#i get to see it earlier!!!! a girl needs to sleep and internalize the events!!! lolll

[oceantornadoo]

IDK! HEAR ME OUT THO!!!

Simon, staging the break in and what not so he could push you back into his arms??? INSANE!

Delicious story. Thank you for the food! <3

so originally when i made that last fic (which unexpectedly blew up tysm everyone) i added in the creepy elements almost on accident?? but this and another reply has me thinking...

tw: slight humiliation (but you'll like it)=

simon riley wasn't a bad man. he also wasn't a bad husband. at least that's what he told himself.

when you had presented him with those divorce papers a bit ago (13 months and 4 days, but who was counting), he thought it was a bluff. a joke. he had gone too far in your last argument, and that was your reaction. when he told you he'd go to therapy, you stared at him with a look he'd only see on men in the battlefield. dead all the way through, a walking husk. so he signed them and went to therapy anyways.

the whole time, this whole 13-month break, where you had been 'building a new life' or whatever, he had been planning. internalizing the commentary his therapist would make, and then spitting it back out to you while you moved out of his place. every time you seemed to forget one extra box, and who's to say if he hid a couple in his room? he had a plan.

over time, simon really seemed to have learned so much from therapy. so much about communication. he had become open and welcoming, far from that man who would respond to your complaints with hard stares and a lack of words. so maybe you met for coffee a couple of times and that's how he knew about the cafe by your new place. maybe that's how he tailed you one night after a date, just to make sure this new guy didn't try anything (and not to figure out your unit number). whatever he did, he played a dangerous game by letting you have this illusion of freedom while balancing his presence in your life, just enough to make you want more. after weeks and week of stagnant progress, he needed one extra push. something small, not even a shove.

and if he happened to mention your unit number to a bunch of shady guys that hung out in the alley by your building? happened to brag about your pretty pussy and sweet-smelling panties? maybe mention your habit of not locking the window when you left for work? who's to say. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

and now here you were, back in his arms where you belonged. a little frightened but comforted in the knowledge that he could protect you. the ghost wasn't shed when he took his mask off, but you didn't need to know that.

--

your body was so used to being in simon's arms you didn't even realize you had been grinding on him for the past ten minutes. his boxers you wore were sticky with arousal as you grinded against his clothed cock in the dark. even in your dream, it was simon underneath you, no one else. "si." you panted, a near-whisper that only a military man could have heard. "dove?" he adjusted your sleeping positions, tossing the covers to give you more room to maneuver against him.

"i know i said that thing about the line not being crossed." he gave you a low chuckle. silly little girl. you had finally realized how much you needed him and he was going to milk you for all you were worth. "and?" you stopped. shit. he needed to seem more responsive. he moved you from his thigh to his boner using one arm, the other one snaking its way under your shirt to stroke your back. you moaned as he massaged the tension from the day's earlier events away, giving you sweet relief. the sweetness of the massage made a hard contrast to the friction in your core as he rubbed you against his hardened cock.

"spit it out, baby." he growled. "can you-fuck." his hand had moved to the back of your neck now, holding it in a tight grip. his hand was so large he could feel the pulse points on either side of your jaw, heart racing. finally. "can you get me off? just this once?" he snorted, moving you up and down against him faster, dragging your sensitive clit over and over. "what's the magic word?" he flipped you both around, pressing his body weight on top of you.

simon turned the light on, wanting to see how needy you were. you were panting, shirt sticky with sweat as your chest moved up and down with exertion. he hiked up your shirt and took off your boxers, exposing your sticky cunt to the cool air. he took a sniff of the fabric, noting your small gasp as if you didn't know how obsessed he was with you already. "magic word." your mouth dropped. guess you weren't getting off that easily. "please, simon." he clucked his tongue at that. "ghost?" he left out a short laugh, arms reaching out to tug his shirt off of you. your nipples were so hard, aching to be pinched and sucked just how you liked them. "not ghost." he reached over to his nightstand, pulling something out of the drawer. he fumbled with his hand for a second, then held yours up to the light as he slipped something on it.

"husband." the words left your mouth in a whoosh, eyes transfixed on your wedding ring that was on your hand. the one you had flung at him after he complained about the divorce papers, the one you said you'd rather die than wear again. and here it was, right back on your finger, sparkling in the lamplight.

simon captured your mouth in a rough kiss, entering you with his ring and middle finger at the same time. "so willing for your husband, hm? all puffy and wet. look at your cunt, darling." you both looked down at your pussy at the same time. it was squelching, your vibrator sessions not holding a candle to what your ex husband could do to you. you were almost embarrassed by how desperate your pussy looked, clit enlarged from its earlier friction. his fingers worked in and out of you, wedding ring covered in slick. you watched as he pressed his thumb to your clit in small circles, a tightening sensation in your lower belly rising to the surface. "simon, si-fuck" he gave your pussy a small slap, pulling his fingers out as you addressed him incorrectly. "husband, please." he entered you again roughly, drawing a low moan from you. he captured your nipple in his mouth, teething it just enough to make you hurt. punishment.

"please please please i'm right ther-" he pressed hard against your clit and sent you careening off the edge into your orgasm, back bowing off the bed. simon gave you small love bites as you recovered, hand still working your cunt to draw out your orgasm.

finally, he removed his fingers and drew back from you, forcing eye contact. he put both in his mouth, moaning at the taste of your arousal mixed with the metal from the wedding band. your jaw was still open, looking at him like you had never seen him before. like the sheep's skin had finally been removed, and now only the wolf remained.

"let's get you to bed, wife."

[jsprnt]

Americano PT. 12 | Jude Bellingham x Reader

What happens if two individuals who absolutely despise each other are forced to interact after unforeseen events occur?

A/N: life has been hectic with family drama, getting my exam results soon and making a decision for my future based on those possible outcomes. even so, I loveee writing, that’s why this took me longer than normal. enjoy reading, and goodnight or good morning wherever you are! 🫶

W/C: 3.366

part eleven

Throughout the heart-stuttering night, Jude struggled to get the full rest he needed for training the next afternoon.

He was thankful training was scheduled later than usual because he’d struggled to get even a wink of sleep.

After the sudden way the girl had launched herself into his arms, crying herself back to sleep as he whispered sweet, reassuring words to her- Jude’s thoughts were a complete mess.

Noticing her sleeping state, he'd shifted in her bed, leaning back into her pink satin pillows. Her head lying on his bare chest.

He had adjusted her head and arms carefully, making sure she wouldn’t touch his injured shoulder through the night.

And then?

He was stuck, only realizing how restricting the position was when she calmed down, especially considering how rigid his body had gone at the contact.

His mouth went dry and glass of water he had abruptly woken up for earlier was not even within the bounds of his thoughts.

Jude would not stop glancing down at her.

How could he not?

The way her bedside lamp had been hitting her face, the warm lighting giving him a clear look and emphasizing the softness of her state.

Fast asleep, trusting him in her most vulnerable state, drunk and asleep.

It all made his heart thump in his ears, her calm breaths leaving through her nose and hitting his skin.

Jude had witnessed her drunken state before, weeks ago, back in London. A night that had taken a wrong turn unexpectedly.

He couldn't lie, the entire situation had him worked up from beginning to end.

Images of beating the creep’s face bloody, even more than y/n's bag had done, flashed through his head.

Even when he when was lying in bed that night, sleepless- like this night.

Shit.

My head is pounding, pounding like I've banged my head against the wall a multitude of times.

A splitting headache was the last thing I would want on a workday.

Why did I drink the night before a workday again?

I rub my eyes, squeezing them shut, to try to combat the pain in my head.

My satin pillow was oddly hard at the moment, making me groan in annoyance.

Did my pillow transform into a rock overnight?

"Will you pretend to be asleep for another ten minutes, or are you going to wake up?"

My soul almost escapes my body at the noise. I jump up, something resembling a scream leaving my lips.

My eyes widen as I scramble, not believing both my eyes and ears as I look at a shirtless, tired Jude, in my bed.

Jude..

In my bed.

"What are you doing?!" I scream, looking down at my body, screaming even louder internally.

I snatch my blanket from the other side of the mattress, covering up my body- even when realizing I'm still fully dressed, exactly like I was last night before..

What the fuck even happened yesterday?

I watch Jude cover his ears, facial expression unreadable as I distance myself from him.

"Can you please stop shouting?" The brum accent spits. I watch the wrinkles on his forehead etch deeper, a loud huff leaving his mouth.

"What are you- Why are you in my bed?"

The sight is..

"And where is your shirt?!" I ask, voice higher pitched than I ever imagined would leave my lips.

I step back from my bed, the blanket around me like a do-it-yourself cape, seeing him surrounded by my pink, cotton, and satin bedsheets and pillows.

I run a hand down my face, my head starting pound more. I expect to see a nasty sheen of cakey makeup on my fingers- except there is nothing..

"Jude.. Say something.." I plead, urging him to spit out an explanation for- whatever this is.

"It's.." He breathes out, sitting up. I watch him wince, a hand traveling up from his bicep to his shoulder, his mouth forming a line.

I bite on my tongue, watching him like a hawk. I probably look like an absolute mess. My dress is wrinkled, hair a mess and my breath has to smell foul.

Since when did I care about how I looked in front of this douche?

"It's nothing important." He finally says, making anger course through my veins.

"What do you mean? You're half naked in my bed!”

He gets off the mattress, feet hitting the gray parquet flooring. Jude doesn't reply, instead, he walks past the bed, towards the door.

"Hey! Aren't you going to answer-"

"Get cleaned up.." He says rudely, walking out of my room. Only for me to hear the loud slamming of his door.

There's no way something didn't happen last night..

"The taxi is here.." I mumble, placing my sunglasses on my face. Dark-tinted glasses helping me with my headache and giving me a small mask to hide behind.

I looked like a rat who'd recently escaped from a sewer.

I hadn't spoken to Jude all morning after our weird screaming match.

Could he blame me?

He was in my bed, atrocious considering the weird tension between us, especially since he'd been living in my house.

What it meant? I couldn’t figure it out. Nor could I figure out if this positive or negative..

I hear him make a noise in acknowledgment, making him stand up from the couch. Blue toiletry bag- probably way too expensive for what it's worth, in his arms as he makes his way to the front door.

We annoyingly had to take the taxi to the training grounds this morning, mostly due to my hangover.

But also, because I'm not sure I could drive Jude to the training center without threatening to leave him at the side of the road if he didn't fess up about what happened last night.

I shouldn't be trusted to drive in this state.

I step into the taxi, greeting the driver before shutting up and resting my eyes for the rest of the ride. Though, my interest gets peaked when he begins chatting with Jude about the football club.

"Champions League very good- big chance for Madrid." The driver speaks in limited English.

Again, there is a jumble of mutated Spanglish being spoken.

I tune out Jude's reply. It's probably something egoistic and stupid, like usual.

Of course, my biggest wish every season is for Real Madrid to do well.

But my judgement was clouded when it came to Jude speaking of winning.

My eyes shift back to the driver when we arrive at the training grounds, making me step out immediately as the two of them take photos together.

The fare?

Jude could pay, and I'd be happy to make him pay for the rest of the rides we took together.

I should make him pay for gas, right- I have to..

I adjust the sunglasses on my face, looking around swiftly before practicing running into the training center.

I greet everyone haphazardly, my black trench coat making me look like a vilanized inspector gadget.

This will be a long, long day..

"So, any reason you were stepping out of a taxi with a certain someone?" I hear Lina say, making me raise my brow. The painkiller I had taken earlier helping me a little more than I expected.

I had the nosiest colleagues ever. I thought I made sure no one else saw us.

"Oh, I noticed him in the taxi, so I just caught a ride." I explain, a shitty lie definitely too easy to catch.

"Sure, not like you’d rather be caught dead than share a car with him.." She trails off, the corners of her mouth twitching in amusement as she twirls a lock of her hair with her finger.

"Yeah, didn't expect he would stop at the light next to the train station.."

Fuck, was there a connection between a hangover and not being able to lie?

Even a child could spot my bullshit from kilometers away.

"So, on the most random day you take the train, you spot him in a taxi?"

"Yeah." I mutter, looking away from her, chugging my leftover coffee.”

"And why did you take the train again?"

"I'm hungover from last night. Was out late with Luis." I explain shortly, pointing my fork towards the bored cameraman.

I watch him fidgeting with his camera lens, across the room, not looking very happy.

"He doesn't look good at all." She observes, opening up a pack of gummies.

"He was hitting it off with this girl, but I spilled my drink on him." I wince at the last memory of last night, still trying to rack my mind for the other memories.

"She asked if I was his girlfriend." I add, wanting to hit my head against my desk, but it was pounding enough from earlier anyway.

This was probably my punishment for not letting him have a good time..

"That's shitty.." Lina disapproves, clicking her tongue at me.

"I was drunk, okay? I'm the first person rooting for him and his love life, you know that."

"You need to root for your own love life. You’ve literally been single since I've known you."

Here we go again.

"I don't need a man. I need money, so stop talking and please continue helping me with this draft.”

"You look tired, man. Did you rest properly?"

Jude looks up from his seat in the cafeteria, teammates surrounding him as they all chat about what they did on their days off. 

"No, I'm good- just thinking of what to eat." He replies, looking at Brahim. Sending him an appreciative smile at how observant his teammate is.

Throughout his months in Madrid, he had been having an absolute blast bonding and becoming familiar with his new teammates.

Even with the barriers of language, he had found it interesting how everyone could understand each other so well- even with the jumble of languages thrown around during training and in the locker rooms.

He had his Spanish lessons, of course, and they were helping immensely. But Jude had to admit to himself, though his ego- not speaking the language fluently did make him feel left out of certain things on occasion.

Small jokes, little silly comments. Things he could only understand after someone was nice enough to translate them quickly.

He didn’t think anyone would notice, not like they’d care, but from a short distance, y/n did notice.

When she would step onto the pitch during training, interviews, even the small chats in the gym.

He was unaware of it, even now as, she sat on the other side of the room, having lunch with her own group of colleagues.

Jude hadn’t picked up on the pitying look on her face, or the way she would glance away when he’d look in her direction.

Slowly and unknowingly, the translating became a habit. Some things she would even say in English unconsciously when talking to the team.

It wasn't anyone's fault, obviously. Only a matter of time and practice could make sure he'd fit even better with his new team. Undoubtedly, his new home for the next couple years.

"What's with her, though? I thought she was capable enough to murder me with her stare alone.."

"I've never seen y/n look like that."

Jude perks up at the name, though not understanding every single word. His eyes scan the table to see who's decided to speak about the girl he couldn’t stop thinking about since last night.

His eyes land on the guys he's closest to, the very much loved French duo in the team.

Leaning in, and taking a sip of his water, he speaks to them.

"What is with her?" He asks, trying to sound as clueless and uninterested as possible, but the two men glance at each other. A knowing, teasing look in both their eyes.

"y/n, she looks bad today.." Aurélien speaks, informing him.

Jude frowns at the words, probably a translation mistake, he thinks.

"Know about it?" Eduardo jumps in, sending a questioning look to the number five.

"No, just curious about what you guys are talking about.”

He mutters, keeping his volume down, not to attract the attention of the other players.

He didn't want anyone to speak about this, about what she looked like, what she did, not about her.

He pokes his tongue into the inside of his cheek, mind pondering. A stinging and burning sensation of jealousy and protectiveness twisting his thoughts.

It’s just the sleeplessness, he thinks, it’s making him go insanely delusional. He huffs, shaking his head in dismissal.

"My dad is coming back home in two days.."

"Okay.."

"He will handle your case as a first priority. Tell your mom."

"Okay."

y/n twists her neck in annoyance, scrolling through her phone. Ever since those rumors, from back in London- she had a crazy feeling of being actively witch hunted online.

Even so, she had decided yesterday not to give a fuck anymore. Scrolling through her Instagram explore page and blocking every single football drama account she saw.

Out of sight, out of mind.

"Will you respond like a normal human being? Ai has better responses than you."

"What do you want me to say? Jump up and celebrate?"

She sighs, kicking her feet up and making herself comfortable on the couch.

Should she bite the bullet and ask again?

"Jude.."

An annoyed grumble is heard in response.

"Did we, you know, do something. Is that why you're being so, awkward?"

She practically dies inside at her own words, obviously sexual in undertone. Wanting to smack herself right in the face.

Really? That's what she asked?

She resisted the urge to walk into the bathroom and grab the superglue to glue her mouth shut.

She should just never speak again. Problem solved.

y/n raises her head reluctantly to watch his reaction, surprise clad all his face. 

"Are you crazy? I wouldn't touch you- especially, when you're drunk, and wailing out for your mother.."

Jude stops, mentally cursing himself for blurting out those stupid words.

Had he gone too far? Confessing to too much information he didn't have to share?

Was it something he should have kept between himself and whatever deity or anything that watched over the universe?

Her blood practically stops pumping, and the shock of his words make her stop mid-overthinking.

Her mother?

She'd let herself get that vulnerable, to the point of speaking of her mother?

A silence falls between the two, the both of them wishing they'd kept their mouths closed.

"When did I?" She cuts the tension with her shaky words, avoiding eye contact as she sits up.

How could she let that happen? Yes, of course, the absence of a mother could be noticed in her life, and others not very close to her could be curious.

It was a very sensitive matter to her, and the wound of grieving could be one that would feel fresh years and even decades later.

"Last night- No, the day before yesterday.." He says, voice deeper than usual.

'Idiot, you should go on a detox and never, ever touch something as simple as a shot of vodka.'

The thoughts and assumptions brew in her mind, and she takes a breath before asking.

"Was it bad?"

Night terrors, they weren't something she had carried into her adult life, at least not lately.

They became a thing after the fact, and therapy sessions during her teenage years in England had definitely helped immensely.

She did notice changes in her behavior when confronted with the idea of not having a mother, even later in life. She could have as many women in her live as possible, but eventually she felt as if nothing could ever compare to a mother’s love.

And that, that was still confronting to know years later.

It brewed jealousy in her mind and soul. Seeing Luis go on brunch dates with his mother. Amira talking about the fashion shows she'd attended with her mom.

And Jude..

The relationship he had with his mother was absolutely beautiful, so beautiful she couldn't help the pit forming in her stomach when they interacted.

Even when his mother came over to her house to check up on them. Not that the two adults needed it, a mother's love is to care for her child. In more ways than just saying, 'I love you' or 'Do you need any help?'.

It was also watching and observing, allowing your child to grow up into a beautiful human being while staying healthy and being there for them.

"No, not at all." He lies, it's for the best, he thinks.

Judging from her expression, there is no need for more embarrassment or honesty that will turn sour.

y/n nods her head, and realizing her slipping mental state and thoughts, she stands up.

"I'll go to bed early tonight.." She mumbles, not bothering to hear his response, feet hitting the staircase with haste and impatience as she retreats into the comfort of her own room.

Leaving a confused, conflicted Jude behind in the living room.

Pity, is all he could describe the empty feeling. Words he wants to say, like bile, rising up to his throat, only to never leave his mouth.

"Make sure you have your dress ready, y/n. I don't want you scrambling to the mall the day before the party." My dad speaks, placing his apron on the hook beside the kitchen counter.

"Come on-"

I huff, rolling my eyes as if to dismiss his words.

"You did it last year, and the year before that."

He had been back for- not even twenty-four hours, and all he did was; nag, complain, and nag some more.

Thankfully, I had cleaned up the house a little before he arrived, so that would be a topic avoided today.

"Did you vacuum the stairs too?"

Or not.

I open my mouth to give him a snarky reply, but he beats me.

"Never mind that, just make sure you have everything you need on time."

With the end of the year coming closer, the annual co-hosted New Year’s party between Real Madrid and my dad's firm would take place.

It was absolutely grand every time, and this year wouldn't be that much different from what I had heard from my father.

"Actually, you know, since I'm not a teenager anymore.." I begin, batting my eyelashes with sass.

"I planned my outfit with Amira's help, so don't you worry about last-minute mall runs."

"Good, I just hope it's not too short- even worse if it has ten different cutouts." He says, the exhaustion in his face way too visible.

His business trip, and the situation with Jude had probably been keeping him busy and up until late.

At least the party could help him unwind a bit.

"I assure you. No ten cutouts.."

"Alright, dinner is ready. Go ahead and call Jude down for me."

I grab the kitchen marble in annoyance, nails grazing it and making small scratching sounds.

"Can't I just shout from here?" I ask, pleading eyes looking at his.

"Now.." He warns again, pushing me away from the counter.

Jude and I hadn't talked more than five sentences, respectively, a day since that day. It felt weird, like I'd just been stripped naked and vulnerable, all for him to see.

But I'd been curious about him, even if I tried to deny it.

He'd been going out of the house more often, hanging with friends and teammates at their houses. Mostly, since I'd warned and threatened him early on about bringing people over, let alone anyone knowing we'd been living together for the past few weeks.

With a heavy heart, I walk up to his door, knocking harshly and jumbling out a 'dinner is ready' before dashing down the stairs, back into the kitchen.

So much, too much had happened within a short period of time, and I honestly couldn't even begin to process it head-on.

At least I had a warm meal to keep me occupied for now.

Oh, and lovely tension at the dinner table..

[sassycheesecake]

A/N: Yello everybody! Here’s a new One-Shot with our hot Atsumu Miya<3 wrote this while I was on vacation :D

Genre: fluff

Warnings: cursing, Atsumu Miya being a shithead

Words: 4849

Hotter than Hell Itself (Atsumu Miya x f!Reader)

It was a very hot day in the middle of the summer in Osaka. Seriously, no one told you it could be THIS hot in Japan when you decided to move here.

When your hospital offered you an international job opportunity, you wouldn’t have thought of moving to Japan, let alone to the hottest part of it.

Since it’s not even midday, all you wanted to do was to sleep all day long after you were done with work and enjoy the cold air of your AC blowing down your naked skin. But of course, the universe needs some popcorn to chew on once in a while. And you just happen to be one of those kernels ready to pop just for their entertainment.

It all started when you came out of your night shift at 07:30 this morning. Afterwards, you drove with heavy eyelids back to your apartment, only to find out that your AC broke while you were at work. As if that wasn’t enough, you received a text message from your friend during your shift, asking you to join her at the pool party she is hosting. The problem is, you’re not exactly a social butterfly. You met her in your preparation class for Japan 101, both of you coming from the United States, taking the opportunity to venture out into the world and experience something new.

Unfortunately, since you already quit her too many times, she threatened to change her Netflix password. Obviously, you can’t let that happen, you need to know if Dustin, Steve, Robin, and Erica make it out alive from the hostage situation of the evil Russian weapon company.

So like the good and supportive friend you are, you agreed. (And also saving you a Netflix subscription every month.)

‘There r gonna b sum hot 🔥 boys @ my party, I think some basketball or volleyball players. Dunno I think they are called the coyotes or smth. And you’ve been a little bitch recently, you need to get laid, girl. And m’ not accepting a no as an answer or any other shitty excuse y’gonna come up with!’

So here you are, in front of the building of your friend. Still sitting in your car, tired and hot as hell, you’re overthinking this again. You glance into your rearview mirror, checking if your makeup is still as good as it was earlier when you applied it. ‘Good. Even though it’s hot as hell outside and only 11:43, I still look somehow presentable.’ You think to yourself as you grab your purse and get out of your car.

Locking it, you hear the car honk twice and you make your way across the street to the building.

Since your friend is an event planner, she earns accordingly. Having the penthouse all to herself is still something that you are envious of.

But then again, you chose the route of being an OR nurse. Prepping patients, prepping the OR table, and sterilizing everything are tasks daily for you. Your coworkers are easy to get along with, the working hours aren’t too bad and it’s always the same routine for you. Which is great, since you are a person of habit. Sometimes though, you get called in on your off days due to someone calling in sick last minute.

Now entering the building you see a tall and bulky security guard standing next to the revolving doors. He is wearing a full black suit, and dark sunglasses and is carrying an earpiece in his left ear. Giving you a watchful look, as he is eyeing you up and down, like a hawk stalking its prey.

Feeling uncomfortable and honestly slightly scared you show him your electronic invitation with shaking hands.

The security guard with the name tag „Daisuke“ bends down a little bit to read the letters on your phone. He then takes out a device himself from the front pocket of his suit to scan the QR code.

After hearing a confirmation sound from his phone, he backs up a little bit to let you pass through the doors.

“Geez, a security guard at the front door? She must have invited someone special.” you mutter to yourself as you enter the building.

Suddenly, you remember the text message from your friend, stating that some famous athletes are going to be there since she is good friends with someone that works at the Sports Promotion Division.

Your steps carry you to the elevator and you press the button for going upstairs.

Waiting for the elevator to arrive, you glance around yourself.

Your eyes wander over the rich-looking decorations of the building.

Taking in the eggshell-colored walls and the sculptures of Greek women decorating the side of the hallway immediately give you a rich vibe feeling.

Scoffing to yourself about the unnecessary decorations, you glance back at the floor guide for the building which shows that it’s still six floors away from the lobby.

Breathing out a heavy sigh, you cross your arms and sway gently from side to side on your feet.

All of sudden you hear someone loudly greeting somebody else from outside and you turn around to see a tall younger guy with short blond hair greeting the security guard at the front. They give each other a firm handshake and start talking together, sharing loud laughs in between their conversation. You can’t see him that well, you’re only able to make out black jeans, a white button-up shirt with its sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and a pair of sunglasses resting on top of his nose.

You’re guessing that the security guard wants to take a picture with the blond-haired kind of good-looking guy, as he pulls out his phone from his back pocket. The mysterious yet handsome stranger moves beside him and holds up a peace sign. After taking their picture together, the mystic man moves back to the side, almost ready to enter the building.

Shocking and almost in disbelief, you continue to observe them.

The blonde guy tells the security guard something with an almost cheeky smile on his face and pats him on the shoulder a few times. Now walking inside as well, he takes off his sunglasses and places them on top of his head.

You give him one last look before turning back to the elevator and seeing that it’s still two more floors away.

’Just hurry up!‘

The stranger stops right next to you, almost too close to your liking, as you can smell the strong aroma of his cologne. His very strong scented cologne you might add, smelling like a pinewood forest with a hint of vanilla.

Scrunching your nose a bit at the strong smell, you move a bit to the side, which catches the stranger’s attention.

“What’s yer deal? Don’t like my Sauvage perfume?” he smirks at you.

“As a matter of fact, I don’t. You smell like a male prostitute.”

Taking your words in, he lets out an offended gasp and turns around a little bit to view you a little bit better.

Now looking into his face, you see him scowling directly at you.

You turn towards him as well, trying not to get intimidated by his towering figure.

You’re not scared of him, you have handled far worse than this.

“Do you have any idea who I am?“ he looks at you, hopefully expecting the right answer.

You size him up and down with your eyes, thinking hard.

The fact that you take so long to think, kind of concerns him. By now you should apologize profoundly and give him the biggest heart eyes as any other woman would.

“No I don’t. Should I? Are you one of those basketball players or something?“

He scoffs at your answer and retorts.

“It’s volleyball ya little shrimp. The fact that ya don’t know who I am honestly concerns me. Ya been livin‘ under a rock or somethin‘? Every human being in Japan knows who I am.“

“Oh, I am sorry that I have better things to worry about than knowing who you are. You must be very special then. A thousand apologies to your highness.”

You pause while looking at him with the most disinterested face you ever made. And it irritates Atsumu even more.

“Geez yer a real happy camper ain’tcha? Must be fun to have you at parties.”

Okay the fact that you barely slept and the audacity of this freaking guy are just about enough for you. You close your eyes, turn around and inhale deeply through your nose. As soon as you open your eyes and you breathe out, you start to feel a little bit better. You’re not going to let him worsen your already bad mood.

Choosing to ignore him, you hear the ‘ding’ of the elevator and its doors finally open.

The blond guy and you enter inside and you press the button for the penthouse of your friend.

Remembering that your nephew likes someone called the ‘Schweiden Adlers’, you know that he always brags about one of the players. Not knowing if Blondie is on the team, you decide to ask him about it.

“Are you from the Schweiden Adlers? I heard that they’re the best team in Japan and my nephew loves them. I’d like to get an autograph for him.”

You give him an almost aggressive sweet smile as you stare at him, waiting for an answer.

What you don’t expect though, is for him to reach out for the fire alarm button, which immediately stops the elevator.

Utterly shocked by his actions, you start yelling at him.

“Are you crazy?! Why did you do that?!”

He whips around and gives you an angry look.

“First of all, I am NOT from the Schweiden Adlers, I am from the MSBY Jackals princess. And excuse the shit out of my goddamn French but did you just say ‘best team in Japan’? We have beat those guys twice now! Second, since you obviously got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning, I am NOT going to give you an autograph even if I was part of their team. Third, since you still don’t know who I am, I am Miya Atsumu, the best setter in Japan!” He exclaims loudly while still staring at you.

Not having any of his shit, you decide to poke the bear a little bit more with the stick.

“Is that so? Well dye-job I have a newsflash for you. I don’t care that you apparently hold that title. I honestly feel sorry for your teammates that have to put up with you every single day. Send them my deepest condolences.“

Atsumu just gives her a look of fury but doesn’t reply.

‘This small ass chick is crazy.’ He thinks to himself.

“Just push the button so the freaking elevator starts again.”

After hearing her words, he forgot that he was the one who pressed it in the first place, but still went with her request anyway.

Feeling the elevator move again, she can still feel her blood slightly boiling and her heart racing from the frustration she just had to witness.

Atsumu is not feeling any more different than her, clenching and unclenching his fists, while still trying to calm down himself.

What feels like a thousand years later, the elevator finally reaches the final floor, doors slowly opening.

‘I need some fuckin’ beer.’ Atsumu thinks to himself as he heads straight for the bar, without even saying goodbye to the woman that he shared the elevator ride with.

Atsumu sits down in one of the bar chairs while glancing over the menu of the drinks that were offered today.

He turns to the barkeeper and asks him for a beer.

“I am sorry sir, since this is a sports division event, no alcohol will be served. It was requested from the coach.“ The barkeeper gives Atsumu an apologetic look as he cleans a glass with a green little towel.

“Yer gotta be shittin‘ me.“ Atsumu puts his face in his hands and lets out a small grunt of frustration.

You step out of the elevator, taking a few steps before stopping to look around.

You notice that the event party has a lot of tall guys there, most of them probably over 6 feet tall.

Compared to your small size, they are giants. Before you can look around any more, someone runs towards you, attacking you in a bone-crushing hug.

You stumble back a little bit by the sudden force but quickly catch the person that engulfed you into a hug.

The scent of cherries and almonds fill into your nose, recognizing your friend by the body lotion she always uses.

“Hey girl, how’s it going? I missed you so much!“ She gushes at you, while giving you a look over.

“Goodness, you look a little bit pale, those night shifts aren’t doing you any favors. But good thing I just have the right things around here.“ She points to various things, giving each an explanation.

“So over there is the buffet, help yourself with all those treats! And in the corner over there, is the bar but since this is a sports event, no alcohol unfortunately. Since, you know, all these hot guys are volleyball players, they need to stick to a strict diet plan and blah blah blah.“

She rolls her eyes a little bit and you just nod along, quietly thanking her for the invitation. Looking back at you, she gives you a mischievous smile and wiggles her thin eyebrows up and down, almost in a suggestive manner.

Bumping your hip with hers, she starts talking again.

“Soooo… I saw that Atsumu Miya exited the elevator with you. Tell me, how hot is that dude! Did he talk to you? Did he give you his number? Did he give you his number one ‚one-in-a-million-smile‘? Did you guys make out in the elevator? Because both of you were having quite the flushed faces whenever you both exited the elevator.“

You give it out a small sigh and shake your head a little bit in reply, slightly irritated by her flooding questions, as you recall the conversation you had with Atsumu.

“No we didn’t do anything, don’t be silly. He was just being a rude asshole and I was bitching back at him.“

You cross your arms over your chest as you spot the blonde sitting at the bar, talking with an orange haired smaller guy and another tall guy with white-blackish spiked hair with a grumpy look on his face.

Your friend gives you a shocked look, following your gaze.

“Really? According to these magazines I read, he is a proud guy with a flirty personality. Ah well, looks can be deceiving. But not to worry my precious little birdie, there’s plenty of hot guys here. Talk to one of them and maybe see if one of them can take you home with them. Or even multiple if you’re into that shit.“

She gives you a wink and starts laughing at your flushed face.

Embarrassed that she would even dare suggest such a thing, you gave her a reply in a squeaky undertone.

“W-what? No! I am NOT into that! And I already have had enough volleyball players in one day. One is more than enough.“

“Whatever you say sweetie. Well at least eat some stuff from the food table, I paid a lot for that shit.“ She gives you a slight pat on the shoulder and walks around to greet more of her guests.

Turning your body a little bit, you start heading towards the table with all the goodies on it.

Taking a plate you let your eyes wander over the delicious varieties of food.

From Onigiris, to Takoyaki and even a big grill with tons of Yakiniku and Yakitori on it, makes your mouth water like a waterfall.

You haven’t eaten anything yet, you stayed awake since you were too hot in your apartment and you had to wait for the AC repairman.

Suddenly, you feel a presence beside you and you tilt your head a little bit to the side to see the white-blackish haired guy that was talking to Atsumu earlier at the bar.

Eyeing the massive amount of food on his plate, especially the meat, you can feel your jaw almost dropping to the floor.

Bokuto can feel you staring at him and just gives you a laugh combined with a large grin.

“Sorry, just a huge meat fan, trying to grow some more.“

“You're already pretty tall, and having meat fill up almost 90% of your plate doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re going to grow much more. Also, eat more eggs or whole grain foods, they should help better.“

You explain while looking at him with an eyebrow raised.

Bokuto raises both of his eyebrows, then his face transforms into a deep thinking one and quickly develops into a beaming smile.

“Really?! Oh my gosh thanks I will definitely take up your advice. Here, have some! You‘ll definitely need it more than me!“ Handing you his heavy full plate, he takes off to his friends and starts talking to them energetically.

Dumbstruck, you stare at him with wide eyes, then looking down to his plate.

Blinking a few times you were about to put the plate down, when Atsumu joins you at the buffet table.

He looks at your plate and raises one of his eyebrows at you.

“A bit much don‘tcha think? ‘Specially for someone yer size.“

You can feel your eye twitch in annoyance but don’t reply anything to that.

You set Bokuto‘s former plate into the hands of one of a very confused waiter, before grabbing your still empty plate to move around him, to look for something to munch your frustrations out.

A single pink-frosted vanilla cupcake has caught your eye and you were about to grab it when a bigger hand snatched it right away from you. It was the last one on the platter too. That asshole did not just do that.

Your hand is still frozen midair, trying to process what the hell just happened.

“I was just about to grab that and it’s the last one. Couldn’t you have at least asked me if I wanted it? You usually do that to be polite.“

Atsumu thinks hard for a moment, taking a good look at both beauties in front of his hazel brown eyes. Analyzing the situation for mere seconds, he chose to play dirty.

He wants to get you back for insulting his pride earlier.

Before you can blink, Atsumu shoves the entire cupcake into his mouth, looking almost like a snake devouring a mouse in one single bite.

Dumbfounded, you watch him with an open mouth as he chews and swallows.

“Man, that was good. Ya wanna taste?” He smirks at you while he licks the pink frosting off of his lips.

Still shocked, you act before you can think.

You push him into the pool behind him.

The sound of splashing water rips you out of your fury, realizing what you‘ve just done.

Holy shit.

You just pushed a star athlete in the pool.

Not just any star athlete, freaking Atsumu Miya.

The Setter of the Dingos.

Still highly in shock, you stare at the moving water of the pool.

Atsumu’s drenched head pops out of the water, coughing some water out of his mouth.

“The hell’s yer problem?! Yer could’ve killed me!” Atsumu shouts at you in exasperation.

“Don’t be so melodramatic! You’re obviously fine.” Crossing your arms against your chest, you stare at him with an annoyed frown.

“Can ya at least help me outta here?” You scoff at his request and retort.

“You’re a big guy, get out yourself. Also, you're way bigger and taller than me, how am I supposed to pull you out?”

He just gives you a look and thinks for about two seconds.

“Aint’cha a nurse or something? Use yer super strength to pull me out.”

Sighing, you still give in, after seeing his begging eyes.

You hold out your hand for him to grab onto. Atsumu gets closer to the edge of the pool and you can feel his very wet hand grabbing your own.

Flinching at the wetness you try your best to pull 80,4 kg out of the water.

As soon as you try to pull him out, his other hand comes out of the water and pulls you into the water with him.

Screaming at the sudden tug, you splash into the pool.

The cold water of the pool soaks through everything. Your hair, dress and make up are now ruined. All thanks to that blonde shithead.

Your head pops through the water surface and you give Atsumu the most hateful look anyone has ever seen.

Even if you’re fuming right now, Atsumu still has to admit that you’re even beautiful looking this angry. He just HAS to ask you out.

“You’re the most inconsiderate, most rude piece of shit I have ever met!” You furiously yell at him.

“Yeah, yeah I got that part from the start. Ya wanna go out with me sometime?” The drenched blonde gives you a tilt and his brown eyes kind of remind you of a cute Golden Retriever and- STOP. NO! Not only has that asshole just pulled you into ice cold water, it’s his fault you’re completely soaked, he was incredibly rude to you, he has the audacity to ask you out?!

Gaping at his request, you glance around you, to see that all eyes were on the two of you. Their mixes of emotion completely overwhelm you. You see confusion, pity and some even have a mix between shock and disgust.

Groaning loudly in frustration, you walk to the end of the pool to step out.

You see a hand outstretched for help and you see a black-haired tall guy whose hair is mid-length and slicked back.

Thankful for his help, he helps you out of the water and hands you his big soft yellow jacket, so you don’t freeze.

“Thank you but I am leaving now so you can keep it.” You say to him with tears in your eyes as you make your way to the elevator with hurried steps. Your pace begins to quicken, as you can hear Atsumu’s voice yelling after you to make you stop. Ignoring him, you bolt through the door to run down the stairs.

A few seconds later you can hear the sound of door opening again and loud footsteps chase after you.

“Stop, please! I want to apologize!” His deep voice echoes in the stairwell.

Still ignoring him, you can feel your tears running down your cheeks and you finally reach the bottom of the stairs.

Seeing your car on the other side of the street gives you a relief and you fetch your car key and unlock it.

As you are about to enter your car, you can hear Atsumu’s quick steps coming closer to you.

“Wait! Please!” He huffs out of breath.

“What the hell do you want?! Haven’t you humiliated me enough already?!” You whip around to yell at him.

Breathing heavily, flushed cheeks and with a worried look he looks to the ground like a kicked puppy.

“I am really really sorry. I didn’t mean ta humiliate ya up there. I know I was a jerk so I want to make it up to ya.”

Your hands wipe your tears away from your cheeks and you listen to what he has to say.

Still guilty as hell, he looks up to you with regret in his eyes.

“Please let me make it up to ya by takin’ ya out to dinner. I know I don’t deserve it but please give me a chance.” He pleads with you.

Your eyes fall to the concrete of the street as you overthink his offer.

The cold wind makes you shiver and it doesn’t go unnoticed by Atsumu. With another idea in his mind, he asks you to wait a few seconds.

You watch in confusion as he runs to what you’re guessing is his car and Atsumu grabs a yellow jacket with a black lettering that spells out ‘MSBY’.

Quickly running back to you, he hands you his jacket with the words that you should wear it so you don’t freeze.

You grab his jacket with uncertainty and remember you haven’t given him an answer yet.

His effort to try to make you feel better kind of helps you with your decision.

Breathing out with a heavy exhale you look up to him with ambivalence and accept his offer.

The concern in his eyes disappears and all of sudden his eyes shine brighter than the brightest Christmas lights.

“O-Oh awesome! Great! I’ll uh… Just give me yer number and we can arrange the date.” He stutters with a slight blush across his cheeks, you doubt it’s still from chasing you down the stairs.

You type in your number on his phone and his adorable smile is making you blush. If you actually look closer, you can make out some freckles across his nose and cheeks.

To be honest, Atsumu is really attractive. So attractive that it annoys the hell out of you.

Yet, you can’t wait to see what the date will turn out like.

Realizing you’re still wearing his jacket, you want to give it back to him.

“Nah, keep it beautiful. It looks better on ya anyway.” He compliments you with a wink.

Laughing a little bit, you push a loose wet strand of hair behind your ear and give him a cute smile that he returns.

Bonus scene <3

“So….. Papa and mama met at a party?“

Two sets of hazelnut eyes watch you and Atsumu carefully with confused but still exciting looks on their faces. Both of your children are a spitting image of their father, when he was younger. Cheeky hazel colored eyes, with messy dark brown hair.

“That’s right kiddos, yer ma was super into me the first time she laid eyes on ya handsome dad.“

Atsumu gives them a proud smile and turns around to look at you.

You catch his gaze and he gives you a wink, rolling your eyes as you continue to clear off the dinner you just shared with your family.

The younger one raises his hand to ask a question.

“Mama, why did you push papa in the pool?“

Your husband looks at you, with a mischievous smile on his face.

“Yeah mama, why did ya push poor dad in the pool?“

Giving your idiot of a husband a fiery look, you still answer your child’s question.

“Well to be honest, your dad had it coming. He snatched something precious away from me and obviously had to pay for it somehow.“

“Aw c‘mon baby yer not still mad ‘bout that are ya?“ Atsumu pouts.

“Mad about what?“ The mini Miyas glance at you with a twinkle of curiosity in their eyes, while scooting closer to listen to their parent‘s “romantic” story.

You stop wiping and hang up the dishwasher towel for drying. Standing behind your husband, he gives you a fearful look.

You lean over the chair, set both of your hands firmly on Atsumu‘s shoulders and you can feel the anxiety from his tense shoulders.

“He stole Mama‘s precious cupcake.“ You whisper to your children in a dangerous tone.

Both of your children gasp loudly at the reveal of the reason why you pushed your husband into the pool out of anger back then.

Atsumu chuckles a bit nervously but regains his composure quickly.

“Lesson learned not to steal food from mama. But I got her back for it, I pulled her in the pool as well.“

The gasps of your twins get even louder as they stare with open mouths and wide eyes at their father.

“In the end though, it kinda looked like the lion king scene, when Simba pulled Nala into the water. Afterwards…. Well let’s just keep that PG-13 for now. Ain’t that romantic kiddos?” Atsumu holds your hand with his own and squeezes it gently while giving you a lovesick smile as he looks up at you.

“What does papa mean?PG-13?“ The older one of the twins asks, while tilting his head to the side like a confused puppy.

Atsumu turns his face from you to his children, is about to give the talk about the birds and the bees and you quickly interrupt him.

“Atsumu! They are six years old for crying out loud!“ You scold him from behind and hit him lightly on the back of his head.

The blond Setter is startled by your loud voice and slap directed at him and he immediately shuts up.

“Hehe, Papa is scared of mama.“ The older twin turns towards his brother and starts giggling.

“I ain’t scared of her!” The Setter argues with his children.

“Atsumu.” You give him a deadly look.

“Shutting up dear.” Puts a hand to his head in a saluting way and glares at his children, as they continue to giggle and laugh at their cowardly father.

@wake-uptoreality @nerd-of-karasuno @rukia-uchiha-98

[hoarsedevours]

Thought of the "narrative" while riding the bus because i am going crazy hypothesizing over what really happened with yi jin and hee do in the present time. Tried convincing myself with "what zhe hellk they can't serve us a "sad ending" (yi jin/heedo not being end game)" when the themes of 25, 21 are hope, hurdling over odds, trust, confidence, patience, and hope (again)!!!"

fuck. but then i suddenly remembered how in ep. 2 the song 25, 21 played and a "single mother" scene was foreshadowed (to me, lol). Pretty sure there are other foreshadowing scenes but these two are the ones i can remember

[yoonpobs]

things change | jhs

pairing: jung hoseok x oc

genre: FLUFFFFFF, established relationship

words: 3, 377

summary: when you're an unlikely pair but it works

“Do you ever wonder what it would be like if you weren’t with her?” Yoongi slurs, his alcohol breath apparent enough for Hoseok to scrunch in his direction.

Hoseok knew, though. What he meant. Drunk Yoongi got sentimental and curious, two perceptions that were dangerous independently and possibly collateral together.

“I don’t.” Hoseok shrugs.

Because being with you was the best thing that’s happened to him and he would be a crazy man to ever put himself through the angst of imagining a world that he was Jung Hoseok without you by his side. It was cheesy and he was sure if he said it to your face you’d groan and shove him by the shoulder. But he’s always been observant and he’d be the first to see the way your eyes soften in a way that no one else can notice but him.

“I do.” Yoongi snorts.

Hoseok raises an eyebrow. “Is there something you’d like to tell me?” He’s careful with his words because Yoongi was no snitch, even if he was absolutely wasted. But Hoseok can’t say his interest isn’t piqued. Especially when he surrendered himself to the DD (designated driver) of the group.

“It’s just”—Yoongi sighs, sitting up and his drink sloshes in his cup when he places it onto the table—“I’ve said this before and you’ve probably heard this a thousand times but the two of you are so different.”

Hoseok remains silent but doesn’t do anything to give away the thoughts floating through his mind. He was half-expecting the same words to leave his friend's mouth, but having it be confirmed only makes Hoseok internalise his sighs.

“Yeah. You and every person who’s seen the two of us together.” Hoseok grunts.

“Look. I know you hate it when people point it out.” Yoongi says. “And I’m not here to tell you what you already know and on a fundamental level, we both know that the birds of a feather flock together bullshit is redundant and unrealistic. It’s just that every time I see the two of you together—it works. And it’s bewildering maybe because I can’t ever imagine _____ letting you win an argument.”

Hoseok blinks. “She doesn’t.”

Yoongi snickers, throwing the last bit of his drink down his throat before leaning back into the plush booth of the club they were at.

When Jin suggested throwing a bachelor party at one of the hottest nightclubs in Seoul, Yoongi and Hoseok almost ditched purely because the two of them had girlfriends and they didn’t really want to hear the end of the story if a stripper suddenly thought they were free game for the night.

Frankly, Yoongi’s girl was far more possessive but she was sweet. She just didn’t like it when people were actively trying to sleep with her boyfriend.

You, on the other hand, were simply unbothered. It wasn’t because you didn’t care—because you did. Hoseok knew that even if you’d roll your eyes at him when he’d joke about going to a strip club with the boys. But you weren’t insecure, and that wasn’t to say that women who were outwardly concerned were. You were just assured, and you made an effort to let Hoseok know that he needed you as much as you needed him—so anything he did wouldn’t just hurt you, but him too.

“It’s just that you’re basically the most cheerful dude I know and I don’t think I’ve seen you ever frown at anyone. Even the barista who fucked up our order four times.” Yoongi recalls. “Then there’s ____ who’s resting face literally is a big fuck you to anyone who breathes in her direction.”

Hoseok snorts, sipping his virgin cocktail. Even if he wasn’t the DD, he couldn’t do alcohol so the minty flavour of his drink was a night refresher for a tiring night (though he spent it just moping in his seat while the rest of his single friends partied away).

“I get mad too.” Hoseok shrugs.

“Yeah. Barely. Even then—you’re the most diplomatic person I know and you have a way of talking to people to get your point across without making them fear for their lives the next morning.” Yoongi deadpans.

“And sometimes diplomacy isn’t necessary.” Hoseok retorts.

Yoongi rolls his eyes. “I’m not shitting on your girlfriend. You don’t need to play social justice warrior here.”

Hoseok sighs before leaning back, mirroring the man spread Yoongi was in while he ponders his next set of words carefully.

Yoongi was probably one of the most chill people Hoseok knows, and maybe that was why they got along so well. Yoongi was a take-no-shit kind of man who was truly sensitive under all the intimidating layers he showed the world. Hoseok was just nice, but he was no pushover. It was a good balance that came out when necessary.

So Hoseok didn’t want to rub Yoongi the wrong way and tell him to stop talking about petty differences between him and you but also wanted to satiate the curiousity that lingers in his eyes.

“I know,” Hoseok says. A girl nearly topples into their booth but Hoseok spots his younger friend Taehyung grabbing her by the waist and shooting the two men a sleazy wink before he stalks off with her in his arms. Yoongi rolls his eyes but Hoseok can’t even be bothered.

“I mean,” Yoongi drawls. “Based on what you told me I know that the two of you don’t even want the same things in the future. And again—not saying there’s anything wrong with that—but didn’t you want kids for the longest time?”

Hoseok nods his head, deciding against his words.

Yoongi clicks his tongue to the roof of his mouth, nodding slowly as if he was processing Hoseok’s words.

“How did that … do you still want kids?”

“I want what _____ wants.”

Yoongi groans. “You sound like a total pushover.”

Hoseok levels a strict stare onto his friend, and even if Yoongi was older—there was something about a man who never got angry shooting him an intense stare that could make Yoongi zip his mouth.

“And kids aren’t endgame to a relationship. I love her, and yeah—I want kids. But she’s important to me and she’s here now. There isn’t a reason for me to condemn her or push her for a future that doesn’t exist yet. She’s the one carrying the baby for nine months and it’s her decision whether or not we have kids. Whether or not a kid comes along doesn’t matter to me because I’m with her because I love her and not because of a kid that isn’t real.”

Yoongi blinks. Then he huffs a breath out before letting out a low chuckle.

“Wow.”

“I know you don’t mean any harm but I don’t need to explain to anyone why _____ and I work so well together. But because you’re my best friend and you get oddly sentimental when you’re drunk I’ll spell it out for you and you better hope you’re sober enough to remember this tomorrow because I won’t repeat it again.” Hoseok says firmly.

Yoongi’s eyes widen at the serious tone Hoseok shifted to and observes the way Hoseok looks stern yet … soft, all at the same time.

“_____ is tough. In more ways than her exterior. She knows what she wants and what she’s ready for. And it was a goddamn miracle that she decided that what she wants and what she’s ready for was me. Yeah, she’s terrifying but she’s human—her heart is still pure and she’s a kind woman—person. Sure she’s systematic and needs an answer for everything but I’m her boyfriend and I’ll make sure that I can give her all the answer she needs to feel safe in this relationship. And yeah—we may not want the same things. She doesn’t want to get married but I do. But marriage isn’t endgame to me. She is. She wanted to move in together but I was iffy about it. So we live apart. That doesn’t change the nature of our love and she still loves me even if all I do is annoy her. So yeah. I’m willing to compromise and so is she. We’re different but we’re together.”

Hoseok is still calm as ever and there’s even a hint of a small smile on his face. The fact he’s smiling only testifies to the fact that you and Hoseok were so different from each other.

Yoongi is stunned to silence and sure he’s a quiet man but he usually had things to say, opinions to add. But Hoseok’s proclamation of your love only makes him sit in silence, letting the words dissipate in the atmosphere but remain in his conscience.

“Wow,” Yoongi repeats his words from earlier, but it’s all he can muster up.

Hoseok offers his friend a kind smile, sipping the rest of his drink while his friend can only stare at his nonchalant demeanour.

“And if you still don’t see it.” Hoseok grins. “There’s a reason why you don’t. I’m the only one that gets to fall in love with her like this.”

Yoongi whistles lowly before rolling his eyes. “No need to get possessive.”

“I’m a man in love. Sue me.” Hoseok shrugs with a slight smirk.

Yoongi gags at the cheesiness even if he finds himself internally grinning at his best friends blatant love for his girlfriend. He was sure it was the alcohol that was making him mushy—or perhaps Hoseok has always looked the way he did when he spoke about you. Eyes bright under dark lights and the heart-shaped smile of his becoming wider.

“If it counts for anything …” Yoongi trails off, offering a lazy smile to Hoseok. “I really hope she does marry you.”

Hoseok scoffs at Yoongi’s blatant optimism. Sure, he wanted that. He wanted nothing more than to see you in white, smiling only at him—or even with your usual stoic face—he doesn’t care. But he knew that the event itself would never change the fact that he wanted to be with you, now and forever. If fate wills, he’d marry you in a heartbeat. But Hoseok was content—and more importantly, he was in love.

“It doesn’t. But thanks.”

extra scene

“Hi, my love and my absolute sunshine.” Hoseok coos the next morning, and that’s the first thing he says when you open the door to your apartment; eyes already rolling to the back of your head.

“Did you do anything to piss me off?” You ask dryly.

Hoseok snickers, but pulls you in by your shoulders to give you a wet smooch to your lips that has you whining. You don’t push him away because you knew it was just the two of you and possibly one of your snooping neighbours.

“As you love to remind me during arguments—my existence is enough to do that, no?”

You nod your head, patting him gently on the cheek as you offer a half-hearted smile. “I’m glad you’re on the road to self-actualisation.”

Your boyfriend snorts, stepping into your apartment as he makes sure to leave his shoes on the shoe rack instead of idly laying on the floor because you were anal about things like that. And he missed you so he didn’t want you shooting him death stares just yet.

“You keep me on my feet.” Hoseok flirts, tone a little sleazy and you can’t help but sigh at your boyfriend's antics even though a hint of a smile marks your face.

When Hoseok settles into your couch, he immediately spots a wrapper that looked like it went into gift boxes—a pretty shade of green, which was his favourite colour. He immediately leans forward and eyes it with furrowed brows before looking up at you.

“My pretty baby got me a gift?” He wiggles said brows as you scoff at him, plopping into the seat next to him as you lean into his embrace.

“See for yourself.” You shrug, face still remaining blank.

Hoseok chuckles, already expecting your reaction even though everything about the placement of the wrapper to the strategic colour scheme of it screamed a gift for Hoseok. He knew you still got flustered when you did nice things for him, even if he’d argue that was on a daily basis because you were just a loud lover in a way that let your actions speak for your affection.

He wants to coddle you further, snuggle you so hard that you’d whine and attempt to shove him away until you decide that you secretly love it and hold him tight. He was so in love. But he placates the shift of your knee in a way he knew was due to your patience wearing thin.

So, he picks up the wrapper and realised that it was much lighter than he’d expected; and lacked the density of a usual present. It almost seemed like you were pulling a prank on him for no apparent reason. But Hoseok trusted you and knew that you weren’t the type to pull shit like that because you just had better things to do.

He unravels each crevice, eyes still searching for the gift that somehow never comes—all until he finally settles on a stick that he vaguely recognises from pharmacies that he never thought would be in his hands, staring up at him with two straight lines.

The silence is loud, but Hoseok is stunned. His mouth falls agape as he cradles the pregnancy test in his palm, eyes not bothering to look at your nervous expression. One that rarely comes from you just because you were an assured person in general and seldom needed validation from others.

But you loved Hoseok and you knew deep down that he’d always have an effect on you, words or actions—presence or not.

“Hobi?” You call softly, voice nervous as you fiddle with the hem of his shirt as he blankly stares at the test.

You’re terrified you made a mistake—or if he’s changed his mind because of your pessimism on the idea of having children. Sometimes you wonder how Hoseok could love you, all edges and harsh lines when you spoke. A woman who was either black and white or purely a grey area. Hoseok was the rainbow on dark days and brightened any environment.

You can’t read Hoseok’s face, and it scares you. Because you usually can since he was an open book. So when he finally turns to you, and you finally get a proper glimpse of his expression—

First, you see tears.

“I-Is this …?” He chokes.

Your eyes widen, immediately reaching out to cradle his cheeks as an involuntary reaction.

“Why are you crying?” You feel yourself tearing up and you try to suppress it. There was something about you being so connected to Hoseok and his feelings that made everything he felt translate to your own conscience.

“Y-You—I-I—you’re pregnant?” He whispers, eyes returning to the stick.

You nod your head slowly. “I am.”

Hoseok nibbles on his lips and you wait patiently for his next response. You can more or less guess that he’s happy yet confused, the conversation of potentially having kids never really showing any progress. But he’s been patient and so loving—and you thought you’d never shake but here you were.

The next thing you know, Hoseok is wrapping his arms around you so tightly that it hurts as you try to gasp for air. He nuzzles his face into the crook of your neck in a way that makes all your edges turn round, and your heart melt from the stone wall it was into a flurry of emotions that only he can bring out of you.

“We’re going to have a baby?” He asks softly, pulling away to clasp his palms around your cheeks, forcing you to look at him.

“We are.” You reply, equally as soft; eyes and tone. “You’re going to be a father, Hobi.”

And somehow, that breaks him. He can’t stop the tears nor can you. So you allow him to cry, and you allow yourself to feel too; holding each other close as you feel his hand reach out for your stomach. And you can’t deny the butterflies that erupt.

When he manages to regain his composure, wiping at his eyes; he looks at you so earnestly and gives you a wide smile that drew you in from the moment you met, and grown to love.

“You really want this?” He asks, eyes concerned but tone irrevocably gentle. You knew he wasn’t doubting your choices, but respecting them.

You nod your head.

“For the longest time … I thought kids weren’t for me. That I wouldn’t be a good mother because of how I am.” You tell him, and you see Hoseok’s eyebrows furrow and you know he’s thinking about denying that. But Hoseok has never been the type to interrupt you while talking. “And maybe I won’t be, maybe I will. But having you here with me just reassures me to know that our baby will have the greatest, most loving and most patient father out there.”

Hoseok’s eyes soften, knowing how big of a decision this must’ve been for you.

“I love you.” He whispers when he leans in to give you a slow kiss on your lips, one that wasn’t leading anywhere but was nice enough to feel the emotions pouring through.

You don’t say it back, but you look at him with gentle eyes that only he can recognise—and he knows. He knows your heart like you know his.

“You’ve compromised a lot of things for me, and I know I’m particular about many things. I have a plan ten years down the road of where I’d like to be in my life—and I never thought I’d be planning with a kid in mind.” You chuckle softly, and Hoseok pulls you closer so that you’re resting your head against his chest. “But you make me want to do things I’ve never done. And I really—I really want this baby. I want him or her to grow up thinking about how badass their parents were even though their mom is a total bitch and their dad is the mediator of the family.”

Hoseok snorts, brushing his hands through your hair.

“How long?” He asks.

You grin against his t-shirt, not looking up when you fiddle with the fabric of it.

“I’ve been feeling symptoms for a month now, and the test was from a week ago. I went to the doctor to be sure because I knew from the moment I suspected it that I wanted it to be true, for you, for me—for us.”

Hoseok tilts your chin up, offering you the smile you love so much and you feel so … happy.

“Next thing you know I’ll have you walking down the aisle.” Hoseok sighs, happy and content.

You roll your eyes, narrowing it at him as you push on his chest to sit up.

“Don’t get ahead of yourself, Jung.”

Hoseok wraps his hand around the back of your neck before pulling you close to meet your lips again.

“Let a man dream.” He grins against the kiss.

He can feel your giggle and the way you do the thing that you do when you’re secretly ruffled but adore him way too much to pull away.

“You know this means we have to move in together, right?” You murmur against his lips.

Hoseok snorts. “Duh. But you know you already have a home in my heart, right?”

You expected it, but it doesn’t make it any less cheesy when you groan and shove at his chest. Hoseok cackles, fully loving the way you scrunch your eyebrows in distaste at him.

“I hate you.” You scowl.

“No, you don’t.” Hoseok sings, resting his head against your shoulder while he looks up at you with innocent eyes.

You’re happy, and so is he.

And a few months down the road, Hoseok drops a ring into your palm, no words or expectations. You roll your eyes, as usual; but you slip it onto your ring-ringer anyways.

[stopeatingwhales]

vinyl searching (pt. 2) x graham coxon

here’s the second part, hope you guys like it! there’s something about 1999 graham that i just love so much, and i know he was struggling during this time so i wanted to write about caring for him because he clearly needed it during this time. 

Pairing: 1999! graham coxon x reader

Warnings: none :)

Word count: 3.166

part one

Requested by anon x

༉‧₊˚✧

Me and Graham decided on meeting in a small bar on the same road, a couple hours later in the evening. Once my shift was over, I had scurred off to my little flat in order to put together an outfit that was appropriate. I didn’t want to wear something that was too overtly sexual - hell, I wouldn’t even have the courage to be able to wear something like that - so I decided upon wearing an oversized t-shirt and baggy jeans. Very 90s. However, me meeting up with Graham was probably going to be more for him than it was for me - although I was so happy that me and him finally were able to take our ‘friendship’ somewhere outside of the small record shop that he sees all my life in, it was very evident that he was in need of someone to be there for him. Now, understanding his demeanor and overall attitude to things from the multiple times that we had conversated, I had hoped to be the one that he needed. Although there was many time I could’ve attempted such a gathering previously, you never know when would be the right moment to chip in and attempt to portray the care that you have stored internally for that significant person, and how they would react to that. For Graham it was a much more awkward situation; the only times of our communication were technically only professional, from a worker providing help and service to a customer. That was how esoteric we were to one another - practically known strangers. If I had come across Graham in a supermarket and he had noticed me, chances are that we wouldn’t interact, the only communication we would be able to branch out to one another being a simple ‘Oh hi! You alright?’. You had to build a sort of relationship with someone over a period of time in order to be able to do something like I did, and that is minusing the amount of nerves you'd have, as well as the courage you’d have to give yourself.

After I had finished with my constant worrying about how this meet-up was going to turn out, I left the house to go to the bar. The walk there felt as if I had been repeating the same events that had occurred during the day, just at a different moment in time. Hardly anybody was in the streets, which was quite ordinary at this hour of day, though it always seemed as if nobody left their homes. As I walked past countless convenience stores, hairdressers and fast-food places, which proved to show there was residency above them from the brick wall built on top, contrasted against windows placed as an outlook to life, very ironically used as to convey that nobody was ever leaving their homes, it proved to me just how mundane and repetitive life had become. The distance apart between each sheet of glass to the one adjacent to it being monochrome. Constant. Unchanging. Almost how all of our lives have been built to follow a system of continuous, resolute living, perpetually ignoring how it forces our lives, that have so much undermined potential, to be wasted, to the point we are simply dependent on enjoying life as we admire it. From a window in our bedroom, to which it becomes boring - as all you are ‘admiring’ is the same sight, every single time. And though this way of living may not be satisfactory, or enjoyable in the slightest, protesting against it would not do anything. Strikes from work would not do anything; you still need to live, and to live you need to earn money, money earned from working. It’s a ceaseless cycle which destroys the mere idea of a dream, aspiration, or motivation to carry on. In turn, what is received is the attractiveness of sadness, distress, and melancholy. You cannot shame those for being addicted to something harmful; if there is no point created for their lives except to be a little pawn on the chessboard of this planet, to take a risk and rebel against it is all you can do - though it would only put you in a situation which can cause more harm than good to yourself.

Once I had arrived at the bar, I decided to wait by the entrance so there would not cause confusion for Graham as to whether I was inside the building or not. I had noticed the skies begin to significantly darken in their calming shades of blue, instigating the advent of the evening to commence, however it was not dark enough to see sparkles in the empyrean yet. Though it was beautiful to stare at the single-coloured canvas, questioning the mere idea as to how it had formed such a shade of peace, but also existentially questioning how things come to be. Nevertheless, my admiration for the skies was quickly interrupted. “Hi y/n.”

Shifting my head into alignment with his, I had been greeted by the sight of Graham, facial expression clearly evident of nervousness, though it was attempted to be masked from a small smile curving on the corner of his lip. I noticed he was still in the same clothing as he had been in our previous encounter at the record shop earlier in the day, which caused a grin to paint itself on my facial expression. “Hi Graham,” I chriped, connecting eyes with him for a second, widening my smile that was already plastered on my face. “Let’s go inside.”

Inside the bar was nothing much I hadn’t expected; smoke surrounding the atmosphere from cigarettes, and due to the time being early, the place wasn’t as crowded, but you’d assume it to be from the clouds of smoke that welcomed you once you pushed the door open - you could hardly see the lengthy oak wood table separating you from the myriad amount of drinks that could be supplied to you by a simple asking. Ushering over to the nearest booth available, me and Graham sat opposite each other. The booths were always much more comfortable to sit and relax in, the cushioning of the sofa was almost that of a pillow; it was so cozy it was hard not to fall asleep on them. It was a much better choice of seating rather than the tall timber stools attached to the bar. I never found it appealing to sit there and have a chat with someone; it felt as if my privacy had been snatched away with ears surrounding every place my eyes could land upon. It's a much more peaceful atmosphere in a booth, which I had assumed would be a preferable place for Graham, shown from his quiet demeanour. His quietness was something that engaged me so deeply into him as a person - he wasn’t the type to rush to the bar, get drunk, and go off with the first person he had seen, who he hadn’t properly connected with or perhaps spoken to at all. He was much more down to earth, potentially from the amount of fame he had gained over the past couple years; it makes those yearn for silence, and in turn changes their perspectives and outlooks on simple things like outings with friends, for some may avoid them at all costs out of anxiety and fear of being noticed. You’d think that’s the absolute of their desires, being famous, stealing the hearts of so many, but it becomes so much more than that. The press picking out every ‘flaw’ you have or things that you do, the crowds of youngsters dying to get an autograph as if their lives depend on it, the paparazzi perpetually flicking their cameras only because you trotted on the same street to go to the same shop that every normal person goes to… The amount of eyes constantly on you gets overwhelming. I empathised with those who turned to drugs and alcohol to escape horrible feelings like these. Just like Graham.

“Do you want me to get you anything?” I asked Graham sweetly, my smile still on my face.

“Yeah sure, I’ll have a beer.” He responded, our eyes glued to one another's which made me notice the eyebags that had drooped onto the top of his cheeks; it was very evident that he had attempted to nap before meeting me, which made my heart swell out of pity for him - it was obvious he was struggling to even sleep these days.

I nodded before heading to the bar and ordering our drinks. Waiting for our drinks at the bar gave me time to think over everything that was currently happening. It felt as if my entire day had vanished to this one moment where I had unexpectedly landed myself ordering beverages at a bar with the one and only Graham Coxon. It was a wonder to think about how he was feeling at this current moment. He didn't seem as if he was doing well at the moment, he always seemed so exhausted, and his social skills had become very poor over a couple of weeks. It went from him being very calm and candid in our short encounters, slyly recommending each other music with subtle hints of our liking toward each other, to him forming a much more apparent stutter in comparison to the one he already had, as well as being unable to connect eyes with me for a interminable period of time - it was evident that things were progressively getting worse for him, though I wasn’t going to force him into speaking about anything. I just wanted him to be aware that he had at least a friend there for him, potentially that being the girl that he would always see at his local record store.

Walking over back to the booth, I handed him his pint of beer. “Thank you,” he mustered, almost instantly taking a sip from it before noticing the drink I had bought for myself. “Orange juice?”

I laughed slightly at his shocked reaction as I lit myself a cigarette and took a hit from it, him definitely not expecting that of all drinks. “I don’t really like to drink, it never makes me feel that good.”

“But you smoke?” He questioned, a confused expression plastered on his face, paired with a grin.

“Smoking helps with stress, alcohol makes you drunk and gives you hangovers which simply ruin your day,” I answered back, taking a sip from my drink. “Also orange juice is literally the best juice, alcohol tastes like shit you know.”

A small chuckle escaped out of Graham’s throat, causing my eyes to land back onto him again. I gained the perception that he felt somewhat better about actually speaking with someone, which made me feel so touched and taken aback; I had genuinely felt my heart skip a beat out of sadness and yearning for him. He genuinely deserved better than what was going on with him mentally and physically, and the fact that he couldn’t even celebrate the release of his band’s 6th album was paining - he couldn’t attend a lot of the sessions, not out of detest towards any of his band members, but because he mentally couldn’t bring himself to. He was isolating himself without realising, or he may have realised, but couldn’t do anything to stop it. “I must agree on that… But orange juice is too sweet,” He replied, scoffing. “It’s definitely not that much better than a pint of beer, love.”

Shaking my head out of offense towards his last remark, I inhaled my cigarette once again before exposing the smoke from my lungs. Diverting my stare to the ashtray in the middle of the booth, I examined the built-up ash on the tip from the roll of tobacco crumble off from a single flick of the wrapped up paper. “Anyways, how are you?” I asked him, simultaneously offering him a cigarette whilst doing so to avoid any awkwardness.

After taking a cigarette from the packet I owned, then lighting it, he answered. “I’m alright. What about you?”

“Apart from being offended by you saying orange juice is gross, I’m alright too,” I joked, earning another laugh from Graham. “You seem tired.”

Sighing slightly, I watched him scan the room before answering. “Yeah, I am. What gave that away?”

“Your eye bags, you look like you haven’t slept,” I responded, hoping that what was leaving my mouth wouldn’t come across as offensive in any way. “Not in a rude way, though.”

“In all honesty, I haven’t really been able to sleep recently. Not a clue why.” He replied, taking a hit from his cigarette before copying my actions from earlier and erasing the gathered dust onto the ashtray.

“Oh, I understand that,” I said, taking a long drag of the cancer stick before replying. “Same thing happens to me when I’m stressed.”

As the night went on, we spoke about all sorts of things, trying to get to know one another much more as we were so intrigued by each other’s presence. Over time, he opened up much more, his poise changing from being a quiet, dismal, bereaved person, isolated from society, to one that seemed as if he was enjoying himself by hanging out with a friend. Seeing a beam constantly illustrated on his face made me realise this outing meant more than just ‘meeting a friend’. It was leaving the house for the first time in ages, to simply have a good time with someone. He was gentrifying the bare human emotions that he had forgotten were calloused out of anger inside himself. The atmosphere is much different when we’re separated by the till in the record store, the only conversations we could tend to have surrounding music or the weather that day. I felt so much more connected to Graham in this given moment, and knowing that he was gaining pleasure from this made me feel so much happier. Finally, he seemed content, relaxed, and much more aware of his surroundings, not caught up entirely by his mind and the evilness that he would be manipulated by. It was as if from this simple meet-up, he had realised that there was so much more to life than staying at home, pent up with his own thoughts; to his dismay. And though it can be extremely difficult to overcome the hurdles of not believing everything your brain implements to your mind, the important part was that he was making progress. By merely speaking with another person, about topics completely contrasting the negativity resident in his brain, it takes his mind off of things, and would allow the realisation that he is able to overcome these struggles, with the right support.

We hadn’t realised just how long we had been conversing for, until the room began pouring with young adults ready to enjoy a night with their friends. A quick glance at the clock gave the hour away; it was nearing midnight. The time was hardly wasted, we had both created a friendship and connection with one another which bloomed like roses during the spring seasons. Absolutely beautiful. I knew that what we had formed with each other would last for at least a significant amount of time, and I definitely hoped that it would. “Let’s get going, it’s getting a bit crowded right now.” I said, getting up from my seat - Graham nodding along and following me out.

There was a distinctive change in temperature inside the bar in comparison to the streets. The breeze was more prominent, with the skies now pitch black accompanied with the twinkle of the stars and the picturesque glow of the moon. We both began walking to the end of the street, having no idea what was about to occur, going along with it as if there was nothing else in the world except us two, as if it was just ours, and that nothing else mattered at all. This shared moment between us was the only thing able to plague our minds, for everything else that crossed our minds seemed to be insignificant, with no importance to our lives from here on, no matter how much it had afflicted our minds from apprehension hours prior to this moment. Oh, the vulnerable silence shared between us. How much importance it held towards aiding our minds, providing a certain mental clarity that was simply unheard of, as if a certain point of synchronicity in time was exposed between us, forming it as though, as banal as life is day-to-day was always, there was euphoria. Subconsciously, we were both communicating with each other in a sort of telepathy that was so rare in newly flourished relationships like ours. It was as if I had always been close with Graham, as if he was always a cogent figure in my life, that today was only just another catch-up session after not being able to talk with one another for a significant period of time. We both enjoyed ourselves, and there was no need to say anything about it. It felt as though if one of us spoke, it would erase all the memories of the occasion shared in the bar previously. Nothing could explain the elation my body was feeling at this time; from life seeming so meaningless and dull, experiencing something like this amount of joy came as such a shock to my body - it felt as if I had been drugged with so much alcohol that I was witnessing junctures that were only fragments of my imagination.

Stopping our slow pace at the end of the road, I turned my body to face Graham’s, him copying the same actions as me. Briefly, I stared lovingly into his eyes, a smile perched on my lips, him reciprocating with a beam, purely out of content, not mannerisms. Turning my head to stare at his hands, which awkwardly embraced one another, I mustered enough courage to form an embrace with both my palms - him slightly taken aback at first, to which he quickly went along with the moment. His hands were soft, delicate, and held warmth interlocked with mine. We simply stood there, hands laced together, inhaling the brisk air whilst slow waves of air gushed between us. Nothing could get more perfect than this. It was evident that between us, it was definitely more than a simple friendship, and it was obvious that both participants were not objecting against such passion to be compromised into something more. The action of holding his hand gave the notion that he was not alone in everything that he was undergoing; it was there for reassurance, as if it was me indirectly saying, I know you’re struggling, you don’t have to tell me, and I can tell you seem lonely, but I’m here for you. And I won’t ever leave, or let go.  

“See you soon, Graham.”

[limitlessgojo]

Blood Bound: Red Strings of Fate (Ch 12)

Warnings: Action, Coarse Language, Fighting, Descriptions of Blood

Previous Chapter: Kyoto-Tokyo Goodwill Event

Next Chapter: Home Sweet Home

Tags: Soulmates AU, Angst, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Fem!Reader

Taglist: @lessie-oxj @rizzo-nero @whoreuc @fkngkumiko @isl3t @gojoussunglasses @onepotatostand-blog @s-t-f-u-b-i-t-c-h @sunaswife @lordguameow @track5enthusiast

Notes: If you want to be tagged for every update, please mention it in the comments below ty <3

2.8k words for this chapter.

Chapter 12: Goldenrod

You went to check on Noritoshi getting cleaned up in the infirmary. He perked up upon seeing you.

"Ieiri San!" You smiled at the woman who was dressing his wounds.

"Y/n, it's been a while. How are you?" She called out.

"Doing okay here. You let your hair grow out!" You hurried to her side for a quick hug.

She laughed. "The last time we saw each other, I still had short hair?? That must have been years back. You as well, from a little girl that came up to my waist, you're nearly my height now!"

You nodded wistfully at her before turning to Noritoshi, looking over his wounds. "I'm alright, y/n." He said quietly. You gave him a shaky smile, quietly hiding the fact that you were worried when he got knocked around by some of the seniors.

Ieiri smiled at the both of you. "No need to worry, he is fine y/n."

"Ayiieeee, lovebirds get a room!" Satoru popped up from behind you. You flinched hard and on pure instinct, lashed out with your whip. It sprung out, but Satoru easily stopped it with two fingers up. "Women in love are so scary."

"Toru nii, can you not?!" You wanted to skin this man alive. Ieiri just sighed out, cleaning up her tools. "I've done what I can Kamo kun. Try to get more rest for tomorrow." He nodded, "Thank you Ieiri san."

"Wahhh, you got kicked around huh Noritoshi? You look all worn out. Ain't my students amazing?!" Satoru taunted.

CRACK. Satoru teleported a few meters away. The space where he was a few seconds ago was filled with ice and frost.

Your face was hard as stone as you said, "Noritoshi did amazing. He did his best to coordinate with his team members as he fought against 2 of his seniors. Okkotsu kun was just different as a Special Class. But of course you know all about that, Toru."

"Why so defensive Neko Chan? I didn't say your man didn't do well right?" He drawled.

You opened your mouth, eyes furrowed, ready to retort when Noritoshi pulled you to him, gently hushing you as he softly patted your back. "He's riling you up. It's okay, I've learned a lot from today. It's our loss."

You leaned into Noritoshi, "You're too nice to that dumbass."

"Hey! Anyways, I wanted to speak with the both of you. If you're done here let's go." Satoru motioned towards the door with his head.

Both of you turned to him, before looking at each other and nodding.

◇◇◇

Satoru led you both to his room. "So, how long has your soulmate bond been active?" He asked as he closed the door.

Noritoshi was surprised, "How did you know about this?"

You nudged him. "He's my family friend, he eventually found out." You lied for the sake of protecting the details of Satoru's six eyes ability.

Satoru removed his blindfold, revealing his crystalline like eyes. "Yup, don't worry your secret is safe with me. I'm surprised but not too surprised that it's the two of you." He sighed out.

You crossed your arms and sat on his bed. "What do you mean?" Noritoshi remained standing.

"Both of you are just so different. And I've known you both since before. I guess it just never crossed my mind that you'd be together.

A soulmate bond is incredibly rare and fragile as you know. And I guess it only fits since both of you are more complementary to each other rather than have similar personalities like twin flames.

I have the soulmate records of some from the Gojo clan if that would help. But Noritoshi, sorry I have to ask you not to share it with your family." He said.

Ahh. The Great 3 clans still hold their secrets. You turned to Noritoshi, worriedly looking for his reaction.

He had this internal war of obedience to his clan elders vs seeing you so close to Satoru and seeing another side of the Gojo and Tsuchimikado clans like this.

"Toshi, if you can't, it's okay, we don't need to read it." You said carefully. "I know how hard it is to keep secrets from family."

Noritoshi mulled it over. Satoru was actually sizing him up. Seeing his family friend get entangled with a great 3 clan's future head… he would be lying if he wasn't worried for you.

“I’m assuming that there might be some details or secrets of the Gojo clan involved in the diary entries, which is why you’re being wary of me. But you have offered to let me read it, which already shows a bit of trust. As a future clan head, I know the significance of keeping good relationships with the other clans and elders. And so, I promise not to tell anyone else of the details in the diary.” Nori said solemnly.

Satoru perked up at that and smiled, “There shouldn’t be a problem then. Here, you both can have a look. Return it to me tomorrow afternoon. I hope it can help with your situation. It must be scary not knowing anyone else to turn to for help with the bond.”

You felt touched by that, “Thank you Satoru.”

◇◇◇

That night, you slept over once more in Noritoshi’s room, reading the excerpts.

"A soulbond can be rejected?!" You both stared at the notebook in horror.

"That must be so painful… imagine shutting down your fated pair." You murmured, turning to Noritoshi.

He patted you and nodded. "Hey look at this." He pointed to another passage.

“Wow, they can really telepathically communicate with complete sentences, that’s insane.” You said in awe.

Noritoshi cozied up to your side, playfully nudging his head against yours. “You want that for us too someday angel?”

You turned and bumped your nose against his before kissing him. “Of course, I want to experience everything with you Noritoshi.”

Noritoshi’s heart skipped a beat or two at that. His pulse was irregular for once. What on earth was that feeling? He confusedly looked down at his chest and patted it. He checked his vitals with his technique, but everything was in order.

You worried over him, “Are you not feeling okay? You got hit in the chest earlier right? We can call it a night and rest, you need sleep for tomorrow’s individual battles.”

“Okay then. Let’s quickly skim the diary.” You both caught a few important details, like how strong trust and honesty can strengthen a soulbond.

After spending time with each other and having significant encounters (“What on earth does that mean?” Nori asked. “Maybe like notable events with each other” you supplied.) helps a couple to move forward from one stage of the bond to another.

Something caught Noritoshi's eye. Reverse cursed techniques and some other advanced techniques that usually can only be done on oneself can be applied to the other soulmate.

That made him wonder… if he could manipulate your blood. But he put that thought aside for next time, unwilling for you to be a subject of experiment.

After that you both went to bed. "I'm gonna have such a hard time sleeping alone after spending so much time in bed with you." You whined out.

He chuckled, "Then just stay over as often as you want to. I like sharing the bed with you. It's not like it's cramped for the both of us." He pressed his lips to your forehead as you kissed him on the neck.

His heart squeezed tightly once more. What was wrong with him?! He was used to having it speed up whenever he was around you and attributed it to regular attraction. But this was different. His chest was tight, almost painful, and it was getting harder to breathe.

"Okay then. No take backs." You smiled, before closing your eyes. Noritoshi watched the moonlight illuminate your features for a bit before falling asleep.

◇◇◇

The next day, the lots were out. They announced that it would be a duel between 2 students on top of thick, tall, vertical standing logs set in a small lake. First one to push the other off the logs and into the water or out of bounds wins. Momo senpai has a huge advantage with no handicap at this.

To your slight horror, Okkotsu Yuuta was matched against Noritoshi. You visibly paled, but he went up and squeezed your hand before he left for the event. “I’ll be okay.” He promised.

“Oh you will be okay. I’ll make sure of it.” You said determinedly, already planning to step in just in case Rika goes wild on Noritoshi. Your thoughts were cut as Nori poked your forehead.

“I can hear your thoughts. Have a little more faith in me.” He gave a small smile. You nodded dumbly.

You watched the matches. None of them were particularly eye-opening. Until it was time for Okkotsu to fight Noritoshi. You clasped your hands together in prayer, eyes and senses wide open.

“Ready, Start!” Satoru called out.

Noritoshi immediately fired arrows, which honed on Okkotsu even though he tried to dodge. Good technique. Okkotsu had some trouble keeping up with the arrows and Noritoshi quickly moved in to punch him hard.

But Okkotsu was quick on his feet, leaping back diagonally onto another log before slashing at Noritoshi with his Katana. It went on a bit like this. With both men trading blows back and forth. They had decent balance on top of the logs.

Until Noritoshi made a major move, “Blood Manipulation: Slicing Exorcism!” He cut down a huge number of logs in Okkotsu’s area.

Okkotsu barely held on, jumping to another log that was borderline about to collapse. The water was now dangerously filled with the sharp edges of cut wood.

Your eyes brightened, ‘Please win Toshi.’

Noritoshi moved in for the kill, “Red Flowing Scale”, the X mark appeared on his eye as he readied to knock Okkotsu off. Until the dark mass that had been hanging around Okkotsu screamed, making everyone wince. “Yuuutaaa! You’ll get hurt if you fall down now!”

Satoru had explained that Orimoto Rika was the Special Grade curse with overwhelming power. Rika made a half-manifestation, easily smacking Noritoshi away. But she hit him too hard on the head, sending him flying way past the little lake set up.

Everyone gasped and yelled in horror. You saw red.

He was going to hit the ground hard. You stood up, slowing down his body in midair as you blasted your way over to him. You caught him in time.

"Angel?" He looked up to see you, and his heart tightened again. Ah... this might be love.

"Shhh, it's alright Toshi. You've done really well. Don’t speak," You worriedly activated your Reverse Cursed Technique as you floated down to the ground, hugging Noritoshi tighter.

“Thank you for catching me.” He patted your arm weakly. Blood was streaming down his temples. Not a good sign. “Ieiri san!” You cried out, but she was already making her way towards the both of you.

“Winner! Okkotsu Yuuta!”

Your blood boiled, but you knew it was still Okkotsu’s win. ‘He didn’t have to be that harsh on Noritoshi.’ “Age doesn’t matter to Jujutsu sorcerers darling.” Noritoshi coughed out as though he could read your mind. “I said not to talk!” You worriedly scolded him.

Ieiri quickly activated her reverse cursed technique alongside yours. Hers was incredibly refined, easily sealing up Noritoshi’s popped blood vessels. “Infirmary.” She said, putting a brace around his neck just in case of any spinal injuries.

“I’m so sorry, Rika went overboard!” Okkotsu yelled out. He looked really worried and sincere. You shifted uncomfortably; the apology isn’t for you so you backed away. Noritoshi waved him off, “It’s okay. Thank you for the fight, Okkotsu kun.”

A few more apologies and words of thanks were exchanged before Noritoshi was sent to rest in the infirmary. Satoru caught you by the collar, “Stay until the end of the event. Shoko will take care of Noritoshi.”

You glumly nodded. To be honest, Okkotsu was really friendly, easily chatting with all of you. And you all were delighted, laughing hard when Rika beat the living shit out of Todo as he tried to harass Okkotsu for his ideal type. The Tokyo kids weren’t too bad.

◇◇◇

“Take care y/n!” Satoru hugged you tight as the Tokyo school students and staff readied to go home. “Thanks again for everything Satoru.” You already returned his diary to him in Noritoshi’s place. He was still resting up in the infirmary.

“Hey…. Have you ever considered transferring to Tokyo Jujutsu Tech?”

‘What?’

“No, why would I? Noritoshi and my family are here.” You were taken aback.

Satoru looked thoughtful, “I could teach you a lot, and honestly I’d love to have you as my student. You’re really strong y/n. Think about it. Later!” and walked off with the rest of them, leaving you at a loss for words.

◇◇◇

It’s been a while since you’ve been dating Noritoshi, and everything seemed a bit brighter. Like the sun seemed to be really strong, the flowers smelled so nice, the air currents seemed to bend a little more easily under the command of your technique.

'Is this the effect of our bond?' You wondered to yourself, but then quickly shook away the thoughts to focus on your task.

A few days have passed since the Goodwill event. You would be lying if you said you weren’t inspired by watching Okkotsu and Rika fight. Rika was just a force to be reckoned with.

Learning how to move well in mid-air was a challenge, but it wasn't impossible thanks to your inherited technique. Since you grew up mainly focusing on items around you and the four elements, you were still having some difficulty with some mobility techniques.

But there was something you’ve been itching to do. Aside from working on your cursed technique: reversal, domain expansion, extension techniques, etc., there was another special technique that ran in the family.

You remembered your father’s words: “Lightning is generated in the presence of both hot and cold air. You can manipulate molecules to generate both. But doing it simultaneously is the challenge. The ice shards in the cold air collide with the warm water particles in mid air, causing static electricity to form."

"That way, you separate positive and negative charges in a space. That is how you generate your electricity. Take particular care, because for this to happen, you need to master both your extension technique: Niflheim and technique reversal: Inferno.”

For personal reasons, you didn’t like using Inferno. Because the last time you successfully used it was when you were 6 years old and it caused a disaster. A memory which you’ve buried so far under everything else that you continuously try to forget about it.

But for the sake of the secret art, you will.

“Merging techniques… does any other jujutsushi do this…” You wondered.

You set up several targets of bamboo shoots and wood. “Niflheim.” You froze a target then took a deep breath before trying your reversed technique.

“Cursed Technique Reversal: Inferno.” You put out two hands and linked your thumb and ring finger in each hand together. One hand facing the other from above and below. Then a red light appeared as you encircled and swapped the positions of your hands.

This hand movement activates Inferno as the target immediately explodes from the rapid heat expanding the cooled target. Steam and smoke billowed out. You let out a slow breath. So you can still do it even after all these years.

“Special Art: Goldenrod.” You manipulated Inferno in one palm and Niflheim in the other. Your left hand had your ring and thumb still linked together. While your right hand uses the 4 pointer hand position designed for Niflheim.

At first it just made small explosions of steam. Your hands got really sore from the back and forth temperature control.

This is where it gets tricky. Goldenrod has to be activated within your hands. So you also guard your hands against the drastic temperatures with your cursed energy, as you do when you control fire.

It hasn't worked out so far. Maybe you simply had to condense the molecules. You condensed them further and started seeing small sparks of lightning.

Your eyes widened in joy. You tried activating it once more with more cursed energy, only for a huge bolt of lightning to shoot out from your hands and destroy a large amount of targets. There was a loud crack of thunder.

You didn’t expect the energy to be this high as you were pushed back from the force. The air was knocked out from your lungs as you hit the ground hard.

“I think I need help. Maybe Satoru nii can...” you wondered to yourself. ‘Is it worth bothering him over something like this…’ With a shock, you realized you were actually considering his words to transfer to Tokyo Jujutsu High. “No way.” You laughed it off with uncertainty.

Blood Bound: Table of Contents

[piscesparker]

Newbie T.H

fuckboy!tom

Warnings: language, mentions of alcohol, usual typos

You were sitting in your classroom reading through your textbook and waiting for the professor to come, when all of a sudden the sound of whispers followed by an eruption of laughter coming from the group of frat boys caught your attention. You raised your head and look at them through the frames of you glasses only to see all of them looking at you making you even more self-conscious  

Shifting your attention back your book you heard an even louder sound of laughter erupt from them; of course they must've been talking about you, there was no doubt there. If anyone had handed you a surprise test you would have aced it, but if you were put at any social event you would pass out just at the thought of, that is why college was a nightmare. You had no idea how these bozos could go to a party every second day and yet be alive at this point.

Soon enough the lecture was over and you were collecting your things to head to your next class, you realized that the only way to do so was to pass the group of boys. Clutching on to your things you successfully passed their posse, or so you thought.

"Hey Y/n!" One of them called out, you grimaced before turning, "We're having this party today would you like to come?" He teased. No one had ever seen you at any party and now it was just a teasing game to them, but you hated being a goody-too-shoes. "Knock it off guys," A certain brown haired said as he himself tried to hold back his laughter, "I'm sure she doesn't time to let loose, she must be having a tea party with her stuffed animals." He teased as they all burst into fits of laughter making you storm out in anger, you had enough of it and now it was your turn to have your fun.

Walking up to the door of the frat house in you blue dress  that barely reached your knees, a shiver running down your spine as the wind began to pick up. There was no need to knock on the gigantic doors of the house they were already open. Entering the house it looked like every typical frat party you had seen in movies and tv shows, butterflies interrupting in your stomach as you walked around.

There were many students from your classes who were there and were shocked to see you; of course it was your first ever party because you had no idea what you were supposed to do. The music boomed around the house as you walked deeper in, hoping to find someone you know, and you did but not in the position you expected to see them. The same mope of brown curls that teased you earlier, Tom, he had his hands wrapped around some girls waist and making out with her. You internally gagged at the site and began to walk away thinking it was a bad idea.

You were almost out the door when the faint calling of your name reached your ears over the music. It was the same boy who was just pushing his tongue down that girls throat moments ago, "Hey you made it!" He exclaimed and pulled you into a hug, hesitantly you were in his embrace and inhaling his cologne mixed with alcohol.

"Sorry I was just about to leave."

"What why?" he asked.

"Isn't it kind of obvious? I don't belong here." You said wrapping your arms around your self.

"That's because you haven't given it a chance, come on!" He stated and took your hand, dragging you back in. "Wait here." He said, leaving you stranded in one corner. Moments later he came back with a red solo cup in one hand and a bottle of beer in the other, "Here." He said handing you the cup. "What's this?" You asked.

"Well I'm assuming you've never had alcohol so I got you coke."

"I thought you would be corrupting me." You raised an eyebrow. He smirked and lowered his head, his lips near your ear, "Baby steps darling." He whispered, your cheeks turning into a tint of red at the sound of that nickname. And that's when you thought, 'Screw baby steps'.

You caught him off guard by snatching the beer bottle from his hand and downing almost half the bottle in a go. "Woah, woah slow down there!" He coaxed, your face scrunching up when the bottle left your lips. It might have been little but your head was already spinning a bit.

"You okay?" He chuckled at the sight of how adorable you looked, you nodded and reached again for the bottle when he stopped you, "Normally I would allow this but I'm cutting you off."

"What? Come on, let me have it!" You whined, he tried to stop you by putting his hand behind his back, trying to reach out for it you realized how your arms were around him; standing chest to chest as you stared into his chocolate brown like eyes. "Tom!" His friend called him causing the two to brake eyes contact. Taking the opportunity you took the bottle out of his grip, and making a run for it. He chased you, pushing himself through the sea of people, this is the first time he's ever done anything like this, being secretly glad that you came.

You downed the entire bottle and waited behind a pillar waiting for Tom, when suddenly his strong arms wrapped around your waist, your back was pressed against his strong chest as he spun you around; a giggle escaping your lips. "I'm cutting you off." He laughed putting you down as you turned and faced him, wrapping your arms around his neck; you were clearly drunk.

A surge of confidence came over you, "Kiss me." You whispered.

"No."

"Why not?" You whined.

"This isn't like you."

"Then what is like me?"

"Being a cute nerd is like more you."

"You think I'm cute?" You furrowed your eyebrows as he shrugged, a small smile crept on his lips. "You should get home y/n."

"What aren't you going to bed me?" You asked him, "Isn't this what you do? Get a girl drunk and then sleep with her?"

"Yeah, but you're not the type of girl to have one night stands with." You gave him a confused look, "You're the type of girl I'd take on dates and stuff." He confessed, okay so maybe he had been harboring a crush over you and that is why he acted like a dick and teased you.  "Did I make you go all soft?" He nodded answering your question. "Then kiss me." He did smiling into the kiss as did you.

Who knew just a kiss could make him a changed man, and he even proved you by asking you out the next day, and taking you on cute little dates further on. He paid no mind to the teasing of how soft he went for you by his friends as long as he was with you, nothing could get to him.  

a/n: I have no idea what I have written 😂

General Taglist: @petersasteria @peaches-parker @mischiefmanaged011 @hollanderfangirl @alinastarkrovs @parkerpeter24 @yourstrulyamour @felicityparkers @theonly1outof-a-billion @miraclesoflove @theliterarymess @osterfieldholland01 @spideyssunshine @zspideyy @chillingonlife @yousayironisayman @keithseabrook27

Tom Holland Taglist: @words-to-accomplish-something @asshatgrace @spideyspeaches @anissalime @peterbenjiparker @just-lost-inbetween-worlds

[mister-supernova]

Missed Connection

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4

Pairing: Hope Mikaelson x Reader 

It’s almost been a month since your encounter with the stranger you believed to be from your dreams. Without any luck of seeing her again, you were beginning to think that maybe that’s all she was; just some mere figment of your imagination that you so desperately wanted to have all the answers you needed. 

As insufferably difficult this summer was for you, you still managed to get through it. You thought it was because school wasn’t in session and that you’d be back in your element in no time once classes begin again. 

That was what you had hoped for anyways, but alas even when the halls were filled with your peers and your routine was back in place, nothing seemed to change. The mysterious void in your chest didn’t ease like you wished it would.

You couldn’t help but wonder if your friends had been feeling the same way, too. Surely there’s no chance that you could be alone in this situation, right? 

“You can’t tell me that things haven’t felt a little weird since Landon destroyed Malivore. He doesn’t even know how it happened, Lizzie.” 

The blonde Saltzman nearly whips you in the face with her hair as she abruptly turns to face you in the crowded hallway. “Y/n, we live in a world where witches, werewolves, and vampires exist. Everything in our lives is bound to have a tiny amount of weirdness.”

She made a good point and you knew that, but you also knew that this feeling was different. It had to be. 

Lizzie frowns at the disappointed look on your face and rests a comforting hand on your shoulder, “Look, the most important thing is that Malivore is gone. No more bizarre monsters coming to kill us every week. Now try to stop overthinking things and let’s get through this school year in peace.”  

Before you knew it, your conversation ended just as quickly as it started and Lizzie was on her way back to class. You hang your head with a defeated sigh, desperately searching the hallway for someone who may be just as lost as you were. Instead, you see everyone going about their first day back like normal. 

Students who were away with their families are now smiling brightly as they reunite with friends. Other groups of friends laugh at a joke another says as they pass you by and you wonder if there was someone you should be doing that with.

The clarity that you sought out today only made you more confused than ever. At this point you wished that it was still summer vacation because seeing your classmates having a great first day back had you thinking that you really were alone with your feelings.  

Maybe you just needed a day to hang out with your friends after class today. They may not share your thoughts on how odd things have felt recently, but being around them definitely helps clear your head. 

“I’m sorry, Y/n. You know Landon and I would be down to watch a movie or something, but we’re going on our official first date today.” Josie tells you, disheartened. 

After the multitude of movie dates the two of them shared throughout the summer, you’re surprised that none of those had been labeled as dates, but you weren’t going to tell her that outloud. The two of them seem to be really happy to be spending so much time together and you weren’t going to get in the middle and be the third wheel no one wants, especially on a first date. 

“No worries, Jo. I’ll ask Lizzie and MG if they’re free.” She gives you a gentle squeeze on your arm with a sympathetic smile before you go off to find her sister. 

Things didn’t seem to be going to plan here either.

“If I hadn’t already agreed to this stupid- I mean,” she grits her teeth with a forced smile, “very cool study date with MG I’d totally hang out with you. God knows I’d rather do anything else.” You knew you weren’t supposed to hear that last part, but Lizzie was always awful at lowering her voice. 

If you weren’t already feeling distraught, this definitely was the cherry on top of your depressing cake of sadness. 

Instead of showing Lizzie that, you plastered the fakest smile you could and responded with, “Don’t worry about it. I’ll just… hang out downtown and get myself a milkshake at the Grill or something.” 

Plan “get your friends to distract you from the abrasive thoughts penetrating your brain” had failed, but you weren’t going to let it stop you from at least getting out of the school for a couple of hours. With everyone so busy while classes are back in session, it made you wonder what in the world you did after school before this year. 

As much as you tried hyping up how fun it was going to be hanging out downtown by yourself, it only made you feel even more bummed out. Like everything else you’ve been doing since the night Malivore was destroyed, something felt off and nothing seemed to be your remedy.

Minutes turned to hours and you ended up drinking four full glasses of cookies and cream milkshakes at the Grill, literally falling into a sugar coma at your table outside. The sun was barely setting when you got here, but then it was fully dark out when you were woken up from your sugar rush nap. 

“Jesus, Y/n. I thought you were dead or something.” You lean your head upwards to see that it was Landon who woke you from your slumber. 

“One could not be so lucky, phoenix boy.” You groggily respond, stretching out your muscles and wiping any drool from your cheeks.

Looking at your surroundings, you notice that Josie isn’t around. 

“Aren’t you supposed to be on a date?” 

There’s a pained look on Landon’s face at your question, “Yeah, about that… she, uh, she said she wasn’t feeling too good and decided to go back to the school.” 

You raise an eyebrow at him, “What, did you take her to eat sushi or something?” 

That was meant to be a joke, but the look of realization on the curly-haired boy’s face told you all you needed to know. 

“You went to a sushi place.” 

Landon quickly slides into the seat across from yours, “It’s what I suggested. W-Was I not supposed to?”  

“Jo can’t digest any sort of raw food without wanting to convulse. I learned that the hard way when I first started going to the Salvatore school,” you shiver at the memory, “Never again.” 

The phoenix begins falling into a full state of panic, “Oh my God. I didn’t know that! Wh-What am I supposed to do? What if I completely ruined everything? What if she never wants to go on another date with me again? What if-” 

Your patience was thinning very quickly, “Landon, just relax. Take a breather for a second,” you inhale, watching him do the same, and breathe out at the same time, “Go back to the school, check up on her, have a convo about getting some better communication skills and I’m sure everything will be fine.” 

Landon nods, “Okay, okay yeah. That’s good. I’ll, uh, I’ll do that,” he continues to sit across from you until you look at him expectantly, “Do I do that now?”

“For your sake, Josie’s, and especially mine, yes. Now would be great, buddy.” 

“Right, okay. Thanks, Y/n!” He scrambles out of his seat and begins to shuffle away from the Grill. 

“Go get ‘em, Tiger!” You shout with as much enthusiasm you could muster before slumping back into your chair. 

Still dazed from the sugar rush nap and exhausted from that conversation, you lean forward with your elbows on the table and begin wiping the sleep from your eyes using the palms of your hands.

“This is gonna be one hell of a year.”  

“Long day, huh?” You recognize that it’s a girl’s voice you’re hearing, but not one that was familiar to you. 

Moving your hands away from blocking your view, you look up to see the person you convinced yourself was just a figment of your imagination. The long auburn colored hair, fair-skinned, blue eyed girl from your dreams was standing right before you. For a moment, you thought that maybe you really had lost it. 

“Sorry. I just, I saw you sitting here earlier and thought you might want company.”

You’re almost positive that you were staring at her with your mouth hanging open like an absolute idiot. Just say something, dumbass!

“Mind if I join you?” She asks, gesturing towards the now empty chair that Landon left behind. 

“Yes!” 

Idiot! 

“I mean no! No, I uh, I don’t mind.” You chuckle nervously, adjusting yourself in every way possible to hide the fact that you were internally freaking out.

The girl gives you a patient smile before taking the seat in front of you, “So, party of one tonight, huh? I mean, I saw you finish talking to someone right now, but it didn’t seem you two were here together.” 

“Yeah, no. Not together at all or with anyone really,” for some reason you had to make this very clear to her, “That was just a friend of mine who’s having some lady troubles, so I decided to be a good samaritan and give him some positive advice.”

“How chivalrous of you.” Right away you could tell that she was teasing and the nerves you had seconds ago simply began to vanish. 

“Why thank you,” you smile, feeling a wave of warmth when she returns one back, “But yeah, it’s just been me, myself, and I for the night… and day… and probably for the rest of the school year if I’m honest.”

Her smile fades and she tilts her head inquisitively, “What makes you say that?” 

Oh, where to begin. 

“I’ve been asking myself that for a while now actually. Everything should feel perfect given the fact that I have these amazing friends, I go to this incredible school, I’m 100% healthy and not dying of anything that I know of,” you shrug at yourself, “I should be happy with that, but I’m not. It feels so selfish of me to say and I wish I could fix it, but I can’t. How can everything be so close to perfect, but yet there’s still something wrong?” 

The girl stares at you with such empathy and sadness in her eyes that you could swear she was holding something back. 

You continue, “Things also haven’t felt normal lately. My definition of normal anyways. For some reason everything has felt completely off, like I’m missing something. You know when you forget that there’s somewhere you’re supposed to be? Like an event and you don’t realize you’ve forgotten about it until the day of and you say to yourself, ‘oh shit, I can’t believe I forgot about this really important thing’. That’s how I’ve felt ever since summer started,” you notice her tense up slightly, but you continue, “but I can’t remember what I’m forgetting.”

At this point, you were surprised this girl didn’t think you were crazy and start running for the hills. If this were any normal stranger, you wouldn’t feel comfortable enough to overshare the thoughts you’ve been keeping secret from your close friends. For some reason, she made you feel the complete opposite. Strangely enough--given the world you live in--you felt safe with her.

“Everyone at school is making me feel like I’m the only person who feels this way. Everyone else can go back to normal. Everyone else can move on and go on dates and study dates and hang out with their friends and go to class without feeling lost and overall just be… normal.” You finally let go of the breath you had been holding in for what feels like months.

Then you start to laugh at the ridiculousness that just spewed out of your mouth, “Jesus Christ. I’m so sorry. You probably thought you were going to have an innocent ‘nice weather we’re having’ type of conversation, but instead you got a stranger dumping their whole life crisis onto you.” 

“You really don’t have to apologize. Trust me, I understand how insanely messed up life can get and how relieving it is to just vent it all out,” she gives you a reassuring nod with a genuine look of understanding that you’ve been wanting to see for months, “Even if it’s to someone who can potentially be a serial killer.” 

The both of you burst out into a fit of laughs and you swear that you’ve never felt so connected to a person you just met. It was as if your souls had met in another life and were catching up for the first time in a while. Neither of you had a name to place with your faces, but that didn’t seem matter because you already felt like you’ve known this girl for years. 

“I’ve had quite a rough couple of months myself. Not sure if I’d binge drink four cookies and cream milkshakes to numb the pain though.” 

You shrug, “Well, it’s better than the latter option that I can’t even legally purchase because I’m underage. Plus, it helps that these are the best milkshakes in town--even if they are 4 dollars a glass.” 

Now you’re hoping that your old co-worker can cover your bill since you only brought ten dollars with you tonight. Before you could reach for your wallet just to be sure, another thought crossed your mind. 

“Wait. How did you know they were cookies and cream? I know it’s a lot of milk to force inside by body, but I normally leave no trace of evidence behind. Are you a witch or something?” That last part was obviously a joke otherwise she’d be at your school by now.

The girl opens her mouth to speak, but it takes her a moment to come up with an explanation, “It was my best friend’s favorite. Yeah, we used to go out for milkshakes all the time and I guess something about you reminds me of them.” 

You smile, flattered, “Well, might I say, your best friend has amazing taste,” she purses her lips into a tightened smile and lowers her gaze, almost as is the memories of this said ‘best friend’ pained her to think about, “I’m assuming things aren’t so great with them right now?”

She sighs at the thought, “We were close for a long time. I’m actually surprised that they stayed as long as they did. I probably gave them a million reasons to bail, but they were annoyingly persistent,” she chuckles, “I’ll admit, it took me a while to settle into our friendship, but the moment I did was something I would never regret. From that point on the only thing that could separate us was death.” 

Judging by her heavy use of past tense words, you could only think the worst happened, “Did they, you know, um…?” You didn’t want to ask the full question seeing that she was clearly still hurt by the absence of this person. 

She shakes her head, “No. No, it turned out death wasn’t the only factor that was able to keep us apart. We meant a lot to each other and later realized that there was more to us than just friendship. Eventually, things started becoming serious but me being the person I am, I pushed them away and left.”

“Have you tried reaching out to them again?” You thought that there was no way two people who felt those intense feelings could completely forget about each other.

“Once, but things changed. They took one look at me and acted as if I never existed.” Maybe it was the empath in you, but it broke your heart seeing a small pool of tears building up in her eyes. You wished that you could say something to make her feel better and tell her that everything will be okay, but how could you when you don’t know her?

She quickly wipes the tears before they could fall and takes in a deep breath that you instinctively mirrored to compose yourselves. 

“I guess it’s my turn to say sorry, huh? I feel like my baggage was a little heavier than yours there,” she sniffs, huffing out a light chuckle. 

“Well, if we’re giving out medals here, you’ve got the gold. That’s for sure,” you grin, hoping to lighten up the mood.

Her laugh--that you could tell was genuine--gave you the assurance you needed. 

“I feel like I should give you a hug. I mean, if you’re cool with that,” you suggest, ready to push yourself out of your seat, “Because I could kind of use one and I’m just assuming--” 

“That would be great, yeah,” the girl nods with a relieved smile. 

“Alright, great.”

The two of you stand, moving around the table to meet each other in the middle. Her head seemed to fit perfectly against your chest as her arms pressed behind your back. All of the weight that had been piling up on your shoulders began to fall at your feet and the tension from stress that built up inside your chest began fading away. How this could happen from an interaction with a complete stranger, you had absolutely no idea. 

“Is it weird if I say this doesn’t feel weird?” You ask with the side of your head leaned against hers. 

“Well, I think things are only weird when someone makes it weird.” 

You pause for a moment, “Do you think this feels weird?”

She laughs and you know for a fact that she could hear your heart skip a beat, “No. I don’t.”

You fight the goofy grin from appearing on your face, but fail miserably, “Okay, good.” 

Part of you was afraid of what’ll happen the moment you separate. You had no idea when would be the next time you see this girl or if there was going to be a next time. This was the first day in a while when you didn’t feel lost, instead you felt that this was exactly where you needed to be. You felt normal.

Before you could actually start making things weird, you begin to pull away from her embrace, “Well, tonight I learned that I can click with a stranger within a span of ten minutes give or take, so thank you for that.”

She smiles, “Thank you, too.”

“I think it’s safe to say that we’re at the point of learning each other’s names now.” 

“Yes, because why start with those when we could just tell our whole life stories and share an intimate hug first?”

“Exactly! Actually, you know what? I think we should get married in Vegas really quick and we’ll just figure out our names during the vows section of the wedding ceremony. Whatever we come up with in the moment will just be how we refer to each other for the rest of our lives,” you joke. 

“You’re absolutely right.” Wow, a girl who can keep up with your sarcasm without thinking you’re a complete--huge emphasis on complete--idiot? She is the girl of your dreams--literally and metaphorically. 

You stared down at her in wonder, hoping to God that you’re not dreaming and that this interaction has been real, “It’s, uh, it’s Y/n by the way. My name. Y/n L/n.” 

“Hope. Hope Marshall,” she reveals and a victorious smile appears on your lips when you finally have a name to match a face. 

Your smile quickly drops when the clock tower starts going off and you realize that it’s nearly midnight, “Well, it’s been a pleasure meeting you tonight, Hope. I'm sorry to cut the rest of the evening short, but my school just got a new headmaster and unfortunately he’s a lot more strict on our curfew than our previous one. Don’t want to turn into a pumpkin, you know?” 

She chuckles, “No worries at all. It was nice meeting you, too, Y/n,” Hope smiles and you can tell that she didn’t want to leave. If you were being honest, you really didn’t want to either. 

Neither of you could find the energy to be the first person to walk away. To do that would be like trying to separate two annoyingly strong and stubborn magnets apart.

As much as you wanted to spend the whole night learning more about each other, you also didn’t want to be put in detention on the first day back at school. 

Unwillingly, you take the first step backwards without wanting to fully turn away from your newfound acquaintance, “Thanks again for the chat. I hope to see you again very soon, Marshall.”  

Hope rolls her eyes, but can’t contain a smile, “Only if you’re lucky.”

“I think I like my chances,” you wink playfully before turning your heel to make your way back to the school feeling the most energized you’ve felt in a long time.

~

apologies for the later update than usual with this series and I apologize in advance if it takes a while for part 6 to be posted. I’m in a bit of a writing funk right now and my mind is currently locked onto the Wilds soooo there may or may not be imagines for that fandom coming from me soon. anyways, happy late 2021 and here’s to hoping this year isn’t complete shit! much love y’all

taglist: @chicken-wang09​ @trikruismybitch​ @sodangtired​

[jaycewrites-192000]

Growl: Chapter 1

Charcter:

Kyotani Kentaro (Mad Dog)

Warnings: None. Slow updates

Summery:

It all started with a growl...

...Which was odd considering it came from a human.

(There might be some lacking in the teams/teammates and matches and I'm sorry if there is. I'll certainly do my best to describe the events of matches and the different personalities of each team members. That's all, thank you for reading!)

(just let me know if you want to be added) Tags: @etroman @theravencawsatmidnight

Your P.O.V

The shrill alarm shook me awake from my sleep, with a groan you sit up and slam the top of the alarm to shut it up. Groggily opening my eyes I grab my phone and turn it on, suddenly my tired eyes filled with panic as I saw the day and time. Monday, 7:20am. I was late for school! I was never late! I toss my phone aside and scrambled to get dressed and brush my teeth and hair. Because I was in a hurry, my hair ended up looking more messy than decent. But there was no time to fix it right, so I hurried to grab my school bag and phone before running downstairs.

I noticed that my mother wasn't here, which would explain why I didn't hear her yelling for me to wake up. I walked over to the fridge to see a note that read: "Y/n, I was called in early for work. Hopefully you remember to wake up early so you can eat breakfast. If not, I left you some cash so you could grab a snack on the way to school. I'll be back before dinner. Love you, -Mom." I internally thanked my mom before grabbing the cash off the table and running out the door. "I don't even think I have time to get some food on the way there." I sigh. Guess I have extra money for lunch then.

Finally I made it to the front gates of the school, Aoba Johsai High, I checked my phone. I had five minutes to spare. Picking up the pace I ran into the school, and through the halls, narrowly avoiding people while doing so. Avoiding all except for one, partially tall person. I yelped, tumbling backwards, I somehow managed not to fall over. The person I ran into turned back to face me. I felt my stomach drop slightly at the sight of the boy. He was tall, with a blonde buzzcut that had two black lines that started from the right side of his head that looped around to the left side. It kinda resembled a bee pattern. His glare shook me down to my core, piercing yellow eyes shot right through me. The dark bags under his eyes only made his glare more intimidating. But what scared me the most, was when he spoke. Or...growled?

"Watch it." His voice was gravely and deep. It was almost like he was snarling at me. Like an angry dog maybe? "I uh...sorry?" I mutter. The boy only clicked his tongue before walking away. "...What the hell was that?" I breathed before picking up my bag and walking into my classroom.

"Miss L/n. You're late." Said my teacher, turning away from the chalk board, book in hand. Ah! I totally forgot! Embarrassed, I bowed my head and apologized before taking my seat. I might have made it too, if it weren't for that angry guy earlier. I sighed and opened my books and got to copying what was written on the board. "Heeeey, L/n-Chan~. You've never been late before, what kept you?" A familiar voice whispered, interrupted my writing. I knew that voice all to well, with another sight you turned to see my, I guess friend, Oikawa Toru.

"I overslept." I whispered back. "I almost made it too." Oikawa chuckled as he leaned on his hand. "That's so unlike you L/n-Chan. What kept you up last night? Have a boyfriend you don't want me to know about?" He smirks. "No!" I whispered-shouted back. "I...I was watching anime." I mutter. Oikawa failed to hold back his laughter. "Oikawa, L/n! Keep it down!" The teacher scolds us both. "Y-yes sir!" We apologize.

"Hey. L/n-Chan, meet me after class in the gym. There's something I want to tell you." Oikawa whispers. You nod before getting back to work.

Normal P.O.V

Finally classes had ended, and you were on your way to the gym. You couldn't help but wonder what Oikawa wanted to tell you. "He better not try and ask me out again." You groan. The first time he did it was so embarrassing! And right in front of his herd of fan girls too! You thought they were going to hunt you down and murder you after what he did. "Jerk. This had better be good." You say before opening the doors to the gym. Inside, was the school's volleyball team, and their captain Oikawa as well. "L/n-Chan!" He ran towards you, trying to give you a hug, but you step out of the way of his path, causing him to run into the wall. "Dumbass." A brown hair male shakes his head. It was Iwaizumi Hajime, Oikawa's "best friend".

"Hi Iwa-Chan." You smile and wave. "Hey! That's my nickname for him!" Oikawa whines. "Hey L/n." Iwaizumi, ignoring him, waves back. "What brings you here?" He asks. "Oikawa told me to come here. He said he needed to tell me something." Iwaizumi glares at Oikawa. "You better not try and ask her out again Shittykawa!" You laugh at the infamous nickname for Oikawa. "I'm not!" Oikawa puts his hands on his hips. "I asked her here for an important reason."

"Like what?" You asked. "Well first of all, what do you think of our team? Though, I shouldn't have to ask that, we're obviously an amazing team, don't be shy, go ahead and say it." Oikawa says with a haughty tone. "Uh, yeah I guess you guys are pretty cool." You tell him. Oikawa scoffs. "Pretty cool?" He shakes his head. "Anyway, how would you like to be our manager?" You gave Oikawa a confused look. "Like, you want me to be your manager? Uh, I mean, I don't know. I've never really held much of an interest in volleyball, let alone managing an entire team."

"Whaaaat? But you have to be! We don't have a cute manager girl!" Your eyebrow twitched in annoyance. "Oh shut it! I'm defiantly not going to be your manger if I'm just here to look cute!" You snap. "Please L/n-Chan!" Oikawa begs. "Leave her alone Shittykawa! She's obviously not interested!" Iwaizumi punches Oikawa in the back of his head. "Ow!" He whines.

"Sorry Oikawa, I just don't think I'm the right fit for your team's manager." You apologize. "At least think about it! I really think you'll like it once you get the feel for it. You'll even get the chance to make more friends." That caught your attention. You didn't have many friends, just Oikawa and Iwaizumi really. You didn't know the rest of the team as well as they did, you would have, if you had more of an interest in volleyball. But you didn't. Maybe this would be good for you after all. Before Iwaizumi got the chance to punch Oikawa again you stopped him. "Fine! I'll think about it, but this is not a yes, got it?"

"Oh thank you L/n-Chan!" Oikawa's mood took a turn for a brighter one. "You won't regret it I promise!"

"For your sake, I better not." You mutter. "I'm gonna get going. I'll see you guys later ok?" Before you head out the gym, Oikawa stopped you. "Wait, don't you want to watch us play? Maybe it will help you make a decision." You shrug and set your bag beside the bench. You didn't really have anything better to do, so you might as well watch. "We're just about to start, we're just waiting for a certain trouble maker to show up." Oikawa crosses his arms. Just as you were going to ask who this "certain trouble maker" was, the gym doors slammed opened. The loudness made you jump in shock, turning around slowly, you met the eyes of someone, you wished you would never have to see again.

It was the scary ass dude you ran into earlier!

"Mad Dog-Chan!" Oikawa greets him. Mad Dog-Chan?? You blink a few times, what kind of name was that? "It's about time you showed up. You get in trouble again?" "Mad Dog-Chan" rolled his eyes and walked in, he didn't even bother to spare you a passing glance as he entered the gym. Did he even notice you at all? It was probably better that way. "You should start getting here earlier. Hurry and get changed so we can start." Iwaizumi spoke up. Mad Dog-Chan nods. "Yes sir." He made his way to the dressing rooms. "Why do you listen to him and not me!?" Oikawa whines.

You walk up to Oikawa as soon as he was gone. "Oikawa, who was that guy? How come you've never mentioned him?" You asked. "He was suspended, so this is the first time he's practicing with us in a while. And as for me not talking about him, well, you saw how unpleasant he can be." You couldn't help but agree with that, you didn't want to make assumptions, but after your encounter with him it was pretty clear he wasn't the most decent of people. "Yeah, I know. I ran into him earlier, I thought he was going to kill me."

"Really? I feel sorry for you then." Oikawa chuckles. "Who is he? Mad Dog-Chan can't be his real name." Well no duh, who names their kid something like that? "His name is Kyotani Kentaro. He's a second year." You hum in response. "Is he any good? Playing volleyball I mean."

"Oh, I don't want to spoil that for you. Just wait and see sweetheart." You punch him in the side. "What did I say about calling me that?" You mutter. "Sorry.." Oikawa whimpers.

Next

[pinkhairedlily]

Chapter 11 - Student Council President Sakura / Graduation Chapter

SCPS AO3 | PREVIOUS CHAPTER

Youtube playlist for your reading accompaniment

They held a run-through of the graduation ceremony on the last day of class and technically the last day of the trio’s high school life. Unlike their first general assembly, Uchiha Sasuke was to deliver the graduation speech but not without great sulking from Haruno Sakura who landed a close second despite ranking first in their final exams.

And obviously, not without Sasuke trying to give up his speech privileges by campaigning instead for Sakura.

In the end, all three of them were granted speech slots – one for Sasuke as valedictorian, Sakura as student representative, and Naruto as the school’s first national MVP. It was this debacle that led the three of them to brainstorm in an empty AVR after the dry run.

“Done!” Sakura yelled like the diligent student she was. “Let me look at yours!”

Sasuke presented her a blank paper while saying, “It’s all prepared in my head”, and Naruto showed her his baseball doodles.

“Oh God, you’re all so hopeless.”

Then the electricity suddenly got cut off in the AVR. Sakura expected the boys to screech in surprise and cling to each other, but she only heard silence in the dark. She jumped in her seat when the doors opened with a loud bang, a confetti splash, and the lights coming back to life.

Sasuke and Naruto were still in front of her, holding two bouquets of irises and yellow roses. Behind them were the old and new student council members with other students holding a large banner saying Thank you, Student Council President Sakura!

She started to leave her seat to come to them, but they gestured for her to stay on her seat. In front of the room, the large monitor beeped and showed a compilation of videos.

Sukehiro Aoi, an alumni and currently an intern in an animation studio. “Hello, Ms. Pres. You once asked the body to submit a publication material for an event of the student council, and I sent mine through a dummy email with no expectations of winning. I wasn’t comfortable with the public seeing my art. I was afraid of the unsolicited remarks so sending it anonymously gave me some relief. You chose it however, and you knew how big a credit was to an artist. I was really scared when you were able to hunt me down just by my watermark, but my name in the info blast caught the attention of a school board member and referred me to this animation studio. It was the littlest thing, but you handed me my dream.”

Watanabe Kota was a year below them. He has a small frame, round thick glasses, and battled with face acne. “Ms. Pres! People never had much confidence in my physical appearance, so I don’t know what you saw in me when you asked me to take over the school radio. But here we are – we’re airing daily and we even produce documentaries and radio programs. Thank you for seeing what I didn’t.”

Ito Amanaya, a typical jock in the football team, muscular and came across as intimidating, but he had the gentlest cadence. “I was bullied by the same group that bullied your dynamic duo. When you ran them off, you also saved my life. Thank you, Haruno.”

Kimura Shinze, a classmate in third year, beautiful, popular, and the captain of the cheering squad. “Hope you’re having a great day, Ms. Pres. Remember that time when the class was guessing who were our crushes and I blurted out that it was a girl, you told me thank you for telling us. That was…a big deal to me. Thank you for that gesture.”

Himurata Aoi, president of the koto club. “Sakura, I know you had many people come up and confessed to you so when I did try, I was glad that you didn’t give me a bullshit reason like you’re not into girls. You turned me down because you have someone you already love. I am thankful for your honesty.”

The biology teacher, Takahashi Kande. “Student council, thank you for your mental health program. As a single father to twins, I don’t have the luxury of time to sit in a couch and sort out my issues. To be able to do that in my workplace during breaks is a heaven-sent gift. You saved me and my family. Thank you.”

Many more messages came on, from a classmate she lent spare change to, from a staff she helped clean, from countless students who she wasn’t aware she gave kindness to.

“Why….” She asked breathlessly.

“You’ve been beating yourself lately. We thought you needed some reminding,” Sasuke muttered, under his breath, the bouquet still in his hands. “You left some pretty big footprints, Ms. Pres.

“You might not have noticed,” Naruto jested. “But this is always innate and natural to you, isn’t it?”

“Why did you bother so much?” She was reduced to tears.

“It was Naruto’s idea.”

“Huh? You did all the compiling though!”

“Shut up, it was me,” yelled the current president.

“Thank you, everyone.”

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

It was a weekend, but Sasuke requested Sakura and Naruto to meet him at the school gates. He only gave the time and place, and he knew well enough that they would be there – no questions asked.

They stood there, minutes earlier than planned, a first but nothing more unusual than homebody Sasuke asking them to go out on a weekend. Sakura wore an oversized rust shirt over a pair of muted cotton blue trousers tied with a brown leather belt and tan fisherman sandals, her long hair kept in one single braid at the back. Naruto probably expected a fancy lunch with his outfit – black silky long sleeves over gray pants and black loafers.

Sasuke, high on impulsive decisions, wore bright colors, a complete departure from his usual neutrals; mustard vest over a deep violet polo, baggy pants, off white converse, and a white fanny pack. “Well, we’re mostly dressed for comfort, except for that idiot beside you.”

“What do you mean dressed for comfort? I borrowed these loafers from my vice-captain and my feet aren’t used to them,” Naruto whined. “Besides, aren’t you taking us out to a five-star meal, Mr. Valedictorian?”

“Wow, what a way to show off.” Sakura pursed her lips in annoyance. “Don’t worry Naruto, I got your next café order.”

“Ah no. It was just something we heard from the grape vine.” Naruto scratched his head and carefully glanced at Sasuke. “Grumpy got his trust fund today.”

In bated breaths, they waited for him to respond with a scowl or a retort, but he just nodded. “Come on, we’ll miss the train.”

They traveled for three stations and disembarked on the fourth, Sasuke sandwiched in between the two, his shoulders pillows again to their heads and yet such burdens were light as cotton. The surfacing emotions since last week were taking hold of him, but he needed to pull through somehow because breaking down while commuting was one thing he did not really see doing.

“Word just got in. The house was turned over this morning,” Itachi told him over the phone.

“Impeccable timing when I’m also moving abroad next week.” Sasuke pulled out his Bleachers vinyl and anticipated another lonesome lull for the night.

“Do you miss the cream puffs?”

“Nothing comes close.”

“Hmm. I’ll pay for the rental fee of your car.”

In Itachi’s defense, while he was an afficionado of escapism, he also knew how to read between the lines. “Watch me get a Mercedes-Benz.”

“I have a good driving playlist.” This only meant math rock, and Sasuke wanted something to scream his lungs too.

“Don’t need one.”

“Treat your friends to dinner, okay? Gotta go.”

“We’re walking?!” Naruto almost limped out of the train. Sasuke took one look at his heels and saw that they were bruised red. He took off his converse and socks and gave them to him.

Sakura whipped out a small first-aid kit and covered the rash on Naruto’s heels. “Hey don’t look at me like that. Brought it just in case we’re going on a day survival tour. A camping would be nice too.”

“Did you scrub your feet, idiot?”

“You think so low of me grumpy. Of course – last week!”

With Naruto now comfortable, the three resumed walking on the unfamiliar residential area. Sasuke gestured for them to enter a bamboo forest on the far side of the main road. Hidden in the shadows of the clumped stalks were a small opening, the growth hampered and ground rid of grasses and weeds; many people have also chosen this shortcut, walked through the forest, did a little nature bathing, and emerged behind the bakery, still there, still standing, still operating.

Sasuke tapped on the large glass window cum counter on the front and bought three sets of cream puffs.

“Oh, it’s you,” the old baker greeted. “You brought your friends over? You always buy one set.”

Sasuke offered her a smile, briefly glancing to his periphery where Sakura was fussing with Naruto’s feet, and nodded as he accepted the paper bag. “It’s on the house, kid.”

“You brought us to stalk someone’s house?” Sakura dug in one paper bag, bit the puff in one bite, and with full mouth, she sighed. “This is heaven.”

“It’s our old family house, before the accident that is.” Sasuke also took out one puff and munched on it, ruminating on the sight before him, a two-story house with an imposing façade, his mom’s climbing hydrangea gone and cut by the new owners, beds of roses and daisies already withered, but the wisteria tree on the vacant lot beside continued to grow and shade what he supposed were the children’s rooms. It was in his third bite that he saw the tomato fruits he planted, alive and full with harvest. “Do you think my parents know?”

Naruto slid an arm across his shoulder and grinned sheepishly. “Then they would be happy ghosts or maybe they would voluntarily move away to give the new owners the opportunity to make it a happy a home like yours.

“What part are you gonna miss?” Sakura asked, halfway through her set of puffs.

“The sight of the wisteria before I sleep and after I wake up, and the sunlight in my parents’ room. My dad liked to make these suncatchers for my mom. The play of light was a good morning greeting, she said.”

“What’s your funniest memory?” Naruto sat on the grass, uncaring for the stains that would taint his good pair of pants.

“It was probably Christmas when I was seven, and Itachi had this big idea to bake a cake, but he swapped the sugar for the salt and we were wondering why it wouldn’t make a custard. Our parents still ate it, saying it was a very salty version of dark chocolate cake.”

“It was a good home,” Sakura patted the space between her and Naruto and Sasuke sat down cross-legged too, dipping his hand on the paper bag with the last cream puff.

“It was a good home,” Sasuke agreed as he bit into the last vestige of his family memory. He was suckling the powdered sugar off his fingers when he realized he was already crying, and the two were downright sobbing on his either side.

Such an embarrassing sight to see; he wondered what would the new owners feel if they looked out their windows this instant and saw three teenagers breaking down on the road across. It was honestly stupid and laughable to a point, considering how funny it was for grief to become lighter when someone else cried with him.

Naruto was sniffling so much that he had to offer his handkerchief to him. “I forgot to tell you guys. Hinata confessed to me during the cultural festival.”

“Oh my god. What did you say?” Sakura took a tissue out of her bag and dabbed her eyes. She flashed an apologetic look to Sasuke who already offered his hanky to Naruto’s fluids.

“Ah, what else? I had to reject her.” Naruto sneezed on Sasuke’s handkerchief again. “I told her I was in love with someone else.” He slyly glanced at his raven-haired friend and pursed his lips which Sakura quickly caught.

“Who is it?”

“Sasuke also likes someone.”

“Shut your mouth, blondie. Point is already moot. Besides, we’ve already been rejected.”

“Who are these people and why don’t I know them?” Sakura genuinely looked offended. “I could have vetted them!”

“Exactly why it was fortunate you didn’t meet them,” Sasuke said as an excuse though he pegged Sakura for not being that naïve. She, thankfully, let it go and gathered their trash. She dropped the bomb as she was brushing the grass blades from her trousers. “My parents are divorcing. Such a travesty not to have them show up on graduation day, and I thought I did a great job.”

The two, ever so sure, held onto her hands in case she was trembling again.

“Let’s get that five-star dinner,” Sasuke suggested, “and we need to rent a Mercedes-Benz.”

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

Graduation Day

“Let’s welcome to the stage, class valedictorian, Uchiha Sasuke.” Kakashi was the officiating faculty today so she expected difficulty going through the event, but for some reason, he slipped into her mental back burner, no longer taking up room in her active consciousness. That was a good step, she smiled to herself. Her smile became wider as Sasuke got up the stage.

His fans club’s cheers were heard outside the auditorium, and the graduating class chuckled at the quick interruption. He cleared his throat and started his piece.

“Please get it on record that I was coerced to do this speech. Then again, I also had a hand on the turn of events that led me here today, in front of you. And it’s a little too on the nose, but I came to high school with a clear set of goals – have high grades and lead an uninteresting life. I accomplished the first one rather easily, and it’s a good metric for the future that’s upon us right now. Good grades land us good colleges. Good colleges land us good jobs. Good jobs land us good life.

But it’s not the sole benchmark as I have learned lately. You see, my second goal really missed the mark. Good life can also mean good friends, fun experiences, a caring environment, a complete family. If you ticked off each one, then that’s very notable. You have the four-leaf clover, and it’s a rare blessing. I only ticked off three, but that goes without any regret. If you only have one silver lining in your high school memory, then that makes us all the more human. And if there’s none, there is still is still a whole stretch of possibilities we can discover to find one. Thank you for your kind attention.”

Sakura was pretty sure she heard several sniffles across the student body. “The bastard delivered a good speech,” she muttered to herself.

“We would like to welcome our first national MVP, Uzumaki Naruto.”

Outside, the school band played the cheering anthem for his last national games. The cheerleaders also did a routine in tribute to him. That made him well up when he got to the podium.

“Wait oh my god, I’m tearing up so much.”

Sasuke grunted loudly and went back the stage to hand him a handkerchief which Naruto quickly used to wipe his snot.

“Thanks Sasuke. How can Kakashi-sensei let me follow after that rousing speech, and before Sakura too. It’s kinda evil.”

Laughter broke out.

“Well, this one’s a bare minimum. I didn’t have any goals or expectations, unlike genius grumpy over there. I just wanted to live my life like an ordinary boy. Someone said that how you spend your day is how you live your life so I did just that – ate ramen, slept in class because I am a growing kid, and played each arcade game until I won them. I also believe in serendipitous – thanks Sakura for this word, for the spelling and meaning – serendipitous coincidences. I just pitched and batted for former captain Haru one afternoon and now we landed in the national finals. I had loneliness for a friend, but now I’ve got all of you. And you know what else, the magic of working together. We wouldn’t have stepped foot in the nationals if it weren’t for your collective help. When we work towards a common goal, that also gives us common happiness, right? It’s infectious, a bouncing energy that gets thrown around and still makes it one piece. So wherever you will be after this, believe it!”

When Kakashi called her name next, she thought she was deaf, the noise around her collapsed in muted decibels. It took a minute before her fellow classmates shook her and motioned for her to quickly come up the stairs. Her silver-haired teacher looked so concerned in the shadows, but for what it was worth, she was civil and calm enough (at least in the matters concerning him) to nod at him in quiet exchange of assurance.

It was because she saw both of her parents at the side with a bouquet of roses. She struggled with the paper she brought with her although she had it memorized in her head; she even went through it flawlessly for three times last night. Tears blurred the words and the mere shock of the sight of their togetherness disabled her mental function to string coherent thoughts. She also started hyperventilating, her breaths coming faster than what her lungs could pump.

Then she felt Kakashi’s hand on her shoulder, a steady presence, and it reeled her back to reality. He tapped the mic and the feedback echoed. “Ah, Ms. Haruno had some technical issues. Again, let’s welcome former student council president, Sakura.”

Sasuke and Naruto in the front were almost standing, but she flashed them a smile as if to say she was okay now. “Hello, good day to our honorable guests and graduates. I think it’s safe to say that Sasuke and Naruto provided really good words of advice. So I have nothing more to offer, but to share my gratitude. Everyone was saying the student council did a good job in its programs, but it was actually the lot of you who made this possible – from your activity suggestions to participation and feedback. After all, you were the makers of your memories.

Earlier last week, my councilmates and friends reminded me how small actions go a long way – a smile, a wave across the hallway, a short exchange of good morning and see you soon, and I thought, aren’t we all just an accumulation of these small, little things? As such, it was what you think your insignificant moments were that pushed us to deliver you the best. It was the passing comment, the top-of-your-head tips, the interlude stories we hear during lunch breaks that allowed us to give you grand gestures and memories we hoped were worth keeping. And if we could start to use that perspective as well in our lives then maybe the uncertainties of a future wouldn’t be so heavy on us. We will face tomorrow with a lightness in being.

In behalf of the student council, thank you for allowing us to serve you.”

She bowed at a level where her torso was almost aligned at her hips, and she was confused with the lack of reaction. Sakura sighed, mulling over the deficiencies in her speech, but she straightened her back to a sight of a standing ovation and a thundering applause.

Then, she let her tears fall.

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

“Why would you let Kakashi-sensei take the pic?” Sakura hissed at them.

“Just this one time, Sakura!” Naruto grinned.

“Sakura, you’re out of the frame,” Kakashi remarked. “Okay good. Say cheese.”

In spite of her recent heartbreak with him, she permitted herself to bask in fleeting cordiality. “Cheese.”

“Grumpyyyyyy.”

“Idiot blondie.”

Kakashi took three more shots and handed the camera to the trio. He almost turned away when Sakura caught his sleeve.

“Just one more,” she said. “With you.”

Sakura shifted to the front, almost kneeling with the camera angled for a selfie, her two friends beside her looking equally annoyed as the other, and Kakashi behind them, his hands on either head, smiling with his deceptively charming beauty mark.

It was the last picture of their high school life.

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

The three were rushing through the airport crowd fifteen minutes before the immigration closes gates.

“Here!” Sakura slid a folder on the large pocket on Sasuke’s bag. “It includes your passport, your flight details, your valid IDs, your itinerary, and letters from us! Don’t forget our Friday video calls!”

“I can’t see. These tears are bullies,” Naruto said through tears. He was continuously wiping his eyes with his sleeve.

“And If I don’t get on my flight because you made us eat ramen for one last time and the orders took too long, I’m gonna have you cursed by a witch and a shaman!” Sasuke growled. The guards were starting to close the gates when a sobbing Naruto sprinted and basically tackled the guards on the floor.

“Sasuke come on, hurry up!”

“Drink your vitamins! And if you miss cream puffs, I’ll teach you how to make them.” Sakura was trying hard to keep pace with Sasuke’s brisk walking, but she ended up breathless anyway.

The three of them finally reached the immigration entrance, and Naruto was profusely apologizing to the guards for the interruption. Sasuke showed his documents, wheezing as they looked at it. They gave him a thumbs up and opened the gates.

The two were already slumped at the floor, waving without words, and exhausted from the clock race. Sasuke was almost through when he remembered something he forgot. He muttered a quick sorry, ran through the opening, and hugged his two friends.

“I’ll miss you.”

[gravelyhumerus]

Criminal Minds College AU - Chapter Seventeen

Fandom: Criminal Minds

Title: “I may just take your breath away”

Relationship: Jemily

Summary:

Exams, pizza, board games... what more could a girl ask for?

Slow-burn Jemily college AU where they live across the hall and despite all odds, the universe pushes them together. AKA they’re silly gay babies who pine after each other for months.

Read it on AO3

Tumblr:  One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten, Eleven, Twelve, Thirteen, Fourteen, Fifteen, Sixteen, (bonus scene), Seventeen, Eighteen, Nineteen, Twenty

 “That was a lot of chess,” Emily complained, nearly chugging her latte as she and Spencer left the coffee shop. 

She pulled her beanie onto her head and braced herself for the snow as the taller boy held the door open for her. Emily almost slipped on the slushy tile floor on her way out but managed to keep her balance. 

“Fifteen of the multiple-choice questions to be precise,” Spencer replied. The salted sidewalk crunched under their feet as they made their way across campus. 

“I’m so glad it’s finally over,” she admitted. “I think I’ve had enough philosophy to last me a lifetime.” 

“I’m enrolled in ‘Minds and Machines’ next semester,” he said. “I think I might try and get a double minor this time around.”

“What’s the goal? Three PhDs by the time you’re 24?” Emily quipped. 

He was well on his way, having completed his engineering degree before she managed to graduate high school. He was 17, only two years younger than her, but somehow seemed like a kid. A kid with more education crammed into his brain than she could ever master in her life.

“Something like that,” he replied with a smile. His hair was getting long and he had tied it back during the exam. With last names starting with P and R, they were seated near each other in the large exam hall, and she glanced over at him as he fussed with his hair. 

They stopped at the red light, watching as the cars and busses wooshed past them, sending the slush flying into the snowbanks. It had been a fairly sunny day, but bitterly cold. Now, the sun was setting and the campus was bathed in a warm golden glow. The snow had fallen the night before, leaving fluffy white snow covering their campus. 

Emily had spent most of the day holed up in the library with Spencer, with him quizzing her on fallacies and philosophers. With his eidetic memory, he only really needed to read the material once. Earlier in the semester, she did feel useful when it came to editing each other’s essays. He always got bogged down with detail, word vomiting everything he knew, and she helped him with his structure and argumentation. 

More studying awaited her back in her room. She rubbed at the back of her neck as she thought about the upcoming evening spent hunched over her desk studying criminal justice, a subject that left her questioning her degree half the time as she was forced to learn about the muddled ethics of justice. 

That week, she had survived on minimal sleep, eating mostly bagels and coffee to sustain her. Her body was protesting with each step, and she had suffered from a constant tension headache for as long as she remembered. At least her college had that golden retriever walk around at the library yesterday, she thought to herself, sarcastically. Animal therapy definitely relieved all her stress. As if petting a dog for five minutes would fix the anxiety of finals season. 

Two more exams, she reminded herself. You’ll make it. 

Despite this mantra, Emily was conflicted. While finals were killing her, the end of the semester also meant winter break. Emily would be forced to go “home” for the holidays. For most college students, that meant going back to their respective towns and being surrounded by their loved ones. Emily, on the other hand, didn’t have anywhere she called home. Last winter break, her mom had at least been in DC, and Emily was able to catch up with some of her international school friends who were in the city. This time, her mom was stationed in London, and Emily knew she’d be roped back into her old life. She didn’t know anyone there and knew most of her break would be spent alone. 

The last place she had called home was Rome, and now that was tarnished by her complicated past with that city. 

Emily was good at being alone. Being an only child of a workaholic single mom meant she learned to keep her own company. She read a lot. She got good at running away, escaping her nannies, and skirting security in order to roam free. She’d be fine. 

The problem was that Emily had gotten used to this. She rarely spent a moment alone these days. Whether it was walking to class with Spencer, or Hotch, or Derek, getting lunch with the team, surprise coffee dates with Penelope and spending almost every evening with her girlfriend, she hadn’t been left alone in ages. She didn’t miss it. 

Their residence building had a warm yellow light shining out of the windows and a soft red brick facade. In the summer, ivy grew up the south facing side but in the winter, the ledges were covered in snow and the stone steps were slippery. She trudged forward, excited for the warm embrace of the dorm. 

Spencer had other plans. He reached into the garish yellow plastic newspaper box that was stationed next to their doorway and retrieved this week’s newspaper. 

“Come on Reid,” Emily said. “Just subscribe to the newsletter or something like the rest of us.”

He held up the cover to her in surprise. Usually it reported the news of a recent sports victory, or a change of policy announced by the administrators, or even a fun event held on campus. Sometimes there was even a dramatic protest or an important speaker coming to campus. But this week, the headline surprised her. In large font printed across the page read: “Multiple student politicians fired amid financial scandal.” 

“That sounds bad,” Emily said. It did seem way more dramatic on newsprint than on a website, so maybe Spencer was onto something with his affinity for the printed word. 

Grabbing a copy for herself, she then walked inside to escape the cold. Warm air greeted them as they entered their residence hall, and both students kicked the snow off their boots before trudging up the stairs. They read as they walked, but the route to their rooms was already muscle memory, so neither worried about stumbling on their way. 

Normally, Emily wouldn’t willingly touch this sort of student politics with a ten foot pole. Sure, she was involved with the Criminology council, but there was a difference between the kind of person interested in petitioning for better accessibility to faculty events or running a bake sale, and the kind of students to embezzle thousands of student dollars like what the current student government executive seemed to be accused of doing. 

She quickly ran her eyes down the page, the contents jogging a memory from Halloween, of Hotch and JJ discussing the early stirrings of said scandal. 

“You know,” Spencer said, “I’m surprised they got a lot of this information, it’s notoriously difficult to file FOIAs for student governments, as they’re technically private corporations. So the fact that they got these files means that this is a much bigger scandal than one might assume.”

Corruption, bribery, embezzlement, nepotism. All words that jogged memories of hiding in the corner of political fundraisers, overhearing the worst of politics from too-drunk elites sipping on their wine and munching on charcuterie. 

“I hate politics,” Emily said, stuffing her copy of the paper into her bag. 

“I find it interesting. It’s basically a microcosm of our current political climate. In fact, I have subscribed to the print edition of fifteen student papers in the region,” Spencer said, “I like to keep informed on the coverage of student issues, and compare them to our own.”

“Why?!” Emily said with a laugh. “You know you can just look them up online.”

Spencer gave her a withering look, and she should have known better than asking about his aversion to tech. He loathed having to use his computer, as the LCD screens apparently gave him a headache. Penelope even gave him a pair of blue light glasses to attempt to alleviate the issue.

Then, he began to speak, at length, about the dying printed news industry and why print copies were better for understanding than screens et cetera. She made sure to nod and hum at appropriate points, but her mind kept wandering. 

She wondered if her girlfriend was in her room. Emily missed her any time they were apart and she yearned to hold her in her arms once again. But she shouldn’t. She needed to work. She had too much to do. Her grades had slipped, slightly, this semester. Everyone warned her about how college would be harder than high school, but no one ever warned her how much the expectations were raised in second year. 

Two more exams. She clutched her coffee tighter. She’d rather do anything else besides study at this point. Her body was exhausted, her mind frazzled. She wondered if she could even manage to get through a chapter of revision before conking out on her desk. 

As she said goodbye to Spencer and struggled with her keys that were tangled up in their corresponding university-branded lanyard, JJ’s door opened.  

“Hey girlfriend,” JJ greeted her, sounding way too much like a straight girl greeting her platonic friend for Emily’s taste. She gave her a pass because it sounded cute in her voice. 

“JJ!” Emily said, somehow surprised to see her despite the fact that she lived right across the hall. Her girlfriend was dressed in sweatpants and an oversized sweater, with her straight hair tucked behind her ears and her face bare of make up. Her face was lit up with a smile, and Emily rushed towards her, planting a soft kiss on her lips.

“Hi JJ,” Spencer said as Emily and JJ kissed. 

When they pulled apart, JJ gave Spencer a smile as a greeting and asked them how their exam went. 

Spencer babbled about their Logic exams for a minute or two, as Emily basked in JJ’s presence. She grabbed onto her hand and found that it was so much hotter than her own and wasn’t sure if she held on tight because she was cold, or if she had missed her girlfriend. 

“I’m just glad it’s over,” Emily said. “I never want to hear about fallacies again.”

Spencer seemed to want to say something, but fell silent at Emily’s tired expression. 

“Wanna come in for a bit?” JJ whispered in Emily’s ear. Apparently she said so a touch too loud because Spencer replied instead. 

“Sure!” he said, and then walked into JJ and Penelope’s room. 

“I should really study,” Emily tried to argue, but a single glance into JJ’s deep, blue eyes had Emily melting. 

JJ’s room was much messier than Emily had last seen it. Both desks showed clear markers of the ongoing exams, with papers and books piled high. In addition to this was an assortment of pillows strewn all over the floor.

“You guys are back early!” JJ said, after checking her watch, “I thought it was a two hour exam?”

“I finished in an hour,” Spencer said, “and Emily only needed an extra half hour on top of my time.”

Damn straight, Emily thought, feeling somewhat competitive with the boy-genius despite herself. 

She really should study, but the prospect of seeing her girlfriend outweighed the desire to sit hunched over a textbook for another evening. 

Emily and Spencer kicked off their boots, placing them neatly on the mat by the door before peeling their jackets off and hanging them on the back of her door. Emily wasn’t sure if she liked winter. Whenever her mother was stationed in the Middle East she yearned for snow, but now that she was experiencing the Nor’easter for the first time, the desert sounded like a good time. 

“Well there goes my plan,” JJ said, blowing her hair out of her face with a puff of air.

Spencer flopped onto Penelope’s neatly-made bed, collapsing into the assortment of pink pillows while carefully keeping his take-away cup upright. Emily sat down next to JJ on her bed.

“Your plan?” Emily asked. 

“Yeah,” JJ said, sounding a bit shy. “I had this whole plan to make up a blanket fort here for you, and I would surprise you with it when you walked in.’”

JJ gestured with her hands at the mess. Blankets and pillows were strewn about, and a bundle of fairy lights were laying in the middle of the floor. 

“Then you came back early,” JJ concluded. “Spence, I thought you’d keep her occupied longer!”

“You didn’t tell me that,” he replied. Spencer looked quizzically at her, shrugged, then took another sip of his coffee.

“I just wanted us to have a cute date night,” JJ admitted. “I know you’re so stressed, and you deserve a break.” 

Emily grabbed her girlfriend’s moving hands and held them in her own. She felt overwhelmed. JJ was so… thoughtful. Caring. Attentive. So many things that were absolutely foreign to Emily. No one had ever tried to impress her like this. 

“It’s okay,” Emily said. “We don’t need anything special to have a cute date night. You’re cute enough.”

JJ gave Emily a goofy smile in response. 

“Okay,” JJ said. “If you say so.”

“You’re building a blanket fort?” Spencer asked. “I actually have some experience with blanket fort architecture.”

“You do?” JJ asked, raising her eyebrows skeptically.

“Of course,” he replied, seeming almost offended that she questioned him. “It sparked my interest in engineering. I wanted to overcome the problem of chair-tippage when it came to building the structure, so I devised a system of counter-weights that I found increased the structural integrity by 53%. My mom always told me that I could be an architect, but I thought the sciences better suited my intellect.”

“Oh?” Emily asked, genuinely interested. How would someone measure the structural integrity of a blanket fort? 

“Actually, I have some blueprints. Let me grab them,” he said, standing up and making a move for the door. 

“Of course you have blueprints,” JJ laughed. 

“I should probably go feed Gideon, anyway. I’ll be right back!” Spencer  said. Before closing the door behind him.

“Gideon?” Emily asked. 

“His fish,” JJ said, “the one he won at the fair. It’s named after his professor, I think.”

She shrugged. The kid was weird, they tended to just accept that. 

“I guess Spencer’s joining us on date night,” JJ said. “Sorry. I know you’re stressed and probably want to be studying, but I thought we’d order pizza and just have one night off. Just us. And Spencer.”

JJ planted a firm kiss on Emily’s lips, leaving her dazed and blushing. 

“Relaxing sounds perfect,” Emily said, pulling her girlfriend closer to her. “I can’t believe it’s already exams. This semester has flown by. Soon it’ll be winter break, and I won’t get to see you.”

“I can’t imagine you not being right across the hall,” JJ said. “Who will give me kisses when I want them?”

JJ kissed Emily, sucking on Emily’s bottom lip slightly before pulling apart to look at her. 

“I know you’re joking, but I hope you’re not kissing anybody else, no matter the circumstances.”

With that established, Emily pounced on her girlfriend, pushing her onto her bed and kissing her deeply. She intertwined her fingers in the blonde locks that were splayed out in a golden halo and breathed in deep, taking in the warm scent of the lilac candle that burnt on her night side table. 

All her worries melted away at JJ’s touch. Emily’s brain was filled with the feeling of JJ’s lips on hers, with her lithe form beneath her. Exams, student politics and thoughts of home were wiped away, and her stress faded into background noise. 

JJ’s pliant form writhed under Emily’s, her hands sneaking below Emily’s sweater and dancing over her back. They deepened the kiss until they were making out like teenagers in JJ’s dorm with the door still open a crack. 

This was how Spencer, accompanied by Derek, found them when they pushed open the door with blanket fort blueprints and bags of potato chips in hand. 

Spencer made a surprised noise, which made Emily aware of his return. She jumped up and pulled apart from JJ with a dark red blush gracing her cheeks. 

“Woah there ladies,” Derek said with a laugh. “Keep it in your pants!”

“Guys! I was gone for five minutes!” Spencer whined. 

Emily stood up awkwardly, stuffing her hands in her pockets as she watched JJ sit up and pat her hair down in a huff.

“Sorry,” Emily grumbled, not really meaning it. She would never be sorry for kissing JJ, but she was sorry for the awkwardness

“Pretty boy dragged me down the hall,” Derek said in explanation. He had Spencer’s rolled-up fort plans in his hand, and lightly smacked Emily’s head with it, making a comedic thwap noise as it made contact. “Hope you weren’t in the middle of something?”

“Only JJ’s legs,” Emily quipped to everyone’s surprise, even her own. JJ hit her jokingly and blushed. 

“Hey!” Derek laughed, “Let’s keep this PG!”

“You called?” The voice of Penelope Garcia—PG if you will—rang out from the hallway, and within seconds JJ’s room was filled with just about all their friends standing around in a slightly awkward silence: JJ, Emily, Spencer and Derek were joined by Penelope with Hotch in tow. 

The latter two of them had grown closer recently and walked into the room with white shopping bags with the walrus logo printed on the side, looking like they had just returned from out in the cold. Penelope and Hotch going thrifting together, that’s new! Emily thought to herself and decided to file the observation for later. The image of Hotch watching Penelope’s customary fashion show was enough to make her laugh under her breath. 

“We’re building a blanket fort,” Spencer announced, changing the subject to the task at hand. “Are you guys helping?”

“Oh you know I will, boy genius,” Penelope said with an excited smile. 

Emily looked over to her girlfriend. So much for date night.

———

Without much questioning about why they were building a blanket fort, the team got to work. In college, sometimes things just happened. Impromptu blanket forts were par the course. In their defense, any excuse to not spend the evening burying their heads in textbooks was a welcome reprieve. 

It started with just a few blankets draped in the space between JJ and Penelope’s beds, but with Spencer’s instruction, a verifiable architectural marvel began to take shape. 

While Emily knew that Penelope would be all gung ho for this sort of project, it was certainly amusing to see Hotch in his khakis and dress shirt crawling around on the floor like a child with the rest of them, tying off blankets and very seriously maneuvering the different parts of the structure. 

Sheets were draped here and there, tied together to form ceilings and walls. Two chairs stolen from the common room, loaded with backpacks on the seat for support acted as the entrance to the fort. 

While it was crawling space only, Emily had to note that there was a sense of awe when you emerged into the open space of the main fort-area. It was surprisingly big, fitting all six of them with ease. The key to the whole design was a curtain rod Hotch had stolen from the boys shower that lifted the roof up. 

The design was strangely reminiscent of Baroque architecture, which she was sure was due to Spencer’s designs. This was a fact that Emily kept to herself. She always tried to rein in the ‘I lived abroad’ conversation points so her childhood could remain under minimal scrutiny.

Emily’s exhaustion transformed into excitement as she relished the time hanging out with her friends. Music played from Penelope’s computer as they worked, they began to work as a cohesive group, each member doing their share. It was nice to do something besides sit at her desk and obsess over memorizing facts and statistics, or figuring out the proper argumentation for an essay on a subject. Making sure that a bunch of blankets didn’t crash onto them was treated with the utmost seriousness, and the whole group was focused with intense concentration at their own tasks. 

Spencer did, in fact, have literal sketches of blanket forts in his notebooks, but the details of which were fairly incomprehensible to her. While she believed that he did the math, his chicken scratch was just about indecipherable, and his drawing was little more than a few shapes on a page. Despite this, it was laid out on the centre of the dorm-room floor for them to reference. 

At one point, as Emily stood on JJ’s wheely chair, she feared that the fort had all come crashing down as she lost her balance and grabbed at the blankets to stop her fall before tumbling onto Derek with a yelp. 

“Sorry,” she muttered as she climbed back onto her feet and fought off the blanket that had wrapped her in a shroud. 

She flinched as she realized she had ruined it all, a pit forming in her stomach. She looked at her friends in concern, but instead of yelling at her for her mistake, or shunning her for ruining it for the rest of them, they smiled at her and helped her up.

“It’s okay!” Spencer said cheerfully. “I know exactly how to reinforce that wall.”

“You okay, Emily?” Hotch asked, righting the wheely chair as JJ fretted over her. 

“I’m good,” she answered, still confused as to why they weren’t mad at her. 

Instead of making a big deal over the set back, they went back to work. Soon, the fort filled out and it returned to its former glory. Arguably, better than it was because they had draped fairy lights throughout the inside, making the space glow with a warm orange light. 

Inside was filled with pillows and big enough for all of them to sit comfortably so it was a comfy lounge space. It was cozy and warm, the antithesis of the bitterly cold night air outside. 

“You know what?” Hotch said. “This is a damned good fort, Reid.” 

The group muttered in consensus. They all had piled into the space, and as the excitement wore off, Emily was wondering what happened next. What does one do in a blanket fort? She had vague memories of building one in her room, but she had just sat inside and read a book. 

“I hear the RA’s storage room has a ton of board games,” Penelope said. “They pull them out for socials and stuff.”

“That’s all well and good, but we’re not asking Strauss to let us in,” Derek argued. “I still think she thinks we were responsible for that fire alarm last week. She’s been giving me the evil eye ever since.”

“Who said we had to tell her?” Emily said. “We could just… borrow… them…”

“I mean, they are for us to use, anyway.” JJ’s eyes had a mischievous look in them as she looked at Emily.

“That is true,” Hotch said, the scowl that was usually a fixture on his face turning to a smirk. 

“That’s stealing, guys,” Spencer warned, as if they didn’t already know that. 

“We’ll give them back,” Emily said with a shrug. “Come on!”

Penelope led the way to a dark wooden door on the main floor, it was labelled simply “Storage,” but the computer science student assured them that it was where the RA’s stored all of their supplies.

“It’s locked,” Penelope huffed.

“Do you have a bobby pin?” Emily asked her in a hushed voice. She wouldn’t have gotten this far if she hadn’t learned how to pick simple door locks. She had trouble with deadbolts but a simple latch she could probably do within a couple of minutes.

The blonde pulled a hot pink bobby pin out of her perfectly curled hair. Emily snapped it into two, bending one end into a longer L-shape. Sticking that into the bottom of the lock and holding it in place, she used the other side to feel for the pins that held the lock in place. 

Emily could feel all eyes on her as she confidently knelt in front of the doorknob, the group keeping watch for her as she worked. No one questioned how or why Emily knew how to do this. She had her reasons. 

This definitely broke all sorts of residence rules and if they got caught, they knew they’d get into shit, but no one seemed to care that much. They just wouldn’t get caught. 

After a couple minutes, Emily’s hands began to sweat. What if she couldn’t do this anymore? She tried to centre herself. She had made it through infinitely more stressful situations in the past. It was the eyes of her friends on her that made her nervous. She was finally accepted by a group, and she desperately didn’t want to let them down. 

Then, it clicked, and she was able to turn the brass knob easily. Emily made a noise of excitement, got to her feet and yanked the door open. 

Instead of an empty storage closet, on the other side of the door was Erin Strauss, their RA, in a passionate embrace with David Rossi. Her shirt was unbuttoned and he was in the middle of sucking on her neck. 

“Dave?!” Hotch called out, startling the couple. 

Both groups stood stock-still, neither knowing what to say. While Emily had hid the bobby pins, she wasn’t sure who was in more trouble, them for breaking into the room or their RA for using the space for unofficial purposes. 

The room was small and cramped, with a pile of poster board mostly obscuring the one small window that lit the space. Strauss had been hoisted onto the desk, her legs straddling the other student. Emily could see a shelf filled with the board games stacked on the left side of the room, but they seemed unimportant at the moment. While Emily had known about their illicit love affair, she had never expected to see it in action. 

“Hey guys,” Rossi said after a moment, his unwavering confidence carrying on to this moment as he pulled apart from Strauss, who was furiously buttoning up her shirt and trying to sort herself out. 

“What are you all doing in here?” she demanded, standing up and putting her hands on her hips. “This room’s meant for RA’s only.”

“Well,” Emily said, startled by her own audacity, “Dave isn’t an RA so…”

“We just came for some board games,” JJ said in her most diplomatic voice, despite clearly wanting to laugh at the situation, “then we’ll be off.”

“Take them and go,” the RA said in a strangled voice, her face beet-red and as she avoided eye contact like it was the plague. 

Clearly not as embarrassed as Strauss, Rossi simply smirked, collected a few board games into his arms off of the shelf, then deposited them into Emily’s arms. 

Realizing that given the circumstances, they couldn’t be picky with their choices, the stunned group thanked him then scurried away, back upstairs with their loot. The silence remained until they made it back to their floor, where they all burst into laughter.

“What on earth was that?!” Derek exclaimed. 

“Rossi and Strauss,” Spencer muttered. 

Emily and JJ made eye contact, remembering all those weeks ago when they had caught their friend emerging from the RA’s room down the hall in the middle of the night. They had known that Rossi and Strauss had hooked up that night, but had no idea that it was a whole relationship.

“I see it,” Hotch commented. “I mean, I don’t know your RA too well, but Rossi likes a woman with authority.”

Derek and Emily fake-gagged in an exaggerated manner at the comment. 

“I think I need to bleach my eyeballs after that display,” Emily muttered. 

“Ooo-kay!” JJ said, pointedly changing the subject. “It seems like we have most of the pieces to Clue… I think we could manage a game of that. We also have Scrabble, Yahtzee and Snakes and Ladders. Uh… also a pack of cards.”

“At least it’s not chess,” Emily said, thinking about her seemingly endless exam that afternoon. 

“Agreed,” Spencer said. 

“We do not have chess, no,” JJ said with a quizzical laugh. 

———

After ordering a couple of pizzas to the dorm, they all settled in to play a board game. After a few minutes of debate, they decided to play Clue (or Cluedo as Emily continuously referred to it as). The board was laid out: it was vintage, with a teal and yellow colour scheme and some scuffs and rips showing its age. In their blanket fort, they were seated in a circle, all secretly looking at their Clue cards.

“Can I be Professor Plum?” Spencer asked before they had even gotten the pieces out of the box. 

“Of course pretty boy,” Derek said, “I’ll take Mr. Green.”

“My sculpted god of thunder looks excellent in green,” Penelope flirted, choosing the white piece for herself. 

“Did you know that in the original version of Clue, Mr Green was a Reverend, but they changed his name for American audience because they believed that the American public would object to a parson as a murder suspect?”

“Good thing you’re on our trivia team, Reid,” Hotch replied.  

Emily was Miss Scarlet, of course, and was seated right next to JJ, who had chosen to portray Mrs. Peacock. Hotch claimed the remaining piece: Colonel Mustard.

Emily loved board games. Her nanny in France, who was a kindly elderly woman that Emily only knew as “Madame,” would play with her each Sunday after church. She has hazy memories from that time, but the warm glow of sunlight streaming into their Parisian apartment as she learned how to play Cluedo. Emily would always try to cheat, but knew better than to try to do so with her immensely observant girlfriend seated to her left, JJ’s hand resting casually on Emily’s thigh.

She looked at her cards and grinned. She had been dealt her own character, she noted, as Miss Scarlet’s name was printed in bold on the top of her first card. It felt weirdly validating to know that she herself was innocent. Also in her hands were the cards for the candlestick and pistol, as well as the observatory. She marked these off of her card and tried to gauge her opponents' reactions. 

JJ was checking her phone with her cards face down, tracking the pizza’s arrival. Spencer was sprawled back, his long legs taking up way more room than was necessary, jotting down notes on some scrap paper. Presumably some statistics and probability for the possibilities of the cards that were sealed in the envelope in the centre of the board. Penelope smiled over at Derek and flirtatiously tried to sneak a peek at his hand. 

After the initial rounds being dedicated to moving around the board, Emily finally made it into her first room: the lounge. There, she decided on her first suggestion.

“I suggest,” Emily said, in her most dramatic, formal voice, which was particularly suited to the role of Miss Scarlet, “that Mrs. Peacock committed this heinous crime in the Lounge with-” she hurriedly grabbed the candlestick, “the candlestick!”

She knew that it wasn’t the correct weapon, but using it would narrow it down to someone ruling out either JJ’s character or the lounge as the scene of the crime. 

“Moi?!” JJ said, sounding almost offended at the accusation. “Your own girlfriend?!”

Emily grinned evilly at her, but internally she felt giddy. It was the first time she heard JJ use that word in front of their friends. JJ moved her piece into the Lounge. The others chuckled lightly at their antics.

“You have no alibi for the crime, Mrs. Peacock,” Emily said, “and I am merely making a suggestion.”

JJ glared at her, but said nothing. Emily turned to Derek, who was seated at her left. 

“What do I do?” Derek asked, looking around the room, slightly confused. 

“Do you have any of those cards?” Hotch asked. 

“Yeah-” Derek said, moving to show his hand. 

“No!” Penelope stopped him. “Just show one of your cards to Emily if you can prove her suggestion was wrong.”

He made an “o” with his mouth and sneakily showed Emily the Lounge card. Emily noted that, and that it was Derek’s card. Mrs. Peacock had yet to be proven innocent, and Emily gave JJ a suspicious glance. 

She loved this game. 

As the game progressed, Emily noted a few things about her opponents. A part of Emily was profiling her friends subconsciously, reading each of their strategies like a book. 

Penelope always seemed to luck out on her dice rolls, covering a lot of terrain and gathering information like it was a cup of tea. But, she seemed to take it personally when someone accused Mrs. White of having killed Mr. Boddy and gasped every time someone made that suggestion. 

Hotch seemed to take the game very seriously, and was at it like he was an actual police officer solving crime. But, it didn’t seem that he completely understood all of the rules, and definitely hadn’t played before, so he spent most of his turn grumbling as he skimmed the rule pamphlet. 

Spencer, on the other hand, had memorized the rules, common strategies and probabilities of the different outcomes, so Hotch often looked over to him nervously as the boy wrote longhand equations in the notebook that he pulled out of his bag for the very occasion. 

Derek also had never played before, and regularly made ‘accusations’ rather than ‘suggestions’ when he entered a room, frustrating Spencer to no end. But, Derek was smart and seemed to be picking it up as he went along. That was until he made the same suggestion twice in a row, both times making Hotch show him the exact same card. He asked Reid endless questions about specific rules, and more than once he made the boy double check in the rule book when Derek tried to make a rather unorthodox move. 

JJ seemed to be the only one genuinely trying to have fun. She munched on the Cheetos that she stored in the bottom drawer of her night stand, and made conversation. Her strategy seemed to be exclusively focused on playing the game like it was the 1985 feature film Clue, playing the role of Mrs. Peacock with a fake accent and treating it like an actual murder-filled dinner party.

After a solid twenty minutes of gameplay, the pizza arrived. With minimal grumbling from Hotch, who was apparently on a roll, they took a break to eat. 

“Did you see this?” Spencer said with his mouth full, lifting up the copy of the newspaper that he had grabbed earlier.

“Don’t get me started,” JJ grumbled and took a sip of her pop. 

“What happened?” Hotch asked, the conversation piquing his interest. 

Spencer explained—with the assistance of JJ who apparently knew one of the people involved through soccer—the entire scandal. Apparently, last year there had been very little interest in the leadership roles, so the President of the student government had simply waltzed into his role. He then hired all of his friends, his girlfriend, his roommate, and together they embezzled thousands of dollars of student funds. 

“I can’t believe they’re getting away with this,” JJ muttered. “Is there no oversight?”

“It’s always the same,” Emily replied. “Who’s going to oversee them? The college? They’re corrupt too.”

“This sucks,” Derek said. “Wish someone good would run for government, for once.”

Emily shook her head in frustration. It all just reminded her of her childhood. Embezzlement, corruption and nepotism all were casual topics discussed over family dinner in her home. She had higher hopes for students her own age, would they not break the cycle? Or was it just a microcosm of the outside world? 

“You should run Mr. Lawyer Man,” Penelope teased Hotch. “You could take any of these clowns.”

Hotch raised an eyebrow at her and went back to his pizza, brushing her off. Emily smiled at him. Penelope was right, he might actually do a good job if he set his mind to it. 

The people that surrounded her now were nothing like her mother’s friends—or the kids she had been forced to hang out with when she was younger—they were genuinely kind, supportive, and seemed to like Emily for Emily. When she told them she was an ambassador’s daughter, they had been more concerned with the cool places that she had been able to travel to than whatever power she had. At college, Emily finally exhaled fully, slowly relaxing more and more into herself. 

But, the topic of politics always set her on edge, especially since the semester was ending soon. Her mother had already begun to leave her voicemails about the galas, fundraisers and events that she was required to attend over Christmas break. She pushed thoughts of the future aside and focused on the warmth that surrounded her. With some music playing softly (a song that JJ liked by Vampire Weekend), the softness of blankets under her, and JJ leaning on her slightly as she ate her dinner, Emily felt at peace. She knew she could handle winter break, because she knew that these friends would be here when she came back. 

After years of leaving a school midway through the year only to show up to some new boarding school or international school each time her mom was reassigned, Emily never had a chance to put down roots. But, with each bite of pizza, Emily felt herself becoming even more firmly rooted. Not to this place, but to these people as their lives became more entwined. 

Once dinner was over, the game continued, and thoughts of politics left their minds. By then, Emily narrowed it down to the weapon (the candlestick), two rooms (the kitchen and the billiard room) and she was pretty sure that it was Colonel Mustard that had committed the crime. 

She had a decision to make: walk all the way from the study to the billiard room, or risk being wrong by making an accusation. She was pretty sure both Hotch and Reid were on the right track, as the younger boy’s scribbling in his notebook had gotten even more intense and the older boy was beginning to look around suspiciously, as if the others were trying to read his notes. 

She had pretty much ruled out Penelope, JJ and Derek as competitors, as the trio spent most of the time talking, and genuinely trying to have fun. Emily, Reid and Hotch were all way too into it, but Emily was competitive and this was her game. She wasn’t going to lose to Hotch, no way. Reid winning she could blame on his boy-genius nature, but Emily decided that Hotch was going down. 

The two boys seemed to have come to the same conclusion, all eyeing each other across the board, the tension palatable between them as their competition became heated. 

She nervously tried to move to the billiards room, deciding to play it safe. Better safe than disqualified. But, as soon as she made that decision, she regretted it as Spencer straightened up on his turn and said: “I’d like to make my accusation.”

“Write it down,” JJ prompted, as per the rules. He jotted it down in his paper. 

Then, with bated breath, they watched as he grabbed the envelope out of the centre of the board, and read the cards. His face fell when he saw one of the cards, so he must have been wrong. He placed them back into their envelope and back onto the board. 

“No dice?” Emily asked. 

He shook his head. 

“Statistically speaking that should have been right,” he grumbled. “My math was wrong.”

“Boy genius isn’t a good detective, huh?” Penelope mused. 

A few turns went by, with Derek, Penelope, and JJ moving around the board or making suggestions. 

Emily rolled the dice, making one square from a room. She sighed. She’d make a suggestion next round. 

On Hotch’s next turn, he made an accusation, which he wrote down on a pink sticky note that Penelope had handed out when the game started. He checked the envelope. 

Emily held her breath. She was sure he had it and that the game was over. She should just call it quits now. She went to bite her nails out of stress, but stopped herself, they were starting to get long and she wanted them to look nice. 

A moment passed as Hotch compared his cards. After he saw the third card in the envelope, his expression revealed that was also wrong. 

Boys, Emily thought. Always so overconfident. 

She made a suggestion instead of risking it: “Miss Scarlet—er myself I guess— in the Billiards Room with the pistol.” 

It was a gamble. If she was right, and the people who knew she had her own card and the pistol caught on, they would also know that it was the Billiard Room, because no one would be able to disprove her theory. If she was wrong, someone would have the card for that room, and she would know that the crime occured in the Kitchen. 

The second seemed to be true, as Derek showed her his card with a small illustrated image of the Billiard Room on it. She was right. She knew what it was. But, she would have to wait until her next turn. She was going to win. 

But, it was she who was overconfident, because as she was too busy preemptively celebrating her win, Derek casually made his accusation. 

“Hey I’m right!” he exclaimed, holding up the cards and his own hot pink sticky note. 

In his semi-cursive scrawl read: “Colonel Mustard, Candlestick, Kitchen.” These guesses matched the cards hidden in the envelope, and Emily’s own deduction that she planned to make on her own turn. 

“You guys really thought I hadn’t played this game before?” Derek laughed. “I’ve got two sisters, board games were everything.”

“Were you hustling us, Morgan?” Spencer demanded. 

He smirked. 

“Should’ve put money on the outcome,” Derek said with a laugh. “I’d be rich.” 

Emily threw her cards onto the table in defeat. JJ shot her an empathetic look, and Emily tried to stuff her frustration down to pat her friend on the back for the surprising win. He deserved it.

———

After the game concluded and the pizza had been completely eaten, the group parted ways, heading to bed, or for more midnight snacks or to finish up some studying, leaving JJ and Emily alone and to start? a game of Scrabble. 

The board was ancient, and quite a few letters were missing, but with music droning on JJ’s laptop, and the soft fairy lights overhead, neither girl minded too much. 

Emily looked at her letters:  O, B, S, O, T, B, W and thought hard, rearranging the wooden pieces to try and formulate a word. After a long day of academia, and investing so heavily into the game of Clue, she probably had only one or two working brain cells and both were telling her to play the word ‘boobs.’  

Her eyes flicked to her girlfriend, who looked absolutely gorgeous in the warm light. Her blonde hair almost glowed, and she had an adorable expression on her face. Emily couldn’t help but glance lower, thinking about the real world examples of her Scrabble word.  

She played the word with a cheeky grin. 

“‘Boobs,’ Emily?” JJ scolded. “Really?”

She sounded angry, but there was a hint of a smile tugging at her cheeks and Emily could tell the girl found it funny. 

“I can’t help it,” Emily said. “I haven’t thought of much else since last weekend.”

She raised and lowered her eyebrows in an exaggerated manner, making JJ laugh and kick her lightly in protest. 

JJ then played the word ‘throw,’ using the ‘o’ from ‘boobs’ to form her word, earning her thirteen points. 

“I don’t think you can throw boobs, babe,” Emily said. “They’re usually attached.”

JJ rolled her eyes. 

Emily made it her mission to find the funniest words possible, working extra hard (and missing out on some good points) in an effort to make JJ laugh. ‘Armpit,’ ‘meaty,’ ‘hoagie,’ ‘urine,’ ‘joint’ and her piece de resistance: ‘boner.’ All while JJ was playing incredibly normal, and often strategic words like ‘axis,’ ‘snow,’ ‘vain,’ ‘snag’ and ‘writings,’ hitting multiple double- and triple word scores on the way. 

“This is fun,” Emily said, sneaking a handful of JJ’s Cheetos out of the family-sized bag next to the blonde, while she was distracted by playing her turn. 

“I don’t understand how you’re winning,” JJ muttered. 

Emily shrugged, “Guess I’m just a genius.”

“Reid? Is that you?” JJ joked. “Why are you disguised as my girlfriend?” 

“Would Reid do this?” Emily said, leaning over toward her girlfriend and pressing kisses all over her face until she fell back. Then Emily straddled her, their lips meeting in a passionate embrace that left both girls panting. 

“I would hope not!” JJ exclaimed with a laugh, making a face at the thought. 

They laughed and went back to making out, with Emily careful not to disturb the game pieces. JJ sucked onto Emily’s bottom lip, making her weak in the knees and she struggled to support herself over JJ’s shorter frame at the motion. 

“We should-” Emily tried to say between kisses, “finish the game.”

JJ kept deepening the kiss, going so far as to grab onto Emily’s butt to hold her in place on top of her.

“You’re trying to distract me,” Emily chided, “because I’m winning! I see right through your plot.” 

She sat up and went back to her tiles before playing another funny word: ‘suck’ for twenty points. JJ grumbled,fiddling with her own tiles, as Emily collected a few out of the bag. 

Emily was preening as she rearranged her own tiles and didn’t notice as JJ put down her word. When she went to play her next word (‘zap’) and only then did she see what word JJ played. 

‘Love.’ 

It was there. Clear as day. Written vertically and connected to the word ‘snow,’ it was unmistakable. Emily looked at it for a long moment, trying to figure out what it could possibly mean that her girlfriend very intentionally played such a loaded word. Was it the only word that fit? Did she only mean that she loved the snow? Was she also reading into it? 

Emily looked up, making eye contact with JJ. The blonde blushed and looked away, nervously fiddling with the necklace around her neck. Emily smiled faintly at the warmth that flooded through her, but alongside that, was the sharp pang of anxiety. Was she supposed to acknowledge that? Would that make it weird? 

‘Zap’ didn’t feel appropriate when her girlfriend may or may not have confessed her love for her. 

She played it anyway, deciding that making a big deal of it would just complicate matters. Besides, did she love JJ? She didn’t know. It was all so new. She liked JJ a lot. She definitely like-liked her in the traditional sense of the world. But Emily had never been in love before. She’d loved people before, Matthew for one, and her mother in a way, and she loved Derek like a brother. But being in love was a whole ‘nother ball game. 

JJ won the game after playing ‘equinox’ for twenty two points near the end, beating any lead Emily had gained from her silly words. JJ deserved it in the end, as the blonde would sit and stare at her letters until they formed the most complex words that Emily had never even heard of. Emily’s eyes drooped and she was barely able to create three letter words by the end, while JJ was still surprising her with her vocabulary. 

Emily shook JJ’s hand to congratulate her for the win. JJ grinned and kissed her. 

Then, they looked around and realized two things: it was past one in the morning and Penelope hadn’t come back to the room yet and that all of the blankets that JJ owned were currently being used in the blanket fort. 

“Can we sleep in my bed, tonight?” Emily asked. “I’ll help you clean up in the morning.” 

JJ nodded but was in the middle of texting Penelope, wondering where on earth her roommate had wandered off to. Within a minute she got back to JJ saying: with derek! will explain tmrw!! 😘 🧚‍♀️ 😳

JJ showed Emily the message and both girls giggled. Emily saw that coming, but didn’t realize it would be a game of Clue that finally sealed the deal.

Exhausted but happy and relaxed after the game night, Emily and JJ tumbled into Emily’s bed and cuddled up together. Between JJ and Emily, the word ‘love’ was left unsaid that night, but Emily fell asleep that night feeling a new warmth in her chest.

[boldlyanxious]

None the Wiser 4

Masterlist

All fic masterlist

Prompts: habits and overprotection

Damian changed into his Robin gear and sought solace in the familiarity of the Gotham rooftops. It always helped him clear his head which was what he needed right now. His father and brothers were angry at him for how he had treated the bakers' daughter. Well, not Todd, he just laughed every time Damian walked into the room when the others got their tense looks. Even Alfred seemed disappointed with him, he didn't say it but Damian could feel the disapproval.

It would be his last night in Gotham for awhile so he took this habitual route, not to look for crime so much as to burn off his excess energy and frustration. He would be traveling to Paris under the guise of a Justice League mission to reassess the magical villain operating there. The Justice League International had previously stated that it would be best handled by the local heroes using the same magic but recent events had caused them to reassess.

But his father had been very clear. He intended to seek out his biological daughter once again and he expected Damian to make amends with his 'sister' so that she would be more willing to form a relationship with Bruce in the future. Alfred and his brothers were all on board and they couldn't figure out why Damian was being so difficult about it.

---

Marinette sighed in her room. Tikki flitted over to check on her. She was anxiously awaiting the results of her submission to the fashion competition. She had heard 5 others from the lycée had entered and 3 of them had heard back about their entry. It was a surprise to them that the fashion show was now part of the judging. Everyone would be presented and all would have an opportunity for their design to be seen on the runway and photographed. Two of the entries were labeled open runway and one of them had a later time and was labeled a level 2 entry.

Marinette was apprehensive waiting for her own response. She kept worrying that for some reason they would not have received her entry or that they would just tell her they didn't want to see any more from her. On top of that she had heard from Bruce again and he was returning to Paris and was hoping to see her. Her parents had suggested that if she continued seeing him when she could to appease him, he might feel less inclined to make any fuss legally.

She still hadn't told anyone but Luka about him. Marc had taken a picture of Marinette and Adrien sleeping and had shown it to her. She was fairly certain she had seen Nathaniel showing his phone to a blushing Adrien but she hadn't commented. She knew that if the picture got out his father might never let him hang out with them again. Alya had seen it too and took every opportunity to tease Marinette about it, and Adrien too, but it wasn't in front of others so it hadn't become public knowledge.

Marinette was less focused on being noticed by him because she was so worried about her entry to the competition and she was stressed anytime she thought of Bruce. She had caught her parents talking in hushed tones several times over the last few weeks. Part of her routine in the last few weeks was to race across the rooftops and sit at the Eiffel Tower not long after sunset. She didn't like to do it when there was still daylight because she worried that she would be seen or that her new habit would be noticed by those who would try to find out who she was.

This had her running into Chat Noir more frequently because he also used the rooftops as stress management. She didn't feel like she could give him details about her situation but she did mention that she was concerned about an important competition and uncertainty about a revelation involving her family. Chat Noir was always one to use his transformation as an escape. She knew his family expectations weighed on him and she really liked that they had this way to support each other especially now that she was the guardian. Sitting up on the Eiffel Tower felt like it opened up their headspace so their thinking would be more clear.

---

During school today Marinette had learned that all the other entrants for the competition had heard back about their entry. Lila took a moment between classes to taunt her suggesting that they didn't find anything in her entry worth mentioning. Usually she tried to ignore Lila but she happened to hit right on Marinette's biggest fear about it so she decided to go home for lunch for the peace and quiet and hopefully be able to find a letter in the mail today.

It would be just the soothing balm she needed that when she left the building for lunch she saw Damian standing out there. He saw her almost immediately and started walking towards her. Lila and Alya were there and asking questions about this boy they didn't recognize from the school walking up to Marinette. She waved off their questions and walked up to him rather than risk him saying things that would give away her secret before she was ready.

"What do you want?" Marinette asked him.

"I've been told you need an apology," he said.

"I'm listening," she replied.

"Listening for what?" he asked, confused.

"An apology." she said.

"That was the apology," he stated.

"Wow, that was exceptionally poor. So good to see you again."

"Well what do you want from me?"

She paused for a moment to assess him.

"Nothing," she said and then she walked away.

The mail had not arrived by the end of lunch so Marinette was still nervous about it when she returned. She should have considered more carefully who had seen her talking with Damian on her way or because apparently it had been a topic discussed by many while she was away. Alya told her that Lila was very worried about her and thought the boy was a criminal and was probably trying to drag Marinette into a life of crime.

"Marinette, he looked a lot like the boy you were trying to get away from a few weeks ago." Sabrina said.

That comment had people buzzing with renewed energy. They all wanted details about the incident from a few weeks ago and we're looking for any details they had missed when they watched Marinette talk with him outside. Sabrina was too close with Chloe to go out of her way to be concerned about Marinette.

"It's nothing," Marinette said. "I met him officially after that incident. Our parents know each other but we don't really get along."

Marinette walked away to head to class without any further comment. Alya caught up to her, clearly thinking she would get more details. She was telling Marinette all the things Lila thought she knew about him but Marinette didn't know enough about him to have a clear refutation.

"I really don't know him well, Alya. We met once. I know his name is Damian and he lives in America. I met his dad and brothers."

"He's pretty cute. You don't think there is some enemies-to-lovers energy there?" Alya waggled her eyebrows.

"No, definitely not."

Marinette was trying to keep her voice down because there was way too much interest in this from their classmates who were pulling out their books while clearly trying to hear the conversation. Adrien looked slightly concerned and Noah clearly wanted to say something. He hadn't directly talked to Marinette about his interest but he made a few comments to imply he would be interested. It was still pretty early in the first year of lycée so students from the different collèges hadn't fully gotten to know the other groups but Rochelle had made it clear to the other girls that Noah was off limits to them.

Small blessings of new teachers at lycée was that they were better at managing the group than Mlle Bustier. She was young and wanted to be friends with the students she had taught for her first 3 years as a teacher but the lycée teachers started class promptly and it saved Marinette from being the object of discussion. Of course they were still discussing genetics so Marinette's mind wandered to how her biology might have played a role in her characteristics. She had started avoiding answering any questions about her or her parents for fear that her parentage discrepancy would become obvious to others.

She looked around when she was leaving for the day to make sure Damian wasn't around. The last thing she needed was for him to appear and keep himself in the memory of her nosy classmates. Still she was surprised when Noah appeared in front of her. She made an awkward squeaking sound and then quickly covered her mouth. He smiled at her, not quite letting out a laugh.

"Can I walk to the bakery with you?" he asked.

"Uh, yeah. Did you need to get baked goods?"

"No. I live that way and I wanted to walk with you," he paused but continued when she didn't respond. "Rumor has it you entered the fashion competition."

"I did. I'm still waiting to hear back. I'm so nervous," she said.

"You shouldn't be. I think they are sending them out by level. The first people to get them back were labeled 'open' then came different levels."

She stared at him and then thought it through. He might be right. Based on the ones she had seen the first to hear back had earlier times and the other she knew had received it over the weekend. She hadn't seen it or heard any details of the latest 2 to hear back.

"Do you think?" she asked.

"I do. I bet yours will arrive soon and you will be in the highest group," he said confidently.

It was such a new experience having so many classmates that she didn't know well. It was a smaller group from collège when the schools combined and it had been 3 years ago. It was 2 schools together but for lycée they came from 6 schools several of which were larger than her old school. They felt like little ducklings leaving the safe nest into a huge pond.

When she opened the door she turned to wave Noah off but he was following her into the bakery. She felt a little weird about questioning a possible customer but also a little flustered because it felt like he was following her home. She was quickly distracted by her mother pausing helping her line of customers to lift an envelope where she could see it. She didn't realize that she had grabbed on to Noah's arm like she would one of her other friends but he didn't mind knowing how nervous she was. She pulled her hand back when she realized but asked if he wanted to stay with her while she opened it.

---

Bruce was frustrated by the Justice League meeting. It felt like it was mostly filler and introductions. He already knew everyone and he was distracted by his desire to see Marinette. He knew Damian had gone over that way while he was organizing it and he didn't say that it went well which meant it was probably a disaster. He just wanted to get the meeting over with so he could rush over to fix whatever Damian had done.

He connected with the Justice League International team because of their change in status with the shift in magic being used there. But mostly he needed a cover for continued visits without looking suspicious. Mostly they were activating younger members because of the suspected age of the magical heroes but they needed a few older members for coordinating missions and solving disputes. He wasn't sure he was the best for that particular part of the mission but since Damian, Jon, and Wally were involved he could at least be there to transport them.

He was headed towards the bakery but he saw her in the park near her house so he walked that way just in time to see her jump up and down and hug a boy her age. He walked up and waited to see if her giddiness would fade. He suspected that it would have stayed for quite awhile. She was reaching into her bag for her phone when she saw him looming nearby. She silenced herself immediately as she froze.

Noah looked up at the man watching. He thought Marinette must know him based on her reaction to his presence. If he hadn't just met her parents he would think that he would make the perfect overprotective father. Perhaps he was an uncle. He had a similar, solid build to Tom Dupain but none of his easy-going manner or corny jokes delivered with a smile.

"I thought you weren't meant to be around until later," Marinette said, addressing the man.

"I finished my meeting early so I went ahead and came by."

"I'll need to talk to my parents but I can meet you back out here in a few minutes," she said. She turned to Noah, " Thanks for being with me while I read that. Just don't tell anyone. Alya will kill me if she finds it you knew before her."

"I wouldn't dream of telling. I'll see you tomorrow," Noah replied. He waved and headed off towards his home.

Next

**hoping to get the next couple prompts out very soon. I also posted a loosely connected part for the driving prompt not long ago.

Taglist

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[ynsimagines]

Supergirl: B!D gets Tortured Part 3

You’re pretty sure you and Kara had the worst night sleep of your entire lives. Your pretty sure you held the world record for how many nightmares somebody could have in one night. You felt like the worst sister in the galaxy poor Kara had to keep waking up to calm you down. Kara was just extremely worried about you she hated seeing her baby sister wake up in the middle of the night shaking, crying and. throwing up. You had so many nightmares thinking you were back there in the hands of Lillian Luthor and Hank Henshaw.

Despite the eventful night the morning went by pretty slowly Kara was called for a Supergirl emergency. She was worried about leaving you, but Alex would be in the med bay on inventory so she would be in the same room.

You felt awful, physically and mentally. You were in a lot of pain due to your injuries because of which you had to be on a lot of pain medications. The medications made you feel so unlike yourself, kind of like a zombie. However you weren’t so out of it that you forgot about the torture you had endured. You also thought about how much you were effecting your sisters lives. They basically had to put everything on hold, and do everything for you. Kara could barely do what was needed as Supergirl only leaving for emergencies. Alex had to rearrange her whole work schedule so she could be with you. Before you know it these thoughts are causing you to panic your breath is getting quicker as you start to tear up. Your heart monitor started beeping faster which got Alex’s attention.

“Whoa hey kiddo, you’re okay calm down,” she said running over to you. I need you to take some deep breaths for me, can you do that? You breathed the way she said and were eventually able to calm down a little, but you were still crying.

"Alex, I’m sorry I’m such a burden.”

“What? A burden? Sweetheart, what are you talking about?”

“To you and Kara, and everyone else. You have to spend all your time taking care of me.”

“Y/N, you are not a burden. You had a horrible, traumatic thing happen to you. It’s Kara, and I’s job to be there for you and help you get through it. I’d give anything to go back so this would never have happened, but under the circumstance there’s no place Kara and I would rather be,” she said smoothing your hair down.

You nodded, “Do you want to talk about anything else? She said hoping you might open up to her a little bit about what happened,” you shook your head. 

“I just want to go back to sleep,” you said feeling a bit dizzy/lightheaded even though you didn’t tell Alex that. 

Your eldest sister sighed, but nodded her head. She checked your vitals and made you drink some more water before she gave you the medication in your IV that would put you to sleep.

.

You slept until Lunch when Winn and James came to visit bringing you food and a giant teddy bear they had brought, you didn’t eat much though due to a slight stomach ache you developed.

After hanging with you for a while they both had to get back to work. As they left Kara came back from whatever she had been needed for as Supergirl. “Kara, you’re back” you said weakly. 

“Hey little one,” she said sounding sad. “I’m sorry I had to leave earlier,” she said sitting down next to your bed.

“It’s ok, I know the world still needs Supergirl,” you said. 

“But my little sister still needs her big sister,” she said grabbing your hand in hers something was weighing heavily on her mind. “Sweetheart, I need to talk to you about something,” she said looking you in the eyes.

“When you were kidnapped, and they were asking you for information on Supergirl why did you not just give it to them?” 

“Because I had to keep your secret  your identity is the most important thing.”

Kara shook her head “Y/N, my identity is not more important than you,” said your sister not believing what she was hearing. 

You realized she was getting upset. “Kara, the world would be okay without me, but not without supergirl.”

“How could you say that Y/N, how could you think so little of your own life,” she said now practically yelling something she never did at you. This wasn’t helping your anxiety as you were getting upset you started crying tears streaming down your face. 

“Kara, I’m sorry,” you tried to say.

“Don’t,” she said standing up, “I need to get some air.”

As Kara was storming out Alex was coming in. She had planned on coming to check on you when she heard yelling and practically started running. “What the Hell Kara, what is going on?” she asked.

“Kara,” you called out, but the superhero wasn’t listening. You began sobbing now that she had left and Alex came over to your bedside.

“Baby, what happened?”

“Kara, hates me.” you weren’t in the condition to talk just then so Alex hugged you best she could from where you were laying and whispered words of comfort. 

.

After a while you had calmed down enough to tell Alex what happened. Alex was furious with Kara for what she just put you through and getting you so upset. But she was staying calm for your sake you were her number one priority right now. So she put everything else aside for the afternoon and laid with you in bed while you both watched Netflix. You refused to go back to sleep until Kara came back.

“Can you try calling her again? Maybe she’ll answer this time?” you asked Alex. 

Alex’s heart shattered at the pain and innocence in your voice as she honored your request. “Hello?” Kara said.

“Kara, where are you?” Alex said walking far enough from your bed that you couldn’t hear her. Y/N  is refusing to eat or sleep until you get back, she thinks you hate her.”

Kara immediately felt a pang of guilt she knew she was wrong and felt horrible about earlier.  “I know I screwed up okay I’m on my way back, I promise I’ll make this right.” 

“You better.”

When Kara walked back into the med bay she immediately walked to your side. “Hey sweetheart, I’m so sorry for earlier.” 

“It’s okay Kara,” you said weakly. 

She shook her head, “no it’s really not.” She continued talking, but you were having trouble listening. You didn’t feel very good and not just because of your injuries. You were dizzy again and weak, you felt numbness in your hands. You were pretty sure you had a fever along with the worst head and stomachache of your entire life.

“Baby girl, what’s wrong?” she asked noticing how out of it you were.

“Don’t feel so great,” you said feeling like you were losing consciousness. Kara felt your forehead instantly concerned at how hot it was. 

“Alex,” she yelled. “Stay with me little one, whatever it is were gonna fix it. Your eldest sister came running in and Kara moved to the side so she could asses you.

“This isn’t good, she has internal bleeding,” said Alex trying to get you prepared she had ordered some med bay assistant to call Doctor Hamilton, you would need to be immediately prepped for emergency surgery.

[horrorslashergirl]

Chromeskull meeting his young future SO drinking at a bar after she walked in on her now ex-boyfriend sleeping with her now ex-best friend.

Chromeskull x Reader- Fantasy to Reality

Authors Note: Oh you know....Just a very long Chromeskull OneShot. Nothing out of the ordinary.

Warnings: 18+ Smut

Words: 4.1k

It didn't matter that you were looking out of place with your sweater, leggings, and UGG's among the people at the bar who were dressed in flashy clothes, you didn't come here to hook up or find a possible partner; you just wanted to get away from the apartment that you shared with your boyfriend. Oh! Ex-boyfriend to be exact.

Looking down at the half-empty glass of vodka, you debated if you should order another one, drowning yourself in alcohol seemed like a good getaway at the moment. You simply didn't want to spend your time listening to your cheating ex-boyfriend and who was supposed to be your best friend. All that sugar-coating was just a facade for their secret affair.

You thought that your relationship will blossom more, especially that you decided to go to the same college as your supposed lover; it was his idea after all. Staying in a bar all night was better than wandering the streets. You didn't had any place to go, after all, moving to another state, you didn't know anyone that would help you in this current predicament.

You were pulled out of your thoughts when someone occupied the stool at the bar next to you, and from the corner of your eye, you could tell it was a man, but you didn't give him any attention.

'[Name]?' an electronic voice pulled your attention, your eyes darting to the person; all dressed in fancy black clothes, tattooed hands, bald head, and finally to a pair of chocolate brown eyes.

"Jesse?" you asked, eyebrows raised in surprise, and the man offered you a grin, showing pearly white teeth.

Of course! How could you forget about him, he lived in Jacksonville!

You haven't seen him since you were 14. He was an old family friend, remembering him from the family gatherings and parties, he was friends with your father.

"What are you doing here?" you asked and he raised an eyebrow at you.

'I should ask you the same thing, little shrimp.'

Oh, that old nickname he used on you when you were a child. He was a little younger than your father, and according to your age, he was supposed to be now probably in his late 30s.

"Just having a drink." you simply replied, but he could read you like an open book.

'Doesn't look like it.'

You sighed, knowing you won't get away without him finding out what was really bothering you, plus you kind of needed to get your frustrations out, so you began to explain to him what happened, how you got backstabbed twice in one shot by the people that were supposed to love, care and support you.

By the furrow and sad look in his eyes, you could tell he was angry by your former best friend and boyfriend, but also pity by what happened to you.

'No need to cry over such people. You can do much better.'

"You say that only to make me feel better." you murmured, taking another sip of your drink, only to be snatched away by Jesse, who gave you that stern father-look.

'No more drinking. You had enough.'

"I-I'm just angry....This is not how my first year of college was supposed to be like." you said, looking down at your hands.

'College can be tough...especially if you go after guys who don't know what they want from life.'

This time you gave Jesse an amused look and snorted.

"So what? I am supposed to date guys who have the same age as my father?" you asked in a sassy tone, and perhaps you shouldn't have said that because to Jesse it gave him some taboo ideas, but he quickly pulled them aside, he was married after all and you were the daughter of one of his friends. You were off-limits and so was he.

'What I am saying is that you should look for a real man. Someone who has a stable life and not some bag of meat who plays football, cannot keep a conversation and sleeps with your best friend.'

Ouch, that was harsh and his eyes softened as he noticed that he struck a nerve.

'I expect you to have higher standards, shrimp. You could do much better than that pig.'

You smiled at Jesse and nodded, feeling your self-esteem rise up a little from the ashes.

He indeed helped you out of your misery and it was nice to known someone in Jacksonville. Jesse even helped you out after that encounter at the bar, buying you a small apartment so that you won't have to stay with your ex-boyfriend and pay the rent, he always called you from time to time to ask if you needed something, it felt good to know someone genuinely cared about you.

'How can I not help you out, shrimp? You're my best friend's daughter. I don't wanna see you dead in an alleyway.'

Of course, your father was his best friend, it came naturally for Jesse to look out for you since your father lived on the other side of the country, but still, you couldn't help that sometimes you think of every nice thing he did for you as something more than family chivalry, especially after that small talk about how you could do so much better in the dating department.

You'd do him, alright!

Every time such thoughts crossed your mind you reminded yourself that he was your dad's best friend, a married man, and twice your age, but then other images crossed your mind that clashed with your rational part of the brain.

How could you not fantasize about Jesse? He was a tall, classy, and handsome man, with tattoos that you could ogle at for hours, dark brown eyes that always sparkled with mischief, and the way his lips pulled into a smirk; he really was a wet dream, well your wet dream.

It wasn't like you didn't continue to date, more like went on a first date and gave up, because the guy wasn't what you were looking for. They simply didn't have that specific something that Jesse had.

You continued on with your life, focusing on college and studies; three years went on like this until you were in the last year and one night you were watching some sappy romantic movie while your thoughts went again on a certain man.

You remembered an event that made you smile.

It was Jesse's wedding, you were just 14 and your parents pulled you along. You were sitting at the table, looking as the people danced on the gigantic ballroom, when Jesse came to you, asking why you had such a gloomy face.

You were probably the only teenager there and you had none close to your age to talk to or spend time with, so you amused yourself with watching.

'Dance?'

Of course, the invitation was all innocent and his wife was with the ladies having a good time, probably gossiping and whatnot.

"I-I don't know how to dance." you confessed, looking down, only for Jesse to crouch down and give you a genuine smile.

'Follow my lead.'

With that, he extended his hand and you accepted it, pulling you to the dance floor and sitting your feet on his own. You praised yourself internally for choosing ballet flats over the torturous heels. It was all fun back then, you were still clueless when you were a teenager and still didn't looked into boys and dating games.

Now? You remembered how good he looked into that groom tuxedo, how his expensive cologne invaded all your senses, and how he grinned down at your little self.

The ringing of your phone pulled you out of the delicious daydream and checked to see who it was.

Your father.

It was the usual call: How you're doing in college? What new things happened? Did you get a boyfriend? Nothing really out of the ordinary until he brought Jesse into the discussion and you felt sweat form at the back of your neck.

Looks like he had an accident six months ago and his wife died. That really made you speechless. You haven't talked with Jesse in the past months, you were so busy with studying and final exams and projects; you indeed missed on a lot of things.

"How is he dealing with everything?" you asked, genuinely concerned.

"He is overworking himself, trying to distract himself from all the hurricane of events. Just thought I let you know so if you see him next time you won't be taken aback." your father explained.

You understood the intention and the fact that he mentioned that Jesse was left scarred; you really wondered what happened. Car accident? Jesse had a habit of driving like a maniac.

Looking at the phone in your hand you wondered if you should text him, ask him if everything's alright, but decided against it. You weren't someone prolific in his life, you were just a person on the edge and he was polite and considerate to you, because of your status, not that he viewed you as something more than daddy's little girl.

All night you couldn't sleep because of the news, they haunted your dreams and made you all curious. The next day, earlier in the morning, you decided to go directly at him, you knew his address, and a face to face meeting was better than a text.

Paying the cab driver and waving him off, your eyes averted to the imposing metal gates and the kingdom-like front lawn and right behind it the 'castle'. Come to think that just one man lives in this place really made you wonder how much of a God-complex Jesse had.

Just as you were ready to call on the interphone, a small and put together brown-haired woman stepped out of the house and walking towards the gate, her eyes looking at you with curiosity.

"You must be [Name]." she said, offering a professional smile.

You raised an eyebrow at her.

"How do you know my name?" you asked, feeling like she knew more than you might think.

"Mr. Cromeans talks about you a lot. I'm Spann, his assistant. He didn't expect you." she said, pressing a button on a remote and the gate unlocked.

Top technology indeed.

"No, he doesn't. It's more like a surprise visit, to be honest....I just got the news of what...happened." you said, your mood dropping a little and Spann gave you a sympathetic look, motioning for you to follow her.

"I'm sure he will be happy to see you. None has visited him since the incident." she explained and your eyes widened.

None has visited him? He had so many people at his wedding and so many people always took a chance to be in his presence. What just happened? Being curious you followed Spann and profit to take in your surroundings; the villa was really imposing, the colors of black and white being the most noticeable, and you had to watch your steps as you marched up the marble stairs to the front row. Spann opened the double doors for you and motioned for you to enter.

"He is in his office. Go ahead, I have to go back to the headquarters of the company, but I'm sure he will be happy that you're here." That was the only thing she said before she closed the doors and left you standing there, feeling like a little mouse in this big house.

Looking around a bit you noticed what you assumed was the door to his study and you could hear the faint sound of fingers typing on the keyboard. With a little reluctance, you knocked on the door to make your presence known and opened the door, your eyes seeing Jesse behind the black desk working on his laptop.

You took the time that he wasn't looking up to observe him. The familiar flawless pale face was indeed deeply scarred, the skull structure more prominent and one might felt disgusted at such a sight, but you felt something else, it wasn't pitying, perhaps you felt a deep empathy, wonders of how much it hurt to get on such a result.

When his gaze moved up, probably he expected Spann, but not you, because his eye widened, hands stopping above the keyboard.

'[Name]? What are you doing here?' he slowly signed, getting up from the plush leather seat at his desk.

In the meantime, you had learned a bit of ASL from Jesse, the basics, but you took liberties and studied the unspoken language deeper. Why? Probably in certain hopes.

"I came to visit....I-I heard what happened." you spoke in a soft voice, afraid to not say something that might be wrong, your hands playing with the sleeves of your shirt nervously.

Jesse sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.

'Nothing to worry about.' he signed, then leaned against his desk, his usual goofy face, full of cheekiness no longer present.

"I-I'm sorry." you didn't know for what you were apologizing.

Were you apologizing because his face turned into meatball meat and all because of him and his not so orthodox hobby and business, although you didn't know about it? Were you apologizing because his wife was dead and you didn't felt any remorse, because now he was available? You were apologizing because you were feeling like a despicable human being, with egoistic intent?

'You don't have to be. It wasn't your fault.' he signed, then he took a sip of his drink; definitely whiskey.

Not your fault, but the emotions you were feeling.

"None has been visiting you, at last, that's what I'd heard." you said, not really so sure what to make of this conversation.

Jesse gave you a non-pulsed look; no, none came to visit him or give him a 'get better' card or anything corny like that, because he didn't need any pity coming from anyone. He wasn't a helpless man; yes, he was mute, but he wasn't paralyzed to the bed or an old man you can give the compassion smile to. Vulnerable wasn't a word to attribute to Jesse Cromeans, but the truth was that he was feeling just like that.

Yes, the news about his now-dead wife broke him down, but Chromeskull wasn't one to be put down simply like that, and in a few weeks he got over it, despite the empty bed, just like the rest of the enormous villa. Even if she wouldn't have shot herself what would have become of their marriage; she would have left him in a heartbeat, and if it wasn't for the serial killer part, then sure as hell it would be for his face.

None, but Spann looked him dead in the eye, but that small woman had guts of steel. The women couldn't even look him up and no amount of money could change that. Sleeping with old geezers for a 1000$ sure thing, but a disfigured man like him, no thank you. Piggies were, all the same, no matter age, status; they were all disgusting future beef that will all fall to his blades.

He was pulled out of the gruesome daydream when your hand touched his forearm, his gaze meeting yours that showed pity. He fucking hated that sentiment, especially if it was directed at him.

"It's not that bad." you whispered, but Jesse was too blind to see through you trying to emphasize with him.

His face or what had remained of him pulled into a frown.

'Not bad? I look like a monster.' he signed with shaky hands, feeling like strangling something.

Indeed he was a monster, inside and out, only you didn't know it and the devil sure will drag you down for what was to come. You found your back against the wall, his tall form in front of you, looking you down. You felt like a small child being scolded by the strict father and you looked away, not able to hold eye contact. One hand pulled your chin up, making you look at Jesse.

'Look at me.' he signed and you felt your lower lip tremble, not out of fear, but more feeling self-conscious, not knowing what to say to make him feel better.

'Go home, shrimp.' he signed, turning away from you.

That nickname made you feel something else; rage.

"No." you simply said, making him stop and look back at you with a cold gaze.

"No. I'm not a shrimp. I'm not a little girl anymore, you know? I'm gonna finish college this year and hopefully get a great job in a prestigious company." you said, voice not shuttering at all, which surprised you.

"I know what you've been through was hard and I don't pity you, because you are stronger than you think, or else you wouldn't be here in front of me, alive. I know it's not the same, but it's not the outside-pack that's important. Everyone will in the end be all wrinkled and pruney at some point. The youth is temporary and isn't the inside that counts, with goods and bads." you blabbered, not stopping at all to give Jesse a chance to sign.

"I'm not a little girl anymore that you can order to walk back to her daddy. I'm a fucking woman now!" you said, a hard look forming on your face.

That declaration really took Jesse by surprise, especially how straightforward you were looking at him, not even a glimpse of disgust in your eyes. Looking you up and down, he could agree with you. You sure grew up from that little girl that he used to make her laugh with goofy faces and jokes, you were no longer underage, you were no longer a clueless little thing that he took ballroom-dancing when there was none around parties to amuse you.

You were a woman now.

The next few seconds were a blurr, because you found your lips assaulted by rough, scarred ones; one of Jesse's hands fisting your hair and the other one around your waist, pulling you flush against his body. It was like millions of fireworks exploded inside your ribcage.

Jesse was prepared for you to push against him, to be completely repulsed, but your actions definitely took him by surprise. Your hands moved to fist his black dress-shirt, pulling him as close to you as possible, your lips moving against his and tongue running shyly over his.

You two kissed like two lovers who have been pulled apart for years, the need, the longing, everything was so intense as the need for air started to be and the kiss was broken, leaving you two to catch your breaths.

This was wrong on so many levels. You were the daughter of one of his very good friends, he could be by age your father, but God did that kiss felt so good and you reciprocated it.

What was so wrong about it?

"Jesse...." you whispered his name, pulling on his dress-jacket, signaling that you wanted it off.

Ohhh....fuck what people think.

Lips crashed down back again into another sloppy kiss, his body backing yours until you two reached the door, opening it and like that the jacket was off onto the white marble floor.

Both your steps took you to the main staircase and Jesse didn't waisted another minute, picking you up and marching towards the master bedroom. Until you reached the destination, clothes flew everywhere in your path; black button-shirt, black slacks along with your white blouse and black jeans, and both your shoes.

Before reaching the master bedroom, Jesse pinned you against the wall of the hallway, leaving opened mouthed kisses down your neck, the only pieces of clothing on you two were the white lingerie set and his black Calvin Klein boxers.

'Are you sure?' he signed, resting his forehead against yours, the only response you could form was a simple nod.

'Are you very sure, because the moment we step into the bedroom I won't be able to stop.'

That promise made a rush of arousal to pool into your panties and getting bolder you took one of his hands, moving it over your soaked panties, his brown eye-widening at how wet you were and all you did was just kiss. His hands moved behind your thighs and picked you up, waltzing into the bedroom and laying you down on the soft black bedsheets.

You stopped him before he could get on top of you, making him feel like you were ready to back up; perhaps you did realize that you didn't want him, but again you took him aback.

"I wanna please you."

He tilted his head, looking down at you curiously as you sat on the edge of the bed.

"I wanna make you feel like a man, one that is very much loved."

Oh, God...How can he deny you, especially when you give him those doe-like eyes of yours?

You motioned for him to move closer to your form, your hands running down his chest and to the waistband of his boxers, biting your lip as you slowly pulled them down. Your expression was probably hilarious because you felt Jesse give a silent laugh.

Ok, he was definitely going to be the biggest you ever had and when you looked up at him and saw that smirk of his, feeling proud of what he was packing, you felt your heartbeat pick up. Slowly, you started to stroke him, up and down, eyes focused on him, then you started to use your mouth, working more on the tip, feeling how his legs tensed every time you run the tip of your tongue over the slit on top of the head.

Jesse was feeling like he was in heaven, your hot mouth so sweetly wrapped around his cock, sucking and fondling his balls, and everything was because you wanted, not because you felt forced or because he paid you. You were genuinely enjoying yourself.

He was going to cum if you kept it like this and he would be damned if he was going to cum like a virgin from a very good blowjob. It's been six months without any sex and jerking off got to a point all boring, so having a young and beautiful girl such as yourself worship his cock like that, really was setting his libido into a howling fit.

His hand moved into your hair and pulled you away from the hard as stell length of his. You got worried, thinking you did something wrong, only to be laid back on the bed, all sprawled under him. He would have loved to bury his face between your legs and choke on your pussy, but his face was still sensitive, even kissing got him a little itching. There was more recuperation progress to do on his face, but until then, he was going to make you scream.

Your hand rested on his neck, feeling his pulse and looking into his brown eye, the other one foggy and probably blind.

"Jesse....I wanna see your face as I cum." you whispered and that was the last straw because in the next 5 seconds you were filled up to the brim with his length, your legs around his waist and hands running down his back, both of you breathing hard.

How could you want him? Someone who could have anyone she desired, you....You desired him.

He would have lasted more than 30 minutes, but everything was coming down on him with such intensity it was hard to hold his orgasm, but it was all worth seeing the lewd faces you made as he pounded himself into you, your moans and praises were all music to his ears.

You cuddled up to him, his hand stroking up and down your lower back and he chuckled silently; you reminded him of a kitten, all content like you just won the jackpot.

"I'm happy to be with you." you whispered, kissing his chest, fingertips running over the skull tattoo.

'You do realize your father will have my head on a stick, right?' he signed with an amused smirk.

"Mhmm...Don't worry. I will protect you." you said and Jesse pulled you onto his lap, smirking at you.

'I'm sure you will, shrimp.'

You gave him a glare, punching playfully on his chest and making him laugh.

"Will you stop with that nickname? I'm not a little girl anymore, dork." you told him, but he shrugged.

'You're still my little girl. You are daddy's little girl.' he signed suggestively, and you squeaked as you felt something poke your behind.

"Jesse!"

[jeonsblackgf-writes]

CRUSHES AND DATES || 3 ||

summary: Jaewon and his girlfriend are in a well established relationship months later. 

pairing: Jung Jaewon x black!OC

genre: fluff and smut

word count: 2.1k

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------🖊

Jaewon woke up earlier than usual on a school day, looking at the clock on his phones he saw that it was around 5:30 in the morning. He wiped the dried eye boogers from the corners of his eyes as he looked around his dark room, the only light showing through the window from the sun peaking through. His head turned to the left side of his bed to see his precious girlfriend sleeping with her head resting flat on his tattooed arm, her mouth open with her plump lips poking out. Jaewon found it weird how she could sleep like that but he also found it cute because it always have him a chance to kiss her lips. The duvet only covered the lower part of their naked bodies so he got the chance to see her breasts, causing him to internally groan and stiffen under the covers. He idly looked under the covers to see his cock growing by the second, the more he thought of the previous event they had last night.

In a way, Jaewon felt bad. They had only started to have sex a month ago and each time they did he went rough with her. She must've liked it with the way she was responding to him, but the soft side of him always felt guilty that he had his girlfriend shaking and quivering with bite marks and hickeys all over her body. He'd go softer on her one day, but he's horny now going soft wasn't on his mind this morning.

He smirked to himself as he quickly and quietly got under the covers, moving down slowly to push his girlfriends legs apart, mouthing at the soft skin as he went, planting large hickeys everywhere that was available. He pushed her left leg up, holding it with his left hand as he pushed it high into the air. He did the same with the right leg, admiring her shaved and flawless pussy. It was one of the many things he loved about his girlfriend. Her hygiene was on point. She never missed a brazillian wax appointment and he was forever thankful. Her lower lips were fat and glistening with her clear slick. He noticed half the time they didn't even have to do much foreplay, the second he slipped in she was as wet as can be. Her walls hugged his cock so good, the day he lost his virginity to her, he came under three minutes. After that, he started to become more and more experience up the the point where his stamina was so high he could last for hours and could hold off his orgasm as long as he wanted or needed to. He was never like this, Nia brought out a side of him he never thought he'd see but he loved it.

"She's so fucking wet," He silently groaned to himself, running a single fingers around her folds, but making sure her leg was still side open. He did it for a few seconds before slowly sticking the same finger in, along with a second one. He looked up to see her still asleep.

Grinning, he softly licked on her clit as he pushed his fingers in and out, watch her facial expressions change by the second. She was probably thinking she was having a wet dream. He placed soft licks on her clit as he watched her slowly wake up from her slumber.

"Ouuuu, fuck Jae," She whispered, waking up little by little. Jaewon smirked, and sped up his speed on fingering her, finally getting her fully awake as he opened her eyes and looked at her boyfriend with a pouty face as she moaned in pleasure at his surprise.

His head popped up from the covers as he gave her an innocent smile, still stroking her velvet walls. He leaned up above her and gave her a soft kiss, hearing her sigh as he gently invaded her sweet mouth with his tongue. He pulled away and kissed her nose.

"Goodmorning baby," He whispered against her lips, his strokes going faster. Nia gasped and clutched her boyfriends hair, thrusting her hips for more friction. One thing she loved more than food was waking up like this in the morning. Jaewon never failed to please her.

"Can daddy see your pretty pussy baby?" He asked, pulling his fingers out, and putting them in his mouth to lick her juices from his fingers. He groaned at the taste. Nia nodded her head and pulled the covers back, holding her legs up on her own. Jaewon gave her a soft slap on the thigh for approval.

Jaewon yet again admired her glistening heat, watching as a small blob of slick fell from her pussy and onto the covers. He only prayed to god his parents had already went to work because they were going to be loud.

Without warning, he pressed down on Nia's pussy, making her gasp as she looked down at her boyfriend. He sucked harshly on her clit, causing her to squirm and try to push him back from the overstimulation but he harshly grabbed her hands and placed him beside her, making her take the after effects of last nights events.

"B-baby!" Nia whined as her boyfriend started to lick her pussy from top to bottom, sucking and slurping in the process until his face was glistening with her juices. He moaned on her pussy, the vibration causing her to shake.

"You're eating my pussy so good daddy," Nia moaned, running her fingers through her boyfriends hair as they looked into each other's eyes, something they did when they were too out of it to focus on anyone else.

Jae lifted his head, spreading her pussy with both legs before spitting a big blob of spit in the middle of her pussy. Yes, he was that freaky.

"You want daddy to fuck you with his tongue? Hm?" Jaewon asked as he roughly rubbed Nia's pussy, loving how the girl squirmed under him. She rapidly nodded her head yes, and he dove right on, shoving his tongue right into her pussy, already loving the feeling of her soft walls against his wet muscle. Loud squelching sounds was heard through the whole room as he went to town on his shaking girlfriend, who moaned endlessly and loudly throughout the whole room. Jaewon decided to be bold and add two fingers under his tongue, feeling his girlfriend stretch around him.

Nia cried as she felt the fingers ram in and out of her harshly. She twisted one of her nipples with one hand as the other gripped on her boyfriends growing hair as she felt her orgasm coming already. Her body was shiny from sweat.

"I-I'm gonna c-cum." She screamed, her eyes rolling in the back of her head as she orgasms in her boyfriends mouth. Jaewon made sure to get every drop of her cum, softly moaning to herself as he proceeded to lick her clean. He wasted no time in licking all of the areas of her pussy, placing hickeys beside her folks. Her chest heaved up and down as she watched her boyfriend mark his territory. Her legs shook rapidly as Jaewon gave her pussy one last kiss.

He smirked and laid down beside her, "Come sit on it,"

Nia gaped at his words. She had never rode him when they were having sex so she was shocked when he spoke those four words to her.

"w-what about a condom?" She wearily asked, looking at her boyfriend his lowly as he stroked his hard cock, precum already leaking from the angry red tip.

"You've got a box full of morning after pills in my closet. Now.come.sit.on.it," Jaewon rushes out. Nia sighs and does as he says.

She moved her right leg on the other side of him as he held his cock up from. She slowly lowered herself, but it was too slow for Jaewon because he harshly grabbed her hips and slammed into her, causing her to scream out in pleasure. She put her hands on his chest as she tried to regulate her breathing. She already knew her boyfriend was a large guy, but the tip of his dick was hitting righ on her cervix and it made her go crazy inside.

"G-gimme a s-second," She mumbled, laying her head in her boyfriends neck, moaning lowly as he grinded his dick more and more into her.

After a few more seconds, Jaewon started to thrust into her at a steady pace. Nia whined loudly as she felt her boyfriend thrust in and out of her. She looked down to see his eyes fluttering closed as he bit his lip, mumbling incoherent words to nobody.

Jaewon sat up and took her nipple into his mouth as he grabbed her ass and slammed her down on him faster. She moaned and whined with each thrust as her boyfriend hit her spot constantly. She found herself talking gibberish as he laid back down, lifted her up, and rapidly thrusted into her as he watched his dick disappear into her right walls.

"Dick so good you can't even speak right," He taunted, rubbing her clit rapidly with his thumb. Nia screamed again and tried to reached for his hand but he slapped hers away and kept rubbing.

He flipped her on her back and pushed himself back inside her watched as she spread her legs wide for him. He leaned down and gave her a harsh kiss, pulling on her lip before letting go.

"Fuck yes. You take my dick so fucking good, just like the good girl daddy always says you are. Just filthy." He moaned, taking hold of his girlfriends throat and thrusting faster, chasing his orgasm. Nia moaned nonstop as she came for the second time, but Jaewon didn't stop. He kept going and Nia felt herself squirting 15 seconds after her second orgasm that morning. Jaewon looked down at the sight of the clear liquid splashing all over his chest and lower stomach, causing him to spill into her aching pussy. He groaned loudly as his dick pumped his semen into his girlfriends vagina, soon after he pulled out and laid down beside her.

"I can't feel my legs," She whimpered, looking down at her shaking legs. Jaewon laughed and got the bath ready for them, so they could get ready for school.

________________________________

"Woahhhh, girl what happened to you?" One of her friends, Sienna asked as Jaewon and Nia walked into their classroom. She held onto her boyfriends arm as the two sat in their seats. Her legs was still shaking when she walked on her own so she needed support.

"I made her cum twice today and four times yesterday. That's what happened," Jaewon spoke bluntly. Sienna made a look of disgust and Nia groaned. Jae just sat back in his seat and smirked.

"Hey jaewon," The young male heard. He and Nia looked up to see Amina, the girl who had been pinning after Jaewon for a month. The crazy thing was, she didn't know who he was until he started dating Nia. Nobody did.

After dating Nia, Jaewon started showing a lot more skin, and his confidence had sprung high. He didn't take peoples shit anymore and he also gained some muscle, he was a bigger than he used to be and that's why females on a daily pinned after him, but he proudly showed the entire school that Nia was his girl and nothing was going to change that. They had their whole lives planned out, they knew a few bumps in the road were going to come but cheating and mistrust was never one of them. Jaewon had been in love with Nia since middle school days and now that he finally has her he was never letting her go.

"What do you want?" Jaewon asked, already annoyed. Under the table, Nia was rubbing his thigh to calm him down.

"Nothing much, just wanted to see how your night was and if you were free today," Amina spoke, acting as if Nia wasn't in front of him.

"He was fucking me last night, and he was eating my pussy until I squirted all over his face. Then he woke me up this morning and fucked me again. That's how his night AND morning was," Nia sassed, wrapped her arms around her boyfriends neck. The now bashful young boy covered his face in his girlfriends neck, not caring that Amina held a look of disgust on her face before walking away. Nia glared at her before grabbing her boyfriend firmly by the neck as she looked into his eyes. Luckily they were in the back of the class and the teacher was late like always.

"Ouuu shit. You know what putting your hands on my neck does to me baby," He groaned, with a whiny face he tried to suppress his growing boner. Nia smiled and let go, kissing his cheek in the process.

"You're mine!!"

"Always babygirl."