#it's late and i know i have to skip lectures tomorrow morning to save time | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

whumpmatsus · 3 years

Note

Hmm could do one where one one of boys has rough day, that leads to emotional overeating, and bellyache that they try to hide until they can't. Please and thank.

aaaaaa, lovely!

I went with Totty because it feels like I haven't written him in a while

and there's a tiny bit of Allmatsu, buuuut really it's mostly Cybermatsu :D

hope you like it, I had a lot of fun with it!

Most of the time, Totty thinks he does a pretty good job being composed at work.

However, that’s easy to do when the majority of the days are okay. Sometimes there’s a bad moment or two that he can recover from by the time he gets home; never before has it been an entire day full of nothing but bad moments.

Until today, of course.

It’s just been one awful thing after another. One of his brothers accidentally turned off the alarm clock, probably by hitting it or steadying themself against it while going to the bathroom… so he was late to work. When he finally got behind the register, there was already a decent-sized line and the early morning customers were irritable before their coffee. Nearly every single customer during his shift snapped at him in some way even when he was trying to be helpful.

His coworkers were less than pleasant, especially after a couple hours when one of them had to take over for him because he had to go pee. To make things worse, toward the end of the day he managed to smash his fingers in the cash drawer while closing it.

The highlight of the day was when he was on his way out and a customer wanted help. Company policy being that he wasn’t allowed to work in any way while he was off the clock, he told them he was actually heading home and pointed to one of his coworkers. Which apparently wasn’t good enough, as he was accused of being lazy and not wanting to do his job and told that the customer was going to talk to his manager and have him fired.

Is it any wonder he’s spent almost the whole train ride home in tears? It hasn’t been a great day to be Matsuno Todomatsu.

He feels a little better by the time he gets home, but he’s exhausted and overwhelmed by everything that went wrong. Part of him wants to find one of his brothers and bitch his heart out. The other part just wants to shove food into his mouth and pretend none of it ever happened.

Sutabaa allows employees to eat some of the cheap things for free during their break, which Totty doesn’t often take advantage of. He’d rather have a snack at home so he doesn’t have to scarf it down in ten minutes. Today, though, he managed to put away a chocolate croissant plus a couple of cookies, so he shouldn’t be hungry at all when he gets home.

And he’s not… really hungry. He just wants to eat something for the sake of it, so that maybe eating something tasty will make it seem like nothing went wrong today. The food during his break made things seem better for a minute while he ate it. All he wants is more of that feeling, to make believe it wasn’t such a bad day.

He doesn’t know where any of his brothers are, and he doesn’t particularly care. He doesn’t think he’d give half a shit if one of them walked in on him raiding the fridge and pantry as if he’s preparing to hibernate through the winter. They all stuff their faces at any available opportunity, so why would it be surprising to find him doing it, especially after a long day at work which none of the rest of them do?

It doesn’t even really matter to him what he’s eating, either. Just things that don’t require too much time between being in his hand and sliding down his throat.

There’s about a portion’s worth of takoyaki left in the fridge from dinner last night, so he finishes that off. Some daifukumochi that was in the cabinet, along with a packet of konpeitō. A bag of arare disappears pretty quickly, too. He doesn’t really know if the imagawayaki that was sitting on the counter was left for him or if it was a single treat that nobody had fought over yet ― regardless, he eats it anyway.

Each bite is a violent attempt to deny the shittiness of this whole day. It all tastes delicious, so he can lose himself inside it for a moment. What never really occurs to him is that every moment doesn’t last too long, and even though his stomach isn’t built for this kind of eating, he’s reaching for another snack as soon as the last one has dissolved on his tongue.

He throws packaging away as he goes, just to keep things neat. He’s just biting into his latest snack when someone else walks into the kitchen, and looking up, it turns out to be Choromatsu.

“O-oh, hey, Totty, you’re home. How was work?” He starts ducking into the refrigerator, then suddenly straightens up and gives his youngest brother a curious look. “… Uh. That’s my Big Katsu. Why are you eating it??”

Given that his teeth are currently sunk into it, Totty feels a little guilty. So at least he doesn’t have to fake the expression on his face. “Oh… sorry, Choro-nii-san! I’m just really hungry… I’ll buy you another one tomorrow.”

After a moment, Choromatsu sighs, evidently deciding to let Totty off the hook rather than fight with him about it. “Yeah, that’s fine. I was saving it, but if I haven’t craved it this long, I can wait. There’s other stuff I can have for a snack.” He opens the refrigerator door and pulls out a single mini carton of milk, then frowns. “Hey, wasn’t there some leftover takoyaki in here?”

He huffs as he closes the fridge. “Dammit. Osomatsu probably ate the rest of it while I wasn’t paying attention, the douche.”

He shakes his head and gets in the pantry for a bag of potato chips instead. “Guess these’ll do till dinner. Hey, Totty, you’re probably still hungry, right? Why don’t you share with me? I’m not starving or anything… half a bag would do it for me, I think.”

Totty’s stomach twinges suddenly, alerting him that he may have eaten too much. He’s not used to shoveling down this much at one time, though the realization that he’s uncomfortably full doesn’t stop him from hurriedly cramming the rest of the Big Katsu into his mouth.

And, honestly, it’s not like he can say no to the offer. He just told his big brother he was hungry and he’s been gulping down food at an insatiable pace. Thinking about the taste of potato chips sort of makes him want some.

Plus… Choromatsu is being nice by sharing, despite the fact that Totty already took one of his snacks without even asking. It would be mean to turn that down when he’s just trying to make sure Totty gets fed properly.

So he plasters a smile on and tosses the wrapper before stepping toward his older brother. Everything’s fine. “Ah, yeah… sounds good.”

Everything is not fine.

Dinner is beginning to be a struggle to get through. Totty hates wasting the food, but his thought is to put it away for later when his stomach isn’t actively trying to kill him. The pain is different to anything he’s ever experienced, a feeling like he’s full all the way up to his chest and so can’t get a decent breath in. He feels cold and clammy even though he knows he’s sweating. In short, it sucks.

The one thing he counted on was his brothers not noticing that he wasn’t eating anything. After sharing the chips with Choromatsu, he started to feel like he was going to burst. Even though the sensation quieted down a little bit, it never quite went away.

Now that he’s been faced with a table full of food, it’s even worse. His stomach is gurgling and swirling and nothing helps. Not taking deep breaths through his nose, not taking tiny sips of his tea, not focusing on any other thoughts. Nothing. It’s all useless. He thinks that as soon as dinner is over, he’s gonna have to go throw up. No ifs, ands, or buts; one way or another, he’s gonna be sick.

His only hope now is that he can ride it out long enough for everyone to head their separate ways so he doesn’t have to face the humiliation of admitting that he ate too much and hurt his stomach.

“U-uh, Totty,” Choromatsu speaks up suddenly, “aren’t you gonna eat anything? You were hungry enough to eat my Big Katsu earlier, I’d have thought you were really looking forward to dinner.”

Ugh. Did he have to???

Totty forces a smile onto his face. “Oh, yeah, I… I guess I’m just not in the mood for this stuff tonight, you know?”

The look on Osomatsu’s face could be mistaken for someone who’d just swallowed a lemon. “What?! But Totty, this is your favorite! You’re not gonna eat any of it? You can’t just skip meals like that, dude.”

“Yeah,” Ichimatsu hums thoughtfully. “You’re not gonna be any more healthy or attractive if you’re starving, you know.”

Geez. His brothers are so fucking embarrassing. Choromatsu is giving him some backhanded concern, Osomatsu is overzealous as usual, and Ichimatsu sounds like a Goddamn after-school special.

Karamatsu, meanwhile, is scrutinizing him just the same. “Yes, Totty, my brother… you look rather pale. You really should eat something!”

“Yeah, yeah!” Jyushimatsu practically launches himself over the table, holding a bite of food from his own plate between chopsticks toward his little brother’s mouth. “Here! Winding up for the pitch… batter uuuuuup!”

“Ughhhhh!” Totty leans back, even though any movement unsettles his stomach further. “You guys are ridiculous! I’m fine! W-what, am I not allowed to have just lost my appetite without every single one of my big brothers making a federal case of it?!”

All the others share a silent look, then there comes a unanimous, “Nope.”

He groans and leans his arm against the table. Shit, it’s getting worse. All he wants to do is run to the bathroom and puke, so that maybe he’ll actually feel better. If he does that, though, everyone will be on his case about how much he ate instead of how little he’s eating right now. He doesn’t need nor want a lecture.

Actually, what he wants more than anything is to just be taken care of and told that it’s okay, he screwed up a bit, it’s not the end of the world. That would require confessing to this stupid mistake, though… and he really doesn’t want to do that. He’s so sure that if he does, he’s just going to get scolded instead of comforted.

When he looks around the table again, he notices that Choromatsu in particular looks worried. “C’mon, Totty. You know we care about you. Osomatsu and Ichimatsu are right; it’s not healthy to skip meals.”

“Dammit, I know that, Fappymatsu! Just because I’m pretty doesn’t mean I’m stupid.” Totty scowls down at the food before lifting his eyes back up. “If I take one bite, will you all get off my back?”

He hates that those words just came out of his mouth. Even if it’s just a single bite, he doesn’t think his stomach will be happy with him. The idea of eating anything isn’t sitting well with him.

What else can he do, though? Just like with literally everything else, his brothers won’t stop bugging him until he caves in and does whatever they want.

The others exchange a look and Osomatsu shrugs. “Yeah, that should do it! Maybe after you take a bite you’ll realize how good it is and how hungry you are.”

Shit. Well, now he doesn’t really have a way out.

He takes as deep a breath as he feels he can, and collects a bite of food with his chopsticks. Although he isn’t sure how noticeable it is, it feels like his hand is shaking as he raises it to his lips.

Maybe it’s better to do it fast and get it over with. So, that’s what he does. The food in his chopsticks disappears in rapid time, and even though it feels like swallowing a spoonful of glue, he manages to get it down.

“Th-there,” he announces as he slams his chopsticks down. A hiccup squeaks out of him, followed by a fist pressed to his mouth, then he glares around the table at his brothers. “Ha… happy now? God, you guys are… you’re such… such…”

His stomach roils aggressively, almost like he’s just been punched in the gut. He cuts himself off with a loud, painful belch… and whines softly, because he knows what’s coming next. There’s no possible way he can stop it, nor can he get up fast enough to make it to the bathroom.

He tries to clap his other hand over his mouth in some childish belief that if he just blocks the exit, so to speak, he won’t be sick. Predictably, it doesn’t work.

Only a second and a couple of retches later, Totty has vomited through his hands into his lap. It’s perhaps more than a little ironic that his attempt to avoid lectures and feeling shameful has led to something incredibly humiliating.

The tears well up almost immediately, and it doesn’t take long for him to be sitting here coughing, not quite knowing what to do except cry.

“A-ah, Totty!!” Someone’s up from their seat, grabbing him gently by the shoulders. It sounds like Choromatsu, he thinks. “Hey… hey, it’s okay. O-oh, no, no, guys, it’s okay ― yeah, Mom, Dad, it’s fine, I-I’ve got him. Totty, hey, c’mon. I’m gonna help you to the bathroom and we’ll get you cleaned up. Okay?”

All he can do is nod, and it seems like even the fact that he leans against Choromatsu, all streaked with puke, doesn’t bother his brother.

It’s a short walk to the bathroom. He thinks he hears one of the others getting up to clean whatever mess he’s left behind. He just concerns himself with getting into the bathroom, then with lifting his arms when told so Choromatsu can help peel the soiled clothes off.

“It’s okay, Totty. E-everything’s alright.” His voice is low and gentle as he manages to also get Totty’s pants off, hanging everything over the side of the bathtub. If he’s lucky, one of the others will come rinse them off so they can go right in the wash while he tries to take care of getting Totty situated on the couch or something. “I’m gonna take care of you. You just cry as much as you need to, as long as you cooperate with me, okay?”

Totty sniffles, doing his best to stop crying. This is so embarrassing. “O-okay…”

Eventually the crying tapers off a bit, to the point that he can breathe normally again. His mouth has a bad taste and his throat hurts; at least his stomach feels a lot better, though. He’s just so mortified that he threw up on himself in front of his entire family after trying to save himself from this fate.

What did you think was gonna happen when you ate something else after already being stuffed and nauseous, dummy?? His mind is exactly no help at all, unfortunately.

Choromatsu is careful as he tries to get his little brother cleaned. As soon as all his dirty clothes are off, he wipes a wet cloth over Totty’s mouth to wash off any remnants of vomit and helps Totty wash his hands in the sink. He holds a couple pieces of toilet paper over Totty’s nose so he can blow, which makes him feel slightly less gross.

Once there’s no more danger of new clothes having leftover puke dripped on them, he darts out to the closet in the other room and comes back with a pair of Totty’s pajamas. It feels somuch better to be in fresh clothes after Choromatsu gingerly tugs them on.

With all of that done, Choromatsu sets a hand against Totty’s forehead and gives a contemplative hum. “Well, you don’t feel warm… you might still be coming down with something, though. I think maybe you should just go right to bed. We’ll get you settled on the couch in the other room so that hopefully the rest of us don’t catch it, and I’ll get you some ginger ale or something, okay?”

The idea of all that sounds nice, sure. He feels a little guilty for not being honest, however, so… “Um, Choromatsu-nii-san… I-I’m not… I’m not sick. I… I think I ate too much today, and… that bite I took out there was just kind of… th-the last straw, you know?”

Choromatsu frowns. “You ate too much? You said you were really hungry when you got home. And all I remember seeing you eat was my Big Katsu and some of the chips.”

“I ate a lot more than that,” he confesses, rubbing at his teary eyes. “There was some stuff I had while I was at work, a-and… and I was the one who ate the last of the takoyaki. I was just going through the fridge and the cupboards for a while before you walked in.”

“Oh… okay, I get that. Why didn’t you just tell us you overate today instead of forcing yourself to eat?”

More tears bubble up and start rolling down his cheeks. “B-because… because I thought if I did, you’d all just lecture me and tell me, ‘Oh, you shouldn’t do that, Totty!’ The day was so bad already…”

The more he talks, the more tears fall. “It was just one thing a-after another! Work was shitty, everything that could go wrong did,and I didn’t want you guys harping on me! I-I know I fucked up eating a lot, but doing it just… made me feel better for a minute… like the day wasn’t so crappy, like I could pretend everything was okay because I was eating something good. So I just… d-didn’t wanna tell you guys… I-I know you’d say it’s bad for me…”

Quietly, Choromatsu pulls Totty up off the toilet and into a hug. His hand rubs calmingly between his little brother’s shoulder blades, shortly after switching to a series of pats. “Hey, you learned your lesson. I know you think we’d give you some big speech… and maybe you’re not wrong. But I’m sorry it felt like you had to hide it and suffer on your own. That’s not what we want! We just wanna take care of you. If we lecture like that, it’s just because we love you.”

“I-I know,” Totty mumbles into Choromatsu’s shoulder. “Are you… are you mad at me? For doing it in the first place and for not telling you?”

“Mad? No! No, no, no way. I’m not mad!” Choromatsu presses a brief kiss to the top of Totty’s head. “You’re my baby brother. How could I be mad at you for this? Just… you know… next time, come talk to us instead of going to the food. I’d rather listen to you complain for hours than have you eat yourself sick.”

He gives a cautious squeeze, somewhat reassured when Totty squeezes back. They stay like this for a few minutes, with Totty burying his face against Choromatsu’s shoulder and Choromatsu rubbing Totty’s back.

Finally Choromatsu lets out a sigh. “Just so you know… even if we lecture you a little, we’ll still try to take care of you if there’s anything we can do. But we’ll… also do our best not to lecture as much when you come to us. Do you feel any better?”

“Yeah… it doesn’t hurt that much anymore.” He mirrors the sigh and just sinks into his big brother’s embrace. “Can I still go lie down, though? In the futon?”

Choromatsu nods and pulls Totty up when he gets to his feet. “Yeah, of course. That’s probably a good idea even though you’re not really sick.”

“And… can I still have some ginger ale?”

“Yeah, I’ll get that for you after we get you settled.”

Totty is silent for a few seconds while they walk down the hall, then he speaks up again. “… Will you maybe stay and cuddle with me for a minute, too? Even though I’m not sick?”

Choromatsu glances down before chuckling. Does he really think he has to tack on that condition, as if Choromatsu won’t cuddle just because Totty isn’t actually sick? “I… o-of course, Totty. All you have to do is ask, even if you’re not sick.”

“Okay…” By this time they’ve reached the bedroom, so he stands aside while Choromatsu unrolls the futon. Before too long he’s lying down, and Choromatsu has both arms around him, gently stroking his hair.

He closes his eyes and nuzzles against his brother. “Thank you… you’re the best nii-chan ever.”

He can feel Choromatsu grinning. “Am I even better than leftover takoyaki?”

Totty pouts at the jab, but snuggles closer regardless. “Way better.”

#Osomatsu san #whump #Totty #Cybermatsu #vomiting #stomachache #caretaking #ughhhh TOTTY BABY WHY YOU GOTTA ALWAYS BE HIDING SHIT FROM UR BIG BROTHERS #silly boo just fess up and they'll fuss over you after a mini lecture #sweet babies <3 #Choro is such a good big brother SOBS

22 notes · View notes

hopelesshawks · 4 years

Text

Physical Fatality Part 13- Icarus

18+ Hawks x fem, pro hero!reader

Summary: You’re a rising star in All Might’s agency. Hawks is the darling of Endeavor’s. By virtue of your job descriptions, the two of you are supposed to hate each other, or at the very least be cautiously neutral. For a long time that’s exactly what the two of you did. You stayed out of each other’s way and formed little opinion of the other. One fateful night at an HPSC gala changes all that. Based on the album Hopeless Fountain Kingdom by Halsey.

If you don’t want to see Physical Fatality content blacklist #hopelesspf

This story will have multiple NSFW parts so it is 18+ ONLY minors dni

Warning for very slight suicidal themes this fic has a happy ending I swear

Masterlist

Agony.

Losing you is agony.

Endeavor is lecturing him for pulling the stunt with Bakugo earlier that day but he can’t hear or really process any of it when all he can think about is the fact you’ve blocked his number and seem to want nothing to do with him. He vaguely registers words of “I told you so” and “I warned you” and even a word or two about a demotion but none of it matters. Hawks doesn’t know how to do anything but be a hero. It’s been the driving force behind a lot of the choices he’s made in your relationship and he knows it’s the same for you, but that doesn’t make any of this easier.

“You’re going to have to work really hard to earn my trust back Hawks and the trust of your coworkers,” Endeavor warns. “Understood,” Hawks replies, his voice almost detached. It seems to disconcert Endeavor, the other man being far more accustomed to the snarky Hawks persona than the serious man in front of him now. “Hawks, uhm, do you,” Endeavor stutters suddenly unsure. He coughs to cover his discomfort and clears his throat before resuming. “Do you need to talk about what happened between you and Artemis?” he finally manages to ask. He looks so deeply uncomfortable potentially talking about the subject and his discomfort only grows when Hawks continues to give him nothing back. “That won’t be necessary,” Hawks replies before turning and walking out of the office. If Hawks doesn’t know how to live without hero work, Keigo doesn’t know how to live without you. So his only option is to abandon Keigo until the pain stops.

He can’t have slept more than a handful of hours that night but he still wakes up early the next morning to run an extra patrol before his normally scheduled one. He files paperwork, even revisits old cases, all in a bid to keep you off his mind. Of course it’s not enough to stop his coworkers from whispering. Typically he ignores the gossip of the lower ranking heroes but it’s hard when he knows they’re speculating about you and him. It certainly doesn’t help that your break up was so public and now it feels like nearly all of Japan has watched the video of it happening. Hawks used to be the darling of Endeavor’s agency, beloved by all of his coworkers. Now he’s practically a pariah.

His new outcast status is only made more obvious at the cocktail party later that day. He’d wanted to skip it entirely, the fact you were supposed to be his plus one to the event made it all the more unappealing, but he’s already skating on thin ice and had no legitimate excuse to justify his absence. So instead he watches the other heroes talk and drink and laugh about things while he hides in the corner, too exhausted and heartbroken to put up the persona necessary to maintain conversation. No one seems to ask about him anyway or even care what he thinks despite the fact it’s his personal life that’s become the hottest topic in all of Japan. He wonders if this is how Icarus felt as he plummeted to the earth. Hawks had flown too close to your light and warmth and now he’s fallen from grace. He wonders if it’s true that Icarus laughed as he fell. If so he can empathize. As painful as this fall is, he would live it over and over if it meant he could catch even a glimpse of you again.

When Shoto comes to join him it’s literally the first genuine interaction he’s had all day. “You look like shit,” Shoto comments by way of greeting. “Thanks. Feel like it too,” Hawks replies. He doesn’t have to pretend with Shoto and for that he’s grateful. “Are you ok?” Shoto asks. “Even though I’ve always hated these things I was always so good at them,” Hawks starts in response. “I’d talk, drink, laugh just like everyone’s doing, be the center of attention, play the part of the charming number two hero. And look at me now. I’m so fucking anxious about what they’ll say about me, about her, about us and what happened that I can’t have a proper fucking conversation. I used to be on fire and now I’m standing in the ashes of who I used to be and I’m just fading away. Without her I’m fading away. I’m just as pathetic as she said,” Keigo confesses and it’s a weight off but it also makes the hollow space behind his ribs where you used to live feel all the more prominent. “This right here is kind of pathetic,” Shoto starts, earning him a shocked almost laugh from the other man, “but you are not pathetic Hawks. I think (y/n) knows that, she’s just hurting. Rightfully so. The bullshit with the others in the agency will get better too.” “I don’t know about that one.” “You’re not the only one who’s done dumb or bad shit. Not by a long shot.” “Really?” “You know Iida?” Shoto asks, pointing to the man in question as he obliviously continues his conversation with one of the others present. “Yea. Your year at UA, stickler for the rules. What about him?” Hawks asks. “He chose his internship our first year with the sole intention of trying to hunt down and kill Stain to avenge his brother.” “Really? That guy?” “Yep. My dad isn’t so innocent either: quirk marriage, child abuse, oh the stories I could tell you.” “Jesus Christ.” “Exactly. Everyone has their own shit Hawks. This will pass and hopefully you and (y/n) can find your ways back to each other when it does.”

Shortly after Todoroki finishes speaking his phone rings and he frowns down in confusion when he notices it’s Bakugo calling him. “I didn’t think we had task force business today,” Shoto says as he answers the phone. “We don’t. Is Hawks there with you?” Bakugo asks, his tone betraying his worry. “Yea he is.” “Shit.” “What’s going on Bakugo?” “It’s about (y/n),” Bakugo admits and Shoto’s eyes widen. He casts a look at Hawks before finally deciding to drag the other man with him to an empty office on the floor they’re currently on. He locks the door behind them and then pops his phone on speaker. “Ok you’re on speaker with me and Hawks what’s going on with (y/n)?” Shoto asks, his voice remaining calm. “All Might fired her last night so she was supposed to come in this morning and collect her stuff except instead she pretty much just threw everything away. I came back to patrol and found out she’d left Midoriya and I little gifts on our desk which was weird, so I hit up her roommates and apparently she never went home after she swung by here. I thought she and Hawks may have run off together but if he’s with you...” Bakugo explains. “Maybe she’s just clearing her head or something,” Shoto suggests. “No way. The whole of Japan is gossiping about her right now, the last thing she’d want is to be out in public,” Bakugo quickly refutes. “Was there anything else off about your desks? Drawers opened?” Hawks asks. “Maybe, I wasn’t paying that much attention. Why?” Bakugo asks. “Your task force notes still there?” Hawks asks in lieu of an answer. Hawks and Shoto wait with baited breath as they hear the sound of Bakugo moving around and then opening a desk drawer. “Nope, they’re gone,” Bakugo finally reports back. “Thought so. (Y/n) wouldn’t just roll over and kiss her career goodbye, she’s probably trying to take out the terrorist cell herself and use it as leverage to get her job back,” Hawks deduces. “Alone? That’s a suicide mission,” Shoto says. “Hence the gifts on the desks,” Hawks replies grimly. “Most of our notes are over there with you guys though,” Bakugo points out. As if on cue an alarm starts blaring overhead warning of an intruder. “That’s gotta be her,” Hawks says. “I’m on my way, hold her there so we can talk some sense into that idiot,” Bakugo tells them before promptly hanging up the phone.

Hawks has to give credit where credit is due. As foolhardy as your plan is, it’s incredibly well executed. As a former member of the guest list, you would’ve known everyone would be occupied with the cocktail party on one of the lower floors, far away from where the files you need are. The elevators will take forever with so many people trying to all get upstairs which only leaves the stairs, which are marginally better but still relatively slow. You must have spent most of the night planning this out. That thought fills Hawks with a certain amount of dread. You’re probably emotional and sleep deprived on your way to take on an entire villain group yourself all in a desperate bid to save your career. It almost sounds ludicrous. Yet, as Hawks races to the top floor in hopes of catching you, all he can think of is something you’d once told him during happier times, late at night as you two were wrapped up in each other:

“Honestly Kei? I’d rather die a hero than live long enough to prove those stupid reporters right about me.”

Author’s Note: Does this still count as a double update if I’m posting the second one after midnight 💀 anyway I can’t believe how quickly I was able to get this chapter out. The image of Hawks standing in the corner of a massive company party feeling like a shell of himself is actually a large part of what sold me on writing this fic for him. The song this chapter correlates to just felt so right for his character that I knew it couldn’t be anyone else. I thought about waiting to post this until later tomorrow today? but I’m ✨impatient✨ so instead y’all get it now

Taglist [open]: @akkaso @cathy8taffy @eeppff @iikillerkitteh @pixelwisp @pokesosa @lildockel @bread0nhead @lavender-moon13

#hopelesspf #hawks #wing hero hawks #hawks x reader #hawks x y/n #cw suicide mention #tw suicide mention

37 notes · View notes

breanime · 4 years

Note

I was wondering if you could do a Bre’s boys on how they react when they catch their teen child sneaks home late at night please. P.s love when u do bre’s boys 🥰

Billy Russo: Billy opens the door for your son. “Have fun?” He asks calmly as your son stares up at him with wide eyes. “Dad, I thought you were at work, I--” “--your Mom called and said your bed was empty,” Billy says back, rolling his shoulders as he speaks, “you scared the shit outta her.” Your son takes a breath; when his dad’s New York accent came out, he knew he done fucked up...

Logan Delos: “You can’t bullshit a bullshitter,” is all he says when he catches your daughter crawling back into the house through the basement window. “Get some rest. Tomorrow, me, you, and your Mom are gonna have a LONG talk.” Your daughter groans--she can never get away with anything in this damn house.

Jax Teller: You and Jax are waiting in the living room when your son comes homes. You give him a long lecture while Jax glares, and you stomp off at the end of it, even as your son offers up his apologies. Once you’re out of the room, Jax smirks at his son. “So... the girl you went to see...was she worth it?” Your son smirks back.

Coco Cruz: As soon as your daughter snuck out, Coco was following her. He followed her to her best friend’s house, the 24/7 diner they went to for ice cream sundays, all the way back home. He sneaks into the house before she does, and when she walks in the door she says “Papi! Why didn’t you come and eat with us? We saved you a seat!”

Angel Reyes: Tackles your son when he walks through the door. “Where have you been?!” He asks as your son pins him down (the boy’s 16 and strong as hell). “Damn, Dad, I just went out with mi primo, Tio EZ dropped me off!” And then Angel remembers that your son was hanging at EZ’s that night so...no harm, no foul.

Miguel Galindo: Your daughter knows she fucked up as soon as she set foot off of the property, but there was no going back now. All the lights in the house are on when she comes back, and when she walks in the door, you and Miguel are on the couch having tea. “I--” she starts. “You already know how this is going to go,” Miguel interrupts, “so skip the tears and go to your room. We’ll talk more in the morning.” And that’s that.

Nick Amaro: Nick is pissed when your son walks in the door WELL after his curfew. He’s yelling, your son is trying to argue back, you’re attempting to be the voice of reason--it’s a lot. By the end of it, your son is stripped of most of his privileges and has to report straight home after school for the next month.

Johnny Tuturro: Johnny is pacing on the porch when your daughter comes home, and as soon as she sees the look on his face, her eyes fill with guilty tears. “Daddy, I--” “Nah, get your tail in the house, right now!” He barks back. You just sit and watch as your dramatic husband goes on an hour long monologue about trust and safety while your equally dramatic daughter sobs. They’re both hugging and tearing up by the end of it...so dramatic.

Rio: When your son walks into the dark living room and cuts the light on to see Rio just chilling in the loveseat. “Wanna tell me where you’ve been?” And before he can even answer, Marcus speaks up from his spot in the low light at the other end of the room. “And don’t bother lying, we already know everything.” Then you pop up behind your son. “By the way, go ahead and hand over them keys, lil Papa, you won’t be driving your car for a LONG time.”

*******************************************************************************************

Thanks for reading! Please let me know what you think! Sorry, I went kind of off-script with this one.

Everything Taglist: @sweetybuzz25 @mrsjaxtellerfan @rhabakoli @encounterthepast @realduckvader @justvnash @knowles-morgan @ateliefloresdaprimavera @evanlys19 @nyxxnoxx @carlaangel86 @luminex3 @jigsawlover10 @gollyderek @otomefromtheheart @lexxierave @amethyst09 @falsehopesndreams @a-dorky-book-keeper @witchygagirl @glimmerglittergirl @nich0lasmatthews @ben-c-group-therapy @felicity-x0 @amirra88 @yourfellowangel @vibranium-soul @xserenax-13 @woahitslucyylu @gemini0410 @ktiz90 @theoceanhathsolace @starrynite7114 @my-rosegold-soul @papa-geralt-of-cirilla

#Billy Russo x reader #logan delos x reader #jax teller x reader #coco cruz x reader #angel reyes x reader #miguel galindo x reader #nick amaro x reader #johnny tuturro x reader #rio x reader #bre's boys #bre's boys preferences

359 notes · View notes

robinofinashiro · 4 years

Text

don’t let me go - part three

note: since it’s a series now, I finally gave it a name! let me know what you think of this chapter!

request status: OPEN

pairing: reiner braun, porco galliard, colt grice x fem! reader

you took the blond’s hand, not really thinking much of it as Pieck ran after you, “hey, are you okay?” she asked. you nodded, “yeah, I wasn’t watching where I was walking and accidentally ran into Colt,” you murmured.

she gave the blond a small smile, “now that I think of it, Colt, you’re in my English 457 class, right?” you asked him. he lit up, “yeah, I sit a few seats behind you!” you laughed, “well, I’ll see you tomorrow? we have peer review on that essay we have due,” he nodded as you gave him one last goodbye and made your way back to your table.

“wait, so you’re serious? you’re done with them?” she asked almost exasperated. you nodded, “think about it Pieck, those two have been so up against each other for months now and I’m tired. the constant fights, the amount of times I’ve told both of them just to quit it, I’m sick of it,” you exclaimed.

Pieck remained silent as you shoved all your things into your bag. you didn’t bother to look at your phone knowing the two idiots were going to be blowing it up for the rest of the night.

“well, I can drive you home if you’d like?” Pieck asked. you nodded as you followed her out to her car, “can we stop for food too? I think with everything that happened with you, we need to eat shittiest amounts of food possible,” she laughed.

both of you stopped by a fast food restaurant not to far from your house and talked about everything that had nothing to do with Reiner or Porco. you had done yourself the favor of blocking both their numbers so they couldn’t start blowing up your phone late at night with their apologies.

“well, I think tomorrow you should be in the clear,” Pieck mentioned, “Reiner doesn’t have class in the morning and Porco doesn’t even go into campus at all.” you silently thanked her before heading into your house and greeting your siblings and parent(s).

you woke up the next morning to see your phone pinging up with multiple messages. you knew some of them were from Pieck, making sure you were okay and some were from Marcel, who you knew must’ve been Porco texting off his phone.

you didn’t bother to put too much thought into your outfit and slipped on the first outfit you saw and made your way downstairs to fix yourself a cup of coffee before your class. the only silver lining to any of this was that you only had one class on Friday before your schedule was entirely cleared.

the drive to class wasn’t too long but the one thing you hated was parking. the parking always made anyone late to class and today was no exception. once you finally managed to find a parking spot, you practically bolted to your class.

“running late?” you heard a familiar voice say. you saw Colt walking a bit slower than you as you finally slowed down, “hey Colt, we’re gonna be late if we don’t hurry up!” you said huffing.

Colt shrugged, “our 87 year old professor won’t even see us walking in late,” you nodded, “so how was your night? great I hope,” he asked. you bit your tongue back ,”it was alright. had a bit of a headache so I didn’t get to do much work once I got home,” you lied.

he gave you a saddened smile.

“well, I don’t think class should be too long today. I don’t think we’re going to be doing anything outside of reviews,” Colt mentioned, “so you should head home after class if you still don’t feel well.”

you shook your head, “I can’t, I have a few things to study for and if I don’t study here, I know I won’t do it when I get home,” you confessed. Colt took out his phone, “well, I don’t think our professor is going to see us missing so...do you want to skip and study in the library?” he asked.

you thought for a moment. skipping class did sound a hell of a lot better than sitting there and listening to professor explain what a peer review was.

“lets go!” you exclaimed, “but I’m getting snacks!”

he laughed as the two of you ran down the stairs to the small school store. unbeknownst to you, Pieck had been sitting at one of the tables with Porco as you passed them with Colt. Pieck knew that if Porco had seen you, he would not take very well to seeing Colt next to you nor would he leave you alone.

the entire time while the two of you bought every thing and made your way up the stairs, the conversation never lulled. Colt knew how to keep the conversation going and it almost felt like a breath of fresh air. not having the impending fear of Reiner or Porco just clinging onto you felt refreshing.

“so, do you know anyone around here? it seems like you're alone most of the time,” you asked Colt. he stayed silent for a moment, “I have a few friends, I’m not too close to any of them but generally speaking, no. I watch over my brother a lot so I don’t have much time to be hanging out with friends here. do you?” he explained.

you nodded understandingly, “I have a few friends. the girl that was with me and a few others are the ones I’m around for the most part,” Colt grabbed his chip bag and offered you some, “but I guess I’ll just have to be your first true friend, huh?” you joked.

Colt’s face fell a little red making your face become a bit warm. you knew your last thought should have been feeling a bit flustered around someone you just met, especially considering your situation with Porco and Reiner but for some reason, you couldn’t help the tiniest bit of butterfly feeling hit your stomach.

before Colt could say anything, he saw his phone ringing, “it’s my brother. he had a half day and I need to pick him up,” you nodded as you got up from your chair, “I completely understand if you need to head home. I’ll be here if you decide to come back,” you told him.

Colt fought himself for a moment before letting his impending thought takeover, “you could come over if you’d like? my brother and I were planning on making those Christmas houses since our parent’s are out of town and I have to keep him entertained. would you like to do it?” he asked nervously.

you fiddled with your fingers for a moment.

“sure! we can stop by the store and pick up a few things I think your brother could like to put on his house!” you said a bit excitedly. Colt smiled as the two of you quickly packed up your things before walking back to the parking lot, “I could meet you at the store after you pick up your brother?” you asked.

Colt nodded, “or we can drive in my car and we can drive back to get your car when we’re done? saves us time,” he offered. you said yes and jumped into his passenger seat.

not too far away, both Reiner and Porco had saw you getting into his car. they gave each other looks as Pieck growled to herself, “she’s allowed to have friends you fucking idiots. secondly, she isn’t your friend anymore so you can’t dictate who she’s with or even bother to confront her about it,” she lectured.

it was almost as if it had went through one ear and out the other. the one thing that helped Reiner in this situation was that he knew who Colt was. being Gabi’s cousin, he knew that her best friend was Colt’s little brother, Falco.

Porco on the other hand had Colt in a few of his classes and had spoken to him a few times.

they knew Colt was a bit on the shyer side, not really talkative or bothering to get into peoples business. what they both knew was that if Colt had suddenly taken an interest in becoming your friend, sooner or later, this small two person competition could become three and in their gut feeling they both knew that Colt very well could win you over.

#attack on titan #attack on titan imagine #attack on titan x reader #shingeki no kyojin x reader #shingeki no kyojin #shingeki no kyojin imagine #aot #snk #colt grice #colt grice imagine #colt grice x reader #colt grice x you #porco galliard #reiner braun #anime #anime imagines #anime imagine

55 notes · View notes

btsimagines959 · 3 years

Text

Enigma | Kim Taehyung

Pairing: taehyung x reader

Contents: smut 16+

----------------------------------------------------------You came at a club to relieve your stress. You were at the bar waiting for the drink you ordered. You were really stressed due to the pending assignments and upcoming exams. You needed to get it out of your ehad for sometime to start anew. You came here with your friends but they were having their time on the dance floor.

You were thinking about your assignments when the bartender came with your drink

Bartender: here is your drink. Ma'am.

You gulped the whole in one shot. You ordered another and another and many after that. You were almost drunk now.

You decided to head home. You stood up from your seat and started walking out of the club. As you were drunk you stumbled and were about to fall on your face but someone caught you.

???: watch out babygirl. Don't wanna ruin your pretty face.

You stood straight and were about to go but he spoke again.

???: such a bad girl you are. Don't you even want to thank me for saving your pretty face from getting ruined. You need to learn some manners.

Y/n: i didn't ask you to save my 'PRETTY FACE'

You said in a sarcastic tone.

???: you really wanna play bad with me?

Y/n: do you think I'm afraid of you?

???: i know you're not afraid of me but you'll want me.

Y/n: why will i want you?

His hand went down to your pussy. He started circling you. Your breath started hitching. You were feeling pleasure. Suddenly the pleasure stopped. You looked at him asking for an answer as to why he stopped doing that.

He didn't speak anything and left. You followed him wanting the answer to your question. He went and sat with a bunch of guys. You saw him from some distance. You were trying to keep your balance as the alcohol was taking over you. You turned around to go back but bumped into someone. He had drink in his hand which got spill all over his outfit.

???: yah what do you think you're doing whore?!!!

He raised his hand to slap you. You closed your eyes in fear, you didn't feel any pain. You opened your eyes and that guy was nowhere to be found. He disappeared. You turned your head to look at the guy who saved you earlier but he was not there and none of his friends were there.

You didn't think much and left to your house as you started feeling dizzy.

—next morning—

You woke up with terrible headache. You did your morning routine and got ready for university. You went down to have breakfast with your parents.

Dad: Morning princess!

Y/n: Morning dad! Morning mom!

Mom: morning!

Your mom came out of the kitchen all dressed up.

Mom: sugar i couldn't cook breakfast for you today. I've prepared lunch and you can order anything you want for dinner tonight. Me and your father are going out for some work today we'll return tomorrow. If you want you can call your friends for sleepover.

Y/n: okay mom.

Dad: we'll leave now. We're getting late. Goodbye princess.

Mom: bye honey.

Y/n: bye mom and dad.

You waved them goodbye and went into the kitchen to get yourself some cereal.

—time skip—

Yui-hui: y/n do you know that there is a new professor in our university? I heard he is so handsome and hot.

Yui-hui your seatmate told you.

Y/n: no i don't.

You said in an annoyed tone.

You all stood up when the professor entered the class. Your eyes widened as you saw him. It was 'HIM'. You pretended not to know anything and continued studying.

—time skip—

You were packing your stuff as you finished your last lecture. You were the only one left. You felt as if someone was looking at you. The eyes piercing your soul and your body. You started feeling uncomfortable.

You turned around and saw taehyung staring at you. You walked towards him.

Y/n: what do you want from me?

Taehyung: i want you babygirl. I wanna feel you around me. Warming me with the pretty little pussy of yours.

Y/n: but seems like you need punishment.

Taehyung: I'd love to get your punishment if i get your pussy after that.

Y/n: seems like you're so desperate to get in me.

Taehyung: of course i am.

Y/n: you're not getting it. I'm not—

Suddenly he started circling your clothed clit giving unknown pleasure. You closed your eyes and started moaning. After a while he stopped doing that.

Y/n: yah why did you do that?

You whined.

Taehyung: want me to continue?

He smirked and then you realised what you said.

He pulled you closer to him by your waist. He kissed you roughly. You didn't respond to his kiss but in a minute you fell for his touch. You started kissing him back. He pulled back from the kiss and started attacking your neck with wet kisses.

Y/n: ahhh..... S-sir........ P-pl-ease.

Taehyung pulled back and looked at you.

Y/n: why did you stop again?

You whined in frustration.

Taehyung: want me to continue? Lets continue it somewhere else.

8 notes · View notes

logan-is-noggin · 3 years

Text

Anxious Beauty part 2

word count: 2566

warning: play fighting

the years passed and the three fairies raised Prince Virgil, who they affectionately nicknamed storm cloud, or just cloud for short, in an unassuming cottage in the nearby forest.

Now that the Prince was four, on cool nights like tonight, they left the tots bedroom window open to allow the sweet smell of the peach trees that grew outside to flow inside.

Logan's faithful raven companion croft, landed on a branch outside the open window. When his master had no use of him. Croft often found himself observing the object Logan seemed so fascinated by. But tonight he had a mission to finish. The bird hopped to the windowsill and peered inside.

Cloud rolled over in his crib and blinked his eyes open, hearing the creaking nearby. When he saw his bird friend he shaking stood on his bed and reached for him. But croft flew inside, in a loop, dropping what he carried in his beak before flying out the window and away.

Cloud looked down and saw what the bird had left. A dark old fashion key. In the handle was a purple jewel in the shape of a heart.

The next morning when Patton saw Virgil with the key, he was puzzled. He didn't recall the king giving it to his son when they departed, the others also denied giving it to the Prince. Patton reached to take it away, but once he did, the toddler let out a loud wail. Patton quickly gave it back. " okay, you can keep it." Since that day, cloud always had the key with him or else he was very upset. As he grew up he played in the woods like any child. For a time, the curse was forgotten.

"okay Roman that's all for tonight, it's getting late kiddo."

He took the bowl from the Prince and set it in the sink, he would wash it in the morning. "You can't stop there padre, I haven't even burst onto the scene yet."

"He can continue the story tomorrow Roman, we're filming with Thomas tomorrow remember? We each need to be rested for our performance, we don't need you yawning while the cameras on." Logan chided as he walked up to his room.

The next day every could see how impatient Roman was being, he groaned any time anyone messed up their lines, which made Virgil start messing up on purpose.

That night at dinner Roman are twice as fast as usual when Patton placed the dishes in the sink Logan sighed as said " I can clean up tonight Patton." Roman smiled and practically yanked Patton out of the kitchen "thanks teach!" He called.

Roman sat cross legged as Patton stood before him.

"Alright let me remember where we were..."

Twelve years passed and cloud grew into a fine young man. That morning the three seemed to be trying to get him out of the house. " why don't you go play outside, maybe go for a swim? It's a lovely warm day out." Patton encouraged. Cloud nodded as he slipped on his gray vest over his white long sleeve shirt. Leaving the top button undone. Cloud opened the Dutch door of the cottage and waved goodbye to the three. " have fun. Don't go too far, but don't come back too quickly.." The three called out over each other. Cloud stood his head as he walked off. He could tell when they were trying to hide something. And the lad was always kind enough to play along with their surprises.

The forest was empty today, only filled with the sounds of the forest animals, it was alright, Virgil had perfected how to entertain himself.

Cloud walked between trees swinging himself forward to grab the next trunk. Walking across a fallen tree with his arms out to steady himself. He unlocked his boots and walked through the river, he scooped up a smooth stone and tossed it, the rock skipping thrice before sinking to the bottom. He picked up a stick and swung it around, pretending to fight an invisible foe. His parents often were over cautious when it came to raising him, not letting him eat fruit right off the tree near his home, though he sneaked berries from bushes when he was in the woods. Only remus let him get away with things the others found dangerous, like fighting. " come on you two! He's gonna have to learn to fight eventually if he's going to be king." Remus whispered one afternoon. So they relented and let Virgil have supervised battles with remus.

Not paying attention as he swung his stick-sword, cloud had begun to sing.

" I heard there was a secret chord, that David played and it pleased the Lord, but you don't really care for music do ya?

It goes like this, the fourth, the fifth, the minor fall, the major lift, the baffled king composing hallelujah"

Prince Roman and his hunting party were riding back after an uneventful morning, he could tell his mare rose was thirsty having not been watered since they left so he told the rest to go on without him as he slowly rode into the woods. The canopy from the treetops immediately cooled Roman from the sun. Once his eyes adjusted he led rose to the small pond they often visited when he first got her.

As she drank Roman sat on a stone to rest himself, he refilled his canteen and took a sip when he heard a noise. He shot up, hand on his sheathed sword just in case of danger. After listening he realized the sound was singing. Even from this distance Roman was spellbound. He had never heard a sweeter tenor in his life.

" hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah

he took hold of his horses bridle and walked towards the noise of the voice. He found boy alone through the trees in the clearing. He held a stick and looked like he was fencing something Roman could not see. Roman smirked and found his own falls. Branch, not wanting to scare the boy away by using his real sword.

(Vpov)

Suddenly someone burst out of the trees and stood three feet away. He called to challenge him. Usually cloud would run from the stranger but seeing that he also wielded a stick let him know he was also playing.

The two slowly circled each other, Virgil tried to remember Remus's lecture on strategies but he almost always tangent off into talking about wounds. So he decided to try and copy the man. When he advanced, Virgil tried to stay swords distance away. When He swung Virgil brought his up and they hit with a deafening whack. Virgil did the same but his opponent ducked before it could make contact. More jabs were taken and all too soon cloud was backed against a tree with the "sword" to his throat.

" Not much for training, but a decent fight anyhow." He said as he tossed his stick to the side.

" well, my um, parents don't like me fighting a lot. They're worried I could get hurt." Cloud mumbled.

Roman waved him off " nonsense. Every man should learn the art of dueling, if the need arose to save a bachelor or damsel in distress." He said proudly.

" ill make note of that."

" how rude of me. My name is Roman." He said as he brushed back his red cape.

Virgil mildly panicked at what to do. He wasn't sure if it was right to tell his name to a stranger.

" you can call me cloud. It's what my parents call me."

" intriguing." A high shinny made Virgil flinch. Roman saw his fear and placed a hand on his shoulder. " fear not. That is just rose. I almost forgot I left her in the brushes." He whistled with two gloved fingers in his mouth and suddenly a white mare with a rose gold mane leapt through the opening and trotted to her owners side. " this is my rose. The best and most beautiful mare in the entire kingdom, in my humble opinion."

"Very humble.." Cloud teased. Roman rolled his eyes. " would you like to go for a ride?" He said, holding his hand out. Cloud glanced around wondering what Patton would say if he were here. He had never ridden a horse before. " I guess so." Roman quickly mounted then reached down to help cloud onto the space behind him. " I'm not gonna fall am I?"

" just hold onto me. Ill keep you safe."

First they walked down the path, Roman making sure Virgil was feeling secure before he clicked at the horse who sped up galloping throughout the trees. Roman laughed as clouds grip around his waist tightened. She slowed to a stop at the edge of the forest in a clearing. They both dismounted and cloud wrapped his arms around him. " I suppose ill think twice about riding a strangers horse." Roman laughed again. They walked a ways until they reached a spot cloud knew well. A tree had fallen years ago but continued to grew horizontally, making the perfect sitting spot. They rested as they watched their surroundings.

" ave you ever watched the sunrise from here cloud? That is truly a magical experience."

" no, but I have a fair view from my home. We can see the village and the castle well."

Roman hopped down and tugged cloud along with him. " what are we doing now?"

" since your fighting skills are pretty dismal, I assume you don't know how to dance either. So I'm going to teach you."

Cloud rolled his eyes but took Romans hand anyway. He pulled the young man close, their chests almost touching. Romans left hand rested around his side and clasped his right hand with his own. Suddenly they seemed to be sucked up into a whirlwind. Half the time, cloud tried to mirror Romans expert steps as they turned in time. The other half he couldn't stop staring into Romans eyes. Could this be what love felt like?

They continued twirling around the forest to their silent symphony until they were both out of breath. They slowed to a stop and their hands fell to their sides but still connected.

" you're quite light on your feet cloud. A plus to both dancing a dueling. But practice makes perfect."

Cloud was still in a daze that he couldn't come up with a snarky comment. " I need to return to my father in town. But may I visit you again, possibly tomorrow?"

Cloud shook himself free " of course. My cottage is close to the field where we met. You can meet my parents."

Roman bent and kissed both of his hands. " I will spend every moment missing you until then, my cloud."

Cloud watched as Roman mounted his horse, after opting out of a ride home, he still wasn't used to riding. And stood there until he disappeared into the trees.

Cloud returned home, he stopped at the door, hearing whispers and shushing from the other side. He wondered what his three guardians had been up to in his absence. He pushed open the Dutch doors calling to the quiet house.

" hey guys I'm home. I-" he paused as he closed the door. Something was different. Laying spread out on a chair was a very fancy looking outfit. It was a pair of black trousers, a purple vest and white shirt. Hanging behind it was a deep purple cape with black stitching around the borders.

Next to it was a small cake, he could tell it was BlackBerry- his favorite.

Cloud jumped back as the three fairies all yelled surprise from their place in the kitchen. They came forward to embrace the boy. Cloud had completely forgotten about his birthday. " what have you done?" He said happily appraising the material of the clothes. Certainly the fabric was not cheap.

" it's your sixteenth birthday and we knew we needed to do something extra special." Janus said.

Patton smiled sadly as he pulled out a second chair to have him sit. " Cloud- I mean Virgil, we also did all this because there's something we need to tell you."

Now he was concerned. They usually didn't call him Virgil unless it was very serious. " alright, what is it?"

" well kiddo, what I'm about to say may come as a surprise. It's not the kind of thing one hears every day, and I suppose we should have told you a bit sooner but we wanted..."

" YOU'RE A PRINCE!" Remus blurted out from behind them. The other two whipped their heads to glare at him.

" crashed that carriage, didn't we Remus?" Janus said

" blue was rambling. Better to just rip it off like a wound dressing!" Everyone including Virgil groaned at that imagery.

" wait, so I'm a Prince." He said as if testing the words on his lips.

" yes. You are the only son and heir of his majesty, king Thomas. I know this is all a lot to take in."

Virgil looked back to the outfit. It's grand appearance suddenly making sense. He shook his head laughing to himself " I wonder how he'll take that News"

"Wonder how who'll take that news?" The fairies all asked.

Virgil rubbed the back of his neck." Oh, well, a man happened through the forest where I was, I was practicing my fighting, but only with a stick. He jumps out of the bushes and wants to duel. But he was just playing" now Virgil was rambling trying to push his innocence.

"What else did you do?" Patton asked cautiously.

" He took me on a ride through the woods on his horse, we talked a lot. He also taught me to dance. We spun so much that I'm still a little dizzy" he said with a smile. " he's coming back tomorrow."

Patton recognized the look Virgil had. He had definitely fallen in love with him. Which would make this next part of the conversation harder.

" Virgil..Unfortunately we won't be here after today. We promised to we would bring you back to the castle tonight."

Virgil was upset. " are you sure we couldn't wait until tomorrow so I could explain to him. I'm sure he mind me being a Prince." Janus stepped forward " son, I'm afraid that's not possible. you see A part of being a Prince is that when you were born, you were also betrothed to another Prince from an allied kingdom, Prince-"

Now Virgil was mad " I don't care what his name is. How could anyone force or even expect anyone, let alone a Prince to marry someone they've never met!"

Remus lightly placed his hand on his arm " now cloud-"

Virgil shook him off. " no! You don't get to call me that anymore. You keep this information from me my whole life. Then expect me to be okay with this. I don't know the first thing about being a Prince. I don't want to go." Tears streamed down his cheeks as he fled from the room. Patton Janus and Remus stood around wondering what to do to help their Prince.

PART 3:

#thomas sanders #logan sanders #patton sanders #roman sanders #virgil sanders #remus sanders #janus sanders

6 notes · View notes

danddymaro · 4 years

Text

My Only | Tatewaki Kuno x Reader

Thoughts are italics in quotations = ‘Example’

Flashbacks are in italics = Example

Word Count : 4325

I decided to finally post this since it was a little idea i had a long time ago, and never really finished. Kuno was headass...but cute nonetheless.

My Only

Walking along the halls of her new school, (f/n) held on tightly to her leather bookbag strap, biting the inside of her left cheek in anxiousness.

‘I’m late,’ she thought worriedly. ‘So...maybe I shouldn't go in at all… Maybe I should just wait till tomorrow.’ She added with a worried crease to her (dark/light) brow.

‘ Everyone is going to be staring…’ she grimaced at the thought of having all eyes on her staring at her with expectancy and wonder. Just the thought of it made her palms sweaty and legs go overwhelmingly wobbly.

‘I’d never miss any days anyways,’ She argued, ‘Just one… the first shouldn't really matter…’ She went on, but as she contemplated the decision of just leaving it all for the next day, she found herself already at the door to her new classroom.

Looking down at the small index card she looked back up at the number a second and third time for good measure.

“This is the right classroom…” she said swallowing hard, already feeling her heart going into full gear and pounding restlessly in her chest.

Her hand nervously rose to tap on the door, but stopped inches before she could reach it as her nerves got the better of her. From the window on the door, she could see her new instructor already giving a lesson, writing on the chalkboard with quick swift movements, completely leaving behind a couple of scrambling students on important notes, those who bothered to pay attention at least.

Everyone else stared on with glazed looks, present, but not truly there.

She realized that if she walked in then, she'd be interrupting an ongoing lesson, and the professor didn't look lenient at all from his stern look and obvious frustration.

“I would have been here earlier,” She defended herself, “ But my alarm is busted,” she went on, knowing that even if she had an excuse, it really didn't matter. She’d had a hard ass instructor before, and unfortunately had the luck or getting one just about every year.

Hanging her head, she sighed deeply. “I can't do this,” she said defeated, backing up.

With that one step, rather than a quick retreat she found herself bumping into another body. As an immediate response, she jumped away from the new person in fright and stared at them wide-eyed, (e/c) eyes fully rounded and alert.

Before her stood another student, evident by the furinkan high uniform that was identical to hers. Her hair was a silky brown color, the longest strands not even reaching past her chin. Hime styled bangs hid her eyebrows, stopping in a curved cut right over her eyes, framing the entirety of her face nicely in a precise cut. And between her two closed, peachy lips was a small white stick which she brought out, revealing it to be a red-colored, cherry-flavored lollipop.

The brunette trained her eyes on the shaken girl and sized her up, studying her with keen eyes before she spoke, “You're the new student.” she started, showing a slight smirk, an almost permanent expression she found herself making, but not that the new girl knew that.

Eagerly nodding, (f/n) stared at her feet, embarrassed to be called out so easily.

She probably stuck out like a sore thumb…

“ boy, you’re real shy aren't you?” The bowl cut female said chuckling, finding it amusing and well, just plain cute enough to make her interested in the flustered girl. She was so used to the usual strong personalities and craziness that the meek girl before her actually seemed interesting... dare she say out of this world.

In Fact the only softer person she could name was her sister Kasumi, but Kasumi was more modest than meek.

(f/n) raised her eyes up at the comment, seemingly taken back. It wasn’t to say the brunette was wrong but wasn't it reasonable for (f/n) to be nervous?

This was the first day of school for her, her first day meeting people, moving to a new place, a new world, and life, wouldn't anyone else be just as nervous?

‘Day 1 and I’m already labeled’ (f/n) thought shrinking back, ‘I don’t want to be known as anything else but my name. And I don’t want some dorky name to follow me around !’ she thought with a grimace, shaking her head in denial. But before she could defend herself, the other girl spoke, interrupting her upcoming protest,

“ You already got good points for being cute, acting all shy like that, the guys here are gonna swallow you whole,” she said as a matter a fact, placing a hand to her hip.

At the blunt comment ( f/n) did a double-take, forming a horrified expression.

“Wait, wait ! what do you mean?! Swallow me up whole?”( f/n) said gasping, finding it hard not to stutter at such a comment.

“ This school is full of some real hounds… if you act like that all the time, I'm positive you won't survive and trust me, there are some persistent guys here...I know some personally.” The brunette stated, lifting her chin up with a grin, almost like it was something to be proud of.

“Oh no,” (f/n) said worriedly, “ that’s troublesome,” she added, not being able to imagine such a scene, not being able to handle the thought of having to have to actually have to fight guys off.

Back at her old school there wasn't much of a conundrum, for the most part, it was the usual boring school days filled with even boringer lessons and homework, but at the very least she hadn’t been harassed.

‘Maybe I should skip the whole school year,’ (f/n) thought deadpanned. ‘Not show up at all,’ She added, her shoulders slumping.

“Where are my manners,” the brunette said shaking her head. “ Nabiki Tendo,” she said extending out an open hand to the (e/c) eyed girl. Smiling, albeit in a troubled manner, (f/n) took the greeting with welcome, taking Nabiki’s hand.

“(f/n)( l/n)” she responded with placid kindness.

“So, you gonna walk in?” Nabiki said pointing her chin to the closed door, receiving a tight smile from the other teen.

“If you want me to be honest, I'm not even sure if I can...or want to,” (f/n) admitted sighing, receiving a simple, small ‘ah.’ from the other student.

Nabiki seemed to stop and think about something before snapping her fingers together suddenly.

“Say, You wanna ditch this class?” she offered with a bright-eyed twinkle to her eye.

“ You're already late, actually missed over half the instruction,” she said shrugging, “so what do you say, wanna skip?” She offered smiling brightly, hoping to convince the girl and find something to do other than sit through a boring lecture.

“After the first half we usually sit down and stay shut, The teach doesn't like noise,” Nabiki said rather annoyed, “So we’d just be in there doing nothing,” she said with an eye roll. “So yeah?” She asked with a coy grin, hoping to convince the girl.

“Skip?”( f/n) repeated worriedly, “but...won't we get in trouble?” she asked in a hushed tone.

Nabiki shrugged, “I never have.” She said without an eyebat. “I’m what you call a repeat offender,” she said smirking at the look she received, which was one of astounded surprise.

“ So you do this a lot don’t you?”( f/n) asked raising a brow, her tone being lingered with a sense of judgment.

“Hey, don’t judge, weren't you gonna do it just a few minutes ago?” Nabiki said with a challenging look, crossing her arms and staring down at (f/n). (f/n) backed down sighing, “ i was only thinking about it,” she muttered embarrassed, “not like I was gonna pull through with it.” she added.

“Well, I’ve decided for you,” Nabiki said as she smiled, grabbing the other girl's wrist and pulling her along.

“ Listen goodie two shoes, it’s nice to let loose once in a while,” she said, offering advice, “ be bad for once,” she added, making (f/n) roll her eyes playfully, a gleeful, little grin coming over her.

‘First day and I'm already skipping,’ she thought feeling slightly excited, being dragged by the other girl. ‘This is actually the baddest thing I've ever done!’ she inwardly squealed, almost shaking.

Feeling the grip on her wrist fall, (f/n) looked to the side to see Nabiki walking beside her nonchalantly, like she wasn’t roaming around with the risk of being caught.

“ so what should we do first? “ (f/n) asked excitedly, making Nabiki's eyebrows rise and her face blossom with amusement, “ so I was right, it’s your First time?” She said chuckling.

With an enthusiastic nod (f/n) confirmed.

“Well, sorry to disappoint, but It's not a big deal, not that exciting,” Tendo said chuckling, “i was just gonna go see a classmate of mine, he got his butt handed pretty bad by this other kid this morning,” she said shaking her head at the memory. The present excitement faded from (f/n)’s face and a look of concern settled onto her instead. “Is he being bullied?” she said worriedly, feeling bad for the poor guy already.

At that, Nabiki almost choked on the hard candy, pulling it out harshly to save herself.

“ if anything the idiot deserved it!” she said laughing, using her other hand to give (f/n) a pat on the shoulder, “trust me, he had it coming, so don't feel too bad.”

“But isn’t he your friend?” (f/n) asked with confusion.

“Loosely, “ Nabiki said flatly.

She wasn’t friends with Kuno. But at the same time, she wasn't not friends with him either...if that made any sense.

He’d been her associate before, if she could call him that.

...Or her customer if that was more fitting.

Between both Akane and Ranma, Nabiki was able to get enough pictures to sell to the doofus, making easy cash, so of course, she’d care just enough.

‘You do seem to care… even just a bit,’ (f/n) observed. ‘Even if you don’t want to show it,’ she added, watching Nibiki’s defensiveness.

“ oh Alright, “ (f/n) said nodding, offering an amused chuckle at the response,

“can’t wait to meet him then,” She added.

“If he's even awake,” Nabiki interjected, “ come on I’ll lead the way,” Nabiki said walking ahead, knowing the direction by heart, having the other girl trail behind, taking in everything she could.

“Well, we're here,” Nabiki said throwing her candy’s white, little stick in the trash bin as they entered the open room.

“And there he is,” Tendo muttered, outstretching her hand to the unconscious male. “Still out cold i see,” she added with a snicker, jabbing her finger to his cheek.

“Not even a noise, “ she observed, looking back to her new friend, waving her closer.

“This right here is Kuno, Tatewake Kuno,” Nabiki said with a shake of her head. “That’s one name you’ll hear around here pretty much every day,” she informed her.

As (f/n) glanced down to the sleeping boy, she felt a dust of pink touch her cheeks, crawling up to the tips of her ears, making her face match the color of ripe, little cherries.

‘He’s really cute...’ she thought to herself, her hand absentmindedly going to lay over her warmed cheek.

He wasn't even awake and was making her blush a few shades of red, her heart racing like a wild stallion at his close presence. Nabiki noticed the obvious change, and stared wide-eyed, her dark chocolate eyes filled with shock,

“No way…” she mumbled not sure whether to facepalm, or succumb into a large fit of laughter. “There’s no way, “ she muttered, going unnoticed by the other girl as all her focus lay on the teenage boy.

‘ The girl could not have possibly gained a crush on that enormous moron,’ Nabiki tried to reason. She hadn’t even thought it possible, but once she saw the notable affection glittering in (f/n)’s eyes, she sighed,‘ She's got it bad for him already.’

It hadn't even crossed her mind that it was a possibility...It was just that stupid.

But now what was she to do?

‘I guess the idiot is kinda cute,’ Tendo argued, though she felt a bitter taste in her mouth as she admitted it. ‘It’s not like i haven't noticed, but…’ She trailed off, shaking her head, ‘I guess there is someone for everyone,’ she mused, ‘That is if he can stop being such a dog,’ She added, uncertain on him even being capable of it.

The school nurse came from her small office and took notice the two extra students in her little room and smiled at them, not at all bothered or concerned by the extra people,

“You two don't have to worry about him, he should come to soon enough.” She said placing a hand over both of their heads, making them look up at her.

“He's a pretty stubborn headed one, so I don't think a little knockout is gonna get him to stop walking around like he usually does,” she said eyeing Tatewake with an amused gleam in her brown eyes.

“You mean like he owns the place?” Nabiki said flatly, not being the least bit willing to hold back her remarks.

The middle-aged woman didn't answer, only giving the younger a knowing look, rolling her eyes. She didn't want to say it out loud, but since the teen already did, she had no choice but to agree silently.

Bending down to the mischievous teen, the chummy nurse pinched her cheek,“ Nabiki Tendo, you look out for this boy,” she advised, pulling at the caught bit of flesh with a frown, “He comes in here about every week! You know, you should really talk him out of those silly fights with that Saotome boy.” she said for what seemed like the umpteenth time, pestering the Tendo female.

(f/n) could tell it was almost rehearsed at this point with how much it had probably been stated before, meanwhile, Nabiki shrugged, pursing her lips.

“Aww, Then how would I get out of instruction Mrs. Ito?” She said pouting, making the elder woman give her a halfhearted glare.

Shaking her head, Mrs. Ito sighed,

“You little devil.” She muttered, then focusing her eyes onto the other girl, a new face she hadn't seen before.

She smiled in welcome, shooting the new girl a flashy smile,

“ Hey, don't let this one get you into too much trouble,” she advised jutting her thumb to the smirking girl, “ Behind that sweet little face is a little demon,” she said ignoring the halfhearted glare shot at her by the so-called demon.

“Don't look at me like that kiddo, how about you come here and help me if you're going to cut class again, do something productive,” she said beckoning the short-haired girl with her index finger.

Groaning Nabiki stood up and walked over to the nurse,

“Ahhhhh work,” she said in a flat voice.

“I don't want to hear it.” Mrs. Ito said laughing at the obvious display of displeasure.

As Nabiki and Mrs. Ito disappeared to the back, (f/n) trailed her eyes back to the sleeping teen.

Quietly approaching him, she stood before him and stared down at his sleeping face as she did before, this time taking time to really study his features.

Before she had tried to be discreet, knowing more than one person would call her out on the ogling, but now she could feel unashamed.

In her preoccupation, she failed to notice Mrs. Ito peer over from the doorway and give her a grin, watching her fluster over the unconscious boy.

“ She wasn't kidding,” The nurse said shaking her head.

As soon as she walked into the back with Nabiki, the girl didn't waste time in voicing her suspicions, all with an amused grin.

“ care to change the cloth on his forehead?” she said out loud, surprising the daydreaming teenager. (f/n) turned to her immediately, stepping back from the unconscious boy, like she’d been caught doing something she wasn't supposed to,

“ I've got my hands tied back here sweetie, is it too much to ask?” The nurse said offering her a pleading look. (f/n) shook her head, “No trouble Mrs. Ito, I'll get right to it!” she said sparing another glance at Tatewaki before making her way to the sink.

Wringing a cloth, she carefully brushed the dark, lightly curled hairs covering his forehead aside with gentleness, placing the white towel on his forehead. Absentmindedly, her touch lingered as she ran her fingers through the brunettes soft, wavy strands, easily passing through them and feeling the dark hairs slip in between her fingers.

Before she could retract her hand his two eyes open to reveal blue tanzanite’s staring back up at her with a piercing gaze, making her gasp in surprise.

“ I must have died, “ he said softly, training his eyes on her, not seeing anything but the lovely face above him.

“ Only there could I see such an angel glance down upon me,” He added, almost too smoothly.

With a softly formed smile, he stood straight up and turned to her, capturing her small hand in his. He seemed to pull himself together quickly, the injury he had a thing of the distant past like it had never even been there.

It was then that an obnoxious, loud laugh cut through the room, Nabiki walking forward, shielding her tearing eyes with a hand.

“ no, no, no, Kuno baby, no! You didn't just say that!” she said snickering. meanwhile (f/n) was left tongue-tied, her brain going fuzzy as she took in his words.

Tatewaki on the other hand glared at his short-haired classmate, his eyes immediately finding her and narrowing,

“ well if it isn't Nabiki Tendo again...with you here I wouldn't imagine it being heaven. Perhaps a hellish world instead.” he said less than pleased, “ But such judgment from you Tendo... Could it be your envious?” he asked smirking in her direction, to which the girl shook her head, visibly gagging.

“ Kuno baby, I wouldn't touch you with a 10-foot pole,” she said smoothly, placing her hands on her hips, sticking her tongue out at him childishly.

“ I wouldn't care if you did, for I have no interest in you bothersome girl!” Tatewaki said immediately, turning back to (f/n). Whilst still taking hold of her hand, he stepped off from the bed, standing at his full height, leaving the teen even more surprised with the difference.

“ Forgive me, my sweet angel,” he said, offering her a charming smile. “I would have noticed a lovely girl like you… may i assume your new here?” he asked her.

Nodding furiously, (f/n) answered him, “ Y-yes, (f/n) (l/n),” she uttered out breathlessly, staring deeply into his blue eyes.

“ Tatewaki Kuno,” he introduced himself, lifting up her hand to lay a kiss on the flesh, “It is a pleasure to me-” He was cut short as (f/n) was pulled away,

“ Oh look at the time,” Nabiki said suddenly, whisking his new infatuation away.

His first meeting with her had been interrupted, leaving him even more intrigued with the girl. Determined, he pursued her, though admittedly straying in other directions from time to time.

But he argued It wasn’t his fault, something no one else seemed to understand, not even the (h/c) haired girl he’d become so close with.

After months of friendship, his ways put a damper in their growing relationship, becoming something he couldn't bear,

And it was then he made his decision,

“My eyes no longer wonder!” he assured her, taking a hold of her hand in his, pulling her back. With the force she came towards him, nearly crashing back to him.

He was quick to take the other hand in his opposite one, lifting them up to his lips at the same time.

Kissing the tips of her knuckles gently, he took a large breath, kneeling down before her, falling to one knee.

Her eyes nearly popped right out of their sockets as she stared at him, her stomach dropping in that very instant. Aside from that, she felt embarrassment, knowing they were at the center of a scene, fallen beneath all of Furinkan high’s population.

“(f/n), my love, I assure you that I only breathe for your existence now my sweet. “ He started, “ Akane Tendo, nor the pigtailed girl are as beautiful as you, or as captivating. In fact, no other woman alive could compare to you! You single-handedly have stolen my heart, ” He said smiling up at her with complete adoration.

‘ A true Goddess, of not one, but all realms and lifetimes, my (f/n)!’ He thought with a soft sigh, an arrow wedged within his heart, pointing right at the (h/c) haired young girl.

He knew that anyone that could wash away the pigtailed girl, and above all Akane Tendo had to be the one. Anyone that had made him tear down their portraits without regret was the one to own the entirety of his being.

Withdrawing her hand from his, she placed them over her face, hiding her two blazing cheeks from him.

“ st-stop saying stuff like that! ” she squealed, shaking her head with denial,“You can’t be serious!” she said stunned, but also on edge.

He couldn't really be so ‘ in love ’ as he claimed

… could he?

She’d known him for ⅔ ‘s of the school year, considering she arrived later than the had year began. It hadn’t been enough time to basically declare such a thing,.

But then again…

‘We’ve gone out together….’ He’d taken her out many times, but of course, just as friends, that being the ruse.

‘ Friends don’t go out alone for fancy dinners… Friends don’t buy roses…’ She thought to herself immediately afterward.

‘He hadn’t mentioned Akane… of Ranma in months…’ She contemplated, ‘In Fact… this is the first time he even talks about them…’ She went on.

‘Is he really... really done with them...all for me?’ she pondered, shaking her head with denial,

‘ No … He’s an idiot!’ she thought with tightened fists, looking away from him, turning with a cold shoulder.

If he didn’t care about Akane, then why was he arguing with Ranma to begin with? The only reason would be his feminine form or Tendo...

Seeing (f/n) turn away from him, Kuno immediately stood up with worry creased brows, trying to find the words to sway her,

“I know I have been a scoundrel... my eyes have wandered far too many times, as my heart

- but my love!” he started, crying out to her. “ I swear to you that I would never stand before you and spew lies!” he swore.

With an eye roll, Ranma stepped forward, shoving Tatewake, “ As much as I hate this idiot… he’s not lying.” Ranma said with assurance. “He wanted to pick a fight with me because he thought I was trying to steal you away,” he said with annoyance.

“ Steal me away?” (f/n) murmured dumbly, struck by absolute disbelief.

‘He was fighting over me?’ she went on, her heart going it’s fastest it’d ever gone, her (e/c) colored eyes glazing over at the gesture.

“My dear, are my words and declaration of love too much for your gentle heart? Have they finally reached you?” he asked worriedly, truly showing a face of concern, an unmistakable look of genuine worry, but deep down within being joy-filled.

“The fire within my passionate heart blazes and burns for you, I could not ever give you anything less than my full affection,” he said somewhat dejected, unable to show her any less than his 100%. “And I will fight for you, every day of my life, so long as you know i am yours,”

‘ oh god...he's such a cornball, but a stupid sweet…. Cute.. cornball! ’ she thought not feeling her blushing die out. Instead, she launched herself towards the chocolate haired teen and placed a gentle kiss onto his soft lips, feeling a rush of excitement coursed through her veins at doing so.

She hadn't even thought it out, simply gone ahead and done it, her body moving to get a taste of the craving her heart’s been dying for.

From her closed eyes, she didn't see his own touch of red on his cheeks or the way his blue eyes sparkled with desire and affection.

His arms locked around her small body and hold her up, raising her to come up to meet his height with an effortless swoop.

Her feet dangled above the ground as she was lifted up, the two swinging with happiness as she was pouring all of herself into the loving smooch. Her hands came to his shoulders and wrapped themselves around his neck tightly as he spun her around once, all while joyous laughter arose from his chest.

“Now that you are mine,” he started, “ I have nothing more to hide,” he continued on, giving her sweet eskimo kisses, brushing his nose on hers. He grinned wildly as he watched her cherry-red face while she returned his affection.

He could openly love her, and have his endearments returned…

“ Oh, My darling angel… I love you, I love you so, so very much,” he said softly, a glazing look washing over his eyes making them seemed like polished blue stone.

With a quick snap, Nabiki sighed, “Well, I guess that's the last of them,” she muttered to herself with disappointment, though with a small smile drawn over her that was both genuine and happy for the two.

“This one will be on the house,” she said to herself, looking down at the couple's first, official picture together.

#ranma 1/2 #ranma 1/2 tatewake kuno #tatewake kuno #kuno #tatewake kuno x reader #tatewake kuno x reader insert #ranma 1/2 reader insert #ranma 1/2 x reader #rumiko world #anime oneshot #manga oneshot #anime reader insert #kuno x reader #nabiki tendo #ranma saotome #akane tendo

44 notes · View notes

gumnut-logic · 4 years

Text

Ellie (Part Two - Bit 1)

Part One | Part Two - Bit 1

This fic appears to have happened. I still have no idea what I’m doing or where it is going, but it is what it is. This is the first half of Part Two as I fumble my way through.

Many thanks to @vegetacide and @scribbles97 for both reading and putting up with my wibblies today as I tried to put one word after the other. I have no doubt there will be more wibblies tomorrow at some point.

I hope you enjoy whatever this is ::hugs you all::

-o-o-o-

“So, what’s he like?”

“Who?” Ellie chewed on the end of her stylus. Setting up a new tablet was a pain. All the fun of a new piece of tech had been taken away by the fact she couldn’t really afford it and paying for it had physically hurt.

“Virgil Tracy.”

She entered her password yet again. How many times did she have to prove she was who she said she was? “Who?”

“Your saviour! Verri said you nearly fell down the stairs in class and Virgil Tracy grabbed you at the last second.”

That had her sitting up. “What?” Verri was all mouth and no brain. Then it clicked. “Oh, Virgil.”

“Oooh, so it is a first name basis then is it?”

“What? What else would it be?” God, Terri was almost as bad as Verri at times. It was understandable as they were sisters, but Terri was usually so much more.

Usually.

Terri put down her coffee. “Well, you know, with him being famous and all.”

Ellie frowned, finally distracted from her tablet. “What?” Great, now she was repeating herself.

Terri looked at her as if she was an idiot or something. “Virgil Tracy. Of International Rescue. Son of Jeff Tracy. Billionaire.”

She stared at her friend, her mind spinning. Really?

“Oh, god, you didn’t know?!” Terri burst out laughing. “I can’t believe it. You need to get your head out of those romance novels, girl, or you might miss one of your own.”

Ellie stared at her a moment longer aware that her face was flushing red. Damnit.

She picked up the marshmallow sitting beside her hot chocolate and threw it at Terri.

It bounced off her forehead, leaving a little puff of icing sugar.

That, of course, only made her laugh harder. “Omigod, you had no idea.” Now her giggles were becoming irritating. Why did she invite her friend over for breakfast?

Oh, yeah, because she was her friend and Ellie being on the night shift meant it was the only time they could see each other.

Ellie went back to her tablet and the hell of setting it up.

How was she supposed to know? “I was late to class.” It was mumbled.

“Well, that explains it.” Terri picked up her coffee again and sipped it. “Verri said he walked in with a security guard and there was this room check thing before he even sat down. I’m surprised you didn’t get harassed at the door.”

She blinked. There had been that guy she’d had to show her ID to, but wasn’t that the norm? He had been as dark as the shadows he was standing in.

Ellie had been too panicked about being late to care.

Virgil Tracy. Famous hero who saved lives on a regular basis.

No wonder he had caught her.

A flash of bicep.

An embarrassed swallow. Okay, now she was just being stupid. If there was any chance of getting to know him better, it had been snuffed out by his identity. Why on Earth would he even care she existed?

But he had caught her.

His voice had been so kind.

“Are you okay?” Terri’s voice was suddenly soft…concerned.

Ellie shook herself and forced a smile. “Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?”

Her friend frowned at her. “You sure?”

Elli forced her bravado. “So, what is a famous hero doing in my nursing class?”

Terri blinked. “Buggered if I know.”

“Hmmm…”

“You could ask him.” Terri peered over her coffee cup.

Talk to him? Famous hero, Virgil Tracy?

Then she realised that tomorrow she would have to sit next to him again.

Oh, shit.

And her embarrassment at her clumsiness last time welled up yet again.

Oh god.

Terri was eyeing her suspiciously again. “Don’t forget to breathe, Ells.”

“Shut up.”

But she was right.

Damn.

-o-o-o-

Ellie was on time to class the next day despite the night shift. Actually, she was early. Early enough for the lecturer to frown at her and possibly question if she had been replaced by an alien.

“Ms Tyler, I’m happy to see you here.”

“I’m happy to be here, ma’am.”

That did it. She gave the old battle axe respect and immediately the woman became suspicious. Ellie would be under surveillance for the entire class.

Pfft.

She’d had worse patients. Those frowning eyes didn’t scare her.

“Hello again.”

She jumped as Virgil Tracy sat down beside her. Oh god. She hadn’t even seen him come in.

And yes, there was that mysterious guy running around with a scanner of some kind.

“Don’t mind Jeremy. He’s just pedantic.” It was said with a warm smile that had her stomach filling with butterflies.

As if to illustrate that fact, the security officer narrowed in on her and requested her identification. Dark eyes sliced and diced her as she fumbled in her bag for her card.

He said nothing as he eyed it, scanned it with his gadget and handed it back before moving onto the next student.

“He’s not happy because I made us late.”

Ellie blinked. “You’re not late. You’re early.” Wow. She had found her voice.

Virgil snorted. “Not when Jez wants to secure the premises, I’m not.” His smile was a little fond as his eyes tracked the man skipping between arriving students. “But then his boss is even more pedantic.”

“You’re pedantic?” Ellie frowned.

He turned to her. “Me? Oh, no, I’m not his boss.”

Then who? But she didn’t ask as he turned back to tracking his security officer with his eyes. His profile gave her the chance to actually look at Virgil.

Dark hair coiffured into some kind of pseudo-mohawk, tanned skin…she tried to remember where the Tracys actually lived. Wasn’t it an island somewhere?

She could almost hear Terri laughing at her. She really needed to pay more attention to current events.

Particularly if they were going to sit beside her in class.

But yes, tanned skin. She frowned. No…was that makeup?

The soft texture of foundation kicked up at the edge of his hairline and the skin colour changed as it merged into his hair.

Oh god.

She could barely see it, but there was the shadow of a massive bruise on his cheekbone.

He turned to look at her at that moment and she was forced to look away.

She swallowed.

Terri was laughing at her again.

The man had his arm in a sling. He had obviously been injured somehow.

Her mind wandered off wondering how.

“Did you receive my notes?”

She blinked. “Oh, yes, thank you so much.” She fished out her new tablet and held it up. “New device acquired.”

He smiled just a little. “Good to see.” But if he was going to say anything further, he was interrupted by Battle Axe calling the class to attention.

She pulled Spud out of her bag and stuck him on the tiny lap desk. His stitched-on smile brightened her despite herself.

Vaguely she was aware of Virgil glancing at the toy, but Battle Axe was talking, and unfortunately Ellie had to pay attention.

Today’s topic was about drug development and testing as background to administration. It was dry fodder and Ellie found herself zoning out.

She could smell his after shave. Or was it his cologne? Whatever it was, it was pleasant and warm.

The scratch of his stylus on his tablet was a soft counterpoint to Battle Axe’s droning voice.

Why hadn’t she taken the online version of this course?

Oh, yeah, because Battle Axe actually knew what she was talking about and there were certain things she just had to see in person.

That stylus scratching was almost a beat she could write music to.

She found herself visualising her fingers on her grandmother’s piano, notes marching out in time.

She drifted for a moment there, only to be nudged gently…

Awake! She was awake.

“Ms Tyler?”

What? She was in the lecture hall and Battle Axe was glaring up at her.

What?

“Ms Tyler, I recommend you get sufficient sleep at all times. A patient may depend on your alertness.” Battle Axe was frowning at her.

Oh, shit.

“Yes, ma’am.”

The woman’s eyes flickered to the man beside Ellie and smiled without smiling.

What?

Ellie looked at Virgil and found him frowning.

Battle Axe was blushing!

Ellie’s eyes widened.

Virgil shifted where he sat, fingering his sling.

But then the moment snapped and Battle Axe went back to babbling about Medsafe and New Zealand’s legal requirements for all medications.

What the hell was that?

But Virgil was looking down at his tablet, apparently scribbling notes, and Battle Axe had gone back to lecturing. She babbled for a few more minutes before darkening the room and activating the holoprojector.

Depressingly, the video was the same one she had viewed herself for her special study. She was already familiar with Emergency Department drug procedures. Which was probably just as well since she now worked in one.

She almost wished she had stayed asleep.

“You okay?” It was whispered baritone.

She turned to find his shadow looking at her. The holoprojection reflected in his eyes.

Whispered back. “I’m good.” Her body betrayed her by yawning at that exact moment. “Had the early shift this morning.” Or very late. It was kind of both. But it did give her the opportunity to attend the lecture. This early part of the course may be boring, but she needed it for the later part which she hoped would be worth it all.

It just meant she had to crash and burn when she got home before getting up in the dark to go to work.

“That and I’ve seen this before.” She straightened in her seat and prepared to keep herself awake for the next forty-five minutes.

“So have I. Bought it for reference.” In that moment he appeared as tired as she was.

She grunted and shifted in her seat again and they sat there for another five minutes.

“You want to go grab a coffee?”

What? But he was looking at her, his shadow sculpted by hololight.

“Okay?” It was out before she could think about it.

Without further word, he picked up his tablet and stood.

Caught out, she fumbled again, grabbing at her things and shoving them in her backpack as he started to make his way to the exit.

“Mr Tracy, where are you going?” Battle Axe emerged from the shadows below, her finger the pause button.

Ellie froze half out of her seat.

“Please excuse us, Ms Kingston.” And he kept moving.

Ellie blinked. He offered no apology, yet was still polite. It left Battle Axe with no ground to stand on and somewhat speechless enough for the two of them to make a quick exit.

It confirmed that Battle Axe was fully aware of exactly who Virgil Tracy was and that he could do pretty much what he wanted to. Ellie had no doubt that if she had tried it herself, the results would have been considerably different.

But she was never one to look a gift horse in the mouth and she hurried out of the room after him.

-o-o-o-

#thunderbirds are go #thunderbirds #thunderbirds fanfiction #Virgil Tracy #Ellie Tyler

33 notes · View notes

inkedstarlight · 4 years

Text

Bittersweet: Chapter Five

Summary: College is kicking Nesta’s ass, so she goes to her T.A., Tomas, for some extra help. Note: Read it on AO3 here! Bittersweet Masterlist Warnings: N/A

October

It was only a couple weeks into the fall semester, and it was already hell.

Nesta was drowning in schoolwork, whether it be essays or presentations or hour-long projects. She had exams every damn week, so she was at the campus library nearly every day – typically until the sun set and the stars emerged. But even then, her night was far from over. Nesta returned home only to catch up on the work she’d put off for her paid internship. Elain got in the habit of making Nesta tea and cookies when she returned from the library on those ruthless nights. And every damn time, Nesta would wrap her arms around her sister with thanks.

This was her routine for at least four days of the week. Wash, rinse, repeat.

Needless to say, she was fucking exhausted.

The worst part, though? Nesta’s grades were precariously low despite the countless hours she’d been putting in. And she knew exactly what was causing it.

It had been a month since her father’s death, yet Nesta was still waking up in her own sweat every morning after a nightmare involving him. Of him hanging on the edge of a cliff, begging Nesta to save him. Of her dad screaming at her to kill herself. Of her mother dragging Nesta into the other room as he watches idly by.

Nesta had cursed herself for letting her father’s death affect her in this way. She’d never been one to grieve, especially not for so long. She preferred leaving it in the past. It was easier that way.

Thanks to her merciless professors, Nesta was forced to dedicate nearly all of her time to school, which forced her to neglect her internship. They required she edit ten pieces of work every week, whether it be self-published books, college publications, or online articles. Even though the internship was entirely online – a convenient bonus – she still didn’t have enough time to fulfill the weekly goals. Instead of editing ten works, she was barely scrapping by with five. She’d already received several angry emails from her boss threatening to fire her if she didn’t get her shit together.

And, well… Nesta didn’t get her shit together. On the last day of September, she received that fateful email.

Nesta Archeron,

I regret to inform you that we’ve made the difficult decision of letting you go from Scribner Editorial. While I understand you’re in the midst of earning your Master’s degree, we are looking for editors who can reach – or exceed – the necessary requirements. Unfortunately, you have been lacking in the past few weeks. It has caused other editors to pick up your slack and do more than what we ask for. We are sorry to see you go.

Sincerely,

Ressina Laurent Scribner Editorial

Nesta read and reread the email dozens of times before closing her laptop. Her head fell in her hands, her shoulders trembling with the weight she carried.

She stared out the window, the world a flurry of red, orange, and yellow. Nesta had worked so hard for this, and all for nothing. She couldn’t believe she’d fucked up such a prestigious internship. It’d paid surprisingly well, and that had been the only income she was receiving. Even with the paychecks from Scribner Editorial, Nesta’s financial situation was holding on by a thread. She had used the money her father had passed down to her to pay off the remaining student loans she owned. Her family never had much money and when it was split in three, it didn’t make much of a difference.

Just like that, Nesta no longer had a job.

Fuck.

Within ten minutes of receiving that email, she was already browsing online for job opportunities. Nesta didn’t care what it was, as long as it put steady income in her pocket. There was no way she would be able to finish school without a job.

But unfortunately, after an hour of job hunting, Nesta came up empty handed. The only person who was hiring was the large grocery store downtown. They were looking for a cashier. And there was no way in hell Nesta would even consider working there. She’d seen the crowds they got on weekends. The work were incessantly forced to talk with rude, invasive customers. Nesta was far from the realm of customer service.

Nesta was down to her last resort. She didn't give herself another second to overthink it as she picked up her phone from her desk and texted Feyre.

I was just fired. You know of any job openings in the area?

Nesta sat by her phone for a couple minutes until Feyre deigned to respond.

The only one I know if is Rita’s, the local bar. They’re looking for a bartender, have been for months.

Nesta nearly snorted out her coffee when she read the text. Feyre had to be kidding. Nesta, bartending? There was no way in hell she could be a halfway decent bartender – anyone who’s ever met Nesta knew that. She didn’t possess the charm nor the patience, and she certainly couldn’t deal with drunken men who leered at her all night. In Massachusetts, she'd had her fair share of hook-ups, men and women alike. It was night after night of mindless, drunken sex. But then she'd grown up.

Nesta looked back at the soft glow of her computer screen. There had to be something, right?

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

Wrong.

After scrolling through hundreds of websites with job opportunities (or lack thereof), Nesta collapsed on her bed. She checked the time to find that it was nearly one in the morning. Rubbing her face, she let out a low groan. Tomorrow was Monday. Gods, why did tomorrow have to be Monday? She was so exhausted that she was feeling physically ill: sore throat, cough, stuffy nose. The urge to skip classes tomorrow was tempting.

But Nesta knew she wouldn't skip. What would she do? A whole day to herself and a head full of intrusive thoughts. The perfect ingredients for a panic attack or two.

Her gaze fell to the small stack of bills she had yet to pay – that she couldn’t pay. Bills that would only grow.

With that thought in mind, Nesta cursed Scribner Editorial as she grabbed her laptop and searched ‘Rita’s’ on an open browser.

Then, she composed an email.

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

The next day, Nesta finally got around to contacting her Fictional Techniques teaching assistant. It was by far her most challenging class, and she despised the professor. A big chunk of her studying was dedicated to that course alone. And since she no longer had a job – for now – she finally had the time to meet with him for extra help.

His name was Tomas. He was notoriously known as the “Hardass T.A.” Nesta had heard her peers complaining about his grading on more than one occasion. It was common knowledge that he rarely gave students any feedback on their essays but when he did, it was brutal. It was practically unheard of to receive higher than a C from Tomas.

Nesta never got below a B+, though. And though she’d never spoken with him, Tomas always gave her detailed feedback on her papers, more so than any student.

So that afternoon, she emailed him.

Tomas –

My name is Nesta Archeron and I am a student in a class you T.A. in, ENG-403 Section 003. I have a couple questions regarding the paper that was assigned on September 28th. Are you available to meet after class? It would be much appreciated.

Nesta –

Thank you for contacting me. I would love to help you one-on-one. I’ve noticed the work you hand in, and it is spectacular. Your writing is sophisticated, and you have such potential. Coming from someone who has been in the publishing business for years now, I know several companies who would publish your work. Perhaps I can mention your name the next time I meet with them. How does tomorrow work? We can walk to the library together, maybe grab a cup of coffee (on me). Let me know.

Tomas –

Thank you. That works for me. I’ll see you tomorrow.

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

“Don’t forget to finish up those essays! They’re due on October sixth, and I won’t be accepting anything that’s turned in late. Yes, Mr. Vanserra, I’m looking at you.”

Students snickered as they filed out of the lecture hall. Nesta grabbed her backpack and made her way down the stairs to the front of the room. Tomas had his own desk in the corner where he chimed in during class discussions.

He was already smiling at her when she approached.

“Hi, Nesta,” he greeted her. He was in the midst of packing his things. “Are you ready to head out?” She nodded.

Tomas had the charm of the boy next door. His dirty blonde hair was cropped short, eyes crystal blue, and he wore an easy smile. It was hard to imagine that this was the guy who gave students Fs for not having a cover page for their essay.

"Did you want to grab a cup of coffee?" Tomas asked her as they made their way out of the classroom. He shot her a smirk "Like I said, I'll pay."

Is he flirting with me?

Nesta prayed to the gods he wasn't. Sure, he was cute and all, but she had no interest in a relationship of any kind. Including a one night stand.

Perhaps I can use that to my advantage...

Nesta dismissed the thought immediately. There was no way in hell she would flirt with her T.A. to ensure a high GPA. She wasn't going to sleep her way to the top. That's not how Nesta did things.

A little flirting never hurt anyone.

She groaned inwardly and shut out that train of thoughts.

Tomas and Nesta chatted while they trudged to the library, backpacks full of textbooks in tow. Much to Nesta’s dismay, he fired question after question at her. Tomas asked about her family to which she miraculously deflected, about her journey to become a writer, and her ambitions. Luckily, Nesta was a pro at this sort of thing, so she simply responded to every question with a question of her own. Not the most subtle approach, but it worked.

The library was teeming with students when they pushed through the doors. Pryth U’s library was a sight to behold. Its foyer was ornate with hand-painted murals, the ceiling stretching far above them. They hopped on the elevator to the third floor. When the doors opened, Nesta inhaled the sweet scent of old books. The bookcases reached the ceiling, thus requiring a rolling ladder in every stack. When Nesta and Elain had toured the campus before the semester began, Elain was quick to jump on the ladder and sing “Be Our Guest.” Her voice was horribly off key. They both burst into laughter, clutching their stomachs until the librarian found and scolded them.

Nesta was pretty sure Elain hadn't stepped foot in the library since.

“Okay,” Tomas said, setting his belongings on a corner desk. He grinned at her. “Ready to be tortured?”

Nesta offered a less than enthusiastic smile. “Let’s do it.”

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

After a couple hours of grueling studying, Nesta hurried to the coffee shop on campus. It was five o’clock and she hadn’t had a cup of coffee since the morning. If she didn’t get caffeine in the next ten minutes, Nesta wouldn’t function properly.

The meeting with Tomas went well; he was certainly a helpful resource to have. He'd even offered to meet with Nesta again to prepare for the next big assignment, to which she graciously accepted. There may have been batting of the lashes involved.

Nesta pulled her wool scarf tighter around her neck. Even with a peacoat and a hat, she was still freezing. She let out a sigh of relief when she entered the coffee shop, grateful for the inviting warmth.

That gratefulness disappeared when she looked at the line.

It was at least a dozen people long. Nesta let out a frustrated groan, managing to put a tamper on her anger and hauled her ass to the back of the line.

After a couple minutes of drooling over the scent of fresh coffee beans, she felt a tap on her shoulder from behind.

“Nesta?” a sultry voice asked. The familiar husk in her words had Nesta turning around to see Amren standing behind her. She was staring up at Nesta through her long lashes, a smirk playing on her face. Nesta couldn’t help but admire her feral beauty: chin length hair, angular face, dark and smooth skin, and exquisite makeup.

“Hi, Amren,” Nesta said blandly. “I didn’t know you attended Pryth U.”

“I don’t,” she snorted. “I wouldn’t last one week in college. This is the best coffee around, and I don’t mind driving twenty minutes out of my way.”

Another coffee snob. Interesting.

“I’m impressed that you even remember my name. I thought you always zoned out during the dinners.”

Nesta huffed out a laugh, and a hint of surprise flashed on Amren’s face. It was gone a second later.

“It’s tempting whenever Rhysand opens his mouth, trust me,” Nesta replied dryly. “But I have my ways.”

Amren’s eyes lit up with amusement. “Oh, I’m going to like you.”

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

That evening, Nesta strolled back to her apartment with a steaming cup of coffee and Amren’s phone number.

It was quiet when she unlocked the door, but the living room light was on. As Nesta dropped her heaving backpack and padded to the kitchen, she noticed Elain sprawled out on the couch, her nose buried in her phone.

“Did you eat already?” Nesta called out as she rummaged through the cabinets. She dug through a shelf for pasta, which was buried under Elain’s many baking ingredients.

When Elain didn’t answer after a couple seconds, Nesta poked her head into the living room. She was still scrolling through her phone, the faintest smile on her rosy face.

“Hello? Earth to Elain?”

Silence. Nesta groaned in frustration. Rounding the overstuffed sofa, she assaulted Elain’s feet with her hands.

Elain’s entire body jerked as Nesta tickled her, pained laughs escaping her mouth. Elain was easily the most ticklish person Nesta had ever met. It made it easy to get information out of her.

“Stop!” Elain gasped breathlessly, laughing all the same. “Please!”

Nesta ceded and raised her hands up in surrender. Elain scrambled off the couch and narrowed her eyes.

"What the hell, Nesta?”

“I was calling your name for a good five minutes,” Nesta crossed her arms. She nodded her head at Elain’s phone. “Anything interesting?”

Elain’s cheeks flushed, and Nesta gasped.

“Is it a guy?” Her voice was threatening. Nesta had always been protective over Elain.

“A guy? No! That’s… that’s just ludicrous. Why would a guy… I mean -"

Nesta let her sister stumble over her words with amusement. She raised a brow. “Show me what you were looking at then.”

“That’s none of your business!”

Nesta gave her no warning as she leaped at Elain.

Elain squealed in surprise, trying her best to deflect Nesta's tickling. They wrestled on the couch, Elain trying desperately to get her phone out of Nesta's reach. But Nesta was taller and stronger.

“Gerroffme -"

“Just gimme -"

“Argh!”

"Ha!" Nesta stood up and held Elain’s phone in her hand triumphantly. Elain was glaring at her from the couch, her hair sticking every which way.

Nesta looked down at the screen to see the Instagram app open. Then, she read the name of the account.

“You’re stalking Azriel?”

“No! I was just following him.”

All Nesta had to do was give her a stern look.

“Okay, fine," Elain threw her hands up. "I think he’s cute. Are you happy now?”

“No,” Nesta glowered, “I’m not happy. He’s basically Rhysand’s brother. I'm not letting another one of those boys seduce my sister.”

“Seduce?!" Elain choked. She shook her head. "They’re best friends! And what does it matter anyway?”

Nesta shot her a leveled stare. “Rhysand’s an asshole.”

“He’s just protective over Feyre,” Elain explained incredulously. “Like you are of me.”

Nesta considered that for a moment. “Touché. But if Azriel hurts you -"

“Nesta!” Elain exclaimed, an exasperated laugh leaving her lips. “We’ve barely talked. I just think he’s handsome.”

“Does Feyre know?”

That got Elain's attention.

“You can’t tell Feyre.” Elain broke out her puppy face: wide eyes, pouty lips, knitted brows. No one in history had been able to resist her puppy face. Including Nesta.

She huffed out a laugh. “I may be a bitch, but I’m not that cruel.”

Elain threw herself at her sister and pulled her into a hug. "Thank you!"

After promising Elain she wouldn't tell Feyre about her crush for the tenth time, Nesta retreated to her room. She was just about to pull out her notes when her phone buzzed in her back pocket.

I’m supposed to go on a date with this guy tonight, but I just met a hotter guy on my way home. Will you judge me if I ditch the first one?

Nesta looked at the phone number.

Amren.

She could help but let out a small laugh.

When in doubt, pick both.

Both?

Both.

Damn, Nesta, I didn’t realize how savage you are.

A couple moments later, another text came in.

Both is good.

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

tag list (let me know if you want to be tagged):

@sjmships @sleeping-and-books @sirgwaines @books-for-sure @blowing-mikey @b00kworm @wineywitch202 @drielecarla @liquifyme @gisellefigue08 @iammissstark @theoverlyenthusiasticwriter @loysydark @superspiritfestival @stardelia @sayosdreams @maastrash

#nessian #bittersweet #my writing #masterlist #nesta archeron #acotar #a court of thorns and roses

45 notes · View notes

imaginekpoplikethis · 4 years

Text

A charismatic roommate - Roomate Au - Kim Taehyung - Part 1

Henlo I’m back. Hopefully for a while. There’s a lot going on and this is one of the only ways to keep my mind off things.

Hope you enjoy

Part 1 - Here

——

Today was supposed to be a special day. An anniversary of sorts. This particular day last year you had finally sprouted wings and left your parents’ home to take on a sense of individuality, the idea of having to work for yourself driving you to experience such a stepping stone head on. You had moved into a share house situated near your university. Your new home had all the necessities needed to live comfortably. If anything, you had managed to score a deal with the house. The number of rooms came to a total of seven. A kitchen and living room combined two bathrooms and four bedrooms. The rent was a miracle and you were elated when you had initially found this place.

That was until your roommate suddenly decided to move out. This meant you were the only one living in a house that could have four other people. Your initial reaction was that of shock and then worry hit you like a truck. The owner of the share house had let you know that if no one else moved in within the next few months she was going to turn the house into ‘the cafe of her dreams’. You were sure you were not going to find any other places to live since the academic year has already started. This is precisely the reason you found yourself posting on your universities forum, looking for a potential roommate. You didn’t dare tell your parents of your predicament, fearful that they would drag you back home despite the hefty journey it would take to travel to university from their home.

Surprisingly enough, you received several replies within the first week though after much consideration you chose not to accept any. This was mainly due to the fact that you knew of these people. For example, one happened to be the captain of the swimming club and although many would die over the chance to room with such a handsome man, the rumours and his personality almost had you deleting his reply and acting as if you had never seen it. He was in no way rude but the size of his ego was simply nauseating. He even happened to be in your class and had wasted no time in trying to romance you at the beginning of the year. The memory of your encounter with him almost made you scream out loud.

Your other replies consisted of three third year girls, notorious for their partying habits, a supposedly sketchy boy from the year above and another boy in his final year. All had fallen short of your expectations and so you notified them that you were in contact with a potential roommate and would let them know if the deal fell through. Of course this was a lie but you were not about to let them know you just didn’t think they’d be appropriate roommates. Around two days after your rejections, a new candidate privately messaged you, inquiring about the bills that would need to be paid. Glancing at the name of the user, you furrowed your eyebrows in confusion.

“KT? Ah, as in Katie? That’s got to be it…”

Typing a brief but detailed reply, you hit send and stood from your seat at your desk, preparing yourself for a shower. You weren’t expecting a reply for at least a few hours so you turned off your laptop and went about your evening plans. It seemed the whole exchange had slipped your mind since you found yourself waking up the next morning and jumped out of bed at the thought of a reply. As you had expected, a reply was sitting in your inbox.

‘If its fine with you, I’d like to view the place and move in as soon as possible. Could you let me know which day is good for you?’

Smiling to yourself, you let KT know that if need be, they could visit and potentially move in tomorrow afternoonto which they quickly answered that it would be perfect for them since they didn’t have much. Thus the twenty four hour wait began. You couldn’t help the excitement that had taken shelter within you and pondered over what kind of person this ‘KT’ was. You mentally slapped yourself for not asking what their actual name was but decided you could eventually ask them tomorrow. For now you had a class to get ready for, one which you finally realised you were late for. Cursing under your breath, you decided to skip on breakfast and ran straight to the bathroom, brushing your teeth and rushing back out to gather your belongings. Quickly fixing your appearance at the hallway mirror, you eventually left your apartment and began your rush to your university.

Finally Friday... this was the longest week of my life.

—— You had made it to the gates ten minutes late with a few other students also rushing to their classes. Fortunately for you, your lesson took place in a lecture room at the front of the campus so not much more time would be wasted. A text suddenly came in and you glanced briefly at your phone screen, noting it was from your friend Iris Inquiring about where you were. Deciding against replying back as you were bound to see her in less than a minute, you trudged to the door, ready for the walk of shame to your seat. As you were going over the different apologies you could make to your lecturer you failed to notice the boy beside you slightly panicking. It was the sudden hand on your wrist that brought you back to your senses and your startled eyes came into contact with the glass door inches from your face.

“Whoa, great timing! I’m truly impressive.” You snapped your eyes to the boy who had saved you from a day of embarrassment, a grin plastered on his face.

“It’s too early in the morning to be walking into doors, haha.” Your face flushed and you let out a huff of amusement whilst quietly taking him in. He was quite handsome, probably the most handsome person you had come face to face with in a while. He also seemed to be fairly charismatic if his overly joyful attitude this early in the morning was anything to go by.

“Thank you… I can’t even begin to explain how embarrassing that would have been.” A small, appreciative smile spread on your lips and his grin only widened.

“Don’t worry about it, it happens to the best looking of us!”

Now you were slightly lost.

“You mean the best of us?” He stopped for a moment and just stared at you in confusion.

“Wait, it’s not what I just said? Is that why the old lady laughed at me the other day?”

As you tilted your head in even more confusion, an alarm startled the both of you and he grabbed his phone out of his pocket, eyes widening drastically at the sight displayed to him.

“No, I’m gonna be super late!” That seemed to snap you back into reality and you prepared to head into the building when he turned around and ran straight into the door. The sound seemed to echo throughout the mostly empty campus and you couldn’t help but feel second hand embarrassment.

The boy didn’t turn around, just exhaled slowly and opened the door, halting only to hold it open for you and then he was off.

He’s got one heck of a personality, I’ll give him that…

——

“He actually smacked into the same door he saved you from? Sounds like a sacrifice to me… but seriously how does that happen? That’s the kind of stuff that only happens in fiction, not real life.”

You were currently eating lunch with Iris, both of you having no more lessons for the day, and you had just finished filling her in on your encounter with the boy from earlier that morning.

“Maybe this is fiction and we’re in a book.”

Iris looked at you as if you had grown two heads.

“Just kidding but trust me, it happened. I had enough second hand embarrassment for both of us.”

Noticing you both had finished your respective lunches, you gathered the rubbish from the tables and stood, Iris following suit.

“I can imagine... Well at least he’s cute. You probably should’ve gotten his number.”

You scoffed at the idea of asking a boy for his number.

“Me? Ask for someone’s number? If I didn’t know any better I’d say you’re a stranger or something. You know I don’t have the social skills to do that.”

Iris’ laughter had a small smile spreading on your face.

“I know, I know. I really I wish I was there, I could have gotten it for you.”

“Nah, it doesn’t matter. I’ll probably never see him again. Anyway I need to get home and clean the house before ‘KT’ comes tomorrow.”

You both stopped to bid farewells, stepping in for a quick hug.

“Right! Tell me how it goes. I wanna know who this ‘KT’ person is.”

“Will do.”

——

You couldn’t help the nervous jitters that wracked your body as you waited for your potential new roommate. It was already twenty minutes past the initial time you had decided to set up the room viewing and ‘KT’ had yet to appear. You had in fact messaged them ten minutes prior and the lack of reply had you worried something may have happened. Despite your thought process, you didn’t want to jump to conclusions and actually call them. At least not yet. Speaking to strangers over the phone wasn’t really your strongest social skill so you normally tried to avoid doing just that. However, as the minutes waiting began to increase, you hesitantly reached for your phone, quickly going over the ways you could explain the sudden call if they happened to pick up.

Just as you unlocked your phone, a rhythmic knock on your door made you jump up from your seat and shuffle towards it.

“Finally, I was really starting to freak out.”

Mumbling under your breath, you placed your hand on the doorknob and eagerly

opened the door. A petite girl stood before you, a look of surprise adorning her round face.

“Um... hi. Are you viewing the room?”

You cursed yourself for letting your anxiousness seep into your voice but she didn’t seem to notice, to your immense relief.

“I’m actually here for a housewarming party but I guess this is the wrong place...”

She pulled out her phone and unlocked it, glancing up at you somewhat apologetically.

“Er... if it’s not too much trouble could you help me find this place?”

Nodding, you took a look at the address she had pulled up on her phone and stepped out to better direct her.

“If you turn this corner, the place you’re looking for is the second building.”

She shot you an appreciative smile.

“Thank you so much! Have a great rest of the day.”

Smiling back at her, you nodded and reciprocated her farewell before turning back into the house. Just as you were about to close the door, a voice called out to you.

“Wait! I’m here and I’m sorry I’m late but I’m here!”

Releasing a sigh of relief, you swung the door back open and stepped back out, only to collide with a body and fall to the ground.

“Ah! I’m so sorry, I didn’t think you would step completely out... Wait, I know you!”

Yeah right, I don’t know anyone this chaotic.

Lifting your head to get a good look at the wrecking ball that was ‘KT’, your eyes widened when they made contact with the same boy from yesterday. The first thing you could think to do in this current situation was blurt out whatever came to mind and apparently he had the same idea.

“You’re the cute girl who almost walked into the door!”

“You’re the pretty boy who ran into the door!”

Both of you slapped your hands over your mouths, a deep red spreading over your faces.

I can’t believe this sh-

——

You found yourself sitting in front of ‘KT’, also known as Kim Taehyung, two cups of coffee set in front of you both as you waited for him to give his final impressions of the share house.

“Woah! So you have this whole house all to yourself? It’s awesome!”

“Not really, I’m actually meant to be rooming with at least two other people hence the term share house. My last roommate bailed on me and the owner of the house can’t really run this place with one person living here.”

He nodded in understanding, his smile gradually growing.

“So in total... five people can stay here?”

“Yeah, as you saw there are three rooms for one person each and one room with two beds.”

“Cool! I haven’t heard of many mixed share houses... are there any rules?”

Besides the obvious rules such as not entering a room that isn’t yours without permission you could only think of one.

“Not really any special ones except there’s no mixed rooms. So you either have to share with a guy or pick the single room.”

“That’s fine. I think I’ve made my decision.”

He began to drum his hands on the table, imitating a drumroll. You couldn’t help the giggle that escaped you due to his goofy attitude. He enthusiastically pointed his thumb at himself and gave you a close eyed boxy grin.

“Say hello to your new roommate! I mean... if that’s fine with you, haha.”

A grin almost as wide as his own plastered itself on your face.

“That’s absolutely fine with me. So are you bringing stuff over today?”

“Yep! My friend is bringing stuff over in his car later tonight. So I’ll be done moving in by tomorrow afternoon.”

Standing from your seat, you grabbed the empty cups and made your way to the sink.

“Great. You should probably go and talk to the house owner. She has spare keys and a contract you need to sign. Don’t worry she’s sweet.”

“Will do! Thank you Y/N, you’re really kind.”

Your cheeks burned with the compliment.

“Thank you Taehyung, you too.”

——

28 notes · View notes

liquor-and-intellect · 5 years

Text

Clouded- Part 3

In which Jules might or might not have feelings for her best friend, Harry, who is getting engaged to another girl and everything just becomes… more complicated.

friends to lovers to enemies to lovers- it’s complicated

PART THREE

Somehow, someway, something is going to happen and the universe will fall back into place.

Jeff's words continued to ring through my head, pulling me back to the place I had tried so hard to get away from.

He didn't know how utterly wrong he was.

I pushed the glossy engagement party invitation as far away as my kitchen table would allow. I couldn't look at it anymore. It was everything I wanted for Harry and then everything I didn't want to happen and it crushed and burned my heart into a million pieces.

Running my fingers through my hair, I took a small sip of the peppermint tea I had brewed, remembering my mum swearing how it could sooth any aching stomach and nausea. I didn’t know if it was my heavy anxiety or if I was coming down with the flu, because I felt as if I was falling apart at the seems.

When did my life take this turn?

Because now I was alone, crying over a fucking party invitation for my used to be best friend's engagement party, while I was dabbing my damp forehead from sweat in the middle of December.

The ringing of my phone caused me to startle. I assumed it was Jessica, calling to chew my ass out for abandoning them last night at the bar. Preparing for an argument, I pushed the tears off my face and reached to grab it.

“Hello?” my voice sounded wounded and battered, everything I was trying not to be at the moment.

“How are you?” the familiar satin voice eased its way through my ears, still sending butterflies into my abdomen and still making me feel as if all I had was this middle school crush.

I swallowed. Deciding to push away all memories of the past three and a half weeks along with the bundle of feelings and words that had been said and focus on his single question.

How are you?

For two minutes— just for two minutes— that was 120 seconds and not even a quarter out of my empty schedule. I wanted to pretend nothing happened and just talk to Harry. Talk to my best friend who had held me when my family dog had passed away. The same one who ditched his date to dance with me at prom just so he could be my very first dance. The same man who when we were sixteen laid down with me on a yellow blanket underneath the stars and promised me that if he made it through on X Factor the next day he would remember a freckled face girl with unruly dark, brown hair named Julia and that he would always love her.

“I'm okay,” I whispered, tears silently making their way from the corners of my eyes, down the bridge of my nose to land on the wooden table that I was leaning on for support.

He took a sharp breath on the other line. A familiar sound that I knew came right before a sob. He had always been such a heavy crier, the beautiful, sensitive Harry Styles who cared too much about the world. He never let anyone see that side of him though. It was one of my favorite things about him.

“Can— can we just be friends?” he whispered, as if his voice was too loud the vulnerability between us would shatter. “Just for a moment,” he pleaded.

“Yes.”

I heard him swallow. “I— I want you to be with me. I can't do this— I can't do this whole 'we aren't talking' thing. I know it's going to be hard, but... Can we try to be friends again?”

It was going to be hard. Because unlike Harry, I had no one to distract me from my thoughts, feelings or memories. No one to make new emotions with that might cover up the old ones. I was done being selfish, though. He needed me.

“Yes,” I sobbed, sniffing and clenching my eyes shut. “I would really like that.”

A sigh of relief sounded through my thin phone as if the weight of the world had just been lifted. “We—we'd have to do things differently though,” he murmured. “Maybe... maybe not hanging out alone too much?”

I swallowed. “Yeah. Yeah I agree.”

“Okay,” he breathed. “okay, yeah.” Obviously, he hadn't planned to get this far into the conversation with me—I didn't either.

“I'll be there,” I told him. “at the engagement party tomorrow night.”

“Thank you,” he whispered. “it really means a lot.”

I nodded, knowing he couldn't see me. But words were too much right now and all I wanted to do was sit in the comfortable silence of knowing he was on the other end of this phone line somewhere.

“Are you feeling better?” he asked. “Do you need anything?”

“I'm okay. I'm fine.” I didn’t want his worrying. I’m afraid if I admitted to him that I wasn’t fine and I didn’t think I would ever be again, his sympathy for me would be too much to bear. It would push my thoughts places they didn’t mean to be and confuse things even more for me.

When I heard Elaine's voice in the background, calling him to another room, I knew then that we had talked for too long. We needed baby steps. And it was going to take a lot of effort.

“I'll let you go,” I told him.

“Jules-” he broke off, rethinking what he was going to say and then releasing a sigh. “Okay, yeah. I'll see you tomorrow then.”

And he hung up.

***

Later I was in my small bathtub, the clock slowly ticking past two in the morning. My body was so worn down and tired while my mind was awake and alert, not stopping to let me have a moment of peace.

I hugged my knees to my chest not sure where to go next.

I think I was going to skip classes tomorrow. With the engagement party that night I knew I needed to save up my energy in preparation. There was no way I could go a full day of lectures and then drag myself there, I would crumble.

First, I needed to take some medicine for my stomach. In an effort to clean my life up a bit, I couldn’t have random bursts of vomiting.

Maybe it was my time of the month?

I grabbed my phone from the floor beside the tub, scrolling through my calendar. It was supposed to be last weekend. That had been a week and a half after Harry and I...

“No,” I laughed sarcastically. There's no way, there is no fucking way.

That might not even be the problem. I could just generally be late. All I needed to do was go to sleep and worry about it in the morning. It was too late for this.

Pushing my hands through the water, I pushed a finger to my stomach. Was I getting fatter?

After I had climbed out of the tub and pulled myself into my bed, I knew sleep was not going to come with this on my mind. My nerves were on edge at just the thought.

I pulled my body out from under the comforter, yanking sweatpants up my legs and sliding my shoes on. There was a gas station down the road, it would take twenty minutes at the most to purchase a pregnancy test and get back to my place with my sanity intact.

Grabbing a hooded sweatshirt, I walked outside, the eerie London night fog swimming around me. I kept my head down and my hands in my pockets as I walked down the sidewalk.

The corner store was lit up, the clerk behind the counter with her feet on the desk and looking anything but happy to see me. I felt the same way.

Obviously I had never done this before, I reminded myself as I walked down the family and life planning aisle. I remember going with my friend in high school to buy her one but neither of us had any idea what we had been doing. Which one worked the best? Which one was more accurate?

I wasn't sure so I grabbed four boxes of an assortment of each one. They had to have a general answer between them, right?

Maybe later when my rib cage wasn't about to explode from heart palpitations I could easily look back on this moment and laugh at how hysterical I looked purchasing four different pregnancy tests with half-wet hair and stained sweat pants at 3 a.m.

On my way out the clerk gave me a sympathetic look and a “have a goodnight”. I didn’t want her sympathetic eyes on me, so I ignored her and walked home.

When I arrived at my apartment, it took me three tries to open just the first package from my shaky hands. This was not where I would have pictured myself tonight when I had decided to go to the club with Lauren and Jessica. But how had I not thought of it? We hadn’t used physical protection besides the trusty pull-out method. Which in the moment had been hot but now-

My blood was pumping in my ears when I looked down to the first test in my hands. Positive, it read. It was positive.

Releasing a shaky breath, I pulled out the next one. Maybe the first one was defected.

The second read positive as well. The two lines taunting me from the counter.

I hung my head as I checked the third and the fourth. Of course, they were tainted with the two thick blue lines.

I felt tears brimming my eyes. There was no way this could be happening. Hundreds of thoughts raced through my head, all of them eating at me from the inside as I suddenly felt fatigue catching up with me.

I will just deal with this in the morning. This can all wait until I've had at least four hours of sleep.

Pushing myself up from the bathroom floor, I dragged my feet to my bed and tried to calm my racing heart.

…

There was a brief moment when I woke up where everything felt fine. My eyes had just opened to the sunlight leaking through the blinds and I felt good. It only lasted a moment until the sick feeling eased its way up my throat—an invisible hand choking me as I remembered the events of last night.

The dread set in and I knew before even having to look on the bathroom counter that I was pregnant and from here on out everything in my life was going to be different.

Not that it already wasn't. Harry was getting married and we had formed this “almost friendship” after everything that had happened. And Harry-

Harry. This was his baby. He had a right to know but...

But.

The engagement party was tonight and here he was trying to make things work with Elaine.

None of it made sense. Not the timing, not the situation... There had to be something that I was missing. Some kind of sign along the way that had lit up and said, “Hey! Turn back now.”

I knew I couldn't avoid Harry. If I did then he would know something was up. But I could, however, avoid telling him for as long as needed. At least until the timing was right. Which did not happen to be at his engagement party...

I sighed and shoved my hands through my hair, wanting to crawl back into bed and sleep for another two hours.

***

Surprisingly I had made it the rest of the day without any breakdowns. It didn't feel real at the moment and maybe it was just denial that allowed me to peacefully do my hair and makeup without crumbling. Tonight, I had chosen a solid black long sleeved shirt, tucked into a sequined skirt that exposed my right thigh through a slit. With my lips stained red, I pinned my hair back into a low chignon and strapped my feet into heels. I wondered if Harry would think I looked good.

I took a deep breath and pushed those thoughts away.

I knew he was going to want to talk to me when I got there, but I felt anywhere but prepared for the fake smiled conversation that was going to come— or for the speech full of lies I had written down earlier that morning. I must really want to pull this off if I'm willing to get up in front of everyone and say how much I hope Harry and Elaine have a very nice life together. The thought alone put a pit full of guilt into my stomach.

When the taxi finally arrived, I forced myself through the front door and down the stairs trying to push thoughts of pregnancy and lying to the back of my mind.

The ball room they had rented out was packed tight with cars when I handed the taxi driver cash. The flash of cameras sounding from behind the bushes on the next block. I ducked my head as I hurriedly walked toward the front doors. No matter how secret he tried to keep it, paparazzi always seemed to get the word when Harry was going to be somewhere.

I wondered if they were really trying to keep a low profile as I took in the extravagant venue. The entry was decorated with red velvet carpet and crystal chandeliers, high heels of all kinds tapping across the floor as shimmering dresses flowed above them. It was so over the top and extravagant— just like something Elaine would want. I couldn't help thinking as I walked into the main room and took in the ice sculpture that if it had been up to him, Harry would never ask for this.

He would want something classy and intimate. Family and close friends only and maybe some red wine. Not a fucking letter S sculpted out of ice...

It took everything in me not to roll my eyes as I took in my surroundings.

Glancing around the room, I realized immediately that I didn't know anyone here. There were a few people I recognized but no one I knew well enough to walk up to and start a conversation with just to minimize my embarrassment. I swallowed and cursed myself for even showing up here in the first place.

I found my way toward the drink table, grabbing a glass of water and pushing myself by the wall. Maybe if I stayed back here no one would notice how awkward and out of place I felt.

From across the room I could see Harry already, my eyes trained to naturally find him naturally him in a crowd. He looked so nice in a fitted tux and fixed hair. His pink lips stretched into a smile as he laughed at a man I recognized from the management team. He looks so effortlessly flawless here tonight and I hated myself for bringing such turmoil into his beautiful life.

“Hey!” said a voice from my right. “Julia?”

I turned to the bright eyes of Charles, the man from the coffee shop. He had a goofy grin on his mouth, his blonde hair messily pushed out of his eyes

I laughed, what are the odds? “Yeah,” I told him. “and you're Charles from the coffee shop, yeah?”

He nodded. “What are you doing here?”

I nodded toward the area Harry had once been in. “Friend of the groom.” I grimaced. “You?”

“Elaine's very distant cousin who just couldn't pass up a party invite,” he said with a smirk on his face. “But we actually haven't talked since we were maybe thirteen.”

I laughed. Seriously, how intertwined could she get her bony fingers into my life?

“You know,” he told me. “I really would have called you the next day, but an hour after you left I dropped my phone into a puddle on my way to my flat.”

I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, yeah. It's alright, spare my heart the details,” I said lightly, clutching a hand to my chest.

He chuckled and turned to face me all the way. “No, seriously. I had to get a new phone so you should really put your number into this one.” Verifying his statement, he slid his black iPhone out of his blazer pocket. “Here, I swear I won't screw this one up.”

I shook my head with a smile on my face. What was the harm?

After he put his phone away, I glanced up to meet eyes with the one person I was hoping to avoid this evening. My heart clenched on contact and I tried to secretly push negative thoughts toward him in hopes he would turn around and not be making his way over here. I know we had agreed to attempt this “friend” thing but I wasn't exactly prepped and primed to go through with it.

“Can you do me a favor?” I whispered suddenly to Charles who had been taking a long sip of his champagne chute.

He cocked an eyebrow to me.

“I know this is strange, but can you please pretend to be my date for five minutes?” I asked, seeing Elaine's curly hair bobbing toward us in the crowd with Harry's arm in her grip.

A large smile grew onto Charles' face suddenly and he tilted his head toward me. “I'd be delighted,” he replied. “I was Peter Pan in my school play.”

As soon as I stepped closer to him in attempts to look like we knew each other more, Harry and Elaine approached looking like the star couple they were.

“Julia!” she greeted too enthusiastically. “I am so glad you showed up.”

“How could I not?” I asked over the rim of my glass.

As I took a sip of my drink, I could see the green eyes of Harry focused on me through the distortion of the glass. I knew it was wrong to make him jealous, but I had too many emotions blowing around me to actually think straight.

“Wait,” she said, putting a manicured hand to her lips and I couldn't help but notice the glistening diamond on the top of her ring finger. “You two know each other?”

Before I could reply, I felt an arm slink around my waist, pulling me to his side. “Yeah weird isn't it?” Charles said. “We've been hanging out for the past couple of weeks and then we both got the same invitation to this engagement party and realized it was such a small world. We thought we might as well go together, isn’t that right?” He glanced at me.

My lips were slightly parted, still in shock that he had just saved my hide. I could seriously cry tears of joy for him right now.

“That's good,” Elaine said, nodding her head slowly. “Harry and I have always been hoping Julia would one day find someone, isn't that right?” She turned toward him and I took the moment to actually look at his frigid posture.

Harry's jaw was clenched as his eyes focused on me, his bottom lip so minutely sucked into his mouth it was barely noticeable. “Yeah,” he replied, halfheartedly. His voice sounded strained and pulled taut like stretched rubber bands. “Always hoping.”

I removed my eyes from him, ignoring the sting that immediately lodged itself in my heart. What did he think he was doing? We were supposed to be trying out this “friend” phase and now he has the decency to be rude?

“Sorry,” I said, my eyes trained on him and my voice icy to my own ears. “I guess I was just holding out for that one person, you know?”

His eyes locked with mine and I felt the chills all the way down to my toes. This was a side of him I've never experienced before. Never had I been on the receiving end of such a loathing look from the sweetest man I had once known.

Before I could swallow my emotions and look away, I heard Elaine clap her hands suddenly together.

“Well,” she said, her voice high pitched. “I guess we should get this toasting started. Julia would you like to start us off?”

I broke our gaze to snap my eyes to her, finally thankful- for the first time- to hear her voice.

I cleared my throat. “Yeah, sure.” And followed her over to the stage where she handed me a microphone.

Honestly, with my new-found anger at Harry, I didn't want to voice the lines I had once planned to say. I knew sooner or later that it was going to happen, I couldn't stop the inevitable. Harry didn't know this, but I had begun a slow dig of my own grave with him. If anything I might as well start to redeem myself before I hit the bottom rocks.

I took the microphone from her perfectly manicured hand and stepped up on the platform to look out at the dazzling audience, theirs eyes eating away at my jittery skin.

“Hello, everyone,” I said, my voice bouncing off the walls around me, enveloping me into a choking hold where I could feel the suffocation as I plastered a fake smile on my face. “I hope you are having a lovely evening.” I cleared my throat, running through the lines in my head.

“Elaine asked me to give a toast tonight, since Harry has always been one of my closest friends. I felt that it would be fit to stand up here and tell you all about how he is one of the most kindest, loveliest and most forgiving human beings I have ever met.” I made point to find him in the crowd, locking our eyes and willing him to not hate me for all that I was about to do to his life. I never wanted to take away his happiness. “I do hope you find all the joy in the world, Harry,” I told him, even though he had been giving me a hateful glare only minutes ago.

I could see his deep eyes soften at my words, his eyebrows drawing together as he took in my rigid posture. We were both so hot and cold lately and the going back and forth was beginning to make me dizzy.

I cleared my throat, looking out to the crowd. “I know life is going to throw things at you, but I also know from experience that you are more than fit to handle them.” Somehow I made out the features of Jeff sitting at a table with his arm slung around the back of his wife’s chair. His lips pursed as he gazed at me, probably recalling our conversation the night before. If he only knew what had happened after he had dropped me off at my place.

“I thank God every day for people like Harry,” I continued. “And to Elaine: I hope you cherish him, because only a lucky few are able to hold such gold in this world and claim them as theirs.” I released a long breath, raising my glass in the air. “So, let's have a toast for Harry and Elaine-” I inwardly cringed “-and for their many years to come. To Harry and Elaine.” I took a sip of my water, hoping to wash down the bile in my throat and the lies that were slowly consuming me.

The crowd repeated me as I set down the microphone, hoping to find a bathroom before I had a mental breakdown. This was all wrong. What kind of low have I sunk to? I had always hoped when I had to speak at my best friend's wedding, I would be able to stand up and not feel like I was about to vomit up the truth. I wasn't supposed to be standing there speaking lies as I was secretly pregnant with his baby and no one knew but me.

Everything was wrong. So, so wrong...

I walked through the thread of guests, finding the long hallway that led to the bathroom. I couldn't be within such a choking crowd right now because it would only suffocate me.

As soon as I started down the deserted corridor that led to the bathroom a voice sounded from behind me.

“Julia!”

Turning I saw Jeff jogging toward me, his eyes wide and bright and his coat waving softly at his sides. I was too stunned that he had come after me to move toward him at all, taken away by his rushed appearance. He grabbed my wrist, looking around before pulling me behind him as he walked further down the hall where we wouldn't be seen.

“What happened?” he asked, slightly breathless as he furrowed his eyebrows at me.

I knew exactly what he was talking about. “He called me last night and we had agreed to be friends, but then he was being such a jerk when I showed up-”

He sighed, obviously aggravated with me. “Maybe because you showed up with another man.”

I shook my head. I knew what I had done was wrong, but he was getting married, so I was clearly justified. “It wasn't like that,” I told him. “I have only talked to Charles once and he was the only one here I knew so we just stood by each other.”

He threw his hands up. “Well, did you tell Harry that?”

I crossed my arms. “No.”

He mocked my posture. “So you did it to— what? Make him jealous?”

I rolled my eyes, he was making me feel like such a child. I couldn't handle this right now. “He's getting married, I don't see what the big deal is.”

Jeff groaned, running his hands down his face. “You two just keep going backwards when you finally make some progress,” he mumbled into his palms.

My fingers fumbled with the hem of my dress as I looked down, my lips being pulled into my mouth. He was so completely right that it hurt. Everything with Harry was beginning to look so hazy and I felt my eyes starting to mentally cross from trying to focus constantly.

“It doesn't matter anyways,” I whispered, my eyes trained on the floor. My voice was so low that I wasn’t sure he would hear me. “I've already messed everything up as it is and it's only going to get worse from here.”

His eyes narrowed at me, yet he didn't miss a beat.

“What do you mean...?” he said slowly as if he was treading on the thin ice that was hiding everything I didn’t want to admit.

I swallowed and tried to avoid his minimizing gaze. “Nothing,” I mumbled, shaking my head. “I'm going to go. I shouldn't have come in the first place.” I turned to walk away but his hand landed on my arm, my body stopping in its tracks.

“Julia,” he whispered from behind me, his voice barely audible. “don't think I haven't noticed what is going on.”

I pivoted slowly to look at him, my gaze finally locking onto his hazel eyes. My heart was beating erratically in my chest.

“You know what I mean,” he said.

I nodded slowly. He was catching on.

“Are you pregnant?” he murmured, his eyes softening and these worry lines taking root in his forehead.

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, my vision became watery as I let out a small nod followed by a gasping sob. The tears streamed down my face as I finally let myself feel the truth like a punch to the gut.

He didn't say anything else, but pulled me forward into his embrace, wrapping his arms tightly around my shaking shoulders. My body trembled as I pressed my face into his chest, wishing that the one person who couldn't be presented with this news was the one comforting me.

“When did you find out?” he whispered into my hair, his lips grazing the tips of my ear.

I inhaled a shaky breath. “Very late last night.” My voice was so foreign to my ears it hurt.

“I don't want to ruin his life,” I sobbed, burying my ashamed face further into him. Never in my life would I have though that I would be in this situation with Jeff. That he would oddly be the one to hold me as I collapsed in on myself.

He shook his head against me. “You won't,” he murmured, his hand running soothingly up and down my back. “But the longer you wait, the more it's going to hurt him, you understand that, right?”

I let our another chest rattling sob, sniffing and nodding against him. “I know,” I cried. “I know.”

…

The next day was harder.

After I had finished crying on Jeff's shoulder, I told him I needed to be alone and declined his persistent offers to drive me home. It had been a long day and I needed time to sit and reflect on everything. Which isn’t what happened when I closed the door of my apartment that night. I crawled up on my couch, turned the TV on as loud as it would go and drowned out any thoughts I might have had on Harry or pregnancies.

The next morning, I pushed the positive test strips away, deep into a bathroom drawer, because having them out on the counter to remind me was not helping with the emotional distress I was experiencing. I cleaned my living room and swept my kitchen, putting every piece of dirty laundry into the hamper that I could find and busied my shaking hands until I eventually found myself breathless against the kitchen counter.

I had tried my best not to think of everything today but as the time hit four o'clock, I felt all of it began to slither to the front of my mind. I had never looked for Harry's reaction yesterday after my speech. Was he relieved? Mad that I would say those things? Embarrassed? Had he thought that Charles and I were together? Which shocked me ever more if he could think that, because as it looked now, I don't think I could ever move onto anyone else after that single night with him.

But all of it came to a halt when I began to allow all the things that I needed to get straight run through my head. I was pregnant. The fact never hit me until now that I would need to set up doctor's appointments, how would I support a child while I was still in college? I had worked and saved for two years out of high school just so I could focus on my studies without a job. And shit…I had to tell my parents...

What would I tell my parents? I haven't even talked to my mother since the day before Harry came to visit me for the week. We were usually in touch but I had been putting off her phone calls due to the stressful situation I had put myself into recently.

I felt my heart clenching in my chest like the time I had put myself in a panic attack when Harry was here. My vision cloudy as every piece of drama dropped itself in front of my eyes and forced my attention to it. My throat was dry and I felt the rush of hot tears on my cheeks as I struggled to grasp anything I could cling onto.

It was impossible to hear anything as a rush soared into my head, shaking my ear drums and rattling my brain. I felt the constricting push on my chest as my kitchen seemed to be smaller and smaller in my vision, the walls pressing against my sides. My life was such a mess.

Harry's P.O.V

My hands clenched the steering wheel of my car as I sped down the busy college street. I had rehearsed everything I was going to say in my head throughout recording this morning. My mind solely on Julia and how incredibly frustrated she made me. She showed up to my own engagement party with her new lame-ass boyfriend and then had the decency to get on stage and tell me how she thinks I deserve all the happiness in the world?

She was so fucking infuriating it made me see red.

As soon as I saw her walk into the ball room last night, my vision was immediately taken over by how strikingly beautiful she looked in a classy black dress with blood red lips. Her presence filling the entire room—and I swore every eye had been on her and the way she held her head so cocky and completely innocently at the same time. When I saw the men in their fitted tuxes eye her up hungrily, I had immediately wanted to run over to her, grab her and pull her away from the sticking gazes of people I had only met once. I wanted to wrap her away from the rest of the world and let her fold herself into my arms the way only she could.

But I couldn't. Never in my life could I claim her as my own. Even if circumstances were different and I didn't feel myself being torn completely in half, I knew that I could never fully say that she was mine. I've known this from the day I recognized the way her blue eyes sparkled in the sun or how she would find herself spinning with her arms outstretched for no reason in particular. Julia had too much soul for this world. Her spirit couldn't be held to someone like me.

I think what frustrated me the most was that in some odd way I thought her feelings for me had been deeper than that. Deeper than pushing me to the side and finding someone new without a second thought. I knew I had no right to hope she would spend days crying after we decided to be just friends, when I was the one getting married... But I didn't know I would just be shoved to the side like that.

I was being irrational; I know that. But this whole situation was irrational and the only way to fend for yourself in an irrational world was to be irrational right back to it.

I parked my car in front of her apartment, not giving a second thought before I stomped up the steps to land in front of her door. It had been too long since I'd been here.

When I knocked there had been no reply and I suddenly felt stupid for thinking that she would be home this evening. She might be at classes or the grocery store or maybe even with that Charles guy…

I huffed and knocked louder this time, my fist rattling the thin door. There was no way I was going to leave today without talking to her. All these unsaid thoughts and emotions were floating between us and it was time for open-ended sentences to finally have a close.

Five minutes later she still hadn't answered. Desperately, I pulled my phone out, the familiar sound of her voice telling me she couldn't answer and to call back shortly. Which was unlike Julia, she always had her phone on her and if she couldn't get to it she was sure to call you back.

I rang her a couple more times after that, worry starting to set itself in the pit of my stomach when she didn't pick up any of the times. Jules always told me I was a worrier and I needed to not be so paranoid all the time but something didn't feel right...

With the phone pressed to my ear on my fifth call to her, I banged my fist loudly against the door frame again, taking note that her bike was indeed out on the porch so she had to be here...

“Julia!” I shouted, hoping if she was in there she could give me some indication that she was okay.

Wiggling the door knob—with that annoying creak— the door opened.

“Seriously,” I muttered and walked past the threshold where my ears immediately picked up on the choking sounds coming front the kitchen.

I heard a crash as I dropped my phone on the ground, my feet unconsciously running through the doorway where I saw her.

It was like the time I had walked in on her having a panic attack almost a month ago. It had been one of the scariest moments of my life to see someone I cared about so much be so vulnerable to her own mind. It felt close to impossible to pull her out of herself and draw her back to reality. I've never experienced anyone going through that before, but I knew Jules enough to at least attempt to help her through it.

Right now, her body had collapsed in on herself. Her knees on the tiled floor as one hand clutched her chest and the other grasped desperately onto the counter above her as if to hold on to it for life. Tears streamed down her face as she sobbed between the heavy breathing coming from her mouth.

“Jules,” I breathed, not even hesitating before I threw myself down on the floor beside her, wrapping one of my arms around her, the other pulling her head into my chest. “It's me,” I told her when I noticed her flinch from my touch. “Harry, your best friend. I'm here, listen to me breathe.”

She took in a shuddering breath as I inhaled with her, my hand pressing gently down on her back to pull her more to me. “Breathe out,” I exhaled, her breathe blowing across my chest where her cheek was pressed.

Her breathing became more even and the tears eventually stopped, her shaking body becoming limp in my arms as she leaned onto me as if I was her lifeline. And for the moment, with everything in me, I wished I was.

…

Julia’s POV

My thoughts had drowned me.

Filling my ears, my nose, every pore of my skin as I was pulled under by their violent waves. By their endless stream of words and taunting sentences and confusing riddles, so many question marks and so many abrupt ends.

It was like I had been in my own world, alone and scared and soaking wet from the tide. When out of the darkness were arms and they were wrapping around me and I felt a familiar pillow under my head. My ear tuned into their heartbeat and the steady melody that pulled me from the daze. I was being resuscitated.

“Just breathe.” The words rode out on an exhale. Filling my lungs for me as if he could literally restore the oxygen I desperately wanted back into my blood.

I followed his command, feeling my heart slow down its violent thrashing and resume a less harmful beat. The ringing in my ears dying as I focused on his deep voice and the way his tongue would dig beneath each syllable to draw it up again. Such a drunken way, I felt, hanging onto his every word.

“Harry?” I whimpered, knowing the way I was being held and the smell of him. But not fully believing he could really be here. He shouldn't be, at least. Not when I've pushed him away so much.

“Shh.” His breath fanned across my face as his hand gripped the fabric of my shirt as if to pull me closer. “Just rest for a moment.”

Here we were sitting on the kitchen tiles. Harry on his knees as he held my dead weight, tears leaving stains on my cheeks as I fell completely against him. I was too tired to hold myself now, too many things were weighing me down.

“You don't need to talk right now,” he said, his voice groggy like pebbles and slightly shaking. “so just hear me out, okay?”

I nodded, burrowing deeper within his arms so he couldn't see all the thoughts painted on my forehead that I was too exhausted to hide.

“I was really mad at you. That's why I came over,” he whispered. “I was mad that you brought a date to my engagement party and then got up on that stage and said all of those things that made me feel like the worst person in the world.”

My eyebrows came together.

“Don't make that face,” he scolded with a small smile in his voice. “you knew exactly what you were doing.”

A weak grin pulled at the corners of my mouth.

“You, Jules Lovewick, are the most taunting human being on the planet,” he mumbled, his chin resting on the top of my head. “you can put any man on his knees.”

My arms around him tightened, my chest doing a strange flip at his words. “That's not true,” I murmured because while he was on his knees physically for me, he wasn’t emotionally.

I felt him swallow and I knew that we were treading on minefields at the moment.

“I wanted to come over here and just yell at you. I wanted you to feel all the bitterness that I was feeling,” he said.

I felt a lump in my throat. He was right, I made him feel horrible. I deserved everything that he was about to throw at me. It was my fault we were in this situation.

“Harry, I'm so sorr-” I started.

“Don't,” he cut me off, his head lightly shaking back and forth. “You don't need to tell me you're sorry because I'm sorry. We need to get pass this because I obviously can't live without you somehow in my life.” His voice dropped, “I need you, Jules.”

My lungs released a gust of a breath that had been patiently waiting in my chest to be let go.

“And you make me so angry sometimes,” Harry continued. “so-so infuriated. A man that I never knew I could be. But that's okay because that means I feel alive.”

I closed my eyes, heartbeats dropping like rocks at his confession. It was everything I wanted to hear.

“So, that's what I'm doing now, I guess. Laying everything out on the table,” he murmured. “I'm ready to start new and be honest with each other. I just want to be friends again.”

Honest. He wanted to be honest.

“Harry...” I tried to find words, my mind mentally grasping for anything to say. I had to tell him, I had to, but I didn't know how.

“I want to be friends too.” My mouth spoke for me and I cursed it for the lies it told. That wasn't what I wanted to say at all.

He let out a sigh, pulling me closer for two seconds before releasing me. His hands holding my shoulders back so he could examine my face. “Thank you,” he said. “I know it's going to be hard. But I need you. I'm sorry it took me so long to realize that.”

I put my head back onto his chest, closing my eyes. I wanted to inhale this moment, breathe it in, write it down, tattoo it onto the alleys of brain. Moments like these, I knew, wouldn't last long. Sooner or later, guilt would swallow me and I would have to return to a sharp reality where it would cut me open for everyone to see. Choking back my words, I leaned into him. Just for a few more seconds, I told myself, just for a few more.

join my tag list

yell at me bc you love my story?

yell at me because you hate my story?

thank you to everyone who has sent me nice comments! They really make it so worth it to go through my fifteen year old self’s brain and edit this piece of work. Let me know what you think!!! Part 4, coming soon :)

read part 4

taglist:

@harryspirate @hope-its-worth-it @ednaofearth @whipthemcurls @1d-tommo5

#Harry Styles #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles imagine #harry fanfic #fanfic #fanfiction #harry ff #friends to lovers #harry angst #imagines #harry styles imagines #clouded

44 notes · View notes

minerva--mcgee · 4 years

Note

19 please

LOVE THIS QUESTION. I have BLESSED in my life with many great educators! I’ll talk about a few of them. This answer is going to be WAY longer than necessary, but this made me realize how much I miss my old teachers and how much they did for me.

High School

Mr. O’D - AP Lang, 11th grade. What a guy. A 6′5″ Middle Eastern man who loved death metal, poetry, speaks Russian, and hates the patriarchy. I was in the 11th grade during that fateful 2016 election, and I had his class first thing in the morning the morning after. He walked in ten minutes late, walked to the front of the class, and stared at us in silence. After a few minutes of us simply staring at each other, he suddenly bursts out into a long, tangental rage in Russian, with English words such as “orange” and “c*nt” popping out every few seconds. After he was done, took a few deep breaths, and sat down at his desk with his head down for the rest of class. Also, my friend group in this class (and for the whole year, really) was myself (a lesbian) and three trans guys. A few weeks into the school year after he got to know us a little bit, he brought his guitar to class and told us we had inspired him to write a song. He sang a song about coming out to your parents and the whole class was crying. He’ll always have a really special place in my heart.

Mrs. E - Oceanography, 12th grade. One of the smartest people I’ve ever known in my life. Told me in the 12th grade that we were overdue for a global-scale pandemic within the next five years, and look where that got us (I am in my third year of college now.) Just a week shy of being ten years older than me, she had a masters in Marine Biology and Molecular Biology. She was one of the teachers who ran a really great field trip where we got a cabin in a state park for a weekend and walked on long hikes, and during one of those hikes, it ended up being just the two of us for a while. We had some deep talks. At one point, three large men on bikes came toward us down the path, and she pulled me close and grabbed me tightly around the arm, proclaiming “If they try to talk to us, tell them you’re my daughter!” even though I looked older than she did. She hated the class I was in, but liked me and my friends because we made her laugh, so whenever she changed the seating chart, she left us together and close to her desk. There’s another story for another time about how I accidentally got super high in front her on my very last day of high school and she did not give a fuck, if y’all want to hear that sometime.

Mrs. H - Art/Photography/Director of Theatre Club, 10th-12th grade. Oh god, where do I start with her. A hot mess. A disaster of a person masquerading as someone who has their life together. Had a baby my junior year, took over the theatre club my sophomore year. She’s the reason I started theatre. We were SUPER close when I was in high school. She let me skip other classes and come to hers, we texted, I went to her house after I graduated. She’s also the aunt of one of my closest friends. She’s absolutely batshit, don’t get me wrong, but she also talked me out of s*icide a time or two. This one is shorter because there aren’t enough words to talk about how much this woman saved me.

College

Prof MH - So many theatre classes. Also my advisor. An absolute queen. Does not take my bullshit, and I am very grateful for that, but is also a shoulder to cry on if you need her. Very quirky. Absolutely digs Shakespeare, almost annoyingly (and that’s a lot, coming from me.) No-nonsense, but still knows how to have fun. She creates such a welcoming environment in her acting classes that puts everyone at ease, but isn’t afraid to take us outside of our comfort zones. She genuinely wants to see us become better actors and better people. I know if I ever won an Oscar, she’d be the first person on her feet cheering for me.

Prof RB - I haven’t had any of her classes yet, but she’s a theatre prof, and she’s directing the show I’m currently in (we open tomorrow - eep!) She’s the kind of person that’s au naturale, she introduced me to meditating, is always talking about how healthy she eats, and has two awesome kids that I babysit sometimes. She is an absolute SAVAGE when it comes to acting notes, though. Her acting classes/productions are ... not for the faint of heart. I would die for this woman.

Prof WY - Improv/Various lecture theatre classes. AN ICON. A KING. WE STAN. Bought me dinner when we were in another state at a conference one time. Had a huge margarita. He is not afraid to say whatever the fuck is on his mind, and god damn it, he is usually right. He’s the one that you come in and are afraid of, but as you get to know the professors, you realize that it’s RB you should be afraid of ... and then later on you realize, no, I should DEFINITELY be afraid of WY. I want to spend my 21st birthday at a vineyard with this man. Randomly texts me pictures of his dogs, saying “Just poking our nose in to see how you’re doing!” Will drop everything for you in a time of need.

This was long as fuck. Educators are so under-appreciated. I would die for everyone on this list.

#ask #the hyperfixation is real #school #teachers

2 notes · View notes

manjimelody · 5 years

Text

Stress Relief

Pairing: Shicca (College AU) **This is written for my amazing friend @mautrino! Thanks for always being awesome! Hope you like it!

Rebecca sighed as she took a sip of her third cup of coffee. She was extremely tired, but she knew she had to push through and finish her paper. She mentally berated herself for procrastinating on this paper. If she had started the paper earlier, she could have been curled up in her soft and warm bed with her boyfriend instead. However, she got distracted by the release of the new Pokemon games and opted to spend her evenings playing it instead of working on her paper.

“I can do this. Only two more pages and then I can go to sleep,” she assured herself.

The sound of the bedroom door opening caused her to turn around and get a glorious view of her shirtless boyfriend sleepily rubbing his eyes.

“Hey you,” she greeted as he walked up to her and wrapped his arms around her neck.

“Bec, come to bed. It’s 1 AM and I need your warmth,” Shiki whined, resting his cheek on the top of her head.

Rebecca giggled at her boyfriend’s cute actions, affectionately patting his arm. “I just have 2 more pages left in this paper, and then I’ll come to bed.”

“You got this. I’m going back to sleep but wake me up if you need anything,” Shiki kissed the top of her head and soothingly rubbed her back.

Rebecca smiled. He was too sweet. “I will. I love you!”

Shiki winked and blew her a kiss, which Rebecca pretended to catch. “I love you too, baby girl.”

Rebecca turned back to her laptop, determined to finish her paper quickly. She furiously typed away while she listened to calming music in order to concentrate better. After a half an hour passed, she was finally finished. The blonde sighed in relief as she scanned through her paper to catch any grammar or spelling errors. After she was sure she fixed any mistakes, Rebecca hit print and stood up to stretch her limbs. She decided that she would grab her assignment in the morning since she was eager to finally go to sleep.

After putting away her empty coffee cup in the sink, Rebecca quickly threw on her pajamas and hopped into bed.

“Goodnight, darling,” Rebecca whispered, placing a chaste kiss on her beloved boyfriend’s soft lips.

Shiki hummed and sleepily opened his eyes. He grinned and wrapped his arms around her waist, resting his head in the crook of her neck. “Goodnight, baby girl.”

Rebecca closed her eyes, basking in her boyfriend’s warmth as she gave in to the wave of sleep that hit her body.

***

The blonde groaned as she felt a hand tap her cheek, swatting at it with her own hand. “Let me sleep..a little bit longer.”

“Bec, wake up. It’s almost 10:30.”

Rebecca immediately shot up, glancing at the clock in panic. He was right. It was 10:27 and her lecture started at 11.

“Oh no. Shit, shit, shit,” she smacked her hand against her forehead, realizing that she forgot to turn on her alarm before going to sleep. “I can’t be late. I need to turn in my paper.”

“Don’t worry. Just get ready and I’ll drop you off. I’ll make sure you reach on time,” Shiki assured, causing Rebecca to smile and give him a quick kiss. Shiki didn’t have a class on this day, so she would normally drive herself while he slept in. However, it takes a while to find parking so Shiki dropping her off would save her a lot of time.

“I’m glad that I can always count on you!”

Rebecca hopped out of bed and quickly grabbed the first outfit she saw in her closet before running to the bathroom. She changed her clothes, threw her wavy locks into a ponytail, and washed her face.

“Okay I’m ready,” Rebecca said as she grabbed her school bag. Shiki grabbed the car keys, and the two of them rushed out of their apartment.

“Did you get everything?” Shiki asked as they entered the car.

“Yeah,” Rebecca responded. She normally kept her bag ready the night before, so she wouldn’t have to worry about it in the morning. Luckily, the two of them lived 15 minutes from campus so she could possibly make it to class on time. She was snapped out of her thoughts when a loud growl emitted from her stomach, causing Rebecca to blush as Shiki chuckled.

“My poor girl. Didn’t get to eat 20 bowls of cereal since she overslept,” Shiki teased, causing Rebecca to playfully smack his arm.

“Shush. I don’t eat 20 bowls of cereal,” she scoffed, rolling her eyes.

“My bad. My poor girl didn’t get to eat 10 bowls of cereal,” Shiki corrected himself, laughing when Rebecca pouted in response.

“Hey! Food is delicious. Don’t make fun for me for eating a lot. I need to grow,” Rebecca defended herself.

Shiki smirked. “The only thing that’s growing is your chest.”

Rebecca crossed her arms. “Not my fault that I’m short.”

“It’s fine. You’re perfect the way you are,” Shiki’s tone softened, causing her heart to skip a beat. His sweet words never failed to make her swoon.

After a few minutes, they reached the campus. Shiki stopped the car in front of the building her class was in. It was currently 10:57 AM, so she could make it on time if she walked fast.

“Thank you so much, Shiki. You’re my savior,” Rebecca gave him a quick hug and got out of the car.

“Anytime Bec, have a good day! I’ll pick you up 4.”

“You too!”

Rebecca rushed down the hallway, sighing in relief when she finally reached the lecture hall. Thankfully the professor was busy talking to a student indicating that class did not start yet. Rebecca sat in an empty seat, and opened her bag to take out her stuff.

“Alright class. It’s time to turn in your papers. Place them on the table in an organized pile,” the professor announced. Rebecca could hear the scraping of chairs around her as the students got up to turn in their paper while she dug through her bag for her paper. She started to grow frustrated when she couldn’t find it, then she realized that she forgot to grab her paper from the printer.

“Oh shit,” she whispered. Rebecca wanted to scream. How could she have forgotten to grab her paper? It was the reason why she was rushing in the first place, and she didn’t even have it. She was screwed. The professor told them that she wasn’t going to accept the papers late unless there was an emergency. She forgot to grab her laptop too, so she couldn’t even show the professor the paper on her laptop to prove that she completed it. Rebecca got up from her seat and walked to the professor, praying that she would let her turn it in late. She couldn’t get a zero on it. The paper was worth 40% of their final grade.

“Professor,” Rebecca called out, causing the green haired woman to turn to face her. “I know you said that you weren’t going to accept the papers late, but I swear that I finished it. I just forgot to grab it from the printer. I’m so sorry, but can I please email it to you or turn it tomorrow?”

“I believe you Rebecca. You always turn in your work on time, so I will make an exception for you this time,” the professor said, causing Rebecca to smile in relief. “However, you’re still turning it in late. I’m going to have to doc 10 marks from the grade you get.”

Rebecca’s smile dropped. Ten marks was a whole letter grade. However, she was thankful that at least she wouldn’t be getting a zero.

“Thank you so much. I’ll make sure this won’t happen again,” Rebecca promised causing her professor to smile.

“Just make sure to email it to me before 8:00. I don’t check my email after that time,” the professor explained.

Rebecca nodded. “Yes I will.”

She returned to her seat, burying her face in her hands. The highest grade she could get was a B now. Rebecca was hoping she could score an A, but that chance was gone now. She would have to do well on the final to get an A in the class.

“At least I’m not getting a zero,” she repeated to herself.

After class was over, she had an hour before her next class. Rebecca decided to head to a dining hall to buy herself lunch. She hadn’t eaten anything all day. She joined the line in the dining hall and opened the small front pocket of her backpack to take out her wallet. However, it was empty. Rebecca quickly shuffled through the contents of her bag only to see that she forgot her wallet too. She felt like crying. She was so hungry and she couldn’t even buy herself lunch.

“Today is just not my day,” she lamented to herself as she left the line. Rebecca walked around campus hoping to find someone possibly giving out free food. Fortunately, one of the clubs had a table set up in the student center to advertise their club. They were giving out a bag of free popcorn to anyone who listened to why they should join their club. Rebecca listened to the club president explain the benefits of joining, feigning interest in what he was telling her. She didn’t give a damn about joining. She was just desperate to get some food.

Rebecca munched on the popcorn as she walked to her next class. It wasn’t much, but at least she was getting some food in her stomach before she went home.

***

After her other class was over, Rebecca waited outside the building for Shiki to pick her up. She was looking forward to getting home and spending some time with her boyfriend. Rebecca smiled and waved as she saw Shiki’s car approach her.

“Hi darling,” Rebecca greeted as she entered the car.

“Hey beautiful, are you okay?” Shiki asked, voice laced with concern.

“Yeah I’m fine,” Rebecca lied. She didn’t want to worry him. She was just glad that she was with him now.

Shiki didn’t look convinced. “Okay..if you say so?”

During the ride home, Rebecca listened to Shiki excitedly tell her how he beat Weisz in 10 of the 15 races they played together in Mario Kart. His enthusiasm made her feel a little better after having such a rough day. She loved that he was such an upbeat and positive guy.

When they reached home, Rebecca immediately opened her laptop to email her paper to her professor. Her professor was nice enough to let her turn in her paper in late, so she couldn’t risk possibly forgetting to send it.

“Rebecca, are you sure that you’re okay?” Shiki asked again.

Rebecca closed her laptop and smiled. “Yes I’m sure. I’m going to make dinner now. What do you want to eat?”

Shiki frowned. Rebecca knew that he didn’t believe her. He could always tell when something was off. Shiki walked up to her and wrapped his arms around her into a tight hug, causing tears to start pooling in her eyes. “You know that you can tell me anything. I’m here for you.”

“I-I’m so frustrated. Today was such a bad day. I overslept. I forgot my paper and wallet at home. Thankfully my professor let me turn it in late, but I’m still losing marks for turning it in late. I couldn’t even eat lunch. Had to settle for a bag of free popcorn. The whole universe was against me today,” Rebecca cried out while Shiki rubbed her back.

“Let it all out, Bec,” Shiki consoled as she continued to sob into his chest. “You’re an amazing person, baby girl. I love you so much. I don’t know what I would do without you. You deserve to be happy and it breaks my heart to see you in so much pain. Fuck the universe if it’s going to treat you so badly.”

Shiki’s words warmed her heart. She felt so lucky that such a wonderful guy loved her so much. “Thank you, Shiki. It feels so good to vent. I love you more.”

Shiki cupped her face in his hands and wiped away the lingering tears before passionately kissing her. Rebecca wished she could kiss him for hours, but unfortunately the need for air was an obstacle. Shiki rested his forehead against hers after they broke apart. “I love you most.”

Rebecca flashed a cheeky grin. “I love you mostest.”

Shiki laughed. “I love you mostestestest!”

“That’s not a word, silly!” Rebecca giggled, wrapping her arms around his neck. “So what do you want for dinner?”

Shiki poked her nose. “You aren’t cooking anything. We’re going to order two large pizzas, and you’re going to cuddle with me while we watch a movie together.”

“Sounds good to me!”

Shiki ordered the pizza while Rebecca grabbed a blanket from their bedroom. Shiki laid down on the couch and gestured for her to lay on top of him. Rebecca rested her head on his chest, pulling the blanket over them before wrapping her arm around his waist.

“I love you. You’re my everything, Shiki.”

“I love you too. You’re also my everything, Rebecca. Forever.”

#edens zero #shicca #rebiki #shicca ff

37 notes · View notes

fourdaysofrain · 5 years

Note

Peter like,, falling behind on his schoolwork or feeling overwhelmed with both school and spidermanning and then Tony helping him get back on track?

Oh man, buckle your seatbelts, I’m about to project onto Peter Parker.

Read on AO3

Peter let his head drop into his hands as he stared down at the worksheet on the desk in front of him. He had been doing so well with staying on top of things, but he was halfway through webbing up a mugger at the end of his patrol when he remembered he had a Spanish assignment due tomorrow.

So here he is, watching his clock tick closer towards sunrise, trying to remember the irregular preterit verbs and ignoring the bruise on the side of his face that will hopefully be gone by morning.

It’s not as if he wanted to be doing homework four hours before his alarm would go off. After the blip, there was chaos in Queens. All of the universe, really, but he was having a hard enough time focusing on his own small borough. He had to help whoever he could. A few hours less of sleep certainly wouldn’t kill him. Not when he could be using those hours to save other people’s lives.

His weekly patrols turned to twice a week, to every other day, to every evening, to whenever he wasn’t doing homework or eating. He worked on assignments in between classes and during decathlon practice. He studied for decathlon before he ate dinner. It was a delicate system, sure, but as long as he didn’t make any mistakes he would be fine.

Of course, thanks to Sr. DiPaolo, his delicate system was crashing down around him like a pyramid of champagne flutes. He knows he should just go to bed and take the zero, but he can’t stop looking at the page. He has to do this assignment. If he doesn’t, his grades will fall and he’ll never get into MIT and he’ll have to be a high school dropout and will probably end up homeless on the street selling himself for food. All because of this god damn Spanish worksheet.

He holds back a choked sob. Great, and now he’s crying as well. The words in front of him float around his head as his eyes burn. He can’t remember the last time he got a full night’s sleep. Even when he gets in bed on time, he keeps himself up thinking of the battle at the Avenger’s compound. He saw Tony die. He knows, rationally, that Tony is currently living happily at the lakehouse, still recovering from the damage the gauntlet caused. But he saw the light leave his eyes. He saw his pale (too pale, always too pale) skin flecked with blood and dust fall slack. And that’s all he sees when he closes his eyes to sleep.

Lovely stuff to think about when he’s trying not to cry.

He scratches out a shaky tuviste before jolting at the buzz of his phone on the desk. The screen proudly flashed a picture taken a few months– well, 5 years and a few months– ago of him and Tony posing with a specialized blender he made for Dum-E’s birthday. It’s Tony’s contact photo. Peter debates letting it ring and avoiding the lecture about being up too late. He sighs and answers it. He just needs to get his mind off of his homework one way or another. Even if it means he’ll be sleeping even less.

“Hey, Mr. Stark.” He hopes he sounds like he just got up, rather than like he’s holding back tears.

“Hey, kid. How are things?” Peter’s eyebrows scrunched at the tinny voice coming through the phone.

“You called me at 3am just to ask how things were?” His voice cracked when he raised it at the end of his question. Hopefully, it went unnoticed.

“Are you doing okay, Peter?” No such luck. Tony’s voice had dropped to a lower register. And he used his actual name. There was no escaping this now.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. It’s nothing superhero related, so you don’t need to worry,” Peter said as he wiped his nose, the not-crying pretense already out the window.

“Pete,” he was really not used to hearing this level of care in Tony’s voice, “I’m Tony 2.0 now. I’ve got a kid. I’m more emotionally mature, according to Pepper at least. You can talk to me. I’m all about that sappy stuff now.” Just what he needed. A reminder that everything has changed.

“Why’d you call me, then?” Peter couldn’t help but feel like a petulant child. He heard a drawn-out breath come from the other side of the call.

“I had a nightmare where you didn’t come back.” Peter freezes in his place. He was expecting a deflecting joke, not an actual answer. “We still saved the rest of the universe, but you stayed in the soul stone. Now I can handle that on my own, but I saw you were in the suit just a couple minutes ago– May and I will be talking to you about that, by the way– and I decided to give you a call.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah, oh. I care about you, kid. So what’s going on? Why are you crying in the middle of the night?”

“It’s stupid. I have an assignment due in Spanish tomorrow and I’m just starting it now. It’s not even that hard, I just can’t do it. I’m going to fail.” Peter adamantly held back the sob crawling up his throat.

“You’re not going to fail. How much is this assignment worth?” Tony’s voice was impossibly soft as he spoke.

“It’s uh– part of the homework section, which is 20% of the final grade.” He sniffed pathetically. “It’s so stupid, sorry.”

“It’s not stupid.” A pause. “Peter, is this really about the assignment? You know one missed assignment won’t change your grade. Last I checked you still have a 98 in Spanish.”

There’s a pause as Peter catches his breath. It’s really not about the assignment. The assignment is just the tip of an iceberg that’s been growing ever since he came back.

“It’s just all… so much.” Peter’s words came out quietly, as if afraid he would break completely if he spoke any louder.

“Kid, you’re 18. Or 23, depending on how the government decides to count the blip. You’re pushing yourself too hard. You’ve been patrolling every night for hours on end and still getting straight As. You need to care for yourself.”

“There are too many people out there who need Spider-Man. I can’t just let them get hurt,” Peter says as he tries to get his breathing under control. Tony waits patiently.

“Listen to me, Pete. Are you listening?” Tony waits to hear a confirmation from him before continuing. “You can’t save everyone. You’re saying that, while you’re on patrol, every person who got in trouble is in trouble because you didn’t save them. Right?”

Peter nods before remembering he’s on the phone. He mutters a quick yes.

“You’re wrong. New York’s a shitty place. People get hurt every day. You can’t blame yourself for that. If you look at it from my perspective– the right one– every person you help is safe and unharmed because of you. You’re not looking at the people you’ve saved, just the ones you didn’t. You’re setting yourself up to fail. No one can stop all crime in Queens. Not even Spider-Man.”

“I guess.” Peter doesn’t even feel upset anymore. He just feels numb. He wants to go to sleep.

“God, this must be how Rhodey felt. Back to the matter at hand: your homework.”

“I can’t do it, Mr. Stark, but I can’t miss an assignment.” Peter runs a hand through his hair and ignores the way his voice wavered.

“Alright. Executive decision time. I’m excusing you from school tomorrow. What day is tomorrow, Friday? No, not you–” Tony’s voice gets quieter as he moves away from the speaker to scold his AI.

“Yeah, tomorrow’s Friday.” Peter can feel a glimmer of amusement underneath whatever has a grip on his chest.

“Good, good. So you’re going to skip school and come to the lake house for a nice long weekend. I can work the details out with May before she goes to work. Text me when you wake up and I can send Happy over.”

“Mr. Stark, I can’t miss a day! I’ll just fall even more behind. I can’t– handle that right now.” His breath hitches as he speaks.

“Yes, you can. Bring your homework but don’t bother bringing the suit. I’ll work with you on your homework, but this is going to be a Spider-Man free weekend. We’ll just be conjugating verbs until the cows come home. You’re a smart kid, Pete. Believe me, one day off from high school won’t kill you. Overworking yourself might, though.”

Peter sighs. He knows when he’s in a fight he can’t win.

“Okay.”

“Looking forward to it. And, kid, I do care about you. Don’t be afraid to talk to me. Even if it’s not related to your sticky friend. I know it must be strange that I have a daughter now, but you’re still my kid. That’s never going to change no matter how many space-dictators try to take over the universe. You’re incredible. You just have to give yourself some slack. Now, get some sleep. I– I love you.”

Before Peter can respond, Tony ends the call. He’s left looking blankly at the phone in his hand. Well, that was new.

He’s not better yet. He has a while to go before he can feel relaxed. But, slowly, the weight on his shoulders gets a little lighter. And that night, he dreams of springtime.

Tag List:@ironfamjam @addi-is-amazing @mysterio-is-a-little-bitch

#hope you like it!#no editing we die on our first draft like men #art writes #irondad #irondad and spiderson #spider-man #spiderman #marvel #mcu #iron man

49 notes · View notes