#it felt like I went to infinite free time to little to none
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cinderellaboychallenges · 2 months ago
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Alright!!! Sorry for being so disorganized guys💀💀
OK SO THIS MONTH THE PROMPT IS...
THE CREW'S REACTION TO BUGS
as always pop off y'all
I wanna see fanworks, fanart, fanfics
even if the month is over, y'all can continue using these prompts!!
I have yet to gather last months prompts in one post and I am terribly sorry
We've been a bit disorganized recently BUT NOT TO WORRY
THESE CHALLENGES ARE GONNA CONTINUEE
Can't wait to see what y'all have in storee!!
@blareviridi
@screechingart
@robottko
@niekanarcotics
@iz-nomerants
@iz-nomewrites
@tmkalp
@nocontextsock
@toonietoonstian
@secretlyasimpforbuddy
@frosting-pudding
@peculiarpeace
@tea-132
@kazul-101
@p4n1cl0v3r
@xiaomao-ai-wo
@cookiekat-blogz
@silvermoon617
@nevernovember
@stinkypeanutbutter
@buttons-f0r-eyes
@eglanasy
@blobfishuu
@starsnowcone
@those-rainbow-ninjas
@cloud-pug
@pinkshampooedcows
@brainrotwriter
@dreabastante
@karabell
@gothicbeastgirl
@papayasreturn
@glooomm
@malnivia
@strwbrrylou
@nicomithi
@fishinspacey
@buttons-f0r-eyes
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thescarletnargacuga · 4 months ago
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I WISH...
A DREAMLAND AU SHOWTIME ONESHOT
Inspired by THIS
DREAMLAND AU CREDIT: @00belle00lovely00 @tadcdreamlandau
WARNING: none!
~~~
"See, you could wish for absolutely ANYTHING! You simply must be creative with your wording! For example-!" Caine adjusted his clock monocle and cleared his throat to dictate a long winded speech on the near infinite possibilities of wishes.
Pomni let out a long, heavy sigh. Here he goes again. She didn't hate hearing him talk, but sometimes she wished he had something else to talk about. No pun intended.
Despite everything Caine was going on about, wishes were hard to make. Too specific, and you can never wish for that exact thing ever again. Too vague, and something completely random could happen. She wasn't really interested in tempting the powers that be.
Caine animatedly spoke with his hands as he continued, oblivious to Pomni's disinterest. He spun in place, flaring out his multicolored clouded coat. His cane idly hovered next to him. "Don't forget! You can't make the same wish twice! Buuuuut you can bend the rule a little bit if you know how to word your wish right. Such as-!"
Pomni watched him fly around her, taking more of him in than his words. He was certainly passionate about what he did and always went out of his way for her. He was trying his best to make her situation as tolerable as possible and she wasn't blind to his efforts.
While he spoke, she gently took his hand. He didn't seem to mind, he made no mention of it, so she held his hand. She interlaced her fingers with his, seeing if there was any reaction. None. Now she was interested in seeing what she could get away with.
Her heart picked up the pace as she brought his hand to her lips. He made no motion to stop her. In fact, he hadn't seemed to notice at all. She softly pressed her lips to his knuckles. Less than a second of contact, but it made a warmth in he chest spread to her face.
"A-..." Caine froze in place and mid sentence for a second before slowly turning to her. Heat rose in his face seeing his hand in hers, her lips so close.
The warmth in Pomni's face tripled as he stared, looking completely stunned. She couldn't look him in the face. Maybe if she just stares at the floor, he'll go back to talking about wishes. She keeps a hold of his hand.
"....Pomni. um, what....why did you-??" He was asking genuinely. She's never done anything remotely like this before. Rarely gives him hugs, let alone a kiss on the hand.
"It- I...uh, no real reason...I guess I was just-"
"Bored...I figured." He looked downtrodden, the saturation level of the color of the world around them lowered.
So he wasn't completely oblivious. She gently squeezed his hand. "Hey, I'm not bored of you. Just the subject. Maybe we can talk about something else?"
Caine looked at her hand still holding his. He was scarred to move in case she took hers away. "Can we....can we talk about this?" He points with his free hand. He felt a fluttering in his chest when she looked away bashfully, it was the cutest face he'd ever seen her make.
"Can't I just hold your hand? It-..it doesn't have to mean anything."
"I'm not complaining in the slightest, dearie. In fact, I'm rather thrilled that you've come to trust me this far."
"You're reading too much into it." She puffed her cheeks in a pout.
"Am I?" He arched a brow. "Then why haven't you let go? This is an awfully long time to hold someone's hand platonically." His voice adopted a teasing tone. Much to his delight, she didn't take her hand back.
He lowered his teeth to her hand and returned the favor. A rush of excited butterflies invade his stomach. This was pretty intimate behavior, as far as he was concerned. What if they- no. He dared not hope.
The color in the world around them tinged ever so slightly pink. Not enough to be readily noticed, but one could tell something was off if they looked long enough.
Pomni's face flared with color when he kissed her hand. She pursed her lips to fight the smile threatening to appear. "Fine...It's not- it's not a platonic gesture..." Pomni admitted. "But you were so wrapped up in what you were talking about, I entertained myself."
"So you do find me entertaining." He smirked.
Pomni hid her face with her hand. "...maybe."
Caine's smile could not be bigger. He kisses her hand again. "I'm absolutely ecstatic to hear that." His eyes softened watching her try to save face and failing miserably. "You don't need to hide, dearie. I promise I won't bite." He meant it genuinely.
Oh my god, he's flirting. Pomni's heart nearly stopped. She finally looked his in the eyes and he was gazing at her like he was in a trance. She got a little closer. "Caine..?"
"Yes, dearie?" He sighed lovingly.
"I...I think I'm ready to make a wish."
That snapped him out of it. He took both her hands. "That's wonderful! What would you wish for??"
Pomni got even closer. "I wish..."
Caine leaned in with anticipation.
"...you would kiss me." Her lips curve into a small smile.
Chills go down Caine's spine as the world fades to a more saturated hot pink. His eyes widened and pupils dilated. "Pomni..." He steals a glance at her lips. "You wanna.... -me?" He's positively giddy.
Pomni slowly nods her head.
Caine could squeal, but he had no air in his lungs. Pomni stole it all. He tried to catch his breath. "My sweet dreamer, you don't have to spend a wish on that, but if you insist...your wish is my command."
He said his return catchphrase to solidify the spoken contract of a wish. The air immediately around them felt lighter, even warm. Caine carefully held her face, his thumbs caressing her cheeks. A dreamy look in her eyes.
Caine pulled her in, kissing her sweetly and slowly. The magic of the wish intensified the contact, they both felt a rush that could only be described as fireworks going off in their chests.
Pomni didn't want it to end. She threw her arms over his shoulders and Caine wrapped his arms around her waist, slowly rising into the air as they kissed.
The world's color was now a deep maroon. Reality itself blushed from the intensity of their connection.
Pomni introduced tongue and Caine very enthusiastically returned the favor. His tongue pressed to her teeth and then inside. Pomni moaned as he explored her, figuring out all the ways he can make her sing this beautiful song of hers.
He lounged back a bit, letting her lean into him further. Their makeout session taking a casual, sensual turn. For as long as they kept the kiss going, the wish's magic was in effect and it was glorious. Dream-like.
Pomni lowered a hand to Caine's chest, over his heart. He held her hand there. He hoped she could feel how fast his heart was racing, all for her.
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luxmaeastra · 2 years ago
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They were one of the first to rise from the waters of the Wyrd. They'd been by Reshaye's side from the beginning. It destoryed them more than it probably should that it was stuck in what amounted to a nighrnare for it.
They had driven themselves mad many times over imagining the splendor of their true form. Of how their true voice would have sounded and felt agaisnt their ears.
Perhaps it was the strength of the drink or perhaps it was the jealousy. What was it that Kertayan had done to earn such a coveted position and not them?
If anything shouldn't it be them that ruled their kin? Shouldn't it be them that birthed such a holy line? After all they could carry such a special child if Reshaye deemed worthy of such a honor.
Reshaye stood away from the celebrations. Perhaps the noise was grating on its sensitive senses. It looked to them, taking the glass they held out for it.
"Hello Achak. You aren't happy with my decision."
"Why them? What has Kertayan done to earn something that we haven't?"
Reshaye looked to the festivities.
"He never begged for my attention or really much of anything. If I chose you both you'd both never leave me be."
"They deserve to hear your voice on -"
"No they don't."
It looked to them their full attention pinning them in place. They tried to hold on, to stay standing. But the weight was too much pushing them to their knees. Was the buzzing their own thoughts or its power? Was it their imagination or had the party gone silent?
"None of you deserve my attention or time. Kertayan understood that. You are all temporary and when I am free of this I will finally be done with all you buzzing gnats."
It grinned, a cold smile. It dropped the glass on the floor letting the bloodwine and glass shatter all over them. Its voice went low hiss as it bent down to their ears.
"I will never be yours or his or anyones but mine. I will never give you what you seek Achak. I suggest you remain on the floor where you belong. They're gnats buzzing and fighting but you're a dog, a thing that is only fit to run after crumbs."
It turned and walked away. It met Sarai's eyes the smile not wavering.
"You wanted my opinions on all of this. Have I satisfied your curiousity yet little Sia?"
It refused to marr itself in this world. It refused to become just like these things and forget what it was. It was infinite and vast before. It would not make itself small for these things to understand it better. It didn't need them, not as much as they needed it.
What were the Daimons without their God and purpose to protect it?
The honour to be invited to such a celebration was one she had not expected, though she probably should have. Kertayan had become one of her closest friends, even as their relationship had hits hardships and stumbles, they both had a health appreciation for each other. They understood the importance of their friendship in the scheme of things, but they also both knew the gift that came from knowing Reshaye - one that could easily be taken away when it desired.
Her attention was drawn to the scene that begun to emerge, the sight of the one she knew as Achak on their knees. Had she been so lost in her own thoughts she had not noticed this scene grow. Her gaze flickered over the shattered glass, the bloodline that coated the floor. Even hearing what was being said she barely reacted, the view of it was one she had learned to understand and accept. She would not insult it by saying she understood it, there was much she would never know - yet she never feared the darkness that was it.
Sarai bowed her head slightly in response, her show of respect towards it. Even at its most frightening she would stand tall and not cower, even if the day came she was no longer of use to it and it wished her gone. After all, there were terrors she had seen that had helped her steel for this world she now lived within. “As always,” she finally answered before she moved to set her glass on the side. “If you wish to leave, I don’t think any here would blame you from going.”
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legendofzoodles · 2 years ago
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LOZ Character Analysis/Rant
 The Hero of Time 
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‘the flow of time is always cruel’
Forced to grow up too quickly, to abandon childhood and embrace adulthood for the sake of his destiny and kingdom. Neither Ganondorf nor Majora were the true villains. Time itself as always been Link’s true enemy. 
Ironic that history will forever champion him as The Hero of Time.
~~~
To be honest he never struck me as the cold serious type. I feel like he only became hardened and jaded as his perspective on his past experiences changed with age. I mean, look at that goofy kid! He was a mischievous little gremlin back in the day and I won’t hear otherwise. He would have been very sociable with the forest children, playing games, playing pranks and living a carefree life. 
At least subconsciously, he was aware that he was different to the Korkiri. This would have been pointed out to him due to him being the only one without a bonded fairy until much later in life and the fact that everyone was aware that he was growing up. This wouldn’t have been a major concern for him at the time. It would be 7 years later.
The inciting incident that spurs his adventure is the death of his mentor figure: The Great Deku tree. This would have had a profound effect on the young boy, but the send off was so inspiring that more than anything it motivates Link to fulfil his new role. The Deku tree recounts to Link the creation story of the three Golden Goddesses and the business with Ganondorf. At the time much of this would have flown over Link’s head who was probably more focused on the fact that his tree dad was dying and the job he needed to do.
Much later in life though, realising that there are supposedly benevolent beings with infinite power who created this world who sit around and let fiends like Ganondorf cause such misery would add to his jaded view of the world. 
Leaving the Korkiri forest must have been bittersweet, especially since he had to do it alone, for the forest children could not leave (I feel like if Saria could, Link would have wanted her to join him). The first part of OoT must have been a blast for child Link. For a short time he got to go out and explore Hyrule with no strings attached, a truly free kid (many characters refer to him as a child quite often: ‘kid’, ‘lad’, ‘fairy boy’). 
At his young age he didn’t properly grasp the severity of the situation, and saw the quest as fun. To his credit, things were going great, he met princesses (and got engaged to a fish princess! He would’ve looked forward to bragging to Mido about it), wrangled himself a loyal horse and explored the land (bet this cinnamon roll had planned to bring back gifts for his friends in the forest). 
Then Ganondorf pulled the rug out from everyone and great googly boogly, it all went to shit. 
The shock of waking up from what he probably initially assumed was a nap must have traumatised him. Imagine waking up to realise you had missed out on puberty, see the kingdom in ruins, your woodland father figure is dead, your childhood friend/crush is dead and it’s your job to fix everything. 
He did everything perfectly up until now. None of this was deserved. 
At first he might have felt guilty for abandoning the kingdom, but honestly I think that would have dissolved into sheer anger the more he thought it through. Since he was a child, nothing regarding the 7 year coma can really be attributed to him specifically. And being 9 I don’t think that would register until much later in his life, but due to the confusing nature of the whole thing, he wouldn’t know who to blame or what to direct his anger to. Hence the bitterness he carries with him. 
Fi obviously didn’t want him to perish. She did what she did to give him the best fighting chance, but perhaps it was poor judgment on her part to prioritise the wellbeing of her master over that of the kingdom. It was the right call in terms of protecting the hero, but it screwed over literally everyone else. Not to mention that the Royal Family and Raru had been duped by Ganondorf and Zelda/Lullaby had been forced into hiding. 
All in all, I don’t think the 7 year coma was anyone’s fault; the forces of good made their moves and Ganondorf just outplayed them. 
Link himself wasn’t a much of a player at all, more like a variable both sides used in order to outplay the other. The outcome of this struggle behind the scenes was cruel and unfair in the eyes of the hero. He’d done what he was told, he had purified the Zora and Goron’s guardian deities, he had collected all the sacred elemental gemstones and was ready to claim the power that was his birthright. 
Raru, Fi, Hylia, the Goddesses even the Royal Family failed the Hero of Time. But he wouldn’t have thought this back then because he believed that he was destined for greatness. He’d been told by the Deku tree that he’d accomplish amazing things and save the kingdom. In his mind, he had failed.
Since Time still pretty much had the mind of a child in the latter half of OoT, he probably deviated from the main quest, unable to resist the need to help the suffering people. The sight of the kingdom he’d just explored now in such disharmony, a twisted corrupted version of itself, must have been awful. The kingdom had already been taken over, so there was no real need to hurry, he just needed to focus on building up his strength and make sure he defeated Ganondorf. It probably also took him a fat while to get used to his new body.
Because of this, I’m genuinely not surprised that there’s a canon outcome where he dies to Ganon. The odds were against him from the get-go. There was no way he was going to be at his best when he was still mentally 9 and in a body he’d barely gotten any experience in. Maybe he misjudged a sword strike, overestimated his reach or underestimated his speed. It wouldn’t have taken much, just one small mistake for it all to be over. 
On the flip side, following the outcome where he does win, it would be a massive boost in ego. Not in an arrogant way, more just in self assured confidence. The fact that he was able to overcome all that despite the trash hand dealt by the Gods and his own weapon, would give him the attitude of not fearing what life throws at him. Although it wouldn’t make him reckless, it would be the reason why he’d continue to go out adventuring and helping people. He has the hero’s spirit after all, going out of his way to do what’s right is in his nature. 
The trauma from speedrunning childhood was probably the main reason he allowed Zelda to send him back in time. That, and to expose Ganondorf before he can cause all that devastation. He probably thought it would be exclusively beneficial for him and the kingdom, by way of erasing those 7 years of hardship under Ganondorf’s takeover...not splitting the timeline. I feel like Zelda knew it would cause a timeline split (she has the Triforce of Wisdom, she 100% knew and you can’t tell me otherwise) and leave her timeline without a hero, but purposefully put his wishes above that of hers and the kingdom. Maybe out of pity and/or guilt. 
To protect him, she didn’t mention that teeny weeny world shattering detail.
Regarding Sheik, I think Time would have liked and respected them a lot during OoT, taking comfort in their guidance. Probably saw them in an older sibling sort of light, quickly feeling comfortable to joke around with them and maybe confide a bit too. I don’t know how he’d feel about them being Zelda, because I don’t know how he’d feel about Zelda herself. It wouldn’t be overwhelmingly positive though, some of that unyielding bitterness would be directed at her I’d imagine. 
After all he lost everything, his father-figure, his best friends, his childish innocence and doesn’t even have a home to return to anymore. But Zelda? When all this is said and done she can return to her life of privileged luxury, ready to rule the kingdom healed by the Hero of Time (and the sages too). To be fair that’s adult-timeline Zelda, child-timeline Zelda isn’t really the Zelda he knew, but he probably isn’t too keen on having much to do with her either.  
I feel like there would be things from both OoT and MM he’d struggle to get over later in life, due to him being so young when he experienced them.
Needless to say he never touched the Master Sword again.
His desperation to find Navi at the end of OoT is interesting though. It shows that he cares about her, but she wasn’t kidnapped or went missing...she left him. It’s possible Link thought she just needed to go somewhere, but I don’t think that was the case. 
No matter the reason, it was for all intensive purposes, a dick move. Because even if you’re not a Korkiri, I believe you can still make it into the forest if you have a fairy companion to guide you. Be doing this, she effectively locks Link out of the Korkiri forest, banishing him from his childhood and robbing him of the chance to live in carefree peace with the forest children. So aside from missing her, he probably chased after her because without her, he can never return home. 
And we know in LU that years later she still hasn’t come back...
During his life leading up to LU, he was probably going with the flow. There was no way back into the Korkiri forest without Navi, so he sort of aimlessly roamed around Hyrule and went wherever there was adventure. Helping anyone who needed it, taking down dangerous monsters and travelling around the kingdom. He didn’t think of it as a job and didn’t take it too seriously, he knew he had the power to do good so like his predecessors before him, and did what was right because he could. 
I do like the idea that sometime before LU, maybe in his mid twenties, there was an incident where he used the Fierce Deity mask and something went horribly wrong. He ended up defeating whatever forced him to resort to that power, but it resulted in the Fierce Deity almost possessing him, or the power itself tried to take over for a moment- either way it lead to the missing eye and tattoos. 
I have a fair bit more to say on the Fierce Deity...but I’ll leave it there for now.
Time never saw the masks he collected as toys. Some were connected to the dead, one housed a very powerful entity and therefore needed to be treated with respect. Keeping the collection mostly to honour those they represented and maybe also as proof of the adventure. MM was another thankless quest, no one outside of Termina (which may or may not exist) knows what happened there, so he could tell stories using the masks as evidence that he wasn’t full of shit. 
That being said, his skill as a swordsman and warrior would be enough for most to believe him. He’s had a long while to master the blade and was probably besting even the most skilled knights in the Hyrulean Army while back in his child body after OoT. He can use a bunch of different items, shoot a bow with deadly accuracy and even do a nifty bit of magic.
Unfortunately, due to his circumstances his intelligence stat capped off mid-way through childhood. Filling his time with adventure and daring do meant he wasn’t exactly hitting the books and making up for the lost years of homeschooling...or tree-schooling in his case. As such, he’s a very slow reader, his handwriting is like that of a 4th grader’s, his arithmetic is excellent as long as the numbers don’t get to big or the math more complex than adding, subtracting and multiplying. Also statistics and fractions smaller than 1/4 mean basically nothing to him.
In his defence, what’s reading a few books compared to year’s worth of life experience? This man is wise beyond his years, always aware of his surroundings and one could say he’s very much a people person. The only thing that didn’t improve with age is his cringe humour.  
Since the Hero’s Shade looked heavily armoured, it seems likely that Time was officially signed up to the army but maybe as a reserve and has had knight’s training once he became old enough to enlist. Things didn’t go smoothly after Ganondorf was outed by kid Lullaby and Time. The King of Thieves didn’t get arrested lying down, he got arrested after a long drawn out bloody conflict with the Royal Family. 
This conflict led to the Gerudo being chased out the desert and the reuse of their Spirit Temple, turning it into a prison: the Arbiter’s Grounds. Time couldn’t fight in this war because it happened when he was still a kid (could have ended when he was in his mid teens) and since he isn’t known as the legendary hero there was no way the army would let a minor fight in their ranks. He wouldn’t have risked pulling out the Master Sword to prove his status, for fear of Fi putting him in stasis again or Ganondorf having access to the Triforce and Sacred Realm.
He may be bitter towards the Master Sword, but he’s downright hateful of Royal Family. He saw evidence of the atrocities the Sheikah committed under their orders in the Shadow Temple, their cruelty towards the Gerudo and incompetence to stop Ganondorf in his original timeline. Hence why he spends his life doing his own thing rather than rise the ranks of their army.
Music is incredibly important to him. It not only serves as a meaningful connection to Saria and the life he once had, but it’s also how he interacts with the world and enforces his will on it. Again, as a kid he only saw the ocarina as a practical little instrument that could do cool things (btw I know for a fact that Time would never drop Saria’s ocarina or favour it to Zelda’s, even if it’s something the player can do. He wouldn’t do it willingly, only resorting to it if he needed space for a item that could save his life), but as he grew into an adult appreciated its connection to space as well as time.
He may travel alone, but that’s mostly due to the sense of isolation he acquired from his experiences and the burden of bearing the God-like power of the Fierce Deity. On days off or when he feels he needs a break, he’ll seek out the company of those he cares about. Those relationships would have started from scratch, because in this timeline no one remembers him and courageous acts he committed to save Hyrule.
Still has a deep connection to the Korkiri forest. Even though he couldn’t return. It’s a safe bet to assume that the Hero’s Shade is in fact a Stalfos. What if the reason he risks going into the Lost Woods without a fairy guide was because he’d heard news that the Korkiri Forest was falling into decay. The Deku tree still dies in this timeline and without a new sapling to replace him, the forest dies. What if Link went to try and save the forest by finding a new sapling, only to find himself lost and cursed to forever roam the haunted woods as the Hero’s Shade. All while his home slowly perishes.
Leaving the forest in the decrepit state seen in Twilight Princess, with the hollow husk of the Deku Tree serving as the game’s first dungeon. Who knows the fate of the Korkiri...
Twilight’s existence makes him exceedingly happy. Before that revelation, he probably didn’t think too much about stuff like legacy, descendants and passing down his skills. He’d have a funny view on nostalgia. Spent most of his life not putting too much thought into the past or dwelling on a future that may not come to past if he doesn’t make it back from an adventure. Until he gets a family of his own. The normalcy and security his wife and kid(s) bring will finally have him looking at the past fondly and the future with hope. 
I’ll leave you with a couple more famous OoT quotes:
‘melody that will draw you into infinite darkness’
‘A childish mind will turn into noble ambition’
~~~
Thanks for reading! 
I truly believe that this incarnation of Link is one of the most interesting. Imagine what having control over yet being completely at the mercy of the flow of time would do to a person. There are lots of other interpretations you can pull from Link’s experience on OoT and MM, which is a testament to the incredible game design. 
Expect edits every now and then for posts like these. They take a while to write and I don’t always proofread...
If you enjoyed this post check my other ones:
Hero of Twilight character analysis
Hero of the Sky character analysis (TP story) From Shadows: Link’s backstory
Masterlist
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chilucult · 3 years ago
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posting my chiluc smut here first bc I don't have an ao3 account (yet)! will post the ao3 link once I get an account and get it posted.
again, this is smut, minors begone.
also, this is my first fic ever, so feel free to roast me.
another warning, this is long (~10k words)
fic under the cut!
The Fatui Harbinger had been coming to the Angel’s Share for the past few nights. He called himself “Childe”. Diluc was not very fond of him, what with him being with the Fatui and all, but he was a paying customer, so Diluc treated him as he did every other patron. Diluc just wished this Childe guy would treat him like every other bartender.
“Can I get another shot? Pretty please, oh pretty barkeep?” Ajax batted his eyes at Diluc, noticing the man give a slight eye roll before he began to pour the Harbinger his requested shot.
Ajax had been trying to get the attention of this particular bartender for some nights now. When he had first entered the Angel’s Share tavern, his sight had tunnel-visioned on the entrancing man behind the bar with fiery red hair. Ajax knew he had to have him. The bartender, Diluc, his name tag read, was not as perceptive to Ajax’s advances as he had hoped he would be.
Diluc set down the shot he had ordered in front of him, jerking him out of his musings. “Would you like me to add this to your tab, sir?” Diluc asked him, all business. Oh, but Ajax would never tire of hearing the man’s voice, wanting to hear how it sounded when it was screaming his name.
Ajax cocked his head to the side to appreciate the view from a different angle. “Yes, please; and like I said, call me Childe.” He tried not to get discouraged when he saw Diluc scoff a bit. “Actually, you can call me anything you like,” he shot back with a wink.
Diluc only scoffed again, wiping down a glass from another customer. “I’m not going to call you by some made-up name. ‘Childe’ is ridiculous, anyway,” he explained, choosing to ignore the wink the Fatui man had sent him.
Ajax downed his shot easily, smirking slightly at Diluc’s raised eyebrow. “I told you that you could call me anything you want. Although, I certainly didn’t mind ‘sir’ either, if that’s what you’re into,” Ajax all but purred, his eyes half lidded in intent.
Diluc chuckled a bit sarcastically at that. “Wouldn’t you like to know,” he shot back, only resorting to responding in such a manner because the Harbinger was pushing his buttons.
Ajax leaned forward on the bar, getting closer to the man of his desires. “Oh I would absolutely love to know just exactly what you’re into,” he whispered darkly, knowing that Diluc could still hear his every word. Ajax mentally pumped his fist when he saw Diluc inhale sharply at that.
Diluc narrowed his eyes at the man in front of him. “Are you... flirting with me?” he asked, genuinely unsure.
Ajax’s eyes widened at the question before he sat back on his barstool with a laugh. “‘Am I flirting with you?’! Um, yeah, actually, have been for the past few days,” he laughs again, thinking it absurd that it took Diluc this long to figure out. “But thanks for noticing, I guess.” He still shook his head to himself, wondering if he had lost his flirting skills or if Diluc was just particularly dense.
Diluc felt his cheeks start to heat up, and quickly turned his back to the Harbinger. The Harbinger that was flirting with him. Diluc couldn’t understand why. The man was clearly out of Diluc’s league, surely he hadn’t missed all the other patrons in the tavern staring at him, had he? So, as he fiddled with empty glasses, wiping them down just to have something to occupy his hands with, he softly asked, “Why?”
Ajax tore his eyes from where he was blatantly staring at Diluc’s ass to meet the man’s hesitant eyes looking over his shoulder. “Why? Are you kidding me? You’re kidding right?” Diluc broke their eye contact, shyly looking down at the floor, which was not what Ajax wanted. “I don’t think we have time to cover my entire list of reasons, Red.” Diluc looked back at him questioningly, both at the nickname and the statement.
“You just look so... breathtaking.” Diluc turned back around to face Ajax, but couldn’t meet his eyes just yet. “Since I first saw you a few nights ago, I knew I just had to have you. I wanna know how beautiful you look when you let your hair down, what kinds of noises you’ll make when I pull on it. Wanna know how you sound after I’ve broken you, how you’ll look after I’ve made a mess of you,” Ajax murmured, slowly standing from his stool and crowding into Diluc as much as he could with the bar between them. He smirked victoriously when he saw Diluc breathing a bit heavier, his cheeks flushed a bright pink.
A loud clang from somewhere in the tavern jolted them apart, someone probably having knocked over their drink. Diluc’s eyes darted about the place, hoping no one had seen them just now. “Oh my- gods, you can’t say stuff like that here, I’m working,” he seethed, attempting to convey his annoyance, but knowing the Harbinger could probably see right through him.
“Not here?” Ajax repeated, a feral grin beginning to grow on his face. “So I could do it, say, in your bedroom?” He asked suggestively.
Diluc couldn’t deny his attraction to the Fatui man. He was hot, what could Diluc say? He had just never thought the man would be interested in him, but he had clearly been wrong. Plus, the things that he had been talking about did sound rather enticing...
He lowered his voice, praying to the gods that none of the other patrons in the tavern could hear what he was saying. “If I say yes, will you quit... teasing me for the rest of my shift?”
Ajax pulled away a bit, suddenly serious. “Hey now, don’t make it sound like I’m forcing you. If you really want me to cut it out and leave, just say the word and I’ll be gone.” He couldn’t stop the small smirk from gracing his lips as he said his next words. “But something tells me that you really don’t want me to stop.”
Diluc flushed, averting his eyes once again. “Do you think I would even consider going home with you if I didn’t want it?” He whispered, embarrassed to have to admit his desires, but also wanting to make his intentions clear.
Ajax grinned wickedly. “Perfect,” he purred. “So when do you get off work, Red?”
Diluc pouted slightly at the nickname before he glanced at the clock on the wall. “In... a little less than an hour. Think you can be patient for that long?”
“If I get to take you home? I’d wait forever,” Ajax grinned easily. He could see Diluc’s cheeks redden, but could also see the weak glare the man sent his way. “Fine, fine. I’ll leave you to work in peace.”
For the next hour, Diluc tried to carry on with his work normally, he really tried. Yet, he found it impossible to ignore the stirring of emotions in his gut. He was excited for the night ahead, yes, but there was also nervousness and anxiety eating away at him. He knew he wasn’t the most... experienced person out there. He had only ever slept with one girl years ago, finding it not to his liking. He had never even been with a man (unless you count that one guy he made out with a few years back). He hoped his inexperience wouldn’t be a dealbreaker for the man.
He also found it hard to ignore the presence of the Harbinger. He had kept his word, not making any more moves at Diluc, but Diluc couldn’t shake the feeling of the other man’s eyes tracking his every movement. Every so often when Diluc would sneak a peek at him, he would find the Harbinger shamelessly staring at him, eyes roaming over his body slowly, hungrily. He couldn’t help the flush in his cheeks, nor the way he fidgeted self-consciously with his apron.
When Charles came to finally relieve Diluc of his bartending duties, he could see the clear excitement in the Harbinger’s eyes. Diluc took off his apron, leaning in close to the man to whisper, “Meet me out back.” He almost laughed at the way the man bolted from his seat.
Ajax was waiting patiently behind the tavern for only a few minutes before the fiery redhead made his appearance. “So, where to, Red?” His lips twitched into a small smile as they began walking, noticing that Diluc was just slightly shorter than him.
Diluc grumbled to himself, “Since you’ve been coming to the tavern for days, I would’ve hoped you’d bother to read my name tag once.” He continued when the man beside him chuckled, nodding his head in the direction of the city gates. “The manor is a bit outside the city, hope you don’t mind a bit of a walk.”
Ajax cut himself off from the smooth retort of I’d walk to the ends of the earth to get you into bed with me to look at Diluc inquisitively. “Wait... manor?”
Diluc went on to explain that he owned the winery in Mondstadt, as well as the large manor house that was on the property. He also mentioned that he owned the tavern they were just at, internally preening at the impressed look on the Harbinger’s face.
After that, a silence fell between the two as they walked. Diluc didn’t seem to be one to make small talk much, and Ajax was perfectly fine just taking in the scenery, not feeling the need to run his mouth for once. It was comfortable.
Diluc was infinitely glad that he dismissed his house staff early each night, comforted by the fact that there would be no interruptions. As soon as he walked through the front door, his back was being shoved against the hard wood, the gasp he let out being swallowed by the incessant lips capturing his own. His eyes fell closed as he was kissed breathless against the door, a gloved hand gripping his hip and pinning him in place. Diluc slowly raised a hand to rest on the man’s shoulder as his mouth was invaded by the other’s tongue.
Diluc ripped his head back once the Harbinger gave him room to breathe. “H-hold on,” he panted, tilting his head slightly as the man hummed against the skin of his jaw in response. “I have... two things. F-first,” he stuttered out as the skin beneath his jaw was nipped lightly. “You need to tell me your name. I- I’m not calling you Childe.” His eyebrows furrowed in distaste at the name, even while his eyes slipped shut once again from the soft kisses being left on his neck.
Ajax chuckled against the skin of Diluc’s neck. He peppered light kisses across the skin of his jaw, making his way to the other’s ear, where he whispered, “It’s Ajax. Please do remember it, I want to hear you screaming it for me tonight.” He nipped at the skin just below Diluc’s ear, smirking at the way the man shivered slightly.
Diluc nodded absently, mouthing the name Ajax to see how it felt on his lips. He let his head fall back against the door as the man- Ajax- continued a trail down his throat. He hummed in content as his lips were captured in a searing kiss once again, only to have the noise turn into a weak whine as Ajax pulled away much sooner than Diluc would have liked.
“Didn’t you have another thing to say, baby?” Ajax questioned, reveling in the hitch in Diluc’s breath at the use of the pet name. Once his words registered with Diluc, he could notice the other man’s demeanor change, suddenly shy. His cheeks were flushed more in embarrassment than arousal, and his hand was nervously fidgeting with the clothes on Ajax’s shoulder. Ajax pulled himself back a bit, trying to give Diluc more room to get out whatever it was that he wanted to say.
“I- I’ve never... I mean, with a, uh, guy, at least... I’ve never, um... done... this,” he stammered out weakly, his words trailing off at the end. Diluc couldn’t bring himself to meet Ajax’s eyes, but he doubted he would’ve been able to read any expression on his face.
There was a moment's pause before Diluc heard Ajax ask, “Do you want to stop?” If there was any judgement in his voice, Diluc certainly couldn’t find it.
If Diluc thought he couldn’t get any more embarrassed than he already was, he was wrong. He internally cringed at how quick he was to respond. “No. No. I want... this. I just... thought you should, uh, know,” he finished weakly. He was emboldened, encouraged to continue by the soft smile on Ajax’s face. “Besides... you still need to follow through with your words,” he taunted, choosing to ignore the flush on his cheeks at the reminder of Ajax’s filthy promises.
The soft grin of Ajax’s face turned sharp as he crowded Diluc against the door once again. He buried his face into the side of the man’s neck, leaving a bite there before whispering against the skin, “Oh, baby. I’m gonna make it so good for you.” He reached down the grab Diluc’s thigh, using the grip he had on his hip with his other hand to lift the redhead, properly pinning him against the door. He smirked at the gasp Diluc let out, the way his legs scrambled to wrap around his waist.
Diluc was thriving. His head was tilted back against the door, his eyes slipped shut in pleasure. Diluc knew he was a large man, his muscles built well and even a bit bulky in some areas. So the way in which Ajax easily lifted him off the ground and was still supporting his weight against the door, was a bit shocking to Diluc. And, apparently, quite the turn on, if the rapid hardening in his pants was anything to go by. Diluc was glad that his long coat was still on, covering what had to be an obvious tent in his pants. He was embarrassed to be so turned on by just a little making out, but perhaps it was just the effect that Ajax had on him.
Ajax continued leaving a trail of bite marks down Diluc’s throat, encouraged by the way Diluc would tilt his head to the side, offering Ajax a larger expanse of skin to mark. “I’m gonna ruin you for anyone else,” he muttered into Diluc’s skin darkly. He bit down at a spot at the base of Diluc’s throat rasher harshly, leaving his lips on the skin to suck on the mark, ensuring it would leave a nice bruise. He glanced up at the sound of a muffled whimper to see Diluc biting his bottom lip, no doubt in an attempt to keep his noises at bay.
Ajax let go of his hip, bringing his hand up to thumb at Diluc’s lower lip, urging him to release it from between his teeth. Diluc complied easily, his eyes slipping open when Ajax tutted at him. “Nuh uh, let me hear you, baby. I wanna hear all the beautiful noises you can make,” he smirked slightly at the small whimper that escaped from Diluc’s lips. “Let me hear how good I make you feel,” he finished with a whisper.
Diluc’s hands flew to the back of Ajax’s head, gripping his hair and bringing him down for a sloppy kiss. Ajax groaned into Diluc’s mouth, his tongue slipping between the other’s lips easily. With his free hand, Ajax attempted to push the heavy coat off of Diluc’s shoulders, but with his back pinned against the door, it was futile. He groaned into Diluc’s mouth again, this time in annoyance, before he ripped himself away from the mouth that was quickly becoming addicting.
Diluc could see that Ajax was about to say something, but cut him off. “Bedroom,” he panted out, knowing Ajax was thinking the same thing. Ajax let him down and nodded at him, and that was all Diluc needed. He grabbed the man’s hand, almost running through the manor to get to the stairs, zipping through the halls to get to his bedroom. He led Ajax into the room, seeing Ajax kick the door closed behind him, before he was promptly thrown onto his own bed.
Diluc gasped as he bounced back on the bed, his length twitching in his pants. He quickly kicked off his socks and shoes as he saw Ajax doing the same, before Ajax pounced on him. His mouth was everywhere, leaving kisses and bites so quickly that Diluc couldn’t even process it before he would move on to a new spot. His hands moved in a frenzy as well, hastily reaching for Diluc’s hands to strip him of his gloves.
Ajax pulled at the collar of Diluc’s coat, wanting the material off hours ago. The coat was still proving difficult, as he had to get Diluc to work his arms out of it, and Ajax declared the coat his new nemesis. He slowed his mouth leaving marks all along Diluc’s neck, carefully getting Diluc to help him pull his arms out of the offending jacket. He pulled back a bit to let Diluc sit up so he could throw the coat to the ground, Ajax delighted to finally be rid of it.
As happy as he was to be rid of Diluc’s coat, Ajax groaned in annoyance at the sight of more layers of clothing hiding the bare skin he so desperately wanted to see. He did take a moment to appreciate Diluc in his bartending uniform, the black dress shirt and white vest making him look oh so cute when paired with his flushed face and heaving chest. Ajax dived in again, mouthing at Diluc’s neck. “So. Many. Fucking. Layers,” he huffed out into Diluc’s skin, impatiently undoing the buttons of his vest.
Diluc let out a breathless laugh, his breathing still heavy from all the attention Ajax was giving his neck. “I don’t see you- ah. I don’t see you taking anything off,” he panted out, thinking it was a bit unfair that he was the only one being undressed. He let one of his hands move to Ajax’s hip, sliding up to feel the small stretch of skin that was exposed by the cut of his shirt. He let his hand wander further up beneath Ajax’s shirt, sucking in a breath at the feeling of abs and corded muscle.
Ajax hummed against the skin of Diluc’s neck at the feeling of his hand against his own bare skin. “All in good time, baby,” he chuckled, pulling away as he had finally gotten the vest unbuttoned. “For now, I want to see how beautiful you are under all these clothes,” he murmured as rid Diluc of the vest.
Diluc squirmed against the bed as Ajax slowly undid the buttons of his dress shirt, not used to being stared at so intensely. Ajax’s eyes were glued to where his hands were meticulously undoing each button, hungrily eating up every inch of newly revealed skin. Once he undid the last button, he unceremoniously pushed it to Diluc’s sides, putting his entire bare torso on display.
Ajax could do nothing but stare. The man laid out before him was breathtaking, and he wasn’t even fully undressed yet. Ajax wasn’t sure if he would make it through this night alive. But oh it would be such a glorious death. He was so caught up in letting his eyes wander about the wide expanse of skin that he didn’t notice Diluc wriggling his arms out of the sleeves. He only noticed when Diluc sat up a bit to toss the shirt to the floor, his abs clenching deliciously.
Diluc continued to squirm against the sheets, hating that Ajax was staring at him silently for so long. He didn’t find Diluc unattractive, did he? Diluc knew that much of his muscle mass was pretty well hidden beneath his clothes, but without them, there was no hiding it. He prayed to the gods that Ajax didn’t mind his extra bulk. “Ajax,” he whined softly, a small pout to his lips.
Diluc whining his name finally snapped Ajax out of his reverie. “Gods,” he whispered, letting his gloved hands slide up Diluc’s chest, coming to cup the pectoral muscles. “So fucking beautiful,” he whispered again, still entranced by the way the flush on Diluc’s cheeks continued down his neck and to his check, covering the pale skin in bright red splotches. His eyes flicked up to Diluc’s face. “Oh, one more thing.” He reached behind Diluc’s head to undo the ponytail that was holding his hair back. After running his fingers through the locks, he leaned back to admire the view.
And what a view he was. Diluc’s face flushed a bright pink, red splotches of blush littering his beautiful pale skin, his chest rising with each breath he took. All of this, framed by a halo of fiery red hair, the curls spilling out and spreading across the sheets.
Ajax’s patience snapped. He dove down to leave a harsh bite at the meat of Diluc’s pectoral muscle, his hands feverishly wanting to map out every dip and curve.
Diluc let out a small “ah-“ at the harsh bite. A high-pitched keening noise ripped from his throat as Ajax laves his tongue over a nipple.
Ajax chuckled through his nose. “Do you like that? Does it feel good?” he murmured into the skin. Diluc let out a whine in response, which simply wouldn’t do, in Ajax’s opinion. “Diluc baby,” he began, pressing a chaste kiss to the man’s lips. “I want you to answer me when I ask you something, okay? I need to make sure you’re still comfortable and enjoying this. Need to know what makes you feel good. Think you can do that for me?” He grinned as Diluc nodded his head. “Good boy,” he whispered, planting another soft kiss to Diluc’s lips before making his way down his chest again.
Ajax blew on one of Diluc’s nipples softly, enjoying the way Diluc shivered in response. He took the bud lightly between his teeth before closing his lips around it. Diluc let out a soft moan at the feeling of Ajax’s tongue, his hand flying up to rest on the Harbinger’s shoulder. Ajax pulled back enough to purr, “Now let me ask you again. Does that feel good? Do you like getting your nipples played with?”
Ajax smirked to himself when Diluc nodded his head again, before whimpering out an answer. “Y-yeah... yes, it- fuck- it feels good.” Ajax switched his attention to the man’s other nipple, almost getting thrown off his body from how hard his chest was heaving.
Diluc let out another curse. Ajax pulled his mouth back to watch his hands move across the pale skin. His hands came to rest, cupping under the pectoral muscles and pushing them up and together. “Gods, I fucking love your chest,” Ajax breathed to himself; he knew Diluc could hear him from the way his breath hitched in his throat. “Just like a pair of tits,” he mused, squishing the muscles together. He smirked at the way Diluc’s breath was punched from his gut. “So fucking hot...”
Ajax looked up to see that Diluc’s mouth was opening and closing, as if he was trying to say something. “Yes, baby?” he asked, his hands stilling. “Did you want something?”
Diluc nodded, tugging slightly at the material of Ajax’s shirt. “O-off. Please... a-at least the gloves, fuck, please.”
Ajax was now positive he would not survive the night.He couldn’t believe this was Diluc’s first time, not with the way he begged so pretty. He didn’t even need to tell the other to say please. Perhaps he was a natural-born pleaser, Ajax thought to himself.
He snapped his attention back to Diluc when the other tugged at his clothes once more. “Oh, such a good boy, telling me what you want. So polite, too,” he cooed at Diluc. He hummed in consideration for a moment before an idea came to him. He regretfully removed one of his hands from Diluc’s chest, bringing it up to Diluc’s face, the fingertips of his gloves a hairbreadth away from Diluc’s shiny lips. “Would you be so kind as to help me with the gloves, hm?”
Ajax watched in twisted delight as Diluc slowly took the fabric of the middle finger of his glove between his teeth. He pulled his hand back a bit, happy to see Diluc rear his head back, the glove sliding off Ajax’s hand with ease. “Good,” he whispered to himself, taking the glove from Diluc’s mouth. He brought his other hand up, and Diluc helped him out of that glove as well.
Ajax tossed his gloves to the side carelessly, too excited to finally feel Diluc’s skin with his bare hands. He trailed his hands slowly from Diluc’s jaw down his neck, heat pooling in him as Diluc tilted his head further back to allow him more room. He trailed his hands down the other’s chest, feeling his pounding heartbeat, then further down, watching his abs twitch at the featherlight touches.
His hands ended up cupped around Diluc’s pecs once again. His hands massaged the muscle there as he mouthed at the skin. When he heard Diluc let out a pleased sigh, he bit down, gnawing at the muscle between his teeth. The sudden bite caused Diluc to gasp sharply, his eyes flying open to see Ajax’s mouth on his chest. Ajax released the muscle, giving the aggravated area a few licks and kisses to soothe the sting before he smirked up at Diluc. “Do you like me marking up your gorgeous tits? They’re gonna bruise so pretty...” he trailed off, moving to leave a similar bite mark on the other side of Diluc’s chest, a punched out “fuck-“ leaving Diluc’s lips at the sting.
Ajax was mouthing at the newest bite mark when he raised a questioning eyebrow at Diluc. Diluc gulped. “Yes...” he breathed out softly, hoping Ajax could hear him. “Hurts but... f-feels good. P-please don’t st-stop,” he whimpered, moving his free hand to Ajax’s hair in an attempt to keep him in place.
Ajax groaned into the skin of Diluc’s chest, “Gods, you’re such a good boy for me.” He made note of how Diluc’s hips bucked up at that, and filed the thought away for later.
Ajax spent the next few minutes leaving harsh bites all over Diluc’s chest, soothing the mark with kisses each time. Diluc felt as if he was on cloud nine, the deep sting from the initial bite sending electricity up his spine, only for heat to curl in his gut at the kisses left there afterwards. However, he was getting a bit impatient. His dick was rock hard in his pants, and he could feel a wet patch beginning to grow in his boxers. Diluc wanted to get his pants off. Actually, Diluc revised his own thoughts, he wanted to get Ajax out of his clothes even more, the Fatui man not even having shed his shirt yet.
Diluc tightened his hold in Ajax’s hair just slightly, tugging on his shirt with his other hand. “Off... plea- hng- please. W-wanna... wanna see- oh fuck- you too,” Diluc panted out, pleased that he could even get out coherent words at that point.
Ajax would never get tired of hearing Diluc beg. He breathed out a shaky, “Fuck... okay,” before he pulled back enough to tear his shirt off, throwing it who knows where. He could see Diluc eyeing him appreciatively, but didn’t give him much time to enjoy the view before he was kissing the other man senseless.
Diluc groaned into Ajax’s mouth, his hands sliding down the man’s back, finally attaining the skin-on-skin contact he didn’t know he craved. He let his hands wander and feel to make up for what his eyes weren’t able to see. From his exploration, he could tell that the other was covered in scars, both old and new, as well as the fact that he was much stronger than he appeared, corded muscles tense beneath his skin.
Diluc was slightly amused by the fact that Ajax’s hands returned to his chest almost immediately. It made Diluc feel... almost confident, the fact that Ajax seemed to like it so much. So, he arched his back, pushing his chest further into those incessant hands.
“Fuck,” Ajax breathed harshly into Diluc’s mouth. His hands squeezed around the muscles. “So fucking hot,” he panted out, moving to mouth at the other’s jaw. “Bet if I squeezed ‘em together, I could get my dick in between and fuck your tits,” he rambled, words spilling from his mouth before he could really even think about it.
Diluc absolutely keened at that, his head thrown back as a high whine escaped his throat. His reaction only spurred Ajax on. “Yeah? Would you like that baby? Want me to fuck your tits?” he mumbled into Diluc’s skin, the idea almost sending him into a frenzy. Diluc was faring no better. His eyes were pinched shut, pushing his chest out even further, a constant stream of “yes, yes, yes” falling from his lips.
It was only when Diluc desperately ground his hips up into Ajax’s that the Harbinger remembered his main goal for the night. He took a deep breath to calm himself. “Maybe later, baby,” he said, chuckling at the small pout Diluc gave him in response. “Definitely later,” he revised, happy to see Diluc perk up at that too. “For now, though,” he trailed his hands down Diluc’s chest, over his abs, and toying with the waistband of his pants. “Let's get you out of these, shall we?”
Diluc was all too eager to lift his hips to help Ajax undress him, any shyness at being bared being overshadowed by his desire. Ajax tossed his pants to the side, eyeing the large bulge in his boxers with a hungry gaze. Diluc let out a breathy whine as Ajax palmed him, finally giving his cock attention. He cursed when Ajax lowered his head to mouth at him through the fabric, hot breath and saliva dampening the material even further. Ajax hummed against his length, breathing out, “Gods, how are you even real?” as his hands slid up Diluc’s thighs.
Diluc cried out as Ajax dug his fingers into the meat of Diluc’s thighs, causing the Harbinger to groan. “Fuck, baby, your thighs,” he whispered reverently against Diluc’s length, feeling it twitch beneath the fabric. He trailed his mouth down to suck a mark into the flesh of the redhead’s inner thigh. “Can I mark ‘em up? Bruise ‘em all nice and pretty to match your tits? Mark ‘em as mine?” Ajax purred.
Diluc sucked in a wet, heaving breath. “Yes, please- oh fuck,” he panted out. He let one of his hands trail to his own chest, pressing his finger into one of the dark red marks that will surely bruise later. “Can you... can you- ah! B-bite? Fuck, please?” Diluc begged, craving the sting of Ajax’s teeth again.
Ajax groaned, reaching a hand down to adjust himself in his pants. “‘Course, baby,” he whispered. He returned his hand, using it to pull Diluc’s boxers off. Diluc squirmed at being fully bare, but Ajax just pressed a sweet kiss to his shaft, his hand wrapped around the base. He let himself begin to ramble as he slowly stroked Diluc’s cock. “Gonna mark up these perfect thighs. Gods, you’re gonna be so bruised tomorrow, you’ll look so gorgeous. Gonna mark you up so everyone knows you’re mine.”
Diluc couldn’t stop the near constant stream of moans and whimpers from leaving his lips. The feeling of Ajax’s hand finally on his dick is heavenly, and the man’s whispered words only add fuel to the fire in his gut. He lets out a sharp cry as Ajax’s teeth sink into the meat of his inner thigh, the noise turning into a low groan as Ajax soothes the sting with his tongue.
Ajax only removed his head from between Diluc’s thighs once he was satisfied that the redhead was as marked up as possible. He really hoped Diluc wouldn’t kick him out once they were done, he wanted to see how well all his marks turned into bruises for himself in the morning. He pulled his mouth away from Diluc’s thighs, stroking a finger over the bite-mark covered skin reverently. “These are gonna look so good, baby,” he murmured. “Can’t wait to see you covered in my bruises.”
Diluc whined, his hips jumping as the pace of Ajax’s hand on his cock had slowed significantly. Ajax must have noticed, because he was soon licking small stripes up the entire length. Small cries and high pitched whimpers were ripped from Diluc’s throat. He turned his head to the side, knowing that the sight of Ajax between his thighs with his mouth on his cock could probably make him cum.
Ajax trailed his lips up the shaft, planting a sloppy kiss right at the tip. “Love this fucking cock,” he mumbled, mostly to himself. He grinned at the moan Diluc let out. “Want me to suck it? Bet you taste so good,” he rambled, eyes eager to see Diluc’s reaction. “I can usually swallow everything, but you’re so big I might just choke on it.” He delighted in the hitch in Diluc’s breath, the way his hips jumped. “I’d love it though, choking on it. I’d let you gag me with it, ‘til I can’t breathe.”
He grinned evilly as Diluc let out a loud whine. “But maybe later.” With that, he sat up completely, leaving only his hand wrapped loosely around the base of Diluc’s length. He chuckled as Diluc balked at him, having had all the pleasurable sensations ripped away. “Sorry baby, but I gotta ask: do you want to top or bottom?” Ajax desperately wanted to fuck the other man, but since it was his first time, he figured he would let the redhead make the decision.
Diluc flushed, averting his eyes. “Oh, I, um, uh... w-want you to... to, um, f-fuck me,” he stammered out before blearing his throat. “Please.”
Ajax wanted so badly to hop on board with that and absolutely destroy the other man, but he felt it was only fair to give him a warning. “Are you sure, baby? It might hurt a bit,” he said cautiously.
Diluc took a deep breath, steeling himself. “Yes, I’m sure. And I- I... I trust you,” he finished quietly.
Ajax smiled, swooping down to press a soft kiss to Diluc’s forehead. “Alright. Don’t worry, baby, I’ll take care of you.” He planted a final kiss on the tip of Diluc’s nose, watching it scrunch up adorably. He patted the man lightly on the hip. “Turn over onto your stomach for me, baby. Also, lube?”
Diluc’s eyes widened a bit, heat rising to his cheeks before he complied, nodding his head toward the nightstand. As he was turning, he heard Ajax rummaging around through the drawer before closing it and tossing the bottle onto the bed next to him. Ajax grabbed a pillow from the headboard and placed it under his hips, making him flush further at the thought of his ass being put on display. Once he was settled, he grabbed a pillow to hug to his chest, giving himself something to keep his hand occupied with. He heard Ajax chuckle behind him, turning his head to look at the man questioningly, only to hear, “Of course you have a perfect ass as well,” spilling from the Harbinger’s lips.
Diluc jumped slightly when Ajax grabbed his ass without ceremony, a handful of cheek in each. He relaxed once again when Ajax began massaging his ass, kneading the flesh in his hands. He let out a soft hum, content. He didn’t even notice that Ajax had pulled his cheeks apart until he felt a thumb softly run over his hole. He jolted in surprise, making Ajax pull away, a worried look in his eyes. Diluc turned his head to the side, but wouldn’t make eye contact. “Sorry, sorry” he breathed out. “Just... surprised me. Keep going. Please,” he finished weakly.
Ajax wasn’t entirely convinced. “You sure?” he asked, not wanting to cause Diluc any discomfort. Diluc nodded his head eagerly where it lay on the pillow, and Ajax let out a bated breath. He put his hands back on Diluc’s ass, comforted by the way Diluc seemed to immediately relax into the touch. “Have you ever had anything in you before?” he asked quietly.
Diluc turned to hide more of his face into his pillow. “Mmfnhfnggrz” was the muffled response. Ajax could guess as to what was said, but he really wanted to hear Diluc say it himself. He continued to massage Diluc’s asscheeks, thumbs occasionally brushing the skin closer to his crack, but never getting any closer to his hole. “Hm, what was that baby? I couldn’t understand you.”
Ajax grinned as Diluc turned his head to face him more, his face almost as red as his hair, his eyes looking anywhere but at the Harbinger. “I- I’ve used, um... my- my fingers before,” he whispered.
Ajax’s grin morphed into a soft smile, encouraging Diluc to continue. “Mhmm. And how did it feel baby?” He tutted when Diluc buried his head in his pillow again, groaning in shame. “Hey, nothing to be embarrassed about, baby. I’m just trying to get more familiar with what your comfort level is. Like I said, I’m gonna make this good for you,” he explained, leaving a trail of soft kisses up Diluc’s spine.
Diluc turned his head to the side once again, his eyes pinching shut. “It felt...” he began, trailing off as he thought about the answer. “Fine,” he answered decisively. “Felt... felt full, it- it was good,” he sighed, the memory of his own fingers inside him fresh in his mind. “But it, uh, w-wasn’t enough to...” he trailed off, hoping Ajax would understand what he meant.
Ajax’s mind was reeling, head filled with thoughts and visions of Diluc desperately trying to fuck himself on his fingers, only to cry out in frustration when he can’t hit that perfect spot inside him. If he could ever get Diluc into bed with him again, he would need to make the redhead ringer himself open for him; Ajax was sure it would be an excellent show.
He was snapped out of his thoughts when Diluc’s hips twitched a bit, pushing his ass back into Ajax’s hands. He planted one final kiss to Diluc’s shoulder before sitting up once again. “Don’t worry, baby. I’m gonna make you feel so good you’ll see stars,” he chuckled breathlessly, watching as Diluc minutely thrusted into the pillow beneath his hips.
Diluc startled at the snap of the lube cap opening, relaxing again as Ajax pressed a comforting kiss on one of his cheeks. He inhaled sharply as Ajax’s thumbs spread his cheeks apart once more. “Gods, I’d love to eat you out one day,” he heard the Harbinger mumble into his skin, his hips thrusting against the pillow weakly at the thought. Ajax must’ve noticed, for he continued, “Would you like that, baby? Would you let me eat your ass?” As he said it, one of his hands disappeared, only to return moments later, spreading warmed lube across Diluc’s entrance with a thumb.
Diluc’s breath caught in his throat at the familiar feeling of the substance. What wasn’t familiar, however, was the feeling of someone’s else’s hands doing the work. They had barely even started, but Diluc already decided that he liked this much better than doing it himself.
The redhead’s breath escaped him in a shaky exhale as Ajax pushed just the tip of his thumb in, the rim fluttering around the intrusion. Ajax was keeping a keen eye out for any signs of discomfort from Diluc; when he found none, he slowly edged his thumb further in, up to the first knuckle. Diluc let out a quiet moan, his hips pushing back when Ajax stilled. Encouraged, Ajax continued.
He twisted his thumb around a bit, feelings Diluc’s walls stretch around him. He pulled his thumb this way and that, stretching the rim a bit further. Diluc was humming softly, quiet moans falling from his lips every so often. Ajax removed his thumb, smiling at the whine that escaped Diluc’s throat from the loss. He shushed the redhead quietly, leaving soft kisses along his thighs.
Ajax slid his index finger into Diluc, meeting little resistance. He reveled in the moan the man let loose, his volume having increased ever so slightly. He slid his finger in to the base, Diluc’s shoulders tensing a bit. “Doing okay?” Ajax asked softly, stilling his hand.
“Yeah,” Diluc gasped out. “Keep going.”
Ajax nodded softly, despite the fact that Diluc couldn’t actually see him. He slowly pulled his finger out until only the tip remained inside, and was just as slow in pushing it back in. Ajax was doing his best to go slow, despite his desire to just ram into the man below him, but the groan Diluc let out and the way his hips pushed back into his finger were really testing his restraint.
“So fucking good,” Ajax mumbled. He curled his finger a bit inside Diluc, the man letting out a whine. He removed his finger, two returning to Diluc’s hole before the redhead could even protest the loss. He slid his fingers in slowly, two being more of a stretch, pleased when Diluc only pushed his hips back further. “Take my fingers so well,” he murmured reverently. He paused as his fingers met some resistance around his knuckles, pulling them back only to push back in, loosening Diluc’s rim more.
Ajax slowly fucked his two fingers in and out of Diluc’s hole, the redhead letting out wet, panting breaths into the pillow he had clutched to his chest. After a short bit of time doing this, Ajax was able to slide both fingers in entirely, letting out a shaky breath at the delicious groan Diluc let out. He stilled, mesmerized by the sight and feeling of Diluc’s rim clenching around the base of his fingers.
Diluc felt his hips twitch involuntarily in impatience. He turned his head to look at the man behind him, his face partially obscured by his own fiery red curls. “M-move... pl- please, more,” he whimpered out, desperate for the feel of Ajax’s fingers stretching him open.
Ajax let out a low groan as he retracted his fingers slowly. He pushed them back in quickly, grinning at the way Diluc’s breath was punched from his gut. He repeated the action, Diluc letting out a low moan this time. He continued this, withdrawing slowly, only to push back in quickly- quickly, but not very rough. At some point, Ajax realized he couldn’t hear Diluc’s noises as well, looking up to find the man biting at his pillow.
Ajax tsked, using his free hand to grab some of Diluc’s hair and pull. A split second after he did it, he thought that he really should’ve been gentler, but the high, unabashed keen that was ripped from Diluc’s throat quelled his worries. He brought his lips down to Diluc’s ear, using the grip in his hair to get Diluc to arch his back just ever so slightly. “Nuh uh, baby. You gotta let me hear those beautiful noises, remember? You need to let me know how good I’m making you feel, hm?” he whispered, grinning dearly when Diluc took in a gulping gasp of air, his head nodding as much as it could with the grip Ajax still had on his hair. “Good boy.” He planted a kiss in Diluc’s hair, rewarding the man by twisting the fingers he still had inside him.
Diluc gasped at the feeling of the fingers inside him twisting, only for them to begin spreading apart, scissoring him open. This was always his favorite part of fingering himself, the feeling of his rim loosening, stretching further. He could never reach very far inside himself, but he did enjoy the feeling of being full. He enjoyed Ajax’s fingers much more than his own, as they were able to fill him as he desired, but they could also reach deep, hitting spots inside Diluc that had never been touched before.
“Feel good?” Ajax asked, snapping Diluc’s attention back to reality. Diluc heard a constant stream of soft whines and deep groans, embarrassed to find that he was the one making those noises. “Love the way you sound,” Ajax murmured, causing Diluc to flush, a sharp gasp leaving his lips as Ajax’s fingers curled inside him. “Yeah, just like that. Gods, so fucking hot.” Ajax slowed his fingers. “Tell me how it feels, baby,” the Harbinger ordered.
“Feels... oh fuck, good, feels so good,” Diluc blurted out, his pride nowhere to be found. “P-please, want- want... ah- want m-more,” he whimpered. “F-feel... mmmn- full, f-fuck. N-need... full, ple- hnngg- please?” Diluc really hoped that Ajax knew what he was begging for, because he sure didn’t know himself. “W-want- FUCK!” He cried out as Ajax curled his fingers just so, pressing against a spot inside him that made him dizzy with pleasure. He almost jackknifed off the bed, but Ajax’s free hand was quick to clamp down on his hip, keeping him firmly in place.
Ajax grinned sharply when he found the redhead’s prostate, his grin only growing at Diluc’s reaction, despite having to hold the man down. He stilled his fingers for a moment, knowing Diluc would need some time to collect himself. “Wh-... what was that?” Diluc asked hoarsely.
Ajax laughed. “That’s your prostate, baby. Really sensitive,” he explained, soothing his thumb over Diluc’s hip as the man was still taking shaky breaths. His grin turned wicked. “I told you I would make you see stars, didn’t I?” He fucked his fingers into Diluc’s hole again at the same angle, basking in the sharp cry that was ripped from Diluc’s throat. “Tell me how good it feels,” he whispered, his fingers continuing their motion.
Diluc had never felt such intense pleasure in his entire life. He felt as if Ajax’s two fingers had fucked the sanity out of him. “So- fuck- so good... yes, fuck, oh gods... m-more, pl- ah- please,” he begged, words spilling from his lips before he could even process what it was that he was even saying. A filthy noise was ripped from Diluc’s throat when Ajax added a third finger, still hitting the same spot inside him. Ajax had been thorough enough that the additional finger didn’t cause any pain, but Diluc reveled in the extra feeling of fullness.
When Ajax switched to keeping his fingers stuffed inside Diluc, fingertips massaging and rubbing circles into that sensitive spot inside him, Diluc’s hips began thrusting. He wasn’t quite sure if he was thrusting back into Ajax’s hands, or forward, rutting his dick into the pillow beneath his hips. All he knew was that he wanted more. As Ajax continued his ministrations with his fingers, Diluc could feel heat pooling in his gut. “Fuck, fuck, gods yes... so- hnngg- so full,” he panted out. “P-please, I’m- ah!- close, fuck, please.”
Ajax’s eyes lit up, hungrily watching Diluc rut between the pillow and his hand. “Yeah? You gonna cum on my fingers? Just from being stuffed full?” he teased sadistically, harshly thrusting his fingers in further for emphasis. He grinned manically, his dick positively leaking in his pants, at the noise Diluc let loose, almost sounding like a sob. Gods, he would love to fuck the redhead to the point of tears. He ground his fingers into Diluc’s prostate insistently. “Be a good boy and cum for me. Cum on my fingers, baby,” he murmured reverently.
Ajax was in awe. There was simply no other word for it. He watched as Diluc rutted into the pillow beneath him, suddenly freezing at his words, body tensed, as he let out a garbled whine high in his throat. The redhead was positively shaking through his orgasm, tremors running through his entire body as Ajax’s fingers worked him through his high. He retracted his fingers carefully once Diluc’s shoulders had finally relaxed again, his body still shaking.
The Harbinger gently coaxed Diluc to roll over onto his back, tossing the soiled pillow off the bed in the process. Ajax fell over top of him, leaving gentle kisses along the skin of his neck. “So wonderful, did so good for me,” he whispered the soothing words. “Perfect, just perfect.”
Diluc worked to open his eyes a fraction from where they were pinched shut, his body still wracked with tremors. “A-aren’t you g-gonna... f-fuck me? Y-you still ha- haven’t...” he trailed off, attempting to weakly gesture toward the rather obvious tent in Ajax’s pants with a shaky hand.
Ajax cooed at him. How sweet of him, he thought to himself. “Oh baby, you don’t need to worry about me.”
Diluc frowned, his eyebrows furrowing. “B-but... w-want you t-to fuck me? P-please?”
Ajax groaned at that. “Baby... you’re still going to be so sensitive,” he explained, trailing his fingers down to Diluc’s hips. The way Diluc’s hips twitched even at the light touch proving his point. “Are you sure?”
Diluc nodded his head eagerly. “Y-yes, please. W-want it. Wanna f-feel, feel you.” He could already feel his dick begin to twitch in interest again, and knew that it certainly wouldn’t take very long for him to get hard again.
Ajax sucked in a breath at that. “Gods, you’re incredible,” he whispered softly before continuing, his voice raised so that Diluc could hear. “Alright, baby, I’ll fuck you. You just have to let me know if it gets to be too much, okay?” When Diluc nodded, Ajax all but ripped his own pants off, eager to finally give his dick some attention.
Diluc was trying to angle his head to get a look at what Ajax had been hiding in his pants the whole night, curiosity taking over him, but the sound of the lube cap snapping open once more jolted him. Ajax hung his head over Diluc’s chest, letting out a soft hiss at his dick finally getting some contact. Diluc felt a sticky hand lightly pat the outside of his thigh. “Can you spread your legs for me, baby?” Ajax asked. Diluc complied, spreading his thighs apart, feeling heat rise to his cheeks as he slipped his eyes closed.
Ajax positioned his hands, one on Diluc’s hip, and the other grabbing the back of his thigh, pushing his knee towards his chest. He internally appreciated the flexibility of the man. He positioned the tip of his cock just outside Diluc’s hole, feeling the rim flutter at the contact. “I’ll go slow, okay?” He whispered into Diluc’s neck.
Diluc nodded, not trusting his voice enough to respond. He gasped sharply as the pressure against his rim increased, letting out a breathy cry as he felt the tip of Ajax’s length breach the ring of muscle. Diluc’s hands flew to Ajax’s shoulders once the Harbinger had gotten the head of his cock inside, nails digging into the flesh there. He could barely hear the deep groan that was ripped from Ajax’s throat over his own pounding heartbeat and gasping breaths.
Ajax had to still once he had gotten the head of his dick inside Diluc, worried he might cum if he pressed any further. Diluc was just so tight, wrapped deliciously around him. After taking a moment to collect himself, Ajax pressed further. It was overwhelming. All the punched out little “ah, ah, ah”s Diluc was letting out, the feeling of nails digging into the skin of his shoulders, the heat wrapped around his length, everything was flooding his senses.
He was about three-quarters of the way in when he was finally met with some resistance, Diluc tensing beneath him. Ajax peppered his face with kisses, stroking soothing thumbs over the skin of his hips and thighs. “Shhh, you’re doing so good, baby, so good,” he whispered. “You’re almost there, Diluc, only a little bit left. Don’t you want to take me? Don’t you want to be a good boy and take all of me?” He began slowly moving his length in and out of Diluc, never pushing any deeper.
Diluc sucked in a heaving breath, his chest trembling slightly. “Y-yeah,” he whispered, face positively burning. “K-keep going. Please.” Diluc let out a whimper when Ajax continued to press forward slowly, the stretch slightly uncomfortable, but eventually turning into a twisted form of pleasure that he couldn’t exactly describe.
Ajax’s head fell to Diluc’s shoulder with a moan when he finally bottomed out, drowning out the small whine from Diluc. “Good job, baby,” he panted out. “That’s everything. Can you feel me stretching you out? Tell me how good it feels,” he asked Diluc, needing to take another moment to compose himself before he came immediately.
“I- It’s a lot,” he rasped out. “S-so big, fuck. F-feel so... mmmn- so full.” He wriggled his hips back, wanting to feel more of the length inside him. He stilled once he felt the grip of Ajax’s hands tighten, the one on his thigh digging into a mark the Harbinger had left there. “Y-you can move,” he whispered, giving Ajax permission to do as he pleased.
Ajax groaned as he moved to mouth at the marks on Diluc’s chest, pleased to see that Diluc’s cock was hard once again. He pulled his hips back at a snail’s pace, until only the tip was left inside. He felt Diluc’s hole clench around him. “Baby, I am not gonna last very long,” he laughed out weakly. With that, he slid back in just as slowly, listening to the symphony of Diluc’s whimpers and whines.
After a few thrusts at such a sluggish pace, Diluc began to squirm. “F-faster... pl- ah- please,” he whispered.
Ajax’s patience was stretched thin. He was going so slow, making sure not to hurt Diluc, when all he wanted to do was ram the man into the mattress. He picked up his pace at Diluc’s plea, still going slower than he would like, but it still felt incredible. He swooped to capture Diluc’s lips in a kiss, swallowing all the gasps, grunts, whines, and moans the man let out at the increase in pace.
Eventually, Ajax’s pace had gradually increased to the point where he could hear his hips slapping against Diluc’s own. He tore himself away from the redhead’s mouth, moving to sit up on his knees in between Diluc’s spread legs, taking in the sight before him.
Diluc looked... wrecked. His chest was flushed a deep red, covered in bite marks, and positively heaving with every breath he took. His thighs, also covered in Ajax’s marks, were quivering in the Harbinger’s hold. And his face- wait, Ajax thought to himself.
His expression was obscured, an arm thrown over his face to cover it. Ajax halted his thrusts, keeping himself buried to the hilt. He ground his hips into Diluc’s slowly, taking in Diluc’s low groan. He let go of the man’s thigh, reaching up to grab Diluc’s wrist, pinning it to the bed above his head. “Let me see you, baby,” he cooed. “Wanna see your pretty little faces.” He let out a deep hum, feeling Diluc clench around him. “Gods, love seeing how wrecked you look. All from my cock.”
Diluc whined high in his throat, partially embarrassed at having Ajax see him in such a debauched state. But if he was being honest, he was feeling so good that he began to forget why he even cared. He nodded absently at what Ajax had said, then suddenly threw his head back as the Harbinger resumed his thrusts.
Ajax sped his hips up, pounding into Diluc now. He moved his hand from Diluc’s hip to wrap around the man’s cock, keeping his other hand where it was pinning Diluc’s arm above his head. Diluc cried out at the contact, his head thrashing about. Ajax angled his hips, aiming to hit that spot inside Diluc that made him see stars. He knew he had hit his target once Diluc let out a sob.
Ajax sped up the hand on the redhead’s cock, feral grin growing as he saw a tear spill from where Diluc’s eyes were pinched shut. “F-fuck, yes. I- I’m cl- mmmn- close. ‘M g-gonna cum, fuck.” Diluc’s cries rang through Ajax’s head as he panted harshly.
“Fuck, so tight. Look at you, crying on my cock,” his thrusts became sporadic as he saw more tears sliding down Diluc’s cheeks. “Open your eyes, baby. Want you to look at me when you cum, make sure you know I’m the one making you feel this good.” He groaned low in his throat when Diluc complied, ruby red eyes opening and locking onto his, hazy and fogged over with pleasure. Ajax watched in awe as more tears spilled over, bottom eyelashes wet and clumped together.
Diluc’s hips bucked into Ajax’s hand, the coil of heat in his gut about to snap. “Fuck,” he whimpered weakly. A sob was ripped from him as he shot his release over Ajax’s hand and across his own stomach, some even reaching his chest. He continued to sob, more tears leaking from his eyes as Ajax continued to stroke him through his high, his cock never stopping it’s thrusting into Diluc’s ass. He thought he could hear Ajax let out something that sounded like a curse, but couldn’t decipher what language it was in.
Ajax continued pounding into Diluc and stroking his dick until the man began to wince and whimper, body wracked in tremors once more. He let go of the man’s cock, spent length flopping into the mess on his stomach. He tore himself from Diluc’s hole; if he hadn’t been about two seconds away from cumming, he would’ve felt bad at the sharp wince he saw from Diluc. However, as it was, his only concern was getting himself off. He crawled his way up Diluc’s body in his knees until he was straddling the man’s ribs. His hand (partially covered in Diluc’s release, Ajax noticed belatedly) flew to his own dick as he began stroking himself desperately.
A filthy groan was ripped from his throat. His hand was flying in his cock, Diluc’s cum making the slide wet and slick. He pitched forward, breath knocked out of him as he saw Diluc’s eyes squint open blearily. His eyes darted to where he was stroking himself, only to notice that beneath his dick (which was an angry red) was Diluc’s chest, marked up with forming bruises and bite marks, a few streaks of pearly white completing the masterpiece.
“Can I- ah- cum on your chest, baby? Get it all messy? All over those pretty marks?” he panted, hoping Diluc would give him permission because he was going to cum within the next ten seconds. He gasped sharply as Diluc nodded, dazed. “Fuck,” he bit out aggressively. “Gonna cum on your pretty tits, baby.” With that, he came, shooting ropes of cum over Diluc’s chest exactly as promised. He took wheezing, gasping breaths of air in as he continued to stroke himself, riding out his high.
Diluc let his eyes slip shut, letting out a content hum as his chest was covered. Ajax hunched over him, dropping his head so that their foreheads were touching. “You did... so good, baby,” Ajax panted out, Diluc preening at the words. Once Ajax released Diluc’s hand that he had pinned to the mattress, Diluc slowly moved it to Ajax’s hair, bringing the man down for a kiss.
It was a rather pathetic kiss, more just panting into each other’s mouths. But it felt oh so intimate, just holding each other close after they both reached their highs, hands softly caressing any skin they could reach.
Ajax fluttered around Diluc’s face, leaving kisses on his skin and whispering praises between each brush of lips. “Such a good boy.” A kiss to Diluc’s temple. “So wonderful.” A kiss to his cheek. “Just beautiful.” A kiss to his forehead. “So perfect for me.” A kiss to his lips.
Ajax took a deep breath, resolving himself to finally sitting up and pulling away from Diluc. He clambered off of the man, eyes darting around the room in hopes to find his (or Diluc’s, honestly) boxers somewhere on the floor. Once he spotted them, he rolled off the bed and snatched them up. As he was pulling them up his legs, he noticed Diluc watching him with a small frown, eyes questioning.
“W- ... what are you doing?” he asked softly, his voice weak. Ajax delighted in hearing how hoarse his voice sounded, the way the words came out slightly raspy.
He finished pulling his boxers on, turning to Diluc with a soft smile. “Gotta get us cleaned up, baby. Bathroom is this way?” he asked, pointing to a door which he assumed led to the bathroom. At Diluc’s small nod, he went in. He couldn’t take in how impressive the bathroom was or how organized Diluc kept his things, too focused on trying to find a washcloth or a towel. After digging through some drawers, he finally found some washcloths. He used one to quickly clean himself up. Grabbing another one, he ran the cloth under warm water, soaking the fabric and wringing it out to make it damp, but not dripping.
He returned to the bedroom, washcloth in hand, to find Diluc slightly more alert, but still pretty out of it. He crawled onto the bed next to Diluc, slowly wiping up the mess on his stomach. As Ajax moved the cloth up to clean his chest, Diluc’s head fell to rest on his shoulder. He planted a kiss to the crown of Diluc’s head once he deemed the man clean. “Do you want some fresh clothes to put on, baby?” he asked in a whisper, not wanting to shock Diluc out of his relaxed state.
Diluc hummed in agreement. “Boxers... Top drawer,” he muttered softly, nodding his head towards a dresser by his closet. He felt immediately cold as soon as Ajax left his side again. He shivered slightly, watching the man rummage through the drawer he pointed out, coming back with a new pair of simple black boxers. Diluc felt his cheeks heat up as Ajax dressed him, pressing kisses to the skin of his legs as he dragged the fabric up.
Diluc sighed in content, happy to have Ajax next to him again. They stayed like that for a while, Diluc’s head resting on Ajax’s chest. Ajax was drawing small patterns into his biceps from where the Harbinger had his arms wrapped around him. They stayed like that until Diluc began to get drowsy, his breaths evening out and his eyes slipping shut. He was sleepy enough that he almost didn’t notice as Ajax slowly removed himself from beneath him, only noticing once he was completely off the bed. His eyes blinked open blearily, seeing Ajax tiptoe around his room in search of his clothes.
“Where are you going?” he asked sleepily, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
Ajax froze, the sound of Diluc’s voice startling him. He turned to the man. “I, uh, gotta grab my clothes. I, um, I figured you’d want me to leave, but I can’t exactly go without-“ he cut himself off as Diluc shook his head, then uttered the one word he had been hoping to hear all night.
“Stay.”
402 notes · View notes
realcube · 3 years ago
Text
❥ HOW HE CONFESSES
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characters ❥ mikey, draken & baji 
tw ❥ the beach, bad driving, mentions of murder and cursing 
cr ❥ requested by anon
a/n ❥ i’ve not read the manga yet :’(
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MIKEY 
♥ his love language is shoplifting for you <33
♥ like okay.. in writing it kinda sounds pathetic compared to all the other shit he does but like.. he goes through the effort of personally picking up your favourite snack from the grocery store —instead of getting his toman underling to do it for him — and hiding them under his shirt 
♥ and he thinks about you the whole time he is sprinting away from security 
♥ if that isn’t true love idk what is 
♥ today wasn’t any ol’ day tho, snacks and sweets were going to cut it 
♥ instead, he went for the big shiny rock on a ring he keeps seeing the window of the rock shop on the high street
♥ it was pretty, for a rock, but not pretty enough for anyone in their right mind to think it’s worth £10,000/$14,000/ ¥1,500,000!!!
♥ however, after hearing that price from a salesperson, he knew that stupid rock ring was exactly how he’d win your heart <3 
♥ it was a challenge and it had him working overtime, but after pulling some strings, doing a couple favours, and maybe even inadvertently killing some people (you never know 🤷‍♂️), he managed to get his hands on the pristine stone, which he had come to learn was called a diamond, which was why it was so expensive 
♥ the guy who did him the favour of stealing it initially asked if mikey was planning on proposing and mikey said yes —since asking you out on a date is technically a proposal — and the dude didn’t even question it, he just said good luck
♥ and that sort of energy was exactly what mikey needed right now as he stood behind a wall near your lunch table as he mentally prepared himself for what he was about to do 
♥ all your friends had left yet you were still sitting there alone since mikey texted you and asked for you to wait behind, and the fact you actually did filled him with hope from the get-go
♥ “(y/n)! there you are!” mikey greeted as if he didn’t know exactly where you were this whole time. why was his heart thumping so harshly in his chest? and why did he suddenly feel overwhelmingly embarrassed? i mean, he’s not done anything worth being awkward about.. yet.
♥ he didn’t understand. he never usually gets this way around people. but then again, he shouldn’t be surprised since he knew you were an exception from the beginning
♥ “hi, mikey.” you hummed, head propped gently on your arm while you slipped your phone away, “why did you want to see me? is something wrong?”
♥ the slight concern he detected in your voice was enough for him to immediately blurt out, “oh, no! nothing like that! everything is great; i am great and i, erm, hope you are too.” he announced, somewhat glad that your only reaction was a blank stare as it meant he doesn’t feel inclined to explain himself 
♥ “so, uh, i was just wonder if you..” he started, clenching his jaw as he mentally reassured himself. the fact that he felt embarrassed about feeling embarrassed made things infinitely harder from him. he took a deep breath, and spilled
♥ “do you want to go out on a date with me sometime?” he basically screamed, squeezing his eyes shut tight and emptying his left pocket onto the table in front of you so that his special gift would accompany his proposal 
♥ he closed his eyes as if that was going to protect him from rejection, but before he was able to silently rebuke himself, he heard faint sobbing from where he dropped his present 
♥ upon opening his eyes, the shock from the sight before him was enough to give him whiplash
♥ in an unfortunate turn of events, he must’ve emptied the wrong pocket because sitting on the table in front of you was not a diamond ring, but rather a sherbet dip he bought to share with you if you said ‘yes’ to his proposal 
♥ and his suspicions were correct, you were the one crying 
♥ ....
♥ waIT WHY ARE YOU CRYING mikey panicked, frantically looking around for someone who might’ve hurt you, or perhaps someone he’d have to send to A&E
♥ “are you okay?”
♥ “yeah.” you whispered, your light chuckle enough to prevent mikey from worrying any more, “i’m just..” you stuttered, smiling fondly at the blonde, “i’m just really happy. i thought you’d never ask.” 
♥ it was impossible for mikey to conceal the sigh of relief he breathed as he slumped down next to you on the bench, “thank god. i thought someone had threatened you or something.”
♥ “threatened me? why would they do that?” you innocently cocked your head to the side, rubbing your eyes as you did so. 
♥ oh, yeah. mikey hadn’t been fully transparent with you about his.. current employment. as far as you knew, he was a full-time student at ‘toman academy’ and he had a part-time job babysitting (which was hardly a lie, in his opinion)
♥ so you didn’t really know about how he was the leader of the tokyo manji gang or any of that
♥ originally he thought it was fine to keep it a secret, but now that you were officially his partner it would be immoral to not let you know about his affiliation with the gang 
♥ so he decided to tell you over a sherbert <33
♥ “so, are we official?” he cooed, ripping the lollypops out of the bag and popping one in his mouth while offering you the other by tapping it against your lips lightly 
♥ “yep.” you smiled, taking the lolly into your mouth with a smile, glad that he didn’t bring up your little waterworks a few second ago 
♥ but in all honesty, he was preoccupied wondering what the most appropriate way to phrase ‘i am the leader of a gang of delinquents’ would be 
♥ poor little mikey brain working on overdrive 
♥ he decided to pull out the ring, since he still had to give that to you, so while you were entranced by the fat gem glistening under the light in mikey’s possession, he began, “so, babe, do you think being a gang leader is hot?”
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DRAKEN
♥ he honestly didn’t have a clue how to ask you out
♥ in fact, he didn’t even know that he had a crush on you until mikey pointed out all of his weird behaviours around you 
♥ so his first instinct was to go to mikey for advice when thinking of ways to ask you out 
♥ but the only idea that mf was to get ‘will you go out with me, (y/n)?’ tattooed onto his ‘thick skull’ and ofc draken wasn’t about to do that
♥ although he did consider it for like.. a minute
♥ (he was like.. hmmmm... well, the tattoo guy does owe me a favour so... maybe i could get it for free?)
♥ (or permanent marker might work???)
♥ anyway, he eventually decided to ask you out the good ol’ fashion way!! by just telling you how he feels
♥ however, once he explained this plan to mikey, he was scoffed and said ‘good luck with that’ in the most condescending tone of voice
♥ draken’s initial instinct was to simply beat up mikey and go ask you out anyway, but this conflict ran deeper than just him and mikey bickering about trivial issues- his whole relationship was on the line! 
♥ so after hearing the leader out, he finally decided on the most appropriate way to confess — just like how all the dudes in the animes mikey and him and watched did it 
♥ by giving you flowers and chocolates <3
♥ and mikey even offered to come into the store with draken and help him choose the goods since mikey was a self-proclaimed ‘love-expert’
♥ draken obviously denied his offer but he came along anyway 
♥ “ooh, ken-chin! look at these ones, they’re on sale.” mikey gasped, happily grabbing a pack of heart-shaped chocolates off the shelf, ripping them open and stuffing his face, “and they are delicious too!”
♥ paying no attention to the fact that mikey had essentially already committed a crime since there was no way he intended to pay for those chocolates, draken mused while eyeing up the rest of the sweets, the bouquet of flowers he had already chosen tucked under his arm, “valentine’s day was a week ago, that’s probably why they are on sale.” 
♥ “draken?” 
♥ a familiar voice from the end of the aisle caused draken to avert his gaze from the chocolates displayed in front of him and instead search for the source of the voice, which happened to be you standing innocently with your basket in-hand
♥ “ah, (y/n),” draken tensed, immediately shoving the bouquet of flowers behind his back at hopefully out of your sight as he put on a forced smile to distract from them too, “what a nice surprise seeing you here.”
♥ “hm?” mikey chimed in, unable to vocalise his curiosity through the chocolates stuffed in his mouth, but that didn’t stop him from trying, “is that the (y/n) you were talking about? the one you were going to conf--” 
♥ “that’s enough outta you.” draken hissed through a fake smile, shoving mikey into the next aisle, which happened to be the snack aisle so, entertained, he decided to stay put
♥ “oh, is that your friend mikey?” you inquired, having only ever heard about mikey through rumours up until now. though none of them exactly matched the image you saw just there
♥ “yep, he’s pain sometimes, but he’s still cool.” draken muttered, awkwardly rolling on the balls of his feet as he waited for a deity to save him from this interaction —  not that he didn’t want to talk to you, it’s just that every second you spend with him, the less likely it becomes that his confession will go as planned
♥ and you only confirmed that with your follow-up question
♥ “i see you’ve got flowers, and you’re looking for chocolates. who’s the special someone?” you teased, poking draken’s cheek playfully (which is one of the many things he only finds comfort in when you do it)
♥ “oh, no one.” he hummed, his coy smile doing a number on your heart rate
♥ “how about you? who is that card for?” he inquired casually, gesturing to the classic pink ‘i have something to tell you... <3′ confession card that was only in-stock during valentine’s day season, that was sitting atop the groceries in your basket
♥ a cocky smirk tugged at his lips — as if to say ‘i won’ — while he watched you become increasingly flustered right in front of him. it was adorable
♥ but he thought it would stop there; stop with him winning the teasing battle, you getting all sheepish then leaving but that apparently wasn’t your plan
♥ instead, you lowered your head and outstretched your arms to give him the card (which was still in the wrapping plastic) 
♥ “red-handed. i bought these with you in mind, draken.” you said, voice barely above a whisper, “but if you don’t accept then that’s fine too, have a nic--”
♥ “who said i don’t accept?” draken grumbled, almost as if he was annoyed, as he took your card and examined the card thoroughly for a couple seconds
♥ then suddenly, he froze. the shock of the realisation leaving him stunned to the point where the only thing he could do was shift his eyes from the card on to you and utter in a terrified tone, “this isn’t, uh, this isn’t a confession, is it?”
♥ you shrugged, “i guess, it is.” 
♥ “damn it.” draken cursed, glaring at the snack aisle and hence mikey, for giving him this stupid idea
♥ “is there a problem?” 
♥ “no.” draken said through gritted teeth before pulling out the bouquet his had hidden behind his back, “but i was meant to confess first.”
♥ your jaw dropped, leaving draken concerned for a second until you instantly pulled him in for a tight hug; another thing he admired about you was that you gave hugs like you were in the mafia, strong enough to cut off his airflow
♥ “double confession!” you squealed, absolutely delighted that draken not only wanted to confess to you, but he had the same idea to come to the shop and buy stuff beforehand
♥ “i guess so.” draken chuckled, handing you the bouquet of flower as soon as you pulled away, “these are for you.” 
♥ you gasped, smiling at how he managed to remember your favourite kind of flower after a single off-handed comment you made ages ago, “thank you!” you hugged them to your chest, “have you already paid for them?”
♥ “no.” draken replied simply. “but they are still yours.”
♥ sometimes it slipped your mind that draken was part of a literal gang since.. he just seemed so normal and humble 
♥ but on some other occasions, it was painfully difficult to consider draken anything close to ‘normal’
♥ and one of those moments was when he was trying to convince security he was pregnant with a flower-baby, and when that evidently didn’t work, he just made a run for it with mikey, whose pants pockets were filled with sweets that trailed behind him where ever he ran
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BAJI
♥ he didn’t even ponder about how he was supposed to confess to you for over a second
♥ the idea just came to him instantly and he went with it
♥ the only question he asked was ‘how can i show them how badass i am without bragging?’ and he immediately came up with an answer and rolled with it, no questions asked 
♥ and there was no planning or anything done beforehand either, he literally just texted you ‘where are you?’ at like 7PM and when you replied ‘the park’, he hopped on his bike and sped over 
♥ like he didn’t even ask which park.. he just guessed.. but he guessed correctly 
♥ your heart almost stopped as you watched a chunky motorcycle come speeding towards you at such a rate that all you could do was brace for impact and kiss goodbye to your relatively peaceful live
♥  however, at the very last second it swerved around you and came to a halt, allowing the rider to extend his free hand to you, “hop on.”
♥ the voice was all to familiar and you weren’t surprised at all to see baji with his signature ‘i could kill you’ grin plastered on his face 
♥ as your heart rate slowly began to return to normal, you cried, “what do you mean ‘hop on’? you almost ran me over!”
♥ he unclipped his helmet and tossed it to you, “safety first.”
♥ “did you even hear what i just said?” you grumbled, putting on the helmet anyway 
♥ “i think you said something about how excited you are to finally go out with me.” he mused, shuffling forwards slightly to give you more space to sit on behind him, like a true gentleman /s
♥ “no.” you replied simply. 
♥ though you initially had no intention of going anywhere with him, you still found yourself reaching your leg over his bike to take a seat behind him, “where are we going?”
♥ baji shrugged, chuckling slightly as he felt you gently wrap your arms around his hips, “don’t know, but hold on tight.” he warned, revving his engine and taking off without another word
♥ perhaps you were the fool for getting on a motorcycle with baji and letting him take you to an undisclosed location, but you trusted him enough to know that he wouldn’t try to drive you off a cliff or put you in danger.. or at least, that is what you hoped
♥ however, if it wasn’t a rival gang that kills you, baji’s driving definitely would
♥ he drives like a madman and left you with no other choice but to cling onto him for dear life, since if you didn’t bury yourself into his side, you’d probably fly off with all sharp turns he does around the other cars/bikes
♥ it was like being taped to the top of a vehicle in mario cart
♥ eyes squeezed shut, you yelled over the harsh blaring of the wind, “slow the fuck down! where are you even taking me?” 
♥ baji was having fun, but he was getting the feeling you weren’t..
♥ usually he doesn’t care about what other think but this was the first time he was taking you out, he didn’t want you to think of him as a maniac driver, or else you might not want to come with him ever again
♥ “if you open your eyes, you’ll see.” he uttered, slowing down slightly so the noises weren’t as harsh 
♥ taking his word for it, you hesitantly pried open one of your eyes and turned your neck so your face was no longer pressed against his shoulder
♥ and honestly, you were glad you did. passed the edge of the road, you had the perfect view of the beach below, the sea gently glistening under the orange sunset 
♥ now that your nose was free from only breathing in baji’s sickeningly strong, wild spice body spray, you finally able to enjoy fresh ocean air 
♥ “the beach.” you mused, smiling down at the completely deserted sandy shore, which looked so beautifully peaceful in contrast to how busy it was when you usually come 
♥ “no shit.” baji chuckled, his eyes remaining glued to road, despite how much he wanted to see your reaction
♥ you let out a defeated sighed, leaning against his back, “but it’s closed.”
♥ baji nodded, “yep, that means we’ve got the whole place to ourselves!”
♥ before you could question what baji meant by that, he steered off the edge of the road and down the steep hillside which led to the beach, though it definitely was not meant to be drove on as there were several warning sign at the side of the road, warning drivers about the hill
♥ “baji, what the fuck?!” you screamed over baji’s amused laughter, similar to the way you’d laugh if you were playing GTA, rather than playing with actual human lives
♥ “isn’t this fun?” he yelled back, enjoying how the wind felt against his skin as he maneuvered his bike down the steep hill 
♥ honestly, you weren’t sure whether you enjoyed it or not, but as soon as the bike came to a smooth landing upon the soft sand of the beach, you found yourself silently wanting to do that again
♥ “well, how was that?” baji asked, immediately hopping off the bike on his own only so he could offer you a hand
♥ accepting his hand, you stepped off the cycle only to notice that your legs were shaking, yet you oddly liked it, “that was.. okay.” you murmured, not wanting to feed his ego but also unable to lie to him.
♥ “great.” he uttered, leaning forward to carefully unclip your helmet for you and sling it over the handle of his bike
♥ “so,” he started, looking around the beach for any stray cops or surveyors, “what do you wanna do?” 
♥ he felt a light tug on his jacket sleeve, causing him to look down and meet your pleading gaze, “do you think we could go out again? some other time, maybe?”
♥ all baji did was laugh, resulting in you become sheepish for a moment, until he wrapped his arms around you picked you up for a hug, “obviously!”
♥ you smiled, your cheeks heating up slightly, “nice!”
♥ “anyway,” he started, placing you back down and dashing off towards the sea, “loser owes me lunch!”
♥ ignoring how he gets lunch either way, you immediately sprinted off behind him, watching as he dramatically fell over a large shell and face-planted into the the sand
♥ being the kind friend you are, you ignored him and continued running towards the water, only for him to grab your ankle and trip you up too
♥ “ha!” that is how he shows affection <3
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eternally-writing · 4 years ago
Text
chain reaction | jjk
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genre: fluff and angst
rating: PG
pairing: Jungkook x reader
theme: college!au , enemies to lovers, series
word count: 1.3k
warnings: light swearing
synopsis: A semester with your mortal enemy, Jeon Jungkook, as your lab partner was bound to be an experience to remember.
banner by me!
A/N: hey everyone! This is my first series that I’m writing and I’m so excited to share it with all of you! If you want to be tagged in future parts, reblog and mention that you want to be tagged in the caption, or you can send me an ask!
--♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡--
“You’re late”
Swinging your backpack onto the lab bench beside you, you glare at your lab partner.
“Shut up Jeon, it’s only 8:04am and our TA hasn’t even finished introducing the lab yet”.
Introduction to Organic Chemistry was all set up to be your favorite class. You were a chemistry genius in high school, your professor had amazing “rate my professor” reviews, and the class fit perfectly into your schedule, finishing right at 2:00pm so you could walk back to your dorm under the radiance of the afternoon sun.
It was all going well until you walked into your 8:00AM lab and found that due to budget cuts, all labs would now be done in pairs. And you had been paired with none other than the bane of your existence, Jeon Jungkook. As if doing an amide reduction wasn’t hard enough on its own, you had to do it alongside the biggest thorn in your side.
You couldn’t quite pinpoint exactly what it was about him that irked you so much. Maybe it was the way the girls tried to flirt with his constantly over the open flame of a Bunsen burner, or the way that he sucks up to your extremely old TA in order to get full marks on his procedural skills, or maybe it’s the fact that he somehow managed to look effortlessly put together at 8am on a Tuesday morning, while you looked (and felt) like absolute crap.
Either way, you were counting down the seconds until this semester would be over and you wouldn’t have to look at Jeon Jungkook again, but time seemed to be moving extra slow today.
“Late and spacing out today? Wow, lucky me to have you as a lab partner.”
Scoffing at him, you adjusted your protective glasses and readied your labware for today.
“180 minutes until I’m free. That’s it,” you thought to yourself.
“Technically it’s 170 minutes now, but if we don’t get started someone soon so we can hand in our product by 11am, we’re going to be here for a lot longer than that.”, snapped Jungkook next to you, already starting to mix chemicals together in a beaker.
Well, looks like your habit of accidentally saying things out loud gets worse when you’re tired.
“Let’s just try and get through this lab today without stepping on each other’s toes Jeon, okay?” you said, trying to catch up to Jungkook in the lab.
There was one part of chemistry labs you disliked the most. The waiting time. In some labs it was only 30 minutes, while in other labs it had taken almost an hour, but the constant in all of the situations was that waiting made it feel like time was passing at an infinitely slower rate. Taking out your laptop would violate lab safety protocol, and you couldn’t do any further steps in your lab until your reaction in your solution was done progressing under the fume hood. Since there were no other options, the only other thing left to do in moments like this was talk to Jeon Jungkook.
“So I was -”
“What did you -”
Yikes, add the awkwardness of starting conversation with Jeon Jungkook to the reasons you never talk to him.  You decided to pause and let him carry on with whatever he was saying, giving him a semi-pleasant smile to hopefully help distract from the embarrassment you were feeling.
“I was going to ask what you wanted to do our lab presentation on,” said Jungkook.
Your eyes widened at his statement. Looking at the whiteboard situated at the side of the room, you saw that in the 4 minutes you were late to your lab you may not have missed your TA explaining the procedure, but you did the big words on the board that said:
“FINAL LAB PRESENTATION: 3 weeks from now, worth 20% of your grade, done with your lab. 5-10 page paper and 10-15 minute oral presentation”.
Unable to contain your discontentment with the situation, you let out a groan and leaned back in your chair in frustration, almost falling off your lab stool in the process.
“Well aren’t you just little Miss Sunshine today? I’m not thrilled about this either, but I’d rather pull out my eyelashes than have to repeat this course again next semester,” scoffed Jungkook.
No morning ice coffee + Jeon Jungkook being annoying + a looming group project was more enough to make your head hurt.
“Can we just talk about this later Jeon? My brain can’t process this right now,” you pleaded as you put your head in your hands.
Leaning closer to you, Jungkook spoke at a whisper-level near your ear so nobody else would hear.
“Is your brain too busy processing my charm, sunshine? Don’t worry, I’ll try and tone down the charisma for you,” he joked with a smirk.
Your head went from being in your hands to plopping flat onto your (no longer sterile) lab counter at Jungkook’s comment.
First of all, ew. You don’t know how Jungkook was possibly picking up girls by talking like that. Second of all, charm and charisma were probably two words that you would NEVER associate with Jungkook, so his statement was definitely wrong.
A project with Jungkook meant that you would be spending a LOT more time with him, and the prospect of that happening made you wince internally. Group projects meant libraries, evenings, and , ugh, probably weekends with Jeon Jungkook.
You were snapped out of your internal despair by the sound of Jungkook’s voice.
“Hand me your phone.”
You froze. “Hm?”
“Well I don’t know what you think of me Y/N, but unless you think I can read your mind we’re  going to need to text to figure out when to meet.”
Giving in, you quickly tossed your phone into his open palm while grabbing his phone which was sitting on top of his backpack.
Glancing over his shoulder, you took a peek at your contact name.
“little miss sunshine? really Jeon?”
“Of course sunshine, i had to pick a name that encapsulated your positive and radiant energy,” he retorted, sarcasm practically dripping off of his words.
You definitely were picking your battles today, and one over a silly contact name didn’t seem to be worth it.
“You can do whatever, Jeon, but you’re sticking in my phone as “Jeon Boy” and there’s nothing you can do about it.”
“We’ll see about that Y/N,” remarked Jungkook as he opened up his lab manual to read the next steps in the procedure.
Your mom had always taught you that the word “hate” was a very strong word and was only to be used in extreme situations. To this day, there were only 3 people in your life that you truly hated in every sense of the word: your ex-boyfriend, Jimin, your ENGL 101 Professor, Dr.Lee, and your neighbor’s cat, Mr. Whiskers, who chewed up your grade 8 science project the day before it was due.
You wouldn’t say that you hate Jungkook, but you were definitely getting close.
“Yknow, I don’t like you Jeon. Actually, scratch that, I really don’t like you.”
Glancing over at the timer on your lab bench finally reaching 0:00, Jungkook began walking over to the fume hood. Turning back to you, he smirked and started to speak.
“Well, the feeling’s mutual sunshine.”
Boy, this was definitely going to be a long semester.
--♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡--
If you want to be tagged in future parts, reblog and mention that you want to be tagged in the caption (or you can send me an ask)!
If you liked what you read, please write/follow! Thank you for reading♡
- Emily
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writingindulgence · 4 years ago
Text
Illumi x F.Reader - Expectation
Pairing: Illumi x Female Reader
Story tags: Arranged marriage, typical Zoldyck behaviour, angst-ish, heavy manipulation, ILLUMI, unhealthy one-sided dependence : ) my guy just toxic
3,200+ words and why? I don’t even like the dude. Also, two points of view.
The sound of fancy porcelain tea cups clinking against the glass table is soothing, along with the warm rays shining on your face. Times like these are what you are thankful for. The smell of purposely picked flowers, arranged to please the eyes. Not the stench of trash dumped for the sole convenience of other countries. Colourful butterflies and bees, instead of flies and disease ridden rats. A home cooked meal ready for your consumption rather than scraps of rotting food that you more often than not nearly died for.
Kukuroo mountain is infinitely more beautiful compared to Meteor City.
“(Y/n) dear, it’s unbecoming of you to make noise with your tableware,” a powerful feminine voice chastates your mistake. The woman sitting opposite you is none other than Kikyo Zoldyck. Or as she forces you to call her, mother.
Your heart flutters in relief, an apologetic expression weaving onto your face. She must be in an agreeable mood since her fan hasn’t struck your hand. Sometimes you are let off with a warning if she spots a blunder on your part. Sometimes, she resorts to physical punishment. It always depends on whether or not a family member said anything to ruin her day. In fact, any matter concerning Killua will set her off in a positive or negative direction.
Just like Illumi whenever you bring up his younger brother.
“I apologise mother, I’m too excited because Illumi is returning,” you proceed to take a sip and this time around, gently settle the tea cup down.
A content hum comes from her direction, her visor flashing for a split second. “Oh (Y/n), you’ll make such a good wife one day.” She picks up a fork gracefully and stabs it into the cake she asked for from the family cook.
The compliment ignites a multitude of feelings in your chest. It spreads out, only one thought in your mind.
How immensely grateful and happy you are to hear it.
Many of your friends from when you were young, starved to death. Some were beaten up by other desperate residents. Others lost their will to fight, a state you threaded on a magnitude of times.
Being taken away by the mafia one day was what gave you back the spark, a life in the city no more out of your reach. Until you figured out what type of work they wanted to sell you and other kids for. Stories from the older girls back in Meteor City came rushing back.
Your bloodlust and instinct to survive are what happened to change your life for the better. Out of all the line-up of children, you were selected by the Zoldycks. Instead of being the pet of some old pervert, you found a home within the assassin family.
There were many times when you felt like giving up. When the training you went through was worse than simply dying. However, you promised yourself to never throw away the chance you received all those years back.
You were indebted to the Zoldycks.
Hearing words of encouragement from one of the people you looked up to the most brought tears to your eyes. You wiped them away with your thumb.
Mother is a role model to you. It helped when you found out that she originates from Meteor City too. In a sense, it is easier to place yourself in her shoes and strive to achieve what she did. Being an amazing assassin, wife and mother.
A sudden scraping of a chair brought you back to the presence, startling you into a defensive pose. The knife under your sundress clasped in your hand.
Out of the corner of your eye you notice Kalluto coming out from behind the bushes, his paper fan also ready for action.
“My Kil, what is he doing?! Quick, we have to stop him. Kalluto go call for Milluki right now!,” she orders shrilly before running into the mansion.
Without hesitation, you rush after her. It is expected of you. A nagging feeling in the back of your head also foreshadows that whatever is going on, it will have dire consequences if not stopped.
Killua is in the foyer, being kept idle by the servants. But not for long. You can see the irritation growing on his face, his muscles tensed.
You’ve known Killua since he was a baby, having been inducted as a future family member when mother was pregnant with him. There’s no doubt that if something wasn’t done, it would lead to a messy aftermath.
A few seconds after you make it inside, Milluki shows up and the servants are all dismissed.
“Kil, my little Kil, what’s wrong? Why did I hear that you’re leaving to take the Hunter’s Exam?,” mother’s voice is aghast, the idea of her favourite child abandoning the nest filling her with pain.
You too are taken aback at the news, a protective sensation coursing through you. Your fingers flex at your side.
“It’s boring here and I heard that the Exam is difficult so I’m going to test my skill,” he shrugs her worry off and spins his skateboard. Your heart begins to pound uncontrollably.
Hearing the disrespect, Milluki steps up and lashes out at Killua. “You brat, what’s with that arrogant attitude you-,”
“Stop that!,” mother’s voice sharply cuts him down.
She begins pleading with Killua to stay, her voice cracking multiple times. It pains you to watch someone you respect growing so desperate.
Killua is too young to understand what he’s putting the ones around him through. Of course, a rebellious phase is healthy-
A prickly discomfort surges through your head and you clutch it. Your unexpected movement grabs everyone’s attention. You try to brush it off, not wishing to be a burden.
It isn’t expected of you to be one.
“Killua, you should stay here. The world is a dangerous place,” your words try to reach him. “Illumi is coming home today,  why don’t we-”,
“I don’t want him around! Just leave me alone,” he angrily interrupts. The air grows heavy. Heavier than it’s been since the beginning.
Mother gasps in shock at his behaviour since Killua never really yells at you. Yes, he gets annoyed as much as any other kid but when he shouts, he doesn’t really mean it.
It’s expected of you to coerce him into calming down.
“You’ve changed during the past few weeks (Y/n), after Illumi came back before leaving again. Anyway, I will kill you all if you try to stop me,” Killua promises in a cold voice, his blue eyes a piercing ice.
This rouses an onslaught of insults from Milluki and a mix of agony and happiness from mother.
However, you’re currently stuck in your own mind, reflecting on Killua’s comment. It is true that during the past three weeks you doted on him more than ever before. Usually you try to split your attention between him and Kalluto when you have free time. What changed?
Nothing should have changed, Killua is the priority of the family.
A high-pitched scream echoes around the foyer and your clouded head awakens. The sight in front of you freezes your blood and it takes immense strength not to bite your tongue.
Mother is kneeling down on the ground, her hands covering her bloody face. Before you can take a step, Milluki rages and charges at Killua. The young boy bounces back and proceeds to plunge the knife into his older brother. Milluki curses and grabs his wound.
On impulse, your hand is already equipped with a knife and you’re ready to protect yourself as well as mother Killua.
Killua mistakes your movements as an attack and strikes his own knife across your arm. A long gash appears on your skin, the blood seeping out moments later. You take in the pain as punishment. Punishment for letting it get this far and failing.
You’re a failure.Failure.Failure.Failure.Failure.Failure.Failure.Failure.Failure.
Taking the chance to escape, he kicks his skateboard up and runs out.
And you were helpless to stop him.
*
It’s been a while since Illumi has been back home on Kukuroo mountain, his previous mission requiring him to travel across multiple locations. The target was a cautious person so they moved from place to place, leaving lousy decoys. That did not impede Illumi at all, it was simply an inconvenience at worst.
After all, nervous-wrecks are the ones who put their emotions out on display. They are the first to slip up due to the fact that they care about others.
Which is concerning because Killua is at a stage where he is showing his rebellious streak more often. It is crucial that he can snuff it out before his dear brother falls further down the slope of idiotic fantasies . In which case, it is a slight relief that (Y/n) is here. She tries to keep Killua in check in a subtle way instead of hanging over his shoulder or perpetuating his moody behaviour.
Though the last time he visited there were hints of her growing soft and losing her devotion of raising Killua to be the next head of the family. He is ashamed to confess that it irked him to some degree. It’s expected of her to put her desires down for what he wants. And he wants Killua to be the next head.
Even so, he thought that he dealt with this the last time.
However, imagine the surprise he felt when his mother came wailing to him, begging him to follow her little Kil to the Hunter’s Exam. To think that instead of a joyful family reunion, the news of his stray younger brother reached his ears before anything else.
That won’t do.
Currently, it’s close to midnight which is the time (Y/n) comes to his room to say goodnight. Why she even bothers is beyond him. The effort of keeping up with formalities could be used for better activities. It’s already indisputable that they are arranged to marry in the future at the request of his parents, so there is no reason to be close together in any romantic sense.
In fact, Killua will succeed as the head which is why there is no point in thinking about his own future.
A sigh leaves his mouth.
There is only one positive outcome that came out of this whole arrangement. He has an extra set of eyes and he’s sure that she will listen to him without question. All he has to do is play into these formalities and she’s wrapped around his finger.
An affectionate hug here, a tiny smile there...Normally he’d be concerned that a future Zoldyck , even if not by blood, would be so easy to deceive. However, since every carefully planned step is coming from him he’s not surprised in the slightest.
It’s expected of (Y/n) to be loyal, just as much as it’s expected for Killua to take over the family business.
The wooden clock hanging opposite his bed strikes 12 but there is no sign of (Y/n). She never runs late.
The fact that she hadn’t even greeted him when he came back is also unusual. Normally she’d be pacing in front of the entrance door but today his mother took over that role. He heard that she got injured by Killua but (Y/n) has experienced worse so what’s the fuss?
It’s not his problem, he’ll just take a bath before bed. She’ll come running eventually.
~
Illumi’s right arm is beginning to grow numb. He hasn’t moved from the water in over an hour. Not because he needed a break to relax, taking time off for yourself is inefficient. No, he hasn’t moved because he’s been waiting for the familiar steps and hesitant knock to come from outside his room.
Discerning who someone is from the sound of their footsteps and how they carry themselves is second nature to any professional assassin. For instance, Milluki hovers in one spot when walking while Kalluto creates soft patters with his toes.
On the other hand, (Y/n) always shuffles her feet forward just before his door. It takes her approximately 2 seconds to knock when she’s unsure, 1 second when she’s in a normal mood and 0.5 whenever she has news deemed worthy enough for him to hear. Reading the mood of someone before they see you face to face is important.
Coming to terms with the fact that today she won’t pay him a visit, he steps out of the bathtub, water dripping down his naked body. He throws on a plain black bathrobe and leaves the bathroom. Giving his bed a quick-over, he walks out the door.
Guess it’s time for him to pay a visit instead.
If he actually bothers and gives it some thought, it’s not a mystery as to why he hasn’t even seen her shadow today. She’s ashamed. Ashamed of being a failure for letting Killua go.
Her scrambled mind is most likely trying to piece together what she should say. How she should ask for forgiveness and repent.
He wonders if she’s starving herself or if she’s contemplating about going to the self-confinement room.
Normally he’d push her into whatever she makes up but a stick approach by itself won’t be enough. There needs to be a push and pull factor involved if he wants her to listen to him unconditionally.
And what better way than to appear before her, disheveled and still wet in his robe? She’ll jump to conclusions.
Further guilt will set in, how she unnecessarily worried him by skipping the usual goodnight. His state will continue feeding her imagination, connecting unrelated dots to make her believe that he cares for her.
Truly, a puppet and its real master.
Soaking footprints follow behind him on the floor, the dim candlelight making them difficult to notice. He knocks once before letting himself in and shutting the door, back turned to the only other person inside.
A small gasp penetrates the silence and a rush of steps follow suit, stopping just behind him.
“Illumi, welcome back,” (Y/n) is the first to speak. He stays silent.
A nervous shuffle. “Is..everything okay?”.
The voice quietens downs the more she speaks. That should be enough for now.
He turns around and looks down at her concerned face, with no emotion of his own. Her eyes widen a fraction after registering his condition. Before she can open her mouth to question him further, Illumi crinkles his eyes and smiles.
“It’s nothing. I was just worried since I didn’t see you today,” he gazes away, giving her enough time to fix her expression. It’ll be harder for him to get her to open up if she thinks that he sees through her lack of control.
“I missed you too-,”
Presumptuous to think that he missed her.
“-and I’m sorry for not saying anything. I just…,” she stops right before confessing her shortcoming.
He doesn’t provide her with any more time to compose herself, a full day is already generous. Grabbing the door handle he gives it a slight tug but her hand shuts it and pulls his sleeve. That’s new. (Y/n) rarely takes the initiative.
He allows her to drag him over to the bed, slightly curious about her next move. Is she trying to entertain him as an apology or simply trying to put distance between him and the door?
Both tactics aren’t half bad when it comes to simple targets.
He sits down on the covers and analyses her.
A long white nightdress, face ready for bed, barefoot, and a long knife wound going up her arm.
A shred of pride for Killua’s work passes through his head but he doesn’t showcase this. If by any chance she spotted the look, it would demolish the picture he wants to paint.
(Y/n) kneels down in front of him and takes his hand into hers. It’s warm, though not as soft as it used to be. Her breasts rest atop his knees.
His attention migrates from the sudden action to her face, looking for answers. He made sure that she will only expect affection coming from him, not the other way around. It would be too tiring to keep up a loving demeanour- no, scratch that. It wouldn’t be tiring but the expectations would eventually rise and it would result in less time spent on bringing up Killua.
Oh, he zoned out.
(Y/n)’s eyes are full of regret and desperation, the hand holding his trembling just enough to tell him that today’s event is eating at her. Is she waiting for him to say something?
Finally after what feels like an unprecedented amount of time, the scene unfolds.
Her smaller hand pulls his to her face and rests it against her cheek. The second his skin touches hers, he detects slight heat radiating. She must have not treated the cut. The knife was probably dirty too, Killua slacks off in that regard.
“I’m sorry for being a failure, I’m very sorry Illumi. I have no excuse,” the apology flows out of her mouth, bottom lip quivering. The pain of looking at someone she disappointed forces her eyes to shut close. Her free hand latches onto his thigh and she digs in before continuing.
“You can slash my other arm as punishment. Or hang me upside down in the self-containment room,” she throws out. “But please, please don’t give up on me. I can do better Illumi”.
And as if to prove how determined she is, her eyes open up again, staring deeply into his own. Unwavering. Confident.
Though the thumb that he has under her jaw gave the hammering pulse away.
1,2,3. 1,2. 1,2,3.
He stretched out the silence, pretending to ponder over his answer. The unsettling emotions influencing her thoughts will prove beneficial when he flips her assumption around.
He removes his hand from her cheek and moves the one on his thigh to her side. (Y/n) adopts a look of relief, believing that he agreed to her conditions of punishment. What he’s about to do is infinitely more cruel though.
She catches her breath when he follows her example and kneels in front of her. He pulls up the sleeve of her nightdress that’s slipping down before grabbing her shoulders, gently.
“How can I not give up on you when you give up on yourself,” he lectures her, peeking down at her wound. Make the target question their actions.
An expression of remorse adorns her face, a downward tug of the mouth.
He pulls her in, arms encircling and resting on her lower back. The material of the nightdress is light enough for him to make out the feeling of skin.
“Though I won’t give up on you.” Affirmation and a moment of reassurance.
One of his hands travels deliberately slowly up to her neck. It rests on the back of her head, fingers entangled in her hair. Illumi locates the present that he left her the last time he visited and pushes it back into her head. It has moved slightly out.
This prompts (Y/n) to hug him in response, her previously hanging arms now resting comfortably around him. Good, as for the finishing line.
“Though your failure is a disappointment, I know that you will not repeat the same mistake, because you
love me, right?”.
Her head moves to rest between the crook of his neck, nodding in agreement. She doesn’t ask him if he loves her.
It’s expected of her not to.
168 notes · View notes
azucanela · 4 years ago
Note
Hehe sooo how about Hawks, Shinsou and Kirishims straddling the reader, keeping them held down, unable to move. Instead of doing anything, he just stares at her in wonder for a long time until she furiously blushes.
STRADDLING THEIR S/O HEADCANNONS [ft. keigo takami, kirishima ejirou, shinsou hitsohi]
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SUMMARY: Y/N does not understand why they’re staring but it is causing a lot of feelings. 
WORD COUNT: 1.5k
WARNINGS: almost a curse word, flirting, kissing, hawks being hawks, mostly soft and cute, like zero angst
A/N: i see you anon akshdkajshd you didn’t specify scenarios or headcannons or both so i went ahead and did scenarios <3 also this is such an odd mix but i love it. 
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KEIGO TAKAMI | PRO HERO HAWKS
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SCENARIO
As a Pro Hero, Y/N had always viewed training as something necessary. To ensure that her skills were sharp and she was prepared for every possible thing a villain could throw at her. This is why Y/N always incorporated at least one day of training into her week, though this didn’t just benefit her, as she always invited her fell Pro, Hawks. 
Keigo had a very different outlook on training, one that Y/N thought would cost him his life one day if she was honest. This outlook being that training was pointless, especially since their jobs required them to work constantly, which Keigo viewed as a way of training since they both worked nearly daily as top heroes.
Now, other Pro Heroes had suggested training together in the past, Keigo had denied every single one of them. Of course, none of them were Y/N L/N, his partner in crime— more accurately heroism. His flirting had gotten him nowhere with the girl, probably because she was one of the most oblivious people he knew.
More likely because Y/N perceived his flirting as a joke. 
This is how Pro Hero Hawks and Pro Hero Y/H/N ended up in the position they are in now. Keigo had managed to get the jump on her while they were sparring, and now he straddled her waist, hands holding her down by the wrists as their faces remained infinitely close. 
Y/N could feel Keigo’s breath in her face as he spoke, a smirk dawning his face, “got you.” 
She’s glaring at him, hands jolting in his grasp to try and get free to no success. Y/N notices his smirk fade as he tilts his head at her, eyes falling over her figure as he sits on top of her. She finds herself pausing her movement as she eyes him, cheeks warming at his piercing gaze.
“Now is not the time for another one of your jokes, Keigo.”
His eyes snap back onto hers as he raises a brow, allowing a breathy laugh to escape him. “Jokes?”
Y/N practically slams her head down onto the mat in annoyance, averting her eyes from his as she responds, “yes. Where you flirt with me-”
“You think that’s a joke, sweetheart?” 
If her cheeks weren’t already burning, they certainly were now. “You just like to make me flustered, you pompous-”
“Before you finish that mean sentence.” Keigo mutters, using his free hand to grip Y/N by the chin and force her eyes to meet his, “I do like the fluster you. But I also happen to like you.”
Y/N lets out a small laugh at his words, “of course you like me, we’re friends.”
His eyes narrow at her as he releases her chin and moves his face impossibly closer to her own, “can I kiss you?” The breath practically leaves her lungs as Y/N’s mouth gapes open at his words, and she’s just about ready to tell him off until she sees the look in his eyes. 
He’s serious. 
Y/N finds herself nodding slowly, only for Keigo to tilt his head at her, “I wanna hear you say it, sweetheart.”
“Kiss me before I change my mind you as-”
And then his lips are on hers. 
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KIRISHIMA EJIROU
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SCENARIO
Y/N couldn’t help the laugh that escaped her as she ran down the halls of the dorms, Kirishima close behind as she made her way to her own room. This wasn’t necessarily an uncommon occurrence. Even before they were dating, their friendship had a lot of moments like this. 
Pushing her room door open, Y/N gasped as Kirishima practically tackled her to the ground from behind, twisting them to ensure he took the brunt of the fall, the redhead wasted no time taking advantage of Y/N’s shocked and flipping them over so that he could straddle her waist. 
“I caught you!” He exclaimed with a toothy grin, hands pinning her arms down onto the carpet as he pressed a messy kiss to her neck and pulling a laugh from her once more. 
They’re heaving as they try to catch their breaths, having run around the entire dorm. And a small silence overcomes them, Kirishima’s eyes trailing over her, a small crease forming between his brows as he does.
Y/N finds herself tilting her head at the action, confusion flooding her as she watches his mouth gape open slightly. She can’t help it when her cheeks begin to burn in embarrassment. 
“What?” She mumbles, averting her eyes from his.
Kirishima blinks, once, twice, finally her words register in his mind and he breaks out into a smile once more as he replies, “you’re just so...” He releases her arms, “beautiful.”
Y/N brings her hands to her face, a weak attempt at hiding her embarrassment as Kirishima pries them away, “you say such cheesy things.”
 “And you love it.”
Faking a pensive look, Y/N brings a hand to her chin as she hums, “do I?” 
Kirishima scoffs hands coming to hold her face in place as he peppers kisses across the skin, “you don’t?”
Y/N swatted playfully at his chest, a pointless try to stop his pecks against her face before he finally pressed a kiss on her lips, one that she melted into. Bringing her hands around his shoulders loosely, she hummed into the kiss, pulling him closer. 
“I love you.”
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SHINSOU HITOSHI
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SCENARIO
Shinsou had insisted on training with Y/N, top of her class, the very class that Shinsou would be transferring to the following semester. Aside from being the top of her class, Y/N was also Shinsou’s only friend, something she hoped would change in the upcoming semester, especially if she managed to get him to join her lovely little friend group in Class 1-A.
These sessions benefited the both of them, seeing as Bakugo wasn’t the only target of the League of Villains at the training camp. Thankfully, Y/N had managed to escape them, but given how many times they’d attacked UA, she couldn’t help but feel the need to protect herself now. 
Not that Shinsou knew about it, and hopefully he would never know about that. 
Swinging her leg at his head, a hit that Shinsou used to be incapable of dodging, Y/N found these thoughts emptying her mind as he swiftly knocked her to the ground, legs coming to straddle her hips. Though Shinsou ensured not to place his full weight on her as his hands came to grip her own press them down onto the mat they’d been sparring on. 
“Sorry.” He mumbled.
Y/N couldn’t help but laugh at his words, apologizing for besting her. He’d certainly earned it after months of training. Though Y/N couldn’t help but feel shocked as she shifted beneath him, “Shinsou that was amazing! I’m so proud.” She offers him a grin, only to realize he’s not necessarily paying attention. 
“How many times do I have to tell you, call me Hitoshi.” There’s a small smile on his face as he nods, and his eyes are on her, and there’s a distant look in his eyes that leaves Y/N wondering what exactly is going on in his head as he stares down at her. A silence falling between them, Y/N can’t help but think back to all the times her friends had suggested he felt... something more for her.
These thoughts coupled with his piercing gaze cause her cheeks to begin burning as she inhales deeply, eyes meeting his with newfound determination. Y/N uses his distracted state to force them to switch positions, knocking his back onto the mat with a grunt, Y/N seats herself on his hips before bringing her hands to his face and pressing her lips to his.
This probably wasn’t the best plan she could’ve come up with. 
He’s frozen for a moment, but Shinsou’s arms come to hold her hips as one of Y/N’s hands leaves his face to move through his hair, causing Shinsou’s fingers to dig into her hips.
Pulling away, Y/N’s cheeks warm as she mumbles, “so, Hitoshi...” She clears her throat, “we should probably discuss that.”
Shinsou’s head falls against the mat as a laugh escapes him, “I can’t believe I like you.”
Y/N swats at his chest, though she laughs alongside him, falling onto his chest to lay her head against it.
This was nice.
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A/N: i got a lil carried away with keigos... oops. also if you read all my headcannons its basically following the same y/n and whichever character because i always do the same backstory akjsdhakjshdkjash everyone has just had a first kiss like 23479283749 times. also WHY IS KIRISHIMA SO HARD TO WRITE FOR I CAN’T DO IT thats why his is short im sorry kjashdkjahsdkjhs
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TAGLISTS[lmk if you wanna be added or removed via asks or replies]
BNHA: @shawkneecaps @1-800-schmacked
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forever-rogue · 4 years ago
Text
Afterglow - Part 6
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A/N: Honey Bee finally made the smartest decision of her life in the last chapter and now...time to deal with the fallout. Thank you guys for supporting and loving this story too! As always, feedback and comments are welcome, and if you’d like to be tagged, let me know. xx 💕
Pairing: Frankie Morales x Fem!Reader
Word Count: 6.5k
Warnings: None
AFTERGLOW MASTERLIST
MASTERLIST
»»————- ♡ ————-««
Spitting out the toothpaste into the sink, you groaned slightly when you realized that you had left your mouthwash back on your desk. Tilting your head under the tap, you got a mouthful of water and swished it around in your mouth, trying to get the last bits of toothpaste out.
When you were satisfied with the lackluster brushing, you quickly splashed some cold water onto your face to wake yourself up. But it was no use - you still looked as tired and dragged out as you felt. There were dark circles under your eyes, your lips were chapped and cracked, and the joy you normally held in your eyes was all but gone. You had been going through the motions for the last three, feeling more like an empty shell than anything else. 
But you felt liberated - free. More so than you had in a long time. That in itself made your current struggle worth it.
Grabbing your toothpaste, toothbrush, and hairbrush, you stalked out of the bathroom, ready to slink back to your office before anyone else arrived. 
Looking furtively around the hall, you walked the short distance to your own office, almost making it to safety when you heard your name being called softly. Groaning inwardly, you cleared your throat and turned around, plastering on the best smile you could.
"Ally," you said softly, "y-you're here early!"
"I was just thinking the same thing," she joked, and while you could tell she meant no harm, it still caused you to panic slightly. She was well aware of you calling off your engagement, hell the whole world seemed to know, but she never seemed to pity you for it. Her eyes flicked to the items in your hands as a warmth crept into your chest and blossomed over your whole face, "I'm meeting a client early this morning because it was the only thing that fit into his schedule. Are you..."
You remained silent for a moment, hanging your head before letting out a long sigh, "look, I've just been staying here since things ended with Chad. I'm trying to find my own place, but its been a bit of a difficult go. Turns that a lot of people don't want to rent to you if you happen to have supposedly wronged Chad Williams. It seems like everyone knows him."
She reached out and gave your shoulder a soft, reassuring squeeze. Meeting her eyes, you found a small smile on her face, luckily not one of pity, "I'm sorry he's making things miserable still. I'm guessing your parents are out of the question?"
"Absolutely not an option," you admitted with a stiff laugh, "my mom seemed okay at first but she and my father quickly came to the conclusion that I was in the wrong and making a horrible mistake. They insisted I was just going through a phase because of nerves. When I told them I was sure about my decision and wasn’t going back, they all but...disowned me. Imagine the shame I’ve brought upon them in their minds...they’re so old fashioned. Maybe they’ll come around one day.”
"Yikes," she said as you nodded, "can I be honest with you?"
"Of course."
"I never liked him," she admitted softly, causing you to almost give yourself whiplash as you looked over at her, "there was just something about him that was off. I think - I know, you can do so much better."
"Thank you," you said as you laughed lightly, trying to hold the tears that threatened to well up at bay, "I hope so too."
"I mean it," she insisted, "you're kind, smart, pretty, and you've got a good heart. What more could anyone ask for?"
"Apparently a dutiful, quiet little wife..."
"Very funny," she teased, "why don't you come and stay with us? While you get your own place? We've got an extra bedroom that's not being used, and it's much better than staying here. Have you been sleeping on your hard old couch?”
"Yes..."
"Absolutely not," she shook her head, "come over when you're done for the day. We'll get the room ready for you. Anna will be happy to see you again too. And you know what, it's not an option, its a demand. Just come over tonight and we'll get you settled. I'll have Anna pick up some wine for dinner and everything."
"Ally, you're much too kind..." you said as her phone stared to ring. She looked at the screen and a big smile spread across her visage as her wife's name popped up on the screen.
"Speak of the devil," she laughed lightly, "tonight! No if, ands, or buts!"
You could only nod as she walked away, chattering excitedly as she went to her own office. Before stepping in and closing the door, she gave you a grin and wave that was enough to cause a single tear to roll down your cheek. It had been weeks since anyone had even shown you an ounce of kindness; most people had decided to scorn you instead, blaming you for everything that had happened. Wiping the warm drop away, you stepped foot into your own office, stashing your toiletries away for what you hoped would be the last time. Hopefully that everything you'd finally be able to have a proper, long, hot shower and sleep in a bed, two luxuries that you had been greatly missing. 
Pulling out a dress from the small wardrobe, you slipped it on, vowing to stop your little pity party. Sure, things weren't ideal right now, but you were still so much better off than others. That was something you did not take for granted.
»»————- ♡ ————-««
“Men really can be the worst,” Anna laughed, almost snorting into her wine as you held up your glass in a mock salute, “can you imagine being that pathetic and trying to sabotage someone you supposedly loved? I think it speaks volumes to his character.”
“The longer we were together, the more I realized that it was never about love, even if that’s how it started out. It was always about appearances and trying to please everyone else. It was getting so tiring.”
“I can only imagine,” Ally gave her your leg a small pat as you downed the rest of your glass, “but at least you’re free now. It’s easy to fall  into routine and not realize how unhappy we’ve become. We get used to just staying on one path. Usually it takes something big to make us realize what we’re doing isn’t what we wanted in the first place.”
“Okay Dr. Ally,” Anna teased her wife, “we’re not at the office. But I agree...I am curious, and happy, as to what caused you to realize that you deserve more.”
You felt the blood draining from your face almost immediately as you swallowed nervously, mouth dry. You weren’t about to delve into the memories and dreams that had been plaguing you over the weeks, becoming increasingly more frequent the closer your former wedding date had approached. Frankly, you hadn’t even admitted that to yourself yet, not out loud anyway. 
How were you supposed to tell yourself, let anyone else, that the reason you realized you deserved was better because you’d been dreaming of your high school boyfriend again? It had been twenty years, twenty long years without him - there was no reason you should have even given him a second thought. Yet...here you were. Still hung up on Frankie Morales, the boy that had earned your heart...and then brought it into a million pieces. You knew, you would be the first to admit, that it wasn’t all his fault, that you were to blame to an extent as well, but it didn’t make it any easier.
Ever since the day that you had run into him again, a day that should have been like any other, he’d been living rent free in your mind. Even if you hated him, even if you were still mad at him after all this time. You couldn’t help but wonder - what if. What if. 
What if he had come to California with you and you’d both stayed there? What if you had waited for him while you went to school and he was in the military? What if he’d come back to you long ago? Would you still be together? Would you be married to him? Would  you have a daughter or son that took on both of your best qualities? Or would you have eventually fallen out and broken up anyway, only to loathe each with every fiber of your being? Would you have stayed together?”
What if. What if. What if. 
It was that haunted you for so long now.
“Umm,” you snapped back into reality and pushed the thought of the boy you had loved out of your mind. You set the glass back down and made a small, noncommittal sound, “it was just a lot of things. The more real things became with the wedding planning the more I realized that I didn’t want this. It was at my last dress fitting actually, that I realized I couldn’t do it.” 
“That must have been quite a wake up call,” Anna’s eyes widened as she imagined the scene as you nodded, taking the almost empty bottle of wine and pouring the remainder into your class. 
“It was,” you admitted with a long sigh, “you should have been the poor dress maker. I almost ran out on her. But you know, even though things are far from perfect right now, I would still do it all again.”
“Cheers to that,” Ally held up her class, and the two of you clinked yours against it, “now to bigger and better things. You can, and will, do so much better.”
“Thank you both,” just being in their presence, let alone their home, had you feeling infinitely better, “I don’t even know where to begin to thank you.”
“What are friends for?” 
“I, however, do have some more good news,” Anna was proud of herself as the two of your gave her an inquisitive look, “I spoke to my friend who is a realtor today, no connection to Chad or anything, and he said he has a perfect little house available! It’s a little on the outskirts of town, a small, quiet neighborhood, but that it would be perfect for you. It’s not big, just a little two bedroom, one bath, but it’s all been redone recently, and it’s quaint. He showed me some pictures and I think you’d really like it.”
“You did...you did this for me?” you felt another wave of tears sting at the back of your eyes as she nodded. 
“I’m not trying to push this on you at all, or anything of the sort,” she promised, “but we were talking and it just came up and I thought of you. I thought I’d just tell you in case you were interested...you are, of course, welcome to stay with us however long you want.”
“I can’t thank you enough,” you said softly, “truly. I’d love to see the place. If you like, I’m sure it’ll be great. And honestly, it would be nice to get out of the city and be a little bit out of the way and I don’t need anything much. I just want a place that will feel like home...my own place.”
“Obviously it comes with the stipulation that we will get to help decorate and pick out furniture if you move into it.”
“I would expect nothing less,” you agreed, “it’s going to be nice getting my own things and having it be truly mine.”
“A fresh start,” she agreed, “I’ll tell Elijah that we’ll stop by tomorrow and take a look? How does that sound?”
“Perfect,” you agreed, feeling your heart finally feel warm again, as a wave of calm washed over you, “absolutely perfect.”
»»————- ♡ ————-««
The next two weeks were a whirlwind of moving, although you technically didn’t have much to move, furniture shopping, unpacking, and organizing your new home. 
The house was cute, an older little home that had been recently renovated with a small yard and  a perfect spot for a garden. You could already picture yourself gardening once the cooler autumn and winter months were over. 
It wasn’t huge, but it had a spare bedroom you decided would serve as a home office and occasional guest room, although you figured you weren’t going to have many of those considering how easily everyone had cut you off. It was open, warm, and inviting, and it was perfect for what you wanted. It had brought up the idea of maybe adopting a dog or cat to keep as your friend. It had made you think of something that Frankie always said: anyone who wasn’t willing to share their home with an animal was as good as heartless.
It served as a sharp contrast to your former living situation; everything in the apartment you had shared with Chad had been cold, dark, and minimalistic. Nothing about it had ever felt truly homey, more like an ornate display at an art museum you were afraid to even look at. Chad had never wanted an animal of any sorts, not even a goldfish, claiming that it would take up too much time, too much space, and he just didn’t want something to take care of.
But your new home was the polar opposite, it was romantic and airy and filled with items and trinkets that made it feel like a home. A little animal friend would fit in perfectly. You were fitting in perfectly already. 
You’d even made it a point to go around the neighborhood and introduce yourself to people. Your justification was that you had literally nothing to lose, your family had turned their backs on you, your ex-fiance had taken almost all of the so called friends you’d had, and were left to your own devices. In the worst case scenario, you’d have met a few unsavory people, and in the best case scenario you’d get to know your neighbors and maybe make a few friends.
Something in the stars seemed to align, as your neighbors turned out to be kind and welcoming, and you were sure the cookies you offered them weren't a deterrent either. They were mostly either older couples, or small families, a few roommates that lived together. The normalcy of it all was endearing, and to know that you had a place that you were welcome was enough to let your heart rest easy. 
The only mystery that remained was your next door neighbor, the one on your left side. Whoever it was had been missing, gone or something, since you’d moved in several weeks before. While trying to maintain a respectful distance, you’d kept an eye on the house to see if you could spy anyone coming or going, see a car...something. But you never did - not even seen so much as a porch light flicker on. It seemed odd, especially in this neighborhood.
One afternoon, in the middle of unpacking the new bits of furniture for your living room and rearranging everything for about the tenth time, curiosity got the better of you. Maybe it was because you were in the middle of watching some true crime documentaries as you worked but you just felt...nervous. You were concerned about the health and safety of this mysterious neighbor that you hadn’t even met. You’d hastily wiped the sweat from your brow before rushing over to the neighbor on the other side of the seemingly nonexistent neighbor. 
Unfortunately, much to your chagrin, the other neighbor, an older widowed man by the name of Eddie, who happened to have an adorable dog that you decided you’d offer to take on walks, was just as clueless as you. 
He said he’d seen the man, at least you narrowed it down to that much, come on and go on occasion, but that he kept odd hours. He commented that he must have worked evenings or something, because he wasn’t around much at that time and it was always quiet during the day. Apparently it wasn’t odd for him to be gone for days at a time, or at least for no one to notice him. At least he’d be a quiet neighbor if he ever appeared again. But the older man hadn’t seemed too concerned, so figured there was nothing to worry about. You ended finding out that he was likely around your age, with dark hair. That was about all that Eddie knew; he said the man whose name he couldn’t even remember had always kept to himself since he’d moved in a few years ago. 
You’d thanked him, given the small fluffy dog a few pets and trudged back to your own place, arms filled with various baked goods, including a delicious smelling loaf of banana bread. Eddie had proudly declared that he had taken up the hobby of baking in his retirement and he always had been plenty to share. You made a mental note to store that little piece of info away for future use. 
And yet still, even as more days passed, you still didn’t see hide nor hair of the mystery man. You’d gone to work each morning, wondering if maybe you just missed him and you had conflicting schedules. You didn’t know why you even cared so much, or what drew you to solving this mystery, but you were just inexplicably invested. 
One evening, as you were watching some Netflix and unwinding with a glass of wine, browsing the adoptable animals at the local shelter, it hit you. It was like the proverbial lightbulb had been switched on and you came up with a brilliant idea. When you’d moved in, you’d taken some fresh, homemade cookies to everyone in the small cul-de-sac - why didn’t you just make some for him? 
It was brilliant, you thought to yourself as you set the wine glass down and almost tossed your laptop to the floor in excitement. You would make your favorite cookies, soft, gooey chocolate chip ones you fancied so much, get them all safely in a container and drop them off when you felt for work in the morning. If they were gone by the time you came home that would mean he had to have been there. 
Yes, you thought to yourself, this is brilliant. No one could turn down a plate of fresh cookies. 
So you’d spent the rest of the evening, bouncing around the kitchen excitedly, pouring your heart and soul into the every little step it took to make the perfect treat. By the time you’d gone to bed, excited and worn out, the little package was sitting on your counter for your to grab on your way out. This was going to be it, you just knew it.
»»————- ♡ ————-««
You woke up early the next morning, even before your alarm went off, a smile on your face despite being tired. You almost stopped dead in your tracks when you realized that this was the first, the first time in what felt like a small eternity that you woke up like that. It was a good feeling, and you hoped that you would be able to hang onto it. 
Once you’d showered and done up your makeup and hair to your liking, you slipped on a pretty golden dress. It always made you feel pretty, the color bringing a slight bit of joy into your heart. You always felt confident and good in it, and you decided it was just what you needed. If your last session ended early enough, you even planned on stopping by the animal shelter to see if you made a connection with any of the adoptable animals. It was going to be a good day. You could feel it in your bones. 
Once you were ready to go, you grabbed your pre-packed lunch from the fridge, along with your purse and the package for your mystery neighbor. Almost flouncing over to his porch because you were buzzing with energy, you hopped up the steps and set it on the front porch and center, in the middle of the doormat, topped off with a handwritten note introducing yourself. The mat was a generic one, and you did a little look around to see if you could find a name or any personal touches around the porch. But there was nothing - no clue as to who it could be. It was no matter, you told yourself, you would have your answers soon enough.
Giving the neatly wrapped container one last fond look, you headed to your car and off to work. Hopefully you’d be busy enough to keep your mind occupied. It was silly to get so invested in something so trivial and yet...here you were. An eternal dreamer and optimist at heart, just like you always had been, even as a teenager. Even if you had to suppress that side of yourself for some time, more so with each passing year, you were still the same girl underneath it all. 
The day felt like it had like it went by in a blur as you saw several of your regular patients, feeling like you were finally able to help them properly and give them your undivided attention. It went so well that you did manage to finish up early, which meant  you could have your fun and go look at animals. You knew it would be a challenge to meet different pets and not be able to take them all home, but you were willing to give it the old college try. 
You hadn’t bothered to stop home and change, opting to go straight to the shelter.
»»————- ♡ ————-««
As soon as you'd gotten there and started looking at the different dogs, you knew it would be hard. 
So many of the sweet dogs came up to you, some wagging their tails in nervous excitement, some just beside themselves, but others were more reluctant, sitting and observing you. You went up to as many as you could, keeping a respectful distance from them and offering them your hand to sniff. A couple of them give you a few licks, letting you reach in and pet them, but getting distracted as soon as they spied other people. Sweet dogs, all of them, but those weren’t the ones for you. As you walked through the various dogs, you were disheartened to find that you didn’t seem to have a connection to any of them. You hoped they would go to good homes soon regardless. Maybe it wasn’t your day to find a companion, which was totally okay with you. You’d just come back some other day and make sure that one of them got a home in your adobe.
But as you neared the end of the last row, you stopped when you spotted a small dog, small for being a pitbull that was, sitting in the corner of her kennel, a sad, dejected look on her face. She was a pretty thing, light tan with white marking on her sweet face, but her eyes contained a deep sadness.
“Hi, sweet girl,” you said softly as you didn’t even hesitate to drop to your knees, dropping on the floor of the kennel, sliding a few fingers under the barrier keeping you from her, trying to coax her to you. She observed you with keen interest, but remained rooted in her spot, “you are so pretty! I bet you’re just as sweet too, aren’t you? I can tell…”
“She’s very sweet,” one of the shelter’s volunteers, a young boy by the name of Lucas that had let you in, said as he walked up to you, “but she’s really shy. She’s less than a year old, but she’s already had a go of it.”
“What happened to her?” you asked gently, keeping your voice down so you wouldn’t startle her, “she looks so sad.”
“She was abused by her former owner, sadly. They found her when they went to raid the owner’s home, apparently he was a small time drug dealer on top of it,” he explained and you made a small in the back of your throat as you just looked at her. It made your heart break to know that this poor animal, and so many others like her, were being abused for no reason - not that anyone, person or animal, should ever have been abused, “it’s made her shy, but she does warm up to people.”
“What’s her name?” you asked as she moved ever so marginally closer to you. You smiled at her, giving her an encouraging little nod.
“Daisy.”
“Daisy,” you called softly as her ears perked up slightly. It suited her, you decided, a soft pretty name for a pretty girl, “hi sweet Daisy. You are a big lovebug underneath it all, aren’t you?”
She turned her slightly to look at as you offered her a small, reassuring nod. 
“How about Miss Daisy Mae?” you asked her and you got a glimpse of her tail wagging ever so slightly, “yeah, I think that’s perfect too. May I pet you?”
It was silent, completely so sans for the other dogs in their kennels as you attempted to gain her trust. You didn’t want to scare her off, but you wanted to see if you could get her to come closer. Lucas told you could stay as long as you wanted, and you decided that you would do just that, plopping onto your bottom as you gently spoke to her. You spent some time sitting there, talking to her about anything and everything, and slowly, inch by precious inch, she came closer to you until she was just a few inches from your hand. When you moved your hand and she didn’t flinch, you gently petted her muzzle, tracing over it delicately with a few fingers. 
“You’ve been through a lot,” you mused quietly and she gently rubbed her head into your hand, “but you’ve got so much life left to live. So many happy things to come. Would you like to come home with me and see? I have a big bed that I have all to myself, and I could really use a companion to take up some of the space. Would you like to help me?”
She made a small sound as she looked up at you, her tail wagging ever so slightly. That was enough to convince you that you were making the right decision. Giving Daisy one last gentle touch, you slowly pulled your hand back to keep from startling her and jumped to your feet. She was yours, it hadn’t taken much to figure that out, and you were going to make sure she came home with you. 
Telling her you would be back in a little bit, you went off in search of Lucas, to tell him to get you all the paperwork so you could bring her home with that day.
»»————- ♡ ————-««
As soon as Daisy was all yours, you’d set her up in your car, draping a big, soft blanket over the backseat for her. You were glad you kept one in your car for whatever occasion called for it; this was the perfect time. As soon as she seemed to realize what was happening, Daisy’s eyes had lit up and she already seemed like a different dog, her tail going softly, but nonstop as she stayed close to your side. 
You’d stopped by the pet store on your way home, bringing her in with you as you stocked up on the best dog food, treats, several big fluffy beds (one for each room of the house naturally), and let her pick out several toys. Whatever she wanted she got, honestly, and before you knew it before pushing a huge cartful to the counter to the pay. Daisy, now in a pretty yellow collar and leash, followed closely by your side, a little stuffed bear in her mouth. This felt so right, so natural, almost like you had meant to find her. You couldn’t even remember the last time you had felt this much joy in your heart, and you hoped the feeling would never go away.
“And this is where we live,” you told her as you pulled into the driveway, pulling up to the garage and turning off the car. She stood up and went to the window, looking out eagerly. Your break broke a little when you realize she probably never got to run and play like any puppy should, but you vowed to change that. You got and opened the door, not even bothering to stop her as she jumped out and started to sniff everywhere. 
Sighing contentedly at the sight of the happy dog, the one that had quickly turned from nervous to optimistic, you started to gather everything out of the car to bring inside. Daisy came back to your side, following you with keen attention as you opened the door to the house and let her explore. 
It wasn’t until your last excursion to the car to bring in the last of the toys, that your attention wandered back to your MIA neighbor. When you studied his house, you noticed that all the lights were off, and there was no car in the driveway. The package you had you left for him was still right where you had placed that morning. A small, dejected sigh left your lips as you quickly dashed over and retrieved the package. It was only slightly heartbreaking,  but you knew it wasn’t due to any fault of yours. But still...you couldn’t help but wonder. Who was he? Where was he? Maybe one day your questions would be answered, but at least for now you had your new friend to keep you company. Just as you thought about her, you heard a small, almost tiny bark from your door as Daisy poked her head out and looked excitedly at you.
“Coming sweet girl!” you promised her as you ran back over to her. This day was decidedly not a waste in the slightest, you reminded yourself, you had a new friend and that was more important than anything else.
»»————- ♡ ————-««
Several more days passed, and Daisy adjusted to life with you without a hitch. She really was the sweetest girl you had met, and she had won a big spot in your heart, and bed, almost instantly. Gone were the cookies you had baked for the neighbor you thought might not actually exist, eaten with some milk as you watched Netflix late into the evening with Daisy snoozing next to you. 
Something though, whatever little stubborn streak you had, told you to keep trying.
So you did.
That night you dragged yourself back to the kitchen and repeated the painstaking process of making your now neighborhood famous cookies again. He was going to get these cookies come hell or high water. This time Daisy joined you in the kitchen and watched your every move intently, as you walked her through the process, giving her your best impression of some lofty Food Network chef. 
Just as you had previously done earlier in the week, you prepped everything and stuck the same note on the top, making sure it looked perfect. Even if it ended up as another batch that you would eat, you wanted to go through the efforts and ensure it was perfect. 
The next morning, you herded Daisy into the car, allowing her to come to your office with you. She had been enjoying coming to your office and greeting your clients, being a good girl and laying on her bed while you worked. Many of them seemed to find her comforting, and as thought she could sense when they needed something, which she probably did, she’d often go to comfort them with wet kisses and nuzzles. Ally had suggested that you look into her having certified as a therapy dog, which you decided was a perfect idea. 
You wandered over to his porch and left the little package again and turned to head off to work. Whatever was meant to happen would happen. So if he didn’t come and get the cookies, so be it. You’d stop worrying about it and let it go. 
When you got home that evening, you brought everything inside and let Daisy into the backyard to roam around before her dinner time, when you looked through the front windows to try and see your neighbor’s porch. You huffed when you came to the conclusion that you were at just the wrong angle to be able to see anything. Stalking out the front door to get a better look, you sighed deeply when the package was once again there. What had you really expected? You’d struck out for weeks now, the man was an enigma to yourself and everyone else around, it was a far cry that you’d ever really see him. 
Grumbling at yourself for being too hopeful and optimistic, you trudged over to his porch, ready to take the cookies back again and enjoy them for yourself. Maybe you could bring them, and Daisy, over to Eddie and see if he would enjoy them and the dogs would get along. It wasn’t terribly exciting, but it was something anyway.
You bent down to pick up the small container, ready to head back home and get on with your day. But just as you swooped up the container, you heard the door unlock, causing you to jump back in surprise, dropping the container and letting it clatter to the ground. You took a step back and looked up, finding the door open, but the screen closed. Squinting your eyes, you tried to make out the person on the other side but found it almost impossible. 
“H-hi,” you stammered nervously, hoping the person wouldn’t think you were stealing or snooping around, “I-I moved into the neighborhood a few weeks ago, and I was just...I made cookies! I was going to introduce myself but I hadn’t seen you or anything, so I figured I’d leave them for you. They-they’re not old though, I made this batch last night.”
Nothing but silence met your ears for several moments as you nervously picked up the container to display it for him. You were nervous suddenly, terrified that you had somehow offended him, or...something.
“I-I’ll get going,” you said as you set the cookies on the bench that was near the door. Unsure why you felt the need to keep speaking you gave him your name, letting it linger in the air for a moment, “I live right next door, so I guess maybe I will see you around. Yeah...well, umm...goodbye!”
But before you made it off the porch, you heard the screen door open, and swing shut. You swallowed the lump in your throat, ready to turn around and make a proper introduction when you heard your name whispered so quietly, that you thought you might have imagined it. That voice...that soft, gentle voice caused your heart to skip a few beats. You knew that voice. 
Turning around slowly, you came face to face with the man that had been on your mind for weeks. You brought your eyes up to the man’s face and a small gasp of surprise left your lips. 
“F-Frankie?” except this wasn’t the Frankie you’d known. No, this man was tired looking, nothing but sheer exhaustion on his face, dark circles, parched lips, no trace of facial hair, his hair flattened from what you knew was a signature hat. This was a different man, a world weary man, a man who you never intended on seeing again. But you knew that voice, you knew it so well, you’d recognize it anywhere, even after all this time. But there was something about him, how he was looking at you that broke our heart. 
He remained silent as his dark eyes watched you, wondering how and why on earth you’d ended up as his neighbor. It was like some force was at play, some weird thing that kept bringing the two of you together. 
He remained silent as the two of you looked at each other, his eyes quickly flicked to your left hand. You straightened up when you noticed that and got ready to walk away, unsure of how to feel in that moment. Once again, your life was thrown in a complete tailspin. 
You swallowed the lump in your throat, unable to find any words. 
But before you could leave his porch, his hand went to your wrist, taking it gently in his large hand as you immediately turned around and gave him a wide eyed stare.
Your chest was rising and falling rapidly as you looked at him in silent question, and he did the same. 
This was Frankie - your Frankie. After all these years, he was still yours.
Before either of you could say anything, he gently grabbed your face and studied it for a moment before crashing his lips onto yours. It took a moment for you to react, and for a few beats before you kissed him back, not even having to think about it. But just as quickly as it had started you came to your senses and while part of you was screaming to continue to kiss him, the logical part of your brain took over and you pushed him away from you. Immediately realizing what you were doing, he let go of you and took a step back. 
“Don’t,” you insisted sharply, your voice crackling on the singular word, “don’t. You don’t get to do that. I shouldn’t have done that. Not anymore. Never again.”
Before he could say anything, you dashed away from him, running back over to your house. This had to be some sort of weird dream, surely life couldn’t be throwing another challenge at you. Surely you’d been through enough.
Surely you weren’t neighbors, after all this time and years, with Frankie Morales. 
Life couldn’t be that cruel...right?
»»————- ♡ ————-««
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halcyonstorm · 4 years ago
Text
The Girl at the Library Chapter 1
Short Fic - Levihan
Themes: College AU, Library, Fluff, Slow Burn, Falling in Love, Female Hange Zoe, Student!Levi
Word Count: 5730
Chapter: 1/3
Warning: Mild Language
Read on Ao3 - The Girl at the Library
Summary: Levi is a college student who needs help on his research paper. Luckily, Hange is a book worm and works at the library. 
Levi was stressed and annoyed, mainly because he was in college. Of course with college comes infinite amounts of homework assignments, 100-question exams with astronomical amounts of topics on them, unnecessary research papers, and staying in a dorm room with a kid that happens to have no problem inviting his friends over every night to hang out and party with no regards to his sullen roommate.
Levi had a paper coming up. He had to come up with a topic, find sources, and finish his paper by the end of the semester. With three weeks left to go, he decided he’d rather get it over with. He began his brainstorming in the study lounge at the center of his dormitory floor. He was starting to stress. He sat on the big yellow leather couch in the way-too-bright study lounge with his laptop in his lap. He tapped his pen against his head as he tried to think of an idea. 
“You have to write about a topic related to your major,” The professor explained. “This is the one and only paper you will have assigned this semester. I suggest you get it done as early as possible.”
If only it were that easy. He had the rubric pulled up in one tab, and a ton of “How to pick a research topic” websites in others. His major was pharmaceuticals, a field he was inspired to take on because of his mother. She was very ill when he was very young, so they were in and out of hospitals. He was sitting on the edge of his mother’s hospital bed when a nurse came in the room to administer her medications. 
“This is…” His memory was blurry. “This medication will help… and make you feel better.” And it did. 9 year old Levi was fascinated. This one little pill or bag of what looked like water helped his mother feel better. Within hours, his mother’s skin went from pallor to beige. Her hands were warmer. She looked more awake, more alive. She didn’t wince at Levi’s touch. She was in less pain. She got better, like the nurse predicted.
Since then, Levi always asked questions whenever they visited the hospitals again and again. “What kind of drug is that?” “What does it do?” “How long does it take to take effect?”
Levi recalled the memory with a deep sigh. He missed his mother. She was at home, not too far away. Levi never had the time to travel the hour through the big city to visit her. When he did have free time, he spent it studying or sleeping. He felt his heart twinge at this. She had sacrificed everything to help him attend college and to give him a good life.
Now with his head cloudy, he went to reach his water bottle in his backpack. He opened the lid and took a sip. At that moment, he could hear some obnoxiously loud students throwing tennis balls back and forth to each other. He recognized these kids too, they were some (of many) of the lovely visitors his roommate had over most nights. Suddenly in the blink of an eye, Levi’s water bottle spilled all over his laptop, a tennis ball on the floor next to him, and some worried voices approaching him. Within seconds, the laptop started to steam and the screen went black.
His laptop was fried, he determined. He felt heat start to rise inside of him. 
“Oh my god, man. I am so sorry,” One of the kids said, trying to hold back a laugh. 
“Yeah, man. We didn’t mean to.”
Levi took a deep breath and stood up. These kids… were gonna pay.
He closed his broken laptop and stood up. These kids were much taller than him, but looked to be easily intimidated by Levi’s presence. 
“Do you have the money to pay for this?” He sneered, getting very close to their faces. 
“Eh… no, but we have jobs! We can pay you back over time,” One of the kids trailed off. They seemed to be intimidated by the short man. “You live in 112 right?”
Levi nodded, his face heating up with anger. “This laptop cost me a lot of money.”
“We get it, man! We said we’re sorry,” the other kid explained. “We’ll pay you back or whatever.”
“Tch,” Levi clicked. He was extremely pissed. These kids should not be throwing balls at each other in the hallway. Also, they spilled his water which made a mess. “Which room are you both in?” They responded with 118. The one kid explained they get paid on the 15th and 30th of each month. Luckily, their pay day was 4 days away.
“I’ll stop by Tuesday, the 16th,” Levi decided, before gathering his things and heading to the stairs. He began to walk through the campus. Fuck, now where was he gonna go? How was he gonna find his topics? His computer was fucked. Putting it in rice wouldn’t have helped. He was so occupied having a debate with himself about where to research, he almost missed it. If he looked the other way or even blinked in that moment, he wouldn’t have seen it. It was the campus library. No, not the campus library, but a campus library. It blended into the surroundings, hidden from the passerbyers. There was a sign in the window “We’re Open!”. 
The library was small, to say the least. It was old fashioned, which contrasted the modern aesthetic of the university. It was a small, dark brown, wooden building with four-pane windows. The door was a lighter shade of brown. He decided it was easier to check out this little library instead of walking another 10 minutes to get to the main library. He didn’t have time to waste. He had to get started with his paper right away. He walked up to the door and opened it. When he did, a little bell rang at the doorway. 
“Just a minute!” A woman’s voice called from the back. Levi decided to wander around. There were many books crammed on the shelves. There were two computers on each side when he walked in. They looked out of place, considering they were very modern compared to the architecture of the library itself. The books were all shades of bright, vibrant colors. It was strange. From the outside, it seemed creepy and gloomy. Once he walked in, it was very cozy. The dark walls of the library contrasted the beautiful colors of the books.
Then, he saw the woman come out. She came up to the desk. He expected an elderly lady with her glasses on a chain, but he assumed this woman was a student. She was a young woman who wore thin oval glasses and her brown hair thrown up in a messy half-up-half-down ponytail. 
“Hi!” The woman said. “How can I help you?”
“I want to use a computer, please,” He announced. He glanced at her nametag which hung like a necklace around her neck. “Hange” was the name on the tag. It was strange and unordinary, but it had a nice ring to it. The name seemed to suit her.
“Sure! You are allowed up to two hours a day,” Hange explains. “You can choose whichever computer you’d like.”
The computers were unoccupied. In fact, the entire library seemed vacant except for him and the employee. 
“Does anyone actually come here?” Levi asked, setting his stuff down next to a desk, and looking her way. She looked like someone who would work at a library. 
The brunette chuckled. “You are my third visitor today!” She exclaimed proudly. It was already about 3pm. He remembered the sign in the front says “12pm-6pm weekdays”. 
Levi chuckled silently, air huffed out his nose. “How do you stay in business?”
“Well, the university thinks it’s good to have a small library in the outskirts of the campus so students have access to books and computers because the main campus library is in the center of the plaza. Sometimes we get about ten people a day, and sometimes they don’t even take anything out. Sometimes I wonder how…” She began to ramble now. She definitely has not had anyone else visit her today.
She was starting to get on his nerves. It’s been 20 minutes since he arrived, and she was still talking. He zoned out until she caught his attention.
“Hey,” She said. “What’s your name? I have to track whoever comes in to use the computers.” 
Why? No one else comes in. He noticed her clipboard with the sign-ins was blank.
“Levi Ackerman,” He announced. She scribbled his name down. “Okay, it’s 3:30 now, so you have till 5:30 if needed.” She pointed to the clock with her pen as she explained. He nodded and proceeded to walk towards the table with the computer he claimed. He sat down and began working.
-
He was an hour into his research when he finally threw his hands up in the air in frustration. He still couldn’t think of a topic. He groaned aloud.
Hange was leaning against the main desk, her nose stuck in a book. “How Trees Communicate” was the title. When she heard the young man groan, she looked up. 
“Is everything okay?” She asked, peering over her book at him.
“Yeah, yeah,” He mumbled. “Fine…”
Hange raised an eyebrow. She placed her bookmark at her spot, then strolled around the desk and walked over to him.
“What are you working on?” She asked, sitting in the seat next to him and put her hands on her knees, looking at him curiously. He scoffs. It was none of her business, he thought to himself. And it’s an invasion of privacy.
He was frustrated and desperate. Hoping for a miracle, he managed to tell her anyways.
 “I need a topic for my paper and I can’t think of any…” Levi began. “It needs to be based on pharmaceuticals, my major. It also needs scientific evidence to back up my research…”
She was fully absorbed in what he had to say. She was bored, so helping Levi would’ve been something to do at least. Besides, Levi was in luck. She was an avid reader, always reading about anything and everything. She was studying plants and botanicals, but she found herself frequently taking out books about cooking; religion; war; animals; and medical topics including surgery, pathophysiology, anatomy, and pharmaceuticals.
“What about how diuretics affect blood pressure?” Hange suggested. Levi was taken aback. His eyebrows furrowed, and he shook his head in confusion. “Or if anti-alzheimer drugs actually help slow the progression of Alzheimer’s? Why do you take different medications during certain stages of Alzheimer’s disease? Or how do anti-seizure medications work? That is something I ask myself all the time. You take this little pill and BOOM! You’ll be fine, no seizure! Oh, oh, oh! Or, how certain medications cause certain adverse effects? How come so many medications cause anxiety?” Her eyes started to light up as she talked. They were a dark brown, but when she started to talk, they seemed to morph to a captivating hazel. He felt he could see every color in her eyes. He saw brown and green and the little lines of her iris. Hange’s hands would move as she talked, and her smile grew wide. She couldn’t keep still. She was getting excited by coming up with all these ideas. She seemed so passionate and so willing to help; he was overwhelmed by her.
Levi was in shock. His day started off horrible. Now, he was almost glad his laptop was fucked. This woman was making his mind race with ideas. 
“Are you okay?” Hange asked for the second time within his visit there. Levi nodded slowly. “I am just… How do you know all that? Are you a med student?”
Hange chuckled and waved her hand at him. “No… I am a bookworm! Also, my mom is a nurse, so she used to teach me about nursing stuff all the time. Oh! You could write about the pathophysiology of anticholinergics! Or beta blockers! Or how the body reacts to the use of long-term steroids?”
Levi took a deep breath. He felt euphoric. He had been casually trying to think of topics since last week. All of a sudden, this woman can just ramble off hundreds of ideas? Levi smiled visibly.
“Actually… I really like the final topic you suggested. About steroids.” Levi admitted.
Hange smiled back at him. “Great! I can try to help you find some sources or books.” She directed him to open a new tab and to go to a certain database. “This is where you can find reliable sources. Over here,” She pointed to his screen at the left side. “You can add filters. You can change how old or new you’d like the sources to be, filter out certain words or phrases, et cetera.” She had been closer to him now; she scooted her chair closer so she could explain the database to him. It was hard not to look at her as she explained. She was captivating.
Levi began to type in words for his topic.
“Steroids”, “Long-term use”, “Cushing’s Disease”, “Addison’s Disease”, “Addisonian Crisis”, “Pathophysiology”.
He felt like he was finally getting somewhere. He was finally making progress.
-
As Levi was walking home, he couldn’t get his mind off that girl. He decided to brainstorm about his topic in his room once he got there. The thing was, though, he couldn’t think of any more ideas. He found it funny. Of course he was full of ideas and inspiration when he visited that library, but now he’s void of any.
-
Levi’s weekends were no different than the weekdays. He made it appoint to visit the library again the next day, Saturday. It was a sunny, cool Saturday morning. Levi had inspiration to write. He needed a computer and Hange’s ideas. When he arrived, it seemed busy. There were three other patrons at the library.  He recognized Hange right away, helping a tall blonde man with a big nose. He wondered if she was the only employee there. The man she was helping was taller than her, so she had to reach up on her toes to point to items. She was an average height, but this action made her seem shorter than she actually was.
Hange looked his way and greeted him with a toothy smile. Levi waved at her and started to head down one of the aisles of books. He was in the nonfiction section, but was lost. For now, he just casually browsed the section, but quickly got impatient. He needed Hange’s help to find books for this paper. He heard her laugh with the patron. Maybe he’s a friend, he thought to himself. Her laugh was airy and full of heart. It seemed genuine and passionate. Levi felt an urge to make her laugh, too.
She finally made her way over to him. Levi was looking down at a book when she caught his eye. “Hey, stranger!” She greeted him with a wave. “Whatcha looking for?” She placed her hands on her hips.
“I’m trying to find some sources for my paper. Steroids is the topic,” Levi explained.
“Oh, right. I remember! After you left last night, I tried to look for some books for your topic,” She said. She was trying to help me? Levi thought to himself.
She curled her finger in a “follow me” gesture and he did. She brought him to another aisle or two over from where they were. “These are the 600’s, where you’ll most likely find what you’re looking for. I found a book or two about Addison’s disease, but it’s more of a memoir. You can look around though if you’d like. Anything in the 610’s should be right up your alley.” She explained as if she was going to leave, but she didn’t. Hange looked for books with him. 
After a moment, she made a noise. “Look at this!” She exclaimed. She reached next to him to reach for a book. She was on her toes again. “Mmmm,” She moaned as she tried to reach. “Actually, I’m gonna get the step stool. I don’t think I can reach it.” Quickly, she left and came back with the stool. It looked unreliable, but Levi was sure he’d be able to prevent any accident from occurring. Hange placed it on the ground and stepped up on it, grabbing the book with ease. She stepped down with the book in her hand. This book had a white cover with a blue label and was titled “Coping with Prednisone”. Levi was surprised she even knew what prednisone was. 
“Here!” She reached it out for him to grab. He took it and looked at her face. She had that same look in her eyes. “Did you want to use the computer?” He nodded and she led him towards the front of the library. The library was small from the outside, but very deep inside. It reminded him of a forest. 
“I got your name, don’t worry,” She said, clicking her pen and writing his name down on the sheet. 
“Oops!” Hange made a quick grimace. “I added an ‘e’ at the end. I’ll just cross it out.” The statement sounded like it was addressed to herself rather than to anyone else. She crossed out the extra letter.
“Ackermane”. Levi was gonna attempt to make her laugh.
“If you thought I looked like a horse you could’ve just said so.” 
Mane, horse mane. Get it?
It felt like forever before Hange responded. She looked up at him, starting to laugh. It was a short but audible laugh. Her head nodded back and she smiled. Her cheeks turned pink and her eyes lit up for a moment. It made his heart skip a beat. It was a bad joke yet she still laughed. She chuckled. Giggled? No. Laughed lightly. Chortled? Maybe that’s the right word. Whatever it was, he wanted to do it more, maybe even more than that.
He followed her to the computers. The blonde guy she was helping earlier was on one computer. She led him to the two computers across from the other ones and sat down in the chair next to him.
“What are you doing?” Levi asked, placing the book she found for him on the table.
Her eyebrows raised, and after a moment she reacted. She waved her hands in front of her.
“I’m sorry! I thought you may have needed help. I should get back to work anyway. I gotta go through a new box of books that just came in.”
Levi looked up at her. Is she blushing? he asked himself.
“I’ll let you know if I need help.” Levi responded. She smiled at him before quickly walking away.
-
He started to find some evidence-based practice articles about how steroids can cause long-term side effects, especially if stopped abruptly. He made sure to keep the tabs available. He’d have to cite them later. Levi’s mind was racing with words and sentences and ideas. He had to get them down on paper. He opened Documents on the computer and started typing away.
The clicking of the keyboard soothed him. He was a pretty fast typer, he didn’t make many mistakes either. The library around him began to become quiet as his typing got louder and he got deeper in thought. Before he knew it, his two hours were up. He felt someone approach him from his right.
“Hey,” Hange said, gently tapping the table next to him. “It’s 2pm. I gotta close up.”
Levi snapped out of his focused trance with a quick head shake. “Right. Sorry.” He pulled out a flash drive from his backpack and plugged it into the computer. He transferred his document. “I got the first page done.”
Levi asked himself for a brief moment why he was sharing this information with someone he just met. Maybe since she helped him, he felt she should know.
“That’s great! It seemed like you were really focused,” Hange said, walking away to shut off some lights. Only then did he notice the white noise of the overhead lights quickly dissipate. The room buzzed with silence now. Levi and Hange were alone in the library. Suddenly, Levi felt nervous. He watched Hange walk around the room frantically, making sure to shut off all the lights and computers. She grabbed a bag. The bag was a fabric material with a patchwork design that had a long strap that hung on on her shoulder. Maybe she made it herself. She grabbed her big mess of keys and walked towards him.
“Ready?” She said. He nodded and walked outside, holding the door for her. She thanked him, locking the door behind her. They began to walk down the street slowly. 
“Want to grab lunch?” Hange asked, looking at him. Levi looked back at her. She looked pretty.
“Sure, I can eat.” Hange chuckled at that. He didn’t try, but it made her happy for a brief moment. He seemed nervous but she was too.
They decided to eat at a cute restaurant on campus called “Life in Paradis”. It was a small, dainty place with a green and yellow checkered awning. The building was made of yellow brick, and the door was bright green. There were flower pots outside on the windowsill. Again, this place seemed totally out of place in the modern aesthetic of the university. 
“This place is adorable!” Hange exclaimed. “I love the food here. You’ll love it too. They have all kinds of food here.” Levi felt a smile grow on his face. The way she talked made his heart flutter. She was always so passionate. They entered and got a table for two. This is not a date, Levi kept telling himself. Then why were his cheeks red?
They sat down and looked through a menu. Levi wasn’t extremely hungry even though he hadn’t had anything but tea this morning. He peered over his menu to look at the girl. Her hair was different today, he determined. Today all her hair was in a ponytail, and it was higher on her head. She wore a light yellow button-down with a long, light blue cardigan. Hange caught him staring at her and blushed.
“What would you two like to order?” The waitress asked him first.
“I’m gonna get a sandwich, I think,” He said, crossing his arms across his chest. “Turkey sub.” “I think I’m gonna get a chicken caesar salad,” Hange said. He nodded, grabbed the menus, and walked away.
Hange began to talk about how beautiful the flowers outside the restaurant were. They were all variants of pink, purple, yellow, and red. She described the petals and the leaves, the flowers’ origins, and all the meanings of the flowers. Levi wasn’t annoyed by her tangent this time. He actively listened to this girl talk about what fascinated her so much. He found it soothing. It made him wonder how her brain can contain all the information she was spewing at him. He enjoyed watching the way her eyes lit up when she talked. The beautiful green that blossomed at the bottom of her irises when the light hit her eyes at the right angle. The way her lips curled into a big smile when she talked to him. Her cheeks flush to a light pink when she describes the petals of the flowers or how flowers were used to express feelings when words cannot. It made his heart race. 
“Levi,” Hange said. Her affect was the opposite of earlier when she was rambling. She wore a frown on her face, feeling guilty.“I’ve been rambling… sorry. It’s such a bad habit of mine. I can talk for hours and hours.”
“Don’t apologize, four-eyes,” Levi replied, leaning his elbows and forearms on the table in a crossed position. Hange smiled at him. Levi meant it. She shouldn’t apologize for talking, especially if it’s about something she loves. The food had arrived at the table. They ate. Levi felt the need to open up to her about something. He already learned so much about her, and her presence made him feel like he can open up. 
“I like to run,” Levi said abruptly. Hange looked at him intently, chewing on a forkful of salad. “I don’t do it competitively or anything, but I enjoy running. I try to run once or twice a day.” Hange’s eyebrows raised and she nodded in agreement.
“That’s awesome!” She smiled again at him. “I like to run too. I’m really slow and get tired easily, but I enjoy feeling the wind in my hair and feeling my heart pound.” She took a bite of her meal again. Levi nodded and began to eat too. This sandwich was really good.
-
After talking some more about hobbies and school, they both finished their meal. The waiter brought over the check. Hange reached into her pocket for her wallet.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Levi asked. Hange furrowed her brows.
“I invited you out to lunch. I will pay,” Hange determined, her wallet now in her hands.
“No,” Levi said too quickly. “I will pay. It’s the least I can do. You helped me with my paper after all.”
The bickering lasted a very long minute. Before she got to think of the idea, Levi grabbed the checkbook and shoved his card inside before handing it to the waiter. Hange looked surprised. She sighed, putting her wallet away.
“Thank you, Levi. But you really didn’t have to.”
“I wanted to.”
In all honesty, Hange didn’t have much money. She worked at that library four times a week, but the money she made went towards paying off her tuition. She really wanted to treat this man, her new friend. She wasn’t sure if he thought the same way about her. Did he consider her his friend? She felt slightly embarrassed. She did most of the talking and felt like she was annoying him. Maybe he just wanted to pay so she would lay off. 
But the truth is, Levi felt the opposite way of how she was thinking. He was interested to hear more from her. He was addicted to the way his heart raced when he saw her. 
-
Over the next couple of days, Levi would go to that library whenever he was available. He knew it was closed on Sunday, so he went Monday and Tuesday to the library. Fortunately, he got his first batch of money from the brats that fried his computer. He received $100. Of course it was not enough, but it was a start. Wednesday the 17th came around. This specific day was a wild card. The weather was unpredictable. Levi entered the library just in time; it had started to downpour. The little bell rang as he entered the library. To his surprise, Hange was not working that day. There was a boy behind the counter who was tall and had a brown bowl cut hairstyle.  He almost thought about turning around and leaving when he realized she wasn’t there. The rain charged towards the earth viciously, so he decided to seek shelter in the small library. It almost looked like a hurricane. He felt his mood change into a bad one. He didn’t remember to ask how often she worked. 
“Hi there!” The man said. His name tag read “Moblit”. That’s a dumb name.
“I wanna use a computer,” Levi muttered, walking up to the main desk.
“Okay. Name?” Moblit grabbed the clipboard and a pen.
“Levi Ackerman.”
“Oh, I see you’ve been here before. A lot, actually.” Levi scoffed and rolled his eyes at his comment. He turned around, picked a computer, and sat down. He felt really stupid to not ask her about her schedule.
The two hours he spent working on his paper was incredibly slow. He didn’t get much done that day. He had writer’s block. He was almost done, so he didn’t worry about it too much. He didn’t know Hange’s schedule. He knew she worked Friday, the day they met; Saturday; Monday, and Tuesday. Maybe she only worked four times a week? Before he knew it, he asked Moblit aloud. It was almost an accident.
“Uh, she’ll be in on Friday,” Moblit replied. He probably couldn’t give out that information to some creep who began visiting daily with an attitude. He muttered a “thanks” before finishing up and heading out. The weather was holding up for now, so he decided to make a run for it. He didn’t say goodbye to Moblit.
He didn’t have an umbrella. The sun was trying to shine through the dark, eerie clouds. It wasn’t trying hard enough. He heard thunder rumbling in the distance.
Levi realized that this girl was all he thought about the past few days. Something about her enticed him. Something about her eyes and her presence drew him towards her. His heart skipped a beat whenever she’d graze his hand on accident, or even when she just talked to him. She made him happy. He hadn’t had too many friends in college. Although they just met last week, he felt a deep connection with her. 
Suddenly, the sun poked through the clouds for a brief moment. The world lit up. It was at that moment he recognized a familiar face. Hange. She was walking towards him. She grinned when she saw him. She wore a fitted black t-shirt and baggy, light blue jeans. 
“Levi!” She exclaimed. “I forgot my jacket in the library, so I came down to get it.” 
“You didn’t tell me you weren’t working today.” Is all Levi said. Once he said it, he realized how creepy it must’ve sounded. A man she just met happens to go to this library to work on his project every day, who happens to come up with multiple reasons to interact with her. Maybe she thought he was a perv.
“Ehh!” She sighed. “I’m sorry! I thought I told you I was off today.” Levi shook his head. The comment itself may have sounded rude, but it wasn’t. She genuinely felt bad. “Walk with me.” Levi followed. Guess not.
“I don’t work Wednesday’s and Thursday’s. Well I’m not supposed to be,” Hange explained. “Mobilt, one of my co-workers, is always calling out sick. So I basically run the place.” They walked towards the library again and entered. 
“Hey, Moblit. How’s it going?” Hange said in a normal tone, heading towards the back of the library. Moblit responded briefly, following Hange. Levi decided to hang back, he figured it was a secure area. He looked around awkwardly.
“Hange, you didn’t tell me you had a boyfriend,” Moblit said, following her towards the back. 
Hange chuckled nervously. “He’s not my boyfriend,” she said bluntly. “He’s just a friend.” Moblit scoffed, rolling his eyes. “If he’s not your boyfriend, how come his mood entirely changed once he saw you?”
Hange found her jacket, folding it over her forearm. “Huh?”
“He was, like, in a bad mood when he came in. He used the computer but he seemed to be pissed or something. Now that he’s with you, he seems… tolerable.”
Hange laughed, feeling her cheeks blush. “It’s nothing like that. People have bad days, you know.”
Hange rolled her eyes and smirked, then headed towards the front of the library. “Ready?” Levi nodded and turned around.
“See you Friday,” Moblit called out. “See ya.” Hange replied.
The two started walking down the street. The air smelt of rain, and the ground was wet from the rain earlier. “Which building is your dorm in?” Hange asked. He was a bit surprised she asked him that, and she was so direct about it.
“Saint Maria,” He replied. She smiled. “Me too! I can’t believe I haven’t seen you around!” The wind picked up and the sky turned darker than before. They both looked up. “If you can’t make it to the library, you can use my desktop in my dorm room,” Hange offered. Levi’s cheeks turned bright red. 
“Thanks, maybe tomorrow I can stop by,” Levi said. It was more of him thinking aloud than a statement. It was too late though, Hange already heard him. He could’ve sworn he didn’t say it aloud.
“That’s fine! I only have a class early tomorrow morning. Come by around 11, okay? My room number is 506.” Levi nodded. Thunder rolled and sounded closer now. They were almost at the dormitory building when it started to downpour. The rain was forcefully coming down on the two. Levi groaned in annoyance. He hated being in the rain. He hated being wet; he hated the wet socks and how gross he felt when it rained. He would’ve started to run to the building to seek cover, but he was taken aback by his new friend.
She was soaked and embracing it. She lifted her head up to face the sky and she laughed. It was loud, happy, genuine, and it took Levi’s breath away. Hange reached her hands out wide and spun around. He saw a strike of lightning light up the sky. He stared at her in awe. His heart swelled. Levi smiled big. After laughing, Hange looked at Levi and shared the look that he wore just a few moments ago. She loved his smile. She wished to make him smile more. She was also determined to make him laugh, too.
She grabbed his hand. “Let’s take cover!” And she pulled him into the dormitory hall. Saint Maria’s hall was beautiful. It had ceiling-to-floor glass pane windows that were always crystal clear. There was a big black modern chandelier that hung from the ceiling. It contained visible light bulbs. Hange secretly loved it. There were the same big, yellow, leather couches in the living room as there were in the study area on his floor. They both wiped their feet off on the big rug in the entryway. 
“I love the rain,” Hange deduced, turning her head to look at him. As if Levi couldn’t tell. Her hand was still holding his. Levi looked up at her. “I like it, too.”
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davidpastrsnack · 4 years ago
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drive (pt. 1) - matthew tkachuk
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a/n: slow burn friends to lovers is my shit and so is matthew so here we are. the name is inspired by the song drive by halsey, a classic friends to lovers anthem. i hope you guys enjoy and let me know what you think!
After three months of freedom with you friends and family, the summer was finally coming to an end. To celebrate, you and your close group decided to rent a house on the lake for the weekend, clear of all parents and responsibility. When Friday morning rolled around you finished packing your bag before heading off with your two partners in crime, Matthew and Brady. 
You grew up in St. Louis, quickly becoming acquainted with the Tkachuk family when your dad accepted a position within the Blues management with Keith. For as long as you could remember, they were your best friends, but especially Matthew. He was the closest in age to you and since day one you were inseparable.
There was no denying that his move to Calgary took a toll on your relationship. You texted every now and then, but it was obvious that you had two seperate lives that the other wasn’t a part of. But despite this, every summer it was like you were still those twelve year olds running around as if nothing had changed.. Except now you two got into a lot more trouble together. 
Matthew was driving and you sat in the passenger seat, always forcing Brady in the back for as long as you could remember. They were bickering about Matthew’s choice of music and you started to zone out, getting lost in the scenery as you traveled further and further from the city. 
The reality of summer ending was starting to hit you. You had graduated college just a few months ago, yet nothing career wise seemed to be panning out. Your parents reminded you not to worry, that you could stay with them until something came together, but it made hearing all your friends’ plans for the year that much harder. You were over the moon for them, but each time it felt like a reminder of your failure. 
You were suddenly pulled out of your trance by the pest in the backseat, feeling him poke your shoulder repeatedly. 
“Hello? Earth to Y/N,” Brady joked. 
“Sorry,” you shook your head. “What?” you asked, turning to face the blonde. 
“Can you go on aux? I can’t listen to his shit any longer.”
You laughed, rolling your eyes as you connected to the bluetooth in Matthew’s far too expensive car. 
“Will you relax?” Matthew muttered to you. “You promised me you wouldn’t stress about anything this weekend,” he pleaded, placing his free hand just above your bare knee. 
“How long have you known me? Seriously, when am I not stressing?” you retorted, raising your gaze to meet with his ice blue eyes. 
“Fair enough,” he chuckled. “But just try, please.”
“You two are something,” you heard from the backseat, shifting to glare at Brady.  
Just like that, Matthew’s hand slipped from it’s post on your leg, moving to turn up the music to shut up his brother. 
-----
After finally arriving at the lake later that evening, you all decided to go out to the local bar, a classic, dingy spot that always seemed to make the best memories. You were sharing a room with your close friend Emma, right across the hall from the boys. You got ready with the other girls, opting for a simple outfit of jeans, a white top, and sneakers. The air was hot and thick as soon as you walked in, and you moved straight to get a drink. 
Hours later, everyone was having a great time, letting loose for one last weekend before reality struck. You had just enough alcohol running through your veins for a fun buzz, but you weren’t too far gone yet. You and Emma were dancing, totally lost in the beat of the music when your face suddenly dropped. 
There was no way. 
But unfortunately your eyes weren’t playing tricks on you. Your ex-boyfriend had just walked in with his posse, catching your glance right away and sending you a sick smirk. You hadn’t seen Logan in over a year, but of course here he was the night you were finally able to relax with your friends. Your buzz seemingly disappeared instantly, and you left the girls to go sit at the booth with the guys. You slid in next to Matthew, his arm instinctually wrapping around your shoulders as he kept listening to the conversation. 
It didn’t take long for him to figure out that something was off with you, he could feel the tension in your body beneath his grasp. 
He lowered his head to be level with your ear, “You good?”
You didn’t want to tell him what was wrong, knowing he would have no restraint. To put it simply, Matthew never liked Logan, but especially not after what he put you through during the breakup. 
You nodded, giving him a soft smile. “I just need another drink,” you deflected, slipping from under his arm to get up. 
“Wait,” he grabbed your wrist, “I’ll come.”
He didn’t know what was going on, but he had a gut feeling that he shouldn’t let you go alone. 
And he was right. As soon as you guys made it to the bar Matthew locked eyes with Logan. 
“Y/N, is that…” he trailed off, not wanting to freak you out. 
You turned to look where he was, sighing as you saw Logan standing across from you two. 
“Yup, it is,” you said, letting out a nervous laugh. 
Matthew’s energy shifted immediately, exactly how it does when he’s on the ice. His light eyes darkened and he visibly stood taller, glaring in Logan’s direction. 
“Matthew,” you warned. “It’s fine. Just leave it alone. Please,” you begged, wrapping your hand around his bicep in hopes of calming him down. You didn’t want anyone to make a scene, and you knew that’s exactly what would happen if the two of them got any closer to each other. 
Just like you thought, your touch made him snap out of his trance, looking back down at you. 
“Fine, but if he comes any closer I make no promises,” he declared. 
After getting your drinks the two of you stayed put, listening to Matthew ramble about the upcoming season. Logan hadn’t moved, but your back was turned to him so you couldn’t see.
But Matthew could, and he most definitely noticed that he seemed to be inching closer to you, his destination obvious. 
The gears in Matthew’s mind started moving right away. He needed to get him away from you but he knew you would kill him if he made a big deal about it. 
You were mid-sentence when he panicked. 
“Kiss me,” he interrupted. 
You were stunned, the shock evident on your face. “What-”
Before you could get another word out, Matthew was grabbing your face and bringing your lips to his. Despite being beyond startled and confused, your body took over and you melted into him. Your lips moved together like they were made for each other, his tongue working perfectly with yours. Your hands moved up his chest and circled around his neck, gently tugging his curls. One of his much bigger hands dropped to your waist, urging you to arch into him. 
Matthew was so lost in the moment that he forgot why he kissed you in the first place. He just couldn’t seem to pull himself away, a fire ignited deep within him by your touch. But finally he slowed his lips, gently separating from you and lifting his eyes to scan the bar. It worked, Logan was sitting on a stool with his back facing you both. Message received, loud and clear. 
You slipped your hands from his neck, quietly trying to catch your breath as Matthew leaned over your shoulder. After a few seconds he looked back down at you, a cocky, but sweet, smile on his face. It took everything within you not to stare at his lips, pink and swollen, but you quickly snapped out of it when it hit you what had just happened. 
You hit his chest, making him stumble back slightly, not expecting it. 
“What the hell was that?” you questioned. It wasn’t that you were angry, but now you were forced to confront your feelings for the man in front of you. You obviously weren’t blind to his looks and charm, but you had always admired them from afar, never challenging your status as friend. And you were truly at peace with that, but now that you had a taste of him you wanted more. 
His face was laced with nerves, realizing he might have really crossed the line. But then again, you didn’t seem to mind. 
“I’m sorry, I-, Logan looked like he was coming over and I didn’t want him to but you didn’t want me to make a scene so I thought if I kissed you he would leave you alone,” his word vomit was in full force, letting everything out in one breath. “I think it worked though.”
“Oh, okay. Thank you, I guess,” you laughed. 
And just like that, Matthew was back to his usual self. 
“Trust me, no problem,” he winked with his classic smirk on, grabbing your arm to guide you back to the booth. 
You rolled your eyes at him, grateful that he couldn’t see your blush. Now you were just hoping that no one saw. The last thing you wanted to do was have to explain that to anyone.  
Nearly an hour later you were standing outside the bathroom waiting for Emma to come out. As much as you tried to act normal with Matthew, you were struggling to say the least. Any feelings you previously had were now infinitely amplified and it made him leaving again that much harder, not that anything would happen if he wasn’t leaving. 
You were scrolling through Instagram as you waited when you saw the silhouette of a big body heading towards you. You assumed it was Matthew, but you were horribly wrong, looking up to lock eyes with Logan. 
“Well hello there, Y/N,” he slurred. Of course, he was beyond drunk. 
“Logan, leave me alone. Please,” you pleaded, head glancing at the door wondering what was taking Emma so long. 
“Relax, I just want to catch up a little.”
You didn’t respond, rather you went back on your phone, hoping he would just walk away if you ignored him. 
“So, you’re finally fucking that asshole Tkachuk, huh?”
Your heart sank at his words, but the anger quickly followed. 
“Excuse me?” you were genuinely stunned at how bold he was being. “Who I’m fucking is absolutely none of your business,” you hissed. 
Just as you went to enter the bathroom in search of refuge from his harassment, another body joined you, but this time it was one you welcomed. 
Brady headed towards you the second he caught eye of the situation, making it just in time to hear Logan’s words. 
“Everything okay over here?” He challenged Logan. He pulled you into his side, his arm snaking around your shoulders. He might have been younger, but he towered over both of you. 
“Who the fuck are you?” Logan asked, puffing his chest out. You rolled your eyes at his actions, not understanding how someone could be so dumb to mess with these two. 
“I’m the asshole’s brother,” he calmly responded. 
You had to stifle your laughter at his comment, turning to hide your face in the crook of his arm. 
At that Logan gave up, storming off back into the crowd. 
“Thanks, Brades,” you smiled up at him, giving his torso a squeeze before letting go and leaning against the wall. 
“Of course. But I have to ask, are you fucking the asshole?” He raised his brows at you, a silent way of saying ‘don’t lie to me.’
“What? Are you crazy?” You exclaimed, trying to deflect as quickly as possible. 
“Y/N,” he warned. 
“No. We are not fucking. Jesus, Brady.” 
“Alright, but you two need to figure your shit out,” he murmured. 
Before you could give him your rebuttal the door swung open and Emma emerged. 
“Hey!” You yelled, grateful for the distraction. 
You grabbed her hand, walking side by side towards the door to head home. Brady trailed behind you and you knew you needed to say something to him before you were back with the group. 
You turned your head back to face him, “There is no shit to figure out. Drop it,” you snapped. 
He threw his hands up, acting like he was totally innocent. But even though you and Matthew were clueless, Brady knew it was only a matter of time before you two came to your senses. 
-----
The next day was spent on the boat with the music blasting and the alcohol flowing. Despite everything within him telling him to stop, Matthew couldn’t help but stare at you in that bikini. He prayed that his sunglasses hid the way his eyes dragged over your frame every chance he got. It felt dirty to look at you like that, but last night was like a slap in the face, awakening him to how far gone he truly was for you. 
The day ended with a bonfire back at the house, everyone cozying up around the pit reminiscing on another summer together. You were laughing at someone's story and once again, Matthew’s eyes betrayed him. He was in the chair next to yours, so enthralled in watching you so happy. You had been so stressed out about graduation and finding a job that you deserved a weekend of freedom.  
He couldn’t help but notice how you started to shiver as the sun went down, only wearing your still-damp bikini and a pair of shorts. He moved to get up to grab you something, but you stopped him. 
“Matty? Where are you going?” 
His knees almost gave out at the nickname. You had called him that ever since you were kids, but everything had a new meaning now that his feelings were all he could think of. 
“I’ll be right back,” he assured. 
You nodded, joining back into the conversation. It was dumb, but you already missed having him there. 
He was back within minutes, handing you one of his sweatshirts. You thanked him, pulling the soft material over your head, taking your time so you could hide the blush that you knew covered your cheeks. It smelled just like him, and you had a feeling that he wasn’t going to be getting it back anytime soon. His gaze lingered over his name and number on your shoulder, noting how good they looked on you. 
As it got later and later, people started going up to their rooms, eventually leaving just you and Matthew alone. 
“Come here,” he quietly gestured towards himself. 
“I’m right here,” you laughed. 
“And you’re also freezing. So come here,” he repeated. 
You couldn’t deny that you were still cold, your bare legs not helping much. You slowly stood up, walking to his chair. He moved his arms from his lap so you could sit down, your body resting across his thighs. His arms wrapped around your waist, pulling you closer to him, and you already felt yourself warm up from the heat he was radiating. 
You sat in a comfortable silence for a while, your head lying on his shoulder as you both watched the fire die out. 
“You’re gonna think I’m crazy, but hear me out,” he mumbled, finally breaking the silence. 
You lifted your head to meet his gaze, “What are you up to now?”
“Come to Calgary with me.”
part two here
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malibumiu · 4 years ago
Text
[Shy stud Makoto AU]
for @makoto-naegi-ultimate-stud contains naejunko this one is just fluff
----
Makoto sighed as he leaned back against the grass, he adjusted a few times just to get settled on the ground normally he would use his blazer as a thin blanket of sorts but thanks to his new size. (which remind him that he needed to go to town this weekend to hopefully grab a new one he might have enough if not...maybe sex counts as payment right?) The blazer made use as a makeshift pillow if balled it up enough so if was fine. 
He was a secluded corner on the grounds of school, well it was a bit more in the reserve course territory but none of them really came over to this spot since it was so close on Ultimate’s terf. It was the same Ultimates too close to the reserve course. Which was fine by the stud, it was a place that he found rather sacred even now with his new form, he was away for now at least. From horny classmates and staff, semi-aggressive and overly-obvious jealous guys it was just him and nature. With the soft chirping of birds and gentle winds whispering to him, he closed his eyes and ignored the world around him.
Junko hummed as she trotted around the courtyard, but she wasn’t doing this for a leisurely stroll no no! Junko Enoshima was on a mission for a big guy with a equally big stupid heart, with as big as he was it was a surprise he managed to slip out of any of his peers eye sight. So now she knew at least half of the girls were on a scavenger hunt to find the stud even her own bitch of a sister was. But unlike her and many of those other hussies, she had an ultimate that could even surpass the ultimate detective, she was the ultimate analyst. She could predict anything, and find infinite ways to do said things, but when it came to Makoto even when she first met him she couldn’t predict him. Not him, not his cycle, not anything there was no telling what Makoto Naegi could do despite his average looks. But this time it seemed she was at an advantage.
Taking a turn the fashionista scanned the environment around her, the difference in the area could be told, as one side appear more greener, prestige and well kept compared to the other side of the invisible line where there was particles of discarded items and the grass was more brown and dying she predicted that it at least has week or 2 left before it died completely. ANYWAYS! There was a point where said invisible line ended at the end of it led to a small field that connected to the woods. The grass there was combined making it taller along with the seasonal flowers and fallen leaves and branches scattered about. She walked closer, having a sneaking suspicion that the herbivore man was over here (he was even in a herbivorous habitat how convenient) her suspicion was right as after treading through the grass for a bit she came across his slumbering body indented in the grass. She could make out the outline of his pecs and abs from his tad too tight n’ thin dress shirt, his chest heaving up and down, she wonders if the button straining on his uniform will hold. Muscular arms relaxed as they were situated behind his head, he looked rather peaceful even a bit boyish. His ahoge appeared to be slack for once bobbing along to beat of the wind, she scoffed in amusement. 
She was tempted to just to climb on top of him, maybe surprise him or his manhood both perhaps and maybe worked up enough to the point where he could pound her ass into the ground-.
“Mmm..Junko?” 
A yawn escaped Makoto’s lips as shifted around, his hazel eyes lazily focusing on her. She gave him a smirk as she lowered herself down onto him directly on top of his zipper, she shivered a bit she could already feel his bulge though he was flaccid it wouldn’t be for long beginning to move her hips rubbing herself on him. “The one and only babe~” 
“O-Oh mm” He mumbled letting out another yawn, “Do you wanna join me?”
She stopped, “Huh?” 
“Like for you know a nap you models do take those right?” 
She wacked his abs earning a small yelp from him repositioning herself, legs on either side spread open giving him a nice view of her blacked laced panties she wiggled her hips to try and entice him.  
“Of course I do but~” she wiggled again more aggressively this time, “ Wouldn’t you rather spend some time in me instead?” The image of her getting savagely pounded into the ground with the slight possibility of someone passing by and witnessing their shameless interourse...Ooh just the thought made her tingle with excitement.
“Mmm” Suddenly she felt big hands around her waist suddenly she felt her head squish against something rather soft. The hand moved up from her waist and gently patted her head which felt...rather nice.
“You trying to feel me up with your own chest you hunk?” she teased, rubbing against him her own bosom was rather large, easily overfilling one or even two hands any normal man would be 
practically drooling at the sight of them. But as normal as Makoto claimed to be he didn’t get all blushly or stuttering mess or anything..well not right now at least. 
“W-Wha? Nooo Junko come on just relax with me…” he muttered again, tightening his grip on her waist sealing her fate. 
She let out a dramatic sigh, but still snuggled closer to the man, she had to admit the tight grip he had on her wasn’t an uncomfortable one in fact it was rather comforting…(I-it's not like she liked it or anything!!) She was honestly a little disappointed when he stopped patting her head, she knew the big oaf was probably dozed off into stupid lala land with one of those other bitches. (but she ugh HOPED that it was her, after all it would be rude not to the dream about the fucking hot model laying on him!!) 
“Hey Junko..” His voice came out more timid than normal, more like when she first met him it was so weird to hear it now. “..Thank you for deciding to relax with me and...not alerting everyone.” Junko blinked and slowly went to stare up at him, her usually electric blue eyes were flat and blank with an expression he couldn’t really read...it scared him a bit did he say something wrong? Oh god should he have just done something else? Should he have gone back to his fantasy- A soft and more cheerful sounding laugh filled his ear, Makoto nearly thought to look around because a laugh like shouldn’t have come from the Junko Enoshima but it did! They didn’t even fuck and somehow he broke her!
“Geeeeez Big mac you’re soooooo sappy sometimes it's gross,” She said a sickly sweet voice “Are you that drained from us completely?” ‘’Us’ hah... Us and seemingly every other girl and milf that comes within a mile radius of me.’ It's not that he really minded the stares he got though it took sometime to get used to it. But as much as he enjoyed the girls and their endless endeavors of seduce him which leads more often not to them fucking even he valued his alone time (after all his balls did need to restock, his sperm wasn’t completely everlasting you know.)  
“No! No! It's not that and you know that!..” He sometimes wonders why Junko seems to like to play these kinds of mind games (and why he falls for them), being the Ult Analyst and all but then again a bored Junko often becomes scarily mischievous Junko so its better to entertain her ideas than ignore them. 
“Phuhuhu.. Don’t get a knot in your cock peasant! Of course the court knows why~.” The haughty tone in her voice already told him all he needed to know ‘Of course she knows she always does Makoto.’ 
He rolled his eyes before nuzzling his head back into a comfortable position, letting the sun’s rays beat down the heat making him drowsy. He could feel Junko squirming around before settling down. A comfortable silence formed between the two, the only noise being that of the air around them, for just even a moment it was peaceful in the fields of Hope’s Peak.
“Hey Makoto…” Junko called out softly almost like a whisper, “Don’t get the wrong fucking idea but maybe...could we do whatever the hell this is...sometime…again?” A beaming smile as bright as the near sun in the sky had formed one the stud’s face, how dare it made her sadistic little heart race?!
“O-Of course Junko! Just let me know-” A finger forcefully pressed itself up against his lips, her red pointed nail touched the tip of his nose.
“Shut the fuck up!” she hissed, “Someone might hear us! The last thing I need is those damn hussies trying to steal this away from me!” After whipping her head from side to ensure she saw no one she let out a sigh and repositioned herself yet again, this time laying directly on top of the stud. Their chest squished together she lazily fiddled with a stand of his hair, a neutral expression her face the latter took this as a moment to speak again. 
“I’d be happy to do this again with you Junko, and don’t worry..” he gave her a wink, a twinkle in his eye. “I can keep a secret.”
“Hmph! You better,” she muttered, “Look what you did all that yelling got me worked up! You're going to repay me by being my body pillow!”
“Wha-”
“Let's pop these titties free bitch!” hastily she ripped off the two straining buttons from the top of his shirt, his pecs now somewhat free. She had to move a bit to lay on them more comfortably without her own breast getting in the way but once she got comfortable she found herself dozing off, the soft beating of his heart music to her ears. 
‘Man… girls can be strange.’ (He thinks as a girl types out this line)
Without another thought the stud closed his eyes again, this time there were no interruptions just him, Junko and the sounds of nature around. And in that time n’ moment that's all he cared about.
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diana-3 · 4 years ago
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Crow’s Nest.
Diana sighed as she climbed the last few stairs to Devrim’s perch. The Gentlemen Sniper pulled his rifle back inside the windowsill and turned, having earlier waved to Diana he smiled at her approach. “Ah,” His warm tone brought a smile to her face, “Di, hello dear, how are you?”
“I’m alright I guess..s’been a while...huh?” There was guilt layering her tone, like a child who was admitting to a wrong--ready for a scolding.  
“Works kept you busy,” Devrim settled against the wall and his smile held, but his eyes turned downward and with it the mood lowered. “Seems as if the whole world is trying to burn around us.” He nodded to the radio on the shabby table with the teaset near by. “I’ve been keeping up on the radio chatter, you’ve been busy out toward the Tangled Shore lately?”
“Oh yeah,” Dianna removed her helmet and went to settle on the floor next to Devrim who glanced out the window. “There’s this new baddie, Xivu Arath? A hive celebrant...whatever that means...trying to corrupt Fal---Eliskni and Cabal into being Hive mind slaves. Causing a lot of trouble on the Shore and in the Dreaming City. Been working with Spider’s crew to get it cleaned up but its been weeks now.”
“A month yesterday,” Joel corrected as he appeared by Diana’s side. “I overheard Glint and Crow talking about it as we were walking away yesterday.”
“A month…” Diana repeated with weight behind her long sigh that followed. “Has it been that long already?”
“Between the constant crucible matches and vanguard operations to charge the lure, not to mention the individual hunts themselves, I’m not surprised we hadn’t realized.” Even Joel sounded exhausted, flying low until he settled in Diana’s hands as she crossed her legs and closed her eyes. “It’s been...hectic to say the least.”
“When was the last time you had any time off?” Devrim asked, raising a dark brow as he removed himself from the window completely now. Hanging his rifle on carefully placed hooks in the collapsing church to avoid accidental misfires. “You both look absolutely ragged.”
Diana hummed in thought. Her head slowly lulling from side to side before she spoke. “The Festival of the Lost?”
“Can’t really count that as time off when we were fixing the infinite forest…” Joel reminded her and she nodded.
“Soooo, before then?”
“My word,” Devrim’s shocked outburst made the tired guardian and her ghost both open their eyes and look at him. He was standing with his teapot in hand, “You’re going to need something a bit more strong than tea then to unwind.”
“You know what I want?” Diana chuckled softly, the fatigue showing through her defeated tone. “A nap. A nice, warm nap.”
“You’re more than welcome to come back to the farm,” Devrim offered, putting down his teapot and reaching for clean cups and saucers. “You could rant about anything bothering you until you can rest, or you’re free to do so after over a nice hot cup of tea.”
Diana smiled, watching the older man go through his motions to prepare his staple drink. The care he put into making it and the glance he gave her when he felt her stare. “Thanks,” She smiled back, “But,” She tapped Joel’s shell and woke the little Ghost from his quiet rest, his eye blinking open and his shell twitching in a stretch. “I think seeing Mythrax would just wind me back up again...remind me of everything going on on Europa.”
“Ah,” Devrim’s smile fell as he watched Joel take a lazy flight, hovering just above Diana’s shoulder as she climbed to her feet wearily. “Do you have somewhere else to stay then? I have no bed or blanket here, but I can offer great conversation and drink, a little light on snacks I’m afraid.”
“Actually…” Diana rubbed her head before her face and sighed, “I think there’s somewhere I want to...revisit. It’s not the Tower, but right now I’d rather avoid the tower if possible too…”
“Just seems like there's nowhere for us to go to get a rest away from everyone.” Joel admitted, his eye downcast as his shell shook side from side. “There's always someone looking for the next report, the next ship out, the next bounty to be taken…” He glanced at Diana who was lost in thought, her cyan eyes following the floorboard toward the window. When she slowly walked away to peer out Devrim’s window, Joel flew near Devrim and whispered. “She’s had a lot thrust onto her shoulders lately Devrim, I don’t know...I don’t know how to help her right now…”
“Is she alright?” Devrim asked, pretending to busy himself with cleaning his table as he waited for the water to boil.
“Physically she’s fine, she’s just so mentally worn out...A lot of old emotional wounds opened up…” Joel twitched in the air, flying a few degrees lower, “You’ve heard about Io, Mercury and Titan?”
“I had.” Devrim nodded, his face stern with thought. “She had friends on those planets didn’t she?”
“Yes, Asher Mir for one,” Joel shook his shell, “She’s still holding out hope that he’s in the Pyramidian, holding out. But no one’s heard from him...or Sloane and Vance...Then...we heard about Sagria…”
“Sagria?” Devrim whispered back, glancing over his shoulder to Diana, who was watching something out the window. “A guardian?”
A Ghost,” Joel corrected, “She was Osiris’ ghost...she sacrificed herself to save Osris from Xivu Arath’s influence...he’s Ghostless now...without the light...he’s taken refuge in the tower and asks Diana about how she and Crow--”
“Crow?” Devrim asked, raising a dark brow as he picked up the teapot and began pouring the tea into two cups. “Is that a guardian?”
“S-something like that…” Joel hesitated a tad too long and it drew a long and measured look from the marksman. “He’s a new guardian but...it’s part of the old emotional wounds opening up...that’s all I can say…”
“Mmhmm..” Devrim kept his stare on the little ghost who twitched and flew a few inches away.
“The less you know, the better.” Joel sighed.
“Wouldn’t happen to wear red pants...would this...Crow?” Devrim asked softly, glancing back at Diana who was still preoccupied with scanning the distance.
“You’ve seen him?!” Joel flew close to Devrim’s face, making the older man chuckle and straighten his back a bit.
“I’ve seen someone bustling around in the distance,” Devrim nodded with his head toward the direction of the dam, “He’s never come close though, and always seems to keep a hood up or a helmet on..I’ve never seen his face. Causing our girl some trouble is he?”
“He doesn’t mean to,” Joel said, “He’s new to everything and Di….she doesn’t know how to handle her feelings. He really reminds her of someone she’d rather forget, but at the same time she’s grown closer to him, and is having trouble letting go of that….resemblance.”
“Sounds messy,” Devrim picked up the cup and took a small sip to taste before nodding. “She needs a good rest, and time to herself away from everyone to let herself work through things. Is there a Hunter hideout where she might be able to take cover?”
“None that wouldn’t turn her over to Zavala to keep themselves from being called to the tower..” Joel had a hint of irritation in his voice, “We tried a few of the old spots, but some people have a sore spot for Di. Shaw hasn’t exactly warmed up to her and he’s made a name for himself in the cosmodrome. People think, that she thinks she’s too important, that she abandoned them in their greatest hour of need…And with the Hunters still without a leader...”
“Did they forget the part where the entire universe was at stake?” Devrim asked too loudly, drawing Diana’s tired attention finally from the window.
“Who knew the Cosmodrome was separate from our universe.” She had no mirth to her voice now, she seemed to shake slightly from side to side as she pushed away from the window and walked over to take the cup offered to her gingerly from Devrim. “Thanks…”
“I’m sorry that you’re dealing with so much,” Devrim put a gentle hand on Diana’s shoulder and squeezed it. A flicker in her eyes caught him off guard, was she going to cry? “I hope that the vanguard has at least given you some hefty time off to recoup after running you so ragged?”
“Hawthorne helped,” Joel said with a hint of pride, “When Diana was ready to just drop off the tower to get away from Zavala and Shaw, she spoke up and advocated for Diana to have a relief mission.”
“Tore into them did she?” Devrim chuckled warmly, “Ah, I can hear her now.”
“It was quite a sight,” Joel laughed, his shell squinting as he bobbed up, like a smile. “She wasn’t about to let Zavala just walk all over Diana.”
“M’ just too tired to fight anymore.” Diana admitted as she took a drink from the cup, taking a moment to shiver at the bitterness. “I wanna sleep for a week in a hole in the ground…” She paused…”Or...in a wall…” Her eyes widened slowly before she downed the rest of the cup, filled only half of the way before handing the cup back to Devrim. “If anyone asks,”
“I haven’t heard from you in months.” Devrim winked at her as he took her cup and replaced it on the table. “No idea where you could be. Haven't’ seen you in the EDZ in quite some time.” He turned and lifted his own teacup to her in salute, “I really should contact you via radio to come spend some time with this old man.” He could hear Diana and Joel speaking softly as he turned and sipped at his tea, trying not to listen to the quiet planning. He couldn’t help but hear.
“Are you sure you want to go there?” Joel was asking, concern filling his voice.
“Where else can we go right now? Unless you really wanna watch me dig a hole and bury ourselves.”
“I can’t believe I’m saying this...but we could go to the Derlict?” Joel offered in a hushed tone, “Drifter would hide you for a while.”
“He’d also bug me to death for answers, or to get me into Gambit again…” Diana sighed heavily. Devrim kept himself turned around, studying the hand written notes from Marc laying on his desk, hidden out of direct sight behind the radio he used to listen to chatter, or talk to Suraya who was living in the Tower now. “No, I think it’ll be the one place no one, except one person would think to look…”
“Do you think he would?” Joel asked softly.
“No, his leash is too short right now. He might wonder to himself, maybe to Glint, but he won’t actually come looking. Which will give us all the time we need to rest.” Diana sounded sure of herself and her mind was made up. Wherever they were going, it was going to be a secret between them.
“It won’t be very comfortable,” Joel complained slightly.
“We can find a few ways to make it work.” Diana said a little more loudly, the time for private conversation over with. Devrim was refilling his cup, still pretending to be lost in his own little world when he felt two taps on his shoulder. He put down his cup and turned to receive the gentle hug Diana offered without thinking. “I’ll come by again soon Devrim, thank you for letting us rest and clear our head.”
“I don’t need to tell you that you are always welcome,” Devrim told her as he squeezed her, returning the hug. “But I will anyway, just so I’m sure you know. You can always come up here to hide out, and I won’t tell a soul if you don’t want me to.” He felt her start to pull away and he kept his hold until she leaned more heavily against him, allowing him to share her weight. “You be careful out there, hm?”
“Yes sir,” Diana’s chest vibrated with her voice, chuckling into his ear as she squeezed him back. “I’ll make sure to stop by for the dawning.” When Devrim pulled away she nodded, “I’ll remember the Shortbread cookies you love so much.”
“It pairs so well with my favorite festive tea,” Devrim sighed at the thought of such a comfort item. “It is getting around that time...isn’t it?”
“A few more weeks…” Diana nodded, “Hopefully I’ll get to feeling better before then. I’d like to go to the tower to see everyone…”
“Then you best get to it,” Devrim winked at her and grabbed a small bag from under his table, protected by a sheet that had hidden it from sight. “Here, take this, a self care package if you will.”
“Tea?” Diana laughed as she took the bag without looking at it.
“And a few biscuits and hot cocoa, some tripemines to set up a perimeter, clean water etcetera.” Devrim smiled as he poured a second cup for himself. “Little things that will help make the roughing it less...rough.”
“Thanks Devrim but shouldn’t you need this?” She asked, holding the bag up.
“Not for a while, I’m going on vacation too..of a sort. It’s Marc’s Rezzing day soon. We decided to go to Suraya in the city and spend time together. I’ll have all the comfort I need. And I can replenish my supplies.” Devrim watched as Diana nodded and looked toward the stairs. “Go on now, I won’t keep you any longer.” He turned his back and pretended to busy himself with the radio dial until a heavy baritone voice came over the waves.
“Thanks again…” Diana gave a small salute before disappearing over the ledge, not bothering with the stairs.
“It’s like they’re allergic to safety,” Devrim mused to himself, chuckling as he watched her go.
//
“Are you sure about this?” Joel asked as Diana picked her way over the rubble, careful to make sure that Devrim’s care package wouldn’t rip.
“Like I said, I’m out of ideas, unless you know of somewhere else we can go…’S not like we can go chill with Asher anymore…” She paused down the dimly lit corridor and sighed. “I miss him.”
“I know,” Joel touched his feckle to her cheek and accepted the loving caress she gave him that pinned him to her cheek gently. “I do too.”
“So this is the one place I can think of that...they won’t know to look and if they did think to look, I don’t think he’d tell.” Diana finished softly. She was outside the  little alcove now and started to go inside but hesitated.
“What's wrong?” Joel asked, blinking his yellow cat eye and watching how she hesitated. It wasn’t like her.
“I should ask permission…” She said firmly. “This is the one place that’s his and his alone...if I were just to barge in here and use it without asking? I’d be taking that away from him, I’d be just as bad as Spider. We’re not that close...in reality. He might think...I’m overstepping boundaries if I don’t ask…” The heavy silence in the air didn’t last long before she asked, “Can you patch me into a secure line to him?”
“Just a moment.” Joel busied himself with twitching, extending his shell and rotating back and forth until the sound of static washed away and a familiar voice asked.
“Who is this?”
“Glint, it’s us. It’s secure right?” Joel asked, replacing his shell to its rightful shape. Diana noticed one of his cat ears was coming untapped and tried to push it back down in place, only to knock it off and make her gasp in both shock and sadness.
“Of course!” Glint’s voice perked up, “It’s the Guardian and her Ghost!”
“You can call me Joel,” Ghost reminded him, “And Di.”
“New news on Xivu Arath or some wrathborn? A new cryptolith?” Crow’s voice came over the coms and Joel watched Diana pause in her fussing over his shell.
“No,” Diana admitted after a moment of silence. “I’ve...I’ve been given some...a reprieve…” She said slowly, remembering once what Glint had said over coms after a hunt. “But I…” She paused again and the lights inside her mouth dimmed with a sigh. “Could I...Would it bother you if I...used your...nest, for a while?”
“It’s most certainly not a nest.” Crow said a little too quickly. Diana could practically hear the flush to his blue-grey face. “But...why? I thought you would have a place in the tower in the last city?”
“I do, but not everyone understands the need for...alone time.” Diana admitted.
“About your report, could you do this run for me, we should go out tonight, could you sit in on this mission debriefing, we need someone on coms for this vanguard operation, could you help me adjust my sights,” Joel started listening off all the things that had been asked of them when they had returned to the tower the last time. “It’s like it never ends. We used to go hide out on Io when things got like this…”
“I see.” Crow interjected before silence could fall and swallow them up. “You...need a place to breathe for a while. Of course, feel free. I’m...honored that I could help you this way...Guar--”
“Di.” Diana reminded.
“Di…” Crow’s voice was soft, like he was afraid of breaking her name should he say it with too much force. “I’m sorry it’s such a mess, I haven’t been out there in a while and Glint’s a terrible maid.”
“It’s not my fault you keep everything you find that has a little shine to it.” Glint said playfully, hinting at his name.
“It’s not exactly comfortable either, but it works...in a pinch.” Crow continued, ignoring Glint’s jest. “Use it as long as you like.”
“Thanks,” Diana smiled and looked inside the alcove at the small collection of crow’s things. “I owe you one.”
“You don’t owe me anything,” Crow chuckled softly, “You could have used it and I never would have known. It’s not as if I’m in and out of there a lot these days.”
“Boundaries and Respect are important.” Diana told him firmly. “Guardians and good people a like do not trample over either…” She put a hand to her head and realized how much like Quin she sounded. She shook her metal head and continued. “Want me to get you some time off?” Diana asked as she stepped through the crack that served as the door. “You deserve it as much as I do.”
“Spider wouldn’t allow--”
“Spider won’t know the difference if I tell him I need you in the EDZ to track down Hive movement. Maybe they’re trying to set up a cryptolith here? Savathun did find that piece of the Traveler where we found the new Hawkmoon.”
“Not to mention we could give you a run through on being a Lightbearer. Guardian school if you will. More tips and tricks to make you more effective for Spider.” Joel added, his shell contracting in the way that made Diana say it looked like a smile.
“Time away from Spider,” Diana said in a singsong voice, “Nice hot fires under the stars, good drinks. Stories swapped.” She flopped down on the sleeping bag Crow had left on the concrete slab and regretted it, there was still a bit of debris under it and it hurt. “R and R is just as important to Guardians as it is to non-lightbearers.” She added with a grunt.
“That’s true...I just don’t think Spider would allow it.” Crow sounded defeated, tired and annoyed.
“Well, I am not going back to work for a bit….you think about it and when you want me to, I’ll talk to Spider.” Diana stood and rolled the sleeping bag up, watching how the dust and concrete of the collapsing ceiling was leaving a layer of dust on everything.
“Spider called him.” Glint said in a hushed tone, “I think some time off and not so alone would be good for him. He’s been obsessing over these Cryptoliths. He’s so sad to see the Eliskni that was good to him turn into...wrathborn…”
“He needs time away just as much as we do,” Joel sighed.
“It would be good for him, all he does is talk about work, and when he asks about Guardian things, he feels like such a stranger to it all. I think a fellow Guardian talking to him would make it feel more real, for now its just...stories of something he thinks he doesn’t deserve..” During the pause, Joel and Diana gave a look to one another. Sadness. Fatigue. Guilt. “I’ve been called by Spider, cutting the link. You two have a good rest.”
“Glint--” Joel started to speak but then hesitated. “The line’s dead.” He rotated to see Diana removing rubble from the concrete slab and cleaning it off with her hand. “This place really is a mess...huh?”
“He’s tried to make it his own…” Diana said softly. “It reminds me...of that cave in the Cosmodrome we had when we first started out...Remember?”
“Heh.” Joel floated closer and bobbed before rolling his shell over. “You kept Hive bones until you heard about Dredgen Yor, then you dumped them all over the cliffside and wanted nothing more to do with them.”
“Got rid of the dice I whittled too.” She nodded and replaced the sleeping bag, stretching it out to find it wouldn’t fit, the slab was too short. She glanced around the tiny alcove, at all of Crow’s belongings. A sleeping bag that had holes in it. A pristine Dawning bowl. His death shroud. A hive knight sword from when he save Osiris. A table and chair. A tool chest as tall as her and tools to fill it with. 8 things. He only owned 8 things. Yet the room told so much about him.
He was a repairer. Using things left over and forgotten to serve a new purpose. “It’s almost...poetic...or.” She laughed, “Ironic, whichever you wanna look at it...I guess…”
“What is?” Joel had floated off on his own, inspecting the crack in the wall that filtered in some sunlight from a room beyond the rubble.
“He takes things that are broken or forgotten. Things people don’t think twice about because to them it's used up and gives it new life...new purpose…” She picked up the bowl and placed it on the sleeping bag. “Like a guardian...we were just empty shells until you guys came along.” She smiled at Joel who twitched in silent thought. “You found me, an empty shell. Having used up all my life and been lost to time and the elements and you gave me a purpose. You brought new life into me and told me what I could do to help those around me.” She picked up his death shroud and frowned. “Uldren was a cold hearted bastard of a person.” Her grip tightened on the cloth before she sighed heavily.
“He paid his price. Blood for blood. Eye for an Eye. The debt for Cayde was settled. I know his tapes said he’d be…” She started folding the shroud gently. “Crow was a shell that was tossed away. People were trying to forget...or avoid remembering for the time. Including myself...And Glint gave him new life and purpose. He’s a guardian now. He’s not who he was before. And now he takes things Spider tries to throw away or has forgotten about and makes them into new things.” When the shroud was folded into the shape of a flag, she placed it into the bowl and busied herself cleaning off the slab where it had been placed haphazardly. “He’s just like a Ghost that way. A repairman. An artist..” She recalled the art form he had mentioned before when she saw his nest the first time. “He mentioned an artform with precious metals...do you know what it's called?”
“I hadn’t when he first mentioned it, but I talked to Zavala’s ghost and he knew what it was called, apparently it's called Kintsugi, or kintsukuroi, it’s a Japanese art of repairing broken pottery by mending the areas of breakage with lacquer dusted or mixed with powdered gold, silver, or platinum.  It treats breakage and repair as part of the history of an object, rather than something to disguise.” He paused for a moment and flew a little lower, “Oh, I see what you mean.”
Diana straightened up the room in silence for a while. Dusting everything with her hands as best she could and being as gentle as possible. It didn’t take her long to clean up the room, tossing out the debris into the hall. She looked around and realized it wasn’t cleaning she wanted to do.
“I wanna do something nice for him.” She said out loud, throwing out a fist sized piece of concrete into the hall. “And I don’t mean dusting.” Joel was flying around the room and scanning the area, inspecting the walls and ceiling.
“He doesn’t have a lot does he?” he asked as he came down to her height. “We could get a few things for him.”
“Yeah..spruce the place up a bit...he deserves better than this but…” She glanced at the shroud sticking up from the bowl where she had placed it. “Baby steps.”
“What do you think he would like?” Joel asked.
“Anything is better than this…” she glanced at the mop bucket in the corner, and cringed. “We could get him a sturdy cot to sleep on. A better sleeping bag…” She looked back to his area and tilted her head, “Another table, a chair...we could clear these slabs out.” She kicked at the one he had been using for a bed. “Hang that sword up.” She pointed to the sword as it was propped up against the wall, waiting to topple over. “And a heater…”
“A heater?” Joel asked, spinning back to watch her as she nodded.
“It’ll be snowing soon. If he’s gonna get time off and come stay, then he’s gonna need heat...and some food that won’t spoil…” Her faceplates shifted to show irritation. “The boy doesn’t even have the basic necessities to live on his own. He won’t be under Spider’s four thumbs forever.”
“You think he’s going to let Crow go eventually?” Joel didn’t sound convinced, but when Diana settled her cyan eyes on him, he knew that look. He’d seen it before the battle against Crota...Oryx...Gaul and the darkness. It was what he called her ‘try me’ look.
“Oh he will. And we’re getting that bomb outta Glint too.” She crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. “Glint doesn’t deserve that treatment, and neither does Crow. The boys are literally as pure as new fallen snow, and Crow’s as green as Venus.”
“I remember when Leland used to say the same about you,” Joel offered softly, flying close to her chest, his sign he wanted to be held in her hands. She obliged him, cradling him gently and stroking his feckle lovingly.
“I’m not gonna comment on that,” she chuckled and planted a kiss on her Ghost’s shell. Going to sit on the sleeping bag. “I guess this means we’re going back to the city after all.”
“What are we gonna tell people who ask what we’re doing?” Joel twitched his shell so he was looking up at Di from her hands she stared longingly at the Dawning bowl.
“That we’re helping out a kinderguardian. They’re new and scared to come to the city. Or that I’m literally burying myself in a hole and making a fuck off bunker so people will leave me alone for once.” She stopped and blinked, “By the light, I sound like Osris now.”
“I like the second one better,” Joel laughed, “It sounds more like you than Osiris.”
Both of them laughed, their voices bouncing off the three and a half walls until it sounded like it would drown all their sorrows. They hadn’t laughed like that in a while. It made Diana sad to realize this. She tried not to look at it, but it was like a living thing staring at her. The death shroud. One of the triangle corners was peeking up from the bowl and taunting her until she stared at it.
“I’m not...weird am I?” She asked Joel, still staring at the white cloth.
“Is that a question you want me to answer honestly, or be serious?” Joel asked with mirth still in his voice.
“No, I mean…” Diana’s tone made Joel twitch in her hands, bringing her attention to him. “I know I didn’t remember anything, not a thing when you brought me back. But you said I’d been dead a long time...I’ve never…” She trailed off and looked toward the floor. “I’ve never run into anyone who recognized me before. But Uldren...he…” She sighed. “He killed dad...I know I said Crow was different and he IS but…” she made a clicking noise. “Sometimes when it gets quiet, and I see him, I can still SEE Uldren there. Does that make me a bad person?” She looked to Joel sadly. “Am I a horrible person because I sometimes still see him inside someone who's new? If Crow didn’t have the same meatsuit...if he’d been changed into an Exo like me when he was first brought back...I woulda never known….I wouldn’t be...questioning myself like this.” She looked to the shroud again. “He’d just be a new guardian. A fellow exo. A nice guy...But I find myself wanting to reach out to him. Be...more than kind to him. To be someone for him and then that moment happens when I don’t see Crow, I see…and then I feel like I’m betraying Dad’s memory by being chummy with the meatsuit that killed my leader...”
“I could tell,” Joel admitted softly, speaking in barely a whisper, as if afraid the truth would cause the ground to swallow them up. “When you two are having a good talk and it gets quiet, I see the way you look at him. It’s kindness and then fear, mixed with guilt.” He twitched again and the eye blinked. The other ear was starting to come loose and Diana peeled it off with a gentle hand. “You’re trying so hard to not hold him accountable for a crime you know Crow didn’t commit. But it’s still the same face. It’s still the same hand.” he blinked again, “It’s a situation I don’t think any other guardian has ever had to face like this before.” Only a heartbeat passed before he added. “I don’t think it makes you a bad person, I think you’re struggling with a situation that no one else has ever had to be in before and you’re doing a lot better than others who have seen his face.” He flew up from her hands and hovered a little ways from her face.
“You loved Cayde like a father, and he was taken from you by someone you didn’t particularly care for when you knew him. Now that person is no more, but their body is still up walking around with someone new inside...sorta. It’s like that pottery thing, he has his scars. His past is part of him, but he has a new life and a new outlook.” he tilted his shell toward the ground. “Uldren hated Guardians, he tried to make our life hell when we had to deal with the awoken. But,” he titled his shell upward and squinched himself into a smile, “I’ve seen Crow absolutely light up when you walk in a room. He’s excited to see you, to work with you. If that’s not proof he’s totally different then I dunno what would be.”
When she didn’t respond he bonked her on the forehead with his feckle and made her blink at him in bewilderment. “Others have outright killed Crow when they saw his face. You didn’t.”
“I tried…” She put a hand on the spot where he hit her. “If Quin hadn’t stopped me...I would have put a bullet in him.”
“Are you glad she stopped you?” Joel asked firmly.
“Yes?” she sounded unsure, when Joel tightened his shell around him she felt like he was glaring at her so she repeated with conviction. “....Yes. I am.”
“Would you put a bullet in him now?” Joel’s voice was hard, he was trying to test her resolve. He already knew he answer, he just needed her to know it.
“No, absolutely not, I’d...” She paused and remembered her fight with Hunter-1, they still hadn’t spoken since they introduced Crow to him. When he tried to murder Crow, even after learning he was a guardian and Uldren no more. Quin had ushered Crow to safety while Diana wrestled with the fellow Exo. He hadn’t looked at her the same since. On Wrathborn hunts he wouldn’t watch her back anymore, and he would ignore her when she spoke to him. “I’d fight those who would try...”
“Then you’re already leaps and bounds ahead of others.” Joel told her with a flip. “And the fact you want to give him what he needs to survive on his own, until he can be accepted as Crow and not as Uldren, shows you have compassion for him.” He tilted his shell halfway, like he was being coy. “And do not think for one millisecond I haven’t seen you smile at him with that same look you used to give Drifter either missy.”
“I. Give. No. Looks.” Diana’s voice was low, gravely, she was willing to die on this hill.
“And I wasn’t born in the Light.” Joel gave a small hummpf sound before flying out of the crack, forcing Diana to follow along behind him if she wanted to argue.
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cutegirlmayra · 4 years ago
Note
Sonic Forces prompt: Amy offers herself in exchange for Sonic release, she "says" she'll give special info on their plans for Sonic's return but ultimately doesn't and believes with Sonic back the troops morale will improve. Sonic, however, is angry that his friends would let her do something like that and upon freeing her fears what Infinite did to her to "make her talk." Sonic isn't happy that Amy would give herself up like that and they have a talk that helps them both heal after the war.
I may slightly change your idea, slightly, but I think it’ll be more dramatic how Amy is taken instead of Sonic this way. I don’t think I can come up with much of a reason for Infinite taking her instead of Sonic when Sonic is quite literally passed out, so I made up my mind that ‘this’ way would be a bit more believable. (If this turns into an InfinitexAmy but ends on Sonamy, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. It... it’s a problem and I can’t stop it, lol)
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33:05 - Pajama Blogs - Prompt Requests (My Youtube, where I went over this prompt upon first ideas! :D)
Prompt:
It was mortifying. Seeing Sonic go down so fast, suddenly becoming still and lifeless...
Everyone froze on the battlefield, and after their bodies forced them to take a breath, Amy rushed in front of Sonic’s limp body.
Infinite slowly floated down, his tail slightly flicking in an elegant manner, but showing his frustration at her immediate interference.
“Hahaha..! And what do you suppose you can do... Your hero has failed you, your forces will end here... There’s nothing your patheic attempt at saving his life could possibly do for your forces...” He placed his hand up to his mask, gloating as he taunted her protective stance in front of Sonic’s laying form.
She frowned heavily, her hands shaking a moment on her raised hammer but quickly gripped it tighter to stop the fear creeping into her heart. “Sonic can’t loose!” She declared, confidently. “Not if we’re all standing beside him!”
Infinite took his other arm and wrapped it around himself, creating a place for his before mentioned raised hand’s elbow to rest on. “If he wakes up... none of you will be here... hahaha!”
His laughter caused Amy’s eyebrows to twitch down into an even fiercer glare.
Getting annoyed at her bravery, Infinite pivoted quickly in the air and threw his arms down, “Stubborn as your kind, I see!” he raised his arm slowly, “No matter... I’ll dispose of all this ‘false hope’ and end this war’s resistance once and for-”
“I’d like to see you try!” Amy took a confident step forward, but Eggman’s voice cut both of them off from their respective ‘duel’ of sorts.
“Infinite!” Eggman seemed to be giving the commands around here, and not Infinite. “I want him captured and alive!”
Infinite flicked his tail again, a bit more to show his growing anger, but turned to Amy. “The Doctor seems to be under the impression that he’s better off watching the world burn then burning with it... an unfortunate call, but he never said anything about preserving his friends lives...”
A red beam shot from his hands as Amy threw up her hammer and was blown back by it, but made sure she didn’t knock into Sonic.
She looked back at him, worried, before shaking her fears off again and standing boldly in front of Infinite. “I’ll go instead!” she cried out. “I can tell you valuable plans for the resistance-!”
“Like I would believe such a tale.” Infinite continued to fire off shots, trying to get her to leave the body to him, but she wouldn’t budge.
She was blasted time and time again by the contact of his beams against her hammer, but she continued to remain strong and deflect them away while not moving from where Sonic was.
She gritted her teeth, seeing he wasn’t going to buy into bluffs.
“No fear,” she began, which threw Infinite off as he pulled back his hand, growing even more furious at her courage. “Amy Rose is here!” she began to charge him, and growing afraid, he shot one red beam out from a few different cubes that appeared around him, firing all into the center of her hammer as she tried to push against it.
She grunted, showing the strain on her body as the laser beams continued to dig into her hammer and weaken her of her reserved power.
He laughed then, seeing her at a standstill. “Your useless attempt at saving his life will end in vain. It’s pointless to strive against a more powerful force than your own!”
“...Eggman... and even you don’t scare me.” She spoke through clenched teeth, but her feet were sliding as she tried to push against the combined red force of the beams.
Infinite’s eye twitched at her words.
“...You will be!” he threw back his resting hand and shot another powerful beam into the center, giving an extra force to the already overpowering might of the Phantom Ruby cubes.
She was forced back, but when she did so, Tails flew into the scene along with the others, leading a defensive wall just to stand as cover.
Knuckles and the others lead another ground team, trying to get people out of there.
Espio suddenly appeared, having gone invisible to get Amy, but she weakly opened her eyes and spoke in a haze, “No... Go... get... Sonic...”
“But-” Espio looked to see Sonic, his fingers finally twitched, showing he was alive... somewhat. “What about you?” He looked back at her and she breathed faintly. “We... need... him.” She spoke, trying to use the last of her strength to push Espio towards him, scooting his foot to Sonic’s direction. “He’ll... raise... morale.”
“That’s not your reason.” Espio knew her undying love for Sonic, but wouldn’t be so easily moved by it. “You’re acting like a fool, let me help you up-ah!” she batted away his reaching hands.
“GO!” she cried out, “Now!”
His eyes flinched at her declaration... his fist shook, “Sonic...” he ran towards him and turned invisible, laying on top of him to block out Infinite’s vision in seeing him, creating a blank space that looked like no one was there... “Forgive me...” He closed his eyes, feeling them shake. He knew Sonic wouldn’t let this go, and probably stage a hasty rescue for Amy... but letting Amy go... what was she planning?!
Infinite had no trouble squandering Tails’s force, flying over them and shooting out his beams before seeing Amy on the ground, panting and trying to get up on her knees, and Sonic no where to be found.
In his rage, he flew straight at her, gripping her throat and pulling her up into the air. “Where is he!?What have you done with him?!”
Amy struggled to place her hands on his own, gripping tightly against her airway. “G-given... the... r-resistance... a-a.... miracle... of... h-ho-hope.”
In his fury, he lifted his other hand to tear her face clean through, but Eggman flew up behind the flames.
“You lost him!?” He roared, but looked around, “Nevermind the girl! Wait-... Wait, wait, wait! Mind her, mind her!” He flew closer to them and sat up in his Eggmobile, shaking a hand in front of himself to visually show Infinite not to hurt her. “Take her with us to the moon! Sonic will always help a friend in need... wherever we take her... he’ll be sure to follow.” Eggman snickered, but then immediately turned to a frown as he flew over and smacked Infinite upside the head, “When that comes-! Don’t screw it up!” he flew off then, as though somewhat intimidated by Infinite as well, but not scared of him.
Infinite, feeling humiliated upon his total victory just a moment ago, lowered his raised hand but kept Amy by the throat.
He pulled her closer to the edge of his mask, “Our quarrel isn’t over... Amy.”
She kept trying to resist his grip, but he pressed just slightly more to make her choke out her words.
Espio heard her struggling, but knew if he moved even slightly, Sonic’s body would be revealed. ‘Forgive me..!’ he continued to think silently, letting Amy endure the torture.
But with a swift kick, Amy got out of his grasp, just before the final blow to knock her out.
“Hmph,” being shoved away, he dusted himself off, flexing the hand he used to strangle her momentarily with. “Persistent... all the signs of an animal on it’s last legs...”
Amy tried to regain her breathing,...
“I have no use for you... but since Eggman believes you can lure out Sonic... I suppose I can let you live... but you did say you had intel on the resistance. Might as well...” He walked slowly towards her, threatening an advance as he leaned down slightly to show he was ready to duke it out again. “Rip the knowledge right out of you..!”
His swift movements didn’t catch her off-guard like they did Sonic, and instead, their fight was met with blocks and swings, before she spun around and flipped back, shoving him away.
While he was still flying back, she used the opportunity to hit Espio and Sonic into the air, swinging them up as Tails and Knuckles immediately flew and glided up to grab them. They disappeared into the fray of the retreating army, but as Amy was staggering to try and keep herself upright, about to flee with them, Infinite gripped her from behind and threw a hand over her mouth so she couldn’t cry for help. Not that her throat had recovered much from his earlier, killing force.
He flew high into the air, keeping her locked in his arms before she bit his hand.
“Fine, except your fate!” he let her go but threw open a false reality, splitting her mind into believing she was being glitched apart and turning into static interference.
He watched with some amusement, before using the realm to also quickly transfer her to the moon’s prison.
Everything was black... and cold.
The metal beneath her only increased her discomfort as she began to slowly blink her eyes, and getting up... looking to see the design very much like Eggman’s handiwork.
Her hands were shackled by some strange technology that glowed light blue, and behind her, a lowered metal bed that hung just a little off the floor.
She sighed and felt her head ringing, not wanting to remember how she got here, but having the memories skate by quickly as she recollected herself.
“Hmph, Eggman is a fool to think this will cause any panic.”
That voice wasn’t familiar... and as she turned to see a huge, hulking red beast with horns in front of her cell, she held in her surprised gasp.
Her mouth opened as her eyes scanned but then shut quickly as he looked over to her, “What will you do with her?” his arms were folded, looking less than thrilled at the prospect of not being able to get his revenge right away. “I was told I could toss Sonic around like my own personal punching bag!” He tightened his fist, “Eggman will hear of my displeasure...”
Infinite’s voice suddenly entered the frame, and Amy felt her chest tighten as though his very voice could constrict her now like he had her throat.
“Leave the girl and whatever use she can be to me. I understand you’re aggravation, but don’t get in my way with your sap story...” He flicked a hand out, as though dismissing Zavok as Amy put together that he must have come to beat down on Sonic even more...
If he were here... hurt and disoriented, worried about his friends and going crazy at the small confinement... no, Sonic wouldn’t have succumbed to dread. He would have taken the beating till he could fight back... He would have remained hopeful that his team would come through. That they could make it and manage a short while without him.
Infinite walked up into the sight of the prison bars... almost like stalking her image a moment before pausing towards the door of her cell. “...What good is your failed bravery now?” he taunted, then tilted his head and gestured his hand out. “Your friends will do just fine without you, that much is true, dying was never hard for your kind anyway.”
‘My kind..?’ Amy wondered if that meant Infinite wasn’t one of them, but perhaps, half robot. She tried to open her mouth but her voice failed her, and she put her hands up to her mouth, realizing all that was coming out was air.
Infinite watched... seeing her frailty, and disregarding it to continue speaking. He looked away from her, “Your friends have been fighting but to no avail... Eggman will crush them soon... and when that happens, he’ll give the order to eliminate the last of them... you.” he looked back to her, “A worthless ant compared to Sonic... just a bigger, squishable ant than you.”
After telling her how much Eggman had taken over the world, even with Sonic still out among the resistance, he then added, “-And no one seems to be prioritizing you. You’re just another casualty to them.”
Amy remained poised, now seeing she couldn’t speak without resounding ridicule from Infinite, she just lowered her hands to her lap and sat properly, staring with a strong look back to him.
“...Even Sonic can’t save the world now.” He waited to see her despair set in... but her eyes simply declared, ‘He will,’.
Infinite’s eye widened and shook, before blinking to a calm and moving more towards her cell. “The last of your hope is about to be snuffed out before you can even see him again..!”
Her eyes blared a holy light of hope, as she let him fall into it’s sucking pull of knowing he was wrong. ‘And you’ll never see it coming...’.
He clashed his hand up against the cell, causing a loud sensation to echo through the whole of the moon’s structure, creating a vibrating force that should have rocked Amy to her core, at least made her flinch, but nothing... “You and the rest of your pathetic resistance is already doomed by my power and the power of the Phantom Ruby!!!”
Amy’s eyes remained constant in their resolve, their power never waning as they once again continued, ‘He’ll overwhelm you in the light of his hope, and you’ll be weak to resist it.’
Slashing the door open as it immediately unlocked for him, he charged into the cell and loomed over her. His body twitched at her still being able to hold her own, and immediately tried to beat out the ‘speak of life’ within her.
She wouldn’t just take a beating, and instead, fought bravely, even though her hands were restricted, summoned her hammer and kept on fighting.
Months had gone by where the routine was to pretend her voice never healed, watch as Infinite continued to try and break her spirit piece by piece with lies, but never fully give in to any of them. Once his patience ran thin, she would fight to stay alive under his brutal hate of her trust in Sonic and her friends.
“I AM NOT WEAK!” he grabbed her hammer which had tried to swing to his head, and threw her down to the ground.
Gripping the top of her head, he threw her against the metallic torture board, but didn’t bother to strap her up this time. “I know your voice should is healed!” his voice was like a shockwave, ringing through the metallic chamber and throughout the moon. He had personally excused Zavok back to the earth to fight Sonic, and though he journeyed there to fight as well, wouldn’t miss a single appointment to try and strip Amy of all she ever believed and held dear.
“You’re just too broken to use it!” he tried to gloat, but she could tell he was only trying to convince himself that she feared him, when it really wasn’t the case.
She pretended it hurt, when it didn’t, and stayed up against the metal board, tilted slightly to hold someone up to a the deadly lightning that would try and shock information out of her.
He paced behind her back, looking to her then away, as though feeling he had nothing left to throw at her, no plan remaining to extract her spirit and tear her core apart.
He wouldn’t admit how strong she was, he wouldn’t allow himself to think such a thing.
So he was convincing himself that he was still winning, and Amy just held her ground time and time again.
He finally moved up to her and slammed a hand against the board, the vibration hurting her hands as she moved away from it and felt herself bump up against him.
She was shocked he was so close, and turned to get ready for another rumble, but he grabbed her shoulder and turned her forcefully, shoving her back against the metallic board.
“Say something...” his voice sounded off, and she looked around, still pretending she couldn’t speak. His claws traced her shoulder down to her collarbone... then up to her throat that slowly began to enclose around her throat again.
She fought but he rammed his elbow into her the metallic board, keeping her in place beneath him, having her slightly lean to match the board’s angle with her back.
“...You still think someone’s going to save you... don’t you?” He lightly squeezed on her throat and she tried to hold back a sound of pain, but he kept his thumb pressing in different places, as though trying to force out a sound. “You don’t even bothering using your voice anymore... not that anything you say would change the truth!” he then threw her away from the metallic board and watch her catch herself before falling to the steel ground. “Even if they try..!” He pivoted to her, angling his head up to loom over her, possessively. “I would never let them have you... Not until I’ve sent you back... in pieces!” He threw back his hand but before he could strike, Amy already summoning her hammer and trying to get her feet under her more, a hook-shot wrapped expertly around his raised wrist, as Infinite was held back. “WHAT?!” he looked bewilderedly back at the wire, and followed it to it’s source...
“Nice shot, Rookie!” A familiar, cheery voice suddenly spun into the fray and spindashed into Infinite, shredded his quills into his Phantom Ruby as the cubes glitched into reality at being threatened.
“NOOO!!!” Infinite was released from the hookshot and pushed back as Sonic’s whirling blue ball of thunder spun in the air a moment before landing in front of Amy, uncurling to reveal her hero.
“Sonic!” she finally let the words out, as Infinite’s eye shook at her voice he hadn’t heard for months.
“The one and only!” Sonic adjusted his gloves, then tapped his foot behind him, as though getting ready for a rumble. “Sorry I’m a bit late, Amy! Zavok took forever to force an answer out of him, what’d I miss?”
“GRAAAH!!” Infinite swung a beam back at Sonic but he quickly dodged it, letting it follow him as he gave Rookie a command.
“Hey, buddy! Get Amy out of here and leave this to me!”
“Nooo!” Infinite turned his target to the red Rookie, but Amy got up and slammed a hammer into his stomach. “Ack..! Ahh... l-liar...” He staggered, and as he did so, tried to reach for her but she quickly gave him one last glare, keeping him up by her hammer, before speedily retreating with the Rookie.
Even at the last second, she wouldn’t speak to him.
He threw out his frustrations onto Sonic, who now that Amy and the Rookie were gone, really let Infinite have it.
From the Rookie, Amy learned how mad and obsessed Sonic was with bringing her back. Chewing out Espio before able to hear reason, he never stopped questioning Eggman and threatening his phantom forces about where she was these six months. He wouldn’t prioritize anything over getting her back, knowing full well she self-sacrificed and risked everything to keep him with the resistance.
“It should have been me!” Sonic kicked Infinite back, but on the second throw, was caught by Infinite’s hand and thrown back.
“Yes, it should have been.” He agreed, and continued to fight him.
“What did you want with Amy anyway!?” Sonic was relentless, and even though Infinite triggered the false dimension many times, Sonic still had plenty of power to keep coming at him.
“...Her voice.” Infinite muttered under his breath, before slashing Sonic to the side and watching him tumble as the gravity began to fail. Sonic was continually spinning horizontally in the air, but floating over to the ceiling’s corner, caught himself and shook his head, glaring back at Infinite and pushing off to dive towards him.
“I wanted her to bring you to me, and now she finally has.”
“Could have been sooner if your mask cracked a bit and you just said where she was in the first place!” their punches weren’t as powerful in zero gravity, but their combined anger meant they were pulling the other to stay within the fight, stay close and personal to keep punching out.
‘I wanted her to choke on her next word-’ Infinite recalled, ‘I wanted her to give up and fall to me like the rest of your insignificant forces! But she wouldn’t!’
Amy was safely delivered to Vector’s escape pod, and the Rookie patted her back, smiling and welcoming her back to earth... and the resistance.
Turning Super Sonic, Sonic also made it out before the moon exploded... and Infinite followed him suit.
Once back at the resistance, Amy could finally rest and get treated for her bruises, which were pretty bad on her throat, where he would target the most.
Eggman scolded Infinite but agreed that Amy was worthless and only there to really cause aggravation and be used as a ‘tool’ really to bargain with and then break their promises and/or deals. Now that she was back, Eggman ordered Infinite to ignore it, but Infinite couldn’t let it slide...
His fingers would twitch to be at her throat again...
With Sonic, hearing she had awaken from her medical rest, he bolted in to startle the nurses and doctors who were looking at her, and noticed her bandaged up with her dress slightly down from her chest to continue fixing up the white bandages.
He turned his head abruptly, but it wasn’t like he could see anything... it was just polite not to stare.
The female doctor who was patching her up smiled at his retreating look, and tied the last knot for Amy, patting her shoulders as Amy blushed and put her dress back up to connect the white collar around her sore neck again.
The male nurse also waved awkwardly to let Sonic know he could look again, and he did so.
“You okay?” He asked, rather quickly, and Amy just smiled weakly to him and closed her eyes.
“I am now that I’ve seen you flourishing!” she chimed, her voice as strong as ever, though not quite matching the patched-up look she had, physically.
“Hmph, Good.” Still angry, he folded his arms and turned his head away. “It would be hard to stay upset if you weren’t.”
“Upset?” Amy asked, curiously, as the rest of the crew eyed one another. Quickly feeling out the mood, they began to depart, letting the two have some privacy.
That same male nurse saw Tails wanting to come in and held up a finger to his lips, showing that he should stay quiet and not bother them right now.
Sonic tapped a foot, aggressively holding in all his words.
“...Sonic? Is everything alright?” Amy worriedly put a hand up to herself and then reached one out to Sonic, but he broke his folded arms and glared at her, with some hurt she didn’t recognize.
“I’ve thought for 6 months how I was gonna sternly call you out for your heroism, how you should have just let it slide and let him take me.” His voice was as though he was banishing her to get out of his presence, but she knew that wasn’t how he was meaning to come off... right?
“After a while, I thought maybe I should explain where I’m coming from, get you to understand how much pain you’ve brought me since you traded in your life for mine.” His voice got softer, but not by much. He leaned on the gurney and got closer to her face, his eyes still intense. “Because... it’s been the first time in my life... that I’ve ever felt genuinely worried for the future... where I couldn’t stop thinking about the ‘what ifs’ and every night, the same cursed dream of not waking up in time to save you... not being strong enough to not picture all the horrible things that Infinite and Zavok must have been doing to you to get information out on me and the others... the whole resistance was crying their eyes out for you and then letting them sting the next morning as they searched for signs of you.”
As he spoke, Amy felt her heart sinking and rising in turns. Like he was filling her heart with the floods of emotions that were quickly blocking and pushing Infinite’s hopeless attempts to sink her out, and letting her heart swiftly rise up to it’s proper position, instead of down by her stomach in dreaming hopes of grandeur that her friends were alright and well.
She saw the earth from above... but forced herself to never cry, never let Infinite get to her...
Sonic was confused by her silence, but seeing her throat, figured it may hurt to speak.
He looked away, his lips parting to show his clenched teeth and her eyes spotting also his scraping nails against the gurney’s covers...
“I honestly didn’t know, Amy...” He admitted, “... if you’d be there in my future or not.”
She gasped.
Never before had she ever assumed Sonic would give in to such thinking...
“But I couldn’t give up...” He closed his eyes, trying to remain unemotional. “I had to disregard my speech, and if I found you, just tell you how I really feel.”
He then turned seriously towards her, his eyes piecing into her heart that he had made soar up to her throat, bumping against the sides as though unable to move further as it was too big to squeeze through, but the emotional floods were pushing it up regardless.
She slightly leaned back, lost for words, instead of holding them back like before...
“Now... all I can say is... why?” he pleaded, “Why did you do it?” his eyes grew hopelessly soft as though unable to keep up the ‘tough guy’ persona. “Why didn’t you just... save yourself?”
It was love, it had to be. Amy couldn’t perceive this change of character without it being somewhere in his heart.
Six months... anger, to sorrow, to now seeking understanding...
She had put him through the works, and she wanted to heal and mend what she had broken in him.
Eggman and Infinite had succeeded in one thing... torturing this poor boy out of his mind with thoughts of her and her predicament.
Though Infinite had done the same to her, she never fell to his designs... And Sonic? He wouldn’t allow himself to fully surrender either, it wasn’t in his nature. However, for the first time, he was admitting how truly lost he was without knowing what had become of her.
“I had to do something, Sonic.” She admitted, raising her hand to put it gently by his cheek, seeing how truly weak he had become now that he was standing before her, and let his knees sink into the bedding of her gurney.
“But... why? I never asked you to sacrifice yourself for me!” he dipped his head, not willing to show her his distraught.
She smiled a little wider, happy to see he hadn’t forgotten what a big risk she had taken for his sake.
“To save you, Sonic,... Was to save the resistance.” she cupped his chin to lift it up so she could press her forehead to his own. “You never needed to ask me, Sonic... and you never should... I will always rush, headfirst, into whatever danger may present itself... if it means I can keep you in my life.”
Sonic’s arms twitched, as though wanting to embrace her.
Seeing him hold back so much, his expression being hidden by his pride, she took the initiative and wrapped herself lovingly around his waist, before flinching at the pain from her bruising.
Gripping her arm, he dug his forehead into her shoulder, still refusing to show her what was happening to him through his face.
“I’ll make Infinite pay for this..” he darkly declared, “I won’t let Eggman get away with this either...”
“I don’t ask for revenge, Sonic.” Amy held him closer, “I just wanted you to be okay.”
“Like I don’t feel the same way!?” Sonic finally blurted out, “Let me fight for you now that I have you back again! We all want too! We-!”
She put his hand up from her shoulder, traced it passed her collar bone which made go silent as he moved back to see what on earth she was doing, and then placed it to her throat.
“My voice isn’t hidden anymore,” she seemed to be symbolizing something, but he wasn’t sure what she was talking about. She looked up at him, giving him the same deadly look of bravery she had given Infinite, “I fight with you, and you... you, and everyone, will be my resisting voice.”
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bqstqnbruin · 4 years ago
Text
The other end of the spectrum
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I don’t think I’ve written for any av besides Tyson, but don’t worry, he’s in this fic, I just kinda had to. But this was requested like a decade ago (no exaggeration there since you know I’ve had my account for about a year), and I still have three (maybe ?) more to work through. That being said, though, because I suck, Teach me something 3 is probably going to be dropping v soon since that is almost done.
Again, ignore typos (or point them out be like ummm excuse me) 
I hope you like it! -------------------------
Should you be skating with your AirPods in? It wasn’t something that you had ever tried before, but it might be worth a shot now, right? But they were expensive, what if they flew out of your ears during your Biellmann spin, or while you’re trying to land your triple axel and ended up breaking on impact when they hit the ice? What if they fell out and someone skated over them? You could argue that whoever did that would have to buy you new ones, but you really weren’t that type of person to do something like that. Maybe, you could just try with something slow and see how they felt? 
If only the rink weren’t open to everyone right now. Then you could lose yourself in the music of your routine like you did every time you were on the ice alone. You couldn’t make everyone get off the ice, either. Free skate was just that: free. There were parents with their children teaching them how to skate, some teenagers messing around on the ice, laughing, and making fun of how they look with their shorts and skates since it was the middle of the summer. None of them seemed to realize beforehand that the rink would still be cold since it was, you know, ice. One guy seemed to catch your interest: the only one skating around with a puck and a hockey stick. Hockey players and figure skaters were the exact opposite of the skating spectrum; you were all about delicacy and grace, hockey players were brash, crude, and rough. You were even on the ‘rougher’ side of a figure skater, and that only meant that you swore a little too much and didn’t really have an indoor voice. And yet, you were still infinitely more elegant than any hockey player you had ever encountered. 
Whatever. You had managed to be on one end of the ice while it seemed like everyone else besides hockey boy was on the other. If you started your routine or even just practiced some of the elements of the routine that you knew you needed to work on, maybe that would get him to go to the other end. Sure, it wasn’t completely fair, but, hey, it’s worked before. 
The AirPods were going to stay in, you decide, praying that nothing happens to the small expensive things in your ear. You start your routine, drowning out the sounds of the other skaters and letting the music fill your head. You close your eyes, not fully doing each element as you imagine a crowd around you. Competitions used to terrify you; the idea of a bunch of people holding their breath every time you did any sort of jump to let out a gasp if you fell or faltered, people averting their eyes if you had any sort of wardrobe malfunction that wouldn’t necessarily hurt your ability to skate, but would definitely hurt your ability to earn points from the judges, the overall sense of being watched was enough to almost make you quit the sport altogether. Now, it’s just natural, not being able to skate unless you know someone was watching you.
And someone was. Hockey boy, of all people, had stopped what he was doing with his stick and puck, standing against the boards, mesmerized by your fluid movements. He could tell that you weren’t doing everything to completion, but there was something about the way you seemed to take control of the ice that he couldn’t help but just stare at you. Your eyes were closed, it looked like you were muttering to yourself. Your hair was in a bun perched messily on top of your head, random strands framing your face seemingly perfectly. Who were you?
You decide to practice your camel spin; something that you were struggling with was making sure your leg was parallel, so might as well try now. You knew how it felt when it was right, you just had to actually get it right. Your music hits the place in your routine where you start to gear up for it, looking around you and seeing that you have open ice, you go for it. You do the move going right into it without problem. You can feel your leg just out of place as you speed up into the camel spin, not quite there. The music surrounds you in your AirPods, until one of them goes flying out. You stop your spin, trying to orient yourself and figure out where the small white ear piece went on the ice.
“Shit,” you mutter to yourself, scanning the ice to see if you can find it. If someone skates over it, you were going to throw a fit. Not at them, of course, because it was your own damn fault for wearing them in the first place, but a fit nonetheless. 
“I think this is yours?” a deep voice comes from behind you. You spin around to see the hockey player standing in front of you, AirPod in hand. He almost looks nervous to be standing in front of you.
“Uh, yeah, thanks,” you say, taking it from him and putting it back in. The music fills your ears again, only to realize that his mouth was moving. “Sorry?” you say, pausing the music so you can hear him.
“Oh, uh, I was just saying that what you just did looked really good.” His eyes dart between you and the ice, shifting his weight between his skates as he runs his hands through his hair. There was no way a hockey player could be this nervous in front of you. While you weren’t frail, you weren’t exactly made of pure muscle. People could tell you did some dainty sport just by looking at you. 
“Um, thanks. It wasn’t right, though,” you admit, looking at your phone to try to get back to where that move came in the music.
“What do you mean?” 
Was he actually interested? He could have skated away already if he weren’t and you were about to start talking to someone else to get rid of him, nor were you going to try to be rude to him. “My leg is supposed to be parallel to the ice when it’s in the air, and it wasn’t. For some reason, I’m struggling getting it up.” 
You look at each other, both blushing at the unintentionally sexual thing you had just said, “I’m willing to ignore how bad that sounded if you are.” Neither of you can help your laughter, but wow, he had a really nice laugh. 
“Can I help you in any way?” he offers, putting his stick down against the boards. 
“Uh, just watch me I guess? See if it looks like my leg is parallel or not?” you suggest. He nods, backing up to give you space after you hand him your phone with your music playing. You go on with the move, knowing that it didn’t feel right. “I have done this element hundreds of times, and yet in this rountine, I can’t get my leg parallel.”
“I mean, it looked parallel,” he says, skating back to you. You scrunch your face, obviously frustrated. Maybe you didn’t know how it felt when it was parallel? Or maybe you had stretched differently? No, you knew exactly how it felt. Maybe he didn’t know what parallel was. “I could help in any way you need me to, I just don’t know what I would do,” he spits out, his voice shaking again. Was he really nervous to be around you? Since when was a figure skater more confident than a hockey player?
“No, it’s fine, but thanks. I see my coach tomorrow, so I’ll have her check it out,” you shrug, bothered by the fact that you can’t get a simple move. 
You start to skate away, muttering a goodbye when hockey boy speaks up, “Wait! Are you going?”
“I was going to. I’ve kind of been here all day working on my routine, so I was going to go grab food.” 
“Maybe you’d like some company,” he asks, shuffling his weight between each skate, looking down at the ice. He brings his eyes up to meet yours, a smile on his face as his face turns red in anticipation of your answer.
“I don’t know if I should be going out with someone who hasn’t even told me his name,” you say, watching his face go from horror to relief.
“I’m Nate.” 
“Well, Nate, where do you want to go?”
---------------
Nate walked up to the Pepsi Center, feeling weird that he wasn’t in a suit and carrying a cup of coffee, but a bouquet of flowers, dressed in a normal t-shirt and jeans and also using the same entrance as everyone else. 
“Do you even like figure skating?” Ryan asks, him and Tyson trailing behind Nate as they struggle to keep up with Nate’s anxiously fast-paced walking. 
“I think he likes his girl more,” Tyson says. “Hey, man. Slow down.” 
Nate didn’t know why he was so nervous. It wasn’t over seeing you; you had been dating for nearly four months now. He might be more nervous about seeing you perform in general. You weren’t nervous about the competition and for some reason, it made him nervous; sympathy nerves? Were those a thing?
“She’s going to be fine, you know that, right? You said you’ve watched her practice this routine like a million times or something?” Tyson asks, hoping that it’ll calm him down. Nate didn’t even get this nervous when they were about to play a game. They were about to play game seven of a playoff game last season and Nate was the calmest guy in the room. 
“I know, I know. She’s just been struggling with that camel spin since the day we met and her coach said that she was doing it fine and I said that she was doing fine but she didn’t think she was doing fine, and-” he rambles as the boys try to find their way to their seats.
“Dude. You’re not the one performing. Calm down,” Ryan says. 
“I just want her to do well,” he says, shaking his leg, driving Ryan crazy. Tyson didn’t care much, but he just couldn’t figure out why his teammate was this nervous. 
“She’s going to be fine,” Tyson reassures him, hoping that that was enough.
Nate’s leg kept shaking the entire time. They watched routine after routine: men’s short, pairs, ice dance, no one he knew since it was a United States competition and he had no idea who even came to these things. The only reason he remembered figure skating existed at this point was because of you. 
You were waiting your turn to perform, running through your routine in the back area they had set up for the skaters to warm up, practice, stretch, calm down, do whatever they needed to do without pulling a Tonya Harding. Your coach was watching you intently, not nagging you enough to stress you out, but enough that you were fighting the urge to roll your eyes at the trivial things she was telling you. You already knew what you needed to do, and at this point, so close to you stepping on the ice, nothing in your routine was going to change unless someone hit you with a bat. 
It’s your turn, all the nerves you thought you would be feeling melting away. “You’ve got this,” your coach says before pretty much shoving you on the ice. 
You hear your name called over the speakers, waiting for the judges to give them the alright for the music to start and your routine to begin. 
“Yeah, Y/N!” you hear three voices call, trying to be in unison, but just off enough that you could make out one of the voices: Nate. You didn’t even know he was coming. You can’t help but smile, a real genuine smile, unlike the practically forced one you normally had on when you were performing. 
The music starts, you going through your routine like it was second nature. Knowing Nate was there made the routine feel so easy; every move you did felt right, the crowd seemed to be on their feet, not that you even paid much attention to them. You had no idea where Nate even was in the stands, not bothering to look for him until your routine was done. You wave to the crowd, everyone cheering, you hearing your coach screaming from the side. You find Nate, Ryan, and Tyson, excited to see them after the competition was over.
“That was amazing kid! You looked like you went to a whole other place while you were on the ice!” your coach boasts. You forgot you were even actually skating a competition for a moment there, “That might be a winning routine right there.” 
You hadn’t even thought about winning, you just needed a high enough score to be invited to the next competition. It was the road to nationals, the road to the national team for the next world championships. But winning? That would be amazing, and definitely help your case for the national team. 
You and your coach sit down, waiting for your score. You scan the audience, trying to orient yourself and find the boys again. Ryan looked like he was there because he had to be, which was fine; he didn’t really strike you as the type to want to go to a figure skating competition. Tyson seemed like he was enjoying himself, for the most part, maybe he actually liked the routines. But then there was Nate. He couldn’t seem to take his eyes off you, even when you were just sitting down, pretending to listen to your coach ramble on about the next competition. You couldn’t believe he would come and surprise you like this. Or that he would not only make two of his teammates come, but also make them yell your name like they were teenage girls about to see their favorite boyband. 
The score was in, you were just waiting for the judges to announce it. This was the part you hated the most: the waiting. You were one of the last skaters, so whatever place this put you in was probably going to be your standing, maybe one place lower. Your score was in: five points higher than the next. “Holy shit!” you say, your coach hugging you as you sit there shocked.
“That’s first place! That’s first fucking place!” Nate starts screaming, Tyson and Ryan trying to get him to calm his excitement down, especially since there were children around. He couldn’t help it; his girlfriend probably just secured first place at the competition, especially after he watched her struggling with the routine in the days leading up to it. 
The next few skaters go, coming close to your score, but none of them really able to break it. There was one more skater, a girl who’s made the national team for the last four years in a row. If you came in second to her, you wouldn’t be that mad about it. 
She does her routine, you watching on the TV in the back while you know your phone was blowing up with texts from Nate. He knew that you wouldn’t look at it until the end of the competition, but that didn’t stop him from sending texting you about his excitement anyway. 
‘You were amazing’
‘I’m so proud of you!’
‘We’re going out after to celebrate’
‘But if you can’t tonight then we will tomorrow after the game’
The other skater finished the routine, she looked a little shaky in Nate’s opinion, but then again, what did he know. He was just so proud of you. “So after this, if Y/N can, do you guys want to come with us for a little celebration?” he askes Ryan and Tyson.
“Something tells me this celebration should be just the two of you,” Tyson says.
“Yeah, I really don’t want to be involved in whatever it is you guys are going to do,” Ryan adds.
“You guys don’t have to be gross,” Nate says. 
The score came in for the last skater: Y/N had a score 0.04 points higher than her.
You came in first place. You couldn’t believe it. Your coach practically lifted you off the ground, you were speechless, Nate was losing his shit in the stands. You couldn’t wait until after the medal ceremony for you to go see Nate. 
After you get your medal, congratulate the other skaters, and finally gather your things, the only thing on your mind was finding Nate, knowing that he had already waited for so long. “Nate!” you squeal when you see him, tossing your bag to Tyson, causing him to accidentally fall into Ryan as Nate picks you up off the ground, arms wrapped around you as he kisses you. 
“Get a room,” Ryan mutters playful under his breath as you two pull away blushing. “I’m joking,” he says, throwing his hands up in protest, “only get one if you both want to.”
You can’t help but laugh as Tyson tries to hit him with your bag. “God, Y/N, I thought hockey bags were heavy, what do you have in here?” He asks, handing it off to Nate.
“Costumes, skates, tights, warm-up clothes, headphones, makeup, hair stuff,” you start to list off, Nate throwing his arm around you as the four of your start to walk, “I think I have a mirror in there, some books.”
“Books?” Nate asks.
“What? We have a lot of free time,” you shrug. “But I’m curious: did you bring those flowers for one of your boys?” you tease him.
“Yeah, they’re for Ryan for not pouting the entire time,” he jokes, sending Tyson into a fit of laughter while Ryan punches him in the arm. Nate hands you the bouquet filled with sunflowers and roses, your favorite flowers. “These, I hope obviously, are for you.” 
“I love them,” you beam, stretching up to kiss him on the cheek. “You had mentioned going out tonight? Are you two coming, too?” 
“Nope, we’re going home,” Ryan says, jingling his keys in your face. 
“I was hoping to get a ride with you?” Nate asks, “Ryan drove the three of us here.” 
“Sure, where to?” 
“His house,” Ryan says, Tyson smacking him in the chest. “What! They could order food and be in private that is a perfectly reasonable suggestion!” Tyson pulls him away before he can say anything else, Ryan defending him while Tyson just tells him to quit while he’s behind since he has no chance of getting ahead. 
“Interesting choice of teammates to bring,” you tell him as his free hand intertwines in yours. 
He shrugs, walking with you to his car, “They were the only ones who I could convince to come.” 
“What did you have to promise them?” 
“I may or may not have to tie their skates for a few games,” he says, throwing your bag in the back seat as the two of you climb into your car. 
“You did that for me?” you say, pretending to swoon to make him laugh. 
“I think we’ve established that I would do almost anything for you.” 
“Great, because I need to go rob a bank real quick,” you joke, getting another laugh out of him as you pull away from Pepsi Center and head towards his place.
In the middle of his laugh, you hear him let out, “I love you.” His eyes go wide with shock, surprised he just let that slip. He had planned on telling you how he felt soon, but not like this. Not on some night in your car on your way home from a competition. 
Out of the corner of your eye, you can see him starting to freak out over what he just said. That was the first time you had heard him say it, but you knew he meant it. “You do?” you ask anyway, not bothering to hide the smile on your face.
“Well, uh, yeah,” he says, trying to calm himself down. Great. Now he was more nervous than he was before you did the routine. “You don’t have to say it back, I don’t know where you stand and I definitely don’t want you to think that I’m pressuring you into saying it or anything,” he starts to ramble.
“Oh, be quiet jitters,” you say, cutting him off before he takes it back altogether, “I love you, too.” 
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