#like they go on any kind of slight discount

[mind-intheclouds342]

A new ladder - Reader x Curly

Previous - Part 2 - Next

"Those were the words of the former captain of the Tulpar ship, owned by Pony Express, Grant Curly, who miraculously was the only survivor even in his condition after going through a series of murders on the ship, completely vulnerable, by the same person who caused the crash, his co-pilot Jimmy-"

You turned off the television while they were broadcasting Curly's testimony on all channels.

"I'll go buy a few things" you mentioned, getting up from your seat and putting on a jacket to go out. "Wanna come with me?"

Curly turned to look at you curiously, thinking you were going to leave him there on his own until you returned, or that you would take him without asking to keep him close.

Curly: "Please"

He sighed and you took his chair to start pushing him to the store.

They could notice the looks of the people passing by, all recognizing the man, but none able to approach him to ask a question.

"Do you like peas? Lin told me that you could eat without any problem as long as your pieces are small." 

Curly: "I have no problem with the food... I just don't like sweets."

"Okay"

You nodded, adding things to the cart, checking the prices, and thinking about what you could cook.

He stood gazing into the distance at the chocolate aisle, remembering the boxes of chocolates he used to buy for Linda, sighing at the thought that those days were in the past.

He found it strange to think that she was already over 50, while he remained at the age of 34, now being cared for by the younger sister of the woman who had once been his fiancée, who must now be around 32.

Curly: "Your birthday... It was a few months ago, right? I remember Linda used to say that she liked spring because it was when you were born."

"...No, my birthday hasn't happened yet, there's still some time left. But I don't really celebrate it, I just treat myself and that's it."

You shrugged even while looking at the products on the shelves.

Having everything you needed, you went to the cash registers to pay. The woman had seen Curly on television and gave him a discount as if he were some kind of veteran or senior.

That didn't please the man very much.

You stopped halfway back to his home, the streets were no longer so busy, after all, you had left a bit late after all.

"Would you like to feel something different?"

You asked him while firmly holding the wheelchair, there was a slight slope on that street, the man immediately turned to look at you, you looked excited to do something, like a child about to pull a prank.

Curly: "Sure?..." he said without being very convinced

And he let out a scream when you climbed onto the chair's wheel tubes and let the slope of the street make you go down, he could only hear a mix of his screams and your laughter as you went down.

He feared crashing into something or flying off, he didn't want to experience more pain, but the chair kept moving even after the descent was over. Curly was grateful for the good quality of the chair, and that it didn't fall apart when you got on it too. He was able to breathe easy when they stopped after a few seconds.

"And we arrived! Much faster, right?"

You patted his shoulder, ready to get off and push him inside the house, the man could feel the rapid beating of his heart at that moment.

Curly: "Do you do things like this often?" he asked, trying to have a conversation to calm down.

"Didn't you feel more alive?"

He fell silent as he thought about your question, while they descended, the only thing he could feel was his heart racing, the wind on his face, and he heard your laughter close to him, but at no moment was there sadness, remorse, or any of those emotions he constantly felt.

Just adrenaline.

Curly: "You could say that... yes..."

You put the groceries in their place and left out only what you were going to use, you ended up making some fried rice with chicken, egg, onion, and peas.

You could see how the man struggled to use his prosthesis to hold his utensils and eat, everything falling onto the table several times.

You moved your chair closer to him, making him look at you.

"Do you want to keep trying or would you prefer that I help you?"

Curly: "I give up for today..." was his only response, sighing.

You took food on your fork and brought it to his face, he opened his mouth and finally managed to take a bite, enjoying the taste of that simple food, he had missed homemade meals after so much time eating the provisions on the ship and then the bland hospital food.

"And? How is it?"

Curly: "Delicious," he replied, opening his mouth, hoping you would give him more.

You couldn't help but compare it to a baby bird begging for food, but you held back your laughter to keep feeding it.

Curly: "Mm.. So, when is your birthday?"

It was a very bad idea to talk to his implant while eating, causing him to start coughing as he choked on the food. 

"Well... It's exactly in 5 weeks," you smiled, making him raise his arms and you patted his back.

He was surprised at how quickly he was able to stop coughing when you did that, you immediately handed him a glass of water.

"I'll be right back, I'm going to get a cloth to clean the food scraps off the table."

You mentioned standing up to go to the kitchen.

While you were away, he kept trying to eat on his own, managing to get a small amount of rice on his fork and being able to eat that.

While he chewed, he kept watching out the window; that orange and reddish color appearing in the trees was tinting the whole place.

Her birthday... It's in autumn...

[fulgurbugs]

Aaaaa your doll postings convinced me to go for the insect girl blind box and she arrives this week! They're so stinkin cute ♡

eeee i’m glad! i love love love the insect girls sm, i actually got another one (hoping for the orchid mantis one next time) i hope you like yours!

[zumistew]

holding their hand

Tokyo revengers boys holding your hand for the first time Pt.2

Includes: Kakucho, Hanma, Ran, Rindou

tags: fluff, flirting, confession, protectiveness??

A/N: I didn’t expect my first story to get many likes so thank you for everyone who interacted ♡♡♡

Kakucho

Kakucho is always kind to you constantly providing you with nice gestures, so when he invited you to get some coffee you didn’t think anything of it.

Since it was nearing Valentine’s Day, the coffee shop had a discount for couples. Kakucho asked if you wanted to put on an act for some discounted food, and of course you agreed because who doesn’t like free food.

The waiter came to the table complementing you with a smile “your girlfriend is extremely beautiful.” “I know she is” he says with a sweet yet cocky smile on his face. You decide to ignore it telling the waiter thankyou and flashing Kakucho a smile because maybe it was just to keep the act up.

After paying the check Kakucho gets up from his side of the booth walking over to your side holding his hand out, you take his hand as he helps you out the booth. “Wow your really putting your all into this act” You say as yall walk out of the shop hand in hand. “It’s not an act stupid” he responds with a slight smile as he opens the shop door for you to exit. “What” you respond as you exit the shop. “I said it’s not an act Y/N” he says before he grabs you by the waist to move you to the side of the sidewalk opposite from the cars.

Hanma

Hanma was a wild card and everyone knew it. He was constantly taunting you and mocking you any chance he got. It was so much to the point that you couldn’t tell when he was being serious or joking.

Although he was crazy you could see he had a heart making himself vulnerable sometimes, you don’t even think he was aware when he was even exposing his true self sometimes.

As you two were walking you end up tripping over your shoes causing you to stumble. “Next time I’ll push you down myself” he say’s chuckling as he looks down at you. “If you push me you’ll regret it…trust me” you say jokingly knowing in the event that he actually pushed you that you would be defenseless.

He shoves you jokingly “now do something” he says smiling.

As you go to shove him back he grabs your wrist while smiling down at you. “Your weak” he says laughing as you give him a slight pout. “You’re not as funny as you think you are” you say with furrowed brows. “You know you enjoy my antics” he says moving his grip down from your wrist to your hand relaxing it in the middle of the two of y’all. “I don’t” you reply monotone but it was obvious you weren’t mad.

Ran

Ran was a lady’s man nobody could deny that. So you never took it seriously whenever he tried to flirt or compliment you.

But this time you were a little unsure. Here he was giving you a bag with a gift. “Open it” he says nonchalantly holding it out for you to grab. “Huh, what’s this?” you ask grabbing it from him taking out the crinkle paper inside. “Thought of you when I saw it” he says with a small smile as his low eyes look down at you with anticipation for your reaction.

You pull out a pearl necklace and a bracelet with the initial “R” dangling from it. “It’s very pretty” you say staring at it with admiration “but I think you left a bracelet for someone else in here stupid” you say thinking he was trying to buy gifts for multiple girls at once. “No I didn’t, it’s yours stupid* he says monotone looking at you with slight amusement. “I’m not stupid, my name doesn’t start with R, you messed up” you say smirking thinking you caught him holding the jewelry out for him to grab. “I know your name doesn’t start with R it’s because mine does” he says taking the jewelry, grabbing your wrist clipping the piece of delicate jewelry onto your wrist.

“Why did you get me this…don’t get me wrong I’m appreciative but why” you say looking up at him as he focuses on the jewelry he’s putting on your wrist. “Because you’re mine Y/N and I want everyone to know it” He smiles at you cockily after he finishes putting the jewelry on your wrist. You look at him a little surprised and suspicious. “Do you have an issue with that” he ask smirking down at you. “No…thanks for the jewelry it’s pretty, I like it” you say with a shy smile. “I know…pretty just like you” he says grabbing your hand.

Rindou

Rindou was your boy best friend. You two had the same humor and often laughed a lot with each other. And you two were now walking home from school together.

As you were walking home from school you looked down at your shoes to notice there untied. “Ugh my shoes keep coming untied” you groan starting to bend down. “Stop” he says lightly grabbing your arm lightly pulling you up. “Let me do it” he says smiling at you as he gets down on one knee. “Put your foot up Y/N” he says patting his thigh. “Oh ok” you say putting your foot on his thigh.

He starts focusing on tying your shoe for you. “You know I could tie it myself” you say looking down at him. “I know but I can’t let you tie your own shoes” he says taking your foot off his thigh as he finishes tying it.

You look at him confused as he stands up. “Why?” You ask him confused. “Because that’s not very gentlemanly” he says smirking at you. “If you say so” you shrug as you continue to walk.

He stops walking and you notice, so you turn around to see why he stopped. “You know Y/N, you’d never have to do anything for yourself if you were with me” he say hands in pockets. “Huh? What are you talking about” you say walking towards him.

“I’m saying that you would never have to lift a finger if you were with me” he says smirking grabbing your hand pulling you closer to him to get his point across. “Are you going to take me up on my offer” he say smirking looking over at you as he continues walking still holding your hand.

Part 1 down here ⇩

[inuyashaluver]

any more niamh charles coming 🥺🥺🥺

coffee shop - niamh charles

niamh charles x reader

description: in which a pretty girl comes into your work everyday, are discounts and little notes on her cup considered flirting?

warnings: fluffyyyyy, let’s pretend covid isn’t a thing x

a/n: niamhy baby! i love her, thank you for the request, my love, enjoy!! ❤️ i really don’t know how to feel about this but it’s 2am and I’m delirious so we persevere!

⋆ ★ ⋆ ★ ⋆ ★ ⋆ ★ ⋆

when you and your girlfriend, niamh first laid eyes on each other, you both knew it was a forever kind of thing.

you both didn’t really believe in love at first sight until you both came into one another’s life, proving you and niamh to believe the statement wholeheartedly.

—

it all started in 2020 when niamh was signed to chelsea and moved to london. you at the time were studying law as well as working in a local coffee shop near your flat that niamh wandered into one day and took your breath away.

you were doing a morning shift alone, you’d often do the opening shifts for your boss by yourself because she absolutely adored you, you were also extremely good at your job and she trusted you completely.

you were cleaning the coffee machine and refilling the grounds when you heard the little bell on the door ring. “hi, excuse me?” a soft voice sounded from behind the counter. you turn to face one of the most beautiful girls you’ve ever seen, your breath hitching when you made eye contact.

the girl in front of you also gave you a surprised expression, she thought you were absolutely gorgeous. “hi” you breathe out, moving closer to the counter.

“can i get you anything?” you say shyly, the girl nods and smiles at you, “yeah! could i just get an iced latte to go please?” you nod and put the order into the system, letting out a little laugh.

she raises her eyebrows expectantly at you and you smile, “sorry, it’s just that it’s absolutely freezing and you get an iced drink” you giggle, the girl laughs along with you.

“yeah, i know it’s stupid” she laughs, you shake your head amusingly and retrieve a cup, “it’s not stupid, it’s interesting” you shrug.

the girl smiles brightly at you before you look up at her again, “name?” she looks at you with slight surprise, “sorry?” she utters, “for your coffee” you giggle, niamh exhales quickly at feeling slightly stupid before smiling at you again.

“ah, niamh” she grins, you smile brightly at her and write her name on the cup, moving to prepare the coffee as niamh stares at you in confusion.

“sorry, how much was it?” niamh questions, you wave her off with your hand, “no, it’s on the house, you’re my first customer” you wink (complete lie)

niamh immediately protests until you give her a stern expression and she stops, shaking her head at you and standing near the counter.

“chelsea supporter then?” you grin, making a espresso shot as you look at niamh, she looks down and realises that she’s in her training kit, you distracted her completely.

“something like that, yeah, i play for them” niamh smiles sheepishly, you offer her an impressed grin, “wow, niamh, might need an autograph for the wall” you say cheekily, making niamh laugh brightly.

you both small talk while you finish up making her coffee, you both have identical disappointed smiles as you pass her the coffee. “well thank you” her eyes narrow on your name tag, “(y/n), i really appreciate it” niamh grins, you nod with a smile and give her a little wave goodbye as she leaves.

your eyes follow her every move as she leaves the shop, sighing when she leaves out the door.

niamh takes a sip of her coffee and her eyes widen comically, she swears it’s the best coffee she’s had in her life, she looks down at the cup and sees that you’ve written a little note on the cup.

‘famous niamh! have a good day! :)’ she smiles down at the cup, the smile carrying into training and gaining some curious gazes as to why she was treasuring a cup of ice coffee.

you both thought about each other the whole day, hoping you’d cross paths again - unaware niamh made a promise to herself that she’d go to the coffee shop every morning and you made an effort to take every morning shift possible.

—

the next day, the morning shift was just locals in the cafe, you’d served everyone so you always used the down time at work to study, much to the encouragement of your boss. your textbooks would be sprawled out on the side of the counter to go back to whenever you had the chance.

you were currently highlighting some important passages in your law textbook when you hear the familiar bell of the door, looking up to see a smiling niamh waving to you.

she made you so nervous and she didn’t even know it. in reality, niamh had been hyping herself up for five minutes to even enter the coffee shop.

“niamh!” you say brightly, placing down the highlighter and standing behind the calendar. “busy?” she grins, pointing at the textbook next to you, you glance at it quickly and sigh, “yes, it’s kicking my ass” you laugh, she laughs sympathetically,

“what are you studying?” niamh questions, “law” you exhale, niamh gives you an impressed expression, both of you getting deja vu from the previous day.

“maybe i’m the one who needs your autograph” niamh quips, making you both giggle with each other, “hm maybe if you’re lucky” you grin, taking niamh’s order again. she forces you to let her pay and you give her a large discount, throwing in a little cookie with a cheeky grin.

she groans when she sees the card machine, clearly way less than the actual total, she narrows her eyes at you and you shrug, “pretty girl discount” niamh tenses at your words and her cheeks are slightly blushed. your own cheeks are pink as you make her coffee, changing the subject and small talking with her again.

you both had so much in common it was honestly crazy, everytime the one of you mentioned something, the other would gasp excitedly and talk about it passionately.

the grins and giggles said everything and more, you both really liked each other. when niamh leaves, she looks down at her cup again, laughing brightly at the note you’ve left on her cup.

‘to my dearest fan, niamh, here’s my autograph, don’t sell it! have a lovely day xx’ you left a little signature under it and niamh cheeks hurt from the smile adorning her features. the little ‘xx’ you left had her heart beating rapidly and her cheeks pink, she couldn’t wait to come back the next day.

—

you glanced at the clock nervously while you waited for niamh the next day, it was five minutes later than she usually comes in the morning. you huff while flipping through your notes and you swear you got whiplash when you heard the bell ring, looking up in relief to see niamh and her bright smile. “you’re late” you tease, she slaked her head and makes her way over to you.

“hello, (y/n)” she sings out, you smile happily at her and grab a cup in your hand. “hi, niamh” you mock her tone, “the usual?” you question, she nods enthusiastically and begins to rave over you,

“no joke, you make the best coffee ever and i’m not even exaggerating” you smile shyly at her, attempting to wave it off but she won’t relent.

“why do you think i keep coming back?” niamh jokes, you roll your eyes with a laugh, “for me?” you cock your head to the side with a teasing smile and niamh feels her heart clench, you were so cute.

“well yeah but also for your coffee” she scoffs, your cheeks burn and you make yourself busy with her coffee, chatting excitedly with each other about anything and everything. again, giving a hefty discount on her coffee making her scowl at you when she taps her card.

when you hand her the coffee, she’s about to do her regular goodbye but she stops herself suddenly. “could i get your number?” she asks nervously, you smile brightly and nod, taking out your phone and exchanging numbers with each other.

she looks at her coffee cup again when she exits with a grin, ‘niamhy! have a lovely lovely day, enjoy your pretty girl coffee with your pretty girl discount xx’ niamh snaps a selfie of her with the coffee and sends it to you, starting an endless texting cycle between the two of you.

you would text for hours and hours, sending each other random photos throughout your days. you both loved it.

—

after about two weeks of you and niamh chatting and seeing each other everyday, you decide to take the first move this time and write something a little different on her cup this time.

before she leaves, you ask her to read the cup in front of you while you hand it to her. she grins at you brightly, ‘niamhy! can we go on a date please? xx p.s, have a lovely day!’ she looks up at you bashfully and nods, you smile and move around the counter to give her a hug.

you and niamh have a long embrace of you two just hugging, feeling so comforting and familiar as you held each other.

niamh kisses your cheek quickly before she leaves and you feel like your legs are going to give out from under you. niamh bolts out of the shop and lets out a silent scream in her car while she thinks about the interaction.

—

you went on your date and began dating shortly after about 4 dates. and after about a year, you and niamh moved in with each other and it was the best thing to happen to the both of you.

you genuinely were infatuated with each other, willing to do anything for one another without a second thought.

—

you’ve now been dating for 3 years and it was just full of genuine love. you were now niamh’s personal barista, the coffee shop job left behind as you were now practising as a lawyer, getting a job at a big company that had niamh bragging and boasting about every second she got.

she had a match and you were able to come, clad in your ‘charles’ jersey with a bright grin and a coffee in hand as you watch. chelsea wins and niamh immediately makes her way over to you, you smile as she approaches and you open your arms to her with a bright grin.

“hello, beautiful” you grin, your arms wrapping around her shoulders as hers held your waist. “hi, baby” she says adoringly, kissing your cheek repeatedly before pulling away to face you.

you hold the coffee in front of her and she gasps in excitement, pulling you into a quick kiss before taking the cup from you.

“my pretty girl and her amazing coffee, who cares about the win” she mocks, you laugh at her and kiss her cheek sweetly. “meet me at the back?” she asks softly, you nod and wave her off, making your way to your shared car.

niamh watches you leave before she looks down at the cup, a heart shaped sticky note taped on the reusable cup, ‘niamhy baby! congrats on the win, my love, you’re amazing and i love you x’

she grins brightly and takes off the note, hanging it up in her cubby to give her motivation. she gives you a big kiss when she makes it to the car, both of you looking at each other full of affection before she drives off.

⋆ ★ ⋆ ★ ⋆ ★ ⋆ ★ ⋆

liked by _jessflem and 44,232 others

niamhcharles17: hot lawyers make the best coffee

view all comments

yourname: i knew you only wanted me for the coffee

↳ niamhcharles17: no, baby! it’s just a bonus

↳ yourname: hm sureeeeee

↳ niamhcharles17: no it’s true!

↳ niamhcharles17: don’t forget you made the first move, babe

↳ yourname: my notes are just irresistible

↳ niamhcharles17: indeed

[kaeso4ka]

You're being stalked. It becomes even more of a problem when you find out who it is

Pairing: yandere Optimus Prime x reader

Oddly enough, it started with a glance. You never suffered from paranoia, but it was impossible to ignore that feeling of constant scrutiny. Someone was peering at your back on the street, staring out your window, and even crossing their eyes with you a couple times, I think.

Jasper was a small town, and you worked at one of the most popular cafes. It wasn't strange that a lot of people knew you by sight and even sometimes recognized you on the streets. But a slight nod from a group of teenagers, to whom you made a discount yesterday by great kindness of heart - it's one thing, but the feeling of persecution - quite another.

During one of your shifts, you found a note on one of the tables, on which someone described your smile and hands in a very poetic and beautiful handwriting. It looked cute and weird in equal measure, so the strange note soon went in the trash and the memory of it went out of your head.

Then strange things started happening more often. Someone attached to the doors of the coffee shop not small notes, but whole letters in which someone addressed to you.

You tried to catch the joker for a long time: you watched the cameras, followed the visitors. But it didn't bring you any closer to an answer. It was as if someone was invisible: he did not meet anyone's eyes, bypassed all the cameras.

The situation began to get out of control at the moment when on the doorstep of your own house you began to find the same notes, but this time with presentations: scarlet roses, food, something that looks like jewelry. Someone continued to correspond with you one-sidedly, confessing their warmest feelings for you.

It sent a chill down your spine.

It wasn't normal.

Someone knew your workplace, your personal address. Someone was following you. Wanted to get you to like them. They were showering you with gifts.

And at one point, even contacted you.

It was an early Saturday: you woke up to the hot desert sun beating down on your face. And the sound of notifications coming in.

Normally, no one bothered you on weekends: your bosses knew you weren't going out on your day off, and everyone else preferred to rest rather than write to you.

And yet someone had broken a glorious tradition.

You frowned, unlocking your phone. Messages came from an unknown number.

“Hello. I apologize for disturbing you. Did I wake you up?”

“Jack, if it's you, I told you, just because you have ballet on Saturdays doesn't mean I'm going to go work a twelve-hour shift for you. Let's go without me somehow, friend.”

“This isn't your work colleague. I'm writing to make sure you liked all the presents. I didn't misjudge your taste?”

Sleep receded into the background soon enough. You sat up abruptly on the bed. Immediately you took screenshots of the correspondence. You weren't five years old, and she knew exactly what to do if you were being followed. At the very least you had to prepare evidence for the police.

“It's understandable. You do know there's still a statute for stalking in our state, right? That's a pretty serious violation of the law.”

“I apologize, there was a misunderstanding between us. I didn't mean to scare you at all. I'm just showing signs of attention.”

“Uh-huh, yeah. Tracked me down at work, at home, even got my personal phone number…. Not stalking at all, huh. If you wanted to meet me, you would have approached me yourself.”

“I can't.”

“What are you, a wheelchair user? Well, you'd drive up.”

You nodded your shoulder, remembering. Did a lot of handicapped people go to your coffee shop…?

“That's not the point. I can't come up to you right now. But I'll be able to soon.”

“You shouldn't bother. I did not like the note with which you began the acquaintance. I do not wish to continue it.”

You didn't wait long: you threw the undecided number on the block and drifted further into sleep. A sense of dread dulled the ironic hilarity.

The gifts and notes were gone. The unknown person didn't try to contact you again, and you exhaled hastily: it's nice when people around you turn out to be strange but understanding.

One shift, a tractor-trailer pulled up to the car food dispensing window. The red-and-blue, expensive-looking Paterbilt looked pretentious against the gray-and-yellow Jasper. Still, truckers often passed through this town on their way to Las Vegas, so you weren't surprised.

“Could you take the order outside?” a pleasant male voice asked quietly and conciliatory. “The booth is very high up. I won't be able to reach the order.”

“Yes, of course,” you nodded into the void, as if the person you were talking to could see you, ”the order will be ready in ten minutes. Wait in the parking lot, don't hold up the line.”

When the food was ready and stacked, you hurried out from behind your desk. You headed for the parking lot, which was empty except for Paterbilt.

The car door from the driver's seat was ajar, and you hurriedly reached forward with the bag of food, but… There was no one in sight. The cabin was empty.

“What the…?” the moment you reached forward to look for the trucker, who had obviously moved back to where they had a sleeping place, something yanked you forward by the arm. “What the…!”

Paterbilt's door slammed shut exactly as the plugs pulled you inside.

“I can speak to you personally now, my Spark.”

[sleepyconfusedpotato]

Wildflower

What should Ghost give during Valentine's Day to Jade when she's an actual florist who sees flowers literally every day?

Pairing : Simon “Ghost” Riley x Charlotte “Jade” Le Jardin (OC) Word Count : ~ 6.4k words Warning : Full on fluff-fest, a slight angst, and the good o'l cursings.

Title and story inspired by the song 'Wildflower' by Clay Finnesand and 'La Vie en Rose' by Louis Armstrong.

February 14th. 

Fucking Valentine’s day - a day full of love, they said. 

He never really celebrated or cared about any of those kinds of days where people commemorate shit like love. For him, it's just like any other day. He woke up today and did his workout before he went on jogging.

However, that day is different as he saw countless red and pink decorations in every store in his apartment neighbourhood, offering Valentine's day discount for couples. He swore he saw more couples walking down the street than usual, that he even saw a man propose to his girlfriend when he was jogging. 

Looking at them, Ghost remembered,

He already confessed to Jade during the New Years. 

Yep. He did.

Across the London Eye, when the fireworks painted the infinite black, the chimes of Big Ben rang throughout the Thames River, he said it to her, 

‘I think I’m falling in love with you.’

Only to disappoint her again by saying, ‘But I don’t think I’m ready yet.’

Had he been a coward for not being ready to commit yet? Jade was a shining light in his life. She knew of his struggles, and she treated him with kindness and fondness no woman ever did to him. All his life he never thought to fall in love with someone, yet here he was. 

He wanted to be in a relationship with her. Fuck, he wanted to. But she deserved the world. She deserved certainty and stability while his job was nothing but that. He could get deployed out of the blue anytime – die anytime. He had a lot of things to sort out first.

He saw tears in her green eyes despite the smile. She only hugged him in response, saying, 

‘I love you, so I’ll stay right here.’ Jade muttered shakily while pressing her body to his in a tight hug, her fingers grasping the back of Ghost’s jacket. 

‘When you’re ready, I’ll be here.’

‘Let’s be friends, yeah?’ She had added, to which he answered with a smile. “Yeah. We'll always be friends.”

That was New Years. 

It'd been two months since then. Ghost and Jade had been texting each other regularly all the while continuing their lives. They met occasionally for a food tour as Ghost was a food enthusiast. Their chat was full of ‘Let’s try the new Korean BBQ around the street’, ‘You ever tried a fried ice cream?’, ‘There’s a new movie about a lady becoming a superhero across multiple universes’, and more casual stuff like those. Meanwhile Jade would take him to physical activities such as take him to a zoo, hiking, and even go to arcades. 

Johnny had been such a tease on it. He’d been bothering Ghost the whole time in the base as the Lieutenant looked at his phone and typing away on it more frequently than ever. ‘Yer’ lookin’ very happy these days, Sir.’ , ‘How’s Jade doin’?’, ‘Another ‘meet-up’ with Jade?’, 

‘Yer’ so full of rubbish. That’s called a date.’ Soap had said. 

'Shut your gob. We’re just friends, Johnny.’

‘Friends who go on dates together.’

Soap ran away before Ghost could smack the shit out of him. 

But was it really? Ghost and Jade frequently walk together, as friends, Eating at places together, as friends. Watch movies together, as friends. 

But seeing that one guy propose to his girlfriend lit up a spark in him.

That's when Ghost texted her for a meet-up somewhere, Jade replied back with,

‘I would LOVE to if it's not the busiest time of the year T_T and every Valentines we'd open from early morning to midnight, so I'm really sorry. We have all our employees working, but it doesn't seem to make any difference.’

He forgot that Valentine’s day is literally the most important day for a florist. Fucking idiot.

Ghost sighed as he looked up from his phone, right in front of the Le Jardin floristry. He wore a black hoodie and a face mask, the black face paint absent from around his eyes as he was on leave, a rare occurrence from his line of work. Inside the garden was an organised chaos, to say the least. Ghost saw at least 6 customers inside the garden, around 4 employees going around the shop to accompany them. Even as one person went out after buying a flower, two people would enter the shop to replace them. The place was positively crowded.

He looked far and wide for Jade inside among the sea of people, until a woman with ginger hair came out of a room with a big rose bouquet, giving it to a man in an expensive suit that was tailored to perfection for his figure. The man paid for the humongous flowers and left the shop with a nervous face, meanwhile Jade instantly attended to another customer. He could tell that she's a leader based on how she commanded her employees with such confidence and authority, yet still had that kindness and gentleness in her way of talking. Her legs brought her around the shop with utmost speed and precision, not a single step was wasted on her feet.

He could only smile proudly beneath the mask. 

For about 15 minutes he observed the shop, until a truck pulled up in front of an alleyway right beside the floristry. Didn't have to wait long to understand that the vehicle was meant to pick up flower decorations for a wedding as an old man came out from the alleyway (presumably connected to the backdoor of the shop) brought out a very big, white bouquet in his arms, which size was so big it concealed his head - surely he couldn't see where he was stepping. Ghost noticed that he was struggling to lift the giant decoration onto the truck, his knees looked like it was about to tumble, until his prediction turned into reality.

The old man's knees failed him, and the big white flower decoration would turn into a mess on the ground, if not for Ghost, who quickly leaped in and held the flowers from falling. Ghost huffed in relief that he jumped just in time. 

The man leaned to the side of the decoration to see who had just saved him, and saw a big, tall man dressed in a black hoodie and jeans, whose face was concealed by another black face mask.

Regardless, the elder smiled wide, "Oh good heavens! Thank you so much for the assist! My knees aren't as strong as they used to." The old man said as they both put the white decorations into the truck box. "Ah~ being young is so much easier innit?"

Ghost only nodded, avoiding eye contact to hide his identity. Why'd he help him? probably just from reflex, but then again, how could he just leave an old man stumbling to his fall?

"I'm really sorry for the trouble. I wish I could repay you." The old man's expression was so kind it's almost blinding. He wasn't that short or frail for a man with entirely white hair, probably a 5'9". Judging by his quite muscular arms from his rolled sleeves, he could tell that he's not weak, his knees just betrayed him at a bad time. 

Ghost didn't say anything to the man as he was about to walk away to avoid more interaction, before a familiar feminine voice called.

"Papa! Are you okay!? I saw you trip!"

Both men turned their attention to the shop, where a woman with braided red hair and dark blue apron was talking from the main doorway. 

"Don't worry, Lottie Dear. I got it, but only thanks to this young lad right here." He gestured to Ghost, where he stood right on the elder's left. "If not for him, we'd have to replace all the flowers." 

Fuck.

The old man is her father. 

It's Mister Le Jardin. 

Her green eyes caught the sight of a man whose built and sense of fashion she would recognize from a mile away. "Wait... Ghost??" Jade exclaimed, her face filled with surprise, "What are you doin' here??" 

The SAS lieutenant looked up to her with a tinge of panic on his concealed face, while Mr. Le Jardin observed him up and down. "Oh? You know him?" 

Jade nodded slowly, still shocked, "Yes... he's uh… he's a friend from work." 

He never intended to be noticed by Jade, afraid of disturbing her work, let alone meet her father out of all people. 

The father noticed that word. 'From work'. 

"Really now? What's your name, young man?" Mr. Le Jardin asked, his voice went higher in delight. 

He lowered his head to bow a little, before answering, "Simon... Sir."

"Ah. Nice to meet you, Simon! I'm Eli, owner of Le Jardin along with my wife Gracie – she's inside dealing with the clients." He introduced himself with a handshake, which Ghost reluctantly accepted. 

"Sir! Where're the rest of the flowers?!" The truck driver shouted as he got off his vehicle, prompting Eli to walk to the back door through the alleyway, leaving Ghost and Jade at the front of the shop, her face still painted with shock. A lady walked in front of Jade to enter the shop, so she made some way for her and approached Ghost. 

"Hey Ghost." The red-head started, happiness filling her voice. 

"Hey." 

"So… What brings you here?" She surely knew that he wasn't there just because he 'happened to be in the area', so he deleted that reply in his mind. 

"I wanted to see you."

Jade's eyes widened, surprised at his straight-forward answer. "Oh." 

"Your old man lost his balance loading this decoration into the truck, so I helped him." 

"Oh." Still with the same answer, Jade couldn't tell him how fast her heartbeat was, as her father just came in contact with Ghost, the man she fell in love with.

He looked inside the shop, observing the clients and employees walking around. "Busy day innit?"

"Yeah, it is. To be honest we've been busy since the last 3 days. Had to pick up tons of fresh flowers from our fields back in Norfolk, then arrange them for this day. Today's the busiest day, so it's an all-hands-on-deck situation. Also a big wedding is coming up tonight, and we have to transport these humongous flowers to a hotel ballroom for decorations. Biiig money. This is the third truck." Jade explained as her father and the truck driver walked out with two exact copies of the same white flower decor, lifting them up into the truck before immediately running back in. Third truck? The client must've had too much money on their wallets.

Seeing the scene that's happening in front of him, Ghost took a deep breath and blew it out. 

"Seems like your Da can use an extra pair of arms and younger knees." His deep voice suggested, making Jade's eyebrow rise. 

"Oh? Are you willing to help us out?" 

A nod was all she needed as a confirmation. "Got nothin' else to do or to be."

A wide grin fell on her lips as she grabbed Ghost's right hand and pulled him into the alleyway and to the back door of the shop, where a vast storage room was packed full of flower decorations similar to the ones that were being lifted to the truck. There were only flowers where the eye could see, save for the door that led to the front shop. There were huge boxes and boxes of flowers that had big 'Ian & Gia 14/02's written on them.

Ghost turned to the woman beside her. "Big money, eh?"

"Suuuuper big. Businessman and a big shot pianist. Wanted all the jasmines of blue white and red, and we gotta lift them all to the truck." She explained smiling to him, "Think you're up for this?"

"Won't even break a sweat." Ghost began stepping into the storage room, lifting three big boxes at once in his arms. Jade was left impressed by his show of strength as he ran to the truck at an impressive speed, before coming back and picking up more boxes like a machine, his hoodie still up and his mask still on. 

Jade scoffed at his feat, as her father came to pat her shoulder from behind, "A soldier huh?"

"...Yeah."

"It's basically written on his whole figure and posture. Is he any special in his regiment?"

The daughter could only let out a light laugh, "Very, very much so."

"Get out of here." His father looked at her in disbelief, "SAS?" 

"Yep. One of the strongest, and I'm not even exaggerating." 

His loud laugh filled the alleyway as Ghost ran back and forth lifting the flower boxes without a second wasted and tiredness showing. Jade smiled before heading into the shop to aid her mother and her co-workers with the regular customers. 

------

“Chacha, the pink wrapping paper and white 2.5 is out! We need more from the storage, please!” shouted Fiona, her co-worker and best friend of southeast asian descent, who mainly works in the front counter, preparing the flowers right in front of the visitors (which worked as an added value to attract more people). Her wrapping skills were second to none in the shop, even to Gracie, Jade’s mother, who sat right beside her counting the incoming revenues and accepting orders by call. 

“One minute!” Jade shouted back from the studio room, which was right behind the wall of the main display room while her hands also swiftly moved to arrange roses inside a heart-shaped box. The order had come in pretty fast; she had to make three of them at a time, and now she had to go up to the second floor to get the items Fiona requested. 

“Let me get it.” A deep voice came from behind her, making Jade flinch and look back to the source of the voice, where Ghost stood. 

“A-Are you done with the loading?” Jade asked him with a start, as it was not even 20 minutes since he started to help her father lift all the flowers inside the truck. 

“Just finished. Truck left just now with your dad to arrange the decorations in the ballroom.” 

“Oh.” Jade leaned back to take a glimpse of the back storage room, and true to his words, it was empty. “Wow.”

“Where are these… pink wrappings and the ‘white 2.5’s’?” Asked Ghost with a tone of confusion in his words. Jade could only giggle as she never thought she’d hear the word ‘pink’ out of his mouth. 

“Okay, so go to the second floor. On your 3, duck down and the pink wrapping is on the 3rd shelf from the bottom - take 4 rolls of ‘em. ‘White 2.5’s’ means the white-coloured satin ribbon with a 2.5 centimetres width. Don’t mistake them for the rest as there are the .5, 1.2, 4, and 5 centimetres as well. From the shelf go to your left and there should be a high rack and you can find the thingy there. Take two rolls. Don’t forget to close the door before you go down.” 

Ghost stood in silence as he processed the information.

Before Jade could ask him if he remembered all that, he answered: “Affirmative.” 

The man walked to the side stairs and stepped over 2 stairs, disappearing from her sight to the upper floor. Jade scoffed at the sight before going back to her handiwork. When else can you command an SAS officer like this?

----------

“Chachaaa~ Where're the pink wrappings and white 2.5s?! I need ‘em no–” Fiona noticed the new pink wrappings and white ribbons on the table as she worked. That was fast. 

She then looked up, expecting to find her red-headed best friend who was shorter than her, only to find a big, tall man dressed in a black hoodie and a face mask instead, who exudes danger in the way he stands. Fiona, Gracie, and the clients looked him up and down with mouths agape, as they never saw this giant man around, ever. The scene looked too damn comical for his liking.

“...Is this correct?” Ghost started with a voice lower than the depths of hell, which surprised the whole room. Fuck. Being looked at by people was the one thing he wanted to avoid, but here he was.

“Lottie dear, Who’s this?” the old lady beside Fiona asked Jade with a quite high volume, who was still inside the studio arranging the heart-shaped roses.

Judging by the nickname and those braids in her gray hair similar to Jade's, this lady could only be Gracie, her mother. 

Mrs. Le Jardin. 

“H-He’s a friend from work! I called him up here to lend a hand!” Jade shouted back from the studio. Even with the answer, all the people were still staring at him, especially Jade’s mum, and it felt like having ten laser sights aiming at him.

He swore he saw a smirk from Gracie.

So before he attracted more attention, Ghost repeated, “Is this correct?” 

“Y—yeah.” Fiona answered nervously, meanwhile her mother was still eyeballing him like she found a leprechaun. Upon hearing that confirmation, Ghost left the items in the counters and fast-walked back to the studio where Jade was, disappearing from sight. 

-----------

“Chacha, are you serious? ‘A friend from work’?” Fiona asked her best friend as she threw a piece of french fries into her mouth. The Le Jardin floristry was currently having a lunch break, and most of the employees went out to get their own meals, while the two stayed inside to talk about the man who was currently sweeping the floor of the studio alone, silently.

Fiona stared at his back from where they were eating at a counter, chewing at her fries. “Are you saying that you have a friend built like that with a voice like that working as a volunteer in the orphanage dealing with kids???”

“Nooo no no, that’s not it–!” That was where Jade messed up. She forgot that neither her best friend, nor any one of their employees know that the Le Jardins used to be MI6 black agents, except the fact that Jade was adopted. They both started to become friends when Fiona applied for the job 3 years ago, right when Jade just retired from MI6. All that she knew was the fact that Jade only had two jobs: Floristry on weekdays and in the orphanage for weekends. She never mentioned the other work that she did for the last two decades of her life. “I didn’t mean from work, I mean I met him when I was at work.” 

“Oh really?”

“Yeah.” 

“When and how did you meet him? Heck what is his name?” Shit. She needed to make up stories about him at this point. But what?! Jade hated lying. Sure it’s super easy to manipulate people by changing reality, but she didn’t want to lie to her best friend! Fiona’s the one who’s been helping her adjust to the life of being a florist and a normal life for the last three years (after saying that she’d been living abroad). 

However, how can Jade just say, ‘oh so actually I was an MI6 agent. Both of your bosses were too, actually. Not only agents – we were black agents who were trained since we were not old enough to make our own decisions to do the illegal stuff! I retired three years ago and that's when I met you, but they called me back again, and that’s when I met that guy who happened to be an officer of one the most elite task forces in the world!' 

That’s just absurd!

How did she meet him? How did she meet him?! 

"Ja– I mean Midg– I mean Lottie, where do I put these–"

The two women turned their heads to Ghost, who came out of the studio with the broom and dustpan in his hands. Looking at the two women's expression, he knew he fucked up. He didn't know what to call her outside of work. Her call sign 'Jade' was directly tied to her work as an MI6 and he couldn't know for sure if Fiona knew about that name. 'Midget' was the name he called her regularly, but he thought it was too harsh in front of her best friend, while 'Lottie' was…

"Why did you call her that?" Fiona asked him while chewing her fries, suspicion painting het face, while Jade sucked her lips and widened her eyes in shock.

Fuck. He thought right. It's a pet name used exclusively by her parents. 

"Wait. No way." She turned to Jade and Ghost back and forth before standing up abruptly, startling Jade, meanwhile Ghost stood calmly, still holding the cleaning tools in his hands.

"Chacha… is he your secret boyfriend?!?" 

That sentence shocked both of them as Jade quickly denied in panic, "No! No, he's not!! Just– sit down will you?" 

"That name is exclusively used by the bosses, ya know." She started walking towards Ghost slowly. 

Jade followed her from behind, trying to hold her friend back. "Fiona, he isn't! I swear!"

"No, seriously. How did you meet her? When?" She started closing in on Ghost excitedly, looking up at him. "What’s your name, by the way?"

“Simon.” Ghost answered deadpanly, as the last question was literally the only question he can answer casually. As long as he didn’t give out his last name, it’d be fine. “Name’s Simon.” 

"Ooooooh so he's the reason why you've been going out a lot after closin' up! You've been on dates!!" 

"NO!! We haven't–" 

"Yes."

Ghost's deep voice interrupted the two girls' argument, making them look at the man. 

"We've been on dates." 

Jade's face turned as red as her hair, and her heart beat so fast and so hard she swore Fiona and Ghost could hear it. Why was he suddenly doing this??? All the while, Fiona's jaw dropped to the floor, eyes glaring at her best friend in shock. 

Jade glanced at Ghost, but that damned hoodie and face mask did not help her at all. "I KNEW IT!!! I CANNOT BELIEVE YOU'VE BEEN DATING BEHIND MY BACK??? I mean– I am happy for you, Chacha, but WHY ARE YOU HIDING IT FROM ME???" Fiona excitingly chimed to her best friend, grabbing Jade's shoulders before shaking them like she's a ragdoll. 

"Wait– Fiona I can explain–"

"Okay! Explain then! Tell me everything! And don't you dare try to hide anything from me." That's right. She deserved to know. Fiona had been with her for the past three years. She's her first best friend ever. Jade knew she could trust her.

Jade relented with a big sigh and glanced at Ghost with a questioning look. He caught her cue before he himself took a deep breath. "As long as she can keep her mouth shut."

Fiona turned to Ghost, "Wh-what? What is this about?"

"Fiona. My dear best friend. My very beautiful friend that I trust. I love you, so, so much, so I will tell you the truth." Jade started before Ghost cut her again. 

"Jade where do I put the broom and the dustpan."

"Owh just put it on the side there yeah. Thanks."

"Who's Jade?"

—------------

"Okay. So let me get this straight." Fiona clapped her hands together in front of Ghost and Jade, who were sitting on the chairs behind the counter together while Fiona was standing up. Jade sat like she was being interrogated, while Ghost folded his arms in front of his chest.

"You, Chacha, had been working as an MI6 black agent for the last twenty years, since you were a wee kid, and then retired three years ago." Jade nodded.

"But two years ago, they called you back to this city called… Verdansk, and that's where you meet… Simon." She gestured to Ghost, who nodded.

"You only met briefly, until last October, you got called back from retirement again, and that's when you met him for the second time. But this one was special, as you guys started to develop feelings for each other, am I right?" Both of them nodded. 

"GOD this sounds like a Wattpad type of shite!!" Fiona grasped her hair from frustration, "And you're an MI6 BLACK AGENT??? REALLY???"

"Was. Papa and Mama were, too, actually." 

"Oh my Dear Lord in Heavens. THE BOSSES WERE BLACK AGENTS TOO?????" Jade nodded again. Clearly she didn't have any single clue of the burden that came with the words 'MI6', 'agent', especially with the added word 'black' in front of it.

"And you, Simon. So you're a soldier. Which one are you from? Navy? Is it the Royal Artillery? Or is it Life Guards like James Blunt?" Fiona asked with her very limited military knowledge. 

"You promised to keep your mouth shut so keep your promise." That voice came out harsher than he intended it to be, prompting Fiona to be taken aback.

"SAS."

The black-haired woman gasped so hard, covering her mouth in shock. "...like Bear Grylls?"

Jade couldn't help the giggle, as Ghost was utterly flabbergasted at her reaction as that was the first thing that came to her mind from the revelation. "...Yeah. Like Bear Grylls. And no I don't know him."

"Wow. Okay. So why the face mask? Does this have anything to do with secrecy and stuff?" Fiona asked him again as Ghost still had the hoodie up and face mask. She hadn't seen his face at all. "Am I not allowed to see his face? Wait Chacha you have seen his face right?"

"Of course I have! What do you mean by that!?" Jade countered, clearly overwhelmed by the barrage of questions. "Ghost. it's up to you."

Ghost huffed, lifting up one hand to the upper hem of his face mask. Fiona observed as Ghost pulled down the mask for a good 3 seconds, catching a glimpse of his strong jaw, his light brown stubble, the faint scars on his face, before putting the face mask back into place again. "Happy now?"

"Oh. Wow. Okay. I am happy." Fiona confirmed with start, turning to look at Jade again, "Chacha you hit a jackpot on this one – so you guys are a couple, right?"

The man and woman looked at each other for a long time, Jade bit her lower lip as her expression fell. Ghost could only close his eyes in regret. 

"Wait, no way you guys aren't a thing already. Whaaaatttt?" Fiona expressed her confusion because, for the last two months, Jade had started to buy more makeup and clothes, and the sudden interest in her looks had made Fiona suspicious. She really thought her best friend was dating a man secretly, but now that he's right here, both of them could not say that they're in a relationship?

"Look, Fiona… it's complicated, okay? We're just taking things slow right now. Our… jobs have their own risks, and we're just trying to enjoy things as they are now." Jade tried to explain with a bit of a sad tone to her voice. 

"So… you guys are friends, who happen to go on dates occasionally?" Fuckin' hell. Ghost thought. How could she say the exact same thing as Soap? Was it really weird? For two friends to just go together doing whatever they liked? 

After both of them nodded for the hundredth time that day, Fiona sighed in acceptance. "Chacha, Luv, I might not understand what you guys are going through right now, but Simon," she turned to Ghost, who lifted his head to see her clearly. "You better not make her cry." 

The man glanced to his side, where Jade silently sat on the chair. He knew she'd already hurt her feelings by saying he wasn't ready for a relationship yet, but if he wanted to be honest with himself, was ‘scared’ and ‘afraid’ the right word for it? As Soap and Fiona said, they’re literally doing what couples do. 

He’s just afraid to put a name on it. 

“I’ll try.” 

—------------

Jade had texted him earlier that during Valentine’s, Le Jardin’s floristry would open until midnight. Ghost wondered why as it had been a while since the employees had gone home, including Fiona (who told her that they were going to have a long chat on the phone) who had to go home and have dinner with her family. The sun had long drowned, replaced by the moon that accompanied the cold winter of London. Warm lights from the shops and a few street lights were the only thing lighting up the streets - one of them coming from the floristry. 

The sales peaked around 6 PM to 9 PM when people finished their work to be with their loved ones. Ghost had absolutely no skills in flower arranging or wrapping, so he did all he could to help the other employees to pick tools or items from high shelves, and even change the lightbulb when one of them died. Ghost didn’t mind it one bit as he found simple domestic things like this relaxing compared to what he did in the military - full of pressure, stress, and blood. 

Meanwhile, the utmost form of stress in Le Jardin’s (at least what he saw today), was a customer who kept changing the flowers that he wanted, and then lashing out at Fiona when his bouquet wasn’t tied the way he wanted to. Ghost almost wanted to step in, drag him out of the store, and throw him out to the streets, but Jade stepped in and calmly asked the customer for references, dealing with the situation one at a time, and finally, the man stomped out. Ghost knew that there were more variety of problems in retail, but at least he got to experience one today. To be honest that was probably the least angry person in London. 

That was 3 hours ago. Now, there’s only the Le Jardins and Ghost; the father had come home at around 4 PM after finishing the decorations. He took a photo of the ballroom and showed it to his family and Ghost, who was quite amazed at the old man’s sense of composition and aesthetic. 

The four of them were all in the front room, Gracie counting the revenues, Jade tidying up the display flowers, Eli wiping the windows, and Ghost sweeping the floors (again). The clock showed 00.23, the shop was empty, and even the cafe opposite them was already closed. As Ghost finished his chore, he put the cleaning tools to the side before approaching Jade.

“Are you not closin’? It’s past midnight.” He muttered to her, who was tidying up the edelweiss display. 

Jade smiled, “We usually extend about an hour.” 

“Why?” 

“You’ll see.”

Just as he was about to question it, the phone rang besides Gracie, who picked up the call immediately,

“Le Jardin Floristry. Yes, we are still open. You might be our last client, Sir. We do have tulips available. What colour? Red and pink, got it. The bouquet will be here when you arrive. Yes. We’ll be here, Sir, don’t worry. Thank you!” After confirming the order, Gracie smiled towards Ghost as she put the phone back. “That’s why, Simon Dear.”

About twenty minutes later, a man entered the shop in a hurry, dressed in a dirty fire brigade jacket. He clearly just finished his work and then drove to the floristry immediately after he extinguished whatever fire broke out somewhere. The moustached man approached the counter, where Jade had his order ready. “I’m here for my tulips?” He muttered, clearly tired from the way he panted. 

“Here it is, Sir. That’ll be 18 pounds.” 

“Thank you so much. You guys were the only shop open at this time. I’m forever grateful. I already told my wife and children that I’ll be late, but I truly felt bad.” He pulled out his wallet before putting a 20-pound note on the counter. 

“A pleasure for us, Sir. Have a good night!” Gracie chimed as he took the tulips in his hands, exited the shop and finally drove off. With that, Eli flipped the ‘Open’ tag to the ‘Closed’ tag.

“Delightful! Now.” Mr. Le Jardin put his hands on his hips, “Let’s have dinner.” Once Ghost heard that, he immediately planned his escape from the floristry like he needed to escape an enemy’s vicinity. 

“Simon Dear, you’re joining us, aren’t you?” But after hearing the gentle yet commanding tone coming out of Gracie, he decided against it, as what he heard in his ear was, ‘We’re going to have a conversation about you and my daughter’. 

—-------

“So, Simon Dear.” Gracie's voice startled Ghost as he was cutting the carrots for the chicken soup they're making, all the while Gracie was stirring the ladle on the pot. His hood was still up on his head, but he's taken off his mask to smell the chicken broth in front of him. He figured that if there's a civilian he'd let see his face, it's an ex-MI6 whose daughter he loved.

It was only the two of them in the kitchen on the third floor as Eli and his daughter were still tidying up the first floor. “Are you Lottie’s boyfriend?” 

Fuck. There’s the question. “No, Ma’am." He replied slowly, "Not yet."

Ghost expected a questioning look followed by a 'why', but instead she gave him a light nod. “She’s very fond of you, I think you should know."  That one caught Ghost's attention, briefly slowing down his slices. Did Jade talk to her mother about him?

"The way she talks about you, I know how deeply she really cared for you. She saw her future with no man, at all, until she met you. Had to do with 'understanding one another' she said." Gracie put in more black pepper into the pot.

“May I know, what stopped you from committing to her?”

More questions to answer, but this one, he didn't know how to answer. 

“...I don’t know, Ma'am."

Not long, Gracie muttered with a tone he almost forgot. Motherly. “...Are you afraid?”

And that's when he found himself so vulnerable, so open. And the weird thing was, he only felt like this when he's with Jade. He thought Gracie's her adoptive mother, but this magical familial trait where people could instantly open up to them was almost scary. 

Was it a yes? No, he's not afraid. He just thought that if they started dating, she might be wasting her time with him. Well, he's afraid that all this love that he's feeling and all these moments with be for naught if he's just dead after a deployment gone wrong. He can't promise anything to her. Ghost knew how serious Jade was about a relationship. She wanted a long-lasting one.

Ghost didn't mutter a word out of his mouth. Only continuing his work. He could feel her gaze on him, but he still chose to stay silent.

He expected judgement, but what came was a light smile. “You remind me of Eli and me, back when we were still with MI6."

"He was afraid of the life we’ll lead. Constantly running, followed by death everywhere we go. Stability and domesticity was a dream impossible to achieve.” As Ghost listened and wondered how the fuck did she read his mind, he lifted the cutting board and poured the cube-cut carrot into the pot. 

“However, I can tell him anything, he can tell me anything.” Gracie continued, looking up at him. Her gaze was as soft as Jade's, grey eyes softly gazing into his soul. “Eli had his own problems, I had my own, but what mattered was the fact that we both tried to be better, for my own sake, and for his sake.”

“He was my best friend, and I was his. It was a leap of faith to be together.” She said as her palm tapped his shoulder firmly.

“I’m saying this as her mother. If you love her, then go all in. She deserves all of you.”

---

Dinner was eventful, to say the least. The Le Jardins, plus Ghost, ate their dinner together in their house on the third floor. Chicken and vegetable soup accompanied by warm cups of tea was enough to fill their stomachs. Ghost, of course, had to take his hood down and took off his face mask to eat with the three of them.

It felt odd. 

When was the last time he had a family dinner like this? Eating a delicious meal without having to find a place where there's no other people? A place where he could freely show his face to others, the warmth of a family? 

It didn't take long for Eli to finish his meal, as he stood up and put on 'La Vie en Rose' by Louis Armstrong on the classic gramophone. Gracie scoffed loudly, stood up, and took Eli's hand in hers. 

"Heeeere we go." Jade rolled her eyes, seeming like she had to watch this for the thousandth time.

As Louis Armstrong started to sing, the two old couple put out an amazing slow dancing show in front of Ghost and Jade. Seeing them so unashamedly happy, and the fact that both of their eyes only stared at each other with so much love, Ghost unconsciously smiled.

And when he turned to look at Jade, there was she, two hands holding her phone horizontally, taking a video of her parents, grinning ear to ear while her eyes gleamed with joy.

It's such a warm scene to witness. 

He only hoped it was him and her in place of Eli and Gracie.

—------------

The time showed 02.13. Ghost and Jade were standing in front of the shop, a long scarf wrapped around Ghost's neck as the cold was harsh that time of the day. Jade insisted that he wore them, or she said he would catch a cold. 

"Thank you, Ghost. For today. My dad had been having regular trouble with his knee, so thank you so so much." Jade started, cheeks blushing that was certainly not because of the February winter. 

"Well, I doubt that, considering how well he danced with your mum." Ghost replied, making Jade laugh. Her smile was a sight he'd never get tired of seeing. “Are you going anywhere tomorrow?” 

That question quite surprised her. “Well… Tomorrow my shift starts at 3 PM. So I'm free in the morning. Why?"

“I want to make do for today. We haven’t had a proper… date. Yet. I honestly had wanted to bring you flowers, but I remembered you're a florist. So I felt like a prat.”

Her face turned as red as tulips at that. “Honestly, you helping out in the shop was more romantic than anything you could ever give."

"Oh yeah?" 

"Yeah! So… what are you thinkin’ for tomorrow? What do you wanna do, Ghost?”

“What do you wanna do?” He asked back.

“Oh? W-well… Hmmm." Jade contemplated, pouting her lips, glancing at the moon high in the sky. "Ice skating. And then Korean barbecue after.”

“I-Ice skating?” Ghost stuttered, not expecting that answer. 

“Yeah. What, you afraid you’re gonna fall?”

“I have no clue what you’re talkin’ about.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll hold you if you do.” 

He wanted to say something along the lines of 'fuck-off' or 'sod you'. But he deleted that reply before it came out of his mouth, instead saying, "Please do."

Jade grinned ear-to-ear at that response. She was anticipating a clap back from him, but it was such an unusually warm reply that she couldn't help the blush in her cheeks.

No matter how much she wanted him to stay close to her, he had to go, and Jade said her goodbye. "Thank you for today. See you tomorrow, Simon."

Still standing still, Ghost muttered, "It was fun."

She thought he was going to start walking away towards his apartment, but instead, a glimmer of light reflected on his brown irises, still gazing at hers with such hopeful and wistful eyes.

And before she knew it, Ghost leaned in closer to her face, and placed a soft peck on her cheek.

As he stood back, Jade saw that his face burnt red, seeming like what he just did took great courage and resolution. His face still so close to hers, Ghost left her speechless.

And before she could say anything, he said his last words to her that night,

"See you tomorrow, Lottie."

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

Hope you like it! (❁´◡`❁)

[mrsevans90]

Puppy Love

Captain Syverson x OFC Emma Miller Part 16

Summary: Austin Syverson has returned to Texas after retiring from the military and starts his own contracting business. Syverson is used to being alone and thinks he prefers it that way. While at work he stumbles upon an injured and abused puppy. When he meets the new veterinarian in town, Emma Miller, he is immediately smitten with her. It turns out Emma has some baggage of her own. Will they be able to make it work? Or is it just a case of fleeting puppy love?

Pairing: Henry Cavill as Captain Austin Syverson x OFC Emma Miller 

Warnings: Y'all, this one is just SMUT. Seriously a little fluff, but mostly smut. Oral (M&F receiving), fingering, squirting, P in V intercourse, shower sex, innuendos, language, playing around in public, rough sex, Captain kink (🥵)

MINORS DNI! Must be 18+

I do not authorize any copying/pasting, stealing of my work, or using my words as your own. 

This story is not beta’d. All mistakes are my own.

A/N: I am an imperfect person who makes mistakes. All that I ask is to please be kind and if you enjoy it then please comment and REPOST! I appreciate any love, comments, and reposts more than you could know. Thank you for reading! 

Part 15

Our plane is finally descending to the tropical Ocho Rios, Jamaica. I found an adult only all-inclusive five-star resort that was offering slight discounts for customers who booked trips within the month so they could fill any unreserved rooms. I look over at Emma who is captivated by the book she brought and smile. She was so excited that she had gotten the doctor to remove the hard cast a week earlier than planned and only had to use a removable brace for the next month. I felt she wasn’t wearing it enough, but I wasn’t about to bring down her excitement. I just tried to subtly convince her to wear it for short amounts of time. She was good for me today and wore it the entire plane ride but I was sure she was going to fight me on it while on vacation. I want this whole trip and proposal to be perfect for her, so I splurged a little but she doesn’t know it yet. We’ll be spending a week in paradise with endless drinks and food being served to us. I told Emma where we were going but didn’t tell her anything about the resort so that she would hopefully be surprised. The best part is, we wouldn’t have to leave the resort if we didn’t want too. It had several bars and restaurants onsite so there was never any concern about us getting back to our rooms safely. Everything we would need or want was in walking distance enclosed within the resort. From a safety aspect, that was a huge selling point to me as well.

When we arrived at the resort, we were immediately served champagne and then escorted to lunch at the beach restaurant next to the ocean while they took our bags to our room.

“Austin, oh my god!” Emma squealed as soon as the server walked back to place our orders.

“Did I do good, Sugar?” I smirk knowing just by her wide-eyed expression and her bouncing in her seat that she was happy.

“I’ve never been anywhere like this! Look at the water, baby! It’s so clear and blue! You did better than good, you did absolutely amazing! How did you find this place?”

“I just started searching ‘tropical beach vacations’ online and I could picture you out here in a bikini so I booked it.” I joke.

“Well, I’ll have to reward you for your efforts.” She says sultrily before our waiter returned with the food that was absolutely decadent. I was starving after traveling all day and their food didn’t disappoint.

We were shown to our room after lunch, and I was pleased that it was everything I had expected it to be. The large king bed covered in fluffy pristine linens adorned with local flowers from their garden sprinkled on top, a rain fall shower that could easily fit both of us, a massive tub with a view of the ocean, mini fridge stocked with snacks and alcohol, and a balcony that overlooked the side garden with the ocean off in the distance. To be honest, this was my first fancy vacation as well. I grew up going to local beaches and mountains for camping with friends and family. I spent plenty of time in airports and military planes being shipped off to the less desirable destinations of the world to fight for my country. This was the first trip that I had booked to just relax and be with the woman I love and I’m glad Walt suggested it. Before I could even suggest anything, Emma was pulling swimsuits from our bag and itching to get to the sand. I’d do anything she wanted so I followed her until she found some beach loungers that she was happy with and sat down. I watched her pull her swimsuit coverup off her body and audibly groaned. Emma had brought a tiny hot pink string bikini that clung to her curves in all of the right places. The bottoms left my favorite part of her ass cheeks on display, and I could feel myself growing in my trunks as she bent over to stow her coverup in the bag she brought. Emma’s hair was up in a high ponytail with she had her sunglasses perched on her nose and I swear I almost burst in my pants when she crawled up the length of the sun lounger to get settled.

“Fuck, darlin’. Trying to kill me on the first day of vacation?” I ask and she giggles.  “I was told to get some bikinis so I tried to find ones that my Bear would like.” 

“Mission accomplished” I say as I motion toward the tent in my trunks before adjusting myself as discreetly as possible.

“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of you later, baby.”

I physically bit my lip as she started rubbing sunscreen on her body before I took the bottle from her and took over. I needed to sit up to hide my erection anyway, so why not get my hands on her in every way I can. 

I rubbed the lotion all over her body, appreciating the uniqueness of her body. I swear I loved every freckle, mole, cellulite, and scar on her body. Even her imperfections were perfect. I watched the sunlight glimmer on the metal of her little belly ring and stifled a groan. She is the epitome of divine. I had her roll over and quickly untied her top when she was on her tummy.

“Austin…”

“It’s just so I can get your back, Sugar. Trust me, I won’t let anyone else see what’s for my eyes only.” I started applying the lotion all over her and when I got to her ass, I really made sure it was rubbed in. She giggled and swatted me away when she felt I spent too much time and attention there, but damn she was my own personal paradise. 

“Tie me up.” She said and fought the automatic response that popped into my brain about bondage and I retied her top for her. The thought of her tied up to the bed posts and completely open to me was not going to help my erection become less noticeable.

“Your turn.” 

“Wanting to rub all over your man?” I ask.

“Yes, but I also want to protect you from skin cancer.”

“Hate to break it to ya, Sugar, but the military wasn’t actually handing out sunscreen in the desert. I’m probably already fucked.”

“Well, I’ll be scheduling you a dermatologist visit when we get back. Now sit.” I arch my eyebrow at her. Bossy little thing. Why does that turn me on?

Emma covers me in sunscreen and I have to admit that it felt nice having her rubbing it all over me so I wasn’t going to complain. In fact, I’d probably be taking better care of my skin this trip then I have my entire life if this is how it goes.

We laid back and talked for a while about the amenities offered at the resort and what all she might want to do while we are here. I told her that I had planned dinner for tomorrow for us, but the rest of the trip could go however we wanted. We could be lazy and not make reservations for anything or we could go on excursions and explore. We decided to swim for a little bit, which ended up with Emma wrapped around me like a koala in the ocean because she wasn’t tall enough to reach where I was standing. I had my hands firmly on each ass cheek and would gladly hold her in the water as long as she wanted. I certainly didn’t mind as her breasts pushed up against me. 

“Lemme’ see those perfect tits.” I whisper against her ear and she feigns shock.

“Austin! There are people out here.” 

“I won’t let anyone see. I just need a peek. I’m dying here.” I say as I push my erection against her core that’s against me.

“Fine, but just a quick one.” 

She leans back and quickly pulls the fabric of her top down to expose her tits to me, now shiny from the water and I thrust against her again.

“You’re fucking perfect.” I tell her as I lean forward and kiss her passionately. I don’t give a shit who sees at this point. The water’s so clear though, if I fucked her out here in the daytime it would be obvious.

“Mmmm, baby.” She kisses me back and I know I’m affecting her too.

“How much longer til I can get you in our room?” I ask.

“Now?” She bites her lip and I have to take a deep breath.

“If I get out of the water right now with this massive hard on, everyone out here will see it. I’m gonna need a minute to calm down.” I tell her. I walk her towards shallower water so I can set her down and what does this woman do? She grabs my dick and rubs it. 

“Don’t take too long. Think about Nana having sex with PawPaw or something.” She says and the look on my face must be purely hilarious. Emma starts laughing so hard, if she couldn’t stand up I’d worry she would drown.

“Don’t put images like that in my head, woman! For fuck’s sake! That’s nasty.” Emma is still cackling so hard she’s drawing attention from other vacationers.

“Well, that should help you ease your little problem.” She mutters between giggles.

“Ain’t nothing little about it, Sugar. You know that.” 

“I certainly do.”

After a few minutes of thinking about different military protocol, I’m able to get out of the water with just a semi. Emma is sporting a shit eating grin from her seat on the lounging chairs and I can’t help but shake my head at her. I towel off and grab my shoes and shirt, opting to carry them.

“Ready?” She asks sweetly while standing up and grabbing her bag and towel.

“More than you are.” I swat her ass before grabbing her hand and we head back to our room. 

As soon as I get the door closed, I’ve got Emma pressed up against it. Our belongings are dropped on the floor and I pull her coverup and throw it across the room. I pick her up and she instinctively wraps her legs around my waist as I carry her to the shower. Through our rushed and messy kisses, I’m pulling all of the strings on her swimsuit and ripping it away from my prized possessions. Emma screeches when I flip the water on and cold water starts pouring from the rain shower head in the ceiling directly over us. I watch her nipples pebble under the stream of chilly water and suck one in my mouth. Emma moans and begins to frantically suck at my neck but even though I’m now painfully hard, I plan to make her work for it a little more.

I set Emma down on her feet before pushing her to her knees as I untie my trunks and drop them to the shower floor.

“Suck.” I command using my Captain voice and Emma immediately shoves my cock in her mouth, her small hand pumping what’s left.

She begins to suck me and cups my balls lightly with the hand of her previously injured arm. Emma whines and attempts to rub her thighs together to ease the friction.

“You teased me, Sugar. I’m going to come down your throat and then I’ll fuck that sweet peach so good that you’re begging me to stop. Understand?” I speak authoritatively and Emma attempts to nod around my length.

I make use of Emma’s now sodden ponytail to pull her on and off my cock as she sucks me off.

“Fucking shit, babygirl, you’ve got the most perfect mouth in the world. That’s right, gag on me.” I tell her and she forces herself down further than I expected and gags and that’s all it takes for me meet my climax.

“Oh fuck, I’m cumming!” I tell her and seconds later she is swallowing my load like a champ. I pull out of her mouth so she can catch her breath. I’m leaning back against the tile trying to recover from the best blowjob I’ve ever had before I spread a little bit of my cum that’s left on the head across her lips like it’s lipstick. Emma licks my remnants from her lips and then bites her bottom lip while looking up at me with those perfect blue eyes. 

Emma scrapes her nails gently across my oversensitive skin as she makes her way back up to standing.

“Sugar, that was incredible.” I tell her before kissing her sweetly. “Was I too rough?” I start thinking maybe that was too much for her and I took it too far. 

“No, that was hot as hell.” She says with a smile and I kiss her again. “I’ll be ready to do that again this week.”

“Now, I owe you at least 3 orgasms before dinner.” I whisper as I pull her body against mine.

“Bed. I want you in that gorgeous big bed.” She murmurs against my lips. We quickly wash the sunscreen off of us, before toweling off just enough to not be dripping across the tiled floors. I grab her up in a fireman carry and throw her across the bed on top of the flowers.

“You’re going to cum once on my mouth, another time on my fingers, and then the third time on my cock. That sound like a plan, Darlin’?” I ask as I rip the towel off over her and start kissing down her body, spending a few moments on each of her breasts before making my way to her glistening folds.

Emma whimpers as I spread her legs and kiss all around her pearl.

“Baby, don’t tease me.” She begs.

Without hesitation, I dive right on in to my favorite dessert. I’m sucking on her clit and licking slowly between her folds which immediately has her squirming. I wrap my arms around her hips and hold her in place as she begins to grind on my beard. Fuck, I love the way she tastes and sounds. Her little mewls sneak out as her hands attempt to find purchase on my head and the bed linens. I look up at her and take in the perfect sight in front of me. Her breasts are heaving up and down as her breath races and when I can tell she is getting close, I focus even more on her little button. 

“Bear! Ah fuck! I’m cumming!” She shouts louder than she probably intended as her body arches off the bed and I work her through her orgasm. When her body is relaxed, I crawl up the bed and pull her on top of me, my chest to her back. I wrap my arms around her breasts and start tickling and kissing her neck with my beard.

“Sugar, we’re just getting started.” I grunt against her ear as I place kisses all over her neck while pulling her taut nipples in my hands.

“I dream about these titties when you aren’t with me, Darlin. So perfect. Fit just right in my big hands.” I massage and knead at her breasts until I’ve decided that she’s had enough recovery time and my hands find their way to her legs. I pull them apart and can’t help but press my hard cock against her back as I see her open up to me, completely pliant for whatever I choose.

“You feel how hard you got me, Sugar? That’s all for you, babygirl.”  My hands start to spread her folds and after pressing against her already sensitive clit, I slide my middle finger into her core. 

“You’re the sexiest woman I’ve ever seen.” Emma moans and reaches behind her to wrap an arm around my neck. My other hand is alternating between squeezing on her perfect tits and pressing against her clit to heighten her pleasure.

“More Sy. I need you.” Emma whines and I quickly slide a second finger in and start pumping them in and out. Spurred on by the sensation, Emma begins riding my fingers and gently thrusting against my hand. I spit on my other hand and start pinching on her clit again and without warning Emma arches into a blinding release. I’m thrilled as I keep pumping my fingers, that my girl is soaking my hand and arm, her juices squirting out of her with each wave of bliss that crashes over her. 

“Fuck yes, Sugar. Look at you getting all messy for me. Perfect little peach sucking my fingers in and coating them in your sweet peach juice.” I grunt as Emma once again becomes pliant jello in my arms. I slide my fingers out and stick them into her mouth which causes her eyes to fly open as she tastes her own arousal on my hands, sucking instinctively.

“Isn’t that the sweetest peach you’ve ever tasted? And it’s all mine.” I say as she watches me remove my fingers from her mouth, slide them through her pussy lips again before sliding them back into my own mouth.

“Fuck, Austin. You’re so naughty.” She says almost with a desperate laugh.

“Yeah? You like that?” 

“Mmhmm. So fucking sexy, but I need your cock.” She says as she wiggles against my obvious erection. 

“What you need me to do with my cock, Sugar? Tell me what you need.” I smirk, knowing she has a hard time finding the words when she’s so fucked out. 

“I need you to fuck me so hard that I can’t walk to dinner tonight, baby. Ruin my pussy.” I instantaneously thrust against her ass cheeks just hearing those words out of her mouth. Well, fuck me sideways. Looks like she did have the words after all.

“You want it rough, Darlin?”

“Yes, Captain Syverson.” She says and bites her lip and within seconds I’ve got her flipped on all fours in front of me with that glorious ass and weeping pussy front and center. 

“You need to tell me if you want me to stop or if I’m hurting you, understand?” I command.

She nods and wiggles her ass in front of me. I slap her right ass cheek hard and she gasps.

“Words.”

“Yes. I’ll tell you if it hurts.”

“Yes, what? Is that how you address your Captain?”

“Yes Sir, Captain Syverson.” She corrects and I’m so hard that pre-cum is dripping down my shaft. Not for long.

I rub my cock through her folds and collect her arousal all over me. I spread her ass cheeks and just watch my cock in one of my favorite places making a mental picture of it before I slide all the way in.

Emma’s moans ricochet around the room and mine are just as lewd.

“Fuck, you’re so tight.” I grunt as I force myself to stay perfectly still and allow her a moment to adjust. 

“Ah! I need you to move.” She whines while wiggling a bit and I pull out before slamming back into her core.

“Fuck, Captain. Your cock is so big. It’s all up in my tummy.” Her speech somewhat broken as I slam into her repeatedly. 

“Yeah? You like that your superior has a big fucking cock all the way up in your guts? Railing you so hard that my ball sac is hitting that sweet little button?” I rumble against her.

“Mmm you feel so good!” She grunts as I’m slamming her so hard, I don’t know how she isn’t breaking. I rub on her ass cheeks and likely bruise her hips with my fingertips as my pace puts me so close to releasing.

“I need you to cum. Right now.” I command and slide a hand down to pinch her clit as I continue pumping into her hard and groan as her orgasm overtakes her and she begins clenching all around me. Her arms no longer able to hold her body up as she’s overcome with her release, she crumples to her face on the bed and I groan as I allow myself to let go as well, painting her walls with my spend. My orgasm hits me so hard that I can’t help but drape across Emma’s petite back as I try and figure out which way is up again. I slowly slide out of her before flopping to my back and pulling Emma’s limp body on top of mine. We are silent, the only sounds in the room are of the hum from the air conditioner working overtime in the Jamaican humidity and our ragged breath from exertion. 

“Mission accomplished.” Emma whispers against my chest, quoting my own words from only hours before.

“What mission is that?” 

“The mission to ruin my pussy and fuck me so hard that I can’t walk to dinner tonight.” She says with a giggle and the room now fills with my loud, exuberant laugh.

 “Room service then?” I ask and she nods.

The rest of the night is spent laying in each other’s arms, snacking on anything and everything we wanted from room service and even a warm bath by the windows overlooking the ocean.

Emma is draped across my chest as soak in the bubbles with candles and champagne.

“So, what should the next mission be?” I wonder aloud. Our “missions” now simply meaning all of the ways we plan to be intimate on this vacation.

“I know, but I might have to wait a day or so.”

“Oh yeah? Why’s that.”

“So my pussy doesn’t fall off from abuse.” I smirk at her. 

“You asked and I provided. Well then, at least tell me the mission.”

“To fuck on the balcony.” Emma suggests with an arched eyebrow and all of the blood goes rushing back to my dick like it hasn’t been there all afternoon. I throw my head back in exasperation that now I have to wait and it’s all I’m going to be able to think about, other than the proposal she doesn’t know about.

“Unless you’re not interested?” Emma plays on, clearly knowing my head is filled with indecent thoughts as she wiggles against my erection and I playfully thrust against her. 

“Better hope this bath heals that sweet peach up, because that balcony fuck is definitely going to happen.” I inform her as I wrap my arms around her. 

I don’t know what I’ve done in my life to deserve this, but here with this woman right now is my version of heaven. 

Part 17

Taglist: @shellyshellshell, @henryownsme, @caramariehurst, @beck07990, @mollymal, @kingliam2019, @syversonswife, @identity2212, @starfirewildheart, @hannah9921, @wa-ni, @kneelforloki, @cutedoxie, @enchantedbytomandhenry, @foxyjwls007, @geralts-yenn, @courtlynwriter, @corrie1013, @squeezyvalkyrie, @summersong69, @livisss, @mayloma, @uunotheangel, @warriormirkwood, @sofiebstar, @wetzilly

A/N: I was going to focus only on the proposal, but my smutty self took over and that became the focus of this chapter. Sorry not sorry 😜 The proposal is coming, I promise! I just got too distracted by the thought of Syverson shirtless on a tropical vacation.

[pupkashi]

sugar rush ride

gojo loves sugar, and you’re just too sweet to resist

a/n: hi hi !! back w a txt inspired drabble :] any moas out there let’s be friends <3 hope u all enjoy and let me know what u guys think pls !!!

wordcount: 4,012

masterlist

“thank you have a nice day!” you called out as the door chimed, only a few seconds later it chimed again, a tall man with sunglasses and snowy hair walking in. “hello welcome in!” you called again, offering a small smile.

it was slow today, slower than usual but even then it wasn’t that busy. you enjoyed days like these, the slight drizzle outside making it gloomy to some but peaceful to you. the slight scent of the rain hitting your nose a bit with every swing open and close of the door.

after a couple minutes of the tall man looking at the menu his eyes landed on you. you have him a bright smile, stepping up to the register before starting with the overly recited “what can i get for you today?”

he looked at you for a second, a smile on his glossy lips before glancing between the menu and you. your kind smile seemed so genuine and you were just so pretty. gojo could feel all his determination of not dating, especially non sorcerers, come undone when he flashed you a small grin and your ears turned the slightest shade of pink.

“what do you recommend?” he quipped, leaning a bit over the counter to get closer to you. there was no one else in line behind him and he was going to do his absolute best to talk to you for as long as you’d allow him.

“o-oh! i really like the raspberry scones! i also really love the fruit tarts” your tone was livelier and your face lit up as you talked to him. he smiled, his eyes not leaving you, only glancing at the menu when your head turned to face him once more.

“I’ll take one of each, and a hot chocolate please,” you nodded and put in his order, taking the liberty of putting in your employee discount for the handsome stranger.

“I’ll get that right out for you” you smiled, going to grab the pastries and make the hot chocolate. it didn’t take long, and soon you placed his order on the counter and called out the order number.

gojo looked up, his blue eyes just barely peeking out from under his shades. he smiled as he grabbed the items from the counter, taking the small bag and drink and thanking you as he walked out of the bakery. after hearing the chime of the door you let out a breath you didn’t know you’d been holding, your heart racing a bit and your cheeks flushed.

you doubt you’d see him again, but you hoped he’d come back some day.

gojo loved exploring bakeries and pastry shops, determined to almost never go to one shop twice until he’d tried as many as he could.

but that was before he walked into the small bakery on a quiet street where you worked. after that he decided he’d found his new favorite bakery and he would become a regular there no matter his hectic schedule.

and so he walked into the bakery the next day in the afternoon, hoping he’d see your bright smile and hear your voice as you recommended him what to get. sure enough there you were, your head whipping up at the sound of the chime, moving quickly from the small work area to the back of the register.

“hello welcome in!” you called out, straightening your apron out before looking up and being met with the tall man from the other day. you smiled brightly at him as he approached the counter.

“hi, how are you?” he spoke, his voice smooth and you couldn’t stop your heart from racing.

“I’m good! how are you today?” you asked, your customer service voice gone, it made gojo’s heart pound.

“glad it's friday” he joked and you giggled, the sound making gojo’s smile widen, “what do you recommend?”

as you listed off some of your favorite items he settled on a chocolate croissant. he waited by the counter as you warmed the pastry up, his eyes darting from you to his phone, staring blankly at the screen.

when you called his order gojo thanked you, taking the small bag from your hand. your fingertips just barely ghosting over each other. it was embarrassing how the two of you both blushed, trying to play it cool only to turn into the opposite directions and smile like maniacs.

it continued like that for a while, small conversations and stolen glances. after three weeks of gojo coming in almost every day of the week (except weekends since he’d learned you don’t work weekends) he decided today would be the day he asked you out. he walked into the bakery, the smell of coffee and and freshly baked cookies hitting his nose, it caused his heart to warm.

like routine he walked up to the counter, greeting you with a smile and making conversation as you put in his order.

“how was your exam?” he asked, recalling you’d told him about a chemistry exam you had the afternoon before.

“I think I did well! but then again when you think you do good you usually fail so i just don’t wanna say anything” you replied with a breathy laugh. gojo smiled at you, shaking his head.

“I’m sure you did great” he reassured and you thanked him, excusing yourself to make his sugary coffee order and grabbing a fruit tart.

The entire walk there gojo was given himself a pep talk, determined for it to be the day he asked you out. But when you called his name out with the sweetest smile possible his brain grew a bit fuzzy and he could only thank you, his feet already walking him to the exit before he stopped himself. 

“y/n” he asked, walking back to the counter, his heart thumping against his ribcage. 

“yeah?” you asked, wondering if you forgot something in his order because you were too busy thinking about how good he looked today. 

“would you wanna go out sometime?” the words rang in your ears and it was hopeless trying to fight the grin on your face or the heat on your cheeks. 

“I’d love to,” you replied, grabbing one of the paper bags next to you and writing your number down, hurrying when you heard the front door chime open. You handed it to the tall man, a smile on your face as you noted the pink dusting his cheeks. 

As gojo walked out of the small bakery he turned around, watching as you tried your best to stop smiling so widely at the next customer. His heart fluttered a bit as he read your phone number, giggling to himself when he saw you’d written y/n bakery on top of it.

When he got home, he spent a solid ten minutes with his thumbs hovering over the keyboard debating what to text you. After typing and deleting his 12th message he settled on a nice classic text.

hi its gojo :)

Your phone vibrated in your pocket and your heart raced, taking out your phone and seeing the text notification. Your face grew hotter when you read his text, waiting a bit before replying back. 

hi :] did you get home safe ?

As gojo read over your text he felt his heart burst, his back hitting the couch as he squealed just a bit, his legs swinging slightly even though he'd deny it until the day he died.

I did thank you

when do you get off work?

The two of you settled on going to a drive in movie tomorrow night, texting back and forth until the two of you fell asleep. 

Saturday night came quickly and before you knew it he was knocking on your door. You opened it with a smile, your eyes quickly glancing down at the bouquet of flowers he held in his hands. you thanked him as you quickly put them in vase with water before heading out together. 

your heart fluttering as he held the car door open for you. making small talk during the short trip to the drive in. your feelings only growing when he placed his hand on the back of your seat and looked over his shoulder as he reversed into a spot. 

45 minutes into the movie it was only background noise as the two of you talked, laughing as you both told anecdotes and got to know each other better. 

“okay, what's something you've always wanted to do?” gojo asked, his shades just barely balancing on the tip of his nose as he out a couple fries into his mouth. 

you took a sip of water, taking a second before replying, “I've always wanted to go stargazing,” a soft smile on your face as you thought about it, “what about you?”

“I really wanna take you stargazing” he replied, you smiled and scoffed at him, pushing him softly as he laughed. “what? I do!” his hands next to his head as he defended himself. 

“how do you know I even want a second date?” you quipped, a smile on your face as you took in his features in the soft glow of the movie screen light. 

“I don't, but i sure hope you do” his voice was gentle as he spoke, your heart raced and you hoped he couldn't hear it. You smiled at him, glancing at the movie screen before looking at him again. 

“I'd love a second date,” the five words caused gojo to smile widely.

the rest of the night the two of you got to know each other outside of your usual three minute register conversations, both of you not wanting the night to end. you hadn't even realized the movie had ended until there was a knock on the window and the manager asked you guys to leave since the next movie would start soon. 

Gojo walked you to the front door, a smile on his face as you finished off the story you were telling in the car. 

“I had a lot of fun tonight” you spoke, looking up at him, his snowy bangs landing perfectly on his forehead, you tried your hardest to  not look at his perfectly soft lips. “I'll see you soon?”

“where else would i go to get the best pastries in the city?” he smiled and you laughed, opening your apartment door before waving goodbye. 

“drive safe! and let me know when you get home” you called out, gojo nodded, waving goodbye before getting into his car, making sure you were safe inside before driving off. your words caused his heart to warm and it was impossible to wipe the smile off his face. you were just so fucking sweet. 

After that night the two of you started texting almost non-stop. Gojo started coming to the bakery right before you got off for lunch so the two of you could go eat together, he'd text you in advance to let you know if he’d be going that day or not so you didn't have to wait for him. The two of you had become amazing friends, both of you ranting to one another about your troubles and celebrating any small wins. 

It was a month after your first date together when gojo had sent you a spot that was perfect for stargazing. The two of you decided that weekend you'd have a picnic under the stars to finally check it off your lists of things you wanted to do. As you finished putting a couple more snacks and drinks into the basket there was a knock on your door. 

You smiled brightly as you swung the door open, gojo smiled when he saw you, handing you a small bouquet of flowers. 

“You look really pretty” he spoke, his cheeks burning as the words left his mouth. Your cheeks flushed as you thanked him, placing the flowers in a vase before returning the compliment. 

“you look good too satoru” your voice sweet as his name fell off your tongue like honey. He’d insisted you called him by his first name a while back, feeling like gojo was too formal for the two of you. His stomach flipped a bit at the sound of his name but he tried his best to play it off. 

the drive there wasn't terribly long, music from the playlist the both of you made playing softly from the car speakers. gojo had insisted you add music to the playlist so that you didn't have to listen to only his the entire night, it was endearing really. 

when you arrived you both set up the small area a few feet away from the car, taking out the snacks and drinks from the basket before sitting next to each other. both of you left a decent amount of distance between you two, neither one of you wanting to push the others boundaries. 

the two of you talked for a bit, falling into comfortable silence when conversations naturally ended. you both were looking up into the sky, the moonlight  and the soft glow of the lamp you'd brought being the only things keeping you from complete darkness. 

“do you know any constellations?” you asked, your head tilting to look at gojo, he turned to look at you, a small smile on his face before nodding. 

“you see those over there?” his finger pointing at a cluster of stars, your eyes following his finger as he made out shapes and figures, “that one's ursa major, then a little over there is ursa minor, the little bear.” 

gojo continued to point a couple other ones out, thankful he read god knows how many articles on constellations and their shapes a week in advance just to impress you. As he looked to his side and saw the awestruck smile on your face he heart grew, a softer smile growing on his face as he took in every detail of you. After a couple seconds he looked back up at the stars, relishing in the feeling of the peace your company brought him. 

“tt's kinda cold right?” you whispered, hugging yourself slightly as a gust of wind passed by. gojo didn't think it was, but he wasn't gonna say that. 

“you can come a little closer if you want” his heart raced as you moved close to him, he could feel every beat in his chest when you pressed yourself up next to him. 

“you're really warm” you laughed softly, sighing a bit when you felt the warmth he was radiating. The two of you were sitting incredibly close, your heart was racing and you could hear your heartbeat in your ears. 

the music was still playing softly from gojos phone speakers, the only other noise coming from the wind or an occasional bird or animal off in the distance. you turned to look at gojo, the two of you turning at the same time as letting out small giggles. 

“hi” you whispered, a smile on your face. 

“hi” he replied softly, “why are we whispering?” a smile breaking out onto both of your faces as you began to laugh loudly, catching your breath before looking at each other again. 

it was as if all boundaries disappeared the second you caught satoru looking at your lips. any forbidden boundaries he’d set for himself because you were just friends slowly faded away. 

friends dont make his stomach flip like you do, friends don't make you blush the way he does, friends don't take you out on dates and cuddle next to you when you're cold even though it's not cold at all. friends don't stare at his lips and then glance back at his eyes, slowly leaning in before stopping.

 friends dont make out. 

“can I kiss you?” he whispered, you nodded. that was all he needed before closing his eyes and crashing his lips onto yours. the line of friendship had been crossed and that only served to excite you more as your lips moved against his. 

you were just so sweet to him, how could he stop himself when he loves sweet things so much? maybe it was the spike in his blood sugar from the mochi you'd brought or maybe it was the taste of your lips that made his head spin and his knees weak when you pulled away with a smile. maybe it was the artificial sugars his body craved that had him placing his hand on the back of your neck and pulling you in for more. 

The two of you sat in silence for a bit, catching your breath before you let out an awkward laugh, “that was nice, you spoke. you swear you heard gojos jaw drop. 

“only nice?! I put my heart and soul into that kiss and i get a nice?” he teased, you smiled at him, making a thinking face before looking at him. 

“I just need multiple to finalize my verdict, it's never good to conclude without sufficient evidence” you rationalized, gojo smiled as he peppered your face with kisses. as your giggles died down you rested your head on gojos chest, his arm wrapped around your shoulders as he held you tightly. 

“what now?” you asked, your voice was small and gojo felt his heart drop a bit. he moved a bit, causing you to sit up and look at him, he turned to face you, taking your hand in his and intertwining your fingers together. 

you'd learned about his jujutsu life a while back, you were shocked when you heard it, especially when you found out that the man you harbored feelings for was the most powerful sorcerer there was. 

Your heart warmed as you felt his calloused skin against yours. the gesture meaning even more after you'd learned he doesnt turn his infinity off for many people, the few exceptions being his students or those very close to him. 

“before i met you i told myself i wouldn’t date, not until i figured everything out and fixed everything wrong with the higher ups” he began, “and i especially would not date a non-sorcerer because they shouldnt be dragged into my problems when they dont even know what the fuck is going on” he laughed dryly and you gave him a gentle smile. 

“I was so sure the door was locked and the key was gone, but you opened that door so easily with your sweet words and kind smiles,” his bright blue eyes met yours, you were sure the sky full of stars you'd stared at all night didn't compare to the endless constellations you saw in satorus eyes. 

“will you go out with me?” he asked and your smile only grew wider. 

“you know we’re already outside” you teased, laughing when gojo pouted before you placed a kiss on his lips.

“kidding,” you chuckled, “of course I will, satoru.”

If gojo could use one word to describe being in a relationship with you, it’d be addictive. 

He just can't seem to get enough of you despite the endless hours you spend together. He finds himself on missions working harder than usual just to speed things up and get home to you, because he promised you this morning he would visit you for lunch and it's already 11 am. 

even though you've been dating for well over a year now and your belongings are in brown boxes of all sizes, waiting to be unpacked when you return to your new home in sartoru’s apartment, the feelings you both had during the first time you'd met or during you extremely lovey dovey honeymoon phase had never left you. 

your brain still gets a little fuzzy during nights where he’s standing at the foot of the bed, taking his shirt off before he crawled into bed in only his boxers, his broad shoulders on full display. his firm arms draping around your frame, you could feel the hard muscles relax under your touch when you’d whisper sweet nothings into his ears. 

gojo would still melt into your touch, whether it be you caressing his cheek or holding him after a long day, he never failed to relax into you, letting his guard down because of the love and trust he has for you. his heart still leaps when you press gentle kisses on the tip of his nose. it still does somersaults when you kiss his cheek when he gets home paired with words sweet as honey he always looks forward to, “welcome home lover.” his face still warms when you clean the cuts on his knuckles, pressing a kiss so gentle on the newly bandaged flesh that it feels almost feathery.

every touch you left made him feel like every cell under his skin grew more sensitive. when your fingers ghosted over his abs as you cuddled further into his side on nights when you missed him a bit more than usual. goosebumps rising on his skin when your hair tickled his neck a bit when you shifted to get more comfortable. 

your sweet words still made his face flush and his ears burn. he just can’t help the smile that creeps onto his face, and he certainly can’t hide his glossy cerulean eyes from you when you lecture him about taking care of himself and overworking himself. 

gojo satoru finds being with you addicting, and he can’t stop himself from wanting you. 

not when you’re so sweet to him when you make him breakfast and listen to him complain about the higher ups or small things that went wrong during his day. not when you bring him things from the bakery lying to customers saying you were sold out of fruit tarts because there was only one left and they’re his favorite. 

he wants more of you. 

he wants more of you because he can’t express just how much he loves you. especially when you tell him you’d spent days perfecting the apple turnover recipe because he said he’d wanted to try it. 

he wants more of you when you’re spooning him and he’s pressed up against you impossibly close, deep into his sleep from how exhausted he was, only getting to rest because you managed to coax him into taking a couple days off. when he wakes he’s the most refreshed he’s felt for as long as he can remember.

he needs you to keep going. He needs to hear you telling him to get home safe in your groggy morning voice when he leaves before the sun even rises. he needs to catch you staring at him during movies because he ‘just looked so pretty’ and you ‘had to memorize every detail of his face.’ 

and so it’s 3:21 a.m when gojo finds himself remembering the small bakery where you worked, it felt like so long ago but at the same time like it was just yesterday. he has a boyish smile on his face as he takes in the moment. 

he has an arm wrapped around you as the two of you binged a tv series you’d insisted on starting. when you glanced over at him you couldn’t help but join him with a small grin. 

“what?” you chuckled and gojo let out a loving sigh, kissing your face until you giggled.

“what did you do to me, sugar?” he smiled as you shrugged your shoulders, “you changed my life for the better you know that? i don’t know where I’d be without you” the sincerity of his voice weighed on your heart in a comforting way, like a hug. your face softened as you looked at your lover, shifting from your sitting position to cuddle into his side, your head resting on his chest and your arms wrapped around his waist, squeezing as hard as you could.

“i love you, i promise for as long as you want, I’ll always be here for you” your reassurance caused gojos heart to flutter.

“I’ll always need you, life wouldn’t be as sweet without you.”

[dxstopiaa]

Dearest Client..

Summary: You’ve been working at this cozy café for a while, but only recently has another student distracted from your tedious job. Modern AU!

Characters: Zhongli, Xiao, Ayato, Heizou, Kazuha x Barista!Reader

Warnings: None, just scenarios and how they play out <3, happy new year!

Zhongli

• Undeniably, preparing customer orders during the busiest hours within the café was the most stressful responsibility you had ever taken up. Customers ranged from arrogant middle-aged women to younger undergraduates from your local university, much like yourself.

• So you weren’t exempt from the spectrum of personalities and attitudes presented to you. Unluckily, this was your main job as the small bistro lacked other employees. You constantly paced back and forth from the bar to the seating area carrying trays upon your forearms, which were red from the pressure and heat of the beverages.

• You glanced around the bustling, filled establishment for a particular patron who had ordered a more disfavoured item on the menu. Plus they had a student discount, wouldn’t an older person order such traditional teas? You dismissed your rather critical approach upon seeing someone awfully familiar seated in a booth with his notebook open on the table, tapping the end of his pen against his chin.

•You approached where he currently sat, placing the glass tray on the counter before tightening your apron, smiling kindly at him. It seemed like the slight burns on your uncovered arms did not go unnoticed to him, for he peered at the injury.

•’Are you alright? Those do not seem comfortable in the slightest.’ The young male queried, looking up at you with a concerned yet soft expression. You dismissed his worry with the shake of your head, though the sensation of a cold hand pressed onto it caused a strained yelp to leave your lips.

• He laughed lightly before taking out what seemed to be a handkerchief, dampening it with water and wrapping it around your burns. The kind gesture robbed your of your words as a small yet noticeable blush spread over your cheeks. ‘Thank you..’ you meekly expressed, gazing back at your treated injury.

•From then on, it was no surprise that he became a regular, though he only ever attended the café when he was certain you were present. The man who you grew accustomed to, Zhongli, was an exchange student who desired to pursue a career in archeological studies.

•Often times, he would wait for you to finish your shift and walk back to campus, telling eachother various conversations and sometimes even gossip heard around the college, indulging in the complimentary hot chocolate you had made for the two of you. There was no denying that Zhongli was a sweet and considerate soul, hidden beneath his reserved nature.

Xiao

• You found that college fees were too expensive to idly slouch in your dormitory after class, a job was compulsory. So you found yourself here, wiping down surfaces of the coffee shop whilst simultaneously serving customers who entered the lively café.

•You sighed as you were permitted to take your first break of your shift, already feeling your eyelids drooping from the strenuous workload. The sheer amount of noise circulating the premises gave you an irritating headache as you sat on the only free table tucked into the corner of the establishment, sinking into the chair and resting your head on your arms. Surely a quick nap won’t do any harm?

• After what felt like a few minutes only, you were interrupted from your sleep with a gentle tap on your shoulder. Groggily, you raised your head and glanced up to see the perpetrator, though your annoyance did not last long upon seeing who it was.

• Quietly standing beside you was a student, his turquoise hair framed his face, simple red eyeliner adorned his almost cat-like eyes which appeared exhausted, much like you. You instantly recognised him from your course. ‘Xiao, right?’ You questioned, gazing up at him with squinted eyes.

• Xiao appeared to sigh in relief, his tense shoulders dropping from their unnatural position to a more casual one. ‘Yes, is it alright if i sit here? All the other places are occupied’ He inquired, gesturing to the empty seat opposite from you. You eagerly nodded in response, it was refreshing enough to see he was comfortable to approach you, never mind engaging in conversation.

• He pulled the chair out, taking a seat before setting his backpack onto the table. ‘Thank you’ was all he uttered, propping his elbow on the table as he seemed to occupy himself on his phone. You couldn’t help but secretly admire his effortless beauty, scolding yourself internally at your indulgent action instead of getting back to work.

• ‘Um…Would you like anything to drink? My break is finishing now so i can get it for you, don’t worry about paying for it.’ You offered, Xiao’s eyebrows raised slightly at your kind gesture, curtly smiling at you as he requested for a matcha latte.

• Your relationship continued like so for the next month, timid acts of service such as Xiao offering you his notes when you were busy and how you always waited outside his dormitory with two deserts. Your hearts fluttered at the sight of each other though you both were yet to express your ever growing desire.

Ayato

• There was nothing in your workplace you hated more than arrogant, entitled customers. You were simply adjusting the order of the prerequisite patron on the touchscreen when you were suddenly approached by a rather aggressive man.

• The malicious glare he sent your way already told you that this was not going to end up well, nor would it leave you feeling contented. You tried your best to maintain regulations yet the middle-aged individual was making this quite difficult.

• ‘The service here is unacceptable! Why hasn’t my order been taken yet and why are you lazily standing there?’ The male unrighteously scolded, making you clench your teeth in frustration, before breathing in deeply. All you could send him was an unamused stare as you gestured to the counter.

• ‘Sir, I’m afraid you have mistook our service, we do not offer personal confrontations, instead orders will have to be placed here at the cashier.’ You responded rather agitatedly, ‘Would you like to place your order now?’ It appeared as if your words did not process in his mind, as he only grew more indignant. The man pounded his fist onto the surface, the sound audible to the rest of your co-workers who only stood in shock.

•‘Really? Lies, you’re just an incompetent, insignificant teenager who has no respect for their elders.’ He retorted, looking as if he would vault over the small distance between you both. Your eyes widened significantly at this, who does he think he’s talking to? Not willing to worsen the situation, you opted to stay quiet.

• ‘Excuse me? I won’t tolerate somebody talking to my staff like that, insufferable people such as yourself aren’t welcome here.’ A smooth, authoritative voice sounded from behind you. Only upon looking over your shoulder did you realise this was your temporary manager. His arms were tightly folded across his chest, lilac irises scrutinising the distasteful individual.

• Ayato was known to be reputable, so his appearance instantly shattered the tough façade of the perpetrator, as he stormed out of the cafe. He gently placed his hands on either of your shoulders and turned you towards him, giving you a reassuring nod.

• ‘Your response to the situation was perfect, i expect nothing less from you after all.’ Ayato praised, you smiled at his kind words. From then on, if you ever seemed troubled by anything, you were always free to confide in him, his warm embrace and advice.

•Even as a peer student, Ayato never did anything less than protect you as much as he could, for you were his precious diamond embedded in the majority of coal.

Heizou

• As a mainly youthful group of employees, you were not exempt from gossip, whispers of a new worker eventually crept into your frequent conversations. Never did you expect it to be the mischievous sophomore from your criminology course, or for him to become acquainted to you so quickly.

• You were leaving your lecture hall and heading towards the exit when something hit the back of your head and dropped to the floor. Irritably glancing behind, you found said student balling up paper and giving you a cheeky grin, sheepishly scratching his head as he caught up with you.

• ‘Hey wait!’ Heizou shouted, chasing you down the steps excitedly. Honestly, how was he so energetic? You slowly turned to face him, an eyebrow raised in response as you allowed him to catch his breath. His cheeks were dusted a light rose shade whilst his eyes creased alongside his genuine grin.

• He had his ways of charming you, and it did work, so of course, you had let him walk beside you to your shared workplace. ‘I’m sure you know i’m working with you now, right? I’m glad, your company is refreshing.’ Heizou mentioned whilst you stared down at the pavement, moonlight reflecting on the collected puddles upon the street.

• At the cafe, You would joke around with eachother, giggling at his poorly-constructed insults he tossed at you, firing them back at him. Most other staff simply dismissed your unprofessional behaviour as they found it quite adorable, others would do the same.

• He lazily slouched over the counter, encasing his hands over yours which were resting upon it prior to this. Heizou never seized his teasing, especially after seeing how flustered it made you, naming it ‘a constant reminder that you’re mine’, smacking his hands off at that, exerting a pout and exaggerated sigh from the student.

• ‘You know, your oblivion to my feelings for you make me feel as if it’s intentional…’ He trailed off, witnessing the realisation hit your face, all he could do was giggle and casually continue to serve customers. Should this even come as a surprise anymore?

Kazuha

• Lots of interesting seniors strolled into your café daily, though none of them enchanted you like him. He would conceal himself away in the corner table, frequently reading a new novel whenever he entered, or even writing and doodling in his journal when he liked. Safe to say, you had developed a miniature crush for the soft-spoken literature student.

• Not only that, Kazuha was extremely polite, his manners always melted your heart in appreciation, a small keepsake that considerate buyers actually existed. Though you didn’t want to approach him yourself.

• To think he wouldn’t recognise your infatuation was your naiveness, as Kazuha had reciprocated an interest in you too. He wasn’t entirely sure how to enlighten you, until he glanced at the poems irregularly written in his notebook.

• Even though he didn’t know your name yet, he would try his hardest to direct his messages towards you, such as only ordering at the establishment when you were on duty. Kazuha ensured he would leave the note on the plate he received, folded in various creative shapes. One day it would be a heart, the next, a star.

• The highlight of your day was the dainty, torn segment of paper left on the table. His reassuring messages collected in a jar in your dormitory, reading each one repetitively before you slept. A newfound obsession you were not going to get over any time soon and neither was Kazuha.

[bipolar-boygirl]

The Castle Beyond The Goblin City

so, me and @sweetdangerine were talking about what the layout of the castle even is, since we don't actually see that much of it, and i was thinking of making a post about it anyway, so here we go! lots of pictures and visual aides ahead

starting simple: the castle itself

this is the clearest shot we get of the castle in the film

there's also this one, but its kinda crummy because its from a distance towards the start of the film

so the castle seems to be made up of one main building, two (maybe three?) towers, and a second smaller building connected by a bridge or something

it's hard to see, but i'm pretty sure this little dark blob is the entrance

we get a nice shot of the doors where you can see some organic rock to the right of it, which lines up with the doors being right next to the weird rock formation in the other picture

the doors open and we get to see a bit of the interior

not much to really glean from here, other than whoever designed this castle must really like stairs, cause this hallway is ALL stairs. we do learn that the way to the throne room is to the right of the main entrance though because that's the direction our characters go

speaking of the throne room, where in the hell is it? I'm pretty sure it's somewhere in this section of the building

we get this shot of Jareth looking out of the window during the battle, and again we see more of that organic rock to the right

but the window he's looking through looks completely different than the one we can see in the wide shot, and we also get to see his view from the window a few scenes later

and this seems pretty close to the ground level, comparatively, so I think the window might be hidden from view by the rock formation, or (and maybe more likely) it's an inconsistency between set pieces

the entrance into the throne room is right next to this window on the inside, so I also think that the rock formation is actually a part of the castle/has been built into from the inside and made a part of the castle

also, the hall into the throne room actually forks and looks like it leads into barracks or something similar, based on the flag

and then finally, the throne room itself

it's a very circular room, with windows on three different sides, which I think helps strengthen the idea that the throne room is in the section of the castle that juts out from the main building, and, if we're allowing for slight inconsistencies between set pieces, there's also this little bit that sticks off the side of the building that I think would fit the curved hallway into the escher room quite nicely

which means the escher room is in the main building that sits behind where the throne room is, which makes sense for how big it is (of course discounting any kind of magic shenanigans that might be going on with that room)

and that's all I got. the left side of the castle and the towers are a complete mystery, but that's why we have fanfic, isn't it?

I've been scrutinizing the hell out of this movie for set details for awhile, so it's nice to finally put it all down in a post, and maybe I can save some of you from losing your minds the way i did lol

[diluclover300]

Just One Week (1)

Gojo Satoru x Female Reader

Also posted on my ao3 account: diluclover300

CHAPTER INDEX:

I H8 U

My Kinda Fun

Balance

{S] Awake

Eggs and Rice

Wait, but I'm broke

Couple's Discount

CHAPTER 1: I H8 U

...

Ha. Ha. You roll your eyes, arms crossed before they unfold again. The elevator opens and you're back at the lobby of the building again. Ha. Ha. 

You hate this place. Normal was so ordinary. So predictable. So boring. Blah!

Whatever, whatever, whatever. You just want to go home already. It's been a long day at work. 

You walk, as the general population does, because even though you're special, and so different, you're human before any of that bull crap. Genetically, you're a programmed sheep. Mentally, you stick out like a sore thumb. 

And you walk with the help of wired earbuds, ones that you grabbed at the nearest department store. You understand why people can't leave the house without these babies. They're so convenient, a socially accepted escape from the real world. 

Selfishly, as it should be, you're listening to the same sickly sweet, syrupy-lyric filled song. Generic, yet so stupid catchy that even a zombie would dumbly mumble it in its sleep. With it's unintelligible voice, muddy and groggy as it lowly moans the melody. Like pure mush, frothing with spit. 

Love. Love. Love. A boyband, the popular one you've loved since highschool, is singing about what sells— sex. Oh, baby. I want you. I love you. Give me all of you. Kiss me until I can't breath, wrap me with your heat. 

You understand the gist of it, don't you? Because you certainly do. 

Bouncy, your steps are, almost preppy that you feel like everyone else. You suppose that's fine for now. You're forcibly, undeniably put into a swarm of people. People that will always be like you. Vise versa. It's the way of life. 

Same old. 

Beep. Your lanyard scans across the kind of thing you'd see in a new-york subway. Too bad you're across the globe in Japan, in some remote town, so you don't live miles away from the famous–or was it infamous– you don't know, times square. Boring. 

You suck in a hefty amount of hair, and it's humiliating when you push the door that so politely–and obviously— asks to be pulled. Wow. You turn back to confirm that no one has just seen you do that. But you're suddenly biting back another heap of cringe mixed with embarrassment when you realize that someone behind you blankly stares at you. Probably to hurry up so that they could get out too.

"Oops." You laugh, but they don't. "Sorry about–"

"Are you going to open that door?"

"Oh, uh, yes. I am."

Right. You pull the handle of the door that you've touched thousands of times.

The breeze hits you and as physics do, your hair whips across your face, sprawling over your dry, cracked lips. You push on, steps now long strides. You're fighting with the wind and it's terrible. 

Welp. That was life. Mother nature wasn't, never was, kind to you. 

Another idiotic event, another "let's make a fool out of Y/N" moment. You fold your arms underneath the crevice of your chest, that white button up so thin you're sure that you've developed hypothermia in the last few minutes you've been walking. 

Another sigh. Then you realize it looks hopeless, and stupid. Then you wipe your cheek, holding your lips together and realize that looks equally awkward. Damn. 

Incident after incident. Mistake after mistake. Everything feels like a math equation, and it's all adding up to make you look a fool. 

At least nothing too terrible happened today.

Then, as if it was clockwork, an ominous feeling began to settle in the depths of your heart. As if your instincts were telling you to run. 

You don't. Your hopes of a normal day, your suspicions of having a great day are so terribly...

Wrong. You look up and see the face that you don't want to see. The face that looks back at you like a mirror, the face who's lips turn up into a slight smile. The face who's glasses tip down his rather long, yet socially accepted nose. The face who's eyes are freakishly blue, who's eyes would receive the predictable comparison– "Hey, your eyes look just like the sky."

This can't be real.

This can't be happening.

Maybe today wasn't destined to be a good day, but there was no way in hell, no way that things could go this south.

A bad day was when you got in trouble during work, when someone's kid spilled your burning hot coffee all over your new white clothes. Bad was when...

Bad was when Gojo Satoru wasn't here. 

Terrible was when he was. 

"Hi." He holds his hand up, palm open, fingers spread into a wave. "It's been a while."

Your chest tightens, air contracting the thing like a damn accordion. He's definitely a fair distance from you, standing beneath the trees, far from the stairs leading up to the building behind you both. Traffic bustles a couple more feet away, and that same song, on repeat, buzzes in your ear like a mosquito.

Love. You seem to feel everything but that at the sight of his face. 

"Gojo." The breeze slaps against your skin, stinging as it leaves it's harsh marks. Your fingers travel down to the hems of your skirt, and you fidget with the cloth. 

You're anxious, not as you envisioned the hundreds of other times you mulled over this sort of situation. Instead of holding your head up high, you're cowering, heart wrenching, the lines you so carefully wrote, seared into your mind escaping your tongue. 

"Gojo?" Ha. Ha. Real funny, you think as he mocks you. 

It makes you angry. Why did he, how did he have, how was he not– where was his shame? After five years? Did he just realize you were gone after all this time? 

You don't want to ask, but you do.

"Why are you–"

"What happened to Satoru? Don't be so formal. It's only been five years."

"The name disgusts me."

You're silent as he steps forward, a bouquet of flowers tucked underneath his armpit. He's decked out in all black, not that you care, or that it's any different from how he was a few years back. If anything, he's the exact same. Unchanged. 

It makes your blood boil. 

"Ah. Look at you. You've changed."

He chides, crouching down as if he's trying to taunt a child. You bite back the strange croak in your throat.

"Your turn. What about me? Say something." 

No. Please. "Don't do this to me." 

His lips, as if pulled by a set of strings, ghost a smile. Those eyes exposed, bare through those glasses as they reflect the pathetic image of you. Your expression which tries to hard to look expressionless. The scrunch of your eyebrows as you look down at him. 

No, he's looking down on you. Even though it should be the opposite. 

"You look the same." It's robotic, the usual cadence of your voice he so remembers void of emotion. 

It's true. He does. 

"Oh? You're cold. So cold." He tilts his head, a strand of hair falling in between his eyes as he gives you a slight pout. 

And, you? You're not the same as you were before. 

"I know." You step back. "People tell me that all the time."

You feel so... so...

Was pathetic the right word? It didn't even do the situation justice.

Wow. Honestly, you never wanted to admit this, but you've always imagined this sort of thing happening. A reunion, to put it simply and you'd always imagine such witty responses, such great comebacks. 

However, you're no different from everyone else. Not underneath the umbrella of fear. However, you're not even shielded from those raindrops of confrontation.

You're soaked. The umbrella's defective. You can't bring yourself to say the words you practiced, to put an end to the tortuous fire in your heart. 

Because as much as you want to hear those answers, you're afraid of the void that lies beneath them. 

"Is that something to brag about these days?" He straightens up, the plastic lining of the bouquet crinkling. 

You shrug as answer, but your eyes stick onto the floor like a piece of gum. They've rolled out of their sockets, breeze guiding them along the concrete. 

Satoru whistles for a moment, eyes careful as they study your figure. 

A white button up shirt, tucked into a pencil skirt, glasses that usually wouldn't suit you because you were the contact lens type, flats because he could never imagine you walking down a flight of stairs in heels. 

Though you've fallen to the inevitable concept of change, you're still...

Oh. He's forgot to mention that you've been listening to music this whole time. It's noticeable now. Partly because you're wearing wired headphones, and partly because he can hear the faintest bit of singing coming from your direction. 

"Whatcha listening to?" 

You peek up, and for the first time in years, he's properly– no, you're making eye contact with him. 

"It's the new XXX song. Do you remember when I..."

What the hell? 

He never tried to stop you back then. 

Why would he remember a single thing about you?

"Nevermind." You look away, and he swears he sees the faintest film of water pooling against your eyes. "You wouldn't know."

Yeah. You're the same as ever. 

"Oh. You still like that group?"

You nod, and he swears he can see the faint image of you from highschool. Nodding along to the sound of your mp3 player, busted around the corners as it rests on the edge of your desk, threatening to fall. And when it did, he'd usually catch it before pulling out your earbuds. 

Then you'd grumble at him, call him a "bastard" or a "piece of shit". And he'd laugh, loud enough that people would turn their heads. 

Weird. A wave of nostalgia hits him. 

"Ha." The thought of it makes him snicker. God. He was such an asshole. "Haha."

Look at how the tables turned. It's painful that you're so rough around the edges now. You're barely smiling, and now there's an offended look trespassing your lips and eyes. 

You're angry again. So angry that the image of your smile is trampled on, dirtied by a frown. 

It's like throwing away a perfectly good slice of cake.

Satoru decides he hates it. The look of it is sickening, the thought of it is unappetizing, the existence of it is...

"What are you–"

"Come back to Jujutsu High and help me teach." 

As he expects, and the revelation behind it frustrates him, you've gone completely unresponsive. What he's realized is that you're just existing through your life. 

You've been wasting time. And now you're just going to ignore him. No matter how right he is. 

"Y/N. Can you hear me?"

You don't answer for a long while, slowly ripping out each earbud as you stuff it into the pocket of your shirt. The question, the request is... it's...

Disgustingly selfish. Did he only think for himself? Did he only care for himself?

Of course he did. Of course he did. 

He's Gojo Satoru. 

"Why did you come here? Go home." 

"For you. Come back and be a Jujutsu sorcerer again–" He doesn't waste a singular second, as if he was reading off a script to some terrible horror movie. 

You feel sick. 

"No." You spit out. "You don't know what I want, you can't tell me what to do either."

You want to laugh, you can't believe all this bullshit.

You can't believe that after all the trouble you went through to fit in, you're going back to square one. Like a baby trying to learn how to walk all over again.

All the trouble you went through to convince yourself that you were still special despite being so, despite living so normally now.

All the trouble you went through to ignore those cursed spirits.

All those sacrifices you made, those risks you took. 

You can't believe that it's all going down the drain like this, like your struggles are the water to someone else's shower. 

Could you be easily discarded like that? Like trash? 

Wrong. Incorrect. Wrong. Nothing could be more... wrong.

No, you're different. Important. Nothing like trash. Incomparable. If there was a mold, you'd break it. If there was an expectation, you'd exceed it. If there was...

If there was...

There's nothing because he... he's...

Gojo Satoru is stepping on your sob story like it's a  piece of gum, smearing it with the sole of his shoe. 

He tries to intervene with your peace, picking apart at your facade, your play-pretend act of tranquility. 

"I know what you want–"

You don't even give him the chance to finish. 

"It's been five years."

He knows. You don't have to remind him that it's been that long. 

"So?"

"You don't know a thing about me, Gojo."

"I do." He steps forward. "And what do those people back there know about you?" Then he points back at your workplace. 

You grimace, aware that what you're about to say is an obvious, a bitter lie. He knows it too, but you say it anyway. 

"They know a lot about me." You bite back, desperately trying to save face. "So much more than you do."

When you force that out, it dawns on you. The fact that you have to lie about something so insignificant to prove that you're doing just fine to some asshole you haven't seen in five years. 

"Like what? Your favorite member in that stupid boyband?"

"They're not stupid! Okay? They're– They're...!" You stumble over your words, voice coming out louder than you anticipate. 

Damn it. Now everyone around you is staring like a bunch of sheep, the same kind back at work, relishing in an argument– no, a conversation – that they had no rightful part in. 

"They don't know anything about you, do they?" He whispers, a pitiful expression on his face when he sees how worked up you've gotten. "Be honest with me then. What do you want?"

"Honest? You want me to be honest?"

"Well, yes. I'd like that."

"Fine then. I want to fight you right now because I hate you."

"Sure."

"You make me sick."

"Okay."

"I want to–"

"I already said okay."

...

[akutasoda]

chapter two - trickster haunting

　↳ ghost!osamu dazai x reader

warnings - gn!reader, fluff?, slight angst, wc - 1k

it was a fresh start, a new opportunity in your life to start over in a new place. from most of your research and recommendations from various people, you had decided on quite the quaint little residence located in yokokhama. it seemed like a good catch, the area was nice and it had a rather low rent. the low pay would be surprising but it had detailed in the description that it was supposedly haunted. and you were never really one to believe in that kind of stuff.

ghosts were cliche by this point. classic horror movies, stories hosted round campfires or passed around at get togethers in hopes of scaring one another. so you had heard your fair share of ghost stories. but you would just laugh them off and not think anything about them. sure they were fun to tell but that was about it.

so you had very little concern that your new residence was haunted. if anything, the last resident probably reported something that wasn't what they thought it was and now they had to legally say that it may be haunted. you weren't complaining, the remt was significantly cheaper. it had never specified why exactly it was haunted, no history of murders or any deaths and no recorded evidence, even more reason to discount it.

moving in had been easy, you hadn't owned much to result in issues and your adjustment period seemed to go by rather quickly and before you knew it, you could convince yourself that you had lived here all your life. however something that plagued your mind was sometimes you swore you saw something move out of the corner of your eye or things would move randomly. but that quickly was discounted to a sort of placebo effect. you had read it was haunted and now your mind was playing tricks on you.

however no matter how much you told yourself it wasn't real, nothing could hide from the fact that you did indeed have a ghostly roommate. dazai had long lost track of how long he had wondered as a ghost. but he seemed bound to this residence, perhaps because he himself used to live here. but he found great pleasure in chasing out the new residences. he didn't find much entertainment anymore and the only source came from messing with the mortal. having previously chasdd out the old tennant he was now faced with ways he could try and get you out aswell.

he started small, moving objects and or displacing them. but that didn't seem to phase you, so he upped it a bit quicker and started trying to freak you out by quickly becoming visible to the corner of your eye. but no matter what he did, you came up with a logical reason for it and brushed it off, forgetting any encounters too quickly for his likely. you were the first person in a while that he thought would be evenmore entertaining to see how far he would have to push you to get you gone.

but no matter how much he tried an tried to freak you out, nothing seemed to be working and he had one last final ditch effort in getting you gone. he didn't mind some people occupying the residence buf it was the only entertainment he got. and that final effort was him showing himself in full - hoping that it would be enough to finally scare you off.

more and more nowadays you were beginning to feel as if that warning was actually legit. that this place was indeed haunted and although that sent a little fear through you, you had just purchased and moved into your new residence. you could hardly afford a new one in such small notice. so if there truly was a ghost, they better learn quick that you won't be leaving anytime soon.

it was rather cliche how you jad met your haunted roommate. it was late at night and you had saw something yet again in the corner of your eye, turning to find nothing just to turn back to be met woth the ghoulish dull light emitting form the transparent figure while you had a initial shock it wore of very quickly and you came to your senses and confronted the apparation. this shocked dazai quite a bit, not only did you brush off his last attempt at scaring you but asked him about what he was doing.

now he found a new way of keeping himself entertaining. he no longer felt the need to hide during any time, you were well aware of his presence and simply didn't mind what he did. whether he showed himself or not as long as he respectes your privacy you didn't care. now he found entertainment in trying to scare you constantly or letting you show him things such as your favourite shows and such.

he much preferred this arrangement. and to you it was much like having a roommate. a roommate that you didn't have to accompany into your budget and didn't have to argue over paying halves on rent. a roommate that was rather transparent and quite the trickster. but you didn't mind all that much. dazai brought a sought of enjoyment to living in the seemingly normal residence.

and dazai much enjoyed having you around. by far in his eyes the best occupant of the residence. he truly enjoyed spending time with you, you seemed to make his existence as a ghost seem less of a burden but more fun than he could've ever hoped for. while you sometimes pitied the ghost, you quickly brushed that off and decided that maybe living in this haunted residence wasn't so bad.

[perfinn]

the tree remembers

din djarin x oc

wc: 4.1k

summary: din djarin takes a what seems to be a safe bounty on ferrix, and finds himself accidentally entangled with a woman stubbornly tagging along to help him.

cw: slight violence but nothing extreme, din gets a lil horny ✊😔, otherwise rlly nothing

read on ao3, banner by saradika

Din Djarin takes easier jobs now. 

Maybe easier isn't quite the right word, but he needs to be choosier now. With a child in tow – his son. He rather likes being able to call Grogu his son – there's the issue of safety. Much as Din is sure the child would like to deny it, Grogu is vulnerable. So he takes care in choosing which pucks he takes. 

Ferrix is a quiet place these days. The Empire was quite soundly ousted from the planet after it fell, and the residents are far too stubborn to let them occupy any space there again. It’s perfect, really, especially toting around his valuable-to-the-Empire son. He can’t blame his quarry for thinking it's a good place to hide. Quiet, unassuming, easy to blend into a crowd. Not the prettiest planet in the galaxy, sure, but it’s a smarter choice than some. Not nearly smart enough to outmanoeuvre Din, though. Few are. 

“Get a good look at it,” Din says as he adjusts the beskar-mail under Grogu’s robe. The puck, lit up with the image of their quarry, is held precariously in Grogu’s claws. Grogu coos at it, clearly studying it very intently. “Shout if you spot her.”

Grogu looks up at Din and blinks those big eyes, looking very serious as he babbles at his father. Behind his helmet, Din smiles to himself and takes the puck back to tuck it away. He gently places his hand on Grogu’s head, the most affectionate gesture he can muster as he mentally places himself into a hunting mindset. The puck said that she wasn’t a violent quarry, nor was she known to be armed. But the information the guild has isn’t always sound, and he’d been almost caught unawares by violent bounties that Karga had failed to disclose. (Almost. That he was standing here living and breathing was proof enough, he supposed, that he’d never been caught unawares. Discounting the many times he’d been caught unawares.)

That margin of error is reason enough to make Din worry.

“You know what to do if there’s danger,” he says sternly. He makes certain the pram is connected to his vambrace before turning and making his way out of the Crest.

Ferrix is cold and dry according to the display in Din’s helmet, not that he can much feel it. He makes no attempts at conversation as he pays the parking toll (frighteningly low, lower than he’s probably seen in months) and the young man behind the counter seems content with that, his attention captured instead by whatever’s playing on a screen he has propped up against a radio. Din glances at it for a moment, wondering if all customer service is this detached and impersonal on Ferrix. He hopes so. 

Din moves on before the young clerk can glance at him again, practised eyes scanning the streets. It's a quaint, industrial sort of place, built of brick and mortar covered in creeping vines and carved stone. The ground is gravelly, the colour of  clay, and it crunches softly under Din’s boots. Should he need the element of surprise, he supposes he’ll have to be more careful than simply sneaking up on someone.

There are some planets where Din can go up to someone, ask about his quarry, and be directed to someone who fits the description. And that would be it. Ferrix doesn’t strike him as that kind of place, if the way no one seems to want to look at him is any indicator. Din is used to being given a wide berth, so he’s not feeling particularly bothered about it. If anything, he prefers it. Doesn't make his life any easier, though. 

He makes his way into what looks like a tavern and orders soup for Grogu, taking a seat in the corner and leaning back to watch. Grogu coos as the soup is served to him, climbing forward to sip at it. “Be careful,” Din warns quietly, met with indignant gurgling from his son. 

The place is lively as sundown nears, most everyone seems friendly with one another but keen enough to avoid the obvious intruder in the corner. Din observes silently, eyes catching a woman sitting at the bar, dark hair pulled back haphazardly into a ponytail as she laughs over a drink. She reaches across the bar, snagging a bottle of something and refilling her glass. The bartender, seeming familiar with her, scolds her and Din hears him say he’ll add the whole bottle to her tab. As she’s complaining, Din must tilt his head just so that the light glints off his visor and alerts the woman to his presence. She looks at him, and somehow manages to lock eyes with him on the first try– most don’t manage it. Her smiling face immediately drops into a scowl Din could almost describe as hateful. He’s been carefully ignored and skirted around until now, no one has outwardly shown disdain for him. Part of him wonders why she stands apart, but most of him knows he doesn’t have the time to ponder on it. There are more important things at hand. 

He glances down to check on Grogu, and when he looks up again the woman has gone. Grogu has evidently grown bored now his soup bowl is empty, the child climbing up onto the table and waddling over to Din with the intent to climb up onto him. Din helps him into his lap with a soft huff. “You’re a terrible bounty hunter, kid,” he murmurs. “Sometimes I’ll stay in one place for hours, you know.”

“Patu!” spits Grogu, giving voice to his dissent at the very idea. 

“You’ll learn,” Din says, sighing almost imperceptibly and standing up with Grogu easily nestled in the bend of his elbow. His quarry looks to be smart enough to lay low, so he won't find her in here. At least the kid’s been fed. He drops a couple credits on the table as a tip for the wonderful service of being left alone before heading for the exit into the waning sunlight. 

The twilight makes the planet seem ever colder, so he turns and sets Grogu in the pram, making certain he’s nestled in the blankets. He worries sometimes that the tips of his ears will get cold. He smiles to himself, gently rubbing Grogu’s ear before brushing his gloved hand over his head and standing upright. 

His helmet alerts him to something in the shadows. A heat signature in the corner of his vision. Din tips his head just enough to get a better look at the shape of it, waiting patiently for an analysis. Humanoid, female, leaning up against an alley wall with something very hot held to her lips. A smoke of some kind. Din curls his lip. (He’s spent much of his life making expressive faces with no consequence.) The last thing he wants is Grogu inhaling the smoke, so he makes certain to head the opposite direction from the figure and into the adjacent alleyway. 

As he goes, though, he hears the crunching of footsteps on the gravel behind him. He pauses, lowering his head and turning it just slightly. The crunching stops. Before he can turn all the way around, a weight has landed heavily on his back. To his credit, he’s solid as a rock and doesn’t stumble forward with the new weight, but it does take him by surprise– especially when a lean arm wraps around his throat. He can’t imagine he’s a comfortable ride with the jetpack digging into his attacker. He’s quick to grab who he assumes is the woman who’d been smoking by the arm, trying to tug her free. She’s stronger than he expected, and when he tries to throw her off she only wraps her legs around his torso. 

What exactly is her goal here? She has no leverage this way, and despite her strong grip she’s not heavier than Din and his twenty pounds of armour. And Din can’t decipher why she’s doing this at all– is she stupid? He’s almost amused by it until she grasps the bottom of the helmet with her free hand. Before she can gain and purchase and lift it, he turns and slams his back into the wall. A grunt of breath rushes out of her and her grip on him falters as she sucks in a strangled gasp for air. Din grabs her arm then, hauling her forward as her legs loosen, throwing her over his shoulder and onto the ground. She’s got just enough breath to land her feet on the ground, straining as she grapples to be freed from Din’s grip. She finds her footing before Din can drag her to the ground, crying out as she thrusts a punch toward his throat. Din lurches up. She misses, her knuckles clipping the edge of his breastplate.

The woman gasps, drawing her hand back. “Fuck!” she cries, a startled yelp escaping her next when Din kicks at her shins and brings her tumbling down to the ground. Din goes with her, placing all of his weight on top of her to pin her down. She wriggles beneath him, apparently unwilling to give up even in the face of obvious defeat. 

“What is your problem?” Din growls, and it comes out more threatening that he intends it to through the gritty vocoder of his helmet. 

The woman beneath him, he now sees, is the one from the bar. The one who had glowered at him like he’d committed some kind of faux pas simply by daring to be there. He wonders, briefly, if she has some vendetta against him he doesn’t know about, or against people wearing armour like his. He supposes it wouldn’t be the first time. But few are so stupid as to physically attack him. Most would just use a blaster– which, now he’s looking her over, he can see she has tucked into the inside of her jacket. What kind of idiot–

“Get off me!” She growls back, trying to shove him off of her. “I’m not going anywhere with you!”

“What?”

She pauses in her squirming, finally going still beneath him. She looks up at him, dark eyes blown wide in the dusklight and brows knitted tightly together.  (A combination of the pain of punching beskar and confusion, Din imagines.) Din’s a touch ashamed to say that the sight of her like that does something to him– he puts it down to not getting any for a while and promptly ignores his cock stirring. 

“You-” she grunts softly, apparently still short of breath from being knocked on her back twice. “You’re a bounty hunter. Mandalorians are bounty hunters.”

Din bristles. “We’re not all bounty hunters,” he says. “I am. But not all. You thought I was here for you?”

The woman shifts again, now awkwardly. “I…” She shifts her gaze, looking at the bricks of the alley wall. She seems now acutely aware of the position she’s put herself in by making such an assumption and choosing – for some inconceivable reason – to fight her would-be captor instead of escaping. 

Din stays still for a moment, deathly still. “I’m here for an Utai,” he tells her, leaning closer so there’s less than an inch between his helmet and her nose. She tries to shrink away from him, but there’s nowhere to go. “Should I be here for you? Hm? Are you worth more than she is?”

He hears her breath hitch in her throat and yet again her eyes somehow manage to find his. Like she’s looking right at him and not at a menacing helmet. It’s kind of eerie, actually. 

“There might not actually be a bounty out for me,” she blurts out in one hurried breath, erratic. “I just assumed.”

Din grunts. “Who did you piss off?”

She hesitates to answer, shifting the best she can beneath him. She glances off, answering half the question for him. Someone powerful. Someone rich. Din could do rich, but he’s not certain he’s safe to bring Grogu around someone powerful.

“The Empire,” she murmurs.

Dank farrik.

Apparently listening to the conversation, Grogu gurgles with discontent. Din shifts his head to look at his son, currently trying to climb out of his pram. “Stay there,” he says sternly, only met with protests from Grogu. “Grogu.”

The woman beneath him looks over, then back up at Din. “You seriously bring your kid with you on bounty hunts?”

“You know of many babysitters willing to be carted around the galaxy?” Din says back, grunting and moving to get off the woman. If she is wanted by the Empire, that has to be none of his business. No matter how sweet the bounty, that’s the deepest line he has to draw in the sand. He stands, offering out a hand to her. She hesitates to take it, but she still looks to be regaining her breath so she relents, clasping his arm and letting him tug her to her feet.

“I suppose not,” she says slowly, releasing him and taking a wary step back. Oh, now she hesitates? “You’re not… going to turn me in?”

Din moves over to Grogu, firmly placing him back in the pram. “No. I don’t need any trouble with the Empire.”

Grogu coos up at him, little face contorted in anger. Din knows he’s come to associate that word with pain and fear. He hates that that’s his fault. But he’ll never experience that again, not as long as Din lives. He gently rubs Grogu’s ear to reassure him, not needing words to comfort his son.

“Usually when I mention the Empire people tell me I’m crazy,” the woman goes on, lifting her knuckles up to look at the damage. Din looks over his shoulder at her.

“Those people are crazy.”

She snorts.

“But you’re also crazy. Just for different reasons.”

The woman huffs a laugh then, flexing her fingers. She’s quiet for a moment, rubbing at the quickling purpling skin of her knuckle. She must have burst a blood vessel nicking the beskar. Din almost feels bad– after all, she wasn’t stupid enough to actually aim for his chestplate, she just missed. 

“Why is there a bounty on that Utai?”

Din recognises the tone of voice. That's the ‘I know something that could help you, but I’m holding it back out of moral obligation’ tone. He looks her over, helmet making a better assessment of her now. She has the blaster, obviously, but he thinks she has a blade somewhere too. Her boot, probably. He looks her in the eyes. “Worried family.”

The woman quietly assesses him for another moment. “Black sheep?” she asks. 

Din nods sharply. 

“Mm,” she hums. “Well, I know where she is.” 

She doesn't say more, and neither does Din. The two are locked in a silent standoff. The sun is all but gone now, leaving them in the distant lamplight. Din figures he knows what she wants. Credits, a cut, he's heard it all before. He’ll give her enough to get the information out of her, but she’s dreaming if she thinks she's getting a cut of the reward. 

“I want to help you,” she says. Din has the decency to be startled then, but he doesn't show it. “She deserves to know her family is worried about her.”

That’s… oddly sentimental. Din can see that something personal is driving her here, but he’s not going to ask. “Have you spoken with her? Is she violent?”

“Yes, I have,” she says. “And no, she isn't. Just… troubled. I think if you bring me with she’ll come quietly.”

Din stares at her with a furrowed brow, considering her offer. It’s no secret that Din is an imposing figure, he tends to make people run or fight on instinct. Fight, in this woman’s case. In the past, Din might have denied her, taken the information she had, and left. But he supposes these days, he could benefit from a violence-free job. He glances down at Grogu, who tilts his head up at him. “Fine,” he says after a moment. “Lead the way. If I suspect anything is wrong I won’t hesitate.”

The woman nods, giving him a mock salute. “I’m Lucia, by the way,” she says.

Din lifts his head to look at her. Lucia. It’s a nice name, he thinks. Suits her. He doesn’t say anything in response, and if she expects to hear his name in response she doesn’t push him for it. Din appreciates that. 

She turns then, making her way out of the alley. She leads the three of them down the road to what must be a hostel of some kind, ducking inside. She glances back at him as they approach a door, gently gesturing for him to stay back. Din obeys, making sure Grogu is firmly behind him.

Lucia knocks on the door and not a moment later is it being opened by the very woman Din had carefully studied on the puck. She almost has to crane her neck to look up at Lucia, blinking her protruding eyes at her. She looks at Din next, and notably straightens up.  

“Kaylac, right?” Lucia says, voice low and gentle. “We spoke at the tavern a few days ago.”

Kaylac looks about ready to slam the door on them, but she appears to think better of it. She speaks in her croaky voice, Basic a bit stunted by her differently shaped tongue, Din supposes. “I remember,” she says. 

“You told me about your family,” Lucia continues. “About how you don’t think they understand you.”

“I said I remember,” Kaylac says, sharper this time. Din knows he’s the reason she’s on edge. He’d make himself less imposing if he could, but he’s just standing here. Not trying to intimidate her. “What is this about?”

Lucia shifts, undeterred. “Well maybe they don’t understand, but they are worried about you. They put out a call to come find you.”

A call is an awfully nice way to say bounty, but sure.

“Mando here took the job, and he’s gonna take you home if you’re willing.”

“Willingness isn’t a factor,” Din interrupts. Lucia whips her head around, shooting him a venomous look. He almost startles at the sudden change in demeanour. She really has perfected the mean-mug. He adds, guiltily, “I… have orders not to harm you unless it's in self defence. I mean to follow them.”

Kaylac looks between the both of them. “I’m not going with him–”

“Kaylac,” Lucia interrupts. “I know the idea of going back to your family is daunting. I know. But they’re never going to understand you if you don’t let them try. Look how much they love you, Kaylac, they sent out a plea to the galaxy to find you and bring you home. Let Mando take you home to them. I know that if you do, things will change.”

It’s hard to read the expressions on Kaylac’s face, but Din supposes she feels moved. He thinks he probably would as well if he’d been given a similar speech. After a moment she nods her head. “I guess it’s worth seeing,” she says quietly. 

Behind Din, Grogu coos happily, apparently pleased with the outcome.

Lucia smiles brightly, gently patting her shoulder. “Good,” she says. “I hope it goes well for you, Kaylac.”

With Lucia’s help, Kaylac goes without trouble. She hesitates when presented with the carbonite freezer, but somehow Lucia manages to assure her that it’s not so bad. And she goes in without trouble, leaving Din, Lucia, and Grogu alone in the hold of the Crest. 

Lucia turns to Din, hands on her hips as she sighs. Din contemplates her words to assure Kaylac. 

“It’s really not so bad. Like when you take a nap, but you never really felt asleep, you know?”

It’s too specific to be second hand knowledge. She’s been in carbonite before, and seemingly come out of it fine. She didn’t mention hibernation sickness to Kaylac, though. A kindness, Din supposes. A kindness she didn’t have to give, an omission to reassure the nervous quarry. Many wouldn’t have done the same.

“Well, I think you owe me a drink,” she says. 

“A drink,” Din echoes. “What for?”

“For helping,” she says, like it's the most obvious thing in the world. “She came willingly, without violence. Sometimes that deserves to be celebrated.”

Din holds back a sigh. He suspects she’s not the type to give up, so maybe it's easier for everyone if he just relents. “Right. Fine, if you insist.”

“I do,” she says with a smile. It's a nice look on her. She's… nice looking. Which isn't the most eloquent way of putting it, he knows, but it's true. She's sort of rugged, unrefined, but undeniably pretty. He doesn't get a lot of downtime to stare at pretty women. Maybe this is excuse enough. She’ll be good enough imagination material for late nights in his bunk. Hell, he's imagining it now. 

“It's a nice ship you’ve got,” says Lucia as she begins to make her way out. Din follows, Grogu floating along beside him. “Looks like she's seen better days, but.”

Din follows her gaze up to the patch job that is the Crest now. “She has,” he says. “One shot from an Imperial light cruiser and…”

It's hard to miss the disgust on Lucia’s face at the very mention. “Say no more,” she says. “Amazed she survived at all.”

“It's a salvage job. I keep meaning to fix her properly, but I can never seem to find the time.”

Her eyes crinkle with an understanding smile. “Come on,” she says, jerking her head toward the city. 

It's a short walk back into the tavern, which is still open but has long gone quiet, only who Din assumes to be the heavy drinkers still scattered about the bar. Lucia heads up to the bar, getting herself a glass of spotchka before glancing back at Din. 

“He’s paying,” she says with a grin. She sips the drink, sitting down at a worn down table once Din has paid for her drink. “I can't imagine there's much time for ship maintenance with a kid around.”

Grogu climbs out of his pram and onto the table, babbling and waddling over to Din. He must be tired, Din thinks. He lifts him gently, settling him in his arms. “No,” he tells Lucia, glancing up to see Lucia smiling at his son. “He's… a handful.”

“I can imagine,” she says. “Sounds like you need an extra pair of hands.”

Din’s quiet for a few moments. “I manage.”

He could, though, even if it's hard to admit. Being a father and bounty hunting is more work than he anticipated. 

He doesn't really know Lucia. Doesn't know that he can trust her. But she’s kind. Clearly hates the empire as much as he does. She has a way with people, a way that draws them to her. It's certainly worked on Din– why else has he sat here and listened to her at all when he probably should have just ignored her after she stopped being useful?

“Why did you help me?” he asks.

Lucia taps her finger against her glass a few times, pursing her lips. “I’d spoken to Kaylac,” she said quietly. “She told me about her family, about how she didn't feel like they ever tried to understand her. When I found out they were looking for her, I…” She looks away, out the window at the darkened sky. “My own family didn't really understand me. And I didn't get a chance to fix things with them before…” She stops, swallows, and looks back at Din. “This galaxy tears families apart. If I could help you make just one whole again, isn't that worth something?”

A moment of silence stretches between them as Din considers her words. The silence is broken by Grogu yawning, the child clearly trying his hardest to stay awake. This quarry had been safe, but they won’t all be that way. As much as Din likes to believe he can, he won't always be able to protect his son. An extra pair of hands… it doesn't seem like such a terrible idea. 

If it goes sideways and she hurts Grogu in any way, Din’s not afraid to make her pay. 

“The pay wouldn't be anything big,” says Din. “It won't be glamorous.”

Lucia lights up with that pretty pretty smile again and Grogu coos softly, almost affectionately. Din doesn't blame him. 

“Alright,” says Lucia. “Brilliant. Well, glad to be working with you, boss.” 

“Mando is fine,” he says. “Don’t get comfortable. If anything goes wrong, it’s your neck.”

Lucia only continues to smile, offering a salute– not to Din, he realises, but to Grogu, who giggles tiredly. Din can’t help but smile to himself. He supposes there are worse people he could blindly trust with his son.

[thebestestofbees]

MORE TELEVISION AU!!

Part 1

Part 2

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

You left your room. The puppets did not follow, which made you a little relieved. You sat down on your couch as you gave yourself a break to process what was happening.

Once you got your Barrens, you went to go get yourself a drink from the fridge. Only for the refrigerator door to open when you approached. You paused, your eyebrows furrowed.

Hesitantly, you grabbed your favorite drink from the fridge and you quickly pulled away as the door to the fridge closed.

Suddenly the light flickered in a pattern. It seemed to be in Morse code.

Are you fucking for real!?

Before you get too pissed off, you carefully put down your drink and walked back to your room, inhaling before speaking. "Which one of you are possessing my house?" You asked, keeping your voice calm as you pointed to the flickering lights outside your room.

"Home?" The shortest, Wally asked, peering into the rest of your house. The flickers turned into less of a pattern and Wally 'laughed', (can you really call it laughing though?) And turned to you.

"Don't worry, It's just Home." He said, looking up at you with half lidded eyes. Your hand held the doorknob tightly. He's fucking serious about this. "Okay." You said, straining your voice to be calm. "What are you all doing here?" You looked at the array of colorful puppets.

Surprisingly or unsurprisingly, Julie was the first to talk. "We were all helping Wally get out of that thing and we all got sucked in! And we saw you we've been seeing you for a while on the box thing!" Julie pointed to the flat screen TV as as she rambled, Eddie pressed his hand on the screen part, that still displayed static. "And it seems like we won't be leaving any time soon." Eddie chimed in as he sighed.

You bit the inside of your cheek. Don't get angry. They are all here against their will. "Okay. Okay." You said, your voice finally stabilizing as you put your hands in the air in a slight surrender position.

"You guys can stay here until the portal opens up again." The moment you said that, Julie squealed and ran up to you, hugging your middle tightly. "Thank you!" Julie squealed as you put your hand on her head, your face scrunching up at the sudden contact. "It's no prob." You said as Julie let go, hopping around the room as Frank tried to stop her.

Everyone wore smiles and Sally walked up to you. "I almost thought you wouldn't take us in. But who am I kidding! We've been watching you to know you could never. Thank you." Sally shook your hand firmly as If you were making a deal of some kind. "Uh huh... no problem." You blinked as the tall ones came up next.

"Thank for this squirt, that's really nice of you, I'll make sure to give you a 100% discount once we get back home." Howdy said as Poppy gave you a shaky smile. "Hey listen it's really no issue." You said as Barnaby ruffled your hair, chuckling.

"Hey, you've did a lot more than you think, I'm just glad you didn't close your doors on us, Oh wait." Barnaby chuckled and Howdy laughed. "That was a good one!" Howdy laughed. "I'm just gettin started so don't close your curtains just yet!" Barnaby joked and you sighed.

"Look I have things to do, you can wander around if you want, I have to sleep." You say. "I have a guest room with a bed, a mattress and a couch, the covers are there." You counted on your hands how much space that would take.

So two could go in the bed, two on the mattress and two on the couch that means six have somewhere to sleep. You walked to where your sheets, pillow cases, and covers and pulled out your sleeping bag when you were younger. Now that's seven. You looked back at the puppets. There were eight. Shit.

"Okay so, two of you can take the couch, I can get that ready for you, the guest room is already set for another two of you and I got a spare mattress I'll have to put on the floor, I also got a sleeping bag one of you could use, but someone is gonna have to sleep with me, who's ready to make that sacrifice?" You asked looking around until someone raises their hand.

I'm giving you a week to decide, so in the mean time I can answer asks!

[triplesilverstar]

I guess you're friends now? That's kind of annoying

Rating: 18+ Minors DNI

Pairing: Vash X F!Reader

CW: nightmares, sweating, feeling sick, lack of privacy

Word count: 1.6K 

A/N: Chapter three of “I guess you’re friends now? That’s kind of annoying” which takes place between “Bounty Hunting 101” & “An idiot walking in the Desert” Your sleep is still plagued with nightmares. It's the first time in a long time that someone care enough to wake up and talk to you about them.

You woke up screaming, with sweat running down your back in rivers and your heart beating a ile a minute in your chest that seemed to be echoing in your head. Already the nightmare is fading, some other memory that haunts you from your darker days, memories of the things you had done. 

Gasping for air as you press a palm to your forehead to try and help with the ache you feel inside of it. You can feel the tears running down your face brought on by your body responding to your mental distress. 

A few longer breaths of trying to get your heart to slow before you hear a knock on the door between the two rooms and a soft voice calling with a tange of grogginess to it. “Snipes? You alright?” 

Vash. Fuck. 

“I’m” Your voice sounds more like a croak than anything else “I’m fine.” It’s a blatant lie and you wish you’d turned down the rooms that you had been offered earlier in the day at a discount. A discount because there was a door connecting the two rooms which could be locked but meant the walls were even thinner than normal. 

“Why don’t I believe you?” You can tell from his voice the blond is a little more awake now, and you can just see in your mind's eye the way those blue eyes of his would be swimming in concern. Just like earlier when he’d watched you turn in another bandit and their kid came running up screaming how you were a bad person for catching their parent. 

A monster.

The kid wasn’t wrong, but you’d stopped deserving those looks of pity a long time ago. “Because you’re an annoyance Stampede.” Your voice cracks halfway through, finally pulling your hand away from your head and tossing the thin sheets that were clinging to you like a second skin. They’re soaked and you wince, hoping it wasn’t an episode where you whined and whimpered about how you shouldn’t have done what you had.  

It takes all of your effort to turn in the bed and get your feet dangling over the edge before you shimmy your way off so you can head for the small bathroom to splash water on your face. 

“Come on Snipes, open the door and talk to me. I’m worried.” Him? Worried about you? You know the sound of a bullshit story when you hear it. Besides you aren’t going to open that door, not when your sleepwear consists of worn-out shorts and a loose shirt meant for someone three times your size. Far too much of you would be on display, too much for him to see the monster that was handmade in a lab. 

Swallowing as you try to settle the nerves that are forming. Does he already suspect you aren’t exactly what you seem? “You just want to see more skin, what the pretty redhead from earlier wasn’t enough for you?” The slight tremors in your hands are starting to settle as you command your body to listen to you, if he decides to stop following you it’s all the better in your books. 

“I heard you crying out.” Whatever false bravado you had been working up suddenly dies inside of you. He could hear you, and a weight drops in your stomach as you pray to any force in the universe that might answer that it wasn’t anything too damning. “Please Snipes, just come talk to me.” 

Your feet feel rooted to the spot, the fine pieces of sand that seem to coat everything sticking to your damp heels. Your heart feels heavy inside of your chest and you don’t fully understand why. Vash is just an annoyance you hoped to be rid of but he never seems to walk away. Sure he sends you looks that you have no idea how to discern with his expressive eyes hidden behind those tinted shades, just silently watching you. It makes you feel worse than you normally do when it’s not someone who is just, well, crazy. 

“Snipes?” 

“Just give me a minute, alright.” It snaps you from your inner conflict heading for the bathroom to splash the water on your face and as you blot your skin you try to take in your appearance. Massive bags under your eyes and the white of both orbs are bloodshot, your normal skin tone has a paleness to it that hints at how exhausted you are and you are glad no one can see you like this. 

Stepping from the smaller space you find your steps slowing as you make your way towards the shared door. You don’t have to do this, you don’t have to talk to him you could claim you were just going back to bed even if you know you won’t get any more sleep tonight. Not with the thoughts rolling around inside of your head.

“Will you give me a real answer about if you’re alright?” You’re maybe two or three steps from the door when his voice carries through the thin panel. You’re not really sure if you can even call it a door with how thin it is. 

“Why do you care anyway?” 

He doesn’t answer and after a few moments of silence, you feel yourself shiver, rubbing your hands along your forearms as the chill of the room starts to sweep into your damp skin. Turning thinking he must have given up and went back to sleep himself you take a step, the sound echoing around the room from a loose board.

“Because I know you don’t sleep when we’re traveling in the desert, you’re always on guard. I had hoped you could drop that guard in a hotel room but I guess not.” It’s not just the chill in the air that has you shivering now, but his voice. His voice was laced with a sorrow you can’t place because he shouldn’t have to worry about you like that, you don’t deserve such kind concerns. 

“I do sleep in the desert Stampede.” You can’t bring yourself to let any of the emotions rolling through you show in a way he can see or hear. Standing though is becoming a little harder as you lean back against the door, using it to slide down to the floor so you’re sitting on your butt with your back and head pressed against it. 

“You doze, that’s not enough.” The same warble in his voice followed by the sound of shifting fabric and the slightest pressure against your back. Vash must have done the same thing as you did. “Do you not trust me to not tie you up and leave you there?”

“You don’t get to talk about trust when you do the same, you sleep even less than I do.” It’s the truth, when you both stand your watches through the night with the rise and fall of his chest you know he isn’t actually asleep when it’s your turn. 

“I mean I’m still worried you might turn me in.” 

“Then leave. No one is making you follow me Stampede.” 

“I don’t want to though.” You’re shocked to hear that admission, why the hell would the man with one of the largest bounties on the planet want to hang around with a bounty hunter? “You might be kind of mean, but I can see it in your eyes. You hate what you do when you turn in people that are like the bounty today. You’re one of the good guys Snipes.”

“I have never been one of the good guys.” You’re quick to fire back, good guys don’t need to try and find redemption because they don’t make mistakes that need redemption in the first place.

“You’re wrong about that.” His voice is soft and you can tell he’s not saying that to try and argue with you. “I think, I don’t want to leave because of that. You’re the first companion I’ve had in a long time that wasn’t a ruse to try and catch me, everyone else has turned the moment I let my guard down. It’s not right for me to hold the past against you.” 

You snort at that. “I don’t know Vas-Stampede. I think you being wary of me is a good sign if it’s happened to you before. You don’t really know me yet but you call me your companion, I can say it’s been a long while since someone has thought of me that way.” It has, decades maybe since you had people you trusted enough to not try and stick a knife in your back and sell you to the highest bidder. 

“You almost called me Vash.” His voice is still somber but you do catch the hint of teasing in his words.

“A slip-up. Don’t let it go to your head.”

“Too late.” Almost singing his answer you roll your eyes.

“Ass.” 

“Do you think you’ll be able to get back to sleep?” That somber tone is back in his voice and you have to wonder if maybe he’s used to having similar nightmares. 

“Not tonight.” 

“I didn’t think so. And I doubt you want to talk about it with a stranger sort of traveling companion.” He’s right, you don’t and you probably never will burden him with the weight of your guilt. He’s too young to bear the weight of your sins on his shoulders, but maybe you can find a way to carry some of his since you still don’t know how he can be the Humanoid Typhoon that the rumors speak of. 

“No. Tell me about this town.” It’s a strange shift in the conversation but Vash does just that, and you interject once in a while to ask a question. Unaware that as dawn approaches Vash is thinking the same thing of you and how he wishes he could help you lighten your own mental load. How you might be someone he can save, unlike so many others. 

Back to the series

[jamiesfootball]

under the cut for discussions about discussions about Amsterdam, just in case.

That awful morning was the morning Roy finally got to know Simon. Longest six hours of his life.

"Oh dear," Simon said by way of an apology. He grabbed another tissue. "You'll have to pardon me. I did my best to stay strong for Georgie until you boys got here, but--"

"It's fine," Roy reassured him. "I get it."

"Can I get you another cup of tea?"

Roy nodded. Simon toddled along. The noise from the television pattered softly, not nearly loud enough to drown out the sorrow from upstairs, but they didn't turn it up any higher. Mother and son deserved their privacy.

"Here you are, m'boy," Simon said when he returned with a fresh mug. With half his hair gone to the light, Roy was about as far from a boy you could be before people preemptively began offering you senior discounts. Hell, Simon and him could've gone to school together.

But the word was warm like the mug was warm. Sometimes people just needed the warmth.

"Thanks," he said. He drank his tea.

“She didn’t know,” Simon blurted out. “Didn’t know at all. Not the kind of call ones prepared for in the wee hours of the morning, that.” Then, like it was a scab he couldn't stop picking at, “Did Jamie think—?”

It was Jamie, was the thing. Jamie, who could be sensitive to the slight degree shift in mood, but who could take a direct statement and twist it into something awful and crooked like a scorpion’s tail. Jamie, who held his bruises close to his chest and never seemed to know when he should call for help. “Dunno,” Roy answered with a shrug. Couldn’t go back and fix it now, could they?

Couldn't fix anything lately.