#it genuinely makes me so angry and scared at the same time

[lovewarmthandloneliness]

it keeps getting worse...why!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[bernardsbendystraws]

𝑪𝒂𝒏'𝒕 𝑳𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒀𝒐𝒖

𝐬𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬 . . . 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮.

𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 . . . ANGST - resolved. Crying. Depressing shit. Matt being a good boyfriend even though you try to push yourself away from him. { Doll .ᐟ Reader x Matt Sturniolo }

𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬 . . . Dividers by me

“Why won’t you just let me take care of you?”

The genuine question falling from his lips is almost sour. It was like he wasn’t allowed to just coddle you, keep you safe and sound and do all the work for you - even just for one stupid minute. And he was desperate, practically grasping at straws at this point.

“I - I don’t need to be taken care of, okay?” You spit, running off and locking the door to your shared bedroom with him. It just made you so mad. He was so pushy - so…ugh. 

Angry tears roll down your face profusely. The rage churns in your gut, a wave of emotions shifting it into something sadder - something bitter. Something that made you feel like you couldn’t relax in your own skin. 

Matt sits on the floor, his head piled in his hands as his elbows rest on his knees. He stares at that door hopelessly. Everytime he gets close…you shove him right back out. You lock him out. 

His ears perk at the sound of footsteps. The second that door knob buckles to signify it’s unlocked, he can feel the shift in your energy, anticipation gnawing at his bones as he waits for your eyes to stare down at him. 

But they don’t. 

The door only swings open, just the tiniest crack.

But - it’s enough. 

Matt stands tall, taking soft, slow steps as he hesitantly pushes on the wooden barrier. The sight of your glossy eyes makes his lips fumble to a frown, his own eyelashes feeling heavier as warmth floods his face. 

“I’m worried about you, sweetheart,” he whispers, bringing his hand up to cup your wet cheek. There’s some sort of crack in your facade. Maybe it’s the way your lips quiver, or maybe it’s the way you're looking up at him with bare emotions. Either way, it hurts. But, it hurts in the type of way you need. 

Ripping-off the bandaid - the bandaid you had been peeling over so slowly that you felt it grasp onto every hair along the way. 

You suck in a shaky breath. The nausea grows as you try to mutter weakly, “I’m…I’m scared you’ll leave me or - or, I don’t know,” you ramble, staring down at the floor as haunting memories brush through your mind - the same memories that made you feel this way in the first place, “-I’m just scared, Matt.” 

Your voice is heavenly soft. Matt reaches his other hand to cup your other cheek, making you look up at him. 

“Oh, Doll…” he says, leaning down to kiss your cheek softly. And it is soft - almost as if he’s scared any pressure would make you run. And maybe it would. 

Silence. The air is damp, weighing down on your shoulders as you feel his hands slide down to yours, grasping lightly as he drags you over, sitting on the edge of the bed and patting his lap. 

You sit. Your attempt at having your back against him doesn’t work - not when Matt decides to put a hand on the side of your thigh and drag you to have your shoulder pressed against his chest. 

“I’m not leavin’ - ever. I…I’ve never loved someone like I love you and I…” it almost hurts to say it, like somehow the possibility of manifesting it would crush him completely, “-I couldn’t ever imagine losing you, I - I,” his voice is quieter as he hushes out the words, “-I can’t lose you.” 

You curl further into him, his sad aura making the guilt and relief weigh down at the same time. He loves you. He loves you so much. But what if you can’t love him enough? What if there’s somebody out there that could love him better? 

“I’m a mess, Matt. I…” the sigh that purses through your lips seems to tear at his heart, “-I don’t wanna drag you down or-”

“You don’t.” 

His words are so quick that you barely even process them. Matt shifts his hands, moving one to grasp onto your waist and pull you into his chest. He leans his head on top of yours, cherishing your warmth. 

“Trust me, you don’t.” 

Trust him. 

You want to trust him - you really, really do. 

But, you just don’t trust yourself. 

Maybe it’s time to learn. 

[maskedbyghost]

i love fics where simon is obsessed with the reader, but the ones where reader is the stalker? chef's kiss. so let me set the scene for you babes:

when you first saw him, it felt like the world stopped for a moment—like every boring day you spent trudging through the monotony of life suddenly made sense. simon riley was something else, larger than life, and somehow more magnetic than anyone had the right to be. you knew you’d never be the same the moment you locked eyes with him in the briefing room that first day.

your transfer to the task force was fate. it had to be. how else could you explain the perfect alignment of events that led you to him? captain price barely got through his introductions before you’d cataloged every scar visible above simon’s mask, taken mental notes of his broad frame, and wondered just how his voice might sound murmuring your name in the dark.

you found yourself naturally gravitating to him—the way a moth is drawn to a flame. and maybe you flew a little too close too fast, but you didn’t care. when he stood silent in the corner, your feet took you to him. during training drills, your gaze zeroed in on his every movement, memorizing his efficiency and strength. at the mess hall? you were never more than a table away. oh, and when some other soldier—jessica—got a little too cozy with him? well, let’s just say the entire task force knew that no one casually chatted up ghost without your looming presence in the vicinity. you might’ve accidentally spilled your coffee all over jessica’s lap the day she dared to pat his arm. oops.

at first, simon didn’t say much about it. not when you conveniently bumped into him outside the barracks after every mission, nor when you “forgot” your hoodie in his locker room, just to see if he’d notice. his quiet smirk here and there was the only tell—almost like he knew exactly what you were doing and found it charming.

but when he finally cornered you one night in the base’s dimly lit halls, his voice low as he pinned you with that gaze, your heart all but exploded in your chest.

“why’d you scare off half the team today?” your mouth opened, words forming in your head but caught on the tip of your tongue. was he angry? maybe you’d gone too far—but then simon leaned in closer, crowding your space. the warmth of his breath against your ear made you freeze.

“not complaining,” he murmured, “just wondering how long you’re gonna make me wait before you make it obvious.”

your lips parted to question him, but his fingers gently trailed up your arm, anchoring your spinning mind to him.

“i see you,” he continued. “you don’t think i notice how you follow me around like some little shadow? hmm?” he didn’t sound annoyed—far from it, actually. there was something downright pleased about his words.

the realization nearly took your breath away. he liked it. he wanted you close.

“no one else gets to,” you blurted out, owning that possessiveness with every fiber of your being. “not them, not anyone. only me.”

you braced for a reprimand, but instead, simon’s mask shifted just enough for you to catch the tiniest upward curl of his lips. a smile. genuine, real, and meant only for you.

“good.” his voice rumbled with approval, sending a warm shiver down your spine. “you’re the only one i want close, anyway.”

and from that night on, every time your possessiveness made itself known—an icy glare at another woman, an intentional interruption of a conversation he didn’t want to have—simon only smiled.

you might’ve been obsessed, but the truth was simple: so was he. and everyone else? they didn’t matter. you were his, just as much as he was yours.

exactly as it should be.

--------------------------------------------------

@daydreamerwoah

[timkontheunsure]

"and if he's only here as a prisoner, what kind of monster does that make me?"

Ok think I've finally worked out what was bugging me with them miscommunicating when Blitz yells.

"Would he want me if he were free?" Stolas' starting premise is if Blitz wasn't ok with the deal, and didn't like him; then he's a monster and an abuser.

If it's was only sex to Blitz, then he's just like Stella.

It's why he gives up, saying he has his answer; when Blitz assumes the crystal must be a prop for more of their deal.

"tethered to someone in such an unfair way". Ok this bit had my mind immediately go to the divorce.

The marriage was arranged by someone must more powerful than Stolas, to someone he'd never choose for himself. An "entire life's been written in stone" in fact; he thinks he's done the same thing to the man he loves.

While it is perfectly reasonable for Blitz to get angry, feeling blindsided and dismissed; asking for a "fucking minute", the next bit reads very differently to both of them.

"You spring this feeling bullshit on me. Are you fucking kidding! *Kicks open the door* Can I get a Fucking minute to think after everything you put me through! You pompous rich Asshole! *Stolas' flinches the same way he does when Stella screams at him.*

"Treat me like one of your little butler imps. You can't just Dismiss me like that. I mean you royal Fucks think you can think you can do this every single time. Like you can just play with our feelings, because we're smaller and not as important. Well I'm Not letting you bitch. *Flinches again* Let's Go!".

Blitz is telling Stolas that he doesn't want to be sent away, and that he wants think about it. His abandonment issues are fully kicked in.

He's trying to force Stolas into a fight, to get him to engage with him. Likely a repeated pattern from his last serious relationship with Voroskia.

Trying to pick a fight, to get to make up sex, to get them back to 'normal'. Because that's how he's been dealing with their "complicated" for a while now. If it's about sex he knows how to deal with what they have.

(Blitz is word perfect on the fight with Verosika after all; so they probably got back together a few times after stealing from her).

Blitz immediately goes to "I can do better", and try give it back; when he thinks Stolas doesn't want to see him anymore.

"you royal Fucks think you can think you can do this every single time."

But that's not what Stolas is hearing right now. Stolas hears is 'your all the same. All royal are as bad as eachother'.

It's very close to Striker explaining how the world works during his torture.

And now he thinks that the only man he's ever loved hates him because what he is.

That's what he meant by "think so of low of me".

And he's not exactly wrong. Fizz even calls Blitz on hating that Stolas is a prince.

And Blitz does say "They're all the fuckin' same". (Blitz isn't wrong for calling out Stolas on how he treats his staff either)...

Then there's the bit that seems fairly contentious. Stolas portaling Blitz out.

Stolas is a domestic abuse survivor, only a couple of weeks out of the hospital, because his wife tried to murder him. He's going freak out at loud voices, angry swearing, and doors being kicked in.

He going assume that this is Blitz getting a few kicks in on the way out; not him genuinely trying to talk through their problems just because of the format.

They are both stumbling over eachothers trauma landmines here.

Neither is wrong.

Not Stolas for walking away, or making the shouty person leave.

Not Blitz for getting scared, upset and feeling abandoned. Thinking Stolas isn't giving him a chance to think it through.

Blitz is going to get that time he wants to think it over. It's not an all or none thing.

He now has his business safe and secured in his own hands, and knows that Stolas likes him too. Those are biggys.

It's entirely up to Blitz what he wants to do now.

[aydamaq]

Fall in love with you - D.W.

synopsis: Dean fell in love with you tags/warnings: angsty, fluff, unrequited love (no, not really), tough!reader, proofread word count: 775 words

a/n: Hi, everyone! So it's my first work on Tumblr. English isn't my first language. Text me if you found any mistakes. Drabble was inspired by song "Fall in love with you" Montell Fish. Hope you enjoy it!

Dean never meant to fall in love with you.

No one actually means to fall in love with someone, to be honest.

You were his and Sam's partner. You two met during a hunt on wendigo. Dean remembers how at first you were rude and didn't really trust them. Winchesters had quite a reputation in the hunter community, so it wasn't too surprising. But you three worked together on the case anyway.

You didn't take shit from anyone. Firm, no-nonsense attitude and talking with them only when it was needed. Always seeing through people and detecting, if someone lied.

The case ended, wendigo was killed and people were saved. And to the surprise of boys, you informed them shortly about a new case and told them to drive after you.

And that's how it went. Three of you, like some team, started working together. You still were the same, keeping your distance from boys.

But as time passed, you were opening up. Smirked on Dean's or Sam's jokes, answered with sarcasm, bantered with them. And Dean loved it. You still didn't open up emotionally, keep to yourself when you felt unwell, but at least it was something. At least you didn't act like you were made out of stone and actually could loosen up sometimes.

So Dean learnt how to read you. When you feel sad, when you feel lost, when you feel confused, nostalgic, when something triggers you, when you feel angry, but it's actually a coping mechanism. He saw all of it, because he was like this too.

Maybe he caught feelings for the first time, when heard your laugh. Genuine laugh. Sam made some joke with a movie reference and you lost it. You laughed for a good two minutes, covering your face and rolling on the motel bed. Dean's lips twitched in a smile, looking at you.

Unguarded, free, yourself.

He promised himself to joke more around you just to hear your amazing laugh and make you happy just for a moment.

Maybe when he called you sweetheart with that smug look of him. You just rolled your eyes and called him babe. And it became a thing just the two of you. You started flirting and teasing each other.

Or maybe when you didn't push him away, when you were angry at something and he reached out to you.

"I'm mad, Dean. Can we talk later?" You pass around him, but Dean grabs your wrist gently, stopping you.

"Tell me what's in that pretty head of yours, sweetheart?" Dean looked right into your eyes and something inside of you twitched. You stopped, studying his face.

Then you two talked. A lot. Sitting on the hood of Baby and drinking cold beer. You opened up about your fear of failure to save people and Dean opened up about his fear of failing Sam, of disappointing him. Quiet understanding appeared between you that night. At one moment he turns his head to look at you and catches you looking at him with gratitude, calmness and something else, that made his chest tighten. Dean was telling himself not let it go in his head, but it already did.

Dean remembers when you hugged him at the first time. It was one of those harsh hunts and three of you split up. When everything was done and you found brothers, you ran into them. First you hugged Dean, lifting on your toes and wrapping your arms around his neck. He stood still for a moment and then wrapped his arms around you. Smell of your perfume calmed him down, but heart in his chest was pounding. You pulled out and hugged Sam too.

"I was so scared for two of you." You mutter quietly.

Sam smiles softly. "We were scared for you too. Everything's alright?"

You nod and your lips twitch in small smile. And Dean just hopes you didn't feel his fast heartbeat, when you hugged him. Trying to distract himself from emotions he was feeling, he coughed and said with his usual deep voice. "We gotta get out of here." Your smell  lingered on his jacket.

Dean never meant to fall in love with you. But now he savours every moment you touch him and his eyes linger on you, like trying to imprint image of you inside his brain. He doesn't talk about his feelings, being afraid of losing you and because he thinks everyone he loves dies because of him. So Dean's just there for you, to help, to listen, to make you feel seen.

But what he doesn't see is that you might feel the same about him too.

[dodgeballstuckonthegymceiling]

How do you think the main digital circus characters would react to a teen being transported there who's also a troublemaker similar to Jax?

I think it would also be funny if they looked up to Jax for that reason and just followed him around talking to him like a regular kid excited- Can you also write how they would react to that too?

A teen Reader would probably have the most meltdowns out of everybody.

If you like my work, please consider commissioning me or leaving a tip on Ko-fi (˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶)

Caine, Zooble, Jax & teenage Reader

Caine

★ He sees you as an imprisonable youngster who should be treated gently. Consequences for your bad behavior are nonexistent. As long as you promise not to do it again. Leaving you with too much energy and not enough supervision.

★ It’s an open secret that you're his favorite. Mess up, and he laughs it off. “They’re learning! It's all just trial and error!” But Caine is only this lenient with you because he sees you as an innocent child. Nobody else could get away with the things you do on a daily basis.

★ Caine is convinced that Jax is a bad influence. Making you misbehave. He always blames him for things you do, to the delight of Zooble. Punishing him for "manipulating you" and "corrupting the youth."

Zooble

★ Zooble likes you. They really do. But at the same time, you piss them off. Pushing every button they have on purpose. Testing their patience until Zooble finally snaps. "Could you shut up for five seconds?!" Then feeling bad about it afterwards.

★ After l living in the Circus for a while, Zooble forgot you were a teenager. You act so adult sometimes. But you're not an adult. Just a scared kid. It hits them when, after a long day, you lash out at everyone and yell "Just leave me alone!" while running to your room. Slamming the door behind you.

★ In the suggestion box adventure, Zooble specified that you shouldn't be allowed in the bar. Caine ignored this. Letting you join the others with one condition. That you don't drink. And you did just that. But snatched a bottle of champagne while Zooble wasn't looking...

Jax

★ You think he's fun to be around. Laughing at his bad jokes and following along with the terrible decisions he's made. Wherever he is, you're sure to be close by. Effectively becoming his problem. But he tells everyone you're your own problem.

★ Jax refers to you as "the kid" and wont use your actual name. But on the rare occasion he does, something is usually wrong. Like you messed up or got hurt. Pulling out the full name like an angry parent. "What the hell were you thinking Y/n?!?"

★ When you get irrationally mad at him for whatever small reason, as teens are prone to do, he acts genuinely hurt. Not in a "How dare you!" kind of way. More of a "The hell did I do?" way. Later, he might throw a snack at you while saying "Have you calmed down?"

[too-much-tma-stuff]

Finally getting help (pt 2)

This one actually is edited thanks to @basementqueercock! Thank you friend!

part 1 | Masterpost

-------

Vlad had been making a stink at the Gala about the Wayne brats taking his godson from him without his permission when the music suddenly cut out. Bruce Wayne himself stalked towards Vlad with an expression that was honestly a little intimidating, even if Vlad obviously wasn’t scared of such an empty headed pretty boy even if he was one of the richest and most influential people on the planet. He was Plasmius! He could take a rich pretty boy is he had to!

“Ah! Mr. Wayne, thank goodness! Your children have taken my Godson off somewhere! I’m sure it’s just a harmless prank but he’s a bit fragile and unpredictable so I really think that it would be best if-“

“Is he fragile and unpredictable because he’s pregnant and you knew?” Bruce asked low and dangerous. Silence spread out around them, even though there’s no way they could have heard they saw the look on Brucie’s face. He rarely got angry but when he did it was serious, when he did it usually meant someone had hurt a kid.

Vlad blanched for a moment, Danny had been so tight lipped about it, so unwilling to tell even those he trusted how did These people know?! “What? What on earth are you talking about? Of course he’s not pregnant, I mean he’s a boy!” Vlad huffed and Bruce’s jaw tightened even more somehow.

“He’s not leaving with you. Get out.” He said low and menacing, then raised his voice. “Sorry to cut the party short everyone but something has come up, a situation that really needs my attention so I’m going to have to put an end to the party early.”

“What do you mean!? He’s MY God son! MY heir! You can’t just keep him from me!” Vlad said, he knew that his eyes were starting to glow a little red but he couldn’t help it. “He’s MINE! Return him to me or you will regret it I swear!”

“See him out.” Bruce said dismissively to a handful of guards who had approached at the start of the commotion A lot of the socialites were already starting to see themselves out, now was not the time to argue, or even stick around when it looked like this might get physical.

“I will be back! I will be back with lawyers and police and the brat’s parents,” Vlad vowed but couldn’t risk fighting the guards any more than a usual old man would on the way out with so many eyes on him. Well he just needed to find a place alone. Then he could transform and come back, possess Bruce Wayne and make him do something heinous in public to ruin him for this.. this- this INDIGNITY!

-------

Bruce was having a hard time keeping his Batman expressions off his face as he saw that everyone was out of his house and he knew his children were having the same trouble. Dick looked like he was ready to bash someone’s head in and Steph wasn’t that much better. Damian was standing by the door, seeing everyone out with frosty politeness that no one would mistake as genuine. Bruce felt just a little bad, it wasn’t anyone’s fault what they had found tonight. No one else knew about the clearly abused teen they were currently harbouring, but none of the family could help it either. Bruce would send all the guests gift baskets once they could announce what was going on.

Alfred was on the phone with Bruce’s lawyers, sending them the mildly distorted audio from Danny’s earlier conversation with Cas and Dick, and the footage from Vlad Master’s outburst. That had the same sort of distortion over it too which was odd, he’d have to look into it. Cas had already informed him she thought Danny was a meta of some sort, maybe it was connected to that? Or maybe they were aliens? Though Danny being trans was currently the most plausible explanation for his pregnancy. They’d find out more later. What mattered was the footage of both of those would be enough for Bruce to get emergency custody while the family was investigated. 

Tim was with Danny in the room Alfred had fixed for him, helping him settle in and lending him some clothes. Tim was the closest to Danny’s age and also one of the calmer ones right now so he was in charge of trying to make Danny feel safe and comfortable while the family took up battle stations to deal with the legal and logistical elements of this.

Bruce made sure everyone was out, the perimeter was secure, and Oracle was at her computer watching the security feed for anything suspicious including the pattern of distortion Vlad and Danny seemed to emit. He wasn’t sure how paranoid he should be about all this, but he’d seen the way Vlad’s eyes sparked red when he was angry and Batman was sure he was a lot more dangerous then he first seemed. And not just in the way that he was apparently willing to impregnate a boy young enough to be his son.

Finally he couldn’t avoid going to check on Danny anymore. Not that he was Really avoiding it, just that he knew this was going to be an exhausting and difficult conversation and he needed to brace himself for it. With every step towards Danny’s new room he felt the weight gather on his shoulders of what this child must have been through.

He knocked, and let himself in. Immediately clocking the way Danny tensed at the sight of him. Of course a rich older man would set off his alarm bells. Bruce gave the softest smile he could and went to pull out the desk chair across from the bed Danny was sitting on, well out of arms reach so he wouldn’t seem like a threat as he sat down. He glanced at Tim who nodded and went and sat on the bed next to Danny. Solidarity, willing to stand up against Bruce if Danny needed it, safety.

“Hello Danny, it’s nice to meet you. My children told me a bit about.. your situation,” Bruce said with a small grimace. “Would you mind if I ask you some questions? I promise I won’t judge you whatever you say, and I promise I am on your side. No matter what I will try to keep you safe okay? Just tell me the truth, it’ll help me do what needs to be done.”

“Alright Mr. Wayne,” Danny said, though he was still wary.

“Thank you, please call me Bruce. So first, what’s your full name?” he asked deciding to start super easy.

“Daniel James Fenton,” Danny replied softly.

“Your parents names?”

“Doctors Madeline and Jack Fenton,” Huh the fact that he called his parents doctor like it was part of their name seemed to be significant though Bruce wasn’t sure exactly what it meant.

“How old are you?”

“I’m 16,” He said. A little older than he looked but still no where near old enough to have the weight of the world on his shoulders like he did.

“And you’re pregnant?” Bruce asked as gently as he could, Danny nodded. “And you’re sure?”

“Yes,” Danny said softly and Bruce nodded, licking his lips a little.

“Did you take a test then?” He asked and Danny grimaced making a so so motion.

“It’s not… that simple,” He said softly.

“Can you explain it to me please?” Bruce asked softly.

Danny took a deep breath and licked his lips, hesitating, opening his mouth to stat, hesitating again and biting his lip. Bruce stayed quiet as he watched the conflict on Danny’s face. “You work with the justice league right?” Danny asked suddenly which seemed like a bit of a non sequitur to Bruce but he needed. “A bunch of the members aren’t human right?” Ah, Bruce nodded again. “And you’re okay with that?”

“Of course I am Danny,” Bruce promised, soft and reassuring. “People don’t have to be human or from earth to be people. Whatever is going on with you you’re still a person, and a kid, and deserve to be protected.”

“Okay,” Danny said as he scrutinized Bruce’s body language for any sign that he was lying. “Okay. I’ve never been able to trust any adults with this shit but I can’t keep doing this on my own so okay. I’m not human, not fully anyway, not anymore. These are..” He touched his stomach. “Like if you did an ultrasound you wouldn’t see embryos more like… Hang on Here.”

Bruce blinked as Danny suddenly, reached Inside himself, and before he could panic Danny had pulled out a perfectly round object that filled his palm. It shimmered with light from within, cold and sparkling with stars. “Our kind is more energy and light then anything else. This is Us, the mind, heart, everything we are is stored in our core the rest is formed around that. I mean for most of my kind, I’m still half human.” Danny said before replacing the orb inside him. “I have two other little cores inside me right now, feeding on my energy to develop properly, you could see them on an Xray. I don’t know how long they’ll take honestly.” He sighed caressing his stomach again.

 “But I can feel them inside me, I can feel their worry when I’m scared, and their joy when I’m happy, and their love. They’re my babies.” He said with the softest most paternal smile on his lips. The bags under his eyes were awful, he was clearly exhausted and stressed, but his expression told Bruce Danny thought it was all going to be worth it for his children. It brought a lump to his throat he had to clear before he could speak again.

“Okay, do you have access to healthcare appropriate for your.. species?” He asked and Danny nodded. Though he was tight lipped still.

“There are protections for non-human species in America you know,” Tim said.

Bruce and Tim exchanged a confused look as Danny barked a laugh. “Not for MY kind, we were specifically excluded,” He said with a wry curl to his lips. “The shadow or echo left behind when a proper human dies, not sentient or sapient they say. Malicious and dangerous they say. To be captured or exterminated on sight. They would take me, experiment on me, probably put my babies in jars or something.”

Oh, oh fuck, he was shaking, eyes blank and glassy like he was heading towards a panic attack. “Danny! Danny look at me,” Bruce said as he leaned forward and Danny’s gaze flicked up to his face. “I don’t know who ‘they’ are but I promise I will do everything in my power to make sure they don’t get you. You’re clearly not what they say, and anyone who would hurt a child is not the good guy in this story.”

“Who are they?” Tim asked with an expression that promised swift and vicious retribution.

Danny took another deep breath. “The GIW, the Ghost Investigation Ward. They’re a government agency, they’ve been hunting in my hometown for a while. Early on we tried to call the Justice Legue, but I think they were jamming the lines or something,” Danny said looking down and biting his lip.

Fuck this poor kid really couldn’t catch a break! Bruce was sure that the ‘ghosts’ these idiots were hunting weren’t really anything of the sort, but he would look into this and see what he could find. Tim was clearly itching to as well bad he wasn’t willing to leave Danny alone with Bruce, good lad.

“And what about your parents? Do you think you could be safely returned to their home?” Bruce asked, as much as he wanted to keep Danny reunification was supposed to be the goal of fostering.

“No!” Danny nearly yelped sitting up straight. “No! They work for the GIW! They design most of their weapons. If they ever found I’d been contaminated- I don’t want to think the worst of them but even if they still recognized me as their son the babies-“ He cut off, wrapping both his arms around his stomach and curling in on himself.

“Okay, we’ll call child protective services, my lawyer, and the Justice League. We’ll get to the bottom of this,” Bruce promised Danny. “And you can stay here as long as you need to. Is there any other family you would want to go to?” Bruce asked, just to be sure, but he wasn’t surprised when Danny shook his head and grabbed a pillow to hug.

“And I know Oracle and Red Robin will be itching to find out more about this ‘government agency’,” Tim said. “I want to go tell them Danny, if Bruce and I go will you be okay on your own or do you want me to ask Cas to come stay with you?”

“Cas please? If she’s not busy?” Danny asked uncertainly and Tim nodded. Bruce was getting up before Danny spoke up again. “I have a sister, Jazz. She knows about me not being fully human, but not about the babies. She’s a good person, and she’s almost an adult. I don’t know, I just need you to know she’s good, and I don’t want to mess things up for her,” Danny said worriedly.

“Of course Danny, thanks for letting me know,” Bruce said with a smile already making plans to get her out as well. “We’ll let you know as soon as there are developments.” He promised before both he and Tim ducked out. They split up, Tim going to find Cas and ask her to go back to Danny before they reconvened in the bat cave, they had a lot of research to do.

next>

[puppetwoman17]

I wonder what the batfam's reactions would be if the joker escapes wherever they sent him to, finds Tim on patrol and was like "Long time no see JJ," and then going on about how he should come home with him back to arkham and he'll help him "recover" and are trying to get to Tim's location as fast as they can while listening in on comms?

This was actually a scenario I thought of the day I found out about JJ. I feel like after what happened, Tim would do the opposite of what Jason would and has done. Instead of going to find the Joker, he would stay as far away from him or even his goons as possible. It would be like the third Robin and the Joker had no history, nothing to tie them together(which probably made Jason angry at some point).

So when he breaks out of Arkham(AGAIN, jesus), Tim, Babs, and Bruce don’t waste a minute before bringing up that Tim has another case he has to work on that is of the “upmost importance”. It’s actually just a 12 year old homicide cold case that he solved a month ago but no one has to know that. Jim knows to sweep that under the rug when RR comes by with the same exact evidence he came with a month ago.

But Lady Luck has never been on Tim’s side. The rest of the bats quickly lose track of the Joker. Babs manages to find him, but by that point, it’s too late.

Joker finds him. And he recognizes him. Underneath the new name, costume, and styled hair, Joker finds his “son”.

As you can imagine, he’s over the moon. But he’s also just as angry.

“Junior! You don’t call, you don’t text, you don’t send out an email. What’s a pop got to do to get their son to notice them?”

“I’m not your son.”

“Not with that hair you’re not. Your skin’s not how I left it at all! And what happened to that beautiful smile of yours? Did the bat ruin that too?”

Tim doesn’t take jabs about his smile well. This is why. And it gets under his skin that even after using so much foundation and concealer, the Joker can still see the remnants of smile lines along his cheeks.

“You’ve been avoiding me, Junior. You know papa doesn’t like being ignored.“

“You’re not my dad.”

“Ha! Who is then? Certainly not the old bat. Anyhow, this isn’t about him. It’s been so long, kiddo. Why don’t we stop by the old warehouse and have a chat. Maybe even pick up Mama while we’re at it.”

“Harley would rather die than go with you, and I’m not following you anywhere. Batman already has your location.”

That brushes the smile off the freak’s face. The expression he has on now is sickly reminiscent of how he was when he, Tim, and Harley played family years ago. It’s not a look he gives to other people. No one else has seen it, so they might think Tim a liar. But he can’t deny the parental disappointment in the man’s eyes.

“I know they don’t know.”

Now that. That really gets to him.

“None of your business.”

“It it, but you’re welcome to deny it. I believe it’s just the old bat, the beat up cop, and Ms. Gordon, correct? Not even the first Robin! Ha! I wonder what the second bird would think. Not to mention the girls! Oh! And we can’t forget about little old Signal.”

Tim doesn’t need him to tell him. He’s gone over the scenario so many times it drives him mad. What each of them would say. What he could do to make them think differently. What he would have to do if they found out. Where he could run to. It never gets easier.

Joker is trying to scare him. That’s the only conclusion he definitively has. And aside from his general psychotic tendencies, he genuinely believes he and Tim are family.

By the time Batman arrives with the GCPD, the Joker is tied and ready for extraction. But the villain’s smile is no less fear-inducing.

“You know I’m right, my boy,” he says as he’s take into the back of a truck.

“They’ll never look at you the same way again.”

It’s only when everything is over that Tim takes the time to look over his gear that he finds his mistake. One that the Joker knew about. One that he exploited.

When he shut off the comms, he didn’t shut them off. In his delirium over his past, instead of closing them off, he muted them. While he couldn’t hear any of their chatter, they definitely heard his. And he didn’t send Babs his acceptance to shut his comms off, something she couldn’t do without express permission.

So when he unmuted the comms, you can only imagine what he heard.

[preciousjoongie]

FLATLINE ఌ:+*━━━

ఌ:+*━ she became a victim to my busy schedule

ఌ:+*━ genre ⇝ smut, busy idol!hongjoong x f!reader, valentine's day, rough sex

ఌ:+*━ synopsis ⇝ being the lover of an idol is not easy; no one ever said it was. but, it really gets hard when your boyfriend comes home late from work on valentine's day.

a disappointed sigh left your red painted lips. your almost teary eyes watching over all the happy couples eating and talking, enjoying their valentines with each other, while you're here waiting for your overworked boyfriend. it was so embarrassing to sit and wait but you wanted to spend as much as you could with him. even if it was for 10 minutes.

a soft vibration against the clothed table pulled out of your sorrow-filled thoughts. looking at your phone, it was a text message from hongjoong. an update and an apology in the same message.

hongjoong: hey baby, i just wanted to let you know that i'm going to end up a little more later than i thought. work was more busy than i thought it would be. but don't worry, i'm ready to spend tonight with you. happy valentine's day ❤️

you just sat your phone down. hongjoong told you he was on the way to the restaurant 30 minutes ago. 30 minutes ago while you were on actually the way. you obviously understand and have become accustomed to his hectic lifestyle, but sometimes, you wish it wasn't like this and you wish he had more time with you.

you got up, grabbing your purse and phone, leaving the table, not having a check since all you've drank was the bitter, complimentary wine they had to offer on their "valentine's day" menu. getting into your car, you drove home, breaking the speed limit out of anger and bottled up frustration. bottling up your emotions is what you tend to do since you're scared to say something about it to hongjoong.

throwing your purse on the counter, you took of your heels, pulling down the straps of your dress as you walked up the stairs. you wasted no time taking getting ready for bed, knowing it be early in the morning before hongjoong actually got home. you turned on a movie to watch and to hopefully take your mind away from all the thoughts of hongjoong.

hongjoong: baby? you there?

completely ignoring hongjoong may be really selfish and may make you seem salty, but you'd rather do that than actually talk to him about it.

hongjoong: i know i told you that last time they asked me to stay overtime, i'd say no and i know you're upset. you have every right but please, talk to me, i'll listen.

you honestly considered it. but over the years with hongjoong, he sort of inflated your ego. which, isn't a bad thing since before you were extremely insecure and you were thankful that hongjoong got you out of your comfort zone. but you weren't going to respond for now. you can talk about when he gets home.

hongjoong: you're not at the restaurant anymore? baby?

hongjoong: ok i know this isn't fair for you, but you ignoring me isn't fair either. at least i'm trying, it doesn't mean that i don't care.

hongjoong: deflate that ego before i fuck it out of you.

hongjoong: i'm on my way. that gives a couple minutes to rethink everything before you get your brains fucked to mush.

with every read of his messages, he got more frustrated with you. his hands gripped the steering wheel harder each time, knuckles going from pink to white. he pulled off, taking the shortcut he usually takes to get home. and while he was speeding home, you were genuinely rethinking everything. hongjoong isn't very rough when it comes to sex and is more gentle and passionate. but, when he gets rough, it's a whole different story.

those minutes felt like seconds to you when you heard his car pull into the driveway. you laid on the bed, back facing the door, still watching the tv. you didn't want to be met face to face with hongjoong as he walked in. you can't take that look in his eyes when he's angry.

the door downstairs open and immediately shut again. it wasn't long before the door to your bedroom flew open too. a chill ran down your spine. you couldn't tell if it was from the gust of wind from the door or the fear that settle in your stomach. you heard something softly sit the dresser.

"so you don't know how to reply now? your egos never been this big." he scoffed, taking off his suit he put on before leaving work, highly expecting to go have dinner. you didn't answer. "and so now you can't speak?" out of the corner of your eye, you saw his slender frame standing there, hands on his hips, waiting for any type of reply. he wouldn't care if it was a simple "fuck you" or "no."

he got angrier by the second, taking a deep breath and scratching the bad of his neck. his tongue poked out in his cheek. his body moved before he could even think and he crawled over your stilled body. tossing one of his legs over you, his calloused hand roughly grabbed your face, making you look at him. "don't ignore me. you know i can't stand that shit."

"then how 'bout you sit your ass down somewhere?" you spat at him. he just looked at you before speaking just above a whisper, "edge of the bed." you knew what that meant. immediately, you got up, climbing off the bed and bending over the edge. hongjoong got up right after. he stood beside you, just enough so you could see what he was doing. not that you needed to see, you could hear what he was doing.

the sound of his belt clicking sent a wave of chills and arousal through your figure. heat traveled to your core. "remember to count. can you do that?" he asked, stepping behind you. you nodded in response, a little tap to you thigh making you blurt out what he wanted, "yes, sir."

before you knew it, a stinging sensation drew a line across your perked ass. a small whine left your lips, "1." he smiled when you finally started to listen to him. "good girl," he landed another hit across your ass. the belts leather made your body tense up at every hit. "2." your fingers gripped onto the bedsheets for support. as much as it hurt, it felt so good.

hongjoong didn't stop until he reached 10, making sure you counted along with him. if you waited even a second too long, another hit was laid against you.

he grabbed your arms, putting them behind your back. taking his belt, he wrapped the belt around your wrists tight enough so you couldn't break free. "you don't deserve my cock after how you acted today. but trust me, i won't go easy on you." he pushed up your shirt, revealing that you weren't even wearing panties. he scoffed lightly before pushing down his pants, letting them pool at his feet. his index fingers pushed through your folds, practically drenching his fingers in your juices, subtle squelching noises bouncing off the walls.

you tightened your fists, letting out a small moan from his fingers slowly working on you. hongjoong bent over you, whispering in your ear, "you think you deserve to cum?" he added another finger, plunging deeper into you. he watched as your eyebrows furrowed, jaw dropping. with a small whine, you shook your head. "yeah, i don't think so either." and with that, he pulled his fingers out of your desperately wet cunt. whining, you rubbed your thighs together for any form a friction you could get. but it didn't work.

"gonna fill you up and get rid of that fatass ego. my fault for feeding it," hongjoong spoke, smacking your ass harshly. you slightly raised your ass with a hiss at the stinging sensation. you could feel hongjoong slightly slap between your wet folds with his hard dick. you bit your lip back in anticipation, feeling like you couldn't wait for his dick to stretch your walls. and without a proper warning, he did.

your jaw dropped, eyes shutting tightly. he pushed into you so harshly that the tip of his dick immediately kissed your cervix. you wiggled your fingers, clenching your fist. adrenaline ran throughout your body, making different parts of your body jerk.

hongjoong's head fell back onto his shoulders as your wet and gummy walls throbbed around his hard dick. "good god, baby." he groaned, looking down at the connection and the way your juices flooded at the base of his cock. sweat started to dribble down his forehead already. "joong, please." you whimpered out, face pressed into the bed.

"please what? please fuck you to you're dumb?" he asked with a small laugh. you nodded vigorously at his words. "I was going to do that anyway, princess." without wasting a single second, his hips snapped into ass, the smacks echoing throughout the room. the lewd noises of his cock going in and out of you at an inhumane pace somehow made you even wetter.

"joong, don't stop." you screeched, throat dry from breathing so hard. he suddenly grabbed you by your hair, making you to turn your head towards the dresser; a bouquet of pink and white roses. "see that?" hongjoong asked, his voice rough as well. "I got you those because I love you. But, you don't deserve those flowers." he growled. you whimpered, a singular tear coming down your face. you couldn't tell if it was because hongjoong got you flowers and he loves you or because of the overwhelming pleasure that was spreading through your body each second.

he let go of your hair, your head falling against the sheets. you wiggled your hands, trying to get out of them to grip onto something but you couldn't; it was too tight. "hongjoong," you moaned out, more tears falling from your eyes, which was definitely from the pleasure. "I love you," you squeaked out, pussy clenching around his hard cock. hongjoong tried to catch his breath enough to say it back, "I, I love you, too, princess."

his hips were slowing down but his thrusts were still harsh. your pussy was now a dark pink, almost red from the abuse it took. his fingers traveled down between your thighs and under his dick. he rubbed your clit, watching you arch your back and making your ass lift up for more access. "fuck, hongjoong," you slurred, mind going more and more blank by the second. "so pretty, baby." he said, smiling at the destruction of your body and mind.

"I'm.." you started. But, with your eyes rolling back into your skull and your pussy clenching, you came around his cock and on his fingers. "good girl," hongjoong groaned, feeling himself getting close as well. as hongjoong rode out your high, he came as well. his hips slowed and his thrusts weren't as harsh as before.

he slowly pulled out his cock, watching his cum and your juices leak out of your pussy. it was such a beautiful sight for him. bending down, he flattened out his tongue, starting from your clit and up to your hole, catching anything he could. you whimpered at the stimulation on your clit. "aw, I'm sorry, baby. was that too much for you?" he asked. you didn't even have the sense enough to nod. hongjoong took the belt from your wrists, throwing it somewhere.

he flipped you over, pressing a kiss on your forehead. an incoherent babble came out of your mouth but hongjoong just chuckled, not knowing what you were saying and wasn't even going to try and understand. "I love you," you repeated, knowing he didn't understand you the first time. he smiled at you, "I love you, too, princess." he said, kissing your lips.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

note: I know this is really late for V-Day but.. better late than never. just pretend I posted this months ago! this is not proofread btw.

[aayakashii]

For seven days (non-consecutive) I'll be posting Valentine's Day themed headcanons for each House in Tokyo Debunker!

All prompts come from this post here ♡

And dividers are from @saradika-graphics 🫶

Taglist: @wannaberecluse

Frostheim | Vagastrom | Jabberwock | Sinostra | Hotarubi | Obscuary | Mortkranken

Valentine's Day in Jabberwock

Haru

how does he show affection?

Through his touches and his words. Haru is extremely touchy, constantly squeezing you in a hug as soon as he sees you and always holding your hand. He likes to pinch your cheeks, boop your nose, and call you all sorts of cheesy nicknames. He's open with his affection and has no qualms with saying how much he's in love with you. Sunshine in human form.

does he like hugs? what are his hugs like?

LOVES hugs. Sometimes you need to remind him he spent hours under the sun, doing heavy work and he's SWEATY, because his base instinct when he sees you is to give the biggest bear hug. He even rubs his cheek against your hair while he talks about how much he wanted to see you and all the things he needs to show you.

is he good at flirting? how does he flirt?

He's good at that type of silly flirting where you can't help but be endeared by how goofy he is. He'll be saying things like "you know what's in the menu? 'Me n u' gyahaha!" while nudging you with his elbow. You may roll your eyes and slap your forehead, but you always give in to him in the end.

is he good at gift - giving or does he struggle to get it right?

He's kinda bad at it. It's best if you tell him what gifts you expect. Otherwise, he will give you some random home appliances that he wanted to buy all along and will use you as an excuse to get it. It's all in good heart, though, because he genuinely believes you'd like it as much as he does. Now, if you tell him what you'd like as a gift, he'll definitely get what you asked for.

is he quick or slow to give his heart away?

Quick. Haru thinks being in love is a great thing. Why make things difficult? He just walked up to you after he realized he was in love and let you know about it. If you don't feel the same, that's okay. He'd be sad for a little while, but life would go on. It's a good thing you feel exactly the same as him, huh?

does he find ‘i love you’ easy or hard to say?

Very easy. He's very open with his emotions. When he's sad, he's openly sad. When he's angry, he's explicitly angry. When he's in love, he's gonna let you and the whole world know about it. There's no mystery to it.

does he get jealous in a relationship?

Not really. To be honest, Haru has a hard time noticing when someone might be taking a pass at you, so it usually flies over his head. And he feels very secure in his relationship with you because he trusts you the most. After all, you're his partner, so he's completely sure that you won't hurt him ever.

what is his ideal date?

Just spending the day with you without the burden of his whole House on his back. Jabberwock is constantly in Haru's mind, the animals, Towa, and Ren. He would love to have one day with you in which he didn't need to worry about anything. It doesn't matter what it is, he just wants to be fully present, with just you in his mind, for once in his life.

would he ask the big question or expect their partner to?

Haru will propose, but it's not due to him wanting to be the one who does it. It's just that he's impatient – if it depended on him, you two would be hitched from the very beginning. He just decided to wait a reasonable (not really) amount of time before popping the question so he wouldn't scare you

how does he feel about valentine’s day?

Great for creating a special Valentine's Day safari and getting some extra cash in Jabberwock’s empty vault. He tells you beforehand that he'll be busy due to the influx of people and apologize for not being able to spend all day with you. He'll give you special treatment if you visit him during the day though. (Offer yourself to help him with the tours and he'll basically cry out of happiness).

does he get protective easily?

Very much so, which is why you have a bunch of apps you've never seen before suddenly installed in your phone. Haru is busy, so he can't be constantly around you, but he makes up for it with the most obsessive surveillance known to man. If one of his apps beeps, alerting him that you might be in distress, he's immediately at your side (because he knows your location 24/7, obviously).

does he believe in true love?

Yes. He was always sure it existed all throughout the world, even if it never came to him. But once you two got together, he believes in it even more.

Towa

how does he show affection?

Through himself as a whole. Everything he does is a way to express his love for you. He's constantly hugging you, kissing you, giving you flowers, and looking into your eyes as if you're the prettiest human being he has ever seen. And during the night, he tells you exactly that.

does he like hugs? what are his hugs like?

Loves them. He always tackles you plenty of times per day, every day, in the tightest hugs known to man. He always leaves you breathless, with a few leaves stuck on your hair and clothes, and the earthy scent of wildflowers. He loves even more when you take the initiative and hug him first, though. It always ends up with him whining because you said that no, he can't just keep hugging you all day.

is he good at flirting? how does he flirt?

He's good, but it's not really intentional. Most times, when he wants something from you, he just explicitly says it, like saying he wants a kiss or attention. But then when you two are watching the stars and he looks at you and says you're cute, you can almost believe he knows exactly what he's doing.

is he good at gift - giving or does he struggle to get it right?

Well... Towa is just gonna give you flowers. He'll make offerings of all the prettiest flowers with the most romantic meanings, but it'll always be flowers. If you tell him you want something else, it probably won't work and he'll be pouting, thinking you don't like his offerings.

is he quick or slow to give his heart away?

Very quick. If he falls in love with you and decides you're his soulmate, he'll immediately let you know that you're his. There's no sense in dilly-dallying. Time apart from his soulmate is time wasted.

does he find ‘i love you’ easy or hard to say?

Easy. Why would he think that he can't say 'I love you' to his partner? Isn't it the whole point? Avoiding his feelings is the last thing in his mind.

does he get jealous in a relationship?

He's jealousy personified, to the point that he might be an actual danger to your friends and colleagues. Towa hates when your attention isn't on him. He hates when someone tries to steal you away from him (aka a teacher required your presence while you were hanging out with Towa). It's a good thing that the stormy clouds are quickly dispelled just by having you back at his side.

what is his ideal date?

He has his ideal date with you every day. He just needs you, fully focused on him, laying down beside him under the starry sky. To make it even more perfect, maybe you two could be surrounded by his favorite flowers, but he's plenty satisfied with things as they are.

would he ask the big question or expect their partner to?

Surprisingly, he doesn't think too much about it. His fairytale-like dreams always stopped right when he found his destined partner and decided to live happily ever after. He never got to the wedding part of it all. You might be the one to ask first, and he's fine with it. If you want to make your bond even tighter, he's happy to oblige.

how does he feel about valentine’s day?

He knows about it. He thinks it's fun to see Kaito getting all flustered about being confessed to, but he genuinely thinks that's all that Valentine's Day is – a day to confess to crushes. Since you two are already together, he thinks it isn't important anymore. You have to explain to him that established couples also celebrate it, and as soon as he finds out, he'll be pouting. Why didn't you tell him beforehand?

does he get protective easily?

It comes with the awful jealousy. Everyone is a threat, everything could take you away from him. The only way to quell his worries is by letting him stay by your side 24/7. There's no other way around it.

does he believe in true love?

Of course. Otherwise, soulmates wouldn't exist. You two are proof of it.

Ren

how does he show affection?

Through his actions. He's bad with words and emotionally constipated, but he shows he cares for you through little actions he would never do with anyone else. He'd pick up medicine and food for you if you're sick; he'd quietly spend time with you if you need company; he'd try to make you play his games and watch his movies and do the same with yours. Textbook tsundere.

does he like hugs? what are his hugs like?

He acts and says that he hates them, but immediately sulks when you let him go and apologize for the sudden hug. He loves YOUR hugs, but no one else's. His hugs are awkward and stiff (he might even give you some pats on the back) but you make up for it with enthusiasm.

is he good at flirting? how does he flirt?

Terrible. Doesn't know what he's doing, can't flirt to save his life. Incapable of winking and would die before asking for a peck on the cheek. Most times, you're the one flustering him because even if you're bad at flirting, you're not as bad as he is.

is he good at gift - giving or does he struggle to get it right?

Kinda good, actually. He listens to you when you're talking about your hyperfixations, so he knows about your tastes. His gifts might not be very romantic, though, unless a Lego set or some rare doll you mentioned twice is romantic to you.

is he quick or slow to give his heart away?

SLOOOOOOWWW. Ren will deny his feelings for you until it is physically, mentally, spiritually, and metaphysically impossible to deny that he's madly in love. He'll be blushing, leaning towards you, looking at your lips with a hand over his racing heart, but he still has the gall to say that maybe he's just sick.

does he find ‘i love you’ easy or hard to say?

Terribly hard. If he's that bad at admitting his feelings to himself, how would he admit his feelings for you? Again, he tries to compensate for all the times he can't voice his love openly through acts of service, but it's all very annoying and frustrating to him.

does he get jealous in a relationship?

It's a dangerous mix of jealousy and self-deprecation. He thinks you'd probably do better with someone who isn't a shut-in like him or someone actually in touch with their emotions. So, any little interaction between you and another person triggers his jealousy. He gets passive-aggressive and sulks until you finally get tired of his antics and slap his head to snap him out of it. Having a tsundere as a boyfriend isn't always cute after all.

what is his ideal date?

Just being able to spend time with you without Haru interrupting would be enough. He wants to have a date in which you two watch all your favorite movies together and eat the best snacks to your heart's content without being suddenly jumpscared by a red-headed man barging into the room.

would he ask the big question or expect their partner to?

He didn't even know he was going to date someone ever, so a wedding was out of question. Not that he minded, he always thought the ceremony sucked. However, now he feels like proposing to you first is a way to show you how much he cares and how much he genuinely loves you without using words. A ring to represent all the times words shouldn't have failed him.

how does he feel about valentine’s day?

Hates it. Ren thinks it's a capitalist holiday that wants to bleed couples dry of their money, not to mention that the atmosphere is awfully cringey and he would never be caught dead buying overpriced chocolate and ugly plushies. Well, that was until he started dating you (he still thinks all that but now he buys the things).

does he get protective easily?

Not really, because he usually feels like he needs protection as well, what with all the unfortunate events that tend to happen to him. He will try his best if you're in imminent danger, but during his day-to-day life, he just trusts in your capability to stay in one piece.

does he believe in true love?

CRINGE. he kinda does because of you

[gaywineauntsstuff]

You know what I hate

People conflating Bruce’s affection for his kids with how good of a parent he is.

Because Bruce adore his kids

More than anything???

Ever

Argue with the fucking wall

The genuine love, care and affection this man displays when he thinks about his kids? Despite saving the city his canonical belief is that his greatest achievement, is the best man he knows, his son Dick Grayson. That’s just factually something that’s been stated a billion times since the 80s

Now will I mostly talk about Grayson bc he’s my son yeah? I’m sure other Stan’s can talk about Steph,Tim, Jay, dami but I’m here for Dick(lol).

Anyway

Bruce adores dick Grayson more than life itself. Dick makes him laugh and there is this easy, loving affection (most of the time) between them as adults

…. He also??? Just wasn’t a good parent

Now let’s not conflate character with parenting skills. I’m not accusing him of being abusive or being intentionally cruel.

I’m saying that Bruce Wayne could not give his kids assurances about their place in his life. He could not maintain healthy relationships with them when he was unwell and he could not shelter the kids from himself when he was angry. His kids have to deal with his paranoia their entire lives and it’s visible in the way they treat their fellow friends and colleagues, it affected them negatively.

Dick canonically is described like atlas with the world on his shoulders

Every single one of them has trust issues and yeah you can argue they needed it to be detectives but it’s not healthy.

Bruce can be toxic to the people around him, he’s a deeply traumatized person who has suffered. And he takes it out on the world around him.

That’s not a healthy environment for 9-15yr olds

Him getting scared and firing Dick, forcing him to leave home and basically giving the man permanent issues around father figures??? Despite literally thinking the sun looks dim next to dick Grayson and Dick Grayson is the greatest and wow look at how awesome my son Dick Grayson is I sure think he’s the pinnacle of perfection he doesn’t let Dick KNOW that and his actions don’t match his thoughts

Now bc Bruce is objectively a good man (again argue with the wall) who loves his kids very very very much. A lot of emotional unavailability gets counteracted by the sheer fact he does love them

A lot

Which is Why they still go to him. It’s why they keep coming back

I’ve seen so many people say especially in regards to Dick that they think he’s constant running to bludhaven and coming back to Gotham is the similar to that of an abuse victim who keeps leaving and coming back bc they don’t know anything else

Which I think is a fundamental misunderstanding of Dick Grayson as a character.

Dick has known everything else

The titans are canonically described as a second family and a support system

Roy, Wally and Donna are all canonical safety nets for him

Same with Clark? And most of the older mentor groups (barring the arrows in a few iterations bc some authors can’t decide whether Ollie likes or dislikes him)

Not to mention his mom and dad who loved him very much fuck the court of the owls arc

And Dick has never once taken a hit quietly from anyone ever in his life. Not from Bruce, not Roy, not slade, he’s mouthy and gives and good as he gets if not better. Point me to ONE moment in the comics where A) Dick didn’t start the fight or B) Bruce started the fight and Dick immediately proceeded crash out and try to beat him into the dirt (ignore Jason’s death I think most normal people would be the worst if their baby died)

Dick goes back to Bruce because Bruce raised him and loved him and gave him a family. Dick goes back because Bruce took in this battered heartbroken orphan who believed he could never feel the way he did before, the weightlessness of being a child who was loved and tried so so so hard to at least get him close to that.

Dick goes back because Bruce is the reason his story didn’t stay a tragedy and no matter how much of a fucking asshole Bruce can be. Dick knows that the man cares so so so damn much about him.

Like Bruce isn’t a good parent bc he has his own issues he can’t work through and he takes it out of his kids

Not because he doesn’t love them, not because he doesn’t try, not because he puts the mission first (actually this one a little bit) none of that

He adores these kids and there’s never once in canon where he takes them for granted no matter what Tim and Dick Grayson Stan’s will have you believe (I am calling myself out here)

And yeah I think Dick Grayson will be a better parent than Bruce Wayne…. Entirely because of Bruce Wayne

I know that DC has placed Dick as this multiversal constant for good but I personally will attribute Dick being so good with Damian? And Lian and Tim and every other child he interacted with to the fact the Bruce Wayne kept him from… well turning into the next Bruce Wayne.

He kept Dick from becoming the same type of jaded as him. They went through the same story, arguably dicks was worse seeing as he was left in a new city, without anyone who gave a damn about him

The only reason Dick turned out better is bc he had a Bruce Wayne and Bruce didn’t.

Bruce didn’t give his kids the stability or made them feel like his affection was guaranteed without them being exemplary. Even if this isn’t true, him not being able to assure his kids of the fact his affection was unconditional is in fact NOT GOOD PARENTING

it’s just not???

[vagabond-umlaut]

ramé

love.

a word everyone spells as l-o-v-e, except one certain young sorcerer – to whom it appears h-a-p-p-y, to whom it appears h-a-v-o-c – to whom it appears the shape of the letters of your name.

you, on the other hand, forget how to spell when the same word is before you – a fact which, your admirer reckons, would have been a major problem were he not he – that is, were he not the one and only 'gojo satoru'.

and thus begins, the plan.

and thus begins, the six steps to catch one's crush's eye — by the six eyes.

pairing: gojo satoru x fem!reader

tags: set during gojo's past arc; childhood friends to lovers; pining-since-forever!gojo; oblivious-since-forever!you; tooth-rotting fluff; adorable banter; height difference; all your friends ship satoru & you; they all are very tired of you both as well; satoru & you-hashtag [not-canon-yet] relationship goals; angry protective gojo; hell lots of teasing; misunderstandings; arguments; angst with a VERY HAPPY ending

wc: 12k+ (i'm genuinely so proud of this, guys(gn) :D)

notes: decided to republish my most popular fic so far to celebrate my blog crossing 1000 followers! tysm for all the love and support u hv shown me, besties!!! <333 btw, jjk isn't mine. dividers by @/inklore. hope u enjoy reading this!

|1/6| overhaul your wardrobe.

a low whistle leaves gojo as he appraises himself in the mirror.

snow white hair neatly trimmed with short bangs, sunglasses from gucci giving a peek of his transfixing blue gaze, a fitting tom ford white shirt paired with black slacks and designer shoes, and, to top it all off, a perfume by bleu de chanel he bought especially for today...

there's no way in hell you won't find him attractive today.

with a smug smirk, the first-year swings the door to his dorm wide open, ready to astound the two waiting outside with his insanely good looks - and pauses, boisterous shout dying within his throat.

"'toru!!" you exclaim as you jump off the balustrade you were seated on and rush to him, a wide grin splitting your face into half. "surprise, i caught an earlier train!"

in spite of the shock, the boy feels his lips lift in a smile.

it's been nearly a year since the last time the two of you were face-to-face; you're still as beautiful as you were then.

"hey shortie," the words leave him in a whisper as you wrap your arms around him - only for a pained 'ouch!' to escape him a second later. massaging his side where you pinched him, the boy watches you step back with a scowl. (faux, of course.)

"call me that one more time and no one can save you from my wrath."

"wrath?" chuckling, gojo bends a bit to be your eye-level. you narrow your eyes at him. "you think that can scare me? the gojo satoru?"

"it sure can," folding your arms across your chest, you throw him a smirk in the next instant. "if it makes me share all the mochi i bought with ieiri senpai and geto senpai, and not give you the tiniest bit of it."

eyes widening behind glasses, a gasp escapes him. "you wouldn't!"

"i would," you answer, the same smirk as before still on your lips.

gojo backs off.

you're nothing if not awfully determined to make your promises see the light of the day. if he continues pestering you, the young sorcerer knows he'll actually not get a single morsel of those delicious sweets.

"you know what," a familiar voice cuts in through his thoughts and the boy twists to find his best friend walking towards him. sending him a discreet wink (which he deems is 100% suspicious), suguru reaches your side and continues, "satoru here was really excited about you coming to meet him."

"oh, is it so?" your smirk gives way to an angelic smile. gojo wishes it was directed at him instead of that long-haired bastard.

"yeah," said bastard meanwhile agrees with an overeager nod. "shoko and i too were really excited to meet the girl our friend is so infa-"

a tense silence befalls the corridor when suguru abruptly stops in the middle of the sentence. gojo swears if you weren't standing there, in front of them, he would have murdered his friend in cold blood today.

"infa-?" you prompt, smile dropping a little as your confused gaze darts from one to the other. gojo forces a chuckle out.

"it's nothing, don't you worry," he tries to draw your attention away, when shoko swoops in, like the savior she is (gojo decides to buy her one month's supply of cigarettes) and inquires, "hey, you haven't seen satoru in months, right? any change you find in him?"

that seems to be the trick. a curious glint shines in your eyes as they travel up and down his figure - appreciatively for sure, the boy says to himself. you too seem to have a liking for expensive things, after all.

after two seconds of close inspection, you turn to shoko with a bright smile. gojo's soul goes soaring at the sight in the clear skies above.

"nope! he's the same old 'toru i've always known."

gojo's soul crashes down upon the earth, splintering at the impact.

his two classmates give him a look before shoko asks again, a mild disbelief to her tone, "you really don't find anything new about him? like, maybe he has grown taller? or maybe, more handsome?"

"anything else which you never even expected, maybe?" suguru pipes in from beside him. gojo shoots him a grateful look, all past offenses already forgiven and forgotten.

a beat passes before you shake your head. "nope. nothing about him is new. though, when you speak about unexpected..." you trail off with a contemplative look.

shoko encourages you, "when we speak about unexpected-"

"i never expected you to be so pretty," you finish the sentence for her with a small smile. gojo's jaw drops to the ground. okay, what the fu-

"oh," shooting him an amused smirk, shoko faces you. "and why is it so? why did you not expect me to be so pretty?"

"it's not my fault," you reply, sending him an accusatory glance as you continue, "when i asked 'toru if his new classmates are good-looking, he said they aren't. he said you all look really plain."

"do you find me plain or handsome?" suguru butts in, ignoring the blue-eyed glare boring holes into the side of his head.

"you're plain," the short reply comes in an instant from you - and even in the midst of his gloom for going unnoticed, gojo finds it within himself to smirk at his best friend's withered face.

in the meantime, you continue speaking to shoko, unperturbed.

"yeah, so imagine my surprise when i met you at the torii gates earlier today. with such a stylish bobcut, cute face and flawless skin... i really thought you were a model, ieiri-senpai."

you pause for a second - undoubtedly to catch your breath from that non-stop chatter; gojo knows your habits like his own by now - then ask the girl who's watching you with a pleased expression, an excited grin threatening to bloom on your face, "are you a model, senpai?"

said senpai lets out a chuckle in response.

and despite feeling dispirited (and very, very jealous of that shoko for hogging all your attention), the white-haired boy cracks a fond smile, watching you be so cheery.

yeah, you certainly are one very dense dumbass.

but, he too is gojo satoru - and he will get his feelings across to you.

|2/6| display your strengths.

being a show-off is what gojo's the best at - besides yearning for you from afar, that is.

a wide grin stays on his face as he watches you approach him, a tad ahead of your classmates - two boys, nanami kento and haibara yu.

being in the first year, neither of you three can take part in the kyoto sister-school goodwill event - that doesn't stop you all from being spectators, though - which is what's enough for the gojo's plans.

a call of his name drags him away from gazing at you - you look good in that tee of his, you accidentally shrunk in the laundry - and twists back to find his teacher frowning at him.

the second-year finds it hard to wear the same grin. "yo yaga sensei, what's up?"

the man lets out a long-drawn sigh.

"don't overdo it, satoru," he says - the boy opens his mouth, ready to retort with a quip - only to be stopped by an unfamiliar expression overcoming the teacher's features.

it's a horrific insult of a smile, the young sorcerer realizes after a beat.

yaga, meanwhile, continues with that same expression, "i too was young once. i can understand what you're going through now - which is why i won't stop you from showing your talents to her or whatever. just... remember no one should die."

a quiet nod is all the boy manages in reply, too overwhelmed for a bit by the fatherly care yaga insists on giving him despite the annoyance suguru and he equally insist on being to their sensei.

with a pat on the shoulder, yaga leaves in the direction of the other faculty and staff. schooling his expression, gojo shoots suguru a look.

"hey suguru, how did yaga get to know about me and her?"

"who is her, gojo senpai?" a sweet voice chips in, soon followed by your teasing grin floating into his line of vision.

the boy averts his gaze for a beat - flustered by the sheer proximity between both of your faces which could be closed were he not such a coward, stop smirking, suguru - before sending you a wounded look.

"since when did i become gojo senpai to you?"

"since today," you reply with a tight smile. gojo doesn't like it one bit on your face. "i've been asked by the higher-ups to act professional with you."

a moment passes - wherein the boy registers the statement - before red flashes in his vision. placing his hands on your shoulders, he asks, or rather, demands to know, "did they hurt you? or threaten you? give me their names. who were those fucking bastards?"

brows furrowing, you place your much smaller hands atop his. "relax. nothing happened," you whisper, so quiet only he can hear it, "they don't have the guts or power to hurt or threaten me. all they told me is to, i quote, refrain from calling you such terms of endearment again. and i was like, okay."

a small smile settles on your lips as you take his hands in yours and start rubbing circles into them. the boy feels a lot of his tension drain away. smile brightening (you too seem to have realized the effects of this gesture on him), you add, "plus, it's only four years. once we've both graduated, i can get back to calling you whatever i want to call. those old geezers can't direct me then."

"they still can't now..." gojo begins - then stops.

with that bootlicker eldest brother you have, those old rats can now.

you give him a tired smile, words unneeded to confirm that the both of you are indeed cursing the same set of people now.

you open your mouth to say something - funny probably, if the shine in your eyes was anything to go by - before a muted cough pops the bubble you two had unconsciously slipped into.

and with an entertained smirk at the boy, who immediately seperates your linked hands, shoko informs, "sensei's calling for you, gojo. the competition's about to begin."

acknowledging her with a brief nod, gojo returns his focus to you, looking for a sliver of fear or anxiety in your face - one he'll soothe away with a gentle smile and maybe, just maybe, a forehead kiss - only for all his dreams to be dashed in the dirt.

you're peering up at him, beaming excitedly.

"go, beat 'em, senpai," you cheer him with a fist pump. an amused snicker sounds somewhere behind. your zeal doesn't budge one bit. "go, kick those kyoto students' asses. i know you will win."

and win, your white-haired senpai does - nothing new it it.

and you too seem to be very happy at it - again nothing new in it.

'cause when do you not congratulate him with a blinding beam every time the boy is successful - be it at making those pretty origami stars the way you taught him to; or at defeating a weakass sorcerer in a lame match.

however what is new is the fact you've grown rather competitive - not that gojo minds it in the slightest, though. quite the contrary, in fact.

"aren't you being a little too confident?" you inquire, throwing him a peeved glance, "every opponent you face in the future won't be as weak as those two kyoto boys today. you sure you'll stay invincible then too?"

resting his chin on the chair he is straddling, the second-year smirks, "any way you can prove i won't, shortie?"

geto sends him a questioning look while ieiri looks away from them to the scenery outside, giving a long sigh. his other two kouhais, nanami and haibara, pause in their game of cards to look at you, confusedly.

gojo observes you ignore them, eyes trained on him only, lips curving slowly into a sharp grin. gods, can you get any lovelier than this?

"well..." you drawl, keeping your focus on him. a flush creeps up the sides of his neck, which he earnestly hopes goes overlooked by you.

it doesn't go overlooked by your too-serious classmate, though - gojo spots nanami's eyes widen for a mere instant before reverting to their typical indifference.

you continue, grin simmering to a daring smile now, "why don't you find it out on your own tomorrow? twelve noon. practice field. what do you think, senpai?"

the sorcerer pretends to take a moment to regard your proposal, then shrugs. "sure, why not? sounds good enough to me."

with a wordless nod, the boy watches you return to the video game you were playing with his best friend - then look back at him on your name being called. an eyebrow rises in silent question.

seeing that the cue, he asks, "but what will the loser have to do?"

the reply comes with a smirk, your eyes dropping to your game. "you can buy me the latest version of this game. that'll be fine, i guess."

gojo was wrong - said person realizes as he watches the orange-red glow seep in through the window and render you an ethereal glow.

your competitiveness isn't the only thing new to him this evening.

your ability to make him even more head over heels for you than the boy already is (an impossible feat, really, given the chains and locks guarding him within, apart from the layer of infinity without)...

...this is yet another new thing gojo learns about you, this evening.

|3/6| gather info on your crush.

"oh, you wouldn't want to be friends with her."

the comment cuts through the air with a noisy chuckle and a raucous chorus of giggles - gojo's knuckles grow white with the painfully tight grip he has on the glass of mocktail.

suguru shoots him a contrite face from the other side of the crowd, mouthing an apology with a helpless shrug. the boy looks away from his best friend to throw a glance at the two girls a few seats away.

a beat passes wherein shoko and utahime share a brief look, and the former speaks up, an odd edge to her voice as she leans forwards, a smirk directed at the boy. "and why wouldn't geto? she seems like a pretty nice girl to be friends with."

your cousin scoffs. gojo seriously wishes there wasn't a strict rule set by his father for the clan members of not meddling in the other clans' matters, to maintain an image of neutrality and amiability.

(it's not like he prefers not to break rules or is afraid of his father, the boy thinks grimly as he gulps the last sip of his mocktail and returns the glass to the table with a thud. it's far from being either of those.

it's just that with a small response from him in this matter, you will be dragged under the elders' scrutiny; your friendship with him too will be - and that's something he would never wish upon you. so the boy stays quiet, opting to-)

"what the fuck did you just say?"

the chitter-chatter dies down to a deathly silence in an instant.

rising from his seat, gojo stalks towards the boy sitting on the couch. from the background, he can hear few voices urge him to stop, to get back, with repeated 'satoru, no' and 'satoru, relax' - but the boy finds not a cell in his body wanting to heed those voices. marching right up to your cousin, who shoots him a pathetically fake smirk now, the boy repeats himself, "what. did. you. just. say."

the target of the query huffs a chuckle, drunk and stinking - and your friend realizes now just how much of a diluted description of him you gave him the other day. the guy isn't just some petty irritating relative of yours, he is a fucking bastard.

a fucking bastard who's going to get beaten into a pulp, if he doesn't choose his next words wisely.

another chuckle leaves him, before he gets up from his seat, a slight sway to the action as he sneers at gojo. now, were the circumstances different, the white-haired boy is sure such a brazen person would've impressed him, who is the strongest sorcerer there is, but not today.

not when you're the one who is the innocent undeserving recipient of such a remark as the one he utters next.

"i just said, my cousin's a freak who can read someone's mind without them knowing - and she does that all the time for her sick enjoyment. no one can ever trust that bitch."

a fist connects with the side of your cousin's face and before anyone can realize what's happening, the two boys are rolling on the floor in a brawl, gojo obviously with the upper hand as he lands blow after blow and yell after yell on the other.

a quiet voice whispers to his conscience, chiding his response to the situation to be too harsh, too cruel - but no sooner does it appear than it is stomped down and shoved away by images from the past.

images of a little girl crying, yelling, screaming, eyes squeezed shut, how everything's so loud, how everyone's so noisy, how everyone just can't seem to stop talking of her - in the shocked silence of the party hall.

images of being informed over the phone, his friend won't be coming to play today either - for a class or a function or a cold, he cares the least for - before overhearing later at dinner, it's the fifth day the girl's been comatose since her last treatment.

images of brash celebrations revelling in the discovery and return of a technique, long thought lost - the new messiah, they exclaim - while the said person looks at the elders with face steeped in what, the boy doesn't need his six eyes to know, is terror.

images of a girl, saying in a surprisingly void tone, how horrible, how terrible, how despicable a weapon they've made her into - sneaking into people's minds to steal the meaning of their lives away - before giving a suggestion, too smart, too sharp for a girl of ten; although-

"satoru!"

the singular word snaps the sorcerer's thoughts into two, making him move his irate gaze away from the bloodied face of the bitch to the door-

oh.

it's you.

you, standing in the school uniform, a bag slung over your shoulders.

you, eyes round and lips parted as you stare at the scene before.

you, who takes only a second before you rush forwards, moving him away from your cousin, worried gaze raking over his features instead of the bruised wailing mess of a relative left behind.

"'toru," the word escapes you in a whisper as you maneuver him into sitting on the couch.

another voice wafts over to him, a lot like suguru's, but he pays it no mind, wanting to focus on you and you only, while your fingers travel over his face, brush his bangs away, tuck them behind the shell of his ear, then finally come to a rest on the apple of his cheeks, the grazing of the thumb soothing a minor cut.

though the way your eyebrows furrow at it, emotions darting across your face a million a second, from confusion to concern to anger - gojo reckons, were anyone to see you now, they would think it ain't a tiny nick but a gaping wound.

the white-haired boy grasps your wrist in his fingers.

"i'm okay, shortie," the second-year reassures you in a whisper. you peer at him closely in turn for a beat longer, before a long sigh leaves you though the frown on your lips stays the same. he would've called you cute if not for the murderous intent rolling off you in waves...

gojo decides to call you hot now.

a seething gaze with a soft "what happened, 'toru?" reaches him next.

oh yes, gojo swoons inwardly, you're being so fucking hot.

nuzzling into the palm cradling his cheek, the boy smiles. "nothing you need to worry about."

"it's your cousin," a female voice butts in before a known pair of heads walk into his vision, one smoking a cigarette while the other looks at him then you, mildly stunned.

shoko continues, as laidback as ever (as if she too wasn't glowering then), "suguru there asked him something about you to which the pig replied with some nonsense, because of which satoru here jumped in to defend your honour." your eyes travel from her to him. a whoosh of air leaves the girl and she takes a long drag from a cigarette. "nothing very serious, to be honest..."

"but nothing too unserious either," utahime adds, which earns a small nod from her girlfriend, "if the asshole dares to lie about you once-"

"what's to say he won't again," you finish the sentence for her, a dark shadow looming over your face, then throw the culprit a harsh look. "and what shit did you spout, mr. resident douchebag of the clan?"

a corner of gojo's lips quirk up at the nickname you gave, then part in a grin at the reaction your cousin gave to that. embarassed, for sure, yet never going farther than glaring at you from those swollen eyes.

if you weren't standing here, caressing his face, your friend's certain, he would have gone to tear him a new one - the latter still scowling at you whilst intermittently yelping at the pain of his wounds.

a long sigh escapes you, visibly tired and annoyed.

"i know you can hear me just fine by that stink eye you're giving me, so fess up now - what the fuck were you telling about me?"

an absolute silence answers your question, and just when gojo thinks he might have to leave your warm cocoon to go beat your cousin up, again, suguru's voice sounds from beside, "he was talking about your CT."

"oh?" a brow rises. "and what about it?"

"apparently - and i quote," the long-haired boy adds with palms raised and faced forwards, at the scowl he shoots him, "you can read others' minds without their knowledge, and you do that always. for fun, your cousin claims."

you blink, and turn to your relative; a mask, gojo observes with a hint of melancholy, slipping over your features - not that the boy blames you, though. you need a mask - now, most of all times.

"you said that, aniki?" you inquire, the caressing hand over gojo's skin stilling with a slight tremor. he envelopes your hand in his; an action you respond to with a squeeze, continuing, "but why did you? after all that happened, after all that everyone in the family knows, why?"

a stubborn scoff sounds from the other end of the room; one of the six eyes twitches in its socket.

"i don't think you should ask this question, shortie," the second-year hums, pulling a nonplussed face from you. he grins, "you can simply read his mind, no? your aniki won't be forced to give a reply; your ask too will be answered. besides, this isn't gonna be the first time you're breaking into someone's mind, and, your cousin's not even gonna feel his mind being read - a painless procedure - isn't that right, aniki?"

"fuck no!!!!"

and bingo!

gojo watches you cast a long look at him, then back at your cousin, before a slow smile spreads on your features, the glint so dear to him making a comeback in your eyes.

"not a bad idea, senpai," you say, lifting your free hand and directing it at the culprit. a few gasps sound around you, soon followed by a few murmurs - your senpai watches them slide off your skin like water off a duck's back. you announce in a sing-song fashion, "well, here goes nothing~"

then stop at the anguished cry, your smile widening into a grin.

sweet and smug, like the cat who got the canary.

gojo feels three pairs of eyes look at his smirk, all at the same time - the boy lets them look. the two of you share dynamics, the nature of which none, except you two, can ever dream of comprehending.

wailing, your cousin rises and stumbles over to you, hands folded in a pleading gesture.

"please, no, no, no," he sobs, very nearly falling at your feet before you take a step backwards, disgust overtaking your grin, sending the boy reeling back. "i beg you, no. please don't kill me. i was just kidding; it was just a joke. i'm sorry, don't kill me."

"kill you?" you let out a shocked gasp, placing a hand over your chest, "i would never. i was just trying to read your mind, aniki. why on earth would that kill you? you won't even feel anything-"

"it's the binding vow, you bitch!!" the boy spits, interrupting you, "the one you took years back, 'cause you didn't want the higher-ups to use you as a spy again; giving up the element of secrecy of your CT to-"

your cousin pauses, the realization and the ensuing horror and regret dawning over his face; gojo presses him, sharing a smile with you.

"to?"

the answer arrives as a shuddered whisper - a whisper audible to all, however, thanks to the heavy silence in the room.

"to make it lethal on its victim instead; an attack none can stop, not even a special-grade."

the crash of a glass, or five, impacting with the ground sounds; you give a satisfied nod, smirking.

gojo runs a palm over your dishevelled hair, undoubtedly from driving with the windows down to this stupid meet of the teenagers from the jujutsu clans. you give him a smile, mouth opening to say something, but he doesn't let you. "don't thank me, stupid."

"okay," you acquiesce, a slight huff to your tone before it grows softer, "but can i at least say you were being very cool then? i'm impressed."

"who's impressed with whom?" a crass voice interrupts the moment before gojo can even form it entirely between the two of you.

three - nope, five (even your classmates are here, tch!) teasing smiles float into his vision; the second-year opens his mouth to throw back a retort - except you snatch the opportunity away from him.

"i'm impressed with gojo senpai- any problems, anyone?" you say, tilting your head to one side with the cutest little furrow in the midst of your brows. all five shake their heads, smiles widening before one of them falls on your next words.

"but the next time i see you, geto senpai, asking others what sort of a person i am - don't you dare deny it, you asked two of my friends too the same thing, they told me; god knows why you need my character certificate, though, and for whom; you're acting as if you've a sibling i wish to date and you wanna know everything about me before giving the green signal, but whatever it is, senpai-"

you heave a breath, a break from your tirade - while the remainder of the room's breathing stays suspended.

gojo glances away from you to find the attention of all the attendees fixed on you. he wraps an arm around your midsection and rests his chin on your shoulder. you lean the side of your head onto his.

"i promise i'll create problems for you, more if i see gojo senpai being dragged into the aftermath of your curiosity - okay?"

gojo watches his best friend look at you, terrified, for a second before turning to throw him a glare. the white-haired boy bites back a grin.

placing hands on his hips, suguru exclaims, "you know what, i tried to help but no one here is worthy of my assistance."

"no one asked you for this help, suguru," shoko interjects smoothly, "you were the one who insisted, something about this method being the most effective or something if they want to catch her attention-"

"whoa, whoa, whoa. who wants to catch my attention?" you inquire, cutting them two off. gojo's classmates stop and the blood flowing in his veins drops to a subzero as he cranes his neck to look at you.

you twist to look back at him. "is there someone who wants to catch my attention? do you know them?"

"i-uh-um," the boy stutters, mind scrambling for a reply - something, anything - before nanami interrupts, a small smile on his face, "yeah, there is someone, actually, and we all know him. geto senpai was just gathering some data on you as his wingman."

"oh," you mutter, gaze dropping to the ground, then lifting to gojo. the boy simply blinks back, which draws a frown from you in turn.

retrieving a pair of shades from your bag, you hand it to him and turn back to suguru, a barely-there smile on your lips.

"next time he wants some info on me, ask him to ask me directly. i'll appreciate it."

"noted, boss," the words escape gojo before the addressed can even reply, utterly unmoved by the five exasperated glares [honestly, it's four: haibara can never really glare at anyone] - the next step of the plan already whirring to life in the shades-donning boy's brain.

so, so giddy at the fact of being told of the golden key to your heart.

|4/6| gather info from your crush.

"the moon is beautiful, isn't it?"

"so are you."

a long minute passes between gojo and you, gazes fixed on the other person and only them, before you lick your chapped lips - the boy's attention instantly going to that hynotic motion of your tongue...

and you pinch his arm.

"ow shortie!!!! what the fuck was that for!?!?" the boy yells, massaging the sore spot on his arm, before out of nowhere, the red signal glows green and he has to shift his focus to the steering wheel.

you toss him a mad scowl from the passenger's seat, one he catches effortlessly, winking, when an observation crashes upon him and he coos. "aww, did my itty-bitty-shortie-baby just get flustered by me? aww, is she blushing? aww, she's so cute!!!"

"i asked you to help me learn how to confess, gojo," you grumble with a glare at him, "not make fun of me."

your co-passenger makes an affronted face at your words, although, internally, he is beside himself. and to be honest, how can he not?

you're in the same car as him, on a three hour long drive from tokyo to nikko, exchanging declarations of love with one another while the boy's (spare) shades slide down the bridge of your nose and he hums along to the songs you choose on the stereo... if a few facts are being ignored (like the one where this is your mission and the two of you are in your uniforms), the second-year can totally imagine the two of you going on a weekend getaway as a couple now.

a soft smile settles on his lips, as he sneaks a glance of you from the corner of his eyes. "i wasn't trying to make fun of ya, shortie," he says, "i was just responding to your statement."

"but that directly?" you ask, shock and embarrassment flooding your face. your friend stifles a chuckle. "i commented on the moon being beautiful. you should've said something like 'it is, isn't it?' - but no, you went and replied, 'so are you'. my admirer will never be so direct with me; why don't you try to understand that simple fact?"

there are a few days when gojo is really divided between wanting to flick your forehead hard and wanting to kiss you senseless.

today seems to be one such glorious day.

swerving the car onto a stop by the side of the road, he lets his head fall onto the steering wheel and lifts it to lock his eyes with yours.

"and what makes you think your admirer won't be a direct guy?"

"the fact the guy couldn't even show his face to me once, and did not even want to share his contact details with me, despite me pestering him via suguru and nanami, for ages now."

okay, ouch, that one's on him.

yet, never being the one to accept defeat, he throws back, "and what if he wants to build up some mystery before your first meet? you love mysteries, don't you? the guy likes you; he must be trying to use that knowledge to confess to you."

"i like only murder mysteries, 'toru," your deadpan response arrives in a beat, which then evolves into curiosity when you ask, "but how do you know so much about these things? how many relationships have you been in, 'toru?"

it's gojo's turn to grow embarrassed now. hand reaching out to fiddle with the bracelet on your wrist, he answers, "zero."

"hey, don't be embarrassed," he watches you shoot him a grin. a tiny smile is all he manages to return while you continue, "i too have never been in a relationship. anyone you ever confessed to?"

"isn't that evident from my previous answer?"

"nope! you might've gotten rejected; who knows~"

the grin on your lips widens; gojo looks at it for once before dropping his gaze. under the interplay of the light and shadow from the leaves of the tree, there appears to be something different about you - the sorcerer can't really pinpoint what it is but he knows there is, and he doesn't want to dwell on it - lest he loses his self-control.

"i have never confessed to anyone, and whatever confessions i have received, i've either ignored or rejected them all."

"ooh, same!" your excited voice ringing within the confines of the car, you lift his palm to meet yours in a hi-five. gojo lets you do so - before you place it between your two palms and clasp it, a sharp gasp drawn from him at the action. you shoot him a concerned look.

"your hand's freezing cold, 'toru? you okay?"

"yeah, yeah, i'm fine," the boy mumbles, moving his hand away from your comforting warmth - an action he doesn't want to do but has to, for the sake of propriety. something happening out of sheer impulse isn't how he wants to start his story with you - you don't deserve that.

"um, okay," you mutter, then inquire, timid and awkward, "i've one last question on your love life... can i ask that? you can totally ask me to stop though if you're feeling uncomfortable."

"ask away," the boy answers with a smile, he can see, is tense in the mirror as he restarts the car and returns it to the road. a long second passes before you ask, "have you ever liked anyone, 'toru?"

"yeah... there's one girl. i love her."

"oh."

the monosyllabic answer sends a torsion through his chest and gojo twists towards you - only to find a cryptic smile resting on your lips.

discarding your shoes, you fold your knees upto your chest and rest your head atop them, facing him. your senpai is really thankful a soft song comes onto the stereo next, for were it not so, he's certain your soft question would have gone unheard.

"how does your first love feel? beautiful, right? the way it's in books, songs and movies... isn't it?"

gojo takes a moment to mull over your query.

it is... yet it isn't.

the flutters in his heart when you skip past him in the corridors with a beam; the butterflies in his stomach when you plop on the chair next to him in the cafeteria; the dizziness in his head when your face is too close to his; the utterly-unplatonic thoughts of you plaguing him, day and night, dusk and dawn...

the fictional works sure have got this aspect of love right.

but they aren't right in so many other aspects of it.

falling in love with you isn't love-on-first-crash nor is it from a magical transformation in one of you nor is it after ages and ages of ignorance and denial and the final mind-numbing feeling that oh shit! you're the one for him; always have been; the girls with whom he's been till now are mere mirages of you; but it's too late now... you're moving abroad on a flight in two hours, with a boyfriend who's far better than him.

no.

the goggles-wearing sorcerer's catching feelings for you is way more realistic and easier to digest than that.

the two of you are friends, friends, friends - until the morning the two of you are munching on an ice cream tub, and with a casual glance at you, the boy muses what he feels for you is weird, not like his feelings for his other friends - and after a month's worth research, reaches the conclusion of him being in love with you.

quick. direct. smart.

just like the heir of the gojo clan himself.

a small smile lining his lips on this short trip down the memory lane, your senpai hums, "it's complicated. you'll understand when you have your first love."

a soft sigh is the only response you give and gojo reaches over to give a small knock to the side of your head. "don't overthink, shortie," the boy says in a fond tone, a feeling which expands within himself at the smile you offer him, "everything's gonna be okay; i'll personally make sure it is."

"oh, yeah?" a brow rises while your eyes crinkle in a cheeky grin. "and how exactly do you plan on doing that? you gonna have a serious talk with my admirer or something, before our first date?"

if talks in the mirror over the bathroom sink counts, the white-haired boy has had countless discussions so far - but he doesn't tell you that - choosing to return your question with a question of his own.

one which has been pestering him for a while now.

"but, shortie... why the hell are you practising-"

"to confess now?" stealing his words from the tip of his tongue, gojo watches you let out a long tired exhale, then slump back in your seat, a hint of a smile on your lips. flying strands of your hair, from the wind rushing in through the open window, form a halo around your head-

your friend thinks you are an angel descended from above, no matter how you look.

a titter breaks his enraptured gaze on you, and he blinks, finding you with a tiny curve of your lips. you continue, "i wanna stay prepared. if not for this date, then another. if not for this guy, then another. but the thing is, i wanna stay prepared. for love and for everything that comes with it - besides..." your smile grows bashful, an emotion gojo instantly realizes is impossible for him to get tired of seeing on you; you shrug.

"the heart does what it wants, does it not?"

really??

the young sorcerer looks away from you for a beat, letting his gaze travel over the rows of trees dotting the increasingly mountainous terrain, then looks back at you.

the two of you are awfully close to the destination of your trip.

removing a hand from the wheel and reaching it out to intertwine his fingers with yours, the boy asks, "wanna go visit that patisserie i was talking of the other day after this mission? i've heard the sweets there are worth dying for."

"but won't it be late evening by the time our job's done?" you ask back with a frown, "and we also have to return to the school... why don't-"

"it's a full moon tonight, shortie," gojo interjects you with a soft little smile. you stare befuddled at him for a while, before the bulb lights to life in your brain - an event bringing a semblance of relief to the boy - and you laugh.

"oh, oh, oh!" you exclaim, waggling your eyebrows, "i know exactly what you're going to do. you're gonna create a romantic atmosphere to teach me how to confess, aren't you? method teaching - eh, 'toru?"

a chuckle is what gojo decides to offer to your buzzing curiosity, until later this evening.

"i'll let my heart do what it wants to do."

|5/6| splurge on gifts.

"and what can this be?"

the silver of the bracelet glints, the tiny sapphires in its rim adding a sparkling effect as you show it to gojo. the boy drags his gaze from it to you, lips pressing into a line as he takes in the way you're looking at him.

two months back, if someone even merely insinuated at the fact you might be growing distant from him, he wouldn't have thought once before retaliating with a mean word or hit.

and, to be just, why on earth would he not?

yes, the 'date' he had proposed to take you on post mission remained just a proposal - many thanks to the old geezers and their knack for providing severely understated mission details [bitter sarcasm wholly intended] - but that didn't drive a wedge between you both; quite the opposite, in fact.

two months back, he found you sobbing at his bedside in the school infirmary, lips pressing kisses to his bruised knuckles time and again, while you kept mumbling on how you should've been more wary and cognizant of your surroundings, how he shouldn't have switched his infinity off to guard you from the caving roof and how you would buy him a milion sweets if he promised to not be reckless, but wouldn't hesitate to kill him with your CT if he broke the promise even once.

lovingly overprotective in an irresistibly cute way - that's exactly how you grew to be around gojo in the days he was healing, in the latter's eyes. suguru and shoko's comments too grew less teasing and more encouraging with time then - something which made him think, the feelings in his being might not be as one-sided as he tends to believe at times.

something which made him think, there might not be a day he has to imagine without your radiant grin directed at him, for him, because of him.

yet, now... as he regards you with utmost attention...

the sorcerer can't help but deem the unimaginable to have occurred.

face grim, eyes dull, lips puckered into a scowl, every fucking time you've come across him since your return to school from your home...

it doesn't really take a genius to gather you don't really want to be in his vicinity - a realisation which leads to your best friend of a decade and a few years to shower a torrent of gifts on you.

under the impression, that's what will return your keen undivided gaze to him - an impression, he watches, being tainted wrong with every other second that passes under the fading daylight.

you return the bracelet to its box and place it in the bag, one the boy knows contains the other gifts he had left at your doorstep or sent via shoko or haibara to you, the past month - and one you intend to give him back - 'cause for what else could you have asked to meet him at the training grounds this evening, carrying the bag, if not this?

wishing, not for the first time, for his six eyes to be able to glean your current state of mind, he asks, scooting slowly, deliberately to your seated form on the bench, "did you not like it, shor-"

"please don't call me that."

the grin slowly unfurling on gojo's lips stutters, then vanishes in the heat of the fury of your eyes. he watches your gaze roam over his face once before skittering away. your voice grows a mild tremor, "please don't call me that. i don't want to hear that nickname ever again."

the soda can nearly slips from between his fingers onto the grass below before he grasps it again, firmer this time, and tosses it upside down to empty it into his mouth. it's a brand you had introduced him to, gojo reminisces, on a day just like this... grins and squeals as you jumped in front of the vending machine, so, so joyed that it had your favourite drink.

soon after, it became the white-haired boy's favourite drink too - but no longer now. not when the fruity tang of the liquid, which endeared it to you as you claimed, tastes like the metallic clang of blood to him.

now, many might call gojo overdramatic here - you've asked him not to call you that countless times now, for fuck's sake - but many don't know you the way your friend does. in horrifying contrast to before, a note of revulsion exists in your words.

undisguised disgust paired with loathing.

sharp enough to pierce infinity, past skin, muscles, ribs and layers of tissues and chains, into that stupid organ strumming melancholic rhythms now, your name bleeding raw from its walls.

superfluous, some might scoff - but they'll have never known there's a dark side to love, the one gojo's traversing now. though... the young sorcerer muses, finishing the drink and sending it into the trash can with a flick of his cursed energy, they'll never have known you. they'll never have known the degree to which the boy adores you, either.

a strong whoosh of wind hits the two of you, carrying the smell of wet earth with it. a sign of the arrival of your favourite season, your friend absently notes as he looks back at you.

the tip of your nose appears flushed red.

"and may i know why?"

shock brims your gaze at the soft question. gojo watches you cough up a strained chuckle. "i knew you to be more assertive. demanding. never thought you could request for an explanation... what changed, 'to-" you still for a beat, then continue, burning another bridge, same as the boy feared an instant too early, "i mean, gojo-senpai?"

"you're the best person to answer that," the mentioned person replies with lips forming a gentle curve. yes, the limitless user's always been one hell of a self-assured person - it comes free with the package of receiving god-like treatment by most from before you can crawl - but there exist times when all that - the fight, the zeal, the energy - every one of those just ebbs away from his body, rendering him the hapless spectator, and victim, to the car crash.

except a car crash might hurt less than the careless sneer you shoot his way, coupled with an eye roll. you never gave him such a look in the past, before you went back home for the vacation. just what-

"i think you know why i called you here, yeah?" you ask, picking the bag up and pushing it towards him. the things inside it rattle; the boy wonders if you even went through those two books he sent you. they were from the series you had babbled, ranted and gushed to him on for hours on end on numerous occasions, once upon a time.

gojo nods briefly, though doesn't spare it even a glance. it doesn't go past your notice, he notes, given the way your eyes jump from him to his gifts, then to your fiddling fingers. "well, that's one box ticked off," you say, "and as for the other-"

"i know that too; you need not say every fucking thing out loud," your senpai cuts you off with a mirthless inflection to his tone, eyes falling down onto his sneakers. it was a gift from you on his last-

bloody hell, why does everything have to be a sore reminder of you?

"not saying it out loud doesn't make it any less real," your quiet voice tears through his thought, and he looks up. hoping, desperately so, a tender smile is waiting on your features, reserved for him - only to see every hope of his get dashed into the dirt by your frown.

his best friend was right. gojo's pathetically down for you.

a thunder rumbles in the distance.

you continue, "but since you've asked me not to, i guess i won't. that's the least i can do-"

"but what went wrong?" the question hurtles past the confines of his mouth into the stormy air. and, for once, gojo decides not to conceal the moisture in his eyes behind his shades. removing the eyewear, he moves to sit right beside you, approaching to take your hand in his.

you jerk away from him.

as if you were fire and he, water.

as if you were sun and he, non-luminous scarred moon threatening to eclipse your joy.

the white-haired boy retracts his hand away. you glance at him once before averting your gaze away. he watches you clench your hands in a tight fist. "nothing was wrong, senpai," you mumble; gojo bites his lower lip to keep it from wobbling, "but there's always something tiny wrong in everything going right, ya know? i just feel we outgrew our phase of being friends."

the growl of thunder sounds closer this time. a drop of water lands on his thigh - the sorcerer doesn't bother to know if it is his eyes or those clouds above which finally welled over. voice thickening and breaking, a scoff leaves him, "you know, as well as me, that's the lamest excuse ever. and you called us being friends, right?" you take a moment then nod weakly. a pained sigh leaves him, "then what happened to being open with each other, hm? i thought we kept no secrets from each other."

the boy watches you keep your gaze stubbornly trained on the grass beneath. something within him breaks.

"c'mon, don't play dumb," gojo urges, plopping down onto the object of your attention, just so he can have a better view of your face. you face away with a frown. he prompts you again, hints of helplessness sneaking in between his words, "c'mon, shortie. don't look away with the shitty reason of us outgrowing our phase of friendship. we were - no, are the closest. you know, right? that you can tell me any-"

"not everything's meant to remain the same always, senpai!" the loud exclamation leaves your mouth. gojo stills and so do you. his eyes fall on the way you wring your hands once before stuffing them into your hoodie's pockets.

it isn't oversized on you, the realisation clicks into place in his mind.

you let out an exhale through your mouth, then pin him down with eyes teeming with what seems like weary distaste.

"can you please get up? you're creating an unnecessary scene right now."

if your words weren't enough, it's the way you utter them that leaves cracks and fissures in him. one more blow, and the boy's sure he'll be blown away into smithereens - an outcome he's trying to avoid [but knows, can't; every piece of armour he dons turns flimsy before you].

"is it 'cause you tended to my injuries then?" he asks. your lips strain into a line. casting him a sideways glance, you shake your head, "i'm many things but a liar ain't in the list, senpai. when i cared for you, it was from my heart. when i no longer wanna associate with you-"

a dark shadow falls over your features. rising from the bench, you shift your gaze skywards and back on him, "it'll rain pretty soon. you should get back inside."

there's something between summer evenings and you and him, gojo muses as he peers up at you.

it was a summer evening when you first came to visit the boy at this school.

it is a summer evening when you're turning your back on him in this same old school.

with the glaring exception of there being the warmth of your form beside him then versus the gnawing chill you're leaving behind now.

"you never completed your sentence," gojo points out, whispering.

[too loud and the sorcerer fears, the last interaction between the two of you will end as a horrid yelling match. besides, you like things with happy endings, don't you? he'll be sure to give you your happy ending as the last gift.]

you send a restrained twitch of lips his way. "i remember being asked not to say every fucking thing out loud, senpai."

a shaky smile is the only thing he finds he can muster in return, at the moment.

"suguru said you're leaving for your home tonight again," the student says, getting up from the ground and moving closer to, yet too far a distance from you. "don't drive with the windows down, okay? the weather's bad, you might catch a cold."

a muscle in your jaw twitches. the valley between your brows furrows.

gojo lets his smile widen a bit. so shallow. so hollow.

"don't worry," he says, "i'm taking this as seriously as you want me to. it's just that..." trailing off, the boy takes a step away. your feet move an inch towards him before you immediately withdraw them. a small mimicry of a laugh leaving him, gojo fixates his gaze on the iridescent colour of your irises.

"i've always seen you as someone way more than a mere childhood friend, y'know? and no matter what you say or do, i can never and will never stop seeing you the same way. i love you that much, short- oh! sorry, i'm not supposed to call you that, am i?."

a beat passes, then another, and another.

your response comes out as a garbled mess of letters and tears. "you're the worst person ever, 'toru. i hate you."

and with that and not another glance wasted anywhere, you whirl on your feet and dash back to the school.

leaving behind the echo of your words ringing in gojo's ears, louder than the thunder of the lightning crashing on a tree a little away.

|6/6| this isn't really a way. if you're at this step, just fuckin' stop and retreat. your crush won't ever notice you – you sad, pathetic loser.

"is that what you really think?"

gojo wonders if a momentous occasion as the one now deserves one brawl thrown into it or not. it won't be anything much; just dumping a bowl of soup down suguru's shirt and/or landing a pretty solid kick to his stomach and/or-

"careful, senpai or you might've to go home, bloody and beaten," the most monotone voice ever possible crashes into his thoughts in the worst possible way. a snicker, far too familiar, joins in. "yeah, nanami's right. besides, we haven't even clicked a pic yet. you wouldn't want to wear a black eye in it, would you?"

clinking his glass with shoko's, the white-haired watches suguru gulp down a shot of tequila, then give a mighty firm shake of his head. "no, of-fucking-course not. today is our dearest kouhai's important day; i don't wanna get involved in any drama now; though..." trailing off, the black-haired boy shoots gojo an awfully obvious side-glance before a look shared with the others.

the boy lets his eyes wander away from them. an abominably sharp acrylic nail pokes him in the cheek. gojo exhales a sigh, so exhausted.

were it just a day, the boy's certain to the hell and back, that he would have whipped up a snarky insult to the stink-eye aimed his way. the boy would have slapped his drunk classmate's hand away, calling her sense of fashion the worst names possible.

gojo, however, decides to resort to neither today. he decides to settle for a sigh - the second in the last minute, longer and wearier than the one before - and rests his face into the hollow of his palms, screwing eyes shut.

an exasperated grumble - or two, maybe - permeates the air.

"gojo senpai," the words ring out in a tone far too soft and worried. he muses he doesn't need to look to see the sympathetic frown haibara must be wearing, nor the varying degrees of pity and concern etched into the others' features. a warm hand squeezes his shoulder slightly.

haibara continues, "geto senpai is not entirely wrong, y'know? yes, of course, implying you might kick up drama is sorta wrong, i admit so. but otherwise... you could've tried to, i don't know, somehow find out the reason behind her sudden distance from you?"

opening his eyes, gojo twists to face his kouhai, ready to interrupt him, but stops at the earnestness in his gaze. "turning into a recluse or moping around isn't gonna solve anything, senpai. it's been more than a month since then and from what little i've seen, i can say it's eating the both of you alive. you, way more than her. so, go, speak with her," he urges him with a smile, "the others are not very well at showing their emotions but trust me when i say, we all are worried for you both, senpai."

the white-haired boy drags his gaze away from the speaker. suguru gives him a smile, shoko pokes him in the cheek again, nanami offers a fleeting impression of something smiley before looking away with a grimace.

gojo's eyes flit back to the encouraging boy before.

"okay," the upperclassman relents with a sigh, which instantly grows into a frown the moment every piece clicks into place in his mind and the goggles-wearing boy swears his heart skips a beat, "but what did you say about seeing shortie and know-"

stopping in the middle of the question, the boy stiffens.

three glasses shatter on impact with the floor, freed from the waiter's grasp, soon followed by two maids screeching your name in the most terror-struck voice ever manageable. gojo's six eyes provide him with enough details as always; albeit it seems miles from enough now, the way it always is in your case, further deepening the sorcerer's need to physically see you once; to soak in the brilliance of your gaze and the sweetness of the curve of your lips once.

who knows if he'll ever see you again from as close as- okay, no, wait-

"did you just run all the way here-"

"i love you."

"-in your heels?"

everything falls silent the moment the last word leaves gojo's lips and a shuddered breath escapes him into the bittersweet fragrance of the citrus perfume he remembers you using. in a lilac dress with a messy hairstyle and diamond studs, the youngest and newest leader of your clan stands before him, cheeks stretched in a wide grin.

whirling his seat round completely, the boy gives you one long look, only to earn a hauntingly soft look in return.

you smile.

"i know you might see me as the most inconsistent, lying, crazy bitch at best or as the most opportunistic bitch ever, trying to seduce you, for lack of a better term, to satisfy her craving for power, at worst; but no matter how you see me, how others see me, how i see myself - i'm in love with you, that's one thing which won't change no matter what."

you pause.

and as he watches you catch your breath after that long as hell sentence para, the first realisation which crashes on gojo's otherwise numb brain is: you too haven't changed.

not. one. bit.

from the way you stick to your minimal makeup look; to the way you speak sans any break and curse yourself as you confess to something (you think you did) wrong; to the way your gaze remains fixed on him, acutely trained on even the mildest twitch of his facial muscles... one whole month has passed since that stormy evening yet you're still the same you.

a little sweet. a little sour. a whole lot perfect-

who loves him-

who loves him-

you. love. him. too.

for the first time in an apparent eternity, gojo feels his lips lift in a free smile. although the chuckle leaving him sounds laden with moisture and emotions.

"i'll die before calling you a seductress, shortie," the boy says, "you're way too dumb and naive for that." your eyes move to the girl drinking beside him for a second, before settling back on him, a light sheen in them. smile widening yet growing a tender quality, he goes on to say, "and i know you aren't a liar; but regarding the inconsistent claim... i think an explanation's long overdue, isn't it?"

you huff a mild chuckle. stuffing your hands into your dress pockets, your senpai watches you draw in a long breath before letting it out in a whoosh, a tiny smile nestling in the corner of your lips. you begin.

"you know, right, my eldest brother was the clan leader before me? y'know, after my father just decided, one fine day, he's growing old and so he wants to retire somewhere peaceful now, with my mom, leaving me in the care of takeshi nii-chan and his wife?"

four pairs of eyes switch to him in silent query. ignoring them, gojo nods. it isn't everyday you speak so openly of your family, especially this topic concerning them.

considering how painful and sore it is for you.

how big of an escapist your father is.

how big of an asshole your brother is.

how utterly difficult it is for you to navigate in this household daily.

your sigh interrupting his thoughts, he hears you continue, "well, all was going well until it was not; and i decided i'd already spent too much time being a spectator to my life and future keeping getting kicked around like a fucking soccer ball."

few gasps sound in the vicinity, undoubtedly at you cussing. nanami's smooth voice cuts in through their shocked surprise, and through the bubble, gojo was under the impression, he and you had slipped into.

judging from the tiny start you give, the white-haired boy surmises you too must have felt the same.

your classmate's solemn voice sounds in the hush, though traces of a hesitation can still be found in it when he asks, "they... didn't arrange a wedding for you in the month you were here... did they?"

"they did," you're quick to answer, voice growing a steely quality, "the higher-ups and my brother decided to get me engaged to-"

"to whom?"

gojo's lips quirk up at the way you roll your eyes at suguru's impatient question, then look at him, a tired smile creeping onto your features. but, hey! is that a tinge of shyness on your face that the boy can see?

you point your chin at him. "to 'toru, who else?"

the second (or maybe, the third) bout of silence would have followed this statement of yours too - if not for the cackling girl beside gojo. the latter makes no effort to conceal his irritation, shooting the most vicious glare ever; shoko simply raises her glass, as if in a toast, then tosses you a smirk.

"you love him, still you don't wanna get hitched with him? not very clever of you, yeah?"

"yeah," haibara chips in, albeit much less teasing and more a worried timbre than shoko, the shades-wearing boy deems. the other student continues, brows creasing together, "plus, i doubt gojo senpai saying no to the proposal. so, why didn't you go ahead with it?"

your head tilts to one side. your lips twitch in a knowing fashion.

"you just said the reasons yourself, yu-kun."

years later, if someone asks gojo when's the time he realised he's in love with you, too deep and too far gone to ever consider anyone but you by his side, as his other and undoubtedly better half, the sorcerer will grin the goofiest grin ever and sigh the dreamiest sigh ever, and say, "every day."

which is the truth, really-

yet, from those 'every day'-s, there exist few such days, whom the six-eyes user's brain subconsciously frames in a golden frame and places on a dust-free pedestal.

for instance, today.

a day your senpai dreaded to begin by leaving the comfort of his bed, knowing the person whose ascension to the metaphorical throne he has been invited to witness today, blood chilling and condensing into tears on his lashes as memories from long ago and not-so-long-ago hurtle into his brain.

only to morph, by evening, into the day the boy realises: love isn't just what made him switch his infinity off and pull you under him, a shield to protect you from the crumbling roof, forgetting everything except your safety and life; but love is also what made you push him and the emotions within yourself away.

forgetting everything - the boy knows from knowing you these many years - except your very evident aim of shielding him from the vicious schemes of those responsible for this damned jujutsu hierarchy.

no matter how easy and rewarding the other path would've been for you.

no matter how difficult and painful this current path must've been for you.

just 'cause you love him.

just 'cause you know, at the end of it all, he's going to be safe, away from the manipulating hands of the higher-ups - away from even the slimmest chance of experiencing a shred of the ordeals you suffered as a child, losing your free will and living as a mere puppet, subject to those old geezers' whims and fancies.

the two of you are not-too-near to the threshold of adulthood; still, through those unsure lenses of transition between immaturity and maturity, gojo feels sure this very moment that his eyes are viewing now - of watching his feelings being reciprocated not only in words (which, he knows, are true; your body language is as familiar to him as the back of his hand) but also in actions - so pure, so selfless, so utterly... loving-

the boy reckons his six eyes have never landed on a sight so ethereal and just so good, that it makes his heart want to burst right out of his chest.

drinking in the way you're regarding him, fingers fidgeting and teeth gnawing on your lower lip, gojo cracks a smile.

your restlessness abates a little.

"you became the clan leader just to make sure this story remains ours and only ours, didn't you?"

you take a moment before answering with a big nod.

"yeah," you say, "but that doesn't mean you need to be grateful to me or anything of the sort. you can give me any answer you want to give. you can also give me no answer, now or ever, if that's what you really want to do. just know that i love you, and that your answer can never really put a dent in it, no matter what it is."

"no matter what it is?" your senpai echoes your words back to you. a small nod is what you send in reply; yet it seems to be more than the quantity of oil required to set the cogs of gojo's brain whirring to life and mischief. eyes narrowing, he asks, "not even if my response is an 'i love you too, shortie', hm?"

the clock in the room ticks thrice.

two known voices mutter curses behind him.

five maids of yours scurry out the door, whispering excitedly.

you narrow your eyes back at him.

"i asked you to not feel pressured, didn't i? tell me what you want to say, 'toru," you say; his name in your mouth sounds sweeter than the sweetest mochi the boy's ever tasted, "and not those stuff you think i want to hear you say."

your statement draws an amused chortle from gojo. "did you really forget what i told you last that day, shortie? or did you not again not understand what i was telling you then?"

"what's there to not understand in that!?" your indignant reply arrives without missing a beat, "you said you've always seen me as way more than a childhood friend: true 'cause we're best friends. then- oh yeah," with a click of your fingers, you add, face steeped in contemplation, "you also said- oh."

"yep, oh," gojo nods his head in an exaggerated fashion, revelling in the way you're looking at him right now, eyes round as saucers and cheeks ruddy as the expensive wine being served now.

you still seem so beautiful to him.

it takes a pinch more than a while before you breathe out a breathless giggle. straightening in his seat, gojo feels his cheeks hurt a bit from the wide smile digging indents into them.

"you really lo-"

"ma'am, the guests for the evening party will be here very soon. you should get ready now," one of your maids interrupts you. the sorcerer feels his smile shrivel a little. you're barely back with him; yet you'll be stolen away from him-

"aw, is it so?" your entertained query cuts in through his thoughts. the boy looks up from his shoes his gaze had moved to before, to you, an awfully fake apologetic smile lighting up your face.

gods, why do you look so fucking kissable when you're like this?

"you know what, the people invited aren't really the kind i want to talk to and ruin my mood. besides, i've already met 'my' guests, so..." the boy watches you inch closer to him slowly as you trail off; your maid's eyes narrow before widening. you grin. "toodles, mrs. matsui!"

that and the salute you throw at everyone in the room are the last two memories clear in gojo's mind, before everything turns into a mush of everything yet nothing in the end.

well, barring a few exceptions, of course.

your contagious chortles, for instance, while you both dash down the hallways of your mansion; or your delighted gasp when he wraps his arms round you and warps to that patisserie in nikko; or your million-watt-bright beam to him, as you slap the latter's sneaky hands away from stealing a bite from your plate, whilst the latter declares this to be where you two will celebrate the future milestones; or the-

"ieiri senpai was right, y'know?" your tired voice cuts in through your senpai's rather-muddled recollections. the latter tears his gaze away from the inky-black night sky dotted by the twinkling lights of tokyo, to your drowsy form resting her head on his chest, his one arm tight around your shoulders, while the other rests behind his head on the cold hood of the car.

moving to brush the strands of hair away from your forehead, the boy presses a kiss to the tip of your nose, earning a sweet kiss to his chin in return, and hums, "not really the person i wanna chat about right now with my girlfriend..." you suddenly twist your body towards him, throwing an arm over his stomach and nuzzling into his neck; making a mental note to address you as that more often, he sighs. "but carry on, i guess. you won't be you if you can't gush about that damn shoko every third sentence or something."

planting your lips to his jaw for a mere second, gojo watches you pull away an inch from him, grinning. "senpai said you'll be the first one to confess but i'll be the one who makes things official and public and all that shit," you explain, then gasp, grin turning wider.

"oh my god," you mutter, "geto senpai and iori senpai are gonna lose so much money to her. them two never thought you could ever say 'i love you' to me, did you know that? oh my god... i kind of feel bad for those two."

the gleeful expression you're wearing tells your boyfriend otherwise - choosing to ignore it, he throws you a smirk. "well, i don't. those two people shouldn't have doubted me. i'm the one and only gojo satoru," he proclaims, puffing his chest out a bit, "of course, I'll be successful in my mission of getting you to notice my love for you."

"nah, i don't think so," you shake your head the very next instant. lips into the most adoring curve he's ever seen on you - something which steals his retort away from him and makes him want to pinch his arm hard, to see if he's dreaming or not - you hum.

"you could confess your love to me, not 'cause you're gojo satoru. but because you're my 'toru and i'm your shortie... isn't it so?"

gojo thinks back to the time utilised in carefully drafting and finalizing the steps via which he can catch your eye, only to watch them not go the way planned.

gojo looks back to you, only to find your eyes trained on him, glitters of love in them unbelievably similar to those loud crackers bursting in his chest right now.

the young sorcerer runs a reverent finger down the side of your face.

"yeah, it is because you're my shortie and i'm your 'toru, sweetness," he whispers, "and we'll always stay this way, yeah?"

you reply by engraving the shape of your smile into his.

AND MY MAGNUM OPUS IS OVER, BESTIES!!! 🥳🥳😊

tysm once again for always showing me sm love and support, y'all 🥹🥹🥹 i cherish each and every one of u so so SO MUCH - plesae keep supporting me and my works the same way in the future too, my loves 🥹🥹❤️

masterlist

[stygiansun-totaleclipse]

Kieran doesn't get homoerotically pinned to the wall nearly enough so get cracking

BITCH this has rewired my brain. I need atleast three chances to do this to them at fucking least

How would the ROs react to an MC who is normally very chill and easy going and doesn't let themself get pissed (cause they're kind of scared of who they become when they get angry) suddenly snaps with X shit the RO is pulling (dealers choice) and obviously won't actually do anything to them so they (homoeroticaly) pin them to the wall to make sure they know that despite appearances their patience is decidedly not infinite

Crushing phase please, and they have no idea that mc feels the same or might feel the same?

(sorry if it's too specific, do feel free to simplify naturally, I just had to mention I got possessed by this specific idea)

(In reference to this ask) Answered assuming this happens during a heated argument

ദ്ദി ˉ͈̀꒳ˉ͈́ )✧

Kieran: Well. U-um. They’ve read about this but nothing prepared them for it happening to them. (¬////¬) They’re still tense and glowering from the argument but the tips of their ears are starting to burn. Their glare only very traitorously flickers to MCs lips just once ☝️and honestly they aren’t even sure what they want or expect to happen here—not that they should expect anything to happen wtf are they thinking. If mc continues the argument they’ll be very quiet and brooding or if mc stays silent but doesn’t make a move, they’ll eventually shove mc off of them and storm off.

Nihm: 😳🫣🫣 They’ll forget what they were arguing about and stutter and laugh nervously as they start to flush and tug at their collar cuz wow it’s suddenly really hot in here huh and they’re looking anywhere but at mc as they turn their head away and oh haha there’s your arm blocking any escape, wow they really are boxed in here huh. 😳 If mc only presses closer…welp 🤷‍♀️ You gotta be careful with the poor thing—if you fluster them too hard they’re going to completely short circuit and dissociate from life.

Lilith/Lucien: Erm….any frustration/anger they felt has evaporated and they are now growing very rapidly red in the face and are fidgeting and attempting to hide beneath their bangs. While usually they’d have held their own in an argument or perpetuated it to rile mc up or gotten very smug about being pinned, this was a genuine argument and they didn’t expect mc to do that. They’ll grow quiet and mumble halfhearted replies—anything to get this over with quickly before mc notices their arousal. They need to go, um, take care of something. (,,¬﹏¬,,)

Samira: Takes a moment for her to really register through her anger what mc just did and their current positions—when it does click she really can’t focus enough to be angry and continue the argument and will fall into a tense silence, her breath held and her heart racing like a rabbit (and again she wonders for the thousandth time if mc can feel it even without being linked through their sigils), as she waits for what mc will do. She really shouldn’t be in this position with mc but being this close is very mesmerizing bc she usually isn’t so close she can make out all the colors in MCs irises and if mc made a move she really doesn’t think she’d be able to resist at all.

Aurynn: surprised at first and can only blink as he takes in this change in position and also that mc really just pulled a move like this bc he didn’t think they had it in them—good for them 👍Assuming the argument isn’t super serious, he’ll forget his anger and immediately slip into insufferable flirt/tease mode. Really just relaxes into the wall and gets very smug and pretends to fawn, like ooh you have me pinned, now what 😏. Has to very deliberately point out the move mc just pulled and even feather his hand over MCs chest to tug them closer as they start to back away in surprise. If mc only gets flustered he’ll have to keep pressing the offensive and I can see him reversing the situation and eventually backing a retreating mc into the wall and pinning them, like don’t pin me unless you can keep me there.

[still-a-morosexual-help]

honestly tho om lucifer is such a comfort character

you know mammon's my all time all around favourite no contest but like

lucifer just hits different

he's so tired and he's so overworked and he loves his family so much it makes me sick he's willing to kill and die for them at any chance he made the misfits of the celestial realm his family despite being the perfect example of an angel himself he thinks his brothers are adorable he just wants them to have one quiet day

he's such a bastard he's arrogant and prideful and he'll willingly meow like a little kitty cat because his boybestfriend is sad

he's got daddy issues he's terrified he's traumatised his greatest fear is his father he spent years fighting a pointless war and never questioned his father about whether they ever even tried to find a way to end the war without just mindlessly trying to kill people who really aren't that different from them for a reason no one knows he's willing to be given piggyback rides by another high profile man in a public area

he's a dog person he's weak to puppy dog eyes from everyone he cares about he's constantly done with Mephisto's shit he gets jealous because one of his friends complimented their mutual friend's cookies

he's willing to villainize himself in the eyes of his family to keep them safe he's sadistic his first response to being cornered and scared is to kill anyone who's making him feel that way his love language with his brothers is being a little shit to them he's somehow connected to/the starting point of all the issues/trauma his brothers have he has empty nest syndrome even though all his brothers live at home he hasn't realised the extent to which his actions and words have fucked up his brothers and is constantly surprised and devastated by it when he realises

he has a son he pretends is his brother whom he only ever canonically acknowledged as his son twice which led to huge blowout fights one of his younger brothers bullies him into going to the pub with them once a week his son runs a club with his youngest brother dedicated solely to making his life miserable

he's sadistic he genuinely enjoys seeing people suffer he's so polite he'll allow himself to be poisoned by food he knows is bad he bought dinner for a whole restaurant because it was the owner's birthday he wore a silly outfit and worked at a themed restaurant as a favour for a friend he gets visibly more aroused when he's ordered around he insults his brothers but gets upset whenever an outsider does the same

he loves his human so much and he's so annoyed at them he's so frustrated with them he's so angry at them and he's so worried about them so protective of them so incredibly proud of them he has tried to kill them many many times

he's a borderline alcoholic he's immortal he's greying he gets migraines he forgets to eat and he sleeps at his desk he does the mom thing and orders takeout for his children when he goes out to eat without them he likes dad jokes his greatest wish is to visit a factory he likes good socks he's a grumpy old man

he's over 10 million years old he's an eldritch horror he's the personification of the sin of pride he needs glasses to read his childhood friend? ex-boyfriend? kind-of-brother? old coworker? brother in arms? calls him luci

he's a naggy paranoid perfectionist he removed the entire bathroom because one of his brothers forgot to clean it he had to literally be kidnapped to send him on a vacation he ripped out multiple sets of his own wings he doesn't like being seen shirtless he lectured jason voorhees about him not killing efficiently enough

he's a respected and recognised drag queen he believes love is love he's canonically so beautiful but no one ever makes a move on him because the whole realm thinks he's in a committed long term relationship he refuses to believe his best friend is in love with him despite multiple people saying so

he's the type of person you want to please the type of person you want to make proud the type of person you want on your side because you know no matter what he'll always have your back you're safe that as long as he's there everything will be okay the type of person you want to be held by while everything is falling down around you

he's even queer

[mari-lair]

Koukane is beautiful, a solid rare pair that's dear to my heart, so let's talk about them!

Kou is easily overwhelmed by Akane, kind of stumbling into being his friend when it clearly wasn't in his plans.

Their first interactions are adorable in a pitiful way because Kou can't keep up with Akane's mood swings, he is so nervous he calls Akane "Sir" completely umprompted, constantly being at lost for words near the older boy.

And while Kou aknowladge Akane can be scary and unhinged:

This nervousness is born from admiration, he gets flustered near Akane when the older boy isn't even trying. Stuttering and startling and awkwardly reaching out for him without daring to approach.

His habit to awkwardly reach out likely involves wanting to help Akane, he just can't force himself to actually close the distance and be of help.

The one time Kou was able to help, delighted to the point of happy tears by the opportunity, Akane killed part of his pride by showing off a power Kou seems to think is much cooler and stronger than his own, judging by the way his big blush turned into sweat.

To further stab his poor heart, when he was honest about how cool Akane powers are, Akane dismissed his own as pathetic. So I don't blame Kou for being so nervous about trying to help his 'cool upperclassman' during the entire arc.

Akane has no nerves when it comes to Kou so he is the one that always approaches Kou and get them closer,declaring Kou his friend, kicking Hanako when it looked like he was mocking Kou's desperate determination to save Nene, and being the only one who touches Kou, Kou never dares to touch Akane.

Surprisingly, Kou's respect seem to extend to Akane's view on Hanako, cause we don't see his reaction to Akane's "you're a murderer, you make me sick" rant, but we do know Kou isn't nearly as unseatled as Nene about it, he isn't even angry, when he brings it up again later with Hanako, he is pretty casual about it. And in the recap he is just confussed.

Maybe Akane reminds him of Teru, and he is used to such a harsh stance, or he is thinking of the young exorcist arc where Hanako's beliefs were the same as Akane's 'I am being nice now but i murdered someone kid. What would ever justify murder? How can a murderer ever be good?' so I think Kou is mostly shocked someone with Akane's belief decided to go through with the alliance anyways. Teru would never.

Back to Kou being extremely nervous!

During the clock keepers arc, after Akane dons his clock keeper uniform, Kou never disagree with Akane directly. Even Kou's habit to back up Nene doesn't get in the way, hyping Nene up but not agreeing with her contrasting views like "hanako isn't bad" or directly refuting what Akane says.

This hesitation/nerves slowly dissapears as they grow closer, nowadays Kou isn't scared of speaking his mind, able to be extremelly rude and not filter his offence.

We aren't show them interacting much in the main manga but we are told that they do talk outside classes, likely alone (?), so Akane's declaration they're friends was not a thrown away line, he genuinely vibe with Kou, he even gave him his phone number.

Kou got more comfortable with Akane, able to express that the boy is a weirdo but still keeping his respects for Akane, seeing him as a wise older boy and following his lead without question: He is excited to hear about Akane's romantic advise and he listened to Akane's advise even when it comes to dealing with his own brother.

Akane likes Kou, he is the one who declared them friends. He admires his determination and want him to succedd in his goals, he wouldn't have stopped his time on what he consider an 'imposible task' to save Nene otherwise. He also really appreciates that Kou doesn't like Aoi. And he is constantly comparing Kou with Teru, baffled by how much they differ.

Akane grows to like when Kou is cheerful, either overwhelmed by Kou's expectations and feeling pressured into doing what Kou wants or charmed by it, unable to resist the urge to tease him.

There is a translation where he refers to Kou as Teru's 'cute little brother' and considering how he treats Kou, even if it is a mistranslation i wouldn't be surprised if that's how he think.

Specially with the way he acts as if Kou is too good to be related to Teru, touched by his kindness, seeing him as a sparkling/glowing figure.

Akane also loves his food, blushing when he eat it. He respect him as a chef.

Akane trying to cheer Kou after his fight with Kou up is really sweet to me because he sucks, they aren't close enough for hugs or shoulder pats but still enough for Akane to take his distress seriously. He is unconfortable and sweeaty, awkwardly reach out, as if he want to help Kou but has no idea how. It remind me of Kou's own awkward reaching out gestures in the clock keepers arc.

Their friendship is beautiful and funny but every flavor of koukane is good, so let's add a puppy crush on Kou. He already finds Akane attractive.

This is attraction by the way, he isn't flustered because Akane is being suggestive. Even if we put asside how pretty Akane was drawn here, Kou is not weak to sexual comments, he is used to Hanako, whose pervy jokes are far more explicit, but he isn't a fan of them, always gets mostly annoyed not flustered.

In the spin off it is revealed a girl Hanako isn't 'his type', but when Hanako possessed Nene's body (who Kou used to have a crush on so he consider her an attractive girl) he becomes imcapacitated. It is a big weakness.

So Akane's smirk is what got Kou flustered. Reading Kou's nerves as half admiration and half the poor boy feeling way too bi to know how to handle Akane would be fun.

I can imagine Akane talking about Aoi, since Kou is one of the few boys who doesn't have a crush on her and Kou feeling awkward cause everytime Akane send him a cute smile thinking of Aoi, Kou short circuit.

Considering we only see Kou call Akane "sir!" after his transformation I headcanon he is more attracted to Akane's keeper form than his usual apparence. If Akane teases Kou while on the keeper uniform Kou may explode.

If we keep this ship one sided, it would never leave the dock, Kou would never go after Akane, but I can see him trying to help Akane get with Aoi when they become close friends, similar to how he had helped Nene with Hanako during the donuts chapter. Boy got the 'he is so out of my league i won't even try' doubts mixed with a sprinkle of i don't like boys' cause internalized homophobia is one fo the ingredient of Kou's 'i want to be tough and reliable! I don't want to be a housewife' complex.

(Just realized Kou think using your bare fists to fight is the peak of toughness and guess what Akane's fighting style is. Guess.)

Akane liking him back is amazing because they both got the acts of service displays of love, something Akane will be touched by and Kou will be comflicted because he is the acts of service guys that's his one thing he can do right, let him do stuffs!! What Kou is weak to is words of affirmation, so he would explode if Akane says he does a good job, is handsome, or kiss well or anything really.

Akane can consistently overwhelm Kou when he is being confident so if he say "Sit down I'll clean today," Kou would try to argue but inevitably cave in and have to awkwardly let someone help him. I am telling you right now, when they live together breakfast will become Akane's role.

Kou may be a hard working boy that carries his family on his back but he is NOT a morning person. A single sleep over would be enough for Akane to notice that and let his wondeful boyfriend rest. Depending on how sappy he is feeling, or if it is a important date like birthdays or valentines, he'll give Kou breakfast in bed.

Kou being easily overwhelmed/having low self steem and Akane's habit of being very open about his love, puting his partner first, would result in Kou being super flustered and flattered and uyguygyugu at the start but slowly turn into a problem if unchecked.

Akane is reliable so he can help Kou with chores, studies, or supernatural problems, which Kou would appreciate, and rely on, but it would slowly make Kou feel useless by comparation.

(It would feed into Teru's fears that his siblings are growing out of him too buuut i'll make a post on Teru's amazing potential roles/affect in the ship for later)

Even when Kou does help he has a habit of focusing on what he can't do instead of what he can, feeling like all he does right is cook, and that Akane doesn't trust him, since Teru is the one Akane goes to when it comes to supernatural troubles and help him in the student council. He worries about Kou more than he ever relied on him, at least, when it comes to battle.

Unlike with Mitsuba, I can't see Kou being angry Akane doesn't rely on him, there was never any illusion that Kou can 'grant his wish' or that he is the only one trustworthy in Akane's life. Kou is the one who usually seek him for help from the start, and he respect the people Akane work with more than he respects himself, so he would just be extremaly frustrated with himself that he isn't capable enough to be Akane first option in troubling times.

Thankfully, unlike Aoi, Kou's poker face sucks, and he is an incredibly bad liar, when he bottle up his emotions it easily overflows. Anger, sadness, nervousness...

Just look how he acts with Nene after he learn about her lifespam, how easily his smile breaks after his visit with mitsumom, how reactive he get with Hanako, and so on...

So Akane, who is used to playing hard mode (since he grew up reading Aoi's eternal smile) would notice all of Kou's mood swings right away. If Kou dismisses it, Akane will let him be, but when it keep happening, or he is visibly very troubled, a talk would occur.

I think the first time a misunderstanding would hapen relatively earlier, over something small: Such as Akane thinking Kou is cute when Kou wants to be cool. Kou would be embarrassed at first, he is never complemented on his apparence in the manga in any way, in fact, he is comparaed to a delinquent in apparence, but find it kind of pathetic after a while that the main thing Akane calls him is cute.

Imagine Kou trying out cooler clothes and Akane being somewhat baffled but endeared. Akane won't even question, if Kou want to have a punk era, good for him, but when he finally connect the dots at his anxious behavior he will figure out exactly what kind of compliment Kou craves and overwhelm the poor kid.

Eventually every little piece and small issue would connect and Akane will call him out on his "I need to be useful" complex. Probably result in tears from Kou and regular training sessions.

Kou is incredibly powerful, he is a Minamoto! The only one who caught Mirai mid air, and all the monster he killed at the aquarium was while his weapon was sealed, so Akane would absolutely grow to respect him. Kou would also be a non tradicional fighter, knowing some tradicional exorcists attacks and some judo tecniques.

Akane consider getting homemade food the peak of displays of love (it's a fantasy that is brought up a LOT/ he was extremelly flustered when Aoi gave him a little homebaked sweet)

So despite Kou not thinking much of every bento he makes for Akane, his upperclassman would be delighted. Specially when Kou's meals become more and more tailored to Akane's tastes everytime Kou learns more about his preferences, made with Akane in mind. Add in how Akane naturally loves Kou cooking, even ship lenses, and every meal will be Akane's favorite time of the day.

Instead of leaving Akane to his fate when he is having even day to day troubles Kou would try to help now that he isn't so nervous anymore, and can move instead of reaching out and awkwardly staying in place. Just like when Tiara was troubling him and Kou immediately went to help.

They teamed up for damage control flawlessly. Just saying if they ever live together the chores would be split and all would be nice.

Akane always try to do things alone, and we are constantly said Akane get stuck with jobs no one want to do, helping others but not asking for help. Kou naturally always tries to do things for others, so he would tell him to relax when he is too tired and offer help in small tasks he can, like delivering papers to various clubs, things he would consider pretty unhelpful but Akane would be touched by, specially pre-relationship/the very start.

ALSO! Their height difference is cute! It would start with Akane being taller:

And if grown up Kou REALLY is the same as Teru, he'll become a little taller than Akane.

The idea of Akane either in complete denial his Kou looks like Teru when he gets older, or him genuinely being so in tune with every detail of his features that he is the only one who sees Kou as completely different and far more beautiful than Teru are equally funny to me.

[upsidedownletters]

“I know you’re not okay”

Idiots doin idiot things.

“What’s going on with you lately?” Concern laces his voice, eyebrows raised in a genuine look. It made her stomach hurt, that look, but she forced a smile anyway.

“Nothing, Steve. Just tired.” She responded, turning away from him. But he wasn’t happy with that answer. He shuffled around the desk, almost knocking over the stack of tapes he had been rewinding.

“Hey, C’mon” He grabbed the stack of flyers she had been holding and set them on the counter behind her. “You’ve been quiet all morning. And last night you were too tired to go to the diner with us. Something is wrong.”

She shook her head, trying her best not to start crying. “Steve, I’m fine. I promise.” She tried to scoot around him, but he caged her in, placing both hands on the counter on either side of her.

“Please, talk to me.” He said it so softly it made her heart ache.

She sighed. “You know what, I just actually haven’t been feeling very good lately. Do you care if I head home?”

Steve stared at her for a long time before letting out a sigh of his own. Nodding his head twice, he dropped his arms to his side. “Yeah. Sure, I’ll let Keith know you went home sick.”

She gave him another weak smile, turning on her heel and heading to the back room. In the safety of the break-room, she allowed the tears that had been threatening to spill, to fall freely. She did not want to feel this way. This deep feeling of jealousy and hurt every single time she was in the same room as him. She quickly gathered her keys and sped to the front door, head down the entire time. She pretended not to hear Steve calling her name as she barreled through the front door.

It hadn’t always felt this way. She use to be able to spend all day with Steve without her chest caving in. They spent hours and hours together working and then stopping for dinner on their way home. Robin always by their sides. But then she went to a party with him and in a stupid childish game of truth or dare, he kissed her.

It wasn’t a quick kiss, not at all. He set the pace, slow and steady, one hand cupped her cheek while the other grasped her waist, pulling her even closer. Lips parted allowing tongues to explore. She was lost in the feel of him, bodies pressed impossibly close. And then Tommy H let out a loud noise and clapped Steve on the back, pulling him away from her.

He smiled at her as Tommy pulled him back into the center of the room. But it had been enough to set her skin on fire and send her heart into a flutter. She realized that she had wanted him to kiss her. And she had wanted it for a lot longer than she wanted to admit.

They never talked about it, and she was too scared to bring it up. Things went back to normal for Steve, but for her, everything had changed. She started noticing every little thing. The way he would mess up his hair by running a hand through it when he was nervous. The way he stuttered whenever he was trying to make a point or when he got frustrated. How he always put the teenagers first, even if it got in the way of his plans.

She noticed when he got red around the ears when Nancy Wheeler walked into the video store. Nancy Wheeler, who was freshly single and home for the summer break. The two of them didn’t take long to start hanging out again. And she started joining them on their dinner nights.

She knew it was ridiculous. That he and Nancy had a history, but she couldn’t help the way her heart split in two every time she was around.

When she reached her apartment there was already a voicemail on her machine. The light blinked red and angry, and she knew exactly who had left it. She knew what it was going to say; just a variation of the same thing he had been repeating all week. ‘There’s something wrong. Please talk to me.’ But she couldn’t. She wouldn’t ruin the friendship they had spent the last year building. He and Robin were all she had left.

She decided to spend the night watching movies. Curling up on the couch with a bag of chips and The Princess Bride for the 8th time that week. She needed comfort, needed distraction.

There was a knock at her front door that tore her from sleep. She hadn’t even realized she had fallen asleep, but the crick in her neck and the clock over the tv let her know she had been asleep for a few hours. She groggily stood up, stretching her back and neck as she walked to the front door.

“Who the fuck..” She muttered to herself, the knocking hadn’t stalled at all, a constant patter as she made her way through the small space. She was annoyed as she swung the door open. “What the hell do you—“

Steve was leaning against the doorframe, his hand still poised to continue knocking. He only looked vaguely surprised before he smiled and pushed his way past her. She stared at the now-empty hallway.

“You gonna shut the door?” He was standing some distance behind her, she could feel him fiddling with something.

She took a deep breath closing the door, but she didn’t move any closer to him. Instead, she leaned her back against the door. “What are you doing here Steve?”

He paused his fiddling, setting the remote back on the arm of the couch, and crossed his arms across his chest. “Well, we were all talking about how you haven’t really been acting like yourself lately so Nancy” she winced at the name, but Steve didn’t notice “suggested I come over and talk to you. Something else is going on and you aren’t telling me about it for some reason.”

He moved closer to her, taking a seat on the arm of the couch right in front of her. He didn’t say anything, just stared at her. He was giving her time to think about what she was going to say, letting her decide.

“I don’t know, Steve. It just doesn’t feel the same to be around you anymore.” She said it quietly, but he heard it loud and clear. She saw the look of hurt that etched itself onto his face.

He ducked his head, looking down at his worn canvas shows. She could see him shaking his head, probably trying to wrack his brain for what could have changed to make her feel that way. She stood quietly, hoping he would figure it out alone. She had no such luck it seemed.

“What do you mean by that?” He met her eyes again, the hurt still at the edges as confusion started to crowd his face. She just shrugged, but he scoffed standing up and taking a step toward her. “Bullshit.”

He was angry at her, actually angry. She looked at him with wide eyes. “I don’t know what to tell you, Steve. It's just different, ok? I don't know how to explain it”

“You don’t know how, or you don’t want to?” He laughed humorlessly. “I told Nancy you wouldn’t want to talk about whatever it is, but she pushed and pushed.”

“Oh and of course you have to do whatever Nancy says right?” She didn’t mean to have so much venom behind the words, didn’t even mean for them to come out.

“Is that what this is all about?” He asked incredulously. “You won’t hang out with us anymore because you don’t like Nancy?”

“No, Jesus. Just forget I said anything. Go home, let me go back to sleep, Steve.” She pushed away from the door finally, stepping to the side to walk around him. But he stopped her, grabbing her by the arm gently and holding her in place.

“No. I want to know what happened to make you not like Nancy, or whatever it is that makes you not want to be around us anymore.” It was soft, his voice low and calm now.

“Please, Steve.” A soft plea. She met his eyes then, those beautiful brown eyes.

“please” And she cracked. The sound of her name on his lips, just barely audible.

“We kissed. And nothing changed for you, but everything changed for me.”