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eand47 · 2 months ago

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Chapter IV | Sweater Weather

Summary: You moved to one of the biggest cities in the world - Grand Line to pursue filmmaking career. Soon enough your path will cross with the vocalist of upcoming band called “The Neighbourhood”. At first you decided to be just friends - because it would be easier, but sadly as everything in life sometimes by taking the easy path we regret a lot of things.

Main characters: Portgas D Ace x Reader (female)

Supporting characters: Nami, Usopp, Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, Law, Deuce, Shanks, Buggy, Sabo, Eustass Kid, Koala, Marco, Robin (more to be add)

Description: Modern AU | Musician Ace

WARNINGS: explicit language, use of nicotine/cigarettes, use of drugs, postpartum depression, mentions of death, family trauma, conflicted feelings

Word Count: 15,2K

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NOTE: I’ve planned to write this chapter even longer, but then I decided that it would be pointless as most of the things would be repetitive. Here are the descriptions of some filmmaking terms, so when you are reading you know what the characters are talking about: D.O.P - Director of Photography/Cinematographer, the person who works closely with the director, and the person who determines the framing of the shots and capturing the scenes AC - First Assistant Camera, the person who is responsible for the focus of the camera and the lenses Call Sheet - The daily schedule, filled with all the information needed for the actors and the crew about when, where and what will be filmed Storyboard - Visual representation of a film sequence and breaking down the actions into individual panels, sketching out how the video will unfold shot by shot I hope that all of this Filmmaking things are not boring you, but I feel like if I don’t write them down the story will feel super fake and the logic will be missing and it won’t be clear why certain things are described a certain way, if you get what I mean 😅 Anyway I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as the previous ones, or even more hehe… also … there are some major foreshadowing in this chapter 👀 hihi enjoy ♡

It has been two weeks since the Halloween party, which I try not to think about much. Nami was quite upset with me the first few days after it, as I left without saying goodbye and because I wasn’t answering the next day. I wasn’t in the mood to talk about the party with anyone. When we met on Monday in lectures, I lied to her and Usopp that I felt super sick and because of it I left without saying anything not wanting to ruin their funny, and they bought it. Everything was fine, until I saw Ace once at the coffee shop, luckily for me he had his back facing me, so he didn’t see me. I recognised him by his orange beanie, but I quickly left as I wasn’t ready to see him again. Still, almost everyday I caught myself thinking about him at least once, going back to the moment we “shared” at the party. He had his ways to get under someone’s skin, I gave him that. We have barely spoken or knew each other, yet I couldn’t shake him off my thoughts. The way his actions and words were so contradicting. I still remember the burning feeling he left inside of me by just barely touching my skin, I can only imagine what it could have been if he had kissed me. Or maybe I totally misread the situation, but I would never know.

The only thing keeping me from thinking of him was the fact that I was extremely busy with the upcoming short-cut projects at university. I was stuck writing and rewriting my script, not being satisfied with it fully, and we must submit our final draft by the end of this week. Because of that we didn’t have any classes this week and I haven’t gotten out at all. Nami and Usopp texted me a few times to join them outside for a drink, even Luffy texted me to hang out, but I turned them all down, as my main focus right now was submitting my final draft.

Today I had consultation with one of my teachers regarding my script, as I wanted a second opinion if the story and the actions were clear. My meeting was scheduled at 2PM, so I got plenty of time as I woke up quite early, not being able to sleep in the past few days. I decided to get dress and grab a coffee from my favorite coffee shop. I put a pair of dark baggy jeans and just a basic grey cotton t-shirt, not feeling like dressing myself up today, as stress was taking over me. I didn’t even bother to put makeup or anything, I just put my jacket on, grabbed my bag over the shoulder and headphones and left. As I was on my way to the coffee shop when the next song that started to play from my headphones was Ace’s song. I had saved them all on my playlist; aside from Ace’s confusing behaviour at least his band’s music was good.

Touch my neck and I'll touch yours You in those little high-waisted shorts, oh

The song started to bring memories from the party, especially when the choirs hit.

'Cause it's too cold for you here and now So let me hold both your hands in the holes of my sweater

I wasn’t in the mood for this, so I quickly changed the song.

“Fucking Ace.” I cursed under my breath.

The sky was cloudy today, and I didn’t check the weather app, and it seemed like it was going to rain. Soon drops of rain started to pour from the sky and I started to run towards the cafe. My jacket didn’t have a hood, and my hair got wet and messy by the time I reached it. It was quite busy when I got inside, and my usual seat was taken so I went to wait on the queue before I sit somewhere.

“One black coffee, please” I ordered to the barista. My card declined as I was trying to pay. “Oh, I’m so sorry, give me a second.” I apologised to them, as I probably ran out of money, and I had to transfer from my savings.

“I will pay for her and make them two.” This smooth, low voice that I would recognise from miles away said behind me.

“Ace” I turned around immediately facing him. He just winked at me, paying for the coffees. The barista handed us the coffees and we thanked him.

“Thanks for the coffee.” I glanced at Ace and went to find a place to sit, leaving him by himself. I found a small table at the back of the shop. I sat down and pulled my laptop from my bag, trying to calm myself down. Of course, off all possible days I met him today. As the day couldn’t get any more stressful for me it had to serve me Ace on top.

“Mind if I take a seat?” Ace stood next to me, waiting for my respond. He had this little smug smirk on his face, and that slightly irritated me.

“Sure.” I gave him a short response. He sat down across from me, leaning his back on the wall, resting one of his arms on the back of the chair and the other on the table, his whole body facing away from me. I took a quick look at him. He was wearing baggy jeans with an oversized grey hoodie, which was wet from the rain, and his red bead neckless hanged around his neck as always.

“We are matching today.” He pointed out, tilting his head towards me. I looked down at myself and realised that we were wearing matching outfits. I gave him a simple nod, looking away from him back to my computer. “You look tired.” He said taking look at my tired face.

“I am tired.” I sighed.

“Is everything okay? Are you okay, doll?” His voice had a hint of concern.

“Don’t call me that.” I snapped at him.

“Why are you so moody? Someone stepped on your tail this morning... doll?” He mocked me. I shoot him a glance from behind my laptop not in the mood for jokes. “You look cute when mad, you know.” He chuckled at me, the smirk not leaving his face.

“What do you want Ace?” I raised my eyebrow at him.

“Nothing, just to sit and chitchat with a friend.” His answer pissed me off, like he forgot what happened two weeks ago.

“Ace...” I took a breath calming myself down before continuing. “I don’t want to be rude, but I’m under a lot of stress right now, so if you want to sit here – sit but I’m not in the mood for a chitchat.” I didn’t want to be mean at him, but also, I couldn’t hide my irritation right now. He just nodded and sipped from his coffee. We were sitting in silence – me on my laptop, writing and rewriting whatever felt right or not, and Ace was just scrolling on his phone. I took a sip from my coffee and couldn’t help but wrinkled my nose and furrowed my eyebrows as always. I heard Ace chuckle under his breath.

“What?” I asked Ace.

“Nothing.” He shrugged, his smug smile not leaving his lips.

“You are laughing at me, aren’t you?” I nagged.

“Please, doll explain this: why drinking coffee if you hate it?” He turned his body to face me, putting both of his forearms on the table, holding his coffee cup.

“Because if I drink something that I like I will get addicted to it and then I will want to drink it all the time – that’s why.” I responded.

“How may coffees you drink a day?” He had this mischievous spark in his eyes.

“Depends on the day, but sometimes two or three.”

“Doll, I think you are already addicted.” I rolled my eyes at his comment.

“Stop calling me ‘doll’, Ace.” What was with this pet name, he hasn’t stopped calling me ‘doll’ since Halloween.

“Why? You don’t like it?” He teased me.

“You call all your friends ‘doll’?” I teased him back.

“No, only you.” His voice was low, almost like a whisper, eyes glued on mine half lidded as always. Instead of a smirk he had this little smile playing on his lips. I broke the eye contact looking back at my laptop, starting to type on the keyboard again.

“What are you writing there?” He leaned on his hand, his voice soft.

“My script for the short-cuts.” My respond short, eyes not leaving the computer as I was re-reading the script, checking for mistakes or if I need to add extra remarks.

“Is that why you are so stressed?” He straitened up his posture, studying my face as he was sipping from his coffee. I simply nodded in response. “What is it about?” He asked and I looked at him hesitating if I should tell him.

“It’s about a man, who fell in love with this woman from the moment he saw her, but so did his best friend.” I chuckled feeling a little embraced telling Ace the plot of my script. “But his best friend hit on her first, so they started to date, and the whole scene is about them announcing their engagement and the man – the main character, gets lost in his thoughts of ‘what if’. ‘What if’ he did a move on her first, and they were the one dating and he knows how he would have treated her better ect.” I was babbling as Ace was just looking at me, taking every word, I said. “And then the ‘what if’ moment gets interrupted by his girlfriend who shakes him off the thoughts asking him what’s wrong and why he doesn’t congratulate them, and he quickly brushes it off and congratulates them only to whisper to his best friend's now fiancé that it should have been him.” I took a deep breath and raised my eyebrows in anticipation for Ace’s opinion on the script.

“Can I read it?” His voice and eyes sparkled with interest, so I turned my laptop and handed it to him. His face was unreadable while he was reading it until he handed me the laptop back.

“Well... what do you think?” I felt my confidence leaving me, as he wasn’t saying anything.

“I think that I don’t know much about scripts, nothing at all actually, but...” He paused for a second. “I can’t wait to see your film, doll. I really liked it.” Ace leaned on the back of the chair; arms crossed around his chest as he smiled at me.

“What? You mean that? You really liked the script?” My eyes widened of surprise hearing his response. “Like, you really, really mean that?”

“Yes, doll I do.” He chuckled. “Have more fait in yourself.” I didn’t know how to respond to this. I've heard this a lot – be more confident, have more fait in yourself, yet the ‘imposter’ syndrome could never leave me.

“Thank you, Ace. This means a lot.” I smiled at him.

“Nothing to thank me about.” He raised his cup of coffee to his lips and before he took a sip he added. “And if it sucked, I was going to tell you.” I playfully rolled my eyes at him.

“I rewrote it like a hundred times. I have a consultation with my teacher at 2PM, because we are submitting them tomorrow, so I hope he likes it, and I don’t need to rewrite again.” I closed my laptop and put it back in my bag. Ace looked at his phone to check the time.

“You still have some time, like almost two hours.” We stayed in silence for a moment, I was avoiding his gaze, as my shyness started to take over me, the memories of the party surfacing on my mind.

“How are your ears, by the way? I forgot to ask you at the party.” The mockery in his voice was so clear.

"My ears?" I didn't understand what he meant my that.

"Yeah, that video with you and Usopp." A big grin spread across his face when he.

“No, no, no don’t remind me.” I got all flushed as I covered my face with my hands, embarrassed of the accident with the microphone and Usopp. Ace laughed at my reaction.

“I love that video, I made Nami sent it to me.”

“What? No! No, no, no!” ‘Nami how could you?’ I was thinking to myself, why would she do that, why would Ace want that video. “Please, Ace delete it.” I begged him. “It’s not even that funny.”

“Yeah, it’s not funny – it’s hilarious.” He snorted, clearly enjoying mocking me like this. I shook my head giving up, my face still covered with the palms of my hand, as I knew that he wouldn’t delete it. “Hey, look at me.” I looked up only to see my shocked face zoomed on his phone screen as a screenshot.

“Ace!” I squealed, reaching with my hand to snatch his phone away to delete the picture but he quickly pulled it away. “Aceee.” I stomped my food like a little kid.

“Easy, doll. Going through someone’s phone is not polite, you know that?” He snapped his index finger hitting me on my forehead, laughing at my reaction, as I pouted.

“You are so mean.” I told him. “What are your plans for the day?” I leaned on my chair, mimicking his posture.

“Go to the studio, play a little with the guys, then talk with our manager about some marketing stuffs and deals – nothing interesting.” Ace shrugged; he didn’t sound very enthusiastic.

We stayed for an hour more – talking and laughing. It was so easy to be myself around him, yet sometimes I caught myself getting a little tensed when he smirked at me or made some teasing comments. I wanted to ask him what exactly happened with him at the party two weeks ago, but I didn’t want to ruin the moment we were having. Even thought we had four years difference I couldn’t really feel it as Ace was still carrying this very boyish energy in him. I got to learn a little bit more about him, and what he likes and dislikes. When it was time for me to head to university he suggested to walk with me to there since he still had some time before him and the guys meet.

The weather outside was still the same but at least it wasn’t raining. We were walking next to each other, almost no distance between our bodies. He was telling me more about his brothers, and things they did as kids.

“So, wait, wait.” I interrupted him. “You are telling me that your aunt Dadan didn’t have any money for your vocal lessons, but the moment Sabo said that he wants to learn how to play drums she immediately signed him up?” I was in disbelief.

“Yea, he is her favourite, as he is you know – blue eyed, blonde, cute.” He mocked her voice as he was describing Sabo. “Then you have Luffy, and last one is me – the black sheep.” He winked with a mischievous smirk.

“Why are you the black sheep?” That piqued my curiosity.

“Our friendship is way too fresh for this conversation, doll.” He bumped me with his elbow on the side, chuckling. I laughed it off, not wanting to push his boundaries.

“Okay one very, very important question before I go.” We were almost to the university when I stopped him before we part our ways. I stood in front of him, with the most serious look on my face, looking straight at his eyes as I pointed my finger at him and spoke. “Which is your all-time favourite movie?”

“Hm...” Ace frowned his eyebrows, thinking for a moment. “I’m not sure, I have to think about it, doll.” He smiled at me.

“I will be waiting for your answer.” I turned around and started to walk towards the school gates.

“Hey, doll.” Ace called after me. “You never gave me your number.”

“Not until you tell me your favourite movie.” I yelled behind my back, waving him goodbye as I entered the gates. My cheeks flaming hot, my heart was bumping fast, and for the rest of the day I don’t think that I would be able to take off the smile from my face. Maybe just being friends wouldn’t hurt, I’m sure I could put my little crush aside and before I know it, we would have this amazing friendship. Some people are better left as friends – and if Ace and I are one of them, so let it be it.

Ace was watching (Y/N) leave and as she disappeared from his sight, he laughed to himself. She was very interesting person. The way she changed her moods so fast, the way her eyes sparked when she talked about things she loved or was excited about, the way when even without saying anything her face betrays her and says it all – she was very fun to hang around. (Y/N) crossed his mind a few times in past two weeks, part of him regrating not taking his chance with her at the party, but then that was for the best. She was a nice girl and a friend of his friends, and he didn’t want to hurt her or give her some empty promises that he couldn’t keep. The least you two could of do was to try being friends, after all better friends than strangers. And she was quite young, Ace remember how he used to behave in his early 20s. The last thing on his mind was to keep someone for a longer than a month, when the world offered him so much; it should be the same with her – after all she was such a catch for the eye. Even today, all tired with sleepy bags under her eyes and messy hair, she was still very cute to look at. Ace wasn’t stupid he did feel the attraction they shared towards one another, but he was doing her a big-time favour by setting their boundaries straight. Although teasing from time to time wouldn’t hurt, she was such a tease herself, which was making it so hard for him.

Ace got to the building where the studio was located. The building was old and had five stores. The studio the guys were renting there was on the second floor. Before going up Ace wanted to light a cigarette or two. He leaned on the staircase and lit up one. ‘Favourite movie, hm...’ he was thinking about an answer he could give you of a movie that he really liked and could say that resonated with him.

“Yo, Ace.” He tilted his head to the side and saw Law walking towards him. They gave each other a quick bump on the shoulders. Ace pulled out his cigarettes from his pocket offering Law one, but he refused.

“What’s up with you? You seem moody.” Ace asked him, as Law seemed not to be in the mood. Law and Ace had been best friends since high school. They met after Ace was kicked out in 9th grade, from the one where him and Sabo were attending together. The first day Ace and Law met, they didn’t really like each other or spoke. It wasn’t until one day when Law was getting beaten up by some 11th graders bullies, and Ace jumped to help him, only for them to end up with detention. Since then, their friendship started. No one else but Law knew off Ace’s darkest secrets, and vice versa; even Sabo and Luffy didn’t know as much about Ace as Law knew. They both could easily read the other like an open book. Which was why Ace could tell something was disturbing Law.

“Nothing.” Law replied, but Ace wasn’t falling for that.

“Come on, bro. If you don’t tell me then who?” Ace took another cigarette lighting it up. He looked at Law again, raising his eyebrows questioningly if he was sure that he didn’t want to smoke one. Law sighed annoyed and took one, lighting it fast and taking long puff from it.

“So?” Ace waited for his respond, but he thought he already knew the reason behind it.

“Robin.” Law glanced at Ace knowing that he got the whole picture already. Ace snorted, shaking his head knowing that he guessed right.

“What did you do this time?” He looked at his friend frustrated face, knowing that it was probably him that messed up something again. Robin and Law were an on and off thing, that only Ace knew about, and it has been two years since this was happening.

“Why do you assume that I did something immediately?” He snapped at Ace, which only confirmed that he did in fact did something that lead to them fighting again. If Law was in a bad mood because of Robin then it meant that he fucked up, if he was going mad, almost insane then Robin did something. That has happened only once and it was when she wanted to end everything with him, and Ace swore that for the tenth years of him and Law being friends, he had never seen Law losing his mind the way he did that night.

“Fine.” Law said after a while. “You remember the chick from the Halloween party? Well, somehow Robin found out that I slept with her, so she is nagging on me now, how for a thousand time I broke our agreement.” He threw the finished cigarette on the ground, stomping it frustrated.

“Why do you even have this agreement in the first place?” Ace got annoyed as this wasn’t the first time this happened; since Robin and Law started seeing each other, they decided that they didn’t want anything serious, but if something was happening between them, they must not sleep with other people.

“I don’t know man, I just don’t want to go through this again.” Law exhaled. “Plus, we haven’t done anything in a month and so, so.. I thought to myself why not, you know.” He shrugged, the sound of regret could be heard in his voice.

“Did she tell you how she found out?”

“No, no idea. But there was this chick that walked on me at the party, but I was wearing the mask, so I doubt it that it was her. Even thought she looked familiar.” Ace didn’t say anything, he knew that (Y/N) walked on Law, but he decided to keep this information to himself, after all he doubt that she knew Robin.

“What are you planning to do then?” Ace threw his finished cigarette and nodded to Law to get going inside.

“Find a way to fix it.” Law murmured as they were going up the stairs.

The apartment where the studio was, was quite small a one room apartment but very practical. The whole space was turned into one big, isolated sound room. Thanks to Deuce and some of his connections the guys were able to rent it for themselves only for a very nice price. Going in Ace and Law were met with Deuce and Sabo, who were here since the morning. The guys greeted each other and started to chitchat as they were waiting for their manager. Some time passed and he finally came.

“Yo, what’s up Marco?” Sabo was the first one to greet him. Marco was a man in his mid-thirties, blond hair styled in a very interesting mullet style. He had been recently become the guys’ manager, as he had been in the music industry for the past ten years now. It happened after they were performing in some underground night club, and by chance Marco happened to be there that same night. After they were done with their set, he went to speak with them and gave his business card to get in touch with him.

“Same as usual, how are things with you boys?” Marco smiled at them as he pushed his glasses up adjusting them.

“Same as usual here.” Deuce replied, the rest of the boys agreeing.

“I don’t have much time today so I will get straight to business.” Marco clapped with his hands. “We can not afford to postpone this anymore so it’s time for you to finally decide which will be your debut single from the EP and we need to film a music video for it, as soon as possible.”

“Easy answer – ‘Sweater Weather’” Ace said not waiting for the rest of the guys to have a word.

“Are you all on the same page for this?” Marco glanced at the other guys to make sure that they all agreed with Ace’s choice of song.

“I think we all agree, it is our most streamed song.” Deuce said, Law and Sabo agreeing with the choice that Ace made as well.

“Okay, that was faster than I expected.” Marco chuckled. “I was thinking between ‘Sweater Weather’ or ‘Cry Baby’, so I agree with your choice guys. Now for the video, I already have some directors in mind. The first one is Ja-“

“We already have.” Ace interrupted him.

“What do you mean we already have?” Sabo looked at his brother confused, they have never talked about filming a video, let alone them already having the crew for it.

“Yes, Ace; what do you mean by this?” Marco asked, as confused as the rest of the guys.

“I have already spoken with some people, and they are down to film our first video. That’s it. No need to search for director or crew, we already have.”

“And they are?” Marco raised his eyebrow waiting for Ace to give him more clear answer.

“Luffy's friends.” Ace shrugged.

“You must be kidding me?” Sabo quickly snapped at him. Ace just shook his head, looking at his brother questioningly. “Ace, we need professional director and crew, not some kids who barely started to do this.”

“They are not kids, and I’m sure they will do pretty well. Plus, you don’t seem to call Usopp a kid when he is producing music for us, do you?” Ace snapped back at his brother.

“Because he has the talent for it, but he said it himself he is not such a good director.” Sabo tried to reason his brother. “Also have you asked him?”

“No, I haven’t.” Everyone whined annoyed with Ace. “But I will. And also, I didn’t say that Usopp will be the director.” All eyes were again on Ace.

“Who will be then Ace?” Sabo hissed, waiting to hear whatever his brother had come up with.

“(Y/N).” Ace shortly answered.

“Who?” Law and Deuce asked at the same time, the name sounded familiar, but they couldn’t put the face to the name.

“You are kidding me, right? Is she even good? Have you seen any of her work at lease?” At this point Sabo started to have a headache. He knew who his brother was referring to. Sabo also saw the way Ace and this (Y/N) girl behaved around each other at the party, so it better not be what he thought it was.

“Yea, she is pretty good.” Ace quickly lied. He had never seen any of her work, he was taking a big risk suggesting that, he wasn’t even sure what gotten into him to even suggest it. But something in his gut was telling him that it would work, that it would be worth taking the risk.

“Ace, I swear to Go-“ Sabo got interrupted.

“Guys, guys.” Marco raised his voice. “This is serious, this would be your first video ever, it must be professional, and very well made, not some school project. I don’t care how good these kids are or not, we are hiring you professionals.” The rest of the guys agreed with Marco, but not Ace.

“Listen, I know that this sounds crazy but trust me on this one. Plus, if its turs out bad then we can go for a professional, okay?” Ace tried to fight back.

“Ace this will be waisted time, why don’t you understand this?” Marco took off his glasses massaging his eyes, Ace was the hardest to work with.

“Yeah! Ace this will cost double.” Sabo stood up and looked at Ace, crossing his arms over his chest.

“It won’t, believe me because it will turn out good, I have a good feeling for this.” Ace also stood up getting closer to his brother. “Come on, trust me on this one, when have I ever let you down?”

“How do you guys feel about this?” Sabo turned toward Law and Deuce.

“As long as its turs out good I don’t care who will film it.” Deuce said, as he only cared for the final product.

“How are you sure that they will even agree to do it Ace?” Law asked.

“I have a feeling, okay.” Ace snapped. “Look I will ask them, we meet with them and if our ideas don’t match, we don’t hire them for it, and we go with whoever Marco has in mind.”

“Okay, this works for me.” Law sighed, not at all in the mood to argue today.

“Ace..” Sabo hissed his finger pointed at his brother. “You- you better be right or else I will beat the shit out of you for this.” He turned around and angrily sat on the couch.

“Um guys, it’s me who has the final word here, remember?” Marco looked at all off them in disbelief.

“Marco, you make sure to speak with the right people to make this viral, we fix the rest.” Ace patted him on the shoulder and left without saying anything more.

“He is unbelievable to work with.” Marco threw his hands in the air looking at the rest of the guys who weren’t paying him much attention as well.

“Hey, Usopp. What’s up my man?” Ace said over the phone. It was around 6PM when he got home and decided to speak with Usopp, about the video.

“Chillin’ with Kaya at home, you?”

“Just got home and wanted to speak with you.”

“’bout what?” Usopp asked. Ace was close to all Luffy’s friends, Usopp was even one of them that he could call his own friend.

“How do you feel about you and your friends from uni, filming our first music video?” Ace got straight to the point.

“Ace, we are still learning, plus I’m not the best director.” Usopp was more than surprised by Ace’s proposition.

“I know, I know, but think about it wouldn’t that be a great opportunity for you and your friends?”

“It would definitely be, but again we barely started I don’t know how we would manage to do something as big as a music video for you guys. Plus, it will be your debut video why don’t you go for professionals, you surely ain’t that broke.” Usopp joked.

“It’s not about money.” Ace quickly responded. “I just want you guys to do it.”

“I don’t know Ace. I really don’t think that this is a good idea.” Usopp hesitate.

“You don’t need to be the director, someone else can be.” Ace was quick to add.

“(Y/N) is good, but I doubt that she will be down for it.” That was exactly what Ace needed to hear.

“Do you mind giving me her number, so I can speak with her?”

“Yeah, sure. But good luck, again I don’t think she will agree. But I will send you, her number.” Usopp huffed, knowing that (Y/N) would not agree, but still it wouldn’t hurt if Ace wanted to try. Before they hung up Ace thanked Usopp and waited for him to send the number.

My consultation went pretty fast, as my directing teacher was super pleased with my script, he gave me some advice on what I could possibly change to make it easier to film after, but other than this it went well. Before I got home, I stopped by our chill area as I saw some of my classmates. We talked for a bit, exchanging some ideas and jokes here and there. It was nice to know that I wasn’t the only one being so overly stressed for the short-cuts.

I got home and prepared myself something to eat. After it I sat down to make some last changes on the script before I submitted it. I sighed in relief, knowing that I was halfway done with this assignment, and all we have left was to film and then edit it. I was just hoping that the actors I have assigned for my movie would do their roles good.

I laid down on my coach trying to find something interesting to watch. I wasn’t sure what I was in a mood for. While searching for something to watch I could feel that my fatigue started to take over, as my eyes were slowly starting to close. I had fallen asleep when I heard my phone ringing. I looked at the screen and it was unknown number, usually I never pick up if I didn’t know who was calling. I looked at the time and it was almost 8PM. Exactly before whoever was calling hung up, I picked up the phone.

“What’s Eating Gilbert Grape” The voice on the other end said.

“What? I’m sorry who is calling?” I sat on the couch, rubbing my eyes.

“The answer that I couldn’t give you earlier, doll. ‘What’s Eating Gilbert Grape’ – that’s my favourite movie, or at least one I can say that I really liked.”

“Ace? How- How did you get my number?” I was fully awake now; how did he find my number.

“I have my ways.” He chuckled.

“Creep.” I snorted.

“Are you happy with my answer?”

“Surprised. But not a bad choice at all.”

“What are you doing, doll?” I could feel his smirk over the phone.

“Nothing, I had fallen asleep on the couch, you?”

“Oh, sorry for waking you up then.”

“It’s okay. Now how did you get my number?” I was curious to know how or who gave it to him.

“I told you; I have my ways.” His tone was so teasing. “But I’m actually calling for business not for chitchat.” Now that piqued my interest.

“What business?”

“How do you feel about directing a music video?” I was taken aback hearing this.

“Um, I have never done it so, I’m not really sure how I would feel. Why?” I was confused by this sudden question.

“I want you to direct our first music video.” Ace blurted out.

“What?” I shouted not expecting this at all.

“Please, don’t shout in my ears.” Ace laughed at my reaction.

“I’m sorry. But seriously, are you insane? I’m so new to all of this, like the whole filmmaking thing, and music videos are slightly different to shoot than films, so I can’t Ace, I’m sorry I-I can’t take such responsibility.” I quickly said, turning down his offer even thought it would have been such a great opportunity, but he must contact someone professional.

“Come on, doll. I believe in you, I’m sure you will come up with something great.” He chuckled, not giving up.

“Listen, Ace...” I took a deep breath. “I’m so flattered that you believe so much in me, but I’m not that good.”

“Please.”

“Ace.” I sighed.

“Please, doll. We don’t want something over the top, we need super simple video, so we can put out there, plus we will pay you. So, please consider it and give me a call back tomorrow, okay?”

“I don’t think that my mind will change but sure.”

“Thank you, doll. I will be waiting for your final decision.” He said before hung up.

I sighed once again, but this time loudly. Why? Why he wants me to do this? He hasn’t even seen my work, why he trusted me so much to a point where he wants me to direct his band’s first ever video. It’s not that it would be that hard, it’s more the fact that with this video they are establishing themselves officially as a band, and their overall look. The offer really piqued my interest, and my mind started to think about a possible video idea, but I forgot to ask him which song they were planning to film it for. I grabbed my phone and saved his number, before I texted him.

“Which song will be the video for?”

He replied shortly after: “Sweater Weather”

I opened Spotify and went to their profile. It was their most streamed song, so it was logical that they chose it for their debut music video. I played the song and started to create a storyboard in my mind. Ace didn’t give me much information, so I if I agree to do this, I have a lot of questions for him. Do they have a crew already, or I will have to think of someone to help me? Do they have something in mind that they will want us to recreate in the video? When do they want to film it? And so many more questions popped up in my head.

“Oh, Ace....” I sighed to myself.

“So, you gave him my number?” I turned to Usopp when we finished with our class for the day.

“Yeah, he called me and asked me if we want to shoot their video, but I turned him down, as I’m not very good with directing, but they he told me that it can always be someone else, and I mentioned you and he wanted to speak with you... so... what are you down for it?” Usopp looked at me, trying to read my face.

“Well, that’s the thing. Part of me wants to, but another one tells me that I lack the skills.”

“You know,” Nami interrupted our conversation. “Dave from year two has done some music videos before, why don’t you guys speak with him, he might help you.” She suggested.

“This is a very good idea, Nami. I didn’t know that.” I hugged her. “But, yeah I’m down only if you guys are?” I looked at them both.

“Oh, no. I have too many things to do because of the short-cuts, and my group sucks guys, so I’m out.” Nami quickly turned me down.

“I can be your D.O.P, but I will need a first assistant camera.” Usopp said.

“We can ask Dave, if he is up for it, he can help us.” I smiled at Usopp, happy that he was down for the job. “Otherwise, it will be just you and I.”

“I’m actually surprised that you are planning to do it.” Usopp was right, I was surprised by myself as well, Nami also agreed with him.

“I know, but I have an idea that I think it will match their band’s vibe very good, and it won’t be hard to film at all so I think it would turn out pretty well, if they like my idea as well.” Nami and Usopp were both aware that I was not the most confident person when it came to how talented and good I was with filmmaking. Even thought both had told me millions of times that I should believe in myself and my skills more, sometimes it was really hard, yet I was always down for a challenge.

“Does any of you have Dave’s insta or something, so I can text him?” I pulled out my phone opening Instagram, to search his name.

“Yeah, here.” Usopp showed me his phone so I can copy Dave’s username. I followed and texted him. It didn’t take him long to respond, saying that we can meet somewhere later and talk about it. We agreed on meeting for a drink around 7PM, so I had quite some time until then.

“Usopp, will you come as well?” I asked him before we say goodbye.

“Nah, I won’t be able to, Kaya and I already have plans.” He hugged me and Nami goodbye. “But keep me updated.” He said before he left.

“What are you doing tonight?” I asked Nami as we were walking towards the metro station.

“Going out with Luffy and Vivi, if you wanna join after you finish your meeting with Dave.”

“I will think about it, as I will have to speak with Ace after it.” I didn’t want to promise anything for later, as I might be too tired to go out. Nami smirked.

“What?” I looked at her suspiciously, as her smirk was quite mischievous.

“Mmm, nothing.” She just glanced at me, her smirk growing.

“You don’t get to tell me, nothing with this smug smile growing on your face.” I nagged her.

“Well... Ace, hu?” Her eyebrows wiggled playfully. “Did you two know each other before? I remember Usopp mentioning something.” She pushed me a little with her elbow.

“Oh no, no, nothing like this.” I brushed it off quick. “We met accidently that’s all, it was even that Friday when they were preforming at my uncle’s bar, so it was pure coincidence.”

“But Sabo told me he saw you going somewhere with him at the party two weeks ago, and then you left without saying anything and you weren’t speaking with us much after that...” She looked at me, trying to study my face if I was lying to her. “Did something happen? You know I will not tell anyone. I’m just concern and Ace... well, Ace is Ace.” She chuckled.

“No, I swear nothing happened. We just talked for a bit inside and then we went somewhere, and I decided to go home.” I didn’t really lie to her, because all of this did happen, I just didn’t mention any details.

“Okay, I believe you if you say so.” Nami wasn’t fully convinced but decided to let it go. “But don’t fall for Ace or anything like that.” She added. “He is an amazing person, no doubt about that, but he is a womanizer, so for your own sake don’t cross this lines.” Her warning was valid, and this wasn’t the first time I heard this, but Ace and I already set that boundary anyway, so I didn’t need to hear it again.

“Don’t worry I don’t see him that way.” Now this time I lied, but my little crush on Ace was something Nami didn’t need to know.

I started to get ready around 5PM. I decided to wear something casually just a pair of flared dark blue jeans, with a black off shoulder blouse with a belt around the waist. I added some silver earing and quickly fixed my hair and makeup before checking the clock and to see what time it was. It was almost six, so I took my purse, put my black kitten heels and coat on, and left.

It took me around forty-five minutes to reach the place where we agreed to meet. It was a very nice and cozy jazz bar. I’ve never been to this place before, but just from the looks of it, it seemed like a place I wouldn’t mind coming to again. I looked around and I saw Dave sitting on a small table for two. I waved at him as he saw me.

“Hey, Dave thank you so much for meeting me.” I smiled at him as I was sitting down.

“No worries, the pleasure is mine.” He smiled back. “What would you like to drink?” Dave was super nice, I have spoken with him only twice so far and only in university, so I felt a little awkward right now.

“Just a glass of sparkling wine would be perfect.” I told him and he went to order for us. Dave was also a nice-looking guy. His hair was dark brown and full of curls, his jawline was sharp, and his beard was nicely shaved in a goatee style. He was dressed in a relaxed fit short sleaved black shirt and some linen white pants; he also had an earing on his left ear. Dave came back and handed me my drink with a smile. He sat back on his chair and we both shared an awkward laughed.

“So, music video, hu?” He said, flashing me another of his charming smiles.

“Yes, I got the offer last night, and I still haven’t accepted it, as it’s the band’s debut video, so I’m quite unsure if I should take the risk, you know?” I took a sip of the wine, glancing away from Dave.

“I know the feeling, don’t worry about it.” He reassured me. “Which band are you talking about?”

“‘The Neighbourhood’, you know them?” Dave shook his head. “Oh, you need to check them out, they are pretty good and growing popularity quite fast.”

“I will take your word on that.” He chuckled. “So how did they end up asking you to direct their video?”

“I’m a friend with the vocalist, and he really wants me to do it, as quote-unquote ‘he believes that I would do an amazing job’.” I waved my hands around in a question marks.

“That’s good, if you ask me - take the opportunity. Plus, I have heard that you are one of the tops of your class, and that you have quite a different vision from the rest so go for it.” Dave encouraged me.

“Yeah, ‘different’.” I shook my hands to my head, but Dave just looked at me confused, not getting the reference so I just brushed it off. “Um, I was wondering... would you like to help us? It will be just Usopp and I, and we will really appreciate it if we have a AC.” I bit my lip, looking at Dave from under my lashes.

“Well, depends on when you guys are filming, but sure.” He nodded, a coy smile forming on his lips. “But wouldn’t it be better if I’m your D.O.P as I have more experience with the camera than Usopp?” He made a very good point.

“Yes actually, you are right, we should do this instead.” I eagerly nodded as he also had experience with music videos. “And as for when we are shooting, I have no idea, I will call Ace later and hopefully he will give me more info.”

“That’s the lead singer, I guess?” Dave asked, hit of curiosity in his voice. I nodded with a smile in response.

“Now tell me more about your experience with music videos.” I playfully nagged him, as I was interested to know more about how things work with music videos. Dave started to tell me how even before he attended university, he had already done some music videos. Most of his friends were apparently musicians, and as amateurs they couldn’t afford to pay a professional photographer, so knowing about Dave passion with the camera they would always go to him. Time passed quite fast as we were talking, but we got interrupted by my phone, as I received some message.

“Don’t tell me you forgot about me, doll.” I read the message. I cursed myself as I totally forgot to text Ace today, but I wanted to speak with Dave first before I confirmed anything.

“Will you, please, excuse me for a second.” I told Dave, standing quickly from my chair and went outside to call Ace. The phone rang a few times before he picked up.

“Hey, doll.” His low raspy voice filled my ear.

“H-hey Ace. I’m so, so sorry for not calling earlier, I just wanted to check with a classmate from year two if he can help Usopp and me with the video.” I blurted out quickly as I felt embarrassed for making him wait for so long.

“So, I take this, as a ‘yes’ then?” His voice still low.

“Yes, I would love to film your video, Ace.” I whispered, my heart was beating fast against my chest, like I was making a deal with the devil or something close to this. The feeling hit me like a sudden wave, I couldn’t even explain it.

“Glad to hear this.” He whispered back. “What are you doing by the way?”

“I’m out with the classmate I told you about.” I cleared my throat.

“Date?” He teased me.

“No, no. We are talking about the video mostly.” I quickly explained myself. Ace laughed at my response. “What are you doing?” The question slipped my lips before I could stop myself.

“Chillin’ at home.” He hummed.

“Nice.”

“Mmm... if the date is bad I can always safe you, you know?” He joked.

“It’s not a date.” I whined at his comment.

“Sure, sure.” He mocked me again. “Well, wanna meet tomorrow with me and the guys to speak about the video?”

“Yes, this would be actually amazing if we can do this as soon as possible.”

“You got it. Send me your address I will come and pick you up.” A little smile twitched on my lips as he didn’t ask, he just stated it. “Bye, doll.” He quickly ended the call.

I slowly moved my phone from my ear, I could feel my cheeks burning and I quickly shook the feeling away. Opening my messages, I texted Ace my address and got inside the bar. Dave smiled at me as I sat down.

“So, what were we talking about?” I smiled back.

I woke up around 9AM the next morning, as Ace was going to pick me around 10:30. I was tired as I stayed until late last night, creating a storyboard with pictures so they could easily understand what my idea was. I got up, brushed my teeth and made myself a quick breakfast before I got ready. After I did my makeup, I looked around my closet wondering what I should wear today. I set my mind on a flared jeans again and just a simple cropped white t-shirt. My phone vibrated, notifying me that I have a message.

“Here.” It was short and simple; I caught myself smiling at it. I quickly put on my snickers and jacket on, before grabbing my backpack with my laptop in it. I ran down the stairs and when I opened the building’s entranced door, I saw Ace leaned on a motorcycle. He was smoking a cigarette, head tilted on the side. Dressed in all black with a black leather jacket on. He quickly turned around when he heard the front door closing, blowing the smoke away and throwing the cigarette on the ground. When I stood in front of him, he straightened his posture, looking down on me he winked.

“Ready to go, doll?” He smirked at me, handing me a black helmet. I took it and looked at it, then the Kawasaki motorcycle behind him. It was all black and scary looking. I looked back at Ace and shook my head with a scary look in my eyes, handing him the helmet back. He hearty laughed at my reaction.

“Come on, don’t be a baby.” He nodded me to get on it, as he put the helmet on my head. “I got you, doll. Nothing to be scared off.” Ace reassured me as he got on it and waited for me to do the same.

“Ace, I swear to God, if you had told me, you were picking me on this thing I would have never agreed.” He laughed again at my comment as I was shaky getting on it.

“Hold on me tight.” He grabbed my hands and wrapped them around his torso. My poor heart was going to explode. Not only I have to be on this scary thing but on top of it I had to be this close to Ace. “Lean your body on my back.” He looked at me over his shoulder before putting his helmet. I just nodded in response, too scared to speak. Ace turned his bike on and the engine rumbled. I tightened my hold around Ace. I could feel him laughing as his body trembled in my arms. Then he took off. As he was driving, I started to think to myself how much the motorcycle suits him. With getting to know him more and more with every passing day him owning a bike was making a perfect sense. It was as wild and free as his spirit.

Twenty long minutes, we finally arrived where their studio was. Ace parked the motorbike and took off his helmet. He looked at me over his shoulder and chuckled.

“You know, you can let go of me now.” He teased me. I immediately released my grip and took of the helmet. “So how was your first every ride?” The smirk on his face growing bigger, as he saw my flushed and scared face.

“I made it alive, so I give it eight out of ten.” I quickly got off from it.

“Eight out of ten? What should I do to earn the other two stars?” He chuckled, his smile big.

“You drove too fast.” I crossed my arms across my chest.

“I drove fast?” His eyes widen in amusement. “Doll, I swear I have never, ever, driven my bike as slow as I did today.” His whole face was in disbelief.

“Next time even slower.” I pointed my finger at him.

“So, there will be next time?” He teased me with a smirk. I rolled my eyes at him, but I couldn’t hide the little smile that played on my lips.

Ace got off the bike and nodded me to follow him. We entered the building and went to the second floor. Ace opened the door to their studio for me, and I thanked him. Inside Sabo, his girlfriend Koala, and Law were already there.

“Hey you two.” Koala welcomed us with a smile. “Nice to meet you again (Y/N).” She came to hug me. Sabo nodded at me, and Law’s eye widen when he saw me, and I quickly looked away. It was nice to know at least that it was him and not Ace that night at the party.

“Where is Deuce?” Ace asked.

“He is coming, caught in traffic, Marco as well.” Sabo explained. “So, you will be our director?” I could feel the hint of doubt in his voice, and I understood why he would doubt me in a first place. I barely started to study; I was an armature with a capital ‘A’.

“A-as long as you like my idea – y-yeah.” I awkwardly shrugged.

“Well, better be good then.” His tone was quite serious and a little harsh.

“Sabo.” Ace snapped at him, glancing at his brother warningly. Sabo just huffed and looked at me again.

“Sorry (Y/N), I just want the video to be perfect.” His tone was a little softer now. I lowered my gaze to the ground and just nodded.

“You want to drink something?” Koala asked me nicely. I thanked her but denied her offer.

After ten minutes, Deuce and Marco walked in. Deuce greeted me, and Marco introduced himself to me with a handshake.

“So, you are the director that Ace is putting all his trust for the video on?” Marco patted me on the shoulder with a smile. I glanced at Ace, but he quickly avoided my gaze.

“I guess, I am.” I cleared my throat. “Let me take my laptop, so I can show you the plan that I made yesterday, you can disagree with everything or add things to it as well.” I felt my heart beating fast again, my anxiety starting to built up. I pulled my laptop from my bag and held it in my left hand towards them. “Please let me know if you can’t see something or if it’s not clear enough.” I took a deep breath and started to explain my idea for the video. “The video will be shot in a greyscale, mostly medium shots, with some close ups here and there. The vibe of the whole video should represent the general vibe of the EP itself, so taking the things you guys sing about in the song and the album in general, I suggest that we take some shots of them all together driving around Grand Line coats line in a vintage car, then walking around at a funfair, lounging in an apartment and walking along a beach.” I added at the end that if they were satisfied with the idea, we must shoot next Monday and Tuesday as we would need sunny weather. I patiently waited for their reaction. I looked at Ace, who was leaned on the wall, arms crossed over his chest, he just nodded at me and wink. I heard clapping and turned my head to see who it was.

“Bravo.” Sabo clapped standing up from the sofa. “I love it. And I’m surprised. Wow.” He had a big grin across his face.

“I like it, too.” Law said, nodding at me granting me his approval.

“Same, here.” Deuce added. Koala gave me the thumbs up with a big smile across her face.

“I like the idea as well, but I would like to add one small detail.” Marco said clapping his hands, looking at the guys. “It is romantic song after all, so we need to see some romance. So, I would like to suggest that we hire a model, and we have some scene with her and Ace.” Marco looked at me with raised eyebrows, expecting to hear my opinion on it.

“Y-yeah, o-of course.” I chuckled, nodding my head slightly. “As long as Ace feels comfortable with it, we can include it.” We all looked at Ace.

“Why me, tho?” He raised his eyebrow toward Marco. “Can’t Sabo do it with Koala? This will save us time and money.” He pointed out.

“Because you are the lead singer in the group Ace, and as one, the main focus is on you.” Marco explained short and clearly.

“Ha, Ace, since when you mind making out with models?” Deuce mocked Ace.

“I don’t, I’m just thinking if we are doing this on Monday and Tuesday, how we gonna find a girl so fast?” Ace rolled his eyes.

“Like you don’t know a hundred pretty girls.” Law snorted at him. Ace laughed at him and told Law to shut up. Marco interrupted them.

“Guys if you can’t find a girl, this is why I’m here for.”

“What you gonna dress up as a girl and make out with Ace?” Sabo joked and everyone burst out laughing at Marco.

“Of course not, but I can always contact a model agency.” Marco huffed, as much as these guys were talented, they were as much as hard to work with as well. “So, we make it possible, right?” He turned to look at me. I just nodded at him. “Perfect, I will contact you for the payment later and you sent me an email with what you would need for the set and what we should rent and whatsoever.” He handed me his business card and bit us all goodbye.

“Have you guys ever been in a video or something before?” I asked them as I was putting my laptop inside my bag. They all said ‘no’. “Well, better prepare as it will feel strange to see yourself on the screen.” I laughed a little.

“Have you done it yourself?” Deuce asked me.

“Yeah, and I hate it, that is why I prefer to be behind the camera.” I have always felt bad for the actors, as I knew it wasn’t easy at all for them to look at themselves on the big screen. I have done it a few times and I hated the feeling of seeing myself. The difference between a phone camera versus film camera was so big people had no idea. Even my father, till this day doesn’t feel comfortable to see himself, and he is pretty self-obsessed person. “Well, I will have to contact Usopp and Dave and let them know that we are doing it this Monday and Tuesday, I will have to go now as I will need to find locations where we could film without a problem.” I announced as I grabbed my bag and bit everyone goodbye.

“Wait, I will come with you.” Ace came after me.

“No need, I can do it alone.” I reassure him.

“I didn’t ask, doll.” He winked at me, closing the door behind us.

We arrived at the west coastline beach after almost forty-minute ride. We got of his bike and Ace smirked when he locked at me.

“How was the ride this time?” Ace teased me.

“Honestly this time you could have driven faster.” I teased him as well.

“You little...” He hissed at me, biting the inside of his cheek as he shook his head.

“Hop, hop, we don’t have all day mister.” I clapped my hands and made him follow me. I started to take some pictures of where would be best for us to stand and shoot them driving by as we had to be careful with how fast they should move. Ace was quite polite to write down every note for me, and things that we would need. Then we went to look around at the funfair.

“Do you wanna get on one of the rides?” Ace whispered in my ear as I was taking pictures making mental notes to myself.

“Oh, I would love to, but now we have to work, so some other time.” I moved my head slightly as I answered him, not realising how close he was standing to me, only for our faces to end up millimetres apart. We both took a step away from the other quickly. Ace cleared his throat telling me that I was right, and we should focus on work.

Time passed so fast and before we know it the sun was setting. It was beautiful, the sky was coloured in light pink and purple, the waves were crashing softly, as today it wasn’t windy at all. Some people were sitting on the beach, others were running around or playing with there kids or dogs. It almost felt like a summer day even thought it wasn’t. We were walking on the beach, shoes in one hand as we were talking about random stuffs, it was so easy to open and speak with Ace. The comfort I felt around him was so strange and nice at the same time, something that I have never experienced with another person before.

“And how are you and Shanks related?” Ace asked, his eyes not leaving my face.

“Well, we are not blood related, let me clarify this first.” I waved my hands around. “But him and my dad have been like brothers since they were kids, so yeah. Ever since I can remember Shanks has been part of my life...” I paused for a second, swallowing the bitterness in my voice. “Especially after my mother left me and my dad, he literally became my second dad.” I exhaled the breath that I didn’t even realise I was holding.

“I’m sorry to hear this, doll.” Ace gave me a soft look, as he ruffed my hair. I pouted at him as I tried to fix it, and he chuckled. “Look at least, you grew up with a father that from what you’ve told me so far, loves you unconditionally.” His voice was so gentle when he told me this.

“Yes, I am lucky to have a father like him.” I smiled thinking of my dad.

“But... I don’t know if I should ask this or how...” Ace paused for a second, gathering his thoughts. “Why she left...?” He glanced at me, to make sure that he didn’t overstep some boundary. “Actually, don’t answer this forget about it.” He brushed it off quickly.

“No, it’s okay.” I shrugged, I felt like I could open about it to him. “She never wanted to be a mother in a first place, so after she gave birth to me, she got in a very deep postpartum depression, and it did take a big tool on her.” I paused for a minute. “My dad tried everything to help her, but she refused, and she turned to hard drugs, so... yeah my mother is a junkie.” I breath out, looking at Ace who was listening to me, but his gaze was lowered to the sand. “When I was around five, she just left a note that she doesn’t want to hear or see us anymore, and since then I have no idea where she is. My dad still cares for her, and I never really understood why, especially after all she put him through. I found a few years ago that he is her emergency contact, and I got mad about it, as she doesn’t deserve him. Last year she tried to contact me, but cut her off fast...” I bit on my lip, looking at the sand as Ace and I were walking in a silence for a moment. “But yeah, this is the short version.” I clapped my hands, dropping one of my shoes and picked it up. “Your turn now. I’m curious to know how you are all brothers, yet your last names are all different” I pushed Ace’s shoulder a little bit, causing him to chuckle.

“Well, we are not blood related at all.” Ace laughed when he saw my reaction.

“Wait, what? Even with Luffy? You two are like twins.” I couldn’t believe what I’ve heard.

“Yeah, I know it’s scary how much we look alike, but no, not related at all.”

“I’m really curious now, but if you don’t feel like speaking about it’s okay.”

“Nah, it’s fine. I can share a little bit.” Ace poked my side, and I giggled. He cleared his throat before he spoke. “My mom died when I was born, and my father has been killed a little before my mom gave birth to me, so I know nothing about my parents.” I saw his jaw clenching hard as the tone of his voice changed as well. “Then her sister, my aunt Dadan, took me and raised me.” He snorted, his tone sounded lightly but his face was giving him away. Sadness and pain were written all over it. “Then she applied for a foster parent, and that is how Sabo came to the picture. As you know he is her favourite.” Ace looked at me tossing his hair aside the same way Sabo does all the time, and I couldn’t help but laughed. “Then the most annoying, gut wrenching, cry baby ever came into our home aka Luffy. God, I hated him from the bottom of my hear at first.” The way Ace was telling his story was heartbreaking, as he was trying to turn it into comedy so bad. My heart was aching for him. “Then some things happened and as of today, I can really say that Luffy is the only person I’m willing to give my life for.” The smile he had on his face when he was talking about Luffy was so pure and honest.

“I don’t know Luffy very well, but he does look like quite the pure soul.” I smiled at Ace as he nodded.

“You should definitely get to know him; he is the best.” Ace eagerly said his mood totally changed now. I felt my stomach growing and Ace looked at me. “Someone’s hungry, eh.”

“Yeah, I have only eaten a breakfast today.” I chuckled.

“I know a very nice Italian place here, wanna go and try it?”

“You don’t need to ask me twice.” We both shared a laughed and started to walk toward the restaurant.

The drive to my place took us almost an hour. A long and a very scary hour, as I had to ride on the back of Ace’s motorbike for a third time today. When he finally stopped in front of my place I relaxed on his body. We stayed like this for a minute – my hands wrapped around his torso and as I was leaned on him, and he had his hands on my knees. He was he first one to take of his helmet, running his hand around his messy hair. I pulled away from him, taking my helmet off as well. Ace looked over his shoulders at me.

“You had fun today, doll?” His eyes half lidded; he seemed a little tired.

“I did.” I smiled at him, getting off from the bike. He nodded with a smile at my response. “We see on Monday then. Thank you for the rides, and the dinner by the way.” I added, but Ace brushed me off.

“Please, that’s nothing.” He winked at me, pinching my cheek. I scrunched my nose at him, and he laughed at me. “Well, see you on Monday, doll.” He went to put back his helmet before I stopped him.

“Wait, Ace.” I grabbed his hand, as he lowered it and looked at me, raising his eyebrow. “You were the only one who didn’t say anything about the video idea... did you not like it?” My hand still on his, he just gave it a little squeeze and smiled at me.

“I loved it, doll.” Then he went on and put his helmet on. “Now go home.” He ordered me. I nodded and turned around to go. As I opened the front door, I waved at him one more time, as he was waiting for me get in safe, before he drove off.

I woke up at 6AM on Monday, as we were going to our first location at 8AM. Yesterday Usopp, Dave and I spent the whole day making the floorplan and the storyboard based on the pictures I took on Saturday at the locations. I sent the call sheet and a list of things we need for the shooting. Marco surprised me so much by how fast he arranged and found everything that we would need for the shoot. I quickly dressed myself in a pair of baggy jeans and oversized hoodie. I put some day cream and mascara on as I didn’t have much time to get ready, and received a text from Usopp that him and Dave were downstairs. We were going with Dave’s car as the west coastline was an hour drive away. I quickly put my sneakers on and left. Usopp and Dave greeted me when I opened the passenger door.

“Ready to film your first music video?” Dave charmingly smiled at me. I nodded with a smile. “Good, we got you some coffee.” Dave said, and Usopp handed me one, him sitting on the backseat.

“Are you guys ready? It’s going to be a long day.” I took a sip of my coffee, hating the taste of it as always. They both nodded and we drove off. Usopp was in charge of the music in the car, so we had a fun ride. We arrived on time and started to unload the equipment Marco rented for us, as he wanted the best quality for the video. Law and Deuce were the first ones to arrive. I spoke with them on the side while Usopp and Dave were fixing the camera.

“Do you know when Ace and Sabo are coming?” I asked them, as I wanted everything to go according to the time schedule.

“Yea, they will be here soon.” Law replied.

“They had to go and take the car that Marco rented for today.” Deuce explained to me. While we waited for them, I explained a little bit to Law and Deuce what I would need them to do while we film. After fifteen minutes we heard a honk. We all turned around and saw Ace and Sabo driving slowly towards us in a very nice 1969 Mercedes-Benz. Sabo was the one behind the wheel, and Ace was chilling on the passenger seat. They parked and got out of the car.

“Yo, what’s up people, you liking my ride?” Sabo pointed at the car. “I will be the one driving it, keep this in mind.” He squinted his eyes at Law and Deuce giving them a warning look. “How is the director doing?” He gave me a hug which surprised me.

“I’m doing good, thanks. You, Sabo?” He gave me the thumbs up and went to speak with Usopp and Dave. “Hey, Ace.” I waved at him as he was standing next to the car, smoking a cigarette.

“Hey, (Y/N).” He gave me a little smile, but I tilted my head and raised my eyebrow at him. What happened with ‘doll’? I walked up and stood in front of him.

“Are you okay?” I was concerned, was he in a bad mood or something. Ace looked at me confused, moving his head on the side blowing the smoke away.

“Yeah? Why?” He chuckled. I blinked a few times and shook my head.

“Nothing, just... just checking on you.” I murmured. “Are you excited to start shooting?” I bounced on my heels, as I waved my hands in the air. Ace laughed at me as he took another puff of his cigarette.

“I think you are the most excited among all of us.” He smiled at me.

“(Y/N)! Can you come, please?” Dave shouted, him and Usopp needing me to help them. I mouthed a quick ‘sorry’ to Ace and went to check on them.

After twenty minutes we were ready to start shooting. I explained to the guys what I would need them to do for the first scene we were shooting and they all nodded understanding my instructions.

“Oh, and one last thing when we shoot a take, I will be most likely first check with Dave and then with you guys and it’s technical stuffs, so don’t think you are doing a bad job, okay.” I gave them the thumbs up, and we were ready to start. The first scene we were shooting was of them driving down the street, we shoot it from five different angles, and we were switching between medium to medium close-up shots. It took us around an hour and a half to be done with this. Then we drove besides them in the same speed so we could catch a better close-ups of them in the car. We finished around lunch time, so we decided to take an hour break. I wasn’t hungry, as when I’m working, I get too focused on the task that I skip meals, so instead I wanted to go and take some shoots of the buildings around us and the palms.

“You guys go, and remember we will meet at the funfair entrance, okay?” I said as I picked the camera stand under my arm and the camera case I was holding in my other hand.

“Don’t tell me you are not going to eat.” Ace scolded me.

“I want to take some shoots of the buildings around, so we don’t waste time later and I’m not hungry, so you go guys.” I reassure him. He was going to protest when Dave interrupted him.

“I will come with you (Y/N). I don’t want you to carry all of this by yourself.” He came next to me and took everything from my hands.

“Are you sure, Dave?” I didn’t want to take from his time of the break as he was already doing too much by helping me and Usopp.

“Of course, I am. Come on, I’m following you.” He gave me a coy smile and I nodded. I waved the guys goodbye for now, everyone else waved too, except Ace. He side-eyed me and shook his head before following the guys. I frowned confused as of why he did this. I nodded to Dave to follow me, and we started to walk. The hour went fast, but luckily thanks to Dave’s experience we captured everything I had in mind. Dave was fun to hang around with. We were laughing and joking the entire time.

“So, you want me to handheld the camera when we shoot at the funfair?” He asked me again, making sure that he understood correctly.

“Yes, exactly.” We went back to his car to leave the camera stand as we wouldn’t need it anymore.

“Have I done something bad to you?” He joked with me, and I giggled at his expression. Doing a handheld shoot was probably the worst thing for the cinematographer. I messed around with him and squeezed his bicep.

“Nah, Dave, I think you can handle it perfectly.” I winked at him, and we both laughed. We started to walk towards the funfair where we were meeting the guys next. When we reached the entrance, everyone was already there. “Hello, again guys. Hopefully you had a nice break, as now we are back to work” I gave them a big smile, Sabo and Deuce cheered, Law just nodded, and Ace’s face was unreadable. I cleared my throat and explained to them that right now they just need to have fun, and we will try our best to capture everything that we would need for later when editing. Usopp and Dave were switching every few minutes, so their hands didn’t get too tired. I was having quite lot of fun with them and so did the guys, at least it seemed like it. Ace and I locked gazes a few times, but he was the one who broke it first every time. Was he mad at me for something? I tried to shake this feeling away and focus on my main priority right now.

“And it’s a wrap.” I shouted and everyone clapped.

“Uh, I hate you (Y/N).” Dave smirked at me as he took off the camera from his shoulder and gave it to me so I can check the last footage we shoot. I stuck my tongue out at him, and he chuckled at me. Usopp came next to me to check the footage as well.

“Do you guys want to see it?” I looked at them four, but they shook their heads.

“We want to wait and see the finished material.” Sabo exclaimed.

“Okay, then we see you all tomorrow at...” I turned to Usopp as he knew the call sheet better than me.

“3PM, the attic apartment Marco rented for the day. You have the address on the call sheet. Also, Ace should I contact the girl that’s coming tomorrow and give her the info, or you will do it?” I have totally forgot about this part, a little pang of jealousy grew inside of me, but then I remind myself ‘no lines to be crossed’.

“I will be picking her up, so I will take care of this.” I bit the inside of my cheek when he said that. I gave him a quick glance and I saw a little smirk playing on his lips.

“By the way, who did you ask?” Law raised his eyebrow at Ace with curiosity.

“Samantha.”

“Wasn’t she pissed at you for ditching her at the Halloween party?” Sabo mocked his brother.

“Not anymore.” Ace snorted. I cleared my throat and turned to the guys who were messing with each other.

“Well, then guys.” I clapped my hands and put my fake smile on. “Thank you for today and see you tomorrow then.” I avoided looking at Ace while waiting for Usopp and Dave to put everything back in the case. Once they were ready, we all said goodbye and went back to Dave’s car.

“That was fun, can’t wait for tomorrow.” Usopp exclaimed once we were in the car.

“Yeah, these guys are fun to work with.” Dave agreed with him. “Hey, are you okay? You seem a little down.” Dave observed my face. I recomposed myself and smiled at him.

“Yes, yes, I am. Just a little tired.” He patted my back gently, believing what I told him. We drove off and I leaned on my head on the window. Tomorrow was going to be an even longer and tiresome day. I closed my eyes for a second and I fell asleep in the car.

“Everything set up?” I asked Usopp and Dave.

“Yes, it’s all done.” Dave nodded at me. I breath out as I looked at the band.

“Where is Ace?” One thing I would never tolerate was someone being late on set, without notifying anyone. And Ace was almost forty minutes late.

“He is coming, maybe he is in traffic or something.” Sabo tried to defend his brother.

“You know what guys, lets start shooting.” I clapped my hands. “Which one of you wants to be filmed first as we will roll some close-ups?”

“I can do it.” Sabo volunteered. I nodded and gave them some instructions as it would be easier if they interacted between each other even though the camera would be focused mostly on Sabo.

An hour later Ace finally showed up with his arm wrapped around the shoulders of the girl, which I guess was named Samantha.

“Sorry guys for being late.” He bit us a quick apology. I didn’t even look at him as I was so pissed. “This is Samantha, and she will be helping us for today so be nice.” She giggled at his introduction, and she waved everyone ‘hello’. Usopp and Dave greeted her, as they introduced themselves by shaking hands with her. She came to me reached her hand for a handshake. We shook hands and I bit her a quick ‘hello’.

“At least, you aren’t the only girl now.” She smiled at me; I nodded at her and returned the smile. She was beautiful – tall, blonde, with a very nice body; she was like a real-life Barbie. I cleared my throat.

“Well now that everyone is here, we need to take a master-shot of you guys, then some medium and the last thing we will do is the close-up of Ace and his scene with Samanta, clear?” My tone was quite serious.

“Can’t we take mine and Samantha’s first?” Ace asked me and I finally glanced at him. He had this smug look on his face, that pissed me off even more, but I kept my composure and answered him with a smile.

“No, Ace we can’t. Why we can’t, you may wonder? Because we waited for you for almost two hours, so now you will have to wait, am I clear?” The smile might have been on my face, but my tone was sharp and clear that he shouldn’t mess with me right now. He just smirked and nodded, not saying anything further. “Then let’s start rolling.” I clapped and explained what they should do now for the master. Two hours later we were done with it and only Ace and Samantha’s scenes were left to shoot.

“Thank you, guys so much. It was so nice to work with you. We don’t need you in the rest of the pictures but it’s up to you if you want to stay here or go and do whatever you want.” I spoke to Sabo, Law and Deuce. Sabo came and hugged me as he thanked me and said he can’t wait to see the final result. Deuce did the same, and Law just high-fived me. They bit goodbye to the rest and left.

“So, according to the story board we have two close-ups left and one medium close-up of the two of them.” Dave came to me and spoke over my shoulder. I looked up at him and nodded. “Which one should we take first? Hers or his?”

“Let’s take hers first.” I nodded at him. “Hey, Samantha.” I called her, as she was standing in front of Ace, as they were obviously flirting with each other. She turned to face me, looking at me a little confused. “Sorry for interrupting your conversation, but we need to take some shots of you alone, so I will need you to stand next by the window and then on the couch.” She quickly did as I told her to, and we started to roll. It didn’t take us long to shoot her angles only around twenty minutes. I thanked her, and then turned to Ace. He was looking at me, face unreadable again. I clenched my jaw as today he was really walking on my nerves.

“It’s your turn Ace.” I called him. He pushed himself from the wall and came closer to me.

“So, what do you need from me, director?” His tone was light, but his face was like a stone. I bit the inside of my cheek before answering him.

“The same as her.” I gave him the shortest answer possible. He nodded and stood next to the window. There was this built-up tension between us, Dave looked at me raising his eyebrow. I shook my head at him like everything was fine, and he slowly nodded. We had to readjust the camera as Ace was quite tall. We started to roll, and I couldn’t take my eyes of the screen. He did look very good in front of the camera; I couldn’t deny him that. The way his hair was falling around his face, his freckles, his dark brow eyes and his full lips, he will definitely sweep away many harts once they become known name. “And cut.” I softly said moving my gaze from the screen to him. Our eyes locked, but I locked away.

“Okay, let’s move to the last scene we have to film and it’s a wrap after it.” I cleared my throat before looking at Samantha waving at her to join. “Now I need you to get closer to each other, and the most important thing is that Samantha feels comfortable with whatever you guys spoke about doing, so the moment you feel slightly uncomfortable we cut on the second, okay?” I locked at her seriously, as I didn’t want to put any woman in a position where she might feel uncomfortable on set.

“Oh, you don’t need to worry (Y/N), I know Ace very well.” She winked at me mischievously. I shared a fake laughed with her, but good thing she didn’t catch it.

“Okay, so whenever you guys are ready, just let us know and we will start to roll.” I stand between Dave and Usopp. “And action.” I called. Samantha went and laid down on the couch, taking Ace’s hand in hers, making him hoover over her. She ran her hands up and down his back, up to his neck, pulling him closer to her. Then she buried her fingers in his hair. She pulled him even closer as she pulled herself up a little. They were inches away from kissing each other, and I bit the inside of my cheek, my hands squeezed in a fist. I couldn’t watch this any further.

“Cut.” I called out. Everyone locked at me confused. “What?” I smiled innocently at them.

“Why did you cut?” Samantha asked me and frowned when Ace pulled up from her. I could see his smug smirk on his face. I moved my attention back to Samantha and with a smile I replied to her.

“Because we have it, it’s perfect, you can check it out if you want.” I suggested looking at the footage again.

“It’s pretty good.” Dave reassured her.

“Well, you are the professionals, so if you say it’s good, I believe you, but still, I want to see.” I moved aside so she could look at the screen. “Oh my, Ace.” She squeaked excitedly, looking at Ace. “We look so hot; you should see that.” Ace made a grimace and shook his head. I covered my mouth to suppress my laughter. Ace saw me and rolled his eyes at me, which lighted up my mood. I calmed myself and announced that we were done.

“It’s a wrap guys.” Dave and Usopp cheered, and Samantha clapped her hands. Ace only nodded. “Thank you so much for the opportunity, Ace.” I was still pissed at him, but at the same time grateful. “I should edit it by Friday and when it’s done, I will send it to Marco.” I told him as we started to pack the equipment.

“No need to thank me, (Y/N).” Ace patted me on the shoulder, before he nodded to Samantha to get going. She wished us good night and they left. The bitter feeling of jealousy came back. I couldn’t deny it, but also there was no point of me being jealous. He was just my friend, a friend who was walking on a thin ice around my nerves, nothing more or less.

“Well-done guys, well-done.” Usopp high-fived me and Dave. “I can’t wait to see how it will turn our after you edit it (Y/N).” He exclaimed excitedly.

“You know if you need help with the editing, you can always call me.” Dave added, coming closer to me.

“I think I will manage, but I will keep this in mind.” I smiled at him. “Let’s pack these faster guys, I’m starving, and I really want to go home.”

I was laying in bed; it was almost midnight, and I couldn’t fall asleep. I was tossing and turning in bed for the past hour and a half. Ace was stuck in my mind, and that scene between him and Samantha. On top of it, the whole ‘Me and Ace know each other good’ was like on repeat in my mind. Knowing that I will have to edit and look at the footage of it was eating me from the inside. And what was with his attitude in the past two days? I swear Ace from Saturday and Ace from the past two days, were two completely different people. My phone vibrated. I grabbed it and I sighed loudly as I read the message on the screen.

“Did someone step on your tail today, doll?”

I hesitated if I should reply. The audacity this man has.

“Yea, someone who was almost two hours late.” I angrily typed and sent. Not even a minute later he replied.

“Sorry, about that doll ;(” I just left him on seen. “I would love to be the first one to see it btw” he sent a second message.

“I will think about that” I replied.

“Don’t be mad at me, doll” I just looked at the message from the notification banner and didn’t even mark it as seen. Also, the ‘doll’ thing was back, not that I wanted him to call me this, especially in front of everyone else, but I kind of got used to him calling me that. I turned on the TV to watch something that would hopefully put me to sleep. ‘Fucking Ace’ I cursed under my breath.

NOTE: Sooo.... I really hope you liked the chapter, and the interactions Ace and Reader had. From now on there will be more and more of it. Also I gave you a little bit of Ace's pov in this chapter, but still there is so much more to reveal of his character, as in general Ace is a very complex persona. Please leave your opinion or text me, as I would love to get to interact with more of you ♡ and a big thank you for all of you who take off your time and read my fanfic, I know it's not the best written one but I appreciate your support with all my hear ♡

writing, format & dividers © eand47 fanart @a_phu14 on IG ©eand47, do not copy or plagiarise my work.

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letustalkaboutlevihan · 10 months ago

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8) ISAYAMA'S ENDING FOR LEVIHAN

On the manga, Levi was sitting on a wheelchair and he's with Gabi, Falco and Onyakopon

Levi was holding a magazine/newspaper(?) in his hand, but instead of looking at it, his eye was looking at the plane above them... remembering Hange.

In Isayama's draft for this panel, the sketch for the plane was different. But Isayama redraw it to a similar flying boat that Hange protected. Isayama also crossed out the dialogue that says, 'The pain that we feel' and changed it to, 'The story we sought after'

Can't imagine how painful it is for Levi, losing everything and Hange 😢💔 (If only I could, I would give him a hug...)

On the anime, Mappa changed Levi's ending into Levi distributing candies to the children. When he saw a round lollipop, he blinked because he remembered someone.

He remembered Hange and the day they visited Marley with the kids...

Isayama and Mappa were trying to tell and show us that in whatever endings, Levi will always end up thinking about Hange.

Just how can he even forget the person who saved his life? The wounds that Hange treated before might've already healed, but he would always remember her by his scars.

Afterall, Levi spent more of his days with Hange than anyone else. Hange truly played a big and important role in Levi's life 🤧

9) IS LEVIHAN CANON?

Even without statement and confirmation from Isayama-sensei, I firmly believe that Eremika and Levihan are both canon.

There's a lot of evidence that proves their relationships are parallel to each other.

Just like Eren and Hange are both obsessed with Titans. Eren wants to kill titans while Hange wants to learn and study them.

Levi can recognize Hange by her knock while Mikasa can recognize Eren by only sensing him.

When Eren asked Mikasa, "What do you think about me?" Mikasa replied, "You're a family".

When Hange asked Levi, "Maybe we should just live here together. What do you think, Levi?" Levi replied, "If we just run away and keep on hiding, what will we have left?"

Both Mikasa and Levi lost Eren and Hange because they chose to say a safer answer. Had they answered differently and truthfully that time, then maybe they never lose them.

I think that's what really Ackermans are. They are physically strong, but they are not good in expressing their feelings through words. (They only show it through their actions)

When they bid a farewell to the love of their life. They didn't say, "Good-bye," ... But instead, they told them, "See you," / "See you later,"

They believe that they would see them again, in a place where there is no more war, no more pain, no more tears, no more regrets... A place where they can be happy together. A place where they could finally get the happy ending both Eremika and Levihan deserve <3

Bonus:

Isayama himself wrote, "Levihan" instead of writing it as "Levi and Hange" so he would lie if he'll say that he doesn't agree with Levihan ship 💜💚🤭

English is my third language so please forgive me if I didn't get to explain it well. I just really want to talk about Levihan because they mean so much to me 💜💚

Thank you for reading! 😊

#levi x hange #levi #hange #levihan #hange zoe #levi ackerman #eren x mikasa #eremika #aot #shingeki no kyojin #levihan canon #eremika canon #levihan relationship

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blighted-lights · 10 months ago

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slaughterhouse posting part 2 that isn't going to be polished at all and has been sitting in my drafts for days, but this scene is so interesting to me because i genuinely have no idea what megatron wants from ravage in this interaction- and i don't know if megatron knows, either.

megatron starts out by saying that the decepticons' loyalty isn't to him- its to the cause. ignoring how this is immediately striking me as completely, blatently wrong due to the times we see megatron rallying the decepticons around himself when other leaders fail to do the same (nevermind the fact that he started the cause in the first place), he then gets angry with ravage when ravage confirms that- yeah, actually. you're not the cause anymore. we have moved on with someone new. megatron gets so angry he stands up, he looms over ravage, he raises is voice and balls his fist- and why else would he do this if he wasn't upset that they're moving on without him?

which would, of course, make megatron a hypocrite. he left the decepticons and refused to take any effort to rejoin them- he clearly doesn't actually want to return to the fold. but when the decepticons unite themselves and move on from him, it's different. i can abandon you, but you cannot abandon me.

i've always took this reaction as being an immediate, no thinking, gut reaction to finding out the decepticons are moving on without him. he's angry, potentially feeling betrayed by them, when he... doesn't have much of a right to feel that way. and it's not like megatron wasn't given an option to join the decepticons again if that's what he actually wanted.

he was given a choice. he turned it down. he could of turned it down for any number of reasons, but no matter the reason, the point remains that he turned it down.

going back to panel after megatron snaps, ravage clearly takes megatron's outburst as him being upset that they've moved on without him. despite the aggressive way this interaction started with ravage attacking megatron, ravage spends most of this conversation attempting to reassure megatron. megatron gets angry that galvatron took over and they're moving on without him? okay- so then he wants to come back, right? he's upset he's been replaced?

well, galvatron isn't permanent. say the word and you'll be back in charge. megatron says that the decepticons aren't loyal to him, ravage reaffirms that they were loyal to him but now they've chosen a new leader since he left, megatron gets angry that they're moving on without him, and then ravage reinforces their original loyalty to him by saying if he wants to come back, they'll follow him.

and then megatron turns it around; yes he was just angry that the decepticons were no longer loyal to him, but now that same loyalty is toxic, actually. and it is! it absolutely is toxic. but i think ravage backed him into a corner here, even unintentionally. he can't sit down and actually address why the decepticons moving on makes him angry without admitting some part of him wants to return to the cons. or at the very least he still feels possessive of them and doesn't want them to function outside of his influence. when given the option to rejoin, he responds by insulting the decepticon's (and ravage's!) sense of devotion/loyalty and then quickly changes the topic to seawing and the trial. he doesn't say a solid yes or no answer because he doesn't actually have one to give.

ravage nails it down anyways. megatron has no idea what he wants from ravage in this interaction because he doesn't know where he stands anymore, let alone what he wants for himself. before ravage was revealed to be on the lost light, megatron was captain. he even seems content to BE captain- but ravage makes it complicated. ravage is a direct reminder of who he used to be and the people he used to surround himself with. worse, people he's abandoned and hurt in order to get to where he is as captain now. megatron left the decepticons behind with no command structure, no guidance, no plan- and ravage's mere presence is a bitter reminder that even if he's run off to the autobots, he can't escape that.

he's settled into a state of stagmentation with the autobots. one he's content with, maybe- at the very least one he can live with where the guilt isn't as heavy. it is the easiest way out megatron saw for himself.

but if anyone can get him to doubt himself, well.

who else better than ravage to stir up the past?

#blight rambles #blight's meta #transformers #maccadams #maccadam #mtmte #more than meets the eye #transformers idw #idw transformers #idw tf #tf idw1 #transformers idw1 #idw2005 #tf idw #ravage #mtmte ravage #tf ravage #transformers ravage #idw ravage #megatron #idw megatron #mtmte megatron #tf meta #transformers meta #this post is very messy and i debated a lot on posting it bc. idk if it even reads well or if my view on this scene isnt completely biased #because of how much i like ravage #but uh take it anyways. i cannot stop thinking about the slaughterhouse scene #i WISH. i wish their dynamic stayed fucked up. i wish they stayed angry and uncomfortable with each other #i wish ravage having to reassure and comfort megatron while ignoring his own pain was an intentional writing choice and not just #well. what we got in canon. where ravage is megs' support and thats it

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chimimon · 3 months ago

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Cab Boy

Modern AU - Touya x f!Reader

Disclaimer! What you are about to read contains the following: vulgar language, creepy co-worker, some stalking. Again if I’m missing something pleeaassseeee telllll meeeeee.

& and I have to say is… I started to get lost after the third draft. And then I wrote something for Nanami because I was going to loose my mind looking at manga panels of Touya for any inspiration, but I want to thank E.P.! You’re a real one and I love you for being an English major drop out. I would give you a big fat platonic smooch if HR wouldn’t beat me for it :’)

On velvety old car seats that softly gleamed under the streetlights, you completely melted in the backseat. With your legs to one side, leaning against the window, you watched the city fall behind you and your taxi. It was like dreaming with your eyes open, or like lying down while sitting up. The car smelled of cigarettes and cologne which added to the scene of the night drive.

The release of tension on your hips from standing in place for nearly four hours felt painful, and more so with every bump or hitch in the road. Comically they were just one chair short when you arrived at the main meeting room. But they were sure to save you a spot at an uncomfortably high countertop to type out company dialogue and bullet points. The burn in your wrists couldn’t be soothed as you rolled your balled fists around every couple minutes. The hollow ache only inched further up your arm. In the corner of your eye, you caught your driver’s gaze in the rear-view mirror before he warned you of an upcoming bump, mindful of the back of your head resting against the glass.

“Thank you.” You yawned with outstretched arms and legs, now readjusted and upright. There were still thirty minutes left until you arrived outside your apartment and the driver was staring again with smiling eyes. You thought to ask, “Have I seen you before? Did you pick me up last time?”

“I might have.” A soft tap followed the rhythm of his sentence. “But I drive a lot of people.”

You hummed with a lifted chin. The streetlights blurred the tips of his white hair, and you felt mesmerized by the green and red that paled in it. “Do you like driving all those people, sir?” You crossed a leg sitting tall. Those feathery strands of hair rolled from one shoulder to the other.

“I don’t mind it if most of them are like you.”

“Like me?” You leaned forward and with a lazy raise of your brow. “What about me?”

The red light made him look pink as he looked to you over his shoulder. A black medical mask covered his mouth as he answered. “Quiet, sober, pretty… most things I like in a passenger.” he said thoughtfully.

The word pretty lifted you up again, uncrossing one leg before crossing the other. “Right.” You whispered, and then laughed. Before you could open your mouth to ask for his name you remembered you called the cab online. With the ride information pulled up you looked at his information and smiled.

“Touya Todoroki,” your driver stiffened at your playful tone. “Do you get big tips for calling passengers pretty?”

A deep and airy chuckle was exactly what you wanted to hear. “We’ll see.” He sang after a moment.

Soon the door opened, you exited, and just like that you were home. Before you jogged up the stairs you turned to cordially thank him. You replayed the banter under the yellow light of your doorstep. “Touya,” you read to yourself. I can’t afford it, but I’ll tip you big tonight.

Over end of day coffee and toast, a transfer hire was talking your ear off about paperwork for company plans. The never-ending praises for management and how they “ran a functionally tight ship” made your coffee bitter and toast cold. It felt suffocatingly humid as both the heating and conditioning vents aimed at you in the break room. It had been cold outside, so it was a little too warm inside as boring conversation added to the creeping heat. You lifted up and off the wall from leaning against it as the man spoke. It became apparent that he was not going to let you slip past idle conversation. Every step you took away to leave he took equal steps forward to follow. There was also his wandering gaze on your outfit which you felt he could have at least tried not to be so obvious about. He was clearly appraising your waist, blouse, and neck. The thought of him undressing you with his eyes made you button your collar closed before making haste to your cardigan draped over your chair.

This man was not giving up. At some point you had stopped nodding, equipping your knitted armor of acrylic and cotton, as you began to sit down. “If you're hungry after work, we can-”

“I’m sorry,” You quickly cut in. “But I can’t afford any overtime this week. And, oh- damn. I need to get back to my amazing manager.” Every part of your face smiled but your eyes, ignoring his clear attempt to ask with a lie. “Sorry, but if you don’t mind.” Both hands were put up as you shrugged. “It’s a tight ship, sir.”

Finally, he was leaving. It was like watching a big kid drag their feet away from a playground, but he was finally leaving. With the whole encounter in mind, it was decided that there was no hurt in securing another ride tonight. Sure, going home by taxi added thirty minutes to what was normally a 10-minute rapid train ride, but there was no point in having that man insist on lunch again while you walked to the station; or worse, having to find out that he’s got a car to drive you home in.

Touya saw you had requested another ride and at once claimed your ticket. As the confirmation screen loaded, he noticed your request was made ten-minute’s ago and that he may have just missed you. He crossed his fingers before he dropped his head in relief, grinning as the location details appeared on the screen. This afternoon you had some instructions.

Please pretend to be annoyed that I’m “late”, and speed off once I get in.

Interesting, he thought to himself while he sped over, arriving a little earlier than your pick-up time. Touya tapped on his steering wheel again in anticipation before he exited the car. Without shame he hoped you were wearing another skirt that hugged your waist and hips or that this time that your hair might be down.

As you approached the car Touya was leaning on the passenger side, smoking a cigarette with another black mask resting below his bottom lip as he waited for you. The clicking of your heels in their quick stride drew his empty stare up. You were wearing opaque black tights, an A-line heather skirt, and a baggy cream-colored cardigan, looking especially stuffy with the white-collar button down. As soon as your eyes met, you smirked, and he pulled up the mask before you could take his features to memory. You bowed in pretend apologies, and he clicked his teeth. With some dramatic flair he flung open your door, side eyeing as you got in before smacking it shut. Touya dropped his cigarette onto the street, pressing it into the concrete before he climbed into the driver's seat. As he dropped in, he caught sight of a stalky man staring bullets into your temple.

“Running away from your boss?” He said through rear-view mirror. Touya noted how your face softened in relief as soon as he hit the gas.

“He’s kinda higher up, so...” the window fogged as you spoke to your reflection. “I guess you could say that.”

“He looks like a skinny, uptight asshole.” Touya muttered.

You smirked. “More like a skinny, uptight creep.” a chuckle escaped your lips as you turned to his light blue eyes, smiling at you again. Under gray skies in the late afternoon, they seemed cold. “But I'm happy to see you again, Touya.” You turned to look out the other window.

He slowly blinked and felt something bubble in his chest. “How sweet,” He said too honestly, “Well... I’m sure my acting skills are deserving of another nice tip.” He lifted a brow to the road.

“Oh?” You rolled your eyes. “You think I have that kind of money because I walked out a fancy glass building?”

“Are you saying you only have money for boys that call you pretty, ma’am?”

Ma’am brought an embarrassed blush to your face as the word dripped into your ears. “Do you drive in search of a sugar mama?” You kept up.

“Are you judging me?”

“Just a little.”

Touya clicked his teeth again three times before his voice polished itself into something flirty. “You’re quick, aren’t you?”

Your attention snapped to his reflection as the heat traveled down your neck. Touya ate up the suppressed smile that was cupped in your hands. You leaned toward him again as he entered a freeway.

“Ah, so you aren’t.”

“I think I’m beginning to question my happiness in seeing you again, cab boy.”

“Oh, she bites too.”

“And you don’t, Touya?”

“Just a little.” He purred.

You fell back into your seat and did some people watching at a red light. “Cab boy,” you quietly let out in a quick laugh.

It was the kind of laugh that tightened his jaw and causing him to grip the steering wheel for self-control. Touya was on the clock after all, and you were a paying passenger.

It’d been a week since he saw you, and he was worried you actually couldn’t afford anymore cab rides. If it weren’t completely illegal for him to ask for your account information, just to gather a lucky set of numbers, he would have offered to drive you around for free.

The first time he picked you up was after receiving a request from an older man, so when you and another young woman entered his car, he was pleasantly surprised. You were clearly annoyed, giving him the cold shoulder before talking with a voice that warmed him right up. But you weren’t speaking to him, you were shutting down some poor sucker on the phone with a smile on your face, a taunt in your tone and rolled eyes. You were meanly turning down the man that ordered the cab and he liked it. This vague idea of you lived in his head for a couple of days until he realized he was headed back to that same cooperate office. With all the luck he used driving you around the first time, it was like hitting the jackpot when you hoped in again alone.

It was written all over your body that you were just so tired, taking up all the room in his back seat, wondering if you would stop him from joining in to take up more. Innocently- he thought. But if Touya liked you rude, he liked you better embarrassed. The word pretty did so much to you for just a moment, he could see you falter as he tested the water; watching for go signs as if he could act on them while behind the wheel.

Three rides just days apart was where he felt his luck run dry. Just enough to miss his favorite ride for the week and when Friday arrived, he was starting to think you were using another service for drives. That bugged the hell out of him all afternoon.

Persistence can overcome any obstacle for as long as you harassed the right woman and tonight, in a cold restaurant sitting across from a man that couldn’t take any hints, that woman was you. As drinks were dropped off at your table, he talked about how endearing he found your game of hard-to-get.

“You're just this snippy thing in a frumpy cardigan. But I thought like, like God! If she just looked a little harder, she might appreciate what I’m doing, cause you like roses, right? Women like roses?”

A finger traced circles on the rim of your glass, “They’re pretty, sure.” You knew you were blinking too much, sighing too much, drinking too much water. There was little to no eye contact from your end and honestly, the whole “I’ll at least get a free meal,” thing was not worth this.

“Why don’t you order something to drink? How about a omething as sweet as you, little missy?”

Like hell you were gonna get drunk near this guy. But for just a moment you began to wonder... what would Touya have called you? Would he have asked if wanted something stronger? Would he have even taken you here? Would you have been better off calling for another ride to sit in casual conversation? Without realizing it, you had started to smile at the thought of a taxi driver and your date took it as a sign to reach across the table for your hand. The sudden contact made you jump as he continued to pride himself in the choice of venue, and how he detests men who like something fruity.

Not a single man in your office interested you, but your manager was going on and on about how this temporary transfer was going to take the department places if the team was on their best behavior. What he meant to say was that he’d get a good raise if he babysat a stockholder's son. But once he caught scent that this guy liked you, your manager visited your desk often. Asking you to show this guy how to use certain things in the office, how to label faxes and emails, things that your date knew because they were a transfer, not a new hire. And more time together meant digging deeper to find more excuses to turn him down. All of them were fairly honest and nice, but when he placed his hand on your arm during lunch, pushing your resolve aside with brute force, something sick possessed you to finally say yes to make it stop. It was just luck you would cave in on his last week there. Of course he’d snatch you up the night he leaves the department.

And here he was. Still moving his god forsaken mouth. “Are you gonna look at the menu?” He rested his chin on his fist, making himself taller. “Or are you trying to keep that figure nice n’ light for tonight?” He giggled.

With wide eyes, you thinly smiled, slowly reaching for your stomach. “I actually, I think I’m catching something.” You giggled in nervously.

“Oh, excited I see.” His teeth were too white, and it felt like your eye was twitching.

“I, no I actually...” Your scooted out of the booth, holding your stomach tighter. “I just- can you just excuse me for a second?”

In cold silence, the man's face dropped as you walked past. Nearly running to the restroom, you hid yourself in a stall and pulled out your phone to request another cab. If you could help it, you were going to walk straight past him in hopes he wouldn’t follow if he caught your stride. The cab was confirmed, and you gave it five minutes before you could dart out of the restaurant and down the street. But he started to text you at the two-minute mark, followed by a call.

As soon as it went to voicemail, you blocked his number and walked as fast as you could. The cold night air snuck up your back and shoulders as you began to run a block down and around the corner. There was a set of stairs on the side of a closed café, you pulled out your phone to see the status of your ride. There wasn’t a car to be seen slowing down, and you were getting antsy to leave the area. The site said your ride should have been there, but instead of an engine you could hear footsteps echo from the direction you came. Without looking you went further into the neighborhood to weave through an alleyway. There had to be a convenience store somewhere, and you were going to find it. And a convenience store there was.

As soon as you made your entrance, you saw the man you were running from turn your way. You ducked as the echo of your low pump heels felt like a target was placed on your head. You weaved through a medicine aisle, jogging on your tippy toes to mute your steps. Damn it, you gently kicked off your heels, speeding barefoot on the cold plastic flooring, completely abandoning your shoes. The goal was to be in another stall while you calmly found a new ride. You pushed the door open with your back just to be sure your date hadn’t already spotted you. But as you rushed in, you slammed into another man before the door could close.

“Oh shit.” Your stomach hit the floor as you turned to see the back of another tall man. “Shit! Sorry!” The sound of costumers nearby stopped your outstretched hand from pulling the door open to leave. “I- ah.” You said to the floor, with your heart in your throat.

The stranger was wiping his hands off with a paper towel and did not care to look at you. “Yeah, yeah.” He said about to push his way out. “You don’t have to explain yourself to me-” Touya stared at the back to your head, and your hand on the handle before allowing his gaze to drop.

Oh, he thought. It’s you. How lucky.

Before you could completely turn around to face him, someone tried to push open the door. Touya quickly pushed the door closed with hand planted beside your head. You looked back and up at him with wide eyes and lifted shoulders. To him you looked self-conscious and noted just how different it felt when you weren’t blushing. You looked wild, taking heavy breathes in and out, wearing a short dress that was falling off your shoulder. He watched your eyes focus on his, then he watched your brows furrow, and finally this dog like charm brought on a nervous smile. “No way.” you whispered. “You’re late.”

“I’m never late for you, princess. I’m anything but late.” His smiling eyes taunted. “Besides, someone beat me to it.”

“It? To what-?”

The sound of urgent stomping grew as a man got closer. “How does a door without a lock get stuck?” You heard a familiar voice whine.

“Damn it,” you could just smell the alcohol past their paper white teeth. “Touya stay with me.”

“What-?”

Before the door could be completely swung open you dragged Touya into a stall. He quietly laughed and watched as you climbed onto the tank of the toilet before he locked the stall behind him. “You’re fucking ballsy.”

The thought to say something smart was chased away as your pursuer entered a stall across from you two. He had started to mutter insults about you before turning his attention to an incoming call. You shushed Touya with a finger to his mask, completely unaware of the shit eating grin that hid underneath as you wildly eyed the slit in the stall door.

He turned to door as well, squinting while trying to listen in on this mysterious man you were hiding from. “Well. Go on.” He tilted his head and waited.

“That stupid girl from the analytics department. Yeah. Yes, yes. Her.” You eyed the ceiling in which his voice echoed from. “Yeah, well I’m over here blowing money on drinks for us, and she runs away before she’s gotta put out.”

Touya’s felt his mouth open. He was staring at you before you stared at him, pointing to the inside of your mouth and pretending to gag.

“Yeah well, whatever. I’m over it. Yeah. No, like. No exactly. Seriously. You wanna spoil some chick and- no literally. I know she’s here. No, I’m not- No I wasn’t trying to follow her- I… I have her shoes in my fucking hands.”

With a click and open of his stall, the man had left without washing up. You started rubbing your fingers together as you thought about the impromptu physical contact he made at the resultant.

“I see.” Touya leaned against the stall staring at your bare feet. “So... bad date?”

“Bad is underplaying it.” You whispered still, relaxing a bit in Touya’s presence. “Wait, what are you doing here?”

“I’m off tonight.”

“Oh.” You looked to the side in deep thought. “Oh, okay. It...” finally clicked.

“You said I was late?” He tilted head. “What was I late for, hmm?” He taunted, enjoying how you squinted your eyes at him.

“Nothing apparently.” You crossed your legs on the tank and leaned forward in relief, rubbing your temples. “Nothing I’m fine now.” You stepped down on the lid before stepping onto the floor. The scent of some soapy cologne held you in place as you thought about the man still being outside. “Can I ask you to-” you paused again, taking a deep breathe with some clear anxiety. “Can you leave with me?”

“You know how that’s gonna look, right?”

On cue a blazing heat settled into your face, feeling the embarrassment overwrite anxiety as you seriously contemplated bolting straight to the station barefoot. With a nod and a deep breath in, you dropped your head. “Touya, please?”

That pushed a button. “Please what?” The precious look through your lashes pulled him in. “Go on?”

“Please walk me down the block? You jerk?” You batted your lashes cutting through bashfulness with a grin.

“You got it, baby.”

Touya took you under an arm to hide you in loose hold. The soapy cologne did not hide the sewn in stench of tabaco. It stung on inhale and made you lightheaded as you kept walking. You could feel his grip tighten as you two stepped out the store. When his arm didn’t loosen after going a block down, you slowed down. “Touya, you’re good.” You lifted your hand to peel off his arm, which he did as soon as you touched him.

“Are you sure?” He dug into his pockets to dangle a set of keys. “I can drive you home.”

“I can’t afford that tonight.”

“I don’t want gas money.”

“It’s okay, I-” you stopped yourself as the thought that you were shoeless, a little sweaty, and in a dress occurred.

Touya scratched his neck from in the collar of his hoodie, waiting for you to finish. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you’re face, pal. So, I can’t ask you for a free ride.”

“You’re not asking. I’m offering.” He sounded a little annoyed. “But you can ask to sit pretty under my arm while check-out eyes us down?” Touya dropped his head, deepening his eye contact with you. He had these doll-like lower lashes that held your attention.

“Apparently…” that stung so you backed away. “So, thank you for that I guess.”

Touya was taken aback, kicking himself for being blunt as you sucked in half of your lower lip. “I’m kidding.” He started to play with a string looped around his ear before flicking it off, suddenly exposing his face. “It’s no big deal.”

The corner of your mouth lifted. “How convincing.” you sighed, wistful of the whole night. Touya put his arm out again, waiting for you to walk into him before walking you to his car in a lot another block away.

The silence was thick as he opened the passenger door for you, watching you drop in and shyly get comfortable. His car was clean, empty, and smelled just like his taxi. A sudden Dejavú hit as he hoped into driver's seat. It was foreign to be front passenger of any car, let alone one Touya drove. The car hiccupped as the engine turned, you watched his hands on the wheel when your trail stopped mid-way. It was a stick shift and once Touya got onto the main road, his attention alternated between his hands, feet and the street. He was the heart of the car and it was fun to watch it beat up close.

Touya could feel your gaze as he shifted gears. He smiled a when the down shift caught you off guard and wondered if you had ever been in a manual before.

“Here.” He opened his palm on the top of the shifter. You reached over and gripped the knob, feeling the car shudder at the red light. As soon as the light turned green his hand landed on yours to take off. The car took deep breathes before it trilled at the gas pedal. Touya’s hand was soft, his fingers rested in between yours, and with each shift up you could feel the nighttime moths flood your stomach.

He bit his lower lip pensively and squared his gaze forward as he drove. As soon as he got to sixth gear of the freeway, he smoothed over his thumb on yours. Normally he would have taken his hand off the stick, but he was dragging out the physical intimacy of whatever this was. He wanted more, and selfishly placed you hand in your lap with his lingering on top. When Touya began to lift his hand, you lifted yours as well to re-lace your fingers with his.

That same burn in your hips returned but it was accompanied by cold feet and arms. The adrenaline was leaving your body and you shuddered at its exit. The chatter of your teeth began to rival whatever was playing on his stereo. Touya unceremoniously tore his hand from yours and laughed when you softly pouted. The car slowly leaned into another lane as Touya took off his hoodie. With his knee he brough the car back into the lane as he slipped off the last sleeve. Your look of bewilderment made him flush as he placed his hoodie on your lap. “Put it on,” he nodded self-consciously. “Come on...” He sighed.

You faced him with a cheeky smile and he rolled his eyes. Thinking back on it, his hoodie looked big on him but seemed to grow on you as soon as you slipped it over your head. With your knees to your chest, tucking them in for warmth, you breathed in all the lingering cologne and cigarette smoke in the neck.

“Thank you.” You tilted your head toward him and hummed.

“No problem, princess.”

#touya todoroki #touya x reader #touya x y/n #touya x you #my hero academia #mha #boku no hero academia #bnha #bnha dabi #dabi x reader #dabi x you #dabi x y/n

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inkedinfusions · 5 months ago

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𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐤𝐞𝐲 | eren jaeger chapter 3

⊱𖣂⊰ | In which you fall into a fictional world with the key to Pandora's box.

── ★ ˙ ̟ . 🗝 .ᐟ.ᐟ masterlist

⊰– prev next–⊱

𝟎𝟑 | 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

chapter word count: 3.1 k

content warnings: blanket warnings

a/n: Third chapter! First of all, I want to say thank you to everyone reading this, your comments and votes slash likes slash kudos do wonders for my motivation. I currently have written up to chapter five, and have a rough outline of the next chapter, so expect those updates soon.

Thanks for reading!

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐒𝐔𝐍 𝐑𝐀𝐘𝐒 filter through your window, coating your room in soft light, like morning dew on plants. The paneled window lets in a slight draft, making you stir in your sleep.

Your eyes flutter open, and you shoot up from the covers before the confusion is replaced by recognition, your eyes slowly taking in the unfamiliar scenery. You flop onto the mattress again, turning over so that the glare of the sun is not directly over your eyes. The cotton sheets feel soft beneath your fingers, and you numbingly trace invisible patterns over and over again.

The clang of metal pots downstairs spurs you to life, prompting you to get up from the cocoon of blankets you were nestled in. You trod towards the dresser, picking some nondescript clothes to change into. The dress and shirt you choose feel weird on your body, and you're not sure if it's because they look like they came out of an old movie or simply because they are new to you.

You sit on the made bed, mulling over your next step. Zeke and Yelena are in Marley, so, like yesterday, you know that you are in the window of time in between the Scouts discovering the ocean and the envoy arriving to Paradis with the Volunteers. That gives you around three years before Zeke and Eren meet again, four before the rumbling.

Convince Zeke of moving up his plan in the timeline to get you home is not plausible – and why would it? As much as he is, in a way, something of a good person, he won't change his plans for you, a girl he just met.

You remember Johann Grice’s face, one he shares with his youngest son, one who has a stronger bond with Zeke that you currently do. Falco had been unlucky he consumed the wine, and even unluckier when Zeke, even if remorsefully, screamed, turning him into a titan.

So, the other option left is Eren and Historia. Small problem though, they are on the other side of a sea you have no way getting across. And what would Historia even do, if she wasn't a pure or intelligent titan? You didn’t feel comfortable sacrificing her for a ticket home.

You sigh, combing a hand through your hair. Well, you'll burn that bridge when you get there, or however the expression goes.

After carefully storing the clothes you arrived in and tidying up, you make your way downstairs, following the sounds that woke you up. There, in the kitchen, you are treated with a very bizarre image.

A steaming pot at the stove gives the kitchen a faint smell of coffee, and Zeke stands next to it, stirring another with what seems to be breakfast porridge. He turns your way when you approach, your footsteps announcing your arrival, and offers you a bowl. You accept it with a greeting.

“Good morning.”

“Morning, kid. Sleep well?”

You nod, shoving a spoonful of porridge into your mouth, relishing in the warmth it gave off. You didn't realize how hungry you were before, the only thing in your stomach being last night’s biscuits.

Zeke chuckles at your newfound energy, matching it with his own after grabbing a bowl. The clock on the walls ticks away unreadable numbers, provoking Zeke to draw you a page with the different variations of numerals at your request.

It's pretty simple, and you thank Isayama or whoever made the writing system for the fact that it follows the same logic your own does, just with different symbols.

“I'll see if I can get some simple picture books for you to practice,” Zeke says as he writes up the last number, the one standing in for nine. “But for now you'll have to be content with my chicken scratch.”

That elicits a small snort out of you, the idea that someone that's currently causing you anxieties has something as pedestrian as bad handwriting being ridiculously funny. He starts writing another one for the alphabet, reviewing with you the way they matched up to yours.

“What, did you fail calligraphy 101?” you ask, falling back into lighthearted banter.

“No, but I did receive glowing grades in porridge cooking.”

Your shoulders shake as you laugh, and somewhere in your consciousness you blame the lack of restful sleep and outlandish situation for the ease with which you snicker. Econ major Zeke was not on your bingo card for today.

You and Zeke finish your breakfast simultaneously, and he takes your bowl with him as he stands up, heading towards the sink. You follow, knowing that you'll feel bad if you don’t help, even if it's just a couple of bowls and mugs.

Soapy water runs down the dishes as Zeke cleans them, and you do your best to guess where each goes after you've dried them.

“So what are we doing today?” you ask, locating the cupboard with mugs.

“I–” Zeke emphasizes, “–will be going to a meeting with my comrades.”

“Comrades?”

“The Warriors. They are chosen to serve Marley, and each holds a special titan within them.”

“Oh. And you are one of them?” you question, remembering the explanation he gave you the day before. You had carefully cataloged the information you were given, as to prevent any future slipups.

Zeke nods, handing you the last bowl before drying his hands with an embroidered towel. You notice it matches one you saw at the Jaeger’s yesterday.

“As for you, well, I'm going to ask you to stay here a while. Practice your numbers, or if you feel confident enough, take a crack at some books.”

Your brows furrow as you close the cabinet’s door. While you recognize that going into a city you know nothing of is at the very least disorienting and at most dangerous, you don't want to feel trapped in the house.

“Can’t I come with you?” you try to bargain, already knowing the answers going to be no. You hope it's a no, anyway. Meeting the Warriors immediately after meeting Zeke would permanently raise your blood pressure.

“No.” Ah, there it is. “But I'll take you some other day to meet them.”

Huh. Unexpected compromise, and not one you really accounted for.

“If you do need to go outside though, for any reason, be sure you are wearing this,” he points to his red armband. “It's something that is required of us.”

You nod, mentally jotting down the books that you could try to read with the twenty six letter codex Zeke had given you.

Zeke bids you a goodbye afterwards, and you stand in the threshold for a minute before going to your room, pulling up some paper to do line drills. You meticulously write the ten numbers over and over again, losing yourself in the repetition.

The writing gets tedious after a while, so you let your pencil fall to the paper and stretch upwards, relieving the tension in your bones. You lay your head in your arms, parallel to the desk, and watch the window, fluttering leaves intermittently filling the view.

It would be easy to imagine being home, if you closed your eyes. This could just be another impromptu nap after finishing homework, and you would sleep until a shout would wake you up for dinner.

You drift away, engrossed in your memories, before you are suddenly pulled out of them by an impatient knock on the door. You consider ignoring it, and just then, the knocking doubles in speed, making whoever is on the other side of the door someone with either an emergency or an inability to wait.

You trudge downstairs after retrieving the key Zeke had gifted you yesterday, using it to unlock the front door. A small fist enters your vision, and you register a small, brunette girl attached to the other end of it.

She blinks, surprised, and hastily retreats her hand.

“...Hello?”

The girl just stares, not saying anything, and you look around to see if maybe someone responsible for her is near. As you do so, the girl speaks.

“You are not Zeke,” she states, and god are you getting tired of people telling you who you obviously are not.

“I'm not. Who are you?” you ask, not appreciating being questioned by a prepubescent girl.

“Gabi. Why are you in Zeke’s house?”

The name she introduces herself with is enough to quell your irritation.

“Oh,” you exhale, buying time to come out of your stupor. “I'm Y/n. I’m, uh, staying with Zeke for a while.”

“Why?”

“My dad died.”

That serves to silence her, the tense atmosphere growing exponentially with your comment. You feel a little guilty when she squirms, uncomfortable, so you sigh and move to the side, letting her in.

“Zeke’s not home,” you say, following her inside. “He went to a meeting, I think.”

“Oh, with the Warriors?”

“How do you–” you pause, your eyes flitting to the yellow armband decorating her bicep. So she was already a candidate then. Sick bastards. Child military in this series was a massive problem.

“I'm going to be one when I grow up.” The pride in her eyes makes your heart stutter. Gabi couldn't be older than ten, and here she was, already willing to die to serve Marley.

“That’s… a big dream,” you conclude, not wanting to quell her hopes, but also not willing to condone her goal.

Gabi gifts you a blinding smile, and begins to rummage through the room. You watch her as she drifts from drawer to drawer, before resigning yourself to the will of an eight year old.

“Are you looking for something?” you ask, ready to go back to being alone in your room.

“Zeke said he had a book about birds for me.”

You don’t recall spotting any other books in the house, only the ones in your room. And maybe Zeke’s room, but no way in hell you would intrude in his personal space. You let out a puff of air, gesturing Gabi’s expectant figure to follow you upstairs.

“It's probably in my room.”

Gabi’s footsteps trail behind you, already over seeing a stranger in Zeke’s house. Maybe stranger danger wasn’t a thing here, who knows. You roll up to the shelves, before remembering that you can’t actually read the titles.

You hesitate, embarrassed, before a high pitched question makes your face heat up even more.

“Why are you writing numbers over and over again?”

Gabi stands in front of your number-filled papers, innocently turning to you when she asks. While children in your world might not be master analysts, Gabi senses the shame written all over your face, and she hurriedly apologizes.

“I mean–” she stumbles over her words, “–you probably wrote differently where you lived, right? I’m sorry, I didn’t want to–”

“It’s okay,” you interrupt her. “I used a different alphabet there.”

You don’t mention that ‘there’ was not in her world map.

“Could you just tell me if the book you are searching for is here?”

You step aside to allow Gabi a better view of the different texts, and you watch as she squirms, her eyes scanning for what she is looking for. After a moment, she looks at you and shakes her head, denoting that it wasn’t.

“Afraid you’re going to have to wait for Zeke, squirt.”

Gabi scrunches her nose at the nickname, and her voice rises with the displeasure of it.

“I’m not a squirt!” she exclaims. “I’m actually tall for my age.”

You chuckle at her grumbles.

“Yes, but you are smaller than me. Ergo, squirt.”

“At least I can read,” she mumbles.

You freeze and your eyebrows raise all the way up your forehead, the comment catching you off guard. Gabi begins to take your prolonged silence as a sign that she messed up, but before she can apologize again, you begin to laugh.

She joins you in laughter a few moments later, and the two of you giggle like sleep deprived school girls. Wiping tears from your eyes, you try to control your snorts, losing it when your gaze catches hers.

“That was mean, squirt,” you tell her as the chuckles begin to subside.

“Not a squirt.”

“Sure,” you reply halfheartedly.

Gabi falls silent again, her eyes looking back at your line drills. Her eyes flit back to you, and then down to her hands, who begin to play with the hem of her shirt. Timidly, she pipes up with a proposal.

“I could bring you some books from when I learned to write.”

Your heart practically melts at her suggestion, and you are quick on taking her up on the offer. You thank her with a smile, which widens when she begins to look more comfortable in your presence. You, not wanting to leave a debt unpaid, speak up with your own idea.

“Can I braid your hair?”

Her brown hair falls longer on her back then it ever did in the series, and she fiddles with it for a moment. When she nods, you guide her to your chair where you begin plucking strands from her hair, forming a simple, triple plait.

“So how do you know Zeke, Gabi?” you ask, making small talk as your fingers weaved through her hair. “Is it through the Warriors?

Gabi begins to assent her head in agreement, before remembering to stay still.

“Yeah. I’m training to be one.”

You hum, adding small flourishes to the braid. “Are you any good at it?”

“Good?” she asks incredulously. “I’m the best at it.”

Oh, to be eight years old and have the confidence of a god. If it wasn't for the horrific implications her situation has, you could pass this moment off as some coming of age scene, where the protagonist states her dreams, only to achieve them at the end of the story.

You suppose that she did, in a way, help save the world from the Devil of Paradis. And she was –or would be– an excellent marksman.

“What are you good at?”

Her question sends you in for a loop, your fingers stilling in the middle of the plait. You find yourself unsure how to answer for the second time today. Although you weren’t particularly bad at anything, it also wasn't like you had something you excelled at.

“...I like to read stories,” you respond, following a pause. “All the more reason to practice reading, huh?”

“Guess so, if you’re into that sort of thing.” Gabi shrugs.

“Didn’t you come here looking for a book?”

“It’s not for me.”

“Oh.” You should probably have expected someone as lively as her to not take much interest in reading. “Who is it for then?”

“A friend. His name is Falco.”

Another name you recognize. At this point, it shouldn’t be a surprise when people reference other characters, but it still manages to catch you off guard. The little boy from the series is Gabi’s age so he’s also young now, younger than when he had to carry an enormous burden to save humanity, younger even than when he killed his own brother in the blast to forcibly become a titan.

“It must be nice to have a friend like you,” you concede, missing your own. It must've shown on your tone, because the next thing Gabi says is a direct consolation of it.

“I can be your friend too,” she offers softly.

“...Thanks Gabi.”

“And Falco has an older brother who I’m sure you’ll like–” you interrupt her as she begins to wiggle her eyebrows, breaking the wistful ambiance.

“And you’re done!” You finish up the braid with a tie, and you watch as her hands come up to feel it.

“I also have a cousin who just returned–!”

You shush her, failing to do so as you both begin to laugh again. Gabi thanks you for the plait with a smile, and you chat in your room until both your stomachs begin to rumble. Making your way to the kitchen, you realize that you have no idea of what to make, and less of what ingredients are available.

You and Gabi rummage through the kitchen, hitting jackpot with some vegetables and bread. You make quick work of slicing them as Gabi prepares a sauce that reminds you of your world’s curry.

“Won’t your parents be worried about you being out so long?”

Gabi sticks a spoon in the sauce and offers it to you, nodding proudly when you give her a thumbs up for the flavor.

“It’s fine. They know I’m with friends.”

“Friend. Singular.”

“I could invite Falco and his brother–”

“Point taken, thanks.”

You both settle on the table, and the conversation quiets down as you both start to eat. The freshness of the vegetables mixes deliciously with the dressing Gabi oh so graciously prepared. You split a small loaf of bread and offer the bigger piece to Gabi, who takes it gratefully.

The evening is spent in between banter and games, after Gabi’s unsuccessful attempt to tutor you in your writing and reading. She resigns, regretfully wallowing that the Grice’s would make better teachers than her.

The sun dips over the horizon, and you send her off to her house with a promise for a repeat of the evening some other day. When Zeke arrives in the evening, you are in the middle of cleaning up the cards Gabi had strewn across the room after a particularly bad defeat.

The front door’s knob rattles as he turns it, and he greets you when he spots you in the kitchen.

“Hey, kid. Did you bring a tornado with you?” he says, referring to the playing cards you have yet to pick up. Tornadoes seem to follow you, from your arrival to the mess in the house.

The seemingly innocent question makes your heart speed up, the implicit again in his sentence not going unnoticed by you. The card in your hand draws a droplet of blood when you clench it, making the red mix with the blue ink, swirling around like the dust had when you first arrived.

You swallow, the calm atmosphere you had created with Gabi shattering with the reminder that Zeke was after the mystery of your appearance.

“Gabi came over,” you respond, with you back to him.

You listen as Zeke’s clothes rustle, followed by what you think is his coat being draped over a chair. You rinse your hand in the sink, dabbing off the dark drop in the card while you're at it.

“I see. Was she with Falco? I promised to give him a book.”

You shake your head, turning around.

Zeke hums, muttering under his breath that he’ll have to pay them a visit at headquarters. You have dinner in a tense silence, an utter difference from the lighthearted banter at breakfast. If Zeke notices the disparity, he says nothing.

Maybe it was sleep deprivation what made you lose your wariness. That’s why, after washing your dishes, you bid Zeke a curt goodnight, making the trek up to your room once more.

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lxmelle · 10 months ago

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Geto was loved even in death.

Wouldn’t it be nice if he were judged by his intentions in the afterlife - wherever that was? He had suffered living with the love he had. We see through the eyes of those left behind, that the ill deeds didn’t define him, as strange as that may be to us as readers in the real human world we live in. Geto’s influence and loving nature were far reaching; Gege certainly made him so treasured by many even after his death. If Gojo was touched by his caring influence, this was also Geto’s will he passed onto his students.

NOT spoiler-free as I’ll be referring to the recent chapter, 255.

I wrote this the other day:

And honestly it’s long enough; here’s part 2.

Is it obvious I’m suffering from brainrot? All my drafts from jjk brainrot are rivalling my thesis/dissertation from way back (lol)

Here is more under the cut:

I’m really moved by the reasons for why Miguel and Larue have decided to join in the risky fight against Sukuna.

It’s very obvious that Miguel is reluctant at first. He says he he’d rather terrible curses arrive at his shores than to fight with Sukuna, adding that he doesn’t see himself having any ties with Japan any longer.

We can deduce that this was part of Gojo’s plan for the possibility that he dies/loses, and I had a post about this saved in my drafts - but I guess I never got around to finishing it. Basically, in sum, he will achieve giving Geto a cremation (avenging him) and gets to show off to his students (which he does enjoy) by going all out (soo satisfying), and in the worst case scenario, he loses but gets to go all out, weakens Sukuna (for the rest to handle), and idk if he really is that romantic (so it’s really stsg headcanon fantasising) he will die on the same day as Geto.

The Opening theme is rather beautiful in that it interprets Gojo having the words, “we’ll meet again” stuck in his throat, which he doesn’t say. But I’m a bit weird and tend to separate anime from manga. But it’s worth noting that here.

I digress. Back to Miguel and Larue who have moved to speak privately without Yuta.

In a previous post I wondered aloud about what Yuta knew about Geto from others aside from being villainous and I guess this implies he doesn’t know much, since he wasn’t close to Miguel enough to sit around to chat with them. It makes sense.

Miguel and Larue both agree they followed Geto in jjk 0 because they wanted to see him become King. What does this even mean, really? Gege, you’re missing stuff out again!

Nevertheless, we understand how reluctant Miguel was. He enquires that Larue intends to do, clarifying: is it for revenge or to take Geto’s body back?

And it seems like their main motivation for putting their lives on the line... is to honour Geto’s memory. Like a traditional ritual one makes for the dead (customary in Japan on death anniversaries - not limited to the year, but also number of days).

It’s incredibly moving how much they love him. This is actually what led Miguel to reconsider. We see him go silent as he thinks “...” before he reaches a moment of clarity/a decision.

Tbh I have issues with interpreting his statement in between the two panels (re: hell) in Japanese - it doesn’t directly indicate if he is referring to the former part of the conversation (whether he thinks Geto is in hell), or the latter (he thinks the battle will be hell). The phrasing goes like this: “no matter how I think about it: it’s hell.” - I’m not a native speaker so it’s difficult for me to be certain which is right. But the consensus is as translated above. Larue thinks Geto is in heaven, Miguel thinks it’s hell, and we see the airport scene where presumably Haibara and Riko with Kuroi have been there for over a decade. lol. Who knows!

So the bottom line is… regardless of where they think Geto ends up in the afterlife, Miguel is willing to give Geto a send off that’ll even reach hell. Or, despite it going to be hellish, he will do it. It also seems so heartwarming how they still emphasise family and friendship in wanting to fight together - perhaps things we can surmise had meant something to Geto.

They will fight Sukuna because it is for Geto. Geto was so loved that they would risk themselves - not for a title, not for revenge, but out of … love. Again. That’s pretty damn loving. Can we imagine what Geto did and was to them, for them to experience such loyalty and reverence?

Sadly, it goes without saying that Geto’s body being used as a vessel and puppet by Kenjaku has possibly evoked an emotional response by those who cared for him - namely Mimiko and Nanako, and also Gojo. Arguably, even if it were a death without his body being hijacked, Gojo did refuse to cremate his body or have it processed “by the book” of jjk high through Shoko. If that’s not out of a form of love (or “consideration” as Kenjaku put it), I don’t know what is.

The twins went against what Geto wanted for them (to carry out his will) to fight against immensely power beings in hopes they could bring him home. Those were their reasons to fight. Gojo scheduled 24th December - this was after he teleported to Kenjaku immediately upon unsealing so he could bury Geto. We saw Larue and Miguel’s. Toshihisa is alleged to be quite weak, and despite potentially being considered a son to Geto (if his life situation did mimic that of the twins’ - source: jjk character book), he opts to follow the inherited will as prescribed by Geto.

It’s all love. Geto was loved, I’m telling you. I want to shout if off the rooftops because that man just looked so darned sad and deranged after he lost it.

So. Continuing where I left off: Everyone thus far has had a reason to go into battle with Sukuna. I wonder what / who will actually reach him? I hope it’s Yuji ... and that Megumi will react again at some point. They have their own themes relating to love and purpose. I’ll leave them to someone else more familiar with their characters to write about!

And now I’m going offside quite a bit, but it’s still of relevance to Geto and the theme of love that seems to surround him. Way back to jjk 0 and Hidden inventory.

I wanted to just bring this into the picture as well now that I’m already writing a post on that topic, but please feel free to stop if you’re bored now.

So. Jjk 0!

There were direct parallels with Yuta & Rika and Gojo & Geto. This was also confirmed by the director when discussing their vision for the movie. The light novel also drew a link between Geto and Yuta where they were described as being too sincere for this world.

There is a direct theme of love - the type, is open to interpretation.

Kenjaku also makes reference to this in the Shibuya arc. So to me, it remains relevant. Love in its many forms is somewhere in what Gege wishes to convey thematically.

Within jjk 0, Geto seemed to pursue power but this was also a symbolism where power = love. It is twisted. In light of recent events, we know that the pursuit of power leads to the dilution and even absence of love. Love that gives birth to power becomes cursed. So it seems.

As we know, Yuta bound his lover to himself to gain power.

If only he had Rika (metaphor for love: Gojo) he probably wouldn’t have had to skulk around the shadows consuming curses which he hated doing. Geto was lamenting on the past in the above panels. He probably was determined to carry on, as he vouched to give it all he got (Haibara’s last words to him echoing here).

A flashback to the past:

Geto doesn’t do things in half-measures. To avoid hypocrisy, and I headcanon that it was a merciful killing to protect them from him, he kills his parents. To die by his hands than to be used as a pawn to get to him. For them to see the horrors their son could be capable of. It is so very wrong, and we can see the twisted nature of his love in this interpretation.

And Gojo delivers the ultimate blow that leads to Geto reflecting - depicted by the mysterious ellipses “…..” (gege really likes the reader to work hard huh) - insinuating it is impossible for Geto, so don’t even bother trying. The blossoming possibility of discourse was nipped, as the strength differential was implied - you’re the strongest now, whereas it used to be “we”. There was no more place for Geto; it was probably a misunderstanding. Gojo was protecting everyone in his own way, and the only way he knew how.

For power, Gojo was a source - but Geto couldn’t do that in Shinjuku, nor earlier in the arc, when Gojo himself was on the brink of insanity and deferred to Geto about annihilating humans as he held Riko’s dead body. Geto in the scene above acknowledges their different paths they needed to take - Gojo had a place as part of the elite at the school - Geto was already facing an execution order.

And after hearing Gojo’s condescending tone in an emotionally-fuelled attempt to reach out to him. He turns away to protect his friend from himself, and himself from his friend. Anyway, I touched on this in my previous post. Geto feels they had fought and didn’t deserve a place next to Gojo. But deep inside, even his body remembers the sound of Gojo’s voice, reacting to it when called despite his soul no longer being there.

sigh. Moving on... back to jjk 0:

After witnessing the bonds through willingness to sacrifice and the love between these students, Geto was really moved. Gojo trusted Geto retained his sense of humanity / love / idealism - even if it would lead to him sacrificing himself.

He was finding it difficult anyway:

He could always empathise with love. I suspect he tried his best, but the binding vow for Yuta’s life was also just the cherry on top to make Rika super saiyan.

Kenjaku knew Geto probably could’ve won though, had he been more selfish.

Geto conceded without a fight with Gojo. Maybe it was a matter of trust in that they both knew his living on borrowed time. As the light novel insinuated, this was the only way it could ever end. And Gojo would have to carry the curse that was Geto. This seems... so cruel.

He did his best. He perhaps always wanted the love but set it free.

He did so many things for others in spite of himself, in sacrificing himself, in staining himself with blood drenched hands.

Avenging Riko by killing Sonoda. Note how manipulative “humans” are by using Jujutsu rules against them.

He embraces a life of smoke and daggers. Living in lies and half truths in order to live, survive, and find justice in a wicked world.

Watch me closely, I’ll protect you, I’ll avenge you, this is how you protect yourself.

This is the path I’ve chosen.

I’m not saying he was right or justifiable. His character is just tragic. The system had set him and others to fail.

The worm foreshadows Geto’s maternal nature. Calling him “okaasan”. I mean, this very worm had a binding vow with Toji. And now it calls for a new owner? I’m not sure if Gege had anything else in mind with this... is the womb protrusion domain Geto’s? But that’s tied to a sorcerer’s soul…. Anyway, I digress again. (Sorry). Geto did have a martyr complex and was written captivatingly well by Gege. The extra touches where how he has been perceived by others and the effect he has (and continues to have) on those we see.

And I just want to leave this heartbreaking thing here:

Source from twitter/now X:

Wouldn’t it be so sweet for Geto to get one (love declaration) at the end of his life, regardless of the way you perceive Gojo and Geto’s relationship?

Wouldn’t it be nice for him if he could know that his family who he instructed to flee had all loved him, adored him, and would honour his sacrifice in differing ways...

Instead, a form of love meant his body was desecrated and used by Kenjaku. His girls were killed, and his full potential was not quite realised at all.

If only things were different.

Gojo should have kept him in his basement!

But at least, I think, Gege is giving Geto some love even after his death.

For that I’m thankful.

And thanks for reading if you made it this far with my rambling!

If you want something more light hearted I have a fluffy fic up on AO3 (it isn’t great but i enjoyed writing it to fantasise about what happens at the airport) and if you want more angst and pain, please browse my tags (lol).

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mikeyisbrooklyn · 3 months ago

Text

We’ve got a part two!! I teased a bit of this earlier and cranked out the rest in the waking moments since! Read the first bit here! And the next bit here!

A bit of housekeeping: This will be going up on AO3 after the enter fic is done. What I’m posting now are somewhat drafts and once I’ve boiled it down to a final version I’m happy with, the official version will be released there (and here, of course).

Warnings this go round: vomit and nausea (I swear guys it’s only meant as narrative symbolism for a character’s emotional volatility I don’t actually like throw up), self loathing (seriously, it’s a bit heavy)

And of course, the tags: @on-a-lucky-tide @etanesnil @jgvfhl @roachs-pet-roach

Without further ado,

Why We Can’t Have Nice Things (2)

Price wasn’t surprised when he seamlessly slipped into sleep in his hospital bed sometime around early evening after the expected visits from Gaz, Ghost, and Soap—he even got a call from Kate. What did surprise Price was waking up under the cloudy pitch black night in Nik’s arms.

The veritable squawk that left Price’s mouth would’ve turned his face red if Nik’s warm chest wouldn’t have already. In panic, he wrapped his arms around Nik’s neck and hid his face in the Russian’s collarbone.

“Careful, rodnoy, if you jostle too much I will drop you.” Nik chuckled as he tightened his grip—one arm wrapped under Price’s legs, careful not to agitate the cast covering the right one, and the other warmly around his shoulders. It was, for all intents and purposes, a bridal carry. Price squawked again when he realized.

“When you make these noises you sound—how do you like to say—precious.” Nik teased as he shifted Price’s weight, carrying the crippled man in one arm like it was nothing, just long enough to reach into his car and pull out a pack that he promptly threw over his shoulder.

“Go fuck yerself, why are you carrying me?“ Price growled. He dared to look around and saw, thankfully, nary a soul. He stared at a Victorian-style house surrounded by quite the large yard space, there was a long gravel road that led away from the home down a hill—presumably where they had come from if the fresh tracks meant anything. “And what posh bird did you steal this place from?”

“Messy arms dealer. Scared off one of my usuals and ran away to Florida when he knew I was looking for him.” Nik closed the car door and started walking to the house with Price in his arms. “Still found him.” He said through a grin. The implication needn’t be spoken, Price knew well enough what that entailed and shivered—but not out of fear. If Price was a disgusting bastard who was touched in the head, that was his business alone.

Once inside, Nik gently set Price down on a couch longer than the length of his office and softer than any bed he’d ever touched—let alone slept in. He even felt himself sink into a bit.

“Bloody hell, was it a dealer or a duchess?” Incredulous at how the interior was even more haughty than the exterior. Dark oak coffee table larger than many dining tables he’d seen. Paintings to fill empty space on the paneled walls and taxidermied game as trophies. A wall-hung flatscreen TV that he likely couldn’t even get on a year’s of his captain’s salary. There was even a bowl of potpourri that gave the huge living area a thick reek of citrus, herbs, and flower petals.

“Da. It is nice, a bit—ah, hm, prissy, but fit for a clown who thinks himself noble.”

Price frowned. “Calling me a clown, Nik?”

Nik belly laughed. “Well you are expert at making me laugh. But nyet,” He reached back and—aw, hell, that was a fleece blanket—Price didn’t have the chance to fight it as Nik all but trapped him in the heavy, warm thing. “I only wanted the best, for you. Will make recovery quicker, no?”

Nik kissed Price’s forehead as he tucked the blanket around him. He knew it was intended as act of romance or affection but it made him feel as if he were a sickly boy. In response, Price turned red and felt that lurch at the bottom of his stomach. Worried he would vomit again, he hurriedly turned his face away from Nik and tucked it into a couch cushion.

Nik pulled back and raised an eyebrow. “John? Are you alright, mishka?” He went to grab Price’s chin to lock eyes with him but Price resisted, which prompted Nik to immediately drop his hand and scrunch his face in confusion and worry. “Wh—“

The word didn’t finish forming before Price barked out a “‘M fine! Tired.” Still muffled by the couch. He slightly turned enough to look at Nik with one eye, his words becoming clearer. “Jus’ woke up ‘n all. Need ta rest my eyes…more.” He was gruff and curt with it, though his nervous energy bled out at the end.

He hated the analyzing gaze from those big brown eyes above him. Nik was no dunce, he knew well how smart the madman was. It was one of the plethora of tools and methods he watched the man use to steal his heart. But blessedly, he didn’t press him for once, instead nodding and pursing his lips before rising up fully from besides Price.

“Da, rest. I will bring the rest of our things inside. Then, dinner.” Nik softly caressed Price’s hair, hesitating on one stroke of the rich brown as if he were holding the most precious treasure.

“‘M not—“

“Hungry?” This time, Nik cut Price off and with a knowing smirk. “Then it will be light dinner. You will eat, rodnoy.” There was no room for argument and Price knew it so he let out a reluctant grunt.

Just under an hour later, Price is halfway dozing off when a warm hand lands on his shoulder. “Prosypaysya, rodnoy.” It ought to be criminal how such a deep voice with razor sharp edge can turn so soft and silky. At least, Price thinks as much when he rouses to those big Labrador eyes Nik carries around. More dangerous than any weapon he could ever get his hands on.

Price remembers when he first looked into those eyes more than a decade ago. At the time, he thought his nerves were just a natural result of knowing he would had been face to face with a man M16 warned him could kill him with a rusty screw; nerves from something some liquid courage and a stony facade on his face could handle. But in hindsight it’s so clear that he’s simply never looked into deeper irises before. Sincerity so deep he could sink into it for an eternity and never reach the bottom, but not oppressive like stormy seas, welcoming—enticing, even—like a flowing creek, leading from a freshwater spring. To find out—slowly, over the years—that the man was just as enticing. Loyal. Reliable. Resourceful. Steadfast. Ruthless in the right ways, at least to Price, anyway. He doesn’t blame himself for initially thinking he was so drawn to Nik because he wanted to be like him.

But no, he knows now—just as he did mere months ago when he finally came out and confessed, halfway through a shared bottle of that battery acid Nik called vodka and far too gone to worry if it were wrong to say—he always loved Nik. It was only a matter of time before he realized it. And it’s in moments like these where he feels that realization crash into him full force just like it did the first time.

Nik’s hand moved from Price’s shoulder to his cheek. “Mishka, you are staring. Are you with me?” Price could see the smallest crease in the man’s smile, something like worry but tiny like a hair fracture in a vase. Price hated that, whatever it was, so much so that it shook him out of his reverie. He blinked twice and took a deep breath.

“Aye. I’m ‘ere.”

“Good. Dinner is ready. Hold still,” Nik pulled off the blanket and reached to pick Price up. Reacting quickly, Price nearly swatted Nik’s arms away. Thankfully, he realized in the last moment he’d look like a prick for it and opted to instead grab Nik’s arms instead. Nik froze at the sudden movement.

“I—I can…” Damn him, why was he stuttering? He cleared his throat. “Lemme walk there. Need ta get my practice in with these crutches sometime.”

“Doctor said you need only rest for the first weeks.” It was a reminder but to Price it sounded like a scold. Price wasn’t fond of being scolded.

“The dining room in another zip code or somethin’?”

“N-nyet?”

“Then I’ll survive a walk there on crutches at least. Relax.” Price harrumphed as he sat up and managed to hold in a wince, looking past Nik looking for the walking aids in question.

Nik was speechless and looked confused and…and something else that Proce recognized and felt sick when he did. That damn worry. He hates that micro-look on Nik’s face. He hates it. He hates it. He hates—

Price clears his throat to forcibly derail that train of thought. With more force in his voice than necessary, “Nik, you did bring the crutches in, yeah?”

“Da, da. I—are you sure, I do not mind—“

“I know you don’t and ‘m still sure. You can catch me if it looks like ‘m ’bout to go ass over tea kettle, sound fair?”

Nik hesitated for another moment before nodding. Without another word he walked out the living room but only for a few seconds, walking back in with two crutches. He looked at the things like they slapped his father and called his mother a street girl as he handed them off to Price.

Price grunted in thanks as he put them under his arms and stood up best he could. It was a bit of a struggle at first but this wasn’t Price’s first rodeo, so he recovered and managed quickly. That didn’t stop Nik from reaching his arms out, ready to catch Price in a split second if needed. Still, once he took a few hobbled steps, Price was well in his own rhythm with the only nuisance being Nik’s hovering.

Though he grumbled a bit, Price did let Nik pull his chair out for him. It’s not like the Russian hadn’t done so before; it’s amazing how a sadistic mongrel could become the perfect gentleman given the right motivation. And the similarities to dates prior didn’t end there. With a plate of balsamic butter steak and mash with asparagus in front of him, Price wouldn’t be surprised if the bastard brought out wine and lit candles.

Price ate into his food, knowing Nik was watching across the table, more preoccupied on Price’s enjoyment of the food rather than eating himself. For what it was worth, it was positively divine. Everything Nik cooked was, frankly, and Price swore that the man’s favorite part of every meal was watching Price confirm that again and again with groans of pleasure. And Price was more than happy to oblige. So why…why did Nik’s eyes on him feel so…irritating? That wasn’t the right word but Price couldn’t put his finger on what was. It was on the tip of his tongue but more importantly, a juicy steak was taking up that same space and distracting him. Conflicting emotions be damned—good food is good food—and, as always, Price made his pleasure known with a borderline orgasmic groan.

“Ah, you like it. Good.” Nik seems to sigh in relief rather than satisfaction. It was only then that he felt comfortable digging in himself.

“‘Course I like it, never haven’t liked your cooking.” Price said as he wiped his face with a napkin. “What made you think this time would be different?”

Nik looked up and finished chewing, swallowing and then looking askance for a split second before meeting Price’s eyes. Price knew that look like the back of his hand: Nik was about to say something he knew Price didn’t want to hear. Price preemptively frowned.

“Blyat, you did not even let me answer and you already—“ Nik sighed, resigning to instead just answer the question, “you have been, ah—cranky. I did not know you would allow yourself to enjoy the food.”

Price’s frown deepened. He had many things he wanted to say. Adamant denials. Indignant swears. But at his core, he knew had been a prick. Nik had carried him inside, tucked him in, made him dinner, been nothing but a bloody fucking gentleman and he hadn’t even said a single thank you. He knows just how many pretty young things would be straight fawning and tripping over themselves for this kind of treatment. But that was the problem wasn’t it? Price was no pretty young thing. He was crotchety bastard with a perpetual pout. And more importantly, he didn’t want to be pampered, didn’t want to be…be something that Nik needed to take care of.

For two decades now, Price had prided himself on his self-sufficiency. Even with his back against a wall and with the shit hitting every fan, he could take care of himself, probably lift the whole world on his shoulders while he was at it. And he knew Nik had a similar disposition—hell, Nik could probably run laps around Price. The man had to choose between his home and his soul and nearly lost both and still came back from it.

So Nik knew, he knew how important it was that Price be able to take care of himself. He’d been the same damn way. So why was he doing all of this? Did he feel obligated to it, to him? Was it just because of this new thing between them—it was hardly new as it had been a long time coming and it was much more than a thing but there wasn’t a title that didn’t feel childish or redundant to Price—and Nik felt like he had to show up in this way? The man had not made any effort to hide his affinity for romance since they had begun getting serious with each other, but was this really just more of that same quixotic chivalry? Or…

Or was it because he didn’t think Price could take care of himself? That couldn’t be it, Nik made it a habit to shower Price with praises for his accolades. But then again, Price had just nearly got himself killed. Maybe Nik didn’t want to be believe it but he was always a practical man, figured that Price was slipping and that he needed to swoop in and take the rest from there. Of course, of course! It’s why he insisted Price stay with him in this wannabe chateau rather than his own flat back home or at that wretched hospital with the trained professionals to nurse him back to health. It explained those quite literally gut-wrenching looks Nik kept giving him in brief moments, a sickening worry that actually made Price sick. Nik, the fixer who could take care of any problem thrown his way, had to be able to see an issue before it could develop beyond its early stages. So it meant he could see that Price was gonna be a problem, could see that Price was a—

Liability.

Price retched onto the table.

“Jonathan!” Nik rushed over to Price’s side and it was only then that he even realized he threw up. Nik was quick to grab something, probably a tea cloth, to wipe Price’s face with as he pulled his chair away from the table—and his own sick.

“I should not have made you eat, I am sorry, so sorry.” Price had never heard Nik like this before. Even when Gaz was sent flying out of his heli with nothing but a rope and some damn good luck he stayed grounded enough to make semi-coherent sentences. Here and now, he was bumbling through a dozen different apologies in half as many languages.

“‘M fine.” Price croaked out. He didn’t even expect Nik to respond but the Russian paused and looked at Price like he grew a second head.

“Cyka blyat! You are not fine, Jonathan! Please, ne deris’, let me help Mishka, I am begging.” Nik was literally on his knees in front of Price, hands on both of Price’s cheeks.

Price hated that desperate look on his face. Like Price was dying in front of Nik and he was helpless to stop it. Nik was never helpless for anything and now he is because of Price? Because of Price’s fuck up, his inability to keep his shit together.

He needed to let Nik do this. Let the man nurse him back to health so he’d stop looking so damn distressed, so Price would stop fucking ruining him like this. Then, then after he could walk on his own, Price’ll make it better. He’ll be better.

So he went limp, let himself fall into Nik’s arms like putty. Let Nik carry him to the fancy bathroom and clean him fully. Let himself be tucked into the nicest bed he’s ever seen and laid still for several minutes while Nik left—clearly to clean up Price’s mess. Then he let himself be wrapped in the warmest arms and pressed into a chest he’d take as a pillow any day. Price knew this would be the majority of his life for the next one or two months and if he were a better man he could enjoy it. Let himself have this one nice thing. But he was not a better man, he was liability, and every second of this ran the risk of ruining all that Nik was. So he would endure, he would do what he could to keep that from happening, and when it was over, he would never let himself do this to Nik again.

He’d rather die.

#cod nikolai #captain john price #nikprice #baby’s first fanfic #old man yaoi #hurt/comfort #mostly the hurt here sorry #handwritten by a lost boy

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iwritenarrativesandstuff · 1 year ago

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Jouno's "Death" and Characterization

Actually I'm adding onto my thoughts about Jouno's death scene because it really is brutal, even compared to the earlier "deaths" of the arc.

[ID: A screenshot from the Bungou Stray Dogs manga. A vampirized Akutagawa bites into Jouno's shoulder. Blood spatters on Jouno's face, scrunched up in pain. End ID.]

I binge-read the manga very quickly on my first read, and so I think there was a lot that I kind of overlooked, especially when it came to Jouno and his characterization. I found the guy interesting, but I wasn't as invested in his character as I was with some of the others.

But even then, his death shocked me with how... cruel it was. And going back and really paying close attention to his character, it hurts a lot more.

[ID: A set of three images from the Bungou Stray Dogs manga. In the first, a speech bubble says "You have what it takes to join the Decay of Angels." Jouno's face is carefully neutral and he says nothing for a panel. In the next, face still neutral, he says "What are you saying?" In the second, a panel of Jouno, bound and smiling in prisoner's garb, is overlayed by Fukuchi saying "Jouno, you were originally an executive in a criminal organization. Seeing the good prospects in your ability and that sense of hearing, I recruited you six years ago, for the sake of this day." Jouno lifts an eyebrow with a small frown on his face and exhales a small puff of air. In the third, Jouno, smiling, says "Yes. From the start, I've known no pleasure but that of tormenting others. Besides, you even said it, that you initially recruited me for the sake of this day." His smile looks a little tight. End ID.]

Looking at Jouno's face here... I'd honestly say he's a bit hurt by this turn of events. He has a very similar background to Dazai. This is the equivalent of Dazai being told that he was only hired by the Agency because they actually wanted him to take up the mantle of the Demon Prodigy again, but this time for their benefit. Because that's his true nature, right?

Jouno was only recruited... because he was never believed in. He was Fukuchi's little criminal pet project, one that didn't go as he intended at all - and Jouno dies for it, only shortly after he starts to get accustomed to the idea of himself as a good guy (even if he's still... morally ambiguous, to be diplomatic about it lol).

But yeah, let's take a second and look at Jouno's particular brand of cruelty - that sadistic streak where he wants to hear the suffering of others... and how easily this was overshadowed by one old woman's quiet gratitude. Fukuchi remembers the beginning of this scene... but he's left unaware of the aftermath of it and how Jouno changed (fitting, for the man forever caught up in the war; who still lives like he's on the battlefield). Jouno is largely self-preservative - it seems likely that, given his criminal background, you stayed alive by asserting your power over others, and Jouno does this by striking fear into others and deriving pleasure in that reaction - but it pales in comparison to appreciation, which Jouno states makes the sounds of fear like silence. The old lady is such a small thing really, but it apparently left a huge impact on him.

I think it's quite a decision made to characterize a guy who is hyper-sensitive to sensory input as being strongly affected by the kind of reactions he gets from others. Jouno compensates with fear and intimidation, but he actually wants to be appreciated. Whether Jouno genuinely cares about justice as an ideal is up for debate still, I believe, but we can be positive he likes being liked far more than he likes being feared. So, while Jouno thought he was appreciated for his pursuit of justice under Fukuchi, and had come to the realization that he prefers helping over harming - his role with the Hunting Dogs was always a cage. Jouno was likely essentially drafted - he joins or he is probably sentenced to capital punishment. Obviously, he takes the offer - as Jouno does not want to die (again, remember he's self-preservative!). Now he's stuck as a Hunting Dog due to the intense monthly surgeries to maintain their bodies, but he's made a pretty sweet life for himself - Jouno is powerful, respected, feared, and he basically gets to act however he wants so long as he is ostensibly pursuing justice (a corrupt cop, really)... only for him to realize he actually does want to help more than hurt, and to then have it be revealed that he was never expected to change for the better from the very beginning.

He was drafted due to this expectation Fukuchi had for him, and when he did not live up to this expectation... his exits are blocked, he's set on fire to stop him escaping, then stabbed from all directions, like one would trap and corner a threat that needs to be contained, or a wild animal. There's... some pretty significant dehumanization to that.

It gets worse though, because Fukuchi is right about Jouno being different from the other Hunting Dogs, but he's off the mark on what's different about him exactly. The difference is largely in that even though Jouno took precautions in case he couldn't make it out (having Aya follow him), he is not devoted (or solely devoted) to that ideal of justice that drives the rest of the Hunting Dogs, nor was he at all intending to sacrifice himself or accepting of that fate.

[ID: A panel from the Bungou Stay Dogs manga. Jouno wears a concerned expression, a sweat drop on his cheek. His hair flies up a little as he moves across a background of dark lines for dramatic emphasis. The sound effect is a shudder. End ID.]

"Be strong... there's nothing to worry about/Don't panic, it's all fine" <-The words of a man who is very much trying not to panic (also Yuki Kaji did a great job in this scene - chefs kiss. The voice acting in the anime is so so good). Jouno's mental narration grows increasingly more desperate in his attempts to escape, even as he outwardly continues that show of pride and bravado, concluding with his "wish" to hear Fukuchi's later suffering - which is what he does to avoid letting others see vulnerability in him.

All the other people who died to Fukuchi had some kind of acceptance around it - Akutagawa sacrificed himself to allow Atsushi to escape and was accepting of that; Tachihara had no intention of a sacrifice play but was prepared to die rather than be turned by Bram, and found his resolve through a mix of the Mafia's and Teruko's influence. Jouno was not ready to die at any point in this fight, nor was that ever his intent.

About Jouno's dynamic with Tecchou: I find it really interesting that the closing and opening lines of the chapter where Jouno slashes at Fukuchi and "betrays" him are things like "at heart there is one intent" and "if there is evil, cleave it" - while they're really just the external hooks for the audience, not any character's thoughts or anything, I do find it intriguing that this sounds a lot more like Tecchou's philosophy than anything we'd seen of Jouno up to this point. In this way, I think Tecchou (and Teruko as well!) has had far more of an influence on Jouno than even he cares to admit.

And I think it's really good that Tecchou appears to be there for Jouno - he's got conviction in his capacity for justice as strong as a samurai and the ability to call him out and believe in him like that of a best friend. While Jouno's death is brutal, it actually validates Tecchou's belief in him - but this is not something anyone else really seems to see in Jouno, perhaps even Jouno himself until that moment. It recontextualizes their interactions: Jouno is the challenger. Tecchou just seems to kind of humour him, really. He doesn't treat Jouno like a threat or an obstacle. He's completely unafraid of him, either simply not reacting to his goads and threats, or calling him out on his bs when he takes his cruelty too far. It's like Tecchou's socializing a feral cat sometimes hjfhdbjvh

But remember that Jouno's grandstanding and desire to instill fear is likely self-preservative. Jouno sees Tecchou unafraid of him and goes "why is it not working??? He must think he's stronger or better than me, or else, he's just really stupid. I need to prove myself stronger than him so he doesn't think he can gain the upper hand on me." And meanwhile, Tecchou is just like "ok buddy let's go get some lunch. I like spending time with Jouno even though he's apparently mad at me for something idk what." Because Tecchou's lack of fear isn't actually because he's cocky or an idiot, or because he doubts Jouno's skill or strength - far from it. He knows full well how dangerous Jouno is. He just thinks "Jouno wouldn't do that". And it's that simple to him. I honestly believe Jouno hasn't quite figured that part out yet, and that he's reading his dynamic with Tecchou entirely wrong on his end. It's the epitome of that rival dynamic where one takes it super seriously and the other is just like "cool man anyways wanna hang out". Anyways I really hope their reunion is given some attention, when it happens.

You might've noticed I said "when it happens" and also that I put death in quotes at the top there - I actually have a question for all of you since I just thought of this on my re-read. Jouno was stabbed multiple times but since he's a Hunting Dog with advanced healing and enhancements I sincerely doubt that actually killed him. Then he was bitten... but the vampires seem to turn really quickly, and we see Jouno's thoughts for a while afterwards. Jouno didn't actually die in that scene, as it's stated he's "near death", and he's captured and taken somewhere by Akutagawa. It's highly likely he was just turned into a vampire, as he was bitten (perhaps his enhancements make the vampire ability take longer to get a hold), but I'm kind of wondering now if he wasn't "taken with them" for some other purpose and Fukuchi has him captured or comatose or something. Well, whatever happens... I hope he comes back to the manga at some point soon (though probably at this arc's conclusion if I'm being honest).

#storyrambles #bsd #bsd meta #bsd jouno #argh my 4 am thoughts plagued me and compelled me to write this :/#anyways jouno's cool :)#i appreciate him a lot more on my re-reads and during my season 5 watch #call me ace detective the way i am ace. and also a detective.#bsd spoilers

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tickldpnk8 · 8 months ago

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A Morphanna Theory

So it occurred to me as I was rereading A Game of You over the long weekend, that we might have already seen Johanna Constantine replace Thessaly in Season 1.

So bear with me while I put myself at risk of looking like this guy:

What we know

So we know a few things already given the BTS tidbits we've gotten so far.

We know that Season 2 will be significantly compressing the storyline between Season of Mists and Brief Lives. (baring something incredibly surprising such as having filmed a LOT for this season during filming for Season 1 and also filming ahead for Season 3)

A Game of You has to be either cut or significantly shortened/overhauled at this point considering the BTS shots of Wanda's character and the above outline of episode names.

We know (due to @writing-for-life's excellent analysis) that the music themes for both Morpheus and Johanna blend together well.

Pure speculation

So what struck me on this reread (and don't worry: I've got a draft started for my analysis) was just how much the interactions between Thessaly and Morpheus mirror the interactions between Johanna and Morpheus in S01E03.

First we get both women being generally unimpressed by Morpheus' ordering them about. With Johanna, it's in response to Morpheus turning up and demanding she take him to the sand.

With Thessaly, it's over him scolding her for acting rashly in taking the Moon Road to save Barbie.

This one felt more thematic to me than a direct comparison or direct quote.

Next, we get both of them lecturing Morpheus on his inaction where mortals are concerned.

(yes, I did learn how to make gifs just for this post: feel free to use) Johanna's lecture comes when Morpheus is ready to walk away after retrieving the sand...potentially leaving Rachel to her fate. Essentially blaming Johanna for leaving the sand there in the first place.

Thessaly's lecture comes as Morpheus is ready to walk away after removing the Skerry from the Dreaming. Although he hasn't stated his full intention yet, he's clear that he's not going to help them get home or get off the little bit of land that is left.

And finally, you see a bit of them both denying any interest.

(okay, so I made 2 gifs...) When Ric the Vic says that Morpheus is "not unfit", Johanna replies that he's not her man in a tone that makes it sound like she wouldn't consider it.

Meanwhile, Thessaly stews over Morpheus after he scolds her in the panels I posted above, saying that she's not buying his cool act and that he looks too skinny anyways.

So there you have it: scant evidence to be sure, but I found the 3 themes of each of them standing up to him for ordering her around, lecturing him in turn, and then also denying any attraction to be some fun parallels.

Given that we don't see much of Morpheus x Thessaly on-page, it feels like we have ample suggestions of Morpheus x Johanna in comparison. If they do go this direction, I really hope we see much more of it on screen than we did of Thessaly's blink-and-you-miss-it suggestion they were together.

#sandman speculation #sandman season 2 #morpheus x johanna #constantdream #thessaly #sandman meta #johanna constantine #lord morpheus

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growup-thatbeautiful · 2 years ago

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The Alcott

Tags: Jake Seresin x reader, getting back together, short fic, break up and make up, barely a plot tbh

Summary: On a rainy night in Austin, Jake reminds you why you fell in love with him all those years ago.

Warnings: cursing, mild kissing, a lot of prose, breakups, getting back together, jake being a little bit of an ass

A/n: eh, not super happy with it but i wanted it out of my drafts. happy reading to you and 999 followers to me!

——————————————————————————

give me some tips to forget you

“Come with me,” he asks. “Come to school with me.” You both know your answer before he even asks the question. He has his path- the Navy, and you have yours- a job waiting for you in New York. He’s proud of you for getting it, of course he is, but you can’t feel that pride now while he’s asking you to leave that behind for him. Maybe you could do it if you loved him a little bit less.

“Jakey,” you sigh, “Please, let’s not do it like this.”

“There’s no other way to do it,” Jake answers, his tone cool. It’s not the voice you like hearing, especially not aimed at you. You know that Jake can be a cruel, harsh person. He’s shown time and time again from girlfriend to girlfriend. “You’re leaving.” His voice shakes and your heart brakes.

“So are you,” you defend softly. “Come on, we don’t have to do it like this.”

“Maybe,” he says. And he walks away, his blond hair glinting in the moonlight. The confidence in his stride is marred only by a shakiness in his unshakable hands.

You don’t see him again for years.

~*~

i’ll ruin it for you

At some point, you forgive him. It comes naturally, and you don’t think you’ll ever be strong enough to hold it against him.

You went different ways. It happens, you know that now, but the way it happened left scars.

Partners go by, men and women who just aren’t Jake. You love them and they leave you or you leave them- it doesn’t matter, really. They never know you like he did.

You accept that he was your person, your one, and you lost that when you let him walk away.

Some people just don’t get a fairytale ending- or any part of a fairytale. You’re lucky enough to have had a brief view of it.

It’s not like you don’t think about him. Visions of little green-eyed kids running through a manicured lawn with Jake laying out in the sun creep into your mind at weaker moments.

And it hurts to think that it could be with somebody else. That he could be with someone else.

But you forgive him. And you try to move on.

~*~

i think i’m falling back in love with you

Rain falls down around you, blocking the stars from peeking through the clouds. The smell- earthy and sweet- fills the night air, despite the city’s atmosphere. The door to the bar protests its movement when you push it open with a long, drawn out squeal. The neon sign above the door flickers from years of use, the green neon “Alcott” sign long since past it’s prime.

The inside looks the same as it did when you were last here. The dark wood paneling that lines the walls is cracked and a little more faded than it used to be, and the lights are dimmer than you remembered, but the smell of cracked leather is the same. It reminds you of blue eyes and blond hair and a signature grin accented with a toothpick between his teeth.

After all the time away, it still feels like he should be here beside you, a hand planted on your lower back, warmth radiating from his body.

You gravitate towards a booth in the back where you used to spend countless nights, a cold glass sweating rings into the sticky wooden tabletop. The cracked leather of the booth is uncomfortable and vaguely tattered, but it feels like old memories.

From your bag, you pull out a faded yellow notebook and start writing anything that comes to mind. Memories fade with ideas, and your thoughts flow onto the page seamlessly.

This place will always, always remind you of him. It’s the most memorable of your old haunts, a place where you spent countless nights pretending to care less about each other than you really did. It was the place where you lost him and the place where you find him and the place where you fell in love with him.

You’re focused on your work when a figure approaches you and a familiar voice greets you. “Sweetheart, what are you doing here?” That voice, the one you’ve been thinking of, tears you from your writing.

There, standing broad and strong in front of you, is Jake. For a moment you simply stare, thinking it’s a trick of the light. But the gleam in his eyes and the shine of his hair can’t be your imagination.

“Jake?” you ask dumbly. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m giving a speech at the graduation,” he says. “You still live here?” he asks, no judgement in his tone. “You were supposed to do big things in a bigger city.”

“Not everyone can be a naval officer,” you respond with a grin. “And you should know that college dreams don’t work out for everyone. They didn’t for us.” You can’t help but remind him of all the things that happened between you. All those days laying on grainy, Texas clay beaches during weekend trips, sun woven through his hair and his eyes that matches the blue-green water. The late nights cram sessions and coffee runs the morning afterwards, completely enamored by his hand in yours. Laying out on the grassy lawns of campus with a blanket underneath you, iced coffees shared between you, his ball cap backwards and his fingers skimming across the skin of your stomach. “And I don’t live here, I’m just visiting. My cousin is graduating.”

“Murphey?” he asks, light in his eyes. Him and Murph always got along, although they were a strange pairing. Murphey used to visit you some weekends when her parents were busy, and if she stayed with you, it was inevitable for her not to know Jake. “Is she that old now?”

“She’s 22 now. Graduating with an undergrad in nursing. Says she wants to help people,” you explain, pride evident in your voice.

“Fuck,” he says. “That’s unbelievable.”

“Time flies,” you offer. “It’s fucked up, but it happens. Doesn’t feel like it, though.”

“Yeah,” he agrees.

“How’s your mom?” Marie Seresin, when you knew her, was a force just like her son.

The smile that fills Jake’s face is soft and wide, a special one saved for his family. “She’s good. Stubborn as usual, but it’s okay what you’d expect.”

“That’s good. Grace still giving you trouble?” Jake’s sister is just as stubborn as his mother, and she has been a strong advocate for you when you and Jake split up.

“She’s been on my ass to settle down, but that’s what older sisters are for.”

“So I’ve heard. No lucky girl ever got you to buy a ring?” you ask, offering him the seat across from you. He slides into the booth and leans forward on his forearms, the sticky tabletop underneath him.

Jake’s grin doesn’t falter as he takes the question in his stride. “Nope. Many have tried, but to no avail. Deployment doesn’t make it easy.”

“Right,” you say.

“And you?” he asks, and you make yourself busy shoving your things into your bag. “Anyone settle you down?”

“No, I’m too romantic for that.” It’s meant to be a joke, but it falls flat between the two of you. Truthfully, you’re too much in your own head to start something new at this point. “I finally wrote that book, though.”

“Really?” he asks, and that old pride is in his eyes. “I thought you said you were never going to finish it.”

“Yeah, well a few years ago I got some inspiration.” It remains unspoken that the inspiration was him. “I sent you a copy.”

“I didn’t get it,” he says. “But I’ll look for it now.” From the old speakers, an old familiar song starts playing. It’s a country song, one you somehow never learned the name of, one that makes a smile grow on Jake’s face.

“Care to join me, darlin’?” Jake drawls, a smirk on his face as he offers his hand to you, “Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten how to dance.”

“How could I? You never let me sit down when we used to come here,” you respond, a grin finding its way to your face.

You fit with him like you never left. His hands on your hips, yours on his shoulders. He’s stronger now, broader too. But he smells the same, like lemongrass and linen.

The music is full of static and not quite loud enough, but you dance on nevertheless. Jake spins you away and pull you in effortlessly, sure of his moves while you don’t know what you’re doing. It’s been a long time since you’ve danced with someone like this.

“I haven’t been the same person since I met you,” Jake says breathlessly. It can’t be because of the dancing. “You’ve changed me, and you know how stubborn I am. That’s no small accomplishment, sweetheart.”

You interrupt and tell him that he doesn’t have to do this, doesn’t have to make you feel better. You’ve forgiven him, and there’s no need to bring up old wounds. Not when they’ve scarred so deep. “Jakey-“

“No,” he cuts you off firmly. “Let me do this. You deserve to hear it.” He waits for your slow nod before he continues, his hands at fists by his side. If he reached out to touch you right now, you couldn’t say no. “We should have fought harder for each other. I should have fought harder. You were- are- the best thing that’s happened to me, and I let you slip away.”

“Why are you telling me this?” you ask. It feels like a cruel trick, him saying these things to you. They can’t be true, can’t make a difference.

“I read your book. I know I said that I didn’t, but I did. There was this line you wrote that said falling in love was the last thing they wanted, but they did it anyway. I don’t think we’ve ever had a say in our paths with each other, but there’s nothing that I’d rather do than fall in love with you again.” It comes out in a rush of words, messy and poetic at the same time. Somehow, it’s everything you want to hear and nothing you thought you’d ever have.

Your answer is uncoordinated and decidedly not romantic. “Are you joking?”

The hurt that passes his face is brief before he recovers. “Darlin’, I’m as serious as I can be. If you’ll have me, I’m here.”

For all your written words, you don’t have an answer for him.

So you do what you’ve wanted to do ever since he walked away that day. You pull him in close to you and kiss him. Electricity flies down your spine and you grab onto his shirt, trying desperately to keep him as near you as possible. Like he’ll fly away in a cloud of exhaust and unspoken words.

But he’s a man of his words, so he kisses you back, his hands cupping your face and roaming your body. He used to know every curve, but you’ll have to reacquaint him now. 10 years is a long time. Though it’s not long enough for you to have forgotten what this is like- being with him. It’s a glass of Whiskey, smooth and burning with just the right amount of heat. It’s fire and smoke and green grass and everything that’s right and good mixed with all things that burn.

“Baby,” he mutters against your lips. “I’ve fucking missed you.” Everything in you screams that you share the same thought.

“I’m here,” you assure him. “I’m here.”

“Good, he says. “Because I’m not letting you go again. We’ve wasted too much goddamn time without each other.”

Part of you knows that this isn’t how things work. People don’t magically come back, and people don’t get swept off their feet in bars on a rainy day. But Jake’s always been a thunderstorm at the least possible time.

You can’t question it when it feels so perfect. Maybe you’ll wake up and realize that this is the aftermath of drinking too much alone or it’s a dream that you’ll turn into a story and sell it to all the other lonely people. You doubt that you’re imaginative enough to create the callouses on his hands or the rough scratch of his jeans. You’re definitely not romantic enough to write the way his lips feel against yours or the desperate edge to his kiss.

But for now you won’t try to wake up. You’re going to keep Jake for as long as you can, and if it hurts you again at some point then you’ll have to heal just like you did the first time.

All the pain in the world is worth it. Worth him. That you know for certain.

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fayes-fics · 2 years ago

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Portrait: V

Masterpost

PREV | NEXT

Pairing: Benedict Bridgerton x fem!reader

Summary: The final portrait session is heated and emotional

Warnings: mild dom/sub tones in places, masturbation, dirty talk, vaginal sex, woman on top. All sorts of emotions and a proposal for the future.

Word Count: 3.7 k

Authors Note: Well, these two idiots just can't resist each other, and yes, I'm as surprised by the emotions, particularly the ending, as you are <3 And thanks to @colettebronte who waded thru a messy draft of this.

The following morning you practically skip down the street to Benedict’s home, barely able to contain your excitement to reunite with this man who gave you the world yesterday—steadfastly refusing to dwell on the fact that this might be the last time you spend together privately. You just want to live in the moment for the next hour or so. Whatever lies beyond that, you will face when the time comes.

When you arrive, he is at the door, letting you in with a gracious nod - a perfectly acceptable greeting for any prying eyes. But the minute the door shuts, he crowds you against it, hoisting you up, kissing you as your spine presses into the wooden panels.

“I fear an hour will definitely not be enough again, my sweet,” he breathes into your kiss.

“Mmm, I tend to concur. Perhaps we should send word back to my family?” you suggest, raising an eyebrow. “They did not appreciate it yesterday. So perhaps forewarning would be prudent?”

He lets you back to your feet and calls out for his valet. However, as the man appears, he does not release his hold on you.

“Ah, Mr Smith. Please send a messenger to the y/l/n household with a note saying that I am running very late for my portrait session yet again and Miss y/l/n will need to stay longer. Please include humblest apologies, but state she is safe and waiting with my sister.”

Mr Smith raises an eyebrow as you attempt to muffle your giggle into Benedict’s shoulder and look the other way.

“Certainly, sir”, the valet replies dryly, “and will that be all?”

“Some wine, perhaps? You can leave it outside the door of my studio. It may be best that our painting not be disturbed,” his barely contained smirk makes it obvious that is not what will be transpiring shortly.

“As you wish,” is the seasoned reply as he leaves the hallway.

“That poor man,” you chuckle.

“Oh please,” Benedict dismisses, “Smith used to work for my brother Anthony; he has seen it all.”

Then he grabs both of your hands in his, walking backwards and smiling, leading you to the studio.

“Today, my sweet, I want to paint your other portrait,” he rumbles as he closes the door behind you.

You smirk, and your hands go to the bow at your side. You undo it as he stares at you covetously, whipping open your dress and dropping it to the floor. Completely nude beneath it.

“I am ready, Mr Bridgerton,” you tease and squeal in delight as he advances on you and picks you up effortlessly.

“Call me Benedict,” he smiles into a kiss.

“But I like calling you Mr Bridgerton sometimes. It seems so commanding somehow,” you sigh, feeling so at home in his arms.

“Would you like me to be commanding? Telling you what to do?” His ask is dusky.

“Maybe,” you volley back playfully, “try it.” Even though it was only yesterday that this man took your innocence, you trust him implicitly to lead you into new experiences and adventures.

He places you back on your feet and grabs your chin.

“Go lay on that chaise. Right now.” His tone suddenly clipped and utterly authoritative.

You scurry to obey, your skin prickling hot. As you do so, he sits in a nearby leather armchair, a sketchpad already there. You meet his gaze and then lay as you did the night you first stripped for him, with your left arm behind your head.

“Good girl.”

His dulcet voice is dark and sonorous, and the praise makes you inhale sharply, instantly aroused to a painful degree. God, you will do anything for him if he calls you that.

“Oh, you liked that, didn’t you?” he murmurs, eyes glittering.

“Yes,” you stutter.

“Touch yourself,” he orders, and your mouth falls open in surprise. “Go ahead,” he adds and begins sketching.

You let your right hand fall to your stomach, and with a nod from him, you allow your fingers to sink lower, slipping between your legs.

“That’s it,” he encourages, “give yourself pleasure. I want to sketch your face in the throes of ecstasy.”

“Benedict,” you gasp as you feel your body stirring, “instruct me.” You know what to do, but you want to hear him talking to you as you touch yourself, knowing it will make you burn so much hotter.

“Little circles with your finger,” he lectures, “right on that little button. Play with it until you feel it grow under your fingers. It should swell a little more. Although it doesn’t take much with you, does it? You were so aroused yesterday, your nub swollen and pulsing with need before I even so much as had it under my tongue. Does it feel swollen now?”

You are panting at the words he uses, speaking so matter-of-fact about something so private. It’s captivating. And indeed, he is right. Even as he talks, your clit engorges and feels harder under your touch.

“Yessss,” you respond, fingers slipping over it easily.

“Mmm, good. Don’t stop. Curl your fingers up and under it…” he pauses to ensure you are doing as he says. “Good girl. Feel around for a motion that is good for you. Usually, one side is more sensitive than the other, although no one quite knows why,” he chuckles, his eyes pinging between his sketchpad and your hand.

You hit a very sensitive spot, your leg kicks out, and your body convulses, eyes fluttering shut as you push up off the chaise, your head bumping the cushioned sloped end.

“Oh yes, that’s it, isn’t it?” he practically purrs, “now you’ve got it.”

You cry his name again, arching your back, writhing, longing for his large hands on your body.

“I need you,” you call out breathily.

“I’m right here.”

“I need you to touch me, Benedict,” you implore, your eyes blinking open to look over at him.

“That’s it! That’s the look,” he says triumphantly, “don’t you dare look away from me,” he orders.

And you do as bidden, staring him down, biting your lip, writhing on your own fingers as your body notches higher and higher. So very desperate for his touch.

“You can do this, my good girl,” he encourages. “This is what you will do every night when you are married. I want you to touch yourself and think of me, telling you what to do.”

You groan loudly and move faster, honeying over your own hand. “May I think of you fucking me?” you ask.

He growls. “Yes, do that. Think of me inside you, above you, making you feel like you need to scream. Do you need to scream right now, my good girl?” His voice is ragged, and his knuckles are white, gripping his sketchpad as he watches you.

You nod vigorously, biting your lip so hard, pleading silently with your eyes for him to give you that push you need. Skating the edge of a precipice, every inch of your body tense like it’s waiting to snap, blood boiling in your veins.

“Do it. Let go. Scream for me,” he commands gruffly, and you do.

Throwing your head back and vocalising loudly, uncaring who may hear as your body spasms, your pussy quivering, wishing he was inside you, bliss flooding your senses as you tense and release, your mind wiping out in sheer pleasure.

You slump back, breathing hard, eyes screwed shut, a dew over your body from the exertion.

“Oh my sweet, that was a masterpiece,” he says softly as you recover, back to his usual self.

“I… I can’t believe I did that,” you confess, still winded but sated.

“It makes the most arresting picture,” he assures. “One I will treasure forever.” He looks down again, concentrating on completing a few lines on his sketch.

You look over at him as he works and want to crawl to him and make him feel as good as you do. Before you know it, you are climbing to your feet, your legs a little unsteady as you first stand, and you go to him.

He seems to startle when you are right before him naked, the apex of your thighs in his eye line. His eyes trail up your body to your face, and with an insolent raise of an eyebrow, you pluck the sketchpad and charcoal from him and drop it aside. Climbing into his lap wordlessly but with a confident smile. He looks spellbound by your sudden boldness and groans when you reach down and rub a hand harshly over the bulge in his trousers.

“What are you…?” He begins, but you hush him with a bruising kiss.

While you tease him with your tongue lathing his, you wrench open the buttons of his trousers, not stopping until you can roughly pull down the front. And then your fingers are questing to his cock as it springs free. His moan is so loud as you fist him, as you learned yesterday, and move your hand up and down over his shaft, slowly teasing at first and then becoming more insistent.

He breaks the kiss and stares up at you wildly.

“Innocent no more, my sweet,” he pants, impressed.

You feel powerful and alluring, your smile victorious as you experiment with new angles and pressure with your hand, using his wonderfully expressive face as your guide. He moans as you find a slight twisting rhythm. You breathe his name, goading him to push up into your grip.

You have an all-consuming need to shuffle forward from where you sit perched on his thighs and take him into your body. You have no idea if the act can be done in this position, but you can see yourself perhaps bouncing in his lap. So you do so. Shuffling forward and his face is a picture as he realises what you are doing, lining up his cock and sinking so his tip is captured by your body.

He sounds wrecked, babbling words like my sweet and my darling girl while his hands grasp the arms of the chair, almost as if he is afraid to touch you as if it would break the spell.

The invasion is just as overwhelming as yesterday, but with no sense of apprehension or fear of discomfort—just sheer pleasure. You move to grasp his shoulders as you slowly reach your hilt, him feeling so deep inside you.

“Look at you climbing in my lap and crawling onto my cock like this. My god, you are a wonder,” he sounds utterly enthralled, awed even. “You insatiable little sweet wonder, I took your innocence only yesterday and here you are now, sitting speared open on me. What is next, my sweet? Will you ride me? Take what you want from me?”

“Yes,” you whisper, loving how he is so complimentary about your actions, not shaming you for following your instincts, urging you to take pleasure from him. “Show me how Benedict?” you ask.

Large hands crest your hipbones. “Rise up, my sweet,” he lilts against your temple. You do so, feeling him withdraw from your body; just as his tip is nearly out of your body, he speaks again. “Now sink back down,” and you follow his teaching.

Both of you groan at the feel as he surges back into you so very deep. Glancing over a spot that makes you gyrate your hips as you are fully seated on him, addicted to the spike of pleasure it causes.

“Perfect,” he praises through slightly clenched teeth, obviously holding back from taking control and pushing up into you. “Now, keep doing just that.”

So you do. Begin a rhythm of rising using your thighs as leverage and sinking back down. You grab his face and draw him into a sloppy, almost artless breathy kiss as you adjust to the motions and the feeling in your body. Still a little mindblown from your orgasm, you feel so decadent and powerful as you grip his shoulders and ride him in his oversized chair, sunlight dancing warmly on your skin from the window behind you.

His hands sweep up over your back and encourage you to lean away a little, and when you do, curving backwards over his legs, he buries his face into your chest, his lips finding your nipple and biting down gently. It makes your whole body pulse, and you cry out his name. He growls encouragements, telling you not to stop; that you are a goddess, a wonder; teeming words of praise that make you move faster, ride him harder as he pushes his hips up to meet you now, breathing rapidly, muscles aching from the exertion, body slick with sweat and arousal.

As you move together, so much of the world makes sense; why people say intimate relations are a bedrock of marriage. You feel a bittersweet wave at the injustice that this man, who feels so right when inside you, is not the one you will get to spend your future with. It seems so unfair. You bite your lip and press your cheek to his, burying your hands into his hair as you both climb higher, the poignancy lending an air of desperation to your movements, chasing the most sublime feeling you have ever had.

He pulls back slightly and touches your face reverentially as if needing a moment of connection where your gaze locks. You are certain your eyes are glassy, but his seem the same, a sheen over them that dances in the sunlight, the intense rays catching the warm chestnut tint in his hair and reflecting the lightness of his teeth as he smiles up at you. You are smiling back, and your hand slips from his hair to cup his jaw. This doesn’t feel like something only physical, a means to an end; it feels like a connection, a meeting of kindred spirits.

“You are a work of art,” he murmurs, his tone worshipful.

It feels dangerously close to something so fundamental. To what you can only describe as love… love like you have read about in books. All that elegant prose and poetry making so much more profound sense now you feel it, see it mirrored in his face. Even though you have only spent a few hours in his company, you can see your future with this man as clearly as day. Watching him paint, standing proudly by his side as his work fills galleries, bearing his children, a loving family in a little cottage out in the peace and quiet of the country. Tending a garden of flowers and foods, reading books, educating your children. And every night, laying by his side, talking, laughing together, making love and growing old together. Always together. Tears prickle hot in the corner of your eyes at the thought that this vision, so clear, so utterly beguiling, will not be your future.

“Come for me, my sweet, my beautiful muse,” he appeals, sotto voce, as if intuiting you need a physical release to soothe your turbulent mind.

You wrap yourself around him tightly, his heated forehead pressed into your throat as you do just as he asked. Press your pelvis hard into him, tilting your hips so you catch your clit on his body as you rise and fall, pushing yourself towards completion. Every fibre of your being alive with light and exhilaration. His name trembles across your lips as you start to fracture around him, feeling so filled as you convulse deep inside. He is moaning, his hands seemingly everywhere, mapping your body with his touch, passion in his movements, as if he cannot hold enough of you at once. You float far away as your senses blot out, riding a wave so strong, so utterly singular, it feels like you have died a little and come back resurrected, rearranged, altered in some elemental way by this interlude you have shared.

As you go pliant in his arms, you feel him forcibly withdraw, and a warmth splashes on your inner thigh as he reaches his peak too. And yet you do not want to move; you want to stay with him, surrounded by him. He also senses it, wrapping his arms tighter around your body, pulling you closer into him, your tacky skin melding together as you recover, resting upon his shoulder. A silence that feels at once evocative and comforting, only punctured by your joined ragged breathing. His lips drop delicate kisses along your shoulder as you curl tighter, not wanting this moment to be over.

The faint chime of the hour on the mantel clock pulls you from your trance.

“Oh gosh! What of my official portrait?” you suddenly sit up in his lap, startled. “This is supposed to be our last session! Benedict, we are already overtime!”

“Calm down, my sweet,” he pulls you back into his arms and nuzzles your cheek. “I finished it last night if you must know, from memory.”

“You did what?” you gasp, moving to observe his face.

“I did not need you here, my muse, to complete your portrait. You are clear as day in my mind. As if you are always with me.” he smiles softly.

“Benedict… I….” Words fail as you fall forward and claim his lips briefly. “Show me?” your ask is timid.

“You wish to see?”

“Of course I do! If you will allow me.”

With a grin, he helps you out of his lap and hands you your chemise, which you throw on as he climbs back into his trousers, then walks to the other side of the room. It’s only now you notice his easel is draped in fabric, concealing what is on it. He turns the structure to face you and then slowly pulls off the cloth.

You are speechless.

Utterly speechless.

It is the most exquisitely rendered version of you that you have ever seen and better than you could possibly have imagined. Your skin glows, and your expression looks alive and filled with wonder. This painting, and there is no other expression you can think of, feels like a love letter—to you. And you don't want anyone else to own it but him.

“Oh, Benedict….,” tears prickle the corner of your eyes yet again, emotion bubbling over with every second that ticks away. “It's… it's wonderful.”

“I just paint what I see,” he shrugs, a modest smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. “With you, all I see is beauty, goodness and light.” Poetic words just fall out of him as easily as breathing.

You can't help it; you run to him, throwing yourself into his arms. He laughs happily and hauls you up, your chemise riding up around your hips as you twine your limbs around him like a vine, chanting thank yous into his neck and squeezing him with all your might.

“Benedict I… I love you,” you confess into his ear, unable to stop your mouth from running away with itself or to hide your true feelings.

“Oh my sweet, my love,” he pulls you away to look into your eyes, his face a picture of surprise and devotion. “I love you too.”

You are soaring at his declaration and trembling as he places you gently onto your feet and sinks to his knees before you, clutching your waist.

“It has only taken five hours to know you are the only person in this world for me,” he admits, and you start to cry before he continues. “Please, do not marry that other man. I know he is your intended. But he is not worthy of you. I’m not sure anyone is, including me. But, please, just do not.….”

“I could not… not now,” you vow, grabbing his face, blurred through your tears, his hands moving to encircle your forearms tenderly as your thumbs swipe his cheeks.

“...would you do me one last favour instead?” he asks, his voice tremulant.

“Anything, I would do anything for you, Benedict,” you whisper fervently, honestly.

The moment seems both teeming with desperation and sentiment but also something light, like hope, even though these are to be your last private minutes together. He takes your hands from cupping his jaw and holds both of them in his, looking up at you with adoration in his glassy eyes.

“Would you please do me the honour of being my wife?”

His proposal is simple, heartfelt, improvised, a total surprise, but everything you could hope for. It makes your heart leap; leap out of your chest, into your throat, and then beyond, flying to him.

“Yes, oh god, yes, yes, yes!!!!” you squeal and haul him back up to his feet so you can be in his arms again—melting into his lips.

You stand for what seems like ages, wrapped together, coiled around each other—a little cocoon of soft teary smiles and endless kisses. Your heart singing with the idea that all those visions of a future with this man could perhaps come true.

“I…. I have a ring,” he admits as your mouths part.

“You do?” You grin in surprise.

“I saw it in the window of a little jeweller the day we met, and it made me think of you. So I went back yesterday after we, well….” You smile at his sudden modesty. “I heard you yesterday. After I closed the front door, I heard what you said. And I had to buy it. Even if you had said no, it would have been my parting gift to you, a reminder of what we shared, even if only for a few days. But I always held out hope it could be a betrothal ring.”

You are teary again as he reaches for the shelf of the easel and, right there, is a tiny navy blue box. He flicks it open to reveal the most exquisite small sapphire stone surrounded by a halo of tiny pearls.

“Oh, it is beautiful,” you gasp and hold out your hand shakily as he delicately pushes it onto your ring finger.

It's a perfect fit for you—just as he is.

Benedict taglist: @makaylan @foreverlonginguniverse @iboopedyournose @colettebronte @aintnuthinbutahounddog @severewobblerlightdragon @margofiore @writergirl-2001 @heeyyyou @enichole445 @enchantedbytomandhenry @ambitionspassionscoffee @chaoticcalzoneranchsports @nikaprincessofkattegat @baebee35 @crowleysqueenofhell @bridgertontess @fiction-is-life @lilacbeesworld @angels17324 @broooookiecrisp @queen-of-the-misfit-toys @eleanor-bradstreet @divaanya @musicismyoxygen84 @benedictspaintbrush @miindfucked @sorryallonsy @lilithseve @cayt0123 @hottytoddyhistory

Portrait-only taglist: @mysticwitchcraftco

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