#i will admit that while I should have probably figured this out earlier

[scary-grace]

Bloody Valentine - a Shigaraki x f!Reader fic

When you get to school on Valentine's Day, your biggest worry is how you're going to give chocolate to your lab partner and crush, Shigaraki Tomura, without him knowing that it was you, and when it all goes wrong, you can't imagine how your day could possibly get worse. But when a plague of zombies erupts within the halls of UA High and the evacuation leaves you behind, you find yourself trapped with Shigaraki, both of you left behind. You've been forgotten. There's no help coming. Forget being each other's valentines - now you're each other's only chance to get out of this alive. (cross-posted to Ao3) dividers by @kodaswrld

Chapter 1

You slink through the aisles at the convenience store, blinking sleep out of your eyes and wishing you’d gone to bed earlier last night. You knew what kind of day today was going to be, because it’s the same kind of day you have every day – busy. Rehearsal in the morning, before school starts, team practice as soon as the final bell rings, and in between, the heaviest class schedule it’s possible to take while still reserving at least a few hours to sleep. You should have gone to bed earlier. A lot earlier.

But you didn’t, because you never do, and now you’re here, buying Valentine’s Day chocolate on five hours of sleep. You know you should have made the chocolates by hand, like you did for your friends. It’s something you’re going to have to explain, if the person you’re planning to give the convenience-store chocolate to figures out it’s from you and asks why you cheaped out on him. You’ll have to think of something to say. In the meantime, you pick out the package with the least-ostentatious wrapping and the fewest fruit flavors and make your way to the cash register.

You aren’t the only person in line who waited until the last minute. The woman in front of you is balancing a tower of boxes of the most expensive chocolate the convenience store offers, and the girl behind you in a middle-school uniform is holding a tiny box with an enormous bow on top of it. The cashier’s a woman, too. She doesn’t question the woman ahead of you in line, but when you step up to pay, she looks you up and down with a sly smile on her face. “Who’s this for?”

Your face burns red. You haven’t admitted this out loud to anybody yet, but you have to start somewhere. “My lab partner.”

She chuckles and checks you out, and you wander off to one side, trying to store your loose change and hide the chocolate in your backpack at the same time. You overhear the conversation the cashier has with the middle-schooler. “Sorry. You don’t have quite enough for that one.”

“But it’s the smallest one!” the girl protests. She’s barely old enough to be in middle-school – not more than thirteen. “I looked at the price –”

“Sales tax,” the cashier says. You wince. “Go on. There are people waiting behind you.”

You hear the girl sniffle, and you still haven’t stored your change. You step back up to the counter and slide the coins across it, back to the cashier. “That’s enough, right?”

The cashier nods. You pick up the small box and hand it back to the girl, ushering her outside into a cold, mostly-dark February morning. “Thanks,” she says to you, but her mouth’s still turned down. “He’s my best friend, but all the girls like him – he’s going to get so much and mine’s so small –”

“Write something to go with it,” you suggest. “If you put a note on it it’ll at least look different from the others.”

“Is that what you’re going to do?”

You’re going to stealth-mode the chocolate into his locker and hope he guesses it’s from you – or at least hope that he doesn’t think it’s from somebody else. But you haven’t put much thought into it, and this girl’s best friend is probably a far cry from your lab partner, who’s capable of exuding an aura so grumpy and malevolent that first-years have been known to leave the building to get away from him. “Yeah,” you say, feeling only a little guilty. “Good luck with yours.”

“You, too,” she says. She heads for the metro stop; you store your chocolate away at long last, wrap your scarf a little more tightly around your neck, and start the walk to school.

UA High isn’t for everybody. It’s academically rigorous, to the point where the kids taking remedial classes there could still run circles around the advanced students from any other school, and it’s got so many class and extracurricular offerings that it could almost pass for a university. It’s prestigious to the max, and it’s also really expensive. Students who go there come from rich families, or else they’re on scholarship, their grades and participation reviewed at the end of every term to see if the scholarship will be renewed.

Nobody ever comes out and says which one they are, but it’s pretty easy to tell. Rich kids have class schedules that wouldn’t be out of place at a normal high school. Scholarship kids have schedules like yours. A schedule which begins bright and early at seven am with rehearsal for the school play. This year, it’s Romeo and Juliet, performed pop-opera style – next to no spoken dialogue, almost every piece of dialogue sung. The drama club doesn’t have enough good singers to make it work, so they pressed the choir into service. That’s where you come in. You’re not a good actor or the best singer, but your voice isn’t objectionable and you don’t make a lot of mistakes. That’s enough to earn you a part in the chorus.

And enough to make you an understudy – and the girl who plays Juliet is out sick, which means you’re stuck holding hands with Amajiki Tamaki as the director tries for the billionth time to coax some life into his performance. “Come on, Amajiki! This is a girl you’re holding hands with. The most beautiful girl in the world.”

Amajiki frowns. “I thought Rosalind was the most beautiful girl in the world.”

“That was last week,” Yamada-sensei says. You try not to laugh. “This week it’s all about Juliet, and unlike Rosalind, Juliet likes you. Get hyped! Okay, let’s take it from the top –”

Yaoyorozu starts playing the introductory notes of the song. Amajiki looks directly down at your joined hands and starts singing to them. “If I profane with my unworthiest hand this holy shrine, the gentle sin is this: My lips, two blushing pilgrims ready stand, to smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss –”

He’s on-key, which is a big deal for drama club kids, but just as wooden as ever. Off to one side, you see Yamada-sensei shaking his head. “Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much,” you sing. Your performance is probably at least as wooden as Amajiki’s, but you’re not supposed to be here, anyway. “Which mannerly devotion shows in this; for saints have hands which pilgrims’ hands do touch, and palm to palm is holy palmers’ kiss.”

“Cut,” Yamada-sensei announces. “You’re killing me, Amajiki. Look at her for a second while you’re singing it. Chemistry is all about eye contact.”

“They don’t have chemistry,” Monoma, who plays Tybalt, announces from off to the side. “He and Kenranzaki have chemistry.”

That chemistry is probably the result of Amajiki being terrified of Kenranzaki, just like every other guy at school, but at least some sparks are flying onstage when they’re together. You’re not even sure how Amajiki ended up in the play when he’s got the worst case of stage fright you’ve ever seen. His hands are really sweaty. “Pretend it’s not me,” you suggest. “Pretend I’m the person you like, if you like anybody.”

“There’s an idea,” Yamada-sensei says. Amajiki’s face turns bright red. “Ooh, there it is! We’ve got something. Let’s move.”

“You have to do it too,” Amajiki says to you. “Pretend I’m someone you like. If you like anybody.”

“Fine,” you say. If Amajiki gets a good run-through, you get to go wash your hands. The piano playing starts, and you give it your best shot.

Your plan was to picture an actor, somebody cute but distant, but instead your lab partner pops into your head. Your face goes instantly flushed, probably even more obviously than Amajiki’s, because if you confessed your feelings to Shigaraki Tomura by singing them, he’d laugh you out of the school. If he were the one standing across from you right now, you’d be cringing in despair, knowing for a fact you’d already blown your chances, trying to enjoy the few seconds of holding his hands you got before he yanked them away. You definitely wouldn’t feel like singing about it.

Still, you get through your first lines, and manage to hold Amajiki’s gaze during his response. Saints and palmers have lips, et cetera – and then it’s your turn. “Ay, pilgrim, lips that they must use in prayer –”

“O then, dear saint, let lips do what hands do,” Amajiki says. His eye contact is a little too direct, a lot too earnest. Now you’re really uncomfortable. “They pray: grant thou, lest faith turn to despair.”

“Okay, that’s good enough for now. We don’t want Romeo to faint,” Yamada-sensei says. “That was a lot better, Amajiki. I could tell you were feeling – something. Go get some water. And you –”

He points at you. You cringe. “Stay put,” Yamada-san instructs. “Count Paris, you’re up. We’ve got some back and forth we need to run.”

Tetsutetsu, the first-year who plays Paris, hops up from his seat and comes to stand on the makeshift stage. All you can do is hope his hands aren’t too sweaty.

You stagger out of the rehearsal space at eight-thirty, desperate for a place to wash your hands, and Nejire, who was waiting for you outside, follows you into the bathroom. “I got a Snapchat,” she sings out, brandishing her phone while you run water over your hands. “You and Amajiki sound so good!”

Your heart sinks. “Somebody filmed it?”

“Just on Snapchat! It’s not a story or anything,” Nejire says. “Amajiki’s so cute when he’s blushing!”

“He looks like he wants to die,” you mumble. “How did he end up in the play, anyway?”

“He failed English last term.” Nejire lowers her voice. Amajiki’s a scholarship student, just like you, and you know what failing a class means. “Yamada-sensei convinced the principal not to kick him out as long as he made it up somehow, and since he can sing, being in the play is the best way.”

If it came down to being kicked out of UA or doing some extracurricular activity you really hated, you’d pick the latter without blinking. Nejire replays the Snapchat again while you dry your hands. “How come you were up there? I thought Kenranzaki was the lead?”

“She is,” you say. “She wasn’t here this morning. It was weird – she never misses rehearsals, and she didn’t even text.”

“People were missing from dance practice, too,” Nejire says, frowning. “Kodai and Hagakure didn’t text, either.”

“Maybe something’s going around,” you say. Whatever it is, you hope you don’t get it. You have too much to do. You dry your hands and straighten up. “Come on. I brought you chocolate and I don’t want to give it to you in the bathroom.”

Nejire has chocolate for you, too. She bought chocolate rather than made it, and because she’s not on scholarship, she can afford the really good stuff. You feel awkward handing over your homemade chocolates, but Nejire exclaims over them anyway. You know she’s sincere, because she can’t fake anything for more than a few seconds. “I bet we’re giving them to all the same people,” she says, beaming. “We still have a few minutes. Let’s go hand them out together!”

Your homemade chocolates look like nothing compared to Nejire’s expensive ones, but you’re not friends with your friends for no reason. They compliment Nejire’s generosity and your hard work, and hand chocolate back to you with enthusiasm. You manage to pass your chocolates out to three of your friends before homeroom – Keiko, Saki, and Hinata, girls you’ve known since your first day. The rest you’ll have to get on the run.

Other than homeroom, most of UA High’s classes are sorted by ability rather than by year, which means you’ve had the chance to make friends with second-years and first-years, too. Kyoka is a first-year, but she stands next to you in first-period chorus, so you’ve talked to her almost every day since the start of the year. She gets a box of chocolates. So does Camie in second period advanced calculus, even though she thinks you’re sort of boring and you think she’s kind of an airhead. You helped each other study for your final exams last term. You owe her.

You don’t sit next to any of your friends in third-period English class, but someone in that class is on the climbing team with you. You aren’t close enough to give him chocolate, but you’re friendly enough to say good morning. Spinner returns your greeting, but he’s looking apprehensively at your gear bag. “Wait, were we top-roping today? I forgot all my shit.”

“Coach will probably change it to bouldering if you ask her,” you say. Spinner’s the best climber on the team by a mile, but he’s not the most motivated, and Coach Usagiyama will do just about anything to keep him interested. “If not, I’ve got a spare harness in here.”

“Thanks.” Spinner breathes a sigh of relief. Or yawns. “If it wasn’t movie day in here I’d be screwed. I need a nap.”

“Same,” you admit. “Do you know which –”

“Ladies and those of you who are not ladies, take your seats!” Yamada-sensei booms as he slams the door of the classroom shut behind him, and you scurry back to your seat. Yamada-sensei skids in for a landing in front of the blackboard and switches to English. “I only have one question for you this fine movie day – rom-com or action?”

You vote action, and so does Spinner, but it’s Valentine’s Day and advanced English is mostly girls, so of course you lose. As the vote’s happening, though, you realize just how many people are missing from class today. Kenranzaki from the drama club, two people from Nejire’s dance team, and at least three from English class. Something must be going around. As the bell rings to signal the end of the class period, a terrible thought occurs to you. So many people are absent. What if Shigaraki’s absent, too?

Spinner would know. They’re friends. You stop by his desk as he’s waking up from his nap. “Hey,” you start, “do you know if Shigaraki’s here today? We’re starting a new experiment in chem lab, and –”

“He’s here. I saw him this morning,” Spinner says. “He’s probably going to be late, though. He’s late to everything.”

That gives you time to drop the chocolate on his desk, if you hurry. The thought makes you nervous. Spinner notices. “Hey, don’t worry. I’ll text him and tell him to hurry up.”

“No, don’t –” you start, but Spinner’s already got his phone out. You’re running out of time. You mumble an insincere thank-you to Spinner and book it to the lab, trying not to think about how Shigaraki will respond to the idea of you – you, through Spinner – bossing him around.

You get to chem lab first, ahead of everyone – all your classmates and Sasaki-sensei, too. You tuck your belongings under the bench you share with Shigaraki, pull the chocolate out of your backpack, and set it down on his side of the bench. Done. Your heart is racing, and he’s not even here yet – and once he does, he won’t even know it’s from you. Your high school experience hasn’t been a dream by any means, but this might just be the worst thing that’s ever happened to you.

It would be different if you had a crush on a nice guy, but Shigaraki Tomura isn’t a nice guy. He’s older than you, courtesy of being held back a year sometime in middle school, and while he has friends, every last one of them except Spinner has a reputation just like his. When you were paired up with him for chem lab at the beginning of the year, most people felt sorry for you, and they said so. But you were determined to make the best of it, not to get off on the wrong foot, and so you were friendly. It took two months for him to start being friendly back. For a given value of friendly.

He makes fun of you for being such an overachiever, such a perfectionist – but never for being here on scholarship. The first time he complimented you, it was vague and almost backhanded, but it had your heart racing for the rest of the period. When you finally swapped phone numbers, it took you three days to work up the courage to text him first. Sometimes Shigaraki leaves you hanging, but if you catch him at the right moment – usually at night, when both of you should be sleeping – you can draw him into a conversation. And he’s different than anybody else you know.

You know you’re a cliché, the stereotype of a good girl with a crush on the dictionary definition of a bad guy. But you don’t think that’s why you like him. You just – like him. And you remember something he said a while ago, when the two of you were complaining about couples hanging out in the hallways and blocking you from getting your shoes back, and he mentioned something about Valentine’s Day being even worse – everybody and their cat gets chocolate, and I just have to look at it. You read between the lines. The idea of bringing him chocolate was in your head way before you admitted you had a crush.

Your classmates trickle into the lab slowly, and once again, you register that there aren’t as many as usual. More than a few benches have an empty seat at one side, but Sasaki-sensei arrives thirty seconds before the bell rings, as usual, and starts taking attendance before the final notes ring out. He has the strictest attendance policy in school, and you watch the door anxiously out of the corner of your eye as you organize your pre-work for today’s lab. Acid-base titration. It should be an easy experiment to run, but not if you’re running it alone.

But you won’t be. A shadow darkens the doorway, then falls across your bench, and Shigaraki Tomura drops down in his seat next to you just as Sasaki-sensei calls his name. He doesn’t hear Sasaki-sensei, though – he has headphones in. You elbow him and he yanks them out, just in time for Sasaki-sensei to repeat himself. “Shigaraki Tomura?”

Shigaraki half-heartedly raises one hand, then lets it drop. Sasaki-sensei addresses the class, all business. “I see multiple absences today. If your partner is missing, pair up with someone whose partner is also missing. As usual, you will not be allowed to begin the experiment until I confirm the completion of your prework, and if you run out of time to complete the lab, you will receive no credit for the day.”

The familiar anxious shooting pains lance through your fingers. You can be as prepared as it’s possible to be, and Sasaki-sensei’s reminder of just how willing he is to fail you always scares you. Next to you, Shigaraki pulls a few crumpled pieces of paper out of his backpack, muttering under his breath. “Half the school’s out sick. He can’t cut us a break?”

You move your papers alongside Shigaraki’s, sorting them to make it easier for Sasaki-sensei to see that you’re both done, and take a risk. “I’m glad you made it.”

“Yeah, I figured. Spinner texted me,” Shigaraki says. You cringe. “This lab’s so scary you can’t do it alone?”

“I could do it alone,” you say, stung. It’s the kind of thing he usually says with a teasing note in his voice, but instead he’s strangely flat. He’s not looking at you. “It’s just weird, with so many people out. Did all your friends make it in today?”

“Everybody but Twice,” Shigaraki says. “He can’t shut up when he’s sick, usually – we all get a newsflash every time his body does something disgusting – but this time he hasn’t said a word.”

Kenranzaki didn’t, either. Neither did the girls who were missing from dance team practice. Shigaraki glances at you. “Is that really all it takes to spook you?”

“I didn’t say I was scared. Just that it’s weird,” you say. He’s in a mood today. Is it really just that it’s Valentine’s Day? “Are you feeling okay?”

“Why would you ask that?”

“Because you seem – different – this morning,” you say, stumbling over the words. You thought the two of you were past this. What did you do? “I just wanted to ask. In case there was something –”

“Something you could do?” Shigaraki finishes your sentence. He scoffs. “Nice try. I know what –”

“I certainly hope you do.” Sasaki-sensei looms over the two of you, scooping your prework off the desk. “Shigaraki, your handwriting continues to be atrocious. And you – how many times do I have to ask you to stop writing in 10-pt font? You’re going to strain my eyes.”

“You need better glasses, then, Sensei,” Shigaraki says, almost sneering. That sounds more like him. You can almost fool yourself into thinking he’s defending you. “Our handwriting doesn’t matter. Are we right or wrong?”

Sasaki-sensei glances over your work again. “If I docked points for illegibility, you’d both be on the verge of failing. But your calculations are sound. You may begin.”

You’d be more relieved if Shigaraki wasn’t acting so weird. The two of you start setting out your equipment. “I just wanted to know,” you start, “because I –”

“Shut up,” Shigaraki snaps. You startle. “What the fuck is this?”

It’s the box of chocolates you bought. He scoops it off the desk and brandishes it at you. “This was you, wasn’t it? What is wrong with you?”

“Who said it was me?” You don’t know how to cover up your shock, so you return fire instead. “Whoever it was –”

“I know it was you,” Shigaraki cuts you off.

“How?”

“Because it’s on my desk in fucking chem lab and you’re the only girl in here who talks to me,” Shigaraki says. He drops the box back on the table and shoves it towards you. “Unless you’re going to pretend I’ve got some kind of secret admirer –”

“Maybe you do!” Your voice starts to scale up, and you clench your jaw. You shove the box back across the table towards him. “It could be anybody who left that there. Why are you mad at me?”

“Because it wasn’t anybody. It was you!” An angry flush is crawling from beneath Shigaraki’s collar. He picks up the box of chocolates and drops it on your notebook. “Take this back or I’m throwing it away.”

“Somebody decided to show they like you and you’re throwing it away?” You’re shocked by the acidic note in your own voice, even as you make up your mind to never admit that you were the one who put it there. “You can be mad at me all you want, but you shouldn’t punish them for what you –”

“That’s enough, Station 11,” Sasaki-sensei snaps, from up near the front of the classroom where he’s correcting Yoarashi’s and Togata’s prework. “Focus on your experiment and stop distracting the others.”

This is the wrong class to try to fight with somebody in. You set the box of chocolates down exactly equidistant from you and Shigaraki and start testing the scale you’re supposed to use to weigh your reactants. Sometimes Sasaki-sensei calibrates them wrong on purpose just to throw people off. Next to you, Shigaraki’s sitting still in his seat, visibly seething. His face is still flushed, and when he opens his mouth, it’s to come after you again. “Fuck off with this ‘somebody else’ bullshit,” he says – quieter than before, but not by much. “I know damn well it wasn’t Toga, so that leaves you. You’re the only –”

He breaks off, curses, but you can fill in the rest of the sentence. You and Toga are the only girls he talks to. “And I guess you think this is funny or something, because –”

“Why would I think this is funny?” you hiss.

“Like I’d know. Like I’d ever know what the fuck is going on in your head! I thought –” Shigaraki breaks off again, this time without the cursing, and the look he turns on you is so disdainful that you can barely keep your composure. “You really can act, huh. That nice-girl thing you’ve been putting on since school started. You almost had me fooled.”

Your temper breaks free. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“You expect me to believe you’re stupid now?” Shigaraki laughs, so cold and derisive that your eyes sting. “I’m not falling for that one. I’m done almost falling for –”

“Is it really that hard for you to believe that someone might want to be around you?” As much venom as there is in Shigaraki’s voice, you can match it. He might think you’re a nice girl, but you wouldn’t have survived almost three years as a scholarship student at UA if you weren’t tough enough to hold your own with anybody. “I have to tell you, it’s hard for me to believe right now. If this is how you react to some stranger who cares, anybody who wants to be around you must be out of their mind.”

“Fuck you.”

“Fuck you,” you fire back. “Hate yourself as much as you want. I’m not just going to sit here –”

“No, you aren’t.” Sasaki-sensei looms over you, and your heart sinks so far and fast that you feel nauseous. He looks pissed, as pissed as you’ve ever seen him, his eyes narrowed and his arms crossed over his chest. “I warned the two of you once. Not only did you fail to save your lover’s spat until after class, you were both made aware of my policy on profanity at the beginning of the year, and the first-years across the hall could hear the two of you swearing.”

“Sensei –”

“Manners,” Sasaki-sensei snaps, and you fall silent. “To the principal’s office, both of you. And take your belongings. You won’t be coming back here today.”

He’s kicking you out. He won’t let you finish the lab, and if you completely miss a lab, your chemistry grade will plummet. Shigaraki might not care about his grades, but if your grades drop, you’ll be thrown out of UA with a semester left in your third year. “It wasn’t me,” you protest. “Shigaraki started it!”

“Based on what I heard, you were a willing participant,” Sasaki-sensei says. He throws Shigaraki a dirty look, but the vast majority of his disdain is reserved for you. “I expected better of you, at least. Get out.”

Shigaraki’s already packed up his things. He shoves his chair back and it lets out an awful screech as it skids across the tiles, but you’re frozen in your seat. Your heart is racing, and your eyes are starting to prickle and burn. No matter what you do, it feels like the wrong choice – refuse to leave, blame Shigaraki for starting this again, try to make your case? Sasaki-sensei drums his fingers against his forearm, waiting for you, and when you don’t move, he barks at you. “Now.”

Someone giggles, and the sound snaps you out of your paralysis. You whip around to find two of the first-years in third-year chemistry snickering behind their hands – Kaminari and Ashido, who get in trouble for talking every other class, whose grades are worse than yours, who are here on their parents’ money instead of on scholarship. You’re not going to stand here and let a bunch of rich brats laugh at you. You stand up, jam your things back into your backpack, grab the gym bag with your climbing gear, and storm past Shigaraki out the door.

You held it together in class, but now that you’re out in the middle of an empty hall, you’re losing the fight against your tears. At least you are until you hear Shigaraki’s footsteps in the hallway behind you. This is his fault. There’s no way you’re going to let him know how upset you are. You pick up the pace down the hall, then up the stairs, heading for the administrative offices on the second of the school’s five floors.

Shigaraki catches up to you on the stairs. He says something, but you deliberately shift your gear bag, drowning him out with the clatter that results. Then you pick up your pace again. Shigaraki’s legs are longer than yours. He catches up and repeats what he must have said earlier. “Are you happy now?”

You were right to drown him out. You reach the administrative offices ahead of him, but as you reach for the door, it bursts open outwards. Principal Nezu nearly collides with you, and you stammer an apology. It’s as if you’re not even there. Shigaraki, on the other hand, nets a remark from the principal. “If I find out that you’re involved in this, Shigaraki –”

“Involved in what? I got sent here from chem lab.”

“If I find out you’re involved, I’ll personally ensure that you’re sent to prison,” Principal Nezu snaps, and you can’t hold in a shocked gasp. Principal Nezu’s radio crackles, and he raises it to his mouth. “Yes. I’m on my way. Do nothing until I arrive.”

He motors off down the hall, walking even faster than you were. Shigaraki steps past you into the admin offices, and the door closes in your face. You stand there for a moment, stunned. You don’t know what’s going on, what incident Principal Nezu’s referring to, but you can’t imagine what would make the principal say something like that to Shigaraki. You know Shigaraki was in trouble in middle school. Based on the few things he’s said about what it’s like for him at home, you know it isn’t good. And you know that since he started at UA, Shigaraki’s been sent to see the principal for showing up late, for falling asleep in class, for mouthing off to teachers, for throwing a punch after someone else punched him first – but he hasn’t done anything that the other school troublemakers haven’t done, too. You can’t imagine Principal Nezu threatening to send any of them to prison.

It strikes you as really harsh. Almost mean, since whatever incident is going on started while you and Shigaraki were arguing in chem class. But as awful as what the principal said to Shigaraki was, there might be a silver lining for you. If Principal Nezu hates Shigaraki that much, it won’t be hard to convince him that what happened in chem lab was all Shigaraki’s fault.

You feel awful for even thinking it. You open the door to the admin offices and step inside, addressing the first secretary you see. There are twelve of them – with everything that’s going on at UA, Principal Nezu needs all the help he can get. “Sasaki-sensei sent me here to see the principal.”

“Principal Nezu just left,” Secretary Kurose says shortly. She’s always been nice to you before now. “He’ll see you when he gets back. Wait in his office. Shigaraki’s already there.”

He’s probably waiting for you to come in so he can start the fight back up again. You wonder what he said to Secretary Kurose to put that tense, frustrated look on her face. It can’t just be because of you, can it? “I saw the principal leaving. Is something going on?”

“Wait in his office,” Secretary Kurose says. The phone rings and she picks it up, shooing you away. You walk slowly, dejectedly. Partly because you’re hurt by how she talked to you. And partly so you can hear what she says as she picks up the phone. “Yes, the principal is on-scene. The other faculty have Chisaki restrained.”

Chisaki’s one of the biology teachers – anatomy, specifically, and he’s the youngest one on staff. The weirdest, too. They have him restrained? You step into the principal’s office and shut the door behind you, so lost in thought about whatever’s going on down in the anatomy lab that you almost forget what you’re doing here.

But you can’t forget for long. Shigaraki’s sitting in Principal Nezu’s chair, feet propped up on the principal’s desk. He leans to one side to peer at you, half a smirk on his dry, scarred lips. “Come here often?”

You grit your teeth. “Never.”

“It’s your first time. I bet he’ll be gentle with you.” Shigaraki’s smirk sharpens. He leans further back in the chair. “I had to lower this thing about two feet to be able to sit in it. Do you think Nezu hates everybody who’s taller than him?”

You sit down in one of the chairs you think students are probably supposed to sit in and drop your bags by your feet. Your phone buzzes from inside your backpack, and you extract it to find a text from Nejire. What happened??? I heard something went down in lab

I’m in the principal’s office :( you text back, and that’s when it really hits you.

You’re in the principal’s office because you got kicked out of class, because you were fighting with your lab partner, because you gave him chocolate, because you have a crush on him and it’s Valentine’s Day. You might lose your scholarship. You got rejected by the person you like in the worst way possible. And now you’re stuck in here with him until the principal gets back from dealing with whatever the anatomy teacher did. This might be the worst day of school you’ve ever had.

Nejire texts back – ten texts in a row – and you ignore them. Behind the desk, Shigaraki looks up. “You get service in here? I thought this place was dead.”

“I’m on the school’s WiFi,” you say. “Third-years get the password.”

“I don’t have the password,” Shigaraki says. You struggle not to roll your eyes. “I guess it’s only for teacher’s pets.”

“If not wanting to be in trouble all the time makes me a teacher’s pet, fine. I’m a teacher’s pet,” you say. Shigaraki scoffs, and your desire to burst into tears temporarily converts to anger. Anger makes you mean. “You know, you’re a way better actor than me. You did such a good job pretending not to be exactly what everybody said you are that I actually fell for it.”

You’re expecting him to return fire right away. You’ve left him an opening to call you stupid for believing any better of him, and any second now he’s going to jump on it. But Shigaraki stays silent, and without something to react against, your anger starts to fizzle out. All that’s left is hurt and confusion. “I thought we were friends.”

“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” Shigaraki says. “Except my friends are a bunch of assholes just like me, and none of them would pull the kind of stunt you did.”

“It wasn’t me,” you say.

Shigaraki’s jaw clenches. “I know it was you,” he says. “Why are you lying about it?”

“It wasn’t me.” You’re never going to admit it to him. You’re going to put this somewhere so far in the back of your mind that you’ll forget it ever happened, and every time you feel that pull towards Shigaraki, those butterflies, you’re going to remind yourself how you feel right now. “Why won’t you stop? You’ve already gotten me kicked out. Isn’t that enough?”

“Kicked out?” Shigaraki laughs at that. “I get sent here three times a week. They haven’t kicked me out yet.”

“You’re not on scholarship,” you say. Despair settles heavily over you. “I’m in the principal’s office and my chemistry grade is ruined – and they can kick me out for breathing wrong. Whatever you think I did, haven’t I paid for it?”

“They’re not kicking you out.” Shigaraki’s not laughing anymore. He takes his feet down off the desk and sits up in Principal Nezu’s chair. “When he gets back, you’re going to tell him I started it –”

“You did start it.”

“Yeah, and I’m gonna cop to it,” Shigaraki says. You blink. “It’ll be my fault, I’ll get detention again, and your record won’t get messed up. They’re not kicking you out.”

“Why do you care if I get kicked out?” you ask. “Do you need a lab partner that bad?”

Shigaraki’s jaw clenches. “No,” he says. “It’ll just be a pain to have to break a new one in.”

That’s what you’d thought he’d say, or something like it. Maybe this morning you’d have thought he cared, but by now you know a lot better. You slump down in your chair, cross your arms over your chest, and wait for the principal to get back.

Fourth period ends without Principal Nezu coming back, which means you and Shigaraki are now missing lunch. School lunches are expensive. You packed your own, like always, and you dig it out of your backpack and open it. Shigaraki takes his feet down off the desk and sits up. “You brought food?”

“Yep.”

“I want some.”

“You’ve got to be kidding,” you say. Shigaraki stares back at you, unrepentant. “I’m not giving you my food.”

“I didn’t say I wanted all of it. I said some of it,” Shigaraki corrects, like an asshole. “Share. Unless you’re done pretending to be nice?”

“Maybe I am, since you’re done pretending not to be a bully –”

“A bully?”

“You’re trying to steal my lunch.” You put it back into your backpack. Maybe he’ll leave you alone about it now. “Most guys give that up by seventh grade.”

“Yeah, well, I was in juvie in seventh grade, so –” Shigaraki breaks off suddenly, then glares at you. “Shut up.”

“I didn’t say anything,” you say – and then, from somewhere at the edge of your hearing, a sound hits your ears that’s got no business being in a school. “Did you hear that?”

“What? I didn’t –” Shigaraki’s head snaps up. “I heard that.”

So did you. Two screams, from two different people, and a moment later, there’s a third. A chill goes down your spine, and you hold still with an effort, even when the fourth scream rings out. “People don’t scream like that when they’re just screwing around.”

“No,” Shigaraki says. More screams. They’re getting closer. He gets to his feet. “Get out of the way.”

“What?”

Shigaraki doesn’t answer. He kicks Principal Nezu’s chair out of the way, knocks everything on the desk onto the floor, and starts shoving at the desk, to absolutely no effect. It’s so bizarre that it takes another scream to snap you back to awareness. “What are you doing?”

“Blocking the door.” Shigaraki’s voice is strained. “Whatever’s making people scream like that, I don’t want it in here.”

What could it even be? A school shooter, like they have in America? You’d have heard gunshots. Maybe it’s a crazy person with a knife running through the halls, or a rabid animal, or something. Now there are so many people screaming that you can’t distinguish anything about the voices – male or female, young or old, victim or perpetrator. Whatever it is, Shigaraki’s right. You don’t want it here either. You leave your backpack off to one side and join Shigaraki behind the desk, giving it an experimental push. Sure, it’s heavy. You can see why Shigaraki’s having trouble. You square up, plant your feet, and shove.

The desk skids forward, and you keep pushing. Shigaraki’s not doing anything to help, even though it was his idea, and when you turn to look, you find him staring at you. “Are you on steroids or something?”

“No, I’m on the climbing team. We have to work out.” You shove the desk again, thankful for the fact that Coach Usagiyama makes you and the rest of the team cross-train at least twice a week. “Are you going to help? It’ll be faster with two.”

At first Shigaraki just stares at you, but the screams are so close now, close enough that your ears hurt, and blocking the door was his idea. Shigaraki lines up next to you and starts pushing the desk, and together the two of you wedge it against the door. Almost as soon as you’ve pushed it into place, something thuds against it from the other side. You recoil backwards, but Shigaraki throws his weight against the desk, keeping it firmly shut. “Let me in,” Secretary Kurose pleads. “They’re coming!”

Who’s they? It doesn’t matter, not when she needs help. You grab the desk and pull back, only to catch Shigaraki’s arm squarely across your chest, hard enough that you’ll have bruises. “No,” he snaps at you. “Nobody gets in.”

“She needs help!”

“You think she’d help us? No.” The door handle is rattling, and Shigaraki shoves the desk against the door again. “She can run.”

“Please,” Secretary Kurose wails. “They’re –”

Her voice breaks into a high, wavering scream, and the door shivers on its frame as at least three people collide with it. Secretary Kurose’s scream reaches a new pitch, one that makes Shigaraki flinch and makes you jam your fingers in your ears to drown it out. But some part of you knows there’s no drowning this out. Not the scream that hitches and splits. Not the low growls and wet, meaty sounds of flesh being torn away. Not the rattling breaths that go suddenly, horribly silent.

You can’t see anything that’s happening, but some part of you knows exactly what you’re listening to. Those are the sounds of a person being eaten alive, and before you can even think, you’re throwing your weight against the desk just like Shigaraki is, desperate to keep whatever’s out there from getting in.

[casket-of-imps]

guy who blogs on the autism site: guys this is gonna sound crazy but I think I have autism

[canthelpit0]

Girls

Pairing: Billie eilish x reader

Wordcount: 1.2k +

Summary: Billie lowkey has a crush on her childhood bsf. And she doesn’t realize it and accidentally comes out to finneas

Warnings: FLUFF, wlw, (mentioned) sexual tension, coming out, it’s around 2023, mentioned Tourette’s, Billie has a bf, finneas is in this

(A/n: I do not have Tourette’s don’t come for me)

“I just don’t understand” Billie groans rubbing her face in frustration.

She’d just been hanging out with her best friend. Her childhood best friend. You’d been at her house just watching a movie while commenting on the scenes and laughing together while eating popcorn.

You say something stupid about the main character, mocking his voice and the monologue currently displayed.

Billie can’t help but laugh at the poor impression. She isn’t even looking at the TV anymore, she’s just staring at your pretty face while little giggles leave her lips.

You keep mocking the main characters voice. You turn your head and your eyes land on Billie. Billie could swear her heart literally stopped. She licks her teeth as she desperately tries not to burst out into laughter.

You laugh, and suddenly Billie is laughing.

Billie, being the touchy ass person she is leans over casually putting her head onto your chest, more aggressively then needed. Her eyes close as laughs rack her body. Her hand unknowingly places itself on your chest while she laughs, burying her face into your shoulder.

After a while your laughs quiet down, the movie forgotten. It had just been playing without any of you paying attention while you laughed and neither of you could find it in yourselves to care.

Billie lifts her head, your faces entirely too close. She doesn’t move. Up until she realizes her hand is rest in on your boob.

Her eyes widen just slightly as she takes her hand off of your tit. She keeps looking at you tho, all while her face is pink with her blush. She feels like a coward as she moves back, too fast, too abruptly. But she plays it off and stuffs her mouth with popcorn as she starts watching the movie again, trying to ignore your warm presence next to her.

“…She’s just so pretty, it literally hurts, you know what I mean” Billie says after a long pause.

So what if she is venting to her brother? She needs to talk about this or she feels like she’ll combust.

“Sounds a little gay of you” finneas replies dryly. His face is blank, the sarcasm in his tone plain as day. Billie just groans at his words. He’s supposed to actually help, or shut up and listen.

“Fuck off finneas. It’s not gay to appreciates some ones looks” Billie scoffs loudly. She burries her face into her hands as she sighs loudly.

“No, it’s just that her skin is so soft. And her lips just look so soft and pink and plump and-“ she cuts herself off. She figures she should shut up.

“Billie, you have a boyfriend.” Finneas reminds her as if she doesn’t know. How could she not know. And really that had been the only thing holding her back from kissing her best friend earlier, right? Well… that and the fact that her best friend would probably push her away because they’ve been best friends for too long… and damn that would be weird right?

Billie’s neck jerks slightly, her Tourette’s flaring up slightly from the stress of her brain working overtime. She frowns staring at her lap.

“I know, it’s just that…” she pauses for a second. She looks up at finneas, but averts her eyes again, his gaze is too sharp, like she knows something Billie doesn’t. And Billie doesn’t like that. “I dunno.”

“I just don’t think I’ll be with him forever.” Billie says slowly, her eyes going back to her brother as she frowns.

She’s sat on the couch in finneas’ basement studio. While finneas is sat on his desk chair. Watching Billie, almost amused

“I don’t know, it’s just that” Billie rubs her temple as she talks. Slowly, as if testing the words out. As if saying it out loud would be like admitting something to herself that she had known for a while. “I can’t see myself being with him forever. He’s just… a waste of my time, a backdrop?”

Billie goes quiet. There is nothing more she has to say about him. Sure she is dating him, sure she is loyal. But she never, not even at the start, saw herself with him forever. Because forever is a long time.

“Well then you shouldn’t be stringing him along.” Finneas says after the prolonged pause. “That’s not fair to him.”

“Mhm” the hum is halfhearted as her brain is already drifting off. She lets the silence settle in, she can’t help but think about her pretty face. Her beloved best friend.

She’s always thought she would always be in her life. After all, they’re best friends, right? She always imagined that you’d be neighbors. Billie had her husband, you have your husband, your kids are best friends, you always hang out while your husbands are at work. She’s always pictured you in her life, forever.

“God, I can’t help it, she’s just so, so pretty.” Billie blurts out. She doesn’t look up to finneas’ questioning gaze. She knows he is probably confused about what she is talking about now.

“I mean she always wears those cute ass button up shirts, and I just wanna-“ Billie purses her lips sighing. What does she want. She wants a lot of things.

She wants to crash her body into her best friend, to hug her and never let go. To burry her face in your chest and stay there. To have you play with her hair, and rub her scalp. She wants to touch you, feel your skin. She wants to unbutton the fucking buttons of those button ups you wear. She wants to kiss all over your neck. She wants to feel you, to hug you, to be with you.

Her eye twitches slightly as her brain gives her a list of things she wants to do. Billie groans loudly putting her head in her hands. She tuggs at her hair slightly trying to get herself together, even tho she can feel the burn of the blush creeping onto her face.

“I don’t know, I just really really want to be with her, and hug her and never let go. I want” she deliberately pauses. “Her.”

Billie’s head snaps up, her eyes meeting finneas’ amused expression.

“Fuck-“ Billie whispers loudly, as if she’d accidentally shared a secret. “Am I gay?” She asked, her tone disbelieving, but she isn’t stupid, she heard how her own thoughts and words sounded. And it sounded pretty fucking gay to her.

Finneas bursts out laughing. Like fully doubles over laughing. Billie can’t help a small smile as she is still really confused staring at her brother as if he has all the answers.

Once he calms down he lets out an amused sigh “sounds like it”

Before Billie can even think of a reply finneas keeps talking “well” he says dramatically, dragging the word out. “I wouldn’t say gay, but it does sound like ‘In love with your best friend’. “

Billie lets out a loud high pitched embarrassed sound as she, once again, hides her face in her hands. She feels hot.

Billie knows she falls in love quite easily, but falling for her childhood best friend was on a whole another level. Well not really. But it’s still a lot to realize on a random Saturday.

Masterlist

‼️please dont copy my work/idea‼️

A/N: this idea was so cute, i literally had to write it. if you wanna be put on, or taken off the taglist, tell me !!

Taglist: @muwapsturniolo , @sturnad , @iluvm4ttsturni0l0 , @evie-sturns , @me09love , @fratbrochrisgf , @spideylovin , @chrissgirlsstuff , @stunza , @whicked-hazlatwhore , @sturniooolos , @ecliphttlunar , @orangeypepsi , @klaus223492 , @char112244 , @sst7niolo , @slut4chriss , @mattsturniololoverr , @th3-3d3n-g4rd3n , @st7rnioioss , @t1llysblogs , @nonat-111 , @blahbel668 , @rockstarchr1s , @sturnsintrouble , @nayveetbhh , @tillies33ssss , @sturncakez , @strnilo , @somegirlfromasgard , @mattslovelygf , @sturnsmaeve , @sturnstvr , @lucianastrun , @jnkvivi , @jamiesturniolo , @chr1sgirl4life , @h3arts4harry , @whosthislyssbitch , @jamiesturniolo , @sturniololover-09 , @zayyluvz , @sturnzsblog , @jetaimevous , @imwetforyourmom , @yoongslvr69 , @ilovethesturnstriplets , @obsessionsarenotfortheweak , @mininishiriki , @bigbootyjudyyyy

[anae-art]

Day 19 - Monster hunter For this one, I wanted to redraw one of the scenes from our Curse of Strahd adventure, when we were just before the fight with Strahd One of my favorite scenes I must point out Well it will be a long story below (Prop list is from @crowholtz ) (Spoilers for Curse of Strahd below)

Just before the planned attack on the castle, we gathered everyone who wanted to help us to devise a plan. A little late arrived van Richten telling us that Esmeralda would arrive later and that we should start without her.

We spent an hour-long session planning the steps and when we had everything figured out, van Richten asked one of the characters to talk. After a while our friend came back to us, saying that the monster hunter would return later and indeed, after a while he practically ran into the inn with Esmeralda saying:

-Sorry, we couldn't come earlier, we were attacked by vampire spawns on the way. What is the plan?

And our reaction after a moment of consternation looked more or less like this:

-Oh, but you were here a moment ag…. OH NO

Yes, so as you can probably guess this previous van Richten was Strahd. He changed his appearance and insured the outing of my detection of the undead. And when he went outside with our friend charmed him and took the item that was supposed to help us in the fight.

Funnily enough, while we were talking, my character Gabrielle pulled out a sun sword, which dealt damage to him and our GM had to see if he would lose concentration and look like Strahd again. Unfortunately, he didn't lose it (although it could have been fun)

So we ended up with Strahd knowing our plan from us, taking items from us and our morale dropping to zero just before fighting him. A brilliant move. I still think it was one of the better scenes in the entire campaign

Although I must admit that our GM gave us some hints -Before Strahd entered the inn and he asked if he could enter -He stood up and moved away from me when I pulled out a sun sword -On top of that, van Richten talking about how much garlic helps fight vampires was suspicious…. But we were too excited to fight Strahd to notice it, ok...?

[the-travelling-witch]

a/n: i was watching the olympic skateboarding final, zoned out and zoned back in to find this in my drafts; modern au (but not part of my existing modern au universe)

genshin masterlist || modern au series

Skater! Childe who you meet at a skatepark your friend dragged you to. You’d been perfectly content watching your friend jump around the bowl as you sat to the side, earbuds in as you busied yourself. That was until someone tapped your shoulder and moved in front of you to block out the sun as you stared up his tall stature. It was a skater you’d seen do some recklessly tricky jumps earlier.

Strands of ginger hair stood off to the sides of his head, no doubt ruffled by the helmet dangling from his arm. The loose black shirt draping over him obscured most of his body, though you had seen how it outlined his toned body while he zoomed through the rink earlier. His skateboard rested casually against his leg, his fingers energetically drumming against it as he shot you a lopsided grin. 

“Sorry, don’t mean to bother you,” he started when you pulled an earbud out. “But I figured I had to come talk to you or I’d kick myself for it later.”

“Oh uhm thank you… I guess?” You stammered, not quite sure how to react. This guy could play the male lead in a rom-com, was he pulling some kind of prank on you?

“So, you don’t seem to have a board with you,” he continued, undeterred by your hesitance, as he plopped himself down cross-legged in front of you, the piercings in his ear gleaming in the sunlight with the movement. “Not into skating yourself, are you?”

“No, I’m just here because of my friend,” you admitted. Not wanting to let the conversation with the handsome stranger dwindle quite yet, you wrecked your brain for something to say. ��You obviously are, so uh do you come here often?”

“Yeah, I try to come here as often as I can. Helps me clear my head, you know? Oh, where are my manners? I’m Ajax, by the way.” He grinned, taking your attempt at conversation and running with it. When you told him your name, his smile widened, showing more of his teeth and crinkling around his eyes. “That’s pretty, suits you. Anyway, you should definitely try skating yourself sometime, it’s real fun.”

“I’m afraid if you told me to break a leg, I quite literally would,” you chuckled weakly.

“C’mon, nobody’s asking you to do a kickflip right out the gate. It’s really not that bad, just start with the basics.” Ajax cocked his head to the side, strands of ginger artfully falling to frame his face, before he beamed excitedly and extended his hand to you. “Actually, why don’t you give it a shot right now?”

“Huh what, like right now right now?” 

“Yeah, here you can use my board.” You don’t quite remember when you had put your hand in his but his fingers were pleasantly warm as he pulled you to your feet effortlessly. “Just try standing on it. Hold on to me if you want to, I won’t let anything happen to you, promise.”

“I’ll hold you to that, you know?” With a shaky exhale you slowly set both feet on the grey and red board underneath you, still holding onto Ajax’s hand, the rings adorning it already warm under your touch. The first time the board suddenly moved underneath you, your free hand immediately latched onto his shoulder.

“Woah easy there, it’s all good, you’re doing great,” the ginger encouraged you easily. The way he stroked his thumb over the back of your hand was probably meant to soothe your nerves but it only served to make your heart pound faster.

“You don’t need to lie to me, I know this is like less than the basics,” you gritted out through clenched teeth and a layer of embarrassment. Naturally that was child’s play compared to what he probably got up to.

“I’m telling the truth, I swear. You’re going out of your comfort zone to learn something new, even if you’re scared.” There was so much genuine seriousness in his voice, it made you pause to actually consider his words. “That takes guts, not everyone takes that leap. So yeah, you’re doing great for me.”

Perhaps meeting his ocean blue eyes was a mistake because, in that moment, you found yourself falling deeper than you initially thought you could and you quickly had to avert your gaze again. For a while, you practised balancing on the board, even managing to get the hang of kicking off the ground without landing on your ass and you found yourself agreeing with him; this was fun. Though perhaps that was also thanks to the company you kept.

All too soon for your liking, you heard your name being called as your friend waved at you, skateboard in hand. Turning towards Ajax you stepped back onto solid ground, looking for what you could say.

“I guess that’s my cue,” you said somewhat breathlessly, handing the board back to him. “Thank you so much for teaching me, I really enjoyed it. Uhm… is there a chance I’ll see you again?”

“I’d hope so.” To your relief, Ajax seemed to share your sentiment, even sending a cheeky wink your way. No use blaming the heat of your cheeks onto the sinking sun now, you supposed. “Well you already know where to find me but I’ll do you one better. Do you have your phone?”

Handing it to him, you watched him tap away before giving it back, the screen still showing his newly created contact, the name of which had a little heart attached. “Call me, okay? And not just because of skateboarding lessons. I’d like to get to know you better.”

“Sure, will do.” At this point, you were starting to wonder if the smile was permanently stuck to your face by now with how much your cheeks hurt. “Take care then.”

“Will do,” he playfully replied, flashing you that charming grin that introduced you to him in the first place. “You make sure to get home safely. And don’t miss me too much, you hear?”

With a shake of your head you waved him goodbye as you caught up with your friend, who eyed you knowingly, no doubt waiting to pry the details out of you. This is where your paths strayed from each other again. For now, at least.

© the-travelling-witch 2024 - do not repost, translate, copy or edit; do not feed my writing to an ai

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[melminli]

my boy - by billie eilish

pairing: young coriolanus x fem. reader

summery - he ain't a man and sure as hell ain't honest

word count: 2.5k

contains: angst, slightly dark themes, possessiv but soft coryo, politician coryo, talk about pregnancy and marriage, alcohol consumption

a/n: i have many songs that i think r just so coryo coded, so i thought i would choose one and write something about it. this one is just so him like, every lyric fits him perfectly

You sometimes wondered if there really had been a time when you had truly loved Coriolanus Snow. You didn't want to doubt that you didn't anymore, but the fact that you had any doubts at all said more than you wanted to admit to yourself.

"Don't you want to get dressed?" The voice of the person you were thinking about asked you. As his Fiancée, you should definitely not think about such things. You turned your attention to him and saw him standing in front of the mirror, buttoning the buttons of his expensive waistcoat.

You noticed he was about to tie his black tie next as he reached for it, and you stood up to stop him so you could do it for him. It always looked a little messy when he tied it himself. "I thought maybe I'd stay home this time. I'm a bit tired." You said, concentrating on doing a neat job, even though you probably could do it with your eyes closed by now. Perhaps the reason was more that you were trying to avoid his gaze and also his silence.

He said something back to you as you were pulling the tie tighter around his neck. "I think you should get dressed." Was all he said and ended the discussion with a few words like he always did. It would look bad if I turned up without my fiancée. Though, at the same time - I really need something pretty to look at if I want to get through the evening.

You just sighed softly as Coriolanus walked past you to fix his hair. I think I'd better wear a matching dress then. You went to your closet to look for a black dress and it should be very easy for you to find something suitable since you had a dress for every occasion. Especially since you and Coriolanus had had started to be invited regularly to galas and events.

But you just weren't in the mood. Whatever, this should be fine. You finally decided on one and put it on. However, you had a little trouble zipping up the back, though luckily, your fiancé returned the favor and helped you out. After he finished, he watched your figure in front of the mirror and gave you a gentle kiss on the back of your neck while holding you in his arms. "There you go, my dear, you look beautiful. You should also wear the pearl jewelry I bought you, they would look good on you."

You leaned back into his arms. "Good on me, or good on the wealthy impression you want to give others." You said, already knowing the answer. Coriolanu's gaze sharpened slightly at your words. He didn't like it when you got sassy with him - no matter to what extent. It seemed to be one of your traits that were hard to get rid of, but he hoped that perhaps with time, you would learn to watch your tongue more. I don't think so, but a man can still hope. At least it's not as bad as it used to be.

"Pollux will be there." He announced and sat down on the armchair next to your dressing table while he watched you make yourself pretty for him. One of the reasons why it was there. "But I would argue that one doesn't exclude the other." He came back to your earlier statement.

So, that's what this is about. The name Pollux was not necessarily associated with positive things in your household. Ever since Coriolanus had started getting involved in politics around Panem, the two of them were considered arch enemies, one could say. Both very charming men with sweet words who also each hid a poisonous dagger behind their fake smiles so they could take the other out at the slightest mistake.

"I can't stand that fucking bastard." Coriolanus complained, grimacing as he thought about his face. "If I have to listen to him make one more pun with his name, I'll shoot myself and everyone in the room. Just because your name means crown doesn't mean you're going to get it stupid asshole. I really fucking hate that guy."

Your fiancé rarely swore, at least that's how it used to be. He thought it was bad manners and therefore never did it in public, but well, maybe you secretly just wished that he would show his best side in your presence too and not just to stupid important people.

It didn't suit him. Well, at least from your point of view, it always sounded a bit strange and kind off forced to hear him swear when he hadn't done it for so long. Like he was trying to imitate someone. "You're sounding more and more like your father." You said quietly to yourself, averting your gaze from his hate-filled eyes.

That seemed to cheer him up. "Well, thank you, my dear. Didn't realize you knew so much about him." He said and became curious. He couldn't remember telling you about him. He certainly mentioned him a couple times, but not that much that you could draw that comparison.

It wasn't a compliment. You opened the bottom drawer to pull out the box of pearl earrings and necklace after you finished doing your hair. "I don't know that much. Tigris has only told me a few things from time to time, and that's it."

He hummed as he just shook off his right sleeve a little to look at his watch. "Did she." he replied with his head somewhere else as he abruptly changed the subject to be able to talk about his own interests. "Don't take too long. The Avox should have the car ready by now, and I want to leave soon." He announced and stood up from his seat. He took the necklace from your hand and placed it on your free neck before gracefully pulling the clasp. "What did I tell you, hm? Like a pretty princess." He said in good humor and gently held you by the chin to place a kiss on your lips. My pretty princess. All that's missing is her lonely tower. "I'll go down and see if everything is all right. Just come down when you're ready."

You tried to stay in a good mood too. "Okay, Coriolanus. I'll be right there." you told him, leaving his casual mention of your staff unmentioned. You got tired of talking about how your heart got heavy when you saw the silent workers.

At least you can treat them well while they are working us. Trust me, others would not grant them such luxury. With us, they are better off than most. After all, there is a reason why they are in the position they are now. What kind of luxury? Treating them like ordinary people should not be treated as such, and yet he was right once again. They would be worse off somewhere else, so you should be able to suck it up and do your best to at least give them the dignity of looking them in the eye and enduring their silent nature. After all, they had to do the same.

That's probably what he likes the most about them. You thought to yourself and were pretty sure that your fiancé would approve if you said just as little - to just open your mouth to say what he liked to hear, like a bird that he only let sing when it was his favorite song. Wouldn't he like that? Of course he would. Well, if he wants a quiet good girl then he can fuck off.

"You know, I noticed how you don't really call me Coryo anymore." He briefly stated and left open how he interpreted this.

You continued with your make-up. "Hm? Well, I think it just suits you better now, dear. You're not the same boy you used to be."

He begs to differ. "Don't be like that. I haven't changed that much. I'm still the same Coryo you fell in love with all those years ago." He laughed as he said goodbye to you with one last kiss on your head before leaving the room.

You just sat there with a heavy heart in your lonely room while staring at your silhouette in the mirror. That's what I've been trying to convince myself lately, too.

Thank goodness there's alcohol at these events. As someone who was born and raised in the Capitol and also came from a wealthy family, you were no stranger to popular events.

However, you definitely liked them more when they were considered parties and not some lame adult gathering. You'd give anything to hear the booming music from big speakers now while a few crazy, very drunk people hit the dance floor. It was chaotic, but at least it was real - people weren't hiding behind their pretty dresses and fake smiles like they are now. Whatever, you can't stop getting older, I guess. Maybe it would take a few more years for the Capitol to figure out a way around that, too, but by the time they did, it would have already lost its value.

You started listening again when your name was mentioned. "Now that you're engaged, I suppose the wedding isn't far off, huh?" Mrs. Valentius laughed merrily. If you remembered correctly, she was the wife of the man who had won some important literary prize or something last year. "And we all know that when marriage is near, children are not far away."

You laughed with her, albeit very uncomfortably. I'm not going to elaborate on that. You took another sip of your drink and saw how you just had a little bit left, same goes with your patience, too. I need more of both.

Your eyes looked up again when Coriolanus put an arm around your waist and pulled you closer to his side. "Of course. The preparations are a little stressful even if they are going well, but who knows, maybe the first one will be there on our big day. What do you say, my dear?" He replied in your place with his disgustingly charming smile. I think I would like it if she was pregnant with my child on the day of the wedding. Would just have to make a few alterations to her dress, but that can easily be arranged.

Yes, you definitely needed a new drink. "Let's see, Coriolanus. Like you said, things are stressful enough right now, and I'm sure you don't want me to be any harder to handle than I already am, huh?" You joked around and laughed with the couple in front of you. I can't believe what kind of shit I'm saying about myself, but those are the only jokes these two douchebags are laughing at, and I really don't want to talk about this subject anymore. "I'm going to go and freshen up, if that's all right with you." You excuse yourself and make your way to the toilets, but not without grabbing a glass from a tray of a walking waiter.

You shut the door behind you and finally felt like you could breathe properly again since you were no longer surrounded by all these people. Could be worse. We didn't meet Pollux and his wife yet, but it's still pretty bad. "Oh, this is a nightmare." You said, leaning your arms on the sink. "Why don't you tell them when we're fucking so they know that the baby is in the making, huh? Ugh, since when did it become normal to get so personal?" You complained and swallowed the contents of your glass in one gulp, feeling it burn in your throat. It felt good.

You wanted to give yourself a few minutes alone to clear your head and come out re-energized, but the more time you spent in the room, the less you wanted to leave. You preferred to hear the voices muffled through the door, but this thought was interrupted when it opened, and you tried to act unruffled for a moment until you realized who was coming in. "Coriolanus? What are you doing here?" You asked nervously as you watched him enter. "This is a ladies' room, you can't be here!" You whispered aggressively as you stepped closer to him and saw him turn the lock behind his back. I should have fucking done that. My head is all fuzzy.

His eyebrows drew together in slight irritation. "Your breath reeks of alcohol. You've had too much to drink." He stated, making a mental note to pay more attention to your consumption next time so it wouldn't happen again. He ignored your earlier statement and continued. "What's wrong? Are you feeling sick, or why have you been in here so long?" He asked you, slightly concerned, rubbing your arms as you seemed quite drunk

"No, I'm fine." You replied stubbornly, a little annoyed and couldn't quite find the right words, so you just said the first thing that came into your mind. "I just didn't like all this baby talk."

He hummed and continued to speak to you in a calm tone since you seemed upset. "Well, you know I want kids." He said, trying to be a little more understanding. "But I get why you would find it a bit intrusive. Don't let them get to you. That's just the way these people are." He finished, brushing a loose strand of hair behind your ear.

Maybe, but that's not the way you have to be. You didn't expect him to apologize for his behavior, but it still didn't hurt any less. "I suppose you're right." You just whispered, trying not to get too emotional under the intoxication.

But you didn't manage to hide it from him. "Oh, my dear. Are you really that upset about it?" Your fiancé cooed as he saw you holding back from bursting into tears. He put his index finger to your chin and lifted your face so you couldn't hide from him. His lips moved to the spot where the first tear fell and left a soft kiss there. "You're too cute. It's really too bad that we still have to wait. A baby would certainly stop the questions, wouldn't it?" He asked you sweetly as he stroked your cheek thoughtfully and lied through his pearly white teeth. "A real shame it is. You should freshen up, I think we can leave a little early tonight since you're not feeling so well."

You just hated that he looked so pretty doing it.

[m4rv3l-girl]

Hellooo! I stumbled upon your writing on request & it was so good and you deliver it perfectly. So here am I requesting a ff from you. Its about reader/OC where she also an avenger. Bucky is in relationship with her. Most of their mission were almost together & for this one they were separated. It wasn’t unusual but this time Bucky seems more agitated. This cause them to have arguments. Before they could resolve it she was sent to the mission earlier than dated. Bucky regret what he said to her & try to find her to apologise but what he gets was an upsetting news. Her plane had been hijacked. I need angst but with happy ending please. Yearning is good to add too. Thank you so much and sorry if my request was too much. 🤍🩵🤍🩵💗

Hijacked

Warnings: mentions of violence.

Bucky leaned against the sleek counter in the Avengers Tower communal kitchen, nursing his fifth cup of coffee of the day.

The bitter liquid did nothing to ease the churn of unease in his stomach. Y/N had left the room hours ago after their latest argument, the tension still heavy in the air. He hated when they fought, hated the way her voice wavered when she’d told him he was overreacting, and especially hated the way she’d walked away before he could figure out how to apologize.

It wasn’t unusual for them to be sent on separate missions. As one of the most capable field agents on the team, Y/N often worked independently or alongside Natasha, while Bucky found himself paired with Steve or Sam. They always managed, always found their way back to each other. This time, though, something was different. He couldn’t shake the nagging worry gnawing at the edges of his mind, the sense that something was off.

"You're being ridiculous," Y/N had said earlier, her tone sharp but her eyes soft. "I can handle myself, Bucky. You know that."

"I know you can," he’d snapped back, running a hand through his hair. "But that doesn't mean I have to like the idea of you being out there alone. Especially now."

“Now?” she’d echoed, crossing her arms. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means I—” He’d faltered, his frustration overriding his ability to articulate the fear gripping his chest. "I just think we should’ve had more time to prepare. It’s not like they couldn’t have waited a day or two."

She’d sighed then, exasperated. “This is what we do. It’s not always perfect timing.”

And then she’d walked out.

The sound of a nearby chair scraping against the floor jolted Bucky from his thoughts. Sam plopped down across from him, tossing a protein bar onto the counter.

“You look like you’ve been brooding for hours,” Sam remarked, unwrapping the bar. “What’s going on?”

“Y/N’s mission got moved up,” Bucky muttered, staring into his coffee. “We argued before she left.”

Sam raised an eyebrow. “And?”

“And she’s already gone,” Bucky admitted, his voice low. “I didn’t get to apologize.”

Sam chewed thoughtfully. “She’ll be fine, man. Y/N’s a badass. But you should probably work on this whole ‘bottle-up-your-emotions-until-they-explode’ thing. It’s not a great look.”

Bucky didn’t respond, his mind too tangled with guilt and worry. He couldn’t shake the image of Y/N walking onto the Quinjet, her back rigid and her expression unreadable. He should’ve stopped her. He should’ve said something—anything.

Hours turned into a restless night. Bucky paced his room, glancing at his phone every few minutes, waiting for some kind of update. When the call finally came, it wasn’t what he was expecting.

“Barnes,” Steve’s voice crackled through the line, urgent and grim. “Y/N’s plane has been hijacked.”

The world seemed to tilt on its axis. Bucky gripped the edge of the desk, his knuckles white.

“What do you mean, hijacked?” he demanded, his voice barely steady.

“En route to the mission,” Steve explained. “The plane went off course. We lost contact about an hour ago.”

Bucky’s chest tightened. An hour. Anything could have happened in that time. His mind raced with worst-case scenarios, each one more horrifying than the last.

“I’m going after her,” he said immediately, already moving to grab his gear.

“Bucky—” Steve started, but Bucky cut him off.

“Don’t try to talk me out of this,” he growled. “You’d do the same if it were me.”

Steve sighed. “Just… be careful.”

Bucky barely registered Steve’s next words as he ended the call, his mind already racing. His stomach churned with a potent mix of dread and determination as he grabbed his gear, slinging his tactical bag over his shoulder. He could feel the weight of Steve's gaze as he passed him in the hallway.

“She’ll be okay, Buck,” Steve said softly, his voice steady but his eyes betraying his own worry. “Y/N’s one of the best.”

Bucky nodded stiffly, but the knot in his chest didn’t loosen. She was the best—that’s what scared him. He knew exactly what kind of danger someone like her would attract. And now she was out there, in the hands of God-knows-who, and the last words he’d said to her were drenched in frustration instead of love.

“Don’t wait up,” Bucky muttered before walking out, leaving Steve in the hallway.

Down in the briefing room, Sam was already poring over satellite data, his brow furrowed in concentration. Natasha stood next to him, arms crossed, her sharp eyes scanning the map projected on the wall.

“Tell me you’ve got something,” Bucky said, his voice taut.

“We’re working on it,” Sam replied, glancing up. “Last known coordinates put her plane about here.” He pointed to a dense patch of forest on the map, far from any major cities or settlements. “But that’s where it went dark. No signals since.”

“What kind of hijackers force a plane down in the middle of nowhere?” Bucky muttered, more to himself than to them.

Natasha gave him a pointed look. “The kind who want privacy. Whoever they are, they knew what they were doing.”

Bucky’s jaw tightened. “Then we don’t have time to waste. How do we get there?”

“I’ve got a Quinjet ready,” Natasha said, already moving toward the hangar. “Sam’s coming with me to cover the air. You?”

“I’m going on the ground,” Bucky said without hesitation. “I need to find her.”

Natasha didn’t argue, though her gaze lingered on him for a moment. “Fine. But don’t do anything stupid. She’ll need you in one piece.”

Bucky followed them to the hangar, his movements automatic as he loaded up on weapons and gear. Every second felt like an eternity, his mind replaying images of Y/N’s face, the sound of her voice when they’d argued.

“I’ll take the north quadrant,” Sam said as they boarded the Quinjet. “You can have the east. We’ll scan for heat signatures and anything out of the ordinary. Natasha’s running point.”

Bucky nodded absently, his focus already miles ahead of them, in that forest where Y/N was waiting.

As the Quinjet took off, the hum of the engines did little to soothe his nerves. Natasha’s voice crackled through the comms, giving updates on their trajectory, but Bucky barely listened. His gaze was fixed out the window, the cityscape below giving way to sprawling green wilderness.

“Hey,” Sam’s voice broke through his thoughts. “You good?”

“No,” Bucky admitted, his voice low. “But I will be when I find her.”

Sam studied him for a moment, then nodded. “We’ll get her back. You know that, right?”

Bucky didn’t answer. He couldn’t let himself think about any other possibility.

The Quinjet began to descend, the dense forest rising up to meet them. Natasha’s voice came through the comms again.

“We’re close to the coordinates. There’s a clearing about half a mile east where we can set down. From there, it’s on foot.”

Bucky was already moving toward the hatch, his gear secured and his mind focused. As soon as the Quinjet touched down, he was out, the cool forest air hitting him like a slap.

Sam and Natasha followed, the three of them standing in the shadow of the towering trees.

“Keep in contact,” Natasha said, her voice brisk. “If you find anything, call it in.”

Bucky gave a curt nod before heading east, his steps quick and purposeful. The forest was dense, the underbrush tangling around his boots and the canopy overhead blocking out most of the light. His enhanced senses sharpened, every sound and movement setting him on edge.

“Come on, Y/N,” he muttered under his breath, his eyes scanning the trees. “Give me something.”

The faint smell of smoke caught his attention first, acrid and metallic. He moved toward it, his heart pounding. As he pushed through the underbrush, the wreckage came into view.

The plane was mangled, its nose buried in the dirt and its wings twisted at unnatural angles. Smoke still curled from the fuselage, the acrid scent stinging his nose. Bucky’s breath caught as he took in the scene, his eyes darting over the wreckage for any sign of movement.

“Nat, I’ve found the plane,” he said into his comm, his voice tight.

“Any sign of Y/N?” Natasha’s voice crackled in his ear.

“Not yet,” he said, moving closer. “But I’m not leaving until I do.”

Bucky’s heart pounded as he approached the site, the wreckage stark against the green backdrop. Smoke curled into the air, and the unmistakable scent of burnt metal lingered. He moved silently, his enhanced senses on high alert.

“Come on, Doll,” he murmured under his breath, scanning the area. “Where are you?”

The first sign of life came in the form of muffled voices. Bucky crept closer, his body tensed for a fight. He spotted a group of armed men near the wreckage, their attention focused on something—or someone.

Y/N.

She was on her knees, her hands bound but her gaze defiant. A trickle of blood ran down her temple, but she didn’t look broken. If anything, she looked furious.

Bucky’s chest swelled with both pride and anger. He took a deep breath, steadying himself. One wrong move could put her in more danger. He had to be smart about this.

The fight was over in minutes. Bucky moved like a shadow, taking out the guards one by one. By the time the last man hit the ground, Y/N was already working to free herself.

“Bucky,” she breathed, relief and frustration mingling in her voice.

He was at her side in an instant, his metal hand snapping her restraints like they were nothing. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” she said, though her voice wavered. “But what the hell are you doing here?”

“I couldn’t just sit around and do nothing,” he admitted, his hands hovering over her, unsure where to touch. “I had to make sure you were safe.”

Her expression softened, the anger melting away. “You idiot,” she murmured, throwing her arms around him.

Bucky held her tightly, burying his face in her hair. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “For what I said. For not stopping you. For everything.”

Y/N pulled back just enough to look at him, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears. “You don’t have to apologize. I know you were just worried.”

“I can’t lose you,” he said, his voice raw. “Not now. Not ever.”

“You won’t,” she promised, her hand cupping his cheek. “I’m right here.”

They made their way back to the Quinjet, leaning on each other for support. Bucky couldn’t stop stealing glances at her, as if reassuring himself that she was really there.

Back at the tower, the rest of the team welcomed them with relieved smiles and teasing remarks. But Bucky didn’t let Y/N out of his sight, his hand always brushing against hers, his presence a constant reminder that she wasn’t alone.

Later, as they lay tangled together on the couch, Bucky pressed a kiss to her temple. “I’m never letting you go on a mission alone again,” he murmured.

Y/N chuckled, the sound soft and warm. “We’ll see about that.”

For now, though, they were together, and that was all that mattered.

—————————���————————————————————————

Hope you enjoyed it, hun! 🫶

[tubatwo]

escape rooms - kang taehyun

summary: where taehyun takes you to an escape room for the first time and gets a bit distracted

pairing: kang taehyun x gn reader

genre: fluff; 0.8k works

a/n: short drabble inspired by a dream I had lol also will I ever end a fic without a corny ending…… hmm probably not

“hi, my name is yeonjun and i’ll be your attendant for today. have you guys been to an escape room before?”

you and taehyun decided to plan a date to an escape room after embarrassingly admitting that you’ve never been to one. and that was the moment taehyun became determined to fulfill his mission.

ㅤ

ㅤ

he made sure to clear his schedule just for you, and he was counting down the days until he got to have fun with his baby!!!

“i’ve done a few, but this is their first one.” taehyun explains softly, rubbing your back.

“well, let’s get a beginner room for you two, yeah?” yeonjun taps a few buttons on the tablet in front of him before grabbing a set of keys and signaling you to follow him. “don’t worry, it won’t be too easy! I think you guys can really work together on this one.”

“thank you, yeonjun!” you thank him for being considerate of your limited knowledge while also trying not to make things too boring for your boyfriend. you didn’t want him to think things were too easy but you also didn’t want to look dumb by not knowing how to solve anything.

as you walk in, you two are met with an introductory message and what seems to be a broken generator. after a few minutes of figuring out the main goal, you split up and begin searching all over the room. there was mostly a comfortable silence unless it was time to put any important pieces together.

“wait, baby, there’s a piece over here that matches the blueprint we saw earlier.” you remind him, dragging him over to the corner you left a few moments ago.

“oh? but I tried this one earlier and it didn’t fit…” taehyun says, pouting slightly. you frown at the piece before remembering a small tube that seemed to connect. “wait! remember the tube piece from before?” you ask out loud, not really expecting an answer. you grab the tube and untwist the top. “I think if we add this to the piece over here we can fill in the missing gap and connect it to the generator.”

you hear your boyfriend chuckle and let out a small breath. you notice he hasn’t moved and your eyes look up to see him already staring at you. “you sound really sexy right now.”

“taehyun! they can probably hear us!” you shove him slightly while both of your giggles fill the room. “I don’t care, they should know my partner is smart and sexy.” he walks over to hold your waist while trying to sneak kisses. eventually you give in, allowing him to press his lips to yours.

“hey– cut it out! ahem, I mean you have 20 minutes remaining~”

both of your eyes widen as a voice comes from the intercom.

“was that?”

“oh hey, yeonjun.”

“guys please, I don’t get paid enough for this...”

you and taehyun chuckle and quickly apologize before focusing back on the puzzle. eventually, you two finish the escape room with a few minutes to spare. you walk out to reunite and bid farewell to yeonjun, who expresses his gratitude for you two keeping things PG, which was disgustingly uncommon for some of the couples that would show up. but he thought you two were a cute couple nonetheless <3

eventually you make your way back to your shared apartment and plop on the couch, arms open waiting for taehyun to join you. he walks over slowly and allows himself to crawl on top of you.

“today was fun, taehyun, thank you.” you run your hands through his dark brown locks and peck his cheek a few times before squinting your eyes at him. “you totally knew what to do earlier, right?” you ask.

he pretends to think for a second before hiding his face in your neck. “okay! just a little bit!” he admits. you scold him by playfully trying to push him off of you while laughing. he only holds on tighter while his giggles vibrate your skin. “to be fair, I just wanted to spend more time with you. if we finished it too soon then it would’ve been over, right?”

you didn’t mind at all. you knew there would be plenty of opportunities for more challenging ones in the future. which means more time to spend with your boyfriend!

“you just looked so cute and–“

“taehyun, it’s okay! just promise me we can try a bunch of different ones?”

“of course, baby.” taehyun smiles and leans back down to kiss you gently. “soon enough we’ll be escape room champions.” you see him think to himself for a bit before continuing.

“I also really love when you talk puzzle to me.”

“oh my god, please stop!”

[yexthiccxa]

Secrets of the Second Shift - (Part 5)

summary: Choso wakes up and sees that you've left his place in the middle of the night (part 4). He gives you the cold shoulder but when you sort out a misunderstanding, the week goes from tough ...to rough ;)

wordcount: 4.4k words

full fic c/w: choso smut, choso/fem!reader, choso/oc, modern!au, some plot, plot what plot, porn with plot, gentleman!choso, soft!choso, praise kink, blindfold sex, oral, fingering, vaginal sex, fingering, oral, multiple orgasms

a/n: let me know if you want to be added to the tag list for this!

Tumblr Master List | Read this chapter on AO3!

✦✧✸✧✦ 18+ MINORS DO NOT INTERACT ✦✧✸✧✦

FIVE HOURS EARLIER

The sky is still dark. You wake up in a room that is illuminated by the glow of the moonlight coming from the floor-to-ceiling windows, a room that isn’t yours. Right. Turning your head, you see Choso lying next to you in a deep sleep. Even in the dead of night, he’s still the most handsome man you’ve ever laid your eyes on. 

The clock on the bedside table reads 1:03 a.m. “Fuck,” you mutter.

You shift carefully, mindful not to disturb him, and glance around the room. The chaos of earlier is gone. Your clothes have been folded neatly on a nearby chair, and the abandoned dishes from dinner are nowhere in sight. Did he really make the extra effort to clean all this up? How sweet. You think.

The thought sends a warm but unsettling jolt through you. Part of you wants to lay back down, bury yourself in the comfort of the bed, and settle into the arms of the beautiful man sleeping next to you.

But then there’s that other part of you—the louder, nagging voice that reminds you staying means more than just a night. It’s not just sharing a bed; it’s sharing something more, something you’re not ready for.

Your decision feels bittersweet, but it’s for the best. Carefully, you slip out from under the sheets, get dressed, and find the rest of your belongings. You slip out the front door quietly in hopes of not waking him. When you make it out, you head to the lobby and call yourself an Uber.

Your ride arrives faster than you expect, and within minutes you’re home. The familiarity of your space doesn’t bring the comfort you thought it would. Instead, your mind is restless. You pace for a few minutes before sitting on the edge of your bed, phone in hand.

You can’t just leave without saying anything, you tell yourself.

Your internal panic causes you to scroll through your recent calls. When you press the contact on your phone, you bring it straight to your ear and hope to the heavens he’s a deep enough sleeper to have the call go to voicemail. As it rings, you find yourself resting your head in the palm of your hand.

“The person you are trying to dial is unavailable. Please leave a message after the tone.”

Thank god.

“Hey. I figured it would be easier to call you instead," you start, words catching in your throat for a second. "Today was honestly so great and I’m so thankful for everything you did today. You’re so sweet and I love that about you.”

You pause, unsure of what else to say, but finally gather up the courage to let it out. “But if I’m being real, I’m just not used to this… yet. It’s been a while since I’ve been with anyone like that. I hate to admit it, I guess I’m just scared of things becoming complicated.”

Your chest tightens, like you’ve stuck a dagger through your own heart. “Anyways, it’s late and I think we should probably just talk about this more in person. But I just wanted to call and let you know that I’m home safe and to say…. thanks, I guess.”

You let out one last breath. “I’ll see you at work.”

The silence hangs heavy before you end the call abruptly. You set the phone down and lay back on your own bed just to stare at the ceiling. You can’t stop your mind from wondering what he’ll think when he hears it.

✦✧✸✧✦

“I’m only saying this because I love you, but you look like shit” Yuki begins as she settles into her desk, unpacking her laptop. She studies you critically. “...and you never look like shit.”

You blink, trying to ground yourself after a night of tossing and turning. “Huh? Oh—yeah, I just… didn’t sleep well last night.”

Yuki’s eyes narrow, sharp with suspicion. “Damn. Late night?” She leans in closer to you, lowering her voice. “Wait… with Choso?”

“No, no, no—” Lie. You scramble for something convincing. “I don’t think I’m gonna go for him.” Another lie. “I’ve just been thinking about it more…” Not a lie. “...and I think it’s probably best to just keep things professional.” Half-lie.

“Fine.” She sighs dramatically, sitting back in her chair. “Just know, I’m still rooting for you two.” Her grin returns as she looks past you. “Oh, speak of the devil…”

You glance up and instinctively call out to him. “Hey, Choso!”

Choso meets your eyes briefly, but his gaze flicks away almost instantly as he strides toward the break room without a word. The abruptness stings, even if it’s what you expected.

Yuki whistles low under her breath. “Oof. Ice cold.”

You get up to follow him, but before you can catch him, Naoya cuts in front of you. He has a stack of papers in hand and an unsettling smugness radiating from him. “Good morning. Here are the notes from last week’s focus group. I’ll need you to analyze these and add your findings to the kickoff presentation that’s happening later this month.”

You frown, flipping through the papers. “What presentation?”

“I sent an email yesterday,” he says with exaggerated patience. “We’re meeting with stakeholders from a potential lead to discuss the feasibility of our new product. Try to finish early so Choso has time to review the deck before he presents.”

Your jaw tightens. “Excuse me? Choso? Is there a reason he’s doing the presentation for my research?”

Naoya’s smirk deepens. “Let’s just say he knows what the audience is looking for.”

“What the fu—” You stop short, forcing yourself to take a deep breath before HR gets involved. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“It means,” Naoya says slowly, “analyze your findings, finish the presentation, and send it to Choso. You’re lucky I’m giving you a head start.”

He spins on his heel and walks off, leaving your irritation simmering.

You don’t waste time. Marching to the break room, you find Choso by the coffee machine. “Choso,” you say, voice firm.

He glances up, expression unreadable. “Morning.”

“Can we talk?” you ask, trying to get his attention.

His focus is still glued to the coffee machine. “If you’d like to schedule some time later,” he says flatly, “feel free to book any available slot on my calendar.”

Your jaw drops. The audacity.

He lifts his gaze slightly, just enough to meet yours. For a fleeting moment, there’s something almost soft in his expression—a tiny flicker of warmth that you might’ve imagined.

“By the way, did Naoya tell you about the presentation?” he asks, voice even.

And just like that, the warmth vanishes, replaced by the same guarded professionalism you didn’t know you could hate.

“Yes,” you answer, matching his curt tone.

“Great.” He nods, grabbing his mug. As he moves past you, he adds, “Looking forward to seeing your findings,” the words clipped and distant as he steps out of the room.

Well he certainly put the pro in professional. You can’t fault him for staying true to the boundaries, but what the hell was that? 

The rest of the week is no better. Choso avoids you when he can, and when he can’t, his interactions are painfully brief and impersonal. You hoped that every new day would be a fresh start, but every interaction was filled with short hellos, no goodbyes, or ten second comments about the weather. It was like Choso was a shell of the man—not the man who once held you so gently. 

You have no reason to be mad. After all, you’re the one who set the playing field. He’s just following the rules. You try not to think too much of it, but the distance gnaws at you with each passing day. The romantic part of you (or what’s left of it) feels like this is torture, while the logical part reassures you this is for the best. Unfortunately, neither side has any idea how to make it through the week.

By the time Friday rolls around, you’re surprised you’re still sane. Every day has been an exhausting blend of tension, awkward exchanges, and overthinking. You hope that today is the day you can finally settle things with Choso, but it’s 3pm and you haven’t seen him all day.

You’re at your desk working on the deck for the kickoff presentation, when you see one of the guys from Choso’s team.

“Hey, Yuji,” you call, swiveling your chair toward him. “Have you seen Choso today?”

Yuji pauses, scratching the back of his head. “Saw him this morning, but I think he’s out for the rest of the day. Something about schmoozing a potential lead.”

Is this the same lead for the presentation this month? You try not to let your frustration show, but your tone gets the better of you. “Got it. Thanks.”

Yuji pauses, trying to redirect the conversation to lighten the mood. “Are you coming to Happy Hour tonight?” he asks, grinning.

“Not this time,” you say with a polite shake of your head. “Maybe the next one.”

“It’ll be fun!” He leans in. “I told Choso to go. If he shows up, maybe you two can talk there!”

“It’s okay,” you reply, forcing a smile. “Thanks for letting me know, though. I’ll just catch up with him next week.”

Yuji shrugs and walks away, leaving you alone with the sinking realization that you won’t even get to see Choso for the second shift. You find yourself crushed under disappointment, but you try not to let it show.

When the clock finally hits five, you grab your things and head to Blinded Bliss. When you walk through the platinum doors, you make a beeline for the bar, ignoring everything—including Satoru’s smug grin as waves at you.

“Two tequilas,” you tell the bartender, tapping your nails impatiently on the counter. “Heavy pour.”

“Whoa there, love,” Satoru’s voice cuts in from behind, startling you. “Tough week?”

“You could say that,” you reply flatly. “But it’s really no one’s fault except my own. I made my bed, now I have to lay in it.”

Satoru doesn’t pry, but instead tries to make light of the situation. “Well, hopefully that bed makes you some big bucks. A few high rollers are back tonight, you know what that means.”

“Great,” you mutter, rolling your eyes. “Look how well that worked out for me last time.”

Satoru chuckles, leaning against the bar. “Stop being a Debbie Downer. I’ve got a good feeling about tonight.”

“Whatever, Satoru,” you say, waving him off.

“Oh, by the way,” he says casually, placing his hand on your shoulder. “Sorry I never called you back earlier this week. It was late, and I had an early morning. Totally slipped my mind.”

You pick your head up, confused. “Huh?” You blink, the words not quite landing. “What call?”

“Monday or Tuesday maybe?” he replies, pulling out his phone. “You left me a voicemail. Didn’t actually get to listen to it though. You know me—busy bee.”

Your stomach tightens. “Satoru. What voicemail?”

He shrugs, tapping a few times on his phone before holding it out. A recording plays, and your own voice filters through the bar’s noise like a ghost from the past:

“Hey. I figured it would be easier to call you instead… Today was honestly so great, and I’m so thankful…”

Your heart pounds as you frantically grab your phone, scrolling to your recent calls. You hold your breath, dreading what you’re about to see.

Monday’s call didn’t go to Choso.

It went to Satoru Gojo.

Your stomach plummets. “Oh fuck,” you whisper, the realization dawning like a storm cloud.

✦✧✸✧✦

“It’s not even that bad,” Satoru says, leaning back against the wall with an easy shrug, his tone too nonchalant for your spiraling thoughts.

“Satoru, he probably thinks I’m an asshole!” you hiss. “What kind of decent person leaves without any context?”

“Well,” he says, smirking, “you did say you were trying to keep it casual.”

“I meant friends with benefits casual, not one-night stand casual!” you snap, running a hand through your hair in frustration.

Satoru raises an eyebrow, his grin widening. “Splitting hairs now, aren’t we?”

You groan, pressing your palms against your temples. The memory of Choso—his soft touch, the tenderness in his eyes, the careful way he’d folded your clothes—flashes through your mind. Guilt claws at your chest. You’re trapped in the endless loop of replaying that moment you slipped out the door, convincing yourself you made the right call while feeling the crushing weight of regret.

Satoru snaps to bring you back to reality. “Hey! Listen, I am happy to let you vent all night if that’s what you need, but right now? I need you to snap out of it.”

You huff, crossing your arms. “Fine.”

“Good. Trust me, by the end of the night, you’ll forget all about what happened.” He gives you a self assured wink. “Have you ever had a bad time in this room?”

You sigh, reluctantly admitting, “...No.”

“Exactly,” he says, grabbing the black fabric blindfold from the bed. “Now, let’s get this on you so we can begin.”

The soft material brushes against your skin as he ties it securely over your eyes. The darkness heightens every sound—the creak of the door, the muffled voices, the footsteps of those entering. The bids start like any other night, with Satoru rejecting men one after the other. Their polished words fall flat, their presence failing to meet his standards.

After what feels like an eternity (and far more candidates than usual) your shoulders begin to sag. Your mind is filled with frustration and mingling with hopelessness. You’ve lost count of how many people you’ve gone through, but each rejection stings more than the last.

Just as you’re about to resign yourself to disappointment, the door opens again. This time, a heaviness fills the room. No words are spoken, but the weight of the silence speaks volumes.

You can hear Satoru’s measured footsteps as he circles the room, assessing. “Hmm…I was beginning to think the well would run dry,” he muses, his tone intrigued.

The silence stretches. You hold your breath, waiting for him to continue, wondering why this time feels different.

“Ready to give him a taste, love?” he finally asks.

The question catches you off guard. What is going on? Satoru never moves to the second phase without a single word exchanged, so you’re left to wonder what’s different this time around. Before you can dwell on it, a familiar voice cuts through the quiet.

“With all due respect, Satoru—I have been waiting all week for this. I’d rather taste her all by myself.”

Your heart stutters, the blood rushing to your ears. You know that voice.

“Very well,” Satoru replies smoothly, you can sense the amusement in his tone. “Enjoy, Choso.”

The door clicks shut behind him, leaving you alone with the man who’s haunted your thoughts all week.

Choso’s footsteps approach, deliberate and slow. He reaches out, his fingers grazing the edge of the blindfold before slipping it off. The dim light floods your vision, but it’s nothing compared to the intensity of his gaze.

“You’re here,” you murmur, your voice barely audible. “...But aren’t you supposed to be with everyone else right now?”

He closes the distance between you, his palm cupping your cheek with a tenderness that stops your words. His touch is warm, grounding you, but his eyes burn with something unspoken.

“The only person I have any interest in being with right now is you,” he says, his voice soft but unwavering.

“Choso, I’m so sorry. I tried calling, but—”

He doesn’t let you finish. His hands frame your face, pulling you closer. The proximity is electrifying. “If you want things clean, we can keep it clean,” he says, his tone low and deliberate. “If you want no pressure, no attachments, no strings, you’ve got it.”

Your breath catches as his words sink in, leaving you speechless.

“All I know,” he continues, his voice thick with restrained longing, “is that I’ve spent this entire week fighting every urge to put my hands all over you every time I see you. I want you… badly. So if this is what I need to do to have you, I’ll do it all.”

You try to find the words to explain everything, but the words can’t seem to form. Instead, you let out a faint whisper to repeat yourself. “I—I’m sorry.”

“Apology accepted,” he says, a hint of a smile ghosting across his lips before he kisses you.

Whenever Choso has his lips on you, it feels like he can never get enough, but this time it feels controlled. His rhythm is sensual and slow, like every kiss is meant to savor every last bit he’s missed throughout the week.

Before you get lost in his touch, he manages to pull back. He looks at you with sincerity before his gaze darkens into lustful desire. “But if you still want to make it up to me…” he starts. “...Be a good girl and open up for me.”

The drop in Choso’s voice has your insides trembling with arousal. You notice how his demeanor has completely shifted. This is different from any other version of him that’s been between your legs. It’s dark, rough, and the type of Choso that commands your presence without even lifting a finger. You don't know what’s coming next, but you’re more than willing to step into the storm he’s offering.

 “Yes, sir.”

Your words trigger Choso’s desire to be close to you. Within seconds, you feel the weight of his body pinning you to the bed.

When you look into his eyes, the soft flames turn into a deep fiery abyss. His lips find yours with a possessive force that electrifies your core. Choso doesn’t just want you, he needs to have you and nothing will stop him.

As you kiss, you feel him slide your wrists above your head. “You know, in thinking about this a bit more, maybe a few creative consequences might be a bit more fun.” His words come out as a smoldering whisper as he motions to the restraints attached to the headboard. “You up for it?”

The thought of Choso strapping you down and having his way with you does more to your filthy mind than expected. “Mhmm,” you hum, the rush from your core begins to drip out of you.

He pauses. “Excuse me?” he teases as he locks his eyes onto yours. This is a man who is ready to dominate you from the inside out.

You give him a playfully challenging look. “Sorry—yes, sir,” you reply.

His mouth curls into a devilish grin. “Better.” Choso wraps the cuffs around your wrists, leaving yourself vulnerable to anything he could possibly do to you. “If you want to get out of these, you’ll have to earn it. How ‘bout it beautiful, ready to play?”

You watch him undress, paying attention to every muscle that’s revealed. When he finally slips on a condom, you spread your legs wide open and purr,  “Always ready for you.”

Choso sets his bare body against yours and brings his hand to your folds. He inserts his fingers into you like it’s second nature.

The motion causes you to take in a sharp inhale. God, you’ve missed how full his fingers feel inside you. “Oh yes Cho—”

“Look how wet you’re getting for me, I can’t wait to be inside that tight fucking pussy.”

The way he speaks to you fills your mind with sinful thoughts. You want him to not only fuck your tight pussy, but absolutely destroy it.

Maybe Choso is a mind reader because your wish is his command.

Without taking his hand off your clit, Choso moves himself between your thighs and directs his length into your entrance. He presses into you in one solid motion and your mind gets an instant hit of bliss.

“Fuck—” you cry, soaking all of him in.

“You’ve got it, babe.” He praises as he continues to thrust into you. “Show me how well you can take this dick.”

You want to wrap your arms around him, but the restraints serve their purpose and keep you in place. You’d think your inability to take control would frustrate you, but instead it unleashes a part of you that drives you to the brink of sensual madness. Your attraction to Choso and the way he takes charge is through the roof. You could come right here and now if you wanted to, but you know he has a lot more in store for you.

When you’ve properly adjusted to him and your wetness coats his entire shaft, his pace begins to pick up. He takes his hands and grips the outside of your thighs, the pads of his fingers burn into your skin as he raises your legs to your shoulders.

When he dips down deep inside of you, all you can hear are your needy moans filling the room.

“Good job, babe. No one’s ever taken my cock as good as you,” Choso growls. His voice is rough and labored, but unmistakably laced with passion and desire.

As he pounds himself inside of you, you can feel how much he craves the connection between you two. Being the sole source of his pleasure makes you crazy and you know that you both want the same thing: more.

“Fuck yes, Choso—harder” you plead.

To your dismay, he actually slows down—but the look on his face tells you he’s nowhere near stopping. “I’ll give you harder, princess. Flip over for me.”

“Yes, sir,” you purr. The restraints give you just enough slack to cross them over so you can set yourself on all fours. You rest your head into your elbows and arch your back to angle your ass upwards for Choso.

He palms your ass and gives it a firm slap before drilling himself back in. The thunderous sound of his hand against your skin echoes throughout the room.

The delicious stinging sensation on your flesh causes you to throw your head back with pleasure. But before you can return back to your position, you feel Choso grab a handful of your hair. He firmly tugs you back until he can whisper in your ear. “How’s that for harder, beautiful?”

He continues to drive into you, each thrust more irresistible than the last. Tears begin to fall down your cheek, but you can’t help but get drunk off of the intoxicating pain. “So…f—fucking…good,” you try to say between each breath.

Being manhandled by Choso is downright addictive. He commands you in a way that doesn’t need to be spoken. Everytime he grabs your waist, his grip says you’re mine. When he spanks your ass, his touch says you’re mine. Even when he pulls you closer to kiss your neck, his lips say you’re mine. You don't fight back because you happily oblige.

The sound of skin slapping against each other paired with a melody of grunts and moans tears through the whole room. There’s no signs of stopping until you feel the tightness in your center dance on the edge, ready to burst.

Time seems to slow when Choso is inside you, but that doesn’t stop how quickly your orgasm creeps up. You try to speak but your words come out as incoherent moans. “Choso, I’m so close—”

Choso quickly replies, “Nope—consequences, remember?” He may be god’s gift to earth, but right now he’s playing the devil. “You’re going to have to hold it in until I say you can come.” You can hear the menacing grin through his voice.

Somehow that demand turns you on even more. “Cho—” you whine.

“If you want it so badly, beg for it.” His voice is rough as he penetrates deeper into you.

You can’t help the moans that come out when he slams into your cervix. “Please Choso, let me come on your cock.”

“Good girl,” he muses. “Just like that.”

You try to hold back but you’re almost at your peak. “Please Cho—I can’t…” you pant.

“Just a little more, baby.” His pace remains unrelenting. “Breathe. You can take it.”

You try to hold yourself back as much as you can, but every second gets harder than the last. All you want to do is have your pussy throb around his dick. The way he’s making you feel is too good.

Finally, he pulls your hair to bring you up one last time and it’s like you’ve reached salvation. Choso moves his hand to cup the edges of your neck and whispers, “Come with me.”

Immediately, you shatter. And Choso is right there with you.

The gentle grip of his hands around your neck intensifies your orgasm. It makes you feel so light you could practically ascend to heaven. Your only hope right now is that Choso feels the same way too.

You can hear the groans of him coming undone, it’s like music to your ears. When he lightens his hold, his chest falls to your back. It’s soothing how well he fits around you, part of you wants to stay like this forever.

But alas, all good things come to an end. Fortunately for you, something even better waits for you at the end of the tunnel. Choso untangles you from the restraints and releases the cuffs around your wrist. When you’re on your back, he brings himself closer and wraps his arms securely around you.

Choso plants a kiss onto your lips before giving you an admiring look. “You’ve earned your way out this time, but let’s see how well you fare next Friday.”

Your smirk is paired with a playful tone. "Remind me to have Satoru update the schedule so we can do this every day."

He chuckles. "Sure, but that’ll have to wait.” His gaze turns into something deep and darker. “...I’m not even finished with you yet."

You lean in closer, your voice breathless but daring. "Give me everything you’ve got…I can take it."

Once again, he’s on top of you in the blink of an eye. "That’s my girl."

--

taglist: @jud3thedude @makingtimemine @chosslut @liiiacke @trishiepo0 @celestialforce

[chidoroki]

My Dress Up Darling ch107

*KICKS DOWN DOOR IN ABSOLUTE GLEE* I know I haven't rambled on about any other chapter previously despite following the manga for a handful of months but NOW I MUST! "But why now so suddenly?" Because confessions actually happened baby, that's why! To heck with putting spoiler warnings; we all wanted this to happen anyway! I honestly just wasn't expecting it to happen now of all times, especially after Marin stated in the previous chapter that she wasn't going to ask Gojo for help anymore.

Poor Gojo, zooming all the way over to her place worried because she wasn't answering his texts back and he's met with something he probably never imagined hearing. Sure, things have been a bit awkward between them ever since the Haniel cosplay at Comiket, but they still managed to have lunch at home with grandpa and Marin's dad and even visited a hina doll festival together. I'm not certain how many days it's been since Comiket, but it's no wonder Gojo is thrown off a little despite how distant they were at school too. We, of course, know where this sudden change is coming from on Marin's end though.

The mood shifted between them after she noticed how quiet Gojo seemed after the Haniel photoshoot and while she had every intention to ask him what's wrong during their hina festival trip, she held back and put on a fake smile just to try and enjoy a normal day together. The need to fix whatever gap that's forming in their friendship slips further away after Gojo admits to his cousin in ch104 that he hasn't been able to practice making hina dolls as much recently, which is true due to how determined he was as creating the perfect Haniel costume (& every costume that came before it really), but the truth hits Marin harder since Gojo had just mentioned previously on their way to the showroom in ch103 that he wants to show all his progress and achieve his dream of becoming a kashirashi while his grandpa is still alive. Understandable how that admission leaves her speechless and causes Marin to feel some guilt starting to eat away at her, since I'm certain she would feel absolute horrible if her requests got in the way of Gojo feeling that heartfelt praise from someone he admires so much. Hell, she even excused herself from the showroom with a lame excuse just for us to see her at the end of ch104 breaking down and crying at home.

Marin believes she's been a burden to him and interfering with his progress, now wishing that Gojo called her out on it earlier and while I'm very pleased he denies straight away that he never viewed her in such a way, I'm also so relieved that he manages to figure out exactly why she might be suddenly looking down on herself.

He then brings up his grandpa's advice about how doing all kinds of stuff can come in handy one day and improve his skills with hina dolls, which was confirmed by the sweet old man himself when he commented Gojo was improving his line work after doing Marin's makeup (ep7/ch18). Marin does indeed know this because after hearing about how closed off Gojo was during his childhood, she suggested the two of them should experience all kinds of places and activities during their summer vacation, to which Gojo happily agrees with that day at the beach.

He reiterates that choosing to create all of Marin's costumes was solely because he wanted to, not because she forced him into it (which further supports how dearly he listens to her advice from ep1/ch1 about not letting anyone use you for their own personal gain). Branching out really changed him for the better too. Not only is he learning more and more about clothing and designing but he's also making new friends and cherished memories through all these months spent with Marin which is something our once lonely boy desperately needed in his life.

And I appreciate that he expresses his thanks to her since it's usually her that's showering him with praise after ever perfect costume he spends countless hours making for her. I will admit that I wasn't expecting her to.. snap back quite like this though.

Of course I remember how desperately she wanted to know what's going on in his mind after Comiket, but to see her get ticked off like this? Damn. I mean, it isn't uncommon, as we've at least seen her tell off creeps before in both anime (ep1) and later manga chapters (only example I can remember atm is ch77), but to Gojo? Oh boy. It's not just him she's acting strange to either, as she wasn't nearly as lively and carefree as she normally seems around her other friends too when they went out for karaoke, so it's safe to say that this new distance between her and Gojo really put her mind in a bad place. Going from being incredible close friends to barely speaking a couple words is bound to throw anyone through a loop.

I'm not saying her shouting is a bad thing either. One of the first things she ever tells Gojo (ep1/ch1) is to not hide his feelings and speak up about them to others, so I can understand how she can be a bit annoyed with how closed off he's been for however many days it's been since Comiket. It can hurt even more considering how they became such great friends since the series started however many months ago too. He has the chance to explain himself, but cuts himself off and the silence becomes too much for her to handle, leading her to dismissing him.

It's not like Gojo doesn't have an answer for his recent behavior; he does, but he's purposefully holding back to avoid making a real big mistake which is saying something you know you'll regret.

I'm glad I actually went back a couple days prior to this chapter dropping to read the last 10ish chapters on a whim because I feel like I understand this big, internal battle Gojo has going on in his mind right now a bit better. I believe Gojo thinks of Usami first (the fabric store clerk who actually wasn't in the anime for some reason?) because Gojo is leaning towards the idea of remaining quiet as to not upset Marin, but then remembers the story Usami told him back in ch105 about how he originally wanted to design clothing but chose a different career path in order to please his father. While Usami does eventually follow his dream and switches jobs thanks to his wife's kind words, he tells Gojo his biggest regret was not being able to tell his father how he really felt back then. I'm sure this is what gets Gojo to consider telling Marin the truth about why he's been acting so quiet lately, but then remembers Nobara (the girl we saw from his first flashback at the very start of the series) and how harsh her words to him were back when they were both kids. We know how deeply those words affected Gojo all these years but also learn in ch106 that Nobara herself has been regretting that moment ever since as well. Fair to say that small snippet of life ate away at both of them in different ways, which is what leads into the memory about Marin from ep1/ch1 about being true to your own feelings and how keeping them to yourself will only hurt you.

So, despite us readers seeing in big, bold text how Gojo's repeatedly telling himself to keep his mouth shut in order to preserve whatever kind of friendship he and Marin have left, the flashbacks allow him to think a bit more clearly and push him enough to finally reveal why he's been acting so strange since the Haniel cosplay: our boy was jealous. And it's not a recent realization either. He's harbored such feelings for quite some time, at least since watching Marin model for her job (ch50) and from watching her slay in the Rei cosplay during the school festival (ch62). He just suddenly has a name for his mood.

I can't say I totally blame the kid. Having so many strangers admire a friend of yours in such a would no doubt instill some protective/jealousy vibes, especially if you really care for said friend a decent amount. Same kinda feelings if someone was ogling your bf/gf/partner, ya know? The whole "make me your prisoner" line is from ch96 and was indeed a request from Gojo to Marin for the Haniel cosplay. From what I remember, the creator of the fictional 'Mandate of Heaven' series is very hard to please and any adaptations of his work could never meet his high standards. I can't recall if there's a serious reason behind it or not, but Gojo took it as a personal challenge to create the perfect cosplay, but it could only be done with Marin's help by really showcasing an uncaring attitude and emotionless smile that would cause everyone to fall for her anyway. And oh boy, does our girl nail it. A bit too effective in Gojo's case too.

The "I wanted it to stop" and Gojo admitting himself as selfish does bring up the offer Marin received in ch100 to my mind. Basically, a lady from some fancy agency gave Marin her card and told our girl to get in touch with her if she wanted to cosplay full time. I honestly don't remember if Marin had ever mentioned that she wanted to go professional or if she ever believed she could reach such a level, as this seems to just be a hobby she finds joy in, but with such an offer now on the table, I wonder how that idea will play out now that we're all aware of Gojo's jealousy. Seeing Marin draw a crowd during the school festival and at Comiket seemed a bit irritating enough for our boy, so imagine how he might feel when Marin's influence reaches an even larger audience. I highly doubt Gojo would ever actually tell Marin to stop cosplaying just to spare him of feeling jealous though, and I don't think she would consider stopping herself either. If anything, she was about to tell him about it, until a phone call from Gojo's cousin interrupted their conversation, but perhaps this could still be discussed next chapter or sometime in the future.

Anyways, Gojo admitting his jealousy is one thing, but he's too good of a boy to tell Marin to stop cosplaying. I can't imagine all the cosplaying would end either since that is quite literally the main idea for the series. It also wouldn't feel right for him to continue to pursue his dream working with hina dolls if she can't go out to enjoy her passions either. All that aside, he's too busy figuring out why in the world he's feeling jealous in the first place.

I WISH I could remember exactly which chapters all these Marin flashbacks belonged to but for the life of me, I simply can not. I just skimmed through the entirety of it and quite possibly too quickly to find them all, so I apologize. That being said, I was certain the first one was from the first chapter when Gojo first showed Marin the hina doll inside the sewing room at school, but that panel isn't anywhere there, so I'm mistaken. I fall short with locating the second panel as well, since it doesn't give me any clue on what outfit she might have on like the others do. The third however! That's from ch61! Right as Gojo is getting ready to do her makeup for the Rei cosplay during the school festival. Their whole class is crowded around Gojo to watch him work his magic, unknowingly adding to the pressure he feels, when Marin notices his nerves and simply asks if he's okay. The fourth flashback is from ch89, when they're out shopping for supplies for the Haniel cosplay. Gojo is taking his sweet time browsing through all the fabrics, making sure he finds the best choice when Marin suggests she goes off and gets a head start at looking at other stuff they'll need to buy. She tells him to leave this part to her and that "cosplay is a two person affair, right?" So, two outta four ain't bad I think, but I do wish I had context for the first two flashbacks considering the next panel is just..

THIS. Our precious boy actually saying those wonderful three words! Sure, he's told her how beautiful she was during ep5/ch14 (though he was falling asleep on the train) and sorta offhandedly admits that Marin can be cute during his conversation with Shinju in ep9/ch28, but THIS is to her face! Out loud! With purpose and feeling! I honestly wasn't expecting him to openly confess first like this, especially with how much time we've spent in Marin's head as she wasn't shy at all with her thoughts and fantasies to us readers, but whatever! It's real and happening!

Dude feels so ashamed of himself for no reason. Okay, I know there's reasons, as we've just spent how long going through all his buried emotions to understand what he's been feeling for the past however many weeks or months it's been since he first had these feelings, but I can't be too bothered by it all since that grab of his scarf has captured all my attention.

YEESSSS SWEETIE! Get your man! No hesitation! No teasing cheek kiss to a big bunny costume he's wearing to a Halloween party like during ch48 either! Thank fuck! Damn, I'm gonna go crazy whenever this entire chapter get animated.

Ohhh it feels so long since she first admitted her love to him over the phone in ep12/ch39 to an already dead asleep Gojo, but girlie does not waste a single second to spill her feelings out for him to actually hear loud and clear this time!

Absolutely love how any and all tension that was looming over these two kids the past couple chapters effectively vanishes in an instant when Marin switches right back to her usual cheerful self. The big sparkles in her eyes and even the heart backgrounds in her excited text bubbles are too precious!

Pfftt, his completely blank face. Someone save our boy for he has no idea what he just got himself into.

I appreciate that Marin isn't mad about Gojo being jealous, since he was so worried that it could've ended their friendship, but I do hope they can both work to lessen their slight jealous tendencies since their feelings are now out in the open and mutual. I don't think the jealousy is gonna be a complete serious issue between them, but Marin has brief moments. The only moment that comes to mind however is when she finds out Gojo asked Shinju to come over to his place to work on her cosplay (ep10/ch30), but I can chalk that one up for laughs more than anything. With Gojo, I dunno. I'm certain Marin will tell him not to worry about anyone else and perhaps how she's only interested in him, or something along those lines.

Our boy has not moved an inch throughout Marin's adorable love ramble. Gojo is truly stun-locked.

And let's goooo, we even get another kiss! As high on cloud nine as I am for these two.. Marin, honey, you gotta slow down! Gojo is so overwhelmed by all this right now, he's practically shaking! Whether it's because she also confessed or because.. well, she's still laying right on top of him like this. Our boy needs a moment to relax!

Sweet lord.. I'm so thrilled for them. The confession was so worth the wait and done real well in my opinion if my endless chatter wasn't proof of that enough. I haven't a clue on what will happen next chapter, but for Gojo's sanity, I pray that Marin's dad does not walk through that front door. Other than that, I think Marin will eventually bring up the professional cosplay offer she received and ask for Gojo's opinion. I have a feeling she might discard it so their cosplay duo can continue just like it does now, but I can also see how Gojo might make her reconsider, like if he's gonna continue with his hina doll goals then she should have a grand dream of her own too. The whole jealousy thing might be talked out a little bit more, but maybe it's just solved for comedic purposes. I dunno, but we shall see.

So yeah. I've fangirled enough over these two cute kids. For now. Who knows if I continue these ramblings for upcoming chapters or not. It certainly wouldn't be first time I planned to chat about just one chapter and ended up writing out several more for a series. It's quite possible.

[nogenderbee]

Hanahaki!reader has a crush on Albedo, Tighnari, Heizou, Venti, Wanderer

Tell me if I didn't wrote Wanderer right since it's my first time writing him

TW: vomiting, mentions of death

⊱ Albedo was really smart and he always cared about you, and he had looks too... so how could you not fall for him? Alright I'm ending simping

⊱ you always liked helping him with his potions, last week he told you that this potion was really dangerous but that didn't stop you, surprisingly you didn't notice any affects

⊱ well... not immediately, and to this day he still doesn't know that his potions cursed you

⊱ of course you didn't asked him about it, instead you asked Sucrose and she told you about Hanahaki disease

⊱ of course Albedo noticed you acted a little differently since drinking that potion but he didn't mentioned it untill he found out that you're vomiting with flowers

"YN? Are you alright? Have you been around something that could curse you? If not I think it could be that potion we didn't knew effect earlier."

⊱ even if you won't tell him, he'll quickly figure out it's Hanahaki disease and will encourage you to confess to your love interest, and he even suggested helping you with that

⊱ you didn't wanted to since it was him you liked but you were so sure that he doesn't like you back, meanwhile he disliked thought of you liking someone else than him but he still don't want you to die in worst scenario

⊱ if you do finally confess to him, he immediately tells you his feelings as well to shorten your pain, but later he also assures you that these are his true feelings

"I love you too, YN. I know it may seem to you like I'm doing it out of pity but I actually had these feeling for a long time and..."

⊱ Tighnari always cared for you and scold you whenever he had to but you knew it was for your own good so of course you falled for him

⊱ he warned you many times about how nature can trick you, but how could you focus on what he's saying when he's just so pretty?

⊱ so it just happened that you eat something you shouldn't and received Hanahki disease in return

⊱ you still did your best to hide it not to worry him and when you discovered what it means, you were even more careful being scared to admit your feelings

⊱ honestly he already knew about it but thought it could be a nice lesson for you since he has the medicine, so he waited for a little while but not long enough for your disease to hurt you badly

⊱ if you won't admit to him, he'll mention it himself

"YN, we need to talk. I know you eat that mushroom even if I clearly told you it's poisonous, but don't worry I have a medicine. Just next time you could at least tell me. What if I wouldn't notice? You know it's deadly curse, right?"

⊱ and that's how you're free from Hanahaki disease without being forced to admit your feelings

⊱ although if you're bold and decide to admit either way, he'll act a little annoyed by the situation you're in, but it's hard to take his words seriously when his tail is wagging

"YN, I love you too but... I'd really prefer if you wouldn't so it because of your disease. No, my tail isn't wagging, it's just your imagination. Probably some side-effects."

⊱ last 2 sentences are a lie

⊱ Heizou actually was a big tease, he always flirted with you for fun, so of course sooner or later you falled for him, even if you knew he probably is like that with everyone

⊱ and you were adventurer who recently was hired to explore some mystery mines

⊱ even tho Heizou warned you many times that you can die there and should go on your own, you still did since they promised you a BIG reward

⊱ when you came back, he immediately picked on that something is off even if you didn't noticed that yet, those actually were first symptoms of Hanahaki disease

⊱ after you came back, he asked you many questions about your crush and encouraged you to confess to them without giving you much explanation why

"Hey, YN! Remember how you told me about your crush? I think I know the way to confess to them! So you just have to..."

⊱ if he sees hour disease getting worse tho, he'll stop being so secretive and straight up told you what can happen to you if you won't at very least try

⊱ the only thing he couldn't figure out was who you may have a crush on, sure he had some assumptions but nothing more

⊱ if you so finally confess to him, he'll be a little surprised he couldn't figure it out earlier but of course he confesses back

"So it is me after all? I must admit that you did great job at hiding it. But my dear partner, I love you too, with my whole entire heart."

⊱ ah yes Venti, always so cheerful and funny, it is easy to fall for boy like him, isn't it?

⊱ it was often for two of you to hangout at the tavern and so you did that day, but you grabbed not yours drink without even realizing it and that's how your Hanahaki disease started

⊱ Venti could feel something was off with you but he decides to not get too into it since it's your private things and you'd tell him if you'd want to

⊱ the truth is even you didn't knew that you catched Hanahaki disease and it actually was Noelle that picked on your behavior, and you finally got to know what's wrong from Lisa

⊱ if you won't tell Venti then there's hight chance he won't know what's going on untill you start vomiting with flowers but if you do tell him, he'll be just as worried

"My dear friend, you need to tell your love interest how you truly feel or else your disease could get even worse! If you need bards help, remember that you just have to say a word!"

⊱ he'll will suggest you his help, like playing some romantic notes while you confess to your crush

⊱ it you take too much time, he'll proceed to beg you to do it since he doesn't want you to die and probably will spill that he loves you on his way if you won't stop him

⊱ if you confess to him tho, he'll be literally so happy for the rest of the day, and you better not have anything planned because he'll take your whole time

"My dear, I couldn't be happier! I love you too! I love you so so so much!! I can't believe you thought I didn't felt the same way about you."

⊱ you like him because you have the biggest 'I can fix him' problem... me too

⊱ Wanderer could be a little mean to you, he is to everyone but you saw his softer side as well and that's how you feel for him

⊱ you were an adventurer so it wasn't anything new to get commission with defeating certain amount of monsters

⊱ beating couple of chilichurls wasn't a problem for you, but when a monster you didn't knew took you by surprise, it was a little weird to you, especially that it run away right after you pointed your weapon at it

⊱ what you also didn't knew is that this exact monster was the reason for your disease

⊱ once you started vomiting flowers, you knew you had to learn what it is and you did, it was Hanahaki disease, so of course there was no way you could tell Wanderer about it

⊱ but that doesn't mean that he haven't noticed your physical state lately, he even discovered what might be wrong with you

⊱ he really acted like he doesn't care about you and just reminds you what can happen but the truth is that he's extremely worried

"I knew you mortals were stupid but I hoped you're not that dumb. You know you can die if you won't so something about your disease, right?"

⊱ after time passes tho, he's more forcing you to confess to your crush than encouraging you

⊱ so sooner or later you have to give up and confess to him

"You- Ugh fine... but I'm saying it just so you can live. I love you too. Happy?"

❉⊱•═•⊰❉⊱•═•⊰❉⊱•═•⊰❉⊱•═•⊰❉⊱•═•⊰❉⊱•═•⊰❉

[bosskie]

Tense Dinner

Man, I feel like it's finally time to fart this out, after 3 weeks of working on this. I know that there are still some stuff I could improve, but I don't feel like it, and my current skills aren't enough... But at least I could produce something more proper after a long time... I don't know but this took like 20+ hours, or even 30+ hours... This was a good practice work too since I rarely draw/paint this complex stuff, and I'm still learning how to understand lights and shadows... But I guess that this looks okay.

But what the odd is this thing? Welp, I have said earlier that I have felt like trying out drawing some Oddworld characters I have never drawn before, but I only feel like drawing Molluck stuff, so... I just had to figure out in what kind of situation those characters could be with Molluck. I have never drawn Alf or Toby before, and I felt like drawing them but had no idea how. Then I did remember one comment on OWI's Instagram post where they asked with whom you would like to have a dinner or something. That one commenter said that they would like to have a dinner with Abe, Alf, Toby, and Molluck because they would like to have a tense dinner. So, that comment was my inspiration.

I thought with the sitting order that Molluck wants to keep his eyes on Abe, but he also sits so that he can see all the Muds. Abe wouldn't have wanted to sit next to Molluck, none of them really, but it suited Alf the best. Though, it's probably not better to sit in front of Molluck's vicious gaze either... The story is that they are trying to work together, and well, they are trying their best to make it as comfortable as possible, especially when Molluck has lost his certain power... Molluck doesn't really trust Abe, though he is paranoid anyway, so he has that chant suppressor to secure himself. The Chauffeur is bringing them some food, and it's up to your imagination what's that. But I assure that Molluck is trying his best to be nice! There are also some other thoughts and details, but I let you figure out the rest.

I don't know if I should write more or not, but well, this is my blog. While doing this thing, I just felt like I should quit art after this piece is done. I'm just so tired of seeing only flaws in my works, having inferiority complex moments... But quitting wouldn't fix the root issue. I still haven't felt like thinking about what to draw next like I normally do. I just feel like I don't feel like drawing... So, I probably need to have a break since I cannot force art. But I also have other stuff to do, and I also wanna get back to 3D stuff... So yeah, I just don't know about drawing/painting right now... I'm feeling alright, but also depressed right now...

But I do actively follow what's going on with Oddworld stuff, even quite stealthily. And I feel like I gotta say that it has been amusing for me to see Molluck x Abe stuff since I literally said some months ago that I'm surprised at how little there is that stuff, when one anon requested me to draw them kissing... "Be careful what you wish for --, or your wish will come true." (Y) (This is a quotation from one game...) Frankly, I gotta admit that this is my fave Oddworld ship; I like it more than Molluck x Chauffeur Slig thing. Though, I would depict it in a different way, but I love Molluck being nasty. (Y) I have no personal interest in doing ship content myself but rarely since I'm busy with shipping myself with Molluck... But ain't that ship content then too? Well, you got my point still.

I'm always into seeing how Molluck is seen since I see that my way to see him is different from the usual depiction, but this mainly relates to certain depth and sides I see him having. But I also gotta say that for me, Glukkons are asexual. Though, I tend to forget whole sexual side whenever I think about people in general, since I personally prefer asexual world. Sexual desires only feel like some primitive needs/necessities I would prefer not to have, but since Molluck is still the only one I desire that way, I wanna it really be about making love since I wanna give some love to his beautiful body. And yeah, since Glukkon have no reproduction organs, for me it means that he doesn't have anything down there (but some hole to urinate) since it's what makes sense the most for me. But frankly, it's also how I prefer him, since of course, you can imagine that stuff however you like but I prefer none, and it doesn't prevent having sex with him, or him enjoying it... I can confess that I do have created (and keep creating) plenty of "that material" for myself, thanks to my 3D Molluck sculpt... It was my main reason to even create it, but I gotta create a 3D model out of it to create even better stuff! I will also create general Molluck stuff with that, so I can share something too... I have just no desire to share sexual content since it's like letting people come to my bedroom which is private. But it's probably easy to understand what's Molluck's role if he got none... It's all you need to know if you wanna know answer to this usual gay pair question. I have never seen Molluck in this role in other people's stuff, but it's just how I prefer him, his "joy holes"... (I also think that this depends on the relationship dynamics, since I feel quite equal with him.) Man, that Gluk just makes me go crazy... I want that Gluk so badly every single day... But yeah, I only would feel like posting some suggestive naked Mollucks, but nothing more, at least it's what I think now. I draw that stuff quite rarely actually, but I bet that my 3D stuff affects that... Would still love to draw more stuff to appreciate Molluck's beauty...

Yeah, I cannot help that I love Molluck so much... Even when Molluck is being his nasty self, I'm like "I love Molluck! 💓"... I love my little big butcher, professional bastard... It's probably because I do enjoy stuff like that, like dark humour, and my imagination likes to give Molluck some "good" ideas... I believe that Molluck and me could get along well and have such a loving relationship, since I do believe in that Molluck is able to genuinely love and care, but it's hidden unless he finds "the right one" who loves him just as he is. So, I see that Molluck's personality ain't all about being an angry nasty bastard, who just likes to use others, but he can also be caring and loving. It's just how Soulstorm made me see him; he feels like a friendly Gluk to me. But yeah, like I have said, I did start to love Molluck because I saw myself in him, so I bet that I also give parts of my personality to make his personality more complete. I cannot help it but I feel like saying that he is so adorable... Yeah, try to see Molluck as scary, intimidating, and sinister when it's more like hot to me... But I trust that Molluck do not wanna hurt me, like I do not wanna hurt him either.

Yeah, I didn't really have much to say... I can just keep talking about Molluck, how much I love him, and so on... I send him hugs 'n' kisses every day! It's really Molluck who keeps me creating stuff since it feels like my depression is getting worse in a way that I keep losing my interest in stuff... I just cannot get enough of that Gluk... He feels so right... He is like me as a Glukkon... I mean, I even see myself in some Molluck memes people do... It came to my mind to wonder like over a week ago if Molluck bites his cheeks or lips by accident since it's what happens to me, thanks to my own "loose" cheeks... I love Molluck's loose cheeks and his whole head's physics. (Y) Though yeah, I could list so many thing I love about Molluck...

Molluck! 💞 I really don't know what else to say... This Gluk is just so important to me. But I also don't know about drawing for a while... I just have no inspiration... But yeah, I always feel like appreciating Molluck's beauty, so if nothing else can bring it back, then it's probably what could end this art block.

[ravennaortiz]

August 2nd is Juice with the prompt "There is a reason I don't celebrate my birthday". Requested by a lovely Anon. As always my stories are 18+

I thought she would like this thought Juice to himself as he collapsed onto the floor outside of your bedroom door. He knew it was unlocked but had decided against going in. You had not responded to his knocks or request to enter. He knew from the way your eyes had shown with tears and your lip had trembled when you entered the house that you were upset.

For the life of him he wasn't sure why though. He had surprised you before with trips and gifts. He figured a house full of friends for your birthday would be greeted with joy and happiness. He had spent weeks planning the perfect day for you. Everything from breakfast in bed to a day out on the water surfing to a surprise party once you got home.

Streamers and balloons of your favorite colors decorated the whole of the house. Your favorite foods, drinks and birthday cake had been made to perfection. He had been sure of it. You deserved to have the best day ever but yet somehow he had fucked it up.

"Aye Juicy boy. Ye want us to clear out?" inquired Chibs quietly as he entered the hallway a few minutes later. Juice sighed as he looked up. "I don't know. Probably. I'm not sure anymore. We were having such a good day.....I don't know what happened" admitted Juice as he rubbed his face with his hands.

Before anything else could be said the door opened and he fell in at your feet. "Could we talk" you murmured as you sniffled. Your eyes red and puffy and your makeup running down your face. Juices heart broke as he looked up at you but nodded as he sat up when you crouched down to sit next to him.

"I will give you two a few minutes" stated Chibs before heading back the way he had came.

"Tell me what I did wrong babe" murmured Juice as he grabbed your hands as he watched you closely. "Nothing. It's silly. I'm an adult and should be over it" you started as you shook your head and sighed. "I'm sure its not silly. Talk to me" encouraged Juice. "There is a reason I don't celebrate my birthday. Well lots of reasons honestly. This is my fault for never bringing it up. I usually just get the guy to break up with me before my birthday so it's never been an issue before" you rambled as you looked anywhere but at the man you had grown to love over the last ten months.

Juice frowned but waited patiently for you to speak again. "So you know how I don't speak to my family anymore?" you asked looking down at your hands. Juice nodded. It was something you had mentioned on one of your earlier dates. The two of you had bonded over your unique family situations. You had been no contact with yours since you turned eighteen.

"My parents and sister made it clear I was not wanted. They called me a mistake and I was left more often than not to fend for myself. My birthday was always treated as a day to tease, belittle and physically hurt me on occasion. Some years they would trick me into thinking things would change but they never did. My sister always got to use my birthday as her half birthday. So while I was being hit, starved and locked in a cage in the basement. My sister was getting presents, cakes and pony rides." you explained keeping your eyes down as tears started to fall again.

Juice could feel his temper started to flare at your words but kept it contained. He would do some looking into your family. They would pay. Right now he needed to reassure you that would never happen. "I'm sorry that happened to you. I promise my only intent today was to shower you with love and show you how special you are not only to me but to others" started Juice as he lifted your chin up gently. "I'm sorry that you were reminded of your past. I promise you that will never happen again as long as I breathe" he added as he wiped your tears with his thumb.

"Wait here. I'm going to have everyone head out and then I'll draw you a bath okay?" offered Juice as he started to stand. "Actually.....I...I would like...to try having a birthday party. If that is okay" you stammered as you laughed nervously at the silliness of it all. "Of course. I'll let everyone know you will be back out in a bit" stated Juice with a grin as he helped you up and gave you a kiss before heading down the hall.

Return to Masterlist

[p-erse-phone]

Losing Focus - Ch. 12

- 12 : say yes (+ short written)

word count: 617

Y/N had arrived at the coffee shop a little earlier than planned. For some reason, she was feeling nervous. She wasn’t sure why—she wasn’t interested in Riki like that at all. She thought they worked well as friends and wanted to keep it professional. Besides, she had a hunch she wasn’t really his “type.” On top of it all, Sangmi had made it abundantly clear that she should stay away. Even though her cousin often went about things the wrong way, she usually knew what was up.

Still, it didn’t stop Y/N from checking her appearance on her phone while she waited—straightening her hair and adjusting her makeup.

Not long after, Riki approached her with his hands in his hoodie pockets and a smirk on his face. “Hey,” he said casually.

“Hi, Riki,” she smiled back at him.

She followed him as he pushed the doors open, the rich aroma of coffee hitting them as they walked in. At the register, Riki ordered a milk tea, which surprised Y/N a little. She hadn’t expected that from him, and it made her giggle internally. He glanced at her and motioned for her to order with his head. Holding eye contact with her. 

“If it’s really okay…” she said shyly.

“Thanks again—you really didn’t have to,” Y/N said as they sat down at a table.

“No worries. I offered,” Riki reassured her.

They chatted while waiting for their drinks, and Y/N was surprised by how natural the conversation felt. They weren’t particularly close, but there were no awkward silences. It was... comfortable.

When the barista called Riki’s name, Y/N started to stand, but Riki stopped her with a simple, “Sit down. I got it.”

As they sipped their drinks, Riki suddenly bit his lip and began a little awkwardly, “Actually…” he paused “I feel bad I didn’t walk you home the other day.”

Y/N tilted her head, slightly surprised. She hadn’t even thought about it. The campus was pretty safe, and she was sure they lived in different directions. Besides, she only had to walk to the bus stop, which was about ten minutes away—it really wasn’t a big deal.

She shook her head slightly. “Don’t be sorry. I wasn’t worried about it at all,” she said with a small chuckle.

“I know, but Jungwon was on my ass about it, and it got me thinking,” Riki admitted.

Y/N grinned to herself. That was so like Jungwon—it didn’t surprise her. She was lost in thought when Riki continued, “When it’s late like that, I’ll do better. My bad.”

She met his eyes and replied, “No, Riki, it’s really okay,” chuckling awkwardly.

“It’s fine, just say yes,” he said nonchalantly.

“O-okay. Thanks, I guess,” she replied sincerely.

“Well, it’s about time to go,” Y/N said, Riki running a hand through his hair.

“You’re right. Let’s go,” he replied with a small grin as they both stood up.

As they left the shop, Y/N’s gaze lingered on Riki’s feet in front of her. When she finally looked up, her eyes met those of another girl sitting on the other side of the café. At first, Y/N thought it was just an awkward coincidence, but the girl’s gaze lingered. Her expression was intense, as though she was trying to read Y/N.

After a few seconds, Y/N looked away awkwardly, then glanced back. The girl held her gaze a moment longer before turning back to her laptop and typing again.

Y/N didn’t recognize the girl and figured she was probably reading too much into it. She pushed the thought to the back of her mind and followed Riki out.

End...

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Author note ; sorry, its been a min, a close friend of mine passed away :/ will update more regularly now that I'm feeling motivated again. Tell people close to you you love them <3

[sorcerous-caress]

Hello! I’m the anon who talked about the modern au loser high elf a little while back and I’m back with an idea that hit me like a truck :) After the adorable pathetic loser and you establish a friendship (and start banging like a screen door in a hurricane), what if you start hinting at possibly making homemade porn videos with your best friend >:) Initially teasing him about his disgustingly huge xhuman porn collection, suggesting that if he struggles to find something that caters to his tastes then maybe the two of you could figure something out 👀… And maybe one day, after some creative camerawork, editing, and maybe some illusion charms to hide both your identities, he gets to post a homemade video to one of the dirty human kink forums he frequents of you bouncing that soft, squishy, sinful human body on his dick while he b e g s for you to let him cum in a mix of elvish and common ☺️ (Also may I be 🩵 anon? I know I’m gonna be back for more later 😁)

Screendoor in a hurricane indeed, gonna make the big bang look like a tea party.

We should probably give him a name eventually huh?

But fuck can you imagine it? This loser elf guy who frequents the kink forums and keeps sharing links and fantasies so much that he is definitely well known amongst the degenerates there.

One day, he just goes offline, maybe for a week or a month, and his online friends are asking about him.

And when he eventually comes back, his first post is a video of a cute human on his lap, his cock squeezed between your soft thighs with the camera only showing up to your chest.

He's leaking pre-cum just by being squeezed between your thighs, cock twitching and painfully hard. His hands squeezing your chest as he struggles not to thrust his hips forward and fuck your thighs.

The camera audio is picking up his quiet voice, shameful whispers in elvish as he begs you to let him fuck you. Pleading to allow his cock inside you and let him feel your hot wet walls clamming down around him. You coo at him as you rub your thighs together and the most pathetic moan leaves him, his fingers visibly shaking.

You're not even touching him, your hands are on the bed as you sit comfortably on his lap. He's been keeping you inside all day, orgasm after orgasm was coaxed out of you since sunrise until now.

This is payback for him being such a greedy pervert, for not being able to sit next to a human without his cock getting hard, and suddenly his fingers are pulling at the hems of your clothes and he's eyeing the space between your legs while licking his lips.

What's a better way than to teach him some discipline than edge him endlessly while on being recorded? So you can show all of the human kink losers he calls friends in the forum how much they can't truly handle a human in bed.

The second you post the video, it suddenly shots up to the top of the page. Comment after comment, hit after hit. People wonder if that's a real human, did a human actually find their forum?

But even the mods of the forum can't keep their braincells from slipping away while watching your video. Especially with how you keep pushing the elf until he crumbles, whining and crying for your human hole, talking about how he's willing to do anything just to make love to you again.

High elves really rarely use dirty words, yet the camera stand witness to all the perverted things you made him admit. Telling him to ask to fuck you, it's not make love.

The camera can't see the way his lips tremble as his pointy ears lower down slightly. He's using common this time as he asks to fuck you, please have mercy.

And you let him, giving him the permission.

He slips in you, his cum still inside you from earlier makes this easier. And fuck he's cumming already, just barely bottomed out as he's switching back to elvish and becoming a moaning mess while filling you with his cum.

But he still goes on, continues pumping and fucking into you through the overwhelming pleasure. It's like he's addicted to your body, the way his hands grip possessively at whatever they can hold, the way he keeps calling you these sweet titles in elvish that are normally only reserved for your spouce.

With the first video being such a massive hit, people are already overflowing his inbox with requests, even offering to pay for commissions.

Most of the focus is on you, they want to see the cute human ride dildos in shapes of various races. A dragonborn's massive one with rigges scales, a demon's shaped one with blunt spikes and a mean big head, an aasimar's one that curves just right to bully that sensitive spot inside you with the most beautiful colours.

People want to see the human take two or three at once, see you in a collar with a leash or on a throne with a leather whip. Some want you in frilly pink lingerie with your ass out, others prefer a classy red tight dress with your chest exposed.

A smaller group that's made of fellow elves, want to see you with your loser high elf boyfriend. Want to see him dress you up in traditional elvish clothes before ripping them off of you. Want him to teach you the most lewd words in elvish and make you repeat them while he fucks you.

Whenever you're busy or away and he can't bother you with his kisses or needy cock, he's browsing the forum and answering all the questions thrown his way.

Asking how the inside of a human felt, how much did he pay you to agree to sleep with him? What do you mean it was fully voluntary- so the rumours are true? Humans are whores?

Somehow, these questions are starting to irritate him.

A lot of them ask him if he's willing to share you, or if they can get your socials. He ends up blocking and reporting them, not even bringing them up to you.

Because...what if you leave him for one of them? What if you'd prefer a tiefling with cool horns or half-orc who could manhandle you with ease? He can't ruin the one thing in life that has made him happy- the single time fate smiled his way.

So he convinces you to let him take care of the online account, you can worry about the videos and making them, he will take care of everything else for you.

Also he still hasn't corrected anyone in the forum who call him your boyfriend, that title is making him happier more than it has any right to. So what if he didn't bring it up to you yet? He'd rather live in this fantasy where he is your boyfriend.

[inawickedlittletown]

Just Let Me Adore You (BuckTommy) - 4/7

Summary: What if…instead of Chimney taking the role of interim Captain of the 118, Tommy is asked to take on the role.

Or, what happens when Buck meets Tommy in S2

Words: 3.9k

Notes: Title from Adore You by Harry Styles

Read on Ao3

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

-

Part Four

Evan was acting odd. 

“He’s in a research binge,” Hen said while putting water in the kettle for tea. 

Tommy leaned on the counter and looked in the direction of Evan sitting at one of the smaller tables completely on his own, very preoccupied with his phone. He’d come out to Evan days ago and Evan hadn’t said anything to anyone. Not that Tommy had expected him to. This was the first time he’d started acting strange since, but it was probably unrelated. Maybe more to do with his phone and his girlfriend being back in town. Had he finally talked to his girlfriend about the open relationship thing? 

“Research binge?” He asked Hen. 

Hen chuckled. “Yeah, he fixates on things sometimes and we’ll get to hear all the facts later. Anyway, what’s up with you? That guy earlier was laying it on thick.” 

Tommy chuckled. “He really was.” 

If nothing else, Tommy should be impressed by his confidence or lack of shame. 

Hen eyed him and there was a question in her eyes without judgment or expectation. She wouldn’t be upset if Tommy didn’t tell her, but Tommy wanted to. He needed to. 

“In another circumstance maybe I would have given him my number,” Tommy said. He wouldn’t have. He definitely wouldn’t have. Not in any circumstance.

“Really?” Hen asked, eyebrow raised. “That guy?” 

“Okay, no, Not that guy. He wasn’t exactly my type.” 

Hen chuckled. “But it is men.” 

“Yeah,” Tommy said and he felt warm and happy. 

Her lips spread into a smile and when she pulled him into a hug, Tommy didn’t fight it. She gave him a squeeze before letting go several moments later, still beaming at him in such a welcoming and warm way that…well, Tommy really should have told her sooner. 

“I’m sorry I never said—”

Hen waved her hand at him. “You didn’t owe that to me or any of us.” 

“I wanted to tell you,” Tommy admitted. “I kept it hidden for so long, but even Gerrard was gone it just…it was too hard to say it. To embody it. And then when the possibility of getting to fly again came around I figured when I transferred it would make it easier. I could start over. Coming back here, I didn’t want to hide it. To lie.” 

He watched as Hen prepared two cups of tea, adding bags of lemongrass green tea. She extended one to him and got busy adding sugar to her own. 

“Believe me, I get it,” Hen said. “People think it’s a one time thing, but you’re literally always having to tell people.” 

“Yeah,” Tommy said in agreement. 

When he next glanced at Evan, it looked like Evan was frowning at his phone. It had to be about the girlfriend, right? Whatever Hen said about research binges. He almost wanted to go over and talk to him. He shook that thought off. 

“And does your type happen to be big muscly guy with a heart of gold that could be mistaken for a puppy?” Hen asked. 

“I — that is—”

“I can see how you look at him,” Hen said. 

“It’s not—”

“It is,” Hen said. “Just, don’t forget he has a girlfriend.” 

“A sort of girlfriend,” Tommy muttered. 

Hen snorted. “What does that mean?”

Tommy shook his head. “I’m just saying that if I were ever lucky enough to date someone like Evan the last thing on my mind would be opening up the relationship.” 

All amusement faded from Hen. “Is that what Ali wants?” She asked, frowning. “That can’t be going over well.” 

Tommy didn’t respond. 

“Still,” Hen said, “I’d be careful. I don’t think he’s ever been anything but straight.” 

“Yeah,” Tommy said. “Maybe it’s this place. I had such a crush on Sal, you don’t even know.” 

Hen burst into laughter. “Seriously?” 

“It came and went pretty quickly,” Tommy said. 

That was the thing about crushes. You made up a lot about the person to fit who you wanted them to be. And then, once you got to know them, it shattered that image. They’d gotten to be good friends, but Tommy never opened up fully and then when Sal almost got fired he just dropped all of them. 

“Is that not happening now?” Hen asked, curious but concerned too. 

Tommy couldn’t answer that without a lie. When Hen passed him, she gave his shoulder a squeeze. 

Evan kept himself busy on his phone and Tommy was itching to ask him what he was researching in some effort to find out if that was what he was doing. Hen seemed pretty certain. Evan did look up at them a couple of times, but he always looked away and didn’t say anything to them like he would normally. Tommy forced himself to head back to the office, telling himself that Evan wasn’t avoiding him. 

When the call came and Evan wound up on the other truck, he told himself that Evan was over there for any other reason than because he was avoiding Tommy. He hoped that Evan wasn’t giving away all his new facts to the firefighters there and not him. It was a silly thing to focus on, but he wanted Evan’s attention in any way he could get it. He really was in deep, wasn’t he?

When Bobby’s voice came in over the radio, dispatch putting him through, Tommy listened, but it didn’t matter. 

The warning came too late. 

Tommy saw the moment the explosion happened on the side-mirror and his first thought was Evan. 

They came to a stop. Tommy rushed out of the truck and he made to go towards the ladder truck, but Chim grabbed his shoulder. 

“What…Chim—”

There was someone walking towards the ladder truck. Someone dressed all in black with what looked to be a bomb strapped to their chest as if it wasn’t enough that the ladder truck had already been targeted and literally toppled. 

They peered out at the scene. A firefighter was down under the truck. Others had been thrown out. Tommy was responsible for all of them. Where was — that was Evan. Evan was the one under the truck. It was Evan. He was frozen, heart beating in his chest. Breaking, maybe. 

Eddie and Hen seemed to have realized that as well. All shared a glance. Tommy reached for his radio. Didn’t like the response. They wanted them to wait…they wanted them to let their people out there be hurt or worse. Protocol. 

The boy…he was calling for the Captain. His voice was loud and filled with anger. 

“Tommy, don’t,” Hen said. 

“Cap, I don’t think—” Howie began

He was still calling for the Captain. Tommy was the Captain. And if he needed to go out there to stop this kid then…

“Tommy,” Eddie said. 

Tommy ignored them. He stepped around and out onto the street. 

“Me. You want me. I’m the Captain.” 

“You,” the boy — what had his name been — snarled, face twisting in anger. “I remember you. But it’s not you I want. Nash! I want Captain Nash!” 

Tommy’s eyes went to Evan. He looked helpless, small and unmoving. Probably in so much pain that it was a wonder he wasn’t screaming. It was his leg. Oh, god, would he walk again? Would he ever be okay again? He made a movement towards him, but the kid stepped in his way. 

“No,” he said. 

“He wasn’t there that night,” Tommy said, trying to keep his voice calm. “Let us help him. Please.” 

The kid looked between Buck and Tommy and he shrugged his shoulders. “Collateral damage. Don’t touch him.” 

The crowd parted suddenly, attracting the kid’s attention. If there hadn’t been that bomb attached to him Tommy could have tackled him. It was too risky. Kid was kind of unhinged. He inched closer to Evan instead. 

Bobby was suddenly there and Tommy hardly listened because his focus was on Evan and if he didn’t think that the kid — Freddie, apparently — would take too well to Tommy trying to aid Evan. He had no idea what Bobby’s plan was, but he stood close by and when Freddie’s mother appeared, Bobby lunged for Freddie.

Everything happened quickly. Tommy immediately went to Bobby’s aid. Together they kept him from detonating and then he was taken away by the police. As soon as that was done, Tommy turned to Evan. 

Tommy wound up on his knees next to Evan, hands reaching for him. Hen, Eddie, and Chim brought the med bags. 

“We’re here. I’m here. You’re going to be okay.” 

He informed dispatch over the radio, wondered if Maddie was listening. Hen and Chim were taking vitals, checking him over. They really needed to get him out from under the truck. 

The next several minutes were intense. Tommy was still the Captain, but he could hardly take his eyes off Evan. What ifs ran through his mind. And was it his fault that Evan hadn’t been with them on the other truck? His hand grasped Evan’s, felt his pulse and it was enough for him to push the personal aside. 

They had to get that truck off. 

The first attempt was awful. It was too heavy. 

“We need more people,” Chim said. 

Tommy had already said as much to dispatch. It would take too long. What other option did they have? Could they anchor it to the engine and pull it somehow? 

Suddenly, the crowd that had gathered ran towards them and in the next moment they were trying again. Tommy leading them and pushing up. Eddie was helping grab Evan out. Evan was screaming and every single scream went through Tommy right to his core. He was never going to forget, never going to get past hearing Evan in that amount of pain. 

Tommy found himself dropping down next to him as soon as he was out and as soon as they had dropped the truck back down. 

“Hey,” he said. “We got you, Evan. You’re going to be okay.” 

Evan was whimpering. He was out of it. They got him on the backboard and up on the gurney. Tommy reached for Evan’s hand and grasped it, wanted to touch him and feel something from him. Evan was cold, but his fingers twitched against Tommy’s. 

Hen and Chim got him into the ambulance. Eddie right behind them. 

“He’s going to be okay,” Bobby said. He looked ashen, eyes rimmed red. 

He’d live, Tommy thought. He didn’t know about okay. Evan’s leg had been crushed…that could go in so many different ways. Around him the world was spinning and when he closed his eyes all he could see was Evan. 

—

A hand on his, big and strong and squeezing just hard enough to say something. A touch to his cheek. His name whispered. 

Lights. Sirens. Antiseptic. Smoke. Screaming. Fire. 

A crinkly smile. A soft couch and an old movie playing in the background and Buck leaning in…leaning and leaning…

He was falling, thrown hard and fast…a final hit of the hard ground and—

A soft sigh. 

A flat chest, strong and warm. Big hand over his. The soft touch of lips. 

His voice saying Evan, Evan, Evan. 

It felt like being set on fire. 

Screaming. Screaming. 

“We got you”

Evan. Evan. Evan. 

He was floating. 

Light came through…and a voice. Sweet and soft and not his. 

Buck blinked awake. Buck wasn’t used to being the patient. He was used to being the one that had to stay at the doors. It had been a hard lesson to learn, to care enough in a detached way that made him less affected by what may or may not happen to someone he’d helped. 

The doctors had given him assurance that he’d walk, but not assurance that he would ever be a firefighter again. He remembered that very clearly. Had tried not to show how much that answer devastated him even as he understood that they were saying it to prepare him. 

Carla was in his hospital room when he came to. Buck hadn’t known to expect her, but she was there and she cared even when he panicked once he realized that his leg was in a cast and sort of elevated. 

One titanium rod and four screws were holding his leg together. Carla talked about it with a gentle understanding and reassurance. He was suddenly glad that she was the one at his bedside. She knew how best to deal in these situations and more than anything, she was a friend. One that Buck maybe didn’t speak to too often because of all the Abby baggage. 

Buck wanted to know if his entire life was going to be changing because of this — if he was going to lose the one thing that he had in his life that mattered the most. Because the job did. The family that he’d found within the 118 did. If he didn’t have that…

Then, Ali and Maddie appeared. Ali, who rushed to his side and held his face and kissed him. Her worry was written all over her face and she touched him like she couldn’t believe that he was real. 

Where was everyone else? Bobby? Tommy? Eddie? Hen? Chim? Had he already lost them…he didn’t ask if Maddie had called their parents. 

Nurses asked them to step out while they checked him over. Maddie returned right away, taking the seat at his bedside and reaching for his hand. 

“I’m okay,” he said. 

“I know,” she said. 

Chim and Eddie and Hen came in together. They didn’t stay long, but checked in with him. Filled him in on anyone else that had gotten hurt. Buck hadn’t even thought about that. He was the worst one off, naturally. 

Between the visits came doctors and nurses and Buck couldn’t even properly focus on what they were telling him because he had to be okay, right? He had to be. One of them said something about waiting and seeing and lots of work ahead and Buck…would Buck ever be a firefighter again? No one could give him a real answer to that question. Instead they told him about how long the cast would be on. 

Athena and Bobby came in together sometime after the others left. Athena hugged him and Bobby gripped his shoulder. 

“I’m so sorry this happened, Buck,” Bobby said. “He was aiming for me.” 

Buck hadn’t had time to process all of that. 

“Who was he?” Buck asked. 

He got the whole story. Kid had almost died in a fire at a restaurant. The 118 had responded to the fire and then Bobby and Athena had both figured out that the fire was started by the father and owner of the restaurant.

“For the insurance,” Buck filled in. 

“Exactly. Freddie didn’t take it well when his father was arrested,” Athena said. 

“Oh,” Buck said and he looked at his leg. All a result of an angry kid. 

“That judge. The lawyer. He sent all those bombs. Sent one to my house,” Athena said. 

“Your house?” 

Buck didn’t know why he hadn’t heard about that. 

“And he put one on the truck expecting me to be on it,” Bobby said. 

Athena switched the subject. She told him about all the people that had helped to lift the truck, but none of it mattered when a big figure stepped into the doorway. 

He was out of uniform in jeans, a henley, and a plaid shirt over it. His hair looked a mess, like he’d been running his hands through it and his lips were pressed into a hard line. 

“Tommy,” Buck said. 

“Evan, oh, god, Evan,” Tommy said and he took the steps that separated him from Buck’s bed. 

“I’m okay,” Buck said.

“A ladder truck crushed your leg,” Tommy said. “No one expects you to be okay.”

His eyes flitted from Buck’s leg to the scrape on Buck’s face and all the other scratches and bruises that he’d gotten when he was thrown onto the asphalt. Buck didn’t feel any of it. 

“But he will be,” Bobby said. 

“He’s resilient,” Athena added.

Bobby and Athena said their goodbyes and Buck didn’t even care that they were leaving because Tommy had come to see him. 

“I’ll walk again,” Buck said. “That’s — that’s what they said.”

“Good. Good,” Tommy said and a small smile made it to his lips and then he dropped into the chair next to Buck. 

“Tommy,” Buck said. He wanted to grab his hand, to feel that strength and maybe take comfort from it. 

“Yeah, Evan?” 

“You’re—”

A noise from the door distracted both of them. Ali was back. She smiled at him and at Tommy. 

“Oh, good. I thought they’d left you all alone,” she said. 

Tommy stood at once and ceded the spot to her. Her hand was delicate and her fingers cold when they touched his cheek up to his hair. When Buck looked towards Tommy there was something complicated about the way he was looking at him. Buck wanted to tell him to stay. Hell, he wanted for Ali to go away. 

“I, uh, I should get going. Just wanted to see that you were alright,” Tommy said. “You are. I’m relieved. So, I’ll—” he motioned to the door. 

Before Buck had a chance to say anything back, Tommy was gone. 

“He seemed nice,” Ali said. “Co-worker?” 

“Interim Captain,” Buck said. 

Ali’s hands smoothed down his hospital gown. “Oh. No wonder he wanted to make sure you were okay.” 

Buck didn’t like the implication in her voice. It hadn’t been that, though, right? Tommy hadn’t just been worried because he’d been in charge when it happened? It wasn’t like any of them could have predicted it. 

“Nurse was saying they won’t keep you here very long,” Ali said cheerfully. “It’ll be nice to be back home.” 

Buck smiled and nodded. Wait, he’d moved out of Maddie’s place…and his new apartment had his bedroom up on the loft. 

—

The girlfriend came in and Tommy wanted to scream. Ali. She touched Evan and fussed over him and Tommy could only think about how for some reason, Evan hadn’t been enough for her. Evan in the hospital bed looking nothing like himself. Smaller. Cowed, even. Stuck. Stuck like how he’d been stuck under the truck and none of them had been able to do a thing for way too long.

It was the past that had come back to haunt them. Tommy remembered the kid. One of Bobby’s first calls as Captain on the 118. The call that had almost cost Sal his job but instead wound up in a transfer. It had been so straight forward even with Bobby still getting his bearings as Captain. No one died. It had felt like such a win. 

Of course, then it turned out that the restaurant owner had set the fire himself for the insurance payout. If Tommy remembered clearly, Bobby had even had to testify. Tommy had seen the guilt written all over Bobby’s face at the scene and in the moments after the ambulance had taken Evan away. 

There was no reason that it was Evan that should be burdened with this. Tommy should have been in that seat on that truck. 

But, Evan was alive. Surgery had gone well. The whole thing had shaved hours off Tommy’s life. He’d sat practically on his own and felt like an outsider while they all waited. Hen and Chim had had each other. Maddie, Evan’s sister had arrived with a woman named Carla that Eddie seemed friendly with. And Tommy had no place among them. He wasn’t family. He was a new friend and even that was barely…what he really was was the Captain that Evan worked under when he got hurt. 

Tommy went back to the station. The space where the ladder truck should have been made him ball up his firsts. He did paperwork and filled out a report about the night’s events. Made sure Evan didn’t have to worry about worker’s comp and medical leave and all the other things that came with getting injured on the job. 

When there was nothing left for him to do, Tommy went home and didn’t want to be there. Found himself thinking about Evan. He couldn’t stop thinking about Evan. 

He went out to his garage to work out his pent up energy. Spent some time lifting weights and then went on a run around the neighborhood. 

The thing was that he couldn’t shake the image of Evan under the truck or the way that he screamed out. The whole thing hadn’t seemed possible and yet Evan had made it out. All those people had helped and then he’d been running alongside Evan’s gurney and he’d reached out and grabbed his hand, hoping that it wasn’t the last time he’d ever get to hold his hand. 

The next day, he got the call from his Captain. Bobby would be reinstated and take over command of the 118 and Tommy had the option of staying behind for a few weeks to ease things while they were down a firefighter or to return to the 217 and back to normal duty. 

“I’ll be back in the air?” He asked. 

“Yes, Kinard. Look, I’m sorry things had to go the way they did, but I had no choice.” 

“I disagree,” Tommy said. “Not that it matters, I know.” 

“Kinard,” Captain Reid said, “the situation was difficult. I had to reprimand both of you.” 

“And yet I’m the one that got grounded,” Tommy said. 

“You wound up as Captain of a firehouse,” Captain Reid responded. “The chief could have assigned you a worse placement.”

Tommy sighed. “Yeah, and then one of the trucks exploded and one of my firefighters got crushed by it.” 

“I don’t think even Captain Nash could have stopped that from happening, Tommy. Has your time there not given you any perspective on how tied my hands were? Being in charge, it’s not easy. I had to make a call.” 

A part of Tommy understood that. Understood that Captain Reid couldn’t brush Tommy’s actions under the rug even if he felt they were the right actions. It didn’t make it any easier. 

“I…I know,” he said. “I just can’t shake how angry he made me.” 

Captain Reid chuckled. “I’m aware. It’s why I suggested time away from Harbor. It so happened that the 118 needed a Captain. You got lucky.” 

Maybe. Probably. He had met Evan, after all. 

“What are you going to do? Stick around there, or come back to where you belong?” 

He belonged in the air, his hand on the cyclic and his eyes looking out at the expanse of sky. It was where he could do the most good and where he felt the most free. 

“Maybe it’s best I get back to where I belong. I don’t think I could…It was—”

“We saw it on the news,” Captain Reid said. “At first we thought it might be you. We’re glad it wasn’t, though it shouldn’t have happened at all. How is the firefighter that did get pinned?” 

Evan’s face came to mind. He still couldn’t shake the image. 

“They said he’ll walk again,” Tommy said. Although Eddie had said that the doctors were still not promising that Buck would get to work as a firefighter again. 

Evan was awake and talking and with his leg in a giant cast. His girlfriend was beside him. His sister was hovering near beside with worry. He would have Bobby and Hen and Chim and Eddie too. Tommy had no reason to be there and it was probably better if he got back to his station. He’d feel better once he was in a helicopter and once he was up in the air.