#i don’t mean to cause trouble. really. i just do. and i teeter on the side of begging for forgiveness for it and refusing to apologise.

[wildmoonandsea]

[lewmagoo]

Leah my friend?? If you're ok with me sending in some werewolf!rhett thoughts/thots, I'd be more than happy too. I'm so sorry if I keep spamming your inbox and spamming with the same thing over and over again (sometimes I'm afraid to send things in because I'm afraid of being pesky or that I'm sharing the same thoughts/thots with everybody and their mother).

I don't know if you've seen Yellowstone or not but lately I've been thinking about the Abbott pack being really, really close with the Duttons who are one of the most powerful packs in both Wyoming and Montana. Prepare yourself for some Perry slander because oh do I have a ton of it.

You and Rhett adopted Amy as a newborn (Rhett was very, very snuggly with her in his wolf form) but Perry was always snooping around the property even though you and Rhett took custody of her literally the moment she entered the world. After shit went down with Perry, the clan up north in Bozeman called you to come and join them to protect the land up there from both Perry and Jaime.

Oh but it gets absolutely hilarious when yours and Rhett's pups all get in with John, Thomas and Mo's grandkids. They're always out in the woods, especially at the full moon causing trouble when the grown ups are either on the prowl or off somewhere.

One night, much to your surprise, you, Beth and Monica are all coming back from a night walk and you see three male wolves, each carrying a pup or two in their mouths by the scruffs of their necks. You and the girls all are wondering what could've happened when Rhett begins rattling off what they did. For instance:

"This little shithead rolled in a pile of horse shit" (Amy)

"This little shithead took a dive in the crick" (Rip and Beth's son Joey)

"This little shithead almost ran through poison oak" (Kayce and Monica's boy, Tate)

"And this little shithead tried to chase after a skunk.....and got sprayed" (Thomas's granddaughter, Teona)

It gets even worse when John, Royal, Thomas Mo and Lloyd, the elders of the pack, all get word that Perry and Jaime have teamed up and are sneaking around. John thinks it's time that the grandpups all have some kind of pouncing lessons......basically it turns into that scene in The Lion King where Mufasa is teaching Simba how to pounce. Yeah the hands (Teeter, Jimmy, Avery, Colby and Ryan) were a little less than pleased when they became the pups' first victims.

I'm just gonna stop right there Leah. I apologize greatly if I sent in a bunch of asks that have this same idea or shared them with others. If you ever wanna talk Perry slander at any point I'd be more than happy to do so. And as always, I appreciate whenever you guys take the time to read and reply back, it means alot.

----Mary

i am all for the pups going after perry and jamie (i don’t watch yellowstone but i know he’s no good at least lol). tear ‘em up, kids! 👹

[bbbbbbrilliantly]

do you have any religion?

I was brought up in a religious household by a mother who was never able to be a woman first. I’ve always questioned it.

This is a tough one because I teeter. When I think of all the injustice in the world, I find myself questioning if there is a God. Like there are people hoarding wealth while helpless babies are starving. When I think of slavery, racism, discrimination, systemic oppression and the constant attempt to subjugate Black people, I question God. It’s said that he is a just god but I have trouble finding that.

Part of me feels that religion, especially Christianity was created to further subjugate and regulate people and their behavior. God was created to give people hope where there is none and to scare them into submission. People who can wake up every day and do whatever they want and have the world at their fingertips couldn’t possibly believe in God, even though most of them pretend to. Religion is for the poor and the helpless, to give them something to believe in. Imagine suffering your entire life and to keep you from causing an uproar, someone tells you to be “meek” and take the pain and you’ll be “rewarded” when you DIE but if you don’t you’ll burn in hell. Like wtf?

Like you have to take shit off people and the world and you won’t be happy until you die but ONLY if you let people walk all over you with their shoes on. Wtf.

And churches are the biggest scam. These mega church “pastors” are flying on private jets, living in multi-million dollar homes and driving Bentleys while the people of their congregations are barely surviving. The congregates are taking buses to get to these conglomerates, I mean churches just to be sold a dream.

I say I “teeter” because for a long time I did not really believe in anything but myself. I had the solid belief that no one could save me but me. But then my grandmother passed away last December and it’s solely for her that I want to believe and that I’m trying to believe that there is some beautiful, peaceful place where she lives forever because she deserved so much better from this world.

[quillandink333]

The Anti-Siren

Kazuma Asougi × Original Character

SPOILERS FOR THE GREAT ACE ATTORNEY CHRONICLES ~ Read ahead at your own risk!

Rating: T

Word Count: 0.9k

WARNINGS: amnesia, psychosis, physical violence, intoxication, racial slurs, suicidalism

Summary: When the foreigner among whites is met with a barbaric display of bigotry, something buried deep within the psyche of his travelling companion that neither she nor himself were aware of bears its thorns.

Masterlist

He couldn’t remember how he’d gotten into this situation. Why his feet were now hanging inches above solid ground while this mountain of a man in front of him held him up by his bruised chin, sneering up at him, nor why his arms and legs refused to cooperate.

His body hit the deck with a resounding crash and his lungs ceased to function.

Was this it? Had he reached the end of the line at last?

A clumsy kick to the skull had his ears ringing loud enough to briefly drown out the never-ending din within. He couldn’t make out the words of the voice anymore. The whole world had gone fuzzy, tipping and trembling to and fro.

His life could have at least flashed before his eyes before he closed them. What a predictable disappointment.

“What are you doing?! Get away from him!”

His eyes opened unexpectedly when he was propped up on someone’s knee.

“Miss Gardner…?”

“Oh, you’re alright.” Her blur of a face filled up with colour where a frightening paleness had set in. “Thank God…” A drop of warmth pattered onto his chest, immediately followed by a second. “Can you stand?” She slung his arm over her shoulders and teetered a bit before managing to bring him to his feet.

“What’s the big idea, poppet?” jeered the assailant. “Don’t tell me you’re really gonna side with this outcast.”

“Excuse you?” she snapped. “I’m not certain what definition you yourself have assigned the term, but in my eyes, this man is not the real outcast in our midst.”

The Goliath scoffed with a crooked smirk. “What’s that supposed to mean? Look at him! He’s…he’s a chink.”

“Do you know what you are?”

No sooner than she’d spoken those words, the sun dimmed as a mass of clouds passed in front of it, casting its shadow over the Vitesse.

“I know your type,” she continued. “You, sir, are a miserable old shag-bag with nothing better to waste his time doing than to go about causing trouble for those who have it any better than he does.” The one caught at the end of her piercing glare shifted his stance, but stood his ground. Cecelia shook her head. “I’d go so far as to say you’ve never received an ounce of love from another person your entire life.”

“Oy! Wh-What’s it to you?!” He stepped back, voice cracking, and her relentless eyes narrowed. “And, what’s a bitch like you gonna do about it anyhow?”

“I could let the whole crew know what a pathetic piece of shit you are, if you’d like. Then we’ll see who here is more the ‘outcast.’”

She hadn’t moved an inch from where she’d steadied her companion upright, and yet the great drunken coward was already on the retreat. His cornered gaze darted between the two, sweat running down his all but hairless head. Then his calves made contact with the deck railing behind him. He was not pushed, nor threatened, nor thrown off balance. The man simply fell backwards.

Moments later, there came a cry from the sidelines of, “Man overboard!”

Cecelia and the still reeling Japaneseman remained where they stood while those around them rushed to fish the drunkard back out safely. In the end, he didn’t resist the efforts to save his life, but the look on his scraggly face the instant before his dive had been unmistakable.

“Are you alright?” she finally asked after a jerk of the head. “Nothing broken? No bleeding?”

“Yes, fine. Just—ah.” He winced when she came across a ghastly bruise on his shoulder.

“Sorry!” She tore her hands away. “I’m sorry. Damn it—I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s…it’s fine. Don’t worry,” he pleaded, part of him almost missing that hellish air she’d had about her until just then. “That was…incredible.”

She sighed, staring down at nothing with a knit in her brow. “I only wish it didn’t need to come to that. It’s strange; I’m not usually one to get so vicious.”

This made him crack a slight smile. “You’d call that ‘vicious?’”

“Well, relatively speaking.”

“Relatively speaking, it was nothing compared to brutes like him or what God knows I might’ve done to him if he’d been beating y—”

The words caught in his windpipe.

Time screeched to a halt as she waited with her tender eyes boring straight into the space between his and making the voice in his head pour out and all around him. “N-Never mind…” His erratic heart rate levelled out as he gathered his thoughts. “What I mean to say is…you were only putting him in his place. He tossed himself over.”

The empty smile that came and went across her lips planted an ache in his chest. That or it was merely an after-effect of having the wind knocked out of him earlier. “It did rather seem that way, didn’t it?”

“Therefore you’re innocent, as far as I’m concerned.” This time her smile was genuine and aimed at him, turning the ache in his chest into something else entirely. “Well…oth-other than utterly humiliating me by coming to my rescue,” he added, returning her smile and averting his gaze.

A sunny little laugh bubbled out of her at that sentiment. “At least now we’re even. Right?”

[turnipshepard]

Under cut because this is gross (poop tw)

Seemingly incurable diarrhea from cancer and sudden and complete fecal incontinence are a pretty terrible set of symptoms. Diapers don’t hold all the waste in, so he’s been having explosive accidents / constant leaks for over a day now. His butt is so raw from being washed and wiped that it’s bright red and causing him discomfort. We’ve been through a ton of diapers and baby wipes trying to keep him somewhat clean.

He’s also become a picky eater so managing this through diet change is challenging. He won’t eat dog food, he’s currently on a chicken/rice/babyfood diet. He’s teetering on underweight so we need to keep him eating. But eating frequently means pooping frequently, and now pooping means a huge diarrhea mess that needs immediate attention all day and night. It’s only been one day and we’re both exhausted, and one of us has to be fully watching him the whole time - we have to arrange our meeting schedules and sleeping schedules.

The trouble though is he is still energetic, likes going for walks and playing with his toys, gets excited to see his friends and get treats, gets really excited when we bring him the food he likes. So he doesn’t feel “ready”. But this is a completely unsustainable situation.

It just feels like the worst combination of circumstances imaginable. We are trying to communicate to our vets how desperate the situation is and I don’t think they’re getting it. Tomorrow we are really going to bang on their door. If there is no way to improve these symptoms I have no idea what we’re going to do.

[uwusenpaiuwu]

Sleepovers At The Baji Household feat. A Fed-Up Chifuyu

Summary: Chifuyu just wants to sleep, man, but Baji wants to be a jealous crackhead at 2 AM.

Pairing: Sano Manjiro | Mikey x Male Reader

Note(s): I had a little free time and wrote this. So, please enjoy! ALSO, to the anon that sent me a request a few days ago, I saw it and have it filed on my to-do list!!! I will definitely get to it as soon as I get a break in my schedule :)

"Chifuyu, ya wanna see some real discrimination?"

No. No, Chifuyu does not want to see what Baji means by 'real discrimination.'

Does he tell him that, though?

Yes, actually, because it's 2 in the fucking morning and, as much as he respects the other boy, he wouldn't put it past himself to smother him with a pillow after having his dream of cuddling with a sea of puppies suddenly destroyed.

Unfortunately for his sanity, Baji either doesn't hear him or, more likely than not, doesn't give a fuck, because he's already flopping onto his belly and whipping out his phone to do God knows what.

The dial tone that sounds from the speaker a few seconds later makes Chifuyu cringe, especially since it's only ever been a calm silence fit for a good night's sleep prior to Baji bulldozing through it with his absurd question. (At the very least, he's thankful that the latter has half a mind to keep the brightness on the lowest setting, otherwise, Chifuyu would have had to fight.)

On the far end of the row of carefully-laid futons, you shift in your sleep, eyebrows furrowing together at the noise. Rotating onto your side, you unconsciously reach for Baji, and just when he thinks you're being cute and trying to cuddle him, you smack him in the head.

Baji doesn't flinch, instead, takes his pillow and shoves it in your grasp to keep your unconscious self occupied, so that he can focus on getting through to the person who reuses to pick up (understandably so).

Releasing a frustrated groan after being redirected to voice mail for the fifth time, he dials the number again, muttering an impatient, "Pick up already."

Chifuyu feels sorry for the poor soul on the other end. He would've blocked someone following the first call, because again, it's-

The blond has to squint his eyes up at the digital clock on Baji's nightstand, which confirms that it's already 2:22 A.M, further solidifying the fact that he shouldn't be awake right now. And this also applies to the ever persistent first division captain, who insists on bothering who Chifuyu soon discovers is Mikey from the contact ID that flashes across the screen.

Why Baji is so keen on bothering him is a question he doesn't have the mental capacity to ponder over. The most energy he'll expend is to listen in when the call miraculously connects.

"What...?" comes a muffled voice from the receiver, tone laced in an irked grogginess birthed from a slumber rudely interrupted.

There's an absurdly loud, almost angry, roar of Mikey's name, one that has Chifuyu curling in on himself in a futile attempt to escape a sound that should be illegal at this hour.

But you know what else should be illegal?

The fucking whiplash Chifuyu gets when Baji's deep voice takes an abrupt 180°, switching from its normal gruffness to a squeaky, ear-piercing shrill as he screams, "I love you, love you, love you! Do you love me, too, Mikey-kyun~♡?!"

The room is dead silent.

Not a word. Not a murmur. Not a breath.

Just pure, unadulterated silence as both Chifuyu and Mikey process the words that hang in the air, permeating it with a goosebumps-inducing eeriness from having heard such a...a girly, overtly cutesy screech from Baji.

Then-

"What the fuck? He hung on me!"

Chifuyu opens his mouth, thinks better of reacting to the cursed scene he had the misfortune of bearing witness to, and promptly closes it.

Other people may have sleep paralysis demons.

But Chifuyu?

Chifuyu has Baji.

With both hands partially raised in prayer, he begs for the shenanigans to be over and done with.

They are not.

While his eyes remain closed in a last ditch effort to convince himself that it's all a bad dream, he hears a lot of grumbling happening on your side of the room, courtesy of Baji, who's scrambling around in search of...something. One quick peek reveals him fiddling with a phone - yours, to be exact, as evidenced by the distinctive phone charm of your favorite anime character hanging from it.

"(Y/n), wake up for a second," he hears him whisper. It takes a bit of prompting, until he's able to successfully rouse you enough from sleep to elicit any kind of response, which is, essentially, nothing short of an incoherent, slurred mess. Although, Chifuyu is pretty damn certain he heard you call Baji a 'dickhead' for the trouble.

Unperturbed, he continues shaking your limp form, coaxing you into wakefulness with, "Repeat what I tell you, and I'll let you go back to asleep. Deal?"

You squint your eyes at him, only able to make out a vague outline of his visage in the lightless room. "Promise?"

"Cross my heart, hope to die," he automatically responds with the same phrase he's become accustomed to saying whenever you two made a promise, something done purely out of habit, formed when the two of you were just kids and he wanted to get you to do something absolutely ridiculous either for him or with him. And just 'cause he knows you're more susceptible to complying if he does it, he also interlocks his pinky with yours.

"...Fine."

The approval is his cue to proceed, and it's as he's putting the phone on speaker that he turns back to a regretfully wide awake Chifuyu, mouthing a wordless, 'Watch.'

The phone rings, loud and clear, precisely once and only once.

"(Y/n), what's wrong?" It's important to note that even though Mikey still sounds tired as hell, his tone is much lighter, much happier really, than when it was Baji, which is an offense in itself to the said teen that's off to the side, attentively listening to the conversation unfold.

Then, it strikes Chifuyu, what Baji is trying to do, and fuck does it give him an instant headache.

Meanwhile, your mouth morphs into the dopiest of smiles with the pleasant surprise of hearing your boyfriend's voice, chest instantly overtaken by a warm fuzziness that never fails to make an appearance whenever he's involved. Sappy, you know, but it's true!

A light but firm nudge to your shoulder reminds you of your mission. It's too bad that, teetering along the edge of sleep as you are, the words Baji whispers are barely repeated correctly.

The initial phrase from before, the one Baji greeted Mikey with, is shortened to a simple, "You wuv I...?"

But, without missing a beat, you receive Mikey's confident reply of, "Mhm... I wuv you a lot."

There's a sleepy giggle then - a fucking giggle - before your voices drop to sweet whispers that the third and fourth wheels can't fully comprehend from where they are.

"Where the fuck was my 'I wuv you,' huh?!" Baji whisper-shouts, considerate of your conversation even when ranting and raving. "Shit, I would've taken a simple 'I love you,' too! I've known that bastard way longer than (Y/n), and this is what I get?!"

Okay. Toman's president answers his boyfriend's late night calls faster than he does anyone else's and openly expresses his love for him. So what? Chifuyu wouldn't exactly call it 'discrimination,' per se. 'Favoritism,' maybe if you wanna stretch it, but using as strong a word as discrimination, especially taking into account you two are dating; it's normal? Nah.

"You wanna say 'bye' to them? Mm. Baji and Chifuyu." A pause. "Fuyu, Mikey says 'bye.'"

"Bye, Mikey-kun."

The other person in the room waits, and waits, and waits, and when it's clear that there is no intention to address his presence whatsoever, Baji turns to Chifuyu with an almost scandalized expression, making wild gesticulations with his hands, clearly distressed. "See?!"

Blank blue eyes stare back at him, unblinking. Honestly, it's a common occurrence - Baji spiraling in a nonsensical rage - so it's easy for Chifuyu to block out the muted, jealousy-driven temper tantrum as he takes his pillow in both hands, raises it as high as he can, and-

Sigh.

-lets it flop right back onto his face.

He can't suffocate Baji. Shouldn't. Wouldn't. Couldn't. After all, they're best buds, meaning he has an obligation to put up with shit like this once in a while. (Plus, he'd probably get his ass kicked before he succeeds anyway. Totally not worth the beating.)

"Did you hear? Mikey said he wuvs me," he hears you drawl dreamily as soon as you hang up, sounding very close to clocking back out for the night.

"Yeah, yeah. Cute shit. Happy for ya, dude," Baji huffs. Thankfully, he sounds like he's in a similar state to yours, if the yawn that follows his sarcastic comment is anything to go by.

"...He soooo ignored you."

That warrants a punishing punch to the arm, dulled only slightly by the combination of the thick quilt you're swaddled in and the raven-haired boy's fatigue.

"I'll fucking throw you out right now, (Y/n). Don't test me."

"You won't."

"I will."

"Won't."

"Will."

The conversation gradually dies down shortly after, the exhaustion that took its sweet time getting to both of you having reached its peak with the help of the childish bickering. It takes 10 minutes, maybe 15, before two sets of light snores fill the room.

Finally.

Let it be known that there is a lesson to be learned from tonight's events. Really, there is. Y'know, something along the lines of 'Don't agree to a sleepover with Baji, if you plan on actually sleeping,' or whatever.

Alas, Chifuyu's consciousness fades before he realizes what it is.

~~~

"Mikey, be honest. Who do you love more? Me or-?"

"(Y/n)."

"But-"

(Y/n)."

"I-"

"(Y/n)."

Baji is only momentarily discouraged, sharp eyes glaring at the blond that lays his head on your lap after hi-fiving you. He didn't want to do this, but he's left with no choice.

"(Y/n) or Babu?"

From the way Mikey stiffens up, refusing to look at either him or you in the eyes, Baji knows he has him right where he wants him, has him torn between a cute face or a sweet ride.

"Oi! Don't pretend to be asleep! Answer the damn question! OI!"

(After hours of serious contemplation - even though you told him it doesn't particularly matter - it's revealed that, of course, Mikey loves you more. Babu just happens to trail behind as a very close second.)

[i-will-physically-fight-you]

"exhaustion"

(for the one word prompts)

Title: Rooftop Requiems

Word-Count: 1k

Summary: Hero, villain--it doesn't matter, the system is fucked regardless of what side you're on and Virgil is tired of playing the game. He isn't going to let himself get pulled back in, even if there's a pretty persistent kid begging him to be their mentor.

Pairing: Platonic Moxiety

Warnings: Superhero AU, Found Familyish, Crying, Arguments, Mild Angst with A Happy Ending

Just a fun little warm-up exercise! Enjoy!

-

Virgil's legs dangle over the edge of his apartment complex, his hands pressed firmly into the concrete. He looks out into the myriad of looming skyscrapers that make up the city, purposefully away from gleaming, naïve blue eyes.

"No."

"But--"

"Just no."

"You don't even know what I'm going to ask!"

"Oh really?" Virgil huffs, "You went through the trouble of tracking me down for a reason other than asking if I'd be your mentor?"

Virgil can hear the faint stomp of a sneaker across the concrete. "I--well--"

"I'm exhausted," Virgil tells the kid, "I don't want any part of it, hero--villain--it doesn't matter. Both sides manipulate and hurt people in different ways. I'm done being their plaything, and I refuse to let another person get hurt--"

He inhales sharply, his shadow flickering a brief moment.

"It'll be different," The kid insists, edging closer to him, "You can help me and--and together we can make things better!"

Virgil has heard something similar before. From a voice a bit older, from a person he once trusted most in the world. "C'mon Virgil, don't be a scaredy-cat. Together, you and I can change things for the better."

"That's what they all say," Virgil laughs, the sound of it echoing oddly around them, "Kid, I'm warning you now, stay out of it. You're too young anyways."

"I'm not a kid!" The kid growls, throwing his face in front of Virgil, "I'm sixteen, I'm practically an adult!"

Virgil stares at the kid's face that is still round and not quite defined. There is no way the kid is sixteen, too short and without any of the gangly teenage awkwardness. His eyes give it away, still full of that obstinate childish hope that there's always a happy ending to be found. He has to be at least twelve, if that.

Twelve is a dangerous age. It is the age that teeters between childhood and adolescence, the time where children believe they're practically grown-up when they're far from it.

"Sixteen, uh-huh," Virgil clicks his tongue, "Even if I believed that--which I don't--I'm serious, stay out of it. You're going to get yourself killed."

"No, I won't! I can handle it!" The kid shouts as his blue eyes start to glow an unnatural hue. Virgil's breath hitches.

"Kid--"

Several things happen. The lights on top of the apartment complex go out. A force of energy shoots out from the kid, towards the office building directly across the street. The nearby shadows amass into one entity, the energy wave colliding into it, crackling like a bolt of lightning. Virgil's hands shake, his eyes a burning violet hue.

The shadows threaten to disintegrate, to squirm away to their natural resting places. He does not let them, he wills them to stay, to absorb every last bit of the kid's energy bolt. Only when there is nothing left but a child collapsed on the ground, does he let his hands drop to his sides. The shadows drop, fading back to place as the lights blink once more to life.

'No you can't.' Virgil thinks grimly, regarding the kid's last words. But he doesn't say it out loud.

"Hey, uh, are you okay?" Virgil asks, reaching down to touch the kid's shoulder. The kid sniffles once, then launches himself at Virgil, clinging onto him for dear life.

"I'm sorry--I promise I can--you have to--I can do it, I can be strong--" The kid babbles into his chest, tears wetting Virgil's favorite hoodie.

Virgil should be upset, angry at the very least for the kid almost destroying a building and possibly causing the deaths of few dozen people. Yet, the emotion refuses to stir within him.

Not when the kid reminds him terribly of his younger self, so sure that the weight of the world rested on his shoulders when he was just a literal child who shouldn't have had to dealt with such worries.

He sighs, "Kid--"

"Patton."

"What?"

"My name," The kid hiccups, "my name's Patton."

"Ok then, Patton--look, your job right now isn't to be strong and save the world. Your job is to learn and grow, so you can one day be capable to help the world be a little less messed up."

"I can do that now--"

"But you shouldn't have to."

"Well, I don't do it, who's gonna?"

"Someone, maybe, but not you," Virgil says, "I mean it though, kid, about supers. The system on both ends is messed up and there's no fixing it. There's better ways to make the world better."

"Can you show me?" The kid--Patton asks. He looks up at Virgil, eyes still shimmery with tears. Virgil almost laughs about the way they circled back to what the kid originally asked of him.

"You know what?" Virgil says, letting the words fall from his mouth before he can take them back, "sure. I'll show you, if only to keep you from accidentally combusting a building from a fit of anger."

It's more than that though, it's for the pair of kids who didn't know better, it's to keep the past from repeating itself again in the ambitious, hopelessly obstinate kid known as Patton.

"Really?" Patton squeals, "thank you, thank you, thank you, you won't regret it, I promise!"

He thinks he slightly regrets it, from the way the kid is almost cutting off his oxygen with how tight he's squeezing him. He'll probably have a mild freak-out about being somewhat responsible for a child later, most definitely.

Right now, he just ruffles the kid's hair, saying, "Alright, alright. Lesson Number 1, kid, we do not hunt down literal strangers and ask them to mentor us. That's one, frankly rude and two, good way for them to manipulate and take advantage of you and three? A good way to die, so it's a good thing I'm not gonna do any of that to you, ok? You lucked out, got it?"

"Got it." Patton chirps, but he most definitely hasn't got it.

'This kid,' Virgil thinks, a weird mixture of both amused and terrified, 'is going to be the death of me, isn't he?'

[todoscript]

lilies & lilacs pt. i

SUMMARY: A dilemma with his grand charity gala brings Todoroki Shouto, CEO of Todoroki Enterprises, at your humble flower shop’s doorstep.

pairing: ceo!todoroki shouto x florist!reader

genre: eventual smut. fluff. slow burn. no quirks au.

word count: 5.6k+

warnings: none in this part, but expect sexual content in the future.

author’s note: this has been rotting in my wips for a couple of months now, but i finally decided to post it with the decision of progressing the story into parts. thank you to the lovely rosie aka @shoutogepi for initially betareading this and keeping the hype up for the fic in our chats together (love you <333)! feedback is welcomed and before you ask, im opening a taglist for the next 2 parts so just ask if you wish to be included

lilies & lilacs is copyright 2020 todoscript, all rights reserved. i do not allow my creations to be published or translated anywhere else.

The uneasy padding of her boss’ dress shoes across the floor of his office made the secretary restless. She knew the bad news she delivered would cause some displeasure to stir within him, but never would she expect his tough bearings to falter, his troubles conveyed in hasty steps and frayed skin skewing those handsome features.

During the past two years she’s worked for him, she always thought his expression was nearly unreadable. When it came to his high position, her boss was forward and direct at conducting business—calm, stoic, and a perfect representation of efficiency and strong work ethic in his field. So while she witnessed the man’s uncharacteristic distress before her eyes, she wasn’t sure how this could end well for her.

Sweat began beading her forehead at the tension creeping between each tap of his feet against the hardwood below, coming to an unnerving halt behind his desk. When her eyes found his, all she could gather in those gray and turquoise clouds was annoyance toward their current predicament.

“What do you mean we don’t have a florist booked yet?” he repeated the dilemma she relayed to him merely moments ago. Hearing the agitation in his voice caused a nervous gulp to drop in her throat. She clutched her clipboard firmly in her arms to keep herself anchored in the wake of her boss’ growing frustration. However, she was still unsure how to continue as the words remained sealed in her mouth.

“Well?” Noticing his secretary’s lack of response, he pushed forward, hands leaning against the edge of his mahogany desk. The woman urged herself to endure the obstacles by first breathing through her nose before swallowing the lump in her throat, responding quickly.

“Um, Mr. Todoroki, sir, it seems all the florists on our list have all been booked for other events for the rest of the month,” she said, but mentally scolded herself when she heard herself sputter in such an unprofessional manner. Despite that, she prayed the explanation was enough to sate even a fraction of her boss’ inner turmoil.

Shouto approached her answer with silence before that foreseeable sigh left his lips, spilling with exasperation. He turned, his back facing the secretary, gaze lined to the windows gracing him with sunlight behind his desk. Stuck in contemplation, he pinched the bridge of his nose, mouth pursed in a firm line.

Where am I going to find a florist in time for this damn charity gala? He internally griped, closing his eyes as if that would help him uncover the solution to this untimely mess.

His esteemed company, Todoroki Enterprises, had arranged a plan to hold a widely anticipated charity gala by the end of this month. The event was conducted to raise funds for all manners of different charities that would vary in the level of grandeur on display. And given that the organizing for the event would be under his very name, Shouto had the critical responsibility of ensuring nothing but peak quality to those that would attend.

His staff had long procured the venue and were managing the layout of the gala. They sought out some suitable entertainment, booked catering, and scheduled for the charity auctions and raffles to take place throughout the night. What was still needed were the decorations, and right now that was where they hit their deadend with no florist currently reserved.

And here’s the real kicker: the gala was two weeks away.

Two. Weeks.

How he allowed for such errors to occur was beyond him at this point. All that really mattered was that he found a way to correct those mistakes and fast.

As much as Shouto figured he could skip past the flowers and substitute them with some other kind of flashy decorations, he already had a clear idea of how he wanted the gala to look. The floral arrangements would compliment the theme of the event exceedingly well. Turning back on the plan would be an insult to everyone’s prepared attire for the evening, with the dress code already sent out to all the distinguished guests invited to this grandiose ball. No doubt in his mind, he needed that florist, and needed them stat.

Sure on his resolution, he finally shifted to face his secretary. The anxious expression plastered on her face greeted him, and at that, Shouto bit his lip. His guilt surfaced for allowing his emotions to affect his workspace. He knew better than to take out his frivolous thoughts on his staff, who very well had no control over the situation. So he eased the atmosphere, attempting to lift the tension surrounding his office in the dreary gray of his temper.

“Nishiyama, I’m sorry for my behavior just now,” he apologized. The secretary, in turn, was taken aback, eyes widened. Her anxiety slowly whittled away as she scampered to return his kind gesture.

“Oh no, sir, it’s fine! I’m sure you were just feeling stressed hearing the news. I surely would be if I were in your shoes.”

“No, it’s not. I was acting childish despite how much you and everyone have done so far for the event,” Shouto said, “I should be thankful for your time, considering you also have a family to take care of at home.”

While the woman stared at him, abashed by his sincerity, Shouto swiveled his chair around to take a seat. A much-needed seat to be entirely honest. His secretary was not kidding about how the bad news seemed to harrow some stress in his body. But, being accustomed to having this weight pushed on his shoulders from the very moment he was announced the head of the company many years ago, he more than anticipated the stress to come with the job.

Shouto spared his secretary one last glance before his eyes darted down between the important papers sprawled on his desk. “If that’s all the news we needed to address today then you’re dismissed, Nishiyama. Carry on with the rest of the organizing as planned,” he ordered. Nishiyama lowered her clipboard to her hip.

“R-Right. Thank you, sir.” She parted his presence with a curt bow. Shouto picked up on her heels clicking toward his office door until they suddenly stopped altogether, looking back at the man midway. “What about the florist, sir?” she asked, concerned at the unresolved predicament lingering in the air. Her question wasn’t met with an immediate reply, but Shouto eventually gave her an answer he deemed adequate of a response. His words were coated with as much reassurance as he could muster in this situation.

“Don’t worry, I’ll handle it myself.”

.

.

The task was easier said than done.

Usually, when it came to booking a florist for special occasions like this, you’d want to contact them months ahead of the scheduled date to ensure maximum efficiency and work out any problems that should arise. But there were only two weeks left until the awaited charity gala.

Shouto was certainly pushing his luck at this point and to a dangerous degree. If he didn’t find someone to arrange the flowers for the ball soon, the venue might be absent of all life and mood, essentially flopping from missing such a key element. Shouto could not allow for that to happen.

Given his word, he took it in his hands to rectify this mistake. For the entirety of the day, he sifted through the aforementioned list of florists his secretary had provided him—extended thanks to his team’s desperate search for more options.

All he had to do was narrow down the lineup. Unfortunately, those efforts may as well have been all for naught.

“Hello, is this Himawari’s Garden? I’d like to speak with the head florist there about arranging the flowers for a gala my company has been planning—”

“I’m terribly sorry, sir, but we’re currently busy preparing for a big wedding coming up next week. If you’d like, I can try and book our services for you toward the next month or so when we’ll be available?”

Shouto’s brows tightened during the exchange—a gesture he’d been repeating as of late while he dwindled the line of florists. If he kept it up, those wrinkles might be embedded into his skin permanently. He was at least grateful he managed to thwart the heavy breath of air that threatened to leave his lips and reveal his frustration to the woman on the phone.

“No, that’s fine. Thank you for your time.” With that, he hung up.

Shouto leaned back in his seat in exasperation, his weight pressed into the cushions as his eyes situated themselves toward the ceiling. The consistent taps of his fingers on his mahogany desk were all he heard amidst his deep contemplation. His eyes lidded shut in an attempt to seek a moment of refuge from the stress, but his conscience began eating at him.

Of course, what was he thinking? The beginnings of spring to late autumns were the mark of wedding season—the time where florists and other businesses specializing in decorative arrangements thrived and busied themselves with eager clients. Not only that, but it was also the month of June. The sixth month of the year was undoubtedly the most popular month among couples to hold their weddings, and he had witnessed this fact firsthand through his myriad of fruitless phone calls.

Shouto had thoroughly wrung through his rope and teetered on the edge of complete defeat. He sealed down his most recent loss at the hand of another busy floral business by striking a line across Himawari’s Garden on his list. At that, the total tallied to thirty whole flower shops. Thirty unsuccessful attempts.

That sigh he contained during the phone call found its way out of his throat in dramatic waves of displeasure

“You alright, sir?”

His administrative assistant, Midoriya Izuku, heard his huffs when he entered the threshold of Shouto’s office. He noted his boss’ hunched posture and the rare crease crinkled between his nose bridge, pressed against his hands that were clenched together above his desk.

“I’m guessing the new list of florists was also a no-go?”

Shouto didn’t offer any words, instead sliding said list—now fully crossed out—toward his assistant as his reply. Craning his head for a better look, Midoriya feigned a smile, not wanting to let the man’s defeat consume the mood entirely.

“Well... I suppose we shouldn’t be surprised… Wedding season is upon us after all.”

Oh yes, Midoriya. Shouto knew that very well. So much so that he sunk further into his desk at the reminder, head practically drooped with a gloomy rain cloud hovering atop him. The green-haired assistant fervently shook his head back-and-forth upon realizing his remark had thrown salt into his wound. “Oh, I-I mean... Don’t worry, sir! I’m sure we’ll still be able to sort out this problem in time before the gala!” he sputtered to help alleviate the despair that crept in, but it came to no avail according to his boss’ silent sulky demeanor. That was when Midoriya remembered the two cups of hot coffee held in each of his hands.

“Ah, right, I made you some coffee! I figured you could use one considering you’ve been cooped up in your office all day.” Setting one in front of him, Shouto perked up at the nutty aroma that slowly slipped into his senses. He eyed the fresh cup of coffee tentatively, the steam flitting above it in wisps.

Lifting the cup, the rich smell wafted further into his nostrils, imbuing him with that familiar peace he usually reveled in. On any ordinary day, he’d be accompanied by his classic roasted blend perched on his desk, with no problems threatening to disturb his peaceful routine. Not anything like today. Not anything like this dilemma of a desperate time crunch for a florist.

Perhaps that was what he needed. A filter of caffeine to wash away the ordeal like it was a bad morning plaguing him with baggy under-eyes and fatigue from a previous day of hard work. Though he’s sure not even caffeine could erase the headaches he developed throughout his day so far. If anything, indulgence would just make those headaches worse.

Nonetheless, he welcomed the smooth blend of flavors that ebbed down his throat through modest sips, rejuvenation quickly oozing in his veins. Headaches or not, the stimulation from the caffeine was essential if he wanted to combat the rest of the day with some drive.

“Thanks, Midoriya. I needed that,” Shouto acknowledged. He nodded at his assistant, who rubbed the back of his head modestly, saying how it was no problem at all, but the way his boss suddenly got up from his seat interrupted his words.

Shouto already felt the strong coffee going to work as his steps picked up in long strides around his desk that had the assistant’s brows knitting together, confused. “Where are you going, sir?” Midoriya asked, his voice sounding more distant to Shouto, who continued his way past him and toward the door.

“A quick drive,” was the blatant answer he gave. He downed the last of the cup before tossing it in the trash bin near the exit of his office. “Something to clear my head a bit. I’ll be back soon, but until then, keep reaching out to any businesses that could potentially be available to help us.”

“Yes, of course, sir! You can count on me!” Midoriya was prompt in replying. As expected, being Shouto’s right-hand man at the company.

With that, Shouto took to the parking lot below his building, twirling his keys over his index finger before hopping into his Mercedes and driving off.

The withering sunlight cast its glare over his car during his ride through the city. By now, the skies splayed vibrant red as the sun gandered above the horizon. He drove down the narrow and busy streets that kept the place bustling at these hours. It was likely the time when people finished up their workday and were eager to arrive home for much-needed rest.

During a particularly long wait at a red traffic light, he pondered over his predicament again. His thumb rapped against the steering wheel while he bit his bottom lip, that ugly feeling of regret seeping into his thoughts.

Maybe he placed too much faith in these flowers after all. Sure, he mentioned the vital role they played in aligning with the theme and complimenting the guests’ attires. But was it worth all the trouble he put his team through, searching through a throng of businesses already busy with their own events to organize? In a way, this could’ve been sorted out had he recognized the current times and planned accordingly to avoid the mess. But now they were trapped in this bind, crunching for anyone that could help them within only fourteen short days.

Just as he weighed the idea of calling Midoriya over the bluetooth in his car to drop the floral arrangements altogether, something caught his eye at the last second.

Shouto peered through his window, squinting at the corner, where he spotted a cart of flowers in front of a shop of some sort. His grip tightened around the leather of his steering wheel as he leaned in for a better look. Some kind of spark in him roused his anticipation the more he shifted forward in his seat, like the hope that was slowly fading inside was igniting once again.

Another inch further and he attained a better look of the shop. Its sign came into view just below the small boundary of his window—letters brushed in calligraphy on a long board of canvas with lilies painted on the edges that seamed together into a bouquet.

N… Neigh… Neighborhood Lily.

He deciphered the words, but didn’t give them much thought. All that enveloped his mind afterward was the fact the name wasn’t any of the list of thirty shops he phoned today. So the very moment the light overhead flickered to green, Shouto’s hold on the wheel tightened. His foot gradually stepped on the pedal with much more purpose.

He decided to take a brief detour from this casual little drive of his.

.

.

It was about six o’clock when you waved off your latest customer, who was leaving the shop with a basket of vibrant tulips swinging on their arm. The smile on their face was an adamant indication they were more than happy with their time here, something you always delighted in, being very passionate about your job as a florist.

“Thank you, and please come again!” The bell overhead gave a gracious chime at the customer’s departure.

With them gone, you drew your attention back to the flowers laid out on the small wooden table in the corner of the shop. Before the customer came in, you were at work arranging and crafting the blossoms you purchased from the flower market that morning into bouquets.

You’d be closing in about an hour and thirty minutes or so, but for now, you basked in the silence and the calming aroma of the flowers that surrounded you while you continued your work. A modest hum naturally sang past your lips and soothed its way into the shop that was devoid of all souls except yourself.

“Hm, you’re a pretty thing, aren’t you?” You made some small talk with the rose in your hand. It was a habit of yours to spill a few words out within your own little world, imagining the flowers were keeping you company whenever you were alone.

“And there, now you all look even prettier.” An adoring smile embellished your lips as you finished off another bouquet by tying it with a silk ribbon. Looking over the bundle one more time, you thoroughly admired the shades of pinks and reds that complimented each other in the ensemble.

Then two more bouquets down, and you already made a good amount of progress. You figured that if you kept up the pace, you’d likely finish the rest of the batch and have them ready for display tomorrow. But just as you clasped three more flowers in your hand, the bell atop the door chimed, alerting you to a new patron.

You nicked off a thorn from one of the stems before turning around and giving your attention to the visitor. When your eyes found their way to the shop’s entrance, you were surprised to meet a man of slicked white and red hair. The few strands that found their way out of the gel must have been tussled from a long day of work considering the fatigue plain on his handsome face.

Despite the few wrinkles here and there, his attire was still surprisingly pristine. He wore a simple yet compelling suit, the fit seeming tailored to the contours of his body that rendered you a tad speechless at how good he looked just standing there. The sight almost made you feel underdressed.

You hadn’t realized you were staring for longer than you deemed appropriate. You couldn’t help it, being that the stranger was a stark contrast to the regular customers you were used to. The fanciest you’ve encountered since you opened your shop were the young boys that rushed in with nicely fitted tops and jeans, frantically inquiring about what kinds of flowers were right to give to a girl for a date they had later that day. Not anything like attractive businessmen in immaculate suits and shining silver wristwatches that surely cost more than all the flowers you tended here.

Noticing you were gawking, you blinked thrice to knock yourself out of your trance and properly greet the man.

“H-Hello, welcome to Neighborhood Lily,” you said, mustering the politest tone you could give to make up for the awkward moment of wordless eye contact. You must have kept your eyes on him for what felt like a good five minutes at least. The man, in turn, acknowledged you with a small grin, much to your relief.

“How may I help you this evening?”

“I’m…” he hesitated, seeming wary of how he wanted to go about his next choice of words, “just looking for now,” he decided.

Not paying much mind to his hesitation, you nodded. “Oh, well, if you have any questions or need any help on anything, please let me know. I’ll just be around the corner!”

Allowing him to go about his business, you returned to your table of flowers and oversaw the blossoms again. However, it was difficult for you to busy yourself with the task at hand. The mere thought of the other presence in the shop was enough to hammer you out of your concentration.

He was already a compelling figure on his own, what with his good-looks accompanied by his classy ensemble that felt more than out of place here. But what you were especially curious about was what business he had at a humble flower shop like yours during this hour.

That curiosity led your eyes straying to the side, where you peeped the man walking through the small aisle of flowers. He examined the bouquets and vases on display, even showing interest in the more decorative pieces hung in pots from the ceiling.

You tried to determine what his motives were. He was showing some considerable intrigue at your arrangements, though perhaps it was pure admiration for your work, and you were letting your self-consciousness get to you.

Well, spying would just get you nowhere, you thought. One way or another, he’d answer your curiosity by either coming to you directly or leave the shop altogether. You had to admit you hoped more for the former.

Until then, you tore your gaze away and resumed gathering flowers in your hands. You assessed their compatibility with one another while you fiddled around with their placement in the bouquet. The white lilies and the blue lilacs went very well, along with another set of light violet lilacs you couldn’t help but string into the bundle. As a result, the beautiful balance of cool tones made for an exceptional well-made bouquet. You finished the piece with a matching white satin ribbon and then let the arranged flowers thrive inside a glass vase.

“Those are very pretty.”

Startled at the voice, you whipped your head around, hands braced behind you against the edge of the wooden table. Your untimely lack of words were a result from realizing the owner of the voice was closer than you anticipated.

The businessman went from lingering around the aisle of flowers in the middle of the shop, to appearing in your proximity.

“E-Excuse me?” you asked, wondering if you heard correctly to which he pointed at the bouquets laid finished on the table. “In fact, all the flowers here are exceptionally beautiful.” He gestured to the entirety of the shop. His eyes quickly roamed across all the decorative flourishes before they came back to you.

“You do excellent work here in your shop.”

Words coming from a man like him made you bashful. You subconsciously played with the hem of your apron, eyes drifting to anywhere but his face at the compliment. However, the sliver of heat fluttering to your cheeks didn’t go unnoticed by him.

“Oh, um, thank you. It’s nothing really, I’ve been arranging flowers for quite some time while at the last floristry I worked for so I have a fair amount of experience.”

After another second of fiddling with the fabric, your hands ended up falling to your sides. You sauntered toward one of the flower vases that were already set on display, dawdling around the conversation. His eyes followed you, watching you nurture the blossoms. “I opened this flower shop of mine just recently actually. Been getting a decent amount of business here and there, but I’m just glad that the people who’ve visited so far like my work,” you told him, twirling a strand of your hair. The pads of your other hand brushed against the soft, abundant petals of a yellow chrysanthemum.

The man observed your actions, analyzing your face. He distinguished the devotion hidden in your eyes as you looked upon the flower with a luster. Despite your humble character, it was more than clear to him you were very passionate about what you did, relishing in the ambiance and admiring the modest appearance of this little shop of yours, covered in the wonderful aroma of flowers.

You didn’t detect that deep breath of air he earnestly drew in as he stepped closer. So close that his proximity broke your stupor to meet his rigid expression.

“How would you feel about an… opportunity to let more of your work be known?”

“An opportunity?” you echoed. “Wait… do you maybe have a wed—”

“No,” he interjected, so abruptly that you couldn’t help but quirk a brow. Catching himself, he took a moment to clear his throat, mindful of his behavior. “I mean, it’s not a wedding. Rather, a charity gala that my company has been planning for some time.”

“A gala?” Your mouth worked faster than your mind, accidentally blurting out your thoughts. The astonishment was evident in your tone; it made the man question your reaction by leaning in.

“Yes, a gala,” he said again like you didn’t just hear his words from a foot away, without even realizing the lengths behind his baffling offer. “Is there something wrong about that?”

“N-No. It just wasn’t the kind of opportunity I expected it to be is all… A gala…” Your voice hushed around the utter of “gala”.

What the man presented so blatantly was unexpected to your ears. Galas meant a pompous party full of people decked in lavish attires, drinking quality champagne from tulip glasses. Sizing up the man again, you could only imagine this gala would only include the most important and wealthiest people in attendance.

You had to ask something, “Um, about this gala... How many people will be there?”

“Maybe about... five hundred or so? I’ll have to check in with my assistant to confirm the full count again.” He shrugged nonchalantly and yet on your end, hearing the number almost reduced your head to a dizzy mess.

Five hundred guests? It was a number you couldn’t fathom. You hadn’t even been booked for an occasion as ordinary as a baby shower, but this man wanted you to arrange flowers for his big charity gala?

As oddly enticing of a job it was to you, there had to be anyone else more experienced and capable for this.

“Sir, I’m not su—”

“The pay, of course, will be more than generous, and I’ll even provide you funding for any necessary materials for this project,” he chimed in before you could voice your protest. It was then that you began to distinguish something laced in his voice and exhibited on his face.

Desperation.

This man seemed desperate for some reason.

“May I ask when the event will take place?” Your arms crossed against your chest. A gulp formed in his throat at the question, unsure if he wanted to unveil the news or risk scaring you off. Either way, if you were working for him, you’d learn eventually. A sigh came out.

“Two weeks,” he answered.

Oh yeah, that explained it. It also answered any questions you had over the tension rigid in his shoulders. At this point, you were bound to join him in his stress because, goddamn, organizing a whole assembly of flowers for a grand ball within fourteen days? The idea was beyond daunting.

While you reflected on the intimidating pieces of information, he was gauging your reaction. Would you say yes? No? Laugh at the idea that he thought he could find a florist to work for him at such late notice? There were a slew of uncertainties twisting in his head—an act unbecoming of him, but you were his last hope. Whatever you responded with next would either be the nail in his coffin or the wings that made him soar.

You would be treading on uncharted waters at a chance like this, having never sailed anywhere beyond your little island of floristry where people came and went with your humble little arrangements. But you also thought of this as a daring opportunity to find new land. See what the world had in store for you outside of selling the general bouquets and vases you had on display. Plus, when would a chance like this ever come up again?

Though it meant encountering difficulties along the way, taking on such a big challenge right off the bat, you figured you’d be able to keep your boat afloat. You were also sure the journey toward bigger regions would be worth the struggle in the end.

“So do you have your answer?” he pressed forward when your silence became unbearable to his nerves. He thanked the fact that his voice managed to sound steady enough not to give himself away. Your arms remained crossed in front of you, your hand coming beneath your chin the only sign that you were taking his offer to heart. It kept the flickering flames of hope blazing inside him.

“I just want to ask you something,” you replied. He nodded, allowing you to continue.

“I know you’re under pressure with this gala coming up in only two weeks,” you began. Your arms unraveled, and your fingers ran to your apron again. You formed the next bit of words with uncertainty, “but are you sure I’m the right person for this job? I mean, I don’t have much to offer you in terms of skill other than what I have here.” You nudged at the range of your shop, plain as can be though with a generous amount of flourishes on display. Yet nothing you thought special enough to be graced by him and his grand proposal that evening.

“I just don’t want you to regret your decision.”

There was a pause of silence after that. The man seemed to give your words some thought—a quick reflection on the situation. You couldn’t decipher much in his face, but you happened to take some time to admire how pretty his eyes were. The individual blue and gray shades were mesmerizing to you, resembling glaciers glittering beneath the moon high in the north. Another detail you jotted in his long list of attractive features. Before you could marvel at them any further, he whisked your thoughts back to earth with his response.

“It’s true that I’m coming to you because I’m in need,” he admitted, hands slowly closing into fists like he was reluctant to confess this, “but from what I can see, I genuinely think you’re more than capable for this job. So yes, I’m very sure I won’t regret this decision.”

It was clear to you that he was sure on his stance. But to reinforce his statement, he bent his head low into a bow, weight added to his next words.

“Please be the florist for our gala.”

The gesture briefly overwhelmed you, not something you were expecting, but you managed to acknowledge it by returning the bow.

“I’ll be in your care then.”

With all things said, you were soon tidying up the exchange and trading business cards. Yours was a standard card with your number, name, and business attached with a picture of a lily printed across the paper. His, a premium slip of stainless steel engraved with his information and then some, the fancy card reflecting off the lights hanging from the ceiling. You read the name etched in ebony black over the gray material.

Todoroki Shouto — CEO

“You’ll likely receive a call from either one of my assistants or me within the next day or so about when to meet up to plan for the arrangements.” Shouto’s voice brought your head up from the card, where you watched him glide toward the door.

“R-Right, I’ll leave my cell on,” you stuttered. The fact that this whole exchange had just transpired was still kicking in for you.

Shouto nodded, extending a wave out that you mirrored while he opened the door to the shop, the bell chiming above him.

“I’ll see you then.”

After that, the resonating tinkles of the bell were the last you heard.

You stared at the entrance aimlessly, mouth gradually gaping open at the mere prospect that you were really about to arrange your flowers for a grand charity gala in two weeks!

A mixture of elation and jitters erupted in your body all at once, uncontained as you whipped your head around and strode across your shop in giddy steps. Your eyes lit up at the steel card gripped between your fingers, clenched so tightly like you were worried the card would turn to dust when you woke up from this dream. But at the wide smile that bloomed on your lips, you knew that this was reality. This man, Todoroki Shouto, was giving you the opportunity to have your true potential shown at this big gala.

Meanwhile, on his way back to his Mercedes, Shouto was clicking open his phone. The screen beamed at him in the low light of the evening turning to night while he punched a number from his contacts list. It took only the cusp of the second ring for the person on the other line to pick up his call.

“Midoriya, call off the search,” Shouto commanded into his phone. He rested his back on the door of his car, leaning against it with his phone still attached to his ear. His gaze found its way back to the flower shop he had just departed, eyeing the light emitting from the windows to the sign hanging above them. Grinning, he took in the sight of the flowers dancing in the wind around the shop’s vicinity before finding your silhouette standing in the benevolent light inside.

“We have our florist.”

[smellsfaintlyofvanilla]

Hello omg, can I request Sasha with a warrior S/O? Like reader came with Annie, Reiner, and Bertholdt on their mission and during Reiner and Bertholdt’s reveal, she reveals herself too? UAUAUA it can be angst or whatever you prefer 🥺❤️

I gave the reader the Warhammer titan btw cause it’s my favorite akdkakfkd

Also, it’s a little long, but that’s just ‘cause I wrote out the whole warrior reveal in word form, and it’s longer than I remember lol

With You

(Sasha Braus x Reader)

AU: Canon, slightly divergent

Warnings: Gore/graphic description of injury, season 3 spoilers, slight season 4 spoilers

Genre: Angst

Summary: Following the battle at Utgard castle, Reiner stops to have a chat with Eren, and reveals that he, Bertholdt, and Sasha’s s/o are all titan shifters, right in front of Sasha.

Words: 3.9K

-------

You had no time to process what had happened. Ymir was a titan, Christa was Historia, and Zeke has finally made his appearance.

You sighed and leaned against the rope tethers of the pulley system, regaining your bearings on the platform as you were pulled up and over the wall. The battle of Utgard castle had been tough—and many secrets were uncovered.

So, Ymir was the titan that ate Marcel all those years ago... You recounted in your head, sighing as you held your face in your palms. And now Zeke is here. We must’ve been too long without any sign of progress. We’re in big trouble. If we get back without Annie and Eren, it’ll be all over for us. Magath is gonna—

“Y/n!” A cheery voice brought you out of your slump, and you looked over your shoulder to see Sasha standing behind you, an arm outstretched as an offering of help.

You smiled at the sight of your girlfriend, and you slowly rose from your spot on the makeshift elevator, taking her hand and pulling yourself up onto the wall. “Thanks, Sasha.”

As soon as you stood up straight, Sasha lunged at you and wrapped her arms around your shoulders, lifting her feet off of the ground as you leaned all of her body weight onto you.

“I’m so glad you’re okay...! I was so worried!” She buried her face in your neck as she spoke, and you wrapped your arms around her lower back, putting your hands on her butt as support so she could wrap her legs around your waist.

You giggled at her, cuddling closer into her embrace. “I’m alright, I’m okay. There’s no need to worry.”

“I know, but I heard that you and your squad got held up at Utgard castle overnight in the middle of a titan horde, and when we finally got there and saw the tower collapsed, I was so scared! I... I—!” She cried into your neck as you moved a hand to rub small circles on her back.

“I know, I know, but we’re okay now. We had a bit of...” You glanced to the left. Ymir lay unconscious and steaming in the stretcher, a distressed Historia leaning over her and brushing strands of brown locks out of her face. “Unexpected help.”

“Mhm...” She mumbled, leaning into you for support. You stayed like this in silence for a while, enjoying each other’s presence after so long of being separated.

“Hey, lovebirds!” A loud shout caught your attention, and both you and Sasha turned to the source; Connie. “Save that stuff for the dorms! We still have stuff to do!”

“Right...” Sasha muttered, climbing off of you and running towards Connie, helping him haul terrified soldiers over the wall.

You stared in admiration for only a brief moment before your attention turned to your comrades, Reiner and Bertholdt. Reiner’s arm was wrapped up in the torn cloth of Historia’s skirt, and Bertholdt was close by, the two of them standing in a solemn, heavy silence.

You approached them quietly, taking a seat next to Reiner. Neither of you said anything. The sudden appearance of the beast titan, or rather, Zeke, had shaken you all. You had been gone for years, and gave no sign of retrieving the Founding Titan. Not only that, but you had lost Marcel and Annie. No matter what, the situation wasn’t going to end smoothly for you three.

To the right, many of the Scouts had gathered around a blonde Garrison soldier. Hannes—his name popped into your mind, as Eren had mentioned him before, while in the 104th. He seemed to be disclosing something to the others, and they looked on with mixed expressions.

“Do you think this has something to do with Zeke?” You questioned. Reiner kept his face buried in his palm, and Bertholdt turned to you with a sigh.

“Most likely.” The tall man answered. “I mean, we saw him. He’s clearly here. He must be doing something with his spinal fluid. Speeding up the process, perhaps.” He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists in anxiety, eyes wide. “We’re in deep shit.”

You didn’t respond to him verbally, offering only a huff in solemn agreement.

The group of soldiers disbanded, though many branched of into separate conversations of worry, wonder, and resentment. As they walked off, Reiner stood up suddenly, eyes still fixated on the ground.

“Eren.” He called out, drawing the attention of the shorter man. “We should talk. You got a moment?”

“Sure, I guess.” He sighed, walking over. You and Bertholdt shared confused and concerned looks. The two of you had long noticed that Reiner had gone a bit off the deep end since arriving at Paradis, so you were wary of what he might say or do next.

“Five years ago, we compromised Wall Maria and launched an attack on humanity.” He spoke, turning his back to Eren, hanging his head in defeat. You looked at Bertholdt, and he mirrored your emotion. Panic.

“I’m the Armored Titan. He’s the Colossal.” He pointed his thumb in your direction when he spoke. “And she’s the Warhammer.”

“What are you talking about? Why are you telling him?” Bertholdt chocked out quietly.

“Reiner!” You whispered sharply, venom dripping from your tone. The three of you had done such a careful job keeping your identities secret from the others, and Reiner just spilled all of it. There was no going back from this.

“We were on a mission.” He continued.

“Stop!” Bertholdt pleaded, but Reiner didn’t waver.

“Our goal was to ensure mankind’s extinction. But now, there’s no need for that. Eren,” He turned to face the shocked and confused boy to his side. “If you want the walls to remain standing, it’s simple. Just come with Bertholdt, Y/n, and me. Do you understand?”

A good look to your left proved that he did not, in fact, understand.

“Understand? What the hell is there to understand?!” He shouted, drawing the attention of a few soldiers. Mikasa stood protectively a short distance away, and Sasha, with her impeccable hearing, turned to face the scene as well. The two of you made eye contact, and your distress must have been evident even at such a distance, because her eyes widened, and she started to make her way over with concern and confusion.

“Listen to me.” To your and Bertholdt’s horror, Reiner kept speaking. “I need you to do exactly as I say. Look, I know this is sudden, but we have to go.”

“Right now?” He exclaimed. “Where would you take me?”

“I can’t tell you. Not yet.” Internally, you started to collect yourself. This wasn’t ending quietly. Bloodshed was dreadfully immanent. “Just think of it as our hometown.” Your eyes widened. He’s just gonna ask Eren? You thought, astounded. After all this, he really thinks Eren is just gonna follow us? What is he thinking?!

“Okay? So what’s it gonna be? Not a bad deal, right? The chance to avert a major crisis?”

“I’m not so sure...” He muttered. You were surprised he didn’t have a stronger reaction, especially for someone as fiery as him. Perhaps he was still in shock, or denial. Either way, they were teetering on the edge of battle, even if you and Bertholdt were the only ones to sense it.

“You guys!” Armin shouted, waving to capture the attention of you, Bertholdt, Reiner, and Eren. “Get a move on, we’re heading out!” Despite that, Sasha pushed right past him, closing in to the conversation, standing still now that she was in earshot. Mikasa was to her left, watching Eren with a dangerously protection glare.

Eren closed his eyes, taking in a deep sigh. It felt as if, for a moment, the world stood still. Damn it, he thought, I didn’t want to believe it...

A distant memory flashed through his head. When Annie had been found out, they had discussed the possibility of Reiner, Bertholdt, and Y/n also being shifters, but they didn’t have proof. Was it really so simple, though?

He opened his eyes and placed a firm hand on Reiner’s shoulder. “You’re just tired. That’s it, right? Help me out here Bertholdt, Y/n. Your nerves are shot. You don’t know what you’re saying.”

“U-Uh, yeah.” Bertholdt fumbled. “It’s the battle fatigue talking!”

“Yeah!” You reaffirmed, luckily being able to exude more confidence than Bertholdt. “You’re just tired. After everything that just happened, I can’t blame you.” You laughed nervously, praying no one saw through your bluff.

“It’s okay, you’re okay.” Between your bluff, and his shock, Eren took the bait. “If you really were the Armored Titan, what’s the endgame here? We wouldn’t be having this conversation in the first place. What’d you expect me to do? Say yes? Let myself be kidnapped just ‘cause you asked politely?” Somehow, you found yourself agreeing with Eren on that last one.

Despite Eren’s nonchalant response, a dead silence overtook the air, and Sasha found it as her cue to step forward.

“Y/n? What’s going on here?” She placed a hand on your shoulder, but as soon as she did, you looked back. She gasped at the sight. You looked petrified.

“Right. Not thinking straight, am I?” He finally gave up his ploy, wide-eyed and sweating bullets. “Barely know what I’m saying here. Must’ve gone off the deep end.”

Eren turned his back to the three of you. “C’mon, let’s go.”

Deafening silence and still air ensued. You did not move. The clouds cleared, and rays of sun shone down on the stone beneath your feet.

“That’s the problem.” Reiner shook. He chuckled, and shadows covered his face. You’d never seen him like this before.

“I’ve been here too long for my own good. Three years of this madness, surrounded by idiots. We were kids. What’d we know about anything?”

You couldn’t help but agree with Reiner on that one. You didn’t want to become a warrior, none of you did. If you knew the atrocities you had to commit in order to have the essence of a warrior, the idea would’ve never crossed your mind.

“Why did there have to be people like this.” He choked, tears pricking his eyes and mouth spread into a wide, ugly frown. “Why? Why did I let myself devolve into such a half-assed piece of shit?”

“It’s too late now.” He lifted his arm out of the cast makeshift cast, and held his arm up, showing the red and bloody bite mark. “Damned if I know what’s right anymore! Who cares? It is what it is. No choice but to face what I’ve done! As a warrior.”

His arm steamed, and shortly after, the skin closed up, blood drying and appearing as if he’d never been injured from the get-go.

“No road left but the one that leads to the end!” He screamed. Eren’s eyes widened as he gasped. He finally understood.

“Reiner! Right now? Here?” Bertholdt yelled back, prepared for anything, despite the beads of sweat that rolled down his face.

“We’re really doing this?!” You echoed, and Sasha looked on with a horrified expression.

“Yes. Right here, right now!” He commanded, marching towards Eren. “We settle this once and for all!”

Mikasa appeared out of nothing in a fraction of second, blades drawn and mind set on murder. She swung her blade at Reiner, who put up his hand defensively as the blade split his hand in half from his fingers all the way to his wrist. She spun around in an instant, and her blade cleanly slashed right across Bertholdt’s neck, who fell to the ground screaming and holding his throat.

He eyes were set on you, and an underhanded swing of her blade slashed a line right across your face. Blood immediately clouded your vision, and you groaned in pain as you were sure you had lost an eye.

She charged at you, determined to finish the job, but her sprint was interrupted by Sasha, who tackled Mikasa at full force, and the sword tumbled out of her grasp as Sasha pinned her down.

“Sasha!” She struggled. “Sasha, move! What are you doing?!” She tried to get up, but Sasha managed to overpower her momentarily, keeping her firmly on the ground.

“MIKASA STOP! PLEASE!” She pleaded at the top of her lungs. Rationally, she knew you were the enemy now, but she’d be damned if she let you die here, after everything the two of you had been through.

“Sasha, you can’t—!”

“I DON’T CARE!” She screamed. “YOU AREN’T GONNA HURT HER!”

Mikasa took quick advantage of Sasha’s emotional state and hurled her off, and she tumbled into a heap a few feet away. With little hesitation, Mikasa reequipped her blades.

But it was too late.

“Bertholdt! Y/n!” Reiner barked, lighting already manifesting around him.

The two of you looked at each other with horrified understanding, and prepared your own transformations.

Sparks of electricity surrounded you, and panic filled adrenaline exploded into flesh. Limbs shot out around you, plus the familiar hardened skin of the Armored, the skinless muscle of the Colossal, and the cloudy white body of your own titan.

Seconds passed, albeit one’s that felt like centuries, and you finally opened your eyes. You stood tall on top of the wall; 15 meters high. To your right, Reiner. And behind him was Bertholdt. Only half formed due to the space, and his lower body ceased to exist. Ribs shot out and dug into the stone, and powerful gusts of steam shot off of his body.

The terrified pawns on the wall stared up at you, mouths agape. But the shock didn’t last long.

The hurricane of steam that came off of Bertholdt started to throw things around, and those who didn’t make quick use of their ODM gear were sent flying. One of those figures, Eren, was quickly swept up by Reiner in the chaos.

It was no use, though. That’s why you weren’t surprised in the slightest when he bit his hand and sparks flew, his transformation queued by a guttural scream of rage.

“Damn you... YOU TRAITORS!”

The Attack Titan formed in Reiner’s hand, fist already drawn back and preparing a strike to Reiner.

In a fraction of a second, you formed a large hammer—your namesake weapon—from hardened titan skin, raising it into the air with a passionate battle cry.

The hammer struck Eren in his flank, and he flew abruptly to the left. You shot Reiner a look, and he looked down in understanding, drawing his arms back in preparation for a charge.

Eren had stood up by the time Reiner had started his charge, and immediately braced for impact—he didn’t have the time to move.

Reiner collided with Eren, and knocked him to the ground effortlessly, his greater size and weight being of good use.

The two wrestled on the ground, and you hesitated to intervene. After all, your weapon was powerful, but imprecise. You couldn’t risk accidentally hitting Reiner. Instead, you turned around, assessing the situation on the wall, where Bertholdt had been unceremoniously shackled.

It seemed no one was brave enough—or rather, stupid enough—to approach the colossal in it’s torrid state, and you didn’t know if you should be frustrated or grateful.

But, out of the corner of your eye, a figure swung. Your eyes widened slightly in amusement as ODM gear shot from tree to tree, approaching you at in impressive speed. Hmph. Guess someone is stupid enough after all. You thought.

You were about to swipe them away without a second thought, but you faltered at the sight of auburn brown hair, loosely tied into a familiar ponytail.

You must’ve gotten a little distracted by the sight, because you were suddenly brought back to attention by the figure landing on your shoulder, the hooks of their ODM gear digging into your shoulder, which you assumed were used as leverage mere seconds ago.

You turned your massive head to look at it, and you saw the figure gasp and tremble at the sight. Sometimes, you forgot how terrifying your titan was. But you perked up for a moment, brought out of your violent trance by a familiar face.

“Y/N!” It was Sasha. “Y/n, what is going on here?!”

You opened your mouth to respond, and it came out in a gravely, deep tone because of your titan form. “Sasha...?”

She released the grapples of her ODM to run up and hug your neck—the best she could, that is, with your immense size.

“Y/n! Come on! Why didn’t you tell me! This... this isn’t you... tell me there’s a reason!!!” She screamed.

Turning back to observe Eren and Reiner’s struggle, you sighed internally. It was just like her to get too emotional in a situation like this.

You turned back to Sasha with a sad look in your eyes. Carefully, you brought your hand up to pinch the hood of her Scout jacket, lifting her and placing her back down on top of the wall.

Slowly, you crouched down to her level, meeting her eye to eye despite the pain it caused you to see the heartbroken look in her eyes. Your hand curled around her back to support her, the only kind of pseudo-hug you could give at the moment. Your thumb gently made its way to the top of her head, and you moved it down slowly to caress her head. Tears streamed down her face, the internal conflict being far too much for her to bear.

But a sudden mass to your lower back brought you out of your intimate moment with her. Pain shot up through your body as you felt your back collide with the ground, and your eyes opened in horror. Eren had somehow managed to best Reiner in their scrimmage—and he was after you now.

You started to form the base of your hammer in your hands once again, but a forceful punch to your jaw stopped it’s formation out of the shock and pain.

Another fist made it’s way to your face—and another, and another, and another. Somewhere in the back of your mind, you could hear noises. Roaring, growling, and, the loudest of them all, screaming. Though, in your state, you couldn’t discern if it was even you or not.

Eren delivered his last punch with a frightening roar of passion, and your neck twisted at an unnatural angle as your head snapped off the titan body with a horrid, bone-grinding sound.

Your battered body fell out of the nape of the titan, using what was left of your strength to emerge at the last second. It was all you had in you, though, and the last thing you heard was your own heavy breathing and distant shouting as your vision started to vade.

Eren stood up tall, towering over your unconscious body, raising his fists in the air with a triumphant roar of victory, the cheers of soldiers filling the air.

Filled with adrenaline and ego, he picked up your limp body in his hand, dangling your body over his already opened mouth.

He was going to eat the Warhammer—right here, right now.

That is, until a foreboding cracking noise brought his attention away from you. It took a few seconds for him to locate the source. The Colossal Titan.

It’s bones snapped and ground against one another, it’s massive body slowly shifting like a collapsing skyscraper. It twisted, turned, and groaned until it slowly lost it’s iron grip on the wall—and it was heading straight for Eren.

It’s body collided with Eren, and the force of the impact was comparable to that of an earthquake. Smoke rose from the ground as dirt was upended, trees crackling and snapping as chunks of rock flew up and around from the impact area.

The force of the impact sent you flying through the air. It didn’t take any hesitation, though, for your girlfriend to go flying through the air, catching your bloody body in her arms and wrapping herself around you to keep you safe as she hit the ground and slid against the dirt.

She groaned audibly from the pain, gritting her teeth in a feeble attempt to numb the painful sensations. But, her pain suddenly subsided when she laid eyes on you.

Your lower half had been all but obliterated. Your legs were completely crushed and squeezed out like an old container of toothpaste, and blood gushed from your stomach. She tried in vain to ignore the sight of your snapped bones twisting at odd angles and protruding through your skin.

Panicked, she brought an ear to your chest, desperately searching for that steady rhythm of life beating in your chest.

She had never taken a deeper sigh of relief than she did now, overjoyed at the slow heartbeat you clung onto. It was weak, yes, but you were still here. With her. That’s all that mattered.

Steam slowly rose from your stomach as your body attempted to heal your wounds. Even in a situation like this, your body managed to find the strength to start recovering.

She cradled your body to her chest, sobbing out in both relief and distress as you bled out onto her. Her clothes were already stained red, and her hands were sticky with morbid crimson, but she didn’t care. She held you close, as close as you could possibly be without her physically crushing you, catching her breath and calming herself to the sound of your shallow breaths.

It was a short-lived moment, though, as a dark shadow suddenly covered the ground, and Sasha froze with fear with you in her arms. By the shadow alone, it was impossible to tell if it was Eren or Reiner, and she didn’t want to check. She curled around you, crying quietly in preparation of getting crushed.

But it didn’t happen. A large finger instead placed itself on Sasha’s shoulder, pushing her out of the way to observe your injured state. Her body trembled fearfully as she turned to face it, and was met with the Armored Titan.

She wasn’t sure what to expect next, really. It could’ve crushed her like an ant and ran away with you, or worse, separated her and run off with just you.

She didn’t want to be apart from you. Even if it made her a terrible soldier, even if it made her treasonous, dishonorable, and irredeemable, she would stick with you, no matter whose side you were on. Right or wrong, she was staying with you.

Reiner hesitated for a moment. He couldn’t just bring a Paradis soldier back, it would be a huge problem down the line. But, his eyes glanced to you. He was certain that if he left Sasha there without you, you would never have forgiven him.

So, he cut his losses and gently scooped the two of you up in his hand, holding you and her close to his chest as he started running—god knows where to. She caught a glimpse of a Bertholdt in his other hand, as well as Ymir, still unconscious and strapped to her stretcher.

And Eren. Somehow, Reiner had the severely injured and incapacitated shifter quite literally in the palm of his hand.

Sasha knew that once people slowly started waking up, the fighting would only continue, but she savored this moment. Even if you were bleeding and hurt, your face looked peaceful. As odd as it sounded, she felt content with you in this moment.

As Reiner ran further and further from the wall, Sasha glanced over his shoulder, watching as the faces of her former comrades as they faded into the background.

I wish somebody cared for me the way Sasha cares about Y/n in this fic lmaooo

[mamabearcatfanfics]

Battle Couple

I've had this little idea for a while, and then decided I could bend it slightly to fit this year's @inukag-week's first battle couple prompt. Because not all battles we face have to be huge ones against a deadly foe. Sometimes the battles can simply be standing up for what's right.

Inuyasha dragged the beanie down tighter over his head, stomping towards the exit of the store. He hated this. This is why he bought things online and had them delivered. Because then he could avoid interactions like he’d just had with that racist arsehole. He glanced down at the text from Sesshoumaru again, wondering if there was some other way he could get this gift for Rin. It was the first time his half-brother had thrown a birthday party for his adopted daughter, and no doubt it would be a big deal.

Rin has expressed an interest in this item. Her birthday party is on Saturday at 10am. Do not be late.

And of course the toy Rin had asked for was sold out everywhere online. The tiny dolls with light up dresses and a matching crystal necklace were apparently ‘the’ toy at the moment. She specifically wanted the purple one, the ‘hope’ doll, because it was her favourite colour, and she already had the other dolls in the set. This was the last one she needed. And he hadn’t been able to find it anywhere. He was failing as an Uncle. The last store he’d been to, he’d practically seen a pair of mothers come to blows arguing over the last CrystalShines doll on the shelf.

He was close to the exit of the store when an intriguing scent wafted past his nose. It was another store employee, dressed in the dark polo shirt and black jeans, with one of those ear walkie talkies they all seemed to wear. She was giggling, talking to someone using the button on her mike, her other arm full of a variety of women’s clothing that she was putting back on the racks. Her arms were a blur as she began sorting them into different sizes, working quickly to make each rack neat and tidy.

He watched as she flitted about the store, talking to a customer, smiling and waving at a baby in a pram, folding jumpers and t-shirts. His eyes were drawn to her dark ponytail; the way it swung as she moved was almost hypnotic. Her glossy hair was black, but had a blue sheen to it under the harsh fluorescent lighting, and he had a sudden urge to reach out and touch it, stroke down the length of the swinging tail to see if it was as soft and silken as it looked.

Without even realising it, he followed her, almost bumping into her as she suddenly spun around to go in a different direction.

“Oh! Good evening sir, can I help you with anything?”

There was a pleasant smile on her face, and she was looking at him expectantly. His voice didn’t seem to want to work now he was actually standing close to her, so he turned around his phone, showing her the picture of the doll.

“This is what you’re looking for?”

“Yeah”, he said softly, his eyes focused on hers as she glanced up at him again. He’d never seen anyone with grey eyes before. It seemed they were lit from within like starlight, and now that he was closer to her, she smelt even better. He cleared his throat, trying to get a hold of himself. “My niece wants one of these for her birthday, and I’m having trouble finding one.”

“Okay”, she said, reaching for the button on her headset to talk to the other employees on the shop floor. “Let me just talk to my colleague in the toy department, and I’ll see if we’ve got that item in stock.”

❤

Kagome watched as the man in front of her visibly deflated.

“Don’worry about it then. Already talked to ‘im.”

And then she got it. Ryan was working the toy department tonight. Ryan the racist bigot who didn’t like interacting with any customers who weren’t white, male, good ol’ boys, exactly like him. Usually he worked out the back in the store room, unpacking shipments, but due to the flu going around and the shortage of staff, the evening shift manager had put him on the floor tonight. And he’d no doubt said something innaproppriate to this gorgeous man in front of her, who obviously had some sort of youkai heritage.

She’d had her own run-ins with Ryan. He’d said many cruel things to her over the past six months, since he’d found out what happened a few years ago, cruel enough to make her run to the safety of the women’s toilets to shed a few silent tears in private. He never bullied her in a place where others could overhear, he always cornered her in dark places where there was no one else around. He frightened her. Jak knew she was uncomfortable around him, and did his best to make sure they were never rostered on at the same time, so it had been a while since she’d had to deal with him.

She took in the golden eyes, fangs and the beanie yanked down hard over his long silver hair, but it was the resigned bitter look on his face that caught at her heart. She knew that feeling. Internally Kagome fumed, but outwardly she hoisted her brightest smile onto her face, wanting to make it up to him. She could fix this!

“Wait. I don’t know the toy department that well, but I’m sure I could help. Just give me a moment to put these things down.”

He followed her to a wheeled rack in the aisle where she hung all the clothing in her arms back up, and then turned to him, smiling brightly again.

“Let’s go to the toy department and see if we can’t find this doll for your niece. When’s her birthday?”

“Tomorrow.”

“Oh dear, that doesn’t give you much time to find one!”

“I’ve been lookin’ all week. Online stores have sold out.”

“Well, hopefully we’ll have one in stock. Let’s see, the doll aisle is around here somewhere.”

They walked together down the aisle, both scanning the shelves for the tiny dolls.

“They should be around here”, said Kagome, her finger running along the price labelling on the edge of the shelf, her eyes lighting up as she found the right tag, but sighing in disappointment as she found the shelf empty.

“Yeah”, sighed Inuyasha. “I asked the guy around here if he could find out if there were any more out the back or somethin’ and he, ah…”

“Don’t worry”, said Kagome, a determined look on her face, “I will personally go take a look in the store room for you. Just wait here for me sir.”

“Inuyasha.”

“Huh?”

He coughed a little, his head turning to the side to avoid her direct gaze. “My name, it’s Inuyasha.”

“Oh. Right. Just wait here for me Inuyasha, and I’ll be right back.”

“Thanks Kagome.”

She blinked in confusion as he said her name, wondering how he’d known it, then realised he had read her name tag.

For some reason him saying her name out loud made her stomach swoop, like she was on a roller coaster, even though her feet were firmly planted on the ground. As he gave her a shy smile, she felt her cheeks begin to heat, and she whirled around, making a beeline for the storage room, talking into the mike on her headset as she left.

“Hey Jak, it’s Kagome – just going out to the store room for a moment for a customer. I’ll get right back on those returns as soon as I’m done, okay?”

“Oooh, tell me it’s the hottie with the white hair that I pointed out to you!”

“Jak!”

“Oh it is! Take your time honey!”

“You’re incorrigible, you know that?”

“And you love me for it. Make sure you get his name and number before he goes!”

“Jak!”

“For the customer form darlin’, what else did you think I meant?”

She could hear him still sniggering as she released the talk button on her mike, and she shook her head, grinning despite herself. He was her in-line manager and they got on really well, but rarely got to spend time together, as he was usually rostered on during the day, and her in the evenings so her day was free for lectures and study.

Kagome squeezed her way into the storeroom, scanning the aisles of stock yet to be placed out on the shelves. And then she saw it, the edge of a box with a picture of a tiny doll up on the highest shelf.

Dragging over the step ladder, she placed it under the shelf and climbed up, her petite size meaning she had to stand on the very top to have any chance of reaching the box. She just managed to reach the doll with the tips of her fingers, and nudged it. It tipped forward and fell, and with a gasp she managed to catch it with her outstretched hand, teetering on the top of the ladder, her other arm windmilling frantically to keep her balance.

She took a few deep breaths, trying to calm her frantically beating heart after her almost fall, the box containing the doll clutched tightly against her. But she’d found one for him, a purple one, just like he’d wanted. She had no idea why that made her feel so incredibly happy, but it did.

Grinning widely as she emerged from the storeroom, she began walking directly to the toy department. She could see Inuyasha there, waiting for her. But she could also see Ryan, his arms crossed as he spoke to him, a sneer on his face. She quickened her pace. Previous experience had taught her that expression couldn’t mean anything good.

❤

Inuyasha stood his ground, hands clenched in tight fists by his sides. He had every right to be here – he was a customer, he hadn’t caused any commotion or damage. Kagome had asked him to wait here. But apparently that wasn’t good enough for this guy.

“I told you already, we’ve got none of what your looking for. Nothing for you. Are you deaf, or just stupid?” The volume of his voice wasn’t loud enough to draw anyone’s attention to them, but definitely loud enough to get on Inuyasha’s nerves.

Inuyasha closed his eyes and took a deep breath, his hands shaking slightly as he held back. He would not punch out this idiot – this was a department store, not a battle ground. Even though he deserved it because he was a racist bigoted shit.

“I already told you to leave youkai! Do I have to call security?”

Inuyasha breathed out slowly, trying to keep any trace of anger out of his voice, even though he wanted to let rip. He’d found out the hard way that security tended to not ask questions, just see his youkai traits and assume the worst.

“And I already told you, another employee was taking a look out the back for me. She told me to wait here for her.”

“Yeah, like I’d believe anything one of you would have to say. You’re all the same. What are hidin’ under that hat huh? Some kinda weird freakish thing I’d bet. ”

“Inuyasha!”

Inuyasha turned, his eyes lighting up as Kagome appeared. But she wasn’t wearing the wide smile she had when she left. She was stomping towards them, a box tucked tightly under her arm, the scowl on her face impressive. Thankfully that scowl was not directed at him.

He could smell the nervousness pouring off of her, but you never would have thought it looking at the way she faced off with her work colleague, stepping in front of him like she wanted to shield him from this man's ire with her much smaller body.

“Ryan, I’m handling this customer. And I’ve already found what he needed, so there’s no reason for you to be here. I think you’ve probably said enough.”

There was the barest trace of a tremble in her voice, and Inuyasha moved in closer behind her, wanting her to feel like he was there to support her. He wasn’t exactly sure what was going on, but he didn’t like it.

Ryan rolled his eyes and then sneered at her, his voice low and vicious.

“Ha. Shoulda known it would be you Kagome. Such a helpful little kiss ass. Why don’t you turn that cute little tush of yours around and head back to the ladies department where you belong, unless you’re still that desperate for some demon tail.”

“What?”

Ryan grinned at the shocked expression on Kagome’s face, posturing like he’d somehow scored a point. “Bit ironic really, you working in the ladies department when you’re anything but. A human ain't good enough for Kagome, huh? Wasn’t it bad enough that the last guy you had got fired, now you’re after customers too? You really are a-“

“Don’t. Say. Another. Word.”

Both Kagome and Ryan flinched at the snarled words behind them.

“Kagome, call your manager”, said Inuyasha gruffly. “I wanna report this guy.”

“It’s my word against yours demon, and little Kagome’s not gonna say anything, are you Kagome, because you’re fuckin’ pathetic. There’s nothin’ you can report me for”, snorted Ryan.

“Oh, I don’t know. I’d probably pick being a racist arsehole, for starters”, said another voice cheerfully. "Then maybe we could add workplace harassment."

A tall man in a tailored suit stepped into view, his dark hair slicked back into a short ponytail. He was holding his phone up, obviously still recording the whole thing.

“Here I was, minding my own business in the Lego aisle while I looked for the perfect birthday gift for my little girls, and what should I hear? An employee bad mouthing a customer, when the customer had been nothing but polite and civil. Don’t worry about proof, I’m happy to be a witness. I was recording the whole thing. From the very first racist slur that left your lips.”

Kagome’s eyes were wide as she glanced from the ponytailed man back to Ryan, and Inuyasha could hear her heart beating frantically. He nodded at her approvingly as she took a deep breath, her hand steady on the button on her headset.

“Jak, it’s Kagome”, she said, her voice a little breathless, but firm. “Can you-“

Ryan lunged towards her.

“Don’t you dare, you fuckin’ bitch!”

Inuyasha ducked out from behind Kagome, his fist grabbing the back of Ryan’s shirt and lifting him into the air, Ryan’s legs kicking frantically as he tried to escape. Before Kagome could move out of the way, his steel capped boot caught her on the chin. She dropped like a stone, crumpling to the floor in a heap.

“Fuck, Kagome!”

Inuyasha swung Ryan out of the way and dropped him none too gently, all his focus on the small woman laying prone on the slightly grubby linoleum floor, still out for the count. He could hear a scuffle behind him as the man in the suit and a few other observers struggled to keep Ryan contained, but he no longer cared about him. He knelt down close to her, gently stroking the glossy dark hair back from her face.

“Kagome, can you hear me?”

Inuyasha shook Kagome’s shoulder gently, trying to rouse her, and her eyes fluttered open.

“Inuyasha?” she said groggily, her arm tightening around the box, a wobbly smile on her face. “I got your doll.”

❤

It took a while to sort everything out. An ambulance was called, and the police. The police took statements from Inuyasha, Kagome and the man in the suit, Miroku. Ryan was fired on the spot, and Jak was positively gleeful, despite the mountain of paperwork he’d have to fill out before he went home that evening. When the paramedic suggested that Kagome should go to the hospital to be checked for possible concussion, Inuyasha had immediately said he’d like to go with her, if that was alright with Kagome, and after a few polite remarks about it not being necessary, she’d gratefully accepted. Jak had positively pushed them into the ambulance together, waving them off with a bright smile. It was the most exciting evening shift he’d had in years.

❤

“You don’t have to stay you know. I’ll be fine, I’ll just get an Uber home.”

Inuyasha rolled his eyes, leaning back against the wall, his arm resting on the edge of Kagome's hospital bed.

“For the tenth time woman, I don’t mind. I want to be here when the doctor examines you to make sure you’re okay. And then I wanna make sure you get home safe.” He sighed as he looked at the dark purpling bruise on Kagome’s chin. “I’m just sorry I didn’t throw that fucker down to the end of the aisle when I had the chance.”

“But it’s so late! It’s almost 2am, and you have the party to go to tomorrow. Today I mean.”

“Eh, that’s hours away. She won’t mind if I’m a little late, Rin’s a nice kid. And now I have the perfect present, thanks to you.”

Kagome was quiet for a while. The silence grew to feel uncomfortable, because Inuyasha could sense how tense Kagome suddenly was.

“Inuyasha… I want to explain. About what Ryan said to me.”

“Hmm?” He could smell nervousness again, billowing around her like a cloud, and he didn’t like it. “Doesn’t matter, none of my business.”

“But I want to”, she said, her voice taking on a stubborn edge.

“Fine, I’ll listen. But nothin’ you can say will change my good opinion of you. You stepped up for me back there Kagome, and that don’t happen for me much. I will always remember that.”

Kagome reached out her hand to lightly grasp the clawed one sitting next to her on the bed, and squeezed it.

“Thank you.”

He squeezed back.

“You’re welcome.”

“Anyway”, she sighed. “About what Ryan said. I started working at that department store when I was still in high school, as a weekend job. And there was this training manager, a kitsune. He’d come around every so often, and all the girls thought he was really good looking. He had a little green sports car; a lot of the other girls thought was really important. They all were flirting with him, and then he asked me out. I was so surprised. I mean, me! I’m nothing special! He was so stylish, and so charming. I really thought…” Kagome laughed but it had no humour in it, and Inuyasha squeezed her hand again. She shrugged, her shoulders coming up around her ears as her face turned away from him.

“I was so stupid! It turned out I was right about being nothing special, because he was going out with a couple of girls at every store that he visited.” She flinched a little at Inuyasha’s low growl of disapproval. “There were around ten of us. And because a couple of us were under aged, he was charged. Lost his job. Ryan found out about it a few months ago and thought-“

“Don’t say it”, said Inuyasha gruffly, squeezing her hand again. “Don’t matter what he thought. It’s in the past. And the Kagome I saw tonight was amazing.”

“No I wasn’t!” Kagome shook her head, then winced as her head throbbed, realising that was a bad idea. “I was so scared Inuyasha! I’ve never been able to stand up to him before. But I couldn’t stand the thought of him being mean to you!”

“Then you’re even braver than I thought.” Inuyasha entwined his fingers with hers, and cleared his throat. “Kagome, I know you don’t know me. But I think I’d like to get to know you. Could I call you? Maybe we could go out for coffee or somethin’? I mean you don’t gotta answer, and if you don’t wanna, I totally understand, I mean-“

“Yes.” Kagome giggled at the wide toothy grin on Inuyasha’s face. “Give me your phone and I’ll put my number in.”

“Wait. Maybe you should see what all’a me looks like before you say yes.”

Inuyasha tugged off his beanie, revealing the pointed white dog ears on top of his head. “If you wanna change your mind, I-“

“They’re so cute!” squeaked Kagome. “Please give me your phone!”

❤

Kagome woke up the next morning very late, so late that it was no longer morning at all.

It had been 3am by the time Inuyasha had dropped her home with a bag of painkillers and the Doctor’s instructions for treating her mild concussion. He’d helped her into bed, placed her medicine and a glass of water next to the bed for her, kissed her softly on the cheek and whispered goodnight, closing the door behind him.

She rubbed her cheek gently at the memory of that small kiss, a smile on her face. She still had a headache, so she took two of the tablets, then reached for her phone on the bedside table where it had been charging.

There were two messages.

The birthday girl loves her present! Attached was a picture of a smiling Inuyasha kneeling with his arm around a little girl in a checked orange party dress and sparkly sandals, her dark hair up in pig tails. A wide excited grin split her face, revealing the gap of a missing front tooth. The doll was clutched tightly in her hand, and she was wearing the necklace that came with it.

I told Rin how brave you were, and she wanted you to have some birthday cake. Can I bring some over when you wake up? 🍰

Kagome smiled almost as wide as Rin, despite her headache.

I’d love you to ❤

[katieebaby1096]

A/N: this pic posted by @kylorenxreader inspired me to write this fic. At first it was a one shot but I’ve decided to make it multiple chapters! I hope you all enjoy!

You find yourself getting into trouble with the commander and eventually end up in a sticky situation.

Warning: explicit content, smut, lack of aftercare, read at your own discretion.

18+ only

Eternal Shine Pt. 1

There’s just something about Her

You’d been with the First Order for a whole year now and it wasn’t going quite how you thought it’d be. The first month or two passed by seemingly boring, however as more time went on and you long to catch attention from a man, the only attention you’d gotten yourself is from the commander himself. You’d managed to get yourself in trouble with Commander Ren 9 times between the third and fourth month. It all started when one night on a raid you had accidentally shot a civilian who was resisting arrest. The commander had stopped dead in his tracks and as if reading your mind he stormed up to you and said, “you feel bad and regret shooting a traitor girl?”

“No, commander Ren, sir!” You quickly replied.

“You can’t lie to me..KT-8696. Report to captain phasma after we land to receive your punishment for disrespecting your Commander.” He hissed in his mechanical voice.

After receiving 5 lashings and 2 days of cleaning duty you’d tried your best to shape up but it seemed at least twice a week you’d managed to stumble into trouble with the commander. It’d been nearly two weeks with no instances of trouble and you’d had a feeling that whole day that something was amiss. You were walking down the hallway, making your way to the dining hall barely paying attention when you had ran into what felt like a wall. Looking up, you find yourself looking into the maskless face of none other than a very angry looking Commander Kylo Ren.

“You really just can’t stay out of my way can you? You stupid girl,” he spat at you as he backed you into the wall, you remained speechless.

“I think you like getting in trouble hmm? Not getting enough attention? The lashings just not teaching you anything?” His hand reached out to tightly grasp your throat.

“No sir, I don’t mean to cause you trouble,” you barely croaked out before trying to gulp in more air. You were taking in his appearance as he processed what you’d said. He had beautiful amber colored eyes, a big nose, plump red lips and creamy skin decorated by a few slight beauty marks. He was stunningly beautiful and as his hand tightened more completely cutting off your air you felt a heart blossom in your core. If this is how you go then at least you’ll die looking at the most beautiful thing in the galaxy. A sadistic grin shaped on his lips then.

“This is getting you off,” he let out a quiet chuckle before removing his grip and grasping onto the hair on the back of your head, “alright then, whore, I’ll teach you a little lesson myself,” He whispered almost to himself as he pulled you along down the hallway.

Several minutes and two elevator rides later and you were being pulled through a big black door and thrown to the floor.

“Stand up,” he demanded.

“I’m sorry Sir, I just don’t understand..?” He quickly moved to stand over you and crouched to grasp you by your throat again.

“You are going to be my little pet tonight. I can sense your arousal, practically smell your pussy dripping into your panties.” He let go of your neck and offered you his hand to help you stand.

“Take off your clothes,” you did as he instructed, slowly removing each item of armor and clothing until you were left standing in your white thong. His eyes roamed over your thick hips and thighs, up to your small waist and large breasts then stopped on your face. You had let your fingers linger in the waistband of your thong nervously.

“These as well sir?” You’d asked meekly. His lip quirked up on one side showing a dimple in his cheek as he slowly nodded

“Those too.”

“Yes sir,” you whispers hesitantly. He sat there observing your fair, freckled face as you pushed your thong passed your hips and let them drop to your feet. He had only ever seen you with your helmet on, Kylo hadn’t any clue how beautiful you were or how curvaceous your small body was.

“Go lay on the bed,” he instructed pointing to the bed situated directly in front of the window.

You obeyed willingly plopping down on the extremely neat sheets and laying back, letting my knees fall apart instinctively.

“Look at you, I can see your juices glistening as it drips from your pretty little cunt.” He spoke firmly as he sauntered to you and dropped down on the bed over you, pulling your legs into his hands.

“Do you want me to touch you, girl?”

“Yes sir!” He smiled widely at my gasping response.

“Good,” he whispered before leaning back on his heels and pushing your legs forward so your ass and pussy were in perfect height with Kylos face. You could practically feel his breath on your wet, virgin cunt as he looked at it drip. You felt his large nose nudge your clit, eliciting a moan from deep within you.

“You smell so sweet, let’s see how you taste shall we?” He licked a wide, wet stripe from your clit down to your entrance as he looked down into your eyes, surprise striking his his features as his tongue begins to enter you.

“A virgin hmm? today must be your lucky day,” he said as he released your ankles and moved to lay beside you. His hand goes to your neck before sliding down between your breasts, over the slight swell of your chubby belly and dives between your thighs to cup your sensitive mound.

“Im not going to promise I’ll be gentle but I’ll try to make it as comfortable as possible,” he said with a dark look in his eyes.

“Yes sir,” was all you could manage to get passed your lips.

His fingers slipped into your delicate, silky folds making slow circles around your clit. He leaned in close and put his soft lips on your aggressively when he pushed a finger into your pulsating hole. Pulling back he looked into your eyes while starting to slowly pump his finger in and out. You could help but let out soft moans as the heat in your core grew.

“Look at me,” he demanded. Once you obliged he plunged a second finger into you pushing and pulling faster. You felt yourself tense up and wince at the intrusive feeling. He must’ve noticed as he slowed his pace and began massaging your clit with his thumb. The heat within was growing quickly now as Kylo pulled moans and groans from your lips that you didn’t know were possible. His head dropped to the crook of your neck and began sucking at the sensitive skin, “oh, Kylo, it feels so..” you could even get the words out as your pussy began to pulsate on his fingers. He pulled away then and looked at you writhing under him as you climbed closer to the edge, “ready for another one?” You gripped his bicep tightly as he inserted a third finger and quickening his pace.

“I want you to come hard on my fingers, you don’t want to disappoint your commander do you princess?” You shook your head as more moans left you, you were teetering on the edge now.

“I want to cum for you sir!” You whined out, “please sir, please make me cum!” You begged.

He pulled his fingers from you then and stood up.

“Wait, I thought..” you mumbled out, embarrassed at how desperate you must have sounded.

“On your knees trooper,” he commanded.

“Yes sir,” you scrambled to your knees as he approached you. He stopped just in front of you, crotch just in front of your face.

“Undress me,” he demanded, gesturing to his clothes.

“Yes sir,” you wasted no time practically ripping his clothes off until he stool in front of you, naked, letting his long and thick cock poke you.

“Get back on the bed, hands and knees.”

You happily obliged, ignoring the pestering nerves causing your hands to shake. You posed yourself as he’d commanded and waited for contact, not expecting the sharp slap he gave to your right ass cheek.

“Count.”

“One.” You blurted out.

Smack.

“Two.”

Smack

“Three.” His smacks got more intense as he kept going.

Smack.

“Four!” You’d wailed out this time.

Smack.

“Five!” You cried out, clenching your thighs together at his harshest hit.

“Good girl,” he spoke lowly now as he rubbed the redness of your cheek. You felt his hand on the center of your back pushing you towards the mattress.

“Are you ready?” He asked, rubbing the head of his cock along your folds getting it wet with your juices.

“Yes sir,” you whispered.

He pushed into you then going in all the way until he couldn’t go any deeper, letting out a deep groan at your loud gasp. He rested there for a minute letting you adjust before pulling all the way out and slamming right back in and repeating this over a few times. You bit your lip drawing blood to keep from howling at the burning sensation from the stretch. He abruptly stopped his movements and you felt his hand snake into the back of your hair and he pulled you back into him, letting go of your hair to wrap his arm around your waist and travel between your breasts to rest on your neck.

“I’m going to make you cum on my cock,” he whispered into your ear as his other hand snaked down to your mound rubbing quick circles on your clit. He began to pound into you again holding your back against his chest drawing you back to an orgasm, you slick making each thrust easier and feel so much better. His fingers on your clit and his cock pulsing in and out of you bringing you right to the edge, “I know your close princess. I’m gonna cum in this pussy while you cum on this cock!”

“Oh Kylo, it feels so good,” you blurt out, “I’m gonna-I think I’m gonna cum sir! Please make me cum!” His pace became almost murderous as he pounded into you, rubbing your clit furiously, “cum-oh god- fuck your so fucking tight- fuck fuck fffffuck! Cum on this cock right now!” He growled into your ear, pushing you over the edge.

“Ohhhhhh! Gods yes! Thank you commander sir! Oh fuck!” You yelped out. He helped you ride out your orgasm before he pulled out of you. You looked over to see him putting his underwear and pants on before throwing your clothes and armor at you.

“Get dressed and get out. Next time you give me trouble, I won’t be so nice.” With that he left you to get dressed. You’d waddled back to your quarters that night with mixed feelings of loneliness and pride. Unbeknownst to you, Kylo Ren had waited til you left to take his clothes back off and stumble into his bed and replay everything he’d just done. He laid there under his strewn about sheets that smelled of peaches and cherry blossom just as you had, thinking about how beautiful you were. You had the most beautiful eyes that he’d swear had eternal shine that he’d never forget.

There was something about you that drew him to you. He just couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but he intended to figure it out.

—-

It had been a month since your last interaction with the commander and you were feeling confident. In that time you’d managed to go on 3 dates with a guy named RC-2242, youd even gone so far as to let him into your bed. Unfortunately for you he was nothing like Kylo Ren, he had a rather small cock and he didn’t know jack about pleasing a woman. Of course after a month of staying out of the commanders way you were bound to run into him. Unfortunately it happened to be on a night that you’d gone out with good ole RC-2242. The two of you were nestled into a booth having a drink when you’d felt his eyes on you, sure enough there he was across the bar in all his masked glory but you could still feel his honey eyes boring into you. All you could muster was an awkward smile and wave. Before you even knew he had stomped over to your table, “KT-8696, please report to my office immediately.” He stomped out of the bar without another glance in your direction.

“Well,” you sighed,”I suppose I probably found myself some trouble somehow. I hope you can excuse me, I’ve got to go.”

“Of course! The commander is not someone I’d keep waiting!” He replied coolly before kissing your hand and watching you go.

What could I have possibly done now?

I’ve stayed out of his way, haven’t even seen him in a month for goodness sake!

Your mind ran wild as You made your way to the commanders office. Trying to think of things you might’ve done to upset him. It hit you then as You arrived in front of his office door. He’d seen you out with RC-2242. Just as you’d stopped about to know the door slid open revealing a maskless Kylo Ren with a very nasty look on his face.

“You and I need talk,” he said seriously, anger radiating from his glare on the small purple bruise at the base of your neck.

[nerevar-quote-and-star]

do you think the companions have a closet of like. flea and tick preventing stuff/medicine somewhere

Imagine someone opens that closet and they don’t know about the werewolf thing and they ask someone “hey why do we have all this dog stuff??? Where are the dogs???”

Hey, not only do I think that, I think it's entirely possible that they have their own mini veterinary closet, including the dog treats. The dog treats are the most important.

I'd like to thank you, though, because as soon as I read this ask, my mind start buzzing, or yipping, as the little dogs, might, and, well. . .

Chasing Tails, or Why is the Circle Like This?

Lucia's sure taking a long time . . .

Lars fidgeted in his seat at the end of the table, casting his eyes once again to the stairwell that led down to the Companions' living quarters. It wasn't the first time he'd sat around their hearth to wait on his best friend and it definitely wouldn't be the last, he was sure, but he always felt a little nervous sitting by himself as large warriors with huge blades went about their business around him. Eating, drinking, laughing . . . wrestling. The first time he'd seen Lucia's papa and uncle get into an all out brawl there on the hearth stones, he'd had the shakes until long after his grandma tucked him into bed.

A thud on the table startled the boy from his thoughts. "Here, kid, watch this for me, will you?" Lars stared wide-eyed as Ria, who was generally the nicest out of all the Companions — aside from Lucia, who insisted she was one despite only being ten — darted back up the steps and out the double doors to the Winds District. Not a moment later, the doors from the training yard banged open as Njada Stonearm — who was definitely the meanest Companion — barged in, eyes aflame like the hearth. Lars shrank back in his seat.

"Ria!" her voice echoed above the crack of the fire and the murmur of a few others talking across the room.

"Not here," called Athis, snickering.

"Jus' missed 'er," slurred Torvar.

A growl left the Nord woman's throat as her eyes swivelled round and landed on Lars, who was peaking out from behind the large satchel Ria'd left on the table. The boy's eyes bulged in horror as she took three long strides and arrived beside him, arms crossed under a face painted with a harsh scowl.

(Sometimes, a lot of times, Lars wished he was brave enough to ask Njada Stonearm to beat up Braith, but he had the feeling she'd either laugh him off — or worse, encourage the Redguard girl to redouble her efforts to kick his—)

"—dumped this here, huh?"

"W-wha—"

A hand, large and strong enough to crush his skull, shook the bag in front of him. "Ria left this here, didn't she?"

"Ye-yeah—"

"Quit mumbling!"

"Y-yes sir, I, I mean ma'am!"

If anyone ever looked absolutely done with the world, it was Njada Stonearm in that moment. Lars squirmed under her glare, but said no more, and the Nord woman grumbled under her breath. "I've gotta hunt down that rabbit brained . . ." she trailed off, eyeing Lars with a cold interest. "You. Take this downstairs and put it in the Circles' supply closet."

Lars tried to swallow, but his throat was too dry, and he let out a strangled cough instead. He choked a gasp when Njada Stonearm thumped him on the back. "Get going, kid," she said as she turned on her heel and marched out the same doors Ria fled through earlier.

With shaking legs, Lars got to his feet and hefted the satchel into his arms. There was a faint clink! clink! of glass, and he wondered if it was some kind of fancy reserve just for the Circle. He knew Lucia's mama was fond of Imperial brandies, so maybe that was it?

He crossed the hall, an easy task as Athis and Torvar promptly went back into their cups once Njada Stonearm had redirected her ire to Lars and so they didn't bother him. It was when he got to the stairs that the wobble in his knees became a full shake. Braith often told him he was infected with the Rattles and no one bothered telling him because it was more fun to watch him convulse like a half dead draugr. Sometimes, like right now for instance, he almost believed her.

One of the men barked a laugh, Lars wasn't sure which, but it jarred his limbs into motion; he eased his way down the wooden stairs, scared every moment that he'd trip, fall, and anger not only Njada Stonearm, but the whole Circle as well. His heart lodged in his throat. If he broke the bottles and made a mess of their contents, would he ever be allowed back in Jorrvaskr? Would he ever get to play with Lucia again?

The heavy door into the basement quarters was an almost reassuring barrier to the boy as he aligned his back with it, arms full of the satchel's awkward bulk. With a grunt, he thrust back, and the door creaked slowly open. When it was wide enough, he slipped around the dense oak, and once again hesitated. Now where? He didn't actually know where the Circles' supply closet was. Though, he thought, shifting from foot to foot with the wide hall empty before him, it might be down near the Circles' private quarters.

The supply closet wasn't really the difficult to find, being one of the few closed doors at the end. The other was the door to the Harbinger's room, but that'd been shut for months since . . . Lars swallowed, coughed again, and with the bag balanced precariously in one arm under his chin, he opened the door.

"What're you doing?"

"Gah!" Lars teetered forward, and if it weren't for Lucia's hand clenching the back of his shirt, he'd have fallen face first into—

"Um, better question: why do your parents' have a closet full of pet care products?" Lars asked, once he was steady on his feet and able to take in the concents of the supply closet.

Beside him, Lucia's face scrunched in clear confusion. Shelves on shelves of bottles, bright yellow and each marked with a label depicting some kind of nasty insect underneath a vivid red X, filled the majority of their vision. Lars' arms almost went slack under the weight of the bag. Was he carrying more of that stuff? Flea and tick repellent? Below the shelves was a stack of huge sacks that smelled a little too strongly of dried meat. Was that—?

"What's all this for?"

Lars gaped at Lucia. "You mean, you don't know?"

She shook her head, teeth gnawing her lip.

"Lucia? Lass, what are you doing in the closet?"

The two kids whirled around to find Lucia's uncle striding down the hall toward them. In a blur, Lucia sprinted to him, and, grabbing at his gauntlet clad arm, hung on for dear life. "Uncle Vilkas! Uncle Vilkas! Did you know about the pet medicine? Are those bags full of doggy treats? Oh! Is Mama getting me a puppy? Is that why she left for Markarth yesterday? Is she getting me a war dog so I can take him with me when I'm doing contracts? I've always wanted a puppy! The Circle always goes and visits the Jarl's kennels and I never get to go!"

"What—"

"I mean, why else do Mama and Papa always smell like they've been rolling around in a dog bed whenever they come back in before breakfast? Or when they're sneaking in during the middle of the night? Or when—"

"Lucia! What are you talking about, lass?" Vilkas, at last, cut in.

"Oh! Well, I was consalt— consulk—"

"Consulting," her uncle supplied.

"Yeah, consulting my beasty, beast, uh, animal guide before I came looking for Lars 'cause we're gonna go hunt goblins in his mom's vegetable garden when I found him in the Circles' closet, which I thought was weird because I thought this was where Papa was hiding Mama's New Life present — so maybe Papa is getting Mama the puppy? — but I didn't get to ask Lars why 'cause he was about to crash into the shelves, and then I'd have had to help him clean up the mess, and I'd rather go hunt the goblins than do chores, so . . ." Lucia rambled on, fast as a dartwing. All the while Vilkas nodded along to what she said, before at length raising a hand to hush her, his pale eyes resting on Lars. The young boy felt his knees start to wobble again.

"What's this, then?" Vilkas gestured to the bag.

"Uh, Njada Stonearm sent me down with it, sir. She um, she said to bring it to the Circles' supply closet . . ." By the end, Lars could barely hear his own voice, but whatever he heard seemed to placate Vilkas. The man took the satchel from Lars', the boy's thin arms falling limp with relief.

"I'll take care of this, Battle-Born. Lucia, you two run along," he said, holding the bag as easy in one hand as one might hold an apple. Lars couldn't help but feel a little envy at the dark warrior's ease and strength.

"Wait," Lucia's fingers twisted together around the hilt of her wooden sword. Lars hadn't even noticed she'd brought it. "I don't understand though! Is it a puppy? Is it Mama's? Will she share him? Uncle—"

Vilkas laughed. Lars never really heard the man laugh before. It was different from his brother's: deeper, richer, almost wolfish, whereas Farkas' laughter was a booming bark. The boy's brow creased at the comparisons, his eyes traveling to the inside of the closet again. There was more in there beside pet medicine and dog food, but before he could read anymore labels, Lucia's uncle shut the door and was ushering them down the hall a moment later.

"You'll know soon enough, lass. One day, when you're in the Circle yourself," he was saying.

"In the Circle? Myself?" Lucia's eyes glittered.

"Aye," Vilkas nodded. He pulled the basement door open and waved them up the stairs. "Then, and not a moment before. And lass?"

"Yes, Uncle?"

"While you're out hunting goblins, keep the little Battle-Born out of too much trouble, will you? Lad needs someone looking out for him." Lucia was already halfway up the stairs, but Vilkas could still reach to ruffle her dark ashy hair, and the girl preened under the attention.

Lars shifted about in embarrassment, but the Companion ignored him.

The two were halfway to his mother's garden, Lucia delivering a flash lecture on the nature of goblins, when a thought struck Lars, hitting him right between the eyes like Braith often did.

If the Companions didn't have any dogs, then why did he hear howling echo from Jorrvaskr at night?

[santigarcia]

Camping 🏕

Human Touch Part Eight

Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four | Part Five | Part Six | Part Seven

word count: 3.4k

rating: M for smut, dirty talk, hurt/comfort (pls don’t read unless ur 18+!)

summary: You and Nathan go on a camping trip in your backyard.

a/n: thank you all so much for reading this series! let me know what yall think! thank you to @punkpascal​​ and @sergeantkane​​​ as always!!

Nathan bolts upright in his sleep. His gasp for air wakes you. He’s up and out of the bed before you can ask him what’s wrong. His feet carry him fast across the floor into the bathroom. He doesn’t even close the door all the way before he’s turning on the shower and stepping inside.

You can’t help but worry, so you quietly get up and walk into the bathroom.

“Nathan?” no answer.

You turn the corner and see him sitting on the shower floor. He didn’t even fully undress. His boxers are sticking to his wet thighs. He’s covering his head with his arms.

“Nathan?” you touch the top of his head and he looks up at you. His eyes red from crying. “What’s going on? The dream again?”

He nods.

He struggles to turn his mind of, with you at his side it helps. But it’s not a permanent solution. Sometimes, most times it’s good. That mind of his needs to be working. But there’s a negative side. Nightmares plague his mind. Not often, but often enough it’s troubling to him.

His most frequent one involves you dying at the hand of his AI. Him stuck behind a glass door watching as you fall, covered in your own blood.

“Ok baby, stand up.” You reach for his arm and ‘pull’ him up. There’s no way you can pull him, but he stands up with you. You peel off his shorts, and you take off your sleep shirt. You shove him under the spray and grab his beard wash. You lather it up good and dig your fingers into his beard. He sighs heavily, he’s beginning to relax.

“You had to strip me naked to wash my beard?” he quips.

“There he is,” you grin and kiss his shoulder. “Let’s go for a walk tomorrow ok? Get some fresh air.”

“Yeah,” he nods. “I have those fucked dreams when I overwork.”

“I know,” you nod gently. “Fresh air will do you good. Get out of the house for the day.”

The next morning Nathan is up bright and early. He wakes you up with kisses before the sun’s come up.

“Rise and shine!” he bounces off the bed and throws a pair of your jeans on the bed.

“Someone’s in a good mood,” your eyes creak open and you snort out a soft laugh. “Do you need to go for a walk, boy?” you tease.

“Stop,” he shakes his head. “Maybe I’ll reconsider my plans of taking you up against a tree.”

“No please! Anything but that!” you giggle and throw the blankets back.

While you get dressed, he talks. He’s packed backpacks for you both, and he throws you a piece of fruit for breakfast.

“It might be chilly this morning, so take one of my jackets,” he looks at you softly. You have plenty of jackets, but he likes seeing you in his. “Pick your favorite,” he tells you and you walk right over to his closet and grab the one you always grab. It’s the warmest. It’s also his favorite so it smells like him.

“Ready?” he asks while you pull on his jacket.

“Ready,” you loop your arm with his and you step out the back door together.

He’s better at hiking than you are. If he could he’d sprint up the cliffs and see if he could beat his time. But he likes walking with you. It’s slower, but he can appreciate the view. It’s a gorgeous day.

“Are you just talking about my ass?”

“Maybe,” he grabs a handful causing you to squeal. “It really is a beautiful day.”

“It’s a little chilly for my taste though,” you shiver when a gust of wind blows. You shove your hands in the jacket pockets and you feel a small velvety box. “Nathan?” you pull it out. You stand frozen in the middle of the trail, he’s a few steps ahead of you when he turns.

“Open it.”

You click the box open to find a beautiful diamond ring.

“What’s this for?” you gasp softly.

“Well, you – kitten,” he smiles softly. “Will you marry me?” he comes closer taking the ring out of the box.

“Nathan…”

He puts the ring on your finger and kisses your fingertips. “I’m gonna need an answer kitten.”

“We’re married you goofball! We have been for like three weeks now!” you laugh.

“I know, but I wanted you to have this. I completely forget to take it with me when we got married.”

“How long have you had this?”

His eyes get a little wide and he clears his throat. You swear he’s blushing. His cheeks are pink from the wind, but that’s not it.

“Like a week….after…”

“After what?”

“We met,” he bites his lip, his face is really red now and it’s the sweetest thing you’ve ever seen.

“Nathan,” your throat feels tight and you put your hand on his chest. His heart is thudding rapidly under your palm. “You secret romantic.”

“I knew what I wanted,” he shrugs. “So, that’s a yes?”

You shake your head laughing, but you give him a resounding yes.

“Good, I was scared there for a minute,” he leans in to kiss your lips. Then again. Then one more time.

“What about you?”

“What about me?” he cocks his head.

“You need a ring!”

“I was going to make one.” He takes your hand in his and you start walking again. He tells you about the plan he has for his ring, and why he didn’t make yours. How he would have spent too long on the details and it was easier to buy one than to agonize over it. You smile listening to him ramble. He’s excited.

“Well, I love it,” you tell him, outstretching your hand to look at it. When you reached back for him, you took a wrong step and your foot slips between to rocks. “Nathan, my foot! It's stuck! I think I twisted my ankle!!” you scream louder than you mean to, but the pain and sudden falling scared you.

He whips around and reaches for you, “Ok, whoa, hold still for a second. Let me help you out.” He’s very calm, he doesn’t panic. His hands steadies your teetering body as checks you’re alright.

“I can’t move it!” you start to panic.

“Hey, whoa,” he gently cups your face. “Stay with me, I need you to stay calm. It’s gonna be ok. Let me help you.”

“Ok ok,” you lean into his touch. “It really hurts,” you hiss out in pain. “Sorry I ruined this hike.”

“Don’t worry about it, ok? I know it hurts, I’m gonna help,” he brushes your cheek. “It’s gonna be ok.” He kneels then to check your ankle his hands steady on your leg. “Put your hands on my shoulder- keep your balance.”

He carefully moves one of the rocks aside, and you cry out when your ankle is free.

“I know, baby,” he rubs his thumb gently over your swollen ankle. It’s dirty and there’s a scrape from the rock when you slipped in.

“What now?” you wince.

“Let’s see if you can put weight on it first. If not, I’ll carry you back.”

“You are not carrying me down this mountain Nathan Bateman,” you grunt trying to steady yourself. His hands are on you, keeping you steady. You have your hurt foot up; it hurts too much to step on it. “I- I don’t think I can put weight on it.”

“It’s ok, baby. Let’s get you home, ok?” he wraps his arm around your waist and holds your hand with his other. “Walk with me ok? One step at a time.”

He walks in tandem with you for the rest of hike down. His hands are strong in guiding you, making sure not to let you slip. You squeeze his arm tight when it gets slippery, but he never lets you fall.

“Did you just flex your arm?”

“Maybe,” his eyes flick over to yours and he looks forward quickly. “I coulda carried you, ya know.”

“Nathan-“

“Have a little faith, baby, I know you’ve checked me out when I lift,” he smirks. And yeah, he could carry you. But his arms would have fatigued from the length of the journey. You kiss his cheek; it means everything he cares enough to even think about that.

“You like when I check you out,” you bury your face in his shoulder.

“You know I do.” Smirk. “Gets me hot.”

“Ok focus up baby, don’t get hard out here when you can’t do anything about it,” you giggle.

“Hey, I’m trying to distract you,” he chuckles softly. “I can function with my cock a little hard, I’m not a teenager.”

“distract away then. If you think you can make it,” you tease him.

“I was looking forward to you letting me fuck you up against the tree at the top. Or at least let me finger fuck you. Shit, I’m addicted to your pussy.”

“That was what I wanted too, but then I slipped and well, here we are,” you groan softly. “Now I'm thinking about your fingers.”

“I’ll give you my fingers when we get home and get some ice on that ankle, how does that sound? If you’re feeling up for it,” he teases back.

Walking with him is nice, despite the pain in your ankle. He keeps the mood light and makes corny jokes and promises of pleasure when you get home.

“My ankle is hurt not the rest of me!” you snort. “I’m not looking forward to the ankle wrap. It’s really hurting.”

“I know, but it’ll help you heal baby. Will you let me at least carry you through the front door? Since we’re officially married now?”

“Nathan!” you laugh but you let him. He holds you for one second and then sets you down- just enough to cross over the front step.

“Alright, let’s get you taken care of yeah?”

You can’t help but cling to his jacket sleeve a little too tight. He turns when he feels your tug.

“I know, baby. It’s gonna be ok. You could put a little weight on it, so I don’t think it’s broken, it just needs to rest a little bit. I’ll get you some painkillers and then we’ll get that ankle wrapped.” He kisses your forehead, and he wraps his arms around you again to help you walk through the house.

“I'm sorry I'm being such a baby. Thank you for taking such good care of me.”

“It’s ok, cuz you’re my baby,” he chuckles softly. “I’m always gonna take care of you, baby. It’s part of the husband package.”

“I like the husband package,” you laugh, but the moment the words come out of your mouth you laugh for a different reason. “Don't say it, I know you're thinking it. Don't say it!”

“I know you like my package,” he pumps his eyebrows. “I’m sorry! You can’t just set me up like that and expect me not to say it!” he laughs out loud. You like when he laughs, he’s freer. More relaxed. You’d been worried you ruined the day by falling, but he doesn’t seem bothered at all.

“Ok,” you take a deep breath. You’re sitting on the edge of the bed. He’s carefully taken your shoes and socks off, and slowly peeled down your jeans. He was extra careful about your ankle. “I’m ready,” you tell him.

With warm water he cleans the dirt off and disinfects the scrape. You recoil but he’s stronger than you.

“I know kitten.” He kisses your knee and your shin before he starts wrapping your ankle. “Let me know if it’s too tight?”

You watch him as he wraps you up. His smooth fingertips brush your skin. It’s calming. He’s entirely focused on wrapping your ankle and you can’t help but smile at the way his brow creases in concentration.

Having him take care of you, and the image of him kneeling in front of your spread legs is getting you hot for him. The moment he’s done, you grab his hand.

“Nathan?” You put his hand between your legs, and he starts to rub you through your underwear. “I need you here.”

“Fuck, you went from concerned to horny so fast…”

“You’ve taken such good care of me and you mentioned fingerfucking- oh-“ you throw your head back on a sigh as his fingers press a little harder. He slides your panties down your legs and spread you open for him.

“I’ll definitely give you my fingers, baby. Still ok?” he looks up at you after he pulled your panties off your legs.

“I just can’t move my foot.”

“Try and sit still, let daddy work. Where do you need my mouth and fingers, baby? I wanna hear you say it.”

“I want your fingers in me.”

“Where kitten? In your mouth?” he slips two fingers in your mouth and you moan around him. He leans down and presses a gentle kiss to your clit, and you gasp around his fingers. “Fuck, I love the way you taste.”

“Wait,” you moan and pull his hand away. “Put my leg over your shoulder, it’s hard not to move it.”

He kisses your thigh as he lifts your thigh over his shoulder. He’s gentle not to aggravate your hurt ankle. But this position is much more comfortable.

“Better?”

“Yes,” you giggle, “please keep going.”

“Eager?” he teases and slips his fingers now into your heat. His mouth closes around your clit and he sucks hard while his fingers curl in deep. “Feel better baby?”

Your moan is your answer, and he smiles.

“Fuck, you taste amazing.”

“How many times have you eaten me out and you still say that?”

“Because it’s true,” he moans licking your heat. He moves his fingers so he can get a better taste, and he puts his fingers back in your mouth. He chokes out a groan when you suck on his fingers, his dick aching with need from feeling you.

“Right there!” you gasp around his fingers, and he repeats the motion with his lips. His beard tickles your thighs, and he chuckles softly when you hit your high.

“Feel better kitten?” he asks when he pulls off you. He gently lowers your leg and kisses your knee again. He unzips his pants, and you watch him pump his cock with his wet fingers.

“You need me baby?” you sit up, but he presses his hand to your chest. He gently pushes you back down.

“Let me take care of you? Yeah?” he stands to lower his pants and he lines himself up with your entrance. He stays standing while you lay on your back. His hands grab your thighs, and he pushes in slowly. You both groan as he slides in all the way. His hand stays on your injured leg, so you won’t move it, but he lets you wrap your other leg around him. His free thumb presses onto your sensitive clit and he doesn’t stop touching you until you’re pulsing around him. He knows how to drag it out, and he has the endurance to do so, but right now he wants to come fast and hard. So that’s what he does.

He moans louder than you when hits his high.

“Nathan, you came so hard,” you giggle watching him. “You’re turned on by the wedding ring, aren’t you?”

“Fuck,” his cock jumps again inside you. Your laugh mixes with a moan.

“You are full of surprises,” you sit up and press a kiss to his shoulder.

“And you’re full of me,” he hums. He kisses the top of your head before he pulls out. “You want me to draw you a bath baby girl?”

“I’d love that,” you sigh.

“I’ve got something I need to work on, so I’ll let you bathe in peace yeah?”

“You better not- Nathan! You need an off day!”

“It’s not what you think woman!” he kisses your cheek. He adjusts himself in his pants and leaves to start you a bath. He helps you in the tub, and he disappears to work on his secret project.

You soak for a long while, it feels amazing and soothes your aches. He wanders back in a little while later just in time to help you out, so you won’t fall.

“I have a surprise for you,” he says grabbing a towel and wrapping it tight around you. He sets down a stack of clothes for you, which includes some fresh underwear, some sweatpants, and one of his shirts.

“What have you been up to?”

“Get dressed and you’ll see,” he smiles. He helps you step into your clothes and it pricks at your heart how gentle he is.

Once you’re ready, he guides you down the hall to one of the rooms in the house that’s not being used for anything currently. He covers your eyes with his hands and when he moves them, you see there’s a tent set up on the floor with sleeping bags. There’s a little lantern on the floor illuminating the space, and you see a package of marshmallows and chocolate for s’mores. It was your original plan before you slipped and fell.

“Nathan!” you gasp looking at all of it.

“I thought I’d bring the campsite to you,” he smiles and motions for you to come sit on one of the sleeping bags.

He walks over to a laptop he has set up and you start to scold him, but he pouts.

“Just one thing, let me do just one thing!” he laughs and punches in a quick code. The ceiling then lights up with stars and a soft hue of Aurora Borealis. “I wanted to do this on the deck, but it’s raining. Guess it ended up better we were here after all.”

“It’s perfect,” you smile.

“Now,” he sits down next to you. “How do you want your marshmallows?”

“How are you cooking them??”

He flicks out a lighter and holds it under a marshmallow he has ready on a wire coat hanger.

“Nathan-“

“How do you want your marshmallow?” he’s rotating the stick over the lighter.

“Like you.”

“Like me?”

“Golden brown and gooey on the inside.”

He closes his eyes and clicks off the lighter. He sighs and looks at you with a cocked brow for a solid 20 seconds.

“I fuckin’ hate how adorable that was even though that was a terrible joke babe. One Nathan marshmallow coming right up-“

“So, you don’t deny it.”

“Deny what?” he asks while he starts cooking the marshmallow.

“That you’re gooey on the inside.”

“I am perfectly golden brown,” he grins, “but yeah ok I’m gooey for you. Only you though.”

He makes your s’more and hands it to you while he starts on his own.

“I like mine burnt to a crisp,” he states, sticking his tongue in the corner of his mouth while he burns the marshmallow.

“Please don’t burn the house down,” you tell him while you bite into the sweet treat.

“There’s a sprinkler system, it’s fine.”

He makes his s’more and eats it happily. You watch him devour it and you can’t help but laugh at him.

“Good?” you giggle.

“I haven’t had one of these in forever,” he says shoving his hand in the bag to get another marshmallow out.

Before he starts to cook it, you lean up and kiss his cheek. He turns to look at you, his eyes soft.

“Thank you for taking care of me today. And for all this,” you cuddle into him.

“It’s what I’m supposed to do,” he says. “That reminds me-“ he reaches into his sweats pocket and pulls out a little ring. “Made this too,” he hands it to you.

“What’s it made of?” You ask holding it in your palm. It’s silver.

“A leftover piece from one of the AI. A reminder.” He holds his hand out to you, telling you to slide the ring on his finger. He kisses your lips; his kisses taste sweet. There’s chocolate in the corner of his mouth.

“I love you,” you tell him when you pull apart. “Even though you have marshmallow stuck on your beard.”

“I love you,” he replies, “even though you made a really lame joke,” he winks.

You curl back into him as he starts again on his next s’more. Besides from your twisted ankle, this night couldn’t be more perfect.

This time he just pops the marshmallow in his mouth. His mouth is full, but he still asks, “So round two in the tent?”

tagging: @pascal-isaac​​​, @wasicskosgirl​​​, @velvetmel0n​​​, @huliabitch​​​, @shadow-assassin-blix​​​, @writefightandflightclub​​​, @aellynera​​​, @softboywriting​​​, @veuliee2​​​, @spider-starry​​​, @mylifeliterally​​​, @millllenniawrites​​​, @ntlmundy​​​, @foxilayde, @writingletterstothefire​​​, @mandoplease​​​, @anetteaneta​​​, @feelmyroarrrr​​​, @artsymaddie​​​, @shakespeareanwannabe​​​, @poedameronsbeard​​​, @deanfanatic67​​​​, @magicsuperheroes​​​​, @phoenixhalliwell​​​​, @that-one-weird-one​​​​, @mariesackler, @yourbucky084​​​​, @woakiees​

[svnflowervol666]

Crisp Trepidation (Harry Styles x fem!Reader)

Word Count: 5.2k

Warnings: angst, mentions of smut, pregnancy

Author’s Note: Here she is! The promised “Y/N is pregnant again before she’s ready” fic. I ended up liking this a lot more than I thought I would, so I hope you all do as well! Take care and TPWK. 

“Well, well, well. If it isn’t my favorite tiny human,” the pediatrician chimed as she kicked the door to the small examination room shut with her sneaker.

“You must say that to all of the parents that you see,” Y/N blushed, unable to hide the smile that tugged on the corners of her lips.

“I don’t, actually. I’m being honest when I tell you she is the cutest baby I have ever seen in my life. Those curls! Are you kidding me?”

She padded over to the miniature exam table to get a better look at the infant that was lying contently on her back and chewing on her pudgy albeit still tiny fingers. 

“Let’s take a look at how you’re doing, sweet pea.”

The doctor, Lisa, lifted the stethoscope that was looped around her neck and placed it correctly into her ears. Listening to the baby’s heartbeat to check for any abnormalities, she couldn’t help but give a sympathetic frown when the tiny girl under her tensed up from the cool touch of the metal.

“Nurse’s notes say she’s put on quite a bit. She’s finally caught up to her age group in weight. I’m assuming breastfeeding is going better for you both now?”

She lovingly squeezed the extra chub around her thighs.

“Yeah. We don’t really use bottles anymore. Finally got her to latch on and now it seems like all she wants to do it eat,” Y/N chuckled.

“Good! That’s good. There’s nothing wrong with formula like we talked about, but it’s even better to breastfeed when you can. Is she hitting the milestones? Rolling over? Propping her head up? Babbling a bit?”

“Babbling, definitely. She keeps us up sometimes because we can hear her talking to herself through the monitor at night,” Y/N poked her tongue out at her daughter in an attempt to get her to smile.

“Having a bit of trouble propping herself up though. She can only do it for a little bit and then she’ll give up. She’s got Harry’s giant head, though, so I’m sure it’s a bit of a struggle.”

Lisa laughed loudly at the mention of her patient’s father, knowing good and well what Y/N meant. She scribbled notes onto the file attached to her clipboard, checking off the baby’s progress and coinciding what the nurse that came in before her documented about her length and weight.

“She’ll get to it eventually. All babies are different. She seems to be coming along quite nicely, though. Nothing abnormal or anything to fuss about. A perfectly healthy six-month-old in my book.”

Y/N sighed in relief, though she knew there was nothing to worry over to begin with.

“How’s mum doing? You taking care of yourself, too? You’re just as important as baby.”

“When I can. Harry’s really good with her. He’ll take over when he sees me struggling, but it seems like she only wants me these days. Think I might be coming down with something, though. I’ve been feeling awful for a few weeks. Like I got hit by a train. I keep reminding myself to go get checked out, but I always get distracted taking care of her,” Y/N gestured to her daughter that was now drooling onto the parchment liner and staring up at the ceiling as if there was something ornately interesting about the popcorn texture that had been stippled onto it.

“When you say, ‘hit by a train,’ what do you mean? I can examine you here if you’d like. As long as it’s nothing serious, I can send you something off to the pharmacy.”

Lisa re-fastened the snaps on the infant’s onesie, making sure not to pinch her chunky legs and placed her back into her mother’s lap.

“Ummm,” Y/N began, “Just extra drained, I guess? Kinda nauseous. I’ve been getting migraines a lot and even when I do get a good night’s rest, I still feel like I could go back to bed for the rest of the day. Maybe I’m just exhausted, I don’t really know. But it just feels a bit different than being worn out like I have been before.”

She could see the wheels in Lisa’s head turning, noting each of her symptoms and trying to align them in a path that would lead her to the root of the problem.

“Can I ask you something that might be a bit personal?”

Y/N nodded, rubbing her fingers absentmindedly along the bridge of her daughter’s socked foot.

“Have you and Harry been intimate since she was born?”

She was taken aback by the question, not understanding where Lisa was going with this or why it was relevant.

“Umm,” Y/N stuttered, feeling a static-y surge of embarrassment travel up her neck and onto the sides of her face, “Yeah. We have.”

A whole fucking lot ever since I’ve been cleared for it, she thought, but kept to herself.

“And can you tell me when your last menstrual cycle ended?”

Then it clicked. She genuinely couldn’t recall her most recent period and even the thought of what Lisa was alluding to made her stomach twist into thousands of tiny knots.

“I- I don’t know. I’ve been so busy with her I don’t even really think about what’s going on with me half of the time.”

Y/N tried to make excuses, anything to avoid the obvious, but judging from the quizzical look on her daughter’s pediatrician’s face, she knew exactly where this was going.

“There’s no way,” she whispered, “I can’t be.”

Lisa’s face dropped, now tender and apologetic when she realized that this was news Y/N was not ecstatic to hear.

“I know I’m a pediatrician, so that’s obviously the first thing my mind goes to, but can we at least get you to take a test? That way we’ll know for sure?”

//

Harry came home to a quiet house. It wasn’t unusual, but seeing as it was well after six o’clock in the evening and his wife wasn’t in the kitchen making the curry that she’d been oh-so so excited about earlier in the week and swaying along to the playlist they’d curated together as she stirred a pot filled with vegetables was. Their grocery store had been out of coconut milk for several weeks and she’d nearly tackled him to the ground out of excitement when he’d come home from the grocery store with it the night before, so he found it awfully strange that she’d yet to start cooking it. Had he not seen her car in the driveway, he probably wouldn’t have even suspected her to be home.

He checked the living room first, and it was desolate apart from the playmat on the floor that was littered with a few of his daughter’s favorite rattles and teethers. Her coat and purse were abandoned haphazardly on the couch, almost as if she tossed it aside in a hurry to get somewhere.

“Baby?”

Nothing.

His head peaked into the nursery, stealthily and quietly in preparation to walk in on his daughter taking her scheduled nap before her actual bedtime. He’d gotten good at hushing his footfalls to almost complete silence as to not wake her, having made that mistake more than a handful of times. 

And he was right. There she was, sprawled out in her crib with her arms outstretched over her head like a tiny starfish. Her chubby cheeks were smushed against her bicep, drawing her lips open the tiniest bit so that Harry could see the tops of her fleshy, pink gums and the barely-there nub of her first tooth peeking through. More than anything, he wanted to wake her up - lift her from the plush mattress and cuddle her close, shower her with kisses and tickle her with his scruff that was teetering on the line of becoming a full blown beard to hear those baby squeals he adored so much, but he needed to find Y/N first.

She had to be in their bedroom, he thought to himself. Maybe she was taking advantage of their baby girl napping to also get some rest. She had been rather exhausted lately. Maybe she’d had a rough day and was relaxing in the clawfoot, porcelain bathtub that had been the selling point of the home they now lived in. Or maybe she was keeping to herself peacefully somewhere else in the house and she was being so quiet that he just couldn’t hear her.

Turns out he was right again. Like he had done with the nursery, he held the wooden door tightly in his grip to keep the hinges from creeking and pressed it open gently. The room was completely dark, but he could make out the lump underneath the duvet on their king-sized bed as his wife. 

Good. She was sleeping. 

He padded across the hardwood floor, still being as quiet as he could until he crossed the threshold of the bathroom. There, he rid himself of the uncomfortable clothes he’d been wearing all day. Curse these professional business meetings about his tour schedule that forced him to dress nicely. 

All throughout the meetings, he wanted nothing more than to be home with his wife and baby, cuddling the afternoon away and watching shitty reality television while his daughter cooed and grunted and gurgled in her baby voice that he loved so much and could listen to all day. Maybe it was the fact that he’d been having to partake in these boring work meetings a lot more lately, which caused him to miss even the smallest aspects about his everyday life with his family like changing diapers or checking the baby monitor eight hundred times throughout the day to make sure his daughter was still breathing. Or maybe it was the understanding that by this time next year, he’d be halfway across the globe and physically unable to hold her in his arms. Perhaps he’d just been getting sentimental, but it was an unpleasant feeling nonetheless.

His thoughts were interrupted when he deposited his rings into the dish he kept on the counter and he heard a quite yet still prominent sniffle among the clattering of metal against the glass dish.

“Honey? ‘S that you?” Harry peaked his head out from beyond the bathroom door. 

He saw her body shift under the covers, but she gave no response. So he called out again.

“Ye’ sick? Can hear ye’ snifflin’.”

Nothing.

Pivoting back around to the inside of the bathroom, he quickly shut off the light and carried himself over to her side of the bed where he could see her properly. Her face was tucked into her chin and all that was visible to him was the top of her head.

“Hey,” Harry cooed, petting what he could reach of her hair and speaking even gentler than he had been, “What’s wrong?”

And that’s when he heard it - an almost inaudible choking sound of Y/N trying to catch her breath that immediately let him know she wasn’t sick. She had been crying.

“Whoa, baby,” he was already pulling the covers back with force, honestly not caring whether or not she minded the intrusion.

“Tell me what’s going on.”

She was emotionless when he saw her face, her puffy, bloodshot eyes and swollen lips the only indicator that she was upset. She didn’t even react to Harry tugging her head out from where it had been buried in the covers, simply rolling onto her back to stare idly at the ceiling.

“Y/N,” he called for her again, this time much more stern, “You’ve got to talk t’ me.”

She took several deep breaths through her nose, allowing her lungs to fill to their maximum capacity before exhaling with a sigh. Harry could have sworn she was sucking all of the oxygen out of the room along with his patience each time she did so. 

After what felt like ages, she parted her lips to speak.

“I went to the doctor today.” 

“Yeah? For the six-month check up, right?” Harry asked, not seeing why that was important but his mind quickly went to the worst scenario possible despite having just seen his daughter sleeping peacefully in her crib.

“‘S she alright?” his voice now demanding urgency in the delivery of her response.

“She’s fine,” she quickly dismissed him, internally kicking herself for making Harry worry.

“I was telling Lisa about how sick I’ve been lately and she -,” Y/N gulped and rubbed her knuckles against her tired eyes, bracing herself for whatever events unfolded after she said what she was about to say.

“She, umm. She made me take a pregnancy test.”

Now it was Harry’s turn to be speechless. He stared at her with furrowed brows and his mouth slightly agape. His palms suddenly felt clammy against the white sheets that they rested on and his stomach felt like it had turned in on itself from how badly it was churning. Of all of the things he had expected to be wrong with her, this was certainly the last on the list. 

“And?” he asked after a solid sixty seconds of staring at her and saying absolutely nothing, though he already knew the answer.

“Ten weeks.”

Silent tears now spilled over her eyes and down past her temples. She couldn’t even be bothered to wipe them, instead letting them dampen a small patch of hair on either side of her head. Pregnancies weren’t supposed to be sad, but somehow, she had barely been able to stop crying since she left the pediatrician’s office.

“How,” Harry whispered, moreso to himself than to her.

“I think you know how babies are made, H,” Y/N quipped.

“‘S not what I meant,” Harry fired back just as quickly, “It’s just...She’s still so little.”

He thought of his daughter asleep in the next room. She was the most perfect thing he’s ever seen and on the day that she was born, he knew he wanted nothing more than to fill his and Y/N’s house with as many curly-headed babies as he could fit beds in each room. He just hadn’t expected that his only child’s first birthday present was going to be the gift of being a big sister. 

It was all too sudden.

“I just don’t know how I didn’t see it sooner. I mean,” Y/N raised her arms above her head before huffing and letting them fall to her sides, “I guess I was just so caught up with the baby that I hadn’t even had a second to think about what’s going on with me. It’s like I don’t even matter anymore and I-”

“Hey, hey now. None of tha’,” Harry shushed her and curled up next to her frame as she began to sob.

He tucked her head into his neck, hugging her shoulders tightly as if he was trying to hold the pieces of her together before she shattered. His mind was running a mile per minute. It killed him to see her like this, killed him to be in this situation. The last time they had found out this news, there were happy tears - tears of joy and celebration and relief after having tried for what felt like years. Never had he imagined that the next time they were presented with the very same news, that there would be tears of sadness.

Her voice was muffled against his now wrinkled blouse, but he could still make out what she was saying beneath her blubbers.

“I can’t do this.”

“Wha’ do yeh mean, pretty? Of course yeh can. I’ll move some things around and we’ll make it work. We’ll be alright,” he ran his hand up and down her back in attempt to soothe her.

“That’s the problem, Harry.”

He lifted his chin from here it was resting on the top of her head to look down at her.

“What?”

“You have to move everything around. You’ve already been gone for almost two years. This sets you back at least another. You can’t keep pushing shit back.”

“Erm,” Harry paused to break away from her and sit up straight against the headboard, “Yes I can? I couldn’t care less about tour...Did yeh think I was gonna leave yeh here on your own with a fuckin’ newborn?”

“No. I didn’t think you were just going to leave,” she almost sounded annoyed, which didn’t sit quite right with Harry.

“But do you see what’s happening? Everything is fucked.”

His voice wasn’t so calm anymore.

“No, Y/N. I honestly don’t. I mean I know this is all happening much earlier than we expected, but what else is there t’ do? Tour can wait.”

“People are counting on you, Harry. Millions of them. We’re not the only ones that matter in this situation.”

“Will you please tell me what yeh gettin’ at, because I’m starting t’ get upset.” 

Harry’s lips were pressed in a thin, straight line and his nostrils flared with every breath. Why was she being like this? 

“I don’t know what I’m fucking getting at. I’m just overwhelmed."

“And yeh think I’m not? ‘M tryin’ my best to keep it together for your sake if yeh haven’t noticed,” it almost condescending how the words rolled off his tongue.

“Oh, excuse me,” Y/N laughed sarcastically.

“Didn’t realize you were the one carrying our fucking child. Didn’t realize you’re the one that has to grow all big and gross and swollen and be in pain every fucking day to the point where walking to the bathroom feels like a fucking marathon. Didn’t realize you’re the one that has to push a football-sized human out of your vagina and just lay there while a doctor you’ve never seen before stitches you up because it literally tore your insides. Didn’t realize you-”

“For fuck’s sake, I get it!” Harry was yelling now.

“It’s not the same and I’m sorry for suggesting tha’ it was. ‘M not sure what it is that yeh want me t’ say though. I’m sorry? ‘S that it? Sorry for gettin’ yeh pregnant? Sorry for havin’ a job that were well fuckin’ aware of when yeh met me? Sorry that I do everything I possibly can to keep you and the baby and everyone else on the fuckin’ planet happy?”

“You’re being an asshole, Harry,” she was just as angry as he was, scowl evident on her face even in their dimly lit bedroom.

“And you’re not makin’ any fuckin’ sense! Are yeh tellin’ me yeh don’t want t’ keep it? ‘Cos I never fuckin’ said that yeh have to.”

The thought had crossed her mind on the drive home from the doctor’s office, but the feeling left as quickly as it approached. She’d taken one look at her daughter in her car seat through the rear view mirror happily sucking on her teether and knew without a doubt that she couldn’t.

She felt a tidal wave of fresh, salty tears peaking and about to crash over her.

“I don’t want - fuck,” she put her head in her hands. 

“I just-,” and then she broke.

Sobs wracked her body, making her shoulders shake up and down. She wasn’t even sure how she had any more left to get out, but it just kept coming. Over and over and over again until it felt like she was being suffocated and that no one was going to save her. She felt Harry’s hands move to rest on her shoulder blades and heard gentle, cooing-like sounds coming out of his mouth, but she couldn’t make out what he had said over the sounds of her own wailing.

“Baby, it’s okay. Just breathe f’ me. It’s alri-”

His attempt at subduing her was cut short by shrill cries coming from the digital monitor that sat on their nightstand. Harry peeked over his shoulder at the screen, seeing that their daughter had woken from her nap and was now demanding the attention of her parents. He couldn’t help but wince as he watched her socked feet flail around in the crib; it was without a doubt that the screaming match they’d just encountered had stirred her from her sleep, and that hurt him just as much as it did to see his wife crying right in front of him.

Y/N heard it too, somehow. Perhaps it was because she’d been trained to react to every minute sound that she made and could recognize her cries from a mile away in the paralyzing fear that something was wrong with her or maybe it was because she looking for any and every excuse to get Harry’s hands off of her so she could get away from him and escape the argument they’d just had without making the situation any worse than it already was. Regardless, she turned her own neck to peer at the monitor and sighed heavily.

“I’ll go, Y/N. Just stay here.”

“No. I got it. It’s after seven. She’s probably hungry.”

She shrugged Harry’s hands away from her shoulders like his touch physically pained her and climbed over his body and off the bed without another word, not even giving Harry the chance to take her hand and help her over the edge of the mattress. He knew she wasn’t going anywhere but down the hall and into the nursery, but he couldn’t help but feel like she was walking away from everything.

//

Y/N stared her daughter while she nursed. She started from the top of her head that was riddled with chocolate brown curls and worked her way down to the tips of her toes that would occasionally flex themselves out of habit. Her hair? Undoubtedly Harry’s. Her nose? A perfect, narrow line down her face that led to a button-shaped tip akin to Harry’s. Her lips? The same almost inhuman shade of bubblegum pink as Harry’s. Surprisingly, the only physical trait she’d inherited from her mother were the color of her eyes, which was funny considering that was the one thing she’d wanted Harry to pass down to their daughter; Y/N had always hated hers.

She was content, suckling away at Y/N’s breast - her cries of hunger long forgotten. The infant hadn’t even flinched when a few more of Y/N’s silent, cold tears spilled over and left small wet spots where her onesie rested over her belly. She had no idea that her parents were upset with each other and she had no idea that in a little more than six months time, she’d be a big sister and there would be two babies fighting for their attention. Y/N was also clueless, but only as to how she was going to take care of a newborn and a one-year-old simultaneously. She’d always thought she’d have more time than this - more time to spend with just her daughter and Harry before they decided to have another, but just like her eyes, things always had a funny way of never working out in her favor.

Three soft knocks on the wall withdrew her from her thoughts and she was greeted by her husband idling in the doorway like he needed permission before entering a room in his own house. He had changed out of his dress clothes and was now clad in his favorite pair of joggers that were permanently stained with spit-up. Y/N had tried everything under the sun to get the spots out, but he’d been persistant on not throwing them out.

“Can I come in?”

His voice was barely above a whisper and much calmer than when he’d been yelling at her about twenty minutes ago. He still hesitated crossing the threshold even after Y/N had given him a skeptical nod, but allowed his bare feet to pad over the plush carpet as he joined her on the loveseat in the far corner of the nursery.

He watched their daughter just as Y/N had, taking in her tranquil state as her fingers brushed reflexively against the underside of Y/N’s breast. He’d never been able to pry his eyes away every time he watched her nurse. There were no ulterior motives behind it, nothing sexual or erotic whatsoever. It amazed him each and every time, how Y/N was able to provide their child with everything that they needed to grow with only her body. At first, Y/N hated that Harry loved sitting in on her feedings, feeling exposed and unattractive despite Harry’s continuous affirmations that it was the most beautiful thing he’d ever had the privilege of witnessing, but over time she’d grown fond of it.

“‘M sorry for yelling at yeh,” Harry started.

“It was uncalled for.”

Y/N sniffled, rubbing her swollen eyes with the back of her free hand that wasn’t supporting her daughter’s back as she held her.

“It’s okay. It was a lot to take in. I’m sorry for yelling at you too.”

She couldn’t quite look him in the eye just yet, but she was slowy but surely getting there.

“’S not okay, actually. You’re right. I’m not the one havin’ the baby. It’s you that’s got t’ do all the hard stuff. Should’ve listened to you more.”

He shifted towards her on the cushions, afraid to touch her just yet but still yearning to be closer to her.

The best Y/N could muster was a quiet, “Thank you,” before she busied herself by attempting to run her fingers through her baby’s hair and untangle the mess she’d created while she was sleeping.

“Can I hold you? Please?”

Now was when she turned to face him and she was met with eyes that were just as red-rimmed as hers. She had heard the bathroom sink running for an abnormally long amount of time and a hard, frustrated pounding against the wall shortly after she’d gone off in the nursery to feed the baby, which meant he must have been trying to muffle the sounds of his own crying when she left their bedroom.

Y/N didn’t say anything, only shifting her weight onto one side so Harry could easily lift her onto his lap in one swift movement without disturbing their daughter. He tucked her shoulder into his neck and softly kissed her skin and his hands moved to mimic hers so they were both holding the baby that was nodding off again in their arms. She found herself relaxing into his loose grip, her head tilting to the side to rest against his. 

“I love you so much. Yeh know that? I know it’s difficult always having t’ think about everyone else, but you’re what’s important t’ me. I’d drop everything for you if I had to. End it all today.”

“No, you wouldn’t,” she refuted, but there was no malice in her tone.

“I wouldn’t let you.”

“Well, just know that I would if yeh wanted me to. I’ve thought about it a thousand times. I want t’ be here f’ you. For her. Don’t want t’ miss anything. I finally got my shot at bein’ normal when I met you and I hate myself for even thinkin’ about going back on the road and leavin’ yeh.”

“Don’t,” Y/N paused to press a chaste kiss to Harry’s cheek.

“You’re a good person, Harry. A good dad. A good husband. Please don’t ever think that you’re not.”

She felt moisture pool in the dips of her collarbones where Harry’s chin lied, but she didn’t acknowledge it.

“I’ll be okay. Sorry if I freaked you out earlier. Think I just need some time to get used to it all. Just wasn’t expecting Lisa to drop the ball that I was pregnant when all I was expecting was for her to tell me that our kid is in the 99th percentile for weight and then send me on my way.”

This got a chuckle out of him, almost causing him to choke on his tears. He quickly rubbed the sleeves of his jumper against his eyes to dry up any remaining wet spots on his face. 

“She is pretty chunky, isn’t she?” Harry jested while thumbing over his daughter’s rounded tummy.

After a moment of admiring their little chunk of a baby, with her milk-drunk eyes and puckered lips, Harry spoke again.

“Two babies,” he huffed.

“Two babies,” she repeated.

His hands moved to caress Y/N’s stomach. She clearly wasn’t showing yet considering that neither of them had even known she was pregnant up until today, but he still held her like her belly was the size of a watermelon and he was waiting anxiously to feel a hand or a foot press up against his palm.

“Might be kinda nice. They can share everything and we’ll only have t’ have one birthday party ‘cos they’ll be born around the same time. They’ll go t’ the same school and probably have the same friends. Kinda like twins.”

“Based on the fact that you’ve already picked out the outfit this one is wearing on her first birthday that’s still six months away, I highly doubt you’ll stay keen on them sharing a party.”

Harry pursed his lips and blushed, recalling the garment he’d spotted during one his fittings with Gucci that he vowed to have for his daughter.

“Guess you’re right about tha’.”

Their banter was interrupted by a grueling rumbling sound coming from Y/N’s stomach that Harry could feel throughout his entire body.

“Jesus, Y/N. You hungry too? When’s the last time you ate?”

“Uhh...this morning I think?” Y/N sighed.

“Couldn’t stomach anything when I got home.”

Harry’s heart dropped when he thought of how distraught she’d been all day while he was gone and with everything in him, he’d wished he would have postponed his meetings to go to check up with her and they could have found out together, but it’s possible that the topic might not have even come up if he had been in the room with her and the pediatrician.

“Found coconut milk at the store the other day, remember? Want me t’ make that curry for yeh?”

“Ohh, yes please,” she immediately purked up at the thought of warm spices and rice.

“Starting to wonder if curry was a craving now that I think about it. Didn’t we have it, what? Three nights in a row a while back?”

Harry giggled as he reluctantly removed Y/N from his lap and stood up from the sofa.

“Thought tha’ was a bit weird that yeh wanted it so badly, but I didn’t dwell on it too much.”

“She’s going back down. If you give me a minute, I’ll come downstairs and help you,” Y/N said, pulling up the straps of her tank top after realizing her daughter had long since forgotten about her breast and was conked out in her arms.

“‘Ve got it, mama” Harry quickly refuted.

“Take a bath or somethin’ and I’ll bring it up t’ yeh when it’s done.”

“Okay.”

Y/N couldn’t fight the grin growing on her face at the nickname Harry used that she still hadn’t gotten used to.

When she placed their daughter soundly in her crib, Y/N’s fingers stayed put from where they sat on the railing as she caught herself staring at the sleeping infant once more. Though she’d felt like her world was caving in on her just a handful of hours ago, the pieces were all coming back together now. 

Of course, she wanted more children with Harry. And now she was getting what she wanted. Just like he’d told her back in the bedroom, it wasn’t ideal, but they’d make it work. They always did. 

With two babies.

[kbandtrash]

SKZ Mafia Bullet Point

~Megan~

Masterlist

Word Count: 1.6k

Jisung!

Neither of you were actually part of the mafia

You were just two classmates who weren’t really familiar with each other at all

Until one fateful day when Changbin, a mafia boi, who had been flirting with you for ages, cornered you in an alley

He seemed a little confused

“You’re the one they’re after?” he said with a frown

“Who’s after me???”

He bit his lip, pulling out his gun slowly

“My family, can’t imagine why though.”

“Then why don’t you let me go?” you said, trying hard not to freak out

He shuffled his feet and checked his watch, then aimed the gun at your chest

He had an unsure little smile on his lips, almost apologetically

“C-come with me, and I won’t kill yo-”

“HEY!” Jisung yelled from down the alleyway

He was running toward you like a squirrel in a tree

His fluffy hair had butterfly clips and he looked anything but intimidating

Changbin sighed in relief

“Alright, I surrender, see you guys later!”

He yeeted out of there, throwing his gun down and grinning sheepishly

Jisung reached you and bent down, breathing hard

“Did he… hurt you?” he asked with a deep breath

You shook your head, smiling

“That was horrifying but at least you saved me?”

He grinned, honestly looking like a squirrel

A very handsome squirrel

“Glad to help.”

You composed yourself, checking that you were okay for real

“You seem familiar?” he said with a raised eyebrow

“Uh… I’m Lee Y/N, if that’s any help?”

He went red

“You’re Minho’s little sister?”

Basically Jisung is good friends with your brother but they’re boys so Minho never let you guys meet

But Jisung is in your class so all of Minho’s efforts are ruined

“Speaking of Minho… I should probably get home,” you said, pressing your lips together

Jisung nodded

“I’ll take you home, and maybe say hi to-”

“NO!” you shouted nervously. “I mean… uh, Minho would freak out if he saw us together, you know?”

Jisung nodded again, hanging his head

“I’ll follow you, then.”

You looked at him strangely

“You we’re just threatened with a gun, and you heard Changbin. His family is after you. They might be everywhere. I’ll just follow you at a fair distance…”

He met your eyes and swallowed

Your eyes were sparkling

“Thanks, then,” you said with a smile

“N-no problem.”

So you head home

Nothing happens

Then a few minutes after you get home a knock comes at the door

Minho yells from his room: “DON’T GET IT, IT’S MY- A GUY!”

You knew it was. It’s Jisung. You laughed and hurried to your room, closing the door, because Minho would kill you if you were outside where they would be

But that evening a knock came at your door

You slowly opened it, confused

Minho stood there with a big frown

“We were playing truth or dare.”

You laughed at him before he continued

“He dared me to invite you to hang with us, and if I don’t do it I have to tell him who I like, plus I won’t get my pringles back.”

You laughed even harder

But because you were nice and were kind of interested in the funny, nice squirrel, you went out and played video games with them

Jisung was HILARIOUS. And you learned that among friends he was known as a quokka. And you were even more interested in him

Hanging with him and Minho it felt like he was being himself

It made your heart flutter at how cool he was

The next time someone looked at a clock it was really late and dark outside

Jisung had walked over and Minho had his license so he drove the quokka home

(Jisung had declined the offer, but Minho refused to let him go outside where there might be dangerous gang activity)

You were home alone

A soft, quick knock came at your door

You almost missed it

Who could it be? you thought

You looked through the window and saw Changbin standing there with a few other guys

Your heart dropped

Another set of louder knocks came

You ran to your room, shutting the door

The first thing that came to your mind was you had to call the police

And then you would text Minho to let him know

The knocks turned into pounding

“Yes, hello, these guys are at my house, one of them threatened me with a gun earlier…”

After you called the police you sent this text:

There are bad guys outside right now, I called the police, so don’t come back and stay safe. I’ll be okay.

Then you heard the front door open.

In Minho’s car, he was on a slightly busy road (who knows why it was so busy so late at night)

When you texted him, he was too busy being a safe driver to look

Jisung looked at it

“Hyung, Y/N’s in trouble.”

Minho was stuck on a road where it would be difficult to head back home quickly

“Hyung, pull over.”

Minho was freaking out

Jisung was shaking, trying to reassure Minho

They both knew if either of them drove in the state of worry they were in, it wouldn’t be safe

So Jisung ran.

He ran like his life depended on it to your house

It felt like he would be too late

He arrived, hearing police sirens in the distance

“The dang station is too far away from here”

He did the dumbest thing he’s ever done and walked right into the house, where four guys with guns were shouting and pounding on doors

They hadn’t found your door yet

Changbin saw Jisung first

The quokka felt his heart drop when he saw a gun aimed at him

But he threw all fear for himself aside and ran right at Changbin, pushing him onto the ground

Changbin was crying, asking why in the world he had to be part of a mafia

Jisung took his gun from him, saying “I’m sorry, hyung, just please give up.”

Then he scampered away and slammed the edge of the gun on a guy’s head

The guy flopped to the floor, out cold

Who knew I could do that??? Jisung wondered

Then he spotted a frying pan

He laughed at himself but grabbed it anyway, heading toward the upstairs, where the other two guys and your room were

One of the guys was prepared, firing a bullet, but missing

Jisung used his adrenaline to smack him in the face before another bullet fired

When Jisung looked around again, he couldn’t find the fourth guy

But he could hear you screaming

“Y/N!”

He sprinted to your room and without thinking slammed open the door, unprepared

A bullet bit right across his shoulder, causing him to shout

He stumbled, beginning to shake at the sight of you

Jisung recognized the guy from somewhere

Then it hit him when the guy smirked

“Johnny Suh?” Jisung squeaked out

Johnny shrugged maliciously and turned back to you

You were on the floor, pushed up against the wall, looking sick and determined

The quiet police sirens were now much louder

Johnny, looking slightly rushed, pulled his knife on you

Jisung had dropped his frying pan but his other hand (uninjured) still held the gun he took earlier

He had no idea how to use it

But he couldn’t bear to just watch Johnny use his knife on you

You writhed in your place, whimpering

It looked like you had already been scratched once before

They weren’t deep cuts and they weren’t in vital places

But you were in pain

That’s what Johnny wanted

“Y/N, if you let me take you out of here without any more fighting back,” Johnny tried to say, but he was cut off

Jisung had thrown the gun - with his non-dominant hand - with a loud grunt

And it hit Johnny exactly on the back of his head

It hit the perfect spot to cause him to teeter and crash to the ground

Your eyes widened as you shakily held the cuts, glancing from Johnny to Jisung

“Jisung,” you cried, relieved

Jisung held in sobs as he ran toward you, collapsing next to you, unable to stay upright

“Y/N, the p-police are almost- almost here.”

You nodded slowly, pressing your lips together with tears spilling down your cheeks

“We’ll be okay.”

It felt like it would take forever before you two would leave the hospital, but it didn’t last long

The police had interviewed you both a little about the attack just for evidence

You heard from an officer that the Seo family was put behind bars but Changbin was still being inspected to see what would happen

When you and Jisung finally made it back to school your friends were freaking out

Well

They would be freaking out one second

But then they would suddenly say “Y/N and Jisung sitting in a tree-”

You didn’t appreciate it until Jisung finally got over himself and asked you out

So basically

You were dating Jisung

And then you realized you had to introduce him to Minho as your boyfriend

So one day Minho invited Jisung over and Jisung came inside and ran to you

“Y/N baby I missed you!!”

Big hug :)))

Minho’s jaw dropped and then he cleared his throat

“Thank goodness it’s someone we can trust to always take care of you.”

So big uwus

Anyway in the end Minho approved your relationship, Changbin got to come back to school after a few months, and through Changbin and Jisung your friend group got a whole lot bigger

The end :))

[skylights2000]

The Things I Never Said (Fuyuhiko x Reader)

~

This is inspired by a game I’m playing right now. It’s called ‘Far From Noise’, and it’s about a person who’s teetering on the edge of a cliff and goes through their thought process as they face this near death experience. I haven’t finished the game yet, so this is really just a story based on the main idea of that game.

I’ve never written anything like this, but I hope you enjoy this story, so let’s get going. 💜

~~~~

So this is it.

The end of everything.

So much for clearing your head.

Soon you wouldn’t even HAVE a head.

You stared out at the horizon that stretched out before you, far beyond the cliff your car was teetering on the edge of.

The world seemed endless from this point of view, like the ocean stretched on forever.

It sparkled and shined under the light of the slowly setting sun.

You wondered what it would look like when you finally fell.

Would it send a shower of sparkling water into the sky?

Would crystal raindrops fall in front of your eyes?

You’d always liked the rain.

There were worse things to see when you died.

Died.

The reality of that death was hanging in front of you.

It was sad really.

Ending on so many regrets.

So many things you never said.

Your phone vibrated from its place in the cup holder.

It was a message from Sonia.

Who said you couldn’t say those things now?

You picked up your phone and hit call.

“Hello?”

“Hey Sonia.”

“Y/n? Where are you?”

“Hah..It’s a long story. Let’s just say I’m stuck somewhere. I’m not sure how long I’ve got, and I have other calls to make, so I’ll make it quick. Sorry I don’t have more time to explain.”

“Hey! Where the fuck are ya?!” Miu yelled in the background, and you smiled.

“Good, Miu is with you too. Can you put it on speaker?”

“Y/n-“

“Just listen, okay?” When they didn’t say anything, you continued. “Thank you both for everything you’ve done for me. Sonia, you helped me learn to be confident. You always knew when I was feeling bad, and you were there to comfort me every time. Miu, you were always there to drag me out of my house when I needed it. You taught me to stand up for myself and not take anybody’s shit. You two are the reason I got out of my shell and learned to take some risks. Thank you for always being there when I needed a push in the right direction. I love you guys.”

“Why’re ya talkin’ like ya ain’t comin’ back?”

“Don’t worry about it.”

You hung up before they could ask any more questions. Next was Kazuichi.

“What’s up?”

You heard talking in the background. “Who’s with you?”

“Hajime and Gundham. Why?”

“Can you put your phone on speaker?”

“Uh yea-“ You heard a click, and two voices came through at the same time, both greeting you.

“Hey guys, sorry for calling so suddenly. I just wanted to say something.”

“What’s wrong?” Hajime asked, and you couldn’t help but smile. He was always the most observant one.

“Don’t worry about it. Just listen for a minute.” You waited a second, and when you were met with silence, you spoke up again. “You guys have been really good friends to me. Kazuichi, you taught me how to fix a flat tire and always cheered me up when I was down. Hajime, you’re an empath, and it really shows. You always knew what I was thinking, and you never stopped caring for me. Gundham, you taught me about the supernatural and reminded me that the past doesn’t define me. I just wanted to say thank you. Thank you for being there for me and for being my friends. I love you guys.”

Your voice was shaking, so you hung up before they could respond.

One last person.

Of course, he always had to be one step ahead.

Your phone lit up, Fuyuhiko’s picture flashing across the screen. You answered the call, and held the phone up to your ear.

“Will you hurry the fuck up an’ let me in?! I’ve been knockin’ on your damn door for almost five minutes!”

“I’m not at home.”

“Huh? Where are you?”

“On the edge of a cliff.”

“What the- Don’t joke about shit like that!”

“I’m not joking. Some drunk guy ran me off the road.”

There was a moment of silence before you heard him yelling to someone, probably Peko.

“Where are you?” He asked quickly.

“I don’t think there’s a point.”

“Where the fuck are you, (Y/n)?!”

You gave him the name of the street you’d been driving on and heard him shout it to Peko.

“Fuyuhiko-“

“Don’t!” He hissed angrily, but there was a hint of desperation in it. “Don’t say my name like you’re never gonna see me again!”

“I might not.”

“Shut up! What kinda dumbass are you?! I’m gonna find you!”

You chuckled breathily. Maybe you were losing it?

“Why the fuck are you laughin’?!”

“You called me that when we met, remember? I ran into you by accident. ‘Watch where you’re goin’, dumbass!’” You quoted his words with a smile.

“You remember that shit?”

“Course I do. It was a pretty memorable meeting.” You chuckled.

“How the fuck are you so calm?”

“I don’t know. I guess it’s cause I finally got to say everything I wanted. Well, almost everything.”

“Whaddya mean ‘almost’?”

“There’s one thing I haven’t gotten to say to you.”

“Well fuckin’ say it, then.”

You looked out at the pink sky, beautiful and bright.

“...You’re a good guy. Despite what you think sometimes, there are people that care about you and want to be around you just because they like you. Not everyone wants something from you. They’re not all using you for their benefit. Underneath the whole Ultimate Yakuza thing, you’re a big sweetheart. You care for the people close to you, and you’d do anything to protect them.”

“He-Hey! Don’t say such sappy shi-“

“You’re a hypocrite though. You always insist that I shouldn’t be around you, that it’s dangerous, and I could get hurt, but you come to my house, and you cheer me up, and you’re always there when I’m in trouble. You’re the biggest hypocrite I’ve ever met because you constantly tell me not to care about you, but you come around and make me laugh and tell me about your life and your family. You come to me after your missions when you’re injured and tired, and I always take care of you, and you stay at my house, and we watch movies until we fall asleep. You nag me to dress warm when it’s cold and yell at me when I work too much at one time. You’ve met my mother, and she loves you, and you know more about me than anyone else. You come around and tell me not to care, but you make me care so much because you’re just so..so you! You’re you, and I’m me, and I care, and I can’t stop caring because I don’t know how, and I don’t want to! I want to care! I want to love you, and I do!” You rushed all the words out and sucked in a breath when you were finished.

“I..love you. I love you so much that I smile when I think of you, my heart beats too fast when you smile, I worry constantly when you’re on a mission, and I wanna cry from relief when you get back. I love you, Fuyuhiko.”

There was a long moment of complete silence before “Fuck, why say that now?! Why wait until you might die to tell me that?!” His voice cracked, and you winced when you realized he was crying. “You’re an idiot! An absolute fuckin’ idiot, an’ I swear to god if you die, I’ll hunt down your ghost and kick your ass, (Y/n)!” He breathed in shakily. “So live goddammit.” He pleaded, and your heart felt like it was being squeezed to death.

“I’ll do my best..” You murmured in response.

Your phone beeped, and static crackled in your ear.

“Fuyuhiko?”

More static met you in response, and you sighed when the automated voice told you the call had been disconnected.

You tried the ignition one more time, but the engine only sputtered before going dead again.

“Hurry up guys..” You mumbled nervously.

~

The 20 minutes that followed felt like the longest of your life. You were exhausted but too nervous to fall asleep.

You were clinging to a single thread of hope, but as the sun set and night began to fall, that thread began to wear thin.

Just as it was ready to snap, light flooded through the back windshield, followed by several screams of your name. You leaned your head out the window as best as you could without leaning forward to far.

“I’m in here!” You called.

You were surprised to see not just Fuyuhiko and Peko, but also everyone else too. Directions were being shouted as half of them leaned on the back of the car, and the other half reached for you. Hands caught your arms, your waist, your legs, anything they could reach, and pulled. You squeezed your eyes shut and jumped, trusting them to catch you. They pulled even harder, all of you falling into a pile on solid ground.

It took literally all of you, but you even managed to pull you car off the edge too. As soon as that was done though, they all engulfed you in a huge hug.

You were still buzzing off adrenaline, barely managing to process their tearful happiness that you were safe.

Suddenly, everyone started leaving, all awkwardly claiming they had somewhere to be. Even Peko gave you a quick hug and said goodbye.

In a flash, they were gone, piling into cars that disappeared down the street.

“What the hell were you thinkin’?!”

Despite his angry outburst, Fuyuhiko wrapped you up in the tightest hug you’d ever received. “I can’t..breathe..” You choked out.

“Too bad.” He grumbled angrily, but he still loosened his grip.

You curled your arms around him with a soft sigh. “I’m sorry.”

“Huh?”

“For worrying you...and for what I said.”

“Why the hell’re you apologizin’ for that?”

“I mean, I get that you probably don’t feel that way for me. If you want, you can just forget abo-“

“No.” He stated bluntly, the scowl on his face contrasted greatly by the blush slowly creeping across his cheeks. “I’m not gonna forget it, and you aren’t either.”

“But-“

“I..” He looked away from you, that blush spreading all the way to the tips of his ears. “I-I love you too.”

You couldn’t do anything but just gape at him, shock branded across your face.

The longer you stared silently at him, the more nervous he felt. Hell, he didn’t even get nervous on potentially deadly missions, so how the fuck can one person make him feel like a nervous wreck?!

“Stop standin’ there an’ fuckin’ do somethin’!” He snapped, knocking you out of your disbelieving thoughts.

“I’m not dreaming?”

“No, you’re not fuckin’ dreamin’.” He grumbled. “This is re-“

You grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled him into a kiss. His stuttered words were muffled against your mouth.

This was real.

You smiled against his lips as you kissed him again. You ran your fingers up the nape of his neck and into his short hair. You held him close, like he would disappear if you let go, and eventually he kissed you back, his arms tightening around you.

You pulled away after several minutes and just grinned, your face just as flushed as his.

“I love you.” You repeated your earlier words breathlessly.

He nudged you away, straightening his tie embarrassedly, but even in the dark, there was no mistaking the smile on his own face.

“I love you too, loser.”