#let them have a serious private moment together my head would actually explode (positively)

[a-stars-art-blog]

I think about them too much. Exhibit Z

[pockyxx]

“ how the haikyuu captains confess ”

daichi x fem! reader, kuroo x fem! reader, ushijima x fem! reader, bokuto x fem reader and oikawa x fem! reader

genre: fluff.

daichi 

people already though the two of you were dating

he always does typical boyfriend things i.e holds bags, compliments, the only thing that was missing was  physical intimacy 

he’d be on the fine line of romantic and straight forward 

he kinda already knew that you knew he liked you 

he got the team’s advice on what to do but it was useless bc they’ve never been with a girl RIP 

“Y/n, I’m glad I caught up to you!” He seemed a little more nervous than normal but you brushed it off as just nervous for his up coming practice match. 

“Hey Daichi-san, what’s up?” You closed your locker, finishing up with your own club activities. The two of you continued to walk while also keeping up the conversation, Daichi holding the door open for you. 

Your heart slightly fluttered as you walked so close with them, wondering if today was the day that Daichi was finally going to confess. One of the first years had accidentally let it slip one day when you stopped by his practice. 

“Well, actually, there’s been something on my mind. It’s been on my mind for a while, honestly.” He stopped walking, nervously opening his backpack to grab something. 

You gave him an innocent look even though it’s been a moment you’ve been waiting for for a long time. 

“I like you, y/n. Like a lot.” He extended his hand and offered you your favorite candy bar, something that he always carried around with him. “I like when I get to see your bright smile, and your laugh makes me feel so warm inside. I just like the person I am around you and how you make me want to be a better person all together.” 

It had been clear that he hadn’t exactly planned what he was going to say but it was still meaningful nonetheless. 

“It took you long enough.” You flashed a cheeky grin, “Hinata told me by accident, I’ve just been waiting for you to finally spill the beans.” You laughed, filling his heart with joy. 

“So this means you’ll let me take you on a date?” He wondered, blushing and making a mental note to make the younger boy run extra laps. You nodded rapidly, taking his hands in yours, proceeding with your walk. 

kuroo 

have you seen how he talks to his team 

he would have his confession planned for a week 

He’d be rehearsing that shit in the mirror every morning

he’d probably get really freaked out the day of though 

when you say you like him back and confess in a similar manner he’s as red as a tomato 

he practiced on kenma and get his advice

“Are you a carbon sample? Because I want to date you-” Kuroo was instantly cut off by his younger friend who was still glued to his game. 

“You’re really going to finish off such a sentimental confession with a stupid chemistry pick up line. That’s gross.” He commented as Kuroo was left scratching his head. He’d been planning on confessing to you for a while now but was still stuck on what to say. 

“But she loves when I made chemistry jokes.” His face dropped, conflicted with what to do. Was his friend right? Do girls not like that sort of thing? 

“Well you better decide quick because her she comes.” You had turned the corner with all their refilled water bottles and his heart began to race up. What would happen if you said you didn’t like him back? It would create such an awkward relationship between you two; which wouldn’t be good between a captain and a team manager. 

“Here are your waters.” You passed both volleyball players their drinks as you rested your hands on your hips, “what were you guys talking about?” 

Kenma kept a straight face while Kuroo flushed slightly. Pressing a finger to your lips, you thought of a way to lighten the clearly tense mood. 

“You’ve defiantly being improving your serves, Kuroo-san. I’ve been keeping ion you!” You covered your mouth, not wanted to let out a laugh at such a cheesy joke. That was Kenma’s cue to walk off, giving Kuroo the thumbs up to proceed-- it was now or never. 

“Well, there’s something you should know too, chibi-can.” He swallowed any anxious nerves he had, “You make my heart flutter every moment I see you; you just take me breath away and not just because of you looks. I like how funny you are, and you always seem to put a smile on my face. I know this is very random but I’ve been holding in my feelings for a very long time and I thought I was going to explode not being able to tell you.” 

You smiled, bashing your eyelashes, you never knew your captain had feelings for you. Heck, your crush had feelings for you. 

“So basically, what I’ve been meaning to ask is; are you a carbon sample? Because I want to date you?” He held his breath, wondering if Kenma was going to be right. His heart pounded even faster at the sight of your lips twisting to an even bigger smile (if that was even possible). 

ushijima 

it could go one of two ways 

either he could be super blunt and hit you with the ‘I like you y/n.’

OR it would be over the top and only because he consulted tendou

tendou’s probably watched a handful of romance animes and has ushijima prepares chocolates, flowers, the whole 9 yards 

ushi is just nodded and taking notes like... 

just confess to her at the summer festival, girls love that, bonus points if you do it under the fire works.

tendou’s words rang through ushijimas head as he walked side by side with you at the summer festival. he’d done everything tendou had instructed him to up until that point. he’s bought you the best taiyaki, he’d let you hold his hand as to not get lost in the crowd and he’d even won you a small stuffed animal that now rested under your arm pit.

“I think the fireworks are about to start.” you hummed as wakatoshi realized he needed to get into the right position.

“then why don’t we go someone more private.” he offered you a rare smile as your cheeks started to burn up with fluster.

it wasn’t like ushijima was a cold heart person but seeing him suggest something so thoughtful, your heart fluttered with the idea that someone greater was about to happen.

nodding, you let ushijima pull you off as the two of you got a better of the sky that was soon to be filled with a display of lights. he’d taken you away from the crowd, up on a small empty lot of gross that was elevated compared to the rest of the festival.

“y/n, I enjoyed tonight.” he cleared his throat, catching your attention. you nodded in agreement,

“hopefully we can go to more festivals today, of course if your not busy with volleyball!” you smiled happily. ushijima was quick to respond.

“I’d like that very much.” he paused, “y/n, i’m often told that i don’t show emotions well or that i’m very blunt.”

you watched him with curious eyes, stating that that wasn’t all ways a bad thing.

“that’s right. this is a time where i think it’s good to be blunt. you see, y/n, i enjoy spending time with you and that i like you, very much.”

bokuto 

it accidentally slipped out 

he always gets a little shy when he think about it so he simply doesn’t 

you’ll be something fairly mundane and he’ll just pause and go 

“you do that so well, that’s why I think I’m in love with you.” 

you’d get flustered because it was so out of the blue 

he’d fill akaashi in the next day and akaashi would make him re-do the confession

“You’re so good at cleaning the white board, y/n, but I guess everything you do is good because that’s why I like you.” You and Bokuto had class room chores together after school and he was watching you, in a hazy spell, resting his hand on his head. 

You blushed, not knowing if Bokuto was actually being serious or if he was just being overly kind. You just pretended like you didn’t hear him, continuing with what you were doing. If you can confessed your feelings back and he wasn’t serious, you would’ve died of embarrassment. 

“Bokuto-san are you going to help or not?” You turned around seeing Bokuto covering his face as he rested his head on the desk. “Uh, Bokuto-san are you alright?” 

He looked up at you only for you to see what you recognized as his emo mode. You frowned your eyebrows as he jumped up, bursting out with emotion. 

“No! I just confessed to the girl that I like and, and, and I wasn’t ready!” He grabbed his bag and ran for the door, “please forgive me for not doing my share of the work, y/n.” 

You were left speechless, watching as the gray haired boy ran away. You laughed realizing what he meant and put you into such a happy mood you didn’t even care that you had to finish all the chores. 

The next morning, you were greeted at the gates of Fukuordani by Bokuto who held a box of you favorite snack and a small teddy bear. Shyly extending the gifts out to you. 

“I bet you know what I’m going to say, so just, uh, please take these.” It had been what Akaashi had instructed and you took them with pleasure. 

“These will make up for all my hard work yesterday keeping out classroom spic-and-span.” You giggle, Bokuto looked at you with pouty eyes as you continued, “and if you didn’t run out so quickly you would’ve know what I like you too.” 

His eyes gleamed as you covered your slightly blushing face with your hand. Bokuto engulfed you in a hug and the two of you becoming boyfriend and girlfriend. 

oikawa 

he’s been confessed to so much that confessions make him nauseous tbh 

he’d make it very personal and romantic, though 

if not romantic he’d want it to be just the two of you 

he knew if he told any of the third years about if his plans, they’d ruin the moment; showing up to film the whole experience (mattsun and makki) 

he would secretly be the most nervous out of all of them 

You were helping Iwaizumi and taking over his cleaning shift with Oikawa. Oikawa was kinda glad the ace had a dentist appointment, so he could finally get you alone with out his team mates or fan girls there to ruin the moment. 

“Say, y/n-chan, I’m pretty lucky to have such a pretty girl helping me clean up.” His eyes were on the ball he was rubbing the marks off of, not really seeing your expression, defended by the sound of his heart thumping rapidly. 

You frowned, liking Oikawa was no easy task because everyone seemed to like him. Sure, he complimented you now, but he always compliments girls. It hurt your heart not knowing how sincere he was. 

“Don’t worry about it Oikawa-san, I’m always happy to help.” You sighed, finishing pumping a deflated volleyball. The Oikawa you had grown to love wasn’t the pretty, flashy volleyball player but the determined captain who always brought out the best in his teammates. It was the hard working, smart and passionate Toru that made your heart do flips. 

“Y/n...” His voiced trailed off, you noticed there wasn’t a cute little ‘chan’ following it. You turned to face him, not realizing your vision had gone blurry from tears pooling in them. 

“Are you alright?” Out of concern he placed his hands in your shoulders and that seemed to snapped you out of the spell you’d fallen under.

Rubbing your eyes, you nodded, looking down at your feet to avoid Oikawa’s gaze. You wished he’d let go of you, so you heart could just go back to its normal pace.

“Y/n did I say something to upset you—Im sorry.” He seemed to be holding his breath until he saw you shake your heard, reassuring him he’d done nothing wrong. Toru sighed.

“I hate seeing you upset, do you know that?” Surpised, you looked up at him, almost beckoning him to eleborate. Oikawas mind was racing— he wasn’t planning on confessing right there and then but he decided to sieze the moment.

“Out of all the girls I talk to, you’re the only one that makes me feel like this...” With your mouth gapping he took your hand and directed it to his chest where you could feel his rapid heartbeat.

“Oikawa-san...” You trailed off, at a loss of words. Between the hand touching his toned chest and the honey-like words coming out of his mouth, it sent you into over drive.

“Everything about you makes me crazy and-and well y/n... i like you!”

Nodding off, your brain couldn’t fully comprehend what your body was doing. leaning forward, reaching up to his lips you. kiss. him.

“Woah.” Oikawa breathed out, shocked at how you reciprocated his feeling until he was brought back to his usual behaviour, “so... you wanna go out with me?”

[cherishedkids]

how the others react when they find out muichiro and giyuu has a secret s/o!

A/N: i’d like to thank @akaasemitodoroki (i cant tag you as well :((.) for requesting this! i took a lot of liberties since it was a bit vague but i very much had fun writing this! i also did my best in writing a gender neutral s/o since they never said what the pronouns were, so i hope that’s okay. thank you again!

tokito muichiro

tokito muichiro is a person who only thinks of himself.

there is no place for emotion in his heart.

anything that involved the word ‘feelings’ would be set aside, as there were more important things to do.

if you could describe him in one word, logic would be the first thing you’d think.

the boy has lived his whole life ruled by it.

at least, that was what the others thought of him.

imagine their surprise when they find out he has been involved in his own romantic endeavours.

nakahara sumi almost drops her bowl of water when she sees muichiro sitting on a chair, running a damp cloth over your forehead.

maybe she goes over her thoughts, thinking logically.

were the two of you best friends?

was he just extra worried about you?

but the distance between the two of you seemed awfully… nonexistent.

terauchi kiyo sees sumi ogling at something through the crack from the sliding door. 

she’s curious.

as she goes to see what exactly she’s so shocked about, her eyes go wide. 

then comes takada naho and kanzaki aoi.

aoi does not hold herself back.

“tokito-dono, what are you doing!?”

the three other girls curse and thank her for her tactlessness.

you lay there, gingerly raising your hand up to wave at them.

he only stares blankly at them.

the warmth that he gave you was gone as he stared at the four other girls.

“i was just tending to ___… is it wrong?” he had an irritated tone present in his voice.

“did you need something?” you ask, shushing muichiro’s objections.

aoi starts to sweat. “n-no… carry on!” 

“yes, please leave us alone.” muichiro says coldly, as he dips the cloth back into water to put on your forehead again.

the four of them scatter away.

soon, a rumour starts to float around.

the hashiras and demon slayers hear of this, and start to watch his every move.

some, going as far as spying on him whenever the two of you were alone.

it seems like it has become a mystery if the cold muichiro has found someone to warm his heart.

they start to make bets, whether or not the two of you were together.

even shinobu kocho had her ears peeled whenever muichiro or you visited the butterfly estate.

she’d listen to the gossip of the workers who helped either of you.

she was one of the first people who knew, just from the frequent visits the both of you gave to each other.

kanroji mitsuri starts to give him love advice, for no reason at all.

“you see, muichiro, the key to a person’s heart is their stomach! give them as much food as you want and they’ll love you forever!”

he’d just nod at this, seemingly not listening.

a few days passed, and they saw muichiro and you visiting a ramen shop.

according to the witnesses, it seemed like muichiro was berating you for not eating much.

the next time muichiro saw mitsuri, he gave her the cold shoulder.

“muichiro, are you mad at me?”

he nods.

“why?” mitsuri’s face contorts to one of sadness.

he stays quiet for a moment. 

then, he speaks lowly. 

“your love advice didn’t work… they only got angry at me for telling them to eat…”

this confirms it for mitsuri.

the very next day, tengen uzui pats him on the back.

muichiro looks at him in confusion.

“congratulations, muichiro. soon, you’ll have as many wives as me!” 

“what do you mean?”

he only winks at him. 

obanai iguro’s interest was only ever lit because of mitsuri’s constant gushing over them.

iguro sees muichiro in the same position as him.

“make sure you take care of them.”

muichiro is offended at that.

“___ can take care of themself.”

when iguro shares this exchange with mitsuri, she explodes. 

you get barraged with questions the moment the news breaks.

you were resting in the butterfly estate when aoi rushes in.

“are you and muichiro really together together?”

you are taken aback, but honestly, it’s been a struggle watching the girl contain herself from asking the question.

“what do you mean by that?”

the moment you reply, the three other girls enter the room and explain the situation.

even tsuyuri kanao visits your room to see what the commotion was.

kamado tanjiro, who happened to be passing by, was elated at gossip.

“muichiro and you?! that boy has really grown!”

shinobu enters, as the noise was too much for her to work in.

as she starts to scold the people who were inside the room, muichiro slides the door open.

all eyes are on him as he holds a box.

but he doesn’t look fazed.

“why is everyone here?”

they all sheepishly smile, and shinobu glares at them to get going.

they all rush to get out, but secretly hang by the door to watch the interaction.

“i don’t know why they’re all so obsessed,” he wonders, as he opens the box for you.

“aw, let them be! it’s been fun watching them speculate,”

“they won’t speculate for long after i give this to you,”

they see him present something to you and you audibly gasp. 

a necklace comes out of the box.

when you hug and kiss him on the cheek, they all squeal outside.

they break the sliding door and you and muichiro untangle yourselves from each other.

“congratulations, muichiro!” tanjiro exclaims, and nezuko gives the both of you a thumbs up.

“god, the butterfly estate is so loud today.”

it really was.

but it was really a wonder as to how the stoic tokito muichiro found love.

the answer was simple.

he made space for you.

he just didn’t understand why they all started screaming and blushing when he kissed you in front of them.

maybe he wasn’t that logic driven after all?

tomioka giyuu 

it was no secret to the hashiras just how much of a prick tomioka giyuu was. 

he was certainly withdrawn from the rest of them.

he kept his serious face when insulted them.

the worst thing about that was when he didn’t know he was even insulting them.

all the other hashiras had in common with him was the respect they held for ubuyashiki kagaya. 

he was quiet during hashira meetings, and they were thankful for that.

they didn’t know if they could endure the wisecrack if he started talking more.

but when ubuyashiki kagaya says the words “giyuu, i trust that you and your fiancé can handle this district,”

their ears perk up at this.

fiancé?

suddenly, they wanted him to speak up more.

“yes, i have trust that they alone can handle the demon alone.”

ubuyashiki smiles. “... of course, i respect your trust in them.”

kocho shinobu is the first one to ask him about this. 

after they are dismissed by ubuyashiki, she immediately confronts him about the news. 

“tomioka, can i ask you a question?”

he looks at her, face indifferent.

“yes?”

“you have a fiancé, and you didn’t tell us?”

her face still has the ghost of a smile.

“i didn’t think it was necessary for any of you people to know,”

she closes her eyes in disagreement, but forces out a smile.

“plus my fiancé would be turned off by your personalities,”

“this is exactly the shitty reason why none of us like you.” shinazugawa sanemi butts in.

kanroji mitsuri smiles at him.

“i think it’s his private business! i just wish he didn’t keep it a secret,”

obanai iguro agrees with kanroji. 

still, no one really believes this.

there must have been a mix up!

but ubuyashiki never made a mistake when it came to his hashiras.

he gave great care in knowing his subordinates.

still, they would not believe it until they actually saw you.

naturally, the news of tomioka giyuu having a fianće spread among the demon slayer corps. 

one of the most serious and respected hashira—actually has someone he loved for real!

kamado tanjiro hears this, and the next time he sees giyuu, he beams at him.

“congratulations, tomioka! i heard the news,”

giyuu is concerned at how the hashiras decided to spread the fact that he had a partner.

but he wasn’t phased by it.

numerous times, they had just blabbered off, expecting someone to keep a secret.

but he guessed secrets were hard to keep among his colleagues.

“ah, yes, thank you, tanjiro,” 

he replies stiffly, unable to hide his unease.

“giyuu, who’s this?” 

your soft voice asks from behind him, and he can already hear the gossip that will be coming out of this.

tanjiro might be hard-headed, but he connected the dots.

“___, this is tanjiro, the kid i’ve been telling you about,”

“yes, i’m kamado tanjiro, chief! nice meeting you!” 

he then looks at giyuu, a determined look on his face.

tanjiro then makes a shushing gesture and it seemed like he was promising not to tell anyone.

but giyuu knows it won’t be long until the spread of your name reaches the hashiras.

the next day, giyuu receives a letter from a crow. 

it kept cursing him as it handed him the paper.

it was a note from urokodaki sakonji.

it was far too long and full of explicit words.

the basic gist of it was urokodaki’s disappointment that his own student did not share this news to him and he had to find out through tanjiro.

that brat.

he started to receive gifts through crows from his fellow hashiras.

some were thoughtful, like mitsuri and iguro’s letter of congratulations with fruits sent along with it.

he was kind of worried for the crow who had to carry the heavy load.

some were useful, like himejima gyomei’s sharpening stone wrapped in red cloth, apparently for good luck.

one was outright insulting, like shinobu’s gift to you, specifically.

he almost threw the book she sent.

it read, ‘how to deal with an annoying husband’.

the others didn’t care, and he was more thankful to the people who didn’t make a huge deal about it.

however, it made missions a bother since some lower-ranked demon slayers decided it was their duty to protect him so he would be able to marry you.

he wasn’t a child who needed protection.

but he couldn’t do anything about those who took it upon themselves to save him.

he just wished the attention was directed to you instead.

in the end, even though tomioka giyuu had a lot of secrets, his soon-to-be fianće wasn’t. 

he was alright with it, as he considered you someone he should be proud of knowing.

[love-fireflysong]

Oh my god, I'm so sorry that this one took so long holy shit. I have no excuses, other than the fact that I'm a terrible person who can't be trusted with deadlines it seems. But it is done! Yay! So, as successfully chosen by Miss '@clumsybookworm18' Mel, here's my entry for hurt/comfort (finally). This is actually the beginning part of a sole survivor chris/ash au I've been imagining for over a year now, and will very likely be the only part of that au I will ever share. That au is for me. And me alone, sorry lol.

Can't Undo the Scars can be read over on AO3 of course (and I would recommend it if only for the snazzy looking texting lol) but it is also under the link as usual.

Can't Undo the Scars

Tropes: Hurt/Comfort Fandom: Until Dawn Characters: Ashley Brown, Chris Hartley Words: 9749 Rating: Teen (mentions of past trauma, unhealthy coping mechanisms, separation anxiety, nightmares that involve death) Author's Notes: Will I ever be happy with this fic? No but I'm as content with what I got as I ever will be. What Chris and Ash are doing to try and get back to 'normal' is so stupidly not healthy for either of them, but they are young kids that just want to try and move on with their lives. So be nice to them (and me obviously lol).

"I think we should take a break."

Sitting across from Ashley at the table in the quiet cafe where they had gotten coffee together, Chris fumbled with the sugar cube he had grabbed. It bounced off the small table and tumbled to the floor, not that he was paying any attention to it anymore. Not when it felt like all his blood had frozen in his veins. Still, hoping and praying that he was misunderstanding what Ashley was trying to get at, he let out a forced little laugh. "...like a KitKat? Oh man, when was the last time I had one of those? Must have been ages ago, you're totally right we should go and grab a bar or two after this. A little snack and treat we both totally deserve and I'll break us off a piece of that—"

Chris let everything else he was about to say trail off when Ashley pulled her bottom lip into her mouth and shook her head fiercely as she refused to look at him. The loose sleeves of the sweater she was wearing were pulled far down enough that only the tips of her fingers were poking out, and those tightened around the mug of coffee she was holding onto. "No, I-I mean, I think we need to take a break from each other. At least for a little bit."

Forget his blood freezing, Chris felt everything around him freeze. His breath froze in his lungs, his heart froze in his chest, and time seemed to freeze around him. "Ash, are-are you," Chris swallowed roughly as he tried to keep himself together, "are you breaking up with me?"

Immediately Ashley's eyes snapped up to meet his, and they were wide with the same fear that Chris was pretty sure had replaced all the blood in his body. "No! No, that's-that's not what I'm doing! That's not what I want at all!" Her hands left the mug she had been gripping on the table and reached out to take Chris's, but hesitated and pulled back at the last second. "Why? Do you want to...?"

Chris closed the distance between their hands and grabbed hers in his, but was careful not to touch her wrists. He was more relieved than he had imagined it was possible to feel (and he had felt some pretty intense feelings of relief in the last half a year) when she responded by immediately turning her hands over so she could curl her fingers into his. "I don't! I can't think of a single thing in the world I want to do less than that."

The jerky nod that Ashley gave in agreement should have left him feeling better, but it didn't. "Good. So we're not br— not gonna do that then."

"Cool. Cool cool cool. Glad we're in agreement. But then, what did you mean by that, Ash? That we should..." Chris couldn't even bring himself to say the words, instead letting them die in his throat when Ashley slowly withdrew her hands from his and placed them back around her quickly cooling mug.

"It's just, this isn't healthy Chris. This can't be healthy for either of us."

"Healthy? What isn't healthy? This much coffee? The amount of sugar I put in my cup every morning? Is the amount of sugar I use turning you off Ash? Cause I don't think I can fix that sorry."

She didn't smile at that, not even a hint. No faint tugging at the corners of her mouth, no sigh of exasperation, nothing. And it was then that he knew that whatever this was all about, she was as serious as he'd ever seen her, and that terrified him.

"This, Chris. None of this. The fact that neither of us can sleep alone. That I'm terrified that the moment you leave my sight I'll never see you again. I hate that it feels like neither of us can go out in public unless we're both there."

"Oh. That. Yeah, I-I can see how that might be a problem. But Ash, it wasn't—it's not as if it's our fault. We're just trying to heal, I mean that's what all the doctors keep telling us at least. And if this is what it takes, then what's so wrong about that?"

Ashley looked up at him again, and while he wasn't shocked at the dark circles around her eyes (they were identical to the ones around his after all), the tears that had started to build up in the corners of them had him reaching over the table so he could take her face into his hands. Her hands cover his a second later, but not pull them away like he feared, instead she curls her fingers into the palms of his hands so she can hold him there. The two of them lean over the table to meet in the middle, likely looking like a romantic embrace shared by lovers in the corner to anyone looking on, but this is anything but. "But it's been months Chris," she starts and he wipes away the first tear that threatens to fall before it ever gets the chance to, "since, since..."

Since Blackwood, he finishes for her in his head, it's been months since Blackwood and it still feels like we're no better than when we first came down. And it has been, Blackwood had been nearly six months ago now and the two of them still jumped and grabbed for each other at what seemed like every little thing. A loud bang, even from something as small and normal as a car backfiring down the street, always sent Chris back into that room in the basement, watching as Mike aimed that gun at Emily. The sound of a glass cup shattering as it hit the floor would have Ashley locking up in fear, her grip on Chris's hand tightening to a point far beyond pain.

That first week of July had been terrible for them both. The smart thing to do would have been to get as far out of town as possible, but that would have left them basically stranded in the wilderness; surrounded by trees on all sides as they jumped at every little sound and animal call, wondering if it was yet another one of those creatures from the mountain trying to finish them off. Instead they had elected to stay home, cowering together in Chris's basement as the fireworks going off with loud pops and bangs from nearly every house in the area had managed to cut through their earplugs and send them both into a tailspin. Remembering every bullet that Chris had shot into the Wendigo that had chased him from the shed, none doing any damage at all except to push it back further and further from him. Remembering the sound as the lodge exploded into a ball of fire, leaving them to sit cold and alone in the snow as their ears continued to ring and ring. The coolness of the basement had done little against the summer heat either, reminding them too much of the heat from the burning lodge that had threatened to cook them both from the inside out.

July had almost been worse than February, and nothing would ever top those two days in February.

He's not worried about the scene the two of them are making in the cafe though. The table they had chosen—had been using since they discovered this beautifully quiet and peaceful cafe back when they had both finally worked up the nerve to leave their houses back in May—was in a secluded corner with no windows. It was a defensible position (or at least as defensible as a table in a public cafe could be) and as long as they stayed quiet then no one would pay any attention to them. Not when the other patrons were too busy chatting with their friends or typing away on a computer. And the employees? They had more to worry about then two nerdy regulars who for all appearances looked like they were having a romantic and private conversation.

"Can you at least just tell me why?" Chris whispers, his words choked as he continues to wipe away her tears. "Why now? What happened to make you think that we need a—" his m0uth moves but nothing comes out until he finally manages to force the word past the blockade in his throat "—a break."

Ashley leans into one of his palms and smiles at him sadly. "I know we both decided that we were gonna try and start school again in the winter semester, and that our admissions had already been accepted, so I was looking at dorm availabilities when you had fallen asleep last week. They only have a few single dorms and those are available only for married students. Which is fine, it's way too small to room two people at once for durations longer than a weekend. But it also turns out that there is no option for co-ed dorms, the school doesn't allow them. No exceptions."

"What? But, surely they must—"

She shakes her head. "No exceptions, they were very clear on that. I don't know how many times me or my mom or any of the doctors emailed them to try and explain the circumstances, but the response back was always the same. They 'feel sorry and understand how difficult this must be for us' but no exceptions means no exceptions. We either agree to separate dorms with roommates of the same gender or we have to find another set of lodgings."

"But that's...that's bullshit! So the thought of a boy and girl sharing a room apparently goes so far against their-their—what, good Christian values?—that giving our poor roommates nightmares while we scream ourselves to sleep is an acceptable alternative?!"

Ashley turns her head so she can leave a chaste kiss in the center of Chris's palm in an effort to calm him down, and decides to just stay and murmur her next words there. "I hate it too, but what other alternative is there? You know we can't get a place together, there's no possible way we could afford the rent for one."

"We can...we can..." Chris tries to find something, anything, he can say to make this not happen. "I can find a job, work and go to school or—"

"And we arrive back to the same problem, Chris. If we can't survive a separation at school, how are we supposed to do it when we're both out working as well, just so we can stay together. I don't want to do this anymore then you do Chris; I really really don't. You have no idea how much I don't want to do this, but we have to get used to not being able to see each other all the time. And I would rather do it on our terms then because the school or our roommates decided we can't."

Ashley's right, of course Ashley's right. It's Ashley Brown after all, she's always right, but he doesn't want her to be. Not about this. "Okay," he agrees instead, even as it feels like saying the word is stealing something away that he can't quite name. He hides this by lowering her head so he can place his lips on her forehead and say the words there instead. "Okay. Just-just tell me how long."

"A week." Chris feels something in his stomach turn into stone and sink to the bottom of his gut. He had been hoping for something like a day or two, not a full week. He isn't sure he can survive seven days without seeing her. "I-I thought long and hard about it, but a week. We're gonna have periods anyways where we won't be able to see each other because of exams or projects, so if we can manage a whole week then we can do those no problem."

"Are you sure that maybe we shouldn't, I don’t know, just build up to that? A day here, two days there, just so we can get used to it?"

Ashley shakes her head firmly enough that it jostles Chris's hands right off of her face, but keeps her hands in his anyways. "No. I want to get this over with. Prove to everyone, to ourselves, that we can do something as simple as this. I mean, we used to go periods all the time when we didn't see each other for ages, so what's so different about this?"

"Everything", Chris wants to say, "Everything's different now. It changed the moment we left that mountain behind." But he doesn't. He doesn't because he wants her to be right, that this is just a minor hiccup and if they can overcome this, then they can overcome anything. So with one last squeeze of her hands and a pained smile, he lets go and takes a sip of his coffee and grimaces at the taste. It's cold now, had probably gone cold a long time ago and he can tell from the shared frown on Ashley's face that hers has gone cold too.

With no reason for either of them to stay here now, they had only brought enough money for a single coffee each, it's pretty clear that their little coffee date is over. Neither of them say a word as they clean up their table and leave the cafe, their fingers intertwined as they usually are nowadays, but holding on tighter than usual. They separate only so they can get into Chris's truck, but the moment they settle into their seats, their hands find each other once again. And that's how Chris drives Ashley back to her mother's, hands gripping so tightly that they're fingers have turned white and not saying a single word the entire drive back. They never mentioned it, but neither of them have to. The moment they arrive at her place, then this is it. This will be the last time they're gonna see each other for an entire week, and the moment one of them speaks then any and all willpower they have to pull this off is going to be gone and they'll be back at where they started. They need to do this, even if neither of them want to.

It isn't until Chris pulls up in front and watches her let go of his hand to take off her seatbelt that it actually hits him. For the first time in six months, he's not going to be following her in. That he's going to continue the drive back to his own house alone. The realization shudders through him and he quickly finds himself fumbling at his own seatbelt clasp, and the moment he's free he's surging across the divide between them and taking Ashley's face in his hands as he kisses her like he's never going to be able to again. She doesn't hesitate to return the embrace either, throwing her arms around him and gripping onto him as though she never wants to let him go.

They spend what is probably far too long delaying the separation, but inevitably they do separate. And when they look at each other it's with tears in their eyes and their foreheads pressed so firmly together it's almost like they're trying to become one person.

"Just seven days, right? And that's it, we'll never have to do this again? You promise?"

Ashley doesn't say anything, she just nods and leans in for one last kiss, as though trying to memorize it and him for the coming week. And when she does pull away to leave, it's with her arms slowly untwining themselves from around Chris's neck, and then letting her fingers trail lightly over his shoulders, down his arms, and past his hands. Though she is stopped when Chris curls his fingers so that they catch on his, and doesn’t fight it as she watches wordlessly as he lifts them in front of his face and carefully lets the loose sleeves of her sweater drop so he can see the faint scars on her wrist that were left when the rope burns had healed. And as always, he makes no comment as softly places a kiss into the center of each wrist, followed by the palm, and then the tip of each finger, finally closing his eyes as he presses the back of her knuckles to his lips and holding her hands there. Just to remind himself that she was still here, that she hadn't died on Blackwood Mountain with all the rest.

He drops her hands when she pulls them back, but doesn't open his eyes when he feels her shaky fingers carefully remove his glasses and place them on the dashboard before returning her hands to his face in order to complete their little ritual. Gently, she traces the contours of his face with the pads of her thumbs, brushing them over his eyes, his nose, his lips, and following each with a soft kiss to the body part in question. Finishing as she always does by placing her lips in a closed mouth kiss to the area where his jaw and neck meet, and lingering just long enough so she can feel his pulse thrum beneath his skin. The minor burn from where he had once held the gun to his jaw had faded a long time ago, but he doesn't think that either will ever forget exactly where it used to be. And when she leans back, the usual expressions of relief and awe are hidden so far underneath the absolute heartbreak that they may as well not even exist. "I—" he starts, but stops just as quickly. It's far too overdue, but the timing isn't right. "I guess I'll see you next week then."

Ashley looks like she has something she wants to say, but instead reaches out to put Chris's glasses back on his face with shaking hands and as she opens the passenger door and gets out of the vehicle, she gives a weak smile. "Yeah, I...I'll see you then."

Chris just watches as she walks up to the building, gripping onto the steering wheel as hard as possible in an effort to hold himself back from trying to follow her into the building like every fibre of his being is screaming at him to do. And after sharing one last shaky and teary eyed smile from the top of the steps, Ashley unlocks the door and enters, leaving his sight for what feels like both the first time in forever, and the final time he'll ever get to see her.

He rushes the rest of the way home, and the moment he gets back he just about runs to his bedroom and hides under the covers of his bed, ignoring both the surprised greeting his mother sends his way and the inquiry about where Ashley is. He just wants to sleep.

The week will be over quicker that way.

***

By the end of the first day Ashley is ready to scream. Not because she misses Chris horribly (she does), or because waking up without Chris at her side had sent her into near hysterics (it did). She had expected these things after all, they were all things that she had to get used to again, he wasn't always going to be there with her after all. It still hurt—good god did it hurt—but all in all, it wasn't going terribly for the first day. She'd had no nightmares thankfully, and had spent most of the day reading, with some minor tidying up in her room and helping her mother around the house.

Oh no, the reason she was about to scream was her mother in question. Who after finding out why exactly Chris hadn't come home with her yesterday, and never made an appearance later on in the evening just before bed, had been frantic. Saundra wasn't angry, she didn't scream or yell or try to do anything that might set her daughter off, but she was being horribly insistent that maybe Ashely and Chris should have thought this through more. Asking why Ashley had never brought this up to her, and if she even mentioned that they were doing this to their doctors. She hadn't of course, because Ashley was fully aware that they would have done almost everything in their power to try and talk them out of it, telling them that the two of them weren't ready for separation of his magnitude yet. And of course neither of them were ready for this—they likely never would be—but it needed to be done if her and Chris had any hope of even trying to return to a normal lifestyle in time for them to return to college in January.

And, well, she was terrified about what would happen to them if they didn't. Sure it was deemed 'healthy' for now, as they tried and struggled to recover from what everyone around them said was a horribly traumatic series of events. But what about when it wasn't simply seen as healthy and therapeutic, but harmful and co-dependant? Ashley loved Chris, even if neither of them had said the words yet she felt it in her entire being everytime she looked at him, and the idea that one day they might grow to hate or resent each other for being unable to let go was too much. And so the completely necessary trial separation came into being. If they could prove that they could successfully be apart for something as short as a week, then this wasn't codependency in the making, it was healing pure and simple.

Now she just had to convince herself of that.

***

By early morning of the second day, Chris had finally admitted to himself what he had figured out a few short hours into his self-exiled bedrest: sleeping the week away when he had been finding it hard to sleep in general for months now was quite frankly going to be impossible. And so he had with great reluctance rolled himself out of his far too empty bed and into the shower, passing his own mother talking in hushed voices on the phone. Voices that quickly stopped the moment Lilith realized that her son was finally up and moving again, and then immediately confronting him afterwards and pleading that he tell her that nothing bad had happened between him and Ash. He weakly assures that everything's fine between them (it's not, everything is not fine, it won't be fine until she's by his side again), and that he'll talk to her after. The only thing he wants right now is a hot shower. Lilith lets him go reluctantly, but Chris is also very aware that the moment he steps foot into the bathroom, that she's going to be back on the phone with Saundra speaking in hushed and worried whispers.

The rest of the morning passes by in a haze of motherly questions—mixed with the occasional fatherly one every now and again just for spice—and a large breakfast that tastes and feels like ash in his mouth, and it bleeds into the afternoon, and then into the evening. Which finds Chris both bored out of his mind and desperate for a distraction as he digs through a pile of video games to try and find something to play. But everything he finds was either given to him by Ash, or ones the two of them had played together (if not both), so he abandons his search and instead finds himself out in the garage digging through dusty and broken down boxes until he finds the old playstation and games that his parents had gotten for him before he had ever met Ashley or...or...

Well, the point was he had a game now that carried no memories of anyone or anything except being six and terrible at video games. It does nothing to wipe away the loneliness and despair that covers him like a heavy blanket, but it's a start. An extremely stalled start to a race he wants nothing to do with, but a start nonetheless.

***

On day three, Ashley is starting to think that maybe her mom had been right and that this was such a stupid idea. Last night was especially bad. No matter how many blankets she had piled on her bed, no matter how many childhood stuffed animals she had shoved back on to fill up the empty space, none of it had helped. She had never felt so cold in her life and all the open space on the bed had made her feel like she was going to be swallowed up into the emptiness. In desperation she had started ripping the drawers from her dresser and throwing clothes from her closet, frantically holding back burning tears of frustration and the scream building up in her throat.

And then she found it. One of Chris's sweaters shoved half-hazardly away into a dark corner of her room under the bed, and had been forgotten about by the both of them until now. The immediacy with which she had fumbled to grab the thing and throw it on probably would have frightened her any other day, but with the tears finally flowing hot and heavy down her cheeks as she buried her face into the dark fibres, all she could feel was bone-crushing relief settling over her. Her room a mess she could deal with in the morning, Ashley had crawled into bed hugging herself and the sweater as close as she physically was able. She wasn't cold anymore, and the bed felt less empty too.

As long as she had a reminder that Chris was still alive, that she could still smell him even on this dusty and long-forgotten piece of clothing, then even if he wasn't physically here with her she could manage. And she would manage, she would. They were already halfway through the week after all, and she would prove to everyone—to herself—that they (she) could do this.

Ashley wears the sweater all the rest of the day once she wakes up.

***

In true Chris Hartley fashion, day four finds himself absolutely glued to the screen of his phone. Shortly after forcing down a small breakfast in an attempt to alleviate his worried parents' concern, he had spent what was probably a far too long amount of time in his text messages just staring at Ash's name. His thumbs hovering nervously over the keyboard as he fought with himself over and over again, debating if texting Ashley would be okay. Yes, the two of them had agreed that this 'break' (he hates the word, hates it hates it hates it with every fibre of his being) was needed if they wanted to try and get themselves ready for the separation that college life would inevitably bring, but that was to try and prepare themselves for not being able to see each other for long periods of time. They wouldn't be able to see each other during classes or during periods of intense studying and working on projects, but they would still be able to talk. Hell, his entire first year of college while she was still in high school had been just that. They hadn't been able to hang out in weeks, but they had still texted all the time.

So biting the bullet, Chris had gone ahead and texted Ash a quick and easy 'hey'. No 'miss you', no 'this was a terrible idea', no ' i wish you were here right now'. Just a simple 'hey' and then he stared at his phone, face pale and hands shaking as he waited to see what she would do. He didn't care if she would just send back a scathing reply about how he was breaking the rules by doing this, he just needed her to respond and reassure him that she was alright. That she was still alive and his insecurities were getting the best of him.

The phone rumbling softly in his hand was a godsend, and so too was the affirmative 'hi :)' that she had responded with. After that, it was as though the floodgates had opened. The two of them texted each other back and forth the entire rest of the day, her telling him about the books she had been reading as he told her about his adventures through late 90's and early 2000's gaming. They told each other what they had for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. They talked about everything and nothing and it was so blissfully normal that Chris wondered why on earth it had taken him this long to text her in the first place. He thinks that he was so used to just having her there with him all the time, that the idea that they could still text hadn't even crossed his mind.

There are things he doesn't tell her of course. That the idea of falling asleep without knowing she's next to him and safe is so ludicrous that he had stopped trying, only sleeping in small, unintended fits that leave him feeling even worse than before. That despite at least continuing to eat, the food tastes like nothing and he can only manage a few bites before excusing himself. And what little he does eat almost always manages to come back up during the night, though thankfully when his parents are both sleeping (he doesn't want them to worry more than they already are). Chris doesn't want to worry Ashley, not when it seems like she's managing this whole seven-day long affair better than he is so far. If she can do this, then so can he.

So no matter how many times his thumb hovers over the call icon in the corner, he does not press it. Texting will have to be enough, he knows that the moment he hears her voice then every single shred of resolution he has built up will crumble in seconds and he'll be driving as fast as he can so he can see her again. And they're already four days deep into their seven days, the last thing he wants is for Ashley to decide that they need to start all this over from the top again.

***

Ashley is comfortable in her bed, more comfortable than she's ever felt in her life honestly. Chris's arm is draped heavily over her waist, and his breath is warm on the back of her neck as he peacefully naps the afternoon away. His body is solid against her back and she feels so, so safe and so, so loved as she continues to read her book, a favourite of hers that she had read cover to cover a million times but always felt like coming home in its warm familiarity. Contentedly, she flips a page and snuggles back further into Chris's body and she feels something warm and wet drip onto her neck.

"Chriiiiiiis," she groans, but not without an edge of laughter, "wake up. You're drooling on me, you dip." He doesn't move, and Ashley repositions herself a little, made difficult by the weight of his arm over her, and jabs her elbow into his gut. "I'm serious you dork, wake up. I swear to god, you sleep like the de—" The words die in her throat in horror when she turns her head to face him.

His head isn't there. Nothing is there. Just dark blood pouring hot and heavy from the open space above his neck, staining the fur lining his coat and the once clean, white snow as the blizzard rages around her. Desperate to prove that this isn't real, that it can't be real, she fumbles for the hand that hangs limp at her waist and threads her fingers through his, but his fingers are cold to the touch and black with frostbite, and no matter how hard she squeezes he isn't squeezing back. She's fully aware that she's openly crying and sobbing as she repeats his name over and over, begging him to wake up and tell her that this isn't real. Her tears are freezing on her cheeks the moment they fall.

From deep within the treeline, a high-pitched shriek that rattles the teeth in her mouth echoes long and loud around the wide, open snow-covered space.

Cries and nausea alike stick in her throat as she tries frantically to wiggle out from Chris's body, but his arm is a dead weight that keeps her pinned in place against him. "C'mon, Chris. We need to go. We need to hide. Get up, please please please get up."

There's a soft thump of a large body landing in the snow far off to the right, unseen but not unheard, and she freezes in place. Hoping and praying that the thing won't see them as she huddles in closer to the protection that Chris's body is offering, her blood stained fingers tightening painfully on his limp hand and around the leather bound journal she is still holding in her other. In fear she buries her face into the snow beneath her, the cold biting at her skin and the metallic taste of Chris's spilt blood filling her mouth and nose. For a moment, there's nothing. No sound except for the wind whistling through the trees as the snow whips wildly around them.

And then Chris is gone. The comforting and yet horrifying weight he had been is just gone as he's suddenly flung through the air and colliding into a tree with a sickening crunch. Her hand had been gripping onto his so fiercely and so tightly that she had been pulled with him for just a second before his hand had been violently ripped out of her grasp. Leaving Ashley to stare wide-eyed and terrified into the face of the thing—its body too long and spindly with far too many sharp angles to be considered human—standing above her as she lays on her back. Milky-white eyes gaze back down unseeingly at her and Chris's blood is dripping from sharp, deadly claws that splatter onto her face. The thing opens its mouth to showcase row upon row of crooked and yellowed razor-sharp teeth and it screams at her, spittle flying into Ashley's face as her ears ring and ring and ring.

Too scared to cry, too scared to move, Ashley just wishes that Chris was still here with her and not lying broken and mangled and headless at the foot of a tree as he continues to slowly bleed out into the crisp white snow. A small little whimper, barely louder than the whisper of wind blowing through grass and certainly going unheard in this howling blizzard, escapes past her lips but it's enough. In a flash, the same deadly claws are raking towards her face to rip her head off in the same way it had to Chris.

And Ashley screams.

She screams and screams and screams, and screams only louder when a pair of hands cradle her face and a voice begs and pleads with her to wake up. Ashley tries to fight back against the hands and the voice, screaming for Chris to wake up and help her, but her own words keep getting caught on the blood that is bubbling out of her mouth. There's another scream, this one not her own, and then the hands have moved to try and open her mouth but she won't let them. She doesn't want her jaw ripped off like what had happened to poor Jess. Like what she had seen in the pictures that the rangers had shown her and Chris so they could identify the half naked body discovered in the mines. So she fights back even harder, trying to claw at the person or thing that killed Chris and Jess and everyone else. And then there's a cry of pain, and the hands on her face have vanished, appearing around her wrists so they could try and hold her panicked flailing back.

The moment the hands appear on her wrists, Ashley's eyes fly open and she can't breathe. She can't breathe because she's hanging in the shed, the wood cold against her back as saws whir menacingly both in front and above her as Josh hangs limpy next to her. The lower half of his body an impossible mess on the floor and the grey intestines that had managed to stay in his upper half hanging down towards it like grotesque party streamers. From behind the steel chain link fence that partitions the room, Chris stands looking straight at her as he holds a gun to his jaw, his face pale as he smiles shakily at her and pulls the trigger.

Somehow, the scream that finally manages to break through is louder than all the rest.

There's more begging and pleading that she can't make out against the loud mechanical whir of the saws. And then a phone chimes, only just managing to cut through all the screaming and whirring and echoes of gunshots. And then it chimes again, louder this time. And again. And again. And she realizes that she recognizes it, it's the ringtone that Chris had set on her phone for his contact ages and ages ago as a joke, and she had just kept forgetting to change it back until it just became his notification, joke or not.

Slowly, the shed fades away until all she's left seeing is her mother standing in her brightly lit bedroom, screaming at someone through her phone. But all Ashley is paying attention to is the repeated chimes going off constantly on her phone one after another, the screen never getting the chance to go dark before another text comes in, and Chris's name appearing for every single one.

Saundra seems to notice that her daughter has finally stopped screaming, and although she continues to plead with whoever it is on the phone with her, she reaches out a hesitant and unsure hand. Ashley notices none of this as blood continues to dribble slowly out of her mouth as she picks up and unlocks her phone.

***

Something is wrong. Something is very, very wrong and it isn't the fact that Chris is kneeling over the toilet as he retches into it for the second time tonight. Oh no, the something wrong is due to the fact that despite it being past midnight he can hear his mom trying frantically to calm someone down on the phone. It was the phone ringing that had woken him up in fact from where he had accidentally dozed off on the couch, waking up to find the old playstation controller hanging loose in his fingers and Crash idly spinning a piece of wumpa fruit on his finger in all his polygonal glory. Chris had dropped the controller the rest of the way to the floor in his rush to the bathroom though, startling poor Toby from where he had been snoozing the night away in his dog bed. He had only barely made it before he found himself throwing up what little food he had been able to eat during the day, and the coolness of the porcelain against is forehead was a balm of relief when compared to the burning in his throat and heat of his tears as they flowed slowly down his face.

He could tell the moment that Lilith had found him from the surprised cry of alarm behind him, quickly followed by a clatter as she dropped the phone to the linoleum floor in her shock as she reached out to take her son's face in her hands. Chris knew that he must have looked a dreadful sight, his face pale and drawn while his eyes looked at her with a glassy stare. The next second, she was yelling over her shoulder for his father to wake up now and turn on the car, but Chris wasn't paying any attention to that. Not when he was just starting to make out the sound of the voice through the phone, and more importantly, the screaming in the background of the call.

That was Ashley's scream. It was a sound he didn't think he would ever be allowed to forget and it hit him that she was screaming—screaming for him—and he wasn't there.

Clumsily, he ripped his face from his mother's hands and stumbled to the living room where he had left his phone on the couch. He had to help her. She needed him and he had to help her. The moment he finally had his phone in his hand he pulled up her contact name...and then he froze unsure of what to do. He couldn't call her, not because of this whole stupid break thing, but because the sound of her voice sobbing on the phone will cause him to break down with her and the last thing either of them need is to scream and cry while they're both so, so far away from each other. So he does the next best thing he can do:

He texts her.

C: what does a cloud wear under his raincoat? C: thunderwear C: why are teddy bears never hungry? C: cause they're always stuffed C: why do ducks have tail feathers? C: to cover up their buttquacks C: what kind of shoes do private investigators wear? C: sneak-ers C: why do i never tell jokes about pizza? C: they're too cheesey

And on and on and on. Even as his fingers shake he continues to text her stupid little jokes. The same ones he tells to her when he's there to hold her in his arms and remind her that he's still okay and that she’s safe. There's no describing the sob of relief he makes when she finally responds.

C: prime-mates C: what event do spiders love to attend? A: Cats C: webbings

There's a moment where he doesn't know what she means by that. How on earth could cats be the pun he was looking for in the joke? And then it hits him. She needs to know that it's really him telling these jokes and that she's not just making up everything she's seeing on her phone. Ashley is asking for the stupidest jokes about cats he knows so she can confirm that it's really him on the phone. Even tired as he is—and he is so so tired—they come naturally to him as only talking with Ashley and middle school dad jokes ever did.

C: what's a cat's favourite colour? C:purr-ple C: what do you call a cat that loves to bowl? C: an alley cat C: what's a cat's favourite tv show? C: claw and order C: what does the cat say after making a joke? C: just kitten

And so on and so forth. Ashley throws out a new topic for jokes and Chris replies with them as quickly as he can. He can hear his mom and dad talking in the next room, to each other and Saundra on the phone, but the only person he cares about is the one on the other side of his. He needs to call her. He knows what Ashley needs when she has a nightmare this bad, and the jokes are helping but she needs to hear his voice to be truly convinced that he's okay. But he can't hear hers without making things so much worse than they already are and he doesn't know what to say that would calm her down and—he stares at the last joke he had just typed out unconsciously it hits him.

C: what did the two volcanoes say to each other? C: i lava you C: i'm going to call your phone but whatever you do don't answer it C: just let it go to voicemail and please don't answer it C: please

Chris doesn't wait for her response as he shoves past his father to his bedroom, ignoring the startled shout as he slams the door behind him, and slumps against it to the floor. He doesn't want his parents to hear this. It's not anything that would worry them, but it's so so private and the only person he wants to hear this is Ash. He still doesn't look at her response as he frantically taps the call button and listens to the phone ring. And ring. And ring. And ring. And ring. And then, finally, he hears her voice for the first time in nearly a week.

"Hi, this is Ashley. Sorry I can't come to the phone right now but leave a message and I'll get back to you as soon as I can. Promise!"

***

Please enter your password.

6279#

You have one new voice message. To play your messages, press one. To record—

1

"I love you. I'm so sorry that I'm not there so say it to your face but I love you so much that I can't fucking stand it somedays and I should have told you ages ago. I should have said it five days ago but I didn't. I should have been saying it to you before falling asleep and after waking up every day. On the helicopter ride down the mountain. When you kissed me for the first time. I think I was lying when I said that nothing was wasted between us, because I should have been screaming this to you from the first moment you smiled at me. I wasted so much time not telling you this so I'm going to say it now. I love you, I love you, I love you, I lo—"

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"I love you. I'm so sorry that I'm not there so say it to your face but I love you so much that I can't fucking stand it somedays and I should have told you ages ago. I should have said something five days ago but I didn't. I should have been saying it to you before falling asleep every night and after waking up every morning. On the helicopter ride down the mountain. When you kissed me for the first time. I think I was lying when I said that nothing was wasted between us, because I should have been screaming this to you from the first moment you smiled at me over that diner's table. I wasted so much time not telling you this so I'm going to say it now. I love you, I love you, I love you, I lo—"

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"I love you. I'm—"

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"I love you."

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"I love you."

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"I love you."

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"I love you. I'm so sorry that I'm not there so say it to your face but I love you so much that I can't fucking stand it somedays and I should have told you ages ago. I should have said something five days ago but I didn't. I should have been saying it to you before falling asleep every night and after waking up every morning. On the helicopter ride down the mountain. When you kissed me for the first time. I think I was lying when I said that nothing was wasted between us, because I should have been screaming this to you from the first moment you smiled at me over that diner's table. I wasted so much time not telling you this so I'm going to say it now. I love you, I love you, I love you, I lo—"

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***

The car ride over was almost unbearable. Chris wasn't driving himself fortunately, with how tired and anxious he had been feeling for days now it would have been an absurdly stupid idea that likely would have ended in his death if he wasn't extremely lucky. As it was, he had been ready to go and beg a ride from his parents but had found Gabe already standing by the front door with the keys in hand. His almost pure white hair messy from being pulled from bed unexpectedly and leveling Chris with a glare that brooked no argument. It wasn't an argument that Chris intended to fight against as he hugged his father hard in thanks before climbing into the back of the vehicle.

But the drive had felt so much longer than it usually did, and Ashley having stopped responding to his texts certainly hadn't helped matters any. He still sent them anyways, more for his own reassurance than hers now. Lilith sat in the passenger seat next to her husband, still talking on the phone to Saundra to give progress reports and reassurances that yes the three of them were on their way now, even as she sent the occasional nervous glances at Chris in the backseat. Though worried for him or for the car upholstery in case the movement of the vehicle set off his gag reflex was anyone's guess.

The moment Chris felt the vehicle slow down his eyes jumped to the window and saw the familiar and welcoming shape of Ashley's building and he was already fumbling with seatbelt and opening the car door before they had even fully stopped. He hears his parent's cry out in shock as he dives out the still moving (even if very slowly) vehicle and he's stumbling towards the door. Chris realizes in horror that in his hurry to leave he had managed to completely forget his keys by the front door, and in the time it takes him to realize that the door has already opened. Saundra is standing in front of him dressed up for her overnight shift at the dispatch center that she is now extremely late for, and phone held up to her ear as she stares at him with wide eyes.

Chris doesn't even bother to say thanks or remark about the deep scratches on her cheek, the pair still bleeding just a little, before he's shoving his way past her and up the stairs to where Ashley's room is. He trips on the last step and falls forward, his phone skittering across the floor, but leaves it once he gets to his feet and just about barges into her room.

He takes barely a moment to stare at Ashley huddled up on her bed, looking so small in his dark sweater, and her eyes squeezed shut as her phone is pressed as close to her ear as possible as she rocks back and forth. There's a thin streak of dried blood from her mouth all the way down her chin and her eyes fly open in shock when he takes an unsteady step towards her. For a split second he's too scared to move, he doesn't want to frighten her anymore than she already is, but then the phone drops from her fingers and she whimpers out his name like she can’t believe he’s really here and he breaks.

He's already fully crying as he collides into her on the bed, but so is she so there's no need to feel embarrassed about that. He can hear his own voice as a tinny facsimile from the phone as the voicemail continues to play out before starting off into the electronic drone of the operator, but he ignores it for the feel of Ashley's arms wrapped firmly around him, her hands clawing into the back of his shirt to try and hold him closer as they both sob bitterly into each others shoulders. Chris is the first to pull back, though it's just so he can hold her face in his hands as he presses their foreheads together, thumbs wiping away tears that won't stop falling even as he continues to cry himself, just soaking in her presence in front of him. Ashley takes no time for her hands to start roaming all over his skin when they snake underneath his shirt, just feeling the unmarked bare skin as she searches for wounds and marks that no longer exist or have never even existed in the first place.

The two of them sit there like that for an unknown amount of time, just confirming that the other is truly alive and safe. Until Ashley slowly removes her hands from under his shirt so she can drag him down and forward into a deep kiss. A kiss that is by all accounts is downright awful considering that Chris never got the chance to rinse out his mouth and all he can taste is the blood in Ashley's from where she had bit her tongue during her nightmare at some point. Neither of them care. And he still doesn't care when Ashley starts to leave what may very well be slightly bloody kisses as she trails her lips from his mouth to the corner of his lips, across his cheek, and down his jaw until she finds the spot she's looking for and stops there so she can feel his frantic pulse thrumming beneath the skin. She holds her mouth there for what many would likely consider to be an uncomfortably long amount of time, but Chris says nothing. Not when he's now too busy picking up where Ashley had let off, letting his hands skate over the area of her stomach and waist beneath her shirt and his sweater.

The moment the two of them have calmed down enough that the sobs have lessened into quiet tears, Ashley finally removes her lips from his jaw and lowers one of her hands so she can place it flat on his chest and can feel his heart thumping steadily beneath her hand. Chris lets a hand cover hers to hold it there while he carefully places the other on the back of her neck, this thumb soothingly rubbing back and forth to comfort her. And gently, so gently, he brings their foreheads back together as they let the last of their adrenaline run out.

She's safe. He's safe. They're both safe and that is all that matters right now.

"I'm sorry," Ashley is the first to speak and words catch and almost shatter on the way out. "I'm so sorry. This was such a stupid idea and—"

He doesn't disagree with her. This had been a terrible idea from the start and while she's not wrong that they need to get used to not being around all the time, this was too much too soon. For both of them it seems. "I can't do that again Ash," he says instead. "We'll figure something out. Make agreements with our dorm roommates if we have to, force the college heads to accept our emails and the doctors advice, or rent the shittiest and cheapest apartment we can find. I don't care. We'll figure it out, but I can't do that again Ash. I love you but I can't."

Ashley nods weakly against his head in agreement. She can't do it again either. The two of them had barely lasted five days after all, and this whole failed endeavour had probably sent them back months. "I love you too. I love you so so much. You can't leave me, Chris, please. You can't. Not tonight."

He has no intention to, he doesn't know what his parents intended bringing him here, or if they thought he'd be going back home with them after this, but he's not going anywhere. They'll have to drag him kicking and screaming from the bed if they try, and now that the adrenaline has finally worn off, the lack of sleep he'd been having the last five days is hitting him and he is just so, so very tired. So tired, that all he gives in reply is just a reassuring forehead kiss in promise that he won't be going anywhere, not for a long time if he can help it, and then starts to bring Ashley down so she can lay on the bed with him. She follows without a fight.

It only takes them a moment to settle, Ashley laying so her front is flush to his back as is physically possible with her arm draped over his waist and fingers threaded tightly through his. Chris takes her other hand so he can softly kiss her inner wrist and then holds the knuckles lightly to his lips. The two of them slowly drifting off as Ashley continues to softly whisper declarations of love into the back of his neck.

Chris's eyes are closed, just enjoying her whispers that are meant just for him to hear, and even then he can tell that someone is standing in the door and watching them. But even if he opened his eyes to see who it was, with his glasses now resting in their spot on Ashley’s bedside table, he wouldn’t be able to tell anyway. And he’s just far too exhausted to even try right now. It’s only her mom anyway, or one of his parents—quite possibly all three of them—and he knows that come morning and after hours and hours of sleep, that there are going to be some conversations and intense worried scolding that need to be had. But with Ashley's fingers squeezing around his, and him squeezing back just as firmly, he doesn't care.

For the first time in a little over five days, the two of them fall asleep peacefully. Secure and content in the knowledge that they’re not gonna have to do this again, not for a very, very long time.

[raendown]

Pairing: TobiramaKagami Rated: E Chapter: 3/4 Word count: 5108 Summary: It shouldn’t be so surprising that it’s Kagami who makes the opening move, asking for so little when he desires so much. From there their relationship unfolds in a tapestry of firsts they’ve both been waiting to experience.

Follow the link or read it under the cut!

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Senpō

After several weeks of dating Kagami could say with absolute confidence that he still had no idea what he was doing. Everyone else always made dating look so easy. How did anyone ever know what they were supposed to do for each other or where the boundaries were? Already he had laid awake for hours when he was supposed to sleeping but instead was wondering if it was okay for him to send Tobirama gifts in the office, if he was allowed to walk the man home or if he should wait for Tobirama to offer the same, what counted as a date and what was just spending time together. With so many questions bouncing around in his head it was a miracle he didn’t explode with them every time he saw his boyfriend.

Just being able to use the term ‘boyfriend’ in the same sentence as ‘Tobirama’ without prefacing it with ‘I wish’ was almost enough to blow his mind every time he thought about it. 

Despite the mania of confusion in his own head and around them Kagami had been absolutely floating on air with happiness for the past few weeks. Only a day or two after their second date some news made it back from their spies in the Land of Lightning and things had been incredibly hectic ever since but Tobirama made sure to set at least an hour aside for them to spend together every couple of days. Considering how much work the man had to get through Kagami appreciated it more than he could say.

He was still extremely excited when things finally calmed down enough that they could take an entire evening off to spend some much desired quality time together. Being invited in to Tobirama’s home was a thrill all on its own, knowing he was one of the few people allowed in such a private space. The lab was one thing, only a handful of people had ever been allowed access in to there, but his actual home was somewhere he kept private from anyone but family. Kagami had no delusions that he could be considered family so early in their relationship so knowing that Tobirama trusted him enough to share the most private parts of himself already was a rush unlike any other. 

“You have a lot of secrets,” were the first words out of his mouth after a quick tour of the home. 

“Do I?” Tobirama was smiling. He could tell that even without turning around just from the amused lilt in that rumbling  voice when he stepped up behind Kagami to settle both hands on his hips. 

“Mhm.” Not allowing himself to be distracted, he waved up at the carving he’d been admiring from as many angles as possible. “Who knew you had a secret sense of interior design hidden up your sleeve as well? I have to say, I’m impressed. This is a hundred times nicer than my house.”

“You let the little girls who live next to you decorate your living room; anything would look fancy next to your place.” 

Kagami sniffed and said nothing. He didn’t actually have a defense against that since it was true. All he could say was that it had been utterly adorable watching the two of them run around with the paints they usually used to fill in coloring books and the smiles they had worn when they proudly showed off their work. Much like the man behind him, he had a deep weakness for children.

Thankfully Tobirama didn’t stop to tease him, instead leading him in to the kitchen where dinner was just waiting for them to sit down and enjoy. And enjoy he did. Whenever they happened to get thrown on the same missions nowadays there was a reason he always begged Tobirama to take cooking duty. The man was a wizard with cooking utensils in his hand. Sometimes Kagami thought it was a little unfair how good his partner seemed to be at everything but since he tended to benefit from those skills he’d never seen fit to complain too loudly. 

Something told him that he was supposed to get some sort of message from the homemade soup Tobirama served but for the life of him he couldn’t guess. It was delicious, a recipe of Tobirama’s own making, and much lighter on the spice than the man usually liked his food. Kagami would also not have been surprised not to be served fish considering both of their preference for seafood but there was something sweet and romantic and downright homey about soup made from a personal recipe – and it did taste delicious. Even without spice or seafood of any kind it still managed to be one of the tastiest dishes he’d ever been served.

Right up until they were both gathering their dishes and bringing them over to the sink the entire night was perfect, a small oasis of peace after weeks of madness, so of course that was when they were interrupted by a knock on the door and Kagami watched all the muscles in Tobirama’s jaw tighten at the same time. 

“I had hoped they were passing by to bother Hashirama instead,” he murmured, clearly having sensed whoever the unwanted visitor was long before they reached his door. 

“Want me to go yell at them?” Kagami offered. Even he wasn’t sure whether he was serious or not; thankfully Tobirama took that decision away by shaking his head with a deep sigh. 

“No, unfortunately it might be important. I should at least see what they want.” 

His eyes were already rolling as he padded down the hallway – too dignified to stomp despite the irritation clear in every line of his body – and when he pulled the door open Kagami peeked around the corner just in time to watch one of the Hokage’s assistants squeak with fright. Papers held up like a shield between them, he stammered his way through a few apologies and explained that they had just received some time sensitive correspondence that required an answer right away.

“I will see to it here and return it when I’m finished,” Tobirama declared. 

“Yes, Senju-sama. Of course.” The man bowed, already backing away without waiting to be dismissed. As soon as it was polite to do so he turned tail and fled back down the street. 

Kagami held his tongue until Tobirama had opened the folder and looked it over before coughing awkwardly. “Should I leave?”

“What? No, no, there’s no need for that. This will only take a moment if you don’t mind?”

“Anything you need!”

“Hm, anything you say?” Tobirama grinned and Kagami regretted his word choices immediately. “Come, I’ll just need to pop in to my office and I would be a terrible host to leave you alone.” 

The effort it took to stop himself from backtracking for a less incriminating turn of phrase distracted him from making any sort of comment about Tobirama having an entire room set aside as a home office. It suited him, was hardly a surprise that he brought his work home so often that he had set up a space to do it in, but Kagami did wish the man would take a little more time for himself some days. 

Most of the décor inside the office matched the vibe of the décor outside, similar colors and focused more on elegance than opulence. The only difference here was the surprisingly cluttered state of the shelves on the far side of the room. Generally any space Tobirama occupied tended to end up tidy and organized within a few hours even if it was only a temporary space and yet here it looked as though everything had been thrown in to whatever space was available at the time without a single thought for coherency. 

Obviously his surprise must have shown on his face judging by the embarrassed look his host threw back at the mess as he sat down. 

“You will tell no one about my secret shame,” Tobirama murmured and Kagami laughed. 

“How do you plan to buy my silence?” he shot back. 

Tobirama pinned him in place with hot eyes that made him swallow a sudden lump in his throat. He really should learn to start thinking his words through; it seemed like the more time he spent in close proximity with this man the more his mind began to speak itself.

Relief swept through him when that piercing gaze slid away to focus on paperwork, giving him a few moments to breathe and recollect his scattered thoughts. While Tobirama read through the letter and drafted a response Kagami drifted around the room and took his opportunity to peer through the window out in to the backyard. Spacious and well kept, he appreciated the presence of a privacy fence around the edges of the property, one home addition he was entirely unsurprised by. The lack of any flora but a few bushes along the fence line didn’t really surprise him either when he knew that greenery was more of the Hashirama-sama’s hobby, a passion he’d been unable to impart on his little brother. 

It didn’t take very long for Tobirama to finish up and once he had his response written out on a clean sheet of paper he used one hand to wave it dry while the other called a single clone in to existence. Kagami turned away from the window to watch him instruct the copy to deliver his reply back to the tower posthaste. Then the clone slipped away and he shivered as that hot gaze locked with his own, calling him over with one finger crooked in beckoning. He was helpless to do anything but go. 

“You look like you’re about to eat me and I’m not sure if I’m intrigued or frightened.” Kagami settled on a smile of gentle triumph when Tobirama laughed. 

“Perhaps I’m trying to buy your silence like you asked me to.”

“Okay well now I’m even more worried,” He joked, already stepping within reach and slipping easily in to the arms that pulled him close against Tobirama’s side. 

It was entirely unfair how long this man’s torso was. Even from a sitting position he was nearly as tall as Kagami standing at full height. The only nice part about that was how easy it was to lean over and kiss him when a pale hand lifted to hook in the neck of his shirt and pull him down, stealing a quiet sound of pleasure from his lips.

When two broad hands traveled down the front of his chest to settle at his hips Kagami thought of nothing but how good it felt, as though the other were learning every inch and crevice of his body. He didn’t think much of it when they tightened their grip because that felt nice too in the way a tight hug made him feel secure and loved. Then suddenly the hands gripping him lifted and he broke their kiss to let out a startled yelp as he was hauled bodily in to the air and set back down on the edge of the wooden desk. 

“Are you serious?” he cried. 

“Have I crossed a line?”

“Do you have any idea how hot that was?” Kagami gestured in wide nonsensical arcs to demonstrate his point as he went on. “With the lifting and the putting and I weigh nothing to you do I? God, why are you so hot? I hate it. No, I love it. Stop being hot!” 

“If you wish,” Tobirama murmured, though he was still openly smirking with amusement. 

Kagami huffed. “Stop laughing at me too.”

“Note to self, he clearly enjoys being tossed around,” Tobirama went on mercilessly. 

“I said stop! But, um, yeah. Yeah that was…good.” 

Praying did not convince the universe to strike him down where he sat so Kagami figured the best way to deal with his mortification was to find something to distract them both. And the universe’s answer was of course right there in the form of Tobirama drawing him in to another kiss, capturing his lips and turning his brain to mush so he almost didn’t notice that his legs were being moved around until he was all but straddling his partner’s waist. If he slid just a few inches forward he could lower himself from the edge of the desk and then he truly would be sitting right over Tobirama’s lap. 

Now that he was right where Tobirama seemed to want him the hands that had lifted him here returned to their exploration of his body, sliding up and down his sides and mapping the contours of his chest until he was squirming with so many sensations he didn’t know how to deal with. He was hard inside his clothing long before those wandering hands made their way down to slide along the tops of his thighs and stop for two thumbs to trace his obliques. 

“Hah…” The sound escaped with little warning, accompanied by a full body shiver, and when Kagami blinked away the fog in his mind he found Tobirama looking up at him from the chair with a contemplative look. 

“You will tell me if I do anything that makes you uncomfortable, I hope?” he asked. Kagami nearly swallowed his own tongue with nerves. 

“Sure, yeah. Uh, what exactly were you planning to do?”

Tobirama ran his thumbs along the seam of Kagami’s thighs again, dangerously close to other parts of his anatomy, and quirked up one corner of his mouth in a sultry look. “Well now that I seem to have you at my mercy I should very much like to pleasure you.” 

Once again Kagami nearly choked on his tongue. 

“Who says that?” he exclaimed. 

“Is that a no?”

“No! It’s…I mean…do I get to return the favor?”

For once he got to surprise Tobirama in turn. His partner lifted one eyebrow and actually paused before replying, “If you want to I’m certainly not going to stop you. My body is yours to explore. But first…”

His words were so distracting Kagami had somehow managed to forget about his hands but he remembered them now as they dipped towards each other to caress his inner thighs and then one of them branched upwards to cup him through his clothing. All the breath in his lungs rushed out at once and he hurried to shove an arm out behind himself lest he fall over with the shock of pleasant sensations rushing through him.

“This is alright?” Tobirama’s teasing voice asked him and he realized his eyes were closed. 

“Uh-huh…”

Licking his lips, he couldn’t help but roll in to the motion of the hand caressing him. Just when he thought he might be getting a little too excited too fast, a recipe for repeating the last time they found themselves in an intimate situation, the teasing stopped and both of the hands touching him moved up to toy with the fastenings of his pants. 

“And this too?” 

“Oh wow…” All the words of his own language seemed to have fallen out his ears leaving him empty and speechless but that didn’t matter as long as Tobirama kept doing whatever it was he planned on doing. Visions of white fingers wrapped around him and stroking firmly dancing behind his eyelids until he forced them open to nod frantically. “Uh-huh. S’fine.”

“Excellent.” All but dripping confidence with every movement, even when he paused to make sure he hadn’t made his partner uncomfortable, Tobirama somehow managed to make an entire show out of undoing Kagami’s clothing and opening the front of his pants before detouring back up to tease his chest again. 

Trying not to fall over and just melt in to an actual puddle, Kagami wondered if he should be returning some of this attention. He did make a point of saying he wanted to actually give something back this time instead of leaving Tobirama unsatisfied again. No matter what the man said about not keeping a tally he still felt guilty allowing himself to be pleasured without at least attempting to give the same in return. And it would be an attempt only; he was fairly sure his inexperience wouldn’t exactly be sexy. 

He had a lot to learn but he had a feeling Tobirama was open to teaching him whatever he wanted to know in this area. 

Despite his good intentions, however, it was getting harder and harder by the second to think around the waves of arousal spreading through his body with every caress and touch. When fingers slid underneath his waistband it took all of his concentration not to whimper. He was almost grateful to feel them pull away a moment later until he noticed they were only repositioning to hook underneath the hem from another angle while Tobirama looked up at him with a smile that threatened to melt his bones. 

“I’ll need you to lift up if you don’t mind me removing these,” he said.

Kagami tried to answer and found that words were failing him still so instead he fell back on his elbows and braced his feet on the sides of Tobirama’s chair to lift his hips, trying not to be obvious about the fact that he was close to panting with anticipation. He had dreamed of baring himself for this man a shameful amount of times. The reality was a lot more nerve-wracking than it usually was in his fantasies but it still had the advantage of being real, something he wouldn’t wake up from and need to scrub off his skin just so he could look the other man in the eye afterwards.

He was a little surprised to have his pants pulled down only far enough to trap his legs, the stretchy material giving him just enough room to remain straddled around Tobirama’s waist while pinning them in place so he could go no further. Then he was even more surprised when instead of continuing his explorations Tobirama went straight for the ties of his fundoshi. Heat returned to his face with a vengeance as he watched himself spring up, fully hard already and oh so obviously eager, but at least Tobirama did not laugh at him this time. Actually he looked a little closer to drooling than laughing, which Kagami had been certain was something that only happened in his private little imaginings. For a few moments Tobirama simply tilted his head and took in the sight before him while his thumbs traced soothing circles on the thighs under his grasp. 

Then he leaned forward to lick a stripe up the cock just begging for his attention and Kagami’s entire body convulsed with a sharp cry.

“Warning!” he gasped. 

“If I gave you warning then it wouldn’t be a surprise.” Tobirama rumbled his words against the side of his new treat, following them immediately with another long stripe with the flat of his tongue. 

“Ah! Nn…feels- yes. Do that. That’s g- very good.”

“Does it? Then I am very curious to know what you think of this.” 

Without bothering to give any further warning Tobirama parted his lips to sink down over the head of Kagami’s cock and the shock of pleasure that ran through him was so strong the arms keeping him up folded, sending his torso crashing backwards. One hand lifted to clap over his mouth as a shamefully loud moan spilled out, hips instinctively bucking upwards in to that hot, wet glory. His movements were stifled by a strong grip as Tobirama held him in place and did things with that beautiful mouth Kagami’s craziest wet dreams had never been able to imagine.

He knew what a blowjob was, obviously. Growing up with dozens of other young boys his age ensured he knew exactly how a blowjob was done and heard a dozen and more descriptions of what it felt like. None of that prepared him for the reality of Tobirama’s tongue curling around his length, cheeks hollowing to add a little suction in some undecipherable pattern, and the wet sounds that should have been more disturbing than anything yet still somehow managed to heighten his excitement because this was actually happening. Senju Tobirama was curled over him and sucking on his cock, quickly bringing him closer and closer to what was obviously going to be the best orgasm of his entire life. 

Which, of course, his own mouth decided he needed to express using garbage half sentences and noises better left to the darkness when he was alone with his own shameful imagination. The swear words at least seemed to have an effect. For every involuntary curse that left his mouth Tobirama hummed around him in appreciation and the sensation of it was almost enough to send him flying over the edge. Almost, but thankfully not quite.

Instead what actually did it was nothing but a natural build. His body splayed across the desk like a scroll unfurled for his partner to work on, back arching towards the ceiling every time Tobirama sank back down over him, hands scrabbling for purchase only to lose it against and again as he spasmed with so much more pleasure than he was used to handling. Again and again he babbled senselessly at the ceiling as all the muscles in his body coiled tighter and tighter until he was dangling right on the precipice- 

Then fell, shattered, fragmented in to a thousand pieces as his spine bowed and his hands shot down to fist in the back of Tobirama’s shirt while that gorgeous mouth worked him all the way through an orgasm that threatened to send him straight in to nirvana. It felt like forever until his back hit the wood of the desk again and Kagami was left panting and shivering, anchored to reality only by the pale hands caressing his chest and thighs in nonsensical patterns. If not for the voice murmuring soft exclamations of mild surprise for his reaction he might have thought he’d actually passed out and fallen in to a dream. The Tobirama of his dreams always praised him for being perfect and whispered filthy things he wasn’t sure the Tobirama before him would ever utter. Unless he asked. He had a feeling his partner would do a lot of things if he asked for them. 

By the time his eyes were able to see again past the senseless cloud of euphoria he found the man smiling much like a smug cat, full of pride and eyes just as bright as the moments he realized he’d made a scientific breakthrough. 

“You look like you want to eat me again,” he said breathlessly and without thinking.

“Don’t tempt me,” was Tobirama’s answer and it sent his head dropping back, hand coming up to cover his eyes with embarrassment. 

“Just because I’m sitting here with my bits still hanging out in your face doesn’t mean I meant to be suggestive!”

He flushed even deeper when the other man laughed but strangely it also helped cut the awkwardness of being so exposed, as he’d said, right in front of Tobirama’s face. Not having been with anyone before meant the only time he’d been exposed to other people’s eyes had been in the public baths he didn’t visit that often anyway. It was strange. Maybe it was the fact that he was the only one not fully clothed or maybe it was just a matter of the newness of it all but he had to admit that the way Tobirama’s eyes stayed riveted to him with a primal sort of hunger helped more than anything to keep him at least a little comfortable. 

Comfortable enough to sit up and swallow down his fears, slipping off the edge of the desk and sinking to the floor between Tobirama’s knees without bothering to remove the rest of his pants. His reward was the very visible bob of the older man’s throat.

“You know you don’t have to,” Tobirama assured him. Reaching out with shaking fingers, Kagami gave a deliberately casual shrug.

“I want to. Believe me I want to.” He was already blushing so he blamed the heat in his cheeks on lingering pleasure rather than the allusion to his longtime desires. 

Even having just had all of this done to himself Kagami still felt a little lost as he slowly pulled clothing away until he was tracing the edges of a perfectly white cock with nervous fingertips. He felt Tobirama’s eyes watching closely but the man said nothing to stop him from exploring with gentle touches until he was able to force his mind past the initial disbelief of being allowed to do these things. 

Then he was curling his fingers around the shaft and shuffling forward on his knees, eyes lowered because he couldn’t bear to let their gazes meet just in case he did all of this wrong, and bent his neck for a first taste. He was almost startled by the smooth skin of the head but more so by how much he enjoyed the sensation. Intrigued, he took his time exploring all the things he just had over again but this time with his tongue. So enraptured was he that it almost startled him out of his skin to feel fingers slide in between his curls with a gentle grip as Tobirama let out a shuddering breath above him. 

He was enjoying this. Kagami could hardly believe his ears but when he dared to peek upwards he found glazed lust staring back at him and a line of pink spread across the bridge of Tobirama’s nose, his arousal clear and bared without shame. Whatever he was doing was actually working and the thrill of that was enough of a confidence boost for him to look back down at what he was doing and slide his lips over the whole head.

Over his head Tobirama released a groan that nearly made him peak all over again. Kagami did his best to contain the way he shivered in response and made a few adjustments until he was bobbing slowly in his best approximation of the overwhelming experience he had just lived through himself. It was impossible to tell whether the sounds he was earning were genuine or exaggerated for his benefit but either way they spurred him on even after his jaw slowly began to ache. With more experience in this sort of thing Tobirama was able to last a bit longer than he had. Kagami held his eyes shut tight and brought one hand up to work the length he wasn’t able to fit in his mouth, hoping that would help more than distract. 

It wasn’t too long before he felt the thighs around him tensing slowly; long enough that his jaw would surely be sore the next day but not enough that he couldn’t redouble his efforts in anticipation. He still wasn’t convinced his movements weren’t terribly awkward looking but he stroked and sucked and licked in whatever pattern he could manage and listened with breathless glee as Tobirama fell apart under his touch. 

Never had he experienced anything as gratifying as knowing that it was his efforts bringing Tobirama closer to the edge. He was so wrapped up in the triumph of it all that he almost thought Tobirama was pushing him away when the man put a steadying hand on his shoulder and started trying to say something in breathless, broken syllables. 

“Don’t have to-” he eventually managed to get out and Kagami understood. 

Grinning was a little difficult with his mouth this full so he flicked his gaze up to acknowledge his partner even as he blatantly ignored those words. After putting so much effort in to doing this well there was no way he would pull back right at the end. Even the unexpected salty flavor that flooded his mouth could not dampen the victory of holding Tobirama’s hips down and listening to the sweet symphony of his own name in fragmented gasps, feeling the clench of fingers in his hair and knowing he had been the one to overwhelm his partner for once instead of the other way around. 

When he pulled away he did so carefully, not wanting to spill the mouthful he couldn’t choke down until after Tobirama’s softened length was out of the way. Then when his own mouth was clear he looked up to admire the image above him. Pale lines stretched out, languishing, muscles loose and free of tension. 

“You look ready to fall asleep,” he noted absently. Tobirama blinked sleepily down at him and quirked up one side of his mouth. 

“Not without you.” 

The crook of one finger had him rising from his knees only to slide back over Tobirama’s lap and preen in the tight hold that wrapped him in close for a few soft kisses. “Not bad for a first time?”

“If you don’t mind staying a little longer I would be happy to spend the next few hours telling you exactly why that was so far above ‘not bad’,” Tobirama murmured. Both of them were still flushed but it was hard to tell if it was from the arousal or embarrassment. 

“A little longer?” Kagami asked, not sure how to respond to such praise, neatly sidestepping it instead. 

“Mm. If you like you can stay the night. My place is a little closer to work than yours is.”

Chewing on his bottom lip, Kagami muffled a bit of laughter. “Oh of course, convenience, that’s the reason you want me to stay.”

“Obviously,” Tobirama scoffed jokingly. “What other reasons would I have? It couldn’t possibly have anything to do with how much I enjoy your company or how selfishly I want to enjoy it for as long as possible.” 

Since he knew it was already pretty obvious that he shared the sentiment Kagami opted for a nice healthy blush and some distracting babble in place of an actual answer, hoping fruitlessly that it wasn’t noticeable how nervous he was to spend their first night together. Even if nothing more happened it was still another big step forward for them. It didn’t matter that none of those big steps had gone poorly yet, he was still going to be nervous for every one because this was important to him. Tobirama was important to him. 

This was his one chance and the smile looking up at him from below was worth getting nervous over if it meant he remembered how to appreciate all that he was blessed with. 

[ohgoddard]

Fist of Fire.6.

Jade had been going to Reverse’s afterschool activities for around seven weeks now, and it has been hell. Especially after the first meeting. It was like a switch was flipped in Reverse’s head, and Jade had no idea why. But, all of a sudden, training had gotten infinitely harder. And I fucking hate it, Jade thought during one such practice. She had been subjected to miles of running, flights of stairs, and tonnes of weight. And that was just the general training, the specialized training was far more grueling. Reverse, in an act of surprising intelligence, had begun putting Jade into refrigerators and telling her to, “make yourself warm.” Usually this was said with a quick smirk, or a joking look. But ever since that first practice day, Reverse had been anything but cordial and happy.And, for some reason, just to her. He has been so much more serious and pushy to her in her training than to any of the others. So, as Jade sits in a freezing room, she thinks to herself.  I wonder what the hell happened to him.Why does he hate me all of a sudden?..I wonder if anyone else is getting it this bad.

Riley was currently being chased by someone whom she considered unable to do such a thing. Her arms were pumping in tandem with her legs and she was moving at peak speed. Yet..

“Not fast enough.” Riley looked to her right and saw Reverse there, running at what looked like a leisurely jog. Then he winded his left arm back and threw a jab for her head. She ducked instinctively and as a result tumbled forward onto the ground, stopping completely. Reverse stopped mere feet away from her, and started slowly walking towards her. “This is the farthest you’ve gone with me on your tail,” he said while taking out a phone,” and I dare say your best time yet. 200 miles in 7 minutes? Nowhere near Whirlwind’s, but you're making good time. However, your reactions are garbage and you slow down too easily. You have to be able to take as many hits than you can give, if not more.” Riley slowly got up and dusted herself off. They were miles away from the city of Atlanta, somewhere in the mountains surrounded by trees and forest for all the eye can see. She looked around at her arms, which had gotten decidedly bigger and more defined since Reverse’s training, and saw the many bruises on them.  “Riley, you are making great progress on your speed but running is only going to get you so far. You also have to practice attacking. I want you to do 150 reps of those distance punches we’ve done before.”

Riley hopped to her feet. “Sir, with all do respect, “ she said while taking huge breaths, “I could attack you right now. I was just confused about the drill we were doing. That's all.” Reverse’s face did not change at all at the challenge. Neither did Riley’s, keeping a stone cold gaze the entire time while staring into the face of her teacher. But…

Oh my god why did I say that?! Riley's head was now exploding with terror. He is going to work me even harder than before. Why didn’t I just take the original workout? I'd be done quicker oh no oh no no no - “Really?” Reverse’s singular word cut through RIley’s train of thought like a knife. Riley was keeping her complexion the same, but she had no doubt he looked right through her. He’s going to kick my ass. He’s going to do it right here, right now. Im dead. “Hm. Well then , I have a bet.” A BET??! AM I GONNA-  Riley slaps herself in the face. All thoughts are gone, all of a sudden. “Oh yeah? What's your bet?” Reverse started doing stretches, and started to explain. “We’re going to have a race. Back to the school. You win by getting there first, or punching me. Whichever is easier. I win by just getting there first. Sounds stacked in your favor, don’t it?” Riley was eying up the boxer,her arms now crossed and her eyes slit in suspicion. 

“What's the catch?” Reverse looks up, and a nasty grin crawls across his face. “You win, you go home for the day. I win? We box until you fall from exhaustion.” Riley’s whole body began to feel numb. The mere thought of going to toe-to-toe with one of the biggest hand to hand professional heroes was suicidal. Reverse has sent more than enough people to the hospital, and about an even amount to the grave. She was going to have to win this..or else. “ Ok, I take your deal.” And with that Riley instantly started running. Well, running isn’t the right word. More like skating on air. She was already 50 miles out from Reverse when he caught up to her. “Nasty trick you pulled, but it only gave you the head start. Not the victory.”

Riley pumped the brakes a small amount and got behind Reverse. He turned behind her in confusion. Why is she slowing down? What is she doing with that rock? Oh no! I'm about to be hit in the head by a rock!...That’s probably what he’s thinking at least. Riley’s thoughts tended to get in the way of things. She positioned herself a bit to the back right of him, and dropped a rock. When she did, her foot came around and kicked it straight at him. Reverse skidded for a bit, tripping over the rock. Riley sprinted farther ahead, only 100 miles left. She looked behind her and saw Reverse gone. Did I trip him?!  She turned her head to the front and-

“Peek-a-boo”. Reverse let loose a right hook right into her temple, and Riley almost tripped forward again. But.. this time she caught herself before she made the full fall. And in a moment of inspiration..

Reverse suddenly tripped over his feet and lay face first on the ground. When he looked around, he saw no sign of Riley. And when he looked at his feet. “That clever bastard!” His shoes were tied together. Reverse began laughing.

Back at the school, Riley stumbled into the classroom, exhausted. She walked to her desk and collapsed.”Need something?” Riley slowly lifted her head from her arms and looked in abject horror as Reverse was sitting at his desk, drinking a bottle of water. “How..how!? HOW!” was all Riley could say. “I have to admit, I did like your trick. You pulled one on me. Looks like those legs aren’t the only fast part about you. I’ll have to augment your training.” He stood up and walked over to her, and she noticed his beat up ...feet? “I took off my shoes. Actually makes me run faster. Ain't that something?” He set down a cold bottle of water on her desk and began walking back to his desk. “No boxing for us today, sadly. You did a good job today, and pulled one over on me. Hitting isn't just about pure strength, you know. Go home.” As Riley began to sit up and walk out the door, she turned around. “Was I the only one who showed up to practice today? You only really attended to me.” Reverse looked at her with a preposterous look. “Only you? During our training today I got to every single one of the team member’s training. I took breaks from running to go see them, then I would catch up to you, scare you a bit, then went to go check on another.” “Oh..I see.” Riley walked down the hallway, knowing that at any point today Reverse could have overtaken her, and only chose not to because he had other things to do.

Jade was still in the Refrigerator. And was covered in flames. Up to her collar in it. I did it! I could do it! I can create flame in extreme cold. I just needed motivation! Reverse walked back to the door, swinging a ring of keys in his hands. He peeked his head in the freezer. “Good job.” He then had to immediately duck back out as a blob of fire was thrown at his head.”YOU LEFT ME IN HERE FOR THREE HOURS!!!!!!” Jade screamed as she charged the door. It was closed, but it didn't matter as soon it melted away from her incessant pounding. “I did not expect you to make this much progress.” Reverse said from down the hall. He walked towards her with his hands clasped behind his back. Looking quite smug. “THREE HOURS.I ONLY SWEAT BECAUSE I'M MAD AT YOU!” Jade began to charge him again, but not before he whipped out a long red object and-

Jade was now covered in a towel. The Fire Extinguisher,now spent, rested in a corner. While Reverse was talking over the phone to the Dean, Jade shot daggers at him. He put me in a freezer for three hours today, left me in the south of Georgia for three hours another day. It's like he's trying to make me sweat anywhere. That's when it hit jade. Oh..He doesn't hate me. He is just finding the extremes I work at. He could have at least told me. “Jade there is something I have to tell you.”

Reverse stood up from his desk and started walking over, taking his wallet out. He pushed around receipts and other papers before he found the one he was looking for. He handed her a worn looking photo that had writing on the bottom. “Laurens SHS?” Jade read aloud. She looked at the photo and saw a bunch of people she kinda recognized. She remembered them as the people from Reverse’s ‘quirk assessment’ lesson. And a few other faces, like Huntsman and Meteor, young Reverse(“Wow you used to have a mullet?”), a scratched out face. And also..

“My dad? What's going on?” Why did you show me this?” Reverse took the photo and gently placed it back in his wallet. “Because something is going to happen to all the people in that photo. And, I'm afraid, all those related.” Reverse sat down on a desk next to her.

“Your father Victor, better known as the hero Helios, ran a private hero business called Laurens SuperHero Service. I'm not sure how much to already know so I'm just gonna say all of it, so bare with me. Anyways,” Reverse cleared his throat, “he ran this business. He started small, just himself, and quickly found out he was outmatched. So, he began to look for people to work for him. He could only pay for food and shelter, but for some that was enough. Including me. Before I met your father I was a street rat stealing to make up money for hospital bills. A lot of similar stories from the other people there. Remember Huntsman and Meteor? Your father saved them from a trafficking ring. Tapout was picked up from an orphanage, snowthrone an abusive house. Your father did a lot of good, just getting us out of there. We owed him a lot.”

Jade sat there, listening. She did not know much about her dad. Her mom never talked about him after the accident, not a word. So hearing all this, it was eye opening. My father was a saint.

“However,” Reverse continued, “the jobs we did were tough. We were bouncers at high-class parties,escorts for politicians, bodyguards at international conferences. We had our fair share of big fights, such as Nucleus at the START conference and Quantum at the WHO meeting. And we also had a fair share of fights among ourselves. Usual quarrels,nothing to get into really. Except one. Your dad and one other fought the most. His name was Quentin. You might know him as The Planeteer.” Jade was confused. “The Planeteer? That guy who could ‘talk to nature’?” Reverse chuckled. “Yes, the very same. He and your father would fight often over everything and anything. It got pretty ugly. But, the biggest fight was the one before the D.C. Job.”

Reverse took a deep breath, and took several gulps. Jade could see that talking about this was very uncomfortable for him. She would offer to stop, but she knew he would turn her down. She also had an interest in her own development though. “I remember it clearly. We were at the house, and Huntsman and I were cleaning up after dinner. I was cracking jokes, flirting(I didn’t know she was gay then), when I heard a huge crash. Huntsman and I took a look and saw Planeteer had thrown a chair out the window of the living room. He was pointing at your father and was yelling, ‘you could never take me seriously! You could never listen to me and my plans, my creations! I’ll show you what I can do! I’ll show you what i’ve built!’. After that, he stormed out the door.”

Reverse’s hands began to grip the desk, and Jade was afraid that it might break. “I think i know what happens next. My dad goes to D.C. and dies to the villain San Andreas after she creates a magma flow. You don’t have to explain it to me.” Reverse looked up at Jade, and she was taken aback. The most serious face she had ever seen was looking at her. “Your father would not have lost to San Andreas. Your father was killed and betrayed by Quentin Gaius. Otherwise known, as the Planeteer. And he recently killed Tapout, a member of the Laurens SHS, as well as his family. You are in danger. So, I hav-”

Jade interrupts him.”Tell me what happened. I hate being lied to, tell me right now.”

She stood up, towel falling off her. What she thought was angry sweat on her face was actually tears rolling down.”Tell me what really happened in D.C.”

[writtenfan]

-When We First Met-   (Pt. 2)

Anakin X Fem-Reader Imagine

But the heart racing soon stopped as days and weeks passed...

But then, you saw him once more. As you walked around town... or sat in shops. Your moments together started off brief, but soon increased in length.

From experiencing little moments such as smiling at him from across a room. Or a wave across the market. Which progressed as one day as you sat at the nearby park when you saw him leaning in the shade of a tree, apparently meditating. Then having him eerily turn his head towards you with a smile, somehow knowing you were there sitting on the fountain rim watching him.

You two never spoke during those times but as time passed you spent more time together, talking about your life, hearing only bits about his. Learning about what he did that day… and bit and pieces that didn’t seem to add up about what he was learning. Things you would one day find out weren’t true… but this was how you first met each other.

It was the dusk during a festival when you both sat down on a green lawn accompanied by many others doing the same, as you all looked up at the sky at painted lights that shined brightly from exploding flower-like petals when you asked him…

“…What is your name?”

His eyes, trained on the sky, did not flinch. But he took several minutes to respond which did not support the normalcy of the question.

“A-” he stopped himself for a moment and looked down from the sky to the many other people sitting far from you both on the same green ground. The air was warm, the sky had turned darker from the deep lavender shade of purple as the suns set revealing the bright moons.

He then tilted his head towards you and rose from his slouched position holding one of his knees towards his chest while the other stuck out in front of him.

“Anakin.” He says plainly with an emotion you couldn’t make out.

“Anakin…” he repeated looking at your face searching for its reaction.

You smile and hold out your hand playfully. “Well… it's nice to meet you Anakin…”

He stares into your eyes and then your outstretched hand and grins brightly slamming his hand into yours and shaking your hand hardily.

“Same here (y/n)…it’s been a pleasure..”

You both laugh but are drowned out by the continuation of the lights blazing across the night sky.

To sum up that entire night, you…

Tried to taste an exploding petal but was stopped by a hand swatting it out of yours and a scolding voice which resulted with you pouting with a mischievous grin.

Watched Anakin tear up so much grass he had made a small hill between you both which you found and grabbed a handful tossing it at his face, only to start a small grass throwing fight which he had claimed to let you win.

Talked about how he should not knock on your bedroom window just hours after sunrise because you almost died this morning.

Asked him about his lightsaber which you saw now on his hip…

…Learned that he was a Sith apprentice.

                              ...Experienced excruciating silence...

You then asked if it was like a Jedi and watched his eyebrows furrow and his fist clench against the ground as he turned away from you, hearing a stern,

“No, we are better than the Jedi.”  

Then you both sat in awkward silence.

After all that, he asked you about your knowledge of the force.

You told him the truth, which was that you knew little as you grew up here, where little was taught or spoken about relating to the force as they considered it… dangerous.

Seeing his face relax as he told you some of what he knew.

“Sith focus on using our emotions…there is no weakness…blah blah…Jedi refuse to act...blah blah... they are clouded by their supposed positive judgment…blah blah…I enjoy spending time with you and despite me being a force user, I wish to continue seeing you, and I also think you have the most beautiful eyes…”

“Wait. What?”

His gaze is intense. “You have beautiful eyes…” He says curtly waiting for your response looking at you with an overconfident yet serious expression.

Which were the slight stammering of thanks and nervous plucking of grass.

From that night on, you both spend increased time together, becoming close.

Weeks became a month, yet there were moments in between when he would disappear for weeks only to reappear like his absence was nothing. Not telling you the whole truth of his time away.

Only to understand that his “training” was a private matter and only to be happy with his safe return.

He opened up to you… told you some things about his childhood… only his childhood. Showed you his hobbies which included creating robotic parts and gadgets… taking you out for hyper-bike rides...

Showing you what the force was capable of by lifting cars or that one time the market stall that caused that woman to chase after you both...

One day telling you he had felt a strong presence of the force inside you, untapped potential that he was itching to help you release…

“Wait. What?!”

“I’ve felt it the day I first met you, yet I was unsure if you were actually an enemy attending that blasted school... so I refused to tell you I did.”

You went quiet as you remembered the day about three weeks ago...

...when you heard the noise and screams from the institute as you ran towards the building stopped by the guard only to be told that there were bodies being pulled out one by one from its front doors with fatal wounds. Learning that the institute was no longer operating and nothing more...

You had asked Anakin about it. After learning he wasn’t actually attending the school beforehand. Only to get a simple response of

“There was a secret operation of Jedi training there. This was justice”.

You cringed at his voice yet looked into his passion-filled eyes and soon were soothed by a hand on your back.

“Remember what I told you… whatever happened to them was done in order to protect all those who live here…including you”.

You didn’t say a word but felt this sense of negativity that tasted like bile in the back of your throat and in your chest simmer away with his supportive touch.

As you both spent more time together you had built a strong connection of friendship and trust. He laughed and smiled more, goofed around and you did so in return feeling comfortable to be your absolute true self around him which caused him to admire you even more.

He held onto your hands.

Hugged you tightly

Ran his fingers against your hair

Distanced himself, only to find himself by your side once more.

Telling you his fears.

Yelling at your “I don’t care” attitude.

Apologizing…

Ah, you both smiled and laughed and teased and then…he began to teach you in secret.

“Focus…” 

You raise your straining hand towards the bent sprocket that was placed on a stool in front of a tree in the middle of a forest clearing. “Clench your hand” He holds his hand over yours and forces it shut. “Just like that… imagine it crumbling in reaction to your will. Allow your forceful intentions to crush it…” He looks at you focused but with a clear sense of amusement as you look up to him with a “This is stupid, I can’t do it” expression. But he forced you to continue trying.

                             Soon you could crush that metal sprocket.

But not only that…

Ever since that day. Using the force came with more ease. Fueled by your emotions, it soon became hard to control, too hard. Too dangerous. You freaked out at him. As you told him frantically that you could not control it one night in the clearing you used to practice. He calmed you down and after intense thought responded,

“Let me teach you control, how to suppress your emotions and your connection to the force.”

“But you told me-“

“Yes. But the intensity of your power is causing a disturbance…a ripple effect in the force…soon there will be others who seek to find the source of that ripple…Sith and Jedi alike…”

He cleared his throat and stopped pacing around you only to stand in front of you and place a hand on the side of your face unexpectantly. You jolt at his touch, as a wave of electricity seemed to travel from his fingers down your body.

“… and I want neither to find you…” his voice was low and soothing as he leaned towards you. You froze, your whole-body shaking softy as he placed his lips delicately on the corner of your left eye, as he stayed there, you felt the warmth of his lips that almost seemed to burn against your skin.

“… neither but…” you whisper as you try to enjoy the second his lips first touched your skin.

“… You’re a Sith… Anakin… don't you want the Sith to recruit me?”

He pulled away from you slowly and looked at you with pained eyes.

“Not as a soldier…” his words trail off as he gets lost in your eyes.

His hand rubbing the side of your face as you stand with a frightened rigidness. “No… not as a warrior. There is too much harm and sacrifice with being a Jedi or a Sith… it's unforgiving and I wouldn’t want you to get hurt.”

“But if you don’t learn to control your energy… the Jedi may not…but the Sith…” his voice grew quiet once more as he took his hand away from your face and turned his back towards you taking a “….would force you to join them….or die…” his gaze turns cold.

“With a reason to why.” His voice was turning more serious.

“Your power… I sense is too strong to be ignored and if you were to refuse to join them…they couldn’t allow you to be taken in by the Jedi…” his voice grew lower and his stare more painful as you took a step back.

“So, let me show you how to hide it.” He reaches out his hand towards you

“Let me make sure, that won’t happen.”

For days you two spent meditating.

 Learning to control the force and keep it from being detectable… it was clear in proximity, but it no longer rippled throughout space….Anakin told you this one day as you two sat together in your house, his arm around you.

Then the dreaded day came.

“I have to go.”

“What do you mean”

“I have to go and I don’t know when I’ll be back.”

“Anakin, what?!”

He pulled away from you.

 “I must go, my master needs me even more now than ever. I have succeeded in his expectations and now I must accept a very important position that will require me to commit all my time to, I can’t have any distractions.

You're yelled and pushed him and he didn’t react he let you show your frustrations and sadness with a face that showed a lack of emotion.

“I’m sorry (y/n) but…” His voice went quiet his eyes were stern and his intentions of leaving were clear and strong. 

“There is more than just you (y/n), I have to avenge, I have to fight and you make me nothing but weak… I can’t have weakness… I can’t…” he stares at your eyes and a hint of pain shows through their yellow glow.

“Goodbye.”

You watched him leave.

Still. Frozen.

Hurt.

But you mustered up the courage to follow him.

You glimpsed a ship. You watched a black-cloaked figure walk out as Anakin got on one knee and bowed for the figure. The figure placed a hand on his shoulder and guided Anakin inside, then it took off and his presence was no more.

[oumiyuki]

Birthday, Birthday Suit, And Lots of Love

Summary: It’s You’s birthday. And Chika is here to let her dense dork of a girlfriend know just how much she loves her.

Pairing: YouChika

Genre: Romance and Flufffffff (oh, and this is Rated T)

Words: 1548

Read me at fanfiction.net or AO3 too~

Author Notes

You-chan~ You-chan, You-chan…You-chan~ *o*

I love you and happy birthday..!! I’m so glad to have met you..!

April 2017: I wasn’t writing for Aqours yet

April 2018: I was locked away from writing and LL as a whole.

April 2019: I’m not giving up or giving in. I’ll write for You-chan’s birthday! If I say I’ll do it, means I’ll do it!!! >0<

You wakes up feeling a weight on her.

Nn…What is..?

She opens her eyelids relatively reluctantly and lifts her blanket up to inspect what could be causing her lower half to feel so pressed on. Her eyes slowly widen at the sight of a head of orange and bare skin.

Chika-chan is hugging me???

You freezes then jolts then remains in place as she couldn’t escape her girlfriend’s hold due to her position, state and said girlfriend’s weight. Not that Chika is extraordinarily heavy, it’s just the way Chika was purposefully wrapping her arms around You’s back tightly so the easily embarrassed swimmer can’t run away.

“Ch-Chika-chan??”

Why- What- Ehhh??

Chika moves her head to look up at You with her sleepy crimson eyes; she holds back a chuckle from seeing You’s reddened face and adorably dishevelled grey tresses. “Ohayousoro…You-chan…”

“Oha- No, wait. Why are you here? And in my bed? And-” You cuts herself off, finding it impossible for her to voice the words-

Naked.

As her heart drummed the loudest and fastest pace she’d ever experienced her heart rate go; it actually almost hurts but she just wants a hole to bury into because Chika was still being so cute and defenceless in front of her – and literally on her.

The orangehead’s body vibrates, clearly chuckling though soundlessly; this makes You pout in the slightest. “It’s your birthday…so I’m in my birthday suit for you.”

Birth-day-suit.

You covers Chika’s face with a hand as she felt like if she stared any longer at the orangehead’s cheeky yet earnest expression any longer, she would melt into a puddle or her heart would beat right out of her chest.

“T-T-That’s strange on so many levels I don’t even know where to begin!”

“Is it?” Chika blinks; not finding it weird at all to do this to her girlfriend.

“It is!”

Ahh, mou!

You flips Chika. Pinning her to the bed for a second, which Chika loved as her heart skipped a beat from how strong and serious You was but You wraps Chika up in her blanket soon after; that expression of “I love you, I really do, but if you think I can go further than loving gazes and occasionally hand-holding then you’re utterly wrong because I’m WataDAME You” spelt in full bold fonts on You’s face and body language. (TL:”dame” means can’t/no in Japanese. So an English equivalent could be “Watanabe Can’t Do It You”)

Chika’s lips push her cheek muscle high into a happy smile; at least she confirms that her girlfriend didn’t change overnight into a suave or confident You. Her You-chan was still that adorably inept at romantic gestures You-chan.

“Okay, okay, You-chan~ I’m just joking.” Chika says in a half-hearted placating manner, poking her hands out of the blanket before holding it so it looks like she has the blanket donned on instead of wrapped in.

The still overwhelmed ash-brunette blinks a few times. “Joking..?”

What does Chika-chan mean by that..?

Chika nods. “Mmph…I’m not actually naked…”

“You’re not..?” You’s eyebrows scrunch together as she tried to accept the new information her girlfriend provides.

But…

You was quite certain that she saw everything of Chika in the few minutes of opening her eyes on her birthday this year. You blinks again as she stares at Chika, the way her eyes moved from Chika’s face to the bottom where the blanket pooled at Chika’s covered legs, it’s as though she could see through the covers; seeing what she believes she saw moments ago.

Chika’s soft and round butt – Chika’s gorgeous, wide hips – Chika’s calves which You may or may not have a fetish for – Chika’s uncovered “mikans” when she flipped the girl earlier (maybe that was a wrong move but You’s heart was going to explode from the sensation instead..!) – and last but not least – Chika’s mikan-coloured curls of hair covering her private and precious area.

I saw…

Chika laughs at the way You couldn’t tear her eyes away from her (she liked that) and how You’s face was all red even up to her ears (she really liked that).

“Chi-”

Chika didn’t waste a second or gave the ash-brunette a chance to tell her what she was as she unravels the blanket off her with a whoosh and she throws herself onto You who yelps while falling backwards onto the bed.

Aaaahhhhh..!!

“Chika-chan!?” You saw. Again.

“I was wearing a blanket~” The orangehead sing-songs as she hugged and snuggled against her girlfriend without a hint of cloth on.

“You weren’t?? I was the one who put it on you??? AAhhh, Chika-chan! I-It’s hitting me. It’s touching me. Chika-chan…” You flailed her hands in the air as she craned her neck away from her girlfriend that was in her birthday suit, still shamelessly clinging onto her while giggling. “I don’t even know where to put my hands…”

Chika stops snuggling to look at You’s strawberry-red face. “You can touch me anywhere, You-chan~” The mikan-lover states matter-of-factly.

You whines helplessly. “The way you phrase it…mou…” Her head was steaming and she felt tears beginning to well in her eyes as she gathered all of her will and determination to practice restraint.

Must. Not. Touch. Chika-chan’s. Bare. Skin.

Chika never makes it easy for the sole person in the world who is head over heels with her. The grinning orangehead releases her hold around You’s neck to sit on her lap but pretends to lose her balance. “Uwa-”

You being You, never fails to catch Chika if the situation calls for it. And so, her hands reach out to hold her girlfriend around the waist. Her hands grow exponentially hot where it touches Chika’s skin.

“Chika-chaaann…” You squeaks. Her hands stay on her girlfriend, however, as her racing heart calmed in the slightest thanks to the way Chika was smiling softly at her. “Chika…chan?”

Chika’s loving gaze pulls into a sweet grin. And she leans closer such that You was cross-eyed to see the orangehead. “I love you.” Chika breathes out.

And You felt faint all over again.

She’s so unfair…

Chika allows the birthday girl some time to compose herself and perhaps catch a break from the mikan-lover’s relentless sweet yet dangerous attacks as she pecks You’s cheek. “Happy Birthday, You-chan. Just letting you know I love you. Hehe~” And she slides off You’s shorts-clad thighs (aka bare legs) to go get dressed.

You’s mind had already overheated and exploded by then so the ash-brunette could only gape after Chika. If there was a thought, it would be How am I still alive?

.

.

.

On the way to the bus stop, You clutches her heart with her right hand and sighs, pointedly pouting at Chika before looking away from her girlfriend who was smiling radiantly despite their destination being the school. You mumbles to herself, “Are you trying to stop my heart on my birthday..?”  

Doing that…and looking so cute…you’re always cute. But it’s like you’re cuter today…ughh, my heart…

Chika observes her blushing girlfriend for a time, lips jut out like a duckling as she complained under her breath. Crimson eyes could not help but shine with happiness as Chika reached over to take You’s hand off the swimmer’s chest.

“Chika-chan..?”

You was wary, Chika could tell. But she simply interlocks their fingers into a Couple’s Hold as she steps over to You’s right. “I’m not~” She smiles gleefully up at a dumbstruck You before she adds. “Your hands belong in mine~”

You drops her head to Chika’s shoulder and rubbed her burning face there. “Stop…”

I swear my heart won’t last the day…

Chika laughs heartily. “Don’t wanna~”

“Mou…”

Why do I love her so much?

Chika squeezes You’s hands in hers and when You looks over, “I love you.”

You stands in front of Chika, stopping their walk and hugs her girlfriend with all the love and embarrassing emotions she’s feeling right now.

Chika’s ahoge twitches happily as it curled into a heart-shape and she hugs You back with all her love, pressing close and squeezing their interlocked hands. “I love you too, You-chan~”  

You’s smile shone through the deep, red blush as she nods against Chika’s nape. “I love you…”

You sniffles and Chika chuckles. “Are you crying? You’re such a dork, You-chan.”

“…It’s your fault…” You sniffles louder as she pulled away to clear some of the uncontrollable, happy tears. “Do you like me less this way..?”

Chika flicks You’s forehead, ignoring You’s protest. “I love you more this way, baka You-chan.”

You blinks for her tears to stop. “Oh…” She lowers her gaze as a dorky, in-love grin took over her facial muscles. “I’m glad it’s my birthday today…”

Chika-chan loves me…

Chika shakes her head smiling before pulling them towards the bus stop. “C’mon, birthday girl. There’s a whole day ahead for you to realize how much I love you and more.”

You follows along silently. Her heart was doing all it can to keep You from swooning after all. And right now, You was content just being showered with so much attention and love from her girlfriend. Even if it puts her life in danger. Of course, she does not know that Chika has a lot more installed for her this very special day.  

Author Notes

My goodness, my heart can’t hold on either. –chuckles- XD

Chika has her ways with making You’s heart race like woah. And them both being like this makes my heart go… <33333 *O* XD

Once again, Happy Birthday to my dearest and most cutest You-chan~ hehe~ XD May you keep being such a dork who’s blush-easy and oh so in love with that annoyingly romantic mikan! XD

And to all you YouChika lovers out there (me included) I hope y’all enjoyed this as much as I did. :D

Leave me a comment if you like~ :D Otherwise, yousoro~! XD

See you next story~ \*O*/

P.S. Shoutout to @thecreamyguy ~ Thank you for motivating me~ I got the YouChika boost to write this. Hehe~ ^w^

[ohsupernaturall]

LAB RATS (A NALEY FANFICTION) PROLOGUE

I will try to dedicate every chapter to either an account or a person I like, because we all need to share the love. My first tribute goes to @lozkelly , we don’t know each other, but as I browsed the naley tag, hers was the first post and when I opened the blog, it was so much fun. So there we go. Please note that if you are tagged, I am not asking you to read. I just want to give you a random I love you (and/or) your account

Prologue

Nathan and Haley couldn’t remember a moment in their lives where they weren’t in love, and everyone in tree hill was aware of that. They had gone through every life stage together, starting with waddles in the sandpit at three years of age, until seventeen as he put a ring on her finger when she happily accepted to be his wife. But it was indeed an off match, for all their love, they couldn’t be more different. Nathan was star athlete of tree hill high school, leading the basketball ravens to victory in the state championship. On the other hand, Haley James Scott was the school valedictorian, who tutored students for the joy of it.

In this sense, they balanced each other out, and they evened the others’ extremities. Haley has gotten into cheerleading; realizing it was actually quite the strenuous activity rather than mindless girls waving around pompoms, and Nathan would occasionally pay more attention in class, not that he didn’t have his own private tutor whenever he needed.

Standing right below the hoop in the school gym; his own grounds, it was a win-or-lose moment; if he scored that basket they win the championship. And then there she was, Haley with a proud smile that beat the taunting of his opponent Damien West

“You got nothing, Scott, nothing!”

Nathan looked at Damien with a cocky smile, drawing strength from Haley, he threw the ball, without looking; his faith that the world will make it worth it, for him and his girl, was prominent.  The cheers were deafening, and Nathan didn’t need to look, to know that he had made the shot, when Haley crashed right into him.

He lifted her off the ground, into his strong arms, her breath tickled his ear as she screamed over the crowd “you did it, babe!!!”

“We did it!” he rejoiced, repeatedly kissing her shoulder, before he was hauled away by his teammates. Haley patted his back playfully as he was lifted on their shoulders, the whole gym cheering his name, and she joined right along.

The celebration lasted long enough, with Nathan high-fiving everyone in sight, receiving the trophy and stealing Haley’s hugs and kisses; those were his favorite. Then it was time to go home. Their little apartment was warm and cozy, not very luxurious, but it brought them together at night and that was what mattered.

It might have not been like that, Nathan was rich, coming from an incredibly wealthy family of three… actually technically four, before his sister had passed,  he had cried in Haley’s arms night after night when it happened; the chauffer was taking the fourteen year old to ballet practice, then the next thing they knew, the car had exploded, the monstrosity of the accident was investigated  for a long time before declared a cold case, ,many people ruled it to be payback for Dan Scott’s antics, their father, for many people had beef with him. Still, the fact that the kids paid for it, made Haley’s blood boil. Dan was remorseful for a month or so, but then he managed to bounce back as if nothing had ever happened,

Nathan on the other hand, was never the same; they used to play together all the time, along with Haley of course. As a matter of fact, it was her who had blandly declared that he and Haley had a crush on each other.

Of course almost hitting puberty and going through the awkward phases of; acne and hormonal urges for him, braces and frizzy hair for her, reluctance to see each other again, and a desire to kill his sister were there. Nathan and Haley have been best friends since they were three years old, and the notion of their relationship not working out would mean the friendship over. But why wouldn’t it work? They loved each other, more than life itself, always have ever since they met, a deep understanding ran through them and even their friends thought it hard to believe that someone would find their soul mate at such a young age.

So, one summer night as raindrops hit the road, he timidly whispered those three words “I love you” and Haley’s entire face lit up, she jumped in his arms and crashed her lips to his. Overcome with relief and joy, he had entrapped her arms under his, wrapping both arms around her and lifted her up, spinning in circles as the rain poured over their heads. It was then that they knew, forever was together.

When he had told his dad of his plans to marry Haley, Dan was appalled, for she didn’t come from money or status. Hurtful words were thrown around and as soon as his father had said “gold-digging whore”, Nathan stormed out of there, after he threw a punch to the old man’s face. Haley’s parents had welcomed him for the two and a half weeks it took to find a place of his own, also a small job in food service and a night shift at his uncle’s garage made emancipation easy, especially when drug addicted mother was added to the list, Nathan felt bad about it, he loves his mom, but she had fallen through a downward spiral ever since her daughter had died, especially when Nathan needed her most.

Their wedding was simple and special, Haley didn’t even have a wedding dress, and her mother’s wouldn’t fit, so she wore a little white sundress with slippers, and Nathan got dressed in one of the suits he wore for the fancy events his dad threw. Being poor may not be easy, but being with the person you love was worth it all, even those nights when electricity would shut off after they don’t pay the bills; and they would sit up all night playing checkers by candlelight, and the nights when he worked until he couldn’t even move, Haley would come back from her shift as a waitress and remove his shoes and overalls when she finds him collapsed on the couch from exhaustion.

As soon as they entered through the front door, Nathan grabbed her arms, spinning her around, so she would land in his arms; Haley sighed, content, as she nestled into his warm strong body. His hand snuck under her cheerleading top, calloused fingers running across bare stomach. Haley bit her lips, eyes fluttering and body tingling, she leaned the back of her head against his chest, pulling his other hand to her lips and planting soft butterfly kisses where his pulse is.

“Oh, Nathan!” she moaned, as he leaned down and brushed his lips against her jaw line; over a  beauty mark, finally reaching her ear and nibbling on the lobe “I love you”

“I love you too, Haley James Scott” he whispered huskily, his kisses moving to the nape of her neck and then down her back, all the way till he was kneeling, planting a lingering kiss on the “23” tattoo she had gotten for him; his jersey number.

Weak in the knees, Haley shakily turned around, Nathan’s kissing never stopping, planting them all around her waist, she scratched his back and head, folding in half over his shoulder. Smoothly, she took off the basketball jersey, as he stood up once more, pulling her with him, her feet lifted off the ground, Haley wrapped her legs and arms around him, so tight, that you would think they were conjoined. Nathan moved them both to the shower.

Haley’s breath hitched, watching the steady stream of water run down Nathan’s sculpted chest and chiseled abs, he poured some shampoo in his hand, massaging her scalp as she kissed his chest, right by his heart, once and again. He moved his shampoo covered hands down her face, leaving a trail of bubbles on her cheeks, making her look up into his sky blue eyes.

“My man played so well tonight” she said.

“Yeah, he did, didn’t he?” Nathan winked at her and she playfully smacked him.

“Babe, be serious. The scouts couldn’t keep their eyes off you. I saw one talking to Whitey”

He shrugged “That could mean a lot of thi…”

“And I might have eavesdropped and heard them say you were a shoo-in for a full scholarship ride to Duke” she interjected, eyes wide innocently.

“Are you serious?”

Haley nodded, squealing with joy, as he hugged her tight, lifting her off her feet.

“What would you do without me?” she teased.

“Die!” he said, kissing her passionately “never leave me”

“I am not going anywhere” she whispered sincerely “always and forever”

“Always and forever”

They spent the next few minutes scrubbing loofahs over each other’s bodies, on every curve, their heart warm and content. In his arms, Nathan held a woman who loved him in spite of all his flaws, who loved the worst in him before the best. He reached out and wrapped a towel around her body, after doing the same for himself, Nathan picked her up, one arm below her knees and the other right under her shoulder blades, and headed to their tiny room.

He dropped her gently on the bed, allowing her towel clad body to bounce on the mattress, and then positioned himself on top of her. Nathan rested his head down her chest, when he felt her tense up.

“Nathan” whispered Haley “did you hear that?”

“What? I didn’t hear anything”

Then sounds of shuffling came from outside once again, and Nathan sat up.

“Do you hear it now?” she asked.

“Mmhmm”

“Should I call 911?” she fearfully whispered to Nathan who was hastily putting on a pair of shorts.

“No, just wait here”

“Nathan!” she warned; her heart in her throat, making to grab his hand “Please!! Just don’t!”

“It is okay” he whispered, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze before letting go.

The sounds from outside were coming closer, and Nathan hoped with his heart that it was the neighbor’s cat, it had broken into their house many times before, still, he took one look at Haley behind him and felt his heart hammering against his ribcage, cautiously, he made to grab the baseball bat in the closet. His hands were just twisting the doorknob, when a force sent him sprawling to the ground. Haley screamed at the top of her voice, pulling the towel closer to her body, their bedroom door had flown off its hinges, and in its place stood three masked men armed in machine guns.

“Shut up!” one of them growled, pointing his gun at her.

“Wait! Wait!” panicked Nathan, his eyes fixed on Haley “we don’t have money but take whatever you want, okay, just don’t touch h…”

Sharp pain exploded across his face, as the back of the gun collided with his nose, sending blood splattering in its wake, and Nathan saw stars; his hands went to cover the injury which momentarily hazed his vision.

Haley’s cry of agony was stopped dead in her throat half-way when their guns were once again raised in their faces “Please” she whimpered.

Her plea fell on deaf ears as another one said “get the girl”

Fear gripped Nathan’s heart like a vice, but it was drowned by fury surging through his bloodstream and he growled “No!”

Gone was all the horror of getting shot, Haley being taken away was all he could see. Nathan jumped up and tackled the man coming closer to Haley in great speed, not even shielded with his bat, which was thrown aside upon impact. Nathan had gotten in three punches to the man’s face, when the other two men ganged up on him, their kicks and punches echoed around the small room, all Nathan could do was curl up in a ball and accept the agonizing onslaught, grunting with every blow.

“Stop it” Haley cried in rage, jumping off the bed and on one of the men’s back, he yelped in pain when she caught his ear between her teeth, biting hard, the man threw her off like a weightless doll. Haley’s head rammed into the nightstand and she fell unconscious, crimson blood seeping from her fanned out hair, on her  

“Haley” his voice barely came out in an agonized raspy whisper, choking on blood, as his vision began darkening. Before he completely submitted into the abyss, one of the men made a grab for Haley’s limp form, disregarding her dignity and lifted her over his shoulder.

One thing Nathan knew for sure, he has failed at protecting his wife.

[ganymedesclock]

Your meta is singlehandedly responsible for all my opinions and characterization of Shiro tbh and I kinda just realized something. Tell me if I'm wrong but I get the feeling what you're trying to say about after-s2 Shiro is just: This is Shiro, except now all his stressors are Worse.

I mean, Shiro’s not the same person he was in the first two seasons just as much as none of the other paladins are the same person they were in the first two seasons, but, I definitely think Shiro since then has built on what was established as his essential character that’s growing and changing.

Part of it is he’s under a lot more pressure. Part of it is, when Shiro first came to the position in s1 he basically took all of his trauma and survivalism and tried to stuff it back into the mold of the Garrison’s Golden Boy. And ironically, I think it’s s1 Shiro who’s a lot more callous- look through the early episodes and see how many times Shiro interrupts, corrects, shoves or silences Lance in particular.

He’s determined to make a good impression early on, and, frankly, Shiro’s first impression of Lance is not favorable- he seems to regard him as just fooling around when the paladins need to be serious, they need to commit to this. 

He’s also the one to chew out Keith for demanding Pidge can’t leave and was about to make, frankly, a very bad decision by letting Pidge wander off alone into the universe without even questioning how even a very resourceful and clever fifteen year old intends to survive in a hostile spacefaring empire they know almost nothing about. And it’s pretty clear, I think, rather than fair judgment, Shiro’s letting his personal sense of guilt, believing he failed the Holts, rule in this context. 

Yes, people shouldn’t be shackled to paladin duty, but given Pidge’s custom jet booster had a good chance of making the pod explode (and by good, seemingly as high as 50% since it was used twice and the second time it detonated) on top of everything else, it’s clear if she’d gone off alone the way she meant to, she would have died.

Shiro in s1 is trying to be a perfect leader for everyone and frankly, who he’s become since then is better. It stands that he’s come a long way that Hunk, Lance, and Shiro himself all agree it’s unlike him to snap at people and bark orders.

At a glance, Shiro might seem as if he’s doing worse, but to me, I think it’s an incredibly heartening sign that Shiro’s character development appears to be an exercise in learning to ask for help.

Because while Shiro’s not a tyrant of a leader the way Zarkon leaned alarmingly close to in s3e7 on multiple occasions- it stands that Shiro, too, especially early on, suffered from that disconnect. He kept his own problems incredibly close to his chest. It’s obvious that he desperately latched onto being Black Paladin as a way to cope- as a way to redefine himself by something other than what had just happened to him.

Shiro in s1 is a tight-coiled spring. He’s uptight, he argues with Lance over the littlest things, in s1e1 on two separate occasions he breaks up arguments just by yelling for them to stop or “Stow it, cadets!”

Shiro’s growth as a character involves climbing off the pedestal he was sitting on at the beginning of the show. And he’s not the only one who was enforcing it, either- Lance flat-out says Shiro was his personal hero. 

In the comics, Pidge can’t conceive the idea of defeating Shiro at all even though he’s really not that much a better fighter than the other paladins- before she gets her head in gear and is able to knock him out, she just reflexively looks to him as an invincible paragon which is a pretty big cognitive slip in an issue all about Pidge’s ability to gather and keep data.

In s3e1, none of the team can really see themselves conceptualizing Shiro and a lot of their overtures seem to suggest, more than none of them are suited to the Black Lion like Shiro is (fair!) that... not a lot of them really understand what Shiro was doing. Even Keith, the closest to Shiro, leads as a Red Paladin. He says he can’t do this like Shiro can but he never seems to clarify what that entails.

What I personally think began in earnest in s3, though there were small things building towards it all along, is the systematic demystification of Shiro as the perfect leader, as the team’s paragon.

There’s kind of a point that, as Zarkon’s specific counterpart, enemy, and successor, Shiro is going to be called upon to succeed where Zarkon failed.

And Zarkon’s failure, what led to his death and downfall as a paladin, was twofold: he failed to listen to his team when they had valid points, and he kept all of his personal suffering privately away from them.

Zarkon gambles everything to rescue Honerva in s3e7, and it goes disastrously because he lies to his team the entire way leaving them completely unprepared- so when he ends up outside of his Lion and faced with a devastatingly powerful opponent, he’s surrounded and killed while the rest of the team is not in a position to do anything to help him.

Shiro in s1e11 leads the team in an equally desperate gamble to rescue Allura, and it works out. It works out because Shiro has the team’s consent beforehand, and even people who disagree (Keith) still consent to go. So when Shiro ends up outside his Lion and faced with a devastatingly powerful opponent on two fronts, it’s not his personal skill as a fighter that keeps him alive.

It’s Keith going toe to toe with Zarkon to buy Shiro time to get back to the Black Lion.

It’s Lance, Pidge, and Coran holding off the majority of the empire’s forces.

It’s Hunk smashing in to break Allura out, and it’s her and him together that come to save Shiro’s bacon from Haggar who had already seriously injured him and could easily have killed him in that moment.

It’s pretty obvious that Shiro being honest and transparent with his team is what’s keeping him from getting killed. They’re his saving grace, time and time again, Keith especially- which is a big deal, when Keith is Alfor’s successor, and while Zarkon broke with the entire team, it was his refusal to listen to Alfor that was the nail in his coffin.

And in s5e3 and s5e6, what’s steadily moving into position to save his bacon from Kuron? It’s not just Lance being the team’s interpersonal Heart as usual- but rather, that Shiro is finally, decisively, opening up and connecting to the person he’s been at odds with from the start. 

And while a lot of people take that as a “boo hoo, poor Lance”... it’s really more to Shiro’s detriment than Lance’s. After Shiro and Lance argue, Lance is the one who has multiple people verbally taking his side (Hunk, twice, and Allura personally talking to him about it with her concerns, and Shiro himself apologizing)- while Shiro clearly is falling back on bad habits and withdrawing from the team about his issues.

Because Shiro, in a very catlike manner, starts avoiding people when he’s feeling awful. Which is why I think it’s such an unsung glorious moment when in s5e6, when Lance hasn’t even brought it up again or prompted it- Shiro is the one to bring it up and basically tell Lance to keep looking into this because something’s really wrong.

S5e6 is a glorious day for Shiro’s character because, some time before the car has set on fire, Shiro’s actually rolling down the window and telling someone “hey, the door’s locked and I don’t know where this thing is going, and this is kind of a problem. Can you... get help, please, I’m terrified”

So in that sense, much as I purport to be take it or leave it about clone theory, that’s why I really hope this is the original Shiro at hand... because everything he’s learning here is incredibly good and important for his long term emotional health and I’m pretty sure what we’re gonna get out of Kuron is a strong positive emotional arc for Shiro and Lance. 

Shiro’s moving away from being the team’s perfect leader, but that’s nothing to mourn, because instead of a perfect leader he’s becoming an honest, emotionally healthy person who knows he can actually trust his team. And my multiple posts talking about how Shiro really wasn’t that perfect once you take the rose-tinted glasses off isn’t dunking on him or calling him lame-

it’s pointing out that he really wasn’t doing anybody a favor by pretending to be ideal leader. In s1e9 he had a full-tilt panic attack and immediately jumped into realizing Allura was still in danger and they had to act fast to prevent them all from being destroyed- which is fine, except the part where... he didn’t unpack or process any of that afterwards.

Sendak dug up a huge volume of Shiro’s insecurities, trauma, and frankly fear of himself, of the idea of being irreconcilably changed by what the empire did to him. This is a big problem. The implication is on some level Shiro is genuinely not comfortable in his own skin and that... wasn’t the only allusion to it. 

S4e4 is basically a whole exercise in the paladins and how they relate to image (and how they really don’t) and with Shiro, the main thing Worm!Coran focuses on is Shiro’s body.

Shiro’s body, that, seemingly, he prefers to keep covered as much as possible given even though he prefers pretty close-fitting attire, he’s also pretty consistently one of the most modestly dressed of the paladins. That, as mentioned, Sendak was able to maliciously play on the fact that Shiro has some lingering anxieties of what was done to it, and that pervades his flashbacks and reactions to his missing year- the repeated implications of medical torture emphasized less by pain (sedatives are frequently shown) and more that things were done to him, that he doesn’t know the extent of, and he was powerless to stop.

And Shiro- perfectionist, anxious about how people see him (s1e6 for example), with these very serious insecurities about bodily autonomy and the aftermath that he’s been living with...

(he has a large facial scar, lost color in part of his hair, and is missing an arm, to say nothing of any other scars he might have that we as an audience haven’t seen, and, personally, his body type to me suggests that he lost weight in prison and his super-defined musculature is less about athletics and more a lack of proper subcutaneous fat)

...has Worm Coran repeatedly telling him to show off his body. The relatively innocuous (before Coran gets brain-wormed) start of it all even has the script make a joke about how Shiro only has one hand, that he gives a “really?” aside look at.

I can’t help but feel like the implication there, when all of the other prompts poke at existing insecurities- 

Allura feeling like she’s just an ineffective replacement for the person no longer with the team when she was one of the loudest unhappy voices about him drifting away, Hunk being relegated to his gastrointestinal problems and his genuine quick wit and keen sense of humor ignored, Pidge being ignored because “nobody cares what you’re saying anyway!”, and Lance the actor basically spending the entire time indulging the fake, flashy casanova persona he uses to cover all of his own insecurities

-that there’s something significant that, again, all of s4e4 for Shiro is talking about his body, especially his muscles, which is seemingly another change after the missing year- he doesn’t seem nearly that built in the Garrison pictures, though it could be that he’s just wearing more modest clothing, it’s still very suspicious especially when Haggar’s endeavor was to turn Shiro into her personal fighting machine.

Shiro’s got a huge amount of things that have been quietly eating him from the start, and the good news is, they’re actually starting to bubble to the surface- he’s actually breaking down and talking about them with less and less impetus, which is important, because back in s2e7, Shiro made it clear that his connection with Black, that any ideal connection, needs to be rooted in trust. And while he’s heavily spun that as, he needs to be trustworthy to others...

If Shiro never talks to the team about his problems, no matter how he might spin that as not wanting to burden them or that he’s able to deal with it on his own, he’s not trusting them.

And again, that Lance is seemingly the catalyst for this is amazing to me, because Lance?

Lance is the trust guy. Lance is the feelings guy. Lance is the uncrowned king of literally every thing Shiro has been struggling with the absence of here.

Lance is both the guy who genuinely gets in Shiro’s face when he feels like Shiro isn’t listening to him, but he’s also the guy talking about how Keith needs to trust the Black Lion because Black wouldn’t ask him to do this for no reason (when Black is Shiro’s Lion, and Keith draws many obvious explicit parallels between Shiro’s requesting him to fly Black and Black taking Keith as their replacement paladin).

Lance is the one who tells Allura that Shiro is ultimately not their enemy, that they’re on the same side, and who’s vindicated when Shiro is now clearly working with Lance against Haggar, telling him that something’s wrong and that he doesn’t feel right, hasn’t felt right for a while, which is the last thing Haggar wants Shiro to do.

Lance trusts Shiro, but not blindly. He’s compassionate, but not to the point of self-neglect. He is exactly the head that Shiro needs on his team right now. And that experience is gonna mean a hell of a lot to Lance, as well.

[codename-bewareofthefangirl]

Can we get Bakugo x kirishima relationship headcannons?? Thank you!

Hi lucky anon!Actually during this year I’ve written down from time to time these headcanonsabout BakuShima, my favorite pair in BnHA, so I just fixed few things andposted. Since it was a sort of “work in progress” there could be contradictionsor holes, but I hope you can enjoy them the same! Let me know, even if you wantsome more!

BakuShima/KiriBakuRelationship’s Headcanons

-I spent a lot of time thinking how they got together:First, I believe that Bakugou would be the first one to realize his feelings.He’s gonna deny, fight and ignore them for a long while but he’s too brilliantand self-conscious to not realize he’s in love. The problem is that oursunshine boy, Kirishima, is not gonna understand that he actually feels somethingfor Bakugou until someone helps him. I bet he’s just “He’s special becausehe’s Bakugou.” Full stop. No complicated things.

And when someone, maybe Ashido or Jirou, withoutrealizing helps him to give that “special” a name, this is what I think isgoing to happen.

Bakugou was studying together with Kirishima in hisroom, and his patience was gradually decreasing. Annoyed, he watched as his friendscribbled an answer on his notebook, stared in the void, blinked like he hadwoken up from a dream and frantically erased the answer. Then he glanced atKatsuki, met his stare, blushed and looked down at his papers again.

He had already repeated the process more than tentimes. For. The. Same. Damn. Question.

“Shittyhead, are you trying to get on my nerves orwhat? Are you even freaking trying to answer correctly?” he growled slamming ahand against the table. His steamy palms crackled, but he tried to controlhimself. He couldn’t blow up the table for the third time in two months.

Kirishima jolted at his words and nearly lost hold ofthe pencil.

“Uhm- It’s just…” he mumbled fidgeting nervously and consequentlyirritating the other boy even more.

“What the fuck is wrong?” he roared, “Tell me before Imake you explode,” threatened clenching his fists.

“ARGH!” Kirishima groaned putting his hands in thehair before slamming his head against the table.

“Uh?” Bakugou blinked at him, shocked. That was notthe reaction he was expecting.

Suddenly, Kirishima perked his head up and fixed hiseyes into Bakugou’s.

“I like you. A lot.” He burst almost desperately, “Ididn’t realize it until Ashido made a joke about it, but it makes so much senseyou know? The problem is that I don’t know what to do now! I mean, it’s obviousyou are not going to like me back because have you seen yourself? Manly, ahero, strong, unexpectedly smart… So now I’m feeling nervous and I don’t knowhow I should behave because it’s my first time and I don’t like keeping thingsfrom you and-“

“Oi,” Katsuki tried to interrupt him, raising a hand,but the other ignored him and continued to blabber, caught in his doubts. Thismade his palms sweat and emit smoke.

“-And I don’t want to ruin our friendship, because Iknow that, even if you’d never admit it, we are friends. Best friends, Ashidosays. And the thought of not having you near because you’re disgusted by myfeelings is just too much for m-“

Bakugou grabbed his face and blew him up.

The explosion echoed in the entire building and smokefilled up the room.

“MAN THAT WAS DANGEROUS! A-Are you that mad?”Kirishima, completely hardened, cried astonished while he waved the smoke awayfrom his face. Oh God, he had ruined everything. He shouldn’t have spoken. Heshoul-

“LET ME FUCKING SPEAK DUMBASS!” Katsuki screamedstanding up and reaching a dumbfounded Kirishima. He grabbed the collar of hisburned t-shirt and roughly pulled him up, few centimeters from his face.

“First,” he hissed through gritted teeth, “What thehell do you mean with “someone like me”? Haven’t we already established you’refucking awesome?”

Kirishima just nodded confused, magnetized by thosered eyes.

“Second,” Bakugou continued relaxing a bit, “I fuckinglike you too, idiot. I was just waiting for you to realize it. You are so slowdammit,” he growled averting his eyes.

Kirishima’s jaw dropped. He stared at Katsuki speechless.

And then, he went from kicked puppy to cheerful puppyin less than a second.

“Are you serious Bakugou?” he thrilled standing up andgrabbing his friend’s hand.

“Don’t make me repeat myself,” Katsuki replied, tryingto free himself from his hold, but the other didn’t even realize and continuedsqueezing him.

“So we can date? Like, being boyfriend and boyfriend?”Kirishima was beaming, emitting his own light. Bakugou could swear that he hadto have eaten a ball of sun or some romantic shit like a star when he waslittle to have a smile that bright.

“I’m not playing the girlfriend Shittyhead,” hesnorted rolling his eyes, but he nodded. Just a small gesture.

It was enough for Kirishima.

“BAKUGOU” He screamed jumping into his arms.

“Shit!” Bakugou wasn’t prepared and fell on his asswith the other boy on top. “Oi Shittyhair! Do you want me to fucking kill you?”

Ignoring his roar, Kirishima continued to hug him and repeat,“I’m so happy man, I’m so happy I can’t believe it.”

Katsuki sighed defeated and just stayed put, fightinga smirk on lips. For now, he was going to let him be and he just awkwardly huggedKirishima back.

-Katsuki uses pet names mixed with insults, ex. “StupidBabe”; while Kiri prefers to use a nickname, the name or “Babe”.

-When Katsuki calls Kirishima by his name, our boystops what he’s doing, blushes furiously and stares at Bakugou jaw dropped.Yes, Bakugou loves to play with that soft spot of his and teases the hell outof him.

-Kirishima likes to pick him up, out from nowhere.Like hugging and spinning him around or bridal style or throwing him in theair. The first times he did it, especially if they were in public, Katsuki usedto blow him up. Now, in private, he just let him do it, slightly annoyed, anddoesn���t even bother to curse him. He even smirks a bit, because he knows thatit means Kiri is particularly happy. Their friends can’t understand how Kirican pull it out and blame it on his quirk.

-Kirishima has in his head what I call “Fifty Shadesof Blasty”: he learns how to distinguish every shade of Katsuki’s mood simplyby the way he’s swearing, grunting or stomping his feet. It’s a bit creepy, butthey barely need to talk to understand each other.

-Since Bakugou has to be the best in everything, he’sgonna be like that in dating too: he doesn’t forget birthdays, anniversaries,special occasions, what Kirishima likes or not…The only problem’s that he’s notthe best at coming up with the right ideas to celebrate (he’s usually choosessimple things and uses few words), but Kirishima is happy the same.

-Kirishima is the enthusiastic type, so he would really,really like to help his boyfriend cooking, but Bakugou doesn’t even let him nearthe kitchen. Last time Katsuki allowed him to, only because Kirishima hardenedin time he didn’t end up in the hospital. The kitchen wasn’t as lucky as him.

-Bakugou, as I already said, is like a cat. Spoiledand unpredictable; he’s the one to decide when or where he wants cuddles anddoesn’t care if it’s the appropriate moment or not. He wants them? He takesthem.

“We should be studying. Tomorrow we’ve a test and we’rein Todoroki’s room!”

“Shut the fuck up and give me a hug.”

-Even if Bakugou usually smirks, grins, snorts orscoffs only, he has a laughter that Kirishima loves and does everything he canto hear it at least once a day. Truth is, Katsuki loves to laugh with him too becausehe has fun and feels comfortable just by being together with Kiri.

-Kirishima is very vocal about his love or affection,while Bakugou is more the type who talks through actions OR expresses himselfin the most unpredictable moments.

“Hey Blasty, I bought your energy drinks while cominghome.”

“I fucking love you.”

“Oh thank you babe”

*School library, full of people, half of the 1A isstudying at the same table*

“Ehm, Kacchan?”

“What Shitty Deku?”

“Is something wrong? You complained we were slow atanswering the questions but now you’ve been staring at Kirishima for more thanfive minutes…”

“Because I hella love him.”

Midorima choked on his drink and Kirishima slammed hishead against the table for the embarrassment.

-They are both morning birds, so there hasn’t been anyproblem with waking up at different times. Just, Kirishima is immediately asunshine while Bakugou is even grumpier that unusual: until he has drunk hiscoffee, you can’t even talk with him. His boyfriend prepares it for him as fastas he can to receive his goodfuckingmorning kiss.

-Bakugou has a soft spot for Kiri with his hair down.He pats his head more often, plays with them or just grins at him when hethinks Kiri is not looking. He finds him twice cuter.

-Bakugou is probably the bluntest guy ever andsometimes it can be difficult to deal with, but for Kirishima is a positivetrait. Whenever he’s feeling down, few rough words from Katsuki can lift hismood, because he knows he’s not lying. Katsuki never lies to him.

-Each of them thinks that the other is smoking hot,but Kirishima says it openly while Bakugou just glances at him and smirks.

*changing clothes in the locker room*

Bakugou takes off his shirt.

“Babe, can you get any manlier?” shirtless Kirishimawhistles, beaming with pride while staring at him.

Katsuki snorts and shakes his head, just checking hisboyfriend’s abs and smirking; yeah, he was a lucky guy.

-obviously, the only one who can insults Kirishima isBakugou, unless you want to find yourself in a hospital for the next months.However, Katsuki is not particularly jealous: he’s confident Kirishima is goingto choose him over and over again and he trusts him completely.

On the other side, Kirishima is more insecure: hetrust Katsuki, but sometimes he feels…not enough. Luckily, his boyfriend isquick at noticing his discomfort and usually reassures him without a word, bycasually wrapping an arm around his shoulders or resting the head against his.

-they both like action movies, so Saturday’s night isdedicated to film and popcorn.

-Kirishima thinks that Bakugou is like popcorn. Hardat first, soft and delicious when it pops (or opens up, in his case)

-At first they had problems working together as heroesbecause they naturally tended to pay more attention to each other’ safety thanto the surrounding or other people involved; however, when they noticed, theyquickly managed to learn how to get their head into the mission. Complete trustin each other’s capabilities and strength helped. Kaminari screaming “Stopscrewing mentally during a mission!” or “Get a room you two!” helped too.

-Once, Katsuki started a tickling fight just todiscover Kirishima isn’t ticklish at all, even without using his quirk.Unfortunately, Kiri learned that Katsuki, on the other hand, actually is.

-Even if he’s rough, ready to curse and swear andfrequently hits Kirishima, in truth Katsuki doesn’t like to use his quirk onhim. Especially when arguing. He has the secret fear that one day the other boyis not going to harden fast enough and Katsuki is going to hurt him badly. So,when he doesn’t control himself and uses it, it’s probable that he’s going tomutter some apologies afterwards.

-Kirishima is even more cautious, because Katsuki isnot bulletproof and he doesn’t want to cut or hurt him in any way. He prefersto get a hit on the head and suffer for a second instead of hardening himselfand risking to hurt him accidentally.

-Kirishima likes holding hands, even if Bakugou alwayscomplains saying that his are sweaty and continuously crackling, so it’s grossand dangerous. Kiri just ignores him and he has learnt to harden his hand atthe first signs of nervousness from his boyfriend.

-While sleeping, they unconsciously fight for who’sgonna be the big spoon. It ends with Katsuki sprawled on his back and Kiricurled on his chest.

-Kirishima with a black leather jacket is the end ofBakugou.

-Obviously, even Bakugou sometimes has doubts orproblems. Kirishima understands quickly when something is troubling him, butusually lets him the time to mull it over and waits for him to talk about it. Or,he chooses an extremely careful and relaxed approach. Then he listens toKatsuki, seriously answers and reassures him as best as he can and finallycuddles the hell out of him.

A frequent doubt of Katsuki during his no-days is:What if I’m really going to become a villain one day? Kirishima got mad thefirst time he heard him saying that and screamed that he WAS a hero and he knewhe was strong, determined, brave and goodhearted enough to remain one. If not,Kirishima would kick some sense into him again. No buts accepted. Now, whenKatsuki brings it up, Kiri lists all the people he has saved and all the timeshe has shown to be a true hero. He can go on talking for hours, with Katsuki lyingbeside him with the head on his lap, silently listening.

-When Katsuki goes to visit Kirishima’s family, hetries to be polite. It doesn’t work well: “Thank you Shithead” “Can you fuckingpass me the water please?”, but everyone appreciate his efforts, especiallyKiri.

Bakugou’s parents love and cherish Kirishima as theirown son. Katsuki’s mother always asks him if his son is treating him well andthreatens Katsuki to behave because “You’re not going to find someone else whocan put up with your shit like him.”

[wordsablaze]

Legacy Of Love

Even if you realise it because of two teenage wizards messing with time, knowing that you have a legacy is a pretty nice birthday present… A Harry Potter Phan crossover written for Hermione’s birthday! Enjoy!

They’re so done for.

Absolutely done for.

In fact, they couldn’t possibly be any more done for.

This is the end of their time at Hogwarts. It’s the end of their time together. It’s the end of all time that can exist and the end of all time that is simply an illusion designed to school routine into children’s heads so that they conform without question in later life.

At least, that’s what Dan would tell you if you asked him. If you asked Phil, you’d get a different response. A completely different response that would make you question how two boys with such different responses to a potentially hopeless situation could ever be friends.

But of course nobody gets a chance to ask Phil because Dan’s the one who’s currently panicking and rambling about fireworks being exploded without proper consent. Which is a debatable topic that has absolutely no relevance whatsoever to anything at all in this particular moment.

The two of them hadn’t actually been doing anything wrong, illegal, or immoral, but they’d had the unfortunate misfortune of being caught by the brightest witch in recent history. It only takes a few minutes for said witch, who’d brought them back to her office before either of them could even begin to justify their actions, to sigh in frustration and place her hands on her hips with a doubting frown on her face.

“And you two were trespassing because?” she asks, raising an eyebrow.

Dan finally decides to shut up about the fireworks, letting Phil lace their fingers together and step forwards, as if shielding the rather panicked teenager with his superficially elegant poise.

“We’re sorry, we’ve gone there before without knowing that it’s private land and simply went back to get something we’d left behind; we weren’t trying to steal anything,” Phil explains calmly.

Dan doesn’t know how he can be so calm at a time like this. Well, he doesn’t know how Phil can be calm at any point in life. How can someone who possesses the power to change all known laws of science ever be calm when their world is constantly revealing how ignorant they used to be?

“You’re not lying.” The witch sounds surprised, as if expecting them to have lied, to be evil.

“We’re really not.” Phil squeezes Dan’s hand as he says this, urging him to stay calm.

Yet again, Dan wonders how Phil can tell when he’s upset or stressed. He wonders how the two of them are so connected that one can be aware of the emotions running through the other’s veins even when they’re facing opposite directions. He would call it magical, but the irony of that phrasing would never forgive him.

“What were you attempting to retrieve?” the witch asks, again, looking a lot more relaxed now that she knows they’re not a threat.

And now it’s Phil’s turn to panic, or rather, freeze as he internally panics.

Clearing his throat, Dan pulls the other boy backwards and meets the witch’s curious gaze with a confidence he only feels when protecting Phil. “It was a… uh, trinket. Of sorts.”

The witch’s expression hardens suddenly, as if detecting something. She narrows her eyes at them, as if realising something. And, as she pulls out a golden necklace that looks suspiciously like the one they’d gone back for in the first place, the two boys gasp as if something has suddenly dawned on them.

“No!” Dan yells as she turns the dial and vanishes, knowing that she knows they know she knows exactly what they were looking for.

“Dan…” Phil starts, but even he trails off as he thinks about it, the two of them subconsciously edging closer to each other as they wait.

It takes the witch longer than expected and neither of them would like to wonder why. If they were thinking clearly, they might have considered something positive, but having viscous oil dumped on you as you fall through fake clouds does wonders for pessimism.

So the two of them end up pacing, simultaneously trying to get rid of the liquid still dripping off their clothes. Just when they’re about to give up and throw themselves onto the beanbags, someone knocks on the door, a split second before the whole thing flies off its hinges and soars above their heads, landing so close to their heels that they can feel the heat radiating from it.

“Oh, sorry boys!” a tired voice calls, the witch appearing seconds later, twirling her wand to fix the door as if nothing had ever happened.

“Please, we-” Dan starts, but he’s cut off by his own shocked gasp.

“Is that the-?” Phil can’t even finish the question, his eyes lighting up like the moon on a summer’s day.

The witch smiles at them. “Come on, I’m not so mean as to deprive you of what’s rightfully yours, am I?”

She holds out the time-turner that had landed the boys in this mess, the time-turner that had been around her neck when she’d caught them, the time-turner that had been taken away from them by someone with frizzing brown hair…

“It was you?” Phil asks incredulously.

The witch laughs, “Well, aren’t you bright?”

Dan stiffens on behalf of Phil but the witch waves a hand. “Don’t worry, I’m not trying to be rude.”

“Anyway, I trust you with it.”

“You do?” Phil asks.

People usually don’t trust him with things. They can’t trust him because he’s too clumsy, because he’s so pale he looks like a vampire, because he listens to weird music, because he actually likes plants, the list goes on.

But this witch, the one who went to the effort of using a time turner to go back in time and steal the exact same object from him while he tries to get it back after having it taken away, is handing it right back? And that too, after having broken at least four rules of time manipulation in the process? All because she trusts Phil?

“Phil, love, breathe,” Dan murmurs softly, squeezing his hand.

The witch smiles at them and Phil uses Dan’s gentle nudge to remind his lungs that oxygen is a necessary ingredient for life. Once he’s successfully inhaling again, he coughs. “Are you being serious?”

“Absolutely. I do not joke.”

“That I can agree with,” Dan mutters under his breath, Phil stifling a laugh.

“Listen, I know what happened,” she tells them.

Dan and Phil couldn’t possibly look any more stricken, both staring at her with shocked and worried expressions as they edge towards each other again, as if looking for a solace they can only find in each other.

“It’s okay, I’m not going to punish you. I know how it feels, the need to turn time back.”

“No, we weren’t going to-”

The witch lifts up a hand, her knowing smile only widening. “I’m well aware that the two of you were simply trying to amend someone else’s mistakes. But some mistakes are better left written – not erased – trust me.”

“But-”

The witch holds up a hand, shaking her head. “No. You can’t change someone’s death.”

“You did!” Dan argues.

“Actually, I didn’t. The victim in my case never died, but your friend… it would be another mistake to return his life. Believe me.”

Phil exhales sadly, squeezing his eyes shut. Seeing the action, Dan’s small supply of optimism depletes, and he leans on Phil as he tries to wrap his mind around the fact that they can’t change anything and that everything they did was for nothing.

The witch pauses sympathetically, then smiles warmly. “Would you like a drink?”

Too upset to be impolite, the two boys nod, taking a glass each when the witch materialises them. Too upset to remember that magic can be hidden in drinks, they each take a small sip. Too upset to recognise the signs of forced fatigue, the two of them sway and fall to the floor with soft thumps before they can even identify the taste of their drink.

The witch curses, half regretting her actions, then shouts: “Ron!”

“What have you done now?” he yells back.

“Just get up here!”

Ron groans when he walks in the room to see two young wizards draped over each other on the floor, unconscious. It takes him less than a minute – and obviously the sight of their spilled drinks – to understand what had happened, and he places a comforting arm around the witch, shaking his head.

“What happened this time?”

“It wasn’t their fault actually. They just wanted to save their friend from death,” she tells him sadly.

“And you gave them your time turner?” Ron asks, seeing the golden chain wrapped around Phil’s hand.

“It’s technically his now, I stole it back before deciding they should keep it.”

“You can explain that to me another time.”

“Right.” The witch nods, shaking her head to remind herself of the most important issue at the moment. “I might have given them something to make them forget they’d ever gone there in the first place.”

“Really?” Ron sighs, but he’s not surprised, knowing that his wife is too compassionate to let them live their lives with regret nestled in their heart. After all, both of them know first-hand that regret is one of the most dangerous emotions known to man and wizard alike, as well as everyone that falls in between.

“Just, help me with them?” the witch requests.

Ron looks sceptical but the witch pouts. “Won’t you do it for me as a birthday gift, please?”

“You know I will…” Ron sighs, rolling his sleeves up.

Which is exactly why Dan and Phil wake up an hour or so later with almost identical groans, matching headaches, and weird metallic tastes in their mouths. They both look for each other as soon as they’re alert enough to remember who they are, and fingers have honestly never been interlocked so fast.

Both Ron and the witch have to stifle their laughs as the two boys scramble to their feet, and Ron quickly grabs their abandoned drinks, shuffling out of the room so they’re not confused when they properly wake themselves up.

“Are you boys okay?” the witch asks, now in a different version of the same outfit and sporting a much neater hairstyle that’s almost completely frizz free.

Phil mumbles an affirmative before realising that the golden necklace is now hanging around his neck. He gasps, his free hand flying to the trinket, and looks up with a baffled expression, a strange hope shining in his eyes.

“What happened?” Dan asks on behalf of them both.

“You, uh, had a minor run in with one of our escaped creatures while retrieving that time turner.”

“We’re sorry that we-”

“It’s alright, I’m not penalising you,” the witch assures, smiling softly.

“Thank you,” Phil breathes, his grip on Dan’s hand tightening.

“Now, I presume that your next request will be a return journey to Hogwarts, yes?”

Dan and Phil share a glance before slowly nodding, still slightly confused. Neither of them remember that they’d been mourning before they’d been caught so they have no idea why they’re covered in oil. Apparently memory potions and their effects don’t work on oil.

The witch watches as the two of them are escorted out of her office, and she watches them giggle at each other’s jokes as they walk to the main gate. She sees the way they lean into each other and barely ever look away from one another, smiling each time they bump shoulders or almost step on each other because they’re walking so close together.

She almost jumps when Ron puts his arms around her waist, his chin settling on her shoulder. “I’m proud of you, you know that, right?”

“Yes, Ron, you only remind me every day.” And even though eyes are rolled in exasperation, the phrase is said with sincerity and love.

“Happy birthday, ‘Miony,” Ron whispers gently, chuckling.

“I love you too,” Hermione replies with a soft giggle.

She knows that Ron has planned a romantic dinner for the two of them because he’s truly terrible at keeping secrets, even after all these years, but it doesn’t matter. Somehow, the knowledge that others can experience the love that they share is the best birthday present she could ever have wished for.

She’s content knowing that if she and Ron have a legacy, it’s much better than a statue or a document. It’s a promise. It’s a promise that anything can happen, that anyone can be anything, and that first impressions are most definitely not last impressions. She’s content knowing that their legacy is their love and their love is their legacy.

Well, that, and knowing her time turner is in safe hands.

Probably.

Hopefully.

Actually, she might have to check that…

like/reblog but don’t repost, thanks!

[whatdoyouexpectthistime]

‘Choosing Sides’ Part Two - Mistakes

Though it was her day off, Miho spent the rest of her time fretting about her upcoming arrangement with Kaga.

When it hit 7, she was, however, was dressed for a date and standing at the academy’s north entrance.

A minute later, dressed in an expensive suit and looking sharp, Kaga joined her, giving her a slow once over, before snatching her hand and pulling her into motion.

“Gah, damnit Kaga,” Miho grumbled, giving her hand a shake. “If anyone sees us…”

“They’ll think we’re going on a date, not smuggling you into a police investigation when you shouldn’t be,” he filled in, and she hated he was right.

“You’re enjoying this far too much,” she huffed, and stopped fighting his hold.

“Occasionally the job has some perks,” he responded, and even though all she could see was his back, she could tell grinning.

Together, holding hands much of the way, they caught the train to the trendy part of Tokyo, where the night life was bustling, but Kaga took them to a truly out of the way bar, a hole in the wall type only the regulars knew about.

“From here on out, it’s Hyogo,” he said quietly against her ear as they approached the door.

“I know my part, I remember the script,” she replied, and though her voice had been a breathy hiss of disdain, the way she leaned against him slightly and looked up, made it seem like a much more amorous exchange.

“Good girl,” he smirked obnoxiously, and opened the door for her. “Now, if you were an officer, where would you position yourself?” he asked.

Miho took a quick look around the bar interior, before leading them to the far end of the bar.

“Good view of the entrance,” she analysed as she sat, smiling at him all the while. “Nothing at our backs, head tilt to the booths at your shoulder, eyes on the corridor leading to the bathrooms.”

“Full marks,” Kaga nodded appreciatively, sitting on his barstool, motioning over the bartender, and ordering them drinks.

“I suppose it wouldn’t look realistic if we weren’t drinking,” Miho mused.

“Just don’t gulp it,” he instructed, taking a sip from the glass put down before him, before reaching out his other hand to brush her cheek.

Miho didn’t recoil, but tilted her head down shyly.

“Hmm. You’re not bad at this,” he noted with satisfaction.

“That is why I’m here,” she pointed out, sipping from her own glass sparingly.

“Asahi would have curled into a trembling, embarrassed ball the moment I touched her, and Sasaki is far too excitable. It never ceases to amaze me how different our cultures are when it comes to women.”

“Don’t forget I’m somewhat older than them,” Miho pointed out.

“And more experienced I bet,” he grinned suggestively, and Miho had to expend some considerable willpower not to roll her eyes.

“This is just an act,” she told him instead. “You don’t know me at all.”

For a while they played the part and engaged in meaningless small talk, until Miho noticed something.

“The man in the booth at your left shoulder keeps looking over at us,” she whispered into his ear, and Kaga nodded.

“That’s Sota Wakari, and he’s why we’re here,” he replied. “Time for phase two.”

Miho inhaled slowly and then pulled back from Kaga with a deepening scowl when he placed his hand on her thigh. For a moment, the scene went soap opera; Kaga had pushed his luck just too far and Miho was not having it.

“I’m going to the restroom,” she told him coldly, her voice thin, and then she stalked away.

“Perfect,” Kaga said under his breath, though he was watching her go with apparent consternation.

Next, he had to ensure Wakari was watching his next actions, as he took a pill from his pocket, and when he was sure the man’s attention was on him, he leaned over and dropped it into Miho’s drink. It fizzled for a couple of seconds and then dissolved, undetectable.

When Miho returned, still looking none too happy, her body language said she was ready to leave, but Kaga convinced her to remain with gentle apologies and promises he would be a complete gentleman.

“Fine,” she huffed, and reluctantly she resumed her seat before taking a large, sullen swig from her glass.

Kaga observed this with a slow spreading smile, seeing Wakari grinning as he watched them.

As they chatted, Miho slowly began to sway, just slightly at first, then it seemed she had had far too much to drink though really her glass was still half full.

“I think we should take this somewhere more private,” Kaga declared loudly, triumphantly, audible to all within the bar.

Miho put up little fight this time, when Kaga snaked his arm around her waist and slid her from her stool, taking some of her weight as she wobbled.

“I did tell you not to gulp it,” he told her at normal volume, and Miho lolled her head to the side to blink up at him slowly, hazily, weak confusion etched into her face.

Her lips moved, but no sound emerged.

“We’ll put those lips to good use soon enough,” he grinned wickedly, and though Miho didn’t react, his expression combined with the tone of his voice actually incredibly frightening.

The air outside was cool against their skin, as Kaga encouraged Miho along toward the narrow car park, despite the fact they had arrived on foot.

The sound of the bar door behind them was quiet, but both still heard it.

“And this is why you shouldn’t have been such a prudish bitch,” Kaga sneered, giving Miho a little shove, and her body hit the nearest car solidly.

The air exploded from her lungs, and she had to focus to suppress the urge to correct her balance – Kaga stopped her from toppling, pressing his palm against the top of her sternum.

“Seems like you’re enjoying yourself,” Wakari smirked from behind them, and Kaga’s head snapped in that direction and glared.

“Mind your own business,” Kaga snapped. “She’s just had too much to drink.”

“Oh I don’t think the drink is her problem,” Wakari grinned cockily. “I hope you slipped her some quality shit,” he went on. “There’s a lot of bad stuff on the street right now - could kill her, then you’d be screwed.”

“And who the hell are you to know that?” Kaga scowled, keeping Miho upright with both hands while she continued her act of being semi-conscious. “You know, what I got is hard to come by now – my guy’s gone AWOL.”

“Heard that,” Wakari nodded, moving a little closer. “People are dropping like flies, but, it’s still around, if you know people.”

Kaga straightened.

“Are you people?” he questioned, but looked back to Miho when her head drooped forward.

“Why don’t we discuss this somewhere else?” Wakari suggested, looking Miho up and down. “Maybe after we capitalise on your friend’s current… lack of spirit?”

Beneath his hand, Kaga felt Miho tense, though her act so far had been flawless.

“I don’t like to share,” Kaga volleyed as he straightened.

Then something happened that he hadn’t seen coming.

Wakari drew a gun with one hand and slid forward with the other, snatching Miho’s wrist and pulling her to his chest.

It was a mistake.

Kaga’s mistake.

“Well if you won’t share,” Wakari laughed, his arm coiled across Miho’s collarbone while he pointed the gun at Kaga.

Miho’s eyes shot open though she fought to keep her body mostly limp. She met Kaga’s gaze with fear, but remained as slack as she could, while Kaga slowly raised his hands.

“If you’re going to be like that,” he began slowly, “I guess I could stand to let you have a little time with her.”

“Too late for that,” Wakari hissed, steadying his gun at Kaga. “I’m going to take your pretty friend and fuck her raw, while your body goes cold.”

Miho’s eyes widened further – like hell that shit was going down.

Shoving aside her fear, she dug deep for her courage and narrowed resolute meres upon Kaga.

“Now just wait a…” Kaga began, and that is when Miho struck.

She was quick to throw her elbow up under Wakari’s, knocking the gun from his hold and out of Kaga’s line of fire.

“Fujiwara!” Kaga shouted, rushing forward, but Miho had already swung around, one hand gripping a fist full of Wakari’s jacket.

With all of her strength she pulled down, and when Wakari landed heavily beside her, she wrapped her legs around him in a vice-like grip.

“Kaga!” she panted, struggling to hold Wakari, when Kaga pounced on the thrashing man with cuffs in his hands.

Gasping, Miho fell back and blinked at the two men wrestled.

How close had she come to being raped? How close had Kaga come to being shot? How the hell was she in the middle of this?

Then Kaga let out a loud grunt, and all Miho saw was Wakari diving for where his gun had landed.

“No!” Kaga shouted desperately, diving at Miho.

Wakari fired and Miho’s shoulder stung, conflagration across her skin, but it was her shoulder only because Kaga’s lunge had knocked her out of more serious harm.

“Bastard!” Kaga roared, pouncing on Wakari again, and without consideration for the man who had already discharged a firearm once, punched him in the face until he was unconscious.

Scuffling.

A few seconds later, the man was cuffed.

Silence.

Kaga left Wakari’s immobile figure slumped, to scramble back to Miho who was sitting with her back against a nearby car, and staring off into space, her hand clamped over her shoulder, blood oozing between her fingers.

“Fujiwara,” Kaga breathed heavily, then louder when she didn’t respond. “Fujiwara!”

“I’m… I’m…” she managed in a disjointed fashion before focusing on his face. “Is he…?”

“Yeah, you’re safe now,” he reassured her, taking her hand and prying it aside so he could look at the wound. “It just clipped you, it’s okay.”

“It’s not okay, it’s very not okay,” she growled, trembling as Kaga pulled out his handkerchief and pressed it over the bleeding wound while he called for squad car and ambulance.

Kaga then pulled Miho into his lap, arm wrapped around her, the other pressed over the wound.

There was no fight in her now.

“You did great,” he said against the back of her head. “But I’m sorry, this isn’t how this should have gone down.”

When the ambulance arrived, Miho was treated for shock and the bleeding on the flesh wound was stemmed while Kaga secured Wakari with subordinates from Public Safety. He then returned to Miho, who was being urged to go to the hospital, but was resisting.

“Why are you still here?” he frowned at where she sat in the open back of the ambulance.

“I didn’t want to leave until the operation was over,” she said quietly, but there was much more strength in her now she had calmed down.

“She needs to go to the hospital to get that properly stitched by a doctor,” a paramedic at her back declared, and Kaga levelled his gaze.

“Okay fine,” he huffed. “I get it, you can’t bear to be without me now.”

He then climbed up into the truck.

“Okay, let’s get out of here.”

Continue to Part Three - The Past