#librarian sounded quite nice

[darkdragon768]

I don't know how to feel about tomorrow.

I have to wake up earlier (at 5:30 am...) cuz the trains decided to strike again and I have to take a longer way to reach school. And tbh I wouldn't do that if the first class wouldn't be Creature Building Class.

Do you see my passion for Le Beast?? I willingly wake up earlier to make it in on time.

This'll be the last Le Creature class we'll have for like four months cuz of our internship... Misery.

After that, two other boring classes, then I have to go to the place where I'm doing my internship to do some last paperwork with them and after that I'm free to go. Gonna grab some blue hair dye and WW:Move it at the mall and then go back home and sleep until my mom is back and we can play said game.

[sahkuna]

wanted to write a drabble about this canon factoid about gojo and his inoue waka lockscreen. ugh, he's such a loser i miss him.

☆ — gn! reader (no pronouns mentioned), fluff, set in 2007, pining gojo, percieved to be in the same universe as not so invisible string (but can be read as a standalone) so also tagging eventual friends to lovers…

“You’ll never get a girlfriend if you keep that as your phone’s wallpaper,” Shoko says as she scrunches her nose in disdain at the promiscuous photo of Inoue Waka clad in a tiny baby blue two-piece bathing suit. 

Stunned by her sudden accusatory (and unprovoked) comment, Gojo blinks at his home screen once, then twice before he slides his gaze sideways to the brunette beside him. Shoko’s still looking at him as if he had pissed his pants or something, her judging gaze flitting back between him and his flip phone.

What’s wrong with his wallpaper? 

Gojo didn’t think much of it when he set it on his phone last week. Even Geto hadn’t shown much of a reaction when he got a glimpse of the new home screen. Inoue’s a beautiful woman and this photo of her on the beach doused with seawater complimented her features really well. 

Straightening his posture in his chair, Gojo juts out his chin a little, ready to shut down Shoko’s slander on his choice of wallpaper. “Well, I think it’s quite nice—”

“It’s too horny.”

He cringes a bit at that.

Shoko waves a dismissive hand in the air, unbothered about how Gojo’s eyebrows are tightly pinched together with artificial offence and betrayal. She quickly follows her statement with, “Your lock screen is the first thing people see when you show them your phone, right?”

A wounded pout is the only response Shoko gets, so she continues. “So make it something meaningful. Just… just anything but that,” she scoffs, harshly pointing a pale pink nail at the offending picture.

Something meaningful, huh?

Gojo presses his cheek into his palm and thinks of a million and one things he could set his screen to. Then, as if a light bulb went off in his head— shining light onto every crevice in his mind— he’s presented with the one.

Easy.

You’re supposed to be studying.

Supposed to.

But for the past fifteen minutes, you couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was watching you. No matter which direction you swivel your head, whether toward the bookcases or the nearly vacant tables behind you, you find no one here besides you and the librarian. 

You conclude that you’re just tired, especially considering how extensive your studying has been within the last hour.

You turn your focus back to your notes and reread the line you last left off on, writing notes along the way. 

The abrupt sound of what you assume to be a camera shuttering quickly pulls you out of concentration. You seize your writing and glance around the library, silently looking for the suspect behind the noise. 

Who the hell would be taking pictures of you in the middle of a library?

You turn your head to the left and lo and behold, a few chairs across from your seat and the vast mass of your notes and books scattered across the wooden table sits Gojo Satoru.

It was as if he materialized out of nowhere.

Upon being caught, a gleeful grin spreads across his lips and his cheeks pop with a healthy, bright hue. Since there was no need to hide in plain sight any longer, Gojo slid out of his chair and into the one seated right across from you.

Your senior gives you a two-fingered salute. “Hey.” 

That’s all he offers you before he raises his flip phone camera to eye-level view and snaps another picture of you.

“Don’t you ‘hey’ me,” you say, trying to swat his hand and phone away from your face. You vaguely wonder if he was ever taught the golden rule of how everyone was entitled to having a “personal bubble” around them back in preschool. 

But judging how his flip phone is obnoxiously close to your face, practically trying to get his lens to merge with your skin, clearly not.

You softly knock his hand away again with the back of yours. Fortunately enough for you, he temporarily relents. “Why’re you taking pictures of me?” you ask.

“Why not?”

You bite the inside of your cheek as you feel an oncoming scowl almost crawl onto your lips when you watch Gojo lamely jump his shoulders to his ears. 

However, not wanting to give your teacher a reason to storm into the campus library right now and wring you two by the neck, you choose peace and decide to pick at his brain as to what brought him here to you. “Why, though?”

“Why not?” he repeats.

Fuck that, this was getting you nowhere.

“Well, I have some heavy studying to do.” You throw a wary glance at Gojo, who seems to have only brought him, himself, and he to your not-so-private study corner. “So I’d appreciate it if you would… lay off on that…” You gesture blindly at the phone he was scrolling through, pressing multiple buttons to go through his gallery and admire the pictures he’s taken.

“Oh, me?” Gojo presses a hand on his chest in a faux woe-is-me act hoping to garner your sympathy. His sunglasses slightly tip off the edge of his nose and there’s a mischievous glimmer in his eyes. “You don’t even have to worry about me. Pretend as though I’m not even here.”

“Easier said than done,” you mumble more so to yourself than him.

Gojo leans back in his chair, his arm propped against the upper ledge of his seat and watches you, content that you haven’t shooed him away from your presence altogether. 

He keeps this up for a few minutes, and you think this is fine. If he can keep quiet like this for the next 15 minutes while you finish up the last remnants of questions you have left, you’d go home with an empty to-do list and a clear conscience.

“You know…” Gojo suddenly pipes up, and you hiss an irate Oh my God at his antics. “If you look at the camera just once, I’ll be out of your hair. I promise.”

Sighing heavily, you toss your pencil defeatedly between your notebook's pages. Anything to get him out of here, honestly. “Fine, make it quick.”

Gojo laughs, carefree as always. “Okay, okay, just…” He raises his phone into view once more. “Just smile this time, yeah?” 

Behind his phone you see his free hand drift toward his lips. His index finger gently pulls at the corner of his mouth, tugging it into a warm smile. You’re positive that this is a silent request for you to produce one of your own, so you give.

However, your smile comes out looking a bit strained. You feel it, Gojo sees it.

“Wanna make it less forced?” he teases.

“Shut up!”

Relaxing a bit, you try once more and muster up the best star smile you can produce and for a split second, something in Gojo’s chest does a sick sort of squeeze, tight and hard.

If there were any way to describe it, Gojo would say it was the kind of smile you’d request and pay for a print version if it were for school photos.

He watches you for a beat or two through the lens of his phone, his ice-blue eyes are both soft and probing.

Since when did you smile like that? Could you do that more around him? How can he get you to—

“Hurry, please,” you say through clenched teeth, keeping your posture.

Ah, right.

Thumb hovering over the OK button, Gojo quickly snaps your photo.

“Happy now?” 

It’s a rhetorical question, but Gojo nods all the same, grateful for your cooperation, regardless of how brief it was. 

“Where’s this even going?” you question, watching how your upperclassman fiddles around a bit longer on his phone. God knows what he’s doing with your pictures now.

Gojo glances at you searchingly, before he offers you a quick and easy smile. His eyes dart back down at his phone and reads the prompt on his screen.

Ready to set as new wallpaper?

“Somewhere special, you could say.”

[solxamber]

how about Octavinelle students with a half shark!reader headcanons who is just intimidating but nice towards them , looks like they have insane bloodlust but they're really nice , they don't talk to anyone but them cuz they're scared of accidentally hurt them (cuz when they accidentally feel someone else's blood they're mouth breaks into massive fangs)

If thus is too hard , ignore it , goodluck on your studies

Octavinelle with a Shark! Reader (HCs)

hi, i loved the ask its so cute <3

Azul Ashengrotto

Azul first meets you with his usual shark-like grin—until he sees the sheer predator energy radiating off you. He freezes mid-sentence, giving you the most awkward, watery smile. The only thing running through his mind is "I might have miscalculated."

But then you flash him the smallest, softest smile. The disconnect between your terrifying aura and kindness breaks him completely. He's staring, struggling between his business instincts and his desire not to get eaten.

“You’re quite… unique,” he says, trying not to sound nervous. “Thanks. You, too.” Azul.exe has crashed.

He soon realizes you’re not out to maul him, which makes him infinitely curious. He tries to study you, politely of course—like he’s about to offer a very lucrative loan agreement.

When he notices you only speak to him and the Tweels, he secretly feels way too smug about it. If anyone else tries to talk to you, you just give them this blank, shark-eyed stare until they flee in terror.

Azul loves it. He may be business-minded, but your intimidating presence is great for his stress levels. No more annoyances!

However, the day you accidentally get blood on your hands while eating, you smile—full shark fangs, gleaming and sharp—and he almost faints. He looks at your monstrous grin and says, voice cracking, “I-It’s… uh… a lovely smile, truly...”

You’re so worried about scaring him off, but Azul low-key thinks it’s kind of awesome. You become his VIP intimidation service—though he swears he only uses your friendship “for mutual benefit.” (Sure, Azul.)

Jade Leech

The first time Jade meets you, he knows something is off. Your posture is way too relaxed for someone exuding that much bloodlust. It intrigues him immediately. You smell like danger, but you talk like a librarian.

Jade is completely unbothered by your scary vibes. In fact, he leans in closer whenever you give off that silent, intimidating energy, like he’s trying to encourage it.

“You’re quite the curious one, aren’t you?” he says, tilting his head with a sly smile. You just blink, utterly confused by his calmness.

When he realizes you only talk to him, Floyd, and Azul, his interest skyrockets. It’s not every day someone ignores the rest of NRC while picking him as their favorite conversation partner. He takes it as a compliment, in his strange Jade way.

One day, you accidentally get a whiff of someone’s blood. You’re trying so hard to hold back, but your mouth stretches into a horrifying grin—rows of massive, sharp fangs on full display. Jade just stares in pure, gleeful fascination.

“Incredible,” he murmurs. “I didn’t know you were capable of such expressions. Show me again sometime.”

You panic. “Jade, I don’t think that’s a good idea…”

“Hmm. I disagree.”

He is not even remotely afraid of you. In fact, he makes it worse by offering you little challenges—like opening oysters with your teeth or biting things just to see your fangs pop out. He probably offers his hand as a joke to see what you’ll do.

“Would you like to try it?” he says, stretching out a finger. You choke on air. “Jade, I’m not biting you.”

He just smiles, not withdrawing his hand. “How tragic.”

Floyd Leech

Floyd immediately latches onto you the moment you meet.

“Whoa! You’re like a shark! A big scary one!” he says with a grin, not remotely intimidated. In fact, he gets right in your personal space, poking at your cheek like he’s sizing you up for a fight.

When you don’t react aggressively, just awkwardly shuffle back, he finds it hilarious. You’re big, you look like you could eat people whole, but you’re nervous around others? It makes you even more interesting to him.

Floyd becomes obsessed with you. He’s glued to your side, acting like you’re his personal shark pet. He drapes himself all over you, throws an arm around your shoulders, and teases you relentlessly.

“C’mon, show me the teeth! I know you’ve got those big chompers in there.”

One day, you accidentally taste blood after someone near you scrapes their hand. Your fangs break out in full force, and you’re grinning like a nightmare creature. Floyd stares for a beat—and then bursts into laughter.

“There it is! Ahahaha! I knew you had those! Do it again!” he yells

“I-I can’t just do it, Floyd—”

“Why not? C’mon, chomp! Chomp!!”

He’s utterly unhinged about it. Floyd starts trying to coax out your fangs like a maniac, probably waving his hand around, daring you to bite him just to see if he can provoke you.

“Bite me, bite me, bite me!” “Floyd, no!” “Floyd, yes!!”

Despite his chaos, he’s weirdly protective of you. If anyone so much as looks at you wrong, he switches moods instantly—grinning one second, deathly serious the next.

“Hey. Don’t bother my sharkie, or I’ll bite you.”

In the end, Floyd loves every part of you, terrifying fangs and all. If anything, he thinks you’re the coolest friend ever, and he never misses an opportunity to drag you into trouble—because, hey, what’s better than two scary creatures teaming up to terrorize people?

Masterlist

[yerimacoustic]

𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙞 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙖𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 ♡ 𝙨𝙚𝙪𝙣𝙜𝙠𝙬𝙖𝙣 𝙭 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧

❝ 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙬𝙚'𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙞’𝙢 𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙮𝙤𝙪, 𝙞 𝙘𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙢𝙮 𝙚𝙮𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙄 𝙨𝙚𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙮𝙤𝙪 ❞ ✧ ೃ༄

summary : after impulsively quitting your job and moving back to your hometown, you reconnect with a childhood friend of yours and rekindle your relationship. you even take the opportunity to get closer to your former crush upon realizing he actually does know you exist. however, you realize that you might be in over your own head when faced with complications involving family, responsibilities, and love.

content warnings : librarian!boo seungkwan x gender neutral reader, college professor!oh sehun x gender neutral reader, EXTREMELY slow burn, implied love triangle, childhood friends to (eventual) lovers, swearing, stress and angst, banter, very very brief mention of implied death, not proofread. 11.6k wc. mostly inspired by kdrama : love next door, it’s the ‘it’s always been you’ trope you guyssss

soundtrack : those eyes by new west, scott street by phoebe bridgers, ceilings by lizzy mcalpine, i hear a symphony by cody fry, the loneliest time by carlie rae jepsen, always been you by chris grey (will add more)

additional notes : this is going to be a multiple part series! i’m talking about EXTREMELY slow burn. don’t mind me adding sehun into the mix, i am a big fan of his lately.

it felt like nothing had changed. the pavement on the sidewalks was still loose, the grass near the empty fields was still much too tall.. everything was still so close. that was, of course, the main reason why you instructed your uber driver to drop you off at the coffee shop near your house. heaven knew you needed the extra ten minutes to clear your mind with the help of some fresh air, anyways.

you didn’t see yourself coming back home, not for a while at least. the plan had always been simple: graduate college, get a well-paying job, get married, start a family.. well, at least, your parents had always found it to be simple. you made it to step two, which you were able to give yourself at least some credit for.. unfortunately that was short lived, considering that one day at lunch with your boss, you made an impulsive decision to quit your job. 

you stopped in place at a familiar crack in the pavement, one that you remembered tripping over and promptly falling off your bike several times in your youth. how in the world were you supposed to face your mother and father? how were you supposed to summon the courage to tell them that you were currently unemployed and had no current plans for the future? that you were too burned out and exhausted to even begin looking for a new job?

maybe a nice cup of coffee would provide all the answers… except they were closed. shit.

the only thing left to do, obviously, was to procrastinate going home as much as possible. which, of course, meant exploring the street you knew like the back of your hand. the benches near the coffee shop looked exactly the same, the tiny post office, the library.. wait.

the library!

luckily, they stuck to the same schedule implemented from the time you were working there, which meant you had less than thirty minutes to step inside. as you swung the door open, the loud bell announced your arrival- not that it startled you. you’d grown numb to the loud clanging sound, almost as if you had been conditioned. once inside, you were greeted by the nostalgic smell of parchment and cinnamon, comfortable silence and dimmed lighting. there were two other patrons in there that you knew of, who were quietly huddled in the corner reading separate books. 

stepping up to the front desk, you looked around the calming, tranquil space with a content grin. much like everything else in town, the library had stayed exactly the same. there were still paintings of landscapes and skylines scattered along the walls, a fireplace in the back area, comfortable bean bags and rugs… and..

“seungkwan?” you whispered, your eyes going wide.

the young man in question was pushing a cart of books with his back towards you and had already begun to carefully set them down on the nearest shelf before he heard someone speaking behind him. the last person he expected to see standing behind his counter was you. as far as seungkwan knew, you had no plans of returning home. 

his eyes went wide as he turned back, lips forming a perfect ‘o’ shape. he did his best to keep his voice down as he saw you and stood frozen in place for a moment, dumbfounded. “y/n??”

you smiled sheepishly upon taking note of your childhood friend's reaction. it was truly one for the books, but you still couldn’t hold back from teasing him, whispering, “well are you just gonna stand there or…?”

“ugh, fine. get over here.” seungkwan let out a mocking huff of annoyance before carefully setting the last book down on the cart and rushing to you. he flung his arms around your waist and pulled you in for a tight hug, one that seemed to convey all the sentiments that had been lost to you for four years now. all of the tight hugs, the words of affirmation, the quality time spent after school and work.. 

he finally spoke up again, making no effort to keep his voice lowered down. “what are you doing here? how long are you in town?”

you chuckled awkwardly, waiting for just a moment longer to break out of his embrace. “um..indefinitely?”

seungkwan’s eyes narrowed. “whoa.. i didn’t think those big shots in the city would let you take an indefinite hiatus...”

“oh.. yeah, what can i say? they love me over there.” you mocked a hair flip for dramatic effect, earning a scoff from seungkwan. 

“well hopefully your work ethic’s better now than when you were working here with me.” he rolled his eyes while reminiscing several shifts gone wrong in your time together at the library. they still blew his mind several years later; how difficult could it be to work in a building full of books?

you furrowed your eyebrows. “what are you talking about? i was your favorite coworker.”

“nuh uh, you were my only coworker. big difference.” seungkwan waved a finger to you with a growing smirk, his eyes still narrowed. 

you swatted his shoulder. you would never admit out loud that you definitely were not the best employee, that you would rather spend the day reading or distracting seungkwan as much as you could than get any actual work done. still, you hoped that at the very least, seungkwan enjoyed his time with you. “come on. you know i made things more entertaining around here.” 

your best friend let out a prolonged sigh as he made a dramatic show of pulling off his striped apron and folding it over the front desk. “i guess.” he paused, rolling up the sleeves of his large sweater to his elbows before folding his arms. “have you been home yet?”

your heart skipped a beat at the sudden confrontation. “well.. not exactly. my plane just landed.”

“really? i’m surprised that your folks didn’t come pick you up from the airport..” he shook his head, a grin of amusement slowly starting to surface. seungkwan seemed to have been gifted with intuition after years of being your closest friend; judging by your body language, alone, he could tell that something wasn’t quite right.

“about that,” your tone suddenly grew hushed as you rubbed the back of your neck. “i didn’t exactly tell them i’m coming home.”

“hmm?” seungkwan furrowed his eyebrows. “why wouldn’t you tell them something like that?”

you parted your lips before the proper excuse could come to mind. but.. neither of their birthdays were coming up. it wasn’t a holiday. and you definitely had nothing exciting to share with them in person. you barely made a sound before the loud bell across the room announced someone else’s arrival. your heads snapped towards the doorway, your own eyes going wide at the revelation..

“hey sehun,” seungkwan greeted halfheartedly, as if it was customary for the other man to show up fifteen minutes before closing. he moved to stand behind the counter while you stayed frozen in place, watching the taller man make his way to the two of you. 

sehun was exactly how you remembered him too. tall, stoic, smartly dressed.. classically handsome. in the four years you’d been gone, you hadn’t forgotten about the infatuation you had developed with him in college. not completely, at least. he carried a large pile of books in his arms, which he set down carefully on the counter in front of him. “hey, thanks for helping me out. you’re a lifesaver.” 

“no problem.” seungkwan went to work immediately, starting to log the books sehun had borrowed into the ancient computer resting on the counter. he glanced to you before explaining, “sehun got that teaching degree. he comes in here every so often to borrow some extra books they don’t have on campus.”

just as you nodded in understanding, sehun looked over his shoulder to see you already staring at him. his eyes went wide as he wore a deeply apologetic expression, “oh! hey..y/n. it’s y/n, right?”

“yeah, yeah, that’s right,” you chuckled.

“it's good to see you,” he grinned modestly, turning his back on seungkwan in favor of facing you fully. “i haven’t seen you in a while, where have you been?”

“i relocated for work after graduating but..i’m back here now.” you punctuated your statement by shrugging halfheartedly, chuckling under your breath. to tell the truth, you were surprised sehun had even noticed you were missing; he never paid much attention to you in school. it wasn’t like you were nonexistent, but more like he always had something else on his mind. 

“indefinitely,” seungkwan chimed in, much to your annoyance. 

sehun raised an eyebrow. “indefinitely?”

you felt as if the two of them had backed you in a corner. it was difficult to ignore seungkwan as he leaned over the counter with his chin resting in the palm of his hand, an amused grin bringing you to clench your jaw. “well..”

“and she didn’t even tell her parents,” seungkwan whispered, as if the three of you were in a gossip session. he smirked to you, knowing fully well that you would have lunged for him if sehun wasn’t in the room. 

“i’m sure they’ll be excited to see you visiting them. indefinitely.” sehun, of course, was oblivious to seungkwan’s antics. he kept his back turned on him as he focused on you, waiting almost too patiently for you to explain your motives. 

just before you could mutter a ‘thank you’ to him, seungkwan cut you off once again, “by the way, when you say indefinitely, what exactly do you mean?”

in that moment, you crafted a plot in your mind to jump over the counter the minute sehun would close the door behind him. seungkwan had always known of your interest in sehun, so.. you could give him the benefit of the doubt and excuse his actions by saying he had good intentions. but there was something deep inside you nagging and arguing that he was only trying to embarrass you.

“well..” you muttered, prompting seungkwan to lean in comically close over the counter. unfortunately, whether you liked it or not, you came to the realization that your close friends and family would eventually find out the truth.. so it was better to bite the bullet. “forever?”

“forever??” seungkwan asked incredulously. 

in that moment you had completely abandoned all intentions of giving your best friend the benefit of the doubt and instead wondered if seungkwan truly would stop at nothing to humiliate you. the look of intrigue donned by sehun almost caused your heart to stop beating in your chest completely. “forever,” you repeated quietly.

and although sehun showed no signs of disgust or disapproval, you wondered what he truly thought of you. he must have thought so lowly of you, unemployed and forced to move back in with your parents with no prospects or plans of any sort... as much as you would have liked to tell yourself you were most likely overthinking the tension rising between the three of you, it was part of your nature to assume the worst.

sehun’s expression of intrigue was quickly replaced by one of reserved shock; he wasn’t sure how to respond. he wanted to handle the situation (if one could even call it a ‘situation’) with delicacy without seeming like he was tiptoeing around it. it was quite the contrast from seungkwan’s reaction; your best friend looked like he would soon pass out due to the color draining from his face. seungkwan, who was visible just behind sehun’s shoulder, slapped a hand over his mouth to muffle his gasp. 

of course. he always had a flair for the dramatics.

sehun cleared his throat, as if to defuse the tension in the space between the three of you. the air had felt much more constricting until he snapped you out of your shame induced gaze. “thanks again, seungkwan. same time tomorrow?”

“maybe a few more minutes before closing.” seungkwan was quick to smile enthusiastically, with authenticity rather than cruel irony, towards the other man. he even went so far as to punctuate his statement with an amused chuckle. 

“right, sorry,” sehun nodded apologetically. he knew he had a bad habit of bothering seungkwan, who was generous enough to help him even in the most inconvenient times, but there was no use trying to adjust his schedule to his own liking. he looked to you just as he turned towards the exit, a smile barely reaching his eyes. “see you around.” 

somehow, you weren’t hyperfocused on the fact that he seemed to disappear before you could gift him a proper goodbye. once the loud bell signaled his absence, you reached across the front counter to swat at seungkwan’s shoulder. a high pitched shriek flew from his lips, but it didn’t startle you enough to back away from him. “what was that for?” he demanded with a pout.

“you know damn well! he probably thinks i’m some deadbeat now.” 

“why, because you got fired?” seungkwan regretted his teasing remark the second he saw you wind back your hand to swat his untouched shoulder, his hands flying to shield his face. “wait! wait, stop! truce! truce!” the sigh of relief he let out once you finally relented was almost comedic. “you didn’t get fired, did you?”

you folded your arms across the countertop with a huff, avoiding his eyes. although sehun’s opinion meant a lot to you, it was nothing compared to how seungkwan perceived you. you grew up with him, after all. “no. i quit.”

“why?”

“does it matter?” those three words came out in a much harsher, more defensive tone than you had anticipated. it was too late to apologize by the time you had processed the gravity of your words, or the effect they had on your best friend.

seungkwan matched your energy, his eyebrows raised as his tone grew just a tad harsher, as well. “well… yeah? you’re throwing a lot away. you know it’s really hard to get a job these days. you were really lucky.”

you huffed. “please, seungkwan, spare me. i’ve already been preparing for that lecture from my parents.” 

“well, what do you want me to say instead?” he snapped, folding his arms across his chest. those words stung in your chest, as if the blade had been laced with venom. out of all of the people you expected to be this harsh with you, the last person on your list was boo seungkwan.

you furrowed your eyebrows, sitting up and letting your arms fall from the counter in favor of relaxing at your sides. “nothing.” you paused before mustering up the courage to speak again, swallowing. “it was great to see you.”

you took long strides towards the door, ignoring seungkwan’s protests even as his voice grew nearer. only when you felt his hand grip onto your forearm did you finally turn back to face him, a deadpan expression dulling your features. quite the contrast from his look of pleading, sorrow filling his eyes. always the flair for the dramatics. “don’t go. please?” he paused, searching for an answer within your irises. “if i know anything about your parents, they’re gonna be pissed. we need a game plan.”

“‘we?’” you asked him quietly.

“yeah. we’re in this together.” he hooked his arm around yours, his words and the tight grip on your upper arm prompting a rush of nostalgia to numb your mind for the time being. 

“but first, we need to grab some dinner.” your eyes lit up, accentuating your smirk as you heard seungkwan groan next to you in annoyance. 

—----------------

“i hardly see how grabbing sandwiches is going to help the situation.” even so, seungkwan dipped his grilled cheese in the flavorful tomato soup in front of him, letting out a content sigh once the taste of basil and sourdough lingered in his mouth. 

“comfort food always helps keep one level headed in stressful situations. i thought you knew that,” you took a large bite from your own sandwich, as if the exaggerated actions would punctuate your words. 

of course, seungkwan knew you brought up a great point; he didn’t raise that argument when the two of you grabbed brunch before taking finals or when he ordered takeout while both of you spent the entire night applying for jobs. after all, the two of you shared a similar love of food for as long as you could remember. 

“yeah, but doesn’t it just feel like we’re prolonging the inevitable?” seungkwan’s words were slightly muffled as he chewed politely on his sandwich.

unfortunately, he brought up a great point, as well. that was the whole reason you found yourself in his family’s library in the first place: to prolong the inevitable. you swallowed nervously as an image of the disappointment on your mother’s face flashed in your mind, dabbing at the corners of your lips with a napkin. “no. i’m starving. i haven’t eaten since noon.”

seungkwan let out an audible sigh, which inevitably earned him an eye roll. “sure, we’ll go with that excuse.”

furrowing your eyebrows, you straightened out your shoulders. “excuse me, have you seen how my mom is when she gets angry?”

“of course i have. i was there when you cut the bangs off of all of her porcelain dolls because ‘you wanted to see their eyes.’” he dropped his spoon to add air quotes to the last part of his statement, much to his own amusement.  

your eyes grew nearly twice their size as you watched the man in front of you take a sip of his iced water with such infuriating casualness. “not only were you there, but you helped me cut their hair!”

“what? you don’t expect her to raise her voice at her best friend’s child, do you?” he feigned an expression of innocence, his eyes going wide as he pursed his pouty lips.

you huffed, “no. only because she’s always held you up on a pedestal. i swear, it’s like she’s always wanted to switch children with your mother.”

seungkwan laughed, a little too loudly for your liking. not that his laughs weren’t always adorable and endearing, of course. it was his next statement, however, that caught you off guard: “don’t say that.”

of course, the shock didn’t stop you from taking another jab at him. “no, really. you’ve heard her talk about how badly she wanted a son multiple times.”

seungkwan began to laugh again as more and more memories started coming back to him. your mother had always greatly esteemed him, held him to the highest regards.. to say that he didn’t appreciate those sentiments would be a lie. especially since there were plenty of occasions he could think of where he desperately needed the praise. his only wish was that she extended them towards her own child. “i’m sure that she would change her mind if her wish was ever granted,” he rationalized, still not quite eliminating the laughs escaping his lips.

you snickered. “yeah. i’m sure she would.” both of you sat in comfortable silence for a few more minutes, savoring the last few remnants of your respective meals. you, however, couldn’t stand listening to the daunting sound of your own heart racing in your chest and spoke up, “how are things going with the library?”

seungkwan wasn’t expecting you to bring up such a delicate subject of his own at a time like this. he knew that you were already under a great deal of stress and didn’t want to add another burden onto your shoulders. that was why he spoke so dismissively, “things are…fine. pretty busy.”

“just busy?” after you had successfully folded your napkin into something that vaguely resembled a swan, you lifted your head up with every intention to meet his gaze. only to look directly past his shoulder and draw in a shaky breath. “shit..”

“what??” seungkwan instantly demanded an answer and furrowed his eyebrows, watching you pull the hood of your jacket over your head and hunch your shoulders over. 

“look behind you. don’t make it obvious.” seungkwan muttered to himself before turning around in his seat to get a better look at your mother and another close friend of hers sitting across the restaurant, making no effort to be discreet. you immediately hissed in annoyance, “goddammit, i said don’t make it obvious!”

“geez, sorry.” seungkwan snapped his head back towards you, tilting his head to the side as he saw you duck under the table. suddenly, his eyes lit up as he leaned down to get a better look at you crouched down on the floor. “hey.. now seems as good a time as any to go and talk to her!”

you gasped, “are you kidding me? she’ll cause a huge scene! we better just make a run for it. i was never one to dine and dash but i guess there’s a first time for everything.”

seungkwan rolled his eyes and got to his feet, reaching for your hand. “come on, i’ll be right there beside you. who knows, she might actually take it well? she wouldn’t want to risk embarrassing herself in public, would she?”

“no, but she wouldn’t care about embarrassing me in public.” you refused to take his hand in favor of wrapping both arms around the leg of the table. “now lemme know when it’s a good time to crawl out of here.”

seungkwan laughed, thoroughly amused by your antics. “no. come on, its time to face your fears.” he crouched down again, hooking both hands around your arm. 

“seungkwan, no-” you tried to keep your voice down while keeping a firm grip on the table’s wobbly leg. 

seungkwan clicked his tongue to the roof of his mouth, a scolding expression overtaking his features as he shook his head. “i can’t believe you would risk getting arrested to avoid having an adult conversation with your mom. absolutely shameful. come on.”

you shuddered out of his touch, pouting. “but i’m not ready! please, can we just wait an hour or so until they’re done..”

suddenly, seungkwan threw his head back with a loud groan of annoyance and prompted you to put a finger to your lips. “no. there’s no time like the present, come on!” despite your relentless hold on the table, your persistent arguing and whines of annoyance, seungkwan fell to his knees in an effort to successfully pull you out from under the table. he felt like he was wrangling a stubborn toddler. “jesus, you were worried about your mom making a scene?”

just then, a voice behind seungkwan’s figure called to you, “y/n?”

seungkwan looked back before scooting away from you to give you a clear view of your mother standing with her arms folded. when he got to his feet, you moved out of the way just enough for you to see her close friend in question standing next to her. the two older women stood like a pair of identical twins with their arms folded and their heads cocked to the right. you waved to the two of them, suddenly feeling much more vulnerable under the table. “heyyy mom..”

just as you looked up, you got the opportunity to witness seungkwan realize the gravity of the situation in real time. his lips pressed to a thin line as he looked off to the side, making no attempts to alleviate any suspicious appearances or keep up any innocent appearances. much to your surprise, your mother paid no attention to the man she considered her perfect son in another life. she scoffed incredulously, “come here! what are you doing here?”

you brushed off your dress pants as you slowly began to emerge from your hiding place. “i wanted to catch up with seungkwan before heading home..”

your mother wasted no time shaking her head and cutting you off, “you know what i mean.”

you looked to seungkwan with desperation in your eyes, as if asking him speechlessly to do the talking for you. he’d always had a much better way with words than you did, especially whenever your mother was concerned. she always seemed to hear him out. however.. he stayed silent. his eyes went wide once they met yours, as if trying to communicate back to you without words.

you knew right then and there that you were on your own. 

“it’s kind of a long story..”

—----------

needless to say, your mother did not take the news very well, seeing that you were now lying in the fetal position on seungkwan’s bed, tugging his small blankets closer towards your shivering figure. none of it felt.. real. your mother yelling at you and chastising you in public, seungkwan trying desperately to intervene until his efforts proved to be fruitless, the four of you getting removed from the restaurant.. but what seemed to remain frozen in your mind was the look on your mother’s face.

there was so much to be said from the look in her eyes alone, irises filled with.. hatred. the mere thought of it made you shudder. 

the image of seungkwan stepping out of his tiny bathroom in an oversized t-shirt and shorts was enough to pull you out of your miserable thoughts. for the most part. “glad to see you made yourself at home,” he teased you and made his way to the bed, grabbing a spare blanket and pillow. 

you furrowed your eyebrows as you watched him tuck the bedding under your arm. “hey. you’re not sleeping on the floor.” 

“you’re right. i’m sleeping on the couch,” seungkwan replied without skipping a beat. he ran a hand through his chestnut hair, which was already tousled from the headband he’d worn just minutes before he joined you. “goodnight.”

“wait-” you called to him just as he turned on his heel in favor of walking towards the door. then you watched in amusement as he let out a huff of mock annoyance and turn to face you with raised eyebrows. “please.. please stay with me. i don’t want to be alone right now.”

sleepovers weren’t a foreign concept to you and seungkwan. there were countless nights where study sessions, late night chats, and carpooling after parties led to impromptu sleepovers. it reached the point where both of you had extra toothbrushes and other toiletries waiting for the other. you never seemed to stay far from each other, even in slumber; usually the two of you ended up on the couch together. 

it was nothing. neither of you thought anything of it, because you didn’t have to. yet.. there was a sense of timidity within his demeanor as he stepped closer to the bed. you were quick to shrug it off and sit up once he climbed under the covers with you, relaxing back against the mattress when you felt his arm drape around your shoulders. the two of you were so close that you felt the gentle impact of the rising and falling of his chest with every steady breath he took. “what are you gonna do?”

you were close to telling seungkwan that you hadn’t thought this far ahead. you always thought you could depend on your family to help you out during tough times.. but you’d had your heart broken that day. fear settled comfortably within your heart as you laid a hand on his chest and scooted closer to him. “i don’t know.”

you were expecting a fiery rebuttal from him. or some more scolding, even reprimanding.. but none of it came. instead he spoke gently, his voice barely above a whisper, “we’ll figure it out in the morning. get some sleep.”

you nodded and let your head fall more comfortably against the pillow before shutting your eyes, his arm curled around your figure and his hand cupping your shoulder bringing that much needed sense of comfort. seungkwan, however, stared at the ceiling as you felt yourself drifting off into a peaceful slumber next to him. he connected the dots in the plaster while trying not to pay any mind to the water stain near the corner of the room, the patterns providing him temporary relief. 

he felt like he was dreaming; when you left, he wasn’t sure if the two of you were ever going to be in a situation like this again. laying together, laughing, forgetting about the rest of the world.. sure, in this particular moment the circumstances were less than ideal, but he was just grateful to feel your warmth. now more than ever.

a half an hour must have passed before he gently pulled his arm out from underneath your figure and allowed you to fall more cozily against the mattress. he sat quietly at his desk, which was less than two steps away from his bed, and opened the drawer slowly in hopes that you wouldn’t hear the gentle creak. there was a letter tucked securely into an envelope, one that he had read so many times that it was a miracle the seal of tape was still effective. 

no matter how many times he had already read the letter, the beautiful words still brought a single tear to his eye and a gentle smile to his lips. it was the last thing his mother had ever given him besides the library, both of which he held close to his heart. he read it almost every night before he went to bed, swearing that he heard her voice in his head every single time. 

on a separate sheet, she’d left him instructions and tips for running the library. he still couldn’t fully believe that the family business was completely in his hands now. he put his own career on hold to see it through, devoting his entire time to ensuring the success of the library. he had no other employees. he was forced to move into a much cheaper apartment across the street, saving money on transportation.

yes, some days were better than others. but he wouldn’t trade the business for anything else in the world.

now that you were here with him, seungkwan felt so many different emotions hitting him all at once. while he was grateful to finally see you again, there was a nagging feeling akin to resentment in the back of his mind. he only hoped that he wouldn’t let the troubling emotion take over him completely.

you were already a shoo-in for the internship agency near your school. judging by the end of your interview, you basically already had a guaranteed position. it was near school, it paid fairly well, you could still go to school part time.. you had nothing to worry about, having all of your prospects lined into a neat row.

seungkwan, however, was not quite so fortunate. school was challenging for him; when one crisis was ending, another was just beginning. one particular event was the breaking point for him. his finger had been hovering over his laptop’s mouse for a good five minutes as he gazed at the highlighted button on the screen: ‘submit request to withdraw.’ maybe school wasn’t for everyone. maybe school wasn’t for him.

his fingertip had inched closer towards the mouse when you finally reached his side, slumping down on the chair next to him. before you could complain about a strenuous day in your psychology class, you took note of the image displayed on his laptop screen and immediately slammed it shut. “what do you think you’re doing??” you demanded. 

“i can’t take this anymore,” he groaned, tilting his head back. the hood of his jacket fell back upon his shoulders in the process, revealing his tousled hair. “i’m done. i’m dropping out.”

“no you’re not,” you argued without skipping a beat.

“yes i am.”

“no you’re not.”

seungkwan groaned again, covering his now strained eyes. he’d lost count of the hours he’d spent staring at the screen in front of him. “yes i am! it’s my only option. plus, if worse comes to worse, i’ll always have the library.”

your hand fell to rest on his back, silently communicating to him that you sympathized with him. you had had plenty of trials and tribulations during your time in school, seungkwan knew that fully well. “is this about your trig. test? seungkwan, no one passes that class. it’s not your fault you got stuck with the worst teacher.”

“it’s not just that.” he scooted his chair to the side so he could face you more fully. the look in his eyes was painfully unfamiliar; the closest resemblance being one that he’d worn a few times as a child. over some stupid, simple things that didn’t matter one bit anymore. this.. this was different. your best friend was scared to death about what lay ahead of him.

you took seungkwan’s hand in yours and squeezed it the moment you noticed his gentle tremble. “you’re one of the smartest people i know. if anyone can get through this, its you,” you told him quietly, with such gentle sincerity that warmed his heart. “i’m not going to let anything happen to you, okay? i’ll always be here for you.”  

i’ll always be here for you. 

what seungkwan didn’t know was that you replayed that moment in your mind every night before you went to bed. he didn’t know you were currently reminiscing in your sleep. guilt and regret overtook you every single time you thought about the relief flooding his features upon hearing such a beautiful sentiment from you: i’ll always be here for you. 

what a phony he must think you are.

—---------------------------

the aroma of fresh coffee wafted through the air of his small apartment, strong enough to pull you out of your deep sleep. the promise of the refreshing beverage prompted you to sit up and stretch your arms out before joining your brand new roommate in the kitchen. seungkwan was already seated near the bar, halfway through his toast when he smiled at the sight of you, “morning, sleeping beauty.”

you let out a chuckle that resembled more of a scoff before taking the initiative and pouring yourself a cup of coffee. “i would have slept a lot better if someone didn’t hog all the blankets.”

“tsk tsk,” seungkwan shook his head while dabbing at the corners of his lips with a napkin. less than five seconds passed before he was on his feet, carrying his own mug in one hand and reaching for his briefcase with the other. “well, i’m off. do me a favor and clean the kitchen, will you?”

you furrowed your eyebrows while watching him search the tiny sitting room (which was more like a nook) for his dress shoes. “hey, wait! where are you going?”

he snickered, “where do you think? i’m going to work.” 

“can i come with you?”

seungkwan stared at you incredulously. “why would you want to do that?”

you cocked your head to the side, confused. wasn’t the answer perfectly obvious? “because if i spend nine hours cooped up in here by myself, i’ll go crazy. no offense.”

he brushed off your statement, grabbing his keys off the tiny hook near the front door. “what makes you think you won’t go crazy cooped up in the library for nine hours?”

you paused and shrugged your shoulders as a pleading look filled your eyes. “i’ll.. be with you? and books?” 

once again, seungkwan had to wrestle with all of the emotions hitting him at once- he’d enjoyed this time with you, yes, but.. a small part of him wanted space. he wanted time alone to sort through his conflicted feelings. no words could describe the guilt that sentiment, alone, had brought upon him. still, he let out an exaggerated huff and tilted his head back, “ughh fine. hurry and get ready.”

the squeal that escaped your lips nearly caused seungkwan to jump enough to spill his coffee. much to his own relief, the hot liquid never escaped from his cup and fled towards his sweater. it was a close call, however, when you threw your arms around his neck and pressed a firm kiss against his cheek. that time a few drops did spill on the floor, prompting the two of you to giggle in almost frightening unison before seungkwan made a dramatic show of pretending to rub the kiss off of his cheek. “ew-ew-ew-ew-”

“shut up,” you called out to him before shutting his bedroom door behind you. it didn’t take too long for you to find a sensible outfit, seeing that such boring outfits had taken over your entire wardrobe since you graduated. 

before too long, the two of you were greeted by the crisp autumn air as seungkwan locked his door. you both held onto your mugs, chasing the warmth of the coffee as you took prolonged sips in unison. in that moment, you couldn’t help but wonder if seungkwan shared the same sentiment as you, if he thought about how taking the familiar road to work felt so strangely different this time around.

“why don’t you hire some other employees?” you asked seungkwan once the two of you sat comfortably in the warmth of the quiet library.

“what, are you tired of your new job already?” seungkwan teased, tilting his head with that all too familiar lopsided grin. 

“job? who said anything about a job?” you fired back, all in good fun, of course. you had no issues helping seungkwan out with the business, if he would have you. you could only imagine how much of a nightmare it was to run a business completely alone. besides.. you hated the thought of sleeping at his apartment all day while he worked his ass off.

he nodded his head once, his grin only growing wider. “ohh, i see what’s going on here. shame, i expected more from you.”

“you’ll have to get in line,” you chuckled before averting your gaze back to the sticky note on the front desk in front of you. you’d been drawing tiny flowers on the little slip of paper for about an hour now, hoping to pass the time quickly. soon, you spoke up again without looking up from the lime green pad of paper, “you didn’t answer my question, though.”

you noticed seungkwan shrug in your peripheral vision. “can’t really afford it.”

he watched as you nodded in understanding, eyes still not leaving the sticky note in front of you. “well.. you could always ask for volunteers. there’s a lot of different ways to get the word out.”

seungkwan chuckled dismissively, “i doubt anyone’s gonna want to volunteer at the local library.” he spun in his chair slowly to gaze at one side of the open space in front of him and then the other. the first day he had ever worked there by himself he realized that he had to come to terms with the harsh reality that no one would value this place quite like he did. 

you caught onto it, however, and it broke your heart to put yourself in his shoes. he’d barely jump started his own career before this was thrown onto his lap; to say it was a lot of pressure was the understatement of the year. “you never know,” you countered in a hushed tone. 

several minutes passed before the loud bell startled you out of your boredom. just before you could lecture seungkwan about investing in a battery operated one, sehun stood on the other side of the desk. your focus shifted completely to the man standing in front of you, both of you separated only by the smooth oak desk. 

“hey sehun,” a short greeting you were barely able to muster as you rose to your feet.  

sehun, of course, stayed cordial, his grin just notably wider than the last he’d greeted you with. “hey. i didn’t realize you’d be working here too.” 

“oh.. yeah. seungkwan and i go way back, i thought i could help him out a bit.” you tilted your head towards the other man in question, who was still seated comfortably in the chestnut leather chair. strange.. he was usually so quick to attend to his customers’ needs.

“why don’t you help sehun grab his books? get some practice in?” you didn’t have to look over at seungkwan to know that insufferable smirk had taken over his lips. 

“uh.. yeah, sure. i can do my best.” the promise of getting some alone time with your former ‘campus crush’ was almost enough to make you giggle like you were in college all over again. you were quick to abandon seungkwan in favor of joining the taller man as he strode towards the aisle directly across from where your friend was sitting. “so..classic literature, huh?”

sehun chuckled fondly at your attempt to make conversation, prompting that warming sensation in your chest to return. “yeah. i don’t know if seungkwan told you, but i’m teaching ‘reading comprehension’ on campus. the library over there seems to have lost most of its funding since we graduated. he’s helped out a lot.”

you nodded and began to pull the books off the shelves that he pointed to with his free hand. “‘reading comprehension?’ i loved that class.”

“oh you did? it was one of my favorites. with mrs-”

“sylvester,” you finished politely.

“sylvester, yeah,” sehun chuckled again, and it was the most that you’d ever seen him smile. although it was somewhat short lived, it didn’t disappear completely from view. “she transferred a few years back. that was when i got the promotion.”

“oh.” an expression of disappointment clouded your features as he led you into the next aisle. you tried not to think about how you wished you’d brought one of those carts, considering it was completely off topic.. “that’s too bad. i don’t think i’ve ever had a teacher like her.”

sehun sighed, tucking a small pile of books under his other arm. “i don’t think anyone has. she left some pretty big boots to fill.”

“i’m sure you’re more than capable,” you assured him with a tilt of your head. “you were the one with the best assignments in ‘creative writing.’”

sehun donned an expression mixed with shock and confusion. for a moment you wondered if it was because he had no memory of sharing a creative writing class with you. had you really managed to stay so invisible? his gaze left you on the edge of your seat until he finally spoke, his words throwing you through another loop, “i.. didn’t think anyone remembered those. in fact, i hoped no one did.”

you furrowed your eyebrows, showcasing your genuine confusion. “why? your writing was so beautiful.”

he let out a short chuckle in favor of accepting your compliment. “i prefer to leave it to the professionals.” so he was handsome and he was humble.. good to know. his next statement pulled you out of your temporary daze, “speaking of which-” his gaze briefly shifted to the stack of books in both hands. “i better get back to it.”

“oh, yeah. yeah. sure.” however, you couldn’t bring yourself to face seungkwan without taking a step in a much bolder direction. “maybe we could talk about them sometime.” your heart skipped a beat as you watched him turn back to get a proper look at you once more. “i mean..the professionals. we could grab coffee sometime, talk about our favorites.”

he stayed quiet for a moment, as if he was thinking carefully over your question. once again, he seemed intent on keeping you on the edge of your seat, on stopping your heart from beating in your chest. relief warmed your heart as a gentle, barely visible smile was sent in your direction. “yeah. i’d like that a lot.”

even though the words were on the tip of your tongue, you couldn’t bring yourself to mutter a confirmation or any other proper response. planning the logistics or even a proper meeting time and place would have been a good start. even so, bashful silence filled the air and sehun was graced with an equally awkward grin before the two of you met with seungkwan again to carry out the rest of the checking process.

the crisp autumn air did nothing to soothe your shaking hands and arms as you and sehun carried the borrowed books to his car. he kept a respectful distance the entirety of the short walk to the end of the parking lot, not enough to keep you wondering if he found your presence to be a nuisance, of course. you earned yourself a smile of gratitude once the entirety of his collection was placed carefully in his backseat, his words doing nothing to soothe the aching in your heart: “so, about that coffee…”

“i should be done around five,” you cut him off, regretting it immediately. suddenly, one of your mother’s habitual lectures had once again proved fruitless and you realized just how pathetically eager you must have sounded. 

much to your relief, sehun nodded to signal his confirmation. “five sounds great. i’ll just meet you over there, yeah?” your gaze followed his hand as he pointed to the coffee shop that was no more than a ten minute walk from your current location.

luckily, you were able to hold back a sigh of relief. “yeah.” you paused, taking the opportunity to mirror his smile as your hands linked together behind your back. “well..see you then.”

after you were sent on your way with a quiet ‘goodbye,’ you were lucky not to trip over your own feet as you turned on your heel. to tell the truth, you only felt like you had come back down to earth once you were face to face with seungkwan in the warmth of the library again. his smirk was infuriating, as per usual, as he confirmed that he’d listened to your entire exchange, “big date tonight, huh?”

scolding him was a redundant move. instead, you followed his remark with a smirk of your own, arms folding across your chest while you eagerly awaited for the storm to come. “yeah.. about that, i’m gonna need to head out early.”

—-----------------------------

there was nothing quite like the cafe you knew like the back of your head in the evening. just as the sun began to set, the limited light peeked through the windows, crafting with the low fi hip hop in the speakers to create the perfect ambience. there was a sense of comfort in the familiarity, which counted for everything in this moment, especially. 

although the shaking in your hands had come to a timid stop, there was still an uncomfortable persistent thumping in your heart. if y/n from years ago could only see you now.. as inexperienced as you had become over the last four years, it didn’t stop a fair pang of excitement from mixing with your overall anxiety. you were on a date.. well, if that was the right word to describe this meeting with sehun. 

the man in question pulled you out of your daze once he sat across from you, taking in the sight of you with a relaxed grin. “sorry, i know i’m a bit late.”

“no, it’s fine. i barely even noticed,” you replied truthfully. “i’m in my own little word over here, i was barely keeping track of time.”

“well, that makes me feel a little bit better,” a deep chuckle punctuated his gentle words before he turned his attention towards the small menu in front of him. you did the same, even if it was a bit of a formality; you had known fully well what you were going to order before setting foot in the cafe. it simply kept you busy while trying to formulate a good response. 

once the orders had been placed, your arms were folded over the small table as you paid full attention to the man in front of you. “so..should we start with poetry?”

“actually,” sehun responded without a sense of urgency to interrupt you in his tone. it was quite the contrast from what you had grown accustomed to. “i thought i might get to know you first, if that’s alright.”

you raised an eyebrow, his statement catching you off guard. “oh?”

“is that so surprising?” sehun noticed the surprise that had filled your demeanor and honestly, it made him feel guilty. maybe he had unintentionally sent you messages signaling his disinterest during your time together in college.

“yeah- i mean-” you stuttered, pondering your own response carefully in the meantime. “well, i think we both just had a lot on our mind back then.” 

he nodded in understanding. “you’re probably right. but i don’t want you to think i was ever uninterested.” he paused just as a barista briefly interrupted the two of you to place two mugs on the table, being quick to send a quiet ‘thank you’ in his direction. 

you thought about telling him the truth, that the fear of his disinterest in you kept you up at night. that your social anxiety prevented you from getting to know anyone or spending time outside of your social circle. but what good would complaining do? instead, you nodded shortly. “then in that case.. i’d like to get to know you, too.”

you watched as sehun took the brief moment before his lips reached the mug in front of him to send you a smile. seconds later, he was delicately wiping a light stripe of foam that had landed above his upper lip. “can i start by asking you something a little personal?”

“go right ahead. i’m an open book.”

he set his porcelain mug down carefully on the table, the impact making no sound. “what brings you back in town?”

once again, his question had brought you into a deep sense of pondering. although you hardly expected him to take the same direction as your mother and tell you how much of a lazy couch potato you were, there was still a possibility he would find your actions distasteful. “things.. weren’t working out there,” was all you could lead with. “i wasn’t happy.”

sehun wasn’t sure if asking you to delve into specifics was the best idea. “i’m sorry to hear that,” he said, the sympathy in his tone practically tangible. 

“that’s okay.” as always, you were quick to dismiss your own attitude; you were never the self-pitying type. 

“i’m glad that you were able to reconnect with seungkwan after so long,” he noticed. “you two have been thick as thieves for as long as i can remember.”

to tell the truth, you were surprised that sehun had even noticed. on the other hand, the two of you never seemed to let each other out of your sight for long. “i owe seungkwan a lot,” you sighed. “he’ll try to deny it but i don’t know if i would have been able to get through school without him.”

sehun beamed, his understanding of the sentimentality in your statement alone bringing a warm feeling to his chest. “you two are lucky to have each other.”

suddenly, you felt guilty discussing another man in such a manner while on a date (if it even was a date). you chimed in with a bashful grin, eager to change the subject, “tell me more about your job.”

sehun chuckled, “what do you want to know?”

“was mrs. sylvester the only reason you started teaching?” while eagerly awaiting a response, you savored the wonderfully bitter taste of your now slightly chilled latte.

sehun shook his head, gaze temporarily flicking to the modest silverware resting on his napkin. “no. everyone around me got tired of hearing me talking incessantly about my favorite scribes and poets, so i thought it would be better to lecture people who would actually listen to me. for the most part.” 

an amused beam lit up your features as you chuckled affectionately. “do you teach anything else besides ‘reading comprehension?’”

he gently shook his head, “as of right now, no. but i’m aiming to take over the literature and mythology position once it’s cleared up.”

“then i’ll keep my fingers crossed,” you told him, your beam ever persistent. 

“i appreciate it,” he looked up to see you already staring at him with reservation in your features. suddenly, he came to the realization that he had never realized how vibrant your eyes were up close. maybe he should have paid more attention in the past. he spoke up again before he could allow any awkward silence to loom over your table, “i’m keeping my fingers crossed for you as well. i hope you find what you’re looking for.”

just as you nodded in gratitude, you came to the realization that you had no idea what you were looking for. you came back home with desperation to get time for yourself, hope that you would find comfort in the nostalgia your hometown provided.. but you never thought about how slowly the answers to your questions would reveal themselves. “i hope so too,” was all you could think of to say.

much to your surprise, sehun was easy to make conversation with. he was respectful and quiet, not to mention attentive as he listened to you drone on and on about your favorite writings. you thoroughly enjoyed the banter you shared with him, as if the two of you were playing tennis with witty remark after witty remark. 

you had to take note of how incredibly smart he was. he was well read in every sense of the word, judging by the countless subjects of literature he’d studied in his youth. it was impressive. not to mention attractive. 

both of you reached the bottom of your mugs at the same time, and before too long, sehun had already paid the bill. he ignored your protests, your arguments that you should have been the one to pay since the outing was your idea. and of course, he politely insisted on driving you back to seungkwan’s apartment even if it was within walking distance. 

the moment you sat in his passenger seat, your gaze shifted to his hands circled gently around the steering wheel. the sleeves of his sweater had been rolled up to his elbows, exposing his lean forearms. however it was nothing compared to his side profile, the dimmed sunset lighting accentuating the sharpness of his jawline. “i’m glad we did this,” you were able to tell him. 

he nodded once, “me too. hope i didn’t take you away from seungkwan for too long.”

“he’ll be fine. he’s managed without me long enough,” you chuckled once he parked the car in the complex’s lot. before you could bring yourself to exit his car, to rid yourself of the man’s warm presence, you gifted him with a smile of gratitude. “i’m glad we did this.”

“me too,” sehun agreed, returning the grin with sincerity. “will you be at the library again tomorrow?”

“most likely,” you chuckled.

“perfect.” he watched as you stepped out of his car, ignoring the cold air hitting his skin once more. he called to you one last time before you could gently slam the door shut, “see you tomorrow.”  

you called out to him in farewell just as the impact of the car door closing sounded. the butterflies took flight in your stomach just as you watched him drive off, permitting yourself one last look at him through the slightly tinted window. none of it felt real. you knew that for the foreseeable future, you were about to ask yourself over and over again if these memories were just a figment of your imagination. the way he looked much more handsome up close, the way you were able to study his freckles and the gentle curls in his hair..

a wind rushing past your figure snapped you out of your daydreams; soon you were walking up the rickety staircase and back into seungkwan’s apartment. he was waiting in the sitting room, peering down at the coffee table which was covered in heavy files and scattered sheets of paper. he looked up to you through thin-framed glasses, raising his eyebrows, “took you long enough to get back home.”

your brows pulled together instinctively as you tossed your jacket onto the nearest coat hook. “what are you talking about? i wasn’t even gone for that long.”

“you were gone long enough to force me to close the library all by myself,” he argued without a hint of malice in his tone. “what did the two of you get up to, anyways?”

“coffee,” you sighed, slumping down next to him on the loveseat. suddenly, seungkwan paid absolutely no mind to the endless paperwork he had been tasked with and turned towards you. you went on, “we talked for a few hours.”

he tilted his head towards you with wide, questioning eyes, “aaand?”

“aand-” you mocked, snickering. “he’s.. excellent. really excellent.”

seungkwan stared at you in bewilderment as a snicker of his own escaped his lips. “‘really excellent?’ that’s the best you can do?”

you rolled your eyes, giving his shoulder a gentle shove. “i mean- i don’t know! he’s really smart. most of the time we were talking about the books and authors we both liked.” you paused, pondering your next response. “there’s something about him that is so..magnetizing. he’s so reserved..i always thought he was indifferent. but he’s not.”

“he sounds like a pretty great person,” seungkwan bowed his head in favor of taking another proper look at the piling documents in front of him. even if he knew there was absolutely no way he would focus properly on them with you seated next to him. his gaze didn’t leave a particular folder as he asked, “so it’s off to bed for you, then?”

you pressed a hand to your heart, feigning offense. “you would dismiss me so quickly?” after seungkwan merely hummed in response, you sighed, “no, actually. i probably shouldn’t have drank coffee this late.”

“if only someone had cautioned you against it,” seungkwan mused half-heartedly, flipping through a stack of papers after going through a few paragraphs with a highlighter. it was amazing just how quickly boredom set in after watching him flip through them for less than a minute.

“you could have,” you snickered and leaned your head against the back of the couch, staring at the patterns in the ceiling for the brief time in the uncomfortable position. “we should go on a walk. i think you could use some fresh air.”

an amused smirk tugged at your lips as you watched seungkwan let the papers fall on his lap in favor of staring at you incredulously. “what? no, it’s freezing out there.”

“it’s not that bad, we’ll only be out there for a second.” after grabbing the papers from his lap and slamming the pile back on the coffee table, you rose to your feet. “come on! i know what it’s like working indoors all the time. you need to go outside; it’s good for your health. and your psyche.”

seungkwan huffed, swatting your hand away when you tried to link arms with him. “you know what’s also good for my psyche? paying rent for two different buildings on time.”

ever persistent, you reached for his hand again. “these papers will all still be here when we get back. come on. take some time for yourself.”

he was finding it more difficult to resist your pleadings by the second, especially considering you brought up excellent points. he rarely got the chance to take time for himself.. he rarely got to enjoy his surroundings and reconnect with the town he grew up in. he sighed, rather heavily at that, bringing his palm to his forehead. “ughhhh fine. if i get frostbite, i’m killing you.”

“it’s definitely not cold enough for that.” you grabbed both of his hands to pull him off of the couch, beaming once the two of you were face to face. then you gently reached out to grab his glasses off, folding them before setting them down carefully on the table. your fingertips never came in contact with the lenses; you knew completely well how much seungkwan hated scuffs and marks on his glasses. “when did you become such a hermit?”

seungkwan’s gaze followed your hands as they fell to the coffee table just before he met your eyes again. he chuckled lowly, “a lot has changed since you left.”

you shook your head. “it doesn’t seem like it. you’re still just as annoying as you were the day i left.”

“takes one to know one.” much to your annoyance, seungkwan promptly moved his hand up to ruffle your hair, his nose scrunching up in an infuriatingly endearing way. he took note of your scowl, snickering loudly in amusement as he quickly turned on his heel before you could swat his shoulder, “come along then! you were the one who was begging to go on a walk.”  

you followed after him with a huff, both of you slipping into your large coats and boots in alarming unison. before too long, you were asking yourself how it was possible for the weather to drop so significantly and so quickly. regardless, the two of you walked down the street shoulder to shoulder, each heavy breath you took visible in a cloud of smoke.

seungkwan glanced at you in his peripheral vision once you’d linked arms with him, snickering, “is this what you wanted?”

“yes,” you replied curtly. you tried to ignore the soreness in your back caused by the hunching of your shoulders. in your defense, cold weather ruined your posture. with your free hand, you tugged your jacket closer to your chest in desperation. it wasn’t even winter yet, why was it so freezing?

“okay,” seungkwan mused, unconvinced. he let out a quiet huff of his own before scooting closer to you and keeping both hands in his pockets. “where are you taking me, anyways?”

“don’t sound too enthusiastic,” you replied. unfortunately, you hadn’t thought this far ahead. while you scoped out the area in hopes of finding a place to relax and forget about the rest of the world, you completely forgot about the loose crack in the pavement and tripped over your own feet. your hold on seungkwan’s arms loosened as you fell forward a few steps, causing your best friend to burst into a fit of laughter.

“phew! that never gets old,” he cackled, throwing his head back as he moved a hand to clutch at his chest.

you were less than amused, stepping forward to grab his forearms in hopes of grounding yourself. “you’re the worst, seungkwan.”

“you know you love me.” it was a miracle that seunkgwan was able to get the words out, considering the laughs that persistently fell from his lips. it was a deep fit of laughter too, one that rumbled from his chest and had his shoulders hunched over as he tried in desperation to catch his breath.

“oh my god. was it really that funny?” you asked incredulously. your lips twitched in order to hold back an amused smile; it wasn’t the situation in and of itself that you found humorous, only seungkwan’s reaction. his endearing laugh and beam, the redness in his cheeks, the light in his eyes..

once he had composed himself enough to stand up straight, he let a few more faint chuckles escape from his lips as he wiped his eyes. “uh, man. i guess it's because i haven’t seen you do it in a long time. i forgot how stupid you looked.”

your eyes went wide as you linked arms with him again, scoffing. “how could you laugh at such a delicate subject for me?” you teased. “i still have the scars to prove it.

“besides, you have no room to talk. you’re the one who couldn’t make it halfway through the monkey bars.”

seungkwan stopped dead in his tracks, prompting you to do the same. you couldn’t hold back a loud snicker once you took in the deadpanned expression he wore, signaling that he took offense. “come on. that’s a completely different issue.”

your hold on his arm loosened once again as you burst into a loud fit of laughter, shaking your head. “no it isn’t! you looked like an idiot hanging there lifeless on the rails.”

as your laughter only grew louder, seungkwan did everything he could to keep a level head. He kept his chin up, taking a step forward with his eyes narrowed. “whatever. i’ve come a long way since then.”

“oh yeah?” you challenged him. “prove it.”

seungkwan stopped in his track once again in favor of turning towards you with furrowed eyebrows. “what are you talking about?”

you paused, scoping out your surroundings as you cupped your chin with your thumb and index finger. pretending to be deep in thought, of course. you spun in a slow circle until your eyes landed on the desired target: the nearest playground. it was completely empty, perfect for seungkwan to showcase his so called newfound talents. 

without answering, you grabbed onto seungkwan’s forearm and forced his hand out of his jacket pocket. once your fingers were laced with his, you booked it towards the playground in question. seungkwan stumbled a little bit but followed your lead, laughing in disbelief, “hey, would you slow down for a second? god-”

once the familiar, run down monkey bar stand came into view, you came to a sudden and full stop. seungkwan nearly tripped over his own feet again, much to your amusement, but you were quick to brush it off and fall to the ground in a cross-legged position. “go on,” you encouraged him, gesturing dramatically towards the stand with a malicious grin.

he cocked his head to the side as he studied you with an amused smirk. you only responded with a raised eyebrow, the two of you silently communicating, waiting for the other to crack. much to your relief, it was seungkwan who finally broke the silence with a loud groan of annoyance, “fine. whatever makes you feel better.”

you clapped your hands in excitement and watched him walk pitifully towards the monkey bars. he ignored your cheers of encouragement as he climbed up the small ladder and reached both hands out to grip on the first rail, falling forward instantly. but much to your surprise, he kept his grip firm. “seung-kwan, seung-kwan, seung-kwan,” you chanted rhythmically, clapping your hands between each loud cheer. 

it felt like he made it to the middle of the stand in the blink of an eye. he took a moment to glance over at you with a prideful smirk once he’d reached his former stopping point. “ha! see?” he called out to you.

“you haven’t finished anything yet, go on!” you ignored the crisp, chilling winds that grew more intense by the second, focusing all of your intention on seungkwan instead. you could still see the faint cloud of vapor escaping his lips with every breath he took and you had to hand it to him- the fact that he was able to do this with such determination and focus was impressive. “go on, you’re so so close!”

suddenly, you began to wonder if he’d started working out more consistently since the two of you parted ways. he only paused for a second or two between movements, save the long-ish break in the middle to gloat. he kept his knees bent the entire time too, so his feet wouldn’t touch the ground and assist him in his endeavors. towards the end he began to huff louder, unwilling to showcase his growing tiredness. 

you, however, never got tired of encouraging him. “you got this! just a little further…there you go…” just then, your loud cheer nearly startled seungkwan enough to let go of the bars to fall to the ground rather than swing his feet towards the other ladder. 

after making sure you were able to clearly witness him roll his eyes, he climbed down and plopped down on the ground next to you with a loud sigh. “satisfied?” he asked, letting his back fall against the long brown grass.

“more than satisfied.” you smirked in his direction before mirroring his lying position with a sigh of content. your hands laid comfortably on your stomach as the two of you stared up at the stars in comfortable silence. “i’ve missed this,” you muttered without thinking. 

seungkwan paused, contemplating the gravity of those three words. he didn’t know how to tell you that he never knew true loneliness until you left town. that there was a pang of resentment towards you because of it, one that couldn’t be so easily disposed of. even once the relief that came with the knowledge that you were there to stay set over him. “me too,” he whispered. “me too.”  

you smiled upon hearing his agreement, and the two of you lay in comfortable silence once again. you studied the sky for any familiar constellations, the stars shining like diamonds that night in particular. maybe it was something within the sentimentality of the night with seungkwan and sehun that brought so much more beauty to the sky above. or maybe.. it was because it had been forever since you took a moment to simply look up.

-

stay tuned for part two, coming soon >:)

[tthevoic3s]

From Blood Births Life And Death - Chapter 1

Ordinary, oddly enough.

word count: 1,656

MASTERPOST

———————————————————————-

Books were one of the only things in his equally ordinary life that actually entertained him, so why not make it a profession? Not that being a librarian was the most fun thing to do, but he surely wasn’t the type to dive into a socially exposing job like his brother, anyways. But hey, it wasn’t a flaw, at least not for him: everyone is unique in their own way, afterall. He enjoyed his time alone, and in any case there weren't many customers. He spent almost three quarters of his work day reading alone, out of curiosity, or tidying up and reorganising the shelves. Not many people shared his interests, but it didn’t bother him that much, to be honest. And that day had been just like all the others.

He slowly got down from the wooden ladder, adjusting it against the wall. He unrolled his folded sleeves and exhaled as he stifled a yawn. He picked the keys up from the nearby table, and turned towards the window. He apparently stayed in the library for quite more time than usual, he noticed, and night had already come, with the moon being the only source of light thanks to its faint glow.

Andrew grabbed the lantern and lit it up, the small flame warming the air around it. As he finally got outside, he locked the door behind him, and began his walk home. He didn’t mind late night walks, he even enjoyed them, but since his home was pretty far from the village centre, the path was quite long, and his tiredness wasn’t really helping.

The cobblestone path was flanked by the edge of the forest, quiet as usual in the deep of the night. As said before, the day had been routinary, normal, ordinary: shortly, nothing special happened; but even so, Andrew was still surprisingly tired. The calm silence of the night almost reassured him during the walk, making him already savour the moment in which he could finally rest his head on the pillow and abandon himself to sleep-

boom

He flinched, almost dropping the lantern on the ground, startled by a loud sound coming from the woods at his side. His head snapped instinctively towards the deep set of trees as the precious silence was shattered. His brows furrowed in suspicion: it was a peculiar sound, sharp, echoing and weirdly… mechanical? Unnatural, even. He felt a slight sense of unease. Andrew stood still, eyes fixed on the edge of the forest until the sound started to fade in the distance, still echoed by a series of fainter, high pitched noises he couldn’t fully identify. He hesitated before resuming his walk, his gaze still darting cautiously around every now and then, scanning his surroundings. He shook his head while quickening his pace: he didn’t know what that noise came from, but he didn’t want to interfere with whatever the hell it was. He really wasn’t in the mood of getting in trouble.

Calm seemed to settle back into his mind as he finally reached the more narrow path that led to his cosy home, and he loosened his grip around the lantern. The surrounding forest began to thin out, leaving room for single scattered trees. That was the quietest part of the village, distant from almost, well, everything. It was great for someone like Andrew, as he often just needed some time to detach from the everyday chaos and be on his own.

His mind drifted back to that strange distant echo. He nervously chuckled under his breath, almost like making fun of himself for getting startled. He was too tired, he thought, and his mind was playing tricks on him. Maybe it was just a wild animal running through the leaves, who knows. He rubbed his eyes, now more than ever willing to get home and get some nice sleep.

He continued along his path, his gaze dropping to the ground and tracing imaginary patterns through the various shaped cobblestones. Each one was framed slightly by grass and moss, except for one that was stained…

Wait. - He paused.

Was that a blood stain?

Andrew blinked a few times. He frowned, taking a few steps back and scanning the area. He was now too far away from the village centre, towards the woods, and that narrow alley wasn’t crossed by many people except him. He gulped, raising the lantern closer to his eyes to have a better sight. To his surprise, the blood stain wasn’t just one. They were multiple, tiny, scattered on the ground, and they seemed to stretch forward like a path of footprints.

Andrew clenched his fists nervously, his hesitation clear. It was like wariness and curiosity were having a fight inside of his mind. Oh, dang it. Curiosity won the duel.

Andrew followed the path of red stains, each step careful and slow as he didn’t know what he was approaching.

“Hey..? - he muttered unsurely, almost afraid to make his voice be heard - who’s there..?”

No response.

He called again, this time raising his voice.

Still dead silence.

He cursed under his breath, his hands slightly trembling. He frowned, but when he was about to turn on his heel and give up, he heard something. A muffled sound, like a faint rustle of something struggling.

He turned back again, his eyes sharpening as he gave a final scan to the ground beneath him.

His stomach dropped.

—

Okay. Between all the things Andrew expected to experience that ordinary, routinary, normal day, seeing a tiny, impossibly tiny person, crumpled on the ground in a puddle of blood wasn’t minimally in the list

His breath caught in his throat as he hesitatingly knelt down to have a better look of her. He placed the lantern at his side, leaning forward. She looked like a young girl, no taller than his middle finger, her face pale, streaked with blood and dirt, and she looked unconscious.

A human? Could it really be?

He heard they were small, but.. that small?

He couldn’t quite catch her features in that moment, as his heart hammered through his chest as he felt the rush of disbelief, wonder and something close to fear building up inside of him. She was badly injured, he could tell - not that it took an incredible perspicacity to understand it, given the blood around her - but what could he do?

He felt terrible at the idea of leaving her there, she would have died, perhaps. Picking her up? In 20 years of existence he never had been so aware of his size - if he dared to grab her, even with the nicest intentions, he would have scared the hell out of her, or he could have accidentally hurt her. He bit his lip in frustration, his eyes nervously looking everywhere except at the tiny figure lying unconscious on the ground, seconds feeling like minutes as he pondered the possible options.

Again, the two thoughts seemed to have that awful sparring in his mind. He was always like this when under pressure, and he absolutely hated it.

No, seriously, he would have slapped himself in the face.

He shook his head. Between leaving her to die and frighten her, maybe the second option was worth a shot. Maybe.

He breathed in, as if mentally preparing himself. He reached out, his hand trembling slightly as he extended his fingers towards her. Awkwardly yet as carefully as he could, he scooped the human’s body in his hand, curling his fingers around her for more stability. She felt so incredibly light, so small it actually scared him. As he made contact with her, he felt her small body shivering under his touch. He stood still in his kneeling position for a couple of seconds, staring at her incredulously as his gaze studied the human girl once again.

‘Oh Gods, I am holding a real live human in the palm of my hand.’

Andrew felt a rush of sudden panic surge through his veins as the thought concretised in his mind.

He was holding a human - a being that he wasn’t even sure existed before that damn night - and she was injured, and, for gods’ sake, he had absolutely no idea on how to take care of her or, worse, to deal with her when she’d have awakened. He cringed, feeling again painfully aware of their size difference, which sure as hell unsettled him, but it must have been ten times worse for her.

Taking another long breath in, he tried to calm down. Think rationally.

One step at a time. For now, he was glad that at least she wasn’t conscious, screaming at him in terror - even if he felt like the one who had the urge to scream. The whole situation was overwhelming, and it was merely the start.

He realised that it effectively would have been a great day not to fall asleep at work and get home at a decent time, but there he was. Life always manages to play nice tricks on us, after all.

Andrew slowly got up from his knees, the hand in which he held the tiny girl slightly shaking, the free one grabbing his lantern from the ground. One step at a time, he reminded himself.

All he needed to do now was to make sure she was safe. As if it was easy.

————-

[izzypaawz]

i was made for lovin’ you baby — bella swan x fem!reader [part one]

pairing: vampire!bella swan x afab!fem!reader

word count: 1.3k

full fic category: smut, fluff & angst

full fic tags: vampire!bella, human!reader, vampires can imprint, bella imprints on reader, jacob didn’t imprint on renesmee, awkward bella, bella saves readers butt, attempted violence warning, implied attempted sa [doesn’t happen, and nothing graphic is mentioned], unfaithful bella [to edward], supportive alice, bella watches reader sleep, so does edward, consensual rough seggs, cunnilingus, fingering, vibrator, gentle sex, top!bella swan, bottom!reader, no use of y/n

summary: you meet a beautiful woman in the library one day, and she takes an immediate liking to you. you can’t help but notice that she acts a little… strange.

note: i just wanna say i haven’t read the twilight books but i have been a fan of the movies since before breaking dawn pt1 came out! so if i say anything wildly inaccurate to the books pls don’t hate me. the vampire imprinting thing i know is inaccurate its just an au. also first chapter is from bella’s pov!

♡₊˚ 🦢・₊✧

Amongst the utter chaos that surrounds raising a half-vampire daughter, Bella can often find it hard to keep up. Her not-so-little girl is already almost as tall as her, and she hasn’t been on the earth for more than a few years. She isn’t always the best mother, at least from her own point of view — Edward reassures her otherwise on a daily basis, but it’s his job to say nice things to his wife, isn’t it?

Still, there’s one thing she knows she does right. And that is making time to go to the small public library in Forks every week, with a little scrap of paper clutched between her fingers. Scrawled across the papers in a neat script are Renesmee’s book requests for the week, and Bella is happily bound to her duty of picking the books up for her daughter.

Bella’s own mother would have tossed four year old Bella the car keys and sent her to the library herself.

Well, maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration. But not much.

First, she heads to the horseshoe shaped desk where the librarian sits. The French tips on her nails tap away at the keyboard, a sound that would be almost silent to everyone else. But to Bella, she might as well be hammering away on a typewriter. “Just a moment, dear,” The librarian mutters when she notices Bella approaching, not so much as glancing up from her computer screen.

Bella gives a noncommittal hum in response and adjusts the strap of the tote bag on her shoulder as she glances around the library. It’s just as empty as it usually is when she pops in on a Thursday afternoon, but there’s something… Different. A scent in the air that she can’t quite place. In her time as a vampire she’s grown used to smelling humans all the time, to dealing with the faint copper scent lingering in her nostrils whenever they’re near. But this smell is much more… sweet.

“What can I help you with?” Bella forces her attention back to the librarian when she hears her voice.

“Um, I just have some books to return,” Bella mumbles. She struggles to concentrate on something other than that smell as she opens up her tote bag and pulls out the stack of Renesmee’s finished books. The girl is a quick reader, easily getting through five a week.

“Did Renesmee enjoy her selection this week?” The librarian questions as she reaches across the desk and takes the books from Bella. She checks them for damage, flicking through the pages to search for wear and tear, before setting the books to the side. The librarian knows fine well that Renesmee would never damage a book, the girl cherishes them far too much. But she still has to at least pretend to check.

“Yeah,” Bella gives a distracted nod as her golden eyes flicker around the room again. “Definitely.”

When the librarian finishes processing the book return, Bella finally abandons the desk to take a walk around the library. She pretends she’s searching the shelves, glancing between Renesmee’s paper in her hand and the books neatly arranged around her. But she can’t concentrate. She has to find the source of that smell before it drives her insane. She can feel her fingers twitching at her side, like they want to reach out and grab the scent in the air.

As an elderly lady with short white curls and pale, freckled skin passes her, Bella attempts to be subtle about leaning just a tiny bit closer and taking a sniff. Nope. She just smells like the posh perfume lingering on her soft blue coat, and hard candies.

Bella leaves the woman behind in the romance section and follows the aroma, as though there is a physical trail leading her towards the source. There is only one other person in the cramped library, a woman stretching up on her tiptoes to reach a book on one of the higher shelves. Being so close to her, the scent is now almost suffocating. Bella licks her lips and makes a beeline for her.

She swallows down the nervous lump in her throat as she approaches the woman. Part of her wants to offer to get the book for her, but it’s not like she could reach it, even if she took a running jump. Could she just climb the shelf? She’s pretty good at climbing these days… No, that would be weird as hell. So, she glances around for a moment before finding a stool and humming in victory. In a few long strides, she picks up the stool and carries it over to the struggling woman, feeling quite like a knight in shining armour in that moment.

“Here,” Bella clears her throat to get her attention. Her breath catches when the woman turns around to face her. She’s stunning. Bella thought the Cullens — and some of their friends — were the most beautiful people to walk the earth, but this girl… God, she could put the most gorgeous vampire in the world to shame. It makes her feel incredibly nervous all of a sudden, almost speechless. She only manages to force some words out when she realises she’s just standing there staring like a creep. “I, uh…” Bella whispers uselessly and holds the stool out. “You were, um… You couldn’t reach, so…”

“Oh. Thanks,” The stranger’s lips turn up into a sweet smile as she takes the stool from Bella. Bella thinks she might faint. The girl’s warm fingers brush against her own icy ones for just a moment when she hands the stool over, but it’s enough. Enough for a deep, twisting pain to settle in Bella’s heart — so brutal it ignites the memory of how her chest felt right after her nightmares when Edward left her. Bella gasps as her head spins and her gut clenches unpleasantly. A concerned furrow dips the stranger’s brows as she watches Bella. In that soft voice, she asks, “Are you alright?”

“Yeah,” Bella parts her lips, lets out a shaky exhale and takes a step back. That one step away from the girl makes her feel like she needs to throw up. Her mind screams at her to close the distance again, to stay close to her. What the hell is going on? Her heart feels as though it might tear in half if she places another foot in the wrong direction. “Yeah.. Uh, you’re welcome…” Bella mumbles before turning away, ignoring the ache in her stomach as she leaves the stranger behind and rushes out of the library.

She heads straight to her car without Renesmee’s books and slams the door behind her as she flops into the driver’s seat. Burying her face in her hands, she takes a shaky breath — for the first time since becoming a vampire, not including when she fakes it around Charlie. Her whole body feels as though it is on fire, like she might explode at any moment.

Despite not being in the same building as the girl anymore, her sweet, sweet scent still lingers in Bella’s nose as though she’s right there. It makes a puddle of drool form in her mouth as her mind strays to a dangerous place. If she smells so good, she must taste absolutely divine—

“Fuck,” Bella hisses and smacks the steering wheel with the heel of her palm. “God damn it. Don’t think like that!” She continues to scold herself and let out muttered strings of curses as she starts the car up, the soft purr of the engine doing nothing to drown out her thoughts while she pulls out of the car park and speeds down the street. Desperately trying to put as much space between herself and that girl as possible before she marches back into that library and does something she regrets.

She’ll have to take Renesmee out for ice cream to make up for not getting her books…

[randomlyblues]

Yandere!Zane x Librarian!Reader

TW: Kidnapping not beta read

You didn't understand how you ended up in this situation. The High Priest of O'kasis was here at your doorstep demanding information that you don't have.

"I don't take lightly to people who waste my time, so I will ask you again. Where is the information about the Divine Warriors! This can't possibly be all the information that you have!"

"Again Sir, I don't have what you seek! They have burned all the knowledge about them years ago."

You felt a pinch of fear when his eyes widened a little at the tone of your voice that was directed to him. You didn't mean to raise your voice at someone with a high status as you but he was getting on your last nerves not getting the hint that this is all that you can offer him. You have heard stories about how he uses his status of being this 'religious symbol' to cover up his cruel actions and even take part in executing people, if they deserve it or not.

Zane was quite impressed with you. He's lucky that his mask is hiding the grin that was starting to form on his face.

He originally wanted to come to the village library hoping to bump into you. The first time he took notice of you was when he had to wed a pathetic couple. They wanted him to take a days trip just to get them married at a village with the name 'Phoenix Drop', making him stop with is work. That is when he saw you in the crowd speaking with an excuse of a Lord that they call Aphmau. The conversation was lighthearted but nothing worthy for him to pay any mind until you started to mention Lady Irene and how his name was in the mix of the conversation. The way you said his name made him feel a sort of way. Zane found himself wanting to hear it again. He kept a note to himself that you may be valuable to him, drowning the weird feeling he got from his name being spoken.

Later in the evening he caught notice of your snappy attitude and how you tend to be more to yourself yet also spare a kind smile to people. Zane doesn't understand why you have caught his attention, he found himself tracking everything you did. To him you were just a normal pathetic thing with knowledge he can use, yet here he was admiring the power he can see that you hold. He just wants to break it. No not break it. Absorb it. Make it his. Make you his. He wants not only the power of your knowledge but you. So here he was, after the celebration had ended, in your little library admiring the audacity you had to talk to a high being in such a way.

" Of course, my apologies for speaking to a lady in such a rude manner," he bowed to you. You raised your eyebrow at his apologies, you didn't take him as a man that would do that.

"It's nothing," you brushed it off not noticing the way he looked at you as you begin to look for a girdle it can be easier for the man to carry them.

" I am guessing that you will be purchasing instead of returning since you have such a ways trip?"

"Can't spare to give them for free?"

"Will you have my head if I don't?" You said ,not meaning for it to sound appalled by his playful tone. Zane started to laugh at your statement causing you to tense up. Oh this beating heart of his is making you less and less annoying than other people. Oh is he going to have fun with you.

"Why would I do such a thing? That is a sin in the eyes of our dear Matron." You took notice at how his smile reached his eyes when the whole night that never seemed to be the case when other people approached him. Maybe the stories about him aren't true.

"Yeah you're right that was stupid of me to even say"

"Don't worry about it, it was a nice joke. What is your name?" It was a useless question to even ask since he already got his guards to find out for him a few minutes prior in order to find this place. You tell him your name.

" That is such a lovely name."

" Why thank you High Priest," you bow. Oh did he enjoy that. A weak thing like you bowing to him and looking at him like that. What he would do is just for you to look at him with those eyes for all eternity. Yet the way you say his status instead of his actual name caused him to make an unsatisfied face.

"Would you like to accompany me to my ship to help me?"

You took a moment to think about it. It wasn't an unusual request from people so you didn't know why you were so hesitant. It was probably just the tales about him that have stopped you or maybe the fact he has guards that could do that for him. Realizing you have taken a while to reply you tell him yes and follow.

After helping him with the books you tell him about his payment.

"Oh yes of course."

Before you knew it, you were knocked out quickly. Zane looked down at your unconscious state. Oh how pathetic and vulnerable you were, don't worry he would take care of you.

Part 2

[thornsnvultures]

anywhere || eddie munson x plus size!reader

cw: angst, talking about drug usage, eddie's in the hospital post-vecna, your mom kinda fuckin sucks, best friend!eddie who likes you more than you realize

a/n: that one line in the muppet babies theme song fucks me up every time. literally every time I hear it I tear up. so thanks for that jim henson.

-----

"When your world looks kinda weird and you wish you weren't there," Eddie's terrible Kermit impression makes you laugh so hard you almost spill the bowl of cereal you're pouring. You hit him back with your equally terrible baby Miss Piggy voice.

"Just close your eyes and make believe that you could be anywhere!"

Eddie snorts at the way your voice cracks trying to hit notes your voice was not made to hit.

"Shut up, that was flawless and you know it," you hand Eddie his bowl with a grin and plop down on the couch next to him. Were you watching cartoons made for children? Yes, but who didn't love Kermit the Frog and his adorable little muppet friends?

You missed this, being here with Eddie. A lot had changed since you started going to college last year while Eddie stayed behind to be a senior for a third time, but not this. Your friendship never changed. It was something you treasured coming home to, when you could. School was starting to pile up and these visits were becoming few and far between, but Eddie would always be your Eddie. You were sure of it.

"So you're leading up Hellfire now, huh?," you asked Eddie as you finished your cereal. He took your bowl and put it on the coffee table with his, not meeting your eyes. Maybe you shouldn't have brought it up. The two of you didn't talk about it much, him still being in school. Like you didn't want to break the spell that everything was normal. The two of you hanging out like normal, like you did since you were kids. It was comfortable, you didn't want to ruin that.

"Yeah the, uh...yeah. It's up to me now I guess. The guys know they can't compete with my campaigns."

He's smiling, all cocky because it's true, they're always amazing. But his smile doesn't quite reach his eyes.

Weren't your just saying nothing had changed? Maybe you a lot had changed and you just weren't paying attention.

"I miss adventuring with you," you sigh, snuggling into Eddie's side until he puts his arm over your shoulder. "And the guys."

"Yeah, they miss you too," Eddie's voice sounds strained. You try to move thinking you're laying on him in a weird way, but he just pulls you closer, tighter.

You spend the rest of the morning watching cartoons. Eventually you forget the weird tension, putting it aside to enjoy your day with your best friend before you have to leave again.

-----

It's a year before you see Eddie again.

School was tough, taking up so much of your free time you barely saw anyone besides the librarian and the two people you shared a dorm room with. You had tried to join a DnD club at school but your schedule didn't line up well with the rest of the group. And it wasn't the same. You missed Eddie's energy, his frantic dramatics. The guys were cool but sticklers for rules and, to put it nicely, boring.

You couldn't take being away from home any longer, you missed your friend.

So when your mom called one Friday afternoon and told you, in her own bizarre and nonchalant way, that Eddie had been in some trouble recently and, "I'm sure you saw the news about the earthquakes," you came straight home.

"You know, I always thought he was a nice boy. Did you know he was selling... grass," your mom whispered the last word like police officers would be knocking down her door if she spoke too loud.

"I didn't." You did. You also partook, but your mother didn't need to know that.

"Anyway, everyone got all upset when that little cheerleader died, but when they found him, like that, I guess they thought he was a victim too. Can't maul yourself like that, that's for sure."

"Oh my god, mom," you stand up, your chair harshly scraping against the linoleum. You can't sit here and listen to this any more.

"Where are you going? I have a pie in the oven."

Your mom follows you to the door, huffing like you're the one being ridiculous. She never liked Eddie much but the ease with which she talks about your childhood best friend being... mauled...

"I'll be back later."

You don't wait for her to respond, slamming the door as you go. You hop in the hand-me-down car your dad gave you before you left for school, peeling down the drive and heading straight for the hospital like you should've done when you got back. Tears cloud the edges of your vision until they spill over, you don't bother wiping them away.

-----

"Hey, you're Eddie's girl."

"Excuse me?"

A short, curly haired boy in a baseball cap appears next to you when you ask the receptionist where Eddie's room is located.

"It's okay, Brenda. She's with me." You snort out a laugh when the boy tips his hat to the woman behind the desk. Her smile and the wave of her hand tells you she is in fact used to this.

"I'm Dustin," the kid explains as you follow him through the maze of hallways and elevators. "Eddie's told me a lot about you. Recognized you from the picture he thinks I don't know about in his glove box. Not my fault he just shoves stuff in there. If he didn't want everything to spill out he should organize. Not that I'm great at organizing either-"

"I'm sorry," you stop Dustin's rambling, your head spinning from all that information, narrowing in on the one that stuck. "He keeps my picture in his van?"

"Yeah a few in his room too. He's just down here. You just missed the guys, Jeff had to go to work and he was their ride so they left. Wayne will be in later. He usually stops by after work."

Dustin kept talking and you tried to keep up but the closer you got to Eddie's room the more your ears rang and your chest felt tight. You knew it was bad, he'd been in for a few days and was still heavily sedated after a number of surgeries. Wayne told you the day before you came back on the phone that he might not be awake when you got here. The old man might've been trying to spare you the trip, but you were coming to see him no matter what. You should've come back a long time ago.

Standing outside his room now, the year you were away felt like an eternity now. How had your Eddie changed? Was he your Eddie anymore? Was he ever yours?

"Hey, you comin' in? He's still sleeping."

Steeling yourself with one deep breath, you enter Eddie's room. With one look at Eddie and you're asking Dustin for a minute alone, pulling up a chair by his side.

"Sorry I'm late, Eddie. Traffic coming out of the city is crazy." You laugh at your stupid joke because you'll cry if you do anything else. You don't think about the air tube in his nose or the beeping heart monitor, the bandages on his arms or how hollow, how fragile he looks.

"My mom said you've been selling 'grass'," you chuckle as you twist one of his curls around your finger. "Should I tell her how many times I snuck out to smoke with you? She's already mad at me for taking time off from school to be here."

Eddie lays there as you talk, sleeping softly as you compliment the cards and flowers on the window sill. You tell him how the past two semesters of school have been, how miserable you've been without him, how guilty you've felt for "missing" his calls, not reading his letters because you've been too exhausted to do anything that wasn't surviving and work.

You're holding his weirdly ring-less fingers, contemplating leaving instead of holding out hope that he'll wake up while you're here, when you hear a familiar theme song on the television.

"When your world looks kind of weird,"

Your gaze falls from the TV to your friend in his hospital bed.

"And you wish you weren't there,"

Your eyes close wishing you were back in Eddie's house, stoned out of your mind doing muppet impressions.

A tear falls down your cheek as you close your eyes and sing along with Miss Piggy, not caring how ridiculous you sound.

"Just close your eyes and make believe and you can be anywhere."

You choke on a sob, suddenly angry at this stupid kids show for making you lose it when you were holding yourself together so well.

"Still sounds awful."

You open your eyes, wiping your tears away with your hand not in Eddie's at the groggy sound of his voice. He's holding the other one tight, almost too tight, like you'll run if he lets go.

"That was a perfect impression," the words stutter on a heaving breath but you're smiling through it.

"I'm on so many drugs."

"I'll go get the nurse," you laugh, trying to pull yourself together.

"No," Eddie just barely tugs on your hand, not yet strong enough to pull you close. "Don't leave."

"I'm not, I won't. I'm here, Eddie. I'm sorry."

Eddie's eyes flutter shut, too tired yet for a full conversation, but he won't let your hand go. You find the call button next to the bed to call the nurse and wait.

"I'm not going anywhere."

---

--

-

🖤

[yourlocaltrashpandaa]

Nostalgia Moments

various chrs. x pregnant!wife!reader

xiao, kaeya, diluc, & gorou

contains: fluff, established relationships, pregnancy, a slight bit of angst

Context: a wife and a growing family, how did they get to this point?

A/n: late night ideas. Don’t mind the misspells lol. Let me know if you guys want a part 2 w/ different genshin men

Additional Details:

H/c = hair color

E/c = eye color

D/c = daughter’s name

S/n = son’s name

<=========>

Xiao

A cool breeze made its way through Liyue as Xiao was perched on the railing on upper balcony of the Wangshu Inn. Looking out into the vast landscapes of Liyue was nothing new to Xiao as he’s been around protecting Liyue for centuries now. He let the wind blow through his hair. The adeptus looked down at his left hand as he twisted his wedding band back and forth on his finger.

He smiled to himself though he never thought that he would be married. Or get so close to someone whatsoever but that all changed when he met the Traveler, Aether and his two companions, Paimon and you. Xiao thought you were just a simple mortal though he’s seen your power.

You’ve traveled countless worlds before you came here and your appearance hasn’t changed much over the years you’ve been married, well maybe now that’s not necessarily true.

“Xiao?” The sound of your voice caught his attention as he turned to see you, in flowy dress, your hair blew in your face because of the wind then you brushed it back so you can see your loving husband.

“Y/n,” Xiao hopped off the balcony railing as he made his way over to you. “Why are you out of bed? You should be resting.” He said as he touched your pregnant belly.

You frowned, scoffing a bit. “Xiao, I’m pregnant not sick.” You said.

“You might as will be,” Xiao crossed his arms over his chest. “You shouldn’t put too much stress on yourself.” He said.

You rolled your eyes at your husband. “You know you have gotten more protective since I’ve became pregnant.” You said.

“More… Protective? How absurd.” Xiao scoffed.

“Really? You don’t believe me. Well, my dear husband I have you know that you’ve protective of me since we first met moreso when we got together. I’m not fragile, you know. I’m immortal remember.” You said.

“I know. I just… I care for you so much as well as our unborn child. That I, I don’t want anything to take you away.” Xiao placed a hand on your cheek, you did so to him in return.

“Oh, Xiao,” You smiled. “That reminded of one of the letters you sent to me before I came back to live in Liyue. You are quite the sap, my love.” You said, chuckling at your comment and kissed his cheek.

Xiao groaned. “Shut your mouth.” He said.

“Well, I’m hungry. I’m eating for two, you know. And I’m craving some almond tofu. How about you?” You asked Xiao with smile.

“Of course, darling.” Xiao replied with.

How’d did he get so lucky with you.

<===>

Kaeya

“Papa!” A voice of a young girl echoed through the halls of the Knights of Favonius Headquarters. Her hair was H/c with a stripe of blue that stood out in her bangs. Her blue eyes went well with her light tan skin as she smiled ear to ear.

“D/n! Wait for Mommy, please!” You exclaimed a bit out of breath since you are six months pregnant with your second child and because you have to keep up with a 4 year old.

“But, Mama,” D/n whined. “I want to find Papa!” She exclaimed.

You sighed a bit. “Yes, I know.” You said.

“Oh my~! What do we have here?” That voice sounded familiar.

“Auntie Lisa!” D/n exclaimed running up to the Librarian.

You smiled seeing the older woman. “Lisa,” You walked over as you watched your child giving her a hug. “It’s been awhile. It’s nice to see you.”

“It’s nice to see you too, hon. Looking for Kaeya I assume?” Lisa asked.

“Yes! As you can imagine, D/n has been running me ragged to see him.” You sighed out.

“Oh, you poor thing. Then, I should fetch your husband for you.” Lisa said.

“Thank you, Lisa.” You said with a smile.

“Are we going to see Papa now?” Your daughter asked.

“Yes. But, you have to be patient, D/n.” You said.

D/n smiled, grabbing your hand. “Okay, Mommy.” She said.

Minutes later, you saw your husband walking towards you with Lisa behind him and your daughter’s eyes sparkled as they widened when she saw him. Letting go of your hand, she over to Kaeya.

“Papa!” She exclaimed.

“Hey, my little flower,” Kaeya exclaimed picking her up into his arms and continued his way to you. “Hello, milady. How are you?” He asked kissing your cheek.

“I’m fine, exhausted but fine.” You said.

“Is it because of this troublemaker!” Kaeya said kissing his daughter’s cheek.

“Yes… She gets that from you, ya know.” You grumbled.

Kaeya frowned a bit. “Oh come now, you don’t actually think that.” He said.

“I do. And I hope our next child is nothing like you.” You teased.

“Oh. you wound me, Y/n!” Kaeya said, smirking as your daughter laughed at your husband’s antics.

A sigh was heard from Lisa. You didn’t know she was still hanging about. “You two still haven’t changed after all these years. Well, I have to get back to work, it was nice seeing you, Y/n.” Lisa said walking off and going back into the library.

“Bye, Auntie Lisa!” Your daughter said waving.

“She’s right, you know.” Kaeya said.

“Huh?” You raised an eyebrow at him.

“Since we first met, we started acting like married couple but now,” Kaeya looked at his wedding band with a smile. “We made it official.”

You flushed. “Stop talking, Kaeya. There’s children in the room.” You said.

“I love you too, milady.”

<===>

Diluc

“Father?”

Diluc looked up from his paperwork as his son, S/n opened the door to his study and walked up to his desk. The boy was no older than 7 and he looked identical to his father but he has his mother’s E/c eyes.

“Yes,” He answered. “What is it?” Diluc asked.

“When can I learn swordsmanship?” He asked.

S/n was very straightforward and blunt for a 7 year old and way too smart for his own good.

Diluc sighed. “You’re only seven. Maybe when you’re a little older.” He said.

“But that’s not what mother said.” S/n said.

That caught his attention. “What did your mother say?” He asked.

“That you could teach me now!” S/n said, looking very proud of himself with his hands on his hips and a smirk on his face.

“Really now,” Diluc said lowly. “Is that so?

S/n flinched a bit at his father’s tone. “Ah, y-yes…” He said.

“That’s hard to believe,” Diluc said getting up from his chair. He walked away from his desk and towards the door. “Let’s go find your mother then.” He said.

S/n sighed. “Okay…” He said as he followed Diluc out of his study and to the living room.

There you sat on the couch, reading a book. You looked a bit tired yet being pregnant has taken it’s toll on you yet you weren’t prepared for what was about come next.

“Hello, darling.” Diluc’s voice took you away from your book. You looked to him and smiled that you saw S/n standing next your husband looking off to the side. You were a bit confused.

“Hello, hon. Do you need something?” You asked.

“Well, your son here told me that you said that I could train him in swordsmanship. I just wanted to confirm if it’s true or not.” Diluc said crossing his arms over his chest.

You frowned as you looked over to your son who had the audacity to hide behind his father. Oh, your father is not going to save you from your mother’s wrath, kid.

“You little fibber! I told you that you’ll have to be a little older before you can learn the sword,” You sighed. “And you go lie to your father… geez what am I going to do with you.” You said massaging your temple.

“I’m sorry, Mom…” S/n mumbled.

“I know you want to learn the sword but, you’ll have to be patient, okay. Can you do that for me?” You asked.

S/n nodded. “Yes, mom. I can do that.”

“Thank you. Why don’t you play?” You said.

“Okay.” S/n said as he walked out the living room and went up the stairs.

You looked Diluc and sighed, slouching your shoulders. “He is so much like me, it’s exhausting.” You said.

Diluc chuckled. “True. Though I find it much more charming when it comes from you.” He said.

You smiled, rolling your eyes. “I was such a troublemaker and a terrible lair when we first met, Diluc.” You said.

“That I was aware of. We didn’t get along at first but,” He paused looking to his wedding ring then back to look at you. He smiled. “I wouldn’t change anything even if our first meeting wasn’t the best. Love having you as my wife, darling.” Diluc said, taking you hand and giving it a kiss.

You blushed. “I can never get used to you talking like that, Diluc,” You said yet you smiled at him. “Let’s hope our next child is more like you.”

He chuckled at your comment. “Certainly.”

<===>

Gorou

Gorou’s life has gotten a slight bit more chaotic. The former doggie general has fought meaning unpredictable battle but the ones that are unpredictable are the ones started by his four children. It was mostly two against two, the two oldest verses the two youngest. It was always a never ending battle that Gorou could never stop, well until he brought out his secret weapon.

“Your mother will handle this when she gets back.” Gorou said.

His four children froze, ears dropping and eyes widened.

“No, Papa! Not Mom!” One exclaimed.

“Yeah. She’ll punish all of us.” Another said.

“That’s not fair!” The third one whined.

Gorou sighed. “It’s not my fault that the four of you rage war in the house over the smallest things like a toy or even food.” He said.

Pouting ensued between the four hybrid children until their ears perked as the front door opened. Their mother was home.

“Gorou, children! I’m home.” You called.

“You four wait here.” Gorou said as walked towards the front door to greet you.

“Hi, dear,” Gorou said smiling at you. “How was the doctor?” He asked.

“Hi. It was fine. Nothing out of the ordinary though I do have some news for you and the children. Where are they anyway?” You asked.

Gorou’s ears twitched and crossed his arms. “Their in the living room. They’ve been fighting over a toy all afternoon.” He said.

“Again?” You asked raising an eyebrow. “This is the fifth time this week. Those pups will never learn.” You said.

“I’m sorry,” Gorou’s ears fell back. “I try and keep the peace between them without pulling the ‘I’m getting your mother’ card.” He said.

You chuckled, cupping his face in your hands. “Aww, baby. It’s okay. I have the same trouble when you’re not here either. We’re better as a team anyway.” You said.

Gorou’s tail swished behind him as he smiled placing his hands on yours that cupped his face. “Yes, we are. That’s true but, I’m the man of the house, I should be able to care for the children when you’re gone.” Gorou said.

“Like I told you before even before we had our first kid. We’re a team, Gorou.” You said.

Gorou sighed at his stubbornness. “Right! We’re a team…” He said.

“I love you, Gorou.” You said.

His tail wagged. “I love you too.” He said as he pulled you into a sweet kiss.

“Hi, Mommy!” You and Gorou pulled away seeing your youngest daughter, D/n.

“Hello, my dear. Where are your brothers?” You asked her.

“In the living room. Why?” She asked tilting her head to the side.

“I have something to tell you all including your father. Wait for us there, okay?” You said.

“Okay!” D/n chirped happily as she skipped back to the living room.

“Come on, let’s keep them waiting.” You said to your husband, grabbing his hand.

Looking down at your hands intertwined, he saw both yours and his wedding rings. He smiled and looked back up to you. Oh yeah, he’s definitely one luck dog.

*

*

*

“Wait! We’re having another one!”

“Yep!”

Okay. Maybe he’s bit too lucky…

[crystalandparrot]

Rottmnt x Reader

School Tour

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

All actors are names made by me, any relation or comparison to these characters is purely coincidental.

Warning: Drug use, marijuana but its not underage drug use and it's legal.

Intergalactic by the Beastie Boys bounced between your ears once you stepped up to Empire High School. Most students were leaving for the day, talking amongst themselves and making plans for the weekend.

"Ms. (L/n)!" A man with a blonde effeminate wig that most students would call a "Karen" haircut waved furiously at you from the top of the steps. He bounced down the steps, his hair poofy and bouncing.

You quickly put your headphones away and tucked the phone in your pocket. "Mr.—"

"Dale is fine! I don't like formalities, I had enough of those in high school." Dale, the Principal of Empire High, chuckled goofily. "How about I give you the tour?" Dale asked, gesturing to the large school doors.

You nodded with a grin, following Dale inside. In between showing you the classes, he asked questions regarding your resume. Some questions were about family, achievements, and activities, but then he surprised you by asking about your schooling. "Oh! I was attending a Mystic College in the Hidden City. Don't worry, it has the same schooling as New York--"

"Oh! I wasn't worried about that! We have a couple of Yokai students and faculty that go in between schools." Dale opened the door to the gymnasium, holding it open for you to walk in.

THUD--SNAP

You looked forward, your eyes immediately expanding once you saw a punching bag quickly flying your way. For a split second, your eyes darted to the top of it, and upon seeing a broken chain your heart continued to drop. You couldn't resist the shriek that left your lips and the closing of your eyes.

THUD

Not feeling anything, you stopped screaming and opened one eye. Your eyes were looking at a large three-fingered, green, hand. Below that hand sat a silver watch with a teddy bear hour hand. In the large hand sat the punching bag, almost like he froze it in time. His fingers wrapped around the sides of the bag, almost fitting perfectly in his palm.

"Tyler! What did we say about using mystic abilities?" A deep voice boomed throughout the building.

"Sorry, Mr. Raph!" A pre-pubescent voice called back.

"C'mere and hang this back up." The deep voice commanded, tossing the punching bag forward. A teenage bull Yokai caught it like he was thrown a pillow. He quickly hung it back up on the one hook that was missing a bag.

"Are you okay, ma'am?" That deep voice shook you from your frozen spot. You looked up, into the deep brown eyes of the huge turtle Yokai in front of you. He wore a sleeveless red hoodie that had holes torn into it where the turtle's spikes poked through. On his legs were black shorts with two red stripes on each leg, matching the color of the red sweatband on his forehead.

"Y-yes.." realizing you were whispering, you cleared your throat, "Yes. Sorry, I'm fine."

"I know, my appearance is probably a little scary--"

You couldn't stop your mouth before it ran, he just looked so dejected, "No! I was just surprised at the sudden bag of sand flying towards me at light speed, I swear! Your appearance is quite nice to look at--"

"Ooh!" A crescendo of students began.

The large Yokai turned with a glare, "Do you want laps? 'Cause it sounded to me like you guys were asking to run laps right now." He insinuated. The students gasped and then they all went back to their original training. The teacher chuckled, then turned back to you. It was then that you noticed the adorable snaggle tooth that he had. "Sorry about them. High schoolers, y'know?" He chuckled again.

You chuckled this time and nodded, "I'm (Y/n) (L/n). The new librarian slash computer lab teacher." You held out your hand for a handshake.

"Raphael, but you can call me Raph. The guidance counselor slash wrestling coach slash gym teacher," Raph's hand completely covered your hand as he shook it.

"Thank you. For saving me, I mean. If it weren't for you, I probably would have been flattened." You said once Raph released your hand.

"It was no problem, really!" Raph said, rubbing the back of his neck bashfully.

Behind you, Dale cleared his throat, "I hate to interrupt, but it's nearly five and we still have your classroom to see."

"Oh! I didn't realize it was getting so late." You said, pulling out the purple phone to look at the time. As you did, you saw about twenty missed calls and double that in texts from your number. Surprisingly, they were all instructions from Donnie/Othello, telling you how to treat his phone, one password for unlocking his phone and no others, apps you were allowed to use and detailed explanations on how to use them, and finally, instructions to meet and exchange phones.

"Did you wanna...exchange numbers? We're both gonna be afterschool teachers so it might be useful for the future." The adorably large Yokai asked as his face flushed the color of his sweater.

"I'd love to!" You almost handed him the phone, but then paused. "Wait. I'm sorry, it's a long story, but I accidentally switched my phone with someone else's, so I can't put your number in here." Before the turtle could change moods, you grabbed his phone, "So I'll just give you my number." Raph's face flushed brighter as he felt his tail wag in his shorts. He's never met anyone like you before. Without Raph even knowing it, you had given his phone back and left with Principal Dale.

"Yo! You whipped already, coach?!"

"Tyler! Ten laps!"

A harsh wind smacked you in the face as you stood in the scarcely populated park. It was currently 8:59 p.m. as Othello's phone read. You tucked the phone into your puffy sweater pocket and hugged your body. Donnie's meticulous texts said he'd be at Rucko Park at 9 P.M., so you naturally arrived five--okay ten minutes early. You didn't expect it to be so cold, though. Maybe you should have worn more layers or arrived closer to the allotted time, but...you kind of wanted to make a good first impression.

"Madam." A familiar voice shook you from your thoughts. You seemed to do that a lot lately.

Looking up, you spotted the purple-clad turtle Yokai from earlier. Quickly standing, you couldn't resist the temptation of copying his mannerisms slightly, "Good evening, sir. I understand we've fallen into quite the predicament with our cellular communication devices?" You raised an eyebrow.

'...Is she fucking with me?' Donnie heard that little voice in his brain, but his excitement overruled it. "You understand correctly, good lady! Might we resolve this disastrous plight before any other events can overturn this already cruel night?" Donnie finished with a bow.

"Wow."

Donnie felt sweat run down his brow. Maybe he should have listened, that little voice was usually right anyway--

"That. Was incredible."

Donnie looked up, a hopeful gleam in his eye.

"I would continue, but that was better than anything I could have come up with. Did you just make that up?" You asked, stars in your eyes.

Donnie felt himself nod, no words leaving his lips.

"That's awesome." You breathed. "Oh! Your phone, good sir." You held out his phone with a similar bow, adding a bit more flourish as you held out his phone. "I obeyed your instructions to the tee. Well, I only really opened Spotify, but I followed the instructions!" You explained once Donnie took his phone from your hand. You stood fully straight, "You're Othello Von Ryan?"

"Ah! The lady has exquisite taste? Yes, I am Othello, or Donatello, as most know me. You're (username)?" He asked, referring to your Spotify account.

"(Y/n), as most know me." You repeated with a grin.

Donnie chuckled, handing back your phone, "You've been following me for a couple of years, I see," he must have looked through your app.

"Yes! You've helped me so much—you were basically my life line in college—" your face flushed as you realized your words, "YOUR MUSIC! Not you, well, technically you, but—"

"How?" Donnie quieted your thoughts with a single word.

"Your studying playlists kept me sane. If I had to scroll through another classical music studying playlist I would have shrieked." You dragged your hands through your hair, invoking a chuckle from the tall Yokai. "It was such an interesting mesh of music that I was able to get Valedictorian from all my studying! So, thank you." You smiled.

"Valedictorian?! My playlist made you study enough to be the top of your class! Take that Leo!" Donnie laughed chaotically. You accidentally let out a chuckled, startling the turtle into looking back at you.

"I hope you don't think this is overstepping but, I was wondering if you'd listen to a song? I thought you'd like it because of all of your playlists, and if you like it I have a ton more." You asked, scrolling through your Spotify accounts now.

'She's been polite, kind, and stayed out of your phone for the majority of the time you'd encountered each other. The least you could do is listen to a song you won't like.' Donnie reasoned with himself. "Of course! Text it to me, I'll make sure to save your number, oh loyal fan." Donnie joked.

"Really? Sweet! I'll save your number too, oh gracious music supplier." You joked back.

'Her chemistry is electric,' Donnie thought. He felt a buzz and watched as his phone lit up with a text.

"Thanks for meeting with me to switch phones, I wish I could stay longer, but—"

"No, need to explain. You have a date or you have friends arriving—"

You chuckled, startling Donnie from his self conscious rambling, "Oh, yeah. A super hot date with Jupiter Jim while I unpack my new apartment." You connected your headphones back to your phone. "It was really nice meeting you. Maybe we can hang out in the future, if you're up to hanging out with a school librarian?"

Donnie's gaping mouth finally closed as he looked into your hopeful eyes, 'Why were they hopeful?' He gave a small smile, "I think that sounds like a wonderful idea."

"Great!" Copying his bow from when you first met, you said, "Adieu, Sir." With that, you both left with your old phones and a new acquaintance.

CLAP "Alright! We start shooting in two weeks, people! And we're already on shit detail."

Leo leaned one cheek on his fist as the other scrolled through his texts. Old flings, fans who found his number, other actors, but nothing that he found important.

"What are we gonna do about Tiffany?"

Leo looked up, seeing all his directors and most of his co-stars looking at him, "Huh?"

"Tiffany! Your co-star? The love interest? The whole reason we've been here for five hours?" The director asked.

"Well, what's the main issue? Why are we trying to fix her little issues when the big issue is what's gonna make or break this?" Leo asked, shoving his phone into his pocket.

The others in the room began to get nervous. Most began sweating, and a few turned red in embarrassment.

"What?" Leo asked, now concerned.

"Tiffany is refusing to be your lead unless..." the director sighed, refusing to look at Leo, "unless you wear a human disguise."

Blink. Blink. "Ha!" Leo began laughing a deep chortle, straight from his core. The others in the room began laughing with him, albeit nervously. "Then let her refuse!"

The director stopped laughing, "But, but. She's your lead—"

Leo had suddenly stopped laughing to glare at his director as he spoke, "No. I'm the lead. Tiffany Blanco was supposed to be Renae Whittler, Primetime's love interest." Yanking the script from who knows where, he began reading, "'Renae Whittler initially despises Primetime, thinking him to be the man who ruined her life, but upon realizing they are after a common enemy, she begins to love him for the way he is. Together, they fight crime, discover truths, and explore worlds, and possibly each other.'" Leo read flatly. "'The way he is'. If you make Primetime human, is that making him, ‘the way he is'?"

The humans in the room looked ashamed and guilty, while the Yokai, some in disguises, looked at Leo in awe.

"If she wants to refuse, let her refuse. Because I will be damned if I let some twenty-three year with small tits and big dreams tell me who I am." With that, Leo stood and stormed out of the room.

As Leo paced the halls, one of his main co-stars, Danny Filmore, ran into the hall after he left. Danny was a deer Yokai who played the role of Primetime's 'Guy in the chair', Marcus Tracy. His character reminded him a lot of Donnie. Without a word, Danny sat in one of the chairs lining the crips walls and pulled out a vape. The vape was slim and purple in color, but it shined under the flickering fluorescent lights above. He took a long inhale and then a small inhale of regular air. After holding it, Leo realized Danny wasn't smoking Nicotine.

"Jesus, Danny, not here." Leo whined.

"What—" Danny started, but was then interrupted by a violent cough from his throat. He held up a finger, telling Leo to wait a minute. Again, Marcus Tracy reminded Leo of Donnie, not the actor who played him. "—ever man, you know Anthony doesn't give a shit." Danny finished, his eyes now bloodshot and lidded.

Anthony Silvermeadow was the director. He wasn't a pushover by any means, but he was pretty lax on the rules. As long as you weren't  under the influence while shooting, he didn't care. Most of the time you saw him with a drink in his hand.

"That was pretty ballsy, man." Danny said, tucking his vape away.

Leo sighed, running a hand down the back of his head, "I know. But...it took so much for me to audition as me that it feels wrong to do anything else. I promised my—" Leo paused on the 'b-word', "—family that I wouldn't change for anyone. And I intend to stand by it."

Danny nodded, but stayed silent.

"I guess I should apologize?" Leo asked Danny.

"Nah. You're right. Tony even said so." Danny let the words hang in the air.

"But?" Leo waited.

"You gotta find your own love interest." Danny smirked.

Leo's mind raced through his texts, his old friends, anything he could think of that would give him a hint of where to start. With a click, the once flickering lights stayed on just as an idea passed through Leo's brain. 'Lightbulb.'

Once Donnie got back home, he pushed his hand into a metal panel next to a large, circular, sealed door. It lit up purple, reading his palm. The panel flashed green, accepting the readout and unlocked the metal doors. The first row of doors twisted clockwise then opened. The second set rotated counterclockwise then opened to reveal the large lab within. Donnie added them for extra security and totally not because they were in a Jupiter Jim movie and he thought it looked cool.

"Donnie!" Shelldon, Donnie's drone and adopted child (not literally speaking...I think?) flew out of the purple themed lab and flew around his father.

"Anything new?" Donnie asked as he walked over to his purple chair. With a click and a hiss, the shoulder pads on Donnie's battle shell released the front of his plastron where it was connected.

"A new number texted you. You have repeating interactions. Would you like me to —" Eight different guns popped out of Shelldon's back compartment, "remove the pest?"

"No!" Donnie cleared his throat, then sat in his chair regally, "No. That won't be necessary. Rename contact (L/n) and check new message." Donnie opened his computer and flipped through his files.

"Contact: (L/n). Sent: "Don't Stop Movin' by S Club. The vibe is 80's dance." I like this chick!" Shelldon added, once his automated voice cut out.

"The vibe?" Donnie asked out loud.

"I think she's referring to your playlists and how the vibe is always different, dude." Shelldon explained.

"Huh. 80's dance music...go ahead and play it, Shelldon." Donnie waved his hand in Shelldon's direction.

It was quiet before a synthetic voice started with the hook. It was followed by a heavy thumping base, then a pleasant male vocalist began to sing the bridge. The words were a nice balance of fast then slow, with vibrato when appropriate. A sudden appearance of a female singer gave Donnie goosebumps. Their voices had a nice harmonization. Her voice grew more and more powerful as the instruments grew. Donnie couldn't help but tap his feet and bob his head. As the lead sang the chorus that was accompanied by more background singers of equal talent, Donnie felt a grin spread onto his lips. The need to boogey was insatiable. The chorus repeated in the background when the male vocalist came back to the mic. The speed in which the song progressed seemed to get quicker, like the hook, chorus, and bridge were all shortened.

By the time the bridge came on again, Donnie couldn't resist. He stood up, performing his dancing moves he’s secretly perfected over the years unbeknownst to his brother and father who all shared the same house.

Until now, that is.

Splinter, also known as Hamato Yoshi, and also known as Donnie and Mikey’s father, walked to Donnie’s lab to explore the commotion. With a cane and small shuffle, Splinter peeked around the door, spying Donnie dancing like he was in an 80’s music video.

“Ah, young love.” Splinter nodded, then put a hand to his chin in thought, “Maybe I will marry one of them off.”

[hopes-peak-postal-company]

For Mod Hajime, i hope this doesnt sound weird but could you do a platonic fatherly yandere imagine post with Elias Bouchard? I like to imagine he fixates on a new Institute hire who doesnt know the fears are real and just decides "Its Child time. There is nothing I wont do to make my new child happy." But he also has to work around Jon and them getting in his way because they just dont GET that he's a Father now.

A FATHER'S LOVE!

"surely you'd choose your father over your friends, wouldn't you?"

summary. getting a job at a spooky academic institute offers toms of spooky outcomes. you just didn't expect to get a father figure and a overlyprotective friend group.

contents. platonic yandere! elias; elias is a wet cat grandpa; the archivist gang are slightly yandere; happens right after season 1

✦ It was difficult. Getting by in the big London city and rent to your flat was quite ridiculously high, even for usual london rent standard. But thankfully, a position in The Magnus Institute had opened and you managed to get the spot after wrangling out your best qualities to the HR like you're trading them.

✦ Now, you were aware of what you were getting into. I mean, an institute that's notorious for having many people going MIA or dying, but this was the only job that accepted you out of the millions you applied for and frankly, it pays better than most of them.

✦ So, you worked as the institute's librarian. It shocked you to know that they have their own personal library but at the same time, you kind of expected it. After all, it is an academic institute and there's bounds to be numerous books and soucres to cite for every statement given, regardless of how strange there are.

✦ You've met a couple on the job. Some were nice and often has small talks with you while some simply comes and goes, not even bothering to talk to you unless they're checking a book out. It was fine, of course, you can't help but feel disheartened. After all, all you do is stand by, organize the library and do nothing. It gets a bit lonely sometimes.

✦ And then, one day, a certain someone came to the library and it was no one other than big boss himself— Elias Bouchard. You never met the man before, only hearing him from Rosie and the others, but he is generally well-disliked by his own staff. You had nothing to complain about him and honestly, you find his company nice.

✦ He comes to the library whenever he has free time and then would talk to you. It wasn't just small talk, not just noise coming out of his mouth to fill in the silence, but he talked to you. He told you so many things— his opinions, his likes and dislikes —and even asked you about yours.

✦ Elias would listen intently, taking in every information about yourself in a manner so ... different from how he usually carried himself. Elias Bouchard was a prideful asshole and you knew that obviously well from just his body language, and yet when it comes to you, he is oddly soft. He reminds you almost like a dad for some reasons.

✦ And your relationship with your boss became like that. You didn't mind, you understand to some degree but even still you couldn't wrap your mind around why he chose specifically you. Maybe he didn't choose or maybe he did, but either way, this outcome was better than him hating you.

✦ But then, only a few months into your job, you suddenly got promoted to assistant archivist, joining the very few others in the archives in their day-to-day life.

✦ It was ... suffocating at first. The institute did suffer damage from the Prentiss Attack as you heard from the other employees and with the archives being the main target for the worms, it was not surprise that the Archivist and his team suffered greatly. Though injured, all of them still came back in one piece so that was a good thing.

✦ It took a while getting to know the others: Martin was the quickest to befriend and he'd bring you your favourite cup of tea whenever he can. Tim was the second, jokingly flirting with you at first but he was comfortable to be around and somehow both of your intensive knowledge on memes made the two of you friends. Sasha, on the other hand, took a bit more effort but in the end, she was just as fun and cheery as the other two outside work.

✦ Jon, on the other hand... He was wary, of course, a bit of an asshole too but you were determined to let his walls down, and so was the team. He gradually came to accept (aka get comfortable with) your existence and doesn't glare you like a cat you just rudely woke up.

✦ Elias... Elias isn't too pleased with this development though as you come find. He finds every excuse in the book to have you in office, stalling you just so he could spend more time with you. He had moved to the archives for one very specific reason and that was so he can watch you carefully.

✦ I mean, how couldn't he? You were so nice to him, oblivious to the concept of the entities and you didn't even care if he gets a bit 'spooky' (as Tim puts it) at times. In fact, he claimed you as his kid the moment you seem to play along with his 'little cryptid act'.

✦ But The Archival team... Oh, did they get on his nerves. But he couldn't do anything, no, he was sure you'll know and they'll tell you about what he truly is and he couldn't risk that. He couldn't lose you to them, so he'll have to just slightly abuse his power a bit. Just to have you be by his side a bit longer.

✦ Of course, Archivist and Co. can't stand by idly and watch him take their friend! And so, everytime Elias and one of them come to your desk at the same time, it's practically a tug of war for your affection and attention.

✦ It makes you laugh honestly, seeing them fight like this. Reminds you so much like a father trying to shoo away any his kid's admirers.... Only if you knew though, then you wouldn't be laughing.

notes. hi hii!!! tysm for requesting this!! i always wanted to write for tma but couldn't. ik this is a pretty old req (i think like .... from june i think?) and i wrote this months ago but forgot to finish

reqs are alwyas open!! and dont forget to reblog any of our works here on this blog, it help us a lot!!! ty again for requesting!

[aziraphales-library]

Hello librarians :)

Your blog looks amazing, I'm going to have a field day(s) going through all your recommendations!

I wonder if you could help me find a lost fic on Ao3. I just remember the summary: Aziraphale and Crowley are in an established relationship post S1. And Crowley is suddenly nostalgic of the all the time he spent pining for his angel in silence. Aziraphale is surprised as he remembers Crowley telling him it was like 6000 years of torture.

Does it ring any bell? Thanks, and have a nice day/night (wherever you are ;)

A quick search found this one?...

For the Longest Time by darlingred1 (E)

“You…” Aziraphale sounded baffled, and suddenly quite sober. “You liked that? But, my dear, you said it was torturous. ‘Six thousand years of torture,’ as I recall.” “Yeah. Yeah, but the anticipation, and the yearning, and…and how every moment with you was so maddeningly intense, and…” And what else could Crowley say? How could he expect Aziraphale to understand that after six thousand years of torture he’d actually got a bit used to it? That he’d felt like a band strained further and further, and now he found himself permanently stretched, flopping about with too much slack and no way to hold on to what he’d been reaching towards for so long? (Crowley kind of misses the pining when it's gone. Aziraphale comes up with a solution.)

- Mod D

[thewriterowl]

I love you fics so so much. You're appreciated a lot, and we understand that you have a life and needs a break.

Take your time, your health and life is more important.

So only if you want, I would love Modern setting Mafia Din, obvious luke. I unfortunately can't find a lot of fics like this.

Thank youuuuu and have a good day

omg thank you!! This really is appreciated. Truly, it means a lot that you took time to say that. It always helps me keep working on these updates! But I also appreciate the reminder for the break; I am very bad at that lol

Modern Setting Mafia Dinluke AU

So, I have made Luke a baker (still one of my favorites) and a librarian for this AU but maybe he can be something else. Maybe a really good mechanic who does a lot of work on cars but really shines with motorcycles. He wants his own but he's currently working in a garage maybe run by Djarin's clan but it is low on the chain and has become corrupt as Pong Krell is the manager of it and is not paying Luke well (so he needs a beat up car to maybe sleep in in the future) and pocketing a lot--basically stealing from Din (not good). Krell is very arrogant and thinks he is taking enough to not cause ripples to carry up to the head of the whole clan but he is very, very wrong.

Din runs things tightly and with intense respect and fear. They do quite a bit of illegal happenings but they are a bit more anti-hero/vigilante types.

The family runs escort houses but they are actually very healthy (a little capitalistic but nothing is perfect) and no one is forced to work there. Whoever is can stop at any time and they have great health care and housing. Not to mention incredibly protected and treated with a lot of respect. Even the strip clubs are more are less legitimate and probably the cleanest and best one can find (Lando runs a BDSM house under Din). They actually take down a lot of trafficking through their work with this. He has daycares that's basically free for all who work with him. Drugs are tricky but they mostly ensure nothing tainted passes by as there is not much they can do about stopping it but you better not have anything hard around his territory. He's a "family" business, after all.

He gets his money through a lot of laundering, the escort houses, hacking, blue collar crimes where they rob the billionaires/millionaires, underground fight rings...and, ahem, a few...hits here and there. But they're very selective over who they take out.

Of course, that doesn't mean he isn't dangerous. He and his family chooses to do things through a nicer lens but he had to bury a lot of bodies to get to where he was so that whoever takes over from him wouldn't have to get their hands nearly as dirty. He will do cruel, cold, selfish things if it means he can protect those he cares about. And he won't let some greedy slug try to take more than what he's earned and cause a dent in the network he's created.

He goes when Krell isn't around, bringing in his motorcycle, maybe not removing his helmet to be safe, and Luke is on him instantly. The blond is so EXCITED to see this model and has to chat Din up about it, offering to get it all fixed for him if he wants, he'll put it back together quickly.

Din is very charmed and let's Luke have all the fun he could want as he sneaks into the office and gets all the evidence needed (the little one was very oblivious; that's no good for his own safety) and decides to just chat with this puppy.

Din and Luke probably separate a little smitten at the end.

Luke really has no idea what he's done until the next time Din comes, with his men, dressed in a (sexy as sin) suit and gets Luke in one of the super expensive, sound-proof cars as he...settles things with Krell.

Din can't spend too much time making Krell understand his mistakes.

He has a reservation after where he'll talk to Luke over some nice Italian about him moving in.

[themratts]

A Surprise For Papa

[A mysterious 'gift' arrives at the ministry, addressed to Copia, and he's not quite sure what to make of it ]

Rating: Teens and Up

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four • Library (word count: 1.5k)

——🍼

His gloved finger ran along row after row of book spines. Copia’s eyes skimmed the titles, focused, in search of only a few specific names. Never in his dreams could he have imagined he’d end up in this section of the library- never would he have imagined at all.

It’d been imperative that he came when all was quiet. A day otherwise busy within the ministry, so very few people were around to steal a peek at ‘what books papa was checking out’. A common problem he had, but those other moments of trying to conceal his privacy felt like nothing in comparison to the pressure he felt right now. Every book he picked up, tucked discreetly beneath his arm.

He settled on two titles that sounded the most promising. One called Newborns: What to Expect the First Year , and the second simply labeled Childcare 101. Not the most discreet thing in the world�� but what choice did he have? Copia felt like he didn’t know the first thing about any of this.

It seemed like the best place to start.

Nervously, he left the aisle and shuffled back to the front of the room. The Librarian herself was seated at her desk, typing away on her laptop. Perhaps Copia wouldn’t be as nervous if he didn’t know her so well. He wouldn’t quite call them friends - but he did frequent this part of the building enough that his presence was very expected by her. And she always wanted to know what he was reading.

As Papa approached, she lifted her head, immediately smiling. She slid her chair back from her laptop enough to look up and greet him. “Evening, Papa,” she said, “Happy to see you by again, it’s been a minute.”

“Haha, yes,” he swallowed. Oh, man. How was he supposed to get away with this?

“What can I do for you today?”

He shuffled his feet. After a brief pause, and a sigh of acceptance, Copia loosened his arms and set both books down onto the desktop. “Just these two today,” He replied, avoiding eye contact.

The woman stared down at them. She glanced up at Copia, a curious and somewhat confused expression on her face. “...alright,” without further question, she lifted the first book and began to scan it. “That’s it?”

“That is it, ahem.”

“Very, um… interesting choices.” She scanned the second one. Papa could feel the sweat on the back of his neck, the hotness on his ears. He cleared his throat.

“Ehm, eheheh, yeah…. Uh…”

“..is there a reason for this?” She removed her glasses. Copia didn’t reply. He only gulped and stared at her, a panicked glaze over his eyes like he didn’t know what to say. She must’ve felt bad for asking, because she backtracked. “..uh, nevermind.”

“Thank you,” When she was done with them, he eagerly swept them back up into his arms. The librarian watched as Papa did a quick check around them , making sure no one had seen that and that the coast was clear, before giving her a nod and a “have a good day” , and taking off out of the room.

All was still for several seconds. That was by far the weirdest encounter with Papa she’d ever had.

Newborns. Childcare. There was only one explanation.

She reached for the phone.

——

Book in one hand, and Benedetta in his arm, Copia spent the rest of his night reading.

He’d been right on his suspicions. The minimal knowledge he had on ‘how to care for a baby’ barely scraped the surface of everything he needed to know. It bugged him a lot. It would’ve been nice to prepare before he had said baby in his care, but, it was a little late for that now. He had no one to really blame but himself.

Benedetta began to fuss, dragging his attention away from the book. He looked down at her, smiling at the sight of her precious little face. “Bambina,” he set his reading down, “..always so much to say, don’t you?”

She made another fussy noise. Copia chuckled, rocking her gently. Her little hand reached for him, even though, she was too weak to keep a grip.

“Please don’t cry,” he cood, “Papa is right here. Yes… you’re okay,” He dragged a finger along her soft cheek, causing the baby to giggle instead. Relief swelled him. He did it again, and she tried to grab his finger. Even though she wasn’t strong.. he fake gasped, and let her have it.

“Look at that,” Copia laughed, “You’ve caught me,” and Benedetta was a bundle of giggles now. Only getting louder when he wiggled his finger in her grasp. It was adorable how easily she was entertained.

A few knocks suddenly came from Papa’s door. He groaned, all these visitors recently were starting to get on his nerves. A ghoul , he assumed, once again showing up to see the baby. He appreciated that they cared, but he was starting to feel desperate for a moment’s peace.

Copia stood, approaching the crib and laying Benedetta inside. Once he was sure she was comfy, he made his way to the door and answered it. Sure enough, it was Aether. His tail swung low, and he was holding a piece of paper in his hands. “Hey.”

“Hi,” Copia stepped to the side, “Come in,” And shut the door behind him. Aether held the paper out, a serious look on his face. Copia blinked, “What’s-”

“-It’s the result of the DNA test.”

“Oh,” he felt his heart jolt. Copia stared at it, nervous. As he took the paper, he swallowed, “Have you.. looked at it?”

“Yeah. Sister and I were the first ones to see.”

“Well,” he scoffed, “Glad to know my DNA is everyone’s business but mine.”

“Just open it.”

Copia took a breath. A large exhale, and found his hands shaky as he lifted the paper. This was the moment of confirmation… or , worse. Not that the chance was high.. But. He glanced at the crib. What was he going to do if she wasn’t his?

He didn’t want to put this off any longer. With a trembling grip, he began to unfold the sheet. Squinting, reading hastily over the results in front of him. His mouth went dry. He lowered the paper.

“My god..” Copia breathed, “...I am the father.”

It wasn’t surprising. It shouldn’t have been. He’d known it in his heart from the very first moment he held her in his arms. But to see it written so clearly on paper… it was like the balloon of reality had burst in his face. And his eyes began to well with tears.

“Yeah,” Aether replied, patting his shoulder, “There we have it. Congratulations.”

“Oh my god..”

“Are you okay?”

“Y-yes, I…” he took a shaky inhale, struggling to keep himself steady. A black tear from his eye paint rolled down his cheek, “..I am just…”

“Hey, it’s alright,”

“This is… I mean, I,” he wept, “-I’m happy about this. About… I knew it was going to be true, but I..” His emotions were everywhere. “Satana… la mia bambina..”

Aether laughed softly, “Okay, okay,” he pulled Copia into a hug. A reassuring, soft hug. There are few things as soft as ghoul fur, “..no more crying.”

“She’s my baby..”

“Yeah,” he pulled away. “I’m not sure if that’s a huge development by now.”

“Maybe not,” Copia laughed, wiping at his face. He didn’t care if he smeared his paint, “..But god, am I happy. To hear it.. to know it, really know it.”

The ghoul smiled, “I’m happy for you. And this is.. You know, big news for the clergy.”

“That’s true. I mean, that… that makes her an heir.”

“Yeah.”

“Satana…”

“How do you plan on telling the congregation?” Aether asked. At that, Copia practically snorted. He shook his head.

“I don’t know. I don’t really want to think about that right now.”

“Right.”

“At this rate, I don’t even know if I’ll have to tell anyone. This is bound to get out on it’s own,”

The ghoul laughed, “Fair point.”

“I just… ahh…” he placed a hand over his chest. Papa shook his head, and Aether flicked his tail.

“You’re not having a heart attack, are you?”

“No. I am just… taking it all in.”

“Good.” He patted his back again, “I’d love to stay and give you chest compressions, but. I should get going.”

“Thank you, Aether. For,” he held up the paper. The ghoul gave him a smile, and one last hug.

“No problem. Take care.”

He laughed, “Yes. That’s the goal.”

When Aether was gone, the first thing Copia wanted to do was run back to where he’d left Benedetta in her crib, scoop her up into his arms , and shower her in all the love in the world. But when he approached the crib, he found her fast asleep. It was disappointing, but only for a moment. He’d rather her asleep than crying.

His emotions welled up again as he watched her. Knowing well now that this was not just some baby that was left to him. She was fully, truly, his own. An idea that sounded so scary all those days ago. Yet now, he couldn’t be happier about the revelation. Taking a breath, he leaned down to gently run a hand over her light, thin hair. “Benedetta,” Copia murmured, hardly louder than a whisper. “la mia bambina… I love you.”

[milunalupin]

— unexpected ally

sebastian sallow x reader ★ 498 words

Getting into the library was easy enough, the two prefects on patrol were more focused on surveying each other than they were the empty corridors. After your conversation with Professor Fig, it seemed that some of your answers may be found in the Restricted Section of the library. Ancient magic was well, ancient, and quite powerful so any information wouldn't be found on any old shelf. The key had to be in one the librarian's desk drawers. If it just so happened to be on her, you were doomed.

Now, how do you get Scribner away from her desk?

A spark of light and the sounds of shattering glass tears your eyes away from the librarian and towards the bookshelves in the back. You watch with a quiet sigh of relief as Scribner huffs out of her seat and stomps to the disturbance; giving you an open path to the key. Luck was on your side tonight with the key being in the first drawer you checked. A quick peek around the desk reassured you that Scribner was still investigating the other side of the library. All you had to do now was crouch your way over to the Restricted Section, which you were safe to assume was the area marked off by the large metal gates.

Suddenly you felt yourself being dragged by the sleeve of your robe, trying to keep your footsteps quiet while keeping up with the unseen force. Once led to the gate to the Restricted Section, the invisible abductor unveiled themselves to be the boy you had dueled against in Defense Against the Dark Arts class; a fellow fifth-year student. Sebastian, if you remembered correctly.

"Sorry for the scare, wasn't sure if you knew this spell yet and Scribner's bound to come around again soon." he held his hand out for the key and you wordlessly complied, following the Slytherin down the stairs and evading the wandering ghosts until you found yourselves in a room full of rare magical books. His fingertips skimmed the old bindings, eyes glancing around the bookcases. "What are you doing sneaking around the library anyways?"

Was it wise to confide in someone you hardly knew? Any other day, you'd find a way around the truth, especially after Professor Fig told you to keep it to yourself. But the freckled boy paging through his book across the room seemed trustworthy for some reason, so you didn't even think before answering.

"I'm looking for books on Ancient Magic. I apparently have the ability to see traces of it, so I was hoping to find out more."

The brunette's head shot around to you, a look of surprise just barely noticeable in the dim lighting of the underground room. "Ancient Magic you say?" His book was left unfinished on a table as he strode up to you, hand stretched out and charming smile on his face.

"Seems I may have met a kindred spirit. Sebastian Sallow, we'll be getting along nicely."

[kanerallels]

I wrote today's @monthly-challenge fic as a kind of follow up to this prompt I wrote for a couple months ago for @auroramagpie. I just couldn't really get the world and the idea behind it out of my head, so I thought I'd write some more! Today's prompt from Spring Fling was garden, for context

The Dume Library was unusual for a lot of reasons. The foremost being its librarian— a blind man who was rumored to be an ex-musketeer, one of the more famous ones. It was said he’d worked alongside Hera Syndulla, who was one of the best, if not the best herself.

When asked about it, the librarian rarely gave a straight answer. Usually, he just laughed it off or made some joke, and gently turned the conversation to a different subject. So no one could be quite sure what the truth was.

(well. There was one person, but she was different. She had lived it.)

One of the other things that made the Dume Library unusual was the fact it had a garden. It was fairly large, starting at the front right side of the entrance, and curving around in a wide sweep of flower beds and vegetable patches, bracketed in the back by rose bushes, made its way to the far end of the property, where it took up a large chunk of the back yard area.

The back door of the library led out into it by a path that wound past a fountain and a bench looking out across the property, to the beds in the back. It was this path that Hera took now, down to where the figure of the librarian was hard at work.

She’d only been in this garden a few times since Kanan had finished work on it— though with a garden, one could rarely ever be truly finished— and Hera paused to admire it. It was something of a motley patchwork of beautiful flowers, glowing with colors and beauty and sweet smells, and of carrots and onions and potatoes, looking comfortably sturdy and inelegant next to the peonies nearby.

It was a strange sight, but one that was completely on brand for Kanan, and Hera couldn’t help but smile at the sight. At the memory it brought her.

“When we retire,” Kanan said thoughtfully, studying the elegantly trimmed rose bushes around them, “we should have a garden like this.”

Hera snorted in her champagne glass. “Like this?” she said, gesturing at the topiaries trimmed in strange shapes, the grass trimmed to just the right length. “Seems a little… fancy for you, dear.”

“I can be fancy,” Kanan scoffed. “But no, not exactly like this. I was thinking about the roses. They’re nice, right? And there’s a patch of lavender over there that smells amazing.”

Letting out a thoughtful noise as she scanned the crowd of the party they were at, Hera remarked, “I never took you for a gardener.”

“I’m full of surprises. Besides, nothing wrong with some good hard work. It’ll keep us busy once we retire. Assuming you ever plan to retire, that is.”

Hera rolled her eyes. “Sure, when the bad guys decide to retire.”

Kanan didn’t laugh, like she’d hoped. Instead, his face was serious as he said, “You know, the world’s never going to run out of problems for you to fix. But it is going to run out of time. You’ve got to decide what’s most important.”

Pushing down a swell of shock, Hera kept her face calm as she said, “You’re serious tonight, aren’t you?”

His smile came back. “I’m always serious about you.” Setting his glass on a nearby stone statue, he held a hand out to her. “Dance with me?”

They hadn’t danced then. Hera had spotted their target who’d been at the party when they were two steps away from the dance floor. And then there had been a chase and a duel that Kanan had joked was just as good as a dance, and another criminal was brought to justice.

Those days were long gone for Kanan. But the garden was here. And Hera could smell the roses as she approached Kanan, who was kneeling next to one of the flowerbeds, carefully pulling weeds.

“Hard at work, I see,” she said, and his head went up at the sound of her voice.

“I wasn’t expecting you today,” he said as Hera knelt next to him. She saw a smile tilt up the corner of his mouth, a smile that always sent a flutter through her chest, and made her want to smile back. “I’m glad I was wrong, though. How did the Pryce thing go down?”

“We got Sato’s son back,” Hera said. “And Pryce was taken into custody. Thank you for your help— we couldn’t have done it without you.”

Tugging up a weed and tossing it onto a pile to the side, Kanan said, “My pleasure, as always. How’s your new partner doing?”

There was no sorrow, no bitterness in the question. But Hera still felt a twinge of remorse tugging at her chest. “She’s… doing well,” she said. “Eager to fight, but she’s learning not to charge headfirst into things.”

“It’s a good thing she has you. You and I had to learn that lesson the hard way.”

Hera snorted. “With the amount she listens to me, she’ll be learning things the hard way, too. She’s more stubborn than either of us were.”

“Even you?” Kanan ducked as Hera swatted at him, grinning. “Alright, I got it. Well, you’ve put up with a partner far more frustrating than she is— you’ve got this. I know you do.”

“Thank you,” Hera said. She sat for a moment, watching Kanan weed around a bed of nasturtiums, somehow miraculously avoiding the flowers and only pulling up the weeds. Finally, she said softly, “I miss you.”

He paused, just for a heartbeat. Turning to face her, he quietly offered her his hand, and she took it. His fingers were smeared with dirt, but gentle as he squeezed her hand. “I miss you, too,” he told her, and Hera had to swallow back a lump in her throat.

She’d never wanted to leave her partner behind. And not just because he was the best with a rapier she’d ever met, or because his plans were crazy, but they worked. He could always pick up on what she was thinking, and fighting side by side with Kanan was almost easy. It was like a dance they both intimately knew the steps to, and they were far better together than apart.

But then, they’d gone after a mad man. They’d had backup, which they’d sorely needed. But in the end, she and Kanan had been separated. And the mad man had blinded Kanan and ran.

Things had been hard for a while after that. It had taken a long time for Kanan to heal, both physically and mentally. Hera had been by his side every step of the way, even as it became clear that his time as a musketeer was over, far too early.

She had, briefly, thought about retiring. About stepping away and staying with him as he figured out what his life would look like next. And eventually, Hera had brought it up to him.

He’d laughed. “Hera,” he’d told her, “not a chance. You have the ability to keep helping people, and I’m not going to ask you to step away from that. Not yet, anyways. Just don’t forget me.”

“I could never,” she’d told him fiercely.

And she hadn’t, even as their lives grew and changed without the other fully in it. He’d found a way to keep helping, and Hera had come to see him whenever she could. Things were different, though, and she hated that. Hated being without him.

“How long can you stay?” Kanan asked, as if he’d heard her thoughts. Sometimes, Hera really did wonder if he could. 

“At least through the night,” she replied. “Sabine’s visiting her family, so I’m all yours.”

“Good.” Rising to his feet, Kanan helped her up, not letting go of her hand. “Come on. You can help me with dinner, as long as you stay pretty far away from the stove.”

Hera laughed, and for a minute it was like nothing had changed. She held onto that feeling as they headed into the library together, and felt a little peace settle in her heart. She was with her partner, even if it wasn’t forever. It could be enough for now.