#i need to find a way to shade quicker cause this took longer than i wanted it to

[ghostboyhood]

"yo i dont give a shit if you covered yourself in Peanut butter. and had a fifteen hooker gang bang."

alt versions!!

[damn-stark]

Ch.10: I Hear a Symphony

Chapter 10 of Cherry

A/N: I really hope you all enjoyed the chapter, I loved how it came out. *cue in song Bundle of Joy from Inside Out*

Warning- ANGST, LONG CHAPTER!, Talks of injury and loss and grief, violence, FLUFF!!, swearing, SLOWBURN ;)

Pairing- Jean Kirstein x reader,

Episodes- 2x36-2x37

(Let me know if you want to be tagged)

————

Good and bad memories tried to surface and distract your mind from the dooming thoughts that plagued your mind, but you were persistent in pushing both away. It was too painful to relish in either. Instead you basked in the feeling of the setting sunlight beams kissing your skin ever so gently, whilst the chilly evening breeze flew past your body and howled in your ear.

The sound of Titans, cries of other soldiers echoed everywhere, but you tried your best to drown it all out as you thought you were going to fall into your death. You hated the darkness, but you welcomed its deafening sound in your ears. Because at least hearing nothing was better than hearing the chaos that surrounded you. And you didn’t know why you were so willing to embrace death. Maybe because it was better than trying to get your hopes up with fake scenarios where you lived, when you knew there was nothing you could do. Or maybe because dying would make the heartbreaking pain stop.

But nevertheless, you were too hopeful, or too hopeless. Because as the smell of a Titans breath rushed in your nose and their drool splashed on your face, suddenly wire wrapped around you and reeled you out of the Titans hot mouth, pulling you instead into the secure and the warmth of someone’s tight embrace—Jeans tight embrace.

After your bodies crash into one another, suddenly time didn’t move as slow as you felt it did seconds ago, this time it moved too fast. Now every feeling you pushed back returned, while the chaos that the day had turned into welcomed you back. Pain also returned to your body, it was a persistent factor as the quick speed that Jean had moved in got out of control and made him crash onto the earth with you still secured in his arms. You both rolled on the grass until you both finally came to a stop.

Time after you finally stopped moved at its normal speed, unlike your pounding heart. You finally peeled your eyes open one by one and felt relief wash over you as you saw the grass and dirt in a much closer perspective. You couldn’t rejoice in the fact that you were safe, because that wasn’t true, you were still surrounded by mindless Titans. What you did do though was stay in Jean’s embrace a bit longer, just like he kept his arms around you, finding that the both of you were actually embracing the fact that you were alive, that he got to save you in time.

You stayed that way for a minute longer, it felt like longer, but it was only a minute, or even a few seconds longer. After that you quickly pulled away and met his shocked gaze, noticing his cheeks were a very soft shade of pink as he noticed you were on top of him. Jean didn’t say anything, he actually felt like his words ceased to exist from his head until you slid off him. He could find his composure after that and was quick to drop the…weird tension and instead slap his hands on your shoulders to begin pestering you. “Y/N, are you okay? Did that asshole hurt you?”

You shake your head and offer him a faint but assuring smile. “No he didn’t. I’m just a little bruised, but I’m fine.” You scan his body as he sits up, and let out a relieved breath when you find no injuries on his body. “What about you?” You ask as you lean towards him with your eyebrows deeply furrowed in concern. “Are you okay?”

Jean doesn’t hesitate to nod to assure your worry, pushing himself to his feet and helping you on your own. “Come on, let's get on a horse,” he said as his fingers slid off your wrist. “And stay close.” He turns his head to shoot you a warning glare, his once softened brown eyes, now as intense as usual. “I’m serious, don't pull anything reckless. Need I remind you that you don’t have your gear on.”

“I know,” you scoff with a pointed glare. “I’m not some suicidal maniac.”

Jean looks to you and the corner of his lips twitch before he eventually shoots you another warning look and then focuses back on your surroundings to make sure no Titans get close. But even when you finally got on a horse, safety was still not a guaranteed thing with chaos in every perimeter. When you look over your shoulder you see that Reiner was still surrounded by mindless Titans all trying to tear him apart. And even if you had the instinct to still worry about him, you couldn’t focus on that feeling and instead you fully focused on who he still had in captivity.

“What about Eren?” You ask Jean from the top of your horse. “We—”

“No,” Jean cuts you off instantly, “we nothing. You have no gear. And there's too many Titans surrounding Reiner, for everyone to be over there,” he sighs as he follows your line of vision. “But I think—” Jean suddenly cuts himself off and pushes his horse to step forward a bit as he catches something he quickly points out. “Look! Damn, Commander Erwin really is a devil.”

You make the horse move beside Jean and you catch only the final act of the scene Jean had seen. Through the chaos you see Erwin falling down to his horse with his blade in one hand, while the other arm you noticed was missing. It was an unbelievable sight, but it was true and not some hallucination from your exhaustion. “How the hell,” you mutter as you watch Erwin land on his horse, seconds before drifting your eyes to the sky after noticing Eren in Mikasa’s grasp. That sight also left you incredibly awestruck because she was injured but still fighting. “Incredible.”

And after Mikasa finally had Eren with her on her horse, without hesitation Erwin rode forward with his balde raised over his head to yell out a reassuring command, “All soldiers, retreat!”

Doing as he said, you and what was left of the Scouts rode forward to return home, and you didn’t dare look behind you anymore, you couldn’t handle it. All you wanted now was to get home, eat and sleep, you didn’t want to think of what happened or the change that had happened in a single day. You didn’t want to think about him, or what he did…even if you knew that once you lay on your bed and were surrounded by silence, that what he did would come to mind, even if you wanted to avoid it, every single memory and every ounce of pain would plague your mind and make you cry to your pillows. And maybe it was better to let go of it, feel everything once you were under your sheets.

But that time couldn’t come quicker because before anyone could get far a Titan was hurled your way, landing just a few feet away from the squad, disrupting the formation and causing you all to come to an abrupt stop as to not fall, or crash into someone else through the screen of smoke that came from the dead Titan. You tried to look behind you to see what sort of trouble was caused because of the Titan, but you couldn’t see anything through the smoke, not even Jean who had been riding beside you—once part of the smoke, and dirt had cleared from your phearial view, all you caught was Reiner throwing Titans like some mad man. Your worry after that heightened. Not only for you, but for Mikasa who had been injured with weaponless Eren riding with her. You worried for Erwin who was now missing an arm, for Jean, Sasha, Connie, Armin and the rest of the Scouts.

However you could do nothing to help any of them—“shit,” you grumble. You move further, but stop soon thereafter as you see Mikasa and Eren in the distance, both off the horse they had been on and a Titan heading directly towards them. “Shit.” You repeat again, clenching your reins and signaling your horse to move towards them.

“Y/N!” You hear Jean shout. “What the hell did I tell you!” Both him and Armin fall at your sides and catch what you had seen, all three of you noticing the same man from earlier that day, Hannes, with them too. “Stay close, y/n.” Jean repeats as you all continue to ride forward the trio ahead, catching the old man swinging around the Titan that had been heading their way. “Give the old man backup!”

Right as the three of you sped up however a loud whooshing sound catches your attention. You look over your shoulder and see that Reiner had hurled yet more Titans your way, you then have to stop as to not fall from the impact—“Reiner?” Armin gasped as you both looked over at him in the distance. “What’s he doing?! Does he not care if Eren is eaten?!”

“He does,” you answer him, “he just doesn’t want us to get away.”

“Don’t get in our way, you big sack of shit!” Jean bellows angrily before the three of you continue towards Eren and the other two. But before you could reach who you’re running towards, you’re unaware of the Titan hurling your way until it’s too late. Armin and you catch it once it flies over your heads, but when you try to warn Jean about it, the Titan crashes too close in front of him and causes him to fall out of his horse. Jean crashes onto the ground with the back of his head smacking the ground first, the harsh impact makes him go limb, and causes your own heart to clench as your eyes widen out of fear of the worst.

“Jean!” You bellow as you jump off your horse without thinking, not caring for what could be lurking around, or what could crash nearby. Armin called out for you, he wanted you to be careful since you were defenseless, but all you cared about was Jean. Knowing if he was alright was your priority, it took over everything else and made it all less significant. It was selfish, you knew, but you were afraid to lose him like you lost Marco. “Jean!”

Come on please be alright.

You fell beside him and quickly cradled him in your arms, not fretting to lift him up to bring his chest close to your ear so you could try to hear his heartbeat—come on, come on, not you too, please not you too—you kept thinking as you pressed your ear against his chest, and held in your breath so that sound wouldn't get in the way of what you were trying to hear.

“Y/N—”

You raise your finger in front of Armin's face to cut him off as you anxiously wait, finding yourself closing your eyes while you wait for what feels like an eternity. You longed to hear what you craved so anxiously that once the sound of his heart beating echoed in your ears, it felt like music to your ears. You were filled with overwhelming relief and happiness that a soft whimper escaped your lips as you released that breath of air you had trapped in your lungs, feeling a smile tug on your lips as well. “He’s alright,” you assure Armin. “He’s alive.”

“Okay,” Armin nods, letting out a relieved breath of his own before his hands wrap around your arm to help you to your feet as you had Jean unconscious in your arms. “We—” Armin cuts himself off as he catches the Titan coming your way over his shoulder. He’s then filled with dread and worry since he sees that none of your horses were nearby. You were all left defenseless and in more danger than before. “Come on,” he urges you as he pulls you away from the open field and stops under a tree.

Armin let’s go of your arm and steps in front of you to try his best at protecting Jean and you from the Titan who posed a threat before you. You wanted to try anything, you wanted to help Armin as he waved his blade at the Titan, but all you could do was hear the chaos that was happening around, feel the thumps of the Titans stomps as they rattled the earth below you; but all you did was watch soldiers die by Titans, notice the old man they called Hannes get torn apart by the Titan he had tried to kill. You caught Mikasa and Eren on the ground, seeming to share a moment they probably thought was their last as that same Titan reached for them too.

All that came to mind again was if this was the end? After all the trouble Reiner had gone through to take you with him, to keep you safe, now you were closer to death again all because of his doings, not only you but every single one of your friends—his friends once upon a time too.

Death seemed certain again, and even if the beautiful painted evening sky brought you comfort in this close brink to death. Death was still something you didn’t want. That no one wanted. But what could you do but face it?

Nothing.

You were weaponless, injured, exhausted and stuck with Jean unconscious in your arms and Armin trying to protect the both of you with a hand grabbing yours while with the other he waved his sword at the mindless Titan. It wouldn't do anything, he knew that, but he was trying to keep you safe because he was afraid that if he left, if even for a second, that another Titan would grab Jean and you while he was too far to do something about it. You’d do the same you did admit, so you didn’t urge him to do something else. You held onto his hand and found comfort in that too.

But nevertheless, as death was just around the corner, suddenly everything went silent, every chaotic movement came to an abrupt stop and something in the air seemed to shift. The eyes of the Titan that had been in front of you shifted and looked directly past you, it’s body freezing for a split second before it stood up and it, and every other Titan that surrounded the area went running past you. The sudden change left you with your mouth agape and when you looked at what they were suddenly focusing on, the sight of them pouncing on the Titan that had once threatened Eren, and Mikasa only surprised you furthermore.

“What the,” you gasp, unable to finish your sentence from your disbelief.

“I think Eren did that,” Armin mused whilst he stood up with his hand still around yours.

You stood up too and couldn’t tear your eyes from the gory scene. “What exactly did he do?”

“I don’t know,” Armin shrugged, “but whatever it was, it has the Titans distracted,” he paused and tugged you with him. “Let’s go before they finish their meal.”

Not hesitating to listen to what Armin instructed, you hurried and climbed onto approaching horses and secured Jean behind you so he wouldn't fall. Seconds after though, there was another shift, this time instead of eating the Titan, their attention changed to Reiner and Bertholdt, and they began chasing them away, leaving the Scouts goal to once again come into play—“Full retreat!” Commander Erwin shouted at the top of his lungs once he saw Eren secured on a horse.

Again you tried your best not to look behind you as you continued your path back home, but it was impossible to keep yourself from at least stealing a last glance back. Doing so as expected hurt every fiber of your body and broke your heart more. You once would’ve been worried and panicked to help Reiner, but now, as your eyes fell on his Titan all you saw was a traitor and an enemy. As heartbreaking as it was to urge that thought in your mind, it was true and you couldn’t shake it off. The one thing you did feel pity for was seeing Ymir return towards the struggling pair, you didn’t know why she did so considering Historia was riding with all of you, but she did, and unknowingly it was the last time any of you would see her.

——

“Cherry!”

You pull your eyes away from Commander Erwin being taken away by the medical staff, to see Levi hastily approaching you.

The sight of his face brings a small tired smile to your face, but the exhaustion doesn’t keep you from meeting him halfway and throwing your arms around his neck to pull him in for a much needed embrace. Levi is as always surprised by the gesture, but he, as always, returns the embrace. “How are ya, kid?” He whispers as he moves a hand to the back of your neck to keep you close. “What the hell happened? You had me worried.”

Your bottom lip trembles at his questions, but you fight every nerve in your body to keep yourself from breaking down in front him. Instead you hold onto him tighter and bury your head in the crook of his neck, proceeding to mumble out your response against his shoulder. “I’m okay. I’m,” you pause to draw out a shaky breath. “okay.” You pull away, and offer him an assuring smile that he couldn’t tell was forced and hiding your real emotions behind it because it was well hidden by the darkness that the night brought. For once you were grateful for that.

“Actually,” Hange interjected out of nowhere. “Y/N, might’ve suffered a mild concussion considering that she hit the back of her head after Reiner, and Bertholdt transformed.”

Levi’s eyes snap towards Hange, and the grip he had around your arms tightened as they continued. “She also might have gotten a cut, or a small bump.”

“Hange,” you hiss as you pull away from Levi, and shoot them an intimidating and burning glare.

Said person just shrugs and excuses their reason for saying the truth to Levi. “I’m sorry, but I had to, I knew you wouldn't have said anything Cherry. You would’ve had me worried.”

You cross your arms over your chest and huff out, “tsk. I’m okay.” You begin to walk away from the pair and avert Levi’s scolding glare. “I’m going to go check on Jean now. Okay? Goodnight.”

“Hey, brat where you are going.” Levi protests after you, preparing to tackle you down if the need arises. “Come back here.”

You wave at them both and quicken your pace to run from their overbearing worry, but Hange is quick to grab your arm and drag you away with them both. “Come on,” they say, “let’s get you bandaged, fed and put to bed.”

“Huh? I’m not a child,” you sneer through gritted teeth.

“No,” Hange agrees, parting their lips to continue with a lighthearted comment but getting interrupted by Levi beforehand.

“But you are acting like one.” He scoffs. “And if you don’t want to be treated like one, cooperate.”

Hange leans their head towards you to bring their lips close to your ear to whisper something Levi wouldn't hear. “You know what I think?” They smile softly, “I think he loves treating you like a little girl. He misses it.”

You glance down at their hand around your arm and then meet their gaze, raising a quizzical brow to silently question their own actions with a simple look they understood by proceeding to just drop your arm with a nervous giggle. “Why don’t we hurry on up before you collapse on us, yeah?”

You sigh, and hide your threatening smile. “Whatever.”

——

“Fuck.” He groans softly, “what a fucking headache.” He rubs his forehead with the pad of his fingers and let’s out another soft groan while he groggily sits up in his bed. “Fuck.” He lowers his hands and rubs his eyes with the heels of his hands, dropping them to his sides seconds after and letting out a deep sigh as he stretched out every sore limb he could. His eyesight slowly cleared and he fully took in the small room that wasn’t his, but was forced to stay in for an injury he thought irrelevant. He thought of laying back down for a minute longer, but as he dropped his hands to the mattress a sound he suddenly picked up on in the room made him freeze. He was afraid to turn and identify what it was he heard, but he gives himself a quick confidence boost and slowly turns his head to see…you.

At first he thought this was some dream, like a very weird dream, but after he rubs his eyes again and his vision clears, he still sees you asleep on a chair. Regardless, he still didn’t believe you were here, so he closed his eyes again to see if it would clear things up. But no, everything was undeniably clear, you were balled up on a chair with drool running down your chin, and a hand hanging down from said chair. His eyes followed what your fingers hovered over and he wasn’t surprised to see a book you had dropped after he assumed you passed out.

But, why? Why were you here?

He was surprised to say the least, he was also beginning to feel something else he couldn’t describe, but he didn’t try to investigate that further when his question still remained unanswered. But he also didn’t try to wake you up to ask you directly, he saw you too peacefully sleeping in the uncomfortable wooden chair to try. Instead he quietly swung his legs over the bed to slide off the edge and slide his feet into some slippers.

However once he was on his feet, that's when he faced a small predicament. He didn’t know what to do, he’s never had someone asleep in his room; he knew he didn’t want to leave you alone in the room, that’d be rude, but he was truly lost. His eyes scanned the room to try and find what to do, finding no solution until they landed on your book on the floor. He then thought of picking it off the floor, carefully making sure to tiptoe backwards to throw said object on his bed, it was then that he finally noticed a small box on the bedside table.

He caught himself staring at it for a moment out of curiosity, seeing a small note attached to the box with his name elegantly written on the parchment. He walked towards it to reach for it, but before his fingers could touch the box, from the corner of his eyes he caught you waking up almost as if someone had scared you awake. He turns to face you and shortly thereafter it doesn’t take you long at all to sit up and face him too.

“Oh, Jean you’re awake, finally.” You greet him with a faint smile. “I’ve been waiting for some time now. You had me worried.”

Jean scoffs and crosses his arms over his chest. “Oh I’m sure you were very worried,” he remarks as he points to the drool dribbling down your chin. Your face burns and you’re quick to take out your cloth from your cardigans pocket to wipe it all off.

“Not like you can speak,” you retort and point at his bed head

Jean quickly brushes his fingers through his hair and does the best he can to fix it before he gives up and just ends up looking at you again. “Whatever,” he sighs out, “it doesn’t matter. What are you doing here?”

You stretch out your arms and let out a long yawn before you stand on your feet and stretch the rest of your limbs, hearing bones crack after that uncomfortable nap. “Well after waking up from some sleep, I came to make sure you’d wake up.” You explain as you walk past Jean, feeling his eyes follow your figure as you stop by his bedside table.

“Why?” He couldn’t help but ask.

You pick the box off the table and slowly turn to meet his gaze and give him an answer with a small smile on your features. “Because I was worried.”

Jean's eyes narrowed on you and he lets out a lighthearted scoff as if he had heard the most absurd thing ever.

“What?” You question with the box in your hands.

“So what?” Jean huffs out, “you waited for me to wake up to check if I was fine?” He leans towards you, showing that weird face he makes when he's mocking someone, before also letting out a breathless laugh. “You’re joking.”

“No,” you roll out slowly in confusion to his behavior. “Why would I be? I was worried for you Jean.” You tilt your head and your smile widens. “Is your head okay? Or are you suffering some sort of mild confusion after hitting your head?”

“No,” Jean scoffs out, whilst his eyes study your face to see if you’d crack and just laugh and say you were joking, to wait for the mocking remark, but when he noticed you weren’t joking, that your smile didn’t fall and the genuine look in your eyes didn’t didn’t change, he was the one that changed. The amusement slowly fell from his face, and his eyes flickered away the intensity they usually carried to slowly widen and show the hundreds of different emotions racing in his mind. He couldn't believe what he heard. He knew you cared to some degree, because after all you were best friends, but he didn’t know you cared so much as to wait for him to wake up after getting hurt.

Jean just couldn’t believe that he actually had someone who cared for him like that. He had seen this gesture once not so long ago (like days ago), and he was upset—jealous, because he wanted that specific person to care for him like that, but once he saw that she never even batted an eye his way he got slightly upset. Yet, now he was slowly coming to realize, as you stood in front of him with the small box in your hands, and a sweet smile on your face, that he was always looking the wrong way, that he hadn’t noticed that the person who cared that much for him was right in front of him. You.

Jean saw you now.

He noticed your eyes seeming to gleam brighter by the sun's beams peeking through the window and his heart did this weird flip inside his chest, and your smile made his stomach…flutter. For the first time it seemed that he actually opened his eyes, it even seemed that every color that surrounded him grew brighter, more beautiful, he even swore he could hear a sweet and nice melody in his head, something he hadn’t felt before. No. It felt different before, not as exciting or heart racing. The only problem was that he didn’t know what it was that he was beginning to feel. He didn’t want the feelings to go away, but he couldn’t necessarily identify them yet. Could you?

“You-you w-were worried?” Jean stammered out. Not at all making it any obvious of what he felt—way to go Jean.

“Obviously,” you scoff as you squint your gaze on his stunned face. “Why wouldn't I be? Hey are you sure you’re okay, maybe you hit your head a little harder than expected.”

Jean snapped from his stupor, blinking to drop his gaze while he took a step back and assured your concern. “I’m fine.” Instead he chose to focus on the box in your hands. “What is that?”

“Oh, right,” you glance down at the box and push it towards him, lifting your gaze to meet his. “I made this for you. I know you hate getting pampered, but I wanted to make you a small care package.” You smile sweetly. “To thank you for saving me, and because you’re hurt.” You want to fiddle with your fingers due to how flustered you felt, but the box in your hands made it impossible. “There's some soup I made for the headache,” you smile wider and notice that not once has he pulled his gaze away. You only wondered what was going through his head. “Trust me it works, Hange would make it for me all the time. And there's also stuff for the pain and tea packets. Just don’t tell the others, okay? I didn’t make the rest any.”

“Oh,” Jean says while he took the box from your hands and lowered his head to hide the blush that crept on his cheeks. “Thank you. Shouldn’t you be getting one of these too? Considering.”

You scoff and walk past him to grab your book and silently judge his unmade bed. “I’ve been pampered enough. Levi wouldn't leave my side since I got back, and he also lectured me.” You stroke your chin and continue, “It’s good he doesn’t know why Reiner kidnapped me.”

“Why did he take you?” Jean probed.

You drop your hand to your side, and look at Jean over your shoulder and don’t answer with the full truth. “Cause he said they could use me in his hometown,” you shrug, “whatever that means.”

“Or was it because he’s obsessed?” Jean snapped bitterly.

You slowly turn on your heels to face him, but avoid his stare. “It doesn’t matter,” you deadpan. “He’s gone and he didn’t get what he wanted. None of that matters anymore.” You draw in a deep breath and feel your exhale tremble with emotions the subject quickly brought up, but you made sure to hide it all before Jean could pick up on it. You hadn’t let yourself think much of it. You knew it wasn’t ideal, you knew you were going to crack eventually and feel it all at once, but you didn’t want to face those feelings yet. You were just letting the pressure build. Unfortunately so.

“And how are you feeling about that?” Jean asks what you knew he’s been dying to know.

You shrug and clench onto your book. “I’m over it.” You offer him an assuring smile he doesn’t believe. “I’m fine—”

“Y/N,” he cuts you off, sounding a bit more demanding, “tell me.”

“Jean, I’m fine.” You insist and tug your smile wider. “Really. Now let’s go get breakfast, or what’s leftover.”

Jean stands in the middle of the room as he watches you walk to the door. He wants to press on the matter, but he also doesn't know how to really ask you of your feelings. So he lets it go. Even if he regrets it.

“Also,” you continue with a genuine grin as you wait for him to join you outside of the room. “Can we talk about how impressive it was when you swooped in to save Mikasa? I mean wow, you should be proud! I mean, I am.” You smirk and nudge his elbow once he falls beside you. “This might be the moment where she finally talks to you.”

“Heh,” he feigns a laugh. “Sure.” His eyes drift to your face and he can’t help but smile as he catches yours.

*1 WEEK LATER*

“In the past I've done things. Bad things that are irredeemable. Things that I’m ashamed of.”—“I guess I wanted to know,” he exhales deeply, “if you’d hate me if I told you what I’ve done. If you’d forgive me?”

It all made sense now. You understood the meaning behind Reiners words that played on a constant loop in your head, your own naiveness in that moment made you nauseous now. The memory of kissing him, of feeling butterflies every time he was close, or walked into a room made you feel disgusted. Not in him, but in yourself.

You wanted to forget, tear the memory of him from your brain and poison every happy piece of memory with the truth of what he was, but one week wasn't going to do that. Perhaps no measure of time was going to cure all the dreadful feelings that plagued your heart and mind. Keeping yourself from crying wasn’t as hard as trying to forget, but it was still a chore, you’ve managed to stop crying every time you were alone, but you still did so at night under your covers, and sometimes when the feelings got too heavy for you to carry, you had to escape to your own space. Like now.

The night was chilly, the skies were clear and showing off the beauty of the shining stars, but bitter and annoying wind gusted past your balled up body on top of the castle's walls. The tears that rolled down the curve of your cheeks were swept away by the gusts of wind that broke through the material of your sweater's hood to howl in your ears. You could also hear other sounds that accompanied the nighttime besides the wind, like crickets chirping on the ground, and leaves from the trees flapping about while everything else fell asleep to wait for the break of dawn. The only sound that stood out and you picked up on was the creak of the door as someone pushed it open.

You debated looking back, you didn’t want to talk to anyone right now, but your curiosity got the best of you and you carefully peeked your eyes over your shoulder to spot that Jean had been the culprit of breaking the silence of the night. He didn’t say anything, he stepped past the door and let it close behind him. You could see his eyes try to find your face under your hood, but you turned your head before he could see your tears and puffy red eyes. And since he didn’t say a word, you broke his silence. “I saw him ride in, I’ll talk to him later.”

The sound of Jean’s lips parting sounded in your ears, but he still couldn’t find words. He just knew right away that the usual chirpy demeanor you carried wasn’t present; you didn’t greet him with a smile, a witty joke, or a stupid nickname. He even noticed how you were sitting, it was something that would pass by him before, but now as he saw you hugging your knees and resting your chin on your kneecaps, it clicked that you did this when you were upset. Seeing you like you were, made him want to speak up, but he couldn’t figure out what exactly to say. Or really he didn’t know what to say. All he thought of doing was joining you on top of the castle wall.

Albeit once you heard him sit beside you, you turned your head and looked the other way to hide your eyes. “Do you need something?” You mutter.

“I noticed you missed dinner,” he finally managed to speak as he handed you an apple.

You take the apple off his hands before you shrug and clear your throat. “I wasn't hungry.” You sigh and try to push him away to be alone again. “I’ll be inside in a minute.”

Jean glances at the ground below, noticing it was a far distance from where you both were. He couldn’t help but wonder how you found sitting up here so comforting, with one look down he already felt his stomach churn. Yet he didn’t move to walk away like you wanted, he scooted closer to you and continued to pester you. “What are you doing up here all alone?”

“Looking at the stars,” you mumble, your eyes definitely not even getting a glimpse of the sky.

“Oh? Well you know the stars are in the sky, right? Not on the wall.” Jean said, mustering an airy laugh that made you turn your head to look ahead instead.

And with your hood on Jean couldn’t tell if your eyes were lifted, but it did give him the chance to lean in and grab your chin to turn your head so you would be facing him instead. That’s when he took note of what you wanted to hide. He saw the tear streaks on your face, your red gleaming eyes and the sad frown on your lips. Knowing he noticed made you want to cry more—stupid—you thought whilst you shoved his hand away and looked away again.

“What’s wrong?” He instantly asked in a more firm voice.

“Nothing,” your voice quivers. You put the apple away in your hoodie pocket to rest your chin on your knees, whilst you bite the inside of your cheeks for a brief moment to fight the need to cry at the simple yet meaningful question. You had to close your eyes, but that just made the tears roll down. “I’ll be in a minute.” You insist. But he doesn’t move, he stays quiet. And even if his stubbornness made you angry, you were glad he didn’t listen. It lets you open your eyes and finally lift your head after a couple of quiet minutes to ask a question. Or at least the beginnings of one. “Jean, you said you’d be honest with me right?” You sniffle and let your eyes drag to the corner to see him already looking at you.

He nods, “right.”

“Well,” you swallow thickly, “then please be honest. Do you think I’m strong?”

Jean blinks and his eyebrows furrow to express confusion and concern to the vulnerability in your voice and face. It made him answer with a stupid answer instead of with the truth that he already had in his head. “What?”

You hook your fingers together and look away from him to clarify what you thought was clear. “Do you honestly think I’m strong? I asked Levi, y’know, but well of course he’s going to answer with what I want to hear, he raised me. So please be honest with me.” You draw out a shaky breath before looking at him again to finish your sentence. “Don’t lie.”

Jean nods and parts his lips to assure you with the truth in a tone of voice that was soft at first. It sounded weird to hear him speak like that….yet you couldn’t help but like it. “Of course. I mean,” his eyes widened with excitement. “You’re just like Captain Levi and Mikasa. Somehow. So yeah I think you are strong.” He wanted to add a lighthearted and joking comment but he saved it for later instead.

Nonetheless you still scoff and look away from him. So maybe he should’ve added the joke—“if I was like them, I would’ve done what was right, I would’ve known that Reiner and Bertholdt were our enemies all along.” You began to rant with anger seeping through your voice the more you continued. “We could’ve avoided all those deaths. Erwin wouldn’t have lost his arm if I was strong. But I’m not. Because even if I’m physically strong, I’m actually weak. I’ve always been. I mean,” you huff out with frustration. “I couldn’t even fathom the thought that they were traitors even if that’s what I was sent to do. And I should've known,” you scoff. “I mean…” you pause and shake your head. “I was close to Reiner. He said stuff that should’ve stood out. But it didn’t because I trusted him.”

“So what?” Jean quieres after, “you’re weak because you trusted people?”

You turn your head and meet his gaze to answer, but before you could agree he continued. “You’re weak because you’re kind?” Jean doesn’t let you answer, he exhales deeply and holds your gaze, his own voice expressing frustration and a hint of sadness. “They were our friends, and you liked Reiner as more than…one. I don’t think that makes you weak. Caring doesn’t make you weak. I,” he pauses and swallows thickly. Through the light of the stars above, you saw his cheeks turn pink, you didn’t know why, but they did. And instead of continuing with that comment, he flickered his eyes away and smoothly changed the subject. “If you think that makes you weak, then we all are because we all trusted them. But you’re not weak, I mean,” he smiles and slides his eyes over to meet yours, “you risked your own life to help me when I was unconscious.”

Your lips tug into a faint smile and you shake your head to add onto his comment. “I think that qualifies me as brave.”

“Stupid actually,” he scoffs lightheartedly, his smile tugging wider. “You’re strong because after all the people you’ve lost, you keep fighting. After all that’s happened in the past couple of months, you’ve remained yourself, you still have a smile on your face…” he pauses again and once more changes the subject as smoothly as possible. Hiding what he really wanted to say. “You’re strong. And I don’t say that about everyone, so cherish it.”

You giggle, and share a lingering gaze and a sweet smile, before you let go of your knees and let your legs slide down to let them hang them over the edge. You leaned in towards him and caused him to blush harder because of how close you were. You were oblivious to it, but he definitely noticed how close your face was to his. He even grew rigid and nervous. But again you didn’t notice. Instead you proceeded to make him more so with your question. “Jean, can I hug you?”

Said guy nods without hesitance, his blush blazing brighter but luckily not pointed out as you wrapped your arms around his neck, and he slowly peeled his arms away from his side to wrap one arm under your arms, and the other one around your shoulders.

It took a couple of seconds for either of you to find the embrace comfortable, it was just such a weird gesture from either of you. Yes, you were best friends, but physical comfort never went this far, if you ever needed comfort like this, you always had Marco. Plus Jean was a bit prideful so he never accepted comfort, or actually showed his emotions to anyone. Sure he got frustrated, but he never let people see him be down, not until the funeral pyres, even then you both comforted each other with half hugs. And it was fine, neither of you minded it, but that was the reason why it felt so weird being so close to one another, so stiff.

At first of course. Because as strange as it felt for the first few seconds, now it felt…nice. So nice. It felt amazing, like you could be in his arms for hours. His body radiated a warmth that engulfed your entire body as he pressed you closer. It felt so comforting, and safe; the way an arm wrapped under your arms with his hand gently balling the material of your shirt, while the other arm stayed wrapped around your shoulders and his hand slowly slid to the back of your neck and the pad of his thumb gently caressed the skin.

His hands also felt soft and not rough and dry. He also smelled nice. Being in his hold made you wonder why you’ve never done this before, sure Marco gave good hugs, but they didn’t compare to this one. It felt as if you both were in much need of each other’s comfort because you even felt him relax into your embrace. He was hesitant at first, you felt that by the way he had felt so stiff at first, but after a few seconds you felt his whole body just completely give in, you even heard him sigh out as if all the weight had been lifted from his body.

Neither of you wanted to let go.

“Thank you,” you broke the comfortable silence. “For saving me and for being honest with me.”

“Thank you for helping me,” he interjected softly, “I didn’t tell you before, but thank you.”

“Always.” You grin, “I’ll always help you. I can’t lose you too.”

Jean’s breath hitches and his hold around you tightens. There's a slight tension that you did feel, so you were quick to break it before it got thicker. “Also, your hands are very soft.”

He huffs out, “thanks?”

You smirk. “It almost feels as if you haven’t worked a day in your life.”

At that comment Jean instantly pulls away from the hug, placing his hands on your shoulders and pulling his head back as he scoffs out offended and bewildered. “Excuse me?! What did you just say nerd?”

You shrug innocently. “That your hands are soft?”

“What about your hands?” He argues as his eyes narrow on you.

Your grin proudly and you pull out your hands in front of the both of you to slowly turn them so he could see both sides. “Egg yolks, oatmeal and raw honey work. I use them all the time.”

Jean drops his hands from your shoulders and a smug grin of his own grows on his face. “Well I,” he points to his chest, “unlike other guys, I actually know what self care is.”

“Is that so?” You snicker while you swing your legs over the wall and slide down to the land on the stone floor.

“Obviously,” Jean puffs his chest out, “it’s what makes me a great guy.”

You look at him over your shoulder and express a teasing laugh as you watch him also land on the floor behind you. He falls by your side and just rolls his eyes at your teasing laugh. And before he could add a remark, your laugh dies down and your grin falls to a faint smile as you bring up something you had in mind to tell him. “I wanted to ask if you wanted to come with me tomorrow to where Marco and I would hangout. I just made him something, and it’s going to be our last day here tomorrow and I don’t know when we’ll return so I just want to do something small.”

“Oh,” Jean’s own smile falls. “Yeah,” he nods in agreement. “I’ll go with you.”

“Good,” you smile softly, “I've been meaning to go for sometime, but I couldn’t muster the courage until now.” You turn to walk back inside, but before you do something else comes up. “Oh and bring extra clothes, we’re doing something after.”

“What?” He inquired curiously.

“It’s a surprise.” You finally continue with your path back inside, but before you could open the door Eren does so first.

“Y/N, Captain Levi is,” Eren pauses and his eyes narrow on your face, making his comment change. “Are you crying?” He snaps his eyes to Jean and his gaze turns to a raging glare. “What did you do to her, Jean?!”

Jean scoffs, “nothing! Why would you assume that?!”

You walk past Eren and leave both boys to talk amongst themselves with a soft and happy smile on your face.

——

“When you said we were coming here, I thought it was just going to be the two of us.” Jean whispers in your ear as he glares at all of your closests friends following behind you.

Your eyebrows pinch together while you turn to look at Jean with your lips pursed together. “They were all Marco's friends too Jean.” You smile and look at Eren, Mikasa, Armin, Connie, Sasha, and at Historia slowly lagging behind the group. “He would’ve loved the company.” You shift your eyes back to Jean and narrow your gaze on him as he rolls his head to look back ahead in annoyance. “You’ve been acting weird lately, Jean. Are you sure you’re okay?” You point out, noticing that the question made his shoulders stiff and his eyes wide.

Said guy doesn’t meet your gaze and just nods before looking away and asking you a question that the breeze carried out. “We almost there?”

You look ahead and spot the big green tree that poked out of the tall green grass that you were walking through, you had spotted it for a mile now and the farther you got, the more you knew you were close; you could hear the running lake that the tree was rooted by, and the familiar sound made you want to run forward like you had done many times before. But you waited and just picked up your pace, having to look over your shoulder as Armin nervously spoke up.

“Y/N, you asked for permission to come out here, right?”

Your lips tug to a smirk and you throw a thumbs up that doesn’t reassure the boy whatsoever. “Of course,” you continue to assure him. “I wouldn't leave without permission.”

“Then why did we leave so early?” Mikasa quiered.

“Because,” you smile sweetly, “we need to enjoy the full day before we have to go into hiding. Trust me I saw the to-do list on Levi’s desk, we’re going to need this.”

“To-do list?” Sasha probed with concern.

Eren looked back at her and said what you were going to respond with. “Welcome to the Levi squad, besides fighting Titans we’re also a cleaning unit. You’ll have fun.”

“Loads of it,” you snicker as you look back ahead and notice that you were now out of the grass field and seeing the big tree, and blue gleaming lake for the first time in three years. The sight of something so meaningful to you made your smile fall to a frown, and brought tears to your eyes. You stopped in your tracks not seconds after your eyes fell on the scene ahead, and everyone else stopped behind you. Nobody pushed you to move forward, they let you reminisce on the memories that began to surface in your head.

They were all so sweet and nostalgic now. They were heartbreaking knowing that the boy you had met here would no longer be able to come back again like he said he would. You would no longer hear his laugh that echoed quietly with the memories that played in your head, you would no longer see his smile every time he came here to enjoy the sun, or the refreshing lake on a hot summer day. Marco was gone and he would no longer be able to draw out what you both found in your field journals, he wouldn’t be here to talk to you anymore. He was gone and all you had were memories of him. Old memories that wouldn’t be replaced by new ones.

“Come on,” you say to everyone as you walk towards the tree, stopping just in front of its trunk to smile softly at the names that were carved on the bark. Tears wanted to break through, but you held them back while you felt the carving of Marcos name under your fingertips as you gently ran your hand over it. Your name was carved out besides his and you couldn’t help but notice that they seemed to be carved a lot lower than you remembered.

“Marco, you came!” The memory of your voice played.

“Of course!” You remembered him smile as he saw you hang down from the tree branch. “I’ll always come.”

Your smile wobbled at the playing memory, but before you could let yourself cry you slid the bag strap off your shoulder, and opened the flap to pull out a small headstone. You followed by kneeling down on the grass, and placing the headstone on the ground beside you to begin digging a small crater on the ground; not caring that your pants or your hands were going to get dirty. And at first you were doing the task alone, but soon thereafter Eren knelt down beside you and helped you as Jean’s concentration got lost on the carving of Marcos name.

Digging the hole didn’t take long since it wasn’t deep, the hardest part was finally placing the small headstone down and tucking it in its place. The hardest part of this was reading the words you had struggled to carve on the small headstone that read; “May you always Rest In Peace Marco Bodt. A beloved Son, Brother, Friend and Soldier.”—however, even then you refused to cry. Instead you smiled softly as you placed down a partially bloomed yellow rose that was surrounded by white lilies.

Before you stood up to let the others place what they had brought, you kiss the tip of your fingers and gently press them on the headstone and linger on the ground a bit longer. “You’ll always be special to me my beloved friend,” you whisper before you push yourself to your feet, feeling Jean’s hand fall on your shoulder and giving it a gentle squeeze. You looked at him and smiled, lifting your own hand to cup his before you shifted your gaze to watch the rest of your friends place flowers, or personal items that they brought to place on Marcos grave. The only person that was left to place something down was Jean, you didn’t expect him to, if he wanted to, or if he didn’t, then it was his choice, he was here that's all that mattered.

What he did end up doing however, was walk towards it and crouch down to carefully stroke his hand over the headstone, he stayed like that for a couple of minutes before he stood back up and fell by your side again. After that a long silence was shared for Marco, where all there was to hear was the running lake beside the tree, the birds singing in the distance and the gentle breeze swirling in the sky. The silence lasted for a while after, before you quietly broke it. “Thank you all for coming,” you smile sadly as you step back to face them all. “I appreciate it and I know he would too.” Your sad smile turns to a small grin and you take another step back. “Now there are some things we still have to do before we have to head back, so let’s go!” You walk past the group and the tree to trudge on ahead towards your last destination.

“Where exactly are we going?” Connie asks for the rest of the group. “You’ve been cagey about it. And I know I joke around with you, but it’s all lighthearted fun, okay? So please don’t hurt me.”

You look at him over your shoulder and shoot him a pointed gaze before you look back ahead and finally announce where you were taking them. “We’re going to a waterhole close by. It’s a place where I and some of the veteran Scouts like Miche, Hange, Moblit, Nanaba and others would come on their days off. It’s very fun.”

The walk lasted a bit longer since your destination wasn’t far from where the tree was, and instead of walking in silence this time, small conversations were had behind you, you could hear your friends laugh and joke around as they followed you, even Historia as quiet as she had been was heard speaking to Mikasa. Even Jean and Eren were having a civil talk amongst themselves for once. All while you walked in a peaceful silence, and with a small smile on your face as you enjoyed the warm beams of sun hitting your skin, and heard birds chirping on the trees that you saw coming ahead.

When you walked through the small patch of woods that had the waterhole at the end of its treeline, you saw a fallen down tree and you jumped on the log and walked on it, stretching out your hands at your sides to better balance yourself on top as you looked overhead to see more birds singing up on the trees all around you. You would have kept distracted at the sight of the birds, but the sound of Sasha shouting out help, and Eren and Jean silently arguing pulled your attention to the scene happening behind you. And as expected it was a disaster, Sasha and Connie were holding each other to try and not to fall, whilst Armin took Mikasa down to the ground with him, as expected Eren and Jean were trying to race each other and trying to push each other off, but they both ended up falling, and the only one who made it across and landed perfectly by your side was Historia.

You smacked your lips and turned your head to share a teasing look with Historia before you both shared a smile and turned to walk off without them. “It’s just down this path,” you told her as you guided her, and the rest of the group catching up behind you, down a marked path. And once you finally reached the end of the treeline there it was, a beautiful blue waterhole; it wasn’t that big nor deep which made it perfect to swim in. Which also reminded you, “you guys know how to swim right?” You ask as you turn to look at the group.

They all nod and Jean steps forward to interrogate you. “Do you know how to swim?”

“Of course,” you scoff as you flash him a smug grin before you turn to walk to a poorly made shed just feet away from a man-made ramp, built down the slope that led to the water. “Hange taught me.” You finish sharing with him whilst you enter the shed and come back out with four wooden boards. “There aren't enough boards for everyone so we have to pair up.” You throw them all except for one down on the ground, proceeding to throw your bag to the side to begin kicking off your shoes, and pull your socks off before you take off your clothes and strip to the swimsuit you had underneath. When you return your gaze to the group you see them do the same, and catch Jean tearing his eyes away from you before you caught him. Luckily for him.

And with partners in mind, you consider Eren just because you knew how competitive he could be, but as you step towards him Jean blocks your path. “We can go down together.”

“Ah,” you smile nervously as your eyes fall on his toned abs and chest for a second—that’s impressive…wow. I've never seen him without a shirt on. Wow—you catch yourself thinking to yourself before you quickly blink to meet his gaze, “I was going to,” you pause and look beside him to catch Armin had beat you to Eren, your eyes shift Mikasa for better speed down the ramp, but Historia got to her first, so you had no choice. “Fine,” you breathe out as you pull the board closer to you and walk towards the top of the ramp. “I would come here with Marco and the rest of the veteran Scouts on the hot days to race down the ramps, or simply have fun.” You grin as you reminisce about the memories and turn to face your friends who were listening behind you. “It was fun just like mud sledding.”

“Mud sledding?” Armin quieres.

“Hmm,” you nod, “in the rainy season we would go to this hill not far from the grounds and slide down them.” You scratch the back of your head and sigh as you remember the worst part. “Albeit having to wash outside wasn’t fun, but Levi would get mad otherwise.”

“Let’s do it sometime!” Eren beams.

Your grin widens and you nod excitedly before you continue by placing the board on top of the ramp, and holding it in place with your foot. “Who wants to go first?” You ask, but see no volunteers, instead they urge you to go first after they take a step back. “Fine,” you groan—it’s not like we’re going to die—you look at Jean over your shoulder and smirk. “You trust me right?”

Said guy narrows his eyes on you and lingers in silence for a moment before he sighs out and nods. “Do I have a choice?”

“Nope.” You beam as you sit down on the board and then catch Jean standing still beside you. “What?” You question as you look up to him.

“I want to be in front,” he complains.

Your face twists into an annoyed expression and you scoff before you rebuttal his comment. “Have you done this before?” You don’t let him answer and do so for him. “No, so stop being a man about it and sit behind me.”

“Fine,” Jean grumbles as he hides his blush and does as you say, being hesitant as he wraps his hands around your waist.

“Okay, ready?” You ask happily.

Jean exhales deeply, looking at the water over your shoulder and noticing now how high the ramp was from water, how poorly it was built and how long it all seemed. He doubted this activity after he let his worry surface, but he trusted you so he nodded in agreement. After all, if you said Marco did this, then he could too. “I guess so.” He agreed.

“Okay then!” You beam happily as you tighten your hold on the board and take one last look at Jean. “Hold on!” And before he could back down, you use your legs to push yourselves down, feeling Jean’s hold tighten and your heart race as the adrenaline kicks through your blood. To gain more momentum as you slide down the ramp, you run your feet on the ramp and only throw them out forward once the ramp flies off into the air.

“You’re crazy!” Jean bellows after the board shoots off into the air.

You look behind you and smirk. “That’s exactly what Marco said the first time!” You look back ahead and in that second of time that you were in the middle of the air, just above the water, time seemed to slow down. When you roamed your eyes over the scenery around you, everything seemed much more beautiful, the sky seemed more blue, the sun shone a brighter and a more fierce yellow, and the waterhole appeared to shine like a blue crystal. The wind that rushed past your face while you were out in the middle of the air felt refreshing and freeing. For that slowed down second all the bad things that had happened in the past disappeared, and you were filled with overwhelming joy.

Through all the rush there in the sky, beside you, you caught sight of a beautiful blue butterfly flying overhead. The sight of its flapping wings brought a bigger and brighter smile to your features. You tried to reach for it, but before you could touch it, gravity pulled the board down and the rushing feeling returned time back to normal. And before you could hit the water you let out a happy scream before you pushed yourself off the board to cannonball in the water.

A couple seconds after your dive, you opened your eyes under the water to take in the sight of the deep blue water that surrounded you, catching Jean still under with his eyes squeezed closed, his cheeks blown out like a chipmunks holding in their nuts, and his fingers pinching his nose to hold in his breath while the other hand flapped around. It was a funny sight that made you huff out an admiring smile before you swam towards him and carefully grabbed his face, the feeling of your hands on his cheeks making him peel his eyes open but remain stiff as he stayed under. You shot him a wider and assuring smile and his brown eyes only widened as he held your gaze. You couldn't tell what emotions ran through him, but you did notice that he faintly mirrored your smile before he grabbed your arms and pulled you up to the surface.

“See,” you breathe out as you pull your hands away and run them down your face to wipe the water off your face and eyes. “Not bad.”

He wipes the water off his face before meeting your gaze and nodding. “No you’re right. Terrifying.” He says sarcastically.

You laugh and shake your head before you turn to look up and notice that your friends had been watching and waiting for both Jean and you to resurface. After they got their confirmation their figures disappeared and not seconds later Sasha and Connie came rushing down, both screaming at the top of their lungs and sloppily splashing into the water. After them followed Historia who switched partners and was now with Armin, and as expected she was in the front with a big happy grin on her face before she dove into the water and resurfaced with the same child-like grin; because she just like you forgot the pain from the week before, it might just be for the day, but she let herself enjoy the moment with you and her friends.

“That was so much fun!” She shouted as she threw her arms up in the air and splashed water at Armin and Sasha beside her. “I want to do it again!”

Lastly Eren and Mikasa rushed down the ramp, and even if Mikasa shouldn’t be doing this because of her injury, she tightly held onto Eren as he sat in front. And as much of a brave and strong person as she was in the field, here, as she and Eren rushed down, her eyes were closed, and she pressed her face on his back and had her arms wrapped around his neck. They both had smiles on their faces, with Eren having the bigger grin before they splashed into the water and resurfaced with her.

No matter what had happened before, no matter the pain you all were going through, today, spending time with each other in the water, took away from that and brought an overwhelming happiness to everyone. Everyone was making new memories that would stay with them forever.

“Having fun?”

You look to your side and notice Jean walking up beside you. You nod whilst you rub your hands together to try and get them warmer as the cold water on your body makes you tremble. “Yeah I am, are you?”

Jean wraps a towel around your shoulders before he sits beside you on the log. He nods and follows your line of vision to watch Eren, trying to pull Connie down into the water from their partners shoulders as they play their water game Sasha suggested—“I have to admit, you know how to turn a day fun. At first I thought this was going to be a disaster.”

“Ahaha!” Connie laughs evilly after Eren loses and splashes in the water.

You side eye Jean and express a feigned laugh. “Haha. Always so kind Kirstein.” You return your gaze to the group in the water and hug the towel tighter around your body. “Even if my nose is always in my books, I can be fun, okay? It’s just another one of my good traits.” You look at him and flash him a mocking smile whilst you touch your chest. “It’s what makes me such a great girl.”

Jean's eyes fall on you, and he rolls them as he shakes his head and lightly pushes you to the side, and making you genuinely laugh. After a couple of minutes it dies down and you sit closer beside him to once again look out at your friends in the water with a happy smile on your face.

“Marco would’ve loved this,” Jean muses.

“Yeah,” you assure him in a whisper. “He would’ve.”

Jean's eyes flicker away from your friends and he steals a longing glance at you. He thinks you would be too busy watching Sasha wrestle with Historia that you wouldn't notice, after all he’s never had it happen, but this time it was different, you didn’t catch him staring because he was swift to look away, but you did turn to steal a glance at him. And knowing that, noticing your eyes on him made him smile because you did look back at him. He didn’t know if you knew of his feelings that he’s failed to keep discreet, but he was happy that you looked back at him. It made his heart flutter, and fill with hope that he wasn’t filled with before.

Maybe this time he would get the girl, maybe this time it would be different. And he knew you needed time after what happened with Reiner, but that didn’t bother him, he’d be patient for you. He’d wait. He just hoped that none of the upcoming tragedy, that all these problems you all were going to face wasn’t going to get in the way of that.

Hopefully not.

.

.

.

A/N- let’s hope our jean-boy gets what he wants and gets the girl this time 🤞🏽 let’s hope.

Tagged- @expectoscamander , @greenygreenland , @that-soft-lesbian-friend , @dai-tsukki-desu , @usernamehere91 , @avocadopoosae , @romancried , @victor-criss-bish @moo-moo-meadow

[kirishimaswife2819]

They Walk in on You Changing || Midoriya, Bakugou, Kirishima, and Todoroki

Masterlist

Pairings: Izuku Midoriya x Reader, Katsuki Bakugou x Reader, Eijiro Kirishima x Reader, and Shoto Todoroki x Reader

Summary: The boys walk in on you changing

Word Count: 1.1k

Izuku Midoriya:

You and Izuku had been dating for a few weeks now and he was coming to your room to meet you for a date. He didn’t even think of knocking, and opened the door. But you were in the middle of finding a shirt to put on, leaving you in just your underwear.

Izuku let out a scream of surprise and stumbled backwards, his face beet red. He slammed a hand over his eyes, as he searched for the doorknob.

“I’m so sorry, Y/n!” He said, continuing to apologize as he closed the door, his hand still covering his eyes. His cheeks were a darker shade of red than Kirishima’s hair. You finished getting dressed, and opened the door.

“Izuku, it’s fine. I’m dressed now, you can take your hand away,” Izuku listened, but was still hesitant to pull his hand off of his eyes. Eventually he did and spoke again, “I’m so sorry, I really should of knocked.”

“It’s fine, Zuku. But are your cheeks okay?” You asked, poking one, “I think they may be on fire.”

“Haha, yeah,” Izuku said, looking down at the ground.

“Well, how about we leave for that date?” You ask and Izuku nodded, letting you take his hand and lead him away.

Katsuki Bakugou:

Katsuki had just left your room after you studied together. Since it was kind of late, you decided to get changed into something comfier. After pulling off your shirt, and reaching for your new shirt, the door opened.

You snapped your head over, to be met with the ash blonde, standing there in shock. You also didn’t miss the way he looked you up and down and tried to process what had happened. Quickly, you pressed the shirt to yourself, trying to cover yourself, but you weren’t wearing any pants either, so it didn’t do much.

“Um, Katsuki?” You questioned after about thirty seconds, causing him to snap back.

“Shit!” He exclaimed, slamming the door shut, “Do you not know what a damn lock is!?”

“Do you not know what knocking is?” You questioned, trying not to get too embarrassed as you slipped your shirt on, and then a pair of pajama pants.

“Shut up!” Bakugou yelled back, as you took a look in your mirror to make sure that you looked fine, before opening the door, to find Bakugou with a bit of blush on his cheeks.

“Are you blushing?” You teased.

“No! Shut it!” He yelled.

“Geez, calm down, I was only teasing. Did you need something?” You asked.

“Yeah, I forgot my jacket,” he said, and sure enough when you turned, his jacket was sitting on your desk chair. You went into your room and grabbed it, before going back to the door and handing him it.

“Is that it?” You questioned.

“Yeah,” he replied, “Oh, by the way, you don’t look that bad.”

“Was that supposed to be a compliment?” You asked, smiling.

“Yes, now shut up and accept it,” he said, not waiting for a response before hurrying off.

Eijiro Kirishima:

Eijiro had just gotten the results back for a test you helped him study for, so he hurried to your room, not warning you or giving you any idea he was coming, before opening the door. You had been in the middle of changing, because you were going to go out. So, you were standing there in just your underwear, about to put a shirt on.

You processed that he had walked in on you changing quicker than he did, and you spoke first.

“Kiri!” You yelled, and he snapped out of his daze, quickly closing the door.

“Holy crap, Y/n. I’m so sorry, I should of knocked. That wasn’t very manly of me at all,” he rambled on, as you finished getting dressed. He continued to apologize as you walked over to the door and opened it.

“It’s fine,” you said, trying to hide how embarrassed you were, “What did you need?”

“Oh! I got a good grade on my test!” He showed you the paper in his hands, giving you a grin.

“That’s great, Kiri!” You exclaimed, looking over the paper, taking it so you could see what he did and didn’t get right.

“Yeah, again, sorry about walking in on you changing. I should have knocked, or warned you that I was coming over,” he said, blushing a bit.

“It’s fine, I’m not mad or anything. Maybe a bit embarrassed,” you replied.

“Don’t be embarrassed! You looked great!” He exclaimed, before pausing to think about what he actually said, “Crap, that wasn’t very manly to say.”

“You’re funny, Kiri,” you said, “Now, do you wanna come in and we can play a game or something?” He smiled and agreed, letting you lead him into your room.

Shoto Todoroki:

Shoto had texted you informing you that he was coming over, but you thought he would take longer than he did. So, when he got to your room, and decided not to knock, since you knew he was coming, he walked in while you were in the middle of changing shirts.

“Apologies,” he said, playing it cool as he shut the door and stepped back out into the hall. He acted like it wasn’t a big deal, but on the inside, he wanted to explode. 

You finished putting on the shirt, before opening the door.

“Um, sorry, I didn’t think you were gonna be that quick,” you replied, slightly blushing.

“No, it’s my fault, even though you knew I was coming, I should have knocked,” Shoto said, and then you noticed him slightly blushing, something that you had never seen.

“Are you blushing?” You asked, smiling a bit.

“Maybe?” He replied, and you chuckled.

“You’re cute,” you commented, stepping back into your room, “Come on in.”

[posallys]

i saw a post about percy and poseidon and i figured i'd drop this stupid little headcanon i have here (i also take stuff from this analysis, so go read that mayhaps)

Ya know how we’ve established i think that Percy’s fatal flaw should be control and not loyalty? And how I talked about the whole “Percy and Poseidon are quick to anger” thing in my analysis of them? And how it’s literally in their nature to want to be in control of everything around them?

okay, well, for whatever reason, percy is on olympus (maybe a solstice? maybe annabeth is talking about stuff for her rebuild? idk)

and a god somebody says something and it he gets pissed, and since his emotions are so closely linked with his powers, he accidentally triggers an earthquake

except, poseidon could obviously tell that there was going to be an earthquake bc he could feel it, so he just kind of pops in front of percy and grabs his wrists/hands and is like "that's an awfully big earthquake you almost caused, ya know."

And Percy’s kind of shaking because he could feel the way the anger took over and how he couldn’t stop the earthquake himself. He was trying so hard to restrain it, to hold it back, but he couldn’t.

He doesn’t really say anything to Poseidon, because he’s clenching his jaw to the point that it’s painful, but he looks up at Poseidon, and his eyes kind of give it away.

(and it may not have been obvious to anybody else, but it was obvious to poseidon because he can't even begin to count the amount of times that look has been on his own face)

So Poseidon takes a deep breath and closes his eyes and nods a little (meanwhile the rest of the gods are just like 👀 👀 because percy almost fucked a lot of shit up and poseidon is being very calm and also being a dad and trying to help his kid)

So he lets go of percy's wrists and is like "come with me"

And Percy kind of hesitates for a moment, but then Poseidon is like “It wasn’t a question” because he knows it’s probably the only thing that’ll help, so it’s Not A Question.

(and poseidon knows that he should have done it after the titan war. He should have helped Percy sooner, but he didn’t, so he has to do it now, and he’s going to do it, because he's not going to let percy keep walking blindly through the mess that is their powers)

Poseidon does some god shit and flashes them out to like. The middle of fucking nowhere. like just creates a little slab of land in the middle of the ocean. nothing around for hundreds of miles except open water

Percy just looks at him like wtf? "Dad, why are we in the middle of the ocean??"

And Poseidon just kind of chuckles and is like “yeah, actually, we are in the middle of the ocean. This is the point that’s as far from any land that you can get.”

“Uh? Why?”

“Because it gives me enough time to stop any damage before it happens.”

Percy’s like “???? what damage?? Pls explain”

“I should have done this after the titan war, Percy. I should have—well it doesn’t matter what I should have done. You have to learn how to let go, and I’m going to help you.”

And Percy doesn’t like the idea of that. He doesn’t want to let go. He doesn’t trust himself not to hurt someone or cause destruction (after all, his name means to destroy).

He must be making a face because Poseidon looks at him sympathetically.

“I know it’s hard, Percy. Believe me, I know better than anyone.”

Poseidon pauses for a moment and then continues… “How do you survive a riptide?” he asks.

Percy answers immediately. “You have to let it pull you out. Eventually, it’ll let you go out the side or the back. You don’t want to fight it, though, because you’ll probably drown trying.”

Poseidon purses his lips and nods, and Percy’s looking at him confused for a moment, trying to figure out why his dad asked about a riptide (because Poseidon obviously knows how they work).

And then he Gets It. “You mean...I have to stop fighting…”

“You have to let go. You have to let yourself be carried out sometimes. The longer you fight, the more tired you get, and the worse it becomes. The sea doesn’t like to be restrained, Percy.”

“But I—” Percy’s voice cracks

“I know you don’t want to, but I promise you, it helps.”

Percy nods and lets Poseidon tell him what to do.

Poseidon tells him to scream. To really let everything out. “I know, I know, you’ll probably feel stupid doing it, but do it anyway. No restraints, no worries. let it flow out of you.”

And so he does. He screams the way he’s wanted to for what’s felt like forever at this point. And the ocean responds to him. It responds to his frustration and his anger and his pain. And the waves are rough and choppy and the sky is turning a shade of grey, and the ground is trembling, and then the waves are getting higher and higher and they’re building, building, building, and then they’re crashing onto the ground around him.

And it feels good, really. To let go. to not have to restrain himself

And Poseidon is there watching him (and he’d stop anything Percy may cause before it got to a place where it could cause harm (there’s a reason they’re in the middle of the ocean, after all)).

And Percy’s scream dies out, and he sits down and he breaths and he feels like the world has been lifted off of his shoulders again.

But he’s not done yet because Poseidon is coaching him through things, making Percy create earthquakes and hurricanes and tsunamis, helping him find the balance between controlling them and letting them control him.

And then poseidon teaches him how to release his anger. He walks Percy through the steps. Start with your hands; unclench your fists. Relax your arms, your shoulders. Roll them out, hold yourself up straight. Unclench your jaw, stretch your neck out. Don’t hold the anger back, but don’t let it consume you. You have to change it, you have to feel it. Let it move through you like water flowing down a river. Feel it in your arms and your fingers and your legs, but then push it out. Not aggressively—calm. It has to be calm. You have to let it carry you to a certain point, but you can’t struggle. It’s a riptide, Percy. Once you surrender to it, you can escape it. Once you surrender to it, you really have control.

And it works. Percy goes through the steps, slowly relaxing himself, letting it move through him until it’s no longer anger and he no longer feels like he’s being crushed.

“I caused a lot of destruction when I was a younger god, Percy. I didn’t have a good grip over my anger. It took me a long time to figure out that, while I may control the ocean, the ocean also controls me. Do you know why? Because I am the ocean, and so are you. The ocean is inside of you, and you must find the balance between controlling and being controlled.”

“How often do you do this?”

“Every few months. It’s easy to get caught in the cycle of control again. It’s in our nature to want to be in control, so conceding isn’t easy for us. So when I feel myself on edge, when I start angering quicker, I come here and I let go.”

So they make a habit out of it. They come out to the middle of the ocean every other month, or about as often as either of them needs it, and they let go, and Percy slowly gets better at becoming one with the ocean, better at finding the balance.

(and then they go to this diner in Montauk that Poseidon has a weird obsession with….)

And when Estelle is older, the three of them take the trip out to the middle of the ocean together, and they teach Estelle how to find balance. And she’s younger than Percy was, so her anger hasn’t had time to peak.

Unlike Percy, whose anger is silent, sneaky, creeping up out of nowhere (the way he’s smiling one moment and lashing out the next) Estelle’s anger was a storm you could see coming a hundred miles away. Her anger brews on the horizon, building and building, slowly getting bigger until there's nothing left but for it to shatter. Which makes it easier, really. She’s better at letting go than Percy is—she has time to let it dissipate before it reaches her.

[hanemiso]

Wish I Were Tohru

>>> a sohma yuki x reader <<<

genre: lil fluff, lil angst??

warnings: none

song: heather by conan gray

synopsis: you’ve been able to get close to the Sohma and become close friends with him. you have feelings for him, but you’re pretty sure he has feelings for Honda Tohru.

a/n: I love this boy and he needs love, I AM HERE TO SUPPLY LOVE 🥺❤️ honestly Yuki is my favorite from Fruits Basket, Haru being a close second and Kyo a close third!! I just don’t see enough Fruits Basket content on here so I thought maybe I’d make some, but this one is kinda shitty ngl. It was long but it just doesn’t feel like my best work. But, I’ve been working on this for a while, so I thought I’d post it anyway heh :)) I guess this means I officially write for Fruits Basket now!!!

It all started the 3rd of December, when your feelings for Yuki made themselves apparent. On that winter day, you were freezing because you weren’t wearing a warm enough coat and Yuki gave you his sweater while you two walked to school. Your cheeks warmed up quicker than the rest of your body as he smiled at you and wrapped his sweater around your shoulders. With a close-eyed smile, he warmly said that it looked better on you than it did on him; those words struck a cord in your heart, and from then on you accepted the fact that you had fallen for the boy who had become your closest friend.

Of course, you got shit for it from his fan club and they relayed all the rules of the fan club to you during lunch. But after that incident, some of the girls from the fan club began asking Yuki for his sweater, to which he shot them down nicely. That small action didn’t go unnoticed either, and made you feel like he only ever did that for you, and made you fall even harder for the Sohma.

It’s been months since that instance, and you haven’t said anything to him about your feelings because you didn’t want to look like another one of the girls from his fan club desperate for his attention and love. But, seeing as you two have grown closer and you’ve gained enough confidence to do something about your feelings, you decided yesterday that you would confess to him today.

You walk up to him in the hallway during passing period, slightly shaking from nerves, and get his attention by calling his name. He turns around and smiles at you, earning you a glare from the class president who was talking to him earlier.

“Oh, l/n-san, hello!” Yuki greets warmly. 

“Hey Sohma-kun! Can I...” you start, but trail off as you see his eyes drift away from yours and land on someone behind you. You glance behind you and see Honda Tohru, your friend, walking down the hall with Uotani and Hanajima. When you look back at Yuki, you can see his eyes follow her figure as she passes, gazing softly. Seeing that makes your heart drop, along with your confidence level.

When he looks back at you, you shake out of your thoughts and quickly say, “uh, sorry, I meant to tell you I’m busy after school so I won’t be walking home with you guys today.”

A look of confusion crosses his features briefly, but is replaced with a smile as he answers with, “Oh, alright. I’ll let Honda-san know.”

You thank him with the best fake smile you can muster before quickly walking down the hall to your next class. When you’re far enough away, your smile drops, as does your gaze. You definitely took notice of how Yuki’s eyes seemed to brighten as he watched Tohru walk by, brighter than the blue sky. It was a look you were sure Yuki never bestowed upon you, but you understand why. Obviously, Tohru is very pretty; definitely a sight for sore eyes. She’s so kind and thoughtful, among other things, Her personality draws people to her, and you can understand why. And because you can understand why Yuki would gaze at her like that, your confidence plummeted and your confession got caught in your throat. But you didn’t want Yuki, Kyo, and Tohru to know your mood was gloomy, which is why you chose to walk home alone today.

They shouldn’t see you in such a down mood stemmed from jealousy; it’s not fair to them and it would only make you as mature as his fangirls. Jealousy is not a flattering color, after all.

On your walk home, the moment replayed in your head. Your brain kept trying to pick apart his facial expression, hoping to find some solace in the evidence of a misunderstanding. Finding optimism in the hopes of a misunderstanding, you walk along the street with your head held high, deciding to try again tomorrow.

.

.

But, oh how unfortunate you’d be this week.

The next morning, there’s news of chilly weather for the rest of the week, right when it was starting to warm up a little. It doesn’t matter much to you, seeing as you grab a nice coat this time to keep you warm. You walk out the door and see Yuki and Kyo standing in front of your house, waiting for you to join them on the walk to school. Their attention turns to you as you approach them, and they greet you. As you greet them back, Kyo shifts his stance a little to reveal Tohru standing behind him with a smile on her face...and Yuki’s sweater pulled over her uniform. The same sweater he had given you to wear in December. The sweater you thought he had only given you to wear.

And yet again, your confidence plummets into the floor. All you can do to keep your mood seemingly high is smile and remain silent on your walk to school. Yuki and Tohru are caught in a conversation the entire way, which Kyo sometimes comments on, but Kyo notices how quiet you’ve gotten and how you won’t make eye contact with any of them. He ruffles your hair, causing you to look up at him in surprise because he doesn’t do that unless he’s trying to lift your spirits.

“Do you wanna...talk after school?” He asks, turning his head away from you.

You smile, knowing he’s trying to give you support. Kyo was always like that; he does care a lot, but he doesn’t always know how to show it.

“Yes, thanks Kyo-kun.”

.

.

“Alright, spit it out.” Kyo says, leaning against the wall.

You sigh, turning your gaze to the ground as you try to explain everything to him. It all sounds really stupid to you when you say it out loud, like it’s not a big deal...but it feels like one. It feels like he’s messing with your emotions, but Yuki’s not the kind to do that intentionally. Once you’re done spilling your guts to Kyo, he continues to stare at the tree in front of him as your hands begin playing with the ends on your skirt.

“It’s stupid, I know. And it’s not like I hate Tohru-chan, I could never. She’s such an angel, I can understand why you’re both so drawn to her. In fact, it wouldn’t be surprising if Yuki was in love with her. I just...I wish...”

I wish I were Tohru.

That’s what you wanted to say. Jealously really is an ugly shade.

“Uhm, never mind, Kyo-kun! It’s nothing, I promise. I shouldn’t be complaining like this; I shouldn’t burden you with this nonsense, especially when it’s about someone you dislike.” You add quickly, concealing your true feelings with a close-eyed smile.

Kyo looks at you with wide eyes, surprised at your change of attitude. Sure, he doesn’t really care about anything that has to do with Yuki, but when it also concerns you, a close friend, he cares a lot. The fact that you tried to invalidate your feelings pisses him off, but he tries putting that aside as he faces your retreating form.

“W-Wait, y/n-”

“Uhm, let’s go Kyo-kun! I’m sure you don’t want to be here any longer than you already have to.” You smile at him, taking steps towards the school gates.

That fake happiness; the facade you’re hiding behind to mask your hurt feelings, it’s definitely becoming more transparent to Kyo as all the words you uttered about the issue swirl in his mind. If he’s being honest with himself, he’s at a loss for words. He’s never cared about Yuki or what’s going on in his life, so how can he possibly give advice on an issue concerning him?

As you both walk in silence in the direction of your homes, Kyo replays your words over and over in his head, trying to think of something to say to encourage you in some way.

“L-Listen, don’t give up so easily y/n! Just tell him how you feel, I mean you’ve come this far! You know how much I hate that rat, but he’s not...a bad guy. And if I’m wrong and he breaks your heart, I’ll break his stupid face for you!”

You look up at Kyo in surprise, cause you know that must’ve taken a lot out of him to say something semi-nice about Yuki. He doesn’t dare make eye contact; his head faces away from you as his shoulders tense and he balls his fists. Something about how reluctant he is to admit it makes you laugh, and your laugh causes his eyes to widen as he looks at you.

“What? Are you laughing at me?!” He exclaims.

You shake your head with a soft smile on your face, a genuine smile.

“Nope, nothing of the sort. Thanks Kyo-kun, I won’t give up on my confession! Yuki and I planned a study session for tomorrow, so I’ll plan to confess to him then!”

“Good.”

.

.

After you changed out of your uniform at home, you set off for the Sohma residence. It’s not a long walk from your house to Yuki’s, so you slow your pace a bit to take in the scenery and steel your nerves.

After talking with Kyo yesterday, you hadn’t exactly figured out how you were going to tell him, or even when. Lucky for you, the study session you both had planned a week ago was an early one; close to right after school, maybe about an hour or two off?

After trekking up those myriad stone steps, you knock on the door of the Sohma residence. After a couple seconds, you hear Shigure’s voice on the other side of the door as he slides it open.

“Ah, y/n-chan! Hello!” Shigure greets with a smile.

“Hi Shigure-san, is Sohma-kun here?” You ask, smiling back at him.

“Oh, Yuki-kun? He’s been gone for about an hour or so with Tohru-chan. I’m not sure when he’ll be back, but would you like to wait for him here?”

Oh. He’s out with Tohru. Even though you guys had plans. It’s likely that he forgot, but it’s not like you guys made these plans a while ago; it’s been a week!

Your smile falters a bit, but remains on your face as you answer Shigure with, “Oh, I see. Thank you for offering, but I think I’m just going to head home then! Have a good day, Shigure-san!”

You bow to him before turning around and stopping in your tracks. At the top of the steps stands Kyo, staring at you with confusion written all over his face. You walk up to him and smile before trying to walk past him.

“Wait, y/n, what happened? I thought you and the rat were studying today.” Kyo asks, causing you to halt.

You bite your lip, swallowing your emotions, before turning back to Kyo with a pained smile and answering with, “He’s out with Tohru-chan right now. It’s fine, he probably just forgot. I’m just, uh, gonna head home now. I’ll see you tomorrow, Kyo-kun!”

Kyo stands there in disbelief as he watches you walk down the steps. He’s pissed now; after he admitted the rat wasn’t a bad guy, he does something like this. To his close friend, of all people! Don’t you mean more to the rat than anyone else?

Kyo grits his teeth as he runs to the house to ask Shigure where Yuki and Tohru are. Shigure gives him the vague answer of a certain shopping district across the city, and Kyo sets out to find Yuki to set him straight. The image of your sadness seeping into your smile is burned in Kyo’s mind, making him even more upset.

Kyo makes it to the shopping district about a half hour later, running from shop to shop. He asks store clerks if they’ve seen anyone matching the descriptions of Yuki and Tohru, but each one says they haven’t. Hours pass before Kyo approaches the last store and sees the silver-haired male standing outside with Tohru by his side, looking like they’re having a grand time. Kyo runs up to the two and grabs Yuki by the collar of his shirt, causing Yuki to stare at him in surprise and annoyance.

“You stupid rat! How thoughtless are you?!” Kyo starts, tightening his grip on his shirt.

“Let go of me, stupid cat.” Yuki deadpans.

“Does y/n mean nothing to you?! How dare you treat her like trash!”

“What are you talking about?!”

“You ditched your study session with her today to go out with Tohru! Do you enjoy hurting her or something?! Cause you seem to be doing that a lot lately! Do you not care about her?! If you don’t, then why don’t you just say it to her face instead of making her sad every day!”

Yuki’s eyes widen as realization hits; he totally forgot about the plans he made with you today. The guilt he feels outweighs the anger swirling in his chest every time Kyo accuses him of not caring about you. He pushes Kyo off of him and hands Tohru the bags in his hands, all except for one.

“I’m sorry, Honda-san! I have to go!” Yuki apologizes quickly before sprinting out of the shopping district.

Yuki scolds himself for being oblivious to your feelings as he runs down seemingly endless streets. Yuki always cared for you; you were the one close friend he had before Tohru came into his life. Lately he’s noticed that thoughts of you are all that consume his mind at night, and the way he feels different around you than around anyone else. But, our poor Yuki has never felt this way before; he doesn’t know why he feels like this or what to do about it.

But when he heard that he forgot about his plans he made with you, and how that hurt you, he felt like the lowest of the low. How could he skip out on plans with you? How could he hurt you?

The sun begins to set as more tears adorn your notes. You weren’t really sure why you were so upset; it’s okay that Yuki is happy with Tohru. It’s not even a big deal that he forgot about your plans...so why did it hurt most to think he forgot about you? All these doubts begin swarming your head, causing more tears to fall, as you hear knocks on the front door.

You quickly wipe the falling tears as you walk to the door, trying to compose yourself for whichever visitor stood at your door. Your eyes widen as you open the door to see a heavily panting Yuki standing in front of you. You quickly plaster a smile on your face as you attempt to greet him.

“Sohma-kun? Are you alright? What are you doing here?”

“l/n-san, I’m so sorry! I completely forgot about our plans today and went shopping with Honda-san. I never meant to make you sad, I just-”

“Yuki-kun, can we...talk? Somewhere else? Let’s, uhm, go for a walk real quick.”

You grab a pair of slip-ons by the door and head outside, leading Yuki to a nearby kid’s playground. You both sit on the swings and silence envelopes you two as you gather your thoughts. Yuki stares at you as you stare at the ground, waiting for you to scold him or do anything to let him know you were fine.

“Yuki-kun...I still remember the third of December; me in your sweater, you said it looked better on me than it did you. Only if you knew...how much I liked you. How much I still like you. I remember how every girl from your fan club asked you for your sweatshirt, and how I felt special when you turned them down. But, I’ve seen the way you look at Tohru-chan when she walks by. And I get it, Tohru-chan is very beautiful. What a sight for sore eyes, brighter than a blue sky. And I’ve been noticing lately how your gaze on her lingers, and how your face softens when you speak to her. You gave her your sweater to wear, too...not that it matters, I guess. Anyway, as my feelings for you continue to grow, I begin to see...and understand, how and why you like Tohru-chan so much. I mean, she’s an angel! She’s so kind, thoughtful, and caring...I understand why you’d want her. And why you wouldn’t want me. I mean, why would you ever kiss me? I’m not even half as pretty. You gave her your sweater; it’s just polyester. But, you like her better. And I’m able to accept that, as long as you’re happy, Yuki-kun! I just...sometimes...I wish I were Tohru-chan.”

Yuki stares at you in disbelief as you continue staring at your feet, a single tear falling from your eye. He really is oblivious. His brain can’t even begin to compute the misunderstanding going on here. After all, he has feelings for you too. So, just how did it end up so bad, he wonders. He finds it so hard to believe you reciprocate his feelings, and that while trying to find a way to confess to you, he was hurting you instead.

“I-I love you, Yuki-ku-” 

Yuki’s body moves as if on instinct, kneeling in front of you with his hands caressing the sides of your face. He smashes his lips against yours, only realizing what he’s doing once he feels you kiss him back. He pulls away almost as quickly as he placed his lips on yours, a blush creeping onto his face. You stare at him with wide eyes as he collects his composure and wipes a stray tear from your eye.

“l/n-san, I...I love you, too. What you saw between Honda-san and I is a big misunderstanding, and I’m sorry not seeing how I was hurting you. I’ve been spending more time with Honda-san this past week because she was helping me figure out a way to confess to you. Shigure suggested making you jealous like the love interests in his romance novels, and I honestly don’t know why I listened to him; I knew it was a terrible idea. But, that’s why Honda-san was wearing my sweater yesterday. When I thought that didn’t work, Honda-san suggested getting you a gift, which is why we went shopping today. I was so caught up in trying to make you happy that I forgot we made plans today. And instead of making you happy, I made you cry. Love isn’t really a feeling I’m fond of; I’ve never really experienced feelings this intense before. It took me a while to realize you were the reason my heartbeat quickened; why my stomach did flips, why warmth would spread in my chest. But when I found myself wanting to be with you every waking hour, I panicked. Truth be told, you’re the person I hold closest to my heart. I don’t let people in...from experience. There’s so much darkness that doesn’t reach the surface, so many things I can’t say just yet. But I will tell you in time, because you’re the person I trust most, and I’m learning slowly how to let people in. In the meantime, the one thing I can say with certainty, is that I love you...and I want to make you happy, if you’ll let me.”

Yuki takes your hands in his and smiles warmly at you. Worried that words will fail you, you nod with a grin on your face. The night air sends chills down your spine as you gaze happily at the boy in front of you. Yuki takes notice of the goosebumps rising on your skin and smirks a little, pulling his hands away from yours to grab the bag on the ground next to him.

He hands it to you while saying, “I have a feeling this’ll come in handy right about now.”

You take the bag from his hands and open it, revealing a familiar sweater. You press it against your chest, smiling at Yuki. You look down at his sweater and realize he's wearing the same one; he got you a matching sweater.

“You just looked so cute when you wore mine...” He smiles shyly, rubbing the back of his neck.

“I love it, Yuki-kun! Thank you!” You exclaim, throwing it on.

It was just polyester, but it now meant more to you than you thought it ever could.

[thestarswhim]

Intertwining Connection

Summary: Since MK has Monkey King’s powers, wouldn’t they both have some sort of connection to each other? 

An idea where MK might get a sense of what the Monkey King is feeling. 

Words: 1,757

Notes: Descriptions of anxiety, but nothing major.

It was late at night, a few hours before MK would have to get ready for work, and there was barely any noise except for the occasional cars that drove by. So, it was a wonder when he woke up suddenly, gasping for air as if he just ran with all the strength he had left, and sat straight up. 

He searched the whole room, alarmed, and confused, and uneasy — and when did he start using the golden vision thing? He blinked it away and rubbed at his eyes, trying to take deep breaths, but the weight still in his chest wasn’t letting up. Everything felt vague… like the feeling one would get after waking up from a dream, but… he couldn’t recall any of it if he did. The only thing that kept screaming at him was that someone was in danger. But, who? 

He fidgeted slightly in his bed and clenched his blanket around his fists, causing it to scrunch up in his hands. He bit down on his tongue as he looked over to his gear and then slowly to the window — no. No, no, no, no, no. He was not going to just go out on impulse again and then end up finding nothing. He freaked about stuff like this before, where he felt something was wrong, and usually nothing bad actually happened until a few or more days after. And he took care of those things when they did happen. Most of the time. Besides, sometimes he was just overthinking things and nothing was wrong in the first place. So, he should breathe it in, breathe it out, go back to sleep, and not worry about it (for now), right?

...

But, still… 

This felt different. It was more intense, as if it were a life or death situation, and that, by ignoring it, would be a grim, dark, scary mistake he did not want to consider. 

There began an anxious sensation he didn’t feel before going down his back like some sort of chill, and it felt way too uncomfortable. 

Okay. He should probably go and find that someone. 

He quickly got out of bed, stumbling a bit as he grabbed his jacket and headband, and saw as he was putting on his shoes how much his hands were trembling. He wasn’t scared or nervous; rather, it was that sensation that would not leave, and it was bothering him — and he really needed to go find whoever was in danger. 

Using the golden vision could help most likely, and maybe Monkey King knew what was going on? Given how strong this feeling was, it was probably another power of his, and it would be something MK would have to get used to more often. Great. 

The thought of Monkey King, however, suddenly brought a flash of blue and gold into his mind. His breath hitched at the realization, and all the weight from his chest dropped to his stomach in an instant as he snapped his head to the window.

“Monkey King,” he breathed out, and before he could comprehend it, he was jumping out the window, staff in hand.

How could Monkey King be in danger? He could clearly handle himself just fine. Maybe this was all in his head, yeah. Probably… but of course he was still going to check because… because the feeling was only growing stronger, and the sharp sensation was fully enveloping him, and, and — he suppressed a frustrated groan. Focus, MK! Now wasn't the time! He had to get to Flower Fruit Mountain! 

Before his body would reach the ground, he swiftly landed the end of the staff first with a resounding thud on the street and extended it forward to launch himself higher into the air. It would be quicker this way. 

Though, luckily and surprisingly for him, he supposed, was that not even a second after, he caught an object in his view coming straight towards him, moving in a bit too fast for his liking, actually. 

“Kid!” it shouted, tone tight and on edge, and a wave of dizzying fear penetrated his chest and left all at the same time, making his throat tighten. 

“Monkey King?” MK choked to get out. He was okay! Maybe? Was he being chased probably? That sudden, intense beat of emotion took him longer to comprehend everything properly; it left his whole body fuzzy and dull, but also static with anxious induced adrenaline, his nerves feeling singed at the edge of his mind. 

Which totally made him forget he wasn't on the ground and, rather, still in the air. The momentum he gained before was now dissipating and gravity was starting to catch up to him again, slowly dragging him down. 

Oh.

He made a yelp jump out of his mouth when he hit something sooner than he thought, but as soon realized he wasn't in immediate pain and was being picked back up into the air in a swooping motion. 

His mind processed that his head was against someone's chest, as he heard rapid, muffled thumping of a heart in his ear. Also he heard talking — and oh my gosh, Monkey King! 

He squirmed around in his mentor's grasp, trying to get a better look at his surroundings in case someone was chasing him or something. 

"Woah, hey," Monkey King started, and there was a slight tremble to his voice, but that could be from coming all the way over to the city. "Don't worry, it's just me." 

They floated back down to the ground, where MK found they were on the cloud beforehand, and took a few steps back once he was sure he was not in the air anymore (that was a rollercoaster in it of itself) to assess everything, including Monkey King who seemed fine and gave him one of his side smiles. They were the only two present at the moment; he didn’t hear or see anyone else coming, neither was his senses buzzing out anymore. He slowly exhaled. This was all so intense for no reason.

“You all right, Kid? Why were you so high in the sky this early in the morning?” Monkey King chuckled, in a short, weird way, and, if MK was seeing right, he looked relieved himself. 

“Yeah, I’m good. Sorta confused, but good,” MK nodded, twisting the staff in his hands. “And, well, I guess — are you okay? I thought something bad happened.”

Monkey King raised his eyebrows, his tail slowly swaying to and fro, and then swiftly changed into a more neutral, chill-like expression. He had been doing that a lot lately. “Of course I’m fine!” He then gazed around the area, eyes focused and distant at the same time. “Why? Did something happen?”

His voice had that certain edge again, but MK tried not to think too much on it right now, and instead relaxed his stature more and shook his head. “No? I mean I hope not. I woke up in this panic and it was not leaving no matter what I did which made me think it was something serious and that someone was in trouble, and then I had a feeling that it could be you? And now you're here, so I guess it was nothing? I’m not sure.” 

Silence… and then, “unless something is wron—”

“Okay, kiddo,” Monkey King put his hand on MK’s head, “before you start freaking out again: I’m fine, and I’m pretty sure everything else is fine. It was probably a dream you had if anything.”

MK thought for a moment. It probably was, but, like before, he couldn’t remember any of it even if he tried. It was weird. He sighed, “I guess. So… why are you here, then?”

Monkey King stiffened, MK could tell from his hand still on his head and the way his fingers twitched in his hair, but it was so subtle and quick, no one would catch it. But, and for some reason, MK kept catching those small moments more and more, and he wasn’t sure if he liked that, or what to think of it. 

His mentor put his hand back down and stretched. “Eh, ‘just wanted to smell the morning air, I don’t do it often. So, I thought I’d fly around the city for a while, and then, to my suprise, there you were nearly falling, so,” his shoulders shook from his small laughter again. “But, I suppose I should head back now since everything seems to have settled down, and you should try and get some more rest before you actually have to get up, okay?” 

“Right,” MK said, and he wanted to say more, that look in Monkey King’s eyes made him want to, but… maybe now wasn't the right time. And maybe he was over exaggerating things. Monkey King was fine, and even if he was hiding anything, MK shouldn’t press on it if he wasn’t supposed to know. He had learned that by now…  

“All right, Kid, lets go,”  Monkey King smiled gently, and, before MK could question anything, he grabbed a hold of him and lifted them both back up on the cloud over to his balcony.

“Thanks,” MK smiled back while he safely landed his feet on said balcony. “I’ll see you tomorrow! Or, wait, today? What time is it?” 

“Way too early to be up,” Monkey King reminded with a smirk, “so go to sleep or else you’ll be sweeping the whole mountain.”

“Wait, really?” Because no. No, thank you. Was that even possible, and who would even sweep a whole mountain? 

Monkey King shrugged with a “I don’t know” noise. “I guess we’ll have to see later today," and, with a short wave and a wink, said, "see ya, bud!" and went zooming away.

MK watched him go once again, leaning his arms against the railing. The sun was just beginning to show up, the dark blue sky becoming a lighter shade of gray with warm tones peeking out between the buildings. As his mind went over everything, he closed his eyes and sighed, letting the light breeze brush over the tips of his hair. 

He probably wasn't going back to bed. 

~~~

Wukong road on his cloud on the way back to the mountain, hoping the wind would take his thoughts with it. 

The kid… was he sharing…? 

No. Maybe. 

He roughly huffed. He had to keep his emotions in check, or else he was going to end up hurting the both of them.

~~~

Notes: This one was a bit shorter, but I wanted to write about it because the idea was pretty interesting to me, and it’d be cool if they explored more on how they’re sharing the same power, so... (and the part where I made Wukong catch MK was what inspired me to write it all in general because I thought it looked nice in my head and it was my first thought for the idea LOL) 

BUT YES, I hope you enjoyed! And if any of you want to write out or do anything about this idea, go right ahead; I would love to see it!!

I might make this a series of little one-shots or even longer stories if I get more ideas for it, but, anywho, thank you so much for reading!! Much Love, and many Blessings! 😊

[fandomficsnstuff]

Idiot

(Okay so I’m in the mood for some Bill Williamson stuff, so, buckle up darlings! And hopefully I did him justice)

Warnings: a bit angst I think, but major fluff at the end, and Bill being a cute little thang as always (I adore him and his awkwardness)

You scoffed as you watched Bill warm up his gelders, but you couldn’t help the smirk that pulled on your lips “are you really gonna torture the poor boy?” Bil shrugged, an amused grin on his face that you found adorable “if it’ll make him talk, then it’ll make him talk” you rolled your eyes playfully at his statement, following him back to Dutch, Arthur and the poor boy tied to a tree, his pants down around his ankles, and when he saw you come over as well he turned bright red. “D-Does s-she have to watch? Please I don’t know nothing!” you couldn’t help but feel bad for the poor guy, but then you reminded yourself that he was an O’Driscoll, he didn’t exactly deserve any kind of sympathy.

“Ain’t nothing you got I ain’t seen before kid” you scoffed, and when he realized that you weren’t leaving and you weren’t stopping them he only grew more scared, screaming and yelping out what you’d all been listening to for weeks now. “Dutch he’s really givin’ me a headache” you complained and Bill smirked at you “want me to fix it?” you smiled at him “yes please” Bill laughed and brought his heated gelders closer to the poor boy and he finally snapped “okay!! I know where O’Driscoll’s at, a place called Six Point Cabin! I can show you! Just p-please put those away!” Dutch nodded to Bill who put them away, though not in good spirit “aw don’t worry dear, maybe you can geld him some other time” you whispered, causing Bill’s ears to go bright red as he blushed, glancing at you “well here’s to hopin’” you smiled at him.

When Arthur called Bill to ride with him, along with John and the O’Driscoll, you quickly caught up to Bill, catching his wrist “I don’t like it… the O’Driscoll I mean” you whispered low, making Bill scoff “what, think I can’t take care of myself?” he got rather defensive, making you sigh “that ain’t what I’m sayin’, I’m just trying to tell you to-”

“I know how to stay safe, woman! Ain’t gotta be lectured about it from you!” he snapped, making sure his saddle was ready, he didn’t even look at you “Bill Williamson don’t you dare talk to me like that! I’m only saying this because I love you, you idiot! But you’re too busy defending yourself from nothin’ to realise that! I’m asking you to be careful out there cause I want you back in one piece, so help me God! I’m an even bigger idiot than you, but at least I’m aware of it!” you snapped, turning on your heel and walking far out of his sight, leaving a shocked Bill standing frozen by his horse. It wasn’t until Arthur spoke to him that he snapped out of it, seeing both John, Arthur and the O’Driscoll looking at him, making him get flustered “damn woman” he said out loud, though he didn’t really mean it, as he saddled up, going with Arthur.

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

You looked to Abigail as she nudged you, Abigail nodding towards the entry to camp, and you followed her look, seeing none other than Bill Williamson with John and the O’Driscoll, but as soon as John and Kieran was dropped off, he rode off again, and you bit your lip, looking down at the washboard in thought. Once again brought back to reality by Abigail, you sighed “I-... maybe I was too hard on him over nothing…” you mumbled, but you knew she heard you, she shook her head “no, you needed to get that off of ya chest, you love him, and you know I know what it’s like to love someone who doesn’t love me back…” she glanced at John and you felt a pang of guilt “I’m sorry, Abigail, at least Bill is with me… John-”

“John is… John, but I know where I stand with him at least, I love him and he doesn’t love me, but he’s still the father of my son. With you and Bill it’s… complicated. You’re together but not an item, it’s confusing, you know?” you sighed at her words, nodding your head slightly, “maybe it was too soon? Sayin’ that I love him, you know?” Abigail shrugged “do you?” you nodded in response, still looking at the washboard in silence “then it wasn't anything but right” she concluded before going back to her chore, making you think for a bit before doing the same.

It had been an hour or so since Bill rode off again, and a part of you worried, and another part of you tried to act indifferent, though that was not going to happen anytime soon. Every time you heard the sound of galloping hooves you turned your head in the direction, hoping it would be him, but it was just Arthur returning, or Charles with a dead deer on his horse. But finally you heard another set of hooves, turning your head to see the familiar horse of Brown Jack and it’s familiar owner on top, Bill Williamson, with a package on his horse. You looked away as he saddled down, hitching Brown Jack and taking the package, you missed the way he scanned the camp, his eyes scanning for you and the quick smile, which faded even quicker, once he saw you, sitting by the girls’ tent, stitching an old shirt that he recognized to be one of his own, his chest filling with warmth at the sight of you stitching up his old shirt.

He approached, thankful that you were alone before clearing his throat, the package, although rather large and not very well hidden, behind his back. You turned to look up at him, narrowing your eyes at him as he had a nervous look to him “if you’re about to tell me somethin’ then just tell me, Bill, I’m not exactly in a good mood today” you mumbled the last part, looking back down you missed the way his look softened and he looked almost guilty “well erhm… I uh-... good thing I got you this then” he showed you the package, making you study it in both curiosity and confusion, he had never brought you any gift, at least not anything else besides a wild flower or two when no one was around to see it, and usually he left before you could even say thank you, so to say that this was a new thing was an understatement “what is it?” he shuffled his feet awkwardly “well… open it up and see” he mumbled, handing you the package and sat down on a box next to you, trying to hide his excitement as you put the old shirt away and began to slowly open the packaging “I uh, felt bad about, you know… so yeah” he muttered awkwardly, clearly an indicator that he thought you took too long to open it, so you sped up a bit.

Pushing the wrapping paper aside, you saw a skirt in your favorite color, it had small patterns of flowers, big and small, woven into it with a black thread. Picking up the skirt, you saw a blouse underneath, pulling that on top to study it as well, it was white, and matched perfectly with the skirt, which was an indicator that Bill himself had not picked it out, the poor guy had no sense of fashion for men, let alone women. You let your hand run across the fabric, a smile making it’s way onto your lips as you looked back at him, pure joy in your eyes. “I-Is it alright? T-the woman at the store said that it would fit, at least I think so…” you scoffed, making him look at you like you had rejected him, but it was only until you chuckled low, now grinning at him “it’s beautiful! Thank you, Bill, I love it” you leaned over and pecked his cheek, causing him to blush like crazy, his ears turning to a whole other shade of red than you had ever seen before “I-I-... well I’m glad you like it a-and I’m sorry, about before” you giggled slightly “it’s alright Bill, you already apolo-”

“No not that… for not sayin’ it back, you know?... c-cause I do, a-a-and when I was in the army I-I remember fellas talkin’ about finding a wife and such when they got outta the army, and a lot joined the army again which I don’t get, but-... what I’m tryin’ to say is that was never me, I ain’t never thought I’d find me a woman, not in the way they were sayin’, marriage and stuff, a-and I still ain’t sure… but-... I-... damn it I ain’t good at talking!” he grew frustrated in the end, huffing annoyed which only made you hide your giggle, though he still heard it and glared slightly at you “I think I understand what you’re sayin’, Bill” you put one of your hands over his, giving it a gentle squeeze, all of his frustration leaving him when he saw the sweet look on your face, now his face was flushed for different reasons, and no longer out of frustration.

“I-.. I really do-... you know… a-and I-I know I ain’t much of a-a-a poet or a romantic but-... I will-... and I just... you know?” you smiled and nodded at him, earning you a relieved huff from the big, tough, army man. You leaned over and pressed a more meaningful peck to his cheek, feeling how hot his cheeks were under his beard, thanks to being so flushed. You looked back at the skirt and blouse, grinning and getting up, Bill looking confused “where are ya goin’?” you shrugged “I want to try out my new clothes” you giggled as he once again flushed. You went into the bushes and changed, coming back out with the new clothes on and the old in your arms, you put your old clothes down on your bedroll, watching as Bill got up, grinning like an idiot as he studied your figure and how the clothes look on you, something that made you blush this time, not him. Bill approached you and carefully, almost afraid of rejection, but his hands on your waist, looking down at you “you look real beautiful” he blushed at his own comment, making you giggle “thank you, Bill” you rested your arms on his shoulders, leaning up and pressing a quick kiss to his lips, when you drew back you saw his eyes were closed, and you decided to kiss him again, only this time he kissed you back, and you couldn’t help but smile into the kiss. “I love you, you damned idiot” you mumbled into the kiss, feeling him smile slightly in return “I love you too, darlin’”. You loved the way he held you, the way he kissed you, the way his beard tickled your skin and lips, how he tasted slightly of whiskey, how he smelt of gunpowder, liquor and something uniquely him, but most of all you loved Bill Williamson, and you’d be damned if you ever let him go.

[durmstrange]

Foolish - Newt Scamander

Hello and happy Monday!  Enjoy a lil Newt fic.

Word count: 2,452

Newt stood in line in Diagon Alley, in the Potions shop, waiting patiently for the customers in front of him to finish their purchases so he could be on his was with his Niffler, that just insisted on joining him in the excursion he was going on. Normally, Newt would cross the line and not allow him to go under any circumstances, but there was an odd feeling in the air that distracted him and allowed the Niffler to join him, in his jacket pocket.

As he stood in like, mildly distracted by the cloudy feeling he had in his head that he was unable to shake, Newt failed to notice his Niffler sneak from his extended pocket, and down onto the floor, scurrying away quicker than ever.  Newt gripped the new cauldron and various supplies in his hands and his eyes searched for nothing in particular.  

With much stealth, the Niffler moved about the shop, dodging the eyes of others as it dashed between legs, snatching low hanging bracelets and necklaces without notice.  It wasn’t until he crawled up the wrong tree, well, actually, person, and he was caught by the scruff of his neck, and shoved into a bag, zippered tight.  

A soft smile played upon your lips as you moved through the store, holding your bag shut and walking nonchalantly, until you reached the stranger in which the creature came from.  With a quick look, you took the stranger’s hand and led him through the shop, half-dragging him.  

“Ah, p-pardon me?” he stuttered out, confused and struggling to hold his supplies in his one hand and pull his other hand from your grip.  

You glanced at him, slightly irritated at him fighting with you, and you yanked his hand a little harder.  “Hush up and follow me,” you told him and led him to an old broom closet, pulling him inside and shutting the door behind you two.  By the time that Newt found his wand and lit the end of it, you were holding his Niffler up, smiling gently behind him.  “I believe he belongs to you, yeah?” you asked him with excitement riddled in your eyes.  

Newt licked his lips, kind of flustered, as he set down the cauldron he held previously, filling it with the other supplies, and taking the Niffler from your hands.  “I reckon so.  ‘Knew I shouldn’t have let you come today, you mug,” he muttered to the Niffler, looking stern and unhappy.  

With a small smile, you shook your head.  “Now, now.  No need to be mean to the little guy.  After all, it is in his nature,” you winked and held your hand out to Newt.  “I am (Y/N) (Y/L/N), potions master.”  You smile as you introduced yourself with bright, shimmering eyes.  

Pocketing his Niffler away quickly, Newt shook your hand hastily, as if he were in a rush.  “Wonderful to meet you.  I am Newt Scamander, magizoologist,” he introduced himself just as quick as he shook your hand.  “Sorry to be rude, but you said potions master, correct?  As in you can brew just about any potion?”  Newt questioned you quickly, anxious to know the answer.  

You nodded lightly.  “That is correct, why?  Does it have something to do with why you are so jittery, or with the Niffler?” you asked him curiously, motioning to where he stored his little friend away.  

Newt turned an odd shade of red, and you were unable to hide your smile at this.  “Er-something like that.  Sorry to ask you of this, but I do have a very ill creature at my-my home who is in need of a particular potion in which I have doubts I can brew.  Would it be too much of a hassle to ask of your help with the potion?  I am more than willing to pay you.” Newt asked you as he picked up his ingredients and cauldron once more, motioning to it as if it solved your dilemma. 

You glanced down at the ingredients in his hands, looking at each root and bug, and odd thing alike and tilted your head to the side.  “I am more than willing to help an ill creature.  I was planning on becoming the Care for Magical Creatures professor at Hogwarts prior to finding my love for potions.  What did you say it was?” you questioned Newt further.  He blushed at your questions and interest and in the dull wand light, it was rather adorable.  

“Ah, yes, about that.  I have a Demiguise who is quite shy, but needs this antidote as soon as humanly possible,” Newt explained to you with his eyes low, trying to avoid eye contact with you.  “I understand if you are unable to help him, or if you do not deem it to be worth it, but even a few pointers would be wond-” Newt began rambling, and you kicked the door of the brook closet open.  

“Hush, now and let’s go!  Your Demiguise needs us, Mr. Scamander!”  You shamed him and moved from the closet, motioning for him to exit.  “Judging by your ingredients, I assume your Demiguise consumed something highly poisonous to him, am I correct?”  Your voice was curious as you took the cauldron from Newt’s hand and set it on a shelf as you walked by.  

Surprised, Newt nodded.  “Correct,” he confirmed as he watched you in complete awe.  You were magnificent, to say the absolute least.  

You nodded and moved through the partially empty Diagon Alley.  Given that school was in session once more, the Alley was far less crowded than usual.  “Wonderful.  Nothing a little Antidote to Uncommon Poisons can’t handle.  Let me just stop by my home quickly, and then we can set off to yours, yeah?”  You asked Newt as you linked your arm with his, causing his face to redden even further.  He nodded, unable to form words, and you disapparated the two of you to your home and shop in London.  You lived above your shop, but had just as many ingredients and potions where you lived than worked.  

Hastily, you moved about your home, gathering ingredients and a collapsible cauldron into your brown leather briefcase as Newt stood in your living room, watching your every move with an odd sense of adoration.  You were so put together and so open with who you were, and you apartment was so neat, but so cluttered with bottles and ingredients at the same time.  But, you knew were every single thing was to a point.  Before long, you shut your brief case and clasped it, looking back at the awestruck Newt.  

“Sorry it is such a mess in here.  I have been meaning to clean out my home and move everything back down to the shop, where my apprentice and sister is now, but I just have a hard time doing it,” you explained with a light blush playing at your cheeks.  The light dusting on your cheeks was the prettiest thing Newt had ever seen.  

Newt shook his head quickly, gazing about the room, craving to see the rest, if he weren’t in such a hurry and on such an important mission.  “No, it is brilliant,” Newt told you with a small smile, and you took his arm once more.  

In a snap, you were in a very messy, contemporary apartment not far from Diagon Alley.  Your eyes wandered around the room, taking in the torn papers, some even scorched, and the overall scattered feel of the room.  It was comforting, in a way, and you enjoyed it greatly.  “Please, do not think this is odd,” Newt pleaded with you as he grabbed a briefcase from his coffee table, setting it onto the floor and unclasping the gold clasps.  “They are in here.”  His voice was hesitant as he stood straight, and stepped one foot into the briefcase with one glance back to you.  

You knitted your eyebrows together, confused, but approached the briefcase with caution as Newt begin to step down further and further in it until you were no longer able to see him.  You peered down into it, and laughed lightly when you saw his gazing up at you.  “You are simply amazing, Mr. Scamander,” you told him as you handed your briefcase down to him, sideways, and began climbing down skillfully and quickly.

He blushed madly, taking your hand to help you down the final steps. “That is very kind of you.  Please, be cautious of the creatures around.  Some of them are rather shy, but I think you should be fine.  If you are uncomfortable at any point, please let me know.”  Newt was insistent and sweet as he set your briefcase down on a large work table in the small half-shack you were in.  

You nodded, opening your briefcase and beginning to work hastily.  “Mr. Scamander, get me a strand of the Demiguise’s hair, please,” you instructed as he watched you intently, chopping and cutting and pouring all kinds of things into your collapsible cauldron.

Without much hesitation, he dashed off at the sound of your instruction and you began brewing your potion skillfully.  You mixed and stirred and added all sorts of things, including the hair that Newt brought back punctually, until almost two hours later, the potion was a light pink-red color and cooling in a glass tube.  You turned to Newt, who had yet to sit down this entire time, and he looked at you with bright, curious eyes.  “Is it finished?”  He asked you before you even had the chance to speak.  

“It is,” you answered with a gentle smile.  “If you go get your Demiguise-” you began, but Newt interrupted you quickly.  

“Dougal.  His name is Dougal,” he told you and your cheeks reddened at the interruption.  

You nodded.  “Right, if you go get Dougal, I will administer the potion, if you don’t mind.  Or, if Dougal does not mind, I suppose,” you corrected yourself and gave Newt a small smile.  The sweet but concerned look on your face made Newt’s heart race in his chest.

Newt nodded and scurried off once more, only to return with his arms wide, but nothing appeared to be in his arms.  You smiled widely at the scene before you, knowing perfectly well that Dougal was invisible in his arms, and it made you giggle softly.  Newt approached you carefully, setting Dougal onto the counter next to you.  

You weren’t quite sure where to look, but you looked in the general direction of Dougal.  “Hello, Dougal, my name is (Y/N).  I am not going to hurt you, I promise; I am only trying to help you,” you explained to the creature as you grabbed the cooled potion and showed it to him.  You held it up in Dougal’s direction and smiled softly, trying to be as comforting as possible.  

What you hadn’t noticed was Newt’s watchful eyes observing every little move you made, from the movement in your eyes to the slight shake in your hands.  It was beautiful, and you were beautiful, and it made his heart lurch in an unfamiliar way.  He bit his lip, watching you so closely that he failed to notice Dougal fading into reality once more.  His eyes widened, surprised that he opened up to allow you to see his true form.  

The wide smile that formed on your face was indescribable as you grabbed the plastic syringe you had brought with you, drawing some of the colored potion from the beaker into the syringe and showing it to the wide-eyed creature.  “See?  I’ll just put this in your mouth, okay?” you continued to ask Dougal and moved to him slowly, opening his mouth with your thumb and shooting the potion down his throat.  “All done,” you  announced with a fond smile on your face.  You glanced up at Newt as Dougal made a funny face, and you were unable to cover the giggle that slipped from your lips.  

Dougal crawled up to his feet on the table, jumping onto Newt, and wrapping his arms and legs around him like a small child.  This made the smile on your face refuse to fade.  With a nervous look on his face, Newt looked towards Dougal, and kept his eyes on anything but you.  “I can never thank you enough.  I don’t know what I would ever do if I lost my Dougal.”  Newt’s voice faltered and you felt your heart pang at his sincerity.  

“It is my pleasure,” you told him and began bottling up the rest of the potion you made.  “I am going to leave this with you.  Obviously, you need it far more than I do,” you teased him and gave a subtle wink.

Newt’s face only reddened at your words, and he set Dougal down to scurry off into they endless territory within Newt’s briefcase. He glanced back at you and his nervousness was so evident. He shifted lightly, trying to form words that were not there, and finally his mouth fell open. “C-can I make you a cup of coffee, or tea?” Newt asked you, and you glanced up from packing your belongings.  Before you could say any words, Newt continued, rambling as he looked at the floor in front of him. “If you’d like, of course. Otherwise, you are more than welcome to go, I do not want you to think I am keeping you here after you’ve already done so much for me, which is so very kind, given I am a stranger and it could have been unsafe for you. Although I am not going to do anything to hurt you, not ever-”  Newt rambled, causing the small smile on your face to grow incredibly wide.

“Mr. Scamander! I would love to have coffee, or tea, with you.” you interrupted with a laugh, causing his already reddened face to grow darker. You giggled at this, unable to hide the joy he brought you.  

There was a nervous smile on his lips as he nodded and bit his lip slightly.  “Wonderful.  If you’d like, we can have coffee, or tea, down here and I can show you around, and all the creatures,” he offered to you as he moved towards the small stove in the small shed you were in.  

You nodded, clasping your briefcase shut.  “That would be wonderful, Mr. Scamander.”  You said and moved to a tall stool, sitting on the edge.  

“You can call me Newt.”  He told you as he busied himself preparing an array of coffee and tea.  

You nodded.  “Newt.”  You murmured to yourself.  He was not quite sure why, but Newt loved the sound of his name rolling off your tongue.

[nikosomething]

Thought it might be fun to share my concepts for my Beautiful Sacrifice Series

My Concepts

The women of The Untamed are so amazing ughhh

This whole series happened thanks to @mdzswomen​ s event to honour the women of MDZS. When I read about it I noticed I had never tried to draw any of these amazing women and I knew I needed to change something about that.

My idea was to create a tribute to these strong women and their decision to sacrifice everything. My choice of characters was based on the week one prompts: Jiang Yanli, Wen Qing, Mian Mian and A-Qing. There were more prompts and women, but at that time I didn’t even think I’d manage to draw more than two of them let alone a conceptual series.

It all started with Wen Qing, actually, even though she was the prompt for day two. I knew I wanted a really tall format like a banner hanging from a ceiling (as they are often used in an honorary context) and parts of the character to stick out of its boundaries.

As you can see at first I experimented with Wen Qing fiercely staring into the distance. I tried another sketch with her eyes closed and that’s what inspired all other elements, really.

I decided that I wanted to depict one of the saddest, but also most beautiful and strongest aspects of their journey: the end. I’d call it their final moment, but that doesn’t quite cut it. Jiang Yanli saving Wei Wuxian might have been instinctive, but it wasn’t done to her, she chose to push him away, whatever it may cost her. Which is why I want to go for the phrasing of it having been their final decision. It was an action. And a strong one at that. MianMian chose to end her career, unwilling to tolerate those close-minded people. Wen Qing chose to face the Lanling Jin clan, knowing death was a very likely result. A-Qing chose to signal Xue Yang’s position knowing how dangerous he was.

I didn’t want to portray the scene too realistically, but rather in a symbolic way. For the Beautiful Sacrifice Series I wanted to focus on ease/liberation, sadness and beauty. I chose to portray the deceased with closed eyes and a peaceful expression (as they don’t regret their final act), which is why Mian Mian’s eyes are wide open with her determinedly looking ahead. I also included the last sentence we hear each of these women speak in the show before their (old) life ends.

WEN QING

The first character I had a concept for was Wen Qing. I knew immediately that I wanted to include fire as the cause of her death, but I also wanted to simplify it, to turn it more into a symbol than the actual scene of her being burnt alive.

(At least I imagine that that’s what happened, I may be wrong, though. We know they got her ashes. However, she may have been killed first and burnt later. Or they made it a spectacle to watch one of the last Wen die in flames. Very cruel, but perhaps some found it satisfying).

Wen Qing’s hair is floating in the upwind of the fire’s heat. The flames point to the last thing we hear her say. The background is red for the Wen and fades to black to make the fire shine bright.

The colouring process was quite challenging. I spent days on it, it was really giving me a headache hahaha, I just wasn’t satisfied with anything, the colour palette, the shading, the lighting (it’s the first time I tried a more fancy lighting situation). In the end I put some layers on multiply, which actually helped as I now know her robes were coloured too light, which meant there wasn’t enough contrast to the bright flames in the background.

I was really insecure about the whole piece. I am still stunned that Wen Qing is the drawing with the most notes of this entire series. Thank you so much, it gave me a lot of confidence and motivation to keep trying out new stuff!

JIANG YANLI

Immediately after I had scribbled my Wen Qing concept I knew what I wanted Jiang Yanli’s tribute to look like. Soft and tender, like she is. With Wen Qing it’s the powerful flames that make her hair puff up, resembling Wen Qing’s fierce personality. For Jiang Yanli it’s a gentle breeze that lifts a strand of her hair and carries the lotus leaves with it.

Her eyes are closed as she is deceased. A lotus flower is located where she received the lethal wound in her brother's stead. The flower symbolises her sect, family and fond memories (be it playing by the water with her brothers or making lotus root soup).

Jiang Yanli is wearing my favourite outfit of hers and not her mourning robes which she died in, because I think it captures the gentleness of her personality perfectly with the pastel Jiang colour palette (and it’s actually a layer of see-through fabric in the show).

I really enjoyed colouring this piece and while it was the second design it was the first one I did the lineart and colour for.

MIAN MIAN

I wanted to include an element of disillusion since she experiences that moment of humiliation which is followed by the realisation that the Jin clan doesn’t have her back and goes against her morals.

In the caption I wrote: She spoke up, she stood her ground and then she left all these narrow-minded people behind, choosing to walk alone rather than be silenced. She was the true spark amidst plain snow and she had to realise that the white peony she served was rotten. That day she escaped these golden robes, shedding this old skin which had gotten too tight, and stepped into the future that was hers and hers alone.

The white peony is the symbol of the Lanling Jin sect and while it shines brightly on the outside Mian Mian learned to see through the façade, recognising all the rotten parts she didn’t want to tolerate any longer. With her leaving the peony sheds its petals until it vanished from her life.

In my initial sketch Mian Mian is portrayed with the simple robes she wears underneath her Lanling Jin attire. Since I didn’t give Jiang Yanli her mourning robes and didn’t plan on drawing A-Qing in her white robes either it didn’t feel quite right, though.

The phrase “shedding old skin” and the image of a snake came to my mind. First I thought about experimenting with an actual snake or the pattern of its scales. In the end I settled on the Jin robes being that old skin and showed Mian Mian’s personal robes as the shiny new skin underneath. I wanted to show that she may be stepping out of the Jin sect, but that she is starting on a new, meaningful path.

(Drawing the Jin robes was quite bothersome hahaha. I took tons of pictures of me wearing a robe, but it was so slippery that I almost pulled a muscle while trying to make it look right in the photo. I spent an hour or so on it without any satisfying result and ended up drawing it from imagination after all.)

While I loved my sketch the execution was a p-a-i-n. Colouring her personal robes almost drove me mad and the face, the face was such a struggle. I think I redrew it four to five times. I still think I could have done better, but after days of trying to fix it I decided that perhaps I need some more months of practice to get her expression right (so I might re-draw her in the future).

A-QING

I didn’t think I’d enjoy the A-Qing piece as much as I did!! After having drawn three artworks I was worried that I may have exhausted all possibilities / ideas and that it would end up being a repetition of what I had already done.

I rewatched her episodes for inspiration. I watched all significant episodes of all the women I drew for that matter haha. The last thing we hear her say is directed at Song Lan, actually, which in retrospect surprised me. I could have sworn she talked to Xiao Xingchen last. Or Xue Yang (like in the novel). But nope, it’s our poor poor Song Lan.

Given that A-Qing died the youngest (I think?) I wanted to make her look younger than the other women, so I kept her head round and used pastel colours on her face.

I like moths (unless they eat my clothes or settle down in my food). Moths seek the light and in some way Xiao Xingchen was that light in A-Qing’s life. With the glow they symbolise A-Qing’s soul leaving her body through the lethal wound Xue Yang inflicted on her.

I placed one moth on her mouth as she has been muted by Xue Yang. The new moon in the background stands for the eternal darkness Xue Yang cast on her as moonless nights are the darkest.

For A-Qing I wrote in the caption: She couldn’t protect the man who had taken her in and cared for her. But she stayed. She became a lonely guardian, watching out for the remains of her lost brother in the silence and darkness which were forced upon her. Until that fated day when she gave her life so that the culprit who had shattered this tender soul would be brought to justice.

I finished A-Qing’s artwork way quicker than expected. The robes were tricky with all the torn spots and loose thread, but the rest came easy. I had lots of fun with the moths and the moon. And the glow. I love that cool light blue glow.

THANK YOU

All in all I really loved drawing this series and I thank you for your support, for your wonderful tags which make me smile and giggle and for every reblog and like! Whenever I have a hard time I revisit your tags and find strength within them.

[keelywolfe]

FIC: Drifters ch.8 (spicyhoney)

Summary: Edge has got a handle on this parenting stuff. Seriously. He does. It's alllll under control.

Tags: Spicyhoney, Violence, Rescued Child, Medical Experimentation, Babybones

Read it on AO3

or

Read it here!

~~*~~

In Underfell, Edge always showered quickly and efficiently. It was the surest way to avoid the bursts of cold that came from their capricious hot water heater, and there was no reason to assume things would be different in Underswap. Efficiency was the key to many things in his life and kept the juggling act that was his life well balanced between his guard duties, his training with Undyne, and simply dealing with his brother.

He’d expected to be able to transfer those lessons to caring for this child; practical efficiency, that would be the way. What he hadn’t considered was how such a tiny little creature could thwart his plans so easily, nor had he anticipated how much effort was involved in all this, even when it came to something so simple as a bath.

Once the tub was full of water and frothy bubbles, and the baby was down to her bare bones, Edge was forced to consider the best method of bathing her. She wasn’t able to sit up on her own, but she could if braced and managed to more or less hold her head upright, surely a minor magic of its own considering the ungainly size of her skull.

The easiest approach seemed to be holding her up with one hand and bathing her with the other. It was a reasonable strategy. He should be able to finish quickly with none of the aforementioned ‘greased watermelon’ issue coming into play.

What he didn’t take into account was that she was less of a simple slippery melon and more of a sentient squirming slippery melon, with legs and arms and an unshakeable will of her own.

The moment he lowered her into the bath, the child began to thrash, making a fair attempt to bash the bubbles with both tiny fists and feet. She laughed gleefully as the water splattered around them, right up until the wave returned to splash her directly in the face.

The baby sputtered and coughed, floundering as she gasped for breath while Edge struggled to keep her head above the water. Her chin trembling as she turned her dripping face to him, sockets wide and wounded as if seeking reassurance for this terrible betrayal.

Edge couldn’t hold back a low chuckle, “I’m sorry, child, but that’s what happens when you don’t consider the consequences of your attack.”

His amusement seemed to spur her own. Her upset forgotten, she chortled happily and renewed her attack on the water, and this time the wave encompassed them both. In the end, there was very little washing on his part. The best he could manage was keeping her from slipping underwater as she splashed and played. It wasn’t the most efficient method, but he had to admit, she was very clean when he finally lifted her from the tub despite her loud protests.

Then came drying which turned into a game of its own when he learned that if he held up the towel so she couldn’t see him, then quickly dropped it, she would squeal happily, hands and legs flailing with her excitement. That continued long after she was dry, until she began sucking on her fingers again, a sign he’d learned to read as meaning that food needed to be on its way soon or else the screams would quickly begin.

Her pajamas had escaped her watery wrath, at least, and that gave him another new experience to manage. She seemed to have very little control over her own limbs, they flailed and waved seemingly of their own accord and combatting that to gently navigate them through narrow sleeves and pantlegs proved a heroic task all its own.

By the time he was done, she was clean and dry, sitting pertly in her light blue pajamas with a snowflake motif, and he was a sweaty, damp mess in Stretch’s ratty old bathrobe. How did parents manage this, he wondered, how had his brother managed this? His esteem for everything his brother and Stretch must have endured to care for him and Blue had raised tenfold in the past 24 hours, with no end point in sight.

The finger sucking was increasing in urgency and Edge sighed inwardly, already resigned to all his hard work being rendered useless within the hour. He lifted her up, cautiously balancing her on his hip as he’d seen Stretch do, and found it not only comfortable but also a way to free one hand.

“Come along, little one,” Edge told her, smoothing that hand down the curve of her skull. “Breakfast is downstairs.”

She babbled softly, little nonsense sounds of agreement that food was an excellent choice, and he smiled helplessly.

“You need a name,” he told her as she cooed up at him. “But perhaps I need to know you better before choosing one.”

Down in the living room, Stretch and Red were sitting on the sofa together, looking for all the world like they hadn’t been talking about him while he was gone. One of those colorful bowls was in the table, half-full of some sort of pale mush.

“hey, you two,” Stretch said. One side of his mouth curved in a half-smile, his gaze more on Edge’s bedraggled form than the baby. “made it out alive, huh?”

“She made a fair attempt at drowning me,” Edge admitted.

“ya look like she won,” Red said, unimpressed, and of course he wouldn’t know Edge had already heard his pride this morning. That memory was already tucked away safely in his soul.

“there are no winners at bath time, only survivors.” Stretch reached for the child. “here, let me handle second breakfast while you get changed.”

Edge stepped back enough to put both of them out of reach. “I can do it,” he said firmly.

“sure you can, but i can also help, you know.” It was lightly said, in the same tone as yesterday when Stretch pointed out he didn’t need to slap away helping hands. It left Edge torn with indecision. On one side of the coin, he needed to become accustomed to handling the child on his own. Once he found a job and they found a place to live, he wouldn’t be able to depend on Stretch for simple childcare. But on the other, he was here now, damp, undressed, and thoroughly ready for breakfast and a shower of his own.

He looked at Stretch, at the dark circles under his sockets, the mismatched clothes he’d likely scrounged from the unfolded clothes pile. He’d already done so much for them, more than anyone could reasonably expect, far more than a fuckbuddy, as he’d called it, should. Edge couldn’t keep asking for more.

“She’s already wreaked her havoc on me,” Edge managed to gesture at his damp bathrobe without the use of his hands, “I may as well take the full brunt of the damage she can cause before I clean up.”

It was the right thing to say. Stretch laughed and shook his head. “heh, fair enough.” He gave the bowl a nudge in Edge’s direction. “have at it.”

Edge settled the baby into her little pillow fort before picking up the bowl. The contents were gooey and a brownish-beige, unrecognizable. He sniffed it warily, “What is it?”

“banana.”

Edge scooped up a spoonful and let it fall back into the bowl with a wet plop. His experience with bananas was limited to pictures he’d seen in books. That was the sort of fruit only found in the King’s orchard, not in the outskirts of the Ruins where Snowdin lay.

“It doesn’t look like any of the pictures I’ve seen,” Edge said doubtfully. For one, he was very sure that bananas were supposed to be yellow, not the shade of the old personal computers that littered the dump.

“you probably saw them pre-baby smash,” Stretch said, “g’wan, she’s waiting.”

She was in fact smacking her mouth like a baby bird, gurgling hopefully. Well, he’d trusted Stretch so far, now was not the time for doubts. He scooped up some of the gunk and poked the spoon between her teeth. Then he had to grapple it free when she bit down, grunting and wriggling enthusiastically as she messily swallowed down her mouthful.

Behind him came smothered laughter from his unwanted audience.

“yeah, gonna have to be quicker than that,” Stretch chuckled.

Red hooted a laugh of his own. “be glad she ain’t got sharp teeth. almost lost a finger coupla times with you.”

Edge scowled at the baby, who met his glare with pure innocence that no longer fooled him. He was a captain in the royal guard, a days-old child was not going to outmatch him.

This time when he poked the spoon into her mouth to deposit the banana, he quickly pulled it back out before her teeth could close around it.

“Aha!” Edge said triumphantly. “You see? A little cooperation and we’ll get this done, child.”

“Brrrrp,” the baby replied, spewing smashed banana directly into Edge’s face. He sputtered, falling back, but it was too late. He could never again say that he didn’t know what slightly used banana tasted like, not unpleasant but definitely not something he’d choose on his own.

A sort of strangled sound came from behind him and he swung around to find Stretch nearly neon in the face, his gaze firmly on the ceiling and his teeth locked together. He refused to meet Edge’s glare, only studied the ceiling as if the answers of the universe might appear there, if only he looked hard enough.

His brother, on the other hand, was never shy about enjoying the pain of others. Red only grinned at him, asking with disturbing sweetness, “problems, pap?”

“Not at all,” Edge said stiffly.

“uh huh. paybacks a bitch, bro.”

Before he could scold Red for his language— honestly, her first word was going to be some sort of swearing, he just knew it— the front door opened, and Blue was talking before he even made it through the entryway.

“Papy, I’m home,” he called, “which you shouldn’t be because you’re supposed to be at your sentry station, what if a Human came through—"

Blue stopped, words trailed off as he stood in the doorway, a swirl of snowy air blowing in around him as he took in Edge, dressed only in Stretch’s bathrobe and a newly acquired layer of banana, his brother and Red taking up the sofa, and of course, their smallest and newest guest who paid him no mind, too busy preparing to decorate Edge with second banana-y coating.

“Is that a baby?” Blue said at last.

Edge groaned inwardly. Here we go again.

tbc

[theres-an-impulstor-among-us]

It's that time once again when Diabolical plays in my head on loop.

Can I please get fic where Hels gets back on hermitcraft server? Causing some shenanigans and general trouble?

This was so much fun to write, thank you!! It also ended up being WAY more angsty than I expected but I’m sure you’ll enjoy it anyway, my friend :) Slight CW: minor descriptions of injuries

...

  Welsknight had been avoiding his nether portal as much as possible since he saw his doppelganger disappear through it. Something about the formerly harmless particles and whooshing noise when he walked past it now just about gave him an anxiety attack every time he walked past it. Once, when Jevin popped out of it to say hello just hours after Helsknight had left, Wels had reacted so violently that Jevin was STILL wary around him all these months later. 

  Nobody used his portal anymore. He made sure of that. 

  One sunny day, he finally worked up the courage to go to the shopping district, something he hadn’t dared to do in weeks in case something happened. He went straight past his own portal and flew all the way to Etho’s; there was no way he was going to use the portal his evil clone went through to go back to the hell dimension from which he had come. 

  The shopping district had changed a lot in the weeks Wels had been avoiding it. He couldn’t help staring around at the myriad of new shops that had sprung up. It almost seemed like an entirely new place. 

  As Wels entered the barge, he found another Hermit already inside, browsing the chest full of golden carrots. 

  “Hi, Joe,” said Wels politely, unable to hide a smile at the sight of his old friend. 

  Joe turned and gave him a wave. “Howdy, Wels. Haven’t seen you around here for a few weeks.”

  “Yeah, it’s been… a while. Just been busy, that’s all.” Wels awkward;y indicated the chest. “You, uh… buying stuff?”

  “Nah, I’m not dealing with diamonds this season. I thought Grian might be open to some kind of trading system using stuff other than diamonds but he hasn’t responded to my message yet, so in the meantime, I’m-.” He broke off with a frown. “Okay, I think I might have forgotten to actually send the message.”

  Wels chuckled. “You’re busy too, huh? You only start forgetting stuff when you’ve got a lot on your mind.”

  Joe matched his chuckle. “I’ve got quite a few projects going at the moment, yes. You wanna come over to my base sometime and I’ll show you what I’m working on?”

  “That sounds nice, Joe, thanks.”

  At that moment, the sound of a firework going off nearby caused both of them to look up. A second later, a figure glided through the door and landed neatly on the ground, his elytra closing as he took a few steps further into the room. “Hey, Wels,” Etho said, giving a friendly wave. “Man, you really got here fast.”

  Wels frowned at his friend. “What do you mean?”

  “Well, I just saw you over by Shade-E-E’s a minute ago. You said hello to me and everything.”

  “That…” Wels’s heart skipped a beat. “That wasn’t me.”

  Etho frowned back. “Well, then… Someone must’ve stolen a spare set of armour or something, cuz it looked exactly like you.”

  “Oh…” Blinking very fast, Wels let out a nervous breath. “Oh, boy… Please don’t tell me he’s back…”

  Etho and Joe exchanged a confused look. “Who?” asked Joe.

  Wels considered either making something up or dismissing his comment, but looking at the concerned faces of two of his best friends on the server, he decided to tell the truth. “The evil clone of myself that Beef and I accidentally created who ran off into the nether after I beat him in a rap battle when he tried to destroy the server.”

  Etho stared at him with wide eyes. 

  “I thought it might be something like that,” said Joe, nodding.

  “How can you possibly have been expecting that?” Wels said in disbelief.

  Joe shrugged. “I’ve heard weirder.”

  “Well… anyway. His name is Helsknight and he’s from a nether-like dimension called Hels, apparently. I thought I’d driven him back to where he came from but I should’ve known he wouldn’t stay away for long.”

  “To be frank, beating him in a rap battle isn’t quite as definitive as beating him in PVP,” said Joe. 

  Wels scowled. “The last time I tried PVP, you dropped an anvil on my head from a great height.”

  “Oh yeah.” Joe snickered. “I did.”

  “Leaving that aside,” said Etho, “it seems there’s an evil clone of you loose on the server, so we should probably deal with that. Helsknight, you said his name is?”

  Wels nodded. “He looks exactly like me except his eyes are red, his armour is slightly greyer than mine, and his hair is a darker shade of blond.”

  “Ohh, I noticed the darker armour,” said Etho. “I just thought it was the shade from my shop. I guess we’d better go find him, huh?”

  “Yeah, I need to find him before he causes any more chaos. You guys should probably warn the other Hermits so they-.”

  “No, we’re coming with you to find him,” Etho interrupted. 

  “It’ll be quicker if the three of us look together,” Joe added. “Plus, I’ve never met an evil clone before, so it would be rather thrilling to do so.”

  Wels frowned at his friends. “Are you sure? He’s really dangerous. I don’t know exactly what he’s capable of, but he’s from a hellfire dimension, so...”

  “As sure as the day is long,” replied Joe, patting his friend on the shoulder. “You need our help and we aren’t gonna abandon you.”

  As Etho nodded, Wels gave a small smile. “Thank you, guys. I really appreciate it.”

  “No worries. So where should we look first?” asked Etho.

  “Well…” Wels thought for a moment. “He’s probably trying to cause some shenanigans on the server. If we check certain prominent places on the server, we’ll probably find him trying to lure me out somehow.”

  “I’ll check the rest of the shopping district, then,” said Joe. “He might still be here.”

  “I’ll have a look round the nether hub and the Upside Down,” Etho added. “You said he’s from a nether-like dimension so he might gravitate there. What about you, Wels?”

  “I’m going to Bdubs’s castle,” said Wels. “It’s the most medieval build on the server, so if he isn’t there now, he’ll end up there eventually.”

  “Okay, but be careful, Wels,” Etho said softly. “Don’t do anything reckless.”

  “I won’t.”

  With that, the group split up. 

  Wels flew straight over to Bdubs’s base. As he got closer, he couldn’t help marvelling at the sheer size and grandeur of the cliff and the castle sitting atop it. It was one of the grandest bases on the servers, so Wels felt sure he would find his clone here.

  He landed atop the cliff and started looking around. As he explored further, he spotted the person he was looking for standing at the entrance to Bdubs’s castle. 

  “If you’re looking for your little friend Bdoubleo, he’s in the nether,” crowed Helsknight. “I watched him go through his portal.”

  Wels glared up at his doppelganger. “You know I’m not looking for Bdubs.”

  “Are you here to rap battle with me again, then?” Helsknight grinned. “I warn you: I’ve been practising.”

  Shaking his head, Wels drew his sword. “No, Hels. I’m going to do what I should have done in the first place.” 

  Helsknight sighed and drew his own sword. “So boring. Come on, then.”

  His doppelganger’s relaxed, indifferent manner sent a bolt of anger straight into Wels. Letting out a yell, he charged to attack.

  Their battle lasted at least ten minutes, though to Wels, it felt like hours. He poured all his energy into his swings, attacking his evil clone with all the rage and fear that had threatened to consume him since Helsknight had disappeared into the nether all those months ago. He was done letting his negative emotions control his life. 

  Finally, Wels managed to knock Helsknight’s sword out of his hand and kick him to the ground, aiming his own sword at his evil clone’s neck. 

  Helsknight simply grinned evilly up at him. “You gonna kill me, Welsy? I wouldn’t do it if I were you; we Hels Hermits only get stronger when we die. If you kill me, I’ll come back with a vengeance. We have a special lava fountain in Hels that can-.”

  “Oh, shut up,” snapped Wels suddenly. “I’m not going to kill you, but not because of any stupid threats you make. I don’t care what you have in Hels. I’m not going to kill you, because I’m merciful. But if you ever come back here again, I won’t be so forgiving. Do you understand?”

  Helsknight simply stared back at him. “You’ve got some great friends here, Welsy. Better hold onto them in case something… happens.”

  Wels narrowed his eyes. “You stay away from them. I swear to god, if you-.”

  He hadn’t realised that he had lowered his hand slightly until Helsknight moved, fast as lightning, and kicked the sword out of his hand. Before he could react, Helsknight jumped up and grabbed him by the throat. He took two steps forward and threw Wels over the edge of the cliff. 

  The fall seemed to take only a split second, but the cliff was tall enough that Wels’s left leg broke immediately upon impacting the ground. He lay still in shock, too numb to cry, despite the searing pain in his leg, which was folded painfully underneath his body. 

  Helsknight appeared above him and effortlessly picked him up off the ground, again by the throat. He grinned, his face less than a foot from Wels’s.

  “You know what else we have in Hels?” Helsknight taunted. “Fire. Lots of fire.”

  He lifted his free hand, which was now engulfed in burning hot flames. Wels weakly struggled in his grip, trying to lean as far away from his counterpart as possible, as Helsknight slowly moved the fire closer to his face, taunting him with the fact that he couldn’t escape it. 

  The flames started to burn his face. He held his breath, trying not to let his pain show, trying not to give Helsknight the satisfaction. 

  But finally, he couldn’t hold it in any longer. He let out a cry at the burning agony across the side of his face.

  Helsknight barked a laugh and retracted his hand, as if all he’d been after was a reaction from Wels. “Maybe you should stick with the rap battles next time.”

  With that, he dropped Wels on the ground and walked away.

  Wels lay where he fell, unable to move through the burning pain in his face and leg. His chest moved quickly up and down as he struggled for oxygen, still winded from the battle. 

  “Wels!” yelled a familiar voice from somewhere behind him. 

  Seconds later, Joe appeared on his right and Etho on his left, their worried faces peering down at him. 

  “Is he okay?” Joe gasped.

  “H-His face…!” Etho gently touched Wels’s burnt cheek. Wels could feel his friend’s cool fingers trembling. “Wels, can you hear me?”

  Wels couldn’t speak, couldn’t reassure his friends that he would be okay. His leg would heal. His face, he wasn’t sure yet. The only thing he knew wouldn’t heal was the crushing feeling of failure, of knowing that because of said failure, an evil clone of himself was still running around the server, potentially hurting people he cared about. The pain in his leg and face served as an agonising reminder that he wasn’t strong enough to stop his doppelganger. 

  How was he supposed to protect other people when he couldn’t even protect himself?

[belovedbangtan]

Cartier | kth

>Based on the song Cartier by Bazzi!<

Pairing: Kim Taehyung x Reader

Word Count: 3.6k

Description: (lyrics for Cartier)

That's my girl, I can't share

Maybe I'm selfish, I get a little jealous

I lose my mind when you say that

Balmain silk slip off your back

You get so impatient

I know you got your cravings

Nothing on you when you naked, except a Cartier bracelet.

✨✨⭐️✨✨⭐️✨✨⭐️✨✨⭐️✨✨⭐️  

Warnings: SMUT, Dom!Tae, Sub!Reader, Daddy!Tae, Oral (f receiving), Unprotected sex (please be responsible!), Handcuff usage, dirty talk, phone sex??

✨✨⭐️✨✨⭐️✨✨⭐️✨✨⭐️✨✨⭐️  

The man’s hand in the small of your back was uninvited to say the least. His perverted smile making you cringe while he took in the view of your cleavage. Asking to buy you a drink, you quietly agree. Waiting patiently for the one you actually want to touch you. Being in a secret relationship was complex, to say the least. Today it left you waiting in the hotel bar for him to return from an award show. The grey haired perv, asking questions and receiving a vague answer and a submissive smile. He excuses himself to the restroom, allowing you to finally breathe while he disappears. You down the drink, as your vision is pulled like a magnet to the far end of the bar. Your breathe catches in your throat when his gaze meet yours.

He’s leaning into the bar with his body facing you. His talented tongue jets out to wet his lower lip, slow and tantalizing. His brows are raised, as a playful smirk tells you that you’ve been caught. He tinkers with the drink in his hand before taking it to his lips. You try to suppress the smile because you know he’s not a fan of Whiskey, but it happens to make him extremely lustful. He sends you a wink before leaning into the bar to talk to the attractive bartender. You bite your lip knowing this was his revenge. That boxy smile was yours, the way it makes her light up causes you to roll your eyes instantly. As you turn away from him instantly receiving a text.

My Love: Upstairs. Now.

You don’t look at him, you swivel in your chair and get up to head to the hotel room. Hotel bars were always full of pervs needing company for the night. You hated that the bartender actually thought that was an option. He was yours, and you hated that you couldn’t show him that, show everyone that.

My Love: There’s a gift waiting for you. You look gorgeous tonight baby doll.

Y/n: But the bartender looks prettier though, right?

You know he wont like that, but he knows what he’s doing.

My Love: hmm, You tell me, was your conversation with the old fuck next to you pleasant? Or the drink he bought you? How did his hand feel on your back?

Your breathing quickens. He’s drinking whiskey and he’s not in his usual state of mind, you know he shouldn’t be agitated.

y/n: I wished it was you.

It’s all you say. The bottom line was that you missed him and you needed him.

My Love: Oh baby, it will be.

You lean back in the elevator as it takes you to the penthouse suite at the top of the hotel. He looked like a damn God tonight. His hair had gotten longer since the last time you got to spend time with him. Every time you’d face time, you tease him; letting him know that its more for you to pull on. Its actual torture every time you first see him in public. You’re not allowed to hug him or kiss him. You have to pretend like he’s not the love of your life. Pretend that he doesn’t exist.

You get to the room walking to the bed where there’s a box and a note. The box is tiny and says ‘Cartier’ in fine lettering. The note is short and sweet, his artistic hand writing says :

‘put this on, and only this. I’ve missed you more than you know.’

You fold it nicely and put it in your wallet. You keep every cute thing he makes you. Opening the sleek packaging you pull the rose gold bracelet from the tiny drawstring bag. You shake your head in disbelief as you slide it onto your wrist. Your boyfriend was a brand whore and was constantly buying you your own bougie merchandise even though brands didn’t mean much to you.

You slide your dress from your body, hanging it back up so it doesn’t get ruined. You go to the mirror in the bathroom to freshen up. Teasing your hair before putting some lip balm on your lips. You collapse onto the lush bed, propping yourself up as you wait patiently for him to make his way to you.

My Love: How do you like your gift baby?

Y/n: It’s so beautiful. You really didn’t have to.

My Love: Mm but I love spoiling you. Now tell me, are you doing what I asked?

Y/N: I am. Nothing but the bracelet, waiting very impatiently.

My Love: go to the edge of the bed so you can see yourself in the mirror.

You sigh moving your naked body across the silk bedding to the edge of the bed. The tall gold rimmed mirror sat exactly across from you.

My Love: now, lean back and spread your legs.

Y/N: okay…

My phone starts to ring, his signature ringtone always makes your body react the same way.

‘Hi Baby’, you purr, hoping that the needier you sound the quicker he’ll make his way to you.

“Hi princess, are you being a good girl?” He asks his voice laced in whiskey and lust. You hum, not sure if speaking would work in your favor. “Good. I want you to look at yourself in the mirror.” His voice is lower and it sounds like he’s on the move. “Do you see how fucking gorgeous you are? Hmm baby?”

You giggle feeling your cheeks turn a new shade of red. “Are you almost here Taehyung? I need you so badly.” You whine, everything about you from your body to your voice is weak and only his touch with make you feel some type of strength. His breath filled laugh fills up the other end of the phone.

“You have to be patient baby doll, remember?” He loves teasing you, and you love it more than you show, “Now, reach down to your pretty little pussy and tell me how wet she is for me.”

You whine into the speaker as your hand snakes down your curves. You’re dripping wet, you have been ever since you saw him at the bar, “I’m so wet, Tae. I need you.”

“Now look at how wet you are just for me in the mirror,” He pauses while your eyes meet your glistening pussy in the mirror, “Remember,” His tone changed into a more dominant one, “that pussy is mine, and no one else can make you feel the way I can. Isn’t that right baby?”

“Yes Daddy, you’re the only one that can make me feel this good.” Your voice is low as you somehow become wetter than before. All you can hear is his breath through the phone.

“Good girl.” *Click* he hangs up leaving you to watch your reflection grow needier by the second.

When you hear the door open, you crawl to the edge of the bed. When your eye meet his you can’t wait anymore. You’re running into his arms, latching to him like he was your life support. He lift you into his arms, wrapping them under your butt while your legs grip is hips. Yourr fingers ghost through his hair and both of your faces are stained with unexpected tears. You craved his touch, his smell, everything about him. Of course you were able to face time and text but it would never compare to being in his arms.

“God baby, you get more beautiful each time I see you.” He scans your face and you do the same. You take his face into your hands, running your thumb over his plump lips before leaning in and placing yours onto his. He walks you over to the bed while your kiss intensifies, his tongue begging for entrance. He gently sets you onto the end of the bed leaning forward until he’s hovering over you. He kisses you for a few more seconds before standing tall in between your knees. He lets out a deep sigh, while his tongue prods against the side of his cheek. His lust filled orbs drinking your body in like glass of water late in the night. You lean up on your elbows, grinning at the man above you.

“Don’t tell me we’ve waited two months to see each other and you’ve forgot how to touch me,“ you giggle knowing he was too overwhelmed by the moment, just as you were.

He raises his brows meeting your eyes, “Hmm, let’s see,” His long fingers find your hardened nipples twirling around them before pinching them, “ I seem to recall you enjoying that.”

You bite your lip trying to suppress the moan, letting your eyes roll back into your head. He leans forward attaching his lips to your collar bone kissing his way up to the spot just below your ear. He places an open mouth kiss there as he tugs at your nipple again, “And you really like when I kiss you here.”

You shutter as he grins against your skin, kissing your lips and your nose before working his way down your body. His fingers never leaving your sensitive buds. His lips press into your pelvic bones, as he kneels between your legs. He wraps his arms under your legs pulling you closer to him. Then as if you aren’t wet enough, he begins teasing you mercilessly. Kissing your thighs before letting his teeth mark you up.

“You’re so fucking wet Princess,” His middle finger slides through your soaking folds, making you writhe underneath him. “You’ve been thinking about Daddy’s cock, yeah?” He asks while he spreads your lips wide blowing cold area on your sensitive clit. You force yourself to lean up onto your forearms, you need to see him.

“Mhm, been thinking about it for months.”

He looks up at you through his lashes, and you wonder how a man could look so angelic and evil at the same time.

“Well I think you deserve to cum then, don’t you pretty girl?” He asks before sucking your clit into his mouth. You throw yourself to the mattress trying to last longer than a few seconds, but his mouth felt like heaven on earth.

He readjusts himself pulling you impossibly closer to his face, if he lets go, you’re falling off of the bed. You reach down to push your fingers through his long wavy hair, melting when you watch the way his tongue dances across your clit. He swirls it around before pressing his tongue flat, dragging it through your slit. His moan matches mine at the same time, you feel yourself tightening around nothing, around the thought alone of his perfect cock finally getting to fill you up.

“You look so pretty when you’re close.” He sang, as his tongue and mouth latched back on, a loud moan finding its way out of your mouth. He pulls back to leave another hickey on your thigh, while his middle finger teases where you want him the most. Bucking your hips, he smirks into your skin while he pushes you onto the bed. He finally slides his long middle and ring finger into your needy pussy. He watches you lose yourself underneath him. His lopsided smile and his tongue in his cheek tell you that this is torturing him just as much as it is you. He leans forward again sucking your sensitive bundle of nerves into his mouth. His long fingers and mouth began skillfully working together in the perfect duet, bringing me to the edge. I tighten around his fingers as he curls them up to torture my g-spot. The pressure builds in my abdomen and my fingers tighten around his locks.

“Im g-gonna cum, please Tae.” you beg as his tongue continue its assault on your already overstimulated clit. A mischievous laugh falls from his glistening mouth, “Give it to me then, baby.”

As soon as you gain permission, you tighten yourself around his fingers before letting go. Your body convulsing as he uses your sensitivity to his advantage. Letting out a long overdue exhale you finally start to see clearly. He stands in front of you, his arousal evident through his expensive dress pants. He leans forward to cage you in underneath him. Gently tucking his arm under your waist to move you both up towards the top of the bed. You lay beneath him as one hand comes up to push your sweaty hair from your face. His lips lightly pressing against yours, praising your in between each one. The both of you captivated by the others raw beauty. It isn’t until this moment that you realize he’s still completely dressed. Taking it upon yourself to unbutton his dress shirt and push it from his body, then to his pants. Pushing them down his legs, instantly reaching out for his hard cock that stands between you. He moves backwards making you while vocally.

“Awe princess,” He coo’s taking a seat in the lush red chair in the corner of the room, “Come over here.” He purrs tapping his thigh.

You walk to him slotting yourself between his legs. He leans forward, letting his hands roam your body. Kissing you in places that are unknown, fingers kneading into your ass and thighs. You let your head fall back, never getting tired of the way this man worships your body. He grips your thighs and turns your body around, so that you’re not facing him anymore. He speads yours legs out a bit before sliding his body forward on the chair and slotting his legs between yours. Reaching up, he runs his fingers through your fold, groaning when he finds you wetter than before.

“Can you ride Daddy, baby doll?”

You straddle his lap, letting your legs fall beside his on the chair. Reaching down you wrap your hand around his cock. Both of you letting out a surprising moan. Pressing his tip against your hole, you gather the sticky juices before gliding him through your slit. You smile as you see his fingers tighten on the arm of the chair. If you weren’t so needy for him, you might tease him a little longer. Finally, you line him up with your entrance, sliding down his length at an agonizingly slow speed.

“Fuckkkk baby,” He moans throwing his head back while his hands spread your ass wide, “just like that, I want to watch your tight little pussy swallow me whole.”

He was so fucking big, every time it seemed to shock you. The familiar burn as he makes you the perfect fit for him alone was enough to send you over the edge. His grip tightens as he starts to control your movements. You get the hint and you start to rock your hips harder. Grinding so that he’s buried inside of you. You lean forward, supporting yourself on his thighs to give him the perfect view of your ass. He shows his appreciation by letting his hand come down on your plump ass cheeks… once, twice, three, four times.

His fingers smooth along the reddening skin before they skate up to your neck, lighting wrapping around and pulling you back on to him. His cock still staying buried deep inside you, he then nuzzles his face in your neck. The smell of sex and arousal making him a mad man. You were like his own personal drug, he couldn’t get enough of you. His hands come around to your front to give attention to your hardened nipples, pinching and pulling in the most delicious way.

“You know how much I love you right?” His voice is soft as his hands cascade down to your hip bones.

“I do.” You whimper, “As much as I love you.”

He giggles, shaking his head into your neck, “No baby, I love you more than that, I’m sure of it.”

You turn your head, letting your lips meet his, “As a matter of face, I got you another gift.” Your eyes widen, “Its in a box in my bag. Go open it.”

You grin and walk over to his bag. Reaching inside and pulling out another expensive looking box. His eyes are mischievous as you pull the gift out, a pair of handcuffs. A pair of designer handcuffs.

He gets up from the chair to walk over to you, your eyes still wide with disbelief.

“I figured I would get you a bracelet, and I would get,” His voice laced in sin, he takes the cuffs from you to undo them and slide them over your wrist, “ us… a bracelet.

He pulls you to the bed using the length between the two cuffs. Before he pushes you to the mattress he pulls you close, grabbing your jaw before kissing you passionately. Letting his teeth tug onto your lower lip. You adjust yourself on the mattress with your face down and your ass up. Your handcuffed arms flat out in front of you. You feel him pause behind you, you look back to watch him come to your hands again. He undoes one cuff, and wraps it around a pole on the headboard.

Your mouth drops, you’re full immobile from the waste up. Leaning onto your elbows, he takes your face in his hand again, “Is it okay, love?”

As uncomfortable as it was, you were still becoming extremely turned on by the situation, so you nod in his hand. He finds himself in his favorite spot, pausing again to take a picture to remember this moment. You bought him a burner phone just for all of your naughty rendezvous. What can you say, the man likes to take pictures. He glides his hands down your spine then over your hips, while he thrust back and forth letting his cock tease your folds. He wraps your hair around his hand before slamming himself into you. You scream out as he pulls back to repeat his actions. Your hands yank at the cuffs instinctively, but that’s not the pain your focused on. He speeds up, hammering into you. Your screams and moans get louder with each thrust.

He yanks your hair back, and you contort to look at him. You need to see him like this no matter how uncomfortable it is for you, “Feels so fucking good Daddy!” You scream out with tears pooling at the corner of your eyes.

“Fuck Princess, that’s right,” He grips your sides allowing him to bury himself deeper, “Tell everyone in this hotel who’s pussy this is!”

You’re wrist are raw at this point your so close and he knows it. He leans forwards to wrap his arm around your body, his long fingers find your swollen clit and he starts to rub soft circles while his cock still slams inside of you.

“Im so fucking close, please, Daddy, PLEASE!” you’re begging him for your release.

“Go ahead baby girl, cum all over daddy’s cock.” He gives you permission and your orgasm hits you like a Semi truck. As soon as you start tightening around him, he finds his release too. His warm seed coats your walls as your body still reels from your high. You lean forward and rest your head on the mattress. Tears still falling from your eyes, from how overwhelmed you were. He moves quick to undo the cuffs, taking your wrist in his hands when he is done. Rubbing them gently.

“Come on baby,” He coos pulling you into his arms. He starts the shower and sets you down on the seat inside of it. While its warming he pulls you onto his lap.

“Im sorry if that hurt you, I didn’t think it would hurt.” He says softly as he pecks every inch of your tear stained face. You could tell that he genuinely felt horrible for hurting you, little did he know you just had the best orgasm of your life.

“Baby, I liked it…” You bring your hand up to his face to make him look at you, “I loved it, actually. It hurt a little but that’s what I liked about it.” You giggle pressing your lips to the little mole on his nose.

“You sure?”

“Positive.”

“Good, because that was so fucking hot.”

After another round in the shower, you finally find your way to bed. You’re laying on his chest as he twirls your new Cartier bracelet around your wrist.

“You know, next, I’m going to get you a ring.” He says softly, pulling your hand to his. He holds your ring finger, “this is a good place for it, I think.”

The corners of his mouth start to raise, and suddenly it feels like a million butterflies are dancing in your stomach. The familiar burn in your throat leaving you completely speechless.

“That’s a very specific finger Tae.” You giggle, lacing your fingers with his.

His lips press into your forehead, “Im serious, baby.” His voice is fragile, as he lifts his head to yours, “I know things are hard right now, but there’s no one I love and appreciate more than you. You’re my everything.”

You’re crying again, his thumb comes up to brush them away this time. Pulling you in close for a slow and intimate kiss.

“I love you more than life itself, Kim Taehyung. You’re my everything.”

He pulls you close to him letting his fingers fist through your hair, you only have one day to be with him. You can sleep later. He pulls you on top of him, smirking as your hips instinctively start to grind into him.

“So,” you lean down to kiss him, “Will my ring be designer?” you tease.

He pauses to look at you completely seriously, “Is that even a question?”

💋💋💋💋💋💋💋💋💋💋💋💋💋💋💋💋

Please let me know what you think!!! Also, feel free to send in request!!! Thank you for reading!

- Allie 💗

[simplyshelbs16xoxo]

'Madder Than a Hatter' Chapter 3: Running from the Madhouse

FFN | Ao3 | Buy Me a Coffee?

.

.

As soon as morning arrived, Hatter and Charlie set off, deep into the thicket of the woods. They were heading north for the untouched Wastelands. It originated from an even darker time in Wonderland’s history, hundreds of years before Hatter was born, decades before the first Alice of Legend tumbled down the rabbit hole. It was once called the Kingdom of Souls, ruled by a ruthless Queen who could make Mary Heart look like a helpless puppy. Her subjects were frightened of her, mad as she was. The White Queen in the southern region had aided in freeing the citizens, sending out armies to help them fight back.

Depending on who told the story, the Queen of Souls had either been strung up on the hanging tree or she escaped, never to be seen or heard from again. Hatter sincerely hoped it was the former. If she did find a way out, it could be possible for her to still be alive. Wonderlanders live much longer than otherworlders, though only if they remain here. Hours passed riding through the forest, and they finally came across a small lake. They stopped to let their horses drink and filled their own canteens with water.

“How much longer do you suppose it’ll be before we reach the Wastelands?” Hatter asked, taking a sip. He then removed his hat, sliding a hand through his hair.

Charlie paced around the area slowly, his hands posed as if ready to grab something. He was getting a feel of the area, not having been this far north before. He took a large intake of breath. “Galadoon…de boosh.” His eyes closed as he consulted with the Oracle. Though it was only seconds, it had felt like minutes, hours, to Hatter. “We should be there in no more than a day, Harbinger.”

A whole day. Twenty-four hours. Who knew what could happen to Alice in that time. He felt sick, his throat tightening with nausea. Even if she was still alive by the time they found her, would she even be Alice anymore? Maybe not, but at least her heart would still beat. Hatter would love her regardless. They just needed to get to her as quickly as possible. Though he wasn’t a praying man, Hatter prayed to the gods of old, asking them to protect her until he could take over for them. “Please,” he begged, “let her be alive.”

.

.

Locked from the outside, Alice wondered if one of the bobby pins in her hair would work. She quickly got to work on freeing herself from the dismal room. Screams continued to echo through the halls outside. Were they real? Or were they a hallucination? The water had been tampered with, its sole purpose to poison her mind. Eventually, she’d get a grip on reality—she hoped so, anyways.

A click sounded and she smiled like the Cheshire Cat. Slowly, she opened the creaking door, wincing at the sound and hoping no one heard it. Well, if anyone was actually here. Alice was beginning to suspect that not all was as it seemed. It was bad enough she couldn’t remember how she got there. Even worse, she couldn’t remember the man who helped her in her dreams. But maybe that’s all he was—a dream. There wasn’t time to think of that now. She took a tentative step out into the hall, observing her surroundings. Whoever locked her up didn’t appear to be around and neither was the one who brought her food, pills, and water.

The sound of a saw cutting through bone reverberated in the walls. The asylum would be a bit difficult to navigate with a semi-dense fog impairing her sight. Someone’s unsettling laughter sent chills down her spine. Alice took a deep breath, plunging herself down the hall to her right, amongst the fog and the shadows. She kept her back to the wall, her hands feeling around for corners to go around. Slowly she crept, making sure to not creak the wooden floors too much. Her fingers made contact with a metal handle and the entire door shook, the sound of fists pounding on it causing her to nearly jump out of her skin.

“Screw this,” she panted, quickly making her way down and around. There was an elevator just across the way. Alice took a quick glance in every direction before sprinting towards it, pressing the button. Footsteps from afar caught her attention. She took shallow breaths as the sound grew louder. The elevator had yet to make it down to her. Listening as the steps grew closer, louder, Alice prepared to fight, thankful she could at least remember that. The doors suddenly opened, ready for her to make her escape. Whoever the footsteps belonged to was now running and Alice frantically pressed the buttons to get the elevator doors to close. A resounding screech sounded as the doors shut and the lift began to move.

Soft whispers filled her head as she slowly moved down. There were so many voices; she couldn’t decipher a single word. Seeing she was almost to the ground floor, Alice began to breathe easier. And then she heard a snap. She was falling. Down, down, down until she crashed down on the basement floor.

Miraculously, she hadn’t been hurt. The doors still opened, revealing a dimly lit hall. An old rickety bed was positioned up against a wall. There was a trail of dried blood on the floor having probably seeped into the wood long ago. Old music was playing on a gramophone, echoing down the hall. Despite the distorted sound, Alice recognized the song as Sam Cooke’s ‘You Send Me.’ It gave her the creeps. Normally, a sane person wouldn’t follow a trail of blood, but Alice knew she had to. Either she would find answers or a way out. It was a risk she would just have to take.

.

.

Just outside the edge of the Wasteland Woods, Hatter and Charlie took a moment to prepare for the perilous journey that lie ahead. The branches swayed in a breeze they wouldn’t feel until they stepped foot in the darkness. The trees were beckoning them, whispering nonsense to lure them inside the thick canopy of limbs and dead leaves that still hung desperately to the wood. A creeping chill hung in the air, giving its possible next victims a taste of what’s to come. Slowly, on their horses, they crossed over into the unknown.

“You could always turn back ya know,” Hatter said, checking to see if Charlie was up for it. With a firm shake of the knight’s head, they continued through the thicket. It was unsettling just how silent it was, as if there were nothing outside of the Wastelands. A slight breeze came through, shaking the branches where it tore away a few crunchy leaves.

Charlie quietly sang his song, still keeping an ear out for Alice or any dangers lurking in the woods. There was a cry reverberating through the trees, setting their teeth on edge. “Was that…Alice?”

Not wanting to believe it, Hatter ignored the question. “Let’s keep going. We don’t stop until we reach the asylum. If we’re separated, the woods will win.”

And whatever lurked in the shadows, if anything, would surely be out to get them as well. It was important to remain diligent. Every whispering voice, every rustle of the trees had them a little jumpy. They dared not rush through despite wanting to get in and out as quickly as possible. For an hour they remained on their path before the singing began. The voice was powerful, the song haunting. It could be heard all throughout the woods.

“Harbinger…” Charlie said with a quiver in his voice. “Could that be”—he lowered his voice—“the Queen of Souls?”

Hatter took a deep breath. “Possibly. C’mon, then. Perhaps just a bit quicker, yeah?” As they picked up the pace, a figure popped in and out of the trees. Neither of them noticed they had been followed the entire time.

.

.

Alice traveled deeper into the asylum, underground and utterly alone. There had to be a way out of there. She turned the corner at the end of the hall. The trail of blood stopped. It looked almost as if someone had been dragged while bleeding out. A sound from further down alerted her. Someone was there. They were laughing wildly, crazed. Alice briefly considered turning back. Instead, she marched on, determined to break free. Down at the end of the hall, there was a tree growing through the floor. She looked down, just now realizing that the wooden floor had changed into dark grass. There was a pair of glowing yellow eyes nestled between the bare branches and a wide, illuminating smile.

“Which way to go, which way to go—up above or down below?” the mysterious figure sang. In spirals, it was revealed he was a cat with purple stripes, varied in different shades. “Though you have been drugged and kidnapped, the one thing you’re not is trapped. Quick! Through the hole, before she takes over the palace. Our only hope is Hatter and Alice.”

She furrowed her brows, curious over the creature. “I’m Alice, but I’m afraid I don’t remember much of the past few months. It comes in fragments, but not enough to make sense of anything. Who are you?”

The cat took hold of his ears with his tail and lifted them up like a top hat. “The Cheshire Cat, at your service.”

“Wonderland,” she mused. “I remember being here before—in this world, not the asylum. You said something about a hole…I don’t see one.”

The Cheshire grinned, looking up at a hole in the ceiling. “Up and over, in the hole; hurry along before the Queen takes your soul. Right you are on a forked path; choose quickly or face her wrath.”

A loud bellowing scream alerted Alice. She looked behind her. Nothing was there, but she could hear someone coming. “Cheshire,” she turned back to the tree, but he was gone. There was no time to spare. Alice climbed the tree to reach the hole in the ceiling. She pulled herself up and over into a solid tunnel. Crawling along as quickly as she could, Alice tried to see exactly where she needed to go. It was terribly dark. She continued to go along the narrow path until her hands slipped at the edge of another hole, and she screamed as she fell into the darkness.

[nalu4emily]

The Unexpected Reward - Chapter 10

Summary: Natsu and Lucy go on a job together, but what they bring home is something neither anticipated. Forced to make a life changing decision, they have to adapt quickly, but that's never easy, especially given the circumstances. As they work together on their toughest adventure yet, they find themselves drawn to one another, in ways they never realised. Nalu/cute/fluff/multi-chapter.

This chapter is riddled with mature content. 

Natsu's mind had all but melted. There she was in all her naked glory, splayed out on their bed, in the exact place he'd just placed her down from his shoulder and all he could do was ogle. Pants were tightening and blood was rushing from his head to feed his famished arousal, it was an image that would forever be imprinted in his mind. He stood frozen, as if one wrong move would tarnish the image making it vanish, like an illusion playing tricks on him.

The moon light pouring in through their window had cast an ethereal glow to her already milky skin, making it glimmer in all the right places, showing off those delicious curves and contours. The heat radiating off of him was warming the air around them, making tiny little droplets of sweat cascade down her slender body, just waiting to be licked up by his parched tongue. He swallowed thickly, desperately trying to lubricate his dry mouth and throat, but finding no relief.

Lucy's arousal had skyrocketed after their little escapade outside and her needs were growing stronger by the second, yet Natsu hadn't moved an inch. She locked eyes with the dragon slayer, he looked a little unsure if anything, which she kinda found endearing. He was usually so full of confidence and certainty, it was a rare occurrence to see him looking so vulnerable. An idea came to mind, a way to bring him the same sort of pleasure he brought to her outside, she wanted him to feel just as good. She gracefully moved up onto her hands and knees and crawled over to where he was standing at the edge of the bed and looked up at him through her lashes, smirking devilishly.

Right in her face, mere inches from her mouth was his cock, hard as a rock but still covered by his white pants. He watched her with intent, not entirely sure what she was about to do and buzzing on adrenaline at all the things she might do. Lucy sat back onto her knees, eyes remained focused on his as she leaned her arms forward and gripped hold of his pants, yanking them down and off somewhere onto the shadowed floor. Her hands snaked their way back up his muscled legs until they rested on his hips, she tried to remain calm as she pulled her gaze away from his face and looked down to the area she'd not really seen before, not intentionally anyway.

Her eyes widened until they were as big as saucers, her mouth fell open and she felt heat travel into her cheeks the longer she gaped. She felt her nerves flood her body, what was she supposed to do now? Just seconds ago, she was confident enough to take off his pants and now every ounce of courage had evaporated, she felt drawn to it and yet still wanted to run a mile.

Natsu had been watching her, even through his lust filled haze, he still had enough sense to realise that she looked super apprehensive. A smile creased his face and he let out a small chuckle, he couldn't help it, her innocence was almost too much to handle sometimes.

Giving his best attempt at composing himself at her naivety, he bent down so that his face was level with hers, "Why did you stop, Lucy?"

She looked up to him, flinching at his sudden close proximity and pursed her lips, "O-Oh, sorry, it just looks a little intimidating... Won't it hurt…?" She attempted to clear her throat as if that was the problem here. "I mean the girls said that it can hurt." Her face had gone the darkest shade of red, struggling to hold her gaze with his when he raised an eyebrow at her.

Natsu resisted the urge to roll his eyes, of course the others had told her that, why did they insist on interfering? "Do you really think I'd do anything if I knew it was gonna cause you pain? I promise you, Lucy, it's not going to hurt, I won't let it!" Natsu said, he could see the little glint in her eyes return and a small smile made it's way onto her beautiful face. Satisfied, he straightened himself up again, about to crawl onto her.

He was stopped abruptly when he felt her small hands grasp firmly at his dick. His breath caught in his throat and all sense of sanity vanished in a puff of smoke. Her grip was stronger than expected and it was making him pulse in readiness. Clutching on to her head with both hands, Natsu gently pulled her up to his face and connected their lips, growling into her as she began to move her hand up and down his shaft. "Fuck, Lucy!" Is all he could wrangle out once his mind went blank, not being able to concentrate on anything but what she was doing to him.

He felt of decent size in her hands, not that she had anything to compare it to, but the way he was reacting to her gave her the confidence to keep going, "I'm not sure you'll fit, Natsu." Lucy murmured into his mouth, feigning innocence. She moved herself down from his face to his shaft and gave it one long, lucid lick all the way to the tip then encased it in her mouth, taking in as much as she could without gagging whilst her eyes remained focused on his the entire time.

Damn her pretty lips and that teasing voice, it was such a turn on hearing her speak like that, it was so unusual but it sounded so right. Natsu felt like he had died and gone to heaven, why had he never done this with Lucy before? It felt so much better than what he'd anticipated in all the years he'd been having such fantasies, not that he would ever tell Lucy such things.

Lucy's mouth was so warm and wet, it sent spine tingling jolts through him, not to mention how god damn sexy she looked. She was kneeling before him, her chest jiggling as her mouth slid up and down his soaked penis, using his hips to steady herself. It was overwhelmingly hot to watch and undeniably good to feel her do that. There was a build up of tension growing within his belly, he closed his eyes and had to work hard not to fall backwards when the pleasure intensified with each stroke of her tongue. He needed to try and collect himself, he didn't want to cum yet, no matter how good it felt, and so made the quick decision to stop her before he crossed that line.

"Stop being greedy, Lucy, I'm still hungry!" He pouted, surprised that he'd even managed to strain the words out at all. He hadn't meant to sound quite so childish but it'd worked nonetheless. Stopping her ministrations, the blonde looked up at him, confusion written all over her face.

Wait, what did he just say? "Huh-?"

Ignoring her, Natsu took the opportunity to grab hold of her arms before she could think too much into it and push her back onto the bed with him. He scanned her shocked face, but didn't offer her an explanation, instead he moved to mash their lips in a searing hot kiss which she instantly melted into. His hand began to roam her body, eventually ending up back in between her legs, circling the small bump at the top with his fingers, swallowing more of those enticing sounds she made.

"You're so wet, Lucy." He said, pulling apart from her mouth and working his lips down her sensitive body, sucking and nipping until his face was resided between her legs yet again, taking in her overpowering scent. "I think I'll finish my meal now." He spoke lowly. The fire breather lifted her legs upwards, holding them there to give him an unhindered view of the area he wished to taste once more. He closed his mouth around her and began to suck lightly, catching his sharp teeth on her sensitive skin, making her gasp and twitch. Natsu watched Lucy's eyes roll into the back of her head and her voluptuous chest rise and fall sharply with heavy breath whilst his smooth tongue played with her. "You taste just as good as you smell."

She had to admit, him speaking like that was making her mind go wild. Playful, childlike Natsu was talking dirty to her and it was too much for her to fathom, where had this personality come from? She never would've taken him for someone who could be so vocal in the bedroom, usually preferring action over words but she wasn't about to start complaining, he was exceptionally good at it. His voice had just the right amount of gruffness and the way he looked at her whilst saying such smutty things was like watching him in battle, eyeing up his opponent with this air of cockiness as if you'd already lost.

It was that same piercing gaze and sexy smirk she'd always found alluring. However, Natsu still had this mischief about him, a boyish demeanour that only served at making him more handsome. For someone who'd supposedly never done this before, he'd learnt pretty quickly and Lucy wanted more of what he was doing to her. His tongue was the hottest thing about it all (quite literally), hitting all the right places to bring her closer and closer to ecstasy.

"O-Oh, that dirty mouth of yours!" She whimpered, grabbing hold of the sheets above her head and scrunching them up in her hands. The feeling of his strong tongue assaulting her down there was almost too much to endure. She was going to cum again, and the quicker he flicked his muscle over her clit, the stronger and sooner her orgasm would come.

"Why don't you cum into it then? Teach my mouth a lesson for being so dirty." His voice low and hoarse, and oh so seductive.

Bringing Lucy closer to the point of no return, he decided to add two fingers to the mix, using his other hand to keep her grounded as she fought against him to buck her hips up. She was up to her eyeballs in euphoria. Natsu's rough fingers added just the right amount of friction, and the way he was twisting them inside her made her stomach knot together, building such delicious tension ready to unravel.

He gave her one last hard suck and twist of his fingers to make Lucy come apart. Her legs involuntarily closed around him, trapping him against her writhing body and forcing his fingers out. Her body tremored uncontrollably and her breathing seized. Pride emanated in Natsu's chest at the sound of Lucy's orgasm ripping out of her throat and echoing through the house. Seeing Lucy in such a state made the fire eaters cock pulse in excitement and now that she was saturated in his saliva and her own fluids, he was sure that he'd readied her enough for what was to come.

He climbed on top of her and joined their lips again in a sloppy, unrefined kiss, letting her get a taste of her own arousal on his tongue. He wanted to do this right, to make their first time as enjoyable as possible. He pulled away and locked onto her hazy eyes, "Lucy, if you want to stop, all you have to do is say. You're not gonna hurt my feelings if you say no." He spoke softly, flickering his gaze back and forth to watch for any doubt in her expression. He wanted to reassure her that should she choose to stop at any point, then that would be just fine. He would never want her to feel pressured or uncomfortable, they could always try again some other time, there was no rush.

She smiled genuinely up at him, her eyes sparkling in the shaded light of the room. Even though she was stupidly anxious and the tremors running through her body were no longer down to her climax, she knew what she wanted. Lucy understood that no matter what, Natsu would always put her first, he would make sure that she enjoyed it and she wanted nothing more than to share such an intimate experience with him, to give herself to him fully and for him to give himself in return.

"I want you, all of you, I've never been more sure of anything." She proclaimed, watching his face light up at her words. His eyes were full of unspoken feelings but she didn't need him to tell her them, he could show her, just like he always did with everything in his life. "Make love to me, Natsu."

Those five little words were all he needed, their lips locked ardently, with such passion it made her toes curl and her skin prickle. It was a hot attempt at distracting her from what she was most afraid of and it seemed to be doing the trick for now. He found her hand and interlaced their fingers, giving her a soft, but shaky squeeze, giving away that he was just as nervous as she was. The slayer leaned his other hand down to position himself at her entrance, then halted his movements until she gave him the go ahead. Gasping, her eyes widened when she felt him touch up against her opening, wetting his tip ready to take the plunge. He could hear her heart pick up speed, hammering against her chest like it was trying to break out and her spare hand instantly went to his hip, giving her a sense of control, he assumed.

"Lucy, relax… Remember you're in control here, we have all night to figure this out." Natsu smiled at her, giving her little pecks between words to bring her comfort. "And then forever to practice." He chuckled, winking and giving her his signature grin, pleased to hear her giggle back at him.

He waited for her to calm down and take a deep breath, "I'd like that. I've had dreams about this and now I can't believe it's happening." She whispered, fighting a losing battle at calming her beating heart.

"Me too, Lucy, so let's make it a reality, together." He said, matching her tone, finding it a little hard to catch his breath, but grinning through it regardless.

She couldn't help the pink that tinted her cheeks but this time it wasn't from embarrassment. Lucy felt a warmth spread across her chest and in that moment, with Natsu and her about to share one of life's most intimate experiences, she couldn't have been happier. She nodded at him, giving him the permission he sorted and without a second thought pushed his hips forwards, ever so slowly, gauging her expression the entire time. Lucy gasped the moment his penis entered her, stretching her further than she'd ever felt. She grunted from the slight discomfort, it didn't hurt but it certainly wasn't comfortable. Once just the tip was in he came to a stop, chest heaving from the tension in his groin but managed to compose himself before speaking.

"Luce, you doing okay?" He asked, wanting to make sure they were on the same page all the way through this. "Remember to tell me to stop if it's too much."

Not being able to speak, she simply nodded at him. Her eyes were shut tightly, knitting her brows together. There was sweat trickling down her flushed face, but so far she seemed to be okay, so he carried on. Taking his time, having to apply a little more pressure to get past her clenching until he was fully sheathed within her walls, barely able to keep a lid on it from how good it felt.

"O-Oh my god, Natsu…" She strained out, finding it hard to breath from the sheer pressure of him stretching her fully.

She placed her hand on his stomach to stop him from moving any further, needing to become accustomed to having him inside of her. After a few moments of no movement, she felt the tenseness become more bearable and found it a little easier to breathe. Looking up at him, the blonde brought her free hand to his cheek and caressed it gently, giving him a very nervous but loving smile. Lucy spread her legs as wide as they could go, allowing him more access to move and coupled their lips together once more. Natsu drew himself out, groaning from the friction before slowly pushing back in.

The intense feeling of him thrusting back and forth made Lucy give a breathy moan and break the kiss. Clutching hold of the back of his head, her mouth fell open and breathed harshly against his lips. Their noses brushed together and their eyes held a steady gaze, their positioning was so incredibly intimate. It was almost like they were re-enacting a passionate love scene from one of Lucy's romance novels, but with less experience and more awkwardness.

"You feel incredible around me, Lucy!" Natsu murmured. His movements were a little clumsy at first until he found a comfortable rhythm and picked up the pace slightly. He was drowning in heat and clamminess, her insides were so tight and surprisingly snug, she fit him perfectly.

"I-It feels so good!" She mewled. Her moans grew louder and more erratic, along with frantic breaths that she felt no longer in control of, it felt like the air was being ripped out of her every time he bottomed out.

Natsu smirked, he was surprised by how loud she could be. It was feeding his growing ego and the more she moaned the faster and stronger he would thrust into her. It wasn't continuous though, he changed up the pace, knowing that if he really went for it he'd be cumming in a matter of seconds and nobody wanted that, not yet. He needed to make this last as long as possible, to enjoy and make the most of this new experience with Lucy. Although, she definitely looked like she was enjoying it with a face like that. Her mouth had fallen open, her eyes were sealed shut, with her brows arched upwards. Not to mention, her slender neck was curved back off of the bed, she had one hand squeezing the life out of his and the other now gripping at the bed sheets to keep herself steady as he continued to fuck her.

"You sound so sexy…" He whispered into her ear as he latched on to her sensitive, exposed neck. "Do I make you feel good, Lucy?" He nipped at her reddened skin, making it flush more and more with every word he spoke.

"M-Mm hmm…" She stuttered, sucking in her bottom lip to try and tame the ruckus escaping her mouth, but it was no use, moans turned to throaty groans and they were just as turbulent.

"You sound even dirtier like that…" His voice vibrated through his chest, rumbling into Lucy's ear.

Sweat was pouring off of his face and body and his bangs had fallen down, covering his eyes, making him look totally feral. He knew that he wouldn't last much longer at this rate, and by the looks of it, neither would Lucy.

"I-I'm… I'm so close, Natsu…" Her voice wavered, barely able to find the words as he pounded into her.

He reached around to the back of her head and clutched her hair softly, pulling her forehead to his. Harsh breathing mingled together while his fiery hues bore deeply into her glassy, half-lidded ones. Unable to take any more, she finally came undone, screaming Natsu's name to half of Magnolia.

Lucy's entire being shook, her orgasm tearing through every fibre of her being, leaving her a completely quivering mess. She threw her head back, eyes slammed shut while her body convulsed uncontrollably. Her inner walls clamped down tightly around him, giving him his own release. He didn't have chance to comprehend what was happening until he was cumming deep inside her, filling her up and growling her name until he was completely emptied.

Out of breath and completely spent, he slowly pulled himself out of her and collapsed onto her front, head nuzzled into her breasts and breathing in her wondrous scent, drowsiness taking over. She smiled fondly at the mess of wild pink hair tickling her face, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and cuddling him close to her heart. When he finally looked up at her, he grinned, the biggest face splitting grin she'd ever seen, forcing his eyes shut and chuckling lightly from his elation. They'd done it, finally, after all these years of dancing around the sexual tension that had built up between them, they'd taken that step and it was the best feeling in the world.

"Natsu…" She blushed. Why was she blushing now? After everything that'd just happened between them, her body decided now was an appropriate time to feel embarrassed?! Natsu opened his eyes at the sound of his name and looked upon a flustered Lucy, smirking at her predicament the words that followed simply just slipped out of his mouth.

"What's the matter, Luce? You're looking a little hot there." He smirked at her, watching her blush deepen the longer he focused on it.

"Natsu! Stop it, you're making it worse!" She whined, grabbing at her cheeks to hide them from him.

"Exactly! You just look too cute all flustered." Natsu's face turned wicked, watching her ears tint pink, the redness seeping through her splayed fingers. Reluctantly deciding to stop there before she exploded, he got off of Lucy and sat up, face turning softer he reached out his hand to her, "Come on, Luce, let's go take a shower, it stinks of sweat in here and you look like you need to cool off."

Liking the sound of showering with Natsu she eagerly took his hand and sat up, not expecting a jolt of sharp pain to pierce through her side at the simple movement, she cried out. "OUCH! What the-?" Wincing, her eyes slammed shut. She gritted her teeth from the throbbing and clasped her hands over the tender area, hissing as she hunched over. "Ah, that's so painful!"

Natsu's eyes couldn't get any wider, she was in pain… Had he hurt her without realising? The pang of guilt settled in his belly and he felt a little sick at the thought of breaking his own promise to Lucy, especially when she'd been so worried of this exact thing happening. "Have I hurt you, Lucy?" His voice breaking, it was so unlike him to sound so unsure. How could he have been so careless? It certainly didn't help the way he was feeling when he caught a glimpse of tear drops building in the corner of her eyes. "Shit, Lucy! Please don't cry! I never meant to hurt you, I'm so sorry! Here, you can Lucy kick me out the window or… you can punch me in the face, will that help-?"

She placed her index finger over his mouth to shut him up and let out a little laugh. Perplexed at the sound, he tilted his head, not understanding what was so funny. "Shh! Don't be so silly! Of course it wasn't you, it's that huge bruise on my hip. In the heat of the moment, I guess I'd forgotten about it, but now after… well, after all of that, it's probably just exacerbated it." She removed her finger and watched him visibly relax and let out a sigh of relief, glad to hear it wasn't him but still not happy with the fact that Lucy was injured.

"Oh! I'd forgotten about that… Here, does this help?" Natsu asked whilst placing a heated hand on the bruise, moving his body closer to hers and enveloping the spirit mage with his warmth, soothing the pain away. Lucy's body melted into the heat of his skin, closing her eyes and taking a long deep breath in, instantly making her feel better. "You had me worried there for a minute, Lucy!" He exclaimed, relieved that she was okay and happy to have her snuggled in his arms again.

"Natsu, I trust you more than I even trust myself sometimes. And I know you would never do anything to hurt me, not even by accident. Trust is the foundation of our friendship, it always has been." She smiled, reaching her hand to his face and brushing his bangs out of his eyes. He looked surprised for a mere second before returning her smile and kissing her hand as it rested on his cheek.

"I'm glad to hear it." He said, voice barely a whisper, eyes flickering down to hers as they smiled at each other, love and fondness running through their bodies. They sat in comfortable silence for a while, just happy to be in one another's presence.

"How do you feel now? Any better?" He said, breaking the silence.

"Hmm… maybe just a little longer…" She breathed, revelling in his fiery skin, he really was the embodiment of her comfort.

"Jeez, if you want me that badly, you only need to ask." He smirked down at her, watching her cheeks tint the cutest shade of pink once more. "You're blushing again, Lucy." He said, voice full of amusement and maybe something a little darker.

"Who's to say I don't want you again?" She said, gathering enough courage to smirk at him, watching the slight shift in his demeanour. "Hmm, Natsu-?" She stopped when he grabbed her wrist.

"I think we need that shower." Was all he said as he stood up and dragged her to the bathroom, not giving her a second glance.

Shortly after entering the bathroom, Natsu was quick to pin Lucy against the tiled wall, attacking her sensitive flesh with his needy mouth, her hands pulling and knotting into his damp hair. Hot steamy water gushed down their slick bodies, as they joined together in blissful pleasure. They were in for a busy night, who really knows how long they were in that shower for? The uninhibited noises that soared through the air and out of the little house would have put a blush on even Gildarts' face.

When they finally re-emerged from the bathroom, it was hard to say whether they looked any fresher than before. Damp, clammy and completely unable to stop touching each other, they eventually managed to get into some comfortable night clothes, or just underwear in Natsu's case. Both mages collapsed onto the bed, worn-out from their 'practice,' barely able to keep their eyes open.

Lucy managed to find the strength to look up at Natsu, his eyes were barely open, but he was definitely looking at her through a sleepy haze with the most contented smile on his face. He was so handsome, Lucy didn't think it was possible for him to look any more appealing but after tonight, she'd seen him in a way that she only ever envisaged in her day dreams and it just made him all the more attractive to her. How did she get so lucky? She had the most wonderful life and it really was all thanks to him. He'd given her everything a person could ever want and more than anything else, he'd given himself to her and there was nothing that could compare.

"Have I got something on my face? You've been staring for a while now, Lucy." Natsu said, opening one eye wider than the other, sporting a sly smile.

"Yeah, I think you have…" She murmured, reaching up to his face, only millimetres from his mouth and chuckled at his confused expression, "…right here." Her gaze flickered down from his eyes to his used mouth, still swollen from their previous activities and met their lips in a slow and sweet kiss.

It gave her butterflies, the same butterflies she felt from when they shared their first kiss. It was tender and warm, the complete opposite of their previous lip locking. The kiss was simply just that, there were no darker intentions this time, just her and Natsu showing their love in the simplest way possible.

Lucy, not realising just how tired she was, accidentally let out a yawn into Natsu's face. Slapping her hands over her mouth she blushed from embarrassment like always, tickling Natsu's funny bone. Deciding to call it a night, both mages snuggled up to one another, bodies burning from sheer exhaustion but neither paying it much attention, too taken by the happiness pooling in their bellies. They fell asleep almost instantly, after the night that they'd had, who could really blame them?

"Lucy…" She heard someone whisper, then felt a soft nudge on her shoulder, stirring her from her slumber. In her sleepy state she batted the persons hand away, not impressed that they were currently stealing her from her dreams. "Lucy, wake up!" They said a little louder this time but still not enough to fully rouse her. Couldn't they just leave her alone for five more minutes? She hadn't had a nice dream in months and now it was fading into the recesses of her mind as her consciousness gradually took hold. "Come on, Luce, I've got a surprise for ya, but you gotta open your eyes first." Natsu? That was weird! Natsu usually slept in later than she did, so why would he have woken up before her? Curiosity getting the better of her, she opened her eyes, initially blinded by the blaring sun beaming onto her face, casting a glow around Natsu so that she could barely see him anyway.

"Surprise? Natsu, I'm still really tired, we didn't go to sleep until late last night and I don't think I'm ready for the day just yet." She said, rubbing at her eyes to clear them of sleep and trying to focus on the dragon slayer in front of her.

"That's alright, Luce, I just wanted to show you something that's all." He said, placing something warm and wriggly beside her.

Still finding it hard to focus she felt it with her hand, it was soft and… moving? Then it let out a cute little gurgle. Recognising that sound immediately, her eyes shot open to gawk at the smiley little baby that had been placed beside her. "Hey there little man! Mommy missed you so much!" She beamed, pulling him close to her so that she could cuddle up to him. Little Haru recognised his mothers scent instantly and started to giggle when she placed lots of little kisses all over his tiny chubby face. Lucy was over the moon to see her baby after a whole day of being away from him.

Natsu, who was perched on the edge of the bed, watched them both as they were reunited. He looked on in fondness, listening to Lucy put on that silly voice again and speak to Haru as if he knew what she were saying, asking him about his sleepover at Mira's and what a cool time he must have had. It was truly beautiful, even after watching her do this exact thing many times over the past couple of months, it never ceased to amaze him what a wonderful mother she'd become to Haru. His smile turning into a huge grin, he felt so happy to have everyone back together again, well except Happy who hadn't shown his face yet. Natsu had to wonder if he was ever going to come home, probably too busy stuffing his face with the fish that he'd caught.

Lucy looked up at Natsu and grinned back at him, love pouring out of every pore on her body. She sat up and held Haru in her arms, rocking him softly and watching him slowly fall asleep. It'd only been a day, but it felt so much longer than that since she'd seen him. She felt content to have him back in her hold, safe and sound and just as sweet as ever.

"So, was he a good boy for them? Or do I really need to ask?" She chuckled, unable to rip her eyes away from the little bundle now snoring lightly in her arms.

"Actually, they had a lot of trouble with him…" He said nonchalantly, watching as Lucy's eyes widened. Getting the reaction he wanted, he continued, "...They said they won't be able to take him again, something about him being a total sweetheart or whatever." He waved his hand dismissively, holding his gaze whilst Lucy worked through what he was saying.

"Hey! I almost believed you then!" She exclaimed.

Natsu's mouth curved upwards, surely she should know by now that Haru was a little angel for just about anyone. Even Gray with his cold, stoic exterior had warmed to him when he and Juvia had babysat. The slayer chuckled at her reaction, thinking it best if he explained. "I woke up early this morning and saw you were still sleeping, so decided instead of waiting around, to go and get Haru."

"Well, that was very thoughtful of you! And what a lovely little surprise it was!" She slid over to the edge of the bed, trying to remain as steady as possible so Haru didn't wake, she turned her head to the dragon slayer and smiled, "Also, I didn't have any bad dreams last night, I think your plan worked, Natsu."

"Of course it did, I told you I believed in you! You just needed to see for yourself what a strong mage you were." He said, smirking a little at what he was about to say next, "And… I'm sure after last night, you've had other things on your mind, right, Luce?"

Her eyes widened as the memories of the previous evening came flooding back to her. She could feel herself getting hotter by the second and yet, there was Natsu just sitting beside her like butter wouldn't melt, watching with intent as the growing fever slowly took hold of her body. It wasn't that she felt embarrassed by what'd happened, it was more trying to wrap her head around the fact it'd actually happened, a few times and just how impassioned it all was. She could feel herself getting worked up by the mere memory of Natsu being on her. It was such an amazing night, he'd been so attentive and affectionate, was that how it was going to be between them from now on? Because if so, she didn't know how she was meant to keep her hands to herself.

"Something like that, Natsu." She said, snapping out of her daze, no longer looking through him but directly into his sharp green eyes. She leaned closer to him, after all those dirty thoughts his lips looked too enticing to pass up. Understanding washing over him, he took it upon himself to join them together, having wanted to taste her sweet mouth since the moment he woke up.

"You guys are gross!" Happy exclaimed, flying in through the bedroom window. He wasn't necessarily embarrassed by his two best friends kissing in front of him, entirely use to their weird ways by now. He was more baffled by why they felt the need to do it than anything else. "I don't get it Natsu, what's so great about Lucy's mouth that you'd want to eat her?"

Lucy jumped back away from Natsu, still not overly fond of doing that sort of thing with an audience. Natsu on the other hand, didn't seem to care, he'd do it in front of the entire guild if Lucy wanted to, if people didn't like it then that was their problem. The dragon slayer turned his head to the exceed, totally ignoring his previous comment and greeted him with the biggest smile, "Hey little buddy, did you catch any fish?"

"Sure did, Natsu! And I was totally gonna eat 'em too but Lily said I had to put them back once I'd caught them, which was super unfair! They looked so big and yummy as well!" He whined, flying over to Natsu and placing himself in his lap.

"Don't worry, next time I'll go fishing with you, then you can eat as many as you want. Maybe I'll bring Haru along too, what do you say?" Natsu said, placing his hand on Happy's head to comfort him whilst looking over to Lucy for approval of his idea.

"That'd be cool! We can show him how to catch all the big ones! Actually, that reminds me, I went to the guild quickly before coming home and Mira said she forgot to tell you earlier, Natsu, that Master Makarov wants to see you both in private at some point today, but she didn't say why?" Happy said, taking his little bag from his back and placing it on the bed.

Lucy and Natsu turned to each other, curiosity written on their faces. Neither understanding why the master would want to see them so suddenly, but it must be of some importance if he wanted to see them in alone. Not having time to think too much into it, Happy broke the silence. "Oh, and Cana gave me a load these things for you guys too. She said that it was important for Natsu to use them to prevent any accidents, whatever that means?"

"Well, that sounds rather ominous…" Lucy furrowed her brows. She looked back over to Natsu again who appeared just as sceptical, neither were entirely convinced that 'things' from Cana were ever good, but unfortunately there was only one way to find out. Happy made quick work of emptying the contents of his little sack and tons of small square shaped packets fell out on to the bed. Lucy's eyes widened instantly, understanding exactly what they were, she couldn't believe her eyes, there were condoms scattered all over their bed and the blonde didn't know where to look.

Natsu, on the other hand, stared at them a little longer, clueless as to what in the world they were. "Er, Luce, what are those?" He looked to Lucy and saw her blush the deepest shade of red he'd ever seen. Whatever they were, it obviously had something adult behind it but he couldn't figure out what. He picked one up and inspected it closely, trying to work it all out.

"Oh my-! Natsu, put that down!" She squeaked, snatching it out of the slayers hand and throwing it back onto the bed.

"Hey! I was only looking!" Natsu pouted, finding it somewhat amusing at how flustered Lucy had become, even if he didn't know the reason why just yet.

"She also gave me this for you, Lucy. Cana said if the first things should fail, you'd be needing this." Happy handed her a rectangular box, not entirely sure himself what all of it meant.

Lucy peered down at the object in her hand, and nearly fell off the bed after reading what it was. She wanted the ground to swallow her whole, she could barely breathe, the embarrassment that was clearly showing on her face was almost too much to bare. Cana was going to get it big time! She wasn't usually one for violence but this time the brunette deserved it. Lucy stood abruptly, chucking her 'gift' back onto the bed and handed the baby to Natsu.

"I'm going to kill her..." Was the only explanation she offered before swiftly turning and strutting off downstairs, slamming the front door behind her and bolted in the direction of the guild, whip and celestial keys grasped firmly in her hand.

Natsu and Happy stared at each other, totally clueless as to what any of that was all about. Both overly curious to know what had caused Lucy to react in such a way, Natsu picked up the box that she had thrown down and skimmed over it, stopping when he saw big black writing on the front.

"Home pregnancy test…? Why would Lucy-?"

Confused, the slayer read it aloud a few more times, knitting his brows together until the words formed meaning in his head. He snapped his head down to all the little squares on the bed, eyes widening like saucers before returning his gaze to the box in his hand. The words came back into view, his cheeks slowly darkening as everything began to make sense.

"Lucy really is gonna kill her!" Natsu muttered under his breath.

"Wait, is Lucy going to lay an egg? And what are all these things? I don't get it, Natsu!" Happy exclaimed, he wasn't following any of this, why was Lucy so flustered? Why had she stormed off? What were all these little packets? And why wasn't anyone telling him anything?!

"Um, well…" He looked back down at the mess on the bed, deciding he didn't feel up to having 'the talk' with Happy right now. "…Not an egg exactly. Let's just say, Cana is in for the beating of her life once Lucy gets a hold of her."

Natsu grimaced at the mere thought, not entirely sure whether he should try and stop Lucy or just let her go full beast mode on the card wielders ass. Maybe he was rubbing off on her a little? Either way, he'd want to be there to watch it all unfold and they were wanted by the master anyway so what better excuse? He grabbed Haru's baby bag and ran out of the door, Haru and Happy in-tow, to catch up with his enraged girlfriend before she actually ended up killing somebody.

[angelkurenai]

Imagine Jake thinking you want to break up with him and are hiding it from him only to realise that the only secret you have is that you’re pregnant.

It had been weeks, if not months, of it all. Months preparations. Months of brainstorming. Months of inspiration, writing and synthesizing and recording. Months in the studios, behind cameras, in front of cameras, recording and singing. Months of worries and nerves and anxiety and some tears of frustration. Months of... love, though, too.

Months of staying in bed till the late hours of the morning, till noon very often, with you in his arms as he hurried to write down the next lyrics that came in your mind. Months a sweet mess of kissing, loving, tender touches as he expressed how proud of you he was and admiring you – and if he took a bit of extra pleasure in the way your cheeks turned different shades of red in the meantime then he was guilty. Months spent listening to your singing, prying you to sing those songs you kept a secret from him because you insisted were a surprise, the giddy feeling in his heart growing as did his pride once more – and if he took a bit extra pleasure in it that you had written songs specifically for him then guilty again he was but he'd gladly admit it, say it to the rest o the world, that it was all for him.

It had been months and it all passed in what felt like a blink of an eye. Your album, the fifth in a row, had taken longer than the previous ones to come out because of how hard things had been for you. Jake didn't like to think that it was on him, but he hoped and prayed that he had played some part in helping you stand on your feet again. Even if it was in the slightest – and your songs, which you had clearly admitted were for him even though he had not listened to all of them yet, confirmed that – it was to day the biggest achievement in his life. He was in a way part of the album himself and part of you as he enjoyed the love your fans all around the world showered it and you with.

There was not a single thing about it all that did not make his heart soar. That is, except for the part of a video which he was currently watching with his heart sinking deeper and deeper with each word.

I know you're thinking I'm heartless I know you're thinking I'm cold I'm just protecting my innocence I'm just protecting my soul

It took him a couple seconds, in between the wonderful beat, your captivating voice and stunning looks which he couldn't get enough of – the way you radiated, pure happiness written all over your face with your smile brighter than it had ever been at the beginning of the video – he had almost missed the lyrics. He had not heard the song before, so he guessed it had to be new and one of those you had kept a secret from him.

I'm never gonna let you close to me Even though you mean the most to me 'Cause every time I open up, it hurts So I'm never gonna get too close to you Even when I mean the most to you In case you go and leave me in the dirt

And that was not the kind of sweet, loving lyrics he had imagined. You were not one to write the kind of love songs he could easily find all around, but there were always true emotions into your songs and the lyrics, the music and your singing always managed to convey that. It was so unlike that now.

As was the way he felt.

But every time you hurt me, the less that I cry And every time you leave me, the quicker these tears dry And every time you walk out, the less I love you Baby, we don't stand a chance, it's sad but it's true I'm way too good at goodbyes (I'm way too good at goodbyes)

The lump in his throat felt almost painful. He couldn't swallow and his lungs were protesting because of the lack of air but he couldn't find it in himself to take a breath in or let a breath out. It felt like if he dared even part his lips any moment now a sob would break through and it would really be the worst time possible. Not to mention it would be irrational or even worse stupid. You would certainly think so if you saw him react like this. It was stupid, the more he thought of it, to be so affected by a song in this way, to feel like his heart was breaking slowly but surely with each second passing by as if you had told him straight in his face that things weren't right between the two of you anymore. It was just a song, there was no reason for him to react the way he was and as grown adults talking it out was what should be done, he knew it, yet... the mere thought of it made him feel more nauseous than listening to the song. You always wrote about what you felt, what you were thinking or going through. Even if he wanted to believe that this was the happiest moment of your life, your song didn't really say the same.

Even more, scarily so, the fact that it was your relationship that was the reason behind such a song only verified his fears that you wanted to leave him. It made him dizzy.

At least pausing it luckily managed to calm down his shakily beating heart and the echo in his ears, even if the rush of blood still felt too loud. No more so than the scary jump his heart did at the prospect of talking with you. He'd have to, he knew it, even if the prospect filled him with dread.

He realised that he would but only when the time was right, he didn't have to rush into it. He could think things through and maybe even, funnily enough, when he got a sign that it was the right moment he'd talk with you about it. Hopefully that sign would take forever to come though, a small part of his hoped so. Just because he knew he should didn't mean he was ready to, more fear creeping in at the possibility that that talk would be the perfect opportunity for you to end it for good.

So it was fair to say, he nearly jumped out of his skin when he felt a fluffy pillow make contact with his face, only to hear your laughter following soon afterwards.

“And here I thought that the whole thing was a joke. Does a woman have to get naked to get her man's attention after all?” you scoffed, seriously yet with a look of playfulness on your face that didn't seem to register in his mind “Shame, Gyllenhaal, I thought you were different. You used to not be able to take your eyes off me even when I was in my old sweats. Maybe I'll have to reconsider about how perfect out relationship really is.”

“I uh- I'm not- It's not wh- I was only-” the wrong choice of words as well as the timing had him scrambling for words. What could he really say? He could take this for a sign but he felt like the situation was far from right – if not he was far from prepared – to speak about it.

You spared him the effort though when you laughed and leaned over the bed to peck his lips “You're so fun to mess with, you know. So, aren't you gonna tell me what you've been up to? Or I could get naked to make you say it, though you know that'll be more of a torture for you than fun. Your choice.”

He could get lost in your eyes and the way they were sparkling with mischief, your grin was almost always intoxicating. But at the very moment, despite how much he wanted to get drunk in you, the small voice in the back of his head brought him back to the harsh reality faster and more shockingly than a bucket of ice cold water being dumped on him.

“No” he forced a smile on his lips, praying it look believable enough “I don't think there's any need for that. In fact I-” he let a small breath as he got up and made his way towards you.

You paused mid-movement, in the process of changing clothes, frowning when he wrapped his arms around you and buried his face in the crook of your neck. He took a deep breath in and squeezed your middle, only to make your smile fade a bit.

“I think I like this better.” he mumbled against your skin before after a few long seconds he pulled away to stare into your eyes “It's been a long time since we've had this. In complete silence that is. In peace.”

“You know I would never complain but... didn't you have plans for today already?” you asked slowly, placing your handson his chest.

“I... know. But I could just cancel. It's your first day off after the album came out and all the singing that...” he paused, bringing a hand up to trace his fingers over your cheek with a touch light as a feather. He tried not to think that this could be one of the last times he did this, tried not to think that he was actually memorizing your features in case tomorrow was the last he saw of you. “I don't want to walk out on you.” the words came rushing out of his lips before he could stop it “I- I never want it, even when I do so. I almost hate myself those times, I want you to know that.”

“I do but-” you shrugged, avoiding his eyes because you both knew that with both of your careers in the way, you had lost many opportunities and important moments other couples could so easily have “I'm alright with it, I'm used to it. I don't have a problem with you walking out.” you emphasized as if quoting him. You meant it to lighten the mood but his frown only deepened.

“That doesn't mean you should have to.” he whispered, forehead leaning against yours “But that's all my fault, I am the only one to blame. These past months we've been together all the time and that only because of work, in a way, and it shouldn't have been so. We should just be close like this without anything in our mind for once. Just like when we first got together. Who knows... for how long we can have that.”

“Jake, honey-” you blinked, pulling slightly away and for a moment he felt the fear and doubts creep up again. What if all this clinging had the exact opposite effect? What if it made you want to end this even sooner? It made Jake feel his throat close up again, as if he was choking on thin air but it was probably his own tears threatening to break free along with a sob or two for sure.

“...alright, because you're making me worry here. Is there something you want to tell me?” it took him a couple secondsto realise he had zoned out.

“No, no.” he finally choked out, the task of speaking seeming so difficult but tone instead of reassuring you seemed to have the exact opposite effect of making you frown even more. Instead of saying anything else or letting you question it, he tightened his hold on you and brought you in closer. He took in the moment, savoring the feeling of you in his arms, of breathing in your scent, of feeling your warmth.

“Everything's just fine. It will be just fine.” he whispered, but he didn't know if it was more to himself or you. The small voice in his head that was so scared calmed only momentarily.

“Alright, if... if you don't want to, if you're not ready for that yet, I can wait.” you whispered hesitantly “If it's not easy to open up about it yet... I'm alright with this.”

Keeping secrets. The thought made him wince. That was surely what you believed and he wanted to kick himself for it. In just a couple seconds, with every attempt to make things better, he had managed to make things even worse.

“No, no baby-” he put on a smile as he pulled away, the laughing almost hurting him but thankfully it sounded believable “It's not that I don't want to open up to you. It's just that there's nothing wrong going on, honestly. I only realized how little time we've been spending together and thought it's time I changed that. We could be closer than what we already are, right? There's nothing wrong with that, with opening up and-” he shrugged “Trusting each other. You know you don't have to protect yourself all on your own, I could do that for you too.”

“I- Of course I know that, where did all this come from Jake? You really don't sound like yourself today, you know that? I- I want to believe it's alright but this is... confusing me. And you-” you paused abruptly, almost too abruptly as you tried to keep your eyes from widening but it was already too late “You- Hon, Jake, you didn't... find anything did you?”

“Find anything?” he frowned ���Like what? Should I have come across something?”

“N-n-no” you said shakily, avoiding his eyes “Of course not. And it's not like I have something to tell you either. Nothing at all.” you laughed nervously “I only asked because, well, I'm just wondering, if you came across something that I didn't know of. Something new o- or something that-”

“You tried to keep hidden from me?” he asked almost playfully, for the first time managing to completely forget the song. But despite thinking that it would make you laugh, it only managed to make you more nervous.

“No” you said a little too fast “Of course not. It's not like I have any secrets from you, you know that.” you avoided his eyes “If anything-” you cleared your throat “That's more like your thing today.”

“We'll talk about it, promise.” he leaned in to kiss your cheek, his lips lingering a moment too long.

“So there is something?” you asked softly but he still insisted to shake his head.

“No. No there's not.” he could take the opportunity but he wasn't ready for it. Even if he knew that all these moments shared between you could easily be the last ones shared, that they could even be not fully heartfelt, he was going to pretend they were true. “I was also thinking, when was the last time we took a bath together? Just what we need right now to relax. I couldn't think of anything better.”

“Ah so you were planning on getting me naked.” you said with a smile, his finally must have been believable enough. Despite his own feelings, he couldn't help but chuckle a bit at your playfulness that he wished so bad was real. “Fair enough, since I get to have you naked too. Though I'll prep the bath, you're the worst at it honey. With all the love. But you can chose the music.”

You knew you said it almost too fast but you couldn't risk it, especially as you pulled away from him to make your way to the bathroom, but you couldn't risk it.

“Fine by me as long as...” he bit his lower lip in thought “You don't mind hearing to yourself sing the whole time. The new album came out perfect and you know I love he songs...” he could stop there he knew he could but he didn't and he didn't know if he would end up regretting it or not, but he had to “Even the ones you kept a secret as a surprise from me.”

“Oh so I'm guessing you heard to a new one today. Well, I'd love to hear your thoughts later. But for now, I'll make only one request and then you can put on any song you want to.” you let the water flow as you searched for your favorite bottle of shampoo, hearing a hum come from him “Try 'Too good at goodbyes' by Sam Smith. I've got that song stuck in my head ever since I did the cover for BBC Radio 1, I swear. More than the songs I wrote myself, despite how sad it is sometimes.”

The words poured out of your lips without a second thought really, too busy pouring the last bits of the liquid that were left in the bathtub before moving to throw the bottle away. Only to stop midmovement when you heard a loud... crushing sound? You couldn't make it out, you could swear you also heard a groan as well. It was soon followed by hurrying steps towards the bathroom where a frantic Jake appeared, eyes wide and breath stuck in his chest.

“Wha- Whose song did you just say?”

“Sam Smith's...?” you said a bit hesitantly “The song may not be the best for sweet couple moments but it's just constantly on my mind for some reason. But then I'll sing all the love songs you want from me, honey, promise. Why though? I don't get- Do you have a problem with that? Don't like his songs or something?”

“No, he's a great. He's- I didn't think you- With all the new songs, I thought- I wasn't- It wasn't yours. I believed- I heard-” he blinked rapidly, his eyes moving away from you as countless thought ran through his mind, until of course all thoughts were also thrown right out of the window and his mind filled with a buzzing wide and his heart jumped to his throat “Uh (Y/n). What's- What's that?”

Your eyes followed his eyes towards the open trashcan and they widened as you realised you were in the exact situation you had been trying to avoid. It was just your luck it was entirely empty save for, well, that.

“Is-” he got closer, taking a better look, and this time actually asking instead of making wrong assumptions or torturing himself any further “Is that yours?”

The song may have not been yours, but the positive pregnancy test certainly was.

[readerinsertdepot]

The Sound Of Pulling Heaven Down

Pairing: Azumane Asahi x fem!reader

Summary: The first in a collection of oneshots centered around your budding relationship with Asahi as you both navigate through adult life.

Asahi helps you through a rough breakup.

Rating: T (for now)

Tags: Emotional hurt/comfort, friends to eventual lovers with a dash of pining?

Word Count: 2.2K

Somewhere, far away from here I saw stars, stars that I could reach It was a midnight, a silent twilight Fell down, beyond the ocean beach

“Asahi?”

His chest tightened the second he heard your voice over the phone. A delicate rasp that you attempted to mask with the slow, steady pacing of your words. But he knew.

“Can you meet me at the station?”

He always knew.

“Um, of course! I’ll be right there! Just wait for me, okay?” He answered, cradling his cell between his shoulder and head while he struggled to get his shoelaces tied fast enough.

“Okay.”

The relationship that had been built between you and Asahi over the last three years was an odd one. You had met each other in high school but never made it past friendly acquaintances. Even though you had been in the same class, your social circles didn’t quite sync up, especially considering he spent most of his time with the volleyball club and you did not. It wasn’t until a chance encounter in the lobby of your apartment complex that the two of you had started to become close.

After you had a break down and dropped out of your first year at university, you felt lost -- not quite ready to start your life and not quite ready to go home. You were a big fish in a small pond at Karasuno, but once you moved to Tokyo, you found yourself drowning. Asahi had become your life raft in the huge, unfamiliar city that had threatened to pull you under. Occasional meetups to catch up quickly turned into movies every Friday night and beer and ramen every Saturday night. Casual conversations about the weather and missing high school became long discussions about worries, aspirations and everything that came with growing up. You each had someone to confide in and suddenly, you could breathe again.

You were both near inseparable. Until your on again off again boyfriend of five years reappeared into your life about four months into the friendship. You had fallen so hard for him at such a young age, you missed all the red flags. But Asahi saw them. And he hated it. He hated the way your boyfriend treated you like a child who was incapable of making a sound decision yourself and required the majority of your attention. The man was more often than not the cause of your downward spirals, whether it was with a snide comment he made about one of your choices or when he decided to break it off with you because he simply got bored.

It was a vicious cycle he was all too familiar with. You would call. You would timidly ask him to meet you somewhere – usually the train station. He would drop everything he was doing and go straight to you. Then he would stay, just listening, until you felt like you could handle being alone again.

This wasn’t one sided, however. For all the times you called him crying, you were there to talk him down from his self doubt and panic attacks. The things he had been slowly improving on since he was seventeen but couldn’t fully shake. But, with your help, they had become softer and less frequent and it was amazing how you could do that.

One of you was always there, ready to pull the other back up if either of you ever fell, no matter what.

The train car you both sat in was nearly empty and almost completely silent, except for the soft whimpers coming from your hunched frame, swallowed up in a dark, oversized hoodie, sitting next to him. Asahi kept his eyes focused on the large window containing the passing scenery. The houses grew few and far between and then eventually turned into rocky formations that stood firm against the harsh waves of the ocean.

He remembered back to the first night you had called him. The way he grew frantic upon hearing the graveness in your voice. He ran up the stairs to your apartment three floors above his, taking two steps at a time, forgoing the elevator because he was afraid it’d be too slow. You jumped and whipped your head around when Asahi burst in with a loud slam of your door.

The sight of the large man in your doorway, panting with a panicked expression on his face mere seconds after you hand hung up with each other caused you to forget everything except that moment. And you laughed. Not at your friend, but out of relief. Relief that you somehow managed to have someone in your life that would care enough to run to you like that. It rumbled up from the pit of your stomach and bubbled out of you, tears still streaming down you face, further alarming your confused friend who rushed over to crouch down in front of you, unsure of how to help. You reassured him that his presence alone was enough once your fit had subsided and then suggested that the two of you go sit up on the roof.

That was the first night he had witnessed one of your breakups, and he could not for the life of him remember the reason why it had happened in the first place. That was also the night that you vowed to be a support for him with the same amount of selflessness and enthusiasm that he had been for you. And, that was the night, up on that roof with the cool night breeze and city lights reflected in your eyes, that Asahi realized he was falling in love with you.

Together, the both of you walked along the water’s edge, not saying a word. Asahi was always careful not to push you into talking. He knew you would open up when you were ready. You always did. His eyes were trained on the sky, its unique shade of pink caused by the mingling of the twilight’s oranges and purples. He didn’t even notice when you had stopped to remove your shoes and socks.

Once he realized you were no longer next to him, he turned back, catching you a few paces behind him, slowly crouching down to the sand. He walked back and sat beside you, watching as you palmed at the sand, its coarse particles falling through your soft fingers. You started digging, deeper and deeper, until you reached the damp earth, pulling it up to form small mounds. Then Asahi, catching on to what you were doing, began patting down the sides of your makeshift sandcastle.

“He said…” You swallowed hard, refusing to allow the sob you felt traveling up your throat to escape. Asahi continued to scoop up sand, silently waiting for you to finish your thoughts. He looked up a moment and caught a glimpse of your eyes, red, glassed over and puffy. His chest felt heavy and suddenly it was difficult for him to breathe, tears of his own pricking at the corners of his eyes. He cursed internally and tore his gaze away, the empathy he felt towards you too intense.

“He said he was tired of this….” you tried again, “That he needed to be with someone with more direction.”

Asahi took in a deep, shaky breath. “That’s not fair. You shouldn’t be punished for trying to find happiness.” His hands formed tight fists, the skin turning lighter from pulling over his knuckles. “I’ve always wished I could be like you, [y/n]. You’re able to just… jump. I’ve gotten better at it but… I still can’t really bring myself to do it. Not like you.” His voice remained gentle but was steady as his frustrations spilled out of him all at once. “So what if you don’t know exactly what you want for yourself? You’re not afraid to take risks and if something bad happens, you pick yourself right back up and try something else. [Y/N], that’s a gift.”

Air was stuck in your throat and your eyes grew wide, frozen in place by his words. All this time you had been told that you were unreliable and that you needed to settle down. That even though you were able to support yourself on your own, your constant job hopping made you irresponsible. Then here was Asahi, telling you he admired it, that it was valuable, dismantling years of insecurity in less than five minutes. You blinked a few times, taking time to process what he had said and attempting to bring yourself back to life. Suddenly you stood straight up, eyes cast out to the horizon. “I think I’m done,” you firmly announced, startling your friend.

Asahi slowly rose to his feet, side eyeing you suspiciously, unbale to get a read on your expression. This had definitely been one of your quicker outings. “You sure you’re ready to go back?”

You shook your head, gaze still fixed on the waves, “No. With him. We’re finished.” Your legs moved instinctively towards the ocean. “I’m tired of talking through the same things and I don’t need to keep doing this to myself.” Asahi’s hand reached out to catch your shoulder but caught nothing but air as you marched further out into the water, the freezing ocean eventually rising to above your knees. His eyes grew wide and a familiar panic set into his face, finally registering what you were doing.

Once the water had reached your thighs, you turned back to see him, swiftly pacing back and forth while calling out to you, trying to figure out the best way he could bring you back to shore while staying as dry as possible. A smile crept onto your face and broke out into a fit of giggles, the calming sensation of relief overtaking you. The kind that only he had ever been able to provide for you. Asahi stopped immediately in his tracks when he heard the melody of your laughter.

He caught a glimpse of your smile and the anxiety that had commandeered his senses dissipated, relaxation instead melting away the stiffness in his muscles. His breath hitched as he felt heat rise to his cheeks. That was the smile that told him that there was nothing to be afraid of. That smile meant more to him than anything in the world.

You closed your eyes, took a deep breath through your nose, and fell, giving way to a soft smack the moment your back hit the water. The sound of vast emptiness filled your ears, allowing you to focus on the rise and fall of your chest as you floated there. Even from thirty feet away, you had been able to see the tenderness in his eyes when he looked at you, further amplifying your feeling of weightlessness.

When your eyes opened, they were met with the dim twinkling of stars against a muted blue sky, signaling that it would be night soon. You thought back to Asahi, who was no doubt sweating bullets at the fact that you had not returned and smiled. He had proven time and time again that he would always be there for you. He had taken on such a huge part in defending your happiness you hadn’t realized that he actually made up the majority of it.

For so long, you had believed you wouldn’t amount to much. That your life was marked by more failures than it was by successes. But you had been wrong. The only failures had been when you allowed your fear to control your life. And while you had learned some hard lessons, the happiness that grew from them far outweighed the pain. It took a while, but Asahi had shown you that your happiness was worth more than anything else.

And you loved him for it.

Asahi slumped into his seat and let out an exasperated sigh once you both had settled yourselves on the train home. “Damn, [y/n],” he began, a hand clutching his chest. “You’re going to give me a heart attack one of these days you know that?”

A playful smirk formed on your lips as you remembered back to the way he nervously rambled on about how you were going to get sick when you trudged back to the beach. The only thing of yours that had remained dry were your shoes, which he carefully guarded until you returned. He had also kindly rushed to the nearest gift shop to find some suitable bottoms for you to wear, too embarrassed to have his giant hoodie that you practically swam in be the only thing you clothed yourself with.

You lightly pushed against his side with your shoulder and allowed yourself to linger there. “You love it.”

He coughed erratically, a desperate ‘I do’ choking him. The spontaneity you had brought into his life was, in fact, something he loved, though he wasn’t sure how much more of it his poor heart could take. But he would try, for you.

Asahi cleared his throat, “You’re super lucky you left your phone at home, you know?" He had attempted to change the subject, hoping the rapid beating of his heart would subside soon. He doubted it.

“Yeah.” You looked up at him through your lashes before looking back to the window, opaque with the night sky, causing your small, relaxed frame and his large, stiff one to be reflected back at you. You were unsure if the heat that radiated off of him or the recent revelation of your romantic feelings for your friend was causing you to feel flushed. Either way, it dangerously inviting. And it felt like home. “I know.”

So never look behind you, spooky people bring you down The world is ending there's a party by the bay I'll wear my suit and tie, we’re eye to eye and toasting To the way you put that smile upon my face

A/N: I NEVER would have thought I would be inspired to write for Asahi while listening to Blue October. But here we are. And I have a few more ideas swirling around too! So thank you so much for reading and stay tuned.