#i need something to listen to while i do my old lady hobbies

[queseraphita]

part of me wishes i understood chinese so i can fully focus on embroidery while listening to the c drama in between

All i manage to do is prick my fingers with embroidery needles

[save-the-villainous-cat]

Hi!! I absolutely love your writing!

So... today happens to be my birthday. Could I pretty please get something fluffy as a present?

Five days.

The villain had stayed five days at the hero’s apartment, recovering slowly with the help of their nemesis. It turned out that the hero wasn’t a terrible roommate, they were the exact opposite: doing the dishes seemed more like a hobby than a chore, cleaning the room and decorating the whole place neatly was one of their favourite activities.

Nearly motionless, the villain had watched them rearrange a bouquet of flowers, humming to themselves a content tune that would haunt the villain’s thoughts for the rest of the day. The hero was diligent and careful, making sure the colours in their home could coexist in harmony with every new element they found.

The villain tried to stay as quiet as possible most of the time, hoping the hero would forget about them eventually. Hoping they could turn invisible and be less of a burden. With all the mess they were causing, they didn’t fit into this picturesque world the hero tried to create.

But the hero didn’t forget. Due to their injuries, the villain slept a lot, being out by eight, getting pleasant twelve hours of rest. They were stationed on the comically huge couch, even though the hero had offered them their bed. However, healthy sleeping patterns were unknown to the hero who suffered from a little less than four hours a night. It explained the many naps the hero took on the couch, right next to the villain.

But no matter how many hours the hero slept, they always made sure to eat together with the villain. Every meal, regardless of their grogginess, they sat down next to their enemy and talked about their newest idea to help the city.

“Dunno why I’m telling you,” they said one day while having lunch, spaghetti filling their mouth, “but I really like this new project. Growing more plants in the city?! Love it.”

“Until there’s a villain who can control plants.” The hero’s tired eyes widened as they practically inhaled their lunch. Focus settled on the villain who was trying to eat as gracefully as possible. Once again, they were like a mirror that showed the exact opposite.

“Nonsense. No one can control plants,” they said, bolting the rest of their noodles and meatballs.

“Have seen one,” the villain answered calmly. Damn, the food wasn’t even bad.

“You’re kidding.”

“Am not.” The villain stared at the hero and their poor overworked soul. For days, they’d been rambling about projects and work and on top of that they managed to do the chores and nurse the villain. No wonder they were sleeping every second they allowed themselves to.

“I’ve seen one,” the villain said hastily, getting their thoughts back on track. “South America, somewhere. She’s very old though, so don’t expect her to take over the world.”

The hero’s plate was empty already.

“I didn’t know I could be jealous of some old lady. You travel lots?”

“When I’m not getting shot at, sure.” Something in the hero’s gaze softened, blurring the line between relaxed and hurt. Their eyes dropped to the ground, their shoulders tensed. Fuck. “I like getting shot when it’s you, though.”

What. Oh god, the villain wished they could sink into the ground. I like getting shot when it’s you, what a stupid thing to say. They felt the horrible blush creep up their neck, so they grabbed their tea and gulped it down.

Christ, why were conversations so hard to have?

The hero giggled nervously.

“Well, uh…”

“You need more sleep.” The villain’s face was burning, so they tried to deflect. “You always look tired and sleep throughout the day. What do you do at night?”

Getting the hero’s attention was easy, getting them to talk about important stuff wasn’t. Their nice projects were fun to listen to but when it came to the hero’s desires, to their morals and their longings, the villain didn’t get anything.

“It’s a long story, really,” the hero said. “Did you put that blanket on me yesterday?”

“Yeah, you almost rolled off the couch, too. Gave me nearly a heart attack,” the villain mumbled and it was true. It had made their heart skip for more than one beat. “You don’t have to leave that much space between us.”

“You sure?”

“I’d rather cuddle with you than have you fall off the couch.”

Now it was the hero’s turn to blush.

[greenticklerdreams]

15 questions for 15 friends:

Hi, @lady-featherquill and @missamyrisa2! I’m honored that two such illustrious writers would think of me.

Were you named after anyone?: Nope! My mom may have gotten the name from a soap opera she was watching, though… but that might just be one of my dad’s lame jokes, lol.

When was the last time you cried?: The ending of Godzilla Minus One. I’m serious.

Do you have kids?: Nada.

What sports do you play/have you played?: I played tennis when I was in junior high and early high school! Was big into it for a while … and then we moved and my new high school didn’t have a team. Had a thriving theatre program, though! I’m ultimately very thankful for that.

Do you use sarcasm?: Me?? Psshhh. Nahhh. 😉

What is the first thing you notice about people?: Tough question. IRL… probably the way they carry themselves? The way they move through space. I also notice how they say things… phrases, reactions. Does that make sense? … Maybe this is too deep. I notice clothing style, too! Not in a critical way, just assessing. As for online, I WILL notice your texting style. Perfect grammar, all lowercase no punctuation, how often you use emojis and how. Just warning y’all.

What's your eye color?: Brown, tending more toward honey/amber than black. (My brother has super dark brown eyes like the latter and I’m only a little envious.)

Scary movies or happy endings?: Happy endings, definitely. I can’t handle scary movies at all, let alone downer endings. … I never did watch that Cyberpunk anime. I should get to that…

Any talents?: Writing. Acting. I’m a fast reader. Projecting my voice. Memorizing lines. ... a lot of these are related to acting, haha.

Where were you born?: Louisiana! And then got moved away before I was even a year old, so I don’t exactly remember it.

What are your hobbies?: Reading, writing, video games, listening to music, TTRPGs (GMing and playing). Typical nerd! I also like walks, casual hikes, and trying new coffeehouses.

Do you have any pets?: Sadly, no… I miss having dogs. And I love cats, but I’m allergic to them… it sucks.

How tall are you?: 5’7”, and a lot more confident about it than I used to be! (I know it’s kind of the stereotypical “bitter guy” height, lol. It’s fine, I probably shouldn’t go into politics anyway. 😆)

Favorite subject in school?: English, hands down. 

Dream job?: I wish I knew. It would be fun to be creative for a living – a writer, or one of those streaming D&D Dungeon Masters – but it might also drain me of the creativity I need for my hobbies. I’d like to do something that actually helps people, charity work or something. I know I sound really driftless for a 30-something… I just care more about my life outside of my job, y'know? And I’d like to get out of finance one day, man.

Join in and pass it on if you can. Don't feel obligated!: 15?? That’s a lot. Hi, mutuals! If I haven’t said hi before now, I’d like to get to know you better. 😊

@ticklingmesoftly @magnificentbitchface @theepopcornwhore @something-tickly-this-way-comes @darkharp-tickling @silly-panic @thebest-medicine @applesyaboi @a-ticklish-banshee @brushtickler @datstrangetickler @ticklish-wallflower @hypersensitiv3 @yopatbo @sensitivemarie @still-not-rly-sure

[ceph-the-ghost-writer]

15 Questions: Character Edition

Tagged by @words-after-midnight! Using this for OCs as well as writers is a fun idea.

Going with everyone's favorite repentant bloodborn and fish dad, Renato (who just got some lovely new art):

(Thank you again to @/littlestpersimmon for taking the commission! I love the background and fish details especially. Go check out more of Caleb's beautiful art and his comics if you're not familiar with them already!)

1. Are you named after anyone? My given name came from my Portuguese great grandmother on the Dimas side of the family, my father's side. I chose "Renato" as a teenager because the meaning (reborn) applied to both my transition and future as a bloodborn. Anyway, it shares the first letter and same number of syllables with the old one, so I also just liked how it sounded.

2. When was the last time you cried? I...honestly can't remember. Really. I'm not trying to sound tough or cool or anything. I must've cried when I was still a child of course, before the break. I can recall afterwards, though, watching the harbor get farther and farther away as my family fled the destruction on a ship. My eyes were completely dry. I still felt...still feel despair, anger, sadness. But after the world changed, I did too. Crying just seemed like a waste of water. It wouldn't get me anything, so my body just...didn't bother with tears.

*shifts, visibly nervous* But I think...I think I'd like to cry again someday? Is that a strange thing to say? Nevermind--forget it. Next question.

3. Do you have kids? No, but I have the next best thing. *opens wallet with photos* The goldfish is Tesoro--Tes, for short. They can roll a tiny football into a mini net. Ah, they're so talented! Then there's Beija, the pleco. She's nocturnal like me, but rather shy. And of course I can't forget the Venerable Order of Lady Guppies: Sisters Dolores, Joan, Hildegard, Leonella, Mary Celeste, Teresa, and Abbess Malfada. They're named after nuns since there aren't any male guppies in the tank and, well, you get the idea.

4. Do you use sarcasm? Occasionally, to make a point maybe. I prefer saying something outrageous with a serious face, though. I've gotten quite good at it over the years.

5. What's the first thing you notice about people? It's going to sound terrible...it is terrible, but true. I try to see if they have a weapon, and assess their vulnerable points, gauge which would be best to strike first. You know...to incapacitate. Or kill, if need be. It's ingrained into you as part of becoming an Aquila. But I'm sure you don't want to listen to such a dark subject.

6. What's your eye color? *sighs* They're blue-green, or aquamarine, or sea-green, or whatever you want to call them. I honestly don't find them that special. The way dark brown or black eyes shine is much more appealing, in my opinion.

7. Scary movies or happy endings? Hm. I'm just as likely to be annoying and complain about either one being unrealistic. I think the execution and style is what matters to me, not the category.

8. Any special talents? Winning people's trust. Being deserving of it... that's another matter. I've been told I pick up languages rather quickly, at least as far as basic conversation goes. Of course I grew up being a strong swimmer and diver.

9. Where were you born? On the Pacific, in a ship's medical bay, while my mother was accompanying my father to the States. That meant I was a default Brazilian citizen, although both my parents had dual citizenship.

10. What are your hobbies? Looking after my fish, making a nuisance of myself, finding what little pleasures I can take. I'm starting to realize just how much of my identity was tied to being an Aquila, honestly. Without that...well, I suppose I'll just have to test things out and see what sticks.

11. Have you any pets? Oh, do you want to watch all my videos of Tes and the others? [A/N: I advise you to decline. There are a lot of fish videos.]

12. What sports do you/have you played? I practice various styles of fighting and marksmanship, but that's survival rather than friendly competition. I never had a real opportunity to play any, given the world descended into chaos when I was ten. I mean, Ollie and I used to play a game where we'd dare each other to touch sharks while scavenging. Does that count?

13. How tall are you? 5'5". Many of the deadliest predators are smaller than their prey.

14. Favorite subject in school? I only attended about five years of Catholic school. My parents found me tutors for various subjects after the Break happened. I did fine with math, reading, science, all of that, but I preferred learning and honing skills. Spear fishing, sailing, foraging, those sorts of things I could use in a practical sense.

15. Dream job? *grins* Indolent concubine of a lofty noble or conquering warlord (gender neutral). Perhaps if things work out with these supposed merfolk they'll have some openings available.

Dysthanasia Taglist: @thecyrulik @thatndginger @space-writes @sunset-a-story @scoundrelwithboba

[inkpens-coffee]

Maruki Week 2023 - Day 1 🍎

Research / New Start / Music

Takuto’s mother was right. There really isn’t a damn thing rewarding about science. He thinks about her words as he watches years of research go up in flames. Literally.

The bonfire was Shibusawa’s idea; that burning the past would help him let go of it. Even though it’s good for him, Takuto’s heart aches as his life’s work burns in front of him; those heavily annotated books on the human mind, printed articles on cognitive psience and his beloved research paper gone for good. Takuto sheds a few tears as he brings the wine glass in his hand to his lips. This is for the better, he tells himself.

“That’s all of it, right?” Shibusawa is in the lawn chair next to him. “Every last thing?”

“Mhmm,” Takuto nods.

“Nothing else backed up on the cloud or thumb drive anywhere?”

“Uh…”

Shibusawa furrows his brow before sighing and drinking his wine. “I’m taking your computer for the night, you’ll get it back tomorrow morning.”

“Ok…” Takuto tapped his nails against the wine glass, focusing his attention on the embers floating around. Shibusawa had been nothing but supportive to him on his path to recovery. That morning after the collapse of his Palace, Shibusawa was the first person Takuto called. The second his friend arrived, Takuto collapsed into his arms sobbing hysterically. Shibusawa didn’t leave his side the entire day, even stayed the night take make sure he was safe.

“So, now that you’ve burned your past, what are you planning on doing next? You gonna go back to school?” He asked.

“No… I think I need time to do something nice for myself.”

“Hey, you could pick up one of your old hobbies! Do you still have that guitar from high school? Ladies love a music man!”

“God no, I only ever learned one song and you said it was cringe!” Takuto whined.

“Ok, ok,” Shibusawa swirled the wine in his glass around. “What about painting? You liked that didn’t you?”

“Too expensive.”

“I got it! How about being an assistant to a super cool wedding photographer?”

“Weren’t you just complaining about how stressful it was dealing with wedding parties yesterday?” Takuto laughed as his friend groaned dramatically. Shibusawa downed the rest of his wine and set the glass aside.

“Alright, so photography’s not for you. I’m just spitballing ideas here, whatever you think will be good for you is good enough for me, Takuto. Anything is better than killing yourself over cognitive psience.”

When Takuto opened his mouth to reply, he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He pulled it out to see the notification on the screen:

‘coffeejoker recently shared a new reel’

Takuto doesn’t remember when he followed Ren’s instagram account but he was glad he did. Recently the boy had gotten really into aerial hoops along with a couple of the former Phantom Thieves. Todays video was of him twirling upside down on the hoop, wearing a pure white leotard while the most ethereal sounding song playing. Sumire could be seen filming in the mirror in the background. Ren looked so happy, so at peace. Takuto slowly smiled.

“Remember when Rumi signed us up for couples aerial silk classes?”

“Oh yeah, didn’t she quit after the first one?” Both of them laughed.

“The second one! She tied herself in the silk wrong and got stuck upside down for almost an hour, god, she was so upset after!”

“Oh man! Fingers crossed my girl doesn’t drag me to any type of dance classes, I do not have the grace for that,” Shibusawa said through laughs.

Takuto wiped a few tears from his eyes, Ren’s video replaying on his phone. The music sounded so nice, listening to it while spinning on the hoop must’ve been such a soothing experience for Ren.

“I kinda liked the class though… being on the silk made me feel like I was flying, it was nice…”

Shibusawa studied the calm look on Takuto’s face as he watched that kid’s dance video. He’s not ashamed to admit he thinks his friend is beautiful, stunning really. He’s asked Takuto to model for his aesthetic photography more than once only for him to timidly decline, saying he didn’t have the right look. Shibusawa’s eyes darted to Ren’s video. He grinned and stood up.

“Ok then. We’ll go scout out some dance studios tomorrow when you get off work.” He said.

“Huh?” Takuto looked up from his phone.

“Dance students need photographers, right? Who knows, maybe it’s better business than weddings!”

“Wait, what are you talking about?”

Shibusawa just smiled at his friend and pat his back. “Aerial dance classes. No harm in trying them out again, right? I’m gonna go fill these back up,”

He took Takuto’s empty glass and his own before going back in the house. The doctor sat there quiet for a moment. He looked back at the dwindling fire, the books and papers reduced to ash at this point. He stared at the flame for a moment before tapping the replay button on Ren’s video one more time. Takuto cradled the phone in his hand, quietly humming along to the pleasant song.

[justsomeoneintoomanyfandoms]

Hi! My name’s Shiri. I’d love a Mystic Messenger matchup. I’m a 25 years old autistic lady.

I’ve been sexually abused before and sometimes suffer from anxiety, depression and flashbacks because of the incident (I’ve always been a fictoromantic ace though).

Despite my experiences I feel very blessed to have my family’s love and support and always try to keep an optimistic attitude and hope for the sunlight/moonbeam of my heart to return to me. (and it does!) (it’s a tough cycle of depression and apathy to joy and love that last for days)

When you first get to know me I may seem shy, standoffish and anxious but when you get to know me I am very sweet, wise, kind and passionate. I also become very childish, innocent, spoiled and quirky. Sometimes I’m a little dense and slow but I find that it’s very cute of me !

I get these terrible intrusive thoughts when I’m depressed but I always try to keep love and respect to all of my precious loved ones inside and strive to always treat them right. [But if you cross me I can become cold, critical and distrustful. That’s what happened after the repeated abuse I’ve been through. I realized that I don’t need to forgive people who keep trying to hurt me. That it’s not necessary for me to forgive them in order to heal and become Love again (Towards the right people).]

I love cats, anime, plushies, daydreaming about love, watching k-dramas, eating sweets, being with my family and listening to music! My two main hobbies are Singing and playing Otome Games! But I also like baking/cooking with my mom!

I am asian looking; brunette, fair skinned, brown eyed, petite figure ; small chest with a soft tummy (I’m a lil insecure about my tummy >_<). I have pretty, slender, soft and smooth hands and thin wrists, a graceful neck and collarbone, as well as wavy/curly hair that looks adorable in two low pigtails. (top part of my head is straight and the lower part is curly/wavy).

I am a Capricorn Sun, Libra Moon, Scorpio Rising and an INFP.

Thank you! I hope this is enough info for the matchup and that I haven’t shared too much of my trauma to you. Have a wonderful day and thank you for everything that you do!

Hi Shiri! Thank you for your request! I hope you like your matchups!

In Mystic Messenger, I match you with...

V is, without a doubt your perfect match in Mystic Messenger! He’s supportive and understands your emotions better than you might expect.

Knows first-hand how difficult flashbacks can be and has a few tips and tricks that help him get through them that he’d be more than happy to share with you.

At the same time, he knows everyone is different and what works for him might not work for you. If there’s anything you know helps you when your mental health is suffering or you’re having a flashback, pleas let him know and he’ll be able to help you through it.

I see V as someone who would also be into k-dramas. He’s gets caught up in the plot very quickly and just has to find out what happens.

Also loves listening to music. It’s something he can enjoy anywhere and anytime, but if you’re with him, he always claims the music sounds even better.

Whenever he’s out and about taking photos, V will keep an eye out for any plushies or sweet treats that he can give you when he next sees you.

Speaking of photography, he would love to photograph you, assuming you’re comfortable with that of course. From dedicated photoshoots, to quick snaps before you go out for dinner, to candids while you’re cooking, V just loves capturing your beauty.

[ramen8baka]

Hi, I wanted to ask if you know the kdrama "at a distance spring is green". If you do, I would like to request a Yeojun x transmale reader. Where reader is not accepted by his family due to being trans, but nonetheless he always acts happy, yeojun tries to befriend him and slowly finds out everything and just comforts the reader and ends up in a relationship with him, can be as angsty as you'd like, can contain things like violence or whatever you like, if you don't know the kdrama than could you please write something like that but maybe stray kids han or bts suga, thank you!

Suga x trans male reader

THIS WAS SUCH A GOOD IDEA! except I didn’t see this k drama :( so instead I’ll do it with Suga from bts like you also requested 😅

notes: I made it so reader and Suga are in high school. Prolly around the ages of 17-18 since suga is 29 haha..ha..heh (yes I fucked up the ages but we aren’t gonna talk about it) AND y/h means your hobby(s) ”Hey y/n what’s up?” Suga asks excitedly. “Not really anything. My parents have been so annoying lately.” You said. Suga sat next to you. “Oh, I’m sorry man,” Suga said as he put a hand on your shoulder. “Do you wanna talk about it? I mean, I know they aren’t really happy about…” he trailed off. “thanks but it’s ok. I don’t really wanna talk about it right now. I think I just need to cool off for a bit.” “Yeah, yeah of course. What ever you need to do. Just know… if you need someone to talk to you know you can tell my anything.” And with that Suga stood up, smiled at you and walked off shyly. Suga knew what was going on. He’s been taking hints. You had come out as trans awhile ago and your parents still wouldn’t except it. Suga also knew you were stubborn and you wouldn’t want to talk about it. This situation was troubling for Suga because you and him weren’t really that close. You were friends for sure, but just not like best friends. “Hi Suga! What’d you get on your math quiz today? I kinda- well I kinda failed mine. hehe” You walked over to Suga smiling. “If it makes you feel any better I kinda failed mine too.” He laughed. “I did make this drawing in art though. We had to do a portrait of someone we knew like family, friends, cousins, even pets and I didn’t really know who to do and the crusty old lady was yelling at me soooo I drew you.” You scratched the back of your neck as Suga inspected your drawing.

“this is so good! I never knew you could draw well. Do you draw as a hobby?” Suga asked, surprised.

“No, I actually don’t but I do y/h.” (Y/h is your hobby)

“That’s cool! I never knew you liked y/h.” Suga looked down at his watch. “oh no I’m gonna be late for rehearsal! Sorry man I gotta go! Maybe we can hang out some time this weekend? I’ll talk to you tomorrow!” Suga waved as he ran to his car. You just laughed while waving back at him, a light rose color on your cheeks. •••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Crap suga thought to himself. He was driving home from a dance rehearsal and his gas was super low.

“Ughhh!” He groaned. He pulled over to a gas pump and started filling his car. It came time to pay and- he didn’t have enough change. “just my luck” he walked into the actual store and asked the sketchy counter guy for change. As he was walking to his car, he heard someone. “I can’t do this!” He looked over his should to see

“Y/n?” Suga stopped in his tracks as soon as he saw you.

“what are you doing here?” He asked you. You were kicking around some rocks with the toe of your shoe. “It’s my mom and dad… they yelled at me. again.” You explained sadly while looking at the ground. Suga’s eye’s softened.

“oh. Hey, don’t listen to them. I lo-like you for who you are.” Suga blushed a bit at the fact he almost said he loved you. He didn’t like you like that, right? He couldn’t. You both just became closer friends a few days ago! He liked… guys? No! He couldn’t. “Thanks Suga. You said maybe we could hang out this weekend?” You asked softly. “Yeah. Do you wanna come over to my house? We could do whatever.” Suga suggested. “that would be nice. It’s give me an excuse to get away from my parents.” You look at the ground. “Alright! I’ll see you tomorrow!” Suga called out as he started walking away. He soon stopped and turned around. “oh, do you need a ride? I still need to pay for my gas but I can give you a ride home. If you walked here it must’ve been a long walk.” Suga said. “No, I’ll be fine. My house is actually a bit behind here. I just ran here when I got upset because it was far from my parents. Thank you though.” Suga nodded in response. God, I think I’m falling for him. You thought. God, I think I’m falling for him. Suga thought. ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

“This is so good! Chocolate is my favorite flavor. As long as it has chocolate, I’m good.” You say. “Hmm… I like lemon ice cream or strawberry best.” Suga replied. You and him were eating ice cream together after hanging out like you promised that Saturday. You were just happy to be with him after you’d realized your feelings. “/n… y/n? Earth to y/nnn!” Suga waved his hand in front of your face. You blushed for the 100th time that day

“my bad. I just zoned out,” you said shyly.

“has something been distracting you lately?” Suga asked.

“not really, why? It’s mainly just my parents.” You said, confused.

“Well you’ve just been acting kind of weird, you know? Like a little more awkward.” He told you. “oh. Well I gues there is something but it’s really embarrassing. I don’t really wanna say it.” You said while looking down at your lap

“go ahead! I won’t judge you, I promise!” Suga said comfortingly. You never told anyone you liked them before. What if Suga didn’t like you back? Then your friendship would be over! You were scared to risk it. But then again, you’d never felt this way about anyone before. shutting your eyes, you said

“I like you, Suga!” When Suga didn’t say anything, you ran off.

“y/n! Y/n come back! Shit, where are you!” Suga seemed distressed and you felt bad hiding behind the building from him while he was just trying to talk to you. “I’m sorry” you stepped out and said. Suga ran over and hugged you. “No don’t be! I… have felt the same way too. Ever since we became closer friends I felt like this. Maybe we could try something?” Suga asked.

“yeah I think I want to try something too.” You held both of Suga’s hands. Soon you felt a soft pair of lips against your own. It felt weird kissing a guy. And you were sure people were staring, but you felt like you were floating above them.

[cherryblossempearl]

The Walk outside (Part 2) 

(Segment 1: The Talk) 

"Are you even listening?" Yalena said slamming her hands on the table. Daniel looked up in surprise, which made him accidentally mess up the artwork he was doing, "Sorry- Yalena," he said putting his drawing aside. Daniel was supposed to be discussing with his assistant, Yalena; about the recent technological advancement in the company, but to be completely honest, he would rather be at home drawing.

At 20 years old, Daniel was already a CEO of a popular company in New Shorre, and it wasn't because he earned it. It was mostly because of his parents, who wanted to give him the company ever since he was little. They pushed him to learn everything about their company that there is to know. Mostly about technology stuff, he knew how to fix computers, build sites, and more. 

Then after this family all moved to New Shorre, and his parents suddenly just made him CEO.

He didn't even have much of a choice. He did not even think he deserved this title; he was really an artist. All sorts of different art styles fascinated him, ever since he was little. Seeing artists' paintings inspired him to be an artist. Although, his parents, mostly his mother, hated the idea of it. Sure, they allowed him to do it as a hobby, but never as a full-time job. While he was thankful for his parents giving him a job, he wished he had a choice. 

"Sir you have yet to approve of the new equipment stock," Yalena said breaking him from his thoughts, and handing him a load of documents. Daniel sighed, "Yes Yalena, I'll get to work right away," he said taking the documents and setting them down. Yalena nodded and turned around, "I'll be taking my leave now, I have to pick up my kids," she said picking up her purse and then walked away into the corridor which led to the hall. Daniel looked on as she left, and then sighed again, "She doesn't see me as her boss doesn't, she," He turned around to the window next him, seeing Yalena get into her car. 

Yalena used to be the assistant of his parents while he was growing up, a responsible lady like her should have been CEO of the company. She   He knew she tried her absolute best to prove herself, worked hours on end, plus the fact that she did all that while being a mother, she should have gotten the promotion, and yet she didn't. He still remembers the way she reacted when she heard the news; the news that her boss's child who has done nothing got the title of CEO she worked so hard for; and let us say she wasn't happy. While he knew she did not mind being an assistant, giving the job to some kid who had little experience sounded like a nightmare to her. 

He felt bad for her; here he was treating his job like a playground in front of someone who wanted it so badly. Sure, he could try asking his parents to give the job to Yalena, but he had done that once before, and they just brushed him off. Daniel looked at the papers on his desk and sighed, "let's get this over with," he said as he started filling out the paperwork. 

A few hours later... (Segment 2: Artist Crisis)

Daniel groaned in relief; he was finally done with that hellish paperwork. "I should have done that sooner," He murmured to himself, annoyed at the fact he was dumb enough to let a pile of paperwork just lay there. He stared at the ceiling, all the paperwork needed was done, what should he do now? "It's already nighttime," he said to himself, and then looked over at his desk. The picture he had been working on earlier that day was neatly stacked with other unimportant documents that just layed there collecting dust. 

"It isn't my best work," Daniel said observing the picture as he picked it up. It was definitely something, messy would be the word. You could see the eraser marks on some parts of the drawing, and the part where he messed on when Yalena startled him made it hard to what the picture was. 

He then looked out his window, maybe he could draw the stars, that would be a good thing to sketch. Yet, what he saw was the lights of the city, and no stars to be found. Disappointment was evident on his face, where were the stars? A while back when he first came to New Shorre, he could at least see a couple of stars, but now there was zero to none. He sighed, "I'm just gonna to go home," he said while getting his stuff, there was nothing left to do. Turning off the light, he walked his way down to the entrance of the building. The hallway had many pictures of his parents, technology, and more. It was interesting, to say the least. 

Then he finally made it to the main entrance, where he could his car was ready to drive him all the way home. He then checked his business bag for his keys and let us say they ran away. 

"Where are my keys?" He groaned in frustration as he started looking in his pockets, did he lose his keys again? "Found it," He breathed out in relief as he found the key in the back of his coat pocket, now he could just head home. Getting into his car, he inserted the key into the keyhole which made the car start and turned his car into reverse. Then he pushed on the gas and started going. 

A few minutes into the drive.... (Segment 3: Into the woods) 

Daniel was there, only a few miles away towards home, "just a few more minutes," he whispered, assuring himself. Trying to keep his eyes on the road, Daniel gripped the steering wheel. Driving at night was not the best for a tired person like him. Then he passed a forest, and for some reason he forgot he was tired. Daniel stopped his car and parked on the side of the road.  

The forest was the perfect place to draw, inspiration was around every corner. He grabbed a sketch book and pencil out of the drawer in his car, and then closed the door behind him. Doing a few nighttime sketches would not hurt, and he would be back home before he knew it. 

"The Forest is beautiful," he said speechless from the beauty of nature that surrounded him. It was nothing like where he used to live, compared to here, it was cold and bare. He surveyed the area, lush plant life was all around him, he could draw anything. There were animals too, but that might not be the best idea, he did not want to scare the animals, or be their food. 

He continued walking around for a few minutes, debating about what to draw. Everything looked amazing, how could he decide? There were berry bushes, trees, and even some flowers along the way. Deciding to draw a pretty flower he found on the way, he bent down and opened his sketch book. The flower was beautiful, the petals a pure blue. He was about to sketch the flower out when he caught sight of a flower not too far from where he was. "I should go there when I'm done," he said, continuing to draw the flower in front of him. 

Minutes after that, Daniel was done drawing the sketch of the plant, working with no distractions helped his artwork. "It's better than the other drawing I did," Daniel said closing his sketch book before getting up to walk toward the flower field. Like the flower he was drawing, the field was a party of colors. The moon gave their petals even more beauty, making the field seem like an enchanted grove. 

He carefully walked through the flower beds until he found a group he liked. The flowers were a similar blue hue like the flower he had just come across, but different at the same time. Kneeling down, he opened his sketch book again and turned to a blank page. He had just started drawing when he heard something snap. His heart raced, it had to be a wild animal, no people in their right mind would go into the woods in the middle of the night. Looking around, he sighed in relief, nothing was there. Just as he started to draw again, he noticed someone.

"Who is she?" He thought as he gripped his pencil, he was not really in the mood to deal with people right now. He averted his eyes away and tried to focus on his drawing,

but could not shake the feeling of guilt from not saying anything. "I have to talk to her, don't I?" He said to himself, if there is one thing he was not good at, it was talking to girls. 

He gulped, and then looked around to see if the girl was still there, and it was clear she wasn't. He sighed and turned back to his artwork, "This is good for now," he said to himself. He was about to get up when he saw the girl right next to him.

"Thats a pretty drawing," she said blushing, which made him blush too. There was much silence after that, too much silence. Then the girl broke it, "Not to be rude, but what are you doing in the forest at almost midnight," she said tilting her head in confusion. Daniel was just speechless. 

To Be Continued

Finally finished it yay, next part will be Daniel and Claire talking to each other.

[funsizesyd]

Can I Have This Dance?

Words: 1.3k

Pairing: Bang Chan x FemReader

Genre: university students, childhood friends, HSM inspo

warning(s): none

note: sorry for my grammar and pay attention for the little HSM references and Dear.M references :)

You and bang chan are childhood friends and has been the best of friends since then. The two of you would do everything together and would know how to console one another when something upsetting happens. This all started to become a little awkward once you guys started to go to college and started to hang out around different friend groups. Every once in a while, you would be able to hang out with Chan’s friend group and he would be able to do the same with your group. Little did Chan know that the reason why it is a bit awkward was because you started to like him more than a friend. It was unexpected on how you started to see how chan was charming and how much he has grown out of the chan you knew as a kid. He started to work out more, started more hobbies like making music and dancing, along with changing his style once he arrived to uni. Little by little, you would like him more and more when he would lend you his jacket when you have stain your shirt; or when you were eating your soup, he would prop your bowl up so the soup would move to the edge to make it easier for you to eat. As time went by, you would continue to be grateful for having Chan in your life and wouldn’t want to risk the friendship you had with him so you would keep the crush you had on him quiet.

You and Chan were studying for your finals of your last semester when suddenly the power out. You groan as all the work that you’ve been doing on laptop turns off in silence. Slowly you would hear thunder around your dorm as the sky becomes gray and gloomy. Thunder wasn’t your favorite when it comes to weather as it would frighten you and remind you the frightening nights you had to conquer alone.

“Hey are you okay?” Chan asked knowing how you are with thunder.

“I’m okay… i-i just need some time.” you replied. Chan looks at you worried. He knew you were lying about you being okay. You went to go sit down on your bed as you couldn’t focus on your schoolwork. While you were walking to your bed, Chan would follow you leaving his school work on his desk to come comfort you. As you sit down and close your eyes to calm yourself down, you felt chan hug you from the side, “ I’m right here y/n. You’re okay. You don’t have to put a brave face for me.” he would say as he rub your back in circle to help calm you down. You would lay your head on his shoulder as he continue to rub your back and hums “ I’m Yours”

“ Chan not this song again.” You giggled once you realized what song he was humming.

“Hey… This song always cheers you up since we were kids!” You both giggled as you reminisce on the old days where you were carefree.

“ I have an idea that will make your fears go away.” Chan says excitingly. You looked at him with a c curious look.

“What is it…? I have a bad feeling about this Bang Chan.”

“Come on! Just follow me and trust me!” Chan replied as he hurried you out of the dorm room, grabbing the speaker on the way out. You were rushed to the rooftop of the dorm rooms, seeing the whole campus in one view. It was beautiful but also frightening as the thunder slowly fades away.

“Chan I don’t like this. The thunder!”

“Hey look at me. It’ll be okay. Trust me.” Chan says as you grabbed your face towards him, staring into your eyes. He put down the speaker and connect his phone to it playing “ Can I Have This Dance” from High School Musical.

“ High School Musical? Really?” you laughed.

“ Can I have this dance my lady?” he bows with his hand out.

You giggled as you responding with a curtsy. He grabs your hands and put them on his shoulders as he put his hands around his waist.

“Listen to the lyrics and follow me.”

Take my hand, take a breath

Pull me close and take one step

Keep your eyes locked on mine,

And let the music be your guide.…

You closed your eyes, taking a deep breathe, looking down at your feet so that you won’t step on his feet. As the music continues, he lifts up your chin with his finger saying, “ Look at me, not your feet. I got you.”. It was unreal. This made you forget about the thunder and felt like there was only the two of you in the world. The dance made the both of you not noticing the rain falling onto you as you continue to dance to the music.

Take my hand, I'll take the lead

And every turn will be safe with me

Don't be afraid, afraid to fall

You know I'll catch you threw it all

Step by step, sliding across the roof, laughing and smiling, and most importantly having the time of your lives with the most important person in your guys life. Every once in a while you would stare into each other’s eyes and appreciate one another. Chan guiding you across the roof and you trusting in him that he won’t let you fall or hit anything. As the rain continues to fall heavily, Chan would dip you and turn you around giggling and seeing how beautiful you are. This song, the lyrics, it portrays the feelings that you had for him but it was always portraying Chan’s feelings towards you.

Oh no mountains too high enough, oceans too wide

'Cause together or not, our dance won't stop

Let it rain, let it pour

What we have is worth fighting for

You know I believe, that we were meant to be

As the songs reach the end, both you and chan were close enough that a thin ruler can be between your bodies. Slowly turning while looking into each other’s eyes, all your worries about the finals or the weather went away. He was and still is your best friend and you can’t imagine life without him. It was the same for Chan as he thought his feelings towards you would also ruin your friendship, but he was willing to take that risk after dancing with you. Breathing in and out. No one would break the tension between the two and would stay in that position for another 10 seconds.

“I’m sorry… I didn’t even notice that the song ended.” You say as you stepped back to prevent stepping over the line between your friendship.

“Don’t be. I’m glad to be able to get your mind off of the thunder.” Chan says while looking at the ground rubbing his neck. You slowly walked back to the door that lead you to the rooftop… until…

“ Wait Y/N!” Chan yells, causing you to turn to him as your hand is on the handle.

“ I’ve been waiting for this moment to ask you this. I’ve been waiting for us to happen.” Chan says as he walks closer to you. You looked at him with a confused face, not knowing if he meant hanging out alone or being more than friends.

“W-what do you mean?” You replied nervously.

“ I mean… I’ve been in love with you for so long Y/N. I didn’t want to ruin our friendship but after today I can’t imagine my life without you. You are soulmate and my best friend. I-…” interrupting Chan’s speech you grabbed his face and kissed him, feeling him relax and grabbing your waist towards him to deepen the kiss. It was everything. The rain made it perfect and such a happy memory that you would replace the frighten memory of the thunder with the memory of you and chan dancing on the rooftop and him asking you to be his girlfriend.

*knock knock knock*

“Hey kids got out of the rooftop and go get dried up!” The TA says with a flashlight in their hands, making you run laughing while holding Chan’s hand back into your guys’s room.

[gentrychild]

gentry i was in a car accident and i am sad. we’re both okay but can i have a snippet to cheer me up

I'm glad you're both alright. Drink some hot chocolate and take an ibuprofen.

I don't have much in my writing folder so I hope Winged Izuku will do.

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

Izuku ate his ramen so quickly that it burned his tongue but the pain barely registered. His body was craving calories with single minded determination and after an entire day flying in the mountains, the warmth was welcomed. Once he had finished his bowl, he leaned back, completely forgetting that he wasn’t in a chair but on a high bench.

His green wings, too big for his small and awkward teenage frame, were immediately convinced that he was falling to his death. They spread on their own, small aches echoing in the tired muscles, and Izuku regained his balance.

The fourteen-year-old made sure that no one had seen him embarrassing himself but he caught several amused glances and immediately hid behind his glass of iced tea. With his other hand, he grabbed his phone and checked the weather forecast on his itinerary back home. There would be some drizzle after nightfall, which didn’t make him especially happy but could be handled, and a little bit of wind.

Well, time to go, I suppose.

He cleaned after himself, grabbed his wallet and went to pay at the counter. The lady behind it, who had pigeon wings just like his mom, except hers were white and indigo instead of dark green, offered him a smile.

“You must be an out-of-towner,” she noticed while she was taking his money and giving him the change. “We don’t get many owls around here. Let me guess: you’re exploring the world now that you finally lost your baby feathers?”

As soon as the change was in the teenager’s hand, it went into the tip jar.

“Guilty as charged,” Izuku said. You know, like a liar.

He might be willing to fly across Japan just to check a rumor that a beast with a gigantism quirk had been spotted in the mountains, because yes, he was that much of a quirk nerd, but he drew the line at admitting it to strangers.

Especially as he felt a tiny bit guilty about it since it was one of those cheat days where he was supposed to rest instead of cleaning the beach with All Might. But in his defense, the Symbol of Peace had told him to “do something he likes” and running after interesting quirks was one of his hobbies! Who was he to refuse to listen to the number 1 hero?

And anyway, what All Might didn’t know couldn’t hurt him.

“I remember when I was your age,” the lady smiled, unaware that he hadn’t been quite honest. “As soon as my brother taught me to fly, I went as far away as I could. Or at least, as far as my stomach would allow me.”

Izuku vigorously nodded because truer words had never been pronounced. He had been warned by about everyone that nothing made people hungry like flying but he hadn’t been able to appreciate it until he had started flying across long distances.

“But if you allow me a piece of well-meaning advice…” Izuku braced himself. “Bring friends with you on your next expedition. Young people need a flock when they travel.”

Izuku imagined himself walking into his class and asking if anyone was interested in hunting cryptids in the middle of nowhere.

If he was very very very very lucky, they would just laugh in his face.

“I will keep that in mind,” he said instead, proud of himself for avoiding revealing that he simply didn’t have any friends without lying to a friendly stranger.

[sonianvmd]

thh characters with a crush on you

warnings: none, maybe some swearing but otherwise nothing major

oH and mentions of murder and death but this is danganronpa so im going to assume u expected as much

a/n: so we kickin this blog off with a bang, writing for LITERALLY THE ENTIRE TRIGGER HAPPY HAVOC CAST LMFAOAOAOAO (excluding hifumi, yasuhiro, and the two despairs doe bc i’ve already made that clear)

also some character’s sections are shorter than others im sorry i just couldnt think of as many bullet points for them *tiktok cry emoji*

edit: I FORGOT CELSESTE FU K SORRY

spoilers under the cut!!

★ 彡 ★ ミ ★ 彡 ★ ミ ★

makoto naegi

when he realizes he likes you, he doesn’t necessarily panic or anything, but he does get nervous

nervous around you, that is

y’all saw how he was with sayaka

if he says anything that might sound intimate then he’ll immediately rephrase it or reassure he didn’t mean anything by it

he really only does have good intentions but his wording just kinda flops sometimes

he appreciates how you listen to him and value what he says

you don't make him feel dumb or inferior compared to a bunch of ultimates with actual talents

he’ll muster up the courage to tell you eventually

let’s hope his luck comes through 😁

byakuya togami

now when THIS man realizes he likes you, he a bitch nigga bout it 😐

he can't believe he fell for a common plebeian such as you

but it was hard not to

the way you preferred to get to the point

the way you were aware of your situation and didn't sugarcoat how you felt about it, although you certainly were nicer with it than him

he's ruthless

anyways

you knew your priorities and spent no time trying to use your resources

he noticed how much you had in common; in you, he saw himself

and we all know how this mf feels about himself 😐

he’ll be quick to defend you in class trials

he won’t realize he’s doing it but he just subconsciously protects you

but just because he doesn't notice it, don't mean the rest of the class brushes past it as well

yeah they on his ass LMFAOO

kyoko kirigiri

kyoko is very good at keeping her composure so she won’t be very obvious

she’ll probably just hang around you more

she’ll also defend you in class trials, calmly

“oh, it couldn’t have been [name]. i remember seeing them in their dorm around the time the murder took place.”

hifumi probably finna say some dumb shit like “aye what was you doin in their dorm doe” but anyways

she finds you respectable

if you have anything to contribute, she’ll let you take the floor

when she tells you, she’s very composed, but also very indirect LMFAO

she’s not too sure on how to express her interest in you but maybe she’ll go about it like “well, [name], now we’ve made it here, would you like to step back into the world with me?” or somethin else along those lines idk

take her hand

pls

toko fukawa

y’all know her whole “master togami” shtick

yeah so 😁😁😁😁

no but fr, toko ofc still has her borderline stalkerish 🧍🏾‍♀️ tendencies

she’ll often find herself staring at you, either in the library or in the morning meetings everyday at breakfast

but she isn’t as straight forward as she is with byakuya

i actually think she’d be mad shy and non confrontational

the whole thing she kept up with him ? yeah, never again

if you approach her first then she’ll be able to get a few words out but for most of the conversation, she’ll just nervously play with her braids

you’ll most likely put two and two together

unless ur a makoto kinnie bc then you’ll have to wait till someone else puts it in place for u but anyways

if you decide to approach her about it, you’ll kinda be backing her into a corner bc she’s just bad at deflecting things lmao

she’ll eventually confess (begrudgingly but hey i mean its better than nothing)

expect much stuttering and a gesture like giving you a small gift

and not to be that writer that uses japanese terms in english writing but toko seems like a tsundere but not really if that makes sense?? so she’d probably shove it in your hands and if you try to say something then she’ll just try to play it off as not a big deal lol

calls u a baka 😍😍

aoi asahina

i know y’all all see how she is with sakura

yeah.

aoi is the kind of person who’d like to spend time with their crush rather than shy away from them

she values you and your friendship very much

bring her donuts

just trust me bring her donuts

she doesn’t really realize she’s into you like that for a while but believe me, she is, the whole time

and yeah i think she’d be nervous to tell you bc that’s just natural but ultimately she’d be cool about it

uh oh looks like we goin for a swim

sakura ogami

similar to kyoko, she’s very calm

despite her big and bad appearance, she really is a sweet girl

she cares for you and your well-being very much

will indeed go on x games mode for you

the way she tells you is very sincere and well spoken

kith her

naow

im sorry this is like the shortest one i couldn’t think of much for her 😔😔

leon kuwata

flirtatious ass mf

and he’s lightskin

so this just cannot go well

y’all know that bit where it’s like the guy yawns and stretches his arms up and then wraps one around your shoulder

yeah that’s literally him LMFAOO

he’s very confident

he was fairly well known with the ladies at his old school so you know he’s rhockin wit it ‼️

but

you feel.. different than usual ??

those girls were just lil flings n dates bc he was nice enough to accept their confessions and it boosted his ego anyway so it was a win win

but you

he was genuinely interested in you since he had saw you the first time

he didn’t just acknowledge your appearance

he learnt about your personality and your hobbies and what you liked and such, and he really cared and wanted to hear you talk about it all

he felt the need to really make an effort to show you how much he respected and had affections for you

he doesn't tell you in a grand way

probably just asks you out to a movie or somethin

he's chillin

mondo owada

you know

for being the biggest, baddest, most respected biker gang leader

or just for being in a biker gang period

mondo’s a huge softie lol

yeah he gets violent but he’s a sweet guy who cares about and is loyal to his friends

so mfs need to be nice to you

or they gettin whooped

when he decides it’s time to tell you how he feels, he thinks over his words and he’s all confident there’s no way you’d reject him but then he sees you in the halls and goes 🧍🏾 LMFAOOO

he’ll push through but it’s like he’ll walk up to you and look away from you because he refuses eye contact and just go

“so y/n, would you wanna.. tch.. come to a drive-in movie with me or somethin’?... dumbass.”

real smooth mondo i think you got em good job

please tease him LMFAOO it’d be so funny

he’d probably yell but you can tell he’s not mad so you just keep going with it

but once you’re done tormenting him, you do agree to the movie, don’t worry 🙏🏾

also mondo would call his s/o doll

that is all

chihiro fujisaki

my fav dude in a dress <3

chihiro would be quite shy, but that’s just how he is tbh so no surprise there

he’s very kind so he’d check up on you often just to see how you are

he cares about you v much

the way he confesses is one that consists of a red face as he offers you a box of candy or something similar

and he’d feel honored that you reciprocate his feelings

he’d be very scared to tell you his secret but once he does, he’s delighted to hear it doesn’t make any difference to you

he doesn’t know how he got so lucky with you

not only because woooo they like me back but also because you like him despite,, well everything about him LMFAOO

sweet lil boy

i’d feel like he’d talk about you to alter ego a lot

and when u meet the program for the first time, he’s like “oh! you must be [name]! master’s told me all about you :)”

sobbing i miss him

kiyotaka ishimaru

okay here’s the thing

if taka were to like someone

i can’t tell whether he’d be more strict because he doesn’t want them to get in trouble (and also so it would hopefully divert any suspicion that he DOES like you since he treats you the same as everyone else, only more)

or if he’d hold back more because he favors them LMFAOO

so imma write a lil bit for both

in the case that he was even stricter:

he’d prefer to be around you because he believes the best way he can make sure you stay out of trouble is to make sure you don’t get into any in the first place

of course it’s impossible to monitor you every second of every day but he does his best to make sure you’re doing well

if he sees you do anything out of line, he’s shutting that shit down IMMEDIATELY

but in the case he let up:

he’d still lecture you but noticeably less than the other students

if your feet were resting on top of a desk, he’d ask you to move them and then leave you alone rather than yell at you and forcibly move them himself

if you notice his behavior towards you in comparison to the other students do not tease him about it he will go as red as his eyes /hj

either way he’s confessing to you with a polite but exaggerated bow while holding out a well thought out letter with both hands

sayaka maizono

she will tell you

idk why but i feel like she’d be straight up lol

she’d make sure she’s sincere

she is the ultimate pop idol and all so she wants to make sure you know that she really does like you and isn’t playing a sick joke on you or anything

ok bc

while i do think she’d tell you

i’d feel like she’d be a little indirect just to see how you feel

like she’d give you a free ticket to one of her upcoming concerts with a kind smile

and naturally, you're like :o

and of course you come to support her

and seeing you smile at her from the crowd and cheer her on was the encouragement she needed to push her to ask you out

for real this time

she asks if you wanna come to a concert with her and ur like “oh yeah i love ur shows!!” bc ur dumb and then she’s like “no i mean.. for another artist” and eventually it hits you that she’s asking you out and ur like “oH YEAH YEAH SURE THAT SOUNDS GREAT YEAH OK” LMFAOO

———

i really hope that this is good LMFAOO this is my first time writing for dr so 😃👍🏾

fun fact i finished toko’s section first and taka’s last 😁😁

and i’d like to thank @mius-imagination @bloodygir n the rest of the discord for helping me figure some of these characters out *simultaneously whips and nae naes*

bye ive been working on this for like weeks this took forever

———

edit: here’s a deleted section bc i kept blanking for this character 😍

[mrs-march-ahs]

how the evans would act when they have a crush on u ^^

How The Evans Act When They Have A Crush On You & How They React When You Tell Them You Like Them Too

Award for the longest title goes tooooo... me!

JAMES SUCKS BUT I MAKE UP FOR IT BY DOING BOTH KYLE’S AND A DETAILED KIT

Two other requests-

Could I please request how the Evans would react to their best friend (reader) admitting they're in love with them? 

Heyo! I’m not sure how this would go but how would the Evan’s react to a nervous/insecure reader confessing to them?

-I hope this is satisfactory, even though I don’t think it’s what you two wanted<3

Enjoy! :)

--

Tate

-Would always just be interested in you

-Wanting to help you, watch you, talk to you, just constantly be around you

-But he’d also be insecure whether he was annoying you, so occasionally he would make himself invisible and just watch you

-Whatever hobbies you had, he’d love to watch you do them, paint, draw, write, play games

-If you played any instrument he would love to lay on your bed and listen to you, no matter how good or bad you were

-He would leave little sweet messages on the chalkboard and leave little post-it notes for you to find

-They would have fun little facts about birds or other trivial stuff but you would find them cute

-The occasional fact about something romantic, like ‘Every time you kiss somebody, your heart beat increases by 10-15 beats per minute’

-He might go a little far and leave a message like ‘Your dress looked pretty’, which you would find creepy since you didn’t know Tate was a ghost

Kit

-He thought of ways to tell you how he felt but because it seemed like your family was gonna live in the murder house for a while, cause you were all settling in well, he didn’t want to risk losing his friendship with you, since you were the only ghost with whom he really got along

-You walked down to the basement and said his name in a sing song voice, “Tateeeee”, “Come out come out wherever you are!”

-He showed up and you asked him if he wanted to go out on a real date

-He was obviously nervous, because you didn’t know yet that he was a ghost, but when he hesitated and you looked upset, he said yes right away

-You ran up and hugged him and kissed him on the cheek, making him blush and laugh, and whilst you were at school, he got some things ready and got candles and a table cover so make your kitchen look like a restaurant

-He ordered McDonalds delivery and got your chicken nuggets under a serving platter for effect

- “We are dining on, nuggets of the chicken”

-Although you were a little disappointed and wanted to go out on a real date with him, you found his effort cute

-He definitely played footsie with you under the table the whole date

-Definitely walked you to your room

- “Well… this is me…”

- “Just wanted to make sure you got home safe”

-Kissed you

oh my god I got so carried away

-You would first meet Kit when you first come and move to Massachusetts

-One day you want to venture out and get an taxi to go to town, only a few minutes later to realise you don’t have your wallet

-You awkwardly tell the driver that if takes you back home quickly, you can get money and you will pay him right away

-But since Boston men aren’t usually so sweet, he just kicks you out, leaving you to wander the motorway alone late at night, far away from your home and hoping to quickly find somewhere to go

-Eventually you stumble upon a gas station, and as you walk up, a hand appearing on your shoulder makes you automatically turn around and push whoever touched you to the ground

-The man in blue uniform gets up slowly with his hands up defensively, “Hey hey, didn’t mean to startle ya, miss”

-You apologise, feeling stupid for this kind of encounter, but he doesn’t seem to mind as much as you’d think

- “It’s always nice to see a woman able to protect herself”, he smiles

-He offers to drive you home, and you thank him dearly, explaining to him that you don’t have a car yet, having only just moved here

-He offers to take you to buy one, knowing an awful lot about cars, and to convince you further, tells you that any man working in a car salon will try to sell a single lady a piece of junk for a high price

-You agree, thinking that the offer is sweet, and he takes you to buy yourself a car, to make the date even more fun, Kit tells you to pretend you’re an old married couple

- “Miss Walka over here needs a car, good Sir”

-At some point while looking at cars, Kit holds your hand and you don’t even notice

-He negotiates a good deal with the salesman, and you get a car together

- “Your husband just got you an awfully good deal, Madam, he’s a man who deserves a good meal and a cold beer if I’ve ever seen one”, the salesman laughs, signing the last of the papers before handing Kit the keys to your car. “Oh, he’ll get more than that”, you say to tease Kit, before smiling at him sweetly. Kit blinks at you, before turning back to the salesman and shaking his hand. As the two of you walk away, Kit looks at you in disbelief, the thought of your dirty words clearly plastered in his mind. “Did ya mean what you said back there?”. He says, as he opens the car door for you. “Whatever do you mean?”, you act stupid. “I was just pretending to be your wife, Mr Walka”

-When he has a crush on you, he gives you sooo many compliments

-Little dirty innuendos

-Would definitely call you and talk to you late night on the phone until one of you fell asleep (house phone if they had them)

-He’s the kind of person to tell you that he got a visit from a cute dog earlier at the gas station and it made him think of you

 Kyle

-Every time you go to get gas from Kit, he gives you only a little amount, so you have a reason to keep coming back

-One time when you go get gas from him, you forget your wallet again, and he teases you about it

-He lets you off and pays for your gas

- “I owe you, Mr Walka”

- “How about a date?”

-You smile at how confident he is, and nod excitedly, having been waiting for him to ask you for a while now

-Kit winks at you and waves as you drive off, completely melted inside about finally getting his girl

-Even though he’s always confident, he’s still a little shy and awkward around you when he sees you in class

-If all of his friends are in a class messing around, throwing stuff, being loud, and you walk it, he tells everybody to shut up because there’s a lady present

- “Hey careful, make sure you don’t throw it at her”

-It’s not until he sees you at a huge party, that he’s confident enough to go up to you

-Even though he’s more than happy to flirt, he’s just not confident enough to do that last step and ask you out somewhere

-He’ll bring you a drink and  talk and flirt with you, and you’ll definitely get the hint

-He slowly lifts his arm up and stretches it over you, trying to do the classic yawn move, hoping you won’t notice or mind. You look over at him and narrow your eyes in fake suspicion.

- “Didn’t you come here with a movie star? Surely you get handsome men bringing you drinks all the time?”, he says, motioning to the drink in your hand.

“You calling yourself handsome?”, you tease him. Kyle laughs a breathy awkward laugh and nods. “Well yeah”

-When you do ask him for a date, he insists that he take the initiative to plan what you two do

-Clearly wanting to make a good first impression, he’d take you somewhere interesting

-Aquarium, in which he’ll make up clearly fake facts about the fish just to make you laugh

-Bowling, just so he can tease you about how much you suck

-Mini golf, so, even though you know how to play, he can wrap his arms around you and help you put

-And if he does take you to the movies, you aren’t spending a dime

-He’ll also wrap his arm around you not-so subtly

Franken Kyle

“Whatcha doin there, hm?”. Kyle leans into your ear and whispers.

“Just in case you get scared, you can cuddle up to me”

“Kyle we’re watching the Lego movie”

Jimmy

-You’re a witch at the academy, and with Kyle’s very slow progress to getting better, both Zoe and Madison are getting slightly tired of having to constantly take care of him

-But you don’t mind, finding his Frankenstein state cute

-Whenever he stumbles into the kitchen by himself you always help him make food

-If he’s ever struggling with anything, he usually comes to you, knowing you’re the most patient out of them all

-Then, one night, all the teens in the academy go to a party, while you lay in bed

-But when the rain starts to get really heavy and the first thunder growls, Kyle rushes into your room, before slowly knowing and peaking his head out, clearly scared

-You let him come and lay with you, rubbing his back to calm him down

-Although no real words are spoken, it’s from that moment that you decide to take on all responsibilities relating to Kyle, the good and the bad

-He’s admired you from afar for a very long time, ever since the first time you joined the circus

-You were incredibly flexible, and always showing off to everyone and practicing on stage

-He would always come and watch you practice, cheering you on more than anybody else

-You called Jimmy ‘my cheerleader’

-It made him blush every time

-Amazon Eve always told him to just ask you for dinner, but the only thing that stopped him was the thought that you wouldn’t want to go out and be seen with a freak like him, especially since your body looked so normal that you didn’t have to hide anything

-Eve and Paul reminded Jimmy that it’s him who’s always the most confident in going out into the real world, and he mustn’t be scared

-When they all plan to go to a diner together, as a protest to being shunned from society, you find his leadership charming and happily go with them

-Even though you all get kicked out, you calm Jimmy down and take care of him when his dad beats him up

James

-You wipe the scars on his face and tell him how brave you think he is

- Trying to gain confidence, you take a deep breath before making the move. “Maybe the two of us should go to that diner”. Jimmy looks up at you, as if he expects you to keep talking. When the nerves hit you all at once, you begin rambling. “You know cause if the two of us go and they’re okay with that then maybe we can start going with the others one by one, and then you know we’ll ease our way back into society and stuff”. You laugh a breathy laugh, but Jimmy says nothing. With every silent second passing, your heart begins to break. But luckily for you, Jimmy speaks up. “Wait, are you asking me out? Like… on a date? To the diner?”. “What if I were?”, you quietly reply. He smiles wide and pulls you closer to him, “I’d love that”.

-James is definitely the least subtle

-Constantly giving you compliments, kisses and gifts

-Opening every door for you and listening very carefully to everything you say

-He doesn’t want you to even think about another man, so he overwhelms you with every way he can show you he likes you

-I can imagine him organising a big ball or event at the hotel just so the two of you can dress up and go together

-He is also the most confident out of them all, although he is a softie around you, he has no trouble asking you anything he wants to you

-He’ll kiss your hand a lot and you’ll eventually get the hint

Kai

- “I would be most delighted if we were to make our relationship more official, and vow fully loyalty to one another”

-You agree and he is over the moon

-Once the two of you are in a relationship, the compliments, kisses and gifts don’t stop

-He will give you your space without him, but when the two of you are in the same room together, he treats your precious time together as if it’s sacred

-He will approximately 43 seconds into your relationship begin planning how he’s gonna kill you

-You can tell Kai likes you when he’s harsher on you than he is on other members of the cult

-He’ll be pissed at you for being a distraction for him

-He’ll definitely tell you when he’s impressed with you, when you murdered somebody or helped him plan something

-Even though he definitely would not want it

-If you proved to be smarter than him in any aspect, he’d be furious

-You’d be sat on his sofa while he’s talking to you about having to kill Sally because she’s getting in the way of him winning city council

- “Samuels looked at where she lives, and it has no back doors, no nothing, it’ll be impossible to get in her house without smashing windows and causing attention”

“Why don’t you get Ally to go to her first? If Meadow convinces her to go to Sally to talk about the cult, then the front door will be open”. Kai looks at you with angry eyebrows. “We’ll sit in the car and wait for a few seconds, she’ll let Ally in, won’t lock the door straight after her, and then let them talk for a minute before we just walk right in”

-His ego won’t let him take suggestions from somebody below him, so even though he wants to be proud of you for being smart, he’s mad

-He’ll sit for hooours trying to think of any other solution he physically can think of, to not go with what you suggested

-Around the cult, he’d treat you like everybody else though

- “Y/N’s idea was brilliant, Ally just walked in and they walked straight to sit down, she didn’t lock the door”

-He’d praise you to encourage you to think of ideas, which he would later be mad that you have

━━━━━━♡♤♡━━━━━━

-You’d find out how he felt about you during pinky power

-After being suspicious that he may have feelings for you for a while, you realised this is the only way to truly find out how he feels without him trying to manipulate you

-He’d ask you about something deep, and you’d latch on after he finishes a sentence to ask him your question

- “I have a question for you”

“Go ahead”

“How do you feel about me?”

Kai stays silent and continues to look you in the eye, taken aback by the question but not wanting to show it.

“When you’re with me, how do you feel?”

“I think you have real potential, you’re strong-”

“I’m not asking the Divine Ruler, I’m asking Kai, Kai Anderson”

He takes a deep breath before unintentionally breaking eye contact for a few seconds to think. You wait anxiously for the answer, and with every second passing you know what it will be.

“You’re special”, he starts, looking you in the eye again. “You’re valuable to the group, and to me. And I think you’d be a great… mother”. The last catches you off guard, not expecting Kai to be a family man or to think about this with you.

“You… you want me to… have your children?”

“I think our children would be indestructible, strong, powerful, decisive. They would be the seed of the better future”. Although it was a little forward for somebody you’ve never even kissed, you were beyond flattered, knowing how specific Kai is with traits in people.

“Let’s make a baby”, Kai says.

“Whoa whoa”, you laugh and unlink your pinky with his. “We’re not even dating, Kai”

“Why date if children is the ultimate purpose?”

“Then don’t look at is as dating… look at it… as getting to know the mother of your future children”

-Kai would love this and you’d soon end up dating

-And have like 6 kids

@milly-louise  @amourtentiaa  @kitwalker02  @tatestripedsweater  @therenlover  @maria-akira         @tatesimper  @thxc0untessesgl0ve  @mossybank  @ahsxual  @mxlti-fand0m-imaginess  @mrs-march-ahs-biggest-fan  @kitwalkerangel  @kitisagoldenretrieverboy @darlingkitt  @blackbat2020@elaineygrace @kaiandersonskoolaid  @undeadcortez @whiiiiplaaaaash

As usual, if you wanted to be added or taken away, dm me or comment!! I won’t mind! <3

[hikarimiyanaga]

The Dimitrescu Ladies and Donna Beneviento with their S/O who is a Reaper.

Requested by the lovely @kristieray

A/N:

I don't know if this makes sense but I just love the idea that there are many reapers out there. So Reader is not alone in being a reaper.

She also has typical Reaper powers and a scythe as a weapon.

Alcina Dimitrescu / Lady Dimitrescu

You were a free-spirited reaper. Most of the other reapers get annoyed at you because sometimes you make the job more interesting.

You get to the village to guide a soul when a certain giant lady got your attention. You gulp as your eyes follow her.

"Y/N!" Your fellow reaper sighs at you. "Stop staring at the giant lady with no soul and guide this one!" The ghost waves at you and you nod.

You guide the ghost to the afterlife and come back to the village. It was weird. Seeing someone with no soul whatsoever. Souls are what makes a human human. If they have no soul? Are they even considered as one?

You roam the Castle and got even curious of the Giant lady. She could tower over you.

"Who goes there?" You hum as Alcina appears before you. She seems so lifelike yet so dead. As if she was on a time still. You decide to appear before her and she gets taken aback.

"No need for any trouble. Lady. I'm just curious."

"Of what, exactly?" You smile at her.

"Of you."

Ever since then, observing Alcina has been your past time. Most of the other Reapers knew that the Village has been designated to you since you kept coming back to it.

You keep roaming the halls and sometimes even play pranks on Bela, Cassandra and Daniela.

Ray, one of your friends who is also a reaper can't believe that you actually are falling for a non-human. You just shrug at her.

You and Alcina become closer as you spend more time together.

The real test came when Ethan and BSAA came to the village. So many souls were wandering around. You quickly phone Ray so she could help the souls and you quickly came to Bela's rescue.

You push her behind you and quickly used your powers to repair the window. One of the reaper's perks.

"Ethan Winters! Don't you dare take another shot!" You state, anger fueling your body. "Don't you dare hurt her."

Ethan is actually trembling as you take another step towards him.

"I know where Rose is. I know how hard it can be to lose a child." You sigh. You've witness too many deaths, heard too many cries. So can anyone really blame you if you try to sometimes cope? To sometimes at least laugh?

You hold out your hand to him. "I'll help you get her back so just stop killing everyone I love."

"What are you?" He asks as he accepts your hand and stand.

"A reaper." You brandish your scythe and Ethan gulps. You ultimately made the four lords and the three Dimitrescu daughters leave the village.

You knew how Ethan would die if you weren't here. You assured them and even kissed Alcina as good measure.

You came back with Ethan all bloodied up but you both survived.

You were scolded and punished but it was well worth it.

You spend more time with Alcina and the girls.

You haven't officiated it but when you show up to work wearing a necklace with a ring on it, well everyone knows who it came from.

Donna Beneviento

Being a reaper can be such a downer. Every day, you witness a death. Every day, you have to guide a soul to the afterlife.

You only stumbled upon the Beneviento house accidentally. You have a curious streak to you that some of the Senior Reapers actually scold you for.

The first time you see Donna, you were curious not only of her abilities to control dolls but also her veil.

You keep observing her and visiting her till one day, you see her take off her veil.

You were surprised, because she was just so beautiful? Why would she wear a veil?

"Who's there?" She asks and you didn't realize that you materialized. You land on the ground and smile at her.

"My name's Y/N. I'm just a curious reaper."

"Reaper?" You nod. You look at Angie and realize.

"Your soul is embedded in them."

"What?" You tilt your head. You thought she knew but apparently she didn't.

"This doll. And all the other dolls? A small part of your soul is embedded in them." You hum. "That's amazing." Donna blushes under her veil.

Ever since then, you visit Donna and Angie whenever you have your day off. Sometimes even when you should be working, you'd stop by for a quick glance at her.

One day, you had a rough day. There was an incident, one that took many lives. Too many souls who cried for their loved ones.

You get inside the Beneviento house and Donna perks up upon seeing you but you didn't have the usual vigor.

You don't tell her what happened but just hug her instead. You try not to cry at her shoulder as she rubs your back.

You don't tell anyone but she became the light at the end of the day.

So to no one's surprise, you asked her to become yours.

Bela Dimitrescu

You were friends with the grand chambermaid of the castle. She saw you once, guiding a maiden that was hunter down.

So once in a while, you visit her. Still concerned over an old friend.

Bela caught your eye when she was reading about your job. Being a reaper.

You hum as she turns the pages then scoff. You materialize right beside her and she yelps in surprise.

"This is bullshit!" You say as you take the book. "Even we don't know why we're chosen! Chosen ones my ass." You grumble.

You sigh. And Bela stands. "Are you a reaper?" You nod.

"Don't worry, I'm not here to take anyone's soul or something like that. Just visiting an old friend."

"An old friend?" You nod. She looks at the book then gets her journal and pen.

"If you don't mind then, I really would like to differentiate facts from fiction." You smile at her curiousity.

It was the start of a friendship between you and the oldest daughter.

You would visit her every chance you can get while Bela is always excited to wait for you.

One day, you see the three Dimitrescus hunting down a maiden and you sigh.

"So you guys are the main reasons why girls are always the ones who are mostly dead around here." Bela blushes as you materialize out of nowhere.

She splutters as she tries to find excuses but you just pat her head and smile sadly. "Must be hard."

She nods and you hug her. You don't tell her with words but you hope your actions are enough. That she'll know.

One day, when you gather your courage, you ask Bela out on a date.

And one day as well, when you've noticed how much you've fallen, you propose to her.

Cassandra Dimitrescu

You were just a wandering reaper. Hoping that you won't come across a soul in needing of guidance to the afterlife.

One night, you see a blur of bugs pass you. You then sense that a soul was nearby. Did that blur just killed someone?

You follow your senses and your guess was right. Only that blur is now a girl and carrying the body of the soul. You guide the soul to the afterlife.

By then, you were intrigued by Cassandra. Something about her just triggers your curiosity.

You keep observing her. Her hobbies, her interest and you were amazed by her paintings.

One day, when you thought she was asleep. You materialize as you admire her painting.

"Who are you!?" She asks as she wields her sickle and you just raise an eyebrow at her.

"Look, I like you a lot but don't even try. I'm too tired and would like to just admire your paintings." Your honesty made her blush.

Ever since then, you would materialize when you visit her and she would look forward to showing off her paintings and drawings to you.

One day, Cassandra was all fidgety and shy. You hum as you materialize. Was something wrong?

"I would like to paint you." She says and you can't help but smile as you nod.

People rarely look forward to meeting you or the other reapers. And those who claim they do are either lying or just too tired.

Each visit with Cassandra was fun, you say random facts about being a reaper and she chimes in things about being a witch.

Before the painting was even finished. The both of you have made it official.

And you look forward to seeing her as much as she looks forward to seeing you.

Daniela Dimitrescu

You were guiding a soul of a maiden when Daniela sees you. She thought you were trying to steal a maiden.

She tried to attack you and the maiden so you brandish your scythe to stop her.

She freezes as she admires your weapon and you raise an eyebrow at her. How did she even see you?

You knew some creatures can naturally see reapers, even some humans can. You shake your head and guide the soul as planned.

You got curious of her so you went back to the castle. You explored as you didn't see her at first.

"Boo!" She tried to surprise you, she really did, but as a reaper, your senses are heightened, so you can sense her presence from a mile away. You just turn to her.

"So you really can see me?"

"Yeah? Doesn't everyone?" You shake your head.

"Not unless they're dead. People typically don't want to see me or my co-workers."

"Co-workers?" You smile.

"You didn't think that I'm the only reaper around, right?"

She drags you to the library and you tell her many stories.

Stories that you heard. Stories that you've experienced. Things that you've seen.

And every single time, she was just amazed.

In return, she tells you about the books she loves. The family she would do anything for.

Alcina, her mother that may be strict and busy sometimes but still protective and warm all the same.

Bela, the eldest who always scolds her for her antics but still listens to some of her ramblings.

And Cassandra, the middle child whom she's competitive with, whom would always treat her as an equal.

There was just something about her while she talked about her family that you kiss her.

She was surprised at first but kisses back nonetheless.

You pull away with a smile and she does the same.

You bask in her presence then kiss her forehead.

"I do hope I'll see you more often now." You laugh at her statement and agree.

You'll visit the castle more often just for her.

A/N:

I am so sorry this took so long.

I've been having headaches for the past few days and I tried everything to chase them away.

I'm feeling a bit better now.

Comments and thoughts are always welcome!

Thank you for reading!

[marauderundercover]

Taking Chances Ch. 22: Petrichor and Bibliosmia (Library/books)

AO3

Prev

Marinette frowned at the rain outside of her window. She had wanted to go to the botanical gardens with Harley and Ivy today. But with the rain, both women decided it would be better to just reschedule. They didn’t want her to get sick. Which, to be fair, was sweet. But still upsetting because she really wanted to go to the gardens. She’d planned on using the plants as inspiration to make something for Ivy.

“Tikki, I’m bored.” She says, looking at her smallest friend. Tikki just looks at her.

“You’ve been stuck inside because of the weather before, Marinette. Why don’t you design?” Tikki suggests. Marinette huffs, flopping back down onto the cushioned window seat.

“But there’s nothing inspiring in my room, Tikki.” She mumbles, before shooting back up. “Do you think any of the boys are here?” She asks.

“Only one way to find out!” Tikki says with a smile, obviously relieved to have avoided any more whining from Marinette. She jumps up, throwing one of Dick’s old hoodies on over her t-shirt. She’d always gotten cold easily, and becoming the holder of the Ladybug Miraculous didn’t help. That, and the manor was cold on a good day- it would probably be freezing with how bad the weather was. She slides down the banister, knowing her Dad was at work and couldn’t yell at her.

“Miss Marinette, if you insist on behaving like your brothers, I will have to resort to treating you like your brothers.” Alfred says with raised eyebrows. But she can sense the smile wanting to break through. She just grins apologetically.

“Sorry, Alfred.” She says. “Speaking of my brothers, are any of them here right now?” She asks. If they’re not, she could probably convince Alfred to bake something with her. As long as she promises not to slide down the banister again.

“I believe Master Jason is in the library. Masters Dick and Damian are in the gym and Master Tim is at Wayne Enterprises with your father.” He says and she hums, thinking. She could go do some training with Dick and Damian, or she could go sit and sketch in the library with Jason.

“Thanks Alfred!” She says, giving him a wide smile before turning and walking down one of the many halls. She glances in open doors as she walks. Despite having lived here for nearly a month, she still got lost going anywhere other than her room, the dining room, the kitchen, and the Batcave. They were kind of the places she’d gone the most. She could also easily find her dad’s study and the main sitting room, most of the time. But the library wasn’t really a place she’d spent a lot of time in. And while she loved Dick and Damian, she also knew that they hadn’t gotten time to hang out just the two of them in a while. She’d talked to Dick before, about how when their dad was missing, he was basically Damian’s father. She knew that bonds like that didn’t just go away, knew that neither boy wanted it to. So she figured she’d just annoy Jay instead of barging in on the others’ bonding time.

Finally finding the library, she grins. Pushing the cracked door open a little more, she moves into the room, jaw dropping. The floor to ceiling bookshelves were packed. There were huge overstuffed couches, and the large windows had window seats attached- perfect little reading nooks. Quickly making a mental note to come to the library more, she starts to search for Jay. She knew he had to be in here. Alfred is never wrong. She grins when she spots him, sitting in what looked like an insanely uncomfortable position, but one she knew from experience was the best.

“Whatchya reading?” She asks, walking over and getting comfortable on the couch next to him.

“<i>Pride and Prejudice<i>.” He says, continuing reading for a moment before putting a little scrap of paper in the book and shutting it. “What’s up, Pixie Pop?” He asks, looking at her with a grin. Marinette sighs dramatically and moves so that she’s upside down on the couch.

“It’s raining. And I was supposed to go to the gardens with Ivy and Harley but they canceled because of my ‘health’ and they were ‘concerned’.” She says with a pout.

“And you decided the library was the best place to curb your boredom? No offense kid, but you don’t seem like the type to read.” He says and she huffs.

“I like books! It’s just-” She pauses, remembering the way Lila had teased her for it back in Paris. Her classmates hadn’t joined in, not really. They’d just agreed that she was a little odd.

“You okay, Pix?” Jason asks, his earlier grin replaced with a slightly concerned look. Marinette winces and nods.

“Yeah it’s- I can read. I swear I can. But when I’m looking at a book, or an article or anything with a lot of text, it gets hard to pick out the pieces. Things just kind of swirl together and then I can’t decode it and I get frustrated and just stop reading. It sucks, ‘cause I do like books. I listen to audiobooks while doing commissions.” She rambles, stopping and turning red. Though that may be from hanging upside down on the couch. Sighing, she sits up and shrugs. “Sorry I’m so weird.” She says. Jason’s face morphs into a scowl.

“Just ‘cause you learn differently doesn’t mean you’re weird, kid. Just means you’ve got your own style. Don’t let any of those little shits you go to school with tell you differently.” He says, reaching out and ruffling her hair. She smiles at him, a genuine happy smile. She was so relieved that he didn’t think she was weird. Or stupid. Lila had thrown that word around. That one hurt. Marinette prided herself on her quick thinking and cleverness. And her grades. They were some of the best in the class! So for Lila to call her stupid…

“Pixie.” Jason says, drawing the nickname out in a sing-song voice. She looks at him and raises an eyebrow. “You were zoned out, kid. So, was there something ya wanna do?” He asks. Marinette glances down at the book in his hand and frowns.

“I don’t wanna keep you from reading. I can just sit in here with you. I’ll probably end up grabbing my sketchbook.” She says. Jason waves in a ‘no big deal’ motion.

“I’ve read this book a million times.” He reassures her. She glances at the cover again, realizing it’s not one she’s really heard much about before.

“What’s it about?” She asks. “I’ve never read it.” Jay’s face morphs into a huge grin.

“You said you like listening to books, right?” He asks. She nods. “Well, then settle in because I’m going to read to you.” He says proudly with a grin.

“Oh, you really don’t-” She tries to say. She didn’t want to make him read to her. That was not-

“Oh but I want to.” He says, effectively cutting off her mental ramble before she can complete her meltdown. “Listen Pix, this is one of my favorite books. If you go listen to some dumb audio book, you won’t get my commentary. Trust me, this is the best way for you to read the book.” He says and she snorts, shaking her head lightly.

“Okay, Jay, let’s read a book.”

---

Finally arriving home after being stuck at the office, Bruce sets off to find his daughter. Since his apology a few days ago, he’d attempted to make an effort to check in on her and see how she was doing. He tried to also do the same with the boys, but they had all given him odd looks, so he didn’t continue. He checks her room, the Batcave, the sitting room- nothing. He finally decides to check the kitchen. If he had to guess, she’d be there baking with Alfred. He walks in and sees Alfred, but no Marinette.

“Good evening, Alfred. Have you seen Marinette?” Bruce asks, silently hoping she hadn’t left the planet again.

“I believe she’s in the library with Master Jason.” Alfred says and Bruce blinks in surprise. He’d never seen her read a book before, while Jason always had a book on him. He supposed it could be a hobby of hers that he just hasn’t noticed. Or, she could have just followed Jason. Which seems more likely. The two of them were all but attached at the hip ever since the Gala. It was surprising, but at the same time welcoming. Thanking Alfred quickly, he walks towards the library. He’d just say hi and leave. No need to make them stop reading if they were having fun. Gently pushing open the library door he walks in and pauses at the sight. Marinette had wrapped herself in a blanket and was almost sitting on the edge of the couch, leaning forward with an intense look of concentration on her face. Jason had his legs swung over the arm of the couch and was reading out loud. Immediately recognizing the book as Jason’s favorite, Bruce slowly leaves the library, careful not to let the door slam. He’d have the chance to talk to Marinette later, but for now, he’d let the two continue reading in peace.

Next

Tag list: @maribat-bdbwm @vixen-uchiha @stainedglassm @liquid-luck-00 @laurcad123 @waiting247 @jayjayspixiepop @mizzy-pop @jjmjjktth @trippingovermyfeet @queenz-z @thepaceperson @iloontjeboontje @toodaloo-kangaroo @ritacrow-blog @deathssilentapproach-blog @kittenmywaythrulife @nerd-nowandforever @tazanna-blythe @jaybird-and-co @jumpingjoy82 @lady-bee-fechin @corporeal-terrestrial

[smoochkooks]

—chapter four: white lies

this is a part of my an ode to a broken heart drabble series.

pairing: jeon jungkook/reader

genre: unrequited love, best friends to (?), heavy angst, future smut

word count: 1.5k

summary: it came easy to you to lie. but with every untold truth, you were hurting more on the inside.

previous || next

one year and 6 months ago

April was exceptionally moody that year.  

Every day you woke up to either heavy rainfall or a beautiful, cloudless sky. Alternatively, it could also snow for a couple of hours just to have it all vanish once the sun reappeared. As much as you loved Spring, you hated the capricious weather with passion.  

It was a normal, peaceful, Saturday afternoon. Saturday meant no classes to attend, no work to do on the side. It was just you in your small, cozy apartment, tucked underneath the blanket and binge-watching Attack On Titan.  

You were never an anime enthusiast per se, but you happened to befriend a doe-eyed weeb all those years ago. Your current occupation was just a part of the aftermath. It wasn’t like Jungkook was obsessed, not at all. He was actually far from it. Now, at the tender age of twenty-three, his old hobby was like a relapse. His love for anime was coming in waves every once in a while, gradually transforming into a two-months-long hyperfixation and then, it was nothing. And the cicle continued.

He was currently in the stage of re-watching Attack On Titan, hence why you had been forced to finally give the damned anime a try as well. Hell, he was even coming over tonight to have a marathon with you.

(He’d said that season three, his favourite, you had to watch alongside him.)

You: eren's annoying little shit  

Jungkook: told you so

You: but levi? damn I’d sell my soul for him  

Jungkook: for a 5’2 emotionally unavailable man?  

You: yep. that’s my type

It was far from truth. As much as you liked Captain Levi, he wasn’t Jungkook. You are my type, you wanted to write instead. There hadn’t been a man in my life who managed to even come close to you. But, as always, you kept those confessions to yourself.  

Right when you were about to play another episode, your phone buzzed again.  

Jungkook: I have a weird question  

You: I’m used to that  

You: shoot your shot.  

Jungkook: what’s your finger size?  

Confused, you read his last message once again. That was indeed a weird fucking question to ask, you thought. You had never really been a fan of rings. You only owed one - a gift from your grandmother she gave you for your sixteenth birthday. Rummaging thorough your drawer, you found it in a separate, black case.  

It still fit just right, so you took a ruler, measured the size and googled the results.  

You: it’s 7.5 I guess

You: why do you ask tho?  

Jungkook: I need you to go somewhere with me before our marathon if that’s okay

You: you didn’t answer my question  

You: but okay. what time?

Jungkook: ill pick you up at 5pm  

Jungkook: you’ll see  

Maybe it was for the better he hadn’t told you where he was taking you. If you had know, you would have backed away last minute. Come up with so lame excuse, blame it all on a headache or period cramps.

If you had known Jungkook was taking you to pick up an engagement ring for Soojin, you would have never come with him.  

When you parked in front of one of the most high-ranking jewellery stores dowtown, the solemnity of the situation hit you like a whiplash. You took a deep, shuddering breath. Jungkook was thinking about marrying Soojin. Jungkook was going to propose to her, soon. He was ready to spent the rest of his life with her. 

Jeon Jungkook, the love of your life, was about to slip out of your reach for good. 

You couldn’t cry. Not in front of him. You clenched your fists so tight the knuckles turned white.  

“I figured out you could help me,” Jungkook said, breaking the silence and unbuckled his seatbelt. “I checked Soojin's finger size once when she was showering and then I found out that your’s the same and well, you’re a girl so you obviously know more about jewellery than me and–”

“Jungkook,” you cut him off with a dry chuckle. You didn’t want him to speak. You didn’t want to see him. You wanted to jumped off his car and ran away from that place as far as possible. “You don’t have to explain yourself. I get it.”  

You smiled at him with reassurance. It was actually hilarious, how you mastered the art of feigning your real feelings when you were with him. It came easy to you to lie but with every untold truth, you were hurting more on the inside.  

“I’m here, so you don’t have to worry about chosing something horrible.”  

He grinned and you noticed a dust of pink covering the apples his cheeks. It was hard, so fucking hard seeing him happy because that was all you ever wanted and yet it pained you not to be the main source of it. Jungkook was twenty-three and already so in love he wanted to get married. You were going to see him in a black tux, a prince charming waiting in front of the altar for his princess.  

It ached. Why did it ache to see him happy?

The lady who worked at the jewellery store greeted you politely with a bow. “What can I do for you?” she asked.  

“We are looking for engagement rings.” Jungkook answered.

You could tell she was a bit astounded but her professional smile never faltered when she responded with, “Oh, that’s still quite unusual to see the couple chosing an engagement ring together.”  

You were about to protest but then, Jungkook did something you would never expect him to do.  

He grasped your hand.

(It was warm. His touch was soothing. Comforting. Then why did it hurt so bad?)  

“My girlfriend wants to chose the ring herself but she doesn’t know when she will get it.”  

To make matters worse, he sent you a wink. The store’s clerk cooed at the scene and clasped a hand over her chest. For her it was yet another day at work, yet another pair of adults who had decided to get marry.  

“You make a really beautiful couple.” she said. 

Even Jungkook’s hand squeezing yours couldn’t ease the sting you felt hearing her speak those words to you. You smiled lightly for good measure. She then pointed at the display and gave you some time and space too look at the options.

Your whole face felt hot. Jungkook was still holding your hand, still playing the role of a perfect boyfriend. He didn’t seem to notice what kind of effect it had on you. He didn’t know how fast your heart was beating, how warm his touch felt on your skin. It was all just a silly joke to him.

He leaned closer to you, so the store's clerk couldn’t hear him. His breath tickled your skin. “You’re blushing.” he whispered.  

“Shut up.”  

He chuckled and let go of your hand. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable.”  

(No matter how much it hurt you on the inside, you already missed his touch.)

“It’s okay. Let’s chose my damned ring, shall we?” you proposed, mustering a nonchalant tone.  

Dodging uneasiness with humor always worked out, it seemed.

You felt odd and out of place standing next to him and staring at all those glimmering jewels. In the corner of the eye you saw the lady who worked there glancing at you from time to time and that was when you remembered you were supposed to act like a soon-to-be fiancée. 

“They’re all pretty.” you said to Jungkook. 

“Which one you like the most then?”  

You didn’t have to think long about the answer. The ring with an emerald stone caught your eye from the beginning. It was different than the others, definitely not a standard choice for engagement but something about its peculiarity made you want it to have it shinning on your finger one day.  

Except, you weren’t here for yourself. Jungkook wasn’t your boyfriend. You were helping him chose a ring for Soojin. And you knew exactly what she would like.  

So you pointed at the number thirty-two. A sparkling, white-gold ring with an oval-shaped diamond.  

Jungkook let out a hum. “It’s really pretty, yeah. Excuse me,” he called. “My girlfriend would like to try out this one.”  

You ignored the phantom pain you felt as you put the ring on. You flexed your fingers and just for a moment, you pretended it wasn’t a farce your best friend came up with. The diamond shone brightly just like the glimmers of happiness in Jungkook's eyes. He didn’t have to worry about Soojin's answer. He knew it would be thousand times yes.

You were good at pretending. After all, you had been practicing the art of it almost your entire life.  

So you drove with Jungkook to your apartment and listened to him babbling about his newest project at work. You made snacks, sat in front of your TV and spent the next couple of hours watching Attack On Titan. You cursed him for spoiling you a few bits of the show and Jungkook, like the petty Virgo he was, reminded you how you accidentally revealed him Little Women's ending because you had read the book years before.

As you laughed and bickered with him, you still remembered about the crimson box tucked in the pocket of his leather jacket, but you didn’t allow yourself to break. Not yet.  

It was only when Jungkook fell asleep around 1am that you stepped into the shower and let the tears flow.  

And a week later, when the dreaded became real–

Jungkook: she said yes!!!

A white lie was told to avoid hurting someone’s feelings.

You: I’m so happy for you, Jungkook!  

After all, the best you could do was give up your happiness for the sake of his own.

[nessinborderland]

Between Apple Pies and Chocolate Cosmos (01)

Pairing: Aguni x Reader

Genre: Fluff, Character Study

Words: 6.4k

Summary: Aguni first laid eyes on you in the greenhouse. After that, he simply couldn't take you out of his mind.

Warnings: Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Feelings, Eventual Romance, Denial of Feelings, Slow Burn, Other Additional Tags to Be Added

Notes: This was inspired by the wonderful @aghostsrantingcorner ask. For reference, there’s some things in this fic that were inspired by these posts by @hatterstan-shameblog​. This will be 2-3 parts max. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do <3

Aguni first laid eyes on you in the greenhouse.

It was a rainy morning, and the Beach was as silent as you would expect after a night of deadly games and partying. He always took advantage of the silent mornings to have a walk around the place, breathe some fresh air, and – most importantly – attend to his garden.

He had started working on it soon after he and Takeru found the Beach, still in the early days when it was only them. He never saw a reason why he shouldn’t. Since he was stuck there for an indefinite amount of time – since he would probably die there – he might as well keep up with the only hobby that brought him some resemblance of peace.

So, he did it. Every single morning. It kept him grounded; reminded him of who he was.

His Eden – as he liked to think about it – was a medium-sized glasshouse near the kitchens, surrounded by land where he had replanted a variety of fruit trees and berry bushes that he had found around Tokyo. It needed some remodeling, but it was perfect as soon as he was done fixing the broken glass and built a system to expertly use the rainwater. He loved the place. Its variety of colors and smells, the silence, and – what made him the happiest – being able to watch the literal fruit of his labor grow.

It was his little piece of heaven in the hell he was trapped in.

Now, one thing about the greenhouse: no one was allowed inside the place beside him. Everybody knew it. It was not like anyone had any real interest in plants or vegetables but, still, people knew that that was his place. Even the old ladies responsible for the meals knew to not go inside; if they needed any ingredient, they asked him.

So imagine his surprise when he got closer to the glass walls of his greenhouse and heard soft singing coming from inside. It was barely audible, the tip-tap from the rain hitting the glass making it harder for him to understand any words. But he knew someone was in there.

His first thought was to barge in and kick out whoever was disrupting his garden. He could feel his anger grow as he stared at the blurred figure on the other side of the glass, messing around with his stuff. He took a deep breath before opening the door and stepping inside. 

The air inside the greenhouse was warm, with light condensation already sliding down the glass walls. The intruder – a woman, he noticed – was with her back turned to him, humming a song that was more than familiar due to Takeru’s taste in music.

“... lay all your love on– ” you gasped as you turned to him, no doubt startled by his presence. The vase in your hands shattered as it hit the floor with a loud smash, and you let out another startled sound. You crouched to clean up the mess, a row of apologies already escaping from your lips. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry, please don’t move while I–”

“You shouldn’t be here,” was all he said as he stood there, stoic and cold expression looking at you from above. Your face was vaguely familiar to him – like every other face at the Beach – but he knew nothing about you. He noticed when you froze and slowly looked up, locking eyes with him. He saw the exact moment you recognized him, eyes growing wide and mouth agape as you held broken pieces of clay in your hands.

“Aguni–”

“Clean up your mess and leave,” he mumbled as he walked past you to access the damage you had done to his greenhouse. He noticed how several of his previous empty vases were now occupied by small plants and flowers that he had meant to work on that morning. You had just done his work for him. And perfectly, he could tell. Or as perfect as he could expect from someone that wasn’t him. He felt his anger subside. “The chamomile is supposed to be planted next to the tomatoes,” he said as he started carefully removing the small flowers from the vases. “We have no need for tea here.”

“Hmm...I thought you were using those for medicinal purposes?” you hesitantly asked. He kept his back to you, focusing on the task at hand as he waited for you to leave. Leave, however, you did not. "I'm sure they could be useful if–"

"There are only two kinds of people here," he interrupted in a cold tone. "The living and healthy, and the dead. If you're wounded, you belong to the latter. The tomatoes, though, could use some–"

"But couldn't we start an infirmary here?" Your question made him stop what he was doing, and he raised a brow as he looked at you over his shoulder. No one interrupted him; ever. You clearly didn't notice his hard stare as you continued to talk, "We could use garlic and oregano oil for infections, and aloe vera for–"

"You shouldn't be here," he repeated, now in a tone slightly louder than he liked to use. You halted mid-sentence, the small smile on your lips changing into a frown. "I'm not repeating myself. This greenhouse is off-limits. Leave." 

He gave you one last glance before focusing again on his task, listening as you gathered the broken vase. A whimper made him look back at you, watching as you stared at your bleeding finger, droplets of blood falling on the rich soil underneath you. He sighed before grabbing a roll of paper towels from a shelf above his head, turning to hand you one.

"Thank you," you said in a low tone as you accepted the help and involved the tissue around your finger, hissing from the pain.

Only then did he notice what that broken vase had been carrying. At your feet, in the middle of a small mountain of dirt, was a chocolate cosmos. It wasn't one of his flowers, he was sure of that. He had never even seen a live specimen before.

"Weren't those extinct?" he asked before he could stop himself.

Your eyes widen at his question before you looked at him with a soft smile on your lips. He felt the tips of his ears get warm; why in the hell were you smiling at him?

"Mhm, I think so... You can still find them in captivity, though," you said as you gently picked up the reddish-brown flower. You looked at him for a moment before nodding to the table behind him. "Could I get another vase, please? It's just that she's been staying in a box since I got her and I just wanted to– oh, thanks!"

You smiled at him again as he handed you another small vase without a word. Aguni averted his eyes, focusing on your hands as you arranged the pretty flower in its new home. He felt... uneasy, is the word. His usual relaxing morning had been ruined by some random woman with a nice smile.

He didn't like that one bit.

"Well... I'm gonna go now," you awkwardly started as you made your way to the door, before stopping and turning around as if you forgot something. "Oh, by the way, did you...did you do all this?" you asked, gesticulating around you. He nodded once and you smiled again. "It's beautiful. Good job."

With those words, you finally left him alone. 

Aguni was sure he wasn't just blushing in his ears now. His whole face was warm. He never had anyone compliment him on his gardening skills before. Yeah, Takeru told him several times he was good at it, but no one had actually shown interest. It made him feel some kind of way.

He shook his head and got back to his work. He could still enjoy his quiet morning before a council meeting if he was fast enough.

»«»«»«

You were there the next morning.

The sun had barely risen when he approached the greenhouse, a warm cup of coffee in hand while he whistled a tune that had been stuck in his head since he woke up. He hadn't even noticed you until he went to open the door, your voice making him jump slightly where he stood.

"You like ABBA too?" you asked from behind him.

He looked over his shoulder to stare at you. You were sitting under a tree not far away, that same nice smile on your face. You were holding something in your hands – something that he noticed was hot – as steam was visible in the chill morning air.

He felt his ears get warm again; damnit, he hadn't even realized that the tune he was whistling was the same song he had caught you singing the day before. He took a deep breath and shook his head. 

You both stood there, clearly waiting for the other to speak first. He was never a man of many words, though, so he just nodded once in your direction before getting inside his greenhouse and closing the door behind him.

A knock on the door not long after made him roll his eyes. He walked away from his work table with a sigh, cursing at his lack of peace and quiet; all the man wanted was to drink his morning coffee in solitude.

"What?" he asked as he opened the door to find you there, holding something wrapped in paper in his direction. He had noticed the steaming thing earlier. "What's that?"

"I wanted to thank you," you said, almost stumbling over your words as you signaled him to take it from you. "It's a pie."

"A pie?" he asked slowly, raising a brow in distrust.

"Yes, apple pie," you sent him a small smile as you tried to get him to accept the baked good. When he just stood there, arms crossed, your smile fell. He almost, almost, made a move to grab your offer then. "Hmm, Mrs. Yamamoto from the kitchen lets me use ingredients sometimes to bake stuff, and as long as I clean everything after–"

"I don't eat breakfast," he interrupted, arms still crossed as he looked you up and down with furrowed brows. He was trying to understand your intentions towards him. What was your move here?

"Oh, but you should, you know?" you said in a raised tone. "It's the most important meal of the day! A-and this one was made with your apples, so I thought you would–"

"What do you want from me?"

Even though Aguni was a man of few words, he never had any problem being direct. When you just looked at him with big, confused eyes, he was even more weirded out by your manners. You were either being genuine or were a really good actress. He didn't know what made him more uncomfortable.

"I just want to... to thank you for the vase?" you hesitantly answered, arms lowering.

His hand snapped towards your arm before he even realized, suddenly aware that he did want that pie. However, a pained gasp made him release you immediately upon touching you over your jacket. 

"Are you hurt?" he asked, secretly hoping he hadn't actually hurt you.

"I- I'm fine," you answered with a shake of your head. "It was just a small injury from yesterday's game."

"Let me see," he ordered.

You stared wide-eyed at him, and it almost made him backtrack and send you away. Why should he care if you were hurt?

Aguni was about to do exactly that when you gingerly extended your arm in his direction. He focused on your arm as his fingers lightly grabbed your wrist, pulling your sleeve up to show a burn mark roughly the size of your palm. It didn't look too bad, but he could see that you hadn't put anything on it.

"Come," he said as he gestured at you to follow him inside the greenhouse.

He worked fast as he prepared something that would help you with your burn. He didn't know much about medicinal plants, but he knew enough.

He gestured at you to sit on the table as he carefully applied a mix of aloe vera and oats to your injury with light feather-like touches. It was all done in silence until he heard a noise from you, something resembling a barely huffed laugh. He glanced up to notice you looking straight at him, that same damned smile on your lips. He quickly focused back on the injury, hoping you wouldn't notice his red ears.

"I thought I was part of the dead now," you said, clearly referencing what he had said the day before. He grunted with a shrug, now at all interested in talking about his change of ideals. "You know...I never thought you were the type," you kept talking, and he kept addressing your injury. "To like plants, I mean. This place is amazing." 

"What type am I, then?" he caught himself asking. Not that he particularly cared about your answer, but curiosity got the best of him. You laughed at his words and shrugged.

"Hmm, I don't know... the type that punches tigers?" He had to control the will to smile then, hiding his face from view. "I really wasn't expecting tall, big, and stoic Aguni to be so good with plants. I'm pleasantly surprised."

His movements halted for a second as he processed your words. He was sure he was red all over his face now, damn you. He continued what he was doing before he could overthink your words too much.

"Never judge a book by its cover."

He cringed as soon as those words left his mouth. What a corny thing to say. He decided then that your burn was sufficiently covered in aloe, and immediately retracted his hands, turning his back to you as he cleaned his fingers and tried to get his blush under control.

"Hmm, I guess you're right…" you said as he heard you stand up. "Well, thank you again, for this." He nodded and grunted in acknowledgment without turning to face you. "And the pie is here, just in case you want to try it." You hesitated, "...Hmm if you don't want it, you can always give it to Last Boss. He- he caught me in the kitchens once and I promised to bake him stuff if he helped me clean up after. He doesn't talk much and he's kind of scary, but he's nice." He turned to you then, and the expression on his face might've told you that you were overstaying your visit, so you quickly rushed for the door. "Mm okay, bye!" you said as you sent him an awkward wave and left.

He wondered if you thought he was scary but nice.

»«»«»«

A piece of chocolate cake was left by his greenhouse the day after.

The day after that, a croissant.

The gifts were always accompanied by small notes written in pretty handwriting. Some were simple recipes; others were small facts about medicinal plants he knew nothing about. He kept them all, safely hidden in a can on his worktable. A week went by where he expected a new pastry or sweet to welcome him. And, without fail, there it was. He never saw you around though, in the mornings or throughout the day, which he found odd. He didn't even know your name, but he found himself searching for you throughout the Beach, or in the games at night. But he never saw you. He would've thought you were dead if it weren't for the consistent gifts you left at his door.

Now, he wasn't lying when he said he wasn't a man for breakfast. He really wasn't. But after trying a piece of that apple pie, he saw himself devouring almost the whole thing. The same with the cake and the croissant. They were probably the best baked goods that he had ever tried. He was even more excited to start his mornings.

This morning, however, he arrived at the greenhouse to find nothing by the door. No box, no note, no wrapping. Nothing. He furrowed his brows, feeling disappointed, but quickly shrugged the feeling off as he got inside. Your pleasantries had to stop someday.

It bothered him, though. And he hated the fact that it bothered him. He hated the fact that he cared. He spent the day thinking about it. Thinking about you. Where could you possibly be? What happened? He didn’t even know your name. He didn’t know what bedroom you lived in, and it was driving him mad.

He had zoned out throughout the morning meeting, lashed out at several of the militants, and was now fully ignoring Takeru as his best friend went on and on about something he didn’t care enough to even pretend to be listening.

“Mori, hey!” His friend snapped his fingers in front of his face, forcing Aguni out of his thoughts. He stared at Takeru with a frown.

“What?” he asked, taking a sip from the glass of water in front of him.

“The first time all week that we’re having lunch together, and you’re quieter than usual,” his friend said, nodding at the plate of barely touched food in front of him. “You’re not even eating. What’s going on?” 

“I’m fine,” he shrugged, stabbing a piece of roasted rabbit with his fork and taking a bite. He chewed as he thought of a good excuse. Takeru could be annoyingly perceptive when it came to other people’s emotions, especially his. “Just have a lot on my mind, that’s all,” he finally said.

His friend looked at him for a moment before setting his elbows on the table, supporting his chin on his palms. Oh no, he knew what that meant. He was about to be questioned to death.

"Are you in love?" he asked, a slight smirk on his lips.

Aguni choked on his own spit at the man's question, violently coughing as he vehemently shook his head. 

"What the hell are you talking about?!" he asked after easing his cough, throat burning, and eyes teary from the effort.

"Well let's see," Takeru started, hand raised as he prepared himself to make a list. Aguni instantly regretted his question. "You've been late to meetings almost every morning for the past week, you barely pay attention to anything I tell you and I'm pretty sure I heard you hum 'Lay All Your Love on Me' by ABBA the other day. I've never heard you do anything close to singing," Takeru said as he wiggled three raised fingers before raising a fourth. "And a little bird told me that they heard you talking with someone inside your garden house." The smirk on his lips turned into a grin as Aguni averted his eyes. "So, tell me; who is she? Or is it a he? C'mon, you know you can tell–"

"I don't know what you're talking about," was all he said in what he hoped was a nonchalant tone.

Takeru wasn't easy to fool, though.

"You know what, I know you're full of shit, but I will allow it," he said with a fork pointed in his direction. "For now, at least. Now it's dessert time!" Takeru licked his lips as he pulled a tray to the center of the table. "I've been wanting you to try this for days, it's delicious!" He opened the tray to uncover two perfectly sized individual pies. Not just any pies, either. Aguni knew exactly who made them.

"Where did you get this?" he blurted out, staring at the perfectly cooked pastries. Takeru looked at him with a confused look.

"Huh, the kitchen? Where else?"

"Yeah, but who made them?" Aguni pressed further, wanting an answer that would show him that you were actually alive. "Were they made today?"

"Uh, I would hope so, yeah. And I don't know who made them, old Yamamoto just said it was one of her helpers," Takeru retorted with a shrug. "They're amazing, though, you should try it."

Aguni almost felt himself sag in relief. If these were made today, that meant that you were alive. It also meant that you definitely had stopped leaving gifts at his door. He tried not to focus on how he felt a little hurt by it. It was not like you owed him anything, anyway.

He still couldn't stop thinking about you as he finished his lunch with Takeru. He hated to admit it, but he felt bad for how he had treated you when you first met. He felt like he owed you at least an apology, and – not like he would ever admit it to himself – he wanted to see you again.

He always went for a short walk after lunch before having to proceed with his duties for the day. He wasn't exactly surprised to find himself by the kitchens, peeping inside the large double doors to take a look – part of him hoping to see you there.

What he saw instead were the so-called Food Ladies, a group of old women that had taken upon themselves the important role of cooking for everyone at the Beach. They were now chilling and having their own meals after the lunch hour rush. He spotted Mrs. Yamamoto, the oldest of the bunch – that also happened to be the boss – leaning by the doors that led outside, smoking her usual cigarette. She spotted him too, with small dark eyes that made him want to run away. It was strangely similar to the way his grandmother used to look at him when he misbehaved as a child.

“Oi, boy, c’mere,” she called him before he could walk away. The laughs and conversations of the other women ceased immediately as he entered the room. They eyed him for some time, one of the old ladies elbowing another before whispering something he couldn’t hear. His brows furrowed; he hated all that attention.

“Mrs. Yama–”

“You have to learn how to control your militants, Aguni,” she said as soon as he got close enough. “Two of your boys were disturbing one of my girls this morning. God knows what they would’ve done to the poor thing if I hadn’t shooed them away.” He had to control his facial expression; was she talking about you? “That girl gets up before dawn to cook sweets for so many people in this godforsaken place, and that’s how they repay her?” The old woman shook her head, before adding, “The rude boy with the piercings on his face and the odd one with the katana. See to it that they don’t get close to her again, do ya hear me?” 

He nodded once before turning to leave, anger already simmering inside him. He had the urge to use his fists on a very specific someone.

He found whom he was looking for on the roof, as he expected. Last Boss was the first to notice him, eyes going wide as Aguni power walked to the man next to him.

“...and Chishiya– oh fuck! What the hell?!” Niragi screamed as Aguni pushed him toward the edge of the roof before forcing him to lean over it.

He held the man by his collar, almost making him lose his balance and fall to his death. Part of him really wanted to let go. He knew what Niragi was capable of.

“What were you doing in the kitchen this morning?” he asked in a cold, emotionless tone. The younger man looked down before visibly gulping and staring at him with a furrowed brow.

“T- The kitchen?...” he asked back. Aguni took a deep breath before loosening the grip on his shirt, making Niragi yelp and grab his arm. “Look look, it was his idea to go there, I didn’t do anything!”

Aguni looked back at Last Boss, and the man raised his hands while shaking his head.

“He- he just followed me there, I didn’t ask him to come with me,” the tattooed man said, stumbling on his words. “If you’re talking about the old lady, she kicked us out, but we didn’t do anything, I swear.” 

“The girl?” he asked through gritted teeth. He was starting to lose his patience. The younger men shared a look between them before Last Boss started talking.

“Y/N?” he asked for clarification. So that was your name. “We didn’t touch her. Niragi just took some pies and we left.” 

“Is that so?” Aguni asked Niragi, the man still in his grasp. He knew what he was capable of, and he wouldn’t put it past Last Boss to lie for his friend. “Cause that’s not what I heard…” his fingers loosened once again around the man’s collar, making him tighten his grip on Aguni’s arm.

“Fine, fine, I- I might’ve teased her a little,” the man confessed. “But I didn’t mean to make her cry, and we left right after. I didn’t do anything, I swear!”

Aguni considered his words for a moment, before pulling Niragi off the edge and pushing him to the ground. The man cursed something under his breath that Aguni preferred to ignore as he now focused on Last Boss.

“Do you know her last name?” he asked. The man shook his head. Aguni sighed; he would have to check Mira’s records if he wanted to find her room. “You both better stay away from the kitchens and from that girl,” he said, now keeping his stone-cold gaze on Niragi. “Is that clear?”

Both men nodded. 

Without another word, Aguni left the roof.

»«»«»«

It was surprisingly hard for him to find your room. 

Mira had immediately denied any access to her records, claiming invasion of privacy. Which it was; he would probably do the same thing if he was in her place. But he pressed on, and she eventually gave in, simply saying that you lived in the south wing of the Hotel, somewhere on the second level. He accepted the information and forced himself to ask around for you, as inconspicuously as he could. Surprisingly, practically no one recognized the description he gave of you, and no one knew your name. He was almost giving up when finally...

“Oh, Y/N?” a couple of young women said. “Yeah, she lives next door to us, room 237.”

He finally had your room number.

Aguni spent five minutes gathering the necessary courage to knock on your door, hesitating and almost leaving every time he lifted his knuckles against the door. He made a frustrated sound, annoyed with himself.

“You’re an idiot,” he mumbled under his breath.

“Hello?” someone greeted behind him. Aguni froze before looking over his shoulder. There you were. Dressed in shorts and a light jacket, hair in a braid over your shoulder, and a hesitant smile on your face, you looked pretty in his eyes. It really made him wonder if Takeru was right; he did have a crush on someone. “Hmm, is everything okay?” 

“Yeah, uh- hey.” He cleared his throat as he realized he had been staring. He could feel his face getting warm. “Hm, how’re doing?” he asked, before grimacing. Ah yes, Morizono, very nice. You raised a brow as you looked at him for a moment.

“I’m... fine,” you answered with a hesitant smile. “Were you waiting for me?”

“Yes, I- I wanted to apologize,” he cringed at his stuttering. But there it was. Direct and clear. The fastest he could get himself out of this awkward conversation, the better. “I heard about what happened this morning with two of my militants, and I just want you to know that they won’t bother you again.”

“Oh, that was just a misunderstanding!" you say as you shake your head. "I was just talking with Mrs. Yamamoto about that. Nothing happened."

"That was not what I heard."

"No, no, I'm fine, they didn't do anything to me," you reassured him. "Niragi just… said some mean things, but Last Boss stopped him. Mrs. Yamamoto thought they were hurting me and I'm really sorry." You shrugged and gave him an awkward smile. "I just cry sometimes. I even went to talk with Last Boss about it, but I think Mrs. Yamamoto really scared him, 'cause he keeps avoiding me." You said with an awkward chuckle. "But I'm okay, really."

Aguni grunted with a nod, convinced that you were telling him the truth. Still, he wanted those two, Niragi in particular, as far from you as he could.

"If they mess with you again, let me know, all right?" You nodded at his request, and he almost had the urge to smile back at you. "Okay then," he said with a nod before making a move to leave.

"Hmm, did you enjoy today's pastry?" he heard you ask in a hesitant tone. He turned around, confused. There was no pastry waiting for him today. He said so to you, and your brows furrowed. "Uh, no, I'm pretty sure I left you something. Strawberry pie with a chocolate crust?"

"There was nothing when I got there," he said. There were butterflies in his stomach, though. You hadn't stopped baking stuff for him, after all. 

"That's odd…" you said as you bit your lip, wondering what could've happened. "Well," you shrugged, "I'll make sure you get it tomorrow morning, then."

He nodded without a word and watched as you smiled at him before moving to open your door.

"How's your arm?" he blurted out before he could stop himself. You froze by the door for a moment before showing him your arm, skin looking much better than it was just a week prior.

"That aloe mix you gave me helped a lot. Thanks, again," you said with another one of those smiles that made him want to smile back.

"You know…" he hesitated for a moment before taking a deep breath and saying what he meant to say, eyes on your feet, "If you ever want to, you can show up by the greenhouse, sometimes. There are these new seeds I got that might interest you. I don't know, but the offer stands."

He shrugged, like what he just said meant nothing. He finally focused on your face, and his stomach did somersaults as he found you grinning at him.

"I would like that very much." 

»«»«»«

You were there the next morning.

And the next. And the next. And the other one after that. Always with a smile on your face, always carrying a new sweet that you would both share.

The first days were as awkward as you could imagine. He almost feared looking you in the eyes, feeling like a teenager again with all the blushing and weird sensations in the pit of his stomach. All he needed was a smile from you to look as red as one of his tomatoes. 

At first, you would eat in silence, until you eventually broke it by mentioning something about plants, or what flowers you were expecting to bring the next time you went scavenging. Then it would be just you doing most of the talk as he stuffed his mouth with whatever deliciousness you had brought him that day, nodding, and grunting on occasion. He realized he liked hearing you speak. Hearing your voice.

Then he would start working on whatever he had planned the morning before, and that's when you would watch him as he went around his garden showing you things. You would give him ideas from time to time, always following him as you attentively listened to his words. He realized he liked the attention. Your attention.

It didn't take long until you were more comfortable around each other. Then you would both talk freely, almost always about plants. He would be lying if he said he wasn't curious to know more about you, but he didn't have the courage to ask.

"What did you do... before?" you asked one day, about a week into your morning rendezvous. You were sharing a quiche today, and he took his time chewing before answering.

"Was part of the SDF," he said. You nodded like it made sense that a man like him had a job like that. "Nothing too interesting, though,” he said with a shrug. “You?"

"Worked at my family's bakery," you said, a small smile on your face as you seemed to think back to those times. "My grandma taught me everything I know. She made the best quiche in Tokyo, you know? Mine has nothing on hers."

He couldn't control his chuckle then, nor he meant to say the words that got out of his mouth next.

"Takeru would love to hear that."

"Who?" you asked, brow raised as you chewed a piece of the salty pastry. There were flakes of crust on the corner of your mouth, and he had to control the urge to wipe them away with his thumb. He shook his head instead.

"Just a friend from… from back home," he said. "The man can't cook to save his life but bakes one hell of a quiche. Yours is better, though."

You smiled at the compliment and proceeded to eat in silence. He didn't want to waste the chance to get to know you more, though.

"What do you do all day?" he asked. You raised a brow, and he specified what he meant, "I mean, I barely see you around and no one seems to know you, so…"

"Oh, I just stay in my room all day," you said as you shrugged and let out an awkward chuckle. "I'm not really a people person and I spend most of my nights awake, so I mostly just sleep."

"What do you do when you're awake, then?"

"I go to the games, I bake and, well, now I spend some time here with you." He could swear his heart beat a little faster at your words. He felt strangely honored that you decided to spend time with him. 

"Yeah, I'm not much of a people person myself," he said. "Plants are much better, aren't they?" He tried to send you a small smile but immediately regretted it as it felt more like a grimace. You smiled back at him, though, so it probably wasn't as bad as he thought it was. 

"Hmm, you're right, but I don't mind some people."

He didn't know what to make of your statement.

»«»«»«

A month passed when you met every morning. 

Your joined morning routine had taken a comfortable rhythm for both of you, where you ate, talked, and worked without that awkward vibe of the first few days. With you joining him in the work, his crops flourished. It was the best part of his day, without a doubt.

He realized several things during that time.

The first was that you liked to sing while you worked. Didn't matter if you were planting potatoes, watering the flowers, or preparing herbal remedies – that you had eventually convinced him to be useful – you were always humming a tune under your breath, or singing the words aloud. 

The second thing he realized was that he liked it.

He liked to hear you sing so much that the songs would stay in his head for the rest of the day, and he would wake up with your voice still echoing in his head. He had even caught himself whistling at times. Once during a council meeting, where he had zoned out again and was completely oblivious to the fact that he had been humming 'I Want to Break Free’ by Queen until Takeru snapped his attention and everyone was looking at him like he had grown two heads. All except his best friend, that had a knowing smirk on his lips.

The third thing he realized – and, to his shock, didn't surprise him – was that he had totally developed a crush on you.

"So, am I ever going to meet them or what?" Takeru asked over his glass of golden whiskey, taking a sip when Aguni took too long to answer. "You can't keep them a secret from me forever."

"I don't know what you're talking about," was all Aguni said as he took a gulp of his own drink, avoiding his friend's eyes and looking at the moon up high in the sky. His friend really had the best view for late-night drinking, especially after a stressful game. 

"Fine, don't tell me," Takeru shrugged like he didn't care, but Aguni could tell he one hundred percent did. What was he supposed to tell him? There was no relationship for him to talk about. 

"Okay, listen…" his friend's eyes shined as he focused all his attention on him, making Aguni want to hide from his scrutiny. He took a deep breath before saying, "There's nothing to talk about. There's no relationship."

"Ahh, but you're in love, aren't you?" Takeru let out an excited laugh, and Aguni could feel the corners of his mouth pulling up. "In all the years we've been friends I saw you like what? Three people? And you never behaved like this." He drank whatever was left of the drink in his glass before filling it up again. "This one sure looks promising." There was a pause where they just drank in silence before he asked again "So, what's her name? It’s a she, isn't it?"

"Y/N," Aguni mumbled, loud enough for him to hear. Takeru's eyes widen comically at the name.

"The pie girl?!" he asked in a raised tone. "You're head over heels for the pie girl?" He laughed then, and Aguni furrowed his brows in annoyance.

"You know her?" 

"Yeah, I mean, old Yamamoto wouldn't tell me who the miracle baker was, so I went to see for myself. She's cute," he let out a mean chuckle, "I knew you were getting thicker around the waist. She's feeding you well, I see."

"Yeah." Aguni gave him a full-on smirk as he said the next words, "She makes the best quiche I've ever eaten." 

The shocked and offended gasp that left Takeru's mouth almost made him laugh. 

"You take that back!" the man punched his arm once and drank the remaining of his whiskey in one single gulp. "You just ruined my night. Get out and think about what you just said. I'll be expecting an apology by morning."

Aguni laughed then, the only kind of laugh that he could only make when he was around his best friend.

"Yours is good," he shrugged, still laughing. "But hers is better."

»«»«»«

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