#i am a little sad today. Not about that.. But (stares to sky) | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

oimitocat · 2 months ago

Text

MANEATER — CHAPTER 1

lee heesung x m!reader

chapter summary; heesung finds out his grandmother’s restaurant is in danger. his path seems cloudy until a strange man opens a new one that seems partly cloudy.

chapter warning; violence + flirting + crying

content genre; minor angst

wc. – 3.6 k | m.list | likes n comments appreciated

“thank you for your help,” the old man says with a bow.

“you’re welcome, i really hope everything goes well now,” heesung says with a bright smile.

he stares up at the sky, it’s a chilly morning. his cheeks are flushed with a red hue as he walks down the street. another case closed, he’s thankful. he’s barely making ends meet and now he’ll be in a decent financial spot for a while.

once he’s home he’ll be on to the next case. he’s making a twenty minute walk home, plus the ten it takes him to stop by the store.

by the time he’s home it’s dark. the street light flickers and he happily announces his arrival.

“ma! i won the case!” he announces happily.

his grandmother claps her hands as he exits the kitchen. “oh sung! your mother would be so proud if she were here!”

heesung’s smile tightens. he never really answers those remarks. there’s no point. he loved his mother when she was alive, same for his father. yet, they weren’t very supportive of his career choice.

“it’s expensive, sung-ah,” they’d say. “why not choose something else?”

maybe they would be supportive to see he actually did make it. the fact that they would’ve only when he is being successful is what hurts. they would’ve complained about it even when the tuition money came out of his own pockets. his whole life he’s grown up thinking he had to limit himself within the hole in their pockets.

he had enough. growth is done out of sheer will, desperation and self worth. survival is done by your own merits alone.

“we had a good day today at the restaurant,” his grandmother says. she must have been talking the whole time heesung zoned out. “but i’m afraid i’m going to have to let go of your friend jay. i can’t afford to pay for his hours anymore, business isn’t doing as good as it did back then…” she says sadly, “most of the earnings go to the bills…”

heesung stares at her, heart heavy. if only he had enough money to help her.

“i know ma…” he takes her hand and soothes her with a small rub from his thumb, “jay won’t mind, he was planning on getting a job closer to his place. he technically has been working with you since we’ve been in high school… it’s been almost 8 years?”

she sniffles, “well… i’ll talk to him tomorrow… i guess i’m just sad since the first one to leave was you… he’s almost like a son to me too…”

his heart throbs. “i’ll go shower, okay?”

she nods, “alrighty…”

she watches him leave with a saddened smile. knowing he’s starving, she makes him a plate of food. heesung comes back out a few minutes later, freshened up and hair damp still. he has a few folders under his arm.

“you’re going to keep working? aren’t you tired?”

“i’m okay ma, the shower freshened me up,” he says with a smile and settle’s everything on the table. “i get off early from the office tomorrow, i’ll pass by the restaurant for my lunch and i’ll help you out if you want.”

she stares at him, “only if you can.”

“i can and i want to.” he says before digging in to the files.

the problem with heesung is that when he starts his filing or researching, he does it for hours. at some point his grandmother wishes him good night and he’s still swarming in his own choice. it’s around 1 AM when he finally wraps it up. he washes the dishes, not wishing for his grandmother to worry about that when she wakes and then heads to bed.

he’s used to the lack of sleep, normally running on 4 to 5 hours of sleep daily and either coffee or an energy drink.

he’s running late to the office too. a natural occurrence. running short on cash normally causes him to walk… in this case run, to the office.

“ah, you’re a little over ten minutes,” sunoo teases when he walks inside the office.

“if jungwon fires me i wouldn’t hold it against him,” heesung breathes out as he wipes away the bead of sweat on his forehead.

“jungwon would rather you work from home than come here, even he hates it here.”

“i don’t want to work at home yet,” heesung argues, walking to his office, sunoo following suit. “i know i have to care for my grandma but she’s perfectly capable of herself right now. he already lets me leave for a few hours here and there to check on her at the restaurant.”

“that reminds me,” sunoo says, sitting on the chair opposite of heesung. “i want her bulgogi with lettuce. when am i getting that.”

heesung pauses, looking over at him with a look. “do you have bulgogi money?”

“grandma lee never charges me! how dare you take advantage of a broke receptionist.”

“well then tell her, not me!” heesung huffs, “aish. and get out, i have a few works to do before leaving at twelve.”

“i doubt you’ll leave at twelve, you always leave about an hour later-“

��out!”

sunoo sticks out his tongue before leaving.

heesung shakes his head, smiling a bit as he logs in to his computer to start his work. later, after hours of investing into it, he wraps it up at around 12:10. the time bitters his mood, realizing sunoo is indeed right. not exactly an hour later but still not on time.

still, leaving early is a privilege no one else has here, so he packs up his things and heads out.

he’s walking down the busy street, lunch rush evident outside the block just as it is when he enters it. he bows politely at some of the market people before calling his grandmother.

“ma~,” he sing songs when she picks up.

“yes?” she asks softly, almost as if she were whispering.

“i’m on my way, do you need me to pick up anything-“

“heesung maybe you should head back to the office.” she says, her tone strange.

“ah, but i said i’d help you today-“

“heesung just listen to me and get back to the office. i don’t need to here today, my love,” she catches a sweet tone quickly, as if seeking any way to convince him.

“huh? ma, why are you being so-�� heesung trails off as he nears the restaurant. there’s suspicious men out, he panics. “ma i’m already here, why are there so many men-“

“who are you talking to?” a rough voice says.

without a shred of hesitation, heesung sprints. he pushes past the men at the gates. when one of them pulls at his bag strap, he throws a punch at their nose before continuing his path. his heart is rabbiting in his ribcage. he truly is taken aback by what’s happening.

“ma? are you-“ he gets punched from the side.

if it weren’t for his quick reflexes he’d probably be on the floor, but he throws a punch right back the guy. a kick to the stomach and throat is what gets the guy on the floor. yet, before he can turn to his sweet grandmother, a cold metal item is pressed against his nape. he freezes.

“now tell me who the hell are you and why you knocked out two of my men already.”

heesung would’ve peed himself from fear if it weren’t for the anger and adrenaline. “your men fucking suck at taking a punch.”

“he’s my grandson!” mrs.lee cries out from a table.

“give me one good reason why i shouldn’t shoot him right now.” the man gruffs, a rough hand grabbing heesung’s arm, the grip painful.he moves heesung around to face the elder woman, “you got one minute.”

she’s practically pale from fear. “he’s a lawyer! he’ll help me pay the amount you're asking of me. h-he can double it if you’d even like.”

the fuck? heesung looks at her like she’s insane.

“a lawyer eh?” the man shoves heesung forward, harshly knocking him into the bench seats on the table his grandmother is in.

heesung catches himself and glares back at the man.

“listen, the rent for the restaurant is already five grand, bills and utilities included. but we won over this turf already, so you have to pay us to keep your little restaurant around. sadly, we don’t really want you to pay it, we’re buying this place and putting someone who works under us to have this as our meeting place. plus, your grandmother is old, she should retire already.”

heesung grits his teeth.

“you’ve got a few days to pay this months rent, our tax included, before we kick you out. and you either get kicked out without owing us money or you get licked out owing us the money, your choice.” he glares down at heesung, “and careful trying to go against us, it won’t be pretty.” he turns towards his men and gestures for their leave.

“they want to close the restaurant,” she says with teary eyes as soon as her and heesung are alone.

heesung stares at her before ripping the paper out of her hands. the demand is absurd. it’s sketchy but oh so believable. they know what they’re doing and exactly how to do it too. a few days? how many exactly? they don’t seem very lenient, if anything heesung is assuming three days at most.

“ma, this is…” he pauses, he can’t be brutal to her. “i’ll take care of it ma, remember, i’m the best lawyer you have ever met.”

she grabs his hand and rubs his knuckles with the pad of her thumb, her tears dripping down her face. “oh heesung…”

heesung is running to the office again. he had missed the bus, having checked and double, triple, quadruple checked the demand and whatever else is in that stupid paper they received last night. he looks horrendous, barely put together.

his grandmother had woken up as soon as she heard him cruse and run around to get ready. despite her emotional state, she prepared him a cup of coffee and cut him a slice of cake (she said it’s for sunoo but heesung doesn’t think the guy deserves it-)

heesung crashes face forward into a wall. actually, the wall isn’t that hard. he curses and almost loses his balance when he bounces back-

“woah there, you okay?” a voice asks, a hand coming behind his lower back to help him regain his balance.

“ah, my bad, i didn’t mean to!” heesung winces, seeing how the guy’s shirt is stained with coffee. the cake he was carrying in a small plate flew out to the floor but not without smearing itself on the man’s shirt.

all worry and panic leaves heesung when a few fingers grab his chin and force him to look to the side. is the guy fucking inspecting him?!

“that’s a nasty bruise you have there,” you say, darkened eyes gazing upon the purple thing.

heesung slaps your hand away, “couldn’t tell. please step aside, i have places to be.”

“oh? where would a pretty thing like you go in such a hurry?”

“none of your business,” heesung grits out.

this guy, heesung thinks bitterly in his mind.

“well i do have to remind you that you spilled coffee over my very expensive shirt. not just coffee, look i have chocolate smeared over right here-“

“okay i get it!” heesung groans as he watches you point out the very obvious. “i don’t got money though-“

“yet, you have coffee to go and-“

“my grandmother has a restaurant, i can get these things you know,” heesung grumbles, looking around in thought. “i could invite you to dinner.”

“oh a date,” you grin stupidly.

“forget it-“

“ah but you see this stain won’t let me forget-“

“argh!” heesung groans, slamming his head against the wall.

you watch him with amusement, “hey, now. don’t go messing up your whole face, i like what i see.”

“you’re an ass,” heesung huffs, “look, i really can’t entertain you for long. this is my grandmother’s restaurant,” he takes out a card and hands it to him, heesung always carries them around, never wasting an opportunity to promote. “just go there and tell her i invited you and she’ll understand.”

“oh? i won’t have the pleasure of seeing you?” you frown.

“hell no,” heesung blurts out. “i mean-“ ugh, maybe he should you look sketchy as fuck. “fine. i get off late today though.”

“just give me an estimated time,” you say casually, putting the card away in the pocket of your shirt. “and your name.”

“eight thirty,” he says. he eyes you before going, “heesung.”

you hum, eyeing him. he really is beautiful, how sad that he has a bruise on his cheek. cute too, with his furrowed brows and glare. “quite late for dinner, but i’ll take it.”

whatever, heesung huffs. “now if you excuse me i have to go.”

he walks around you before jogging back his path to the office. he’s so glad the coffee fell on you and not on him, as much as that sounds horrible. he can’t help it.

by the time heesung snaps out of all the work he’s in, it’s when his grandmother calls him. he curses through his teeth, realizing itself 9 PM already. is the guy there? shit, did he do something? he really was sketchy wasn’t he-

“heesung, my dear,” she says sweetly, “will you come by the restaurant?”

“is everything okay ma?” he asks immediately, ready to stand and run out without putting anything away.

“yes, yes. all good, but there’s a man that walked in earlier and asked if you were here already,” she says.

he swallows, “what did he look like?”

damn it, why is he asking? he doesn’t even remember what you look like, just that you’re a little taller than him but it’s not exactly by much. at least he doesn’t think so. yeah, he really can’t remember.

“mm, he was rather short, boxy and had a suit on.”

okay that definitely isn’t you though. “uh, i’ll head out right now.” there’s a silence on the other side of the phone after he announces that. he stops packing and questions her. “ma?”

“it’s… going to be hard isn’t it?” grandmother asks.

heesung fidgets, “don’t worry about it ma, i’m coming back to the office tomorrow. i’ll leave really early, this will be over as soon as possible.”

“okay, be safe on your way.”

“will do.”

would the men really try anything outside the restaurant? he genuinely doesn’t know. he can’t help but glance around every now and then as he goes down the street. it’s crowded tonight but even in movies a crowd is the best distraction. ah, he really is screwed isn’t he? he has no evidence, no information.

he really won’t be of any use, will he? even for his grandmother?

heesung stares at his shoes as they walk on the pavement. what will he do? what can he do?

he looks up when he’s finally close to the restaurant, turning the corner. seems like no customers tonight- his heart drops when he’s yanked from behind. he expected a knife or a gun pressed against him but when his eyes catch your devilish smile, he gets angry.

“FUCK,” heesung gasps, looking at you like you’re insane. he shoves you before yelling, “the fuck you scared me for?”

you chuckle, amused at his reaction. “you must have a lot on your mind to have not noticed you even pushed me aside a minute ago.”

“what?” he goes droopy, looking back at the path he came. there’s a car parked down the street there. did he really not see you? “well, whatever. come on, let’s get something to eat.”

“you’re hungry?” you ask, enjoying his personality already.

he guides you past the gates, but something catches your eye when he pushes one of the gate doors to a complete openness.

“oh heesung! you’re here!” a voice chirps happily from a few feet away.

“ah, ma i brought someone with me and we’ll get something to eat if you don’t mind.” he says, bowing at her figure that pops up at the door.

“of course, you don’t have to ask for permission.”

heesung smiles brightly at her before turning to you. you take him aback, however.

“may i speak with you out here for a moment?” you say, cold and with a dark expression.

heesung stares at you, confused at how quickly your mood changed. “uh, sure?” he turns to his grandmother who’s sweeping, “ma, we’ll be outside, give us a minute!”

“okay, love,” she says, continuing her way to sweep away.

heesung follows you when you take a few steps away. “what is it? my grandmas cooking is good, don’t tell me you’re backing out just because it’s not a high end restaurant-“

“did you get that bruise from a man named si-hyeong?”

everything shifts under heesung. what the hell are you talking about? he takes a moment to eye you up and down. one; he doesn’t know your name. two; who the hell is si-hyeong? three; what the fuck.

“uh…”

“better yet, did one of his men hurt you?”

“i don’t know who your talking about- and, why are you asking-“

you point at a small graffiti design on the floor, just under the gate door and extremely close to its hinges. how the hell you saw that, he doesn’t know. even he can’t exactly see it that well.

“tell me, did they threaten your grandmother?”

heesung snaps his eyes back at you. “i… yeah…”

with a nod, you look around. “may i ask what you work as?”

heesung narrows his eyes. “first, tell me your name. don’t lie to me either.”

you stare at him, “my name is l/n y/n.”

“okay, and before i tell you what i do depends on what you tell me.”

a small smile plays on your lips. “i’m simply from an organization that can help you keep your grandmother’s restaurant and get those men off your necks depending on your answer.”

heesung chews on the inside of his cheek. you really are sketchy. “i’m a lawyer.”

“who’s barely making ends meet if i remember correctly,” you tease.

“fuck you,” heesung huffs.

“well, lawyer heesung,” you say, stepping real close to heesung’s personal bubble. “if you help me, i’ll help you. i’m assuming they’ve given you a short amount of time to pay whatever absurd thing they’ve requested.”

heesung eyes you before nodding, for some reason he feels like you’re decently trustworthy. “yeah… but what is it?” you raise a brow, he elaborates. “what do you need?”

“a couple of things,” you smile, “but first i need to speak to the sweet lady that owns this place.”

heesung grants you just that.

“you’re quite the handsome man, are you a friend of heesung?” grandmother lee asks.

you stare at the elderly lady, eyes narrow. “you could say that.”

she smiles, placing a cup of coffee in front of you. you watch the steam before gently taking it, bowing respectfully at her in thanks. heesung sighs, sitting next to you on the small couch.

“mrs.lee, i’m working with heesung in your case, i had a question to make.” you say decisively.

she looks at you with a startled expression. “oh! go ahead,” she smiles.

“when did they come to threaten you about paying more in your bills?” you eye her, hands on the coffee mug. “on your rent?”

heesung looks at you annoyingly before facing his sweet grandmother with a soft expression. he doesn’t know why a knot forms in his throat when she stops smiling.

“yes… a man came in a few weeks ago, maybe even a month or two ago, saying i had to pay more. an absurd price….” she looks down.

heesung’s brows furrow. when did this happen? why hasn’t she told him? he naturally looks over at you, who has an indecipherable expression.

“and did you pay it?”

her eyes water, “i had to… he and his men said if i didn’t then they’d hurt my boys.”

“your boys?” you ask, unsure of who she means other than heesung.

“my best friend works with her, she technically raised us both,” he elaborates gently. “ma, why didn’t you tell me? is that why you told jay to-“

“you won’t have to worry about those men coming to threaten you anymore,” you say, eyes boring into her. “because i know they have.”

she nods, confessing the issue. heesung can’t believe this. his poor grandmother has been suffering from such goading. he won’t stand by it. with a kiss of reassurance on the forehead he sends her to bed, staying back to watch you go. you ended up not getting a meal, requesting a coffee instead. you had promised her to return soon for a meal though.

“so we start tomorrow, right?” he says as he guides you out the house.

the height difference is a little noticeable as you stand by the gate and look down at him. the street light casting a shadow on heesung from your frame. your eyes are intense, he realizes they always are.

“i’ll pick you up?” you smile, expression changing.

he’s unsure if it’s creepy or amusing. “uh, i’ll get there on bus. just send me the address.”

“it’s really far.”

“yeah.”

“you could get lost, it’s also really secluded.”

“okay.”

“it would be more efficient if i send someone to pick you up-“

“i don’t care! just send me the address! i’ll be there at 9 exact! don’t look down on me you piece of shit.” he huffs before spinning around and leaving you outside the house gates.

you smile as his figure disappears inside the house. it might seem you’ll get more than what you’re looking for.

🏷️ TAG LIST — @horijiro @lionzyon

©OIMITOCAT

104 notes · View notes

killishin · 8 months ago

Text

KISSES

pairing : gojo satoru x reader , nanami kento x reader

category : fluff

warning : none

a/n : not proofread.

GOJO SATORU

it's the rooftop of some building you both know nothing about it's locations , since you're both a little (very) tipsy. you're both sitting on the ground , both having a bottle in one hand.

" Seriously why are you so deliberately more annoying than usual to Kento? leave the boy alone. " you scold as you glare at him before stuffing a burger in.

" When am i EVER annoying???" he asks and you look at him in disbelief, ready to swing the bottle at his head with all your might. He snickers and flicks your head softly.

" You know you can't , sweety."

" I CAN do it , just don't wanna waste all that precious liquor." you muttered grumpily before throwing a nearby rock at his head.

Gojo withers in pain , being his melodramatic self but you ignore him and look up at the sky. Sure the liquor tastes good , but you activly avoid it for the sole reason , that you're a sad drinker.

Hundreds of thoughts that sting your heart all the same go through your mind and automatically your eyes well up , yet you still stare at the sky.

Unknown to you , Gojo has gone absolutely quiet as he stares at your face , his head resting on his knuckles. He knows you are a very reserved person , never shared a single sorrow even with utahime. You laugh and fight and recover from every pain in a span of a day , as if nothing ever happened yet he notices how your eyes go dimmer and dimmer.

He isn't well versed in consoling someone, especially when it comes to you , who he has a teeny tiny ( huge , he loves you ) crush on.

So he does whatever came to his mind. He leaned ahead to kiss your cheek knowing that'll make you annoyed and angry , hopefully distracted from whatever woes you're reminiscing. But it was at that moment when you had turned your head towards him , reaching to get some fries , and there. Your lips pressed against his.

Just the feel made your whole body go warm especially your neck and cheeks. Even in the chaos of the city , you could hear both of your heartbeats, not knowing which is yours.

You felt like melting into the kiss , kiss him twice as hard but then you snapped back to reality and pushed him off.

" WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT???"

" Oo that bad huh?" He said as he propped himself up on his elbows. Your eyes stood widened and shook. You knew the guy was crazy but he always ends up surprising you.

" That bad?? I’m calling the cops on you for that terrible shit you put me through."

" OH COME ON IT WASN'T THAT BAD! you're exaggerating." he laughs.

" Why would you even-"

" Hey i was just gonna kiss your cheek , not my fault you turned your head."

" WHY WOULD YOU KISS MY CHEEK???"

" BECAUSE."

was all he said , before sitting up and looking away.

" Hey... Hey what because.... HEY!"

He grabs your collar and pulls you to himself , keeping his hands on your hips to stabilize you. He slams his lips on yours , kissing you aggressively. He doesn't waste time and inserts his tongue in , making the kiss just more steamy. Your hands grip his shoulder, not knowing where else to keep.

Your mountain of questions and hesitation all take a backseat as you melt into his kiss, that actually makes you realise a lot about what it could mean , filling your heart with absolute warmth and joy.

You try to pull yourself back but he doesn't let you as he puts his hand behind your head and keeps kissing you.

Finally he lets go of you and rests his head on yours. Both of your warm breaths tingling your face , eyes not daring to meet each other's.

"... wow"

“That wasn’t in my itinerary today.”

" I could kiss you forever ." gojo breathed out as he caressed your cheeks.

“Consider me madly in love. With the kisses, not you.” you said cheekily , flicking his lips.

" Oh please we both know you're fangirling like hell on the inside."

"...... i will hit you with that bottle."

" sorry. "

NANAMI KENTO

nanami and you had a mission you had to team up for , and fortunately it went alright , just a few cuts and bruises here and there but both of you were alright. The location was pretty secluded , deep in the forest. Both of you were walking your way out when you saw a nearby cliff in the opposite direction.

Things were always tiring and you weren't complaining but a little silence and moonlight can do you some good.

" Ken , I'll be going to that cliff over there. You can go on ahead since it's late." you know just as well how nanami loathes being "overtime" , and as much as you'd like his company you don't want to tire him out.

He looked over where you were pointing before looking at his watch, then he started heading towards the cliff.

" Let's go together."

You were a bit taken aback before quickly following behind. " B-But you don't have to , you're tired-"

" Y/N it's fine."

He said softly , and your heart melted again. You've been friends for years , he's your best friend , the one you call when you have to vent even if it's for hours , he listens patiently. You've developed quite strong feelings for him but never had the time to convey it to him , both of you had a busy schedule and you just couldn't get the perfect timing.

You both sit over the edge of the cliff , staring ahead at the horizon. You sigh with a smile.

" I wonder when things would slow down. "

" What do you mean?"

You sigh and look down. " I don't know... well I don't exactly hate our job , but it's... truly tiring. i need some peace."

His eyes gaze at you softly and he gives a small smile. " i get that feeling."

You smile wide before resting your head on his shoulder. " wanna go on a trip with me? together?"

" where?"

" wherever you want. it just needs to be quiet."

" and why with me?"

you raise your head a little , and you find him looking at you , your faces dangerously close. your eyes soften as you smile before looking at his lips , your hands that were on your thighs finding it's way to him. Your fingers run circles on his palm.

" Because .... well..."

His hands suddenly catch yours and you flinch before looking at his eyes. There's a certain desperation in his eyes , as if he's just waiting for you to say it.

" Because i love you."

.... well you didn't exactly wanted to say that but it got blurted out.

His eyes widened , even he wasn't expecting such a bold confession. You could see him getting flustered , staring at you in awe and there's just dead silence as you're both looking at each other.

"......"

"i think this is the part where you're supposed to kiss me"

it's as if he's pulled out of some sort of trance and suddenly you grabs your neck and pulls you into a heated kiss. Maybe it's the remnant frustration over the mission but his kiss is desperate and a bit rough. His one hand on your jaw and the other on your waist as he pulls you on his lap. You kiss for a while before pulling away , your hands intertwined behind his head.

You smile wide. “Has anyone told you you’re quite amazing at this?”

He laughs softly , his eyes shining under the moon.

" another?"

reblogs would be appreciated 🍄

177 notes · View notes

ronwestbreeze · 1 year ago

Text

you're gonna go far | 6

pairing: jake sully x neytiri x tsu'tey x fem!human! reader summary: a scientist arrives on pandora (unwillingly) a year after the exile of the rda. now she must deal with the likes of a clan leader, a great warrior, and a thanator rider. . . word count: 8.5k

read on AO3

It was a little difficult to get out of bed that morning.

One of those days.

Long and exhausting. It was challenging to get stuff done. You knew things like this wouldn’t just go away instantly. But you hoped that maybe…

It wasn’t too bad like before. You were able to think about the chores that had to be done later in the day and pushed yourself out of the bedroom.

So you went through most of the day barely existing. Norm was the first to notice your slight change in behavior because he began trying to joke more with you—no matter how bad they ended up being—and tried getting you out of your head. And you were thankful for that. At least that’s what was different this time around. You weren’t entirely alone nor held up in your room.

That was progress, right? You honestly couldn’t tell. Sometimes you felt like you were still stuck, that you weren’t moving forward. Or getting better. At least back to what you used to be.

Yet, you’ve been this way—asleep—for so long that you have forgotten what you used to be like. You forgot when the last time you smiled. You forgot when you felt the most happy or any other emotion besides anger and grief.

You wondered where that part of you went. Some days you went searching. Other days you somberly accepted that it was a part of you, that you were never going to get back.

At some point, you figured it died along with your mother.

“You want me to check on the baby today?” Norm asked you as you were getting ready for your link for the day.

You shook your head as you sat on the link bed, “No, I’ll be fine. Just one of those days, you know? We all have em’.”

He frowned when you shrugged it off or appeared a little too nonchalant about it, “Yeah, I guess.”

“Thanks for offering though.”

“Anytime, Doc.” He gave you a pat on the shoulder, while watching you particularly closely, “Just tell me you need a break. Don’t push yourself, okay?”

He was nice. You needed something like that.

Neytiri noticed it too.

While the two of you were in the garden that day, Neytiri had been saying words in Na’vi for you to repeat. And you did it, not perfectly of course, but you managed. It was just that you didn’t take in any information. Not in the way she knew you to.

You had a certain look that told Neytiri you were hanging onto her every word, whenever you were learning something new from her. Eyes slightly vibrant with curiosity.

That look wasn’t there today. Instead, in its place was a dullness and lifeless sort of unfocused gaze.

Your ears were low again.

Neytiri didn’t know when she became so attentive to your moods or facial expressions. So much so that she could tell when you were somewhat happy and really, painfully sad—

You were just easy to read in this form.

Yes, that was it.

“What is wrong, tanhi?” Neytiri eventually asked because she didn’t completely despise you so much to ignore your change in mood.

There was a twitch in your ears when you heard your name being called. You looked up from the newly planted mushroom seeds you had been mentally counting at Neytiri to find her staring at you expectantly. “Huh?”

She rolled her eyes, “You are not listening. I know you are distracted. What is wrong with you?”

You cringed at yourself for allowing yourself to get so distracted by your swimming thoughts. Drowning in them as usual. “It’s nothing. Just have a lot on my mind.”

But the answer did not satisfy her. Neytiri shook her head, “Sky People are always hiding their feelings. You are doing that. It is okay to be sad. It is natural.”

“I’m not hiding it—” You sighed, turning your gaze back to the mushroom seeds. “It’s just one of those days. Maybe—Maybe today I am sad. I could barely get out of bed and tomorrow it might be worse—what are you doing?”

You watched as Neytiri got up and moved behind you. A second later, you feel a brief tugging at your hair until it became loose from your short braid. “If you want to learn our ways, then you must take care of your hair. I look at it and it is a mess.”

“It was in a braid before…”

“I did not like it.”

With that, she got up again and trekked back into the forest. You watched her go in bewilderment at the sudden change of conversation and attitude from the Na’vi woman. You had no idea what had come over the woman or what made her suddenly leave, but you didn’t focus on it for too long. The confusion and startlement you had was enough energy to continue planting the rest of the mushrooms. You didn’t bother putting your hair back into a braid, not wanting to spend time threading through the thick strands until your fingers were too sore to complete your job. And the last thing you needed was something stopping you from finishing this one simple task—

A splash of cold water was suddenly dumped onto your head, leaving you soaking wet.

And terribly pissed.

You snapped your head behind you to find Neytiri placing the leaf down next to her—which was glistening with water. The same water that was now spilled all over you.

“Neytiri—ouch!”

“Hold still.” Neytiri hissed at you as she ran her long fingers through your hair.

You grumbled but reluctantly listened, still confused and a bit pissed at what was going on. And for a while, the two of you remained there. You, sitting on the ground still counting the seeds quietly to yourself while Neytiri stayed behind you. Braiding a few strands of hair.

It was then you realized just how different your hair was from the way it was in your human body. The hair length was very similar to how you used to wear it when you were a teenager. You wondered then just how old this avatar body was.

Once she was finally finished, she crouched down in front of you to get a better look. Her yellow irises scanning your face and her work. Tucking rebellious strands behind your ear, patting down some of the fuzziness, and making sure the braid was visible around your face.

You watched her quietly. And soon, when she was done obsessing over your hair, she watched you too.

It wasn’t the way you and Jake watched each other. This—this had something different about it.

Time was an illusion here. Trapped in her yellow gaze. You hadn’t realized you had been staring for so long—nor did you realize you had briefly glanced at her lips—until a sudden sound from the forest pulled the both of you out of this strange trance.

And once you snapped to your senses, your body quickly reacted. You shot to your feet and cleared your throat, “I gotta check on the avatar now.” You didn’t meet her gaze. “I’ll see you.”

Before she could stop you, you already scurried off. Stopping once you were far enough away out of her sight.

Stopping when you felt a new pair of eyes watching you rather closely.

You glanced around the forest surroundings as you approached the longhouse with a frown until your eyes locked on another pair of yellow eyes. Severe ones.

Tsu’tey was in the trees further away but enough for you to see him watching you, even when you caught him doing so. He did not look away from you. Narrowed eyes and that scowl resting on his angular face.

For a moment you wondered what the look was for. You wondered what he could yell at you about this time, even though you listened to his demands and had stayed away from the Omatikaya territory.

A scared part of you wondered if he had seen you and Neytiri just now.

Nothing happened. But still, it would give enough ammunition for him to verbally attack you. Hate you even more possibly.

Except there would be no battle today. As Tsu’tey disappeared within the trees without a word.

You were confused but relieved at the same time.

Dealing with an angry clan leader was not on your to-do list. Nor were you properly prepared for it.

After watching the trees in silence, you eventually went inside.

Neytiri watched your retreating figure with a frown, her heart…shifting—only a little bit as you disappeared. Her gaze then moved toward the trees, the area where the sound had come from before. And with an irritated frown, she got up and stalked toward the area.

They were still there. She could feel their eyes on her as she went further into the forest. With a hiss, she glared at the trees, “Come out. Enough hiding!”

Just a little bit above her, a few feet away a familiar warrior snaked out of the bushes and seated himself on the large branch with his usual expression he wore whenever he was away from their shared hut.

Neytiri frowned up at Tsu’tey, “You are watching me.”

“I am watching her.”

After a beat and a quiet sigh, Neytiri climbed up the tree and joined him. Despite his very sour mood, he tugged her close to his side as they sat together. On the branch, they had a good view of the Avatar Compound. A few dreamwalkers were running about but none of them seemed to bother Tsu’tey as much as you did. Neytiri could easily tell with how he kept glaring at the longhouse, the same place she always watched you disappear in whenever you left your false body.

“You have been spending time with her,” Tsu’tey stated more so than asking. There wasn’t much to hide, they both knew Neytiri spent some of her free time visiting you. Only when Tsu’tey or Jake are busy with their duties and she’s finished with hers before the both of them. “I do not like it.”

“She has done nothing.” Neytiri reasoned.

“Yet.”

“And what did I say if she does? I would kill her myself.”

As she said this, Neytiri felt a certain wavering in her heavy words. Like a part of her didn’t believe it anymore.

She rested her head on his shoulder, hugging his arm with a content sigh, “But I cannot ignore what the Great Mother has shown me. She has stopped my bow before and now she’s done it a second time. Do you not think it means something, yawne?”

In the corner of her, she watched as his jaw tightened, his features becoming particularly focused. “I do not trust this.”

“You do not trust the Great Mother?”

“That is not what I mean.” He corrected her calmly. Neytiri knew that Tsu’tey, like any other child of Eywa respected her and trusted in her signs. Always had. That was how he was raised. And she knew he wasn’t about to abandon that because of one demon.

But his words were still reluctant, “I do not know where our Great Mother is leading us. I do not know why she wants that demon spared—when she is just like the rest of them.”

Neytiri considered his words, “Perhaps she is like Jake—”

“There is only one Jake. And she is nothing like him.”

She made a sound of disagreement but didn’t push further on the subject. She noticed how tense he was, how tense he had been for the past week. She wondered then if he was truly upset by this or if there was something more to this quiet anger he so carefully restrained. Of course, his hatred for the Sky People was no question.

But Neytiri knew Tsu’tey.

Skin and bone. Heart and soul.

She knew her mate. Not only as a mate but as a friend. They had grown up together. Along with her sister, Sylwanin. There was nothing he could hide from her even if he tried.

“She may not be like Jake. But clearly, the Great Mother has chosen her for a reason. My mother even allows her to stay—I believe it is time you seek the answers.”

Tsu’tey scoffed but didn’t brush her off. Instead, he leaned in closer, allowing his hand to rest on her growing stomach. “You will be a great Tsahik.”

“Not as great as my mother. Nor my sister.”

Tsu’tey shook his head and cupped her cheek, “You will be great, my beautiful heart.”

A soft smile tugged at her lips only to falter when she noticed how exhausted he truly looked. How close he looked to breaking but hiding it. He could never hide it well from her. Nor Jake.

She then took his face in her hands and whispered soothingly, “What is it, my love?”

Knowing that there was no point in denying a response—knowing that Neytiri would not stop until she got what she wanted—Tsu’tey turned away from her to stare back at the compound.

“The Tipani clan are becoming reckless. They already do not like the Sky People that have stayed—but now that the demon has come, I worry they will begin to take matters into their own hands. I worry…that our clans will begin to clash.”

Neytiri took his hand in hers and pressed a gentle kiss onto his knuckles, “If it comes to it, I will stand by you. Jake will too. But I also will ask you to speak to our Great Mother about your troubles.” She caressed his exhausted lines with a small frown, “I worry for you, Tsu’tey. I do not want you to take on this task by yourself. You have Jake and I to be with you. That is why Eywa brought us together.”

Right then, he seemed to consider her words. His gaze was still unfocused while staring at the longhouse. A silence settled between them.

“Eywa has created this new path for us.” Tsu’tey mused. “Somedays I wonder if it will lead to something good in the end.”

“Do you think it won’t?”

He was silent. And Neytiri didn’t push.

When Tsu’tey went to the Vitraya Ramunong, the night had already settled around him. When he went to kneel at the tree, connecting his queue to one of the links, his prayers were silent. But his questions were clear. His intention was pure to the Great Mother.

What does it all mean? Guide me, All Mother.

So when a single atokirina flew away from the tree, Tsu’tey took to following it both out of curiosity and apprehension. The Great Mother’s answers weren’t always clear. If anything, her signs only led to more questions.

So, Tsu’tey wondered. He wondered if this would lead to any more answers.

Or just more unwanted questions.

Tsu’tey rushed through the forest, never losing sight of the spirit. He kept going and going until he was nearing the Sky People’s base. Until the trees suddenly became familiar. Until the grounds he had seen many times before unwillingly began to appear around him.

But his body never stopped moving. He never stopped following it. Too desperate for answers. Too desperate, too yearning.

Oh Eywa, he was yearning.

And then, and then, and then.

And then he was staring down at your still false body.

It was strange. Seeing no life in your face. Tsu’tey had only seen your false body from far away, but now seeing you up close. You looked so different yet the same as your human form.

Why was he here? Why did the spirit bring him to…

No.

His vision rippled. Your body morphed from your human form to your false body—impossible.

And then he woke up.

Awake.

Tsu’tey finally realized where he was. Instead of standing in the middle of the forest chasing an atokirina, instead of standing over your false body, he was back in his hut. With his mates sleeping next to him. With his son cuddled between both Jake and him. With Neytiri hugging his waist from behind.

A dream. It was only a dream.

But why you? Why you?

Why?

“Yawne?” Tsu’tey breathed out a sigh and looked over his shoulder to find Jake shifting out of his sleep, looking at him through heavy eyelids. He sat up a bit, careful not to disturb Neteyam’s sleep as he did, “Another nightmare?”

Tsu’tey hesitated—considered the question. The dream he just had. Was it a nightmare?

“No. I am fine. Go back to sleep, my love.”

Jake didn’t look entirely convinced but eventually lied back down. Usually, it took a while for Jake to fall asleep, so Tsu’tey lay back down, adjusting Neytiri’s arm around his waist and squeezing his other hand on Jake’s shoulder.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Jake asked, his voice deep and sluggish.

Tsu’tey nodded, and tucked his nose into Neteyam’s cheek as gently as he could, “I am now.”

It took you a little longer to get out of bed the following week. But you managed. You watched a few more of your mother’s logs and even some of the other ones still in the system.

Dr. Augustine. Norm. Some guy named Quaritch. And then there was Jake Sully.

As a human.

You paused the video to examine his face. You suppose the traits matched his now blue form. The only difference was that instead of his longish dreads, he had a buzz cut in the video. And a tattoo poking out of his short sleeve shirt.

Eventually, you moved on, willing yourself to forget his face for the time being.

You also tried not to think about the fact that Neytiri hadn’t been back for about a week now. Which was normal. You didn’t overthink it. Especially not after that moment—

Eventually, you moved on, willing yourself to forget your thoughts about her.

Then you remembered Tsu’tey. Him watching you so closely. You hoped he didn’t see you and Neytiri. Frankly, you weren’t sure what would happen if he did know.

He’d kill you. That’s for sure.

Eventually, you moved on, willing yourself to forget all three of them.

When you finally got out of bed, you continued with your regular schedule and tried to think of literally anything else. You tended to your garden by yourself and continued checking the baby.

There was a bit of determination for yourself, to keep moving. To not stay in one place any longer or else you’d be stuck.

And you weren’t sure if you’d make it out if you did.

Jake continued visiting the tank room whenever he could.

Today was one of them. Only this time you made it before he did.

“How’s the baby?”

You glanced up briefly from your notes, “Healthy. It might be because Na’vi babies might grow faster in pregnancy—judging by that we might have a couple more months before it’s born.”

Jake nodded, his face serious, “Anything else?”

For a brief second you didn’t respond, too caught up in your thoughts until you realized he had asked you a question. Jake tilted his head, brows furrowed at you.

You shook your head eventually, “No, everything’s all normal.”

He stared at the belly for a moment longer before he left. You were somewhat surprised at his quick retreat but didn’t think much about it. He was some type of great warrior, he was probably busy with something else in his clan. If it meant that the two of you didn’t have to interact much with him anymore or probably a lot shorter than before, then you were okay with it.

It seemed he finally took the hint.

All you could do was keep moving.

Jake came again the next day.

This time around you brought out the ultrasound.

He watched you and the machine intensely. You noticed and gave a sound close to a huff or a snort, “Nothing’s wrong with it. I’m just doing a thorough check-up today.”

A quick look of relief crossed his otherwise exhausted features, “Right, right, of course.”

Once you got the ultrasound running and connected to the avatar, you immediately found the heartbeat with the blurry image of the fetus appearing on the screen. It had grown considerably since the first time you saw it.

“There she is.” You mumbled mostly to yourself. The heartbeat was calming in a way, easing your usual tense muscles.

Jake perked up instantly, staring at you in disbelief, “She? It’s a girl?”

You glanced up at him briefly to find a soft expression on his face upon looking at the fetus. Neteyam—who you just noticed attached to his chest—sleepily snuggled closer to his father’s chest. When his head moved out of the sling, Jake held the back of his head, giving it support.

“Yes.” You gave a short nod.

Another look of relief flashed across his face, this time he didn’t try to hide it like before. A small smile tugged at his lips, “That’s—That’s nice. Amazing.”

In the corner of your eye, you watched him. That easy fatherly expression fell upon his face. How soft his smile was, for something that wasn’t even his. You weren’t sure what to think of it—no, you expected it. It was foreign. A father loving his child. To you at least.

You didn’t know your father. Nor did you have a father figure in your life. That type of love was unfamiliar to you.

Love itself was a foreign concept that you could not yet grasp. The only time you could truly say you experienced something close—similar to love—was with your mother.

And if love was like this—heavy. Leaving you…like this.

You weren’t sure you would want to experience any type of love ever again.

“You sure you’re ready to take on another?” You raised your brows, not looking up from the belly.

Jake looked at you, “Do you care for my answer?”

“I am watching over her. I suppose I should make sure she is left with somewhat tolerable parents—that is, if there aren’t any problems with her when she’s born.” You hummed, rolling your eyes at the sudden look of worry on his face. “Relax, that’s the standard check-up of any baby—well, I don’t know how different it will be compared to human ones.”

A beat went by before he finally answered, “I wouldn’t be honest if I said I wasn’t nervous. What new parent isn’t?”

“Mmm.”

The rest of the session was just the two of you, sitting in a somewhat comfortable silence. Comfortable for you because you were able to ignore him without any problems. And Jake wasn’t being too talkative or apologetic, which was a plus. But he was noticeably less hostile toward you as the time went by. Showing that he was taking the truce quite seriously and keeping his end of the bargain.

In other words, the truce was possibly the best option for you both. You could work in peace without being hammered or interrogated. And Jake would continue his visits without any problems.

You still didn’t like him. And you were sure the feelings were mutual.

But things were becoming easier.

And sometimes you like easy. Just as much as a challenge.

There was a part of him that was curious. Jake didn’t understand it. He didn’t understand Neytiri’s easy trust in you but it only made him more curious as he kept coming to see the baby.

Of course, you were guarded and curt around him. And he was quite the same but that didn’t mean he wasn’t at least a little bit interested in why you were so important to their deity.

So many questions.

A part of him wanted to ask Eywa himself—he wasn’t much used to praying to her but he would now and then out of respect for the People. If he asked, he would possibly gain an answer—which was incredibly rare—or he would gain more questions, which was the more common response.

So, Jake took to finding things out for himself. Even if it meant doing it the hard way. Even if it meant getting his head out of his ass and finally putting things into perspective.

Jake Sully was willing to at least keep this tolerable relationship with you going. Keeping this stable cord steady. You weren’t going anywhere anytime soon. It was time he had to get used to it. It was time for him to get over himself.

And he was willing to show that he did want something different. That he was ready to change, to finally understand you in a way.

But you still didn’t like him. Which was fine.

He didn’t like himself all that much either.

Another week went by and Neytiri still hadn’t come back. Surprisingly, you found yourself missing her. And when you began missing others, you got angry.

Since you didn’t feel like going through that process again, you resolved yourself to thinking that she must’ve gotten busy with her clan. Or grown tired of watching over you and your depressing personality once she realized that you weren’t a threat to her clan.

That must’ve been it. That’s what you chose to believe at that moment.

One day at a time.

You moved forward. Because you had to.

Throughout the week you focused on your work tending to the garden, checking on the baby, and even taking on more responsibilities around Hell’s Gate.

Sometimes you’d help Dr. Patel in the bio labs, other times you went with the other avatars to train your body. There were also days you would help Norm pack different human items he’d usually bring for the Na’vi children of the Omatikaya Clan. You, of course, never ventured too close to their territory whenever you went with him to drop off the items. You’d either stay in the ship you flew in or stay at the base as he left on his own.

Jake still kept coming around but his time there became shorter and shorter with each visit. Again, you didn’t bat an eye. You welcomed it and continued with your work.

Toward the end of your busy and long week, you woke up with a start when a blaring sound struck your room. It had to have been the middle of the night as you looked around frantically, only to realize the sound was coming from your tablet.

Quickly, you grabbed it to find the alarm was the system alerting you something was wrong.

And the problem was coming from the tank room.

You stumbled out of your bedroom and dashed through the long halls until you finally ended up in the tank room. Not caring that you were probably making a bunch of noise in the process.

When you got to Augustine’s tank, your heart sank when you found Grace’s avatar was violently twitching with the lights inside of the tank blaring a red.

“Fuck!” You hissed as you immediately checked for the problem.

The first thing you checked was the avatar itself. Her heart and the baby’s were fine but the avatar’s was slightly elevated, probably in response to whatever was happening to the machine which was the next thing you began to check.

There you discovered that something in it was malfunctioning. Throwing the liquid temperature off, the placentiums weren’t giving any more nutrients like they were supposed to. Whatever was going on, you didn’t have time to fix it or the machine.

If you wasted time like that more damage could be done and you weren’t going to risk that. Especially when the baby was in there. Especially when the baby could receive the worst of your mistake. Of this malfunction.

So, you worked fast.

You searched the room for an empty tank—which you were able to find and rolled it over next to the one Dr. Augustine’s avatar was in. You pulled the empty tank open just as Norm and a few other scientists entered.

“What happened?!” Norm questioned hastily.

Quickly, you jumped down from the empty tank and rushed toward Grace’s, “It’s malfunctioning. I don’t know why but we have to move her.”

Thankfully, Norm didn’t ask any more questions. He ordered the other scientists to help you.

You worked quickly. Draining the rest of the liquid from the tank, carefully moving the avatar—this required multiple hands—until you placed it in the new tank.

“Track her heart rate.” You ordered one of them.

A second later, a woman responded, “Stable but its body temperature’s dropping fast.”

By the time she said that you closed the tank. “Norm, fill it up.”

You jumped down, grabbed the heart monitor from the female scientist, and watched the lines closely. The tank was nearly filled up as Norm came up beside you.

Along with the heart monitor, your heart pounded through your ears as the tank finally filled up. You gave the monitor to Norm and went to adjust the temperature back to the usual settings.

When the blue lights came on it felt as if the room breathed a huge sigh of relief. You took the monitor back as Norm hummed, “Lucky you were the one to get here first. And quick thinking too—do you know what went wrong with the other one?”

The rest of the scientists poured out of the room as you slowly shook your head. “I don’t know. I couldn’t waste time, Spellman. Not when it could’ve risked the baby.”

Norm nodded and patted your shoulder, “You’re right. Good work, Doc.” He moved to the other side of the tank with a thoughtful expression. “You want me to stay and help with anything else?”

The lines on the monitor were stable, which brought you some sense of comfort. And yet the slight panic remained. “No, no. I’m good here. You can go back to bed. I’ll finish up here soon.”

“Okay.” Norm eventually moved toward the exit. “Get some sleep, Reeds. I’m serious.”

You nodded without looking at him. “Yeah, sure. Goodnight.”

“Good morning.” Norm corrected with a tired grin.

With that, Norm left. You breathed in a steady breath before grabbing a chair from the corner of the lab and sinking onto it. The monitor was kept nearby, the heart rate melodic in your ears as you set your tablet down on your lap.

For a while, you studied how far along the avatar was. It had been a good couple of months since you first discovered the child—which left her at about twenty-four to twenty-seven weeks at least. That’s not even counting when she first got pregnant. But compared to a human, the Na’vi pregnancy went by a lot faster, which also confirmed your theory.

Or maybe your perception of time was fucked up with how distracted and busy you had been.

Was that why the malfunction happened? Were you too distracted to notice any faults in the system during your usual sessions? What did happen?

You contemplated this for a while. Until your mind became hazy and your eyes droopy. At some point, you fell asleep next to the tank because there was no way you would leave the fetus’ side at that point. Not after all of that.

It felt as if your eyes had been closed for only a couple of seconds before you were suddenly jolted awake to find Norm standing over you.

“What happened? Is it the tank again?” You instantly asked, turning to check on the tank.

“No, no, no—the—she’s fine!” Norm quickly assured while easing you back into your chair. “I thought I told you to get some sleep.”

You stared at him for a beat, both a tired and an annoyed expression easily falling upon your face. “Well, I assure you I certainly wasn’t sitting with my eyes closed just then.”

Norm winced, “Sorry. I thought you’d want to get in your own bed before Jake gets here.” He rubbed the back of his neck as you got up from the chair. “I had to tell him what happened—he’s flying over now.”

“That’s fine.” You grumbled. “I can stand just one day in the same room with him. Besides, I should probably figure out what went wrong with that tank.”

Norm nodded, “Okay—uh, should I be a mediator for the both of you or..?”

“Oh, please.” You rolled your eyes. “It’s not like I’m meeting their clan leader.”

“You really need to try and get along with him.” Norm chuckled with a shake of his head.

You scowled, “Are you going to keep yapping in my ear about it or be useful?”

“Alright, alright, don’t an ass.” He strolled toward the doorway. “Jake’ll be here in fifteen.”

Once he left, you got to work again. You weren’t an official engineer but you knew a good amount of information from your training back on Earth. You hoisted yourself up and into the tank before you began taking it apart. You stood in it, trying to find out what exactly had gone wrong—while glancing at the heart monitor now and then.

Your brain was moving quickly yet hazily from the sleep. Eyes honed in on the mess of wires in front of you. So distracted by your silent questions and theories that you didn’t hear the incoming footsteps. Only the voice that followed after.

“What happened? Is she okay?”

“Yes, she’s fine.” You replied immediately, watching in the corner of your eye as he approached the new tank. His hair was tied back and across his chest was a leather strap that carried what looked like a machete. “It was just a malfunction with the tank. We were able to get her out before any real damage could be done.”

Jake frowned, “Malfunction? How the hell did you let that happen?!”

“Look, I don’t know.” You replied calmly, ignoring the twitch in your jaw. “I’m still trying to figure all that out. But she’s out of it and fine. Norm helped if that makes you feel better—”

“I thought you had things handled? What happened to that?” Jake scowled, his tone vicious.

“I do.”

“Then what the hell happened—”

“I already said I don’t know!” You seethed, glaring down at the group of wires now hanging from your hands. Somewhere in the back of your brain, you realized that Norm really did have to stand between the two of you. That this truce wasn’t stable enough. That the two of them were just too explosive. “The hell do you think I’m trying to do? Kill the baby?!”

You missed the way Jake’s face faltered slightly, catching himself. “No…No, that’s not what I—”

“Then get off my fucking dick!” You snapped, throwing a piece of the tank to the floor with a clatter.

All sound was gone from the room then.

This was the last thing you wanted to deal with. Being scolded like some child—like you already weren’t beating yourself up over this mess.

You sunk onto the floor of the tank and continued working. Because that’s what you were best at. Not conversations. Not people. Not love.

Work. It was everything to you.

Already you were mentally drowning Jake out, ignoring the fact that there was another person in the room with you. But eventually, you realized that there was nothing wrong with the wires. It must’ve been something else. Another theory down the drain.

Jake uttered your name at one point. And you ignored him.

There was a sigh followed by a short pause before he spoke, “I’m sorry.” You continued ignoring him. There was something about his apologies. You were just tired of them. “That wasn’t fair, you’re right. I shouldn’t have come at you like that—”

“Augustine’s avatar is over there.” You mumbled. “You can check on her yourself.”

There was another silence but you were too focused on what was in front of you to notice or care. You were so determined to ignore him and the sting in the corners of your eyes.

You didn’t like to cry. Especially in front of others.

Thankfully, you ignored him long enough until you realized you were finally alone.

After a while, you breathed out a tired sigh.

Fortunately, as the days went by there were no other problems with the new tank or baby, but it didn’t stop you from always double-checking everything after that close call. So much so that you didn’t realize how much sleep you were missing until Norm pulled you away from your work and forced you back into your room. Locked the door and everything just to make his point.

With the promise of Norm taking care of your work, you eventually allowed yourself to sleep for practically the entire day. Not without the tablet on the dresser next to your bed of course.

Even after catching up on some semblance of sleep, Norm still didn’t let you get back to your schedule right away. Which irritated you of course.

“I don’t want you in my garden, Spellman.”

He rolled his eyes, “And I don’t want you stressing yourself out. As your friend and colleague who happens to care about your well-being, I demand you stay away from the garden until you’re completely rested.”

You frowned at him, “We’re friends?”

“Shut up and accept my love.”

And he kept true to his word. Norm kept you away from the gardens, even the tank room. And made sure that the scientists knew how to keep you away as well. He covered all of his bases.

Damn him.

You couldn’t sit around and do nothing though. So, at some point you were so desperate you resorted to practically begging Norm to just give you something to do that would distract you throughout the whole day. You nagged and nagged and nagged until Norm finally gave in.

“There’s an old link shack north of Hell’s Gate. We’ve been thinking about restoring all of them around the area. But that particular shack’s connection is a little wonky. Maybe you could head over and restock the supplies with your avatar. Maybe even fix the connection while you’re at it.”

You nodded quickly, “Yeah, sure thing. I’ll get on that—”

“And don’t try to sneak your way to the gardens!” Norm added sternly, sending you a look over his shoulder while clicking away at his computer. “Plus, you won’t need the Samson ships. The shack’s not too far from here.”

With that, you went to grab supplies, such as med kits, weapons—one gun and a few stacks of ammo—blankets, Na’vi weapons, a hunting knife, and a bow with a few arrows. You kept the hunting knife to yourself just in case.

After getting all of this, you placed the bag of supplies in the compound longhouse where your avatar always slept when you weren’t linked. Once you got to your link bed and linked up with your avatar, you grabbed the hunting knife and the bag of supplies before taking off north from Hell’s Gate.

The sky was grey today with a few darker clouds on the horizon instead of the shimmering blue you were used to. A storm might’ve been coming.

Which meant you had to make this trip quick. There was no telling how bad these storms could get on this planet.

Similar to how you traveled through the forest with Neytiri, you took to the trees so that you’d have less of a chance of running into or disturbing any of Pandora’s finest. Hopefully, you had learned to be quiet enough to not draw any attention your way as well.

As time went by, the sky got darker. You followed the coordinates Norm gave you while slipping through the trees like the true shadow you were. Traveling and climbing through the trees got easier as you went. You had done it enough times with Neytiri that you knew what to do and how to do it. Albeit not perfectly, but enough to get by. Blending into the environment as best as you could.

You enjoyed it, the vibrant life and colors of the forest once again. Every time felt like you were taking in Pandora for the very first time. Every time felt like a huge breath of the freshest air. Here, you were weightless. You weren’t a scientist. You weren’t human. You weren’t an avatar. You were just were.

You existed here. You were real.

Truly this place was everything you dreamed of when you were younger.

Rain began to pour by the time you spotted the shack. It was propped up and well hidden in a large tree, with moss growing out of the sides, the entire thing looking like it hadn’t been used in a long time.

You slid down from a branch as quietly as you could and landed in front of the metal entrance. By the time you got the door open and crouched inside, you were soaking wet from the rain.

The shack itself wasn’t too small, which surprised you. It must’ve been made to allow avatars to be able to roam freely through here without too much trouble.

Once the door was closed, you sunk onto the empty cot in the corner of the shack and began unpacking the supplies. The med kit went into the cabinets above a wooden table attached to the wall. The blankets went on the cot. The gun and ammo went under the cot in a long black case filled with old and rusted weapons you had to throw out into the rain. You kept the hunting knife tucked in your shorts.

The rain kept going. It was relaxing. Stopping for a moment to listen. Smelling it through the cracked window next to the cot you sat on.

It was nice. You could stay here if you wanted. This could’ve been your new home if you didn’t have responsibilities at Hell’s Gate.

Lastly, you worked on the radio that sat on the wooden table—which you assumed was connected to the main base. So, for the next few minutes, you took your time messing with the radio. Listening to either ongoing static or barely audible voices going in and out. At some point, you messed with the wires a few times before Norm’s voice finally came through.

“Tomato. Tomato. Tomato.”

You pressed one of the buttons, “Hey, Norm.”

“Oh, Jesus! Reeds!” Norm startled. “Warn a guy next time!”

You pressed your lips into a thin line, “I just wanted to test if it worked. Clearly, I fixed it.”

A snap of thunder drew you away from the radio. Seemed like it was getting worse out there. You hadn’t realized how long you’d been out there until now.

Norm seemed to realize this too, “You gonna stay there and unlink?”

“Mmm.” You paused. “I’m gonna try bringing the avatar back.”

He sighed, “Alright, good luck.”

“Don’t need it.” You said as you got up. “I’m too awesome.”

“Whatever, Reeds.”

Another clap of thunder filled the air as you stepped out of the shack. Immediately you were soaked by how heavy the rain was.

Thunder continued to boom, making your skin jump every now and then. It was just terribly cold, making you start to run so that you could get out of it faster.

You ran and ran, and ran, and ran, and ran, only to realize just how much noise you were making and that the area was too unfamiliar to you. It wasn’t long until you realized how lost you were. It was just too dark to navigate your way back or recognize any familiar spots guiding your way.

With that in mind, you went toward the nearest tree and began to climb.

But your body was yanked away from the tree bark almost instantly as you were tackled down to the ground by a large weight. Your left shoulder exploded with vicious pain as if a bunch of sharp knives buried itself into your skin and continued to tear through it.

A strangled scream left your lips as the thunder clapped in the sky once more. You could barely see the creature but it was a dark, large beast. Digging further into your shoulder.

You hadn’t even seen it coming. You hadn’t been paying attention.

Now…

Now you might die because of it.

You tried shoving at it, managing to get most of its weight off of you. But the teeth were still in your shoulder. There was still pain. There was still warm liquid dripping down your arm.

When you moved your leg, you remembered the hunting knife in your shorts. Immediately, you dug into your pocket and found the handle instantly.

After that, you didn’t waste any time stabbing at it blindly and desperately. You did this, you kept going until more warm liquid covered your knife-wielding arm. You did this until the animal was limp against your body. Until you were able to push it off and scramble to your feet and run.

The pain was awful but bearable enough for you to run back to the shack at least. Mud was all over your clothes—some of it in your mouth. If anything, you probably looked insane right now.

You ran. Ran. Ran. Ran. Ran. Way too clumsy to be quiet. What’s worse was you had no clue where you were. And there was more shuffling coming from the bushes and trees surrounding you. If anything, you were probably throwing yourself further into the lion’s den.

It wasn’t long until a black creature suddenly came out of the bushes in front of you, causing you to stumble to a stop as it made its way toward you. Sleek and dangerous. Eyes locked on you.

Thunder boomed again. An identical creature came out from your right. Another on your left. Another. And another. And another.

Until you were surrounded. Until you knew there was no way you were going to make it out of this.

You kept your knife in front of you, trying to ignore the pain in your shoulder, the warm liquid running down your arm, the shakiness in your legs. You began to wonder how much blood you were losing with your energy slowly dwindling as time went by—no, it didn’t matter.

Damn it, you weren’t going to die here! Not like this.

“Come on!” You hissed as you pointed the knife at them. “Come on!”

They growled at you, closing in. Finally, one of them pounced toward you. With the knife, you slashed at it. At that, the creature cringed away and missed you entirely but that didn’t mean the others were going to try their luck.

Out of instinct, you stumbled back as two more tried coming for you. Your back hit a tree as you yelled and swung your knife wildly at them.

Only neither the creature nor your blow landed.

The two creatures were thrown to the side as another clap of thunder struck your ears.

Another figure emerged from the trees and rushed toward you.

Instantly, you swung the knife, only for it to be caught in an iron grip.

You screamed.

“Hey, hey, easy!”

It took you only a couple of moments for you to register the words and that they were coming from a familiar avatar. The last person you ever expected to be here.

Jake lowered your arm with a hiss. You blinked as another round of thunder rattled your ears.

The creatures were closing in again. Jake turned his back to you, hissing at them. His larger arm stretched in front of you protectively when one of them got a little too close for his liking. The creature hissed back

You watched warily behind him, still clutching the dirtied knife. Both of you exhausted and animalistic. Yellow eyes glimmering. One with warning and the other with desperation.

Jake looked terrifying in this light. Just as murderous and dangerous as the animals that surrounded you.

You remained behind him, trembling but glaring. Gripping that knife like your life depended on it.

There was suddenly more shuffling, more thunder, and the creatures then scattered.

You, dumbfounded by this, spoke shakily, “Why did they—”

Jake grabbed your wrist holding the knife.

“We need to move.” He said, dragging you forward.

The two of you ran in the opposite direction of the creatures. He hauled you up a tree before climbing up himself. “Is there a link shack nearby?”

For a moment, you wondered how he knew about the link shacks. You leaned on a branch both to catch your breath and because the quick movements left you a bit dizzy. When you couldn’t come up with plausible answers to your silent question you instead said, “I just came back from one. North from here—I don’t know how far it is.”

Your body leaned a little too far. Jake was quick to grab you in his stronger, more stable arms as he pulled you away from falling off the edge, “Hey, hey, Reeds, I need you here with me, okay? Just stay awake long enough until we get to the shack and we’ll clean you up.”

“I’ve...I’m losing a lot of…” Blood. Blood was what you wanted to say. But the adrenalin was wearing out. Your shoulder throbbed horribly. Exhaustion weighed you down and placed inconvenient black spots in your vision.

“I know.” He draped your good arm over his shoulder and kept you upright. “I know, we’ll get there. I promise.”

There was no arguing with him. You were soaked to the bone and in a hell of a lot of pain. Going back to the shack was your best bet in this horrid weather.

Jake continued to support your weight as the two of you followed the same coordinates leading back to the shack—or rather you haze inaudible directions of what you could remember from the information Norm had given you while Jake haphazardly followed.

Thankfully, the rest of the way wasn’t a long journey. Or maybe you just kept blacking in and out along the way, you didn’t know.

Jake and you stumbled through the door of the shack. He closed the door while you made your way to the radio with whatever strength you had left.

“Norm.” You tapped the radio while wincing. The pain in your shoulder was getting worse. Before now you had been tolerating it. “Norm, can you hear me?”

The static went on.

“Storm must be messing with the signal,” Jake said from behind you as he rummaged through the shack. “We should stay here until the storm settles—”

You rested your head against the small table, the rest of his words becoming nothing but muffled noise to your ears. God, you’ve lost so much blood. And you were so tired.

For a moment, just for a few seconds, you wanted to sleep. Only for a moment.

“Reeds.”

A larger hand rested on the back of your neck, bringing you slightly out of your unconsciousness.

Jake kept calling your name. “Hey, where’s the med kits at? We need to work on your arm, okay? And I need you to stay awake. Can’t have you unlinking in this condition.”

Sluggishly, you nodded, “They’re in the cabinets.”

More thunder rolled by. Jake left your side briefly to search through the cabinets above you. You leaned back in your seat, staring bleakly up at the ceiling.

“How long do these storms last?” You asked.

The thunder responded with a clap.

sorry for the long wait! hopefully it was all worth the wait. another 8k chapter, yay, that wasn't difficult to write at all lol! but now jake and reeds are alone in a shack. anything could happen....

(i'm not adding anymore people anymore!)

taglist: @doggyteam2028 @bigbootahjudy @innercreationflower @n7cje @celi-xxmoon @readerofallthingss @sillyblues @squirtlebob @saturnhas82moons @1mawh0re @aprosiacperson @loserwithnofriends @garfieldsladybird @slutforsmut4ever @lik0

673 notes · View notes

orim0ri · 2 years ago

Text

Dorm Leaders With (slightly) Chaotic Star Child!Reader

Includes:

Riddle Rosehearts, Kamil Al Asim, Leona Kingsholar, Azul Ashengrotto, Vil Schoenheit, Iida Shroud, Malleus Draconia

Note: Reader isn’t the main character Yuu, gender neutral reader, fluff!!! Fluff all around. Im feeling particularly Found Family Today. Bit of angst because why not

Spoilers: Many include the Overblots in the game so major spoilers for some!

┌── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──┐

You were just something that got caught in the middle of the summoning spell that lead you to Night Raven College. Upon summoning, people immediately noticed how… Odd your magic was. Well, it wasn’t like you were doing magic right off the bat trying to set the place on fire (yet), but it was the fact you didn’t even HAVE to show off your powers for them to know that it was simply chaotic in nature. To the students upon your arrival, even Headmage Crowley, they felt that your magic was a pure vortex, your aura simply radiated pure, unhinged energy that couldn’t be contained.

Your appearance was relatively normal, well, aside from the pure white color that would sometimes tint your (e/c) eyes. And how sometimes people could see a faint glow where your heart was from underneath your ragged shirt that was four sizes too big and went down to your knees.

Yuu, who was already having a mind at how they even got to this weird magic school and was told that their world was basically nonexistent, kinda stared at you for a while but also felt a little bad when they noticed how you stared at every one else. It wasn’t that you looked sad, it was more the fact you had those wide eyes and blank face, like you hadn’t even seen people in a while.

Crowley felt like he was about to pass out. Not only did a magicless human show up (along with some fire breathing cat who almost set a student on fire), but another student showed up who’s not even NEAR the age to attend college!

There was a moment of silence before Crowley simply said, “Uhm… Well…” What was he suppose to do in this situation!? Send you home, he guesses. It’s far too dangerous to have a child here, even if they had some powerful magic on par to even Prince Draconia.

Crowley kneeled down to you with a soft smile, well, as soft as he could make it from how close he was to breaking down crying. How could this even be happening at his school!?

“Hello little one!” He said. “I am Dire Crowley, the Headmage at Night Raven College. It is a pleasure to meet you…” He trailed off, giving you a hint to tell him your name.

You were silent. Blinking at him with those big ol eyes. Then, “Y/N.”

“Ah! Y/N! Lovely name.” He smiles, taking your limp hand in his and shaking it gently. You blinked again and gripped his hand.

WHY IS YOUR HAND SO WARM ITS LIKE A DAMN FURNACE. Crowley thought his hand might be on fire now from how hot your hand was, as tiny as it was, and he could hear his leather gloves even sizzling under your grip. Meanwhile you just rapidly moved his hand up and down in a handshake like his, just more violent. He wretched his hand away from your hands and tried to keep a smile but it was very strained, he was sweating as he lightly chuckled.

“Now… Uh….” He cleared his throat. “Well, unfortunately, you are very young looking, if you don’t mind me saying,”

After all, some of the students looked like they could be in middle school!

“So, I’m afraid I’ll have to send you back home to your parents, alright?”

You said nothing. He decided to take that as a “yes” to get this night over with. He put his hand on your back and lead you up the stairs to the mirror, who’s face looked down at you.

“Magic Mirror! Send this child back to where they came!” Nothing. Oh for the Sevens sake- “…Mag-“

“The Star Child has fallen.” It said simply. “It burned too bright and fell from the sky. During its fall, it ended up here. The Star has no home to speak of to go to.”

…Well shit. Even worse! The room was tense and Crowley looked down at you. You didn’t seem to be bothered but you stared down at the floor, those eyes still big but a little dimmer now at the mention of falling. And now you had nowhere to go! What kind of man would he be if he just said; “well that sucks, anyways, off you go little one!” He sighed heavily again and rubbed his temple.

“Well… That’s… Fine!” He crouched down again. “Change of plans, little one, how about you just… Stay here until we figure out a proper home for you to be in? Maybe in one of the dorms!”

He picked you up and held you up to the Magic Mirror. The Mirror hummed for a moment.

“The Star Child is very bright. Their soul is shapeless but full of light to where it is hard to see past. They suit all of the dorms, yet none at all.”

“Well… That certainly is a predicament…” Crowley mumbled, setting you down, but you immediately looked back up at him and started to crawl up his body. He almost screamed at how terrifying it was to see your tiny body basically see him as a tree and scale up him to grab on his shoulders. He was sweating bullets now. It reminded him of those kittens that basically claw their way up your leg and you can’t even decide if you want to laugh or cry in absolute fear. He was pretty much wanting to scream and cry. Those stupid big eyes staring at him.

“…Alright then.” He patted your back awkwardly. Was this your way of asking to be held!? He basically had to force you down onto the ground.

“So! Change of plans. Since I am having to deal with this magicless human predicament because no dorm suits them-“

“I have a name y’know!” Yuu yelled, but Crowley didn’t even see to notice.

“And you are in a different situation. The Mirror said your soul was unshaped but full of potential to be in any one of the dorms…” He put a finger to his chin. “Yes… Yes! Yes this will do!”

“You will be sorted in one of the dorms to learn and be molded into a fine magic user! With that aura you have, you might go so far as to be the youngest mage to ever make it into Night Raven College and learn from the best! Ooohhh I am so generous!” Crowley was gushing at his own words as he looked down at you with promise, you simply just stared at him and the others who were staring at you.

“The dorm you shall be in is…”

╔══════╗

“Heartslabyul!”

What.

No. Seriously. What.

Not only does he have to deal with a literal child, he also has to deal with these new freshmen who clearly do not understand the sacred Queen of Hearts rules! Riddle isn’t all too happy with this situation, but it here is a chance he can shape you to be a well refined student, then he will do so!

But first he has to do something about your appearance. Your clothes are partly singed at the ends and you definitely need to be freshened up! He won’t have you looking untidy.

Crowley had brought you over to Riddle, who stood calm and poised with his hands behind his back.

“This is Riddle Rosehearts, the dorm prefect of Heartslabyul. He will be watching over you and teaching you about Twisted Wonderland.”

You stared at Riddle. He stared back at you. You didn’t even blink for a whole minute, then, you walked up to him and tried crawling up his body what the fu-

He promptly yanked you off of him and your grimy child hands were gripping his robe and he was clenching his teeth as you stubbornly held onto him. He managed to get you on the ground, but he had to hold back from using his signature spell on you. This was your one time to ever make this mistake. You clearly do not understand. But he shall teach you proper manners.

“Ahem.” He cleared his throat. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Y/N. However, please refrain from ever climbing on people. It isn’t polite.”

You stared at him. “No.”

No? What do you mean ‘no?’ Huh???

“Ridley.” Huh??!!?? That’s not even close to being his name!?

“It’s Riddle.”

“Rib.”

“Riddle.”

“Dil.”

He’s about to lose it. He breathes in deep as he pinches the bridge of his nose, then, he hears your low cackling, like you’re holding back yourself from giggling too loud. He looks at you, a mischievous grin looking back at him, your eyes that (e/c) color glowing a bit white as you snicker at him. He sighs internally. Another rule breaker, he can smell it, and he’s not gonna have it. His mother raised him to be a proper man, to follow the rules and have order, and he will teach you just the same. He won’t tolerate you antagonizing him.

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

“Now, I shall teach you the manner of ‘rules’ here in Heartslabyul. We follow the great Queen of Hearts, who ruled over Rose Kingdom with order. I know all 810 of her rules and now, so shall you. Do you understand?”

One day after coming here to Night Raven you learn that Riddle sucks the fun out of everything. As soon as you got to the dorms with the freshmen and the returning students for their new year, he immediately told you that it was way past bedtime. Something about “rule 67 of the Queen of Hearts, one shall go to bed at exactly 8:30 on a weekday.” And then today, he sat you down in the dorm lounge and brought a heavy book.

“This is what you need to learn in order to be able to go through life. Rules here are very important and it a way to maintain absolute order over your kingdom. As a prefect, it is my job to uphold the Queen of Hearts rules to a tee. Though, since you are a bit younger than the others, I’ll give you some time to adjust. But do not think I will tolerate you actively rule breaking! There will be consequences to your actions, do you understand?”

You didn’t like this one bit. You frowned with a pout, Riddle clicked his tongue at you and crossed his arms.

“Do not pout or whine. You are not a toddler. Now, open to the first page and get to studying. I’ll be here the whole time to make sure you actually do it.”

This sucks. This really sucks. You burned up so bright in the sky when you thought about the universes out there, needing to see them all, despite all your siblings telling you to relax. You couldn’t help it! You burned so bright the colors exploded and stretched beyond the infinite space. When you ended up here you wanted to have some fun! Not be forced to read these stupid rules!

Turning the page to the first rule you wanted to die. You didn’t wanna read! Also…

How did you know how to read?

Whatever! It didn’t matter. You didn’t wanna! Your face scrunched again and looked at Riddle, who looked back at you with that typical “no nonsense” look. You stared at one another for a long time.

Then you ran.

“Y/N!!”

He chased after you and you ran through the halls with speed. How were you so fast!? Sure you were a child but you’re so fast! Other students moved out of the way as you ran, cackling down the halls as you did so. Trey was making tarts for the upcoming un-birthday party when he heard those giggles come into the kitchens, your figure darting in the kitchen and then out past Riddle when he entered, red faced and panting. He was sweating and grabbed the counter.

Trey chuckled at bit at Riddle. “…going well?”

Riddle growled a bit at Trey and swallowed. That’s when Trey noticed a missing baked tart from the “test tarts” he made. That’s when Riddle gritted his teeth. How did you manage to evade him AND get a tart in the process!?

“Get back you you little brat!”

Trey didn’t mind the little theft of the tart and watched as Riddle ran out of the kitchen. He laughed a little under his breath. You were gonna be an interesting addition to the bunch.

“Y/N DO NOT BRING THAT BOOK ANYWHERE NEAR THE FIRE! PUT THAT DOWN THIS INSTANT!”

…Maybe he should help…

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

You’ve been at the school for maybe a few days now and you like Riddle! You really do! Even if he is a big party pooper, he’s still really fun to mess with! Which is why you like him. You pull simple, harmless pranks every now and then. Salt in his tea rather than sugar, taking a shoe from a set pair of his and hiding it and having him chase you for it, dangling off the chandelier in the lounge and listening to Riddle yell at you while his face gets a beat red, putting glitter in his hairdryer, the works! It’s so fun messing with him and they aren’t doing damage to him, so it’s okay!

Then there’s the un-birthday day. You’ve never heard of it and it sounds like a big deal. With the dorm uniform Carter managed to get for you thanks to Crowley, you fit right along with the others! Though, it wasn’t helping that Riddle kept trying to fix your uniform. Or kept trying to check you for any of the hedgehogs you somehow keep hidden on your person at all times. You just love the little guys! Yuu was even there at the party too!

You were sat beside Riddle, mostly to stick to his side so you don’t try and cause something. Ace had walked over to Riddle and presented the walnut tart to him and things just went downhill from there with you in the mix.

“And you!” Riddle screeched during his rant, pointing an accusing finger at you. “You are nothing but a useless weed here! You do nothing for the kingdom with your stupid pranks and disgusting attitude! If it were up to me, you would be thrown out at once and left with the rest of the trash!”

You watched at the others fought against the now blotted Riddle with a slightly broken heart. By the time Riddle was finally defeated and sobbed openly in front of others, you kinda stood there in the background.

You’ve never felt this way before.

This much hurt made your chest ache inside and you began crying. You’ve never cried before. You ran off chaos and were a big buddle of energy, all full of light and little darkness in your heart without a need to feel any negative emotions. But now you were here in the world.

You sniffled a bit and rubbed your eyes, a little confused and very… sad, if that’s the word. Riddle was suddenly in front of you, standing awkwardly there, then he hugged you.

“I’m so sorry.” He said, clinging to you tightly. “I’m really sorry… I- I actually enjoyed your pranks a little! I liked when you smiled afterward. I liked when you made me chase you. It reminded me of playing outside with friends… Something I rarely did.”

“You aren’t useless at all! I didn’t mean those words at all.” Riddle frowned and almost started crying again. “I won’t be so harsh on you anymore. You don’t have to study the rules all the time. You don’t have to be like me.”

“Just… Don’t cry. Please. I don’t want you to cry because of me…”

You sniffed again.

Then you punched him on the chest.

“Your mean! I’m taking all your tarts! All your sweets! I’m taking everything from you!”

Riddle only smiled and held you even tighter while you shouted empty threats.

Since then, he’s more lenient on you. He doesn’t need to shape you to be just like him, like his mother wanted him, he can at least try to raise you the way he would want to be raised, with some freedom. Trey helps him because sometimes it’s hard to try and do something you weren’t taught to do.

“Savanaclaw!”

No.

No. Absolutely not. He has his brothers brat to deal with back at home. He does not want to deal with another brat here. He seriously wants a nap.

“This is Leona Kingscholar, prefect of Savanaclaw. He shall be looking over you and guiding you along your way!”

He stared at you with distaste. You stared back at him with those big eyes of yours. Then, you stared at his ears, which twitched, then, to his tail that lightly swayed behind him.

You then promptly grabbed it with your hands and had it in a tight grip, yanking the tail.

He hissed at you and lightly shoves you back. You stare at him. Then try to grab it again. He grabs the back of your shirt and lifts you up off your feet.

“Knock it off.”

“Are you a kitty? I’ve never seen them before.”

“I’m a lion.”

“Then you are a big kitty then.”

He sighs. He dislikes you already. He might just throw you into the care of Ruggie, the guy has plenty of siblings to speak of so he can take care of you. He seriously does not wanna deal with you, but, he has to keep you from making his form look bad. What a pain.

“Come on, brat.” He said, still carrying you by the back of your collar, which you didn’t seem to mind based on your grinning, trying to grab at his ears with your grubby mitts.

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

He was just laying there peacefully in his room, the night was upon them after arriving back to the dorm. He was happy to sleep until…

He cracked one eye open and saw your glowing eyes in the dark staring back down at him. Leona swears, he started to dislike children even more. You were super creepy in the dark.

“What are you doing.” You asked.

“Trying to sleep. Which is what you should be doing. I gave you a room, didn’t I.”

The room he gave you was a vacant one only a few doors down from Ruggie’s room. If anyone should deal with you, it’s him. Please. But here you are, in front of him.

You continued to stare at him. “How do you sleep.”

“By closing my eyes and sleeping.” He groaned with a sigh and fully opened his eyes at you. “What do you want.”

“…I dunno.”

He felt a headache coming on. He turns his body over for his back to face you. You tilt your head at him and then caught eye to his tail again. You grabbed it with your hands and he immediately wanted to scratch you, but you weren’t gripping it like you hated him this time. You messed with it as it wriggled in your grasp and giggled lightly at the tail and then poked at the end, looking at it with fascination. You’ve never seen this before!

Then you climbed onto the messy bed and then started messing with his ears, which he lightly shoved your hands away, but then you went back to messing with them again.

“Stop.” He growled.

You remained silent, then lightly started petting him a bit. He huffed and sat up, grabbing you and putting you off the bed.

“Go to your room and go to sleep.”

“I don’t know how.” You said. “I’ve never slept before.”

Huh. You never slept before? Well if you are some star… thing… it sounded about right. He groaned for what seemed like the fifth time tonight and sucked his teeth and laying down on his back.

“Cmon, lay down,” he said, which you crawled back into the bed and mimicked his position, staring at him.

“Now shut your eyes.”

You shut your eyes and then waited, like he was, but nothing was happening. You felt antsy just waiting here in silence, but you kept your eyes firmly shut. Leona peaked at you and saw how you were tense, but said nothing. Eventually after a few moments, he heard you yawn and then move over to grasp at his arm. He looked at you and saw you completely passed out asleep.

Finally.

He yawned himself and fell asleep with you gripping his arm.

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

“YOU DAMN BRAT!”

You were giggling and laughing when you snatched away his favorite sandwich Ruggie got for him from the dining hall, running away from the botanical garden with the sandwich in hand. You didn’t wanna eat it, but you wanted to mess with him a little since you were bored.

You had been sitting on his chest for like a whole hour trying to wake him up but he’s been ignoring you. You tried napping with him to maybe get why he naps, but you got bored of that quickly.

Now you were escaping a cranky and hungry lion!

“GET BACK HERE!” You turned a corner down the hallway, pasting a bunch of students who moved out of your way, then you saw a beast man seeing Leona chase after you and tried to grab you, but you were a slippery thing and manage to dodge him!

Then you were suddenly tackled to the ground with Leona holding you to his chest as you were squealing with laughter and trying to wiggle your way out.

“Give me back my damn food.” He growled at you, trying to snatch it from you but you kept moving it away from him, even with him holding you.

Then you gave up and gave it to him. “Thank you for playing with me Leo!”

He doesn’t even correct you on his name. “Go bother someone else!”

He tried walking away, maybe hoping that you’d try and find Ruggie, but no, he looks over his shoulder and sees you happily following him.

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

It had been after Leona’s Overblot and you didn’t even bother to leave the infirmary to see the Magift game, whatever it was. You sat a bit away from Leona’s bed in a chair with your knees against your chest, staring away from him. During his Overblot he called you a nuisance, which, you won’t bother trying to deny you were being annoying to Leona, but it still stung a bit. Leona could tell you were off based on how quiet you are and the fact you had a certain smell about you, as if your magic had dimmed a bit and it was clear by your eyes that you weren’t glowing as bright anymore.

He sighed. He hated apologizing but he would do it if you stopped having that sad look about you. “Hey, brat,”

You looked up to him, pouting a bit. He sighed again, more agitated.

“What I said… Uh…” He swallowed his pride. “I’m sorry.”

You blinked at him and tilted your head, like a confused puppy. And looked away. “Do I really bother you…? Do you really not like me? I promise I’ll stop. I’ll be better.”

Okay now that hit him harder than it needed to.

“You don’t need to ‘be better’, not for a guy like me. Sure, you are annoying,” he watches you deflate a bit. “But… If you stopped with your antics, I’d probably get antsy just waiting for you to do something. It wouldn’t be good, especially if I’m trying to sleep.”

Well… It was something. He watches you visibly brighten in your eyes and smile at him, which makes him disgustingly warm, and just accepts it when you throw yourself on him in a big hug.

“UNKA!!!!!”

No.

Please.

Cheka runs in the infirmary with the others following him, his little body colliding on top of Leona when you moved yourself out of the way, making him groan on the impact.

“Seriously? Cheka, where is your guard? Why are you even here.”

“I wanted to see you!” The little lion beamed with a toothy grin.

Then, the little guy takes notice of you, and you stared at him. You walked over to Cheka.

“Do you know Unka?” Cheka asked.

“Mhm! He’s taking care of me. I don’t have a home!”

Kids always say some odd stuff, especially honest stuff to one another and neither of you look at all phased.

“Oh, okay!” Cheka says. “My unka is very kind, even when he’s a little grumpy! Does that mean you’re my cousin?”

“No they aren’t-“

“I dunno what a cousin is but yeah!”

“You’re not my nephews cousin.”

“I’m Cheka!”

“I’m Y/N! I’ll try to be a good cousin but I dunno how to act.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll try to lead you okay!”

“You two ARENT cousins!”

“Octavinelle!”

Well… Okay?

He doesn’t know how to feel when he goes up to you, but what he does know is that you’re radiating with some powerful energy and he desires that. Perhaps he can shape you to his own devices? Hm…

“My name is Azul Ashengrotto, a pleasure to meet you Y/N.”

You furrowed your eyes at him and he blinked for a moment at you. It was as if you smelled something off, or maybe there was something on his face. You frowned at him and took a step back. Huh?

“Uh…” Crowley coughed in his hands. “Y/N? Go with Mr. Ashengrotto!”

“No.” You said. “There’s a funny smell on him. It smells weird.”

Azul felt a little embarrassed at how you put it. Crowley looked confused and then made a soft “ah” when he snapped his fingers.

“That’s the salt water!”

You looked at Crowley. “Whats salt water?”

Azul looked baffled for a moment. You didn’t know what salt water was!? Let alone an ocean!?

“It’s like water but salty.” Azul explained. “It’s usually found in the ocean.”

“What’s the ocean?”

“It’s… Like a big… lake?”

“Whats a lake?”

Did you seriously know nothing? He was growing a bit frustrated with you.

“Come with me and I can show you.”

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

It was like being in the glass and all around you there was blue, an array of animals swam past and barely turned to gaze at you. You stared with big eyes at what was supposedly the ocean that surrounded you. You touched the glass. You’ve only heard about the ocean from your siblings! They said that the moon liked the ocean and kept it balanced, from what you’ve heard.

And the ocean was very pretty.

“Do you understand now?” Azul asked behind you.

You looked at him. “I wanna feel the ocean.”

“You mean you wanna get in the water? I dont-“

“What’s the harm, Azul?” Jade asked with a small smile, looking down at you.

When you first met Jade and Floyd for the first time, you swore that you thought you were seeing double because you thought they were the same person! Well, up until they explained the idea of twins to you.

“Yeah Azul!” Floyd piped up, picking you up swiftly and squeezing you lightly. “Little starfish wants to explore!”

“Starfish? That’s new.” Jade lightly pinched your cheeks.

“Well the mirror did say that they were a star so they’re a starfish!”

Azul looked to Floyd and Jade and sighed. Maybe letting you swim would be okay. He has work to do so it doesn’t really bother him much.

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

He had to sit in the lounge and watch you guys. Turns out you don’t know how to swim but somehow you don’t need to breathe? The first time you got in the water, you just sank to the bottom with Floyd and Jade now in their eel forms circling around you, trying to pull you up, but you just let the bubbles escape your mouth as you stared all around you, seemingly unaffected by the water or the salt entering your eyes. They stared back at you and Floyd was even more excited than before! You were just like a starfish, he was right!

Azul watched, somewhat panicked when you didn’t even bother swimming to the surface, mostly trying to flail your arms and try and follow Jade and Floyd.

“Don’t worry little starfish! We got you!” Floyd cheered, grabbing one of your arms.

“We can teach you since you’ll be around us a lot more often.” Jade grabbed your other arm.

The two hoisted you up and helped you move around in the water. It was like teaching a little fish how to swim for the first time, they thought it was adorable how your little bitty arms moved around to copy their movements. Of course, they had to go based off of how humans swam since you didn’t have a tail, which was fine. But for the most part, you were enamored by their eel form rather than trying to swim. You tried to grab their slippery tails but they moved so quick you couldn’t grab on. It was even worse when you actually got the hang of swimming a lot faster than they expected and tried chasing after them to grab their tails.

Floyd was having a blast as he pressed against the glass. “Azul! Starfish is so cute! I wanna keep ‘em! They really like us like this!”

You caught Floyd by his tail and refused to let go, climbing like a gremlin up his body and grabbing his face. His whole body was a blue-ish green color, which you thought was the most cool thing ever, and then you finally have the chance to see his teeth up close.

“See! They like me!”

“Careful Floyd, don’t squeeze too hard.”

You didn’t mind. You and Floyd were getting along great! Azul wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or… a bad thing. Both? Probably both. It’s Floyd. Who knows what he’ll teach you.

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

You bit Azul during homework time.

“Ow! Y/N!? The hell was that for!?”

“I dunno,” you shrugged. “I was excited being around you and I wanted to bite you.”

“Starfish!!!” Floyd cooed, picking you up and squeezing you. “You and me are just alike!”

“Yay!”

Azul is now fearful.

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

It had been days after Azul’s overblot incident and you had nothing to forgive him on because he never said anything to you, he mostly never really payed much attention to you since he was constantly working, which you were bored with. But even so, he was trying to change and open up more now for the better! But there was something really bothering you.

You wanted to swim with Azul!

“Azul?” You had asked him while in the lounge with him. He actually wanted to talk with you a bit more, study you a bit to know more about being a star in the first place, but you were bored with the questions mostly.

“Yes, Y/N?”

“Can we swim?”

“Huh? Swim? I- I don’t think that’s…” He was worried. Sure he was trying to love himself more, he really was, after all, it’s something he has to learn to do before he could ever become whole. But there was still those lingering fears inside of him. You’ve never seen someone like him in that form.

“Please?” You looked at him with those big puppy dog eyes. “Pleaaaaaaaaaaeeeee????”

“…alright.” If it’s something you fear, it’s all the more reason to face it.

“Yay!”

You were tugging on him to get up to the tank that entered the sea around the dorm, dragging him to the water. You canonballed into the water without even bothering to get out of your uniform and poked your head up to watch Azul.

He was sweating bullets as he stepped into the water, the water engulfing his whole body until he was finally submerged. He shut his eyes tightly when he felt himself transform into what he thought was the hideous version of himself, a tentacle freak. He could practically hear the insults now.

He decided to crack a single eye open when he felt you grab one of the dark purpled limbs in your hand. You stared at it and blinked of times.

Then you bit him.

“Ow! Seriously!?”

You only grinned at him with those nasty demon teeth. He couldn’t help but smile back at you.

“Scarabia!”

Aw!!! He loves you already! At first glance, you looked like the cutest lil kid he’s ever seen! You remind him of his little siblings and he can’t help but beam at you as he approaches you and crouches to your level with eyes as big as yours.

“Hi there!” He beams. “My name is Kalim Al Asim! Im the prefect of the dorm and I guess I’ll be taking care of you!”

“It’ll mostly be me.” He heard Jalim sigh behind him.

“We can take care of them together!”

“Sun.” You suddenly said. Kamil looked at you with the same smile on his face and he hummed in question. You placed a hand on his head.

“You are… Like the sun.” You were smiling like you were talking about someone from home, where ever that was for you, and you kept patting his head, which he giggled at you and took your little hand in his.

“You’re so sweet!” He swooped you up in his arms and basically almost tried crushing you in his hug. “I like you weird star child! Come on! Let’s go to the dorms and I’ll show you around! Oo we can even have a sleepover and Jamil can make something yummy for you to eat! And then we can get to know each other, yeah!?”

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

Jamil almost dropped all his things as he stared at you and Kalim. How the hell did this even happen. Kalim was apparently watching you were on fire. You. Were. On. Fucking. FIRE!?

“WHAT THE FU-“

“Oh hey Jamil!”

“WHAT!? THEY- THE KID IS ON FIRE!?”

“I’m okay!” You said. “I got a little mad.”

“WHAT!?”

“We were watching a movie and they got upset at the movie, so I’m waiting until they stop burning. It’s kinda like how that weird shut-in guy from Ignihyde looks when he gets upset!” Kalim was laughing at the idea and Jamil was currently panicking. How was he okay with this!?

That’s when you stopped burning. Your clothes were burnt to a crisp and it was a miracle they weren’t ash, even more a blessing that they weren’t your uniform and rather your pajamas. But now there were burn foot marks in the floor because of your entire body being on fire. Jamil watched as you collapsed into Kalim’s arms and say that you’re better now, which Kamil wasn’t the least bit phased.

“Why didn’t you try and put them out!?” Jamil chided Kamil with a very confused and very irritated expression.

“Well, I was freaking out, don’t get me wrong!” He admitted while holding you. “My reaction was kinda like yours, except mostly crying and screaming. Then Y/N said that this sometimes just happened when their emotions get out of hand so I waited for them to calm down!”

“Kamil’s smile made me stop being angry.” You said to Jamil who felt a headache coming on as he sighed. He kinda just tried to accept what was happening.

Then you stood up and hugged Jamil, your arms wrapping around his abdomen. “I’m sorry I made you worry. And made the floor burn. And burned my clothes.”

He looked down at you, smelling the burnt fabric and char lingering in the air, and just simply sighed heavily and patted your head a little. After all, you were a little kid, even if you had some otherworldly magic in your hands and weren’t even human, despite looking like one.

“Group hug!”

Jamil can’t take this anymore.

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

“What was your home like, Y/N?” Kamil asked you one night before taking you to bed. It was actually next to his room, which he wanted to make sure it was so he can always help you if you ever needed him! Big brother instincts always take over.

“Mm… It was dark.” You said as he tucked you into bed. “I wasn’t alone though. I was with my family.”

“They were the other stars?”

“I think so. I’m not sure.” You looked at Kamil. “You always talk about the things you do with your family, but me and my family never done anything together. I always wanted to play, but there was nothing to play. We were always just… there.”

He felt sad for you. You weren’t showing any sadness since you didn’t understand how to express it, but he could tell that you were feeling something deep down based on how you were staring at him. Envious? Upset? All of the above? He couldn’t be sure, but it made him sad.

“But Im here. In this world. I can’t go back to my family and that’s fine.” You said. “Because I have Kamil and Jamil.”

He felt his heart clench in his chest and he wanted to start crying. He felt warm as you smiled at him.

“Kamil is like the sun. And Jamil is like the moon. It reminds me of home and I’m happy!”

Kamil burst into tears and grabbed you, holding you close to his chest and sniffling and sobbing with snot running down his nose.

“You are the sweetest kid ever! I’m never letting you go! We’re gonna be together forever, I demand it!”

“Pomfoire!”

Oh……

Ew.

That was probably the very first thing he thought when he caught a glimpse at your ragged clothes. How you walked around with that mangy shirt made him look you up and down with slight distaste. Although, despite your lack of fashion, you had some hope in your appearance. With a bit of help, you had some hope.

“This is Vil Schoenheit. The prefect of Pomfoire. He is an expert in potion making! With his expertise, you’ll be a master in any art in no time!”

All you can think of is that this guy is very purple. Maybe that’s his favorite color. You’ll probably call him a fruit at some point. Vil crossed his arms as you stared up at him. The two of you had a staring contest for a while before Vil sighed and grabbed your arm.

“Come on, potato.”

“I am not a vegetable.” You said as he pulled you. “Val.”

“It’s Vil. It’s not that hard to say.”

“Whatever you say, Allen.”

“Dimwit.”

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

“Don’t. Eat. It.”

“But it smells good!”

“Do not eat it you idiot!”

Vil was trying to get you dolled up currently in his room. He had you sitting at his vanity with a large majority of makeup products that appeared high class in quality. He had gotten you out of those rugged fabrics and into the dorm uniform that was your size. Now he was busy styling you with a bit of a light blush and maybe some gloss. After all, you were still a child, he didn’t want to cake your skin in the products that could possibly damage your skin, it would just look terrible.

Unfortunately, the gloss he had smelled good to you and you kept trying to lick it off your lips to eat it. He was beyond disgusted. Nasty child.

“Stop that!” He said, lightly tapping your head to scold you. You pouted at him.

“But it smells good.”

“It won’t taste good, just like the soap you tried to eat when taking a bath.”

“It lied to me.”

He sighs, very annoyed. He decided to just skip the blush and just use chapstick.

…

“STOP TRYING TO EAT IT.”

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

Ask anyone in NCR and they would insist that Vil despises you. He complains about you constantly annoy him and that you are a thorn in his side, along with other insults he could think of, mostly describing you a nuisance.

Others are very convinced he hates you, but, it’s actually the opposite.

He ADORES you.

Sure, you’re annoying at times with your constant pranks and always being glued to his side, but that’s not to say he hates it or you for it. When someone asks him if he does hate you, his confusion and irritation is clear.

“What gave you that idea?”

Well… He doesn’t exactly make it obvious he cares about you. His care for you is subtle if you aren’t actively trying to look for it.

“Vil can I have that burger thing in the dining hall?”

“Absolutely not. It’s very greasy and you could break out into pimples and ruin your complexion.”

You stare at him. You liked the fruit salad Vil introduced you to because it was sweet and nice, though you didn’t understand the salad part, there wasn’t any vegetables. But you also wanted to try other foods! You’ve never eaten before cause you never experienced hunger until you fell. Although, you haven’t gotten use to a solid form ever since your fall, nor the feeling of hunger. Some days you don’t feel hungry or feel any drainage like normal humans do when they experience it.

The first time you told Vil that you were hungry he asked when the last time you ate. You said;

“What day is today?”

You swore his face turned white as a sheet. Now he keeps a keen eye on you to maintain a proper eating schedule! He does take into consideration of your body type and shape, all people process food differently, but for you, you aren’t exactly human, fae, or any other creature he’s seen or studied, so he keeps a little snack on him at all times, just to make sure you get some food in you. You’re a growing star child and he’ll be damned if you don’t take care of yourself!

Another subtle thing people don’t look out for.

Vil eventually caved a let you have the burger, though. You devoured it in ten seconds flat.

“Calm down or you’ll-“

You started choking and he sighs. He’ll scold you later.

Another thing people rarely see is that he’ll kill everyone if someone insults you or hurts you.

There was a time a Pomfoire student laughed at you when a potion blew up in your face after you added random shit into the caldron. It didn’t hurt you or turn you into something strange, but it didn’t almost burn bits of your hair…

Vil heard the cackling as he was scolding you and then snapped his head over to the student.

“Is there something you want to add.”

His glare was terrifying and any word other than “no prefect” would probably make him want to turn them into a toad.

He’ll kill everyone and then himself if harm ever comes to you. That’s a promise, no matter what complaints he has.

“Ignihyde!”

He has a hundred PowerPoint slide on why he is the LEAST qualified person to do this. He still holds a belief that he is the worst brother in the world after what happened to Ortho and he can give a long, long list of reasons why he cannot possibly take care of a kid.

Now he looks at you through the floating tablet on his screen and bites his nails nervously when you stare back.

“On the otherside of this tablet is the prefect Idia Shroud! The prefect of Ignihyde.”

“Nice to meet you…? I guess.” Idia mumbled out.

You visibly perked up and suddenly snatched the table into your hands and stared at the screen. Now Idia has full view of those big eyes of yours and it isn’t something he enjoys. He almost screeches when you grabbed the tablet.

“Please let go of the tablet!” He said. “You’re gonna damage it or- or something! Just let it go!”

“You aren’t a person?”

“I am! I just didn’t wanna come to the ceremony in person, so I’m using this tablet to watch…”

“Oh.”

You didn’t understand but that’s fine. It was glowing a pretty blue and you wanted to look at it up close anyways, even if the man was trapped in the metal square.

“Hello!” Ortho came up to you and gently urged you to release the tablet from your hands. Idia almost sighed in relief. He didn’t wanna imagine what you’d be like in person. “My name is Ortho Shroud! My big brother is Idia Shroud!”

You stared at the boy, who was very cheerful. You tilted your head and then poked his metal shoulder. “You are metal.”

“I am! My brother designed this body for me!” Ortho said. “He is very talented and smart! Even if he doesn’t think so.”

“Ortho…” Idia’s hair was already turning pink from embarrassment.

You continuously poked at Ortho’s metal body, sometimes even knocking on it, which he didn’t seem to mind. He was giggling at you and grabbed your small hand in his, leading you out of the ceremony hall.

“Come on! Let’s meet my big brother!”

“Ortho! Wait I’m not mentally ready! Abort! Abort!”

“It’ll be okay!”

“Ortho!”

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

Idia hated this. No seriously he hated this so much.

As soon as you saw him, you wasted no time and suddenly scaled his body like a damn rat, which he let out a girly screech at, and now is stiff as a statue as you poked and prodded at his blue, fiery hair.

Meanwhile, Ortho was giggling at your antics. He really liked you! He’s never seen a kid who looked around his age before!

“Ortho.” Idia managed to croak out while sweating bullets. His personal space is being invaded! He does not have the items for this!! “Help your brother. Please.”

“They’re just curious big brother!” Ortho said. “I think they really like your hair!”

“Please… Please Ortho.”

You were messing with his hair with odd fascination then you suddenly moved away from him, which he sighed at and tried to relax, but you were still clinging onto him.

“Can you… Like… Get off me please.” He tried to smile but it looked more like a grimace.

You stared at him and then just slid off of him and onto the floor, looking around at your surroundings. Idia was still trying to recover from a little gremlin child climbing into him and invading his space and messing with his hair. Ortho lightly patted his brothers shoulder, but still looked to be smiling.

“I thought I was a goner…”

“It’s okay big brother, as far as I can see, you’re perfectly alright!”

“No seriously… I thought I was going to encounter the game over screen for a moment… this isn’t fair… Why me!??”

“It’s alright! I’ll make sure that Y/N doesn’t get into any trouble while we’re in school!”

You were searching around his room and suddenly grabbed one of his figurines.

“HEY PUT THAT DOWN!?”

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

Idia has come to the conclusion you were a total noob. Over the course of a month, he’s gotten use to you and even started liking you a bit! He’s still a bit weirded out by you and your need to constantly try and scale him like a tree, but he’s gotten use to it by going stiff. He also calls you a noob because you have a weird fascination with his technology, like you’ve never seen it before. Which you haven’t. Hell, even hun starting up his computer makes you go wide eyed. It’s so funny to him! There were times where he was like that when he was younger, but, he has grown up around technology so he doesn’t really completely understand your reactions.

Either way, they’re funny. He loves them.

He’s trying to teach you the basics of tech and what to avoid, after all you’re still a little baby in his eyes. He’s also introduced the idea of games to you, but mostly the ones that aren’t gorey and have a fantasy feel to them.

“Use this button to slash the enemy’s and basically interact with things.”

“Ok.”

“And use this to jump.”

“Ok.”

“Now go forward and try killing that mob with your sword! Oh and make sure to dodge.”

“Ok.”

…

“I died.”

It was a level one mob…

Now if you were anyone else he’d make fun of you and call you a normie, but…

He pats your head. “It’s alright, we all start somewhere. You did good! Let’s try again and try to copy what I do, okay?”

You seemed more happier when Idia pulled out a two player open world fantasy game knowing that you could play together than just doing it on your own. He’ll make sure to buy more of them, then!

“Diasomnia!”

They had forgotten to invite Malleus yet again to the ceremony, so Lilia had to come in his stead. So when Lilia saw you, he was surprised to hear that you’d be in the care of Malleus, though, not that surprised since you radiated this aura about you that gave off high levels of magic in you, it did remind him of Malleus, in some way.

If someone asked Lilia; “would you take in another child under your care?” Lilia would probably say no. Raising two boys was good for him and he’s proud of that.

“This is Lilia Vanrogue. He is not the prefect Malleus Draconia since uh…” Crowley coughed into his fist when Lilia gave him his signature smile, but with a glint in his eyes that told him to stop talking. “But he shall take you to Prince Malleus and introduce you to one another!”

When you looked up at him with those eyes, those big eyes with little thoughts behind them, he instantly threw any sense of self out of the window and caved.

Well, one more child to take care of wouldn’t hurt!

He crouched to your level and smiled sincerely, “hello there, young one. I am Lilia. It is very nice to meet you.”

You blinked at him and stared at him for a while. You then approached Lilia to move his hair out of the way and show his ears, messing with the pointy tips of them and even trying to yank them. He chuckled a little at your antics and grabbed your hand lightly to stop you.

He hoisted you up into his arms carefully and had you in his grip. You didn’t seem to mind at all, mostly trying to get as his ears again.

“I think we’re going to have a nice time, little one! Malleus is sure to love you.”

You said nothing and had the urge to eat his hair.

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

“Welcome back Lilia!” Boomed Sebek as soon as Lilia entered the door.

Silver roused up from his light nap on the couch and eyed the little child in his arms, which caught his attention. Malleus had appeared when Lilia returned, obviously wanting to hear about the new students in their dorm, but clearly by the look of the child, it would be different this year.

“This is Y/N! They appeared so suddenly during the ceremony. Apparently they are a fallen star.” Lilia explained. “Burned too hot and fell from the sky, poor thing.”

You didn’t seem all too bothered and immediately looked at Malleus, specifically his horns. Sebek had begun his praise to Lilia on how generous he was to let you, a child, into their dorm, but stopped once you crawled your way down Lilia and approached Malleus without care.

He looked down at you.

You looked up at him.

You both engaged in a staring contest without even blinking, it was really uncanny. There was silence for a moment.

Then you started to crawl up Malleus.

“WH-“ Sebek almost choked on his spit as you just nonchalantly climbed up the Prince like the weird little baby you were.

You stopped and looked at Malleus’ ears, tugging them for a moment. Lilia was stifling his laughter, pressing a hand on Sebek’s chest to keep him back or burst out to say something and scold you or try and take you off Malleus. Silver was just blankly staring, probably not even understanding what was going on, thinking maybe this was just a fever dream. You moved your hands to Malleus’ horns, grasping at them lightly. Your eyes widened and then… Shook his head. As if testing if they were really attached to him.

Sebek almost had a stroke.

Lilia snorted.

Silver has long since checked out.

Malleus stopped your shaking. In that silence, he calmly patted your back awkwardly, grabbing you and setting you down.

“Aren’t they a charmer?” Lilia laughed as you ran up to Sebek and tried to climb him next.

He almost screamed as you clawed at his shirt. “BAD STAR CHILD! BAD! LILIA!”

“Alright little one,” Lilia picked you up with his hands under your arms and held you in front of Sebek. “What did you want from Seb?”

“LILIA! THEY ARE CLEARLY UNHINGED IN- IN SOME SORT OF MANNER! THEY CLIMBED THE YOUNG MASTER LIKE HE WAS A TREE! THAT IS BEYOND DISRESPECTFUL!”

“But their just a baby.” Lilia cooed.

You reached your greasy grippers to Sebek’s ears. They weren’t pointy! You blinked and then tried to grab his mouth because you saw his pointy teeth, that’s when he almost hissed at you.

You wiggled your way out of Lilia’s hold and found your next victim to be Silver. He didn’t even bother to stop you in anyway as you climbed him and caught his ears in your hands. Not pointy either. And his teeth were dull too! You grabbed his cheeks, stretched them a bit, and poked them. He blinked at you.

“Do you mind.” He yawned.

You stared back at him and then grabbed his hair. It was a very strange color and you liked it. That’s where he drawed the line when you tugged and set you down.

“Lilia, you said their name was Y/N?” Malleus finally spoke. “And a fallen Star? I’ve never heard of such a thing.

“Yes, I thought so as well, but there are plenty of surprises this year. A magicless human was also enrolled at NCR, supposedly.”

“Interesting.”

“Lily.” You pointed at Lilia. Sebek was about to burst a blood vessel.

“YOU CANT CALL LILIA-SAMA ‘LILY’! THATS NOT HIS NAME!”

“No no, it’s alright. I quite like it. Thank you little one!”

You then looked at Sebek. “Beckie.”

“THAT DOESNT EVEN RELATE TO MY NAME???”

Then to Silver. “Sil.”

“WHY DOES HE GET A NORMAL ONE!?”

Then you look at Malleus. “Mal-Mal.”

…

“Okay.”

Malleus was never more confused in his life but he laughed a little anyways at your nickname. It was very cute and very unlike anyone who’s been around him.

Sebek has long since given up on you, deciding that there was little hope in trying to stop you. Silver likes you because you gave him a sensible nickname and you’re alright so far. And Lilia already loves you! He’s a father of three now!

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

“Mal-Mal.”

“Yes, beastie.”

“Look what I can do.”

Malleus looked away from his book at you. The two of you were suppose to be studying magic together under the watch of Lilia, with Sebek following and Silver just wanting to see what you can do, after all he was curious.

You’ve proven yourself to be a bit of a firecracker when it came to showing off your magic. By that, it simply meant your magic was very uncontrollable and a simple light spell could possibly render someone blind, so Lilia wanted to make sure you didn’t get yourself hurt.

You held out your hand and then…

A burst of light suddenly burned their eyes, white fire, probably hotter than anything, burned at your entire arm. Sebek was losing his mind in fear that you were going to hurt yourself and possibly Malleus. In a blink of an eye, it stopped, and in your hand was a little flower in your hands. It was transparent and firey. Around your feet there was singes in the floor from when your whole body heated up. You offered the flower to Malleus.

“For you.”

He blinked at you and tried to take the flower from you, but it quickly disappeared.

“Oh.” You said, dropping your hand.

“That’s alright, little one.” Lilia came to your side quickly, wanting to console you as his fatherly instincts took over.

“Be careful next time!” Sebek had said. “You could have burned the whole dorm to ash!!”

“I doubt they would do that, Beckie.”

“SILVER!”

Malleus decided to use a bit of his own magic to make his own flower in his hand, a little bit like yours, but instead a small black lily and handed it to you, which you took gently.

“Do you like it, beastie?”

You nodded. “I’m gonna keep it forever so I can remember to make a lot of flowers for Mal-Mal.”

Malleus swears if anyone hurts you, he’s gonna kill everyone and then himself.

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

With Yuu, there is Malleus. And with Malleus, there is you. You always like to come with Malleus on his walks, it’s very nice, especially seeing the weird dormitory that looks ready to collapse. You like asking Yuu all sorts of questions.

“What’s it like being flesh and blood.”

“…uh…”

You like Yuu.

#twisted wonderland x reader #twisted wonderland #found family #x reader #platonic #twisted wonderland riddle #twisted wonderland leona #twisted wonderland azul #twisted wonderland idia #twisted wonderland kamil #twisted wonderland imagines #twisted wonderland vil #twisted wonderland malleus #fanfic #x you #fluff #child reader

655 notes · View notes

unapologetic-and-aesthetic · 7 months ago

Text

A crule dream

Ace x gn!reader

Series: Telling them they are pretty

Description: You and Ace have been close friends, sharing companionship on the Moby-Dick for a long time now. As Ace seemingly finds himself in a dream of you, his bottled up feelings for you bubble to the surface, he has nothing to lose in a dream after all.

Header: by me ✨

Themes: Friends to Lovers, kinda; Idiots to Lovers, kinda; first Kiss; Angst with open ending; but its hinted at to be a happy ending; drunken kissing; mentions of alcohol and drunkenness; Ace is alive and well, what is this Marineford you are talking about.

Note: This has been sitting on my iPad since Febuary?! What is time even?! Its been a while since i posted a fanfiction of mine on the World Wide Webz, so i am a bit nervous about this. Also my first time writing gn!reader, so i‘m still getting used to it. This was supposed to be a little drabble but it kinda went of the rails :‘), this poor sad-boy needs a hug so badly.

It will be the first entry in a series about telling One Piece characters they are pretty. I am no native englisch speaker so please be kind in the comments. I appreciate every bit of feedback from you! Enjoy! ✨

And thank you to @fanaticsnail for being an inspiration to me for the past month or so, you are amazing!

The atmosphere on the Moby-Dick almost felt like a dream, it was all so effortlessly light-hearted today. The soft pinks and blues of the sunset faded perfectly into the dark night sky on the horizon, already dotted with softly shining stars.

You sat in the crow's nest together with Ace and enjoyed some quietness away from the lively party that was unfolding on deck down below. The crow's nest has always been your spot together.

Ace had one too many already, he read about Luffy in the newspaper today. It got him sentimental again, you knew it all too well. His laughter was always a little too loud after that. You wouldn‘t press him to talk about it, instead trying to comfort him with your company. You two were friends, close friends, you had each other's backs in any situation, even tho he was your commander. He never let you think for a moment this hierarchy was standing between you two. He valued your input and asked for your opinion on things frequently.

You and Ace stared off at the horizon in comfortable silence, sitting shoulder to shoulder, knee to knee, leaning against the mast. He could feel his thoughts drifting away, eyes wandering from star to star, the laughter of the crew down below fading into the background. There was only your warmth beside him now.

„Hey Ace, you are pretty! But you know that, right?!“, that snapped him out of his trance. He slowly turned his head towards you as you grinned up to him cheekily.

„Like how?“ his face turned into a confident grin as well. He was sure you were just joking around. The next thing you‘d say would be something along the lines of „pretty dumb“ or „in pretty deep shit“, and you both would laugh.

But instead of quipping a joke, you were quiet for a moment, studying his face intently. Why were your eyes suddenly so serious? He blinked, feeling your eyes on himself so intently made him a little nervous all of a sudden.

„Well… I like your freckles and your sharp nose… I think that's pretty.“ you said, taking a sip from your bottle. „Oh, and your hair!“ you reached up to touch the tip of a black hairstrand, that was closest to you. A small giggle escaped your lips at his dumbfounded expression.

He was quiet for a moment, his dark eyes looking into yours, seemingly searching for something. This must be one of his dreams, he must have dosed off again.

Sometimes when that happened, his dreams would be so realistic and sometimes so cruel. Like this one. He would dream of Sabo, Luffy and himself reunited and having a drink together, or seeing Yamato again or… well… for you to finally reciprocate his feelings. When he would wake up, he would remember most of it, which left him with a somber feeling for a few hours or even days.

Despite his tender feelings for you, he would never make a move, his position as devision-commander made it difficult, not to mention your close friendship. You were too important for him to ruin it all just like that.

This must be a dream then. Everything felt so light and soft right now.. and you would never say these things to him in reality. Pinpointing his insecurities as something you felt were beautiful? That would be too good to be true. He didn't deserve this to happen to him, he thought at that moment. He studied your face, taking in all the little details he had put to memory so many times before. The soft light of the sunset making your features soft, almost dream-like.

It was a dream, he was sure of it! So why not indulge?! Nothing had consequences right now, it was a dream after all. And he felt so lonely lately, the longing he felt for you has been eating him up inside.

You blinked at him, your face slowly becoming warmer with any moment he stared so intensely at you. You opened your mouth to say something, but he beat you to it.

„I see…“ his low voice was merely a whisper as he leaned in and gently took your face into his hands. His heart skipped a beat at your surprised expression. And was that a blush around your nose? So cute, he thought. The rough skin of his thumb caressed softly over your cheeks.

Your name fell from his lips, quietly, longingly, as if he could scare you away if it was any louder. He leaned in further, his nose brushing against yours.

„I want to kiss you for so long now…“ he all but whispered before pressing his lips to yours. It was a bit rough, but he wanted to pour every ounce of longing into this kiss he had harboured for the past year. Ace wanted to relieve his lonely heart of some pain. You froze up for a second, taken aback by the sudden feeling of his lips against yours, but you quickly found yourself enjoying it.

Your hands wandered behind his neck, as he moved his soft lips against yours. He wanted to know how you taste like and what beautiful noises could fall from your lips. You where gently holding him close, searching for something to hold onto while he pressed you closer to his chest and deepend the kiss.

A sigh fell between the two of you as he coxed your head to the side gently. You completely gave in to his kiss as his tonge brushed yours, letting him dominate your mouth. A million butterflies erupted in his stomach, a tingle went up his spine as you two moved in sync. He softly explored your mouth with his tounghe, brushing with yours in the procces as you did the same, which made him gasp into your mouth.

Yes, he thought, this feels right, kissing you felt so natural to him. Your body fit so well in his strong arms. He gently bit your lower lip as he slowly left your lips, both of you gasping for air, still close to one another.

His heart was banging against his ribcage, an intense blush spread across his face. Oh, he never wanted to let you go. His thumb gently brushed over your lower lip, red and swollen from the kiss you‘ve shared. You where at a loss for words, looking up to him throuhg your eyelashes bashfuly.

„Gods, I want to do this with you all the time, not only in my dreams.“ his gaze held an intense longing as he watched the soft light dance around your features “You are so beautiful right now…“ he whispered to you. „No. You are beautiful all the time,“ he corrected himself.

You gasped at his words. Shocked by his sudden outburst of passion and by yourself, indulging in a drunken kiss with your best friend. The kiss has left you lightheaded and it took you a moment to gather your thoughts to respond. He looked so dreamy right now, and so happy, you haven‘t seen him like that in a while. It made your heart soar.

„Ace, what…?“ you wanted answers, what dream was he talking about. Where was this coming from? But you were incapable of forming a straight sentence right now.

Suddenly, his eyes fell shut and his head lulled forward onto your shoulder, still holding you in his arms. „Ace?!“ you looked down to him, his head almosed nuzzled into the crook of your neck peacefully.

That bumbass dared to fall asleep right now?! After what just happened?!

Your head became clearer as you lingered in this position with him. As you began to think, your chest tightened, what was that all about?! And for how long would he sleep now? From experience you knew, that was unpredictable.

But you have an important mission tomorrow morning! You couldn't wait until he woke up and talk this out with him right now. It was already very late for you and you didn‘t wanna mess up tomorrow.

And would talking even be feasable? He might not even remember any of this. Maybe you could go back to your friendship as it was before then!

Thought after thought crashed down on you. And the worst one was: Would he regret kissing you, his close friend, if he remembered? Now…that would break your heart.

The waves didn‘t stop crashing, taking you with them into a spiral. What would your Crewmembers think?! What would Marco think!? Or your captain if he ever found out?!

Your breath got quicker and the fuzzy feeling in your chest quickly made way for a tight knot, making it more difficult to breathe.

„I am so sorry Ace“ you whispered to him as you gently leaned his sleeping body against the mast. The waves of emotions took you with them, you had no chance. The coil in your chest was unbearable now, you felt like crying. After one last tearful look at his peaceful sleeping face, you stood up and ran to your quarters, hoping no one saw you leaving the crows nest.

As the questions and thoughts flooded in, you barely took in your surroundings. The mission was so unimportant to you right now. Absentmindedly, you trotted after your team members, just going through the motions. It was a simple scouting mission anyway.

You tried to stop the thoughts and the guilt that where flooding you, but it was no use. Your head wandered to Ace and the kiss time and time again. You could still feel his lips on yours, his soft voice saying these sweet things to you and is warm embrace holding you so gently. What would happen now after this? You clutched your cest to stop your heart from beating so fast, squeezing your eyes shut for a moment.

"Hey, did you hear!? Ace made out with a crewmember yesterday!“ your head snapped up at your teammembers comment. How did they know already?!

Another one laughed “There is always a rumour about him and some crewmember making out at a party. You shouldn't believe everything you hear!“ the elder one gave the newbie a pat on the back.

This fired up the storm of anxiety inside you. So it was just a little makeout for him then!? No… you knew it was more. It meant more to you, at least. And you wanted to believe it was more for him as well. You knew about his little flings here and there.

What if he was just in the mood, and you where the next available option? You frowned at that nasty thought about you friend. Ace was better then his. But what would the crew think about you when they figured it out? What would they think about Ace?!

- Ace had slept until midday, waking up in the crow‘s nest, still in the position you left him in the previous night. He felt disoriented and had a terrible headache from the booze he had the evening before.

And something else felt wrong, it felt like he had had a dream inside a dream, that had never happened before. Ace scratched his head, tilting it to the side wondering. One of the dreams was about Luffy and a giant snake. They fought it together and then ate it. The other one was about you… and you two had kissed. That one he liked the most out of the two.

He sat up and stretched his arms and upper back, looking around for you in the process. But you weren't there with him in the crow‘s nest, unlike in his dream. As he looked around taking in his surroundings, and it slowly dawned on him. The exact place he was in right now seemed so familliar.

Oh no.

He jumped up with a scream of horror. That with you was no dream at all! He kissed you and said all these things for real. And he didn't even ask for your consent before kissing you! His breath got quicker as he tried to remember what exactly had happened yesterday.

Ace really kissed you… he grabbed you by the face even to hold you in place. And you looked surprised at that. Or was it shock on your face?!

He grunted, a feeling of dread creeping into his stomach. His memory was failing him, everything was so blurry.

Did you kiss him back? Or did you say anything at all? That's where it was all blurry for him. He remembered how good it felt to him. But what did you say to him? What did you do? He also remembered you tensed up when he smashed his lips to yours. That wasn‘t a good sign. The dread crawled up his spine lowly.

„Fuck… no,“ he took his hat that was laying on the ground where he slept and raged a hand through his hair before putting it on, just to shove it deep into his eyes.

“No, no, no!“ he wispered to himself under is breath, frozen for a moment and unsure what to do now. Go look for you and talk to you? And then what!? Admit his feelings and possibly destroy your friendship?!

He didn't deserve someone like you at all. You were way too good for him. So brave, and kind. You gave out your love so freely, without fear. Unlike him. You would never accept the feelings of a downer such as him.

Maybe he could backpaddle and say he was just very drunk? That might save your friendship. But he still kinda forced himself onto you. So the friendship was likely unrepairable already.

And it was all his fault. If someone would have rammed a knive into his chest right now, it would likely have hurt less.

Ace felt sick to his stomach, horrifyed as he imagined how you might be feeling right now. His mind filled in all the gaps his memory left open with crule things. Pictures of you trying to push against his chest to get him away from you, but he was too strong and helt you in his firm grasp. Tears in your eyes as he paused his advances on you for a moment. You running to the sleepingquarters, scared and probably disappointed in him, crying.

And you might not tell anyone about it. Ace was your superior and a well-respected member of the crew. He knew you didn't want to destroy his reputation, you would honour your friendship even after this. So you would stay silent with no one to turn to. And then you would leave the Moby-Dick!

Ace grabbed the mast with one hand, knuckles white, his body shaking. He wanted to throw up, wanted someone to punch him in the face. That was what he deserved.

„Oi! I‘ve been looking for you everywhere,“ it was Marco, coming in to the crow‘s nest behind him. Ace was just standing there, unable to move.

„Are y-,“ Marco stopped talking as he saw Aces trembling back. „Oi, what's wrong!?“ he asked, bridging the gap between them with two long steps. When his comrade didn't respond, Marco grabbed him gently by the shoulder to make Ace face him. His brows furrowed at the horrified expression on the other man's face.

„Ace?! What happened?“ Marco shook his shoulders in an attempt to bring him back to reality. This can‘t be good. „What happened last night!?“

At the question, the black-haired man snapped out of it. Did Marco know something about the incident? Did it already make its rounds? No, that couldn't be! He felt like someone was choking him.

He wispered your name „I kissed them….Marco," Ace confessed "I don't remember everything,“ his voice was shaking. Saying it out loud made the stone in his stomach heavier. „I am a superior….and I forced them to kiss me“ he looked to the ground with empty eyes, flinching as he saw Marcos's face scrunch up out of the corners of his eyes.

Marco was at a loss for words. He was rooting for you two to finally stop being dense and confess your obvious feelings to each other. But this was not what he had in mind. He saw you ran to the bunck with a sorrowful expression last night. With that last puzzle piece, it all made sense to him.

The older man gently pressed his fingertips into Ace's shoulders, trying to ground him. That poor boy was still trembling. He tried to find the words to break the news to him, but Ace was quicker with his question as his head snapped up „Where are they? Did you see them today already?“ he asked with a sense of urgency. „I- I need to apologize!“

„Well… you have some more time to think about what you want to say“ It hurt Marco to see Ace like this, and what he was about to say would hurt him even more. „They have been injured on the mission today and collapsed when they came back – from exaustion and bloodloss."

"What?", the other man's voice sounded dead. This can't be happening. Ace felt like his body was floating.

"It will be okay! It wasn‘t fatal, Ace. I already took care of it all" Marco added quickly, shaking him again as he noticed Ace empty gaze drift off. "Stay with me! I'm here with you. You're not alone." Ace, staring into space while Marco talked to him, bareley registering what he said "Talk to them when they wake up, i‘m sure its going to be fine." Marcos voice sounded far away.

Nothing is going to be okay. Ace had just lost a very important person to him, due to being a drunken mess. He must try everything to do damage controll as soon as he came down from the crows nest.

#one piece #one piece fic #x reader #op ace #portgas d ace #portgas ace x reader #ace x reader #op ace x reader #one piece x reader #gn reader #portgas ace x y/n

139 notes · View notes

demonsslayersstuff · 4 months ago

Text

Life Moved on Without You (Gojo x Gender Neutral Reader)

A/N: In honor of JJK ending I wanted to write this Drabble that had been floating around my notes for a while. Warnings: Character Death, JJK spoilers, angst. If you haven’t read the manga and don’t want to be spoiled, please don’t read this fic. It’s a bit rough, so I might edit it later. Enjoy!

First Year:

You shiver as you pull your scarf tighter across your neck as the wind whips around your body, chilling you to the core. You continue down the path, determined to make it to your destination, weather be damned. The snow crunches under your feet as you find yourself walking towards a familiar grove of trees. It’s not long before you come across his headstone. You bite your lip as you feel the onslaught of tears already starting. Has it really already been a year without him?

You take a deep breath, steading yourself before you step closer, wiping the wet snow off the cool marble stone. Once you’ve completed the task you lay a bouquet of flowers at its base, and kneel for a few minutes in silence, thinking of the right words to say to him.

“Hey…Satoru”, you start, but your voice cracks, so you take another deep breath before starting again. “It’s been a year without you, a long hard year”, you begin. “I’m trying, I really am, but it’s not easy….I still think about you everyday”, you continue. “The kids are doing well, I honestly think they’re adjusting better than I am”, you say the last part with a sad chuckle. “God, I miss you”, you murmur as tears fall down your face. You cry for a moment, letting yourself be in pain. It takes you some time before you speak again.

“I uh…I finally moved out of our apartment. Found a new one a little closer to work”, you say, staring down at the flowers you’d placed on the grave. “I’m sorry, I loved our place…but I needed to let it go for my sake and Shoko’s”, you continue. “I couldn’t keep hiding at her place”, you sigh. You reach out and trace his name inscribed on the stone, “I hope you’re having fun up there with the others”, you whisper before falling silent.

You’d had this big speech prepared, but ultimately floundered. Being here was harder than you wanted to admit. Just as you turn to leave, you feel a something cold and wet land on your cheek. You look up and watch as huge white snowflakes begin to fall gracefully from the sky. You smile and lift your face up towards the falling snow somehow knowing this was his way of saying hello.

The Fifth Year:

You sigh as you unfold the blanket in front of his headstone. Today was an unusually warm December 24, something that today of all days you were grateful for.

You plop down on the blanket, before reaching into your bag, grabbing two cups and your thermos. You quietly pour the hot drink into the cups as the wind blows through the leafless trees. You place one at the base of his headstone before clicking it with your own glass. “I know how much you loved my homemade hot chocolate”, you murmur before taking a large sip from your cup.

“It’s crazy how quickly life goes on”, you say staring at the last dregs of the hot chocolate in your cup. “The kids continue to grow up much too fast, they’re no longer students”, you continue. “Megumi and Nobara have been sent on a mission abroad, but they send their love. Yuji is quickly following you in your footsteps. He is a teacher now, with the same damn antics as you”, you chuckle. “As for me, I’m still the same love. I’m finding the little joys in life again, though I still miss you”, you say, whispering the last part.

You sit as his grave for a long time, watching as the sun moves across the cloudless sky. Once you see the blue hue beginning to turn into shades of golds and purples you begin to pack up your stuff. You lean down and softly touch your lips to his name whispering, “Merry Christmas, Satoru”, before you walk away.

The Fifteenth Year:

As with many things, grief comes and goes in many different waves. Unlike the past few years, this year hit you incredibly hard.

You stand in front of his grave, dressed in all black as tears stream endlessly down your face. You didn’t want to accept the reality that now you had lived longer in the world without Satoru Gojo than you had with him in it. “I don’t remember what you smell like”, you say honestly, continuing to stare at his name. “I kept your jacket, but your scent is long gone”, you continue before falling silent.

You feel a reassuring squeeze on your shoulder and look over to see Yuji giving you a sad smile. “It’s ok”, he tells you softly, before leaning down to place the flowers he had brought with him. You didn’t have much in you today, you were too angry at the world. How was it fair that you had to live so long without him? You reach out and touch the weathered stone briefly before turning around, walking away without saying your usual goodbyes.

Yuji sighs as he watches you leave. “Don’t worry Sensei, I’ll keep an eye on them”, he mumbles before hurrying away. Moving to quickly catch up with you, determined to follow through with his promise.

The Thirtieth Year:

Your hips ached as you leaned down to wipe away the old leaves and dirt that had befallen on the now aged headstone. “Sorry I haven’t come in a while love, I’ve been so incredibly busy”, you say as you tuck your hands back into your coat pocket, the cold stinging your fingers.

“There’s another six eyes and limitless user now. Though I’m a bit too old to be teaching anyone anymore, since I was married to you, the new board asked me to oversee their training”, you continue. “Don’t worry, I’ll keep them humble”, you quip, willing yourself to remember the sound of his laugh, another thing time has slowly taken away from you.

“I find myself wondering what you would have looked like if you were here today, would your face be wrinkled like mine? Would your back ache too?”, you question aloud. “You didn’t even make it to thirty…at least you’ll be eternally beautiful to me”, you sigh. “I miss you, always have, always will”, you whisper.

The Forty-Fifth Year:

The three of them stand there, huddle together as snow falls silently from the sky. “They’re finally together”, the woman says somberly, yet at the same time feeling a sense of happiness. They continue to stand there looking at the two headstones, one old and weathered, one brand new, striking compared to the other.

“I just hope they found each other again. Can you believe they lived over forty years without him and never…remarried or anything”, the taller man muses. “They loved him”, the other man replies quietly. “They told me there was no body else”, he continues before falling silent. “Alright it’s getting a bit too cold for me, let’s head back ”, the woman says before turning around to walk away, one of the men joining her. The taller man remains there for a moment, his pink hair now replaced with natural grays. “Goodbye…I’ll see you both again one day”, he whispers before joining his friends as the snow picks up, blanketing everything in its wake.

Bonus:

You awaken to see a familiar pair of blue eyes that you hadn’t seen in so long. “Satoru”, you mumble, slightly confused. “Did you miss me sweets?”, he laughs as you reach out to hesitantly poke his face. “This dream feels so weird”, you tell him. You watch as a sad smile befalls his youthful face. “It’s not a dream love”, he tells you gently.

The reality of his words ring through your ears and you realize what had come to pass. “Does this mean I can finally be with you?”, you ask him, voice cracking slightly. “Yes”, he tells you. You cry as you launch yourself into his arms, “God I missed you so much Satoru”, you say, deeply breathing in his scent you had so desperately missed. “I missed you too love. I was here waiting patiently for you”, he replies, cupping your face in his hands. “I don’t want to be separated from you ever again”, you say staring up into his stunning blue eyes. “Never again”, he whispers before he leans down to kiss you, a warmth spreading through your body, you were finally at peace.

#jujustsu kaisen x reader #jujutsu kaisen #gojo satoru x reader #gojo satoru #jjk fic #jjk angst #jjk drabbles #gojo x reader #gojo x you #gojo x y/n

57 notes · View notes

4-the-l0ve-0f-art · 2 months ago

Text

"You were a daydream inside a nightmare."

Chapter 2: New Friendships and a Masked Man

word count: 1k

trigger warnings: none

A/N: chapter 3 is a little longer. will post a new chapter every 3 days or so :)

Ao3 Link Chapter Links for Tumblr

With one final blow, the opposing knight lost his balance and landed on his arse, sword flinging out of his hand. The dust around them cleared and the Captain straightened his posture, sheathing his sword away, as the knight (Guthred?) couldn’t stop panting. He was trying to catch his breath like his life depended on it while the tall man didn’t even break a sweat.

“You’ve improved, Guthred. Well done.” He addressed his now defeated opponent.

“Th-hah-Thank you, Captain..” Guthred chuckled. “But, it seems I’m still nowhere near a match for you.”

“You have more room for practice, of course. But this is enough for now. Take a break.” He turned and addressed the crowd of knights. You watched as a maid handed him a cloak and the beautiful scales on it shone under the sunlight as he put it on.

“All of whom did not participate in a duel or group training and instead opted for spectating duels since morning shall delay lunch and run 10 laps around the palace walls on foot.” The group of knights stiffened as he continued. “By tomorrow, You will be expected to present all you have learned from watching the duels today. Anyone who fails to do so will be taking patrol night shifts for the rest of the month.” Sad groans could be heard from the crowd.

“Am I clear?” The Captain asked with hands behind his back, watching the knights.

They straightened their posture immediately. “Yes, Captain!”

And with that, the crowd dispersed, and a man carrying a messenger’s bag entered the view and whisked their Captain away.

As you zoned out, the brush you were holding mid air dripped paint onto the ground. The clashing of swords still rang in your ears, and the confidence and respect commanded by the mysterious man flashed in your mind.

“Miss, your paint!” A familiar voice snapped you out of your daydream.

“Oh, Nancy!” You quickly put down the brush and wiped your hands. “How long have you been standing there?”

“For a few minutes. Are you okay?” She asked worriedly.

“Yeah, sorry, just... a bit distracted.” You replied, smiling awkwardly. “Do you need anything from me, Nancy?”

“I was just returning to my quarters when I spotted you here. Are you going to continue painting still? The sun’s going down, and it gets cold here quickly in the evening.”

You looked up at the dark blue tinted sky. “Wait, you’re right–I was so distracted I didn’t notice the time..” You stared at your painting. “Well.. I’m mostly done with this so I’ll just finish this at home.” You got up and decided to pack.

“Oh, let me help you!”

You inquired Nancy about the man as she led you through the palace halls again.

“Nancy, could you tell me a little bit about the Royal Knights?

“Of course, miss. They’re responsible for protecting our country’s borders. There are many different platoons ranging from border and street patrol to palace guards. They also go on expeditions abroad for many reasons.”

You smiled. “You’re quite knowledgeable.”

“Of course! I love my job. And taking care of the people protecting us is a part of it.” Then, she looked at you quizzically. “What’s with the sudden interest, though?”

“Oh! Um.. I happened to stumble across their training grounds today. It was quite the sight, there was a duel going on between a commander and a captain.” You felt your cheeks heat up slightly at the thought of it.

“Hmm..” Nancy looked lost in thought for a moment. “That must be Commander Guthred’s platoon. They were supposed to be training directly under the Royal Captain today, according to the training grounds schedule.”

The staff exit to the palace grounds was just around the corner. You decided to ask one last question.

“Could you tell me a little more about their captain?”

You watched as her eyes lit up in admiration, a similar expression to the knights you saw in the crowd.

“Everyone here, even the royal family, agrees he’s one of the best leaders in the history of the Royal Knights. He’s amazing.” You rounded the corner. “Oh, and he’s rumoured to have the prettiest of faces under that mask of his! No one has really seen him ever take it off, though.”

“Well then, miss! Please enjoy the rest of your evening.” She clapped her hands together energetically.

“Your energy is contagious.” You laughed. “See you next time, Nancy.”

And as you made your way home under the setting sun, the thoughts of unfinished paintings, dinner time, and a man under the knightly mask wandered around in your head.

A few hours earlier, in a luxurious office room inside the palace, stood two men. One was masked, and the other carried a bag full of royal scrolls. He read one of them out loud to the other.

“A message from the commander of the north borders: The unexpected increase in Abyssal attacks reduced just as quickly as it increased. We do not know the cause of the inconsistencies yet, however, there were no breaches in the defense lines and monster activities have returned to normal as of now. Alternatively, this has allowed us to learn more about the monsters and gives us an advantage in knowledge if this were to happen again. Everything else is going smoothly and the troops have not sustained any serious injuries.”

“I see.” Capitano nodded. “Inform the commander; Any written reports and observations of the abyssal monsters shall be sent to the archives to be recorded and studied. Supplies for surviving the coming winter can be sent as he requests.”

The other party noted everything down and left a few other unimportant scrolls as he exited, set aside to be read later.

Capitano sat down to do paperwork. As he worked through the various documents, feather quill in hand and the desk lamp casting a warm glow, a sense of tranquility settled into his office. His mind wandered off to the day’s happenings and tomorrow's tasks.

And, in the middle of his thoughts, was a woman standing with a lunchbox in hand, a face that stood out between the group of knights from earlier that day.

She lingered in the back of his mind.

#fic: you were a daydream inside a nightmare #my writing #capitano x reader #capitano x you #fatui capitano #capitano #genshin impact #genshin x reader #genshin fanfic #fanfiction #my fic #harbinger x reader #fatui harbingers #genshin harbingers

36 notes · View notes

blackhairedjjun · 1 year ago

Text

you made my day. ✧༺♥༻✧

pairing: ot5 (individually) x gender neutral reader | genre / tropes: comfort, fluff, slice of life, meet cute, strangers to (potentially) lovers; reader is an intern in yeonjun's and a student in taehyun's | word count: 900 - 1k each | warnings: profanity, food & drinks in all except beomgyu's, getting scolded in yeonjun's, getting lost in beomgyu's

summary: you're having a bad day and things don't go as planned. but a chance encounter with a kind and handsome stranger makes things a little bit better.

author's notes: this was supposed to be posted in time for the release of the seasons of txt: youth photos, but then i got writer's block working on kai's and then i got super busy with work so i finished this only now. this is my first time making a fully ot5 work, and it was a lot of fun coming up with unique scenarios for each member. i hope you enjoy!

(all mini-fics are under the "keep reading" cut! photos are left uncropped to preserve the original uploader's watermark. photos are from bxmgyx_13 on twitter.)

1. soobin 수빈

of all the days for you to forget your umbrella, it’s on a day when it actually rains.

you stand underneath the awning of the convenience store, sighing and clutching your bag of snacks. even as you silently wish for the rain to stop so that you could walk to the subway station, head home, and enjoy your food, the downpour only grows stronger as if the universe is playing a cruel prank on you.

today is supposed to be a relaxing day. maybe the sound of the rain would be calming if you were at home munching on a bag of your favorite chips... outside, not so much.

a few minutes pass. the rain abates ever so slightly, but not enough for you to go home safely. you glance up at the sky still covered in clouds, then back at the street view in front of you, losing hope.

you don’t mean to make eye contact with the tall stranger passing in front of you.

at that moment, two thoughts cross your mind. the first: he looks like an actor, i swear i’ve seen a handsome face like that before. the second: wow, a tall man with a big umbrella, if i were more shameless i’d ask him to cover me to get to the subway station.

the universe, once again, decides to humor you.

the young man stops in his tracks, still staring. then he turns away, bowing his head a little, as if trying to make himself smaller. you watch while he stays like that for a little bit, shifting his weight from one foot to another, clearly embarrassed by your encounter.

your face grows hot with embarrassment too and you bring your free hand up to cover your eyes. what am i doing? you chide yourself. just because he has a nice big umbrella doesn’t mean it’s okay to stare!

but before you can scold yourself too much, you hear a soft voice in front of you.

“do you... want to share?”

slowly you remove your hand from your eyes. the tall man is looking at you, and though he seems shy, you see a faint smile of politeness on his face.

“yes, please!” you nearly shout. “i mean 一 i’d like that, thanks.”

he bows a little as he moved forward and tilts his umbrella towards you. “sorry for staring, you just looked really sad standing here like that一” he stops, realizing what he just said, and presses his mouth shut.

cute.

“no, it’s okay. i’ve been wanting to go home for a while, so yeah, i was feeling pretty bummed.”

“oh... sorry about that.”

you shrug. “it is what it is,” you say as you stepped under the umbrella. when you tell him that you were headed to the nearby train station, his eyes light up; he passes it by on the way to his dorms. the setup is perfect for both of you.

the tall man, you notice, seems naturally shy; even as you walk together under the rain, he makes sure to keep a polite distance from you, even if it meant one side of him getting slightly wet. his umbrella is slightly tilted towards you to make sure that you’re well-protected, even at his expense.

“hey, you’re getting rained on 一 it’s okay, you can bring the umbrella a bit more to your side.”

“it’s fine, i’m worried about your bag.”

“oh, this?” you lift up your bag of snacks on your free side. “don’t worry, they’re just bags of snacks. the packaging will keep them from getting wet.”

“oh? what snacks did you get?”

you tell him about your bags of chips and your packs of bread that you bought and his eyes start to shine. “i was gonna have a nice day to myself, just watching movies and eating these,” you say. “i picked out some dramas to watch this morning...”

“if you want really good bread, there’s a shop that just opened a few blocks away from the subway station! they make everything fresh, and i’ve been stopping by there after my classes.”

“oh! i’ve passed by that place, but i’ve never tried...”

as the two of you continue talking 一 turns out he has a lot of anime recommendations for you to binge while eating 一 he slowly starts to open up. he still looks handsome like an actor, but he has an adorable smile and a sparkle in his eyes that make him less intimidating and more endearing. he feels like someone you could hang out with, someone you could relax and be yourself around.

it wasn’t long before the two of you finally arrive at the subway station entrance. the rain has stopped, and the young man sets his umbrella down; now that you can see his face better, you take in the shine in his eyes and the dimples on his cheeks. oh, he’s so cute.

“hey, thanks so much for walking me, uh...”

“soobin.”

“thank you, soobin.” you feel your cheeks grow warm at you mentioning his name, and he seemed to blush a little, too. “this was nice of you to do.”

“ah, it’s nothing to worry about...”

“do you want to meet up at the bread shop sometime?”

the words tumble out of your mouth before you can stop yourself. oh god, what are you doing? you start to chide yourself again for asking to hang out with someone you’ve known for ten minutes. all he did was walk you home out of courtesy, and yet一

“yeah... that would be nice.”

he seems to be trying his hardest to look at you straight, but you can tell that the shy smile spreading across his face was genuine. relief washes over you and you can’t help but smile back.

the smile doesn’t leave your face as you hand your phone over to him to exchange numbers. while typing in your contact details, a thought crosses your mind: maybe the universe knows what it’s doing after all.

2. yeonjun 연준

the walk home from your internship feels like a walk of shame.

you messed up a pretty urgent task, delaying your team’s entire project, and your boss had little patience as he scolded you in front of the other interns. even as you make your way back home where you can forget and perhaps drown your sorrows in ice cream, you can still hear your boss’s voice rising and ringing in your ears, and feel the interns’ eyes on you as they watch you get a dressing-down. some looks are ones of pity, others of annoyance 一 but they sting at you all the same.

it’s hard for you to push away the memory as you trudge down the familiar route to your apartment, the sights around you barely perceptible to your troubled mind. you don’t even have the mental energy to pay attention to the pedestrians around you, walking down the same sidewalk and headed who knows where, when一

bump.

“shit!”

you feel the splash of coffee on you and see a stain of dark brown spreading across your work shirt.

“oh shit, i’m so sorry一”

a bit of spilt coffee shouldn’t mean much, but today it’s the final straw. you burst into tears, unable to stop yourself from sobbing in a crowded street of strangers. everything about this day is conspiring against you: you can’t do your job right, you embarrassed yourself in front of the rest of the intern team, and now you can’t even get home without looking like a complete idiot. you want to disappear into thin air but all you can do is cry, which just makes you feel even more ashamed... and then cry harder.

“hey, please don’t cry, i didn’t realize that it was that bad一 did you get burned? i can walk you to a clinic一”

at first you barely pay attention to the young man who spilled his coffee on you, but now it’s hard to ignore the way he looks at you with eyes wide with worry. his hands hover just inches away from your shoulders, ready to comfort but not crossing the boundary of your personal space, and despite your tears your heart softens a bit at his willingness to help.

“it’s fine,” you sniffle, wiping your tears away with the back of your hand. “i一 i didn’t get burned一”

“i’m sorry for making you cry, i wasn’t paying attention一”

you can’t help but burst into a small laugh.

now the man looks confused, tilting his head at you. “wh-what’s so funny?”

“it’s not your fault that i’m crying,” you say, the last of your tears finally falling. “just had... a bad day.”

“oh.”

you watch the look in his eyes shift. he was looking at you with panic and desperation, but now his gaze softens. his hands fall to his sides but he leans toward you to listen to you better.

“sorry about your day.” his voice is softer now. “and it’s alright to cry it out, it must’ve been hard for you...”

you simply nod. your gaze falls to the sidewalk and you notice the spilled cup of coffee by your feet.

“s-sorry about your coffee...”

the man stares at you and tuts, shaking his head. “you just had a bad day, and you’re worried about my coffee? it’s fine, it’s nothing compared to what you went through.”

“i guess, i just... can’t help but feel bad.” you chew on your lip. “can i buy you a new one?”

he let out a chuckle and the sound makes you feel light. “will it make you feel better if you buy me a coffee?”

perhaps it would do you good to do something right for someone today, you think. besides, he seems nice, and he does deserve a coffee for trying to soothe you.

“yeah, sure.”

“then i’ll let you if it makes your day a bit better. there’s a cafe across the street, we can just stop by there, yeah?” he shrugs off the open button-down he’s wearing over his shirt and hands it to you. “and here, wear this to cover up the stain.”

“it’s fine一”

“c’mon, you can wear it.”

you hesitate for a moment, but the young man looks at you with such wide eyes that you can’t say no; you take the button-down and put it on over your shirt. it’s big on you, but that’s good for covering up most of the stain. and while soiled clothing may be the least of your worries, it preserves your pride just enough that you smile for the first time today.

“there, you’re smiling already. you feel better?” he says, returning the smile.

oh, he’s handsome.

your smile widens and a blush starts to creep on you. “yeah... yeah, i do. and i guess some coffee would help.”

“then we can grab some together.” he offers his arm out to you. “i’m yeonjun, by the way.”

you thread his arm around his as the two of you walk towards the cafe. it’s an oddly intimate thing to do with someone you just met, but it feels right.

“nice to meet you, yeonjun. and thank you for helping me.”

maybe today isn’t such a bad day after all.

3. beomgyu 범규

where the hell am i?

it’s the first thought that enters your mind as you step off the train, and it’s the thought that comes back to you again and again as you wander around the unfamiliar station. the whole place is unnervingly quiet; no other trains passing by, no hustle and bustle of the city, not even other passengers chatting and waiting for the next train to come. you open your phone and check your map 一 and you realize that you have gone horribly, horribly off course.

you did everything right; your friend gave you the name of the train station close to their new apartment, and you even looked it up before your trip. you know that the apartment was quite far from your place, but this is too far altogether. sighing, you open your chat with your friend and start texting them: hey i think i’m at the wrong station can you please help. you pace back and forth as you wait for a reply.

nothing.

the cell signal in the station weakens. you can’t even send your friend a follow-up text.

you almost let out a scream until you notice that another passenger has appeared on the platform: a young man bobbing his head to whatever music he’s listening to. he pays you no mind as his attention is absorbed by the earphones connected to... a cassette player?

you squint. does anyone still use cassette players in this day and age?

in between his little listening session, the young man catches at you staring at him. he tilts his head at you, pauses his player, and takes off his earphones. “what’s up?”

“uh...”

should you ask him for help? if he’s waiting for his own train, maybe he’d know the station better than you.

he follows your gaze down to the cassette player in his hand and frowns. “hey, i like vintage things, okay? my dad gave me this and it still works.”

“n-no, it’s not that...”

your confusion and frustration must be too obvious, because the young man slips his cassette player into his bag and takes a step towards you. “uh, are you okay?”

fuck it, you can’t solve this yourself anyway.

“i think i’m lost.” you head over to him and show him your phone: the station name your friend gave you, a screenshot of the route you took. you explain to him where you’re headed, and he nods along as he listens and examines the map screenshots on your phone.

finally, he lets out a nervous chuckle. “uh, sorry. i don’t know how to get there either.”

your heart sinks.

“but i know where the helpdesk is, maybe we can ask them? let’s go there together.”

“aren’t you waiting for the next train though...?”

“it’s fine, it’s coming in around 20 minutes. let’s go, then?”

he gives you a sheepish grin, and somehow it’s the most reassuring thing you’ve seen all day.

the two of you make your way through a maze of staircases and walkways to get to the helpdesk, which the young man explains is on the far side of the station. all the while he sticks close to you, arms nearly brushing as you walk side by side, and it makes you feel anchored in an unfamiliar place.

“i’m sure your friend must be worried about you,” he says.

“yeah, and i can’t even text them to tell them where i am.”

“we gotta make sure you get back then. don’t worry, the helpdesk staff are super nice. they’ve always helped me out here, so they’ll surely be able to help you too.”

he smiles and nods at you as he says it, and it makes you believe him. he’s kinda cute, too.

the young man is in the middle of telling you about how he’s visiting his family when you spot the HELP DESK sign in front of a modest booth. you nearly sprint to it, but your companion manages to keep up and get there first.

“excuse me, could you help my friend here? they’re supposed to get to...”

you lend your phone to him as he explains your route to the middle-aged woman behind the help desk. she lets out a laugh as she hears him out 一 it turns out that there are two stations close to each other with similar names, and your friend gave you the wrong station name. “don’t worry, it’s a common mistake,” she says. “you’re not the first person i’ve seen make it. here, i can trace your route for you...”

a few moments later you hold a paper map with a post-it explaining which lines and stations you’re supposed to take. you relax visibly as you scan the instructions, and a new wave of energy fills you to get to where you need to go.

you look up at the young man and he seems even more excited than you. he’s grinning from ear to ear and bouncing slightly on his feet. “we did it!”

“thank you so much,” you say with a bow. “couldn’t have done it without you.”

“don’t get lost again, okay?” he says with a laugh. “or else i’ll have to come pick you up or something.”

“i’ll be fine, don’t worry. what, do you want me to text you when i get there?”

you’re joking but you freeze. what on earth were you even saying?

the young man goes from excited to sheepish, though he hasn’t stopped smiling. “i mean, yeah, that’s a good idea.”

“yeah...”

you find yourself exchanging phones with him, and when you get yours back, you glance at the new contact. beomgyu. there’s a little teddy bear emoji next to his name.

“text me when you get to your friend’s place, okay?”

beomgyu’s gaze softens, and you feel yourself growing warm.

“okay.”

4. taehyun 태현

you shouldn’t have checked how much progress you’ve made.

in the middle of your study session you flip through the pages of your chemistry textbook to see how much you have left to read... and you still have three-fourths of the chapter left. after that you have two more chapters to go. you flip through your own notes and realize that, as dense as they already are, they aren’t even halfway done. then you check the time on your phone: it’s been forty-five minutes.

oh, it’s going to be a long stay at this cafe.

you can feel the worries rising in your throat, but you take a sip of coffee to try to wash them down. it doesn’t work, but you don’t have the time to self-soothe right now. you only have so much time before it gets too dark and you have to return to your dorm.

your head is spinning with chemical equations and diagrams when the empty seat across you shifts. the muffled noise is enough to make you look up, and you notice a stranger hovering near the seat. the rest of the cafe is full.

“may i sit here?” he asks.

“sure.”

you pay him no mind as he settles down, and you continue studying.

half an hour and one finished coffee later, and you still aren’t done with that first chapter. your notes started out neat but have since devolved into a half-legible mess of symbols and equations that might as well be ancient runes to you. the last ten minutes were spent scrolling on your phone because you would rather distract yourself at this point. groaning, you throw down your pen and rub your face into your hands.

i’m not understanding anything.

the soft thwack of your pen against your textbook catches the attention of your table-mate, who has finished his pastry and is sipping his drink while typing some notes on his phone. you glance up at him and see the name scrawled on his coffee cup: taehyun.

he glances at your pen, then at your textbook, then up at you. “is this for a chemistry class?”

you nod.

taehyun examines the textbook again, then your notes. “oh, i took the same class last semester. do you want help?”

you want to yell oh my god, you’re a fucking lifesaver, but instead you say, “yes, please!”

you allow taehyun to flip through your textbook, even your messy notes. his eyes widen as he takes in every detail, and when he looks up at you he gives you a tiny smile. there’s a little sparkle in his eyes that washes down just a bit of your worries.

“this is pretty good progress you’ve made. you got the fundamental parts right.”

“oh, i… did?”

and here you thought your mind was just flailing around.

“yeah. you’re doing great.”

“but i’m slow.”

“it’s better to be slow and understand everything well than to be fast but not absorb anything,” he says. “do you have an exam coming up soon?”

“uh-huh… tomorrow. and i’ve got two more chapters after this.”

“oh.” taehyun blinks and goes quiet for a few moments, pondering what to do. at last, he picks up your pen. “you could probably go faster with some help, then.”

a wide smile spreads across your face.

taehyun guides you through each lesson, pausing once in a while to check if you can follow him. you resume taking notes and they’ve gotten neater again, and all the strange symbols and diagrams and equations start to make sense. the panic in you starts to fade away little by little, and the fog in your mind from all your worrying starts to clear. with that gone, you find yourself understanding each lesson much more quickly.

“you’re good at this,” you say as taehyun finishes drawing an example chemical structure on a napkin.

“i am?” he lets out a small chuckle and you blush a little. he’s sweet. “well, i did enjoy my chemistry classes last time. but it only really counts if you got to learn something.”

“i did, i honestly did,” you say, eyes scanning your notes.

taehyun follows your line of sight and once again you see the sparkle in his eyes. “that’s good, then. and i can tell from your notes too, you already figured a lot of it out. you’ll do fine in your exam.”

“you think so?”

“yeah, really.”

“well...” he’s right, you admit. you exhale slowly and allow your shoulders to slump a little bit. “thanks.”

in the end you manage to finish just two out of three chapters before it gets dark outside, but taehyun makes a cheat sheet to help you. you watch him as he scrawls his notes on a loose sheet of paper 一 oh, he’s a lefty! you note 一 then tucks it in between the pages of your textbook. as he slides the textbook over to you, he gives you one more look with wide eyes.

“good luck tomorrow. you can do it!”

“thanks! and, uh 一 thank you. i couldn’t have done it without you.”

taehyun lets out a little chuckle. it sounds tiny, but to your ears it could fill the whole cafe. “you should let me know how it goes. i’ll be here tomorrow too, same time.”

“oh...”

there it is again, the twinkle in his eyes. you feel yourself grow warm at his words as you look at him. you still have your exam to get through, but now you have something to look forward to tomorrow.

“sure, i’ll be here,” you say. “see you.”

5. huening kai 휴닝카이

perhaps a little ice cream will put you out of your misery.

the line for the ice cream truck in the park is long, as expected on such a hot day. one part of you understands this rationally, but another part of you is antsy, an inner five-year-old grumbling and stomping their feet on the verge of a temper tantrum. sure, everyone in this line is sweating under the sun as much as you are, but your patience is wearing thin and you just want that ice cream now.

you would have been more patient if you’re getting that ice cream with your friends as originally planned, but your plans fell apart at the last minute. one by one, they texted you their reasons why they couldn’t make it: they have to work overtime at their job, their boyfriend suddenly showed up for a surprise date, their cat got hurt and had to be taken to the vet... by the time you read the last ones, you were already waiting at the park, your carefully planned outfit wasted and slowly being stained with sweat.

if it happened to someone other than you, you would have laughed at the unfortunate string of coincidences. but instead the sheer bad luck taunts you, and now all you can do is take out your handkerchief and wipe the sweat off your forehead with a sigh.

you don’t know how long it takes 一 perhaps a few minutes, perhaps an hour 一 but you finally make it to the front of the ice cream truck. you bounce on your heels as you turn to face the ice cream man, ready for a little bit of ice-cold, sweet comfort on an otherwise terrible day...

“sorry, we just sold out.”

“WHAT?!”

the ice cream man flinches. you didn’t mean to scream so loud, but the frustration building in up in you is just too much to hold back. the people in line behind you start to disperse, a few of them stopping to stare at you. you apologize for your outburst but slink away in defeat, head bowed from resignation and sheer tiredness.

just then you feel a tap on your shoulder.

“uh... y-you can have mine...”

you turn around and see a young man with tousled black hair holding out a popsicle still in its packaging. he smiles sheepishly as he hands it to you. “sorry, i got the last one...”

with one look at him, whatever irritation and frustration you feel melts away. you can see the sweat around his forehead and the slump in his shoulders, then your eyes fall to the gym bag hanging by his side. he must have been exerting himself under the sun, you think, and there’s no way you can take an ice cream from someone like that.

“no, i’m 一 i’m sorry for shouting like that. you can have it.”

“no, it’s okay, i promise!”

“really, you don’t have to give it to me.” you start to walk away, hoping to deter him, but he only follows. “keep it, it’s gonna melt if you don’t eat it soon.”

“take it! please?” he steps to your side and you notice how much he towers over you. his face betrays his height, however 一 he glances at you with big, pleading eyes, and your resolve softens.

“okay, okay.” you take the popsicle from him and unwrap it.

the two of you sit down on a park bench. you taste a little bit of the popsicle, now soft from the heat, and the fruity flavor instantly gives you a little burst of energy. you smile as you dig in to the rest of it, trying to savor it before it melts.

you pause for a moment to look at the young man who handed you the popsicle. he looks content as he gazes out at the park scenery, without a hint of bitterness that you took his ice cream from him. he turns to you with a smile, and you can’t help the little flutter in your heart when he does.

“that looks so good,” he says.

“it is! uh, sorry i took it from you.”

“nah, it’s okay. they ran out of my favorite flavor anyway so i’m not too sad.”

“oh.” you finish the popsicle and place the wooden stick inside the packaging. “it would’ve been nice if we both had one, though. it’s really hot today.”

“yeah, dance practice was extra brutal today under the sun...”

“dance practice? oh my god, that sounds exhausting.”

“yeah, everything hurt so much! but i finally figured out our new choreo, so it’s okay.” he glances over at you and opens his mouth to speak again, only for him to look confused and turn away. oh, he’s a shy one.

you decide to fill in the silence. “do you want to hear something funny?”

“sure!”

you tell the stranger about the slow thwarting of your plans for the day: the sudden overtime, the surprise date, the cat at the vet. your companion’s eyes widen with each new detail. when you finish he starts out a high-pitched laugh, and the sound makes you laugh too.

then he realizes he’s laughing at you and he stops. “oh一! oh, i... that’s so unlucky... and the ice cream running out too... i’m so sorry.”

you shrug. “today’s just not my day.”

“i’m glad i gave you that ice cream, then. you needed it.”

“yeah... thanks.” you glance down to fiddle with the edges of the popsicle wrapper, and you feel your lips curl upward in a smile . just then an idea enters your head, and you look up to meet your companion’s eyes.

“do you want to meet up here again next week? maybe we can get an ice cream for the both of us next time. my treat.” you tilt your head at him. “i’m y/n, by the way.”

slowly a wide smile forms on your own companion’s face, and his eyes start to twinkle with giddiness. “y/n... ah, i’m kai. and i have outdoor dance practice here every week, so i’ll see you after?”

“that would be nice, kai.”

351 notes · View notes

livin4woso · 9 months ago

Text

Breaking the media

Chapter 7- rest day

You had woken up in your bed the next morning which isnt where you had fell asleep the alarm clock next to you read 11.30am 'shit' was all you thought 'alexia is going to kill me im so late for training' you thought almost jumping from your bed and flinging the door open to the living room of the apartment however instead of finding the emptiness off the kitchen there was alexia mapi and ingrid. You stood almost clueless as the older girls turned to look at you "morning" mapi says first swivelling on her chair to face you "what the.. nah am i lost or something i thought we had training" you said staring almost having to think to blink " no we dont its a rest day" ingrid replied while the spanish girls look at eachother trying to decifer what you said. "What am i speaking a foreign language" you ask "yes y/n you are and i thought lucys accent was bad but you're on another level" mapi remarked " i agree with her Pequeña" alexia said greeting you with a warm smile.

You wandered to sit in the spare chair at the table as alexia served you breakfast it was like a little family you could never understand why alexia was so kind to you, the way she treated you it was like no one else had ever done before it was comforting. "I was thinking about going into town today" you said biting into a piece of toast. "You sure you want too?" Alexia ask concern filled her thoughts after yesterday. "Yeah i do you can come with me and be my tour guide" you said digging your elbow into her side "okay okay sure but no messing around otherwise im not buying you anything" she said back with her arms folded as if she was talking to a toddler.

You ran upstairs to get changed and make sure to have your phone with you as you shoved it into your jean pocket. "Okay im ready to go" you said bouncing on your heels "right let me get my shoes on but we have guests you know" alexia said pointing at mapi and ingrid "oh yeah do you wanna come then?" You asked hopeful they might come "we would love too but unfortunately we're going to a restaurant out of town so we need to go and get ready" mapi said almost sad that she couldn't hang out with you "no no its okay" you said smiling back at her.

You watched as the couple left the apartment and alexia followed car keys in hand to give you the best guided tour of Barcelona that anyone could ever give you. Your day was amazing you travelled to every single tiny art piece to the big monuments wandering through shops and stopping to try food. The day was amazing even though you did get made to go on photo duty as about 20 people recognised the la renia in her own kingdom but you didn't mind because truthfully you would have been the same a couple weeks ago.

The sun was coming to an end the skys turned from azule blue to a mix of dusty oranges and pinks that were littered with clouds as you made your way back to alexias car "thank you so much I've had such a good day even being your photographer" you said joking on the last part of your sentence "ohh shut up i might have to hire you if you're that good at taking photos then" she joked back "eyy i never that mate i only said i would for today" you said back "y/nnn stop with the English words you know i dont understand them" she said deadpanning her face "sorryyy they just slip out" you said pouting at her. The way home was peaceful you chatted all the way too the apartment and you talked right until you had to sleep as training had restarted and so did the games which you had hoped to start in.

#alexia x reader #barca femeni #woso #woso x reader #wsl #mapi leon #woso imagines #ingrid engen

69 notes · View notes

sanscat0414 · 1 year ago

Text

I’ll be Here with You, Always.

Hawks x Reader

Scenario: The first time you opened up to hawks about your feelings of unhappiness. Hawks being there to comfort you.

Warning: one mention of thoughts of unliving oneself.

————————————————————————

There are times your are down but hawks will always be their at your fall. He will always be there for you. Loving and comforting you in your time of need just as you done for him.

Today was one of those days that you weren’t feeling the best. You’re always insecure, constantly worrying, constantly trying so hard to be a people pleaser. You want validation and you want to be needed. You were always known as the happiest person, you were who they came for when they need to cheer up. You had everything you wanted and needed. But why? Why do you feel so empty? As if you were not deserving of what you have? You always thought “no I should be happy. I have a good life and a good standing I shouldn’t complain. I shouldn’t be like this. I shouldn’t be ungrateful. So why am I sad? Why am I like this.”

When you met Hawks, he saw right through you. You were at the roof top of your apartment building staring at the lovely night sky contemplating. You would never do it, never jump but it’s not like you haven’t thought about it. Ut was one of those days. Hawks saw you looking so empty he naturally as a hero kept and eye for people like you in case you ever do jump. He flew towards you and landed behind you.

“Hey.”

You startled and immediately turned to see the #2 infront of you.

“Hi, uhh Mr. Hawks how can I help you?” You said with a smile.

“It’s just a bit windy your standarding a little to close to the edge~ you might wanna step back less you fall. But even if you do I’ll catch you.” Something about your smile has him worried for you.

You chuckled and said “thank you for the warning Mr. Hawks. But I am fine truly.”

“Something on your mind? If you like you can talk to me.”

“Don’t you have better things to do than have idol chitchat with me Mr. Big hero.”

“Even Hero’s need a little break form the chaos, beside its a great view here. So talk to me a little~” he said winking at you and walked next to you.

“Well I guess I was having a mediocre day. It just feels a bit… I don’t know meh. It nice to take a breath and just take in the view sometimes to organize your thoughts.” You said as with every word became quieter.

“I get it, the view is one of those things that just makes you happy, it’s beautiful and I’m lucky to have a great view always, in the sky.”

Oh how they were great memories, Hawks gave you his number after saying it be nice to have a buddy to hangout with without all the obligations of being a hero and who enjoys the peaceful skyline. Then about a year in to your unlikely friendship he asked you out. Of course you said yes. Eventually bit by bit he opened up to you, his childhood, everything and got to know him as Keigo Takami not just Hawks . But you, you hide your feelings, ‘happy’ as ever. Being trained to detect discrepancies in people Hawks picked up your not as much as a ‘happy go lucky’ type that most people saw you as but he never pushed you to tell him why. Hawks was patient, he wanted you to open up to him just as you had done with him.

Today it finally happened. You broke, your bottles up feeling started to get the better of you. Hawks was at work and you hid yourself under the blanket holding on to one of hawks spare jackets crying to yourself. You didn’t want to bother Hawks, after all the world needs him and it be selfish to take him away.

Meanwhile, Hawks was at meetings and he suddenly hears crying. He thought it was strange until he remembered some of his feathers was at home with you. He’d always kept a few lying around the house when he knows you’re there to keep you safe. He started to get restless as the meeting continued and his only thought was going back home to you. He used his feathers that was with you to scoop out the house just in case of a break it. Thankfully there wasn’t, but this meeting was with the commission so he had to be present. He wanted so desperately to just run to you at the moment. As soon as he was done he rushed out the door to your shared home.

“Babybird? You okay?” You heard.

You quickly whipped your tears and stayed in the blanket. You tried your best to act normal “yeah I’m fine, how come your home so early?”

“I was worried about you, I heard your crying wit. My feathers. Babybird you know you can talk to me okay? No matter what it is.” He said as he sat down on the bed with you facing away from him.

You were silent, you didn’t want him to know, you didn’t need him to know.

“Baby~” he said in the sweetest tone full of worry.

“… I’m fine, you should go back to work, people need you.” You said not daring to turn and look at him.

“You need me right now, love. Talke to me, I know something is bothering you. You know I’m literally trained to pick these things up right? It’s hard turning it off besides I like observing you and be dumbfounded by your cuteness and beauty.”

“It’s nothing. I don’t have any thing that bothers me. Life it great especially when I get to be with you.”

“Butt?”

You stayed silent as Hawks forcefully but gently make you turn to look at him. It broke his heart seeing you with fury puffy eyes and tear dripping down your face. You didn’t dare to stared back into his golden eyes. Golden eyes that always stared at you with nothing but love, shrinking and glistening like the stars. You alway loved looking at time.

“Y/n, whatever it is you don’t need to tell me. Just know when you need it I will always be there to hear you to listen. It don’t matter what it is, if it’s your day or just something small that made you upset. I’ll be here with you, always.”

‘I’ll be here with you, always.’ That last thing he said repeated in your mind. Keigo always had a way with words. You sat up had laid you head on to his chest as he gently wrapped his armes around you.

“Sometimes it’s just too much you know? I’m supposed to be happy, I’m supposed to be the one that had everything together, I’m suppose to be the care free one. I had great parents and friends to cherish me. I have you to love me. I have so much. People have it so much worse than me. Sometime I just feel I don’t deserve this, I don’t deserve to be happy… I don’t deserve to live. Everything just seem to bleek. So empty, so alone when I’m not. I know I’m loved so why don’t I feel it? Why am I like this. Why do I feel like I have everything but nothing. Why are you with me…. When I shown you nothing…. What do you love me…. Why!.”

“Sometimes it’s just like that, you think you done nothing but you do so much. So so much, sometimes you just don’t see it. As for why I love you, it’s because your loving, caring, you like dorky things that don’t make sense, you out up with my bird instincts and you always saw me as me, not some hero. You saw me as Keigo. Most of all you are you and nothing, NOTHING is more special than that. It’s perfectly fine to be sad, you don’t need to be what you think you’re supposed to be, you just need to be you. It’s okay, to not be okay. And when you are sad I’ll be here to help you through it, to be there with no matter how big or small. “

You cried holding him for along time. He held you close whispered sweet nothings to let you work through your feelings. He knows sometimes it better to just let it out, you taught him that. It’s something you never saw for yourself, so Keigo will be there to show you your own lesson. After a while you let go.

“I’m okay now thank you. You should probably go back to work. We can cuddle when you get home. Sorry for ruining your uniform with met tears. You said with a small smile.

A smile Keigo will never forget, as for the first time there was no sadness no emptiness in that smile just pure love.

“Never apologize for something like that, I can always just wash it. It’s worth it to see that smile.” He said kissing your forehead.

After changed he was ready to head out again. He holds you in his arms and said “You are worthy of love. I love you more than you will ever know. Don’t forget that”

It was then after almost two years of being together, you know he was the one you love most. He saw through you and brought the best in you. Keigo Takami, the man who never gave up on you, the man who shined like no other. He was your light, you star in your empty space, the one who gave you the courage to believe in yourself that you, Y/n L/n are capable to love and be worth of everything you have.

a/n: this was a self indulgent post, there will be days when you don’t feel good even if you don’t have a reason to. And sometimes it’s okay to be sad but remember that there is always light. It’s a reminder to all and myself sometimes it’s okay to let it out.

#bnha hawks #keigo #keigo takami #wing hero hawks #keigo x reader #hawks fluff #hawks comfort #hawks x reader fluff #bnha hawks x reader #hawks x yn #hawks x reader mha #comfort

108 notes · View notes

ashecampos · 1 year ago

Text

ANYONE BUT HER 3

JANIS IMI-IKE X FEM READER

Part one part two

Warnings - smoking, alcohol, drugs, swearing, cheating, mentions of anxiety.

The POV switches between reader and Janis (I use — when I change the POV)

there will be more parts to this, make sure to reblog and comment and I will get the next few parts up as soon as I can, happy reading lovelies 🫶🏼

“and where have you been?” My best friend Tess says while she sits on my bed, cross legged, her gym clothes still on. She smirks at me before throwing my pillow at me face, earning a groan from me. “Tee I feel like shit, no abusing ur token gay today please” I look over at her before falling next to her on my bed face first. “What’s wrong? Did Bea or Jason approach you again? Look when I come back to school tomorrow I’ll stick by your side to make sure they piss off yeah?” She states proudly.

Tess has been my best friend since middle school, we can’t actually remember how we became friends but our closest guess would be that we got sat together in some class, the rest is history. She got put into a different high school freshman year, however she is being transferred to Evanston for the rest of high school.

I lift up my head and smirk “oh yes my princess in shining armour please save me from this distressing part of my life” I say dramatically, rolling over to face her fully. She smiles back, shoving my shoulder a little laughing, her face lights up and she scoots forward a little “oh before I forget, this girl in my bookclub called Cady said we can sit with her and her friends at school, she’s really nice, and her friends sound amazing” she says while grabbing her tote bag off of the floor and pulling a book out, swatting me on the head with it “now read and we shall watch a movie of your choosing later” she hands me my book off of my cabinet.

——-

Cady walks into my basement where me and Damien are already sat down gossiping about todays events “hey guys where did you two disappear to earlier?” She says while plopping her backpack down and sitting on one of the beanbags. I look over to Damien begging him to not say anything, but let’s be real it’s Damien. “Damage control, little miss lover girl may or may not have overdosed a little” he says, earning a slap on the arm from me “for one” I look over to Cady pointing “she didn’t overdose, two she got spiked, three don’t call it damage control, im really worried about her” I say with a sad smile. Cadys phone pings a few times earning an ‘ooo’ from Damien, she picks it up and smiles “oh it’s my friend Tess, she’s just transferred to Evanston, I invited her to sit with us if that’s cool?” She says vibrating with excitement.

Great another new friend. Actually this might take my mind off of y/n, seeming though she hasn’t stopped ringing through my mind since that one gig.

—-

“Y/n/n. Wake uppppp” I am shook awake by Tess, “cmon we fell asleep” she says, my body jolts up, how did we fall asleep? What time is it? I look over at my alarmclock, it’s only 6am. Thankgod.

I roll over to face her and she smirks “hey do you have any clothes I can steal?” She laughs before getting up out of the bed and grabbing me by the ankle and pulling me with her to my closet. “Ugh fuck you and your strong rugby arms” I curse her out half asleep as im being dragged across my room.

I sit up and she is raiding my closet. Groaning I lay back down on the floor, she walks back to my bed, clothes in hand then back to my closet. I start laughing “you’re in the closet” I say squinting up at her with a smirk. She kicks my shoulder and throws some clothes on my head “cmon goofy, get your emo ass dressed” I stand up and we get changed.

Upon entering the school, Tessa is stared at by every man we walk by, we attend classes together, I thank every god in the sky that me and her have all of our classes together. The day is going smooth until third period art, we walk into the room, she is told to sit in front of me, that’s when Janis strides into the room, immediately noticing the blonde and freezing up.

The story is, Tess is Regina Georges cousin, she attended the same middle school, was indeed apart of the plastics. However Tess had no part of the downfall of Janis.

Tess turns around to me “is that?” She asks leaving the question open. “Mhm” I groan back to her. “As in your longtime crush Janis?” She mocks me, with a sweet smirk. I throw a pencil at her as Janis walks by, sits down next to us. “Hey Janis, y/n here has told me so much about you” she continues, making me regret being born. The class goes by, I end up drawing sketches of people in the class, while my dearest best friend talks to Janis, telling her embarrassing stories.

——

Walking into that art classroom was my worst mistake of the day so far. As soon as I walked through that door, I saw her. Tessa George, or as she goes by now Tess. You see the problem with Tess is that she is one of the kindest souls to walk the streets of suburban Illinois, however she is regrettably related to the one and only Regina George. In middle school, Tess was there for me when we were both plastic but when Regina ruined my life she was out of town and didn’t find out till I was long gone and expelled.

“Heyy Janis, y/n has told me so much about you” she says happily, meanwhile y/n groans a little and puts her face in her hands before slowly putting her head on her desk while Tess continues to talk about y/n, spilling secrets and telling stories. “Oh and then there was the time she tried to fight a man a foot taller than her when she was drunk” the blonde continues her rant. My eyes flicker from y/n to Tess, I never knew y/n was even friends with Tess, never mind best friends. Tess sounds really good for y/n. The bell chimes to indicate lunch has started, Tess grabs her phone and squeals causing y/n to roll her eyes, I try to ignore them, I start to pack up, grabbing my bag “Cady said meet her outside, she can’t wait to meet you” Tess said, grabbing y/n’s arm and dragging her out of the classroom. So Tess is cadys mysterious friend.

…

I walk to outside and find Damien, we end up sitting under our tree, I pull out my cross stitch and start sewing the rest of the eye I have been working on for this art contest. I hear leaves crunching and look up to see Cady, Tess and y/n walking over. “Oh my god, is that Tessa?” Damien starts to freak out. “Y/ns best friend Tess, Regina’s goddam cousin Tess?!” He exaggerates but shuts up just before they reach us. They all say hi and sit down. Y/n sits next to me, Tess and Cady sit on the other side of Damien.

“So Cady tell us about this Aaron dude you cannot shut up about” Tess says while nudging Cady. to this all of us snapped our heads toward her “Samuel’s Aaron Samuel’s?” Damien asks “oh no Cady no” I continue “are you unwell?” Damien leans forward. “Wait you like my brother?” Y/n speaks up making everyone stay quiet, I look over and she shakes her head “Cady in the nicest way possible be careful, things with him and Regina ended horribly, and I don’t want him to be hurt” she says protectively “well things ended horribly with you and Bea but I don’t see Aaron sticking up for you” Cady bites back. A few seconds go by in silence before y/n stands up “sorry I have to go grab my charger from the art classroom” she says, Damien and his quick thinking blurts out “Janis can go with you, she left her needles there” which makes me look over and mouth ‘what?’ To him.

Y/n starts to walk away not waiting for me, which would be my que to get up and follow her, I stumble up and run after her. We end up in the art classroom, she grabs her charger and turns to leave but I grab her arm. “Wha..” she starts to say “what’s going on with you?” I cut her off, she looks at me as if she’s trying to analyse me to see if she can trust me. “Nothing in fine” she shrugs “no no your not now tell me what the fuck is going on” I push further, walking to the door and locking it. I walk back to her and hug her. She stumbles back a little but regardless her arms wrap around my waist. “Sorry” she mumbles into my shoulder “maybe let’s try explaining our actions instead of apologising for them” I say while rubbing her back. “Jason got his friends and beat me up, I rely on drugs to cope, my brother is in love with the queen bee of the school. Everything hurts jan” she says while tears stream down her face. I pull away from the hug and wipe her eyes. “Okay so we keep you away from Jason, we find better ways to deal with pain and we ignore the fact Regina exists mh?” I push some hair out of her eyes. She stares up at me before stepping forward a little, wrapping her arms around my neck and pulling our faces together, she pulls me into a kiss. My fingers graze her hips and I use the loops of her belt to pull her closer to me. She starts to pull away to say something “this isn’t going to be awkward later right?” She questions, “no..I really don’t think so” I say pulling her in again, deepening the kiss.

——

(With Damien and the girls)

“So shall we talk about the elephant in the room?” Damien says as Janis and y/n walk away.

“What the fact that those two would make an adorable yet scary power couple?” Tess quips back to the boy, in return he clicks his fingers and points at her “truth” he says smirking.

“So how do we get them together because I know Janis is as stubborn as they come and y/n well y/n is just y/n” Damien laughs.

🫶🏼🫶🏼🫶🏼🫶🏼🫶🏼🫶🏼🫶🏼🫶🏼🫶🏼🫶🏼🫶🏼🫶🏼🫶🏼🫶🏼

Heyyy my gayssss, I hope you liked this chapter, it is a bit happier than the last one. The next chapter should be up in a few days, thankyou for reading.

#reader insert #x y/n #mean girls #meangirls2024 #mean girls the musical #janis imike #janis x y/n #janis x reader #janis #janis imi'ike x reader #janis imi'ike #janis ian #damien hubbard #reader #wlw #Janis being adorable #enemies to lovers #friends to lovers #cady heron

65 notes · View notes

seenoversundown · 8 months ago

Text

For Death Or Glory : Chapter Four

Jake x Charlotte (Fem OC)

Warnings: Mentions of Death / Grief, Drinking, Sad / Anxious Themes, Shitty Dates, Potential spoilers for a rom-com that came out in 2006, brief conversation involving sex (very tame if you read fanfic regularly) and a tiny little taste of what's about to happen next week.

Word Count: 3.4k

Summary : Charlotte has the most unfortunate day ahead of her, but remembering fondly on better times helps her make it through. As one would say; the world works in mysterious ways.

Author's Note: I'm going to be so for real with you, I know the premise of this chapter is a bit on the heavier side. BUT- with that said, I did my best to not make it too difficult to read. I hope you enjoy learning a little more about my favorite red-haired beauty. 🧡 (There's very few HEAVY chapters in The Caravel Tavern Series and sadly, Ms Charlotte has at least 2 of them)

Portland Maine - Donovan Woods "Leave your bags in the car, keep it running, I won't pretend, That I won't miss this."

I never knew what people meant when they said they felt numb until today. It feels like I hardly slept last night, but I did end up lying in bed for a while this morning. After I convinced myself to get up, I reluctantly made some coffee, took a shower, blew out my hair, and made it look presentable again.

I’m sitting in front of my mirror with all my makeup splayed out in front of me. Carefully clipped my hair back so I didn’t mess up the loose waves I spent time working on. I look at myself, taking a deep breath; my under-eyes are dark from the lack of sleep. God, I don’t want to do this.

I slowly work through my makeup routine, pausing every so often to fight back the tears that threaten to fall. With every step, I look more and more like a normal person. I set my mascara tube back into its place, taking a second to look at how everything looks. I hold a breath, closing my eyes gently as it leaves my body.

And then there I stood in my closet, staring at all the options. Choosing an outfit is usually a highlight of my day, but today was certainly not one of those days. I still haven’t said it out loud; it makes it too real. I never thought I would be in a position where I had to mourn a friend, a best friend. My best friend.

Unfortunately, accidents happen, and generally speaking, I handle those well. I am not doing well in this specific instance, but she would want me to go stun at her service. The thought makes me laugh, even in the midst of the saddest time.

I can hear her in my head, yelling, “Lottie! If you don’t wear a bomb pantsuit, I’ll haunt your ass!” I let out a small laugh at the thought. She always has a way of doing that. I pull out some tapered black pants, a black cotton T-shirt, and a blazer, I feel like she’d be happy with this, I think to myself as I put on the gold necklace she bought me.

Checking myself one more time in the mirror, “Okay, I think I’m ready,” I mumble to myself. I grab my bag and my keys and head out.

The drive feels surreal. It’s something that nobody is ever prepared for, and as much as I know that, I really thought I would be better at this. Trying to focus on anything besides the situation, I have the music turned up insanely loud, the window is cracked for fresh air, and I’m sipping on the coffee I brought. I enjoy the scenery as best as I can, trying to find the silver lining on this day. Thankfully, the weather isn’t terrible today, so there’s… something. I just embrace the feeling of the sun on my skin with the cool autumn breeze.

I pull into the parking lot, shut off my car, and just stare at the building with others dressed in all black wandering in. I take a minute to just sit here, mentally preparing myself for the service. I won’t pretend that I won’t miss her, but in my head, she’s never really gone. She would be yelling, ‘Your ass is stuck with me for life.’ I let out a small laugh at the thought.

I look up at the sky as I walk towards the door, “You’re lucky I love you so much,” I whisper to myself, and her, before grabbing the door handle to the funeral hall. ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

3 Months Ago..

I carefully walk back into my living room, handing one wine glass over to her. She quickly cheers my glass as I go to sit down. I take a little sip before setting it on a coaster.

“What are we cheers-ing?”

“Actually getting to hang out, for once!”

Truth be told, I can be a pain in the ass to plan time with. I spend a lot of my time working and ignoring my personal life. Not the healthiest habit, now is it Char?

“I’m the worst. I’m sorry,” I cringe as I pull up Netflix.

She laughs loudly, something I’ve always loved about her, “at least you’re self-aware.”

“I’m choosing to pretend you didn’t agree,” I scroll over to our favorite movie, “shall we?”

I don’t know why we became so attached to John Tucker Must Die, but now it’s almost a tradition to watch it if we have a night together. Maybe it’s because we both have had our fair share of terrible men in our lives or because we have bonded over the hatred of a single person. Regardless, we make it a point to always watch it when we have the chance.

“So, are you still seeing that one dude?” She asks, a half smirk on her face.

I can’t tell her fast enough, “Oh GOD, no. Never again.”

“He seemed a bit.. boring.”

“He had ZERO personality. About as exciting as the fourteen tan suits that he owns,” I feel a little bad making fun of him, but my god, he was dreadful.

“He was also mid in bed.. and that’s giving him credit.” I shrug, taking a sip of my drink to hide my smile.

“LOTTIE!”

“CASSIE!”

We both laugh until tears are falling down our faces.

“I’m sorry!” I giggle, “But you shouldn’t start things you can’t finish.” Covering my mouth because I also can’t believe I said that.

“Amen, girl!”

We’ve spent most of our adult lives confiding in each other about everything. Every new job, family drama, bad date. We both know the ins and outs of each other’s sex lives because sometimes it’s so humorous that you have to tell someone.

The two of us have been close since we met at our first job in high school. Dairy Queen wasn’t the most exciting place to work, especially during summer break, because you just can’t get the smell of melted ice cream out of your clothes. After countless shifts working together, we bonded and inevitably started talking outside of work. Realizing quickly that we were incredibly different, but it also made it fun. I kept her focused when it was busy, and she helped me to loosen up when we weren’t on the clock.

“Have you tried just meeting someone organically? Or are you ‘too busy’ ?” She says the second half in a mocking tone.

I roll my eyes quickly, “My job just takes up a lot of time, so dating apps seem to be easiest.”

“I know you’re going to hate this, but,” she starts, “it’s just a job, babe. You’re allowed to take time for yourself or, in this case, to find someone.”

“No, I know.. I just-”

She cuts me off, “There’s no ‘I just’ anymore, girl. You’ll burn yourself out on this job if you don’t make time for yourself.”

I put both of my hands up to surrender, “Okay, you’re right.” We both sink back into the couch and giggle through the rest of this ridiculous movie.

Cassie is a free spirit, something I wish I could learn to be. She always had a positive approach to things, not in the sickeningly sweet way, either; just genuinely, she saw the good in the world. She did not care about other people’s opinions; she wore whatever she wanted, followed her dreams, and did whatever she wanted.

It was always funny to me when we were out in public together. Her outfits were always fun and colorful, and she wasn’t afraid to try new things. Then there’s me, borderline-looking professional at any given point. I love neutrals and looking put together. Maybe it was just to give the front that I knew what I was doing, but nonetheless, I enjoyed a pantsuit. People would always watch her. She’s beautiful, to be fair, but how she carries herself is incredible.

She is really the only person I consistently keep up with. We text each other from the moment we wake up until someone passes out, usually waking up to a bunch of things unread from the early hours of the morning. Nothing would stop us from staying close, though, not even going to different colleges, having entirely different careers, or living two hours apart.

Watching Kate throw cake at John will never not make us hard-laugh; he deserved every ounce of it. Both of us are kicking our feet over Scott, coming around to be her lab partner again, and calling her perfect. Ugh, he’s an angel.

“Y’know, Lottie,” she giggles, “Maybe you just need to find a Scott of your own.”

Sitting up from my corner of the couch, “What do you mean?”

“Well, let’s be honest here. You always go for the John type.. Maybe you need a Scott.”

I can’t deny that I tend to go for that type, but I have my reasons. Because you’re a bit neurotic..? Excuse me? I just know what I like and don’t like.

“You’re not wrong.”

“Just give it a try,” her voice changing into a more empathetic tone, “Stop thinking yourself out of happiness for once.” Her hand landed on mine, giving it a double pat before looking back up at me.

“Alright, alright.” I can’t deny that she could be onto something. I’m just bad at accepting change. “If I run into someone who is giving ‘Scott’ vibes, I will give it a shot. But I’m not making any promises that it’ll work.”

She lets out a feral squeal, “Oh my god, I can see it now! Some kind-hearted, nerdy, long-haired man just sweeping you off your feet!” She falls over dramatically with her hand on her forehead, like a Victorian woman in a silk robe falling onto velvet sofas. We fall into a fit of giggles as she tells me her entire vision of what my life could become.

“You just deserve a man who’s as much of a hopeless romantic as you are,” she says through a laugh.

“Hey now! Just because I read romance doesn’t mean that I’m a hopeless romantic.”

“Lottie, I don’t know who you’re trying to convince here.”

I hate it when she’s right. I do have a soft spot for romantic things. Something about finding the right person at the right time, just feels like it only happens in books or movies. Meeting the love of your life by chance feels so foreign in our time, because everything is through dating apps and the internet.

“I just don’t think I’ll find a man who compares to any of the love interests in my books, you know? I have to stay realistic, Cass.”

She rolls her eyes at me, “I’m sure one exists out there. You just need to open your eyes more. Stop dating Finance Bros,” she barks out a laugh, “They are definitely not written by women nor do they know how to treat one.”

“Ugh.. I know you’re right,” I confess, “I don’t even know how to meet people organically.” Dramatically throwing myself back onto the couch, covering my eyes with my hands.

“We will get you all dolled up and hit the Old Port one of these weekends,” she pulls me back up, “I’m sure we can find you a man in one of those bars. You’re too sexy– there’s no chance you won’t catch a few looks.”

My face hot instantly at her compliment, “As long as you approve of him, I’ll do it. That’s the agreement from now on.” She sticks her hand out, taking mine and rapidly shaking it.

“Yes, yes, yes! This is what I’ve been dreaming of!” she hollers through my apartment, “I get to turn my shy little Lottie into someones WIFE!”

We’re a few glasses of wine deep at this point.

“So I went on a date with this guy,” Cassie starts, struggling to hold in her laugh, “I wish I could explain to you how bad.”

“Oh god, PLEASE.”

“The first red flag that I so nicely ignored was that he didn’t even dress cute! He wore sweatpants, girl,” both of us borderline screaming at the statement.

“Also, his name is Jeff,” she cringes. “I feel like I should have KNOWN.”

I finally cave, “What actually happened on the date?”

“Literally nothing. He only like half listened to me, we went to a bar with TVs and he was fully focused on whatever sport was on.” Rolling her eyes as she tells me.

“That’s SO annoying!”

She took a sip of her wine and swallowed it quickly, “HONESTLY— I even had the girls out, trying to look a little cuter than normal.”

“Well, that’s terrible that it didn’t work out. I’m sure you looked way too hot for him anyway.” She literally looks hot all the time, he’s a fool to not notice that.

Her hand flew up to cover her mouth, “Oh girl, I still invited him back.”

“CASS-“ I scream.

“Hey— sometimes you just need to get laid!” She says matter of factly.

“I guess I can’t argue that.. he couldn’t have been very good?”

“Oh god- he literally didn’t even try to take control. A whole pillow princess if I’ve ever met one.”

I can’t stop the scream that escapes me, making her laugh with me.

After she comes to, “It’s okay, at least I know my way around. Still managed to get off even if it was looking like I had a small window before it was done.”

“How fast did he leave after?” I have to ask.

“Oh, he ran out of there. Definitely is just looking to get his dick sucked, nothing serious.”

“Well, for your sake, hopefully, it was worth it.”

After a few more hours, we fell asleep on my couch. It was a pretty typical situation for us. We just get so caught up in giggling and being around each other that we lose track of the time. We would always take advantage of the times we get to actually hang out since they were becoming less frequent.

We spent the morning sipping coffee together before she needed to head back home. She pulled me into a hug, swaying me back and forth for a minute before getting into her car.

“I love you, Lottie!”

“I love you too,” I tell her, “Let me know when you make it home, okay?” ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

The sun feels good on my skin; I’ve been sitting in my car with the door open for 20 minutes. The slight breeze made it so it wasn’t too warm, just baking in the sun. Her service was beautiful, and the room was full of people there to celebrate how wonderful of a person she was. I couldn’t have asked for anything better except to have her here instead.

Decompressing before I decide what to do next since I’m already in the city She would tell me to do some retail therapy to get my mind off of it, which is honestly sounding pretty good right now. She was always good at talking me down when I got into my head about something. Even if it was just trying to make me laugh because she knew that I was being dramatic about whatever it was.

I grab my phone out of my bag to see if I can convince myself to spend some money irrationally for a small dose of serotonin.

Jacob: Hi there. I have been trying to get through this paperwork and I think I’m just lost on what I need to be doing. I don’t know if you are nearby and want to stop in or you can literally just call me that’s also fine. I just don’t want to mess things up again. Let me know whichever works for you.

I mull over the options of working right now or shopping; unfortunately, I know what my body is going to end up doing. I can’t not help him, especially since he was so nice to me about the whole thing anyway. I swipe out of my texts, pulling up maps and typing in the address.

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

Even just driving through Portland felt weird now. It was always the two of us; C2 is what we call ourselves. Even if she always called me ‘Lottie,’ leaving people confused most of the time. She lived nearby, so the biggest reason for me to come here was her. We would usually end up ordering takeout and camping out on her couch, but on the rare occasion, we would go to the Old Port for drinks. Never remembering much past midnight though, I can’t imagine how ridiculous we looked. I really hope nobody ever saw us.

I park down the street from the bar, giving myself a minute to mentally prepare. The clock in my car shows 3:15 pm; this shouldn’t take too long. Hopefully, I can get home before it’s too dark. I open my bag, seeing the ‘in memoriam of Cassandra..’ sticking out. I pull it out, looking at the photo of her on the front.

“You look good, Cass,” my throat tight as I whisper it into the quiet of my car, “I miss you so much.” I take a deep breath, fighting the urge to cry again. Get it together; you need to be professional.

I set it down on the passenger seat, not wanting it to get crumpled up in my bag. I grab my phone and start walking to the bar. I really hope it’s quiet in there since it’s so early in the afternoon. The quicker I help him, the sooner I can get out of this city.

I pull open the door to the bar, but only a few people are scattered throughout. Perfect, this should be smooth sailing. I walk towards the bar as Jacob turns around, pulls out his phone, and then disappears behind the bar quickly. It’s hard to deny that he’s a handsome guy, but it still catches me off guard that he is the owner of this place.

“I didn’t think I would see you today,” is all I can really hear as he drops down, aside from the sounds of rustling paperwork. I can hear the vague sounds of his mumbling, but nothing is clear. I set my bag on the barstool next to me, deciding to not sit down just in case it’s a quick question. He stands back up, his eyes finding mine. He’s quiet for a moment, what feels like forever, as his face falters and his eyes scan all over me. Don’t ask me, don’t ask me, don’t ask me. Watching as his eyebrows pulled together, I knew exactly what was about to happen.

He asked me that godforsaken question, “Are you okay?” in his soft, raspy voice. Shit. It felt like a punch to the gut, leaving me winded. I’ve avoided the question for two weeks because I knew the moment someone asked, it wouldn’t go over well. I really can’t even fault him for asking. If anything, it’s sweet that he noticed that something was off.

I breathe in slowly, feeling the prick of tears in my eyes again. Trying to muster up everything in me to answer confidently. For the love of God, don’t cry.

“Um,” my shaky breath comes out as my voice fails me. Yeah, I’m fine,” I say, barely above a whisper. No, I’m not. Who am I kidding? My heart pounds in my chest despite feeling like it’s shattered. The silence between us felt like forever until I heard a door opening.

We both look over quickly, seeing Josh come around the corner before Jacob comes out from behind the bar. Grabbing my bag and placing his hand on my back, he guides me towards his office. He lets me into the small room first and sets my bag on the chair before turning to me. Oh no. The way his eyes are full of worry as they meet mine; I pull my hands up to hide my face, unprepared for my emotions to betray me.

A sob escapes me, louder than I would have liked. My chest aches. The sound of the door shutting was immediately drowned out by the feeling of his arms pulling me into him, his hand holding my head gently against him before he whispered the words that I knew would haunt me.

“Oh, honey.”

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

Chapter Three

Next Chapter

FDOG Masterlist | Masterlist | FDOG Playlist

Taglist:

@gvfsstardust @myleftsock @mindastreamofcolours @dont-go-home-without-me @literal-dead-leaf

@lizzys-sunflower @mackalah @klarxtr @edgingthedarkness @writingcold

@i-love-gvf @takenbythemadness @earthgrlsreasy @peaceloveunitygvf @gretavanfan

@jazzyfigz @smoking-jakelane @demonrat444 @threadofstars

@hollyco @anythingforjtk @woyayaofdreams @musicspeaks

reply or fill out this form to be added!

32 notes · View notes