#i am jumping i am bouncy

[uliana-redfeather]

THIS IS MY LIFE THIS IS EVERYTHING TO ME istg istg good lord WORLD OF GOOOOOEOOOOEOOOO

time to replay the og game

oh how i love world of goo and little inferno oh how im waiting for welcome to the information superhighway oh how i want to play world of goo 2

[hyunpic]

hyunjin performing play with fire

[blupengu]

Y’all is Hollow Knight hard or do I just suck because oh my god??

[actual-changeling]

Crowley did not want the holy water as a suicide pill in 1862, but I believe he not not wanted it as one

He gets pulled down to hell in 1827 and it's not just a slap on the wrist for something minor, he did a very good deed—that didn't just cost them one soul, it has ripple effects! It cost them dozens if not more, depending on what Elspeth did with her life.

Additionally, we do not know how long he stayed in hell. "Quite some time" is not a very exact measurement, and I know there are theories that it wasn't long at all, but that's pure speculation.

Canonically, the next time we see him is in 1862, so assuming he took some time to adjust to the new period, he could have come back as late as 1861. It is entirely possible—and in my opinion very likely—that he spent over thirty years being tortured in hell.

By "torture" I do mean actual torture, btw, the same kind hell threatens him with. In the scriptbook, there's a deleted monologue Dagon has while Crowley is getting rejected (again).

They save the wonderful line "Because no matter what agonies the damned are suffering, Crowley, you will have it worse. We SEE how hell tortures the damned, Furfur literally plays it to us like a corporate powerpoint, so whatever they did to him after '27 was bad.

Crowley looks tired, exhausted, almost sick. He is paranoid, in mental and/or physical pain, he looks like he has lost weight, and we barely see him move at all.

Now compare to the Crowley we saw in Edinburgh. Carefree, happy, taking Aziraphale on dates and going on fun little adventures, getting drunk on laudanum, smiling, jumping around—this is the most relaxed we have seen him since around 1601.

After this, we never see him like that again. That bouncy, curly-haired demon is gone, and hell is responsible; they broke him. I know that look on his face in '62, I saw it every day in the mirror for twenty years, which were (also honestly quite literally) torturous.

Crowley asked for the holy water as insurance, he had probably already come up with several contingency plans involving.

What would happen if they still got him though? What if he erased a demon or two and then hell dragged him back down? I am 100% certain that Dagon would have made good on the promise they give him later. If it had come down to killing himself with holy water or being tortured for all eternity, he would have chosen death without hesitation.

Better dead than in hell.

[hedgehog-moss]

The Great Jungle Fence of ‘23

A majority of you poll-voters expressed the opinion that my fence would stop Pampe for 4 to 7 days and I am very touched by this popular endorsement of my fence-building skills, because her first escape happened after roughly 4 hours.

^ Pampe connoisseurs will know that her preferred way of defeating fences is by karate-chopping them with her neck, but I thought she could only do that if the fence was low enough for her to put some strength in the chop. The jungle fence was at least as tall as Pampe in the place where I found it all droopy-sad after she escaped, so I guess Pampe added a new jump-chop combo attack to her character sheet. I imagine it went something like this:

That’s okay! All new information about Pampe is carefully filed and will contribute to the creation of the Ultimate Fence. I decided to simply make this portion of the fence unneckchoppable by braiding branches from nearby trees into the fence like they did in Indonesia with that living bridge made by knitting the roots of two banyan trees. I ended up using five or six branches so it’d be solid enough, but here’s a pic of the beginning of the process:

The braided-branch part of the fence still stands undefeated, after 20 days. Pampe ate all the leaves but couldn’t get rid of the branches and had to concede this battleground.

I then found her staring pensively (worryingly) at another potential weak point of the fence: the gate. I used a standard wood pallet at first, tied to trees, but it wasn’t very high. I couldn’t add another pallet on top of it because that would make it inoperable as a door, so I went to explore the barn, which like all barns is full of dusty treasures. What object do I own that’s like a pallet, but much taller?

!!

A slatted bed base. Once tied to a tree it swings open easily, but it was an awful chore to carry it all the way across the pasture, I had to wait for a weekend when my mum was going to visit me. That conversation went like:

Me: Do you remember that old bed in the barn? Can you help me carry it (well part of it) across the pasture? Mum: Why on earth Me: Pampe. Fence. Mum: That’s a good reason

I was very proud of my new, impassable gate, but Pampe was weirdly nowhere to be seen as I was setting it up. Usually she’s here carefully observing over my shoulder when I add a new element to a fence, so that was alarming.

In a flash of insight I realised I had been tricked; she’d never had any intention of jumping over the pallet gate. Too easy, too predictable. She’d only examined the gate to scare me into trying to solve this non-problem and force me to use my only trump card (I don’t have several old beds in the barn), and meanwhile she’d gone and jumped over a different pallet in a different part of the fence.

That other pallet had a sheep netting stretched above it, so that a) I thought it was unjump-able, b) Pampe thought it was a more amusing challenge. Poor Baby Poldine was a bit distraught; she clearly didn’t dare to jump to follow her mum but she didn’t want to be left behind once again, so she tried to slip through the net, but that didn’t work either.

Poldine made a baa noise like a traumatised baby goat and Pampe grudgingly turned back to go bump noses with her through the fence, it was a cute mother-daughter moment.

I added a new length of wire mesh (see pink arrow in the below pic) above the pallet to discourage further jumping, and my mum went “So you can remove the sheep netting and use it elsewhere” and I was like, what, no! Do you think they remove parts of the fence every time a Jurassic Park dinosaur escapes? That makes no sense. I’m only going to add more elements to this fence. Forever and ever or until it works.

Pirlouit, a law-abiding animal with very modest fence needs, was starting to look a bit overwhelmed.

Also—for once, Pampe didn’t look annoyed about being escorted back where I wanted her to be, she was kind of bouncy and looked immensely entertained by all this.

I’ll spare you the details but she escaped again, this time by lifting the bottom of the fence in a place where it was weighed down with a crossbar, which she broke in two with the power of her neck. That was easy to fix; instead of a wooden crossbar I weighed down the base of the fence with massive rocks. Go ahead and neck chop those, Pampe. But this time around it had taken me forever to find the spot where she escaped, so I decided to make things easier for myself in the future—I cordoned off the area just outside the fence with police tape between trees, along the whole length of it. This way I’ll see easily where she escaped—the tape is very flimsy and I crisscrossed it in places, so she shouldn’t be able to get past it without breaking it.

... So I suppose I’ll have to start the next post with “You’ll never guess what I caught Pampe doing last night” and a photo of her like

Anyway, Pampe looked unamused this time.

Well, that’s all. For now. Pampérigouste is back in the lawful enclosure with her family and we are waiting for her next move. Here’s a photo of her alone in the unallowed half of her pasture the other evening, contemplating her freedom

[cameronspecial]

A New Kind Of Normal (Part 9)

Pairing: Dad!Rafe Cameron x Reader

Warnings: Swearing

Pronouns: She/Her

Word Count: 2.2K

Summary: Y/N finally feels ready to take the next step in her relationship with Rafe, but she gets scared off.

Masterlist

Sabrina’s birthday party is the first social outing of Stella’s that Rafe goes to with his girls. He can’t necessarily say he loves being surrounded by other people’s screaming children and talking to boring ass parents, but he knows it is a part of parental duties. Stella is off in the bouncy castle with her friends and Rafe can’t help watching her like a hawk. He saw a video of a bouncy castle lifting off on Instagram and he is not going to let that happen to his little girl. Y/N reassured him that it wasn’t windy enough for that to happen and if it did get bad enough, he could be the first one to get her out of there. At the thought of Y/N, his eyes look for her in the crowd of adults. He finds her picking at the cardboard-tasting cake that is supposed to be sugar-free, dairy-free, eggs-free, flour-free and who knows what else. Rafe understands that children’s allergies can be serious, but people would be lying if they said this stuff doesn’t taste like anything that people would enjoy. Cake is a dessert; it’s supposed to be sugary and sweet.

He can see the disappointment on her face. She was so excited about the cake on the car ride over here, so he made a note to buy her one on the way home. They haven’t been on their date yet because they have both been so busy with Stella and work. Plus, Y/N made him promise to keep going to his sobriety resources so it has been conflicting with their schedule too. He is dying to go on the date with her; he needs to clear his work schedule for next week. Maybe they can go on a date while Stella is at daycare. Hmm, he should take her to that little bakery he found near his apartment that has a red velvet cake she would love. 

His focus is on Y/N completely and he doesn’t notice Raquelle's appearance beside him. Like poof. Her raspberry-red hair looks nothing like her son’s dark chocolate. Her long stiletto-shaped nails make Rafe wonder how she could do anything with them on. The point of her nails scratches at the fabric of his shirt on his chest. This draws his attention, causing him to look away from his love. “So… You’re Stella’s dad,” she states, giving him a Cheshire cat smile. He pulls away from her touch, “Yeah, I am. And you are Raquelle, right? Will’s mom.” “That I am. You know, I had Willy pretty young too. And I’m not married or dating anyone,” she flirts, batting her eyes. Rafe thinks she might have something wrong with her eyes. Should he call an ambulance for her? It would be bad for her to die in front of the kids. He knows she is flirting, but for once in his life, he doesn’t know what to do. Normally, he would flirt back, which isn’t what he wants to do with Y/N in his life. 

“Okay… I don’t really know what to do with that information,” he posits, looking around for anyone else to talk to because it doesn’t seem Raquelle is getting the message. 

Stella’s bounce loses its pep as she watches Will’s mommy talk to her daddy. Ms. Raquelle is giving her daddy a funny smile and she doesn’t like it. Her eyes find her mommy, spotting the way her maternal parent is glancing in Rafe’s direction. Y/N’s eyes lost the shine they had and her smiles turned fake. Stella can only conclude the reason for her mother’s upset is Ms. Raquelle touching Rafe. She scrambles out of the jumping house, sliding down the exit until her feet find solid ground. Her shoes are on the wrong foot but she doesn’t seem to understand it is the cause for her toes being pinched. Sabrina’s mom is handing out juice boxes and she grabs a cranberry one from her even though she hates cranberry.

 Rafe will always spot Stella in a crowd; his eyes are now trained to always be looking. So when he sees her running towards him with a juice box, he preemptively kneels to her height. Raquelle pauses her conversation to watch the father-daughter reunion. “Daddy, can you open my juice box, please?” Stella asks, holding up the box to him. He happily takes it and kisses her head, “Of course, little witch.” He puts the straw in for her and gently hands it back to her. “Okay, now, be careful. Don’t squeeze it.” She brings it to her lips taking a sip of the bitter concoction she hates. Her child reflexes kick in and she spews red juice all over Raquelle’s white skirt. “Ew, yucky,” Stella whines in disgust. Raquelle lets out a loud yelp as her hands fly to her skirt. “Stella, we don’t do that when we don’t like something,” he addresses Stella first before turning to Raquelle. “I am so sorry, Ms. Walker. I’m sure some bleach might get that off.” She tries to give him a genuine smile, but when she looks at Stella, it is clear she is annoyed. She heads to the bathroom, so Rafe picks up his daughter. Stella fears she is about to be reprimanded, yet the laugh Rafe lets out changes her mind. “You are one smart cookie, little witch. Thank you for saving Daddy,” he praises, pressing his lips to her cheek. She beams at his words and brings him closer to her with her arms around his neck. “You’re welcome, Daddy. She was making Mommy sad,” she informs her father. Rafe glances at Y/N, “Really? I guess we should go give Mommy some kisses to show her how much we love her.”

Stella wiggles out of grasp, wanting to be the first person to reach her mother for a kiss. Rafe smiles at the scene of Stella running into Y/N’s arms. Y/N kisses her daughter’s cheek and giggles at something she said. Rafe wants moments similar to these forever. He wants to give his two girls the world. 

——

Stella sits at the counter at the Diner, watching her mother go through some receipts opposite her. “Mommy, will you ever go on a date with Daddy?” Stella ponders out loud. Her feet swing at a quick pace like she is in a swim meet. Y/N gives the girl a surprised look, “I will eventually.”

“When is it eventually?”

“When I finally get all my work done and you have someone to look after you.”

“You are done with all your work. And Uncle Joshy or Benny could watch me. Auntie Sarah and Wheezie can too. So why don’t you want to go out with Daddy?” 

Y/N’s hand reaches out for her daughter, gently squeezing the young girl’s cheeks together. “My baby is so smart. I do want to go out with Daddy. I’m just a little scared,” Y/N confesses. Stella’s head tilts, “Why? Daddy is really nice.” 

“He is, Baby. But Daddy could have lots of intelligent and wonderful girls, while Mommy hasn’t been on a date since you were born.” 

“You don’t have to be afraid. Daddy loves us both very much. I can see it, Mommy.” 

Y/N didn’t know Stella was the president of the Rafe and Y/N fan club, but she finds it adorable. “Okay, maybe I’ll go over to Daddy’s house after work. Do you want Uncle Benny or Josh to watch you?” she asks, pulling her phone out. Stella takes a second to think, “Uncle Joshy. I want to eat dinner tonight.” It cracks Y/N up that Stella understands her uncles’ personalities so well. Even when Y/N was younger, Josh was always more responsible than their older brother. Benedict would babysit and they’d eat candy for dinner while Josh forced them to have some vegetables as dessert. “Okay, Baby. I’ll get Uncle Josh to come over.”

——

She gets out of her car, making sure to lock it before entering the apartment building. The concierge knows her by now and asks her to sign in without an issue. Her nail finds a way between her teeth, nervously turning the smooth surface into a jagged mess. The elevator dings and she steps onto it. Her mind is going over what she is going to say like a mantra. She wants this to be perfect for them because if this is the start of their story, it needs to be a good one. As she steps out of the moving contraption, her eyes fall on someone unexpected at his door. 

There is no reason for Raquelle to be at his place unless Y/N misinterpreted what she thought to be a one-sided flirty conversation at Sabrina’s party to actually be a two-sided one. Of course, Y/N waited too long to make any concrete plans with Rafe and he moved on. She missed her chance. Her eyes glass over, running back to the now-closing elevator. The door closes and she lets her tears fall down her face.

The appearance of Raquelle at his front door is one he knew was coming but really didn’t want. Yesterday, he had gotten a text saying she found his watch at the party. He told her she could bring it over today. He has enough money to buy a new one, but this one is sentimental. His dad gave it to him when he graduated high school from his mother. Before she died, she had bought gifts for all her children to be given to them at their graduation. It was his most prized possession after his daughter and Y/N, of course. Not that they were possessions, he just lacked a better way of thinking about it.

“I’m so glad that I found it. This looks important,” she comments, holding it up to him. He takes it out of her hand, “Thank you. It is important. It is a present from my mom before she died.” “That’s really sweet. So… since I’m here, do you want to go out for dinner? On a date,” she questions. She steps closer to him and puts her hand on his chest. He gently removes her hand, “No, I’m sorry. But I’m committed to Y/N. She’s the only one for me.” Raquelle steps back as soon as he says those words. “I didn’t know. I am so sorry I’ve been bothering you so much. I thought you guys weren’t together,” she explains with an apologetic smile. 

“It’s okay. And we aren’t dating officially yet. We have a date that still needs to be planned, but I know she is who I want to spend the rest of my life with.”

“That’s really sweet. I hope you guys find the time for your date. And if you need a babysitter, I know Will would love to have Stella over, even with their breakup. Do you think we could still be friends?”

“I would love to be your friend.” 

——

Y/N may have allowed Rafe to see Stella early; however, it doesn’t mean she let him be alone with their daughter yet. He’s regained most of her trust; it’s just this part that she is holding back on. He understands why she fears something like that could happen again and he respects her decision. He still comes every day after work to the diner to spend time with the two girls and make sure they get home alright. He walks into the diner to find Stella gone. He totally forgot she was staying at Wheezie’s tonight. It doesn’t mean he can’t hang out with Y/N though. They can finally talk about when they could go on a date. “Hey, Buttercup. I think we should talk about our date,” he tells her, sitting on the stool. Y/N freezes at his words, “Actually, Rafe. I wanted to talk to you about it too.” Rafe knows what her tone of voice means. Bad news for him, especially since she used his name in a none sexual setting.

“I’m not going to like this news am I?”

“Rafe, I’ve been thinking and I really don’t think it’s a good idea. I really shouldn’t have suggested it in the first place. I mean we’ve been too busy to go on our date so far and I don’t see that changing any time soon. You should be focusing on your sobriety.” 

“Yeah, but I could do both. I know I can.”

“What if you can’t though? You might be putting too much on your plate and it might cause another relapse. The last thing I want to do is put more pressure on our relationship and you.”

“Right, right. No, I understand. You are right. We make a great co-parenting team and it would be strange to change that. I just remembered I have to finish some work, so I’m going to go.”

Rafe tries to hide his upset, so he hides his face from her and heads directly toward the door. Why does this keep happening to him? He is always so close to getting everything he dreams of until something pulls it away from him. 

Taglist: @loves0phelia @thelomlisrafecameron @wickedlovely121 @thepatriarchykeychain @drewsmusee @starkowswife @maybankslover @forstarkey @loving-and-dreaming @drewstarkeyswifehoe @kisstaya @magicalyoura @mp-littlebit @loverfu55ii @dark1paradise @sublimepenguinpeach-blog @alyisdead @emeloyy @js-a-writer @kisstaya @optimisticsandwichgladiator @justdamnpeachy @theoraekenslover

[beatrixstonehill2]

"So.... you guys probably figured out what's going on by now," Sophie, who normally had a really soft, light voice, spoke in a raspy boyish voice. "Since my friend Laura tagged me in that video last week where you can hear me talk, and you can see my huge bulge in my shorts, I had my leg up and one of my balls was visible. Yes, they're really that big now, like the size of my fist! And yes, I don't bother shaving them.... Everyone in the comments was going crazy wondering what happened to me. My keener fans noticed I stopped talking in my videos a few months ago and have only been recording them like this, from my hips up....." Sophie shook her breasts, giggled in her cracked, masculine-sounding voice, repositioning herself, sitting further back, revealing her panties were totally incapable of hiding her genitals, wedged between her fully revealed cock and one of her rather hairy testicles. Her cock wasn't even erect and it must have been a foot long, swollen, thick as her forearm.

"Tada! Look at this monster cock I've grown." Sophie patted one her engorged balls, rubbing it. "And these babies are flooding my body with so much wonderful testosterone, it's enough to make a girl wanna drop everything and start being a boy! Sooo..... what happened, you might be asking. I know, I was super popular on Instagram, had a modeling deal and all that stuff. Since I went on blockers in junior high and started estrogen by my teens, my cock was really small. My balls, no lie, were like the size of marbles. They were so tiny and puny..... So I could hide my genitals really easily and look just like any other girl, even in a bikini. At most I'd use a little body tape to keep myself from getting little two-inch erections around all the other sexy girls in bikinis, with their big bouncy tits, their round preggo bellies, and goddddd I am so happy fat asses are in style now. Every girl is trying to outdo their friends and have the biggest ass of the group..... girls are either super thick and curvy or just really fat now and I'm definitely not complaining......

Well, my friend Jackie is dating a woman named Vallery, and they wanted to have kids. They couldn't decide who would carry the babies so they said screw it and both wanted to be knocked up. They came to me and told me they love my features, like my eyes and lips, and would be thrilled to have their daughters grow breasts as big as mine, and I've got the hips and one of the fattest asses of my friends' group.... They asked me to impregnate them. I told them my sperm count was pretty much zilch and they asked oh so nicely if I could go off my hrt for a month or two and try after that? I figured what could be the harm? My body took this opportunity to completely undo my transition. It's crazy how fast my body jumped through male puberty, and I'm still seeing new changes constantly, six months down the line.

By the time Jackie and Vallery wanted me to knock them up, my voice was already cracking, my cock was eight inches, and my balls were about the size of eggs. They still had so much growing to do, and I hope they keep getting bigger, I'm obsessed with my enormous cock and balls, how totally impossible they are to hide. How everyone knows when I'm horny, because this huge thing gets so big and erect, throbbing against my clothes, needing to be buried in whatever cute girl is making it so hard. Needless to say I topped Jackie and Vallery and got them very pregnant.... both with triplets! Not too bad for a former estrogen-addicted fakegirl. It's so incredible seeing Jackie and Vallery get so big and pregnant with my kids! I miiiight've knocked up a few more of my friends.... er, all of them. Some a teensy bit against their will, but they're elated to be knocked up now, and a slave to my growing cock.

It's getting too much to keep up with shaving my face and boobs and ass constantly, so as of today I'm stopping and just embracing being totally male, as I've always been.... just a silly fakegirl in denial. It doesn't matter if I've got a pretty voice and huge titties, wide hips and a big booty..... I still had constant fantasies about fucking all the girls around me who supported me as one of them, not knowing I'd go home and rub my pathetic little 'clit', fantasizing about raping them and getting them too pregnant to go about their lives normally. Silly, stupid fakegirl, always a month or two away from fully detransitioning if she forgot her fake hormones. What normal girl does that happen to? No real girl has to take estrogen or else she'll grow a horse cock and a gross set of balls so big I'm having trouble walking normal, let alone sitting. I literally have to spread my legs and basically 'present' my genitals just to sit in public. Everyone has to know what a horny, perverted guy I am, everywhere I go.

This'll be the last time you see me shaved, looking fem. I'm getting rid of my boobs next week, finally no more embarrassing, fat jiggly tits making me dysphoric no matter what tops I wear. They were fun while they lasted, and part of me will miss the constant attention and groping.... But now I'll walk around topless, my chest muscular and hairy. I'll wear pants and shorts that flaunt my huge cock. I can't wait to strut around the local parks and beaches finding pretty girls to knock up, and my fill of already massively pregnant girls who are simply to big to get away or resist my cock and receive a nice reward of cum filling their holes to the point that they overflow and leak the whole way home, so people know they're filthy little sluts who might as well be wearing a sign that says 'Free Use!' Oh well...... sorry to everyone who loved seeing me as a busty fakegirl with a fat ass who loved to party, suck cock and get ass fucked all night on TikTok. I hope you'll keep following me, and watch me knock up and fill the holes of as many girls as I can. Won't that be fun?"

[cobaltperun]

Woe out the Storm (6) - Goo Goo Muck

Wednesday Addams x female Reader

Summary: It took some time, but eventually you came to realize only Wednesday Addams could look at the raging storm of chaos and destruction and make a home out of it. Only she could listen to the cacophony of the roaring thunder and hear a melody.

Story warnings: Wednesday Addams, violence, slow burn

Story Masterlist / First part / Previous part / Next part

Word count: 6.6k

-Yeah, I’ll get you baby, with a little luck, ‘cause I’m a teenage tiger and a Goo Goo Muck-

This was not going to end well.

There was no way this was going to end well. What was Wednesday thinking?

So, you did what any reasonable raiju with your skills would do. You took out your, formerly Wednesday's, knife. "Where did you even get that board?" you asked as you watched Wednesday pin rather gruesome photos and other papers to it. Tierra Rica played for what felt like the third time. That was something you learned about Wednesday. She preferred repetition, whether it was her schedule, strict writing time, or playing the same song at least several times.

She looked back and just slightly raised an eyebrow, as if silently asking you if you were seriously asking her that. Yeah, that was probably an unnecessary question now that you thought about it. It was also kind of worrying that you were wondering how she got that board instead of all those photos... Perhaps you were too used to Wednesday Addams being Wednesday Addams.

Enid on the other hand... You weren't entirely sure she could stomach what was in the photos. Or that she was in the mood to even try to understand the need for this approach.

Speaking of said werewolf, she just entered your room. Ever since Ajax stood her up her entire demeanor lost some of her bouncy energy and it took a lot of pleading from her to stop you and Wednesday from taking revenge on the gorgon. She was so down you didn't even mention Wednesday agreeing to go to the Rave'N with you.

"Hey, Y/N, Wednesday," she stopped for a moment, taking in the sight of you and Wednesday. Seeing Wednesday with the board and papers wasn't much of a surprise. Neither was seeing you hunched forward and sitting on your chair. No, it was the fact that your chair was on Wednesday's part of the room, the fact that you were sitting a few feet behind Wednesday, watching whatever she was pinning to the board. And there was a knife in your hand, coincidentally, it was the knife Wednesday threw at you. Not that Enid knew that part, but she did know the knife belonged to Wednesday. So, she was probably very confused, or she was officially deciding that something was going on between you and Wednesday.

You could see cogs turning in Enid's head. "Am I interrupting you?" she asked, now carefully observing Wednesday for any reaction that might seem out of the ordinary.

"No," but Wednesday was so focused on her task you doubted she even noticed Enid's reaction. Frankly, you thought Wednesday's laser focus was admirable.

Admirable. Not adorable.

She'd probably actually smother you in your sleep if you ever used that word to describe her.

"Wednesday is just pinning photos of the monster's victims so she can get inside its head," you said causing Enid's jaw to drop slightly.

Enid covered her mouth in shock. "The actual photos?" she gulped, her claws coming out instinctively.

She was taking it even worse than you thought she would, so you jumped to your feet and rushed toward her. On foot, since lightning would likely startle her.

The damage was already done. "I don't see how any other photos would help," Wednesday, still focused on her task, either ignored or didn't notice the evident panic in Enid's voice.

Your eyes widened when you saw Enid falling to the side and in a lightning-enhanced jump, you managed to reach her and catch her before she could fall to the floor. "Wednesday," you sighed, exasperated by her lack of consideration.

For the first time since she began pinning the files and photos, Wednesday took her eyes off the evidence for more than three seconds and glanced at you and Enid in your arms. Her eyes followed you as you lifted the werewolf up and carried her to her bed. "Perhaps you could zap her awake?"

You nearly dropped Enid as you stumbled a bit at the suggestion. You opened your mouth several times, honestly not even sure how to respond to that idea. You gently lowered Enid onto her bed and turned back to Wednesday. "No?" you eventually settled for an incredulous response as you just looked Wednesday in the eyes.

Wednesday kept staring into your eyes, refusing to be the first one to look away, or even blink. And you weren't backing down either, even if you did have to blink. "Pity. Thing, fetch the smelling salts," she ordered, and the hand was on his way to wherever Wednesday kept those. Why did she even have those readily available?

You looked away, but only so you could follow Thing with your eyes. He was clutching the smelling salts in question between his middle and ring finger and his palm while running toward you on the remaining three fingers. You took a few steps forward and leaned down, letting him climb onto your palm. With a thankful smile on your face, you took the smelling salts and proceeded to wake Enid up with them.

It took a bit, but she regained consciousness and looked around, still a bit disoriented. "Y/N?" she sounded a bit confused.

"Welcome back," you grinned and stepped back as you placed Thing on your shoulder and the smelling salts in your pocket.

"I had this nightmare. Something about Wednesday bringing photos of the monster's victims to our room," she groaned and rubbed her eyes.

"Uh," you glanced back at Wednesday, her back was turned to you, but you could swear you noticed a bit of extra stiffness in her posture. If that was even possible.

"What?" Enid demanded, looking at you and then following your line of sight. "It wasn't a dream. Yeah. Sure. That might as well happen," Enid nodded as she sat up. She stood up and went right for the cause of the newest room decorations. "You know, when I suggested giving your part of the room a make-over, I did not have Ted Bundy's Pinterest in mind."

Wednesday turned around to look at her. "Still not as creepy as your stuffed unicorn collection," she turned back to the board once again.

"Is this why she and Thing snuck out last night?" Enid asked you when you walked over to her, ready to catch her if needed.

"Yup. To the county morgue actually," you caught her up to speed with Wednesday's recent adventure to the best of your abilities.

Enid's face showed clear disgust at the mere thought of Wednesday's activities. "Okay, there are so many levels of ew in this whole situation I don't even know where to begin."

"I need to get inside its head. Discover any patterns or anomalies," Wednesday turned toward you and Enid. "I've already made a big discovery," she began taking the photos off the board. "Turns out, all of the monster's victims have had body parts surgically removed," she began handing the photos to you. "The first one a kidney, the second a finger,"

Enid paled as she saw the photos up close. "Wednesday, I don't... really feel..." she was going to pass out again any moment now.

"Third a gallblader," Wednesday, however, went back to the board for the final photo. "And the bearded man from the meeting house, two toes," she placed the last photo on top of the other three in your hands and looked at both you and Enid. "Do you understand what this means? These murders aren't mindless," she went back to the board. "He's collecting trophies like a seasoned serial killer. It's quite impressive, actually."

And Enid passed out.

You managed to catch her once again and sighed. Wednesday turned around, looking at Enid, and clearly not impressed this happened again. Thing, who in the meantime climbed back onto the board just shrugged when she glanced back at him. You offered the photos back to Wednesday and lifted Enid up once again. "Hold that thought for a minute," you said and carried Enid back to her bed. Luckily you didn't put the smelling salts back so waking Enid up wasn't too difficult.

"I'm just going to ignore you two," she resigned to the current circumstances. At least for now. "I'll go to sleep and by the time I wake up that won't be here."

You couldn't help but grin at that as you tucked her in and made sure she was comfortable. You moved back from the bed to see Wednesday watching you like a hawk, she was probably impatient since you did take more than a minute to get back to her. "So," instead of sitting back down on the chair behind Wednesday you stopped right in front of Wednesday. A more logical part of your brain told you you were too close, that you were in her personal space, but you couldn't back down, not unless you managed to catch any hints of Wednesday being uncomfortable with the closeness. Well, you could back away, but that might make Wednesday think you were uncomfortable with her instead. Things were so complicated with this girl… "Body parts were surgically removed, right?"

She nodded, her eyes never looking away from your own.

"That monster looked too, I dunno, clumsy, to remove anything surgically," you muttered, looking away from her and looking at the photos pinned to the board over her shoulder. From the corner of your eye, you noticed Wednesday turning around on the spot.

"The monster's hands didn't look like they could hold a saw, or make cuts as precise as these," Wednesday pointed out, her focus once again shifting to the case.

"A lot of outcasts can change shape in some way. Maybe it's a human," you guessed, the body parts that were removed... well, you weren't exactly knowledgeable about all that, but you figured at least some of them required a good understanding of human anatomy.

"That would explain why it wasn't caught," Wednesday nodded, glancing back at you. "Do you know any outcast group that can look like that?"

You thought about it. You've been thinking about it ever since you saw that monster. It definitely wasn't a werewolf or a raiju, but other than that you were stuck. "I really don't have any idea. It's not a werewolf, it's not a raiju, it's some beast, but that's as far as my knowledge goes," which really didn't help either of you. "Do you think it works alone?"

That got Wednesday thinking. "I haven't considered that possibility," she admitted and glanced at Enid. "I should move this somewhere else?"

Your heart skipped a beat at that. She really did care, somewhere deep down. "I'd be really thankful if you did. So would Enid. I'd also rather not carry her that often," you admitted with a sheepish grin on your face. "You can keep it in my shed?" you offered.

Wednesday shook her head slightly. "Too many electric devices. I'll find another place for it," she declined your offer. She did have an aversion to technology, and you loved tinkering with it, the more reliant on electricity it was, the better. Still, you understood why she didn't want to spend time there. She didn't even consider your club because of that, even if it would mean not having to deal with anyone else. Well, Eugene’s club was a good fit as well for her.

You didn't say you could clear some of the shed out if she couldn't find any other place for her board. "Got it," you muttered, finally stepping away from her.

~X~

Wednesday's day was not going as planned. In fact, it was going wrong in every way possible. The scratches on Xavier's neck made her suspicious, so she followed him. That part was fine. Discovering that his art depicted the monster was great. Now she had a suspect in her investigation, and she was satisfied with the progress she made.

She supposed she used up all her luck for the day. The next thing she knew, she was asking Xavier to the dance as an act of self-preservation. Usually, she would feel good about getting up close and personal with a potential serial killer, but there was an unpleasant feeling of unease that followed. She'd usually enjoy it, but somehow that unease being connected to you made it less enjoyable. She was yet to tell you to find someone else to go to the dance with. She wasn't entirely sure how to, either, because you looked ridiculously happy when she agreed to accompany you to the dance.

It wasn’t that she had anything against ruining someone’s happiness, in fact she often enjoyed doing so, but doing it to you didn’t feel exciting. She had no reason to do it to you.

So, that's why she was standing right behind the tape dividing her and Enid's part of the room. Perhaps Enid, due to knowing you much longer than Wednesday, could offer a way to tell you. That wasn't her usual blunt approach. Thing already made sure to talk her out of telling you like that.

"I am going to Rave'N with Xavier," she opened with that, but before she could continue and explain her issue Enid was on her feet and, in a way that was sickeningly filled with excitement, rushed toward Wednesday.

She even squealed. "Oh my God! Wednesday Addams is going to the Rave'N?! My whole world is tilted!" she was missing the point, unaware that the thing she was getting excited about was the cause of an issue Wednesday needed to solve.

"That's not-" Wednesday tried, she really did, but Enid was too excited to listen.

"You know what you need now?" Enid interrupted her.

This was not going how Wednesday wanted it to go. "A bullet to the head," might be a solution to the problem. Her own or Xavier's head, either way, the problem would be solved.

"A dress!" preposterous suggestion, though one that fit Enid perfectly.

"I already have one," she didn't need one. Not for a dance with Xavier.

"Not the one you came here in! That's a fashion emergency not even Y/N could resuscitate! Thing back me up!" Enid turned to Thing for support.

Thing, the traitor, agreed with a thumbs up. Though Wednesday had to admit Enid replacing lightning with your name felt fitting.

And then Thing pointed at the doors.

"What can't I resuscitate?" and just when Wednesday thought things could not get worse, you walked in. She didn't even notice the doors opening.

"Wednesday's dress! She needs a new one for Rave'N!" Enid moved on to you, luckily not saying anything about who Wednesday was going with.

The situation could still be salvaged and put under control. Even when you just grinned cheekily at Wednesday and went over to your part of the room.

"She's going with Xavier! I'm so excited!" Enid blurted out.

Telling you bluntly the way she intended right after she was forced to ask Xavier would have been better. Wednesday furrowed her brows, looking away from your frozen form. She noticed Thing flinching, likely due to the way you got the news.

"Xavier?" you finally repeated, the tone of your voice flat and without any clue for Wednesday to try and decipher how you felt.

"Yes!" Enid exclaimed as she clasped her hands together. "You're going with us as well! It'll be our first roomie shopping spree!"

Your eyes narrowed at that. "Not in the mood," you bit out, and even as emotionally unaware as Wednesday was, she could understand you were annoyed.

Especially when you went and closed the sliding doors that divided your part of the room from her own. You never did that. Not until today.

"What just happened?" Enid asked, her enthusiasm clearly disappearing. And then her eyes widened as if she realized something. "That can't be right though," she muttered as she looked from the closed doors to Wednesday then back to the doors.

"What?" Wednesday asked, feeling slightly irritated. Enid figured something out and Wednesday wasn't sure what.

Enid frowned for a moment. "No, it's not important right now. You need a new dress," she paused for a moment. "Y/N will be fine, just give her a bit of space."

Wednesday wasn't about to show weakness and argue with that. This was as bad as the day could get, right?

~X~

She should have known not to underestimate the bad luck that followed her.

Not only did Galpin refuse to share information with her, now she had to deal with Tyler looking dejected over her going with Xavier.

"I'm not sure why you're becoming upset," she really didn't understand. She understood why you were upset. She accepted your invitation and then asked Xavier to go with her. She broke the deal.

"That's kind of the problem. I mean, call me crazy, Wednesday, but you keep giving me these signals," his statement confused her.

She met Tyler, she asked him to take her to the station, she went to get her coffee at Weathervane a couple of times. She didn't understand what signals he was talking about. "It's not my fault I can't interpret your emotional Morse code."

"Then let me spell it out for you. I thought we liked each other. But then you pull something like this and I have no idea where I stand," he kept talking but she focused on those words. On not having any idea where he stood...

Wednesday frowned slightly. Was that how you felt? After she 'pulled something like asking Xavier to the dance'? Was that why you closed the doors, and needed some space? Because you didn't know where you stood with Wednesday?

If Tyler was being delusional about her 'signals' as he called them, she supposed she gave you some signals. Certainly, more than she gave to Tyler or Xavier. That talk about Sartre... the knife she allowed you to keep... the unpleasant feeling she had when you didn't even say anything to her about the situation with Xavier.

"You could at least clear that up," Tyler interrupted her thoughts, but she had more important issues to deal with. The case, Rowan's warning, all of that was more important than what Tyler or you felt. She needed to prioritize, and she'd do just that.

~X~

You guessed you could admit you were sulking and that you could and should have been at least a bit more mature about your reaction to Wednesday going to the Rave'N with Xavier. You were just a bit too proud to admit it out loud.

Maybe it was a raiju thing. Avoiding the problem until it would solve itself. Just like waiting for a storm to pass. Or maybe you just got that from your dad. Either option worked.

Your sliding doors opened, but you didn't turn around, you just kept lying in your bed. Enid was probably back from the shopping spree. The sound of the footsteps didn't match her, though, so you looked back and saw Wednesday.

"I'm not going with Xavier because I want to. It was an act of self-preservation," she said as you sat up.

All of this looked a lot like how you were a few nights ago. With her in your part of the room, you sitting on your bed, only this time there was a tension you despised. "I'm not even going to ask you how that happened," you probably should have. You should have asked what she meant by that, you didn't. Maybe if you did things would have been different.

"You're still upset," she stated, and you nearly laughed at that.

You scoffed, looking to the side. "Why couldn't you just tell me yourself? You are going with Xavier, sure, that's your choice, but at least have the guts to tell me," you didn't know if she liked Xavier, or if she really had no choice but to ask, but that wasn't the issue. If Wednesday didn't feel like going with you, she was free to not go, no questions asked. You just wanted to hear it from her instead of Enid.

"I-" Wednesday began but then stopped herself.

The pause, and the slight uncertainty in her voice made you look at her. Something in her eyes made you question everything, that hint of vulnerability, the hint of her not being comfortable that you were looking for when you stepped right in front of her. It was there now. You have never seen Wednesday's eyes showing this much, leaving so much of what she was feeling out in the open. And it made you feel unsure. The idea of Wednesday Addams actually, probably unknowingly, leaving her emotions open for you to see, was scary.

It wasn't like her.

Whatever she was going to say, she changed her mind. "Excuses don't matter," she turned around and went back to her part of the room.

You just let out a long, frustrated, sigh and fell back onto your bed. This just made things worse between the two of you.

~X~

Prioritizing the case instead of her feelings turned out to be the right move. She found the monster's cave thanks to Eugene, she found its claw, and she got Xavier's blood sample. She even managed to get out of going to the dance with him, though that was unintentional.

Everything was just fine. Even if she did look at your part of the room as she got ready to stake out the cave with Eugene. It was empty. You went somewhere. Likely to your shed. On her way to Rave'N Enid mentioned you liked to be there when you needed space.

Thing jumped on her shoulder, and she knew exactly what he wanted. "Not. One. Word," she warned, her voice dangerously low.

But he didn't listen. “Postpone staking out the cave, go to the dance!” he told her, much more firmly than he usually did.

And Wednesday didn’t understand why he was so adamant. "I already made plans with Eugene. Besides, what's the point of going to that stupid dance?" you wouldn't be there, even if you were you'd be there with another date. She didn't need to go there just to see that. She didn’t mind that you probably found another date, no, she absolutely did not mind.

But Thing was persistent. “Not alone! Go with Y/N!” he signed energetically.

"How am I supposed to do that?" you barely talked to her, she had no way of getting you to go with her, besides, she was out of time. The dance was about to start.

Thing's next statement made her cold, dead heart skip a beat.

"You told Y/N what? How could you do that to me?!" he smartly jumped off her shoulder as she went to grab her dress. He actually told you, well wrote you a note, to come and pick Wednesday up so the two of you could go to the Rave'N. She already messed up when she didn't tell you about going with Xavier right away, she didn't want to mess up again. She wanted to take you to see the cave, and she wanted to tell you about being Xavier being her suspect.

Thing snapped his fingers, getting her attention. And then she saw the dress from Uriah's Heap. The same dress she very likely would have gotten if she was still going to the dance with you, but at that time she didn’t think the two of you would be going to a dance.

~X~

You opened the doors to your room and stepped inside. "Thing, you really shouldn't write notes and pretend Wed-" your breath hitched as you took in a sight you doubted you'd ever forget. Wednesday was putting her hair up, already dressed in a black dress that fit her like it was made for her. You were completely aware that you were staring at her, and that your jaw dropped. In your defense she looked stunningly beautiful.

Finally, Wednesday glanced at you. The intensity in her gaze, combined with how she looked, nearly made your knees buckle. Damn… you might be in trouble.

"You," you tried to speak, even though your throat was suddenly as dry as a desert.

"Look ridiculous?" she suggested.

You chuckled at that, shaking your head. "No, you look like you, just more regal," you took a deep breath and exhaled loudly. "I guess this is what being struck by lightning feels like," you swore you saw Wednesday's mouth twitch into the briefest, subtlest smile you have ever seen.

"Will you," she paused, swallowing hard and looking anywhere but at you. "Would you- don't make me ask," she said, her voice softer than what you were used to.

You smiled, stepping closer to her. Now, with a few feet between you you took in her appearance once again. The way her hair framed her face, the make-up she had on, complete with that dark lipstick, and the dress. Damn, that dress... "Will you go to the dance with me?" you asked, and your heart skipped a beat when she nodded.

Wednesday swallowed hard, glancing down, for once avoiding eye contact. "I will," she said as Thing gave the two of you a thumbs up.

You nodded at that and hurried over to find anything that would match Wednesday. The rushed search resulted in an all-black combination. Suit pants and a button-up shirt. As you rolled up your sleeves you couldn't help but feel like something was missing. And then Thing brought exactly what you were missing. A light gray tie to disrupt the all-black combo. Considering the limited options and available time you figured it would do. And judging by Wednesday you were right.

She wasn't exactly staring when you put the tie on, but she didn't look like she disapproved either.

~X~

The moment you came down the stairs you saw Galpin there, for whatever reason he managed to come as someone's date. However, that date was nowhere to be found at the moment.

Tyler's mouth fell open at the sight of Wednesday. "Wednesday! You look beautiful!" he approached the two of you. "Look, I'm sorry about my reaction, but I'm here now and since you're not with Xavier, maybe you'd like to join me?"

The audacity of this guy. You felt a couple of sparks surrounding your clenched fist, but you chose to control yourself.

"I'm with Y/N," Wednesday immediately shut his idea down, and you felt your lightning settling down.

Tyler blushed, clearly embarrassed. "Shit, sorry. I just thought since you said you were going with Xavier you two came as friends. I'll, uh, I'll leave you two to it," he backed away the moment he said that.

Maybe he wasn't that bad after all... He just had a massive crush on Wednesday, and you really couldn't blame him for that.

"Wednesday? Y/N? What is going on?" just when you thought you could go inside Eugene came up to you two.

"Hey, Bee boss," you greeted him. He looked like he was going on a trip, with a backpack and full gear ready.

"Eugene," Wednesday seemed a bit uncomfortable all of a sudden and you had a nagging feeling she changed her mind at the very last moment tonight. "There's been a change of plans. We'll stake out the cave tomorrow night."

What?

"I understand. I'll go check out the woods alone," he looked a lot like you did when you heard Wednesday was going to the dance with Xavier. Dejected, disappointed...

"Don't go alone," Wednesday ordered firmly. "It's dangerous, we'll go together tomorrow," she didn't let him reply and turned around to leave.

You looked between her and Eugene and just went after her. "A cave? Just how much did I miss?" you asked.

"We found a cave in the woods. It's the monster's lair," she explained quickly.

And they were going to stake it out? Alone?! "I'm going with you two tomorrow," you decided, leaving no space for arguments. The look in her eyes showed you she appreciated that. Maybe she missed having you around? No, that definitely wasn't it. Your lightning was just useful at times.

Pop music played loudly as you stepped inside, to smoke and icy aesthetic and a statue of a Yeti behind the DJ. Climate crisis meets extinction event or whatever Thornhill said. Speaking of Thornhill, she approached the two of you right away.

"Wednesday Addams! And Y/N L/N! What a lovely surprise!" she greeted you.

You pretended to fix your sleeves, not really sure how to talk with the woman outside the classroom. And then you noticed Enid. With Lucas? "Would you look at that, Wednesday I think Enid is calling us!" if you were allowed you would have zapped away, but Weems would have your head if you pulled something like that.

Luckily, Enid noticed you as well, and the three of you met by the drinks.

"Oh my God! I'm so happy you two are here together! And I love the look!" Enid grinned excitedly, she was definitely going to tease you about this sooner or later. Knowing her it would probably be the moment you went back to the dorm. "I don't know how it happened, but I'm glad things worked out."

Wednesday glanced at Lucas. "Interesting choice of a date," she pointed out.

"You can say that again," you agreed.

"It's not what it looks like. Lucas is trying to make his ex jealous and I'm trying to make Ajax jealous," Enid explained as Lucas approached you carefully, with his arms raised in surrender.

"Wednesday, Y/N, I come in peace," he said right away.

"Too bad. I brought my pocket mace. The medieval kind," Wednesday replied.

You raised your hands. "I promise I won't electrocute you this time."

Lucas nodded at that. "Thank you."

The curious look on Wednesday's face told you you should probably explain. "How about we step outside for a moment?" you suggested and luckily, she didn't mind that idea.

You took her to a slightly secluded spot with a bench you could sit on. "You've been hearing about me electrocuting people every now and then, right?"

She nodded. "I admit I am curious."

"It's not my proudest moment, but last year, on the Outreach day, Tyler, Lucas, and two other normies, the ones that follow Lucas around, attacked Xavier and destroyed his mural. I just got pissed and electrocuted them," you knew it wasn't right, you regretted not having more control over yourself. Fighting them on fair terms? That was fine. Electrocuting them wasn't...

"I didn't realize you and Xavier were close," Wednesday pointed out.

You shook your head. You were just classmates, he didn’t bother you and you didn’t bother him. You maybe had a handful of conversations that weren’t just greeting each other. That was all. "We really aren't. I just... I guess I can't stand back while someone is getting beaten up and bullied," it just didn't feel right to stand and watch that.

"You did what you felt was right. Besides, do you really think I'd judge you over something like that?" Wednesday asked, a slightly sinister smile forming on her lips.

You laughed at that. "No, I didn't. I just don't like talking about that. So, electrocuting past aside, may I have this dance?" you didn't offer her your hand, unsure if that was something she'd want, but you did stand up. And Wednesday stood up as well, nodding at you.

~X~

The music started and you watched for any change in Wednesday, but her expression remained the same, stoic and serious. However, she was looking at you with intensity you hadn't seen before. Not even when you came into the room before and saw her in the dress, ready to leave with you.

-Well, when the sun goes down and the moon comes up-

Much to your surprise Wednesday began shuffling a bit, mostly moving her shoulders and upper body.

-I turn into a teenage Goo Goo Muck-

Out of nowhere, she lifted her left arm up above her head and leaned sideways, before straightening her posture by bringing her right arm up. Before you could fully realize what was happening she dropped her arms, turned around, and walked away from you.

-Yeah, I cruise through the city and I roam the streets looking for something that is nice to eat, mmm-

She got into the rhythm, turned to her left so she was looking at you from the side, raising one arm at a time as her body moved in precise, though seemingly jerky, motions. She was lifting her head up, baring her neck, kicking her leg up, all the while maintaining eye contact with you. And then she stopped, turned to face you, and raised her arms to a shoulder level as she shuffled to the side, her head and arms going left and right to the rhythm of the beat.

-You better duck When I show up The Goo Goo Muck-

She bent down in an instant and you closed your eyes smirking when she tapped your shoulder with her finger. By the third time she tapped your shoulder you released the lightning, ignoring the way other students backed away from the two of you.

The intensity in Wednesday's gaze only increased when you, with sparks circling your body began getting in tune with her rhythm. As she began stepping away from you, you mirrored her actions, and as she moved to her left, so did you, effectively starting what could have been a deadly dance if it wasn't you and Wednesday. As Wednesday stopped you raised your arms up, bent your knees a bit, and brought them back down, releasing harmless lightning in Wednesday's direction.

-I'm the night headhunter looking for some head-

She moved her arms forward, and you couldn't tell if she was trying to bring the lightning closer to her or disperse it.

-With a way-out body underneath that head-

In movements that were only shaky in appearance, she brought her arms to her head, pretending to clutch it as lightning danced around her. She dropped her arms down, moving them from side to side as she looked up, her eyes just for a moment taking the lightning that surrounded her in.

And you, for the first time since you met Wednesday, found yourself truly mesmerized by her. Right there, with your lightning around her body, as she danced, you even dared to admit Enid was right. You may actually have a crush on Wednesday.

-Yeah, I'll get you, baby, with a little luck-

With your lightning still moving to her whim, she walked past you, baring the side of her neck when she was right next to you. You took that as a challenge, sliding after her, you glided across the floor, circling her and leaving a trail of lightning following the path of your left foot.

-'Cause I'm a teenage tiger and a Goo Goo Muck-

She shuffled her foot in a frankly adorable way, not for a moment bothered by the lightning that now rose up above and around the two of you. She made a motion as if drumming and with a snap of your fingers you offered two make-shift lightning sticks for her to hold. As Wednesday took hold of them you stepped in front of her, raising your open palms and creating two balls of lightning for her to drum against. And she did, for a few moments, she did exactly that before tossing the sticks aside, dispersing them in the wall of lightning that encased the two of you.

-You better duck When I show up The Goo Goo Muck-

She ducked right in front of you, and then got up, lifting up her dress and then abruptly slowing down, halting all movement but steady movement of her shoulders. You took a few steps back, gently moving to the music as you lifted your hands up and quickly clapped twice by the side of your head, letting sparks out with each clap. Then you went to Wednesday's side and offered a hand to her.

-Yeah, the city is a jungle and I'm a beast-

Just as Wednesday made a choice to reach forward you pulled your hand back, smirking as lightning formed claw-like shapes at the tips of your fingers. You slipped behind her and without touching her moved one of your hands close to her neck. She raised her head up, just for a brief second looking right into your eyes as she turned around.

-I'm a teenage tiger looking for a feast-

She made clawing-like motions and you stepped back, dropping down to one knee with your arms spread widely and all the lightning gathering around your palms.

-Yeah, I want the most but I'll take the least-

You were shaping the lightning around your hands into two red balls of lightning. Wednesday, surprisingly got into your personal space, stepping sideways between your spread arms and rolling her shoulders as she looked down at you. With a grin on your face you rose back up.

-'Cause I'm a Goo Goo Muck tiger and a teenage beast-

With a lot of concentration, you made the two balls of lightning collide, clashing them against one another and forming the shape of a black dahlia. While still standing behind Wednesday you went and offered the lightning-made flower to her.

-You better duck When I show up The Goo Goo Muck-

Wednesday reached for the flower, tore off the petals, and accepted the remains. You didn't comment on how the tips of her fingers rested on top of your palm as she slowly settled her hand over yours.

-The Goo Goo Muck-

She leaned back, the material of her dress barely brushing against you, but that alone told you a lot, and now you truly had to admit Enid was right.

~X~

Wednesday never thought she'd think feeling as overwhelmed as she was right now would feel like this. The tingle your lightning caused, the way it was clear you made sure it couldn't hurt her while still causing a satisfying sensation, the way you responded to her. The way she leaned back, brushing against you. All of it was almost too much. Yet she didn't move away from you.

"Thanks," you muttered, and she didn't understand what you were thanking her for, but somehow she leaned back a bit more, her fingers brushing against your hand.

And then she was no longer at the Rave'N. The monster was above her, pinning her down to the ground in the woods, she felt the claws digging into her, though still not piercing the flesh. And then the colors faded from the world around her, they became muted, less vibrant and she thought she would prefer to look at the world like that all the time. And orange lightning emerged, engulfing her, you... she realized.

When her vision ended, she realized you were holding her up, her back pressed against you to avoid drawing much attention. Wednesday thought that, after how you danced, no one would notice her having a vision, they'd just think she willingly leaned back into you.

"Wednesday?" the concern in your voice made her feel sick.

"I'm fine," she said, but that image remained in her head. Goody told her to use a raiju. To use you. But could she do it if that was the outcome?

A/N: I have a newly found love-hate relationship with this damn dance! I love it, but I hated writing it! Glad that one is over with, please, don't make me go through this again.

Story Masterlist / First part / Previous part / Next part

[lynzishell]

The Past 💛 Atlas

There's a slight chill in the air today. One of those days where the heat of the sun is beating down, but every now and then, a breeze kicks up causing goosebumps to raise on my arms as it flutters through leaves that are starting to turn to various shades of gold but have not yet fallen. Still holding on along with the last remnants of summer.

As promised, I’m walking with Asher to the bakery for a decent cup of coffee. He invited Lex to come along, which I’m glad about. I always enjoy hanging out with her. She keeps things light and easy.

She’s ahead of us now, alternating between skipping forward and hopping backward so she can gesture to us as she tells her story. She reminds me of a child in a bouncy house recounting a grand adventure. Exaggerated, out of breath, and constantly trying not to laugh as she stumbles about. It’s infectious.

Just being in her presence, I feel lighter, like the weight of the world has taken a break from my shoulders, allowing me to relax and breathe a little easier.

It’s easy to see that her and Ash have been friends for years. They act more like siblings with their constant inside jokes and play-fighting. I’ve already given up on trying to follow their conversation about people I’ve never met and places I’ve never been, but enjoy the sounds of their banter all the same.

“Hey, Atlas!” Lex jumps over and smacks my arm with the back of her hand, snapping me out of my thoughts. She’s affectionate in an almost violent way: slapping, poking, wrestling. Her hugs are the kind that leave you gasping for air. Affection is not something I’m used to, nor does it come easily to me, so Lex’s heavy jostling is somehow more palatable than softer, more intimate forms of contact, even if I still rarely reciprocate.

“Have you caught up on Somnium yet?” She asks me this every week, but at least today I won’t have to disappoint her again.

“Yeah, Dawn and I caught up the other night.”

She squeals and claps her hands together, excited to finally be able to talk without spoiling, “So, what do you think of your precious coffee shop boy now?”

I roll my eyes at her, “Jesus, Lex, I said he was cute once, and now you’re always up my ass about it.”

Asher perks up and asks with a grin, “Ah, so that’s your type huh? Pale boys with black hair?”

I look over, surprised by his sudden interest, and noting the way he pointed out literally the only thing he has in common with the character. The truth is, Wyatt isn’t really my type. But Asher, with his relaxed confidence and playful smile, very much is, so I decide to play along, shrugging casually, “I mean, it’d be better if he dyed his hair a bright color like blue, or green, or something, but close enough.”

He laughs and then squints up at me, “See, now, I can’t tell if you’re making fun of me or flirting with me.”

“Pourquoi pas le deux, hm?” He is cute, isn’t he? Especially the way he’s looking at me now, chewing on his bottom lip, his gray eyes searching mine as he tries to determine how serious I am. As we look at each other, the air suddenly feels electric between us, and I have to avert my gaze before my face gives me away. I’m relieved to see we’re approaching the bakery, and I jump ahead to open the door before he can respond.

As I hold it open, Lex walks through giving me a sideways glance and an amused smile. Asher follows close behind, saying, “Thank you,” and flashing me a quick wink that catches me off guard. My stomach flips as I fall in line behind them, dropping my head to hide my face as I smile to myself.

Prev // Next

🧡Somnium

[buff-muffin]

Been thinking about half blind Sabo and figured it’s time for some self projection✨

Sabo isn’t completely blind in his left eye he still has remains of vision, but considering at least the lens would have been burned off, I can’t imagine anything is clear in that eye, it would just be a lot of vague fuzzy colours. He could see the skin of koalas face but not anything having to do with her expression. No he can’t do the “how many fingers am I holding up” but he would still manage to deck you.

He has accidentally shoulder checked so many people because he just did not see them on his blind side. Actually as a kid I think there would always be a bruise on that side from bumping shoulders into walls, corners and tables.

Adjusting to one eye took its time and one of the things he had to do while his burns were still recovering was toss a ball. At first, even if the person was only a foot in front he would still fail to catch it. He actually had to do a lot of hand eye and depth perception practice, this is to the point there is a small bouncy ball always on his desk he tries to catch. He’s mastered it now but it still took years.

Koala always walks on his bad sides on mission where they could be jumped at any moment, even if sabo is very aware of his blind spots.

When he was in combat training as a kid Sabo would get pissed with Hack and the commanders when they would would hide or abuse his blind spot. Loosing so consistently was not fun, but it was actually at Dragon’s insistence as it was what forced him to be so aware of it in battle and not act nearly as reckless.

He genuinely forgets he’s blind as he’s mostly reliant on the one eye, so there have been many times he’s tried to peek one eye around a corner, and realised it’s the wrong one. He actually uses the goggles on his hat in places like war zones where dust is kicking up to avoid getting anything in his good eye and ending up temporarily legally blind.

He knows his left eye freaks people out. That’s why he keeps it open. He stares at people cause he KNOWS it’s freaky and finds it funny. He made a lot of kids cry when he first joined classes, he didn’t feel bad about it one bit. Koala was one of the first to not be at all bothered.

[onskepa]

Hi!

Can we get a part 2 for fyolup? She came to visit Neteyam at the metkayina and wears bikini for swimming. Aonung seems to eye her and neteyam turns into a protective jealous bf

Oooooooooooh gotta love a jelly na'vi bf! Hope you like this one!

Fyolup pt1

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

Fyolup: Eyes on me

When neteyam was told that his cute fyolup was coming with Norm to the metkayina village, he was over the moon. How he missed her so much! There was so much neteyam to tell her. What he learned, how his new life settled, but most of all, how much he has grown. And of course show off what he is capable of. Not to mention his new tattoos on his arm. 

Already neteyam has things planned out for when she arrives. A full day of great activities, some including his siblings and some just for them two. Just thinking about it gets him riled up. 

But also, Neteyam wonders what cute clothing fyolup would wear? Something suitable but also stylish to fit her taste. Of course, knowing her, fyolup would wear something for his eyes only and no one else.

“Neteyam!” 

The sweet sound of the voice he longed to hear again called out to him. On the sandy beach, not too far from him stood was fyulop. She has grown a lot in the past few months. Wearing his favorite teal summer dress, and a bright smile on her cute face. 

Unable to hold it in, neteyam makes a run for it, and so does fyulop. Meeting each other in the middle, the girl jumps into his arms as he holds her tightly as he spun her around. Loud laughter escaped their lips, wide smiles and great happiness. For fyulop, it felt so good to be back in her lover’s arms. The feel of his skin touching hers, hearing his voice again. She missed it so much. 

Not putting her down, rather carrying her on his shoulder, they stare at each other's eyes and foreheads touching. “I missed you ma’sevin” neteyam whispers to her ear. Humming in agreement, she nods. “And I have missed you ma’yawne” she replies. Having not rush to go back home, neteyam takes his time to show her firstly the grand beach. Holding her tightly so that she doesn't fall, not like she will. Neteyam starts to talk, letting his mind wander on recent memories. 

And fyulop is all more eager to listen. 

“Neteyam, while I appreciate you looking at me for a long time, I am having self doubts now. Does it look good or not…?” Fyulop asks nervously. When she revealed her swimsuit, neteyam was in deep awestruck. He couldn't help but stare at her. 

Her swimming outfit was a two piece. Strapless top with a matching bottom that was light blue with thin waving white lines. Giving the illusion of underwater lighting. To add to her personal touch, fyulop collected small shells from the beach and added it to her swimsuit. It is the little things that make things stand out more. 

“I'm sorry love, it's just…oh eywa you look breathtaking” neteyam praises. Red hue colored fyulop’s cheeks. She certainly missed his praises. 

Offering his hand, fyulop accepts. “Come on, there is so much I want to show you” neteyam tells her excitedly. Taking her from his family pod, he carefully leads her through the rather bouncy paths. Fyulop couldn't help but giggle as she bounces her way. It was like jumping on a trampoline!

“Here, this is an ilu, like the dire horses at home. The people here use like in similar ways” neteyam explains while gently holding his ilu. Fyulop strokes its head gently, liking the pleasing sounds. And the ilu makes a sound of happiness, nudging his head against hers. 

“He likes you” neteyam comments. 

“I'm glad, cause I like him too. Such an adorable cutie you are” fyulop says in her baby voice. 

Not far from where they are, ao’nung, rotxo, and lo’ak were nearing the shore with their ilu’s. Ao’nung noticed the human girl, his eyes fixated on her. 

“Hey lo’ak, who is that?” he asks while pointing at fyulop. Lo’ak sees where he pointing at, “oh, that is fyulop. She came with our uncle norm to visit. Don't worry, she is harmless' ' lo'ak answers. But Ao'nung still couldn't stop staring at her or her pretty smile. 

“Is she single?”

“Hey fyulop, long time no see” Lo’ak welcomes the human girl with glee. Giving each other a warm hug, lo’ak joins in on whatever she and neteyam were doing. “So you are just going to ignore us lo’ak?” Rotxo teases behind the forest boy. Chuckling a bit, lo’ak shakes his head. “Right, sorry”. 

Gently pushing ao’nung and rotxo in front of him, he points at who is who, “fyulop, this is ao’nung and rotxo. Guys, this is fyulop, she was born and raised here in pandora like spider” lo’ak introduces. 

Fyulop giggled lightly, something that made ao’nung blush a tiny bit. Her giggles sounded so cute. He looks over and sees neteyam staring down at her with love and adoration. Crap, are they together? Hopefully not. 

“Nice to meet you both. I hope you treated neteyam and his family well?” Fyulop asks. This made the boys chuckle nervously. “What? What happened? Did you guys fight each other?” Fyulop asks curiously. 

“Well…you see..”

“Skxawngs. All of you. Especially you neteyam. It is much for lo’ak to start but for you to continue it?” Fyulop gently scolds the boys as they tell her about their rough start of getting along. She gently tugs neteyam’s ear while making a playful yet serious face. Neteyam couldn't help but chuckle, her fingers were to ticklish! 

Ao’nung saw their interaction, feeling his tail thump against the sand rather harshly. 

“Speaking of, how much has neteyam showed you of our home?” he asks, switching the subject. Fyulop took a moment to think, “so far the pods, the beach and the cute ilu’s” she replies. Ao’nung make a clicking sound, shaking his head. “Clearly he is skipping the more exciting stuff. Why not let me show you the better parts of our home?” he offers. 

Fyulop gasps happily, “really?” she asks. 

“Of course, what better guide than me?” 

Fyulop looks up to neteyam, her eyes already asking the question. He sighs, “he is right, but still”. 

Taking the chance, ao’nung gets up and gently grabs fyulop’s hand already leading her the way. As he and fyulop began to chat, neteyam, lo’ak and rotxo looked at ao’nung with a surprised expression on their faces. 

“Oh no he didn't” 

“Oh yes he did”

“And here is where we mostly trade things. Fish for beads, seaweed for grains, just about anything. There is something for everyone” Ao’nung shows fyulop the common areas that the na’vi spend their time. He showed her all the best places, ao’nung was pretty proud and a bit smug too. Getting cute reactions from fyulop was a treat. Even better to see neteyam fuming behind them. 

Fyulop was enjoying sightseeing. The metkayina was so vastly different from the omatikaya! From how they look, to their ways, culture and style of clothing. Already fyulop had ideas of creating ocean inspired clothing. Maybe style it similar to how the metkayina do. 

Neteyam on the other hand did not enjoy it. Nope. Not one bit. 

If looks could kill, ao’nung would be deep in the belly of an akula. 

Ao’nung had the sheer balls to not only touch fyulop but also hug her! Fyulop’s hugs are exclusive to neteyam only! Ok maybe his siblings too but mostly him! And too see that puny fishy skxawng touching his beloved made his anger rise deep within. 

And poor fyulop, took caught up in the new experiences didn't notice what fishlips was clearing trying to do. 

Well, as her boyfriend and protector, neteyam knows what slimy things that fishy na’vi prince can do.

If ao’nung knew just how easy it was to sway fyulop to trust him, he would have done it on the spot! Fyulop is just so cute and her clothing suits her figure. Actually, speaking of her clothing. 

Ao’nung haven't really seen much of how humans dress. So to see this human girl dress in a certain way excites him. There is a lot to learn and see something new within fyulop and hopefully be closer to her.

However, as days pass, almost as if on purpose, ao’nung takes fyulop’s time most of the day. Taking her wherever he wants, personally teaches her many things neteyam wanted to show her, among other things. And would shove the poor forest boy to the side. Giving no room for neteyam to intervene. 

And it was pissing neteyam off. 

Having enough of it, he did the only thing he knew best.

“You know fyulop, you interest me a lot. It would be nice if you stayed longer. Spending time with you has been a lot of fun” Ao’nung tells fyulop. Together they walk across the sandy shores, the small waves of the sea barely touching their feet. 

“It certainly has been a lot of fun. And while living here seems like a good idea, I worry for neteyam. He already has enough stuff to worry about” 

Ao’nung makes an annoyed sigh. “I doubt that. But either way, at least think it over. We could have a lot more fun. Together”. He holds fyulop’s hands into his larger ones. Making eye contact and hopefully what he is trying to do works. 

Only it didn't. 

Fyulop was gently yanked back by an angry neteyam. 

“I think you had enough time with her,” Neteyam says. Trying his best not to hiss at ao’nung. But the reef prince scoffs a bit smugly. “And who are you to choose for her? She can do what she wants”. 

“You’re absolutely right ao’nung” Fyulop agrees. 

The boy smirks at neteyam who only glares harder. 

“That means I can do this” 

With a gentle yet quick yank from his necklace, neteyam was yanked down and was given the most passionate kiss ever. 

Fyulop was kissing him as if to prove something. And boy did neteyam enjoyed it. With zero hesitation, neteyam kisses back, laughing on the inside. If he were to have a fourth finger right now, he would be flipping it in ao’nungs face. 

“And, what I want to do is spend my time with my sweet neteyam. Thank you ao’nung for showing me, but I think neteyam can take it from here” fyulop says with a not so innocent smile. 

Ao’nung was shocked, flabbergasted, speechless, and everything else. Damn it. 

“You heard her skxawng” Neteyam says with a victorious smirk on his face. Clicking his tongue, ao’nung leaves in defeat. 

With a happy cheer, neteyam picks up his love and spins her around. 

“You were so jealous~” the girl teases as she boops his nose. But neteyam caught her finger, gently nibbling it. “And you watched me. Didn't do anything to ease my heart” neteyam accuses. This made fyulop stroke his ears as she leans closer and asks in a cooing manner, “Than what can I do to ease your jealous heart?” 

He grins and replies “you know what” 

Aaaaaaaand that is it for this one! Was cute to write. Until next time! See ya!

[threepandas]

Sun Burnt: Yandere Reborn

Lot of stereotypes came with having certain Flame types I mused. As bullets rammed into my back, ricocheting around me like bouncy balls of death. My feet eating up the earth as fast as I could. It was all kinds of unfair.

Like? If you were a Sun? You were expected to be gregarious. Cheerful. Some happy go lucky healer type. To hell with your ambitions, I got a paper cut! And a storm? Well OBVIOUSLY watch out! We got a HOT HEAD over here! Look out for the HOT HEAD! A TEMPERAMENTAL ASSHOLE coming through!

I mean? Maybe they're pissed cause you keep POKING at them, huh? Wouldn't anybody?

I dodge down an alley. Jumping trash cans. Throwing them down behind me. Hearing curses and howls of outrage. Man, they are persistent. And! And like? Being a LIGHTNING?! God, being a LIGHTNING can SUCK sometimes! Sure, I get to be a Tank. And yeah. Human tazer. Pretty neat. But the ASSHOLES!

It's all "ooooh~! You're nothing but a DUMB MEAT SHEILD! Come be my DUMB MEAT SHEILD and lick my BOOTS, meat sheild! That's all you're good for! Because you're so DUMB! Impulsive! We wanna use you to solve our stupid ass turf disputes and lead you ooooon~!" Like? Fuckin REALLY?!

Is it MY fault your brains move so slow? That you're so SQUISHY? I'm not fucking IMPULSIVE! I think things through! I just do it FASTER then you jack asses! Granted... never said I do it BETTER. I may, in fact, be a dumbass. Probably am. All signs point to "maybe"...

......ARE THEY SERIOUSLY STILL CHASING ME!?

It was MY haul!!!

Steal your own SHIT!!!

And yeah, was it WISE to flip the table, punch the Don, and jump out a window with the fugly ass statue they planned to stiff me on? No. No it was not. But I REFUSE to not get paid! Try to steal from ME will you?! I'ma toss this fucker into the SEA!!! Swim for it BITCHES!

I skid onto the main road of Mafia Island. Knocking over somebody's fancy ass mistress. Probably gonna pay for THAT too. Fuck it! Yolo! I am pouring on the Lightning flames at this point. COATED. The metaphorical bull in this, the mafia land China shop. Pulling shooting. Amused and playing bets. Flames rising up to brush against me.

I am a fuckin circus act on display and I HATE it.

But by all that is holy! Those bastards ARE NOT getting their stupid statue back!

To the SEA with it! I shall cast it to the briny BLUE!

FUCK THOSE GUYS!

The crowd is parting like the red fucking sea. Except... except?! Oh shit! Pretty guy on a suit! Move pretty guy! MOVE!! Aaaaah!

I barely... BARELY!! Manage to stop myself from running into Pretty? Hiiitman? Hitman. Got a gun. Very calm. Yep, hitman. Barely! Dodge! By forward flipping OVER the guy and Superhero sticking the landing. Dropping the statue but... meh. Don't care. I still plan to...

Are. You. FUCKING SERIOUS!?

Drugs!?

That FUGLY STATUE WAS HOLLOW! No WONDER they were so desperate to get it! They were BREAKING Vongola's BAN!!! Ooooooh! I'm TELLING! You FUCKERS USED ME!!! Jail! Ten thousand years JAIL! Kill um, Mr. Hitman! They're dirty, non-thief paying, DRUG MAKERS!

Am I pointing accusingly? Yes. Hanging over the hitmans shoulder like the tattling tattle that I am? Absolutely. Jail for them! Get um! Boooooo! My flames still coat every part of me. Which is why I can FEEL when the hitman decides... "fuck it. Why not?"

I can TELL? Because it's like feeling the mountain you're standing on suddenly deciding to move. Like a giant, blinking their eyes open and beginning to stand. Rising up and up and UP. So great it feels impossible. The Sun flames infront of me? Go beyond the concept of "powerful".

It's like standing in front of a star up close.

So bright and burning fury, it consumes all other light.

I can't even FEEL the other Flames around us anymore. Almost can't HEAR what's going on. He... he has a low, purring voice. Like espresso. Smooth. The smell of gunpowder and decadent things... CLINGS to him like a lover. The suit under my carelessly grabbing hands... f... feels EXPENSIVE.

Bad. T... this is BAD. D..Don't panic. Just. Just let go! Yeah? Let go, be polite, and apologize. Y... you'll be okay. Oh god. What did I DO?! L... LET GO. Move! W.. why can't I MOVE?!

I feel more then hear the shots. The slight recoil. Utterly effortless, he ends their lives. An amused lilt to whatever he's saying. His head tilts so he can view me from the corner of his eye. A mean smirk on his beautiful face. I amuse him. My FEAR amuses him.

His Flames reach out like a crushing fist... I... I can not move...

The world seems to STOP.

As two notes of the same song find each other. Flitting and high to some great and terrible low. The two farthest ends of a Set, still empty, with no sky to hold it in balance. Yet? Resonance none the less.

"Oh~?"

The flat disinterest of those abyssal eyes changes. Like a damning light flickering on in the dark. Leading something terrifying straight towards me. No longer just background noise. I was interesting. I... I didn't WANT to be interesting! No, no, NO!

He turned towards me.

And my stomach plummets straight through the earth. Oh god. Please God, no.

Before me stand a terrifying legend. Living infamy itself. THE World's Greatest Hitman, it's greatest killer, Reborn. Who's eyes were locked on my face with a terrible interest. Who's Flames, vast and hungry, tugged and prowled at the edge of my own. His mean little smirk had turned into something that could pass for charming... if I didn't know who he was.

If I wasn't probably going to die.

He casually tucked his gun away. Pulled his other hand from his pocket. And then... oh god. Then two burning weights clamped down on my shoulders. No where to run. No chance of escape. He leaned forward, towering over me.

"You know, I didn't catch your name, bella. Who do you work for again? We have so much to LEARN about each other, don't you think? All the time in the world. Now... give me your phone."

I whimpered. His hands were almost burning with Sun flames. They washed over me in a greedy search for ties that bind and cracks in my defenses. Pushing and pushing. Trying to get IN. Covetous.

"After all~ It's not like you could possibly escape me."

[foldingfittedsheets]

Greetings, oh fairy of blessed sleep, I hope you are doing well!

Could you maybe talk a bit about finding a good bed for couples/families that share one matress?

I am a lot smaller than my partner and weigh about half. So if we have any kind of soft bed, gravity happens and I either unvoluntarily roll onto them (not in a cute and cuddly way but like uncomfortably pressed up against them) or have one side of my body elevated which sucks for circulation. If there is any "bounce" or flexibility to the bed, I will be almost catapulted out of it whenever my partner moves. Two separate mattresses is also not an option, because my sleep persona is a bit dim and ALWAYS falls into the crack and I wake up in a horrible ache.

At the moment we sleep on the firmest queen size mattress we could possibly find and threw a high quality memory foam topper and a protector on top of it. This solves the gravity and catapulting problem and is actually very comfortable. We rotate the topper regularly, BUT they usually wear out after about 2 years and have to be replaced, no matter the price range, which sucks.

Any advice on how to make toppers last a little longer or how find a bed that doesn't turn you into a sleepy projectile and fire you accross your bedroom would be greatly appreciated!

Sidenote: I wanted to thank you for sharing the story of how you are sometimes unable to continue eating your food, because "it stops being food" to you. I never realised that this is exactly what happens to me A LOT and I am not actually a picky eater. I haven't gone to bed hungry in a week because your post enabled me to get something else I could eat and don't feel guilty about it. So truly, thank you!!

Aww, you’re welcome, I’m glad that helped.

As to the bed, your bowling ball analogy is apt. There’s two types of technologies that can really help solve your problem.

The first is individual coils. Simmons Beatyrest had a rather famous commercial where they dropped a bowling ball on their bed and the other side didn’t move because the coils separate the different impacts on the bed.

So beds with individual coils are way less bouncy or reactive to multiple people. These are now the standard coil in most beds, but the bounce you’re experiencing seems more in line with old interconnected coils so it’s worth mentioning.

The other bed technology that helps, you’ve actually already discovered: memory foam. Tempurpedic ran an ad campaign where a lady walks across the surface of the bed leaving a wine glass untouched. All-foam beds are the best at keeping you and your partner separate. They also feel good to partners at different body sizes the way coils beds tend not to.

Now, you have two options from there. There’s hybrid beds which is just a few slabs of memory foam over individual coils. These are B rank at keeping you guys separate. Or all foam beds which are A rank at keeping you separate.

Given what you’re going through I’d lean you slightly toward Tempur. The first time my cat scared me in bed because I literally couldn’t feel her jump up was wild. Serta also makes a mean all-foam that’s super comfy. The danger is cheaper all foam beds or beds in a box, they’ll wear out quickly and sleep hot, so choose carefully.

My last note though is that the bed may be perfect but your sheets and protectors will still create partner drift. Sheets with a little stretch in them will help keep you in your own orbit better, and a protector with flex in the sides will be better than a really taught one.

[tasteleeknow]

HELLO STRANGER. PART ONE.

pairing: minho ft. hyunjin x fem!reader genre: smut, angst, fluff, soulmate!au. enemies to lovers. jealousy. pining. unrequited love. content: 18+ minors dni. word count: 7k

summary: after watching everyone around you pair off with their soulmate, you finally get your turn. a slow burn strangers to enemies to lovers soulmate!au with jealousy and angst and smut and suffering (and softness ofc).

series masterlist & taglist ♡ pt.1 | pt.2 | pt.3

♡ series masterlist

mention of death (a recurring theme, not a main character). mc has anxiety. mention of body insecurity.

“I’m so happy for you, Mina. I-I really am.” 

Your roommate was engaged to her soulmate. She’d woken you up at 2am, flicking your lights on and jumping up and down on your bed until you’d roused enough to comprehend what she was saying. A little over a year ago she’d gotten a notification—the person that suited her more than anyone else on earth had been found. 

“She’s been trying to do it for weeks, apparently. She kept chickening out,” Mina giggles as she fiddles with the ring on her finger. “Isn’t it pretty?” she says, holding it out for you to inspect. 

She’d shown you many times in the 20 minutes she’d been sitting cross-legged on your bed. You indulge her, taking her delicate hand in yours to take another look at the admittedly very pretty ring. Her joy was a little overwhelming, you’d been so low for so long. 

It was only a few months after Mina met her soulmate that your boyfriend met his. He’d lied to you, signing up for the matching service behind your back. When he’d left, you’d signed up yourself in your anger—as if it could do anything to hurt him back. He didn’t care. 

Neither did you, not anymore. You watched the people around you pair off, so distracted by their own joy not one of them had asked you about your lack of it. Then, a few weeks ago you’d received your notification. You’d stared at your phone screen, trying to comprehend the reality of it. All you had to do was acknowledge the match and agree on a time to meet. Then… you’d be one of the happy ones? You’d thrown your phone onto the bed, ignoring it until you were forced to pick it up again. You hadn’t told anyone since. 

You look up at your friend again, her cheeks rosy—likely from a mixture of wine and excitement. “Mina?”

“Mm?” she responds absentmindedly, not looking up from her ring. 

“I-I got my notification…” Her eyes snap up to meet yours. “...a few weeks ago,” you finish. 

“What?! Who are they?!” she squeals, falling forward to grab your hands in hers—flapping them up and down. 

“I don’t know, I didn’t respond.” 

She drops both your hands onto the bed, eyes wide. “What? Why?”

“I…don’t know. I’m scared, I guess.” 

She shuffles up to sit beside you against the pillows. “Ya know, I was scared at first too.”

You look up to her face, she’s looking at her ring again. You remembered the first week after she got her notification. She’d been so bouncy and overwhelmingly happy, you don’t remember her being nervous at all. “You were?” 

“Mm, I know the whole idea is that you are supposed to be perfect for each other. But… what if I was the exception? What if I wasn’t enough for her? It felt…like such a huge thing to live up to—being someone’s perfect person. I just wanted to be enough for whoever it was I was going to meet.” She reaches over to take your hand. “Then I met her…and that all felt so silly. She was everything and I knew that even if I wasn’t enough for her yet, I'd do everything to make sure I was. She made me wanna be the best person I could be and it…was a lot—but in the best way.” 

“I don't… know if I’m ready to be the best version of me.” 

“That’s the point, even if you aren’t. They’ll help you. Besides, what if they need you to help them be the best version of them?”

“I’m not sure I could help anyone with that…” 

“Just try? Yeah? I’ll be here,” she says, squeezing your hand gently. 

You look over to your nightstand where your phone is charging. You couldn’t really bear to look at it these days. Mina nudges your shoulder. You reach over to grab it. She’s quiet as you open the app. Your heart races as you enter times you are available to meet, hesitating over the final button that confirms your agreement. You look down to Mina’s hand on your leg, the delicate ring catching your eye. You take a deep breath, then hit confirm. 

Three weeks and they haven’t confirmed a time. Whoever they were, they clearly didn’t want you. You knew it was silly, to be upset about something you’d done yourself. Maybe they just had the same insecurities you did? Mina was busy with wedding preparation, you didn’t blame her for being distracted. She was happy and you were happy she was happy. Everything was fine. 

“What about these?” Mina says, pointing out some blue carnations. The only other time you’d been in a flower shop like this was when you’d bought some roses for your anniversary with your ex. 

“They’re pretty, are you definitely going with blue then?”

“Mm,” she confirms, “blue and purple.” She wanders away again and you trail behind, fiddling with the chain dangling off your phone case. “Haven’t heard back?” she asks. You pause briefly, it’s the first time she’s asked in over a week. 

“No.” 

“They’re probably panicking like you were.” 

“Yeah,” you mutter. 

You’re a little out of it as she leads you around the store—fiddling with the chain the entire time. The loud ring of a notification startles you, a small squeak leaving your lips. Mina looks up at you as you flick your phone to silent, you must have absent-mindedly flicked it while you were fiddling. You look up to meet her eyes. 

“Check it,” she prompts. 

“It’s probably nothing.” 

“Check it,” she repeats. So you do. He’s confirmed to meet the next day. Just like that. Mina snatches your phone from your hands. 

“Tomorrow?! Oh my god,” she says before shoving your phone back in your hands. “Confirm you’re going.” 

“I’m going…” you mumble, staring down at the screen—attempting to process it. 

Mina’s laugh breaks you from your daze. “Yes, you’re going. Come on, let’s go pick your outfit.” She grabs your arm, pulling you from the store. 

You hardly sleep that night, spending the entire next morning cleaning your apartment—attempting (and failing) to distract yourself from the anxiety stirring in your chest. Your small cat brushes against your leg as you bend down to clean her tray. 

“Hey, baby. You might meet a new friend soon, hm?” She meows at you. “Mm, I know. It’s scary for me, too. We’ll be okay, I'm sure they’re nice.” 

A clap of thunder makes you jump. It had been storming all night. Usually storms relax you but apparently not even that could calm you now. “Gonna shower now,” you whisper to your cat, stroking her fur one last time. 

You’d been putting it off, showering. You didn’t feel like looking at yourself. You didn’t consider yourself a particularly insecure person, most of the time you managed to stay pretty neutral about how you looked. You were fine. Right now though? Every negative thought you’d ever had was stirring to the surface. You couldn’t help pausing just before stepping into the shower, twisting back and forth to inspect yourself in the mirror. You’re fine. 

You struggle to close your umbrella, shoving the handle into your stomach so you can push it down—eventually managing to collapse it fully. It’s still pouring. You’d closed your eyes the entire bus trip, listening to the rain and attempting to settle your nerves. You weren’t particularly successful. You rest your hand on the wall, steadying yourself—your empty stomach growling as you gather yourself. This is fine. 

You look up at the revolving door. A girl walks out with a huge grin on her face—giggling to herself as she passes you. Clearly her meeting went well. You suck in a deep breath, the fresh air helping a little. Then, shoving the umbrella in your bag, you head inside. 

The receptionist hands you a clipboard and a pen and asks you to wait for someone to collect you. It makes you feel like you’re at a dentist appointment. Not great for your nerves. You settle yourself in the corner to read the forms. You expect a disclaimer to cover the company's ass; terms and conditions. It’s a little more than that. Your leg bounces as you scan the pages, pen tapping against the clipboard. 

Customers retain the right to withhold personal information from partners and discontinue communication at any time. Security is present on the premises. You read a paragraph about a wristband each person can use to signal for security discreetly. Why would anyone need that? You realise you're chewing on the pen. Crap. You look up to see if anyone has noticed. You can’t read anymore. You feel like your entire brain is consumed with trying to keep it together. You scribble your name at the bottom of the last page and head to the desk to hand it back. 

��I’m—I’m done with this.” 

“Oh, good. Felix will take you through now,” the receptionist answers, pointing to the blonde man holding a door open for you. 

“Thank you,” you say quietly, adjusting your bag on your shoulder and heading over. This is fine. 

“Good morning, I’m Felix” he greets. His voice is calm and his face bright. You can see why he has this role. 

“Morning.” 

He holds the door for you as pass then leads you down a long hallway, turning to speak to you. “Nervous?”

“A little,” you say, offering him a small shaky smile.  

“You’ll be fine, promise. I’ve worked here awhile and never seen anyone leave without a big smile.” He stops at a cupboard built into the wall, pulling the door open. “Could you hold your hand up for me? Just wanna check your size.”

You offer him your arm and he wraps a small smartwatch around your wrist. “Perfect,” he mutters to himself. 

“This is to call for security?” you ask. 

“Yeah, just press this button on the side. It won’t make a noise. They won’t know you’ve called.”

“Why…why would I need this if everyone always leaves with a smile?” 

“I’m sure it was suggested by a lawyer at some point, just a precaution.” Your hand shakes a little as he secures the strap for you. “You’re okay,” he says, obviously noticing your visible nerves. 

You’re okay. 

“I’ll take you to your room now, okay?” he asks, voice gentle. You look up to his face, counting a few of his freckles as you take a few slow breaths. 

“Okay,” you say after a few seconds. He smiles then turns and leads you through a door to another long hallway. This one has many doors along each side, each one numbered. You count them as you go. He finally stops at door 14. “This is you,” he announces. He doesn’t open it, just turns and looks at you—clearly waiting for you to prepare yourself. 

“Are they… in there already?”

“Mm, we stagger arrivals. He’s been here about 30 minutes.” 

“He?”

“Oops, spoilers,” he says, offering you a playful smile. 

You offer him a weak smile in return then turn to the door only to freeze, staring at the door knob like you had never seen one before. Felix waits patiently at your side. “What if he doesn’t like me?” you mutter under your breath. 

“You know how long I’ve worked here?” Felix says in response, apparently ignoring your question. “4 years,” he continues. You look from the doorknob to his face. “I’d say about 80% of the people I lead to one of these doors ask me some variation of that question.” 

“And they leave happy?”

He smiles and nods. “Mm.” 

You grab the doorknob, ready to get on with it. “Felix?” 

“Yes?”

“Thank you, really.” 

“No worries,” he says, “you’ll be fine.” 

You smile at him one last time and take a deep breath, pushing the door open. A chair scrapes across the ground and you look up to the man standing at a table in the middle of the room. You suppose, he’s yours. You wonder if he thinks you’re disappointing—if you’re not what he expected, what he hoped for. Felix places a gentle hand on your shoulder, helping you enter the room—the door closing behind you. 

The man holds his arm out, gesturing to a lounge along the wall. You suck in a breath, only just realising you’ve been holding it. 

“I saved you a seat,” he says, the first to break the silence. You suppose that was something like a joke, you’re too nervous to offer anything playful back. So instead you hurry over, dropping your bag to the ground as you collapse into the soft couch cushions. He sits himself at the other end, space for another two or three people between you. There’s two water bottles on the table. You should say something. Your name. Name’s are good. You fail to meet his eyes as you introduce yourself, reaching for the bottle instead. 

“Minho,” he offers in return. You look up at him, a nervous smile on your face. He’s pretty, too pretty for you. He’s wearing a black t-shirt and jeans. You’re overdressed. 

“Hi,” is all you manage. 

“Hi.” 

“Have you… been waiting long?” 

One corner of his lips curves up. “No, not long.” 

He doesn’t seem nervous at all. Why had he waited three weeks to respond if he wasn’t at all like you? “Ah, that’s good.” 

“Nervous?” he asks, nodding to where you were twisting the cap of the bottle on and off repeatedly. You place it back on the table. 

“Yeah, sorry.” 

“Don’t be.” He stands, walking over to a bookshelf. “Do you wanna play a game?” 

“A game?” 

“They have a bunch here. Uno?” 

“...sure.”  

He pulls the deck from the pack as he makes his way back over. “You know how to play?”

You huff out a half laugh. “Uno? Yeah.” 

He smiles. “Just checking. The only thing I know about you is your name and that you like yellow.” 

You look down at your yellow sundress. You had stood out amongst the crowd on the bus, everyone in dark raincoats and jackets. It wasn’t cold, just wet. Your cardigan was enough. “I… It’s my favourite colour, yeah.” 

“It suits you.” 

You look up. He’s focused on dealing the cards. “Thank you,” you say, just above a whisper. 

He flips a card over on the small coffee table and grabs his cards. You exchange small talk as you go. Your ages, what you do for work, if you have any pets. You talk about your cats a little, the first commonality you’ve discovered. You figure you’ll latch onto them whenever any come up, maybe more so than with any other stranger. The unspoken knowledge that you are supposed to be ideal for each other makes it feel like more is at stake. Instead of risking merely an awkward interaction with a stranger, you are both risking… well… your future happiness together. 

He seems kind. Maybe a little reserved, but so were you. You get the feeling he’s holding a lot back, like he’s not entirely here. You wonder if his anxiety just presented differently to yours. 

“Do you live alone?” he asks, slapping a pick up 2 on the stack. You slap one on top, looking up with a small smile. “Got me,” he says, returning your smile and then picking up 4 from the deck. 

“I have a roommate: Mina. What about you?” 

“Hyunjin. Met him at dance lessons years ago, he stuck to me like a leech.” 

“So he loves you?” 

He looks up from his cards, eyes flicking across your face for a moment before he answers. “Mm, I guess he does. Are you close with Mina?” 

“I’m gonna be her maid of honour.” 

“Ah.” He moves a few cards around in his deck. “Is she… with her—I mean did they meet through this?” He gestures to nowhere in particular with his cards, like he can’t speak the word soulmate. 

A small knot of anxiety reappears in your chest. It had eased without you realising, returning now. 

“Yeah, they met a year ago,” you answer. 

“A year? That’s quick.” 

“I guess.” You watch him continue to fiddle with his cards. “It’s your turn,” you prompt. 

He looks up at you. “Right.” Then leans forward to grab a card from the deck. 

“Is Hyunjin… has he met his?” 

He places a colour change card down gently. “Green,” he announces quietly. You expect him to answer your question, but he doesn’t. So you take your turn. It isn’t until you’ve both had two more turns each that he speaks. “He hasn’t.” 

You get the feeling you’ve said something wrong. You fiddle with your cards, realising you’re guaranteed a win. You look up at the man next to you. Is he a sore loser? You know nothing about him at all. You finish the game, looking up at him to see his reaction.

“Well done,” he says calmly as he begins to collect the cards, stacking them into a neat pile. You tuck away another tiny puzzle piece you can use to put together this person who was supposed to be your soulmate. 

You look around the room, desperate to find another activity to save you from any awkward lulls. A big wooden chest catches your eye. You leave him to finish putting the cards away, wandering over to the mysterious chest. It looked like something that would be full of pirate’s gold. You bend down to lift the lid, conscious of the man appearing at the bookshelf next to you. It’s heavy and his hand appears to help you pull it the rest of the way up. 

It’s full of clothes. Costumes and props. You pull a witches hat out, lifting it onto your head and smiling at the man next to you. He smiles back then retrieves a big sunflower hat. “Put this on, it matches your dress.” You drop the witches hat back in the chest. Then, before you can take it from him, he gently lowers the sunflower hat onto your head. You readjust it, feeling your cheeks warm as he bends down to search through the chest again. 

When he stands he has a big red clown nose on. The serious expression on his face makes it all the funnier, drawing out a small laugh from your lips. “Try squeezing it,” he says stoically. You reach up, squeezing the red nose between your fingers. It squeaks, a lot like a dog toy. His mouth curves up a little in one corner then he pulls it from his nose, holding it out to you. 

“You try.” 

Your fingers brush together as you take it from him, a shiver running down your spine at the contact. His eyes on you as you attach the nose to your face makes you nervous. When you look up he wastes no time squeezing it, the high pitched squeak pulling the first actual laugh you’ve heard from him. You join him, the contagious quality of his loud laughter getting you more than anything else. 

By the time you’ve exhausted the large chest of its treasures your stomach hurts, collapsing onto the floor as Minho pulls a big pink bow from his hair. “No, leave it!” you gasp out through your laughter, reaching out to wrap around his wrist before he can drop the bow into the chest. He joins you on the floor, his leg brushing against yours pulls your awareness to your hands. You pull back quickly. 

He stretches his legs out, leaning back on his palms as you both catch your breath. It’s quiet for a moment. It doesn’t feel awkward. Your mouth tugs up at the corners at the revelation. “Why’d you take so long to respond?” he asks, bringing you back down to earth. A heaviness settles over you immediately. 

“I uh…just wasn’t ready,” you answer, pulling a flower crown off your head. Your heart races in your chest as you prepare your next words. “You…took awhile as well.” 

He pulls his legs to his chest, arms resting on his bent knees. “I wasn’t ready either.” 

“You’re ready now?” 

He’s quiet, eyes flicking between yours. Then he stands, offering you a hand up. You make sure your dress stays down as you let him pull you up, his hand warm in yours. He pulls you up effortlessly, fingers brushing together as he releases you. “Would you like to come over for dinner?” he asks. 

“I… Yeah, sure.” 

He walks over to a backpack under the table, pulling it over his shoulder. “Great, I think Hyunjin might be home tonight but he’ll probably stay in his room.” 

“Tonight?” 

He looks up at you. “Yeah… that alright?” 

“Ye-Yeah.” 

“Did you drive here or…?”

“Bus.” 

“I can give you a lift home?” He says, eyes dropping down to his phone as he types something quickly. “I’ll pick you up later. Gotta get a few things for dinner.” 

“I can get the bus.” You’re not sure why you turn him down. 

He looks up at you, brows furrowed. “You sure? It’s probably still raining.” 

“I like the bus.” 

He steps towards you and you hold your breath as he reaches towards your hair, picking out a pink feather—a remnant from your dress up session. “I’ll pick you up at six?” he asks, close enough that your eyes fix on the freckle at the end of his nose. Your soulmate has a nose freckle. Soulmate. 

“Six,” you confirm, voice a little breathy. 

“I…told Hyunjin you were coming and he showed…a lot of interest. He might hang around, sorry.” Minho warns as he steps up to his door. 

“I don’t mind.”

“He’ll keep you company while I finish up with dinner, anyway.”

“Alright.” 

You follow him into his apartment, taking in your surroundings as he leads you to the living room where a boy with short blonde hair sits at a small table on the floor. He jumps up as you enter, a wide grin spreading across his face as he approaches. 

“You’re here,” he greets you like you’re old friends, like you were here for him and not the man standing beside you. You offer him a friendly smile. 

“I’ll leave you two to chat for a bit, i’ll be done soon,” Minho says before backing up towards the adjoined kitchen. You catch him giving his roommate a pointed look and then he turns, leaving you alone. 

Hyunjin gestures to a cushion on the floor by the table, sinking back down to resume his position on the other. He pushes aside a notebook and as he closes it, you catch a glimpse of some sketches. “Can’t believe you’re finally here,” he says, propping his elbows on the table to gazing at you like you’d put the stars in the sky. 

You drop your eyes to the table, feeling a little overwhelmed by his intensity. “Uh, I—I can’t really believe it either. It’s a lot.” 

“Did it go well today?” 

“Um…I think so. Minho hasn’t said anything?” 

He looks to the kitchen then leans over the table so he can lower his voice. “He’s not particularly talkative. You may have noticed.” 

“He…seemed a little reserved but so am I. I don’t mind.” 

His plush lips curve up in one corner. “So it was a quiet session then?” 

“Not…exactly. We played dress up.” You look down at the table, smiling a little to yourself at the memory. Hyunjin is quiet and when you look up at him again he has a soft smile on his face. You drop your gaze to the table, his closed notebook catching your eye again. “Do you draw?” 

He sits back, pushing the notebook in front of you and flipping it open. “Mm, you can look if you want.” You flip through the pages as the boy across from you sits quietly. They’re mostly sketches of people, a few watercolours scattered in. You pause on a page of a silhouette, turned away—hair falling over their face. It makes you sad. You close the book, sliding it gently back across the table. 

“They’re…really good.” 

“Thank you. Do you like art?” 

“I like it. I can’t do it.” You look over to the kitchen, wondering if Minho was an artist. You hadn’t asked. 

“He’s not an artist,” Hyunjin says, like your thoughts are written across your forehead. “I know how it feels…all of this—it’s terrifying.” 

“You—You know?” 

He smiles sadly just as a loud crash comes from the kitchen. “I’ll check on him,” he says, standing and leaving you there at the small table. You take the opportunity to wander around the room, attempting to gather as much information about the man who was supposed to be yours. A small jingle draws your attention to a cardboard box in the corner of the room. A small cat is curled up inside, lazily licking at his paw. 

“Hello baby,” you coo, crouching down to stroke his soft fur. “I have a friend at home who’d love to meet you.” You scratch his chin, the cat lifting his head so you can get a good view of his collar. No name tag. “What’s your name, baby? Which one are you?” 

Minho had mentioned his cats earlier. You’d forgotten their names, too anxious at the time to retain information properly. You look back to the kitchen. Hyunjin hadn’t returned. You lean down to kiss the purring cat on the head and then head towards the kitchen, freezing when you hear the two men arguing—clearly attempting to keep their voices down. 

“I did this for you,” Minho’s anger comes through his voice clearly, despite it being practically in a whisper. “I could lose Sana over this.” 

“Shhhh, keep your voice down,” Hyunjin scolds. “Why are you acting like this?” 

“Like what?” 

“Angry.” 

“Because I’m working my ass off to cook for a stranger when I’d rather be with the girl I fucking love.” 

You stagger back a step, kicking a cat toy across the hardwood floor. The men go silent, alerted to your eavesdropping. Hyunjin appears in the doorway, catching you as you take one more step back. 

“I’m—I—” you stutter. “I’m sorry,” you blurt out, spinning and rushing for the door. 

In your rush to snatch your bag from the small table your shin comes into contact with the sharp corner. The pain snaps you out of your panic as you drop to the floor, clutching your leg tightly against your chest as you rock back and forth. He loves someone else. He didn’t want you. He loves someone else. He lo—Hyunjin appears in front of you. 

“Show me,” he says gently. You shake your head, squeezing your eyes shut. You wish you could pass out, just leave the next hour of your life to a clone of you. You can’t do this. You need to get out. You stand abruptly, grabbing your bag from the table and rushing for the door. Hyunjin hovers around you as you shove your feet into your shoes, heels hanging over the ends. “Let me drive you home,” he says, the gentle touch of his hand on your arm snapping your eyes to his. You’d felt comfortable with him since the moment you’d met. He felt safe. You don’t look over his shoulder properly, merely glimpsing Minho standing silently out the corner of your eye. 

“Okay.” 

“Okay,” he says, offering you a small smile. He opens the door for you and you fight the voice in your head that tells you to turn around, to take one last look at the man you’d thought was yours. 

Hyunjin is quiet as you both walk down the stairs. He’s quiet as he unlocks the car and hands you his phone with the maps app open. He’s quiet as he drives you to your apartment. When the car is parked and the engine is off, you’re almost afraid to break the silence. You do it anyway. “Thank you. I know–I know we just met but you’ve been…very nice. I’m—just thank you.” 

“Can I come in?” 

You turn to look at your door, then back to him. “I—”

“Just wanna make sure you’re alright…and explain things a little.” 

You’re not sure if you want things explained. You feel like collapsing into bed and crying until you pass out. The adrenaline has well and truly worn off, you're too afraid to look at your leg. You’re sure it’s bleeding. “Alright,” you mutter, opening the car door and stepping out on your good leg. You start hobbling towards your door as the sound of the car locking goes off behind you. 

“Can I help?” Hyunjin asks. 

“I’m fine. It’s fine.” 

Mina isn’t home. You’re not sure if you’re relieved or disappointed. You’re not sure about anything. Hyunjin digs out your first aid kit after listening to your directions and joins you in the living room. He’s quiet as he cleans you up. It’s only when he closes the first aid kit that he speaks. “I don’t know how to say this without… without sounding like I’m trying to say I have it worse. I’m… just trying to explain this whole thing. Okay?” 

You nod, emotionally drained. 

“She died. My soulmate. I don’t know if Minho said anything,” the corner of his mouth pulls up into a sad smile. “I can’t imagine he would.” 

“You don’t have to do this.” 

“I do. Just… let me, please?” You sit back, giving him a slight nod. “She—It was… it was the day we were supposed to meet,” he stands up, placing the first aid kit on the table and then sitting next to you on the couch. You don’t know whether to turn your body towards him or give him all the space you can. You stay completely still. “I’m telling you this because I want you to understand why I did what I did. I… encouraged him because I love him like a brother and I want him to be happy. I need him to be happy and you’re—you’re the thing he can have that I can’t. I need him to have you.” 

You can’t help looking at him, turning your body slightly as you try and find a position for your leg that doesn’t hurt. “He doesn’t want me.” 

“He doesn’t know you.” 

“I don’t think he wants to know me. He loves… someone else.” 

“He’s infatuated with a girl he’s known for years. She doesn’t feel the same way. She sleeps with him because it’s easy and he’s there. It’s not… it’s not love.” 

“I’m sorry. About what happened to you. I—I can’t imagine…” you stand, forgetting about your leg and stumbling a little as you catch your footing. He stands quickly, arms outstretched to attempt to catch you. “I can’t be with someone who doesn’t want me. I can’t—” you cover your mouth as your voice wobbles, not wanting to cry in front of someone who was essentially a total stranger. 

“Can we exchange numbers?” he asks. “If you ever want to get coffee or… anything…” 

You collapse back onto the couch, digging through your bag so you can hand him your phone. Part of you wants to send him out the door and never see him again, breaking off any connection to Minho entirely. But then, the other part… it wants to hold on, to take Hyunjins hand and beg him to keep you. To help you convince Minho to want you, to love you. When he’s finished he hands it back, a heavy silence falling over the room. 

“I’m not sure… if I'll want to keep in touch,” you say eventually. 

“I won’t contact you. Just… message me if you ever want to talk or meet, yeah?” 

“Yeah.” 

“You have to tell me… please?” Mina says as she lays a blanket over your lap. She passes you the mug of coffee she’d made you. “Please?” she asks again. 

“He didn’t want me. That’s it,” you say before blowing over the surface of your coffee and taking a small sip. 

“It doesn’t make sense. Why wouldn’t he want you?” 

You shrug. “He found someone better.” 

“It doesn’t make sense.”

“You said that.”

She’s quiet for a moment. You imagine what she must be thinking. Pity, probably. Her poor friend. Dumped by her boyfriend and then dumped by her soulmate. “You can’t give up. He’s—He’s yours.”

You lean over to place your mug down on the table. “What am I supposed to do? Bother him until he decides to give me his attention? I’m not begging someone to want me, even my soulmate.” 

“Just speak to him. You haven’t even given him a chance to talk about it.” 

You pull the blank up over your shoulders, tucking your chin into the soft warmth. “What if I cry?” you whisper. “I don’t… want to cry in front of him.” 

Your friend leans against you, laying her head gently against your shoulder. “You’re brave. You’ll be okay. If you do cry and he judges you for it then he’s an ass.” 

“I don't… think I can. Not yet.” 

“Alright,” Mina whispers, pressing a kiss to your cheek. “Mario Kart?” 

“Morning,” Hyunjin greets, a warm smile on his face—like you were two friends meeting for a casual chat. You look around you, at the other people sitting around engaged in their own conversations. You wonder if they have their soulmates. 

You’d given in, messaging your Minho’s roommate only a week after rushing from his apartment. Minho hadn’t contacted you at all. You wished you were strong enough to let him go, but you weren’t. So here you were, attempting to form a connection with his roommate because you were too cowardly to message the man himself.

A hand waves in front of your face, snapping you out of your trance. “How have you been?” Hyunjin asks. 

“Is that a polite ‘how are you’ or are you actually asking?” 

His plush lips curve up into a small smile. “I’m asking.”

“I miss him. I don’t even know him and I miss him.” 

“Mm, I get it,” he says, tipping sugar into the iced coffee you’d ordered for him. 

“Has he.. said anything?” 

He wraps his hands around the cup, tipping it back and forth a little. “We’ve… not really been talking. We had… a conversation that night and not much since then.” 

Minho was really that angry at his friend for making him meet you? You look down to your empty cup. “Right.” 

“He’d like to meet you.” 

“Would he really or is this another set up?” you mumble. 

“I didn’t force him. To meet you.” 

“That’s what it sounded like.” 

“I think… this is something he should talk to you about.” 

“Alright.” 

“You’ll meet him?” 

“Not yet.” 

Hyunjin twirls his straw around, playing more with his coffee than actually drinking it. “Would you like to come to a gallery with me? There’s one near here.” 

“I have to go to work soon,” you say, watching as he drops his eyes to his lap. “But I can tomorrow?” 

His eyes meet yours, one corner of his mouth lifting a little. “Alright.” 

It becomes a regular part of your schedule, visiting galleries with him. Once a week, at least. He gives you a tour around the entire city's art scene, opening your eyes to a whole world you’d never bothered to explore yourself. He’s kind, easy to open up to and he doesn’t bring up Minho unless you ask first. It’s nice. It’d been weeks since you’d seen Minho. He hadn’t said anything.

“She was an artist, apparently,” Hyunjin says suddenly, eyes fixed on the large portrait you’d been appreciating. You think he means the woman in the painting at first but when you look at his expression, it’s obvious he means his soulmate. He hadn’t brought her up since the night in your apartment, after he’d finished cleaning your blood from your leg. 

“Do you know much about her?” 

“Her family invited me to the funeral. I kept in touch with her brother. He… told me about her,” he says, moving each arm behind him so he can lean back on the long bench you both sit at. A couple walks past you, more engaged in each other than the artwork around them. You’re both quiet as they pass. “If she was here, and I had the chance to know her—” 

“I know,” you say, cutting him off. “I know. But… what if it’s not… everything people say it is. What if it’s a placebo effect? We all think this other person is perfect for us and so they are. We convince themselves they are.” 

“Maybe. Does it matter?” 

“Yes.” 

“Why?” 

“Because clearly it isn’t working on him.” 

He turns his body towards you, leaning closer. “Will you talk to him, please?” 

You sigh. “Okay.” 

“Really?” 

You lift his hand from where he’s gripping his own thigh, intertwining your fingers. “I like you, Hyunjin. I like spending time with you and… if this will make you happy… I’ll do it.” 

“It will.” 

“Is he home now?” 

He grins, pulling you up from the bench. 

“You warned him?” you ask, fiddling with the hem of your shirt. 

“Yeah.” 

“He… he wants to meet?” 

“Yeah.” 

“Promise?” 

He huffs out a light laugh. “I promise.” 

“You’ll be nearby?”

“Cafe across the street,” he says, pushing you gently towards the steps to his apartment. “Now go. You’re okay.” 

You trudge up the stairs, begging your body to be calm—to hide the anxiety coursing through your entire frame. You knock on the door before you can change your mind, sucking in a deep breath as it swings open. 

“You came,” Minho says, brushing his hand through his damp hair. He stands to the side, holding the door for you. He looks calm, as always. His lack of anxiety during your first meeting made sense now. He didn’t care like you did. He was doing a favour for a friend. You hesitate, turning back behind you to the coffee shop where Hyunjin waits. This is fine. You step through the threshold. 

“Do you want a drink?” he asks as you sit down on one of the cushions at the small table where you’d first met Hyunjin. He’s hovering by the kitchen, looking like he’d rather be anywhere else than here with you. 

“I’m fine.” 

He rocks back and forth on his heels for a moment then joins you at the table. You wait for him to speak; to explain. He taps his nails on the wood, the only sound in the room for a minute or two. 

“I didn’t… want to hurt you. You seem nice,” he says, still tapping on the table. 

You seem nice. Not exactly how you expected your soulmate to feel about you. 

He flattens his palm against the surface of the table, then continues. “Has Hyunjin told you about… what happened? With his—” 

“Yes.”

“He’s been here for me through a lot. I owed him this.” 

You clench your fists in your lap, struggling to contain the sharp anger that bursts in your chest. You take a deep breath before speaking. “What about me?” you say. His brows furrow, like he doesn't understand what you have to do with any of this. Your nails cut into your palms. “You did ‘this’ as a favour to him. What about me?” 

His palm curls into a fist on the table. “I don’t… owe you anything.” 

“You don’t?” 

“I don’t know you.” 

“That’s the thing though, isn’t it? You don’t know me and you never wanted to know me. Hyunjin wanted you to try. That’s what he wanted from you and if you didn’t want to do that you owed me the courtesy of telling me. Instead you strung me along for weeks and then when we met didn’t say a thing about being there against your will.”

He’d taken 3 weeks to agree to meet you. You’d done the same, but he’d done it because he didn’t care. You did it because you cared too much.

“I had… to sort some things out before I could agree to meet you.” 

“What things?” 

His eyes drop to his phone, sitting on the table between you. “I needed to explain it to someone.”

He means the girl. The girl he loves instead of you. "That's what you were doing for 3 weeks?? Fucking her?!"

He looks up at you, brows raised. He scoffs, snatching his phone from the table and standing. "So what if I was? And don't act like I fucked you over, you took just as long."

You grab your bag, jumping to your feet. "I was questioning if I was good enough for you! I was sitting around feeling shit about myself and the entire time you were fucking the girl you love."

"You're acting like I was cheating on you,” he throws his hands up in the air, then points his phone at you. “I had no fucking clue you existed."

"You did though, you knew I existed. You just didn't know my name or my face."

"Same thing."

"No, it's not. You knew I was waiting for you. That I was thinking we were it. That we were meant for each other—”

"Maybe we're not,” he says quickly. 

Both your chests are rising and falling rapidly as you catch your breaths. You step around the table slowly, moving closer towards him. He takes one small step back as you press your finger to his chest. It’s still rising and falling quickly, his breath mingling with yours. “You’ll regret letting me go. You don’t deserve me,” you warn, just above a whisper. His warm breath brushes against your skin and then his eyes drop to your lips. He takes a large step away from you, mouth pursed tight. 

please reblog and share your thoughts. caption, tags, replies, or ask box, i read it all. feedback is what motivates me to write more!

↳ masterlist

[grawly]

mario odyssey came out and we all collectively came together to appreciate the joy and playful Super Mario and i am excited to have that happen again with mario wonder. little bouncy mustache man who jumps and loves to have fun

[mtchee]

Boy's Like You - [Iwaizumi Hajime] GN

blurb:

a socially anxious new transfer fitting in with the rest. Trending accessories, makeup looks, the latest lingo, and everything else it takes to blend in with the masses. And everyone is just head over heels for the Seijoh boy's volleyball pretty boy setter! So, why wouldn't you be? Oh, right. Because his best friend's actually way hotter. And playing pretend with everyone else has been getting a little difficult recently...

cw: not edited, sfw, fluff, mild social anxiety, fear of social isolation, fear of not fitting in, classic kabedon, kissing, second-person-pov, pretty sure i wrote this two years ago, my writing has changed drastically from this but the idea was too cute so here :)

| masterlist | haikyuu collection |

[4.7k words]

Try, try, try, To follow the rules~ I break everyone of them with boys like you.

Summer rolls in sooner than anyone remembered—the sun beams brighter than before, flowers holding out under the heat, the brush taking advantage of the weather to grow in every odd nook and cranny it can reach.

"[name]!" Yumi, your strawberry haired friend, squeals as you meet outside the gymnasium alongside the ever growing crowd of giddy female students, "quick—QUICK! We gotta snag the seats at the front before anyone else takes them!"

Not giving her soft-spoken friend anytime to reply, she links your arms together and uses her free elbow to make a pathway through the crowd.

You yelp and use your bookbag to shield yourself from any stray flying limbs.

Somehow managing to get through, you find yourselves smack dab in the front bleachers of the gymnasium, meeting with another friend of yours.

"Took you long enough," Tika, the bronze toned girl greets briefly, pulling your bookbag towards her and sandwiching the you between the two of them.

"Sorry, but the crowd was wild," Yumi laughs before squealing, fixing her bouncy curls at the sight of the Aoba Johsai boys volleyball team leaving the locker rooms, "omigod OIKAWAAAA~!"

Her voice crescendos into a higher pitch, though it was almost drowned out by the squeals of the other girls surrounding them.

You wince before reluctantly dropping your bag and feigning enthusiasm, cheering for the infamous captain as well.

You jump as Tika embraces you from the side excitedly, "Isn't he just the coolest!?" You nod rapidly, fighting for breath at the girl's tight grip.

Your eardrums almost burst as the screams grow louder, the pretty boy setter having blown a kiss towards the bleachers.

You fight the urge to shrink back at the others' aggressiveness, eyes searching for the famed male before slowly drawing to a stop at the sight of another.

Iwaizumi Hajime. Aoba Johsai's male volleyball ace.

The pretty boy setter's best friend.

Unbeknownst to you, your face warms at the sight of him, tuning out the squeals of those surrounding you. Your heart jumps, muting a squeak as he uses his shirt to wipe away a bead of sweat on his forehead.

You swear you'd be the only one in the crowd pinning after him instead of the captain.

"..ame].. name]!.. [name]!" You're quite violently shaken out of your thoughts, "DID YOU SEE HIS SERVE!?" Yumi jumps up and down giddily, "he winked at us, he totally winked at us!"

You blink, "W-wait, what?"

"Hell yeah he did!" Tika fist pumps, "hello, are you blind? Oikawa totally just looked at us right now! Weren't you watching?" She gives you an incredulous look.

"Oh, yeah!" A wavy smile plasters itself on your lips, "he's... totally into us, right?"

"God I hope so." Yumi laughs at Tika's brashness, you following along half-heartedly as your eyes drift to the dark haired ace practicing on court.

"Get out of my head, get out of my head, get out of my head—" Our dearest protagonist paces back and forth in front of the mirror in the room, nipping annoyingly at the nail on your thumb before dropping onto your bed, cradling your head dramatically, "why can't I get him out of my head?!"

This man was going to ruin it for you! You'v had a hard enough time at school as it is! How the hell were you suppose to deal with this?

You aren't suppose to like him--you weren't planning on liking anyone really. Being a transfer halfway through the year was hard as it was; everyone already had their set friend groups and most clubs were already full. So, what better way to fit in than to follow everyone else?

So that's exactly what you've done. 

You styled your hair when it was in fashion, you wore glittery (albeit sometimes off putting) jewelry when it became a trend, and you wore your cardigan a certain way when you saw others were doing it.

In this, you made quick friends with Yumi and Tika, who were honestly already the friendliest people you've ever met. 

Although Yumi adored pretty things, she never let anything touch her hair--and even though Tika had fun messing around with fashion, she never let a certain style define her.

Over a short amount of time, you learnt that you could be a bit more yourself with these two, and they loved you nonetheless.

But fearing they would have nothing in common (which would lead to them abandoning you, and laughing at you, and humiliating you--and totally not just you overthinking things), you forced herself to like the same guy everyone liked.

At first, there wasn't a hitch. But as time went on, it got more difficult. Because not only did you never like him in the first place, but you began to find yourself falling for his broad shouldered best friend—who, coincidentally, was also one of the first people you met when you had transferred.

Being in the same class, he had been tasked with giving you a tour and showing you the ropes. At first glance, you were terrified. Big school, big change, (big hot guy curtly leading you around everywhere...) it was a nightmare.

But then as you got to know him, you realized that it wasn't all too big and scary. Sure, he was--but he was also patient (at least with you) and reliable. He had an intimidating presence, which overtime, developed into a feeling of security for you. He was strong, but gentle, and practical too. In other words...

Boyfriend material.

And totally your type.

and it absolutely doesn't hurt that he's a total hottie too yes that's a bonus

"Oohh," You huff out, dragging your hands down your face, "what am I going to do...?"

Ring! Ring!

Your flurry of thoughts are broken by the sound of your phone, the screen lit up with the name of a certain pitchy-voiced friend, followed by a plethora of flower emojis along with a panda bear.

"MILK BREAD!" Picking up the phone, you reel back at the sound of Yumi's shrill shriek.

"What?"

"Milk. Bread. [name], his favourite food is MILK BREAD--"

"Milk bread? I thought it was that tofu dish-" You glance at the latest volleyball magazine sitting idly on your blankets, pages open and facing down.

You pick it up, cutting yourself off mid-sentence as you realize you found yourself looking at one of the pages containing information on Aoba Johsai's male team members, more specifically, Iwaizumi.

"A-Ah!" Your eyes widen, face hot despite being the only one to witness your embarassment as you quickly flick to the pages dedicated to Oikawa Tooru instead.

His section took up two full pages, the media obviously biased.

"Tofu..? Isn't that that other guy's—"

"AHAHAHA," You cut Yumi off with nervous laughter, "MILK BREAD! I-I see!"

"YES!" You let out a silent sigh of relief at your friend's easy distraction, "isn't he just the cutest? Oh! I know! (Y/N), we should totally make him some! I could give him some sugar treats too to boost his energy!"

You give a confused hum, "Make it?"

"Yeah!" Yumi giggles on the other end of the phone, "it can be a joint effort! You can bake, right? You could make the milk bread, and Tika and I could try work something out with the sweets." She lets out a gasp, "We could give it to him at his next game!"

You pause before breaking into a sweat. At his next game? You want to fit in, but you don't actually want to be noticed by him. And then there was a chance Iwaizumi would see and oh dear god—

"U-Uh, how about we give it to him sometime during training instead? That way we have more of a chance to... catch him alone! Yeah, there will probably a heap of others wanting to give stuff to him before his big game, so..."

Yumi seems to fumble with her phone momentarily, "Oh, you're SO right! Why didn't I think of that? Thank god we have you here. We should give it to him on Tuesday! He doesn't have practice then, but we could catch up with him after school instead!"

"Sure," You nod to yourself, "we can do that."

"YOSH!" Yumi celebrates, "let's all talk about this together tomorrow. I still need to call Tika about it."

"Isn't she at basketball practice?"

"Ah, right. Oh well, we'll just tell her tomorrow then. See you at school, cutie!"

You huff out a laugh, "See you at school..!"

Just as planned, you and the other two hurried out of class on Tuesday to wait near the school gates for the infamous volleyball captain, having worked hard over the weekend to make his special treats.

Not actually wanting to try get on the setter's radar of fangirls, you handed off the little bag of milk bread to Tika to hang onto with the excuse you weren't feeling too good.

Your plan was foiled when Yumi dragged you back, grumbling about your flighty nerves. "Damnit, Yumi..." You mutter under your breath, struggling to unhook your arm from her sudden goddamn gorilla strength.

"This is our only chance to really get noticed by him!" Yumi yanks you closer with a pretty pout, "plus, you worked hard on these..."

"Look! Here he comes now!" Tika points towards Oikawa's figure, accompanied by another, "eh? who's he with?"

"Oh, that's just Iwaizumi," Yumi brushes off, tightening her grip on you and her little gift bag in excitement, "Oikawa-kun~!"

"Wait, Iwaizumi?" You perk up at the name before breaking out into a sweat, straightening up in alarm as the duo approach.

'I can't let him see me giving this to Oikawa! He'll get the wrong idea! But, then again, if I want people to think I like Oikawa... would I even have a chance with him anyway? Does he even remember me?'

"Yaho~" Oikawa greets with a wink, "is there something you need?" He steps closer whereas Iwaizumi stops a few feet away, arms crossed boredly. You shy behind your two bolder friends who happily bask in his attention.

Your eyes glance towards the male's darker haired companion who waits impatiently, looking off in the distance in disinterest. Your mind drifts as you tunes out her friends' conversation, eyeing the volleyball ace fondly.

'It's been a while since I talked to him... ...maybe I should say hi?'

Your eyes slowly drawl down his figure, swallowing in growing fluster at the outward curve of his muscular thighs and the bend in his toned waist. You panic.

'Oh... oh my god I'm a creep--'

"Oh? And who's this behind you two?" Oikawa's curious peek towards you causes you to freeze. You take in a sharp breath as your friends move out of the way and pull you forwards.

"This is [name], they're a bit nervous talking to you." Yumi introduces, not noticing her friend's face warming in embarrassment, "[name]'s the one who made the milk bread!"

Your eyes widen as you sees Iwaizumi look over at the sound of your name. He tilts his head before stepping forwards.

'Oh no. Oh no oh no—'

"Did you now?" Oikawa gives a closed eyed grin, "well, I just have to try it since you've worked so hard on it!" He hums at your still silence, "my, you are a shy one, aren't you? That's alright. Rather adorable if I say so myself~"

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEK!" Yumi squeals, grip tightening on your arm, "did you hear that, [name]?" Her voice is way too loud for someone virtually phased into her side.

Tika laughs her signature closed eyed laugh, crows feet crinkling at her eyes when she gazes fondly at her shier companion, "I couldn't agree more on that one. [name] really does their best, but they're too scared to get any attention for it."

"Tika...!" You warn quietly, heart racing as Iwaizumi nears. You could hear all the bloos rushing to your head.

"Oh?" The chestnut haired setter leans forwards teasingly, "so you do speak." He smiles at you charmingly, face leering close to yours. You lean back with a sharp breath, startled at the sudden proximity.

"I-I just... uh.."

"Oi, shittykawa." Your stomach drops at the sound of the familiar voice, "stop bothering them. You've wasted enough of their time already."

"Psh," The setter huffs playfully, "you're no fun, Iwa-chan." He yelps, barely dodging a hit from his friend.

"Ah, hello, Iwaizumi-san!"

"Hi, Iwaizumi-san."

"I-Iwaizumi-san!" You greet quickly, eyes averted from his figure.

You don't deserve to look at him after oogling him not so respectfully earlier.

"[name]-san," He nods towards you with a light smile, "how have you been recently? Is the classwork alright?"

"Yes! Everything is.. fine. T-Thank you for asking."

He hums, satisfied with your response before turning to Oikawa with a sudden scowl, "Come on, trashykawa. Otherwise I'm leaving you behind." The spiky haired student glances towards you one last time, a peculiar look flashing in his eyes before he turns and walks away.

"Don't leave me!" The setter pouts, "sorry, we'll catch up more next time, hm? See you later~" He sends the trio a wink and a smile before chasing after his friend who's already abandoned him past the gates, "and thanks for the milk bread, [name]-chan!"

Your nose twitches slightly.

You don't quite like how familiar he addresses you already.

From that day forward, You were deemed as their lucky charm to being noticed by Oikawa, much to your dismay. Every now and then, whenever they had the chance, Yumi and Tika would more often than not drag you out of class as soon as they could in hopes of catching Oikawa before he left for afterschool practice, and more often than not--succeeding.

This only caused more of a blunder for you though. Since you were in the same class as Iwaizumi, not only did simply being in the same room as him distract you, but whenever you were pulled out of class for the volleyball captain, he was often witness to it. Usually sporting a rather prominent frown.

It seemed like every time you were forced to meet with Oikawa, Iwaizumi was also there. You don't know whether to feel humiliated or relieved.

On one hand, this solidified your alibi in liking the pretty boy setter, but on the other, you were coming into contact with your real crush way too often. 

Recently, you'd managed to find a good few excuses to get out of looking for Oikawa, and no longer attended many of their practices to avoid the crowd of fans. But this lead to you sticking behind after class rather than leaving immediately—meaning you were left behind with Iwaizumi.

And a few other stray students, but they didn't matter.

Being left alone, he always approached you before he left for practice, usually just a quick check in on how you've settled.

But in recent times, your conversations lasted a little longer than the usual "how are things going?" and stretched over to your interests, likes and dislikes, and eventually, anything that came to mind.

"Hey, [name]," Iwaizumi stops by your desk with a soft smile.

"Iwaizumi, hello!" You look up at him with a sheepish grin, picking up your bookbag, "um, practice today?"

The male grunts in affirmation, "Yeah, we've got a game on Saturday," he swipes your bag from you (dodging your poor attempts to snag it back) and waits for you by the door before you could head down the hallway together, "will, uh... will I see you there?"

"Mm, yeah, probably," You shrug, "Yumi and Tika'll make sure I go. I've got to make some milk bread for Oikawa again." Iwaizumi's eyes drop to his feet with a frown, his tone flat.

"Oikawa, huh?"

You glance at him nervously from the corner of your eye, noticing his sudden change in demeanor, "M-Mmm. Uh, Yumi asked me to." You spy his frown softening in time with a tired sigh.

"She asked you to?"

"Yeah. Tika's making him some sort of iced tea too, I think."

"Hm." Iwaizumi thinks to himself for a bit, leaving an odd silence between you momentarily. He slows his pace, eventually coming to a stop in the empty school corridor. You stop a little ways ahead of him, noting the thoughtful look on his face.

"Iwaizumi?"

"Hajime."

"Bless you."

He rolls his eyes before repeating himself.

"Hajime," The thought filled glaze in his eyes disappears when he looks at you, a faint smirk on his lips at the sight of your expectant expression, "call me Hajime."

You blink, '...oh. That's what he said.'

'OH MY GOD--DID I JUST SAY BLESS YOU???'

"Go, go, go! Go, Seijoh!"

"Go, go, go! Go, Seijoh!"

The court reverberates the cheers from the bleachers, encouraging the team warming up below.

"OIKAWA-SENPAIIIIIIIIIII!" Yet somehow the fangirl screams are louder.

"Over here, Oikawa-san!"

"Oikawa~! I believe in you!"

"Oikawa-san, fighting!"

They only grow louder as the Captain blows them a kiss. He chuckles to himself as he sets off to the side of the court for a drink before continuing his stretch.

"Oi, trashykawa," Iwaizumi stands up from fixing his knee brace, "tell them to shut it, would you? It's giving the rest of us a headache-"

"Oikawa-san!" He's cut off by two voices calling for said male by the court entrance. Turning around, they see a familiar trio waving him over. Iwaizumi purses his lips at the sight of you there with a little gift bag in hand. No doubt it's for the setter.

"Ah, give me a minute, Iwa-chan," Oikawa grins at him, "I've got a few other fans to talk to first~." Iwaizumi watches him walk off with a frown, features darkening at how you shy away from his friend with in a fluster.

He takes in a deep breath before sighing, a solemn look of acceptance on his face as he glances at them one more time, seeing Yumi and Tika giggling happily before rushing away to the stands, waving goodbye. He furrows his brow as their quieter friend stays behind, Oikawa leaning in close with a teasing smile.

Unable to keep watching, he huffs in frustration and stands up from the bench, resuming his stretching on court.

"Iwa-chan~ Oh, Iwa-chaaaan!"

"What?" Oikawa pouts at his friend's dismissal.

"Don't be mean, Iwa-chan, come here!"

Iwaizumi rolls his eyes at his insistence, "What do you wa—hey!" He reels back as Oikawa thrusts a small gift bag in his face.

"Lookie here! Don't you want it~?"

He scrunches his nose in distaste, "I don't want your stuff, shittykawa."

"It's a good thing it isn't mine then~," Oikawa drawls out, "I was given specific instructions to hand it to you." He grins as his words peak Iwaizumi's curiosity, "seems to me you've got yourself a shy little fan, Iwa-chan."

The ace stares at him for a bit, silently debating whether or not to believe him before grabbing the bag dangling in front of him. His face remains expressionless as he opens it until he reads the little note resting inside of it, along with a few of his favourite sweets—all homemade.

'Something to give you a little more energy, just in case! Good luck, you've got this!'

His heart thuds in his chest and he looks up, eyes catching onto the remaining figure half hidden behind the doorway. You give him a sheepish wave, having not reacted in time to hide, before quickly making your way to the stands. A small smile rests upon his lips at the sight of you, and Oikawa's grin widens.

After finding out about his dear friend Iwa-chan's crush on his supposed 'fangirl,' Oikawa took it upon himself to try getting you together.

At first, he tried befriending you, only to find you pushing him away. Then, he tried finding excuses to have the two of you see each other, but became rather confused as he found you more often than not trying to avoid Iwaizumi.

It was apparent to him that you weren't ignoring him by any means, but you would, however, scurry away from him on every other occasion. And to make it even more confusing, he spotted you amongst the crowd with his fangirls, along with your friends.

So what else could he do other than snoop around a bit?

After bugging his friend, he found out that you met since you were a transfer in his class, and that you had a bit of a fear of sticking out. So he dug a little deeper.

With ease he managed to approach Yumi and Tika, and oh so inconspicuously managed to bring up the topic of their friend. You.

"[name]'s nice," Tika had told him, "they're pretty on top of their studies; at least I think so. [name] helps me out a lot and works around my schedule to help me since I've got basketball practice."

"Oh, and [name]'s so cool!" Yumi added, "they're always on top of the latest trends! Like what they did with their hair that one time? [name] fits in so well. They say they like to try a heap of things, so they relate to a lot of stuff. [name] doesn't really like standing out too much though, you know? Gives them the jitters."

And so comes his next target, you.

Various times, he tried to corner you, and failed. By himself he kind of figured out that you wanted to follow your friends, and so by them liking him, you liked him too.

His final plan—resorting to emotional manipulation at its finest to get the results he wanted.

Jealousy.

Now, in no way would you outright tell anyone that you liked Iwaizumi, and he knew that. So the only other way was to somehow get you to admit it to Iwaizumi himself.

Oikawa knew his best friend didn't beat around the bush. He was reliable and direct, and head strong to a near fault if not for his emotional awareness. Knowing that he was a confrontational person, if he could just make him jealous enough to talk to you about it...

He carried out this little plan for the following two weeks. Through the help of your friends not that they knew he got a little closer to you each and every day, with Iwaizumi as his witness. Though, just to help his friend out a bit, Oikawa would say a few good things about him to you, just to keep you on your toes.

And soon enough...

His plan worked!

"Cutie-chan!"

"Oi, [name]!" Yumi and Tika barrel into your classroom a few moments after the bell, "hurry up! We gotta move if we wanna catch Oikawa before the rest get there!"

"Ah, sorry guys," You wave them over, "I'm on cleanup duty with Hajime today, so I'll be late anyway. Don't wait up for me, okay?"

"Aww man." Yumi pouts, though her excitement renders her unable to stay any longer "if you say so. We'll call you later!"

"Next time then, alright?!" Tika pumps her fist determinedly before waving goodbye, "don't strain yourself!"

"See you tomorrow!" You call out after them, shaking your head lightly at the sound them calling back over their shoulders. "Hajime-san, you can head to practice of you want. I can handle it... and I don't want you to keep your team waiting."

"No, it's fine," The male shakes his head, "I wanted to—I don't want you to be stuck afterschool for so long." He cuts himself off, grabbing the mop from the supply closet.

"Ah, alright... Thanks."

The two of you indulge in idle chatter for the next fifteen minutes or so, too caught up in your small conversations to notice that you've almost finished cleaning within a matter of time. In a spare moment of silence, Iwaizumi furrows his brows as he thinks to himself.

You begin packing up the remaining supplies, "Whew, hey, we did well."

"Mm? Oh, yeah," Iwaizumi nods, partially lost in his thoughts.

"I wonder if I can still catch up to Yumi and Tika..." You wonder aloud, picking up your bookbag hanging over the back of your chair, "Oikawa-san would be in the gym by now, right?"

"[name]," You jump as Iwaizumi closes the supply closet door a little too roughly. He lets out a sharp exhale through his nose, "do...do you like Oikawa?"

You froze, stuck between lying to save your anxious ass and being a people pleaser and saying the truth.

His back is turned towards you, head leant down with one of his arms propped up against the door. His broad shoulders rose and fell with his deep breaths, his body tense. He looks... kinda hot scary.

"Oh, what? Why?" Your hand falls to your side, bag remaining slung over the back of the chair. You tilt your head at him, "are... you okay, Hajime?" You flinch as his head snaps up towards you. His eyes peering at you as he drops his arm, brows furrowed with his eyes expressing... not anger but--something else entirely.

"No," He heaves out a breath, unable to just shake it off this time around, "because I'm getting so many mixed signals, and I've tried to be patient, really, but damnit [name], it hurts you know?" He shakes his head and straightens himself up as he steps towards her, "just... I need you to just tell me, alright?"

Your mouth opens and closes, head dizzy but still no sound comes out. He likes you? Like, actually? 'Wait, no he didn't actually say that though. He's just being protective, right? what is happening right now--oH HE'S GETTING CLOSER WHATDOISAY-'

"W-Why this all of a sudden? What's Oikaw--" Backed against the desk, you stiffen with a squeak as he turns around steps forwards purposefully, panicking when he uses his arms to barricade you in.

'OH I SAID THE WRONG THING WHY WOULD I SAY THAT-'

"Out with it." At your fluster, his frown disappears and his eyes soften, something more gentle lacing his tone.

"[name]," You almost shiver at the sound of your name falling from his lips, "yes, or no? Don't—Don't say his name. Just tell me," his gaze trails up to meet yours again, his eyes strong enough to make your heart stop.

He falters slightly, "...do you—" 

'holy shit-'

Before you could even register it, your lips are on his--still leant back against the desk, much too flustered to touch him. And yet, your mouth is pressed against his deliciously, stomach fluttering and your heart doing back flips.

You only come to your senses when one of his hands moves to gently hold the side of your waist, the other reaching up with a featherlight touch to cup your warm cheek. You muffle a squeak against him, and he presses against you a little more in response. You can feel him fight back a smile at the noise and you can't help but fester in your own embarassment.

All too soon you pull away, whether it be from the lack of air or the overwhelming humiliation--you don't know, nor do you quite care.

You just kissed Iwaizumi Hajime.

And his dark brown eyes swirl with evident fondess as he watches you gently, expectantly.

You gasp quietly once everything registers in your mind, tongue twisting for a response once you remember what he had been asking moments before you gave into your close proximity.

"N-No..! No, I'd never..." You swallow your fluster, "I like... you."

Hajime's cheeks redden at the confession, and you envy his ability to keep his composure as he remains still, eyes waiting for you to keep going.

You have the sneaking suspicion he's trying to drag this out, but your too nervous to refute and instead keep rambling.

"I... Hajime, ah... transfering here was so hard, and Seijoh is so scary. E-Everyone already had their groups, and clubs were basically full--" His eyes dart to your lips again and you panic, "--A-AND YOU WERE ONE OF THE REASONS I FELT SAFE!"

The weight of your words brings him back to the present, and his brows furrow slightly as he takes in their meaning.

You keep going, "I've... I've been scared. Being the new kid is hard, so I didn't want to stand out more than I already did... And then when I started to like you I got scared, but I didn't want you to freak out and so I pretended to... be like everyone else..."

At his silence, you shrink into yourself. Hajime notices your discomfort and pulls you a little closer in reassurance. He thinks for a moment.

"It's not so bad," He quirks up a brow at your worried look, "standing out, every now and then. It's okay not to go with everyone else."

You avert your eyes sheepishly, "I see that it's stupid now but..." You cringe, closing off as you straighten up, "god, it's embarassing..."

"No, no," Iwaizumi lets out a small, breathless laugh, heart thumping in his chest, "I'm listening." He leans down slightly, following to meet your eyes again.

You feel a warm, tickling sensation across your collarbone at his attention. You say his name, wincing when your voice cracks and flushing when he just smiles at you patiently.

"Hajime," You start again, slowly, "you... make me feel like I'm dreaming. I... felt like I would trip, and freak, and fall--I was scared. So I just... followed everyone else, I guess."

He observes you intently, noting the way your eyes struggle to meet his, but how your hands clench and unclench in restraint, longing to touch--to hold.

He takes in a breath, "Are you still scared?"

"I don't know... maybe?" You shrugs honestly, "but, I do like you... a-a lot.."

He grins at you, "Thank god. I don't know if I would've been able to handle you pretending to be one of shittykawa's crazy fans any longer." The atmosphere lightens at his statement, and you can't help but snort at the fact.

"Sorry," You smile at him sheepishly, "well, at least now you know."

Iwaizumi hums, "Don't go looking at him anymore, yeah? Watch me instead." His patient smile curls into a smirk as you reel back with a squeak.

"I never did anyway—my eyes were always on you." You giggle as his cool composure cracks, the male looking away bashfully, "but, I am glad it's you."

He smiles, leaning his forehead against yours lovingly.

"Me too."