#it feels like reading a comforting story while drinking hot chocolate if that makes sense??

[a-cloud-for-dreams]

@choicesficwriterscreations

Hey There! I saw this, and I couldn't agree more! Nothing says I love you more than "I'm willing to try this for you." And this works for all kinds of relationships: romance, friends, and family, too.

Would you be able to create something showing this for one of your characters or pairings? It could be a drabble, fic, edit, art - anything at all!

NO PRESSURE AT ALL - only if you want to, but I'd love to see what you could come up with!

A meeting in Wyoming (F!MC×Nik)

F!Main Character: Alex

Pairing: F!MC × Nik Ryder (Nightbound)

Summary: Alex and Nik were invited to visit Jacqueline in Wyoming, Alex's mom. Will Nik be able to impress his girlfriend's mother?

Word counting: 4.4K

Fluff ● Romance ● Comedy ● Family ● Winter

Rating: Teen/Mature (Fluff, Love, Comedy, Smut, Hurt)

Warnings: family problems, light and less detailed smut, parental problems, mention of death & unwanted pregnancy

Author's note: The funny childhood memories weren't made up... It was naughty me 🤭🤭 Also yes, I canon Nik's birthday beeing in winter... I decided to give him my birthday, January 23rd (01/23/??). Since according the Nightbound book, the Main Character's birthday takes place around Mardi Gras.

-> -> -> Full Masterlist here <- <- <-

Thank you so much to anyone who takes the time to read, like, comment, or reblog my stories/fanfics. It means so much to me! Please inform me if you would like to be added/removed from my new Tag List.

Taglist: @infactnoimmasitinthemiddle ; @lilyoffandoms ; @lawrencebarkley ; @secretaryunpaid ; @blackcatkita ; @peonierose ; @hopelessromantic1352 ; @mariemarieohcontrary ; @mxdanni ; @jdstar88 ; @choicesficwriterscreations for the CFWC Holiday Event 2023 ; @choicesholidays & @choicesflashfics for the Winter Prompts

Prompt #1: "I'll try that, for you. I may not like it, but I'll try it."

Prompt #2: "I'm thankful for you" for @choicesholidays

Prompt #3: Winter, Family gathering, Pre-Christmas time, Old Memories, Christmas memories for CFWC Holiday Event on @choicesficwriterscreations

Prompt #4: "Now, I’m really nervous to meet your family." for @choicesflashfics

Prompt #5: "I made you two some hot chocolate too." for @choicesflashfics

On cold winter day in Wyoming, the young couple in their formal business wears stepped inside the elevator, pressed the button to reach the highest floor of the crystalline building. They're soon to meet and enter the office of Jacqueline Fontaine, mother of Alex Clarissa Fontaine.

"Looking handsome today, Nik. Like a real business man.", she praised Nik's new outfit. Both of them carrying their wet winter coats in their arms.

"Have to look great if I want to impress your mom, right? And you look like a real business woman, rook.", he confessed to Alex who wore a light blouse, a black skirt and matching heeled boots.

"Thanks, Nik. My mother is a business woman, why not show some respect, huh? She likes a formal dresscode. Besides, don't forget to behave yourself too. The look isn't the only thing that matters."

"I always behave myself, rook. You sayin' this to me?? I'm a total gentleman. No big deal, relax. Let's just quickly make-out a bit in the elevator before someone else enters it. Besides, it'll take time till we reach the top of the building. So why not enjoy a bit and loosen ourselves?"

"Niiiiiiik, behave. Not in my mom's office.", she rolled her eyes and he chuckled as she delievered a soft, playful punch on his shoulder

"Just kiddin', rook. Don't worry. But... You look so damn hot today that I would like to. Not my fault that you're ruining the gentleman inside me.", he mischevously smiled at her.

As the two reached the highest floor, they left the elevator and walked hand in hand towards the dark, wooden door with a metallic name plate on it. It said: Jacqueline Fontaine's Office (Accountant & CEO). (-> Pinterest moodboard here)

"We're here. You nervous?", she asked him and knocked lightly at the door.

"Maybe a little. Damn, she's a successful business woman. She must have high standards and I... Now, I’m really nervous to meet your family. What did you told your mom about me?"

"Uhhh, that you're a hot police officer. I mean... I couldn't tell her that you're a nighthunter, right? The supernatural world must be a secret for the safety of both worlds. And umm, a police officer seem to be the clostest related to your job, right?"

"Guess so. Hey, why isn't your mom opening?"

"Hmmm, guess I didn't knocked loud enough or she isn't here.", Alex wondered and decided to open the door herself.

With Nik close behind her, she stepped inside the office where her mother was sitting at her large desk, but she wasn't alone. Infront of her were her clients seated who were probably discussing a business matter with her. Alex's mother got surprised when she suddenly saw her daughter infront of her. The mother wore a light blouse and a short, black skirt which. Earrings were hidden behind her black, shoulder-lenght hair. Her fair skin was covered with make-up. For her age, the woman has definitly held herself good.

"Alex??! Dear, what are you doing here all of a sudden? I'm having a very important business meeting. Very important, dear.", she signaled to leave.

"But... But you wanted to meet us and..."

"Later, darling. Later, not now. Wait in the hall for me. And next time, you better knock before entering.", she stood up and ushered her and Nik outside of the room to leave. The door got closed infront of the two.

"Damn, that was... rude. Rook, didn't you informed your mom that we were coming? Was there an exact time planned or..."

"Shut up, Nik!!! Quiet!!! I'm super annoyed and disappointed right now!!! And of course, I informed her!!! The fact that she's the one who invited us.", she faced him with anger which made Nik worry.

Of course she wasn't mad at him, but somehow he felt hurt by her harsh words like shutting him up. They rarely had a fight and if they were argueing, then it was often how overprotective Nik was or how Alex put herself into danger again.

"I... I'm sorry, rook.", he looked away and both took a seat on a nearby couch in the waiting area. For a few minutes it was total silence between the couple. Nik waiting that Alex would calm herself down. When he finally looked at her, he saw her wrapping her arms around herself and rubbing them against her body while closing her eyes.

"Rook, are you okay?", he got worried and moved closer for a hug.

"It's cold. I hate winter."

"I was born in winter."

"I hate the winter, not you. I'm sorry how I yelled at you. Now please, take me home."

"But we just arrived in Wyoming, rookie. The flight took five hours and... Who told you to wear a skirt? Suffering for fashion."

"I know, I know, I regret that too. Let's... let's go to my home in Wyoming. My mom's home. Let's take our luggage back from the reception downstairs and go.", she finally opened her chocolate-brown eyes to meet his.

After the young couple in their winter coats collected their luggage from the receptionist who was so kind to take care of it, so they didn't had to carry or roll it around. She also handed Alex a mysterious envelope and gave direction to the nearest bus stop.

Both put on their winter gloves while they waited for the bus outside in the cold until it arrived. It was already full of passangers, so they had to stand and hold on tight. The gloved hands tightly wrapped around the holding loops as their bodies were pressed at eachother's.

"Why's the bus so full?", Alex got upset.

"Hey, cheer up. At least you're stuck here with me.", he tried to lighten up her mood, removed his hand from the holding loop to hold her's which made her smile.

After a short drive, Nik and Alex arrived infront of a nice family house. It was a sturdy two-story residence designed with a wide garden, large balconies, a screened-in front porch and a free-standing garage. A few CCTV cameras guarded the property, but that wouldn't stop Alex from entering her own mother's home where she spent most of her childhood.

"Nice place, rookie", he let a low whistle out while he inspected the property.

"Oh yeah? Wait till you see the penthouse my adoptive father gifted my mom on their anniversary. Now would you come over here and give me a lift?", she requested while trying to reach the nearest window of the house.

"Uhhh, where are the keys?"

"I don't have the keys, Nik. I gave them back to my mom after I decided to move out, silly.", she giggled and desperatly tried to reach the open window but failed. Instead her heeled winter boots made her slip, but Nik quickly managed to catch her and prevent her from falling.

"But Alex, we can't just break in like thiefs. That's illegal and right now your mom might be seeing us through these cameras she has placed around the house while sitting in her office. And the neighbors..."

"The neighbors know me, unless they're new. Besides I'm Jacqueline's daughter, so everything what belongs to her, belongs to me. Well, maybe not everything, I think. But don't worry if the cops arrive, I'll talk to them. So could you just real quick climb through the window, enter the house and open the front door, please? I'm freezing."

"But your mom wouldn't be impressed by me. She'll hate me. I want to show her my best side, rook. I can be a true gentleman too."

"Would a true gentleman let a lady freeze in the cold outside?"

"Okay, fiiiine. I'll try that, for you. I may not like it, but I'll try it."

And with that Nik began to climb a tree near the building and slipped through the nearest open window inside Jacqueline's house. It would have been much easier if he wasn't wearing the nice, formal clothes and his new winter coat which Alex bought him for this trip. When he finally landed on stable ground, he searched for the light switch in dark room. When he found it, he turned on the light and discovered that he was standing in a kitchen.

"Guess Jacqueline is expecting guests today.", he wondered as he saw preperations of food and beautiful table decoration on the table.

Without losing any time he began heading towards the front door of the house to quickly let Alex inside. Poor girl must be already freezing outside. As he moved his hand towards the handle to finally open the door, he froze. He heard a clicking sound appearing from outside and the door lock began to move.

"Damn, someone's opening the door. Alex's mom is here!!! I'm doomed. I'm soooo doomed. Worse gentleman ever. She caught us and she'll..."

"Who caught us?"

"Alex?!!! How did you?", he couldn't believe his eyes that the one who's opening the door was Alex. She's alone. Nobody was standing behind her and she's holding the keys of the house in her hand.

"Nik, I just remembered. Mom did gave me the keys of her house!! Remember the receptionist? Mom delievered her second key through the receptionist to me. That's what was inside this envelope the whole time. Mom just texted me, she'll stop here by later.", she victoriously smiled while holding the key infront of Nik's face.

"I can't believe you, rookie. You're full of surprises.", Nik akwardly ran his hand over his hair, took the luggage from her and carried it inside as she closed the door from behind. Both rubbing the dirt away from their boots on the rug, getting off their winter gloves and hanging their coats on an empty standing clothes rack.

"Yup, sorry that you had to climb. Now we're inside, so we can relax a bit. I'll show you the house."

"I already saw the kitchen. What I'm interested to see is your room? I bet it's upstairs.", he grinned, left the luggage in the hall and already sprinted upstairs.

"Don't you dare, Nik!!!", she quickly followed behind him to catch him.

"Stop me if you can, rook!!"

"Holy light... So much... pink?", his eyes gotten wider as he stood inside Alex's childhood room and analyzed his surroundings.

The children room was still in a good condition and looked very cozy. The pink painted walls were decorated with pictures and posters of flowers and majestic horses. Even the blankets, pillows and sheets on the bed were pink. Almost everything was pink, white and lavender colored. Soft plush animals were lined up on the bed. A white plush kitty, a pink plush bunny and more little cuddly friends.

Nik moved closer to a book shelf, bending little down to inspect the books. Children books about princesses, fairies, unicorns and other fairytales.

"I always dreamed to be a fairy, talk to animals and save the world.", Alex leaned against the doorframe and explained. Her eyes shimmering with happiness as she got reunited with her past and the beautiful, old memories she had as a little girl.

"Well, your dream got true. You're partly fae. Royalty and with your powers you can do anything. Even save the world."

"Yeah, somehow you're right. Just the fairy wings are missing. I wish I could fly."

"But you get to fly on a dragon in the fae realm."

"Hmm... Well... I also dreamed of a prince. My dream prince, a prince charming who will take care of me, make me happy and shower me with love. Just like Prince Phillip and Princess Aurora from Sleeping Beauty. But instead I got the Prince of Swords. I got you, Nik. And I wouldn't trade it for anything because I love you just the way you are.", she happily confessed, moved closer to him and rested her arms around his shoulders while he pulled her even closer till their lips were about to meet.

"You're truely a beauty, Alex. I love you too and I'm glad you came into my life. You're... you're so damn perfect. You're gorgeously beautiful, my princess. No, you're my Queen.", he got closer and moved his arms around her waist. His cheeks leaning to hers as he planted a kiss.

"Oh, Nik...", she leaned closer to him and grabbed the black tie he was wearing. Nik Ryder looked like a handsome gentlemen today. Since she saw him in this formal suit. Well groomed and the masculine smell of his long-lasting perfume which she couldn't resist, so she started kissing him.

"Careful, I don't want to be covered with red lipstick marks. Your mom wouldn't...", he tried to warn her, but didn't pull away. He couldn't resist her either. He wanted more and closed the distance between them. He is all over her. His arms are around her and his lips seeking her's. She couldn't resist and he couldn't resist. The two of them are locked in a passionate embrace, feeling the hot closeness of their bodies, enjoying the sensations the other evokes. Lost in that moment.

Yet it’s not enough, and Nik was feeling it too. He eventually broke away from her and looked deep into her chocolate-brown eyes.

"I don’t want to talk any more," he confessed intensely and led her to the bed. "I want you, Alex. I wanted you before too. Now. Here. With me."

Soon enough, both tumbled onto the bed and proceeded to explore one another, discovering which touches are the most pleasing. Nik was everything she fantasized he would be and equally committed to giving pleasure as receiving it. Alex didn't care anymore that she was lying with Nik on her large childhood bed. And surprisingly it was enough space for both of them.

Together they stoked the fires of desire until neither of them could bear it any more. They came together again and again. The feel of being as one is all-consuming and they almost lost the track of all time.

In the end, both let the waves of pleasure cascade over eachother and then collapsed into one another’s waiting arms.

Nik looked into her face, his eyes slightly wide and an expression of almost awe on his face. "You're so… incredible."

"So are you, Nik."

After an intiminate moment and some kisses, they finally pulled away from eachother and were heading back downstairs.

"Alex, you're so smokin' hot. I want you to seduce me. Let's... let's... let's continue this later.", he wispered.

"Nik, you're beeing so naughty right now. In my mom's house? Where is your gentleman behavior now?", she giggled and gave his shoulder a soft punch.

"I have fallen under your spell, my beautiful Queen."

"Yes, my King."

After Alex showed Nik the rest of the house. Both entered the livingroom at last where they got greeted with a small hiss. On a nearby shelf there was a small, green snake in a terrarium watching them which made Nik a little nervous. Jacqueline's pet snake, Slitter.

"Guess, it doesn't like us. Very typical. Slitter only likes my mom and nobody else. Still wishing it was a cuddly kitten or bunny instead of a snake."

But Nik got busy admiring the family photos hanging on the wall. The young people on the picture were looking so happy. A happy family. A family he also wanted to have and share his childhood and memories with, but unfortunatly he lost his parents when he was way too young. Then, his eyes fell on the tiny, silver-haired girl in the picture smiling.

"Rook, you look cute. And your silvery hair...?"

"Yup, that's me standing with my mom and my adoptive father infront of the Christmas tree. We celebrated Christmas every year together here and I got a lot of presents. I miss those times, because now we barely have time for eachother. Always busy with business and work. And, yes, my silvery hair... Nobody believed me that it was my natural hair color. That I was born with it.", she answered while trying not to get too emotional in the sudden flow of memories.

"Silver. You got the black hair from your mother and the silvery-white from..."

"My dad, Elric. Yes. Yes, I figured it out too. Later when I found out about the existence of my father. I... I still can't believe how my mom hid this from me. She told me that after my birth my father died and...", she almost cried and felt Nik's arms around her body who tried to comfort her.

"Shhh, I'm here Alex."

"Oh, Nik... I..."

"Alex, my dear.", a sudden voice appeared which made Alex and Nik turn around to see.

"Mom??!! You're here??!! Since when? We didn't heard you coming.", Alex panicked just as Nik and both seperated from eachother's embrace. Nik's cheeks turned softly red out of embarrassment and secretly hoped that Jacqueline didn't found out about his and Alex's doings upstairs.

"Misses Fontaine, it's a pleasure to finally..."

"Alex, I just entered the house and I already heard everything I needed to know. So you found out about the secret your biological father? Oh, of course you would one day, especially when you decide to stay in crazy New Orleans.", she interrupted Nik to explain herself.

"Mom, why?"

"To protect you. That's all, to protect you!! New Orleans, that crazy place... Kristin and you just had to go there to celebrate your 25th birthday. Dear, you have no idea what I have been through all. Nothing is as it seems there. It's dangerous and New York isn't safe anymore either."

"Mom, you know... about the supernatural world?"

"Don't say anything more. I don't want to think or talk about this matter right now. You're the only person I care and have left in this world now with the recent death of your adoptive father. I love you and I don't want to lose you too."

"Not when she has me.", Nik confidently stepped closer to Alex and embraced her and gave Jacqueline a reassuring smile. Alex's mother easily forgot her worry and smiled at the man.

"You must be Nik, my daughter's boyfriend? You seem aware about this world too. I hope you will keep my child safe."

"Of course, I'll take care of Alex. I'll protect her and always be by her side. Nothing will harm her on my watch, I swear. And yeah, I am aware about the World of Night. I lost my parents through the hands of monsters. They got killed infront of me when I was a child. I was the only one who survived.", he felt to explain his matter towards Jacqueline even though it hurt to bring back old memories.

"Oh, I didn't know. Poor Nik child, I'm so sorry to hear. Alex and I will be your family from now on. Besides, we're not actually here to remember the past. Let's focus on the future. I'm Jacqueline Fontaine, the beautiful mother of my beautiful Alex. Please, take a seat on the couch in livingroom, I'll bring something to eat. I made you two some hot chocolate too."

"No need for that, we'll have together dinner anyway. Thanks for this invitation, Misses..."

"Just Jacqueline would be fine. Please not these formalities with me even though I am a successful business woman and accountant. Such a gentleman you are, Nik. We're family and with Christmas just around the corner, I'd love if the two would stayed longer with me till the holidays end. I never thought I would feel so lonely.", she confessed which surprised Alex.

"What if you get busy with work again?", Alex asked.

"Dear, family comes first and I should have realized that years ago. I'm sorry what happened today in my office, but my client... well... he wasn't easy to handle. But I feel so ashamed that I couldn't give you the time and attention you deserved since you were a child. That your adoptive father had to look over you because I couldn't. You're my everything and the only thing I have left now. I might have not liked suddenly beeing pregnant and I wasn't happy, but your adoptive father supported me. He helped me giving you a chance and I don't regret. I love you, Alex. I love you so much, darling. You remind of your father, Elric. I still love him and I hope he hasn't forgotten me."

"Oh mom, love you too. I thought... I always thought I'm not good enough for you.", Alex crashed into her mother for a hug while tears welled up in her eyes.

"Shhh, my darling. Quiet. You're here now with me and I'm glad Nik brought you to me. I'm thankful for you. I'm thankful for having you with me, sweety.", Jacqueline wispered and moved her eyes towards Nik. The man was silently standing infront of them and then left to give mother and daughter some privacy.

"Mom, there's one thing you should know... I personally met my father, Lord Elric in Lamrian.", she confessed which surprised Jacqueline because she would never have expected that.

"How did you find him so easily? Or how did he recognized you? Is he okay?"

"He... He... He died, mom. I just found him and then I lost him. We only shared a few hours, but they were beautiful ones. Truely the best.", she sniffed.

"No!! Noooo... It can't be... How could this happen? He... I still love him and I can't believe he's gone. I should have visited him, but I was such a coward to face New Orleans again. Poor Thalissa.", she deeply regretted and wiped her tears away.

"Mom, Elric sacrificed his life to save mine from a bloodwraith. If it wasn't for him, I... I would probably be dead already."

"A bloodwraith? That's impossible!! How? Don't return there anym..."

"That's okay, mom. The bloodwraith got defeated and everyone is safe now. It's safe now. And Elric still loved you and shared beautiful stories and compliments about with me you. He still remembers you.", she reported which gave Jacqueline a positive and warm feeling. That the gentle man who ruled over her heart still loved her, even though she already moved on with someone else.

But there was also more to share. That Jacqueline's daughter, Alex was not only a half-fae, but also the next heir of Lamrian and that she unlocked her magic powers with the help of Lord Elric. She can do magic. Maybe she'll tell this Jacqueline another time and not everything at once. Besides, it was time to let her mother explain how she got plunged into the supernatural world. What's her story?

When she asked, Jacqueline's expression turned bitter and she decided to tell this another time. Not now. Now it was time for joy, have a great family bounding time and get to know her daughter's boyfriend better. She called Nik back and all three were seated on a fluffy sofa in the livingroom, having hot chocolate to drink and stories to tell. Jacqueline excitedly showing Nik her family album and pointing at the pictures.

"And this photo was taken by Alex's adoptive father after Alex got born in the hospital. The nurses were so amazed that she had so much hair already. Ooooh, look how cute my baby looks wearing a gown in that picture. Like a mini-princess.", she enjoyed Nik's company.

"She was a cute child indeed and she's still beautiful."

"Thanks to my fae genes.", Alex added.

"Right, that's my baby girl. The prettiest baby of all. Such a natural beauty. When she sleeps, she's basically a Sleeping Beauty. Oh, have I told you the story where we were travelling to Dubai and how she played with her mouth out of boredom because we had to wait? I don't know if it was Dubai, but definitly somewhere in that region. She made that weird noise which made the police officers laugh and then, they let us enter first. Ha! Or the story where she was wearing squeaky shoes in the supermarket which irritated the customers who were trying to find the source of that noise? Ooooh, I have another story where little Alex stole a high-heel from a shoe shop."

"Mooommm??!! I was sitting in a baby-stroller. It happened by mistake.", Alex freaked out a little which made Nik laugh.

"A high-heel for a baby??!! Hahahaha!!! Didn't know you were a huge trouble-maker since childhood, rook? Jacqueline, Alex hasn't changed a bit. Still the same cute and naughty girl. A total trouble-maker."

"Nik!!! Very funny. Laugh how much you want. Mom, tell him the whole story like you told it to me. That I picked up the high-heel to play with it in my baby-stroller. You didn't noticed till we got home and went back to return it.", she explained.

But Jacqueline was too excited and continued with Alex's childhood stories and showed several pictures. Baby pictures, pictures when her daughter was toddler and school pictures till teenage life.

"Nik, isn't my Alex so beautiful? I hope my grandchildren will also be lovely babies like Alex.", she said which made Nik and Alex turn red. Nik immediately tried to change the topic and pointed at another picture.

"Uhhh, well... I... Oh wow, Alex was a cheerleader at highschool? How athletic. That might explain some of the moves she got."

"I was did martial arts as well, Nik. When I was a child before joining highschool.", Alex proudly added.

"Hey, did you do that weird noise with your mouth again? The one you did infront of the cops? Could you show me that, please?", he smirked which made Alex a bit angry.

"Nik, you...", she hissed as he made fun of her.

"Alex, behave yourself!! Nik was just beeing friendly. He's my guest. Be nice to him.", Jacqueline wished.

"Sorry, Alex. I was just enjoying your childhood stories."

"Wait till I ask anyone about your own embarrasing childhood stories, Nik. Or anything spicy."

"Who will you ask?", he raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, I'll figure it out somehow.", she confidently smirked at him and winked. Sweet revenge as they say.

After an eventful evening, the three had a delicious dinner together in the dining hall. Nik already knew secretly what food Jacqueline cooked for them since he was the one who climbed up the window which lead him to the kitchen.

As the cold winter night decented, they were all getting ready for bed. Jacqueline requested Alex to sleep in her childhood room and Nik in the guest room before she went to bed. The young couple kissed to have a good night to eachother before heading towards their rooms. Afterall, they agreed to stay with Jacqueline till Christmas to make the lonely woman happy.

"You know Nik, when my mother said that you're our family now... I think she already accepts you as her son-in-law.", she giggled, ran away and left him alone, wide-eyed with an open mouth.

"Alex! Hey, come back here. Youuuu... Wait till I find you under a mistletoe, you little trouble-maker."

After Christmas...

"Oh Tonya, my friend, this year I had a wonderful Christmas. I celebrated with my daughter who I haven't seen for so long. Today she's leaving with her boyfriend, but she promised to visit again and call me more often. And I will definitly visit her too and perhaps stop by to see you too, my friend. I'm just so glad to be united with her again. All our misunderstandings are gone now. How were your holidays, Tonya?", Jacqueline was talking with an old friend from New Orleans on the phone while admiring the decorated page her child created for the photo album with the title "Alex's Winter in Wyoming with Nik."

In the meantime, Alex and Nik were outside to enjoy the winter weather. Both standing in their ice-skates on a frozen lake and holding eachother's hands, as Alex was trying to teach Nik how to ice-skate. She was an excellent skater and wanted Nik to have some winter fun and try something new.

"Nik, you're doing great. Try to hold... Woaah!!", she fell on Nik as he suddenly lost his balance and crashed with her on the ice. Their faces were near as Alex was lying on Nik.

"Sorry rook, I..."

"Shhh...", she got closer to him until their lips met eachother's to a passionate kiss.

-> Learn more about the past in this fanfic <-

[whatsa-bi-as]

people watching

stranger!Minho x stranger!reader

plot; while you feel cursed in love the pretty boy at the Christmas market can't stop looking at you

genre; mainly fluff with a bit of angst (reader feels lonely), meet cute situation

warnings; slight self deprecating language from the readers perspective (let me know if I missed any)

word count; 0.6k

proof read; this one has been checked over by the wonderful @kyrjnie so check her out <3

networks; @kflixnet and @k-labels

masterlist is here

You were feeling pretty unlucky in love. Talking stages never got anywhere, all your friends were in relationships, and now as it was getting closer to Christmas it seemed that everyone had someone to spend the holidays with. The feeling of loneliness circulated an uncomfortable heat throughout your chest; a feeling you couldn’t seem to shake no matter how bitter the wind was outside.

Your friends had dragged you to the local Christmas market and while they all had someone to warm their hands, all you had was your cup of hot chocolate. The drink was far too sweet and gave you the same sickly feeling that you got when watching all the happy couples pass..

People watching used to be your favourite way to spend time; making up stories about those walking past, people you will more than likely never see again, feeling like you understood them even if it was just for a brief moment.

It was when you were sitting on that bench that you first saw him. He was surrounded by people, throwing his head back as he laughed, a halo of light surrounding him from the fairy lights circling the stalls. He was gorgeous. The kind of person that you would write poetry about even if you knew that nothing would do their beauty justice. 

You had no clue who he was. No idea of a name, of an age, of his interests, his likes, or dislikes, yet you couldn’t take your eyes off of him. He was the closest thing to comfort in a human. He looked like the type of person that you had been wishing for. 

You decided that this night was a waste. You had lost your friends and at this point you were just letting the empty feeling win. Getting your bag from your side, a figure appeared in front of you. It was the boy with a halo in his hair. If he looked gorgeous before then he was something heavenly up close. Eyes full of stars, a smile as sweet as sugar, he looked like an oil painting come to life.

Then he began to talk, and his voice simply filled you with a sense of calm, a sense of belonging and understanding.

“Hi, are you with anyone tonight?”

It took you a second to answer, not fully believing that someone like him would want to talk to you. 

“I mean I was, but I think they’ve just gone to do their own thing.”

The look he gave you was one full of sympathy, not pity like you expected.

“Well, that’s not fair. This is the place to be with people, not on your own.”

“I guess so,” you said through a genuine smile “but I’d rather be on my own than being the third wheel for three couples at once.”

He smiled back and seeing that sight up close it was something you wanted to burn into your eyelids.

“I can relate to that. Luckily, my group has no couples if you want to come hang out. And if you don’t then maybe we could go do something? Just us?”

The feeling that those words created is something you could never describe. It was like the broken parts of you were being pulled together, not fully whole but one step closer to being complete. The darkness began to crack as the twinkling lights surrounding you were illuminating your heart. One day he would know that this was the moment where you felt like you finally had a chance at moving forward; that this was the moment where those thoughts of being unlovable washed away like chalk in the rain.

 But right now all you could say was;

“That would be wonderful, but I would like to know your name before any of that.”

The laugh that he let out was something that you would never forget.

“Right, I completely forgot! My name's Minho. What’s yours?”

This would be the start of a relationship that you both could only dream of, but that could only happen with that first night of easy conversation and a fresh cup of hot chocolate.

[beerecordings]

I know it's been a while since you talked about it, but I found your werewolf AU and loved it! If you don't mind, could you talk more about what each of the Main Six (seven if you include Sean) wolf's scent is like?

thanks so much, I still love that AU!! although tbh it has been a while since I read it, so it's possible that the story itself will have the most detail about what they smell like. but Sean definitely smells like coffee, and he also just has a very warm smell. this is something he was born with to a degree, but it's also something that's developed as part of his personality. obviously this is C!Jack and not real Sean, but if we say he was the youngest child in a large family and a bit of a people pleaser, it makes sense how he came to develop a very welcoming, friendly smell. like a campfire and a hot cup of coffee. when he gets mad, sometimes he starts to smell like burned coffee beans.

Marvin smells like mint mostly because of irl Sean telling us that Marvin loves mint tea. he might have drank so much of it in his life that he started to develop the scent. I like to think his dad drinks it too so they both smell like mint when they're together, so it's a very homey scent for him. he also has a rose scent, and sometimes some smokiness, because he likes to use a lot of scenters and incense around his place. Jackie swears up and down he can smell when Marvin has a seizure coming, a smell like rainwater. Marvin's not convinced.

Henrik smells like lemon. when he and Marvin hug or greet each other, they come away smelling like mint lemonade, and he and Jack smell like lemon brulee. he gets an ocean scent sometimes too, like salt and sand, and it gets very intense when he's annoyed or focused on something important, washing out the lemon smell. it makes him always seem to smell clean, a nice cool smell, reassuring and straightforward.

Jackie has a scent people often describe as "summertime," and it gets buttery when he's excited and around his family. most of the time, he smells like a hot night out, like grass in the sun and fresh air. his mom used to call him Firefly. she and Graham were both very outdoorsy. Jackie liked having a large, close pack most of the time, but his favorite times were when Mom and Dad would take him camping just the three of them, and he would feel that they loved him and each other for once. if you asked Marvin, he would tell you his cousin got his scent from his need to be close to them and his need to be free of them at the same time. when Jackie's angry enough, he actually starts to smell bloody, an intense and alarming smell that makes other werewolves turn their heads.

Chase is our chocolate boy. he has a sweet cocoa smell, maybe from the need for comfort and kindness he had as soon as he was turned, because of the abduction. Anti was electricity and storms, high above him and complex: Chase's smell became grounded, familiar, and comforting in reply. as he spends more time as a werewolf his smell will become more nuanced too, with scents like red-hots and whiskey, but for now, he smells like brownies.

Anti's smell has always been wild, and it can be hard to figure out what he's feeling, because the actual mood-scent is frequently covered by the intensity of his storm/lightning scent, which spikes anytime he feels something too strongly. JJ calls him as out-of-control and unpredictable as a storm, but Anti thinks that's just overthinking it. he just loves a good lightning storm. he loves rain too and prefers to be outside in wolf form whenever a weather event is going on. sometimes his own smell is a lot for him, and he wishes he could turn it off. Iris always really liked it, though.

JJ's scent is pretty specifically "old book you just opened for the first time in a while." It's dusty but pleasant and exciting. he gets some caramel in there when he's curious or distracted. Henrik says JJ's smell makes him want a latte and a good book to read. it fits with his introspective side, but when JJ does something a little wild or angry, his smell is confusingly mismatched. it makes him a surprise at times. Anti enjoys seeing his little brother do something unpredictable while smelling like a quaint old library. their smells do not match, but it doesn't matter. he's never wanted JJ to be like him, and JJ likes to roll around in his fur so they make a very wild combo. dangerous pair there, but only one of them has the smell to show it.

the longer they're a pack, the more that their "den," Chase's house, will take on a smell too. what do you think it will smell like?

[kittykittyanon]

if i knew you irl (please just delete this if it makes you uncomfy 😣)

We would go to cat cafes

I like cats, you like cats. It makes sense

But also the cat cafe is a bookstore bc I go to this bookstore cafe with this cute lil cat named Cedric but that's all the way in NC (not where I live)

So we would pick out a book to read together, something silly that would make us laugh

And we would have lots of sweet treats and hot chocolates while we read the book out loud in silly voices

We would also be snuggling with the cute cats, two teenage girls giggling in the corner if a cafe over a cheesy romance book

imagining we both live in a city, we would go on walks all the time tbh

Holding hands/p (if ur cool with that) to make sure we don't get lost and giggling about stuff that's happened to us recently

also looking around at the pretty landscapes all the trees and buildings and just being in awe of the world around us

Bonus points if we are looking at christmas decorations

BONUS BONUS points if we play this game; we take turns spotting people and giving then life stories. Like we just come up with what they are doing, how they are feeling.

Also we have some sort if hot chocolate or lemonade or some sort of drink that matches rhe vibes of our walks

I imagine these walks are sort of weekly. We don't walk far just a little bit to catch up with each other

UAJAVSJAVKAVSBDJOSVSOSVSIOSVDODVIDBDODVDIDVEIE OMIGOSHHHH OMIGOSH OMIGOSH!!! (≧▽≦) (≧▽≦) (≧▽≦) (≧▽≦) AMORIA AMI AMIMI!! HAVE I EVER TOLD YOU HOW MUCH I LOVE YOU /P OMIGOSH AMORIA OMIGOSH. 💥💥💥💥💥💥 ((side note: i love it when you ambush me with silly asks like this,, i like the reminder you think of me :3 and i think of you too!!!))

more hcs under the cut!! <33

first of all, Yes. to everything on this list.

i walk like an absolute DRUNKARD,, and i mean when i get comfortable i never walk straight and i'm always walking in a sort of zigzag pattern,,, i feel like you'd laugh at how silly i walk and then i'd start laughing cause you're laughing and in the end we'd both be cackling and stumbling down the pavement together (≧▽≦)

OMIGOSH I LOVE HANDHOLDING!!! or just any sort of physical affection (as long as you're comfortable with it) !!! when i get comfy with someone,, it's very common for me to sort of. drape myself over them (*ﾉ∀`*)

if you're comfy with it and you want to,, i feel like we'd scoot our chairs as close as possible and be having our shoulders touching with a cat chilling across our laps,, us holding a book and trying to laugh as quietly as possible in the back of the cafe.

we'd share earphones/earbuds!! 100% we'd do the little thingy where i put one in my ear and you put one in yours and we'd have a mix of both our favorite playlists on low volume while we walk,, kinda like background music!! low enough for us to hear eachother but high enough to be audible.

i'm actually a rollerblader!! ...not a very good one, but a rollerblader nonetheless!! i'd definitely take you skating in our free time when we have energy for it, and i'd throw protective gear at you 'cause i'm scared of us falling LMAO

... yeah, no — we'd end up falling anyway LSNOABSOSVSISKECSHSJSHHSHSH

but we'd be laughing the whole time anyway so it's okay (*ﾉ∀`*)

during sleepovers, i'd bring a big stash of snacks and candy carefully picked out to your taste and mine, we'd watch coraline or any other movies!!

and then late at night, when it's time to sleep,, i'd give you my plushies so we could go to bed holding soft objects :3

if you stayed up i'd randomly wake up at like 3:45 am to spout the randomest shit only to fall right back asleep a few minutes later.

"did... *hiccup, giggle* did you know that whale sharks are filter feeders... an'... an' they eat plankton..." "... 😰"

i have curly hair so i sleep in bonnets and spend a lot of time in the mirror scrunching in gel and fixing my hair, i feel like you'd sit on the bed on your phone or something as i do it and we'd talk about whatever, breaking into snickers and giggles several times cause we're sprinkling in jokes to make eachother laugh.

assuming we don't go to the same school cause of the weekly walks to catch up with eachother,, i'd probably surprise you in the morning by knocking on your door with a big grin and your favorite snack, ready to walk you to school if i had a day off when you didn't. (if you're chill with it of course!!)

overall, you'd be a friend i cherish dearly. (and you are!!) (๑˘︶˘๑)

i'm a very big gift-giver but a very big broke dummy so you'd get attempted intricate paper flowers and handwritten letters, handfuls of stickers and little trinkets that made me think of you!!

i'd draw a chibi version of you and me doing silly activities together and put them with the rest of my gifts to you,, i'd also maybe draw a leo or two with a chad face and hide it somewhere in one of them HEHEHEE

[celestie0]

ELLIEEEE.

i read ch 3 of ihm and wanted to share my thoughts and praises of how freaking amazing your work is!!!!

"I would rather make love to one of those inflatable balloon salesmen at car dealerships that flail and flap around in the wind than let you touch me for the purpose of sex."

girl, the way i straight up CACKLED. how are you so freaking good at banter? like my queen, what is your secret, i could kiss your brain. the moment i started the chapter and read this i already knew it was gonna be another BANGER.

"I don’t really go after women with daddy issues."

💀 💀 💀 bruh. the way gojo is just casually throwing shade while watching CNN. i am loooooving this ihm gojo so fking much.

“Oh, thank god,” he exhales in relief, “I almost thought it was an avocado for a second.”

this whole little argument was so fun and sillly GAH i just loved it so much. the way you describe y/n when she gets mad is just ✨GOLD✨ like idk how to describe it, i just love how you manage to make her have such a spark. she's got a backbone and a heart. sometimes i manage to fall for your y/n more than your gojo 🤭 hehe

“The dog had rabies. It bit an old man. Had to put it down,” he deadpans.

OH MY GOD 💀 this fking scene with choso. girl, this whole story gives me such romcom vibes, like damn you deliver, yet another line that made me cackle.

“Your capacity for catastrophization never fails to amaze me,” he says. You’re pretty sure your therapist said something similar to you last week, too. 

i felt personally attacked here 😭 fking choso lol.

Also, why the fuck didn’t he get you chocolates from London?!?!?! The fucking snake. 

RIGHT?!?!?! WTF GOJO???? oh my god this was hilarious though, y/n being caught in her lie 🤭 girls gotta get her stories straaaaight. to be fair though, makes sense why she didn't realize gojo was out of town considering how much she's got on her plate rn.

So who really got the last laugh? Day shift workers. Literally.

this is so sad 😞 this aint fair. like why do the people that are working their asses off at ungodly hours to save and help people get the shit end of the stick? wow, much love and respect to health care workers. i can only imagine how hard it must be, in more ways than one.

 (who the fuck drinks juice from a coffee mug)

the same kind of sick fucker that would probably eat string cheese whole 😡 nah, this is a crime.

So you just relish in the ridiculous feeling of being on all fours in your vintage grandma nightgown in front of your shirtless and, breaking news: very hot, fake husband.

again, ROMCOM vibes. this is so hilarious 🤭 like y/n, my girl, i would be right there with you checking him out ���� the way you described gojo shirtless.... 🥵😩🤚🏻

“Why the fuck would I call someone for a job I could do myself?”

oh. my. god. this fucking hit HOME for me LOL. my own dad literally has like 10+ ongoing unfinished projects bc he refuses to pay someone to do it professionally. it's like a pride thing, but daaaaamn my mom be mad when theres like, an open hole in the roof for weeks. ihm is giving such DILF vibes and i am absolutely HERE FOR IT.

-

and lastly

JUNO.

need i say more??? she is so PURE and i must protect her at all costs 😩 UGHHHH i was so misty eyed when she was crying about being bullied. and the way you wrote y/n comforting her and interacting with her 😩😩😩🤚🏻🤚🏻🤚🏻 eeeeeep, i hope we get to see gojo and juno interact in the future bc anything with men and kids is literally my kryptonite. the few little tidbits with him wearing the slippers and having my little pony on the tv already made me smile so big 🤭🥰

-

okaaaay, literally i love your work so much, and i feel like i never say it enough so i really want you to understand just how fking incredible you are. like seriously, i love the entire tone of ihm. like you said, the writing style is so laid back, but that adds even more to the appeal, and when the serious moments hit you shift the tone so effortlessly that DAMN those moments hit even more.

i can already see just how much you can accomplish with this series and i'm really looking forward to seeing your vision come to fruition. you are incredible, ellie ❤️ thanks for sharing such an amazing story with us.

-aly💕

HIIII aly omg thanks so much for this review of ch3 ihm!! it means sm to meee :'') i'm cracking up so hard reading this BAHHAH

girl, the way i straight up CACKLED. how are you so freaking good at banter? like my queen, what is your secret, i could kiss your brain. the moment i started the chapter and read this i already knew it was gonna be another BANGER.

pls reader really came to cut a knife w that comeback i think even ihm gojo was like damn woman chill 😂😂 as for the banter i have conversations w myself like i am crazy ❤️❤️ helps w dialogue LOL

omg thanks you for enjoying ihm reader <3 i have worries ab her being a little much but honestly i'd ride n die for her she's going thru a lot bahaha. but i'm so happy you see that spark!! and yes i try to picture romcom & kdrama vibes when i write ihm xD just like kinda cringe and absurd at times but also surprisingly heartfelt? hahah

ahhh yea sm respect for night shift workers, esp those in healthcare. it's a suuuuper rough lifestyle and there's a lot of research that shows how detrimental it is to the body in the long term, and there are ppl who work the nightshift for like 20+ years. it's crazy

PLEASE MY DAD IS THE SAME HE ALWAYS WANNA BE FIXING THINGS AROUND THE HOUSE LIKE DAD IT'S BEEN SIX MONTHS I'M TIRED OF WASHING MY DISHES BY HAND PLS JUST CALL SOMEONE 😭😭😭 no but yea that scene was funny to write bc it was giving dilf vibes but also he's so unconvincing of his abilities to fix things xD idc tho as long as i get to see his abs while he's on his back working on sumn under the sink 👍🏼👍🏼

eeeeeep, i hope we get to see gojo and juno interact in the future bc anything with men and kids is literally my kryptonite. the few little tidbits with him wearing the slippers and having my little pony on the tv already made me smile so big 🤭🥰

AW thanks sm for liking juno <3 i've never written a kid character before and also i haven't been around children in so long so i was like watching youtube videos of children trying foreign country foods to see what tf they sound like xD anyways yesss omg i love men w kids. like sir pls lemme give u babies :// imeanwhatwhosaidthat

like you said, the writing style is so laid back, but that adds even more to the appeal, and when the serious moments hit you shift the tone so effortlessly that DAMN those moments hit even more.

AHHH thanks sm i could cry srs this is such a sweet thing to say :'') yea that tonal shfit stuff is tuff but to hear it's coming off is so relieving thanks so much aly <33 and for all your words too 😭😭 i hope you have a wonderful saturday!!!

much loveee ❤️❤️

[cno-inbminor]

iterum vivere (childe/tartaglia)

a/n: wow, it’s been fucking forever. first genshin fic featuring childe/tartaglia!!! a very huge thank you to @suspensin​ for reading this over and being my rock and support, and i love her so fucking much. I couldn’t have finished this without her!

plot: reincarnation and modern/uni!au ft. afab reader!traveler with she/they pronouns x childe/tartaglia 

-- in which meeting childe is a bit of a dangerous game of push and pull

wc: 12.1k; angst + fluff

warnings:  DOES CONTAIN IN-GAME SPOILERS (1.5? 1.6? + story quest and idek) and NSFW MENTIONS (mdni to be safe). there’s no explicit smut but thoughts do run a bit wild here and there

EDIT: Altered ChiLumi version now posted on AO3 here!

“Haven’t we met before?”

The shine in your eyes does nothing to hide your curiosity, head even tilting a little in observation. He watches them scan his face for any recognizable features, but attempts to focus on the strange, taut string of déjà vu that pulls him toward you. In a moment of absentmindedness, he had heard a faint voice call out his name from your direction. Confusion overtook him as you weren’t looking at him, but something inside his brain said that it had to be from you. And so his feet redirected his path towards your figure in the student union building, as if on a mission.

“A fucking whale, Childe?”

Oh.

“I don’t think so…?” You trail off, curiosity now replaced by perplexed feelings. “Do we have a class together?”

I think I would’ve noticed you by now if you were.

“Ah, what’s your major?” Childe asks quickly to avoid listening to the little voice in his head.

“History and anthropology, you?”

“Economics, but I’ve taken a history course for core credits. Maybe it was then?”

“With Dr. Zhong?”

“Yes!” He snaps his fingers. Part of his brain decides to usefully function and scan his memories to see if he remembers your face or head of hair in the lecture hall then. “Last year? Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10 to 11:20?”

“Actually, yeah,” you affirm in surprise. You think you would remember the relatively attractive ginger in your class, but honestly, it had all been such a blur and you were often pretty sleepy during class. Dr. Zhong didn’t quite appreciate it, but you made up for it with your exam and essay grades, as well as paying better attention in some of his other courses.

“Did you need me for anything?”

“I’d like for you to come visit and meet my family.”

He’s really not appreciating this extra voice speaking for him.

“Well…uh…” Childe stammers and looks away sheepishly, hand rubbing the back of his neck. He honestly had no reason for approaching you, and now, he just looks like a desperate idiot. Think quick, he tells himself, floundering for some shitty excuse.

“I wanted to, uh, take another history course as an elective and um, wanted to know if you had any recommendations?”

“Oh,” you blink. That’s a first. When he meets your gaze, the swirling shades of sapphire strike something deep within you. Flashes of events you can’t make out go by in the blink of an eye, but then you realize you’ve been staring for too long. Blood rushes to your cheeks because you don’t exactly want this guy to get the wrong idea from you, because how are you supposed to explain, “I’m sorry, but I think we have met before, but just a really, really long time ago, and we might’ve been more than just acquaintances because that’s what it feels like?”

“I think you’d like Teyvat Mythology,” your voice wavers on the verge of cracking. “Dr. Zhong might have a TA this time around, but Xiao’s a great teacher. Doesn’t have long, rambling anecdotes, but explains things well and gets straight to the point.”

“C-cool, I’ll look into it,” Childe replies and smiles brightly. “I’ll head out then,” jabbing a thumb over his shoulder, where he just realized he left a grouchy Scaramouche waiting by a vending machine, newly purchased Starbucks Tripleshot drink in hand. “Nice seeing you, (y/n).”

He scurries off before you both realize that you never told him your name.

“Who’s that?” Scaramouche asks, jutting his chin in your vague direction.

“Someone from my Intro to Liyuean History course last year,” Childe waves off. “Come on, let’s go before the line at the pasta bar gets too long.”

-

The next time you see Childe is by accident, traversing across an open field of grass that many students like to sit out on to relax with friends, sunbathe, hold events, or play casual team sports if room permits.

You had your earbuds in and were scrolling through social media when laughter rang above all other sound, causing your head to snap up and swivel around to find the source. And while it might’ve been strange to an outsider, your steps immediately slowed as you watched the man of your tiring, vivid dreams sprint in your direction, eyes pinned on a frisbee heading towards him.

He’s wearing a grey sports tank and basketball shorts, headband holding back his bangs as he makes a slight jump in the air to catch the plastic disc between his palms. His feet plant into the grass as he looks for someone to pass it to, and you watch (with embarrassment) the muscles in his throwing arm relax and tighten with practice, frisbee steadily soaring through the air in a beautiful arc towards a teammate. He then lightly jogs to get closer to his group, but then his back stiffens.

Before your instincts kick in for you to turn and bail, he looks over his shoulder and stares straight at your now stunned self.

The sole ruby earring that glints in the sunlight catches your attention, and you recall your dreams of terrifyingly dark, violet electric power, blades of water rushing toward you, and then the stomach-churning sensation of falling from great heights pours concrete into your veins—

Childe looks a little amused for having your sole focus, hand lifting up for a quick wave. And as you numbly return the greeting, your heart beats out, “Run from him.”

And so with the flight response pulsing and firing from your synapses, you abruptly speed walk away, almost breaking out into a sprint towards your dorm. You ignore his pointed, confused look, and pretend you don’t feel the two holes of imaginary fire searing into your back. It isn’t until you’re laying back in bed that you release a huge sigh of relief and pray to a deity you don’t believe in that those eyes of mirth will not haunt you tonight.

But of course, with a deity that doesn’t exist, the prayers go unanswered.

-

“Do you believe in any of the mythology you teach?” You ask Xiao about a few days later when you stop by his cubicle. Luckily, no one else is around for this conversation, and Xiao has always been kind enough to humor your thoughts. Granted, he might feel obligated because you had asked Dr. Zhong to be your advisor for your undergraduate Honors thesis, and Xiao was directed to be your receiver of some general questions and source of information if he wasn’t around.

A quick scan of your complexion tells Xiao everything he needs to know. Your eyes are overtaken with rumination and exhaustion, haziness clouding them as you seem to ponder over your own question. It’s not often that you ask him anything not related to your thesis or coursework.

“Perhaps there’s some sense and truth to the tales passed down,” he softly muses. “What makes you ask?”

You lift yourself to sit on the clean area next to his computer, legs slowly swaying back and forth. “It might sound crazy but...I’ve been having dreams lately. They feel too real, too natural to be anything that my mind would make up. I’ve never had the most creative imagination by any means, which is why there’s some comfort to me being a history major, but I can’t shake these.”

“So why ask me about the mythology?”

“...the Archons are there. I even dreamt that I met the Geo and Anemo Archons. And they controlled various elements, just like we were taught.”

You don’t notice that Xiao has ceased his rapid typing, fingers hovering over the keyboard before one hand removes his glasses from his face. He uses the other to rub his eyes and softly pinch the bridge of his nose before sliding the frames back on. Dark, golden amber eyes survey you as you grapple with the unfathomable possibilities of your nightly visions, at least until you shake your head in disbelief at yourself and lightly scoff.

“Who am I kidding?” You ask no one in particular. “Maybe I’ve been doing too much research and everything’s mixing together.”

“You’re ahead of schedule, if that provides any consolation.”

“Some.”

-

It takes Childe a grand total of one minutes and 53 seconds to sign up for Teyvat Mythology for the spring semester.

-

WInter in Liyue is only slightly miserable, being so close to the ocean. It’s chillier than usual on this dreary day, yet something compelled you to exit your dorm and shakily make your way to the campus coffee shop for a warm drink. Coffee, hot chocolate, you haven’t quite decided yet, but just as you let yourself bask in the warm building, familiar ginger hair and blue eyes wash away the comfort.

Or do they douse you in security?

They remind you of your recent dreams that now have shifted away from stress and violence to easygoing summer days by the oceanside, running barefoot in the sand while collecting beautifully patterned azure starconches. Sometimes, you thrust a hand towards an oversized four-leaf clover on a wooden stake with the power of wind and catch yourself in the air, soaring and looking around to find more of the little shells. Other nights, they consist of climbing steep cliffs, only to sit at the edge in the clouds with fatigue wracking through your system and marvel at the view before you.

Someone’s always with you though, ruby earring and maroon mask and cobalt blue gem hanging from the waist, sprinting with you, playfully tackling you down, pulling you up towards mountain peaks, laying their head on your shoulders, brushing their lips against your cheek--

You welcome the change of peace in those dreams, but only because they don’t leave you quite as tired the next day, as if you’d been avoiding an inescapable dark force.

Part of you wants the burning question of why this person, this man, in all his glory and brightness, affects you so fucking much when you barely even know the guy -- why looking at him sends your heart to lodge itself in your esophagus, why your lungs feel like they’re so close to being completely collapsed under the weight of his stare, why feeling like you’re trapped and  caught between wanting to run towards yet away from him.  It makes no sense, and you’re tired of trying to make sense of anything you don’t exactly want to remember from your dreams for some, once again, inexplicable reason.

But there’s no time to think as he quickly ambles towards you, your own feet shuffling forward to meet him in a warped reference of a distance that constitutes to “the middle” before you can stop yourself. Your shivering hasn’t quite stopped yet, and Childe seems to take notice of it.

“Pretty cold out there,”  he softly states. It’s cute, the way you’re curling in on yourself to retain some warmth.

“Y-yeah, not sure why I decided I really needed something warm to drink right now,” you reply and avoid his gaze. He watches you peer over his shoulder to squint at the menu display hanging from the ceiling, seemingly contemplating on what you should get.

“How about I get yours today? My treat for your class recommendation last time.” Anything to keep you here longer. Childe doesn’t realize how much he’s missed you, which confuses him, and chooses to ignore the fact that he’d been camping himself at the study tables in the building where the history department is located in hopes of even just catching a quick glimpse of you.

“Oh, you don’t have to do that,” you immediately attempt to subvert his generous offer, hands shooting out from your jacket pockets and waving in rejection. “It was nothing.”

“Please?” Childe puts on his best puppy eyes before reaching for one of your wrists, gently tugging you to the register. “Just this once?”

You want so badly to squash the tiny flare of disappointment that erupts in your chest from the newly acquired knowledge that this was just a one time thing. Do econ majors hate to feel in debt? That they must be even with everyone, or would rather have people indebted to them than the other way around?

There’s no time to think when Childe gives the cashier his order before turning to you, and without wanting to waste anyone’s time, you rattle off your usual beverage. He’s quick in fishing out his student ID to spend some of his campus currency, shooting you a boyish grin when you pout at your half-opened wallet.

“Go take that table over there,” he says, pointing to one in the corner by some windows. “I’m gonna tell my friends to go on without me.”

“I didn’t mean to intrude or pull you away from them,” you slightly panic. The sooner you can leave, the better. Right? “You don’t need to sit with me, I was just gonna head back to my dorm.”

“I insist. Go ahead, I’ll be right there.”

Why your brain takes his orders over your own is a mystery in and of itself, because before you know it, you’re plopped down in one of the lounge seats and staring off into space, mind reeling over the last two minutes. You pretend you can’t hear the way Childe’s friends nudge his arm playfully with their shoulders, wiggling their eyebrows suggestively as Childe tries to get them to stop being nonsensical.

“You’re gonna scare them off,” he hisses at them, hands pushing at their backs so they could finally leave him to his devices.

“Not before you do!” One of them laughs and Childe groans at their antics. “All right, all right, we’ll go. They’re cute though, might steal them if you don’t make a move.”

The darkening of the aura surrounding Childe is too quick for them to fully process, not before he dampens any of their fleeting hopes with a, “Don’t even fucking think about it.”

But it disappears just as fast when his and your drinks are called out, and he gives them one last shove before retrieving your to-go cups. Childe directs all his focus towards the seat diagonally from yours as opposed to the one that’s straight across, and you’re sharply ripped away from whatever reverie you let yourself slip into.

“Thank you,” you murmur, hands cupping the drink and feeling the heat seep into your fingertips. “You really didn’t have to, it was nothing big.”

“Can you blame me for just trying to find an excuse to finally talk to you?” He asks without a skip and you can’t tell if the quickening of your heartbeat is from a looming sense of doom or excitement. Those eyes, the tiny swirls of the ocean, blue like those shells buried in the sand--

It takes three seconds too long for you to understand where he was going with in his words, and part of you feels unamused at his smooth talking. You’ve always guarded yourself against guys like Childe, devilishly handsome who know their way around language semantics, ready to pull you in and just as ready to push you away. That (possibly unfair) bias, coupled with everything else you’ve been feeling for him, sounded the alarms and set the walls up around your heart. Perhaps you need to stop wearing your heart on your sleeve, because Childe immediately retracts his forwardness.

“I’m sorry, I don’t mean to make you uncomfortable. I promise I’m not looking for anything in return and you don’t owe me anything, but I really did just...want to sit and talk and...get to know you?” Childe trails off a little towards the end. Your body loosens up and relaxes just a tiny bit, feeling bad for your snap judgment. Let the guy do something nice, don’t look into it too much, you tell yourself. It’s a coffee, not a five-course dinner.

You reach out a hand towards him, small smile across your lips, ready for his to join yours in a quick handshake. “I’m (y/n), senior history and anthropology double major. It’s nice to meet you.”

The pounding of your heart against your ribcage has nothing to do with the shimmering of his eyes, nothing to do with the fact that his hand fits with yours just right, and nothing to do with the fact that an eerily similar voice from your dreams whispers, “I love you.”

You learn a number of things about Tartaglia in the four hours, like his family members and their respective interests, which classes he did and didn’t enjoy taking, certain takes on Schnezhnayan politics, his own various hobbies, crazy accidents from the occasional college parties, and more. He’s a bit of an open book, probably telling you way more than any regular person would, and definitely more than anything you revealed during all this time. Everything you tell him seems surface level, nothing too deep. The walls are still there to protect you from the unexplainable, profound feelings his presence seems to elicit, and luckily, he doesn’t prod any further. Childe feels the resistance and respects it, which just adds more brownie points in your book, and you almost feel bad for having given so little in return.

“I wish we were taking Teyvat Myth together,” he sighs when walking you back to your dorm, hands stuffed in his pockets. His ruby earring catches the light from the sunset, the shade almost complimentary to the golden amber rays that streak across the sky. “Would’ve helped having a history major in there.”

“Is that all I am to you, an answer bank?” You jokingly ask, but he watches concerningly as you shoot your gaze to the ground, mindfully stepping over the cracks between concrete slabs.

“Of course not,” a gentle sincerity reaches you, giving you the confidence to make eye contact with him. “I’m sorry for making it sound like that, it wasn’t my intention. I really just meant it as a way of saying if the professor or TA ended up being a total bore, then well, having you would make it more fun.”

“I’m sure I’d bore you even more,” chuckling, speeding up to get away. You’re growing too comfortable in whatever atmosphere Childe has created, like an enclosed air bubble bobbing gently in the depths of the sea and letting the waves carry you both to whichever ends of the earth.

“Hey,” he interjects, hand reaching out to stop you with a soft yank of your wrist. There is no resisting force from you, feet stepping backward until he meets you eye to eye. It’s unfair in the way that he can render you motionless by standing just an inch from you, arms brushing with his head tilted closer to your own. “Seriously, I’m glad we did this today. Are you?”

No, because now I don’t know what to think, I don’t know who you are, I’m not any closer to figuring out why you terrify yet leave me so enamoured with you, I’m torn between punching and kissing you and--

“Yes,” you subconsciously answer, brain immediately short-circuiting to scold yourself. “I had fun.”

His grin, charming, devilish, is so so bright, bright enough to rival the Liyue sun that sits on the pier, on the edge of the ocean, bright enough to rival the love that your fraternal twin showers you with on a daily basis. You want time to stop right here because you’re almost sick of the voice settled deep within your heart that screams, “Don’t get comfortable, you must run from him!”

“Good. Let’s do this again?” And you nod, of course you do. Foolish you. “Don’t be a stranger!” He calls out as he turns on his heel and waves over his shoulder, hand raised in the air, and you’re suddenly transported to another scene, a less refined version of the Liyue Harbor, watching as the head of ginger hair with a red mask in a flashier attire of grey and maroon walks away from you and onto a roaring, magnificent ship; big, ivory sails only seen in books and museums. It’s the same gesture of “see you later”, and just before he turns, you blink, and you’re back to seeing your campus again.

But Childe does look back once, warm and content that you’re still standing there, watching over him, and he can’t help but think about when he can spend time with you again, because suddenly, it truly feels like there’s not enough of it anymore.

-

“Excuse me, what’s a Red Bull?”

The last thing, or person rather, you expect to see on the last day of finals for the fall semester, is a small boy who looks way too young to be here, tugging on the sleeve of your windbreaker. He’s at most eleven, ten maybe, but he has eerily similar characteristics, as well as an accent that doesn’t quite belong to most Liyue natives. Still gathering your bearings from your own perusing of the fridges that hold all the possible beverages a college student could consume, you kneel down until you’re at eye level with the child.

“Repeat that for me? Are you looking for a Red Bull, you say?”

“Yes!” He beams and holds out a student ID that most definitely doesn’t belong to him. “My brother asked me to grab him one because he was busy with something.”

Your eyes flit over to the top shelves where the aforementioned cans of caffeine are located, and definitely too high for someone of his height to reach. “I’ll grab one for you. Did he ask for a specific flavor?”

“Nope, he said regular. Thanks, you’re really nice! Do you know my brother?” He asks, waving the ID at you so you can get a better look at the name. That’s definitely a face you recognize, but the name leaves you confused.

“Yeah, um,” glance over again, “I know...Ajax…”

“He’s the best toy seller in the whole world!”

Somehow, it suits him much better than Childe or Tartaglia, and you’re not quite sure what toys have anything to do with the matter at hand. Speaking of hands, the little boy grabs yours in sheer delight. “Can you take me back to his room? I kinda forgot the directions he told me, and everything’s so big around here.”

“Sure, just let me buy something, too, and I’ll take you.”

“Okay!”

The cashier isn’t the least bit fazed by the little brunette at your side -- it’s always common for family members to come in around the end of semesters to pick up kids or visit, and being an open building with snacks and drinks and a stopping point of most tours, they’ve seen it all. You even let him pick out a bag of chips and a candy bar for himself for being so polite and not a complete menace, paying with your own campus currency.

Teucer, as you’ve learned in the last two minutes, likes to point out things and ask you questions. Luckily, you have answers to most of them and do your best to pad the time, enjoying the feeling of a tiny hand wrapped around three of your fingers. It’s sweet to any normal passerby, believing they’re witnessing an older sister doting on their little brother around the holidays, but to Childe, seeing the tender sweetness on your face as you nod along to whatever Teucer is rambling about to you, sets his heart aflame. He’s already constantly on the verge of wanting to hug and kiss you and never let go, but you haven’t made any indication that you could potentially like him back, and this is just torture.

“Look what they bought me!” Teucer shoves his rewards in Childe’s face as if he had extremely poor eyesight, and you can’t help but laugh a little as you set his Red Bull down on his desk, clutching your own preferred beverage while looking around his room. Finals must have gotten to him with the unusual lack of tidiness in the small space, some laundry strewn here and there, a couple boxes of eaten microwave dinners in the metal wire trash can, some textbooks left open and marked with more sticky notes than you’ve ever seen. You’d only been here once before to drop off some food that he desperately messaged you about, stuck doing a project that he just couldn’t step away from.

“Pretend you don’t see the mess,” Childe pleads, handing a kid tablet to his brother but holding on before Teucer can take it. “What do you say to our nice friend here for buying you these snacks?”

“Thank you!”

“It was nothing,” you shyly smile, ruffling his hair. “I enjoyed meeting you.”

“Wait, what’s your name again?”

“It’s (Y/n).”

“Okay, (y/n)! Wait…(y/n)..as in…”

Teucer trails off and gives a look to his brother, one that spells curiosity and trouble, before he grabs your hand and pulls you into a corner. Any movement Childe makes to leave his desk chair is immediately squashed by Teucer’s disapproval, and the older man is left to helplessly worry when you’re told to squat down so secrets can be whispered into your ear.

“He talks about you a lot whenever he calls home,” and you want to laugh at Tecuer’s attempt to sound as scandalous as possible. “All the time! I think he likes you, like, like like.”

Oh. Oh dear.

“What makes you say that?” You whisper back, indulging both yourself and him, yet also internally snickering at how troubled Childe looks.

“Sometimes, he video calls mama, but we’ll all sit around and talk, and whenever he’s talking about how he saw you or something, he just looks...happy. Really happy.”

The surprise on your face does nothing to settle Childe’s nerves and he’s about to start wringing his hands together. Whatever Teucer was telling you couldn’t be good, probably embarrassing, like the one time he unceremoniously fell on his ass while ice skating over a frozen lake, or when he tried fitting fifteen marshmallows in his mouth and nearly choked on them when their mother caught them in the act, or--

“I think he just thinks of me as a good friend,” you try to inform Teucer, not letting yourself get any semblance of hope. “Nothing more, nothing less.”

“If you say so,” Teucer pouts. But then he stops whispering and bounds over back to his brother, grabbing the tablet before plopping down on the half-made bed.

“Look, I was overconfident and thought I could execute a perfect single loop on the ice, but there was a rock and I lost balance and--”

“I wasn’t being told any stories about you falling on ice, but do tell me more,” you chuckle and take some joy in watching the blush spread across his cheeks. It’s easy to tell that he’s mentally berating himself for jumping to conclusions.

“Well, first off, thanks for buying him all that, and my drink, too,” he sighs. “I spoil him enough as it is.”

“I can see why it’s hard not to,” you smile knowingly. “So is it just him here? Where’s the rest of your family?”

“Funny story, he somehow managed to convince my parents to let him come here on his own as his first ever plane flight, so I had to pick him up yesterday from the airport. He’s flying back with me tomorrow.”

“And the RA?” You ask with an eyebrow raised.

“Ah...well...what he doesn’t know won’t hurt him? Speaking of, what was Teucer whispering to you about?”

There’s a pensiveness that overtakes you when you look at Teucer again, who’s happily playing some sort of game and completely oblivious to the rest of his surroundings. You won’t, can’t, take his words to heart, and will take them with a grain of salt at most.

“Nothing important. Although I did learn something new...Ajax?”

“Say my name -- fuck, say it, please--”

“I guess cat’s out of the bag,” he chuckles and looks away, absolutely unaware of the flare of heat that swirls in your stomach from the fleeting vision just now. “I came up with other nicknames as a kid to seem cooler, and they just stuck with me. Plus, the business world is full of people who just want something from you, or just a transactional relationship. I’d rather not give my real name to them, if you know what I mean.”

“That’s fair,” you nod and lean to sit on the edge of his desk. A thought pops into your head and you turn the words over in your head like a washing machine on the spin setting, teeth gnawing on the flesh of your bottom lip. If Teucer hadn’t been in the room, he would’ve been this close to kissing you.

“But if it’s worth anything,” your voice slowly, softly starts, cautious and wary of your thoughts. “I think...Ajax suits you best.”

Curse fate. Curse the legendary Archons. Curse karma and deities and spirits because all he wants to do right now is stand and tower over you, trap you between himself and his desk so you can’t escape, take those pretty lips between his until they’re bruised and swollen because of him, hear you call out his name in the throes of pleasure so he can finally replace his fantasies with tangible memories. The unnatural, magnetic pull that draws him to you is unbearable now -- he feels like he’ll lose the last tendrils of his sanity if he doesn’t do something.

You can’t stop him from slowly reaching out to grab one of your hands, lifting it towards him until he’s close enough for you to feel his breath ghost over your knuckles. It sends a shiver down your spine and blood is pounding in your ears because you can’t begin to fathom what he’s thinking about while doing this, even more so when his lips make contact with your skin and your breath hitches, stuck in your throat as he languidly peeks at you beneath his eyelashes with a heated gaze, then lowly confessing, “My name sounds best when you say it.”

Good heavens.

It’s difficult to swallow and keep your composure, especially when Teucer yells out in glee over, what you can assume, beating something in his game, and Childe drops your hand. But his dilated pupils don’t retract in the slightest, refusing to let you look away so that maybe, you can understand what he’s trying to convey to you. He’s taking the first step because he’s terrible and can’t contain his self-control anymore, pushing the ball into your court, ready for you to either play or exit into the sidelines.

When you do blink, there’s a vision of your naked body wrapped around another, limbs clinging desperately to a sturdy and panting frame. Lips, much like the ones that have seared themselves onto your knuckles, are at your neck and sucking, biting, before moving to your ear and laying filthy words into them that drive you closer to the edge. It all happens so fast that you feel you’ve just experienced whiplash, yet also feeling secondhand embarrassment at how lewd some of these thoughts have been.

You can’t stay here any longer.

“I-I have to go,” spills off your tongue before you can really think about it. The way the haze shatters in his eyes is heartbreaking in its own way, but there’s no time for you to explain. Your brain is in overdrive and eager to run, run, run. It detects danger on all fronts, but you muster out a, “H-have a good break, come find me next semester, mmk?”

And you’re out the door with inhuman speed. When the door clicks shut, only then does Teucer look up from his screen and frown at the lack of your presence. “Where’d they go?”

Chlide doesn’t seem to hear him, and Teucer has never seen his big brother look so sad and confused before.

-

He holds on to that last tendril of hope, because mark his words, he will find you come January.

-

After about a week at home, enjoying the festive time with his family and mildly unconcerned about next year’s courses because that was a problem for another day, Childe has his first, crazy, nonsensical dream.

At least, that’s what he tells himself when he snaps awake and his body aches with exhaustion. Not only are his joints in agony, he also feels like he’s sporting unforeseen bruises, which makes absolutely no sense because he hasn’t done anything that would warrant them, no matter how much he and his brothers do some rough-housing. His night of sleep was all consumed by flashes and scenes of weapon fighting, lucid enough to remember feeling his arms flex and wield bows and double-headed polearms and being cognizant of all the enemies??? surrounding him. They ranged from deranged looking monsters, floating beings with soulless masks, and large humans in electricity-padded armor, to behemoth machines in the sky that could leave you within an inch of your life thanks to a drill for a hand?!

But what’s even worse is that you seem to have managed a deal with Morpheus himself and infiltrated his dreams. You were there, too, sometimes fighting with him, sometimes against him, much to his dismay, and while it was nice, he just didn’t get it. Why the friendliness and hostility? Why was there an anger that overtook him when looking directly at you, parrying your blade and sending harmful arcs of water toward your figure?

Why did he relish the fear in your eyes when he darted towards you with electricity cracking through the air?

There’s an overwhelming sensation now to grab his phone to text you and apologize -- for what, he can’t fathom and there are no words to accurately convey what he’s thinking. “Hey, sorry for wanting to kill you in my dream :( “? Or “Sorry for being a friend but then stabbing you in the back, but then being nice to you again”?

And the only thing that really made sense was the serenity and contentment that would course through his veins as the two of you danced around on ivory sandy beaches, picking up shiny blue starconches and taking down more weird creatures; the breathlessness when you would fall back into the water and re-emerge to reconfirm his beliefs that you were one of the most beautiful humans he’d ever laid his eyes on; the love--

Hold the fuck up.

He doesn’t love you. He likes you a whole lot and he’s severely and deathly attracted to you, but he doesn’t love you. Your existence has only been made known to him for about two months, and he didn’t really start talking to you until three weeks in. So no matter how comfortable he feels with you, no matter how much he wishes that you were sleeping peacefully next to him so his nights wouldn’t feel so lonely, it was too early, too hasty, to say that he loves you.

“I’ve been wondering, why didn’t you bring them home?” His mother asks him out of nowhere during breakfast, all to add to this extremely tumultuous roller-coaster morning he’s been having. All he wants to do is eat his bowl of milk and cereal, then potentially go back to sleep before fulfilling his promise to go with his siblings to the nearby skating rink. It takes everything in him to not choke on his spoon of grains.

“Agreed, didn’t you mention they didn’t really have any family to go back to and that the move to Liyue was semi-permanent?” His father chimes in, laying a quick peck on his wife’s temple. “It’s never fun to spend the holidays alone.”

“They would’ve felt like they were intruding,” Childe replies quietly, stabbing his bowl a few times before scooping up another spoonful of cereal to his mouth. “I know we’re friends, but we haven’t known each other for that long, and maybe they’d be uncomfortable because that’s a lot honestly…”

“You don’t know until you try,” his mother sings and pats him on the shoulder. “We do have a guest room after all.”

“For them and their twin?”

“And quite a comfortable futon with enough blankets.”

Childe smiles fondly at his parents’ kindness. He can only imagine what this winter break would’ve been like now -- you and your twin floating around, trying to help out with certain chores, sitting by the fireplace and watching TV, huddled up with mugs of hot chocolate, playing board games with everyone and engaging in all the shenanigans…

Laughing. Loving. Grinning. Basking.

Handing over one of his hoodies to you as a sick way of torturing yet blessing himself for seeing how lovely you look in his clothes, standing silently in the doorway as you attempt to help out with mealtimes next to his mother, watching you run around in the backyard and dodging his siblings’ snowballs while lodging a few of your own -- how wonderful it all would be.

But he squashes it down as quickly as possible, because you escaped his grasp. You ran away from his advances temporarily and even though you gave him permission to seek you out come the spring semester, he worries that you might take it back. Something will wake up inside of you to keep him out of your heart and your life, and he’s not confident enough at this point to believe there’s a good chance you will come spend the holidays with him and his family next year.

“Maybe next year, ma,” he sends her a hesitant, yet somewhat broken purse of his lips that’s just the least bit curved. It tells her everything he’s thinking, and the quick patting of his cheek lets him know she understands.

Half an hour later, Childe finds himself curled up on his side under the sheets, phone in hand as he stares at a blinking cursor. It shouldn’t be so hard to send a text to convey his holiday greetings, because that’s all it is -- part of him is becoming desperate and aching for some interaction with you, even if it’s just a text sent back for conventional social pleasantries. He’ll take it for now, right?

Before he can totally chicken out, his thumbs quickly type a, “Happy Holidays, (y/n) :)”, and it’s a little embarrassing how quickly after he hits the ‘send’ button that he tosses it over his shoulder so he’s not directly looking at it anymore. His heartbeat is too quick and he prays for no phantom vibrations or phantom sound notifications to avoid any disappointment of thinking he got a reply. It was a harmless text, yet he’s treating it like he just got assigned on a mission to go and murder someone for the first time. What will he do if you never text him back? Does that mean you really don’t want to talk to him? Are you dead in a ditch somewhere? Did you change numbers and not tell him? Did your twin get all the details and make the executive decision to block his number? Will he never get a chance to talk to you again, even if it’s about something in the Teyvat Mythology class next semester? Will you--

His shoulder screams in protest when he quickly flips himself over at the text notification sound, hands shakily unlocking his phone and opening up your conversation again. His heart rate significantly decreases, reaching back to its normal pace, especially as he reads the little words on his screen.

“Happy Holidays, Ajax ^^”

There is hope.

-

“You’re thinking about him, aren’t you?”

You’re huddled under the comforter of your twin’s bed, phone just peeking above the edge as you stare at it with a brightness in your eyes. For the most part, you had been sulking there, apart from meals and going back to your own room to sleep, and mentally berating yourself for the way you reacted to Childe the week before.

“He just texted me to say happy holidays,” shrugging to put on a facade of indifference. It’s stupid that you’re trying to hide your feelings from your twin of all people, who could pick apart and identify your emotions in a heartbeat. A roll of his eyes lets you know that you haven’t fooled him at all.

“So you think that whatever comment he made, which was very suggestive and indicative of clearly non-platonic feelings, was just something...friendly? Remind me again how you came to that conclusion?”

“I don’t know what I was thinking!” You whine, looking around to see if there was anything you could toss at him. “It’s just, with everything, all the dreams and stupid gut feelings, I just -- I don’t know, okay?? I can’t tell you enough how much I wish I had just kissed his stupid face and see where it goes from there.”

“Okay, gross, but don’t beat yourself up. Though...I do have a good idea on how to maybe get a good reaction out of him. You wanna go to the New Years’ celebration at Xiangling’s?”

“I think she’d threaten me with a knife if I didn’t. She wanted to go shopping at some point, too.”

“I’ll drop the overprotective brother act for one night, okay? One night, just to let this happen, and for your peace of mind.”

He does a fair amount of conspiring with Xiangling, a friend they met one time at a restaurant a couple years ago, even tagging along on the shopping trip. Together, the three of you find yourself a dress that Xiangling swears would make any person drool over you, including Childe, because at the end of the day, he was a person with the possibility of being attracted to you.

You think it’s a bit silly, but honestly, what do you have to lose at this point?

-

At 11:57PM on New Years’ Eve, Childe is standing outside in the freezing cold with his family, arms lifting up bags of sparklers and fireworks. They’ve driven out closer to the wild like they do every year, and everybody excitedly gets lighters ready, making sure someone’s got a clock out there that tells the seconds. As the younger kids open up the packaging and argue over which one to set off first, Childe’s phone vibrates in his coat pocket.

It’s 11:58PM when he manages to fish the device out and thank himself for buying gloves that are touch-screen friendly, excited to see that there are two texts from you, the latter reading, “Happy New Year!”. It doesn’t matter that you’re a little early, but he’s mainly intrigued by the fact a photo came before it. In his mind, you’re probably curled up with your twin brother, hopefully a selfie because wow, he misses your face.

He gets something else instead, and he is so glad that it’s dark outside and the electric lamp they have is too far away from him to draw any attention.

You have your arm around your brother’s waist and another girl’s that he doesn’t recognize, but it’s a full frontal view of your outfit, one that hugs your curves beautifully and shows more cleavage than he’s ever seen from you, sophisticated and elegant, yet fun and leaving enough to the imagination. There’s a bright smile coming from all of you, and you look like you’re at someone’s house or apartment with plenty of other people milling around in the back, but they don’t matter, not when all he can focus on is you.

Gorgeous, breathtaking, arousing, mind blowing, and gods, he wishes he could teleport to Liyue at this moment, find you, and kiss you right at midnight. Fuck the fact that he doesn’t exactly believe in superstitions like, “Kissing your significant other at midnight means you’ll last forever!” but he’s willing to take the chance with it on this night and the ones after, if he’s allowed. He tries not to think too much about pinning you against the wall and letting the world dissolve -- wants to be the one with the privilege to drag down that zipper and feel his bare skin on yours, and --

As Teucer starts yelling there’s only a minute left, he instinctively locks his phone and shoves it away out of anyone’s view. The last thing he needs is his family teasing him about ogling at your photo for a straight 50 seconds, wide-eyed and pupils on the verge of dilating, the visible breath leaving his mouth just a smudge more dense and prominent than usual.

The only thing he can do to distract himself from popping a boner in front of his parents is to join in on the countdown, making sure all the fireworks are set up correctly and grabbing a sparkler for himself. He waves it around with Tonia and promises to fulfill her wishes of taking one of those pictures right as she draws a pattern in the air. Their excitement is palpable and addicting, and even though the larger fireworks set off a few seconds after midnight hits, the nostalgia fills his lungs with fond memories and future wishes that they only continue this tradition for as long as possible, and hopefully, with you at his side.

-

When it’s 12:04AM, you get a picture message back of Childe bundled up in a black paletot coat, matching beanie and all, a gloved hand holding a sparkler and lips curved upwards, with a caption that says, “Happy New Year’s! See you soon :)”. You show it to Xiangling and your brother, both taking it as a win in their books, although the former does tipsily protest that there should be a better indicator of Childe’s brain breaking at how amazing you look right now. Maybe she’s prophetic, because another text chimes in and the words set you aflame, as well as suggestive whoops into your ears.

It’s a simple, “You look incredible btw”.

If you didn’t want to properly savor this moment, you would’ve found the nearest shot of the strongest liquor and tossed it back with abandon. But you want to remember the warmth in your veins that wasn’t from the alcohol or the heating, the fluttering of your heartbeat, the teeth-baring grin that you couldn’t fight off, the constant re-reading of those four words -- because they’re so different from everything you had been feeling before with him, the need for protection, the need to escape. Instead, you’d like to be in his arms right now and see for yourself how he’d look at you in this moment, and if he would take any action.

You want him to. So, so bad.

-

Childe spends his last week at home hating the fact that you’re just sitting around somewhere in Liyue, doing whatever you’re doing, probably doing some light preparation for your last semester of classes, and he’s not there to take advantage of all this free time and hang out with you. When classes start, it’ll be busy and hectic. You still have your thesis to finish and revise, and while that won’t eat up all your time, it’s still some that he’d want to fill in with his presence if he could. He debates whether or not he should ask for your schedule and compare it with his, maybe set up meetings every other day or propose that they all eat one meal together every day. Childe’s not quite sure of what you plan to do after graduation, as it hasn’t come up in conversation yet, but either way, he’s determined to stay in contact and make things work out. Long distance isn’t ideal, but with technology now, he’ll take it.

He feels a little bad for how excited he probably looked to be leaving home, uncharacteristic for the most part. His older siblings have already gone back to their respective homes, and it’s mainly Teucer and Tonia that worry and tear up when he starts packing his belongings. Tonia finds it unfair that Teucer got to meet you first and the latter makes sure to rub it into everyone’s faces. It’s hard for Childe to sleep on the plane because he’s thrumming with excitement, yet somehow even more nervous than usual when the plane hits small bouts of turbulence, and he doesn’t seem to relax until he sets foot back on campus.

He’s here. It’s January, and you’re physically closer to him than ever in the last two weeks.

-

“Found you.”

On the first day of classes, you’re sitting alone with some salad greens in a bowl, poking your fork at some scraps while you watch something on your phone, earbuds in and back towards the entrance of the canteen. It would explain the unannounced entrance of the very person who’s been at the forefront of nearly every thought in the last 96 hours, his fingers gingerly removing an earbud to surprise you as best as possible, and you startle in your seat.

Your heart kicks into overdrive when he hands you back your earbud and pulls out the seat next to you, setting his own plate of food down as he plops down in his chair. But then he says nothing afterwards, instead choosing to send you a cheeky grin before digging in. You’re left to slowly phase out of your state of shock, stuck between either running away or frantically texting your twin to come and save you even though he was off on a date with Keqing.

It’s not that you weren’t elated at the fact that Childe had done exactly as you told him last month, you just weren’t...prepared? It’s a shitty excuse and a cop out -- you’re mainly just having trouble with racking your brain to find the right words. What are you supposed to say? What should you do? Is it socially acceptable to lean over and kiss him on the cheek because that’s what you’d like to impulsively do at this very second??

“So you did,” you settle and steal a roasted potato wedge from his plate. It’s his turn to be taken by surprise, but he gets over it much quicker than you do. In fact, he spears two wedges and drops them in your bowl, smiling at you as best as he can with a mouth full of food. You give them your thanks before the silence settles in again.

“Did you have a good break?” He asks before his next bite.

“I did. You?”

“It was nice. My parents said I should’ve brought you and your twin home to spend the holidays with us. Can’t say it didn’t cross my mind before finals.”

Holy shit, what? “We couldn’t intrude like that, but that’s really nice of you guys.”

“That’s okay, there’s plenty of chances to visit later.”

You tilt your head and furrow your eyebrows. “But we graduate this semester?”

Childe challenges you with one of his own eyebrows raised. “And? Are we never gonna see each other again?”

Honestly, the possibility had occurred to you. You aren’t entirely sure of Childe’s plans after graduation, and if that meant he was staying in Liyue or going back to Snezhnaya or even moving to Inazuma or Mondstat. While people preach on and on about how lasting friendships and relationships are often formed during college, you believe it’s more common to slowly drift apart as life gets busier. And if Childe moved away, or if you did, it’d be hard to consistently keep in touch with 10 hour workdays.

The thought saddens you, regardless. You like him so much and you’re glad that he was even in your life to begin with, because as unbelievable as it sounds, seeing him was almost akin to the feeling of coming home. Amidst all your nerves, your confusion, your spiraling thoughts, something deeply sated in your heart was a comfort that you found with very few people in your life whenever in his presence.

The thought of leaving and never looking back somehow doesn’t feel new -- it’s bittersweet, but the air in your lungs feels like it’s surrendered to something, like it was to be expected.

“You can’t just leave without telling me--”

“It was last minute! I had no choice!”

“You could’ve written up a message, anything--”

“Can you imagine the position you’d be in if the message got intercepted? I wouldn’t have been safe, she’d make you come after me--”

“As if you’d be any safer in Inazuma of all places! That’s the one place I can’t easily get to!”

“I can take care of myself, Childe, I don’t need you to protect me.”

“This isn’t about me protecting you, (y/n) and -- stop walking, will you?!”

“Then what is this about?” You spin on your wheel with eyes aflame. “Why are you so angry with me? It’s normal for me to disappear for weeks at a time, why was this any different?”

“Because you could’ve died!” He yells back in despair, chest heaving. Your silence is his cue to continue. “You could’ve died and I wouldn’t have known until much later. You could’ve died and all I’d ever think about were the things I never got to say to you, and how I wish I had treated every day with you like it was our last.”

It isn’t hard to tell that you’re stunned and at a complete loss for words. Childe often hides behind facades of charm and wit, and only when he is truly weak does he choose to be this vulnerable, baring his heart for you to see.

“I only have two nightmares in this world. One, my family being harmed in any way. Two, reading in a report or hearing from an agent that you’ve been captured and killed.”

“I like to think that we will.”

His hand reaches out to lay on top of yours, giving it a quick squeeze. “Well, let’s make the most of it this semester.”

Conversation afterwards is easy, filling each other in on holiday activities. Childe speaks extensively about several family traditions and you listen with rapt attention, basking in how fond he is of all of them. Even as you both bring your dishes to the return belt and leave, he immediately offers to drive you both somewhere to get boba, noticing your reluctance to part ways. But boba shops have to close, and you both have class tomorrow morning, and you’re both finding any excuse to keep talking, even if that means sitting outside your dorm building on a nearby bench.

You eventually bid each other good night’s and see you later’s, him refusing to walk away until the heavy door locks shut behind you after you swipe your student ID, and you looking over your shoulder to watch his figure disappear into the night.

-

True to his intentions, Childe makes great efforts to meet you at least once a day, and he can’t get enough. Each parting from you tugs and tugs at his heart, as if there’s a high possibility you’ll never want to see him again the next day, and he wouldn’t know what to do with himself. Your twin and Childe get along well for the most part, and he even meets Xiangling on one of her shifts at her regular restaurant, who sends you a salacious wink and an eyebrow wiggle over his shoulder that nearly causes you to burst from embarrassment.

February rolls over without a hitch, even if you’re a little disappointed that Childe didn’t make a move for Valentine’s Day. Granted, you two still spent time with each other and he’s so darn physically affectionate and he bought you a carnation from the event his dorm held, but you wish you had the guts to fess up and just kiss the man.

It’ll happen some day, you tell yourself. You have time before graduation.

Two days before the end of the Friday that would signal the start of Spring Break, you wake up in a cold sweat, mind reeling and head splitting, heart so so heavy, as a connection is made between your present and your dreams. Not long after, there are tears streaming silently down your face and into your open palms placed in your lap, and you sit in shock as everything comes back to you. Memories are such treasured burdens, you realize.

For the most part, you had gotten used to the dreams, choosing to take charge of what you know and feel now with Childe over succumbing to some strange neurological premonitions. Especially in your dreams when many people’s faces were blurred over and hazy, and the only things you could rely on were voices, touch, and other physical features. You thought that maybe your mind was just playing tricks by transposing Childe’s hair onto a body that was also strikingly similar to his, but for the first time last night, you could see each defining feature on his face as clear as day.

The sight of his figure arching gracefully over yours, the water arrows that appeared out of thin air, the back that protected you from some military men, the voice that said, “Hey girlie, hold still.”

And that was when you had snapped awake to your current state.

Past the initial shock and uncontrollable tears, you soon bent over as sobs wracked your chest, overwhelmed by all the emotions and the pain the memories brought you; losing your twin, finding him to only be left with even more questions after roaming for decades and decades, meeting all your loved ones throughout Mondstat and Liyue, fighting yet falling so hard for Childe, feeling the fear when facing his Foul Legacy form, hating him for Osial, loving him, breathing heavily as the tip of your blade was pointed at his neck and his own just centimeters from yours, tendrils of water inching closer and closer--

Everything makes sense now.

When you meet your twin for lunch at the cafeteria, you pay no mind to the fact that you’re in public and hug him harder than you ever have in years. He’s already a little alarmed that your eyes seem swollen and you look like finals came two months early, but when he asks what’s wrong, all he gets is a shake of your head and nothing more than, “Just a bad nightmare. I love you, y’know that?”

“I love you too?”

“Don’t sound so unsure, now let’s go and get in line before they run out of Jueyun Chili Chicken.”

Even when you meet Xiao later in the early evening to talk about your thesis, you find yourself holding back more tears just two minutes in, reminded of his past and his own life, and he’s moderately concerned, hesitantly handing you a tissue from the corner of his desk when a stray tear escapes. “Is everything okay?” He hesitantly asks, really hoping that he didn’t do anything to make you cry.

“No,” you almost wail and sniffle while dabbing at your eyes. “Sorry, it’s just been a really long day.”

Xiao’s inquisitive gaze softens, remembering how hard undergraduate life could be sometimes. Graduate school was a whole other level, but that shouldn’t discount your own personal difficulties. Plus, in all of the year and a half that he’s known you, you’ve never broken down like this before in front of him.

“You work really hard, Xiao,” you continue, and he’s not sure where this is coming from. “You’re always so helpful and willing to work with me and answer my stupid questions and like-- you practice self-care, right?”

Xiao nods as a white lie, but it seems to comfort you. Maybe too much because you pull him in for a quick and unexpected hug, and you both decide to reschedule this meeting for tomorrow.

As per usual, you wait for Childe to join you for dinner since you finished up earlier than expected. It gives you more time to think about everyone from Mondstat -- Kaeya, Diluc, Lisa, Jean, Amber...funny to think that some things never changed as you compared their past version to the ones you know now.

“Mora for your thoughts?”

There’s a peace that warms your heart when you hear Childe’s voice, one that forces you to smile at him as he sits down next to you. “Just thinking about old friends.”

“I have to admit, I’ll be a little jealous if it’s another guy taking up more space than me in that pretty brain of yours.”

What a flirt. This man isn’t good for your heart. “Who said you had any to begin with?”

He dramatically places a hand over his heart. “You wound me, (y/n). How will I ever recover?”

“You’re ridiculous,” you snicker. Childe reaches over to pinch your cheek and you bat at him in protest. Easily, he grabs one of your hands and simply pulls you towards the food lines, knowing that you’ll stop fighting back soon.

Part of it feels strange now to feel and see his hands with no leather gloves on.

“Childe,” you start halfway through your meal, continuing after he hums back in reply. “Do you believe in reincarnation?”

He freezes briefly, but recovers so quickly that if you hadn’t been watching so closely, you wouldn’t have noticed. “I think it’s neat, the idea of having past lives. Why do you ask?”

What he really wants to ask is if you’ve been having those dreams, too; if he’s starring in your nights like you have been in his.

“Just a thought, especially since you’re taking Teyvat Myth now, too.”

“Do you...do you think if there was a past life, that we knew each other?”

There’s something about the look of content on your face before you meet his gaze -- he thinks that you know more than you’re letting on but you’re holding back for some reason. He wants to know what’s going through your brain right now, why the fondness in your eyes sends a jolt through him like he’s been searching for it all his life, if you know anything about this magnetic pull between you two.

“I like to think that we knew each other well.”

-

Even though the first day of your returned memories was somewhat eventful, you couldn’t help but feel yourself wanting to pull back from Childe -- at least, until you can successfully compartmentalize which emotions belonged to you past self and which ones belonged to your current mindset. You didn’t quite agree with his duties and his affiliation with the Fatui back then, even if he had his reasons that did make sense, to some degree.

The killing, the threatening, so intent on stealing Rex Lapis’s Gnosis in the name of the Tsaritsa, summoning Osial as a mean to an end -- and you definitely can’t forget how stubborn he was in not listening to your protests, so caught up in his brain that you had betrayed him and sent you plummeting to a near-death experience despite his earlier promise of no intention of killing you specifically.

Everything had been toeing a faint, thin line with Childe then. Undeniable chemistry and tension, guarding yourself for yours and Paimon’s safety, slashing at Fatui agents, whispering out pleas and affirmations of “I’m yours” while riding him, sometimes having to sneak out in the mornings…

The only thing you don’t remember is how everything ends -- maybe it’ll come back to you eventually, but for now, you think you’re okay not knowing.

If Childe still doesn’t remember anything from back then, you think it’d be unfair to spend time with him in all your conflicting emotions, even when it’s spring break, where you have so much more hours in the day to be with each other than normal. Fun plans around Liyue had been made, like a two-day one-night trip to Yaoguang Shoal, and you’re this close to cancelling on him.

But he had been looking forward to it so much, even made most of the preparations for it. Who are you to rob that joy from him when it was you who couldn’t figure out your own shit? Are you self-destructing?

Perhaps.

Before you know it, you’re sitting in the passenger seat of his car, staring out the window at the scenery. Somehow, it pleased you to see that the nature of Liyue had been carefully preserved over the many centuries despite its development into the modern age. You get lost in picking apart the differences between then and now that you don’t notice how quiet you’ve fallen and Childe looks over worriedly when you show no reaction to your favorite songs playing on the stereo.

Even when he calls your name once, twice, nothing gives as you clearly have tuned everything out. So he leaves you be until there’s about half an hour left on the drive, unable to hold back and succumbing to reach over for your hand. You startle so strongly that he almost feels bad for having done it unannounced. But what’s even more disturbing is that this isn’t really the first time.

You’ve been talking to him less, often sitting quietly and staring off into another world that he can’t seem to reach. His texts are answered less frequently and with less wit and enthusiasm, so much so that he just appreciates you still show up to see him. Each time he asks if you’re okay, you always affirm that you are. He’s had a hard time believing you, but Childe believes you’ll tell him when you’re ready, surely.

It’s a little ironic yet fateful that Childe planned to bring you here, of all places. In the past, you had spent many days and nights running around in the sand with him, fighting slimes and hilichurls and collecting starconches for him. You remember laying on a large towel next to him as you both looked up into the sky, pointing out stars and constellations while sharing endless kisses away from prying, spying eyes.

“I’m sorry, I must’ve zoned out,” you sincerely apologize.

“It’s okay, I just wanna make sure you relax while we’re here. This is supposed to be a vacation.”

“You’re right,” you agree and squeeze his hand. “Let’s make the most of it before we become adults who are too busy to have fun like this again.”

And you do. Childe rented a small beach cabin (rich boys) closer to one end of the shoreline, just big enough with two bedrooms, a bathroom, and a small kitchen with a dining table. You help him bring in your bags and some groceries bought the night before, setting them down quickly so you can peer out the window again to take in the view. Childe picked a good time, too. Although it’d be a little chilly at night, the day was still warm and mainly overcast with clouds.

“What do you say we change into our swimsuits and head down to the water?”

“Sure.”

Childe hadn’t really been expecting for you to step out in a large, casual tee and gym shorts, one shoulder exposed. He might have been hoping to see a little more skin, but his mother didn’t raise a chauvinistic pervert for a son.

The light in your eyes as you both approach the water is everything he had been missing the last few days, your excitement and joy contagious. As soon as you place everything down on the sand, you kick off your flip flops and leave him behind to step into the water, giggling at feeling the waves crash over your ankles and bring sand between your toes. Childe approaches you from behind and starts smearing sunblock on the back of your neck, to which you just grin beautifully at him in thanks and he has to fight off the desire to kiss you right then and there.

You’re too caught up in embracing the ocean afterwards to feel the shrinking distance between you two, mistaking his warmth for the general spring air. It isn’t until he’s done with your shoulders that he hands you the bottle to leave you to do the rest of your body, and when you turn to thank him, he’s much closer than you remember. His eyes are gentle, holding your gaze and almost daring you to look away first.

But if there’s one thing you can place without a shred of doubt, it is the unmistakable look of love, because you had seen it many, many times before without knowing until later what it meant.

How so incredibly lucky you were to have Childe back in your life now, loving you all the same, and with no life-threatening barriers. Fate or the Archons have given you a second chance, and you’d be damned to take it for granted.

Childe welcomes your lips against his, wasting no time to bring you into his arms so you’re pressed against him as much as possible. He can’t care for the overt public display of affection because this is everything he’s wanted for months now, waiting patiently for you to give him permission to make you his. Your lips are incredibly soft and pliant against his as you first kiss him patiently, then applying more force and desperation to taste more of him. He mirrors you, one hand cradling the back of your head and the other on your neck with a thumb extended to your jawline, teeth moving to nip at your bottom lip. It’s dangerous, the way you smile against his lips, and when he sinks his teeth in deeper before pulling back, your quiet mewl nearly drives him over the edge.

But you’re in public, and this was an amazing first kiss. You two have a beach to enjoy and a fun night planned, and now that he doesn’t have to hold back on his affections, it’ll be even better.

His lips part from yours regretfully, his eyes languidly opening to meet yours. Out of the corner of his eye, he spots a blue starconch in the sand and freezes.

It’s not that he’s never seen one before, but something clicks. You. The shore. Starconches. Starry nights. His dreams. Monsters. Gods. Fighting. So much fighting. Training. His family. Dragons. You. Falling. You falling. You fighting him. Yelling. Kissing. Loving. Chasing. Him chasing you before you disappear at a teleport waypoint that somehow you only can operate. The abyss. Your twin.

Oh, Archons.

“ -ou okay, Ajax? Ajax?”

He snaps to look at you again. How does he go about this? How does he ask?

“(Y/n)...have you ever heard of the Fatui Harbingers?”

He has to admit that it’s a bit amazing to be able to identify all the emotions that cross your complexion, from curiosity to realization to conflicted. You’re actively trying to piece everything together without revealing too much on the off-chance that you’re wrong, that Childe hasn’t regained his memories and is just asking about something from class randomly and completely out of the blue.

Wait.

“You haven’t reached that material yet in class,” you whisper, heart in your throat at the realization. Could it really be…

“I was once Tartaglia, eleventh Harbinger of the Fatui, who possessed a Delusion and used my Foul Legacy Transformation with you several times,” he murmurs back, tucking a stray tendril behind your ear. “Is it too late to apologize again for summoning an ancient god and letting you fall about five floors with no warning?”

He should’ve been prepared for you wrapping your arms around his neck, pulling him in for a tight embrace. “No, never, but I spent weeks after kicking your ass so you’ve been long forgiven.”

Childe burrows his face into your neck, breathing in your scent and basking in this moment. There was so much to talk about, but you two arguably had more time in the world than ever with nothing holding you back. There was no impending war looming over, no one on the run, no opposing forces. His silent wish for a different life with you seems to have been answered finally. If running into you had been the event to set everything in motion, he only wishes he’d done so earlier.

All that matters now is you’re here together in this plane of existence, given a chance to love again, and experience everything you couldn't before.

As written in the stars, take my soul for it is forever yours.

fin

[boiling-potato]

What are some of ur friendsss ocs that u think will get along well with YOUR ocs? Have fun and have a great day ahead ✨️

Yeeesss!!! >:DD

• Salem and Milo!! (@thekinderwizard 's oc)

- idk why but I kinda imagine their first meeting is Salem throwing a victim off a lake then hearing something and looking beside him seeing Milo also getting rid of a body XD

• Boba and Trickster!! (@thekinderwizard 's oc)

- Trickster would absolutely love her no question! because of her makeup and outfit! trickster would follow her around and will try to talk even if Boba likes her or not! U^U

• Lunie and Assistant Kun! (@alcohol1maid 's oc)

- Heh I feel like that they would just have some chill conversation about some people they met and talk about drinks that they like. (⁠´⁠ ⁠.⁠ ⁠.̫⁠ ⁠.⁠ ⁠`⁠)

• Chaoxiang and Lo!! (@feelin-lo 's oc)

- Fun fact Chaoxiang also loves writing and reading short novels. They would hang out exchanging and telling some of their story over a cup of tea. (⁠ ⁠◜⁠‿⁠◝⁠ ⁠)⁠♡

• Ink and Tate!! (@mystique-flowers-and-sibling-duo 's oc)

- because ✨yes✨ (⁠◔⁠‿⁠◔⁠)

• Trickster and Wyenne!! (@chisekai 's oc)

- Trickster would be so curious about Wyenne because of all the attention she's getting and I feel like trickster would love to know more about her and befriend her, try to talk to her and hang out with her. Fun fact trickster also have the ability to sense if someone is not human or not so of course Wyenne being an enchantress would get her curious!! ^^

• Lunie and Raafa!! (@naciela 's oc)

- must protect ink at all cost duo!! XDD I feel like Lunie would respect him for taking care of ink but also would be a little jealous because she would feel like he would be a better older sibling for her precious little sister. Them hanging out would just be them sitting in a comfortable and chill silence while Raafa draw and Lunie drinking either coffee or hot chocolate (⁠•⁠ө⁠•⁠)⁠♡

• Lunie and Astrophel!! (@startheimpactfangirl 's oc)

- Strict goody two shoes and delinquent relationship right here! I feel like Lunie would be the auntie type that would scold their niece by disrespecting their parents, also she would vibe with his insults and jokes and maybe even come up with comebacks and responses hah! (⁠⌐⁠■⁠-⁠■⁠)

• pfft- hear me out.... Vampire trickster and Vince (@aesopsbaby 's oc)

- this took me a while to come up with, but I feel like when they meet Trickster would doubt that he's a vampire, she would be so confused and say things like "are you really a vampire?" Or "for a vampire you sure look pathetic.." and she wouldn't even notice how mean she would sound. She would also ask things like "so what kind of blood do you like to drink?" Or "have you ever killed someone before?" She would quietly follow him around hiding behind the shadows while Vince and his group travel around and whenever he's alone she would strike up a conversation with him asking more questions about his group and is he planning on killing them. The point is she would just be really curious about him and would like to get to know every single detail about him since she doesn't meet the same kind as her often and would like to make friends 👉👈

---

Please let me know if I forgot someone so I can add them. I'm in a hurry because it's literally 3 in the morning (⁠ ⁠･ั⁠﹏⁠･ั⁠)

[toomanystoriessolittletime]

Fake Dating drabble No. 6

I'm back with 1.6k of Marcus Pike (x F!Reader) who offered to be your date to your class reunion while you were drunkenly moaning about it after work.

Fake Dating Masterlist

Warnings: alcohol (i think that's it)

This was a bad idea. You knew it from the time you had asked him. Which was 80% the fault of the beers you had that night. The combination of alcohol and a missed lunch hadn’t been the best idea.

“My ex-husband is gonna be there. And I don’t want to be the divorced miserable wife I certainly not am. Cause I’m much more happy without him,” you rambled on. You looked at your boss sitting next to you. You had been out to celebrate. After months you finally had made an arrest on the case you had been working on ever since your boss got here almost a year ago. Your boss. Marcus Pike. Perfect, pretty, Marcus Pike who was looking at you with his soft and warm brown eyes with his teasing smile. His lips always looked so damn soft… Wait, was he talking?

“What?” you asked. He chuckled.

“If you don’t want to go alone I do look good in a suit,” he shrugged, bringing his beer bottle to his lips and you had to blink a couple of times until his words made sense in your drunken brain.

“Are you offering to be my date to my class reunion, Agent Pike?” you asked.

“I guess I am,” and then he winked at you with his stupid gorgeous eyes.

Yeah. Stupid idea. Not because he was your boss, but because you had the biggest crush on him. You could control it at work, you were a professional after all, but spending time with him outside of work seemed to be the challenge. Which wasn’t often, but often enough to make you beyond flustered just with the way he was looking at you.

Okay. You could do this. This is just like the time you went undercover with him on that event. This would be different though. Because you went to school with those people and well, because of your ex husband. You thought of canceling but he would probably make it seem like you were still the heartbroken little girl you had been back in school. And you should be over your school and ex-husband trauma but you were also petty as fuck. You lost way too much weight to not show it off. Giving yourself one last look in the mirror you smiled at yourself as you heard the doorbell.

It was just like being undercover. Right?

It was not just like being undercover. You noticed that as soon as you opened the door for Marcus who was dressed in black, cleanly shaven and looking at you with a soft smile that would have made you swoon if he wasn’t standing directly in front of you.

“You look beautiful,” he said.

“Thank you boss,” you winked with a grin.

“Ready to hear our cover story?” he asked as he waited for you to lock your door. You turned around, taking his offered arm as he led you to his car.

“Shoot.”

“We fell in love while working together,” he started the car and you nodded.

“Impressive. Good cover story. So thoughtful,” you teased.

“I know right?” he grinned and you shook your head with a smile as he began to drive. Most of the car ride was spent in a comfortable silence, yet you felt yourself growing nervous the closer you got.

You almost jumped when you felt his hand on top of yours on your thigh. Looking at him you smiled softly at him, the nervousness you felt before replaced by a warmth spreading through you. Shit you really had it bad for him. You made a mental note to yourself to not drink any alcohol tonight. You tend to get very affectionate while drunk. And Marcus Pike had made it very clear that the last thing he was looking for was a relationship after everything that happened with his last relationship.

It was like time just stopped as you walked through the doors of your old school. Even the smell was the same. You shook your head to yourself as you walked next to Marcus.

“This is like a really bad throwback,” you groaned as you walked past your old classroom. He chuckled before you felt him take your hand in his.

“I hated school. Or more like the people,” you sighed looking at him.

“So you’re here to…”

“Show everyone I’m not the sad ugly girl they had bullied for years? Sad. I know,” you shrugged as you walked within towards the big doors leading to the big hall where music was already playing.

“And to show off your new boyfriend?” he teased and you smiled. Was he… flirting?

“It’s sad, I know,” you groaned and he stopped walking.

“I did the same thing 10 years ago with my wife,” he said and you looked at him with big eyes.

“Yeah. I was the typical nerd in school. Try being a teenager who’s into art. High school was hell.”

“Aww you were already into art in school? That’s so cute. I would have dated you,” you winked.

“Yeah? Good thing we found each other then, huh?” he winked back and this time you did feel your cheeks growing warm at the look he gave you. If he noticed he didn’t show it.

“Come on. Let’s get some disgusting punch.”

Against all odds you really had fun. Marcus posed as the perfect boyfriend and you didn’t have to play the heart eyes you were giving him the whole evening. If you had only this night to play out your little fantasy of dating him, you would take full advantage of it before you had to make yourself fall out of love with him. Because he was your boss and you loved your job.

“The man over there keeps looking at you,” Marcus whispered against your ear. You were dancing to some cheesy song you didn’t recognize. Turns out Marcus Pike could dance. You frowned before you followed his eyes, seeing your ex husband stand there with none other than Babara Miller, the girl who had made your time in school a living hell.

“That’s my ex husband,” you rolled your eyes.

“You okay?” he asked, his hand on your back squeezing you lightly.

“Yeah,” you smiled up at him. For one moment you wished this would be real. That you could tell him that you loved him. That the look he gave you was genuine and not just an act. You breathed in deep. You didn’t want to be here anymore. This felt wrong. Fake. He seemed to pick up on that.

“Wanna get out of here? I’m starving,” he whispered.

“Please,” you nodded. He leaned down to kiss your forehead and you were close to tears before you felt his hand squeeze yours as he walked you out.

20 Minutes later you were the two fanciest dressed people at the hot dog booth Marcus had taken you to.

“These are really delicious,” you hummed, trying to look not like a starving animal as you ate. Marcus chuckled.

“I know. I got lost in the neighborhood in the first week I got here but I found the best hot dogs in the city, so I count it as a win.”

“Totally,” you nodded, taking a sip of the coke he had bought for you.

“So you live around here?” you asked.

“Yeah just two streets this way,” he pointed to your right.

“I guess I should get a cab home so you don’t have to drive all the way back to my place,” you suggested, but he shook his head, reaching over to you.

“No. What kind of boyfriend would I be if I let you drive home alone at night?” he asked and you sighed.

“You mean fake boyfriend,” you said and he only looked at you, his stupid gorgeous eyes not leaving yours. You bit your lip, looking away from him to set down your coke at the booth. When you looked up he seemed to have gotten closer. You didn’t miss how his eyes seemed to linger on your lips before he looked into your eyes.

“Yeah. Fake boyfriend. But even as your fake boyfriend I’m not letting you just get a cab home. I’m driving.”

“Okay okay,” you playfully rolled your eyes.

“You want a milkshake boss?” you asked.

“Make it chocolate.”

“Thank you for doing this for me,” you said as he walked you to your door. You still had your milkshake, peanut butter, in your hand, your other hand searching for your keys.

“You’re very welcome. It was nice. We should do that again,” he said and you looked up at him, an eyebrow raised.

“You mean more awkward class reunions?”

He chuckled, shaking his head.

“No. This. Us together. Hanging out after work,” he stepped closer and you smiled a little.

“Hanging out? How old are you? 14?” you teased and he rolled his eyes with a smile.

“I really, really had fun tonight. With you. And I’d like to take you out. On a real date. Let’s say next Saturday?” he asked and finally, you gave in to the stupid grin that you had tried to suppress the whole evening.

“You’re not allergic to peanuts, are you?” you asked and he frowned.

“No, why?”

“Cause then I couldn’t do this…” you whispered before you got on your tiptoes to kiss him.

Taglist:

@ladyreapermc / @cherry-gemz / @yespolkadotkitty / @filthybookworm / @knittingqueen13 / @melchills-j / @justpedropascal / @raspberrymama / @parkjammys / @novicepearl / @disgruntledspacedad​ / @perropascal​ / @empress-palpat1ne​ / @hotspacepilots​ / @sleep-tight1 / @freeshavocadoooo / @princess76179 / @pumpkin-stars / @evyiione / @hollydaisy23 / @princesssterek / @palaiasaurus64 / @mouthymandalorian / @turkish276 / @maciiiofficial / @re-reads / @penwieldingdreamer / @trippedmetaldetector / @liviiii98 / @greeneyedblondie44 / @darnitdraco / @tobealostwanderer / @gracie7209 / @rosiefridayrogersunday

[hydrangeapartridge]

Chocolate kisses and Catpuccinos      Chapter 2

Chocolate kisses and Catpuccinos      CHAPTER 2

A Shinso x reader fanfiction (COMPLETE FIC in 4 CHAPTERS)

Read on AO3

Tags: Coffe shop/cat café AU, Shinso x reader, accident prone reader, Pro Hero Shinso, fluff, slow burn, mutual pining, clumsy reader

Word count: 7k+ (30k+ total)

Summary:

There is this man who often comes to your café.  A  particular customer who gives you a sense of ‘déjà-vu’. He always orders  plain black coffee; no sugar, no extra syrup or topping. He then  silently enjoys his drink for around half an hour, observing, and  occasionally petting the cats.

His hair always looks kind of messy,  untamed lavender curls that you think are maybe dyed? You often find  your eyes drawn to his slim silhouette but try not to stare at him too  much, not wanting to be rude. But he definitely looks familiar…

-   -   -

In which you are an accident prone-waitress in a cat café where Pro  Hero MindJack (aka Shinso Hitoshi) likes to spend time. How will your  relationship evolve through the four seasons of one year?

Chapter 2 : Summer

(chapter 1 here)

(chapter 3 here)

(chapter 4 here)

SUMMER In the summertime, when the weather is hot, you can reach right up and touch the sky.

During the whole month that follows your aggression, Haru never lets you close the shop alone. She has you leave early when the streets are still buzzing with people, or she accompanies you home. You tell her she shouldn’t bother, that it was a one time accident, that she doesn’t have to burden herself with your safety; but she insists. And you’re grateful she does. Still, at some point you feel better about walking home alone, especially since the night falls later and the walk can be made before it goes too dark. You finally convince Haru that she can stop making a detour to see you home and given how easily she accepts, you should have seen something coming.

The first time you close the café alone again, Shinso’s outside, waiting for you in casual clothes.

It becomes a routine. You don’t often do the closing anymore, but when you do, Shinso’s here; even without you sharing your agenda with him. He’s always free on those days, never on patrol. You suspect Haru and him have agreed on your schedule. You feel a bit infantilized, but it’s largely counterbalanced by the satisfaction the alone time with Shinso gives you. On the way home, you mostly talk about cats. You know you’re quite chatty, but some days, when you’re tired, a comfortable silence falls between the two of you before the end of the trip, and you appreciate it too. You may not like ghost stories, but you sometimes enjoy reading about the fay; and you find that you particularly like how Shinso looks under the setting sun, his messy hair catching the light, looking like some wild will-o'-the-wisp. The bags under his eyes, his pale complexion and too perfectly aligned teeth; between day and night, Shinso’s appearance is almost surreal. But it doesn’t scare you.

- - -

It’s near closing time and you are busy sweeping the floor of the empty café. Work is slower in the evenings during the summer vacation. You make sure all the cats have food and water and open the back door so they can have access to more cat trees and beds, as well as the clean litters.

You’re about to turn the ‘opened’ sign to ‘closed’ when Shinso’s familiar silhouette appears on the other side of the glass door. You open the door to greet him and take in his disheveled look. The tips of his hair look a little damp; weird, you don’t recall it rained here. Upon closer examination, it looks more like he’s just out of the shower.

“Ah. You’re closing” His voice is a little breathy, like he was in a hurry. You gather he probably wanted to get coffee before walking you back home.

“Yup, but the coffee machine is still on” You smile and he looks taken aback, hesitating.

You step aside, letting him in with a smile and he agrees to your implied offer with a small thank you. You walk behind the counter and prepare two cups of coffee while he sits on one of the high stools. You place a steaming cup of hot black coffee in front of him and he motions for his wallet.

“It’s on the house” You quickly tell him with a wave of your hand.

You don’t give him time to protest as you motion to the pastry and snacks showcase and pick the unsold leftovers, arranging them on a plate that you then place between the two of you on the counter. One of his sharp eyebrows lifts up questioningly.

“They’ll go to waste if we don’t eat them” You give him a fork and with your own you unceremoniously dig into a piece of carrot cake with vanilla frosting. “Consider it thanks for always walking me home” You add before stuffing a large bite of cake into your mouth.

His hand comes to rest on the back of his neck, bashful. “I feel a bit responsible for those unsafe streets on my patrol route… So it’s only natural”

Of course he would spend time with you only because he’s too afraid you’ll get into trouble again. The attention he gives you; it’s just hero duty. To him you’re probably just an overly accident prone civilian he needs to protect from themselves.

You try not to show you’re quite upset… and disappointed.

“Well you’re super good at being a hero so I say you deserve a little reward” You state with a frown as you use your fork to push a piece of chocolate cake towards him on the plate. “This one goes well with coffee”

He eats his cake and drinks his coffee and you do the same, settling into a not so comfortable silence . “Oh!” You gasp after a moment, starring down at your almost finished dark beverage. “It’s late, I should have made it decaffeinated!” You sigh. “I’m sorry. Looks like we’ll both have trouble sleeping tonight”

Shinso is unsettled by your outburst, fork hanging midair, but he quickly recovers “It’s fine. Even without coffee, I usually don’t sleep much”

He must work on very few hours of sleep indeed given the large dark circles under his eyes.

“Insomnia?”  You ask, curious.

“Something like that” He vaguely answers, probably just to humor you.

You can’t help but press further. “Nightmares?”

His eyes sharply meet yours from above his cup, his reaction betraying how on point your guess probably was. His gaze feels a little cold and you’re about to drop the subject, or change it to something lighter when his lips part.

“Old demons and bad memories” He says, his eyes not leaving your face, like he’s gauging your reaction. Like he’s expecting you to judge him.

You gulp, and for once, you take your time to choose your words carefully. It feels too important. Eyes downcast, you slowly tell him that you’re sorry that someone as nice as him has to carry those burdens. The sincerity of your words makes him frown; not the reaction you were expecting. “Nice?” He repeats; the word visibly bothering him.

“Well yes… you’re probably one of our nicest customers” You start shyly but then get more confident as you follow your train of thoughts. “And you’re a hero. Heroes aren’t always as pleasant as you I suppose, but they are inherently kind… I think?”

You imagine Dynamight certainly wouldn’t be as polite and agreeable a customer as Shinso, but like all heroes, deep down, he’s a good person. Otherwise he wouldn’t give his life to save others.

“The media don’t quite always agree with you” He retorts, straightening up on his barstool. “My quirk is still often categorized as villainous”

‘Still’ he said. You can’t imagine what he must have been through when he was younger; his shoulders less sturdy, not yet ready to take all the hits life could give. Some kids often use quirks as an excuse to ully others, taking advantage of their differences, their uniqueness as harassment material.

You puff your cheeks, upset by his remark and look up to meet his falsely bored gaze. “Your quirk doesn’t define you!” You claim, leaning on the counter in a surge of compassion. “You save people!”

Shinso’s wide purple eyes make you realize the extent of your outburst. You step back, hands leaving the counter, shying away from your heartfelt reaction. “I-I’m sorry but… like I said, I think you’re super good at being a hero”

He saved you. Multiple times. You wish you could find better words to convey your thoughts, but you never found yourself to be eloquent. Shinso’s silence makes your cheeks heat up in embarrassment as your teeth find your lower lip, worrying at it. You want him to know how grateful you are to have met him. All of him. Both MindJack who saved you and Shinso the gentle regular customer who truly loves cats.

You don’t get the chance to insist because you both are distracted by the apparition of a very large ball of gray fur in the corner of your vision. Stirring, the stray cat approaches carefully and Shinso looks away to observe it. You feel he doesn’t want to continue this conversation.

“Ah, Jack!” Despite the disappointed state the previous conversation left you in, you’re happy to see the old cat hop onto the counter.

It eyes you briefly with one deep yellow eye and one glassier almost white one and you grab him a saucer that you fill with a little tuna from a leftover sandwich. You carefully place it a respectful distance from him, moving slowly as not to startle him. The cat sniffs the air then licks its chops but doesn’t immediately go for it. His eyes have fallen onto Shinso, its gaze a mix of scared and upset to see an intruder in his territory. Shinso doesn’t look the cat directly in the eyes, doesn’t make any move aside from drinking from his cup, but still, the cat hisses, its tail and back hair getting all puffed out.

“Come on kitty, Shinso is a friend, no need to be afraid” You gently coo and the man in front of you blinks in surprise at your use of ‘friend’ before his attention is drawn back to the cat.

“He’s very shy, with a bad experience with humans. He shows his fear with aggressivity but he’s not a bad cat” The fondness in your voice is obvious; Jack is an adorable cat, but it’s difficult to understand when first faced with him.

Shinso looks to the cat, and you’re surprised to see him very slowly blink a few times before looking away. A cat’s ‘hello’. The hero then extends his pointer finger and slowly places it on the counter, keeping a safe distance from the angry cat. His hand stays where it is when he turns back to you, ignoring your feline companion. “I’m sure he’s not” He agrees and after another outraged huff, Jack walks away, eventually more interested in the tuna now that he’s made sure Shinso poses no threat.

“I’ve never seen this cat before” He remarks and you awkwardly rub the palm of your hand over your arm as you explain Jack’s situation. “He’s a stray that I found in the street. His eye was all infected so I got him to the vet but it was too late to save his eye. After he recovered I wanted to put him up for adoption alongside the other cats in the café… but he’s very fierce, and he growls and hisses as soon as someone gets a bit too close to his liking.”

The cat now finished with his tuna looks back at you. You go for his empty plate and he reflexively hisses at you on principle, even if he doesn’t fight or flee. A warning.

“I tried to let him into the café when there are customers, in hopes someone would take a liking to him,  but even if I told people to leave him be, there always was someone who tried to pet him when I wasn’t looking” You sigh deeply, still annoyed at some people’s nerves. “He lashed out at a few customers so we couldn’t let him out for fear of complaints… I wanted to bring him home but my place is small and Cathy is extremely territorial. So we chose to keep him in the backroom during the day”

The decision to keep Jack away from the customers, and the other cats, wasn’t an easy one to make, but you have no other solution until someone adopts him. The purpose of yours and Haru’s café is to raise awareness around abandoned cats, and to give the strays you save a chance for a new start. But often customers don’t quite get that cats are living creatures with personalities, needs and also fears of their own. To some, your café was just some trendy place where they feel entitled to the cat’s attention.

“It’s a shame people don’t understand what this place is all about” Shinso looks at you with soft eyes and you think he understands. “You and Haru… are nice people”

Warmth fills you from the praise. You’re convinced of the good nature of your enterprise, but to hear it from someone who saves lives everyday is extremely satisfying, and also very touching. If Shinso is able to praise you for your work, why can’t he see he is a nice person too?

“The business is mostly Haru’s… I help but I’m not too good with paperwork and accountability” Your fingers brush the rim of your cup and your eyes are downcast as you stay modest “Ever since school days… I never was very smart”

A pause. Shinso’s mouth is a hard line. One of his fingers taps repeatedly on the rim of his cup, like it’s itching to move. You hear the ruffling sound of Jack moving.

“You understand cats” Shinso finally says, like in his eyes it’s the ultimate proof of cleverness.

When you look up, cheeks still warm, you see the skittish grey cat a few inches only from Shinso, busy carefully sniffing his pointer finger. Jack’s tail is held low but he doesn’t lash out, and once he’s satisfied, he walks away from Shinso and strolls by you to rub its cheeks once, then twice against your hand that’s still around your cup.

“He’s a cute cat” Shinso decides and his deep voice is so soft it makes your heart melt.

You both watch the cat in contemplative silence as he jumps down and disappears into the back room.

It’s supposedly common knowledge that people who like animals are always good people. You’re not very smart, but in your opinion it’s easy to see that Shinso is an extremely good person.

- - -

That night of course Shinso insists to walk you home as usual. You still try to dissuade him, to tell him it’s fine because you take a different path now, where there are more people in the streets. You’re sure he has better things to do than escorting you. But you are forced to give in; for whatever you say, he follows you anyway.

About halfway, he finally breaks the silence that effortlessly settled between the two of you.

“You live quite far away to walk home… Why don’t you cycle? It would be quicker and safer at night”

Indeed, your forty minutes’ walk home would probably be halved if you were biking. And he wouldn’t need to babysit you like he’s been forcing himself to do. But there was one problem.

“I-I don’t know how to ride a bike” You answer in a low ashamed voice.

Shinso stays silent for a moment, and if he’s surprised, he doesn’t show it. You expect him to make fun of you. Everyone learns to ride a bike as a child. Well except for you; no one found useful to teach you.

“I can teach you if you want”

You turn to him, eyes wide like saucers, thunderstruck. Why would he want to waste more of his time teaching something so simple to a random clumsy coffee-shop waitress?

He’s facing forwards, not looking at you, and in the lowering light of the early night, you can’t quite decipher his expression. “It’s for a good cause. Even if we do our best to make the city safer, there won’t always be heroes to save you from muggers”

Duty.

Of course that’s why he’s offered to help you. Shinso truly is a great hero. You admire how he was able to become one; despite the hardships, despite his quirk that doesn’t scream ‘heroic’ like more physical ones. To you he’s the kind of hero that stays true to himself, not putting himself forward, not asking for praise. Just diligently helping people because it’s the right thing to do. You look at your feet as you walk, worrying at your lower lip.

“You already work a lot, you should rest on your free time” It’s reluctantly that you decline his offer, because in truth, you really want him to teach you.

You like spending time with him. Truth be told you’re becoming accustomed to his calm presence. It’s comfortable to be beside him; easy to talk to him. Despite being a celebrity, he’s just normal. Not in a bad way; but he doesn’t make things complicated. And he puts up with your goofiness with patience, wit, and sometimes a little smile that sends butterflies to your stomach. He gently bumps his shoulder against yours, walking closer.

You catch said little smile on the corner of his lips. “I offered because I don’t mind” He gently replies, his low voice soothing your concerns.

You like spending time with him, so you selfishly let him convince you to accept his nice offer.

- - -

The week-end approaches and it occurs to you that you don’t actually own a bike. When that thought hits you, you’re at the café and you facepalm in the middle of cleaning a table.

“Stupid” You mutter to yourself, cursing your dumb brain.

It distracts you and stresses you for the rest of the day. What do you do? You cancel? You buy a bike? But what model? You’re not even sure you have enough savings for a decent one. Your worries make you sloppy and clumsier than usual, so much that when you break your third plate in a row while doing the dishes, Haru asks you what is wrong. You explain everything to her in a rambling mess of whining complains, and the more you make a fool of yourself, the more her smile widens.

Ever your savior and the best of friends, she offers to lend you an old bike that was her mother’s, and that she doesn’t use anymore, until you decide to buy one for yourself. You thank her profusely, promising impossible thank you gifts that make her laugh heartily.

“Let’s just say you owe me one of those peach parfaits they make down the corner of the street” She offers, traces of her laugh still singing in her voice.

“Deal!” You excitedly shake her hand and she laughs some more before giving you a little wink.

“Wouldn’t want you to miss your little date with your hero”

You blush furiously, your hands coming to rest on your warming cheeks. “I-it’s not a date!!” You protest under Haru’s amused gaze. “He said it’s hero duty and-…” You stop, lifting your head up like you just had an epiphany. “I have to find something to compensate him”

You look around the café, almost panicked because you won’t have the time to go buy a decent present before you meet on Sunday. What does Shinso like anyway? Beside cats and coffee, and horror stories… and maybe hero… stuff??

Haru sighs fondly as you fidget nervously. “I’m sure he’s happy to do it for free”

You’re not entirely convinced and you promise yourself that you’ll find time to buy something for him.

- - -

Haru’s mom bike is cute and vintage. It’s a blue or green pastel colour that reminds you of holidays, and there is a cute basket on the front. Your friend told you she properly inflated the tires, and that despite being a little rusty, the breaks were fine.

When Shinso arrives, you proudly show him the bike and tell him how nice Haru was to land you one.

“Let’s hope you can give it back in one piece” He chuckles at your excitement, teasing you while his fingers absentmindedly caress the handlebars, stopping on the wicker basket. “Ready to start?”

First he explains a few details, patiently. How to pedal, how to break, how to turn; and then he tells you to get on. You straddle the bike, feet on the ground, hands gripping the handlebars tightly, nervously. The street is calm because of the week-end, empty aside from two kids riding their bicycles. They ride past you as you struggle to put one foot on one pedal while keeping your balance. They look at you funny before laughing at your expense.

“Don’t mock me! It’s not that easy” You bark at them, frustrated and they laugh some more.

“Concentrate” Shinso clicks his tongue and one of his hands comes to rest on your back to keep you from falling because of your gesticulations.

The kids quickly lose interest and Shinso lets out a little sigh. He probably wishes he was somewhere else than here with you on his vacation day.  

“The key is to maintain speed. Without speed you won’t be able to keep your balance” He calmly explains and you nod, trying to stay focused.

His voice sounds close to your ear from where he’s standing, the hand that’s not on your back resting on the handlebars to keep it straight. His tone is encouraging and smooth; it makes you feel warm despite the anticipation. Your heart is pounding, a little stressed to fail. You don’t want to disappoint your one day teacher; don’t want to make him lose his precious time with your useless self.

“You keep pedaling and I’ll push you so you go fast enough to keep balance.”

Your grip is white knuckled on the handlebars as you start moving forwards with Shinso’s help. At first you struggle to keep a coordinated rhythm with the pedals, but soon, as you gain speed, it becomes easier, almost instinctive. The foreign sensation of your legs acting almost on their own is a bit scary, but you manage to ride in a straight line when Shinso releases the handlebars. He keeps his hand on your back, walking quickly behind you, a warm and comforting presence. You’re surprised you’re doing so well on your first try, and you become bolder, increasing the rhythm of your feet on the pedals. Your teacher was right; it’s easier with some speed. You try to look back at him, a big grin on your face, but it drops as soon as you notice he’s not directly behind you, but standing a few feet away, smiling at you, even giving you a thumbs up. The absence of a guiding hand on your back makes you suddenly panic; the confidence from before leaving you in an instant. Your legs freeze and the way you’re slightly turned backwards makes you lose your balance. The bike tumbles to the side and you with it.

You forgot to put your foot on the ground like he told you and end up splayed on the concrete with the bike on top of you. Shinso jogs up to you.

“Are you ok?” He asks like he always ends up asking, truly worried, so used to seeing you end up in dire situations.

He moves the bike away from you and kneels down to your level, making sure you are not hurt. Thankfully there’s not much damage aside from a scrapped knee and an injured ego. Of course that’s when the kids appear again. Their high pitched mocking laughs as they pass you full speed on their bikes make you grit your teeth in annoyance.

“Why am I always such a disaster?” You groan. There are hot tears threatening to spill from your eyes and you feel kind of childish.

Still, Shinso doesn’t seem put out by your attitude. “On the contrary, you were doing good” His hands look so large beside your scrapped knee. You’re a child when he’s a man, all tall and patient as he inspects the injury, his pointer finger gently tracing the swollen flesh, giving you goosebumps. “I would even say you’re a natural when it comes to cycling”. He takes a cotton handkerchief from his pocket and uses it to dust off the dirt and little gravels that cling to your angry red skin with careful dabs. You wince. It stings a bit.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were releasing me?” You pout accusingly.

He smiles, gentle. “Because you would have panicked. Now you’ve seen that you can do it on your own”

You’re about to protest that you would not have panicked (despite what just happened which obviously proved you wrong), but he pins you with a knowing look that makes your cheeks flush. He gets up and extends his hand for you to take. You take it, unable to resist the urge to feel his large hand over yours. He helps you get up and while you dust off your skirt, he puts the bike back on its wheels. At least it’s not broken.

“Ready for another try?”

You squint at the bike like it personally offended you. The right corner of Shinso’s lip turns up in an involuntary crooked grin. “I’ll buy you ice cream” He bargains and you are easily won over. How could you resist the opportunity to extend your time with him when he looks at you with soft eyes that shine like bright amethysts?

- - -

You spend all the afternoon practicing your new biking skill. Maybe Shinso is right about you being a natural because you’re quick to get how to ride, being able to start and also turn on your own after a few attempts. Your improvised teacher stays closer to you even as you progress, never leaving you out of arm’s reach, in case you fall again. He says he doesn’t want to bring you to the hospital for broken limbs.

By the end of this little training session, you are exhausted, and you think you well deserve your ice cream.

“Here, you really did well today” You wonder how it’s possible to praise someone with such a blank expression as Shinso hands you a tall ice cream cone with two large scoops of vanilla and strawberry.

“Don’t drop it” He warns, in a mix of worry and amusement. You spot a little mischief in his eyes and you stick out your tongue at him.

“When you say it like that I feel like a kid” You’re teasing but you’re also a little bit upset. You would like him not to see you as a woman-child.

“You’re not a kid” He simply states, serious again, eyes scrutinizing your face, taking you in, insistent on your cheekbones, but always so calm. “Eat your ice-cream before it melts” He adds, but he barely manages to hide the smirk that stretches his lips.

He’s clearly messing up with you. Heat rises under the skin of your cheeks. He’s not usually this mischievous; maybe the bright vacation like sun of summer melted his barriers away. You like this new side of him, and so you go along with his teasing.  

“I’ll have you know mister hero that I am a grown up adult perfectly capable of handling myself “You wave your cone in front of his face accusingly. “I’m grateful for the biking lessons and the ice cream, but don’t get all superior on me, I managed to survive for 23 years without you babysitting me!” You declare, annoyed, supporting your words with large movements of your hand…. Until one of the scoops of ice cream falls onto the floor.

You watch in horror as your favorite strawberry creamy delight smashes onto the ground, irrecoverable. You look back to Shinso, mouth opened wide in disbelief. And then he laughs.

The usually so serious Shinso Hitoshi laughs. Starting with a barely contained snort, it turns unrestrained and loud, like he can’t stop himself. And it’s one of the most pleasant sounds you’ve ever heard. You watch him, flabbergasted before you become completely red like a tomato.

“Don’t make fun of me!!”

His eyes are shiny, little creases at the corner “I’m sorry” He manages to utter between bursts of undying laughter. “But you always end up doing something unexpected…And your face, it’s just so-”

He doesn’t finish his sentence. Instead he sighs with contentment and takes a deep breath to calm down, a large smile still plastered on his face as he looks to your angry red face.

“Take mine if you want. I’m not a fan of ice cream anyway” He offers you his coffee and chocolate cone and you snatch it away from him, holding it up victoriously, like a trophy. You quickly start eating it, diligently licking the cold treat with great focus, afraid you’ll lose it too. Your companions’ eyes are on you during the whole process and you’re thankful for the cooling effect of the ice. The flavors he chose are not as sweet as your lost strawberry scoop, but eating beside him strangely makes the whole experience much sweeter.

- - -

A few more biking lessons are enough to make you confident enough to try cycling to work. The first day you proudly arrive on the cute bike Haru lent you, she applauds. After a not so controlled stop, your feet struggling to give you back your balance when you try to plant them on the concrete, you admittedly not so elegantly, but still safely dismount the bike and give a small flourish.

“Looks like Shinso is a good teacher” Haru winks at you once you’ve carefully stored the bike and are putting on your apron.

“Y-yeah” You feel your cheeks heat up as you think back to the ice cream he shared with you. Ice cream and bike rides; those lessons really tasted like summer vacations. “I really need to find a way to thank him”

The smile Haru gives you then feels secretive, like she knows something you don’t. The missions of the day don’t quite give you the chance to delve into it too much however. Indeed, this Sunday is a special day. You and Haru have arranged a special event in collaboration with the local shelter to boost adoptions and raise awareness about animal abandonment. The shelter you work with is currently overflowing with undesired kittens coming from families who don’t neuter their cats, as well as stray cats and kittens, and also adult housecats that were abandoned because of the summer vacation. They don’t have any space left for new rescues, so you offered to host an adoption event at the café during the week-end. Two volunteers from the shelter arrived early and carefully put the kittens with your other cats, keeping a watchful eye on the interactions between the cats so there wouldn’t be any fights. But things go rather smoothly since adult cats are usually more lenient towards kittens.

You look forward to being done with the preparations so you’ll be able to play with the kittens before they all get adopted into hopefully loving families. That prospect of petting the little balls of fluff makes you smile as you carry a large box of cat supplies destined to the future owners from the backroom to the main room. It’s heavier than it looks, and after a few steps, you’re already having a hard time with your task. You’re panting but you make an effort to advance further. That effort is short lived however, and the box soon feels lighter as two large hands come over yours, sharing the weight you’re struggling to carry. You probably would have recognized Shinso’s hands just from how warm and big they feel over yours. He’s so tall that his face pokes out above the box. The last thing you expected was to see him here today and the surprise (or something else too) makes your heart beat even faster than it was with the effort.

“Where do you want to put this?” He asks and you realize you’ve stopped in your tracks.

You instruct him to help you set up the supplies you’re carrying, and when you’re done you thank him for the help while dusting your hands.

“Here to finally adopt a cat?”  

The question makes him place his hand on the back of his neck in a gesture you became familiar with. But before he gets to answer, Haru throws a confident arm over his shoulder. “I asked him to help!” She proudly exclaims. “Bribed him with free coffee”

You’re pretty sure Shinso makes enough money as a Pro Hero to buy more coffee than you could imagine. Given the way his pale eyes seem irresistibly drawn to the kittens playing on the floor, you suspect his motivation lies elsewhere. In any case, you’re happy that he’s here, and an extra pair of arms is always welcome.

You don’t get much time to chat with Shinso because there are so many preparations left to be done. You’re nearly finished when the first curious visitors enter the café. The volunteers from the shelter greet them and you and Haru get being the counter to prepare the drinks and snacks with Shinso’s help.

You’re busy with the coffee machine when Haru gently nudges your shoulder. “Shouldn’t we put Jack back in his room?”

You follow her gaze until your eyes find the old one-eyed grey cat. If not for his particular physique, Jack is beyond recognition; surrounded by kittens, his behavior is playful, lively, so far away from the reluctant and guarded attitude he endorses when facing humans. It’s heartwarming to see him like this, tending to the smaller cats, his every move gentle so as not to harm them. He’s a good kitty, you know it; but right now it’s blatant enough for anyone to see. Lips pursed, you’re about to deny Haru’s request. But someone is quicker to speak.

“You should leave him be. It looks like he’s having a good time” Shinso watches the cat, not looking at Haru as he talks to her. “Besides, maybe someone will find a liking to him and adopt him”

Haru turns from him to you, silently asking for your opinion. You see her but your main focus stays on Shinso, your lips slightly parted, somewhat entranced. “My thoughts exactly” You whisper, distracted by how accurately Shinso’s words matched the response you were about to make.

The hero’s violet gaze is still on the cats, oblivious to the way he just made you feel. His sleeves are rolled up, and with his arms crossed over his chest, you realize his forearms are rather toned. It shouldn’t surprise you given how easily it was for him to carry boxes you were barely able to lift up from the ground. He’s a hero afterall; it requires a certain physique. You find yourself wondering how muscular the rest of his body is.

It takes two insistent calls of your name for Haru to get you out of your reverie. You slowly turn to her, blinking twice, and your lost, clueless look makes her roll her eyes.

“Make sure Jack behaves” She sighs more than orders. She probably doesn’t want the grey cat to scare potential adopters.

You nod and your friend walks away, satisfied. Your eyes go searching for Shinso again, like a primal instinct you can’t quite control, and they soon find his own violet orbs. He’s leaning against the counter, his lower back resting on it, his arms still crossed in a way that has you look down to his forearms again. “I can handle him if you want. Jack I mean.”

You frown a little; you don’t want to burden him.

He sees your hesitation. “This way you can take care of visitors. I’m not too good at being friendly”

If that’s what he prefers, you’ll go with it. Even if you beg to differ; he is definitely not bad at being friendly; he’s just a little reserved.

“Okay” You indulge him with a smile. You trust him to take good care of the cats.

As if he heard you were talking about him, Jack effortlessly jumps onto the counter beside you, followed by a fluffy white kitten. Jack mews at you, low and harsh, his only yellow eye giving him a disgruntled look. Yet you welcome it with a smile.

“Did you make a new friend?” You ask the cat with the exaggeratedly friendly voice you only use on animals.

Jack sits down and licks his canines. It’s not hard to understand he’s after the creamer that you prepared to accompany the coffee you’re brewing.

“Na-ha, that’s not for you mister” You wiggle your pointer finger at him and the cat only sniffs in disdain, not showing any sign of aggressiveness. He’s more relaxed than usual, his tail held higher.

With this little exchange, you lost sight of the kitten. It’s not far away however, and when you find it, your heart skips a beat. The little fluffy white kitten is nestled in Shinso’s strong arms, eyes closed in bliss as the hero gently pets its head. The look of pure adoration in Shinso’s amethyst eyes is so incredibly mellow that it threatens to melt your heart with its gentle warmth. Jack meows again but you can’t look away from the beautiful moment unfolding before your eyes. There’s a vulnerability emanating from Shinso that makes you want to hug him, to make him safe and tell him how amazing he looks, how good he is with people and animals, despite his insecurities. The feeling is probably communicative because Jack soon approaches the hero and to both Shinso and your surprise, bumps his head against the hero’s elbow.

Shinso blinks rapidly, eyes falling onto the grey cat, his previous expression replaced by stupefaction. Holding the kitten with one arm, he slowly offers his opened palm to the adult cat, keeping it suspended in the air at a respectful distance from its head. The kitten lets out a small high pitched unsatisfied meow because Shinso stopped petting it, but you’re more focused on Jack. Jack who’s currently rubbing his cheeks against Shinso’s offered hand. Slowly, carefully, the hero turns his hand, palm facing down, and very lightly pats the grey cat’s head once, then twice. Your bafflement almost makes you miss the low happy chuckle that escapes Shinso. He pulls back then, not pushing his luck and Jack steps away, satisfied. When Shinso’s eyes meet yours again, he’s stunning; unguarded, perfectly in his element.

“He likes you!” You beam at him, voice uncontrollably warm.

His free hand goes to his neck; this man with the big hands and muscular arms suddenly shy. “I guess so”

People who like animals are good they say. They also say animals like good people.

- - -

Jack doesn’t get adopted that day, but the event was a success, with many adoptions. It’s mainly kittens, but it is no surprise; people tend to fall easily for the cute little babies. The night is already falling when you get on your bike, exhausted, hoping you’ll manage to get home safely despite your sore muscles.

Haru is closing the café while thanking Shinso again for his help.

“I’m happy I could lend you a hand” He politely nods at her, his hands disappearing in the pockets of his jeans.

“You really saved us. We needed someone strong to carry all these boxes of supplies!” Haru punctuates her statement with a little show of her mostly nonexistent right bicep and Shinso graces her with the hint of a smile.

“You really surprised me with Jack” You intervene and he turns to you. “If you want to spend time with him, don’t hesitate to ask, we’ll let you in the backroom”

“Wow, offering him to do things in the backroom, you’re getting bold!” Haru teases and you feel your face flush.

“T-that’s not it!!” You blurt out a bit too loudly, attracting the passerby’s disturbed looks.

Shinso gives Haru a chiding bored look before he walks up to you and grabs the handlebars of your bike to prevent it from falling because of the flustered gesticulations you started while disapprovingly whining Haru’s name.

“I would like that” He simply tells you, head tilted to the side, the corner of his lips turned up.

You calm down and take a hold of the handlebars again when he lets them go. He gives a small tap to the bike’s basket, like he’s putting a spell on it, wishing you good luck. “Get home safely” He tells you and you can’t tell if it’s more pleading or more teasing.

“Don’t worry, I’m a natural” You don’t know where you find the courage to wink at him but you do, and it’s met with a small secretive smile that envelops the both of you in a bubble of shared references.

“Indeed you are” He breathes only for you to hear and the glint in his eyes is so mesmerizing that you almost forget Haru is here. Until she clears her throat, bringing your attention back to her. Shinso steps back.

“Good evening” He politely bids the two of you farewell then and starts walking away.

“Good evening” You respond, instinctively tempted to follow him like you did when he walked you back home. But you’re reminded that there’s the bike between your legs, the handlebars in your hands.

You’re putting one foot on the pedal when Haru approaches to say goodbye too. Inconveniently, it’s not the only thing she has to say.

“He’s nice and he likes cats” She states the obvious with a grin too big to not look plotting.

“I know” You answer with a shy smile.

“And he’s a good biking teacher” She adds.

“I know… What are you implying?” You ask with a frown and she pats your shoulder in an oddly condescending way.

“Nothing…” She looks mischievous, but also pensive. “Unexpectedly, I like him!” She chirps and then she leaves you with a wave of her hand. But after a few step, she changes her mind and looks back at you from over her shoulder.

“Get home safely” She parrots Shinso’s words and wiggles her eyebrows at you.

“See you tomorrow” You sigh at her shenanigans and start pedaling, leaving her to giggle alone.

On the way home you’re careful not to get too distracted by the mental image of Shinso attentively holding a white fluffy kitten.

Not too good at being friendly he said… Yet like Haru, you can say you like him too.

[worldwidebt7]

Hell[L]ing || 05

§ — Pairing: Chimera!Taehyung x Empath!Reader (with mentions of Reader x Other Members)

§ — Genre: SciFi AU, fluff, angst, smut, horror

§ — Wordcount: 2,974

§ — Rating: M § — Warnings: None. Just an awkward AF encounter.

§ — A/N: Gone for so long, but not forgotten! I love this story, and I don't plan on letting it die any time soon~ I need a manager-- I've got way too many projects! Anyone want the job? LOL

Summary: You moved out into the wilderness to live a calm, peaceful life. Your abilities made it impossible to live in crowded places, so even if you wanted to you couldn’t return. But when something happens outside the realm of even your normalcy, you start to think that maybe having everyone else’s emotions bearing down on you isn’t such a bad alternative to being trapped with your own.

You were definitely beginning to question your decision-making skills, or lack thereof. Any sane person would never let a man they met once into their isolated house on a rainy day— it was an exact recipe that stereotypical horror films follow. And you were to be the soon-hunted lead female. Whether or not you get killed milliseconds before the credits started rolling depended on how you treated the situation henceforth.

Standing in your bathroom, you contemplated your options as your fingers ran over the plush fabric of the grey towel you intended to hand to the soaking wet gentleman currently standing in your kitchen. First, you could continue on the path you were currently set on: heading back down the stairs to help the supposedly sick boy dry off and offer him a warm drink. This would most certainly end poorly if your expertise of the genre was anything to go by. Assist the helpless stranger, let his quirky personality charm you, then die. Not preferable.

You could, adversely, call the police or one of your friends to come save you and distract your company until they arrived. This would be the smarter move, though you have your doubts that the situation warrants such a reaction. Besides what your extrasensory abilities allowed you to perceive, your neighbor has done nothing to make you think he holds any ill-will against you. Having him forcibly removed from your home would only certainly sour his opinion of you.

Your last option, from what you could organize from your frayed thoughts, was to expedite option one, in which you dried him off, warmed him up, and sent him on his way before any amount of intimate time passed. You figured that this was the best option, even if it weren’t particularly the safest. You had no reason to suspect the boy of any violence or threat, but he made you inherently uncomfortable either way.

His emotions began to blip at a faster pace— nervousness, worry— were the rate of his emotional markers linked to his heart beat? That was something new. Well, everything dealing with this boy’s emotions was new to you. Taking a deep breath, you turn and leave the bathroom. You suppose your prolonged absence has made your guest begin to panic, and you really didn’t want to have his sporadic emotions to get more intense; you were already feeling the beginnings of a headache.

Scurrying down your wooden stairs, you felt his interest perk at the sound of your footsteps. Anticipation— but gentle anticipation. Warm, welcoming; you almost wanted to hurry to put yourself back in his line of vision, and as you stepped back into the kitchen, you felt the wave of relief that washed over him. His accelerated heartbeat kept the bursts of emotions abrupt, but they were soothed, a welcomed change from the abrasive concern.

His eyes were locked onto your form, taking in every miniscule movement you made. You made sure to avoid his gaze and cleared your throat as you stepped in front of him.

“Here,” You held out the towel for him to take. “You should probably dry yourself off…” He eyed the soft fabric for a moment, a shy gratefulness melding with slight apprehension. You sent him a warm smile when a few moments had passed and nudged the towel towards him a bit. With that, he tentatively reached forward and gently took the cloth from you. You retreated your hand swiftly and as he brought the towel to his chest you sidestepped towards the counter. “I’ll make something warm for you to drink, yeah?”

As you busied yourself, you didn’t see him lift the towel and softly burry his face in it, drying himself. You did, however feel the warm glow of comfort sprout in the air like quickly blooming flowers. With your back turned to him, you didn’t bother hiding the pleased look on your face. Finally— you thought— an emotion from him that didn’t barrage your senses.

With water heating up in your kettle and the packet of cocoa already retrieved from the pantry, you no longer had anything to distract yourself with. In an attempt to make this spontaneous visit less awkward and less unnerving, you turned to make light conversation. To begin, what on earth the sickly boy was doing wandering about in the rain.

“So…” you started, catching his attention immediately, his nerves returning. “Your name is Taehyung, right?” you received a delayed nod. “I’m Y/N. Ah, though you already knew that, right? From last time?” Another nod. Talkative, this one. You supposed you should get straight to your most burning question at the moment. “I gotta ask… I did extend the invitation, but… is there something I can do for you?” He visibly stiffened and the blips of his anxiety sped up with what, you were sure of now, was his increased heart rate. Oh, the headache. Perhaps you should rephrase. “W-what I mean is, since your health is poor, why’d you come over when it was raining of all days?” This seemed to calm him, as the frequency of his beats trickled off.

He didn’t answer you for a long while, opting to look down at the floor in contemplation. You did your best not to stare— you didn’t want to spike his unease once more— but you were finding it difficult to do so, seeing as the wet boy in your kitchen, now that he was up close and personal, was too beautiful to bear. Your previous appraisal of his other-worldly appearance was far too lenient; how could anyone like him possibly exist at all? And his dark hair— curled more from its damp state and hanging further over his obsidian eyes— only seemed to add more depth to the perfection of the features it framed. How utterly unfair it was for someone to be so beautiful.

“I—” you just about jumped at his voice, breaking the silence, but not cutting through it. The melodic depth of it filled the room. “…bad day…” he was pensive with his words— giving you all you needed to know and no more. There was no deception to him, but he was clearly safeguarding information, keeping it locked away.

You gave a thoughtful hum, but you couldn’t hide the shock and confusion you felt. He came to you because he was having a bad day? Someone he didn’t know and only met once before? You couldn’t help but feel this was… odd, for lack of a better term. And he seemed to realize this as well, as his eyes never once met yours. His apprehension was understandable now, and his fear of being turned away— he really had no reason to be here.

Still, your heart warmed at the thought that he had come to you for comfort, as unexpected as it was. And, slowly, the majority of your concerns over the situation began to melt away. Yes, he was a strange boy, yes, there were things about him that were odd and seemed unnatural, but… there was nothing aggressive, or dangerous about his intentions. He seemed more like a child than anything else with how small his large frame looked; like he was trying to curl in on himself.

A sharp whistle pierced the gentle atmosphere and both you and Taehyung jumped nearly out of your skin. You recognized the sound as your kettle quickly after having your nerves fried, but your guest was immediately on the defensive, his fear refusing to subside as he took a pathetic few steps back from the offending object.

“Sorry!” you called out to him and you turned on your heel to remove the kettle from the stove. His confusion was evident, and mixed with the other strong emotions bombarding you, you were almost inclined to say that he’s never heard the shriek of a kettle. The noise subsided as you lifted the item off the heat, turning the burner off in the process. “Phew— that scared me!” At your laughter, his confusion turned into curiosity, and his fear ebbed away.

You emptied the chocolate powder into one of your mugs and promptly drowned it in the hot water from your kettle, the smell of hot chocolate immediately permeating through the air. You se the kettle back down on the stove before stirring the drink, your neighbor’s curiosity only heightening. You turned back to him and beckoned him forward, placing the mug of hot chocolate on the island in front of him in hopes he would sit. When he did nothing, a breathy chuckle escaped you.

“You can sit down if you’d like,” you offered, hoping he would oblige. You realize that this directly opposes your original plan to make this visit as quick as possible, but his uncertainty had found it’s way into your heart. You weren’t sure if it was because he was often ill, but he seemed so unsure of how to interact with other people, like he hasn’t had much social interaction before. It was endearing in a way, and even though there were still some things that concerned you about the readings you got from him, you felt inclined to spend time trying to unravel him.

Or you could simply be suffering from your own solitude.

Either way, you smiled when he slowly made his way over to the counter and seated himself on the stool that the mug sat directly in front of. He still had the towel you had offered him clutched to his chest and seemingly hadn’t dried much more than his face with it. Cautiously, he eyed the mug of steaming liquid.

“Do you not like hot chocolate?” you asked, suddenly aware that it’s possible for people to have different tastes. Or worse, because of his illness he couldn’t drink it at all? “Oh, I’m sorry! Can you even drink hot chocolate? I should have asked before. If there’s something else—”

“No! I—” you blinked, surprised. It was the first time he had spoken so suddenly or with so much conviction. He seemed shocked by his own voice, and immediately receded into himself, almost as if berating himself for his outburst. He chewed on his lower lip, “…I’ve never had it… hot chocolate…” you blinked again.

“Really?” He nodded, and his hand slid forward, reaching for the mug. When you saw his fingers wrap around it, you realized how large his hands were— yet another ridiculously beautiful feature as you couldn’t help but think about how elegant the lines of hands were curved around the dwarfed mug. If he noticed you staring, nothing in his demeanor showed any discomfort at the attention, but you were quick to correct yourself when you became aware of it yourself. “Are you sure you can have it…?” you didn’t want to accidentally poison your neighbor if he was allergic to chocolate. A shake of his head did little to reassure you.

“I’ll drink it,” he said with confidence. He raised the mug, his other hand joining the action as the ceramic was completely eclipsed. It took you a moment to realize that he may not be are of the heat.

“Oh, wait, that’s hot—!” you were too late, and you watched him take a rather large sip from the cup. You blanched, expecting him to burn himself, but he only lowered the mug back to the counter, both hands still firmly encasing it, seemingly unaffected. Huh. Well then, wasn’t that odd?

After a moment of deliberation, excitement burst through the air and Taehyung’s eyes lit up. He quickly took another sip of the drink and from the rush of emotions you knew he was absolutely thrilledby the taste of hot chocolate. You stifled a good-natured laugh, not wanting him to think you were making fun of him, and settled for an endeared smile as you leaned forward to rest against the island counter. Why were you so scared of this boy again?

“I’m going to guess that you like it?” you couldn’t help but tease him a little, and, thankfully, he didn’t seem to take offense; he was far too enraptured by the sweet beverage before him. He nodded happily.

“Thank you,” he said, cheer popping in the air around him, making you want to squeal at his child-like wonder at something so simple. Still, you had to wonder— how is it that he never had hot chocolate before? And if he hadn’t had something so elementary, what else had he not been privy to and why? You suppose you could chalk it up to him being ill often, and if such is the case, he must have been sick for much of his life. You wondered who had been in charge of his health all these years and why they refused him such small pleasures such as hot chocolate, making you again second-guess giving him the cocoa treat. But the pure bliss he exhibited bade you believe that just one cup wouldn’t hurt and that it was surly worth it.

He had been so wrought with nerved when he appeared at your back door that any positive change in his emotions was a welcome one. Perhaps he would leave having a better day than when he came. You could only hope.

“I’m glad you like it,” you said simply before moving on, trying to keep whatever stilted conversation you had going. “I’m surprised you came here if you were having a bad day… did you and Seokjin fight?”

At the mention of his roommate’s name, he stiffened, some of his anxiety returning. You must have hit the nail on the head, because as his fingers fidgeted around the mug he looked off to the side towards the floor. You felt bad immediately, not wanting to sour his mood again.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t pry,” you straightened a bit at your mistake, readying to correct yourself if given the opportunity. “If you want to talk about it, um…” What could you offer him, honestly? Why would he divulge the details of his roommate quarrel with you? He barely knew you. Still, he did come to you— as a source of comfort, as a distraction, or as escape, you’ll never know. You did know that you may be his only choice out here in the remote wilderness and so, to an extent, you felt a certain obligation to offer him support. After all, should something happen to you, he and Seokjin were the only ones in miles that could aid you, and you could only hope that they would do so without hesitation.

However, he shook his head, signaling that he didn’t wish to divulge the issue. More mystery then, it seems. You nodded and gave no further attempts to interrogate despite the burning questions that nagged at you, knowing full well about the need to keeps certain things to yourself.

“I…” he began, suddenly standing. Startled, you too took a step back from the counter as well. “I should go…” he placed your towel on the island next to the half-empty mug after a long moment, seemingly disappointed to part with it. Taehyung hesitated, but eventually took a large step away from where he had been seated and began to make his way to the back door.

His sudden, hurried departure had you reeling. You had wanted a brief, eventless encounter, so letting him leave now would probably be for the best. Yet, despite all your concerns, you were still opening your mouth.

“W-wait!” you called after him, stepping out from behind your countertop. He immediately halted in his tracks, shifting slightly so he could see you out of his peripherals. His uncertainty thrummed in the air like drums, making your otherwise silent home ridiculously loud. “The… the rain…” For the first time in the last ten minutes, you peered outside your window, expecting to see the previous torrential downpour. However, to your surprise, it had calmed to a drizzle at some point during your neighbor’s momentary visit. When had that happened?

Sensing that you didn’t have anything else to say to him, Taehyung continued his journey to your glass doors slowly. You watched him with a rock settling into your stomach— this didn’t feel right to you, and as he opened the door, you called out to him again.

“Taehyung,” this time, at the sound of his name leaving your mouth, his head spun around completely, eyes wide and panic vibrating from him. No, not panic; something akin to panic, but not quite so negative. Something warmer… ugh, trying to decipher his emotions was like learning a new language. So, instead of feeding into your present headache, you continued, immediately embarrassed by what you say. “Come back again sometime… we can have lunch.” You felt the heat in your face from your blush and then, unexpectedly, it was as if the very space around you was placed under a heat lamp and Taehyung’s not-panic set your nerves on fire. What the hell was going on?

You didn’t have time to dwell, because as soon as the shocked, anxious boy recovered, he nodded quickly and slipped out the door, taking his blips of emotions and quickly disappearing into the tree line separating your properties.

With his departure, you could finally breathe, and you found that a tightness that you hadn’t been aware of begun to unravel in your chest. Your migraine, which you were hoping would leave with your neighbor, proceeded to hammer away in your skull. As much as you wanted to dissect your more than odd exchange with the onyx-eyed boy, you couldn’t imagine thinking about much of anything in your present condition.

“Bath…” you groaned, massaging your temples and groggily treaded your way upstairs to soak away the pain in scalding, fragrant water.

Tags:

@sana-b​ @beach-bitch-bitch-beach​ @babbitybabo​ @softmxchi​ @halijahfan @chimchimsauce​ @coolavidreader​ @beesthoughtsblog​ @breadcaaat​ @lucian-kinnder​ @wolfgirl-m​  @sogrossstuff  @kpop-nolife​ @unoriginal-username15432​ @cvbachacbitch​ @rhayad​ @lladyow​ @jiminot7​ @parkminhee​ @ditttiii​ @sathom013​ @megazdl​ @sugabased

[wonglix]

➺ 𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮

⤷ y/n x chan; blind date!au

⤷ felix is tired of your failed attempts at dating and decides to take matters in his own hands. he knows what’s best for you, he’s your best friend after all. so he decides to introduce you to his long-term friend chan via setting up a blind date

⤷ fluff

⤷ 1.7k words

"listen y/n, i promise you that you two will get along. i just know it, i kn-"felix' rant got cut off when you decided to stuff a few of your fries in his mouth. he lets out a small grumble while he chews and sends a little glare your way.

"lix, i appreciate the sentiment, but the last time you tried to set me up with one of your friends i ended up waiting for three hours. thank you, but no thank you." felix groans at the mention of the last time he tried to play cupid and throws his hands up exasperated, "listen, i'm sorry okay? i didn't know changbin would stand you up and you better believe that he got an earful afterwards. but i promise that chan will show up! i'll even go as far as to promise that you two will hit it off immediately, i just know it!" his voice got louder, and you delivered a small slap to the back of his head to snap him out of his worked up state.

rubbing his head, he sinks further into his seat, letting out a small sigh, "y/n, please. trust me just this one more time. if you two don't get along, i'll officially retire from finding you someone." eyeing him a bit you nod softly, holding out your pinky, "promise that you'll give it a rest if this doesn't work out?" he nods enthusiastically, excitement reflecting in his eyes, "promise. you won't regret it, y/n."

so here you were; waiting in front of the small café felix picked out for your blind date. you don't know what or who to expect; felix refusing to show you a picture of your date because he wanted you to have a falling-in-love-at-first-sight moment. your date was scheduled for 20 minutes ago, and you started to get antsy again. are all of felix' friends jerks that don't show up?

you were about to text felix to let him now that his attempt at setting you up had failed yet again when you saw someone running towards you from the corner of your eye. turning your head to look at him, you realised that he was already looking at you, slowing down a bit the closer he got to you. he stopped right in front of you, bending down and resting his hands in his knees to catch his breath.

"i'm sorry.....hah- give me, give me a second," he choked out, trying to catch his breath. you just stood there and observed him a bit, and you had to give it to felix, this guy was extremely handsome. you got a good look at him once he stood up straight again, an apologetic look on his face.

"i'm really sorry i'm late, i promised felix that i'd be on time, but i forgot my phone, so i had to go back and get it and-"he cuts his rambling off with a sigh and smiles at you, "sorry. i'm chan. it's nice to meet you."

looking up at him, you couldn't help but crack a smile, shaking his hand. "y/n. nice to meet you, chan." he seemed to visibly relax at the sight of the warm smile on your face. "shall we go in?" you gestured towards the door and chan sprung to action immediately, rushing to open it for you. you couldn't help the small giggle that you let out, the cheery smile on his face too cute to keep a straight face.

chan lets you pick out where to sit, waiting until you've sat down to speak up, "what would you like to have? i'll just go order for the both of us." you turn to look at the menu on the wall, thinking about it for a bit. "i'm not really sure yet, what are you going to get?" turning to look back at him you're met by a cute, thoughtful pout on chan's lips while he was still reading the menu. he hummed, "i was thinking about just getting a coffee, i'm not too sure about any of the cakes though. felix mentioned that you come here from time to time, so is there something you'd recommend?"

"well, the pies here are amazing. they only sell whole pies though, and they're quite big. felix and i usually share one, but i'm sure you could finish a whole one or take the leftovers home." chan seemed to think for a bit, a smirk suddenly spreading on his face. "or, we could share one," chan suggested, looking at you with raised eyebrows. you look up at him and nod, smiling a bit, "sounds good. i'll have a hot chocolate and that shared pie, then."

while chan went to the counter to place your guys' orders, you pulled out your phone only to be greeted by multiple messages from felix, ranging from a simple "how's it going?" to an over-confident "i knew you'd hit it off". sighing, you decide to ignore his messages, choosing to let the date go on for a bit longer before making any sort of judgment.

chan comes back to the table with both of your warm drinks and a pie. he sets the tray on the table and sits down across from you, placing the hot chocolate down in front of you. "there you go," he said warmly, the small smile on his face sweet. "how much was it? i'll pay you back, jus-" you cut yourself off when chan raised a warning finger at you, shaking his head.

"i made you wait for, like, half an hour, so the least i can do is pay for you. take it as an apology, if you will." you just looked at chan for a bit, a small smile creeping its way onto your face. "alright then, apology accepted."

as much as you'd like to tell felix that you've told him that setting you up with his friends won't work out and that he just isn't cupid, the longer you spent with chan sitting in the cosy cafe, the more you wanted to thank felix for introducing you two. you're surprised at how easy to talk to chan is and how quick you became comfortable around him. there was no uncomfortable silence between you two and no awkward questions or moments - it's like you're reconciling with an old friend rather than being set up with a complete stranger.

you were surprised to see that multiple hours had already passed when you took a glance at the clock at the wall, the conversation you had with chan making time fly by more than you anticipated. chan seemed to sense the surprise in your eyes and turned to look at the clock as well, a small chuckle leaving his lips when he turned back to face you.

"i'm sorry, time really flew by, huh?" you nodded with a warm smile on your face, the sudden realisation that you might've already taken a liking to chan making your ears burn up. "do you, uhm, want to stay a little longer or should we end it here? for today, i mean." you didn't miss the hopeful tone at the end of chan's sentence, a warm smile playing on your lips.

"we've been here for quite some time, so how about we just take a little walk? there's a park nearby, if you want," you decided that you didn't want to go home yet, enjoying chan's company a little too much to end the date now.

chan agreed and not long after the two of you were strolling through the park side by side, giggles and excited chattering filling the air between you two. you only noticed how close you were walking when you accidentally bumped into chan's arm, the warm smile he gave you when you muttered a small "sorry" making you feel warm inside.

you weren't really paying much attention to where you were going, eyes alternating between gazing at chan and staring at the ground in front of you to keep yourself from blushing. the surprised yelp you let out when chan tightly grabbed your hand to pull you into him would've been embarrassing if you weren't so startled by the guy that sped by on his bicycle, chan muttering some indecencies under his breath.

it might sound cliche and like something from a movie, but it felt like time stopped for the two of you. you stood there, chan's arm wrapped securely around you while you were pressed against his chest, staring up at him with big eyes. the warm, yellow beam of the street illuminated chan in a way that made you question your rationality; there's no way you're falling for someone you just met. no way.

both of you snapped out of it when chan cleared his throat, loosening the grip he had on you a bit without actually letting you go just yet. was his mind as mushy as yours right now?

"are you alright?" his voice was quiet and soft, and it made you grow shy under his gaze, a small "yeah, thank you." being the only thing you could muster right at that moment. it's confusing, connecting with someone this quickly and having your heart and mind play into the fantasy that maybe, felix was right. stories of love at first sight always seemed a little too good to be true, and it might be a bit too much to call it love at first sight, but you know that there's definitely something there.

you resumed your walk, a surprisingly comfortable silence spreading between you. chan was still holding your hand in his, and you couldn't help the giddy smile on your face. "it's getting late y/n, should i walk you home?" the nervous tone in his voice made you smile softly, "i'd like that, thank you." the happy smile that took over his features made. warmth bloom in your chest again, turning your head to face the floor again to hide your shy smile and pink cheeks.

maybe felix was right, maybe you and chan were a perfect match. you didn't know yet and only time could tell, though there are two things you knew: first, you really enjoyed chan's company. and second, felix might actually be a bit like cupid, just like he always claims.

[eelistolvanen]

Bruises that you left behind - Travis Konecny Pt.2

A/N: Well, I finally got around to write part 2. Thank you to everyone that reblogged, commented or like part 1. I hope you like this part and let me know if you want more :) The story definitely isn’t over yet ;)

Words: 4.3k

Warnings: Angst, some swearwords, no proofread (if i missed any let me know)

If you haven’t read Part 1 I strongly advise you to do so, otherwise this isn’t gonna make sense :) 

Italics indicate flashbacks

______________________________________________________

Once you finally calmed down, Nolan got up and made you a cup of hot chocolate. He knew it was your feel-good drink. He’d made you some before when you had bad days.

“Didn’t think you remembered. It’s been a while.” You nose was still running and you were sniffling quietly but the sobbing had stopped.

“You’re my best friend, of course I would remember.” He handed you the cup before sitting down next to you.

“But he’s your best friend too. And I didn’t want you to have to choose between us. After what happened I mean. So I let you go.” You knew it sounded bitter but you couldn’t help it, you needed to tell him.

“He’s not though. Not anymore.” His expression turned sad. “I will never be able to forgive him for what he’s done to you. Done to me. He’s the reason I lost my best friend. Both my best friends actually.”

“But you see him every day. You play together-“ The words died on your lips, you didn’t really know where you were going with this.

“He’s my teammate, yes. But I don’t consider him a friend anymore. And I don’t think many on the team do either. He’s changed, you know. He’s completely shut himself out. He doesn’t hang out with the team anymore. And to be honest I haven’t talked to him outside anything hockey related in months.”

Your heart felt heavy in your chest hearing about Travis.

“I don’t really care, Nolan.”

“No, I know. I just.. I guess what I’m trying to say is… I’m on your side. An for all it’s worth the team is too, y,know. And we all miss you, it’s just not the same without you.” He gave you a sad smile. You knew it was supposed to be comforting but it wasn’t working. Your eyes started to water again.

“Hey, hey, don’t feel guilty, okay? Everyone understood why you left. It’s just that you were a part of everyone’s life here too. And no one really understood why he did what he did. Ha, you should have seen G the day TK stepped foot into the locker room the first day back at camp. We thought he was going to rip him into shreds.”

You let out a shaky chuckle. “I miss the team too you know. They were like family to me. Believe me nothing was harder than leave my friends here behind.”

Silence fell between the two of you. You wanted to bring up that you had kept in contact with Ryanne and Maddie. Even if only sporadically. But you knew that Nolan would feel betrayed at that, with good reason.

You could feel Nolan fiddling with his hands, anxious to bring something up that was lying on the tip of his tongue.

“Just spit it out, Nolan.” You tried to brace yourself for what was about to come but you nothing could really prepare you for this conversation.

“Why did he.. I mean what was the reason, you know. He never told me the real reason…”

You felt your heart stop at his words, you had to take a couple of deep breaths before answering.

“I don’t know, Nolan. He just left me. No reason.”

“But I thought he left you a letter or a note or something?” His words were cautious, unsure if he was even allowed to ask.

“I… I never opened the letter, Nolan. I didn’t want to hear it back then.”

“So where is it now? I mean… maybe you need that closure.” His eyes were soft, searching for yours.

“I burned it. Right after the wedding. I didn’t care about his excuses. He left anyway, all it would do was inflict more pain. So I just burned the letter.”  

“Oh..” He fell silent, obviously not expecting this answer from you. The letter wouldn’t have changed anything. But now you couldn’t shake the thought out of your head.

“Why wasn’t I good enough, Nolan? What did I do wrong?” Suddenly everything felt too much. Tear running down your face again, the sobs were returning and you were having a hard time keeping your breathing steady.

“Why, Nolan? Why did he leave me? Why wasn’t I good enough for him?”

Nolan pulled you into his chest. No matter what he would say, this was going to hurt.

“I don’t know why he did what he did. I was as surprised as everyone else when he told me. I tried to change his mind, I swear. But he just didn’t listen.”

“What happened that day Nolan? Before you came to me?”

He pulled back to look you in the eye, agony evident on his face.

“I can’t do it, Pat.” Nolan turned around, Travis was wearing a pained expression on his face, shoulders slumped down, he looked absolutely defeated.

“What do you mean, Teeks? It’s gonna be fine, everyone gets nervous.” Nolan took a few steps towards Travis and put his hand on his shoulder, giving it a slight squeeze. Travis moved away from his touch and turned his head away from Nolan.

“I can’t marry her! I just I can’t do it, Pat. I’m too young, I’m not ready!”

Nolan looked at him like he had grown to heads. Anger started to rise up in him.

“Yes you can. Now is not the time to get cold feet. You’re just nervous Teeks.” His tone was starting to get louder and more frantic.

“I… I can’t. You have to go and tell her. The wedding’s o-.” Before Travis could fully finish the sentence Nolan had grabbed him by the collar of his dress shirt and pressed him against the wall. His jaw was locked shut and his eyes were furiously glaring at him. Nolan took a deep, slow breath before speaking through gritted teeth.

“No! You’re NOT gonna do this to her! Get your act together Travis. You’re going to walk down that aisle and –“ “I CAN’T DO IT, OK?” Travis’ sudden outburst of anger left Nolan frozen. Slowly his grip on Travis loosened. The anger and fury on his face disappeared and was replaced by something else. An emotion Travis rarely had ever seen on Nolan’s face. Complete and utter disappointment. He let go of the fabric in his hands.

“Why?! At least give me a reason why.” His eyes bore into Travis’ soul. He had to face away.

“I can’t do it. It’s not the right thing to do. I’m too young, we’re too young. It was just a stupid hasty decision, this wouldn’t work. Nolan, you know-“

Nolan dismissed him with a quick hand gesture. He shook his head.

“Save yourself the cheap excuses. I know you better than that, you can’t lie to me…”

“It’s not a lie, Nol-“  “Yes, it is and you know it! You realise that this is going to ruin everything, right? God, the real reason better be something good…”

Nolan slowly turned around and started walking out the door. But before he fully shut it close he turned to Travis one last time.

“I’m never going to forgive you for doing this. And you’ll spent the rest of your life regretting this decision, I’ll tell you that!” An with that he was out of the door, slowly making the hardest walk he’ll ever have to do. To tell you that your fiancé has left you on your wedding day.    

 Once Nolan finished you stayed silent. How were you supposed to respond to this? Travis’ reasoning didn’t make any sense to you. After a while Nolan spoke up again.

“I know there has to be an other reason. I just know… I just don’t know what it is.”

You sighed deeply, defeated. “It doesn’t matter Nolan. It wouldn’t change anything.”

“Maybe it would. You don’t know.” His voice was barely above a whisper, unsure if you wanted to hear this. You didn’t answer and he knew you well enough that it was time to drop the subject.

 --------

Hanging out with Nolan more also meant hanging out with his girlfriend. Not that you minded. You liked her. She was nice, had a good sense of humour and didn’t seemed to mind that you and Nolan were so close. And you had to give her credit for that.

She lived close to you and since she and Hannah were neighbours you started to hang out with her more and more. Even if Nolan wasn’t around. Sometimes with Hannah as well, recently also without her. Only the two of you. You weren’t exactly sure how much she knew about your past but she knew enough about it to not bring it up.

Tonight was no different. Work was finished for today, Hannah was in her evening yoga class and Nolan was on a roadtrip.  Not long after dropping your things at your apartment you made your way to Kelsey’s apartment.  

By the time you arrived Kelsey had already started to prepare for dinner. After joining her in the kitchen you started to figure out just how much food she was preparing.

“That’s a lot of food Kels. Are you trying to feed an army, or what?” You jokingly asked, only was your smile swept of your face once you looked at Kelsey. The guilty expression on her face left you frozen.

“Please don’t be mad!” She quickly replied and before you could even question what she meant she had already dropped the surprise on you.

“I invited the girls. It’s the first away game of the season so some of the girls decided to hang out. And I know were really good friends with them, so…”

You stayed silent. You should have know that you couldn’t avoid them forever, especially after starting to hang out with Nolan again. She meant well, you knew that, but you were also incredibly nervous meeting them again. Kelsey took your silence as a bad sign.

“I’m sorry, Y/N. I didn’t mean to-“

“No, don’t worry. It’s fine. I’m just surprised that is all. And I don’t really know what to expect, so..”

She gave you a soft smile. “They’re happy to see you, if that eases your nerves.”

 And they really were. The girls engulfed you in hugs, telling you over and over again how happy they were to see you. You weren’t really sure if you deserved their kindness, after all were you the one that left. But they didn’t seem to hold you responsible for it and seemed understanding enough. You were also more than thankful that they didn’t really bring any of it up. And as you were sitting on the couch next to Maddie later that evening, you couldn’t help but feel like a missing part of you had returned. After all they used to be like a second family to you.

 -------

A couple of nights later you found yourself sitting between Ryanne and Maddie at Wells Fargo Centre. You initially pitched against going to a game with the girls but after seemingly endless messages from the girls, especially Maddie, Ryanne and Alma, you finally gave in. In return they promised to make sure you wouldn’t have to see him and if you would feel uncomfortable they would bring you home.

But you were actually enjoying the game. You used to love going to games and you realised now that even seeing him from afar couldn’t stop you from having fun with the girls. This was enough distance to tell yourself that he was just some hockey player, that just so happened to play for the home team. And there was enough distraction around to forget that he even really existed. Between catching up with the girls and entertaining Gavin, you barely had enough time to even pay attention to the game.

You were just about to lower yourself back into your seat after the second intermission, as a high pitched scream caught your attention. A couple rows in front of you was a bleach blonde girl screaming Travis’ name as the team made their way back onto the benches. You immediately recognized the type of girl she was. You turned to Maddie.

“Almost forgot about those girls, god I certainly haven’t missed seeing them at games,-”

“Or at bars, or literally anywhere near the team? Yeah, they still exist.” Replied Maddie with a humorless laugh. “Not my kind of crowd, but some seem to like it.”

You internally debated whether to ask her what she meant by that, but ultimately choose against it. The 3rd was about to start anyway. The rest of the game passed in a hurry and before you knew it you were walking towards Kelsey’s car. She offered to drive since the two of you lived close by anyway. And Nolan was one of the slower guys out there, so he would just drive himself to Kelsey’s once he was finished.

“Out of all the placed I imagined I’d run into you, this certainly was the last on my list.” You froze. You thought you left quick enough to make sure not to run into any of the players. Apparently you were wrong. You debated if it was best to just ignore him but decided against it.

“Hey, Kev.” You turned to face him with a shy smile.

“Hi Tiny” he replied with a beaming smile. You wanted to be mad at him for using this nickname, but quickly folded and accepted his hug.

“I can’t believe you were able to avoid me for over 2 years.” Although he was joking you detected a sadness that was laced into his voice. You scoffed.

“I didn’t avoid you, Kev. I-“ You defended.

“No, don’t. You don’t have to apologize Y/N, I get it. We all get it. I know you didn’t actively avoid me. I just wish it hadn’t taken us over a year of you being back in Philly to finally cross paths again.”

He wasn’t even trying to hide sadness this time.

“I know. Me too.” You gave him an encouraging smile.

“Can you do me a favor? Unblock me? So we can finally catch up.” His voice was light and you knew then that he wasn’t mad at you for blocking him. Well, you blocked pretty much everyone.

“I have a new number now. But I’ll text you. Okay?” He laughed silently. “Perfect.” And just as you were turning back towards the car he quietly muttered.

“I knew you blocked me and it wasn’t a broken phone like Ryanne told me.”  You looked over your shoulder back at him, a glint in his eyes.

“I had to, Kev.” You replied more to yourself than him.

“I know.” And with that you made your way towards Kelsey who was already waiting in her car for you.

----------

You were crying of laughter, embarrassingly loud in the middle of your favourite café as Kevin told you one of his many ridiculous offseason stories.

“No, Y/N, I swear this is how it happened.” He deep voice filled with laughter, his hands animatedly held up in the air.  

Once you recovered from your fit you looked up at him again, only to start giggling again as soon as you looked at his facial expression.

“I swear, I’m not kidding.” His voice was sincere, which made the story even more ridiculous.

“I believe you Kev. Ahh, it’s just so crazy.” You wiped the tears from your eyes as you continued “You always know how to make me laugh.”

He nodded and his smile turned wicked. “Are you going to admit now that you missed me? I can handle that you avoided me. But saying that you didn’t miss me hurt. It wounded me.”

You dramatically rolled your eyes at him. “Yeah yeah, I’m sure you nearly died from the pain.”

“I did! Like a dagger into my heart, Y/N.” But he wasn’t able to keep a straight face for long. You expression turned serious again.

“I did miss you Kev. So much. I misses all of you. You, Nolan, the girls, the team. You used to be my second family. I hate that I gave it all up because of him. I just thought everyone would be on his side, after all I only met all of you because of him. I know now that this wasn’t the case. That you’re on his side I mean.”

Kevin stayed silent for a bit, contemplating what he was about to say.

“We might have only met you through him, but that doesn’t mean we didn’t love you just as much. Or even more. You were probably the reason we loved him so much. You have always been the best part of him.” You felt something tug at your heart. It always felt so heavy talking about him, as if talking about some dead person. In a way that was what it felt like. Him leaving felt as final as a loved one dying. There was a part of you that you lost that day, a part that you wouldn’t get back.    

“Do you think if I’d done things differently that..-“ A lump started to form in your throat again. You didn’t want to go down this road, still somehow it always dragged you back into it as soon as he came up.

“Don’t Y/N. Don’t do this to yourself. It was him, not you. There was nothing you could have done.”

You bravely nodded. You were fighting the tears that were threatening to spill.

“Don’t blame yourself, ok? You have to move forward. What’s in the past is in the past. No one can change it now.” He took your hands into his and gave you an encouraging smile.

“Remember what you always told me? Whenever you used to do something that surprised me? That you’re a-“

“A total badass. I’m a total badass and can do anything.” You replied with a smile on your face. “Ah, I almost forgot about that.” You chuckled.

“Don’t forget it! You are too strong to let yourself break over some dumb hockey player.”

The two of you dropped the Travis subject and moved onto better things. You told him about work, your new friends, about home and he told you about Boston, his parents and everything else that he felt was somehow of importance. After a while you felt Kevin starting to get quiet and thoughtful. An indicator that something was on his mind.

“Can I ask you something?” He seemed slightly on edge asking you this. You laughed.

“I was wondering how long it would take you to speak up. What’s on your mind Kev?”

He looked at you for a second, taxing your expression.

“The team Halloween party is next week. And everyone has someone who does a costume with them, so…”

“No, Kev! I’m not coming to the Flyers Halloween party. Absolutely not.” You crossed your arms over your chest. You already let enough people back into your life. Turning up at a teams party was a whole new level. One that you didn’t intend to take.

“Please, Y/N! I can’t go alone. We go as friends, with some amazing costumes. You love Halloween, you can’t say no.” You rolled your eyes as Kevin started pouting at you. Him pouting like a puppy was the last thing you needed, you were basically screwed.

“I’m not part of the team, Kev. And it’s a team’s party.” You tried but deep down you new that Kevin had the better arguments. He was right, you loved Halloween.

“You used to be. And you still are. Everyone wants you to come. I need you to come. I will even let you choose the costumes. And I will be whatever or whoever you want. Please, Y/N.”

He basically had you trapped now. You couldn’t say no to that offer. Unless…

“He’s part of the team. He’s gonna be there and the last thing I want is having to see him.” This was your last resort. Really, it was the only good reason. Kevin let out a sigh of relief.

“He won’t be there, Y/N. I promise. He hasn’t been at a teams party in years. We don’t even bother to invite him anymore. He won’t be there, I promise.”

Game over, Kevin had won. You gave in. Nolan had already mentioned that Travis wasn’t part of any team’s event anymore unless it was officially required.

“Fine. But I get to choose our costumes.” You barely finished the sentence before Kevin swept you up into his arms.

“Whatever you want, princess.”  

--------

This was how you ended up at Claude and Ryanne’s house on Halloween. Kevin surprisingly kept his promise. Dressing up in the most ridiculous outfit. You wore matching 80s aerobics outfits. Only was Kev’s leotard probably two sizes to small and in combination with the pink leggings, the neon green legwarmers, the white sneakers and the yellow sweatbands the wildest thing you’d seen in your life. Your colour scheme was slightly less flamboyant. Still you felt like you’d just escaped out of a 80s sports magazine.

You weren’t the only one who was absolutely baffled by Kevin’s willingness to rock such an outfit. The entire team was hollering and whistling when you arrived and there wasn’t a single person who didn’t ask the two of you to pose in a photo with them during the evening. You couldn’t remember the last time you had so much fun. It must have been years. But from the moment you stepped into the house the team treated you as if you never left. They joked with you, danced with you, drank with you, just like old times. And you were beyond glad that not a single soul was bringing up anything Travis related.

Eventually the evening was drawing towards its close. Midnight not too far away, when Ivan got up to open the door to someone ringing. You weren’t even paying enough attention to realise until Kevin was whispering about somebody probably mistaking the house for an other. You expected Ivan to return quickly but it seemed to drag on and once he finally returned he wasn’t alone.

He looked at you before anyone else and mouthing a quick “I’m sorry” to you before revealing who had knocked on the door.

The moment you saw him you felt sick to your stomach, Kev quickly threw an arm around your shoulder and out of the corner of your eye you could see Claude standing up. Nolan followed shortly after.

“We were about to call it a night, TK. You should go home. And you should really ask first before showing up at a party. Especially if you bring a fan.”

It was only then that you realised that he wasn’t alone. A barely dressed, tall blonde was standing behind him. A felt a stab in your heart. He’d brought someone.

“She’s not a fan, she’s my girl.” His words were slurred, the alcohol he consumed evident in his voice.

You felt like you were about to throw up, so you quickly rose to your feet. Kevin was only seconds behind, already addressing the room. As you started to move towards the door you couldn’t shake the feeling that you’d seen the girl before.

“Alright guys, we’re about to head out. It’s getting late.” He took your hand into his, moving across the room. The rest of the team started to move too. The tension in the room was unmistakable. You gripped Kevin’s hand thighter. You nearly made it past Travis without him making a comment. Nearly.

“Well, Hayesy brought a fan. No way that’s his girl. So why can’t I bring my-?”

Nolan cut him off before he could finish, his voice colder than ice.

“Shut up Teeks, you weren’t even invited.”

Your head had started spinning the moment the word fan left Travis’ lips. You knew you looked a bit different in your Halloween costume but this? Did he seriously not recognize you?  

Kevin was gently tugging at your hand, trying to maneuver you out of the house and out of this sticky situation. You knew that he was doing the right thing and was trying to protect you. But instead of allowing him to lead you out of the door, you ripped your hand from his grip. Anger had started to bubble up inside and as soon as you looked at Travis again it boiled over. To say you were angry was an understatement, you were absolutely vicious.

“ You piece of shit! You’re a fucking coward Travis.” You voice was laced with venom, nearly sitting these words into his face. Kevin put his arms around you again, this time without letting you go and pulling you towards the door.

“I can’t believe you switched me out for some puckbunny. You-“ But Kevin had already dragged you out of the door before you could finish your sentence. And before you knew it Kevin had led you to his car.

“Y/N, I swear he wasn’t supposed to show up.“ You knew he meant it, his voice laced with sincerity.

“Who is she? The girl. I know her from somewhere. Who is she?” Kevin looked at you for a moment. When he didn’t reply, your voice rose. “Kev!”  

“I don’t know, okay? Just… just some girl.” But his hesitation made you cautious. “But you’ve seen her before?”

It wasn’t really a question, more of a statement. He looked away when he replied.

“Only a few times.”

But his innuendo was strong enough to know exactly what he meant with that.

And then it dawned on you. She was the girl you saw at the game a few nights back. She was his new girl.

Part 3

[obeyme-kaidii-writes]

Emotional

(Lyric free vers.)

Mammon x gn!MC

Words - 1800ish

Content warnings - light angst, lots of cuddles and comfort

Prompt/inspiration - anon request, based on “Emotional” by Diana DeGarmo

Summary - After a terrible day at RAD, you hide out in your room while Mammon tries to figure out what’s wrong.

AO3

NOTE - My husband reads all my stories, and as soon as he finished this one he immediately told me the pacing was bad because of the lyrics. Which, man, harsh 😭. But that’s what he’s there for - to give me feedback even if I might not want to hear it. So here’s a second copy of the same story, just with the lyrics removed. ☺️ You can find the original version here.

Today had been a long day. You couldn’t quite put your finger on it, but for whatever reason, anytime someone so much as looked at you funny, you felt like crying. The voices in your head whispering to you that they were watching you, judging you.

Mammon had tried on several occasions to pull you aside, but you successfully managed to slip away each time. Normally you were so grateful for his company, but today you just knew that if he asked you if you were okay you were going to lose it.

And you absolutely did not want to lose it in the middle of RAD.

You flopped onto your bed, now in the safety of your room, curling up on yourself and pulling your comforter around you. Finally you were able to let out all the stress that had been holding onto. And just as you started to cry, a loud KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK on your door shocked you back to your senses.

“Hey, open up! You’ve been avoidin’ me all day.”

It was Mammon.

Not even taking a moment to think about what you actually wanted, you snapped at him.

“GO AWAY.”

As soon as the words left your mouth, you regretted them. Your tone was sharper than you had intended, but not only that, you didn’t really want him to leave. Part of you wanted him to wrap you up in one of his hugs and just hold you while you fell to pieces in his arms. However, you learned a long time ago that only babies cried. If you were strong, you wouldn’t cry so much. That crying was a burden on and an annoyance to everyone around you.

The silence that followed made your heart break. You couldn’t tell if you were more sad at the idea that you had hurt Mammon’s feelings or more hurt that he seemed to have just left you without even trying to figure out what’s wrong. If he cared, surely he would have been more persistent, right? And you knew that was a ridiculous thing to think, manipulative even, but you couldn’t help those feelings that coiled around your heart.

Resolving to spending the evening alone, you laid back down, curling up as small as possible once again. As your thoughts wandered, and your tears fell, you slowly started to drift off to sleep. You didn’t notice when your bedroom door opened. You didn’t notice the smell of hot chocolate wafting into your room. And you didn’t notice the dip in your mattress as someone climbed in beside you.

In fact, it wasn’t until you felt an arm slip around your waist and a kiss on the exposed skin of your neck that you finally started to become aware of what was going on around you.

“Hey,” Mammon whispered as he settled down in your bed, spooning you from behind.

Your breath hitched, and you felt your body stiffen involuntarily. Why was he here? Had he seen your face? Did he know you had been crying? Tears silently slipped down your face again as you started to panic internally. What was he going to say when he realized?

“I ain’t goin’ anywhere until ya tell me what’s wrong.”

“I...umm…” you wanted to answer him. Make an excuse. Offer some sort of rational explanation for why you were hiding in your room and had been avoiding him all day. Something told you just saying “there’s something in my eye” wasn’t going to fool him.

“Tch, always gotta be so difficult,” Mammon said. You felt his arms release you as he sat up and moved to the edge of the bed. If you thought you had been anxious before when he was laying beside you, it was nothing compared to the feeling of him leaving, with the words “difficult” echoing in your ears.

“Here. Sit up.”

But before your thoughts got to turn too dark, Mammon was sitting beside you again. Poking you with his elbow as he nudged you in the back. So surprised were you to find that he was still there and hadn’t left, you turned around immediately to look at him.

Despite his dark skin tone, you could tell he was blushing, and even if you couldn’t, his refusal to look at you would have been more than enough to confirm that he was feeling embarrassed. Your gaze slowly traveled downward until it landed on the tray he was holding in his outstretched hands.

“What’s this?” you asked, puzzled at why Mammon was offering you a mug of hot chocolate, and what appeared to be...cookies…? Only they were slightly burnt, and you weren’t sure you recognized the ingredients he had added in lieu of chocolate chips.

“What’s it look like? I had some extra and thought you might want some. But if ya don’t appreciate it…”

Not wanting to discourage Mammon, you quickly sat up, wiping whatever tears remained on your face away, and took the tray from him.

“...thanks.”

He glanced at you out of the corner of his eye as you studied his gift, smirking at your response.

Once you were situated with your back against your headboard, you placed the tray in your lap and Mammon sat down beside you. He grabbed his mug of hot chocolate, taking a sip as he waited for your reaction. He was pretty impressed with the results of his baking skills, and was certain the treats would put a smile on your face.

You reached for one of the cookies, a soft smile playing on your lips as you took a bite.

“So? How was it? Good right?”

When you didn’t answer, Mammon gave you another nudge with his arm.

“Right?”

Without a word, you returned the cookie to your plate, picking up the cup of hot chocolate instead, taking a deep gulp in an attempt to cleanse your palate.

“Mammon...honey...that was awful…” you looked at him over the rim of your mug, taking another deep swallow. At least the hot chocolate was delicious.

“Whattya talkin’ about?! They’re perfect!” Mammon replied, quick to shove what remained of your first cookie into his mouth. You continued to watch him while sipping on your beverage, slowly now that the initial foul aftertaste seemed to have been gone.

You tried your best to hide the smile that was threatening to spread over your whole face as Mammon froze mid bite, glancing at the plate of cookies, then at you, then back to the cookies, before finally chugging down what remained of his own mug of hot chocolate, desperate to rid his mouth of every last crumb.

When his mug emptied, you offered him your own, laughing at his reaction.

“Shaddup,” he snapped, eagerly taking the cup from you and polishing off its contents. But he wasn’t mad. Not at all. He was relieved and overjoyed to see you smiling again, interacting with him and no longer pushing him away.

When he finished what remained of your drink, he took the tray from you, sitting it on the floor beside your bed, before turning back to you and wrapping you up in a tight hug. Now much more relaxed than you had been, you wrapped your arms around his waist, returning the gesture and burying your face in his chest.

“I’m sorry I yelled at you.”

“It's fine. Don’t worry about it,” he reassured you, “Are ya gonna tell me what happened now?”

You nodded against him, tightening your arms around him as you clung to him.

“I just...I don’t know...had a bad day, I guess. Everything made me just want to cry. And I know it’s ridiculous. I’m an adult. I should…”

“What’s wrong with that?”

“Huh?”

“With cryin’. What’s wrong with that? Ain’t ya the one that told me it was ok to let it all out?” Mammon had leaned back now, resting against your headboard, pulling you up against himself as he began to rub your back, pressing an occasional kiss to your forehead.

“I...uh...well, I just...I’ve always been told I cry too much. I’m too emotional. Like little things that wouldn’t bother anyone, upset me. And I didn’t want to annoy you...so I…”

“Dummy. I dunno know why you’d think I’d feel that way. You never act like that with me.”

Mammon gave you a reassuring squeeze, and yet another kiss to the top of your head. All you could do in response was hold him tighter, pulling your legs up so that you were practically sitting in his lap by now.

You weren’t sure why it hadn’t occurred to you before. You honestly never saw the connection. And if you stopped and thought about it, Mammon had easily cried more times in front of you since you had arrived in the Devildom than you had cried at all (in public or private) during your stay.

You always reassured him, and comforted him. You never laughed at him, or thought for one second that he was a burden for opening up to you. In fact, you never felt more loved than when he would let you see that sensitive, emotional, side to himself because you knew how much it meant that he trusted you.

Why did you ever think he wouldn’t treat you with the same love and care you had always shown him?

[justreadingfics]

It’s a Deal (Chapter 2)

Chapter Summary: You did make a deal.  

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader

Words: 5.5k

Warnings:+18 only, smut, sex deprived reader, boytoy!Bucky, mention to break ups, mention to bad sexual experiences, casual sex, opened relationship.

A/N: You guys and all the feedback you’re giving to this story are just my everything. Thank you for your patience, if you follow my stories for a while you all know I’m a slow writer and not even social distancing seems to be changing that. The link to my masterlist, where you can find the other chapters, is on my description. Feedback is highly appreciated. I was going to close the tag list for this series at 70, but you’ve been really amazing, so I’m extending it to 80 spots for now. All I ask of you is, if you’re tagged and liked what you read, please leave me a nice little comment.  Thank you, @lesqui​ 

 Saturday mornings have always been like any other morning to you. Waking up early, making some black coffee and fixing up something quick to eat . Then checking up on your schedule for the day, which more times than you dare to count consisted of working from home and that’s it. Nothing special.  

But this Saturday morning is nothing like the other ones, this morning has actually already passed since you wake up past noon, a lot later than you’re used to, take a long bath with all the pampering accessories you found in your bathroom - something you hadn’t done in a very long time- plaster your face with a moisturizing mask you’ve bought on a late night online shopping spree and has never used, wrap your body in a robe, your hair in a towel and go to the kitchen to make your usual black coffee but also a few chocolate pancakes as a treat to the atypical hunger making your stomach groan loudly.

ThisSaturday is nothing like the other ones because you have the memory, on your mind and your whole body, of three fantastic orgasms you were gifted with the night before. If it was up to you, Bucky Barnes and his sinful tongue would get all the awards in the world.

While you hum a soft tune and flip your pancakes, the night before replays like a movie on your mind, taking small giggles out of you and causing a warm rush to creep up your neck. The man sure knows his game, touching all the right places, playing with your body just perfectly, luring you into a very much needed and longed ecstasy.  On top of that, he was nothing but generous and seemed to get himself off by getting you off and, now that you’re thinking about it, a man acting that way in bed is something entirely new to you.

You have to send Natasha a present, maybe that expensive vodka she’s always drinking…

The memory of your friend quickly fades and the sinful picture of Bucky Barnes’s face between your legs pops back into your mind as you drop the pancakes on a plate and sit by the counter to devour them with your coffee. What a night you had. The whole no strings attached situation makes it even more… enjoyable, you dare say, much more than you thought it would be. There is no dwelling on whether you should text him to say hello, or call him, no need to hold back who you really are or what you really want in favor to make a good impression, nor to think about meeting friends, family, no fear of disappointments from both sides… it was just plain good old sex, which you’ve realized it’s all you need and are looking for.

You hum at the sweet taste of the pancake and take a sip from your coffee. There’s no worries in your mind, no regrets, nothing like that. Except for one thought: the fact you didn’t even get to see his cock. The bulge alone grinding against you was already impressive enough to make your mouth water… Everything was amazing, more than perfect, actually, and left you completely spent and utterly satisfied, more than you’ve been in a long time, if you’re going to be honest with yourself. But now you only get to imagine how it would be if you two had gotten to the whole package, the real deal…

Unless…

You had thought about that night as a one-time occurrence, something to take your edge off and move on, but...  He did propose a deal… And you did take said deal… to call him if you needed anything… You stare dreamily ahead as you take a fork filled with pancake to your mouth and flashes of the feeling of his bulge pressed against your back, grinding on your core take over your senses… it took your breath away then and just the memory is making a number on your lungs.

You sure have a need now.

Glimpsing your phone over the balcony, you reach for it, loving you don’t have to care whether it is too soon or not to do what you’re about to do…but a new message pops up on the screen as soon as you unlock it. Natasha letting you know she was sent away for a mission with Steve Rogers but should go back in a week and wanted to schedule dinner for you to tell her everything… You type her a quick answer, agreeing on dinner, before tapping on the brand new contact of your list, added by Natasha Romanoff herself.

Bucky “Soft Tongue” Barnes.  

You’ll change it. Eventually…

~~~

“So… my place this time, huh?”

The smirk on Bucky’s lips is cocksure enough to make you take a long sip of the beer he offered you, while he lazily leans his elbow on the backrest of his sofa, supporting his head on his hand. You're thankful for the alcohol and for the fact that, this time, he hasn’t gone straight to business. Yes, you’ve been feeling bold and excited in having those kinds of encounters with a - hot as fuck - guy you barely knew. But this is new, and you know you must be careful and gentle to yourself, so it doesn’t blow up in your face eventually. Thankfully, Bucky seems to read the situation just fine since he’s been in cue with your rhythm from the very first moment.  

“Did you have any other plans?” you ask, biting your lower lip and hoping your presence isn’t actually a bother.

“I was happy to see your text.” Even if his answer is kind of vague considering your question, it eases the tension on your shoulders at his wide and comforting smile, “We did make a deal…” His voice is a tone lower as he peeks at you from under his lashes, taking his beer to his lips.

You take in a deep breath as your gaze drops to his lips, “Yes, we did.” You gulp, as your body tightens, feeling the rise of the tension in the air, enhanced by flashes of last night when you two settled said deal. 

His chuckle is a tad dark and laced with mischief and oh, man it makes your skin tingles when he drags his body just an inch closer, his beautiful blue eyes fastened on you.

“Ahm, Bucky… can I ask you something?” You try not to let your voice come out too small, as the heat of his body rolls off to yours and makes your core flutter.

“Sure.”

“How does this work?”  

He frowns as his head tilts a bit sideward, “This what?”

“This… ahm,” you clear your throat, “Deal…  I mean, I’m pretty interested, pretty, pretty interested.” You stress the word and your eyes widen a bit at the honesty slipping out of your lips, but you realize that’s actually how being around Bucky has made you feel, giving his own honesty behavior with you, just like now when he expresses no kind of reaction that would make you feel embarrassed or anything of that nature, so you let yourself continue, “But you must know I’ve got out of a relationship recently. It was really serious …10 years.” You chuckle when he huffs and takes a sip of his beer, “Anyway, I’m not really sure how to handle this.” You gesture between you two, “Should we establish any sort of rules, or something?” You shrug questioningly. Every single movie you saw or book you read where the characters had a deal like that they ended up establishing some rules, you’re not sure if that’s what you’re supposed to do here, but…

“Rules?” His whole face scrunches up, “Let me tell you something, sweetheart,” he lets out a long exhale, “My entire life, all I did was to follow damn rules. Even to this day, I have to follow them all the time in my job, whether is from the fucking government, the pain in my ass which is Stark or Fury and, believe me, even from the giant asshole of my best friend who’s pretty jacked up now but was nothing than a skinny angry ass, like, yesterday… Yeah, you know the punk, don’t you?” He smiles when you hold back a laugh, “It’s all about rules, rules, rules… I have to endure them when it comes to work, but I don’t like them in my personal life.”

He smiles that dazzling smile and you can’t help to offer him a small one, too. You see where he’s coming from. Given what you know of his life, he lived a very strict, military life ever since an early age in the 30’s. You don’t even have to elaborate on what happened next and everything he endured… now he’s part of the damn Avengers… Just like that, you start to get a bit more of Bucky Barnes and why he seems to live his life so lightly and freely now…

“Listen…” he continues, after taking a sip from his beer, “Let’s just have some fun… I loved spending time with you last night, I love that you’re here now and I love even more the prospects of tonight…” He smirks and you gulp down at the promise that comes with it, “I just wanna enjoy our time together, I don’t need rules to do that.” He pauses, as his face turns a bit more serious, differing from the light demeanor he’s been showing so far, “Do you wanna set any rules, though?”

You ponder his question. You did bring the subject up, because that’s what you think you should’ve done, but, now that you think about it, nothing comes to your mind. You kinda love his philosophy. No overthinking, just fun and no rules… “No, actually. I can’t think of anything,’ you decide.

“Great.” He smiles and nods, before his face turns serious again, “There’s one thing I need to clear up, though.” He stops and looks deeply into your eyes, as waiting for your consent before continuing.

“Oh, alright.” You encourage him to elaborate.

“As much as I’m looking forward to getting to know you and spending time with you, there’s absolutely no prospect of this turning into some kind of romantic relationship. See, I like the way I live my life too much and chances are I won’t be exclusive to you,” he says fixing his gaze on yours as if gauging your reaction to what his words, “What I’m saying is if I feel like it, I’ll have sex with other people and I highly encourage you to do the same if that’s something you want. The serum made me immune to any disease, but I’m obviously not against protection,” he adds and you feel your cheeks burning, it still blows you away how comfortably he talks about sex and how blatantly honest he is. You like and are getting used to it, but you’re just not there yet, “We can be friends, or not, we can just fuck our brains out, but we won’t go further than that. I need to know you’re aware and consenting on this, I need to know you’re on the same vibe as mine before we continue… having fun together.” He speaks seriously, but you see the tiny and suggestive curl on his lips when he finishes and waits for your answer.

You let out a small laugh under your breath, “I wouldn’t stress about it… I’m still in love with my boyfriend, to be honest. So, don’t worry about me wanting to turn this into something ahm… romantical.” You wave your hand between the two of you.  

“Uh, ok,” He raises a brow and nods, pondering your response, “We’re cool then?” He checks again.

“We’re cool,” You nod and raise your beer.

He promptly bumps his bottle to yours as you seal your deal with a toast and a shared smile.

“So, still in love with him, huh?” He asks, absentmindedly, after you two take a sip from the beer, “Was it a bad break up?”

“Not really,” you answer, looking down at your finger circling the rim of the bottle, “I just wasn’t expecting it… I thought I was gonna spend the rest of my life with him… it was settled.” You shrug, “And then, nothing was certain anymore. I’m sorry,” you quickly add, shaking your head with a tight smile on your lips. The last thing you want is to talk about Eddie. And you’re pretty sure that’s not what Bucky expects from the night, either.

“Hey.” He hooks his finger under your chin, lifting it up so you look back at him, “No rules remember? We can talk, we’re not sex robots or anything.”

Your head falls back when you laugh, “Alright.” You nod as he smiles at you, “But I don’t really want to talk about my breakup, now.”

He nods back, accepting your position, “Can I ask you something?” He’s the one to talk again after you two drink from the beer, “Last night,” he continues when you give him your consent, “When I went down on you. Was that the first time?”

There he goes again, talking so freely... You don’t feel your cheeks burning this time, though.

“No,” you answer, and he lifts his eyebrows, showing a bit of surprise at the answer, “It was the second, actually…” You’re quick to add, tightening your lips, “That obvious, huh?” You laugh quietly as your shoulders drop a bit.  

Bucky shrugs, “It’s just that you seemed a bit self-conscious about it…” He brings his bottle to his lips, but stops it midair, “At first…” he smirks at you once again and winks.  

You let out a small chuckle, looking down, playing with the almost empty bottle in your hands, “And I was…” You turn your body to face him, folding your legs on his sofa and leaning your arm on his backrest. It might be the alcohol, or just his laid-back and comforting presence that makes you want to share it with him, “You see, I’ve dated Eddie since college and he was my first…you know?” You bit on your lower lip as he nods at you to continue, nothing changing on his expression at the information, “And what happened was that he was never really a fan of that… we tried once, years ago and that was it… I knew he was grossed out by it, so I never asked him again.”

Clearing your throat, you look away, bringing you your beer to your lips to conceal any sign of embarrassment your face might indicate, you can’t believe you just shared that with him, you know how pitiful that sounds and what a turn off that must be. You’re there to have sex and are sharing how unexperienced you are? Not cool.

You feel his eyes fixed on you, and, when your gaze is attracted to his like a magnet, the pity you thought you would see on his face just isn’t there. Instead, it’s something entirely different you catch on his expression and his eyes. Never parting his focus from you, he puts his beer on the center table and reaches for yours, placing it next to his. He drags his body closer, and his smell – no cologne, just his own manly smell with a hint of what must be a fancy shampoo-  fills in your nostrils, making you breathe in deeply the inebriant scent, “You know what came to my mind while I was listening to you?”

The sultry tone in his voice is almost hypnotic as your lips part and your gaze drops to his, “What?” you murmur.

“Last night…” He licks his lips before drawing his lower one between his teeth, “Your taste…” He leans forward, brushing his lips on your earlobe, causing your breath to hitch in your throat, “Your shaky legs around my shoulders…” His flash hand finds your knee before sneaking up your thigh, carrying goosebumps on its way, “And those sinful sounds you made while I had your pussy in my mouth.” He grabs your earlobe in a gentle bite at the same time his wandering hand grabs harshly the flesh of your thigh underneath your dress, pulling a breathy whine out of you.

He drags his lips to yours and the kiss is sensual, slow moves of his tongue against yours as his lips are a soft and breathtaking caress. You realize you would be willing to spend the whole night just like that… kissing him, as your tongue laces around his and he lures you to melt into him… But he seems to have other plans in mind. You can’t help but seek his lips again as he parts them from yours.  

“And this is what thinking about all of that does to me…” Boring his blue, now darker than ever, eyes on yours he grabs your hand from your lap and brings it to the bulge in his pants.

You gasp at the sensation in your hand as he guides your hand with his to brush the firm and large hardness. Everything about the situation is sexy and makes you light in your head and hot in your body: the way he moans as you move your hand, his warm breath slipping from his parted lips and fanning over yours, how his eyes flutter for just a second before fixing on yours again, his scent, his shameless words… 

“Just to think about eating your pussy…the mere thought of it…. Fuck, it turns me on,” he whispers and lets go of your hand, allowing it to move on its own as he lunges at you again, kissing and nibbling your lips a lot harder than the first time

You kiss him back fiercely while keeping your hand on his cock, palming it through his jeans. You already can tell how thick he is and a fluttering sensation bubbles down your lower belly as the desire to feel his cock inside you takes over your senses and makes you weak in your legs.

“Shit, I can’t wait to do that again…” He drags his lips down your collarbone, whispering between kisses and licks on your skin, “But right now, what I want is to feel your pussy around my cock. Is that what you want, too?”

“Oh, yeah,” you promptly answer, eyelashes fluttering shut at the thought as you press your hand harder against his hardness and digs your finger on his loose locks, “I want it… I want this cock so bad.”

“Bedroom,” he announces, swiftly getting up and pulling you with him.

By the time you get to his bedroom, he already has his shirt off and you’re only in your set of black lingerie, discarded clothes and shoes left on the short way from the living room. Peppering kisses down his neck, you unbutton and unzips his jeans.  

“Holy fuck.” It slips out of you in a breath when you look down and takes sight of his cock bobbing between you two as you pull his pants along with his underwear down his legs.

It’s big… and thick… and beautiful, you dare say…"Wow," it slips out of you unannounced as you keep staring down and you hear a chuckle from him, a tad too smug chuckle, because he damn well knows… of course, he does.

As he proceeds to ravish your neck, grabbing two handfuls of your ass through your underwear, you can’t help but wrap your fingers around him. You can’t take your eyes off your hand playing slowly with it, entranced by how thick and hard he is, anticipating the feeling of him inside you as you swipe your thumb over the tip...

“Stop, stop.” The rasped plea takes you out of your reverie as his forehead falls on your shoulder and his hand stops yours, “I’ll come all over your hand if you keep that up,’ he explains, laying a kiss on the crook of your neck.

You chuckle and bring your arms to circle his broad shoulders instead, peppering kisses on his stubbled jaw.

“Let’s go to bed, or this will be over too soon.” You can hear the smile on his lips as he squeezes your ass and steps out of his bunched jeans and underwear, guiding you to his bed.

Through kisses, licks, bites, and wandering hands on each other, he lays you down and positions himself hovering you after unhooking and taking off your bra with the same expertise from the night before. He focuses on your breasts, sucking each one of them with intense hunger before shifting on his knees, leaving your breasts and whole body burning for his touch.

He moves towards the nightstand and opens the drawer to get a condom. The position gives you a prime view of his fully erected cock. The little dark path turning into the well-trimmed little hairs right above it shows you how careful he is with himself and the thought of your tongue running down on it pops into your mind and sparks the electricity running down your inside. On its own will, your hand snakes down your stomach till your clothed mound.   

A particularly loud sigh of you is what catches Bucky’s attention as he rips the package with his teeth. His eyes drop to where your hand rubs you covered pussy and his cock twitches at the vision.

“Shit… yeah, touch yourself….” He breathes, as he rolls off the latex around his cock.

You promptly slide your fingers under your underwear and find out how wet you are. You draw gentle circles on your clit, never taking your eyes off his burly and beautiful figure, the tightness in your core is a crescendo as you catch every little detail of his perfect body and his hooded eyes on you.

Still kneeling on the mattress, he positions himself in front of your opened legs, but just stays there, hypnotized by the spot where you touch yourself, placing his hands on your knees and spreading your legs wider for him, his pupils growing darker and darker with lust.

You sigh and moan at the pleasure brought by your fingers, but the exposed situation you are in and the sight of him staring down so hungrily at your pussy prompts the tight coils flaming inside you. Just a couple of days and you’re finding out a few things you had no idea about yourself. One of them is that you actually love that kind of filthy exposition. It feels wrong and intimate and fucking sexy.  

He grips his cock, giving it a few slow strokes and it’s all a sweet torture that you can’t take anymore.

“Bucky…Please, fuck me.” Your voice comes out laced in a mix of plea and guttural groan you didn’t know you had in you.

Dark eyes flick to yours. “Oh, yeah? Do you want me to fuck you?” he teases, showing no mercy to your desperation.

“Hard…” you correct him, gritting your teeth, “I want you to fuck me hard.”

His eyes widen and his chest moves up when he sucks in a breath. You’re really that eager that you can’t control your words anymore, but you love the effect it has on him. He pulls your fingers from under the lace of your underwear and leans down to bring them to his mouth. Your lips part at the sexiest thing you’ve ever seen, his eyes fluttering shut as he moans sucking the two fingers clean. Your taste seems to stir something in him and the world around you spins when big strong hands turn you over roughly.

“On your fours,” he growls. The grasp of his hands on your ass tugs at your core.

You promptly comply, getting yourself in the position he wants you in as he keeps himself behind you. You yelp when he swiftly pulls your underwear down your knees, the lace stretching around them as he spreads your legs. Looking from over your shoulder you watch him cursing under his breath and gripping the base of his impossibly hard cock and guiding it to your slit, coating his hardness with your arousal.

“Holy fuck,” you whisper as the hardness brushes against your clit.

“In a second…” He smirks when his gaze crosses yours.  He leans over and pushes your back down, positioning your ass in the air as you lay your head on his pillow. Bucky grabs your hand and guides it to your pussy.

He doesn’t need to say what he wants you to do as your fingers quickly start working on your clit and he aligns himself with your entrance. He pushes the tip in and it knocks the air out of your lungs as you brace yourself on his pillows with your unoccupied hand, speeding up the finger on your clit.  Bucky groans as he pushes himself in, inch by inch. You’re soaking wet and he doesn’t find much resistance, but it’s been a year for you, so you’re very aware of the stretch on his way in.

“Shit,” you wheeze, loving how full you feel when he’s all his way in, both of his hands grasping your hips tightly.  

“Oh, damn, you feel amazing.” He groans and you clench around him, “Oooo, someone has a praise kink, huh?” A teasing tone in his words.

Do you? You wouldn’t know… all you know is how your whole body and mind respond to having him inside you and how his sultry words make your head dizzy. It’s an aching and floating sensation all at once.  You feel light and heavy and hot and eager for him to move.

Like he’s reading your mind, he starts his pace. His fat cock stretches your walls at every jerk of his hips, increasing in rhythm as it feels easier for him to slide in and out of you. It doesn’t take long before he’s pounding into you, a punishing hold on your hips to keep you steady enough to him. Being the discoverer of your weakness, he punctuates every pound with grunted words of praise, telling how good and wet you feel around his cock. 

He feels good, too. He feels so damn good, his cock brushing and hitting all of the sweetest spots inside you, the sound of skin slapping against skin... Your mind is a fuzz and your head sinks into his pillow, muffling your moans as you just take it, your body moving along with his powerful thrusts. The coil that’s been twisting your lower belly getting tighter and tighter. You want to come on his cock so bad, you press your fingers hard against your sensitive numb.

“Fuck, yeah, work on that clit, I wanna feel you soaking that cock,” Bucky coos, curling an arm around your stomach and, when you notice, you’re on your knees with your back to his chest. Slick skin burns against slick skin as he drags his metal hand over yours on your pussy, guiding your finger in a different direction, making you gasp at the new sensation the subtle shift brings.

“Oh, God.” You can’t and don’t want to hold back anymore as it’s all more than you can handle and the tightness inside your belly washes over your core in sheer ecstasy. Your back arches and your head falls back on his shoulder as you cry out a mindblowing orgasm.

“Shh,” he whispers in your ear, slowing down his pace, “That’s it, oh fuck,” he curses at the feel of your cunt gripping his cock.

Your senses aren’t fully functioning yet when he pulls out, throws you back on the mattress and flips you over, swiftly taking off the underwear that was stretched around your knees. A delicious smile curls your lips at all the manhandling because you want more and he’s giving it to you, driving himself inside you again, lifting your legs with his forearms, resting them over his shoulders and not holding back on the almost inhuman speed as he thrusts his hips.

He leans over, captures your lips and you curl your arms around his neck as he fucks you. Hard. Just like you said you wanted him to. You had no idea you were so flexible but what a way to find out, having the hottest guy you’ve ever met balls deep -really deep - into you while his tongue curls around yours.

Parting his lips from yours he releases your legs and they promptly wrap them around his hips as he supports himself with his forearms on each side of you and arches his back and to allow him to drag his lips to ravish your breasts, which he seems pretty fond of already. You push his thrusts impossibly harder and deeper with your feet as he alternates from sucking one and the other, licking and grazing his teeth around your sensitive nipples, your vision blanking at the light pain mixed with the pleasure he’s giving to you with his mouth and his damn perfect cock inside you. He doesn't give you time to cool down from the last orgasm as your mind freezes, focusing solely on the dazzling sensations in your body.  

“So fucking sexy.” The praise reverberates through your skin and it really seems to be a kink of yours as, joined with the expert roll of his hips, he brings you to another orgasm. A smaller one compared to the first, but powerful enough to make your body shake and to coax a series of moans out of you.

Bucky lets your breast go with a popping sound after a particularly hard suck and shifts back to his knees. 

Still in the daze of your second orgasm, a weak sound leaves your lips through panting breathing as your hips leave the mattress when, pulling your legs straighten up together and keeping them securely against his chest with one arm, he pounds into you until an guttural grunt rolls from his lungs and his hips still. He shoves his hips into yours a couple of times, deep and powerful,, spilling his own pleasure into the condom, before letting your legs loose and pulling out. The sensitivity etches a hiss out of you before his body drops next to yours. 

For a while, all that fills the room is the sound of sharp pants from both of you. In the past year, you came to think to think that maybe sex wasn’t that important to you and that maybe it wouldn’t matter if it happened or not…What a damn fool. 

You do like sex. Love it, actually. And it is fucking amazing and important to you, no doubt of that, you realize while your eyes shut and you allow yourself to drown into the delicious ache that covers your muscles while aftershocks of your orgasms cause occasional spasms all over your body.

“Holy shit.” Bucky’s the first one to speak, still fighting to breathe, “That was-”

“Fucking amazing,” you complete, breathing hard, but with a blissful smile on your lips you tilt your head towards him, “Thank you, Bucky. You have no idea how much I needed this.” You add, too deep in your daze to care whether you sound pathetic or not.

He laughs loudly and the corner of his eyes crinkle with it, “My pleasure, beautiful, my pleasure.”

A few more moments pass with both of you laying there and enjoying the after state of what you just did until the mattress moves when he gets up.

You gather your strength to lift your head enough to watch him walking towards the bathroom, rolling off the condom out of his semi hard cock.

As you’re alone in his bed, that’s when an awkward feeling freezes up your chest in contrast to the heat you’ve surrendered to so far. What the hell are you supposed to do now? Do you leave? Do you stay? Can you take a shower? You could definitely use one… You know he said no rules and you agreed, but some guidance would suit you pretty well right now.  

“Hey,” his voice takes you out of your own mind puzzle, “Your turn.” A soft towel is thrown at your face.

You grab it in your hands and look up at him with a glare. He’s laughing as he walks towards you, still butt naked, and your glare quickly dissipates into a playful one. “The bathroom is all yours now. There is liquid soap, shampoo and other stuff there if you need them,” he offers casually, sitting by the corner of the bed, “I’m starving, Chinese sounds good?”

You sit, too, holding the towel in your hand, “Yeah,” you frown before nodding “Sure, Chinese sounds great, actually.”

“Alrighty, then.” He taps on the mattress and gets up. You gaze falls down to his perky butt cheeks moving as he walks towards the door. He stops by the frame and looks back at you with that mischievous look of his, “Then, I’ll be ready for dessert.” He darts out that sinful tongue of his and runs it over his lips.  

The brief awkward coldness you felt is replaced by a flush of a welcoming heat creeping up your body.

You smirk back at him, “Can’t wait.”  

~~~

[aphrodite-would-be-proud]

🕯Anon said: hi sweetheart 🕊 can you write about armin having a quiet night with the reader? something like wearing comfy pajamas, fairy lights, cute little candles, incense, soft songs and maybe some reading? and they just cuddling? 🥺 i think about that whenever i go to sleep and do all of the above, but i'm just by myself lmao anyways, thank you so much 🌸 (btw i'm the anon who asked you about the armin x painter!reader 🥺 hello 🥺 i just love how you write can we be friends please) 🕯

Quiet night with Armin

{ Armin x Reader | tw:none | sleep help, comfort, fluff | modern }

{ "Twilight, Valley of the Genesee" 1865 by Samuel Colman 1832 - 1920 }

Shimmering golden hues weaved across pastel blue walls in the form of strings, crossing the bookshelf before making a turn at the plants corner, illuminating the room with a soft warm glow.

Your head rested against the satin pillow, just right above Armin's shoulder, close enough that you can see the rise and fall of his chest with every breath. The ends of his hair ghosting over your cheek whenever he leaned to tell a particular clever line of the book he's been reading to you.

You can't exactly remember the name of it, but you can clearly recall his excited smile this morning when showing it to you.

"It's one of my favourites" he said, "the last time i got to reread it was in high-school, has it really been that long?" And that's all you can remember from the conversation before it got sidetracked by him asking if you had lunch yet.

There's definitely something to be said about rereading a book over and over again, a sense of familiarity, an attachment to the characters, plot and world setting. It's almost magic how quickly your comfort book, show or movie can turn a horrible day into a nice one, making it the silver lining.

Looking at the way Armin would pause for a second after some lines, or chuckle at random scenes, like it's an inside joke between him and his mind, you can tell he's definitely recalling some good memories.

Just like how he's adding to his list of comfort memories by sharing this experience with you, he wants you to be a part of this silly book he once picked up as a child and continued to revisit every few years.

You glance at the remaining pages, just as he flips another one to start anew. You've already finished a third of the book, only a quarter remaining.

It's not that you're getting impatient, but it's more that the soft blanket draped over you, the warmth of Armin's body pressed next to yours and the sound of his voice, are all luring you into a hazy cloudy state where your eyelids feel too heavy and turning your head to check the clock seems too exhausting.

How long has it been? since you curled up against him right after you went to put your empty hot chocolate mugs in the sink.

You don't have the heart to tell him that your brain stopped registering the words he's saying and instead listens to the tone of his soft-spoken voice and reacts accordingly. Stealing another glance at the remaining pages, you notice a few missing, okay good, just a few more. You can hold on right?

Right?

Forcing your eyes open, you suppress a yawn threatening to rise before curling even closer to his shoulder, face against his neck, hand over his chest.

Instead of focusing on his calming heartbeat, you try to focus your attention on different things, like the smell of snowdrops flowers filling the room from the scented incense sitting on the nightstand. 

Snowdrops, the milky bell-like flowers who befriended the cold harsh snow herself.

An ancient German tale that Armin told you, on one early spring morning. When the universe was just in bloom, as the earth shaped its form and the plants dressed themselves, when the god in the heavens above just created snow, she was told to go seek her colours from the flowers below.

She came with her request, but the flowers turned their heads, refusing to acknowledge her for she is the reason for the harsh weather, deeming their life spans short, overzealous and jealous, protecting their colours from the merciless lady snow. 

She was left all alone, friendliness, colourless with no love or sympathy from a soul.

Except for one, came knocking on her door, head bowed down and humbly offered to share. Snowdrops were the flowers that warmed the snow's heart, and so white was the colour in which snow was known.

Snow made a vow, to always protect her one and only friend, even from her own self. Under her watchful gaze, snowdrops were gifted with warmth that let them be the first flowers to bloom when winter bid her goodbyes as spring was arriving soon.

You've never seen snowdrops the same since, their delicate and shy nature standing out between all the proud flowers, you even suggested planting some to Armin.

"...but sweetheart" you remember him saying with a frown, " snowdrops are poisonous."

…

Yeah, and so getting their scented incense was the second best option available.

You hear the sound of another page being turned, fewer left to go, just hold on a bit longer.

Wondering the room with your eyes, your gaze fell on the straw sunhat hanging from the on the back of a chair. It's Armin's favourite, he'd always wear it when the sun was particularly bright that day.

you remember him saying it was a gift from his grandpa when he was a child.

His grandpa...didn't you visit his farm a few months ago?

...yeah you did, you can recall clearly, how you were:

Squinting your eyes to avoid the bright sun, you wiped the sweat collecting on your forehead before leaning your head back against the wooden wall. The occasional passing cool breeze distracting you from the dryness in your throat, even after moving to sit in the shade your skin still felt too hot.

The grassy fields in front stretched wide before ending in white pained fences, where the crops patches for vegetables started.

The sudden gentle waves of cool air against your skin made you glance to the side, where Armin was fanning you with his hat, while holding a tray with two ice filled lemonades in his other hand.

"Are you sure you don't want to go inside?" He said, sitting next to you before handing you the cold drink, "you've already done a lot, I'll do take care of the rest."

You've been helping Armin with the farm work since sunrise, feeding the animals together and watering the crops, saying you're exhausted from the scorching hot sun was an underestimation.

And yet, somehow Armin seems unaffected. Not a sign of being bothered as he sat there next to you with his rolled up sleeves and cuffed pants, the slight flushing to his face was the only thing he got from the sun.

"Yeah, I need to lay down a bit." You remember saying, after emptying your drink in one go.

"If that's the case then-" setting the tray aside, Armin patted his lap while looking at you, "Come here."

Too tired to protest, you layed your head on his thigh, feeling your back stretching and the cool air from his fanning was already making you feel better.

"You know, there's a story my grandpa used to tell me about the sun."

An Australian folklore, about a time when the earth was merged in absolute Darkness, when even the stars refused to light up the sky.

Eternal darkness was the fate of humanity, as people were spent their lives carrying torches to light up their way.

Gnowee was an alone mother in a forsaken world, left to fend for her little son. Each day while he slept safely, she'd venture into the the fields in search for plants or seeds. Knowing very well that's it's a matter of life and death if she couldn't come back with something edible.

Each day she'd come with whatever she could find, feeding it to her son even if it meant sleeping on an empty stomach.

But with food scarce and the abyss looming at every corner, things were harder each day.

One day after rocking her child to sleep, she quietly left with her torch to dig for yams she saw on her way last time. Retracting her footsteps, it was a long journey but she knew it'd be worth it.

And so she walked and walked till she reached the place, began digging the ground but dirt and mud was all that she could find. But she couldn't just go back to her son empty handed, and so she wandered far.

She wandered so far in fact that she reached the end, not the end of her journey but the end of the earth itself.

Somehow, in someway she managed to pass from under it, her will for her son to live another day far greater that anything, and so she emerged from the other side.

The void.

Where nothingness lived.

Looking at the vast empty space, she didn't know where she was, the line between the ground and walls was so blurred that she thought she's floating.

Panic and dread filled her mind as she raised her torch higher and higher, attempting to clear a path for her to see. For she had to go back to her son, all alone sleeping by himself.

Climbing the sky was her only solution, as she wondered the world, unknowingly lighting up a path with her as she went.

"And so the Sun Goddess wonders the sky above, in search for her son." Armin told you that day, before offering you his own lemonade to drink because he was still worried about you.

...

You can't recall how that day ended, you think you might have fell asleep on his lap right after.

The fairylights on the wall reminded you of the clear stars sky you've seen while on the farm, his grandfather was a really sweet guy too.

With your mind still coulded in drowsiness, your hearing was also delayed apparently, since you just noticed the book in Armin's hold was closed with him staring at you with a smile instead.

Moving so he could set the book on the nightstand, Armin turned towards you before pulling you closer to him, making sure the covers don't slip off of you. He cupped your face, stroking your cheek with love in his eyes.

"I'm sorry baby, did I take too long?" He said, glancing at the clock behind you answered his question. 

You shook your head, murmuring a slurred "it's alright." 

Posture visibly relaxing, he gave your cheek a small kiss before resting too on the pillow next to you, a yawn escaping him.

With half closed eyes, you saw him cuddling close to your chest, features softening as he bid you goodnight. Your hand moved to stroke his hair just like he always liked, lacing your fingers through the soft strands you closed your eyes too. 

Warmth took over you, the feeling of his soft breath near your neck, the comfortable weight of his arms around you, the slow ticking of the clock, it all rocked you to sleep as you happily gave in.

[spencers-renaissance]

Still Left With the River

Summary: Derek wakes up to find his boyfriend crying on the sofa. Cue the hurt, the comfort, and the fluff.

Tags: hurt/comfort, fluff, hurt!spencer, caretaker!derek, domesticity

Pairing: Morgan x Reid

Word Count: 1.6k

Read on AO3

"A man takes his sadness down to the river and throws it in the river, but he's still left with the river. A man takes his sadness and throws it away, but he's still left with his hands." - Richard Siken, Boot Theory 

After all these years, it’s almost like a little bit of Spencer has embedded itself in Derek: he feels when he’s happy, when he’s sad, when he’s scared so much more viscerally than he’s ever done with anybody before. It must be the reason that he stirs awake at 3am - an irregular occurrence for a deep sleeper like him - knowing even before he’s opened his eyes that something’s wrong. 

The other side of the bed is empty, but it’s still warm. He can see the light from the living room creeping in through the crack under the door, soft shuffling sounds accompanying the gentle glow and it doesn’t take long for the urgency of the situation to get him going. He pulls himself from the warm comfort of the bed and hurries out into the living room where he finds Spencer curled up in a tiny ball on the sofa with Clooney at his feet, a blanket pulled over both of them.

More importantly, he finds Spencer crying. 

“Baby?” he asks, concern obvious in his voice as he rushes over to the sofa and crouches down in front of it, brushing a lock of hair from his forehead. “What’s wrong?”

Spencer’s eyes stay screwed shut, and he curls himself into a tighter ball, even if he can’t stop himself sniffling as tears leak down his cheeks. 

“You don’t want to talk about it?” Derek asks, understanding his reaction. Spencer frequently goes non-verbal when he’s sad or overwhelmed with any emotion, really. It had frightened him at the start of their relationship, but after years of finding his boyfriend in these sorts of situations he’s learned the best ways to deal with them. 

Spencer shakes his head, curling even further in on himself.

“Okay, pretty boy, you don’t have to, you know that,” he says soothingly, caressing his cheek gently as he catches a wandering tear with his thumb. “Do you want a cuddle? Or maybe a hot chocolate, a snack, a glass of water?”

Spencer opens his eyes for the first time at that, blinking up at him with big, glossy brown eyes that make him melt every time he looks into them. He uncurls himself slightly and makes room on the sofa for Derek. 

“My baby wants a cuddle?” he asks warmly, following orders and getting situated on the couch so that Spencer is wedged in between him and the back of the sofa, resting his head on Derek’s shoulder as he allows an arm to snake around his waist and hold him closely. “Everything’s gonna be okay, Spencer. I’m right here.” 

They lie like that for a while, Spencer still crying softly, this time into his boyfriend’s shoulder while Derek just cuddles him as close as possible, drawing patterns lightly with his finger over his face and arms and hands in a way that he knows calms Spencer down. He knows better than to try and force him to talk, he knows that he’ll calm down in time, especially with close physical contact as reassurance, and he’ll speak to Derek when he’s ready. 

It’s one of those moments that Derek could not have imagined happening six or seven years ago. His twenties and early thirties had been defined by one night stands, short flings, and commitment issues. It had taken until he was thirty-two to come to terms with the fact that he liked men, too, and he never would have guessed that the person he actually settled down with would be Spencer.

Domesticity looks good on him, everyone always says, cooing and teasing when he kisses Spencer on the forehead before leaving, or declines an invitation out in favour of watching a nerdy documentary, eating takeout and having a cuddle on the sofa. And he’d have to agree. Settling down with the love of his life was one of the most emotionally thrilling experiences he’s ever had. He didn’t know he could ever love someone so much.

Eventually, Spencer’s soft cries subdue slightly, and he stirs a little in Derek’s hold, nestling his face further into his shoulder.

“You alright there, pretty boy?” he smiles, running a hand through his curls. 

“You smell nice,” he admits, slinging his arm around Derek’s middle, cuddling him back properly. 

“That’s very kind of you, baby,” he chuckles. “How are you doing?”

“Better,” Spencer says, voice a little muffled by the t-shirt Derek had thrown on before coming into the living room. “Thank you.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. You have nothing to thank me for,” he scoffs, twirling a curl around his finger and tugging at it affectionately. 

Spencer just hums, clearly sleepy from the tears and the late night. 

“Do you want to talk about it, baby boy?” Derek murmurs, not wanting to pressure him. 

Spencer sighs heavily, extracting his head from his boyfriend’s shoulder. “I woke up feeling really sad,” he whispers, making Derek smile slightly in spite of the situation. Spencer always finds it easier to talk about emotions or heavier topics if he whispers and it’s one of Derek’s favourite quirks of his, “and I couldn’t shake it. I don’t know why. Sometimes all the bad thoughts build up and then they unleash themselves all at once. Like I never think about my dad or my childhood really, but then on a night like this I can’t stop thinking about it and I don’t know why.” 

Derek knows this, of course. Spencer’s had many of these nights over the years, but he always likes to explain it, to put his emotions into words, into a medium he can process them in, so he listens diligently as his boyfriend works it over in his mind.

“I’m sorry, sweetheart,” he says, running his hand comfortingly up and down Spencer’s side. “You should have woken me up, I would’ve come and cuddled you from the start.”

“Sorry,” Spencer says in a small voice. 

“Hey, you don’t need to apologise for a thing, alright?” Derek says. “I’m just saying that in the future, you can always wake me straight away, even if I do usually wake up pretty quickly. I need to be here for my boy if he’s sad, don’t I?”

Spencer blushes a little at that, still flattered and overwhelmed by the intensity of Derek’s love even if it’s been lavished on him for over three years now. “Thank you, Derek,” he whispers, placing an endearing kiss to his shoulder. “I love you.”

“I love you, too,” Derek smiles gently. “Now, how about we get you a hot chocolate and a slice of toast, maybe some paracetamol for the inevitable post-cry headache and get you back to bed. We can leave a light on and we’ll put a TV show on in the background for some mindless noise, okay?”

Years of experience had cultivated a very strict aftercare routine for nights like these. Spencer’s far too overwhelmed with emotion and thoughts to go to sleep immediately after an experience like this no matter how sleepy he is, so familiarity and distraction are the best routes to getting him back to dreamland. 

They drink their hot chocolates on the sofa together while Derek distracts him with pointless stories from his college days that Spencer could probably tell with better accuracy than him, but tonight he appreciates the slightly monotonous conversation, the rhythm of it soothing him, bringing him down from the emotional rollercoaster he’s just been on.

He doesn’t even complain when Derek butters a slice of toast for him, knowing that it will be futile, but he ends up enjoying it anyway, the warmth of the hot chocolate and toast sitting nicely in his belly, soothing him from the inside. 

Derek ushers him around to get them ready for bed again, forcing him to brush his teeth before insisting on a kiss. “Minty,” he grins.

“Well, I should hope so,” Spencer smiles back, quirking an eyebrow. 

“Come on, you,” Derek says, rolling his eyes as he leads him back to the bedroom with a warm, firm hand in his. 

“Wait, Derek,” Spencer protests as Derek tries to get him back in bed, looking suddenly shy again. “Can I wear one of your shirts to bed?”

“Of course, baby boy,” Derek says gently, sensing that teasing would not be appreciated right now. “You know I’d never say no to such a polite request from such a beautiful boy.” 

“I just… I like the smell, it’s comforting and I want extra Derek tonight,” he says, a little bashfully, despite feeling reassured by his boyfriend’s reaction.

Derek’s heart melts at that as he rustles through his drawer to find the most comfortable t-shirt - only the best for his boy - and like he’s done so many times over the last three years, he wonders what on earth he did to get the karma that landed such a wonderful person right in his lap. 

“I understand, Spencer, it’s all good,” he says softly as he hands it over watching him slip out of his old PJ top and into Derek’s oversized shirt. “You look beautiful.” 

Spencer flushes at the compliment, nestling himself into Derek’s body as he wraps him in a tight hug, pressing his face into his neck as he always does in a cuddle like this one. “Love you so much,” he murmurs.

“Oh, Spencer,” he says. “I love you even more.”

“Not possible,” he smiles, pulling away and kissing him gently before turning to climb under the covers. 

“Oh, baby you have no idea,” Derek teases, but really he knows they both love each other astronomical amounts, there’s no genuine competition at all. 

He pulls Spencer against his chest while he switches on the bedside lamp and the TV, finding a sitcom and turning it on low volume so Spencer won’t be tempted to comment on it. “You try and relax now, sweetheart. Sleep will come, and I’ll be right here.”

“Love you,” Spencer mumbles for the third time that night. 

“I love you too, gorgeous boy,” Derek murmurs back, but he’s not sure Spencer’s awake long enough to hear him.

@strippersenseii @criminalmindsvibez