#i would've finished sooner but i was busy

[kylominis]

pillowtalk [♡]

[imtrashraccoon]

I want some- wait, that looks like apple juice to me. Windows is fucking with me again!

But still, it looks like good juice, even if I like orange better.

Mm mislabelled juice...

First, Previous, & Next.

[mosaickiwi]

MC/Angel relaxing with Fox Ren giving him all the smooches and cuddles~!!! Or daily life with Redacted with MC/Angel as a house spouse teehee~!!!

Kinda sorta combined them oopsies teehee <3 <3 da best fluffy boi

14 Days With You is an 18+ Yandere Visual Novel. MINORS DNI

~Literal Domestic Fluff~

You’d been busy since Ren left to patrol the territory early that morning. With him out of the way, cleaning up was admittedly easier. The kitchen was spotless, paw prints in the hallways scrubbed away, and the laundry almost finished. A scant few linens fresh from the dryer lay in the basket at your feet, one being carefully folded as you lounged in your favorite window seat to bask in the setting sun.

You paused to bring the warm fabric up to your face. The pleasant floral scent of the detergent was nice, but nothing compared to the fresh mountain air you’d finally gotten used to over the months. You opened the window all the way to let in a breeze.

Something immediately felt different, almost relaxing about the faintly cool air flowing past. It took a moment to realize the real source of the calm that washed over you.

A familiar presence was running through the sparse trees that lined the farthest edge of the garden. Before you could even call their name, he was making leaps and bounds on pink-toed paws to cross the short expanse of greenery between you. In a matter of seconds the ethereal fox morphed into a shape closer to human as they approached, though the tails and ears stayed in place. He came to a skittering halt outside the window.

“Angel!” Ren excitedly spoke as he reached up to you, a sparkle to his pale blue eyes. 

You dropped the blanket and leaned over the window sill to take hold of his outstretched hand, placing a quick kiss to his forehead for good measure. For once, you were the one towering over him—if only by a few centimeters. “Hi, Ren,” you said with a smile.

His excitement only seemed to intensify at your affections. Nine fluffy tails began to wag in delight while you carded your other hand through his hair. “I missed you.”

“Really? I couldn't tell,” you teased, waving away a couple stray leaves and flower petals from his pointed ears. “I missed you, too.”

Your bonded partner immediately flushed pink at your response, then something caught his attention that made his nose wrinkle. “Are you okay? Was it too cold while I was gone?” 

You weren't sure what he meant until you followed his gaze to the disheveled blanket next to you on the cushioned seat. You shook your head to calm him down. “Just doing laundry.”

He was hesitant to accept your answer, but the second kiss you pressed to his lips seemed to distract him well enough. Ren stood up straighter, determined to make it last as long as possible. Shivers ran up your spine when his fingers carefully settled along the base of your neck to keep you steady. 

Though you weren't quite finished, you were forced to pull away and breathe. “Hmm, maybe I am a little cold. We should—hey!” you suddenly laughed, gently pushing them back. He was practically crawling through the window to reach you at the mere suggestion of cuddling. “Let me finish up, okay? Just a few minutes. And use the front door.”

His ears fell flat in embarrassment as he nodded and settled down. No longer crowding the window, but still on his toes to better see what you were doing.

You took your time folding the blanket and what was left in the basket. It was hard to ignore the focused gaze of the man, nor the way he noticeably perked up once you finished folding something, only to pout at the next piece of fabric you grabbed. With a little less willpower you would've abandoned the laundry far sooner to give them all of your focus.

Eventually, you had a neat and tidy pile of sheets to put away. A quick peek from the corner of your eye in their direction was enough to alert him. He bolted from the window in an instant, just for you to hear him loudly sprinting through the villa’s many hallways seconds later. There was barely any time to stand up before you were scooped up in their arms.

He nuzzled into your neck with an almost desperate sigh as he mumbled, “I’m sorry I was away for so long, beloved.” You could faintly feel his teeth nipping at the skin above your collarbone. “Y’smell different.”

“Huh? Oh.” You made a mental note to find a scentless laundry detergent on your next outing into town. Maybe it would bother him less.

The warmth of his silky tails enveloped you, barely tickling you when they brushed back and forth over your form. As he carried you from the room, tucked safely close to their chest, you happily gave them the attention they’d been waiting for.

[beneatheaven]

video call sex with soobin

lowercase intended, 1,764 words, haven’t proof read

smut under cut, minors do not interact

sitting down at your desk with all your project work out, ready to go over it with your partner, soobin. you both decided to do some over the call working sessions together along because of his busy schedule. this being the first one. it kinda pissed you off, with all the free time on your side, it felt like you could finish this sooner on your own. but it's whatever, he's really smart so maybe he can carry for the both of you guys.

you receive a text saying he's ready and on is on discord. opening up the app on your laptop, and joining the call. noticing he had his camera on. you could see his room in the background. his bed nicely made and there's a pretty shelf with all his little figures. it's kinda cute, coming from him.

"hey, are you ready? oh why isn't your camera on?". his voice brings you back. "i didn't know that was apart of the agreement. why's yours on?" you say harshly. "well just so that we can see if either of us get distracted, keep each other on track.". hmm maybe he has a point..

you don't really want to turn your camera on, you're in your loose tank top and shorts, ready to sleep sometime after this. now noticing what he's wearing, he's just in a white tee and probably some grey sweats huh..."okay i'll turn it on."

after 40 minutes of going over the subject and how to equally separate the work load, you're focused on getting all the information you can for today. you had half of your screen soobin's camera screen and the other half your school work, so did he. this also being his idea, making sure that you guys could keep an eye on each other.

this wasn't so bad, soobin made a nice study playlist for guys to listen to at the same time. thinking it would've kept you distracted, but it kept you very concentrated. possibly preferring this over being in a quiet library together.

"um y/n your.. your um strap." looking down at yourself and lifting your strap back up and into place. you didn't have a bra on either so it felt extra exposed. "thanks, sorry about that." you felt a little shy about it. "no worries, um did you want to take a break? we've been working for over an hour and a half." you agreed and moved some of your things to the side.

soobin had turned the study music off as you were about to get on your phone. "so what were you doing before this?" you look over at your laptop. making his camera camera screen larger. "i was just cleaning and getting some other homework done. killing time before you were ready. i almost wanted to get a head start cause i had so much time." that last sentence coming off a little harsh. but it was true!

"yea sorry about that.. they're been giving me closing shifts recently after my afternoon classless and i don't get to do anything until i'm home." it was out of his control..oh poor soobin..

"it's fine, at least you're willing to actually do the work, i appreciate it."he smiles at your response. of course he would be helpful. "i feel kinda bad tho, wouldn't your boyfriend be mad about spending late nights with me?" he dragged out his words a little. "i don't have a boyfriend." responding immediately , felt like you had to.

he laughs slightly at your reply. "just expected someone as pretty as you are to be taken already." his words made your face feel hot, how did he do that. he's left you speechless..

"tell me y/n, what are you doing after this?" his voice became a bit deeper, with a sultry tone. "probably sleeping, wouldn't want to stay up too late." nodding his head, seems like a reasonable to do.. what's he thinking?

"well after this i'm also heading to bed, but just before i sleep i'm going to think about how cute you look in that tank top." all the heat from your face just went straight to your core. did he mean that..

he ran his hand through his hair. "and how it'd look if i just lifted it up just right above your tits.. running my fingers lightly over you." starting to squirm in your chair. how's this even happening. "i'm getting hard just thinking about it right now, too bad i'll have to imagine it." biting his bottom lip as he stares back at you for a bit. "anyways, lets get back to work, wouldn't want you to sleep late." he went back to flipping through his papers.

you blinked at how fast he was able to move from that. he can't just talk to you like that and you get nothing out of it, no fair. after collecting your thoughts you get back to work, still no music playing. you could hear soobin's breathing, and how fast your heart is beating still.

you knew soobin's eye's shifted to your screen quite often, maybe he wanted to make sure you were focused, maybe he just wanted to just be reminded how hot you looked right now. deciding to lean in closer to your laptop, your breast would squish closer together, looking like they might spill out of your loose tank top.

soobin groans."don't do that." he leans back in his chair. "do what?" playing dumb. you notice his right hand is blow his desk, what if he's stroking himself.."you seem distracted soobin, remember, we still have 30 minutes to work tonight." he rolls his eyes, "how about another break? I'm sorta getting tired of this assignment."

you lean back in your seat, keeping eye contact with him on the screen. "sure, it's up to you." soobin's right hand still unseen, you wanna play see what he's up to so bad. "oh come on, you don't wanna show me what you're busy doing?" his tongue darts out his mouth swiping across his bottom lip and bitting down on it before speaking. "so eager? our break just started." scoffing at his reply, you lean right back in closer.

"come on let me see..i'll do whatever you want right after." earning a whimper from him, he goes to move his pc camera down slightly and scoots back a little. he was wearing grey sweats, they were pulled down slightly along with his boxers. entire cock out, stroking it slowly. you could see the small beads of precum coming out from his pretty pink tip. wondering how much that pc camera cost..

you could moan at this sight, him biting his lip so he doesn't release any sounds, feeling so vulnerable from you staring at him in this state. "you look so cute soobin." his whimpers still being held back. "your turn now, please?" "fine if you say so."

thinking about his fantasy, deciding to make it real. you lift your top slowly and letting it rest just above your breast like he imagined. his faced was so torn, losing it over how hot you looked. running your fingers all over your chest, teasing yourself with your soft touches and grazes. this just felt so hot, everything about this was so hot.

"you're just as gorgeous as i imagined, so pretty baby, can i call you that?" he sounded so good. the slight whine in his voice and pauses in his sentences, you would do anything he asked. "yes please, do whatever you want." "so needy, how cute."

still playing with his tip "wish i could kiss those pretty tits, pinch them and hear your pretty moans, could you do that for me baby?" your breathing is heavy, nodding at him. lifting both your hands, with just the tips of your pointer fingers, rubbing them both your nipples lightly. you felt so sensitive, jolting at your own touches, you could hear him moaning at you. eye lids wanting to close but you kept them open and you could see his left hand going under his shirt and rubbing his chest, you could see his abs... there's no way he's real.

after teasing your nipples for a few more seconds, deciding to pinch them, immediately letting out a loud moan. "god yes, let me hear you." you could see his fist moving up and down his cock faster as he watched you tease yourself. "wanna touch yourself pretty? please i wanna see how you do it."

he's making you feel so good and he's not even here, you need him so bad after this. your right hand starts diving down to your shorts, under your panties. "let me see how wet you are baby." collecting some of your slick to show him. "your so wet, i wish i could taste you..will you let me next time?" thank goodness he feels the same way.

going back to under shorts, you flicked your clit a couple of times, earning him some more of your pretty moans. slipping one finger in, thrusting it as fast as you could on your own. left hand still playing with your breast, everything felt so good, soobin's voice praising you and moaning after. "you wanna cum so badly don't you? wish it was my fingers?" "uh huh." nodding as you inserted a second finger, his words felt so good.

"i'm gonna cum soon baby, keep moaning for me pretty. cum with me, wanna see you lose it." you both kept going until you felt that knot in your stomach snap. thighs shaking, bitting down on your bottom lip. you didn't know you could be this loud. soobin's moans when he came were so mouthwatering, throwing his head back while he came with ropes of cum. wanna taste him..

"so good baby, you did so good for me." trying to catch your breathing, pulling your top down to cover yourself, licking your cum off your fingers. "so dirty for me." "your so hot soobin." orgasm high hitting you fast, you just wanna compliment him and kiss him so bad, wishing he was here. "that felt so good, i can't believe it."

after the both of you guys calmed down, just in each other silent presence. "i'm glad that happened. i didn't really plan for that but, you just.. looked really good right now." making you blush again, he's so kissable. "maybe we could work on the project at my place next time, or yours.." "yea i'd like that."

[seullovesme]

fevers and flowers w/ bae irene

i love irene, my cutie patootie pie☹️☹️☹️

pairing ⥬ irene x sick!reader

request ⥬ IRENE AND SICK GF READER DRABBLE PLEEK 😭

easy - mac ayres

irene made it a tradition to bring you at least one flower every time she visited, and she really stuck to it. she could only come so often with her busy schedule, so you made sure to take the best care of each precious flower so that she could come to a colorful arrangement filled with her gifts.

typing in your passcode into the lock, she entered the house as quiet as possible, hoping to surprise you. she immediately dashed to your flower vase with a big grin, excited to see her "pretty babies", as she liked to call them.

but to her own surprise, they were looking quite limp and dull. she frowned, knowing you would never let them reach a state like this. irene switched out the water and tried her best to care for them, saddened by their appearance. they seemed sad too.

once she was finished, irene did not pause before going to find you. pushing open your room door, she realized why the flowers were so down. their mother was sick!

you groaned as the light from the hall shined into your room, the brightness hurting your head like crazy. irene furrow her brows and climbed onto your bed, sitting beside you. she pressed the back of her hand against your forehead and felt how hot you were. despite being almost as hot as the sun, you were shivering like crazy under your thick blanket. you leaned into irene's touch and hummed, finding comfort in the touch of your girlfriend.

the sight was stressing bae joohyun out. you should've called! or at least messaged saying that you were so unwell. as she left the room, you whined, missing her already. not even a minute later, she returned with a bowl of cool water and a towel. soaking it first, she placed the towel onto your head while stroking your cheek lovingly.

"you silly girl, why didn't you say anything? i would've been here much sooner..."

you smiled at her sweet words, touched by the love of your girlfriend once again. there was never a day where irene forgot to show you how much she loved you. through her gift of flowers to her caring for you when you're sick, to even just her words, they all expressed the pure love she had for you.

"it's okay, all that matters is that you're here now."

<3

[heartfullofleeches]

Clown teacher reader-

-

So many flowers today! ♡

For your first teaching gig, things were going along swell so far. Your students were just the sweetest and with the greenlight of your superiors you were allowed to let your creative voice shine within the space of your classroom. You couldn't forget the kindest of your fellows teachers either. Arriving early to prepare for the day, you enter your assigned room to find your desk and every table topped with a bouquet of white roses. Their cream color worked well with your choice of colorblock decor. Like little clouds at the end of a rainbow. Shame about the window being left open, though.

You've gotten gifts before, but this was definitely a new record. You gather them all up and place them on your desk, curious as to what you should do. Stray petals and leaves litter the floor like a twister gone through a flower shop and as beautiful as they were, they could be a distraction for some. What to do.... Warm, fluorescent light bleeds through a petal you pluck from your sleeve, dying it a soft yellow. So pretty - if only you could capture it somehow. Didn't the teacher next door mention food coloring in their supplies the other day?

"Helloo?"

Right on time. Marking their page with the bookmark you gave them, your neighboring teacher motions you to enter their room. Their eye meet yours from the blinds you poked your head through, lips forced into a business appropriate smile. You grin like you're meeting with your closest friend after a heartfelt goodbye. It's little things in life that make people go crazy.

"Goodmorning, Y/n. Is there something I can do for you?"

Your bold stride takes a tumble as you reach their desk. "Yes, actually. Wasn't trying to be nosy, but I noticed you had some food dye and I was given some flowers today so I thought it would be a nice experiment to do to begin the day."

"That's a wonderful idea. That was a little mix up at the store, so you can take it all. Would you like help setting up?"

"Sure!"

With their help, and scissors, you trim enough roses for your class. They did majority of the work for you and finished sooner than you would've by a long shot. How they were so skilled while looming over your shoulder was a mystery to you. They tuck the last rose behind your ear, smile as genuine as yours before.

The classroom door opens.

"Oh! Look at the time! Thank you so much for your help." Throwing your arms around them in the quickest display of your gratitude, you release them just as easily and scoop up a pile of roses as you rush to the door. They almost didn't let you go.

"Goodmorning everyone! Please take one and head to your seat."

But watching you from afar was almost as sweet.

[bon2bonn]

Paper hearts PT.1

Lets go!🥊🌼

MMA!fighter!Max Verstappen X female!reader

Max verstappen X fem!reader

Words count : 1.3k

09:30 The buzzing audience held their breath as the third round rolled in , anticipating the movements of both opponents as they glide across the ring circling around before lunging to attacck .

He had the upper hand through the previous rounds , now defending perfectly before cornering his opponent delivering quick and brutal punches and kicks . Before spinning a 360° to aim a back kick that knocked him out . The audience roared as the referee declared it a K.O . The bell rang declaring him the winner .

The flashing cameras, the swarms of people congratulating him shaking his hands , clamping him on the back as he passed and chanting his name all fade into white noise in the confidence of the locker room , his team high on spirit all congratulate him again as he thanked them all for their efforts and support making a small speech a promise to more wins and more achievements to come .

getting checked by one of the medics as everyone was backing up or busy with their own thing preparing to celebrate yet another win , his father approached , not looking so pleased with his win , "that would've finished sooner if you didn't let your gaurds down the first round" . he huffed collecting his bag shoving his phone and wallet in getting ready to leave adding curtly "I had it covered" , his father replayed with great annoyance "it could have cost you the match" max just stared at him "it didn't, and if that's not enough for you" he raised the belt giving him a pissed look "this should be enough for you to get you off my back , and fuck off" .

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02:45 She hastly pocketed her phone , wore a hoodie , an old baseball cap , picking her shoes and tiptoeing to the window carefully , opening the latch and looking out the window for a minute or so , then she threw her shoes out making sure to not hit the overly expensive uniquely designed (ugly) birds statue's strewn across the garden , then she pulled herself out the window sitting on the ledge . The hight still gave her nausea , the third floor is not that easy to psych yourself to get down from , specially when your way down is an old piping system that she's totally sure is rusted out , but she'll make do with what she got , and that's what she got now so she reached to the pipe with one hand steadily sliding to firmly plant her bare feet on the sides of it , she counted in her mind then she pulled her Wight off the window and latched both her hands and feet onto the main pipe , sliding slowly down to the floor below, pausing every now and then to make sure it's still Holding and that no one woke up .

Letting an exaggerated huff as she finally reached the ground , putting her shoes on and making sure the coast is clear then climbed up the fence and made a run down the road heading north .

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03:15 his flight touched down , late flights are a pleasing when the airport looked almost deserted , finding a cap he gave the address leaning back , looking out the window at the lamp posts eliminating the empty streets , flashing as the car passed them . Closing his eyes for a second to ease his mind . Looking to the left he had a glimpse of a silhouette lying down atop the hill basking in the night sky view , and for the moment he wished he'd be in their place , to be content with just being out in the open fields . The car took a turn snapping him out ah his thoughts looking at his phone buzzing with texts from his friends and family but mostly from his father , rolling his eyes he switched it off throwing it on his Carry-on bag going back to gaze out the window .

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04:48 lying down with a pleased humm after she managed to climb up the hill , passing by the tall unkempt grass on the edge of the park right behind the line of trees framing the bond . The clearing of grass rolled on all around the hill reaching all the way to the old fencing of the highway exit , it's a long walk but the atmosphere is worth the effort , it's quite and calming , the air clear and cool against her face taking in deep breath exhaling it slowly in a relaxed manner .

The lights from the lamp posts on the road blended with the gleaming stars in the distance, the moon is almost full Maybe in two more nights it'll reach it's peak before fading out to nothing .

After a while she glanced at the time , cursing as she lost track letting her mind drift not aware how much time passed , she stood up walking back down the hill heading to a side entrance for a short cut instead of the main gate , waving at the figure sitting on a bench facing the lake as she passed by , speeding up after they waved back at her .

She stepped out moving in a fast pace close to a run crossing the street and going back .

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04: 50 he unlocked his front door taking off his shoes and hanging up his jacket greeted by his cats burring as he held them up scratching behind their ears as they Burred in content relaxing and leaning into his hold , leaving his bag by the living room entrance as he sets them down then watching as they padded away before going straight to take a quick shower , then to bed , falling asleep not a minute later.

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05:02 she climbed back in through the window , discarding her hoodie somewhere around her room , her cap going to the bedside table and her shoes kicked by the door , landing on her bed with a tired huff she tossed her phone on the carpeted floor below the bed turning to face the wall before drifting into a restless sleep .

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08:00 he's already awake , doing a warm up exercises and putting together a meal to start the day . Checking the kitchen to make a list for later , feeding the cats before grabbing his gym bag locking his door and heading out .

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08:10 she woke up after the third snooze alarm blaring out to get her to move off the bed , she was thankful for putting together something to wear the night before . Taking a quick shower, brushing her teeth and her hair before grabbing the day's necessary items putting them in her bag then heading out in a sprint , leaving in a haste she opted to get something to eat on the way .

Her first stop is Angela's shop . Giving the owner a warm greeting along with Marc who started working three weeks ago, taking the two separate bouquet's paying and thanking her again before moving to the next stop .

Turning the corner she pumped into someone, causing her bag and flowers to fall along with the stranger's bag , both apologizing while picking up their things apologizing again before she hastly went on her way .

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He was about to go on his way looking down he found a single flower laying down before him , muttering quietly "it must've fell from her" , turning after picking it up to give it back , he only saw her back getting lost in the crowded street ahead . Looking down at it he decided against throwing it away , he held it gently adjusting the bag on his shoulder Before moving on on his way .

[splaede]

AFTER DARK. Armin Arlert (CH. 4)

☰ pairings: Armin x Reader, Slight Eren x Reader

┌─ ✮⭒｡ story summary: Armin was tired of being seen as an innocent, goody-two-shoes, little flower boy. Instead, he wanted to be seen in a more romantic and…sexual light. You just couldn’t turn down a sweet boy like him, so you agreed to hone his charms and teach him special…skills.

And he turned out to be much more powerful (and hotter) than you'd ever expected.

└─ ✩⭒｡ story #tags: fluff, angst, smut, friends to lovers, friends w benefits, drama, jealousy, hurt/comfort, manipulative armin, virgin armin, loss of virginity, childhood friends, lots of tension, nerd armin, and then he glows up, love triangles, unrequited love, gaslighting, lots of buildup

☰ CHAPTER FOUR. armin's confidence

┌─ ✮⭒｡ chapter summary: You and Armin tackle one of his insecurities. Later that night, things somehow get a little too close for comfort.

└─ ✩⭒｡ chapter warnings: none

☰ table of contents | previous chapter | next chapter

Nighttime had fallen at a snail's pace—so horribly and painstakingly slow to the point where you had nothing to do at home but remind yourself about the fact that you had disappeared on Eren and Mikasa. Even worse, you'd left right after your last few text messages, specifically the one saying you had been there.

So far, nothing from either of them. You wondered if they'd even read what you had sent.

The moment you decided to finally apologize and fill them in on your whereabouts, your phone suddenly rang. 

A call from Eren.

Oh, speak of the devil.

It had been two hours since you'd last seen him and since you'd last left with Armin. You hastily picked up his call with fumbling fingers.

"Where are you?"

His voice echoed loudly from your palms, gruff and agitated. He sounded more angry, more frantic than you were expecting, and you instantly felt the guilt creep into your veins. You would've called him sooner if Armin hadn't been engrossing you in an embarrassing story that he told a little too loudly at your restaurant table.

"I'm at home," you answered plainly.

"Sorry, I meant, where were you? Why'd you two leave Trost’s Kitchen?"

You wondered how he knew that you'd left their restaurant. It didn't take an idiot to take a look around and see how that all of the tables were occupied, but the confidence he spoke with unsettled you.

If he knew, then why hadn't he said anything earlier? You didn't blame him, though. He looked like he was having a good time. In fact, you hadn't texted for the same reason.

You were convinced it was as if he called you because he just wanted to hear the reason for himself—as if he insisted you had been somewhere else other than your home.

As if he'd expected you and Armin to run off.

You suddenly blanched at your thinking. You were sure the more rational reason was that Eren probably realized how busy and packed Trost's Kitchen was.

Jabbing at your volume button, you quickly explained, "I'm so sorry, Eren. The line there was long, so Armin and I ate somewhere else. I forgot to tell you earlier."

Then, nothing.

Nothing but the static of your phone and the distant hum of your air conditioning. 

You were so, so guiltily aware of the silence on the other end of the line.

Glancing at your screen, you finally heard Eren's breath hitch amidst the drone of white noise. Then, a breath of hesitance.

"Oh really...?"

He paused.

"You two are always leaving us."

This time, you paused. Pressing your lips together, you let your entire face simmer into a slow confusion.

Always?

In the split second before you had left Trost's Kitchen, you hadn't been the slightest bit hesitant to leave, not when Armin had been holding out his hand so invitingly, but a greedy, Eren-shaped inkling inside of you had told you otherwise—told you that you would've been willing to stay.

You hadn't realized you were holding your breath until long after he'd finished his sentence.

Always…?

His words rang in your head again. You could clearly hear the disappointment in his voice and vividly picture that twitch of dejectedness on his face when something upset him.

"Eren, what do you mean?"

"You two just…always leave together. Out of nowhere."

He stopped himself for a second, and you could only assume he was ruminating over his words.

"Never mind, actually. It’s okay, don’t worry. We can eat together next time, okay? Night, Y/N."

Was he truly upset? You didn't think it was that big of a big deal, nor did you think he'd care. Things happen, right?

"Night, Eren."

You couldn't tell who hung up first.

Maybe it was all just a misunderstanding. Maybe you were too caught up in the scene, saw them both together, and ran with it. Maybe it was a friendly outing and that was the just nature of their friendship—when they were alone, at least.

The nature of their...friendship.

God, you were starting to overthink again.

How could you not when you had witnessed Eren, your best friend (who you liked a little more than a best friend), and Mikasa, your other best friend, getting along in a way that suggested they were more than friends?

Not that you had gotten uselessly butthurt and let it ruin your night, but it wasn’t something that you had expected.

You sighed. Today's evening ended in a certain guilt that you couldn't seem to scratch off. You guessed it’d be better to leave it alone. The night offered you good things, too, like Armin getting a haircut and treating you to dinner.

You needed to thank him for that some more. He had kept true to his words, made up for leaving, and bought you your favorite meal—without having to ask you where and what you wanted to eat.

Armin was such a sweet friend, wasn't he?

"Y/N, you can choose."

As soon as you had gotten off work the next day, you were quick to accept Armin's offer for a movie night. He was at your apartment to pick you up in a matter of minutes.

What was supposed to be a short visit to the supermarket for movie snacks turned into a long rendezvous to fulfill Armin's grocery shopping list. You were hoping he'd stop once you'd passed by the same frozen foods section for the third time, but he continued his trek down the aisle one more time.

Now standing blindly in the middle of a different aisle, you peered at the shelves of big-branded, colorful chip bags. From the corner of your eye, you saw Armin fiddle with a price tag holder as he awaited your response.

"Let's get these," you suggested, extending your hand.

Before you had the chance to pull the bag from the shelf, he reached it first, plastic crinkling in his hand as he tossed it into the cart.

"Good choice," he chimed.

The shopping cart was moving now, rattling in tandem with the taps of his shoes and the mellow syllables of his voice. Your steps fell into a rhythmic pattern next to his own.

Armin turned to you with a smooth grin. "Do you want to eat my mom's cooking tonight, or do you prefer we buy something? We can order your favorite again."

"Your mom's cooking, for sure. I've missed it."

He beamed, eyes creasing cheerfully at the corners. "I'll make sure she makes extra, then."

Armin sounded excited, almost boyish, and you could see the young, childish, long-haired Armin peeking through the cracks of his innocent smile.

As your eyes flitted away from his wide grin and creased eyes, you were reminded of his short hair. You didn't think you'd ever get used to his new haircut, or if you'll ever be not surprised when you see him. It was so weird—but so good.

He looked pretty.

You two were a short stroll away from checkout when you spotted someone you knew, lingering on their phone just a few steps past the cashiers and near the joint Starbucks cafe. Someone with a familiar head of buzzed hair and a stupid, lopsided grin.

"Connie?" you blurted, earning you a weird look from Armin. "Look over there. You wanna say hi?"

The cart rolled to a slow stop, metal rattling against the friction.

“That means he's going to be the first to see my hair."

You watched him run nimble fingers through his blonde tresses. A few odd strands stuck up comically, but if anything, you thought it made him look cuter. His face, strewn together with worried brows, fluttered closer to what you think was trepidation. And maybe, just maybe, you began to see a trace of familiar insecurity.

"Armin, are you still set on it being a surprise?" you jabbed. In return, he smiled shyly, as if you caught him in the act.

"It won't be a surprise after Connie sees. You know he won't keep quiet." Armin chuckled and shook his head. "I'm going to check out first. I'll meet you guys over there."

The smile he waved you off with was angelic. It pulled gently and sweetly at the corners of his lips, but…it was avoidant. Avoidant and insecure at the thought of someone seeing him.

You didn't get a chance to reciprocate it before he walked off.

"Connie!"

At the call of his name, Connie perked up, eyeing you as you strode to him. He was quick to shoot you an eager, crooked smile.

"Y/N? You're here, too? Didn't expect to run into you." Holding onto his Starbucks cup and still smiling, he tapped your arm as a sign of a friendly greeting.

Before you could even muster a reply, your mouth shut quickly, and you were met with the cold, wet feeling of his cup against your skin. You looked to your side, seeing water pellets trickling down the slope of your arm, wet from the condensate of his Starbucks drink.

In front of you, Connie burst out laughing, leaving you to glower at him.

You wiped at your damp arm with a grimace. "You dumbass," you chided.

Connie only laughed harder, loud and hearty, relishing your sour expression. "Sorry."

He most definitely was not sorry.

You glanced around, hoping that he'd either calm down or laugh quieter because he was attracting an unsettling amount of onlookers from the Starbucks nearby. Neither of those things happened when you hear the sound of Connie's "oh shit!" and the clamor of noisy ruckus and plastic.

You looked down. Connie had just dropped his store-bought container of rotisserie chicken.

Now, it was your turn to laugh. "Connie, why the hell do you have a whole rotisserie chicken?" You had seen it earlier, previously wedged between his arm and torso, but it had now fallen to a sad spot on the supermarket floor.

He rolled his eyes. "You already know Sasha is a pig."

You stood there stupidly with an equally stupid smile, shifting in your shoes as you scrutinized the way he picked up the container from the floor. Something weird always happened when you were around Connie.

"Oh yeah, Y/N, wanna come to my apartment on Saturday?"

You shot him a suggestive look, raising a brow. "Alone?"

His face twisted wryly, and he scoffed at your insinuation. "No! With everybody! Unless..." he challenged, but quickly shook his head when you clicked your tongue. "I was just about to tell the group chat. You coming?"

"Yeah," you began, watching him abruptly swivel around when the barista called his name. "I'll be there."

"That's my order." He motioned to the coffee shop, then glanced at the cup that was already in his hand. "I forgot to get Jean's drink."

You sighed. "You're so dumb that it's laughable."

He pretended not to hear you, but you saw that not-so-subtle eye roll. "Whatever, I'll text you the details, okay? See you!"

And Connie was off.

And you were suddenly startled by a voice behind you.

"Hi, Y/N. Connie left?" Armin shuffled up next to you, pushing the shopping cart that was now filled with grocery bags.

"Mhm," you hummed, "He just left."

"Aw, that sucks."

"Did you purposely avoid him so he wouldn't see your hair?"

He strolled past you, barely letting you catch a glimpse of his faint, smug, and cunning little smile. "No. Why would I do that?"

But the warm, sheepish laugh that betrayed him gave it all away. Like a contagious melody to your ears, you couldn't help but laugh along as you caught up to him.

The moment the two of made it past the exit doors, you were abruptly struck with the late-afternoon sunlight.

Summertime had been pretty relentless lately, and you never did like the hot weather. You were willing to push past that hate to enjoy the peaceful afternoon, but everything was far from your goal of peace. You couldn't quite shake off the downcast of bright light, the incessant screech of the rattling shopping cart against the bumpy pavement, and a new nagging thought in your head.

The walk to his car felt...oddly domestic.

You wondered if Armin was aware of it too, the way he coincidentally threw you a glance. You ignored the scrutiny of his curious eyes and faced ahead.

Attempting to distract yourself from your weird thoughts, you turned to Armin. "Connie wants us to hang out at his place on Saturday. We should go."

He nodded slowly in thought, lips curling into a pleased expression. "Sure. I'm free."

Against your better judgment, you disregarded how off-putting his smile looked, and how ominously his eyes glinted beneath the afternoon sun.

"I'll go anywhere you go," he affirmed.

His almost affectionate answer didn't phase you, not in the slightest, not until Eren's words from last night suddenly came crashing down on you.

You two are always leaving us.

Maybe Eren was right. Armin did seem to follow you wherever you go, and you to him. Even when he asked to hang out, you agreed in a heartbeat, and with Armin's admittance, there was nothing to deny about Eren's observation.

God, it really does seem like it, doesn't it?

You realized how much it had happened recently. Armin following you down Eren's stairs when you left to turn up the air conditioning. Armin taking you home after a day of cleaning at Eren's house. The two of you ditching Eren and Mikasa at the restaurant.

Oh, god, another wave of realization.

The air conditioning. Eren's backyard porch. Where it all started.

"Armin?"

"Yeah?" he mirrored, sparing you a curious blue-eyed glance, blinking away the glare of sunlight ricocheting off his pupils. He leaned in ever-so-subtly, attention tuning into you.

"Do you remember last Saturday? When we fell asleep at Eren's house?" You could see your silhouette in the reflection of his pupils, and you could only hope your worry didn't translate onto your face. "What did you say to Mikasa and Eren before you followed me?"

As the shopping cart took a sharp turn toward his car, it fell silent. The only indication that he heard you was his contemplative stare and the hesitant tremble on his lips.

"Um..." He pulled the trunk open, misty blue eyes distant and unblinking. "Nothing. I didn't say anything. Why? Did something happen?"

Eren's words resurfaced in your head once more.

You two are always leaving us.

You paled at the looming insinuation of you and Armin doing something more—being something more, and how it might've seemed that way to Eren. Knowing that Armin hadn't said anything and left on his own accord make it all the more suspicious.

You and Armin wouldn’t be anything more, right?

The rustle of plastic brought you back to the blonde boy beside you, absentmindedly sliding the shopping bags into the trunk.

Lifting a plastic bag from the cart, you dismissed his question, "No, nothing happened."

His lips curled into an understanding smile. At least, that was what you hoped it was.

Trunk slamming shut, you quickly shuffled away to open the passenger door, Armin following suit on his side. Before you could even fully sit down, you peered out the driver's window just in time to witness Armin getting knocked forward by the neighboring car door.

You heard a muffled "Ah!" escape his mouth as he clutched the shirt fabric of his back, and you didn't have time to register your initial shock when the culprit stepped out with hands over her mouth.

Hitch?

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry! I wasn't looking!" you heard, although still muffled, from inside the car.

Armin swiftly turned around, his shock replaced by even more as they met eye-to-eye.

"Hitch?" The corners of his lips twitched in surprise, bows furrowing incredulously.

Hitch returned his expression, eyes widening until you swear her lashes touched her eyebrows. She leaned closer to his face as her mouth hangs open. "Armin? Oh my God. You got a haircut? I haven't seen you in so long.”

Instinctively, his hand went to grasp his hair. "Oh, yeah...!"

Breathing out a soft laugh, she grinned. "Wow, it looks great. This is really different."

This was a strange situation; you were stuck inside Armin's car, listening and watching as he spoke to Hitch (meeting her was a coincidence in itself) while she was clueless about your presence. In a supermarket parking lot, no less. If Connie were still here (which was a coincidence that you'd met him here, too), it would've been a lot weirder.

Armin pressed his lips together into a shy smile as the apples of his cheeks reddened, discreetly flickering you a nervous glance through the car window. "Thank you," he mumbled.

At this, Hitch shook her head. "You're so cute and innocent. Still the same as ever."

You smiled to yourself. What an unusual compliment. You were sure she meant no harm, but judging by the tension in his stance and the reluctant twitch at the corner of his lips, you started to think it wasn't so harmless.

The moment he opened his mouth to reply, she quickly turned to the sound of her name being called from behind her.

"I gotta go now." She gestured to her friend. "What a coincidence we met here, right? See you, Armin."

With a slow, sure smile, Armin finally eased from his awkward position, offering her a friendly wave. "Yeah, see you."

He shot her one more glance, and then you were suddenly hit with three things all in the span of what you swore was just a second: the door clicking open, the door shutting close, and the shuffle of his thighs hitting the seat.

"What a coincidence," you echoed.

For a moment, it was quiet, only the distant rattle of metal shopping carts and the slamming of trunks. Armin stilled, tense hands hovering the wheel almost ghostly, shrewd eyes unblinking and staring into nothing.

"Is that how people view me?" Armin's voice rang out, a clear tenor resonating in the calm silence. His hands were now away from the steering wheel and instead shoved inside his pockets, fishing for his car keys.

As the jangling and clattering filled your senses, you were left with no other option than to question him. "What do you mean?"

He wedged his keys into the socket, twisting until the engine whirred to a start, overlapping the sound of his exasperation. "Is that how people view me? I'm just so...I'm so cute and innocent. I don't want that. I don't—I don't like that."

You finally saw it now. You saw the shell—the fragile, little shell that he hid behind all this time. It was so clear, so telling, so reminiscent of the timid boy that used to cling to you when his insecurities deluded him.

"It was nice to hear these types of compliments at first, but it feels demeaning now, as if...as if people are looking down at me and seeing some weak, geeky, innocent kid that doesn't know any better. Makes me feel...inferior."

God, you felt bad. You'd be a fool for not catching onto his self-esteem issues—everyone would be a fool for not catching onto his self-esteem issues, and yet no one did anything. It was there, lingering, but never long enough nor clear enough for a real conversation.

You turned away with a frown. "Then, what do you want to be seen as?"

He inhaled sharply, but his final breath is barely audible to you, fluttering out in a hesitant rhythm. His eyes were trained on the road as he squinted and pondered over his words.

This was the second time this week that you were wrapped up in a personal conversation in his car.

Remind yourself to be careful next time.

"I don't know. Just not what I am right now," he muttered. "I want to be confident and, and—"

For a quiet moment, you listened to Armin stumble over his words. And when he finally gulped, he continued in a weighty whisper as you leaned in.

"Not a nerd. Not a lame, good kid. I want to be appealing. I want to be seen in a confident light. In a—in a sexual light." He was almost gulping down his words, shy and uncertain and...embarrassed.

And you, on the other hand, felt your cheeks involuntarily heat up. There was nothing inherently dirty about his words; it was just that you wouldn't have guessed he wanted to be like that.

With a long sigh, you replied, "I understand you, Armin. Um, I've known you felt this way for a while."

You had to know. You were aware of his image. After all, you had seen him grow up, seen the way he talked to people, heard all the things people said about him. Being close to him, you were privy to a lot of his thoughts, a lot of the sides that most people didn't see.

Except for this one.

The romantic, sexual side of Armin. Gosh, you didn't think there was one. Not yet, at least. You needed to be the person who helped him build it.

Even as you pondered what'd he'd be like (Would he get a lot of attention? How would he talk to people?) your thoughts abandoned you and drifted back to that guileless, pure, pretty-boy face of his.

Maybe you were just like Hitch. Just like everyone else.

When you didn't hear him answer, you felt an aching jab of regret swell in your gut.

"Armin, how about…" You clasped your hands together, playing with your thumbs as you cast him a glance. “…we work on it right now?"

"Wh—"

The car suddenly swerved.

You yelped. It sent you rocking to the side, pressing you against the door momentarily and leaving you steadying yourself on the dashboard.

"Armin!"

"Wait, what?"

He sounded worried, voice faltering and cracking a pitch. He looked like he saw a ghost, wide, frantic eyes and mouth agape in a way that confused you as you sat dumbfounded.

"What was that?!" You snapped your head towards him.

"Sorry! I'm so sorry! It's just that—" He frowned nervously, apprehension washing over his face. "Work on what? W—what do you mean by that?"

You sent him a quizzical look, one that almost mimicked his, as he brought a nervous hand to scratch at his neck. "What do you mean?" You jabbed an accusing finger at him.

"Um, you said we should work on it. I thought you—thought you meant...me being seen in a sexual..." he stuttered, cutting himself off as shame seeped into his red cheeks. His mouth was pressed together, and his hand quickly came to card through his hair anxiously. "Oh, God. Never mind."

Oh my God. You felt your face heat up and flush, and you couldn't tell if it was from embarrassment or the dirty weight behind his words. He was next to you, shoulders tense and a flustered frown, and you instinctively averted your gaze to the window beside you.

"No, no! I mean, like, we can work on your confidence!" You shook your head. Gosh, how do you even recover from this? "You know, practice talking."

"Oh, oh. Yeah, um, we can do that. I'm so sorry," he rambled, a deep—almost shamefully deep—blush still dusting his cheekbones. Armin rolled his shoulders in what seemed like an attempt to relax, and you unconsciously mirrored him in turn.

"Okay, first, from what I saw with you and Hitch, make eye contact. It's just good to engage, and you'll look more confident. Simple, right?"

"Eye contact. Got it.”

"Let's practice, then." You humored him with a challenging stare. "Right now."

"Right now? But I'm driv—"

"Now."

His head immediately swiveled to you, and Armin briefly met your gaze, fear etched into his crinkled eyes, but the moment ran short-lived before the car swerved slightly. Again.

"Sorry! I got nervous." Armin's worry quickly dissipated into agitation. "I shouldn't have listened to you, Y/N,” he sighed.

You burst into laughter, releasing your hand from where it was clutching the door. "Oh my gosh, I'm sorry. I just wanted to mess with you."

Armin huffed in regret, but his pressed lips soon succumbed to that familiar, genuine smile. You knew he was weak to your jokes.

"Okay, you ready for the next thing?" You looked at him for affirmation, and he gave you a cute nod. "Next, talk to people like you already know them, like you're already friends. I guess just...try to open up."

"How?"

"Hm, you can tell them about yourself. Depending on the situation, try filling the other person in on what just happened. Don't be afraid to joke around and be sarcastic. But, still be nice about it, you know, be you."

"Oh, okay okay." 

"Oh! And another little thing, mirroring is good. If someone asks you a question, ask it again, and then answer it. It's more of like a teasing thing."

As the familiar array of brick walls and wood paneling and colored roofs filled your field of vision, you realized you were in Armin's neighborhood now. It was peaceful here—it always had been—and you were suddenly reminiscing about your childhood weekends playing on Armin's front lawn.

"I'll use you and Hitch as an example. You'll be Hitch, and I'll be you, okay? Ask me if I got a haircut."

He chuckled and flashed you a curious look. "Okay. Did you get a haircut?"

"A haircut? Yeah, got it yesterday. Feels weird, I've never had my hair this short before."

Armin's head drooped in laughter—and maybe embarrassment, bringing a hand to push back his bangs as he lifted his head. "Wow, amazing acting, Y/N." The car lightly rocked when he turned into his house's driveway, and his eyes drifted to your expectant stare.

"What, you don't like my haircut?" Your lips curl into a frown, and you batted your eyelashes innocently, a likely awful attempt at pleading. You cocked your head to the side.

He briskly shook his head, stammering, "No! No, I think it's great! Wait I mean—" Armin caught himself, smiling and laughing bashfully to himself as he twisted his car keys from the engine. It whirred to a baritone stop. "This isn't even real." He laughed.

His laughter contaminated you, sweetly ringing through your ears. "See, those are the kind of jokes you should make. It sort of flusters the other person. But don't do the face I made. That was a joke."

Unbuckling his seatbelt, Armin grinned wryly. "Trust me, I won't."

Before unbuckling yours, you punch him lightly in the arm. "Real funny, Armin. I like this sarcastic side of you."

The two of you stumbled out of his car, and the snap of the trunk door, the click of the doorknob, and the ruffle of grocery bags all passed in a moment you barely remembered.

Nighttime approached, and this time, it fell much faster and much more pleasantly than yesterday.

With the hours ticking by, you found yourself snuggled next to Armin, arm-to-arm and thigh-to-thigh beneath the weight of soft blankets and the drone of the TV. Some typical, cheesy romance drama. It was your last resort really, and he insisted that you both watch something new.

Armin was mindlessly holding the bowl of chips, fingers laying loosely around the rim as the contents almost tipped over. But you didn’t fix it; instead, you reached out a hand and plucked a chip from the bowl. He looked disoriented, almost entranced—a little too entranced—by the television screen.

By now, his parents had been long asleep. It was just you two in the dim light of his living room.

Just the two of you.

God, you were a hypocrite.

After what felt like an hour of stillness, you finally broke the silence.

"That's going to be you and Annie one day." You pointed at the screen.

Armin stole a glance at your face with sleepy, lidded eyes, pupils shrinking and dilating in the change of light. He peered back at the TV. It was the main couple, who finally kiss after a million episodes. The scene was corny, fake even, and the actors barely looked like they were really kissing.

He snorted. "That's if I get her to even fall for me. I doubt I have what it takes." A sigh slipped from his lips.

"Armin, I don't know what you're so insecure about. I know you have what it takes. And you're good-looking, too, okay?" You ran a hand through his blonde locks. "Promise."

Armin sank into your touch, the weight of his head heavy in your palm. "Feels good when you say that," he murmured.

An unconscious, courteous smile rose to your lips. A beat of silence passed, long enough for you to zone back into the show.

"Y/N?"

You craned your neck to him. "Hm?"

He was already facing you, nose a hair's breadth away from yours. Something curious swam beneath his pupils, startlingly intense and illuminated by the blinding light of the television.

"Would you—" He pulled away tentatively, gulping hard, and then he was quickly back onto you, inching even closer. This time, you feel a ghost of a touch grazing the tip of your nose.

Here it was.

You knew it was coming. You knew he was going to ask you a question—something so personal, so heavy—that only seemed to unfurl when you and he were alone. And you could do nothing but push aside the growing anxiousness that gnawed at your thoughts.

A breath of nervousness, and he resumed.

"Would you ever help me...physically?"

It came out in a hushed, uncertain whisper. His breath swept over your lips, a feeling that made you realize how intimate this was—how you two were so, so close.

You felt your eyebrows raise, because of the short distance from your lips, the way he gulped—the way you gulped, you were starting to think this might lead to something else. He only inched closer.

"What—" you stuttered. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, I'm not really experienced in that—in that, you know, that kinda stuff." His eyes, bright and blue, slowly dragged down to your lips, then back up instantly. There was a new fear in his pupils, like he wasn't supposed to do that. "And—and I don't want to seem inexperienced in front of Annie."

At this point, you averted your gaze, but you didn't move. No, you wouldn't dare.

"Y—yeah," you breathed. "I would."

His face lit up, so subtle that you only caught it because you were this close to him. And it was warm—it was warm, his hand that was gently and carefully sliding onto your thigh. He looked so pure, so friendly. If friends even do this. 

"Really?"

You didn't even realize you had said yes. Your mind was clouded, teetering a fine line between hazy and even hazier. Your heart palpitated against your chest.

His lips ghosted over yours. No, even closer than that. Your lips were just scarcely pressed against each other, almost like the drama scene you’d just watched. 

It was going to happen, and you'd willingly let it happen. You closed your eyes.

And then you heard something buzzing.

Your eyes snapped open, and your gaze landed on the caller ID displayed on Armin’s phone, the brightness of its screen harsh against the darkness of the room.

A call from Eren.

No fucking way.

You reeled back in a daze, fingertips tingling with the aftershock of nervousness. You gripped the blanket with your other hand until it numbed the sensation, hoping it would ground you from what just happened.

Or what almost happened.

And Eren just called. How ironic.

Armin was a little ways off from you, cursing lowly under his breath as he accepted the call. But you sat there. You didn’t listen; their words filled your ears like cotton.

Armin shifted farther from you, head leaning into his phone. The blanket slipped down a little, and a chill ran up your spine and a wave of goosebumps hit you. Goosebumps that you swore had already been there from before. 

Was this it? Was this the practice he was referring to in the car? 

No, no, definitely not—you knew he meant much more. 

If you learned something today it was that one, you'd gotten a good scope of how he was with a girl, and two, you'd been a breath away from kissing.

From kissing. You almost kissed Armin Arlert, your best friend that you promised to help.

You pursed your lips.

Y—yeah. I would.

You couldn't go back on your word now.

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☰ taglist: ✩⭒｡ @rinsie @tengensgirlfriend @ela-dahe @his-brats-fantasies @genderfluid-anime-goth @alison-renee @kanekisfavoritegf @desireness @juiceboxreads @cyphdaze @herequeerandarmedwithaspear @v-lleitie @chscklvr

[emmacarstajrs]

I'm gonna be brutally honest, cassandra clare is no longer able to write a final book to her trilogies.

everything was so rushed and at the same time so *slow* in chain of thorns that at christopher's death i decided to stop reading it. I only decided to finish it because I don't like UNFINISHED BUSINESS (you know, cassie, the kind of business you left kit with?), but I was so disappointed in this book that I don't think I'm gonna read TWP when it comes out. I'm tired of creating expectations in my head for them to be completely destroyed once the book is out.

christopher's death was what shattered me. I loved him to bits, he was the only character I really related to, and seeing him gone so unnecessarily made me feel as if I've lost a dear one. I think I'm grieving more than his friends and family, considering how they seemed to get over it so easily except for anna and, somehow, grace.

grace, who is basically considered kit's substitute, both in the lab and in the group! I'm pretty sure she doesn't consider herself that, she would've wanted to keep working with him and who knows, maybe they would've fallen in love (as if they weren't already doing it, you dorks)!

he didn't deserve anything that's ever happened to him in these books, he was treated so poorly that I think cassandra only created him to kill him sooner or later, and in fact, she did.

plus, she killed a character who wasn't functional to her idea of a plot: he did not contribute to the romantic and physical attraction between two characters she so longs for. gracetopher was more of a mental attraction, they were the only ones who truly enjoyed each other's presence just for the sake of being with the one they loved. kit was so into the ace spectrum (and grace, somehow, too) that cassandra didn't think people would like him! but she was wrong about that: maybe he was the one merry thief that people considered less, but he was so loved and so appreciated he didn't deserve the end he got.

I'm open to talk to anyone who wants to share their opinion and, who knows, maybe just wants to grieve with me. let's get each other's mood up, we all deserve happiness.

[ellesthots]

Fateful Beginnings

XXIII. “desperation”

parts: previous / next

plot: you receive a suspicious phone call. Bruce meets with your boss, and runs into a psychiatrist from Arkham.

pairing: battinson!bruce wayne x fem!reader

cw: 18+, panic attack, gaslighting

words: 3.2k

Bruce awoke the next day to Alfred opening his blinds, accosting him with the sun. "The university president called. You have a meeting in an hour." He had to make sure he wasn't still dreaming, but the only word that found him was: "Why?"

Alfred flicked on the overhead light, which always drove the boy mad—he needed a force to jolt him into quicker action than his usual sloth speed in the A.M.. "Something about the university's journalism department. It's 11:02, you're set to meet her no later than noon." As he left the room to allow Bruce to ready himself, he called out some details. "Dr. Janay Vry, she said you'd met at graduation." If Alfred had lingered in the room a moment longer he would've seen his eyes widen, and Bruce jump out of bed to rush to his closet. Not even stopping to grab the toast the butler had made for him, no sooner than Alfred had readied a single scrambled egg for himself, Bruce had climbed into his vehicle and started off for GU.

The route given to him at graduation allowed him to take a back road to campus; there were very few in Gotham that weren't filled with pedestrians during the light of day, but he tempted the law by speeding and having increased his window tint beyond the legal limit. The route would lead him to an employee parking garage on the Northeastern side of campus. If he took the stairs to floor five, shot across a hallway to the right, then another hallway to the left, he could find himself at the admin office. He assumed her office would remain in the same location, and he was correct. After peeking to see if she was in the vicinity, he stepped inside and a screeching alarm sounded. It only ceased when he'd fully stepped out of the room, out of the doorframe, and into the hallway.

Dr. Vry showed up not thirty seconds later, but with enough time between for Bruce to catch his breath, rapid blinks reorienting him to the present setting. He didn't think he'd ever clawed his way anywhere as fast as he just had. "Mr. Wayne, you're early." She held a black card to the placard beneath her name on the door. A small Ding! sounded and she walked in with Bruce in tow.

The chair was the same, and the cobwebs remained. His thighs stretched against the wood and the webs swayed gently from the air conditioning. Even though it was overcast and dreary, it was still a sweltering August. His stomach grumbled, and he daydreamed fondly about the Mulligatawny in the fridge back home. Thankfully, she wasted no time getting to the point. "Mr. Wayne. I wanted to talk with you about your aversion to speaking with our journalists here."

Damn. He should've brainstormed answers on the drive. He was too consumed with hearing potentially devastating news of a local journalist's murder that he hadn't thought of a single thing relevant to what she might ask otherwise. "My apologies, I've been unexpectedly busy the past few weeks with the election coming up." Where are you? What does she know? Does she know anything?

"If you were busy with the election, wouldn't you want to speak with the candidates?" God this was frustrating. He needed to figure out what had happened with you yet here she was, refusing to divulge information as the only other person in Gotham who knew you existed. He cleared his throat to cover another stomach grumble and tried to stave off an interrogation.

"They should be coming to the next meeting."

Dr. Vry wasted no time interrogating him anyway. "Ms. Langley was our journalist last week, and she said you refused to speak with her."

"Doctor," Bruce was quite pleased when she interrupted him because he had no idea how he would've finished the sentence.

"You didn't mingle longer than a minute or so with Mr. March, either."

Who gave her the play-by-play? Bridgit? Did they train their journalism students to be hawkeyed? "As I said, I was unexpectedly busy." Be pleasant. He wrung his hands together under the desk, not entirely sure she didn't have super vision which allowed her retinas to pierce through mahogany.

She sighed, which made her peppered gray bangs flutter. Her lipstick was feathered around her lip line, a visceral reminder of the sour note you'd both left on the night you disappeared. Could one be tracked by lip print alone? "Did Ms. Langley do something inappropriate, Mr. Wayne?"

"No." He grit his teeth, then hoped she wouldn't notice. "She was pleasant." He hated how well he could lie. It was never comfortable, but he was able to grin and grit his way through any turn in conversation with unsuspecting ease.

"She said you asked for our former employee by name. Ms. Y/L/N." FINALLY! He tried not to visibly sink into the seat with relief. His ears had a pavlovian response to your name, interrupted by echoes of the word 'former'. As much as he wanted to follow that thread, he hoped she might extend it on her own grounds.

"I was under the impression it would be the same journalist every week." He paused, and she didn't take the space. "It appears I was too assumptive."

It was like he hadn't spoken at all. "Ms. Langley said you told Mr. March you were set to be interviewed by Ms. Y/L/N."

He paused, the both of them making uneasy, penetrating eye contact. "I was." So where were you? Home? Dead?

"Peculiar." She looked down and sighed. "I fired her under the pretense she refused to interview you. Yet you say you had one set."

Bruce wanted to sink into the floor making such a faux paus. He also stifled a jump and high-five because now he knew with confidence you were at the very least, alive. The dueling emotions threatened to spin out his vision. "I must have misheard, or misread something."

"She didn't seem keen on talking to you whatsoever. She refused to write about you in our column." She shrugged and sighed again, sinking dramatically into her thick leather seat. Bruce didn't care that you weren't going to write about him, even though you'd apparently denied the prospect so thoroughly it had led to unemployment. He no longer had to lug lifelong guilt at not having done anything to save you, because you didn't need saving. His body was light and tingly, and it was only when he felt the weight lifted that he realized how heavy it had been weighing him down.

"I didn't know the column included me." He didn't much care to humor Dr. Vry any longer, his brain going into autopilot now that his most pressing concerns were assuaged.

"You do not need to perform humbly here."

He stifled an eyeroll. "I assumed she was there to report on the meeting's content."

Dr. Vry laughed. It startled him. "It's as if you rehearsed it together."

"I do not understand."

"Must I remind you that you are Bruce Wayne?" She mimed handing him a piece of paper he could only imagine was intended to be a birth certificate. "Bruce Wayne taking on an active role in the community is the news. What do people want to read more than that?" She threw her hands in the air and leaned back again, the leather squeaking.

He began to speak when Dr. Vry questioned him more deeply. "What happened with the interview last spring?"

The one-sided rapport she'd developed seemed to be fraying at the edges. Keep responses benign. "It didn't work out."

"Will it ever, Mr. Wayne? Or should I pull the plug on the department before we get into more debt?" Her voice was raising and getting shrill. He was close to walking out—the only thing tethering him was the weight of his family name.

"I was unaware of the financial strain the university was under." Good. Basic. It was the first time in his life he hoped someone would ask him for money. A check was easy to write, easy to talk about, easy to segue from to a quick exit. His mask was threatening to slip.

"One exclusive interview, the first of its kind will sell. The credibility it would lend this university... priceless."

Bruce watched on as Dr. Vry became teary and fidgeted in her seat. She wrung her hands together palm-up, which exposed a hammered-silver ring with the tiniest of owls etched into the metal. Seeing the same symbol that had been on the knife handle, the same symbol that had been on her pin, it rung hollowly and deeply in his chest. One was gold, one silver, one etched into a knife. This couldn't be coincidence. His brow furrowed and he leaned inward. "Is that an owl?"

She stared at him, not once glancing down to the ring. "What could you mean?"

He pointed at the ring and leaned so forward in his chair he had to palm the wood to catch himself. "Your ring. Is that an owl design?" He hoped she was more of a fool at spotting his mounting anxiety than you were. It was beginning to take every crumb of energy from last night's dinner to regulate his breathing.

She followed his finger down to hers. "I have no idea of what you mean."

Bruce saw it clearly, like peering at the bottom of a sparkling, transparent lake. Defiance snuck into his tone. "What would you call that symbol, then?"

"What symbol?" She spun the ring around her finger, befuddled. His anxiety was melting into desperation. "There's a symbol etched into it." His stare bore into her, and he wished he could grab the ring off her finger and show her. She gazed down at it, moving it back and forth between her thumb and forefinger, fully exposing the owl icon. It even glinted off the light. She shrugged. "This is the wedding band my husband got me thirty years ago. I'd know if something had been 'etched' into it."

Bruce sank back into the chair, realizing he'd leaned until only an inch of ass remained on the seat. He let his face fall into frustration, and he didn't conceal his shaking head. What had been defiance drowned itself under his shame. His faculties were indeed failing him. It was so clear. So vivid. It made his chest ache and his soul bristle.

"Would you rather her or Ms. Langley?"

His eyes flicked to hers again, which stared at him expectantly. He paused so long she reiterated herself with further clarification. "Would you rather speak with Ms. Langley or Ms. Y/L/N?"

He blinked. He spoke slightly above a mumble. "I don't think it's appropriate for me to make your employment decisions."

"Very well then." She stood up and walked around Bruce to the doorway, and called out for Bridgit. She came careening around the corner like a dog whistled to at a park. It was peculiar, but he didn't have the capacity to follow that lead any longer. He didn't know what his capacity was currently, and how quickly it would be stolen from him entirely.

Dr. Vry and Bridgit stood at the inside of the doorway. "Have a good day, Mr. Wayne."

Silently he removed himself from the room. Dr. Vry was swift to shut the door, and Bruce lingered just long enough to catch a phrase. "We don't have all the time in the world and seeing as he wouldn't even speak to you,"

"Mr. Wayne! Fancy seeing you here."

A shorter, slim man with dark, ruffled hair spoke from across the hall. As he drew closer his light blue eyes shone behind sterile rectangular glasses. He wore a deep gray suit and tie with a plush sweater vest atop the usual white button-up. He vaguely recognized the man, but not enough for name recall. Bruce grinned. "Turns out getting more involved in Gotham means meetings with the president." Keep up the playboy facade. He stuck out his hand and the man took it, firmly.

"Dr. Jonathan Crane. I'm sure this will not be the last time our paths will cross, especially with your new venture to save the city."

He wanted to dig his own grave. "Ah, yes. You work at Arkham, correct?" Information was coming to him now, loose memories of seeing his name in court records, and seeing him coming out of the GCPD offices every now and then. As a psychiatrist he floated between the jail and the courts, but his home base was Arkham Asylum. There he would counsel, treat, and refer the patients to whatever outside services they needed. But what did it matter? He'd forget him soon anyway. Imagine him in some other form. Maybe in a few year's time everyone's heads would morph into an owl's.

"Correct. But today my services also require a meeting with Dr. Vry." He emphasized the salutation which Bruce could only fathom was due to his own educational background. His nerves were shot from the life-ruining confirmation of him hallucinating, and he quickly bid the man adieu. He went back down the hallways and stairways, and stepped out into the employee parking lot. It was empty, as it was when he arrived.

Suddenly a trembling, tingly feeling arose in his chest, bursting out to his fingers and down his legs; when his knee rendered unsteady he began to panic, his heart thundering profoundly in his chest. He struggled to breathe, to gulp breaths, but he couldn't find air. Tears erupted from their ducts and streamed down his face automatically, and he fell to his knees heaving toward the cement. He feared he might never stand up.

You awoke to the blaring sound of your ringtone assaulting your ear. DR. VRY lit up in pulsing green text. You cleared your throat and dove for the water at your side table to take a sip before picking up on the last ring. "Hey, Dr. Vry." It was the first time you'd spoken in days other than to call for Walter, which rarely happened as he never left your side. Your fingers shook a bit thinking on how this could be the start of immediate unemployment. You'd been telling yourself since you'd come home to expect the worst, and you'd begun to feel relieved at the prospect of being fired instead of having to quit. This would be good, splendid even; it would open up your horizons and give you a guilt-free escape. You'd break the news to your parents when they got back—but only after a few hours when they'd napped, showered, eaten, and had settled in for the evening. You hadn't thought seriously of how you'd break the news of the reasoning, but you knew that whatever you said you couldn't say the whole truth. There wasn't a single fantasy in where they did not have a very specific, and specifically annoying response to knowing Bruce Wayne was the reason you were fired, and that really, the only reason you'd been fired in the first place was being a stickler about wanting to engage with the man as little as possible. They'd think it petty, and immature, but they didn't know the whole story; they didn't know what it felt like to truly see Bruce Wayne, they only saw him gussied up to public satisfaction. They didn't know that he was Batman, they didn't know the dire straits you were put in every minute you rotted in Gotham—

"Y/N." Dr. Vry sounded impatient, exasperated even.

Oh. "What?"

"As I was saying, the board... and I... have decided against firing you. You may remain in your position until renewal applications open in the end of Spring. You shall take your post immediately." The words rushed out of her mouth. You briefly imagined her being held at gunpoint to re-hire you, and your immediate assumption was that the billionaire had something to do with it. Was he meddling again, after explicitly promising the opposite? The thoughts couldn't linger long, as all the color swiftly left your face and you fell back on the bed, dizzy. You felt it in your heart of hearts that you could not go back to Gotham, and little would work to convince you otherwise. Oh god. Telling the biggest Bruce Wayne fangirl in the city you weren't going to be her puppet wasn't going to be pretty. "Dr. Vry, I can't,"

"Ah ah." You visualized her wagging her finger. It was the same tone she used in class when someone who had spoken up too often raised their hand yet again. "The stipulations of your duties has changed. You no longer need to interview him once per week, but biweekly." The silence that followed her was thick. Before remembering she couldn't see you, you shook your head, your heartbeat quickening. "I'm sorry, but I can't, I really can't," She chimed in as quickly as she ever had. "Once per month. Only once."

She had you in a pickle. Before your resolve could loosen and you gave in, you declared yourself. "I'm not coming back."

Dr. Vry didn't speak for almost a full minute. She was absent from the line so long you had to check the screen to see if the call had dropped. "Hello?" Another minute passed and your finger hovered above END CALL.

"What would bring you back?"

"I don't think anything could." You huffed into the phone, letting it out. "The city is not mine. I don't enjoy it, I graduated, and I would like to be home."

"So nothing can convince you? Not even an increase in base pay?"

"I'm sorry,"

"A better apartment, perhaps?"

"Give it to someone who needs it. Thank you, but I am not going back to Gotham." You pulled the phone back from your ear and tapped the screen to wake it. A split second before you successfully ended the call, Dr. Vry spoke yearnfully. "One interview. Next week. Then you can be finished."

She was beginning to truly frustrate you. "Let Bridgit do it. I'm sure anyone else would jump at the opportunity."

"I'll be very clear. The department has until the end of this month before we're cut. If a student of this program was able to secure the first interview with Bruce Wayne, the combination of sales from the Gazette and credibility it lends the department at GU... it's our last chance."

"There are no journalism graduates?"

"He'll only speak with you.”

[o-solemioo]

Hey there!! I saw your introduction and I was wondering if maybe you could write a angsty miles Morales x reader, preferably gender neutral. Sorry lol that's not much to go on but yeah!!

Thanks, I'm looking forward to seeing your writing (if you choose to write this ask of course)

hello anon,

thank you so much for your ask !! i love these movies (and writing angst), so i'm happy to be able to have an excuse to write for them. this might be a bit short but i hope you enjoy it.

remember, you are loved, ๏siris ☾ ⋆･ﾟ:⋆･ﾟ

— how to disappear completely

☾ pairing: 1610!miles morales/gn!reader ☾ summary: "don't you trust me?" "i don't know." or miles telling you he's spiderman didn't go exactly as he planned. ☾ warnings: 2nd person (you), angst, hurt no comfort, very minor homophobia metaphor if you squint, swearing, crying and anxiety attacks, implied sh (nothing graphic), miles being sad :( ☾ w๏rd c๏unt: 439

---

Miles hadn't planned to tell you for a while. If we're being honest, Miles hadn't planned to tell you for a long while.

But he knew he needed to be more careful, and lounging around in his suit was, in fact, a stupid idea. It slipped his mind that you two were supposed to be hanging out today.

You laughed it off when you walked in. "Didn't know you were a cosplayer, Miles," you chuckled. It was only when you saw his terrified face that you knew. And boy, did you know instantly. Even Miles knew he couldn't get out if this one with a quick-witted lie. He just stared at you, waiting for your response.

He knew it wasn't going to be great, but he wasn't expecting what you did.

"Are you fucking kidding me!? This whole time I thought you were busy studying, you were out swinging around? When I thought you were being picked on, you were actually willingly fighting these dumb, comic-book supervillains!?" You ranted, you knew it was hurting him but you were hurt too, he was lying to you for so long, you just didn't know what else to do with yourself.

"I believed you! I was worried about you! ...If you would've told me sooner I would've been fine, but it's been damn near a year, Miles." By the time you finished your rant, Miles was crying, and you were too. He didn't want to say anything, he just wanted to curl up into a little ball and hide.

"I did it to protect you," Miles choked out. "I need you to trust me, don't you trust me?" He looked you in the eye for the first time in about ten minutes.

"...I don't know." With that, you were gone. You just needed to think, to clear your head.

Miles didn't know what to do with himself. As much as you were harsh, you were right. He did lie to you; and a lot, in retrospect. He just wanted to protect you, even if he knew you could protect yourself.

He tried to steady his breathing, but his hearing was starting to become fuzzy. He needed a glass of water, but he felt like he couldn't move. He sat there for a long time, silent, trying to ground himself.

Even when he finally felt somewhat like himself again, he moved around on autopilot. Drink water. Set an alarm. Do something you won't be proud of in the morning. Sleep. And sleep. And sleep.

And when you finally do wake up, look in the mirror and make sure you still want to disappear.

---

very short and i didn't proofread this, i hope it doesn't have too many spelling/grammar mistakes >.<

[adachicuto]

last date before wedding with skz

warning(s): food and wine mentions

↳ bang chan: your relationship would be filled with date nights at the studio and even though chris would want things to be much more special, the two of you would plan for there to be hiccups and would decide not to make any reservations etc. so, he'd be so proud of himself bc he'd get everything done at the studio a lot sooner to ensure he was completely yours for the day but of course, he'd get a call just as he was leaving the studio and he'd text you to let you know. this wouldn't be a problem for you as you both planned for something to come up and you would even have to finish up some work as well so it'd be okay but you'd have a feeling that chris would beat be hard on himself about it. so, you'd make sure to reassure him about it when he'd get home and the two of you would make homemade pizza. i could see him goofing around and trying to toss the dough and would nearly drop it. there would be lots of back hugs, soft kisses, and excited giggling when the pizza would come out much better than you'd expect and chris being excited about the cookies you'd surprise him with.

↳ lee know: i think a nice meal and a movie would be the type of date that you'd both enjoy but a few days would've passed and neither of you would leave due to all of the planning. so, i think a nice outing and getting some fresh air for a few hours would be good for both of you. you'd decide to go to a place that both of you would like and would order your usual meals and you'd both decide to get smoothies or something after. on your way to the smoothie place, you'd happen to notice a cat cafe which would look fairly new. minho would notice you staring and he'd smile before grabbing your hand and walking in the direction of the cafe. you'd go to a cat cafe minho wouldn't really care for super fancy dates. it would be difficult for both of you to not smile, especially when a bombay cat would rub against minho's leg and he'd look down and grin. minho would leave to get some drinks while you'd find a table near one of the many cat trees and maybe you'd take a quick photo of the cats lazing on it just as it would start to rain outside.

↳ changbin: with all of the stress from planning your wedding, a little getaway would probably benefit both of you. so, you'd leave the city and stay at a hotel in a cute little town a few hours away. the bed and breakfast you'd stay at would be so nice and homey that you'd both be in awe the entire time. even though it would be pretty early in the day and the two of you would plan on exploring as soon as you'd arrive, both of you would end up crashing. so, the two of you would explore the next day and would start out your day with breakfast and iced coffee. then you would go see the tourist attractions and even go wine tasting. to end off the day, the two of you would get dinner and wine at a local restaurant and you'd both get so excited about the free dessert. overall, you'd enjoy yourselves and finally get time to relax before you'd start counting down the days until the wedding.

↳ hyunjin: even though the two of you would be very busy with wedding prep, hyunjin would decide to paint a few pieces for a local animal shelter and even a preschool. you'd gladly help him, even if you wouldn't be as good as a painter. it wouldn't really matter to you because it would be a welcome distraction. there wouldn't really be a set deadline for the pieces so, you'd pick a day or few out of the week and paint together with glasses of wine and your favorite snacks and it would become mini date nights for you. even after you'd finish up the pieces, you'd still continue to paint together. then, hyunjin would come home one day with a huge canvas and he'd suggest that the two of you could work on it leading up to the wedding as a little project and you'd hang it up in your new home. so, then you'd work on filling up the spaces with different things together some days and would end your nights with face masks, your favorite drinks, and a show you'd get into.

↳ han: you and jisung would probably spend most of the day inside napping because there would be so much to do and so little time when it came to wedding planning, even if you'd want the wedding to be more on the simple side, there would be so many details and things to take in consideration. when both of you would decide on going on out, you'd go play mini golf together and you'd both get a little competitive but then one of you would miss badly, and then you'd both have to try and catch your breath from all of the laughing but then jisung's laughing/wheezing would make you laugh even more. so, it'd be a good thing that any other mini golfers were too far away to witness that lol. after that, jisung would take you to get something to eat at an amazing family-owned restaurant and you'd have to stop yourselves from wanting to order everything on the menu. when you'd leave the restaurant it would still be pretty early out and you'd happen to pass a sign advertising a pottery class. it would take both of you a minute to decide on going and you'd get lucky because the class wouldn't be full. within an hour or so you'd have matching coffee mugs that would be far from perfect but the decorations would make up for it.

↳ felix: it would be pretty fun for the two of you to spend most of the date recording tiktoks but make a date out of it and only if you'd be comfortable with that. it would be more of a comfort food crawl because of all the wedding planning and stress that comes with that. so, you'd try a few foods from some of the different restaurants and bakeries near your apartment and rate them while also pointing out what made the foods really good. the first place you would go to would be just for appetizers and the portion sizes would be huge, which would earn it an extra point, so you'd probably only have to get one. the next place you'd stop at would be a family-owned restaurant and you would both become fast friends with the owner because they'd be so sweet and would even give you something free after they'd hear you talk about the wedding. of course, you'd take funny pictures of each other getting really excited about the food and then changbin and minho would text the group chat and clown felix lol. you'd finish up with an iced coffee bc hot coffee in this heat? no way, or maybe, and the trending s'mores cookies and brownies.

↳ seungmin: seungmin has always given me coffee shop meet-cute and coffee date vibes so i think that's what kind of date you'd go on. seungmin seems like a realistic person so, i think he'd realize that neither of you would really have much time for a super fancy date, not that he wouldn't try bc, of course, he would, but i think he wouldn't want to rush things, mainly since you'd both be limited on time and something familiar would work. so, no matter how many coffee dates you'd go on during the course of your relationship or how often, they would never feel the same. even though you'd be in the midst of planning your wedding, both of you would still have jobs and work to get done. so, you would leave your place a little early one morning with your laptops, chargers, etc. and since the coffee shop and bookstore wouldn't be very far, it'd be an enjoyable little walk to get coffee and breakfast. after his first cup of coffee, seungmin would open up his laptop and work on a song that he and the rest of skz were planning to release soon. you'd also get some work done as well as catch up on a show that you missed. an hour or so would pass and then you'd move to a booth and naturally, seungmin would inch closer to you and rest his chin on your shoulder to see what you'd be working on. he'd notice your laptop wallpaper, a candid picture of the two of you at the beach smiling at each other with stars in your eyes courtesy of jeongin, and he'd have the biggest grin on his face.

↳ i.n: both of you would agree on going to a local fair. the rides and the smell of fried foods would take both of you back to your childhood. for whatever reason, you'd both get on the gigantic slide and would have matching smiles on your faces after. then jeongin would rush towards the bumper cars and you'd laugh the entire time because neither of you would be able to move from the spots you started out in and get bumped into constantly. after that, you'd get slushies and a bunch of other snacks before heading toward the photo booth. the first few pictures would be silly and you'd both stick out your blue tongues and the last would be of him kissing you. you'd end the night off by getting on the ferris wheel and you'd rest your head on his shoulder and he'd interlace your fingers, a huge smile on his face.

[piffany666]

OK just one more punk progeny won't hurt ~

Chapter 8: exceptions

(Ftm trans Bright eyes - uses he/him pronouns)

(Lovely demi girl - uses they/she pronouns)

Fred's eyes lingered on the door that was closed behind Bright and Porter.

He had so much to think about after that meeting, and yet he couldn't distract himself from the interaction he had just witnessed.

Fred's pov:

Well...those two seemed to...get along.

Wait. What am I doing? Some crazy stuff just happened and I'm more focused on who Brights...associating with!?

....this is all.....a lot.

We don't talk for a few months and suddenly he's on his way to become a Prince!?

I know how stubborn he is but you'd think he'd at least tell me SOMETHING

Actually no. I know that no matter what Bright would've kept this from me for as long as he could. But Sam. Sam should have said something. Hell he's the one who apparently gave William permission to take him in! And since when did Bright get so close to William anyway?!

.........no. dont think that. Thats not-

"You alright kiddo?"

End of Freds pov.

Sam interrupted his spiraling thoughts.

"I'm...no i-i don't know"

Sam sighed, then sat beside him.

"Thought so. Listen, I'm sorry I didn't say anything about this sooner. It's just....you know Bright, he would've been pissed off to high heaven if I'd told you his business, and besides, it wasn't a definite dissension. Hell, I only just found out that he'd made his choice. I would've thought he'd have told you by now, if only to claim bragging rights"

"Nah, we stopped talking after we had that arrangement, and when Bright wants to avoid someone -"

He stopped himself for a moment, collected his thoughts then sighed.

"Let's just say he wouldn't brake the silence, even if he had something to brag about"

For a moment, the two just sat there. There was never much talking whenever they were together. Sam always showed his feelings best through actions, and while Fred was actually the tipe to believe talking is the best road to success in any relationship, they managed to maintain a fairly healthy one. The same couldn't be said for Bright and Sam, who, despite having many things in common, such as communication skills, couldn't stand each other.

The thought that almost made its way into Fred's head sat threateningly at the gates of his subconscious.

Sam sensed there was something Fred wanted to say. In the past, he would have let him be and allowed Fred to come to him when he felt comfortable to do so. However.

"Hey, whatcha thinking about ?"

"I-it just"

Fred tried to tell himself that what he wanted to say was wrong and, to an extent, cruel. Then he remembered the way Bright looked at Porter just now.

And he let it out.

"It just doesn't seem fair! He gets us both killed, he's disrespectful towards you, he ignores me and how is he punished? By becoming royalty!?"

As Fred said this he shot up from his seat.

Once he had finished he exhaled heavily as if holding that thought in was the equivalent of holding his breath.

"......your right. It's not fair"

Replied Sam after a moment.

"Believe me when I say I do understand, but you have to understand that William is a better fit for Bright. He'll be able to handle him better than I ever could, him being a Prince as a result of that is just an....unfortunate catch"

Freds outburst caught the attention of Vincent and Lovely.

Alexis didnt seem to care, or at least thats what she made it seem like.

The room was silent however Vincent could feel a disturbance in Lovely's emotions.

"Hey, Lovely, are you ok?"

He asked as his hand sliped into theirs.

"Im. Fine."

They said through their teeth.

Their tone seemed almost stern...?

Vincent took their word for it but noted that this conversation seemed to have an....effect on them.

He took their hand and squeezing it for a moment.

Suddenly, after retreating for a short while, William returned to the common room.

He began to adress alexis.

"Alexis, i know i said i wanted Bright and Porter to get more acquainted, however, it completely slipped my mind that i have a meeting scheduled with Porter in less than 20 minutes, could you at some point retrieve him and bring him to me?"

She gave a nonchalant hand gesture that suggested that she would do so whenever it best suited her.

"Good, the rest of you are permitted to disperse you know?"

"We're aware we were just trying to asses the situation"

Replied Sam.

"Fair enough, however, its getting early, so please try and be conscious of time, if it comes down to it, you could spend the day here?"

"Nah i appreciate it but i gotta get back"

"Alright, then keep an eye on the time Samuel"

"Yes your highness"

At that, his majesty dispersed and retreated to his study.

The remaining vampires paused for a moment, silently debating whether or not they wanted to continue the precious topic of conversation and subconsciously arguing over who would be the one to continue if they were to do so.

Fred was still being taunted by the image of Bright's eyes and the way he looked at Porter.

He had only ever seen that look on very specific occasions and he was far from the only one to be greeted with such a look.

And by the way they left together Fred was met with the reality that he wouldn't be the last.

His fists gripped the fabric of the couch.

"Bright should at least have to apologise to you before being made prince..."

Sam spent a few minutes hesitating between whether or not to answer that. Then he replied.

"I agree"

Once sam had responded, fred took that as a sighn to continue.

"After everything hes done, he think he can just up and leave?"

Sam sighed. There was no point in trying to maintain some sort of moral high ground and pretend like he didnt agree with him.

"I dont know what i expected, but yeah, showing me at least some gratitude would do him some good. He didnt even havd the decency to tell me himself, we havent talked in God knows how long, ive had to get all my information on this whole mess of a situation throught william"

Sam felt the same weight leave him as fred felt when he finally let his true feelings out.

"I-im sorry Sam, but i dont think William is right for Bright. I get that hes the king but what has Bright eyes ever done to get a promotion this big?! Ive had to suffer so much because of him and the only person to console me has been you, not my supposed best friend, you"

"Well-"

Sam looked around for a moment to check to see if alexis was still there but to his relief, she had silently disappeared. Despite this he still lowered his voice as he said.

"We all know how good william is at picking his progeny, not you vincent! You know i dont mean you"

He said this as soon as he saw Vincent gering up to say somthing.

Vincent slumped back into his seat, he notice again how tense Lovely looked.

"Do...do you think hes going to end up like alexis?"

Fred asked with trepidation.

Sam winced after hearing this. Then answered.

"Alexis is the way she is for a number of reasons. Bright and Alexis are very diffrent people, no matter how similar their....behaviour might be, however, that dosnt mean i dont think this...promotion will change Bright for the worst. Because i KNOW that it will"

He chose his words very carefully.

Lovely's face had gone dark by this point, Vincent was really begining to worry.

"If William were to allow him access to any of his possessions or any of the privileges that come with being his progeny it would make even worse of a reckless monster out of him"

Sam knew that alexis and Bright eyes are different people, but adam and alexis where both testaments to what this kind of power could do to a person, so Fred's concerns began to cloud Sam's mind.

"What do those 'privileges' entail exactly?"

Fred was naturally curious as to what kind of luxury would be at Brights disposal.

"Just the same as whats available to Vincent and alexis, money, real estate, just general expensive sh*t he dosnt need"

Another disapproving glance from Vincent, who was begining to question the implication of what sam was saying in regards to his 'privileges'.

"Oh great because thats exactly what he needs"

The irony and sarcasm in his tone dripped from every word that came out of his mouth.

Right before he was about to continue, he was interrupted by Lovely, who stood up as she said.

"I have a question"

Vincent's hand sliped out of hers as she made a fist.

"Why don't talk about me the way you do Bright eyes?"

.........

This question baffled Sam and confused Fred. Vincent's mouth parted slightly in shock.

"What?"

Sam asked coldly.

"Why. Dont you. Talk about me. The way you do. Bright eyes?"

She shortened her statement but started it just as bluntly as she did previously.

She didn't give Sam a moment to respond when they turned her attention towards fred.

"How old is Bright eyes?"

"W-what? What dose that have to do with-?"

"Answer the question. How old is Bright eyes?"

What Lovely was really asking was 'how old was he when he was turned' but its not like he'd aged since then. Or will age from then on.

"19.....same as me"

He answered while looking up at lovely, Fred had never considered Lovely to be an authority figure but he certainly did now.

"Right. You wanna know how old i was when i went to wonder world?"

Fred flinched at the mention of the place of his turning.

"24. I was 24. I went there and was given a warning and you know what i did? I went back there. Im an adult and i didnt know better, so what? Should Bright have known better? And if thats what you think then why. Dont you treat me. The way you treat. Him?"

Everyone was silent. This was a side of Lovely that neither sam nor Fred had ever seen before.

Vincent knew better than to make Lovely mad for this exact reason.

"Whats your point?"

Asked Sam, who immediately came to regret asking.

"My point is you need to give Bright some damn slack! From the moment he was turned you blamed him for what happend. He's a babby! Im a grown ass adult!"

They bellowed at Sam then turned their attention towards Fredrick.

"And look, i know you blame him because he peer pressured you into going into wonder world that night, i appreciate that, but you cant act like you where the only one hurt by his mistakes"

Vincent was begining to consider stepping in.

Lovely once again addressed Sam.

"He made a mistake! A stupid, life changing mistake! No one in this room can say they haven't done that, and yet you wasted no time making sure he knew it was his fault! Would you have done that to me? Imagine if somone did that to you when you where first turned. Imagine if somone told you to have known better? Imagine if somone told you to drive safer!

"Lovely!"

Vincent finally stepped in, interrupting her explosive rant, not entirely on purpose, he simply shouted at her out of shock.

This seemed to cause Lovely to realise the severity of what they just said and she began to blush out of embarrassment and shame.

Their head bowed as she tried to avoid facing Sam.

"I-im sorry i-i have to go"

She rushed out of the room, vincent tried to go after her but stopped himself.

She just needed time to cool off.

"I should go"

Sam said as he stood up.

Vincent didn't want him to feel like he needed to leave, but he knew he couldn't convince him to stay any longer.

Besides, the sun was bound to come up soon.

"C-can i go with you? I dont wanna have to spend the day here"

Fred's room was directly next to Bright's.

He wasn't an idiot. He knew from that look Bright gave Porter that Bright didnt intend to spend the day alone.

"Yeah, come on kiddo lets go"

Sam replied, fred stood up and they made their way out.

Lovely was aimlessly wandering around the manor.

She wanted to talk to Bright eyes. Ever since he got here sam discouraged everyone from talking to him, saying he wasn't 'sociable' or 'particularly friendly'.

But what would she even say?

She thought,

'Hello i know we've never had a real conversation but i just defended your honour. Could we be friends now?'

Lovely groaned.

Then she turned a corner and immediately bumped into alexis.

"OWW!"

"Ah! Oh! S-sorry i-"

"Ugh its fine i was actually looking for you anyway"

"R-really...?"

Lovely couldn't name a time alexis had even had a real conversation with her, let alone activly seek her out.

"W-why...?"

Lovely asked hesitantly.

"I just ran into Bright eyes....and Porter"

Her lips curved into a smug smile.

"Lets just say i caught them at a....bad time~"

"Oh? OH"

Lovely had a good idea of what alexis was refering to.

At first they were suprised, then worried.

Lovely knew how much Vincent hated Porter, hell she hated him arguably just as much and Vincent had taken a huge liking to Bright eyes. Lovely found it adorable how happy Vincent was at the prospect of a little brother, so how would he feel about this?

"Aha~ Porter told me hed rather not lose his head telling vincent himself but he knew i couldnt just keep this to myself, so im on my way to tell him in his sted, i suggest you dont bring this up with Vincent, he's got enough on his mind, he most likely would want to avoid this information as much as possible, at least until after the summit"

"Yes of course"

Lovely knew how much pressured Vincent was under, they didnt want to add to it by bringing this up.

And besides, if alexis was going to tell him anyway then hed talk about it with her when he felt ready.

"Alright then, where are you going?"

"Oh! I was on my way to see Bright but if he's....busy i-"

"Oh dont worry, when i walked in on them Porter chased me away as opposed to staying with Bright eyes, my best guess is that Bright got sick of waiting for him to come back so he went back to his room"

Lovely was suprised by her intuition.

"A-alright then, ill go see if he's there"

Alexis hummed then made her way past them.

Lovely still didnt know what she'd say to him.

Once she had turned the corrner that she had previously attempted to turn before bumping into alexis, her eyes where met with something she believed to be the answere to her dilemma.

@darlin-collins thank you for proof reading!

@anexistingexistence thank you for the dialog recommendations

@you-think-i-care-mate

[sugary-bluebell]

Can I request genshin impact Short genshin boys (Specifically Tighnari, Cyno, Heizou, Venti, And Kazuha) with a lazy yet genius male reader. If you don’t do Headcanons with multiple people then I’ll let you choose one of the short boys

short boys with a lazy yet genius bf

《☆》《☆》《☆》《☆》

°•A/n: so, I left out Cyno since i don't have a good understanding of his character yet Imo, also so sorry for not writing this sooner, love. i have been a bit busy with things :')

◇Warnings◇: none(?)

°•Characters: Tighnari, Heizou, Venti and Kazuha

°•Reader: male, can be read as gn tho

Tighnari:

What is he gonna do with you?

Don't get him wrong, he absolutely adores you but can you PUlease get your work done?

As much as loves taking naps with you somewhere in the forest he doesn't want you putting your work till last minute

Again, might he add

You two first met in the academias library...you were passed out while reading for one of ur major exams the night before

While other scholars and students thought you were cheating your way through, cuz all they see you doing is napping or messing around

Tighnari has experienced ur hard work, and to answer ur question, no it wasn't because he was tutoring you or through a group project, we aren't in a romantic fantasy ofc or are we-

No, thanks to his good hearing, he can hear your mumbling when you're memorising or the scribblings of your pen when it hits the paper

You and him make a good team when it comes to research or work in general

He keeps you motivated to finish the said project without procrastinating and you not only remind him to take brakes, you have also stopped him from poisoning himself with wild mushrooms on multiple occasions-

You also love using his tail as a pillow, and he let's you! :D

Heizou:

Honestly, if it wasn't for your laziness, you would've given him a run for his mora-

ofc he'll never admit you could be a better detective than him, not only for his pride but also to keep Sara away from you

He LOVES when you visit his office <3

Plus you almost always bring snacks with you

Sometimes you tag along with him to the crim scenes

Yes, technically, he isn't allowed to bring you there but he loves when you help him out

And lemme tell you, he LOVES how after you two are done, your eyes get droopy and an adorable pout-

He'll die happy if you were his last memory

Venti:

While this alcoholic loves and appreciates how smart you are- he loves that your lazy way more

Why? Well, he likes napping with you during the afternoon on the hands of his statue, you also bring blankets and pillows too

Dw he helps getting them up there-

Every time there's an event at angels share he drags you with so you can calculate the cheapest price he can get for high quality wine

Loves listening to you rambling about ur work while slowly falling asleep <3

He does drag you on walks tho, he worries so daily walks in or out of mondstad is a thing

Offered you a sip of his fave wine only to drop his glass once you told him you figured out the ingredients and methods in making it

Kaeya lifting his eye patch with his jaw going slack in the background after hearing what you just said

Kazuha:

Goo goo eyes in your direction 24/7 from him but your too tired to notice

Loves reading poetry to you and loves getting feedback from his beloved bunny <3

Calls you bunny cuz he saw your cheek squashed against the table you were working on and thought of a bunny

You tried to write a poem for him but it took so long that you thought to give him it another day-

..only for him to find it and blush like a madman while reading what you wrote

It doesn't even have to be good cuz he's touched that you squeezed in the time to write this from him, knowing how many projects you have going on

When you pull all nighters, he lights calming sented candles, makes you the drink or snack of your choice, gives you a kiss on the forehead with encouraging words and leaves you be to focus

Looking into the things your passionate about to engage in a conversation about it just cuz it makes you happy and they way your eyes light up is just so beautiful to him

[moistvonlipwig]

supercorp 1 8 9 16 20

right on 🫡

What is my absolute favorite of their scenes and why do I love it so much?

Oh I don't know...there are many good classic scenes. For the sake of spicing it up I'll talk about a moment that I don't often see people discuss and that is actually from an episode that I otherwise don't really like, namely: the scene in 5x19 where Kara is on the ground with kryptonite coursing through her veins and then Lena's anti-kryptonite device flies in and attaches itself to her suit and before it's even started working, Kara smiles and laughs. Just...the fact that Kara is in (if we are to believe her assessment in S3) incredible pain and that doesn't even matter to her because Lena's on her side again. I think that's a really sweet moment and it captures a lot of what I wish S5 & S6 had been about for them lol.

8. Am I most interested in fics about them that focus on fluff, angst, humor, smut or actual plot?

Angst, humor, & plot are all good with me. Fluff & smut tend to bore me.

9. What is my ideal endgame for them?

Hm, I could envision several good endgames for them (none of which include Lena being a witch or Kara becoming editor-in-chief or revealing herself to the world lol). I think ideally Kara would eventually become known as Superwoman and maybe would become more of an independent freelance journalist, while Lena would run the Lena Luthor Foundation which presumably funds Good Things. Lena would keep kryptonite on hand in a secret vault in case of emergency and Kara would be cool with it, and Lena would also design all kinds of suits & accessories for Kara (sorry Brainy but your Supergirl suit design was not very good). I like the idea of Kara having a longer, more stately cape especially as she grows older and more confident.

I do think they'd both want to get married, probably in a Kryptonian or Kryptonian-inspired ceremony. I think they should get a cat or a dog or both. I like lena-in-a-red-dress's fic where Lena adopts Dex-Starr the Red Lantern cat so let's say their cat is Dex-Starr. And their dog can be Rex from sango-blep's comics. Rex is cute.

I like the idea of them having kids, though I also think they'd be OK without them. If they did have kids I think the kids would be Luthors, not Danverses or Luthor-Danverses. They would also probably be created via birthing matrix or a similar technology invented by Lena because I can't imagine either Kara or Lena wanting to get pregnant lol. I like Leo Alexander as a name for a boy. I'm less sure about names for girls (maybe Sasha? Elizabeth? Linda?) but I don't like Lori, I know that's popular because of an old comic where Lena has a daughter named Lori but I am not a fan.

16. What are three of my fic recs for this ship? And (in the event that I’ve written something for them) one of my fics involving them that I’m most proud of?

Catfishy Business by whythinktoomuch is an iconic and deeply funny fic.

lena dies on a wednesday by karalovesallthegirls is a GREAT time loop fic that ingeniously puts us in the shoes of someone who doesn't know they're in a time loop. I think you've said you've read it? Still, it bears re-reading.

There are so many other great fics I could rec but I'll rec one that is a little bit lesser-known, since I've already named two very well-known fics. Which is and darling (is there a cure for this hunger?) by m_oliverfan, aka There Are Consequences To Sending Nyxly To Eternal Torment Land, Actually.

I've only finished one fic for SC so far which is laid in thine enemy's grave? - in truth, i dig it, which I believe you've also read. ^_^

20. How and when should they have gotten together?

I think in a better S5 where they started talking to each other sooner -- end of 5x13 would've been a good time -- and had some time to work through some stuff, I could see an end-of-S5 confession or kiss working. In terms of the actual show, which was never very good at writing romance, I think a Korrasami-style 'they end up together or are implied to end up together as part of Kara finding herself' would've charmed me.

[authorhjk1]

Finally Yoona's debut ngl thought reader wanted to see Yoona topless and finish there, but the tease is worth it with her fully clothed. Tiffany and Eunha was nicely done too. Minju having a subtle taste of what's to come and Zuha taking in the sights vicariously. Overall great stuff.

Not wanting to rush you or anything but with how well this piece has been executed, part 3 can't come any sooner. Tyt as always, the wait is worth it even though you were too busy recently.

Yes, Yoona is and will be a tease throughout the whole story. It fits her very well. Happy you liked all the scenes. The idea of the whole series is to combine a lot of different idols, kinks and types of sex bound together through a nice and as realistic as possible plot.

I barely had any time to myself today, but if I had, I would've definitely written a paragraph or two for the third chapter already. I really like it and I love how it evolves, partially without me knowing where it's going to end up.

Yes, sorry you had to wait so long. Unfortunately I can't write like 5k words everyday. Actually, this fic breached the 20k words mark, which makes it the longest fic I've written so far. So that's probably one of the reasons why it took me longer to write.