#it's like having noise canceling headphones for a whole city block

[last-to-walk]

Music is causing conflict among our colleagues! We do not sense any of our hunter kin currently present! We have a solution to the problem! A low hum begins building beneath the sounds of daily life on the landship. The sound separates, arcs, rises to match what is already there, and inverts. The background noises of Rhodes Island; the rumble of the engines, the buzz of the electrical devices, the creaking of the metal and the whispers of the wind; cease. A localized Silence has begun.

Everything is so quiet during CC season at the dorms since everyone is out... So you know what that means...! TIME FOR SOME CLASSIC RHODES ISLAND CHAIR RACING.

[cosmogyros]

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[houseofwolvess]

oh my gosh okay so ry i REALLY want to cosplay and go to conventions but my friend who's been before always says it would be too overstimulating for me and that i would hate it the whole time so i thought i would ask you cause i trust your judgement very much: what is it like? is it very loud? what are the people and the facility like? are you enjoying yourself?

apologies for the late reply, ive been typing this on and off for a while (i only just left the con like 15 minutes ago), but it's here! woo!

okay okay okay so, this might get kinda long but i wanna be comprehensive with it so please bear with me here :') im gonna put most of this under a read more because of the length

some disclaimers beforehand: the convention im going to wasn't a huge event compared to most (not willing to share the name of it publically, but id be happy to dm it to you if you'd like to know more details about this specific con!). even though im in a capital city, it's still very manageable as far as cons go. i can't say for sure how many folks there are, but it's nowhere near as crowded as, say, a convention in chicago (or any other major city for that matter). every single one varies a lot, so your mileage may vary when it comes down to individual events. with that outta the way, onto the actual info!

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as far as noise goes, id personally say it's not incredibly loud, but im not easily overstimulated by sound so my threshold is definitely different (i enjoy and seek out loud events too so i might be desensitized). ill try my best to describe it though so you can maybe get an idea of the vibe :]

a good chunk of the kind of noise you hear is just background chatter/conversation; it sounds a lot like busy school hallways, just on a larger scale. in the case of my convention, the maker's hall/vendor's space has the loudest chatter, as it has the highest concentration of people. some vendors in the makers hall play music at their booths, which can often be loud enough to be heard over the chatter so the overlapping noise might be overwhelming. good news is that they usually allow you to bring in your own bags with whatever you'd like (as long as it's not a danger to other attendees), so if you have anything you use to block out noise, those can be brought in! also, although it's not super common, a growing number of cons have "sensory packs" or smth similar available upon request that usually include something like ear plugs/noise cancelling headphones, so you could check for that beforehand if that's something you'd be interested in.

im not sure if you have any other sensory worries, but if there are, just lmk and i can give a rundown on the situation with that too!

now, as for the experience overall? it's incredibly fun!! it's probably not for everyone, but i really enjoyed it. the staff at my convention were, generally speaking, very nice, and i can say the same for the vast majority of the attendees i interacted with! i only had one truly bad experience with someone (a creepy attendee who kept recording me while i was just waiting in line for a panel), but that's just a risk that comes with attending any public event. there will always be a few bad apples unfortunately :(

also, prepare for the possibility of having your photo/video taken by folks at the con if you're cosplaying (ESPECIALLY if you're going as a more well known character), whether that be by staff covering the event or by folks who wanna take a selfie. the overwhelming majority of people have the basic decency to ask beforehand, but it's not a 100% guarantee. i had my photo taken so many times, as well as plenty of videos (namely during the cosplay competition), so be prepared for the possibility of that happening.

as far as the building goes, the venue itself was pretty standard. my city has one major events center, so this took place in a part of the complex used almost exclusively for cons. in this case, there were two major sections of the con: the maker's hall/vendor space (which has a mix of folks selling things, promoting their groups/podcasts/etc, photo ops with groups of cosplayers from the same media, celebrity guest booths, etc), and the panel/event hall. it all looks pretty plain, with fairly generic corporate decor (outside of the personally decorated booths), but it's fun to watch super colorful and interesting characters walking around what essentially looks like a glorified office space lol. lots of conventions do have fun with the decor, but this one wasn't one of them.

this was my first time cosplaying at a convention (first time cosplaying ever, technically), so i can say for certain that it's incredibly fun! folks are generally really kind towards beginner cosplayers, and it's really fun to walk around as someone other than yourself for a while. it's really nice seeing people's faces light up when you walk by, or being stopped for compliments on your costume. i had almost exclusively good experiences while interacting with everyone, and since everyone's just there to have a good time, very few people have the audacity to be bitchy about people having harmless fun (which is super refreshing).

i know this for super long, but i wanted to cover my bases and all that. im gonna cut this off now, as it's a lot to fit into one post, but i hope this helps to a degree!! if it doesn't, then i apologize, and im chill with clarifying or elaborating on other parts of the experience if you want more info :'D

[nikhilpal64]

Family Travel Gear & Bike Rentals: A Comprehensive Guide for Your Next Adventure

Planning a family trip often involves a lot of preparation, especially when it comes to choosing the right travel gear and securing convenient bike rentals. Whether you're exploring a new city or embarking on an outdoor adventure, having the right equipment is essential for a smooth, enjoyable experience. In this guide, we'll explore how to choose the best family travel gear and what to look for when renting bikes for the whole family.

Why Choosing the Right Family Travel Gear is Essential

Choosing the right family travel gear ensures that you and your loved ones can enjoy your trip without unnecessary stress or discomfort. The right equipment keeps you organized, safe, and prepared for any situation that might arise. Whether you're traveling by car, plane, or bike, your gear should support your journey, not hinder it.

Key Considerations for Family Travel Gear

When choosing travel gear for a family trip, it's important to focus on a few key factors:

Durability: Traveling can put wear and tear on your gear. Choose items that are built to last, especially if you plan on using them frequently or in rough conditions.

Portability: Lightweight and compact gear is essential, especially if you're traveling with children or have limited luggage space.

Safety: Whether it's car seats, strollers, or bike helmets, safety should always be a top priority.

Comfort: Long journeys can be tiring, especially for kids. Make sure that your gear is designed for comfort, with proper padding and ergonomic features.

Best Travel Gear for Families on the Go

1. Strollers and Carriers

If you're traveling with young children, a sturdy and comfortable stroller or carrier is a must. Look for models that are lightweight, easy to fold, and versatile enough to handle various terrains. Consider whether you need a stroller that's compatible with an infant car seat or one that's designed for older children.

For outdoor adventures, a hiking carrier is a great option. These are designed to distribute the weight of your child evenly across your body, making it easier to carry them on long walks or hikes. Make sure the carrier is well-padded and has plenty of storage for diapers, snacks, and other essentials.

2. Travel Car Seats

When traveling by car, safety is paramount, and a good travel car seat is essential. Look for models that are lightweight, easy to install, and approved for use in multiple modes of transportation (such as cars, airplanes, and buses). Convertible car seats that grow with your child are an excellent investment, as they can be used for several years.

3. Luggage and Backpacks

Every family member needs reliable luggage. For kids, consider kid-sized suitcases that they can roll themselves. Many of these are designed with fun themes to keep children excited about their responsibilities. Backpacks are also great for kids to carry their own snacks, toys, and travel essentials.

For adults, look for carry-on suitcases with compartments for electronics, toiletries, and extra clothes. Packing cubes are another great way to stay organized and save space in your luggage.

4. Portable Entertainment and Gadgets

Keeping kids entertained on long trips is always a challenge, but the right travel gadgets can help. Consider bringing tablets loaded with educational games and movies, noise-canceling headphones to block out background noise, and portable chargers to keep everything powered.

5. First Aid and Emergency Kits

A well-stocked first aid kit is essential for any family trip. Include basics like bandages, antiseptic wipes, and pain relievers, along with any specific medications your family members may need. A small emergency kit with a flashlight, multitool, and extra batteries is also a good idea, especially for outdoor adventures.

Choosing the Right Bike Rentals for Your Family

Why Renting Bikes is a Great Option for Family Travel

Bike rentals are an excellent way to explore a new destination at your own pace. They're eco-friendly, affordable, and provide an opportunity for the whole family to stay active while enjoying the scenery. Whether you're cruising through city streets or biking along scenic trails, the right rental bike can make all the difference in your experience.

Key Factors to Consider When Renting Bikes

When selecting bike rentals for your family, there are several important factors to consider:

Bike Types: Different types of bikes are suited for different terrains. Choose from city bikes, mountain bikes, road bikes, or e-bikes, depending on your destination and the type of riding you plan to do.

Size and Fit: Make sure each family member is fitted with the right size bike for their height and weight. Many rental shops will adjust the bike for you to ensure a comfortable fit.

Safety Equipment: Don't forget to rent or bring your own helmets and other protective gear. Some bike rental shops also offer child seats, trailers, or tag-along bikes for younger riders.

Rental Duration and Pricing: Determine how long you'll need the bikes and compare prices from different rental shops. Some shops offer hourly, daily, or weekly rates, so choose the option that best fits your travel plans.

Best Destinations for Family Bike Rentals

Some destinations are particularly well-suited for family bike rentals. Whether you're exploring a new city or heading out into nature, consider these family-friendly biking locations:

Amsterdam, Netherlands: Known as one of the most bike-friendly cities in the world, Amsterdam offers extensive bike paths, making it easy to navigate with kids.

Portland, Oregon: With its dedicated bike lanes and scenic views, Portland is an excellent place for family biking adventures.

Copenhagen, Denmark: Another bike-friendly city, Copenhagen is perfect for families who want to explore without the hassle of car traffic.

Tips for a Safe and Enjoyable Family Bike Ride

To make the most of your family bike ride, keep these tips in mind:

Plan Your Route: Choose a route that is suitable for all family members, with flat terrain and minimal traffic. Use a GPS or a bike map to plan your route ahead of time.

Pack Essentials: Bring along water, snacks, and sunscreen to stay hydrated and energized during your ride.

Set a Comfortable Pace: Not everyone in the family will have the same stamina, so be prepared to take breaks and adjust your pace as needed.

Final Thoughts on Family Travel Gear and Bike Rentals

Choosing the right family travel gear and finding the perfect bike rentals can make a significant difference in the quality of your family vacation. By investing in durable, comfortable, and safe equipment, and by carefully selecting bike rentals that suit your family’s needs, you’ll ensure that your trip is both enjoyable and memorable. Whether you’re exploring city streets or tackling mountain trails, preparation is key to a successful adventure.

[mysticalbelieverprincess]

Battery Types For Bluetooth Headphones

Watching TV without disturbing others is a big problem for our company. I like to watch out TV before going to sleep and my wife always complains about security alarm and we end up having arguments over the idea. This is why I started looking doing this occurs headphones to use while television. I identified these wireless headphones that are very affordable and now I don't watch TV with anything other than the usual pair of Sennheiser RS 130 Wireless Surround Sound Headphones. An individual are someone really likes having a brilliant acoustic experience while watching TV, may really actually check out this model.

Before the what, you'll need to answer the so just why. What is goal in purchasing set of headphones exactly where there is will you be with them? Will you buy headphones and put them on just to while away the time at school, doing the grocery possibly in your bed room? If you choose them on your own way to school or work, will you be walking or crossing streets? If so, maybe earphones may very well be the more sensible choice because tend not to drown out the noise of the environment as many as headphones, which may incapacitate industry to hear onrushing atv's.

Sony seems to have a great set of Bluetooth Sleeping Headphones known as the MDR-NC500. These headphones use digital noise canceling that can the whole ANC anywhere up to another step. It uses the digital system to select a filter sound for outside noise so it truly is more good at blocking out sounds. Are cheaper . a monitor switch so you don't require take away from the headphones means positivity . have to pay attention to external sound. This model has gotten rave reviews on comfort as well as top quality of sound.

My only criticism of this occurence otherwise brilliant product reality that you cannot charge it via a USB link. However, you can expect up to 32 hours listening time on one single charge if not more to 600 hours standby time. They weigh buying.academy/ under 11 oz of. The suggested retail expense is $250, but shop headphones around and obtain probably fare best.

Have a wonderful bowl of mashed potatoes -the natural sleeping prescription. Have some kind of food that generally forces you to be tired. And so go rest about half-hour or hour later. Do not drink liquids as much more wake you out of trouble of a sleep.

These are something which use on a nightly framework. I only wish that I had started with him or her sooner. During our childhood I lived near a busy street and also the noises would always keep me up. Some people find the noises regarding your city comforting, but I did so not at all.

Everybody loves gifts. And, top ideas for gifts for sweet sixteen birthday are all over. The gift does not always have in order to an objective. Just being together with friends and family and having a wonderful time is a gift alone.

[charmercharm3r]

Hearing Red

BC

Masterlist

wc: 4.3k

Synopsis: Centuries of being alone makes you desperate. There was no turning away the first man that didn’t fall victim to your voice.

warnings: smut, siren!reader, mentions of blood, mentions of death, mentions of drowning, oral, stealing??lol??

-

Chan had little to no escape from work, everywhere he looked there was something that told him he needed to do better. It was to the point that his hearing was going out from how often and how loud the music was when he worked. The fact that the $300 headphones with noise cancellation was on full blast is what made his friends prompt him to go home, maybe take a walk and clear his head.

That’s what he was doing now, taking a long and much needed walk along the river. He wasn’t sure how long he’d been out, but judging by the way the tall skyscrapers began to disappear and become replaced with even taller trees, he figured it had been a while. The road broke away from the sidewalk, leaving Chan far from anyone that could have possibly been wandering the city at four in the morning. His ears were ringing, it was all too quiet for his liking and it made him antsy. The ringing only got louder the further along the running water he walked. No pair of noise cancelling headphones could have blocked out the brain rattling sting in his head.

Chan pulled at the beanie he wore, hoping that bringing it over his ears would cushion them. But to no avail, it didn’t help. Maybe it was because he was so used to being surrounded by noise, being in an area with no noise pollution was foreign in a way. But Chan needed this, the alone time and to remember why he was making music in the first place. That’s how he found himself at the end of the pavement, a dirt road now grumbling with every step he took.

There was a bend just up the path, he told himself he’d get there and turn back. But the closer he got, the more intense the ringing became. He clawed at his ears, pulling the beanie over his face and hunched over. Still, his feet carried him to the end of the bend, a loud screech echoed through the trees and the ringing stopped. There was complete silence. No ringing, no sound of cars nearby, no beating of his heart in his chest. Not a single sound. For once, Chan felt at peace.

The peace was short lived, suddenly remembering that his whole line of work depended on his hearing. He panicked, lifting the beanie off his eyes and looking around. There was no one else in sight, no one that could confirm what he suspected— his hearing was gone.

Chan called out to anyone that might’ve been near, but no sound came out. He screamed and cried as loud as his lungs let him and still there was silence. Falling to his knees, silent tears followed his breaking silent voice. When he sat up again, he let one more soundless roar rip from his chest. Chan could feel himself making noise, his throat still vibrated and his lungs deflated. Then something in the river moved. There was no light for him to clearly see what stood tall on top of the water. From what he could tell, it was a person.

Your toes twiddle on the surface of the river, dancing around the leaves and debris that littered it. The water was dark and eerie but you could see through it perfectly fine. It’s not like anything beneath it could harm you.

Chan, however, squinted to get a glimpse of the person defying the laws of physics in his presence. So he stepped forward towards the edge of the path, wiping the leftover tears from his cheeks with his sleeve. He caught your attention as well.

You called out to him, “hello?” But what really left your lips was a scream, ear piercing and loud as a banshee. The scream that would usually draw men in to your river and to their deaths, he remained unmoved. “Hello?” You said louder, but the man just stared, taking slow steps down the leafy slope that lead to the edge of the water. Chan looked into the water for a second, unsure if it was safe to touch. At the sound of your voice, most men would have thrown themselves into it, so eager to reach you that they’d have drowned one another. They all did at one point— before society moved on and forgot about the other creatures the world chose to make into monsters. 

But now, there was this man who didn’t run into your river. He didn’t throw himself into the waters to be murdered or see you simply as a woman that was built to fulfill a man’s desires. No, he just looked at you, watched you from the edge of the shoreline. As he looked down into the water, you dipped beneath it to get closer. You let just your eyes peak up from the surface just a tad bit closer than before. Chan could really see you now, hair covered in silver clips and dainty chains that glimmered in the moon’s reflection like a crown. Your eyes, bloodshot and round, narrowed at Chan, scared.

Chan stripped his beanie off his head and tossed it to the side, dipping a foot into the water as he watched you examine him. You stayed still beneath the surface as he climbed in deeper, slowly as not to frighten you more. When he was in up to his waist, he stopped, reaching his hand out for you. But you didn’t take it, only lifting yourself out of the water to reveal your sequin covered mouth. Chan paused, taken aback by the sight of this woman who was— from what he could see— covered entirely in silver and gold and blood red lips rough like that of a poorly sewn gown. Little did he know it was a mask, one that you'd only take off when a man triumphantly got past the barrier of carnal desire. You’d forgotten what your own face looked like by now. “Can you understand me?” You spoke again, coming out as another screech. He didn’t so much as flinch at your words.

Then your realized he couldn’t hear you at all, his hand that was held behind him reached up to tap at his reddening ear. As he did so, another shine drew his attention into the water below his feet. A silver coin that must have fallen from the many that draped your body. He reached down into the water and picked it up. While Chan’s hand raised the crown stamped coin to his eye level, you effortlessly raised your entire body from the river, standing atop it as you would on solid ground. The man stared up at you, gaze changing between the coin and the rest of your silver and gold armored body.

Drop the coin, you pleaded in your mind. Don’t be like the rest. Don’t see the silver and gold and pearls. Don’t see my pretty mask and don’t look at my body covered in all the riches you could ever need.

He dropped the coin, hitting the water with a plop. It was then he crawled further into the water, hoping to reach you now. You stared down at him as he struggled to find his footing, the weight of his clothes starting to take a toll in the freezing water. You’d contemplated letting him drown like all the others. But he’d passed your test, he didn’t see you for the values of man that dressed you from head to toe. He wasn’t lulled in by your monstrous voice that seemed to attract just about every other man that heard it. His misfortune was your savior.

Chan started to lose balance along the murkey river floor, stumbling until he was treading water. The heavy jacket he wore began to get heavier, his rubber shoes made it hard to keep kicking and he started to inhale it, choking on the liquid. You ran across the water to him, skidding on your knees to grab his hand and hold him up. Chan immediately stopped struggling, taking in as much air as possible when he realized that at your touch, he didn’t need to try to swim. With his hand in yours you lifted him out of the water, standing along side you as you took in his appearance up close. He did the same, gasping at the way you wore what could’ve been thousands of dollars worth of body chains and different kinds of jewelry. They covered every inch of your skin, dangling and swaying with every move you made. If he could hear it, he’d be able to hear how they jingled and rang. Chan felt almost underdressed standing next to you.

He didn’t know what came over him, the glitter and gold looked so beautiful that he just wanted to take it off and see what was underneath, he wanted to see more of you. So he kept holding your hand, gently bringing you in closer. “What are you doing?” Your mouth moved, but Chan had no idea what you were saying.

Chan lifted the hand that held his, keeping the skin contact as he traced his fingers along your ring-clad ones and up your arms until he reached your neck. The silver neck plate was cold under his touch, but not any less than the water had been. He played with it, looking at his own reflection that could barely be made out in the dim light. Your free hand tipped his chin up to look at you in the face— or more the mask. His lips were pink and plump despite the outside temperature. It made you want to lean in, kiss him, feel the warmth you’ve been deprived of for who knows how long. It seemed he had the same idea. He leaned in and softly brushed his human lips to your sequin covered ones.

At first he didn’t mind the texture. It was weird, sure, but if it was you he didn’t care.

Then the kisses got rougher. The harder you pulled him in, the more the plastic rubbed uncomfortably against his skin. When you grabbed at the base of his neck and tugged him closer, the sequins cut at his lip, drawing blood. “Fuck!” Chan cursed, not like he could hear it. But you did and pushed him away, accidentally letting him go. Chan fell through the surface of the water again.

You froze, reaching for the lip of your mask. Your finger picked up where the blood stained the sequins, looking at how much of it there was in horror. Chan splashed around trying to stay afloat. When he grabbed at your ankles, you remembered to pull him up. Your hand reached for his cheek, pulling him over the edge of the water’s surface and falling beside you. Running your hand close to the cut on his lip, you cradled him with both hands. He regained his breath again, letting his head fall back onto the surface. There was no malice or ill intentions that you could see behind his eyes. Only wonder, captivation. Something inside you told you he was worthy. When his breathing regulated, he reached up to cup your jaw, feeling where the mask met your skin. You could feel the warmth of his fingertips, slowly curling around the mask’s frame. Chan started to lift it, the cold air rushing to your cheek for the first time in centuries. It made you stutter back, gasping. He didn’t flinch, though, holding you steady. Chan looked into your eyes, making sure it was okay. When you leaned into his palm again, he continued. Scared, looking for any sort of evil behind his eyes, you held your breath. He removed the mask and tossed it behind you, letting it sink into the dark river.

For a moment, Chan was stunned. How could someone who looked so entirely human live beneath such a terrifying mask? He didn’t know what he expected, a ghoul or decaying flesh. But no, all he saw was a woman that couldn’t have been any older than him, a face so beautiful that could have belonged to anyone.

Strands of wet hair fell into your face as you released a breath that you didn’t realize was trapped in your lungs. Chan saw years of torment, loneliness, solitude that came with the curse of freedom from men and their greed, hidden deep in the pools of your eyes. He saw hurt, sadness, love that you wished for years to be able to share. And when you kissed him again—  with your lips, not the mask, he felt all the love you’ve been denied of giving. But he also felt hunger. It wasn’t lust, though there were specks of that in the kiss, it was something evil and it told him to use you.

Chan thought of all the debt he owed to his company, the house bills his parents needed to pay off, the different schools his siblings could afford to go to if he had even just a limb’s worth of the jewelry that covered

your body. “Take me,” you whispered. He watched your lips move, soundless as he reattached himself to your neck this time. Chan bit at the flesh above the chest plate, kissing down it and gnawing at the necklaces that choked you. His teeth bit down hard and ripped it, coins flying across the water. Your fingers reached into his hair as he began to sit up and lay you on your back. The water beneath you felt no different than solid ground, but still weird on Chan’s senses nonetheless. 

Your breath hitched in your throat, feeling his large hands slipping between the chains, thumbing into your torso. Something sparked within you, a desire that could be fulfilled one of two ways; fuck him or kill him. Though, the second option seemed more appealing only after completing the first. So you let him run his hands all over you, let him take off the layers and layers of silver, gold, and pearls that you’d acquired through the lives that you stole to add to your own.

While your eyes were fluttering closed and your lips stayed on his, Chan was slipping the jewels into his coat pocket, if they were quiet enough he tossed them towards the shore. He kissed further down your body, making sure that your mind was anywhere other than the jewelry. At some point between your moans—

that he still couldn’t hear but could see your jaw dropping— and his hands and lips made their way to your cunt covered by a silver thong. Chan would’ve thought it was another solid piece like the chest plate if he couldn’t feel your heat radiating through it.

Your eyes finally opened again to look at him between your legs, through his eyelashes that read all the right signs, he knew you wanted him to keep going.

Chan wishes that he could hear the way you were moaning for him, hear you mewling under every touch he left. He must’ve had swift fingers if you didn’t realize he just pocketed another jewel— a string of pearls this time. But then he thought maybe it was better you didn’t know, or find out after he made you cum and escape miles away after. Either way, he figured, it didn’t matter as long as you got what you wanted in the end. 

He knew he was doing a good job when your head fell once he hiked your knees up and slid the silver thong to the side, exposing your core to him. If he were to die right now and only remember one last scent, it’d be your pussy, sweet and musky and so fucking intoxicating. It made him delirious with lust. He almost forgot to snag the jewelry near your ankles, those ones he was sure you wouldn’t notice went missing.

The tip of his tongue traced through your folds, hands that were aimlessly gripping at water below you now finding refuge in his curly hair, making it even more damp. Just as you’d forgotten your own face, you’d also forgotten the pleasure that came with men— that is, when they knew how to give it.

Of course, when you were human, you had the delight of giving and receiving pleasure from another person, be that a man, woman, or whomever you happened to stumble upon. Though, that was also a time you dismissed the idea that creatures such as yourself even existed. Hundreds of years later, here you are. Overwhelmed by the pleasure that this nameless man  who was immune to your abilities was bringing you. You wanted to feel shameful that you gave in so easily to the first human you’d met in forever that didn’t commit such a deadly sin at the sound of your voice. Wanted to remember what made you this way in the first place, a man. That stupid sailor just had to make you fall in love. He just had to make deals with the wrong devil and go and piss it off, cursing him to his condemnation and you to your presumed immortality.

The man between your legs made it so hard to want to kill him when he was so good with his mouth. Lips suctioned to your clit as the addition of fingers were brought to your hole. Two circled your entrance before gently nudging their way into you. The stretch felt suddenly foreign, but not unwelcome. Chan was sure you were calling out for him, oh how badly he wished he could hear it. But he wanted his hearing back even more, unlatching another anklet and hiding it wherever he could.

Your nails raked through his hair, scratching at his scalp so nicely he almost got lost in the sensation. He felt himself growing harder as he guided his fingers in and out of you, teasingly taking them out just to slather your juices over the area of your cunt. Chan wondered how long it’d take him to ruin you if you were already falling apart on just his fingers and mouth. Trailing his hand along your calf, up to your thigh, he spread your legs wider to give him more wiggle room. He used it to his advantage, pumping his fingers back into you while sticking his tongue out and licking at your clit as he watched you through his lashes. Your chest heaved up and down harder, losing your breath as the warmth in your stomach got hotter, sure to be close to your high by now. He added another finger, curling them just right to find that mind numbing spot. You struggled to keep your legs spread as Chan continued to lap and suck and grind his digits into you.

The free hand he had gently ran up your stomach, kneading the minimal skin before guiding up to your breast and squeezing. Your walls fluttered stronger and tighter around his fingers and he knew you were almost there. His lips sucked harder and he worked his fingers in and out of you at a more rapid pace to get you over the edge. As your back arched into the solid, wet surface, Chan let his free hand track over the length of your arm in search of your hand. One pulsing suck of his lips, you tipped over, letting the warmth spread throughout your body as your high took over. But Chan’s hand got caught in one of your bangle bracelets, not that you noticed as you rode out the first orgasm you’d had in years.

He couldn’t get his hand free, the charms caught on his rings and tugged at your wrist. It brought you back down from your high all too quick, making your eyes snap open and find his fingers wrapped around the silver bangle. He was caught, unintentionally aside from the times he actually was stealing from you.

For the first time since meeting you, he was afraid. There was a new, deadly flame behind your eyes that made him freeze between your legs. You tried to back away, but he followed, looking between your face and the link between his ring and your bracelet. Chan sat up, holding up a hand to try and defend himself, “w— wait,” he whispered and hoped you heard him. 

Although you heard him, you didn’t need to. You’d made up your mind already. You grabbed his wrist that was stuck to you, keeping a bone crushing grip on him as your still bloodshot eyes pierced through his. At first glance, you didn’t see all of your jewels he’d hidden beneath his clothes. But a glimmer in his chest pocket drew your attention, a single silver coin hung out of it, stamped with an image you could recognize anywhere. Tears began to well in your eyes, anger making your vision tunnel and focus only on the coin that was still in his pocket.

With a single thought and command, all of the silver and gold and pearls began to melt from your body. The jewelry hidden in Chan’s pockets began to pour out of them and fall into the river, including the bangle and ring that conjoined you. He tried to break away, but your grip was much stronger than he thought and was too terrified to work up any more energy to escape.

The water surrounding you began to move much rougher, rising as quick as Chan’s breath when he realized you were creating waves. White wash tumbled around the two of you, reflecting in the still moonlight.

He didn’t know where to look, the water that threatened to drown him or your grip on his arm that was one second away from snapping his wrist. “Please,” he pleaded, but the pure rage sprawled across your face was enough to see you were in no mood for mercy.

Your lips quivered, “just like every other man. You take what isn’t yours.” The tears fell, only they weren’t tears. Hot, crimson blood dripped from the corners of your eyes as the waves rose higher and your hand trembled around Chan’s. As the waves folded in on each other, you stood up and Chan watched as the dark water began to turn red as well. He was on his knees, begging you with his eyes. “Don’t kill me, please. I’m sorry.”

Gut wrenching pain waned through your body, completely disrupting the post orgasm bliss that would’ve been there instead. More than anything, your heart ached. 

Finally, he heard you. Your voice echoed in his head like a memory, “you don’t deserve the pleasure of death.”

You released your grip on him, letting Chan fall into the deep red river. He got tossed along the white wash, drowning him only to let him regain his breath for a split second. You let the waves push him deeper into the river and fold over themselves to settle, dipping your

toes beneath the surface and joining him at the river floor. Through the red, Chan could see your face, beyond hurting. But his lungs were starting to burn, he struggled against the invisible force that held him down. The bloody tears still stained your cheeks, but were smeared and now coated your hands as well. You made it face to face with Chan just as the lack of air finally reached his brain. You hoped he would remember the anguish you felt right now, when you let him touch you, when he stole the jewels right off your body and pocketed them for his own gain. You hoped he would live with the knowledge that he stole from someone who was ready to give them their all. You were ready to give him more than he bargained for.

Breathing out the air from your lungs and falling back into the river floor, you released the force that was holding Chan down, letting the current take his unconscious downstream. There was no point in vouching for humanity. There would always be temptation.

Chan awoke abruptly, gasping back to life along the sandy riverbank. His head pounded, but not like a normal headache. The pounding sped up when he caught his breath, following the beating of his heart. It was loud in his ears. So was the rushing of the blood in his veins, and his joints rubbing together with every movement. He could hear every single insect that scurried along the forest floor and every time a bird flapped its feathered wings. It all made his body sear in pain. It was the worst when a helicopter sounded in the distance, the engine and propellers sending Chan head first into the sand in an attempt to do anything to muffle the sound.

He thought it couldn’t get any worse, he let out a yell and was so sure his ear drums were going to burst. Warmth trickled down the side of his neck. Reaching up to touch it, he realized it came from his ear. It did burst, but it didn’t make any difference. He’d only awoken a few minutes ago and already felt himself going crazy with the sounds of the world and the pain that came with it.

Chan cursed you for giving him his hearing back, cursed himself for walking down that path, for stealing from you, for not killing him when it was all he wished would’ve happened. He wished he were dead.

While you— you lay flat against the river floor still, looking up into the night sky as more bloody tears clouded your vision. The water calmed and returned to its usual clear blue, but continued to be tinted red with every sob that left your lips. Pain always follows pleasure.

-

A/N: inspired by the Love, Death, and Robots episode “Jibaro” — quite literally the best episode to date. Been job hunting and just haven’t had the energy to write so part 5 of It Was Good Until It Wasn’t is still in the early stages :,) hopefully I can get back into a groove soon

-momo < 3

[lostcoves]

– parisian nights 

+ ft. tamaki amajiki

+ wc: 2.5k

+ format: one-shot

+ premise: tamaki amajiki, heir to amajiki enterprises, has it all. yet, all he wants is you. could a sudden trip to paris be enough to win your heart?

+ note: my piece for @bakugohoex​’s 3k collab! hope you all enjoy!

tamaki amajiki, in a literal sense, had it all and anything he wanted was at a snap of his well-manicured fingertips. every luxury sports car, every trip to the tropics, every gaming system was only one lip pout to his daddy and mommy. he was spoiled to say the least but what kind of rich kid wasn’t?

it wasn’t until tamaki stumbled upon you that he took a moment to reevaluate his life as a rich boy.

you had humble beginnings, coming from a family of average societal standing. your family didn’t have to worry about money but they were nowhere close to the standing of the amajiki family. humble and modest, tamaki thought you were the cutest thing in the whole wide world! 

and what tamaki liked, tamaki got.

he remembered flashing you a fat tip for your service at the coffee shop you worked as a barista at. tamaki struggled with social interaction at times but all of that went out the window the moment he locked eyes with you. he found that he didn’t have to work on his social skills, as long as he had the money to buy the friendships and interactions.

he thought you were the same as the others, easily swayed by money.

yet, you weren’t. 

you rejected the tip and told him to put it in the communal tip jar for all the baristas shared from. tamaki was stunned but did what you asked of him. anxiety bubbled in his stomach and his facade of suave rich guy nearly cracked.

but tamaki wouldn’t give up so easily.

─────────────────

“morning, amajiki-san,” you greeted him every morning with that same gentle smile of yours. barely any customers were in the coffee shop, which tamaki preferred. he utterly despised crowds of people.

“good morning, (l/n)-san,” he returned the greeting and the smile.

“the usual?” you already got a medium-sized cup out.

“yes please,” he hummed. tamaki actually hated coffee, it made his anxiety worse but he would risk an anxiety attack if it meant he could interact with you.

you nodded and got to work, preparing a medium iced coffee for tamaki. he watched you move around from behind the counter, his eyes fixated on your gorgeous form.

“one medium iced coffee for amajiki-san!” you handed the coffee to tamaki.

“thank you,” tamaki fished out an envelope from his pocket, “your tip.”

you furrowed your eyebrows at the envelope and took it cautiously, “what’s this, amajiki-san?”

“your tip,” tamaki repeated. 

carefully, you opened up the envelope and pulled out its contents. 

“amajiki-san..” you uttered his first name, “what the hell is this?”

“two tickets to paris,” tamaki leaned against the counter, “well, the tickets are more of a formality. we’ll be taking my private jet to the city.”

“amajiki-san..” you sighed. 

“pretty please, (l/n)-san?” tamaki flashed you his famous puppy eyes. 

“why should i go with a guy i barely know?”

ouch, that hurt. 

“well, we can use this as an opportunity to get to know one another.”

you frowned, “i’ll have to think about it.”

“come to this address in a week from now at two in the afternoon,” tamaki got out a pen from his pocket and wrote down an address on a piece of napkin, “if you’re interested in coming.”

you took the napkin and nodded, “very well then.”

tamaki could only hope that you would come.

─────────────────

tamaki paced around outside the private jet, frantically checking his watch every two minutes. it was nearly two o’clock and you still weren’t near yet. you weren’t coming, tamaki decided, much to his dismay. 

“amajiki-sama?” the pilot poked his head outside the jet, “ready to take off?”

“no, not yet!” tamaki hollered. the pilot flashed a thumbs up and returned inside the plane. tamaki let out a heavy sigh, where were you?

“am i late?”

tamaki perked up at the sound of your voice. he saw your figure approaching the jet, the wind ruffling your white sundress and sunhat. a lone suitcase rolled behind you. 

“you came,” tamaki stated in surprise.

“didn’t think i was gonna show?” you chuckled.

tamaki let out a soft laugh and rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, “yeah..”

“well, i’m here!” you smiled, “you’re gonna treat me to the trip of a lifetime, correct? why in the world would i miss out on that?”

tamaki’s heart fluttered at the sight of your smile, “well, what are we waiting for? let’s get this trip started.”

a flight attendant exited the jet and took your luggage. tamaki took your hand and guided you inside the jet. your lips formed a small ‘o’ in shock at the interior of the jet. it was much larger on the inside than it was on the outside with push-lined seats and entertainment systems galore. a person could live without worry in this jet.

“you own this?” you asked tamaki, as you took a seat in one of the comfortable looking seats. 

“my parents do,” he answered, “they use it for business trips.”

“i see,” you eyed at the approaching concession cart. the flight attendant before earlier was operating it and she offered you a wide selection of drinks and snacks. you ended up getting a plain green tea while tamaki got a bag of honey barbecue flavored chips. 

“so what made you decide to invite me on this trip?” you took a long drag of your green tea.

tamaki paused from munching on his chips. he cleared his throat, “i thought ‘why not?’ in all honesty,” that was a lie, tamaki wanted to impress you with a flashy trip to the city of love.

“do you take all the girls you’ve met on trips to paris?”

“only the girls i like.”

tamaki almost choked at his comment, his cheeks flushing a nice shade of pink. you raised your eyebrows at him in an act of bewilderment. tamaki attempted to change the conversation and informed you, “we should be there in thirteen hours, so it’s best to “get situated.”

you gave him a nod, “alrighty. well, i’ll be asleep so you have fun.”

tamaki opened his mouth to reply, only to given the cold shoulder as you reclined your seat and got noise canceling headphones on. he watched, as you situated yourself and promptly fell asleep. he chuckled, that was adorable.

a two day trip to paris, what could possibly go wrong?

─────────────────

“(l/n)-san.”

tamaki gently removed your noise cancelling headphones from your head.

“we’re here, in paris.”

you let out a groan, as your eyes slowly opened. how long were you out? a couple of hours?

“you slept the whole trip,” tamaki laughed quietly.

“oh.. i did? sorry,” you murmured, rubbing the guck out of your eyes.

tamaki brushed a loose hair out of your face, “it’s alright.”

you blushed slightly at his warm touch but masked with a cough, “so! uh! whatcha wanna do in paris?”

tamaki blinked, he hadn’t planned that far ahead.

“would you like to see the louvre?”

─────────────────

japan had nothing on the bustling streets of paris. the sidewalks were filled to the brim with people mulling about, some on their phones with shopping bags and others chatting amongst themselves. the louvre was only a block away, crowded with tourists eager to see the mona lisa.

“no need to worry about the crowds,” tamaki gave you a smile when you two approached the louvre, “i set aside us a private tour of the musuem.”

“oh really?” you crossed your arms with disdain.

tamaki pouted, “would.. would you rather do a normal tour?”

you smiled, “yes please.”

the two of you pushed your way through the crowds and entered the louvre, you staring in awe of the artworks. tamaki concealed a small smile at your wonderment, he found it to be absolutely cute to watch. 

you’re more than a work of art, (f/n). was what tamaki wanted to say but he didn’t have the courage nor the guts to say it. 

“wow, the mona lisa is so tiny!” you commented to tamaki when you two found the famed piece of art. you were right, the mona lisa was surprisingly small. you grabbed tamaki by the hand and pulled him closer to the painting, “look how beautiful it is, amajiki-san.”

tamaki grew flustered at your touch but gave your hand a light squeeze, “(l/n)-san.. you can call me tamaki, if you want.”

you gave him a look and tamaki cursed internally. was it too soon to be on a first name basis?

“okay, tamaki.”

tamaki let out a sigh of relief.

“where would you like to go next?” tamaki questioned to you after the two of you finished your tour of the louvre. 

you pondered on the question for a moment. 

“let’s go shopping.”

─────────────────

tamaki patiently waited outside a fitting room, as you tried on various articles of clothing. he offered to pay– his parents gave him an allowance for the trip– and to his surprise, you actually accepted his offer. 

“you alright in there..?” tamaki asked, not wanting to walk in on you half naked.

there was some rustling and you emerged from the dressing room, “how do i look?” you asked tamaki, twirling around in your new dress.

tamaki gulped at the sight of the dress. its neckline highlighted your collarbone quite nicely and hugged your curves just right. he pulled at his collar and adverted his gaze, “er.. you look.. uh.. very nice..”

“i do?” you hugged his arm and pressed yourself against tamaki. he was sweating bullets now, “yes! y- yes, you d- do!” his eyes widened, not his stutter coming back at the worst possible moment.

“you have a stutter?”

shit. shit. shit. shit. shit.

“so wh- what if i d- do..”

“it’s cute.”

tamaki’s eyes widened.

“y- you th- think so?”

you nodded rapidly, “of course i do! i’m not gonna poke fun at it.”

tamaki coughed, “th- thanks.”

“of course,” you released your hold on his arm, “the night is still young, what should we do next?”

tamaki peered outside, nightfall was upon the city.

“a trip to paris isn’t complete without a visit to the effiel tower now, isn’t it?”

─────────────────

being on top of the effiel tower made the world seem so small. 

tamaki took a moment to enjoy the cold breeze that passed through his indigo locks, closing his eyes and just enjoying the feeling of being on top of the world for a moment. you stood next to him, doing the same thing. you hated to admit it but this had been the most fun you have had in a while. all thanks to tamaki amajiki, of course. 

“hey tamaki?”

“yes, (f/n)?”

“can i tell you a secret?”

tamaki opened his eyes, “of course.”

you stared out onto the city of lights and leaned against the guardrail.

“i never left japan until yesterday.”

tamaki laughed, “that’s not much of a secret. it was a little obvious.”

you scrunched your nose up in annoyance, “meanie.”

tamaki acted wounded, “that hurt.”

you rolled your eyes, “i enjoyed today. i hope you can ensure the same for tomorrow.”

tamaki looked down at his shoes and sighed, “i hope i can.”

“hey tamaki?”

“yes?” he looked up.

“what’s the real reason you invited me on this trip?”

tamaki hung his head down low.

“tamaki, look at me.”

he looked back up.

“tell me the truth.”

tamaki couldn’t lie to you anymore.

“it’s because.. i like you, (f/n).”

now it was your turn to hang your head low.

“why me, tamaki?”

tamaki pressed his lips together, “what do you mean?”

taking his hands into yours, the two of you were forced to look one another in the eye. you took a deep breath and began to speak your piece.

“i want to know the real tamaki amajiki. not this fake version. i think the closer we got was what happened in the fitting room. i get it, you’re rich.. but you didn’t have to whisk me away to paris just to confess that you had a crush on me, tamaki.”

“wh- what should have i done instead..?” not the stutter!

you half-smiled, “take me out for coffee, silly.”

was it really that simple?

“maybe i- i do that next time.”

“next time?”

fuck, was there not going to be a next time?

“there won’t be a next time until you tell me about yourself,” you gave tamaki a playful punch in the shoulder. he winced a bit but played it off. tamaki looked back out onto the city, “what would you like to know?”

“what’s it like being an heir?” you leaned against the guardrail.

tamaki tilted his head back and let out a long breathe, “exhausting.”

you cocked your head to the left, “how so?”

“my parents have high expectations of me. forcing me to go to college to study business for the sole purpose of taking over the company. this might sound silly but i wanted to study food science and become a nutritional therapist,” tamaki clasped his hands together tightly, “there’s no true freedom. money has a price and that price is your freedom. the public hounds you, the elite is full of backstabbers, and i just want to settle down with a nice girl.”

“and that nice girl would be?” you smiled.

“you, of course.”

you blushed at tamaki’s response.

“i would give up all the money i have if it means i can be with you,” tamaki confessed with tears in his eyes, “i truly mean it. i fell in love with you the moment i saw you in that coffee shop, (f/n) (l/n).”

“re- really?” now you were stuttering. 

“truly,” tamaki cupped your cheeks and bore his eyes into yours, “i truly mean it. i only want you, (f/n). i would give you everything and anything you could have ever wanted. i want to be there for you.”

“b- but you barely know me!” you protested.

“then let me get to know you,” tamaki fired back.

you were rendered speechless. you adverted your gaze from tamaki and he removed his hands from your face. tamaki bowed his head in disgrace, “i- i’m sorry, (l/n)-san.”

“it’s okay, tamaki!” you exclaimed, “really it is. i admire your fire. i want to get you better, as well. truly, i do.”

tamaki relaxed his shoulders and placed a hand against his chest in an effort to calm his rapidly beating heart. you looked heavenly under the lights of the effiel tower with your new dress and your pearly white smile. he just wanted to kiss your damn face already. 

“tamaki.”

“yes, (f/n)?”

“here,” you pressed a kiss to his lips. tamaki’s eyes widened for a moment before he closed them, allowing himself to get lost in the kiss. your lips tasted like the croissant you had earlier that day. tamaki could kiss you forever. 

“let’s get to know one another better before a second date, okay?”

tamaki was more than fine with that. 

one day, he’ll be yours.

[farfromsugafanfic]

Not So Silent Night

Genre: Quarantine Romance, slight Enemies To Lovers, Neighbors AU, Fluff, slight Angst

Pairing: Namjoon/ Reader

Warnings: none

Synopsis: Namjoon hadn’t intended to spend much time in his tiny apartment. And then a pandemic broke out. Now he’s stuck dealing with his noisy neighbor, you.

✦✧✦✧

Namjoon thought he was in the clear that Wednesday night. He'd heard the opening and closing of your front door, the clink of your keys in the lock, and the rustle of the groceries in your arms. He knew it was your Friday, which meant you'd usually turn on music while you cleaned your tiny apartment, or a play a movie on full blast while you devoured an entire pizza yourself.

It was nearly 9 pm and he hadn't heard a peep from you, not even the true crime podcast you sometimes put on. Namjoon, unlike you, had worked from home for months now. Even though most of his time at work was spent in his private studio, he had nearly an identical set up in his apartment.

He was still working, albeit, not on the songs he produced for other artists, but on his own. He'd just started editing the melody when heard the familiar bass chords of "What Makes You Beautiful". It was your favorite song to torture him with. Namjoon had nothing against the British boyband you seemed to love so much, that was until you started them playing them loudly at odd hours.

Namjoon sighed, pausing his work and rubbing his temples. He really needed to save up for a good pair of noise canceling headphones, although he wouldn't find it surprising if you somehow managed to invade his eardrums right away.

He tried to continue working, turning his headphones all the way up. Yet, all he could focus on was the way he heard the familiar bass line restart when the song ended.

Namjoon groaned and threw his headphones onto his desk. He'd only moved into this tiny apartment because the rent was cheap and he hadn't intended to spend much time in it. Then, a pandemic hit and suddenly, Namjoon was confined to four menacing white walls with the only company being his noisy neighbor, you.

He waited a half hour before he walked down the stairs to your apartment. Even though the city was under quarantine, the apartment building was snug and it was nearly impossible not to come into contact with each other. Securing his mask over his ear, he knocked on your door.

"Yes?" you asked, answering the door as if you'd been expecting him. You, too, had just finished looping the mask around your ear. It was a bright polka dot pattern that distracted Namjoon long enough that he managed to speak before noticing that your oversized T-shirt made it look like you weren't wearing shorts.

"Can you please keep it down, Y/N? It's the middle of the week for me and I have a Zoom call at 8 am tomorrow."

"That sounds like your problem," you said, leaving your door open as you tied the top of the trash bag you'd been getting ready to take out when Namjoon knocked.

A glint of annoyance passed over Namjoon's eyes and even from under your mask he could make out your familiar smirk from the way your eyebrows rose.

"Do you even own headphones?" he asked, crossing his arms. He didn't notice the way your eyes swept over his biceps and chest with his movement.

"They hurt my ears," you said, shrugging. Grabbing the trash bag by the tied top and heading back for your front door. "Now, be a doll and take this out for me? My legs hurt from work."

Namjoon looked at you with his eyes wide and mouth slightly agape. He didn't say anything as you shoved the bag into his hands.

"What? Why are looking at me like that?" you paused, dialing down your attitude for a moment. "Listen, if you do this, I'll turn it off so you can get your beauty sleep."

He watched as you reached up and pat his shoulder. Your nail polish was chipping and the gleam from your gold promise ring dulled. His eyes traced as your hand left the fabric of his T-shirt and came to the doorknob of your front door.

"Goodnight Namjoon," you said, shutting the door.

Namjoon stood in the hallway, his lips parted and a small breath. He scoffed as the familiar bassline blasted from your apartment.

✦✧✦✧

You'd had a long day. Work was keeping you at least an hour over every day and you felt your feet ache as slipped off your shoes. Even though you just wanted to fall into bed, you changed and washed your hands first, doing your best to feel clean before your skin hit the sheets. As a Pharmacy Technician, you were essential, and even if most of your job was counting pills and performing customer service, right now it was harder than ever.

With only ten hours until you had to be at work, you ordered food and eyed the laundry that was beginning to spill over the edge of the hamper like waves over a jetty. You sighed, taking out your phone and putting on music. You gathered up your clothes and laundry soap. Pocketing your keys and a handful of quarters dug out of the bottom of your purse, you made your way to the basement laundry room.

You let the music play. While you weren't particularly trying to get your tall neighbor's attention, or get on his nerves, like you usually were, you secretly hoped you'd get to catch a glimpse of his signature white T-shirt against his bronzed skin.

Loading your clothes into the shared washer, your phone began to ring and your boyfriend's face flashed across the screen. He was smiling widely in the picture, his hair swept back by the coastal breeze. At one point, it had been your favorite photo of him. Now, it just felt like a sweet apple that turned out to be poison.

You ignored the call and poured the detergent into the machine. Inserting the quarters, you heard footsteps coming down the stairs. You'd heard his feet on the stairs enough, that you recognized the soft one, two pattern as he made his way downstairs.

"I think the whole complex knows you're a fan of One Direction now," Namjoon said, coming into view. His hands were empty, having obviously come down purely because of your disruption.

"So be it," you said, starting the machine and glancing down as the music stopped and your phone rang again. You frowned as you rejected the call.

Namjoon noticed, his brow furrowing as his eyes glanced down at the phone in your hand. "You should've answered. At least you'd be less of a bother."

The two calls and the exhaustion weighed you down and felt yourself drifting below the surface. "I'm really not in the mood right now, Namjoon. Maybe tomorrow."

His sarcastic smile faltered. "If you don't want me to bother you, then don't play your music so loud." He crossed his arms over his chest, his muscles becoming more prominent as the fabric of his T-shirt stretched to accommodate the new position. You had no idea how he stayed so toned with the apartment gym shut down and such a small apartment.

"Maybe you should invest in earplugs."

"Maybe you should invest in headphones."

You scoffed and headed back upstairs, not feeling the banter. Your neck and shoulders were tense and you just wanted to finish your laundry and pass out for the night.

✦✧✦✧

Namjoon didn't think much of your sour mood. It was obvious that it extended beyond him since you rejected the phone call. He stood in the laundry room for a few moments and watched your laundry spin around in the washer.

He remembered back to the week before when you forced him to take out your garbage. A thought crossed his mind and he wondered if a good prank would lift your spirits.

With most coin operated washers, the doors locked right after the money is inserted and the washer starts. The ones at your apartment complex, however, had a loophole. Hitting the coin return button a few times, the quarters you'd entered fell into the coin return and the machine slowed to a stop.

Waiting a few moments to make sure you weren't coming back, he opened the door and took your wet clothes out of the dryer. He pocketed the coins, reminding himself to use them for your clothes later. Setting them on top of the washer, he rushed up to his apartment and grabbed his own laundry, starting it.

✦✧✦✧

The timer went off a half hour later. You were halfway through eating dinner but paused to go switch loads. You knew between your boyfriend' incessant calls and the hour long drying cycle, you were not going to get to sleep any time soon.

Shuffling down to the laundry room, you didn't even bother to throw on music this time. The heaviness in your eyes wouldn't be cured with Harry's sweet voice as usual.

Opening the door to the washer, your clothes were not there. A stroke of panic ran down your spine as your eyes darted across the row of washers, wondering if you had gone to the wrong one. All the other doors were open. You felt a stirring in your stomach as your mind raced with what to do.

"Lose something?"

You turned to see Namjoon coming down the stairs, carrying a laundry basket full of your wet clothes. Your heart beat out of your chest, your vision went black as your mind processed the sight.

"What the fuck, Namjoon?" you asked, yanking the basket from him. Tears came to your eyes as you looked down at the sopping wet clothes.

Namjoon's eyes widened at his words, having expected a snarky quip from you, he released his grip on the basket easily. Fishing for the quarters in his pocket, he held them out to you.

"God, I'm gonna get absolutely no sleep tonight," you said, shoving your half washed clothes back into the washer.

"Y/N?" he asked, his voice soft. "What's wrong?"

Once you'd restarted the washer, placing your body physically in front of it to block Namjoon from tampering with it once again, you eyed him.

"I'm only gonna get a few hours of sleep," you said, your voice surprisingly level. "My work clothes are in there." You leaned back against the washer, sighing as you looked down at the time on your phone.

"I-I'm--"

"Save it, Namjoon," you said. "Listen, I know we have this sort of relationship where we mess with each other. But, I'm really not in the mood for it tonight."

Namjoon tried to move towards you, but stopped himself, unsure of exactly what he was going to do or how he could help. He'd never seen you like this before. Dark circles around your eyes, your hair stringy and tousled from running your hands through it, and your posture so tense. Even though the lower half of your face was covered with a bright green mask, he could still make out your frown behind the fabric.

"Just le--" You were cut off by your phone's vibration.

Despite Namjoon having caused your distress, whoever kept calling you made your brow furrow and eyes water in a way that left Namjoon wanting to answer the phone and find out what they had done to you.

"Is everything okay?" he asked. "Who keeps calling you?"

Glancing down at the washer it had now moved onto the second cycle, you ignored. Meeting Namjoon's eyes, it hurt your chest to see the concern in them. After seeing you like this, after getting annoyed with him, he still worried about you.

"Just leave me alone, Namjoon."

✦✧✦✧

It was midnight on Wednesday night when the sound of yelling overtook the melody in his headphones. At first, he didn't think much of it. Many couples lived in the complex, and an occasional fight wasn't uncommon. Then, he heard your voice.

✦✧✦✧

"Jae-ho, what are you doing here? I told you you couldn't come."

"I just want to see you, baby." There was a softness in his voice, but it didn't reach his eyes. You'd been dodging his calls and texts for the past few days, hoping he would get the hint.

"Not until your test comes back negative," you said. "Plus, we really shouldn't be seeing each other that much. Especially since I'm still working."

Your boyfriend let out a long sigh and moved to walk inside. You blocked him, shutting the door slightly and wedging yourself in the gap. This only made him more frustrated, his hands reaching out to touch you.

You let him, allowing his hand to brush your own. You knew it was unlikely your boyfriend would get a positive result, his exposure limited and brief. But you couldn't risk it.

"Are you not scared of spreading it to me? To anyone?"

"I don't have it, babe. I've told you."

"You were still required to get tested. And since I see so many vulnerable people at work, I can't risk it." This wasn't the first time this was an issue. You'd been tested twice already. You job required you to come into contact with people all day, and more than a few confirmed cases had come through your pharmacy.

Jae-ho had had an issue those times too. Coming over when you'd told him not to, calling you until he got sick of dialing your number. You weren't sure how much longer you could take this.

"Are you cheating on me?"

The question lingered in the air as your mouth fell open in shock. Did he think that was the only reason you could not want to see him?

"No, of course not! I'm trying to protect you, Jae-ho!"

"I know you like that neighbor of yours. You still see him, don't you? Why do you see him and not me?"

"We're neighbors! This complex is so tiny, we can't help it!"

Your voice and his gradually rose with your emotions. You barely remember what either of you said after that, you only remembering sliding the promise ring off your finger and flinging it down the stairs.

✦✧✦✧

Namjoon walked down the stairs when he heard your door slam. He came upon your boyfriend, scoffing at your door. When he met the other man's eyes, Namjoon's immediately narrowed.

"Of course," Jae-ho said. He shook his head and walked down the stairs, pausing at the next landing. He bent down to retrieve something and Namjoon stopped focusing on the other man, reaching up to knock on your door.

Namjoon's knuckles didn't even make contact with your door before he heard footsteps coming up the stairs. Jae-ho stood a few steps down and held out the gold promise ring you always wore.

"Give this back to Y/N," he said. "I don't want it either."

He handed Namjoon the ring before turning around and leaving for good.

✦✧✦✧

"Y/N?" Namjoon's voice cut through the dark silence of your apartment. You'd everything outside, but not realized that it was Namjoon Jae-ho was talking to. "Are you okay?

You opened the door. You tried to wipe your tears before Namjoon could take in your figure, but it was fruitless. When your eyes met his, you saw his heartbreaking at the sight of you.

"I'm okay."

"No, you're not," Namjoon said, waiting for you to give the okay for him to enter your apartment. You knew that there was no hiding from Namjoon. The two of you literally lived on top of one another and saw each other almost daily when you did the laundry or took the trash out. There was nearly no way to avoid Kim Namjoon for long.

You moved aside and closed the door behind him. Flopping down on your bed, you looked up at him. "Sorry if we woke you up."

Namjoon shook his head. "You didn't."

"Sorry to interrupt your work then," you said, feeling like you owed the man an apology for more than just this one night. "I didn't mean for it to escalate like that."

Namjoon didn't say anything. He glanced around your apartment, sensing the way that his eyes on you made you uncomfortable.

"You don't need to apologize," he said. "For anything."

You stayed silent, hugging a pillow to your chest.

The silence wasn't tense, but it wasn't calm either. There was something lingering between you. Something keeping Namjoon in your apartment after making sure you were okay. And something that allowed you to let him in at all.

"You know, whenever I was upset or I had trouble sleeping. My mom would always make me milk and cookies. It seems counterintuitive that something sugary helped me sleep. But it never failed."

Namjoon left for his apartment for a moment, coming back with a package of chocolate chip cookies and two glasses of milk. He handed you one of the glasses and sat the package of cookies down beside you.

"Is it okay if I stick around? Just in case your boyfriend tries to come back," Namjoon said. He knew his explanation was flimsy. It was obvious when the man left that he did not intend on coming back.

"Yes," you said, reaching to pull out a cookie and dip it in the milk. "I'd like that."

The two of you ate in silence. Silence rarely occurred when you saw Namjoon, no matter how much he may want it to, but now, you could tell by the tension in his shoulders that it worried him.

"You know, I kinda look forward to hearing you every night," he said. "Lets me take a break from my work. Means I get to come see you."

You chuckled, smiling for the first time that night. "Why do you think I was always loud?" The crunch of a cookie filled your pause. "I knew you would always come complain."

✦✧✦✧

"I have a present for you, Y/N," Namjoon said.

It was the holidays now. Your family was far away and none of you wanted to get on a plane. It saddened you that you wouldn't be able to see your family, but Namjoon had become your solace. He'd usually hear when you got home and about ten minutes later, he'd appear at your door, asking what you were having for dinner that night. Most of the time, you ate together.

It was just like all those other nights, except you didn't have to work the next morning. Namjoon had met you by your door, takeout in hand, and a backpack slung over his shoulder.

Namjoon reached into his backpack and pulled out a wrapped package. The paper was a bit wrinkled, indicating he'd wrapped it himself. It made you smile.

"Oh, wait," you said, getting up and walking to the closet where you pulled out a similarly wrapped package. You handed it to him and looked down at his gift for you.

Tearing off the paper, you laughed when you noticed it was headphones. They were expensive too, which made your stomach turn thinking that he spent so much money on you.

"Open the box," he said, a smug smile on his face.

You ripped open the box, finding crumpled up paper. You felt around until you felt a thin object. Pulling it out. you found a CD.

"It's a mixtape. For you." Namjoon's eyes wandered around the room. "I--uh--hope you'll play it like you do One Direction."

You flung your arms around him, but he stopped you. "There's something else."

You looked down at the box quizzically before you began pulling out the paper. Reaching inside, you felt what you immediately recognized as a ring. Thoughts ran through your mind as you pulled it out.

It was your promise ring from Jae-ho, shinier than when you had last seen it. "He wanted me to give it back to you. But, I knew it might be painful. I had it cleaned and engraved for you."

You turned the ring to see the engraving on the inside: Be Loud - KNJ

[autisticchicc]

Unstructured Autism Rant

A/N: For COVID reasons, mask is purely metaphorical in this piece, not an actual face mask, the work scenario was something that happened pre-COVID.

Trigger Warnings: In-depth descriptions of autism-related struggles and meltdowns.

Disclaimer: This is my personal experience with autism, that is not to say that this is the experience of every person with ASD.

“Have I solved your issue today?” I ask the customer on the other end of the phone. I have; I don’t know why I’m asking this. The customer confirms I have, and I wish them goodbye, a good day, and thank you for calling the business. I don’t care if they have a good day, and I why on earth would I thank them for calling us? The entire interaction went on for far too long for my liking thanks to small talk and the customer pushing pointless information about themselves onto me. He told me he was sketching by the riverside, but why do I need to know about that? How do I respond to a piece of information that does nothing to or for me? Upon hanging up, I breathe a sigh of relief. The mask slips off my face slightly as I rub my temples.  

The relief is short-lived, as one of my co-workers comes over to my desk to talk about something. I take a deep breath and pull the mask back on properly before forcing myself to engage enthusiastically in this conversation. I don’t know this co-worker that well, I know nothing about how she talks, her personality, or her humour, only that I have a huge margin for error in this conversation. I concentrate intensely, trying desperately to make sense of her rapidly changing facial expressions and knowing when it’s my turn to talk. After interjecting at the wrong time on several occasions, I give up and just respond meekly when there’s an obvious gap. I feel embarrassed and awkward, and when she walks away, I kick myself. Why is it so hard to have a simple conversation? I’ve yet to make any friends at this job, and I don’t think I ever will at this rate.

I swivel back to face my two screens and lament the lack of a blue light filter on this software. My eyes ache, and the dog (yeah, don’t ask) on the upper level of the open plan office keeps barking. The occasional trilling of a phone irritates me more than usual as the late afternoon sun glares through the floor to ceiling windows at my photosensitive eyes. I can’t close the blinds because my co-workers love the sun, but I’m rapidly approaching a meltdown thanks to overstimulation, exhaustion, and following vague instructions all day. It feels as though every piece of sensory stimuli is stabbing at my eyes and ears. At the end of my shift I clock out and leave without saying goodbye to anyone. I don’t know them well enough to feel comfortable going out of my way to say anything in the first place.

Upon exiting the building, I cover my ears with my big headphones, the relief that washes over me is immense. All those invasive sounds are gone now, and I can listen to whatever I want. I still feel on edge, still teetering close to a meltdown, so I choose not to worsen it by listening to something that would fuel my anger. Sometimes it’s necessary, sometimes I desperately need to hear the pained screams of Pete Steele, the aggressive guitars and lyrics of Body Count. But today, I need something that isn’t going to give me the encouragement to punch the first person that triggers my rage.

For me, music is transformative and transportive. When I listen to particular songs with noise-cancelling headphones, it’s allows me to go somewhere in my imagination while my body moves to my real destination on autopilot. I decide on an uplifting song by The Knocks and Big Boi, Big Bills. It’s a song that makes me feel like a character in a movie that has just moved to a new city and is pursuing an exciting new life. To an extent that’s sort of true for me, minus the excitement and plot armour. Either way, it’s an uplifting song for me. So much so in fact, that I listen to it on repeat all the way home. If something interrupts the song, like an announcement on the tube or having to pause it, I have to restart it or it’s not the same.

When I eventually arrive home, the transformation happens. The moment my bedroom door closes, and I turn my headphones off, it begins. The outcome of this transformation can be vastly different depending on how my day went. It might be that it was a successful day socially, so I leave my phone out of sight and silently bury myself in a hobby for hours in order to recharge. It might be that the mask comes off and I begin to scream and sob, breaking anything I can to stop myself from self-injuring, burying the heels of my hands into my eyes to block any light. The transformation varies, but it is always the result of the same thing: suppressing who I am.

Much of being autistic and being forced to operate in a society catered to neurotypical people, for me, is suppressing my natural instincts and behaviour. Even when I have a positive day socially, it’s often contingent on how well I assimilated with other neurotypical people in that particular interaction. This is frustrating because not only am I exhausted because hardly anyone accommodates for me, I am also measuring the success of my day on other peoples’ standards. Many of my interpersonal relationships also operated that way until fairly recently, I was forced to behave and communicate the way that other people expected me to rather than what felt natural to me. There is only so many places and so much time I can maintain this act for, and so I was forced to simply cut those friendships off. I am no longer willing to negotiate my needs with people that clearly don’t like me enough to respect my disorder.

The friends I keep are mindful, lovers of the eccentric, embracing that which is different and persecuted for it. Often times I find that the people closest to me also have parts of their identity that mean they must also wear a mask of sorts when moving through society, be it racist society, patriarchal society, or queerphobic society. Our arms interlink on the fringes of an abstract hierarchy, turning away from the status quo and pursuing a life in truth and diversity. One day I’d love for everyone to be able to live authentically, for discrimination, isms and phobias to fade away into the past. I don’t see it happening in my lifetime, or perhaps ever, but I hope it does eventually.

In an ideal world, I would only interact with those aforementioned friends and no one else, but as we’ve established, that is not the world we live in. The reality is, I almost never get to interact with people who accommodate for me. I deal with people touching me without permission which makes my skin crawl, forcing me to take my headphones off when I’m fending off a meltdown, managers who don’t give me the specific step-by-step instructions I need, classmates who don’t understand that I don’t talk because I’m too shy, not because I’m unfriendly, lecturers that forget I can’t operate well in group work and can’t be in classrooms with harsh, fluorescent lights… The list is endless. Even going to the shop is a struggle, because the employees have no way to know. Although Tesco’s have been considerate and ‘progressive’* enough to introduce sunflower lanyards (https://www.tesco.com/help/invisibledisability/), most stores have absolutely no assistance in place for customers with hidden disabilities. I just have to hope that they don’t speak to me and that I don’t end up getting overwhelmed and having to ask anyone for help.

In a lot of ways, this pandemic has meant that I can avoid quite a lot of the scenarios that would usually cause me stress. I no longer work (admittedly, this causes more stress than it relieves), I don’t have to attend class in person, there is little to no in-person socialising, family events are cancelled, seasonal holidays are cancelled, queuing and crowding is no longer allowed (without distancing), etc. That has all been excellent and a relief. But on the flip side, it has given rise to a whole host of new problems. I hate being on camera or speaking in online lessons, there is no way for me to remind the teacher subtly I can’t do group work, masks trigger heat-related meltdowns for me, the financial instability of being unemployed has been a huge stressor, and the lack of government support is utterly enraging. 

Overall, it’s been a huge adjustment. The job that I talked about my experience with at the beginning of this rant is long gone now, so many things have changed. I have never dealt well with change, but this year has forced me to. In some ways I suppose you could say this is a positive development, exposure therapy is best at times. I just wish it had been more on my terms and not at the hands of a viral pandemic. 

[ayatosmlktea]

7 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒔

Y/N excitedly hurries down the block to their apartment, a joyful spring in her step. She’d managed to leave work earlier than usual wanting to surprise Levi for their seven year anniversary. She had the whole evening planned out, dinner reservations at their favourite restaurant followed by an evening spent in one of the fanciest airbnbs their city had to offer where they would spend the night enjoying copious amounts of champagne and living the rich life. She’d been saving up for their anniversary for almost a year now, the biggest chunk of her budget going towards upgrading their wedding rings. They’d gotten married relatively young meaning that they hadn’t had the money to buy each other expensive rings. Not that it had bothered her in the slightest but now that they were in a better place financially she wanted to show Levi how much she appreciated him. 

The rings were simple, platinum bands with an engraving of their anniversary on the inside. The brisk autumn air stinging her cheeks pink. Her fingers are stiff from the cold as she fishes around in her pockets for her keys, unlocking the door as quietly as possible. Biting back a grin she slips off her boots, removing her headphones she sets down the Cartier bag on the floor. Her eyes immediately notice another pair of heels, not ones belonging to her. The quietness of the apartment suddenly fading as wanton moans fill her ears. She had to be dreaming, there was no way Levi would cheat on her. Their relationship was better than it had ever been, they’d been together for so long would he really ruin all of that today of all days? Her feet make no noise as she walks across the living room warily approaching their bedroom door. She hesitates wondering if this is something she really wants to see but the masochist streak in her urges her on. 

Y/N doesn’t know how to explain the emotions she experiences in that moment. The sight of her husband on his back, head leaning against pillows flustered and sweaty with exertion while pounding into some nameless woman snaps something inside of her. His loud groan twists like a knife in her gut, the sounds of skin slapping make her want to vomit. The conflict in her mind of whether or not to leave and pretend like nothing was happening or to barge in and stab him with his mistresses high heels roots her to the spot. Making up her mind she slams the bedroom door against the wall, striding into the room. The girl shrieks in horror, quickly falling off of Levi who can only stare at in her in shock. He hadn’t expected her to be home so early, he had double checked the calendar to make sure she didn’t have any appointments. She forces herself not to look at him, feeling hot tears pricking her eyes. Grabbing a bag she stuffs whatever clothes she can into it while trying to calm her shaking hands. 

“What are you doing home so early?” Closing her eyes she focuses on steadying her breathing, her throat feels like it’s tightening against the barricade of tears she’s desperately trying to keep back. Grabbing a few other essential items she turns around to meet his eyes. 

“If you can’t remember what today  is then I’m not going to bother telling you. Don’t wait up for me” Twisting the ring off her finger she tosses it into his lap not bothering to look back.

“Wait you’re married?” The girl cries, the question makes her nauseous. Not only was he cheating on her but he was hiding their relationship. The minute she gets back into her car she bursts into tears sobbing loudly. Her hands clutching the steering wheel are the only thing keeping her body upright. Mascara stains her cheeks, tears dripping down her neck. There were so many questions she wanted answers to but didn’t have it in her to face him again. Was the last seven years really all just a lie? She waits until no more tears  fall before starting the car. Drying her eyes with the sleeve of her sweater she heads for the airbnb. She had paid for it and figured that this situation called for unlimited alcohol. 

Pulling up outside the penthouse she parks her car before calling to cancel her reservation. For the time being she feels numb, her brain unwilling to process the fact that she had married someone so vile. After checking in she takes a long shower, the hot water beating against her skin almost numbingly. Eventually she figures that she has to get out and get dressed. The smell of her clothes remind her of him, the detergent he insisted on buying infiltrating her memories. Y/N clutches them against her chest burying her nose in the soft cotton. Her eyes squeeze shut as she remembers the way he had kissed her goodbye that morning. 

She had thought his enthusiasm was because of whatever plans he had in store for them that night but now she comes to the bitter realization that he must have been waiting for her to leave so his mistress could come over. Throwing the clean clothes into the washing machine she fetches a bottle of wine from the fridge popping the cork and taking a huge swig straight from the bottle. Knowing it would soon be dark, despair begins to creep up on her as she realizes that for the first time in years she was going to be sleeping alone. Picking up her phone she dials her best friend.

“Hey Hange, wanna spend the night in a penthouse suite?” Y/N desperately tries to keep her voice light, her chuckle only half hearted as she stares at the bottle cradled in her hands. Hange’s voice raises in pitch demanding to know what happened to her plans with Levi.

“If you bring pizza I’ll tell you everything. I’ll text you the address” She sighs, her spirits lifted only by the fact that she wouldn’t have to be alone and that Hange would be bringing her some much needed comfort food. Almost on cue her stomach growls loudly. Leaning back into the cushions she takes another sip of wine, the brightening of her screen catches her attention. It was a request from someone named Petra wanting to message her on facebook. Her breath catches in her throat, fingers shaking as she accepts the request. Her eyes glaze over the message chewing her lip between her teeth she feels her heart drop into her stomach. 

“Apparently they’ve been seeing each other for a year.” She mumbles stuffing her face with a slice of pizza. Hange’s eyes widen almost comically and Y/N would have laughed if it wasn’t for the fact that she felt like curling up into a ball and disappearing. 

“What a fucking bastard! I’ll kill him” Grabbing the phone out her hands, Hange skims through their exchanged conversation. 

“Yeah, that’s not even the best part” she snorts waiting for her friend to scroll to the most recent messages. Hange turns to her jaw slacked in disbelief. 

“Yep, he has other ones, one of them is from right around our first year of being married. Petra found them through his Facebook- fucking dumbass couldn’t even create a fake account.” Chugging back another glass of alcohol she sighs heavily. 

“I’ve messaged them but they haven’t responded yet. I feel so fucking stupid Hange” her lip trembles as hot tears spill down her cheeks. 

“I know sweetie, but this has nothing to do with you it’s his fault for ruining the best relationship he’s ever going to get” 

“Do you think he ever loved me?” Her voice cracks and Hange’s heart shatters at the state of distress Y/N is in. Her normally e/c eyes full of life are dull and void of anything but hurt.

“I think he does in his own fucked up way but he doesn’t deserve your love.” Her hand gently rubs circles on her back. 

“Please don’t leave me” Y/N’s fingers dig into Hange’s sleeve, the brunette pulls her into a strong embrace.

“It’s going to be okay sweetie, I’ll be here.” 

Levi had tried to find ways that he could get Y/N to speak to him again, he had fucked up in not remembering that it had been their seven year anniversary. He berated himself for having ruined his marriage, she’d supported everything he had done throughout the years standing by his side even when he hadn’t had a penny to his name. 

Cursing internally he unlocks the door to their apartment expecting to find it empty. His heart nearly stops beating when he finds Y/N, Petra, Hange and two of his other mistresses all waiting for him in the living room. Laughing loudly while the tv plays in the background. A sickly sweet smile plastered on Y/N’s lips as she skips over to him. 

“What did you do?” He whispers feeling the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. 

“I think what you meant to say was ‘I’m such an asshole for cheating on you our entire relationship. Please forgive me for being such a piece of shit’” Y/N’s tone is mocking, her eyes holding no love for him as he feels numerous pairs of eyes on him. 

“Please Y/N, don’t do this. I can explain” Levi grabs her arm but she pulls away faster than he can touch her. 

“Get the fuck out of my apartment Levi, I’ll have the divorce papers sent to your office. We’re done. All of us” His eyes dart to the other women, their arms crossed looking at him with repulsion. Shoving several bags into his hands she opens the door ushering him out and slamming it shut without a second glance. 

“Sorry about the interruption ladies, now where were we?” 

Masterlist

[dragonrajafanfiction]

The Red Well (Part 1) Putting God to the Test

More Ruri Action served up hot and fresh @rurifangirl

The Red Well is an immense hole in the ground where much of the water you’d seen flow through the vast Iron Dome hidden under Genji Heavy Industries was siphoned away from the City of Tokyo into the mountains near the Tama River. It was one of many of such wells. Each one of these storage tanks was actually an underground lake that was a kilometer across. The hole was just an access port. The hole was normally covered by a huge retractable lid, but it was pulled back. Along the walls of the hole, layers of scaffolding shored it up against earth movement and large lift elevators big enough to transport heavy machinery were installed on its sides.

You stood on the cross beam at the very top. The water of this well was far, far below you, looking like a round red eye. Far nearer to you was a circular maintenance floor where hundreds of members of the Devil Clan feverishly worked on this massive project that was finally coming to fruition after decades of planning. Between you and the water below were flow control gates.

Hydra had started this whole mess by drilling horizontally from the Red Well until they reached the Well of Bones: An underground crimson colored river that had mixed with magma and filled with nutrients to harbor the White King and its legions of minions. The river was diverted into the tunnel, that led to this well and thousands of dragonkin came with it. The pumps on the side of the well dumped a huge load of mercury poison into the water to weaken and kill the beasts. Then they dropped thermite bombs into the water to destroy what was left.

But Hydra had underestimated the so-called “God” as well as the Devil Clan. God survived and was swimming among the mercury and all the corpses.

While you had been happily standing on the bridge, getting married to Chime Gen, Herzog had prepared his own wedding gift. He replaced the mercury flow with a flow of deadpool fetal blood - and other nourishing chemicals - and dumped them into the well just as you were saying your words on the bridge of the Takamagahara Night Club.

The ‘God’ awakened and brought disaster to Tokyo by setting off a Mount Fuji eruption and massive earthquakes that sent a deadly tsunami right at you.

Still, you managed to survive, thanks to your newly wedded husband Ruri Kazama. Herzog summoned Ruri with the clapper and put Chime Gen to sleep. You had tried to awake Chime, but you were not enough. Ruri had carried you all the way here, because you were dying, turning into Deadpool. He pierced you with his bones, and gave you his blood that could restrain the raging dragonblood in you. But even he had to admit that only the fetal blood of this so-called God could save you. 

But Herzog would never willingly share that divine fetal blood. Ruri would have to kill him for it.

On Herzog’s command, Ruri slit his wrist and dropped his blood into the water far far below. It wasn’t enough to fill a teaspoon but the God detected it and now rushed to the surface hungrily circling. The water below was stirred up by that frantic circling and formed a huge kilometer wide whirlpool.

Herzog had since moved to one of the engineering platforms to get a better view. "It can't wait! Let's give it some challenge and see how strong God really is!" The king general shouted, "Turn on the water turbine!''

The first test began with turning on the giant water turbine in the bottom of the well. It could spin up a powerful vortex which would drag everything swimming in the water towards the bottom of the well, but the huge target swam leisurely, completely undisturbed.

"Great! Bravo! See, now!  That is something that can change the rules, and the current cannot bind it!" The King General exclaimed. "Let's give it more of a challenge!"

You lean your lips close to Ruri Kazama’s ear. “Ruri? Can I ask you? Does Herzog know all these people by name?”

Ruri Kazama didn’t move or look at you, but he did answer. “Yes. They are all Devil Clan Elites. Survivors of the purge. The best and the strongest are all that are left of the Devil Clan who aren’t rotting in the black prisons.”

You turn and look at all the people gathered and working the equipment. Some was scarcely older than you. Some looked younger.

The second test began immediately as the head of the engineering team pressed a remote control and a violent explosion set off in the water, sending thousands of tons of water and mercury rushing upward. The Devil Clan had put 12 plastic explosives in the water, mixed with tens of thousands of steel balls. The explosion, combined with the ball bearings, was no less than hundreds of military shotguns firing in unison.

But on the sonar screen, the whale-sized target once again ignored this test as it swam unaffected through the flames of the blast.

“That was beautiful! Beautiful! That's the kind of power that can change the world!" King General Herzog was so excited that his voice trembled.

“Ruri? Did they know Herzog all their lives?” You asked, resting your chin on his shoulder.

Ruri didn’t answer immediately. He just glanced at you.

For the third test, the gates at the bottom of the well opened. These gates were covered with metal mesh, designed to filter dirt. The gates were so strong and the mesh so flexible that the mesh could be compared to the toughest fishing nets in the world. A whale going at full speed would be entangled.

But the target broke through gate after gate with the ease of a heated knife slicing through butter. 

You flinch as Ruri slides you off the spines sticking out of his body. As he settles you on the beam, your wounds immediately close up within seconds. “I think I know what you’re getting at.” Ruri said.

You nod silently looking down. Your heart is heavy. Some things never change in people. This was really Black Swan Bay, all over again. You feel something touch your arm. When you turn your eyes widen. “Where did you get that?”

Ruri smiled slyly, handing you your claw dagger. “I know where you’re staying.”

Your jaw drops. But then you shut it and snatch the dagger. “Rude!”

“You were stuck to me for an entire night. Your blood should be completely replaced at this point.” He said. The bones of his body snapped like someone popping the joints of their neck. The bone spines retract back into his chest. You shudder involuntarily.

"Ten, nine, eight, seven..." The engineering team leader counted the remaining gates as the target broke through the layers of obstruction and was about to reach the surface.

The operators at the bottom of the well were ducking into safety pods. They looked like the kind made of alloys, nanofibers and high-density polymers that could even block the shock waves of a nuclear blast so long as they weren’t at ground zero. You hum to yourself and make a note. 

The thing in the lake was still swimming in the water, but its roar thundered through the underground lake. The vibrations were so violent that the storage well was on the verge of collapse. Cracks crawled up the metal sheathing of the well walls. People pressed their ears even over noise cancelling headphones. It was the kind of roar that seemed to cut through one's skull and pierce directly into the depths of one's mind. It was a kind of funeral dirge - yet joyful - roar, like the god of death cursing the world in hell.

Only you, King General and Ruri Kazama remained calm. King General stood on the platform in the middle of the well wall, looking down without turning away, like he was sitting in a VIP box enjoying a master's performance, while Ruri Kazama still stood in the rain like a lonely soul, rainwater flowing down along his long hair. You just felt sad for all these people, like a doomsday prophet on a street holding a sign that read ‘the end is near’, knowing that you were right and no one would listen.

The surface of the water burst. Grayish-white stagnant water mixed with mercury rushed up to the sky. Thousands of lung snails were driven up violently like bullets and ricocheted, hitting the wall of the well with a popping sound, their hard shells completely shattered, their bodies turned into a goo-like substance stuck to the wall of the well. A plain white shadow cloaked in grayish-white water rose up to the sky with the speed of a cannonball. But gravity quickly reduced its speed. It found support before it fell, by grabbing the layers of iron scaffolding on the wall of the well, and climbed upward at high speed. It was about the size of an orca, with an estimated weight of over ten tons, and those iron frames simply could not support its weight, crumbling in layers below it.

The King applauds vigorously, shifting from looking down to looking up, watching the large creatures devastating advance

    Snowy lights came on with sharp thudding noises, and the beast was finally presented to all eyes. It was wrapped in white filaments, looking like a giant cocoon, but with a hideously long tail trailing below.

Its movements were so fast that no one could see how such a cocoon-like thing with a tail was climbing. The long, bony tail lashed against the wall of the well, sloughing off the metal plates on the wall in rows, and the metal fragments mixed with the bodies of the lung snails as they rained down.

The four Vulcan cannons set up on the maintenance platform roared to life, pouring streams of steel into the well that exploded in gray-green smoke. 

“More mercury?” You ask.

“No. Anesthesia.” Ruri said.

“Uh…” You glance at him uncertainly. If Ruri Kazama’s rampage through the Takamagahara nightclub taught you anything, it was that dragons were something beyond any other life form. How could you knock out something like this with laughing gas?

 The cocoon coat made of white filaments was torn by the bullet rain, and the pale white hatchling experienced pain for the first time and let out a shrill hiss into the sky.

Your heart starts beating wildly and you’re suddenly filled with dread. You remembered how fast Ruri Kazama was, how deadly. How helpless everyone was before him. And he wasn’t even a full blooded dragon! Up until now, you’d only faced lowly deadpool and were barely above deadpool yourself. But deadpool were always the toughest and most dangerous compared to humans, powerfully strong and near bullet proof. Only by specific strategy, proper weapons, speed and stamina could you hope to escape with your lives against lowly deadpool.

You’d never seen a real dragon before. This was a real dragon!

The Vulcan cannons predictably failed to slow the thing down and it broke away with an unstoppable tenacity. A few Devil Clan members below you shouldered massive rocket launchers and fired. These were not aimed at the god itself, but at the stairs it used to ascend, the iron construction scaffolding, all of which crumbled in the explosion from top to bottom. The god fell with the debris of the iron frame, and the Vulcan cannons were still raining down on it.

Something clicks in your head. If you stop this thing from climbing out, that means no one else could climb out either. Your eyes roll back to Herzog who waves at you from the engineering platform.

He’s aware. The bastard.

The dragon was furious. This time it let out a roar of rage instead of a scream of pain. Pale white tentacles burst the last of its cocoon coat and violently grabbed the smooth well wall.

"Yamata-no-Orochi!" The head of the engineering team said in a groaning voice.

The myth became a reality before his eyes. Instead of tentacles, what grabbed the well wall was eight curved dragon necks. The beast with eight heads and sharp teeth bit into the well wall. Its lower limbs are deformed and short, so it uses the eight heads as feet, climbing with movements like an eight-legged spider. Those long, slender snake-like necks curled and stretched. Eight pairs of golden eyes were like candles that flooded the well with their light. It is clearly climbing up, but in the eyes of everyone it is the devil from the sky.

Only Herzog saluted with a hand over the heart, excitedly exclaiming: "What a specimen!”

Although it had  a huge body, because it is still in its infancy, that body looks withered. However, it is athletic and swift. As it crawled through cracks in the metal panels, rocks shattered, and red lwarning lights lit up layer by layer. Step by step it approached success, Vulcan cannons and rocket launchers kept blowing dazzling fire on it. Blood oozed from the god's pale scales, and part of its dorsal ridges were torn apart by the explosion, revealing the ghastly white spine. But it still climbed upwards without slowing down. It had just detached itself from the cocoon, and once it left this place, it only needed a moment's respite to regain more strength, and then it could easily destroy these tiny creatures.

“And this is a baby…?” You breathed. “God damn…”

“You understand now?” Ruri said. “You remember the history of the Light King. The Dark King took great pains to destroy her.”

“How could we ever do it? Yeah… I get it.” You answer. “Humans… can’t kill dragons.” You look down at the dagger in your hand. “Only… dragons can kill dragons.” You turn your eyes up at him. “Right? That’s why you’re here?”

Ruri’s eyes were fixed below. “We’re here…”

“But I’m not strong enough to…” You blink.

“Get ready, regardless.”

"Go! Go! Let me see how far the inquisitive creature can go!'' The king pumps his fist in admiration, his tone filled with divine wonder while also cheering like he’s at a sporting event.

A single missile exploded where the god was clinging to the wall, destroying part of the well wall. The impact caused the god to slump uncontrollably as it was unable to hold onto it. But the sharp teeth caused marks several feet deep in the wall, and it held on.

 "Awesome! That's how it should be! How can a mundane weapon hurt a god's body?" The king high-fives the engineers around him, as if he had not formulated the plan to stop the god, and he sincerely expected the thing to escape from here.

White ropes bounced off the wall of the well and wrapped around the god. The ropes were no wider than a finger but the fibers weaving them were nanofibers. Each nano-rope can lift the Trieste and countless nano-ropes form a huge net strong enough to stop a navy destroyer. The god tried to break through several times, but failed, and a single missile focused on its abdomen and exploded, blowing it into a fountain of blood. The god could no longer rise even one meter. It was still struggling though and the more it struggled, the tighter the net became around it.

"It's working! It's captured!" The cheers of the engineering team came to your ears from below where you stood on the upper cross beam with Ruri.

"Captured it? Is capturing God so easy? Wrong, so wrong!" You whisper. 

A floating arc of light flashed, brighter even than the floodlights illuminating the cavern, like the arc of a supreme sword. A second later, a neat slice severed the superstrong material and God was freed from his bondage.

Suddenly, the King started screaming in Japanese. It sounded like a rush of syllables you didn’t understand.

“In the legend, Susanoo killed Yamata No Orochi and pulled a sword from its tail. That sword was called Sword of the Gathering Clouds of Heaven… roughly.” Ruri said.

“That’s what that thing is?” You asked.

“It’s how humans chose to understand it.”

“I get the feeling I should be going to school with you and not Cassell.” You mutter.

Ruri suddenly moves as though a switch had turned on. The god had revealed its greatest weapon and was rapidly making its way up without obstruction.  Nothing can stop the god's escape any longer. Above it is the mouth of the well and once it reaches that mouth, it is free. It dances its sword tail and continues to climb. Its scales audibly clatter like chainmail, sealing its body to resist the power of a missile blasts. It traversed the flames of the explosions, and its eight heads danced wildly, only yards away from you. Staring into those golden eyes you felt a confusing mix of joy, challenge, rage and hunger.

You had fought with Chisei Gen in awe of his great strength and brute unstoppable force, but Ruri Kazama was otherworldly, hardly human at all. It was a state of mind that you never really entered, like someone who ran through blood like a child splashing through rain puddles. You weren’t sure you wanted to go there.

But Ruri Kazama granted you no choice, shoving you forcefully into the well. The wind whipped by you and you descended uncontrollably toward a gaping maw.

A chant in an ancient and mysterious language descends behind you and passes you in a roaring white shadow. 

Ruri Kazama had jumped from the steel crossbeam and landed straight towards that same gaping maw. Both of your bodies put together are only one percent of this god’s, and such tiny targets should have been ignored by the god or sliced away with a casual swing of that heavenly sword tail, but from the moment the chanting began, the narrow snake-like glowing eyes widened with awe.

Ruri Kazama’s blade spun in a horizontal arc and the pale white head that threatened to eat you a second ago rose to the sky with a gushing, spinning fountain of blood. He’d chopped that head clean off! He caught you on the crook of his arm and tossed you again.

 In excruciating pain, the god released all the heads attached to the wall of the well and surrounded Ruri Kazama who landed on one, but Ruri Kazama swung his long sword and knocked back those hardened dragon heads towards you. You immediately understand and plunge your dagger into the beast’s glowing eyes. The hooked claw catches on the orbital bone. The beast drops its head, intending to throw you into the well, but you release and go sailing to the other side. A head is chasing you to devour you but Ruri Kazama’s blade makes a dazzling crimson flash in the dark and that head's eyes wink out like an extinguished candle. 

The Deadpool’s claw is enough to dig into the armored scales. You gather courage and fearlessly score long bleeding lines as you slide down the limp neck towards the body and stab again and again and again! Both of you and the monster rolled together and descended, leaving large splashes of blood on the wall of the well. Ruri’s sword is sending blinding sparks on the scales. The god is roaring and wailing and Ruri Kazama is letting out a roar more terrible than the god every time it so much as snapped at you.

It wasn’t that Ruri needed your help necessarily. He needed an outlet for a feeling that he couldn’t understand. It was the feeling of having something and then a great hand coming to take it away from you. It was that sharp, offended feeling that brought out the greatest ferocity in the heart of every breathing thing. 

To keep what one has, every living creature will draw blood!

It wasn't a dragon slaying at all. It was monsters entangled in a mutual slaughter to tear and chew each other up. It only took ten seconds to fall from the wellhead to the bottom of the well, but it was those ten seconds of roaring and wailing that no one dared to listen to, the sound of a lifetime of nightmares, like evil spirits feasting on muscles and tendons and bleeding between their grinding teeth.

Perhaps it was a greater mistake to allow something like Ruri Kazama to live in this world than to awaken a god.

The heavy body of the god fell into the water, splashing a giant wave more than ten meters high, and Ruri Kazama hung unflinchingly on the wall of the well, his long clothes dangling, like a ghost that had hung there years ago. You were back in his arms like nothing had happened, breathing hard, your head spinning with the thrill of it all. 

But then your heart falls.

The battle ended with a tragic victory for Ruri Kazama. The god was already badly wounded before reaching the top of the well, and Ruri Kazama cut off four of its heads. But he himself paid a heavy price. His back muscles looked like they were plowed by iron, and his abdomen was left with a huge wound, but he did not show any expression of pain. He just hung there, looking up at the sky.

“He’s coming.” He said quietly. He turned to you. “You should hide.”

[awhitehead17]

Everything Goes Silent

Tim & Kon, Friendship, Hurt and Comfort, Powers Acting Up.

Summary: When Tim finds Kon suffering because of his powers, he immediately sets himself the task of helping his best friend with his problem. 

Enjoy! :D

The first time it happened Tim was actually caught off guard by it. It was just something he actually never even thought about until it happened and it made him wonder how long his best friend had been suffering for before he accidently found out.

It was when he was stopping by the Tower one weekend that he accidently found it out. While there he decided to visit Kon in his room to have a catch up as he hadn’t seen his friend in who knows how long. Since Tim didn’t have anything planned for a change, it was the perfect time to have a chat and maybe play some video games while they were at it.  

He gets to Kon’s bedroom door and taps it a few times to announce his presence before walking in. Tim walks into the room to find it unusually dark, the curtains had been drawn closed to block out any light from the window and there were no gadgets on which would normally illuminate the room. 

“Kon?” He calls out into the empty looking room. He looks around to try and find his best friend in the dark. He wasn’t on his bed and most certainly wasn’t asleep, the desk on one side of the room was empty and a glance upwards tells him Kon wasn’t floating on the ceiling anywhere.

Tim frowns, how odd. Earlier on when he first arrived Cassie had told him that Kon was in his room and had been all day, if he wanted to find the super, that’s where to look.

“Conner?” He calls out again. A bad feeling starting to build up inside of him, his gut was telling him that something was wrong.

Stepping further into the room Tim scans around trying to find something out of the ordinary, however everything was in place that he could see the only strange thing was that it was dark. Despite the gut feeling that something was off he was ready to leave the room, considering that Kon may have walked out at one point and Cassie just didn’t know, when a quiet whimper catches his attention.

His head whips around to where the sound came from and finds himself looking at the corner of the room where Kon’s wardrobe was. He listens intently, waiting to hear the noise again. When Tim hears it a second time he cautiously walks over there. The bad feeling in his stomach amplifying with every step he takes.

When he gets close enough he hears the whimpering much more clearly and to his complete surprise he finds his best friend being the source of the sound. Tim stares as he takes in Kon’s figure, the Super having somehow managed to wedge himself in between the wardrobe and the wall making himself as small as possible. His whole body was shaking, his head was tucked tightly in his knees and his hands and arms where covering his head like he was trying to hide from something.

Tim’s heart breaks at the sight. What was going on with his best friend? How didn’t anyone know about this?

Getting over himself he crouches down in front of Kon’s shaking figure. Close enough to touch but still far enough away to give personal space.

“Kon? It’s Tim, what’s wrong dude?” Okay, Tim didn’t actually know what to say to get his friend’s attention. He was crap with emotional stuff and anyone who knows him knows this but this was his best friend and he needed to help him.

Not knowing what else to really do, he reaches out and gently touches Kon’s knee and the reaction was instant. Tim thanks the gods for his fast reactions because they saved him from getting a Kryptonian kick to the stomach. Kon startles badly that his body reacts faster than his mind but once he sees that it was Tim and how he wasn’t in any immediate danger he curls back up into his ball and lets out another whimper.

Tim gets in close again and places his hand on Kon’s knee, keeping it there as a source of comfort. “Kon? What’s going on?”

Kon shakes his head, refusing to answer. Tim notices the way he has his hands pressed over his ears tightly.

“Kon, please, I want to help. Let me know what’s going on man.”

His best friend finally looks up at him, his hands still clutching to his ears, his face was contorted with pain and there were streak marks going down his cheeks. “I can’t do it anymore. That’s what. It’s all too much!”

He lets out a sob and Tim feels absolutely awful, but he still wasn’t sure what Kon was on about. “What’s too much? You need to explain it to me Kon, I can’t help if I don’t know the details.”

Kon shakes his head again, his teeth clench together as his hands press tighter to his ears. His tone was full of pain and stress as he talks. “I can hear everything. It’s all too much! I can’t do it! There’s just too much of it!”

That’s when it clicks in Tim’s mind. Kon’s super hearing was playing up. He currently didn’t have any control over his ability, it was causing him to have something similar to sensory overload. That’s the only way Tim can really describe it.

“Make it stop. Please. Make it stop!” Kon stresses, almost begging him.

Tim looks away and around the room hoping for something that’ll help. He doesn’t have anything that’ll immediately help and despite what everyone thinks he doesn’t know everything about powers and abilities. He doesn’t know what’ll help Kon right in this moment.

Taking a chance he gets up and finds Kon’s phone and his earphones on the bedside table. Grabbing them Tim goes back over to Kon and unlocks the phone, opens YouTube to bring up some white noise videos. He leans forward and tries to pry Kon’s hands away from his ears but they wouldn’t budge.

“Tim please,” Kon begs again.

“Kon, trust me.” Tim tells him, he holds the earphones up for him to see and reluctantly Kon moves his hands from his ears.

As quick as he can Tim places them in each ear and turns the video up. “Try and concentrate on this noise only.”

Kon closes his eyes but the painful expression he’s been wearing doesn’t go away. After a couple of moments Tim gets another idea, he shuffles closer pushing Kon’s knees apart and sliding between them. He presses his back against Kon’s chest, grabs his friends arms so they wrap around him and strategically places Kon’s hand over his heart, hoping this would be another thing that Kon could concentrate on.

He feels his best friend hug him tight as he places his head on top of Tim’s. They stay like that for a long time, long enough for even Tim to become stiff but he doesn’t dare move. During that time Kon seemed to have calmed down enough to get control once again.

When Kon starts to pull away Tim moves too, opting to stand up and try and stretch his muscles out. Kon stays sat down, taking a moment to get himself together before taking out the earphones and looking up at Tim with a small tired smile. “Thanks man.”

“It’s no problem. That helped then?” He asks curiously. There’s so many questions that Tim wants to ask his friend but he’s able to restrain himself, he doesn’t want to overload Kon after that.

Kon swallows, “Yeah, it took a little while but it did eventually. Man that was awful, I’m pretty sure that’s my version of a migraine or something.”

Tim chuckles at that and extends his hand for Kon who takes it. “That’s good to hear. How often does this happen?”

His friend looks away, “Not a lot, it happened more when I was younger but once I got control over my powers it stopped. However, on the rare occasion it all just becomes too much and I lose that control. Particularly when I’m stressed or over tired and exhausted.”

Tim hums, taking in that information but he doesn’t press for more. He looks up at him, “I’ve got the weekend off, fancy watching some movies or playing some games?”

Kon shoots him a relived look and nods, “Sounds good.”

That was when Tim set himself up a project, to come up and build something that’ll help Kon in the future when another overload happens.

He works on it for weeks, making sure it was perfect. Of course it was difficult at times, frustrating at other times when it doesn’t always work out right, but after hours and hours of work he eventually has something that’ll help Kon out with his problem.

Unfortunately he can’t give it to Kon straight away because of course aliens attack the planet, villains try and take over the city, some sort of natural disaster happens which takes up all of their time. With everything that had happened Tim had completely forgotten about the project, saving the world and thousands of lives just distracted him from it.

It wasn’t until months later, when Tim finds Kon having another sensory overload because of his super hearing that he remembers the project. Once he finds his friend curled up in a ball with his hands clenched over his ears, Tim runs to his room and finds it stashed away in his desk.

He rushes back to Kon and pries the meta’s hands away before placing some very special crafted noise cancelling headphones over his ears. Tim had designed them specifically for Kon’s needs so he’s nervous yet excited as he turns them on, this being the first time they’re being used therefore this will let Tim know if they work or not.

After a moment his best friend looks up at him in shock and carefully pats his head, feeling the headphones out. A large grin takes over his face and if the hug tackle that Kon does is any indication, Tim would say that his project worked. He’s happy that he was able to help his friend.

[probably-writing-x]

One

~Shawn Mendes~

~Based on One by Lewis Capaldi~

There wouldn't ever come a day where Shawn could no longer remember the exact events of that night. Where he wouldn't remember the feeling of complete and utter heartbreak that swarmed the apartment and made it impossible for him to not feel it too. Where he wouldn't wish he could take it all back.

~~~Two Years Earlier~~~

The call sounded from his phone, cutting out the song and flashing your photo onto the dark screen - it was a picture of you and him in London when he'd been on tour there.

"Hello love!" Shawn picks up instantly, speaking through his headphones as he walks to flop down on the couch in his lounge, looking out at the Toronto skyline where he generally focused on the sight of your apartment just about in view, "Are you still alright to come over tomorrow? I've got a new little song and I need my best opinion,"

"Shawn," Your voice was nothing above a whisper on the other end and part of him thought he'd imagined it.

But the tug on his heart told him he'd dreamt nothing of the sort.

"(Y/n)?" Shawn jolts up to sit up on the couch, preparing himself for the worst that was yet to come, "Honey, are you okay?"

"Can you come over?" Your words are shaking just as much as your entire body, "I just, I need-"

"I'm on my way, don't come off the phone okay?" Shawn jumps up and grabs his keys, tugging on whatever shoes were closest before making the sprint across the city streets to reach your place.

He makes it there in record time which, on any other day, he would make a point of being proud of. Today, he feared all possible worsts.

"(Y/n)?" Shawn's banging on the door enough to confirm that he would be more than willing to knock it down, "Honey, are you in there?"

Silently and with all levels of no energy, your hands move to unlock the front door, opening the barrier so that the only thing between you and your best friend was the thick tension of his fear.

The sight is one he promised himself he would never let the world witness. You're dressed in all typical signs of your normal self but your face is completely different. Your cheeks are stained with oceanic tears and your eyes have become red and puffy in their attempts to prevent further crying. Your bottom lip trembles and your hair is disheveled - you'd had your hands through it.

"He ended it," You manage to squeak out, hands shaking as you do.

Shawn's jaw clenches as he prevents himself from asking a million questions about those simple three words. Instead, his arms enclose your figure and he squeezes enough to let out the next batch of crisp tears, each of them soaking into the grey of his hoodie.

You're trembling against his torso and he's holding you like you'll crumble against him if he even attempts to loosen his grip.

"I've lost him Shawn. I've lost him, I've lost everything," You're truly sobbing now, letting out all of the words that had been tracking through your mind ever since Joe broke the news, "What did I do wrong?"

That's enough for Shawn to cancel all of your self-blame plans, "Hey," He snaps, pulling you away from him to make sure he looks you in the eyes as he says it, "Don't you dare say that. Whatever decision Joe made, you couldn't have done anymore,"

You try your best to nod in agreeance but find yourself crying even more, head dropping back against Shawn's shoulder as you do so.

You're not sure how long the two of you stay like that before Shawn guides you over to the couch, never once letting his hands loosen from around their support on you.

He stayed like that for the whole night, letting you tell the story of what had happened with you and Joe in your own broken pieces - pieces split with crying or cracked words or trembling lips. He lets you blame yourself until your done and then spends time telling you exactly how wrong you were.

In fact, Shawn stayed like that at your place for the next unnumbered days. He clears away the dying flowers that Joe had bought you before he left and he replays the story over in his head again and again.

You and Joe had been together for over a year now - opting to move in together to Joe's place only a few months ago. You were head over heels for the boy! He was currently working his way up the ladder of his family company and had recently left for New York to try to get the next promotion. Your flight to see him was already booked. Until the out of the blue call came telling you he'd been having second thoughts. And, just like that, he dropped you.

How on earth could someone do that to anyone?! Let alone the girl Shawn thought the world of. Joe had the dream relationship and he'd let it all go to waste. He'd let you completely go to waste.

~~~Present Day~~~

It took a long while for Shawn to see you brighten with your colours once again. For a long time, they'd been completely bled from you thanks to the shattering heartbreak Joe left you with. But, in a slow process, Shawn was there to watch you build yourself back up. He helped you move out of the apartment and into one in the same block as his. He waited outside when Joe came home as he felt gut wrenchingly terrified that he'd have to see you at your lowest once again after that. He stayed through the countless times that you cried and the times you got yourself so worked up that you made yourself ill.

And here he was.

In your own time, you'd learnt that your heart loved Shawn. For every one of his quirks, you completely loved him. And, boy, was that scary! He knew it too but he'd still let you take little shuffles before the big jump.

"Babe, I'm losing you," You wave your hand in front of his face until Shawn snaps out of his daze.

"Oh, sorry, honey," He shakes his head, looking at you with a light smile.

You chuckle and lift his arm so he could wrap it around you, "What on Earth were you thinking about?"

Shawn takes a breath, "You."

You look up at him and cock a brow, "Me?"

He hums in response and presses a soft kiss to your lips, "Just how lucky I am,"

You blush and kiss him again like it's the only thing you know how to do.

"What do you fancy for dinner tonight?" You ask him, hand settling on his chest.

"It's your choice, darling," He shrugs, reaching over to his phone and pressing shuffle on his playlist.

"Ooh, I'm gonna go with takeaway," You wiggle your brows, jumping up from the couch.

Shawn makes a noise of protest about the fact you were leaving him again.

"Sorry, babe, but the menus are calling me," You laugh, shaking your hips as an upbeat song blasts through the apartment.

Shawn tucks an arm atop his head and watches you move with the shadows of a smile between his cheeks.

Joe had told you that you weren't enough for him. That your love wasn't enough. He was looking for some sort of perfect despite having it stood right next to him. God, that guy must be fucking hard to please! He had his mind on his career and you were supposedly a burden to that progression. Shawn had learnt how to work with both. He picked up the pieces of your heart and loved you unconditionally whilst still continuing his career - he brought you along for every success and every failure. That's how it should be.

Your boyfriend is only snapped back into reality again this time by the change in song as one that always reminded you of Joe begins to play through the speakers. He winces and goes to change it quickly.

"No, no, it's okay Shawn," You shake your head, "You like this one,"

"I used to," He points out, standing up from the sofa and walking over to you, "You don't like it,"

You shrug your shoulders, "It was a long time ago. And I've got you, and god that's more than I could ask for,"

Your boyfriend smiles delicately and wraps his arms around your waist, finally settling them on your hips as he pulls back.

"I wish I could thank that guy, you know," Shawn admits, evidently a thought that had been ticking through in his mind.

"I'm sorry?" You ask in bewilderment.

"He broke your heart. He made all of these mistakes and put you through all of this pain and, because of that, he let the most phenomenal woman I know get away," Shawn explains, "And he let her fall in love with me,"

"Somebody else's loss is another's gain, huh?" You raise your brows.

Shawn chuckles softly and kisses you again, "Exactly, love,"

"Okay, so I fancy pizza but the best place doesn't deliver s-"

"So I'll go pick it up. The usual?" He cuts in, already moving to put on his jacket and shoes.

"You read my mind," You grin, realising this song no longer had an effect on you anymore. Joe was, thankfully, a distant memory now.

"I'll be back in a bit babe, love you," Shawn says quickly, kissing you before he leaves.

He made it a tradition to do just that - everytime he left he always kissed you and told you he loved you. Always.

~~~

The night air was crisp in Toronto as Shawn power walked the journey to the nearby pizza place you two always said did the best pizzas in the city. He diverted past where the two of you had your first date and even walked the crossing near the diner he'd taken you to at 3am when you couldn't sleep from how much you'd been crying.

The waft of italian herbs triggered his senses as he stepped into the old door of the fast food restaurant and walked to the counter to order your food.

"Shawn,"

Part of him prayed it was a fan who'd spotted him. The rest of him knew that voice exactly.

"Joe," Shawn turns on his heel to look at the face that utterly enraged him.

"How... How is she?"

"Come on man," Shawn sighs deeply, "It's been long enough,"

"Just tell me," Joe snaps.

The bags under his eyes were evident and he looked as though his shoulders would fall if they dropped any lower.

"Actually, she's doing great, man," Shawn nods with glimmers of pride flashing in his words, "Because, you see, you thought you'd broken her. You heard her crying and you saw her pleading with you and you knew you were the one that caused that heart to break. You knew you were the one who broke that beautiful, kind, incredible heart,"

"Don't do this to me, man," Joe croaks, scratching at the back of his neck.

"No, no, I'm actually going to thank you," Shawn states, holding out a hand.

He waits until Joe's hand clasps his before he continues.

"Because you're paying the price for what you did to her," Shawn explains, "So, thank you for letting me take your place. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to save her soul. And thank you for letting me have the chance to be everything you could never, ever be."

He grips Joe's hand a little too firmly before turning away to take your order of pizza and leaving as though he'd never been there.

~~~

"That was quick!" You grin as soon as Shawn walks in.

He instantly sets the pizzas on the table and grabs your hand before you can turn round to get them.

"Wh-"

He silences your questioning with a firm kiss, one where his hands cup your cheeks and he is solely focused on this being one of those kisses you remember.

"What was that for?" You chuckle a little breathlessly.

Shawn smiles lightly, his forehead resting on yours as he speaks, "Just needed to kiss you,"

~~~

(this is probably one of my favourite things I've written so please let me know what you think x)

Tags: @imarypayne @sunshine112 @bringmethehorizonandpizza @supernatural-girl97 @vibhati123 @butithasntkilledyouyet @faefictions @carisi-sonny @trap-house-homiecide @spiderrpcrker @tommydaspidey @oneblckcoffee @darlingtholland @fanficparker @xxtomxo @httpfandxms

[wintersxsoul]

Fire Meets Gasoline (6)

Summary: You leave your city to start over in your best friend’s town, oblivious to the fact that you have an unexpected roommate. What will happen when fire meets gasoline?

Pairing: Loki x Female!Reader

Word Count: 1.5k-ish?

Warnings: I don’t really know, none I guess,

A/N: PLEASE SEND ME ASKS TO BE TAGGED, I AM A MESS AND I REALLY DON’T READ ALL THE COMMENTS CAUSE I DON’T HAVE TIME SKSKKS.

“I loved it! But I only have one question. They couldn’t find rats so they used armadillos?” Loki asked confused. Of course you knew the answer, when you first watched the movie and saw the armadillos, you did your research.

“Well, apparently in the 20s and 30s, armadillos weren’t very common, so moviemakers would use them as a creepy, “demonic” animal.” He stared at you with a weird expression, and you started to panic, thinking that maybe you were being too much.

“I’m sorry, I just...I don’t know.” Loki saw the shift in your expression and the excitement glint in your eyes disappear. He couldn’t understand why you were apologizing but as soon as he studied in detail your body language, it clicked.

“How can you know that?” He wanted you to regain the enthusiasm you had while watching the movie and explaining to him the facts you knew. He looked at you, expectant, waiting for an answer.

“I was as shocked as you when I first saw it, so I did some digging.” You shrugged and remembered another fact. “Dracula also has a Jerusalem cricket as a pet, with its tiny little coffin and all.” You said in a laugh. You really loved knowing small facts about so many movies.

Loki’s phone buzzed on the small table in front of you. He stared at you a little longer, even though you weren’t speaking, and grabbed his phone.

“Hello?” He answered frowning but as soon as the other person spoke, his face lit up. You moved to stand up but he grabbed your wrist and stopped you. You looked at him confused.

“Yes, I know...Yes, she’s here...Right now?” Loki nodded and pressed the FaceTime button, showing Thor and Jane on the screen. You moved closer to Loki when he made a small movement with his head for you to get in the call.

“Hello Y/n!!” Both Jane and Thor said, waving at you enthusiastically. You smiled at them widely.

“Hello guys! How is everything going?” You asked, excited to finally being able to see your best friend after such a long time. Jane was talking about a project she was working on for NASA and Thor was just standing next to her, looking at her like she held the whole universe in her eyes. You felt your heart swell in your chest, happy tears for your friends threatening to fall.

“Enough of us. How are you two?” You shared a look with Loki, neither of you knowing what you could answer. After the conversation you had today, you knew things were going to be different, but you weren’t friends yet so you both just shrugged in order to answer.

“We are okay I guess? We haven’t killed each other, which is a great improvement, seeing how everything started.” You looked at Loki for his approval and you found him already looking at you, smiling in a friendly way.

“Well, isn't that oportune, babe?” Thor winked at Jane, both of them smiling widely. You looked at Loki to see his expression, but he was as clueless as you. If “????” could be spoken, Loki and you would probably be shouting it.

​”Guys, what the fuck is going on?” Loki finally asked, since Thor and Jane were just giggling, not able to speak.

“We are getting married!” Thor said as Jane raised her left hand to show her engagement ring. You stared at the screen in awe, tears rolling through your cheeks.

Loki was looking at you, knowing he was out of sight of Thor and Jane, spilling happy tears for his brother.

“And we want you to be the groomsman and the bridesmaid.” You spoke on the phone with them a little longer until they had to hang up.

You couldn’t believe you had to go to Norway with Loki. The wedding was 1 year away but knowing how you two were around each other, could you actually trust nothing bad was going to happen?

A couple of days after Thor’s call, you were laying in your bed half asleep, when your alarm went off. Your vacations were over and you had to go back to your insane routine. You dragged your feet to the kitchen to brew some coffee and as you waited for it to be ready, a message popped in.

Unknown number: Hello Y/n, it’s me, Eric. I don’t know what happened to you, but I tried to call you and I even went to your house, but your parents told me you left and changed your phone number.

I really miss you and all the things we used to do together. I miss my friend. Do you remember when we used to fuck all day long? I really do.

I just wanted to remind you that whenever you want to come back or just have sex, I’ll be here.

A sob escaped your lips, breaking the silence of the room. You couldn’t believe what  your eyes just read. After he used you, played with your feelings and made you fall in love with him through manipulation, put all your group of friends against you by lying, he had the fucking audacity to talk to you and ask you to basically have sex again with him. He told all your friends you were talking shit behind their backs, when in reality, it was him who did that. You explained yourself but they all rejected you, so you left, with a broken heart. You lost a fake love you thought it was real and friendships that you thought they were going to last forever. Eric was still oblivious to all the pain he’d caused and you were just a coward who couldn’t confront the truth, which was that he never cared for you, not in the slightest, he just cared about him and his dick.

You decided not to answer and block the number, so he couldn’t text you or call you again. You got dressed, wearing a cute floral shirt and high waisted black jeans, your hair up in a messy bun and a dark red lipstick. You were ready to face the night with a newfound strength.

The Blood Moon was full, the usual customers already drunk as fuck, half asleep on the overused leather barstools. Loki was around the bar as well, flirting with a redhead. You shook your head, smiling at the sight of your friend being a total flirt. You were so happy you fixed things with him a couple of weeks ago and now got to call him friend, happy to finally have someone to talk at night about everything and watching your favorite movies together. The last movie you had seen together was one of your absolute favorite ones, called Only Lovers Left Alive, and he loved it so much he even suggested to watch it once a month. After all your failed friendships, you believed you finally had a second chance with Val, Thor and Loki.

“What is a girl like you, doing in a place like this?” You turned around rolling your eyes at the comment but letting out a chuckle.

“Waiting for someone like you, of course.” You winked at Loki while you poured his favorite mix in a tall glass and handing him a free shot.

“Are you coming home tonight?” He asked, probably trying to avoid having sex with someone while you were there with someone else as well. You shrugged and answered.

“Haven’t found my prey yet. I’ll text you to let you know, okay?” He nodded and smiled at you, pointing with his head at the redhead and moving through the sea of people to reach her.

A couple hours later, a few shots and a new arm to cling to, you texted Loki to let him know you were headed home and be there in 20 minutes.

Loki: Cool, she’s already asleep so no prob. I will use my noise cancelling headphones. Have a good night.

-

“Hey...hey?” You shook Tyler’s arm, trying to wake him up so he could leave.

“Tyler?” You tried again and again, but nothing woke him. You sighed and left your room, wrapped in a blanket with your cozy socks, ready to sleep on the couch.

You entered the living room silently, trying not to wake up everyone else.

“Hello?” you asked, as you heard someone in the room.

“Hey, it’s just me.” Loki said as he sat down on the couch with a book on his hands. You plopped down next to him and wrapped the blanket closer to your body.

“Can’t sleep?” You kind of whispered him. He nodded and opened the book. He was reading... Shakespeare??!!

“What about you?” He asked, not even looking up from his book. He was wearing glasses, a black shirt and grey sweats, his hair in a very messy braid.

“The jerk fell asleep and I can’t wake him up, so I was planning on sleeping on the couch.” You shrugged, trying to play the matter down, but it didn’t work.

“And you can’t sleep there?” You shook your head and began explaining him why.

“That’s why you panicked when we slept together?” You nodded, embarrassed. “I’m so sorry I was such an ass, I didn’t know it held so much meaning to you.”

“It’s fine, you didn’t know it and it was unintentional.” You told him, really meaning it.  

[buckypcrker]

ThorBruce Week [2018] | Read it on AO3

Prompt #1: First Time

Thor and Bruce’s First Time Kissing In Front Of The Avengers

If Bruce had been told that he was going to fall in love with the God of thunder he would have never believed them.

While Bruce was incredibly smart, something that was considered nerdy to the average person — talking so much about radiophysics or nuclear physics to people who barely understood the subjects — he had an additional problem that ironically came from one of those several Ph.D's.

The Hulk was a part of him that he never fully accepted or liked in the slightest. Bruce would slip into this mindset that the Hulk represented this evil or harmful intended part of himself and if he did not have to show it, he would never do so again.

For him, missions where "Code Green" is called make him feel like he is shoved into a pit of despair by himself and forced to come out as the Other Guy. While he cares for the Avengers and wants to help people, it sometimes feels that he is doing more harm than good. He's a huge, green, rage-monster, that can destroy a whole city block in minutes. How in any sense of the word is he helpful?

The large, black, noise canceling headphones strapped over his ears were streaming a soft Italian opera song into his ears. Bruce let his eyes stay closed as he leaned up against the cool metal wall of the Quinjet. His breathing was soft and slow, even and deep.

Thor could not help but keep his eyes on his lover, making sure he was okay and felt safe. If he needed to do that for him, he would in a heartbeat. He set down StormBreaker, and walked over to Bruce and sat next to him.

Bruce’s eyes opened quickly in alarm, but soothed as he noticed his boyfriend sitting next to him with a soft smile. He let his head fall onto Thor’s shoulder as the latter man reposition him to lay his legs on his lap.

And if Tony Stark noticed the small gesture and smiled, that didn’t matter much to him.

With a small smile and concerned eyes, Thor positioned his index finger in a curled position under Bruce’s chin and turned his head to him with his index finger and thumb.

Thor pressed their foreheads together and let Bruce take the gesture for one of support and full of love and promise.

Sure, Natasha Romanoff might have seen the two lovebirds’ interaction, but she would never admit to the smirk that was surely on her face.

“You know I love you... Both of you?” Thor murmured softly.

“Yeah, I know. Say so ev’ry time...” Bruce slurred sleepily.

Steve Rogers definitely heard their exchange of words, but that just made him smile and wrap his arms around Tony, leaning his head on his shoulder. They took comfort in each other and whispered about Thor and Bruce.

Teasingly, Thor pressed a kiss to Bruce’s temple, making him blush lightly and dip his head into Thor’s hand as it came up to cup his face. A small smile broke out on his face, and he nuzzled their noses together.

“Would you stop that.” Bruce mumbled through a laugh.

“Hm, what? What is the mighty Thor doing that is making his beloved laugh like that?” He teased.

“Jus’ kiss me or leave me to my music.”

Bruce’s smirk made Thor’s smile grow wider and he captured his lips into a kiss. It was slow, breathless, and absolutely sweet. Bruce’s chapped lips pushed against Thor’s soft ones, and Thor cupped his face with one hand, the other resting on his legs and brushing slowly back and forth across his thighs.

The Avengers could not help but smile and feel happy for their two friends. The fact that they had people to make them happy, could not be more special.

[cheeseeatingtrashmonster]

I Love You

Lukadrien June day 23: I Love You. Thanks @lukadrienjune

(Read more is just because it’s a bit long, totally sfw)

Read the whole month on AO3

​Adrien didn't remember how he got home that night, but he did remember that no one asked him how his date went. He was glad, because it let him curl up in bed and cry undisturbed.

Undisturbed except for Plagg.

"It's going to be fine," Plagg said. "I've been doing this for ages, remember? I've seen more reveals than the number of weeks you've lived. This will all turn out fine, so there's no reason to be upset."

"Plagg, you didn't see the way he looked at me," Adrien said, hugging a pillow to his chest, leaning forward to bury his face in it. "He's never going to forgive me. I lied to him. I tried to hang out with him as Chat Noir and Adrien. And the worst part? I didn't even want to tell him."

"I'm telling you, it's going to be fine. But if you really think it won't, I still think cheese is your best bet. Good for the soul, and broken hearts."

Adrien cried harder.

/*****/

Luka closed himself in his room and tried not to think. He should have known. He hadn't even suspected, but he felt like he should have known. Did Adrien think he was stupid for not realizing? Did he visit as Chat Noir to see if Luka would recognize him? Or worse, did he visit as Chat Noir to see if he really was serious about them or if he would flirt back with someone who was practically a stranger? Was that a test of some kind?

He really should have known.

"How'd it go, m'dear?" Anarka called through the closed door. "I hear there was an attack! Not as fabulous as mine, I'll wager, but did y'get close enough t'see the action?"

"Yeah, Mom," Luka said, staring at his ceiling. "I was hurt."

Anarka burst in the room to fuss over her son. She insisted on looking over the spot that had been injured even though he assured her it was fine, Ladybug's magic never fails. She interrogated him about what happened, how he escaped, what Adrien did. He covered as best he could, letting his mom make assumptions wherever necessary. Juleka and his dad joined them a few minutes later and he had to recount the whole thing again, giving fewer details in the hopes that he wouldn't give anything away or cover his tracks wrong.

"Y'look tired, m'boy," Anarka said, brushing Luka's hair away from his face. "Do y'need us t'leave ye be?"

"Sorry, yeah, I am pretty tired. I have some homework to finish, too."

Mr. and Mrs. Couffaine left and Juleka settled on the bed next to her brother. He slouched against the wall.

"So, what really happened?"

Luka sighed. Juleka wasn't much of an empath, but she could tell when someone was lying. Especially if that someone was her brother.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"But I'm the person you talk to about things you don't want to talk about," Juleka said. "Normally I'd tell you to just pick up your guitar and play through it, but this doesn't seem like one of those times."

"Really, I can't." Luka didn't know where to begin, but he couldn't reveal Adrien's secret and he was too tired to think up a decent cover story to disguise the issue while still talking about it.

"Can I guess?"

"No."

"Okay, you tell me when I'm right."

"Go back to your room," Luka said, poking her knee with his foot.

"Adrien is one of those rich people who are mean to people like movie theater attendants?"

"Of course he isn't, but I really don't want to talk about this."

"Adrien tried something and made you uncomfortable?"

"No!"

"Adrien lied to you about something?"

Luka sighed. "Kind of? But it's not really my business so it's definitely not your business."

"Does this have anything to do with it?" She pulled out her phone and handed it to him. On the screen was the picture of him talking with Chat Noir about math.

"When did you take this?" Luka asked, sitting fully upright.

"Has there been more than one time Chat Noir's stopped by that I could have taken that picture?"

"I recognize my math stuff, I know what night it was taken, but I didn't see you at all, so how did you get it?"

"I've mastered the art of invisibility."

"Since when? You and Rose are so loud watching a movie that my noise cancelling headphones can't block out the screaming from above deck."

"You're getting off track on purpose," Juleka said. "I'm not asking you to confirm or deny that Adrien is Chat Noir."

Luka had to stop himself from sighing in relief.

"But if it was about him being Chat Noir," Juleka continued, "I'd hope that you would know that this just makes him even more perfect for you."

"How do you figure?"

"You spend so much time trying to take care of people's feelings, helping people understand and accept them. You help heal and keep safe and guide people to good decisions. Chat Noir takes care of people, too. Not in the same way, but it means he has the same values, the same thing driving him. You both keep people safe."

"But why would he-" Luka stopped abruptly. Juleka needed plausible deniability.

"Whatever he did, go talk to him about it."

"Yeah, I guess. We do have band practice on Friday."

"I meant now."

"He's not allowed to be out past-"

"Yes, I know." She walked over to Luka's computer and typed something into his browser. "I'm sure you'll figure something out."

She went to her own room and Luka went to check what she had left on his computer. It was the Ladyblog. A page titled "Spot The Hero" where people sent in pictures of Ladybug and/or Chat Noir with date and location stamps when they saw them around the city. There was a picture of Chat Noir, looking more serious than Luka had ever seen him, jumping across the gap between two buildings. He recognized the part of town and knew what he had to do.

Luka threw on his running shoes and grabbed his hoodie and phone, shouting, "I'll be back later!" to the rest of the family as he tore up to the deck and all but leaped from the side of the boat to the dock. While he ran, Luka tried to determine which direction Chat Noir had been heading, how fast he probably was, and how fast Luka himself could get there. He fixed that point in his mind and ran. (Maybe Geometry was useful after all.) When he reached it, he started yelling.

"Chat Noir!"

He felt like an idiot, screaming for a superhero in the middle of the street. What if Chat Noir had turned off in a different direction after the picture was taken?

"Chat Noir!"

Maybe he should walk in concentric circles from this spot, widen the area methodically and see if he could find the hero? Chat Noir had super hearing, right? So even if he was a little ways away, he could hear Luka, right? Or maybe that was a myth.

“Chat Noir!"

He stood at the corner of two streets, staring at the crosswalk signal and couldn't decide if he should keep walking or stay still. He was determined to find him though, no matter how long it took.

"Hey."

Chat Noir dropped from the shadows to land next to Luka.

"We need to talk,” Luka said immediately.

Chat shrunk in on himself, his ears moving back a bit but not enough to lie flat.

"Okay." He looked around. "Not here though. It's suspicious enough that someone was running through the streets yelling for me and I actually stopped."

"Whatever you want," Luka said.

Chat Noir glanced around, figuring out where he was. "Meet me two blocks over, there's a cafe."

Luka nodded and headed in that direction. The cafe was small and cozy and Luka ordered tea before settling at a table towards the back. He sat with his back to the door, hoping that having a view of the restaurant would make Adrien more comfortable.

"Hey," Adrien said, sliding into the chair across from him.

"I have a couple questions."

"Anything."

"You've been... him... this whole time?" Luka asked.

Adrien nodded.

"Does anyone else know?"

Adrien shook his head.

"It's just me?"

He nodded again.

"Why did you visit me? The night with the mug, and when I was composing, and the math?"

"I like to see you," Adrien whispered. "The first time was a thank you, exactly like I said. The second time... I had just figured out that I had feelings for you. The third time, I couldn't stay away."

Luka groaned and covered his face with his hands. "I played you your song."

"And then you wouldn't tell me what you were working on at band practice," Adrien said, a small smile on his face at last. "I thought you were writing someone else a love song and didn't want to make things awkward between us again."

"Well, way to spoil my own surprise," Luka said, his hands returning to his mug. "Why flirt with me though?"

"Luka," Adrien said. "I can't not flirt with you. That's ridiculous. No matter who I am, it is my deepest need to make sure you know that I think you're fun and attractive and have fully captured my attention."

Luka laughed, but his smile dropped quickly. "So you weren't testing me? Seeing if I would flirt with someone else even though we were working towards something?"

Adrien shook his head, his hair flying in his eyes. "Of course not! I actually forgot you didn't know for a minute. It never would have occurred to me to have a problem with you flirting with other people. We weren't anything official then. We barely are now. And flirting is fun. So long as you tell me you're with me, I won't have a problem with you flirting with other people." He glanced around to check that no one was listening in before adding, "Especially Chat Noir."

Luka smiled and reached for Adrien's hand. Adrien grabbed his hand back with the strength all the fear and sadness that had been filling him up to bursting.

"Luka, I didn't tell you because it's not safe to know. What if you get akumatized and Hawkmoth figures out that you know who I am? What if someone overhears us and tries to blackmail you to get to me? I've thought of a million reasons it's not safe. My kwami insists that it's better you know though."

"I'd like to meet him," Luka said. "If you want. If he wants. She? It? They?"

"He. His name is Plagg. He's probably asleep right now." Adrien looked down at the table, fiddling with his miraculous before looking back up. "Does that mean you still want to be friends?"

Luka stood and pulled Adrien to his feet.

"I don't want to be just friends," Luka said. "Please be my boyfriend."

Adrien took a deep, shuddering breath and nodded, grabbing Luka's hands in his.

"Thank you," Adrien said, squeezing Luka's hands to punctuate his words. "Thank you, thank you, thank you. I'm so sorry."

"No, Adrien, I'm sorry. I shut down and didn't let you in. That wasn't fair."

"Yes it was," Adrien said. "I hid something from you and-"

"Adrien," Luka cut in. "How I acted was not fair. Just trust me on that."

Adrien nodded, blinking hard to keep tears from forming. "Are we okay?"

Luka nodded. "Can we walk outside for a bit? Just a little bit?"

Adrien checked his phone's clock and nodded. Outside, Adrien put his arm around Luka's waist and curled into his side as much as he could while they walked.

"We're really okay?" Adrien asked.

"I'm okay, and I hope you're okay, and from my end, we are okay."

"Good," Adrien said, relaxing a little more as he let out a sigh.

They walked in silence for a little while. Luka had more questions (the fun kind, like what does it feel like to transform, how does it work, how high can you jump), but he kept them to himself, letting everything sink in.

"Hey, Adrien?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you."