#it’s not that he doesn’t feel it but that he feels it differently and expresses it in accordance to his own ways rather than theirs

[lily-sofii]

shadow milk x faerie reader smut.... thats all i got...

The new favorite puppet

TW(?) : female reader, reader is a virgin, reader hates shadow but then loves him, shadow doesn't care about what you think (He just seeks pleasure), SHADOW MILK HAS TWO COCKS, double penetration, anal and vaginal sex, squirting, overstimulation (on both sides), in the end you like Shadow Milk

A/N: My current proofreader is on break, so this had to be read by my classmate (sorry babe). So, please excuse any mistakes we might have missed💕🙏 NOW UPDATED AND WITH A FEW MORE FIXED MISTAKES!!

Shadow Milk Cookie hates faeries. But you? He’d rather die than see your face ever again. The second he gets out of this prison, this tree, he’ll take his revenge on you. On all the faeries. But as far as things are now, that all remains a fantasy.

“Shadow Milk, are you even listening?”

Shadow Milk lets out a growl from annoyance, his eyes snapping towards you. You’ve been visiting him for days now… or has it been months? He can’t tell, time has become more and more distorted since he was captured. What makes it even worse is, that the only thing keeping him somewhat sane is your presence, and your never-closing mouth.

But don’t think too highly of yourself, you pathetic faerie, the company of a dying animal that can make noise and can be talked to would also suffice. Maybe Shadow Milk would have even preferred that over you. A goddamn faerie cookie.

“I’ll take that as a yes. Now, as I was saying…”

There you go again, talking about boring nonsense he doesn’t care about. It felt like death. Death of annoyance and boredom, and all of it by your hands. Or rather, your never-closing mouth.

His thoughts get interrupted by noises and screams coming from the faerie village nearby. The village where you live. Have they finally noticed you’ve been gone? Gone for literal hours? Honestly, he was surprised it took this long. Weren’t faeries meant to be caring to each other?

Maybe his intuition was right, maybe you were different.

Noticing the noise coming from the village too, you sigh and look at Shadow Milk, a panicked expression on your face.

“I-I think I’ve been here for too long. Sorry, I have to leave, now!”

Shadow Milk nods, his face returning to the one of boredom, even though he was excited. FINALLY you were leaving. A small bit of time of piece and quiet.. until you come back at least. Which, as far as his knowledge of you goes, will be tomorrow.

You quickly stand up from your sitting position, your foot catching on a root, making you fall back to the ground. How did a root manage to wrap around your ankle? That doesn’t matter, you need to leave, and fast. No one can see you here.

You roughly yank your ankle from the root, a tearing sound coming from it. You gasp slightly as you see it disconnect from the tree, a feeling of doom coming over you. What have you done? Is the silver tree gonna be okay now?

Your head turns to the path you came here from, hearing voices coming closer and closer. It’s the other faeries searching for you.

“Uh-oh, my cookie, you need to leave. We wouldn’t want you to be found near me and this prison, would we?”

His voice takes on a cocky, almost mocking tone. But he’s right, you have to go.

Glancing at him one more time you sigh, running the opposite way from the voices. They won’t find you that way, right?

Shadow Milk stays in his place, although not from his free will, hearing leaves and branches snapping under each of your steps. But he doesn’t seem to be the only one to notice the ruckus you’re causing. The faeries that were here to search for you seem to hear it too, running after you as fast as they can.

But that makes everything oh so better for him, doesn’t it?

Shadow Milk tilts his head to the root you tore out, a faint glow emanating from it. Oh, wasn’t he the lucky one?

And you the unlucky one who’ll have to deal with the aftermath of the mistake you have accidentally done.

—---------------------------------------

You were right, the voices you heard were the other faeries that were looking for you. And a few minutes after you ran from Shadow Milk Cookie they caught up to you.

But the good thing is that they were none the wiser about your visit to Shadow Milk… or the broken root of the tree he’s in.

But hey, today is a new day, I’m sure that the room has gone back and regrew into an even stronger one!

Honestly, who are you kidding? You certainly know that you’re just looking for an excuse to go back to Shadow Milk. I mean, who wouldn’t want to return back to the only cookie that has ever listened to them?

Looking around the faerie village you reside in, you make sure no one is looking before making haste. Everyone was always so busy from sunrise to sundown that they would almost never notice you going missing in this timeframe. So why not make the best of it.

Once you finally sneak your way into the forest that surrounds your village, do you truly feel safe. Like you can let out a sigh of relief, you didn’t know you were holding in. It all felt more peaceful, and that says a lot coming from a faerie.

Finding your way back to the path you seem to always come back to, your feet begin to move a bit faster. Were you truly getting excited about seeing Shadow Milk again? Sadly, yes.

Humming softly, you finally approach the tree, stopping dead in your tracks. Where is Shadow Milk? And why does the tree look so… dead?

You feel your heart crack as you run to the tree, branches broken and creeper torn off, left on the ground to rot.

Did you cause this? Was this all your fault because you ripped the root with your foot as you ran? Did you cause the death of the Silver tree? Did you cause the escape of Shadow Milk?

“Mwe he he… Look who came back to see the disaster they caused!”

You feel a similar hold of dread grip on you, the voice of Shadow Milk feeling like it was ripping your ears right off. Why does his voice sound so different? Wait, does it? No, of course not. You only think it does because of his freedom, because of the power he now holds. Don’t be fooled, he always held this power, but when he was in the tree, he couldn’t use it.

That is not the case now.

“Oh, are you even listening?”

He’s mocking your words from yesterday.

Shadow Milk’s eyes open in the shadows near the tree, his body fully covered in the shadows. He squints his eyes as he watches your movement, seeing you slowly turn back towards the village. Oh, are you gonna tell the other faeries? Tell them that you’ve been going to Shadow Milk daily and that you freed him? Oh, he doesn’t think so.

“Are you seriously leaving already? You’re always here for hours.”

Yes you’re seriously gonna leave! You need to tell the other faeries, they’ll know what to do! They’ll surely put him back in the prison where he belongs!

“You are quiet, are you shocked that this is all your fault?”

You shake your head and take a few steps back, your eyes wide with fear. You need to go back to the village and fast.

Turning on your heel you face away from Shadow Milk’s glowing eyes in the shadows, running away… or at least attempting to. Just a few steps in your escape and you hear Shadow Milk’s footsteps thumping behind you, catching up to you fast.

You let out a sob when you feel his hand grab you, stopping you in your tracks. He fists your shirt and slams you on the ground, pinning you to it. Just now do you see him for the first time in light. Just now do you see what he truly looks like. A dark jester with the eyes of a madman. A powerful madman.

The outfit he’s wearing resembles a medieval court jester, but something is… off about it. It may be the soul jam he has on the ruffled collar, or the jester hat he has on, but it was just… not normal.

But what beast cookie is normal?

“Why the rush? Let’s take our time like we always have.”

Let's not do that!

Shadow Milk cackles and grabs onto your faerie robe, pulling it off of your shoulders.

You were absolutely disgusted. Both because of his touch, and because you knew what he was gonna do.

The virginity of a faerie was sacred, and if Shadow Milk was gonna take yours, it would be as if he took away your very life.

“You don’t seem to like this…” Was he seriously cooing at you? “Well that’s TOO BAD! How do you think I felt when you stupid faeries stuffed me into a tree prison?!” There is his normal voice… well, a slightly angry one, but it feels more normal than when he was cooing.

He lets out an annoyed groan when he cannot pull your white robes off, deciding to rip them off. You gasp out a breath when you hear the white silk robes rip under his fingers, the fine material giving up under his strength.

He discards the silk robes aside, his fingers moving down on your cotton panties. the cotton felt pure before, but now his fingers were tainting it with his. Lovely sin. Every faerie cookie alway told you to not become tainted by sin, but Shadow Milk cookie’s touch felt so right, so holy… despite his actions being anything but that.

You cannot believe how right this feels. Why aren’t you fighting back? You’re a faerie for god’s sake!

“Stopped fighting back I see… hehehe, now we can finally both have fun. Don’t worry I’ll make sure you enjoy yourself too.”

God, yes please. You aren’t sure what switched inside you as a faerie, but this felt incredible. You don’t care that this goes against your faerie teaching anymore. You need Shadow Milk cookie, and you need him now.

He hooks his fingers under your panties and pulls them off softly, stuffing them in his pocket. Was he seriously pocketing your used panties to keep them for later? Apparently so.

Shadow Milk dips two of his fingers into your, surprisingly, dripping cunt, his eyebrows rising in surprise.

“I thought that faeries like you would hate this, but look at you.”

He pulls his fingers out of your cunt with an embarrassingly loud squelch, spreading them apart in front of your face, showcasing the threads of your arousal webbing between them.

“Already this wet without me needing to do anything. But I suppose that’s good, makes it less painful for the both of us.”

His blue hands reach under his ruffled collar, a soft click of his nails against a zipper being heard through the forest. Your breathing heavies when you see him opening his dark jester costume, revealing his scrawny, pale blue body to you. Your breath catches in your throat when the zipper stops above his crotch, a huge bulge visible.

When other faeries spoke about their sexual acts with one another, you alway heard them saying that cocks were big, but this… this seemed impossibly big. Shadow Milk cackles at your stare before slipping the sleeves of the jester overall off, before moving to his waist, pulling it down to his thighs.

Your eyes widen when you see his erections rise to his stomach, being finally freed from their cloth prison. Did he always wear no underwear under the suit? Wait, erections? There’s more than one?

“Well, well, you seem surprised, my little sheep (shadow). Have you never seen anyone like me? Actually… have you ever even seen anyone under these circumstances?”

God knows you haven’t, but you are not about to say that to Shadow Milk. You’d much rather die from embarrassment. You have only heard about this act from the other faeries judging their respective partners, but from what you remember, they never mentioned a cookie having two cocks!

Not bothering to fully take off his jester costume, he keeps it pooled around his thighs, kneeling between your legs. He grabs you by the calf and puts your legs over his lean shoulders, your knee pit now snugly fitting against his collarbones.

He grabs one of his cocks and presses it to your entrance, his mouth falling open slightly when he feels heat coming off of your body. That’s enough to tell him you want this too… you need this too.

“My little lamb doesn’t even need prep, does she? You’re so wet that I’ll slip right in.”

You squeeze your eyes shut from how humiliating his words feel, not having any need to see his smug face along with his words.

“No, NO! That won’t do! You have to watch! You have to look at me!”

Shadow Milk grips your jaw between his index finger and thumb, forcing your face near his. His tongue lolls out with an erotic-sounding ‘plop’ before moving to lick your cheek.

You let out a guttural sound of disgust, the rough texture of his tongue feeling absolutely disgusting on your cheek. But… you don’t want him to stop.

One of his hands slips from your jaw to your wrists and pins them above your head, his other hand still on one of his cocks.

You feel as if the wind gets knocked out of your lungs when he presses the tip of one of his cocks to your entrance, feeling his eyes boring into your soul. Your eyes snap open and look at him, seeing his face scrunched up in pleasure.

“Finally, your eyes are back on me.”

His hips snap to meet yours, the entirety of his cock slipping inside of you in one go. You throw your head back in pleasure, feeling him stretch you to limits you didn’t know were possible.

The hand that Shadow Milk had on his cock before now reaches to your lower stomach, pressing down on it slightly. Your mouth falls open with a loud moan as Shadow Milk’s hand makes contact with your stomach, pressing down on where his cock is inside you.

He cackles slightly as he begins thrusting his cock into your cunt, deciding not to even go slow. He knew you could take it.

You continue your song of pleasure as his hips thrust against yours in a fast pace, but you can’t help but notice his other cock pressing against your butt each time his hips snap back against yours.

Shadow Milk moves his hand from your stomach to your breast, giving it a rough squeeze. His head, which was looming over you to watch your pleasured reactions, lowers to your other, unoccupied breast, his mouth opening to let his tongue lick at your hardened nipple. The cry of pleasure you let out due to his action makes him feel more excited than he is until now, his hips picking up speed, his mouth wrapping fully around your nipple to suck on it.

Your brain feels like it’s melting. This is all too much. The cock ramming into your deepest parts, feeling as if it was ramming into your womb. The hand on your breast with your other breast having his lips wrapped around it, his other cock slapping against your skin. It felt unreal.

One of your hands manages to slip from his grasp, moving down to his other, vacant, cock. Your hand can’t even manage to fully wrap around his cock, but you still jerk him off in a loose grip.

Shadow Milk’s breath hitches as you slowly move your hand over his cock, your thumb running over the tip of his cock. He moves his mouth off your breast, his eyes moving to lock with yours.

“You ngh… slutty little lamb…”

His hand swats yours off his cock, pinning it back above your head.

“Oh, you’re seriously this needy? Well, who am I to decline?”

He grabs his cock and lines it up to your ass, but narrows his eyes upon doing so. You’re a virgin, aren’t you? You’re a faerie, of course, you haven’t done anything. Especially not in your ass.

Shadow Milk lets go of one of his cock and presses his fingers to your lips, smiling menacingly.

“Suck them or I won’t bother to prep you.”

Not exactly being keen on Shadow Milk shoving his cock into your ass without prep, you listen. Opening your mouth, he shoves three fingers in, making you gag as he pushes them all the way in, the tips reaching into your throat.

He laughs and snaps his hips, delivering an especially harsh thrust to your cunt. You moan around his fingers, flexing your arms to try and get out of his grip. You need to hold him.

When he’s satisfied with how saliva-coated his fingers are he pulls them out of your mouth, lowering them back to your ass.

He looks at you and slows his thrusts slightly, looking at your facial expression to note if he sees any discomfort or fear. But he sees none.

Taking it as a good sign, he presses one of his fingers to your entrance, pushing it in. You gasp and throw your head back, the cock in your cunt making you feel a bit better.

The finger in you didn’t feel painful as you thought it would, it just felt odd… uncomfortable. Logically so, it was an intrusion that your body was not made to take.

Shadow Milk presses his finger in deeper, the second knuckle of his middle finger now touching your rim. You groan and arch your back, your hips twitching to close around the cookie between them. He lets out an annoyed groan and lets go of your wrists, moving the hand that held you down to your clit, rubbing lazy circles on it.

You moan and move your now unrestrained arms up towards him, wrapping them around his torso. You need to feel closeness, to feel him.

“Ngh.. you’re doing so good, so good for me. Let’s do a bit more, yeah?”

He adds another finger into you, making you squeal out in pleasure. It no longer feels odd, it feels as if it was made for you. As if you were made for him.

Growing impatient he pulls his finger out of you, grabs his cock and presses it against your ass. You shudder and open your shaking thighs to allow him easier access, sighing softly when his tip presses against your entrance.

“It’s fine, my lamb… You better get used to this, we’ll be doing this together a lot more…”

He lets out a spine-tingling cackle, pushing the tip of his cock into you. He stops thrusting his other cock that is deep in your cunt in order to sheat his cock into your ass, his finger still rubbing your clit in an attempt to loosen you up more.

You moan and cling to him, pulling him close to you. One of your hands moves to the wrist of the hand that is rubbing on your clit, attempting to push him away weakly. It all felt like too much, but you needed more.

Shadow Milk snaps his hips forward and pushes his cock halfway into your ass, making you sob out in pleasure. He laughs and lowers his head, kissing your jaw and neck before biting down on it roughly, breaking your skin. You whine and squeeze your arms around him tighter, his rough-textured tongue lapping up the blood that runs from the bite he has created.

“Just a little bit more, then the real show will begin.”

He moans quietly as he drinks up your blood, making a hickey around the bloody bite mark. With your pleasure-filled brain you barely notice him sucking on your neck, or the fact that he’s inching his cock into your ass.

When he bottoms out, he lets go of your neck, his hips still, to let you adjust to your new fullness. One of his hands stays near your cunt, his fingers rubbing your clit, his other hand moving to your breast to squeeze it gently, twisting your nipple between his fingers.

After about a minute of adjusting you still feel slight discomfort from one of his cocks being in your ass, but you can’t take it anymore. You need him to move. You need him.

Shadow Milk raises his eyebrow and smirks when he feels you grinding back against his cocks, moving his hips to pull his cocks out slightly before snapping his hips back. Your mouth falls open in pleasure, letting all of the moans he causes to be let out.

Noticing that you’re in no pain or discomfort, he begins to thrust harder, his hips picking up speed too. His hand that’s on your clit begins to add pressure, and the hand that was on your breast moves up to your neck, squeezing it.

It isn’t enough to make you choke, but it’s enough to slightly restrict your airflow. It’s enough to stimulate you further, to excite you.

Shadow Milk shudders and pulls you closer to him with each thrust, feeling like he needs more. His thumb presses into your jugular notch, making his grip firmer so that he can move your body against his.

You loved this.

Gasping your eyes widen and you shake your head, your walls squeezing around his cocks. You were so close, just a little bit more to send you over the edge!

Understanding that you’re close, Shadow Milk gets rougher with his movement, moving down to capture your mouth in a hungry and desperate kiss. His lips part a bit, letting his tongue lull out to lick at your lips, his tongue moving into your mouth to explore it.

Your tongues dance against each other in a desperate, heated fashion, your bodies entangled in a passionate entanglement.

Rubbing on your clit faster, Shadow Milk breaks the kiss, his hips shuddering.

You let out an earsplitting moan, feeling the cock that is in your cunt cum inside of you, making you squirt around him. He shudders when he feels your walls squeeze around his cocks, still thrusting despite your overstimulation. You let out a sob from how overwhelmed your body feels, your hands move to push against his chest in a need to push him away.

“I know it’s too much, my lamb, but I just need a bit more… Just hold on a bit longer.”

Didn’t he also cum already? Why does he need to keep going? Is he purposefully trying to make you cry from overstimulation? It sure feels like it!

His hips keep moving, granted at a slower rate than before, but it still feels like it’s too fast for your oversensitive body.

His hips and movement begin to become more and more inconsistent, along with his speech becoming more and more blurted. What was before ‘Please, just a bit more’ and ‘You’re doing so good for me’ has now turned into incomprehensible babbles of begging and borderline sobbing.

Looking down at his expression, you can see he’s also overstimulated, the corners of his closed eyes having small tears forming in them.

Shadow Milk delivers a few more thrusts before lowering his head to your chest, biting down onto your breast in an attempt to hide his moan as he cums from his other cock, filling you up to amounts you didn’ know were possible. You flinch as you feel his cum flow into your ass, the sensation of his teeth on your breast sending you over the edge one more time. You sob and wrap your ankles around his waist as your overstimulated body delivers another orgasm from you, your hands pushing on his head to pull him off your breast.

Shadow Milk complies with your demand and lets go of your breast, grabbing onto your ankles to make you unwrap them from him.

“Don’t get too comfortable, this doesn’t mean I like you, my dear lamb.”

You gasp when your legs unhook from around his waist, falling down to the ground. He roughly pulls away from you, his cocks slipping from your holes.

Shadow Milk walks over to where his discarded clothes lay, putting them back on.

“I do hope you and I meet again, despite you being a faerie.”

And with that, the deceitful beast cookie disappears into the Shadows, not to be seen by you again.

You need to get back to the village and tell the other faeries about his escape, but it would be for the best if you left out the part about having sex with the escapee.

[moondustbaby]

The Next Heartbeat

CEO!Rafe x Nanny/GF!Reader

a/n: based on this request! 💌

summary: You weren’t planning it, but a faint pink line changes everything. Now, you’re carrying Rafe Cameron’s second child—and watching his son become the most excited big brother in the world.

⸻

You know before the test even turns positive.

You feel it—somehow. You’ve been tired for a week straight, your stomach turning over at the smell of coffee (which Rafe makes every morning, heavy and dark and strong enough to wake the dead). You cried watching a cereal commercial last night.

Something shifted. You just knew.

Still, when you slip into the guest bathroom with trembling hands and three different brands of pregnancy tests hidden under your hoodie, it doesn’t feel real.

Not until it is.

Two pink lines.

Plus sign.

Pregnant.

All three tests confirm it. You sit on the closed toilet lid, hand pressed to your mouth, breath shaky.

You’re pregnant.

Pregnant with Rafe Cameron’s baby.

⸻

You don’t tell him that night. Mason’s energy is at full blast, bouncing between puzzles and bedtime negotiations. You’re curled up on the couch beside Rafe by the time Mason finally crashes.

He kisses your temple. You try not to cry again.

You fall asleep in his t-shirt, one hand curled over your belly like it’ll somehow ground you. Or protect you. Or prepare you for the thousand emotions rolling through your chest like a thunderstorm.

⸻

You tell him the next morning.

He’s in the kitchen, shirt sleeves rolled to his elbows, reading something on his phone and sipping orange juice. You watch him for a long minute—this man you’ve loved quietly, then not-so-quietly, for almost two years now. The father who balances meetings and school drop-offs and pancakes with superhero syrup designs.

He looks up and smiles when he sees you. “Hey, baby. Want a muffin?”

Your throat tightens. “I think I’m pregnant.”

Everything stops.

His hand goes still. His expression freezes. Then something softens behind his eyes—shock, confusion, and something else. Something deep.

“You think?” he says slowly.

“I—I took three tests,” you say. “So I’m pretty sure. I just… haven’t even fully processed it yet.”

He sets his glass down carefully and walks toward you, the look on his face unreadable. He stops in front of you, hands brushing over your hips, then slipping to your waist.

“Come here,” he says, voice low.

You fold into his chest.

He holds you like he’s anchoring you in place.

“You’re not mad?” you ask after a moment.

“Mad?” His hands splay over your back. “No, baby. No. I’m just… surprised. That’s all. We weren’t expecting it, but—” He pulls back just enough to look into your eyes. “You’re everything I want. This is everything I want.”

Tears burn behind your eyes.

“It’s just a lot,” you whisper.

“It is,” he agrees. “But we’ll do it together. Just like everything else.”

You nod against his chest, breathing him in.

He pulls your hand to his lips, kisses your knuckles, then presses his palm gently against your belly.

“We’ve got a little secret now, huh?” he murmurs.

You laugh—wet, wobbly. “Yeah. For now.”

⸻

Mason finds out two weeks later.

You and Rafe go back and forth about timing. Whether to wait longer. Whether to tell him in a special way. But one Saturday morning, you’re all in the living room in pajamas, and Mason is curled up against your side, his cheek pressed gently to your stomach like he’s done it a hundred times before.

And he says, completely out of the blue:

“Is there a baby in there?”

You and Rafe both freeze.

You glance at each other.

Mason’s eyes widen. “There is, isn’t there?!”

Rafe exhales a laugh and ruffles his hair. “You’re too smart for your own good.”

Mason practically vibrates with excitement. “WAIT. So I’m gonna be a big brother?!”

You nod slowly. “Yeah, bud. You are.”

He screams in joy. Like actual shrieking, followed by an immediate flurry of questions.

“When will they be here? Can I hold them? Do they like dinosaurs? What if they don’t like ketchup?!”

You’re crying and laughing at the same time. Rafe reaches over and laces your fingers together, squeezing your hand.

Mason finally goes quiet and climbs up into your lap, his small hand resting gently over your belly.

“Hi, baby,” he whispers. “I’m your brother. I’m gonna teach you how to play Mario Kart and how to do cartwheels and how to ask Dad for cookies without him knowing it was your idea.”

Rafe groans. “Unbelievable.”

You smile through tears. “This kid is gonna have the best big brother in the world.”

Mason beams like it’s the highest honor he’s ever received.

And maybe it is.

⸻

That night, after the house is quiet and Mason is snoring softly down the hall, Rafe pulls you into his arms in bed and rests his hand over your belly.

“You really okay?” he whispers. “You’ve barely had time to breathe.”

“I’m okay,” you whisper. “Scared. But happy.”

He kisses your forehead. “We’ll figure it all out.”

“You always say that.”

“Because it’s always true.”

You turn toward him and rest your hand over his. “You’re gonna be the best dad to both of them.”

He swallows hard.

“I’m just trying to keep up with you,” he murmurs.

You fall asleep like that—his hand over your stomach, his breath in your hair, your whole future curled up between you.

༶⋆｡ﾟ☽✿⋆˚✧✿☾ﾟ｡⋆༶

a/n: this one melted me into a puddle. i’m such a sucker for soft domestic pregnancy reveals, mason being the most enthusiastic big brother, and rafe going from “oh shit” to “i’m all in” in 0.5 seconds.

♥️ lani

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[sramoonlight]

Back in town

What if the Batfam got another version of their spidey?

Content you’ll see here: neglected!reader, yandere!Batfam, spidey!reader, female!reader, mentions of death, ATSV x DC

English it’s not my first language, so please be patient

You are spider woman, you’ve been a spider for two years and even when things go hard you make it worth over and over again

That was always your best power, you won’t gave up easily even if the things go hard, so when a spider person appeared to ask you to join his team you were excited.

You lost your universe because of that.

Homeless, you keep living in Miguel’s dimension, he kinda feels guilty about loosing your home like he did something for you to be in this position, he didn’t

But this was your only home now, even if his guard is up not letting himself be seen as something more than a boss, that men sees you as a daughter and you see him as a father

You never had one, actually, you and your mother were by your own not caring about a male figure who could give you comfort or something like that.

So you clenched into that man like your life depended on it

He keeps acting like he doesn’t care, he does

Maybe that’s why you stopped going on dangerous missions

You lived there like nothing happened, missing your mother and the city you used to protect with your life but there was nothing for you to do, only pretend like you were born there.

And that surprisingly lead you to this moment, the moment where you were walking to find Miguel on his “office” if you can call it that.

You took a deep breath hearing how he was humming a song you don’t know, it’s weird to see him acting that way but sure it’s a thing you should appreciate

— Miguel — You spoke, his humming stopped and he looked down to you, the platform going down slowly.

The way he looked at you showed how he is struggling to find the words, a very rare thing to see from him

He walked to you, his hands wrapping around his waist

— I need to send you on a mission — He said in a sigh, like it was a hard thing to say

— I’ll do it, big man! By why would you not just tell Lyla to tell me? — you chuckled imitating his pose

That sent a weird expression to Miguel’s face.

— There is an anomaly in a dimension without Spider-Man —

You swallowed, that type of missions are the toughest but why would he send you and not someone like Jess to do it?

And he wouldn’t send you to do something if you don’t have a reason to do it.

— What’s the catch? — he bites his cheek, the skin tearing by the way his fangs got into it

— There’s a you in this dimension, she was suppose to be Spider-Woman but she died —

Damn that was tough, you looked down thinking about it

A you that died, but your world kept going without you or maybe it wasn’t, if Miguel is giving you this mission probably is because it’ll give you the chance to save a dimension

Like you didn’t to yours.

Taking a deep breath you took his hand

— I’ll do it, it would be just a flash and I’ll be back — that surprisingly set a smile on his face

He ruffled your hair making you laugh and try to pull him away

— I’ll get going now, see you soon —

You tapped your clock, a portal opening as you crossed it.

And everything felt familiar, you were send to a restroom in a school and you can see it as your old dimension

Different, the colors are darker like you could just hide on the shadows not matter the colors you were wearing.

You checked yourself in the mirror, you’re using an uniform

Is this… Gotham Academy? Damn, the you from this dimension lived at Gotham? You are not surprised she died

And that makes you wonder, Miguel didn’t tell you to hide your identity, that means the corpse hasn’t been found

Your other you is probably there, alone in a dark place waiting for someone to care enough to look for her

Anyways, you patted your cheeks leaving the restroom

There was a smile on your face, clinging into the backpack on your shoulder while trying to look from there

— (Reader)! I was looking for you! — a pair of arms hugged you leading you to your classroom.

The chat was something trivial, luckily, your friends talks too much for you to not say anything out of line and keeping some information for yourself

First, the you on this dimension likes chocolate milk, it isn’t something you’ll drink in your nowadays but damn! You drank just a sip and you can guess why she loved this milk

In your dimension, on Brooklyn, you wouldn’t look at the milk boxes because they would be filled with expired milk, you can feel yourself shiver at the memory.

The day at your new school wasn’t something bad, it does have a proper education and you guess it’s because your family is wealthy enough to pay a good education

Speaking of which, you are dying to have this day done so you’ll get back to your mother! She isn’t your mother, but she would be the mother from this version

Probably she didn’t die in that accident, if you’re wealthy enough to afford this school she wouldn’t be working in a gross street with crime all over it.

And the day was over, you left the school with your friend by your side

— Are you walking home again? Damn, Mr. Wayne doesn’t care about your well-being —

What?

Mr. Wayne? THE Bruce Wayne? Your mother married Bruce Wayne on this universe? What a surprise! And damn good! Not even Bruce Wayne could look away from your mother

— Nah, I prefer walking — you smiled at him, leaving him behind.

Now, Where is the Wayne manor? You looked on your backpack looking for a phone but there wasn’t

Doesn’t she have a phone? That’s a thing you’ll tell Mr. Wayne to give you! Now you think about it, you know he has a problem with adopting kids but everyone left him after turning eighteen

Not even his youngest, the one from that failed marriage with the Al ghul’s daughter cared enough to stay and he was just fourteen.

He is going to be a good dad right? Sure he is, he would probably spoil you every day to gain some love for you.

Typing something on your watch you rushed to press a device on an alley, the little spider bot crawling to hide on a safe place

— Lyla, are you here? — You whispered and the hologram showed at your side

— What is it? — she changed her appearance, a shirt with “I love Gotham” on it

— Can you… could you please look where the Wayne manor is? —

You’re helpless, you sure are.

You entered the manor with slow movements, it’s quite late and you are sure your new step father would be mad about it

You don’t want your first memory with him being scolded, that would be so wrong and bad at the same time

Maybe you could stick yourself on the ceiling and go to your room, wait, no, if there is no Spider-Man here that means there is not canon for you to do your usual things and don’t get caught

Damn you have to walk, and the stairs are just in front of the dinner room where you can hear voices.

Taking a deep breath you prepare yourself, you walked to the stairs

— Miss (Reader)! — it was worth the shot.

— I thought you didn’t attend school, I’m sorry for not picking you up, come here, let’s eat lunch — the butler, an old man took your arm leading you to the table

The chat between everyone ended, they all looked at you like you didn’t belong

That… that isn’t a thing for a loved child to experience.

You sat down, next to an empty seat probably for you mother, she would be so mad when she sees how everyone is looking at you

The butler sets a plate in front of you with food, it was onions on it

You hate onions.

Probably the you from this universe doesn’t mind them, there is no way anyone would make you eat it if you don’t like it

The chats start again like you aren’t eating there, now it feels weird

Is this family the classical evil one from those fairy tales? You are sure in there the step mother is the villain, but Bruce Wayne doesn’t look like a bad person

And suddenly everything clicks.

Your friend complaining about Bruce not caring about your well being, the butler not knowing if you attended school and.. the reason your body hasn’t been found

No one looked for you.

No one care enough about you

So that’s the catch, the you from this dimension is a no one beside your family, they don’t care about you.

You feel bad about her, you sure do, she died and at the last second maybe she thought her family would care about her but there you are, taking her place

But it feels off, you know every Spider-Man has someone for them to rely when they feel bad or someone for them to look up

Was she really this lonely?

Ah, for her it must be this butler

The one who dragged you to the room even if no one wants you there

Probably this man is the only one who cares about you, there only one who would cry when he finds out you are dead.

You rushed to eat, you need to leave this place quickly

— Miss (Reader) be careful, you are going to chock — you didn’t listen, instead you picked up your plate even if the butler looked like he was about to take it from you

And..

You hugged him, tightly

— Thank you, thank you for everything —

You’re sure he would feel bad about not saying goodbye, probably he would think he had to do more for you even a little more

The feeling of having the chance to do something but being unable, you know it, you are not her, and yet this man needs a way to say goodbye.

You left the room running upstairs, you could only hear a voice

— Isn’t she acting weird? —

Let’s get back to you, you followed your intuition to where your room is supposed to be

It happens to be a place filled with spiderwebs and dust, a place you wouldn’t expect you to sleep and see as a safe place.

Opening the door you realize, you are the protagonist of a weird story where Bruce Wayne is the evil stepfather and his kids the villains

It’s too small, small for a whole manor where at least five people live at

— There used to be posters — You whispered touching the small pieces of masking tape left on the walls

You can see a piece of paper left on the floor like it was just teared off

And… in a small corner, where everything seems to find their reason, there is an altar

With your mothers photo

— So you’re dead even in this universe — You mumbled, your hands moved to grab the photo smiling at the view

In your universe, you had photos of her, but when everything disappeared the photos did too and you don’t have the heart to ask Miguel to see her from the computer

You can’t see her face again, but there is something for you to hold even if it doesn’t feel the same anymore

— You wouldn’t let this happen, you would make this girl happy — it feels off,

You know, you just know the you from this world only finds comfort on the idea of living for her mother

She died alone, alone by the thought of what could be.

That gave you an idea

Immediately, you moved across the bedroom looking for something until you found it

A diary.

— Damn, how lucky I am — You smiled opening the small notebook.

“Dear diary, I’m not going to write dear diary everytime I want to write on you, sorry not sorry”

Yeah, that kid is you for sure

“My name is (Reader) (Last name) Wayne, Am I supposed to present myself? Well I did! Anyways, uhm, the life on Gotham is pretty weird”

“My father, he is too much into his own life to care about me and I don’t mind, I mean, I always thought he left us behind but he didn’t know about me and now he’s forced to take care of me, he doesn’t even pretend to like me”

So, you knew? That feels incredibly bad, knowing no one cared about you but still having to deal with it and shut your mouth because you don’t have nowhere to go

Wait.. left us behind?

“Mom is gone, her illness won and I’m trapped here, maybe it’s better than being on a foster home or maybe the same”

Bruce Wayne… he is your biological dad?

That makes you angry, the only way he cared enough to be on your life was when your mother died

No, he didnt, he was forced to

— Motherfucker.. — a whisper left your mouth and you started to read the diary

All night.

When the sun comes up you realized how late you stayed up, and you don’t feel tired at all

Maybe is the feeling of angry, but you can’t even close your eyes and pretend to sleep

You hate this family, you hate them all, they’re pieces of shit who doesn’t care about you at all and you won’t accept them in your life

But it isn’t your life, it’s hers and she would love to be seen

Maybe you are here to get rid of the anomaly, but why not changing it a little? There is no canon to disturb, and Miguel isn’t here.

That’s the thing, you’re a performer, back in you universe you were a legendary actress shines every time she is performing, you aren’t anymore but the way you can make everyone look at you is still there.

You stayed up all night, your eyes moving up and down reading every word and taking it with your heart, stealing pages from the diary and writing things she could do

You took her way of talking.

Even you stayed up looking at old photos of her in galas, standing next to a man that isn’t looking at her at all

Videos where only her silhouette could be seen, it was enough because you only needed to count the steps she takes or the way her shoulders move when she’s breathing

You memorized it all

By the end of the night, when you had to blink to take the tiredness away you looked at those pages where the script was set

“(Reader) (Last name) Wayne is the first blood daughter of Bruce Wayne, the family doesn’t care about her at all and they ignore her til she died, the media doesn’t care about her either, she could be seen on the news but she wasn’t interesting enough to get her own article

She’s dead, she died by an anomaly before becoming Spider-Woman, but she had the lucky chance to get back to life

She’s a star, she takes all the attention”.

That leads us here, you walked to the living room where Dick, the acrobat brother who you read about on the diary was scrolling through his phone

— Dick! — You called him, making him look up a little

That look of not caring a little bit about you, waiting for this conversation to be over so he could get back to his business

You can guess he is looking for something to escape, you won’t let him

He’ll see her.

It happened too fast, you used your stickiness to stand in your hands and for a moment that grabbed his attention

— When did you learned to do that? You can’t even go a four without falling — he is seeing you!

For the first time, he left his phone behind looking at you with curiosity

He cares

— I learned by looking at you! — liar, he doesn’t need to know it’s a lie

And his eyes shined, for a second

— Ah! That’s all, I have to go now — you stood on your feet fixing your clothes and that made him jump out of the couch

— What if we go to grab something to eat I- —

— Sorry, I have plans — you left the room, you left him behind

And he couldn’t take his eyes out of your frame

A thing you discovered reading the diary, the you from this universe accepts when someone tells her to wait and that’s certainly the reason no one sees her

She doesn’t want to look like a brat desperate for attention, you don’t need their validation

And a thing that makes everyone on this family be appreciative it’s the way you can’t take the eyes out of them, Jason? Is too impulsive and his body is huge so you have to look at him

Tim? He was too smart, too smart to fool and you have to keep an eye to him

You can keep counting their abilities but that isn’t the point, the point is.. this version, she had things to make everyone look at her but she was too worried about being a good girl to force their eyes to look at her.

You don’t.

It wasn’t a surprise Dick started to be more in the manor, you ignored his presence

But you shined, reminding him of everytime he used to ignore your presence

The texts were there, he trying to get your attention and replying to the last invitation the you from this dimension gave him.

You are on the living room, your legs pressed into your chest while you write something on your notebook

The anomaly hasn’t triggered any device you placed to know their location, a long mission you’ll have to do if you want this universe to be safe

What a pain in the ass.

— Miss (Reader) — You looked up, the butler was standing there with a glass, chocolate milk

You know the version from this universe likes it, yet you don’t know why it isn’t on its usual box

— Is everything okay? — he sat down next to you, giving you the glass as you took a sip of it

It’s good, not good enough to take it everyday but it is

Ah, wait

Alfred, this butler used to put the milk for you when you felt sad, usually when one of your brothers rejected you again

Does he..? He knows, he knows you aren’t the same

— it is it’s just.. well, I’m thinking about leaving the manor — You whispered, his eyes opened in fear

Not fear, that wasn’t the word, pain?

This man, you’ll break his heart if you leave him behind and that’s what you wanted

— Father won’t look at me, so what’s the point on being here? Once I turn eighteen I’ll leave —

He looked at you, there’s no words for him to say because you know he’ll try to make you stay but at the same time he understands it

He saw you, I mean, she crying too much because of things this family did to her and if loosing you means you’ll be happy

He can take it

…

He can’t.

He leaves your side looking at the glass where you just drank what could be one of your last cups of chocolate milk, how his heart aches at the thought of not being able to wipe your tears when you feel down

He wouldn’t, but he needs to, even if it’s wrong.

So when the sun goes down and he’s trapped on the batcave by Bruce’s side he needs to say it

— One of the children is requesting a little more money to pay an apartment — he said with a straight voice, no hesitation even if it was a lie

— Tell Damian landlords won’t accept batcow — he kept typing without looking at him

An usual thing for him to do.

— Your third child, master Bruce — that got his attention, he looked at Alfred

— Tim is already out of here, he needs to move? — Bruce asked, like it was a thing he couldn’t believe

He doesn’t, actually but that doesn’t matter

— No, sir, miss (Reader) — and that send all memories about his little girl to him

And, for his concern, there wasn’t one he could recall

All of them where the ones he saw her eating dinner, no more, no chatting or something similar to it

He feels bad, he does why doesn’t he remember anything about his little girl?

— She wants to move? Why? She is just.. — Damn he doesn’t remember, that makes him even more guilty

He doesn’t know anything about her, yet he can’t do anything now that she’s about to leave

Only..

He thought, his head moving fast in a way he could think of an answer, he can make her want to stay

Yeah! That’s a good answer, he can do that

Taking a deep breath, he stood up walking to Alfred

— Is she here? — he asked, Alfred looked up to him and something shined on his eyes like it was enough for him to find something

— She left just an hour ago, I’m afraid you’ll have to wait ‘til she comes back — damn, good, he lost his opportunity to talk to you

God bless him, he suddenly feels like he needs to be by your side at every chance he gets

Why? Why on earth when he didn’t care about you before? He doesn’t know, there’s no answer and he doesn’t care to find it, it’s his baby! His only blood daughter.

The way Bruce moved to go upstairs made the butler smile, you wouldn’t leave if you father cares enough to take you back to his arms right?

And when everything was going according to his plan, the box of chocolate milk was about to expire.

Yes, another spider!reader, Can you blame me? This is too good to not do it

Comments and reblogs are appreciated!

[sxnshinebowz]

(Skz headcanon) Straykids: Handholding

Pairing: Ot8!skz × Gn!reader (individually)

Genre: fluff, headcanons

Description: their reaction to handholding, different scenarios for all.

Warnings: delusional, some of them are a bit dramatic(they allways are tho), not proofread.

Chan: As you intertwined your fingers with his, Chan's smile widened, lighting up his light brown waves. "This is nice" he said softly, giving your hand a gentle squeeze. "It feels like a proper date now, doesn’t it? Just you and me." His loving eyes met yours, radiating warmth as you strolled together, savoring every moment of your date. The sun began to set, casting a golden glow over the park, enhancing the magic of the evening. Each shared smile deepened the connection between you, making the world around you fade away. As you found a quiet spot by the lake, timeless ripples broke the surface, mirroring the flutter in your heart. "You know" Chan said, his voice just above a whisper "I’ve always wanted someone to share moments like these with."

Minho:

Minho led the way through the bustling streets, the neon lights flickering like fireflies in the night. His hand in yours felt like a lifeline, a steady reminder that amidst the chaos, there was something solid and real. The warmth of his skin contrasted with the cool metal of his jewelry, sending a delightful shiver down your spine. You glanced up at him, noting how his eyes darted around, absorbing everything with sharp intensity. But then his gaze landed on you, and the world seemed to pause. The edge in his expression softened, and in that moment, you felt like the most important person in the world, as if nothing else mattered but the connection between you. "Stay close he murmured, his voice low and protective. You nodded, a smile tugging at your lips.

Changnbin:

Cuddled up in bed, Changbin wrapped his arm around you, pulling you closer. "You’re warm" he murmured, his voice smooth and comforting. The soft glow of the morning sun peeked through the curtains, casting a golden hue over the room. As you nestled against him, your fingers intertwined, he chuckled softly. "I guess this means I’m stuck with you, huh?" A playful smile crept across your face as you teased, “Not that you mind!” His laughter echoed, a melody that filled the space with warmth. With that, he pressed a soft kiss to your forehead, sending butterflies fluttering in your chest. You both lay there, wrapped in each other’s embrace, sharing whispered secrets and dreams for the future. The world outside faded away, it was just the two of you, cocooned on his couch. "Promise we’ll always have mornings like this" you said, your voice barely above a whisper. "Always" he replied, his eyes reflecting the sincerity in his heart. In that moment, you knew no matter what challenges lay ahead, this bond, this warmth, would always be your safe haven.

Hyunjin:

The sunlight streamed through the studio windows, casting a warm glow over Hyunjin's canvas, where colors danced in abstract patterns. As you reached for his hand, he glanced up, eyebrows raised in playful surprise. "What? Can’t you see I’m busy?" he teased, a grin breaking across his face as you finally captured his hand. "Fine, but only if you promise to model my next piece" he said dramatically, his eyes sparkling with mischief. With a flourish, he placed a brush in your palm, holding your hand delicately, as if it were a precious artifact. "I don’t know how to model" you laughed, flustered yet intrigued by the idea. Hyunjin being unfazed, leaned closer, his breath warm against your skin. "Just be yourself, pretty" he says to you, guiding your hand across the canvas in his, strokes blending under his expert touch. As the colors swirled together, Each stroke felt like a silent promise, a connection deepening with every movement. Hyunjin’s gaze flickered from the canvas to your eyes, his playful demeanor softening. "You’re my muse now" he whispered

Jisung:

As the vibrant colors of the animated movie flashed across the screen, you felt an undeniable warmth when you slipped your hand into Jisung's. His surprise was palpable, the way his chubby cheeks flushed a rosy hue made your heart flutter. "..You’re holding my hand!" he exclaimed, his grin stretching from ear to ear. The warmth of his fingers intertwined with yours sent a thrill down your spine. "Does this mean I get to pick the next movie?!" His playful tone was infectious, and laughter bubbled between you as he squeezed your hand even tighter. In that moment, the world outside faded away, leaving just the two of you submerged in a colorful universe. As the hero on screen faced his challenges, Jisung leaned closer, his head on your shoulder as you both eventually drifted off, together, all cuddled up and warm.

Felix:

As you thought Felix had dozed off beside you, you carefully took his hand, feeling the warmth radiate from it. The glow of the light flickered softly, casting dancing shadows around the cozy room, creating an close atmosphere that felt almost surreal. You leaned closer, watching the rise and fall of his chest, each breath a gentle reminder of his presence. Suddenly, he stirred, his eyes fluttering open, and a sleepy smile spread across his face. "Hey" he murmured, his voice husky from sleep. You felt your heart race at the sight of him, tousled hair and those enchanting eyes sparkling with warmth. "Did I wake you?" you whispered, a hint of embarrassment creeping in. He squeezed your hand, his touch sending a shiver down your spine. "No, I was just enjoying the moment." His gaze lingered on you. With a cheeky smile, you leaned closer, whispering. "I’ve been meaning to tell you something." The words hung in the air, heavy with unspoken feelings. Felix tilted his head, curiosity dancing in his eyes. In that flickering light, the possibility of something beautiful began to bloom between you.

Seungmin:

Seungmin and you stood in line for the roller coaster, the vibrant lights of the theme park twinkling around you. As excitement hung in the air, his fingers accidentally brushed against your, almost instinctively, you intertwined them. Seungmin raised an eyebrow, a mischievous smirk playing on his lips. "You’re getting a bit too handsy now, aren’t you?" he teased, but to your surprise, he didn’t pull away. Your heart raced, not just from the thrill of the ride ahead, but from the warmth of his grip. You glanced up at him, trying to mask your nervousness with a playful grin. "Maybe I just want to make sure you don’t get lost in the crowd" you replied, leaning into the moment. As the line inched forward, the teasing transformed into a comfortable silence, Seungmin squeezed your hand tighter, as if to say he wouldn’t let go.

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

Jeongin:

In the bustling backstage atmosphere of the concert, nerves tingled in the air like static electricity. You reached out, your hand made its way into Jeongin's. His dark eyes widened in surprise, a playful smirk playing on his lips. "What, this? It’s for luck, right?" he teased, trying to play it cool. But there was a vulnerability in his gaze that betrayed his bravado. You held his hand firmly, your heart racing. "Maybe it’s a little more than luck" you whispered, a shy smile spreading across his face. neither of you knowing this moment would blossom unto an treasured memory between you, igniting something deeper than friendship. Jeongin leaned closer, his breath mingling with yours, the chaos of the show fading into the background. As the announcer called for the then to go on, Jeongin squeezed your hand gently. "If you’re my good luck charm, I’ll need you by my side every time" he confessed, his voice barely above a whisper. The world outside seemed to blur, leaving just the two of you in this shared moment. With a soft chuckle, he added, "Guess I’ll have to keep you close" And with that, you both stole one last glance before he stepped onto the stage.

Constructive criticism Is welcome. 🤗

Thank you for your time. 💕

[scirelistener]

LONG TIME NO SEE

sanji x gn! reader

synopsis : a familiar face emerges in an unfamiliar town. someone calls his name and sanji feels the world go blank with only one to focus on.

things to note! : kind of ooc! sanji (??), reader is older than sanji but not by a lot, reader was a helper/baker at the kingdom but i think and hope it’s ambiguous to be whatever role you wish to choose! also there’s a disgusting amount of ‘-sama’ used so i apologize in advance

“Great job, Sanji-sama!”

The little prince winced at the ominous ooze radiating from the chiffon cake you held so carefully, but when he looked up, all he could see was the radiance beaming from your grin.

“R-Really?” Sanji wriggled his fingers, hope rapidly blooming inside of him as you nodded.

The boy watched with anticipation when you reached for a nearby fork and took a bite. Once he saw you hum in delight, Sanji let the smile overtake his face.

“I used a different method to make the cream this time, just like you told me!”

“Well, you did fantastic! Oh, but who am I kidding.” You let out a theatric sigh, placing down the fork and clasping your hands together against your chest. “Our Sanji-sama is good at anything he puts his mind into!”

The fits of giggles your words sent the prince into made a smile break through your dramatic facade, the kitchen now filled with an air of joy and happiness.

“It’s only because you helped me!”

“My prince is so kind..” You fake sobbed, pressing your hands closer to your chest while looking away to ensure blindness doesn’t come for you with how brightly Sanji’s expression was.

The prince giggled once more before leaning closer with a look full of anticipation, his eye sparkling with the child-like curiosity that couldn’t be found from the other children of Vinsmoke.

“Can you teach me more?”

Easing down the facade, you broke into a wide smile. “Of course. I’ll teach you everything I know.”

“…” With how strongly Sanji was glaring into the cake, it was a surprise that the dessert hadn’t been struck with two holes.

There was something wrong with the way the newly finished chiffon cake held itself. A certain factor was frustrating the cook yet he could not, for the life of him, figure what exactly was it.

Perhaps the cake was underbaked and therefore too soft? No, it was unlikely considering the toothpick he poked into the cake came out with slight crumbs and not batter. It also wasn’t likely that the chiffon cake was over cooked either as it still had the signature soft yet bounce to it.

Perhaps it was because he rushed to the kitchen to make a cake as soon as he woke up from that dream.

With a heavy sigh, Sanji instinctively shoved his hand into his breast pocket to find his relief cancer stick when Luffy slammed the door open.

“Sanjiii~ Do you have any- Woah! Cake!” The captain, as he barged in, immediately had stars shining in his eyes and hurried towards the counter where the cake sat in prime condition. Luffy then, with expecting eyes, whipped his head to Sanji. “Can I eat it??”

As Sanji was about to say no out of habit, he took a second glance at the cake before thinking otherwise. “You know what, sure. Go right ahead.”

Without a thought, Luffy dug in and Sanji left the galley for a smoke break. His fingers itched to figure out what felt wrong about the cake, but there was no need to overthink over something that was probably already in Luffy’s mouth.

With his elbow leaning against the railings and a cigarette in his hands, Sanji stared out at the waves and let out a heavy sigh. If only you were here to help him.

———

The town they stumbled upon was strange. Not only were there pirates roaming around and talking to the locals without any malice from both parties, there were also a lot of bakeries and patisseries. A lot might’ve even been an underestimation.

“Hooooly cow!” Luffy guffawed as the Strawhats walked down the street, everyone but the captain sporting wary expressions.

Wherever they looked, it was a strange sight. All the other pirates seemed wary of each other, but never at the locals. In fact, as the Strawhats made their way into the main town, Zoro noticed a gang of pirates swarming around an old lady.

As the swordsmen squinted his eye and was about to tighten his grip on the hilt of his swords, he realized the pirates were helping the lady. Zoro blinked when one of them crouched down to carefully pick up all the groceries the lady must’ve dropped and handed in over with a smile all too kind for a pirate.

Zoro immediately let loose of the hilt before scratching the back of his neck awkwardly. “… What is this town on?”

Meanwhile, Sanji was rather amazed and impressed as they passed by the many stores selling backed goods. None of the shops seemed to be selling cheaply made desserts and breads; no, even by a passing glance could one tell the amount of dedication and quality in the baked goods.

An impressed whistle came out of the cook’s mouth as the crew passed by a shop that displayed a rather wide variety of assortments. From breads that seemed to differ in thickness and texture to pastries that glistened with a shine that tempted passerby to come take a bite.

“They look quite good, don’t they?”

Sanji almost jumped out of his skin, but quickly regained himself as Robin approached with her usual all knowing smile.

“They surely do, but! No worries, Robin-chwaan! Whatever desserts we come across, I’ll make sure to make it ten times better once we get back to our ship~!” Sanji swooned as he always did, heart replacing his eyes. To his words, Robin’s only reply was a polite chuckle.

Sanji was just about to speak up when someone called him from behind with a voice all too familiar. A voice he knew all too well.

A voice that he heard only in the cold kitchen of his old home, the only thing that managed to bring warmth into such an environment.

“Sanji-sama..? Is that you?”

The crew all halted their steps, looking back to their cook whose face had no other expression other than shock.

Sanji slowly turned his head around, a silent prayer in his head that begged for this not to be a cruel joke.

As he turned to face the owner of the voice, Sanji’s heart stopped beating. The world came to an abrupt stop. Time stopped ticking and the only thing he could focus on was..

You.

You stared at him with a startled expression that was probably plastered all over his own face.

You looked different from how he remembered you in his faded memories at the shitty kingdom. No longer were you the teen that was taller but never loomed over him. No longer were you the teen that helped raise little Sanji up when he couldn’t reach the baking soda in the cabinet.

Your eyes held a different kind of maturity from the one back when you both were young, but still held that same shine that Sanji liked seeing whenever you baked. Your cheeks were slightly shined by a thin layer of sweat that made you glisten in the attention of the sun, but there was no hiding the smudge of flour near your nose. (His heart ached, you always had flour somewhere on your face whenever he stumbled into the kitchen.)

Sanji wanted to comment on the irony of how you were still wearing the worn out apron from before even after all this time yet the words died down in his throat before it could even reach the tip of his tongue. How could he when you looked so.. beautiful.

He whispered your name into the air, his words almost dissipating in the crowd that felt like it was getting busier with every passing second, but it caught your ear. He could tell. Sanji could tell by the way your eyes were glistening with newly forming tears and how your arms tightened around the bag of groceries.

“Is it really you..?” It was Sanji’s turn to ask as he dared to take a step closer. He could feel the crew’s confused stares glaring into his back, but he cared not one bit. You were in front of him. “A-Are you really.. here?”

You wetly chuckled, placing down the grocery bag with the same carefulness he remember you used with everything he made back then. You then opened your arms and tilted your head with a smile, a silent invitation.

Without hesitation, Sanji sprinted.

He ran until he could feel you and wasted no time in diving into your embrace. Sanji wrapped his arms around you like you were going to slip away any time soon. The lingering smell of sweetness, flour and freshly baked bread hit his nostrils, and Sanji fought the urge to sob on the spot.

When he felt your arms gently wrap around him in return, Sanji decided to give up fighting and let a stray tear escape from his eye.

“It’s you.. It’s really you.” Sanji heard you mumble and pulled away to feel his heartstrings get pulled at the sight of you with tear eyes, a warm smile tilting up the corners of your lips. “You’ve grown, Sanji-sama.”

“Don’t.” Before he could think, the words stumbled out of his mouth. You blinked away the tears in replacement for confusion, but the confusion went away as Sanji spoke, “I’m not- I’m not a prince anymore.”

Sanji watched the way your smile reappeared, this time with more fondness. Your eyes shined knowingly and he safely presumed you knew what he was implying.

“Well, at least that means I get to do this without any problem.” You spoke up with a tone that cleared the air of any sad nostalgia, one beaming with an eerie mischief.

“What do you- Hey!” Before he knew it, Sanji’s hair was getting tousled and ruffled as if he was a dog. Despite his protests, you kept on going with both hands. Your laughter boomed through any complaints coming from Sanji and the cook felt more and more pliant as the sweet melodious sound of your laugh rang in his ears.

Your eyes creased like crescent moons as you playfully messed up the cook’s hair. “I must say, you’ve grown into a fine young man! I still remember how little you were, Sanji-sa-” The ruffling and your words halted, making Sanji look up. You coughed into your hand before correcting, “Sanji.”

The way you said his name like it was a delicacy made his heart twist and turn. Without the honorifics, somehow his own name sounded even better than usual. Almost like a song meant only for him.

“I missed you.” Sanji let the words slip out, not even bothering to care about the crew’s reaction. He really did miss you. A part of him almost forgot you in the process of forgetting about that wretched place yet in his mind, it was always you and his mother that managed to shine through the bad events that happened at the kingdom.

Sanji grabbed your hand and gently pressed it against his cheek, closing his eyes when he felt your warmth radiating through the contact and letting out a shaky sigh. “I missed you.” He repeated.

With his eyes closed, the cook could not see how your eyes visibly softened. Instead, what he felt was your forehead pressed against his as well as your other hand cupping the other side of his face. Your thumb caressed the skin under his eye, treating him like he was a delicate piece of art.

“I missed you too, Sanji.”

Out of the captain’s request, you somehow made your way to the ship that loomed over you with an impressive height. Sanji’s friend was his friend, Luffy declared and immediately invited you over to which you agreed to despite Sanji’s reluctance in letting you deal with the hurricane that is the crew.

Yet you seemed to be dealing with them just fine. Conversing with the crew like you’d known them for years, laughing at Brook’s terrible jokes.

It felt like you were home.

Sanji tightened his grip on the mug, suddenly all too conscious of how your shoulders pressed against his. He was too busy overthinking about how the scent of baked goods weirdly matched well with the ship that he hadn’t realized Luffy had started running his mouth. Only when the captain mentioned the word ‘cook’ did he snap his head back into the conversation just in time.

“A cook? That’s amazing, Sanji!” You beamed at the blonde who flustered over the attention and looked away with a hasty grin along side a blush that overtook his features.

Luffy let out a hearty laugh, one that dared to echo out of the ship and to the town’s ears. “Sanji always makes the best food! Everything he makes taste incredible!”

“Oi, Luffy!” Sanji was no stranger to compliments and he wasn’t one to deny any either yet it felt weirdly embarrassing when you were with him.

Despite Sanji’s protests, you only seemed more impressed and let out a laugh that matched Luffy’s exuberance. “Well, I’m not that surprised!”

You looked over to Sanji and smiled so proudly it made his heart ache. “Sanji’s great at anything he puts his heart into.”

While the crew laughed and tried to coax you into telling more tales of you and little Sanji, the cook couldn’t stop the concerningly fast rate of his heartbeat. You’d said that to him before, but the way your words was soft yet stern with conviction and pride made something in his brain go haywire.

As you were about to reach for your glass, your hand was pulled and held by fingers that were larger and wider than yours.

When you glanced at Sanji, he was having an argument with the swordsman who had a cocky smirk on his face. Meanwhile Sanji, on the other hand, looked as red as a strawberry. Even as he snarled at Zoro, the tips of his ears burned bright red.

You let out a quiet chuckle before gently squeezing back, finding warmth in the way Sanji’s hand held yours.

It’s nice to see you again.

a/n : little sanji is so cute, i want to hug him and let him cook anything he wants. he’s so cute that i want to drop kick vinsmoke judge over a flight of stairs and proceed to pluck out every single strand of that fucker’s hair. hate judge. how dare he treat my child like that. (i have not reached the whole cake island arc yet.)

[lilmarshie]

Hello! Might i request a bob x reader? Its kinda based on hadestown, likr how Orpheus would do everything for Eurydice, imagine bob loving his partner like that? I feel like itd be cute!!

Anything and everything for you | Bob x Reader

Bob is willing to do anything to make you happy because he loves to see you smile.

Thank you for the request - @eurydicesxshadow ! I hope that you enjoy!

Bob is willing to do anything and everything for you. From cleaning up around the house, to spoiling you on your weekly date nights, you can truly tell he loves you.

Bob is the kind of guy to go above and beyond with acts of service. He isn’t afraid to do yard work, doesn’t mind cleaning the kitchen, and he loves cooking your favorite meals for you if it means seeing you happy. Bob is enveloped in the feelings that he gets when he gets to spoil you.

Bob: “Sweetheart, do you need me to grab you anything from the store? I’m on my way home now.”

Y/N: “I’m not sure I need anything now, but thank you for the offer, my love.”

Bob: “Okay, love. I’ll be home soon.”

He ends up bringing home things that you didn’t even realize you needed. Things such as snacks for your upcoming day trip, extra deodorant, and even a trinket you’ve been eyeing at a local antique shop. All of these little things are seemingly mild inconveniences to you, but to Bob it’s a way to express his feelings about you.

Bob never really experienced true love before he met you. So once these feelings arose and blossomed, it changed him into a completely different person. Bob is normally sweet and kind but over time he has grown to be gentler, more passionate, and even a little more mature in the process.

You have changed his life for the better and now he wants to help you out in anyway he knows how.

Bob is definitely the one for you in the long run and he’s been planning excitedly for that moment where he can ask you to be his for forever.

[dailymothanon]

Was way too busy today to draw anything but this is how it feels to get my millionth Soundwave plot that is either cassette harm or something maybe a little interesting just for it to never actually be explored and end up tossed aside 😔(of course, I’m just over exaggerating for fun;) warning for a rant btw—

I think most if not all Soundwaves have been handled pretty solidly? Kinda? I guess 90% of the stuff he does as a character is just be an asset to keep the overall plot moving which is fair, but also mostly him just aura farming all the time lmao like girl we get it 😭 but also go off… but also I do heavily wish his character was explored more, different dynamics, change the formula! As mostly Megatron and maybe Starscream and to an extent Shockwave are often changed story and personality wise much more prominently or noticeably. Part of me also feels like 🤔 maybe the lack of change in Soundwaves (design wise? He certainly Does Change a lot) is partially because it’s hard to explore a character that tends to not be really expressive or talk much, so I don’t blame anyone… just wish that he has more juice yaknow 😌 something more filling than just stoic mech who practically carries the whole faction on his back, known to be loyal, and also has cassettes that he seems to care for a ton.. sure, you can say these are essentials to his character, but I guess like, isn’t that the point of different continuities? Endless possibilities that are all technically canon in their own regards (for example the folks who don’t like TfOne Shockwave cuz he’s very expressive and emotional, who think “he doesn’t have emotions why is he like this” well, yea, he doesn’t have emotions in THAT continuity, but in THIS continuity, he does! It’s a fun new way of seeing him!). Maybe TFA Soundwave is a good example to me of like, this is an interesting new idea of a story for him! But then it’s not really explored ever 😭 but don’t get me wrong, this does Not mean I don’t like other Soundwaves from the lack of story, I love them all very dearly!! Tfp was also an interesting and cool concept of him! Most Soundwaves have had great aspects about them to me which is why I cannot pick a definitive favorite! But one thing I think they all collectively lack a little in is exploration of character that’s past him just being a tool to keep things moving, which to me, even that within itself is something that may be explored, him being seen more as a tool than an individual, but I still completely understand why he isn’t touched on cuz obviously he won’t be the main character or anything 😛 important character Sure, but he’s almost treated like a side character at times which again, is also fine and valid, I don’t have expectations that the story would consider him cuz there’s usually not really reason to; though in comparison to the rest of the high command getting many new analyzations and different directions to go, it is a little disappointing to me when I think about it too much 📼 but I still love him a lot regardless!

[hardbeingcasual]

“how to be a real man.”

real man van palmer fem reader

about. your ex embarrasses you at a party and van steps in.

warnings. au yj (no crash). no taivan. reader isn’t aware of her sexuality. men. the ‘ex’ doesn’t have a name because he is irrelevant . cringe probably

this is how tomorrow moves masterlist

yj masterlist / masterlist

You hated parties, the socialising.

You somehow found yourself at a highschool party, a red plastic cup in your hand, half filled with a random alcoholic beverage you didn’t even know the name of, all alone because your friends were god knows where. You watch as your ex drank the night away, a new girl on his arm, you scoffed at that, downing the contents of your drink, before going to refill the cup.

It’s just your luck that your ex… who happened to watch your figure retreating outside was now following you into the kitchen to the house — you didn’t know whose house it was but Jackie insisted you and the rest of the yellowjackets came to the party.

You start mixing random drinks that you didn’t even know could be mixed together in your red plastic cup, not noticing the dark presence at your side.

“Is all that really necessary?” He jokes, as he watches you pour the drinks together.

You roll your eyes at his aggregating voice, you nod. “Yeah, it’s to block out your irritating voice.” You snark back, noticing his angered expression you almost smirked to yourself in success.

Before you knew it, an argument had broken out, him shouting total nonsense to you as you awkwardly scratched your head waiting for him to shut up. “You broke up with me, remember? So don’t get so ratty with me—” He had the audacity to say that, considered he slept with another girl — the same girl who was on his arm moments ago, while you both were together.

You stared blankly at him, “Are you done?”

He got closer to you, pointing his finger at you “Don’t start—”

Van, your saviour steps in. Though you weren’t quite sure where she came from— like a knight in shining armor, “That’s enough, Man. Seriously get out of her face.” She declared, her head whipping back to you to check on you.

Your ex rolls his eyes, “Stay out of this, Vanessa. This little bitch—” He gets interrupted once again as Van suddenly punches him, crazily enough she knocked him to the floor. Guess he was not that strong enough. You stare in shock as his body goes tumbling but can’t help the drunken laugh that leaves your mouth. You look down to your red cup before drinking some of it and then— you pour the remaining on your ex’s body that was leaned against the kitchen counter.

You heard him shout at you, calling you a bitch or whatever but you didn’t care since Van was dragging you out of the house party, laughter leaving her lips as she pulled you down the street.

To your luck you just happened to live a few blocks away, your parents weren’t home, so you drag Van upstairs and into your bedroom.

You insist she sits on the bed so she does, you take her hand in yours as you sit next to her and inspect the bloodied knuckles. You tsk, but smirk slightly. “That was badass, I’ll admit.”

Van feels a sense of pride go through her veins at your words, “He had it coming to him, he was gonna lay his hands on you.”

“Well thank god you were there to protect me.” You smile softly, as you start to trail your hand from her hand slowly up her arm and to her face.

She gulps slowly at your touch, “What’re you doing…”

You shrugged, you looked at her differently than usual, maybe your drunken mind had finally opened your eyes and showed you how attractive she was.

You swallowed the lump in your throat as your eyes trail down to her lips, before looking back into her eyes. Her eyes widening at your actions.

Your hand trailed down from her face to her neck. You felt each other getting closer as your faces became inches away from each other. You look at Van for some sort of confirmation to which she nods.

You lick your lips as you decide to make the move, pressing your lips against hers, your lips moulding together, like you were trapped together like glue.

You both pull away to catch your breaths. You lean your forehead against Van’s as you gaze into her eyes.

“I knew it was always you.” You could’ve sworn you were drunk off of love and not the alcohol.

Van chuckles as she tucks a strand of your hair behind your ear, “I’m glad you figured it out.” She whispered softly, as she leaned in again to steal another kiss from you.

published 13/5/25 1:55am gmt

notes. probably so cringe but i really can’t sleep and i wanted to write for van <3 my fav. this isn’t my fav but i tried my best to write it !

[fiastomatocheek]

WHERE IT HURTS ME THE MOST

requested: yes | req: okay so my idea is reader and will are arguing and she's got a short temper and so will is kinda dialing in on insults related to that. and i guess to make this make sense, she had a past boyfriend that didn't treat her the best so her anger is a coping mechanism and a safety net for herself so she doesn't get hurt again but he's never seen her cry at all (about that situation or anything else) in the time they've been dating. and they're just going back and forth and back and forth and finally will says something like ‘well i get why your ex left because you're so stubborn and angry all the time. if you got your anger under control maybe some good things would happen to you’ and it just breaks her. like she stops fighting and when she goes to leave, will sees the tears welling in her eyes and he knows immediately that he fucked up. and she isolates herself and no one hears from her for days until finally will finds her at her apartment and he apologizes or something like that? please and thank you!

pair: will smith x f!reader

genre: angst, hurt/comfort, romance.

warnings: past emotional abuse, toxic ex mentioned, yelling/argument, emotional breakdown, isolation, hurtful dialogue, emotional vulnerability, but ends with comfort and healing.

summary: you only asked will for one thing is that to check in after practice. it wasn’t a demand. just a simple gesture. but when a small concern turns into a spiraling argument, will crosses a line he never should’ve touched. and the moment he sees you cry for the first time, he realizes exactly how much damage he’s done.

fia’s note: never been in a toxic relationship before *praying this kind of love never finds me* so i’m not really sure what else to add, but i hope you enjoy it anywayyy. love you all lots!! my fav little 🍅s. alsooo i’d love if some of you could recommend me a few will smith angst fics to read, i’m in the mood to suffer a little. and i’m currently open to dad!luke hughes requests too!! he doesn’t get nearly enough dad delulu content on here and i desperately need it.

tagging team fia ! — @iloveyoutodeathbutimdrowning @dancerbailey3 @mashmashi @kell9rs @nokiaholland

fia’s masterlist | join fia’s taglist | fic discussion

“Hey,”

Will greeted casually, wiping his damp forehead with the edge of his shirt after tossing his gear bag down by the entryway.

“Hi,” you replied flatly.

He paused, glancing at you. “Everything… okay?”

“I don’t know. Did something happen after practice? You usually text.”

He looked up from unlacing his shoes.

“Yeah, sorry. Coach kept us longer than usual.”

You leaned against the counter, arms crossed.

“You still could’ve sent a text. Just… anything.”

He let out a breath, already heading toward the kitchen.

“Babe, I was busy. And you know I don’t take my phone on the ice.”

“I know,” you said quietly.

“But it’s not about the rink. It’s about after. You had it once practice ended. You just didn’t use it.”

“You’re mad?”

“I’m not mad,”

You said, eventhough the frustration in your tone told a different story.

“I just… it would’ve taken two seconds to text ‘I’m okay’. That’s all I needed.”

Will tossed his hoodie over the back of the chair.

“I was exhausted. I didn’t think you’d be this upset about it.”

“That’s the problem,” you snapped.

“You didn’t think. About me. About how I sit here wondering if something happened. If you got hurt. I know it sounds stupid, but it matters to me.”

“It’s not stupid,”

He said quickly, but the way he rubbed his temples suggested he didn’t quite mean it.

“It’s just… I don’t get why it’s always a big thing.”

“It’s not always a big thing,” you said, voice rising.

“You just make me feel like I’m asking for too much everytime I express something that bothers me.”

“Because you come at me like I’ve already failed.”

You stared at him. “Maybe I wouldn’t have to if you actually listened when I talk.”

Will’s jaw clenched. “I do listen, I do. But you’re always so angry. Every conversation turns into a fight.”

And just like that, your anger cut deeper than he probably intended.

You turned away, trying to collect yourself.

But Will didn’t stop.

“It’s like you’re constantly looking for something to go wrong. I come home and you’re already on edge, like you’re bracing for a war that hasn’t even started.”

“Maybe because I am bracing,”

You snapped, spinning back toward him.

“You don’t know what it’s like to live in a state of defense. To have someone chip away at you every fucking day until the only thing left is armor.”

Will’s expression now is confused, overwhelmed, cornered.

“I’m not your ex, babe.”

“I never said you were. But sometimes you make me feel like I have to prepare for the worst. Like if I don’t say something now, I’ll end up swallowed by silence, again.”

He scoffed. “You can’t compare me to him everytime you’re upset.”

“I’m not! I’m just trying to explain why I am the way I am!”

“Then maybe work on changing it.”

Your stomach dropped.

“What?”

“I’m just saying,” he muttered, frustration bleeding through,

“You always expect me to cater to your triggers, your past, your baggage but when do you take responsibility for how you react?”

“I am taking responsibility,” you said.

“I’m telling you what I need so we don’t spiral like this. And you’re acting like I’m attacking you.”

Will stepped back, tone turning cold.

“You know what? Fine. Be angry. Be stubborn. That’s all you ever do anyway.”

You flinched.

And then he said it. The most hurtful things you’ve ever heard.

“Well, I get why your ex left. Because you’re so stubborn and angry all the time. If you got your anger under control, maybe some good things would happen to you.”

A breath. A heart broken.

All of the pain hit all at once, your body stilled, your face blanked. Your eyes went glassy, your fists clenched at your sides.

Will’s face dropped as soon as the words left his mouth.

“Wait no, I didn’t mean that, I—”

But it was too late.

Your voice cracked as you whispered,

“You were supposed to be different.”

You turned, grabbed your keys, and… left.

It’s had been three days eversince that day you left his apartment, eversince the you hadn’t answered a single message.

Not the texts. Not the voicemails. Not even the flowers he sent that sat untouched outside your apartment door.

Will was unraveling, everytime he closed his eyes, he saw the way your face shattered, how your mouth opened in shock, but no words came, your eyes filled with tears those tears you never let him see before you slipped out the door without another word.

Now, soaked from the rain, he used the spare key you gave him months ago, stepping into your apartment with a heart heavy enough to drown him this time.

You were there.

When you looked up and saw him, you didn’t move.

“Please…”

He said quietly, shutting the door behind him.

“Just… let me say this.”

You looked so tired. So hollow.

Will knelt beside the couch, water dripping from his head onto the floor.

“I know… I know I said the one thing I should’ve never said. But I need you to understand… I wasn’t angry at you. I was scared. Scared I was failing you. And instead of being patient, I chose to be cruel.”

Your eyes flicked toward him, lips trembling.

“You’ve told me what your anger protects. I should’ve respected that. I should’ve seen that what I call ‘yelling’ is really just the sound of you trying not to drown.”

He hesitated, then reached for your hand so gentle, barely a brush.

“I love you. Not in the convenient way. Not just when things are easy. I love you when you’re quiet, soft. But I also love you when you’re loud and afraid. I love you when you’re angry because I know that anger comes from pain you never deserved.”

Will moved slowly, sitting beside you, careful not to push too far.

“You don’t have to protect yourself from me. Not with words. Not with walls. I’m not going anywhere. No matter how loud it gets. No matter how hard it feels. I’m yours. Even when it’s not easy.”

“You are not too much. You were just never given the right space to be everything you are.”

Silence.

“And I want to be that space.”

You looked at him, crumpled and broken, and you believed him, your body leaned forward. Your hand reached for his. And when you finally pulled him into you, burying your face in his shoulder, he held you like the home he promised to be.

“I don’t need you to be okay all the time,”

Will added, voice shaking a little now.

“I just need you. However you are. However you come.”

“I’m sorry,” he whispered into your hair.

“I’m so sorry.”

[fandomlit]

haunted by the living (sirius black x reader)

requested by anon "hello! can you please write for older!sirius? it’s hard for his wife to be comfortable in his presence again after so long so she kind of ignore him because she just doesn’t know how to act, and during a meeting with the order, he saw her talking with everyone expect him. like she’s even close to severus and he gets jealous."

summary when sirius returned from azkaban, the idea of seeing you was his greatest motivator. but when you don't know how to interact with him, he's left to wallow until remus convinces sirius to show you the man he's been all along; the man you fell in love with.

warnings ANGSTT, pure angst so much of it, swearing, drinking

a/n okay so maybe i got carried away w this one but im obsessed with this idea

gif cred belongs to @peaceseller

it was hard to get back into normal life after spending so long is azkaban. sirius was finding different ways to adjust every day--from the amount of his appetite, to even feeling like the days were faster. there were many things different from before his time in prison to the modern day. but there was one thing in particular that he hadn't expected to change to much:

you.

you and sirius had been married for two years when he was arrested, but had been pining lovers in hogwarts for three years before that. he dreamed of you nearly every day in his azkaban delusions and the moment he first saw you again brought sweet, sweet relief to his heart. that is, until you completely turned away from him and resumed talking with a confused molly.

he felt like he's been walking on eggshells ever since.

you still stopped by grimmauld place nearly every day like every member of the order, but it was always in the company of someone else and never did you offer more than a few glances at sirius throughout the evening. if his cabin fever in the old, traumatic home wasn't already driving him mad, your interactions surely would. but he had no idea what to do.

he confided in remus one evening after everyone else had left. they sat in the kitchen, a warm butterbeer in remus's grasp with a glass of firewhisky rested in sirius's.

"it breaks my heart, moony," sirius spoke gravely, gaze trained furiously on the table as he thought about the mere glimpse he had gotten of you that day before you turned away from him. "i don't know what to do."

remus was silent for a long moment, nodding minutely to himself. "i think she's just scared, sirius."

sirius's head snapped up and he was less than surprised to feel a tear shake loose and roll down his cheek from the movement. "scared? of me?"

remus's lips pursed. "no," he said softly. "not of you, i don't think." he let out a sigh and tilted his head back, looking somewhere faraway as he considered his words. "i think she just spent so long thinking of you in a certain image, in a certain sense of betrayal, that it's hard for her just to go back from those thoughts. she can't just rewire her brain all in a month, you know. i imagine she's just struggling to grasp that you, this entire time, have just been you.'' though his heart panged harshly in his chest, sirius watched remus's expression carefully as he continued, "y/n was completely broken after you were taken, sirius. she didn't want to believe a word the press was saying, because she knew you better than anyone else, but sitting there in denial hurt her.

"after a while, i think it was easier for her to believe what they were saying rather than sit there knowing that you were innocent and there was nothing that she could do."

they were both silent for a long time after that, drinking thoughtfully.

"do i just wait it out?" sirius asked quietly. "wait until she comes to me?"

remus let out another long sigh, raising his mug to his lips again. "it's hard to say." sirius nodded, looking down at the near-empty glass in his hands. "but if i were you.." his gaze raised again. remus gave him a smile that was half-amused and half-pitying, "i would start to try to make her see that you're the same as you've always been. stop the moping, start becoming someone who can't be ignored. you know--start being more.. you."

sirius contemplated that for a moment before letting out a short laugh. "you were always the schemer of us, moony." he smiled at his friend, to which they both laughed and clinked their glasses, downing the rest of their drinks before they began to delve into ideas.

it was three days later that you made your next appearance at grimmauld place for their weekly reports over dinner. sirius and remus lingered by the doorway, helping everyone with their coats and making sure mrs. black stayed quiet as they entered.

when you arrived with tonks, you gave remus a hello and him a brief nod before you began to remove your coat. sirius slid behind you swiftly and grasped your collar before your hands could even get near.

he felt you stiffen for a minute as he muttered a gentle, "allow me." keeping a respectable distance and touching anything other than the thick material of your coat as little as possible, he helped you slip your arms out and then take it into his hands to hang up.

"thank you," you spoke softly, not making eye contact as your head inclined in his direction. before he could even breathe, you whisked into the kitchen with tonks following behind with a grin on her face. she turned and flashed sirius a thumbs up before disappearing around the corner.

sirius didn't realize that he still wasn't breathing until remus clapped him on the back. he grinned, his heart fluttering like he was a pining student all over again for you. "she spoke to me!"

"it's a small start," remus nodded, laughing as if he was just as relieved as sirius was, "but it's a start!"

sirius rode that high for the rest of the evening, despite having no other opportunity to directly interact with you again. but the few glances you stole at him that evening had him feeling especially prideful when he went to bed that night. it was the most hopeful he had felt since he first saw you.

a few nights later there was no regular order meeting, but many of the members ended up in grimmauld place anyway. it was a less serious evening than usual; there was little news to work with that week, and so there was a jovial, casual dinner that ensued. it wasn't the first time that such an occasion occurred, but it was the first time you had attended an evening like this.

sirius, as per usual, had made some grumble about being cooped up in the dusty home, which was received with better spirits than usual. many of the order teased him as they downed their meals and drinks.

remus nearly choked as a tipsy tonks pointed at sirius with her fork, "maybe if you looked less like a criminal you'd be more fit for the public, eh? lose the facial hair, i say!" the table burst into laughter, even kingsley tipping his head back to let out a deep laugh.

sirius threw his hands up. "no razors in azkaban, you know!" the laughter only continued, and sirius couldn't keep the grin off of his face as he saw you laughing along. "you stay a certain way for ten years and you find it hard to go back!" he saw something flicker in your eyes for a moment when he glanced over, but his attention was grabbed again before he could decipher it.

"i think it'd help if you didn't have that mischievous look about you," bill grinned, leaning back in his chair. "you've got that look that fred and george always do--you always look like you're up to something." the table chuckled again.

"should've seen him when that mischief was at work," remus mused. "could never keep a secret when him and james had some new scheme forming. right, y/n?"

there was a collective intake of breath--or maybe that was just me, sirius thought to himself--as the attention of the table shifted to you. you had a wary look in your eyes as your cheeks went adorably red, but you still smiled with a chuckled, "don't i know it." your gaze turned to sirius for the briefest of moments, but that short second where your eyes met had his entire body feeling electrified.

"so, y/n," tonks piped up as everyone had nearly finished their plates. there was several conversations going at once now; kingsley and moody were muttering to each other about something more serious than the tone at the table, while bill and remus chuckled to each other. but the second your name was spoke, he was zoned into your expression. "what have you been up to? i feel like i never see you outside of this place anymore!"

"yes, i'm sorry, dora," you smiled guiltily. "work and order duties have been keeping me plenty busy lately. we're getting closer to winter, which means people somehow get more reckless."

sirius couldn't help but smile at that little implication--you were still working as a healer, then. his mind flashed with memories of you patching him and the other boys up back in the hogwarts dormitories and the hell you would give them for their recklessness on nights other than the full moon. that helping, passionate y/n was still sitting in front of him, even if she was more reserved in present company. his heart sank when he acknowledged that it was mostly his presence tampering down your energy.

".. seems to happen every year!"

you suddenly let out a loud laugh at whatever anecdote tonks had just finished, and sirius snapped out his brooding mind. you held a hand to your mouth as the uncontrollable laughter spilled out, your friend looking positively self-satisfied as she shot a pointed look at sirius. he raised his glass minutely to her when he took a sip.

"you never fail to entertain, dora," you sighed and sirius found his eyes glued to your bright features; the flush on your happy face and the unconscious curve of your lips were so familiar to him that his heart ached. he knew he had to be smiling himself.

eventually, moody stood up to go and rest of the group followed. remus stayed behind, saying something about having a drink before turning in, but sirius's gaze was too focused on your retreating form and he found himself following the group to see them out.

they all gathered their coats and began to step out one by one, waving their tipsy and happy goodbyes to sirius as they went. you were the last of the group, and shockingly you offered him a wave and wary smile before turning around. he gave you a nod before turning, not wanting to press his luck with you any further this evening--he already had plenty of dream fuel for that night.

"by the way," you offered, and sirius immediately spun back around to see you gazing at him, but with a less cautious smile on your face, "i like the facial hair." you turned and left before sirius could even think to react. he let out a laugh when he could breathe again, grinning like a maniac to himself.

"what's got you kicking your feet?" remus questioned, nudging a glass of firewhisky toward sirius, who immediately took a swig before throwing his hands dramatically out.

"i'm never shaving again."

sirius noticed a serious increase in efforts to interact from you after that evening. it was never anything major--just more smiles and looks and you seemed to get more and more comfortable every time you returned to grimmauld place.

but it was two weeks later when it at all came together.

it had been a quiet day around the house, and sirius had just accepted that it was going to be a day without a visit from an order member when the front door opened. moments later, you stood in the kitchen doorway and his heart stopped.

you seemed taken aback to only see sirius standing there. "hello, sirius." his heart hammered as you placed a gentle hand on the doorframe. "sorry if i'm interrupting your evening.. has severus stopped by at all today?"

he couldn't help the burn of jealous that instinctively sparked in his chest at the idea of you seeking out severus instead of him. "no, not today." you nodded, still hesitating in the doorway. "why?"

you shrugged. "just checking in on hogwarts mostly. and harry." his lips quirked at that. a few moments of silence passed where he couldn't decide what to say, but knew that he would say anything to get you to stay at least a little longer. but just then, kreacher set down a dinner plate at the table and you broke the silence with a soft, "well, i'll let you get to your dinner, sorry if i interrupted your evening." you began to lean away and sirius couldn't let it happen.

"you should stay." the words came out quickly, and probably more desperately than he would have liked, but they made you pause. "for dinner," he clarified, and nearly immediately kreacher set another plate at the table. sirius had never felt a deeper appreciation for the house elf than in that moment.

you seemed to grapple with yourself internally for a moment, eyes locked on the plate of food and what it could possibly mean to you. residing it as his last effort, sirius spoke sincerely, "please." your eyes drifted to meet his and he couldn't read your expression, but you finally stepped into the kitchen.

"you've always been very convincing, sirius." he didn't bother to suppress his grin as he stepped over to help you remove your coat and pull out your chair for you. he scrambled to sit as you spoke your thanks, noticing how intensely his hands were shaking as you took a long sip of your water.

you both had barely began to eat when sirius couldn't hold his tongue any longer--not with you finally sitting alone with him. "how have you been, y/n?"

you nodded as you swallowed your bite of food. "good. things have been hectic lately, but i've been known to handle chaos well." you looked up at him to see him smiling knowingly and nodding along. a small smile crept to your lips as you spoke softly, "how have you been, sirius?"

hearing his name on your lips, so casually, was like a breath of fresh air and heaven all in one. he forgot his cabin fever for a moment. "fine enough."

"i'm glad," you spoke gently. he realized his gaze was heavily locked on you and rushed to look away, picking at his plate for a moment so as to not make you uncomfortable. he would never forgive himself if he ruined this night by being too eager.

there were a few minutes of silence where he tried to mentally dig up any casual conversation starter that wasn't ,"how's the weather?" or, "what did i miss?". but you put a stop to those thoughts when he heard you take a quiet, shaky breath.

"i'm sorry, sirius." your voice was no louder than a whisper, but his gaze snapped to you in an instant. you were staring down at your plate of food, fork trembling in your hand. "i-i know i've been terrible. i've been avoidant and distant and-and everything a wife shouldn't be." his heart broke at the tears that slipped down your cheeks. he bit his tongue and resisted the urge to wipe them away for you--this was your moment of truth, not his. "i've just had a hard time believing any of this is.." you lifted your head and wiped the tears from your cheeks, but your eyes still didn't meet his. "real."

sirius nodded. when it seemed you weren't going to speak again, he said quietly, "i know. me either, honestly." your gaze finally turned to him and you seemed less than surprised to find his already burning into yours. "from my imprisonment to my release, all of this has been unbelievable. and truly.." his hand inched toward yours on the table. he took it as a small victory when you didn't flinch away. "i don't blame you one bit for your reaction."

your gaze flicked between his hand, so close to yours, and his solemn face. "you don't?"

"no," he whispered seriously. "at first, i was hurt. remus heard me blubber about it for weeks." his heart swelled with a small bit of pride when your lips quirked at that. "but he helped me understand your perspective, and i see why you would be hesitant. you thought you were lied to, and after so many years you found out that that was a lie. it's hard to live like that."

you shook your head. "i'm so sorry, sirius." once again, his name was bliss on your lips. and he nearly ascended when your hand was the one that reached to his, fitting your palm perfectly into his grasp. he squeezed tight, feeling like a schoolboy again at the way such a small touch made his heart pound. "i never wanted to believe any of the lies, but.. when no one's around to tell you they're lies, it's so hard. and then to find out that i was right all along, it was such a shock, i.." you frowned at him. "i didn't know what to do. who to trust. it took me back to all of those years ago when you were taken from me and i could barely breathe, let alone think."

his heart ached for that past version of you that he couldn't comfort. but it swelled for the version of you that bared the truth to him now. "i know. and i swear, y/n, i will never give you a reason to doubt me again. i-if you choose to give me another chance."

he was worried he had jumped the gun when more tears slid down your cheeks. "sirius black, do you seriously think i would leave you now?"

sirius couldn't help the joy that forced him out of his chair. his arms wrapped around you, forcing you to stand with his embrace. you immediately clung to him and he never in his life had felt something so inherently right.

he pressed his lips to your hair and whispered, "i love you so much, y/n." at first he thought it was too quiet to hear until your face turned out of his chest and toward his.

"i love you, too, sirius," you spoke, and leaned in to kiss him. he instantly melted into you and realized his earlier thought was far too soon: this was right. this was everything.

sirius kissed you as delicately and as passionately as he could all at once; like he was trying to tell you about all of the thoughts he'd had of you over the years, of how he dreamed of this very moment, while at the same time praying that if this were a dream, he wouldn't shatter the illusion.

you kissed each other breathless, until you couldn't stand it. but standing in that cool kitchen with your foreheads pressed to each other, faces flushed and eyes hooded, it felt just as intimate as anything else.

"please, y/n," sirius whispered, "stay with me."

you pressed another long kiss to his lips. "i don't think there's any chance of getting me to go now." sirius couldn't help the grin that spread across his face. before either of you could say another word, he scooped you into his arms as you gasped. you laid a hand on his still-pounding heart as he carried you away to the stairs.

and as you lay in bed together, your eyes memorizing every feature of the face you hadn't gazed upon in far too long, you muttered to him one last apology, "i'm sorry. i had something so wonderful taken away from me once.. i couldn't bear if that same thing was taken again."

sirius's moonlit eyes turned to you, and the adoration in them stole your breath. you weren't sure your heart was going to survive this evening. he pressed a gentle kiss to your forehead. "i'm not going anywhere, my love."

[chadobi]

“Heavy Lies the Mask”

Bayverse Leonardo x Reader

Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Argument, Romantic Tension

Warnings: Emotional vulnerability, arguing, slight swearing, comfort, Leo being a stubborn emotionally constipated turtle

The lair was too quiet.

The kind of quiet that followed a verbal explosion, with everyone retreating to their corners to nurse bruised egos and emotions. You could still feel the burn of the tension that had ripped through the team earlier like a live wire. Donatello was holed up in his lab. Mikey hadn’t even tried to be funny when you passed him. Raph had punched a hole in the wall. Again.

And Leonardo was in the dojo, alone.

You stood in the doorway, watching him go through his katas—fluid, sharp, angry. Every movement was just a bit too aggressive. Every strike snapped like a whip, like he was trying to beat the air into submission.

“Rough night?” you asked, leaning against the frame.

He didn’t look at you. “Go home, Y/N.”

“No.”

His jaw twitched. “I’m not in the mood right now.”

“Yeah, no kidding,” you said, walking in. “You yelled at your brothers like they were soldiers in a boot camp. Even Mikey looked scared, and that never happens.”

“They weren’t taking anything seriously,” Leo snapped, stopping mid-swing. “Do you want to tell me how I’m supposed to plan a patrol when Raph argues with everything, Donnie keeps fact-checking me, and Mikey acts like it’s a damn game?”

“They’re trying, Leo. You just didn’t give them a chance to breathe.”

“I gave them direction,” he said stiffly, “and they threw it in my face.”

You crossed your arms. “That’s because you gave orders, not guidance. There’s a difference.”

He turned, finally looking at you—and his eyes were sharp. “So now this is my fault?”

“I didn’t say that,” you shot back. “But maybe you should stop acting like the only one whose opinion matters. You talk like they’re below you.”

“I am the leader.”

“Yeah? Then act like it.” Your voice rose before you meant it to. “Because right now you’re acting like a dictator who’s pissed nobody bowed down.”

Leo’s shoulders rose with a sharp inhale. “You have no idea what kind of pressure I’m under. I have to keep them safe. I have to think ten steps ahead so that one of them doesn’t get stabbed, or shot, or caught—”

“You think they don’t know that?” you snapped. “You think they don’t feel the same fear every time they go topside? You’re not the only one putting your life on the line, Leo. But you act like their safety is all on you. That’s not leadership. That’s martyrdom.”

The words hung in the air like broken glass, and for a moment, neither of you spoke.

Then, more quietly, you said, “You’re their leader. Not their boss. They follow you because they trust you, not because they’re forced to.”

He exhaled, like the words deflated something in him.

“I’m trying,” he said finally. “But if I don’t take control, everything falls apart.”

“No,” you said, stepping closer, voice softer now. “If you don’t let go, you fall apart. And they need you whole, Leo. Not just standing, but present. Human.”

“I’m not—”

“You know what I mean.”

He looked away, jaw clenched tight, like he hated how right you sounded. Like it hurt to be seen this clearly.

You reached out and gently touched his arm. “I know you carry more than your share. I see how hard you try. But you push everyone away when things get tough—including me.”

That hit deeper than you expected. His gaze flicked back to you, and something raw surfaced in his expression.

“I didn’t mean to push you away,” he said, voice barely audible. “But I can’t let myself fall apart. If I do, who’s left to keep us together?

“You don’t have to be made of stone to be strong, Leo.” You stepped closer, reaching for his hand. “You can lean on people. On me.”

He looked down at your intertwined fingers, something shifting behind his eyes. Shame, maybe. Gratitude. A little fear.

“I don’t know how to do that,” he admitted. “Not really.”

You smiled faintly. “Good news: you don’t have to know. You just have to try.”

He let out a long breath, like he’d been holding it for days. Then, slowly, his fingers curled around yours.

“I really screwed things up tonight,” he murmured.

“Not beyond fixing,” you said gently. “But you should talk to them. Not as their leader. As their brother.”

He nodded. A pause, then: “Do you think they hate me right now?”

“They’re pissed,” you said honestly. “But they love you. That’s why it hurts when you act like this. You matter too much to them.”

Leo swallowed hard and glanced at you again. His expression had softened—no longer that tightly-wound leader you’d walked in on. Just Leo. A little lost, but not alone.

“Do you hate me?” he asked quietly.

You stepped forward and gently rested your forehead against his. “Not even a little,” you whispered. “But don’t make me fight you just to be there for you, okay?”

He chuckled softly—a small, tired sound. “I’ll try.

“Good.” You kissed the edge of his jaw, light and warm. “Because I’m not going anywhere.”

[strwbrryeyes]

Hello! Saw your one year event and happy one yr in advance for it!! Would like to try out for a HC with a short f reader defending ushijima as some pple behind his back were sh*t talking abt him , n maybe if ushijima (n maybe if he is wif his frens idk whichever!!!) happens to hear it ( •̯́ ᵕ •̯̀) i hope i did it right and thank u!!

༊·˚ He's just quiet

cw: none i think

⟡ a/n: this wasnt really head canon styled but i hope you like it regardless :3 again sorry for the wait </3 i also didnt know how to add in the reader being short whoops

It started off as background noise as you waited for your boyfriend, just conversation from a few people gathered near a table in the uni dining hall. You hadn't meant to listen in, but when someone said Ushijima's name, your attention locked in automatically.

“He’s so… stoic all the time,” one of them said, causing you to raise a brow.

“Does he even talk when they’re alone?” another asked, laughing like it was a joke everyone should be in on.

You stood there for a second, not out of shock, but because you were deciding if it was even worth it. They weren’t being intentionally cruel, but it was the kind of thoughtless, careless chatter that irritated you more than the outright rudeness of it all since they knew nothing about him, you, or your relationship at all. 

So you stepped in. “Actually, he’s not that stoic. He’s just quiet person who likes to keep his peace by only keeping to himself and those around him. There’s a difference.”

They turned toward you, a little caught off guard, not expecting you to be there.

“He listens more than he speaks. He pays attention to things most people miss. And yeah, he’s not the loudest person in the room, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t feel things deeply or at all,” you said, your voice steady but slowly becoming more defensive.

You weren't trying to start a fight, but you weren’t going to let them talk about him like that either. “You don’t have to be overly expressive to be a good partner. He’s one of the most caring people ever even if he shows it in a lowkey manner”

There was an awkward pause as no one really knew how to follow that, and you didn’t expect them to. You didn't want to. You turned to leave and nearly bumped into Ushijima himself. He had approached quietly, his expression unreadable at first, but when his eyes met yours, there was something warm and certain in them.

He looked past you toward the group, his tone even. “Don’t speak on something you know nothing about, especially when it comes to my relationship.”

He didn’t wait for a response. Just gently placed his hand on your back and took you away from the group and conversation. You let out a breath you didn’t realize you were holding, and he didn’t say anything for a while, just held your hand the rest of the way out.

–

Later that night, curled up on the couch with your legs draped over his, you felt the quiet comfort of being near him being more calming than usual. You were about to bring up the earlier situation, but he spoke first.

“I heard you,” he started “all of it,”

You blinked, surprised by how soft his voice sounded.

“Thank you,” he said, not looking away from where his thumb was tracing circles on your leg. “You didn’t have to say anything. But you did.”

You smiled. “I wasn’t going to let them talk about you like you weren’t worth understanding.”

His lips curved just slightly, and he gave a small nod. “You always see me and that’s all I need.”

He was right, you did. That’s why you never needed him to be louder or different. His silence was never empty and cold. It was full of intention, care, and all the things people missed when they didn’t bother to look close enough.

[justchillgurl]

Chapter 2: Smoking Mirrors.

Summary: Geum Seong-je isn’t one to care about school politics, but something about her—the girl with the chessboard smile and debt-tracked hands—gets under his skin. From hallway glimpses to quiet observation, he begins to unthread her method. Not to expose her. Just to see if she ever slips.

He doesn’t think she will. That’s what makes it interesting.

Warnings: none (not yet at least.) just seongje smoking.

Author's note: I'm not really confident about those chapters, feel free to give your feedback. English is not my first language, please don't hesitate to point out any mistakes. Thank you🫶🏼

The lighter clicked once. Twice. Flame hissed, flickered, and died against the afternoon wind.

Seong-je exhaled through his teeth, dug the lighter deeper into his palm, and tried again. On the third attempt, it caught. The tip of the cigarette burned soft orange as he leaned back against the cracked brick wall outside the east stairwell, smoke curling lazily around his face.

He wasn’t supposed to be out here. Not technically.

But that was the whole point.

Classes were still in session. The school felt hollow in this part of the building—too far from the teachers’ offices, too quiet for anyone to bother checking. A graveyard for rusted lockers and long-forgotten announcements. Seong-je liked it here. It was predictable in its neglect.

His phone buzzed.

Seong-Mok: u gonna show up today or what?

He locked the screen without answering.

Seong-je didn’t skip class because he had better things to do. He skipped because nothing in that building made him feel awake. He’d already figured out which teachers didn’t bother calling names, which students kept their heads down, and which staff gave up trying to correct him.

He existed at the edge of Kanghak High’s awareness. Not low enough to worry about. Not loud enough to deal with.

Except now there was her.

He’d been watching her longer than he liked to admit.

It started in the convenience store. The way she measured every action, every word, like she was scoring a game only she understood. She didn’t seek attention, but it followed her anyway—hovering around her sharp shoulders and immovable stare.

He didn’t care about rumors, but even he’d heard things.

She was the one with the notes. The blog. The connections. She never raised her voice. Never smiled for no reason. And never helped without a trade.

A few days after their non-meeting, he saw her again.

She was sitting in the back corner of the library, laptop open, typing fast and without pause. Her phone buzzed three times—she ignored it. Her bag sat on the floor, half unzipped, with a folder of printed sheets sticking out like pressed wings.

He didn’t move. Didn’t interrupt.

He just watched.

The next day, she was walking across the courtyard, head tilted as someone tried desperately to gain her approval. Seong-je could tell. The body language was all there—hands fidgeting, voice too eager, laugh a little too loud. She listened with that same neutral expression, nodding only once before slipping a folded note into the person’s hand.

Transaction complete.

He lit another cigarette.

He didn’t want to interact. Not yet. That wasn’t how you watched people like her. You didn’t start by talking. You started by observing—finding the cracks. The inconsistencies. The rules she followed and when she bent them.

He already knew some of them.

She refused requests that weren’t worth her time. She wore earbuds in crowded spaces—not because she liked music, but because it gave her an excuse not to engage.

She smiled differently depending on who was talking.

To teachers: soft, respectful.

To classmates: polite, measured.

To those beneath her ranking system: almost invisible.

There was a system. He was sure of it.

And it intrigued the hell out of him.

One afternoon, he caught a sliver of her voice near the back staircase. Someone was begging—literally—for help on a scholarship essay. She didn’t yell. She didn’t even sound annoyed.

“Do you really think my notes are free?” she said calmly.

“No, no—I’ll pay. I’ll do anything, I swear.”

“I don’t want desperation. I want results. I want return.”

There was a long pause. Then:

“Make me a deal that makes sense. Otherwise, don’t waste my time.”

She walked off. Her steps echoed sharp and fast.

She didn’t glance at Seong-je as she passed.

But he noticed her thumb flick across her phone screen the moment she turned the corner. Probably logging the encounter. Updating a name. Moving pieces.

He tossed the cigarette butt into a gutter and kicked the edge of a bench.

The weird thing was, he didn’t want anything from her. Not really. He wasn’t looking for help, or notes, or connections. He wasn’t even looking for a fight.

He just wanted to know if she ever messed up.

If the game she was playing was as perfect as she made it look.

Because people like her didn’t run without cracks. No matter how polished. No matter how precise.

And Geum Seong-je had time. He had silence. And he had an unsettling talent for noticing what others ignored.

He could wait.

This is gonna be fucking fun.

So I decided to drop the chapter tonight, felt like it.

Hope you enjoy reading it🫂.

[pandora-writes-one-piece]

The Meet-Cute - Kid's Story - 9

Source for pic

Imperfect 9

Word Count: 5836

Tags and Summary can be found here.

Special Warning: English is not my first language, I apologise for any possible spelling or grammar mistakes.

Notes: I'm sorry, everyone, this might not be the chapter you all deserve, but it's the chapter I managed to get out. Life kicked my butt a little bit these last few days. I aimed for this chapter to have a little bit more plot, but it was already getting too big. Still, plenty of setup for exciting things to happen next chapter. I hope you're still with me and enjoying this! Love you all.

Here's a Spotify Playlist I created for this story if you want to check it out!

Masterlist

“I can’t believe it, Kid, you really remade this engine from a bunch of scrapped junkyard parts?” You’re leaning on the tips of your toes, admiring the new farm tractor engine Kid is setting up. 

Well, ‘new’ is an euphemism. Kid was just telling you how buying a new engine was about as expensive as a new tractor, since your dad’s tractor is over fifteen years old. So, he came up with a cheaper solution. 

“Sure did, Sparkles.” Kid tightens another bolt and cranes his neck your way, one eyebrow shooting up in disbelief. “I’m actually offended ye doubt me!”

A giggle escapes your lips as you raise your hands in mock defense. “Don’t be! You just keep surprising me, that’s all…” Your voice softens as you lock eyes with him for what feels like the hundredth time today. 

A loud harumph breaks the spell and Kid gets back to his screws while you turn on your heel to scowl at your father. Shanks decided he had ‘stuff to do’ in the barn while you helped Kid fix the tractor, which was code for: “I don’t want you alone with Kid if I can help it.” And there’s nothing you can do about it. 

“I found parts in three different scrap yards, cleaned ’em up, rebuilt what mattered, ditched the rest… bam! New fuckin’ engine for half the price, more power too. Yer welcome.” Kid wipes the sweat off his forehead and leaves a small streak of grease across it, making you giggle again.

“What?” he growls, looking back at you. 

“Got a little something there, hang on.” Stepping closer, you remove the rag from his back pocket and scrub the grease mark. His hand instinctively grips your waist, and you bite your lower lip, holding back a gasp.

“Ah-ahem!” Shanks clears his throat again, and you exhale sharply, handing the rag back to Kid and stepping away from him while he chuckles and gets back to work. You death-glare the back of your dad’s head, since he doesn’t even deign to give you a side glance, pretending to fuss over the bedding of the horses’ stalls. 

“Cockblock…” Kid whispers beneath his breath, and you turn your loud chortle into a fake cough. 

After that, Kid keeps explaining what he’s doing and asking you to pass him some tools. You said you wanted to learn and to help, and he’s teaching you. 

“So, um…” Kid sighs after a while, hands deep in the bowels of the tractor, eyes fidgeting without looking your way. He’s not whispering, but he’s speaking softly. “I got Victoria registered for a Car Show… It’s in a few days and, um…”

Shanks stops what he’s doing, and Kid gets visibly more flustered, but you wait to hear what he has to say before reacting, even though you can already guess where this is going. He stops and looks at you before continuing. 

“Well, I was thinkin’, since ye helped set her up, maybe ye wanna come with?” You stare at him, lips parted, eyes wide, and silent. He takes your silence for a denial and starts to shake his head, already turning back towards the engine. “Ye ain’t gotta come. I just thought, ye know—”

“Yes! Obviously I want to go!” Kid lets out a huff of breath but quickly turns his expression into an unbothered one. “When are we going?”

He continues tweaking the tractor’s engine, but his movements are lighter. “It’s a weekend thing. Whole day Saturday and Sunday till late afternoon. We’ll have to spend the night—”

A horseshoe clatters against the floor, and one of the horses neighs while Shanks curses loudly, losing his balance and banging his head against the side of the stall. 

“Are you okay, Dad?” You’re already turning around to see if he’s fine, but he’s quick to answer.

“Fine! I’m fine!” His growl seems far from fine, but you leave him alone and turn back to Kid so you can finish the conversation. 

“I’m game!” you agree, ignoring another colorful expletive leaving your father’s lips. “I guess we should work really hard on Victoria until then, right?”

Kid nods, never meeting your gaze, even though there’s a stubborn smile on his lips, he’s trying to contain it. “Aye. Just the finishin’ touches.”

“Get ready, Kid. I’m not the easiest person to deal with in a road trip!” you say, squealing with excitement, and ignoring Kid’s mock pained grunt. You do not miss, however, the way your heart swells at Kid's invitation to tag along on such an important event. 

-*-

“Spit it out, Dad,” you say, your fork clattering obnoxiously against the plate as you set it down. Shanks has had ‘the look’ ever since Kid left. He keeps side-eyeing you like he has something to say but he’s trying his damn hardest not to.

“It’s… It’s nothing,” he mumbles, not lifting his gaze from his half-eaten baked potato. 

With a groan, you push your plate to the side. He’s going to make it difficult. 

“Dad, just say it. We can talk like adults. I don’t want you to keep your opinions and thoughts to yourself.” You know what this is about: Kid, obviously. Shanks hasn’t uttered another word about your burgeoning friendship with the redhead since you two fought the other time, but you can tell that the way you’re close to Kid bothers him.

Much more than he’s willing to admit.

“I know,” he admits with a shrug. Sipping your water slowly, you give him more time while he chews both on his thoughts and his food. “So you’re going to that car show with Kid, then? It’s settled?”

You nod. “Yeah, it sounds fun. I helped Kid with his car, even though I barely did anything, and I want to go. Unless… do you need me that weekend?”

Shanks’ eyes light up, and you know it’s because if he says ‘yes,’ it’s his chance to make you stay without being a smothering father. 

“No,” he sighs defeated. “I don’t need you, Bug.”

You let out a small, relieved huff of breath and get up to fill your glass of water before returning to your seat, giving Shanks time to gather the rest of his thoughts. 

“Be careful.” Well, that’s… vague.

“Sure. I’ll make sure Kid drives slowly.” As if. He’ll want to test Victoria’s limits, and you’re not going to be the one to stop him, especially because you’re also curious. 

“Not that,” Shanks pushes the plate to the side and sighs your name, his hand tousling his hair nervously. “I know I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it as often as it takes: Kid is dangerous.” Shanks lifts one finger to stop you from intervening. “Don’t give that look, I know him.”

“So do I!” you interrupt anyway.

“Sure, you know what he shows you. But when he’s pressured or cornered, he lashes out, and that’s when he sees red, baby, that’s when he’s volatile and you—”

“I’m not afraid of him, and you’re not going to make me fear him, Dad.” Kid already felt cornered and pressured when next to you. He lashed out, sure, but you handled it just fine!

“I’m not trying to make you fear him,” Shanks pleads, slamming his palm on the table. “I just want you to be careful, stay sharp, pay attention!”

“He’s not a ticking time bomb!” you say.

“He’s an angry man!” he counters.

“Sure!” you groan in disbelief. “But being angry is a far cry from being dangerous. Yes, he’s loud, yes, he’s irascible, but that shouldn’t be what defines him when there’s so much more underneath.” You let out another huff. “Besides, he’s not angry at me. Kid’s angry at himself.”

Shanks raises in his chair, his hand supporting his weight on the table so he can look at you. “And that is the problem, babygirl, because when you’re constantly angry at yourself, the ones who suffer are the ones who care the most.” 

Your breath hitches as you lock eyes with Shanks, and his eyes soften. He squeezes your hand gently, a soft smile that doesn’t reach his eyes gracing his lips. “And I know you care. So I’m so scared you’re going to suffer.”

He’s not wrong. Kid is constantly angry at himself, whether he shows it or not; there’s an underlying grudge he can’t seem to shake. 

“I’m a fuckin’ monster.” His words still echo inside your head, still holding your heart ransom to the pain he was feeling. 

Kid’s angry. Kid’s suffering. And Shanks is right. He will make you suffer too, but not in the way your father fears. 

You suffer because he’s in pain. Not because he causes you pain.

-*-

“She’s shining! She looks so good, Kid.” You pace around Victoria, taking in how the bright red, closely resembling her owner’s hair, stands out in the dimly lit garage. Kid’s been working nonstop to get her show-ready, and it’s paid off. “Are we going to ride her to the show?”

Kid takes out two beers from the fridge, but doesn’t put back the one you decline, instead setting it down on the workbench to drink once he’s done with the first. He leans back against the counter and tilts his head at Victoria, making sure everything is perfect. 

“Damn right we are. I’ll get her fuckin’ sparklin’ again once we arrive.” He smirks and takes a long sip of his beer. “She ain’t no helpless virgin to be carried around in a tow. She holds her own.”

With a soft chuckle, you lean on the workbench next to Kid, purposefully brushing your leg against his. His arm stops midway before raising up for another sip of beer, but the silence stretches for a while before you decide to break it. 

“Why haven’t you kissed me again?” It’s a question that’s been lodged in your throat since that day. You helped Kid in a terribly vulnerable moment, and he let you. You thought, once again, that you had made progress, that walls had been torn down and breached. But he hasn’t kissed you or mentioned what happened between you since. 

Kid sets down his beer and exhales a long breath, his hand reaching up to press over the lower half of his face. 

“It ain’t so simple…” Still avoiding your eye contact, Kid pulls up a stool from under the workbench and sits down, as if pressured by a heavy weight and standing up seems unbearable. 

“It isn’t?” you ask in disbelief. 

“Aye…” Kid risks a small glance at you and breaks it the next second. “I told ye before. I don’t know how to do this.” He gestures to the space between you. “I claim girls and I dump ‘em. That’s what I do.”

Right. He has said so before. Where’s he going with this, and why is your heart pounding like it wants to escape your chest? Does it always have to be one step forward and two steps back with Kid?

“What do you mean, Kid? Is that what you’re going to do to me or—”

“No.” Kid wraps his hand around your waist and pulls you to him, dragging you to the middle of his open legs. You eye him with suspicion, never quite knowing what to expect from him. Then his fingers dig into your waist, and he forces eye contact. “That’s exactly what I don’t want to do to ye.”

Oh.

“I’m wired to do that. Kill says it’s a defense mechanism, but what the fuck does he know, he ain’t a shrink,” Kid grumbles. “So I’m—”

He minces his words with grunts and sighs, and you know what he can’t say. He’s scared. About everything. The heat of his body spreads to your palms as you place them over his chest, waiting for him to go on. 

“I can’t take that risk. I can’t take it further. Yet.”

You take another step forward, and you’re nearly flush together. Kid’s hands drop to your hips.

“We don’t have to take it further,” you admit. Then a sly grin curves the corner of your mouth upwards. “But I do like your kisses…”

Kid leans down, his mouth hovering over yours.

“Aye, me too. But the problem is I like ‘em too fuckin’ much.” You let out a small giggle at that, hands climbing to his neck as you twirl strands of his hair. “When I’m kissin’ ya, I don’t want to fuckin’ stop.”

Your lips brush but never quite touch. He leans his head to one side, and then the other, just small feathery brushes that tease you more than if he were actually kissing you. 

“This is torture,” you whisper, anticipation climbing to impossible heights while his fingers dig deeper into your flesh. You press on his neck, pulling him towards you, but he’s not budging. He keeps leaning away from your search for a deeper touch. “God!” you breathe out the expletive in exasperation. 

Kid’s smug chuckle warms your lips, and you nearly let out a whine. “Not my name, sweetheart, but I don’t mind the upgrade.”

You start to chuckle lightheartedly at his smugness, but that’s when he shortens the distance between you and your mouths collide. It starts slow; hands behaving nicely, barely touching or gripping, lips only pressing, tongues still. 

And then you whimper softly, so softly it resembles more a sigh than a moan. Yet, it’s all it takes.

Kid makes a deep, throaty noise and wraps both arms around your back, pulling you flush against him, his fingers climbing possessively to your nape. He grips your hair and tilts your head back to deepen the kiss. 

No longer do tongues stand still; instead, they eagerly explore. Kid pushes more, and teeth collide before he nips your lower lip and sucks it into his mouth. His hand lowers and finds the hem of your shirt, already slipping inside to touch the feverish skin of your back. 

A proper moan leaves your lips, and Kid breaks the kiss abruptly.

He doesn’t push you away, though. With your foreheads pressed together, he removes his hands from your skin as you both regain your breath.

“See what I mean? Can’t fuckin’ stop. Ye do this to me.”

Why do his words stir something so real inside you? It’s like everything he says provokes a visceral reaction in you; be it rage, desire, or this weird feeling you can’t quite explain.

“But you did stop. Does that mean we can try it again?”

“Temptress,” he teases, and you stick out your tongue at him. 

“Fineee,” you let out, trying to wiggle out of his embrace. “I’ll behave.” He eases his grip, and you take a step back, though you’re still between his legs. “Guess you can delete that awesome schedule you prepared for us the other day…”

Ass demolition… being folded like a pretzel… You sigh. 

“Ain’t doing that,” he rasps as his hands find their way back to your waist. 

“What?”

“I’ve postponed it. To a month from now.”

You raise your brow, bringing your index finger to your lips in a pensive expression. “One month? You expect me to keep my hands off you for that long?”

Kid grunts, his hands squeeze, and you don’t miss the way his eyes fixate on your curving lips. “Rules and schedules are meant to be broken, Sparkles. I ain’t the man to follow rules, ye should know that already. Still…”

You smile softly, knowing where he’s going with this. He wants to take things slow, he doesn’t want to mess this up. He’s being different for you. Having a sort of deadline; an objective, makes it real and easier to abide by.

“All right. Let’s behave, then.” You push away from him and point at Victoria. “There’s another lady that needs your attention right now, and I don’t mind sharing with her.”

Kid grins, passing by you and squeezing your ass, eliciting a small yelp from your lips, before heading towards Victoria. 

“Well, yer a better person than me, then, because I wouldn’t share ye with nothin’. Not even a car.”

-*-

“So, are you guys officially dating?” Killer tilts his head to the side, arms crossed over his chest, as Kid exits Victoria and walks over to open the trunk. He drove the car outside of the garage, and he’s waiting for you to arrive before heading off. 

“No.”

“But you said you kissed again,” Killer deadpans.

“Right.”

“And you’re not doing your ‘just for fun’ bit?” Killer keeps pressing. Kid throws a duffel bag and a toolbox inside the trunk and goes back into the garage to get his set of cleaning products to pack it too. 

“No.”

“Well, you’re really talkative today. I’m so happy we shared this insightful conversation, Kid.” 

“Aye, me too.”

If looks could kill, Kid would be dropping dead at any second now. 

He sighs, places the cleaning products inside the trunk before closing it and leaning on it. He looks over at Killer without searching for his eyes. “It’s… we… it’s a situationship, I guess.”

“The fuck is that?” Killer asks, genuinely curious.

“Fuck if I know!” Kid growls. “We ain’t dating, but we ain’t NOT dating. Got it?”

“No.”

“Fuck off! We’re somethin’. That’s it.”

Killer’s about to retort when your car pulls up and you park it in the shade. “Good morning!” you greet them, stepping out of the car and reaching into the backseat for your duffel bag. It’s an overnight stay, you don’t need much stuff. 

“Hey,” Killer waves, going into the garage for a moment. 

Kid walks over to you and grabs the bag so he can store it in the trunk. “Mornin’, Sparkles.” You show him that sweet smile that could start wars, and he fights back the urge to press his lips against yours. 

If you were anyone else, any other girl, he would’ve already done a million things to you. Surprisingly, manhandling and folding you like a pretzel are actually very tame activities for what he usually goes for. And then he would’ve dumped you without looking back or thinking twice about it. 

But you’re not just any other girl. Despite what he said the other day, you are special, and he’s not about to ruin that. Girls have taken one look at him and decided they could fix him. More times than he can count, actually. He just has this unreachable, broken aura about him that gets some girls going. 

You said you didn’t want to fix him. You said you wanted all of his broken pieces. 

And fuck it. He was not expecting that. To be accepted exactly as he is. 

So he needs to be a little bit better; he needs to try and be good, even though he doesn’t know how to do it. He’s willing to try. 

He’s about to turn to Victoria to place your bag in the trunk when you reach up, holding his face with one hand and standing on the tips of your toes just so you can land a kiss on his cheek. 

And he just stands there, like an idiot, holding your bag and staring at you.

That’s when they start to snicker. He can’t see them, but he feels them. They’re always there.

‘Coward.’

‘Undeserving.’

‘Stay miserable for the rest of your life.’

They’re ruthless. But they’re right.

He doesn’t deserve you. He doesn’t deserve happiness.

Why does he even allow himself to think of a possible future with you? Sure, you’re special and different, but he’s not. He’s the same selfish, cowardly motherfucker who can’t do anything right with his life. 

He can’t drag you down with him. He refuses. 

But fuck it all to hell. He’s selfish enough to want to try, even if it hurts both of you.

Killer returns with a paper bag in his hand, and Kid immediately turns to place your bag inside the trunk, dismissing his thoughts instead of letting them cloud the time he’s about to spend with you. 

“What’s that?” you ask Killer, hopping over to his side to try to take a peek.

He gently swats your hand away and hands the bag over to Kid. “It’s breakfast. Sun’s barely up, and it’s gonna take you close to three hours to get there. You need something to eat.” The lilt in his voice tells you he’s smiling, and you thank him. Then he leans down as if he’s sharing a secret and whispers, “Good luck putting up with Kid, by the way.”

You snicker loudly, and Kid grumbles. Whenever you and Killer get together, Kid always ends up being the butt of the joke. And damn it if he doesn’t like that. Not that he would ever admit it to you two. 

“What is it?” You try to pry the bag away from Kid, but he just holds it high above your head, and you don’t even try to reach for it. Instead, you frown at him, hands on your hips.

“Sandwiches,” Killer answers. 

“No eatin’ in the car! We’ll stop soon enough to eat ‘em.” Kid places the bag on the floor of the backseat, away from your reach. “Let’s go, Sparkles.”

“Fine,” you grumble, nose crinkling in an adorable way. “But I get angry when I’m hungry.” Then you turn to Killer and wave. “Thanks, Kill. See you soon.”

Killer waves and tilts his chin up to Kid. “Hear that, Kid? She gets hangry. Make sure to feed your Gremlin soon.”

You snort on the way to the car, and Kid shakes his head at his friend, slapping him on the back. “Thanks for watching the shop, asswipe.”

Killer slaps his back, too. “Drive safely, dickhead.”

“I don’t understand this type of bromance…” you mutter before settling into your seat. 

-*-

When Kid slows down and parks Victoria on the side of the road, under the shade of a tree, you stretch your arms over your head. You’ve only been riding for forty minutes, but you tested his patience for over half an hour, saying the sandwiches smelled delicious, that you were getting pretty hungry, and that you should stop to eat. 

He got tired of listening to you whine and pulled over.

“She’s amazing,” you admit with a light tap on the dash. “You outdid yourself, Kid. Everyone’s gonna love her at the show.”

Kid grumbles, grabs the paper bag, and exits the car. You follow him as you both lean on the hood of Victoria, staring at the road stretching ahead of you; just worn-out asphalt, barely any curves. You’re in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by dirt and trees, birds, and lush greenery. It’s peaceful. 

“What’s wrong?” you try, not knowing if he’s in the mood to answer you or to be a puzzle.

“Nothin’.” Kid lets out a grunt and hands you your sandwich. 

“She’ll do just fine, Kid,” you take a guess. He fussed so much about Victoria being just right for the judges when he was prepping her that you’re pretty sure your educated guess is accurate. 

“Aye, I know. I built her.” The defensiveness in his answer shows that you were right on the money. 

“Maybe that’s why you’re so nervous. Because although they’ll be judging Victoria, you’re the one under scrutiny.”

His head snaps to the side, and he widens his eyes at you, not believing how you can already read him so well. Right on the money, indeed. 

“Whatever,” he grumbles and turns away from you. 

You unfold the foil covering the sandwich while Kid processes your words. You know he won’t talk about his real feelings, but you do know he’s listening to what you have to say to him. “She’s perfect. You did an amazing job. Everyone will love her so much, you’re going to get jealous.”

This pulls a smirk from the corner of his lips as he mimics your actions to get the wrapper off the sandwich. 

“Aye. I can handle her bein’ ogled. As long as nobody gets too fuckin’ touchy.”

You stifle a snort. “Nobody but you can touch your gall, right? Possessive much?”

He finally grins, giving you a side-eye. “Fuck yeah, I am. Ain’t nobody touchin’ what’s mine. Besides, nobody knows her like I do.” His hand drops to the hood of the car in the space between your legs, and he pats it affectionately. Then his fingers brush against the side of your thigh, and he gazes back at you. “I know every curve of her body, every little purr, everything she likes… Nobody can take care of her like I can.”

Your breath hitches as you hold his gaze. Is he still talking about Victoria?

“Good to know,” you murmur, getting back to your sandwich. “Maybe she doesn’t even want anybody else’s touch. Maybe all she craves is yours…”

You feel the heat of his hand leave your thigh even before you see it, but there’s no time to miss it when he places his fingers beneath your chin, tilting your face up so you can stare at him. 

You hold your breath again as Kid swipes his thumb across your lower lip, slowly, deliberately. “Keep sayin’ stuff like that and ye’ll be taken care of better than her.” Parting your lips, you draw a breath, ready to answer him, but he removes his hand and pats the half-unwrapped sandwich on your lap. “Eat, Sparkles. If ye eat that cold ‘cause I was busy flirtin’ with ye, Killer will murder us in our sleep.”

You huff a soft chuckle and nod, unwrapping the food and taking a greedy bite out of it. “Hmm! Damn!” You take another bite, not even bothering to swallow the first, and hum in delight again. “This is so good!” you say between bites, “Stupid good!” 

Kid snorts and takes his own bite. “Aye. Killer’s a damn good chef. Learned in the army. Used to cook us the best food ye could get in the middle of the goddamned desert.”

You nearly stop chewing. Kid never talks about their army days. You just nod, absorbing the information like a greedy little sponge. You don’t press, don’t push for more. You’ll take whatever he gives you. 

But it’s clear he’s not going to share any more for now, and that’s fine. It’s enough. Whatever he gives you, it’s enough.

“Remind me to thank him later, then.”

Kid hums in agreement, and you finish your sandwiches not long after. The silence is more comfortable than awkward at this point. 

You’re wiping your hands on your jeans when Kid throws something at you. You stumble with it, juggling the object in your hands before steadying it. With a confused gaze aimed at Kid, you raise your hand and inspect it. It’s a keychain: a guitar, a miniature Harley, and Victoria’s keys dangle from it. 

He wipes his hands on his pants, opens the passenger seat door, and sits in your place, adjusting it back so he can fit his legs. 

“Well? What are ye waitin’ for? She ain’t gonna drive herself.”

After all that talk about ’nobody touches Victoria but me,’ he just hands you the keys? Is he seriously trusting you to drive her?

“Are you serious, Kid?”

“Sweetheart, ye’ve been messin’ with her guts for weeks. She knows ye, she trusts ye. Get yer fine ass inside and let’s go. Don’t wanna be late to show her off to rich bastards.”

Well, since he’s put it that way! 

You grin, getting comfortable in his seat. Then you adjust the seat and the mirrors and take three deep breaths just before starting her up. 

“Ye ain’t givin’ birth, Sparkles. Just be careful with the clutch and let’s go.”

“Hey, I got it!” you grumble defensively. Kid snorts, opening the window and leaning his elbow. 

“I’ve seen ye drive. I’ve fixed yer car.” Kid stares back at you, an infuriating smirk painting his lips. “Watch the clutch and let’s go.” You mumble something unintelligible, mostly cursed words aimed at him, and he snickers. 

Victoria eases back into the road like she owns it, and for a vintage car, the ride is smooth as velvet. You feel happy. Kid looks happy. And the road trip extends for a few more hours that pass in a beat.

You trade places with Kid along the way again because he can’t act like a passenger princess and spends the entirety of your drive giving you pointers and being a backseat driver: ’careful with that sharp turn; that truck’s gonna hit the brakes, give him space; easy on the clutch; you can’t stand to hear him anymore, so you relinquish your seat.

Eventually, time rolls by as lazily as the road, and you reach your destination. There are still cars parking up, and one of the staff comes up to Kid to tell him where to park and that he needs to have his car ready in an hour before the judges and guests start coming in. 

The car show is being held outdoors, sprawled across a large park. The large trees cast a much-needed shade all around, and their leaves rustle softly with the vernal breeze. Kid parks Victoria in her designated spot, and you step out, stretching your arms and taking a big breath.

It smells like fresh grass, wildflowers, and, unavoidably, gasoline. 

Your eyes roam through the paved lot, taking in the car lineup in awe. There are a lot of classic cars, some well-cherished, others pristine new, like they’re never touched except for exhibits, which is probably the case. 

They’re impressive. 

But none of them is Victoria. You may be biased, but seeing her shine, burning as hot as fire amid boring classics that shine without flair, just cements this fact. She’s a beast of her own, and she’s going to claw her way to the top.

Kid groans as he too looks around. You close your door and stop beside him, placing one hand on his bicep and squeezing. “You got this, Kid. You got the best gal, don’t doubt it!”

Then you turn to open the trunk so you can take out the cleaning gear and get her show-ready. Kid grins, a very cocky grin. “Aye, I fuckin’ do have the best gal.” And when he winks at you, you’re left thinking once more if he’s talking about you or Victoria.

-*-

“I’m so exhausted!” you hide a yawn behind your hand as you walk to the motel conveniently located in front of the park. 

The first day went on in a blur of thrill and novelty. Beyond the first stressful hour when you and Kid worked hard to get Victoria gleaming and shining, everything worked out perfectly. The judges made their initial pass through the show, taking in their first impressions of the displayed cars. Their eyes lingered on Victoria with interest, and you swore Kid was proud when they nodded approvingly. 

Then came the side contests: loudest exhaust, best paint job, craziest modification. Victoria wasn’t registered for any of those competitions, but watching the crowd go wild was pretty fun. Even Kid seemed amused, grinning and smirking far more than his usual scowls. 

You had a quick lunch with some food from the food stalls, washed it down with ghastly locally brewed beer, which made you gag and almost lose your lunch. Kid called you a lightweight and suggested that you should stick with water instead of drinks made for men. He regretted that comment instantly when you started to discuss gender equality with him in a loud, passionate discourse until he was begging you to stop.

When the audience started to pour in after lunch, Kid tensed up because they were, in his words, ‘touchy, meddlesome, uneducated, and annoying.’ Though he might’ve phrased it a little less eloquently and with many more curse words in between. 

When he almost lost it, grumbling at a kid because he was about to touch Victoria with his ice-cream-covered hands, you took over talking to the public, and he only spoke to answer technical questions. You told him he did a very good job at being a grumpy Wikipedia page, if Wikipedia pages were R-rated. 

When the sun set, after your dinner consisted of a repeat of lunch minus the awful beers, the show closed for the night. Some participants decided to hit the town bars and keep the party going, but you were feeling exhausted. Kid said he wouldn’t be caught dead socializing with other people, and you knew he just didn’t want to leave you alone, because you’d never seen him say no to a few drinks. 

Now, Kid opens the door to the motel’s reception, and the obnoxious bell on the door dings to get the receptionist’s attention. Kid drops the two duffel bags on the floor and leans on the counter. 

“Hey, I had a reservation under Eustass Kid. It was a single, but now I gotta get one with two beds.” He told you during the show that he still didn’t know you were coming when he made the reservation for himself. 

The girl behind the counter chews her gum and clicks her mouse without looking at either of you, clearly bored out of her mind to be working the night shift. 

“We’re out of doubles, but we have rooms with king-size beds.”

Kid grunts a curse between his teeth. “Another single, then.”

“Oh, no need!” you chime in, stepping forward and shoving yourself between Kid and the counter. “The one with the king-size bed works just fine.”

The girl starts to click the mouse again, and Kid scowls at you, which only makes you grin. 

“Don’t worry, Kid, I’ll only bite if you want me to.”

The receptionist snaps her head up for the first time since you entered and gives you both a knowing smile. Kid tries to act annoyed at you, but the smirk and glint in his eyes tell you he’s looking forward to this as much as you are. 

“Careful not to swallow yer words, Sparkles.”

You reach for the card that the now-amused receptionist hands you, and Kid grabs the duffels. “Big words for someone who wanted two singles just a minute ago.”

He huffs a laugh and leads you outside with his hand on your lower back, barely touching but scorching you like a live flame. 

“Keep talkin’ and see where that attitude gets ye.”

Under you or over you would be great, thank you very much. These are the words you want to say, but you can’t. Because you’re both taking things slow. Torturously slow. 

“A girl can only hope…” you snicker at him, and he lets out one of those throaty sounds that send a shiver coursing through your spine but doesn’t say anything else. 

You can barely keep it together in shared spaces, as poor Killer can attest. How the heck are you going to last a full night sleeping next to this man?

Fuck.

Tags: @rosidaze @beachaddict48 @armiliadawn @jintaka-hane @sprinkklz @baby5555 @hopelesslover06 @mars-mizuko @sleepykittycx @nerium-lil @eustasscapitankid @ren-ni @jqperi @elysian-asphodel @daydreamer-in-training @iloveyoushanks @thegalaxysedge22 @kyllium @keiva1000 @chibinasuu @my-name-is-heartache @laidenbreecatchall @moldychefboyardeecan @dazzlingstarlight23 @bearg-bia @babyboofangirl @praline357 @tremendoushorsepatrolgoth @traffys-heart @cherileecore @violetmatcha @theloserqueen @mapachito @shamblespirate @ibuch7

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[threads-strings]

Donn & Brianna

Borrowed @pinkwoes PC Brianna for this art, it’s just so fitting HAHAHA

Brianna is like 5ft8 and Donn is around 6ft9ish (he is a wholeass TREE), just look at the glass in comparison LMAO

Also yes I imagine this is Robin’s lemonade and they’re drinking at the beach (ik it’s a park background because of the meme but you get it).

I wrote a little scenario below, not specifically as Donn&Brianna interaction, but rather what happens if PC helps out Robin at their lemonade stand and encounters Donn!

You spot a familiar figure across the street.

It’s Donn.

He’s out of uniform, sitting on a bench and drinking beer. Even from afar you can see torn skin and bruises around his knuckles. His pink mohawk is sleeked back for a change, and he is dressed in alternative fashion with spikes.

Despite onlookers glancing at him for his state of dress, he doesn’t seem bothered by that.

The can looks comedically small in his hand, and he empties it in three chugs.

You think about offering him Robin’s lemonade.

-> Approach Donn to sell him lemonade [50% chance of success]

-> Leave him be

If successful:

“Fine, ran outta drinks anyway.” He shrugs and takes the glass from your hand. You sit down next to him with your own lemonade, and watch him drink.

He doesn’t comment on it, but he keeps drinking as you try to do some smalltalk. Donn doesn’t seem to mind, although his answers don’t tell you much about him.

“So this is what you do in your free time? Sell lemonade like a little kid with your buddy?” He suddenly says mockingly, watching Robin from where you sit. You notice he’s been staring at them almost the entire time.

“Issit for school? You also sell cookies on the side?”

-> Say you do it because of Bailey.

[You feel as though this will be dangerous.]

->Lie and agree

Tell him about Bailey:

Donn’s expression shifts into something uncomfortable. There is sudden recognition in his eyes when he looks away from Robin.

“Why the hell would you tell me that,” He scowls and gets up from the bench you sit on. You haven’t realized how his eyes softened until they turn harder in a glare at you.

He towers over you, staring at you.

++ Stress

After a while, he finally looks away.

You breathe easier.

“Here,”

You feel something hard hit your forehead and land in your lap. It’s a coin.

+ Pain

+2£

“For the lemonade kid.”

You watch Donn stalk off towards the docks again.

You feel as if next time you see him, he’ll act differently about you.

You’ve unlocked Donn as LI!

[redongray]

(Strictly fantasy, mind you, and not a real-life endorsement of such customs in the least)

Despite their very different national backgrounds, he thought the marriage was going beautifully. But slowly she seemed to withdraw as their first year together drew to a close.

It wasn’t anything he could place. He would catch her beautiful flashing eyes looking at him reproachfully, as if he’d let her down. Or she would be unaccountably impatient and critical in a way that ill-suited her. One evening he found her sitting on the side of the bed in a slip, a wan expression on her face, her beautiful hair limp and unwashed as if she couldn’t even bother to care for herself any longer, or as if how she looked no longer mattered.

'What is it, my love?' he asked, deep concern in his voice.

She didn’t meet his eyes but instead looked down at her hands folded in her lap. His heart swelled with tenderness at her vulnerability. He felt not for the first time that he would do anything for her.

'You are a kind man, and I know what you are always saying about how happy you are with me,' she said at last. ‘I know you honor and respect me, and would never do something unkind to me. For these reasons, I have not wanted to speak of certain matters. But we are from very different worlds. So now I will tell you this, and you must not be upset. I feel that I must speak of it, though I blush to do so. You must not think poorly of me for telling you this. You must not think less of me."

“You know you can tell me anything,” he said. “I like to see you blush.”

“Yes. Maybe so. I hope so. We will see. This is what I want to speak about. But maybe I will regret it, if it makes you love me less. I am not so very sophisticated as you sometimes think. My heart is simple. Try to understand me. I do not say that something is right or wrong. I just know that I feel now that it’s time to speak of it."

“Are you ever going to tell me?"

“Yes. Now I will tell you. In our country, it is well known that the husband who never whips his wife’s bottom is the husband who doesn’t love his wife. There, I said it. I do not tell you what this means for you. I only tell you this. Please do not judge."