#ill be posting some extra notes these days

[lightlycareless]

happy belated halloween!! for another fluffy ask to fill the void- what would naoya, naoaki, and y/n would have dressed up as for halloween as kids?? (pretending as if the zenins wouldn't have been awful spoil-sports and actually LET either of them celebrate,,)

Hello!!!! And happy Halloween to you too!!!

First of all, thank you so much for your patience! This one-shot certainly took more than what I expected to finish it, but in my defense, allot of things happened hahahaha Also, I received it just when I was going through a very hard personal time, so reading your fluff request arrived just in the right time. Thank you 🥺❤

But now that I'm on a small holiday from work, I'll be able to do a lil bit more of writing :> Starting with this request that I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVED writing. Let's say that I filled some very needed fluffy needs that the main fic deprived me of 😳

Now, without further ado, here are the warnings of this chapter:

Overprotective!Eiichi (a.k.a Y/N's dad) Delusional!Naoya, Oblivious!Naoaki, and Protective!Ren and Hinata lol. Minako and Tomoko want a normal day out. Y/N is just living her life, happy as it always should. Also, I took this oneshot as the perfect excuse to develop a bit more of Eiichi (although it's more about him lol), Minako (Y/N's mom) and... well, have what we probably wont have on the angsty shitshow I created on the other story haha.

Anyways, I hope you enjoy!! Super long oneshot under the cut.

When Minako, your mother, told Eiichi, your father, that she intended to celebrate Halloween with Tomoko and her family, he… was hesitant to agree.

No, scratch that. He wasn’t hesitant, he was in absolute defiance. 

And it’s not because of personal animosity towards Tomoko—far from that. He’d actually met the woman on a previous occasion and they got along quite well. She was generous and funny, the kind of person that made you feel welcomed, seen. 

And all of this is without taking into account Minako's undying admiration for her: Because when it came to incorporating new people into their social circle—or, more specifically, his family—his spouse's opinion was highly regarded.

Both knew that if Tomoko came along, their kids would be in good hands.

In other words, he did not hold any negative remarks about her.

It was her husband that he disliked very much.

Eiichi had no idea how a much older man like Naobito could have gotten together with a much younger woman like Tomoko, much less marry her and subsequently have six children together!

«Oh, that poor woman» he muses, reminiscing back on the many times where Eiichi would find himself silently conmenming Naobito’s actions. 

Starting from Minako dropping everything on the spot and rushing to her friend's side as soon as she learned that her pregnancy was one of high risk—the one that introduced Naofumi into the world. Tomoko’s world was slowly turning into one of chaos and concern, and Naobito was seemingly nowhere to be found, limiting himself to subsidizing her with any medical attention she and their son would need, as if emotional support didn’t matter.

Or when he did the exact opposite when their youngest child was born. From the stoic, distant father he was with their previous 5 children, he was now all over her when it came to their 6th. All because he was to be the heir. And although that was an agreement that was struck many years later… Eiichi suspected Naobito already had a hunch.

Nonetheless, your father knew very well that prying in their business would do more harm than good, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t harbor a certain degree of distaste towards Tomoko’s husband, the consistent reason of why he’s always so averse towards Minako and their children visiting the Zen’in estate—why did they even need to maintain amicable relationships with their competitors?! Aren’t the Gojo’s and the Kamo’s sufficient enough??— or subsequently inviting him to these gatherings.

To make matters worse, Naobito wasn’t just careless towards his wife, he was also inconsiderate of his children’s fun. Once he starts feeling bored, he’d hurry them to leave every few seconds until one of them budges, like the aggravating buzz of a mosquito he just couldn’t wait to get rid of.

Well, there’s no use to dwell on things he can’t change, more so when Tomoko insisted that Naobito was a rather good husband and father when no one was around to see, he was just too busy as the head of one of the biggest companies in Japan, and too shy to demonstrate otherwise on the public (he has an image to uphold, after all, one that suits well with old money)

«Shy» Eiichi scoffed at the label Tomoko would use one day. An adjective that he never thought could be used to describe Naobito, an obnoxious, crude man.

But if she’s content with their relationship… they’ll support it.

However, once he was informed that only Tomoko and her children would be the ones assisting, none of these things continued to matter.

An announcement that cleanses him with relief as he could finally focus on what really matters. On the actual significance of this occasion!

And what made it so special, you ask?

Well… it's nothing short of his baby's first Halloween spent trick-or-treating!!

Oh, it was a moment both he and his wife had looked forward to for a long time now! 

… To much of their unexpected surprise.

Halloween is generally regarded as an appropriate activity for children thanks to all the activities that take place: such as dressing up, going out to get candy, and even pumpkin carving! It goes without saying that a fun night was certainly guaranteed if any of these were involved.

So, one could only imagine the shock your parents were received with when you, who had just become old enough to participate in such a celebration, stood heavily against it.

But that didn’t deter them. In fact, they tried to convince you by going into heavy detail of the previously listed activities, sweetening the deal by how fun it would be if you’d participated with your siblings and friends!

… To no avail.

Thus, a different approach was to be taken.

Eiichi, knowing your sweet tooth, attempted to bribe you with candies that were exclusive to the season, flavors that would not appear again, that is, until next year. 

And it seemed to work judging by the way your chubby hands snatched the offering out of his grasp as soon as you locked eyes on it. 

You’d then hum along to his words, giving them the impression you were actually considering their invitation…

Only to go behind their backs and grant them a dose of reality by rejecting them once you ate all of the candies.

Minako, startled by your enigmatic answer, began to search for the reason behind your rejection. Was it because you’ve unwittingly stumbled onto the scary side of Halloween?

If that were the case, then she couldn’t blame you.

There were certain participants that leaned into the dark aspect of this time. Defined from gruesome to frightening, classifications that were solely made with the intention of provoking unsettlement, something hardly appropriate or desirable for children your age.

And that didn’t limit to imagery, of course… There were also people who breathed life into these depictions through costumes, transforming themselves into a walking nightmare.

If somehow these turned out to be the factors that pushed you away from enjoying Halloween, then Minako feared no reasoning could help you see differently. Not when you’ve rejected them so many times already.

That was not the case, however— At least not entirely.

Turns out that the biggest reason behind your lack of participation was because of large crowds.

Up until now, the only instances you've ever seen of Halloween being celebrated was via the unruly, overcrowded parties that took place in the sleepless streets of Ikebukuro through broadcasted segments you’ve stumbled upon when watching T.V. alongside your older brother, Ren. 

And you, prone to growing anxious before large groups of strangers, needed no other justification to stay as far away from it as possible. You’ve seen enough of it, in full color and in high quality (as good as it can be with a television dating from ‘97) to not believe in your parents' contrasting words.

So that’s the whole truth of what you believed Halloween to be in the early years of your life: heavily crowded parties with ugly costumes.

But now that the problem was out in broad daylight, your parents could decisively assess an efficient solution. Thus, they came up with a secure and tranquil version of a halloween festivity: Trick-or-treating in a nearby familiar village, owned by none other than your clan.

For the influential leaders of the L/N clan, creating a safe space with the support of the inhabitants of said village (after providing the enough financing to do so) was an easy task, as well as the bare minimum when it came to their children's comfort and happiness. Nothing was out of their reach if it pertained to Ren, Hinata, and you.

Besides, Minako wanted to indulge in something private for once, especially after she began to feel the mental fatigue of having to roam through large crowds. So she wasn’t very disappointed when this change of plans occurred.

This could also be beneficial for the village’s kids, to motivate a sense of closeness inside the community as well as provide distraction from mundane everyday tasks to remember what life is all about. 

And while at it, this also worked as a good excuse to see Tomoko again. They've been wanting to catch up for the longest time, and now that their schedules finally match… it's the perfect opportunity! 

So, after arranging a meeting with the representative of the village, Minako and Eiichi managed to form an agreement with the inhabitants to organize a small version of a festival with all expenses accounted for, in exchange of borrowing their facilities to create an area where everyone is invited to have fun.

Fast forward to Halloween night, children and parents alike partake in a hurried frenzy to oversee the last details of their perfect trick-or-treating outing before departure.

“I still wish Y/N would’ve dressed up as something scary… like Sadako from the ring!” Eiichi laments, for he’d always been an avid fan of horror and there’s nothing he would’ve liked more than to share this with his family.

He genuinely believes it would’ve been hilarious to see his adorable young daughter dressed up as a popular horror icon, more so if he taught you how to deliver a convincing portrayal of the well-dwelling ghost in hopes of scaring at least an unsuspecting passerby.

“That’s too scary for a kid her age, dear” Minako’s soft voice interrupts his thoughts and grounds him back to reality by reminding him as to why that was a bad idea. “Besides, this is her first time dressing up. It’s only fair that she chooses what she wants to wear"

Maybe once you’re a few years older, she would support his suggestion. 

After all, she held the same opinion when it came to dressing you, the youngest of their kids, as something that frightened many, and continued to do so years after the novel and movie were released. 

It would certainly be amusing to see how an adorable girl like you could pull off something as scary as Sadako. But just as they discussed before, you were too young to be consuming any horror material, and adding that this night was your first time going out for candy (after much insisting, that is) they had to be careful to not do anything that might push you to reject them again. 

So, doing what any good parent would do, they kept off limits any media that was unsuitable for your age whilst supporting your decision when it came to your costume.

However, being married for over a decade, and known each other for far longer, Eiichi had grown to distinguish each of your mother's tones, mannerisms, and even subtle facial expressions to understand that sometimes what she says, doesn’t actually reflect what she intends.

And that’s exactly what’s happening: Minako hid an underlying aim behind her words, and once he was sure of this, a grin parted his lips before proceeding to retaliate with this newfound fulfillment.

“But that's not what you really think, do you?"

Minako shoots him a quick glance, an expression so stern that makes Eiichi feel he might’ve misjudged her circumstances, to which he’s more than ready to apologize for… that is, until his wife sighs dramatically, the facade falling off her face and revealing the true nature of her emotions.

“Oh, of course not!” She cries, placing her hands over Eiichi’s shoulders and rattling him gently to emphasize her frustration “We finally got the 3 of them to go out on Halloween! It was the perfect time to dress them up in matching costumes!!"

To say that your mother had been dreaming of this moment since she started a family with your father, would be an understatement. 

She always loved the idea of forming a family of her own, having kids, raising them, watching them grow and become successful on their own… overall, she yearned for a domestic life.

There was one thing that she looked forward to particularly the most, however, and that was partaking in celebrations together, such as Halloween.

It wouldn’t be the first time she'd seen either of her children in costumes, of course. She’d dressed Ren, Hinata, and you before on each 31’st of October for as long as she can remember.

But this was the first time her 3 kids would be actively going out together, so it was only natural that she wanted to show them off! Thus, she prepared herself accordingly for their costumes, taking inspiration from none other than one of her favorite artists.

For your older brother Ren, she'd gotten a custom made black tuxedo with a white undershirt, black bowtie, black dress shoes, and of course, the iconic baggy crystal socks that would pull the whole look together— although your mother knew that Ren's charming smile would be the one to do the job.

Moving onto Hinata, Minako would go a bit bold and get the head-to-toe leather outfit, decorated with a wide array of belts and buckles that would jingle whenever she moved, all while making sure it remained both stylish and comfortable enough for her courageous daughter to keep on adventuring— but even if the seamstress didn't manage to mix these two factors, Minako knew that this wouldn’t stop Hinata from doing what she wanted.

And finally, you. Your mother had gone for another two piece suit, but contrary to Ren's, yours was to be white. You'd also wear a black shirt for contrast, but matching a black belt. A golden handkerchief tucked in the coat's pocket to accessorize, and lastly, but not least, a plushie tiger that would serve as the figurative cherry on top to complete the reference she intended to portray.

Everything was perfectly set in her mind. With clothes and styling ready to go, all that she needed to do was organize a photography session to immortalize this precious moment, which she was already a few steps ahead due to ongoing talks with a photographer she’d found through a friend’s recommendation.

But even with all this preparation, it was never meant to be, for her children had other plans. And always the supportive parent, she decided to put her wishes to the side and make the three happy. 

"I can always do so another day" she reassures to herself "And we could also do something just for the 5 of us. On a day you don’t have to work"

"Ah, don't even remind me." Eiichi groans, forehead furrowed as he reflects on his unlucky night that’s yet to start. 

He’d already set in stone that he was going to accompany his family for trick-or-treating, more than ready to put everything on the line to be there, but an unexpected emergency at work would put a screeching halt to his plans. 

Your father tried getting out of this predicament by appointing someone else to take care of this problem, but since the corporate world doesn’t really care about western celebrations, as well as him being the main head of the company, he had to set an example and oversee the issue personally.

Sometimes, he just can’t help but feel that life is playing a twisted game with him—but all things considered, that’s only your father being dramatic as usual.

"You don't know how awful it feels to be away from my family on this important night” he deplored, looking down to the ground.

"I can imagine… but don't fret, dear. I’ve already prepared myself with the best available camera to take pictures!” Miano exults, eyes sparkling with unparalleled enthusiasm. “Leave it all to me!...”

She then takes his hand, giving him a coy smile.

“And who knows, maybe I’ll give you a consolation prize”

Eiichi blushes. Even after all these years together, she still manages to fluster him.

“I—I’d like that” he sheepishly admits, and Minako can’t hold herself from pecking his lips, a gesture that she would’ve prolonged had they not started to run late by now. 

“But for now we have to check if the kids are ready! I told Tomoko-san that we would be meeting up at the village and I don’t want to make her wait!” Minako points out.

“Ah, yes, of course” Eiichi nods as he lifts his wrist to look over to his watch, relief washing over him upon realizing they’re still over an hour and a half away before their meeting time. But if he considered ETA to the village, which was around 20 minutes, and if the kids weren’t ready… “Looks like we still have time, but we gotta hurry the kids if we wanna be there before her at least”

“Let’s go then”

Minako and Eiichi rush through the familiar path leading to the living quarters as they greet the many servants that saluted them back, without relenting their speed.

After a few minutes, the couple finds themselves only a few yards away from the area where they know their children are getting ready. They slow down to regain their breath, and Eiichi takes this moment to voice one of his many, many concerns for tonight.

"I'm glad Naobito isn’t coming" Eiichi begins “Can’t imagine the way he’d ruin this night for us”

“I know, I know” Minako attempts to soothe his unjustified anxiety, for he already knew it would only be Tomoko and her boys. 

However, just as he’s capable of uncovering her hidden intentions through her words, she’s competent enough to do the same. And by the way he decided to bring up this topic seemingly out of nowhere while unwittingly tensing his shoulders, she knows he’s been holding back something possibly out of fear, and it’s in her duties to ease him by reminding him that he can trust her, and everything will be fine.

“Just think about the kids and their fun. Besides, you know Tomoko-san would never put our children in harm's way”

“...I know. I'd trust her with my life, but you know Tomoko has never been my concern… I… I just don’t like the fact that a bunch of boys are going to be around my baby girls! And when I'm not there!!”

And there it is. The other reason as to why he'd been so on edge about this whole ordeal once it was revealed the Zen'in kids would attend. 

Sure, he disliked Naobito and worried non-stop when the prospect of his presence was up to debate, but now that that matter was settled, his mind couldn't wait to jump onto another topic to torture himself with—it was just his nature.

Or was it always the main factor behind his initial reluctance…?

Eiichi never held back when it came to voicing just how overprotective he was when it came to his children, a sentiment that he'd carried ever since Minako revealed to be pregnant for the first time.

A feeling that grew when Ren was born.

Worsening when Satoru began to lurk around the estate whenever he apparently didn’t have anything better to do—unwanted attempts from the elders to cultivate better relationships with other influential clans.

Reaching an all time high when you, the youngest of the family and the last one to leave the nest, started going to school.

Growing in a society where men were not expected to contribute in the domestic part of marriage, Minako was glad that Eiichi was very involved and protective of his family, even going as far as to perceive it as cute. 

But having gone through this ordeal many times without anything major happening, she’s starting to believe that perhaps his concerns are leaning more into the irrational side of things.

Eitherway, your mother assumes she can’t be too harsh on him, considering that the Zen’in kids were boys in their totality, a fact that led Eiichi to hyperfocus on you and your sister. 

Had they been girls, Ren would be the recipient of his attention—same story, different protagonists.

“I only agreed to this because you wanted and… well, Ren is also going and I trust him to keep them away from our daughters!” he goes on.

“They’re not going to do anything, Eiichi" Minako reiterates, feeling guilty that her husband was unfairly dumping a non-corresponding responsibility on his oldest son on a night that was supposed to be fun. One that he should take to relax as well! "They’re going to be fine, besides, they’re too young to be thinking about girls or boys! Look at our babies, the only thing they’re looking forward to is getting candy!”

Finding no point to debate, Eiichi concedes with a soft “I guess so…” 

Because if there was one thing that always helped him calm down when stress was eating him alive, was his wife’s candid nature.

Minako was never one to lie… At least of important matters, because he's caught her one too many times engaging in late night snacking when she was supposed to be sleeping, or binging through the tapes of recorded episodes from the shows they were supposed to watch together, but that's a topic for another time.

So, without anything else to bring to the table, the conversation arrives at a swift end. And just as they arrived at the room their children were in, quickly identified as Hinata’s room thanks to the sunflower stickers placed around the frame

Eiichi steps forward and steadily grasps the shoji door open, revealing the following sight:

Just by the vanity table on the far right of the room, a readied Hinata was looming over you with the intention of helping you into your clothes, asking you to place your hands on her shoulders as she extended the bottom part of your attire for you to slide your feet in. 

You tried to fight her off, reminding her that you were more than capable of dressing up yourself, but Hinata heard no reasoning, not when she wanted you to look as perfect as possible. Demonstrating just how excited she was for going out with you on halloween for the first time ever.

Across from the girls, on the other side of the room, sat Ren by the edge of the futon, already in costume, patiently waiting for his sisters to finish.

He actually tried to help you too, but Hinata, being the type of person who liked to do everything herself, ended up pushing him aside.

Not wanting to waste his energy on something he knows he won’t be able to change, Ren decides to let this go and instead focus on distracting himself by playing with the edges of his sleeves until it was time for their parents to pick them up—all while keeping an attentive eye on his sisters if anything rises to the occasion.

Too engrossed in their respective activities, neither of the kids failed to acknowledge the presence of their parents, who were already inside the room. That is, until Minako closes the door a bit too loud which causes them to snap their heads in their direction.

“Mom! Dad!” With a toothy grin adorning her lips, Hinata is the first one to greet “We’re almost done!! I just need to get Y/N-chan ready, get my hat, and we’re ready!”

“And a jacket" Minako says upon noticing her daughter to be wearing a basic light blue colored dress t-shirt underneath a navy blue vest; to make matters more surprising, the shirt is not even the one she got custom made for her, the one with long sleeves and thermal fabric to provide warmth during a cold autumn evening. 

Where did Hinata even get this?

«I'm 100% sure it was Sumire's mom» Minako rightfully assumes. «And I can already see how it happened. Hina-chan probably used her puppy eyes to get her this shirt instead… I really have to tell them to stop pampering my kids!»

"But mom… nobody is going to get what I'm dressed as if I’m wearing the other one" Hinata whines, but Minako is stronger than Sumire's mother when it comes to resisting her adorable pouts and thus, does not relent.

"No. You're going to get sick, besides, the jacket is also in the official uniform so I assure you everyone is going to know what you’re dressed as" 

“Justice will keep me warm!” Hinata retaliates, and Minako just laughs.

“Alright, officer” Eiichi chuckles, going ahead to retrieve the jacket hanging from the nearby closet and handing it over to her  “You still have to wear it”

“...Fine” Hinata sighs, taking the jacket from her dad’s hands and wearing it once and for all. Once ready, your sister immediately springs back to aiding you, but before she’s able to grasp the slider from your zipper, your father steps in.

“I’ll take it from here, Hinata. Go help mom get the rest of the things instead” he gestures over to Minako and Hinata nods.

“...Ok dad!” Ren concludes that the only people capable of swaying Hinata away from her determination are their parents, wondering if that’s a skill that could be harbored one day as he’s being pulled towards their mom by her younger sister.

Once by their side, Minako places her hands behind their backs and gently guides them out of the room, giving one last glance back to her husband before stepping out.

“See you at the entrance, dear” She says, and with that, she closes the door.

No longer hearing their distant footsteps, Eiichi glimpses back at you to immediately notice something… peculiar.

“Why are you making that face?” he asks, proceeding to kneel down to your eye-level. At this height, he’s able to take a better look at your curious face and he can’t stop a chuckle from bubbling past his lips: brows pressed together, eyes shut tight and lips pressed into a thin line, all whilst standing perfectly still, you were the epitome of concentration that undeniably contrived from Hinata’s influence.

“Hina-chan told me to not move or I would ruin my costume” You disclose “Don’t talk to me papa, I don’t want to mess my costume!”

“That’s not really necessary” He corrects, moving a strand of hair away from your forehead and threading it behind your right ear “Breathe, Y/N. You’re turning blue”

And as if by command, you deflate before him with a deep exhale, a reaction that earns you a warm smile and a pat on the head from him.

Now that you’re comfortable, he goes ahead and performs the last adjustment on your costume by pulling your zipper all the way to the top.

“There, it’s done” Eiichi informs, standing up in hopes of getting a better look at you and catch any details he might’ve missed. “How do you feel? Comfortable? Cold? Itchy? Or do you maybe want to wear something else? Mama has another—”

“No!” Your cry, shaking your head and putting an abrupt halt to his redundant barrage of questions. Because just as your parents and siblings were excited to have this night out with you, you too wanted it to be as perfect as possible, under your own terms!  “I want to wear this one!” 

“Alright, alright” he concedes, raising his hands as a sign of surrender “I just want to make sure you’re not cold on your first night trick-or-treating”

“I’m not cold” You confess, in fact, you don’t even think it possible considering you were wearing the two long-sleeved shirts mom had given you to wear underneath your onesie, as if the latter wasn’t made of polar fleece already.

A preemptive strategy Minako was astute to take, for she was all too familiar with your tendency of running cold throughout the night. And she couldn’t call herself a good mother if she let you go out underdressed, could she?

But how about overdressing? 

Eiichi didn’t need to pry further beyond your red cheeks to understand he’d asked the wrong question.

“Are you running hot?”

You press your lips together once more and hum, permission enough for him to ease from you cotton constraints.

“Is that better?”

“Yes” you nod, and now that you’re free of the shackles of warmth, you’re finally able to focus on what’s keeping you filled with emotion “I want candy!! Candy! Candy! Candy!”

“Someone’s excited to go trick-or-treating” He smiled, holding you carefully before lifting you up to his chest “If there’s nothing more I need to do, let’s go meet mama and your siblings”

“Trick-or-teething!” you cheered again, wiggling your arms in the air.

“Treating” He corrected.

“Teething”

“Treating”

“Teething”

You frown out of confusion, failing to understand why your father was correcting you for saying the world correctly—or so you perceived.

He’d continue to insist a few more times, stopping only at the sight of his wife and children by the car. 

It’s only then that he realized this was a fruitless endeavor, for even after all his attempts, you’d continue to pronounce treating as you could.

However, he didn’t let this fact place much weight in his mind, for he knew that this was an issue that would resolve itself with time. Nothing more than a pet peeve of the moment that he wouldn’t allow to distract him from his beloved family any longer.

So once everything is accounted for and the group is safely secured inside the car, Eiichi turns on the engine and drives onto their next destination.

“We’re here!” Minako sang once the bright lights of the village became clear on the horizon. It’s a tune that efficiently snaps the children’s attention to her, prompting the same energy she presented once their eyes fell on the same view.

“Are you excited Y/N-chan?!” Hinata turns over to you, securely seated between your siblings. Any big family would understand the unspoken agreement of the youngest sitting in the middle, and while it never usually lingered in your attention, there were times you’d want to switch sides with your siblings just so you could see what’s outside—like today.

“Yes!!” You say, wiggling your short legs in the air as you stretch your neck to see past Hinata and outside the window, only to be disappointed when all that received you was the astounding darkness of the countryside. “Mama, how much longer until we get there?”

“Just a few minutes” Eiichi answers instead, occasionally glancing into the rearview mirror to awe at the excitement of his children, only to frown upon sensing  a growing commotion behind him thanks to the thumping on the back of his seat, courtesy of a cheeky Ren.  “Hold on to your seats until we park, kids. Or I won’t let you get off the car”

The warning he issues is enough to calm them down into the manageable level of stifled giggles and hushed whispers. He wanted them to be enthusiastic, of course, but not at the expense of his driving.

And just as he forecasted, it wouldn’t take long before the paved road transformed into one of dirt, noticeable by the change in sound coming from the tires, signaling their arrival to the village.

Eiichi drove deeper and deeper into the village, wanting to get them as close as possible to the meeting point, a small grocery store located on the main street, just between a pharmacy and a coffee shop. 

Eventually finding a parking spot, your father parks and turns off the engine.

The noise of the motor quieting down is the only cue the children needed to unfasten their seatbelts, with Hinata helping you to unbuckle yours and subsequently getting out of the car, before sprinting towards the trunk. All this with such an impressionable speed that didn’t even allow their parents to formally announce their arrival.

“Daaaaad, open the trunk!!” Hinata says while perilously pressing the button placed on the trunk’s handle, further denoting her desperation, much to Eiichi’s agony “daaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD!!!”

“Hold on, sunflower. You know papa doesn’t like it when you do that to his car” Minako reminds as she walks towards them, to which Hinata immediately retracts her hand, shame on her face as she pouts a muted “I’m sorry”

“Just be careful” Eiichi echoed as he unlocked the trunk and pulled the hatch open “I know how excited you are to go out with your sister and brother, but just remember to be a bit more… calm, when Tomoko-san is here with her kids, alright?”

He knows it’s a running joke between him and his wife to announce how much he dislikes Naobito and what not… but he’s still competent enough to understand that his children are a separate identity from him. They were also Tomoko's children, and he wouldn’t like it if his children added more to her already full plate by being rude.

That doesn’t mean he’s not going to encourage her to raise hell if any of them decides to do something funny towards them, he’s just asking her to be a bit more… considerate when they’re around.

“Ok…?” Hinata and Ren confusedly look at each other, finding his warning to be a bit unnecessary… for they had no issues with Tomoko, whom they’d grown to admire due to her amazing storytelling, cooking, and kindness, so they wouldn’t even dream of insulting her!!

Her children, however, they’re something else. In fact, there’s one kid in particular your siblings are desperately hoping he wouldn’t be able to attend… but that’s an answer that will only reveal itself once they’re here.

For now, they’ll focus on getting their baskets out of the trunk.

“Thank you, Ren-nii” You smile as you take the basket from his grasp. Being too short to reach into the compartment, less when most of the items were located on the far side of the same, left you in an unwanted predicament of needing help. Thankfully, your older brother being the taller of the 3, was able to jump into your aid, just like he always did when things were out of reach for either.

“You’re welcome, sis” he says, giving you a smile of his own, making your grin grow even wider.

“Where did you tell Tomoko to meet up again?” Eiichi asks as he looks at their surroundings, realizing there’s nobody there yet. A fear of having mistaken her directions begins to creep in the back of his mind.

“Just outside this store” Minako gestures to the convenience store as she takes out her phone. She didn't want to voice it out loud, but seeing her husband’s worried reaction has caused her to feel the same, forcing herself to alleviate this uncertainty by reviewing their past messages, or checking if she’d received any new ones.

Her shoulders relax upon realizing there are no new unread messages on her notification center that might imply they’re in the wrong location, however, the clock did inform that Tomoko was running late, and these two factors often led the sender to imagine the worst possible scenarios.

“I’ll just text her we’re here then” Minako informs, unlocking her cell phone and typing a quick, straightforward we're here, before sending it.  “Done. Let’s wait over here in the meanwhile”

“Alright” Eiichi gathers the children and leads them away from the store’s entrance, so as to avoid blocking the path of oncoming traffic, which really didn’t complain much about, too focused on greeted the people they quickly recognized as the leaders of the L/N clan, as well as complimenting their children’s costumes.

“I wonder what kind of candy we’re getting this year” Hinata ponders, looking back to last year's successful harvest, which she’d naturally shared with you. “I wouldn’t mind getting more lemon gum so I can give them to Satoru and see his ugly face twist” she darkly chuckles.

“That’s weird, Hinata” Ren twists his mouth in disapproval, why did Hinata have to be so weird with Satoru? “Anyways, what about you, sis? What kind of candy do you want to get on your first Halloween out?”

And so, you begin to think: first remembering the pumpkin lollipop your father gave you, before moving onto your mother’s pumpkin and chocolate candy, back when they were trying to bribe you into going out tonight.

But as much as the seasonal flavors were delectable to your tongue and wouldn’t mind getting more… none stood a chance against your all time favorite.

“I want mo—”

“Oh, look who it is!” Minako’s shrills as a familiar black car passes before them, the noise pausing your and your siblings' conversation in favor of seeking their mother “It’s Tomoko-san, she’s finally here!”

“Wait a…” Eiichi whispers upon catching two peculiar observations: first, the size of the car which he considers to be unsuitable for a family of 8. Second, the person sitting on the driver’s seat, a foreign face that would later have him boiling with anger once recognized.  «Seriously? Naobito couldn’t even bother dropping them off himself?»

His worries would eventually switch recipients when the luxurious car comes to a full stop just a few feet away from them, with the door swinging open to reveal the first attendant of the night, the eldest of her children— 14 year old Naoaki.

“Naoaki-kun! Over here!” your mother sang as she waved at the teenager, who grinned in turn before turning back and helping his mom and his youngest brother, a 7 year old Naoya, out of the car. 

The small boy wasn’t too keen on this action though, evident by the way he sulked past his brother’s offering hand and darted straight to his mother’s side.

“Come on, let’s receive them!” Minako urges towards her family.

“Uh, honey… are you seeing what I’m seeing?” Eiichi says, taking the lead and guiding the children right behind her.

“Eiichi, don’t start now”

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry! I hope I didn’t make you wait that long…” Tomoko breathes as she rushes towards your group while pulling the hand of her youngest. “I had to make a few stops, but we’re finally here!”

“It’s nice to see you again, Tomoko-san. But… aren’t you missing half of your entourage?” Eiichi acknowledges the elephant in the room, glancing over to her two out six children, and while it’s nothing more than an innocent, genuine question from his part, it’s his wording that has Minako swiftly elbowing him as a form of reprimanding. “Ow!”

“Oh, that’s fine” Tomoko chuckles, dismissing her friend’s worry by following up Eiichi’s statement “I wasn’t counting on you two to not notice I’m missing 4 boys for tonight”

“You were thinking it too, Minako” Eiichi jests back, and she rolls her eyes while smirking.

“Yeah, but I would’ve said it differently” Minako says  “Anyways, is everything ok?”

“I wish” Tomoko sighs “Naofumi wasn’t feeling that well for the past few days, so it’s only right that I didn’t bring him along. As for the rest… well, you know how siblings are, if one of them says no, it’s more than likely that the others will mirror them”

“Tell me about it” Your mother agrees with a chuckle “But that’s awful, what does he have? Is he ok?”

“Do you need medicine? We can help you with that” Eiichi offers. Your parents could only imagine what poor Naofumi is going through, always the feeble one… it’s terrible that of  nights, he had to get sick on this one.

“Oh, thank you, but it’s fine. Naobito already covered everything. Still, I wish I could’ve stayed behind to take care of him… but I don’t think it would be fair for those that wanted to come” Tomoko responds, nudging towards the small boy beside her, whom she smiles warmly at once he glances up at her “Junko-san insisted on helping me out, to which I rejected profusely since she’s pregnant and I didn’t want her to get any more stress than necessary… but that’s stubborn Junko-san to you…”

“How could I forget that!” Your mother gasps, clasping her hands together “That’s wonderful! And after all that she had to struggle… She deserves this happiness. Tomoko-san, you need to tell me everything!”

“Umm…as much as I would’ve liked the two of you to keep talking… I think there’s some small matters to tend to” He says, referring to the pairs of eyes that were tensely looking at them, as if telling them to hurry up so they can get candy.

He hated playing devil’s advocate and having to rush the two good friends who were only catching up after not seeing each other for a while, but if they wanted to participate in all the activities planned for that evening, they would have to adhere to the schedule.

Besides, he too had to leave in a matter of moments if he was to get to work on time as well.

“I also have to leave in a bit” Eiichi eventually reveals, much to Tomoko’s surprise.

“What? You’re not staying?” She gasps, a noise that pushes the already settled seeds of guilt deeper into his chest.

A statement he was genuinely afraid to communicate, for it meant finally informing his children that he would be absent. Eiichi wanted to keep this fact a secret for as long as he could, in hopes of avoiding a sourful reaction from appearing on his kid’s faces, but that was nothing more than wishful thinking.

However, he didn’t count on the shattering of his heart, that is, until he heard your soft voice speaking up in the representation of your and your sibling's thoughts.

It’s time to face the lights.

“You’re not staying… papa?”

“No, little one, I gotta go to work” he says crouching down to your level “Something came up and I gotta go fix it”

“…Can’t someone else go?” you debate. “I don’t want you to leave”

“No, it’s something that I have to do personally” He apologizes, but his words do nothing to alleviate the overwhelming feeling both are feeling for his departure. And upon noticing this, Minako steps in.

“Papa is very important in his job, so there are things that only he can do” Your mother explained. “That’s why he has to be there”

You give her words a few seconds of thought, doing your best to process what it meant to be the only person who would do a certain job; or your father’s importance at his company. But it still didn’t make sense to you. Couldn’t someone else’s dad go instead of yours?

“…I guess” you eventually relent, feeling the hopelessness of nothing changing even if you tried. You would come to understand this situation with time, but it wouldn’t make it any less upsetting. “But don’t take too long! Or you won’t get candy!” 

“I certainly won’t give you candy” Hinata says as she crosses her arms. She’s acting indifferently, but Eiichi knows that deep inside, it’s only a facade to hide how hurt she truly felt.

“I’ll think about it” Ren shrugs, and just like his daughter, it’s an act to hide the fact that they’re going to miss him.

“Well, how about you save some for me, hmm?” He asks, gently tapping your nose with his index finger, a gesture that has you scrunching your face, but immediately folding to his request.

“Ok, but I’ll only give you the ones I don’t like” You compromise, extending your little finger “Pinky promise!!”

“Fair trade” he agrees, intertwining his finger with yours, an adequate exchange for having to miss out on spending time with his kids, or so he assumes. “But promise me something, that you’ll have fun even if I’m not here—and that you’ll let your mother take pictures!” Eiichi says, now referring to all of his children.

You, Hinata and Ren nod in agreement. Eiichi was about to stand up to get ready for his departure, but your tackle of a hug stops him from doing so. A sight that causes Tomoko and Minako to awe in adoration.

Eiichi melts into your hug as long as he can before having to regretfully pull himself away from your short arms and onto the rest of his kids, who were seemingly hesitant to accept his hugs, but didn’t move away until he did.

He’d then approach his wife to give her a kiss on the lips and a hug as well. A gesture to show his overwhelming love for her, of course… but accompanied by ulterior motives.

“Pleasepleaseplease take lots of pictures, until you run out of film if necessary!—but don’t take any of the boys! I don’t want them in the family album with our babies” He whispers against her ear, low enough to avoid Tomoko’s ears, but clear enough for Minako to roll her eyes in incredulity—Eiichi being dramatic, yet again “Please”

“Eiichi, relax. Just go do your work and let me worry about the photos” she kisses again, placing her hand over his cheek and caress him in reassurement “Good luck, dear”

“Goodbye Tomoko-san. Please be sure to let Minako know if you need anything” Eiichi offers, before looking to her kids “...Naoya, Naoaki”

“Goodbye, L/N-san” Naoaki responds with a nod “And please don’t stress. I’ll be here to help okaa-san and Minako-san with the kids” 

Eiichi blinks.

He knows it’s not right to have opinions of… kids in general. They’re just children after all, they have yet to grow and mature into capable adults… but he just can’t help it! More so when he’s taken aback by Naoaki’s seemingly reassuring words… 

Which unsurprisingly leads him to misinterpret his intentions to be nothing more than a mockery of his unwanted predicament. And could anyone blame him? He went into this situation already holding preconceived notions about their intentions.

Eiichi was secretly glad that only two of them were able to assist, for it meant that his adorable daughters were out of danger from any unwanted prospects (delusions of a worrisome father), one less burden to carry… at least partially.

Oh, but Naoaki was on another level of concern, far from the realm of his daughters, and onto one of the horrors fellow parents have warned him about: his teens!

Naoaki… well, from a distance, he’s a kid that Eiichi has been able to observe as somewhat calm, even helpful when it comes to supporting his mother… but then, he remembers the quarrels he often has with his brothers, and this overruled whatever was previously stated.

More so because his oldest son is already 10 years old! Meaning that he could start looking up to Naoaki for inspiration!! And if that happened… Oh no… he wouldn’t like for Ren to start having issues with his sisters! Not when they got along so well with one another!! It would literally break his heart to see his family breaking apart…

With that in mind, could anyone blame him for not liking Naoaki either? (Does Eiichi like any of the Zen’in kids?)

Oh, but at this moment in time, all that he can do is hope that his dear Ren is strong enough to look away from the enticing defiance that comes with their teens… and stay on the path of righteousness he and his wife have set before him.

And with nothing else to worry about, and no pending farewells to carry out, Eiich gets into the car and leaves.

With his car out of sight, and the chauffeur retiring for the night, the mother’s are able to move on with their itinerary… but not without doing proper introductions between the groups, 3 of which have already started to attack each other with silly faces to kill time and show their disdain for one another, discreetly enough to avoid getting the attention of the adults, but still holding the same damaging intent.

“Good evening everyone!” Tomoko says, completely unaware of the battle going on between one of her kids and your siblings, for her voice served as a warning for them to put on their best demeanor—an act  that still doesn’t stop Naoya from silently cursing them.

Her beautiful golden eyes—the same ones as Naoya’s and Naoaki’s— proceed to scan each and every face before her, admiring their cute chubby cheeks to the point where she wants to go ahead and pinch them, but stops herself as to not make them uncomfortable, besides, she already has an lovable 7 year old to dote on, so she isn’t sacrificing much.

So instead, she moves on to admire similarities to their parents, to which Minako is king.

“Aren’t you all adorable? It’s been a while since I’ve last seen you, you’re all so grown up…” she notes, moving closer to the children.

“Thank you, Tomoko-san! It’s nice to see you again, I’ve actually grown 3 inches since we last saw each other!” Hinata boasts, standing up proudly as to show off her height.

“I think I’ve remained the same, officer” Tomoko chuckles, a playful jab to Hinata’s costume “I definitely feel safer with you around”

“At your service” She bows. Naoaki holds back a stifled chuckle, amused by your sister's commitment to her role.

Fortunately, his gesture remains overtly neglected in preference to Naoya's eye-rolling response, which she managed to catch just at the last second through the corner of her eye. It’s only when Tomoko moves onto Ren that your sister retaliates by sticking her tongue out, much to Naoya’s offense.

“Now, you’re definitely taller than what I remember” She says, placing her hand above his head and shuffling his hair. Ren remains quiet. “And you’re… a skeleton, right? It’s pretty cool… and surprisingly accurate! Your makeup is amazing as well!”

“Thank you, Tomoko-san.” he nods, feeling appreciative of her compliment of his handiwork in the makeup department “And yes, I’m a skeleton that glows in the dark, but you can’t see it right now because of the light” 

“No way!” She gasps, inching closer to admire the fluorescent paint “And you had all this custom made, Minako-chan?!”

“I told you, the seamstress I found is impressive” she grins proudly “Maybe we can get something fitted for ourselves in the future”

“I’ll hold you to that!”

Naoaki can’t help but cringe at his mother’s implication of wanting to participate in Halloween—was she really considering dressing up? Wasn’t that like… a kids thing? Oh, but knowing her… she just might.

Anyways, wanting to maintain his sanity, he doesn’t pry any further.

And finally, it’s Tomoko’s time to move on to you.

“And you, little Y/N. You’re growing too fast!” she exclaims “You were like what… 4 years old when I last saw you? Stop growing already!”

You don’t respond outside of a whine when Tomoko decides to finally indulge in her desire and pinch your cheeks.

“Now, what are you dressed up as?” she asks, raising an eyebrow as she fails to recognize the pair of red eyes and shining white grin printed on the hood of your onesie.

“Gengar!” you exclaim, but Tomoko remains clueless as ever, causing you to frown and press your lips together in disappointment. 

She’d be the nth person that night that doesn’t get what you’re dressing up as… but not to her oldest son, who steps in prompted by familiarity.

“Oh, from Pokemon, right?” Naoaki observes, and the disappointment you were reeling in flies out the window when you realize there’s actually someone out there who finally understands what you’re dressed up as!

“Yes!” you say with the biggest grin your lips permits you to do, a picture worthy smile that makes Minako regret not having her camera out and ready “You like pokemon too??”

“A little” he responds “Cool costume by the way, all of you really”

Hinata and Ren silently thank him for his unforeseen compliment, wanting to limit their interaction with him as much as possible due to his relation to Naoya, contrasting your decision of sticking to his side for the rest of the night to partake in more conversations of your favorite videogame.

“I don’t know who Gengar is, but you sure look scary!” Tomoko says, giving one last pinch to your cheeks before walking back to her children’s side “Good work, everyone. You all have really good costumes, and I’m sure you’ll get lots of candy!”

“I’m sure your boys will get lots of candy too, more so if we tell them that it’s Naoya’s first trick-or-treating as well” Minako recalls and Tomoko gasps.

“Oh, right! It’s Y/N’s first trick-or-treating as well!” Tomoko excitedly responds “And in that note… I don’t think either of you have met yet”

It’s time for Hinata and Ren to object… at least in their minds.

They want to step in and clarify that their introduction won’t be necessary for Y/N is never to meet him again, but knowing they held no power over your mother’s decisions, they resentfully limit themselves to stand on the sidelines as they observed their mother guiding you by the hand towards their mortal enemy, the youngest of the Zen’in brothers.

You, on the other side… well, haven’t really given any attention to either of the boys in front of you, outside of Naoaki of course, who you’ve solely become interested in thanks to his apparent knowledge in Pokemon—since both your siblings had other interests, and Satoru, your other friend, was fan of another franchise. A bit too fond perhaps, to the point he’d criticize your preference whenever he could, pushing you to avoid the subject with him all together.

Either way, Naoya had remained under the radar for you, meaning that you were more than fine with greeting him, even open to establishing a friendship, contrary to your fuming siblings who wanted nothing more than to keep him away from you.

But in Naoya’s eyes… you were far from under the radar.

In fact, you two have yet to meet (formally at least, since the first time they met you were nothing more than a toddler, and him being a year older didn’t mean much) but he already knows that he’s going to dislike you.

He hated the reality of becoming acquainted with another L/N kid who was only going to torment him, an assumption he founded due to his broken relation with the insufferable Hinata and mundane Ren.

It wasn’t always like that, of course, they actually got quite well at the beginning.

But when he started to feel comfortable with them, that’s when things got complicated: out of nowhere, Naoya started to show off by belittling them for having better toys than them, nicer shoes, sharper pencils, or even a cooler face. Whatever that might be…

From there, it was a constant battle between the three of who’s better—a fight that Naoya believed to be winning, had he not forgotten that he was going against 2 children, meaning that Ren and Hinata could simply pluck him out of their social circle and keep having fun.

An unexpected change that had him suddenly feeling ignored, much to his surprise, something that he already endured in a household of 6 children, and wasn’t to accept so easily, so he retaliated even harder.

Well, it’s not his fault that your family is too poor to give them the latest toy on the store shelves, or that they have to earn things instead of just asking for them. In his eyes, it was obvious that your siblings were calling him nasty nicknames because they were jealous of him and his status.

And he expects you to be the same.

Thus, when you approach him in a seemingly shy manner, he can’t help but remain unaffected towards you. 

He believes your reaction to be nothing more than an act to appease the adults around them, to fool them with your innocent demeanor and get them to lower their guards, so that when they turn around you’d begin to insult him, just like how Hinata and Ren did as soon as he got out of the car, they even went as far as to mouth how ugly his costume was as soon as they laid eyes on him! 

So what’s taking you so long to do the same?!

He continues to stare at you, hoping to pry the answer out of your face. 

Even when you finally glance up to see him, with those big round mesmerizing stupid eyes of yours, he doesn’t relent in attempting to be intimidating.

The silence between the two kids urges one of the mothers to step in and rush introductions.

“Say hi, Naoya” Tomoko says, nudging her kid closer to you before hissing “don’t be rude”

Naoya frowns.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Naoya Zen’in” He bows, enunciating his last name in a particular way as if to show off the prestige that his family carries.

He briefly glances over to your sister and brother upon seeing the disgust on their faces, which only serves to irk him even further, leading you to be the victim of his reprieve.

Oblivious of the fight between him and your siblings, you blink, remaining silent as you analyze his costume from head to toe. There’s something familiar about his costume but you can’t put your finger on it quite yet… so you just continue to stare at him, unknowingly rubbing Naoya the wrong way.

With your hood partially covering your face, he’s wide open for you to give him one of those typical nasty scowls from Hinata, or uninterested pouts from Ren. So, why are you taking so long?! Finding a way to insult him differently from your siblings maybe?! 

And he’s not the only one to notice your silence, prompting Minako to give you a gentle nudge to speak up, but just as she’s leaning closer to you, something finally dawns on you to talk, giving Naoya an unexpected answer, doubling down with your wide grin and chirping words.

“Wow!! Cool costume!!”

And the world seemed to stop, or that’s how Naoya felt when this happened.

To say that he fumbled his subsequent actions would be an understatement. 

He was straight up speechless when you finally granted him a response—and not any response, a compliment—one outside of his carefully procured script of nasty remarks, leaving him to drench in the feeling he could only describe as the main villain from an anime revealing to the protagonist that he’s only been using a small percentage of his power!—with you being the villain and he the protagonist, of course.

“That’s not your name, Y/N” Minako giggles and you blush out of embarrassment.

“Oh—yeah. I’m Y/N, nice to meet you!” you add nonchalantly before turning back to your mom “Mama, can we get candy now?!” you jump excitedly, a sight that only adds to your unexpected intentions, which Naoya cannot find himself to accept so easily.

He tries to find any deceit behind your words, behind your actions, a follow up to the deceitful play you were putting before the adults to lower their guards.

But by the way you’re so…. Unaware of him, focused entirely on something else, he fails to do so.

But—but how could this be?! You’re related to that arrogant Hinata and gullible Ren, how could you be so different to them if you have the same blood?!

…

…

…

Oh.

Oh.

Like clouds dispersing after a rainy day, he suddenly understands why.

It’s because they’re so insufferable that you’re so different from them! 

There’s no way someone who genuinely appreciated his attire would actually get along with your ignorant siblings. 

Yes, that had to be it. It was only a matter of time before someone from their own family noted how aggravating they were, which means that you and Naoya are more similar than he initially perceived.

This was your way of seeking help, wasn’t it? That’s why you approached him! You resonated with him, ever before getting to know each other. Different from your siblings, you managed to avoid their brainwashing because you just knew he wasn’t as bad as they might’ve hinted!

It’s like that manga… the one that said that powerful users are naturally drawn to each other…? Or however it went. All that Naoya knew was that this was a fated reunion, meant to happen tonight of all nights!! Now that he thinks about it… there was something that was pushing him to go with his mom, and oh, how glad he was to have come!

It doesn’t take much longer for him to declare that he wants to stick by your side for the rest of the night with the intentions of getting to know more of your mysterious nature, completely ignoring any other possibilities, more so the one that had you reacting that way simply because you eventually recognized his costume from one of the shows you watched alongside Ren on Saturday mornings before breakfast, what was it called… Super Sentai?

Naoya was dressed up as the black one, the one that was often considered cooler amongst viewers, just behind the red one. He even had the helmet! And it wasn’t just any kind of costume that a parent might find at a retail store, the amount of detail dictated that it must’ve been a replica of the original. 

Certainly, his commitment (as well as his parent’s willingness to spend that much money on a one-day attire) to the show was to be appreciated.

And that was it. Nothing more, nothing less. 

A compliment brought from genuine fondness, as well as recognition, for the show and what it represented for your brother and you.

But how would 7 year old Naoya come to understand this? Not even Minako’s compliments of her own were enough to make him realize that it was just… that, a compliment. 

Or when you repeated the same phrase onto Naoaki, who kindly informed you that he wasn’t dressed up, he was simply wearing a civilian attire—an black and white tartan shirt, underneath an oversized varsity jacket, and some denim pants to go alongside his white sneakers—much to Minako’s disappointed, who still remembered that curious boy who dressed up as a mummy many, many years ago…

No, not even that would help. 

He’d remain as oblivious as ever as the world went on without him, leaving him behind to be stuck in his mind the echoing sound of your appreciation, believing it to be something else than what it really was.

Maybe after the kids—who started to replicate your sentiment to pressure them forward—were sated, would Naoya come to this conclusion on his own. One could only hope.

“Oh, before we start, let’s take a picture!” Minako suggests, quickly taking out her camera and gesturing to the group to come together so as to fit into the frame “The youngest on the front, please!”

Naoya is quick to glance over to you, the perfect opportunity to stand by your side is enough to fill him with motivation, but just as he was to scurry to your side, your sister is faster, bumping into him and completely blocking you away from him.

Had she been any harsher, she would’ve sent him stumbling down, labeled an accident from an eager sister who wants to be with her youngest sibling.

But Hinata was too cautious to do anything by accident, as evidenced by the devilish grin appearing on her lips as she looked back at Naoya.

“Better luck next time, chump”

Naoya, offended beyond belief, resentfully accepts defeat as he stands besides Hinata instead. He wanted to go over to your other side, but your brother was there instead.

It seems that your siblings had caught wind of Naoya’s new intentions as soon as they became clear in his eyes, and wanting to keep his grubby hands away from you as long as possible, have also set a new mission for them to perform through the rest of the night.

The youngest of the Zen’in children eventually focuses to the front and onto the camera lens, with the straightest, most serious face Tomoko has ever seen that causes her to gesture at him to smile by doing so herself.

He tries his hardest to obey by pulling the edges of his lips up, but his defeat only allows him to give a side smirk—opting to place all his efforts on plotting his revenge instead.

“1… 2… Cheese!” Minako declared, and within seconds, the camera flash beams onto the party.

She has yet to reveal the picture, but she knows that it’ll be one that she’ll look back with fondness, even though Eiichi will probably be more than not upset with her for going against their agreement, but she really couldn’t care! She’s just happy to see her friend again and to be spending time with her family as well as her’s. A fun, exciting night, just as the parents always intended it to be—he had nothing to worry.

Completely ignorant to the fact that Eiichi’s fear of one of the Zen’in kids catching interest on one of their daughters is slowly becoming a reality.

Up to that point, Halloween had been the greatest night of your life—and that wasn’t an exaggeration.

Let’s start by breaking down why.

First, and perhaps the most obvious reason why, the candy. 

Although a bit apprehensive in the very beginning when realizing you actually needed to go up to different doors and request the candy, which only made your timidity skyrocket to the heavens, soon became an inconsequential obstacle once you saw the sweets deposited on your basket.

From there, it was all smooth sailing, to the point you became comfortable enough to be the one to sing the customary trick-or-treat chant— the magical words that summoned the candy guardians to the front gates of their impressively decorated fortress and granting your party a hefty amount of their treasure— which up to that point, had been Naoya’s responsibility, but solely because he wanted to impress you with his “confidence and maturity”, not because he wanted to do so.

The second reason was your company. Naoaki, to be precise. Sure, you enjoyed being with your siblings, even meeting a new friend! But while this could be considered a separate occurrence from Halloween itself, in your mind it made no difference. 

The teenager unwillingly tagged along thanks to his mother's insistence. He attempted to skip this all together by reminding her that he was too old to indulge in these activities and that he also didn’t even bring a costume, so what was the point? 

But Tomoko, having raised 6 rowdy boys, wasn't one to be swayed so easily, so she firmly put her foot down and demanded him to have fun by shoving an extra basket onto his chest.

So, he’s here, much to your conversational delight, and Naoya’s jealous demise.

To your delight, because it meant you could spend more time talking to him about Pokemon! 

Or more like interrogating, for he was the only other person you knew that liked the same thing as you did, and he was much older, so it meant that he must’ve done much more, right? No one in their right mind would pass an opportunity like this!

It gave you the perfect justification to gravitate more towards him, bombarding him with thousands of questions regarding his favorite pokemon, his favorite moment on the T.V. show, or if he’d managed to get one of those evolutions that can only happen via trade.

“I haven’t” you confess “Because I have no one else to play with”

Naoaki didn’t know whether to feel bad for you, or chuckle for how blunt you were being. Well, guilt ended up overwhelming him at the end, prompting him to engage deeper into conversation with you—as well as forcing Naoya to make a mental note to demand his father to buy him a gameboy as soon as he came back home.

This is where Naoya’s demise would step into the picture. 

While you were overtly happy for being able to go out, get candy and meet someone who liked your favorite videogame, Naoya was suffering a hell of his own.

One that pushed him to see your interaction with his brother as some kind of competition: to steal your attention from his idiot older brother, who was completely oblivious of Naoya’s internal conflict, and get it all for himself!

He’s already on a losing streak against Hinata and Ren, so he’s not about to go and lose to his brother as well, the one who had only played pokemon once in his life and immediately dropped it after he got past Misty because it was “too repetitive”!!

He doesn’t know what he’s talking about, and yet, you can’t keep away from him! Can’t you see he’s lying through his teeth?!

… And your siblings don’t make it any better.

Naoya might’ve hinted at having bigger tolerance towards them—perhaps because he sees them way less compared to his family, but in reality, they were just as detestable as Naoaki. 

It all started from Hinata and Ren being unhappy at the adults for placing you as Naoya’s partner for the night, the youngest paired together, they justified when confronted by your sister, only for tonight.

An explanation that went over their heads and propelled them to follow on their insurgent mission.

The first to act was Hinata, by cutting off Naoya each time they were done with a house.

You had the tendency of running to your mom to show off what you’ve gotten. Nothing alarming on it’s on, that is, until your sister caught sight of Naoya trailing you like a shadow.

This is where Hinata would step in, imposing herself between your path and his, with a smug smirk on her face that only served to taunt him, forcing the young Zen’in heir to glance over her side, trembling with desperation as he acknowledged her.

“Move, ugly!” Naoya commands, tightening his knuckles while knitting his brows.

“Make me” she dared, and Naoya groaned. It’s surprising how nasty kids can get when determined.

Ren, on the other hand, would pull you by the hand to his and Hinata’s side whenever it was time to move onto the next house. 

His towering height covered you from the mother’s sight to the point that neither suspected you’d gone out of formation. Actions that lead for this endeavor to be successful for the first couple of houses, that is, until Minako eventually noticed Naoya alongside his solitude.

“Ren, let Y/N walk with Naoya-kun” Ren held back a grunt as he freed you from his grasp.

It’s from that point forward that Naoya decided that your mother was to be a trusted ally he could use for future plans. But as much as she’d proved herself to be a powerful piece in this conflict, her actions only granted him a temporary advantage, he had yet to win the war.

In fact, he’s yet to do so much more, for he also realized that he’s barely managed to get in a word with you—and that’s without counting the insistent actions of your siblings and his own brother.

And he doesn’t know why. He’s never struggled before. In fact, he rarely struggles in anything—his family has said so, he’s some kind of genius! 

Well, maybe with his cousin Toji, who he considered the epitome of coolness, has he stammered with his own words. But even then, he’d only done so once or twice. Toji-kun was out of everyone’s league, so it was natural many would be intimidated in his presence. Even his stupid older brother knows not to mess with him!

«Would he approve of you?» Naoya briefly wonders as he glances back at you.

You weren’t like any other of the girls he’d spoken with, or attempted to, before, that’s for sure. 

There’s something about you that constricts his throat to the point where he can only whisper and stare at you, who in turn, greet him back with a cheerful hello whenever grazes cross, only worsening his already strained condition.

Was it because you liked things different from what other girls did? You don’t strike him as the kind of kid that would bother with girly stuff, not when you recognized his Super Sentai costume and you were dressed up as a videogame character. 

You’re already way above them—his equal. Eeh, well, maybe not that far. He still thinks of himself as above everyone else, but you’re up there, just a step below him, but very close to him.

Either way, none of his previous disadvantages managed to discourage him from stopping from doing what he needed to do. 

So when Tomoko and Minako announced it was time for a short break, he knew this would be his moment to seize!

The mothers guided them through a dimly lit path and onto a nearby park which they’d previously agreed on to use to rest in, take a breather, check everyone was ok, get something to drink and/or eat, before continuing.

It’s at this moment that Tomoko would reveal why she was late in the first place: she had to pick up the bottles of water and snacks she’d promised Minako she would bring (as sign of gratitude for preparing all of this for their children) for them to consume if any got thirsty or hungry—it was tempting to just reach into their respective baskets and eat the candy they collected, but until they were safely searched through and cleared of any unwanted objects, none of the kids were permitted to eat them. 

Besides, sprinkling a bit of fruits and vegetables here and there could do no wrong if they were already going to indulge in sugar.

“Is anyone hungry? Thirsty?” Tomoko asks, unzipping her backpack and taking out various small bottles of water which she placed on the nearby table. “Or does anyone want to go to the restroom instead?” 

“I’ll take one” Naoaki says and his mother hands him the one in her grasp ‘Thanks”

Minako moves closer to her friend, intending to grab one for herself and her children, when suddenly, a current of cold air lands on his back, traveling through every centimeter of her spine, resulting in a shiver that has her freezing on the spot.

“Ugh, that was… awful” Minako complains through gritted teeth while rubbing her hands against her arms. Her desperation to warm up takes her to look back to the nearby coffee shop she’d eyed moments earlier, her face brightening up when a new suggestion crosses her mind “I know, do you guys want to get something warm?” 

“No, thank you” you shake your head, still buried in the warm layers your mother and father buried you underneath. Hinata and Ren mirror your answer with a nod of their own. Naoaki gestures as his bottle before politely rejecting her offer, and Naoya keeps quiet.

“What about you, Tomoko?” Minako now looks at her, who is currently opening a bottle of water and handing it over to Naoya.

“I think I’ll have a coffee” She responds “I’m already getting a bit sleepy and we still have the rest of the night to go through”

“Rough night, hm?” Minako jests and Tomoko blushes.

“Stop it, I’m just worried for Naofumi, that’s all”

“He’ll get back on his feet before you know it, don’t worry. Worry instead about how you want your coffee so I can go get it”

“Oh, there’s no way I’m going to let you pay for it!” Tomoko yelps, hand reaching inside her backpack and taking out her wallet “Tell me what you want and I’ll get it”

“Haha, that’s funny” Minako teased, jolting away from Tomoko’s hand, which she frequently presented to offer her card “But no, stay here with the kids, I’ll pay it”

“Minako” Tomoko warns.

“Tomoko” the other replicates.

“I swear if you don’t—”

“Mom, L/N-san, why don’t you both go? I mean, I have no issue looking after the kids for a while” Naoaki interrupts, hoping that his serene solution will bring peace to the bickering he was never fond of. 

“Are you sure, Naoaki-kun?” Minako asks with hesitation, for she doesn’t want to dump him with 4 children as much as she finds accompanying Tomoko very endearing. “I don’t want to overwhelm you”

“Don’t worry about it, I have 5 siblings, there’s nothing they can do to scare me” 

«We’ll see about that» Naoya thinks as he crumples his now empty bottle of water.

“Besides, mom hasn’t seen you in a while” Naoaki sheepishly adds, scratching the back of his head “and I… like seeing her happy”

Tomoko’s lips part into a heart warming smile at her son’s gentleness. Always the attentive one, she’s proud to have raised a good natured kid like him.

So, after the women and Naoaki go through all the things they’ve brought in case of an emergency—which they doubt will happen, since they’re only going a few yards away, but a mother can never be too sure!—and asking for a second time if any of them want something (to which they reject once more) they depart.

Tomoko was still somewhat hesitant of leaving them behind, worried that someone might attempt to do something against’ them, a natural concern to have in a village she’s yet to become acquainted with, but Minako squashes her burdens by reassuring her there was nothing to worry about, for she’d chosen this neighborhood specifically for how safe and calm it was known to be.

“Maybe we should worry about our kids disobeying Naoaki” the two joked instead as they kept walking towards the store.

And once out of sight, Naoaki makes haste to turn around and start tending the group.

“So… how’s the night treating all of you?” he asks awkwardly, unsure how to start to distract them.  “Do you want something to eat? Drink…?”

Sure, he’s had plenty of experience dealing with children… who coincidentally were his siblings… 

He doesn’t presume he can treat Minako’s children the same as he’d done with his siblings, but … well, it must count for some kind of experience, right? And he did make a promise he intended to keep.

However, it's safe to say that he’s never been this intimidated before. Certainly not by a child whos unimpressed face made him question why he even agreed to this: Hinata being the subject in question

It’s almost as if she’s sensing his fear by the way she’s intently staring at him with a piercing gaze that tells him he’s performing a terrible job and that he should let a professional handle this, like her, unless he wants to make a fool out of himself.

So, after a few seconds of intense critiquing and intimidation, Hinata steps in.

“Alright, baskets on the table” Hinata asserts, acting as the first example before starting to dig through her mountain of sweets “This is our moment to switch candies if there’s something we don’t like before our mother’s come back, so we have to be quick about”

Taking this as an opportunity to finally socialize with you, Naoya makes haste to move onto your side, but just as he’s stepping closer to you, Ren abruptly cuts him off, again, by placing his own basket on the spot next to yours.

The young Zen’in shoots him a dangerous glare, but the oldest of the L/N family pays him no mind as he digs through his own candy, as if this had been nothing more than an innocent coincidence, which makes Naoya scoff as he now moves onto his side.

“Someone gave me a sweet potato” Ren confides, pulling the culprit out of his basket and placing it on the middle of the table, subsequently causing all of the group to quizzically stare at it.

“Hahaha, what the hell??” Naoaki is the first to react to the bizarre sight. It’s so comical, he can’t believe someone actually gave kids a goddamn vegetable instead of candy! “That’s worse than raisins—might as well given you nothing”

Unfortunately none of the kids respond to his comment, and the silence between the group and him only pushes him deeper into the ocean solitude he’d been drowning in since he was left in charge of them.

Well, it’s expected. The only one of the group that seemed to like him was you and that was solely for your shared interest in pokemon, which if he had to be completely honest… he didn’t like that much. But he wasn’t to go and break your heart like that. So he’d just remain quiet and let you enjoy your sweets.

“Anyways” Ren circles back everyone's attention to him “You seem to have gotten a lot of the candies you wanted, Hinata”

“Yesssss” She cheered, grabbing a handful of the lemon candies beginning to envision herself torturing Satoru “But I also got a lot of these” She says, now referring to the different colored bunches of hi-chew’s she placed alongside her weapon “Didn’t you like them, Y/N-chan?”

“Nope” you shake your head, hand still stuck in your basket as you search for a candy wrapper that caught your attention just moments ago “I like chocolate more, and mochi too!” you inform, finally pulling out the candy you were looking for with a grin… only to realize it wasn’t what you believed. “But I didn’t get any mochi at all” 

Maybe mochi isn’t traditionally given during these seasons?

And like clockwork, a Naoya that has been desperate for an opportunity to portray himself a charming prince of sorts and charm you with his generosity, takes this moment to finally, once and for all!! To step in and get the spotlight on him.

“What kind of chocolate do you like, Y/N?” Naoya asks confidently (or so he believes his voice to have sounded), looking straight at you. You blink, diving into deep thought as you pouted, debating which out of all the chocolates you tasted were the best. There’s too many that you like, but if there’s one that you like the most, it would have to be—

“Well! If there’s something you don’t like, you can give them to me” Hinata yelps, pulling out a bag of the colorful candy and placing it in the middle, just beside Ren’s tragic sweet potato. “I trade you these hello kitty strawberry marshmallows for those lemon candies”

Naoya groans at another interrupted attempt, loud enough for Naoaki to glance at him and ask him if there was anything wrong, to which the youngest simply scoffed as a response. 

And you, too focused on the exchange before you, didn’t notice anything at all.

“Deal!” You grin. They might not be chocolate, but they’re still pretty good, so you don’t hesitate to switch them from the middle of the table with help of your older brother, and place them into your basket.

The conversation between your siblings seems to go on for a while, from exchanging sweets to rumors of the streets that are hinted to give bigger and better candies. Undeniably, the people that were often considered to be on the rich side of socioeconomic standards, and subsequently, able to afford the good brands.

All this pushes Naoya further and further away from you whenever he tries to chime in, that at one point, he just stops trying.

“Maybe we can convince mom to go there, get a king sized kit kat bar!” Hinata hypes, gently nudging you by the shoulder. A revelation that Naoya takes note to remember well, for if it wasn’t of any relevance, why bring it up? “It’s like the size of 3 bars! Can you imagine that, Y/N-chan??”

…

…

…

Silence.

“Y/N?” Hinata tries again, and once more, you don’t respond to her enthusiasm, at least not the way she expects. Instead, she’s received by a pout and a frown on your chubby face, portraying distress.

“Are… you ok?” She cautioned. Words that are quick to set off  alarms in everyone’s mind.

You lean into Hinata’s ear to whisper.

“Where is mama?”

“She’s still at the coffee shop” Naoaki, who had kept an attentive ear after this upsetting question, finds it appropriate to step in and responds in her stead. “I don’t think she’ll take longer though, is there something you need?”

“No…” you look away, cheeks burning out of embarrassment for having him respond to the question you intended only to be heard by your sister. A gesture that Naoya takes unkindly, for his mind believes Naoaki did so with the intention to shame you, and after all you gave him…

This might’ve just been his desperation trying to fill the blanks though, for he’s the only one that thinks that. 

Ren and Hinata are on the same page as Naoaki when it comes to worrying for you. They fear that you’re too embarrassed to tell them what you need in the presence of strangers, leaving them stranded in a position of uselessness—something that the teenager was not going to let happen.

“It’s ok, you can tell me” Naoaki reassures you, and it’s only after you see his genuine concern as well as your siblings' comfort, that you finally confess.

“I need to go to the restroom”

“Oh” Naoaki blinks, taken aback by this unexpected revelation. “Uh… I—”

“Why didn’t you tell mom you wanted to go before??” Hinata huffs.

“Don’t talk to her like that, Hinata” Ren disputed.

“Because I didn’t want to go!” your whine back “Where is mama??”

“She’s not going to be here for a while…” Hinata mutters as the frustration to solve this matter plunges her into urgency. Sure, you knew how to handle these types of situations on your own, and when you needed help, mom was always there to step how.

However, she wasn’t there, and to make matters worse, all of them were in a relatively unknown public location, details that only made you feel more uneasy.

But after considering all of this, there’s no way Hinata was going to let you overcome this on your own, or wait for someone else to do so instead… If your older sister allowed it, she would not be living up to the role of the one she’s dressed up as. Or her role in the family!

“I’ll take you” she asserts, glancing over to Ren for approval, which he grants with a nod.

And after getting all the help she needed, retrieving the paper and soap Tomoko had brought along to use just in case, granted by Naoaki, Hinata intertwines her fingers with yours and begins to head over towards the building she guesses to be the nearest public restroom. 

Naoaki offered to take them as close as possible, but your sister, not wanting you to feel any more embarrassed than you already were, asked him to keep a lookout from the table and inform their mom of their location if she was to return first.

The oldest Zen’in never imagined someone so authoritarian could exist in the small body of an 8 year old, but here he was, dumbfounded once more by reality. 

But that observation falls to irrelevancy when it comes to keeping a close eye on the walking girls.

As much as unexpected your little trip to the bathroom had appeared to be, it didn’t really affect much of your enjoyment of Halloween. Sure, it's somewhat inconvenient, more so because you didn’t have your mom by your side in a strange place like this, but you had your courageous sister, and your brave brother looking out for you, instead. 

So you know that once this is dealt with you’ll be on your way to more fun, and more candy too.

Unfortunately, your trip to the restroom was not destined to be as smooth as both would’ve wanted.

Because just as Halloween is a special occasion for children to go out and have fun, there was also another demographic group that intended to do the same. The kind of people that often went above the limits to get a good laugh for themselves through the expense of others.

But that was something that you didn’t register, less when you were having a good time yourself with your family and new friends, which eased you deeper into lowering your guard as you’d continued to walk besides her, hand in hand, towards the nearest public restroom.

In your mind, There was nothing to worry about, nothing to observe, nothing to beware..

Not even the rustling bushes or the reticent whispers coming from the shadows behind it swayed you otherwise. 

A compromise that you were not aware that you needed to take, but would regret ignoring when the concealed figures established their outrageous appearance as soon as you and your sister were within grasp.

“AAAAH!!”

It all happened in a blur, too fast to recount with detail. Where the girls once enjoyed their peaceful yet essential stroll, now stood petrified at the ghastly presence of the different horror figures appearing just from the darkness and out of the bushes:

A pale ambiguous creature with long dark hair and bloodied lips, a red skinned demon with black horns and long fangs ending just beneath it’s chin, and lastly but not least, another pale skinned woman with a gory smile that stretched from ear-to-ear—arms stretched to the sky to enlarge their presence onto their victims whilst releasing a deafening growl that pushed the girls to wail even more.

It’s only then that the teenage perpetrators realized the immeasurable mistake they committed.

“Oh no, nononononono” One of them would lament, quickly retracting their arms back to their side as they frantically look to one another “This wasn’t supposed to happen! We weren’t supposed to scare them!”

But it was too late, for both your sister’s and your cheeks were drenched in tears, evident by the light reflecting against their skin.

“Why didn’t you say something?!” The horned devil snapped back, giving the one in charge of lookouts a sharp smack on the arm “I thought you said it was safe!”

“I—I thought” the wide-smile woman, popularly known as kuchisake-onna, stammered. “I thought I heard footsteps! Like adult footsteps, you know?! How would I know they would be different?!”

“You idiot!!” The first one chastises one last time before glancing back at the sobbing young girls who were now hugging each other as tightly as they could, and softening their voice “H—Hey, kiddo, I’m—I’m sorry we didn’t—”

“Get away from her!” Hinata interrupts with a shrill as she jumps between you and the regretful group, who have now removed their masks to increase the veracity of their apology, show they were just another bunch of stupid teenagers doing a stupid innocent prank, revealing their identities to be of two men and one woman—but it was all for naught for Hinata was never interested in their intentions, she just wanted to protect you, even if she was scared beyond belief herself.

Hoping to appeal to their sorority, the female wrongdoer moves closer to the girls, but the intimidating gaze of a protective older sister squashes their intention before it can even come to full fruition.

Or so that’s what Hinata believes—a wave of confidence engulfing her spirit as she moves you further behind her back and away from their danger, utterly oblivious to the real reason behind their cowering figures, an angered teenager briskly closing the distance between the two.

“You need to leave, now” The infuriated male demanded. Hinata turns to face the voice behind her, and soon realizes who was the one that intimidated them all along: Naoaki, holding the most angered face she’d ever seen a man carry before, accompanied with a  resentful Ren and a slightly startled Naoya. 

The group had seen everything from afar with utter disbelief at the audacity of these unruly teenagers for doing such a prank on young children. Had they really been that insensitive?!

But where the kids remained somewhat uneasy to voice their disapproval, Naoaki did not hesitate to bring out his confrontational nature.

“We didn’t know, we didn’t mean to—”

“I’m not fond of repeating myself twice. Less to people as shameless as you” Naoaki raged “Leave, now!”

The teenagers need no other reminder to understand their presence to be unwanted, hence they expeditiously begin to gather their belongings: objects that ranged from toilet paper, cans of string foam, and even eggs, presenting unbelievably sight to Naoaki which only deepened his exasperation for them before ultimately leaving.

He keeps a hardened gaze on their backs, as if to prevent them from doing another stupidity, and once he considers them no longer a hazard, he flickers his attention back to the sniffing children.

The sight is enough to squeeze his heart with guilt, gaze softening as he kneels down to their level.

Hinata, although she still cried, had actually started to calm down once realizing the monsters that scared them were nothing more than idiots inside costumes, whose possibilities of returning now that Naoaki confronted them were slim to none, giving her a sense of confidence that allowed her beating heart to begin slowing down.

This gives her time to reflect on what happened, and she can’t stop herself from feeling so naive for having fallen for something so silly, something that Satoru had done in previous occasions… but before she could go on resenting her lack of action, she settled for worrying over your unresolved emotions.

You unfortunately continued to be affected by this whole incident. As the youngest of the group, you still have yet to earn enough discernment to understand that this was nothing more than a prank, a seemingly victimless act… but even if it was nothing more than a joke, it felt real to you, enough to keep you wailing, heart painfully beating against your chest as you attempted to wrap your head around this whole incident, but failing to do so.

So, the only thing you could do was rub your tears away with the fabric of your sleeves as you wailed for your mother, a sight that caused your companions to murmur soothing words of encouragement in hope to make up for her absence and calm you down, at least until she’s back.

"It's ok, Y/N-chan. They're gone now" Hinata would attempt to comfort you by taking you into her arms and pushing you close to her before patting your back. Ren joined his sisters by wrapping his arms around them.

“You don’t have to cry anymore” Naoaki joined, but you’re barely able to respond with anything else outside a whimper or a sniff, muffled by your sister’s chest.

There are no words to describe just how frustrated he feels for allowing this to happen, and subsequently, failing to provide you a remedy. 

In fact, he feels regretful for permitting the teenagers to leave, but there really wasn’t much he could’ve done at that point that wasn’t to shout reprimands at them, which half of them would’ve been obscenities. 

Very tempting indeed, but that would just be to alleviate his frustration, no help to you or your sister.

His mind progresses to other realms of solutions, going through countless alternatives until he reaches one one that makes his eyes widen with fulfillment and determination, as well as hope for it to work.

Naoaki jumps back on his feet and rushes back to the table where their things have remained behind, intending to reach for his basket, earnestly digging through the candy whilst isolating a particular confection.

Once done, he makes way back to the group, but not without bringing your basket as well as his carefully selected lineup.

“These are your favorite, right?” he asks, kneeling down to your level once more and extending his hands for you to see what he’s referring to.

You slowly raise your gaze from your sister’s hug and over to Naoaki’s hands, blurry eyes widening in surprise once he begins to pour the countless chocolates onto your basket.

“You can have them all, Y/N. Just don’t cry anymore, ok?” Naoaki smiles softly, proceeding to pet your head  “Your sister and brother are very worried for you, Naoya and me as well”

You first glance over to Hinata and her concerned puffy face with glossy, reddened eyes, the visible aftermath of the panic she was put through alongside you.

You then look at Ren, who although managed to avoid being directly affected by this incident, was just as distressed as Hinata, evident by his creased forehead and the frown on his lips—further proving the truth behind Naoaki’s words.

Naoaki is giving you a warm smile, as if to assure you that everything is truly indeed, even if you felt your heart telling you the opposite. He even went as far to attempt to comfort you by giving you all of his chocolates…

And Naoya… even if he barely speaks to you, to see him so concerned for you, you can’t help but feel thankful. As well as guilty, for you don’t think he wanted to see anyone crying tonight.

Overwhelmed by the much needed presence of your mother, as well as your companions unshakable support, you can't help but break into tears once more.

"Y/N!" Minako’s unexpected voice snaps you out of trance, causing you to swirl your head over to her direction and squint your warm eyes to make out the appearance of the approaching figure. 

Once recognizing your mother, you immediately peel away from your sister’s and brother’s arms and run towards her, arms stretched to allow yourself to be pulled up by her as you break out in tears once more.

“It’s ok, little one, it’s ok. I’m here now” she croones, kissing the top of your head as you push your face deeper into her neck, inevitably wetting her skin, but it doesn’t bother her at all. 

She then moves closer to Hinata, pulling her closer to her figure and hugging her with her free arm. She might’ve stopped crying, but that doesn’t mean she isn’t in need for her mother as well.

It’s only after a while of basking in the comforting presence of your mother that your sniffles begin to quiet down, which Minako takes as a cue to finally ask.

“What happened? I just saw a group of kids running away and Y/N’s cries”

“Somebody scared Y/N-chan” Hinata says through a runny nose and a strained throat, which causes Minako to hold her even closer to her.

“Naoaki scared them away” Ren adds, gluing to his mother’s free side and hugging her leg.

"Oh no, that's terrible" Tomoko frets, worriedly looking over to her own children as if to check they weren’t equally affected as Minako’s children have been.

Naoaki seemed to be rather… unaffected by the incident, outside of being concerned for you and your sister. He was evidently pissed that this had even occurred in the first place, not bothering to ask the culprits the reason behind their actions—he was not interested in justifying them, not when he had bigger things to do like step in and protect the young girls. But she could also find underlying guilt behind his eyes… misplaced guilt, for how could he know there was someone planning something as unfortunate as this?

From there, she glances at Naoya. While he hadn’t been in the actual crossfire, he was still present. Present enough to be affected by this sour turn of events, made evident by the heavy shift on the atmosphere caused by the upsetting sight of the horrifying teenagers and the two crying girls. 

What transpired was also enough to perturb him to the point where he’d actually stuck to Naoaki’s side in efforts to seek comfort, eventually turning into the form of Tomoko’s hand, which he grasped almost immediately after she was within arms reach.

A gesture that has Tomoko looking down to her youngest out of concern, and through a silent understanding, she declares.

“I… think it’s better if we call it a night”

"Yeah. I think that's too much excitement for today" Minako kisses your forehead once more upon feeling you relax against her embrace, finally, calm and quiet after venting all the anguish from your heart. "I’m so sorry Tomoko-san, truly. I assured you that this was a safe place where our kids would have fun, but they did not. I don’t know how I can make it up to you”

Your mother attempts to bow with you in her arms, but Tomoko rushes to stop her.

“No, Minako-san, don’t worry about it. It was just an accident” She says “Besides, you’re not responsible for their actions. You have nothing to be held accountable for, please don’t torment yourself for this”

Minako mouths a small, but earnest, thank you, before moving on with their next trajectory of the night.

Both mother’s ended up calling their respective partners to inform them that they would be returning home much sooner than expected.

Your mother intended the call to be of the informative nature, notify Eiichi that they’d be grabbing a cab back to the estate so he wouldn’t have to drive down to the village, but considering the overprotectiveness nature of her husband, she anticipated him freaking out as soon as he knew of the scary incident that led to this change of plans—and he did.

There was no way Eiichi would sit at his desk, arms crossed, miles away from his family, while they needed his solace. So he miraculously pulled a few strings to temporarily get out of work and go pick them up personally.

Meanwhile, Tomoko’s husband… Well, he didn’t say much. Outside of being glad that the night had ended earlier than anticipated for he wasn’t fond of his family staying out late. She intentionally avoided reaching the subject of the “prank” for she disliked having to entertain a husband who had the habit of questioning the integrity of others whenever something goes differently to the accorded, when it was a simple unrelated accident. Not everyone had a ridiculous amount of money to spend in perfection, more so when this was a “casual” night for the kids.

As expected, Naobito was unavailable to pick them up but still reassured her that a chauffeur would be there in his presence as soon as possible. Neither her or her children were surprised by this decision, but there’s no denying that at least one of them hoped he would have done differently. Isn’t it alarming enough that they had to leave early?

Outside of this, it was safe that all the kids were disappointed that they had to leave early. 

They had yet to go to the rest of the neighborhoods, visit the ones where the rich people lived and get the good candy, as well as partake in the activities the community had set up for them, such as carving pumpkins, trying out masks, or going through a pumpkin patch.

Well, Hinata and Ren weren’t too bothered by that. Not when it comes to placing your safety first. And they were also tired from butting heads with Naoya.

But if there was one kid in particular that didn't like the whole leaving the party too soon thing more than the others, it was Naoya.

And not because he wanted more candy, he could always get that at home just by asking for it.

It's because he didn't want to leave you just yet.

Now that he’d managed to get through the mental turmoil the past succession had placed him in, he realized that he would be able to see you… god knows when. He counted with the rest of the night to make his move, but his plans were cut short because of those stupid teenagers.

But the thing that he hated the most was how they made you cry.

He never knew he could feel so sad from watching someone's teary face, that is, until he saw yours.

Naoya resented the fact that he just stood there, petrified by the horrifying noise of their screams and your frets, unable to do anything to help you because he was too startled himself, which inevitably left the road wide open for his brother to become the hero of the story, yet again.

Naoya was supposed to help you. He was supposed to be close to you and protect you. He feels confused, guilty, sad, for not being able to do anything at all throughout the night, when Naoaki did the exact opposite.

Sure, he was glad that his brother stepped in to put a stop to all this, but… he just… Well, first of all, he wasn’t expecting him to actually go above and beyond by giving you all his chocolates when that should’ve been him! Secondly, the fact that he hasn’t done anything to get to know you better is enough to have him reek with dissatisfaction.

But far from him trying to make himself the hero of the story, which don’t get me wrong, he still wanted to be…

He wanted to see you happy again. He didn’t want this night to end on a sad note for you.

So, determined to make things right, if only for one time during this night, he makes haste to take advantage of the last moment he’d have with you before leaving to make the biggest sacrifice a kid can make during Halloween night.

"Y/N" he calls, and you, now standing to your mother’s side once you begged and pleaded towards her to let you down once you began to feel a bit better, turn around.

"Hi…" you say, a yawn appearing mid way just to reflect how tired you’d ended up after all the emotional and physical exhaustion of your first trick-or-treating session, much to your dissatisfaction. “Sorry… Hi” you try again with an apology and a smile.

Naoya blinks for a moment before falling back in place by pressing his lips together as his gaze falls to the floor. This wasn’t supposed to be as nerve wracking as it was, but even then, that wouldn’t stop him, not when he already committed to the idea.

He takes a deep breath, gathering all the courage he can get to do what he wants next.

With his heart beating on his ears, ruby cheeks and brows pressed together, he stretches his arm and finally looks up to you.

"Here" he says, nudging his basket full of candy closer to you.

Now it’s your time to falter while eyeing his offering with much caution and wonder, unable to interpret the true intention behind his gesture outside of… well, what?

"Take it" Naoya feels obliged to clarify upon seeing your confused pout, carefully dangling the basket before you once more.

"Why?" you eventually ask, tilting your head to the side.

"I don't like it" Naoya lies, but he really doesn’t know what else to say to convince you. "I want you to have it"

You don’t seem to be convinced by his answer, which only makes Naoya feel more and more anxious by the second. First, because he suddenly felt the sharp gazes of your siblings stuck to his back, so he wanted you to make up your mind before they started to close in.

Secondly, because he felt like you were rejecting him—and that meant that his brother had managed to make more of a… lasting impression on you. And he dreaded to think that even when he finally gathered the courage to talk to you, it wasn’t enough.

Had he miscalculated your initial reaction towards him?

However, all of his worries were for naught, for after a few seconds of consideration, your small arms stretched to his and grabbed onto the handle of the basket, carefully taking the object away from him. 

It’s only for the briefest of moments that he’s able to brush against your fingers, but he already knows there’s nothing softer in this world that he’d rather hold.

Naoya’s anxiety has an unwanted return when he sees you silently stare at his offering, his worry lingering back to Naoaki, fearing that you might see his actions as a poor plagiarism of his… 

But his worries were for naught once again, for you’d eventually look up to him to give him another one of your loving smiles, one that cemented his first victory of the night, for it’s a reaction Naoaki hadn’t received in his moment, as well as ensuring your happiness before tonight ended.

“Thank you!” You grin, pulling the candies closer to you, seemingly overjoyed to receive an addition for your harvest.

“You’re welcome” Naoya sheepishly responds, face even redder when he catches you staring at him with that big toothy smile of yours longer than he anticipated, before turning around with the intention to return by your mom’s side.

It’s at this moment that he feels an itch on his throat, one that he has the extreme need to alleviate.

“Y/N?” he calls, and you turn around.

Curious e/c eyes falling on his face as you fathom the redness forming on his cheeks through the dimness of the street light, making you wonder if he was feeling sick.

“...Don’t cry” he murmurs, and you blink for a few moments before a frown settles on your face.

“I’m not crying” you explain and he scoffs.

“I mean” Naoya looks away, feeling more embarrassed by the second as a pout forms on his lips “Don’t cry again. I don’t like it when you’re sad”

It’s his way to say that he wants to make you happy, but you, not having the same perception as he did, limit yourself to take his words as those of comfort.

“I don’t like being sad either!” You respond, giving him another smile “But thank you, Noya-kun! And sorry for worrying you”

Naoya can’t help his heart from soaring upon hearing the adorable butchering of his name, which far from interpreting it as a mispronunciation, he takes it as a nickname. Another privilege he holds over Naoaki and possibly even your siblings.

He did it.

He won. He made you happy. And his older brother has no clue!

And he never would, because Naoaki… well, he was just in another entirely different realm when it comes to the antics of his youngest brother. 

Serves to show what the usual dynamic between the youngest and the eldest was like back in the estate—it’s no wonder the rest of the siblings had no issue sitting this one out once they heard Naoaki and Naoya would be attending, cloaking behind poor Naofumi as an excuse.

Nonetheless, Naoya would enjoy the victory his sacrifice brought him, a step closer to winning your heart. 

He knew that you’d enjoy this candy, and whenever you unwrapped one of them, you’d think of him! Now, isn’t that a bigger accomplishment than what Naoaki ever achieved in his life? (Outside of saving you, but that’s something that he’ll get to do another time)

Oh, how naive of him. If only I knew you were happy for some other reason....

It wouldn’t take long before your father arrived, and when he did, he jumped out of the car as soon as the engine shut down, not bothering to check if he’d closed the door appropriately or if he even parked correctly inside the delimited space. Traffic tickets had no weight in his mind, not when his sole focus was zeroing on his family and embracing his poor daughters followed by endlessly peppering their chubby faces with kisses as he frantically inquired.

“Are you ok Y/N?! Hinata?! Is either hurt?? Where are those damned—”

“They’re fine now, Eiichi” Minako reassures him “But that doesn’t mean you should be all over our babies”

“I’m not a baby” Hinata retorted.

“Minako! How could you say that?!” Eiichi gasps theatrically “Not after they got scared!—by the way, Hinata, you’re still my baby— I won’t stop till they get what they deserve!” 

Your mother can only shrug and sigh as a response. She knows there’s no way to talk sense into him when he’s like this, so instead, she decides to move and bid farewells to Tomoko and her family.

“And that’s our cue to leave” Minako regrets with a nervous smile.

“Outside of what happened, I had a good time” Tomoko smiles back, moving in to hug her best friend.

“Likewise. I’m glad you were able to come”

“I hope to see you at Junko’s baby shower? I’ll be sending the invitations soon!” Naoya’s eyes sparkle with anticipation at the prospect of seeing you again. This time, he’ll be equipped with all the knowledge he can get of pokemon after his father buys him all the games!

“I’ll be there” Your mother promises. She then waves goodbye to Tomoko’s kids, Naoaki being as gracious as ever by expressing how happy he was to see her again, and Naoya… well, as reserved as he always was, except for a curt nod and a wave, dignified for his only ally of the night.

The family of 5 eventually make their way back into the car, each kid waving the Zen’in’s one last time through the window as the engine started up once more, and then, disappeared, giving closure to the celebration.

Once the car was out of sight, Tomoko sighed, slumping her shoulders as she reflected back to her present children.

To say that she was glad that Naoya and Naoaki had remained somewhat… amicable throughout the whole night was an understatement. She was overjoyed as well as she was anxious.

They were known for being rowdy towards one another for the simplest of reasons, and although she guessed that could extend to the rest of her kids, these two had seemed to have a personal vendetta against each other.

Tomoko tried her best to control that aspect of their personality, but she eventually gave up after realizing that no matter what she did, no matter what incentives she gave to promote a healthy relationship, it was never enough.

So she just resigned with the assumption that they’d eventually grow out of this, mainly when Naoya is a bit older, for he was usually the prime instigator of their arguments.

Their good behavior had given her a dose of much needed tranquility, and after all that occurred, she assumes they’ll remain like that during their trip back to the estate, and for the rest of the night.

«A moment of peace and quiet» She says, giving them a small smile.

“I’m proud of how you two stepped up to help Y/N-chan and Hinata-chan. Thank you” She praised “I’ll prepare something for the two of you tomorrow, but for now, let’s just wait for the chauffeur”

Naoya smirks, feeling a shudder urge of righteousness sprouting from deep inside him as he recounts his honoring moment before you, while Naoaki mouths a simple thank you, his mind already set somewhere else. Anywhere else to kill time so he can go back home and retake his plans.

There was a horror movie that he wanted to see scheduled for broadcast at midnight, and he wasn’t about to miss it for anything in the world, mentally preparing a list of snacks he’d want to indulge whilst watching the movie, that is, until the absence of a certain… particularity catches his attention from the corner of his eye, interesting enough to prompt his inquiry.

“Naoya, where is your candy?” he asks, and as if he’d spoken the biggest offense in the world, his youngest brother retaliates.

“Wouldn’t you like to know!” Naoya snaps back, blowing a raspberry at him followed by a punch on his arm “Stupid Naoaki!”

Tomoko sighs.

«And that’s all it was, just a moment»

The first thing that Eiichi did as soon as his shift ended was head straight back home to his awaiting family, who had agreed to wait for him to compensate for their abrupt change of plans, as well as his absence.

The excitement of spending time with his children before the 31st ended, as well as the pictures his wife took for the family album, was enough to encourage him to power through the rest of his tasks, and in record time no less

Back at the L/N estate, Eiichi wasted no time to head over to the living room, where the servants had informed him his wife and children were to be.

The kids were out of their costumes and dressed up comfortably in their pajamas, surrounded by popcorn and candy baskets, as they sat before the T.V., a Halloween movie on the screen.

The first one to notice his presence was you, to which you reacted by jumping up from the pillow you were sitting on and rushing to him, hugging his leg.

“Welcome home!!”

“It’s good to be back, little one!” He says, lifting you up and kissing your right cheek “Did you miss me?”

“...A bit” you admit through giggling “we’re watching a movie!”

“I can see that” Eiichi looks at the screen, but he’s unable to identify which movie they’re watching by the frozen frame on screen—Ren would later inform him it was The nightmare before Christmas “Care to make space for me?”

“Actually, I think there’s something you’d rather do instead” Minako says with a proud grin , taking out the album covertly hidden behind her and offers it to her husband “All pictures from tonight, printed and organized by child”

Eiichi carefully places you back down to the ground and rushes his way towards his wife, adoration filling his eyes as he cheers “You’re the best!” it’s not her time to be covered with kisses “I can’t believe you already had them printed!”

“Well, we did buy the printer so we wouldn’t have to go out and wait for them to be revealed” Minako explains “It’s one of the many pros of having our own computer at—”

“Mom, can we watch the movie?” Hinata says. She’d been patient enough to let their parents talk and catch up once dad was back, but after hearing them gush about their shared interest in pictures, she grew restless. They didn’t need to be present to talk about that, right? Or pause the movie for that matter!

“Alright, alright” Minako chuckles, pulling herself up from the floor with the help of her husband and handing Ren the controller “We’ll be in the other room if you need anything, ok?”

The kids don’t respond, their attention already stuck on the glowing screen before them as soon as Ren hits the play button. 

With all the calm of the world, Eiichi can finally enjoy the recollections of his family's first trick-or-treating together through the glossy imprint of the stills before him.

He opens the album. The first section is dedicated to group photos in general, his family standing alongside Tomoko’s.

Eiichi remembers exactly what he told Minako before he left, but it didn’t mean he’d blow up if she did. After all, Tomoko is someone he considers a dear friend and was glad that his wife went ahead and took pictures for them to have as well, she always had a good eye for photography after all.

He just wouldn’t hang their pictures on the wall, though.

He’d eventually move onto the next parts, his favorite ones. The pictures exclusively  portray his family. The way their enjoyment appeared to be portrayed in each photo was enough to fill him with happiness—even considering making a postcard for his distant relatives. ..Should he do such a thing?

Nah, these are precious memories to be shared with others, he’d rather keep them for themselves. 

Now, the parts he was looking forward to the most. Starting with Ren's section.

He was rather quiet and collected, so it was natural that the camera would catch this as well. Most of his pictures portrayed him rather… serious, with the occasional smile or peace sign appearing every 3 or 4 pictures. «I guess he wanted to play into the obscure aura of the undead with his skeleton costume. Eitherway, they’re good pictures!» Eiichi would move on to the next part, Hinata’s.

The one that always followed her mother’s lead: if there was a pose that Minako wanted her to make, she’d strike immediately after and with such fluidity that had her parents thinking she’d be a good model if given the opportunity. A natural before the camera! And she really played the role of a police officer, going ahead to show off her badge and whatnot, which only made her photos even better.

And finally, you. He didn’t want to admit it out loud, for a parent isn’t supposed to show preference over any of their children, but he was secretly looking forward to your photos the most. And could anyone blame him? It was your first halloween going out trick-or-treating, it was only natural that his attention would gravitate more towards you! 

You were still shy, as expected of your age, but Minako managed to get some good pictures of you showing off your purple onesie of a character he still can’t put his finger on quite well. There were moments where you’d appeared introverted before the camera, hiding underneath the hood of your attire, and others where you seemed to dive into character, baring your teeth before the lens, intending to look intimidating.

Well, whatever the outcome, he was glad that you and your siblings had fun, and adoringly so!

Oh, he wishes he could’ve been there to see his family in person. But he could always look back to these pictures whenever he’s feeling particularly nostalgic.

Certainly, there’s nothing that could possibly ruin—

Wait.

Wait a minute.

There's …

What is that? A blemish?

Is… is he seeing things?

No. That can’t be, it’s right there before him. A detail that… Did Minako not see this?

Did she accidentally skip this picture, perhaps? 

A small detail that he doesn’t like… at all.

Whenever you appear, there's something, or more likely someone lingering close to you.  A black uniformed kid just… standing there, either a few feet away from you, if not beside you.

He analyzes the picture for a few moments before moving onto another one, and the other, and another. It's not long before he comes to the crashing realization that most of your pictures were alongside this boy!  Not even in Ren’s, or Hinata’s. Just yours.

Eiichi is at a blank state of mind when it comes to remembering who is the one behind the mask, that is, until he stumbles into a picture where the face of the uniformed kid is fully revealed. An answer that has him losing all of his breath as swirls his head over to his wife, who jolts as his sudden reaction.

"Why– why is— Is this Naoya?!" He says, taking out one of the many incriminating pictures from the album and handing them over to Minako, who could only frown in confusion.

“Yeah…? What about it?” She asks, still confused.

“What do you… Why is he next to our baby??”

“I didn't see anything wrong with it, it's a good picture, wouldn't you agree?” Minako persuades, and Eiichi groans.

"No! It has Naoya in it! I thought I told you I only wanted pictures of our kids!"

"I know, I know. But I wasn't about to ask Naoya-kun to step away from the picture! What would Tomoko-san think of that after all the ones I’ve taken of Y/N alone, hmm?"

"But is there really not a single picture without him there!

"Pfft, you’re exaggerating, dear! Minako says, glancing over his shoulder and onto the album "See? There's some of Y/N alone, I even asked her to pose so she could show off her costume"

"And I greatly appreciate you for it, but still… Why are there so many of her with him…? Not even Naoaki is here…" he murmurs, eyes glancing back down to the pictures. He scans through them quickly, counting just how many pictures Naoya photobombed.

Only to abruptly stop when a familiar sight catches his attention.

A basket. More precisely, a white colored basket.

Naoya's basket. 

The one in the picture…  there’s something intriguing about it, enough to make him stop passing through the pages. Almost as if he’d seen it before, and rather recently at that, but he doesn’t remember where…

Just where exactly did he see it? Not as his job, none of his employees brought any candy… maybe at the—

He freezes.

Oh.

Oh no.

He knows now, he saw it in his house.

In the living room

Just besides the couch.

A shiver travels through his spine as countless scenarios traverse his mind, all leaning into the worst possible outcomes.

He needs an answer, and he needs it now.

Eiichi wastes no second to barge through the door as he rushes through the living room, an alarmed Minako trailing behind him as she repeatedly asks him what’s wrong.

She eventually catches up to him to the even more confusing sight of her husband standing near you. Poor Minako has yet to understand the excruciating pain Eiichi is going through as he murmurs the following.

"Y/N… my pumpkin, my sugar cookie, my precious honey bear…” he asks, voice trembling as he leaned closer to you, his words although low, are loud enough for Hinata and Ren which reprimanded him with a sharp shh! But even then, that doesn’t stop him from moving forward. “Where did you get those candies…?" His fingers reflect the shivering state of his voice as he now points to the still full (although a bit less than when it was given to you, thanks to your efforts) incriminating bucket in front of you.

And just as if you'd remembered a misplaced secret, you mouthed a quiet "oh!" before jolting out from your cushioned seat and grabbing the container, a chocolatey grin on your lips as you proudly exclaimed.

"Noya-kun gave them to me!" You shove the basket towards him, finally revealing the reason why you were so happy to get them in the first place "They're for you, that way we won't share!"

"Oh… so that's where they came fr–" Minako murmurs from the door frame, but the rest of her words don't go past her lips thanks to the interrupting shrill of an overprotective father who just realized that his worst fear had become a reality.

"NOYA?!" he cries, flickering back to Minako, as if asking if she was aware of this "HE ALREADY HAS A NICKNAME?!!"

"Dear, quiet down, some are already asleep" Minako, now by his side, cautions him as she places her hand on his shoulder, trying to calm him down before any of the sleeping staff or family members come check if everything is alright… or complain. 

“Dad! Shut up!!” Hinata groans. Having lived and grown with their father, they're no longer moved by his melodramatic antics, nurturing some kind of resistance that limits them to give him a scowl as well as a warning glance whenever he goes off on his delusions, such as the one Ren is giving him right now.

You, having yet to reach their level of expertise, all you can do is give him a confused pout in return, which still works very well with what’s happening around you.

"But–but she–" Eiichi says as he's pushed out of the room by his irked wife, who wasn’t willing to discuss in front of the children who just wanted to make the best of the only night they could stay up without worrying about school the next day "I won't allow it! It'll be the last time they're ever invited to trick or treat with us!" 

"Huh?!" She exclaimed "Tomoko-san won't like that, you know!"

"I can't allow that boy to be near our precious daughter! She's too good for him! Or anyone for that matter!!"

"You couldn't possibly be serious, Eiichi" Minako rolls her eyes. "Besides, they're just kids! Y/N doesn't really care for anything else other than her cartoons and Naoya just gave her the candy because she was sad. And apparently Naoaki did the same too."

"HE WHAT?!"

"Dear, you need to calm down" Minako suggests "Hear yourself. They were concerned because she was sad, that’s all. Also, you can't be over protective about her for all her life"

"But she… she won't stay small for too long, and before we know it, she'll get married!! Look at Ren, he's already 10!" Eiichi shrieks “And from there, a teenager, he’s going to college, he’s moving out, and then—”

"Worry about that when it happens" She comforts "You’re worrying too much about the future, that you’re missing the present! Our kids couldn’t really care less about those things. Ren just wants to listen to music all day, Hinata wants to be with the horses, and Y/N wants to play videogames. Do you really think they have time to think about girlfriends and boyfriends?”

“... I mean, if you put it that way…”

“It’s the only way, Eiichi”

"... I guess" he sighs, looking away, feeling embarrassed for his over the top reaction. "...I just got worried, I guess."

"There's nothing to fear, just… be there. To love them, to cherish them, to protect them. Y/N is too young to notice it, but if you keep on like this then she won’t trust you to tell you things. Besides, I think the real issue here is Naoya not having candy for Halloween, we can't let Y/N think that's right… I can’t believe I didn’t notice, and she didn’t tell me either!"

"I know… I know…" Eiichi grabs her hand and kisses her knuckles as an apology "I’m sorry. Thank you, Minako. You’ve always been the better half of this marriage”

“Oh, stop it Eiichi” She laughs “We compliment each other, I’ve always believed that”

“I guess I really do have to take it one day at a time. I just can't believe she's already 6"

“She is growing pretty fast…” she giggles, kissing his hand in return "How about you continue looking  through the album and select the better pictures? Or better yet, change into your pajamas and join us to see a movie. Who knows? Maybe Y/N will let you have some of her own candy instead—just promise me you’ll keep quiet, I can already see Hinata losing more and more of her patience by the second"

"Oh, I better behave then" he laughs back "Y/N can be very protective of her sweets and I wouldn’t risk angering Hinata… or Ren, did you see his face? If looks could kill!"

Minako laughs.

Thus, your mother goes back to the living room while Eiichi heads to their bedroom to change into something more comfortable and join his family.

Your mother would like to say that this conversation wasn't really brought up ever again, or that it didn't take much of space in her mind, that would be a lie however, for the mention of Naoya liking you was one that she never considered in the past, more so when Hinata and Ren already avoided him like the plague.

But now that she thinks about it… it all became obvious to her.

Naoya sure seemed comfortable whenever around you, as well as his lingering gazes he placed on you whenever she was lucky enough to catch them at the moment, or how he’d respond attentively to you whenever you referred to him, when he kept his interactions limited with your siblings or even Naoaki…

She thought of it as just socializing, getting to know each other with the hopes of becoming friends, but now that Eiichi pointed it out… she can’t wonder, had Tomoko noticed this as well?

Nonetheless, that’s something she’d keep locked behind her lips, buried deep inside her mind. 

Maybe she’ll bring it up next time she sees Tomoko, probably at Junko’s baby shower…

But if she had to give her opinion about this whole ordeal, a label for a lack of better words, then she has to admit that…

"Y/N and Naoya look cute together" 

[micahdotgov]

i've decided i'm just going to make one post about my findings from the ttoi scripts, so here it is. i should probably have expected that due to the way that ttoi is made (script, improv, new script with the improv added) there wouldn't actually be that many differences between the official script and what happened in the show, and that there was also very little stage directions which does make sense since the writers wanted the actors to react as naturally as possible. so aside from the emails there very unfortunately isn't actually that much to report, other than:

in the infamous "you'd be sweet to me, son" peter capaldi ad-libbed the "son"

the original sweary woman of whitehall email was "for christ's sake, who is this cunt?"

it was improv from paul higgins when jamie mimed a blowjob with his pen behind julius

chris addison ad-libbed whatever that was that ollie did after he said "he looks like what happens when you punch a cow"

when mannion said "i can't program the video" and phil said "you've still got a video?" that was improv by will smith

the line "relax, [jamie] has never hit anyone" was originally "blow that, [jamie] has never hit anyone"

as i said there weren't many stage directions, but in the book launch scene in rise of the nutters i liked that it said "malcolm sees ollie and grabs him" and "malcolm starts manhandling ben"

[smoft-demons]

Hey, I've been reading your post for a while now andi absolutely love them. Before I got into OM I was already a big D&D person and love fantesty-romance novels. Although, that's besides the point. I was genuinely scared to ask this until I saw your headcanons, there so wholesome<3

But I was wondering if you could do a brothers + the others react to MC getting there period? I was planning on doing it on my own page but I'm a bit scared to publish my own stuff. Although, thank you if you do.

-H.M

Yeah, sure! As I’m sure you’ve noticed, I love writing all the comfort and fluff prompts. It’s like catnip to me lmao

This is gonna be pretty long, so I’m only gonna do the brothers.

Thanks for requesting!! I hope you like it :)

_______

MC is on their period

_______

You’ve been living in the House of Lamentation for a while now. You are, at this point, thoroughly and inextricably part of the family.

As a member of their family, your demons have no problem with helping you out. They can’t help but fawn over you a bit, as well—this wasn’t a familiar problem to them before meeting you, as none of them menstruate. Plus, any human condition of yours that highlights vulnerability and pain on your part makes them all get a tad protective.

In any case, they make sure to be helpful!

_______

Lucifer: responsibility -> rest

With your permission, Lucifer notes your cycle on the calendar he keeps on the kitchen wall. Tactfully, of course. It’s just a little red X in the corner of the box that marks the day you start until the day it ends. It ensures no one in the house forgets to be extra nice to you on those days. Plus, it serves as a way to remind you, in case it sneaks up on you.

In the week leading up to it, he checks up on your stock of human world products (and devildom ones too) for it. Painkillers, chocolate, tea, hygiene products, a heating pad, everything. If you’re running low, he will either take you to get more or take care of it himself, depending on how you’re feeling.

If you’re irregular, he takes extra care with tracking your cycle. Having records is important!

He takes you off the chore rotation while you’re bleeding. He wants you to rest. He will not make you expend your energy on chores while you’re in pain.

If you WANT to take some chores though, he understands and will let you, as long as you don’t make yourself suffer unnecessarily. He understands that some people cope worse with stress, illness, and/or pain when their routine is interrupted and they have no task to distract themself with. He would know! He’s one of them! So if you are too, he won’t force you to give up your tasks.

He does very strictly instruct you not to push yourself, however. You are to let him know immediately if you need to stop, so he or one of his brothers can help you out.

If you want somewhere quiet to hide, he’s got you. His study is a great spot for that! He won’t let anyone else in.

His room is another great spot for that, if you want a softer surface and dimmer lighting. You’re allowed to be in there without him if that ends up working out best (and he hopes you understand the level of trust in you he’s displaying by allowing that), but he has no problem with bringing his work out of the study and into his room if you want his company.

If he’s not on a time crunch, he won’t bother bringing any work with him though. Unless he has reason to expect you to feel guilty for taking up his time, in which case he will bring some and finish it in the room with you and then tell you he’s done for the day.

You end up lying on his bed with him, contorted in whatever weird position makes your cramps hurt the least. It’s the middle of the day, but for once Lucifer doesn’t seem to mind. He’s just lying next to you with his hand splayed over your uterus or lower back, applying light pressure and warmth to help the pain go away. Quietly talking to you about stuff that doesn’t matter.

There’s no concern for productivity. Nor for terrorizing his brothers into order. It seems the key for making Lucifer take a day to just relax is to request his company while you’re in pain.

See, Lucifer’s driving force is how much he loves his family. He will go to ANY lengths to keep them safe and happy. It’s his main priority. You’re part of his family now. You’re the youngest, even… and you’re in pain. So, he’s okay with pushing off the work Diavolo gives him for a day. For you, it’s worth it.

There’s no paperwork in any realm that he would prioritize over comforting you when you’re in pain. He hopes you feel all the love in that sentiment.

You know how huge a declaration that action is, because there is NO other way to get Lucifer to voluntarily lie around in the middle of the day.

_______

Mammon: devotion -> generosity

Mammon was the first one you went to for help during your very first period in the Devildom.

After a short, frantic conversation about what happened to you, why, and how you normally deal with this, he set you up in his room with some towels, a spare set of his own comfortably worn in clothes, and a movie as he rushed out to find some Devildom substitute for the hygiene products you’re used to. Just, SOMETHING to absorb the blood in the meantime before he can get you products from the human world!

He would have gone to the human world immediately, but he’s not allowed and he doesn’t have time to talk Lucifer into letting him up there yet!! You have NOTHING to work with right now, he’s gotta figure something out ASAP!

He didn’t even think about the amount of money he’s willing to spend, or how else he could be using it. He may not have been willing to tell you how much he cares for you at that point, but he has always come through for you when it matters. Even in the early days.

You find yourself contemplating Mammon’s contrasting demeanour while he’s out. This isn’t the first demonstration of his responsible mode that you’ve seen. It’s fascinating, the way he acts so careless and tsundere until someone needs him—at which point he drops that image like it’s nothing, revealing the softhearted and protective big brother he really is.

In those moments, you can see in his personality that he helped raise 5 little brothers (and one Lilith, though you don’t learn about her until later) and is actually pretty damn good at it. It’s clear that he loves you more than he’s willing to admit in those rare moments, when showing it genuinely matters.

Anyway. He came home with an assortment of items for you. No medicine yet because he doesn’t trust that Devildom painkillers won’t harm you, but he brought a BUNCH of snacks, and a collection of things that can be used to absorb the blood for now, until he can get Lucifer to let him go get the stuff you normally use from the human world. You can take your pick.

He even commissioned an enchanter to make you a custom heating pad, because he doesn’t trust the ones meant for demons to not burn your skin. He didn’t think about the price. Frankly, he doesn’t care. Maybe he’ll remember to complain about it to save face later. Maybe.

His main concern—making sure you’re okay—left no room to think of that in that moment. He waves off your concern about bloodstains on the stuff he lent you before he went out. Being reassuring in his usual irreverent way, saying something about how he’s a demon, and demons don’t tend to be squeamish about blood. Hell if he cares, he says.

While you’re in the bathroom washing up and dealing with the bleeding (with a SECOND set of Mammon’s worn-in, comfy clothes that he put in your hands before shoving you into the bathroom, not giving you a second to refuse), Mammon is texting Lucifer to find a way to get you proper period supplies from the human world.

When you come back to him, he tells you that you’ll have what you need before you go to bed, but in the meantime you should sit, because he’s putting on another movie.

He watches you shift around uncomfortably over the next few minutes. Cramps, you know. You’re not exactly comfortable sitting the way you are. Without a word, he pulls you to lie down with your head resting on his leg. He’s looking away from you, indistinctly mumbling something about “so lucky I’m lookin’ after ya” and “what would ya do without the great Mammon” and “MY human, damn it” as he carefully rubs tension out of your back.

“What was that?” You ask him.

“Shut up an’ watch the damn movie!” He splutters.

You stay like that until Lucifer shows up with your requested items. Pads, tampons, a menstrual cup, painkillers, whatever it is you asked for.

Later that night, as Mammon persists in rubbing your back as another movie plays, you find that your trust in him is stronger than it has ever been before. You understand exactly why Mammon is the best demon to be in charge of your well-being. Lucifer chose him for a reason, and it’s impossible to miss. Mammon is so damn caring under the tsundere façade.

You feel so loved. You ARE so loved. The pain fades away under the warmth of his hands. His lap makes a good pillow, and Mammon makes a great guardian.

(Every month after this, he leaves his door open for you in case you want a distraction from the pain. He’s ready with snacks and a movie. He’ll happily do this for you every time.)

_______

Levi: passion -> gentleness

Whatever it is that Levi notices first—be it the blood, the worse mood, the regular time spent with Mammon every month—he freaks out. He’s like “AAAAWTF WHY ARE YOU BLEEDING ARE YOU DYING???” Or like “oh noooo are you mad at me why are you randomly sad do you hate me now??” Or like “why can’t you reschedule with Mammon and do this time limited event with me, do you not wanna play with me anymore???”

Either way, bro is suffering.

Eventually, either you or one of his older brothers explains to him, and he feels bad. He didn’t mean to stress you out worse! Also, periods are real?? He thought it was just some creative plot point in the occasional anime! That’s crazy, why are humans built like that??

Anyway. Levi’s nothing if not passionate, and he’s gonna turn some of that passion towards finding ways to make you more comfortable.

He will find a way to order all the human world snacks you crave while you’re bleeding. He will be on the lookout for gifts, like games and merch and manga you’d want. He stockpiles them so he always has something ready to cheer you up when you need that.

He will even do his best to redirect the envy he feels towards Mammon and his established routine of movies and snacks in his room with you lying in his lap and getting free back rubs on the first day of your period each month. He wants that to be him, damn it! But he’s not gonna disrupt that for you.

He WILL claim hanging out with you on your day 2 though, AND will fill in every time if Mammon’s not available. The only thing that can beat out his shyness at the idea of having you using his lap as a pillow is the raging envy at knowing MAMMON gets to have that every month!

(Eventually, once you figure out that Levi wants to be invited so bad, you just invite him. It’s not like you don’t want him there! He’s very happy to sit next to you with your legs in his lap while he ignores Mammon’s stupid movie and plays a game on his phone. It’s nice to have two demon pillows. This one’s got built-in cooling!)

Levi understands not wanting to deal with lights and noise and craziness when you’re in pain. He will prevent any of his brothers from bringing any of that around you with all the determination and passion he brings to everything he cares about.

He is remarkably gentle, for someone who is usually so excitable. So considerate! You can see in the way he forces everyone to only argue over text, in the gentle movement of cool, nimble hands over sore calves and hips and ankles, in the presentation of snacks and gifts determinedly brought to you from the human world, how much he cares about you. He loves you, he loves you, he loves you.

_______

Satan: research -> comfort

The first order of business for nerd boy here is, of course, research. He is gathering information from all his relevant contacts—every human sorcerer and witch he knows, every demon with a pact-bonded menstruating human they care about AND the aforementioned human, every healer, medical researcher, librarian…

Yeah, he’s gonna end up knowing more about it than you do.

He comes back home after a few days, mumbling about human endocrine systems and nutrition and medical malpractice of menstruating patients and the mechanics of blood production and every phase of a menstrual cycle and how pain works on a chemical level. He’s got notebooks and everything. He’s got the whole history of menstruation since the beginning of humanity summarized in one of those notebooks.

… Maybe it’s a bit overkill. But you know how he gets when he’s curious, especially about something that hurts you! He’s gotta know everything!

So now he’s infodumping to you about every symptom you mention. If you’re the sort of person who finds that interesting and helpful, perfect! If you’re not… well, he won’t be offended if you get mad at him for effectively mansplaining your own body to you. Demon-splaining? Whatever, either way he will take that correction with grace and only tell you information you directly ask for. He’s learned enough about menstruation to be very sympathetic and patient while you’re in the middle of it. It seems awful to him, and he’s not about to make it worse!

He’s wise enough to know that he should ask before ACTING on any of that information though. He won’t try to optimize your nutrition or your painkillers or anything unless you ask him to. He knows that would be too far. He’s not prideful enough to override you like that, he’s not Lucifer.

If you get really angry when you bleed, he’s got you! He understands, he encourages you to yell and rant in front of him all you want. Throw around some destructive spellwork or just break stuff if you need to, he’s got a room for that. It’s all good!

Satan is so good with practical comfort. He’s big on venting for your health and sanity. He knows what buttons not to push, they’re obvious to him as wrath incarnate.

Of course, he’ll also give you hugs and drive off his crazy brothers if you need peace. He’ll bring you to the cats when you get sick of people. He’ll find you any answer you need. If your cycle is irregular or in any way atypical, there’s no better demon to have searching for answers for you—and he’d NEVER let no medical malpractice happen to you. Doctors are GOING to take you seriously, damn it!

To him, there’s no such thing as too much hassle to help someone he loves so much as he loves you.

_______

Asmo: luxury -> selflessness

As the Avatar of Lust, there’s no way Asmo doesn’t know the basics of how menstrual cycles work. No way. Even if demons don’t get them, it’s relevant to his whole domain.

Asmo’s got you. He’s gonna spoil the hell out of you. Massages with fancy oils, hot baths with magic muscle relaxant products added, masks to prevent any skin issues from fluctuating hormones, everything he can think of.

If anyone even tries to make you do anything you don’t want to, he will destroy them. This is a time for rest, he insists!

He relishes any opportunity to relax with you, have a self-care day, just chill and recharge together… but he’s prioritizing you. You get to see the rare responsible Asmo during this time! If you have non-negotiable responsibilities, he’s helping you. He wants you to get done faster!

He’s actually got a pretty great strategic mind when he’s incentivized to use it! He’s so efficient! Only because he wants you to be in his room relaxing as fast as possible, but it’s totally there!

At the end of it all, it’s completely possible that he forgets about spoiling himself too, just because he got so focused on trying to take as much of your pain away as possible. It’s wild that he doesn’t think he has any capacity for selflessness. Good thing you know better.

_______

Beel: perceptiveness -> caring

Beel smells the blood. Immediately. At first he’s concerned but minds his own business, trusting that Mammon’s taking care of you. But after you’ve pacted with him? Not anymore.

Beel becomes your warning system. He will notify you as soon as the hormonal shift starts to happen. Days before you even start bleeding.

You know it’s because he cares, and that he can’t avoid noticing the change in your scent whether he wants to or not. You choose not to think it’s weird.

He gets worried once he learns about what happens to you every month. His first priority is making sure he doesn’t eat everything that’s high in iron, folic acid, vitamin C and D, and omega-3s. All very good for you when you’re on your period. He makes sure that stuff remains available to you.

He invites you to exercise with him too, because he heard that can be helpful. He won’t STOP you from lifting if that’s what you want to do, but HE is choosing to focus on stretching and moderate cardio for now (stuff that should be more helpful for you) and if you want to join him, well… that’s what he’s doing. What do you mean he changed it on purpose? He just felt like yoga and a nice jog today! Don’t think about it too hard!

Beel is actually the best one to go to for massages. Sure, Asmo knows what feels good and he’s phenomenal at that. True. But Beel is the one who understands every muscle and tendon in a body, so if you want a full, functional reset, in which all the tension and soreness in you gets methodically, optimally pressed out, you go to Beel. It might not feel quite as nice—in fact it might hurt a fair bit—but it’ll be so effective. You will have no pain at all after. Plus, he’ll teach you stretches to prevent some of that tension coming back later, too. He’s so helpful.

_______

Belphie: laziness -> service

We all know Belphie is the number one advocate for rest. He will encourage you to sleep through as much of it as possible. Why would you want to be awake to experience pain? Screw that. He will actively keep you asleep as long as possible—unless you tell him in advance that there has to be limits so you don’t bleed on everything you’re touching. Even so, he doesn’t quite see the problem. He’s a demon, he’s not squeamish about blood. What biohazard?

But no, he’ll respect that. If he’s a lil shit about it, all you have to do is pull the “remember that time you killed me” card and he’ll do whatever you want lol

In the biggest twist of irony since The Incident, Belphie actually finds himself serving as your alarm clock. It has to be him, you see, because he insists on sleeping next to you. He wants to be there to ensure you sleep through the night, and don’t ever get woken up by cramps. So it’s gotta be him to wake you up when it’s absolutely necessary. Because you see, he does not trust anyone else to understand what’s absolutely necessary. Only someone who loves sleep as much as him gets it, he insists.

Belphie is nothing if not lazy. Obviously. But… he’s actually voluntarily doing work on your behalf?? He’s concealing bloodstains on your sheets from you so you don’t feel uncomfortable, and washing them for you. He isn’t even telling you about that, so he isn’t even getting any thanks for it! How very kind and un-demonic of him!

(Of course, he’s mostly doing it because he doesn’t want you to feel embarrassed and stop sleeping next to him while you’re on your period. He’s got selfish reasons. But… really, it’s not very selfish at all when you look at how that benefits you too. How could he be so surprised to hear that you think he can be kind and sweet when he wants to be? How’s he not seeing it??)

He may deny that he’s actually a sweetie, but you know the truth. When sloth incarnate is voluntarily doing secret chores for you, you KNOW he loves you. It might as well be spilling out of his soul, it’s so undeniable.

_______

You’re bleeding. It’s miserable. No one likes their period. It’s made much more bearable for you, however, now that you have this ridiculous family falling over themselves to make your life easier. All the pain, all the hormonal fuckery, all the bullshit your body puts you through is… well, actually quite tolerable when you’re loved this much.

[81folklore]

heaven - PIASTRI - part 3

pairings: oscar piastri x private!reader (fc: gracie abrams)

summary: oscars girlfriend attends her first grand prix and the public get to see just how proud she is of oscar

authors note: ive honestly missed writing for oscar and priv!reader so we are back in honor of oscars FIRST EVER WIN AND INCREDIBLE SPRINT RACE!! im genuinely so proud of oscar and im honestly in shock. i also follow ZERO wag pages so i have no clue what they are like, if people actually follow them etc.

authors note 2: short-ish and sweet for OSCARS FIRST WIN?? i started writing this about 30 minutes before the sprint race so i had no clue where this was going to go but HE WON!!

part 1 part 2 masterlist

f1wagupdates

liked by user5, user81, user9 and 7,289 others

yn entering the paddock for the first time today! she followed shortly after oscar, spoke to some oscar/mclaren fans and handed a few who were unable to meet oscar, on his way in, some signed things she had. we absolutely love her already!!

view comments

user81: omg she’s literally the sweetest thing😭

user17: I LOVE HER ALREADY

user61: the fact that oscar fans already love her🫶🫶

user9: oh she looks so cute!!

user72: i was one of the girls she gave something too! she said she had been following behind oscar and kept an eye on anyone who he missed to give them something after he left. she was very very shy, but she made sure to speak to everyone who oscar missed and was asking us questions about us, overall she was very sweet!!

user22: this makes me love her even more😭and congrats on the signed stuff!! do you mind me asking what it was?

user72: thank you! and of course, we all got something different! i got a signed polaroid of oscar (im still in disbelief?! and it must have been one she took herself bcs i couldnt find the photo online anywhere), someone a bit down from me got what looked like a drivers card and i saw someone else get a picture of his car!

user22: A POLAROID?? oh you won😭😭

user1: i wonder if we will see her again

yourusername

liked by oscarpiastri, logansargeant and 9,619 others

first qualifying in the paddock was a rollercoaster of emotions, not the result we were hoping for, expected or wanted but its ok because oscars gonna smash it tomorrow and we’ll pretend today didnt happen!!

view comments

oscarpiastri: glad you had fun🤍

oscarpiastri: my goodluck charm wasnt goodlucking today

yourusername: dont say thattt☹️ill try and be extra lucky tomorrow promise!!

oscarpiastri: i love you

yourusername: i love you more🤭

user3: the photo difference😭

user14: loved seeing you in the garage today

yourfriend3: i love you but those photos😭😭

yourusername: stoooop i was so nervous all day😭

yourfriend7: wish oscar luck from all of us back home!

oscarpiastri: 👍👍

user81: u are so cute☹️

user2: so unfair how they told oscar during the interview!!

yourusername

liked by oscarpiastri, landonorris and 9,182 others

changed outfits but we are ready for the sprint!!

tagged oscarpiastri

comments on this post have been limited

oscarpiastri: love you lots and lots, thank you for coming🧡

yourusername: I LOVE YOU!! and you dont have to thank me, ill always stay with you🤍🤍

f1

liked by yourusername, mitchevans_ and 817,175 others

PIASTRI STORMS TO SPRINT POLE IN QATAR!🤩🔥

He just keeps getting better and better!

view comments

mclaren: YESSSSSS!!!👏👏👏

user6: P1ASTRI

yourusername: INCREDIBLE🤩🤩

user18: more than deserved!

user73: absolute legend

yourusername added to their story

seen by oscarpiastri and 6,289 others

user6: AHHHHHH

user81: LOOK AT HIM GO

oscarpiastri: ☺️☺️

yourusername

liked by oscarpiastri, landonorris and 10,278 others

oh how i obsessively adore you.. today you took your first f1 pole position, hours later you became a formula one race winner (idc if it was a sprint you still won!!)

i have been on this incredible journey with you long before your first f2 race. i was by your side at your first f2 win and im still by your side now youve won in f1

i know how much this win means to you, i know how much you wanted to prove yourself to everyone and you have. you never fail to amaze me, especially coming back after the shit show that was yesterday

you are truly incredible and you are so so special🐨

i love you so much, congratulations🧡

tagged oscarpiastri

view comments

user61: WHAT IF I STARTED SOBBING

user11: THE KOALA😭😭

user72: so deserved🧡incredible drive!!

user68: the f2 race winner picture😭😭the f1 race winner picture😭😭THE SMILEY INTERVIEW PICTURE😭😭

oscarpiastri: my favorite goodluck charm🧡

oscarpiastri: thank you so much for sticking with me through it all

oscarpiastri: i appreciate you so much my love

yourusername: you are so special, lovely🩵

landonorris: usually i hate your sappy posts but ill make an exception this time..congrats mate!!

oscarpiastri: you too mate!

yourusername: knew id get you to love these posts eventually🤭

formula2: we’re so proud of our aussie🥹🐨

oscarpiastri and yourusername added to their stories

seen by yourusername, aussiegrit and 722,519 others

*text on first photo reads: my favourite thing is when i open my phone after a race and i see the photos yn sent me during the race🧡* *text on second photo reads: i love seeing my boy do what he loves*

oscar’s replies:

user52: shes so cute☹️

user12: tell me that was when you won the race and not before

user61: where can i find someone like her😭

yourusername: babyyy i didnt know youd share these😭😭

oscarpiastri: just had to show everyone how grateful i am for you🤍

user49: get yourself someone who supports you the way yn supports oscar!!

yn’s replies:

user17: oh i love you guys so much

yourfriend2: we are all so proud of oscar!!

oscarpiastri: i love you so much more than i can ever express

yourusername: osc☹️☹️ i hold so much love and adoration for you

oscarpiastri: wait when did you take this photo??

yourusername: i watched the final lap in the bathroom so i could sob in peace😭

[owliellder]

Two's A Crowd

College Bully! Leon Kennedy x fem! Reader

MDNI 18+

(Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5)

Description: College is proving to be a lot harder than you imagined. You cannot fail this math class. So when you've tried everything else, a well-known student is recommended to you by your professor for tutoring lessons, not really leaving you with much of a choice but to work with him.

Warnings: Not proofread, No Use of Y/N, Dub-Con, Unprotected Sex, Bullying, Yelling, Cursing

Tags: College AU, Bully! Leon, Shy! Reader, both are in their early 20's, Leon is Rude AF in the beginning, Loss of Virginity, Oral Sex, Fingering, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Additional Tags to be Added

Author's Note: Yay!! New multi-chapter fic in honor of 800 followers!!

I'm a sucker for tropes and mean Leon is one I can't keep out of my head. If you're not good at math then this is the fic for you! (also don't mind me slipping some Sky lore in here...)

Cross-posted onto AO3

Chapter 1

Growing up, college had always been a big dream of yours, leaving you fantasizing day in and out about all the possibilities that would open up, along with actually getting to live through the renowned “college experience”.

In reality, college was a lot harder than you were expecting. Your parents had told you to jump right into it after high school, fearing taking a gap year would ruin your good streak. The stress was starting to get to you and it was only a semester into your freshman year. All the tests, projects, and general studying really wore down on your mental health, not to mention you were failing the one math class you had.

You couldn’t tell your parents, no, they’d probably have a heart attack, especially since that math class was a prerequisite to another class that you needed to take. They were already worried enough that you hadn’t picked a major yet, so who knows how they’d take the news that you were failing right off the bat.

It was hard enough that you were feeling homesick. This was the first time you’d ever been this far away from home, studying at a university when you would’ve been perfectly content going to a community college closer to home. Your roommate was nice, but the two of you weren’t growing any closer than mere acquaintances, so it always felt awkward to just exist in your own dorm room.

Your eating habits worsened with the lack of any real food within five miles of campus. Sure there were a couple fast food chains on the campus itself, but they closed incredibly early. By the time you finished studying, which was around six in the evening, it had already closed. Not to mention that when they were open, the lines were comically long. University food was out of the question after you got violently ill from their “chicken nuggets”, so you were left with the little money your parents provided once a week to order takeout or make quick trips to the store to buy a frozen meal. Only one, since the mini fridge in your dorm was almost always occupied by your roommates stuff.

Everything was so exhausting and you were way out of your comfort zone having to use the community bathrooms for all your hygienic routines. Walking in always made you feel like you were interrupting a meeting in the president’s oval office with how many nasty looks you were given when all you were trying to do was brush your teeth.

The first thing you saw whenever you opened up Canvas was a massive F staring you down from the little box that comprised the majority of your math assignments and tests, making you feel less than worthless. This one semester alone helped you understand why so many people dropped out, this was hard.

By now you’d already gone to your math professor multiple times asking for redos or extra credit work. He was probably sick of seeing you since you showed up after almost every single assignment’s grades were submitted.

“Heeeyyy, Mr. Lebovic..” You said after knocking your knuckle against his open door to grab his attention. “Listen, about that last quiz, I-”

He cut you off with a wave of his hand before gesturing towards one of the chairs sitting in front of his desk. You hurried to sit down, watching nervously as he slowly pulled his eyes off his computer and onto you. “I get it, you don’t need to explain yourself.” His relaxed tone and faint smile was enough to ease your nerves a bit, letting your shoulders slump with a sigh. “You’ve been trying really hard, I can easily recognize that.”

You nodded eagerly, licking your dry lips as you opened your mouth to speak, only to be cut off again. “I’ve been looking into studying options that might help you. Resources are scarce for this material, but I think I finally have a tutor to help you out.” 

A wave of relief washed over you at the mention of tutor. Maybe you wouldn’t have to face the wrath of your parent’s disappointment after all! “Oh.. o-okay…” you stuttered, eyebrows furrowing as you silently beckoned him to continue.

“I teach another math class, it’s higher level, but I have a student in there that’s just taken up tutoring the material you’re learning.” Your professor seemed just as happy as you were about the opportunity. “His name is Leon Kennedy, he’s got one of the study rooms in the library from three to five in the afternoon on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.”

It took you a second to process everything Mr. Lebovic was telling you before you scrambled to pull out a sticky note and a pen to write all the information down on. You heard the older man chuckle softly, looking over at him when he held out a small piece of paper to you. “I wrote it down already for you, don’t worry.” You wished you could’ve thanked him tenfold, but his office hours were closed for the day now, so you said a quick goodbye and hurried back to your dorm, holding onto the piece of paper like a lifeline.

Contrary to what your math professor thinks, you knew the name “Leon Kennedy”. You had a couple friends that you hung out with occasionally out in the grass in front of the science building and they’d brought him up before. The few vague bits of info that you’d heard weren’t flattering, painting this Leon in quite a bad light; the stereotypical jock in a frat flying by on a full-ride scholarship. However, he was your saving grace now and you needed to develop more of an unbiased opinion of him if he was going to help you raise your grade from an F.

“Yeesh, sorry I’m not better at math or I would’ve helped you.” One of your friends, Sky, spoke up as they read the piece of paper your professor gave you yesterday from over your shoulder. “Even if you were better at math, I still wouldn’t trust you.” Ella, your other friend, laughed out.

“Ha ha, yeah, Sky failed math four times. Big whoop.” Sky waved their hands dramatically before walking over to sit down next to Ella in the dead grass. “Seriously though, you’re better off taking a failing grade and dealing with your parents. Kennedy is the devil incarnate.”

“The devil incarnate sounds easier to put up with than my parents, so I’ll take my chances..” You grumbled, taking a seat on a medium-sized rock close to the pair. “Maybe he’s turning a new leaf? Deciding to tutor?” 

Sky crossed her arms and rolled her eyes which made Ella elbow them in the side before giving you a sympathetic smile. “Maybe so, but please just be careful. I don’t want you having to put up with some jackass that has an ego bigger than Texas.” 

You nodded with a slight frown, moving your foot side to side lazily to push the grass blades around. You didn’t even think to consider the repercussions of studying with some random junior. “I’m sure it’ll be alright. Besides, just tell Sky and I if he’s giving you any trouble. I know damn well no man likes to put up with two women yelling in his face.” Sky nodded and pointed to Ella for added dramatics. “Yeah, and I bite. My top six teeth are porcelain so that shit hurts. Trust me.”

Your friends never failed to make you laugh, a slight resolve in a pool full of worries, you suppose. “Don’t worry, you guys’ll be the first to know if Leon is mean.”

“Good. Now, when’re you gonna go see the guy?” Sky rested their arms on their knees before looking up at you. “Uh.. in a couple hours I guess. I already made the appointment.” Your response seemed to surprise both of your friends, giving them a confused look in response to their shocked ones. “Is that.. Is that not a good time?”

“No no, just.. I thought you would’ve maybe taken a little longer to go and see him.” Ella shrugged, reaching a hand up to scratch behind their neck. “Proud of you, taking the initiative like that.” She then looked at her phone before pulling herself off the ground with a small groan. “I got class in a couple minutes. Good luck with the frat boy.” 

She patted your shoulder as she walked off towards the larger building on campus, leaving you and Sky alone for the rest of the time. Part of you wished both of your friends could walk you to the library when the time came, but having Sky was enough. “So.. Leon’s bad bad?” You needed a bit more clarification on the guy you were going to spend one-on-one time with, something to calm you down after running through countless scenarios in your head.

“He’s not all bad, 'least I don't think. I’ve exchanged a few ‘hello’s’ and ‘excuse me’s’ with him here and there since we apparently frequent the same building.” Sky scooted over to the rock you were sitting on, placing the back of their head on your legs. A couple brown leaves blew over from a nearby tree which they grabbed and crunched with their hand. “I haven’t personally experienced any bad happenings around him, but he is part of a pretty notoriously rowdy frat, so you have to promise me that you’ll only study with him on campus and never go to that frat house or any frat house in general, alright?”

Sky pointed up at you, poking the underside of your chin which made you laugh again and swat their hand away. “As much as I rave about wanting to have the stereotypical college experience, going to a frat house was never part of my daydreaming.”

“Good. Keep it that way.” They switched their fingers to give you a quick thumbs up before letting their arm flop down into their lap, eyes closing with a sigh. “Anyways, besides all that, wanna go get some food? I don’t have another class today and you’ve got about an hour and a half to spare, so actually you have no choice. Get up.”

You stood up with a shake of your head once Sky pushed off of your legs who stood up as well with a small stretch. “Don’t burn me at the stake, but I kinda want grocery store sushi. I’m feeling lucky.”

“Please don’t.” You sighed, pocketing the piece of paper before beginning to follow behind Sky as they started to walk across the grass. 

After the two of you shared a sandwich from some random shop not too far off campus, Sky walked with you up to the library, stopping just before the front desk. They agreed to not wander in with you under the condition that you’ll go to their dorm straight after to discuss details.

To say you were nervous was an understatement. Most of what you heard about this guy meant he was bad news, though you really didn’t have much of a choice when it came to seeing him. Like your math professor said, there weren’t a lot of options when it came to studying the material you were learning. Sure you had the internet and other students in the class, but you preferred the idea of a tutor since you’d already exhausted yourself trying to follow along with various youtube videos. You needed the in-person teaching, it just stuck better in your head that way.

Slowly starting to walk, you made your way over to the study rooms lining the back of the library. The rooms seemed pretty private with the only window being on the door, which had glass nearly top to bottom. Thankfully the rooms were numbered and Leon had texted you which room to go to when you made the appointment with him, you had no idea what he looked like and you didn’t want to look like a creep eyeballing people through the door until you hopefully found the right person.

Standing off to the side, you could see the number you were looking for sitting above the door, taking a brief moment to collect yourself and hype yourself up to talk to someone who didn’t have the greatest reputation. Set aside everything you’ve heard and just hope for the best..

You took in a deep breath as you strode over to the door, glancing inside through the window before knocking to let him know you were there. The table was angled off more to the left so you didn’t immediately see him until he leaned over the table to see who had knocked. Confidence left you as soon as you made eye contact with Leon due to the groan you could hear through the door. It took you a couple seconds, but you eventually managed to get your body to work with you, hand turning the handle to let yourself in.

“-the last thing I need..” You caught the end of his little rant to himself as you opened the door. The saying “fake it ‘till you make it” is harder than it sounds since your entire body decided to betray you, deciding that shrinking in was the best move. Quietly, you shuffled over to sit across from him at the table, placing your backpack in your lap in some weird way to provide comfort in this situation.

“You weren’t supposed to show up.” Leon grumbled, sitting far back in the tilted chair as his feet lifted the front end of the chair slightly. His arms were crossed and he was giving you probably the nastiest look you’ve ever seen, next to your parents, of course. All you did was sit there giving him a blank stare. It was obvious what he’d said, yet the sheer forwardness of that snide comment had you more than confused. “What?-”

“You weren’t supposed to show up.” Apparently he felt the need to repeat himself with some added bite, barely letting you get a word in. “No one ever shows up to these shitty tutor- whatever the fucks.”

Wow. Okay. “Uh..” You didn’t even know what to say to that. It completely caught you off guard. You’d run through countless ways this interaction would go in your head, but this wasn’t one of those ways. The two of you sat in a very tense silence with Leon just glaring at you from across the table, continuing to rock back and forth in the chair.

Without uncrossing his arms, Leon lifted a hand and waved it around slightly while shaking his head. “Are you actually still gonna sit here orrr…?” The sound of his voice finally snapped you out of shock, causing you to shoot your gaze down to your backpack, fumbling with its partially broken zipper. “I-.. Mr. Lebovic recommended you..?”

You pulled out a few of your failed assignments from your bag before setting them down on the table with shaky hands, keeping your eyes glued to the papers to avoid that burning stare the man in front of you has. “I need-.. I need help..?”

“Do you?” Leon let the chair fall forward, his sarcastic tone starting to make your whole body tremble. “You don’t sound like you do.” He snatched one of your assignments from the table and held it up, pursing his lips as he studied the various red marks made on it closely. You chose to not respond to that, letting your hands rest on top of your backpack so you had something to squeeze.

He turned the page around, the sound of the paper wobbling the only thing you could hear right after the sound of the central heat blowing through the vent in the room. Suddenly, Leon started chuckling to himself, shaking his head incredulously as he flipped the paper back and forth a couple times before letting it fall back to the table. “This is terrible!” His laugh grew louder as he tilted his body to the side to pull out his phone, taking a picture of the assignments you’d put on the table. 

How on earth were you supposed to react to that other than just sitting quietly? He was actually making fun of you right to your face. Hell, he might as well point and laugh if he’s going to be this brasen. 

The most you could muster up was a quiet yet high-pitched “... huh?” in response to him. This whole ordeal was spiraling a little too fast for you to keep up with. You were expecting to put up with some grown man with a bratty attitude or even just a very uninterested, not all there jock with how Leon’s been described to you, not blatant bullying.

“Huh?” He mocked, taking one last look at his phone while loudly sucking on his teeth before pocketing it again. “Anyways, this is actually sad. How are you managing to fuck simple math up like this?” He roughly grabbed all the papers on the table and stacked them before partially tossing them back at you, some slipping onto the floor. “You’re too far gone, even I can’t fix that.”

You let out a gasp when the papers were tossed at your face, scrambling to catch some of them. Pushing the chair back, you leaned over to grab the few that fell on the floor, desperately holding back tears. “Please, you don’t understand.” You pleaded, voice cracking as you tried your best not to start crying in front of him. “I-I need to pass this class. I’m passing everything else, I just can’t keep up with this one!” You were speed-talking to try and argue your case, sitting back up with the small pile of papers that you struggled to stack properly.

Leon started rocking back in his chair again, arms back across his chest as he watched you with squinted eyes. The corners of his lips soon turned up into a smirk, taking in your sorry state before rolling his eyes with a dramatic groan. “Alright, alright, stop whining, jesus..” He cleared his throat, letting his head fall over the back of the chair. “I’ll help you only because I feel bad for you.” It’s not like he was going to admit that he was being forced to be a tutor, no one needs leverage over him like that

You couldn’t help but give a small smile despite his implication. It was a start. “And I’m not gonna do it today, either.” Well, the sooner the better, but still, it’s a start.

He then stood up from the chair, fixing his jacket with a sigh. “If you show up even a minute late on Friday, I’m not helping” and before you even had a chance to reply, he walked out of the room, the door shutting with a slam which made you flinch. Luckily, you were a very punctual person when it came to this kind of stuff. This was important, so if you had to show up early, so be it. You hurriedly shoved your assignments back into your backpack, not even fully zipping it up before rushing out of the study room, back through the library, and to the dorms.

“He said that?!” Sky yelled, quickly wiping their hand over their mouth to quiet themself once you shushed them. “I don’t really feel comfortable with you going to another ‘study session’ with that guy if he’s just gonna bully you.”

“I wouldn’t call it bullying-”

“He was bullying you.”

“OKAY! So what if he was?!” You fell back onto Sky’s bed with a sigh, arms splayed out with your legs dangling off the side. “I can handle it. As long as I get my grade up, who cares?”

Sky sat down next to you on their bed, giving you a sad look as you sat yourself up with your elbows. “I care. So does Ella. You shouldn’t put up with that just for a grade. I’m sure if you explain to your professor and-”

“And what? Tell him that I’m a grown woman getting bullied over something I should know by now?” You sat yourself up fully now, leaning forward to place your elbows on your thighs as your head rested in your hands. “It’s only until finals are over and we’re already halfway through October. Maybe I won’t even need that much time, maybe I’m just missing one simple… math move and it’ll get the gears in my brain moving again.”

You tilted your head to the side to look at Sky, head now resting only in your right hand as you took in their annoyed look. “Trust me. I can handle this.”

“If you say so.” They ran their fingers through her hair before looking away from you, directing their attention forward to stare off at nothing. “Just remember that I bite and I’m not afraid to use my fake chompers on that no good-”

“I don’t wanna think about escalations right now, but thank you.” You chuckled, playfully nudging Sky with your free hand before moving it back to hold your head up with the other. Though you were trying to convince Sky on this, you were mostly just trying to convince yourself that you could handle this. Handle Leon and his.. alluring charm..

Only until finals, maybe even sooner.

[simpxxstan]

best friend's older brother wonwoo

this is part of my 550 followers celebration event! find the rest of the members' headcanons in the event too as i post them through this month!

warnings: pg 13+, making out

thinking about best friend's older brother!wonwoo who is just nine months older than your best friend, so he's in the same class as the two of you

you don't even want to figure out how that happened. but it's good for you, because it lets you get an upper hand over wonwoo whenever he tries to bully you.

and bully you he does. he's a massive bully. behind that nerdy, good boy look he charms everyone with, you know that jeon wonwoo is an absolute menace to society.

from stealing your essays, to forcing you to show him your solution of homework, he doesn't spare a chance to irritate you. the worst bit is that he's got everyone convinced that he's the best boy that could ever live and no teacher or parent ever finds a fault in him. if the two of you fight, it's always you who gets scolded. if the teacher spots the two of you talking in class, it's always you who gets punished.

after ten years of facing this, you've come to the conclusion that the universe is unfair. it's a relief that you're in your final year of school and finally, you can count the days until you can get rid of this menace.

thinking about best friend's older brother!wonwoo who knows he's pushing luck every time he annoys you

but he still gets away with it, either through sheer chance or through his good looks and manners.

it's just not fair that he's born in this universe where you're always around him, with your indomitable sarcasm and overperforming tendencies. you seem to be made for him, but in the worst way possible. with you out of the scene, wonwoo would always be first in class, always win quizzes and spellbees, always win the 700 metre sack race. naturally, it can't be his fault for thinking of ways to expel you from school.

and when the two of you hit puberty and wonwoo realises that underneath your acne, you're actually growing up into the most beautiful woman he's ever seen, it makes the entire situation even worse. because now, you're the subject of his annoyance and his desires. and he can't get you out of his head for the best and the worst reasons possible.

so wonwoo is equally relieved as you are to be in the final year of school, with the comfort that as he becomes an adult this year, he will finally live a life free of pests (you).

thinking about best friend's older brother!wonwoo who becomes ill the very week of the midterms

as a result, he misses out on several classes of key revision and even some internal tests that will count towards your final score. you score full in all these tests, getting quite the lead ahead of wonwoo, and yet, you don't feel that rush of joy when you see your perfect score. is it because you don't see the frown on wonwoo's face on seeing you beat him? is it because you don't feel the adrenaline kick in on meeting eyes with wonwoo and seeing the disappointment in his eyes?

at night, you recount about your day's academic successes but it doesn't generate any satisfaction in your heart. for hours you stay awake, trying to make sense of the ache in your chest, wondering what's missing these days that's leaving you feeling high and dry.

it's only at 3 am that you attempt something to cure this worry. you sit up, under your table lamp, writing up your notes on fresh paper, in your best handwriting. you even highlight key portions and add extra information beyond class notes, that you've learnt from the web or from the library.

the next day, you drop the notes with your best friend. "give this to wonwoo asap, hmm?" "notes? he said he'll just use mine-" "well, if his pride isn't too much, he will know what's good for him."

thinking about best friend's older brother!wonwoo who comes back two weeks later

he doesn't talk to you at first, trying to avoid your curious gaze. but you confront him in the corridor after classes are over. you stand right in front of him, your hands on your hips, your eyebrows furrowed. "you still look pretty pale," you tell him. a part in wonwoo wants you to touch him and see if the fever's still there. but he knows you'll not do that.

"you didn't have to send the notes. i would get them anyway." "a thank you would be nice." wonwoo bites his lower lip. is he ready to say thank you to you? is this why you sent the notes? to show your pity towards him? to cast a favour on him? to always be one step ahead of him even on the moral ground?

wonwoo doesn't end up saying thank you. his pride is too large a pill to swallow, and his mind keeps doubting your intentions. after all, ten years of rivalry is not easy to let go of, even if you look even more beautiful after two weeks of not seeing you.

but his attitude towards you changes. consciously or not, he becomes less snarky towards you. and he's surprised to see reciprocation too. you seem more open towards discussing homework with him. you even cooperate with him when your teacher asks you both to organise the annual prom event of the school. and wonwoo's pretty sure this cures his health faster than any medicines the doctor's prescribed to him.

thinking about best friend's older brother!wonwoo who's sitting in his shared bedroom with his sister, playing games on his computer, while she gossips with you about the prom couples of the year

wonwoo doesn't come into the room after that, but when you leave the room to use the washroom in the hall, you see him sitting on the couch and reading a book. "it's rude to listen to other's conversations, wonwoo. haven't you ever learnt that?" wonwoo doesn't look up from his book, so you take a step forward, intending to make yourself heard. "it's also rude to not reply to someone when they are talking to y-"

"guess who asked me today!" "man, i don't know, you tell me. when did they even ask you, i was with you the whole day?" "when we were walking back home and you were fighting with wonwoo in the convenience store about which ramen to buy."

your best friend pouts slightly, which she always does whenever she sees you fight with her brother. "i hate it that even after ten years, my best friend and my brother have not been able to get along. i feel like it's a failure on m-" "okay stop feeling guilty already, and tell me who asked you out for prom!" you squeal, and she giggles too, a high-pitched sound that's so different from her brother's breathy, raspy voice (not that you'd ever prefer his voice over hers). "im changkyun! isn't that so exciting!" you gasp loudly, clapping your hand over your mouth. "girl! i'm so excited for you, he's so dreamy." "i know! i had no idea he liked me!" "oh you're so lucky, love. his voice is so deep, and his eyes are so pretty, and he's so smart! what would i not give to be his prom part-" "im changkyun is a smartass and a teacher's pet. i see birds of a feather do flock together, y/n", wonwoo interrupts your conversation suddenly, giving you a piercing look before he walks out of the room in his haughty manner.

"come with me to prom." wonwoo finally looks up, his book kept on his chest, as he looks straight into your eye. you're standing half a metre away from him, but you can still feel the fire in his gaze.

"sorry, what?" "come with me to prom. be my prom partner." you purse your lips, pretending to consider it. "and why would you ask me?" "because you don't have a partner." "how do you know that?" "you just told me." wonwoo stands up, a smirk on his lips. "why are you asking me, wonwoo? i don't need your pity, i don't need a partner to enjoy prom." "you're right. although it's not pity. i'm just returning the favour. your notes are helping me keep up my academic record in order to get into the colleges i want."

it's a reasonable offer. when he frames it like this, it feels less like a personal affair and more of a professional situation-

"truce." you extend your hand and he shakes it. "truce it is." "for all your big talk, i bet you're asking me only because you're bitchless as fuck." wonwoo laughs at that. "don't be jealous. i'll see you on friday, y/n. be ready at 8."

thinking about best friend's older brother!wonwoo who has all eyes on him at the prom party but his eyes are only on you

"everyone's talking about you, you know." your arm is in his as the two of you lean against a wall, digging into the pastries being circulated. it's a blessing you accepted his offer, because a. if you had refused, he'd never be able to meet your eye confidently again, and b. you're the only one promising him intelligent conversation tonight, and he's glad you're the one talking to him.

"it's my dad's tux. it's what he wore at his prom." wonwoo doesn't miss the way your eyes glaze over his outfit in an appreciative look, and it makes his heart beat faster in his chest. "you look good, but i'm sure he looked better than you in it." "but you think i look good?" your eyes meet his, a tentative look that says more than words will. "i do. does it matter?" "well, a man likes to know that his prom partner approves of him." you laugh, your voice a beautiful tinkle. how has he never noticed how melodious your laugh is? "you're hardly a man, jeon wonwoo. you've got a long way to go."

and he'll go the long way. he'll take risks tonight. something about the perfume you're wearing is making him heady. something about the way you never let go of his arm makes his body warm with something unknown but pleasant. something about the way you're close enough for him to notice how often your eyes stray to his lips when you're talking to him makes him want to take a chance.

when the two of you are alone in a balcony, the fresh air blowing your hair away, revealing your elegant neck and a hint of your collarbones, and you're talking something about how a certain book is helping you study for biology, he zones out and his tunnel vision focuses on your lips. so he leans in and kisses you. it's an extremely short, chaste kiss, but wonwoo's never kissed anyone, so even this shoots electric sparks through his veins.

"what was that for?" this is the first time wonwoo's seen you blush, and his hand instinctively reaches out to touch your warm cheeks, trying to understand if it's for you. "i would ask you to prom even if you did have a partner. i didn't want to go with anyone else apart from you." your eyes are delightfully wide, looking so innocent and so cute. there's a pause, as wonwoo waits for you to give him the green signal or not. when he's going to give up and back off, you tug at his arm and pull him closer. "well, then kiss me again, and let me see if like it."

thinking about best friend's older brother!wonwoo who takes you to his car and gets into the back seat with you

"you look so, so beautiful today." he tells you in between kisses, as he pulls you closer to him. and you let him, your mind foggy, and just one thought rushing through your veins- wonwoo, wonwoo, wonwoo. his kisses are addictive, and you're clinging to him like a drug, letting him bite your lips and kiss your jaw and make a mess of your lipstick.

thank god for the privacy of wonwoo's car, and thank god he's learnt to drive early on. because you'd be so embarrassed of the way you're also equally hungrily touching him, as if you'd waited your entire life for this. but you don't have time to question your thoughts, and frankly speaking, you don't want to. you just know one thing for sure: you've been such a fool for hating wonwoo for so long, when he kisses like this and when you're so attracted to him.

when you're both out of breath and just sitting next to each other, slumped back as he holds you close to his chest and you snuggle your face into his warm body, you finally start confronting your thoughts. when you go silent for a moment too long, wonwoo asks you, "penny for your thoughts?"

you look up at him. why haven't you ever noticed how divine he looks under the moonlight? "i was thinking why we didn't do this sooner." "maybe because you were busy hating me." you sit up, gasping and turning around to face wonwoo. "excuse me? and what were you up to? loving me?" wonwoo smiles. "yes, loving you, i think. because i for sure love this sassy attitude of yours. and your smartass brain. and the way your lips purse into a perfect cupid's bow, but that's not the priority." you laugh. "you can just admit you like me because i'm hot." "yes i could. but that's not the whole truth. i could never like a woman who's not as intelligent as you. i could never like a woman who's not you."

and with every word he utters, you realise how his feelings mirror yours as well. just then, both of your phones ping and you simultaneously take it out to see the notification. "my god- i- wonwoo! i got into my dream college! "me too! wow. congratulations, baby, i knew you would. it'd be their loss to not accept someone as perfect as you." you giggle. "shut up, you're so cheesy." wonwoo grins and you lean in to peck his lips.

"okay, show me your letter. let's see how far we'll be-" you take wonwoo's phone in your hands and read the mail. "f-fuck. you didn't tell me? you bloody-" "what happened?" wonwoo's eyes go wide in alarm and you nearly punch him in shock. "you applied to the same college i did! why didn't you tell me! oh, you sneaky boy."

wonwoo bursts out laughing. "why do you look so ready to beat me up? isn't that a good thing?" you pause, considering it for a second, before the dots connect in your head. you finally break into a smile and hug wonwoo, pulling him into a tight embrace. "i guess it is, baby."

[demonsslayersstuff]

When You’re Sick (Male Hashira x Reader)

A/N: Head canons and drabbles about how the male Hashira take care of reader when they are sick. No major warnings, mostly fluff. Sanemi’s is written with a female character in mind. I’m gonna take a short break this weekend, so won’t post anything for a few days. Enjoy and have a lovely weekend!

A/N: Shout out to Shinobu and the mess she’s gonna be dealing with if reader gets sick 😂😂😂

Kyojuro Rengoku:

* Worries endlessly when you’re sick, but doesn’t show it. Immediately talks with Shinobu on how to properly care for you and if your super sick he’s legit carrying you to the Butterfly Mansion (🥲)

* This man is a space heater so has no issues cuddling with you when you’re sick. He’s holding you in his arms, massaging your achy muscles

* Takes the time to make your favorite tea or food and sits by you to make sure your keeping food and fluids down

* Tries to complete missions as quickly as possible in order to get back to you. Hates being apart when your ill, so as soon as he’s back your in his arms

You awaken to fingers softly stroking your hair. “Good morning little flame, how do you feel?”, Rengoku asks softly as you crack your eyes open. “Mmmm, a bit better, still tired”, you tell him, voice sleepy. “Let’s drink some water first and then you can go back to sleep”, Rengoku says, helping you sit up. He watches as you drink the full glass of water, before helping you lay back down. “If you’re not better by dinner, we are going back to see Shinobu”, he says as he lightly drapes the blanket back over your body. “M’kay”, you say, already half asleep.

Uzui Tengen:

* I’m not sure why but I see Tengen being more of a problem and less of a help when you’re sick. Like he’s worried but has zero clue on how to help you (😂)

* His wives are the ones taking care of you. They’re making you soup, tea, and keeping an extra eye on you

* Tengen does go out of his way to stop by and check in on you. Definitely see him spending a little extra time with you as you’re recovering. If you’re super sick he’s stopping by our g.o.a.t Shinobu to get medicine and medical advice

* I could see him coming to your room after a long mission and leaning down to kiss your forehead softly, making sure your resting well

It’s very late as Tengen carefully opens your bedroom door. He’d heard from his other wives that your fever finally broke, though you still needed time to rest and fully recover. He shuffles quietly towards your bed, grabbing the blanket you’d thrown off absentmindedly in your sleep. He covers you up before he leans down to give you a soft kiss on your forehead. He thumbs your cheek softly before sighing, relief filling his body. Tengen gives you one final kiss before sneaking back out of your room, he’d check on you in the morning, but for now he was going to let you get the rest you need.

Giyuu Tomioka:

* I totally see Giyuu being able to take care of you all by himself. He’s a very resourceful and thoughtful guy, so you’ll be well taken care of if your sick

* Honestly Giyuu knows you so well that you’ll have what you need without asking. You constantly have tea, water, tissues, etc around at all times cause he’s that prepared

* Personally takes you to Shinobu if your super sick and would definitely postpone or delay missions until your well enough to be on your own.

* Does not let you go back to work until you’ve received an all clear and even then he keeps an extra eye on you during your first mission back.

“Giyuu”, you call softly, throat too sore to speak at normal volume. You watch as your husband enters the bedroom, tea already in hand as if he knew exactly what you were gonna ask for. “Thanks”, you say gripping the warm mug, relishing in the warmth it brings to your finger tips. “Of course, need anything else?”, he asks before softly putting his hand against your forehead, noting the slight fever you still had. “No”, you respond with a light smile before sipping the hot drink. “When you finish you should try to get some more sleep, I’m going to run out and get you some more medicine”, Giyuu tells you. You nod your head as you shuffle back under the covers. He leans down to give you a quick kiss, “I’ll be back soon, sleep”, he says before slipping out the door.

Sanemi Shinazugawa:

* Idk why, but I see him totally panicking the first time you get sick 😂😂. Like running you to Shinobu only for her to be like bro, it’s the flu, let her rest and drink fluids

* After that he’s much more attuned to your needs and wants. Notices the first signs of your illness and stocks up on your favorite drink and tissues.

* Though Sanemi takes his job seriously, I could see him asking for a day or two off to attend to your needs if you were really sick.

* He’s at your beck and call. No matter how small the need is, he’s taking care of it. Sanemi is with you every step of the way because he knows you’d do the same for him

“Drink plenty of water and tea. Make sure you to sleep as much as possible”, Shinobu says before wiping her thermometer off. You nod your head and Sanemi keeps a watchful eye on you, knowing all you want is to just sleep. “Thanks, I owe you”, Sanemi tells her, walking her to the door. “She should be ok, but if her fever doesn’t break by tomorrow, bring her to my estate”, Shinobu says before she heads out. Sanemi makes his way back to you, taking note of your already sleeping form. He makes quick work, gathering the supplies he needs before he finds a comfortable position on the floor next to you. Sanemi spends the next several hours placing cool cloths against your forehead, willing the fever to break. His hard work pays off, as your fever breaks when the morning light spills through the window. Sanemi finally breathes a sigh of relief before gently kissing your forehead, careful to not wake you.

Iguro Obanai:

* Does his best for to care for you, but is a bit out of his comfort zone. Internally freaking out the whole time your sick

* Honestly probably just takes you to Shinobu cause he doesn’t want you to get worse. Even if it’s just a cold, he’s making sure you get seen

* Makes an effort to make tea and probably asks Mitsuri or someone else to help make you healthy food to help with your recovery

* Not afraid to cuddle or hold you if you want it. Feels like he can’t really do anything else, so he’s at least doing that

“Obi, can you cuddle me?”, you ask him hesitantly as you watch up pick up the tray of food you’d just finished eating. “Of course, everything ok?”, he asks you, worry in eyes. “Yes, I just…I just want to be held”, you say, looking up at him. “Of course, I’ll be right back”, he murmurs before quickly hurrying out of the room. Obanai is back in flash, slipping under the covers and pulling you to his chest. “Thanks”, you mutter, relaxing to the sound of his heartbeat. “It’s the least I could do, sleep, I’m not going anywhere”, he says before stroking your hair softly, lulling you to sleep.

Gyeomi Himejima:

* Honestly probably the most chill out of all the Hashira. At the first sign of your illness he’s telling you to get rest and to see Shinobu if you get worse

* Does not let you go on missions until you’re 100% better. Probably takes your missions on top of his until you can handle them yourself again

* Makes sure your well tended for. Makes your favorite tea and if he can’t be there to cuddle you, you best bet y’all’s cats are doing the job

* Doesn’t worry unless you are very sick. If you are he’s leaving you in Shinobu’s trusted care. Prays for your healthy recovery

You feel a tissue being placed into your hand after your big sneeze. “Thanks love”, you say before blowing your nose. “I think you should stay home tonight”, the Stone Hashira says as the two you sit down for dinner. “It’s just a cold I’ll be fine”, you tell him reassuringly, ignoring the ache in your back. “No, you stay home and rest, I’ll take care of your mission tonight”, Gyomei tells you with a soft but authoritative voice, which you know is his final decision. “Ok, thank you, truly”, you tell him, and he hears the gratitude in your voice. “No worries love, if that cough is not better by the morning please go see Shinobu”, he replies, hand finding yours. He squeezes it gently. “Ok, let’s eat”, you tell him, before focusing on your food, enjoying the peaceful dinner with your husband.

[impactedfates]

L Bozo Ratio!! - Dr Ratio x GN!Reader

★ Notes: I couldn't think of a better name haha, finally got to finishing and posting this!! This is slightly in a scenario format. They’ll be mini time stamps ^^ It's a kind weird format but it's one that made sense at the time of writing it

☆ Characters Included: Dr Ratio (Romantic) + Aventurine (Supporting)

★ Genre/Trope: (one-sided) Rivals to Lovers (but no one gets together yet) + Fluff + Crack(?)

☆ Warnings: None

★ Extra: Dr Ratio may be OOC // I'm not actually sure if the Intelligentsia Guild has a school but just pretend for the fic // Not fully proof-read // First half may be slightly dialogue heavy

“And you’re sure you don’t know when this started?”

The blonde asked as he shuffled some cards, peering at you through his heart shaped glasses

“Positive!! He was decently kind to me when I first joined the Guild. I don’t know what happened!!”

Aventurine chuckled, dealing out the cards between the two of you.

“If I know the doctor, I know he wouldn’t dislike someone for a reason-”

“He dislikes me?? Why! I didn’t-”

“Let me finish [Name]. He’s not someone who dislikes another for no reason, and I do believe you haven’t done anything wrong. So perhaps there’s a different reason why he acts this why”

He slowly places the remaining cards down, looking at you with a small smile that almost hinted he already had an idea.

“Now tell me the whole story, how you met and how it started. And the things that happened afterwards, just tell me everything from the start to now”

"Huh- Uh okay?"

.

.

.

HOW YOU TWO MET

You had just joined the Intelligentsia Guild. Setting up your classroom and preparing for future lessons with the students who had already signed up for your course when you heard a knock on the door.

You went and opened it and were met with the eyes of a purple haired man who stared at you.

"You must be the one everyone's talking about. I am Veritas Ratio, but many here just call me Dr Ratio"

He speaks before you could welcome him or even utter a greeting. You only smiled before responding yourself.

"People are already talking about me? That makes me a bit nervous...but yes, I'm the new teacher here. You can call me [Name]"

"No ones talking ill about you, don't fret. I just came by to introduce myself. If you ever need anything, my room is just down the hall. Just don't interrupt too much, especially if I'm teaching"

"Oh! Thank you Dr Ratio. I appreciate the help"

He peered inside the room, taking a small look around at the decorating you had down so far.

"Perhaps call an interior designer before you start your lessons, you may need it"

"WHA- Hey! I'm not even do-"

But he was already off walking down the hall before you could finish. With a sigh escaping your lips, you closed your classroom door again to continue decorating

WHEN IT STARTED

You weren't sure on the exact date, I mean who could name the exact date someone randomly seemed to despise you when you thought you had a good relationship?

Sure you weren't close with Dr Ratio, but you weren't exactly not friends with him either. You two would chat, especially when the two of you had free time, but one day he just ignored you?

You weren't sure why, until some of the yearly exam results came out and he proudly showed how well his students did. You were confused at the sudden appearance but it wasn't unwelcomed as you happily showed your classes results as well.

"Our students are pretty smart!! All our classes passed with flying colours"

You happily said as you slid over the total marks your classes did. You expected him to congratulate you or...something? You weren't sure what to expect from his reaction, but not for him to glare at the score, throwing his paper carelessly and walking out, turning to face you. He said in a determined voice. "I'll beat you next time Mx. [Name]"

"...Beat me in wha-"

He slammed your classroom door...

You grabbed the paper from the ground and double checked the two scores, there must be a big difference if he suddenly challenged you or well...vowed? To get a higher score than your class? Even if it was out of character for him to care-

.

.

.

A 1% difference...?

DURING THE "RIVALRY"

You tried to talk to him, tried to pinpoint why he suddenly cared so much about "beating" your class in test and exam scores. Sure you didn't know him that well, but at the same time? You knew it wasn't in his nature to care about this kind of thing.

Honestly you didn't know anyone who would actually care...

It was just test scores, just showing how well the two of you taught a class...he wasn't trying to show he was a better teacher right...?

Sure the students praised you more but that was merely cuz he was stricter with his teachers. Apparently he threw someone out the window?? At least that's what you heard in passing...

In any case, you couldn't think of a logical conclusion as to why he suddenly wanted to have this sudden rivalry. But you wanted to find out.

You tried to talk to him, knock on his door a few times a month to talk to him, giving him his favourite food. Heck you even gave back the chalk you accidentally on purpose forgot to give back to him.

But he was dry with his response, looking away when you tried to talk to him or heck even smiled at him.

YOUR SMILE WAS NOT THAT BAD.

This became such a habit the other teachers noticed. They already noticed how kindly Dr Ratio already treated you compared to the others when you first joined, and when he became more cold and dry to you they noticed more.

You could see their lingering stares as the scholar once again shut his book with one hand and walked off without another word to you. You tried asking the other scholars but they weren't sure what was going on either. None of them have dealt with this so-called rivalry.

You knocked on his door once again, to which he slowly opened. Being accustomed to the soft knocks that came from your hand.

"Ratio!! I brought you some Stargazer cake!!"

"....many thanks [Name]"

He muttered, taking the plate from your hands.

"So I just wanted to-"

He shut the door in your face...again. Does he have a thing for not letting people finish or are you the lucky one?

CURRENT

"And that kinda brings us to here? But yeah, I'm not sure why he started the rivalry"

"Perhaps it's to hide something~ Something he doesn't want to tell a certain someone yet"

"What? Hiding something...what could he be hiding"

"That he lo-"

"That's enough Aventurine."

You snapped your head up to the source of the voice, as the gambler leaned his head back to look at the new addition to the room."

"Doctor~ Funny to see you here again, good to know your interrupting habits and not letting someone finish their sentence doesn't only apply to your cru-"

"...Shut it gambler...I need to have a word with you"

Aventurine chuckled, as he stood up and placed the cards down on the middle of the table. Telling you he'd be right back as the two of them went into another room.

You sat there, for maybe a minute or two. Until curiosity hit you like a brick. You knew they were talking about you. Or at least, that was most likely, and if you were right. Then that means the duo were chatting about Ratios behaviour...surely a small listen wouldn't hurt?

You slowly walked over to the room, careful to be quiet as you listened to the conversation.

"And what makes it so hard, Doctor? Just tell them. You can't keep using this whole rivalry thing to buy you time"

"You don't understand...it's easier said than done...besides, I'd rather make it more special. I can't just go out there and tell them in this situation"

"What would flowers and a more romantic setting do?"

"Make them feel special...make them hopefully feel the exact same way I felt when I realised I loved them"

FINALLY FINISHED IT!! I got my computer fixed a bit ago but still struggled to find the words to continue but here I am >:D Hopefully this was worth the wait sipadgpsirp

[dwaekkicidal]

Day 3

˚ʚSeo Changbin x fem!Readerɞ˚

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚ summary: Day 3 of my 1K follower celebration! Today is praise with Changbin ♡

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚ word count: ~1k (950)

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚ warnings: fem!reader, praise kink, bin yaps a whole lot, rough sex, creampie (pee after sex pls<3), breeding mentions

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚ notes:  i usually write bin getting praised/worshiped but ill switch it up this time around :3 also sorry if this feels sloppy, i had a bad day and couldn't proofread it as well as I wanted lol

Read the other days here!

DO NOT republish or translate+post my work!

It started a few months ago. You were on your knees with Changbin’s hands wrapped in your hair and his dick down your throat. It was going like usual until he got lost in the pleasure and found himself mindlessly throwing praises at you. It wasn't unlike him to do so, but the sheer amount was more than you've ever experienced. “Atta girl, Bunny. Fuuuck. You’re so good at this-” He saw the way you reacted as well as the way you were extra insatiable later that night. Changbin might be your silly little boyfriend, but he is a very attentive person. So from that day on he slowly started doing it more and more, even more so outside the bedroom.

If he caught you right out of the shower he would run his hands all over your body and tell you how much he loved it. “Bunny, your skin is so soft! You’re so beautiful. I love you so much.” Or, if he was balls deep in your mouth, he would never shut up about how good it was. “You’re doing so well, Bunny. Ahh~ You take such good care of me-” 

It was small statements, sure, but over time he did so often until the point where all his conversations with you ended in some sort of praise. You loved it! But you also hated the way it made you dripping wet and brainless the second it left his mouth. You just could never get used to it or be normal about it, no matter how hard you tried. So when you finally sat him down for a talk about it, he made a promise to always take care of you when he "accidentally" put you in that mindset. Which is exactly how you’re in your current situation: with blurry, teary eyes and your cunt spread wide open on his dick <3

“Look at this pretty pussy… All. For. Me.” He enunciates each word with a sharp thrust, hitting your G-spot directly each time and causing you to clench tightly around him. He throws his head back, groaning loudly at the feeling of you wrapped so tightly around him. His tongue pokes his cheek and his eyebrows furrow as he pounds into you with more force.

“Keep taking this dick. Juuust like that, princess. Fuck..” His voice sounds so desperate and it does nothing but make you wetter. The sight of him is drool-worthy enough, but the way he holds you down and fucks you like a toy is enough to make you start drooling. His eyes eventually flick up to your face to check on you and he does a double take when he realizes that you’re actually drooling.

“Aw, my Princess. ‘Binnie’s dick feels too good, huh?" He bites his lip and leans forward, folding your legs into your chest. "Hmmm?~” “B-Binnie-” He thrusts roughly, cutting you off and making you gasp. “God, I love the way you say my name. Tell the whole world who gets to fuck this perfect fucking body of yours.” You throw your head back, your mind feeling foggier with each word out of his mouth.

He could tell it was affecting you and his chest inflated with pride at the fact that he was the one doing this. You were his perfect girlfriend, his pretty baby, and his sexy fucktoy. Nobody was allowed to see you like he was, and the fact only encouraged him more. His hips continued to slam against yours as you both held eye contact. He pushes his lips against yours and mumbles against them. “Gonna cum for me, Princess? You feel so perfect around me. 'Gonna make me cum too.”

He whines loudly when you pull away from the kiss, only to falter his hips when you start to beg. “B-Binnie, ‘want you to cum inside. Please! I’ve been good, Binnie, please-” His hips slow and he looks down at you with blown-out eyes. “Yeah? My pretty Bunny wants to be bred?” You nod your head frantically and grind your hips against his as much as you can, desperate for him to move faster. He sits there quietly for a few seconds as you whine.

He suddenly pulls out and flips you onto your stomach. You squeal and crane your neck to look back at him confusedly, only to be shoved into the sheets by a hand on your nape. “Oh, my sweet Bunny…” He slips inside your walls again and goes at an unforgiving pace right off the bat, desperately chasing both of your highs.

Your orgasm didn’t get the chance to fade so you cum around him suddenly, squeezing him like a vice and making him double his efforts against your suffocating walls. “You sound so fucking hot when you beg. Don’t worry, Bunny. Binnie’s gonna take good care of you.” Your nails claw the sheets and you wail into the mattress as the pleasure turns to overstimulation. He seemingly goes deeper and slams his hips against yours harder.

“Gooood girl… Gonna pump you nice n' full, maybe even give you a kit or two.” His moans pitch and his thrusts become sloppy as he starts to fill you. His previously erratic thrusts turn into meticulous, sharp ones. Ones that shove him as deep as possible with the promise of a problem for future you, as he promised. But in the meantime, present-you is too focused on the way his cum drips from you, only to get shoved back in by two fingers that curve into your G-spot.

He smirks widely. "Mmmm.. Think you need another load. Need to make sure your sexy body is thoroughly claimed."

Taglist:

@jiminssluttyminx @changisworld @juskz @linohumina @rylea08

@grandma143 @caught-in-the-afterglow @yaorzu-blog @jabmastersupriseee

[h0neysp1ce]

Hello, Saw your request open, Can I request fluff Headcanons, (Tighnari, Cyno and Gaming) how they would take care of Sick s/o, but here's the thing, she has anemia so it takes longer for her to get better.

(This is basically me just seeking out comfort from my fav characters because I'm currently sick lol)

Fʅυϝϝ Hҽαԃ ƈαɳσɳʂ

Summary: How does he take care of s/o when she's sick?

°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･ Characters: Tighnari, Cyno, Fem! Reader Tags: Established Relationship, Fluff Constellation: Head canons Warning(s): Mentions of sickness, nothing too graphic or detailed, mentions of reader being Anemic, mentions of anemia symptoms, just general illness/sickness mentions. Reader Is fem! alined uses of the word Girlfriend. °❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

A/N: Hello Anonie, I'm so sorry to hear that :( I hope this brings you comfort, get well soon 💛

Extra Side Note: Also I did a little research on Anemia to help write this, I hope it's not too scuffed . (Edited Post)

Word count: 1139

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Tιɠԋɳαɾι 🌻

He had been aware of your anemia since you first met, so he was always prepared for when you might become ill.

He would keep plenty of herbs and remedies on hand to ease your sickness and discomfort, especially since it tended to take longer for you to recover.

He’d make you soup (specifically a vegetable type ) or prepare foods rich in iron, as anemia results in low iron deficiency.

The moment he noticed a hint of illness, he’d immediately have you sit down or lie down, especially if you mentioned feeling dizzy or weak.

Since you’d often have cold hands due to your condition, he had a habit of interlocking his hands with yours and warming your hands with his. He did this often when you weren’t feeling well, and it was incredibly comforting. You soaked up his warmth as much as you could.

Your symptoms ranged from dizziness and tiredness to general weakness. Tighnari was more than prepared to take care of you and attend to your needs.

He’d give you forehead kisses, always hold your hands, and place kisses on them every now and then.

He’d have you cuddle up to him for warmth, holding you close while you slept or simply throughout the day.

He frequently checked up on you, asking how you were feeling. He wanted you to be upfront and honest; your well-being meant everything to him.

If your condition worsened, he’d take you to the Bimarstan for more advanced treatment if his remedies weren’t effective.

He’d always brew some herbal tea or another type of tea when you felt an illness coming on. That was his first line of defense.

He wouldn’t let you get up from bed because of your condition. It was imperative that you stay put and avoid straining yourself.

He wanted you to take it easy throughout your long recovery.

He’d get you anything you needed if you asked, so don’t be shy about making requests.

He always reassured you that he was there for you.

He had a habit of cupping your chin and the sides of your face with his hands. Not in a negative way, but because he considered you his delicate flower, needing to be taken care of with utmost care.

It pained him to see you unwell, and he’d do anything to alleviate your discomfort- even trade places with you if he could.

You’d scold him when he leaned in to kiss you, warning him that he might get sick from you. He’d always insist he’d be fine.

He would definitely shower you with love throughout your illness, not just by taking care of you but also by giving you loads of affection and attention.

If you were tired, he’d have you rest, and he’d wake you up periodically to ensure you took your medication, ate before taking it (as medicine on an empty stomach isn’t ideal), and stayed hydrated. If you allowed him, he’d even feed you himself.

He always kept extra blankets on hand for you and would wrap you up in them for sure.

Cყɳσ 🌙

He’s knowledgeable about your condition, and when you’re ill, he’s prepared for the most part.

If you’re up and about and start to feel dizzy or experience a spell, he’ll be right by your side to prevent you from fainting and hurting yourself.

His arms will be wrapped around your middle to support you if you do faint.

If you insist on doing things yourself, he’ll agree, but only if you let him carry you to where you need to go (ex: living room, kitchen).

He’s always one to kiss your inner wrists when you’re unwell, as a form of comfort.

Though his hands are calloused from wielding a spear, they’re comforting when he draws small circles on the back of your hands.

He doesn’t mind kissing you while you’re sick; nothing will stop him from loving you and giving you the care you deserve.

When you both lay down, you’d be on top of him with his arms wrapped around your lower back. Sometimes, if you want, he might rub circles on your back to help you fall asleep and might even tell you jokes as you drift off.

He’d try to limit his duties as General Mahamatra to stay by your side when you’re ill. He wouldn’t leave you unattended.

In the morning, while you’re still recovering, he might wake you up with a kiss on the cheek or a soft whisper that it’s time to get up (likely to take meds, eat, and drink something).

If you fall asleep before him, he’d gently run his hand across your forehead, combing through your hair, slightly frowning as he hates seeing you in pain or discomfort.

As your boyfriend, he loves you immensely and would do anything for you.

He’d let you sit sideways on his lap whenever you wanted and lean into him. No matter if you’re sick or not, he finds you to be the prettiest woman he’s ever known, even in sickness.

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[sopreciouslife]

3  𝒢𝓁𝑜𝓌  𝓊𝓅  𝒯𝒾𝓅𝓈

𝟏. Hygiene: This key for any glow-up, and it doesn't have to be super extra, just the basics to stay fresh. You should be showering at least once a day, preferably at night (and if you work out in the morning, definitely shower after that). When you're in the shower, PLEASE don’t just use your hands, grab a loofah, sponge, or washcloth, anything! But hands alone? A big no. Shaving is optional, but do it as often as you need. Some girls can get away with a couple times a week, others might need to every day, it’s totally personal. Lastly, exfoliation is your everything. You only need to do it 2-3 times a week, but girl, it’ll give you that smooth skin by scrubbing away all the dead skin cells. Trust, your skin will be glowing!

𝟐. Hair: Keeping up with hair care can be such a struggle sometimes, especially depending on your hair type, but trust me, it’s 100% worth it. I’ve been through a whole hair journey myself, so I get it! There’s a ton I could say, but here’s the tea-- first, you need to know your exact hair type. This will help you figure out how often to wash it and which products will make your hair thrive. It’s all part of getting that soft, long hair faster. Oh, and don’t forget—there are certain hairstyles and cuts that are perfect for your face shape, so do a little research to find what suits you best. You’re already gorgeous, but the right cut will take it to another level! 

𝟑. SkinCare: If you're ready for that glow-up, it’s time to get serious about your skincare! Start with a bomb cleanser, something that matches your skin type (oily, dry, combo, girl... you know the drill). Exfoliate 2-3 times a week to get rid of those dead skin cells, and trust me, your skin will feel brand new. Hydration is everything, so find a moisturizer that leaves you dewy, not greasy. And don’t even think about skipping sunscreen, UV rays are NOT your bestie. Finish off with a glow serum and watch yourself literally shine. Glow up season is officially ON.

Note: This is my first post which is why I didn't make it too long. if you want me to make a post one a specific thing (or you wanna ask me a question) either dm me or ask in my inbox and ill answer! love ya <3

[ed-recovery-affirmations]

I just made myself a cup of a new tea, one from a set that a friend sent me. I was super curious to try it with and without milk in it, so after I take a sip without, I'm going to add milk to my tea.

That may seem like such an inane little story to post on a blog, unless you have an eating disorder. I'm sure many of you know what a big deal milk in tea can be, and what an important act of self-love it is.

It was poured into many of our ears, approaching teenhood in the mid-2000's, not to "drink our calories." For those of us whose restriction was weight-based, many of us practiced filling ourselves with water, with our coffee black and unsweetened whether that was how we liked it or not, and with tea that never contained milk.

Like many people who've struggled with binge eating and with restriction, I struggle with creating anxiety-inducing rules about when is okay to eat, especially if I'm between meals and worrying if I should allow myself a snack, or if it's okay to quench my thirst with anything other than water. This is especially true between meals. For some reason my brain has accepted the "extra" caloric intake as part of a meal, but still balks at the idea of introducing these things independently into non-meal parts of the day. I would like to note that my chronic illness and my body's reaction to food has also influenced this weird relationship between me and my favorite treats, such as a piece of candy, or a beverage that might happen to contain a greater-than-zero calorie count.

But tonight, before bed, I want to try this tea. And it sounds like one that'd be super tasty with milk, as it has cocoa powder and vanilla in the blend. So I let my tea cool in the room with me as I type this, telling myself that I can get up and go back for milk after I taste it.

Now I have gone to the kitchen.

Now I have poured in a splash of milk and tasted. It's soy milk, as regular milk sometimes hurts my stomach and I don't want my sleep to be disrupted. Due to my chronic illness, this is still something I have to think about, and I'll be honest, I hate it. Things like this make it so hard to tell myself I can let go of my food fears, because my brain knows that some of my food fears will turn out to have validity, and so what if they all do?

Now I have poured in another splash. Tasted.

Now I have poured in a third, much larger splash. Tasted.

Oh, this is it. This tea tastes like a warm dessert. But now it's too cool, so I need to microwave it back to its best heat. I used to not want to microwave my food. As a teen I heard a hippie say that microwaves destroy the nutrients in your food because the radiation breaks down their molecular structure. This is absolutely false. In fact, it's been disproven that microwaves break down nutrients any more than other methods of heating food, but for a long time I believed it. And even after I learned the truth, I still found it hard to convince myself it was okay to use microwaves for a very long time.

I have just finished my tea in my room. I took the time to identify that I wanted it. I took the time to truly taste it in several different ways, consider how I felt I wanted it and bring it to those specifications. It wasn't planned for any specific time or day, but I agreed to give myself this the way I wanted it anyway. I've been drinking my coffee with milk every morning, too. I actually like black coffee, but I like it better with milk. And I give myself things throughout the day that I enjoy, to enhance my experience of my existence. Life is hard, and it's okay to allow yourself, to the fullest extent you can, the small joys that bring you through the day.

I wanted to share this with you. I hope you don't feel the crushing weight of morality when staring at a bottle of regular soda and the sugar-free, when you wake up with your morning coffee, when your self-care regimen includes a cup of tea. I hope you practice actively giving yourself the love you need this week. And I hope you give it to yourself exactly the way you need it.

[child-of-helios]

hello. I've a rather stupid question. I've only read the books once, as a kid, and I don't understand why people hate calpyso x leo. whys it so bad? why does everyone seems to hate it on here?

xxx,

eurydice

First of all, this is my first ever ask, I've made it mother :D Secondly, I'd gladly explain! Though please note that it really has been a good while since I've read the books too, so my memory is kinda foggy :] Warnings for: Slight mentions (but not too much) of rape, pedophilia and mental illness (oh boy this is a tough one)

So, I have made a post abt this before, but it was written in a fit of rage so not my proudest moment (but my most popular post, oops). Anyways, I feel that the hate towards Calypso x Leo is because of a few reasons. 1. It simply didn't get enough development to feel worth it imo. Similar to Jason x Piper, I felt like there wasn't enough there to warrant a canon ship. There is also the fact that personally, I thought that their dynamic was more of a familial or that of siblings, which made me uncomfortable. I would've much rather have them be friends. 2. The uncomfortable age gap. It feels very weird because while yes, Calypso was depicted as a teenager, she is thousands upon thousands of years old. The fact that she fell in love with a literal child is incredibly weird. It was weird enough with Percy, but at least they didn't end up dating. With Leo though, she did end up dating him and the age gap feels very odd. Its even weirder knowing she had a relationship with Odysseus, who by that point was a pretty old dude so she was probably very mature and an adult (though she doesn't act like it). 3. Calypso is kinda a rapist. In the Odyssey myth, she forces Odysseus (a married man) to sleep with her. I'm sorry, but I can't support any relationship involving a rapist unless its rapist x prison cell. It makes me uncomfortable because she could very well take advantage of Leo, a mentally ill teenager with self-esteem issues. 4. Her toxic treatment of Leo. Calypso was very pissed when Leo arrived on her island, rightfully so after what she had gone through, but even then her treatment of his was outright cruel, especially compared to that of Percy and Odysseus. She made him sleep outside, exposing him to the elements after he got flung through the air and ended up on her island, which must've caused some damage. Then after they started dating, I still felt uncomfortable reading about the two, because their dynamic just didn't work, and I don't recall her apologizing to him for her treatment of him. 5. Leo's arc was thrown away. I think the worst of all, is how this impacted Leo's character. He should've had an arc where he learnt to love himself, but because of Calypso he didn't. I think the moral was supposed to be: 'even if you're mentally ill or have problems, you still deserve love!' but it came over more as: 'ignore your issues and get all your love from someone else.' Isn't it more important for kids to learn about self-love? And as an extra: what could've been. I think that Leo shouldn't have gone back for Calypso, that that ship shouldn't have happened. I prefer him going back to Echo and them learning about self-love together as buddies (and maybe evolving into more than that). Echo was stuck in an abusive relationship with the Narcissist, so I think it would a good arc for them both. I also think that if you really wanted a romance, Jason x Leo would've been much better. We know that Rick can write good gay romances, we know that Piper turns out to be a lesbian, so why not make Jason and Leo gay? I think it would add much more to the tragedy of Jason's death, but that's for another post (and this one is getting too long already oops). In conclusion, I think Caleo is bad for many reasons, but especially because it didn't have enough time to develop and the dynamic was simply too creepy for me to get invested in. Sorry for the super long post- Have a lovely day :D

[cuntressgoingdigital]

I BET ON LOSING DOGS | johnny slaughter x reader

notes: i was listening to mitski at work and was gifted with the vision that is this short fic. i feel like i never see people explore how pathetic a relationship (that term is used loosely) with johnny would be. wrote this while at work so it might not be the best but i still wanted to post it!

lmk yall's thoughts! :)

cw: 18+ content MDNI, stockholm syndrome, brief sexual content (nothing too nasty), bloodplay (sorta?), praise, hair pulling, canon typical violence (vaguely mentioned), angst!, no happy ending

word count: 1.4k

the blood of another woman was smeared across your collarbone as he placed tender kisses along your skin. these were the only times he was ever gentle with you. he breathed life into you after cutting some unsuspecting girl’s short. 

at first the thought made you ill. the way he sought your affection (validation?) after a kill. it took you witnessing a few screaming matches between him and his other family members for the pieces to fall into place. the only time you had ever heard them sing his praises was when he brought home another body to be shoved unceremoniously into the cold room freezer. johnny had mentioned his past to you only once.

it had happened after a particularly ugly argument with his mother. nancy had made her usual remarks about wanting you dead.

“what do you think you’re gonna do with that girl? run off and marry her? you think she loves you? she doesn’t and she never will! put her out of her misery!” she screamed. “all you need is yer mama. blood runs thicker than water, boy. remember that.”

that was the only time you had watched him retreat with his tail between his legs. he sought out a bottle of whiskey he kept tucked away between the cushions of the peeling leather couch in his shack. the shack you had accidentally began to think of as home. he took two big swigs and leaned back against the cushion.

“ya know …i hate her. i wish she was dead. every day i wake up and hope i would finally be rid of her.” 

whenever he would get like this, you knew it wasn’t an invitation to speak. you were a diary of sorts. one he didn’t need to know how to read or write to maintain. 

“sometimes i wonder what my real mama was like. what she looked like. the sound of her voice. what she smelled like.” he took another big swig.

that night he had snuck you into the guest room in nancy’s house and fucked you so hard you felt sore in the morning. his hand clasped over your mouth so as to not disturb his mother in the room next door. he held you extra tight that night. perhaps afraid that in that moment you’d finally try and run again. not tonight. he wouldn’t be able to take that tonight. after a few hours of sleep he snuck you downstairs and back into his shack like you were two teenagers fooling around.

the next morning it felt like everyone stared at you a few moments longer than usual, inspecting the bruised bite marks along your neck and hickeys that decorated your chest. 

when sissy called you out to the garden to help pick flowers for her powders you immediately perked up. she was the only one who spoke to you outside of ordering you around. it seemed like she needed a friend as well. 

“can i ask you something? and can you promise you won’t tell johnny i asked?” you whispered, looking over your shoulder ensuring you didn’t have an audience.

“sure, dear. what’s on yer mind?” her honeyed texan accent always made you smile.

“about johnny  …” you explained the conversation you overheard and johnny’s private musings (omitting the part about him wanting nancy dead).

“oh, darlin’ ya didn’t know? johnny ain’t blood. nancy adopted him when he was young.” her voice lowered. “let’s just say it weren’t no formal adoption and leave it at that.” 

you nodded and thanked her for the information. after that the two of you carried on chatting about trivial things. how sissy should cut her hair, what color dress she should buy, and so on. 

you were the only normal thing johnny had (as normal as this arrangement could be). now when he held your chin and forced you to look into his eyes, you saw the poor child snatched from his mama’s arms before he could even remember her face. on one occasion you let a few tears fall before you could push the thought from your mind

“why are you cryin’?” his brow furrowed in bewilderment. 

“i’m sorry. i don’t know.” was all you could choke out. he used his thumb to swipe the tears away. that small, likely empty, gesture was all he could afford you as consolation. soon after, it became obvious that he was uncomfortable with the energy in the room. you watched him throw on a shirt and swipe his pack of cigarettes and lighter off the countertop. he slipped outside, letting the shack door slam shut behind him. some time passed and you followed him outside. judging by the numerous cigarette butts decorating the porch, he had spent that time chain smoking. 

“can i have one?” you meekly request. sharing a cigarette with him was one of the few activities you two bonded over. 

he pulled a fresh cigarette out of the pack and placed the filter between your lips. he leaned down and touched the cherry of his cigarette to the end of yours. you inhaled and let the warm feeling creep into your throat and down into your lungs. 

and now here you were, hours later. one blood covered hand stationed on your right breast, playing with the sensitive bud, and the other stroking your cheek. he always dirtied your body with blood from a fresh kill as an excuse to bring you into the shower with him. he would roughly fuck you from behind into the tile walls that nancy always kept in pristine condition and whisper sweet nothings in your ear.

“good girl”

“you take me so well”

“you look so beautiful like this”

you stopped breathing. he had never called you beautiful before. such a delicate word had never fallen from his lips in reference to you. a rough tug at your hair ripped you away from the thought. he turned you to face him, making sure his cock never left its space between your legs, and kissed you roughly. your back was flush against the cool tile as he positioned your legs around his waist. the kiss was nothing short of hungry and animalistic. he sloppily fucked up into you, only breaking the kiss to take a few breaths every so often. this time when he finished, he came inside you. he loved to smear the white hot liquid against your skin as if he were marking his territory. tonight was different. you had long since learned not to try and guess what he was thinking and you didn’t dare ask any variation of “why?” it always irritated him.

he wrapped you in a towel and led you to the guest room to lay down. nancy be damned.

the moonlight illuminated his dark eyes and shone off his still wet dark hair. you ran your fingers through his hair, an intimate act that always kept him docile. you needed this moment to last as long as possible. 

“yer never leaving me.” he never asked. he always commanded.

“i won’t. i promise.” you reassured him, just like any other time.

no matter how hard you tried, you would never fix him. the damage nancy had done was irreparable. all the love in the world couldn’t excuse his actions. even though you tried to silence the thoughts, your heart was too soft. as sick as it is, you love him. 

but, he would never love you. he couldn’t. he needs you in a way he doesn’t quite understand, but it was nowhere near the love you felt for him. he’s gone the last twenty something years without tapping into that emotion. why would he start with you?

you often imagined a life away from nancy. a life where he was never corrupted by her evil. maybe you two would meet at the counter in a diner. he would ask about your university of texas sweatshirt and you would happily tell him about your studies. he would scrawl down his phone number on a napkin and tell you to call him. you would date until you graduated college and run off to get married. coastal california always sounded nice to you. 

anywhere but newt, texas. anywhere but here. 

maybe in that life he’d say “i love you”. 

until you learn how to rewind time, you’d continue to bet on the losing dog that is johnny slaughter. 

[genshinluvr]

Sick Days 2

Pairings: Various Genshin Men x Isekai'd!Reader

Summary: The men are sick, and it's your duty to nurse them back to their healthy selves. Yes, the men are sick— all twenty-seven of them are ill, and you're the only one who's taking care of them. Some of them made it easier for you, but others made it complicated for you. It's a good thing you don't have emetophobia.

Note: This is highly requested by either three people or one person. Either way, I'm surprised someone wanted part two of the previous mini-fic because I felt iffy about the first part. Anyway, I am back from my vacation! That means we can finally get back to the longer fics because this upcoming week will be a villain!isekai'd!reader fic because it won the voting on Tumblr and Discord :> I don't post anywhere else but on Tumblr (Genshinluvr) and on AO3 (Aaliah_exo).

Warnings: The men are sick, and some of them are vomiting

Word Count: 3.5k

This is part two of Sick Days.

RING!

“Onikabuto booboo bear! I’m hungryyy!”

You run to the left side of the room with a tray of food in your hands. “Coming!”

RING!

“Sweetheart? Can you get me water? My throat is feeling parched.”

You run to the nearest water pitcher, grab a glass cup and fill it with water. “Give me a moment!” You holler. After filling the cup with water, you run to the right side of the room, making sure not to spill any water on the wooden floor.

RING RING!

“Snookums!!!! I’m cold! Can you get me an extra blanket and maybe cuddle with me?”

You run toward the piles of blankets on the table and search for the softest blanket you can find. The thicker and softer the blanket, the better it is. You don’t want any of them to be cold and feel uncomfortable while ill. You know how your boyfriends are—when they’re feeling unwell and sick, they need your attention around the clock. While searching through the mountain of blankets, you hear someone cough loudly.

Without looking, you announce over your shoulders, “Make sure to cough into your elbows and keep your masks on. You guys wouldn’t want to get me sick, now, do you?”

“No,” Aether mutters before sniffling under his face mask.

Zhongli sighs, rubbing his throbbing temples. “Apologies, dearest.”

“Childe, you can’t just ask [Y/N] to cuddle with you. You’ll get them sick, and if they get sick—”

Diluc was interrupted by Childe coughing loudly into his elbows, causing the redhead to roll his eyes and scoot toward the edge of his bed. Childe drops his arm to his side and narrows his eyes at Diluc before snuggling into his blanket, shivering like a chihuahua.

After what feels like forever, you finally found the perfect blanket for the poor, shivering Snezhnayan. You pull the blanket from the pile and walk to Childe’s bed. Childe’s eyes light up, and he sits on the bed, making grabby motions as you get closer to his bed. You decided to have the men stay in the infirmary at the estate instead of their bedrooms because, to you, it’d be easier to tend to each person if they were all in the same room instead of scattered around the estate. 

Well, at least that’s what you assumed. Now look at you— running from each side of the room to tend to each person’s needs, from getting water, cooking, and feeding your sickly boyfriends to getting them extra pillows and blankets if they’re in need, and so much more. It’s safe to say that you’re getting your daily exercise.

“I think I found the perfect blanket for you, Childe. It’s warm and really soft,” you say proudly, tossing the blanket over his shivering body.

Childe smiles at you beneath his face mask before grabbing you by the wrist while you adjust the blanket over him. You pause and look at the ginger Harbinger curiously. For someone who’s sick, Childe still has his strength because he somehow managed to pull you onto his bed. You stumble forward, making sure not to crush him when you land on his bed. Childe wraps his muscular arms around your neck and his legs around your thighs.

“Well, hello to you too,” you mumble, head resting against the crook of Childe’s neck.

Childe doesn’t reply. Instead, he sighs with contentment before rolling over to his side, bringing you with him. You snort and run your hands through his unruly, ginger hair. You pause and squeeze your eyes shut after feeling Childe’s damp hair. Oh, dear Archons. You pull your hands from Childe’s hair and wipe your hand on your shirt. Childe doesn’t seem to notice your slight change of behavior as he continues to nuzzle against you, sighing with contentment. You hear a disgruntled sigh coming from the small infirmary bed beside Childe’s bed. You peek from Childe’s neck to see Diluc and Al Haitham glaring holes into the back of Childe’s head. 

Al Haitham sniffles, crossing his arms over his chest. “Childe, you shouldn’t cuddle with [Y/N], or else you’ll get them sick too,” Al Haitham grumbles, continuing to glare at the ginger Snezhnayan.

“How are you freezing when you’re from Snezhnaya? Aren’t you used to the cold?” Venti asks from the other side of the room.

You chuckle. “Just because Childe is Snezhnayan doesn’t mean he’s used to the cold. Besides, Childe freezing due to being sick and being in a cold environment are two different things,” you say.

You pat Childe’s head and roll off the infirmary bed. Childe whines with protest, grabbing the hem of your shirt and attempting to pull you back to his bed, only for the hem of your shirt to slip through his fingers. Childe pouts and remains in bed, gazing at you with puppy dog eyes. You walk to the person closest to the medicine cart and adjust the pillow under his head.

“How are you feeling, Baizhu? You’re usually the one caring for us all and giving us medication, but today you and I switched spots,” you say, grabbing the medicine bottle with his name on the bottle and uncapping it.

Out of every sick man in the infirmary, you’re worried about Baizhu the most. Baizhu’s health is more at risk, and he’s prone to catching illnesses quickly out of the twenty-seven men. You’re grateful to have Baizhu give you some pointers on what medication to give each man in the infirmary, how much they need to take their medicine, and how often they need to take them.

Baizhu coughs into his elbow, wincing when he feels a sharp pain in his chest. “I could be worse, but with your assistance, I should be okay,” Baizhu wheezes.

You take out two pill tablets for Baizhu and hand them to the green-haired man. Baizhu takes his face mask off, throws the two pills into his mouth, and grabs the cup of water from your hands before downing the water to wash down the pills. Baizhu hands you the cup before lying on the bed. Changsheng, on the other hand, is perched on Baizhu’s lap, slowly slithering up to the green-haired man’s chest and staying there.

“How did we all get sick simultaneously? This sucks,” Kaveh sniffles from the other side of the infirmary, rubbing his red and irritated nose.

Just when Kaveh’s about to say more, his cheeks suddenly puff up, and he covers his mouth with his hands. Everyone stares at Kaveh, watching his pale, sickly skin gradually turn light green. Oh no. You recognize the expression. You rush to the trash can, grab it, and run to the other side of the infirmary to give Kaveh the trash can before he can spew bile all over the place.

Kaveh whimpers a ‘thank you’ before dry heaving into the trash bin. The others close their eyes and cover their ears while you look away, rubbing Kaveh’s back as he vomits into the trash can. After a few minutes, Kaveh wipes his mouth with the back of his hand while you take the vomit-filled trash can from his hands.

“I think you should go brush your teeth, Kaveh. Wouldn’t want to have vomit breath, now, do you?” Scaramouche asks, his nose scrunching up with disgust. 

Kaveh sighs and shoots a glare toward Scaramouche. Kaveh tosses the blanket off his body before getting up from the bed and going to the nearest bathroom. Scaramouche chuckles before quickly pulling up his face mask and coughing into his elbows. You sigh and dispose of the vomit-filled trash bin.

After changing the trash bin, you walk into the room and grab a pill bottle for Xiao. You didn’t think it was possible for Archons and Adeptis to get sick, but you were wrong. You stand beside Xiao’s bed and nudge him lightly while he remains on the infirmary bed with the blanket over his head. Xiao groans and curls into a little ball.

“Xiao, I have your medicine. You should take it before you sleep,” you say, nudging the Yaksha lightly.

“Adeptis don’t need sleep,” Xiao grumbles, his voice nasally due to his stuffy nose.

You sigh, grab the edge of the blanket, and yank it off his head. Xiao grumbles and squints at you. Xiao sighs and rolls over on his back, rubbing his eyes. Poor Xiao looks miserable— the tip of his nose is red, and he is constantly sniffling. Xiao wipes his nose with the tissue you hand to him while you uncap the pill bottle to give him his medication.

You hold out the two pill tablets to Xiao. “I know you don’t need sleep, but you should get some sleep regardless. If you don’t rest, then you won’t be healthy. If you’re not healthy, then that means I can’t give you kisses,” you say.

Xiao stares at you before reluctantly grabbing the tablets from your hands, throwing them into his mouth, and swallowing the pills dry. You gaped at Xiao. Xiao points at his head while you stare at him with your mouth agape. 

“What is he doing?” Cyno mutters, hugging his knees to his chest.

Kazuha wraps himself up in the blanket before falling over on the bed. “I think he’s asking for a forehead kiss from [Y/N] as a reward for taking his medicine,” Kazuha replies.

“So… are we not going to talk about how Xiao swallowed those pills without needing water?” Heizou asks, blowing his nose into the tissue.

You and Xiao continue to stare at each other in silence. You chuckle to yourself before leaning toward Xiao and kissing his forehead. Xiao closes his eyes, heat rushing to his cheeks. When you pull away, you notice Xiao’s cheeks are bright pink. You’re not sure if it’s because of his fever or if he’s blushing. Either way, Xiao looks adorable.

“Get some rest now, okay?” You stroke Xiao’s hair.

Xiao nods wordlessly before lying on his back while you tuck him into bed. Xiao closes his eyes when you lean in to kiss his forehead before leaving him to let him sleep. You walk to the next person to check on them, only to see Kaeya knocked out cold. Kaeya’s not wearing his eyepatch as it lays above his pillow. You press your hand against his forehead after brushing his bangs from his forehead. He still has a high fever, and he’s been sick for a few days— luckily, his fever isn’t nearly as bad as the first day.

Kaeya cracks his eyes open when you wipe the sweat from his forehead with a rag. Kaeya clears his throat, wincing when he feels how dry his throat is. “Oh? Is it my turn to be taken care of by nurse bunny?” Kaeya teases.

You snort. “Yes, it’s your turn to be taken care of by me, Kaeya,” you reply. “Try sitting for me, okay? You need to take your medicine.”

Kaeya sighs and sits up, grabbing the eyepatch from above the pillow and putting them on while you grab his medicine bottle. Why would the men need their own prescription if they have the same illness? Well, some are allergic to certain ingredients in the medication, and others are not. Some need stronger doses than others. People’s bodies react to medication differently, and you sure as hell do not want your boyfriends to have a negative reaction to their medication. Especially when they’re sick— some sicker than others.

You take two tablets from the pill bottle, handing them to the Cavalry Captain. Kaeya smiles at you, taking the pills from your hands before swallowing them with the help of water. After downing the medication, Kaeya places the cup on the nightstand between his and Tighnari’s bed, resting his head on your lower abdomen, and closes his eyes.

“Get some rest, alright? I only bothered you awake so you can take your medication,” you murmur, running your hands through his hair.

Kaeya nods before lying on the bed and closing his eyes. You turn to look at Tighnari, whose staring at you with a faraway look. His hair is pulled up in a half ponytail, there are dark circles underneath his eyes, and he’s shaking his head. 

Tighnari clears his throat. “Before you say anything, I already took my medication,” Tighnari rasps.

You blink at him. “When? I didn’t even notice you getting up to take your medication,” you say incredulously.

“He took his medication while you were occupied with Kaveh,” Thoma interjects, snuggling up against the body pillow and closing his eyes.

You sigh. “At least it’s one less person to worry about,” you murmur, running your hands through your hair. “You should get some rest now. Since you took your medication already.”

Tighnari stares at you before pointing at his forehead. You playfully roll your eyes and lean down, kissing his forehead. Tighnari silently cheers before taking his hair out of the half ponytail and lying down. You were about to go over and check on Gorou and Albedo, but the two men were also knocked out cold.

Gorou cracks his eyes open and rubs his eye. “Can I take my medication later? ‘M tired,” Gorou mumbles, rolling over on his stomach, and slowly falls asleep.

“Sorry, Gorou, but I can’t let you skip out on your medication. There’s a time slot, remember?” You poke Gorou’s cheek lightly.

On the bed, one foot from Gorou’s bed, Albedo raises his hand. “I also took my medication earlier as well,” Albedo comments.

You stare at Albedo as the Chief Alchemist gets comfortable in his bed. Well, at least the ones that took their medication are somewhat making it easier for you. You walk to Dainsleif’s bed and sit across from him. The blond man cracks his eyes open and gazes at you with bleary eyes, slowly rubbing his eyes as he sits on the bed. You pull his medicine bottle out from the small basket and hand him the bottle. Dainsleif uncaps the bottle, takes two pill tablets from the bottle, and pops the pills into his mouth before downing the water from his water bottle.

“I didn’t know you could get sick,” you murmur, hugging your knees to your chest.

Dainsleif hands the bottle back to you. “I’m immortal, not immune to diseases and sicknesses,” Dainsleif replies, wiping the droplet of water from the corner of his lips.

You stand and hand him the eyemask. “It looks like not even Archons are immune to diseases and illnesses. I’m going to let you rest now, alright? I’m going to check on the others,” you say, stroking Dainsleif’s hair before walking to the next person.

What amazes you is how Capitano continues to wear his helmet despite being sick. When you hand him his medication, Capitano gets up from his bed and leaves the room for a brief moment before returning.

“You didn’t throw the medicine away, did you?” you ask, gazing at the tall Harbinger skeptically.

Capitano’s shoulders bounce as he sits on his bed and shakes his head. “Just because I took my medication out of sight does not mean I threw them away. You needn’t worry,” says Capitano as he pats your head before lying down.

You sigh in relief and smile at Capitano before turning over to the other three Harbingers. You pass the medicine bottles to each man and fill their cups with water from the water pitcher. You hand the cups to the men, trading the cups of water for the medicine bottles. The three men take their medication before remaining sitting on their beds.

“Is there anything else you three need before I check up on Neuvillette and Wriothesley?” you ask, putting their prescription bottles back into the tray.

Pantalone sighs, takes his glasses off, and puts them on the nightstand. “When can we start cuddling again?” asks the black-haired Harbinger.

“When you’re not sick anymore, Captain Obvious. Do you want [Y/N] to get sick all because you wanted a cuddle session?” Dottore asks, glaring at the black-haired Harbinger.

You sigh, pinching the bridge of your nose. Even though the two men are sick, they still bicker with one another. Pierro clears his throat and motions for you to come close. You walk to Pierro and stand at the foot of his bed. You grab an extra blanket for Pierro and drape it over him. Pierro grabs your hand and pulls you toward him.

You stand beside Pierro’s bed, and he wraps his arms around your waist, burying his face into your stomach. You run your hands through his hair, untangling the small knots in his hair as Pierro rubs your back with his thumb. You press the back of your hand against his forehead, sighing in relief.

“It looks like your fever is going down faster than the others! That’s great news,” you say, patting his head.

Pierro clears his throat. “It’s all thanks to you, little one. If it weren’t for you, my fever wouldn’t have gone down,” Pierro replies.

“Hey! Stop giving the old man attention because we’re dying over here!” A nasally voice hollers from the other side of the infirmary.

Pierro reluctantly releases you as you turn to where the other two men are lying. Wriothesley looks like a mess, but you can’t blame him since the poor man has emptied his stomach four times so far. Wriothesley sniffles pitifully, hugging the trash can to his chest as he wipes the snot from his nose with the back of his hand. You hand the medication to him, only for Wriothesley to shake his head and place a hand over his stomach.

“I don’t want to take it right now, my dear. I don’t think I’ll be able to keep it down if I were to take the medication,” Wriothesley says, pressing his lips into a thin line.

Wriothesley’s face turns bright green before shoving his face into the trash bin and retching and emptying his stomach for the fifth time. You sigh, rubbing his back as he continues to spew into the almost full trash bin. While Wriothesley is retching and whimpering into the white trash can, you turn to Neuvillette.

“Did you take your medication?” You ask, shaking the prescription bottle lightly before him.

Neuvillette shakes his head. “I just woke up. Waking up to your face and the sound of your voice is something I would prefer over the sounds of Wriothesley heaving and whimpering into the trash can,” Neuvillette sighs, brushing his hair away from his face.

You run your fingers through Neuvillette’s hair, smiling at the silver-haired man. “Maybe next time when you’re not sick. After all, you and Wriothesley arrived at the estate not long ago, and look at you two… sick just like the others,” you sigh.

Poor Neuvillette and Wriothesley. The two men have moved into the estate not long ago, and yet both of them end up getting the virus that was going around the abode. The first person that caught the virus was Kaveh, and it passed around to everyone in the abode except for little ole’ you. This was strange because you get sick easily— you don’t have a weak immune system per se, but you have lived with children in the past back in your world, and those children would get you sick whenever they were sick.

“Here’s your medicine. Get some rest after, alright? I know you have a headache right now,” you murmur, handing Neuvillette his medication.

Neuvillette grabs the medication from your hands, and you turn to Wriothesley, who places the trash bin beside his bed and gazes at you with bleary eyes. You prop one hand on your hip, looking at Wriothesley curiously.

“Are you done throwing up?” You ask.

Wriothesley nods.

You tap your fingers on your hips. “Do you think you can take your medications now? If not, I can give them to you later when you don’t feel like you have to throw up again,” you suggest.

Wriothesley shakes his head wordlessly and extends his hand, the palm of his hand facing up as he waits for you to hand the pill tablets to him. You sigh and place the two pill tablets on the palm of his hands, and watch the black-haired man shove the pills into his mouth before chugging the water.

“Wriothesley, please don’t chug the water. You might make yourself throw up again if you do that,” you chide.

Wriothesley places the cup back on the nightstand between his and Neuvillette’s bed, wiping the water droplets from his lips with the back of his hand. You pat his head while he smiles, pressing his head against your stomach. After a few minutes of petting Wriothesley’s hair, you grab the trash can beside Wriothesley’s bed and walk out of the room to empty the trash can, only to stop in your tracks when you hear someone retch and a collective groan.

“[Y/N]! You have more trash cans to empty!”

You sigh, shoulders slumping. Whatever this virus is, you sure hope it stops floating around because you don’t know how much longer you can deal with having to change out trash bags. Especially when you’re not a huge fan of vomiting. It’s a good thing you don’t have emetophobia— that would render you useless if you had it. As long as you’re not the one that’s vomiting, you’re okay with cleaning up after someone else’s vomit since it’s not your first rodeo.

Note: Not gonna lie, as I got closer to completing this mini-fic, I started getting nauseous out of nowhere. But I am okay-ish now! The Gatorade kind of helped me feel better. But yes, this upcoming week is the somewhat lengthier fic of villain!isekai'd!reader since it did win the Tumblr and Discord polls. Speaking of Discord, for those who want to join my Discord server, here is the temporary link to [Zhongli's Abode]. Please make sure to read the server rules to save yourself from getting in trouble (if you like the server, you can stay, chat, and lurk. If not, you can leave if you don't vibe with it ^^). I didn't post a new link last week due to being away on vacation, and I didn't want my mods to feel overwhelmed with new members while I was away. Anyway, to all my new and returning readers, keep in mind that I ONLY post on my Tumblr (Genshinluvr) and my AO3 (Aaliah_exo)! Nowhere else except Tumblr and AO3!

Taglist for my Isekai'd!Reader one-shot series and my overall taglist: @chirikoheina, @yoru-trash, @kaoyamamegami, @deartoru, @luminarymoonlight, @toobytub, @ins4nebish, @bokuto-kinnie, @jadedist, @mompt2, @chalksdreams, @thelost-in-time, @ventisweetheart, @hispasian-otaku, @juuuuuj101010, @samarill, @testsubject0012, @irisxiel, @kazuhaprnt, @lunarapple, @emilymikado, @mabie, @vinnie-w, @n8mareee, @heyimkay, @eliciana, @blesstosuisen, @goldeneclipsedragon, @jjvr4yxc, @sovermike-21-blog, @vox34, @skyyyyackerman, @undecidingfate, @nightlysunn, @faeryminnyx, @simpcreator, @lucifarts-boxers, @thelovebuggs, @urlocalheizousimp, @sunlightstarr (Accounts that I was unable to tag have been removed. Those who don't want to be tagged in certain stories are not tagged in this particular post. Remember to check your settings to see if you're allowing people to mention you/tag you in posts or not)

Read more of my works on my Masterlist / Masterlist 2 | Maybe support me by tipping me on Ko-Fi or by reblogging my fanfics! ^^ I will also be posting exclusive fanfics on Ko-Fi as well very soon! I might post all of my stories on there too, but who knows. You can also tip me on Tumblr if you'd like as a way to show support! ^^

[chopprface]

dinobots design is basically finished i gotta make one for depth charge too though... luckily i have a few days cause i dont have an ao3 account for some reason, then ill probably start posting segments of the story (AS SOON AS I FIGURE OUT HOW THE FUCK POSTING ON AO3 WORKS.......)

extra stuff below here like doodles and design notes incase that interests anyone (also yapfest i apologize)

heres the sidequests btw... incase anyone wanted to see those... theyre mildly silly i feel goofy making such an edgy au like this lmfao

also the notes i added!! transcribed cause my handwriting is AWFUL - grimlock esque faceplate (also kinda reminds me of cybershark!) - utahraptor altmode to match how utterly huge he is (i did NOT reference utahraptors very hard i apologize to the dinosaur lovers out there) im imagining his size is around normal human size in regular show universe but hes like comfortably over 10ft i could go into a LONG tangent about bw heights but thats for another post.

extra stuff cause idk if ive posted it here! essentially the au im working on is one where dinobot takes on rampage's role. his relationship with depthcharge is something ill get into in the fic im writing but it goes deeper than purely omicron. oh yeah to clarify dinobot ISNT protoform X. dinobots spark is fused with rampages spark (which is why hes so big in this au, cause his body has to manage the energy of two sparks one of which is highly volatile) unfortunately i must stop myself before i spoil the entire au.. i hope this is vague enough to keep anyone reading intrigued enough to follow me for info on the fic...