the rock

“taehyung??” you call out

the figure leaps in the air like a gracious dolphin and dives back down into the opaque waters

two seconds later, the familiar merman leans against the rocky ledge and grins up at you

‘hey,’ he seems to say with his sparkling eyes. ‘missed me?’

“UM, YES!” you say. “i was starting to think i was going crazy”

taehyung chuckles deeply, the sound reverberating against the calm ocean waves

“i was worried you wouldn’t be here”

taehyung raises his eyebrows as if to say, ‘why wouldn’t i be here??’

“i don’t know! self doubt? maybe you have some underground castle you wanna hang around with your friends and family rather than come up to the surface to hang with me!”

taehyung shakes his head, laughing. he points to himself and mouths the word, ‘solo’

“really?” you raise your eyebrows. “no family or friends?”

taehyung nods. ‘SOLO!’ he declares silently, grinning

“are all merfolk like that??”

the merman shrugs. ‘never seen another’

“oh gosh, you must be lonely,” you say. “here.” you pat the place next to you. “sit on the rock with me”

taehyung obliges but he protests he’s not lonely by shaking his head

“what do you do by yourself all the time, then?”

taehyung grins mischievously

out of the corner of your eye, you see bubbles of water rising up from the surface of the waves. you gasp as they begin to float in the air

“bubbles!” you reach out to pop one, laughing when the remnants of the water splash against your cheek

the merman nudges you as if to say, ‘but wait! there’s more!’

the next thing you know, a huge floating water bubble splashes above your head, drenching you from head to toe

“vEry funny!” you scoff, trying to shake the water off yourself

taehyung gives you another one of his cheeky grins. ‘sorry,’ he mouths, but he does not look apologetic at all

‘but look! i can dry it!’

he waves his fingers at you and instantly, your sopping wet hair and clothes are dried. there’s even a ocean breeze smell that lingers on you now

“do you go around splashing people with water bubbles and drying them right after?” you accuse taehyung teasingly

he laughs boisterously, shrugging his shoulders. ‘mAybE’ is his answer

“you spend a lot of time on the surface, huh?”

taehyung shrugs. ‘maybe’

“not much of a fish dude?”

‘they’re creepy,’ taehyung answers

you howl with laughter. “and scary! like sharks, viperfish, hatchetfish… oh god,” you shiver. “i hate them. i can’t swim in the ocean. and i know most of the scary-looking ones don’t even live in the same ocean zone”

taehyung pokes at you. ‘scaredy-cat,’ he mouths

“am not!! how are you creeped out by fish when you’re half fish??”

taehyung scoffs. ‘my tail…’ he gestures majestically at his sparkling tail, ‘is not a fish tail’

“sure… fishboy”

taehyung raises his eyebrows and raises his hand as if to threaten to splash you with a water bubble again

“i was only joking”

taehyung laughs, poking at you then pointing to the waters. ‘wanna swim, though?’

“are you serious? i just told you i’m terrified!”

taehyung pouts, his pink lips pulling down into a sad frown

“that’s not gonna make me change my mind, tae”

‘just for a little bit!’ he protests

“i don’t even have my goggles, i can’t swim without them! and i’m not going in water that’s pitch black”

taehyung sighs. ‘fine!’

“i’m really good at swimming in the pool though,” you say. “i mean, they used to call me a mermaid. because i was really good at dolphin kicking. but then i watched a few underwater documentaries… and nope. never again. i am not going in the same waters that goblin sharks live in”

to your surprise, taehyung teasingly pokes your cheek. ‘cute,’ he mouths. ‘scaredy-cat,’ he adds

“show anyone a goblin shark and they wouldn’t be able to get in the water for a year!” you huff in response

‘never seen one,’ tae sings—if you could hear him, you imagine his voice would sound as soft as lavender with just a drizzle of rich honey

“doesn’t mean they don’t exist!” you argue. “maybe one day i’ll swim with you. but definitely not today”

technically, you just met the man—er, merman

you’re not so sure if you can trust him to console you of your great fear of the ocean

maybe once you get to know him a little better

you see

you’re very quick to make friends

you probably have a lot of acquaintances

they all know your name and you know theirs

but you probably could not name three facts about any of them. and they probably couldn’t think of three facts about you either

so yes, you tend to have shallow relationships with many

but if you find people you like, you cling to them

like yoongi and hoseok

you just hope taehyung won’t be one of your acquaintances

he better be one of your best friends

how cool is it to say your best friend is a merman????

very cool

‘cool’ is just not a word to describe you as yoongi often likes to point out

but you’ll show him

you visit taehyung every day

for seven days

it’s been a full week

finals is closer than ever

you have like… five days to get your art final done

and you still haven’t gotten an idea

yikes

okay well you have an excuse

actually, you have excuses. plural.

because 1) you’ve forced yourself to fOrget about finals and 2) taehyung is wAy more interesting than any final you will ever take in your life

besides, all the time you spend on the beach is absolutely worth it

you and taehyung sometimes even meet before night falls, just before the sun’s setting so the two of you can prank the seagulls

(tae hates those little monsters-with-wings so he enjoys it a whole lot to dump water bubbles on their heads)

you help him prank the stupid birds by giving him moral support! that includes cheering him on when he successfully attacks an unsuspecting seagull and feeding him some cookies from your school cafeteria to keep him well-nourished

taehyung loves human food

he says he has to live off of clams and seaweed

which, isn’t all that bad (you love salted seaweed chips and clams), but imagine having a diet solely composed of seafood

yuck

so you bake kale chips for tae one day (nearly burning down the communal kitchen) and he enjoys it so much, for five days, you bring all sorts of good human food for him

by the end of the week, taehyung’s put on some pounds

you think he looks even more adorable with a bit of meat on his bones

taehyung just complains that his abs are starting to disappear

so one day, you bring a yoga mat and the two of you do some ab exercises off of youtube

of course, that led taehyung down the youtube rabbit hole

and once down that rabbit hole, it is very hard to resurface

after tae got ahold of gordon ramsay’s youtube channel, it’s all he watches when you come to the beach

in the end, you have to ban him from youtube because he almost took your phone underwater when you tried to get him to stop drooling over gordon ramsay and his incredible cooking skills

but taehyung prefers talking to you over watching youtube

at least you think

you hope

there is never a day you meet taehyung and it isn’t eventful

there’s always something to do with the fun-loving merman!

which makes it very, very easy to lose sight of iMporTAnt things… like, uh finals

so, today, five days before your art final is due, yoongi sits you down on your desk chair and sighs. “have you figured out your art final yet?”

it is a question that catches you off guard

“er… no”

“iSn’t it due in FIVE days???” yoongi shakes his head disapprovingly at you. “c’mon, y/n, don’t some artists take over a week to finish a painting??”

“well i can take uh, three days without sleeping if it really comes to that”

yoongi sighs. “you’ve been going to the beach every day. still no inspiration?”

“err… i got… distracted”

“do you want me to come with you today or something? so i can whip you back into shape and make sure you get properly inspired?” yoongi offers

“no!” you shout

yoongi raises his eyebrows

“i mean, um, no thank you, yoongs,” you stand up and pat yoongi’s head

he scowls at you

“i’ve got it all figured out!” you tell him very convincingly

but it is a lie

“rEally?” yoongi raises his eyebrows at you

“yes. don’t you worry, my friend.” you pat his head again

yoongi rolls his eyes. “okay, well, worse comes to worst, you can always use my terrific idea”

“never in a million years”

“oh well. wanna skip the beach today? i’m inviting hoseok over to watch a movie. you can come too, if you want”

“no can do,” you say, shaking your head. “i’m going swimming!” you hang your swim goggles in front of yoongi’s face

“in the dark?? in the ocean?? i thought you were afraid of gobbler sharks!”

“goblin sharks. not gobbler. and no. not anymore. i trust the waters now”

er, or, you trust taehyung

he’s been trying to convince you every day to swim with him

and every day you declined or made up some stupid excuse

but today is the day you will accept

you even prepared by wearing a bathing suit under your clothes

and you’re gonna bring your swim goggles

you’re so ready!!

you trust that taehyung won’t let the fish get to you

he promised and swore on his own beautiful tail

so he can’t possibly be lying

“oOokAyyyy…” yoongi says, giving you a strange look. “if you drown, can i have your comforter?”

“oh, shut up. i’m not gonna drown”

“sure”

you huff. “whatever, yoongs. have fun watching that movie with hoseok. i’m gonna get going”

“i will. just don’t drown or something”

“i won’t”

five minutes later, you’re terrified you’re going to drown

as you walk across the beach, you worry that you’re only walking to your death

what if you actually drown???

and taehyung can’t save you because the water’s so dark, he can’t even see you???

what if a jellyfish comes out of nOwHerE and stings you so hard you’re gonna be paralyzed forever????????

EVEN WORSE

WHAT IF THERE’S A GOBLIN SHARK OUT OF ITS HABITAT

WHAT IF IT BITES YOUR LEGS OFF????

ohmygod

you think you might die

taehyung’s waiting for you on the rocky ledge as he always does

but today, he has a shit-eating grin on his face

he looks at your goggles and nods. ‘today’s the day!!’

you grumble. “this is not helping my stress”

taehyung cocks his head

“i’m stressed because of college, tae. lucky you. you wouldn’t understand”

the handsome merman snorts. ‘i wouldn’t’

he pokes at you as if to say, ‘tell me what’s wrong’

you sigh, plopping yourself down on the rock and looking down at your feet

“i have a really important painting i have to finish in five days…” you groan. “and my professor gave me an art prompt, you know, something i need to interpret and draw. but i can’t, for the life of me, figure out what i wanna paint”

‘hMmm,’ taehyung hums. ‘what’s the prompt?’ he mouths

“what calls to me”

‘what calls to you?’

“ugh. yeah. horribly vague, isn’t it? my friend suggested i draw my mother coming out of a phone”

taehyung cocks his head, curiously

“yeah, it’s stupid. so i’m stuck. and the final’s due in five days. but i was totally forgetting about it until yoongi decided to bring it up. and now i’m stressed”

the merman giggles

“this isn’t funny!!” you protest

but the merman giggles again

when you give him a disdainful look, taehyung dives into the ocean and pops his head out, waving at you to come in

you sigh, staring at your goggles. reluctantly, you put them on

once you strip down to your swimsuit, you stare hesitantly at the opaque ocean. you crouch down just before the water, contemplating and contemplating

suddenly, something grabs your arm and you’re tugged into the ocean

you sCreAm bloody murder and voila, now salt and fish feces water is up your noise

how wonderful

but two strong hands hold your waist and you’re able to resurface

the water’s cold, but not freezing cold at least. and taehyung’s actually really warm against your skin

“you fucking dragged me in!!!” you shriek after coughing the water out of your lungs

you hit tae’s bare chest in agitation

the little shit just shrugs and grins at you

you huff, wrapping your legs tightly around taehyung’s hips. “if you let me go, my friends are going to find you and roast you. literally”

taehyung chuckles. ‘i won’t let you go,’ he seems to tell you with a meaningful look on his face

“you better not!” you tell him

he laughs at you, softly touching your forehead with the back of his hand. instantly, you feel much, much warmer. even cozier in the supposedly freezing waters

even the water weighing down the hair on your head feels lighter. when you reach out to touch it, you realize it’s completely dry

“woah,” you breathe. “that’s so cool…”

you forget that you’re even supposed to be mad at the merman

taehyung grins at you, petting your hair. ‘i know, right?’ he seems to say with his twinkling eyes

he motions at you to take your goggles off

“what?? are you crazy? i can’t survive without these! i am not opening my eyes in salt water, tae”

the merman shakes his head, laughing. ‘it won’t sting your eyes’

“why? did you put a magical charm on me or something?”

taehyung shrugs. ‘mAyBe’

you sigh, skeptical

‘i’m trying to help,’ tae mouths. ‘it’s for your art final’

you raise your eyebrows doubtfully

‘i’m serious’

“why, is there something cool underwater?”

taehyung nods. ‘you need your eyes open’

you wrap your legs tighter around the merman. “so… you’re gonna show me… something underwater… that will help me with my art final??”

the merman nods enthusiastically

he ruffles your hair and pinches your cheek. ‘trust me’

ohhHHhhh if you didn’t trust him, you wouldn’t be clinging onto him for life right now

“promise you won’t let me go??”

‘promise’

you hold out your pinky for taehyung

he cocks his head. ‘what is that for?’

“pinky promise??”

‘hmm?’

oh man

that might just be a human thing

silly you

“oH uh, nEver mInd th—”

you try to retract your pinky but taehyung stops you

he slowly pulls up his own hand, his pinky jutting out awkwardly

‘like this?’ he questions, poking at your pinky with his

you have to stifle a laUgh

“um, not quite,” you say. “you have to wrap your pinky around mine. yeahh, like that. and then it’s a pinky promise! it’s practically illegal to break a pinky promise”

taehyung nods. ‘i won’t break it’

“okay good! uh…” you look warily at the dark waters. “what is it that you wanted to show me?”

taehyung grins. suddenly, you’re submerged underwater again and you let out a scream

but you can’t hear yourself

not because you’re choking on the water, no

it seems like… you can breathe????? UNDER THE WATER????

you hug taehyung tighter and try to scream at him to stop plunging you in the ocean without a warning

but no sound comes out of your lips

‘taehyung!” you shriek soundlessly

“open your eyes, y/n…” a deep, resonate voice tells you

you nearly gasp in shock

was that… was that taehyung’s voice? his speaking voice????????

“it’s okay… you’re protected under a charm,” his mellifluous tone soothes you. “you’re able to breathe underwater, y/n. but you won’t be able to speak.” he laughs, which sounds very familiar to your ears. “how the tables have turned!”

‘taehyung!!!’

“how good it feels to finally speak to you!!” taehyung laughs. “you don’t have to hold me in a vice grip anymore,” he snorts. “i won’t let you go. we pinky promised, remember?”

you groan in your head. ‘i-i can’t. i can’t do it, tae’

“aww, y/n…” you hear taehyung softly pet your hair. “take your time”

‘i can’t open my eyes. i-i’m sorry’

you can see the blackness through your eyelids. and there is no way in hell you’re going to open them

fine, you trust taehyung. and sure, the water may not sting your eyes

and on top of all that, you can fucking breathe underwater thanks to tae, but no

you’re still scared

you’re scared of what you’re gonna see

or what you won’t see because the ocean is probably pitch black

you just try to focus on taehyung’s beautiful, deep voice. it seems to reverberate through the ocean waves even after the sound hits your ears

“it’s okay,” he says. “don’t be sorry.” he holds you tighter against his bare chest. “you don’t have to see what i wanna show you anyway”

you make a confused grunt sound in the back of your throat

“you can hear it”

‘what???’

but of course taehyung can’t hear you. nor can he see you with your chin resting on his shoulder

“what calls to you, huh?” taehyung says in his syrupy voice. “i have a good idea”

then, to your utmost shock, he begins to sing

“where the sea breeze whispers

past your listening ears

and gently caresses your lips

there lies a great ocean

the waves undulate under the dark sky

under these waters

is a lonely merman

he longs, waits for a friend

a lover,

anyone who will save him

from his solitude

where the sea breeze whispers

where the great ocean lies

where the waves undulate under the dark sky

where the lonely merman waits

under these dark waters”

your insides melt

taehyung’s honey voice entrances you and you squeeze you eyes shut even tighter

a rush of inspiration washes over you

you shiver

oh god

you didn’t have to open your eyes after all

you don’t have to see it to feel the immense amount of emotion, love, sincerity interwoven to taehyung’s song

it’s the most beautiful music you’ve heard in your life

and it pains you that taehyung’s stopped singing

you’re speechless, pulling away from taehyung so he can read your lips. ‘that… that was so beautiful…’

“thanks,” taehyung chuckles deeply. “i sing that song a lot when i’m bored”

‘your voice…’

“i know. too bad i can only sing underwater, right? if i could do this on the surface, i’d serenade you all day every day”

‘i’ll come underwater with you,’ you mouth before you can stop yourself

then you pause

well

you suppose being underwater isn’t so bad

it’s just dark since your eyes are closed

but you’re warm in taehyung’s arms

and you can even breathe too

if you can hear taehyung’s voice and hear him sing, then surely, that is a tiny sacrifice you can make

“you’re gonna come underwater with me?? again??” taehyung seems in disbelief. “you already seem uncomfortable now!”

‘no i’m not!’

and to prove it, you force your eyes open

immediately, you’re so taken aback, your grip on taehyung loosens

the merman catches you before you slip away

‘o-oh…’ you breathe

the ocean is not as dark as you had imagined it

in fact, there is a halo-like light that surrounds taehyung

it illuminates his face, his hair, his whole body

he is like a walking—er, swimming—star

the light shines further out into the dark seas, making the water sparkle

‘oh…’ you breathe again

“nothing to be scared about right?” taehyung snorts. “scaredy-cat”

he bops you on the nose

you’re so in awe, you don’t even mind

“are you inspired now?”

oh!! right!! your art final!!

you were almost distracted again (even after taehyung just dangled the answer in front of your face!!)

RIGHT!

TAEHYUNG JUST HELPED YOU SOLVE YOUR ART FINAL FIASCO PROBLEM

YOU’RE SO INSPIRED YOU COULD PAINT FOURTEEN HUNDRED PAINTINGS RIGHT NOW

your fingers feel tingly

and your head whirls with ideas

taehyung’s voice, his song, his whole being…

it calls to you

omg

he just saved your ass

in one single song!!!

‘god, i’m so happy i could kiss you!’

and you’re not even joking

“kiss me??” taehyung seems taken aback, but he grins. “kiss?”

the way he seems curious about it, you’re not quite sure he even knows what that is

‘do you… do uh, merfolk kiss?’ you ask cautiously

taehyung smiles. “let’s find out”

his eyes sparkle as both of you begin to lean into each other

you take it slowly, admiring his alabaster skin, pink cheeks and rosy lips

he stares into your eyes and gently tucks your hair behind your ear

right before you move in to kiss his lips, he leans in to rest his forehead against yours

taehyung’s eyes flutter close and he sighs as you stay still in his arms, confused

but you decide to go with the flow, keeping your foreheads together as you close your eyes too

it’s an intimate moment

you, resting your forehead against his while under the same ocean you were once so scared of

you, feeling emotionally attached to a merman

you, dreaming of kissing taehyung. properly. you know, on the lips and whatnot

when taehyung finally pulls away, he grins

“wasn’t that a nice kiss?” he whispers, touching your cheeks and giggling just at the thought of it

yikes

how do you break it to him

that forehead touching is not really… the kissing you were thinking of

‘well…’ you giggle. ‘in the human world… um…’

“in the human world…?”

‘we kiss with our lips’

“oh!” taehyung exclaims. he scratches his head. “lips????”

‘like this!’

with that, you tug him into a kiss. a proper one this time

he melts in your arms, sighing as he leans forward and instinctively closes his eyes

you let yourself relax too

and god what the fuck

his lips feel so soft

is there a special ocean chapstick he uses???

does he use some special sand as a lip scrub??????

and even though he probably hasn’t kissed the human way before,,,

man he knows what he’s doing

it makes you think for a hot second

damn

you’re making out with a merman

… under the sea

?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

this is what your life has become

and honestly, you can’t complain

taehyung’s the first to pull away, panting slowly. “i didn’t think my breath could ever be taken away,” he grins cheesily

‘you’re welcome,’ you grin back, slightly breathless yourself

“so… now that i’ve given you amazing inspiration… don’t you need to write it down somewhere?”

‘oh!’ you gasp. ‘right!’

you need to get started on painting as soon as possible!!! you can’t ever forget the feeling of taehyung… singing for you. but something about painting it when the memory’s fresh promises the best results

what calls to you…

you smile

a goddamn merman!!

literally

you’re so gonna ace this art final

you paint nonstop for four days

although you want to, you can’t even visit the beach

because you absolutely HATE it when your workflow is stopped

so you have to keep on painting until you finish

you force yoongi to go out on the beach and lay some cookies on your special rocky ledge. he frowns at your strange directions

“i dOn’T thInK yOu sHouLd fEeD tHe sEaGuLlS, y/N. iT’s gOnNa iNtErRuPt tHe eCoLoGicAl bAlaNce,” yoongi says very knowledgeably

oh god

you tell him to shut up

he pats your head and walks out toward the beach with the cookies

at least he doesn’t ask questions

you just hope taehyung takes the cookies as an apology

you don’t want him to think after you kissed him, you ditched him!! you’re just busy with your art final!!!

so you also make yoongi sneak in a note and a slice of cake the next time

except yoongi comes back in ten minutes and aSks: “WHO’S TAEHYUNG???”

you gulp

but you pretend you can’t hear yoongi as you continue painting on your canvas

the perfect, bright turquoise color was very hard to recreate with paints, but you somehow managed. you just need to add some finishing touches and your beautiful painting of your merman friend will be finished

you know yoongi secretly admires your art skills, but he laUghs when he sees you painting a merman

“is that a siren???”

“no—”

“a mermaid, then?”

“a merman,” you say. “and he’s singing the most beautiful song in the history of songs”

yoongi laughs. “sure, sure. looks nice, though.” he steps closer to the canvas. “really like what you did with his facial structure or whatever. and his hair color. pretty tail too. i did not know you had the capacity to imagine that hard”

you huff. well, technically… you didn’t imagine that. but you’re not going to admit it with yoongi

“i’m more talented than you think,” you snort, stretching back and picking at the paint dried to your fingers. “if i close my eyes, i can almost hear him sing to me”

“um, i think you fell in love with your own painting,” yoongi snorts

“oh, leave me alone”

yoongi raises up two hands in defense. “okay, well, the final’s due tomorrow, right? are you done?”

“well…” technically, yes. but… “i’m gonna go to the beach”

“wait a minute, with your painting??? dude, what if a seagull snatches it away? what if the paint chips? leave your painting! that’s your final”

“i’ll be careful!”

“your idea of careful is reckless”

you sigh. “well, i’ll be extra careful!”

yoongi can’t argue with you after that. 1) because he knows you’re stubborn and won’t give up and 2) because when you say you’re gonna be extra with anything, you go all out

you take nearly twenty minutes getting to the beach because you walk very slowly with your painting in both hands. you hold the painting above your head so sand won’t fly onto it

and you check out for those nasty seagulls because sometimes they decide to shit on people’s heads

if they decide it’s a good day to shit on your final, it’s over

nevertheless, you need to show your masterpiece to taehyung

when you get to the rocky ledge, you call for the merman

in just a few seconds, taehyung pops up his head from under the water

“were you waiting for me?” you laugh. “did you get the cookies and cake i sent?”

taehyung nods, grinning as he begins to swim toward you. he points curiously at the canvas in your hands

“it’s my art final,” you explain to him. you turn it around so taehyung can see it

he gasps

‘that’s me???’

“yup”

‘you didn’t draw my abs!!’

“well, can’t draw what you don’t have,” you giggle, teasing the pouting merman. he huffs

‘i like it, though’

“reallY??” you gush. “that’s all i wanted to hear!!”

you set the painting down carefully to the side and scoot closer to the rocky ledge

taehyung rests his hand on your forehead before cupping your cheek. he grins before cocking his eyebrows and pulling your head underwater

‘taehyung!!!’ you shriek

“i just wanted to tell you how beautifully you drew me,” taehyung laughs, booping your nose. “i mean, i’m much, much better looking in real life, but the colors. you’re very talented, y/n”

you smile. ‘well, i did try really har—”

taehyung interrupts you by kissing you. he misses your lips the first time and gets the corner of your mouth, but the second time, his lips meet yours perfectly

the heavenly moment would’ve lasted wayyy longer if it weren’t for the:

“Y/N, WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU STICKING YOUR HEAD IN THE WATER???”

you let out a silent shriek and taehyung’s eyes widen. both of you break apart from the kiss and taehyung suddenly dives deep down into the ocean

and right when the merman is out of your range, you can’t breathe nor see clearly in the ocean anymore

when you get your head out of the waters, you’re a choking, coughing mess

you wipe away the droplets of water streaming down your face before you look up to see yoongi

“are you bobbing for fish in the ocean?” yoongi snorts. “for fuck’s sake, y/n, you can’t just leave your art final around like this!”

your best friend picks up your precious painting of taehyung and sighs. “what were you doing?”

“i, uh…” you touch your lips. “i was… uh… i dropped my ring in the water”

yoongi narrows his eyes. “you don’t even wear jewelry”

“okay fine. i was just trying to meet the merman of my dreams underwater”

at that, yoongi raises his eyebrows. “cool,” he says

“cool??” is that all he had to say?

“well, yeah. mermaids are cool”

“merman”

“whatever”

yoongi’s so chill with it that you’re unchill

“are you sure??” you say.

“am i sure that it’s whatever?” yoongi snorts. “yes? c’mon, let’s go watch a ocean life documentary with hoseok or something. finals is gonna be over soon, so we should celebrate starting now”

hm

okay well

cool

this is chill then

yoongi is chill

you suspect he doesn’t believe you, even though you told him the truth

you could probably tell him that you kissed taehyung, a merman, but he would probably laugh it off

your best friend is quite strange. no-nonsense. sensible. rational.

but you love those things about him

yoongi helps you carry your art final back to the dorms. but just before you step off the rocky ledge, you turn around

taehyung’s waving at you very discreetly, so you smile and wave back

yoongi never notices a single thing

welp

it’s over now

finals is over

which means,,, IT’S BEACH TIME

unfortunately, everyone in the whole fucking school think’s it’s beach time too

even late at night, there are still a few idiots on the beach drinking the last of the beer they stashed away

it’s hard to meet taehyung just because the lack of privacy

you wait and wait and wait on the rocky ledge, but you know, with so many people, taehyung probably wouldn’t want to come out of hiding

it’s one thing for a merman to trust one girl

it’s another for a merman to trust fifty rowdy college students

but you have a feeling taehyung is always close by

you visit the rocky ledge every day, singing some of your own little songs (though you’re not a very good singer, you try)

you even talk to taehyung like he’s there, listening to you

but it starts to get lonely

there are so many people on the beach, but the one being you want isn’t here

you sigh, wiggling your toes that have become pruned due to the salty water. “i never thought i’d be saying this,” you say. “but i miss finals week”

taehyung would have laughed if he was with you now

god, you miss him

“or maybe you’re in the water right now, waiting for me to jump in…”

you sigh again. “or maybe you’ve migrated or something. do you even have to migrate? i have no idea…” you trail off, looking at the blue waters lapping at the sides of the rock

cautiously, you dip one foot in

the water’s cool, but not completely freezing

you dip the other foot in

okay

you can do this

you’ll just…

jump in

and if taehyung’s not underwater, you’ll just… leave for the day

you’re supposed to hang out at a computer cafe with yoongi and hoseok anyway

okay deep breath in

deep breath out

goblin sharks don’t even live near the shallow part of the ocean… right?????

so you’re safe, right????

unless there’s a lemon shark or something

oh fucking god

you shouldn’t have watched that ocean documentary with your friends

but the need to see taehyung surpasses everything

you close your eyes

pinch your nose with your fingers

and you JUMP

and immediately you gasp because fuck the water’s cold

lowkey, your heart nearly stops because of the sudden rush of cool water surrounding your whole body

and right when you think you should swim back to the surface, a pair of strong arms hold you, and a soft hand taps at your forehead

“hello, you”

‘TAEHYUNG!’ you open your eyes and see your favorite merman staring at you

“the beach is crowded these days, isn’t it?” he grins

‘i know! pesky people!’

taehyung laughs. “i made another song while you were gone. nice singing, by the way. i heard you a couple days ago”

you flush. ‘i can’t sing! but um, can i hear your new song?’

taehyung nods, clearing his throat

he holds your hands to his chest and begins to sing

“where the sea breeze whispers

past your waiting ears

and gently kisses your lips

there lies a beautiful ocean

the waves ripple beneath the awakened sky

under these waters

is a happy merman

he’s found his friend,

his lover,

his treasure that has saved him

from his solitude

where the sea breeze whispers

where the beautiful ocean rests

where the waters ripple beneath the awakened sky

where the happy merman lives

under these sparkling waters”

‘you changed the lyrics!!’

taehyung nods. “i think it’s much more fitting, don’t you think?”

the two of your resurface from the waters, gripping each other tightly

your hair is completely dry and it blows in the light breeze

the sunlight warms your face and turns taehyung’s cheeks even rosier

oh god

your heart skips a beat

but you try to calm down before you wrap your arms around taehyung’s neck and pull him close

the moment your forehead touches his, you close your eyes and it feels like there’s nothing else in the ocean, on the beach, except you and taehyung

the two of you may never speak out loud in the same place as you’re kept silent in the ocean and taehyung’s kept silent on land

but...

sometimes, you don’t even need words

gazes, actions, little touches here and there

they speak in louder volume than words

you don’t even have to say you love taehyung. he doesn’t have to say it either

it’s as if both of your hearts, your actions proved it

masterlist

[your-local-bnha-writer]

Hello ur my favorite account😭! Can I request a HC with Tanaka, Noya, Tsuki, & Kageyama where u guys are dating but at a tournament, u run into ur ex boyfriend ( who is a huge douchebag) and is saying a bunch of garbage about u? How would they react? , how would it impact their playing style cause get this- karasuno is playing against ur ex boyfriends team🤭🤭🤭🤭

jealous bfs tanaka, noya, tsukki kags,

hey I’m gonna mash these two requests! I hope you enjoy this was a lot of fun to write!

also favourite account?? me?? 🥺🥺

➣ characters included : tanaka, noya, tsukki, kageyama (separately) x fem!reader

➣ headcannons

➣ warning : a lot of swearing 😳 like there’s a lot, your jerk ex talking crap, scary bfs

ryūnosuke tanaka

- karasuno had made it to the nationals, and right before their game against Tsubakihara, lil ol Tanaka had to use the bathroom

- a horrible decision really, just ask hinata

- he walks in and hears your trash ex talking crap abt you

“Yeah, can you believe it? I saw my ex here, Y/n. I think she’s the manager for her team? Karasuno. Is she really that desperate for attention from other guys?”

- Tanaka is p i s s e d like, no one gets to talk about his precious love without experiencing the wrath from Ryūnosuke Tanaka

- So mans just straight up walks to your ex, “gently” taps him on the shoulder to get his attention, and starts defending your honour

“Y/n? Y/n L/n? The most beautiful, gorgeous, precious girl in the world? That Y/n?”

“Uh, yeah? Who are y—”

“Hi I’m the new boyfriend, and let me just tell you...”

- Tanaka goes oFF he’s not letting this douche bag of an ex get his way, he straight up just goes on a 2 hours speech about how perfect you were

- and how much of a douche your ex was

- Eventually, Hinata finds Tanaka in the bathroom (since his stomach was actin up lol) and goes to alert the other guys + you

- So, the whole gang is here, Daichi and Suga have to drAG Tanaka away from your ex while Noya hypes him up

- You have to calm him down and ask him why the hell he was yelling at someone in the bathroom

“Your ex was talking shit about you, I’m not just gonna let them do that”

- You’re immediately like 🥺🥺 Tanakaaaa you didn’t have to do that omg I love you sm

- When it’s finally time play these guys Tanaka is surprisingly calm, like it’s actually terrifying

- Oh and you bet Tanaka’s going all out he is on fire, he’s landing every spike and you can practically hear the impact on it

- Right after he lands a spike he celebrates with his team and stares directly at your ex who’s shooketh 😳

“Yeah take that! You regret breaking up with Y/n now?”

“Tanaka stOoOoP omg—”

- After Karasuno wins he gives you the most passionate kiss, in front of your ex and you pull away blushing

- Your ex just rolls his eyes and goes to pack up with his team while Tanaka’s looking all smug and Noya’s hyPED

yuu nishinoya

- The boys were getting ready for the match against Johzenji, and were just doing some basic warmups

- You had to help Kyoko and Yachi with something so you weren’t in the gym at the moment

- But your asshole of an ex was talking shit about you, very loudly 😳 and very obnoxiously too

- This mf, instead of practicing and doing fricken warmups, he’s talking crap abt you, and you weren’t even in the vicinity!

- But your boyfriend was, oh and he heard everything, every single word that came out of you ex’s mouth

“Pfft yeah she’s still annoying as ever, not surprised she’s dating the dude that’s 5’2”

- Ohh big mistake bud, not only did you insult his perfect Gf, but his height as well? Like dang pick one or the other dude

- So, Noya can’t take it anymore he’s been holding back bc he’s supposed to be warming up for the game but at this point he just couldn’t

- He straight up runs over to the other side of the gym to knock some sense into the jerk

- Tanaka follows not to stop him (although he is a bit worried 😳) but to hype him up bc that’s his best friend’s gf you don’t get to do that

- Asahi is scared shitless so Ennoshita has to keep the horny tornado in check, while Suga is conflicted

“What the hell did you say? Don’t you dare insult Y/n again! This is why she left your sorry ass! Who are you talk shit about my beautiful girlfriend I’ll fight you right now—”

- Ahem well, as you can see he’s very pissed off and uh he ends up getting scolded by coach Ukai

- except at the very end of him scolding he gives noya a few pointers on how to defend your gf without showing bad sportsmanship

- You witness the whole thing and just go up to Noya to calm him down a little

“Thank you, but you didn’t have to go off like that,”

“Yeah I did, Im not letting that douche talk shit about my crazy hot girlfriend”

- noya stop this isn’t the time 😳🥵

- During the game he is extremely focused and there’s this terrifying aura that’s escaping him

- Like Asahi might actually shit his pants just standing next to him

- Karasuno absolutely destroys Johzenji bc Noya is not letting that ball drop on their side of the court

- After the game, like Tanaka Noya straight up kisses you in front of your ex, leaving you a blushing mess as Noya gives him a smug look

kei tsukishima

- aHEM um, alright get ready folks bc this is a scary one

- So it’s Kagugawa vs Karasuno and Yamaguchi is sort of wandering around with Hinata right before the game probably to try and cool their nerves 💀💀

- When they hear your someone talking abt you

“My ex is here we’re vs her team, I know yeah, she’s probably so annoying”

- Dude Yamaguchi and Hinata have never ran faster in their entire lives, they immediately go to tsukki and it’s just a scream fest

“TSUKKI THERES SOMEONE TALKING ABT Y/N!”

“yeAH!! and he was all like ‘she’s probably so annoying’”

“mHM AND—”

“okay I think I got it, where are they?”

- shits about to go down, when Tsukki gets mad, he doesn’t lose is cool, instead he keeps a level head and strategize on how to completely destroy his opponent

- so Yams and Hinata drag him to where your ex was and point him out, and he’s stILL on the phone

“Mhm, yeah she’s super annoying”

- Oh Tsukki is pissed off, he has this intimidating aura coming from him as he approaches the dude that’s shitting on you

“You’re the ex? Yikes...😬”

- Tsukki will wait for what he has to say and the whole time he just has the biggest smirk on his face, like it’s about to go down

- Yams and Sho are hyped uP but they’re waiting behind the door bc they’re babies and they’re scared

- Mm Tsukki does not hold back, he straight up roasts this dudes ass, mans just releases all the salt that’s stored in him

“Mhm yeah, that’s pretty pathetic”

“Heh lame”

“Wow...I can’t believe she really dated you”

- Yeah that’s not that much salt

- Tanaka find the three of them in the bathroom and as much as he wants Tsukki to keep going, they have to get ready for the game

- During the game, your ex tries to spike and he’s instantly shut down my Tsukki and his 6’3 ass, It’s quite hilarious 😌

- Anyways, Tsukki blocks your ex every single time wiTH A SMIRK, mans is not holding back on this bitch

- He says it’s bc he was predictable

- Later, Karasuno beats Kagugawa and Tsukki hardcore glares at your ex like it’s pretty scary since Tsukki is one to act all sassy rather than mad when he gets irritated

“You don’t talk shit about her, ever”

- SUDHDJD DAMN TSUKKI CHILLL

- You watch all of this happen and you immediately ask your boyfriend if something was wrong bc you’re a tad bit worried

“We just had a disagreement that’s all”

“uHH YEAH RIGHT TSUKKI WENT OFF EARLIER IN THE BATHROOM—”

tobio kageyama

- Um another scary bitch please do not talk trash about his gf when he’s around

- He’s probably filing his nails away from his team bc he needs his peace and quiet and doesn’t wanna get bullied by Hinata and Tsukki

- When he hears a guy talking very loudly to his friend, now usually he’d ignore them or move spots but like this dude is talking abt you

- So, he stays for a bit and listens to what he has to say. Who even is this dude? Why does he know you? Why is talking to loud like please shut the f—

“Pfft yeah my ex is here with her volleyball team, I talked to her earlier and oh my god she’s exactly the same when I first dated her”

- I’m not sure if that’s a roast sorry I’m bad at these

- Oh now Kags is pissed, see he was already a little irked that this jerk was your ex but he was also talking trash abt you? Nahh

- He throws his nail file on the ground and stomps right up to this douche to smack some sense in him

“Yeah she’s hella annoy—”

“Why don’t you shut the fuck up?”

“Who tf—”

- So Kageyama is also unusually “calm” about the whole situation which makes it even more terrifying

- Kageyama will most likely go off and tell this dude that he has no business talking abt his gf like that

- he’ll focus more on dissing the dude and let me tell you this dude’s roasts h u r t

- like his insults are like 90% swear words

“goblin lookin ass”

“long titty no nipple lookin ass”

“get outta here you abominable fuck waffle”

- Imagine this scary ass dude coming up to you, telling you to shut the fuck up, then realizing this is Tobio Kageyama, The King of the Court, the incredible setter that has precise aim, the 2nd half of the freak duo, going off on how you should stfu abt his gf

- oh and you’re facing him on your next game

- and he absolutely obliterates your sorry ass

- his sets are perfect, he blocks every single fuckin spike you make, and when you think he’s going setting to #10 think again bc he will do a setter dump

- basically he’s on fire and tear the other team to shreds it’s kind of scary actually, hinata was sweating buckets when kageyama served since he looked so terrifying at the moment

- after the game, kageyama would want to leave immediately he doesn’t want to see your ex anymore

“You doing okie? Did something happen with you and him before the game?”

“Yep, but it’s nothing don’t worry about it”

- kags you have that creepy smile again stop you’re scaring y/n

[floralamongtheclouds]

I read your Gauche x Elf!reader and I loved it! So, can I request Luck fighting his elf possessed s/o? Here, instead of Luck being possessed by an elf, it’s his s/o?

Oh my god yesss, more love for my boy! I’m so happy you like my writing! I actually got really excited to write this when you requested it, so I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it! I gave the reader Wind Magic, so I hope that’s okay!

Warnings: Light swearing

LuckxElf!Reader

Some part of Luck knew that he should’ve tried to catch up with other Royal Knights when you, now possessed by an elf, had taken off from the base to do your own thing, but his worry about your well being and the destructive aura your mana gave off sent him after you instead. Before you were possessed, your Wind Magic already made you fast, but it seemed you were unbelievably fast. If he wasn’t adept in tracking mana trails, you would’ve left him in the dust with no idea of where you went.

Luck chased you down as fast as he could, but his fastest wasn’t good enough. It seemed you had already half decimated the nearest town by the time he caught up to you. What he didn’t expect, though, was Magna and Vanessa desperately trying to stop you.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Magna screeched at you, stopping your destructive tornadoes.

“Yeah, what’s gotten into you?” Vanessa demanded.

“Do I know you?” You questioned, barely giving them a glance. 

Luck landed next to them before they could answer her or question her back.

“Luck,” Magna proclaimed, “I’m so glad that you’re here! Tell your girlfriend to stop destroying this town!”

“That’s not actually Y/N,” Luck responded lowly, “She’s been possessed by an elf.”

“What?!” Magna and Vanessa exclaimed at the same time. Before he could explain further, a dark chuckle from you cut him off.

“Ah, I see what happened,” you turned to fully face them, giving them a good look at the red markings that adorned your face, “You’ve mistaken me for the person who used to inhabit this body. She is long gone now, the first casualty in the extermination of humankind, and you three are next!”

“You take that back!” Luck yelled out, lightning crackling around his body.

“And if I don’t?” You asked coyly.

“Then I won’t hesitate to fight you!” While Luck did worry about hurting you, your overwhelmingly powerful mana sent his fight response into a frenzy, making his body itch with the need to test out your newfound power for himself. He probably wouldn’t be able to stop himself from doing so even if he tried.

“Then you’ve cemented your fate, human,” you cackled out, “Wind Magic: Cutting Winds!” 

The spell came at him so fast, that he didn’t have any time to react, but in one second he saw sharpened blades of wind coming at the three of them and the next the blades suddenly took a sharp turn away from them, hitting a wall instead.

He was confused at first, but looked down when he heard a meow to see Rouge sitting in front of him.

“What,” you growled out, “How did that happen?”

“Maybe you should work on your aim!” Magna taunted, bursting out laughing at his own roast, only to be cut off as you shot off another burst of wind at him, narrowly missing it by Vanessa pulling him out of the way with her Thread Magic.

“Maybe try to not make her angrier.” Vanessa chastised him.

“Enough talking!” You screamed out, followed by a barrage of more attacks. It took all all they could to just avoid them or have Rouge save them, but Vanessa’s stamina was wearing thin and Rouge was starting to unravel at the amount of magic spells she had to redirect.

“Ah, I see what’s going on,” you mused out loud, the attacks never stopping, “That cat is stopping you from getting hit by my spells; however, there’s only so much dodging you can handle! I’ll overpower you easily without even breaking a sweat!”

Luck knew you were right. Vanessa was running out of mana quicker by the second, Rouge could probably only block a few more attacks before she was done. Thankfully, you had focused more of your attacks on Vanessa in order to tire her out more quickly, giving Luck the opening he needed. Gathering as much lightning as he could around him, he then shot them out towards you with a loud shout, but it seemed you were at least one step ahead of him.

“Wing Magic: Eye of the Storm!”

With your shout, a huge, powerful tornado barreled its way towards Luck, effectively entrapping his lightning bolts and sending them back at him. He only had enough time to close his eyes and await for the spell to hit him, but it seemed Rouge had just enough left in her to change fate one last time and, luckily, have Asta appear seemingly out of nowhere to cut through the attack with his Anti-Magic sword.

“Well, well, well,” you tutted out at his arrival, “Seems as though another human has come to meet his demise.”

“That’s what you think!” Asta shouted at her before turning around to address Luck and Vanessa. “Do you think you two can help slingshot me towards her?” The two nodded once before quickly getting to work. Vanessa pulled her thread taut as Asta backed up against it. Once he was ready, Luck gave him a powerful push backed by his magic.

You tried to stop the fast approaching Asta with your magic, but he easily sliced through the spells with his sword. You couldn’t even get out of the way in time before he knocked you back harshly, sending you flying on to your back.

“No,” you shouted out, a crazy look entering your eyes and a dangerous red glow started forming around your body as you struggled to get up, “You will not stop me! I will end you!”

“I don’t think that’s going to happen.” Asta pushed you back on to the ground and lightly pressed the edge of his sword to the middle of your chest. Your eyes widened in surprise, your mouth opened as if to say something, but no sound came out as your eyelids closed and you passed out.

“I thought that would never end.” Magna breathed out in relief as he and Vanessa collapsed to the ground in exhaustion. 

“Is she going to be like that for a while?” Luck asked, making his way towards you and Asta as he watched the markings disappear off of your face.

As if to answer his question, you started to stir and slowly opened your eyes.

“Hey, how you feeling?” Asta helped you to your feet. Instead of answering, you looked over to where Magna and Vanessa were collapsed and then settling on Luck who finally made it next to Asta.

“I’m so sorry,” You wailed as tears filled your eyes and you lurched forwards to wrap your arms around Luck, “I tried to stop it, I really did! I didn’t mean to do any of this!”

“It’s alright,” Luck softly told you, also wrapping his arms around you, “We know that wasn’t actually you.”

“You’re not mad?” You sniffled, pulling back slightly to look at him and look over to the others.

“Of course not,” Vanessa replied, standing up to dust herself off, “We couldn’t be mad at you for something you didn’t do.”

The answer sent relief through you, but also caused more tears to spill from your eyes because of how glad you were to have friends like them. Luck kissed the crown of your head when he noticed you started crying harder and said,

“I’ll make sure nothing like this ever happens to you again. I promise.” 

[biussworld]

Henlo, could I pls ask for a scenario where Aizawa has a kid who's that one chill kid who's just vibin and gets along with most people and during the sports festival's one on one battles, someone (preferably monoma but you can pick whoever you like) pisses her off by insulting her classmates and stuff and she just snaps and proceeds to destroy them? Like she just yeeted them outta the ring while telling them to roasting them in the process?

hello! thank you for requesting~ i changed it up a little bit, though i did put a little monoma action in there. there's also not much aizawa and more of a class 1a x aizawa's daughter qwq

i hope you like it!!!

QUICK BACKGROUND

your quirk is similar to your dad's, and you've begged him to train you ever since you were a kid so you best believe you also have something similar to his capture weapon

he ain't no enji todoroki, my child, so you don't need to worry about him being all strict nd that HOWEVER he's not lenient with you, he's just like what we see he does with class 1a

SOOO with that aside, even though you have similarities with your dad, your personalities definitely are different. somehow.

like you'd be alone and quiet one minute, all of a sudden a few people come up to you and talk to you a bit and then you're friends with them already that's!!! not him ahk-

but it's cute, he thinks you're a less scarier version of him

one time when he was scolding half of the class for playing along and almost getting the other half of the class injured with kaminari's school pool prank (we all know what he was about to do) you went in and said "awh, give 'em some slack, dad. it's not like anybody got hurt."

and that's when everyone in the class knew you were so cool and dangerously funny and nice

you'd be goofing around doing tiktok dances with the condiments trio (sero, kiri, kami pls don't let me explain it aka soy sauce, ketchup, and mustard respectively)

you'd also be pestering bakugou with the three, but bakugou's a little docile this time for some reason !!! it's a bit scaryyyy

jirou and yaoyorozu got ur back if you need study help

cant find your notes? yao-momo's got extras for you

want some BANGIN study playlist? ayyy jirou's got one ready. SHE ALSO!!! LETS YOU PLAY WITH THE INSTRUMENTS IN HER ROOMMMM

the dekusquad !!! they love youuu and you're basically scolding deku too everytime he's about to break his arms again like hahahaha what the heckkkk deku stooop but go on it's your body but stopppppp dad's gonna kill meeee hahahaha

iida and todo would just be watching you do something STUPID but todo would be more like holding iida back from stopping you because he has to see this shit go downnnn

you, mina and tsuyu take uraraka shopping some time and shE'S ALWAYS !!! UWUUUU and you know this mochi recipe from your mom so you three get to make 'em in the dorms

the big bois satou and shoji along with the lord birb of darkness tokoyami walks with you to and from school grounds, or hangs out with you in the common room when you need a break from being around LOUD and NOISY classmates (kami, baku i'm not saying it's you, luv, but i am,,,,,, looking at you)

dark shadow also gives you head pats!!! because you gave him one time and now he's giving you lots all the time!!!

BASICALLY YOU'RE FRIENDS WITH EVERYONE IN CLASS 1A!!!

not because you're aizawa's kid!!! but because for a teacher's kid you're so cool and kind and chill !!!

THEN

then the sports festival came around

and for the cavalry battle you met this bitch monoma and he basically started yapping about how you only got in because of aizawa

which isnt trueeee you went in through the same exams as them as you didnt want to rely on your dad's connections, plus aizawa wouldnt have agreed to you entering without breaking a sweat anywayyy ;(((

but you didnt tell him that bc you really could care less about what he says

when their team lost you LAUGHED AT HIS FACE lmaoooo but gave the rest of his teammates a kudos to their work

so you made it into the one on one battles

and for your first fight, you're up with shinsou

now, now, shinsou isn't one to pull out insults just because

he needs to incite a reaction from you, so he does a little nudge here and there

it's all about you, how your position as a ua student is unfair to him and a lot of kids in the gen studies because you're a teacher's kid and some of them could've gotten in just fine, too

but again you didn't mind it because you knew a lot of them would say that, so you mentally prepared yourself for it

"i bet they only tolerate you because you're aizawa's child, huh?"

ah, this. right in your HEART and your insecurities

though you were irked, you felt that your classmates have been kind to you even before so you brush it off, taking a step towards him

then with all the smugness he can muster he's up and saying "maybe the entire class 1a is irrelevant and useless, even slacking off during trainings but nobody would know because you wouldn't say a thing"

man

MAN OH BOY

you can tell he's getting desperate, as he's using everybody else against you now

you have this dark aura surrounding you, your face contorted in a scowl

THEN YOU WRAP HIM IN YOUR CAPTURE WEAPON AND SLAM HIM INTO THE GROUND LIKE A TRUE WARRIOR AYAYAYAYAYAYA

you FINALLY use your quirk on him so you can finna talk without getting mind controlled, glaring red at him as you step on his chest

"i let you talk shit about me, call me incompetent and whiny but i'll NEVER let you talk shit about my friends."

as he struggles in your hold, you tighten the capture weapon around him and lower your face so he can hear you loud and clear "if you really want to throw all of us in the hero course out, then you gotta do better than just spitting in our faces." then you basically YEET him out of the bounds.

he rolls on the ground in pain as you stand in the middle of the arena, your head hung low.

after your fight everyoneee in the classs is just qwq awww our widdle baby you so sweeet qwq like you didnt just YEET the living daylights out of shinsou

and your dad personally went up to you to nudge you in the shoulder with his bandaged elbow

AND THEN YOU HUG HIM TIGHT AFTER HE TELLS YOU HE'S PROUD OF YOU

the rest of 1a is giving you pats on the back and cheers!!!

you bet bakugou is at the back like, "yeah, obviously she's got bite. she's from 1a."

all in all, everyone's so proud to have a sister like you in their class!!! they love you as much as you love them uwu

I LOVE SHINSOU IM SORRY PLEASE FORGIVE ME

[golchaworld]

Lovin’ Through the Summertime | C. BM

➳ pairing: choi bomin x fem!reader, cameos from nct jeno and tbz eric

➳ genre: strangers to lovers!au, fluff (like disgustingly sweet)

➳ word count: ~2.2k

➳ warnings: cursing, literally one reference of condoms

➳ summary: All you wanted was a quiet summer camping trip with your two best friends. But when Yeonsoo brings her boyfriend and his two best friends with him, all hope goes down the drain. Can something good come out of this trip? (Hint: yes, something can).

A/N: When I tell y’all this took me ages to write? I mean it. It’s super short and simple but I actually really like it. I hope you all do we well. As usual, comments and feedback are always more than welcome. Enjoy!

The first thing you notice when you hop out of the car is that it’s muddy.  The ground is wet, and gives way with a discomforting squelch for each step you take.  You knew that camping the day after a storm was a bad idea, but you seemed to be the only one.

Even now, your best friends, Lina and Yeonsoo, buzz around you with excitement.  The chatter about how great the trip will be, how much fun you guys will have, and everything in between, seemingly oblivious to the state of the ground.

The three of you unpack the car to the best of your abilities, having brought way more supplies than needed.  Lina claims that it’s because she knows that the guys will forget things, and you honestly don’t have enough knowledge to disagree.

Lina suggested the camping trip as a way to have some fun and decompress over the summer.  It was Yeonsoo, however, who took that as an invite to invite her boyfriend and his two friends.  You had only met Jeno a handful of times, and he seemed nice enough, but you didn’t know him all that well.  Needless to say, going on an overnight camping trip with two strangers and one barely-an-acquaintance was not your ideal way to decompress.

However, for the sake of your friends, you decided to shut up and bear it.  All you had to do was enjoy your best friends, and hopefully the boys would simply fade to the background.

When the three of you are about halfway done with setting up the tent on barely stable ground, you realize fading to the background is not something Jeno and his friends are used to.  They pull up to your campsite in a beat up Toyota Camry, obnoxiously honking the horn in a way that has all of the birds flying off.

Jeno is the first to exit the car, smiling widely as he greets Yeonsoo with a kiss.  The second boy to exit the car fakes a gag loudly, making Lina giggle.  Even though you don’t want to smile, you do.

“No PDA for the next 24 hours!”  The boy yells, and once again you realize that your quiet trip is over.

When the final boy exits the car, your breath catches in the back of your throat.  He’s cute?  Handsome?  Pretty?  All you know is that he looks good.  Like really good.  He’s tall, at least 90% legs, but not lanky.  His jaw is strong, cheeks slightly rounded, with cheekbones that protrude the perfect amount.  His nose is striking, slightly rounded at the end.  His eyes look kind, even though they seem to hold a level of exasperation at his friends’ loud entrance.

Pretty boy slings a backpack over his shoulder as he silently approaches the group.  Jeno, contrastingly, is hugging both you and Lina, showering you both with greetings and small talk.  It’s the loud boy that nudges him in the ribs and knocks him out of his chatter.

“Aren’t you going to introduce us?”

Jeno’s eyes widen.  “Oh my gosh!  I’m sorry.  Guys, this is Lina and Y/N, and you already know Yeonsoo.  Lina and Y/N, this is Eric and that’s Bomin.”

The four of you exchange soft greetings, and you instantly find yourself enamored by pretty boy’s, Bomin’s, voice.  It’s deep and smooth, but has a soft lilt to it as he ends his sentences.  Something about it is melodic, soothing, and you find yourself wanting him to speak more.  But it’s Yeonsoo who speaks instead.

“Why don’t you guys start unpacking?  It’s going to be hard finding a place to set up.  The ground is a little wet.”

You find yourself muttering under your breath before you even realize it.  “A little is an understatement.”

There’s a soft chuckle from across from you.  When you look up, you meet the eyes of Bomin, whose lips are pulled up into a closed-lipped smile.  Instantly, you flush.  Gosh, what a first impression.

Eventually, Yeonsoo claps her hands twice, and everyone gets to work. You busy yourself with finishing up your tent before moving three sleeping bags into it. However, you’re stopped mid-endeavor by Lina, who claps a hand over your shoulder. 

“The third sleeping bag isn’t going in here, love.”

You quirk an eyebrow. “Where would it go, then?”

Lina just motions towards where Jeno and Yeonsoo are working on setting up another tent, which makes three in total. The couple looks absolutely enamored, playful banter being exchanged while they pitch the tent. 

“Oh.”

Lina giggles. “Yeah, oh. So you can leave her sleeping bag in the car. She’ll grab it later.”

You nod, heading back over to the car, glad when Lina accompanies you. “So I guess it’s just the two of us, then?”

“Honestly, I don’t know.” Lina lowers her voice to a whisper. “That Eric guy is kind of cute, don’t you think?”

She’s right, of course, Eric is cute. His strong jaw and distinct nose make a perfect combination, and with his confident, bubbly aura, he’s a picture of perfection. He’s just not exactly your type, nor the guy you have your eye on. 

Bomin, at the moment, is looking at Eric chastisingly. The two of them are chopping firewood, trying to gather the supplies before the day grows dark. Eric, however, is swinging the axe around, aiming to do some fake kung fu moves instead of helping. You can’t stop the small smile that blooms on your face at the way Bomin rolls his eyes. 

You turn back to Lina with the smile still placed on your face. “He is cute. I think you should go for it.”

“You really think so?!” Lina beams. “Oh my god, okay. Should I talk to him? Is it too forward to try and get him into my tent tonight? Wait, then what would happen to you? Would you sleep in the car?”

Lina’s words come out a mile a minute, very clearly illustrating her unfiltered line of thought. You plácate her with a small laugh and a warm hand on her shoulder. 

“Don’t worry about me,” you encourage. “Go get your man! I’ll be fine.”

.        .        .

The fire radiates a soft glow by the time the sky is streaked with soft oranges and pinks. It’s a result of Eric and Bomin’s hard work, leaving both of the boys pink in the face with exertion. 

You’ve always admired how the summertime leaves everything pink. There’s the brilliant magenta of flower petals, the soft rosy color of the sunrises and sunset, the warm blush that rises from childish laughter. There’s just something about summer that leaves everything in a pink glow, making you fall in love with the season over and over again. 

The sunset is almost as pink as Bomin’s lips, which form soft sounds that you’re not quite paying attention to. His voice is deep and soothing, having a mellow lilt to it that ends in a slight lisp. His cheeks are even more rounded as he goes through each word, features drawing upwards into a slow smile. 

“You know,” Bomin begins softly. “I never thought I would actually like camping, but this is nice.”

Jeno sighs dreamily, staring at Yeonsoo’s profile. “Yeah, I know what you mean.”

Eric throws a piece of hotdog bun at his friend, causing all of you to erupt into laughter. You find yourself drawn to Bomin’s laugh, a little louder than the others. It’s cute, the way his eyes are crinkled around the edges, cheeks retaining a rosy glow. Maybe everything about Bomin is cute, and you’d like to find out either way. 

“Anyways,” Eric calls everyone’s attention. “What made you guys want to go camping in the first place?”

You roll your eyes. “Honestly, I don’t even know. It was Lina’s idea.”

Lina’s cheeks bloom a fiery red once Eric’s eyes fall on her. You’re never seen her this flustered, seeing as she usually can command an army of boys with just a snap of her fingers. But with Eric, she seems nothing short of flustered. 

Bomin seems to notice it too, if the way he smiles into his cup is anything to go by. He meets your eyes over the rim of said cup, sending you a small wink. You’re quick to avert your gaze. 

The conversation easily devolves into hushed whispers from Jeno and Yeonsoo, drowned out by the excited banter between Lina and Eric. You and Bomin remain quiet, staring down at the fire or up at the sky in between the glances you steal. 

Eventually, the sun disappears behind the horizon, leaving an onyx sky in its wake. Numerous stars twinkle up above, and you find yourself increasingly drawn to the clarity of the night. You map out the constellations you know, only turning back to the fire when you’ve named them all. You’re surprised to catch Bomin’s eyes when you do so. 

If the red on the tips of his ears is anything to go by, he had been watching you just as intensely as you we’re watching the stars. The thought sends a warm flurry through your core. 

You’re brought out of the moment by Lina clapping her hands, declaring that it is officially time for s’mores. Yeonsoo and Jeno offer no signs that they have heard the declaration, still speaking in hushed tones and soft giggles. Lina doesn’t pay them any mind, choosing instead to fetch the ingredients from where they had been stored in a bag. 

She puts six marshmallows onto six individual skewers, thrusting them into the hands of each person sitting around the fire. Everyone seems to smile in unison, leaning forward in their seats to roast their sweets over the open flame. 

“You know,” Lina begins, glancing over at Eric. “There’s something romantic about sitting under the stars.”

Jeno glances over at Yeonsoo with a dopey smile. “I know what you mean.”

Bomin meets your eyes from across the fire once again, scrunching up his nose in mock disgust. When you smile in response, he does the same, seemingly smug over the fact that he made you smile. 

Your moment is quickly ruined, however, by a loud screech. Eric quickly stands from his chair, waving around his now on fire marshmallow frantically. He continues to run in circles, even after the fire has dulled to a soft stream of smoke. The entire group erupts into laughter. 

“It’s not funny,” Eric pouts. “I just ruined my marshmallow.”

Lina smiles, her awestruck gaze trained on the boy as if he were the center of her universe. You guess that in the moment, he just might be.

“It’s okay, Eric. We have plenty of marshmallows left.”

You watch silently as the two head over to the bag of sweets left on the picnic table behind you. They skewer the marshmallow together, whispering and giggling all the while. When you meet Bomin’s gaze from across the fire, he rolls his eyes. You bite back a smile. 

After another ten minutes, all the s’mores are devoured, and Yeonsoo complains of a stomachache. Her boyfriend has a protective palm over the girl’s abdomen, rubbing slow circles to attempt to ease the pain. It doesn’t surprise you when seconds later, the two announce that they’re turning in for the night. 

Lina is quick to follow afterwards, making googly eyes at Eric as she cleans up her area. The boy looks confused for a moment before snapping to attention. He lets out an over dramatic yawn, stretching his limbs in an exaggerated movement. 

“Yeah I’m going to turn in, too,” Eric states, shooting Bomin a not-so-subtle wink. Suddenly you feel left out of the conversation. 

“Good night, you two,” Bomin calls out to their retreating figures. “Use a condom!”

Eric only throws up a middle finger in reply, much to the satisfaction of his best friend. When the two climb into one of the remaining tents, Bomin turns to you. 

“And then there were two,” he smiles, the curve of his lips accentuated by the open flame of the campfire. “I’m sorry about Eric. You can take the last tent. I’ll sleep in the car.”

“No!”

Your objection comes out way louder than you intended it to, ringing out in the silence of the night. Instantly, your face heats up. 

“I mean, don’t apologize. It’s Lina’s fault, too. You can sleep in the tent, too!

The corners of Bomin’s lips quirk up. “Too?”

“Yeah, I mean…” you take a second to recollect your thoughts, hands nervously fiddling with your hair. “Like we can both sleep in there, if you want. It’s big enough. We don’t have to, though. I know we just met and—“

“Okay.”

“Okay?” Your eyes widen in disbelief. 

Bomin just shrugs nonchalantly, but his facade is easily broken by the bright blush of his cheeks. Even in the night time, that soft pink color still stands out. You love it. 

“Well, let’s clean up, then. And then I guess...I guess we can go to bed?”

Bomin smiles at your words, blush getting darker as it spreads across his face. 

“Yeah. Let’s go to bed.”

[fairytsuk1]

trainwreck | pt.2

pairing: katsuki bakugou x reader

genre: fluff <3

warning: none! swearing lmao

words: 1,965

summary: after meeting in a rundown station, you both settle on a checkered blanket underneath the cherry blossoms

part one!

     It felt straight out of a movie, the whole scene in front of you felt just like a romantic comedy. The ones where the boy is so obviously out of place, but it was still endearing somehow. Bakugou stood, a checkered blanket and basket in his hands. He was that boy in the movie, handsome but with his own unique charm that no other film could replicate. He was not just that boy. He was your boy. The Adam's apple in your throat bobbed, a wave of nervousness washed over you. You'd brought your own woven basket full of delicious treats you'd specially baked for this date, but now you fretted that it wasn't enough. 

     "Quit starin' and c'mere!" He shouted with his infamous scowl and low baritone voice before beginning to spread out the blanket, "I'll force-feed you if I have to! They took a lot of work!!"

     He was nervous too, it was only the second date. What was supposed to happen on the second date? Hell if he knew, and he certainly wasn't going to ask his mom or dad. That was just asking for jokes about his love-life and whatnot, it was his business! Whatever. He'll figure it out because you're just a girl...just an adorable, charming, and cute girl. 

"I didn't know you had it in you! You don't seem like the type to…" you grew quieter as you came face to face with a bouquet of Gardenias. White Gardenias, they were beautiful, "...to show up with flowers…"

     You take them and swear you can feel the electricity when your fingers graze his own.

     "What the hell does that mean?! Just...take the flowers. And don't look so shocked about it either! Sit down with me, I didn't bring all of this for nothing."

     You sniffed them and savored the sweet, delicate scent before grinning widely. You donned a cute outfit, cozy but fashionable. Your mother-deemed by herself as the best consultant for dates-made sure to accessorize you for a final touch of pizazz. His eyes trailed over the various gems and shimmers that graced your body.

     "You look cute."

"You look handsome! So...what'd you bring me?"

     His shoulders dropped as he grew more relaxed and into the mood. You weren't a stranger; you were just someone who seemed to be occupying his mind everywhere he went. Must be a curse of the crush.

     He began to rant about his experience making deli sandwiches and how "they better taste like heaven on bread!" but you could only focus on one thing. Him. His face was smooth with no blemishes and his hands seemed soft based on the light touch from before. You hadn't kissed him yet, but you knew well enough from the late-night video chats that his lips were cushy and smooth from the strawberry chapstick he wore. 

     "Are you listening?"

"Hah? Yeah."

     "Don't worry, I'd tell you all over again if I had to." He snorted and pulled out a neatly wrapped sandwich. "This one's yours. I didn't know what you wanted, but everyone likes roast beef...right? Uh there's also turkey or chicken if you-"

"Did you seriously make me tons of different sandwiches because you didn't know what I liked? Why didn't you just text me?!"

     "It would've ruined the surprise! I don't know what you brought so why should you know?!"

"That just seems like a waste-"

     He shouted, but it wasn't malicious, "I'll eat all these goddamn sandwiches myself if I have to! Don't test me!"

     The fact that he was getting riled up over some subs sent you into a fit of giggles causing you to fall back onto the soft blanket. He grumbled curses as he nudged your knee to "come up and eat!". Your stomach eventually ceased it's laughing fit and you sat back up while trying to bite back a smile. Bakugou had already started to eat in which he reminded you of a giant wolf. But if he was a wolf, what were you? Maybe a bunny? Either way, you two were an unlikely pair. You began to eat.

     The first bite was an experience in itself, your tastebuds happily savoring the flavors of tomato, beef, and dijon mustard. The bread was even lightly toasted. A delightful moan escaped your lips as your tongue darted out to swipe over them once more. His red eyes roamed your face to search for any hint of dislike.

"Bakugou, this is so fucking good. I know you said you liked to cook, but I wasn't expecting corporate-level food!"

     A smug grin tugged at his lips as he looked down and crumpled the wrapper. A "T" labeled on it for turkey was quickly hidden by the folds. He was also an organized guy though you knew that already. It was just as you thought when you caught a peek of his phone one time to see everyone's contacts labeled with photos. Yours had a heart next to it which you had pretended not to notice.

     "Well, only for you. I'd hate to disappoint a pretty girl."

     Warmth bloomed in your chest as you cheesed over the downright dangerously romantic line. The sun shone on you both, a gust of wind let the flower petals of the delicate cherry blossoms flow to the ground, an easy path left behind them. You took another bite and watched as he dug around in his basket, revealing chips that he opened and pointed towards you.

     "We should've brought plates instead of wrappers and napkins. Don't you dare spill anything on my blanket or else my mom will have my ass!"

"Oh? Maybe then she'll finally know who her son keeps calling so late at night."

     "You're the one that stays up late! It's none of her business anyways," he squinted at you as if to dig his heels into proving he'd never tell a soul before happily snacking on some chips.

"Well, whatever makes you comfy! It doesn't bother me."

     As you finished up your absolutely delightful sandwich, Bakugou tugged on his bottom lip. You were completely comfortable in his presence, no tense energy or apprehensiveness radiated off of you.

"If you start overthinking Bakugou, you'll get painful gas."

     "Who says something like that?! That's not even true! Your quirk's wrong, I'm just thinking."

"Uh-huh, I can feel your aura. You think too hard! You work hard all the time, so just relax, I'm not gonna go anywhere. Alright, time for my super awesome kickass and totally delicious desserts! So..."

     The first Tupperware box contained two crispy brown flaky pieces of pie. The crust was cooked perfectly, and Bakugou's mouth watered as the cherries glistened with their sugary sheen.

"Here it is! This is cherry pie, I thought it'd be nice 'cause I know you aren't the biggest fan of super sweet stuff," you smiled and lifted the container up to his face, "plus it matches your eyes!"

     "It looks amazing. I can't wait to-hold on-you baked more than that?"

     Nervous laughter made Bakugou scrunch his face up, ready to reprimand you for doing so much for him.

"Like you said, I didn't know what you'd like...It seems like we were both insecure about what to bring!"

     He didn't know why it felt like his heart was about to leap out of his chest.

     "Seems...seems like it," he grabbed a fork and got a nice bite of the dessert, the cherry sauce dripping from the prongs, "open your mouth. I'll feed it to you."

     You stared at his hand and could almost see the shaking. Your face felt hot, and as if your necklace was a choker. It was only your second date. No need to panic, you opened your mouth and let your mouth take the delicious into it before pulling away from the fork. He was right about one fact, the fact is that it was a fucking amazing pie. Though it was so obvious that your pulse raced as his eyes hyper-focused on your lips. This time you hoped he didn’t notice.

     You took your own fork and snagged a bite for him. You still had some cherry sauce on your lip, but you hadn't yet noticed. He did though. You offered the bit of pie towards him and it felt like your stomach was pooling with something. Was it intuition?

     He didn't know why he lurched forward and captured you into a bruising but full of emotions type of kiss. The type of kiss that makes you drop your fork and undoubtedly leave a red splotch in the cherry's descent. The type of kiss you immediately respond to and rest your hands on the junction between his shoulder and neck. The type of kiss with a firmness that makes you push up into the kiss when it seemed like he was trying to crush you with not only his need but his love. He supposed that asking first would've been the gentleman route, but since when was he ever gentlemanly?

     After a few short seconds, your lungs pulsed with the need for air as you fisted his shirt and pulled away. Your brain was racing a million miles a second, and it seemed like there was a slight fog clouding your mind. There were no fireworks or seeing stars, it just felt right. Your lips fit together right. Everything just seemed absolutely perfect.

"...You didn't even get to try the cherry pie."

     "I'm sure it's good, but I was far more interested in something else."

"Don't be ridiculous, you're just a horny teenage boy who should try my pie."

     "Not to be a horny teenage boy or anything, but doesn't that sound a bit dirty?" A boyish smile full of happiness takes you by surprise; you make sure to take a mental snapshot of it in case it happened to disappear right before your eyes, "it'd be funnier if you had brought a creampie! Hah!"

     You groaned and promptly let go of his shirt to poke him in his ribs. Was this the real Bakugou Katsuki? Crude and full of passion? Or was he more like the romantic you saw earlier, with a touch of shyness? 

     "Now you're the one overthinking. Look, you'll miss my pie-eating face," Bakugou held the fork up with an impossibly large bite that made you doubtful as to whether he could actually eat it, "see? Of course, I'll try whatever you make."

     It makes sense now. Bakugou wasn't as one-sided as everyone made him out to be, he was so very complicated with so many varying aspects of him that it almost made it hard to tell. Most people just chose one side and decided to be done with it. But no, you now know that with the countless video chats, games played together, and the two dates spent in each other's company that he was much more than some angry pent-up boy with an ego. 

     He was just like everyone else, and the fact that he looked at you with those vermillion eyes made that clear. 

     Your heart soared, was it because of seeing him exclaim that your pie was so good? Or was it that the red string had finally come to a close and sealed you two off together. You couldn't possibly know. You told yourself you wouldn't use your quirk on him for a while, but you just had to know what he was feeling.

     An overwhelming rush of warmth and light washed over you, like an ocean wave crashing into you and knocking you down. But no sharp sand or water filling your lungs, just the softness of pure joy and excitement.

     "Mhm, this is so fucking good. And call me Katsuki, okay? It's better that way."

     You had to agree, it was indeed better that way.

[nineteenseventeenbarnes00]

It Must Have Been the Wind

Characters: Peter Parker x OC Genre: mini-angst Word Count: 2298 Warning: abuse, mention of drugs

"Yeah, Aunt May, the new apartment is nice," Peter says, his phone wedged between his ear and shoulder, a big cardboard box in his hand.

"Yeah, Mr. Stark said he'll come over later tonight and we'll have dinner together or something," Peter responds after listening to the voice over the phone. He drops the cardboard box on the study table and grabs the phone.

"Ok, Aunt May, love you too," he quickly mumbles before ending the call and plopping himself on the new sofa.

As Peter was about to drift off to sleep, a knock came through his door. Peter let out a small sigh before getting up and opening the door.

"Hello, dear," a lady in her 50s stood at the entrance holding a bowl filled with cookies. She pushed the bowl into his arms, "Welcome to the building."

"Aww, thank you, ma'am," Peter thanks, shyly scratching the back of his neck with one hand and accepting the bowl in his other hand. "My name's Peter Parker."

"And I'm Joanne Roth from downstairs; it's nice to meet you, Peter," Joanne responds, a warm smile on her face.

Before Peter could get another word out of his mouth, the pair could hear footsteps coming up the stairs that were right next to Peter's door.

"Hi, Y/N," Joanne greets the figure that appears. It was a girl Peter's age and although it was the middle of summer, she had a hoodie on.

"Hi, Ms. Roth," the girl greets back with a small smile, but her eyes never make eye contact with either of them. Peter looked at her curiously and his spidey senses told him something was weird about her.

"I better get going," she mumbles before rushing upstairs.

"Oh, sweet girl," Joanne whispers. "Always the timid one."

"Does she live alone?" Peter asks, listening to her open and closing her apartment door above them.

"No, I believe she lives with Fredrick, her boyfriend," Joanne answers. "She moved in roughly three years ago and he moved in last year or so? She hasn't been the same ever since."

"How so?" Peter questioned, curiosity eating him up.

"Oh, look at you, getting to know everyone," Joanne chuckles. "You'll get there soon enough!"

Peter chuckles nervously before thanking her again for the cookies and closing the door behind him. He puts the bowl on the counter and checks the time on his watch.

"5:48?" he groans. "I'm gonna be late."

Peter jogs over to his bathroom window, opening it and right before he jumped out, he swore he could hear muffled sobs coming from the window above his.

"Kid, you're 2 minutes late," Tony comments as he sees Peter swing in one of the windows.

"Sorry, Mr. Stark, there was this lady that came by and-"

"Whoa, hold up, you've been living in that apartment for 2 hours and there's already a lady?" Sam asks, pointing at Peter with a fork and squinting at him.

"No, no, it's not like that," Peter exclaims, waving his arms around.

"Alright, you two, save the bickering for after dinner," Nat adds before either could say anything more. She puts a try full of roast chicken on the table and everyone gathers to the table.

It was roughly 9 PM before he left the tower. Tony had asked him to come to the tower for 'intern duties,' a.k.a training at 7 AM the next day, so by 11 PM, Peter was in bed and ready to go to sleep.

Just as his eyes closed, Peter hears the faint sound of glass shattering from the floor above him. His eyes shoot open and just as he was about to dismiss the sound as an accident, he could roughly hear a voice talking loudly and muffled sobs follow — damn spidey senses for picking the sound up.

Concern floods over him when he realizes where the sound was coming from. He quickly hops out of bed, puts on his slippers and heads upstairs.

Peter stares at the door, rethinking if he should knock or not. Did he react too rashly when he heard the sounds earlier? Right before he decided to turn around and head back downstairs, a loud thump could be heard from behind the door. Peter didn't hesitate this time and knocked on the door.

The difference between being a door apart and a floor apart was that he could hear everything now. He didn't miss the deep voice that let out a string of profanities and footsteps that walked further into the room. He could hear the voice talking to someone else, tell them to see who was at the door.

Another minute and a half later, the door opens and in front of Peter stood Y/N with a jacket on and zipped up. It was like the hoodie she wore earlier; it covered most of her upper torso. The first thing he noticed was that she barely looked in his eyes.

"Uhhhh, hey, Y/N," Peter greets, trying to get a peek of the inside of her apartment.

"How do you know my name?" Y/N mumbles, slightly closing the door and only having her head sticking out.

"I heard Joanne mention you earlier today," Peter admits. Y/N slightly lifts her head and makes 2 seconds of eye contact before looking away again and nods at his explanation. "My name's Peter."

"Can I help you, Peter?"

"Um, yes," Peter stutters. "I, uh, just wanted to check on you, I heard some glass shattering and crying from up here."

Peter noticed how Y/N visibly stiffened a bit before looking into Peter's eyes again and an awkward smile made its way to her face.

"Thanks for caring, Peter, it's nice of you to come check up on me," she begins. "I was just about to go to bed, so I'm not too sure what those sounds were."

"I have to go back in," she quickly adds when a faint pair of footsteps could be heard walking towards the door.

"But I-"

"It's an old building, it must've been some pests in the building or something," she assures Peter. "Or it must have been the wind."

And with that, she bids him goodbye and closes the door, and Peter is once again where he was several minutes ago, staring at their door.

Peter lets out a big sigh before walking back downstairs.

It was almost midnight now, and Peter was lying on the cool concrete floor of his apartment. Man, it was summer, but he still couldn't figure out why she had been wearing clothes meant for cooler days.

He couldn't shake off the bad feeling he had, but sleep eventually took over him and he drifted off to sleep.

Peter got up at 6 AM the next day to prepare to go to Stark Industries. At exactly 6:45, as he was ready to swing out the window, he picked up the sound of someone crying. It didn't take his sharp senses to hear it; he stuck his head out the bathroom window and looked up. He figured the placements for all the units should match, which means right above him was Y/N's bathroom.

"Hey, Y/N, don't forget to pick up some rock candy on your way back. I'll let Josh know," he heard a voice say.

"B-But Fred, we'll be blowing this week's rent and-"

"Shut it," the voice hissed, cutting her off, "We'll figure it out."

"Kid, what's up?" Tony asks Peter who he's noticed spacing out all day.

"Mr. Stark, if you knew something bad was happening, would you stop them?" Peter finally lets out after pondering for a few hours.

"I mean, we are superheroes, isn't that in our job description?" Tony responds, taking his sunglasses off.

"I mean, I guess," Peter mumbles. "But what if it was something Peter Parker knows, not what Spider-man knows?"

"Well, as a citizen, you gotta do the right thing without letting others know about your secret, right?"

Instead of swinging home, Peter decided to walk back. He wanted some time to think about what he could do for Y/N without intruding too much - and right as he turned around the corner, he could see Y/N into the apartment entrance with a bag of groceries.

"Hey," Peter calls out, tapping Y/N on the shoulder. Y/N, in a panic, drops everything she was holding and flinches away.

"Whoa, easy," Peter exclaims, putting both of his hands up to show her he wasn't trying to hurt her.

"Jesus," Y/N grunts when she realizes who it was. Peter could see tears form in her eyes as she bent down to pick the things she dropped up.

"I-I didn't mean to startle you," Peter stammers, bending down to help her pick her stuff up. He looked over to her hunched figure and noticed a small clear bag that had a crystal or two in it in the pocket of her sweater but decided not to say anything.

"It's ok, sorry for freaking out," Y/N responds.

"Let me help you with that," Peter offers, grabbing one of the messily packaged bags from her hand and they both start making their way upstairs.

"Hi Joanne," Peter greets as they both pass by the same woman from yesterday. She gives them both a tight smile before hurrying back into her unit.

"Thank you," Y/N says as they arrive outside her apartment unit, grabbing the bag Peter was holding.

"Anytime, Y/N," he responds and quickly adds before she could close the door behind her, "If you ever need to talk to someone, I'm here."

The next couple of days, Peter would make sure to get back to the apartment the same time every day to make sure he gets to walk upstairs with Y/N. On the third day, Peter started to panic when she outside the building at precisely 5:45, making her way upstairs.

As Peter headed up the stairs, he was a tall figure walking down the stairs. Without any introductions, he knew it was Fredrick. There was just something about his aura that was unsettling. Peter could finally put a face to his voice.

The last few nights had been relatively quiet; there wasn't any glass shattering or crying, but the moment Peter walked his apartment that afternoon, he could hear the loud sobbing drifting through his open bathroom door.

His heart broke the moment he heard the sound - he had a talk with Steve about situations like this yesterday and was advised not to push or confront victims because they may get defensive or retreat into their shell.

With a big sigh, Peter sits by the window still for a bit, listening to the sobs. Deep inside, he hoped she knew that someone knew she was suffering.

The next day, at the same time, he gets excited when he sees Y/N in her usual not-so-summer getup walking back to the apartment. As he catches up to her, his eyes widen in shock as he sees the big plaster right across her forehead and some minor discoloration on her cheek.

"Y/N, what happened?" Peter asks, a hint of rage in his voice.

"Oh," Y/N awkwardly chuckled. "I wasn't paying attention when I opened the bathroom cabinet and it hit me in the face."

He knew what happened even if she didn't tell him the truth.

The two awkwardly make their way upstairs and right before Y/N disappeared into her unit, Peter calls out her name.

"Yes?" she asks, glancing into his eyes and looking away after a bit.

"If you ever wanna just chill or something, you can always come over to mine."

"Thank you, Peter," she smiles, an actual genuine smile he reckons as it was different from all the other encounters they've had.

Later that evening, Peter could hear Fredrick leaving the unit. It was 7 PM, he did that every few nights and wouldn't be back until early the next morning.

When Peter was sure Fredrick had left, Peter sat by the window still, waiting for Y/N to prepare for bed, the usual routine she had. It wasn’t hard to pick up stuff when you have heightened senses. 

As he heard the taps upstairs running, he quickly got his phone out and took a deep breath.

"Here goes nothing," he mutters before leaving his phone on the still and pressing play. Lean on Me by Bill Withers start to play and he knows she can hear it.

Lean on me, when you're not strong And I'll be your friend I'll help you carry on For it won't be long 'Til I'm gonna need Somebody to lean on

You just call on me brother, when you need a hand We all need somebody to lean on I just might have a problem that you'll understand We all need somebody to lean on

Just before midnight, as Peter was preparing for bed, a faint knock came through his door. Peter sits up in surprise; it takes him a second before he jogs over to the door and opens it.

Peter's eyes widen in shock as Y/N's figure stood outside his apartment door in short sleeves, very different from her usual attire, hands holding a box of pizza from Domino's. He could see the faint scars and bruises on her arms.

"Hey, Peter," she greets, a small smile on her face. "I wanted to take up your offer from earlier and was wondering if you're busy? Do you feel like a movie and pizza? I know it's late but-"

"Sounds perfect," Peter answers her and opens his door to let her in.

He watches her figure settle on his sofa and thought, 'We can talk about the noise when you're ready, but 'til then I'll say, "It must have been the wind."'

____________________________

a/n i absolutely love alec benjamin’s song. this story went better in my head, i think i missed or might have written a few important points wrong but i’m glad i got to put this story into words!

[basicallywhiterice]

Night sky: Seo Changbin

Pairing: Seo Changbin x Reader

Genre: Friends to lovers

Warnings: Cursing

Word count: 5.2 k

Summary: Changbin’s eyes hold the night skies.

a/n: Happy birthday binnie! You’re my bias wrecker, but my very first fic is centered around you… the power that you hold… enjoy!

•••

The first word that comes to mind when I first see Seo Changbin sitting alone in my Tech classroom is dark: dark eyes, dark hair, dark clothes, and a dark aura.

That is, until he breaks into one of the brightest smiles I’ve ever seen. It isn’t necessarily big or overpowering, but it’s genuine and unashamed.

My second impression of him is that he’s the physical embodiment of the night sky. Dark upon first glance, but littered with stars and illuminated by a radiant moon.

After we exchanged greetings, I sat down next to him and struck a up conversation. I learned that he was double majoring in business and music, and in turn told him my major. We talked about our hometowns, our aspirations, and what we hoped to cross off our bucket lists by the end of the year. Before I knew it, the classroom was full and our professor was greeting our class.

Changbin seemed like someone who knew exactly what he was capable of and was authentic with everyone.

I liked him as a person already.

“By the way, Changbin, we’re friends now. Ok?”

“I’m more than ok with that, actually.”

Of course, becoming close friends with Changbin didn’t come easily. After I set the curve for the first Tech test, he accused me of only befriending him to raise my test scores. I told him that I studied for my score, and stormed out after aggressively congratulating him on his hard work studying (he had the 2nd-highest score.)

The day after that, when I was in a much more reasonable mood, I went to class early so I could apologize for lashing out once he arrived. He was already there, waiting with an apology of his own.

That was the day I realized that my first impressions of Seo Changbin were indeed correct, and that he was a friend worth keeping for a long, long time.

But right now? He’s dead to me.

He laughs at me as he scrolls through my camera roll and picks out unflattering pictures of me to send to himself. I was waiting for 3racha to finish their work so we could go out to dinner (I had been successfully integrated into Changbin’s friend group, and he into mine. We had surprisingly shared a mutual friend: Felix, one of my closest friends.) Changbin was the first one done, and, after waiting with me for a few minutes, had gotten bored and stolen my unlocked phone, causing my current predicament. After a few unsuccessful attempts to steal my phone back, I give up and fall against him with a whine.

“Relax, y/n. I don’t understand why I never knew about these beautiful-” he snorts, “pictures of yourself.” He pauses on one particularly embarrassing photo taken by Yeji, my close friend and roommate. In it, I’m blowing a kiss to the camera while eating a cupcake. I whine loudly and smack his shoulder a couple of times. When he ignores my sulking, I poke his side, causing him to poke my cheek in retaliation.

Thankfully, Jisung walks into the room, sparing me the embarrassment of looking at my candid pictures. He sighs. “What did he do this time?”

“He’s sending himself my embarrassing pictures,” I tell him. “This is cyberbullying.”

“Lemme see.” He snickers as he looks over Changbin’s shoulder. “Very photogenic, y/n. You should consider taking more pictures we can use as blackmail.”

This little shit. Scratch that, these 2 little shits.

I snatch Changbin’s phone and chase after Jisung, trying to take a few meme-worthy pictures of Jisung, but Chan finishes up and shoos us out of the music production building and into our cars. As I file into Changbin’s passenger seat (I walked here from class, so my car is still at my apartment), he hands my phone back with a cheeky grin.

“You know, Jisung was right. You really should take more pictures of yourself,” he states as he backs out of his parking spot.

“Why, so you guys can post them on my birthday to make fun of me?” I cross my arms exaggeratedly, then uncross them to grab his phone and spam his camera with random pictures of him driving.

“Well, that too.” He glances over briefly, and I get a perfect shot of him that captures his mischievously twinkling rich, dark chocolate-colored eyes and his satisfied smirk. My breath hitches, and I swear I can feel my heart beating in my throat. Changbin’s handsome and he knows it, no doubt about it. The words send me that pic later die on the tip of my tongue as he reaches over and ruffles my hair before continuing, “but also because I need more beautiful things on my phone.”

He goes back to driving, as if he hadn’t just indirectly called me beautiful. But I’ve seen the way girls swoon over his smile and ogle his arms. I’ve seen how many people his charms affect, whether he’s aware of it or not. And so the negative part of my brain reigns in my blooming affection for the boy sitting next to me before I can do anything stupid, forcing me not to dwell on my jumble of emotions. Instead, I ask him about his day, the tracks he’s working on, and the classes that I’m not in, and he tells me before asking about my professors. Just like good friends do.

(That night, I pretend I don’t notice or mind the beautiful, kind waitress flirting with him, and I pretend that I’m not relieved when he treats her politely and with kindness–nothing more, nothing less–like he does with everyone else, and I pretend that my heart wouldn’t break if he rejected my advancements like that, so why does Felix whisper in my ear that I’m in denial?)

•••

“Pick up, jeez!” I huff into my phone. After calling Changbin twice, he finally picks up on my third try.

“What.” I can hear Felix screaming something in the background about Changbin being soft (with some friendly trash talk), followed by my name being yelled.

“Y/n y/n y/n,” I hear Felix breathing into the phone. “Of course it’s you, no wonder Changbin didn’t have his resting bitch face on when he answered–mmph!” Seungmin cackles in the background with an affirmative shout of “I agree!”

“Hey Seungmin! Miss ya!” I giggle. “Hey Felix, how’s uh… what was her name again?” I pretend for forget the name of Felix’s crush. “Oh yeah–”

“Thank you, next!” I can hear Seungmin clowning him already, before Changbin (presumably) steals his phone back.

“So,” Changbin clears his throat, “did you need anything?”

“Hi y/n! How’s your day been going? We should probably work on our Tech project, don’t you think? Especially since we’re going with my idea of music production apps?” I imitate his voice. “None of that? Hmmm?”

“Hi y/n, how’s your day.” he states more than asks. “Also, I kind of forgot about that project?” When I stay silent, he adds, “That cafe two blocks from your English class in twenty minutes? I’ll bring two studio headphones.”

“You better. Also, do you mind giving me a ride?” I ask, chewing on my bottom lip. “I’m at the auto shop right now because my car is getting fixed.”

“Not at all. I’ll be there in ten.”

Twelve minutes later, when he pulls up, I greet him with a “you’re late.”

(”Hi Changbin! How was your day? It’s so good to see you! You make this lovely day even better!”

“I’m glad you’re smart enough to figure out the reason behind my lackluster greeting, Seo. Do you understand what it feels like to be ignored now?”

“…my bad.”)

•••

“Can I get a ride back to the auto shop, too?” I ask as we walk across the cafe’s parking lot.

“No, you can perish. I can’t believe you had the audacity to diss coffee.” Changbin shudders exaggeratedly recalling how I called coffee “gross” after he ordered his iced americano.

“You mean roast,” I grin as I shoot him with finger guns. When he fixes me with a look, I continue. “But I bought you one to pay you back for picking me up!” I protest, playing along with his banter.

“Yeah, well, you didn’t buy me one for dropping you off, too.”

“Meanie.” We stop when we reach his car.

“A meanie who was kind enough to at least give you a ride there.” As he unlocks his car and sinks into the driver’s seat, he smirks up at me. “See you tomorrow, y/n.”

I cross my arms in defeat. “See you, snake.” I pull my phone out and open the bus app to check the schedule, sighing when I look at him and absentmindedly waving once I realize he hasn’t closed his door yet. That’s when it registers in my mind that I’m waving with the hand holding my phone.

Changbin rolls his eyes at me when he sees what I’ve pulled up. “I was joking, jeez. You know, you really can be dumb sometimes. Get in, idiot.”

“Yet I’m still at the top of the class, am I right? And I’m up there with you, so what does that say about your intelligence?” I slide into the passenger seat. “And in my defense, you’re really cold-hearted, so I actually thought you’d make me get home on my own.”

“I’d never let you go home alone this late, dummy. You may be book smart sometimes, but I’m convinced that you only use one brain cell 80% of the time. You’re so dense.” He reaches across the car and flicks my forehead. I flick his right back. “Plus, you’re cute when you’re exasperated.”

“Uhh…” I articulate intelligently. Yup, my last brain cell just went on vacation. “Um, ah- if I didn’t know better, I’d call you a player,” I manage to sputter out.

My face heats up as the temperature in the car seems to drop a few degrees as I freeze, internally panicking. Sure, that was a past impression I had of him, but I know him better now.

Changbin freezes. “You really see me that way?” His voice is flat and steady–too flat and steady.

“No! I-I kinda thought that when I first met you, but I know you’re not like that. And you can’t be a player if you only have eyes for Soyeon, right?” I’m convinced that Soyeon, the charismatic, popular rapper in his music composition class, is the object of his affections.

“I don’t like Soyeon.”

“Smells like lies.”

“I don’t!”

“Sure, sure. Whatever you say.”

Changbin starts the car. Before he pulls out of the parking lot, he glances over at me.

“I’m not–you know. A player.”

That’s the very first time I see Changbin in such an open, vulnerable state. His openness usually comes with an air of you-can’t-hurt-me-I’m-invincible. Right now, though, he lets me look straight into the depths of his soul.

I’m the one to break eye contact.

“I know,” I nod.

But it would be easier to justify the effect you have on me if you were.

(“So… how was your cafe date with Changbin yesterday? Has he asked you out to dinner yet?” pesters Felix, leaning across the table at the library, wiggling his eyebrows at me. I open my mouth to protest, but Changbin joins us and playfully shoves his shoulder before settling his arm across my shoulders.

“I actually enjoyed it a lot,” he smirks, glancing down at me. “Now if you’d bug Hyunjin instead,” he points towards the entrance where Hyunjin is walking in, “we have a study date that I, at least, would prefer you didn’t intrude on.” He smiles at me again. I think I can see stars in his eyes.

I can’t contain my grin. Even though I know he means it as a joke, I like it. I like him.

So I play along.

“You’re late Changbin.” I reach up to squish his cheeks. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Felix fake a gag and leave. Changbin squeezes my side in a half hug, then sits down and scoots closer to me, taking out his textbooks and papers.

If one were to look at me and see stars swimming in my eyes, stars for him, make no mistake. This is no joke. This is real.)

•••

Over the course of the next month, I pine after Changbin. Hard. I swoon when he greets me with a hug, a smile, and an occasional drink from our cafe in the mornings, squishing my cheeks afterwards. (I always squish his back.) I swoon twice as hard if he jots down lyrics or his inner thoughts on his drink, something he’s been doing regularly. I fight the urge to blush whenever he makes a casual, flirty joke (especially when it’s in response to what I wrote on the pink sticky notes I attach to his drink whenever it’s my turn to grab drinks for us), opting to flirt back instead of feeling shy. My heart beats a little faster when I settle into his cuddly hugs, sometimes to the point where I’m afraid he’ll notice how quick it is. I have to bite back a lovestruck grin when he shares bits and pieces of himself with me, such as revealing random thoughts, telling me childhood stories, and letting me explore his soul, telling me anything and everything I’d like to know–that is, besides his current love life, denying that he has a crush on Soyeon every time I bring it up. (I’m slightly relieved.)

I’ve finally admitted my feelings for him. I don’t know when it happened, but somewhere along the line, I decided to let whatever happens happen. I think I do a pretty good job of hiding it? (Felix begs to differ, though.) But the thing is, I want to tell him. I just don’t want to lose him as a friend, and I can’t imagine my life without him as an integral part in it.

So, I keep my feelings inside every time he touches my arm, shoulder, or hand; every time he leans in close to whisper in my ear; every time he giggles his fricking adorable giggle and his eyes scrunch up. I keep them hidden until I don’t and I end up spilling my feelings to Felix.

Two hours later, after Felix is done gloating that he was “right all along”, interrogating me, and high-key shipping me, he drags me over to Changbin’s dorm and claims that “he wants to see who’s better at video games” between Changbin and me. Then he leaves once we start playing smash. (He ends up beating me four times before suggesting we go somewhere else to do something fun. I agree. Felix makes faces at me until we leave.)

Some time after that (with a little convincing from Felix–not too much though, the prick knows how to be a decent friend and not force me into anything–and Yeji, who gushed about how cute Changbin and I were for a solid hour after I told her about my feelings), I sit down and plan what to say during a confession after I text Changbin to meet me in our cafe at 5 o’clock sharp and that I have something to tell him. He responds with:

Sure

I wanna tell u something too

See u then

The thing is, my brain chooses the perfect moments to stop working. For example:

I am romantically attracted to you beyond the scope that friendship encompasses? What the heck? Where did that come from?

After giving up on planning (why would you not be spontaneous when you could be?), I tell myself to just relax, and go over the main points I want to make in my head. I trust myself to not make a complete fool out of myself while confessing. I think.

You know what? I’m relaxed. Cool as a cucumber.

I mean, come on! What could possibly go wrong?

•••

As soon as I step into the cafe and see Changbin’s expression change from unbothered to smiling when he notices me entering, my mouth goes dry.

“You’re early,” I greet.

He raises an eyebrow. “You are, too. That’s a first. Not that I’m complaining, of course.”

My eyes dart around, glancing at the menu, the fairy lights, the flower centerpiece in the middle of the table, all familiar things I had seen when we worked on our project and during our study sessions. I do a double take when my gaze lands on the small bouquet of flowers resting in his lap.

Of course he wanted to see me too. He needed a girl’s opinion delivering these flowers along with a speech about his feelings.

Wonderful. As if I wasn’t sure my heart was going to get broken already.

“So. I have something to tell you.” “I need to get something off my chest.” we say at the same time.

Smooth, me. That was real smooth.

“Please just let me get it out. I’ll help you with whatever confession advice about Soyeon you need, ok? I just… need to word vomit,” I let out a shaky breath. “Would you look at that, I’m doing it already! Great!”

Changbin stares at me. He opens his mouth and says, “I don’t have feelings for Soyeon. I don’t understand why you always insist that I do, but believe me, these flowers… they’re not for her.”

Ah, there my mind goes again. Racing with thoughts of who else it could be. I don’t want to think of him as a fuckboy, but really, who knows how many other people he’s given flowers to? Just when I was starting to think–no, hope–that maybe, maybe my one-sided pining wasn’t one-sided after all.

How many more people does he wrap his arms around, does he write random thoughts and lyrics for, does he walk to classes and events with, does he greet with a new cheesy pickup line on their hot chocolate with no whipped cream and marshmallows, does he say heart-stopping things so effortlessly such as “I don’t know what I would do without you in my life” while shooting his deadly, genuine smile? How many more people are there?

“Take your time, y/n,” Changbin chuckles good-naturedly, snapping me out of my internal monologue. “It must be important. I’m all ears.” He props his elbows up on the small table separating us, leaning his head into his hands and fixing a patient expression on me.

This adorable, tiny, unselfish ball of fluff. My heart nearly combusts and I lose control of my brain when I blurt out the words “I like you.”

I force myself to keep my eyes on his face, to see if his expression changes. It doesn’t, but I swear I can see his eyes darken a little and the wheels in his mind start to turn before coming to a complete stop. “We’re friends,” he replies slowly. “Unless you mean…”

“I am romantically attracted to you beyond the scope that friendship encompasses.” Seriously? Right now?

Changbin opens his mouth and closes it (I’m sure that my thesaurus vomit didn’t exactly help things). He’s wearing his trademark confused face, and as cute as it is, I can’t suppress the need to explain myself more. “I just wanted to let you know, and I hope that we can still be friends after this. There’s no pressure for you to like me back or anything. I totally understand. Just give me a few days to adjust, ok? Ok. Cool.”

“Wait, y/n-” “Haha, look at the time, I need to go, uh, do stuff. See you in class on Monday!” I nearly trip as I rush to stand up from my chair. I barely restrain myself from bolting to the door, and by the time Changbin opens the cafe door, I’m halfway across the parking lot.

My face burns as I peel out of the parking lot. My brain burns with the image of Changbin running towards me, arm extended, totally not kissable lips parted, calling my name.

•••

A good cry always makes things better.

Once I’m drained of tears, I melt into my bed with a tub of Ben and Jerry’s and my computer while pointedly ignoring my 50 unread messages from a certain person. As I search for friends-to-lovers stories and fics, I feel a new wave of frustration rising. Sure, mutual pining for your best friend is understandable. But what happens when you’re not best friends? What happens when he tries to brighten up everyone’s day? When will you get your happy ending if he’s just a thoroughly good person who only sees you as a friend?

My subconscious tells me that I’m being unfair, but I push selfless y/n to the back of my mind. I tell myself I’ll deal with this mess on Monday when I’m ready. Tonight, I’m just going to wallow in self-pity.

Until I hear a slightly muffled knock on my apartment door door.

And another.

And another.

“Y/n?” Changbin’s voice calls out.

Nononono crap not today not today oh mah Jesus -Mark Lee

“Please let me in?” He asks again, this time in a softer voice.

I respond by closing the door to my room.

“Y/n! I know you’re in there!” The knocking continues. I start blasting Day6 songs from my computer in an attempt to drown him out. It works, since his knocking and his words get muffled until they merely sound likewhite noise, but I get a flurry of notifications from my phone. I mute it and throw it across the room.

After a while, Changbin seems to give up and stops trying to get my attention. I pause my music.

I have no idea how long I sit on my bed, lost in my own bubble, reading my sorrows away, but I’m snapped out of my reverie and thrown back into reality with the sound of the front door opening. I hear my roommate say, “Wait here for a sec, let me talk to her first.” I hear a body settle on our couch.

The door to my room opens.

“Y/n? You ok?” Yeji takes in my puffy eyes, the mountain of tissues nearly bursting out of my trash can, the bundle of blankets I’ve arranged into something resembling a beanbag, and the tub of Ben and Jerry’s slowly melting away. She sighs sympathetically and offers me a hug.

After comforting me and asking if I wanted to talk to her (I told her I would explain things tomorrow), she asks me to talk to Changbin. I decline.

“Well, you know what’s best for you. I just hope that you’ll listen to what he has to say. He said something about crashing in our living room until you talk to him… but he won’t bother you until you’re ready to have a face-to-face conversation with him!” she immediately reassures me once she sees the look of panic and worry on my face. “If you feel comfortable enough, please talk to him soon. He seems really regretful.”

“Of course he is,” I mumble. “Of course he feels sorry after I tell him not to be.” A new flood of tears threatens to spill from my eyes. “What a prick; always caring about his friends.” The word tastes bitter in my mouth and I almost spit it out.

“Hey, hey, hey.” Yeji grabs a tissue and dabs away my tears. “Do you want me to kick his ass for you?” I shake my head. “Get my brother to kick his ass?”

That manages to get a laugh out of me. “No, don’t sic Hyunjin on him. Changbin didn’t do anything wrong. I feel a lot better now, and I don’t want to distract you from what you were doing before this; you don’t have to stay here if you have other things to do.”

“You’re sure you’re ok? I don’t have anything important to do.”

“Positive. Besides, I know your English paper is due in 2 days. You don’t have to lie. Really, thank you, Yeji. You truly are the mama bird of our friend group.”

“You’d do the same for me.” She stands up and heads towards the door. “Do you want me to put your ice cream in the fridge? Bring you some dinner? I’m planning on cooking with Changbin tonight.” I tell her no, she leaves after double checking I don’t need anything else, and I lock my door.

I feel as if I’m suffocating, as if Changbin’s presence is seeping through the walls into my room, as if it’s attempting to fuse with everything in this apartment so that I’m reminded of him everywhere I look.

I need to get out of here.

I hear Yeji and Changbin moving around in the kitchen, and I remember that no one in the kitchen can see our front door (that’s how Yeji sneaks up on me when I get home early and start preparing dinner before she gets back, and vice versa). If I time this correctly… I could sneak out until Changbin leaves!

Y/n, you’re a genius!

•••

After I slip outside, making sure the lock the door quietly, run to my car before they notice I’m gone, and decide to drive to the old-timey diner that Felix drags me to when I’m feeling down, I debate whether or not I still want to be alone for about 3 seconds before I call him. He picks up on the 4th ring. After he agrees to meet me there in 15, I tell him not to spread the word about my whereabouts.

“Chill, mate,” he drawls, and I swear I can hear his Fortnite game in the background. “It sounds like you’re trying to avoid someone. You didn’t kill anyone, did you?”

Ah, Felix. Sweet, oblivious, intuitive Felix. “Don’t worry. I’m only sticking to class 4 misdemeanors… for now,” I whisper the last part before hanging up, trying to scare him.

It doesn’t work.

“You have got to get better at lying, y/n,” he says as a form of greeting when he slides into the seat across from me in our booth. “You’d lose your straight-A average before you broke the law. Did you order yet?”

“Yup, just fries for now,” I nod just as our food gets set down on the table. “Tsk, tsk, you’re late. You said 15 minutes. It’s been 20.” An ache in my heart? What ache in my heart? I mean, who else would I call late?

He shoves a fry in his mouth with one hand while flapping his other. “Traffic. And uh, stuff. Switch seats with me,” he stands up abruptly. “I wanna look at the door instead of the restrooms.”

I’m taken aback at how random that was, but I take his seat anyways. “The doors to the restrooms are closed. Dramatic much?”

“Speaking of drama,” he pauses to shovel a large handful of fries down his throat and chew. I take this opportunity to peek at my phone, and my heart rate accelerates once I see the 73 unread messages from both Yeji and Changbin.

Crap, they found out. Ok, so maybe I wasn’t that inconspicuous… I think as I text Yeji that I’m feeling better, eating out, sorry for worrying her, and that I won’t do anything stupid. I try to ignore Changbin’s texts.

“Speaking of drama, what the hell happened?” Felix interrogates.

“What happened?” I feign ignorance.

He doesn’t buy it. “You’re at our diner, you called me here, and you haven’t touched your fries. The only thing you’re missing from this mope-fest is a milkshake.”

“Oh yeah, I forgot to get one.” I try to escape from his sharp gaze, but he blocks me.

“I don’t want milkshakes, I want TEA. So spill it now.”

“I’m not sure I want to talk about it right now…”

“Does this have to do with your massive crush on Changbin?”

“Pfft, what?” My voice rises an octave at the end of my question. “I don’t like Changbin. You like Changbin.”

He ignores my blatant lies. “What happened? Did you embarrass yourself in front of him or something? Because I promise you, that boy is whipped. I’m pretty sure you could shove him off a cliff and he’d still like you.”

“No, Felix… I messed up. Like, big time.”

After I get done explaining what happened with Changbin, I can practically feel the judgement pouring off Felix in waves.

“I just-I just feel so stupid for thinking I had a chance. Like, he’s always so friendly to everyone and I can’t believe I thought that his actions meant something more. He obviously only saw me as a friend.”

“You’re wrong.” Felix stands up. “You’re wrong because he’s here right now and walking towards you.” He points behind me, and lo and behold, Changbin appears with a milkshake in each hand. Felix waves. “Adiós.”

And then I’m frozen and I can look everywhere except for at Changbin and I’m internally cursing my life.

•••

Changbin slides a milkshake across the table. “I’m sorry for not texting you anything or saying something when I went over to your dorm. I just… wanted to tell you in person. And make this special. Because–you’re special to me.”

I glance up at him, then divert my gaze to the milkshake. On the drink, he’s written a short poem.

Roses are red,

Violets are blue,

You said you like me,

And I like you, too.

Though our initial meeting

May have been up to fate,

Now that we’re here together,

Let me take you on a date?

“I like you too, y/n.” He reaches across the table and takes my hand–hesitantly at first, then laces our fingers together once I don’t show any signs of protest.

I stand up abruptly, pulling my hand away. Once he starts to look uncomfortable, I tackle him in a hug and bury my face into the crook of his neck. I can’t contain my grin.

“Took you long enough to realize, you cheesy songwriter.”

I pull back, and Changbin’s expression turns serious. “Be my girlfriend?”

“I would love to.”

“Well then, sweetheart,” he smiles. “Let me take you on that date?”

(As we walk out of the restaurant, he backhugs me and whispers into my ear. “The only reason I didn’t kiss you back there was because I didn’t want to bother the people in there.”

“How about now?”

He responds by leaning in and capturing my lips with his.)

•••

After our date, as Changbin and I share a kiss underneath the night sky, I can’t help but realize how incomplete my first impressions of him were. He’s much too complex to be characterized by the sky during just one time of day. Rather, he encompasses the qualities of the sky in general depending on his mood: sunny, rainy, partly cloudy, snowy, not-a-cloud-in-the-sky, displaying rainbows, and my favorite (the most frequent and the one that describes him the best)–the night sky. Commonly thought of as pitch black, until you take a closer look and observe what you see: lit up by a bright moon, the darkness just a complex contrast allowing you to appreciate the celestial bodies that the sun overpowers.