#i was already familiar with the song but never really paid attention to the lyrics when i read an interview with hurley months ago

[muirneach]

songs that are definitely either about eating pussy or death.

[simp999]

A New Home Ch. 13

Various! Splatoon Manga x Skilled! Isekai'd! Reader

Wc: 1.7k

A/N: I didn't mean for it to be this long! (Totally not bc Mask's my favorite whaaat)

A/N 2: I'm sorry if he seems a tad OOC, but I feel like he'd be more comfortable/friendly(?) When there isn't anybody else around. He definitely does at least a couple things to make him appear scarier for his reputation.

Back To The Start! Previous Next

A few days later, and it looked like the weatherman was right. The skies do look quite miserable today. It’s full of dull grey clouds, but no rain. You sit at home, bored, having nothing good to do. You want to play video games, but you’ve already speedrun them all with Leo, or they’re no fun. Then it hits you. The Shoal! You’ve always wanted to go, but it was always way too busy for your comfort zone. You quickly get up and throw your favorite top on, grabbing your bag and headphones, throwing your shoes on. Milo asks you where you’re going, just to be safe.

“Alright, have fun! Oh, grab a brella and don’t get caught in the rain!”

You sigh at how protective he is, but he’s right. You grab his brella since it’s closest to the door, and head out.

˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊

‘Wow, it’s so much nicer in here when it’s not packed.’

You take a look around, only spotting the person at the counter and a couple who are about to leave. You can actually hear the sounds of all the arcade games waiting to be played, instead the screams of young squids. You get your coins, a good handful of them, and take a quick walk around the building. You spot a game that looks familiar. It looks almost just like pacman, Except with squids. Oh, how this brings out the kid in you!

You get lost in the games, going from pac-man, to space invaders, even finding tetris. Those aren’t the proper names, but they’re basically the same games with some more splatoon-like attributes. It doesn’t seem like anyone’s around, so you absentmindedly start to hum, then quietly sing some songs that have been stuck in your head.

We are fighting dreamers, takami wo mezashite~

Fighting dreamers, narifuri kamawazu~

Fighting dreamers, shinjiru ga mama ni~

You continue to hum the lyrics you’re not sure on, but stop mid lyric(mid-hum?) when you hear some loud clicking. It’s coming from the front of you to the right, hidden by some large arcade machines. You could barely see through the cracks of the big machines, not recognising the person. It seems they were playing squid beatz, and they were phenomenal at it. You didn’t want to bother anyone, but they sounded insanely skilled at the game. Just a little peek? You go around the machines and turn the corner, now recognizing this familiar, cyan-colored inkling immediately. You kept quiet not wanting to distract him and mess him up. When you turn your back to him, he calls out to you.

“Hey, yooou.”

You notice he just completed the level, with a seemingly perfect score.

“Uh, yeah?” You shift in your spot awkwardly, not really wanting to interact too much. 

‘Actually, the story is only focusing on Rider and Goggles in hero mode right now. That means that this is the time to meet these characters.’

“You look familiaaar. You had curry with everyone a couple days agoooo, right? You came and watched some of my battles, toooo.”

“Never would have thought you paid so much attention to details. I don’t think I stand out that much, do I?” You decided the best way to go about this was to feel somewhat comfortable, but still keep your space and show a bit of respect.

“Where’s the rest of team cyan?”

He picks an easier song to play to, not wanting to lose while still semi-focusing on the conversation. How thoughtful. (It was still a difficult song, but there were fewer quick sequences of notes.)

“Juuuust me here. They wanted to finish speedrunning a game that I beat aaaages ago.”

You boot up a game just a few machines down, knowing that this one’s easy to play, so you don’t have to have your full attention on it.

“What about yooours?”

“Wanted to come alone. Never been to the Shoal before because it was always so busy, figured today was my best option.”

He finishes the song with ease, patting his pockets and seeing that he needs more coins. He brought a small bag with him, and you see a pile of tickets building up in it. He must have been here a while. You’re not sure what to do, so you follow behind him after purposefully loosing your game.

He notices you,

“Yeah, weather’s perfect. Just hooow I like it.”

He looks outside, now being close to the front of the store.

“Starting to raaaain.”

Already? It doesn’t feel like you’ve been here that long. You check your phone and sure enough, you’ve been here for a couple hours.

“You plan on heading home before the rain hits, Mask?”

“I wouldn’t mind staaaying here aaaall day.”

You shrug, agreeing on that. The sun is usually really hot out, so it’s a nice change of pace. A big contrast to all the bright colors and loud sounds that are usually everywhere.

Your stomach rumbles, and you remember that you haven’t had anything to eat since a small snack you considered breakfast.

You look around and see a sign that says they offer food, perfect.

“You hungry? I bet you’ve been here a while.”

“A liiittle.”

“How ‘bout I get us some pizza?”

He contemplates it, but who’s gonna deny free pizza? He puts his coins in his pocket.

“Suuuure.”

You take your time eating, they had some surprisingly good pizza and soda here. He’d pull his mask just barely above his mouth to take a small bite every once in a while. Mask would sneeze every so often, earning him a tissue from your bag. He didn’t eat lots, which made sense considering his overly skinny frame. Good thing he did turf to gain some muscle, but he should really try to take better care of himself. You two didn’t talk a lot, but sometimes Mask would ask you something, usually unrelated to battles. It’s actually quite nice not talking about battles or your skill, it seems it’s all others care about when it comes to you. 

He’s weird, that’s for sure. But once he warms up to you, he’s a nice break from reality, if you could even call it that. Not that he’d ever be completely comfortable, not even with his own teammates, that’s just how he is. You noticed that even out of battles, they would keep a comfortable distance. It seems he’s not a fan of physical contact, which is something you could respect. Once the two of you were done eating you continued to play on the arcade machines. You finally ran out of coins, sad that you had to leave. You were enjoying this time, finally able to genuienly hang out with someone from the manga without being afraid of changing the story. He notices that you’ve been quiet for a while, and sees that you’re no longer playing your game, just watching his. He offers you a couple coins, but you deny them. 

“That’s really sweet of you, but I should probably make my way home. Milo probably has an actual supper ready. Can’t wait to get home and have him lecture me on having pizza before supper.” He turns his head away, not used to being complemented. You check your pockets to see how many tickets you have, you probably have a couple hundred. It won’t get you any big prizes, but if you were to give them to Mask, on top of his - at least a thousand,-  he could get himself something nice. You try to subtly drop your tickets into the bag next to his foot, but he catches them before they can fall into his bag. Oh yeah, he’s S+. He’s got quick reflexes if he feels like using them.

“I don’t need them, I’m here ooooften.” He quits his game halfway through, and walks over to the prize counter, bag in hand. You want to question him, curious as to why he wants a prize all of a sudden. Maybe he just remembered something at the counter that he wanted. He asks for something behind the counter and the worker trades him for it. While browsing the smaller prizes, you vaguely hear the words: “One thousand tickets,” 

Hey, he worked for them, so whatever he’s getting is completely up to him.

Once he’s done at the counter, you ask the worker for two keychains. One cyan squid, and one squid of your main ink color. He gives them to you in exchange for 125 tickets each, and you clip the cyan one to your bag. Mask watches you and waits for you to be done before holding out the item he got.

“It’s Naruto, volumes 1-3 all combined in one book.. I heard you humming the opening earlier, so I figured you were a fan of the series.”

…that’s embarrassing. 

Since when was he this kind? But also, Naruto! That means that 1. Anime and manga exist here, and 2. He’s a weeb. Actually it was kind of obvious, he definitely seems like the type to watch anime.

You’re unsure of how to accept it, it is really nice of him, but it’s so expensive! But he already got it, and he probably already has the same one at home, so you can’t just deny this!

“Oh… thank you. That’s, um, actually really nice. Makes it feel more like home.”

“Huuuh? Hooome?”

“Oh, yeah, I just moved here, and couldn’t bring all my old manga, which really sucked.”

“Ouuuch. It can get pretty expensive.”

You sway on your feet, not sure what else to say. You already thanked him, but you don’t want to leave. You’ll see him again though, you’re sure.

You offer him a small smile and wave after some contemplating, and make your way out the door, grabbing your brella.

He watches you make your way out of the building, open your brella, and walk out of his sight. He picks up his bag, and feels a bit of cold metal on his hand. A keychain. With a squid that matches your ink color.

‘Huh. They sure are weird.’

.

.

.

.

.

‘I guess I might might like some inklings that enjoy life.’

Next Part

May.3.23

[lonelychicago]

And I love you so - perry como

everybody love somebody- dean martin

soldier- james tw

fall into me- forrest blakk

dog days- florence and the machine

cosmic love- florence an the machine

call me what you like- lovejoy

too late- the happy fits

icarus- crane wives

freaks- surf curse

snow waltz- lindsey stirling

midnight city- m83

tu falta de querer- mon laferte

mi buen amor- mon laferte

i have a lot more, most of these arent from the 50s, a lot are just recommended songs

and i love you so — perry como

this song was so sweet??? the whole time i imagined buck and eddie years from now, a little bit older and starting to show gray hairs and wrinkles in their skin and just slow dancing in the kitchen to this song. buck would probably try to sing it out of tune just to make eddie laugh and just 🥺🥺

everybody love somebody — dean martin

this song sounded so familiar?? but i can't remember where from. maybe from an old rom-com i watched??? (anyway, it's not really a song i would listen repeatedly or i wouldn't add it to my playlist but it was a good song!!)

fall into me — forrest blakk

this song made me so soft 🥺🥺 aaaaa i'm in love. and i also loved the guy's voice. this legit made me cry and thank u so much for recommending me this song!!!

dog days and cosmic love — florence and the machine

aaa I honestly never paid attention to florence and the machine (i've only listened to one or two songs) but i really loved these!!! i might check out more of them.

call me what you like — lovejoy

i loved the part where the singer starts talking??? KDHDJD IDK WHY but it tickled my brain in the best way possible and i also the lyrics!!! "i'm not paranoid i'm a realist" KSJSJD MOOD

too late — the happy fits

gave me such happy summer-y vibes that i just started dancing like a maniac around my room thank you!!! sksjjs

also "i'm a little scared of my soul" idk why that lyric hit me but damnn, that line doesn't have any business being there in such a happy tempo song

(you don't have to read all my thoughts on the songs, but i'm gonna keep going under the cut <33)

icarus – crane wives

i loved the art cover and also this song gave me vibes of dancing in the forrest idk why. it was a nice song!! very folk-y and also loved the lyrics 🥺

freaks – surf curse

OMG I ALREADY HAD THIS SONG IN MY PLAYLIST !!!! jshsjdhdjs i love it

snow waltz – lindsay stirling

i also had this song in my liked songs!!! so good

midnight city – m83

i liked the song but not a lot??? it might take some time to grow on me i think.

mon laferte!!!

my friend is a big fan and also appreciate some spanish song recs in here. loveeeed them 🥺💗

[writteninkat]

BNHA GUYS REACTING TO YOU SINGING A DIRTY LINE FROM A SONG (part II)

warnings: suggestive scenes, 18+, multiple mentions of you guys about to have smex

part I

DABI

you're chilling in the L.O.V lounge area, the others had to go out to do "business" and you and Dabi were tasked to stay here and watch over

you're there minding your own business, playing your games while your playlist is on shuffle, music blasting out your headphones, laying across the sofa on your tummy

Dabi's been calling your name a few times already from the basement and when you didn't answer, he climbs back up, annoyed and huffing

"give me a red handprint right across my ass, I'm leaving scratches up and down your back"

mf takes that as an invitation and pulls your shorts down along with your panties, slapping his hand across your cheeks after he uses his quirk to heat up his palm

caught you off guard, making you look behind you with wide eyes. jesus you thought he was someone else

Dabi takes off your headset, a sadistic smile across his face

he takes one side of your ass in one hand, squeezing it making you moan loudly. "I'll fuck you on this couch and when we finish, the members better be seeing the scars you'll give me for days."

KEIGO TAKAMI (HAWKS)

okay so you know people who do concerts in their bathrooms? yeah you're one of those people

you're shuffling a random playlist, blasting the songs through your speakers and singing them all line for line cause you a hoe for music

in comes Doja Cat's "freak". you never really paid any attention to the lyrics but you know them

you're lathering soap all over your naked body, humming to the innocent tune and only singing the parts you know

"we could flip the coin I'll be your slave. call you daddy give me a nickname. I ain't afraid of a lil' pain."

as you're rinsing the soap off of you, ready to step out of the shower, you feel a familiar pair of strong arms wrap themselves around your waist, pulling you onto a sturdy chest

"kei-"

"You mean it? You'll be my little slave? You'll call me daddy as I call you my little bitch?" He says as he buries his face on the crook of your neck as his hands slithers down your cunt, pressing against the folds until they're inside you

as the "freak" comes to an end, you hear another familiar song play. the sensual beat and sound of "streets" fill your bathroom walls

"come on songbird..." he licks up the side of your neck, "let me show you just a little pain..."

TAMAKI AMAJIKI

you're watching random choreography videos on the bed as your boyfriend plays with his friends in his little gaming corner in your shared room

you click on a random "Or Nah" choreography and start booping your head to the familiar music

"I'ma pop this bottle, you gon' give me brain or nah? Do you like the way I flick my tongue or nah? I can ride your face until I'm dripping cum."

honestly you didn't even realize you sang the lyrics out loud, more so that your boyfriend had taken off his headset and left the game

he's flushed deeply and he's fiddling with his fingers anxiously as he approaches you

"umm..."

you see his feet from the corners of your eyes and you take off your own headset, raising your brows in question

"yes baby?"

"will you really?"

you're so fucking confused.

"will I really what?"

Tamaki looks the other way, completely embarrassed. "R-ride my face... until you're... dripping cum..."

you blink at him a few times, brows knitted softly before you're looking down at your laptop. oh.

you mentally face palm yourself, about to apologize and take it all back as a mistake but the way your boyfriend is all fidgety and embarrassed in front of you stirrs something inside you

you smirk slyly, "want me to show you, baby?"

[dragqueen-eddie]

Wasting Love

Eddie Munson x Reader

TW: Mentions of Sex, Drugs, Lonliness

REQUEST: I could write an imagine with Reader x Eddie, where you hear "Iron Maiden - Wasting Love" and thinking about Eddie, this week I only heard Iron Maiden to get over that ending. You've decided whether you want to make a happy or sad image.

A/N: I hope this is what you were looking for ANON! I went more along with the themes of the song, I hope thats ok! REQUESTS ARE OPEN!

It had been 6 years since you, Dustin, and Eddie had entered the upside down. 6 years since your heart broke for the thousandth time. It was hard to deal with at the time, but eventually you got back on your feet, finished High School, and got the hell out of Hawkins for good. College in New York, out partying almost every night, going to concerts, shopping with friends, going to art exhibitions. In all intents and purposes you were living the dream. Fresh out of college, working an amazing job, a nice apartment. You have done well for yourself. It was a usual day for you, get home, put away your groceries, and turn on the radio. 

“Ladies and gentlemen YOU are listening to METAL FM! We’re hitting you tonight with the new Iron Maiden single, Wasting Love!” The radio host greeted with an over enthusiastic tone, especially when the song started. A slow song, almost ballad like, a song of lost love, and a life ruled by sex. You stopped whatever you were doing when the lyrics started, you sat on your sofa and just listened to it. Music never hits you so hard, but this song… These lyrics. You couldn’t help but think of Eddie.

It was your senior year, freshly 18 and ready to run like hell out of Hawkins. Your home life was a mess, mom was always out, dad had left a long time ago, you were alone. Loneliness was a feeling you could never deal with, and is the exact reason you were also out every night. In random bars, hooking up with anyone, just to fill the gaps of loneliness you felt inside. Tonight was no different, you were sitting at the bar, cheap beer in hand as you scanned the bar for your next man or woman you were going to be taking home. It wasn’t a solid solution to your situation, but it filled the gaping feeling inside you, even just for a few moments. No one at school paid attention to you, except for the few people you had hooked up with, you soon learned though that your plans to fight your feelings was a bad idea at school, already being labelled easy by most, you wanted to salvage what you could and so you started looking elsewhere. So there you were, alone at the bar. It was a slow night, not many people there. You were about ready to walk away when a familiar face sauntered onto the stage. Eddie Munson stood at the forefront of the stage, guitar in one hand, mic in front of him as the rest of his band flooded to the stage. The two of you were acquaintances, seeing each other at parties, he dealt with you a few times too, you fooled around once or twice if the two of you were drunk enough, and never spoke about it again. Intrigued, you'd decided to stay for his set. It was wild, metal as all hell, just what you expected from Eddie. 

What surprised you thought was Eddie Munson himself sauntering over to you at the bar when he had finished. He flashed you a charming smile as he took the seat next to you. 

“Y/N L/N, what a pleasure to have you here tonight.” He smiled, looking you over. You were wearing a small dress, with a dishevelled leather jacket over top. Raising a beer to him you shrugged.

“Well, Munson, I didn’t actually know you played here. Just here to…” You stopped not knowing what else to say, admit you were seeking out another one night stand? Never. “I’m not sure really…” You tentatively took a sip of your beer and he shrugged

“Well if you’re not busy, wanna partake in some of the good stuff?” He winked, flashing a bag of weed to you before quickly putting it away. Not being able to say no, you smiled and nodded, following him out of the bar to his van. 

Something about that night changed between the two of you. You didn’t feel the pit of loneliness as you sat with him, passing the joint around, talking about nothing and everything. Eventually, when you were high enough you admitted to him the real reason you were at the bar that night. The reason you did what you did, how lonely you truly were. When you had finished your sad tale, you looked up at him, you saw him staring back with big sad eyes before he brought you in for a tight hug. Shocked, you didn’t reciprocate at first, but you soon melted into it, and you began to cry quietly. It was just a stupid hug, but you rarely felt this warmth from anyone. The two of you sat like that for a while, he rubbed your back softly, giving you kisses to your head, whispering that everything was ok. When the two of you finally pulled away from each other he held your hands in his and looked deeply into your eyes.

“I swear to go Y/N, you are never going to have to do shit like that again. Not if I have any say. I'm not gonna let you feel lonely again.”

And he never did. Every chance he got he’d be at your door, six packs in hand, or he’d force you to sit in on the Hellfire club’s meetings, or he’d drag you to the movies, to his trailer, to his concerts. He never let you be alone again. That agonising pit of loneliness melted away.

Eventually, after a drunken night of movies, and weed, you two somehow began to make out. Something about the two of you there just felt right. Mid way through you pulled away and grabbed his face, staring deeply into his eyes. He raised a confused brow at you, and all you could do was stare back. All of your feelings came to the surface as you stared into each other's eyes.

“I think I love you Eddie.” Was all you could say. Hands still on his face, softly stroking his cheek. He stared back, for a moment before speaking.

“I think I love you too, Y/N.” 

That was that. If you were inseparable before now you were practically attached to each other. He always joked about making an honest woman of you. The two of you had plans to get the hell out of Hawkins, to the city where you could both pursue your dreams. Then everything happened in the upside down, and you thought you lost him forever. 

That was the scariest night of your life.

You were snapped out of your reminiscence by the apartment door opening.

Eddie sauntered in, Throwing his bag down and making his way over to you, placing a delicate kiss to your temple.

“Everything ok babe?” He asked, sitting beside you, putting an arm around your shoulders. You nodded and leaned into his embrace.

“Nothing, just remembering how you made an honest woman out of me, Mr Munson.” He smirked and grabbed your hand, playing with your wedding ring.

“You bet your ass I did.” He smirked as he leant down to kiss your head once more.

The two of you achieved your dreams, and more. You lived together in a dream life that neither of you thought you would achive.

[duskamethyst]

at last.

a/n: in celebration of reaching 200 followers. thank you. i’ve started this piece months ago but constantly failed to find the will to continue whenever i opened the draft. however, the response i’ve received from my other works gave me the drive and i knew i had to finish this.

word count: 4.1k

genre: smut, nsfw, fluff

pairing: musician!semi x f!reader

warnings: mirror sex, soft dom

summary: you and semi are in a band together. though having feelings for the male, you’ve always kept it professional until one night...

“thank you for tonight! you guys were amazing!” you speak through the mic enthusiastically, waving to the crowd as they cheered on and begging for an encore at the same time. “we hope to see your faces again when we come out with new songs soon! please continue to support us! we love you!” your lips curl into a huge smile, stepping off to the back of the stage while waving your fans goodbye before the staff hands you a towel to wipe off your sweat and a mineral bottle to cool off.

it’s another amazing night in a different city for you and the band. the feeling of having people enjoying your music and your voice is overwhelming and to have such wonderful bandmates to join you in this journey for three years now has you feeling beyond blessed.

the band started small, having the drummer and bassist as your high school besties while the guitarist, semi eita was later picked up along the way when one day you blasted on your socials and the small music stores stating the band needed a new guitar player. your band was pretty well-known in the town you live in, showing up and performing at a few gigs and now you’re much more familiar in the industry and often play in different cities. 

semi was one of the few candidates that was chosen to be part of the band. much to everyone’s surprise, playing the guitar wasn’t his only talent. semi was able to write lyrics, produce and sing and that’s what made him stand out among the others. while making the decision with your band mates, you guys knew not to pass up on him and today it proved to be the right decision you guys had made. 

to describe semi eita, he’s incredible. a genius and a sight for sore eyes. hell, he could even pass to be a model if he was into it. you knew that his addition to the band could garner more fans through his skills and looks. on his first night at the gig as the guitarist, you noticed how some of the girls there were ogling him and especially recording him through their phones, even the older woman who was practically forced to be there almost every night by her husband paid more attention (and you believed it was because of semi’s presence) as your band performed. maybe the fangirls could start off by drooling over his looks before they could slowly support the band entirely, hence building a bigger fanbase. 

you feel a little bad for him. you believe that semi is more than just his looks but you can’t really blame people for liking pretty things– it’s only natural. semi has a burning passion for music and what he does and he works tirelessly for the band. he gives his all when he writes lyrics and he uses most of his time by himself inside the studio, learning and enhancing his skills further. you often accompany him in the studio, offering your opinions when he shares the new lyrics he came up with and the studio would be filled with harmonizing voices of yours and his. 

a weird fuzzy feeling engulfs you when you learn that semi had always especially asked for you to join him in the studio and never the other guys, but you alway shrug it off; reminding yourself that it’s only because of work and nothing else.

though no matter how much you try to deny your feelings, you know you’re already head over heels for semi eita.

you sigh and put down your luggage as soon as you walk into your hotel room before looking out at the window to see the fans that were swarming as you arrived earlier begins to dissipate slowly. as you’re smiling and being lost in your thoughts, you start to hear strumming sounds from the other side of the room– undoubtedly semi’s. 

it’s way past midnight and you’re all tired from the tour and the recent performance. while all you can think about is getting inside the tub and having a good night sleep, semi on the other hand can only think about the next show and creating new music. though he’s much more new to the industry compared to you, he works so diligently and it makes you feel a bit guilty and shameful. so you decide to come up to his room and see if he needs anything– or maybe just to persuade him to stop thinking about work and go to sleep. 

“eita, it’s me.” you say as you knock on his door. you hear the strums come to a halt before he opens the door for you. “gosh, you look terrible.” 

it’s only partly true. his hair is disheveled and he only has his jeans on from earlier but you try so hard not to check him out and quickly walk inside his room. semi closes the door as he turns to you, “you’re not asleep yet?” 

“no, i heard you were playing and that’s why i’m here. you know you should be sleeping instead, right?” you sit on the couch where he was sitting earlier. sheets of paper are spread on the coffee table and you pick up the one with the lyrics that he wrote. 

“sorry,” he apologizes as he sits next to you and notices the one that you’re reading. “but it’s good that you’re here too.” 

ignoring the little skip your heart made, you refuse to look at him and read one of the lines out loud in an attempt to play cool.

“i’m alone,

“i just wrote that one in the van earlier.” he scratches the back of his neck as he laughs nervously. his eyes never tearing from you, just watching while you scrutinize through his little work.

i’ve nowhere to go,

but you gently held my hand.”

you smile as you finish reading the last line of his incomplete lyrics and turn to look at him, “i wonder what it sounds like?”

“ah, i haven’t figured it out much but i think it could go like this.” he grabs the guitar from where he left earlier and places it in front of his chest before slowly strumming a few chords. you watch as his fingers sweep up and down across the strings, his black nails that you painted weeks ago are only left with little residues. 

it sounds exactly like you heard in your room earlier. his voice and the tunes he’s making fills the room and it sounds absolutely beautiful. you can sense the longingness in his work this time around, a little different from what he used to play but a little change doesn’t really mean bad– it feels like something that many people can relate to.

you gleefully clap your hands as he stops playing and a faint blush creeps up to his cheeks which he hopes you don’t notice. 

“what’s your inspiration this time?” you ask as he puts back down the instrument.

“well…” semi sighs and leans further into the couch. “someone special to me– the reason i started pursuing this.” 

a heavy lump suddenly forms in your throat, making your stomach churn at the thought of semi having someone special in mind but you quickly shake off the feeling. you’ve always been close with the male, he was easy to get along with from the start and semi would agree that out of all the members, he spent the most time with you; though it's only because it’s strictly on a work basis and you respect that, and you remain professional.

“must be. you’ve never written anything so personal but tell me all about it! you know i won’t judge.” you force a smile, hoping that it’s not too obvious and instead semi laughs at your eagerness to know about his little puppy love. 

“it’s not even that great. i feel like it’s rather ironic– the reason i pursue this is also the reason we can’t be together.” he looks at you as he speaks, as if searching for something.

“damn, that sucks so bad.” you lean back to the couch with him and gaze at the ceiling while imagining the type of person semi would like and start to mindlessly compare yourself to them– putting you down even further.

“you get it, right? on top of that, i think we would lose some fans if we start to date.” he continues as he rests his arm behind your head in a more relaxing manner. he hopes that he emphasized the word clearly so he could get a reaction from you.

however, you only laugh a bit at his consideration. you can already imagine the online articles being bombarded about semi being in a relationship, not forgetting the snarky remarks and lashes he and his partner might get on stan twitter and the thought makes you shudder.

“but i would want to see you happy... even if it’s not with me.” you mumble lowly before realizing what you just blurt out on the last part. “i mean- i mean- i was thinking from a fan’s point of view, of course!”

the sight of you being bashful and constantly avoiding to make eye contact with him is endearing to him. he can’t help but to laugh and it provokes him to tease you instead. his hand creeps up to pull and tuck away the strands of hair behind your ear, instantly drawing your attention to the male next to you. you’re waiting for him to speak but he only stares quietly at you with a gentle smile across his face. 

“what?” you’re surprised at how meek you sound and you know he notices it when his smile turns into an amused shit-eating grin. 

“really? you’d be happy for me?” he asks, leaning his head down on the arm he has hanging on the couch back. 

“um, yeah? since you’re my–”

“friend?” he cuts you off in an instant. “i’d be happier to at least know that you’d feel jealous, though.” 

jealous? you blink and nervously laugh at the poor joke, “why would i be– you’re funny. anyways, go to sleep!” 

semi’s lips tug into a frown as you stand up from the couch and when you’re about to take a step away, semi grabs your wrist and pulls you back to him. he wraps his arms securely around you and buries his face at the nape of your neck, inhaling the very faint scent from your expensive perfume you had on before the show. 

“you’re so close, yet so far.” his hot breath fans against your skin as he murmurs with a hint of frustration lacing his voice. 

thinking not too deeply into it, you disregard the butterflies in your stomach, “yeah, i think you can put that in the song.” you attempt to reply coyly, concealing any suggestions of you being a total nerve-wreck right now. 

“god dammit.” semi curses. he turns your face to look at his, “this isn’t about work anymore.”

“what–” he presses his lips on yours and his arms pull you closer to him which your body wastes no time but to completely melt into.

semi pulls away to take a breath, locking his brown eyes with yours as he speaks. “stop making me feel so lonely.”

“i’m… sorry…?” your apology comes out unsurely, not knowing where this conversation is leading up to and it’s making you feel apprehensive more than anything. there’s no way he’s confessing, right?

semi sighs as he runs his fingers through your hair, “i used to only play the guitar as a hobby but you’re the reason why i even thought about getting into this band.” 

you’re out of words to speak from the abruptness and remain quiet before he continues, “i thought i’d be happy enough just being close to you but i realized i wanted more than that. am i being selfish?”

you break free from his grasps and turn to the blushing male before curling into his chest. semi’s body is still as he processes what’s happening and slowly relaxes as he wraps his arms around you again.

“no, eita, no. you’re not.” you reassure. “i really had no idea.” 

“then, can i kiss you again?” 

“whatever you want, eita.” you mutter under your breath before he gently cups your chin with his fingers and pulls you into a deep kiss. 

for the second time that night, you feel as if you’re on cloud nine as your wet tongues twirl against each other in your mouths. a faint taste of tobacco and beer still lingers on his tongue but you pay no mind to it when you’re too busy drowning into your own ecstasy. 

semi manages to push you down on your back without breaking the kiss and props on his knees before his hands wander all around your body. a gasp passes your lips when he squeezes your breasts against your shirt and his lips move down to nip on your neck. 

“e-eita...” you breathe and the male pulls away to look at you with heavy lidded eyes– and they’re filled with desire. 

“whatever i want, right?” he whispers and you nod your head before he delves back down to litter bruises on your skin. “and what i want is you.” 

warmth surfaces on your cheeks as you hum in response, a subtle reply to tell him that the feeling is mutual. as soon as semi lifts up your shirt, he quickly tips down to tug your bra and latches his mouth on your hardened nipple while his fingers tweak the other. the stimulation causes your body to jolt in pleasure and you can practically feel yourself drenching in your panties.

semi glances up at you expectantly when he notices your thighs are pressed together underneath him. with his other free hand, he lifts up your denim skirt and rubs circles on your clit against the damped fabric. 

you mewl and tug his hair gently as your hips desperately grind against his finger for relief. 

“does it feel good?” he speaks softly. “you’re so wet for me.”

“y-yeah.” you mumble a little bit in embarrassment after he pointed it out but semi finds it to be endearing as he lets out a breathy chuckle. 

“i’ll make you feel even better,” he grins, bending your knees up and spreading them apart. “but i need to hear it.”

you nibble your lip anxiously, “please?”

“please what?” he coos, though he’s already settling his head down between your thighs while he looks at you with passion filled eyes.

your lips feign a pout but your pussy twitches when you feel his finger pulls your panties to the side, “please make me feel better.”

“good enough.” he smirks before spreading your puffy folds and sticks out his tongue to lap off your essence. 

a loud moan rips from your throat as he sucks on your clit and purposely teases it with quick flicks with the tip of his tongue. your legs start to tremble and try to close together but to no avail since semi holds them apart from crushing his head. 

there were nights where he could only touch himself while imagining how you would sound like writhing underneath him but tonight, you made his dreams turn into reality. your moans and whines are like music to his ears and they’re better (and he knows it would be) than what he expected. now semi is driven even more to hear what more beautiful sounds you can produce for him.

semi groans when he slips one finger inside your tight hole and you cry in surprise as you feel his finger brushing in and out through your walls. he can feel that the walls are already sucking him greedily while your hips jerk to fuck yourself with his finger.

“god, you’re so fucking hot.” he grunts, inserting another finger and fucks you ruthlessly. you can feel your orgasm building and threatening to tip over when his finger curls, hitting your g with every drag. 

“fuck, eita–” you pant as your toes curl over the unbearable stimulation and causes your body to shake. 

“feels great, hm? i want you to cum all over my fingers.” he toys with the swollen bud before harshly sucking it.

“mmhh– gonna cum!” your eyes screw shut as your orgasm finally crashes down and your pussy gushes and flutters around his fingers.

your breathing turns erratic and a whine escapes your lips from the emptiness when semi pulls out to lick his fingers.

“you taste so fucking good.” he groans, hovering above you and crashes his lips onto yours so you can taste your own juices from his tongue before he pulls away breathlessly.

“i want to make you feel good too, eita.” you whisper almost innocently and push him back so he can sit down on the couch. semi watches you as you kneel beside him to unbuckle his belt and proceed to unbutton and unzip his jeans swiftly before he helps you release his throbbing dick from its confinements. 

you nearly gawk at the size of his cock; thick and veiny, tip flushing red with a bead of precum. you give a few strokes with your hand and a sharp hiss rolls off his tongue as soon as he feels your tongue swirling around the slit and slowly taking a fair amount inside your mouth. 

“fuuuuck.” he sighs as he sinks into his seat further, eyes closed shut as he lets you take over. you offer the pressure needed by pressing the bottom of the length with your hand and hollowing your cheeks while your tongue runs up and down the rest of his cock, slobbering it with your saliva. 

“oh, fuck– baby. that feels so fucking good.” tears prickle from the corner of your eyes when you force yourself to take deeper into your mouth and his hips jerk when the tip hits the back of your throat. semi’s hand finds itself on top of your head; he makes sure not to tug your hair too hard as he guides you bottom to top and a pop sound is audible when he pulls you away just before he feels like he’s about to cum. 

he wipes the tears from your eyes and kisses you while pulling his jeans and boxers all the way down before continuing to carry you off from the couch with him and leads you to his bed. 

“can i?” he looks at you concerningly and you nod your head yes.

“take it all off.” he commands once he puts you down on the bed. what seemed to be the gentle semi is long gone but his dominating side makes you undeniably excited so you easily oblige, peeling off your clothes until you’re bare and naked in front of him.

“on your knees.” he orders again and you submissively get on your knees but he stops you before you can lean down on the bed. “face the mirror.”

you turn your head to see the large mirror in front of the bed and shift again as he climbs on the bed and props behind you. 

“i want us both to see how pretty you look when i’m balls deep inside you.” he grins.

a soft mewl rolls off your tongue when semi smears your juices through your slits with his cock. he grabs your hips for leverage as he slowly penetrates into your hole and you bite your lip hard when you can feel his girth stretches you out both painfully and deliciously. semi gives you a moment to adjust and after receiving the green light does he begin to move his hips. 

“i’ve waited so long for this.” he growls, black nails digging deeper into your skin that'll be able to leave crescent marks by the end of the session as he pounds his cock into your cunt erratically. 

your cheek is pressed down and your hands clutch the bed sheet as you feel his veins brushing against your walls and his tip kissing your cervix with each thrust. semi’s breathing is already ragged from above you, hips diligently rolling into you as he picks up the pace. 

“look at you, baby– fuck– i’m so lucky.” you moan at the praise, subconsciously feeding to your ego; to be desired by semi and to have semi fucking you into oblivion. 

“s-so good.” you whine, glancing up to the mirror to see yourself but what you’re mostly able to see is the man behind you. his toned abs, ash blonde bangs almost covering his eyes and brows furrowed in focus as he ruts into you mercilessly like a feral beast and it’s fueling your arousal even further.

a mischievous smile etches on his lips as his hazy eyes light up once they meet yours through the reflection, “i don’t think you can see yourself that well.”

you feel your body being lifted up abruptly before he makes you stand on your knees with your back against his broad chest. in front of you, you can clearly see the mess he has made out of you; hair unkempt, pussy slopping and dripping down his balls and the sheets from where your bodies are connected. 

“better.” he smirks through the mirror. both of your eyes fixed on the reflected image ahead; your tits bouncing up and down as he continues to thrust into you while his arm wraps around your torso to hold you in place. 

“so– pretty. my baby– my muse.” he says in between grunts and takes one hand to cup your face. “can you see my cock go in and out of you?” semi intends to show you how lewd it looks by pulling out his thick cock slowly and pushing back inside your pussy in an agonizing pace. 

“yes, fuck– eita.” you sob, staring at the mirror ahead as you see his cock glistens with slick when he pulls out from your stretched cunt and fills you back in, edging you at the same time. 

“and what happens when i touch you here?” he coos, reaching down to press your clit with his thumb. a shock of pleasure washes through your body, making your eyes roll back and your head thrown back to his shoulder. “come on, you can tell me.”

“it’s-it’s gonna make m-me cum.” you whimper as your hips roll desperately against his finger and each time he plunges into you. 

“and you’re gonna sing my name when you do, right?” 

“yesyesyes– please, just–” semi cuts you off by continuing his pace again and the knot in your stomach tightens at the feeling of being stuffed full when he rams deep inside you along with his ministrations on your throbbing bud.

his other hand pinches your pebbled nipple and causes you to keen in pleasure and you finally open your eyes to look at the mirror again to see the compromising position you’re in and the way he manhandles you; having absolute control all over your squirming body with both his hands and his cock– and it got your vision turning white as you tip over the edge. 

“eita!” your lips part into a scream as your pussy flutters around his cock and come undone. the walls squeezing him elicits a low growl from his throat and he holds your body with both his arms as he remains to fuck you in order to chase after his own high.

“fuck– that’s it.” he kisses your head when you let out a choke from the overstimulation. “i’m gonna fill this pretty pussy.” sporadic thrusts begin to stutter as his balls tighten and his cock twitches inside you to indicate that he’s close to reaching his orgasm and a loud moan rips from his throat as he finally comes undone. 

semi stills for a few moments inside you, catching his breath and regaining composure before he lifts your body slightly to pull out his softening cock. your trembling knees fail to keep you up so your body falls down on the mattress and semi chuckles at the sight as he joins next to you. 

“you did so good for me, love.” his sharp, brown eyes gazes adoringly into yours and a soft smile tugs the corner of his lips as he caresses your hair. “was i too rough?”

“just a little,” you blush. “but i liked it.”

semi sighs in relief and draws closer to give a chaste kiss on your forehead, “i’ll run a warm bath for you, alright? then we can go to sleep.”

you nod your head, feeling warm and fuzzy when he holds you in his strong arms before he leaves for the bathroom. as you wait and hear water filling the tub, your mind wanders how you’re going to break the news to your manager about your blossoming relationship with semi. 

and semi thinks about the same thing too. 

whatever it is, it doesn’t matter to him. 

as long as he has you.

duskamethyst © 2020 • do not modify, translate or repost anywhere.

[folkloreguk]

Still The Louvre (m)

A/N: Someone requested this and I hope you like it! This happens when you have Lorde’s Melodrama on repeat whilst writing…thanks for inspiring me queen (although I’m not sure why breakup songs made me write this lol) Also Merry early Christmas to those who celebrate!! x

genre: optional bias (m) x reader (f), fluff, smut, car sex, childhood friends to lovers, a tiny bit of angst but only for 0.5 minutes maybe, I hope this heals someone who’s given up on finding love, you all deserve someone who sees the best in you!!!

words: ~ 3.9 k

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“We’re just friends. Guys and girls can be friends! We’ve always been best friends, ever since we were seven. Nothing more.” That’s what you used to say. Now look who was the clown in those conversations all along. You guessed correctly - it was you. Because on your sixteenth birthday, he showed up in his black tee and baseball jacket, with your favorite candy and a heart-shaped necklace. Little did he know, if you could, you would have carved his initials into it, right there and then. Because it was that day, you understood one thing. You were head over heels in love with your best friend.

You would have been the perfect high school sweethearts – had it not been for the three different girls he had dated instead of you. He always had all their hearts, the only thing he needed to do was pick. And who could blame the other girls? He was all you could ever ask for, so there was no point in being bitter about their adoration for him.

Multiple times, you had tried to convince yourself you were over him. Like when you went out with one of the popular guys, only to realize three dates in that he was the possibly most boring person you had ever encountered. Or like that one time you agreed to go to prom with the class clown. He almost made you spit out your drink of laughter all night long, but when he tried to stick his tongue down your throat at the end of it all, you changed your mind. Your most successful boyfriend stayed for a full six months, before leaving you. He had been jealous of your relationship with your best friend. And you couldn’t even resent it. Your then-boyfriend had been in second place all along, and you should have never even dated him.

Long story short, whenever you looked at boys, you compared them to your best friend. And your best friend was an invincible competitor. It was safe to say, your teenage years weren’t what the films made them out to be. Except if there was a movie about a girl who cried so much about her best friend who she loved, she almost thought there was something seriously wrong with her. Some days the pain was so heavy, you’d get mad at him for no reason. Then you’d have to tell him lies that wouldn’t worry him and move on. Who could you tell? Your best friend was the one supposed to help you through boy trouble, wasn’t he? Yeah, that wasn’t going to work for you.

But that was the past. Lately, life was better. You couldn’t pinpoint when you first noticed the way he looked at you. Was it when he told you he felt like no boy in the world would be good enough for you, so maybe he should date you instead? It sounded like a joke, but his eyes said differently. Or was it when he asked you to sleep in his bed instead on his spare mattress at one of your sleepovers you’d had since you were eleven? He held you without words being shared, and neither of you addressed it in the morning. Maybe you both knew what it meant, either way. The mere thought of him liking you back was almost unbelievable for you. But after last night, you had no doubt. You had been in the elevator in the cinema with him. It was only ten seconds, and before you could have kissed his face that was inches from yours, the doors had opened. But he had chuckled and grinned at you for thrice the time afterwards. As if you had a new inside joke now.

It seemed you both knew what you wanted. But were you willing to take your friendship to that level?

Today, you were sure you were willing. Your heart almost ached in desire for him when you saw him standing with your shared friends. There, on the beach in the dark of night, with a bonfire drawing the warmest orange glow on his skin, you thought he had never looked more handsome. It was a small get-together between old school friends you both hadn’t seen in a while. And you should have been all over them, asking them about their lives and how they’ve been. Instead you only had eyes for the person you saw every day of your life. You swore you’d never get enough of his sweet smile and eyes so trustworthy you wanted to put all your deepest secrets right into his hands. His chest was heaving from laughter as he pat his friend’s shoulder in agreement. Oh, how dearly you wanted that hand to slip into your very own.

It was a warm night, you had been eating marshmallows, sharing genuine laughter and looking up at the stars and the full moon. Only one thing could have made your experience better, or one person, rather. You silently cursed yourself, because the night was coming to an end – some people had already left – and you still hadn’t made your move on him like you had planned it. But then your song played from the speaker. The very song you two always played in your car whenever you drove somewhere together. Every small beat reminded you of him and the lyrics were carved into your heart, it seemed.

When he noticed, his eyes shot up and met yours. They crinkled up into a smile that you returned. Finally, he made his way over to you and automatically your arms opened for him. Like coming home, he melted into your figure, arms mellow around your body. Quietly, he sang along into your ear, like every little word was meant just for you. You only pulled away slightly, so you could look at each other’s faces. You could’ve cried, realizing the time you had waited for him had been worth it after all. He was giving you a look you had thought would be forever reserved for other girls – but never for you. The starry sky above you wouldn’t stand a chance compared to his dreamy eyes and the fresh ocean air could easily be forgotten, if it meant to be in his arms and breathe in his familiar scent. If you leaned forward only a little, you could kiss him.

“Guys, we’re headed off,” a voice interrupted you.

“We should get going too, don’t you think?” he said. Almost mechanically, you nodded. You reminded yourself that you would still be in the car with him for twenty minutes until you’d arrive at home. And he’d stay at your place. You had him all night long. As you walked to your car, his hand brushed against yours softly, and you weren’t sure if it was just an accident, at first. But he was smiling as if he knew everything when you looked over at him and there you had your answer. The moment he had sat down in the passenger seat of your car, he was digging around for a CD to play. He settled for a playlist he had made for you in spring.

There was so much to be said and simultaneously silence had never felt more comfortable while you drove. You were going south along the high cliffs to your right. It was truly the most beautiful part of your hometown.

“I hate driving here,” you said.

“You don’t like driving along the cliffs? Too dangerous?” he asked.

“No. It’s too beautiful here to just look straight ahead at the road,” you said. He chuckled.

“We can stop at the tourist spot if you want to look at the sea,” he suggested. You smiled because he knew you so well. The ‘tourist spot’ really was a small parking spot right by the road, with space for about ten cars. You could already see it ahead of you. On sunny days lots of people driving down the coast liked to stop there for a rest and to take photos. Now, it was completely empty, of course. You parked at the spot closest to the cliff, so you could look down at the sea without having to get out of your car.

The slow playlist he had made for you was still playing when you switched off the engine. You knew right then and there, no matter where the night went, you’d remember this moment forever. The glow of the full moon was sparkling on the wild billows beneath you. Your eyes fixed on the horizon for a moment, as if you could have seen the closest island if only you paid enough attention. But it was only a wild vastness seemingly without end. Momentarily, you thought you spotted something in the water. Whales? But when you looked closer, there was nothing but the white and dark blue colors of the tempestuous waves.

“It’s gorgeous,” you spoke into the silence, your chin resting on your forearms on the steering wheel. You waited for his response. When it didn’t come, you turned to look his way. He was already looking at you. If cupid was real, he had just fired another arrow at your heart. Never could you have guessed how your best friend’s foolish grin could have made your heart skip a beat like this. Without another thought entering your head, you bent over to him. He knew what it meant when you mirrored his smile.

And then, you closed your eyes. You could admit it now - every time you had blown out your birthday candles, this was all you had ever wished for. His lips fit so perfectly onto yours. After the amount of times you had imagined it, really kissing him still was so much better than it had ever felt in your wildest dreams. His hands tangled in your hair and you almost couldn’t breathe. But then again, you didn’t need to. Right then, you didn’t need anything but him. For the first time, you touched the back of his neck in the way you had always wanted to – to pull his mouth closer to yours.

When you pulled away, everything in you screamed ‘Do it again! Now!’. It was as if your mind was worried that he would slip right through your fingertips if you didn’t hold him close to you for the rest of your life. Too many times you had thought that maybe you could have him, only to be let down because your hopes were too high.

“When did you first want to do this?” you asked, because you needed to know.

“About four months ago, probably. What about you?” he said. His hand was still on yours, as if to say “Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere”.

“Ever since I was sixteen,” you said. You could have lied, but what was the use? You loved him too much to ever deceive him. His eyes widened. His hurt was yours, and so you understood the way your words must had pierced through his heart. Now he knew. You could practically read it in his eyes, how he realized the pain, the jealousy and disappointment he had caused, for years, without ever intending to do so. And although you should have wanted him to understand your hurt, the guilt and pain in his look was unbearable.

“It’s not your fau-“ you started.

“I’m so fucking sorry, Y/N,” he interrupted you. “I’m so sorry – god I’m such an ignorant asshole.”

“No!” you said, taking his hand in both of yours. “You are my best friend, and you have caused me endless hours of happiness. I would have taken any sadness if it meant I could be your best friend forever.”

His eyes were watering and your heart felt like someone had gripped and twisted it in their bare hands.

“I was dating people and you had to sit and watch,” he said in disbelief.

“It meant to see you happy,” you said. “Hating you or those girls wouldn’t have changed your feelings for me. Because we don’t choose what we feel and for whom we feel things.”

“I love you,” he let out. “I’m so in love with you and I’ll make it up to you for the rest of my life, I swear.”

His words hit you like a torrent and you didn’t even care about the years of hurt anymore.

“There’s nothing you need to make up to me. I just need you to be here with me. Let me love you the way I’ve secretly loved you all this time,” you said. You touched foreheads until your breaths mixed.

“I’m yours – all yours,” he said. “I’m sorry. It took so long for me to realize and you were here all along, waiting for me. I never wanted to hurt you. How can I apologize properly?”

“Just kiss me again, please,” you said, almost begged. “Kiss me and it’ll all go away.”

And so he did. You had never known how much emotion could be in a kiss. But then again, you had never felt this strongly for anyone else but him. You deepened the kiss, bending almost all the way over to his side of the car. His hands were touching your cheeks so gently, but they were coaxing you closer and closer. When his tongue stroked over your bottom lip, you sighed against his mouth.

“I want you,” you admitted. You thought about driving home, but you needed to be honest to yourself. Driving in this state of mind was probably not safe.

“Backseat?” he asked, lips barely leaving yours alone. Hastily, you nodded. He climbed back there first, then you followed. It was only ten seconds that you couldn’t hold him for, but you yearned for him more than ever when you finally sat down in his lap, facing him. Without hesitation, your hungry mouths attacked each other again. You swore, you could have sat there all night long, kissing and touching him, if there hadn’t been something you wanted even more.

Swiftly, you slid his shirt over his head. Of course, you had seen him shirtless before, but never like this. Never with his chest practically heaving against yours, never with your hands being able, being allowed to touch him. Your fingertips were shaky against his smooth skin and you must had looked at him as if he was carved directly from marble. So he put his fingers under your chin and you looked into his eyes. If his body was marble, his eyes were diamonds. Ever so gently, he kissed you again. For a while you sipped on each other’s lips, only pulling away for a moment so you could remove your own shirt. You had opted to not wear a bra that day, out of comfort but also laziness. All along you used to think that saying someone’s eyes darkened in lust was an exaggeration, but when you looked into his, you understood. It was true. The way he eyed you was beyond all your most daring dreams you had ever dreamt about him.

Your lips meddled messily as his hands ran down your body starting from your neck, to your breasts, squeezing them and playing with your nipples. He was careful not to tickle you, knowing from hundreds of childhood play fights where your weak spots were. Your back arched against his chest, wanting more than his careful touches. On impulse, your hips ground against his crotch. As if on cue, you both let out strained noises. By now, your breaths were heavy when you pulled away shortly. Dreamy eyed, he touched the pendant of the necklace between your collar bones.  

“I gave you that…,” he started.

“For my sixteenth birthday,” you finished his sentence. You caught a flash of regret in his gaze, but you weren’t going to let him feel that way. Not now. Like you had wanted to so many times, you bent to his neck and began peppering kisses on his skin.

“Can I give you a hickey?” you whispered, almost afraid you were still in a dream.

“Just one?” he asked, and even without looking at him you could hear the grin in his voice. After sharing him with so many girls for so long, it almost felt selfish. But you reminded yourself that he wanted you now, after all. He groaned when your teeth grazed his skin and you sucked purple marks onto his neck and shoulder. His restless hands touched all over your boobs and hips, down to your ass where they slid into the back pockets of your pants for a moment. Again, you pressed your crotch against his hips, yearning for any kind of friction. At the same time, your hand wandered along his chest to the hem of his pants. Without looking, you opened his belt and the zipper of his bottoms.

He hissed when you grabbed his clothed dick through his underwear and his fingers dug into your sides. A few times you pumped his already hard shaft through the material. Then he moaned your name and you had never heard anything more perfect. The mere sound of his breathy, husky voice turned you on so much more than you had ever imagined.

“Fuck me, please,” you spoke, kissing him deeply. He hummed a needy yes against your lips and nodded. You climbed off him so you could lie down on the seats. He wriggled out of his pants and then helped you out of your own. When he lay down between your thighs and you felt his weight on top of you, it seemed like he had always belonged right there. It had been a hauntingly long journey, but now that you knew the end of it, you accepted all the sleepless nights you had experienced.

“Hold on,” you said, finding your bag on the floor to reach for the condom inside. He hummed a thank you as he ripped the pack and rolled the rubber over his stiff member. His fingertips teased the inside of your thighs, while he pressed open mouthed kisses onto your neck. A drawn out moan of agreement left your lips and momentarily, your eyes shut in the bliss of anticipation.

“You look so beautiful in the moonlight,” he said. His fingers run through your folds, collecting the wetness. You couldn’t help but whimper at the contact, and maybe also slightly because his words made your heart swell in the most marvelous way possible. Through flattering eyelids, you watched his stupidly handsome features as he curled his fingertips against your clit. All of you wanted more, but you only managed to moan his name in pleasure.

“You ready?” he asked, and you weren’t sure if you brain had even processed the amount of rapture he was causing you – but of course you were. You had been for years.

“Yes,” you said. Just for a moment, he run the tip of his cock through your wet folds. When he finally entered you, you realized you had been holding your breath – now it came out in a relieved sigh. He groaned at the mere sensation of filling you up, and when you opened your eyes to look at him it almost made you dizzy in admiration. Gradually, he thrusted into you, hips fitting against yours like two puzzle pieces finally united.

As he picked up the pace, you moaned in surprise but more in agreement. You felt his hand on yours and linked your fingers. Other men had made you feel good before – but only now you realized how true those statements from women were, when they said that nothing was like sleeping with the one you were in love with. The mixture of pleasure and the way you mooned over his whole being was a lot to take in. But it would never be too much. He was perfect for you. When you threw your head back you spotted the full moon and the brightest stars in the sky, trying to outshine each other.

He hit a spot inside of you that made you arch your back off the seats. Tightly, you shut your eyes and squeezed his hand.

“Oh my- You feel so good,” you moaned. When you felt the tip of his nose brush against yours, you opened your eyes. They met his galaxy eyes, and his mouth was parted slightly. You could barely breathe at the way he looked at you. When would anyone else ever see you in this way? It didn’t matter, you only wanted him either way.

He reached for the back of your thigh, lifting your leg slightly. The different angle felt even better, making you whimper and grab the hair at the nape of his neck, desperate for somewhere to hold on to. He groaned when you pulled his hair a little, and you smirked. You could barely wait to find out all the other things he liked and wanted to do to you in the future. But for now, you weren’t in a rush. It had been a long time since you had felt so at peace and full of happiness. Time was nonexistent right then. All you knew were his soft lips on your jaw and the way his perfect cock was making you see a blur of stars in front of your eyelids.

“I’m gonna- come,” you whimpered.

“Hmm…me too,” he groaned. “Let go for me, baby.”

His hand came in contact with your clit, feverishly rubbing the sensitive nub. The nickname he had called you would have made your cheeks heat up, had they not already been that way from the intensity of your emotions. Your stomach tightened and you only wanted to pull him closer to you.

He reached his high shortly before you did. A few curses fell off his lips as you felt him twitch inside of you, hips moving in sharp thrusts. Even if you had wanted to look at him, it was impossible for you to keep your eyes open, as his fingers still worked their magic on you. His last thrusts were hard and short, but they sent you over the edge too. Just as he pulled out, you met your climax. It was like falling but knowing there was a pair of gentle arms right there to catch you, so you didn’t have to be scared. You moaned his name, and this time he was actually here to hear it. Your chest pressed against his, foreheads touching, your legs tightened around his waist from sensitivity. After slowing down, he removed his fingers from your center completely.

Together, you lay in silence trying to catch your breaths and clear your heads. You scooted over a little, so he could balance his body on his side next to you. Light as a feather, his fingers brushed over your lips, before he bent down and kissed you again. This time it was a long kiss, with less need but even more passion. For what felt like the hundredth time, you questioned reality. Almost as if to check if it really was him, you stroked over his cheek and gazed up at him. But he was right there. Your best friend. Now more than your best friend. Through the opened crack of the car window you made out the crashing waves that caressed the cliffs underneath you two. Mingled with your song playing from the car’s speakers, the mysterious noise seemed to pick you up and tell you “Look at what you’ve been through, only one last time, then put it behind you. You’re where you’re supposed to be, now.”

[hockeyboysiguess]

driver’s license | b. boeser

a/n: so i was listening to driver’s license on repeat and this happened out of the blue in the last 2 hours. @brockadoodles, hope you like this surprise!

word count: 2,027

wine pairing recommendation: an old favorite, something you love and trust.

warnings: a couple swear words. 

You let out a long breath that lingered in the winter air inhabiting your car and cranked it slowly. The engine turned over a couple of times and you cursed a little under your breath. Your brother was supposed to have driven it while you were away, but he always said he forgot which was just his way of saying he hated your car. But she was Old Faithful for a reason and the engine turned on anyway. You breathed out a sigh of relief that turned into a groan as a familiar sound floated through your car of a voice you knew all too well saying your name softly. You slammed the button on the sound system to switch to the radio as your heart pounded in your chest. You didn’t need to hear that today. You weren’t sure you ever needed to hear that CD again. 

You didn’t even consider ejecting it from its permanent home in the otherwise unused CD slot. It lived there in your car that felt like a relic from a past life, a life in which the voice on that CD had a starring role in. That life wasn’t yours anymore, but we all keep tokens from the past, even from our lowest of years, because we can’t bear to part with things that once were our most prized possessions. 

You really should have paid attention to the radio station you had last played, but you didn’t and you paid the price for that decision. 

“Brock Boeser and the Vancouver Canucks were in town tonight and absolutely destroyed the Wild in a 3-0 shutout, with two goals from local Minnesotan Boeser. Remember his draft year? The Wild passed on him and I don’t think he’s ever forgotten it. He really feels like the one that got away for Minnesota, doesn’t he?” 

You switched radio stations, but the damage was already done and tears were clouding your vision. His name, just his name, was enough to do it sitting in this godforsaken car, the car he’d named, the car whose flat tires he’d changed at least five times, the car he’d jumped into the second after you’d gotten your license, the car you had driven aimlessly around his neighborhood once he left. But they had to say the one that got away, didn’t they? The radio show hosts had to be in cahoots with The Universe, who really wanted to pull the old scars over your heart apart with careless word choices and reminders of days that were so infinitely happier than the ones you were living now. 

Some dull pop song was flowing through your speakers now and you tried to focus on the entirely mediocre lyrics that matched the dull beat to center yourself in the mediocrity of it all. The opposite of your pain wasn’t happiness; it was the absolute middle between the two, the void where emotions didn’t inhabit. The problem was Brock Boeser hung over every inch of this car, every inch of this town, every inch of who you used to be. That emotionless void was entirely inaccessible to you in this moment. All you had was the ache in your chest with the terrible option to bury it under artificial joy. The pain you felt when you thought about him bled through your forced smile. It was too real, too raw still years later, the wound still somehow made fresh again by being back here to be covered. 

All you had was your pain, shitty pop music, and a passenger seat that somehow still belonged to Brock and it fucking sucked. 

You put the car in drive and turned right out of your driveway even though all your problems came with you anyway. The chill of the Minnesota winter was slowly dissipating as you drove mindlessly. Except no one ever really drove mindlessly. You made a series of lefts and rights without thinking, which meant your mind was really driving a path it knew so well you didn’t need to think about it as you did it. Minds, even when people thought they were being thoughtless, really weren’t all that random at all. You found yourself in Brock’s old neighborhood and you let out a sound somewhere between a laugh and a sob that shook your aching chest. Of course your mind would bring you here when he was the only thing on it. 

The first time you drove through these suburban streets on your own was so long ago now, but you took the same path you were taking now. This was the first place you’d gone after getting your license, freshy and shiny and new, burning a hole in your wallet and the only place you’d wanted to go was to Brock’s. It hadn’t surprised your mother when you’d pulled up at your house fresh off your driver’s test and hadn’t even reached for the keys. She knew with one look where you wanted to go, and she waved you off as she got out. You’d had the biggest smile on your face as you drove these streets for the first time alone, heading straight for the person who had been the most excited for you to get your license. You had barely remembered to put the car in park before running to hug him and kiss him as words of pride spilled from his lips. He climbed into your passenger seat, where he practically lived that whole summer, where he told you he wanted to be with you forever, forever be in your passenger seat watching you achieve your dreams. 

Forever for Brock Boeser didn’t last past October of that year when he was in North Dakota and you were still here, driving the same goddamn streets you were driving now, driving through memories of your time together in your mind as you rolled through familiar intersections from your past. Years had gone by, and still a piece of Brock lived in a part of your heart like his voice lived on the mixtape still living in the CD slot of your car. You could go weeks, months even, without knowing he was there, especially when you weren’t in town, but something would always remind you of him. You’d see his face in a crowd, hear his name on the radio, drive past a road with the same name as one in his familiar neighborhood and you’d be reminded of him and the love for him that was embedded in your heart. That piece of him was so deep in your heart it couldn’t be surgically removed. There weren’t enough dates to go on, alcohol bottles to find the bottom of, enough love to try to create with other people, that would expel that piece of him you still carried in your heart. You hadn’t found anything that had even come close to him and the love you had for him. So your love for him stayed exactly where he’d left it in your heart and on a poorly burned CD in your car. 

Your friends had to hate you for him now, how you always compared everyone to him. They didn’t understand why you did and honestly, neither did you. You and Brock were young and reckless and stupid, but the love you shared was real and raw and clumsy and fucking beautiful. You knew what a sunset made of blood reds, vibrant oranges, sharp yellows and deep purples looked like; one that was just shades of yellow wouldn’t do. You couldn’t forget what loving him felt like, but as far as you could tell, he had forgotten what loving you was like. Maybe he just never felt about you like you’d felt out him, otherwise, how could he have moved on like he had? He had this whole life, this whole other world, in Vancouver you’d only heard about in poorly remembered stories from people with several degrees of separation between them and him. He sounded like he was doing fucking swell without you and all you could think was that forever apparently left you driving through his streets alone with only memories of him and red lights to keep you company. 

You hesitated before doing it because you knew what it would do, but you were already starting to cry again. All you wanted was to hear his voice again, hear the way it used to sound like when he talked about you sitting in this car, driving through these streets. You switched back to the CD and pressed play. 

“Hey baby, I hope this works? I don’t really know what I’m doing, but you got your license and I’m so proud of you. I can’t always be bugging you in your passenger seat, being the best DJ ever, so I figured I’d make you a little CD so you can have my amazing DJ talents with you wherever and whenever you go. I love you!”

The tears were flowing now. Hearing the way he told you he loved you, the way the words were somehow heard directly in your heart and made it twist in your chest, made you remember why it hadn’t worked out with anyone else. The way Brock told you he loved you was better than how anyone else had ever tried. You walked down sidewalks holding other people’s hands and remembered the way his hand used to feel in yours when you walked down the same sidewalks in this neighborhood you were in now, past the same front yards you were passing now. The way he loved you clouded every moment you had ever tried to deny that he wasn’t your one great love. He was the person you had envisioned your future with, a future that included buying the blue house at the end of the street you were on now and pulling into that very driveway every night, sliding into bed with him, living with him, loving him forever. 

Instead of that ideal forever, you were turning onto his street alone in the waning sunlight with tear-stained cheeks, remembering how much simpler and better everything was with him. The street was practically empty but as you got close to the house you knew as well as your own, your breath hitched in your throat with worry that someone would be there. Of all the empty houses, someone being in the driveway at Brock’s would be your luck. You came over the hill and exhaled upon seeing the driveway empty, before checking your rearview mirror and letting your car slow to a crawl. You could practically see him there, all the times he’d run out that front door and into the passenger seat, off to the lake, to your favorite dinner, to the fourth best but still your favorite park around, to even just driving around these same neighborhood streets when he needed to breathe and forget the weight he carried in that house. 

You slowed to almost a stop in front of his house, letting your car roll forward as you tried to will the memories to sit more comfortably on your mind and in your chest to no avail. You didn’t notice someone appear in the driveway until it was too late, until they had already seen you. Blonde hair peaked out the back of a blue hat that sat backwards on his head. An old beat up North Dakota sweatshirt covered his broad chest, broader now that it had been when he had been yours, gray sweatpants, and sneakers he had thrown on to do some mundane task, probably to get the mail for his dad. There he was, standing in the driveway, looking at you and for a second, you thought he was thinking the same things you were, longing for them in the same way you were. 

He mouthed your name, disbelief written on his face, and started walking toward your car. You shifted it into park, because after all this time, all the pain, all the broken promises of forever, he was still Brock Boeser and you couldn’t leave him hanging when he called your name.

[nepenthendline]

ooo i love ur new header chloe🥺💖 i see ur requests are open hehe~ mmm can i pls request some tsukki content? head cannon or whatever is cool :-) maybe tsukki and reader are bffs and reader is the only one that can bring out his soft side and he realizes it’s cuz he actually likes her? you can really take this anywhere you’d like— sorry if it’s too vague (pls lmk if it is) i hope you’re doing well with school and everything, let’s catch up soon :-) many uwus 💗

thank you ren! you’re so sweet! and things for uni are starting to look up, i’m actually getting updates now about what the hell is going on, I hope you’re doing ok! this is a wreck but I hope this is alright for you 🥰🥰🥰

Tsukishima being soft with his crush

you and Tsukishima had been friends since middle school, so you were already pretty close by the time you started high school, alongside Yamaguchi of course

Tsukishima was a boy with many sides, most of which were sealed off to intruders, the only ones who held the key were you, Yamaguchi, and occasionally his mum

that didn’t stop you from being the receiver of his teasing sometimes though, but it was never malicious or hurtful, and he always seemed to know when to stop

you, Tsukishima and Yamaguchi had all planned to go to a cafe together during the weekend, however Yamaguchi had come down with a cold, leaving him stuck at home

since you were really in the mood for a sweet treat and a tea, you asked if Tsukishima wanted to go out as the two of you instead

“Hmm, treat me to a strawberry shortcake and we’ll make it a deal”

the two of you arrived and found a table, one near the back where it was quieter

Tsukishima said he would go order for the two of you and asked what you wanted

you told him and gave him enough money to cover both of your treats as to the deal you made

when he came back, he passed you your snacks, plus all the money you gave him

“I thought I was paying for us?” 

“Huh? it’s fine, you can pay next time,” his tone made it seem as it was just a mistake that he paid, but you knew a guy like Tsukishima did everything with a purpose

the two of you ate and chatted for a little while before making your way outside

“I’m going to head to the vinyl shop that down the road if you want to join?” he asked, already walking off

of course you agreed and followed him

you loved music, but you didn’t know many of the artists that were on the vinyls in this store, so you patiently stood by Tsukishima as he looked around

“hey, Y/N, come look at this,” he grabbed your attention over to a vinyl player that was hooked up with headphones for people to test the discs

he had a vinyl in his hand that he placed on the deck, before handing you a pair of headphones

“I think you’ll like this one. It’s similar to the songs I sent you the other day,”

the song was sweet; it was a romantic, slow love song that left you entranced

Tsukishima stared at you while you two listened, watching for your reaction

“wow, that was amazing, the lyrics were so deep and moving!” 

he smiled and nodded, telling you all about the artist and their other albums

you spent a while in there as he told you about various albums and played you more songs, it was rare you got to see him so unfiltered like this, simply enjoying his interests

it felt so easy to share his passions with you, usually he kept them to himself from fear of being judged, but you always listened to what he had to say with excitement

just as you were about to leave, you decided you wanted to buy him a gift - after all he had paid for you food for you and spent the day with you

telling him to wait outside, you bought the vinyl he first showed you with the sweet song

you met him outside and handed him the bag

his eyebrow was raised as he stared at it

“it’s for you silly, I got you a gift”

“now I owe you something” he huffed, but took the bag anyway

he pulled out the vinyl and stared at it for a few seconds, his mouth slightly hung open

“t-thank you” he stuttered in a murmur

the two of you made your way back home, before coming across a familiar park

“Kei! That’s the park we used to play in as kids! I haven’t walked this way in a long time so I’ve never really noticed it”

you dragged him over to sit on the swings with you, he complained the whole  way about you being ‘childish’ and he ‘dreads to think what germs are on them’

it was coming closer to evening now as you two slowly rocked yourselves on the swings, enjoying the silence

“thank you for today Kei, I enjoyed it,” you said turning to him

“yeah, me too. We should do this more often,”

“of course! When Yamaguchi get’s better we can-” he cut you off

“I mean’t just the two of us,” he turned you with a smile

[eleanorbloom]

When You're Ready Ch. 25

Pairing: Bryce Lahela x f! MC (Eleanor Bloom) x Ethan Ramsey.

Word Count: 6.3k

Warnings: Mentions of panic attacks, innuendos and Spanish dirty talk (with proper translations 😂) oh and lots of fluff   Rated: T

Taglist: @utterlyinevitable @binny1985 @shanzay44 @choicesficwriterscreations @starrystarrytrouble @lahellacute @lucy-268 @cinnamonspongecake @romewritingshop @freckles-spangledvampire @mercury84choices @curiousconch @thegreentwin @openheartfanfics

----

Chapter 25. 24 Hours

It's a little soon

But I wanna come home to you

It had been forty days since she last put a foot in Edenbrook. Forty-six since the incident.

Memories of that day floored her mind as she was standing in front of Edenbrook Hospital looking for the strength, the bravery to come in.

The trauma about that place wasn't as big as it was in the first days when she couldn't even conceive being alone in a hospital room, worried that something could happen and she would be trapped there alone again; but was still there, leading her to catastrophic thoughts from time to time.

What if something happens again?

Eleanor couldn’t stop that question from popping up in her mind over and over again, but she’d reassure herself, over and over again, that anythingcould happen anywhere. It could've perfectly happened at the airport, on her way to Ohio, on her way back to Massachusetts. On her way to the hospital, even.

Anywhere.

So after a long, deep breath and ignoring her mind trying to trick her for the umpteenth time, she headed toward the entrance.

The hospital inside was with its usual hustle. People in and out at every moment; nurses, doctors, and other professionals deep in their work, some of them recognizing her and stopping to greet her, some others just giving her curious glances when she'd walk by their side.

Despite feeling overwhelmed by the amount of prying eyes and people inquiring about her state, she felt content with being back at Edenbrook. She’d been missing the familiarity of that place.

Banerji was as welcoming as she thought and happy to see her back at the hospital, though he didn't hesitate to tell her she could take more time if she needed. Eleanor thanked him for being so understanding during her time away but assured him that she was ready and therapy would help her in case things take a turn for the worse.

After chatting with Banerji about the hospital and life in general, Eleanor sauntered towards the Diagnostic Office, hoping she’d find Ethan to inform him personally about coming back to work the next day.

When she reached the glass walls, she found Ethan alone, deep in concentration reading something from his computer.

Her heart felt weird at the sight of him. The man she used to be in love with. It seemed almost impossible to think her heart belonged to him two months ago.

“Hello,” she said softly, standing at the entry.

His blue eyes widened by the sudden appearance, but quickly softened into a warm look when he recognized her, “Eleanor, what a surprise,” he said, standing and walking towards her, “How are you?”

“I’m doing better,” she shrugged, and both stared silently, awkwardly, unsure what to do next. But after everything had happened, there was no need to pretend anything, nor accentuate fondness when there wasn’t such or conceal coldness to not expose her feelings.

She wanted to believe they were already past that point, even if they only had two, almost three (normal) days to deal with the aftermaths of the end of them, and forty days apart seemed a good amount of time to do some healing.

So, she simply went for it and gave him a friendly greeting hug. They hadn’t seen each other in a while, so she greeted him just as she greeted her friends, just as Naveen greeted her that morning. Ethan was also her friend, despite everything, and maybe this was a way to show him she’d buried the hatchet after everything had happened between them.

Briefly stunned by the gesture, Ethan returned the embrace patting her gently in the back, "Are you visiting?" He asked while both were taking a seat at the circular table.

“Not really, I came to inform Naveen, and now to you, that I’ll come back to work tomorrow.”

“That’s good to hear. The Team hasn’t been the same without you.”

There was a tint of sadness in his voice and eyes when he said those words. There was more to it than the explicit meaning. It wasn’t just the Team, it was him he hadn't been the same without her, but that information didn’t mean anything to her. Maybe in another time, or another life, that would make her change her mind, would make her quiver and see hope in the hidden messages.

But not now.

At this point in her life, she was completely over him, and head over heels for Bryce Lahela and nothing could change that.

“And I’ve been missing using my brain for more than follow plots in my series,” she teased, trying to conceal the fact that she still could read him like a book, “I suppose I have a lot of journals to catch up with, too.”

Ethan chuckled, seeming a lot lighter than a few seconds ago, “Oh, yes you certainly have to.”

After catching up for an hour with Ethan about the team’s work, Eleanor headed to the cafeteria to have lunch with Bryce and some of her friends.

*

Late in the afternoon, after cleaning up last night's party and unpacking her suitcase, Eleanor took the T to Bryce's apartment.

There was still one person she needed to talk to.

When Eleanor stood outside the apartment door, loud music was heard inside, and a really passionate voice reciting a rap song with perfect speed and lyrics. Chuckling, she waited until the song was over to knock the door.

“Are you practicing for America’s Got Talent? 'Cause girl, you’re killin' it” she asked when Keiki opened the door, wearing Bryce’s red Stanford hoodie and a messy bun tied over her head.

“Ella!” she sighed before engulfing Eleanor in her arms, “Ohmygod, hi! What a surprise!”

"Hey, Keiks…" Eleanor replied, fighting back the tears. She didn't expect such a warm welcome from her at all, much less another spontaneous hug from her, but she returned it enthusiastically, "Oh, I missed you, kiddo, how are you?"

“I’m doing fine,” she assured, inviting her to come in, “I’m finishing my homework before studying for my history test tomorrow.”

“Woah. Bryce told me you had a test today too.”

As both approached the living room, Keiki grabbed a mix of notebooks, papers with concepts and diagrams, and some flashcards scattered all over the couch and piled them in the coffee table to let Eleanor take a seat beside her, “Yeah, Chemistry. Next week I’ll have my last two exams and I’ll be up to date with my curriculum.”

“Keiki, that’s amazing!” Eleanor congratulated, sitting on the couch, “And really impressive. Doing two months of exams in three weeks it’s a lot, I hope you get to learn well, though.”

“Oh, yeah. I honestly thought I wouldn’t make it, but I’ve got mostly As, so it was totally worth it the hard work.”

“It clearly paid off, you must be so proud! And Bryce too!”

"Yeah, he is, though it annoys me sometimes that he's so… nosy, like, he sits beside me to know what I'm studying, and he starts questioning me, and argh, you know how he is."

“Aww, but he’s trying to help you!”

“I know, it’s just…” she sighed, looking a bit conflicted, “My mom never sat beside me to study with me. Never. Only to ask me if I was doing good at school, etc, but she never actually cared about my… learning process, so I guess the whole thing it’s kind of new for me. I know I said I wanted him to show he cares about me, but sometimes it’s like.... too much…”

Eleanor nodded, encouraging her to keep talking. She knew how contradictory her confession was, even Keiki seemed to see it that way, but it was understandable. It wasn't easy to adjust to a new life where she had attention and genuine care, and that amount of worry, considering how independent Keiki was for being a fifteen-year-old, was certainly too much for her.

But she was happy for what that implied. Keiki was openly recognizing Bryce cared about her and was trying to give her as much time as he could, and that was progress compared to what she had felt a month ago.

She also felt happy Keiki still trusted her to share those things with her.

When Bryce arrived home, he was beside himself with happiness for having the two most important people in his life together again, joking with each other as Eleanor was finishing making dinner, and Keiki was setting the table.

He knew Keiki was over with whatever conflict she had with Eleanor, but seeing it materializing was different.

However, Bryce and Eleanor took things slow. She just stayed for dinner and before Keiki went to bed, she returned home to prep for her first day back at work. And the following weeks she didn’t spend more than two nights a week with Bryce to not alter the dynamics Bryce and Keiki were establishing since she started school.

Apart from the whole ‘over-worried Bryce about her studies’ thing, and the typical fights every adult has with a teenager, things ran smoothly between the Lahela siblings.

Both were doing their best to make it work.

Keiki had found a good group of friends at school with whom she used to spend her free time, and who had her back when some classmates tried to bully her when they found out about her family name. The first time it happened, she didn’t let them get under her skin and called them out and stood up for herself instantly, because there was nothing, and no one, who could ruin her peace now that she finally had a place to call home and people to call friends. She was done with the bullying.

One day, though, that attitude turned into suspension because she punched a boy who crossed the line with her, but Bryce, instead of scolding her, congratulated her by inviting her dining out for being so badass.

No one dared to talk about her after that day.

*

The first day back at work wasn’t easy for Eleanor. Nor the following days. From time to time certain things would trigger her trauma, making her remember painful details about that day, and consequently, cause panic attacks that would force her to lock herself in supply closets until the irrational fear was over. Luckily for her, some of those times happened when Bryce wasn’t in the OR, so he would sit on the floor with her to try to ease her mind or at least distract her until she was feeling good enough to come back to work.

Sometimes it happened out of nowhere, but most of the time it happened when she was walking outside the DT's patient room, or when she saw Danny attending his therapy sessions.

It overwhelmed her to see how weak he still was compared to her and even compared to Rafael, but Danny reassured her that he was doing fine, that he knew recovery would take him some time, but he was thankful for being alive and having another chance.

Sienna was happy with this second chance too.

Therapy helped her a lot, though. It helped her to unload the baggage she'd been carrying for so many years, and to not let her most recent trauma do more harm than it already had done. She was fighting hard to have her life back but to also be able to let all those fears in the past and give Bryce everything he deserved in their relationship.

She wanted to give him everything she once promised.

Between work, therapy, and trying to find ways to save Edenbrook, weeks happened in a blur, and before knowing it, the first days of snow arrived, and with that, the gift of a night of celebration with her friends, the Hopeful Hearts Gala.

“Why the smug smile on your face?” Eleanor asked, her arms locked around Bryce's neck as their bodies swayed to the beat of the music.

“Are you kidding? I’m the luckiest person here, dancing with the most beautiful woman in the whole world,” he said, grasping the fabric of her astonishingly beautiful red gown before lifting a hand to swirl her in one swift motion.

“Aw, mi amor. I have to disagree with you,” she said, placing both hands over his chest, feeling his warmth through the silky fabric of his blue floral button-up shirt, “I am the luckiest for calling the most handsome and loving man in the world my boyfriend, beat that.”

Bryce grinned before biting his lower lip “Okay, that’s really hard to beat, lots of people would kill to have your position.”

“Oh, I know, but you’re worth the fight, though I’d prefer not to fight at all, you know?”

“You don’t have to. I’m yours forever,” he whispered, and not missing a beat, Bryce leaned to brush his lips in her ear and added in a sultry voice, “and I’m counting the seconds until I take this dress off you and I make you mine.”

Eleanor lolled her head to the opposite side reflexively, feeling as a shiver was electrifying her entire body.

More than intoxicated with his innuendo, she turned to him and gave him a suggestive smile, “A couple more rounds with donors, and I’ll be all yours. Well, I am already yours, but I’ll allow you to use your prerogatives on me.”

“Wow, I didn’t know you could do fancy dirty talk too.”

“It comes with the dress,” she purred before drawing her face an inch away from his lips, her eyes still fixated on his, “Once you get rid of it... te hablaré sucio como tanto te gusta.” (I’ll talk dirty to you just as you like it.)

“Oh, please stop it,” he growled, pressing her body against his, his now dark eyes gazing hungrily at her cherry lips.

“Cállame,” she challenged, arching a brow and parting her lips invitingly. (Shut me up)

“Gladly.”

Bryce didn’t hesitate a second and captured her lips on his, kissing her with eagerness for a brief two seconds. The place didn’t allow for more, but it was enough to leave her cheeks flushed and her eyes ignited with desire.

“Stop it or I’ll drag you outta here and we won’t get to talk with more donors for the entire night. I mean it.”

“Alright, seré una chica buena,” she said with her best angel face before taking his hand and leading him to a group of philanthropists standing by the drinks table. (I’ll be a good girl).

Suddenly, she felt his hand pinching her waist with deliberate force, “You’re gonna pay for this, Andrea,” he mumbled discreetly in her ear as both were walking between attendees and colleagues with perfect smiles on their faces.

“Oh, I’m sure,” she said sweetly, before extending her hand to a posh couple debiting with a glass of champagne in their hands, “That’s precisely the point.”

*

When Eleanor opened her eyes the next morning, Bryce was already looking at her, his bare arms loosely tangled over her body.

“Good morning,” she said sleepily, tilting her head to kiss him.

“Morning gorgeous, how did you sleep?”

“Amazing, but…” A yawn interrupted her words, making her stretch between his arms, “I wouldn’t mind staying with you for another three hours.”

“Mmmmh, me neither,” he said softly, smiling pensively before embracing her.

After a minute of silence, Eleanor narrowed her eyes, stranged by how oddly quiet he was that morning. Bryce normally was noisy and chatty rather than pensive, much more considering the amazing and well-spent night they just had.

“Is something the matter? You’re kinda quiet this morning.”

“It’s nothing.”

“Love…” she stared at him, serious, waiting for his answer.

Bryce looked at her silently for a second, stroking her hair before answering, “I was thinking… Ok, I know this might be too much but I…”

Yeah, something was definitely happening because Bryce didn’t use to babble.

“I watched you sleeping for a while, you know? And I couldn't help but think how beautiful it would be to wake up like this every morning.”

She felt her chest swelling with a very well-known warmth at his words and the yearning smile he gave her.

“Oh, I see” she sighed, grinning nervously at him.

“And go to sleep every night with you by my side…” he continued, his hand now resting over her face, his thumb caressing her cheek, “And go to work together and… just live with you, babe.”

And her stomach fluttered with the images that started forming in her mind with every idea he was disclosing, and her whole body felt like melting, melting with that familiar warmth Bryce used to cause on her. With wonder.

As she wasn’t able to say a word, Bryce's smile faltered instantly, “Oh, babe, I’m sorry, it was just an idea, I didn't mean t-”

She shook her head, “It’s not that, I’d love to live with you.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, that would be… god, perfect.”

“Then why don't we do it? I spoke to my landlord the other day because I wanna move to a bigger apartment with Keiki, and he let me terminate my lease early if I move between Christmas and New Year… ”

“Bryce… ”

She didn't know what to say. She loved the idea but a part of her was terrified about it. It terrified her she could screw it up again with Keiki. Or with Bryce.

But she knew she had to be braver than that. She’d been working on that in therapy and this was her first test.

“This could be our chance...” he persuaded, careful not to sound too insistent.

“Love, it’s not that simple.”

“Babe, if you don't want to do this just tell me, I won’t get mad because you don't feel ready.” His tone was earnest and there was no doubt he meant it.

“Listen, it’s not that I don’t want to, I do, but there are a lot of things we should consider before making that decision. The most important of all, Keiki. Have you even asked her what she thinks about this?”

He shook his head.

“Then you should start there. It took you a long way to get along with her, and making a decision like this without asking her could really damage her trust in you.”

"Mmm, you're right. Not because everything is okay now, it means she'll be okay with you moving in."

“Exactly. But even if she agrees, don’t you think it’s kind of… weird that we move together considering Edenbrook is closing and probably we’ll have to finish our residencies somewhere else, probably in different cities?”

Bryce furrowed his lips, thinking, “Not really? I plan to stay in the area, mostly for Keiki. I wouldn't like to force her to start over again in a new place and school. Salomon Kenmore and Mass Gen have great surgical programs so I’ll send my applications there as my first options. And… well, you told me the other day you were planning to apply to Mass Gen and BWH because those were your second and third options if you hadn't got admitted to Edenbrook. ”

“It's true. But what if I'm not accepted? If I end up, I don't know, in New York, or Cleveland?”

"Who cares? I mean, of course, it would be sad if we had to go to different cities, but is it really a reason to not take the chance now? We'd still have full five or six months ahead of us. Whether we end up here or not, we could enjoy this time while we can, and if in the end we both stay in Boston, much better."

Bryce was right. It didn't make sense worrying about something that wouldn't happen in several months when they had the chance now to live together for at least five months. All this, in the hypothetical case Keiki would agree to Eleanor moving with them.

“You’re right. It’s better five, six months than nothing.”

“Exactly, it’s making the most of our time together.”

Eleanor bit her lip, her eyes sparkling with excitement as new ideas started popping in her mind, unleashing all kind feelings and plans, "Awww, that would be so amazing! Having breakfast together before going to work, making groceries list, planning menus for the week…"

“And fighting who does the dishes or cleans the bathroom,” Bryce added, with the same excited tone Eleanor was using.

“Oh, and I’d yell at you every morning because you’re taking too much time in the shower.”

“And I would yell at you that you could join me instead of complaining.”

“But you can’t do that! Your sister’s here!”

“But it’s just a shower!”

“We both know it’s not just a shower, Bryce Lahela.”

“Damn, that’s true, but if we move to a bigger apartment with an ensuite bathroom,” Bryce gave her a mischievous smile, pressing her tightly against his warm body, “She wouldn’t even notice.”

Eleanor rolled her eyes, suppressing the smirk forming on her lips at his insinuation, “You’re impossible.”

Ignoring her feigned glare, he continued, “And we’d have dinner the three of us every night, and we’d brush our teeth together before going to sleep, and then you’d snuggle up to me every time you have cold feet…”

“My love...”

The sole idea was enough for her to say yes, but she knew, she knew she had to think about it seriously, even if Keiki agreed. Moving together carried a lot of responsibilities, with their relationship and also with Keiki, so she couldn't make the decision lightly.

“I’ll talk to Keiki about this,” he assured as he saw the mix of hope and concern in her eyes.

“And I’ll think about it and… probably start my applications to secure a spot here in Boston.”

“Deal.”

They sealed the agreement with a soft, lingering kiss before getting up to start the day.

The proposal kept ringing in her head for several days. The more she thought about it, the more she wanted to move in with him, but she knew there were a lot of obstacles to make that come true.

Keiki was one, but also the uncertain future about where she’d be next year. But even without the idea of moving in with Bryce, it was about time she did something about her residency.

She started looking for places besides her two first options. New York and Baltimore had good programs too so those could go in third and fourth place considering closeness with Boston. Cleveland was another, but mostly because it was in Ohio.

Once she had a secure list of hospitals, she decided to discuss her options with Ethan and see if he could write a recommendation letter to incorporate in her application.

However, part of her was worried he would question her choices, probably the fact that her first two options were unmovable partly because she wanted to stay close to Bryce and Keiki.

With the whole hospital working for the free clinic, it was hard to find free time, so as soon as she saw Ethan was taking a break to have lunch, she followed him to his office and explained the situation.

“Your list of preferences is fine in my opinion,” Ethan said after both discussed the programs she had chosen, “but I don't understand why you're so adamant with Mass Gen and Brigham in the first places. They are great, but John Hopkins has a better Diagnostics Department.”

“I know, but I'm trying to prioritize options that let me stay in the city. Good options. Mass Gen is second nationwide.”

Ethan nodded, his gaze pensive. He was fighting hard the urge to ask further, but he did it anyway, “Are you doing this for Lahela? Because I assume he’s planning to stay in the area for his sister.”

Eleanor was expecting the question, but that didn't make her feel any less startled. She knew that 80% of her decision was professional, that she chose those places because they were her options two years ago, and still were one of the best options in the rankings, but for a moment, his words made her feel like she was actually making it just for Bryce.

Was that inherently wrong? Probably so, but she knew herself enough to tell she'd never make a professional decision onlythinking about someone else.

“I’m not, but what if I was?” she asked, trying to placate her defiant tone.

“I just want to make sure you're making the choice that's best for you.”

Eleanor begged internally he wasn’t going to come with his paternalistic attitude as always.

“And this is, Ethan. As I said, I came up with my first two options because those were the places I would've gone if I hadn't been accepted here. But yes, I also have personal reasons for wanting to stay here. Bryce and I are considering moving in together, so it would be ideal if we stayed in the same city.”

Ethan looked baffled for a brief second. At the next, he was the same stoic Ethan she knew.

“If you're sure that's the best for you, I support your decision.”

But she could tell it was hard for him to say those words.

“You really mean that?”

He sighed.

"Look, if I have to be honest, I don't agree with you at all. Personally, I would never let anyone or anything interfere in my career, so my choices would be different from what you made…"

“But that's you…”

“Exactly, that's me, so it doesn't matter what I think. What matters is what you want, and if you're telling me this is important to you, that these are the best options to you, I have to respect that.”

Eleanor was agape. That was something Eleanor would've never seen it coming in a million years.

Ethan chuckled, amused by her reaction, “I know I spent a lot of time questioning your decisions, both professional and personal, but that time is over. As a colleague and friend, I can tell you're doing what's best for you, so I cannot do anything but support you.”

Yeah, it seemed the time apart, and all the time they had been spending since her returning had done something to mend their relationship. Three months ago Ethan wouldn’t have hesitated for a second to question and criticize her decisions and would’ve mocked her for taking Bryce into consideration, but instead, and for the first time, she was surprised in a goodway by Ethan.

"Thank you, Ethan, it makes me really happy knowing you're on my side."

“You’re welcome, Eleanor.”

Eleanor left his office, happy and more sure than ever about her decision.

When she was expecting the worst, ready to set boundaries and fight for her decision- even if she knew she didn't owe him any explanations about her decisions-, Ethan was surprising her with empathy and support.

They'd come a long way and finally, they were finding the balance.

*

A couple days later, the morning of her birthday, Eleanor was clocking out after a long shift. The idea of going home and having a nap before getting ready for her lunch date with Bryce was the only thing on her mind.

However, as soon as she got out of the hospital, the figure of a familiar teenager approaching made her stop in her tracks.

Keiki.

Eleanor almost didn't recognize her as her face was hidden under a light-blue parka and a white scarf tied around her neck. It was freezing outside.

“Keiks? Hey! What are you doing here? Bryce isn’t working today.”

“I know, I came to see you actually. Happy birthday!”

"Oh my god, Keikiii! You're too sweet! Thank you!" she squealed as Keiki was crushing her with a warm hug. "Aw, you might not want to hear this but you're almost as much of a good hugger as your brother."

Keiki blushed, “As long as you don't tell him, it's okay.”

“It'll be our little secret.”

“Great, now come with me, I have a surprise for you,” she said in a confidential tone before taking her hand and leading her to the parking lot.

“A surprise?”

“Yes, but it’ll take us a while to get there, so you have to be patient.”

After a short walk, they found Bryce waiting for them in the car. As soon as Eleanor sat shotgun, Bryce wrapped her in his arms instantly, peppering her with kisses over her lips and cheeks and down her jaw, “There's my birthday girl! Happy birthday again, beautiful.”

“Mmmh, you’re in the sweetest Goldie mode today, uh? I love it.”

“Hope this day is as good as you dreamed.”

“Well, with Keiki's surprise visit and the surprise that's coming, I'm sure it will be!”

Bryce stared at her silently for a moment, his gaze charged with hope and something hidden she couldn't quite decipher, but it made her more excited about the surprise.

Suddenly, the door of the back seat opened, “Are you two done? I’m freezing out here.”

“No, but you can cover your eyes if you can’t stand watching some innocent kisses,” Bryce teased, kissing Eleanor once again.

“I’ve seen more than enough between you two too many times.”

“It’s not like you’d get a disease if you watch us, you know?”

“Bryce!” Eleanor giggled, “Leave her alone! We are done, Keiks. Get in here! I cannot wait to see my surprise.”

After a ten minutes ride by the snowy streets of Boston, Keiki tied her white scarf around Eleanor’s head, covering her eyes as Bryce started slowing down the speed, “Okay, we’re closer to your surprise.”

“Oh man, I’m getting nervous now.”

“Don’t be, it’s safe and I’m sure you’ll like it,” Keiki assured softly, a tone she rarely used, as she helped her get out of the car.

As they began walking, Eleanor hooked her arm around Keiki's so she could lead her to their destination. Keiki didn't let her go any second, guiding her through the entry of a -she guessed- building, helping her to get into and out of the elevator, and then leading her through a hallway until a door closed behind them. Seconds later, Keiki untied the scarf.

“Surprise!”

After trying to adjust her eyes to the bright light, Eleanor found herself and Keiki alone in an empty room. It was an empty apartment, actually. White immaculate walls, big windows, a new, shiny kitchen, and a spacious living room.

“Keiki, wha...?”

The teenager bit her lower lip as she started to shorten the distance between Eleanor and her, “Bryce talked to me the other day about the idea of you moving in with us. I must confess at first I didn’t like the idea, thinking I’d feel the same I felt… well, you know when.”

Eleanor nodded silently.

“But then I thought… There’s nothing wrong with you, or with me, or with Bryce. We only had problems communicating, and thanks to you and the way you’ve cared about Bryce and me, we could solve those problems and now we’re both trying to make this work.”

“I’m glad you can see it that way now.”

“I know we never talked about it after what happened, but… I wanna apologize for being so unfair with you, for kind of blaming you when it wasn't your fault, and…”

Eleanor could sense Keiki it wasn't easy for her to speak so earnestly, but it was clear she meant every word and every feeling.

She breathed in deeply.

“And at the same time, I wanna thank you for always taking care of me. For always taking me into consideration and trying to do what's best for me, since the first day we met. You… You've become like a sister to me, Ella, the sister I didn't know I wanted, so thank you for being there for me.”

“Oh, Keiki, please, you’re gonna make me cry.”

“Sorry not sorry,” she teased, her cheeks profusely blushed.

Her heart was so warm, she thought it would melt any second. And she was so happy, she thought she could fly any instant.

“Keiks… I had no idea you feel that way about me,” Eleanor hugged her, “Thank you for telling me.”

"Everything is true. I know I'm not the kind of person who says these things, but I really mean it. And I'd be so happy if you move in with us. And of course, my brother would be happy too. The happiest, actually."

Eleanor grinned broadly, her eyes glistening with joy. “You're like a sister to me too”, she confessed, throwing her arms around her again.

As if he knew it was the right time to get in, Bryce opened the door, and poked his head inside, “Can I come in now?”

“Yeah, weirdo, come in,” Keiki allowed, as Eleanor freed her from her embrace.

After drying her tears of joy with the back of her hand, Eleanor turned to Bryce, who was looking at her, expectantly.

“So, what do you think? I hope you don't mind spending the morning of your birthday looking for the perfect apartment to move in.”

Eleanor looked at Bryce, his eyes charged with hope and possibility. It was a possibility what she couldn't read early that morning. But she could now because her head and her heart were full of possibilities too, full of plans and a beautiful, bright future together with Bryce and Keiki.

And when she turned to Keiki, her smile was welcoming and her eyes sparkling with the same possibility. For once in her life, she wasn't hiding any of her emotions.

She thought about the things that had been holding her back. Right there, there was none.

Her heart wanted this. And she hadn’t realized how much she wanted it until that moment.

She was ready.

Ready to fully commit and take this new step with Bryce.

Ready to take this new responsibility with Keiki and try to give her the love and care she'd been lacking her whole life.

Ready to be part of this pretty little family.

Feeling an outburst of joy, Eleanor ran and clung to Bryce to smooch him sweetly, “I love it! I love it, I love it! And I love you!”

Bryce encircled his arms around her to lift her from the floor, his gaze devastatingly tender, “And I adore you, baby,” he whispered.

She rested her forehead against his, feeling the warmth of his breath before kissing him one last time. This was a moment she was sure she’d remember her whole life.

“Fun fact number one about domestic Eleanor,” Bryce said once Eleanor’s feet were back on the floor, “She’s actually a koala.”

Keiki, who was looking at the windows resisting the urge to laugh at the clingy scene, turned to her brother, “Oh, just as you’re a Goldie?" she retorted, mischievously.

“Exactly, Keiks! Exactly!” Eleanor said, chortling at the remark.

Grinning, Bryce approached his sister and rested an arm around her shoulders, pulling her to his side “Keiki needs a pet name.”

“Oh, no, no, no no, you leave me out of this,” the girl said, trying to get rid of her brother’s grip, to no avail.

“I agree with Bryce. You cannot be the only one in this family without a pet name.”

Keiki’s eyes widened at the mention of the word family. Forgetting completely the annoyed act, she smirked fondly at her and then to Bryce, realizing what she had in front of her.

Her family.

“Keiki is totally a cat,” Bryce stated seconds later, “She likes to be left alone, and only likes love when she asks for it, but not when you give it to her, and she hates me, just as cats hate dogs.”

“Oh my god yes! You'll be Kitty, then!”

“No, no way you’re gonna call me Kitty, anything but that,” she refused, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Grumpy Cat then.”

Eleanor cackled, and even Keiki couldn’t help the laugh.

“Love, Grumpy Cat? She’s not that grumpy.”

“If Bryce’s around, I am. So, as you'll only call me that way when we’re at home, it will totally suit me. Anything is better than Kitty at this point.”

"Grumpy Cat, Koala, and Goldie, quite the zoo, uh? Does this apartment allow animals?" Bryce asked.

“Bryce, don’t start with your dad jokes already!” Keiki scoffed, finally freed from Bryce’s arms, and sauntered towards one of the bedrooms, leaving Eleanor and Bryce alone in the empty living room.

Sharing a hopeful smile, Bryce took a few steps towards her and rested his hands over her hips, “Did you like the surprise? I hope this isn’t forcing you to make a decision.”

Eleanor encircled her arms around his neck, thoughtful.

“No, no, love, it was perfect. I’m actually… still a bit incredulous about what Keiki said and… well, that she agreed.”

“There's no way she wouldn't feel that way about you, babe. You've been so supportive and just… good and caring with her.”

“She's a good kiddo too, a girl that has been through a lot and didn't deserve any of what she had to live.”

“Lucky for her, her brother's girlfriend has the biggest, warmest heart this planet has ever seen, so she'll get all the love she deserves.”

Eleanor gave him a sweet peck on the lips before looking softly at him, eyes conveying nothing but adoration.

“Just as you will.”

“Oh, yeah?”

“Yes, my love. Every morning and every night of every day.”

-----

A/N: Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. With the mess book 3 has been, this kind of fluff has been really therapeutic to write. Even the bit with Ethan helped me to recalibrate, because he's been insufferable in this book. Luckily, here I could portray him more as he actually is.

A big hug to everyone of you, and thanks again for reading ❤️

[imaginethatimaginethis]

party night 4

Hello my friends. Well, here it is. Part 4 of chaotic and super chaotic party night featuring (Y/N), Wonho, Minhyuk, Jooheon and Changkyun. The End it is. What a night. What a morning. Too much and so short. It’s a long ass one i’m so sorry that you had to wait for this for so long.

This is Part Numero Quatro/ The End

Pairing: Well, Monsta X Partying With Reader.. Will Something Happen? Maybe? Who Knows? Who got lost? Who’s in love?

„Don’t you think you had enough to drink?” the pretty bartender guy said, grinning at you from his place as he held out a beer bottle in his hand. His smile was contentious, making you grin from ear to ear. He was a very handsome man and you were sure that if you weren’t that drunk right now you would get flustered and nervous in front of him.

“No, I don’t think so” you slurred, shaking your head dramatically and grinning like a child. Kai just shook his head again and watched you smiling, giving away the bottle in his hand. Holding onto Wonhos arm, who was leaning against the bar with the back to the guy, searching in the crowd for Minhyuk, Jooheon and Changkyun, you felt him again flex his muscles from time to time. You noticed that he did that quite often and that this was probably just a reflex he had. Something he always did but you never really paid attention to. You let your finger glide down his biceps and then up again. Interesting, you tought. You leaned your head on his shoulder and looked straight at the bartender, grinning. He was looking at you.

“How many boyfriends do you have. You seem to always have another guy in your arm.” Kai asked you smiling, placing another bottle down on the table. This question would have made you upset if you weren’t that drunk. But you played it cool since you were having your inner peace on Wonhos soft shoulder.

“Right now?” you asked looking up thinking. Wonho looked to the side awaiting your answer when he started to laugh.

“Four” you held out four of your fingers up, showing him exactly the number like a toddler who was asked how old it was. Kai raised his eyebrows up and nodded understandably. He was then preoccupied by another client, leaving his spot infront of you.

“He’s cute” you whispered letting Wonho know. He just smiled down at you and nodded. You closed your eyes for a moment as you felt a light exhaustion overcome your body, still leaning against Wonhos shoulder and grabbing his biceps. Your mind drifted away into another dimension as you still felt the bass of the club inside your chest. Minhyuks shrieking voice awoke you from your tiny slumber.

“Finally. Where have you been?” Minhyuk yelled coming closer to the bar with Jooheon and Changkyun beside him as he took a seat next to you. Changkyun went to the other side and sat next to Wonho while Jooheon was right behind you, placing your hands on your back and squeezing your neck.

“Give me one too please” Minhyuk yelled through the music to the nice bartender guy as he looked back down at you.

“You alright?” He smiled down at your tired face and boobed your nose. You giggled, lifting yourself from Wonhos shoulder to lay your head on Minhyuks now. Grabbing his arm as well, you noticed it was not as big as Wonhos arm but still firm enough for you to grab and hold onto it.

“(Y/N) are you tired already?” Jooheon said squeezing your shoulder again. His other arm slung past you, taking the bottle from the bar and taking a sip.

“No I’m not. And that was my bottle” you lifted yourself up and took the bottle from him. Lifting the bottle to your lips you started to take small sips of the drink and look straight at him. He laughed at your tired eyes and shook his head.

“I have never been this drunk in my life” Changkyun murmured under his breath, but still clear for your ears. You weren’t ready for the night to end even thought there were a few hours that passed already. The club seemed to be less full now as the clock turned into the morning. But as you thought, you weren’t ready to leave just yet.

“Let’s dance a little more please” you whined and tried to get up from the bar stool you were currently sitting on. Minhyuk was right beside you in an instant.

“She is pretty stubborn” Kai said out loud as he prepared a drink for another client. Wonho turned to around as Jooheon and Changkyun looked at him.

“She is.. best night ever” he laughed at Jooheons comment while serving another client his drink. Making their way now to the dance floor again, all five of them started to goof off again. Your bottle in your hand singing loudly to the lyrics of the familiar song. Changkyuns arm around your shoulder as you felt every bit of the song. It was nights like this, you would never remember in detail but know exactly the feeling you had in that exact moment.

The dance floor started to get less and less full. A big difference to the start of the night. Now you finally can see the floor with all the shattered bottle glass pieces and spilled alcohol on the ground.

After having way too much to drink, your body decided to take a big break as you leaned against a big black wall almost at the front door. All the spilled alcohol was pretty sticky when your palm pressed agains the ground. Your head was falling to your shoulder as you giggled to yourself when Changkyun pat your head. Tired eyes slowly closing making you feel less dizzy.

“Get uppp (Y/N)” Changkyun said and bend down to grab your arms to help you up as you shook your head, pressing your back against the black wall behind you.

“Give me a moment please” you pleaded bowing your head down again. You arms still half hanging in the air, Changkyun only holding one. He started to murmur: “The ground is nasty get up”. His small giggle erupted as you whined and kicked your legs, pulling at his hand like a toddler. Your dazed eyes opened when you saw two more shoes standing in front of you.

“Can you take this” Wonho said giving Changkyun the jackets he had been trying to get from the club closet. Changkyun gradually placed the jackets between his legs as he put on his own, taking them between his legs again and throwing them over his shoulder to carry.

He watched Wonho bending down to you, lifting your chin with his fingers. When he saw your tired face he started to laugh and and picked you up, throwing you over his shoulder but holding you tight so you won’t slip out of his grip.

“Wonho i’m going to throw up” you said, head hanging down from his shoulder. Walking towards the front entrance your group were gathered together and ready to leave the club.

“No you won’t and if you do just do then” he said giving your butt a soft slap. He started to laugh when Minhyuk turned around and repeated Wonhos motion. He winced when you kicked your leg into his chest.

“You shouldn’t have drank so much” Changkyun mentioned, laughing from behind at how you looked hanging from Wonhos shoulder.

“blablababla” you mocked him wiggling your legs a bit.

Walking out into the fresh air, the sky was still pretty dark. It was a dark morning and the streets started to fill with cars and people who are going to work again. Wonho was still carrying you over his shoulder which probably got a little painful since you sacked down completely on top of him. The side of your face was pressed against his shoulder blades.

“Let her down she can walk” Minhyuk said pushing your legs down from his shoulder. He helped you, letting you stand for a few seconds before continuing to walk.

“My shoes, i have to take them off” you whispered as everyone walked past you leaving you behind. You leaned yourself against a very unsteady fence as you pushed yourself out of your uncomfortable shoes. The ground felt cold under your naked feet.

Changkyun walked up next to you and held your hand and helped you steady yourself. “Do you want to wear my shoes?” he asked. You just shook your head and continued walking with him. Hand in hand.

Jooheons sudden remark of getting something to eat slowly woke you up from your very light walking slumber.

“Good idea I’m fucking craving fries right now” you slurred, clapping on your hands seeing Changkyun and Minhyuk nodding in agreement.

“I think McDonalds is around the corner” you heard Wonho say. You walked for a few more minutes, humming a few songs you had in your head and listening to Jooheon and Minhyuk talk about a pretty woman they saw in the club.

Following the straight line of the side walk, you watched our naked feet tapping just inside the stones, not crossing the lines because then you would lose. You continued playing your little game holding Changkyuns hand the whole way. Looking up from where you’ve been watching your steps you noticed everyone stopping. The M sign so bright right in front of you. That was fast, you tought.

Walking inside, the floor got colder but more smooth under your feet, making the path to a sitting booth very comfortable for you.

“Let’s sit here. We should sit here there’s room for all of us, look here.” Minhyuk yelled with excitement grabbing Jooheons arms and almost sprinting towards the booth.

“Go sit I’ll get you fries” Changkyun told you, squeezing your hand which he was still holding.

“You shouldn’t be so loud” Wonho stated, almost falling into the booth by how tired he felt.

“Can I sit between you please?” you made your way towards the place and squeezed yourself inside the booth, cradling Jooheons lap and making yourself comfortable sitting between him and Wonho.

“Okay who wants what?” Minhyuk shouted.

“Lets just get whatever we have in mind. Otherwise it’ll take too long” Changkyun stumbled as he took a few steps back still looking at Minhyuk.

“Just don’t forget my fries please” you slurred, leaning your head on Jooheons shoulder.

The restaurant got quite for a few moments. Your ears now calming after almost 6 hours of loud buzzing music almost destroying your hearing system. Nobody spoke and everyone was just contemplating their live choices at this moment.

Your eyes closed for a few minutes. As you opened them again the table was now starting to be filled with various fast food collections. Burgers to Fries. Whatever your heart desired. Changkyun placing another tray down on the table filled with drinks.

“Here’s water. That’s for you” he placed it on your side as he watched you shake your head.

“Not firstyyy”

He shrugged his shoulder and grabbed like every other one at the table at the food. Minhyuk sat right across from you as he watched you munching on your fries.

“I bet you won’t eat four of these burgers faster then i would” his challenging eyes needling you.

Giggling you lifted your head from Jooheons shoulder and lifted your hand. Stretching your finger you leaned forward to him and boobed his nose.

“Don’t chawenge somewan you know will win anywayss” He laughed and placed four burgers and one cup of fries in front of you and the same amount himself.

“Well then, who’s watching the timer?” looking over they all stared at him.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea. She had a lot to drink tonight” Wonho spoke up.

“So whaaaaaat? I can do dat. Now do the timer thingy”

Minhyuks timer started as the count to three stopped and the only thing happening right now was him and yourself stuffing burger after burger in your mouths.

Tiredly you swollowed the last bite as you lifted your hand showing Wonho to stop the timer. Your head was leaning on your other hand as you lifted yourself up to digest the food that you just stuffed into your alcohol filled stomach.

*hiccup* “I won” *hiccup*

Minhyuk placed his last half eaten burger down in defeat and clapped at you. Slowly bowing your head a few times signaling him your thank you.

“What did you bet?” Jooheon said.

“Huh?”

“What did you guys bet?”

“Uhm..” Minhyuk looked at you as the side of your faced layed on the table, eyes closed.

“Minhyuk has to clean my room for 2 months every day” you mumbled into the table.

“Nah I won’t do that”

“Yes you will. You lost”

“Think of something else”

“Okay later maybe” you mumbled again, feeling too sleepy to talk.

Your stomach started to make weird grumbling noises and made you feel a little uncomfortable. But too tired to think straight you lifted your head up with slightly opened eyes.

“I wanna go home”

With that you cleaned your table and the mess you made and made yourself on the way out. Wonho was so nice to carry you piggyback while walking down the street to the metro. You could have gotten a taxi but since you all were too drunk it was something that you did not really think of.

The train came as it made a loud noise opening its door, waking you up instantly. Wonho placed you on the seat and sat next to you. Opposite from you were Jooheon and Minhyuk. Four seats where taken so Changkyun sat himself behind you at another four seat section alone.

The train ride took no longer than 15 minutes. It was quite in the train as well. Minhyuk and you chatted and slurred away nonsense you wouldn’t probably remember off. Ending the conversation about the bet by saying that he should indeed clean your room for 2 month every day.

As the time went past it was now time to get up and leave the train. Your cold feet tapped away and out the train as you watched Wonho, Minhyuk and Jooheon follow you. Sliding your dress a little down as it cramped up at your thighs you watched your appearance in the window. You noticed a familiar face in the train as it started to drive off.

“Changkyun” you said. “Wai- Waaait we forgot Changkyun”

You sprinted next to the train, knocking on the window as Jooheon sprinted behind you.

“Changkyuuuuuuun wake up” you yelled and knocked on the window harder. Sprinting now more the train drove of in a faster speed, making you stop in your tracks and watching the train disappearing into the morning.. with Changkyun.

“Changkyuuuuuuuuuuuun” you yelled dramaticly, turning back around to the other three men.

Wonho already dialing Changkyuns number.

“Bro we’re out. Get out on the next station” Wonho said as he called Changkyun for the third time as he finally picked up.

“No shit sherlock, you fell asleep. Now get your ass out the train. We will meet you outside.” Minhyuk said when Wonho turned the speaker on for all of you to hear.

Changkyun woke up two stations after you all left the train and got out at the third. He saw that another train on the opposite direction arrives in less then a few minutes so he waited, tired, cold.. ashamed.

After 20 minutes you saw Changkyun getting out the train and walking towards you.

“I fell asleep”

“Really? I thought you played golf” Jooheon sarcastically remarked.

You hooked your arm into his and proceeded to walk towards the exit, now finally making your way home. Since it was almost 5am in the morning, you decided to not go home to your place. You were for sure much more sober then before but too tired to walk another 30 minutes back home.

So you decided to stay at their place.

Changkyun was so nice to take off his socks and give them to you as he continued his way with naked feet in his sneakers just so you won’t have to walk barefoot on the cold floor. Your feet felt much more warm. The heels will be in the trash as soon as you arrived back home. What a horror trip with these shoes, you thought.

5.20am. The door opened after Minhyuk took 3 minutes to open the door. Kihyun, Hyungwon and Shownu were sound asleep as you stumbled inside the dorm, taking your time in.

Your eyes were about to close again as you placed yourself on the couch. You leaned your head back and slid down a little further. All three men took a seat next to you as you all huffed out.

“What a night” was the last thing you heard before you drifted off to sleep..

**************

The sound of the bathroom door was heard after you puked out another go of the mixture of food you had. Shownu came closer and kneeled beside you, holding up your hair and out of your face.

“I’m never drinking again” you said and Shownu smiled down at you reassuring.

“That’s what you say now, love”

“I’m never eating again. And i’m never going out again”

“Sure”

“Ughhhhh”

You were about to open your mouth to say something when you felt another push and another load of food escaped your mouth.

After puking your heart out you sat against the wall breathing heavily. “Ugh i’m so sorry”

“It’s fine, don’t worry about that.” Shownu brushed a strand of hair out of your face.

“Come on lets wash your face” Shownu lifted you up without much effort and turned the faucet on. Grabbing some water into his hand he bent you over a little and cleaned your face. Too tired to move you let him do the work. He dried your face with a towel, put your hair in a ponytail and let you sink on his back so he can carry you out the bathroom into his bedroom.

“Is everything okay?” Wonho said standing at the door way of Shownus room.

“Yeah she threw up and now she needs sleep. And I need to smash Minhyuks head now.” Shownu lifted himself up from his bed, tucking you under the blanket and walking towards Wonho.

“How was the night? I feel like it was great” he said grinning and looking back at your sleeping form.

“She drinks as if she’s a black hole. But it was too funny with her.”

“Did Changkyun try his luck with her?”

Both men walked out the bedroom, closing the door behind.

“I did not really see that happening. Well.. actually..”

Shownus confused look, staring at Wonho talking as his expression turned into a surprised and then a shocked look.

“WHAT? YOU KISSED HER?!”

[tetsurobunni]

IDK You Yet

☞ songfic based off of the song IDK You Yet by Alexander 23 // 3.1k words

☼ slight angst, mentions of bullying, just wanting somebody to love (insert queen song here), tsukki being tsukki, akiteru being cute, freckles

☼ pairing : tsukishima kei x yamaguchi tadashi

☞ notes : sigh this song...yea // in this story, tsukki and yamaguchi weren’t childhood friends

this text = song lyrics

italics = flashbacks and inner thoughts

The sun cast a golden haze over the empty park in which Yamaguchi Tadashi sat. Gentle birdsong could be heard in the distance, a slight breeze swayed the branches of trees. A volleyball danced in between the boy's hands absentmindedly as he sat alone on a bench.

Today had been hard, just like any other day. The bullies he faced just seemed to never know when to stop; they continuously poked fun at him and made the poor boy feel like dirt. He had hoped that as he got older his tormentors would cease their attacks, but alas, his hopes never came true.

Yamaguchi had no one to call a friend. He tried to stay as translucent as possible as to not draw any attention to himself. It was the same routine for him every day; the only thing he found happiness in was volleyball.

You can see how that would be a problem, right? Loving a team sport when you have absolutely no friends? What a joke.

He sighed, stilling the movement of the ball between his hands. The sun was setting, the sky now a light pink and purple. 'I should start back home soon,' he thought, closing his eyes. Even though he knew the approaching darkness meant the temperature would drop and dinner would be ready soon, he didn't feel any urge to go home.

After all, there was no one there that understood him, or his pain for that matter.

He leaned his head back against the wooden bench, the lingering smell of cherry blossoms floating through the air.

'It would be so nice to have someone to enjoy this with,'

He couldn't help but imagine sitting in this park with the person he loved, sitting close as they watched the sun set.

How can you miss someone you've never met?

His lips curled upwards at the thought. Some would think that was cringeworthy, or too cookie-cutter; but that didn’t matter to him. Yamaguchi just needed someone to be there.

Because I need you now, but I don’t know you yet.

He had placed love on a pedestal for as long as he could remember. His mother and father’s relationship was nothing less than perfect-the love they had for each other practically radiated throughout any setting.

Seeing his two biggest role models share something so special like that made him want it too. No, not want. Need.

He needed the passion, the validation. He needed to be wanted by somebody. That’s all he could ever dream of. He didn’t care what gender, or if they were taller or shorter, bigger or smaller.

Yamaguchi just needed somebody to love him.

But can you find me soon because I’m in my head

When he opened his eyes, the first thing he was met with was the dark starry sky. He jumped, startled, and checked the time on his watch. ‘My parents are going to kill me!’ He thought, frantically gathering his things off of the bench.

He ran down the sidewalk, taking in heavy breaths as he passed by the homes on his street. Lights shone through curtains, shielding from prying eyes. The sidewalk was dimly lit with street lamps, the lone car passing by every so often.

Straightening out his jacket the best he could, Yamaguchi stepped into the door of his house. A lone light was on in the kitchen. He peered into the living room to find it empty, no noises to be heard. ‘They must have already went to bed,’ he thought, flicking the switch to turn off the light.

Yamaguchi padded up the stairs in sock feet, treading lightly as to not wake his parents. As he passed the door to their shared room, he noticed the door was slightly ajar. Peeking into the small crack, he could see the two cuddled up tightly in each others embrace as they slept. Sighing, he gently shut the door.

‘It would be amazing have someone to do that with’

Yea I need you now, but I don’t know you yet.

As he entered his room, he took a second to scan the blank walls of his room. Spaces where pictures of friends and teammates should be were instead replaced by the pale gray of wallpaper.

He sat down on his bed with a sigh, running his hands through his dark hair. It seemed as though loneliness was a routine for him by this point, just the same empty feeling day after day.

To say he was tired of it was an understatement.

But thats exactly what his tormentors said, right?

“You’re such a loner”

“No wonder no one likes you”

“You couldn’t even pay someone to be friends with you”

“You’ll always be alone.”

And lately its been hard

It seemed that no matter how hard Yamaguchi tried not to recall the words thrown at him, they still came crashing over him in waves, beating him down over and over until he felt like he couldn’t breathe.

They’re selling me for parts

“Please just stop, j-just-stop,” he whispered, voice strained as tears rolled down his cheeks. He dug his palms into his eyes to try and stop the waterfall of emotions, but like every time before, it didn’t work.

He didn’t want to go through this anymore. He really, really didn’t. He wished that he was strong; that he could stand up to those people and tell them that he wasn’t worthless.

And I don’t wanna be modern art

The only thing that kept him sane was the feeling in his heart that there was someone out there for him. There had to be. Someone that could mend his broken parts and dry his eyes when the world got too much. He hoped and wished and dreamed about finding his person

He just hoped that they were okay with being the other half of his wounded heart.

But I’ve only got half a heart, to give, to you.

He hoped that, for once, he would be enough for somebody.

~~~~~ Tsukki’s POV~~~~~

Tsukkishima walked down the bustling street, vendors selling various foods and treats filling the air with delightful smells. It wasn't really his scene, per se, but Akiteru had paid him to get some meat buns from his favorite store. There's no way he'd pass up money and free food.

As he rounded the corner, the familiar little shop his brother had sent him to numerous times came into view. He stepped inside, the warm air and lively chatter washing over him.

He swiveled his head side to side, noticing something strange. At almost every table sat a couple sharing a meal, girls giggling at their boyfriends as they shared conversation.

For the first time since he left the house he took notice of the bright pink and red hearts that decorated the walls and windows.

'Of course, it's Valentine's day. Disgusting.'

He rolled his eyes at his realization. Valentine's Day was just stupid. Why would anyone want to celebrate such an idiotic holiday? He managed to shove past a couple who was standing just a little too close for comfort mumbling a 'tch, you're in public' as he walked past.

Not looking back to see their reactions, he walked up to the counter and quickly ordered 4 meat buns- he knew his brother would want more than two and since it wasn't his money, he decided he'd get one for himself.

Tsukki didn't know if he was jinxed by the shop or what, but as soon as he walked outside all he saw were couples. Couples here, couples there, talking, laughing, hugging, kissing. He'd never admit it, but it made him feel just the tiniest bit lonely.

He had never been one for relationships and romantics- or even feelings at that. He had always despised Valentine's Day ever since he could remember. The girls in lower secondary school would give letters sealed with bright pink and red envelopes to the boys they liked. Tsukki himself had even received a few, but he always turned them down.

No one seemed to ever catch his eye, or grasp his attention. All the girls were plain, boring, and dull. Too energetic, too shy, talked too loud- the list could go on and on.

The door creaked open as he stepped into his house, and Akiteru yelled an 'in here!' from the living room. The latter was practically drooling at the plastic bag in Tsukki's hand, basically begging like a puppy for a treat.

"Here, you nuisance, I got three for you. The other one is mine, don't even think about eating it," he said, tossing the bag to Akiteru, who instantly started digging through it to get his food.

Tsukki sat down cross-legged on the opposite side of the table, opening the package on his meat bun. Suddenly Akiteru got a sly look on his face. "Oh, I forgot to mention that today was Valentines Day, sorry for sending you out in that."

Tsukki narrowed his eyes at his brother, knowing good and well that he didn't tell him on purpose. "Whatever, I'm keeping the change from our order as payment for sending me out in that mess."

Akiteru just laughed, shaking his head slightly. "C'mon Tsukki, do you really hate Valentine's Day that much?"

"Yes."

"Well, okay then," the elder grumbled, taking a bite out of his second meat bun. "But answer this, why do you hate it so much?"

Tsukki faltered for a moment. There were many reasons as to why he hated the holiday, such as the PDA, too much giggling, confessions, all of the god awful pink-

"Is it just because you never found someone you like?"

Tsukki's eyes widened. He had never thought about it. No- there was no way he was pissed because he had never met someone he had feelings for; and he for sure wasn't upset about it.

How can you miss someone you've never seen?

"Ah, hit the nail on the hammer, huh?" Akiteru said, his face showing signs of pity.

"Shutup, will you? I don't care about liking someone, or someone liking me, or being in a relationship, or-"

"Tsukki. You're rambling. You never ramble."

The blonde stopped in his tracks. Why was he rambling? He didn't care, so why did what his brother say have such an impact his mood? He let out a quiet 'tch', moving to get up from the table.

"Tsukki, wait."

The latter faltered from his place at the entrance of the door to his bedroom, waiting for his brother to speak.

"I don't like Valentine's Day all that much either. It makes me feel super lonely, and I get into this sad funk that I can't get out of. But, sometimes, I think about the person that'll love me someday. What they look like, what their personality is, all that; it helps a little. You should try it," Akiteru said, a soft smile on his face.

The blonde responded by opening his door, walking in, and shutting it behind him. Was his brother serious?! There was no way he'd entertain such silly ideas. He'd do what he always did: ignore everyone else and keep to himself. No thoughts, just his music.

After he changed into more comfortable clothes, he slipped his headphones on and laid on his bed, letting the sounds of his music flood into his ears. Without noticing, he started to think about all the couples he saw today at the market.

He remembered seeing a girl with blonde hair and brown eyes, much like himself.

'There's no way I'd be with someone who looked like me- wait, why am I even thinking about this-'

He scolded himself in his head, took his glasses off then proceeded to run a hand down his face. He continued listening to his music... that is until he started thinking again.

He tried everything, listening to god awful rock, cleaning his already clean room, he even tried working out in order to get his brother's words out of his head. No matter how hard he tried, his brother's smiling face saying those words seemed to pop up in his mind.

"Y'know what, fine. Fine! I'll do it!" He whisper-yelled, laying down on his bed yet again. Closing his eyes, he thought back again.

"I think about what they look like."

Okay fine, he could do that.

Tell me are your eyes brown, blue, or green?

Again, he couldn't imagine his...person...having the same light, amber eyes as him.

‘Blue? No, too bright...maybe brown? Hazel? Yea...hazel is nice...’

After he got past the eye color part, he came to a standstill. He didn't really care about hair as long as it wasn't blonde... but what else? Would they have a mole? Freckles? Would they wear glasses, like him?

Suddenly Tsukki brought a pillow to his face and hit himself with it. 'I can't believe I let something that my brother said affect me so much."

Nonetheless, he continued.

"I imagine what their personality is like"

This was tricky. 'They couldn't be too loud. Loud people get on my nerves. They couldn't be too quiet either, I can't stand when someone just looks at me and doesn't say anything.'

He thought a little bit harder. 'Maybe they'd like volleyball? That means Akiteru would love them. I wonder if they would like the same food as me...'

And do you like it with sugar and cream?

'Akiteru makes coffee sometimes, I wonder if they put a lot of stuff in it,' he shriveled up his face in disgust at the thought. He couldn't stand all that sugary stuff in his coffee, preferring the bitter taste instead.

Or do you take it straight, oh just like me?

'Okay, I'm done imagining things that won't happen. This was stupid anyways," he thought, sighing and turning over on his side. For some strange reason, he felt utterly exhausted. It's not like he did a lot of physical activity today, so why did he feel so...tired?

His brain decided to play the images of the couples again in his head, and he realized why he felt the way he did. This was the first time he had actually thought about having a "special someone."

The thought made him want to hit his head against the wall.

He never thought that imagining about the person he might be with one day would make him feel so lonely.

Cause lately it's been hard

For the first time, he noticed the utter and complete lack of important people in his life. Of course there was his brother, that was a given, but he had no one he had ever considered a friend. He never talked to one person for longer than he had to, and even ignored some.

He was completely shut off from the rest of the world...

And it was his own fault.

They're selling me for parts

'It's better this way. You know it is. No getting your hopes up, no disappointment, no keeping up an image. It's better this way. All you need is yourself, not anyone else.’

"But having someone there for me really wouldn't hurt... right?"

And I don't wanna be modern art,

His phone screen lit up with a notification. 'FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL' popped up on his screen, and the blonde groaned once he saw the time.

'Two in the morning? Great. I've wasted my sleep on nothing.’

But deep down, Tsukki knew it wasn't 'nothing'. He just made the pit of loneliness in his stomach larger and harder to ignore.

How could he even imagine the person he would love when he was so pathetic?

"You're so stupid Tsukishima Kei, so, so, so mind-numbingly STUPID!"

But I've only got half a heart, to give, to you.

~~~~~Both POV~~~~~~

Yamaguchi tugged the straps of his backpack tighter as he walked towards the staff room. Students shuffled in the halls, chatter and laughter filled the air. Of course, the green haired boy kept to himself. He had already dodged one of his bullies this morning, so he was on high alert.

As if the first day wasn't nerve racking enough, for some awful reason he decided he was going to join the volleyball club.

'This was such a stupid decision you should just turn around right now,' he thought to himself, slightly panicking as he saw the sign that said 'staff room' on the door in front of him.

He just stood there, staring, unmoving, at the door handle. His heart was racing in his chest, all the air seeming to exit his lungs.

"Oi, are you just gonna stand there?"

Yamaguchi jumped from the sudden voice that came from behind him. He jerked his head, meeting amber eyes behind black frames. He tripped on his words, becoming a blubbering mess, finally spitting out a 'Gomen!'

Tsukki raised a brow at the slightly shorter boy, wondering why he was just staring at the door.

"Tch, why were you just staring at the door like a weirdo?" Yamaguchi bowed his head in apology, contemplating whether to tell this complete stranger the truth, but he finally decided he would.

"Um, I was...uh...going to... to join the volleyball club," he stammered, not meeting the taller boy's eyes. He felt highly embarrassed for some reason, like him wanting to join was humorous. Honestly, he half expected the guy to laugh at him.

"Hm, I am too."

Tsukki moved past the green haired boy and opened the door, walking in a little ways before he realized the latter was still standing there.

"Oi, c'mon. Unless you're not actually going to join..."

Yamaguchi's ears perked up at that. He decided, that for once, he was going to do something he wanted.

"Gomen, I'm coming."

Even though it wasn't visible, Tsukki slightly smiled. He wasn't actually coming to the staff room to join the volleyball club, but when he heard that this boy was going to be joining, he decided that maybe he would.

The shorter boy suddenly turned around, hands flailing.

"Oh! I'm sorry for being rude, I'm Tadashi Yamaguchi!" he said, a bright smile presented onto his freckled face.

'Hm, freckles...'

"Tsukishima Kei."

And I hope it's enough.

[solar3lunar]

1.𝔹𝕖𝕒𝕔𝕙☼︎

Ayama POV

My alarm starts going off. I groan at it then shut it off. It's was a Sunday. I was wondering why I turned it on. I lied in my bed for a bit then it hit me. I wanted to torture myself today. By going on a walk on the beach.

I felt four paws on my thigh. "Morning, Nebula." I said. "Meow" "I'll get up." I told her. I stretched a bit. I took my bonnet off and got out the bed.

Once my feet hit the carpet. I walk towards my closest and pick out something simple and plain. I then went in the bathroom and set my clothes down on the counter and closed the door.

I got undress and put my shower cap on. And got in the shower. Once I was done in the bathroom. I walk out wearing a black tank top, a black crop top hoodie that I could only wear if I have a tank top under it. And black leggings.

I walked back into my room and went straight back to sleep. I woke up about 10 minutes later. Leo woke me up this time. "Okay, Okay." I sighed.

Knowing my dad already went out the house to help the other pro heroes with the exam that coming up tomorrow. I turn on the TV in my room, but all I found was news channel or ads talking about the exam.

I turned it off and went downstairs to get cereal not wanting to make pancakes or french toast. I pass a picture of my mother and father.

I stopped to look at it for awhile. I've seen some pictures of my mother. The rest are kept somewhere in my father's room.

She's Afro-Asian. She passed away when I was 3. I never met my grandpa or my grandmother from my mother side. They're villians after all.

I seen my mother's family members in Texas and some in California. We visit them sometimes whenever it's a holiday like Christmas or Thanksgiving. I've also seen my dad's family members other than his sister. He never told me why she not in my life. And tellsl me it best if I don't meet her.

Anyways, my mother's hair is natural black(or very very dark brown that looks black). Her hair was long and wavy in the first picture. Our hair same the same features. Our hair type can and it grows fast after a week or two. Her eyes were like mine, but her eyes colorare lavender and mines lilac.

Her skin is dark brown and it's very beautiful. I can't help but admire her. She also has some yellow sparkle across her face. They looked like stars. It's apart of one of her Quirks. Her eyes color and lavender.

She had four dark brown gazelle horns on her head and her gazelle ears were showing. Her body was well mature. I guess like mine though I never really care about my shape really. She has two of her horns wavy and the other two curly wrapping around the other white horns.

Her costume in the third was her in a long sleeve black crop top and black pants with gold medal plates around the rims of them. Her high combat boots were black. And finally she had a gold medal choker around her neck with the sun symbol in the middle of it.

(Considering her Quirks she doesn't really need a bold hero outfit.)

In the second picture her hair is long and was in a kinky fro she didn't show her horns. Despite her time being alive she was one of the top number ten heroes. I walked away from the picture to go eat.

"Leo! Nebula!" I watch the two come into the kitchen and go to their bowls. Turns out it was already filled. They just wanted me with them.

From what my Dad told me. He got them for my mom when it was her birthday. So the cats been in my life the moment they brought me home.

I keep thinking about the exam tomorrow. I wonder who I would see. Once I was done eating I decided to clean the house. I did every room but my dad's.

I decided to go down to the beach, because I don't want to stay in the house all day and game. I text my dad and inform him about my whereabouts.

I put 20 dollar into my phone case and put my phone in my pocket. And went near the door to put my shoes on.

Now that I'm here. I'm just going walk along the shore. Although it strange to be wearing this on a hot day. I honestly don't really care. I have my reasons.

I walk towards the beach and decided to walk along the shore. While doing that I saw Izuku jogging along the shore. Geeze he grown a lot. "Izuku!" I shouted. It doesn't seem like he can hear me so I tried calling out to him one more time. He didn't so I followed him.

I see him almost out of breath. "I finish what you asked." He said while breathing heavily. I look up to see he was talking to. I saw Uncle All Might, but I didn't say anything, because I didn't want to say about me being relate to my dad.

"Oh hey n-Ayama!" And that was a close call. "Wait?... Ayama!" Izuku shouts. "I been calling your name for the last minute." I spoke. I saw him blush a bit, but I ignore it. Not really sure why.

"Wait is it okay for her to see you like this?" He ask my uncle All Might. "Oh yeah. Before you I had told her about it, but she turned it down saying I should give to someone who doesn't have a quirk." He told him.

"Oh so that means you also know about 'The one for all' Right?" Izuku ask me. "That right, freckles." I giggled. "Freckles? BAHAHA!" Uncle All Might laugh blood coming out of his mouth.

Izuku was freaking out about it. I seen this before but I was just gross out. "Alright you can take a break. Oh by the way can you me a popsicle?" He asked me. "Sure."

"Come on Izuku! We have a lot of catching up to do." I shouted. He rush up to me as we went to the small market near the beach. Which lead you back to the roads and sidewalks.

We were talking about what the news were talking about. "I wish I could've been with you guys. Mostly to tell Katsuki to stop." I said with guilt.

"It's nothing to be guilty about." He said reassuring me. "To make it up to you can get what ever you want from the market just try not to go overboard." I said.

"Ayama you don't have to." He said waving his hands. "I insist." I tell him. "Your kindness never change a bit Ayama." He said. He right and that was a bad thing in middle school, but it not like it ever left me. I got myself a soda, Izuku got a chocolate mint ice cream bar, and I got uncle All Might a ice pop of himself.

"That would be 4 dollars, Ms." The cashier tells me. I paid her. She gave me my chain back. I thank her we both left walking back towards my uncle.

"So I'm guessing after today your finally getting your quirk."I said. He nodded while holding the bag in his hand.

"Oh I'd never asked you what are your quirk?" He asked me. "I have two of them, but their both complicated." I said. "Oh I see." He said. "Don't worry you'll get to see me in action at the exams." I cheer him up. Once we got the spot again.

"I want to be surprised that you're eating a popsicle of your self, but I'm not." I sighed. "It a hot day. I have every right." My uncle said. Leaving me and Izuku giggling and snickering. "Hey! What's so funny?!"

They went back to training and I decided to help uncle out with training. The fun part was Midoriya going on his back while doing push up. "I'm sorry Midoriya." I muttered. I spent almost the whole day with them. It was about 7:00pm

"Welp I better get going." I said. Me grabbing my soda bottle. "I'm guessing I'll see you at the exam?" I asked him. My uncle interrupt him "Oh yeah definitely!" I just sighed. "See you later Midoriya!" I shouted waving at them both.

I while walking towards my house I notice a teenager with ash blond hair that was spiky but looked soft. "I wonder if that could be... No. I doubt he would even remember me."

{Brain and Heart♡Melanie Martinez}

‘Help me when I'm at a loss for words. Bring up all of my memories for the please and the temporal.’ "There's that melody again."

'Well that was a fast walk.' Dad's Car was park in the driveway, so that meant he has came back. I open the door and then lock it behind me. I took my shoes off and left them at the door. "Lyric." My dad spoke. I jumped a bit. "Oh hey Dad." I said. "You seem lost in thought." He said.

"Oh yeah just a song came in my head. Although the melody was a bit strange." I spoke. "But who's know when I'll be using it." I shrugged my shoulders while walking towards the kitchen to go sit at the dinner table. It's was quite, but comfortable. I was just lost in my mind.

I got up from the dinner table and went towards the kitchen sink. That melody it sounded familiar, but I never heard it before.

I felt a hit on my hand. "Ouch, Dad!" I whined. "Next time, pay attention." He sighed. "What do you- Oh." I saw the dish I washing now broken in half.

"My bad." I mutter throwing it away in the trash. "Alright what was the lyric this time?" He ask. This isn't the first time this has happened. "Help me when I'm at a loss for words. Bring up all of my memories for the please and the temporal." I said.

"Don't give it too much though. If you go to sleep You'll have nothing to worry about." He said. He always does that. Brushes it off like it's nothing. "Alright, night Dad." I said.

"Good night and good luck tomorrow." He said. That right he won't be here when I wake up. I took a quick shower got into my PJs setting an alarm on my phone to wake up at 6:00am.

"I'm going to get a new bonnet. I can't stand this one. It's always falling off." I muttered.

The moment I closed my eyes. I saw someone with long wavy natural black hair and two gazelle brown horns and ears. I woke up and got out of bed and went straight downstairs to look at my mom's photos.

"I thought I told you to go to bed." My dad said. "Technically, you suggested it." I said. I'm still looking at my mother pictures.

"Bed. And I mean it." He said strictly. "Alright, alright." I said. Going straight to bed this time got it. I look at the clock it was 8:30pm.

"Just one question. Why do I have to go to bed this early?" [Ayama]

"Because you'll end up like me if you don't." [Aizawa]

~Wishlist~

~Luna Lyric~

~Universe navi~

[crownjimin]

✰ 076 | not such a bad idea, part two.

la vie en rose ━ in which lee aera, a girl who has been crushing on choi soobin for a long, long time, is starting her junior year and her friends decide that its time for her to make her move.

( masterlist | prev | next )

A bit further down the hallway, Aera spots Soobin leaning against the wall quite leisurely. When he notices Aera approaching, he stands up straight and smiles at her. “The other boys went outside already, I waited back for you.”

The action in of itself made Aera’s heart skip a beat, quite a long one since she felt a pain in her chest from the lack of blood flow. But the gesture was sweet, and Aera smiled a coy smile, before answering, “You didn’t have to.”

“Eh,” Soobin shrugged. “It was my choice.”

The two take small steps down the hallway towards the balcony, almost as if the both of them didn’t want to join the others and stay with one another. An eerie, yet comfortable silence began to form, but Soobin quickly interjected.

“Your house is really nice,” he complimented. “So is your mother. She’s so lively and welcoming.”

Aera grimaced at his word choice, because lively and welcoming did describe her mother perfectly but so did embarrassing and overbearing. “Yeah, she’s quite a lot.”

“I think she’s friendly. Didn’t make the whole meeting the parents thing as scary as I thought.”

The words make Aera stop her walking for a second. “You were scared about meeting my parents?”

She looked up at Soobin, who was looking further down the hallway before he slowly turned to face Aera with a nervous smile on his lips. “Just a bit. I don’t know why though since I should’ve expected your parents to be just as nice and wonderful as you.”

“Wonderful?” she lightly breathes out.

“Well, technically, I’ve only met your mother, maybe your father isn’t as nice, but we will see when the time comes,” Soobin continues, either ignoring Aera’s look of disbelief mixed with another unreadable emotion or just not seeing it. “I��m sure he is nice though.”

Aera remained staring at Soobin for a few seconds, him returning the gaze as they stood in the vacant hallway in silence. No one else around, just the two of them staring at one another both with thinly veiled, heated gazes filled with admiration and fondness for the other. But the two did not know that, to them, they were staring at a friend, someone who did not return the same feelings to the same intensity as the other. If only they knew the truth, if one of then took the initiative to be brave and ask.

But neither did ask, instead Aera broke their gaze and brought her eyes to the floor, “I think he’s nice. Well, at least Appa is more bearable than Eomma. He’s not as forward.”

“Forward isn’t always bad.”

“Sometimes,” she replies. “Sometimes it isn't.”

They continue down the hallway now, both of them syncing up their footsteps. 

“But, hey, I’m guessing Sakura hasn’t tried to kill you yet?” Soobin says with a joking lilt, teasing her for her irrational worries.

Aera scoffs a laugh at that. “Not yet, at least.”

The pair finally make it to the doorway and Aera steps to the right to seat herself at the picnic table, muttering the apology she promised her mother she would deliver. Soobin veered off to the left, taking a place on the sofa with the other three boys who seemed to be deep in the talk about a new album from someone Soobin hadn’t heard of before.

Sakura watched as Aera placed down her laptop and notebook, seemingly expectant for the brown-hair girl to say something that Aera wasn’t sure of. Due to this, she raised an eyebrow at Sakura and asked, “What?”

“You didn’t tell me that you invited other people,” Sakura quietly spoke, peering over to the opposite side of the balcony where Taehyun now stood singing a random tune that seemed to have the other three boys enraptured. “Did you purposely not tell me or?”

“No, I-” Aera knows that she can’t lie well. Whenever she tries either her voice raises over to octaves or she blinks repeatedly, for the worst cases she does both. “Maybe we should just start choosing a song. I’ve made you wait long enough.”

“Yeah,” the other girl agrees, not taking her eye off of Soobin as she speaks, and Aera being sure to take note of the action. “Let’s start.”

Sakura and Aera had made progress within the last hour and a half. They chose their song, one by IU where Sakura felt like it was easy to catch the beat, while Aera thought the lyrics were telling yet easy to remember. They then called up the boys to listen to their presentation, allowing them to give out critiques and feedback to their girls where the four boys found necessary. Although Aera was almost certain Taehyun was using this time to show off his vocal abilities, seeing as each time he found a ‘problem’ with the girls’ singing, he gave them a tutorial on how they should be singing and performing it himself.

A few minutes after the girls had gotten started with their performance for the boys, Aera’s parents brought out the loads of ‘snacks’ that they had prepared. Tteokbokki, jajangmyeon, and fried pork cutlets were just a few of the delicacies that the eldest Lees had prepared for their youngest child and her friends. The moment the food had been set out, the six teenagers began feasting.

For the three new young boys, since he was already familiar with Sanha, they were introduced to Aera’s father. The older man took it upon himself to ask each of them their name and speak with them a bit. He relayed the compliments his wife had spoken to him about, but Aera noticed that her father kept going back to Soobin and asking him questions.

Her mother had sat with the girls at the picnic table, being sure to feed Sakura as much food as she pleased and answered any question the bright-haired girl had about the cooking process. For Aera, being around Sakura for these past few hours weren’t as tortuous as she thought. She had expected snarky comments and backhanded words to be spat her way every ten seconds, but Sakura was actually quite (and Aera can’t believe she was thinking it but--) nice.

Sakura has a voice that’s velvety and smooth when she sings, and whenever Aera would mess up a lyric or sing in the wrong key, Sakura wouldn’t belittle her for her mistake. She would actually pause the music and help Aera go over the line once again. The two girls made a better team than they had thought, and once the group had stuffed themselves full, the two girls resumed their ‘performance’ for the four boys.

They sang the song a total of five times before the girls were deemed ‘flawless’ by the quartet. Although, Jeongin wasn’t paying that much attention and Sanha would say that they were flawless after each time they finished their song. Soon all six of them fell into simple conversation, Sakura squeezing onto the two-seat sofa with Soobin and Taehyun, and Aera sitting comfortably between Jeongin and Sanha on the three-seat couch.

Currently, they were debating whether they were Team Iron Man or Captain America, and majority had voted Team Cap, with Jeongin and Taehyun being the outliers who sided with Iron Man.

“Literally, what does Iron Man have to offer,” Sanha argued, “he’s just a rich man in a suit!”

“Exactly,” Jeongin rebutted. “He’s rich, he has money to offer. Do you guys think the Avengers tower, the hulk iron suit thingy, and so many more of the gadgets the Avengers used would have been created without Tony?”

Soobin shook his head at that. “Well, Ultron wouldn’t have been made without Tony either. He literally caused the entire second Avengers movie.”

“Who’s Ultron?” Sakura asked, and Taehyun agreed with her.

“The robot in Avengers: Age of Ultron,” Aera informed them. “C’mon guys it’s literally in the name!”

“And-and also, Captain America is just better because he could pick up Thor’s hammer in Endgame, like,” Aera paused for a second for dramatic effect. “Iron Man couldn’t do that. That means Steve Rogers is worthy.”

“Well Iron Man freaking saved the world and brought back everyone who was dead leafed away,” Taehyun pointed out. “Steve didn’t do that shit.”

“Dead leafed,” Soobin asked in confusion. “But anyways, Steve Rogers was still alive in the end, Tony wasn’t. There is clearly only one winner.”

“But Steve went back,” Jeongin said.

“He still isn’t dead,” Sanha interrupted. “But I’m not going to say Cap is perfect. He kissed his ex lover’s niece like three days after she died. And then went back to be with that same ex lover, so technically he kissed his niece!”

A chorus of ‘eww’ and ‘gross’ echoed throughout the group, while Sanha simply shrugged and said, “Somebody had to point it out.”

Suddenly a vibrating buzz filled the air, and Sakura stood up from her seat. She grabbed her ringing phone and began talking to whoever was on the other line. None of the boys paid attention to her, but Aera was watching her in case it was time for her to leave. Soon after, Sakura hung up the phone and began packing her stuff.

“My mom said she’s outside,” Sakura spoke to the group, making Aera stand up so she could lead Sakura to the front door.

The four boys all echoed different forms of, “goodbye,” as Sakura finished packing her things, and began heading inside. Aera and Sakura made their way back down the hallway and to the front foyer, standing idly for a few seconds as they prepared their farewells.

“Uh,” Aera began. “Thanks, for coming over. I hope it wasn’t as bad as you thought it was going to be.”

“It wasn’t as bad,” Sakura smiled. “It was actually quite enjoyable, which I never thought I would have had as much fun with someone who I thought was so boring.”

Aera smiled tight-lipped at that, not being sure if she should be offended or grateful. “Thanks? But, yeah, it was fun. At least we got the project done.”

“Yeah,” Sakura placed her hand onto the door handle, pulling it open while still facing Aera. “But really, you’re cool.”

“You too, Sakura.”

“Thanks,” she smiled, turning to leave before she looked back at Aera quickly and said, “Oh! Can you also tell Soobin I’ll text him later? I forgot to say it before I left the balcony.”

The brown-haired girl froze at that statement, a pang of something settling in her chest but she recovers quickly. “Yeah, I’ll tell him when he leaves.”

“Cool. Thanks.”

“Yeah,” Aera watches as Sakura walks from her front door to the passenger seat of her mother’s car. “Bye.”

She makes her way back out to the balcony, expecting to see the four boys still in their same spots, but instead she is only greeted by Jeongin and Sanha.

“Where are the other two,” she asks, taking their previous seats in their absence.

“They went to go help your mom clean the dishes,” Jeongin says through a piece of fried pork cutlet in his mouth, which Aera doesn’t know where he got it from because she was sure they had finished that off first out of all of the dishes. “Y’know to get in her good ranks again.”

“I’m surprised you aren’t in there too, San San.”

Sanha rests back farther in his seat. “Eh, I think it’s time for me to step down from my position of favorite and let someone who deserves it take the crown.”

“Ah, what a humble fellow,” Aera jokes with a posh accent.

“That I am,” Sanha replies, playing along.

Jeongin mutters something under his breath about the two of them being weird just as Taehyun and Soobin return, Soobin sitting beside Aera on the sofa, and Taehyun choosing to join Sanha and Jeongin on the couch. 

A warm silence takes over the group as no one talks, but Aera does take notice of the fact that she and Soobin are merely an inch and a half apart and with the slightest movement of her knee, their knees would be touching. But she doesn’t have to contemplate whether or not she was going to make the first move, seeing as seconds later Soobin moves his own knee, knocking his jean-clad one with her sweatpant clad knee.

The silence seems to thicken for a moment, and neither of them move an inch. Sanha notices the discreet action, taking it upon himself to not make a big deal and he turns to face Jeongin in order to conceal his smile.

Maybe this wasn’t a bad idea after all.

[reinepadova]

To Be Seen

| Chapter 1 | [ Next → ]

"It is said the Glaze Lily blooms in full in the presence of pure, beautiful music. For one, who have never sang for herself, is unaware of the singular attention glowing golden orbs are giving her from afar."

“Mei? What's wrong? Aren't these the ones you want?”

A small whine sounded, rejecting the assumption. A little girl, with large pigtail buns, clutched at a woman's skirt, rubbing her chubby cheek on it for comfort. She stared down fixatedly at the small cluster of flower buds, disappointment swathed her whole demeanor.

The odd pair have been travelling over the terraced fields since morning, hoping to catch the elusive 'special' flowers in full bloom. The little girl insisted its important for her intimate family event.

“Mei wants flowers to open. But Mei can't sing good.”

Stella softened her expression, placing a careful hand on the top of the girl's head. “Sing?”

Mei rubbed at her eyes with a wrist, before looking up at her lady companion, doe-eyed, sniffing when she felt the soothing caress. “Mm! Singing makes lilies open. Mei wants them open.”

Stella took a glance at the small patch, skeptical but curious. “Lilies... You mean Glaze Lilies? Why didn't you say so. I've seen some back at the Harbor. But since we're here already, we could visit Ms. Bai. She always has them in full bloom, unlike these ones. Flowers need to acclimate to any change in their environment. We need to prepare them carefully. We could spend the night at the village? Would you like that? Do you want me to help you buy some? I have extra mor--”

Mei shook her head stubbornly, pigtails fairly bouncing, unconsciously crushing the cloth under her tiny hands. “No! No! Mei wants these lilies. Gran-gran said they different. They special! They different colour, and smell really nice, and shine like mora when moon is round and big. Mei wants these for Gran-gran. Gran-gran took care of Mei good when mama and papa went to sky. Mei is very sad, but Mei is happy Gran-gran is with mama and papa. They take care of each other now. Mei wants them to know that Mei is okay. They don't... they don't need to worry about Mei anymore.” The little girl turned away, resting her forehead on Stella's thigh, shoulders shaking from feebly holding back her emotions. Stella held the little girl's head, while her other hand went to rub at her small back.

All was silent and serene. The early evening light was shadowed by passing clouds. The flower patch kept their treasure, resolute and undetered by small, quiet sobs. Stella though, stared in contemplation, the dainty fingers on Mei's back tapping along with her thoughts.

--{-}--

“Thank you for your hospitality, Chief. We're grateful for it. Especially... ”

Granny Ruoxin hummed, moving away from the doorway. “It's one thing to awaken from a bad dream. It's another to tire yourself to sleep from a bad reality. Poor child.” The village chief paused before catching Stella's gaze. “I'll do my rounds one last time at the pagoda before I turn in for the night. Help yourself to anything in the kitchen. I still have leftover Sunshine Sprat.” The elder's eyes softened, looking over at Mei. “You're a kind child, Ms. Stella. Watching over an orphan.”

Stella shook her head, turning back to her charge, tucking in the blankets again to hide her discomfort.

No one has called her kind before. Then again, no one really got close enough to try.

“It's the least I could do. Her grandmother was just as kind when she took me in when I felt lost in the world.” Felt lost in this world, Stella thought.

But Granny Ruoxin didn't need to know that.

Turned away, Stella was unaware of the mysterious smile on the elder's face. “I see. I hope then your stay would bring you only happy memories, with no regrets.”

Stella pivoted in her seat, puzzled, but only met with an empty doorway to her shared room with Mei.

--{-}--

The moon was bright but gentle, it's rays shined down a path Stella avoided methodically, less she finds herself engaged with the sluggish slimes nearby. With the energy gained from the Sprat dish, she dashed, momentum unrelenting despite the random outcrop of glowing rocks and uneven ground.

Closing in on the familiar flower patch, she did a quick sweep of the area before slowing down. With treasure hoarders around, it doesn't hurt to be careful, she thought. She summoned her Black Tassel, just in case. Those slimes are relentless when they want to be.

When she felt the field was clear after a few more minutes of surveillance, she relaxed her stance and shut her eyes. At the first sign of cloud cover, she began.

《Dark is night, endless sea》

《Dark is night, endless sea》

《Gather stars, shining brighter》

《I beg thee, oh flowers bloom》

《Dark is night, cloudless breeze》

《Dark is night, cloudless breeze》

《Tender warmth, love from your eyes》

《I beg thee, oh flowers bloom》

Stella kept her voice soft, repeating the words she never sang out loud, but which she still treasured deeply.

《From my heart, I cherish thee》

《From my heart, I cherish thee》

《Welcome home, dancing in your arms》

《Joyful laughs, and sweet surprise》

《Hear me please, do not flee》

《Hear my song, hear my plea》

《I beg thee, open your heart》

《And eternity》

《Gather stars, shining brighter》

《I beg thee, oh flowers bloom》

Stella's heart raced, even as her song ended. She tightened her grip on her polearm. She took a deep breath, afraid of being disappointed when she opens her eyes.

It was a... very long time since she had reason to sing. Being a stranger, an alien, to this vast, bustling world – it felt daunting. Terrifying. Especially when she woke up in ancient ruins and mighty machines greeted her with sights set to kill her. She survived of course, but not without injury. It was only by chance, when she collapse on a bank in one of the rivers in Dihua Marsh, that a kind old lady with her granddaughter found her on the way to Mt. Qingce from Wangshu Inn.

「I... wish not to...burden you. More than... you already are. But. Please. This is... all I ask.」

「...」

「Please. Take care of...Take care of Meilin...」

「...Rest, gran-gran. You need your sleep.」

「...will...you? Take care of Mei? Please...」

「...Yes. Yes, I will. I promise.」

Stella took another deep breath, steadying her nerve, straightening her stance.

If this is the way. If this could be one of the ways she could honor her promise...

Stella opened her eyes.

--{-}--

An elegant, gloved hand picked up Slime Concentrate, silently placing a vial of it away. A man stood up, not a hair or thread out of place, despite the congregation of slimes that almost overwhelmed him from the sheer amount that had been attracted to this area. He paid it no mind though, for he was rewarded with a rare performance not seen or heard in so many centuries. He felt shamed for neglecting to remember such an experience right away, involving these particular Glaze Lilies. Surprised was he, not thinking they would flourish here compared to their usual spot further up the terraces.

His amber eyes watched, fixated, as the woman with the silvery voice that could launch a thousand demons stood in bewilderment, understandably surprised she was able to cause the rare, Gilded Glaze Lilies to open in full bloom, despite the deep cover of clouds, and the presence of an audience of two. A slight breeze brushed against her face and through the thick locks of her hair, waking her from her stupor. She slowly kneeled down, a hand stayed on her weapon, while another gently touched the tips of one shining petal.

Hm. These variants have always been fickle. Even with their previous caretaker, he mused, chin now resting on a curled finger. But who is this wonderful singer?

Shall I introduce myself?

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

| Chapter 1 | [ Next → ]

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

A/N: This scenario came to mind faster than I expected today. Hope I keep this up. 

If you’re wondering how to sing with the lyrics, use the ‘Iruna Eteluro’ song from Mahoutsukai no Yome series. The lyrics are inspired by the English lyrics made by a YTuber called Caroline Makes Music 

[ravs6709]

These Feelings Inside (How Deep Do They Go)

Chapter 2- A Broken Heart

Read on ao3.

Masterlist. Previous. Next.

Woo, chapter 2 of the fic for the @kotlc2021collab! Fun fact, like all of this chapter was supposed to happen in the first one, but I got carried away with the prologue (which I do like)

Anyways, this is a mermaid (siren) au, so its about time we meet a siren. I've mentioned last time that this was inspired by Siren's Lament. I didn't use those lyrics as the siren song, and instead made my own (with very loose inspiration from SL's version)

And uh... I did record myself singing it, and made a post for it. If you want to listen to it, you can go here! (I'll put a link at the end too)

Warnings I guess? Uh, Sophie goes through a whole panic section at the end. And then the siren lures her and it's indirectly said that she falls off a cliff/whatever and into the water and starts drifting off. Idk how to label that but yeah

Anyways, enjoy!

•~•~•~•~•~•

"Sometimes, I'm still surprised you keep them," Biana said, gesturing to the various flowers that were in the corner of Sophie's room. "I mean, if you ever want him to look at you differently, you're going to have to make a move. You know that, right?"

Even without saying a name, Sophie knew that she was referring to Fitz. It took a long time until she'd admitted the crush to Biana, who had already known. She always liked keeping the flowers that Fitz gave her, and would keep them for as long as possible. They might not be what she wanted, but she still appreciated the fact that he even gifted the flowers to her in the first place.

"It's not like I've kept them all," Sophie pointed out.

She ignored the fact that the ones that she had thrown away were too old to be kept.

Unfortunately, Biana knew that. "If they didn't wilt so easily, you'd be keeping them all. But you ignored my question. You know that you'll have to make a move, right?"

"Biana, he gave me a yellow rose first. He's the one who made his feelings clear first. What am I supposed to say? Oh yeah, I've had a crush on you for like eight years now, and I never mentioned it before because you've been giving me signs that you clearly see me as a friend? Is that what you want me to tell him?"

Biana shrugged. "When you say it like that…"

"Even if saying that did work, it's not like I'd be able to actually say it. My brain just runs non-stop but then the moment I make eye contact everything just stops."

"Sophie, when has he not been understanding of you?"

That was true. A lot of people didn't take the effort to try and understand Sophie, but Fitz did. The way he was so respectful- despite the fact that it should have been basic decency- was one of the numerous reasons why Sophie loved him.

"I know he'll be understanding, but that's just going to make things even more awkward."

"I guess. Should we go down now?"

"Sure."

•~•~•~•~•~•

"Oh, Fitz, you're here! What are you doing?" Sophie asked.

While he did come over often, he was usually busy on Thursdays, which was why Sophie was surprised to see him.

"I'm free this time, so I figured that I'd drop by," he explained.

She liked that he was around for the visit. Working at the shop wasn't boring, but it was more entertaining when she had someone to pass the time with. 

He walked closer to her, and rested a hand on her shoulder. "Also," he whispered. "I'm making sure that plans for tonight go well."

She glanced at Biana for a moment, who was on her phone. Sophie whispered back. "Your house or mine? I think yours would probably be better."

"What's the movie for tonight? That movie Biana said that she wanted to watch?"

"That's the plan."

"I don't get why you two always get secretive about the birthday movie night," Biana said.

Both Sophie and Fitz spun towards her, and it turned out that she still wasn't looking up from her phone.

"We've been doing this for years ."

"It's the birthday spirit we're trying to achieve, and you know that!" Fitz defended.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever."

•~•~•~•~•~•

The couches at Everglen were really comfortable. It was even more comfortable to be sitting with her friends. The birthday person was often the one who sat in the center, and Sophie smiled as Biana wrapped an arm around her. Occasionally Dex would join them, but he wasn't available this time.

The movie was playing, but they were only somewhat paying attention to what was going on. Sophie paid more attention to the clock, which showed 11:58 p.m. Just two minutes away from midnight, or Biana's birthday. She counted down the seconds, until it was finally time.

"Happy birthday!" she cheered.

"Happy birthday!" Fitz repeated.

"Thanks, both of you."

•~•~•~•~•~•

"You'll be fine, right?" Sophie asked.

"Sophie, it's just one day," Edaline said, exasperated. "You don't have to feel bad about taking a day off."

"Tell us how the game goes!" Grady added.

Biana's university team had managed to make it to the finals for volleyball, so Sophie and Fitz planned to go support her. But it also meant that neither of them would be at the shop.

"You'll text me if you need help though, right?"

"Yes, we'll text you. You can leave, it looks like Fitz is waiting for you." Edaline pointed to the entrance, where Fitz was indeed standing.

"Bye mom, bye dad!" she said, before kissing them both on the cheek.

Fitz took her hand as they walked to the car. She concentrated so hard on trying to stop herself from blushing that she didn't realize when they stopped walking.

She'd been pining after Fitz for around eight years, and her feelings had gotten easier to work with. Most of the time, at least. But during the times like this, those feelings that she suppressed would fight to be released. He was casually affectionate, which was great (sometimes she found it hard to initiate the contact, no matter how much she wanted it), but it constantly did things to her heart.

Each time it happened, she had to remind herself that no , he wasn't flirting with her or acting out of romantic interest. That was just how he was.

She shook her head to clear her thoughts, let go of his hand, then went in the car. It was silent on the way there, but she needed that silence in order to prepare herself. She took out her headphones once they were almost there.

"Sophie?" Fitz called out.

She responded with a hum.

"You know how it is. If it gets too loud, squeeze my arm."

She hummed again.

Then they arrived, and made their way to the seats. Biana was brilliant on the court, and she seemed to be doing even better than usual. By the end of the game, the cheering got loud, but not bad enough that it hurt. Biana's team had won by a decent amount.

"Congrats, Biana!" Fitz cheered once it was over and they met up.

"It feels unbelievable, because that was the finals? I can't believe we just won!"

"I knew you could do it," Sophie stated.

"I mean yeah, but the other uni was also really good! Guess it wasn't their day, huh?"

"It was definitely your day though," Fitz replied.

•~•~•~•~•~•

"I hate the fact that horns exist," Fitz groaned.

"What, so you like being hit by blue shells?" Sophie asked.

"Obviously not! But I like hitting you with them!"

"If you're able to get blue shells, it's clear that you aren't good at the game!"

It was game night again, and they were playing the newest version of Mario Kart, a game that was nostalgic to them. They were sitting in Sophie's room this time. Biana wasn't there, as she was busy studying with Dex.

"Look, if you aren't second place all the CPUs are there and you aren't safe," he retorted.

"Then just don't be third place? It's not that hard?"

Somehow, he managed to actually do that, and was quickly approaching her kart. It was the end of the final lap, and he passed her. But she got a red shell, shot him right before the finish line, then won first place.

"Excuse me?" he shouted. "Why do you get the red shells?"

She turned towards him with a smirk, only to be startled by the proximity. All she could see were those teal eyes, and the snarky reply she had planned to make was now forgotten. His eyes were wide, and he seemed to barely be breathing. It felt like time had frozen.

Could she take the risk and close the gap between them?

Should I?

Before she could make up her mind, he turned away, and he even moved slightly further away.

He's keeping his distance…

The realization was a hard blow to her, because that wasn't something he had ever done before. Was he that bothered by it?

"I thought you were good at the game," Fitz teased.

But unless Sophie was imagining it, his tone wasn't as lighthearted as it usually was. She tried to channel the frustration and use it to focus on the game, but she was doing worse. Ninth place. She hadn't scored so low in a while.

"Looks like that was the last game," he pointed out. "I'll head home now."

"Bye, Fitz."

She winced at her voice, because she was doing a terrible job at pretending that she was okay. Once she was sure that he left, she buried her face in her hands and just sat there. What was going on? Was Fitz mad at her? That would be the only reason why he would distance himself like that.

But why? Did she do something wrong? If she knew, she'd try and set things right. But what was she supposed to do?

Even though her room was large, she felt restricted. Too small, too hot, too suffocating. She couldn't breathe.

Her actions after that were a blur. She'd grabbed a sweater and went outside. She walked aimlessly along a path. The area seemed vaguely familiar, but she couldn't tell where she was.

The wind was cool against her face, the only thing that kept her remotely aware of her surroundings. There may have even been rain too.

Breathe. You need to breathe .

The voice sounded strangely like Fitz's, and it reminded her of when she had a panic attack and Fitz was there to help her. But he wasn't here this time. Was he going to start avoiding her? What about Biana? Did she have a problem with her too? W-

There was a hum, loud and melodic. She looked around for the source.

 

'Oh you, with that broken heart.'

 

"Who's there?"

 

'You, whose life's falling apart.'

 

Almost as if against her will, her mind replayed the moment of Fitz turning away from her. The rain fell harder, making it harder to see anything except her own imagination.

 

'Have you come here to the sea,

To drown in your memories?'

 

If Fitz and Biana were going to distance themselves, what was she going to do? Ten years worth of memories, were they just going to be tossed aside?

 

'The weight of them is too strong,

Crushing you, it's all so wrong.'

 

Different memories kept emerging. Her first meeting with Biana. Her first meeting with Fitz. Exchanging flowers with Fitz. Weren't the worst memories the ones that started off good? They were the ones that had you soaring, until you're being dragged towards the ground.

 

'May the waves wash all the tears,

That you've gathered through the years.'

 

Sophie knew that she could show her emotions around her friends, but she hated doing it. She had a tendency to suppress her sadness and tears and right now felt like a good time to just let it out.

Very distantly, she could feel herself walking towards the source of the singing.

 

'But what if there was a way,

To make the pain go away?'

 

Was that a thing? She hated doubting her friends, it hurt so much. But if she could just not worry, wouldn't that be better? Wouldn't that ease so much of her pain?

 

'To leave behind your sorrows,

Enter a new tomorrow.'

 

If tomorrow could come and ease away all of her pain, shouldn't she take that chance? Her foot caught against the ground, and now she was tumbling forward, and fell into the water.

 

'I have an offer for you,

You can start your life anew.'

 

The fall was by no means something that snapped her out of her daze, but Sophie found herself slightly more aware. Starting your life anew? Did she want that? Did she want to leave behind the people she loved?

Wasn't that what she worried Fitz was doing? Throwing their love away?

Sophie thought of the memories that they'd shared. It hurt, but they were the best memories that Sophie had. Would it ever be worth it to throw away all those good times just to abandon a potentially bad one?

I want my life , she told herself. I'm happiest with them. But… it's hard.

 

'You can escape the abyss.'

 

The voice was so much louder now, and she tried to move away, but her body wouldn't move.

 

'All I ask is for one kiss.'

 

She couldn't see, and she could vaguely feel a pair of lips press against her own. She was just drifting, in both her thoughts and the sea. She kept drifting until she could no longer feel anything.

•~•~•~•~•~•

You can find the song here!

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